Just beachy

Listening to: "Little Balloon" by Jenny & Tyler
Their newest album, Open Your Doors, is available on iTunes for only $3.99! No idea how long that'll last, but I do recommend checking it out!

Once again, sorry for the lack of updates--I was spending the week at the beach with my family! I'll be back soon with the rest of my list, but for now, here's some pics from the beach!

Mexico Beach, FL

Pretty pink sunset.

Gorgeous rainbow over the ocean!

Shells and seaweed.

Seashell. This picture was a total accident,
but I love the bubbles.

Watching the waves is the best.

Another pretty sunset.

Sunlight, sea, and shadows.

Lines in the sand.

I caught a fish!

Now it's back to Cleveland--and back to work. Oh well. It was a nice break while it lasted!

Quick break from thinking

Listening to: "Wondergirl" by Hey Monday
I discovered this band--and this song--when I went to that All Time Low/Yellowcard concert a couple of months ago. I can't help but love it. Catchy songs always get me.* Also, how gorgeous is that sunset?! I saw it a couple of weeks ago when I was camping at the lake with Kristi and her church college group. Sooo many colors--it was absolutely beautiful.

Since I don't feel like taking the time to actually organize my thoughts into a cohesive post, I'm cheating and making a list. (Thank you, bullet points, for letting me be disorganized without looking like it.)

• Fishing Adventures. If you're ever bored, having a bad day, or just need some entertainment, go fishing with Mike and Jon. I guarantee it will solve any of the above problems. Trust me--I did it for 5 days in a row and have never been more amused in my life. (Having a really bad day? Go to Walmart with Jon beforehand. You will spontaneously buy t-shirts with fishing slogans on them and then attempt to convince him that he should not, in fact, buy a float so he can swim to the middle of the lake and fish off of it.)**
• Worst. Beach. Ever. For anyone looking to go to the beach anytime soon, here's a hint: don't go to the East Beach at Ft. De Soto in St. Petersburg, FL. While visiting my Floridian family last week, we went to said beach. Upon arriving, we encountered swarms of mosquitoes, murky water, broken up shells that hurt to walk on instead of sand, no waves (unless the occasional boat went by, in which case you might have gotten a splash or two...maybe), and SAND FLEAS. Then it rained. Don't go there.
• Ecclesiastes 7:14: "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future."
• Middle school flashbacks. I discovered a bunch of old CDs in my room from my middle school years (a la Jump5 and Hilary Duff). Naturally, I have proceeded to listen to all of them. In a word: wow (of both the good and bad variety). Is it bad that I still kind of like it?
• Google+. I like it. It needs a few more features (not including Farmville), but once people actually start using it, I think it'll be really awesome! I'm not quite ready to replace Facebook, but I'm pretty interested to see where Google+ goes. Find me here!
• Happy birthday to me! I turned 21 on the 3rd. This is still kind of weird to me...
• BOOKS. While this hasn't exactly been an ideal summer, I have to give it this: I have loved being able to read so much! I've been through so many books in the past 2 months. Kristi loaned me about 6 books when I visited her and I've already finished 4 of them. Not to mention all of the other ones I have on my shelf to reread. Please feel free to send any suggestions my way. I have a whole month to fill and I like reading new things!

On that note, I'm ending this organized-disorganized post. I hope you all are having a wonderful summer! :)

*For more proof of my weakness for catchy music, see bullet point #4...
**Yes, this actually happened, and yes, he was actually serious about it. You're welcome, Jon, for saving you $40+.

Sunsets, stars, and saltwater

Listening to: "The Spoils of Warring Hearts" by The Walla Recovery
I love NoiseTrade and random song discoveries via the shuffle feature on my Zune. I always manage to find songs that are so fitting for my current situation. God knows me well. :) You can get this one, along with the rest of their With Trembling EP, here.

According to Isak Dinesen, "The cure for anything is saltwater: sweat, tears, or the sea." Judging from this past week, I think he might be onto something. Sort of, anyway.

Without going into too much detail, these past couple of weeks have definitely not been the ideal way to begin summer (see my previous post for a more on that, even if it is a little vague). Basically, God asked me to make a decision that I honestly didn't--and still don't, really--understand. However, I've learned over the past almost-21 years that my understanding is not important; obeying God is. Either way, decisions always have their consequences, and I've been dealing with the repercussions of mine for the past 2 weeks.

To get my mind off of things, my family ended up going on a spur-of-the-moment vacation to Mexico Beach, FL. Kristi got to come with us, which was awesome. I am sooo glad I got to go--especially considering I haven't been to the beach in 4 years! It certainly didn't solve all of my problems or anything, but I suppose it was somewhat therapeutic. I mean, really, how can such beautiful sunsets be anything but?

Seriously--so gorgeous. The first night was especially beautiful, at least to me. After a stunning sunset (see the pic at the beginning of the post), the sky was so clear. Kristi, Darren, & I walked about a mile down the beach to the pier and I stared up at the stars for about an hour. There's something very peaceful about sitting in silence, listening to the waves crash on the beach, with a clear, starry sky overhead. I like it (though I have to say, as much as I enjoy the beach, it still doesn't compare to being in the middle of the mountains next to a river. Personal preference, of course). The only real downside to the trip was the crazy sunburns that both Kristi and I got on the very first day. I'm pretty sure it was the most painful sunburn I've ever had. It was even hard to sleep because it hurt so much. At least I got a nice tan out of the deal...as long as it doesn't decide to all peel off. Ugh. So far, so good.

Still, as good as it was, it wasn't the usual beach trip for me. Typically, I feel nothing but contentment while watching the waves, seeing the sun set over the ocean, etc. Although I did enjoy all of the above this past week, the thing I felt most was pure frustration. Frustration with life, frustration with myself, frustration with God. It was getting to the point where I was becoming almost angry. I was constantly thinking, "God, seriously. What are You thinking? How am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to do that? Blah, blah, blah, blah." (Well, maybe not in those words...but you get the idea.) He was finally like, "Brittany, stop. You need to chill. Whatever happened to being content with wherever I put you in life? This is where I have you now and you need to deal with it. Being upset isn't going to get you anywhere."* Then, me still being me, "Yeah, but really, I don't understand how you expect me to [insert some specific action here] or even [another specific action]. That just doesn't make sense. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I've already proven that it's literally impossible, and..." And God, once again, "...I don't recall ever asking you to do those things. I asked you to obey Me in this one thing and trust Me for the rest." And then...

"Be still and know that I am God."

Stop planning, stop worrying, stop being frustrated. Just be still.

Over the past few years, I've begun to discover that I don't know anything. Can't know anything, with the exception of one thing: God. God is faithful, God is trustworthy, God is good, God is perfect. No matter what else is happening in my life, no matter how crazy or uncertain, even if everything I thought to be constant falls apart completely, I can trust that He will always stay the same. Instead of striving and trying to fix everything on my own, He only asks that I simply be still...and know.

And really, when it all comes down to it, what else can I possibly do? He is the only one who can solve any of these problems, so why am I wasting so much time worrying and being frustrated over something that I don't even have the power to change? Answer: because my name is Brittany and that's what I do. Heh. Seriously though--that's probably my number one thing to work on right now.

Just be still and know.**

*Sometimes, God has to be kinda blunt with me to get the point across, as can be seen here. Heh.
**I kinda feel like I sound like some random inspirational devotional or something. Sorry about that--totally not my intention!