Minnesota Nice

no flushing allowed.....

so, we don't have water at our apt right now.....convenient huh? since the 4 girls are here on spring break....who needs showers right? after my workout this morn..i go to take the necessary shower....and no water comes out...so of course i check every faucet in the house (i dont know why i thought maybe only one didnt work...) so i call maintainence...and they proceed to tell me that a water main broke and they had to shut off everyone's water to fix it...and it might be done by 7 pm tonight....great...it was 10am....so no showers..no flushing...no water use whatsoever.....

needless to say..i showered at work.....like a homeless person...homeless...yet having a job....

it's been awesome to have the ladies here....we hung out in LA this past weekend...went to see Dane Cook at the Laugh Factory on Sunset in Hollywood...funny stuff.....but my favorite..was seeing the Pink Dot on Sunset...if you are a Swingers fan..you will know what i'm talking bout....t-dubs got a pic of it of course.....
Saturday we went to Venice Beach..what a fun place...lots a weirdo's though.....for example...we saw a black man wearing a leapord print speedo, and socks and shoes..and he was just playing with some weird ball, of course he had a tip jar....cause why wouldn't i want to tip a guy who does weird moves with a metal ball.......
there was a guy with a huge snake too, that was taking donations to have the snake wrapped around your neck....call me crazy..but i dont want to pay someone to put a snake on me....
o..and at venice beach..this little mexican guy that sold me some sun glasses told me i was beautiful...but then followed that up by saying he likes big women...so sweet....compliment me..but then tell me i'm fat....gotta love that.....ahhaha

but the capper (or crapper i should say) was when we got pooped on by birds.......
janelle was safe from the incident..she was off buying something...when the rest of us got turded in on swoop.....the poop (from one bird i believe) hit sarah's shoulder, tanya's leg, and christa's chest...and of course my hair.....
we all drove home smelling like bird poop, sweat, and were covered in sand......these 5 ladies couldn't have been more attractive

the girls have been chillin by the pool...and tomorrow i take them back down to LA :(

for those of you who see tanya..tell her how tan she is...she obsessively worries she didn't get sun...even though she is brown....

oooppss...gotta go give my guitar lesson....bye

Posted by Shelly at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

DELLY HAS WORMS!!

delly gebhardt, my laptop...was infected by the latest worm!! sorry to all of you who are on my email contact list...and got a million emails with viruses. I hope you all have some sort of virus protection.....cause apparently i didn't. delly is all better now, after a dose of norton anti virus.....in pill form crushed up in her food..

Random Crap:

Does anything make you feel better than a clean room.....i'm sure there are a few things...but that feels pretty good.

My abs are sore..which is good....i have to lose about 2 inches to fit into a dress in 50 days for a wedding :)

I went to the fitness center to work out today..and there was this guy in there just sitting in a chair reading the paper.....ok man...

Not So Random Crap:

I LOVE TONY!! (hee hee..i had to give a little mushy shout-out to the love of my life)

Posted by Shelly at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

I've been warned that Monday's are severly emotional for people in ministry....not to mention for 25 year old girls!!

...'emotional' doesn't really even give justice to today. After a moring of crying and complaining about how things suck, and don't seem to be going my way, i decided not to go into the office today....i needed to work away from there, since my creative mind can't even function in that environment anyway. So i've been working all day at the cafe, and i've been quite productive actually, only stopping right now to write my thoughts.

...but let's rewind....in the midst of my crying, tony said something profound....'shelly, why don't you spend some time with God today'...so..i made an effort to do just that this morning.....after my crying a blubbering on the phone....i went and worked out....the whole time praying.....running seems to go by so much faster when you're yelling at God. It felt good to sweat....to scream (in my head of course)......
after the workout..i headed to the cafe to get some work done....and i had a minor set-back....but completely God provoked.....my laptop was not working....so i called my IT guy (lonnie) and he was going to come fix it......so while i waited..i realized....duh..this was God saying..."um..shelly, you said you would spend time with me......so i'm going to make your work wait...while you focus on me...."

...i'm reading 1 Samuel right now.....and before i moved here, i got a book for a gift....that i just now pulled out to read...it's called Chosen to be God's Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Samuel, with a sub-title "How God Works IN and THROUGH Those He Chooses. I know i've blogged before about the IN and THROUGH workings of God....and this book couldn't come at a better time for me....

...i'm feeling an overwhelming sense of spiritual warfare...and it took me a while today to step out of my self-pity and emotion...to realize that is what it is...i have felt my ministry struggling...my financial status struggling...my small group struggling....my relationships struggling....my sense of belonging struggling...my sense of direction unclear....and subsequently my time with God....non-existent......it dawned on me today..how much Satan wants me to fail..how much he wants this ministry to fail.....but it is more clear to me that God is victorious...He is in control..not Satan.....not me, even.

...i dove into Scriptures and prayed that God would teach me through the life of Samuel....

....on leadership: "When God shapes a servant, it will always affect an entire people of God....The degree to which you let God shape and mold you is the degree to which He will shape the entire people of God."
Henry Blackaby (from the book mentioned above)

...God forgive me, shape me, mold me...

Posted by Shelly at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

yes yes..i'm on it..i'm blogging already...cut me some slack...i just spent 5 days in IL...then i got back to cali and puked for a day and half......that sucks..i never puke.....

Right now, my Napes and Chicags friends are assembling for a party...without me....that saddens me..but at the same time...makes me smile...knowing all my favorite people will be in the same place....and it puts a smile on my face thinking that some of those people would not know each other if it weren't for me. that makes a girl happy..new friendships......isn't community great..i can still be a part of things...from the west coast....

Being in IL was great..it was actually a great break from the hectic world of ministry..not that ministry ever stops......and actually God spoke a lot to me while I was there....and it took me stepping outside of CA...to realilze the awesome things God is doing out here. It was good to give a presentation on how God is blessings us...I needed to be reminded of that more than anyone....
Of course i got to spend some time with friends and family...and that always makes me happy. Kristi and i got to spend some quality time in the car in what was the world's best road trip....fastest...most effecient...road trip. Streator fun had by all for a day...on to my home church...to update them on my ministry. then on to Napes... It's always a whirlwind tour when i come back, trying to see everyone....and i realized the best part about seeing everyone is a feeling that i never left.....i love the comfort of just chililn with people without the stress of small talk and catching up....i love that we all keep in touch so well, that we can just "carry on" when i get back...that's nice..that's comforting...

(and now onto and entire paragrah dedicated to the man i love)
Of course the best part of being in IL was...Tony!!! I already knew how much i loved this man...but being with him..only elevates it more.....we had such an awesome weekend. I won't embarass him...by telling you all the romantic things he did...like the romantic date we went on.....or his knowledge of fine wines...or the flowers he brought me to work....or the sweetest phrases he said to me that will forever be engraved in my mind....
Let's just say...i did a lot of smiling!!! although i'm mad cause i forgot my camera...so no fun pages to add to the scrapbook.....
i love you tony....so much...and every day i love you more. I miss you more than ever...and i'm counting down the days...

alright..that blog should suffice!!

ps..i added tanya's link...sorry i took so llong to include you....also...scott is going to change my template..i hope you like it.

Posted by Shelly at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

OFF TO ILLINOIS!!!!

see you all there.....

i'll be back in Cali...Wednesday (3.17)

"check ya later"

Posted by Shelly at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

sorry to all of you who have been anxiously awaiting a blog from me...i just get so caught up in reading everyone elses....i forget about my own....

I promised my boyfriend i would blog about LaTroy Hawkins..i failed to mention him among the list of pitcher for the Cubs...although in my defense..i only talked about the starters...but the Cubs are happy to have hawkins....and i too am happy to have this ex-twins player, more reason for tony to have to watch Cubs games with me......i was going to list all of LaTroy's great stats..but then i figured..you can just look for yourself on http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/

let's see what is new....i went to the chiropractor today....i was really scared..casue i dont like doing that crap...i dont like to have things cracked...but i was in a desperate situation.....see..i hurt my neck blowdrying my hair...yes, you heard me.....please feel free to insert a blonde joke of your choice.....anyway...i totally heard it crack...and havent been able to really move it without pain...i was going to wait it out....but i will be driving across the country next week..and thought i should get it fixed before then...

which brings me to my next point....kristi and I hit the road for IL next week. i'm excited to be back in IL....of course for several reasons....and i'm excited about the 2 1/2 days on the road kristi and i get to spend together..it should be fun...good, quality time......i'll spend my time in IL raising support for the chruch...working from the CCC office...and of course spending every non-working minute with Tony :)

so needless to say..i have a lot of work to do before i leave....so this might be my only blog till i get back.....see you in IL.....

ps..i'll miss you donna :)

Posted by Shelly at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments