What I’m Into | April 2014

On one hand, I feel like this month FLEW by. On the other, I feel like so much happened the past few weeks that I can’t believe it’s all happened in one short month. I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer again this month to share all of April’s goodness with y’all. Unfortunately, my wireless adapter has refused to work recently, so I’m writing this on my dear roommate’s computer… which means there won’t be any pictures in this month’s post, unless my adapter starts to work again!

Books // I (finally) started to read A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans this month. I’ve been slacking on reading, so I’m not too far into it, but I love what I’ve read so far. I also started rereading Lament for a Son because Nicolas Wolterstorff is my favorite. I received Elizabeth Esther’s Girl at the End of the World in the mail today and I am really looking forward to reading it soon! (Hopefully I’ll actually find time to read in May, so this portion will have real thoughts about books!)

Movies + TV // Guys. I know I said I’d try to watch more movies this month, but I SO DID NOT. I did watch a few more episodes of Parenthood, thanks to my dear friend Maggie, but I’m still in the first season. I guess I’m just not really the kind of person who finds enjoyment in sitting down and watching TV because I feel like there’s so many other things I could be doing with my time. There are a few movies that I’m really looking forward to seeing (The Amazing Spiderman 2, Neighbors) in the next few weeks, so hopefully I’ll actually see them!

Music // Thanks to my lovely friend Jennie, I am now OBSESSED with John Mark McMillan’s Borderland album. I actually downloaded it on iTunes, which is saying A LOT because I couldn’t tell you the last album or even song that I bought from iTunes. I’ve been on such a JMM kick lately, which is great because Jennie and I are going to see him in Columbus in a few weeks! I’m also seeing the Milk Carton Kids in Michigan next week and I am so stoked.

Community // Man, where to even begin here this month. My community tank has been so full recently. A few weekends ago, Jennie and I drove up to Indianapolis to meet up with Maggie, Jazz, Taylor, Abby, and Suzanne for #OTLtakesIndy. What happens when you take seven young women from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio and allow them to spend time together in what should probably be known as the second Windy City? Craziness ensues. I meant to blog about how much that weekend meant to me, but y’all know how great I am at actually posting things… ;) These girls are so full of love and joy and they accept me just as I am, no matter what stupid things I do or say. They also speak my love languages so dang well, which isn’t too hard when most of them are food. In other community news, I joined a new small group this month and I absolutely love it. They are so honest and raw about their faith and it is so helpful for me, since I’ve been in a season of doubt and struggling to trust. They also completely understand my love for potatoes; they have joined me in awarding people for great answers with imaginary waffle fries. I’ve loved getting to know them and getting to know Christ more through them.

Growth // GUYS. I did it. I finally did it. As of April 23, 2014, I am officially a resident of the beautiful state of Ohio. I also have a super awkward license photo, but that’s beside the point. To celebrate my new residency, I bought a goldfish that night. Sadly, he died Monday night… On a semi-related note, I planted sunflower seeds last Monday and they are thriving. I think the moral of the story here is that I can be trusted with plants and not fish, so I probably should stay away from having children. In other exciting news, I’m taking a class this summer, so I can legitimately take classes again this fall (this class is a pre-req for everything I have left in my major). Things are just really swell right now, friends.

April was a really great month, if I’m honest. May is looking like it’s going to be stellar as well. I’m joining a 31 day Scripture Challenge to be intentional about digging into the Word each day in May and I’m a bit nervous about it because I suck at doing things daily, but I’m also really looking forward to it. I think I’m going to begin with the Corinthians and I also really want to read Isaiah again during the challenge because it’s one of my favorite books of the Bible.

How are y’all doing? How was April for you? What are you looking forward to in May?

What I’m Into | March 2014

It may be a Monday, but today is a beautiful day. It’s Opening Day – baseball season has officially arrived and I could not be more excited for another season of cheering on the Reds. It’s the official launch day of Bedlam Magazine, a beautiful place that I hope you will check out. It’s also the end of the month, so it’s time for another recap post, but in a slightly different style. I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer to let y’all know what I was diggin’ this March.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram for more photos like the ones in this post – @nrulason

Books // I finally read Divergent a few weeks ago and I LOVED IT. I read it in six hours and bought Insurgent the very next day. That one took me around a week to finish, but I also really enjoyed it. I haven’t purchased Allegiant yet and probably won’t for a few weeks, so I’ll probably let you know what I thought of it next month. I also sort of started reading Multiply by Francis Chan, but I don’t know how much I like it or if it’s one I’ll finish. E-book-wise, I’ve been digging into Ashley Beaudin‘s 33 Questions to Ask Your Heart, which has been really good for figuring out what makes me me.

Naturally, my favorite line in Insurgent.

Movies + TV // It took me a few months, but I finally hopped on the Frozen train… I’m not sure there’s a single person who didn’t like that movie. I was working at Target the day it came out on DVD and I swear, I personally sold fifty copies in the first two hours I was there (and if you were only buying Frozen, I could tell you your total based on which version you bought within 45 minutes). I think that might actually be the only movie I watched this month, which is a shame. The roommate and I have been stalking the movie listings at the cheap theater, so maybe we’ll check out more this coming month. On the TV front, the season finale of Teen Wolf aired last Monday and it was overwhelming, but relieving. I’ll miss a few of the characters who won’t be returning for season four, but for the most part, I think I’m okay with the storyline. I watched a handful of episodes of Parenthood this weekend while dog-sitting and I AM SO INTO IT. If someone wants to hook me up with a Netflix account so I can keep watching, I wouldn’t be opposed to that.

Because sometimes, simplicity is key.

Music // La Dispute’s new album “Rooms Of The House” came out on the 18th and I can’t stop listening to it. Seriously, I have the CD in my car and I don’t even listen to the radio when I’m in there. I can’t choose a favorite song because they’re all SO DANG GOOD. I love how their sound has evolved with each of their albums and I can’t help but love a band that talks about Michigan so often in their music.

Casual selfie the day my copy arrived.

Community // March was a good month for seeing people I don’t get the chance to see very often. I had dinner with Ava and lunch with Taylor while they were home on spring break. Lots of good conversation and laughs were had with those lovely ladies. I also took a little road trip up to Indianapolis to visit Maggie and Jazz and it was pretty much the best.

Taylor and I cheesin’ it up after consuming #alldacarbs at Olive Garden.

Growth // I’ve started experimenting a little with different fonts and different mediums and it’s been a whole lot of fun. I’m still nowhere near considering myself an artist, but I’m finding new ways to express myself and new ways to experience joy. On a completely different front, I’m training at the Starbucks in our Target and I’m really excited to be back around coffee again. Earlier in the month, I joined a crew of fabulous people to help plan this year’s Pride festival. I’m serving as media coordinator, which is a little stressful, since I’m the youngest person, but it has been a really good time. OH – I also bought a bed(!!!) last week, which is a very adult thing to do, and it also made me feel like I can truly call Cincinnati my home.

I’m really proud of this one, even though my black pen was dying.

I can’t share blogs I liked with you this month because I did some serious slacking on blog reading and I can only think of two posts off the top of my head (on that note, you should check out Ben’s responses to the World Vision fiasco here and here).

Feel free to let me know what you were into this month and if there’s anything (blog posts especially) that you think I should check out!

In Review | February

It’s that time again, folks… though I’m not sure how it’s already MARCH. Where is this year going? To be honest, I’m glad it’s March now because it means registering for summer classes in a few weeks. I paid off my tuition balance from the fall semester last week, so I can officially go back in May! This also means I’ll be returning to the admissions office in late April and I am STOKED. Anyway, February has been a weird month with a lot of ups and downs, but as for now, life is good. Like, really good.

ANYWAY! Here’s some of my favorites from February. Believe me when I say it was NOT easy to narrow it down – so many good things out there this month.

Read:

• Some Thoughts on Ellen Page by Ben @ Registered Runaway // ICYMI – Ellen Page came out this month. I love what Ben had to say about it. You can also catch her coming out speech at the end of his post.
• Church is not my priority, healing is by Rebekah Richardson // Over the past month, Rebekah has become one of my favorite people from the Internet. She’s hilarious and supportive and she posts great Instagrams. This post made me realize that it’s okay if church isn’t the answer for you in certain seasons of life… which is nice because I’ve been wrestling with whether or not I’m in one of those seasons right now.
• Where Have They Gone? from the Banner // Simply put: “Isn’t it time for the church to welcome back its gay sons and daughters, along with their spouses and children? Isn’t it time to encourage everyone to know the love of God for each and every one of his children?”
• I Don’t Have My Shit Together by Micah Murray // It’s no surprise that Micah made the list again this month, especially after I read this: “I don’t want to be a Christian writer, if it means writing from the heart and then hitting backspace until it feels safe again.” Way to hit the nail on the head, friend.

Listen/Watch:

• Finding Nemo (CENSORED!) // This video gets me literally LOLing every time I watch it.
• “Just Don’t Go” – Local 12 Parody // GUYS. I have no shame at all in bringing back Bob Herzog’s parodies this month. This man is GOLD. But really, this Frozen parody went viral, so if you haven’t seen it… where have you been?
• Pentatonix’s cover of “Say Something” // I’ve never been a big fan of Pentatonix, if I’m honest, but this cover is just too beautiful not to love.
• Mary Lambert’s “She Keeps Me Warm” on GMA // You’ve probably heard Mary on Macklemore’s “Same Love,” but you are seriously missing out if you haven’t checked out her music. Also, her live vocals are just incredible.

What were some of your favorites from February? Let me know!

In Review | January

In an attempt to be more consistent with posting this year, I’ll be posting at the end of each month sort of recapping the past 30ish days. Recapping? More like sharing a bunch of great things that I found this month that I don’t think you should miss. I’m really excited about this, especially because this month was SO good.

Read:

• You are not your mental health disorder by Sarah Benesi // “Your mind is not sick.  It may crave extra love in some areas, but it is not diseased.” (Sarah also has a wonderfully hilarious Twitter feed – follow her at @sarahbenesi)
• 100 Awesome Songs from 2002-2006 by Forever Twenty Somethings // This is a great post because it reminds you of classic 2000s musical gems and also makes you feel really old.
• Shut Up and Let Me Grieve by Jayson Bradley // “Even if what you say is completely right, it likely won’t help. There’s nothing rational about grief.”
• Price Peterson’s Teen Wolf Photo Recaps // This guy is great and his TW recaps are hilarious. You can find his most recent recap here. He also photo-recapped the Grammys, which is also good for some laughs.
• Leave (Stories from a Restless Heart) by Micah Murray // Okay, so this is technically an eBook, but this post will get it to ya (and it’s free, so you have NO excuse not to read it). Micah is easily one of my favorite bloggers; I really enjoy his writing style and he’s not afraid to really speak his mind. Read his eBook, y’all.

Listen/Watch:

• “Stay Happy There” by La Dispute // The boys are back and I am so freaking excited. LD has a new album coming out March 18th and from the looks of it, it’s going to SLAY.
• Local 12’s version of “Royals” // Local 12 does this thing called Dance Party Friday where they cover songs from the charts and they are SO GOOD. I mean, I’m a little biased because I kind of LOVE Bob Herzog… You should also check out their take on “Wrecking Ball” from the fall.
• The Fault in Our Stars trailer // IT IS HERE. Watch it. Fall in love with this story. Read the freaking book by John Green before the movie comes out in June.
• My roommate and I also watched Orange is the New Black this month. I KNOW that it came out months ago and can easily be watched in a weekend… Anyway, we finished it this week and we cannot wait for season 2 to come out!

What did you love this month? Anything I missed that is worth checking out? Let me know in the comments!