you are beautiful in every single way.

warm whispers.

some numbers to crunch.

26,000
twenty. six. thousand.
26,000 children a day.

that's how children die EVERY DAY from starvation or preventable disease.

26,000 a day.
183 an hour.
3 a minute.

dying.
children being taken away from their parents.
friends losing friends.
lives ending.

and what are we doing about it?
we're sitting at restaurants complaining that we haven't gotten our huge meals fast enough.
we're spending all of our money on clothes, shoes, movies, and music.
spending money on ourselves.
how. freakin'. selfish.
oh wait... what's new?

26,000.
26,000 a day.

go big or go home.

i can do this.
it may very well be all on my own.

but i can do it.
and i will.

so there.

texty texterson

EHEM.

this has gone on long enough. i can't handle it any more. life is full of rules, and this instance is no exception. 
but like many other problems one could face on a day to day basis, this problem is not taken as seriously as it should be. 
let's fix that. now.

TEXTING ETIQUETTE.  

rule 1.
never. ever. never ever. ever. never. never. ever. EVER. send a text complied of a single "K" or "LOL". this is unacceptable. how in the world is someone supposed to reply to that?
if you were sitting on a couch talking to someone and all they did was "LOL" and then stop and stare at you...would that be acceptable? certainly not. so why in text?

rule 2.
replies are appreciated. simple concept really - you get a text. you send a text. you get a text. you send a text. you DON'T get a text....and put your phone away and move on. ESPECIALLY when it's a question needing an answer.
back to the couch situation. if you were having a conversation with someone and they asked, "how has your day been?"... would you just get up and walk away? (i certainly hope not, if so, we have other things to cover) you would REPLY!!!
it doesn't take long and is usually a fairly pain-free task.

rule 3.
just because two people in a group have cell phones does not give good reason for them to text each other while inside the group.
this needs no explanation. it's rude and dumb. don't do it.

rule 4.
sending pictures is great. sending pictures with absolutely no explanation is not so great.
"oh hey, thanks so much for that picture of your lunch...but why??"
take the picture. type a message. THEN send.
very very simple process.

now, i know this might be a lot to take in in one setting. so i'll give you some time to process it all. 
if these rules are not followed, more forceful steps will be taken.
thank you.

one of the same.

[i know i write about love...pretty much all the time. so if you want to just disregard this post, it's allowed.]

a few years ago, one of the most influential people in my life told me that i didn't understand the idea of Christlike love. and honestly, at the time, i didn't.
he told me to read 1 Corinthians 13.
of course he did. that's the chapter EVERYONE references when talking about love. way to be original. gee whiz.
but it doesn't stop there with just reading it.
then you apply it.

take the word "love" out.
put your name in it's place.

[Jamie is patient, Jamie is kind. It(she) does not envy, it (she) does not boast, it (she) is not proud. It (she) does not dishonor others, it (she) is not self-seeking, it (she) is not easily angered, it (she) keeps no record of wrongs. Jamie does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It (she) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

  Jamie never fails.]

woah. woah. woah.

that blows my mind EVERY SINGLE time i try it.

i mean, the first sentence is just crazy. jamie is patient??!?!?! what?!? do you know me?!?!

does not envy?

is not easily angered?

always trusts, always hopes?

NEVER FAILS?!?!

yeah. impossible. 

on my own.

the point is this.

duh, we aren't this way. we can't be without Him letting us be and helping us get there.

i can't do any of this because jamie wants to be a better person.

but i can do it when i ask him and let him do it His way, and in his time.

so, until that whole paragraph is true...i'm gonna keep praying for it.

and keep blowing up my blog with entries about love. 

Christ love.

get used to it.

i feel like my life is an introduction at an AA meeting.

i feel the need to admit all my flaws and failures to every person i meet.
like a "precursor " of sorts.

but then, when i really think about it...

i should't have to.
you love me. or you don't. there's not much explaining that will change that.

so i guess, the thing is...
i am jamie king. i am the very jamie king He has created me to be.
He loves my loud laugh. He smiles when my big, bug eyes smile in unison with my heart. He loves to hear me sing, even when it's loud and off key. He is "enthralled by my beauty" (Ps.45:11).
and if he can find it in his all knowing, all powerful, all merciful heart to love me without having to know all my bad habits and embarrassing actions first..
so. can. you.