first let me state the obvious. i love to use ellipses. (they're the ... for those who might be unsure.) but, apparently i've been using them all wrong. they're supposed to be used when a word is omitted. i just use 'em when one statement seems to be leading into another. you know--dot, dot, dot. i think we've all been led astray on this one. personally, i'm gonna keep using 'em the way i wanna...just like now.

yeah.

also...i love big, old, soft sweatshirts. and hats. there's nothing better than a worn-in, comfy sweatshirt or a hat that's been perfectly beaten up. i guess it's easy to make me happy. i don't know what it is. when it comes to these two things, i'd just rather have 'em after they've been through it. oh, and guys' hats and sweatshirts are way better than girls'. they just are. i have this one sweatshirt right now that i put on whenever i'm cold at the house...it's the greatest thing ever. about 4 sizes too big. perfect. i wish i had a nice beat up hat to wear on days when hats are just called for. oh well.

anyway...

today's been a good one. for no particular reason really. things have just seemed fun and new and full of possibility. it was a long day at work with no lunch break or anything. then i went straight to the store for some christmas shopping and such. so, i'm at wally world...and i'm riding around on the cart. you know what i mean? when you give it a good push and then jump on the back? yeah. i do that a lot in the parking lot. but tonight, i was doing it in the store. i just couldn't keep myself from it. and then i come home and people have left me love on the computer. and i got an email today from another lauren brown who is in cali doing some church planting stuff. she found the blog by googling her own name. weird (in a cool sorta way), huh? today has been full of random things like that. i love it.

so, here are a couple of actual serious thoughts that have been on my mind lately:

this whole internet thing. we have a sorta love/hate relationship. in so many ways, the internet makes life grand. i'm not gonna name all the ways, because you people know them. but i still can't help but think many times that we're (or at least i'm) missing out on something by doing so much interacting (can you even call it that?) over the computer. i'm glad i can im or email my friends anytime i want. it makes phone bills much cheaper and keeping up a lot easier. but i miss people's voices and the way they look at me when they talk. or how i can read right through them in person. or the laughter that explodes after something funny is said. i miss those times where i try to avoid things that i don't want to talk about...but i'm forced to own up and share my feelings. i miss trying to hold back the tears when something has really hurt or hit home. i mean, i'm real on this thing to a certain extent. but you get the edited version. and when i'm not sure how something will sound or i decide that it's too much information, i can just rewrite or delete it altogether. that's not real honesty. that's my version of it. although i can't control how you perceive me by reading this blog, i do control what information you have to determine who you think i am. and while i feel a lot of times like i'm more open in this context than i am with a lot of people face-to-face...it's still only the honesty that i choose to give you. and i'm not sure how accurate that picture is many times. and it's felt lately like i've been keeping up with some friends' lives almost completely by reading their blogs. i'm not saying that's a bad thing necessarily...i guess i'm just missing the actual people, not their version of themselves that they share with the internet world. i had no idea i was gonna say so much on this topic. you'll have that.

eternity. when does that start? i used to always think of eternal life as beginning when you die. you know, your life on earth is over...but if you're a Christian, you inherit eternal life. i keep getting reminded though, that eternal life is now. as soon as we become followers of Christ, our eternal life begins. there's nothing to wait on. since life continues after our bodies are dead, we really just keep on living (in a much more amazing environment of course). eternity is right now. what are you doing for eternity? what am i doing for eternity?

just some completely random thoughts today. hope you enjoyed 'em. (i'm all nice and cozy in my awesome sweatshirt. under the best blanket ever. life is good.)