my mom left this morning. i cried. i always cry when she leaves.
here are a couple pics of my sweet mom :)


i realized that both of them involve her and trains. she does not have a fascination with trains.

yay for thanksgiving!

these are my favorite song lyrics right now.
You came in without notice
And settled all around my heart
Took up residence in all the places
That were vacant and dark...
I wish I could tell you...but I just can't find the words
-sandra mccracken springtime indiana

i am getting a new car this week! it will be so nice to not drive the charger anymore. my 2006 honda accord is getting here tuesday or wednesday. if you are wondering why i am getting a new car, refer to my nov. 4 post :)

after watching this video i thought about what i asked for, for christmas and what i intend on giving people for christmas. were my gifts going to push people towards Jesus? is what i am asking for going to push me towards Jesus or towards the goals of looking good, having fun stuff, and making myself have more than my neighbor. after typing that it sounds really judgmental towards people who are asking for clothes and electronics and jewelry etc. but, that is not my heart in it. my heart is that those things as much as i hate to admit it can draw my attention away from Jesus and on myself and comparing myself to the people around me. so what if i gave of myself relationally and only asked the same of other people? would they be drawn more to Christ through the experience? would i? i would hope so. so, this is all just me thinking out loud. well, not out loud, but on paper. well, not on paper, but on the internet.

highlights of my saturday and sunday...
*veronica mars. she is so kick ass and i want to be as smart as her. who killed lily kane? i am dying to know.
*sleeping in until 11 am. thank you advil pm. love, erin
*1 corinthians 4. how often i choose to run the race looking forward to the prizes the world entices me with rather than Jesus. pcpc and tim tinsley reminded me of that.
*anthropologie holiday. it is oh so wonderful. i bought many christmas presents and only spent $33.
*glorias and cafe brazil. i am always up for some black bean dip, fajitas, and smore hot chocolate.
*spending some good, quality time with my roommate alisa and hanging with other friends this weekend.
*colts defeating the chargers at the last minute. i love you peyton and tony dungy.
and now it is only 2 days until my mom comes in town. cant wait!
love,
mccabe

last night i went to see the spazmatics. they were so fun! there is nothing like a nerdy cover band that sings all the 80s songs you know by heart.

"So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
-Matthew 10:31

i am so ready for christmas.

I am sitting here watching The Office with some of my friends and one of them is very humble.
Thanks for reading.

i am going to tulsa this weekend to visit my friend lindsay!!! oh how i miss her so!
we are going to see amos lee saturday night. here is a youtube of one of his concerts.

i love hanging out with my wyldlife team. they are easy to be around. they are fun. they make me laugh. they are encouraging. they make me want to be more of who God made me to be and nothing else.

it is storming right now here in dallas. i love storms, especially from a porch at the beach.

this painting is one of my favorites. it is by rembrandt and in case you have never seen or heard of it, it is his interpretation of the prodigal son. which, is also one of my favorite parables from the Bible. what a beautiful story of God's love for us in the midst of our rebellion. whenever i read this story i wonder what i would do as each of the main players in the story...the father, the son who ran away, and the son who stayed. would i be filled with grace for my son who squandered all his money away? would i hide my face from the father and be afraid to see him? would i be jealous of my brother, who took his inheritance and wasted it came back and no one seemed mad? grace, probably not. hide, yes. and jealous, most definitely. and that is why i need Jesus. because i am full of selfish desires and Jesus makes it so i can live with God forever and not full of a heart that hopes for nothing more than those desires.

i like to be in nature

indelible grace. good for the soul. itunes.

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee,
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee,
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee,
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee,
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

i would love to make:
a lunch like this, in this kind of box.
a family room like this.
bulletin boards like this.
a sweater for a lobster.

i like any version of a s'more.

today i got in a car crash. the airbags came out and everything. this is what my car looked like.

ouch i know. it was bad. it was scary. it was my first wreck. the guy that drove the wrecker said that he thinks it will probably be totaled. i love the jetta, so will probably cry if i have to say goodbye to it. my theme song for today is car crash by matt nathanson, which is a great song. you should check it out on itunes. it has nothing to do with my day by the way. the lyrics say "i wanna feel the car crush". i most certainly most dont. although one line is "push me till i have to fly, i shed my skin, my scars. take me deep out past the lights. where nothing dims these stars...i wanna let go and know i'll be alright" i like that part. for some reason it makes me think about vulnerability, exposure...two things i am very hesitant to be with other people. i claim to be about vulnerability, exposure, authenticity, but at the same time it is so hard for me. i dont want other people to see the ugly parts of me. i like controlling what they see and what they dont. john 3:19 says "This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is." so often i am more interested in pleasing others and myself rather than God just to avoid painful exposure. (who knew all this would come from sharing that i had a car wreck.)
thank goodness that God continues a good work in me until the day of Christ Jesus.

we are having a dance party: southern style at casita bonita this weekend! sec what?!?! here is a collage (because making collages is what i do) i made for the event.

yesterday some friends and i were talking about riding the train. i think it sounds like so much fun! there is one that goes over to fort worth and besides sounding like a good time it also is a great way to beat the metroplex traffic.

so today we fell back in time. not that we had the chance to relive a moment in time but you know what i mean. and yes, it is 6:54 and i am awake and have been awake for about an hour. why you may ask. because i cannot sleep in. and, i hate it. yes, the strong word hate would be appropriate here. i have never been much of a late sleeper, but in early college i could sleep late with the best of em. and, since then my sleeping has gotten progressively worse. most nights i wake up at least once during the night. sometimes long enough to watch an episode of tv, others just long enough to flip over to my other side, look at the clock, and cuss in my head that i am awake, or sigh of relief because i do not have to get up for another 6 hours. in college i heard a song by brandon heath that said "Did you wake me up this morning to be taught To be lead into the clutches of the people that you sought". i simply prayed that God would wake me up to spend time with Him. (i even gave up watching tv in the morning for lent that year). well, the prayer worked. why did i ever doubt it would? ever since then i have woken up especially early. i wish i spent that time with the Lord instead of just laying in bed, listening to music, watching movies on my laptop, facebooking, blogging, or anything else that requires laziness. but, there are many a mornings when that time has been spent in the "clutches of the people that you sought". and it is usually a very sweet time. a time that brings my heart to good places and a good rhythm to my life.
so heres to falling back in time and answered prayers.

i broke down and i love it.