A Very Lucky Girl

Our first order of business in Poland involved a swift change of clothes in the airport restrooms. From there I assumed my role as Keeper of the Map, train timetable wizard, hostel booker, and general OCD planner. You'd have to ask Laura and Kylie if it got annoying ;) I asked the information desk how to get to Auschwitz and she pointed behind me to a giant sign saying "Directions to Auschwitz." Oh. Poland 1 Taylor 0. We found an ATM and money-ed up for the country. I took out 250 zloty, the equivalent of 82 USD, and rejoiced at the prices of Poland.  The language barrier was immediately a struggle, but after some issue we found the correct bus to take us to the city center where we would catch a second bus to Oswiecim, where the concentration camp was located.  On our journey to the camp, I couldn't help but think of the others who had come before me on trains to the very same place. But they didn't come armed with maps and money. In fact, they didn'...

I'm sure most of you know by now that an F4 tornado ripped through the city of Moore, Oklahoma, approximately 15-20 miles south of me and my family yesterday afternoon. I feel almost guilty to have a safe family and an intact house. It's devastatingly hard to find words to cover such a tragedy. People have endless opinions and voice them without thinking (i.e. Westboro Baptist...) and right now words aren't the answer for Moore and the surrounding areas.  It has never been truer that Actions speak so much louder than any condolences. Prayer is important, don't discount that in what I'm saying. But words aren't going to  bring back the perished people. Words aren't going to clean up the damage.  If you're like me you might be broke as a joke. Kevin Durant just pledged 1 million dollars to the relief efforts, how am I supposed to compete with that?  But my measly $25 to the relief and restoration fund at Lifechurch  will certainly be something. And a...

The Holocaust is one of my favorite historic events to study, next to the sinking of the Titanic. Tragedy is riveting, as terrible as it may sound. I've read endless books about the horrors that happened in concentration camps, to many different people groups, but especially to God's own-the Jewish nation.  Corrie ten Boom and Elie Wiesel are my two favorite authors on the subject. Their separate, firsthand experiences in Auschwitz, coupled with their insight, make for meaningful reads. I highly recommend Ms. ten Boom's "The Hiding Place" and Elie Wiesel's "Night." I've read both, multiple times. I'm currently working through Corrie's "Each New Day" devotional and received "Open Heart" by Mr. Wiesel on Christmas. I finished "Open Heart" and it was phenomenal!  I learned a lot about Elie Wiesel, his life after the Holocaust, that I didn't know before. He is currently a professor at Boston University (M...

"I deserved it more than he did." "He deserved it more than she did." Entitlement was the name of the game in Bachelor Pad's grand finale on Monday night. $250,000 was up for grabs and each player thought they deserved it more than another. None of them DESERVED the money. They are regular people like the rest of the world. They got lucky enough to be cast in a show that sees fit to dole out half a million every year to one of twenty-five sluts. If anyone DESERVES that money...it's the families that were immediately effected by the tragedy that occurred eleven years ago. The one that altered America, and New York City's skyline, forever. It seems petty to witness the irrational twitter fights that broke out all over my timeline today, a day that should have been reserved and observed. So you lost out on $250,000. Did you lose LIFE? A Very Lucky Girl and America should never forget.