Top 10 (or other ways of procrastinating...)

My friend Vicky just posted this list in honor of her 100th post on her blog. I missed marking that occasion a long time ago, but her list was very fun and I'm not quite ready to fall asleep yet, so I thought this would be a fun way to end the day. Wow, you all are learning all kinds of random Sarah-facts these days between this list and my 25 random things list I posted a few days ago! Guess if you don't know me that well this will give you a good start =) (And if you do know me, I'd love to know if any of these things surprise you!)

So here are my 10 Top 10 lists:

Top 10 Favorite Movies:
1. Father of the Bride
2. Finding Neverland
3. Elizabethtown
4. Dead Poet's Society
5. Pirates of the Caribbean
6. School Ties
7. The Family Stone
8. Wild Heart's Can't Be Broken
9. Remember the Titans
10. 10 Things I Hate About You

Top 10 Life-Changing Books: (a mixture of fiction, a text book, and a few spiritual memoirs of people) (and just FYI, yes, the Bible is life changing. I am going to be a pastor, yes, I like the Bible. But on lists of favorite books, I don't count it, it seems too obvious to me...)
1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. The Chosen by Chaim Potok
3. Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup
4. Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor
5. A Little Princess (taught me at a young age it's ok to cry at books) by Frances Hogsten Burnett
6. Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen
7. Hurt--Inside the Lives of American Teenagers by Chap Clark
8. When the Kings Go Marching In (TOTALLY changed the way I look at the end times) by Richard Mouw
9. The Shack (changed my view on the trinity) by William Young
10. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts by Les and Leslie Parrott (has opened up some great communication between Chuck and I)

Top 10 Songs:
1. Held by Natalie Grant
2. I Am by Jill Phillips
3. How Firm a Foundation (a great song that will be used in our wedding ceremony)
4. Hard Times by Eastmountainsouth
5. Drunkards Prayer by Over the Rhine
6. I Cross My Heart by George Strait (which will be our first dance, I love the words, and what they say about relationships)
7. 103 and Other Things by Late Tuesday
8. Christ the Lord is Risen Today
9. Seatbelts and Bucketseats by Cake (makes me think of Chuck singing this to me in the car)
10. In Christ Alone (will also be sung in our wedding)

Top 10 Broadway Musicals I've seen:
1. Les Miserables
2. Wicked
3. Fiddler on the Roof
4. The Lion King
5. Rent
6. Annie
7. Beauty and the Beast
8. Annie
9. The Color Purple
10. 1776

Top 10 Cities I've Visited:
1. Seattle
2. London
3. Edinburgh
4. Zurich
5. Denali, Alaska (not really a city, but an incredible place)
6. Venice
7. Oslo
8. Copenhagen
9. Portland, OR
10. Paris (didn't love it when I was there, but I think I would if I were to go back now that I'm older)

Top 10 Comfort Foods:
1. California Pizza Kitchen hummus and BBQ Chicken Salad
2. Phad Thai
3. Chai Tea from Fuller's Bookstore
4. Mom's homemade spaghetti sauce w/ tomatoes from the garden
5. Wine
6. Cheese and Crackers (I'm liking Gouda these days)
7. Cheesecake!
8. Vegetarian burritos from Chipotle
9. Lattes with 1 pump of vanilla syrup
10. salads of any kind

Top 10 Life-Shaping Bible Passages for me:
1. Exodus 3 & 4 (the calling of Moses)
2. Genesis 2 (seeing God create BOTH men and women in his image)
3. Psalm 46
4. Isaiah 60 and 61
5. John 4
6. John 21
7. Matthew 5-7
8. Colossians 3
9. Revelation 7:9-17
10. Philippians 2:1-18

My 10 Favorite Blog Posts (from years past, if you're a new blog reader you probably haven't seen these--but if you've been a faithful reader since the beginning of seminary you've seen them...these are mostly theological reflections on things I've learned and wrestled with throughout seminary) If you click on the link it will take you to them in case you care at all :)
1. The Liturgy of an 8 Year Old
(a reflection on the prayer I prayed as an 8 year old, and how it has shaped my faith)
2. This Is My Body
(a reflection on the Lord's Supper)
3. Keeping Our Eyes Open
(recognizing all the gifts we miss seeing each day because we are so focused on our own lives & busyness)
4. An Amazing Calling
(one of my first reflections on the blog from year #1 in school--reflecting on the privilege it is to hear people's stories)
5. Just
(wondering what happens in God's mind when we ask him to "just heal us"--what the word "just" does)
6. If These Streets Could Whisper
(thoughts on being home again)
7. Disneyland is WAY more fun than the Crystal Cathedral
(asking questions about wealth in churches and what it might mean theologically)
8. This Land is Your Land. This Land is My Land. And This Land is NOT our Home
(ranting a little against patriotism and patriotic songs in church)
9. Singles Awareness Day? Not so much.
(Thoughts on celebrating Valentines Day)
10. The Church Is Like a Car...Or the Worst Metaphor I've Ever Heard
(me railing the author of a book I had to read for a class on women in ministry)

Top 10 Things on my "Must Do In Life" List:
1. Become fluent in both Spanish and sign language
2. Visit New Zeland and see where Lord of the Rings was filmed
3. Visit my friend Kelli in South Africa to meet Acres of Love kids & go on a safari
4. Adopt a child from another country
5. Read Les Miserables from cover to cover
6. Visit the Sistine Chapel
7. Visit all 50 states
8. Write a book
9. Witness the Northern Lights
10. Be part of a multiethnic worshiping community

Top 10 Children's Books (because I think stories written for children have the potential to change the way adult's think if we let ourselves pay attention to their messages):
1. Bridge to Terabithia
2. Number the Stars
3. The Chronicles of Narnia
4. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
5. Harry Potter (all 7 books)
6. Charlotte's Web
7. The Quilt Maker's Gift
8. Ramona books (i love all of them!)
9. The Secret Garden
10. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey