Happy New Year! I really like New Year's and this year is no exception. Even though I don't have a whole lot of plans I am still psyched! I always love spying fireworks late at night around this time of year; it may actually be one of my favorite things. Maybe New Year's is one of my favorites because it's all about New. New beginnings, starting over, fresh and perhaps all of those are favorites because that is the incredible business that God is in and I am beyond blessed to have experienced it. What do you like about New Year's?

P.S. After today, face book, I will log on much less. Bloggers have no fear, i will continue to blog!

Some how I managed to get sick. I have an odd pattern of getting sick over breaks. One of the times I was most sick was the day after school let out. Anyway, maybe it was because I went out in wet hair but my hair usually dries pretty fast. Maybe it was all the nasty dry wall air in the new house, but the dry wall guy is covered in that stuff and he seems fine. Well actually with his smoking and other not so conventional habits he seems really fine compared to what he should be feeling. Or maybe, I just got a cold. Weird. Anyway I know a lot of people have been sick over break so I don't want to complain because it is really not that bad. I do have to say I am slightly disappointed because I was working on my New Year's resolution...a little early just to see if I could do it and I was doing really well until I got sick and we had people come look at our house. I didn't have much to do either time so I caved and logged on to face book. Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with face book and I do like it. It's just that I spend way too much time on face book and I was starting to get annoyed. That is one of my New Year's resolutions: very few time spent on face book. Well at least I have until January first right?

Happy Sunday to you and your family! We were knee deep in wall paper glue yesterday trying to strip the bathroom in the new house. An afternoon and some very sore hands later the walls were bare. Gives a lot of time to do some good thinking and talking too. The house is coming along, I think it will be the fastest flip my parents have done yet!

Today is a day, a day that most will just sit still and enjoy the blessings of life. Merry Christmas!

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.-John 10:10

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.-Hebrews 11:1

Wouldn't it be love-ely

One of my favorites of the play. Actually I really like all of them!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5fW7sERw7I

2 Days! Merry Christmas!

Watched the season finale of Monk. Can't believe it's over. That was quite the show, good wholesome tv. Gotta love the Monk in all of us...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but I haven't been entirely sure what to post about so here is just a hubub of posts that could have been I suppose...

It's raining. I love the sound of rain and the fact that I was at home during the rain in pj's watching Regis and Kelly. To all the Caldwellians on my hall, the wish list works, my wish came true! The pic is the view from window.

Our house is even more so empty than at Thanksgiving. Now there are boxes everywhere, I think this Christmas should be called Christmas in Boxes. It's not a bad thing, just part of life. I even think someone should make a Hallmark movie, see I even gave them a title! Oh and some of my favorite quotes of the week: Don't question just pack! Just leave it, it's gonna get worse before it gets better. (the cardboard I was trying to organize by the trashcan) and I discovered that I am slightly inept at putting together cardboard boxes. They are actually really cool once you figure them out.

I went back to the school my family has been at for twenty plus years to get some moving supplies and the secretary didn't recognize me right away and my mom said you look like a lady amid all those teeny boppers and high schoolers. It's only been a year and a half since I've graduated. My how the times change.

We watched Because I Said So last night and it's one of my favorites.

And some great verses in Psalm 80:17-19

"Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. Then we will not return away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved."

Jesus took our place and for that there is no words.

A Book on a Shelf

Books are funny. We packed up the office/library today. I did find a couple to add to my stack of to-be-read books but then again I'm always in a conundrum. What do books do, they just sit on a shelf...waiting to be read or read once, I'll give you that. But don't you wish you could pass them along and others could keep reading them, I guess that's why they came up with libraries. Anyway after saying how awful books are because they just sit on a shelf I was pulling down kids books and so excited to have them! There were Berenstein Bears, Peanuts, classics, and Silly Songs for Kids! I was in another world of fun and soon realized why books sit on shelves-so you can come back each time and enter that wonderful world of adventure. My mom loved to read to me when I was growing up and now I can't wait to read to future students/kids. So what do you think about books sitting on shelves?

Go Team

So today we packed up the craft room, and let me just say it was quite the day. We found pressed flowers, some unfinished projects, and a whole lot more. My favorite was when we were wondering if we the glue was still any good, some of it was green and solidified and the other had taken the shape of the bottle top. It was amazing. We had craft snow that had even solidified. Boy do you have a lot of memories and good times after twenty some years. There was the button box that mom got from a yard sale with Uncle Charlie and her bear beans. They were so much fun to play with. The sticky stamps from the dollar store were pretty gross but we did use them and made quite the projects. I remember running upstairs and painting something, I even pretended like I was on a craft show: Now you take the sponge and dip it in the paint.... A lot of the supplies we decided to pass along to His House and some friends of ours have little girls. I am glad that they will get to have lots of fun! It is hard to pack up after twenty some years but thankfully the memories still last. We did have a few laughs packing up to. I was looking at a cute clay bear but my hands were sticky so I was like he's cute oh my hands are gross, but it translated as he's cute but kinda gross! So in one afternoon we packed up the remaining crafts of twenty some years.
P.S. Though most people aren't liking the weather here in SC I kinda do....it's perfect temp, not too hot and not too cold and its that foggy eerie atmosphere, the trees look really cool!

During this Christmas season, this year, and this life for that matter, so often people go through struggles and hardships. Though you may not have the words to say or the things to do there is always prayer.
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."
-Romans 8:26

Good Stuff

After another long day, SC welcomes me! Mom had a fight with the umbrella and i think she won. The tree is up but a little bare because we get to finish decorating it, Mom says its because she couldn't reach up there. We are watching Martha Stuart and it is just making me laugh so much. These are two new favorites from So You Think You can Dance and the cha cha, my favorite part is the very end, wait for it....

Christmas is here!

So I'm sitting against those awfully cold cinder block walls that only seem to be found in college dorms. I have officially completed my third semester at the soon to be Belhaven University. It has been quite the exam week, we even threw in two fire alarms and yes, the alarm on our hall is RIGHT over our door. Even though I only had a few exams and they were spread out, I am really tired and slightly afraid that I may fall asleep in the hall as I type this. Wow it's only 10 a.m. and I feel like I could use another good night's sleep. Maybe I should just be like elf, "I slept great, I got a full 4o minutes!" Oh man, I have watched that movie so much this Christmas. Anyway, we sure did have some great quotes as always, "Civilization is a moral obligation!" "A big flat lady" (studying Manet's Luncheon on the Grass) oh and from One Fine Day, a study break mind you, "Where do you get a bag like that?" I would venture to say, especially during finals week, every girl needs one of those! I actually can say that I did learn some very interesting stuff: Stravinsky was a great Russian composer but because of World War II he moved to Los Angeles and made quite a name for himself-one of America's 100 most influential people, a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, and he even messed with our Star Spangled Banner and tried to re-harmonize it but was quickly imprisoned because it was illegal at the time. Tchaikovsky too had in interesting life. He was known as "the weeping machine" and had an anonymous widow donor that supported him for many years but they only communicated by letters. He drank tainted water and died from chlorea though some say he committed suicide over a lover. I can also tell you how to care for someone who is having a seizure and that there are many schools, technologies, and counseling help for individuals with disabilities. I've heard of a Polonaise and Mazurka and can define pirouette, attitude, and gand battement. Well I won't bore you with any more details, let's just say this was quite a semester. As for every semester, I think we are all ready to go home. We are as ready as any girl who has lived in a dorm. It's bitter sweet as tensions are high despite close friendships. Well tomorrow I make that 8-10 hour drive once again, and guess what?! Christmas is here! P.S. kudos for those of you who can figure out what the sign says in my picture, yes i am in college, i just forgot that i would've had to write it backwards to make your day even better!

So I took my first exam today. Well sort of. I had one on Monday but it was more like a short test. I'm not sure if I wrote my name on the essay portion because sometimes I forget and just start reading the questions. I was pretty excited about my essays and I even had High School Musical written in my paper. Then I re-read it and thought about it. Maybe since I am in a college literature class I should rephrase that. I opted to just maximize the phrase, "We are all in this together," like some people say. I hope that was ok. Mississippi had snow on Friday and now it's sunny and warm. But hey, at least I don't have to walk to exams in freezing rain. Or maybe that would be better because then I wouldn't have an exam. Actually exams aren't that bad and then I am done the semester! Exams this year are so different from last year. I had three on one day and this year I only have four and only two are on the same day! How weird is that? I actually have a life during exam week. Now that's a blessing!

Well we survived the Singing Christmas tree. One of my friends was actually in the tree but sick and therefore lip-singing. We could still hear him, now that's impressive. Today we explored the dollar tree and I finished some gift baskets for a Christmas party. Let me just say the dollar tree is my new favorite place and I also love lime tostitos...we had our hall party today as well and watched Holiday Inn-great movie, classic! It was completed with chocolate and a bunch of my neighbors cheering for the hero. I especially liked the song "Your Easy to Dance With". Then we went to our College Christmas party and had amazing food and a while elephant gift exchange. My favorites were Dance wit Lisa, the flarp puddy, the paper snowflake taken from Caldwell lobby window, a free pilates lesson, and the BFF cd and glow in the dark light sticks. The CD and glow in the dark sticks occupied us for a good half hour. We also had a blast playing MadGab it's amazing what people say! Well good ending to the weekend, exams start unofficially tomorrow...

Feels like it has been a while since I have posted so I'll give a quick update. This week went super fast, praise the Lord! I had all my dance evaluations and my modern one was actually fun! Then Friday we had formal and can you believe it....it snowed!!!!!! It snowed during the Singing Christmas Tree when the sang Let it Snow and White Christmas :) it was amazing! I have to say that was the first time I have ever gone to a formal in the snow. We ended the night with a very late run to Whataburger. Today went shopping for Christmas baskets and then we went on a walk to Laurel Park and found roses that had survived the snow. Last night we watched the Singing Christmas tree from our window and yelled at the passersby, it was so fun! Tonight we will bundle up and brave the cold....we'll see if we survive!

My dance teacher used the word catawampus to describe our circle of 9 as we attempted to complete an exercise. I secretly celebrated at the use of the word. Needless to say, it was quite the class.

Well scratch the part about not posting. My roommate somehow managed to slice her arm on our bed post while i was gone; it looks nasty, sad. I am waiting for Pandora to upload....So it's spitting/sprinkling windy and my face had nice little splashes on it and my hair got quite wet. I'm super sleepy and this weather isn't helping much. Oh well. Half a class and one class canceled! Ballet Journal about to be written and Christmas music on, now if only I could wake up.

To get in the spirit of things...

Nuttin' For Christmas by S. Tepper and R. Bennett 1955

I broke my bat on Johnny's head;
Somebody snitched on me.
I hid a frog in sister's bed;
Somebody snitched on me.
I spilled some ink on Mommy's rug;
I made Tommy eat a bug;
Bought some gum with a penny slug;
Somebody snitched on me.

Oh, I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas
Mommy and Daddy are mad.
I'm getting nuttin' for Christmas
'Cause I ain't been nuttin' but bad.

I put a tack on teacher's chair
Somebody snitched on me.
I tied a knot in Susie's hair
Somebody snitched on me.
I did a dance on Mommy's plants
Climbed a tree and tore my pants
Filled the sugar bowl with ants
Somebody snitched on me.

So, I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas
Mommy and Daddy are mad.
I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas
'Cause I ain't been nuttin' but bad.

I won't be seeing Santa Claus;
Somebody snitched on me.
He won't come visit me because
Somebody snitched on me.
Next year I'll be going straight;
Next year I'll be good, just wait
I'd start now, but it's too late;
Somebody snitched on me.

So you better be good whatever you do
'Cause if you're bad, I'm warning you,
You'll get nuttin' for Christmas.

Weekend!

Well I am back at Belhaven for two weeks. Feeling slightly intimidated with all that will happen in these two weeks but there will also be a lot of fun events here within these two weeks. Dance evaluations on Monday and Tuesday which is always interesting, hopefully I'll remember all the combinations, I'll just do my best. In the meantime the rest of break was awesome and it was hard to leave. After all, there's no place like home! Last night we had a fire and watched some more movies. The weekend was completed with the 8ish hour drive back to MS. Which, I might add, we saw deer, cows, corn (I think), a safari car driven by a man with a beard (the two didn't quite fit), rainbow, gorgeous sunset, and a lady doing her make-up in the car. We also received numerous travel mercies as there must've been at least four accidents on the way back here. Well, I have lots to do tonight but have been distracted by seeing everyone once again. The blessing of a small school is that I get to catch up with everyone instead of unpack :) oh and I got an amazing dinner with my friend Annie! Since I may not post in a while, here's a few pics from Saturday...note the black eye I gave myself with my hair. Oh and we did do a little black Friday shopping and did get some good deals. One of the salesman was funny, I'll have to tell you about that conversation after Christmas. And please, no questions....its Christmas time!

Happy Thanksgiving! First of all I am so blessed and thankful for so many things...salvation, family, job, school, friends, breath, life, food, shelter, and the list goes on. I have also had such a wonderful day. Started with Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and Santa. Then we made our yummy mashed potatoes from French's recipe...the first recipe we tried was wrong but then we figured it out and it turned out great! Went over to our neighbors and Thanksgiving dinner and played Uno. Ok our neighbors are so great...we have known them for 19-21 years and each new year is exciting. Our first round of uno we played the version where if you don't have a card you draw until you get one, the game lasted a good 30 minutes to an hour I think. Then we played where you can play cards with the same number at any time, even if it isn't your turn. Boy did we have fun with that. Daddy was playing in such a way that we all fell apart laughing. I'm so thankful and happy to say I laughed until I cried! Some good conversation to catch up and a picture to finish off the afternoon. Ran to Bi-lo which I'm happy to say was closed and had to find dad some tea at CVS. To the cashier who helped me, I'm glad I was able to get my dad tea and am sorry you had to work on this day, I hope that the other customers and myself somehow brought some sunshine to your day. The night is coming to a close with leftover mashed potatoes and apple pie by dad and em! MMmmmm, doesn't get much better than that. Oh and did I mention we are about to watch While You Were Sleeping?

13 hours later.....
Speech went well. Late night talks with momma, great breakfast {mom was giving me tips on how to cook ;)}, watching the Bear be as spoiled as ever and back at home. Let me just say there's no place like home. Dad will be home today, mmm apple pies are on the way! Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade tomorrow!

Trying to finish up some last minute school work before Thanksgiving Break -Woohoo- I was reading some good thoughts from Alfred Lord Tennyson's In Memoriam A. H. H....

"Forgive these wild and wandering cries,
Confusions of a wasted youth;
Forgive them where they fail in truth,
And in thy wisdom make me wise."

"That nothing walks with aimless feet;
That not one life shall be destroyed,
Or cast as rubbish to the void,
When God hath made the pile complete;"

"I falter where I firmly trod,
And falling with my weight of cares
Upon the great world's altar-stairs
That slope through darkness up to God,

I stretch lame hands of faith, and grope,
And gather dust and chaff, and call
To what I feel is Lord of all,
And faintly trust the larger hope."

Almost break!!

I am now officially nervous about giving my last speech. It's persuasive and our professor emailed us, maybe because he really wants us to do well, but it kind of intimidated me because he says this one is worth extra and if we do really well and improve, we get extra credit. I don't know if mine is persuasive enough, but we'll see what happens.

can't beat a Disney movie from the 90's, can you guess which one..."A party? Ooh, I could teach you the latest dance step. It starts with, like, a "whoa." And then you get really crazy with the hips, sir. It's fun!"/"It's a perfect ending. No it's a perfect beginning."


so we had a sleepover last night! Woohoo! Our neighbors put together their beds so it was like a ginormous bed, needless to say we found our new movie room! Before that I watched Pride and Prejudice and it just makes me laugh. I love how in that movie and in Anastasia the boys get so tongue twisted, are girls really that intimidating? I guess that's a good thing :). Anyway Our sleepover was complete with Disney movie, Popcorn and chocolate, and concluded with "Say Yes to the Dress," we are such girls :) Good times!

Love these pieces! And I like how they are using technology in dance now a days!

So this week I had to read the Death of Ivan Ilyich by the reknowned Leo Tolstoy. It is actually quite sad and depressing but there are some truisms (if you're like my Bible teacher, a truism is something that you can take away as true) or instances people often find themselves in/feelings they experience. This kind of ended up being a challenge for me that I thought I'd share: live your life to the fullest, you only have one to live, John 10:10. It's also just good writing, some great imagery.

"The doctor summed up just as brilliantly, looking over his spectacles triumphantly and even gaily at the accused. From the doctor's summing up Ivan Ilyich concluded that things were bad, but that for the doctor, and perhaps for everybody else, it was a matter of indifference, though for him it was bad. And this conclusion struck him painfully, arousing in him a great feeling of pity for himself and of bitterness towards the doctor's indifference to a matter of such importance."

"He comes in fresh, hearty, plump, and cheerful, whit that look on his face that seems to say: 'There now, you're in a panic about something, but we'll arrange it all for you directly!' The doctor knows this expression is out of place here, but he has put on a frock-coat in the morning to pay a round of calls." careful to genuinely care

"And the longer it lasted the more deadly it became. 'It is as if I had been going downhill while I imagined I was going up. And that is really what it was. I was going up in public opinion, but to the same extent life was ebbing away from me. And now it is all done and there is only death.' " learn from mistakes and regrets, time flies

"In them he saw himself-all that for which he had lived-and saw clearly that it was not real at all, but a terrible and huge deception which had hidden both life and death." Don't lie to yourself.

"What had happened to him was like the sensation one sometimes experiences in a railway carriage when one thinks one is going backwards while one is really going forwards and suddenly becomes aware of the real direction." I like the imagery on that one :)

"...knowing that He whose understanding mattered would understand." will stand before God one day

" 'So that's what it is!' he suddenly exclaimed aloud. 'What joy!' To him all this happened in a single instant, and the meaning of that instand did not change."

Excerpts taken from The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

What happens when...

What happens when two girls go to Wal-mart with lists? Well if you are me and my friend who can't make decisions and occasionally get distracted you end up making a little trip turn into two hours. Actually we probably only shopped for an hour and we did have to shop for three people. We figured with Rush hour traffic, a few back tracks, a cashier who was nice and friendly, and our combined efforts that took up a majority of the time oh and the stop by the shoes and $5 movies, I mean its worth a shot, we really only shopped for maybe a half hour? What can I say, it was memorable I think that was one of the longest Wal-mart runs I've had but it was worth it. We finished up the night with taco surprise, brownies and Jonah, which I had never seen and let me just say that is an awesome movie! Good night!

The Good Word of the Lord...

This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not tho harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, " declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the lord, "and I will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
-Jeremiah 29:10-14

things you forget

So I was thinking about the foods you forget you love like cheetohs and oreos. MMmmm oreos and milk-delicious! After a rough night at work...Kim had story time and we ate mini m & m's and oreos, it was great and i love kid's books. "'You look like a real prince, but you are a bum.' They didn't get married after all."-The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

I also learned today that holding the plank position for a short period of time, repeatedly, really works your arm muscles. Maybe I'll get buff, nah I don't think it'll happen. Hehe enjoy your week it's almost Turkey Day!

So today it's sunny and 75, just gorgeous and kind of cracks me up because it's November but that's the South for ya I suppose. So I was waiting for a class to let out and it's always fun to people watch....i caught part of a conversation in passing and it just made me smile-baseball players were walking by and the one was saying something about how the guy on spider man, it's not Peter Parker. not quite sure how that came up or what they were talking about but he was very into it and i have to say it was awesome. I was taking a test and one of the questions was "Do boys or girls laugh more when they are reacting to fear?" and all I could think about was "I laugh in the face of danger ha haha ha!" needless to say I put boys, i hope that's right, thanks Disney! I also find it kind of funny that there is actually i thing called fatigue of inteligencia and basically your brain is tired from thinking and that love is the only learned emotion. Oh, fyi, we also learned that there is a difference between being brave and stupid just in case you were wondering.

Doing some last minute studying trying to figure out what i need to know about games, sports, and universal games when i came across a section that was called Families in Transition. This makes me sad.

Have you ever felt like you could solve all the problems of the world, but you know you can't and you are just clinging to the fact that God can, will, and has your best interest at heart? Lately I have just been hurting for my friends and the difficult times they are going through.

In other news, fun stories from my child development class....

The SG SG group which no one ever knew what it stood for, it was topic secret ya know. Well what it really stood for was the sixth grade silly group and when Miss Quinn got a letter from her student who became an FBI agent he signed it as a member of the SG SG group :)

"If you have one good friend, you won't need a psychologist."

"I don't know why you would want a snake for a pet, they don't show you love and they don't make any cool noises like a bird."-Miss Quinn

"A little girl's dad had been arrested or something like that and the next day the kids handled it so well that no one said anything or ever gave her a hard time. I was just so proud of them and then she learned from a mom that two of her students had gathered all the other kids up that morning and said if you say anything about her dad, I'll beat you up! And i was glad because they wanted to defend her and there was still some chivalry in the world....those two boys went into law enforcement."

When trying to figure out a sociogram, it may be askew. Like the time when the little boy who was asked who he would go get ice cream with answered Johnny because he doesn't eat much.

To the adopted child-"You grew in my heart, not under it"

A mom took her Chinese daughter to a circus with little Chinese kids performing and when the little girl saw them she said, "Why do these kids have on my face?"

Hope you enjoyed the stories Miss Quinn has been sharing with us in Child Development. Life is an adventure. Enjoy it, live it!

This week has been quite a week. One of my good friends is having her baby soon, praying for her! I was asked if I'm engaged or close to it because if I was, our dance class would have a coffee day and we wouldn't have to dance. I am not engaged or close to it as far as I know. I spoke to quite the characters on the phone this week at work and though it was rough, I'm learning a lot and must remember patience and that God is in control. I took two tests this week and turned one in online. Did you know that your brain, the frontal lobe, is not fully developed until the age of 25? I ran through beautiful rain and drops were falling off my eyelashes. Watched the movies The Brother's Bloom and it was really good, a few minor details that didn't need to be in there but over all it was really funny and made you think right down to the very end. I love my family and God has gotten myself, my family, and loved ones through another week. Sleep is calling my name....

For all those times I've felt like my hands were tied or I should've said more....

Kennedy Center: Millennium Stage Artist Details for Ken Waldman

Kennedy Center: Millennium Stage Artist Details for Ken Waldman


This artist came to Belhaven and we had such a blast! It was so encouraging to hear that he started learning how to play the fiddle at like 24 or 29, it's never to late to follow your dreams :) As a college student, I just feel like it's a time where every little encouraging word like that means so much and in God's sovereignty those little comments seem to pop up at just the right time. Amazingly, Ken doesn't know how to read or write music but has made up a lot of songs. And as he said, "You can do anything in Alaska!" Check out his poem A Week in Eek if he can.

So i smashed my finger between a chair and a desk today at work. I wacked my elbow on this stick out wall thing in my dorm room. And the other day I stubbed my toe on our wooden chairs, in barefeet for the upteenth time. I'm really not trying to beat myself up, I promise.

In other news this crazy adventure life is getting crazier by the minute, as I watch my friends, family, and myself go through difficult circumstances I gotta keep my mind focused on Christ and keep claiming his promises.

Love this!

So I'm trying to think of another thing to post about seeing as I've gotten into a pattern of 3's but alas I am at a loss. School decided to get kind of hard and I know my heart is burdened to pray for friends and loved ones as each day brings new trials. Knowing that you are loved by the King, and God is good, be encouraged today!

There are some things you just always wonder about. Like when God created Eve, He used Adam's rib. So Adam fell asleep and God made Eve. You just wonder how that worked. Granted God is sovereign so man has the right number of ribs but Adam always had one less I guess. And Melchizedek, he's got no family geneology but he just pops up throughout the Bible, seems like a pretty cool guy, wonder what his whole story was....Hebrews 7:3

So Confessions got slightly better. It's kind of like a movie where there's parts that it could just do without. But some of my favorites...
"higgledy-piggledy, the furniture is higgledy-piggledy"-now that's a phrase we should revive ;)

His view on small talk was also quite entertaining and I do recommend reading that portion of the piece, "In private conversation there is another difficulty, which I consider worse, the necessity of always talking./I can think of no greater torture than to be obliged to talk continually and without a moment for reflection." I got a kick out of this section.

Though I did not enjoy reading certain sections, I did appreciate his view that there is nothing like the love between a man and a woman. He defined a difference between a close friend/brother and the relationship between a man and a woman. In light of today's society, perhaps we could look into Rousseau's literary works once again.

Quotes taken from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions

Performances. I love performances, there's nothing like the butterflies backstage and a smile at the end, live music and a great audience! It was a long weekend with tech and dress rehearsal and a final performance. It went well, though it's always interesting because sometimes you only have one chance, only get to perform it for an audience once. Ironically, dress rehearsals can be better but you just have to trust the Lord that you did your best, and He'll take care of the rest. I am happy to say I now have a normal face, my silver ring to play with when im bored securely on my hand, nail polish on my toes, and the possibility of wearing funky earings once again. To top it off, the Blazer soccer boys won on a free kick in o.t. and I was able to run over and watch the last few minutes! Nice job guys!

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."
-2 Corinthians 5:1-10

What I learned on Friday: if you ask a little one if there are any questions, which you should, be prepared for an answer....

Q-"Do you know how many people have gotten a ticket at that stop sign, Ms. Quinn? 12 since 8 o'clock!"
Q-"Do you know how many buttons are on your dress, Ms. Quinn? 63!"

the point...always ask for questions because it's how you learn. 1. it shows if you learned anything 2. it shows if you didn't get the lesson 3. it teaches how to ask good quetions 4. it's a spring board to find out what they should/want to learn

remember little ones don't understand the concept of a rhetorical question

Oh yes, the joys of being an Elementary Ed. Major :)

According to facebook this is the country song that best describes my life. I like it. This may be more accurate than the one that said I have sad eyes, I hope that one's not so true.

Oh wait Confessions gets better. He just "presented his reader with an apology, or rather a justification, for the petty details he just entered into, and for those he shall enter into later, none of which may appear interesting in the readers eyes." Well i thought things were looking up but now the prospects are a bit bleak. sad.


Excerpt taken from Jean Jacques Rousseau's Confessions

Likes

I like
little things. I like the cheddar cheese squares and perfectly ripe/fresh strawberries. Mountain Dew gets me through, well at least the night. I like to dance when nobody's watching. I like roses and flowers. Music in the background of my life. Time with family (even if we are a little quirky). Ice cream and a movie. A walk on a pretty day. Catching up with old friends. God's word. Deep breaths. Smiles. What do you like?

I know it's been too long since I've posted, sorry 'bout that. Well since I've last posted I have traveled 16+ hours, lost and gained an hour of my life (thank you time change), saw my family and sweet puppy, and been welcomed back to MS with school and clouds but hey it's good to see such loving faces! Right now I should be reading Rousseau's Confessions. Before I go on and explain, why I'm not, let me pause for a second. If I were you, I don't know that I would want to read someone's confessions because you never know what you'll find out. Sometimes I think things are better left unsaid. Don't get me wrong, you should be honest but I personally didn't want to know about some of those things he confessed. It is a rather intense piece and rightly so, I dare say. The Romantic Literature era was all about intense emotion. Nevertheless, I have been trying to catch up on my reading. My Lit. teacher keeps changing the schedule on us but it's ok because I was behind anyway. At least now, I sort of feel like I'm catching up. Came back from fall break and hit the ground running, well after I slept a little longer than I should've. I didn't have an early fall break so I figured it would be ok to have a later fall break if you know what I mean. Well in 5 weeks, after 2 speeches, a whole bunch of tests, some evaluations, some concerts, Homecoming, Thanksgiving, intramural co-ed dodge ball (I'm starting to think twice about that decision) and who knows what else, the semester will be done! 5 weeks + 3 weeks? I think we can do that.

Interesting

Here are some of the headlines that caught my eye on the yahoo news page today....

Botched Bungee Jump Survivor

Battle over cross in desert

Surprise 'Most Influential Man'

Burger King's big makeover

Waiter fired over celeb tweet (and I add, you gotta be careful!)

Giant Saturn ring discovered (and I add, now that's cool!)

Egypt severs ties to Louvre

Proper funeral 160 years later (and I add, it's about Poe,for all you lit people, this one's cool!)

You should check these out of you get a chance, pretty interesting! Compliments go to Yahoo News/Headlines Source: http://m.www.yahoo.com/ Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc.

"What are you the happiness guru Jack?"
"It looks like he's kinda a leanin'."
"It's not good for the baby!"
"Go to your room!"
"These mashed potatoes are so creamy!"

Has to be one of my all time favorite movies :)

To my Mom,
On this special day know how much your loved, Happy Birthday!

"You good days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace and your bad days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace." ~ Jerry Bridges

Hoping that the Lord with "light the fire in my heart again."

"Do you seldom look at the cross?" -The Bookends of the Christian Life by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington

So I haven't posted in a while and I don't have a whole lot to say though I am excited about getting recipes from people. I always thought it was cute and funny when young girls would ask for recipes and I never really much cared until I realized how delicious some of them were and the fact that if I were even to attempt to replicate them, it would help to have some directions! School has gone back to normal after the test days last week but dance evaluations are coming up the following week and then fall break! Woohoo! Sure am thankful for a restful weekend and wonder what's in store for this week...

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."-Hebrews 4:16

Perspective

Hearing and watching two things on the news today, boy was I put in my place, remembering that it's all about perspective. People have lost lives and homes with all this flooding in the East. Here in MS it was crazy yesterday and though my friend I were drenched by the time we got to work and had quite the humorous story to tell, it is a far cry from some of those in Georgia. I also watched rare footage of a school bus and car accident. It was heart wrenching and lives were taken in seconds. Perspective. Are we looking in the right direction or are we stuck with rose colored glasses?

Life as I Know it

Exhibit A: our showers do not drain once again. After taking two showers like this I decided to try second floor. Much to my delight I got a tip from a source who will remain anonymous that a certain shower drains and has an amazing shower head. She was correct and I was super thankful, even if it was a cool shower.
Exhibit B: our refrigerator somehow turned into a freezer. After watching numerous gatorades, mountain dews, a pepsi and chip dip freeze I determined that 5 weeks into the school year I should probably attempt to resolve this problem. So I did some sleuthing only to realize the setting was at 7, the highest possible setting. I quickly turned it down to notch 4 so we shall see if this helps any.
Exhibit C: Scraping arms, hands, knees, appendages on dance floors results in floor burns. Quite painful I might add. I have one on my hand of all places. It blistered. I think I did the step wrong. I should work on that.
Exhibit D: Mountain Dew keeps me up at night. I had three tests today and was able to make it, wide awake, studying until 1:00 a.m. That's pretty good for me. I think I could've even gone longer. I don't like coffee so in this case, Mountain Dew had become my best friend, well sort of. You know what I mean.


The End. Thank you for listening to my college life as I know it as of September 23, 2009.

In other news...I missed a Caldwell fire drill for once. I kind of like Jason Mraz's "Live High" song, a lot. Except, you really have to think about the lyrics because I don't know agree with all of them but i like the sound of the song. Looking at old yearbooks with your boss who was actually in the yearbook is really fun. I think we should revive the dorm prank wars.

The End. Thank you for listening to my college life as I know it as of September 23, 2009.

Some amazing thoughts....
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."-Galations 3:17
We are free! The question then is so simple. Do you live like that? From RUF even, Albert challenged us with all the knowledge of how man is created (how God keeps saying, "I formed you, I made you, I created you"), do you really live like that? The precious creation spoken of in Psalm 139, that's you! You know it but do you believe it enough to merely "trust and rest in God's righteousness." As Pastor Wheat said, "Don't get caught measuring your righteousness but trust and rest in God's righteousness." So simple. So life changing. So what will you do?

Through You the blind will see
Through You the mute will sing
Through You the dead will rise
Through You our hearts will praise
Through You the darkness flees
Through You my heart screams I am free
I am free

I am free to run
(I am free to run)
I am free to dance
(I am free to dance)
I am free to live for You
(I am free to live for You)
I am free
(I am free)
Yes, I am free
(I am free)

Through You the kingdom comes
Through You the battle's won
Through You I'm not afraid
Through You the price is paid
Through You there's victory
Because of You my heart Sings I am free
I am free

Who the Son sets free is free indeed.
Who the Son sets free is free indeed.

Lyrics from: "I am Free" by the Newsboys from their album Go

This is just too cute

So in light of my child development class, this is just too cute. I know it's not a person but its amazing how little ones discover, develop, and grow!
http://video.yahoo.com/network/100000086?v=5982390&l=100000085

Just for Fun

Just for fun....


The word sabotage came about because laborers were upset and threw wooden shoes, sabotes, into machines to mess with them hence the term sabotage.
Cesarean section better known as C-section comes from when royalty, Caesar, would be born and they couldn't sew up the mom and she would be sacrificed for the life of the child.
If you walk before the age of 1 you probably have a high IQ.
At the age of 2, if you double your height that's probably how tall you'll be.
The fact that my art teacher was keeled over laughing at the above picture, from Marriage a la Mode (mostly because of the concept, the couple ironically received it's just reward), kind of made my day and also that i recognized a plow partly because I had been playing FarmTown on facebook. Sad I know. Oh and the story our art teacher told about the poor lady with the cape who tripped down four steps at the movie theater to tackle an adjacent seat, you apparently looked like superwoman. I just wanted to say, we've all been there, feel you're pain, and are thankful for the joy and laughter it brought us 9:00 a.m. midweek.

Picture taken from: http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/print/ra-magazine/spring2007/preview/last-laugh,85,RAMA.html Copyright RA Magazine

God is good. I know that this has been a stressful and busy week for a lot of people but God remains and his encouragement and love is there if we look a little for it. I'm actually overwhelmed with the love He's shown me through friends. After being reminded to "Be still and know that God is God" and a lot of other thoughts, some how things are different.

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who ha gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." -Hebrews 4:14-16

"Why should I gain from his reward, i can not give an answer but this i know with all my heart, his wounds have paid my ransom"-How Deep the Father's Love For Us

Thoughts from the book The Bookends of the Christian Life by Jerry Bridges & Bob Bevington...
Talking about how the Gospel, the realization of the forgiveness of Christ and how utterly sinful we are causes us to love and live the victorious Christian life. I love how in Isaiah after he's touched with the coal God's looking for someone to serve and Isaiah's like ooo Pick me! Pick me! (v. 8) It was a great reminder for me that working for the Lord should/can be so exciting that the fear is outweighed.
"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ. Jesus."-Philippians 3:12-14

And a few more thoughts from chapel....
In my life and yours, there will be divine appointments, often including people. My challenge? Make divine appointments defining moments. "Don't miss out on a blessing because you jumped ship too early." Don't be afraid to "say Wow" when you look back at what God has done.

It's a puzzle

So I suppose a lot happened in chapel today but after hearing similar analogies for the second time I figured God was trying to get my attention. Especially as a college student, it's something I needed to hear. It has to do with trust. I have to trust God with my life and for this I'm so glad. You see God's got the box top of the puzzle of my life. I'm putting together the edges and filling in sections and then I get to a piece that makes no sense whatsoever and may even seem like it doesn't even go to this puzzle. And that's ok because God sees the big picture. Praise the Lord and be encouraged as we trust Him with our lives!

11 Years

It's been 11 years. My Grandpa Mumpower has been in Heaven for eleven years. As we sang Holy, Holy, Holy in chapel today I was brought back to the time when I would play that song on the organ in their basement. Grandpa would come down and I couldn't read music but I played by number and he encouraged me to keep playing. Boy did he love his grand kids. I think I'll always have that image of him. What a privileged little girl I am to have the love of Grandfathers who showed me the love of Christ.

I finished reading the section from Alexander Pope's "Epistle" and section ten blatantly reveals the authors intention. It's scary to me though because it seems as if the lie he portrays is masked in lingo....

"All Nature is but Art, unknown to thee; All Chance, Direction, which thou canst not see; All Discord, Harmony not understood; All partial Evil, universal Good: And, spite of Pride, in erring Reason's spite, One truth is clear, WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT."

I'll five you that discord could be "harmony not understood" as we often don't see the Lords' big picture however, discord could very well be discord and not harmony. Evil is evil, there is no getting around it and whatever is, is NOT right, Romans 3:23 as well as in life when kids simply do the wrong thing are proof of that.

Excerpt taken from Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man" included in The Norton Anthology Western Lit. book Eighth Edition Vol. 2 Copyright 2006

Did You Know?

Did you know....

-that when you are a baby all of your taste buds are in your cheeks and when you get old that's where they are as well since you lose your tongue taste buds and have to add lots of salt to everything

-your nose and ears always grow

-as for relationships, those between siblings are supposedly the strongest...when you're old and sick siblings are more likely to take care of you...it beat out husband and wife and parent child

-by the age of a 3 a child's character is usually determined

-in MS a child's hearing ability is usually checked at birth by seeing of brain waves respond to sounds

Just a few fun/interesting facts from my psych classes and fyi i don't know if i want to grow up.

"Laugh where we must, be candid where we can; But vindicate the ways of God to man."

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast..."

"In Pride, in reasoning Pride, our error lies; All quit their sphere, and rush into the skies. Pride still is aiming at the blest abodes, Men would be Angels, Angels would be Gods. Aspiring to be Gods, if Angles fell, Aspiring to be Angels, Men rebel: And who but wishes to invert the laws Of ORDER, sins against the Eternal Cause. 

"From pride, from pride, our very reasoning springs; Account for moral, as for natural things: Why charge we Heaven in those, in these acquit? In both, to reason right is to submit."

"....The general ORDER, since the whole began, Is kept in Nature, and is kept in Man."

I've gotta think about these quotes. I'm wondering if perhaps in that final line the author was taking the Christian worldview and hinting that because of the order of nature, every man is "without excuse". I like the rhyme schemes and deep concepts though I'm still trying to decide if I agree with the original intent of the author. See the final line could be saying that Man is God in which case, I would disagree.  

Excerpts taken from Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man" included in The Norton Anthology Western Lit. book Eighth Edition Vol. 2 Copyright 2006

Today, the first day of classes was quite a day. I forgot what I had planned to say in speech class as we had to introduce ourselves. It rained a lot so most of the day I found myself quite drenched. My W4 form got soaked and had to be dryed out. We thought we were going to be struck by lightening in the short walk from Caldwell to Gilespie just to pick up a friend only to walk the rest of the way to the caf., across the Gilespie commons which are made of stones that are accidents waiting to happen. Got a key chain from ROTC, unfortunately I don't know that they are looking for a girl like me. Continued to spill tea all over myself at dinner. Went to the mall and got Bubble Bubble gum tropical fruit chicklets. We signed up for free apparel from Dippin' Dots and tried to get a Krispy Kreme donut but the hot now sign no longer eludes to free donuts. In the middle of the day I started feeling that 2:30 nap slot but went to my dance class about that time anyway. (As I wind down, I am starting to feel the lack of sleep but it's ok, I'll pick up some more hours sooner or later. My first class is at 10:00!!! I've had 8's for the past two semesters and am thrilled!). The sunset was just gorgeous, truly one in a million. With all this monsoon rain, the clouds looked so light! Every time I looked there was a different and even better picture. God is so good. The day was ended with some old school truth or dare and quite a few laughs to say the least. The fireball dare even made an appearance. Apparently, fireball dares trump all the rest. At least that's the word on the street. Oh and I also went to three classes today. Dance was a blessing, I'm glad to be back in a studio, speech was alright, and Psychology of the Exceptional Child is going to be a very good and informing class. Well there you have a day in the life of this college student.

Today I re-opened my blister, dropped a can of mountain dew on my foot, and was told I looked awful and needed some sleep. Which, this was probably quite true. But it's ok and I am going to bed.

Be Thou my Vision. I think the words of that song are my prayer for this semester. I'm back on campus and as busy as ever. I forget how busy it gets and tired I can be, but God is good and in the midst of it all, I pray that He will be my glorious vision. Well it's almost 12 and i think i have to get up at 7? whew. Still not back to college bed time. Now there's a catch 22.

So recently I read a book called Compassion by Charles Swindoll. It was a quick read but very powerful and challenging. There were some great passages and excerpts that I wanted to share but for today, I'll just pick one. The challenge: show compassion as Jesus showed compassion. Now that's quite a calling. I found myself failing miserably after my first test. Our neighbor was trying to get a sprinkler to work in the yard of a house for sale and boy was she having trouble. I asked my dad if she needed help and claimed that I wouldn't know how to help. Well, problem A. I asked someone else to help and problem B. even if I didn't know what to do, an extra hand or someone to talk to could go a long way. Sure it's a sprinkler and I could get quite wet but hey it's like 90 + degrees here in SC, I could use a refreshing shower and some laughter. Yes she figured it out and there was no problem but I saw a need and missed it. Hopefully next time, I'll see the need and act.

"Invariably, compassion says, 'Get involved. Reach out. Risk. You can't ignore the person's needs. You care too much to walk away.' "

One Day

One Day. I have one day left in SC before going back to school. I'm thinking about what One Day means. One day this or that will happen. One day my dreams will come true. One day the Lord will return. One day, I'll apologize for that. One day I'll go to Hawaii. One day I'll go back to Kieve. One day I'll see my brother and his wife in their new house in Portland. One day I'll graduate. One day I'll have a Keeshond puppy. One day I'll live life to the fullest. One day I'll reach out to that person. Why should I wait for one day when one day could be today? What will you do with one day?

With all that is going on in the world are own views and opinions a side, though there is a time and place in which it is our responsibility to express them, know that God knows all and sees all. My mom always tells me, "this wasn't a surprise to God." Rest in the Lord today.

Think About It

Two main thoughts this morning

I heard the song I'd Need a Savior by Among the Thirsty. Before I even talk about some of thoughts that were triggered, I really like the name of the group. Among-as much as you like or don't like it, we're all walkin' walks together. The Thirsty-may we never lose the thirst for the living and satisfying water that only Christ can give. So the song, I heard on the radio that God is using this song mightily but unfortunately I didn't get to hear the stories from the group. Nevertheless, it reminded me of the power of the Name of Jesus. All to often I know I forget this. Sadly, the misuse of His name I've ignored, as if I've become immune to it. Now that is something that must change. It's like I heard a comedian say do you ever here someone say oh Joe, when they stub there toe? Likewise the Name above every name should not be taken for granted. It is the only name that saves (Romans 10:13), rescues, and restores.

The return of the King if you will, is something I don't believe I think about enough. Maybe it's because it is all the scary Revelation stuff. But for the believer it is the exact opposite. As a believer, I am called to "eagerly wait" his return (Hebrews 9:28). Though Revelation is scary I believe that God intended it as a warning, fear results from warnings. Without a fear, would we heed the warning? And for believers, it is a call to witness all the more fervently. After all, its is God's desire that no one should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Take a look at this picture.....

Excerpt from John Piper's Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ

" 'By the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself' he will 'transform' our disease-ridden, decaying bodies into the likeness of 'his glorious body' (Philippians 3:21). 'In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye...we shall be changed' (1 Corinthinas 15:52). 'He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall ther be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore' (Revelation 21:4)
And perhaps most glorious of all is the jealousy with which he wil magnify his grace. He will not share the glory of being the grace-giver. Peter tells us simply, "Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ' (1 Peter 1:13). And what will that grace look like? Jesus pictured it in a parable: 'Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them' (Luke 12: 37). It is the grace of God's being our 'Servant'- the Giver-even to eternity."

I went to the eye doctor today and walked in by myself and the receptionist said, "Are you here by yourself?" So I guess i didn't look like I was nineteen. Then i went to Moe's and the check-out lady said, after i had my food, for future reference you can only get this if your 12 or under. And the day concluded with awkward stares from the Hollywood video store people as I tried to go inside when it was closed. It's been quite a day.

I was reminded of what good quotes are in the Chronicles of Narnia. The first movie was on disney channel which in and of itself is great! Then I got to thinking about how God really had his hand on C.S. Lewis' work. Who would've thought that it would be such an epic and timeless story? I always love the image of Aslan and I especially like his portrayal in the movie: kind and compassionate yet as fierce as ever. Can you imagine what it will be like to walk with the Lord? And as humans we are one of a kind, unique just as the 4 kids were in Narnia. I was also reminded of how God gives us the breath of life i.e. Aslan breathed on the creatures of stone and they came back to life. Now for the quotes

"This may be harder than you think."-Aslan to Peter (talking about Edmund, the youngest one's betrayal)
"Do not sight the deep magic with me witch, I was there when it was written!"-Aslan to The White Witch
"You have to trust me, this must be done."-Aslan before going to the stone table
"Impossible!"-The White Witch
"Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a King or queen of Narnia."-Aslan
"He's not a tame lion, no but he is good."-Lucy and Mr. Tumnus

There are many more good quotes from Prince Caspian as well

A high calling...
"May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones."-1 Thess. 3:12

"However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."-Luke 10:20
It's not about anything I can do but what God can, has, and will do.

I've got exactly 5 minutes before I have to leave for dance...so I tried to study bio but didn't get very far (not in that 5 minutes mind you) and it's kind of discouraging when you have to re-learn material because of a cumulative final. I promise I learned something this summer but I don't have a very long retention span for stuff like that and maybe that's why I'm not the best test taker, especially when it comes to those evaluation/placement tests. Oh well, I'll try and study more tonight. In other news we insulated the attic in the flip house down town. I say 'we' in a different term. Mr. Robbie came and helped and I ended up being the go between yeller. Yes, I was the one who yelled out of the window turn it off or on. Then I ended up running up and down the stairs (About the fifth time up and down I figured I should've kept a tally) to bring daddy whatever he needed i.e. bats of pink insulation, stapler, extension cord, well you get the idea. Well the pink insulation is a tad itchy but the environmentally green insulation tastes nasty but is apparently harmless. We'll see. Boy was it nasty and hot here in SC but hey, it only took a morning and we were done by noon. Up I went a minute over, gotta go but enjoy your Tuesday!

I accidentally killed a roly-poly today. I knew it was there too and wasn't thinking and stepped on it in my bare feet. It was one of those instances where I knew immediately what had happened. You see, I'm usually just lazy and don't bother to kill various creatures in my house because they aren't harming me and I don't feel like messing with them so I had seen it earlier in the day but alas it caught me in a moment of weakness. Man, it even made a little squealing sound, kind of like drrll. It was sad. I'm sorry roly-poly.

Quote of the day:

(My biology lab manual on comparing free-living worms to parasitic worms)

"Parasites have complicated life cycles."

"Relationships are complicated."-mom

"Faith yields itself to the promise that God will take full possession and all through the day and night inspire its hope and expectation."

"a faith that begins to see that waiting on God is needed and that quietly rests in the hope of what God will do..."

-Andrew Murray God's Best Secrets

Just Sit Still

"Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and askd, 'Why couldn't we drive it out?' He replied, 'Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.' Matthew 16:18-21 interesting that Jesus tells them to have faith and then tells them He's going to die. That is another subject and one of utmost importance however that is not what I was initially thinking about this morning.

Have you ever felt like your life is a "big question mark". You have something come up and think it's the perfect choice but then your plans just fall a part and you're back in the same place again. It's like you think it's the right choice but in the back of your mind you think what I see may not be what God sees. And it's oh so hard. Don't get me wrong, I am SO thankful that God promises Jeremiah 29:11. It's just that I think that Andrew Murray hits it when he says, "We don't realize that faith must accept and expect that God will, by His almighty power, fulfill every promise He has made." So when jealousy comes of what seems to be like the perfect life, that's not my place. Jealousy aside, and prayerfully gone, what do I have to fear/worry. Am I fearing God or man? After all, I am a child of the King, Daddy is just doing some fine tuning at the moment. It's my job to trust Him. It's my job to just sit still.

In Honor of Edwin Lee Dear

Edwin Lee Dear
March 17, 1959-July 11, 2009

"God sees when the footsteps all falter,
When the pathway has grown too steep,
Then He touches the weary eyelids
And gives His dear ones sleep." -Mary Katherine Dear

Isaiah 25:8
"He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces."

Writing Compiled by Kimber Dear

Dear Family, you are in our thoughts and prayers!

The Joys of Radio and Music

After many hours of biology note cards and about 30 hours over three days of driving time, I have decided that I very much love music and the radio. There's just something about it. It's not like I enjoy just one genre or type of broadcast. Pop, rap, Contemporary Christian, country and the like are up for grabs. As for broadcasts I like the kid shows, a good sermon every now and then, comedy, morning banter, late night call-in-shows and your good ol' conservative talk show. Perhaps its the thoughts that run by with each song and experience or the reality of it. Granted there is time and good use of quiet but more often than not I find myself listening to something.
If the news and weather aren't keeping me up to date, then a song is encouraging or stimulating thoughts. What better way to learn by music, it sticks in your head and you certainly don't forget it. I mean how many times have you been stuck singing an annoying song that you just can't get out of your head or better yet you wake up singing one you love.
Well today was no exception, I did note cards for most of the day and passed the time with Pandora, sure does make it more exciting. Hear are some of the songs I hadn't heard before but kind of liked: Sitting at a Red Light by Susie Luchsinger, Stand by Matthew West, Just Pray by Jason Meadows, With You by Geoff Moore, and Look Like a Fool by Matt Maher. These were all Christian and some of the melodies are a bit old school but the lyrics are powerful.
Anyway, anybody else out there feel like you always have to have something playing in the background? I mean I can even have a book on tape, headphones in with music, and read a book at the same time. Wait a sec, maybe that's not a good thing, I wonder how much of each of those I'm really taking in. It's crazy how I can just tune out other things!

Heard this on direct connection the other day and looked up the video.

Mat Kearney - Closer To Love (Official Music Video) - The funniest videos are a click away

So I got a little slack on posting, my apologies. I should actually be studying for my genetics biology test but I just can't seem to muster up the motivation. I guess the sooner I do it, the sooner it will be done.

Not much new...Josh and Alli are here, as I said before, and we are enjoying that. It's nice to have the whole family home. Strange how you grow up, life goes on, and new families are made but there's nothing like seeing mom, dad, brother, and sister. It's true, you never stop being a mom or a sister for that matter :).

Starting up dance again after a week off and boy can I feel it. Strange how I used to be able to go long amounts of time without class and now I crave it because I now how long it'll take to get back into it. Guess I'm gettin' old. Just about a month and a half until the placement class so we'll see....I've got a lot of work to do!

Well I suppose I should get motivated or at least get it done

So I'm typing this from my iPod, which I must say is incredible! Technology can be pretty amazing! Anyway, I should start by saying happy fourth of July!! I hope everyone enjoys time with their families and catch some fireworks later tonight. Certainly can't forget our men & women of the armedd forces, thank you! And praise the Lord for our freedom. Sure we've had our ups and downs but there's no denying that we've been blessed.

On the homefront, we've loved having josh and Alli home! And of course sharing fresh blueberries with our cousins. We are down in good ok'. Ga and the weather is lovely. You can actually walk outside without immediately sweating. Last night was quite a trip. After all twelve of us had burgers and our fair share of blueberry cheesecake, way to go mom it was so good, we proceeded to play Settlers of Catan. Most of us hadn't played before but if you can get passed the overwhelming rules it really gets interesting. We played teams which really helped and got so into it. It's one of those games where you get all worked up with the role of the dice. Don't be surprised if you find yourself holding your breath. So we ended up playing 'til 1:30am, I don't remember the last time my parents have been up and thinking at that time by choice but they were great! It was like a good book you couldn't put down and we're still not done that game. It was voted to come back today and finish. Somehow abbie and I managed to be close to winning, a surprise to us! Go team!

P.S. I edited this from mom's computer....my ipod battery was dying and the predictive typing made for some unique sentences

patience is a virtue.

Mixed Thoughts

I had a code red explosion today. Much like the tea and purple explosion. Somehow I have a tendency for creating big overflowing spills so much so that they seep down into drawers and it is not cool. At least I know how to clean them up now.

On a much more serious note I went and saw My Sister's Keeper. Stop. If you want to see it, you probably shouldn't read the rest of this but be forewarned you should prepare yourself and be ready to cry. (though I don't think you can quite prepare yourself for viewing or experiencing something like that, I tried and merely ended up quite fidgety, taking deep breaths, and losing all my makeup). Ok so the story line is basically that there's a daughter, Katie, who has cancer, since she was very young. Her sister, Anna, was born In Vitro fertilization so that she could give her organs to save her sister's life. This in and of itself creates psychological and difficult self-worth issues. It's also a question of ethics which Anna and Katie try to wrestle with and force their parents to contemplate. Anna proceeds to sue her parents for the rights of her own body. Meanwhile the whole family is falling apart. The son is forgotten, comes home late and dad doesn't even realize he's been gone, along with Anna, who is merely trying to fulfill all of Katie's wishes and hold it together. Some of the most heart wrenching and difficult scenes revolve around a book Katie makes along with the flashbacks. The judge involved in the case also has a history in which her daughter was killed by a drunk driver. And the lawyer suffers from a disease as well only revealed when he tries for a recess, is denied, and runs out of the room because of a seizure. Once again I was brought to the realization that you NEVER know what people are facing daily.

Anyway, the movie progresses with narration and views by each individual. Katie apologizes to everyone in her family: "To mom-I took your life away as you cared for me, To dad-I took your true love away, To my brother-I'm sorry I took all the attention when you needed it, To Anna-I'm sorry I let them hurt you." I got to thinking how difficult sickness is and how it affects EVERYONE in the family. It wasn't Katie's fault that she was sick and yet she was apologizing for the affects of her sickness.

I appreciated the storyline of the brother, it's honesty. It is revealed that Katie tells Anna to sue her parents so that Anna will have a life that Katie never will. The brother helps Anna, but then realizes his family is falling apart and he has to let his sister go. When he tears up the image of Katie is another powerful and difficult time. Finally, he interrupts the court and pleads for his mom to let Katie go so that their family can heal. Katie's relationships with Taylor is another tragedy, granted it is marked with some joyful times. As he takes care of her on the first day of a radiation or chemo treatment you see the depth of his love for her and shortly after experience her loss. Katie then has something else on top of the cancer to deal with and work through. The role of the dad as well, is difficult as he takes Katie to the beach and has to stand up to or carry his wife through it if you will. This beach scene was really powerful, mom and dad are arguing and yelling at each other over whether or not she should go to the beach and brother and sister are told to get in the car and they are like what are we supposed to do. The dad went through all of that because it was the best for his daughter. I can't imagine the emotions, the heartache, and the joy that develops but this movie gives a little look. Each character has their own struggles and well there really aren't any words to sum it up. It's something you never get over and something you have to deal with when it happens. But I think many of us, if not all of us have experienced at least one of those situations in the movie. There was one significant thing missing in this picture.Praise the Lord there is hope in Salvation. I honestly don't know what I would do if I did not have the Lord and had to go through this.

Personally, as I sat there and balled, I thought about how difficult it's going to be when my relatives and loved ones pass. I have lost one grandfather to cancer and my other grandpa is battling it as we speak. There will be many tears and all I know is that we will have to cling to our hope in the Lord.

On a much more menial level but a blessing never the less, the sun is shining and I think the movie encourages you to treasure and really live out each moment, opportunity, and day. Whew, I get sick and upset even remembering it but at the rate we're going with all of the news and economy, this is our life. The question is how, is our story going to be lived out?

Powerful

How Deep the Father's love for Us by Stuart Townend

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon the cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom


This pretty much sums it up I think. Get's me every time. It's one of my favorites and maybe I'll be privileged enough to dance to it someday!

7 votes

I don't know if anyone's keeping up with our politics but boy did they play a game yesterday. The cap and trade bill, which I'm still surprised it even got this far, was up for election. Though it's a green bill and sure our environment might appreciate it, it's got a lot more damage than good I'm afraid. Even if they taxed CO2 and other polluting gases, companies aren't going to stop emitting them. They are going to have to find a way to pay for the tax and its gonna trickle down to the very people the government claims it is supposed to help. And if we're not producing, surely China and other countries are going to pick up our slack and we'll have no income to even attempt to pull us out of the state of our economy. Furthermore, Obama claims that jobs will be created and the out-of-pocket money won't be that big of a difference-"a postage stamp". Wait a second. I'm old school and postage stamps have gone up to almost 50 cents per stamp, how many people do you know that send mail anymore? Though yahoo is reporting that it's only about a 100 dollar increase per household, I don't know many households that can afford even that at the moment and there's rumors that it could cost as much as $3,000. Maybe not even rumors as it sounds like Obama contradicted himself, he said earlier that 2 million jobs are going to be cut by this AND utility bills will skyrocket! 2 million jobs are going to be cut and you're telling me that it's going to help create jobs? People are claiming that this will put us as a "leader in clean energy jobs" but what good is that going to do in the long run? Aren't there environmental regulations in place already? There are too many holes in this bill, a claim that the bill is "not perfect" isn't comforting. I'm leery about this one to say the least. To top it all off, it passed by 7 votes! Sadly, many bills are passed at odd hours of the night but I do know that many American's tried to prevent this yesterday with phone calls and emails and I think that 7 vote difference resulted.

Check it out: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090627/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_climate_bill

This is a long one but if you can make it through....

Sitting down to write a tribute or a reflection of this past week and these past nineteen years for that matter, I don't even know where to begin. It stirs a lot of different emotions and thoughts.

This week started out rough and is still not over. As America watched John and Kate separate, our hearts broke for the family. Yes they have become part of the statistic but we all hoped that they wouldn't. My plea is that they don't have to become that. TLC decided to stop airing John and Kate plus 8 until August and well, it looks like that chapter is over. I don't quite understand where the excitement of the change that John spoke of comes from or why they claim they are doing it for their kids. Every other word is about their kids but what about their marriage?

Following this, as a South Carolinian, we were informed that our governor was having an affair in Argentina. Of course there were mixed emotions about his disappearance, humor and curiosity, whatever the motives. Putting politics aside, I'm pretty sure that if the governor was needed somebody would have been available to oversee the necessary measures to either step in and/or inform the governor, the outcome is sad. It is not my place to judge and I hope that the media will handle it with some sort of respect. Sanford recalled that it started as a friendship, it digressed from there. I almost don't even want to read or hear about it anymore. It is enough to know that he did it and it is awful, but I don't want to read the emails and know all the details. One act and the consequences are dire, grave, and life-altering not only for him, but for everyone involved.

Emotions from these two stories, well as a young women it brings fear. You wonder who you can trust anymore and marriage has become, though it always has been, a daily battle. It takes work to be a success and maybe now it will be taken a bit more seriously. Now America is shocked if you are married to a member of the opposite sex and if it is both you and your spouse's only marriage.

With the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson well again, where do you begin. Losing anyone is a horrendous, tragedy that no-one every gets over. Farrah battled cancer like so many others and lost. It makes you wonder what you will be remembered for. A smile, an "angel", a heart, a discovery, a sacrifice, an unknown soldier, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, and the list goes on. One life, one death. Did she make it count? And Michael Jackson just passed a physical and died the next day. His story is not the only one that is peculiar. What about the chef who found out he had cancer and died days later. Or the lady who missed Air France Flight 447 and died in a car wreck on the way home? When it's your time to go, you have to go. Jackson was remembered for his infamous Thriller music video and his court appearances. He had fun but like many, he lived a troubled life. Farrah similarly went through divorce and a son who is spending much of his life in prison. You just never know what someone is going through.

With the death of Heath Ledger I didn't know if I could ever bring myself to watch The Dark Knight because he's dead. When he dies in the movie, he's not coming back to life. It hits too close to home and too close to real life. Along those lines, I don't think we'll ever be able to do those fun Thriller steps without a hint of sadness.

So where do these deaths, along with the impending wars in Iran and the nuclear threats of North Korea, leave a young woman. Well, first it puts a new perspective on life. I remember being so upset about the election of Obama not for reasons that most would think but mainly because I didn't entirely know what he stood for, how he would handle the issues of our day. What I did know, well, not all of it seemed good. Yes, I am glad we now have a black president as part of our history, but the fact that his race was even a question and a debate shows that the racial issues, whatever side, have not dissolved. With this I learned that God is in control.

Now I have to take this many steps further. Life and death are in His hands and for a nation and a world that is looking for hope in a hopeless era, be it the economy or wars, the Word needs to spread. People are dying for justice, literally, after the elections in Iran and as soldiers fight to establish and maintain peace in Iraq. Even in the Orange Revolution, the people were not going to put up with injustice and again, lives were lost for freedom. People need to know that "God knows the plans He has for them, plans to prosper and not to harm them (Jeremiah 29:11)." Just like after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, hearts are hungry. People want some sort of morals and justice in the world and I think it is time that the church steps up. It's time for me to take those extra five minutes at the Walmart cash register and ask the clerk how their day is. I need to share a smile. I need to spend less time in the world of the internet speculating and thinking about life, thinking about what should have happened and more time making things happen. I need to show the unfathomable love of Jesus in the New Testament.

How have I gotten to this point anyway. When did I stop asking people how they were doing and instead relied on their hourly face book status update. When did I feel more comfortable texting someone than calling them. Being texting buddies does not result in a life-long relationship. Who knows, maybe this face book era is just a fad and maybe when we have nothing left, we'll go back to making house calls and looking forward to the milkshake at the drive-in. I know this has been said by many before but maybe now, we are all really feeling it and the realization and effects of the internet age are settling in.

Suddenly passing my biology test or missing a movie isn't that important. Listening to a friend who can't find a job to pay for college becomes top priority. Being at the hospital with a loved one or sitting next to your best friend as she watches her dad battle cancer is where I should be. Maybe I'll study in my free time and strive for an 'A' because it's something I can do and though it may go unnoticed, the little things can become big triumphs. "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17)."

I know it will take a decision and following through. I am just as addicted to face book as the next person, but I think it's time to make a change. This may seem hypocritical as I'm posting this, but I'm planning and hoping to start now. Don't get me wrong, they can be beneficial and I certainly don't mean to stop using it all together. It's just that sometimes I guess I lose sight of my priorities. I'm a nineteen year old girl living in a world of uncertainty. It's time to start living and watch the miracles of God's redemption.


P.S. I was looking for a particular verse and couldn't find it but I did find these....

Titus 3:9-11
Ephesians 5:11-12
2 Peter 3