it is true, i am another year older...

i had a good birthday yesterday! i enjoyed getting messages from people, cards, calls, text messages, super fun gifts, and i guess even getting sung to by the entire youth group. thank you all for making my birthday extra special, you don't even know how much that meant to me!!!

last nigt i spent the night at amber's. michael was over there for a little bit. he got amber and i frosties and then we swam for a little bit. and "binky" the bat kept swooping at michael's head, which let me tell you was hilarious!!! and then i just got way too cold so my swim time was over. and because of going to bed with wet hair... well you get the horrid picture....

but that is it i guess. thanks again everyone! i hope everyone has a great day!

happy birthday "L"!!!!!

summer nights are perfect

work=boring & long (sometimes... like today)

oh and pretty sure i can only either take off for paint the town or my aunt's wedding! urg! i only need off TWO days for my aunts wedding in delaware. just two! and i want to go to paint the town, which is pretty much a done deal...so i guess i might not being going to delaware which equals conflict

anywho...

tonight was great fun! becca and i went to marble slab and then to starbucks. it is far too cold inside starbucks, the tables were taken outside, so it was to the crime scene area for us! we had a great conversation! then we went to her house to watch a movie. this never happened. let me tell you why: two indecisive girls. not a big deal though...we looked at pictures and talked more! if only i would of hung out with her more before! and now she is leaving in like 2 months! sad. i love you becca!

so yeah, tonight was loads of fun! just exactly what i needed! God knew that would just lift me up so much! praise God for all that he is doing in my life! he totally revealed things to me through becca that i couldn't even see because of being so blind to situations! wow. God. wow. speachless.

it is off to quiet time and sleeping time for me! i hope everyone has a great day!

still super excited about 11 months!!! thank you amber for calling and wishing me a happy 11 months! thanks for knowing how important this day, me and God's day, truly is for me! you are great!!!

anywho, so today, after the nuns and all that jazz, i came home and spent some time with God. during this time a thought occured to me. it is father's day. wow. so i looked up, said "happy Father's day, Daddy." today most definetly your Heavenly Father deserves recognition. and for my dad, i drove up nashville to cook him dinner. it was really nice. i went on a walk down to the railroad tracks with my grandma to take pictures... then here comes my uncle flying up the road in his great big van... hmmmm.... i want to finish taking pictures i think and he is just ruining it...well actually, the thing is, he saved our lives... just a block over a woman walking got shot randomly by some man...so yeah, that was enough picture taking for me. haha. that is east nashville for ya... on the way home i was able to look in my rearview mirror at the perfect sunset. amazing. good music and great art all around me.

so it has been one interesting day all around. church was even super fun because of the guest speaker we had! that made my day. haha. well that is all folks. i bid you farewell for now. don't forget to wish the BEST dad EVER a happy father's day!!!

so you ever just briefly wake up from sleeping, just for a minute, realizing something? like the time or a random thought comes into your mind. well pretty sure that happened this morning... however instead of rolling over and going right back to sleep this persistent thought kept nagging away in my mind and kept me up. it frustrates me when i think too much over things that don't need that much thought in the first place. i have to keep reminding myself it is not a big deal, and it really doesn't matter...oh well... somethings i just simply do not understand....

on a much lighter note, today marks 11 months of no dating!!! God has showed me so much during this commitment! especially this past week. he has really just taken hold of my heart. my prayer for this last month is that i stay focused and finish up strong. i can already feel satan trying to get my attention (this morning for example). so please keep that in your prayers!

well, i must get ready for church! i hope everyone has a great day!

*edit* haha haha haha!!! i just got back from kroger and there were nuns eating ice cream at ritters!!! haha hahah haha! if only i had a camera phone... i attempted to take a picture, but it was in my car driving by trying to be discreet, so it is just their heads, oh well........

photo from rachael



photo from rachael


this was the hottest model in gap-- man, those uneven arms!!! and sarah was lucky enough to hold his hand! fun times!

tonight some of us went to starbucks, walked to the mall and then went to target. it was a lot of fun! sarah and i went to marble slab and then to northfield playground. on the fun road we bumped in to a construction cone which was SUPER fun! (on purpose kids!), but a word of advice, just look for the two unidentified people doing unspeakable crimes in the papers and in the news...trust me it will be there, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon--oh yeah it will be there alright!

well, it tis that time folks. time for me to go. i am sorry. i do realize that i am terribly entertaining and you wish i would write all the time 24/7...haha yeah right. anyway, my good friend in a little place, you might of heard of it, New York City, wants me to watch conan. so i must high tail it to my room to watch. so adios my fans. until tomorrow...

*edit* i have decided that cell phones can be pretty dumb. especially when you can walk all over your house and not get any service!!! hello! i am home! not in the country, not in the middle of the ocean, not up in the air...gah, i'm just at home, sitting in my room!!! "can you hear me now?" NO! i don't have flippin service verizon!!!
...oh oh! now i have service again!!! i wonder how long that will last... not that it is 1:08am anyhow, i guess it doesn't matter this late anyhow...

there is nothing better than walking in to work greeted by little arms wrapping around my legs because they are too short to reach anything else. i love those kids.

apparently, tonight some of us cool kids are going to starbucks around 7:30. i highly suggest that if you have no other plans and think you are cool , then you should come. it will be fun!

wow. i love big stuf. it is amazing.

basically, i went to the beach one day, for like 20 minutes. but i am perfectly fine with that. the rest of my time was spent getting to know people and more importantly restoring my relationship with my love, Jesus. He worked in my heart this week. giving me awesome visions and healing my heart that was so far from Him. the new speaker was really good, and of course Louie was great. and he even spoke to clint DURING the message! it was exciting! and tuesday night worship.... WOW. always the best worship! i love our youth group--tons of dancing! it is one of the most amazing things to open your eyes and see nearly 1500 students and adults raising their hands in praise to their Father. wow. i put some pictures from the trip up, not many though... i took over 100, so i just chose a few for right now.

but, my dog has escaped...and i keep calling her and hearing her, but she will not return. so i must try to get her in and then spend some time with God. i hope that everyone has a great night!

in my quiet times...or any other time during the day really... God keeps asking me "Child, where is your hope?" that i must say is a good question God.

hope:
-To have confidence; trust.
there is even a definitition refering to Christian hope:
-often Hope Christianity. The theological virtue defined as the desire and search for a future good, difficult but not impossible to attain with God's help.

how many times have you gotten so wraped up in lives storms? drowned in the crashing waves below? how many times have you lost your hope--that confident assurance of the FAITH we have in Christ? (hebrews 10:22) i know that for me it seems like it is so easy to do whenever i feel like something "bad" is happening to me. yes, i turn to God, but i feel burdened... i drown, so to speak, in the crashing waves--- get lost in the storm. life isn't going to be easy, that is a given. especially for us christians, we are fighting a spiritual battle daily. BUT, because we are christians we have HOPE. we should know and believe that God is in control. trust Him despite what circumstances bring us down. He takes care of every living thing. and you are far more valuable than the flowers or birds... and He will take care of you. we have victory in Christ!!! that alone should give us hope. we should have confidence that God will take care of us. God is our shield--he will meet all of our needs. let your hope rest not on your circumstances, but on God. always having hope and joy despite what is going on because you know that God is in control and that he truly is God. i love that second defintion. "NOT IMPOSSIBLE...WITH GOD'S HELP" he is God, and anything is possible with Him. keep your eyes locked on Him. never let Him out of your sight.
don't be like the children of darkness by hardening your hearts, live as children of the light and hope. (eph. 4:17-24)

"we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, HOPE. and hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" -romans 5:3-5

i really don't know if that made any kind of sense at all... but there you go... i just thougt you might like to know what God is trying to teach me.

i hope that everyone has a great night. big stuf is the day after tomorrow... even if it does storm (ok maybe not a hurricane...) then it will still be awesome! it is not about the beach, even though it is beautiful, it is about God. that is why we go to things like that--to experience God. let Him captivate your heart!

photo from rachael

today was fun fun! and the most unexpected thing happened... i got red and little red wavy lines on me! i thought for sure i was dying...and layed there stuned, face down, in the pool until amber pushed me. i know it is crazy...it should definetly be on ripley's believe it or not. just a thought....

last night was so much fun! i love how God can completely change my heart and fill me up with his overwhelming joy!!! the last couple of days have been very difficult, BUT GOD!!! He has been teaching me a lot and healing my broken heart! He is amazing! blue coast was fun...and the ride over there was great too! it is always fun belting out "friends in low places"! after that jarrod, jonathan and i went to starbucks. a lot of mtcs people were there and sarah, rebekah, and eddie were there too! there was a crime scene and all sorts of craziness! rebekah and i spent the night with sarah and it was a lot of fun!!! we played scene it, well kinda did, we sure cheated a lot! but it was fun. we were rather delerious by the end of all that. and i now i am sitting here telling you all this... and getting ready to go to amber's! and then i have to get stuff ready for big stuf!!! whooo hoooo! i hope everyone has a great day!!!

photo from rachael

ok ok finally!!! my internet is now restored after like almost two days with out it. praise God!

anyway... i went to the airport yesterday with the moore's. it was extremely hard. but! [thank you nathan for making me feel a little better by giving my long lost friend, mr. moose! that was great! and not only thank you for that but thank you for all the memories and good times in the boro...sitting under the stars, andy davis & mustard dragons, playing catch, picnics, movie nights, playing games, late night talks, playing on playgrounds, silliness, randomness, the rain, pushing me to be better, being patient with me, appreciating me, laughing at me in a good way for being delerious or just plain silly, starbucks, understanding me, that look, waiting, and all that jazz.]

last night instead of going to the hampton's house we all met up at thomas's baseball game. man, some of those parents get REALLY invovled in the game... it was rather scary at times.

so yeah, work was far more involved then my normal cleaning thing. they are actually teaching me things now. so i will know how to care better for special needs children. it is kinda stressful now, but i guess i will get the hang of it.

well, i gotta get ready for church. and then two more days and it is off to big stuf!!! yay! i hope that everyone has a great day!

[i am a child of the light...so i must hope]

well...

i finally won a game of scene it. yay for jonathan and i!!! i also had home-made ice cream!!! oh, and i got some cool shirts!!! always fun times at the moore house. love it.

i am getting up bright and early to go to the airport. i took some medicine to help me sleep tonight... but because it is so late, i know that i will still have the effects in the morning. i guess that is what starbucks is for....

well buh bye

[i'm going to miss you]

i love it when it just randomly starts raining for a little bit during the day in the summer months (ok ok i know it is not summer yet, but you get my point). i like to just listen to it fall...

didn't sleep worth anything last night. too much on my mind= no sleep and a headache.

saturday is big stuf! i love big stuf! it is amazing. however, we have a new speaker this year... i hope he is good. though, do not be discouraged all of you past big stuf kids, louie is still gonna be there... just not stuart hall.

i feel like watching a movie... yep, i think i might just do that. i hope that everyone has a terrific day. seek after God and glorify Him with your life. adios mi amigos!

*edit* watching home videos... the old times, the good times, the best times. love it. i always had that old video camera in my hand making something. ah great times.

tonight i got treated to all sorts of fun things... due to an absence on my real birthday (june 22nd!!!), i got an early bithday suprise. we had a little picnic, went to a carnival, watched a movie, and just talked... one of the greatest nights. [i never got suprises before you]

sandy, the dog, yep, she is in love with me

well, now that i officially feel like there are little spiders crawling all over me... i think i will go to bed. and for those of you still up, you can always go outside look up to the stars, realizing just how small you are and just how BIG God is. great quiet time right there. God is amazing--- and that doesn't even begin to describe him.

[beautiful isn't a bad description--- in the english language that is one of the few words that even comes close... and that still doesn't even measure up]

does anybody else just love the chase credit card commercials?

tonight was nathan's going away party. it was so much fun! even at a going away party, God can speak to you. that makes Him pretty cool. clint, robert, and i sat and listened to God speak through jessica powers. it was amazing. it made me realize that my passion is missing. i remember when i could talk for hours about God, the things he was teaching me, discussing different ways of reaching people, and being so excited to spend time with God--- the Creator, my Father, I AM. that is incredible i can even speak to Him... as i was listening to her talk, i just kept asking myself where my passion went. it is so important to keep your focus on God. know that He, alone, is the only thing that you are living for. do not live for things of this world. take your focus off yourselves and everyone around you. put your focus on God. let His love flow from you. if you know that he meets all your needs and have your gaze set directly on him--- wow. he will blow you away. every moment counts. taking a second to smile at someone, to say hi, to listen... whatever. live your life to the fullest... making the most of every opportunity. live your life to become more like Christ. it is that simple.

so along with God opening my eyes, the girls lost scene it 3 times... but i think we would of won if it wasn't for the same questions being played like 50 times. matt also made a short film and entertained us by being ET... fun times.

well, i am off to bed, but i hope everyone has a great night!

photo from rachael

playing in the rain was fun...

i got off work two hours early! yay for me!

as i was driving around... so patiently waiting for amber to get home... i felt like an emo kid. let me take a moment to explain why: i had on my chucks (which i haven't worn in a while), i was listening to "brick" by ben folds, it was raining, and i was in deep thought. totally emo. however, i am thinking that stopped when i got a sonic blast...

my emo poem>>>(woe this life... the flowers and the rain... your eyes twinkle like the stars... woe my life...blah blah blah)

it is 6:35 and i am getting ready to go to work. how lovely...

last night i even had to make a lunch... all i need now is a juice box. i'll even get to play today.

but it is june! my birthday is this month!

and the birdie my mom brought home, the sick one, he is still alive!

ok ok. i am delerious. it is too early. i am shaking head and typing. and saying this out loud in a funny voice. and eating trix... i am kid ^^^ see juice box and lunch statement above.

ok ok ok. i have to go now. have a great day!