A. Age: 17 and 3/4 years

B. Bed size: Twin because I have no need for a bigger on quite yet

C. Chore that you hate: Ummm...cleaning my room? It's not a specific chore, just a specific room that I hate.

D. Dogs: I like big dogs...I kind of DESPISE yappy, small dogs though. 

E. Essential start to your day: Brushing my teeth, drinking a cup of coffee

F. Favorite color: RED!

G. Gold or Silver: Probably silver 

H. Height: 5’4

I. Instruments you play: Piano and organ. I can semi-play the drums...very, VERY basic :)

J. Job title: Student, novice Ebay seller

K. Kids: ARE ADORABLE!! And I don't have any yet.

L. Live: Northwestern PA, soon moving to Midwestern, PA

M. Mother’s name: Josanne (isn't it lovely???)

N. Nicknames: Hun (pretty much all family members) Amberello (kid at school), Pin-head (another kid at school) Heather, (Don't ask why!!!) and Jamal.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Never, thankfully!

P. Pet peeves: Biggest pet peeve is people who make pretty much ANY noise while they're eating. Any repetitive noises. Teenagers that feel entitled to be treated a certain way

Q. Quote from a movie: Ummm....no but I have quotes that I say all the time and I don't know exactly where I picked them up. The first is when someone is slightly hyper I'll say "Alright, you need to calm down, sir. You're gettin a little outta-hand." There other is when someone makes a statement I don't agree with or generally says anything I'll say "LIES!"

R. Right or left handed: Normal-handed?? Just kidding! ;-) Right.

S. Siblings: Older sister, Elissa, younger brother, Dakota.

U. Underwear: Are good to wear!! Especially clean ones in case you get in an accident ;-)

V. Vegetable you hate: Not a fan of pickles. Which are technically a vegetable, but are considered a condiment in this crazy, modern day society. 

W. What makes you run late: Being ready to leave but waiting on my parents to leave because I can't drive without one of them yet.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth and lungs. They thought I had pneumonia. 

Y. Yummy food that you make: I make lots of yummy foods!! :) Apple crisp, apple pie, coffee cheesecake squares, homemade chocolate cake, mashed potatoes....the list goes on :)

Z. Zoo animal: Polar bears, penguinos and sea lions!

Weight loss encouragement

Hello world! Hello! Just a little quick update on life before I write what this post is about. Some of you knew, and I don't remember if I posted or not, that my father was starting a church in Butler. That is the area God has called us to, and we were just waiting on God's timing to get a building etc. Well, April 14th, 2012, the first service at Power of God Pentecostal Church was held. God has blessed us so much in the past month! We've had over 50, I believe almost 60, folks from the Butler area visit church. We've had quite a few that are return visitors and we can't count on them being in service. The Lord has blessed the work so much! We will be moving down there this summer and beginning the school year in the Butler district. God is good! :)

Well now to what this post is really about. I've always struggled with my weight. I've never had a problem with obesity or being extremely overweight, but exercise and healthy eating just don't really get along well with me AT ALL! I know that I am not "fat" as some people say, but I also know that my body is a temple of the Holy Ghost and that I could be a lot better. So, if you hear me talking about losing weight or exercising, it is not because I feel overweight. It's because I know I could be so much better, and it's laziness that is keeping me from achieving my goals.

As of late there are a couple of things that have inspired me to lose weight. So I finally decided that this summer is going to be the summer I do it. I'm going to stop making excuses, get out in the great weather and work towards a better body. Pinterest (Lord we thank you for the inventors!!!) has been a source of great inspiration. Little says and quick workouts that burn a lot of calories have caught my attention. So I decided that I would use Pinterest as my motivation and make myself a 21 day "calendar" of sorts to use to exercise. I've seen that it takes 21 days to form a habit, so I did this little system for that many days. I'm going to post pictures to help as a "walk through."

This is the front of the card. As you can see, there's a countdown with the days completed and days to go. I then added an encouraging saying. I didn't add the date until after I exercised. 

This is the back of the first card. I wrote the "Goals for workout" on the back of all the cards and filled it in, and wrote the "Workout done:" but left it blank. After I completed my workout I filled in the bottom section. 

The front of the second card. Notice there isn't a date because I haven't completed it yet.

The back of the second card, which isn't filled out yet because this is only day one.

And the last step :-) I filled out the card for day one, but I'm obviously not posting it because I don't want the world to see my weight, measurements, or what I ate today! But anyways. Again, I add the date when I'm actually filling it out. Just a quick note...I'm also doing picture documentation to see the difference in what I look like after I'm done. In the picture section I write what I was wearing so when I go back through the pictures I'll be able to tell when each one was taken. 

If you can't tell from the pictures above, I hole punched all of the cards and put them on a key ring. I hope this might be helpful to someone! Good luck in all your weight loss journeys! :)

Discipline = Love

Hey everyone! First off, I would like to start this post by talking about something I've noticed since starting public school. I've known it for a long time, but I REALLY noticed it at the beginning of the year. Kids these days are soooooo disrespectful. I KNOW I'm not perfect, but I am in NO WAY that deliberately disrespectful. I will be the first to admit that I have a slight *ahem* temper, and that sometimes my mouth gets the better of me. And that is a flaw I have worked on, and continue to work on. But anyways, the disrespect just gets on my nerves SO BAD!!! Kids feel like they have some sort of RIGHT in this world. Honey, you have the rights that are given to you by the government, but after that it's all open. If your teacher gives you a little "extra" homework assignment, SHUT UP ABOUT IT AND DO IT! Yes, I know how it feels to get overwhelmed and have a million things going on at once, but there's no need to run down your teacher. If you have an issue with what's going on, GO TO THE TEACHER!!! I hate, hate, HATE, how kids back bite and constantly disrespect the teachers in our school! There is such a PRIDE in my generation. They feel like if a teacher disciplines them or gives them something to do that they've been wronged in some way. Not so! Grow up and do what you're supposed to do, people!!

But now I'm gonna get to what this blog post is really about. I heard on the radio this morning a clip of a dad talking about his disrespectful 15 year old daughter that was posting statuses about him and her step-mother on facebook. He took the laptop that he had just worked on for 6 hours and spent $130 on upgrading and everything to have it running at top performance, and shut it 8 times with his .45. There is a big controversy over whether or not he did the right thing. I say, "KUDOS!!!!!!" I won't post the link to it because of the language used by the daughter (he reads the letter) and he lets a swear word slip out one or two times, but if you aren't convicted about it, I would suggest looking up the clip. I was reading through the comments, and it constantly showed up and bothered me when people said "oh she's just a teenager, you shouldn't have done that." I'm sorry, but I would NEVER EVER EVER EVER speak to my parents like she did, and I never have. And I'm a teenager. And the fact of the matter is, he BOUGHT her that computer. That father had every right in the world to shoot it. She was using a PRIVILEGE given to her by her parents to disrespect them. And I don't care WHO you are or how old you are, you NEVER tell your parents that someday when they're too old to wipe their own behinds you're not gonna be there. Ugh! And the other thing is she had just been ungrounded from a 3 month grounding for something similar!

Another comment that kept reoccurring was saying that she'll never forgive him and people saying "Good job, you ruined what little relationship you had with her." Honey, if you can't grow up a little when you're 15 years old and realize that Dad is doing what's best, you have issues. There comes a point when kids have to realize that their parents aren't trying to hurt them, and that they are doing the best they can to raise spoiled children. My parents have embarrassed me and yelled at me. I've been mad at them. That's normal. But I've gotten OVER MYSELF and apologized and changed because my parents were doing it for my benefit. Parents do things out of love, and out of not wanting to see their children grow up and be leaches on society, but be productive contributors.

There's another rant for ya. Seems like I'm stacking them up ;-) What do you think? was it right for him to shoot the laptop and post the video of him reading the letter and talking about it to her facebook wall?? Input desired! :-)

Venting

As a disclaimer, I do not intend for my blog to become a place to vent. But for this moment, and because I think it's an important topic, I'm going to vent a little.

One thing I absolutely, positively HATE, is RUDE people!!! I can't stand it! It drives me absolutely crazy! Especially rude teenagers. Who gave you the right to be mean to me?? Who gave you the right to get an attitude with your teacher just because she's doing her job?? And who gave people (mostly girls) to sit in their high pedestals and tear other girls to pieces verbally??

Yesterday I was on the bus and I wrote a message on the window. A girl in the back of the bus asked what I said, so I told her, and this girl sitting diagonal and a seat back goes, "Oh, you're cool." This isn't the first time she's done this. She sits and listens to my conversations, then she talks to her sister about them, and really doesn't care if I hear her mocking me. I'm not a stuck up person. I don't care if people listen to me, but I HATE it when people are rude. The only time I've ever spoken to EITHER of them is when I wished them a happy birthday, and the one day like half the bus was having the same conversation, including them. So yeah. Example 1 of a rude person.

Example Number 2. I was walking to my locker today and this....*ahem* small child, aka FRESHMAN, ran into me. This wasn't the first time this child has done this. And it makes me upset. I know that accidents happen and people bump into each other, eSPEcially in a crowded hall, but with him it's just carelessness. He walks without looking where he's going and pretty much just goofs off and expects everyone to make way for him. And it really bothers me. Today my temper got the best of me a little. He ran into me, than stood there like pushing on me, WHILE STILL FACING BACKWARDS, and expected me to move. I *shifty, ashamed eyes* shoved him with my arm and was like "Watch out, Kid!" He's like "YOU watch out." that's all I said, and I'm ashamed to say I did get angry. I got to my locker and my adrenaline was rushing....it was an interesting experience.

But I just told you about those two kinds of people to tell you not to be rude. It makes people around you upset. Some of the nicest people at school are the people I like most. People that smile and are really friendly and happy and sweet are my very favorite people in the whole world. Just do something nice---Smile, and be polite. If you're a rude person, you have no clue how many people would like to give you a piece of their mind. So be nice!!! :)

Stay Strong

Well everyone, I started a new blog! It's called "Stay Strong" and it's pretty much for all of us Apostolic/Pentecostal young people. Of course ANYONE is welcome to visit, but my posts will be aimed towards people my age. Whether it be modesty, witnessing, or experiences, I hope that it will be an encouragement. So, please stop over and show some love! The web address for it is www.unchangedinachangingworld.blogspot.com And I know that's like SO long but I couldn't think of anything else, and it's easy to remember.

Hey I'm back!

....Ahem.....hey! Over here. Yeah.....I"m that blogger that you forgot has a blog. I'm also the blogger that forgot I have a blog....Sorry!!! It seems to be a reoccuring trend with me. Blog faithfully for a while, big event happens, I stop blogging for a few months. I'm not even going to apologize though! I have been busy being 17....school!!!

I have started public school, and honestly, I love it!!! It has been somewhat of an adjustment for me. Not really a culture shock, but I have been introduced to the "real world" in the sense that I have discovered what people really are. They backbite, the spread rumors, they are two-faced. They act like they're your friend, than talk about you right in front of your face to someone else about how much they don't like you. BUT-It's life, and I realize that. No, it's not something I WANT to happen, but guess what---IT DOES! I have discovered this, and now I just live with it. In the worlds of my father, "I live a life where the only thing they can say bad about me is 'that girls thinks she's better than everyone----she won't talk bad about other people.'" That has been my goal since that conversation. I want the only "fuel for their fire" to be that I'm "that Jesusfreak" (YES! someone said that about me, and I LOVE IT!) or that I'm that girl that is friends with all the weird people.

It's now the new year, and a few of my "Resolutions" are quite simple. I'm actually not much of a "resolution" or "goal" kind of person. But, my resolutions for this new year are very straightforward. 1-Faithfully invite, and bring people to church. 2. Keep my GPA at 3.5 AT LEAST. 3. Get IN SHAPE!! Yes, round is a shape, but I'd rather not be round;-)

Do you have any resolutions?

FLORIDA!!!

So, as you all know, my family and I took a much needed vacation to Florida. It was absolutely AMAZING!!! I had a blast just traveling! The vast difference in terrain along the East Coast is just amazing!! I have to say, I think my favorite state is Virginia. It's absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!! I can't even describe the majest of the mountains and the beauty of the rivers and valleys. I have a friend there that told me "It's God's country" and I have to agree, although it's ALL God's country. Just beautiful! Part of Virginia being my favorite state is the fact that I didn't see South Carolina or Georgia in the day time;-) I won't bore you with all the boring details of my trip, I'll just share a few pictures :-)

Oh! I'll share these details because they're NOT boring!!!! The Archer's and the Johns' are AMAZING people!!!! God has surely blessed their churches with caring pastor's and pastors' families! Both families were so incredibly hospitable to us, and I can't thank them enough for the kindness and for welcoming us with open arms. The chuch families of thetwo preachers are AWESOME and the good teaching they've had over the years shows BRIGHTLY. At both churches we were hugged and told how much they appreciated us. I even got the Hispanic kiss on the cheek from one sister. Love you, Becca;-) Just AMAZING!!!

BEAUTIFUL mountains in Virginia!

*Gag* I ate Gator tail!!!! It actually tasted pretty good, but the batter they fried it in was really salty, almost as salt as the ocean, but it made me nauseous thinking about what I was actually eating.

They're gonna just love me for this pic, but my family at Busch Gardens.

This might possibly be the cutest thing I've ever seen!! A baby cheetah was out playing with it's doggie friend, and it was sooooo cute!!! Believe or not, that cheetah was as big, or bigger, than a full grown lab or retriever/hound mix, and the cheetah is 6 months! omw! So cute!!!!

Really cool wall somewhere in one of the Virginias

*Ugh* Dinner from the night before.

Riding down the big hill on the Log Flume. We. Got. DRENCHED!! I was NOT Happy!!!!! lol My hair looked like I stuck my finger in a light socket for the rest of the day. Ugh!=/
He looks so cute and innocent when he's sleeping. Aww!! :-)

The one sleeping looks cute--the one standing by me, however, is VICIOUS looking! They're just UGLY and mean! That one was stalking back and forth just itching to get out and eat the little children that were walking back and forth in front of him.

Bad pic of me, BEAUTIFUL pic of my cousin, Melissa:-) She's 8 months pregnant and absolutely adorable, and so sweet!!! :-) Her and her husband gave us a wonderful breakfast!

Ya'll have no clue how hard it was to get the pic. First we had to get the lighting right, then we had to get the poses right, then we had to get the aim right....oh my! It was a hassle! Did I mention that I had to jump up and push the button, then run back to the couch and act like I'd been sitting there?

Melissa, Jason, and Lucy, and Baby Baldwin :-)

The lighting in this picture is kind of off, but I LOVE it!! These girls are just wonderful! It's Rebecca (the Hispanic who kissed me;]), Jamie Johns, me (duh!) Lucia, and Stephanie Johns, the Johns' daughter-in-law.
Jonathan, Tommy, and Joshua.

Tommy. The guy that's like the gentle giant. That guy is SOOO tall!! Se where my shoulder is?? I had on FOUR INCH HEELS!!! And then the hair is like another 4-5 inches and I'm still shorter!!! lol The average sized guy looks like a midget when I'm in high heels with tall hair;-)

Tommy and Elder Bro. Johns, the "grandpa" of the church. Such a SWEET elder!!! :-)





Stephanie and me---I love her!!!!!

Stephanie and her husband, Bro. Jesse Johns.

Bro. Johns and Daddy after some good food and fellowship!

My mom and Sis. Johns. We learned something neat when we were in Miami. Sis. Johns' sister, Becky, is the one who witnessed to my mom, helped her pray through to the Holy Ghost, and gave her her first Bible study!

Sis. Johns and me! She is easily one of the sweetest people I've ever met! I fell in love with her very quickly. She is a true lady :)

Daddy in Bro. Archer's church. He preached a GREAT message!!!!

Dakota and his new-found friend, Jonathan. I'm glad he had fun!

10 ways I'm viewed

10 Words You Would Use to Describe Yourself:

1) Christian

2) Lonely

3) Friendly

4) Happy

5) Content

6) Loving

7) Compassionate

8) Talkative

9) Blessed

10) Flawed

10 Words a Stranger Would Use to Describe You:

1) Happy

2) Friendly

3) Bubbly

4) Snobby (until they meet me)

5) Crazy

6) Christian

7) Outgoing

8) Long-haired

9) Modest

10) Conservative

10 Words Your (Blog) Readers Would Use to Describe You:

1) Unfaithful

2) Crazy

3) Descriptive

4) Long-winded

5) Insightful

6) Senseless

7) Cheery

8) Talkative

9) Promoter-of-other's-blogs

10) Compassionate

10 Words Your Friends & Family Would Use to Describe You:

1) Loving

2) Opinionated

3) Compassionate

4) Lover of God

5) Silly

6) Talkative

7) Annoying

8) Cheerful

9) VERY girly (been told that a lot recently lol)

10) Lover of my family and friends

and for bonus points …

10 Words God Would Use to Describe You:

1) Obedient

2) Submissive

3) Easily molded

4) Passionate

5) Forgiven

6) Flawed

7) Loved

8) Valuable

9) Thankful

10) Needy

If ya'll have any other ways you see me, please do tell!! :-) Good or bad ;-)

VACAY!!

Well ya'll, we are about to take our annual vacation. And this year, the lucky state that gets us as tourists iss.....FLORIDA!!!! I am soooooooo excited!!!! Crazy, right? It's just a vacation, right? Nothing special, just going to a beautiful sunny state that most of America has visited at one time or another. WRONG! This is my first REAL vacation this year. Yes, back in July we went to Albion, but for me that wasn't really a vacation. Had some major life decisions hanging over my head that I made at Camp, soooo it wasn't really a "break" from life at all. So, going to Florida is gonna be my little time of rest and relaxation before school starts. Oh, and something else that makes this trip extra special is the fact that I've never been to Florida, OR seen an ocean!! We are going to Fort Lauderdale and Miami so we'll be very close to the ocean, and no doubt will go to the beach. *Squeals* Eeeee!! So excited!!!!! Anyways, I'll try to get LOTS of pictures to post when I get back!!

My heart

My heart.........

5QF

1. Do you have siblings and are you close with them?


I have two siblings-My 21 year old sister, Elissa, and my 13 year old brother, Dakota. I would consider myself close to them, but in different ways. I think I will get even closer to them both in the coming years. Something that is SO sweet with my brother is how he has turned into being a compassionate little boy. I'm not gonna lie....there are days when I want to ship him off to a desserted island and he drives me CRAZY, but other days we are super close and he's so loving! I spent three days at a friends house, and last night he hugged me and was like "I just wanna hug my sister!" And then Elissa....well we are just close and we miss each other since she's moved out! lol


2. Would you rather be slightly UNDER weight or slightly OVER weight?


Hmmmm that's a hard one! Right now I'm overweight....I dont think I've ever been UNDERweight...Sooo.....I think probably overweight. Even though I'm overweight right now I don't look bad and I feel just fine.


3. What's your favorite State Fair food to splurge on?


I would have to agree with my MAMA. Funnel cake is AMAZING!!!! I get it almost every time we go to the fair....mmmmm so good!

4. What are your thoughts on your kid(s) going to school in a few weeks?
Well since I'm the one going to school, I'll answer it from my point of view. I'm soooo excited!!! Again, like my Mom said, this is mine and my brothers first year in public school. It's exciting!! I'm thrilled!


5. Pool or Ocean? '
DEFINITELY the pool!!!!! Nothing has died in it.....there aren't all kinds of animals eating one another in it....no chance of jelly fish lol I like swimming in a pool! Lol

Have a great weekend everyone!

So everyone, I have SUPER exciting news! On Monday, I FINISHED SCHOOL!!!!! FINALLY!! Most people get out of school for the summer at the beginning of June....not me! I'm my own person-an original. I get out at the end of July! *rolls eyes* Yeeah I'm just cool like that. So anyways, I finished Monday, and now I get just over a month of summer vacation. Woohoo!!

The other exciting news is that this Friday and Saturday my dad and I are going to Bro. Streeval's anniversary services....aaaannnndddd Kristi might be going with us! I'm SOOOOO happy!!!! I love that girl TO DEATH! :-D So yeah, we might stay in a room together. It will be fun! :-D

And I left these two pieces for news so you can go have yourself a good ole' shout down in the Lord. Last Wednesday night, Josie, a cousin of a family in our church that has visited us every summer for like 3 years, was filled with the precious gift of the Holy Ghost! and THEN, tonight, EJ, a guy in my church has come to our church for almost 2 1/2 years received the Holy Ghost! God is SOOOOO good!! There is REVIVAL IN OUR CHURCH!!!!

He's the Master of the Ocean

This is a quick, random post to let you all know that I absolutely LOVE the old songs!!!!! It's been a while since we've sung some of them at my church because there are just so many good ones!! A few of my favorites are "Master, the Tempest is Raging," sung by Jesse Dixon, "Leavin' on my Mind" by the Haven of Rest Quartet, and "Somebody Oughta Testify" by Dottie Peebles. I was singing both of those all day today, and then after church I looked up "Leavin on my Mind" and on the sid was "Master, the Tempest is Raging" and I clicked RIGHT AWAY!!! I looooove it! :) I was sitting there just about bawling because of the power I could feel!!! There are a few lines that stick out to me from the two hymns.


The first one, from "Master, the Tempest is Raging," says "There's no water that can swallow the ship where lies, the Master of the ocean, the sea and the sky." Something about that stuck out to me tonight. I've heard messages about having Jesus in your boat and things like that. I guess tonight I just really put the connection together. These thoughts are going to be a little bit scrambled, but please just try to get what I'm saying.

Ok, so we can compare our lives and our walks of life with the boat. Obviously, we want Jesus to not only be in the boat, but to be controlling it. For the sake of this thought, pretend that we are driving the boat, and Jesus just wants to be in the boat. Well we're going through the "sea of life" on our little boat, and we hit the storm, or the problems and trials of life. The line, "There's no water that can swallow the ship where lies, the Master of the ocean, the sea and the skies," is saying that even if it seems like Jesus is asleep in your boat, your trials can't overtake you. You might be fighting the hardest struggle you've ever faced. You feel like God isn't there, that He doesn't even give a thought to the fight that's going on, but if you have Jesus in your boat, even if it seems as though He's sleeping, you can't hear His voice, you can't feel His touch, you don't feel direction, the storms and trials of life Can. Not. Consume You.

I have this friend, and she will know I'm talking about her, (hope you don't mind Buddy!) that has been going through a trial for three years. I won't go into details, but there are times when she feels like she'll be consumed, like she can't go on. If I was going through what she's going through (essentially it SEEMS like Jesus is asleep) I don't know if I could make it. But through it all, she has kept a steady prayer life. She's faithful to church, submissive to her Pastor--she has kept her walk with God even though it seems like He's not there. She is an INCREDIBLY faithful, and good saint, although the trials of her life are HUGE! But I know and in her mind, she knows, that because Jesus is in her boat, even if it seems like He's sawing logs in the back, this trial cannot consume her. He's the Master of the ocean, the sea, and the sky. He controls the dark clouds, the waves that are crashing against her boat. He is over all of the little sharks in the water that have tried to hurt her and bring her down (♫ Lalala, he's a jerk;)♪ Inside joke) I know that in the very darkest of hours it seems like God isn't there, it seems like no one understands, the trial will never end, the wounds will be reopened over and over and never heal, but I'm telling you, THIS WILL END. There are seasons, and a season doesn't last a lifetime. There are cycles, and God knows just when you're season will come to an end. When you are through this, you'll be able to see why it happened. "Farther along we'll understand why" as the old song goes.

I really didn't mean to say any of that, but about half-way through I started crying and just felt to try to encourage someone. God is there. He really DOES have it all in control. When life seems it's craziest, God is still there, He's still walking beside you, protecting you, helping you.

Ugh!!

I'll admit it right away, although I'm sure you'd figure it out by reading further---I'm annoyed!! VERY annoyed!!! I was going through the Yahoo homepage, as I usually do, because they usually have interesting stories. The other day they had an article on strange hotel rooms. There's a hotel that is underwater, and the workers scuba dive down to you and deliver you pizza for food. I thought that was pretty cool. Right now there's a story about a guy riding his bike on a lake--cool stuff. Then there's an article that just eats me up!!!! It's called "The disaster that the world forgot."

Back in September of last year, a big earthquake hit New Zealand, and there were around 180 people killed. I can't remember it extremely well, but I'm sure there were rescue funds and everything, and I'm sure an amount of awareness was raised. You can ask almost any teenager, or even adult, that you see walking down the road a simple question like, "Who's Justin Bieber?" or Or "What's the biggest movie right now?" anything to do with modern news or entertainment, and they'll be able to asnwer you correctly. You ask them about a little city of 39,000 people called Christchurch, and 99.9% won't even know what the city is. Do you know what Christchurch is?

It's a city in New Zealand that has been hit EVERY DAY SINCE SEPTEMBER with an average of 20 earthquakes a day, 7,500 total. It just made me SICK when I realized the priorities of the media!!!! On the front page of Yahoo, there are four stories displayed, in this order. "Rebecca Black Debuts New Single," "Teen's Bike Stunt Defies Logic," "Embarrassing home run trot," And then FINALLY "The Disaster the world forgot." How sickening is that? There are 36 other featured stories on Yahoo's home page, and among them are a story letting everyone know about a golf star and his girlfriend breaking up, the NFL games being even longer this year, a baseball player hitting the ball so high it broke a light, a story about two celebrities who stayed out of the limelight for years, and quite a few other ridiculous stories.

Has our country become so heartless that we care about "Is it ok for kids to sleep in the bed with their parents" or Ivanka Trump's baby girl more than we care about a city that can't live a normal life because of the disaster that strike's daily? I can't even IMAGINE having my house destroyed, but really not being able to rebuild it because I know it'll be knocked down again. Imagine you're brushing your teeth in the morning and all of the sudden the ground starts shifting. You're out for a walk with your dog through the rubble in the street and you're knocked off your feet because of an earthquake. It's terrible, yet for a town of 39,000 people, it's their every day lives.

Let's not forget what's really important! And I'm not judging, because even for myself, sometimes my priorities get messed up. BUT, personally, I don't think that the media should be allowed to get their priorities messed up...I want to know the IMPORTANT stuff!

My grandma

Well everyone, I just wanted to post about my grandma. I am VERY VERY blessed to have a grandmother that loves me and cares about me, but is also my pastor's wife. She isjust absolutely AMAZING!!!!!! She is a wonderful example of what every woman should strive to be like----a true and graceful lady! I just LOVE her!!! :-D She's an amazing example of a mother, wife, grandmother, and first lady of the church :)

The Will of God

Hello my lovely people!! I come to you today with my head ducked in shame....it has been two months since I've written to my blog. Honestly, I've had no motivation or inspiration. Well, my inspiration came a week ago, and my motivation hit me just now.

The topic I present to you isss.....*drum roll* "THE WILL OF GOD!"

We (my dad, brother and I) attended a church camp in Albion, IN last week. I must admit, that camp is the cream of the crop! Amazing move of God and PHENOMENAL preaching! Bro. Keith Smith from Charlotte, NC preached Monday night about evangelism, and I have to tell you, God confirmed to me the reason I decided to attend public school, and it also stirred up a HUGE desire for evangelism, which is the reason I'm attending public school. All of the morning services were taught by Bro. Kevin Archer, and his thought for the week was on the Will of God. He taught four different aspects of the will of God, and I'll tell you them in a minute.

The second night, Tuesday night, there was no preaching. The children's choir sing and the Holy Ghost fell in the room! Little children everywhere had their hands raised with tears streaming down their faces, seeking the Holy Ghost. Wednesday night Bro. Bow preached "The Great Escape" and talked about breaking chains that hold you. He read where the Lord gave "some deliverance" to the children of Israel. He was talking about the man (I can't remember....it had "boam" at the end) that was in partial freedom for 17 years. He talked about how some deliverance allows you to worship and feel the Holy Ghost on Sunday night, but Monday morning you're chained down again. It was a really good message and there was a LOT accomplished that night!! Then Thursday night Bro. Bow preached about Two Women. He talked about awakening dreams that have died in your life. Again, WONDERFUL preaching! Friday night, no preaching again.

So Tuesday morning, Bro. Archer preached "What is the will of God." He talked about how misused the phrase "will of God" is, and how people just throw it around. It's hard to summarize an entire message, but his main point was "The will of God is what your pastor preaches." If your pastor preaches that you don't wear the color brown (never heard of that, but it's just an example) then the will of God for you is to not wear the color brown. If your dating standard is 18, (a relevant thing in my life there) than the will of God is that you do not date until you're 18. That message really helped me! Then Wednesday morning he preached about embracing the will of God. A lot of people feel like if you're in the will of God than you're going to be miserable and everything you hold dear will be taken away from you. That's not what the will of God is. He wants to make you happy, and He will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS give you what is best for you. The will of God is something to love and embrace. You embrace things that you hold dear to you. You embrace something you love :) The will of God is something to LOVE! The will of God, or the plan of God for you life should make you happy! I tmakes me absolutely THRILLED knowing that God has a plan for my life, and if I'm sensitive to Him and stay in His plan, I will be as happy as is possible for my life. And that if I follow His will, I will have the best of everything in life! It is such an amazing feeling to submit and embrace. I don't want to have to try to figure out what I'm going to do in my life....GOD has it all in control! I don't have to worry about if I'm going to get married, because God knows, and HE has the perfect, let me say it again, THE PERFECT man for me! I don't want the responsibility of planning my life or trying to find my own mate. ~When God sends you your spouse, he/she will walk up beside you, take your hand, and you'll keep walking together~ Bro. Kevin Archer

I really cannot describe to you how much that one message changed my life. No, the will of God might not be the easiest option at the moment, but in the long run you will have a LOT less pain than if you followed your own will, and God will make you happier than you could EVER make yourself. For the first time in my life, I had to make a conscious choice to follow the will of God. I've never come face-to-face with a decision of whether or not I'll follow God or do my own thing. And I'll be completely transparent, it wasn't an easy choice for me. I had to sacrifice my own self-will on the altar....I DID have to give up my will, cry, ask God to help me, ask Him to give me strength...I DID have to tell him, "Lord I don't particularly WANT to do this, but nevertheless, Thy will not mine." Already, God has shown to me that He will bless me for it. I can't explain to you what it feels like to know I'm listening and obeying.

In the past 3 weeks, I have felt pain like never before in my life. I've hurt more than I thought possible, I've cried more than I have in years, and I've been more lonely than I've ever thought I would be. BUT, I know that God is there for me....although we can't see Him, He is there. He understands us better than we understand ourselves. He cares about us more than our best friends did. It NEVER ceases to amaze me how God knows what we need, and when we need it. I VERY MUCH needed the messages about God's will at Camp. And then, Sunday night, my uncle Tim was talking after altar call and the one thing he said was "You don't have to be lonely." Even now, seeing that just makes me weep. I'm so thankful to know that God is always there for us. When friends we thought would be close to us forever turn away, when we lose ppl we thought we'd have for the rest of our lives, and when circumstances happen and we are separated from those we hold dear, GOD is there, and HE will never go away. He won't turn His back on us, He won't ever ever ever be separated from us. God is SO good! :)

~My life is not my own, to You I belong. I give myself away~

Happy Mother's Day!

To my beautiful, amazing, understanding, graceful, elegant, lovely, and superb Mama-I LOVE YOU!!! Happy mother's day! This is a day that always makes me think about how thankful I am for all the years you've put up with me. It makes me thankful for all the hugs you've given me when I was absolutely a mess, and upset, and wishing that someone cared. When no one else cared if I was upset or not, and nobody else knew, YOU knew and YOU cared. You've never once laughed at the dreams of my life, or the thoughts that I have. You're supportive of anything I want to do! You have a HUGE part of my life, but you've let me make my own decisions. You taught me for most of my life what the wrong and right decisions are, and now you're letting me make them and learn. To some people it's not a big deal, but I appreciate you not controlling my life. A simple thing like school, for example. Many people choose their kids' education. You and Dad have given me the choice to decide what I want to do, and I really appreciate that! You've told me my whole life that you won't choose my spouse or my career, you just want me to be happy. I thank you for letting me live my life, but still being kind of the guard rails to make sure I don't fall off and make a mess of everything. You are THE BEST mother EVER! :-D I am SO GLAD that God gave me to you!
I LOVE YOU!!

Well everyone, I just had the most amazing and fantastic week EVER!!!!!!!!!!!! On Tuesday, when Jonah first got here, we came straight home (after King's of course) and hung out for the rest of the evening. Sister Melinda and her kids were here, and then later on that night Wayne and Angela came over. Wednesday, we went to the mall and then had church later on where he got to meet all the wonderful people I've been telling him about for nine months, and been chomping at the bit to introduce him to!

Thursday, we went to Niagara Falls and Hibachi, which were GREAT as always! Friday, we went to the Erie beach which was soooooo cold, but fun anyways! Saturday, we hung around the house for a while, Dad and Jonah talked some, and then we walked to Corkey's and got some ice cream. After we got ice cream, Elissa drove us to Drake Well to take some pictures, then we got my awesome baby cousin, Madeleine, and went up to the church. Jonah and I cleaned the sanctuary while Dad, Dakota, and Jared were outside doing yard work. No, Jonah isn't afraid of hard work, but he was in a white shirt;) Then, after the church was cleaned, we went home and had AWESOME sausage, gravy, and biscuits, and hung out at the house for the rest of the night. It was awesome!!

Big Fire at Hibachi's....they pour a bunch of oil on the grill and set it on fire.

Drake Well

Sunday was Easter, so we had our Easter dinner at Cross Creek after church. It ended up just being my mom, Elissa, Jonah, my aunt and uncle, Madeleine, and me. It was a lot of fun! Sunday night was church, and afterwards was Sister Melinda's surprise 40th birthday party, and yes, I did just tell everyone your age;) figured you could use a good support system during this time!!!! Monday was spent doing absolulely NOTHING, (except going to Walmart and running all over the hillside trying to find some stupid self-adhesive, protective lining envelopes!!! We bought out CVS AND Rite Aid!!! And no one else had anymore!) Oh, and we also had company too! My grandparents and the Kregiels came over for dinner, and oh boy was it ever good!! Lasagna with all kinds of desserts and garlic bread....OH! And I can't forget the PEPPERCORN!!!

Tuesday of course was the very sad day that Jonah went home. Overall, I think we both did pretty well. The only thing that hasn't been good with me, is I have been EATING like CRAZY!!!! I keep saying, "I need to stop eating!" but then I just pick up another piece of cheesecake to shut myself up. It's TERRIBLE!!! And I don't understand WHY I've been eating. I'm not even hungry, just feel like eating food!:-/ Well anyways, I just thought I would let my bloggie friends know what's going on with me. I will talk to ya'll later!

IT'S OFFICAL!!!

I believe I have officially gone off my rocker! But then, most of you probably already knew that! It's been 9 months since I met Jonah, and I haven't seen him since then (obviously.) Well we found out back in February that he was going to be visiting, and we started the "countdown" at 63 days, exactly 9 weeks before the date he is to arrive. Weeelllll, as you can see from the countdown on the side of my page, only about a day and a half to go!!!!! He's getting here early Tuesday evening. One of the guys in my church, Wayne, was sooooo kind to allow Jonah to stay with him! When he's here we'll be going to Niagara Falls. Hopefully we don't go to Canada this time!!!! Well, we'll be with Dad, so I don't think we'll have to worry about that! Mom tends to be the one that gets lost;) Oh and we'll be going to Hibachi! Hopefully we can get some good pics of how they cook the food and make "Big Fire" so you all that have never been there can see! It's AMAZING!!! Anyways, back ot the point! Because I'll be pretty busy having fun (sorry to everyone that has to work! Muahahahahaha!!!! :p) I probably won't be posting the whole time Jonah's here. Soooo until next time, Adios!!! See ya later alligator!! Hasta La Vista! (hopefully that's right) Talk to you later! Bye bye now!;)

All alone!:'( *sniff*

Alone--the feeling that no one cares. The feeling that you're the only person in the world. Feeling like no matter what you go through, what you say, what happens, you'll be all alone, with no one to care about you.

No matter the good, you won't be recognized, and even if it's bad, you won't be reprimanded. You'll be, to put it matter-of-factly, invisible. Even if you cry out, it's like no one hears you. When you speak, it's as if the people around you are deaf to your words.

That's the feeling I have as I post today. It's been weeks, and a recurring feeling shows up several times a day. My heart begins to race in anticipation, only to have my hopes shattered, and thrown to a merciless wind that carries them away. Does anyone else get this feeling??

Well, I know my mom does. She once posted about it on her blog as well, here. I hope now that you all, as my good friends and family, are wanting to know what it is that I'm so alone about. And hopefully, because you all love me, you'll want to help me feel like I'm not the only person in the world. Well, what I'm so upset and lonely about, is the fact that I get no..............

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People don't ever stop to give love to my blog!! Often times, I get all worked up anticipating just ONE comment, but alas, there are none. It saddens me beyond understandabilty!