Friday, August 27, 2010

I love Friday's!

Yahoo! It’s Friday. This has to be my favorite day of the week, really.  On the subject of my netvibes tabs, I am still enjoying it. I mostly enjoy the tab with all of our class blogs on it. I really like reading each blog post and getting an insight in to my classmate’s heads. I know some people don’t really care for blogging but I find it quite enjoyable. I think I have a new found love of writing.
      On the other hand, I don’t really care much for the things under the “Things I want to Learn” tab. I don’t really have the time to learn how to dance, and although I have rhythm, I just wasn’t made for dancing. If they had a tab for learning patience or learning how to not stress out about applying to college, I would be all over it. I can always just change the tabs to something more…doable. I could always learn French. Right, because that is MUCH easier. (I also have a new love of sarcasm. Thank you, Mrs. Smith!)
        In my “this is where I am with God” area that needs attention is my quiet time with God. It’s not that I don’t think they are important or that I don’t have time, it’s the fact that I don’t feel like I am doing it right.  My youth pastor really encourages us to have our daily quiet time every time he sees us. He knows the importance and the effect having our quiet time has on our lives. It can be the most beautiful part of your day, the time you look forward to the most.
     That is where I struggle. I don’t really look forward to my quiet time. I feel like it’s something that I have to do, kind of like homework. As believers we starve ourselves by not reading scripture. We look to other people to feed all the right answers to us. I really feel like that is where I am. I find the Bible so interesting, yet sometimes the words on a page feel just like that, words on a page. I want to read the Bible and it actually mean something. I want it to change the way I think, act, and present myself. I want to live on purpose.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Genesis 12

So, Monday was our first official chapel of the year. I think it was in the school’s best interest to hire two amazing Christian men to take on the job as they did. Thank you Lord, no more chalk! The praise band did an exceptional job leading us in worship. I felt like the students were actually into it. After playing a terrible game of Simon Says, where like he said, Mr. Teller wasn’t defeated he spoke on Abram in Genesis twelve.
     The story in Genesis twelve is all about faith. The biggest point Mr. Teller wanted to get across was, “If I live by faith I win. If I live by sight I lose.” Faith is such a hard thing to grasp at times, and most people don’t fully comprehend what it means, myself included. He described it as believing and trusting God, no matter how I feel because I know God has promised good results. Every step Abram took was a step of faith. He was seventy-five years old when God told him He would bless him and make him into a great nation. Seventy-five! I will so be done with my baby making days by that age, but Abram trusted God and lived by faith.
     Faith isn’t just a thing we do on Sunday’s, it’s an everyday thing. It can be so difficult to praise God through our petty everyday trials. I know for me there are plenty of times where I am just ready to throw in the towel and quit. I feel like everything I do is wrong, and no matter what I do, it won’t be fixed. The amazing thing is I serve a God of second-chances. I serve a God who loves me in my angry, sad, happy moments in life. It just amazes me that He loves me that much! It is the least I could do to live by faith daily.
       A struggle I have is listening to God. I am always wondering if that desire is what God wants for me, or if it is what I want for myself. One statement that really stood out to me was “you can never get something good out of doing something wrong.” I feel like if you love to do something than you should do that wholeheartedly. God isn’t going to make you do anything, and He doesn’t want you to be unhappy. As we walk by faith, I believe that His perfect will for us will be more evident in our lives. I feel as long as we go into whatever we do with all of our heart and passion then we can get something good out of it, and it won’t be miserable. He loves us and as we walk by faith we will grow stronger in our relationship with Him.
    

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Modern Day Satire

The Art of Kissing Is Easy
Kissing is easy to transport. It really doesn't matter where you are. You can kiss: at the gym, in the boardroom, in the space shuttle, even in Alaska from June through September.
Kissing requires so little equipment, which means you can do it even when not prepared for the occasion, and even when you have to travel light. This makes it the ideal participation sport for businessmen, world travelers and marsupial groupies.
Kissing always livens things up. Try this: the next time you are in an oh-so-booooring meeting that seems to last oh-so-foreeeeever, why not just kiss somebody. Go ahead; try it. See how it livens things up?
Kissing is legal in all 50 states and most earth-bound countries. Rumors are circulating that kissing will even be legalized soon on Mars, Jupiter and in Afghanistan.
Kissing is 100% biodegradable, so when you kiss somebody, you help the environment.
Kissing is safe to do in a moving vehicle, as long as you are not driving.
Kissing is non toxic...unless you kiss somebody who has just swallowed a bottle of Drano. Even so, kissing is still safe, as long as you do not use your mouth.
Kissing is non-fattening. This is perhaps the best news of all, because dieters now have something to keep their mouths busy while not eating, and smokers can quit smoking without having to chew candies until they a) need to diet or b) induce diabetes. (Read the headline: "Kissing prevents diabetes")
Kissing is organic, low in sodium, preservative-free, low in saturated fats and does not contain dozens of delicious ingredients that cannot be pronounced, like javelchromopntheoremicherbicidic acid.
Most kisses are not tested on animals, but who am I to stifle your sense of adventure?
You can kiss just about everyone: your boyfriend, your aunt, your wife, your veterinarian, the Prime Minister of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick and your pet aardvark. Don't try kissing them all at the same time, though...especially not your boyfriend and your wife.
Kissing meets the toughest safety regulations of any national or international sporting organization. Kissing has a tremendous safety record, except for the occasional locked braces. But a quick call for a AAA tow truck fixes that problem (CAA in Canada, AA in the UK, the local plumber in France) 

Extreme Kissing NOT Recommended
The only recorded deaths involving kissing are by third parties, usually wives, husbands, spurned lovers and other spectators who somehow get past security and storm onto the playing field like that well-dressed gentleman at the Superbowl.
We do NOT recommend "extreme kissing". For instance, don't kiss an on-duty garbage truck; it is considered dangerous. Don't kiss a metal fence-post in sub-zero weather; readers in northern climates know exactly what I mean. Don't kiss any electrical outlets, or you'll look like this.
Are you paying attention? This one is important. Don't kiss the vacuum cleaner if you want to retain all your vital organs. It's OK to kiss sandpaper, just don't use your tongue. Don't kiss a chainsaw; we feel this one is self-explanatory. And don't kiss your office manager while on duty...unless you happen to be a work-from-home hermit like me.
But overall, kissing is so great that it makes baseball, hockey, football and soccer seem like bush league sports. Next time you hear a brawl at your local barbershop, just go in and give everyone a kiss. I guarantee that you will win the argument hands down. And if not, at least you will make some new friends to argue with. 


This text is from: http://www.thehappyguy.com/art-of-kissing.html



This article is pointing out the fact that so many people, high school students mainly, feel the need for excessive personal displays of affection. (PDA) The irony is how the author mentioned how it is legal in all fifty states, non-fattenting and meets saftey regulations. The satire in this article is hilarious. So many people find the need to kiss their significant other in the most public places possible, and they don't even realize it is grossing other people out. The author clearly thinks PDA is a problem and is pointing it out in such a funny manner.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Sudoku, Sooners, and Jesus.

When Mrs. Smith asked us to create a netvibes account for English class I wasn’t really thrilled, at all, with that idea. I figured it would be the same, lame excuse to have fun in class. To my surprise, I actually enjoy netvibes. She encouraged us to check out other blogs and read about things we wanted to learn. I have always wanted to learn how to play Sudoku, so that was at the top of my list. It gave me a website to where I could go and read all about how to play the challenging game. Mrs. Smith also told me that women who play Sudoku are said to have better focus. That is definitely something I lack at times.

     We were also told to make a tab about school related things. I found a website that offers free variety of flute music that I can play anytime. I also chose to follow the official Oklahoma Sooners website. I am a big fan. It provides me with the access of all their general news without having to travel to their website. I bet you are wondering why this matter to you, or how it relates to you in any way. Honestly, it might not but there are tons of activities in the world I bet you are dying to learn. Netvibes can help you set that up to where you can have all of the things you desire to learn most all on one website.

     Mrs. Smith also encouraged us to create a tab discussing where we are in our walk with the Lord. In my daily walk with God I feel closer and closer every day. I know I am not perfect and that I mess up, but it is so awesome to know that there is someone out there who loves me no matter what. This summer was such a huge for me in my walk with the Lord. Ever since the summer before my sophomore year I have been in this state of total growth, and this summer was a vast part of that.

      I began the summer so ready for whatever God tossed my way, starting with one of my best friends, Hannah Jones, living with me for two months after the flood. This gave us an opportunity to grow closer as friends and build a strong relationship that is unbreakable. Then church camp. There is always high feeling after camp that soon wears off in a matter of weeks. I felt this year was different. Our youth group seemed so closely bonded by this experience and people’s lives were changed. I longed to see a change in my friends lives and seeing it was remarkable. When we got home the realization sunk in that our youth group was sick.

        I was selected for my third year at Truth & Peace leadership conference. It is by far my favorite part of my summer. I get to spend three weeks with other students my age that are as on fire for God as myself. This year I got the opportunity to lead a small group of students every night in a devotional time. Coming back to my youth group I really saw the need for specific things, and God put them on my heart.

      I know I seem like I have it all somewhat together, but the truth is I am screaming inside. I would rather be out in some other country than be sitting here in class talking about my walk with the Lord. Something that I have recently begun to learn is that I am on my mission field. God has placed my family in Nashville Tennessee for so many reasons. They might not be clear right now but He has a purpose, and I want nothing more than to live wholeheartedly, with an authentic faith for God.  

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Senior Year is FINALLY here!

Well this is it, Senior Year! I feel like I've been waiting for this moment all my life and now that it's finally here I want the time to slow…down... This year definitely has some great things in store for all of us. So many new additions to our school, a new principal, and for me a new band director, this year is one full of change. It has its potential to be a rough year but I am determined to make this the best year of my high school career. I don’t want to just walk into school everyday and expect the normal. I want to make a difference, and real difference
    As I was thinking about this year, I was thinking about how some people choose to go into senior year with the "slacker" mode turned on full force. Honestly, that would probably be the easiest way to face senior year and at times I want nothing more than to be that person, but not this year. Oh no, I am going into this year with the mentality of Luke 1:37, "For nothing is impossible with God".(Thanks Allison) 
     Being new last year I wasn’t sure how everything was going to turn out but I have made so many new friends that I love dearly, and I am so glad that I get to be a part of the 2011 DCA senior class. I want to create memories that will last a lifetime, which means I will have my camera out every chance I get. I cannot wait to see the things my classmates are going to do in throughout their lives and knowing that I had at least a little part in that is an amazing feeling.
     A couple of sleepovers with the girls and late night talks about what we want out of this year, and we are completely ready for whatever comes our way. We are all amazed at the support that has overflowed out of people’s hearts. I have seen us come together in a way that can only be described as the work of God. I really believe that the flood wasn’t a curse but a blessing for our school. Our administration and community of Donleson Christian Academy have really worked together to make this year one we will never forget.