I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Neh. 6:3

Reading Response-"Reading as a Writer"

2012-01-23T11:22:00.000-05:00

From this passage I learned that it is very important to 'actively' read. By this I mean constantly be looking for the author's claims, purpose in writing, and who the author is directing his/her message to. I feel as if I currently do this fairly well but something I noticed that I can do better is to pay closer attention to who the author is directing his/her message to, or the audience. In the first example, "Cultural Literacy", the author was clearly writing to a more knowledgeable audience because his word choice was very intricate. He also used many scholarly people as examples. I can do a better job at keeping my eyes open for these things in other essays so I can better identify who the message is directed to.

In my research I can do a better job of making sure my resources fit my audience. For example, since I am writing my essay on the royal wedding I will probably not need to use very scholarly sources like the author of "Cultural Literacy" did. I should be looking more at magazine articles or news reports of the event. Doing this will give me credibility and also allow my audience to understand the purpose of my message.

Last night's reading made me realize that when reading a paper you must look for things such as purpose, claims, and who the audience is. This will allow you to understand what the writer is trying to communicate and appreciate his/her message. You can also provide better feedback if your are looking for those key elements in the paper. This awareness and ability to give helpful feedback will not only make you a better writer but also improve other author's work.

Welcome Back!

2012-01-17T08:33:00.000-05:00

So I created this blog back in my freshman year of high school and almost forgot all about it until I tried to create a new one for my English 1102 class. So since I already have a blog I will just use this one for English. :) Feel free to ignore all of the posts from 4 years ago unless you are crazy bored and really have nothing better to do. Lol

Spring Break!!

2009-04-11T20:54:00.005-04:00

I know, I know, I haven't been posted a blog in a bajillion years (sorry Brandi) so I thought I would type one while I had some time.

spring break....YESSSSS

I am enjoying spring break! We went to Albany to see the family for the first part of the week but other than that we have been sitting at home reading the twilight series all week! It has been soooo nice! My dad had surgery on Thursday so he's still recovering but it all went well and it shouldn't be too long before he's back to feeling good.

funny story...so like I said we have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING this wonderful week of spring break...well the other day it was rather sunny outside so I though hey, why don't I try to get a little tan seeing that all of my friends will probably coming back to school with tans from going to the beach. So I went outside and basked in the warm sun for uhh I dunno 50 minutes maybe and hour at the most. (you've gotta know though, it was in the evening and the sun was low) So I come inside thinking so much for trying to get a little tan, i'm probably still as white as a ghost. I go along with the evening when suddenly I began itching. (just to fill you in a little, I get sun poisoning very easily...) So I go look in the mirror and sure enough I am BURNT!! I couldn't believe my eyes. So much for trying to tan! lol

here are a couple pics from our redneck weekend in Albany Georgia...

I let the cowgirl in me come out...

and the redneck =)Alex wasn't too sure if he liked all the gnats

haha...yup, pure redneck

I hope everyone else had a great RELAXING week because I think we can all agree that it was MUCH needed! =)

Xtreme Winter 08-09!!

2009-01-13T19:34:00.003-05:00

over new years the VL crew headed up to Gatlinburg Tennessee for the Xtreme conference. we had a BLAST!! we were only up there for three days =( but they were the best! we got to hear some amazing messages from Dr. Ergun Caner, Josh McDowell, Tony Nolan and Johnny Hunt. Also we got to hear some awesome bands that were AMAZING! there was Barlow Girl, Unhindered, Rush of Fools, Third Day, Relient K, KJ-52, Newsong, and my favorite Flights From Egypt! ;)

well as always the VL crew can't go anywhere together without coming back with a story to tell...so....like i said we were only up there for three days, BUT we probably got a total of 8 hours sleep the whole time we were there...if that. so on our long drive home SOME of us had a little trouble staying awake. we tried to keep this person awake by giving him mountain dew and whoppers but this is what we got instead...

following this was a long conversation about the Oakridge boys which ended in Joe singing El Vira (wish i could have gotten that on video!l lol ) so yeah the ride home was definitely one to remember. here are a few more pics from the trip.

the girls on new years

me and megan on the way

third day and barlow girl

this one's for Brandi!!

2009-01-07T20:22:00.006-05:00

so yes i realize that i haven't updated in a while but being a teen gets a little crazy sometimes!! lol im going to try my best to update more but im going to squeeze all the latest info on whats been going on lately to make this a short post.

so yes being a teen......where should we start....ahhh i have it.....DRIVING!!! yes i am driving not by myself yet but still im on the road so make sure you are wearing your seat belts at all times especially if you see a little black car drive by. ;) actually im not that bad...i think. im getting really comfortable and used to it so its nice. but one thing that drives my parents crazy is that it is mandatory that i have music playing. i don't know why but i get really nervous if the radio isn't on. not a good habit to get into i know but im being really smart about it. i've made a cd of all my favorite songs so all i have to do is pop it in and turn it up! *another thing to look out for...my singing!! haha!!

speaking of singing...the other night a bunch of my friends got together and we went to a Kareoke night!! the night consisted of my friend Sarah (a.k.a. Aqueeta) choking on her pizza, Alex almost knocking his off the table, and a bunch of girls wearing tie dye t-shirts singing Baby One More Time by Britney Spears! (yes that was us!) needless to say...we know how to have fun!! also a couple nights before that we all hit the bowling alley and i learned that i can actually bowl better with my left hand! I think its all that Wii bowling Alex and I have been playing!! =)

school is going great. first semester just ended!! second semester looks like its going to be a little tougher but hey its high school...bring it on!! i'm taking all of the same classes this semester and i have the same teachers so there's not much adjusting so i'm looking forward to it! i know my mom's not going to want to hear this but i was thinking about it the other day and i've only got 3 years and i'm off to college!! yes you heard right!! COLLEGE!! scary right?? i've got a couple places in mind but i definitely feel God calling me into ministry so we'll see where He leads me. =)

uhh Christmas break was awesome!! we went to Albany to see the grand parents and that was really nice! while i was down there God was really working on my heart. I went to visit my Pepa who isn't doing to well financially and i was such a great blessing. Of everything that i saw a couple things really stood out. Because my pepa isn't doing so well when it comes to money he was not able to get us presents this year...or so we thought. now i dont know if yall really know where Albany is but we're talking south Georgia...like SOUTH Georgia. you know like eat chicken after church every Sunday, crop growing, horse farming, deer huntin' SOUTH GEORGIA. so at the last minute me Pepa decides to surprise us with a gift. now we all know the saying great gifts come in little packages right well this one really was great. it was a carton of eggs...not just any eggs...these were eggs laid from the hens in the back yard! now although i was born in albany Georgia I'm not your average country gal. so to me this doesn't seem too sanitary right. i know I'm crazy but still just seems a little nasty to me. but despite the chicken poop germs that may have still been on the eggs i looked beyond that to see what he was really giving us...everything he could. this reminded me so much of the story in the Bible where the Pharisees were bragging about how much money they were giving to the church when a very poor women came and dropped two pennies into the offering plate. God said that her offering was so much more valuable because she gave everything she had. so i can't believe I'm saying this about dirty chicken eggs but they were probably one of my favorite Christmas presents this year!

new year was amazing i got to spend it with some of my favorite people in the world, my VL crew! we went to the Xtreme conference in Gatlinburg Tennessee and had a BLAST! i will be setting aside a post just for all the details on that because it will need it! lol

those are just a few of the big things that have been going on lately! =) i will try my absolute best to try to update more often (and i will include lots of pictures) but like i said, being a teen can get a little crazy sometimes!

another dance!

2008-11-05T18:32:00.004-05:00

so this past weekend Shawn took me to another dance. it was the Military Ball which was a dance only for the people in ROTC. the theme was winter and it was AMAZING!! I learned how to Waltz! not as easy as it looks! but it was an unforgetable night and I had the best time! here are a few pictures!

getting older!!

2008-10-18T20:34:00.007-04:00

so yes I am still alive and so sorry that I haven't updated in FOREVER!! I have been super busy with school and "stuff" so anyway I bet you are dieing to know what some of that "stuff" is...here it goes...(I'll break this blog up into sections so you can follow along lol)

Homecoming!

so a couple weekends ago I had my first homecoming!! woohoo!! I went with this AMAZING guy, Shawn. He was sooooo sweet and I had the BEST time. The night consisted of dancing, a driver, ice cream and Ashleigh's dog, Chopper, escaping!! I could not have asked for a better first dance! here are a few pictures:

Drivers License!

Yes I am driving! that means you might want to try to stay off the roads as much as you can!! ha ha!! actually me and my dad went driving earlier today and I was doing really good. I asked him on a scale of one through ten where he thought I was at and he said a one but I think that I did better than that! lol everyone told me that after I got my learners permit that I would never want to drive but I had soooooo much fun today and I can't wait to go driving with my dad again....now if i could just stop getting the gas pedal and the brake pedal confused...just kidding...but seriously =)

School!

ahhh school school school, whats there to say about school. uh got my report card couple weeks ago. I got all A's except in current issues. I got an 89 so it was like a really high B but hopefully I can bring it up by the end of the semester. I am LOVING ROTC! It's turned out to be one of highlights of school. I have another dance tonight! It's the Military Ball. Shawn's going to take me again and I am super excited! My dress is long and its blue but it has this like really sheer black material over it so the blue shows through and I love it!! ha ha!! but yeah high school is really starting to set in and despite all of the work, I love it!!

Priorities:

As you can tell there have been a lot of things going on lately (and boy do I mean a lot!) I guess since I'm sort of "growing up" I have had a really difficult time adjusting. I tend to put school or other teenage things before spending time with God. I keep thinking ok God is going to be with me through all of this so that's that, and I put him on the back burner. Then that leads to just getting into the motions of being a christian. I start thinking that since God is with me then despite everything going on, I'm just going to magically start feeling better about everything. But I realized that this isn't what it supposed to be like. Yes, God is going to be with me through these troubles no matter what, but is that all he's going to do? Is he just going to sit back and watch everything that's going on and occasionally slip in a little it's going to be alright? After a lot of praying and searching, God has shown me that he is here for more than just to oversee your trouble and make sure that you come out on the other end better than you were before you went in. He is here to help you through every little step and teach you something crucial through every little detail. He wants you to turn to Him when you don't know whats going on and He wants you to turn to Him EVERY TIME you feel scared or alone. He wants to comfort you and show you what to do through everything. And let me tell you there is such a relief and a peace of mind when you know that Savior of the World is holding you in His arms. So just run to Him. Don't be afraid of what He's going to say or what he's going to think of the situation your in. Guess what, HE ALREADY KNOWS! So don't try to hide it from him, run to him, ask him for advice, comfort, love. I guarantee you will feel the greatest since of relief from simply calling upon his name and resting your trust in him.

so I hope everyone is doing well and HAPPY SATURDAY!

p.s. I will try to update more! lol

Tag your it!

2008-09-27T14:26:00.007-04:00

Melanie tagged me! The rules of the tag are as follows:

1.Post the rules on your blog.

2.Write six random things about yourself.

3.Tag six people at the end of your post.

4. If you are tagged, JUST DO IT, and pass the tag along.

Six random thoughts:

1. I have to memorize a ten minute speech by TOMORROW!!

2. I am not getting my learners on my birthday as planned =( (I have to give my speech)

3. I cannot wait to start reading New Moon!!

4. I love drill team girls unarmed!! what what!!
5. I love seeing all of my family together!
6. I love working out!! no im not crazy!!

I tag Mama, Jennifer Zila, Kim Jarrett, Jamil and Patricia, Crayzee Joe, and Josh Wright!!

btw here are some pictures from the wedding that I went to this past weekend.

Mindi

2008-09-27T11:58:00.004-04:00

so this week has been uhh..........CRAZY!! I have projects coming out of my ears and papers that are due like everyday!! ahh!! don't you just love highshcool?? lol so yeah this week has been a little crazy work wise but my family is coming into town this weekend to celebrate the marriage of my cousin Elizabeth and her fiance' Abishake! (we call him Shake for short) Shake is from India and in India the traditional wedding lasts for like a week I think and everyday is filled with a celebration. Well what they both decided to do is make the wedding 4 days and mix the 2 cultures into one cermony. Wednesday night was a gift ceremony, Thursday night was the Mindi ceremony, Friday night was the rehearsal dinner, and tonight is the wedding! Now, you may be wondering what a Mindi ceremony is! Well Mindi is pretty much like Henna. and in India it is tradition for the bride to get her arms Mindi-ed like a glove sort of. So my cousin Elizabeth has these beautiful intricate designs up and down her arms. At the ceremony the Mindi artist stayed and the girl family members and friends got Mindi on their hands as well. So yes I have Mindi on both of my hands and it's beautiful! My mom got it done, I got it done and even my grandma got her hand Mindi-ed! Now you might still be a little unclear on what it is...its like a Henna tattoo sort of. It will slowly begin to fade away after a couple weeks. Here is a picture...

This is Elizabeth's Mindi

This is mine (right) and my mom's (left)

This was what I wore to the Mindi ceremony! It was a gift from Shake's mom and she got it from India! Isn't it nice! I told my mom that I wanted to go India to get another one! =]

oh yeah btw I got my hair cut off in case you didn't notice in the picture above!! fur real its like all gone!! here's a better pic...

how ya like it?? I really wanted to shave it like Natalie's but this was as close as my mom would let me go! haha!! :)

Thursday Thirteen

2008-09-17T21:10:00.003-04:00

so this week I have had the week off of school so I'm going to do a Thursday Thirteen on what I have done so far on this wonderful week off!

1. Cleaned my room

2. Finished my speech

3. Made brownies

4. Had a blast dancing at small groups!

5. Cleaned my room

6. Got all of my hair cut off!! (like fur real...Natalie's going to be so proud ;])

7. Worked on homework and projects for school

8. SLEPT IN UNTIL 8:30!!!

9. Started reading Fahrenheit 451 (strange book)

10. Cleaned my room...again

11. Killed a Wolfe Spider (look it up those things are HUGE!!)

12. Went shopping!

13. RELAXED!

I hope everyone else is having a FABULOUS week whether or not you have it off!

never too old to love your mama!!

2008-09-10T21:28:00.004-04:00

so as most of you know I am a huge mama's girl and I always have been. most teenagers would be embarrassed to have their parents around but I often find my mom insisting that she not be around me instead of the other way. anyway the other day me and my mom decided to wear the same shirt all day. even though I was at school and she was at work and no one would notice that we had the same shirt on it just reminded me a lot of when I was younger and made me realize that you are never too old to love your mama!!! haha!! luv ya mom!

Dad

2008-09-06T19:27:00.004-04:00

Strong, Powerful, Gentle, Kind

Loving and Gracious all the time

Enduring, Patient, Teacher, Friend

I know you'll be with me till the end

You've been there in bad times and been there in good

You've never left though you easily could

You never gave up and because of that I'm here

Without you everything would be filled with fear

You've loved me and taught me all I need to know

A great man of God is what you show

So because your love for me is unconditional and true

I want to say Happy Birthday Dad and I love you too!

sir yes sir...

2008-09-04T07:24:00.003-04:00

so in case you didn't know i'm in a class at school called ROTC and most people think that its like preparation for the Air force or Military or whatever but its actually really fun!! We are learning about survival this year and then in the years to come we will learn about aviation and then eventually learn how to fly an airplane. It's weird though because I originally took this class because I didn't want to do PE and I thought that by taking this class I would at least be learning something I can use and it has turned out to be really cool. but anyways we were issued a uniform and every Wednesday you are required to wear the uniform. so yesterday being Wednesday and all, I wore it to school. the only thing that I really messed up was that my name tag was 5/8 of an inch too far to the right. yeah they get that precise!! It's a lot of fun though! But tomorrow is going to be the complete opposite. We are supposed to wear tennis shoes because we are going to go outside and play capture the chicken?!?!? yeah you heard me...capture the chicken!! (wait i'm in high school right??) it's supposed to teach you team work but it just sounds like a lot of fun to me!! lol

ONE REPUBLIC PICS!!!

2008-09-02T17:30:00.001-04:00

here are a couple of pictures from when i got to meet One Republic!!

*notice his arm is around me!! haha!!

CONCERTS GALORE!!

2008-08-31T19:35:00.004-04:00

so this weekend i went to 2 concerts. Friday night i went to Starfest with John Mayer and One Republic. i got to go back stage and meet One Republic which was great!! the concert it self was very different. like whenever you think of a concert you think of like high energy and everyone jumping up and down and all that stuff but this one was very chill and relaxing which was VERY nice. and another thing that made the concert interesting was the fact that it was hosted by Budweiser! so yeah needless to say we saw some people doing some really stupid things! but then Saturday night my family and Hollie and Katie went to go see Craig Morgan. despite the fact that there were cock roaches crawling around everywhere, i had a blast!! :) we are all now official members of the redneck yacht club!! ha ha!! Craig was a REALLY good singer and i almost cried when he played my mom and dads song!! its called tough and all of you men out there really need to go and listen to it. my dad played it for my mom on their anniversary and now every time she or i hear it we almost break down!

plans for labor day included......writing my speech, finishing projects, and cleaning the house!! wohoo!!! it wasn't so bad though. I got sleep in until 9:00!!! yay!!! lol i got a lot of work done too so all together it was a great labor day! ok im going to leave you with something to anticipate...on Wednesday i have my first uniform day in ROTC. so yes i will be wearing my all blue air force uniform. pictures will come up immediately following school!! haha!! i hope everyone is having a great week!!

Morgan, me and Megan at Starfest!

Backstage what what!!

Craig Morgan

much needed update...

2008-08-26T07:28:00.004-04:00

ok so these past few weeks have been really crazy so sorry I haven't been updating. but anyways was has happened over the past week...lets see...um homework and then there was more homework oh yeah i forgot also more homework!! haha! yeah the shock of school setting in and im getting used to all of the homework. but besides homework this past weekend I won tickets to Starfest with John Mayer and One Republic so that is on Friday and im TOTALLY STOKED about it. On Sunday I had my cousins wedding shower which was fun. it was really nice to see my grandparents and some older friends who have known me since I was itty bity. and then I cannot forget Saturday. last year my friend Jarrod took me to this festival called Reveal at a church near his house. I enjoyed it a lot and it turns out that they had it again this year. so I decided to get a bunch of people together and go to it. Erin, Juan, Phillip, Meegan, Austin, Stephen and I all road over there together and we had sooo much fun! The festival was really cool because they had very diverse set of performers. First was the punk band called The Rise Of Science. These guys were really great and really liked their music. Up next was A scream-o band called Of Tara. They were very different but also very good. Then there was a rap group that came up which was HOPPIN!! :) Then the best performer of the whole night and my favorite band, yes even more than the Jonas Brothers, Ocean Is Theory came and played all of the songs from their EP. I was soo happy to finally hear them live and they put on an AMAZING show!! like im not even kidding! I finally got to meet the guys after months of chat on Myspace. So yeah I had a great weekend and this Tuesday topped it all off by getting to go to my favorite restaurant, Kaysons, with my family. Here are some pics from the weekend!

My cousin Elizabeth and my Aunt Marcia at the wedding shower.

Ocean Is Theory

Me and Josh from Ocean is Theory

The Rise of Science

!!!ONE REPUBLIC!!!

2008-08-21T22:03:00.002-04:00

yes i realize that i haven't blogged lately but that's because i haven't had much to blog about......but that all just changed!! so i'm doing my homework and listening to the radio. i was listening to the top twenty countdown on star 94 and i always right down the top five and try to to call in and when the prize that they give out every night....well guess what...it all payed off!! i just won tickets to the SOLD OUT Starfest show with John Mayer and One Republic but that's not it...i also got backstage passes!!! ahhh!!!! i'm totally freaking out right now so i thought i would blog about it!! haha!! more to come later now its bed time...if i can even sleep!! :)

Live Like We're Alive

2008-08-10T15:40:00.002-04:00

so i was looking at some of my favorite bands page's just checking up and i saw that this really cool band called Nevertheless has a song out called Live Like We're Alive and i thought it was really cool. so here are the lyrics.

They say we can't make it through too young; don't know what to do. This life is much too hard for you and me. They say we're living in our dreams black, white, and nothing in between. This world is never as it seems to be. But they don't want this and they don't feel this but this was never theirs at all! So here I stand. I'm ready for anything. Just a man, but I'm giving everything. We're here only for a second and then we're gone when we least expect it. So do more than survive. Let's live like we're alive! They say, Stay inside the lines we've drawn and you will be just fine. Don't take chances with your life. C'mon. But they don't want this, and they don't feel this, but this was never theirs at all! So here I stand. I'm ready for anything. Just a man, but I'm giving everything. We're here only for a second and then we're gone when we least expect it. So do more than survive. Let's live like we're alive! This world, we've gotta let it go. This life is out of our control. So here I stand. I'm ready for anything. Just a man, but I'm giving everything. We're here only for a second and then we're gone when we least expect it. So do more than survive. Let's live like we're alive!

so God really spoke to me through this song and I've been going through a season of change as my pastor would call it but God has really put it on my heart to go out and get the word out about him. God has revealed to me in my walk with Him lately that there is a totally different life you get when you become a christian. its more than just a set of rules and a religion, it's a relationship with the greatest friend you could possibly have. you've got to die to yourself and let him live through you and when this happens is when you can really experience life how God intended it to be. not just living until you die. I've become passionate about getting the message out that life is not just about living on this earth and hoping that your good enough to make it to heaven and then that's it. God has put each and everyone of us on this hearth for a divine purpose and i believe that we cannot experience that life in Him until we totally and completely die to ourselves. so i thought that this song really described my passion really well. (you can go and check out Nevertheless by clicking here )

First Day of School

2008-08-04T16:59:00.002-04:00

So today was the first day of school and you're not going to believe what happened. it will definitely be a day to remember. it started in lunch when i noticed that my knuckles where gray. i didn't pay much attention to it and thought that it was just from the pencil. so the day went on and then while i was in 6th period i just happened to look down at my hands and they where BLUE! i had to look twice but again i saw the same blue-ish gray color on my fingers. i turned to my friends and asked if i was the only one that was seeing this and they all saw it 2. so i grabbed my sanitizer out of my purse and tried to wash it off but it wouldn't go away. i kept examining it and once it started getting worse i decided to take myself up to the nurse and see what was going wrong...well guess what..,.they don't have nurses in high school!! ha! so i went up the administration office and showed the ladies at the desk. they were shocked. one of the ladies wouldn't take her eyes off of it. but they immediately called my mom and told her what was going on and that she needing to get down to the school to pick me up immediately. so while my mom was on her way to the school she called my pediatrician and asked him if it was anything we needed to be concerned about and he said that i need to get to an urgent care facility ASAP. so thank God there was an emergency room right down the road from the school so we drove down there and saw the doctor within minutes. ok so by this time i was totally freaking out!! we go into the cold doctors office and they checked my blood pressure a bunch of times and all of that junk and then the doctor came over and told me that there were many very rare things that this could be. and he described them all but he then said what he thought it was was Raynaud's Phenomenon. and that's where your blood vessels experience an abnormal spasm when they are exposed to cold or hot temperatures. i explained to him that although the school was very very cold that when i had my jacket on, i was fine. but he said that even when i had my jacket on and i felt warm that my hands were still being exposed to the cold temperature and that was what was causing my blood vessels to spaz and the discoloration. but he said that there was no need to run any blood tests just yet but that if an discoloration on my lips or face occurred that i needed to head to the hospital. he also said that if it continues to do this that i need to go and get some blood tests because it might be an early sign of Lupus Disease or Rheumatoid Arthritis so definitely keep me in your prayers if you don't mind. the funny thing about this whole thing is that i haven't felt any pain the whole time its just been a lot of nerves and stress but thank god no pain. so needless to say my first day of freshman year will never be forgotten. but other than the whole episode i really enjoyed the classes that i got to go to and I'm really excited about the rest of the year!!

lately...

2008-07-30T14:11:00.004-04:00

so i thought that i would give you a little view of whats been going on lately. to start off with my brothers hair is getting ridiculously long! so being of good sister i went and straightened it and then styled it. how do you like it??

I think its looks off the chain. once he gets his hair cut shorter he will not be walking out into public without his hair like this!! ha ha!! i really liked it though and it wasn't that hard to do.

but anyways this is my last week of freedom before school starts back and guess what I'm doing...working! yeah but its not that bad because i get to babysit this little boy who is ADORABLE!! look at how cut he is...

its been really funny though because my dog, Skip, isn't used to having little kids running around the house and i can tell that he's getting jealous. i would be playing with JD and Skip would come and jump right in front of me and start licking my face!! i feel bad for him though so whenever JD's napping I'm trying to play with Skip and make him feel loved. (poor thang!)

also...yesterday i went to six flags with my friend. i had fun but it kinda wasn't worth it. for starters we left the house at 10:00 we didn't even get into the park until 12:30. there was a ginormous line at the gate to get tickets. but when we got we rode Superman and Goliath (a.k.a. the best roller coaster in the world!!) a few times along with a few others and then by that time we were drained and ready to go home. so we got back on the road and guess what was waiting for us...TRAFFIC!!! ahh!! it was like crawling all the way from S. Cobb Drive on 285 to the Hwy. 92 exit on 575. we didn't think we were going to make it home!! haha!! oh and then i can't forget the excruciating pain that i felt this morning when i woke up. if you know me then you know that i have the back of a 60 year old. well when i woke up this morning it hurt so bad. like just any sort of movement would hurt. so i started freaking out because i knew the JD was coming over in a little bit and there was no way i was in shape to watch a 2 year old. so i took it easy and after some Aleve it was better. so needless to say i probably wont be taking another trip to Six Flags anytime soon. but i must admit that it was fun getting away from work this week and getting out of the house a little before school starts back.

Fairy Tale Jewels

2008-07-27T14:15:00.004-04:00

so I saw this on Heidi's blog and fell in love! it's this jewlery company called Fairy Tale Jewels and all of their jewlery is awesome!! they are having a $100 giveaway! so if you're interested click here and enter yourself in the contest! after you enter yourself go and check out their jewlery by clicking here.

Dave and Busters and stuff

2008-07-24T20:26:00.002-04:00

so last night we headed on up to Dave and Busters to meet the rest of the small group for a little outing. we had a blast!! i had a lot of fun playing the coin game with the Deese's and seeing Erin win the jackpot 4 times was definitely something else! the thing that i love about Dave and Busters is that the arcade is fun the food is really good too!! its the perfect combination!! lol but yeah me and Katie shared this chicken marinara thing which was really good and then me and Erin split the Frosty Mug. (did i mention that their plates are huge!) but the boys ordered at plate of cheese sticks before the food came out and i thought i was going to have to do the Heimlich on Alex. i guess he swallowed to much at one time but he started choking and couldn't breathe but luckily it all came out......in my mom's hands. what a great mother!! no but he's ok and after and intense sanitizing session in the bathroom my mom is all good too! haha!! but yeah after we ate we went to the arcade for the rest of the night and played a bunch of games. it was really altogether a great time!
i know that ya'll are going to think that i'm crazy but i'm really ready for school to start. i've been told that i'm one of those people that looks ahead a lot, and i guess i do, but i look at it this way i only have four years left until i'm off to college and if i hurry up and get my freshman year over with i'll only have 3. i know i probably should just chill and really experience my only freshman year but i'm really looking forward to what God has in plan for the future. i've been praying and praying and praying some more and i feel like God has revealed to me where He wants me to be but for now its just a lot of planning......and boy do i mean A LOT. but i am really looking forward to seeing all of my peeps from school and most of all making new ones. i set it in my head this summer that i was going to try and reach out more this year and really try to break up this whole clique junk. so if you would please pray for courage for me to befriend everyone at school and to step out of my box and also for patience and wisdom as these steps of planning keep piling up. i love you all and i hope everyone is doing great!!

Generation Change

2008-07-20T22:05:00.003-04:00

Ya'll are going to be so proud of me! I just finished a book in 2 days!! I REPEAT 2 DAYS!!! I must say that this has to be my favorite book right now. It's called Generation Change and it's by Zach Hunter. (look him up! really amazing guy! http://www.lc2lc.org/) It was all about how you can help the world around you and instead of just wanting to change the world it shows you how to BE THE CHANGE!! It was really something else! You need to pick up this book! It has soooooo many resources and sooooo many great truths to help you Be The Change that God has planned for you to be. I am about to start reading Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. I'll let you know how it is when I finish it. =)

for such a time as this...

2008-07-14T20:08:00.002-04:00

Ok so you are totally not going to believe me but I just finished reading a book!! Yay me!! Haha! It's called For Such A Time As This and it's written by Lisa Ryan. It was a great book about being a modern day Esther and was all about girl power. It explored the story of Esther and showed how we can use the kind of courage, inner beauty, favor, purity, obedience, authenticity, position, prayer, and hospitality that Esther used to achieve greatness not for ourselves but for our creator, Jesus Christ. I don't know what came over me but I really enjoyed reading this book. (in case you haven't been able to tell, I don't like to read) It's really funny though because Katie gave me this book at the beginning of last week to read while we were at the beach and I was thinking ok is she crazy?? She obviously doesn't know that I really don't like to read! Haha. But once I got into the book I couldn't stop. It really sparked another flame in my heart for God. So thanks sooooo much Katie!!!

Frosted Flakes in a coffee cup!!

2008-07-10T17:56:00.004-04:00

So this week I have been in Destin Florida with Fan the Flame!! I have had sooo much fun with the Deese's! We are down here for a camp for a church that is from Paulding Their story is really similar to my church's story so its been real neat. We've haven't gone to the beach that much this week but we've been hanging out at the pool a lot and if you know me then you know that I get sun poisoning REALLY easy. I was actually surprised that I didn't get it until today but yes I did get sun poisoning but thankfully its not that bad so I can deal. but you may be wondering why I have a picture of a box of Frosted Flakes. Well this week we have had some troubles with the cleaning ladies cleaning our room so we were running low on bowls so I decided to eat my Frosted Flakes out of the coffee cup. When Katie saw it she thought it was a smart idea and so we've gone through a whole box of Frosted Flakes by eating it out of a coffee cup. haha. yeah we know we're dorks. :) but yeah i've had sooooooooo much fun this week! I'm excited about seeing my family from Alabama when I get home and my BFF Morgan oh and yes of course my mommy! (yes I have missed her terribly!!) I hope everyone is doing great!

Lady In The Water

2008-07-05T15:52:00.007-04:00

so i know that i said that i was going to be putting up an article about being real when you worship but something else just really spoke to me. i just got finished watching the movie Lady In The Water by M. Night Shamalon. I'm not going to sit here and ruin the movie for you (although i do encourage that you watch it) but it was basically about this guy who does maintenance at an apartment complex. he was out by the pool one night and found a girl in the pool. after telling her to get out he went to jump in after thinking that she needed help. in the process he slipped and fell on his back and then fell into the pool. he then goes unconscious and when he wakes up, hes back in his room with the girl by his side. he asks her her name and over the course of the next few days finds out that she is from another universe (corny i know but it gets better) and that she only has a few more nights to return. with the help of one of the residents he finds out that he alone cannot return her but that he must have help from many of the other people living in the apartment complex. I'm going to end it there because i am really bad at ruining movie for people but your probably thinking what can i get from this cheesy movie? surprisingly i got a lot from it. ok to start off with this woman was from ANOTHER UNIVERSE!!! hello if it were me and i found someone that was from another universe I'd be like seeeeeyaaaa! u know what i mean, I'd be like alright you have fun with that and I'll just stay over here, 10 ft away. but what amazed me was that not only did the guy who found her befriend her but everyone else that learned about her was doing anything and everything to help and get her back home. i think we can all take a look at this and learn from it. we often look at people and tend to push them away because they may be different from us. one of my great friends Cody Deese, talked about this once when he spoke. we as Christians put ourselves in this little bubble and block off the world. we don't realize that God didn't come to save those of us who already know who He is. he came to save the lost. when we push people away because they are different from us we could be hindering what God is trying to do in their life through us. who cares if they dress differently, who cares if they have as much money as you do, who cares if they choose to act differently than you do. God still loves them and so should you!

Recently i went to North Carolina with Katie and Cody Deese of Fan the Flame Ministries. Cody gave a message on exactly what i am talking about now and it really hit home to me. I really thought it was great and powerful but it wasn't until the ride home that I got to test the message out in real life. we stopped to get some dinner on the way home (cuz we ABSOLUTELY CANNOT miss a meal with fan the flame) and it was already dark outside. we pulled off the exit and came to the stop light at the top of the hill. as we pulled up we saw a man standing on the side of the road with a sign and i don't even remember what the sign said but i remember the look of the man. he was obviously homeless, his clothes were torn, his bike was bent up, and he was filthy from head to toe. i remember thinking, "oh my gosh, lock the doors and keep driving." I was terrified of him. then the words that came out of Katie's mouth threw me way of course, she said, "Cody, give him a dollar." she reached into her wallet, took out a dollar and Cody handed it to the man. we drove off and went to dinner but the whole time i was thinking. what just happened? and then it hit me. just like Cody had said earlier that day in his message, we get scared of people that aren't like us and then we put ourselves in this little Christian bubble and want nothing to do with them. without realizing it this was exactly what i did to this man. i got scared because he wasn't like me. and that moment that i thought "lock the doors and keep driving" could have been the moment that God was trying to do something in this mans life and I missed it because I was scared. i thought about the man all through dinner and you wont believe what happened on the way back to the interstate. we had to stop and get gas before we headed home so were pulling into the gas station and guess who we see. it was the same man we saw earlier at the red light. Cody pulled up next to him and said hey. they made small talk and then Cody asked him if he knew Jesus. the man answered yes and Cody replied good. we went and got our gas and then headed home but still to this day i cannot get that man out of my head. I went with Katie and Cody that weekend to learn about the ministry but God was really working in my life and He not only showed me the ministry but he showed me how to BE the ministry.
so that was just something that was speaking to my heart after watching the movie. but i had a great 4th of July. the matiaks came over and we made hotdogs and hamburgers and then did fireworks in the backyard. church today was great we wrapped up the series Vital Signs and i had a blast in Kidmo as usual. Say a prayer for Katie, Cody and I as we are traveling to Destin this week for a summer camp. I am thrilled to be getting to spend more time with Katie and Cody and getting to see what Fan the Flame is all about. I also have family coming into town this week so pray for traveling safety for them. I'm about to go but i have to mention that this Friday there is an Ocean Is Theory concert at The Warehouse at FBCW. You REALLY need to come! this is one of the best bands in the world!!! haha! they are really awesome guys and their music is rockin so come check them out if ya can! i hope that everyone is doing great and living for God!

PCB Xtreme 08!!!

2008-06-29T15:49:00.004-04:00

Hey ya'll!! So last night I got back from PCB! We had such a great time!! I got to meet some cool people *cough*cough* TRUETT!! *cough*cough* JACK!! lol long story. but anyway we had lots of fun chilling on the beach and listening to the amazing Pastor Johnny, Tony Nolan and of course the one and only Pete Hixson! Will Goodwin was outstanding and all of the other music was amazing (especially FFE :]) Shipwreck island was off the chain and double takes at trash cans are totally AWESOME!! haha!! I really enjoyed the messages and the worship really sparked another flame in my heart so just watch out world because i'm on fire for Jesus!! I am going to be putting up an article pretty soon about being real when you worship but now I feel a nap coming on. I hope everyone is doing great and living for God! Love ya'll!

The Blow Out!!!

2008-06-20T09:44:00.003-04:00

Incase you didn't know Monday was my little brother's birthday! So to celebrate we went to Dave and Busters. We had a lot of fun and got a lot of tickets but instead of buying something we decided to keep our tickets and save up for something even bigger. So my mom said that everyone could get a piece of candy but instead I grabbed a whoopee cushion!! I had a lot of fun with it on the way home and my dog couldn't stand the noise. Well this weekend I'm in Michigan with Fan The Flame and I decided to take it with me and have a little fun. Last night Katie was over in my room and Cody was back in their room by himself so I showed Katie the whoopee cushion and we sat there and planned everything out. I went over to their room and asked if I could use their toilet because my was broken. (not really) I went in the bathroom put down the toilet seat and sat on the whoopee cushion. It got really quiet and then I heard Cody say "What was that?!" I flushed the toilet and then ran the faucet to make it sound like I was washing my hands. I opened the door to the bathroom, wished him a good night, and then left. Cody had not said anything so I ran back to the room laughing my head off. A few minutes later I got a phone call from him. (earlier that day we had been having problems with our water) He asked if my water was working ok. I told him that it was but that I couldn't figure out how to flush the toilet. He was dead serious and said, "Well have you called the front desk? We can call someone to come and fix that?!" (it took everything in me not to burst out laughing) I told him that since it was "so late" that I would wait until the morning to call someone. I can't wait to see his face when I show him the whoopee cushion.

So needless to say I am having a blast in Gaylord Michigan! We are about to go to the fairgrounds and Cody will speak. And then we will probably spend some time at the Big Ticket and then come back to the room and crash. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

Let's Get Some Shoes

2008-06-18T15:13:00.002-04:00

This week has been crazy! Yesterday I went shoe shopping and if you know me then you know that I hate wasting money. (I guess my mom has rubbed off on me) you know what I mean like I don't want to buy something unless I reeeeeeally like it and I know that I will use it. So we were at Famous Footwear and I found these realllllly cute Pumas and they fit ok but the problem was was that my mom was in a hurry and if you know me then you also know that I hate being rushed. So I made a quick decision to get the shoes. The man at the register rung up the shoes and let me wear them out. I was loving them.....almost. We got to the next store and my feet began to hurt I began to get nervous about taking the shoes home and then hating them and wasting my mom's money. (also they were white so I was also really nervous about getting them dirty) so I asked my mom if we could take them back to the store and return them. we didn't think that the man was going to take them back but I went up to the register and told him the truth and he gladly took them back.
I know this is going to sound really corny but I feel like we can relate what happened to me Yesterday with our lives. We often get busy and in a hurry and we don't stop to think and really consider our situation before we decide our actions. Then we choose something that will lead us to a lot of pain and discontent. But here's the cool part, God gladly takes us back when we come to Him and confess our mistakes. (or as Cody would say our faults, failures, and flaws =] )
Alright well I'm off to pack for my trip this weekend. Pray for Katie, Cody, and I. We will be leaving tomorrow morning for Michigan. I am really excited about the conference and I'm looking forward to learning more about the ministry. =)