F is for Faith

⁴Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ Then said I:

“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

⁷ But the Lord said to me:

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸ Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

⁹ Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
¹⁰ See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”

-Jeremiah 1:4-10

 

   I truly believe God has had a crazy-awesome plan for me since before my parents even thought about me.  I believe He has been working on me since I was a baby.  I believe He will continue to change my heart to be more like His for the rest of my days.

   God has done so much for me.  When I was four He saved my from my sin.  Last summer He saved me from the deep, dark pit of depression.  He is saving me from myself.

   I have learned that it is not enough to believe that God can do something.  I need to ask Him, and I need to let Him.  He's holding out the gift, but He's not going to shove it at me.

   I am so ready to recieve everything He wants to give me.  I believe God's plan for me is beyond anything I could ever ask or imagine.  He has blown my mind with what He has done for me and through me so far.  I am beyond excited to see what comes next.  It only gets better from here!

 

E is for Embarrassing Moment

   Let's just say I had a lot to choose from for this post.  You guys already know about some of them, but I don't think I've told you about the chocolate milk spewing from my mouth - twice, once during eighth grade and the other during freshman year.  I'm just saying, if you don't want me to spit out chocolate milk, don't make me laugh.  I was laughing hard.
   Last year it happened on the day of silence.  Someone was funny, I laughed, out came the chocolate milk, and I started talking about how I couldn't believe I had just done that.  I couldn't figure out why everyone was just staring at me with their mouths hanging open, and it felt like an eternity until I realized I wasn't supposed to speak.  Yeah.  That was awkward.
    My goal for sophomore year is to keep my milk contained at all times.  I'm counting on you guys to hold me to that.

D is for Day in the Life of Me

   I was gonna wait to do this post until

1. I spent a whole day taking pictures of everything and
2. My todays stopped looking completely different from my yesterdays,

but it doesn't really look like that's gonna happen anytime soon.  So, with words and guesstimated times, a Tuesday, July 9, 2013 in the life of me.

5:16 AM - Get woken up by Dad.  Spend five minutes convincing yourself to get off the couch (you're sleeping on it 'cause your Gonnie and Aunt Sonja are here!) and go to weightlifting.
6:00 AM - Lay down on bleachers.  Fall asleep.  Scare yourself half to death by allowing your hand to fall, hit the bleachers, and wake you up.  Read a chapter of Ezekiel.  Watch high school boys realize how out of shape they are after a week off.
8:00 AM - Work out with Karley and three eighth grade boys.  Realize how out of shape you are after two weeks off. 
9:40 AM - Get made fun of.  ("Pray for me, Coach, Michaela's driving home.")  Drive home from school.  Decide that it is taking twice as long as when someone else drives.  Realize that Dad must be starting to trust you because he talks on the phone the whole time. 
9:57 AM - Get home.  Turn on some music because you feel deprvied after 12 hours without it.  Eat more breakfast.
10:22 AM - Get on the computer.  Post facebook status.  ("You know it's getting intense when you go to wipe the sweat off your face and your shirt's already soaking wet.. that or you're really out of shape. ‎#yummy ‎#idowork")  Check e-mail.  Decide to write this blog post.
11:13 AM - Finally take a shower because everyone else has officially started their day.  Make sure you sing.  Loudly.  Keep singing until you spray perfume and start coughing instead.
11:44 AM - French braid your hair and be really proud of yourself  'cause it looks good.
12:01 PM - Play a game with Quiad and Titus.
12:38 PM - Carry in groceries.
12:48 PM - Enjoy lunch.  To the fullest.  Because KFC is awesome.  And so it Aunt Sonja for getting it.
1:00 PM - Do dishes and stuff.
1:24 PM - Play Apples to Apples with Dad, Mom, Morgan, Elaina, Aunt Sonja, and Gonnie.  Have a panic attack because you're pretty sure about to pick Dad's fourth card, but you don't know which one it for sure is, and you pick it anyway.
2:58 PM - Finish Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom.  Almost cry because it's so good.  Accidentally fall asleep on the couch.
4:02 PM - Get woken up by Dad.  Again.  Go pick up football at the school.  Go to 7 on 7.  Watch 7 on 7.  Stop at Casey's on the way home from 7 on 7 so everyone can buy drinks, and end up with a bunch of food.
9:36 PM - Get home.  Find some food.  Watch the end of Kung Fu Panda with the boys.  Finish this blog post.
10:19 PM - Read your Bible.  Go to sleep.

   I dare you to replicate it. ;)

C is for Cars

   Being a 15-year-old girl who is pretty much an ignoramus when it comes to automobiles, I don't have that much to say.  I can tell you that I passed my permit test (on the second try... I missed it by one question the first time!), that my dad is adamant that he's talking to me, not himself, when says, "Calm down.  It's gonna be fine.  Just calm down," while I'm driving, and that I'm really not that bad of a driver.
   I could also tell you a ridiculously embarrassing story about how I tore the back bumper halfway off our big-school-bus-van once, or the time I showed up at school smelling like gasoline because the pump didn't shut off, but I think we'll save those narratives for another time...

B is for Best Friend

   Seriously, I have to pick one?  There are way too many awesome people in my life for that.  How 'bout I narrow it down to two?  Bridesmaids?  Yeah, these two pretty much have a guaranteed spot.

   Justice Fae Marie Sly is fiery, noble, making-me-smile, "crazi," and adorable.  She's been practically adopted into the family.  Justice calls my daddy "Dad," and my daddy calls her "Liberty Ann."  We pretty much complete each other - plus she remembers all the things that I forget.  She recently became a part of God's family, and I am so proud of the way she is growing in the Lord. 
   We have so many memories that I could never fit all of them into one blog post.  We compete constantly (I can scrunch my face more, spin longer, and beat her at laser tag), but we have never gotten into a fight.  We've been on TV together!  I trust her with my secrets.  People give us odd looks because we laugh at things they don't understand.  I love Justice to death.

 

hahaha we were winners in 7th grade

   Brenna Marie Hawk (I totally just realized that they have the same middle name! That right there is what you call an epiphany.) is my peace-loving, beautiful, loyal, sweet, opinionated bestie for life. She is the one who still stayed in touch with me after I moved four times - and then she up and left for Costa Rica! Missionary kids are awesome. We're still trying to find a way for me to get down there. I should totally show up and surprise her for her birthday like I did a few years ago! That was one of the best days of my life. ;) In the meantime, I learn Spanish.

   As I run around with my head in the clouds, Brenna somehow helps me keep my feet on the ground. She's like a rock! A rock with a really pretty smile. We laugh at each other's mistakes and help each other out with the complicated parts of life.  I'm pretty sure I would be lost without this chica.

 

Facetime!!

 

Her view <3

 

outside their house in Costa Rica

 

A is for Animals

   Finallt starting this blogging challenge, and supposed to be writing about pets I used to have, pets I do have, and pets I want to have.  Animals. :)
   When I was born my parents were... "dorm parents" per say.  They babysat the college kids with their dog, Rufus.  Rufus got over-the-top protective when I was born, and we've never had a dog since.  I did have a goldfish for about a week and a half when I was little... I harbored anger over his death for years.
   We have no pets at my house.  Depressing, I know.  My mom always said that she had enough training to do with all of us kids, so she didn't need any other animals running around.  For soem reason she never believed us when we said we would take care of everything.
   Horses are my favorite.  I have dreamed of owning a horse since I was a little girl.  Obsessed much?  Maybe.  I can't wait to make that dream become a reality.  For now, I settle for His Ranch.  They will certainly do, and so will these pictures from my beloved Pinterest.