a disaster gone good

So yesterday I was picking up my brother's friend to come over for a sleep over. We went to Blockbuster to pick up a movie. I had my mom's big ukon, and let me tell you, it's pretty impossible to see in that thing. I was in a bit of a hurry, and quickly pulled into a parking spot. Now you see, I am not very good parker to begin with and was way out of the lines. So, I decided to pull out again and fix myself. Well, there was a truck off to the side waiting to go passed me. I decided to wait and let it go first. This truck was just not moving. I was getting a little confused and frusturated with it, so I decided I was just go if it wasn't going to move. I start backing out, keeping my eye on this truck, when all of a sudden errupts blaring horns from all directions. I stop the car very confused and slightly worried, and realize there's a black van pulling out right behind me. Clearly it was my fault, so I flipped the car in drive and flung forward before any more damage could be done. I didn't actually hit the car, but I was so unbelievably close. Being mortified, and really wanting to leave, I got my brother, and his friend, out of the car (still not in a parking spot might I add) and we went into the movie store. They picked out a movie quickly (thankfully) and we left. I was feeling absolutely terrible. I started racking my brain of what I might have done, if I actually hit them..oh it was terrible. Then BAM! on the radio comes Jimmy Needham singing Forgiven and Loved. Oh, I was fighting back tears. Man does God know me well! Jimmy Needham is one of my favorites and that song couldn't have been chosen better. How could I ever deny such a love?

whats next?

My brother has always had a big vocabulary and has always enjoyed reading. Everytime I see him he's reading a new book. He whips through them like crazy! His most recent one is Indian in the Cupboard. He really seems to enjoy it, and is quite excited to see the movie. It won't be long before he finishes, there looked like there was only a couple chapters to go. Actually there is a good possibility he'll finish tonight. I'm in awe of how much he has grown, he's already 10, but has the mind of a 13 year old. He never stops surprising me.

Psalm 104:19-32

The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
The lions roar for their prey
and seek food from God.
The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening.

How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number-
living things both large and small.
There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

These all look to you
to give them their food and the proper time.
When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to dust.
When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works-
he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.


wow.

The Piece of Paper Next to my Computer

"Una persona no hace un viaje,
un viaje hace la persona."
-Katie Cope

I assume it was written for Spanish class, but is still none the less a wonderful quote. It translates to "A person doesn't make the trip, the trip makes the person."
It is a good way to show that our experiences shape who we are. How we go about these experiences, good or bad, show people how we live, or who we live for. People watch other people all the time. They see how they react to scenarios, and see if they would relate to them well. The more you look up to someone the closer you'll watch them. See what they say, how they go about life. I think it's important to watch everyone, not just people you want to get to know better. If you pay attention you can see who is looking for someone to talk to. It's hard to just pass by someone you know is hurting so badly.

to keep my toesies warm..

Did you ever have those ridiculous little pet peeves when you were little? With me I had to have my socks on just right. They had to be on the heel the right way, but more importantly, much more importantly, the toes had to be right. They couldn't be twisted in anyway, and the little bump on the top had to be lined up just right. Plus if where the seam met had too much of a bump I couldn't wear them. It was a challenge being a little girl and putting your socks on, it took me several minutes. They were too uncomfortable if they weren't on right.
All my socks had to have lace on them. The kind that didn't have lace fit funny. So, my mom would buy regular socks and put lace on herself. She used different things like yarn and ribbon. Those socks were better, but they still felt a little funny, not as bad though. Plus my mom put so much effort into making me these socks, I just couldn't tell her they weren't quite the same.
Nowadays, I'm not quite so picky, but it also helps that I can actually put my socks on myself.

lalalalalalalaaaa

Tomorrow night we have a choir concert. It should be a pretty good one because not only are the regular choirs singing, but so are the show choirs. It was interesting practicing for the concert because we haven't done show choir since our competition. It was nice though because we remembered the dances for the most part and didn't have too much to go over. Anyway it should be a pretty good concert, and if you happen to read this before Monday night I invite you to come.

Take one word at a time

We started new small groups at CSI tonight and I joined this one about Paul. It's really interesting because it ties in how Rome is so similar to the way the U.S. is, and is becoming. Tonight it highlighted a few verses in Romans:

They have become filled iwth every kind of wickedness, evil,
greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,
and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent,
arrogant, and boastful; they invent new ways of doing evil;
they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Romans 1:29-31

This verse sounds a little harsh, but think about it, I'm sure anyone could think of someone who fills at least one of these categories. Pick any of those words and relate it to today's world. Envy, we want what our best friends has, we beg to have the useless stuff we know we can't afford. Gossips, it's all about that girl in history class who parties every weekend. Funny how this was written for Rome, the power of the world, so many years ago. Who's the power now? We are. Look at how we're abusing this power. Look at the way the media tells us "how we should live". Good example right?
Paul encourages out of so much love and compassion for people, to not fall into the way we are "supposed" to live.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer
your bodies and living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is
your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the
pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good,
pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2

In these verses you can just hear Paul's love. He urges us to offer ourselves, not to conform. He pleads with us. We doesn't want us to fall into the trap. Especially when he knows there is so much more to offer. There is so much to get out of these two verses it would take pages to fully explain. So I encourage you to read them again. Ask God what he means to show through them. Through every individual word.