Goodbye

Tonight we sent the Westside church. None of them will come to Northside anymore. Saying goodbye is so hard. Even when I know its not like I'll never see any of them ever again, just knowing that we don't go to the same church anymore makes me sad. I was definitely trying not to cry, but when all the Westside people went up front... I couldn't help myself. I will miss them so much. If any of the people who are part of the Westside church are reading this, I love you guys and I miss you already!

Quote of the post:
“Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos.” -Snoopy

Exhaustion

Twenty five....*looks questionally at fingers*...twenty six, twenty seven.... *sigh* My grand total of non-sleeping hours for this year is 31. Last year my record was longer. Overall, SONrise was a blast! I had some really amazing conversations that took place at around 4 am. I don't think they are worth repeating! ;-)

My team almost won the tug-of-war contest, but because of some complications with the bleachers we lost. Out of all the group games I think the tug-of-war was the best, it wasn't something terribly weird, and it didn't require any 'special' talents, though being strong helped. My hands and arms were killing me afterwards. :) Definitely a highlight was talking to Charity, Maria and Tamara on the phone for like 2 hours in the middle of the night!

I would post my pictures, but I'm a little too tired at the moment. Maybe tomorrow?

Quote of the post:
"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

SONrise

Tonight I am going to stay up all night and tomorrow I have to work. Hopefully that will work out fine. I'm excited, though I'm sure this year will be a lot different for me than last year. I sure hope they have coffee. Does anyone have any feelings about finishing a paper when you're tired and only awake on coffee, because if it works better I might try it. :)

Quote of the post:
"Most people do not consider dawn to be an attractive experience - unless they are still up." - Unknown

Quote

Quote of the post:
"Ivy: Why can you not say what is in your head?
Lucius:Why can you not stop saying what is in yours? Why must you lead, when I want to lead? If I want to dance I will ask you to dance. If I want to speak I open my mouth and speak. Everyone is forever plaguing me to speak further. Why? What good is it to tell you you are in my every thought from the time I wake? What good can come from my saying that I sometimes cannot think clearly or do my work properly? What gain can rise of my telling you the only time I feel fear as others do is when I think of you in harm? That is why I am on this porch, Ivy Walker. I fear for your safety before all others. And yes, I will dance with you on our wedding night." - The Village

I was thinking about this movie earlier today, about how we watched it for Worldview at the Judds. Its such a good movie, I just thought maybe I'd refresh all your memories with that quote! :)

Rascal Flatts

I bought the new Rascall Flatts CD today. I paid for it with a two-year-old gift card for Walmart / Sam's Club. The clerk was really thrilled that the card actually worked.

Song of the post:
"What hurts the most" by Rascal Flatts

Quote of the post:
"The best, most beautiful, and most perfect way that we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other is by music." -Jonathan Edwards

Looks like rain...

Even though I always say I'm going to grow my hair out and then get long layers, I always end up getting annoyed and chopping it all off again. It never does get much past my shoulders. Anyway yesterday I got my hair cut and highlighted again. It doesn't look especially different, the highlights almost look natural, but I really do like the cut.

I have two papers to write this week, one on the French Revolution for my composition class and then one on Augustine's worldview. I'm actually starting my work earlier in the week which is good for me. :) So, I better end this so I can actually start writing. Talk to you all later!

Quote of the post:
"(Allie and Noah laying in the middle of the street)
Allie- What if a car comes?
Noah- We die."
- The Notebook

Fresh Air and Dinner

I spent this morning and part of the afternoon at the park with Alyssa Magnuson and the Faris children, Ellie, Cargill, Cameron, Lydia and then my little sister Jessica. We played on the playground, went for a long walk by the white river, ate lunch and went in the nature center. It was a lot of fun, though sometimes avoiding mud can be somewhat stressful. :) Having that time outside playing was good for me because it helps me to relax and not be so stressed about life.

Tonight my dad and I went to the father / daughter banquet at the training center downtown. The fellowship was good and the food was excellent. Mr. Pokone shared his testimony about how he struggled with being a good father to his children and how God worked in that area of his life. Overall, it was a wonderful evening. Here's a picture of the rose my dad gave me:





Quote of the post:
"Hope is a waking dream." -Aristotle

October Sky

I went for a bike ride with my mom. We went down Kessler, along the canal, then up by the riverside golf course and past my church. Even though it was a little windy and something was wrong with my mom's bike, it was a nice time.

My family all sat down and watched October Sky this evening. If you haven't seen it I recommend it, very inspirational for people who want to make a difference. Despite the fact that it doesn't seem very possible. It also shows both the good and bad sides of life, something we need to remember. Sometimes Hollywood families seem so perfect and it seems like we can never be like that - this movie doesn't show that. I really liked it.

Quote of the post:
"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake." -Victor Hugo

Summer

My summer plans are up in the air right now. Its possible I could be lifeguarding at the Riviera Club, but I could also be lifeguarding at another pool. But then considering that I'm going to ECHO and Covamakioi and spending a week or two with my Aunt Linda in Ohio, I don't know if they will want to hire me. I'm going to be nannying for my neighbors, and my dad wants me to work with him when he has jobs where he paints. I want to work a lot this summer so I can afford to go to Australia next year. I want to swim on the swim team at Rivi, so working there might be more convenient, but Rivi got a new manager and he's changing a lot of stuff around this summer and they only want people who can work at least 35 hours a week. *sigh* Its kinda stressful.

Quote of the post:
"The hardest struggle of all is to be something different from what the average man is." - Unknown

Song of the post:
"When the Stars Go Blue" by Tim McGraw

Running the race...

"Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;
however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.
For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction,
whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. "
- Philippians 3:12-21

Sunday night James Faris preached on this passage. It was a wonderful sermon. He talked about how when athletes - specifically runners - start their race, even if they have a terrible start, stumble or their steps came shorter then they should have, their minds are not focused on the steps they already took, but on the steps they are about to take - the ones in front. This is something I need to remember, I tend to be so focused on what happened to me in the past, when really I should be focused on what's going on right now and what will happen in the future. It's hard. I have to remember that people judge according to what I have already done, not what I want to do. Well, that was my vent of the day. :)

Quote

Quote of the post:
"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." - Saint Augustine

Spring Fever

Somehow every spring I become a little less concentrated on serious things and a little more happy and energetic. I feel like doing my school outside and letting the wind blow in my face, or just like throwing all my books away and run off to do something more fun. What really depresses me though, is that since I've gotten older its just not normal to go outside and play. When I was little, I would call up my friends and say "you want to play house?" I spent so much time outside playing, my knees were always scrapped up or at least dirty. Now, I could call up my friends and say "lets play soccer," but that takes a lot of effort. It would seem so stupid if I called one of you guys up and asked if you wanted to go for a walk, maybe after a movie or shopping or something, but never just a walk. I know once its actually summer, there will be things like the State Fair, 4th of July at the Owens, spending all day at the pool. But by the time that comes along everybody will be working. *sigh* Anybody want to go do something outside with me soon?

Thank You

The blogging contest ended last night at 12:00 midnight.

-I just wanted to give a special thanks to Nathan for organizing the contest and for keeping up with the scoring. It was a monumental job.

-Thanks to all my faithful commenters, I could have never done it without you! I hope I commented on all your blogs as much as you commented on mine.

- Then, just congratulations to everybody that participated. I had a lot of fun and I hope everybody else did too! :)

Quote of the post:
"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, What! You, too? I thought I was the only one." -C. S. Lewis

She Was Good For Nothing.

It was written by Hans Christian Anderson, just like many other little stories we all know about; The Emperors New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling and the Tin Soldier. All of them have hidden morals, teaching us lessons. This year our homeschool group is doing a play that is a calibration of these and other stories. Daniel and Jessica ( my brother and sister ) are in the play and today I went to help with play practice. They wore their costumes and got through almost the entire thing. It makes me start thinking about last spring and Little Women, looking back I still smile - it was the best play ever! Ruth is helping this year backstage, and so I might end up doing the curtain and helping changing the scenes with her.

If you have never read the story She Was Good For Nothing, I encourage you to. You can read the story here. It may be a child's story, but it really is something we can all apply to our lives.

Quotes of the post:
"Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold — but so does a hard-boiled egg." - Unknown

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." -Mother Teresa

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Do not judge men by mere appearances; for the light laughter that bubbles on the lip often mantles over the depths of sadness, and the serious look may be the sober veil that covers a divine peace and joy." -E. H. Chapin

Random Fact:

I hate eggs.





No matter how much perfect protein, vitamins, A, B or D they contain and no matter how many ways you can cook them and how inexpensive they are, I have come to the conclusion they are completely disgusting.

Yes, I know they are an important ingredient of cakes, cookies, casseroles and salads. I don't plan on omitting them because when you eat cookies you cannot taste the egg. The the worst part: plain eggs. I can usually tolerate scrambled eggs with cheese, but plain... I cannot force myself to eat them. How about sunny-side-up eggs? You break the thin layer over the yolk and dunk your toast into what could have been a baby chicken. Or in Napoleon Dynamite, they just drank the eggs raw. Does anybody else agree with me here? Do you eat them? How do you eat them?

My final conclusion: I believe the only reasonable use for eggs is to wash one's hair.

Goodnight.

01-02-03-04-05-06

Tomorrow around one o-clock you need to look at your clock or watch because a once in a millennium event is going to happen! At exactly 1:02:03 it will be 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06. Isn't that cool?!?! :)

Everyone got the answer to the question right from yesterday, I guess I picked a pretty easy one! :-P

Question of the post:
Which is worse?
-Forgetting where you parked your car?
-Losing your car keys?

Quote of the post:
"Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you." -Cheers

Song of the post:
"High" by James Blunt

SAT question

Part of the following sentence is bold; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the bold material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, comment with choice A.

As it is primarily a bird of New Zealand’s native forests, the kiwi also lives in scrub and native grasslands.

a. As it is primarily
b. Although primarily
c. Because it lives primarily as
d. It is primarily
e. It lives primarily as

I will post the answer tomorrow!

Quote of the post:
"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self." -Aristotle

Older than the US?

One of the world's oldest living creatures died last week in Calcutta.




Addwaita, a tortoise believed to be 250 years old, died at the local zoo. The tortoise arrived there in 1875. Zoo officials, who have yet to definitively prove Addwaita's age, say he was one of four tortoises that had been brought to India more than a century earlier by British sailors from the Seychelles islands as a gift for Lord Robert Clive of the East India Co. Clive, who kept the turtle in his garden, was instrumental in establishing British colonial rule in India before he returned to England in 1767.

Reports said that the animal died of an infection from a crack in its underside.

April Fools

Quotes of the post:
"However big the fool, there is always a bigger fool to admire him." -Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

"He who lives without folly isn't so wise as he thinks." -François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld

"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer

"Sometimes one likes foolish people for their folly, better than wise people for their wisdom." -Elizabeth Gaskell

"Looking foolish does the spirit good." -John Updike

"Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed." -Mark Twain

"A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees." -William Blake

"A fool must now and then be right by chance." -Cowper

"It is better to be a fool than to be dead." -Stevenson

"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year." -Mark Twain

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." -1 Cor 1:27