CHRISTmas

Besides the normal things that bother me at school, such as teachers who dont teach and ridiculous homework, there has been something really making me crazy lately. The word Christmas is banned.
Teachers have been apologizing for saying Christmas, and instead of Merry Christmas it has been twisted to the Happy Holidays or enjoy your winter break. The whole purpose of this season is to celebrate the birth of Jesus! Not to just have a "winter break." I have been told Christmas is banned at school because it offends people who dont celebrate it. Really?! This country was founded on Christian beliefs and if you celebrate something else them im sorry but too bad! This is America a Christian nation! Taking Jesus out of this wonderful season is like taking the heart out of a person. The season is nothing without him, he is the reason for the season. Why doesnt the school district quit acting childlike and just put the truth as it is! For those who dont celebrate all i say to you is LIFE IS TOUGH, get over it. Lets put Christ to be the main focus of this season and celebrate his birth and his life everywhere and everyday! Lets be done with this "mask."

The Heart of a Warrior

With all that I had going on today I decided to take a relaxing run out on the trail just to clear my mind, talk to God and listen to some inspiring music. All was going well as I was praying about those that I come in contact with and how my life is to reflect Christ. As I was approaching an older man who was speed walking, I began to think about how proud of him I was. This probably sounds quite odd, but I was proud of him for not being lazy like 70% of normal Americans. I passed by him and he gave me the thumbs-up and smiled. In return I chuckled and managed to say "thanks". Something was different about that man. In that moment I asked God to be with him, to heal him and bless him. Though I knew nothing about him I felt like I had a reason for coming in contact with him.

I was now on my way back and nearing the last mile of my run and I came from behind the man, and I said great job there. He replied with "hey, great job to you, keep it up." Still I had this longing to know more about this nice man.

One last time I passed him heading back to my mom and he said to me "thank you for your encouragement" and I said " no thank you that was very kind of you." He asked me if I could talk to him for a moment and I said absolutely. At that moment millions of thoughts flooded my mind... His first few words were "This past year I have been battling Pancreatic Cancer, and these past six months I have been doing chemotherapy." Then he continued to tell me that he used to be a runner in high school and he continued it throughout his life. Now he believes that the reason he is winning this fight against pancreatic cancer is because he stayed healthy and strong through his years. With that he explained how great it was that I was out staying active and healthy and how much it benefits our lives in the future, he strongly encouraged me to keep it up my whole life. I thanked this man for telling me his story and I agreed that I am going to do my best to stay fit. Our conversation concluded and right before we began going our seperate ways I said to him "God Bless" at that moment he said thank you so much. Thats all it took.

Today was not an ordinary day for me, it was a day I will remember and one that I truely look onto my life and count all my blessings. I knew by the look in his eyes this man I met today had the heart of a warrior. He was not ready to give up like many do, but he was going to battle with all that he had.

Love, love, love

Christmas List

My Christmas List for 2010:
TOMS

Traffic Lights

A few weeks ago I was sitting at a traffic light on my way to soccer practice and I was thinking to myself "Come on people drive faster and let our lane go, I'm gonna be late!" Right then I realized maybe other people are in a rush or on their way to something much more important than I am.. Then this past weekend as my family and I were on our way to my grandmothers funeral we were coming really close to being late. I realized that when I was heading to soccer, it really wasnt something crucial. Then it came back to me everyday people are in situations that are way more important than our own sometimes. I had to remind myself a few times that I am not the only one here. Now when I am going to be late to something not that important I think of my family on the way to the funeral and it makes me want to let those kind of people go before me. Taking the time to think about others and not just myself really hits home in situations like that.

Summer is done... now school

It has been a while since I have done a post. Actually it has been the whole summer! Now summer is over and tomorrow is back to school once again... except there is something different about starting this year unlike other years. In the past I dread the end of summer, but this year I am glad I had a great summer but am ready to get back to Stahl. I am glad to be in 9th grade now and be the top class of the school, and I am also excited for the challenges and the thrill of being an ASB officer. One of the most important things about this year is going to be Lift. Lift is a Bible Study that goes on before school on Wednesdays at Forza, and this year Brittain and I will be leading it. One of the reasons I am very excited for this is because there were some people I feel God put into my life last year to disciple to and help them know God better, but I was a little bit scared and I didnt want to seem over the top. But now I feel that if God still wants to use me he will make it clear to me to bring them to Lift. I believe God is going to do many great things in Stahl this year and I cant wait to see them unfold according to his plans.

P.S. If you have any ideas of a book of the Bible to read for Lift please share... I am thinking New Testament because it may make more sense and not be as confusing :) thanks!

World Cup 2010

My two favorite teams!

Whooo!!!

Finally, a four day weekend has come... just what i need! These past few weeks have been very hectic! Between 3 school projects, and a final, soccer practices, and softball games, birthdays and much more I am so glad I have some time to relax and think!
Sometimes I feel I get so caught up in the moment and all that is going on in my life that I forget what the Bible says about our lives here. We are here for such a short time that we/I really need to be dedicating ourselves to what God wants us to to while on earth, disciple to others.
On another note, Devon has come home from college... its good to have her home, even though she is crazy busy just like the rest of us. I love the time i get to see her as i am walking in the door as she is walking out... :/ This has been a very jumbled blog. I haven't blogged in a while, i am going to try to get back at it.
i really don't know what else to say, but my bible verse of the day is James 4:6
"God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble."
James is a very powerful and to the point kind of book... definitely one of my favorites!!!

Hopefully it didnt look this bad! :/

Game #1

Today was my team's first softball game. We played tough and pulled out a victory 8-1. God deserves all of the glory though. He watched over each one of us and kept everyone safe. Many girls had great plays and hits. I did well in the field, but struggled some at the plate. Its alright though I am beginning to learn from my mistakes and putting my trust in God each time at the plate. My two favorite verses in sports are definitely, Philippians 4:13 and Psalms 27:1. Which says

The Lord is my light and my salvation,

whom shall i fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life,

whom shall I be afraid?



I know God has a plan for me with softball and all I can ask is that his will be done for whatever he has planned.



On a totally different another note, i had the most embarrassing moment at my game... Here's the story...
It was the last inning of the game and my team was in the field. A girl stepped up to bat and literally hit a rope into the outfield. The ball dropped and since i am shortstop I cover 2nd base when its hit to the side it was hit on. So I was covering 2nd when I saw the girl coming in at second... I was expecting her to slide. So I caught the ball and turned hard to get the tag out. Well the runner did not slide so I slapped her (with my glove) super hard right on the butt! It was an accident and i couldn't help myself from laughing and neither could others...I had just legitimately spanked a girl really hard on accident!!! I apologized to the girl and she was okay, but she was just as embarrassed as I was....Trust me it was an accident!!!!

Failure before success?

Dale Carnegie: Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.

H. Stanley Judd: Don't be afraid to fail. Don't waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It's OK to fail. If you're not failing, you're not growing.

The last 2 softball practices this week have been tough. My hitting is off and I feel like I am not doing my best in the field. Tonight I was hitting all night and I just wasn't like I usually am. I was behind the ball and I was pulling away with my swing. I was getting so frustrated and I felt like I just wanted to quit, and leave right then. Thankfully, through God's strength I made it through practice. But when I was in the car I was still angry. Why all of the sudden my hitting has gone downhill? Is this a sign that I shouldn't be here playing this sport that I do love anymore? I legitimately stunk out there the past 2 nights, honestly!? I decided to shut everything out and just pray for a little while and listen to some inspirational music. Suddenly, I started to think of the quote from Mia Hamm that I knew off the top of my head. “Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it.” That is when I knew my attitude needed to change. I know softball isn't going to be easy as pie every time I play and I need to understand that I am going to fail sometimes but I cant give up! I need to keep praying that God will give me the strength everyday, but not to let my will be done, but his. I do believe that failure comes before success, but only if you have the right attitude.

Homeless

Matthew 25:35-40
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.... I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."


This was the topic at tonight's youth group. Homeless. We tend to see them and look down on them or not give them anything because they may use it towards bad things, but we don't know that. Jesus said that we need to treat them as though they are Jesus because Jesus still loves them. When Jesus was talking in Matthew people were saying Jesus we never saw you needing food or water, but Jesus says that anyone who is in need is Jesus' brother and that is what he meant by himself.

God is so smart and he knows our hearts maybe we don't have anything to give to people we see in need but maybe even just talking to them is all they need. I believe that we may think we are to busy or cant stop to help people, but those are tests put out by God. He sees us walk by the guy starving and we don't realize that is Jesus' brother that he loves. We don't want to get to heaven and God says i was hungry and you didn't feed me. We will feel so ashamed and regretful that we were being so selfish. Everyday we need to open our eyes to people in need and not be judgemental on what they might do with what we give them, but just love them and care for them like Jesus would.

People who are homeless are not social inadequates. They are people without homes.
- Sheila McKechnie

Greece!

Close friend

I was reading a book recently about friendships. It talked a lot about being a good friend by being there for eachother, but giving them space, and really caring for your closest friend. I had been thinking about the book throughout today and at school. I realized that there wasnt anyone I would call a really "close" friend. There are people who are my friends but not ones who I would say are close. The reason I say this is because many people these days are to involved with gossip, but then on the other hand trying to be friends with everyone.
"A friend to all is a friend to none" English proverb
"I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure: Try to please everybody." Herbert Bayard Swope
This doesnt work out because who can really focus on a true solid friend when they are so focused on being friends with everyone. To be a close friend for someone we have to be there for eachother and trust eachother to tell and talk to them about anything. It seems as if today's society has forgotten what a true friend is. And that true friends are the ones who help you become a better and stronger person and you do the same for them.
"The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches but to reveal to him his own." Benjamin Disraeli
I believe that true friends are very hard to find, but that God will put them into our lives when he knows we need them most. I believe that when we feel we just need a close friend to be there and to talk to is when really we need to talk and really come into deep prayer with God. God will put the right people in our lives to be our close friends and when he does that we need to be a true friend to them.
"Who finds a faithful friend, finds treasure." Jewish saying

"A faithful friend is the medicine of life." Apocrypha

Resurrection Day!

Did you know that only 50% of 18-25 year old know what Easter is?
2% of them believe that it is the celebration of Jesus birth...
Easter is what i believe the most important day of the year. It is the day that Jesus overcame death and proved that he is the Son of God and that he still lives! He took the worst beatings and he carried the weight of our sins because he loves us. What we see in the Passion of the Christ is only a small portion of the beatings he really took. He carried the cross, and was crucified with nails in his hands and feet. We cant even imagine how much pain he went through. Then 3 days later he did what he said he would. Today over 2000 years ago Jesus rose from the dead. He ripped off the 25 pounds of grave cloth and he walked out of the tomb! He has risen indeed!

Missing my crazy sis! Can't wait for her to be home!!

Nothing like being inside and relaxing on a rainy day

The Good Samaritan

In Luke 10:25-37 Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan to an expert in the law. The expert asked Jesus who is my neighbor. Jesus replied.

A man was beaten, robbed and left half dead on the street. A priest was going down the road and he saw the man but walked past him. Then a Levite did the same. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him he took pity on him. (vs.33) The Samaritan took the man to an inn to be taken care of and paid for him to get aid. Jesus asked the expert which of these was the neighbor to the man who was robbed? The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (10:37)

I believe that everyday Jesus puts situations before us just like this one. Sometimes maybe we arent in the best mood or don't really feel like helping people and we do what the Levite did, walk by people in need. That is when we need to think about what Jesus did on the cross for us, he paid the ultimate price, but he did it because he loves us. Jesus is the one who provides for our needs and he gives us our stregnth which he called for us to use to help others. I pray that everyday we will be like the Samaritan who was the neighbor to the man in need. Our life here is short so while we have the chance lets go and do likewise.