Monday, September 30

Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.
Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
But we bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.

Psalm 115

Friday, September 27

Thursday, September 19

On Time

Time is a sneaky little imp, isn't she?

When I was four, I was sure that I'd never make it to the first graders' Sunday School class on the second floor.
When I was nine, I was convinced I would never see the day when I would turn ten and reach the glorious double-digits.
When I was in eighth grade, I knew that surely I would never actually get to high school. (I'm still mentally stuck in eighth grade, though. When people ask me what grade I'm in I'm like, "Uh....")
And now, here I am, a junior in high school, positive that graduation day will never come.

Compared to some people, I'm basically a baby. Despite that, fifteen years is long enough to have noticed a thing or two about time.

First, I've learned that time does fly when you're having fun. It may not always seem to be speeding along, but once the good times are through and you're back to plugging away at everyday necessaries, you realize just how short those good times are. Enjoy them while they last. Ecclesiastes 3 says this: "I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God."

Second is that time is a terrible schizophrenic. One moment she's slower than a herd of turtles slogging through peanut butter, and the next she's charging ahead at blinding speed. Who even knows what time is? Is she a sunset? Or a walk on the beach? Maybe even a batch of cookies? Can she even be truly, accurately quantified? Time is similar to the verse in James that says that life is a vapour. It appears for a short time, and then vanishes.

The third thing I've learned is that giving a situation time and waiting on the Lord can do monumental things. I know that my natural desire when something is going wrong is for control. But I don't have any clue what I'm doing. That would be like me trying to grab the steering wheel from my mom while we're driving. She's been driving for thirty years, and goodness knows she drives me all up and down creation. I have no reason not to trust her to do it right. Why in the world would we try to take the steering wheel from our omnipotent God? We need to just calm down, give our situation to God, and trust His judgment and timing. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." And again in Ecclesiastes, "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time."

I don't claim to know much of anything, and these are just my personal observations and thoughts stemming from those observations. I may be way off-target, and that's okay. I have plenty of time to figure out the great mystery that is time.

Wednesday, September 18

When I check my phone three times in ten minutes and have no texts...

Monday, September 16

On College Professors

I'm like actually giggling just thinking about writing this post... It's going to be too much fun.

I have been dual enrolling at Pensacola State for about a month now, so I've gotten pretty used to the way my teachers teach, test, and grade. And even better than all that businessy jazz, being me, I've found something humorous about each of them.

(I'm also going to use Rate my Professor to help me write this post, simply because I think that it's absolutely hysterical what other people say about my current teachers. I shan't name names, but maybe you'll know some of them anyway.)
I shall now tell you about my algebra teacher.
First of all, just understand that he is awesome. He's like the coolest ever (for a math teacher). He somehow manages to make his class fun, which boggles my mind, and I just sit there like
Yeah. It's pretty legit. Plus, he has an awesome beard and looks like Jeffery Dallas.

Next I think I'll talk about my American government professor. He comes to class every day decked out like he's heading off to Hawaii. He starts talking, and an hour and fifteen minutes later, he stops talking, and you'd better have written everything he said down. One student said that he "has a script of the entire history of the world memorized."

Next is my music appreciation teacher. At first glance, she looks like a sweet, kind old lady who plays the piano for her sad little Baptist church. But then she starts talking, and you learn that she is a past Navy officer with zero tolerance for rule breakers and high expectations. And when she sits down at the piano, she plays funky spunky chunky monkey jazz with high energy. So for her I say simply this: looks can be deceiving.

And now my English Comp I teacher.
He's super cool.
He's like fifteen minutes late to class all the time, which is fine by me because I get to sit and read and laugh inwardly at my apelike classmates. 
He never lets out less than twenty minutes early. 
I was really expecting to hate him, namely because of this review: "omg professor [name deleted to protect the innocent and also because this genius spelled it incorrectly] is a horrible teacher he is very confusing when he assigns papers then he turns around and grades like a nazi. i didnt learn anything and he needs to help the students that ask for it. i would never suggest taking him unless u love to write and can write super well right off the bat because otherwise u will b in the hole :("
Ooh, and here's another good one: "I would tell anyone that like the subject english not to take Mr. [Goodness people, his name is not that difficult to spell] He does not explain things to you well. I will say that he is a pretty funny man, but thats all I could say about him."
I don't know why I listened to those reviews in the first place, since they were obviously from very credible sources who would do well in an English class and know the difference between a "Nazi" teacher and someone who has expectations of his students... Totally.
This is my favorite class now.


My conclusion: College professors are an odd, widely-varied species which will never be fully understood or explained.

Friday, September 13

I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 16:8-11

Wednesday, September 11


Randomness

I'm weird.
I don't know how this happened, but it's true.

(I also wonder when it is that being weird became some badge of honor rather than a disgrace)

There are a lot of random things I randomly do/think/say/shouldn't randomly say, that make me the randomly random person that I randomly am, so naturally, I'M GONNA TELL YOU GUYS.

Top 10 Random Things About Me
1. I can go from really super quiet to REALLY SUPER LOUD AND SPASTIC in about 2.78 seconds.
2. I positively despise white chocolate. I think it's a disgrace to humanity and the good name of chocolate.
3. I say "Your face" in situations where it really doesn't apply at all, simply because it's become a knee-jerk reaction.
4. I am incredibly obsessed with Jane Austen movies, and particularly the romantic interests of the female protagonists. (i.e. Mr. Darcy, Captain Wentworth -AAAH- etc..)
5. I'm ridiculously paranoid about crossing the street. It takes me like half an hour to get across a fifteen foot crosswalk.
6. I don't like hot drinks.
7. I am against white mint chocolate chip ice cream. It must be green, or it doesn't taste right.
8. I am very easily startled by bugs, people, phones, potato chips, dogs, hats, sheet music, doors, backpacks, trees, glasses, lotion, water, frisbees, flowers, and did I mention bugs? I don't like bugs...
9. I'm kind of obsessed with the way things smell. My room has about fourteen different air fresheners (okay, two), I do happy dances over my body spray, and I immediately flip over any guy wearing a decent cologne.
10. I laugh loud, long, and a lot. (But most of you probably knew this already)
11. I'm not good with numbers.

HERE'S A RANDOM PICTURE OKAY BAI

Friday, September 6

Engines

In my Drivers Ed course.

Which mechanical part or feature listed in Module 9 do you think is most important?
I think the most important part is the engine.
Why is that particular part or feature so important?
The car can't be driven if the engine is not functioning properly.
How do you benefit from that part or feature?
If the engine is working right, I can drive the car, which is always a plus when driving.

I pity the person who has to grade my work...

Thursday, September 5

My Adventure

Today I realized a terrible realization to realize.
I forgot to post about my trip to Ohio.

*Dun dun dun duuunnnn* 
(It's funny because the opening line of Beethoven's 5th was like code for victory during World War II or something like that.)

But I have tons of pictures and all kinds of commentary that you guys don't want to see or hear, so naturally - I MUST POST!

 For every gorgeous family picture we have, I can guarantee that there are twelve just like this. At first we couldn't figure out how Geoffrey managed to look so serene while the rest of us were being blinded, but then we noticed that his eyes are completely closed. And yup. This is my family.
 This is the kitten that had adopted my Aunt Elaine. She slunk around outside, attacking various shrubs and waiting for food. (She was appropriately named Precious)
 I really missed the pink sunsets we've been having in Pensacola, but Ohio sunsets aren't so bad.
 The lake was maybe twenty feet from the house where we were staying, which was nice. Aunt Elaine had a huge window on one side of her house (it was almost the size of a whole wall) so we could sit in the living room and see this beautiful view.
 And of course, Cameron found a way to play video games...
 I honestly just got incredibly lucky with this shot. We were driving and I knew there was about a two percent chance that I would be able to get a decent photo coming around the corner in our van. So I stuck my camera out the window, crossed my fingers, and shot.
My camera loves me. x)
 Uh.
 One of the best things about playing photographer is when you get those shots that just really capture someone's personality.
This is definitely one of those shots.
 Yes, guys, it really was as picturesque as it looks. It was incredible.

 Another one of those personality shots. This is one of my favorite photos ever.

 This is pretty much what everything looked like along the roads in Ohio (unless it was a cornfield)
 Getting ready to head underground at Ohio Caverns! It was a cool trip, although it was somewhat monotonous looking at wet rocks the whole time...

 My beautimous little sister. <3



Ahahaha.... I'm picking on Dad and he doesn't know it....
 My pool buddy. I think we won...maybe?
 We employ extremely strict technique. This has been practiced for hours and is a complex art that takes years to perfect.

Now I could have posted tons and tons of photos from underground in the Ohio Caverns, but it really would have been pointless. Everything looked pretty much like this. It was interesting, but nothing particularly spectacular, and thusly not worthy of four thousand pictures when one will suffice.

So yeah! Those were a few of my favorites. Because I know that your interest in my life is somewhat limited as a general rule, I have mercifully stopped there. If you want to see them all and hear the long, boring narrative which accompanies, feel free to stop by (and bring a cantaloupe or something)

Monday, September 2

Passing Storms

I think I like storms.

I can say that now, sitting at the computer in the cozy, dry warmth of my home, looking out at the world all fresh and green and clean-smelling. The sun is reflecting its golden light off the water droplets which adorn everything in sight. The plants have all perked up, refreshed by the rain.

I can say that now that I see why the storm was necessary and good. But in the midst of the noise and chaos of the thunderstorm, I can't say that I always like storms. (Especially when they mess up my iPod so I can't hear my music)

Isn't it like that in our lives sometimes, though? When friends move away, when you can't have something you wanted, when you feel like you aren't doing anything right - these are our storms. It's hard to see through the initial pain how any good can come of it. But God brings these storms into our lives to bring us closer to Him and refine us, so we may come forth beautiful as gold in the end. When trials seem to come endlessly, that's when we need Christ the most.

This morning I was really worrying about something that came up suddenly. A little later I was being driven home from a friend's house (still with a heavy heart), and I wasn't really paying attention to the various conversations in the car, but the lady driving us said something about the weather and mentioned that it was "just a passing storm." That comment, though not aimed towards me or my situation, reminded me that God makes all things beautiful in His time, even if it takes a storm to do it.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1:25, "The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." It may not make any sense to us how we can make it through our storms or why they're there, but God knows, and past that, it doesn't really matter. We're just supposed to trust His promise that He would give us nothing in our lives that we can't overcome.

In Christ, we have nothing to fear from the passing storms of life, and we know that when they're over, we'll see the beauty that He realized all along.


Sunday, September 1

At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it?-- Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never!--All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide. 
         -Abraham Lincoln, 1838