The Painting

Ready For School To Be Out

Well, like everyone else, I am SO READY for school to be over with for the year. I take that back. I’m ready for high school to be over.  Every weekday, I sit in various classrooms for 7 hours learning about psychological disorders, parabolas, and salsa dancing. For real, those are things I learned today. I mean, I suppose it’s important if I want to go to college and be a speech therapist, but right now, it’s not an enjoyable experience. Of course, I have fun times with my amigos, but I want to be feeling some sense of accomplishment. The only class that challenges me AT ALL is Algebra 2. I guess the challenges will come next year. I was thinking about it, and I discovered that I will have Trig, AP US History, Chemistry (maybe AP if it’s offered), SAT prep, Bible, and American Lit. I will have a lot on my plate, so I should probably just enjoy the un-challengingness of this year.

Oh! I got to bring my painting home yesterday. It stil needs about a week and a half to dry, but I can put a picture of it up. It’s very awkward looking, and not stunning, but I worked really hard on it. haha. I guess it’s better than it could be.

Oh the things you find…

I am totally cleaning out my room today. Drawers, closets, under the bed and all. It needed it in a bad way, and it just clears my mind and helps me get on with a fresh new start that I also needed. Here is just a sampling of the things I’ve come across:

- a box of bandanas

- my Princess Belle costume

- a Spongebob bucket hat that I never remembered having

- a pair of 3 inch cherry print flip flops

- a cardboard box filled with green and pink little “Chinese takeout” boxes

- my Globe Theater project

- a half-finished Eeyore latch hook rug

- various art projects

- about 10 purses

- and a boatload of stuffed animals.

These things were just in the closet. I can’t wait to finish under the bed and in my desk drawers. haha.

It Just Keeps Getting Better

Just  when I thought life couldn’t be any better, God shows me otherwise. He is so great! Things that I never thought would happen are just falling into place beautifully and all in God’s perfect timing. Before I go on about all that, I must tell about my weekend. (so you’re not totally lost)

Saturday, I went to the Hawk Nelson concert with my family and friends. It was quite amazing. We had so much fun singing and dancing and rockin out in the car on the way home. Kazoos and all. It was nice to be with Kathryn and Blankenbrain (Ashley) at the same time. I don’t think we had done that at all since Northside. It was great! I missed those random times we had together. I have a feeling that many more are in the near future.

We all woke around 4 this morning to go to Freedom. I insisted that they help set up. They actually really enjoyed it and found it to be as fun as I do. We sang and danced to Hannah Montana while we set up the elementary room, and we assembled these awesome new stools that Dawn brought. Kathryn had never been with me to Freedom before, and she was so excited to find friendly, happy people. We all did elementary at the 9:30. I could have used that sermon on “insecurities” before that class. Because it was only the three of us, I was teaching. I had NEVER had to do this by myself before. I had no idea how intimidating a group of 6 kids waiting on you to talk to them can be. Thankfully, we have the video and all, so I wasn’t quite as nervous as I could have been. It actually went very well. I loved it.  We played some fun games, and they listened VERY well. They learned their Bible verse after we repeated it twice. That amazes me.

I was super excited to hear the student ministry announcement. I’ve been waiting and praying for it, and now it’s here. I can’t wait. It’s a good thing I have a bunch of plans this summer, or else I would be totally jumping out of my skin waiting until August.  Needless to say, diversions help with waiting. haha. I am still really excited. Kathryn and Ashley said that they would like to come next week and hear what is going to be said.

Well, after church we got some lunch, came home, and I took a 3 and a half hour nap. That’s actually longer than I slept last night. I woke up at about 7:15, we took Ashley to meet her mom, and somehow Kathryn is staying with us another night. I still have homework that has to be done. I’m not too excited about that. But, Sunday is only 7 days away! : )

Where Am I Going Again?

As you have probably noted, I have had a very crazy week. I have not known where I was going or how I was getting anywhere. Today, I just kind of showed up to school and tried to cover yesterday’s lost ground. I asked during lunch to go to the office to figure out exactly where I was going after school. On my way there, I ran into Mr.Lovingood (Kathryn’s dad) we had a few words, then I dashed down the hall and through the breezeway to ask permission to use the phone. I called Mom, only to find out that I was going home with Kathryn. I was like, “Hey, I just saw her dad, let’s just leave now.” So, I got Katt, and we convinced her dad to take us almost 2 hours early. He had some of his extended family with him, so all 7 of us rode home in the F250. It was cozy. I went to Kathryn’s house, and they had so much family over because her uncle passed away earlier this week, the funeral was yesterday, and her house was the only place to stay. I got to meet her huge family. I just tried my best to stay out of the way. Kathryn and I colored, made cards, talked, and watched some TV. I was the oddball at dinner because we had steaks, and I was the only one who likes mine good and dead. No pink or blood for me. I got stares like I just dropped from outer space or something. It was funny. Kathryn was going to stay over here tonight and tomorrow night, but after she got all packed, her dad said she had to wait until tomorrow night. How sad. My family picked me up on their way home from Dollywood. They had fun. We took Mitchell’s friend home on our way home, and we also picked PaPa’s dog, Bandit, up on our way home. We felt bad leaving the dog all alone all night, so now we have a smallish fluffy thing running around the house. Tomorrow looks like another crazy day. My family, Kathryn, and Blankenbrain, and a couple other kids are going to the Hawk Nelson concert in Rome tomorrow night. I’m pretty excited. I think I may actually be more excited about church on Sunday though. I can’t wait!

Oil Painting, Tennis Tournament, and Still Excited

So, as I mentioned earlier, today was oil painting day for art class at school. It was my first experience with oil paints. A guy came and taught us all step-by-step how to paint a picture. Most of the class participated, and it was a bunch of fun. In the past, the class had done an island scence, a waterfall, or a forest and a river. Today’s was very unique. It was almost all blue. Blue sky, blue clouds, blue mountains, and a blue ocean. It was like a sunset-type picture. The white sun looked like it was giving off a radiant yellow glow. There was also a seashore with some brush on it. It was kind of hard for me to paint because I have never been anywhere where the mountains are next to the beach. Everybody’s picture turned out really good. Of course, most of us find shortcomings in our own work, but to most anyone else, it looks good. I’ll have to take a good picture of mine and put it up here. You can’t really tell that my waves are waves. They kind of just look like ridgy ground, but oh well. We painted until about 3:15, and I had to dash across the parking lot to the 1st annual Wii Tennis Tournament. The Conqueror Worm (Kaitlyn and I) and Cowboy (Webb and Dustin) were the first to face off. We lost, sadly. We did put up a good fight…and scored no points. We were sent to the losers bracket where we lost to Mrs.Worley and Mrs.Keefe (the HS math teacher and school couselor). How lame is that. We put up an extra good fight during that one. We deuced like 3 times. We were the first team eliminated, and we never got the chance to crush Blind Justice like we wanted to. They got 1st place. haha.

Mr.Harvey  brought Erin and I to Erin’s house when it was all over with. (What a great science teacher.) I was extremely tired. I got a piece of bread with some peanut butter on it (random), and decided to go lie down for a while just to relax. I ended up falling dead asleep for well over an hour. I woke up in the middle of this nap to realize that I had been using Erin’s Algebra II book as a pillow. I was too tired to care, so I went back to sleep. I woke up a little after 7, and Erin and I made Kool-Aid and started making dinner. It’s been fun.  I’m still SUPER EXCITED to see what will be said on SUNDAY! I have been all smiles for the past two days. I’m ready for Sunday to be here already!

A Super Day

Today was very low-key, but it was wonderful. I had an extremely hard time staying on task and containing my excitement, but it’s okay. I paid enough attention not to get totally lost. Math was acutally easy. Spanish was craziness as usual. Bible was intriguing, and confusing all at the same time. We went over Hebrews 7. Art was great. We do oil painting tomorrow. Psychology was a bunch of worksheets.

After school, I went with Mr.Harvey, Erin, Taylor, and Thomas down the street to the Boys and Girls Club. I had never been over there after school, and we had so much fun playing with the kids. I met the “World Series Champion of Checkers.” I didn’t get to play him because I had to head out early, but we had fun anyway. Everyone got to see just how awful I am at basketball. It was funny. Those kids are fast! Well, I am currently at home. I have to pack because I’m staying with Erin tomorrow night. My family is going to Dollywood without me. : (  But, I get to oil paint and compete in the Wii tennis tournament. Kaitlyn and I are playing doubles. Our team name is “The Conqueror Worm.” Way better than Will and Aaron’s “Blind Justice.”  I told Kaitlyn we should have been “The Lonely Goatherds,” but she said it was lame. I’m pretty excited. I’m bad at video games, and Kaitlyn’s only played this game once. We’re gonna knock em dead. haha. I’ll probably have to devote a post just to that experience, if I ever come back home. I’m pretty much just staying with whoever will take me for a couple nights I guess. Well, I suppose I need to go practice my gaming skills before the “big match.” haha.

2nd Post Today…I’m too Excited

Okay, so let’s just say that I am the most excited that I’ve been in a super long time. It looks like my prayers are about to be answered, and the next 5 nights are going to be harder to sleep than if I were going to Disney World. I told Mom that it should be illegal for people with extreme feelings of euphoria to drive because they just can’t concentrate. Then again, it’s always nice to have happy people on the road. It’s recommended that upset or angry people don’t drive, why not the other way around?  So, there I was driving a road that I don’t drive often, and I was crying happy tears. So Mom, being the wonderful caring person that she is, reaches over to wipe my eyes with a tissue. At this point I say, “I definitely cannot see with a tissue on my face.” Thanks be to God that I didn’t run off the road. Well, now that I’ve shared my excitement, I’m going to get ready for bed and probably not sleep. God always brings me what I need at just the right time in my life. He’s good like that, and I’m very thankful.

Another One of my Stange Comparisons

We all know how I like to compare things, and sometimes my comparisons confuse others, but they make perfect sense to me. Today I will be comparing the cycle of sin with falling off a horse. (I know it sounds weird, but bear with me and maybe it will make some sense)

As I discussed yesterday, I had an interesting ride on Sky. I had a lesson in “mean.” There were several moments during my ride where I felt like I was about to fall off. That feeling is not a good one. Things start running through your head like, “If I fall, how will I be sure not to land on my neck?” “How far is it to the ground again?” and the ever popular, “This is going to hurt.” If you actually begin to fall, the thought stop, and you are just kind of going wherever the horse decides to send you. At this point you are all thinking, “And how does this relate to sin?”

Well, here is my comparison:

1: You are thinking about sinning (feeling like you’re about to fall off the horse)

2: You begin to contemplate the possibly consequences (remember those “right before you fall” thoughts?)

3: You actually sin (falling into the dirt)

4: You regret it (“Man, this hurts!)

5: You run to God and ask for forgiveness ( go catch the runaway horse)

6: He forgives you and picks you back up ( you get back on that horse)

I don’t know if that made any sense to anyone, but it worked for me. After you think about the cycle of sin, you think, “Wouldn’t life be so much easier if I didn’t sin (fall) in the first place?” The truth is, it probably would be scads easier. The other truth is, we fall because we are human and we have unholy thoughts and actions.

To stay on a horse, you have to sit deep in the saddle, keep your heels way down in the stirrups, and keep a firm grip on the reins. Likewise, to strive to become more Christlike, we can dig deep into His word, become grounded in our faith, have a strong relationship with God, and hold firmly onto His promises. God never said that doing the right thing would be easy, but He did say that He would be with us every step of the way.

I go through all of this to say that I am so thankful that there is a GOD out there who cares enough to pick us up out of the dirt, and put us back where we need to be. He wipes away that past record of falls and we start anew. I don’t know about anyone else, but for me that is GREAT NEWS! He doesn’t care where you’ve been or what you’ve done. He is waiting to pick us up and call us His Children. That is a wonderful, beautiful thing.

Intensity

Well, today is close to being over. It was a good day, but it was intense! It just kind of started out that way and is still heading in that direction. There’s nothing bad about intense…it’s just crazy. It started in math when I figured out that missing most of last week has put me way behind. I mostly had to teach myself all these new concepts. Will helped me too. (THANKS WILL!) The rest of the school day was more low key. After school, I went out to see Sky. I hadn’t ridden her in forever, so I hopped on and she took off. Of course, Ms.Cathy suggested that I get off and try again. I tried again and got her to walk off. The rest of my ride was pretty much crazy. Sky is fine with most anything going counter-clockwise, but all she wants to do clockwise is canter. It’s kind of a pain for me because it’s like affixing pair of reins to a moving train. There is no stopping her. We tried some different things, and I finally got her to walk clockwise. I rode at the posting trot for about 10 minutes straight. If you’ve ever done that, you know how quickly your legs get tired of going up and down. After I made Sky mad and she decided to have manners, I got off and gave her some treats and a bath. (Of course, she ruined the bath by rolling in the mud.)

Mom called to say that there was a car accident next to the C’ville airport and she was running late to pick me up. That just gave me more time to clean up. She picked me up, and we got halfway down 113 (close to Udder Delights) and Rebecca called me to tell me that Mom had left her wallet sitting on the table at the barn. So, we turned around to get it. On our way home, we got the the scene of the accident and had to wait in line to go down 61. When we were nearing our end of 61, we came upon another accident that had not yet been cleared. We turned around and went down some random 5 mile long dead end road, then went the other way down 61. To make a long story short, we ended up having to detour through Emerson and then getting on Black Acre. Going down Black Acre, 4 deer darted out right in front of the car. Thanks be to God that we made it home safely in just over an hour. I feel so blessed that we were delayed. Who knows? That could have been us in that second accident if it weren’t for everything else. God is great!