Back... home?

Well, I've returned from a little more than a week of fog, ocean, low 70s, a couple good books, a couple dozen hours of Star Trek, a time of rest for my body (though I'm throwing it right back in this week with another 9hrs of gymnastics), lots of bike rides, time with my family, good jokes, finding new buttons on my sister, hanging out with Lamar, and generally relaxing and having a good time in Oregon.

Well, this next week is going to be crazy, gymnastics, school, cleaning, and getting my life back together... and then saying goodbye to my sister :-( She's leaving me for a semester... but I guess life will go on. I am so ready for debate class to start so that I can see everybody again.

I think I agree

You Are 47% American

America: You don't love it or want to leave it. But you wouldn't mind giving it an extreme make over. On the 4th of July, you'll fly a freak flag instead... And give Uncle Sam a sucker punch!

How American Are You?

Gone again

Well, I'm leaving for Oregon soon, we haven't decided if we will leave thursday and drive all night long, or if we will get up at like 4 in the morning and leave friday, but it will be soon. This makes me really rediculously excited, because that means we are going to Oregon, but really really really sad because that means I won't be able to hang out with all of my friends for even longer... yes, I miss a whole lot of people right now, but especially I think I miss Kelsey. I haven't seen her in forever, and that makes me sad, but soon school will start and we will be together again :-)

Thanks to my Good Friend Chris

There was a little old lady, who every morning, stepped onto her front porch, raised her arms to the sky, and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD!"

One day an athiest moved into the house next door. He became irritated at the little old lady. Every morning he'd step onto his front porch after her and yell: "THERE IS NO LORD!"

Time passed with the two of them carrying on this way every day.

One morning, in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted: PRAISE THE LORD! Please Lord, I have no food and I am starving, provide for me, Oh Lord!"

The next moring she stepped onto her porch and there were two HUGE bags of groceries sitting there. "PRAISE THE LORD!" she cried out. "HE HAS PROVIDED GROCERIES FOR ME!"

The athiest jumped out of the hedges and shouted: "HA! THERE IS NO LORD> I BOUGHT THOSE GROCERIES!!"

The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD! HE HAS PROVIDED ME WITH GROCERIES AND MADE THE DEVIL PAY FOR THEM!"

On Stewardship

"A steward, then, isn’t someone who maximizes her own potential, or his own self-worth, or her own treasures. A steward is someone who maximizes someone else’s potential, someone else’s self-worth, someone else’s treasures and talents. A steward is someone who cares enough to be a good neighbor. A steward acts in love and concern, not for what she’s getting out of the transaction, but for what she might be able to raise for her friend. To be a good steward is one of the highest Christian callings there can be. And in that sense, it’s always stewardship season."
Thanks to James McTyre (Note, I do not advocate all in this blog)

Any thoughts?

Tomorrow

Tomorrow will be my first "real" gymnastics meet, and my sister is coming home... really nervous, really happy.

The Stuff is Going

Well, with my ever growing desire to rid my life of needless material possessions I have successfully eliminated a lot. It has been an interesting trail to travel and one that has led me to another decisions that I'll talk about in a second. As I was going through boxes and boxes of things (which I am still doing) that I haven't seen for probably years it was all of those little things that hit me. The smell of the chapstick that I used when I was twelve, stuffed animals that haven't been seen in years, the little rings you get for 25 cents. And most of all the bracelets. I scrapped part of my life yesterday. Of probably close to thirty hemp bracelets, anklets, necklaces and rings, only two remain. An age is ending. Digging through the past can do interesting things to your brain. Good memories, bad memories. I found several random scraps of paper that brought back so much joy, and ones that filled my eyes with tears. Things have been saved and filed away, but much more has been set aside to give away.

Our house is nothing magnificent to look at, one story three bedrooms, two bathrooms, plus the room we built in the garage... but it is so much more than we need. We have been blessed so abundantly, and the way that I use that blessing has almost begun to sicken me. The decisions that I make daily to live my life materially have begun to weigh heavily on my heart. How do I justify spending twenty dollars to go have some fun when there are people who are starving, homeless, dieing? I am learning that if I am truly to believe what I do then my life must change, so it is starting. I don't know how far I will be carried, but the journey has begun, and it is only Christ who will carry me to my destination because I know that I could never make it there on my own.

So consequently if you are interested in getting me something for my birthday there are only two things that I want. The first is a lens for my camera which has been really hard for me to go ahead and decide that I am going to get it. I believe that probably my family will pay for most of it and I will end up paying for the rest, so if you want to help out with that you could send a couple dollars the way of my parents and let them know. Or additionally you could give this: A Gift of Hope

(If you already have gotten me something, or still want to that's ok)

A Little Frustrated

Well, I think that tomorrow is going to be a no technology day, and I'm serious. Yeah, so I'm still trying to catch up on emails and everything so if I haven't responded I'm sorry, I'm going to try to finish all of that up tonight, and then tomorrow the only thing I am going to use technological is my CD player, and that's a maybe, I haven't decided yet. I feel like I waste my life away on these things. I just get tired of screens, and today has been one of those days. Though I must say that yesterdays debate madness was great, but that's different. So, if you email me or whatever I'll get it day after next... that is if I don't decide to just disappear for a while.

I'm Happy

I'd forgotted how much I loved spending hours reformating word documents. :-D
(and I'm not being sarcastic)

Never Ending

If you feel like you want to read it I wrote a song today that happens to have the same title.

I am coming to realize more and more as I get older (yeah, like I'm really that old) that love never dies. True love (I'm not really talking about like falling in love or whatever) will never stop, no matter what happens, no matter what changes. Maybe it does and I just haven't lived long enough to find out, but I have a feeling I'm right. Well, this probably just sounds like ramblings, but I don't know, maybe it doesn't. My thoughts are muddled. I miss friends. I miss people I haven't seen in years. I miss people I saw just yesterday. I miss people I saw today...

I've been thinking about legally changing my (middle) name recently, but then again why does it matter if it's legal or not?

Oh yes, and happy birthday to Ryan.

Faith Flight by Dallas Elder (excerpts)

One of my lifetime desires has been to hang glide. Recently while I was in Peru that opportunity presented itself. While in Lima, waiting for my missionary to finish at the dentist, I saw the hang gliders across the street leaping from the cliffs which over looked the sea. For a nominal fee they would take you up for a few minutes. I went for it. They strapped me in with the pilot, connecting me to the chute. The instruction was, “Do you see that cliff? Run toward it.” It was a sheer precipice that rose more than 200 feet above the sea. We ran in tandem with our chute and leaped from the cliff. The first movement was downward, but then the chute caught air and the lift of the sea breeze flowing against the cliffs. It then lofted us high above the ground carrying us effortless along the beautiful shoreline.

The whole thing became a faith analogy. Faith is the substance (assurance) of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen. (Heb.11:1) Faith isn’t an air-headed fantasy without foundation. It is more than hope. It has substance. It is not jumping off into the thin air of uncertainty. It is a calculated, truth base effort. There are spiritual laws at work that enable flight. To literally jump off the cliff, there is the downward pull of the world. It is the law of gravity. It is a strong and constant pull that keeps people grounded on the earth. But there is another law that transcends and trumps the law of gravity. It is the law of aerodynamics. This law, is the law of lift and it sustains the fact of flight. Spiritually speaking in our world, there is the law of Sin and Death. It is the subterranean, diabolical pull of this fallen world. But there is another law which trumps this law. It is the law of the Spirit and Life. It lifts you above this fallen world. …Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death.(Rom 8:2)

We leap in defiance of the laws of this fallen world to soar in the air of His Unshakable Kingdom.

Two Things

I completely agree with this person:

And according to Quiz Galaxy I will be defined as this in the dictionary:

Bethany --
[noun]:

A person who is a master of making ravioli