simple the longest night

Tonight mother and I went to an amazing church service. This was one that I really want to share with you guys.This service was different than most church services. This one was to help us with the comfort of a death of a loved one.

Exactly seven days ago, I came home to news about the death of my only uncle on my mom's side. We lost him to depression. This was the type of news that I did not expect upon walking into the house. This past week has definitely been a rough one for all of the family. Mother and I figured out that the "waterproof" mascara wasn't "tearproof". Saturday was the day that we buried my uncle, and I have missed him so much. Everyone in my family realizes how hard of a Christmas this will be and we do not know exactly how we are all going to deal with this. I personally believe that we will be drawn closer together to comfort one another. I also believe that this service tonight helped both mother and I with the coping of Uncle Tim.

These were the scriptures read tonight at the service.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Revelations 21:1-5

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, I give Egypt as your ransom.

Isaiah 43:1-3

While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:6-7

This last verse is one from the Christmas story. People generally take Christmas for granted, thinking that they should have the ideal family gathering with many presents to open and lots of food to eat. Many people over think what the main reason as to why we celebrate Christmas is. It is not for the children, where they tell Santa what they would like for him to bring them because they were good that year, or for the adults who bake and cook all day for the family gathering that night, or even wrapping all the Christmas presents and unwrapping them that morning. There are some people in the world that do not get this opportunity to receive presents. They take this time of the year to be with the people that they love the most and actually spend time with them. They also take this time to thank God that they are living and blessed with what they have. I think that they understand the true meaning of Christmas. Even though there are the happy times of Christmas, some people go through the sad times as well. It is said though that you can't be sad at Christmas, you have to be cheery. This is where you would feel isolated because you believe that they don't understand your situation. This is where the name "The Longest Night" comes from. Where you feel like you have no one to turn to and no one understands what you are going through. It seems like the night will never turn to morning and you lay in bed thinking about all of your problems. Whenever you feel this way, turn to God. He will always listen and he gives comfort to you in every form possible. The comfort of Christmas is the amazing gift of God's love. 

Also tonight, instead of the advent wreath, we did an alternative wreath lighting. These candles represented giving words to the ones that we lost. These are the inspirational words that were read as the candles were lit.

The Candle of Sadness

As we remember loved ones who have left us, relationships that are no more, our lives the way they used to be, we acknowledge sadness at their passing.

The Candle of Courage

As we face the loss in our lives, we realize that Jesus has promised never to leave us. We find courage in that assurance and in our own experience of God's gift of courage to us in the past.

The Candle of Memory

As we remember the stories, happy and sad, about the ones we love, about times when life felt whole and secure, we can find healing. As we weave these stories into our new life, we can find peace. As we remember the story of Jesus, we can find hope.

The Candle of Hope

Our hope is that for each of us there is more than only a past. Our hope is that for each of us there is also a future, in this life, and in the life to come.

The Candle of Love

Jesus Christ is the true source of our love. Jesus is the light that always shines in the darkness. And the darkness did not - and will not - overcome it.

So I challenge you, blogger world, to spend this Christmas with God. Thank him for all the blessings that you are given each day. Thank him for living as long as you did. Thank him for knowing that your loved ones that you have lost are sitting with him in heaven. Also spend this Christmas with your family. This is a holiday where you are to be drawn closer to your family. Don't be one of those people that are caught up in the glittery commercials on tv of how Christmas should be.

simple what did you learn?

What did you learn in English this semester?

 What was the process that you went through when writing a paper?

 How have you used this in your writing today?

These are the three questions that I have been contemplating these past few weeks. There are a lot of things that I could say that I have learned but narrowing it down to just a few main examples has been my biggest issue. One main thing I have learned is when writing your papers; you do not have to follow the 5 paragraph format. This was probably the hardest habit for me to break. Whenever you start writing papers in school, teachers have taught you that you are supposed to write with the 5 paragraph format. Coming into this class this was the exact mindset that I had. I wanted to write every paper in this format. When we wrote our literacy narratives for our first paper, I started using the format when I began my outline but once I realized that I was doing so, I tried a different strategy by separating my examples into different paragraphs. This helped my paper flow more smoothly. You were able to understand the story line much better and I was not confused whenever writing my paper. This semester I have progressed with not writing with the traditional format and on my cultural narrative, I used only 4 paragraphs of main ideas to get my point across. It still made sense and I believe not using that format improved my paper with the flow better than the format would have. 

Another main thing that I learned is that you always have to consider your audience and how your style of writing must “fit” with your audience. At first I was very confused with what this meant. Subconsciously you don’t realize that when you are writing papers for a professor, you are considering them as your audience and you will use a more formal tone in your paper, and you might even use big words that you may not understand the meaning of. When texting your best friend though, you realize that they will understand the sublanguage that you are using so you use a more non formal tone. When I blog to the world, I use a semi-formal tone. I want you guys to understand what I am talking about, but I don’t want you guys to be bored or confused so I won’t use “big” words.  

When we were given our literacy narrative assignments I had no idea what to do. I was lost on what I needed to put in the paper, or how I was going to write this paper. My writing process though went as follows:

-I began writing all of my childhood memories. It varied from school, to my babysitter's house

-I made an outline. 

-I wrote my first draft of the paper.

-I sent this paper to my older brother.

-We did peer review in class.

-I worked on revisions and turned in my second draft.

-We received our papers back and conferenced with Mrs. Camargo

-I went to the Writing Resources Center and worked with Rebecca.

-I turned in my third and final draft

In conclusion, this semester was one for me where I broke from my traditional format writing and I was able to recognize the different tones that I had used when writing different pieces. I was also able to see how I went through a process to writing my paper.  So my question to you is, how has your English class helped you this semester?

simple ramble.

I apologize for being MIA. 

I have been stressed to the max about finals and papers and work and life in general.

I have been trying to balance it all but have failed at it.

This lead to me getting sick. I came down with a cold. It sucks point blank.

I need to find a way to plan out my time between studying, eating, work, sleep, and life. But it seems like I will be studying my butt off the next 2 weeks that I will not have a life. The one thing that I am looking forward to though is Christmas break. It officially starts for me on the 15th and I can not be more excited. Oh did I mention that I finally get my state championship ring on the 9th of this month? Talk about even more excitement!

These past few days I have done nothing but lay in bed after classes and watch tv, and currently today started the 25 days of Christmas on ABC family. I love Christmas so I am excited to celebrate everything possible. I even put a small tree in my dorm room. Its silver with red ornaments and and a red star on the top. It's so cute.

But I need to get back to studying or relaxing whichever I decide to do. More than likely I will be relaxing and doing nothing for the rest of the night, so that way this weekend I can get all of my studying done that is needed. 

Have a great rest of the week and goodluck to those that will be taking finals for this semester! 

:)

simple thanks

Who is the person that I run to for money all the time? 

Who is the person that is always there for me?

Who is the person that I don't thank often enough?

Who is the person that I love very much?

Who is the person that I am blogging about?

DAD.

I love this man. He is always there for me and will do anything for me. We have had 18 thanksgivings together. So for this year's thanksgiving, I thought that I would give 18 reasons as to why I am thankful for my dad.

1. He does EVERYTHING for me.

2. He has an amazing passion for Christ.

3. He always puts things into perspective.

4. He loves his children more than life itself. 

5. He helps out everyone with anything.

6. He was my pitching coach for the longest time. 

7. He is a big teddy bear. Deep, loud voice when needed, but soft and sweet other times.

8. He did his best to be at every last one of my softball games last year.

9. He has the same love for football as do I and my brother.

10. He has a take-no-crap from anyone attitude. I LOVE it.

11. He loves to take Sunday naps. I believe that they are the best.

12. He helped me with math during elementary school. This is where my love for math came from.

13. He apparently donated all of his genes to me, or so says my mom.

14. He loves to make jokes on a daily basis. Most of the time they are pretty funny.

15. He is like me, a tender heart when it comes to animals.

16. He knows how to talk to you about anything.

17. He has a technological knowing deficit. I think its funny when he is trying to figure it out.

18. He is MY dad, plain and simple.

I love you daddy, and I know I don't tell you enough. You are for real the best dad anybody can ask for and I'm blessed to call you my dad.

simple the Father's love

Guess what day it was yesterday?

I Am Second  Monday!

I know you are all excited just as I was yesterday. 

Last week I made the commitment to write each morning a memory of dumpling, my cat. Well instead of doing that, I sort of switched it up and did a blog about her with 14 memories/reasons as to why I loved her. (see below) This week my commitment has to deal with thanksgiving. I want to write a letter to my dad thanking him for all he does and giving him 18 reasons as to why I am thankful for him (I am 18, so we have had that many thanksgivings together). I want to do this because I don't show how thankful I am towards my dad as I am to my mom. 

This week we watched the Shannon Culpepper film. She talks about how her dad wasn't there for her to watch her grow up, and how he went and did things for his other family and other children. She was jealous of them. She thought, "I had him first." Then when she was in her senior year of high school she fell madly in love with this older man, and he was one whom she thought that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. He was, however, very controlling and abusive towards Shannon. She didn't really fully understand all of this because she was blinded by the fact that she "loved" him. He was a older man and a "fatherly" figure to her, or so she thought. She finally realized that she had invested all of this time trying to find someone to be her father and she found herself just talking to God asking him to take the pain away. She found out that God had been with her through everything and that he was never going to leave her like her dad did. She finally realized that God loved her and was always going to be there for her in the end.

The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that's who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.

Judas (not Iscariot) said, "Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?"

"Because a loveless world," said Jesus, "is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him-we'll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn't mine. Its the message of the Father who sent me. 

I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. he will remind you of all the thing I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left-feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught.

You've heard me tell you, 'I'm going away and I'm coming back.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I;m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.

I've told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I'll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don't worry-he has nothing on me, no claim on me. but so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father's instructions right down to the last detail."

John 14:21-31

This video is highly relatable so I strongly suggest that you watch it and if you have any friends that you would want to share this with, please do.

simple R.I.P dumpling

How would you feel waking up to a phone call from your dad and the first words he says to you is "I have some bad news."

This is what happened to me this past Saturday morning. Our cat, Dumpling, had to be put down. She was declining very quickly. She would not eat anything and she was in very much pain. This phone call was one that I was not prepared for. As dad told me that they were going to do so, I started crying my eyes out. This was the worst thing that I wanted to hear. I knew that this day was coming, because she was so old (she was 14 years old), but I wanted to be able to see her one last time before they laid her to rest.

This past week I have been struggling very much with the loss of my cat. I came home this past week and could not even sleep in my own bed because I was struggling so badly. She had slept with me every night throughout my high school career.

So as part of my I Am Second commitment this week, and me thinking that this might help with the pain, I'm going to write 14 reasons as to why I loved Dumpling and the memories of her.

1. She was black, white and orange. A calico.
2. She was a fat cat.
3. She was the laziest cat ever.
4. She was actually willed to daddy from an old lady that had died.
5. I was in the 1st grade when we got her. She hated me at first.
6. She had her favorite food, that she would meow for when she saw it.
7. She loved playing with a string.
8. She was very shy at first around the house and if anyone came in, she would go hide.
9. She loved Christmas and being able to lay under the tree with the presents.
10. I was mean to her at first, I cut her whiskers semi-short.
11. She was the best cuddler. She would lay with you and you had to have a elbow/arm for her head to lay on.
12. She shed hair everywhere in the house.
13. She had a love/hate relationship with all of the animals that came into our house.
14. She always greeted me whenever I walked into my room.

There are of course many many more memories that I could name of her. I miss her so much and it is hard coming home and her not being here to greet me. Here are just a few pictures of her.

RIP Dumpling. You were the best cat ever and I miss you tons.

simple cutting to confidence.

Yes. It has been at least a month since I Am Second Mondays has happened.

But that streak was stopped tonight.

Last time I had made the commitment to patch things up with my family. We had been arguing and thankfully I had fulfilled my commitment. There are still some rough patches that need to be fixed but its better than nothing. This week I made the commitment to give everything to God and to write down one good memory of my cat, Dumpling. We had to put her down this past Saturday. She was 14 years old and was the one that slept with me every night throughout my high school career. I miss her so much and I have been struggling with the fact that she is gone but I know that she is not hurting anymore and that she is in a better place. I hope that writing down one memory of her will help my heart and maybe the pain will lessen.

This week we watched the video with Victoria Childress. Her story was that she struggled with family issues, moving around, scavenging for food, no place to sleep, etc. This started at a very young age and she didn't know how to deal with it properly. She turned to cutting her arms and even one time she carved S.A.D. into her arms. This was when she was 13 or 14. Her mother caught her one time and took her to a physician. This physician didn't try to diagnose her, he simply just like Victoria talk to him and tell him her story. At the end, he told her to sign a living contract, that she would live her life and that she wouldn't let things put her down. If she ever felt like she wouldn't be able to make the commitment she was to call him and talk to him. She started praying silently and asking God to help her to fulfill this contract. He came into her life and helped her to stop cutting her arms. She knew that she could go to Him anytime that she needed someone to talk to and to let all her emotions out. Once she finally moved, she started going to church and everyone there accepted her for who she was. She loved knowing that people would be there for her and help her anytime she needed it.

And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.

And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." For he was saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" 

And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many."

And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, "Send us to the pigs; let us enter them."

So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea. The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened.

And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 

And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 

And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him and said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

Mark 5:2-19

simple rebuilding the altar.

Be prepared. Very long post ahead.

Every Sunday, or at least every Sunday, Aimee and I go to C4Charlotte. 

(This is like a YoungLife for those at home).

Anyways when we go, the service is started off by singing a couple of amazing, inspiring songs then followed by a sermon that is an "eyeopener", and ending the night with a couple more of the inspirational songs and an invitation to the altar.

This week the sermon was about Rebuilding the Altar. This sermon was so inspirational that I wanted to share it with you blogger world. 

So A'hab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Car'mel. Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Ba'al's prophets number four hundred fifty. Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; the god who answers by fire is indeed God." All the people answered, "Well spoken!" Then Elijah said to the prophets of Ba'al, "Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it." So they took the bull that was given to them, prepared it, and called on the name of Ba'al from morning until noon, crying, "O Ba'al, answer us!" But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made. At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud! Surely he is god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he us on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them. As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response. Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come closer to me"; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the Lord that been thrown down; Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, "Israel shall be your name"; with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed. Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, "Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood." Then he said, "Do it a second time"; and they did it a second time. Again he said, "Do it a third time"; and they did a third time, so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with water. At the time of offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, "O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back." Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, "The Lord indeed is God; The Lord is indeed is God."

1 Kings 18:20-39

This story explains that the Lord is the way to Heaven and to be reborn spiritually. These people did not understand that fully. They had to rebuild their altar and ask for God's spirit to re-baptize them. The water was symbolic of God's spirit. Also, God is going to baptize you with the fire and the Spirit. This gives you the power to overcome the enemy. As Elijah took twelve stones to rebuild the altar, there are twelve tribes that helps with the way of life and helps us rebuild the altar.

1) Rueben. This is where you recognize who your friends are and who you surround yourself with. you want to surround yourself with people that build you up.

2) Simeon. The music and what we hear on a daily basis does affect our life. The subliminal messages that are in the songs that we listen to today affect us and our life to a major degree.

3) Levi. To simply put this, sexual relationships outside of marriage only steals your purity.

4) Judah. You want to worship and bless your creator. Always try to draw close to God. Worship is everything, not just singing a couple of sings. Worship is your lifestyle. 

5) Dan. God is the judge of all people, not us. Don't judge others by their lifestyle and their problems.

6) Naphtali. You want to have such a strong relationship with the Lord that you don't want to lose him.

7) Gad. When things are going great for you, be glad that they are. Thank the Lord and worship him for it.

8) Asher. Find happiness in the Lord, even on your lowest days.

9) Issachar. You want to love your job, even on the days that you are having a bad day there.

10) Zebulun. Don't place all your focus on the material things in life. Dwell in the presence of God.

11) Joseph. Give all of your dreams to the Lord. Don't plan out your life. Give your past, present, and future to the Lord.

12) Benjamin. Know who is the Son of the Right Hand. Worship him and praise him daily.

simple failure.

I failed.

I didn't get the scripture for you guys.

I have been super busy with college.

This past week, I had 2 tests, 2 quizzes, and a paper due. 

Talk about stress to the max. 

Currently I have been looking for new ways to relieve my stress. Does anyone have any ideas?

BUT:

I did go home. I did celebrate my brother's birthday. AND I went shopping with mother. These were very successful days, just saying.

On Friday, I met my brother at a small restaurant in Pilot for lunch. We then went to Winston to look for running shoes that he wanted to buy for his wife. How sweet is he?! Then that night we went to Mount Airy, to eat out with the family. It was a good night, filled with so much laughter. 

On Saturday, mother and I went back to Winston to shop for winter stuff. Anything you can think of we pretty much bought. After the shopping adventure, I packed back up and came back to Charlotte.

ALSO:

We do have I Am Second this Monday so be prepared for a post on that. I promise to blog that night.

Have a great weekend :)

simple what happened?

I apologize blogger world.
I didn't go to I Am Second this past Monday.
I had to study for a huge test that I had the following day at 9:30.
This test was Biology.
This class has been kicking my butt this semester and this test was very crucial to my grade (I didn't do so well on the last test).
I am in the process though of getting the video and the scripture for this week so I can blog about it to you guys.
Have a great weekend guys! I am going home to Pilot to see my family and celebrate my brother's birthday. Also I'm having a shopping day with mom.
Be prepared for some blogs about these days.
:)

simple happy birthday bro.

Today someone whom I love very much turned 40. 

This someone has always been there for me.

This person was there cheering me on at the state tournament for softball this past year.

This person was the one that congratulated me on our 4th championship first.

I talked to this person in between games, they kept me calm from all the pressure that was building to win the games.

This person flew out to Seattle, Washington to watch me play in the Little League World Series.

I miss this person very much.

This person just got a job.

This person has 2 beautiful daughters, they are 8&3. They also have a beautiful wife, who is amazing with little children.

This person will go out of their way to do anything for me.

This person will talk to me late at night if something is bothering me.

This person will not let anyone hurt me by any means.

This person, I can joke around with about anything.

This person knows how to make me laugh, no matter what the situation.

Whenever we hang out, go get lunch, anything, I always end up in tears from laughing so hard.

This person influenced me to go to UNC-Charlotte. 

This is this person's simple happy birthday.

This person, I am taking them out to eat for this special day.

This person is: my brother, Michael Kiser.

I love you dearly Michael, I hope your birthday was all that you ever wanted. Thank you so much for all that you do. I will see you this Friday and we can celebrate your birthday! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I love you.

simple born again.

I am way late for I Am Second Mondays.
I'm sorry and vow to blog on time.

Last week I made the commitment to blog about that week and to share it with one of my friends whom I had lost contact with. We actually started talking again, slowly at first, but it's better now. Also, things are starting to look up for them. This week I made the commitment to patch things up with my family. We have been getting into arguments lately and it shouldn't be happening. We are all adjusting to me moving away to college and it just has been tough to deal with. Hopefully things will start looking up and we can all adjust to my moving away. Cross your fingers.

This week we watched the Jim Munroe video.
He is a magician and there was a time in his life where he was questioning God and all of his wonders. He just thought it to be a magic trick. Jim was diagnosed with lukemia and the rarest form of it. He had a slim chance of surviving. He was in major need of a bone marrow transplant.Since he had the rarest form of this cancer, he needed the absolute perfect match. The doctors found only one match, a 19 year old girl. She was more than happy to donate for his cause. Once he went through the tests to prepare for this transplant, and his body accepted this new blood, he went back to his normal lifestyle and is currently in remission. He knows that God made him anew and helped him to be born again. He understands that God works in mysterious ways and will come to you even at your lowest point in your life. God was walking beside and with Jim his entire life, Jim just didn't realize it until the transplant took place. Jim was so thankful that this girl donated for him, and knows that this was the works of God.

The reading from this week is a story where Jesus talks to Nicodemus about how to reach the kingdom of God. (It's a little long just to let you know.)

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him."

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"

Jesus answered him, "Are you not the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.

If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,  but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

John 3:1-18.

I highly suggest watching this video. It's so inspirational.



simple break.

Fall break.
Something every college student looks forward to.
Something where the college closes for at least 2 days.
Something I extremely needed.

I went home this weekend for fall break. It was amazing to not have to worry about any work, homework due, etc. I could do whatever I pleased. Slept as late as I wanted to, and was lazy all day. I got to hang out with the bestfriend, and we caught each other up on our new experiences, worries, everything you could possibly think of. Mother treated me to a pedicure. I watched the bestfriend cheer at the homecoming football game. I watched plenty of college football. I watched my Steelers beat the Titans 38-17. I played a little bit of softball with my lovelys. 

Now I'm at work, wishing that fall break didn't end tomorrow. Tomorrow, classes start back. Mounds of homework will begin. Stress will start to settle back in over due dates. Basically reality starts back tomorrow. All I got to say to that is bring it. I'm ready for it.

simple why do bad things happen?

Sorry I am two days late on I Am Second Mondays.

But I promise to do better.

Last week I made a commitment to start blogging about my group and to be nicer to my roommate.

I was successful at this, to the point that me and my roommate actually went to dinner twice this past week. I left her 3 sticky notes saying that I hope she had an amazing day and that classes went well and fast. One day she had a test the next day and I sent her some encouragement on hoping that she did well on her exam.

This week that I had made the commitment to blog about this Monday and to share it to one of my friends whom I thought that this video corresponded best to. This girl is one of my really good friends. I'm not going to say her name but I hope that this video gives her encouragement for this month. I have lost touch with her ever since coming to college, and I also hope that we will starting talking once again. I miss her. 

Monday, we watched the video about Bethany Hamilton. Little did I know that "Soul Surfer" was based off of her true story. She had her arm bitten off (is that correct grammar?) by a shark while she was surfing one day. She talks about her struggles with understanding why this happened to her and why God "chose" her to have this done to her. This lady has to be the strongest person I know because she put her faith in God and accepted her fate. She even starting surfing again! Of course this had to be a struggle for her because she had only one arm, but she was determined not to let this one unfortunate moment in her life to keep her from her passion, surfing. She has accomplished so much in her life all because she didn't let life get her down. She just put her faith in God. Sometimes we may not understand why God does what he does, but he always has a purpose for it. We need to always look at the positive side of life, and not at the negative. This is so much easier said than done, but we should always strive to do so.

This is a story out of the 9th chapter of John. It explains how if we do put our faith in God, he can heal us in so many ways, other than just physical.

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam." So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" Some claimed that he was.

Others said, "No, he only looks like him."

But he himself insisted, "I am the man."

"How then were your eyes opened?" they asked.

He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."

"Where is this man?" they asked him.

"I don't know," he said.

The man was then taken before a council of religious leaders where they questioned him about his healing. However, because they could not accept his testimony that his healing was of God and that Jesus was from God, they threw the man out of the synagogue.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."

Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."

Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

John 9:1-12, 35-41

I think I may go watch some Soul Surfer now.

Have a great rest of the week!

simple i miss you.

This guy graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill.

This guy will be my future dentist.

This guy just recently got married.

This guy currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

This guy is my cousin.

This guy is one my favorite people.

This guy is my idol.

This guy I love and miss tons.

This guy helped me throughout high school, by telling me what to take.

This guy is simply amazing.

This guy was one that I took many beach trips with.

This guy knows how to brighten up the room.

This guy is one that I wish would hurry up and move back down to North Carolina.

This guy has a strong love for Christ.

This guy has the same birthday as my mom.

This guy is one that I haven't seen in a while.

This guy is Daniel Wayne Driskill.

I miss you! 

Please come home soon!

I love you!

taken at his UNC graduation dinner.

simple childlike faith

I believe I am going to start doing a weekly blog about this group I attend on Mondays called "I Am Second".

Each week we gather at "The Villa", and we sit around and watch a video about someone's life and how they came to Christ. We read a piece of scripture that pertains to that video, and talk about our personal experiences with that scripture/video or what we liked about it. Sometimes we may talk about what confused us and get a deeper meaning than what is written. Afterwards we then make an attainable commitment to do that week. It could be anything from sharing the video with someone that you know to even making a deeper connection with Christ. 

This week my commitment was to start sharing this group and our discussions with the blogger world each week and to be nicer to my roommate by leaving her a small little sticky note everyday on her side of the room.

So this week we watched a video from Bailee Madison. She starred in Bridge to Terabithia and some other movies. She is at least 12 and she has such a passion for Christ. She is so lively and lightens up the room, which we all believe is amazing because that is what God wants us to do in life.

The scripture for this week was from Mark 10:13-16.

"And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them."

I suggest watching this.

I am very excited to share with you guys the discussions from our group each week. 

Have a great rest of the week!

simple mother daughter day.

Today this amazing lady came to Charlotte to spend the day with me.

It was so good to see her. I hadn't had a mother daughter day with her in a long time and it was to be able to do what we pleased. 

We started the day out by going to Olive Garden, probably our most favorite restaurant, where we had some wonderful salad, breadsticks (my absolute favorite thing there), and pasta.

Afterwards we headed to Concord Mills to do some small shopping. I was on the search for this cute little jacket, but failed at finding it. 

Thank you mom for EVERYTHING that you do for me. I love you beyond words and I'm so blessed to have you as my mom. I miss you already and I will see you in 2 short weeks! :)

simple visit home.

I want to apologize for not blogging in the longest time. 

With college being new to me and having a job, I haven't had much time to even think about it.

But I do love UNC-Charlotte. It's amazing beyond words, and even though I do miss home, I can definitely call Charlotte my home away from home. 

Anyways this past weekend I went home for a 4 day weekend with my parents and friends. I think I will just give you a day to day summary of what went down when I visited good old Pilot Mountain.

Friday:

After waking up and packing all that I could into my car, I went to my class of the day, Chemistry. Once that was over, I started the drive back home. It was shorter than what I thought it would be, which was pretty good, cause I am not a fan of long drives. I finally pull into my driveway at 3:30 going on 4. I was greeted at the door by my sweetest puppy ever, Rosie. She was more than thrilled that I had come home and was jumping all over the place. I then was able to get my stuff unpacked out of my car and into my bedroom. I laid around for a little bit then went and got the bestfriends, Aerika and Ashley, for a dinner date. It was so good to be able to catch up with them and it felt like I had never left Pilot. We just picked up like we hadn't seen each other for a few days and just talked to no end. After dropping them off, I went back to the house to hang out with the parents. 

Saturday:

After waking up and getting ready, I headed to King to my aunt's house for her yardsale that she was having. She had so much stuff that she was selling and mom bought me this awesome little pearl ring from her. I left there around lunch time to go ride around Pilot/Westfield with my buddy from Coach Hill's class last year. I got to catch up with him and it was so good to talk to him about everything. He even showed me some shortcuts that I didn't even realize existed! Once I got home, I got ready and went to the car show with my aunt, her husband, and mother. We went and ate at Soppers which was absolutely delicious. We walked the length of main street and I saw people that I haven't seen in a while. It was good to be able to see everyone in Pilot.

Sunday:

After going to church and eating with my grandma, I sat down to do the mound of homework that needed doing before I came back to Charlotte, while watching football, aka my favorite sport ever. Mom then set to work on my home cooked meal that she wanted to prepare. She made everything that I love and invited my brother, his family, and the bestfriend over to help us eat it. Of course whenever me and my brother are around each other, there will not be a dull moment. We just can't allow it. After my brother and his family left, me and the bestfriend rode all over Pilot and went to Wendys for some frosties. That night was spent making videos and passing out to a movie. 

Monday:

The day that I had to come back to my 2nd home. After taking the bestfriend back home I met mother for breakfast and some Labor Day weekend shopping. We had a good ole time just browsing around and finding some pretty awesome sales. We even got to catch up and have a heart to heart (can ya tell that we are close). Before leaving I went out to eat with the bestfriend and some hilarious guys. It was good to see them and catch up on everything. 

It was amazing to come home and catch up/see everybody. I had truly missed Pilot Mountain but I was certainly glad to be heading back to Charlotte. I'm so thankful that God has placed such amazing people in my life that know how to make me laugh til I'm crying, and to have fun doing nothing.

Here are some pictures from my weekend: