So, today was a good day. I went to my 8am class, turned in my 4-page Hermeneutics homework assignment that I felt truly confident about, hung out with some people that I've missed, went to my 10am class where I did NOT finish my homework, went to lunch with some fantabulistical people that I love, got thrown up on by the cutest little baby, saw my boy leave to go to Romania, went home and slept on the couch, ate dinner at Zaxby's with the parents, now I'm at the lakehouse for the night.
I really enjoy coming down the lakehouse. It's so quiet and peaceful and just a good change of scenery. I really want a lot of people to come hang out this summer! It's so much fun with the boat and tubing and just hanging out! Random: I have some big wall maps that I got for Christmas (I love maps, by the way) and we haven't hung them up yet. Dad said we could do that tomorrow and as stupid as that may be, I'm super excited.
I miss Jenny. I miss Timmy. I miss Brett. I miss Alicia. I miss a lot of people.
I really DON'T want to go to summer school this summer. It's my last summer before my senior year but I'll be spending the WHOLE time in Summer School. BOTH SESSIONS. Boo. I really wanted to either spend a couple of months in Africa or spend the summer working with KOA at a lake in California. But I know what I need to do if I want to graduate on time. And I DO want to graduate on time. Who knows what I'm going to do but I'm just ready to be outta here.
I don't really have a lot to write about, I suppose. Gotta go put my clothes in the dryer. Hopefully I'll have more to write about soon. Something better, anyway.
Love you. Really.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
In the Blink of an Eye
I guess it's only natural to want to write a blog after what happened yesterday. If you've never been in a car accident, I pray you never have to experience what goes on. Even if they car doesn't look that bad, the sequence of events won't stop replaying in your mind for days or even weeks. Yesterday's events are no exception.
To make a long story short, I was driving a friend's car down Hwy. 414 heading towards 25. I see a white car coming in my lane very fast. I try to slow down and honk but he doesn't move. I swerve off to the right in hopes that he'll just fly on past me but no. Smashes right into the driver side door and then manages to make me slide about 30 yards into an enbankent and he keeps flying, goes over a driveway and smashes into some trees. Luckily, I had people right there to help me out and I saw him get out of his car and walk around. Both cars are totaled but we are both fine. I've got neck pain and hip pain and bruises but other than that, Praise God I'm alive. That, I know, is the only reason I'm here. I know it was because of His protection and His leading me to swerve that it wasn't a head-on collision.
Three random bits of information to the story:
1. He said he fell asleep and doesn't remember anything until he woke up and he was in the trees.
2. He was driving a NGU campus security car.
3. They estimated him to be traveling at about 70-75 miles per hour.
Now NGU gets to buy Brett a new car! :) I keep saying Brett gets a new car and I get a new outlook on life. It's a win-win situation.
This might sound cliche' but I don't care. I'm just SO blessed to be alive. According to at least three folks, including the trooper on the scene, "it was a good thing I swerved cuz' I might not be here to tell this story." So, that's always a good reminder of how quickly things can change...In the Blink of an Eye.
I'm so thankful for the people that were out there to help and just to be there to support. It was nice to stand there and even be able to laugh about things at the scene of such a horrible accident. I'm thankful nobody got hurt and that insurance can cover the cars. I'm thankful for Brett and her being so understanding and forgiving when I feel horrible about totaling her car. I'm thankful for hearing Brett's granny say, "You can replace cars but you can't replace people." I'm thankful for everyone who's been calling or leaving notes on facebook just making sure I'm ok. I'm thankful it wasn't a lot worse.
That's why I always tell everyone to be careful when they go somewhere. You never know what can happen.
Love you.
To make a long story short, I was driving a friend's car down Hwy. 414 heading towards 25. I see a white car coming in my lane very fast. I try to slow down and honk but he doesn't move. I swerve off to the right in hopes that he'll just fly on past me but no. Smashes right into the driver side door and then manages to make me slide about 30 yards into an enbankent and he keeps flying, goes over a driveway and smashes into some trees. Luckily, I had people right there to help me out and I saw him get out of his car and walk around. Both cars are totaled but we are both fine. I've got neck pain and hip pain and bruises but other than that, Praise God I'm alive. That, I know, is the only reason I'm here. I know it was because of His protection and His leading me to swerve that it wasn't a head-on collision.
Three random bits of information to the story:
1. He said he fell asleep and doesn't remember anything until he woke up and he was in the trees.
2. He was driving a NGU campus security car.
3. They estimated him to be traveling at about 70-75 miles per hour.
Now NGU gets to buy Brett a new car! :) I keep saying Brett gets a new car and I get a new outlook on life. It's a win-win situation.
This might sound cliche' but I don't care. I'm just SO blessed to be alive. According to at least three folks, including the trooper on the scene, "it was a good thing I swerved cuz' I might not be here to tell this story." So, that's always a good reminder of how quickly things can change...In the Blink of an Eye.
I'm so thankful for the people that were out there to help and just to be there to support. It was nice to stand there and even be able to laugh about things at the scene of such a horrible accident. I'm thankful nobody got hurt and that insurance can cover the cars. I'm thankful for Brett and her being so understanding and forgiving when I feel horrible about totaling her car. I'm thankful for hearing Brett's granny say, "You can replace cars but you can't replace people." I'm thankful for everyone who's been calling or leaving notes on facebook just making sure I'm ok. I'm thankful it wasn't a lot worse.
That's why I always tell everyone to be careful when they go somewhere. You never know what can happen.
Love you.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
yah, i'm skipping chapel
So, as I'm sitting here, skipping chapel for no reason other than I have a killer headache and I went to a bonus chapel last night, I was thinking about what I could talk about in this blog. I don't really have anything too insightful or though-provoking to discuss but there are a few things on my mind.
Hermeneutics. This class takes up most of my energy and overall existence. I'm going through the book of Mark, trying to divide it up in "sections" and then break the sections down into "episodes" and then break the episodes down into "pararaphs" and then break the paragraphs down into "phrases" and then break the phrases down by "words" and do this thing called a Word Study. Sound fun? Actually, it's not all that bad. It's interesting and thought-provoking. Although it's tedious and usually confusing, I suppose it's helping. I guess this class just makes me feel dumb, overall. My professor, Dr. Rankin, finds connections and meanings that I could never even think of much less put into words or on paper. We're also doing a quick background on the Greek and Hebrew languages. This is interesting and very confusing but it's so cool to open that 9000 page book called The Greek-English Concordance to the New Testament and see how many meanings ONE word can have. I think this is what makes this class worthwhile. It makes you want to make sure that you have the correct interpretation of the scriptures so then you can apply it correctly.
Church. This has been on my mind a lot lately, too. I love Mt. Lebanon. Don't get me wrong. It's my "home" church, where I accepted Christ and was baptized, and where I learned the true meaning of a "church family" but recently, I haven't felt that feeling. I feel as though I honestly don't belong there or better yet, don't FIT IN there. Everyone has their family to sit with or eat with after church or attend conferences or meetings with. I don't have that. I appreciate those who take me "under their wing" and invite me to eat and even pay for it but honestly, it's just not the same. If you are not at church alone, you can't understand this. You can't understand the feeling I have driving to church alone, leaving from eating lunch alone...yah, time with friends is great and truly appreciated and wanted but it still just leaves that empty feeling. I've tried so hard for years to accept this, get over it, change it, etc. but it just hasn't worked.
School. I really do want to change my major, again. But don't want to have to stay in school longer than I'm supposed to be. I would love to do something with Mass Comm but I guess have just now realized it. I love working with computers and pictures and editing and stuff like that. I've just never had the tools or money to do it. And I guess I felt that if I didn't have those things or the experience going into it, I wasn't going to succeed at it. Maybe that's why it's called "school." School is where you learn HOW to do those things. Crap. Too bad I just now realized that.
Africa. Maybe it doesn't matter what I want to major in. I want to live in Africa, anyway. I miss Africa, and the people, and the children, and the way of life SO much. Every night, before I go to sleep, I pray that I will be able to go back to Africa for a longer period of time and just soak it in. It's funny. All the children at the orphanage want to come to the states so badly because it's the "land of opportunities and freedom" but all I can think of is going back there, to be with them. Everyone is so appreciative of anything they have and anyone around them. They don't need fancy stuff to get by. They have their necessities and they survive. But they don't just survive life, they enjoy it. In Africa, it feels as if there's no clocks. No time, no appointmens, just life. Get up when the sun comes up, go to bed when the sun goes down. Sure, I love my car and my iPod and my hairdryer and my laptop but as long as I have clothes, food, water, shelter, some people that I love and that love me back (and maybe a camera) I think I'd be ok.
Well, I guess that's about all I want to type. I have more thoughts but they're weird and random and I guess I'll save those for another rainy day.
Love you.
oh yah, 5 random things for the day. Man, it's only 11am. I need to write blogs at night.
*I fell going to class today. Stupid wet leaves.
*Read the back of a "SmartWater" water bottle. It's hilarious. (apparently, they have them at Bi-Lo right now...ten 32oz. bottles for ten dollars.) I'm there.
*I need shampoo. (I have like, 4 bottles in the shower but I just need some more)
*Sarah W. sometimes feels like she's "on the market." (don't ask)
*I don't have a car today. I don't care.
Those suck, I realize this...but like I said, it's only 11am.
*
Hermeneutics. This class takes up most of my energy and overall existence. I'm going through the book of Mark, trying to divide it up in "sections" and then break the sections down into "episodes" and then break the episodes down into "pararaphs" and then break the paragraphs down into "phrases" and then break the phrases down by "words" and do this thing called a Word Study. Sound fun? Actually, it's not all that bad. It's interesting and thought-provoking. Although it's tedious and usually confusing, I suppose it's helping. I guess this class just makes me feel dumb, overall. My professor, Dr. Rankin, finds connections and meanings that I could never even think of much less put into words or on paper. We're also doing a quick background on the Greek and Hebrew languages. This is interesting and very confusing but it's so cool to open that 9000 page book called The Greek-English Concordance to the New Testament and see how many meanings ONE word can have. I think this is what makes this class worthwhile. It makes you want to make sure that you have the correct interpretation of the scriptures so then you can apply it correctly.
Church. This has been on my mind a lot lately, too. I love Mt. Lebanon. Don't get me wrong. It's my "home" church, where I accepted Christ and was baptized, and where I learned the true meaning of a "church family" but recently, I haven't felt that feeling. I feel as though I honestly don't belong there or better yet, don't FIT IN there. Everyone has their family to sit with or eat with after church or attend conferences or meetings with. I don't have that. I appreciate those who take me "under their wing" and invite me to eat and even pay for it but honestly, it's just not the same. If you are not at church alone, you can't understand this. You can't understand the feeling I have driving to church alone, leaving from eating lunch alone...yah, time with friends is great and truly appreciated and wanted but it still just leaves that empty feeling. I've tried so hard for years to accept this, get over it, change it, etc. but it just hasn't worked.
School. I really do want to change my major, again. But don't want to have to stay in school longer than I'm supposed to be. I would love to do something with Mass Comm but I guess have just now realized it. I love working with computers and pictures and editing and stuff like that. I've just never had the tools or money to do it. And I guess I felt that if I didn't have those things or the experience going into it, I wasn't going to succeed at it. Maybe that's why it's called "school." School is where you learn HOW to do those things. Crap. Too bad I just now realized that.
Africa. Maybe it doesn't matter what I want to major in. I want to live in Africa, anyway. I miss Africa, and the people, and the children, and the way of life SO much. Every night, before I go to sleep, I pray that I will be able to go back to Africa for a longer period of time and just soak it in. It's funny. All the children at the orphanage want to come to the states so badly because it's the "land of opportunities and freedom" but all I can think of is going back there, to be with them. Everyone is so appreciative of anything they have and anyone around them. They don't need fancy stuff to get by. They have their necessities and they survive. But they don't just survive life, they enjoy it. In Africa, it feels as if there's no clocks. No time, no appointmens, just life. Get up when the sun comes up, go to bed when the sun goes down. Sure, I love my car and my iPod and my hairdryer and my laptop but as long as I have clothes, food, water, shelter, some people that I love and that love me back (and maybe a camera) I think I'd be ok.
Well, I guess that's about all I want to type. I have more thoughts but they're weird and random and I guess I'll save those for another rainy day.
Love you.
oh yah, 5 random things for the day. Man, it's only 11am. I need to write blogs at night.
*I fell going to class today. Stupid wet leaves.
*Read the back of a "SmartWater" water bottle. It's hilarious. (apparently, they have them at Bi-Lo right now...ten 32oz. bottles for ten dollars.) I'm there.
*I need shampoo. (I have like, 4 bottles in the shower but I just need some more)
*Sarah W. sometimes feels like she's "on the market." (don't ask)
*I don't have a car today. I don't care.
Those suck, I realize this...but like I said, it's only 11am.
*
Saturday, February 9, 2008
all ears, but not all the time
So, the lines of communication DEFINITELY need to stay open in relationships. No matter what kind of relationship it is, you need to talk. Talk about feelings, opinions, ideas, problems, worries, etc. If not, there will be consequences. Spending almost 5 hours in a Wendy's is a great way to resolve any issues a relationship may have. Trust me.
Also, don't be so quick to tell others their flaws and imperfections. You may realize that you struggle with some of the exact same things. If you have a friend that is willing to listen to what you have to say, tell them. But then also be willing to hear what the other person has to say to/about you.
This might not make sense to some of you, but others know what I'm talking about. It's true. Just communicate. It may be hard at the time, but in the long run, you'll be so thankful you did.
Also, don't be so quick to tell others their flaws and imperfections. You may realize that you struggle with some of the exact same things. If you have a friend that is willing to listen to what you have to say, tell them. But then also be willing to hear what the other person has to say to/about you.
This might not make sense to some of you, but others know what I'm talking about. It's true. Just communicate. It may be hard at the time, but in the long run, you'll be so thankful you did.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The Put-Downs of Life
Why is it so easy to believe/accept the bad things and imperfections about yourself but so terribly hard to believe the good things people say about you or compliments people give you?
If you can answer that, please, by all means, help me out.
If you can answer that, please, by all means, help me out.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Something Good
I really want to be remembered for something good. Note I didn't say big or extraordinary...just remembered. As I think about Jenny's dad, David, and hear people talk about him, I've never heard one negative thing about him. Ever. He is someone to look up to and he is such an incredible example of how we should live our lives as Christ-like as possible. Patient, kind, loving, geunine...
I try so hard every day to help people realize how much they mean to me. I don't always succeed and sometimes I might have a bad day and don't do a very good job of showing Love towards others. That's when I have to humble myself and take a minute to thank God for all that He has done and ask Him to give me that gift of love. I just want people to realize how amazing they are. We live in a world where our role models seem to be people like celebrities or drug-addicts who have made a life for themselves, etc. That can be good and all but shouldn't our true role model be Christ? Shouldn't we be living everyday striving to be more like him and show the love he gave to us? That's hard. Real hard. But if you think about it, the more you pray and ask God to give you the gift of compassion and love, the easier it is because you realize how important it is, how He did the same thing for us, and how great it makes people feel. Not only that, it will make people realize something different about you. If you don't react in a negative way to something aggravating or you don't honk your horn everytime somebody cuts you off in traffic, people, whether you think so or not, will notice. And they will wonder. They will see Jesus living through you. They might not know it's Jesus but it is.
I want to be remembered for showing Christ's love everyday and in every situation. Yah, I'm gonna screw it up. But I'm sure gonna try. I've tried for a long time and I'm not gonna stop now. We had a message about "Acts of Random Kindness" and I totally agree that those things can mean the world to someone. I've tried to live that way for a long time only through the help of Christ and his love showing through me.
Ok...5 random things for the day: (even though it's only 3pm)
*I dyed my hair this morning. It's darker and I like it.
*I like this boy. We have fun. "Hey, do this."
*Jenny is amazing. Strong, courageous, hilarious, loving, patient...just like her daddy.
*I LOVE apple juice.
*I need some stuff from WalMart but that requires money...money that I don't have.
I have this verse on my laptop. It's one of my favorites. 1 Peter 4:8
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." (niv)
"Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything." (The Message)
Actually, just read all of 1 Peter 4. It's amazing.
You're amazing.
I try so hard every day to help people realize how much they mean to me. I don't always succeed and sometimes I might have a bad day and don't do a very good job of showing Love towards others. That's when I have to humble myself and take a minute to thank God for all that He has done and ask Him to give me that gift of love. I just want people to realize how amazing they are. We live in a world where our role models seem to be people like celebrities or drug-addicts who have made a life for themselves, etc. That can be good and all but shouldn't our true role model be Christ? Shouldn't we be living everyday striving to be more like him and show the love he gave to us? That's hard. Real hard. But if you think about it, the more you pray and ask God to give you the gift of compassion and love, the easier it is because you realize how important it is, how He did the same thing for us, and how great it makes people feel. Not only that, it will make people realize something different about you. If you don't react in a negative way to something aggravating or you don't honk your horn everytime somebody cuts you off in traffic, people, whether you think so or not, will notice. And they will wonder. They will see Jesus living through you. They might not know it's Jesus but it is.
I want to be remembered for showing Christ's love everyday and in every situation. Yah, I'm gonna screw it up. But I'm sure gonna try. I've tried for a long time and I'm not gonna stop now. We had a message about "Acts of Random Kindness" and I totally agree that those things can mean the world to someone. I've tried to live that way for a long time only through the help of Christ and his love showing through me.
Ok...5 random things for the day: (even though it's only 3pm)
*I dyed my hair this morning. It's darker and I like it.
*I like this boy. We have fun. "Hey, do this."
*Jenny is amazing. Strong, courageous, hilarious, loving, patient...just like her daddy.
*I LOVE apple juice.
*I need some stuff from WalMart but that requires money...money that I don't have.
I have this verse on my laptop. It's one of my favorites. 1 Peter 4:8
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." (niv)
"Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything." (The Message)
Actually, just read all of 1 Peter 4. It's amazing.
You're amazing.
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