Sprink Break!!!

In six more days I will be home!!!!

Yes, the countdown is on and the excitement is building.
Some things that I am looking forward to:

Spending a week with my family
Being home
Sleeping in
Movies
Facebook
My church
Casual clothes


Some goals of mine that I am going to attempt to accomplish while I'm home for Spring break:

Finish a class project
Watch a movie every day
Help my sister decorate the room
Play some games with my little brothers
Go on a date with my dad
Spend time with my mom
Write some letters
Catch up on facebook
Sleep a lot
Call my friends


Not quite sure if all of that is going to happen but we're gonna give it a try. I love college. I really do. But I am so excited about this break in the schedule and the chance to go home. It is going to be sooooo good!

:-)

College...

Well, I think it is safe to say that College and I are getting along nicely and that I am quite confident that I will survive. It's been just a little over a month now since I first came here and, let me tell ya, it's been pretty interesting!

I regularly panic during classes because I think I'm in the wrong class, even though I know where my seat is at and I've asked if this is such-and-such class... sigh... after a month you would think I'd get it down as to what class I'm in or not but I guess it's gonna take a little longer than I thought.

I absolutely adore my roommates. There are four of us in my room and we all get along great and I am so thankful for that. Some girls we know aren't getting along so great with their roomies and I am always so shocked and sad for them because I don't know what that is like. God has always blessed me with wonderful roommates that I've been able to get along well with but that is not the norm and a lot of people don't have what I have.

This weekend I am going home to visit my family and I am so super excited about that. I am still trying to get out of the "DMC mindset" of "this is where you are for the next two months and you're not going anywhere." Here at college, all I have to do is fill out a pass and sign out of my dorm and I am free to go. How cool is that!?

Then, on Sunday evening, the college is going to go iceskating for valentine's day and two weeks ago, I discovered that I really like iceskating even if I fall a lot and get really ugly bruises on my knees and backside. This will be my second time and I am looking forward to it. The school has rented the rink for the night so it will be just Heartland students.

Well, that is my life so far and now I really must get back to my homework. I'm at the library and I am supposed to be printing off some papers for my classes but decided to write on my blog instead so... feel privileged people! :-P Ok, seriously though, I really should go and be a good little college girl.

TTYL!

Life

Finally, here is an update on my life for all of my friends that I don't keep in touch with enough. Life has taken some crazy twists and turns in the last couple of months and I am taking some time to sit down and actually write about it. :-)

I will pick up where I last posted. I went to work on staff at the DMC for six weeks during EXCEL 33. Working on staff was not like anything I expected, but I learned a lot and enjoyed the fun moments. It was very hard work but it was worth it to be able to see my friends every day, to meet new friends, and to see my sister every day. EXCEL 33 was a great class (yes, I'm slightly biased because my sister was a part of this class) and was given the name Carpe Diem which means Seize The Day.

Unfortunately, I was not able to stay for six weeks because their was a breakout of the H1N1 flu among the EXCEL girls and Mr. Bell felt that it would be wise if I went home until the outbreak was over. I tried to come back with a friend for the last week of EXCEL but life has a funny way of changing your plans.

I had to go to the ER again for the third time this year due to my prior medical issues but, thankfully, was not admitted into the hospital. Because of this I was not able to go back to the DMC to work on staff for one more week.

I did go back for graduation and it was great to see all the EXCEL girls again and, of course, my sister who looked gorgeous in her navy/white and tapestry vest! ;-)
A lot of memories were brought back and it was so hard to believe that it had only been one year since I was lined up outside the door of the meeting room in my navy/white and tapestry vest. How time flies!

Me and Bethany stayed the night at the DMC and I shared a room with Lydia Holt who had come to visit one of her girls who had been asked back as a leader. We had an absolute blast staying at the DMC as a guest. We ate candy in bed (!!!) and stayed up ridiculously late talking about life and reliving memories.

The next day was a sad day because the rest of the EXCEL class was leaving and every thirty minutes we were saying good-bye to the next group of girls who were going to the airport. Bethany ended up being the very last EXCEL girl to leave because I was having a friend take my Senior portraits for me before we left to go to Rachel Starks' house that weekend.

I had so much fun getting Senior portraits done and I would highly recommend Leah Cross to anyone who wants pictures done. I wasn't able to go up to the roof but I did take Leah to the lime green wall where we had our AE pictures done and she got some great pictures there. Plus she was super excited to know about that awesome place for taking pictures within a five minute walk from the DMC. :-)

When we got home... life quickly got back to normal for everyone except me because I didn't have anything I was doing at home. My parents promptly remedied that and gave me three options:

Get a job in town (we decided on Hobby Lobby)
Go work with the ALERT Cadet office in Big Sandy
Go to college

I actually filled out an employment application for Hobby Lobby before I decided that I would probably like working at Big Sandy better. Again, life has a way of changing plans and, before I knew it, my parents were on The Great College Search and I now have in front of me an application for Heartland Baptist Bible College in Oklahoma City.

I am trying to enroll for the next semester so I have to work fast but it seems like everything is moving along great and that this will actually happen. Of course, life could change everything in a moment and I may not be going this semester. You just never know.

Life changes constantly… but God never does. He’s in complete control of my life and yours.

Leaving for Dallas!

Well... this is it! Tomorrow I will be packing my suitcase and preparing to embark on a brand new adventure in Dallas, once again. On Saturday morning, my mom is going to drive me down to Dallas (we are leaving at a very ungodly hour but, the sooner I get there the better so, I don't mind that much!)

As you can imagine, I'm incredibly excited about this! I've never worked on staff anywhere before so this will be quite an adventure and something that I'm really looking forward too. God has just totally opened the door for me to be able to do this so I know this is of Him and I am so grateful that He is allowing me this incredible opportunity. I'm just in awe of how amazing He is!

However, I am not merely going because I want to see my sister and my friends who are there. I'm going there to serve in whatever way I can. I'm going there to be an encouragement to the girls going through EXCEL and to lift them up in prayer.

I would so appreciate your prayer for me while I'm there. I'm going to be there for six weeks from Oct 3rd-Nov13th. When I went to Advanced EXCEL, the training period was for six weeks and... well... I didn't make it six weeks so I would definitely appreciate prayer for my health to hold up while I'm there.

If you would also please pray for me to be an encouragement to the girls while I'm there. I want to write an encouraging note to every EXCEL girl and Team Leader and Assistant while I'm there, even if it's just a sticky, just something to let them know that they are being prayed for and that someone thought of them.

I also want to be bold enough to ask if there is anything I can be praying about for them and then just pray right there with them, if time allows. As I said before, I want to lift these girls up in prayer. I don't want to be shy or get scared of messing up or worry what someone will think of me like I have done before... I want to pray and be bold in my faith in Christ. How big is my God? Do I believe He's that big? Do I believe this enough to show it to the world? Yes... my God is big enough to work through a fearful little girl to impact this EXCEL class.

I know this is a lot to ask for prayer for but I have one more request. I really want to work on specific areas in my life where God has revealed to me that I have a problem. I need to work on self-discipline (i.e. rising early, going to bed on time, daily devos, exercise, etc), being completely dependent on God for everything, being content with where God has me, cultivating a servant's heart and a willingness to work hard, openness with others and to develop a genuine, Christlike love for others.

Ok, so to quickly sum up just in case I lost you with all of my explanations, here is what I'm asking prayer for:

* Health needs
* Being an encouragement to the people around me and, specifically, the EXCEL girls
* Developing self-discipline
* Learning to be completely dependent on God
* Being content with where God has placed me
* Cultivating a servant's heart and a willingness to work hard
* Openness with others
* Genuine, Christlike love for others
* To grow in my relationship with Christ :-D

And I think that is everything! Thanks so much for praying! I will definitely be needing it and so will these girls. God does so much in the lives of the girls that go through this program and I am so so grateful for the opportunity to help further this ministry that God is using so powerfully.

As a side note, before I end this, I would like you to know that I am dedicating my time there as sacred and set apart for God to use as He chooses. It's only by His divine planning that I am even going anyway so I know that He has a reason for allowing me to be there and I want to use this time to really grow in my relationship with Him and let my vision of Him get even bigger.

So, because of that, I will not be getting on Facebook, even though I have that privilege. I will stay in touch through emailing and I have been requested to send out a weekly newsletter (if I can) so that my friends can keep up with all that is happening. If you would like to be included... email me! All of my friends already have my email address and, if you don't, you can contact any of the people whose blogs I follow and ask them for my email address. :-D

Have a wonderful day and a fantastic week!

See ya in six weeks!!

~Kristin

Update

Hello to all who read this... I am finally updating my blog and hopefully will be updating a little bit more regularly in the future.

Here is what has gone on in my life the last few weeks:

I finished highschool, finally!!! My official cap and gown graduation ceremony will be held May 22nd, 2010 (date may be subject to change) and I need to get Senior pictures done sometime this month. Unfortunately... all of the amazing photographer people that I know don't really live in convenient locations for me to drive over and get pictures done by them. :-/ So I'm kind of at a loss for who to take them and I don't want to go to Sears because that's boring and everybody does that and I have very specific pictures in mind that I want done.

My one and only sister Bethany is going to EXCEL this fall (in TWO weeks!!!) and I'm super excited about that if you couldn't already tell. I am going down with her to see her off and then I am coming back sometime in October before her Birthday to work on Staff until Graduation in November. There are just way too many people that I know and love at the DMC for me to not come back! :-)

I am also redoing my Life Notebook. Rachel says I am self-inflicting torture on myself by trying to write more Communicating Conviction papers... and I guess she's right! But I still want to do it, even if it brings back less than happy memories from AE (stress, writer's block, approaching deadlines, blech!) Actually, I don't really have a deadline... well, kind of. I want to have it finished by my graduation ceremony so I can put it on my table about me!

I am also keeping myself busy by working with my Grandma and helping her out. Since Bethany is leaving for EXCEL, I'm going to be taking over most of her jobs (she does a lot!)

Other than that... there's not much else going on right now. I would definitely appreciate prayer for me as I try to discern God's will for my future. I am looking into some college options but I don't really know when or where or for what... and it's causing me to get very frustrated.

Love you people!
<3

My Roses...

My family bought me roses for my AE graduation. I love receiving flowers and I try to always get pictures of my flowers before they die so that I can always remember them. If you want to make me happy... just bring me flowers. It really doesn't matter what kind because I love them all! But my favorite flower is the red rose. 

Something about this flower just makes my heart go pitter patter and I get happy at the sight of them. True, all flowers will make me happy but only the rich red color of the gorgeous rose will make my heart go pitter patter.

So you can imagine my excitement with the roses my family bought me. Three perfect red roses were handed to me after my AE graduation ceremony was complete. I loved them when I got them and I admired them all the way home that evening. As soon as I got home I cut the stems smaller and put them in a jar as fast as I could because they were getting droopy and I did not want them to die before I could get some good pictures of them

Unfortunately, one rose did not revive itself like the other two did and continued to droop and shrivel up. I kept it in the jar with the other two flowers because I thought of a song that I had heard recently about a rose and I had a great idea to put the lyrics with the pictures. Because it's late and I don't want to go searching for the title or the lyrics you will just have to bear with me until I get the project finished.

The song goes something like this: 

"...like a rose trampled on the ground, 

He took the cross 

And thought of me above all."

So, eventually I will have to find the lyrics to the song and finish the project. But this post is not about my project with my rose pictures. (By the way... the roses are all gone now but I have some amazing pictures that you are currently previewing right now!) This blog post is to tell y'all about a situation God is bringing me through right now and the pictures of my roses is God's awesome way of explaining the situation to me and speaking through my pictures to show me His message in a way that I would understand.

So here it goes. Something happened today that was very hard for me to deal with. Basically, my dream was crushed, smashed, ripped apart, shredded, torn to pieces, never-going-to-happen-there-just-ain't-no-way completely and utterly destroyed! Ok, so I'm being a little dramatic but the fact of the matter is that the fulfillment of my dream was within my grasp and I had to watch helplessly as it was snatched away, withered and died.

My dream was like a rose. The most beautiful roses that you ever saw and it was the most gorgeous color red in the whole world. The petals were smooth as velvet and there was absolutely no flaw and even if there was, I refused to look at it. This was perfect and it was amazing and it was possibly going to happen. Maybe, just maybe, my dream was going to come true. I prayed hard and I planned hard and I began to imagine what my life would be like as I lived out this dream. It was everything I wanted, everything I hoped for. 

But then... it didn't happen. It was like watching my rose wither up and die. It felt like someone had just stomped on my rose and tore it to pieces. It was as if someone had just ripped the petals off of my rose and thrown them on the ground. This couldn't be happening. God, please, no. Not to my precious flower.  

But that was it. My flower was gone and there was nothing I could do. Why, God? Why would You place this desire in my heart and not let it get fulfilled? Why would you open a door for me and then slam it in my face as I go to walk through? I don't understand God. I'm hurt and confused. My heart is broken and so is my dream. I was so happy it felt like I was soaring like a bird not long ago only to find myself crashed into the ground, dazed and discouraged. What are You doing?

Kristin. My dear, darling daughter Kristin. It's ok to be discouraged. It's alright to get upset. Go ahead and cry. It's alright. I know you must be frustrated. I know it may seem like I am making your life miserable yet again, like a slammed a door in your face that you had thought I opened and crushed I dream you knew I placed there in your heart.

You know that I will never do anything to harm you, my plans for you are to prosper you and to give you a hope and a future. Sometimes those plans involve things that may not seem pleasant. The plans I have for you involve hurt and pain so that I may better work through you in the lives of others. But I have never caused you more hurt or pain than that was necessary and, although you may not believe this now, it hurt me more to do that to you because I love you and I do not want to see you suffer.

You must ask yourself this question, Kristin. Am I big enough to fulfill your dream? Am I big enough to put your rose back together? Can you trust me to complete your stained-glass window?

God, the petals are so scattered right now, the pieces are shattered, the dream has crumbled right before my eyes. How could You put that back together? I have doubts and fears. I am scared of what will happen to my dream if I give You the pieces. I mean, it was Yours to begin with and now look what happened. What promise do I have that You won't make it worse? How do I know you won't completely obliterate every last piece? At least I have something to remember what I hoped and dreamed for but now You're asking for that too!? 

Look at it, God. It's ruined. You ruined it. Now You're asking me to give my poor rotten rose to You because You want to give me something "better?" I don't think You understand what You're asking. But then again... maybe You do or You wouldn't have asked me.

It really hurts You to watch me suffer the pain You've given me? It hurts You to see me cry over disappointments that You've caused me? I'll admit that it's hard to believe but... it's strangely comforting as well. Sometimes it seems like You don't care and You don't listen but when I really stop to think about those hurtful situations I find that You were there... the entire time. Carrying me. Holding me. Loving me. 

Yes, Kristin. I promised to never leave you or forsake you and I never have. You are not alone and you will never be alone. Seek and you will find Me. Ask, and I will give you an answer but maybe not in the time frame you may want.

Give Me your withered rose, Kristin. Give Me your broken dream. I will show you My power and I will show Myself strong in your life, once more. Are you willing? You must be willing, Kristin.

God, I want my withered rose. I want it SO badly. I know it's withered. I know it's dying. But before it withered it was so pretty and it looked amazing. That was my dream and it's hard to give it up.  

God, I'm willing. It's hard. It hurts. But take it. Take my rose. Take my dream. Take my life. Take everything! I choose to give it all to You no matter what happens. I know You have only my best interests at heart and I know You have something better for me. 

Trust My promises, Kristin. What I have said, I WILL do. Believe in Me, trust in Me, for I am your God. 

Never forget in the darkness what I have shown you in the light.

LIVE INSIDE OUT!!

I never used to think much about styrofoam cups. They were disposable cups that you used when it was more convenient than having real cups. Because styrofoam is soft, unlike plastic, I usually noticed that people would often leave the impressions of their teeth on the rim, especially little children. Other than that, though, a styrofoam cup was, well, just that, a styrofoam cup.

            But one day I noticed a friend of mine flip her styrofoam cup inside out. “Whoa!” I exclaimed, “How did you do that!?” From that point on, my thoughts towards styrofoam cups would be forever changed. I had to know how to flip a styrofoam cup inside out and I was determined to learn.

            Well, unfortunately, it was not as easy as it looked. You start from the bottom and slowly press the bottom into the cup. If you press too hard, though, the bottom may tear or the sides of the cup will rip as you bend it down inside itself. This was proving to be more difficult than I thought and I ripped almost every cup I could get my hands on, turning it into a mangled mess.

            Styrofoam is a little softer after you have had water in it for a little while and it is much easier to work with if you are trying to flip the cup inside out. So I drank my water slowly during meals and let the water sit inside as much as possible. Then I started to work on it. Pressing the bottom of the cup in slowly and evenly all around.

            Finally, success! I had flipped a styrofoam cup inside out without tearing it or mangling it to pieces. I enjoyed my new found skill and worked on it, tearing and mangling a few more cups before finally getting to the point where I could flip almost all of the cups I got my hands on. But, after a while, I moved on and busied myself with things that were more important than flipping styrofoam cups inside out after I used them.

            One day, though, I was struggling with who I was, how God made me and what I was here for. I felt ugly, stupid, worthless, etcetera, etcetera. So I asked God how He saw me and His answer was shocking. “Go get a styrofoam cup.” God told me. How in the world was a styrofoam cup supposed to answer my questions? But I obeyed anyway and went to go find a styrofoam cup.

            All of a sudden, God shared His plan with me. I was stunned at first but then I got very, very excited and went to go borrow several different colored sharpies to start. This was going to be so cool!

            I started to write on the cup all of the words I had used to describe myself, the way I thought about myself, and the way I felt. In big, red letters I wrote “failure” across the side and covered the rest of the cup with other words like dumb and immature, whiny, unloved and weak. The outside of the cup was covered with so many negative words and feelings and I was on the verge of tears remembering the many hurtful instances when I felt this way or began to think of myself like that.

            Then, I carefully flipped the cup inside out and began to cover that side in words too. But these words were very different than the words that were on the other side. The words I wrote this time were the words God used to describe me, the way He saw me. Words like beautiful, powerful, confident, loved and smart.

            I shook my head slowly as I continued writing all over the cup. I did not believe all of the words that I was writing down but I knew what God was telling me and I knew that, with Christ, all things were possible and that He would help my unbelief. This was the way that God saw me and who was I to argue with the One who made me?

            Finally, the cup was finished. What had used to be the inside of the cup and was now the outside, I had written in big, bold, colorful letters “LIVE INSIDE OUT!!” I stared at that that statement and the words surrounding it. Then I looked inside it at the bitter, hateful words before looking at the statement again. My thoughts and feelings about myself were drastically different than the thoughts and feelings God had about me.

            So, from then on, I decided that I needed to live inside out. Not literally, of course, but by keeping my focus on what God thought about me and not on what I thought. I would live in the truth of what God had told me and not by the lies that I had believed for so long. My lies had been covered by the truth of what God had said just like the words written on the outside of the cup had been hidden after it was flipped inside out.

            I still fall back into believing my old lies sometimes but it is never for very long. I know the truth of God’s word and I know what He said me that day with my styrofoam cup. I am not held in bondage by a flawed belief system anymore and I will no longer live crippled by my lies. Instead, I will live my life the way Christ has called me to live. I will live inside out.

NOTE: This is my last required post for Advanced EXCEL and will probably be my last post on this blog for a while. But I have plans to continue posting on this blog and sharing stories and pictures of my life just like I have been now. There just won't be any set day or deadline from now on! Definitely expect to see a post sometime in the next couple of weeks with the title of "Graduation!" :-) Until then, Live Inside Out!!

AE Photo Scavenger Hunt!!!

I had so much fun taking these photos. It was a very nice distraction from doing assignments that were being difficult and I got a lot of neat pictures that I'm going to use in later blog posts. Hope you enjoy looking at mine as much as I enjoy looking at yours!

1. Stapler: I've never been very talented with one these. 

2. Reflections: Who is that I see staring back at me?

3. Leap: Da da daaa!! It's the amazing wonderdog, Hope, to the rescue! 

 

4. Fears: Held captive by the lies I believe(d), with no way out save the power of Jesus Christ.

5. Coffee: My own design for all my friends that love coffee. What do ya think?

6. Time: So much to do, so little time. 

7. Squirrel: My older brother's "Secret Squirrel" Army tee-shirt. He's not a very nice looking squirrel is he?

8. White Trash: Interesting concept that rendered interesting comments from my family. This picture was snapped as the trash was being taken out and this paper towel fell out of the bag. 

9. Date: June 19th, AE graduation. I found the "holiday" listed on the day before to be ironic.

10. Police: Before my older brother switched branches to go into the Army, he was an Air Force Security Cop and he's got the badge to prove it (plus a gun and handcuffs to enforce it!)

11. Self Portrait: Ta-daa! 

12. Making a Statement: LIVE  INSIDE OUT!!

13: A Memory: Some of my most fondest memories have been hatching out baby chicks and watching how each life, even animal life, is so intricately designed. This is a brand new Turken chick, (also known as Naked Necks because this breed of chicken does not have feathers on its neck like a turkey.) that hatched only about 10 minutes before I took this picture.

14. Weather: Raindrops on my window and a gloomy sky promising more.

15: Broken: God, can you please fix my broken heart?

16. Green: Nailpolish = painted nails = girl time = happiness!!!

17. Music: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord...

18. A Favorite Thing: My most favorite piece of jewelry that my sister got me for my birthday. Big, loud, red... definitely a favorite!

19. A Tool: I have always had an odd fascination with saw blades. The sharp edges are just super cool to me for some reason. But don't ask me to use one because, remember, I'm not very good with a stapler and I would really like for all my friends to live and stay in one piece whenever they're around me... and I would like to stay in one piece too, for that matter! 

20. Vanishing Point: I don't know what's waiting for me down this road but God does so I'm leaving it in His hands.

21. Funny: Little brothers, a never-ending source of fun and entertainment with lots of hugs a laughter in between!!! I love this soon-to-not-be-so-little guy, he's the best baby brother anyone could ask for!

My Life Through God's Eyes

My name is Kristin Lanae Stevens. Without Christ, my name is void of any meaning or purpose. Without meaning or purpose, I am nothing, I have nothing, and I will always be nothing. 

Upon receiving God’s gift of salvation my name is all of a sudden bursting with meaning and purpose. My name is no longer just a title I go by but a description of my identity in Christ. My name gives me a meaning for my life and a purpose for being here in this world.

 

All my sin has been washed away by the precious Blood of my Savior. God has separated me from my sin as far as the east is from the west. My Father no longer sees my sin and wickedness but looks at the holiness of His beloved Son instead. I am now a passionate follower of Jesus Christ seeking to serve Him with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength

I can stand bold and confident in my Father's everlasting love for me no matter what the situation may be. I have the power to stay faithful to Him in every difficult circumstance He may ask me to experience. Knowing full well that there is nothing I will go through that my Lord has not already gone through Himself. 

I have been crowned with the anointing of God’s word. He has chosen me and set me apart for a special purpose. I am under the watchful eye of Jesus as he molds and shapes me for the role He designed for me. I am being prepared and made ready for the moment the Master calls me for His use.

I am a follower of Christ, full of faith, and God’s anointed. In and of myself, I am absolutely nothing but through Christ, I am everything. Through Christ, I am and will always be, Kristin Lanae Stevens.

Ten Things...

TEN THINGS I WANT SAID ABOUT ME WHEN I DIE

1.) I changed someone's life.

2.) I was friendly and fun to be with.

3.) I genuinely cared about people.

4.) I showed others how to find freedom in Christ

5.) I led by example.

6.) I was someone who could be trusted.

7.) I was honest and open.

8.) I gave God the glory and was obedient to Him.

9.) I was an excellent communicator.

10.) I was a giver not a taker.

TEN THINGS I DON'T WANT SAID ABOUT ME WHEN I DIE

1.) I distracted someone from God.

2.) I was whiny and always complained.

3.) I was fake / hypocritical.

4.) I was critical and judgmental.

5.) I didn't live out my beliefs.

6.) I had low standards

7.) I was a bad leader / I couldn't lead.

8.) I was always scared and cowardly.

9.) I did nothing for God.

10.) I gave up or quit on everything. 

(Grace wrote on my paper "Are any of these lies that you believe might happen?"  and the answer is yes, some of these are lies that I have believed happened or will happen and if I had to write the paper over again I would replace everything but 1, 4, 5, and 6. I did not change the list because I did not have the time and because I felt like God wanted me to be honest with y'all and tell you this.)

TEN THINGS I THINK ABOUT OFTEN.

 

1.) God.

2.) Various things about EXCEL like memories, dreams, etc.

3.) Memories from Advanced EXCEL.

4.) My older brother.

5.) My health.

6.) Regional Training Conferences at Big Sandy. 

7.) What I am going to do after I graduate high school this winter.

8.) Getting my permit and learning to drive. (YIKES!!!!!)

9.) Graduation for Advanced EXCEL. (I totally can't wait for this day.)

10.) What my friends are doing right now. ;-)

TEN THINGS I WANT(ED) TO BE WHEN I "GROW UP."

1.) A gymnast.

2.) A ballerina.

3.) A figure skater.

4.) A secretary.

5.) A counselor.

6.) A public speaker.

7.) A journalist.

8.) A dancer.

9.) An actress.

10. A singer. 

(4, 5, 6, and 9 fall into the "want" to be category while everything else was what I "wanted" to be when I was little. I also wanted to be an astronaut, too. So there is your random comment of the day!) :-)

TEN THINGS THAT REALLY MAKE ME MAD.

1.) Bossy people.

2.) People that have bad attitudes which negatively affect others the around them, like me.

3.) Extremely loud rock music with horrible lyrics that almost succeed in exploding  your eardrums out of your head.

4.) Sarcastic comments that make me feel stupid/sad/insert negative feeling here. (To me, sarcasm is NOT a love language and I only enjoy sarcasm when both parties are involved and the comments are done in a joking, non-serious way. This is purely my own personal opinion and if you think sarcasm is a love language then I am glad that you know what makes you feel loved.)

5.) Being tethered by an IV in my arm in the hospital.

6.)  Obnoxious children and their parents that allow them to act that way.

7.) Abortion.

8.) When I am too tired or sick to leave the house.

9.) Really loud noises (see # 3) that are annoying and irritating like my dog barking at everything including her own shadow, construction and loud machinery, clanging pots and pans, shattering glass, even people who talk really loud.

10.) Awkward moments of silence on the telephone.

TEN THINGS THAT MAKE ME LAUGH.

1.) Hockey, football and any other sport that causes full grown men and women to stand up and shout at the TV as if the players could actually hear them.

2.) The mushy, sappy, romantic parts in movies that are so overdone and ridiculous. (I do not recommend watching a romantic movie with me unless you're ok with my laughing at the parts where you're supposed to go "awwww!" I honestly can't think of any romance movie that I've seen that I don't laugh in the middle of a "serious" moment. Except maybe "Jane Eyre" but that's because I think that movie is creepy/scary.)

3.) Watching my dog run across our wood flooring and then try to stop at the door only to discover that she has no traction and continues to slide into the the wall or the door. It's funny.

4.) Rachel's adorable little sister, Grace who comes up with completely random and off the wall comments. I love that girl!

5.) Older people that try to dress like teenagers and stay up on the current fashion trends.

6.) Bikini swimsuits. (It's a roommate joke, don't ask.)

7.) Little kids in the nursery.

8.) My neighbor's cows that stare at me awkwardly whenever I go outside.

9.) My sister.

10.) Boys, especially my brothers. Boys are funny.

TEN THINGS THAT SCARE ME.

1.) Walking through the house at night because my siblings used to jump out at me in the dark.

2.) This may sound weird but I always check behind the bathtub curtain because someone could be hiding in there and try to scare me. (Yes, I'm paranoid and I blame it on my siblings.)

3.) Someone breaking in my house at night.

4.) Hearing strange noises outside at night.  

5.) Sleeping in a room all alone at night. (Yes, the night scares me, alright. But I do love looking at the moon and the stars.)

6.) Dark rooms.

7.) Rats. (I promise you, I did NOT pray for Huey. Rats are creepy.)

8.) Waking up after a nightmare.

9.) More pain, physical and emotional. If I know it will hurt, I really don't want to do it. (Think Big Sandy camping trip for AE.)

10.) When I get sick again.

TEN THINGS I WANT TO DO IN MY LIFE. (Two have happened!)

1.) I want to go to EXCEL. (About this time last year was when my dad told me I could go. I went to EXCEL 31 last fall.)

2.) I want to go to Advanced EXCEL. (Currently happening.)

 

3.) I want to go serve a missionary overseas as a nanny, housekeeper, etc.

4.) I want to be a team leader for EXCEL.

4.) I want to get a major in psychology/counseling with TELOS.

5.) I want to work at Headquarters with IBLP for at least 1 year but preferably 2.

6.) I want to be a wife and mom.

7.) I want to work on permanent staff at the Dallas Ministry Center (I really like this place, can you tell,)

8.) I want to get a Mac laptop computer of my own. (Shallow, I know but I really do want one!)

9.) I want to visit all of the ATI Training Centers. (I've only seen two so far...)

10.) I want to work in Big Sandy with the ALERT Cadet office and help with the Regional Conferences (I think it would be SO cool to get to carry one of those walkie-talkies.)

(These are in no particular order just so you know.)