It's 2:30 in the morning and I'm sitting here eating a bowl of mini wheats...haha, who'd have ever guessed one of my posts would start like this. :P
My youth group leaves today at 3:30 AM (which is why I'm up so early...) to go to Ohio for a Mennonite Convention with concerts, and speakers, worship time, activities, sports, and TONS of other youth groups with whole bunches of people that we get to meet and hang out with for the week. Convention technically starts tomorrow but the youth leaders are taking us on a surprise trip today (we think it's a water park, but no one will tell us) and then we're staying in college dorms tonight, and then going to our hotel for Convention in the morning.
I. AM. SO. EXCITED.
It's the first year I'm old enough to go to Convention and there have been SOOO many good stories about it and I can't wait to spend some more time with my youth group. In Sunday School our youth group is never that close...but whenever we go away, it's always an AMAZING experience. Except for the waking up at 2 in the morning part... :P
I'm gonna miss everyone though...and what stinks the most is that DK was gone all of Friday, Saturday, and mostly Sunday (I got to see him for two hours last night at an AWESOM concert, remind me to post on that when I get back) and now I'm leaving early this morning. :(
But it's gonna be an amazing week and I can't wait and I really should go get dressed now cause I'm sitting here in shorts and a cami...time to go put a shirt on and then finish getting ready!!! :] :] :]
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Love...
This morning in church our pastor preached about love, it was a pretty good sermon. I wrote down a few notes on the stuff I really liked:
There are three different kinds of love---named differently for a reason.
There are three different kinds of love---named differently for a reason.
- PHILEO love is a BECAUSE love, you love that person BECAUSE you have a deep and personal friendship with them, BECAUSE you enjoy spending time with them, BECAUSE they bring joy into your life.
- EROS love is a BECAUSE love, you love that person BECAUSE you feel that special way towards them, BECAUSE you get those butterflies in your stomach, BECAUSE you're always anticipating the next time you'll get to see them.
- AGAPE love is an EVEN THOUGH love, you're gonna love that person EVEN THOUGH they hurt you, EVEN THOUGH you don't like them, EVEN THOUGH you presently feel nothing for them, EVEN THOUGH things they do cause you pain.
Agape LOVES even though...
As a person we can do many great things in the world, share God's word, help others, give to those who are in need...but if you do not love others you gain nothing and it means nothing.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
Jesus is LOVE. Replace Jesus' name with LOVE:
"JESUS is patient, JESUS is kind..."
Then replace your OWN name with love...are you loving with agape? What areas do you need to work on? Reading the traits challenges us to live with Christ's love.
I want to love sacrificially...intentionally...and unconditionally...
Go For It!
I found this really cool mini book with lots of really cool quotes and stuff in it (the bold are my favorite). :] :] :]
Go For It!
Success is making the best possible use of what you have been given.
Dreams are like stars...you can't touch them, but you can follow them to your destiny.
Many people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.
The only way to see a rainbow is to look through the rain.
The harder you fall, the higher you bounce.
Success is the ability to do better than good enough.
If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you'll get the best.
The best way out of a difficulty is through it.
Happiness is not doing what you like, but liking what you must do.
Admit your mistakes---before somebody else exaggerates them.
Success is building the foundations with the bricks people throw at you.
It's not because things are difficult that we don't dare...it's because we don't dare that things are difficult.
Obstacles: those things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
A big shot is a little shot who kept shooting.
The mark of true genius is orgininality.
People can because they think they can.
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in overcoming it.
There is no worth in anything that is not difficult to achieve.
People who do things that count usually don't stop to count them.
A success is a dreamer someone believed in.
People become great by doing what they don't want to do when they don't want to do it.
Getting anywhere means starting somewhere.
Go For It!
Success is making the best possible use of what you have been given.
Dreams are like stars...you can't touch them, but you can follow them to your destiny.
Many people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.
The only way to see a rainbow is to look through the rain.
The harder you fall, the higher you bounce.
Success is the ability to do better than good enough.
If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you'll get the best.
The best way out of a difficulty is through it.
Happiness is not doing what you like, but liking what you must do.
Admit your mistakes---before somebody else exaggerates them.
Success is building the foundations with the bricks people throw at you.
It's not because things are difficult that we don't dare...it's because we don't dare that things are difficult.
Obstacles: those things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
A big shot is a little shot who kept shooting.
The mark of true genius is orgininality.
People can because they think they can.
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in overcoming it.
There is no worth in anything that is not difficult to achieve.
People who do things that count usually don't stop to count them.
A success is a dreamer someone believed in.
People become great by doing what they don't want to do when they don't want to do it.
Getting anywhere means starting somewhere.
PICTURE TIME!!!
Hmm...I'm a little bored, so PICTURE TIME!!! ;D
One of the MB buses last year.
Our entire MB, last day of band camp '08!!! :]
Me and DK during jazz band...we were supposed to be making funny faces but he didn't so I just look like an idiot. :P
The Three Buccaneers!!! ;D
Jazz Band.
Bucs!!!
Silly Micah and Shep...this was the bus ride from Hershey.
Emo DK. :P
DK, me, Sanya, Cara, Anna (neighbor) all playing the "Haha Game" with Josh on the side. ;D It was SOOO much fun!! :] :] :]
One of the MB buses last year.
Our entire MB, last day of band camp '08!!! :]
Me and DK during jazz band...we were supposed to be making funny faces but he didn't so I just look like an idiot. :P
The Three Buccaneers!!! ;D
Jazz Band.
Bucs!!!
Silly Micah and Shep...this was the bus ride from Hershey.
Emo DK. :P
DK, me, Sanya, Cara, Anna (neighbor) all playing the "Haha Game" with Josh on the side. ;D It was SOOO much fun!! :] :] :]
Yesterday Was INSANE
Yesterday morning I woke up around 7:00, rolled over in bed, reminisced (good stuff ;D), and then went back asleep. Next thing I knew, I heard my mom saying, "Rachel...Rachel you gotta wake up..." Totally confused as to why I HAD to get up on a Saturday morning, I roll back over and she says, "Did you forget you're babysitting the L. kids today?" RIGHT. "We're leaving in about 2 hours" and then she walked out of the room. I stretched and looked at the clock, 10:46, then groggily got out of bed. Ate a quick bowl of Lucky Charms, got on the computer, did Facebook stuff, and then went upstairs to try to take a quick shower...HAH. Got out of the shower, brushed through my hair, and then we were out the door and into the car.
We got to the L. at around 1:00, Mrs. L. showed me what to feed them for dinner (I've already babysat them before so I know the general rules and all that), gave a few guidelines about things like playing with the hose or going for a walk down the road, and then the parents left for the wedding.
There were three kids: Sydney (youngest, 6), Marshall (9), and Brooke (11). I already know Brooke cause she's close to my age and I know most of the kids at my church, and I know Sydney from Camp Ichthus, she was my little buddy. So Brooke had just gotten back from Spruce Lake so she was telling me all her stories and Sydney and Marshall were really bored so we decided to go outside and play baseball. It's kinda hard to play baseball with only four people...so we just all kinda took turns pitching and batting (I actually hit the ball a couple times! I was so proud of myself... ;D) and running around the "bases"---a telephone pole, a tree, and their pool. They live WAY OUT THERE. They pretty much live on a farm, there's animals and a barn and all this hay and cows and tons of chickens everywhere, they rent the house next to the barn, so they don't take care of the animals, someone else does, but it's pretty cool cause I got a tour of all the animals there. There was a WHITE peacock! It was SOOO pretty.
Then we were all sweaty so we went inside and Sydney wanted to play School. So Brooke was the teacher, I was the assistant, and Marshall was the janitor. It was going pretty well but then Marshall got all rowdy and would not calm down...so we decided it was time for an ice cream break. ;D Yummy ice cream sandwiches...then they wanted to go on a walk outside and we ended up hiking a mile down the road and went to this park. We walked around for awhile, sat on the swings, and then jumped (literally) into the creek. They were DRENCHED. I waded in the water and my shorts got really wet but I didn't want to go all the way in (it was DEEP) cause I didn't have a change of clothes or anything. We were in the water for about...an hour? Maybe more? It was a long time.
Then we took a shortcut back to their house instead of walking ALL the way back through the park and the mile home---we cut across the creek, walked through the forest, and cut onto the road, saving about 20 minutes of walking time. ;D
We got back to the house and rinsed off our legs in the tub (poison ivy), then headed downstairs and turned on Beverly Hills Chihuahua. A little into the movie we paused it and got dinner (leftovers, I had this broccoli salad? It was bizarre and there were RAISINS, but I survived... :P). Then we finished the movie (it actually wasn't horrible...definitely not a Rachel favorite though), and it was around 6, which is when the parents said they'd be home. Well...then Brooke got a call from her mom and the reception was JUST finishing up so they'd be home at 7:30...oh boy. What to do with three hyper kids (they had dessert) for another hour and then some...so we headed outside, got out the hose, had a "shower" outside, chased each other around, went in, dried off, and then headed back out and went on another walk. On our way back to the house the parents drove by! Yay!!! So then Mr. L. got dressed (er...changed into more comfortable clothes ;D), and drove me home.
I walk into the house and Sanya's standing there in her swimsuit (with my dad next to her, he went to the beach with Josh for a day, he looked like a LOBSTER, SO BURNT), and I asked if she was going in. Mom said she wanted to but couldn't find anyone that would go in with her, so I volunteered, headed upstairs, changed into my suit, went outside, and plunged into the FREEZING cold water at 8:00 at night...OMWord it was COLD. But we played "chase Rachel" for awhile, and then it just got too cold, so we got out, headed inside, and then Sanya beat me to the shower. :P
So I'm sitting upstairs in my parent's room, on the floor, with a towel around me SHAKING and watching stupid TV. She finished up, I got in, took a nice LOOOOOOOONG hot shower (felt so good...), got out, came downstairs (mom was on the computer), and just COLLAPSED in front of the TV...I was WIPED OUT.
I was in a really weird mood last night...well, maybe not weird, just overwhelmed. I've been so busy ALL day, thinking about the kids and focusing on only them and going and going and going (why do little kids have so much energy???), and now that I've finally stopped...EVERYTHING has caught up with me...I'm dead tired, I have to do everyone's laundry tomorrow, I have to be COMPLETELY packed before the concert tomorrow night or else I can't go, and then...David Kile. I miss him...
We got to the L. at around 1:00, Mrs. L. showed me what to feed them for dinner (I've already babysat them before so I know the general rules and all that), gave a few guidelines about things like playing with the hose or going for a walk down the road, and then the parents left for the wedding.
There were three kids: Sydney (youngest, 6), Marshall (9), and Brooke (11). I already know Brooke cause she's close to my age and I know most of the kids at my church, and I know Sydney from Camp Ichthus, she was my little buddy. So Brooke had just gotten back from Spruce Lake so she was telling me all her stories and Sydney and Marshall were really bored so we decided to go outside and play baseball. It's kinda hard to play baseball with only four people...so we just all kinda took turns pitching and batting (I actually hit the ball a couple times! I was so proud of myself... ;D) and running around the "bases"---a telephone pole, a tree, and their pool. They live WAY OUT THERE. They pretty much live on a farm, there's animals and a barn and all this hay and cows and tons of chickens everywhere, they rent the house next to the barn, so they don't take care of the animals, someone else does, but it's pretty cool cause I got a tour of all the animals there. There was a WHITE peacock! It was SOOO pretty.
Then we were all sweaty so we went inside and Sydney wanted to play School. So Brooke was the teacher, I was the assistant, and Marshall was the janitor. It was going pretty well but then Marshall got all rowdy and would not calm down...so we decided it was time for an ice cream break. ;D Yummy ice cream sandwiches...then they wanted to go on a walk outside and we ended up hiking a mile down the road and went to this park. We walked around for awhile, sat on the swings, and then jumped (literally) into the creek. They were DRENCHED. I waded in the water and my shorts got really wet but I didn't want to go all the way in (it was DEEP) cause I didn't have a change of clothes or anything. We were in the water for about...an hour? Maybe more? It was a long time.
Then we took a shortcut back to their house instead of walking ALL the way back through the park and the mile home---we cut across the creek, walked through the forest, and cut onto the road, saving about 20 minutes of walking time. ;D
We got back to the house and rinsed off our legs in the tub (poison ivy), then headed downstairs and turned on Beverly Hills Chihuahua. A little into the movie we paused it and got dinner (leftovers, I had this broccoli salad? It was bizarre and there were RAISINS, but I survived... :P). Then we finished the movie (it actually wasn't horrible...definitely not a Rachel favorite though), and it was around 6, which is when the parents said they'd be home. Well...then Brooke got a call from her mom and the reception was JUST finishing up so they'd be home at 7:30...oh boy. What to do with three hyper kids (they had dessert) for another hour and then some...so we headed outside, got out the hose, had a "shower" outside, chased each other around, went in, dried off, and then headed back out and went on another walk. On our way back to the house the parents drove by! Yay!!! So then Mr. L. got dressed (er...changed into more comfortable clothes ;D), and drove me home.
I walk into the house and Sanya's standing there in her swimsuit (with my dad next to her, he went to the beach with Josh for a day, he looked like a LOBSTER, SO BURNT), and I asked if she was going in. Mom said she wanted to but couldn't find anyone that would go in with her, so I volunteered, headed upstairs, changed into my suit, went outside, and plunged into the FREEZING cold water at 8:00 at night...OMWord it was COLD. But we played "chase Rachel" for awhile, and then it just got too cold, so we got out, headed inside, and then Sanya beat me to the shower. :P
So I'm sitting upstairs in my parent's room, on the floor, with a towel around me SHAKING and watching stupid TV. She finished up, I got in, took a nice LOOOOOOOONG hot shower (felt so good...), got out, came downstairs (mom was on the computer), and just COLLAPSED in front of the TV...I was WIPED OUT.
I was in a really weird mood last night...well, maybe not weird, just overwhelmed. I've been so busy ALL day, thinking about the kids and focusing on only them and going and going and going (why do little kids have so much energy???), and now that I've finally stopped...EVERYTHING has caught up with me...I'm dead tired, I have to do everyone's laundry tomorrow, I have to be COMPLETELY packed before the concert tomorrow night or else I can't go, and then...David Kile. I miss him...
Friday, June 26, 2009
I am a GENIUS...
Ok, so, I decided to go outside and swim cause it was just too hot for me to be inside sitting at the computer and doing nothing.
So I got my swimsuit on, and went out swimming all by myself. The water was FREEZINGUH. I was jumping around for a little while, practing some strokes swimming back and forth width wise, doing flip turns and then just being crazy and having a good time.
After awhile I decided to sing and fing my scales underwater cause I'm just that AWESOM. ;D I was seeing how many of them I could sing before having to take a breath---I got to four. :P
So then I'm doing that on the bottom of the pool and looking up at the sky (which looks SO COOL through the water), and lying there made me think of the breathing exercises we do with Mr. O. And then THAT reminded me of how Mr. O. shows us how to breathe, with the stomach thing.
So for awhile I'm just standing in the middle of the pool, with my head down, looking at my stomach and just...uh...breathing.
All of a sudden I hear, "...Rachel?" and I look up and say, "Yeah??" and my mom pauses for a moment and then says, "What are you DOING???"/"Oh...HAHA. I guess I do look kinda silly..."/"Yes you look absolutely ridiculous, but what are you doing??"/"...breathing exercises Mr. O. taught us."/"Haha! Ok then..." She heads back inside and I am standing there LAUGHING MY HEAD OFF. I can just imagine what I looked like...WOW.
So then, being the genius I am, I had a BRILLIANT idea (or at least I thought it was brilliant at the time). I decided that I'd do the breathing exercises UNDERWATER. That way mom wouldn't have to see me looking all stupid...
So I go under, and take a HUGE breath and as the water is travelling down my throat and into my lungs I realize...oh, you can't do breathing exercises underwater cause you can't BREAHTE UNDERWATER!!!!
Just as soon as I realize that I start choking on the water and decide then I should probably get out of the pool...
Wow...breathing exercises underwater...I am a GENIUS...
So I got my swimsuit on, and went out swimming all by myself. The water was FREEZINGUH. I was jumping around for a little while, practing some strokes swimming back and forth width wise, doing flip turns and then just being crazy and having a good time.
After awhile I decided to sing and fing my scales underwater cause I'm just that AWESOM. ;D I was seeing how many of them I could sing before having to take a breath---I got to four. :P
So then I'm doing that on the bottom of the pool and looking up at the sky (which looks SO COOL through the water), and lying there made me think of the breathing exercises we do with Mr. O. And then THAT reminded me of how Mr. O. shows us how to breathe, with the stomach thing.
So for awhile I'm just standing in the middle of the pool, with my head down, looking at my stomach and just...uh...breathing.
All of a sudden I hear, "...Rachel?" and I look up and say, "Yeah??" and my mom pauses for a moment and then says, "What are you DOING???"/"Oh...HAHA. I guess I do look kinda silly..."/"Yes you look absolutely ridiculous, but what are you doing??"/"...breathing exercises Mr. O. taught us."/"Haha! Ok then..." She heads back inside and I am standing there LAUGHING MY HEAD OFF. I can just imagine what I looked like...WOW.
So then, being the genius I am, I had a BRILLIANT idea (or at least I thought it was brilliant at the time). I decided that I'd do the breathing exercises UNDERWATER. That way mom wouldn't have to see me looking all stupid...
So I go under, and take a HUGE breath and as the water is travelling down my throat and into my lungs I realize...oh, you can't do breathing exercises underwater cause you can't BREAHTE UNDERWATER!!!!
Just as soon as I realize that I start choking on the water and decide then I should probably get out of the pool...
Wow...breathing exercises underwater...I am a GENIUS...
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