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<:>Racheltrack<:>

If my life had a sound track, what would be the theme song?

Current theme song:
So Glad

As sung by:
Tree63


<:>Pickle:Parlance<:>
My pick of a phrase I find particularly pleasing presently.

Current Pick:
"The things kids say!"
--C.J. (5 years old)

8/28/2004 1:24 PM

So Hannah and Mom and Dad left this morning to go to Azusa. I had to pass on this semester's farewell trip because I have a load of homework to do. I'm currently taking a small break from the speech I am writing about how being homeschooled has shaped who I am today in relation to school and to family... It is actually coming together quite nicely... I'm kind of stuck on the conclusion, but... Normally I would show Hannah what I have, and bounce ideas off of her, and it would all iron out nicely, but I am reminded that she is gone, and I most likely won't see her for another month and a half. This is going to be an interesting semester: interesting to see if I will make it. It makes me feel rather iffy about whether I can cut it at APU next semester if I can't cut it at my junior college this semester. Hannah says that I'll do fine for both semesters, but I don't feel all too confident of that... Most days I feel like quitting... and I've only been in school for two weeks. I feel bad because I've been walking around looking stressed and unhappy, and that is not the image I want to put forth, it's not how I want to be. I've been told more than once this week that I look unhappy. This isn't like the normal Rachel at all. I used to get comments about always having a smile on my face. I need to find some balance here, or I am going to drown in my school work... Anyway, back to the grind...




8/17/2004 1:11 PM

Alright, so I haven't posted in a month and a half, and I can tell even now that nobody's surprised.... My apologies...The following post shall serve as an update of my crazy adventures over the last month and a half. I know you all just can't wait. So pull up the edge of a seat--here's the good, the bad, and the interesting:

* Summer Camp: Too much fun! I was one of the conselors in Chalet #1, home to 9 awesome Jr. High gals. I did a high ropes course and climbed a rock wall with some of my gals. Those were both very challenging activities, but were also fun, and made for some great object lessons--I know I learned something from the experience! Just getting to know a bunch of wonderful people up there was great. The chapel services were awesome. On the last morning I got my official camp wounds. While we were packing everything up to go home, I jumped off my bunk, trying to land with me feet on the edge of the bunk below me, but instead landed on my shins on the edge of the bed. Talk about intense pain. I got nice deep bruises, which are still visible now, a month later. But hey, it was a great camp, and I had a blast.

*Spirit West Coast: I plan to give SWC its own post at some point, so I'll keep this short. First off, our camp ground was quite nice. We stayed in Toro Park. It had grass, trees, a parking lot, and most importantly, a *real* bathroom. The concerts were great. Lots of fun!

*Girls' Road Trip: Hannah, Ash, Sarah, and I took a road trip down to LA the weekend before last... It was great fun to hang out with them, to meet Ash's grandparents who let us stay with them, and to visit Han's church in Sand Dimas. I'm glad we went. It was nice to just get away and have fun for a weekend.

*School: The fall semester started yesterday. It wasn't the best of days for a couple reaasons... I was exhausted because I only got 4 hours of sleep the night before, and my Spanish class was intense and overwhelmimg... I went to my Math class yesterday too, and Speech this morning. My first English Lit class will be today at 4:00... Here we go. Hopefully I can make it through the next four months!

*Glasses: This morning I went to the eye doctor; I am going to get bi-focals... Yes, you read right. I'm 19 and I'm getting bi-focals... But they're just for reading, school, and night driving, and by getting bi-focals I will hopefully be keeping myself from becoming more nearsighted and having to wear glasses permanently later on. It's really a very small problem; I have almost 20-20 vision, but I have trouble focusing from long distances, and it's annoying. I picked out the frames today, and they look cute...

Alrighty, that's about it. Such the interesting life I have!




7/8/2004 5:04 PM

I'm sitting here, listening to a little girl in my mom's daycare tell me tall tales for someone so short... She's pretty funny. She told me that she was going to go to sleep tonight, and sleep for a looong time, and then she'd wake up and she'd probably be 26 or 29... ;)

So I'm going to go to summer camp with my youth group as a counseler next week. This is a rather sudden decision, but I think it's going to be a good camp... It should be fun, and I can't wait to see what happens spiritually there. This will be a new perspective for me at camp, since I've always been a camper.... Should be interesting... ;)




6/26/2004

How to make a Rach

Ingredients: 1 part pride 5 parts silliness 3 parts joy

Method: Add to a cocktail shaker and mix vigorously. Serve with a slice of lovability and a pinch of salt. Yum!

Username:

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

I never post these type of things here, but this one fit pretty well. A bit of randomness is always warranted, right?

6/1/2004 10:18 PM

Hannah's listening to Jars of Clay's latest album, "Who We Are Instead"... Listening to this album reminds me of The Return of The King. That may sound completely odd, but the reasoning behind it is that I went to see ROTK within a few days of Hannah getting the album. I tend to remember events according to music. There are songs that I will always associate with certain people, places, emotions, and events... It reminds me of an essay that I read in the beginning of this last semester, in which the author could remember details about people, places and events he encountered in life while he was reading different books. He mapped his life by books. I map mine by music (I do so with books kind of too, but music is more prominent...). I know someone who maps his life by food... What do you map your life by? You guys have to respond to this, k? I'm beginning to think that there are no pickle-readers out there! Comment!!! (((thanks)))




5/22/2004 8:33 PM

Well, Hannah is back home now. She went to Seattle for nine days to meet Caleb's family and friends... so now she's back for the rest of the summer. It's good to have her back! Welcome back, Sis!! :) Otherwise in the news, the kittens are absolutely adorable and hilarilous. Abbey's kittens are now in the curious toddling stage. They've learned how to climb out of their box, and are taking full advantage of whatever mischief they can make throughout the house. Earlier this evening, I was lying on my bedroom floor, and all five of them were climbing all over me: on my hair, my face, my arms, my legs. It was funny. They're quite cute :) Pictures are sure to follow. (At least I think so. I said that when Abbey and Sophie were kittens, and I never got around to posting them here... We'll see...) That's all for now! Good Night!




5/19/2004 11:12 PM

Ah, the freedom. I am now officially done with the spring semester. Welcome to summer vacation! I'll still be working, and I'm taking on more hours, but I'll have no more classes to attend...No more homework to labor over...No more tests or quizzes. What a glorious day! This has been quite an eventful day, but I feel quite good. On an unrelated note, I just got done watching the season finale of Law & Order. I can't believe that Lenny left. He is classic. What will Law & Order be without Lenny?? It certainly was an interesting episode though... Okay, I'm tired... It has been a long day. Have a wonderful rest of the week!




5/14/2004 7:23 PM

10 Ways to avoid studying for finals:

1) Hold any available kittens
2) Learn a couple of songs in Spanish
3) Help make dinner, then take a long time eating it
4) Play useless online games
5) Check everyone you know’s blogs
6) Check your email
7) Look for concerts in your state
8) Look for concerts in another state
9) Try to solve a Rubick's Cube
10) Make a list of ways to avoid studying and post it on your blog




5/10/2004 10:51 PM

I know, I am a very bad blogger. I haven't posted in almost a month. I can blame this on the great amounts of schoolwork I am doing as it is the end of the semester (a little over a week to go!!) or I can blame it on the fact that I am just generally bad at updating in a timely fashion... or I can blame it on a mixture of the two, which would probably be closest to the truth... I turned in my final portfolio for my English class today. That was cool, cause it isn't due until Wednesday, and my teacher told me that if I wanted to turn it in early, I didn't have to come to class today, since I haven't used up my four absences and we were going to workshop for the portfolio today. Yay for that. Instead, I hung out with Hannah. She arrived home for the summer on Friday night. It is really great to have her back. I truly enjoy just talking to her and hanging out and such. Tomorrow I have an oral exam in Spanish. That should be interesting... I'm really glad that the semster is almost over. I will be done next Wednesday. I can almost taste the freedom. Anyway, I just wanted to let all you faithful readers know that I am alive... And I'll write more interesting posts after the semester is over, I am sure... By the way, we have ten precious little kittens in our house now. Abby and Sophie each had five. They are adorable. Too much fun. Alrighty, that's all for me. Have a great week!




4/15/2004 6:35 PM

Disenchanted.

!!(Warning: spoiler to follow)!!

I just returned from seeing "Ella Enchanted" in our local theater with my brother.I am simply shocked. I have never seen a movie that butchered a story more thoroughly than this one did. I have read the book Ella Enchanted several times, and absolutely love it. Gail Carson Levine did an awesome job writing it. Thus, I was pretty excited when I heard that her book would be made into a movie. The website for the movie says that it is based on Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and that is definitely the correct wording. The main characters in the movie have the same names, and Ella is given the "gift" of obedience by a fairy when she is born, then struggles with the gift/curse until she finds the strength to defeat it, just as in the book. She meets a prince, and falls in love with him. That's in the book too... But that's just about where the similarities end. I may be exaggerating a touch (only ever so slightly!) But seriously. All the great wit from the book is missing. The new storyline is cheesy, and is sprinkled with some situations similar to those found in the book, but the overall story is drastically changed. What happened to the ogres?? I was disturbed by the movie's portrayal of them, and disappointed when Ella doesn't tame them by speaking ogrese. In fact, the ogres don't even speak ogrese. I'm really not exaggerating when I say that it is a completely different storyline. Ella is made out to be completely powerless, while the prince becomes more of the hero. Everything that was actually from the book was tossed into the new storyline haphazardly. It was completely disappointing. There were only a few redeemable additions, such as when a schoolmate tells Ella "Bite me!" and Ella obeys, since she has to... That was funny. If it had been added to the real storyline it would have been nice. I did think that the elf who was not in the book was funny in some parts, and that the part where Ella meets him was pretty humorous... Otherwise, I was just disgusted with this portrayal of such a wonderful book. If you've read the book, save yourself the disgust and don't see it. If you haven't read the book, I suppose it isn't too horrible, but it is kind of cheesy. Okay, that's my rant for today. I feel a little better because I bought the new Tree63 album after we were done with the movie, and it is really good. I'm excited, because I am going to see them in concert tomorrow night. Yay! At least it wasn't a completely disappointing trip into town...




4/3/2004 12:43 PM

Hannah will be here tomorrow night. I can't wait! It'll be fun (and interesting) to have Caleb here too. I stole this list thing from Hannah's blog, so I could waste time that I should be using to prepare for their arrival and to do homework. Hooray for distractions! Have a great week! (Oh, and a late Happy Birthday going out to my silly Father, whose birthday was on the 1st.)

FIRSTS

First job: Besides babysitting, data entry and such at an appraiser's office.
First screen name: Prov18:10
First funeral: Grandma Mallet's funeral.
First pet: A hamster...
First piercing/tattoo: A piercing in each ear
First credit card: None yet
First Kiss: N/A
First one that mattered: ?
First love:N/A
First enemy: That's a strong word... Myself?
First big trip: Moving to California when I was about 2...
First concert: The Jesus Freak Tour with DcTalk and Audio Adrenaline in 1996.
First musician you remember hearing in your house: Vineyard Worship tapes.

LASTS

Last car ride: To prayer meeting, then some errands this morning.
Last kiss: N/A
Last library book checked out: A book about Picasso's painting, "Guernica," for an essay I was writing.
Last movie watched: I can't remember... I watched something with Peter, but I don't remember what it was...
Last beverage drank: Mountain Dew
Last food consumed: I really good salad.
Last phone call: Deborah
Last CD played: Eterne
Last annoyance: Forgetting to get gas while I was in town, and having to turn around half way home to go back, so I wouldn't run out next time I drive somewhere.
Last soda drank: Mountain Dew
Last ice cream eaten: Cookies and Cream
Last shirt worn: My Newsboys Captain Crunch shirt
Last website visited: Humancloning.org (for an English project)

NOW

1) Single or Taken: Single
2) Sex: Female
3) Birthday: 1/29/85
4) Sign: The Cross.
5) Siblings: Hannah and Peter
6) Hair color: Brown
7) Eye color: Blue (most of the time)
8) Shoe size: 8 or 8 and a half, depending on the specific pair of shoes.
9) Height: 5'5"

RIGHT NOW, WHAT ARE YOU

1) Wearing: Jeans and a Tree63 shirt
2) Drinking: Nothing
3) Thinking about: The fact that Hannah will be here in just about 32 hours!
4) Listening to: The dryer spinning around and around
5) Watching: The computer screen
6) Feeling: Okay




3/19/2004 3:34 PM

My toenails are painted red today. I like them very much. They match my tank-top. I'm not sure whether that makes me coordiated in a cute way or a nerd way. It doesn't matter. I like it :)I realized today that in the last week I have only worn jeans twice. How sad is that? I got a new job working in an office, (God just dropped it into my lap...pretty cool) so I've been trying to look semi-professional. It's kind of interesting, because I have to actually think about what I am wearing a little before hand instead of just wearing what I feel like wearing (though I did plan ahead sometimes before). Wow, ironing linen pants is an experiece. If you are planning on doing so, give yourself about 40 minutes for the job. It isn't a quicky. And just to let you know, after you have spent 40 minutes making them creaseless, it'll tkae about 4 minutes of wearing them to return them to creased status. However, they can be very comfortable, and still look alright with some creases. In fact, I'm sure it is impossible to wear them without creasing them. You learn new things every day. And now hurray for the weekend! Though I have some homework to do, it won't be too bad, and best of all, I get to sleep in a bit. Hope you all enjoy it too!




3/12/2004 3:38 PM

Today is Friday. What a glorious day! Hmmm... that reminds me of a certain David Crowder Band song...;) Sorry, I'm not doing any better at posting promptly...sometimes life just takes over my...well, life. *G* So anyway, God is good, as always. His mercy is new every morning, His love complete. I've seen a lot of opportunities for disaster this week, and God has been faithful through it all. He's bigger than our problems, and that is very good. It's good to know that I don't have to know it all, I just have to know Him, and to trust His guidance...and to remember that my perspective is limited. It looks nice in writing, but do I live it? That's the real test! Well, have a supurb weekend! I'll try to make the next post before another month passes. That's a high goal, I know, but I'll do my best ;)




2/15/2004 11:56 PM

Wow, so much has happened since I last posted. Sorry, I know I promised a sooner post, but it just didn't happen. So here's the update:

*I did end up getting my license. Right now I have a nice little paper that says I can drive... but apparently the real thing came in the mail yesterday. I'm in Azusa at the moment, visiting my wonderful sis. When I talked to my mom today, she said that it arrived. That was real quick. The DMV told me that it could take up to 30 days, and it has been less than two weeks. Yay for that.

* I went to winter camp last weekend and it was awesome. God is amazing. Every chapel service spoke directly into my life... I also got to know some awesome girls from my youth group, and I got to go snowboarding and ice skating with Pete. I had never been ice skating or snowboarding before, and it was a blast! Also, I visited Yosemite for the first time. Wow. Really. The enormous rocks made me feel so small, and made me realize just how big my God is. I got to ice skate in the shadow of the half dome. It was SO huge. I was taken aback. And the snow was so beautiful and pristine... I just had an awesome time.

*As I mentioned earlier, I'm here in Azusa, visiting Hannah. I got here by train (my first train ride!) on Thursday night, and I'll catch the train home tomorrow afternoon. I will most likely be able to sit in on a film and television production class tomorrow morning, which should be great. I have really enjoyed getting to hang out with Hannah this weekend. What a blast!

Alrighty, I'm off for now... Have a great week!




2/2/2004 9:58 PM

Welcome to February! I really can't believe that January is already over...It's crazy. Anyway, here are the comments for the last few days:

* I got a snowboard at a yard sale yesterday for 20 dollars. I'll be going snowboarding this coming saturday, while at winter camp with my youth group. Hurray for that. I'll also get to go ice skating, which is something I have wanted to do for a really long time! I think it'll be a pretty awesome time. I'm excited to be going up into the mountains with a bunch of teenagers who love Jesus to play in the snow, and to meet with God, and to perhaps get to know each other a bit better. I can't wait to see what God does in us while we are there. I'm also excited because the camp is in Yosemite, and I have never been there. It should be so beautiful!:)

* I dropped my 3 hour long art class today. During the last class we did tai-chi, and my teacher told us that we would be doing some of it every class. So I decided to just get out. It was too long anyway.

* It was super to have Hannah here for the weekend! I had a great time with her. It was the perfect surprise :)

* I look snazzy today in my new APU shirt that Hannah got me for my birthday! (I just have to use the word snazzy. Too fun... )

Alrighty, that's all for now... I'm sure I'll write again at least by Thursday evening, as I am re-taking my drivers test that afternoon. We'll see what happens. I think it'll go well... Anyway, have a blessed day! :)




1/29/2004 10:52 PM

Wow! I want to say a huge thank you to all of my wonderful friends and family who made my birthday so special. I feel overwhelmed. You guys are great, and I just want to let you know that you made my day! God Bless, and have a supurb weekend! (I know I will! The great surprise of the day is that Hannah is going to come home tomorrow to spend the weekend with us! Yay! What a great birthday suprise!!) Anyway, enjoy your weekend! :)




1/22/2004 8:08 PM

My mind is mush. Please, somebody remind me again why I signed up for a three hour long art class.




1/21/2004 12:53 PM

"Would you like a LifeSaver?...or a chocolate?" the kind lady at the welcome booth on the corner between the parking lot and the rest of campus asked Ryan and I, as we walked toward math class this morning. She was wearing a dark green shirt with our school logo on it, and a smile on her face... and it wasn't yet nine in the morning. I gladly took a coconut Nestle Treasure (those are so good!), and smiled at the lady, thanking her. Not too bad of a start for the second day of classes... 'Course I then had to go inside and endure an hour of math coupled with a pressure headache... I was relieved to find that we were doing a review of stuff we had done last semester, so intense thought wasn't required. Yay for that... and for nice people with chocolate. :) From there, I had a couple hours to spend before my 2:00 Spanish class. So I came home, and found nobody there. I made myself a cup of Swiss White Chocolate instant coffee (good stuff!), turned on my Passion CD, and curled up in my bowl chair to read a few chapters of Job. It's a good book. I used to dislike it, because I felt that it was just a book of whining. I have since realized that isn't true, and that there's actually a lot that I can get out of the it. In chapter five, I found the verse that my mom had given me to take with me on my first day of school yesterday. She had taken it from a daily calandar she has, and left it with my calculator. It read: "He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." (Job 5:9) What a great thought to carry with you! Our God is so big. We cannot even begin to comprehend all that He has done, all that He is doing. We see but a fraction of His wonder in our lives, and we stand amazed at that little bit. How awesome is our God! Who are we that He is mindful of us?




1/16/2004 8:25 PM

Do not pass go; do not collect 200 dollars... and look over your shoulder next time.

Bleh. I took my drivers test today, and failed. Apparently, a right turn on a street that has a bike lane is considered a lane change... you learn new things every day. I was supposed to treat it as a lane change; thus, I should have looked over my shoulder and in my mirrors, then merged into the bike lane, then turned right. I should have done the same when merging into the middle turn lane. Not doing so in both situations would be considered a "dangerous maneuver," which is one of the "critical driving errors" that trigger an automatic fail. So I won't get my drivers license before the spring semester begins, which means that my dad will have to juggle his schedule to be able to take me to classes until the 5th of February, when I get another go at it. I know that I am a good driver, and that I can pass the test... I would have made it easily, had I not made the critical errors. Anyway, that does throw a kink in my plans, but I can get over it... I was pretty excited to get my license, but I suppose it can wait... It's inconvienient and slightly embarassing, but not unbarable. Oh well, such is life. I think I'm going to go play my guitar, cause its a great way to de-stress... not to mention that I just absolutely love it ;) Have a great weekend!!




1/15/2004 10:59 PM

New eyes

“And He said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” --Matthew 18:3

Yesterday, I spent a few hours of the afternoon running errands with my mom and the three-year old girl who is the first member of my mom’s new daycare. On the way home, I stared out the window, exhausted and sort of irritable. “Look; Big bean bags!” the little girl cried with delight, as we passed some bright orange garbage bags lying to the side of the road. My mom explained to her what they really were... and I thought to myself that only a child could find delight in a bag of trash, instead of seeing it as everyday and ...well, trash. What I had bypassed as ordinary was new and interesting to her. Today I was running errands once again, with my dad this time. I stood outside of Wal*Mart and watched as a mother steered her cart out the exit, with two young boys riding in the cart. They were whooping excitedly at their ride. And I thought to myself that children really know how to enjoy life, however ordinary the activity is. Perhaps too often I wake up in the morning with tired eyes instead of new eyes. A child looks at the world as new and wonderful and interesting. Too often I end up looking at the beautiful world that God made as old hat. Or I get so wrapped up in my busyness that I get tunnel vision, and miss the wonders that go on about me. There may be "nothing new under the sun," but I certainly haven’t seen it all yet! And what I have seen is no less wonderful because I have seen it before. This applies spiritually too. I need to come to the kingdom of God with all the wonder of a little child, eyes and heart wide open to the new things I can learn, in awe of what I see and hear and find out, and excited about it; excited so much that I want to tell others about it. How many Bible stories and amazing things from God’s word have I heard so many times that they are no longer new to me, and no longer affect me? I need new eyes every day, so that when I catch a glimpse of God in the world around me, it causes me to be in awe; so that when I read His Word, it evokes a respose in me and affects who I am. I need new eyes.




1/10/2004 8:56 PM

Well, this is Han's first day back at APU. We waved goodbye to her yesterday at about noon... So thus begins another semester (her semester actually starts on Tuesday, but...). I'll get to see her again when I go to visit her in February. That will be nice. I didn't have much time to think about being lonely though, cause Pete and I worked at the car wash for winter camp for five hours today. Wow, it was fun, but I'm quite exhausted now.
Highlights from the car wash:
*One of the guys in our youth group showed up in a colorful plaid suit jacket and a white collared shirt. And he actually washed the cars that way. It was classic.
*The owner of a red sports car played "Car Wash" by Jim Croce on his cd player while we washed his car. It was rather fitting.
*We actually had one of the Jr. Highers' father bring in his big diesel semi (without the trailer) to be washed. I heard that he brings it every year. 'Twas interesting.
Anyways, it was quite a day. A few steps closer to winter camp, plus some fun in the process. Yay for that. Now if I could sell the last 18 (of 20) enchilada dinner tickets before wednesday, I'd have it made. Have a supurb weekend!




1/8/2004 11:51 PM

Welcome to January, and to the New Year! :)

On snow, winter camp, making the grade, and related topics—thoughts on the last few days, in other words...;)

~Making the grade~
So today I got my grades back from the fall semester—and I got all A's... Apparently I made the Dean's honors list as well. Not to put so fine a point on it though. I really would like to get all A's and I am glad that I have so far, but that isn’t nearly so important to me anymore...or at least I'm working on it. I think I really put too much of a focus on grades last semester, and lost sight of the goal, so to speak. Getting good grades is important, but it isn't everything, and if I stress so much that I make myself and/or others miserable, then it isn’t worth the cost. There's a fine line between giving your best effort and giving everything. School is not everything. My GPA will not matter as soon as I get out of school, and it will matter only a bit in the transfer process—otherwise it is just a number and a bit of bragging rights, if that, and I'm not looking to be fostering pride. So the idea this semester is to enjoy what I am learning as best I can—which won't be too hard, as I am fairly excited about all of my classes except math, which I can handle, but won't really like—and to spend time simply enjoying life and the people God has put in my life, and to really draw close to God. Basically I need to fix my priorities. Life is too short to spend stressing. Yes, I'll do my best to "make the grade," but I won't be letting the grade make me.

~Snow~
Yesterday Hannah, Dad, Pete, and I went for a day of playing in the snow with Ash and her brother. That was a blast. It was so beautiful up there, especially where the snow covered trees met up with a few mountain lakes. Wow. God has a knack for taking my breath away. We spent a few hours sledding on a sled track that we made on a hill that was at least 150 feet high. It was really great... a lot of work went into making the track, but it was super. I enjoyed tobogganing down the slope head first on what my brother and I dubbed the "suicide mat"—a thin sheet of plastic with holes in the front for handles, which offered little barrier between the rider and the snow. Wow. It was intense. Great fun. Hannah took some pics with her digital camera, so I may end up posting some here in the near future...

~Winter Camp~
Well, our trip to the snow sealed the deal. Peter is now willing to go to winter camp, and I am now even more excited about it. It is going to be so wonderful! Our youth group has a winter camp on February 6th-9th, and I have been trying for some time now to convince Pete that he needs to go. I really want to go, and will most likely get to do so. The only thing that can change my plans is if I absolutely have to go to my classes on the 9th... I do have classes on the 6th and the 9th, but I am hoping to be able to skip them, as long as I have no major projects to keep me there. The 6th should be no problem, as I only have one class on Fridays... Last night at youth group we got tickets to sell for an enchilada dinner fundraiser, and we have a car wash this Saturday... so here we go. I really hope I can go to camp. It would be so fun.

Last night during the worship service, we sang "God of Wonders." A slide show of images of the snow covered mountains, the beautiful lakes, and the awesome rock formations that I had seen earlier that day played through my head as we sang the chorus : God of wonders beyond our galaxy You are holy, holy. The universe declares Your majesty. You are holy, holy,
Yes, the universe declares His majesty, and I am not only witness to the declaration, but I must take my active part as a part of this universe to join in the declaration. I sang loud, hands stretched upward, declaring along with all creation that He is holy, that He is awesome and worthy of praise. God is amazing. Have a blessed week!




12/31/2003 6:29 PM

Much to say... Firstly (is that a word?), my town is apparently becoming more exciting. First we had a pretty major earthquake, then Arnold visited...and now Road Rage at Taco Bell <--Read my Sis's account of our interesting day. Seriously. Some people have issues.

I finally did get to see LOTR, The Return Of The King last Friday, the 26th... It was good... Quite still in comparison to the last time we attempted to see it... Samwise Gamgee is such the hero! Yay for Sam! Merry and Pippin also did well... foolhardy yet courageous--hobbits. And of course, Gimli and Legolas's banter is so great. Aragorn was courageous and bold, and finally took his rightful place as King. Hooray for Gandalf the White. I don't like Smeagel anymore... Shelob is scary. Applause is due to Sam for his courageous defeat of the hideous beast. Eowyn is a cool courageous warrior... But Sam! Frodo never would have reached Mt. Doom without Samwise the Brave. I don't see how Frodo could leave the Shire, leave Sam, after Sam stuck by him through everything... Anyway, 'twas quite good altogther... I must read the book. I'm in the middle of The Two Towers at the moment, so I shall get to Return Of The King soon, hopefully. I'd like to read them both before the winter break is over and I must get back to the scholastic grind.

And lastely, today is New Year's Eve. The conclusion of the year 2003 draws nigh, and I can't say that I'm overly sad to see it go. It has been quite a year, and I can only press on into the new year in hopes that this 2004 will be an improvement. One thing that I have really learned this year is that in my weakness, God is strong. I am simply left in awe at seeing his hand in my life. I've also learned that God's worthiness to be praised is not dependant upon my life, upon my circumstance, but that He deserves praise no matter what the day brings. I leave you with the link to the lyrics to "I Celebrate The Day" by Relient K, which happens to be my current theme song, and seems rather timely. Have a Happy New Year!




12/23/2003 9:28 AM

"Dear Lord Jesus!" I whispered urgently, "Thank You God. You are my strength and my rock..." The time was 11:16 am, Monday morning (yesterday) and I was standing in the aisle of my local movie theater, just about to find a seat to watch Return of the King with a group of family and friends. I felt a slight rumble that seemed almost for a split second as though some excited movie-goers were stamping their feet in anticipation of seeing Return of the King. The rumble increased, and I instinctively knelt down in the aisle, holding on to a side bar. The building bucked violently like a frightend horse, as I realized that I was experiencing one of those big earthquakes that California is known for. Strangely, I wasn't scared...wasn't really even shocked. It was surreal. I knew what was happening, but I didn't know the magnitude of what was happening. The building started swinging back and forth, like a pendulum, and I glanced over at the silver screen; it rippled like a blanket that was being shaken to get all of the out sand after a picnic at the beach, or like a flag being beaten in the wind. After the minute and a half of shaking that seemed to last an hour, we started to exit the building. I was afraid to see what it looked like outside. "Pan Jewlers collapsed!" someone said, "The clock tower fell into the street!" I looked across the park to where the symbol of Paso Robles lay in a heap across the street just a block away. The air was filled with the scent of dust mixed with sulfer. But I was thankful to be breathing that air. God protected us. I went home, to find my mom fine, and our house with minimal damage. I found out that it was an earthquake that measured at 6.5 on the Richter scale, and that the epicenter was 7 miles north east of San Simeon. My hometown, Paso Robles, seemed to sustain the most damage, and two women were crushed by falling debris just as they escaped from the collapsing buildings around our park. My heart goes out to the family and friends of those two women, and I am saddened to see all of the destruction that this quake has caused to my hometown. It will take a lot to rebuild what has been destroyed, but I've already seen my community pull together, and I have no doubt that we shall recover. I am thankful today to God for his protection, and I know that He will continue to have His hand on us.




12/17/2003 12:27 PM

Nothing like the Mexican Hat Dance in the middle of a math final. It's so classic. So this morning I went to my math final and about an hour into it, we suddenly hear the Mexican Hat Dance...coming from my purse. I had borrowed my mom's cell phone so I could call Hannah when I was done, and had forgotten to turn the ringer to silent. I looked up to see my teacher smiling at me, as I quickly hung up on my dad, who thought he was calling my mom, and switched the ringer to silent. Well that's certainly one way of shaking things up... ;) Oh well, that class is over and done with...in fact, the entire semester is over for me, as that was my last final. I fell so free! So now I'm off to go shopping with Hannah. And then I may simply relax, watch a movie, decorate our Christmas tree...who knows? And then I'll go to youth group this evening, and that'll be fun. Yep, I think this is beginning to look like a beautiful day.