Merry late Christmas, everyone!

Wow, crazy to think Christmas is already over! I shall give a run down of how my Christmas/Christmas Eve went:
Christmas eve Corey and I went to his Uncle and Rosangela's house. She's an amazing cook and she made us dinner. The food was really good! But the entertaining part was the dessert. The chocolate was too hard so she tried to microwave it and it caught on fire. Good times.
I had a very nice day celebrating Jesus' birth with my friends and family. In the morning, I had breakfast with a ton of people at Corey's house. It was nice to meet some of the family I hadn't met yet. Very awesome people. Then we opened presents. Corey and his mom got me a ton, and his grandma got me a necklace which made me happy. After that we went to Reg's parents house and had dinner. It was really yummy! And his parents bought me presents which was surprising but very kind. Then Corey and I headed to my house where I opened presents from my parents and we played WOW.

ANYWAYS, now it's time to figure out what's going on for New Years! YAY! I always love New Years bc it's a time to get together with people and reminisce about all that's happened over the past year.

I want cereal, so goodbye for now!

An update on my WOW issues!

So, I finally got the issues resolved yesterday. I was so incredibly happy. So my main is no longer a night elf for the Alliance, it is now a blood elf on the Horde. I don't necessarily like the Horde, in fact I STILL think they're the bad guys, but blood elves are freaking amazing. And I guess they have a good reason to dislike the Alliance, since they destroyed their home and made them outcasts. Anyways, my cast is a Palladin, which is cool cuz I get to heal and fight. I'm basically a holy warrior. Pretty sweet, I must say. I also had my first battle with the Alliance today, which didn't go so well since I'm only level ten. Corey said we'll go back when we're level 19 and kick some butt. I'm pretty excited. Oh and I finally beat Corey in a duel!


ANYWAYS, exams are this week, but I don't have any tomorrow which is why I'm still awake. So I'm going to sleep in a bit and then spend the whole day studying. Well, probably not, but I'll try.

Good luck with your last week everyone! (except those of you who this isn't your last week).

:D

Home, WOW, Burning Crusade, etc

Well I have an announcement, and it's one I'm sure most of you have at least heard rumors of but just to clarify...
Yes, I am moving home next semester. Well, most likely, anyway. I'll be going to Vanguard, which is right next to UCI... So Kevin, get excited.

Also, more on my ranting about WOW (yes, WOW as in World of Warcraft. Yes, I am a nerd. And... yes, it has taken away immensely from my social life). So I was thoroughly enjoying playing WOW, however, I decided that I would love to have Burning Crusade as well (the extension pack) so that I could be a blood elf or a Draenai if I want. Being absolutely thrilled, I took a trip to Meijer and bought the Battle Chest pack, rushed back to my dorm and tried to install it. I installed WOW first (since I Was still on the trial version), and then tried to install BC. But at the end of the BC installation it told me I needed to install WOW. So I tried to enter WOW and it told me I was elligible for the BC expansion and couldn't play until I finished installing BC. Slight problem? Yes. So I called tech support and the guy told me that I had to uninstall WOW and reinstall it. Sounds easy, right? WRONG. I have spent the past two days attemting to install it but it INSISTS on going RIDICULOUSLY slow. Thats okay though, because when all is done, I will be able to enter the World of Warcraft and once again conquer all!

Okay that is all.

SAVED!

Yes, if I had waited one more day I would have been on the dead friends list. But I saved it.

Anyways, I have been super busy lately, if you couldn't tell by the lack of posting.

Thanksgiving was super fun. It was nice to see everyone from home again and have yummy home cooked food again!!!

I am very excited for Christmas break. Wouuld all of you agree with me that this semester went by WAY fast? I Can't believe we only have two weeks left! Next week is kinda gonna suck bc I have three papers and a presentation due, and you know me, procrastination all the way (especially now that Corey got me addicted to WOW. Yes, I said it, I play WOW now). Then finals week is going to be very hectic.

Well, unfortunately that's all the time I have to post now. Actually it's not, but I'm going to go play WOW. Haha.

Stolen

This is stolen from Justine. Happy belated birthday!!

1. Who was your first love?
This is a topic I don't like to talk about.

2. Who was your first kiss and when?
Micah summer after freshman year.

3. Who was your first prom date?
I don't think I had one junior year. So Cory.

4. Who was your first room mate?
Sue and Amber!!! Awww. And now I live with my lovely roomie, Laura.
:)

5. What was your first job?
Well I've volunteered a lot and now I work for Quixtar.

6. What was your first car?
Honda CRV. LOVE IT! I never want another.

7.When did you go to your first funeral?
There were some I can't remember but the first I remember is my grandma's. That was a while back...

9. How old were you when you first moved away from your hometown?
Well... That would be like three months ago. lol.

10. Who was your first grade teacher?
Ms. Mewman? Or was she third? I can't remember.

11. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
Probably Kentucky or Wisconsin. Freakin hicks. But I love them haha.

13. Where did you go for your first date and who was it with?
My first date... Hmmm... Oh gosh I have no idea what my first real date was. So I'll just say in second grade with Noah when we met Mr. Rodgers. Ha.
:)

14. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with?
i I've never snuck out. I tried a couple times and got caught... Haha.

15. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them?
My first best friend was Noah Smith. From kindergarten to middle school pretty much. He was also my first crush lol. I wouldn't say we're really friends anymore but we do still see each other sometimes and our parents still talk. So yeah.

16. Who was the first person to send you flowers?
Sadly I believe it was Corey at the beginning of the year this year. Haha. Or maybe my parents some other random time.

17. Where did you live the first time you moved out of your parents house?
Calvin College. Grand Rapids, Michigan.

18. Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?
Corey. :)

19. Who's wedding were you in the first time you were a bridesmaid or a groomsmen?
I've only been to one wedding my whole life and I wasn't a bridesmaid. However, I did end up helping set up and Sarah and I helped people sign in. Um. Yeah. Let's just say the wedding was beautiful but setting up was not the most pleasant experience ever. I am so getting a wedding coordinator who actually works.

20. What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Hit the snooze button like ten times. Then pee. Unless my suitemates are in there. Then I just wash my face and brush my teeth.


Yayyy this weekend is going to be fun!

Adulthood

Yes, it is true. I am finally an adult (as of yesterday).

My birthday was wonderful. I told everyone I wanted food and money, and that is what I got. A total of 370 dollars, chocolate from Cristina, Corey, my parents, and Sarah, pretzels from Rebekah, a coupon to the fish house from Cristina, and a cake from Calvin (well, my parents told Calvin to give it to me). I got some other presents but I'm just listing off the food bc I think it's funny. My roomie says my present is going to be chocolate cuz she thinks it's funny that so many people got me chocolate.

How did I celebrate? Well, I went out to dinner with Brandon. Aimee was supposed to come but she has mono so she couldn't. Then I came back and shared my cake with some wonderful people, and then I knitted with Stina. On Sunday the girls and I might to to the spa and dinner, if we can find a spa.

So... it's interesting being an adult. I can now legally smoke and do other raunchy things if I so wished. But I don't wish to so none of you have to worry about me.

Anyways, my friends are pretty freaking awesome. Yay!
:)

OOPS.

It's been quite a while since I updated. My bad ("Mah b!"- that was for you, Stina).

The past few weeks have been eventful. Corey came out to visit last weekend. I missed him. You have no idea how much. And now I miss him even more than before he left.
:(

Also, last week was midterm week, aka hell week. The beginning of the week was okay but I had three papers and a midterm for Friday. I'm glad that's over, but I have two papers due Monday. HOWEVER, next week is advising/reading recess so we have Tuesday and Wednesday OFF! That makes me incredibly excited.

The next few things I have to look forward to are my birthday, and Thanksgiving when I come home. Yes, tomorrow it will be only one month until I get to see Corey again!

I have also once again been reminded of God's grace and mercy. I really need to start reading the Bible more. So please pray about that.

That's all for now! Blessings everyone!

Espadeas.

So the past couple weeks have been funnnn!

Last Friday, Cristina and I were going to go to Robinettes (an apple cider place), but when we got there it was closed. So then we went to Meijer. That night we were going to go with Rebekah to hear a speaker for Prelude credit, but... we couldn't figure out where to go. So instead we decided to go see Across the Universe. But the problem was it wasn't out yet. SO we decided to see Wild Chipmanzees on the Imax but it wasn't playing at the right time... which led to us finally seeing Sydney White. It was really really funny but I'm still trying to figure out why the dork who was supposed to be Happy, the dwarf, wasn't really happy. He was just horny. Haha.

Errr anyways, Saturday we went to Robinettes and it was super duper amazing and yummy and awesome.

Sukkoth ends tomorrow :( But I'm spending the night at Stina's again and we're playing Pass the Etrog!

I don't feel well right now so I'm going to stop writing but I'll try to update again soon. Hope all you Californians are doing WONDERFUL!

Splash Gum, Michigan Winter, and Zebras

First off, I would like to start by saying that Trident Splash gum is absolutely amazing. It's like, SPLASH! And then a burst of fruity goodness.

Also, Cristina and I have officially discovered that the Fish House (which, contrary to popular belief (actually not popular, I'm the only one who thought this) does NOT serve fish). Iced Zebras and Michigan Winters are delicious. I'm drinking a Michigan Winter right now and it's mmm mmm good!

I also realized that out of my three pairs of jeans, two are sort of tight and one is way too big. Maybe I should buy a new pair.

Well anyways, classes are going pretty well. International Development gives a crapload of homework, but other than that, my assignments are mostly reading.

This weekend is my dorm retreat. It should be interesting because I'm not super tight with anyone on my floor yet. I mostly know people in NVW and KH. But alas, i'm sure it will be a good time... just so long as they don't try to get me involved in any games of Ultimate Frisbee cuz the last time I tried that on a dorm date it was disastrous.

Hope everyone else is doing wonderful!
:D




It’s the song of the redeemed
Rising from the African plain
It’s the song of the forgiven
Drowning out the Amazon rain
The song of Asian believers
Filled with God’s holy fire
It’s every tribe, every tongue, every nation
A love song born of a grateful choir

It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

Let it rise above the four winds
Caught up in the heavenly sound
Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals
To the faithful gathered underground
Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation
Some were meant to persist
Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples
None rings truer than this

It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

And all the powers of darkness
Tremble at what they’ve just heard
‘Cause all the powers of darkness
Can’t drown out a single word

When all God’s children sing out
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
All God’s people singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

A message from Jever (my friend from South Africa)

This is a message one of my friends who I met when I was in South Africa sent me on facebook. It was really special to me because I'm going through a lot right now (like... a lot a lot) so it made me feel better. It's cool how God gives people the perfect words to say to you, especially because I hadn't even told him anything that's been going on.

Don't Quit
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit…
Rest if you must—but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won if he’d stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup,A
nd he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It's when things go wrong
That you mustn't quit.

with love
Jever

With the windows down when this is guiding you home

Sorry I haven't really posted a lot lately. College is kicking my butt.

I basically drowned in IDS homework last night. It was horrible. But now that I've finished that, I'm slightly more relaxed and hopefully tonight I will get more than three hours of sleep. Yay for sleep.

So... the past week was a little hard bc two very special people in my life died. The first I was not very close to, but he was a member of my church community and I worked with him some in Little Lambs. Tyler Verkaik died earlier this week. I believe the funerals tomorrow. I know it must be extremely hard on his parents and on a lot of people in my church/high school bc I know everyone was really pulling for him. Also, my grandma died yesterday. I guess it was for the best bc she suffered for many years but it's still really hard. She is part of what inspired me to travel and she was just an amazing, funny, kind woman.

Yeah... the past few days have been pretty rough. BUT my mom sent me a plant to remind me of my grandma today... and CHOCOLATE. Yes, it was very exciting. I also found out that pretty much everyone in my IDS class had a really hard time with the assignment (some people even moreso than me) so that was pretty comforting.

I am just freaking exhausted.

Hope everyone is doing well! there should be a video tour of my room on here tomorrow. Hooray!

College?

Well, I've been here for a while now (but classes haven't started yet) and so far it's pretty awesome.

Passport was kinda boring. I guess it was sort of fun though? Well after passport, we had Quest. Quest was pretty interesting. We got split into like fifty groups. GO GROUP SIX! Anyways, our group was pretty cool. We played lots of get to know you games, got lost many many times, played the great ball challenge, had a cook out, and did many other things.

Calvin is a pretty cool school. I really miss California though. And Corey.

Today I went to Mars Hill. For those of you who don't know, that is Rob Bell's church. It was very very amazing. He spoke about having child like faith and had all of the children up on stage coloring for the entire sermon. It was a very good sermon but I'm too tired to go into much detail.

There is also a lot of other stuff I'd like to talk about here, but I'm tired and we're going to the beach tomorrow so I'm going to end this now.

I hope everyone in California is doing wonderful. I miss all of you!!!

Roadtrip Insanity

Well... We are finally in Michigan after an incredibly long five days. The trip was fun (I guess?) but also incredibly... eventful, to say the least.

I shall explain:
Day number 1: This was the only day that went smoothly. Hooray Utah!

Day number 2: This is where things got interesting. We left early the next morning. The woman at the resort we stayed at suggested the scenic route. Oh, it was scenic alright. It was about two hours of extra driving time filled with scenery (she told us thirty minutes). We managed to find a Subway where they told us we were 8 hours away from Denver, which was our destination. We thought it'd only be three. THEN one of my family members had to go to a medical clinic for reasons I shall not mention. It was a dinky little place in some hodung town in the midde of nowhere. We were there for a couple hours and then were on our way.

Day number 3: We woke up and it was drizzling. We tried to turn on my windshield whipers, only to discover one of them was stuck because the nut was stripped. So we went to the car dealership to get it repaired. They didn't have the right nut, but they put on a temporary one. It was a good thing, because later that night a massive storm came across our path. By massive I mean... Buckets of rain, cats and dogs if you would like to put it that way. Lightning... HUGE LIGHTNING. My mother was frightened. And thunder. It was interesting. But we made it to Nebraska.

Day number 4: We left Nebraska and headed for Chicago. It wasn't too bad in the beginning, but at night it started storming again. (FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT ACTUALLY READING THIS BECAUSE YOU'RE BORED, THIS PART IS MORE INTERESTING). My dad needed to figure out what hotel we were staying at, so we pulled off and went into a McDonalds. While we were in there, the storm worsened, and about five minutes later we hear "The tornado sirens are going off! GET IN THE BASEMENT!" So, we went into the basement and waited for the sirens to go off. It was only about fifteen minutes, and then we were finally able to make it to Chicago.

Day number 5: After a nice day of sight seeing in the windy city, we were once again on our way, this time to GR. Well, once we got on the highway, we noticed there was an abnormally large amount of traffic. As in, it wasn't moving. At all. So after two hours of waiting, we had moved about one mile. We finally managed to get to an exit. We went in a Burger King and asked what the hold up was, and discovered that the highway was flooded for about two miles. In other words, we couldn't get through. So we pulled out the grand old atlas and figured out an alternate route... but of course that took us about an hour. Then the alternate route didn't go as planned bc the street we were on was closed bc of flooding. BUT a couple hours later, we finally found our way and got past the flood.


So... I am now sitting in our hotel at the Prince Conference Center at Calvin. I am alive, as is all my family and Steph (who a man in Nebraska thinks is my adopted twin, thanks to my mother). My car also survived the tornado. Hooray!

Cristina, I think your trip went slightly smoother than ours. Haha.

YOUTAW!

Yes, I am currently in Utah at a resort about five minutes away from Zion. It's amazingly beautiful here and so awesome to see these canyons which God so perfectly sculpted. But driving here... through the desert... reminded me of Africa, AND the fact that I need to post about it.


So everyone keeps asking me about my trip. I don't really know where to begin, or how to respond. It was not what I expected, but at the same time more than I expected. It was not what you typically think of when you hear the word "Africa." Yes, we had electricity. Yes, we had clean water and showers. No, the food was not gross, in fact I think I gained weight. No, we were not staying in grass huts in the middle of nowhere. We were in a city fairly urbanized city, which resembled the states once you got past the electric fences, panic alarms, lock down gates, and watch dogs which accompanied every house. It was really dangerous. Stealing is huge there, smash and grab is huge there... Yeah, one of our combi's got stolen. But it was amazing. The children were amazing. The work we did was amazing (yes, even filling the ginormous container). Visiting the squatter village was amazing in a very sad way. It was all perfect, because it was God's plan.

I miss everyone I met. Especially Nafe and Jever and Ben and Cindy. They inspired me. Their hope and joy taught me a lot.

It's nice to be home, but at the same time it's incredibly sad. I can't wait until I go back to Africa.

The pictures aren't working right now, so I'll post them later.

I miss everyone in CA already. :(

Home

Yes, I am finally home and settling down (a little).

Africa was amazing. I'll have to post more later.
I miss everyone there SO much. SO SO SO SO MUCH.
:'(

Insanity

This past weekend was really fun. I love my friends. The end.

Well, not the end.

It's weird that college is coming up so fast. And Africa. Yes, on Monday I will be on a 22 hour long flight to South Africa where I'll be working with AIDs orphans. I am SUPER excited. A little nervous though.

I'll be gone for two weeks, and when I come back, I have two weeks before Steph and I begin our journey to Michigan, where I will be staying until December.

Too many emotions to even describe.

Near-death Experience

Being face to face with a semi going about fifty heading straight for you, and narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with said monstrosity of a truck.

I am happy I didn't get in an accident.... and that I didn't get crushed or killed. I am also thankful that Nori was on the phone with me the whole time to help me find my way home. Mucho gracias amigo.


The bonfire yesterday was fun. It was good to see Anne again! I missed her. She's definitely still the same Anne we knew in middle school. I might post pictures later.



Have a happy and safe 4th of July everyone!
:D

Hiatus

Well, I'm very happy to say that after a long time of suffering from a lack of communication with God, I've finally gotten back on track. It's nice. I've also started reading the Bible again (trying ot follow Mr. Becksvoorts Bible study on the LCB forum) (THE BECKSVOORTS HAD THEIR BABY BY THE WAY YAYYYY!!!).

I also saw Evan Almighty... Twice. I'll blog more about that later though.

I think I am going to buy a custom liscense plate. One of the save the ocean/beaches ones and I want it to say HAZAK. Or if that's taken... H4Z4K. or... Something. I just want Hazak.

Syd gave me cooking lessons today. Twas fun.

COMING SOON

A blog about changes in my relationship with God, summer reading, and life.


And a long-awaited comment on Matt's blog (goodness sakes, I've been busy, gimme time).

Hope everyone is having a splendid summer!
Peace yo!

Valley Christian Alumni

So it feels weird not to be part of Valley anymore. Cool, but weird... and kinda sad.

Graduation was super awesome. I don't feel like writing a huge post about it, but it was very fun. Corey/Courtney's was good as well (congratulations Corey on being master of ceremonies!)... but OMG Cerritos had such an awesome graduation! They had this awesome fire works show at the end which was pretty bomb. And I'm super proud of Steph... and all my other friends for that matter.

Uh?

I tried to post about graduation but it got all messed up so... It'll be up tomorrow or something. I apologize.

To my friends...

Well, this is a song I've been listening to a lot lately (and they played it when we were leaving chapel the other day)... And as graduation is approaching... it's kinda making me think of my friends, so here it is. I just wanna let all of you know... I love you very much and for the losers who aren't coming to Calvin next year... I will miss you a lot.

My Wish
I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walking till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,
But more than anything, more than anything,

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but you never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
You find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.
But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.




You guys are amazing... For the first time... I'm actually getting kinda sad about leaving California.
:(

ONE MORE DAY.

Uncertainty

I feel so far from God's care right now...



But on a lighter note... There are only three more days of school. And Mr. Becksvoort recommended that we wear tennis shoes the rest of the week, which always means something exciting.


Senior chapel tomorrow.
Senior banquet tomorrow night at church.
End of the year youth group BBQ Thursday.
And Friday it's all over...
My grad party is Saturday. Feel free to show up. Got a couple on Sunday too... and during finals week since none of us really have to take them.
Then GRADUATION!



Oh, and, senior trip was a blast.
:D


I miss my sugarloaf and buffaloaf.
;)

PINATAS!?

Well, yesterday was the Kingdom Causes BBQ which me, Justine, Kelsey, and Katie did for our dollar project in missions. Only Justine and I could make it, which was okay since the others don't really know anyone. Just let me say.. Wow.

It was so cool to see all my homeless friends, and the others, come together and just eat, relax, and play games. We began with the food. Justine and I helped cook... Or... I mostly just stood around and laughed, with an occasional peeling of the cheese for the burgers. After the food, we had a water balloon toss which turned into more of a... peg each other with as many water balloons as possible fight. I got wet... Justine didn't cuz she was freaking out about her hair... Haha loser. After we messed around with the pinata... which was interesting, but very fun. Unfortunately I didn't get to hit it cuz I was on the phone with Mr. Westrup, but it was exciting and hillarious to watch the others. I must say, the nerds gum balls were delicious.


But, on a more serious note... I'd like to talk about Jason. I remember the night Justine and I first met him... He had just gotten in a fight, and was absolutely drunk. He kept talking about suicide and how badly he wanted to kill the guy he'd gotten in a fight with. I remember when Ryan and them had to call the suicide hotline cuz he was about to kill himself. I never used to see him smile.. but... WOW, has he changed.
I can honestly say the highlight of the bbq was hanging out with him. He was cooking the burgers and hot dogs while Justine and I were helping him. He has turned into such a joyful person. Whenever one of us did something stupid, he'd laugh and make fun of us... I think he smiled almost the whole time, and he really looked like he was thorougly content. He's at Bell Shelter now, in the program, and it's amazing to see what it's done for him. I guess what I'm trying to get at... He's living proof that what we're doing... what Kingdom Causes is doing... what all missionaries and other people trying to change the world for Christ are doing... actually is making a difference. He is living proof that people can change.



I also worked at the 20 year high school reunion to raise money for South Africa. It's weird to think that's going to be us one day. While I was there, I got to meet the pastor we'll be working with in South Africa this summer... He seemed pretty awesome. Meeting him kinda made it seem more... real.


8 more days.
Insane.

Manana

I'm excited to find out why we need to wear close toed shoes for LCB.


And I need to remember to do my bio for the senior play. Uh oh.

Goals and Realizations

WELL, tonight was quite interesting. It was the NHS award ceremony.... It's so weird being a senior and finding out who's getting all the scholarships and stuff! And KRISTEN'S VALEDICTORIAN! (Yes, I did just realize this. And no, I'm not stupid, or out of it.. I guess I just wasn't there the day we realized it?). Well, I got the B of A Religious Studies Award, and one of the SAS scholarships... Which I was really excited about cuz I need more money for college. Three of the Calvin students won SAS scholarships... REPRESENT!!!!

Tomorrow, Cristina and I (and anyone else is welcome to join) will begin fasting. I say this not to brag or boast, but to ask for prayer cuz everyone knows going even 20 minutes without food for me is like death. Some people have asked what the goal is with this... and for me personally, it's mainly to get more spiritually prepared for college.

Also, I've been meeting some really cool people from Calvin on facebook. It's pretty exciting. Hooray.

And one last thing... One of my goals is to get in shape before college. With this, I am actually going to try to follow my diet (no sodas unless I'm at a party and no eating after 8) more closely... and increasing my diet (no chips and sugarness in the same meal, supliment one with fruit or salad)... Something like that.


School's almost over. Weird.

Take care everyone!

:(

Today was a really horrible day. Pray for me and some of my friends? I'd really appreciate it.


Well, on a lighter note... Graduation is a month and two days away! And it's even less than a month until we're done with school since I'm (most likely) not going to have to take any finals.

Hooray.

If you have a problem with me...

Seriously, if you have a problem with me or there's something about me that's bugging you.. Talk to me about it instead of talking crap behind my back. All that does is cause unnecessary
"drama" and back stabbing/gossiping which I really want to have no part in. Seriously. Either bring it up with me or don't mention it at all.

Thanks.


On a lighter note, Kelsey and I raised $70 for our missions project today!

Jeh Ess Beh. Et DISPLACE MEEEE.

Well, JSB and Displace Me were last weekend. Good times I must say. Everyone looked splendid at JSB... The food was good, the program ran a little late so there was less dancing time but it was fun. Interesting mix of music this year. It's weird to think it's our last dance of high school, but still cool.

Displace Me was also very amazing. We had a lot of speakers... Dan Helder's mom, Clinton's advisor on international affairs, an actress from the West Wing. And Laura Bush made us a video. The IC guys also had dinner with the president a couple days before the event. It was really awesome to see so many people come together to make a difference. There were about 7000 to 8000 people in the LA displacement camp and about 60,000 or more total. I think what really hit me was in one of the videos the people in Uganda made for us when a man said "I will tell everyone in our camp that the people of America are good and really do love us." That in and of itself made what we were doing worth it. The simulation was far from accurate, but it gave us just a glimpse of what they go through, and with that, their hope grew.

I think tomorrow...

I'm going to start asking my parents if I can move out with Steph until I leave for Michigan.




I'm being completely serious. I can't handle this anymore.
:'(

Unsure...

Well, Jeremy got an email from Ana. I still haven't gotten one from Monica which is kinda making me sad cuz I really miss her and I don't want to lose touch with her. I wish I could just go back and visit sometime before I leave for college.

At youth group on Wednesday, Lon made the announcement that he'll be leaving youth ministry in June. It was really hard to hear. I dunno, part of me kept saying that it won't affect me because I'll be gone for college but there are still going to be the rest of the events this summer he won't be at... and if he leaves Bethany (which is still up in the air), he won't be around when I come home for visits. I guess it's just sort of hard to take cuz he's been like family to all of us over the past years... but it's in God's hands and I know wherever he ends up will be wonderful. I'm sure the next leadership will be great too and everyone who's still around after we leave will have a good time growing with God.



It's weird. High school is very quickly coming to an end. I remember last month thinking "Wow, three months still seems kinda long." But now it's less than two months and it feels like just last week I was saying it was three. Plus with JSB, ditch day, senior trip, etc, it's going to go by really fast... Before I know it, I'll be in South Africa... and then Calvin (go Knights!).


So... a lot of stuff's been going on. There's more than just this, but I don't want to post all of it. I just feel odd, and slightly confused... maybe a little scared.




"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Amen."

Well... I'm home.

I'm home from Mexico.

It was a pretty amazing trip. I was so happy to see Monica again. And I saw my little boys again. Love those kids so much.

I cried when we left cuz I knew I'll probably never see them again. I mean... I'm going to be in college for a long time. And then it's off to work and marriage etc... The chances of me going back are pretty unlikely. I'm going to miss them... a lot.

Sad times.



On a happier note, Cristina's suprise party last night was pretty awesome. Lots of people there. And she was definately suprised hahaha. Good times. Happy birthday again Cristina! (even though it was over a while ago).

I love my friends.

Bubble Wrap

Well I just got Brandon's package with the stuff he bought me while he was in Belize, and I am SO HAPPY. It was totally wrapped in bubble wrap. He said he picked it on purpose. Hooray! I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the whole package but bubble wrap is like... the embodyment of joy. I swear, when we get to heaven, it's just going to be one endless pile of bubblewrap. And we'll just pop and pop and pop, but the bubbles will never run out, because it's heaven and it's cool like that, ya know?

This kinda reminds me of that time I sent Aimee/Matt a package and I wrote a note saying that Aimee would get the bubble wrap (cuz she's cooler than Matt. Just kidding... but... she deserves it more. Or something)... and she messaged me on facebook saying the first thing she did when she got the package was pop the wrap.

I should write an Ode to Bubble Wrap, except I suck at poetry.
Everyone's like this, right? It isn't just some weird FYF thing?

All suspets are considered guilty... Because of original sin.

Well, for those of you who haven't seen the hillariously funny Calvin advertisements (most of which are for Air Band)... here are two of the best ones.

Cops 2: Campus Safety Edition (this one's 18 minutes long but it's the best):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag8aZh59n7Q
"I'm a Reformed drinker. I only drink John Calvin beer."
"The reason why we don't like Calvin students to park so close is basically because... Calvin students are fat.... and... they need to walk more."

Attack of the Killer Red Balls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SgScR3GAXk&mode=user&search=
"You've got to go to the dance after Air Band or they'll get ye too! There's no stopping them! Rrrrun!"
"For the love of John Calvin!"



Ohhh man. Calvin students are pretty freaking awesome.
And the potential new french teacher for next year might be from Calvin! She seemed pretty nice.

I can't freakin wait till college.
:D

Chaos... I'm breaking so many rules right now.

I think it's safe to say that I had one of the most amazing God experiences ever today.

Yesterday, at the end of Land Culture Book, Mr. Becksvoort asked us to pray that there would be rain tomorrow (which was... today), and informed us that he and a few of his very close friends had also been praying that there would be rain. He also said that we should be prepared to go out in it. As we so often do, all of us inquired as to why it was so important that it would rain today, and... as usual, he wouldn't tell us.

We went through the rest of the day with gorgious weather and went to LCB. We were all rather disappointed and went through the day praying that somehow it would rain. About five minutes before class got out, we began to discuss how disappointed we were that there wasn't any rain because we wanted to know what Mr. Becksvoort had wanted to show us, and about then we heard a sound like thunder coming from outside. We looked out the window to see a huge black cloud hovering over our school. This lead to over half of our class following Bex out of the classroom (with full knowledge that we would not be back before 6th period), past the marmalade factory, past the horse stables, and ended up at the bridge by the river bed... and as we ran, Mr. Becksvoort calmly said, "I am breaking so many rules right now."

And this is where things got crazy. We were in the midst of a wind storm. As the wind began to pick up, it gathered dust along with it, so we were all getting thrashed with dust which soon turned into mud when the rain began to pour. Several moments after the rain came, we realized that it wasn't just rain... there was also hail (slightly painful). So we stood there, huddled together because if we let go of each other the wind would have knocked us over (I'm not exaggerating). We're muddy. Our hair's messy. We're drenched. And Mr. Becksvoort proceeds (paraphrased):

"I'm sure you would all agree with me. This is chaos. Now imagine that the river bed was overflowing with water and flooding into the land. This would then be the biblical definition of chaos. This is how the world began, and then God hovered over it, calmed it and created order. However, Satan entered the order and once again brought chaos. Jesus came. When he was baptized, he entered the river which symbolized chaos. Jesus entered the chaos, the skies open, and a dove/God once again hovered over the chaos to bring order. Jesus then went into the desert where Satan again tried to bring chaos. It's a cycle. We are in the Messianic age.

Now as for us... We know people at our school, at our work, in our neighborhoods, and in our churches who live in chaos. If we saw someone floating down this river bed, we wouldn't just shout at them, 'Hey, what are you doing in there!? Well, we're praying for you.' I can guarantee that we, as a class, would go down there, join hands, hold each other up, and pull that person out of the chaos. God's given us a duty to do this in other people's lives! Don't just tell them that everything's going to be okay and that you're going to pray for them. Help them."

I guess this really hit me... I was completely overwhelmed. I have been going through a lot at home and with several friends lately... and it hasn't been easy for me to find people to enter the chaos with me and help me (not because people don't care... they just either wouldn't be able to relate, or they're busy, or it's just easier for me to run from things)... but I have a God who did enter the chaos for me. Who loved me enough to suffer for me... who is powerful enough to bring this storm, to rip trees out of the ground, to cause earthquakes... He's powerful enough to do all of that and He still loves me, and you, and everyone.

Well, the storm ended when we went into 6th period. Most people didn't even believe the storm ever happened.


PSALM 29
Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightening.
The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the desert of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
and in His temple all cry "GLORY!"

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
The LORD gives strength to His people;
The LORD blesses His people with peace.



I saw some broken cedars and twisted oaks on the way home...

A horrible pain in my stomach...

Well, my stomach kinda feels like there's a litte dwarf on the inside of it stabbing it with many knives and needles. I guess that's what I get for swallowing dwarfs whole...

Actually I think it's just a phenomenon known as... cramps.
:(
Sometimes being a girl kinda sucks.



Oh well... On a lighter note, tomorrow is the last day of school this week... and a bunch of friends and I are going to Broadway (possibly having a prequel of Starbucks or Wendys?). So it'll be good...

For the most part, I guess I'm pretty happy.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Revelation 21:3 and 4

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.
Revelation 22:21

I love Revelation... and I love God.

What happened to all the respectful men?

Okay, so after being hit on for like the fourth time in three days by random annoying guys, I think I need to vent...

Men...

1. Do NOT tell me that I look like a bad girl... especially when I'm wearing my completely skank-less uniform shirt and non-tight jeans. I'm not dressing like a slut. I don't act like a slut. Just because you want to have sex with me doesn't mean I want to have sex with you.

2. When you ask me if I'd like to keep in touch, or for my number, and I act uninterested, take the hint. I'm a nice person and I'm bad at saying no, but I DON'T WANT IT. And if I then proceed to imply that I'm taken... it means one of two things, I'm either trying to think of a nice way to say no or I really am taken... Judging by my facebook status, I think you can tell which one is true... but either way, when I say that it's definately time to back off.

3. I'm not one to hook up with some guy I don't even know who I met at wherever and talked to for five minutes. If I'm going to date someone it's going to be at least somewhat serious, and no, I'm not looking for a serious relationship with a man-whore. Sorry.

4. If you're trying to effectively hit on me, don't insult me for being a Christian. And don't tell me that Jesus wants me to smoke illegal herbs. And don't ask me what I want to do for a living and then call me stupid for wanting to help people. And then shove a mint pillow in my face repeatedly because it'll help my sinuses. Yeah I may have rejected you but that doesn't give you the right to be an a-hole, and my sinuses are doing fine right now thank you very much.

5. Just DON'T FREAKING HIT ON ME. It's annoying and makes you look like a douche.

Thanks.

Sleep?

I'm actually getting to bed at a decent time tonight, hooray!

I'm so looking forward to Friday! Senior lunch, and me, Dan, and Justine are seeing Wicked at the Pantages! It's going to rock!!!

Last night was fun. Goodbye Luna rocked and of course Richard was awesome. I also liked Snowden, Machines Make Noise, and Flashby Image... the first band wasn't all that great though, I don't even remember what they were called. Oh well, gotta give them major props for getting up there and rocking out regardless of the response (or lack there of) they were getting from the crowd.

Anyways, hope everyone's doing well.
Have a blessed week!

Scholarships

I don't feel like finishing this thing.
Someone save me please?


Oh well... Let's just say I'm really excited for senior year to be finished and college to start!
:D

Go Knights!
:D:D:D:D:D

Ten minutes until...

Well, ten minutes till Ash Wednesday and Lent!
I love this time of year...
I wonder if we're going to do anything special in LCB tomorrow? Hopefully? Goodness I love that class.

Well, I'm NOT fasting from my blogger during lent so I'll still be posting on here.
Hope everyone has a blessed Ash Wednesday!

God bless! :D

The purchase of my LIFE

Yes, it was released today.

The most amazing, stunning movie EVER.

THE PRESTIGE!!!!!

And it says it very well on the cover...
"You want to see it again the second it's over."



Well duh.

Gumby

I already posted this on facebook but I'm putting it here too.

So Steph and I were talking about this earlier tonight... It was from a message at winter camp.

As Christians we should be like Gumby.

You know, that little toy you played with when you were a kid. You could bend him whatever way you wanted. Make him do whatever you want, cuz he was just so flexible. And no matter what you make him do, he always keeps that smile on his face.



That's what I want to be like. I want God to be able to do whatever He wants to with me and my life... Whether that means I end up in some third world country with no money living with the poor, getting killed for him, or even just ending up in some upper class American home and doing ministry for Him through that. I want to do what HE wants me to do, and never ever lose that smile... No matter where I end up.


I've always felt called to missions. And I'm still almost positive that's where it's at for me. But I've been in the process of narrowing it down to what I specifically want to do with missions... And I'm pretty sure I'm going to go into psychology. International development and psychology major. The other day I was talking to Mr. Westrup about some stuff and, not really being able to offer me any advice... he said this:
"I know this sounds really cliche... But if nothing else, at least you can connect with people. You can relate. Like the other night we met a guy at the mission who'd been kicked out of his house and went back home on Christmas with presents and his parents wouldn't let him in. You can reach people like that."

And he's right. Not everyone can. Not everyone knows how to relate to people with problems like that. So I guess by going into psychology I'd be able to learn more about listening to and helping people who are going through a lot of stuff... and I'd still use this internationally. I mean a lot of people in the third world, like Uganda, have psychological problems like depression, or they just need someone to talk to ... Someone who will listen. And if I can do anything to reach them, I want to do it.So that's where I'm at right now I guess.


But I just want to be able to allow God to take me wherever He wants, without me complaining or being super scared.





I want to be like Gumby.

Tomorrow!

Well, I leave for winter camp tomorrow. It should be good times. They're talking about missions and I'm SUPER psyched! Hopefully it'll be good... being our senior year and all. Lots of bonding with God and each other... lots of laughs, good worship, good messages... Shakah! Haha.

Senior lunch/senior shirt/jeans day tomorrow!!! AND I'm getting out third period! Muahahaha.




I kinda want a mezuzah.

I love my friends!

Steph and I went to the gym yesterday. It was fun. Then she came back to my house and I ate almost an entire can of whipped cream... Yeah, going to the gym was VERY beneficial. Haha.

Sorry, this post was quite short. I just like that picture.
:D

Never Let Go

Can you lay your life down so a stranger can live
Can you take what you need But take less than you give
Could you close every day without the glory and fame
Could you hold your head high when no one knows your name
That’s how legends are made
At least that’s what they say

We say goodbye but never let go
We live, we die cuz you can’t save every soul
Gotta take every chance to show that you’re the kind of man who
Never look back, never look down and never let go

Can you lose everything you ever had planned
Can you sit down again and play another hand
Could you risk everything for the chance to be in loan
Under pressure find the grace what you come undone
That’s how legends are made
At least that’s what they say

We say goodbye but never let go
We live, we die cuz you can't take every soul
Gotta take every chance to show that you’re the kind of man who
Never look back, never look down and never let go

(by Bryan Adams)


This song wasn't written about missions, but that's what it makes me think of.
I kinda feel like my passion for missions and helping people is coming to life again. I mean, it's not like it ever left or I was questioning my future, but it was just kinda at a dead spot for a while. This week's kinda changed that... And I have a trip to the Rescue Mission coming up.. as well as a trip to Grace and the Dream Center and Mexicali (good morning, Cuernavaca!) and South Africa... I'm not bragging, or trying to make myself sound like I'm a super great person for doing all of this, cuz everyone has different dreams and finds joy in different things... I'm just really excited that it feels like my passion is being re-amped. OH AND WINTER CAMPS ABOUT MISSIONS THIS YEAR! I don't think anyone's excited about that except me... but oh well.

And... another update while I'm on this topic. I don't think I'm going to actually live in Africa for a really long time. I think like a year... and then take up a job like Mr. Westrup has, as well as taking several shorter trips to places and raising awareness... The way I look at it is, I can go to Africa and make a difference... or I can impact a whole bunch of other people to make a difference and therefore make an even bigger improvement in the world. Plus I feel like I have a lot of advice I can give to teenagers.

Just my thoughts...
Sorry that this post was slightly poorly written... I'm kinda half asleep.

<3 Shi

Sleepy!!!

Gah I'm sleepy! But I'm watching The Guardian with Steph. Hooray!
:D

I'M SO HAPPY IT'S THE WEEKEND!
Oh, and the basketball game tonight basically rocked. Woohoo!!!

<3 Shi

FIN!

So the first semester is over, finally. Hopefully second semester will go by EVEN FASTER, although first semester definately went by fast. I'm excited. Next semesters going to be pretty easy I do believe. Plus there'll be a whole bunch of cool stuff! Like senior play, senior trip, senior ditch day, JSB, sadies, sadies after party, preparation for the South Africa trip, lots of trips to the LBRM and Kingdom Causes stuff, and of course... GRADUATION! And Grad night! And Grad parties!!! The good times shall roll.

Anyways... I'm realizing how thankful I am for all of my friends. I mean, the past six years have been great but it's also been wonderful having the "lunch bunch" this year. I mean, we do so much awesome random stuff like going to the Manhattan Beach and playing frisbee or playing tennis in the parking lot at school. And they're awesome to have around and I know if I ever needed anything they'd be there. Hopefully they know the same about me, and if they don't, I'm saying it now... I'll always be here for you guys. God has really blessed me by surrounding me with such awesome people and it's going to be kinda weird going off to Calvin now. Although I'll still have Stina and Kristen and Rebekah and Sarah around most likely.

I'll post some pictures laterrr.
<3

And thus my life crumbles before my eyes...

This is the result of me failing the calculus exam (which will happen tomorrow):
I'm sure most of you have already heard me say this but I am DEFINATELY going to:
Fail math
Get kicked out of college
Never get a good job
Become homeless
Never get married
And never get to go to Africa as a result of lack of money for traveling.

Now, this might not happen, considering Calvin promissed they wouldn't remove my admission even if I fail math, BUT, it's late and calculus has officially fried my brain. Leave me alone.

Well, hopefully tomorrow will be the end of our finals for the rest of our high school career! I shall rejoice the second I step out of the calculus final... even if I do think I failed.

:D

Hooray French Exam!

Well Rebekah and I are done with our french final so I'm posting. It was pretty easy... and so was econ.

I have to pee really really bad right now but I dunno if I want to walk all the way over to the library (even though it's only like 10 feet away. I'm lazy. Shut up.).

WAHOOO!!! Only three more finals. Too bad math is going to be killer. KILLAHHHH! I'm hyper cuz I had coffee this morning and it hasn't worn off yet.

I have a red pencil box.
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Franz was seeing how fast I could type. Haha.

Okay well... I'll post more later maybe. Ta ta for now!

Finals!?

I'm writing on here cuz I have too much energy to sleep.

I have my job interview at chick filA tomorrow and prayers would be appreciated. Just to make it known, Cristina is GOING DOWN! Haha just kidding. :)
The only thing is that the restraunt is fenced off right now, so knowing me I won't be able to find the entrance and I'll have to hop the fence. It'll be an adventure.

Well God bless and good luck on your finals to everyone who has to take them tomorrow!

My blog is un-dead

Okay so I'm posting on here again starting now.

Finals suck and I'm probably not going to pass math, woohoo!!!

But on a lighter note, yesterday rocked and my friends are amazing. We definately have to go back to Manhattan Beach sometime.

Omg it just published this without my permission. AND TWICE! Die! Haha.

Okay take care everyone!