School's Out for Summer

(My title makes me want to play Guitar Hero :))

Ok, So I ran home during lunch and noticed teenagers walking all over downtown. It's a really great site to see :). But on my way home I realized something...

It's been 6 years since I graduated High School! I remember my graduation day. It was a Sunday and I didn't want to go, because I was going to miss youth group. But, I went, took pictures, hugged lots of people, loved on my family and as soon as my mom and dad said it was ok...grabbed my sister and booked it to the car and on to youth group! I remember the dress I wore, and even remember walking into Dv8 and standing in the back for the remainder of Pastor Chilly's sermon. It's weird the things your remember. :)

Anyway, I also remember that I didn't really think twice about graduating. I was like, "YAY, I'm done...get me out of here!". I have to be honest and say that as I look back on it...I am actually pretty proud of myself.

School was really hard for me. I couldn't take tests, even though I could answer the questions verbally, I had to work extra hard at retaining information I read, I home schooled a lot of my junior year because of illness and other things, and I wasn't exactly the most popular girl in school...but I finished. I finished.

Ok, so this isn't to talk about me, but to explain 2 things.

1. I REALLY can do ALL things through CHRIST who STRENGTHENS me!!!! (Phil. 4:13) Without Him, I would have quite, given up, and probably cried even more than I did. He gave me JOY through the hard times and perseverance. The closer I got to Him, the better it got.

2. If you are graduating this year or have graduated...I am SO proud of you. I want to tell you that...just in case no one else has yet. School is hard work, for some it comes easier...but we all have to work at it.
To those graduating from Butler Senior High School tonight... I LOVE YOU and am SO PROUD OF YOU! I can't wait to see where God takes you next! Keep Kevin and I informed as much as you can! We would love to hear from you!

So...all that to say...

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS of 2009!!!!! Yippee!!!!

For Fun :)

Just some random, recent pictures for fun:

Me and Brittany's little girl...Paige :)

My sister and me. Man, I love her!

Me, Mom and Kristen at the Melting Pot :)

One of the students caught a picture of me mid-throw...I thought it was funny!

Some of the dance team, having fun with photo booth!

Kevin and I on Mount Washington! hehe

And, i love this one.

That's all...like I said, just for fun!

Happy Thursday! :)

Love you!

Lessons from Bud #2

ok, I know it took me awhile, but I did say there would be another post about my friend, Bud. In the first post I told you who Bud was, so if you forget you could scroll down to help refresh your memory :). I talked about how I want him to know Jesus and how people come into our lives and we never know how long they will be there...so make the MOST of EVERY opportunity!

My last blog post I talked about loving people better.

Now, I'm gonna kind tie those two together and tell you how Bud helped me love better. :)

I am going to be completely honest and say that aside from my grandparents, I haven't really spent much time with anyone over 60. I just chose not to. I have a very ADD personality and need to keep moving 99% of the time so I always thought it was "boring" to sit and have "adult" conversations. :/

Well. That's not always a good thing. Honestly, through talking to Bud...that who perspective I had changed.

Here, read this...

1 Timothy 5: 1 Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers. 2 Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.

and...that's just part of it. The Bible has specific instructions on how we are supposed to treat our elders. And it all comes down to... LOVING THEM! When we REALLY love them, we will want to spend time with them, learn from them, and take care of them in any way we can!

Last Saturday I saw Bud :). I asked him if he was going to church for Easter and this was his response, "Well, I went yesterday and I don't know about tomorrow yet. But I'll tell you what I am gonna do. I'm gonna hide an egg for myself tonight and look for it in the morning. By then, I'll probably forget where I put it" hehe. That story was just for fun.

Bud helped me learn how to love my elders. I now really enjoy talking to them and spending time with them. I love hearing about things they have learned over the years. I call my grandparents more now than ever and I'm even going to the Science Museum just so I can tour a submarine just like one my Grandpa was on...

I am so thankful for people like Bud that will sit and have conversations with me. I have SO much to learn.

learning to love...

For those of you who don't know me very well, I want you to know that I LOVE people. I really enjoy talking to people, listening to people, hugging people and a lot of other things that involve people :). For those of you who know me well, I'm pretty sure you knew that :).
So, even though I LOVE people, I am still learning new ways TO love them everyday. Here is a verse in 1 John that I read this morning about love...

1 John 3:18-20 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Our actions mean so much! I want to be better at SHOWING people I love them! That means, taking MORE time, MORE energy, MORE everything to love...
I am surrounded by people who do an awesome job at loving me, I wanted to share just a couple of ways people have showed me they love me recently:

~my mom and sister drove 5.5 hours to see me (sure, the outlets are on the way...but im pretty sure they came for me :)
~my sister told me to sit in the front seat, even though I know she wanted to ;)
~my friend text me to see how I was feeling on the day that she gave birth!! (AND while she was in labor!!!)
~my husband took my car to get it inspected before he took his own
~my husband is buying draino and bleach for me today :)
~my sister spent time helping me find clothes for work, rather than getting some for herself
~one of the teenagers order food for kevin and I last night because we got tied up at church longer than we thought
~another one of the teenagers went grocery shopping with me AND help me put it away! (sooooo...thankful for that!)

Those are just a couple that came to my mind right now...I am so thankful for those around me who show their love in different ways!
Now, it's time to get better at REALLY loving people...Here are some ways we can start:
~clean our rooms, WITHOUT our parents asking
~holding the door for someone and letting them walk through first
~choosing to do something that your friend likes, instead of what you would have liked to do
~send random texts, emails, facebooks (is that something?), or phone calls...
~mow our neighbors yard...without them asking or paying!
~hug more
~give someone a ride, even if it's out of the way
~give food to someone who doesnt have any

Those are JUST a couple...
How will you SHOW your love this week?

I LOVE YOU!

us vs. the world

::For some reason, it didn't post the whole thing the first time...so, if you've already read it...skip to the bottom :)::

Last night at Youth Group we split the girls and guys up and talked about, yep you guessed it...sex. Kevin said some really awesome things to the guys and I really enjoyed the time spent with the girls and talking about our value in God's eyes!

Afterwords one of the girls and I talked about how her friends bug her because she has never had a boyfriend or kissed a guy. I told her that its a great thing! That she hasn't given in to their words and that they notice!

So, I have been going through 1 John on my own and this is what I read today, I thought it was awesome and ties so perfectly into the conversation I had last night!

1 John 2:15-17 (New Living) 15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.



Now, The Message version...



1 John 2: 15-17 (Message) Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

How often do we choose to give in to our wanting, wanting, wanting? Wanting the thing that will satisfy the moment, or make us happy for a second? The cool thing is...we DO have a choice, a choice to say, "NO." whenever we need to.
When I talked to the girls last night, we talked about the difference between, "NO" and "hehehe...noooooo" (imagine and smile, giggle and tilt of the head :). When we "play" or "flirt" with the world and our wants, it is not saying "NO."

One more really cool verse:

James 4:7-10(Message) So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.

So, I choose to say a firm, "NO.".

Do you?

quotes...

My new favorite quote:

"Dont not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired."

Mother Teresa

my strength and comfort...

I am not going to go into details, but this has been one of the hardest weeks of my life...here is how I'm getting through it and why I choose joy.

Maybe you need this as much as I did...I really feel like I needed to share it.

Psalm 18:30 God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield to all who look to him for protection.


Matthew 11:28-30 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”