the countdown has begun. The countdown to the end of my life! Okay, so not that morbid, but soon school will start. In exactly 5 days. The first week of class will be great!

Tuesday morning I get to spend most of the day hanging out with people, meeting people, finding all my freshman buddies that I know will be there. Tuesday evening will be my first class.

Wednesday will be another easy day: no work, except for an hour long meeting at 5, which is basically a meet and greet with the parents from swim team.

Thursday will be class, work, class but again, it won't be that difficult.

Friday will be class, maybe work, swim team, then root beer kegger at the ministry house.

But after that, my life changes drastically. Busy as a bee. I will be working 30+ hours a week, and I'll have 12 credits of class. Plus Ignite duties, and church responsibilities. Woohoo. For some reason I'm not stressed out. this is the first time these kinds of things haven't stressed me out. I don't know if I should be worried or thanking God for giving me peace. I'm at the place that I know that God has it under control. And if I feel things getting out of control, there are always things to drop. But right now, just looking ahead, there's nothing that I want to drop. Maybe God will open the doors for me to quit things, but right now I don't feel that.

It's crazy! But, I'm going to buckle up and enjoy the crap out of this ride that God will be taking me on this year!

I'm bringing sexy back

Yeah, that's right, I just quoted a Justin Timberlake song. What're you gonna do about it? Today is the day that Eddie gets home. HOME! I missed her so freaking much this summer. I can't wait to get home and not let her rest! Sadly, I am the only one of the "five" (we need to change that to "six") who will be around this week! SAD! Montana and Joy are at training, Samuel is at footbal camp, and Anne isn't here until friday night. But let me tell you, friday night, we're bringing sexy back!!! heck yes! Get ready to paint the town whatever color we WANT to! what now!

If anyone wants to go dancing on saturday night, Abbey Ballroom is the place to be! Hopefully it'll be salsa......Any boys wanna come? oh, who am I kidding? who reads this thing anyway!

okay, enough of my slackerness. I must get back to work. All this folding laundry/doing dishes crap....in an office! for goodness sake! Man, I am in a mood!

Little Miss Sunshine

A charming tale filled with adventure, comedy, and a lot of drama!
Characters

The grandfather: crude, heroin addict who coaches his grandaughter in beauty pageants, and coaches his grandson to "f*** lots of women, not just one, lots!"
The uncle: suicidal homosexual who moves in with his sister's family so that he won't try to kill himself again.
The brother: philosophical, takes a vow of silence until he can get into the air force. Hates everyone, except for his darling little sister
Little Miss Sunshine: cute, little on the chunky side, big smile, adorable glasses. Can't wait to win the Little Miss Sunshine pageant.
The mother: business women, doesn't really know how to handle her son, brother, or husband
The father: a motivational speaker that has a "9-step program" in becoming a winner. Berades his daughter for wanting to eat ice cream, because then she won't be a winner. Get's angry at his dad for filling the kids minds with crap.

I would have to say I love this movie! It's playing at the Grand Cinema, but I'm not sure how long it will be there. All in all, the "moral of the story" is that family is what counts. When you're going through shit, your family is there to protect, support, and comfort you. Each one of them has huge crisises in their lives they have to deal with but the family rallys around one common goal: to get their cute little girl to the pageant. Through unifying the family towards that one goal, they realize they really do love and care for each other. In the end, the goal itself didn't matter. The journey towards that goal transformed them.

copeland

Feel the pain

teaching us how much more we can take,
reminding us how far we've come.
Let the pain

burn away from our hearts

We have time to start all over again
If you will shine your love down here
And make our hearts as perfect as new
If you would shine your love down here
I promise I'll reflect it right back at you

I think I just got promoted at the YMCA. So much for quitting at the end of the summer.

:::::cringes as I wait for the nasty comments::::::

I'm never leaving the Y.....(I'm not sure if I'm happy about that or just accepting the fact)

"Do not seek to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand."
~St Augustine

someday, but not today

You wanna know what I have found out about myself lately?

I am a commitment FREAK!
Yep, that's right. With all the dreaming and oohing and aahing about relationships, dating, and weddings, in reality I am scared out of my mind about it all! Here I am, 20 years old, thinking that I'm ready for a relationship, and tapping my toe at God asking why He hasn't brought *him* to me. And then it hits me: if someone really did ask me out tomorrow, I would say a big resounding NO! But another thing I realized, is that man that I am going to marry is the one that won't let me say no. He's gonna be the one that won't allow me to get out the easy way. He's gonna be the one that takes me by the hand and forces me to get on the roller coaster, no matter how hard I pull away. Someone who will challenge me. Someone who will fight with me and for me.

Someday, but not today.

Prayer request

Please pray for my brother Reuben. My mom and step dad just took him to the ER......I won't share the details on a blog, but if you want details e-mail or call me.

I have an announcement to make......

My friends are the coolest!!

Great big SHOUT OUT to......

Emily Joy!!!! Who made my day. I walk in my house, and what do I find? a box of cookies. You know how to make me smile, Joy!

Nobody does it better than old school switchfoot

Nothing but a chemical in my head

Nothing but laziness

Cause I don't wanna read the book

I'll watch the movie

Cause it's not me

I'm just like everybody else my age

I think I'd rather play around

And I think I'd rather watch TV

Cause I don't wanna face my fears

I'll watch the movie

Cause it's not me

I'm just like everybody else

I'm just like everybody else

Because I don't wanna be here

I don't wanna see this now

It's all wrong but it's all right

I don't wanna be here

I don't want it starting now

It's all wrong but it's all right

I don't know what love is

And I don't know who I am

If I ever wanna find out

I'll watch the movie

Cause it's not me

I'm just like everybody else my age

I don't wanna change the world

I don't wanna be someone

I don't wanna write the book

I'll make the movie

Cause it's not me

I'm just like everybody else

I'm just like everybody else

Because I don't wanna be here

I don't wanna see this now

It's all wrong but it's all right

I don't wanna be here

I don't want it starting now

It's all wrong but it's all right

But by the grace of God I am what I am,

and his grace to me was not without effect.

No, I worked harder than all of them–

yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

1 Cor 15:10

I've got a perfectly normal heart

bruised and broken from within

at times I don't know how to start

to let you in here

So forgive me

if I don't know what to do

when you look at me
There can be no hesitation

there cannot be a close second to you