Weekend Update

Hai.

Just so y'all know, one of my summer goals is to blog every day. I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't, but it's on my list for every day.

This weekend was BUSY. But it was super fun!
I posted on Friday, right? Yeah. I did. Okay.
Saturday. Got up and moseyed around. Got ready for work. Worked from 11-3. Came home and ate. Meme&Pops were here. We sat around outside and talked and caught up. It was super fun!
We got Chiptole for dinner, which was delicious. After dinner we went for a walk. When we got home we played Wits&Wagers which is a SUPER fun game! :) We also watched an episode of Chuck (Chuck vs Agent X) which was AAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZIIIINGGGGGGGGG. Chuck is just SO GOOD. I'm so sad that this next season is the last one :( But I'll live.

Sunday we did music at church, which went well. After church we came home for about 5 minutes (probably a little bit longer) and then went to Canton for a bridal shower! It was fun :) After the bridal shower I was home long enough to grab a bagel and keys and then went to the very end of the Youth Leadership meeting that was going on... which turned into PROM planning committee meeting! :)

We prayed a little bit and then hung out and chatted and ate and whatnot. They played this fantastically funny game where we came up with different scenarios and people had to come up with break-up lines in like, 15 seconds. QUITE funny.

Brandon talked about warning signs in a relationship. It was really good. (We're doing the Summer Lovin' series at The620.) To see the videos (from past weeks and eventually this week!) go to http://vimeo.com/live620!
After youth group, I dropped Kaylala off at her house and came home. Meme and I watched the Billboard music awards a bit and then Katie, Hannah, Mom & Dad got home from their walk. We sat around and they ate their Frosties. Eventually we went to bed. And that was my day!

From 8:30am-8:30pm I was home for less than 15 minutes. Just a fun fact. Hah.

Today has been... normal?

Got up, ate breakfast, Meme&Pops left, I read some of my history, took a shower, caught up on blogs, ate lunch, watched a bit of The Sound of Music, read over my physics stuff that I'm taking a test on, and now I'm blogging. I should really go over the test w/ Mom... sooo,
Adios for now!

This should probably have a title, huh?

Hey!
Hannah told me that I have to keep blogging until she's done with school.
SO I continue to blog.

Saturday was... fairly boring. I read a whole lot. I went to Panera with BK for a bit to go over Easter stuff. Then we went to the AIRPORT and picked up KATIE! Then we came home and ate dinner and generally relaxed. We also ate cupcakes.

Sunday morning I got up and got ready. Kayla's family picked me up and we went to church. Sunday school was good. And then church. Yes. That was good too.

When we got home we ate lunch (birthday lunch) and I opened presents and we played BananaGrams, which I had just opened. Then it was time for Hannah to go back to Kent and me to go to The620 stuff.

I headed to Green Valley for Easter Sunday practice. Played guitar for a bit while waiting for people to get there. Sam and I traded songs (haha) and then we practiced. And then I headed to Kayla's house and they gave me a ride to youth group. Youth group was good. We planned a few things and got through our study.
I got home and then called BK to let him know how many more people were coming to Space Pirates vs Na'vi. He said they were still at the church, so I headed over there again and helped them shoot a video for God.Bar. Came home... relaxed a bit. Went to bed.

Got up this morning. Ate breakfast. Got ready for the day. Went a bunch of places with Kaite checking back at places jobs wise and picking up applications. We came home, ate lunch, filled out applications.
I babysat... annnnnd yes. We ate dinner, cleaned up, and went on a walk.
Now we're finishing watching You Again, which is a brilliantly funny, well cast, movie!

And then bed. And then McDonalds tomorrow morning bright and early for their hiring day. And then checking back at Panera. Woooooooo. Yay job hunting!

A'ight. I'm out for the night.

Another catch-up!

A'ight, so you want to hear how life's been? It's comin'!

Friday, which I didn't really post about, was good. Did school, packed, babysat.
Saturday can be found in full here.
Sunday I got up and went to music practice. Did the usual Sunday-church-gig.
We went to a newer family's house for lunch, which was fun. We had pizza and generally just chilled and talked. It was quite fun!
We came home and I basically dumped my stuff/rearranged my stuff and headed out again for Nazirite DNA, Prayer&Worship hour, and youth group at The620.
After The620, we had a meeting about Easter Sunday (Sunrise service, baby! I'm probably going to shoot myself for agreeing to help with that... it means I have to be up at like, 6:15 on a Sunday morning...) and whatnot and then we cleaned up and Erin and I threatened to drink Brandon's iced tea... b'cuz we're cool like that. (And apparently Brandon can steal a girl's heart by using the word "privy" in conversation! Erin and I had a talk about that Wednesday... 'tis about to be hilarious up in here. (WOW. I'm white.))
Anywhoo.
Came home... Sunday night... finished writing my paper (rough draft) that was due on Monday and headed to bed.
Monday: Got up, went to school, did homework/whatever in study hall, ate delicious Matzo-Lasagna, had classes, came home, babysat, ate dinner, watched Chuck, went to bed.
Tuesday: Got up, discovered that Mom was sick :( I did school, went to Urban Vision (I drove, however Dad was in the car with me.) I taught ballet... and felt very inadequate as a teacher. Lauren took me to my dance classes. Danced for 2 hours. Came home. Got stuff together for Mom for Wednesday. Went to bed.

Wednesday I got up and went to Spanish and then came home with Adam&Sean. Went to the library, but realized half-way there that I didn't have Mom's library card. The lady at the library was slightly... ticked off at me for not having a card. (She had to look at my drivers license to get my last name and I had to confirm Mom's first name, yada yada yada.) I got an application for a library card.
After all that good stuff I came home and ate lunch. Then did some schooool. (Mom didn't teach because Mrs. J told her not to. :) Annnnnd I had bible study. That was goood. Dinner is always fun... I usually sit around Erin, Sam, Sarah, and Sam's family. Here's something y'all need to know: Sam hates the word "moist" and naturally, I work it into conversation as much as possible. Last night at dinner we were talking about words that bother us, and of course, Sam doesn't like "moist." Someone else doesn't like the word "glisten" and so on and so forth. I mentioned, mentioned, that I don't like it when people say "aks" instead of "ask" and so OF COURSE Sam starts "aksing" me a bunch of questions. I told him I was about to AX him. But it's all in good fun. Sort of ;)

Another random Wednesday night thing is that Erin will turn styrofoam cups inside out. She got Sam started on this and he basically turns every cup inside out plus some. Last night we had paper cups. I said something along the lines of "it's a bummer you can't turn your cup inside out" and he was like "challenge accepted." He turned his cup inside out, ripped it. Got a second up, successfully turned it inside out. I told him he should drink something out of it. So he did. I had already gotten up and gone to the room where we have our bible study, so he came and stood right outside the door and just took a drink from his cup. I busted up laughing and his dad, who was sitting next to me, got concerned. It was very funny.
(And it might have been a "you just had to be there" moment... we'll see.)

Bible study itself was really good! I love the people in my group. They're awesome.
After that I came home and watched American Idol and Breaking In and went to bed.

Today I got up, did school, ate lunch, did more school, babysat, ate dinner, went for a walk, showered, and watched American Idol and The Office. The Office was hilarious tonight! Will Ferrel and Steve Carell shouldn't be allowed to be on a show together. It's too funny.
Tomorrow is my birthday. 17. Nothing too exciting happens at 17. I can drive more than one non-family-member in my car? Yay? haha.

I don't have to babysit tomorrow, which was S's birthday present to me! haha (she still paid me. I like her!)

So. I shall now post this and go to bed. It's been a long recap, so it seems! It's not too bad looking over it again ;)

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and Saturday! (You should really do yourself a favor and go listen to this, this, and this! Amazing cello stuff!)

That's all for me!
G'night!

NIPTO, Day 364

Tomorrow.
Tomorrow is my one year "blogoversary" or something like that.
Tonight is the Super Bowl. I'm rooting for the Green Bay Packers. The score is currently (JUST SCORED!) 14-0 Packers. (I'll post updated scores throughout the game/this post with little parenthesis. Packers-Steelers. Yup.)

Today was pretty crazy. Got up&got ready. Went to church. Church was music practice, 1st service music, sunday school, going upstairs briefly and then going back down because we didn't sing a last song, hanging out between services, second service music, "State of the Church Address," and that was CHURCH. Then I talked to Nicolee for a while (which was really fun! I haven't seen her in forever). Then it was time for our "Soup-er Bowl" party. So we had lunch (Broccoli cheese&French Onion). And then we had a discussion about a couple of the beattitudes. Good stuff.
Then I came home, for half an hour, and left for SUPER Sunday at The620. We hung out and ate (pizza) and played a Super Bowl Trivia game (which we tied) and then had a karaoke-off. Sam and I sang for our team and we won! Oh yeahhhhhh (that was a Vector "OH yeahhhhhh," in case you were wondering). Then Brandon talked. And I videotaped it. Hannah, remind me to send that to you or something. And zen we cleaned up and listened to "The Joy of Being Lovesick" by Cory Asbury. And now I'm home watching the Commercial Breaks. The Dorito commercials have been the best so far.
And now I'm going to do NIPTO. And then finish my homework. (I have to finish writing a paragraph answer to a question. No biggie!)

2 Timothy 1:6-14
⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.


Because of Timothy's faith, Paul wanted to remind him keep the gift of God in him alive. (14-3 haha) The Spirit that God gives to us doesn't make us afraid. It gives us power, love, and self-discipline. One of my "who I am in Christ" statements is something to the effect of "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind." And I like that. A sound mind. 




⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.


We shouldn't be ashamed of God. And Paul is telling Timothy not to be ashamed that Paul is a prisoner because of his faith. Instead he invited him (and us!) to join with him in suffering for the gospel. Suffering by the power of God.  




⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.


God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He didn't do this because of anything that we did, but because he has his own purpose and he has grace for us. The grace given to us is was in Jesus before the beginning of time. But now it's been revealed through Jesus's life, death, and resurrection.




 ¹¹ And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹² That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

THAT is the gospel that we were called to share and teach. That's why Paul was suffering. But his suffering wasn't a cause for shame because he knows who he believed in and he was convinced that he was able to guard what was entrusted to him. Go Paul!

 ¹³ What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

What's written should be kept as a pattern of teaching: teach with faith and love in Christ Jesus. We should guard what was deposited in us (God's word? the ability to share God's word?). We're to guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit. Who lives in us. BOO YAH!

Yeah. I'm done for now. The score is still 14-3. (packers-steelers) Yeah. I'm done. Homework time...

NIPTO, Day 334

Hola! Not a whole lot has happened today. Katie's packing, as she's leaving for FRANCE tomorrow. And I sat around and read a book for a nice long while... got ready for the day... ate lunch... caught up on blogs and updated the Facebook page that I manage. So now I blog, because I need to pack and then babysit and then eat a little and then head out to The Great American Chicken Hunt: Part III. And I'll be gone until tomorrow morning and won't have an opportunity to blog! :)

So. For now. NIPTO.

Colossians 3:12-17

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

We're God's chosen people. We're holy and dearly loved. As such, we need to put on traits such as compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Those are tough qualities to have. To maintain. 

¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Bear with... be patient. If you have something against someone, forgive them. We're supposed to forgive as God forgave us. And he gave is son in order to forgive us... soooo... yeah. But over everything else, we should have an attitude of love, because love brings everything together perfectly. 

 ¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

We need to let God be the king of peace in our hearts. As Christians we're called to be peaceful. And thankful. Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One. Give thanks for he has given, Jesus Christ, his son. Good song. :)

¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Let the gospel reside in you as you talk to others and teach and... reprimand? not really but okay... with wisdom through reading&singing things from the Spirit, singing with gratitude to God. 

Everything that we do, word or deed, should be done in Jesus' name with thanks to God. 

Good stuff. Good to remember.

Now I'm off to pack for the GACH3. After that it's babysitting, eating, then catching that Great American Chicken. Or something like that ;)

Later alligators!

NIPTO, Day 329

I didn't go to sleep for a very long time last night. And therefore I am tired. Today was a good day, however.
Got up. Went to church. Had a good discussion in Sunday School about walking with God. Talked to people after church. Came home. Ate lunch. ermmm..... went for a walk. Watched an episode of What Not To Wear and the finale of Chuck. Then went to youth group. Talked to Jami, Kaytee, and Hannah for a long while. Brandon talked and it was fantastic. I'm still thinking about it.
Hannah and I ate second dinner&dessert when we got home. And now we're watching Undercover Boss.

NIPTO.
Colossians 2:1-5
¹ I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.


Paul was a contender. He fought for those people. He fought for people that didn't even know him. 




² My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.


Paul fought for people so that they would be encouraged and brought together as a community. He fought so that the mystery of God would be revealed to those people.




⁴ I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.⁵ For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.


He told all of them that so that they would be informed, not deceived. Even though Paul wasn't with them in person, he was with them in spirit. He was delighted to see their discipline and firmness in faith.






I'm going to go think. And read and pray.
Adios.

NIPTO, Day 315

Hey-o!

Today has been a good day. Even though I feel like I didn't go to church today... even though I did go to church. hah. (Sunday school, play practice... and that was my church day!) We had play practice. That was good. Annd we had lunch with Kasey and Bethany! I like them a whole lot. Wish they would move back up here... but, hey, they both have jobs! So that's good.

Then... I... did some facebook stuff? Then it was time to leave for the play! We ate dinner and got everyone in costumes and then it was time for the play! It was really good! The kids were great and it was funny and I messed up the 3 lines that I had, but it was okay. Hah. My narration went much better. Then we ate cake and talked to people.
After that, Hannah and I went to The620 Christmas Party. It was fun! Hannah and I hung around after and did some dishes and listened to awesome worship music. Mucho de fun-o. I mean... fue muy divertido! haha.

Then we came home and the whole family watched the Survivor Finale (and Reunion show). The next season of Survivor seems like it's going to be great!

And I finished my blog that I "published" last night. And now I'm doing this. :)

NIPTO!
Philippians 4:4-7
 ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!


Rejoice. In the Lord. Always. Not when we feel like it. Always. And he'll say it again: Rejoice! It's hard to remember to rejoice. Always. Lots of the time, you just want to stay... neutral in your emotion. You don't want to rejoice. 




⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.


Gentleness. Huh. No one focuses on this verse. It's sandwiched between two great verses. But this in and of itself is really good. We should show our gentleness to others. We shouldn't be harsh. Gentle. It makes me think of a little kid and a baby. You always tell the little kid to "be gentle!" We should be gentle to others. Why? Because the Lord is near. Always. 




⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


I don't know what to say about these verses. They're so picked over. But here's what I've got: Don't be anxious. About anything at all. Don't just forget about stuff, though! In every single situation, we should pray and tell God what's goin' on. And don't forget to be thankful. Because thankfulness can kind of be key. When you've truly let go about whatever it is that you were anxious about by telling God about it, you'll receive peace. The peace of God. No one can understand it. But that's kind of the point. If we could understand it, we wouldn't need it. But we need that peace desperately. When we get that peace, it guards our hearts and minds. In a stressful situation, your mind can wander so much to worst case scenarios. But when you have this peace, it won't. God will guard your mind. And that's peace in and of itself. 




Whew. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to bed. And I'm going to SLEEP IN. Because I can! Yay me, huh?


G'night!

NIPTO, Day 309

Uf. Today has gone from busy to empty.
Today would normally be school/classes and babysitting. Tonight there was the added component of dance (a make up class from a couple weeks ago.)
Classes got canceled because Akron was closed [6:45 am], I got up around 9. Ate breakfast. Did some school. Found out that dance was canceled [11:18 am] and ate lunch a while later. Studied for physics, found out that I didn't have to babysit [2:12 pm], took my physics test. Then I'm not really sure what I did. Watched some Project Runway. Read a book a bit. Ate dinner. Watched more Project Runway. And now I'm here watching Lie To Me* and blogging.

My nose is stuffy. And my throat hurts. I think I have a sinus infection. But I'm not really sure. But I feel not great. So I'm glad everything got canceled today!
The next thing is to see if Urban Vision is canceled tomorrow (Akron schools are closed already. Craazy)... and dance. It would be kind of nice to have another free(ish) day!


Philippians 3:1-6
¹ Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.


Rejoice. To be glad; take delight. Dictionary.com. Paul didn't have a problem writing the same thing over and over. It was to make them safe. 




² Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. ³ For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— ⁴ though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

We need to watch out for people who will bring us down. The "mutilators of the flesh." But those who serve God and boast in Jesus put not a smidge of confidence in the flesh. Paul even said that he had reasons for putting confidence in flesh. 

   If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

If anyone (and Paul really means anyone) has any kind of reason to put confidence in the flesh, Paul has a better reason. He was circumcised. Big thing for the Jews. He was part of the people of Israel. He was Hebrew. He was, according to the law, a Pharisee. 

He had all the reason to put his confidence in flesh. But as Christians we shouldn't put confidence in the flesh.

More on that tomorrow!

Whew. I'm going to go to bed. Maybe get 11 hours of sleep! Or 10. You know. A double digit! That would be exciting.

Oh! Something else! As of Saturday, I'm the head of the "Social Networking Team" for The620. I added my first post today, so check it out! (Click on the link above :)

A'ight. G'night.

NIPTO, Day 287

Today... has.... been... great.

Got up this morning and got ready for church. Went to Sunday school, which is also known as Small Group. We started a book today called Lies Young Women Believe. I think it's going to be great :)
Then Church. Mom and Dad spoke today. They were great! :) Here's a link! :) If nothing else, click on it to see how cute they are! hahaha

We stopped at a friend's house to drop something off and then went home, ate lunch, went on a walk, and chillaxed a bit. I typed up my homework for tomorrow and then went to The620 for about 30 minutes and then went to IMPACT. We had our Thanksgiving feast at IMPACT and it was delish! :)

And now we're home. Watching Undercover Boss. (They're doing Subway and it's great! This one girl was really mean to the head honcho. But she doesn't know that. Boy is she going to be surprised! haha)

Are y'all ready for more Ruth?
Ruth 1:19-22

¹⁹ So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

Ruth insisted that she accompany Naomi to Bethlehem, so she did. 

When they got there the entire town was "stirred" because of them, and the people were like, "is this really Naomi?!?"

 ²⁰ “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

Naomi asked them to not call her Naomi. She asked them to call her Mara. Mara means "bitter." Naomi means "my delight." She felt like she wasn't worth being delighted in, she felt that her life was bitter. She went away full and came back empty.

 ²² So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

So they came back from Moab right before the barley harvest was starting. 

And that is important.

A'ight. I'm going to get my homework printed out. And then I'm going to go to bed.
So g'night all! Y'all are still awesome.
Nighty-night!

NIPTO, Day 266

Hey-o!

Today was... decent!
Got up. Went to Sunday School. Then church. Then talked to some people after. Went home. Ate lunch. Read Uncle Tom's Cabin. Went on a walk and read. Read some more. Played the piano for a while. got ready for youth group. Went to youth group. Vacuumed. Ate some pizza. Drew on the wall a little bit (which is totally okay! haha). Played Euchre with Erin, Brandon, and Ricardo. Brandon and I beasted and won. Because we're awesome. Annnnd then I'm not sure what I did. I think I sat and talked to Meg, Spencer, and Ricky? Yeah. Thennn we all got toilet paper (Brandon was thinking of a number and we had to take the number of squares that we thought he was thinking of). I took 8 squares. I had to say 8 things about myself. You had to say at least 3 things (like if you took 1 or 2 squares) about yourself. So that was fun. I'll try to remember my 8 things.
1) I wear my slippers almost everywhere
2) I have two sisters
3) I have a dog
4) I'm homeschooled
5) I've never been to public school
6) Kaytee is my best friend and has been for 8 years
7) I was a Nerd Herder from Chuck for Halloween.
8) I wear glasses but I'm not wearing them now because I'm wearing contacts right now.

So yeah. :) That's it.

After that, we had some worship time and prayer time. That was great. Annnnd then we had a brief leadership team meeting and then chillaxed. It was a good night!
Now I'm home. And should finish this and then finish my homework. I just need to type up questions, so that's not bad.
So. NIPTO.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
¹ There is a time for everything,
       and a season for every activity under heaven:


This is such an important thing to remember. There is a time for everything. Everything. 


 ² a time to be born and a time to die,
       a time to plant and a time to uproot,
There's a time for every person to be born. A time for every person to die. 
A time to plant and a time to uproot. 


 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
       a time to tear down and a time to build,
There's a time to kill. There's a time to heal and bring to life. There's a time to tear things down. A time to build things up.


 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
       a time to mourn and a time to dance,
A time to weep and a time to laugh until your stomach hurts. A time to mourn and a time to dance. (I like the laughing and dancing better, but there's a time and a place for the first of the sets.)


 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
       a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
There's a time to scatter and a time to gather. 
Then. One thing that's interesting to me: a time to embrace and a time to refrain. Innnteresting. 


 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
       a time to keep and a time to throw away,
There's a time to search and a time to give up (it's okay to give up sometimes! It might be the time for it.)
There's a time to keep and a time to throw away. 
I'm a little bit of a pack rat. It's hard for me to throw some stuff away. 


 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
       a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
       a time for war and a time for peace
There's a time to tear and a time to mend. I like tearing things (like paper). But fixing things is awesome too. There's a time to shut yo mouth and a time to speak up! A time to love. A time to hate. A time for war. A time for peace. Annnd now I'm going to post the song that you think I'm going to post...

Now I'm going to go finish my homework. And then go to bed. G'night all!

NIPTO, Day 259

Just another whirlwind day...
and another day that I CAN'T SPELL! Urg. Or breathe. Yay. Being sick kinda sucks. But I'm getting over myself. And my sickness haha.

Today... we did music at church... I played piano which was different for me. And we went to lunch with some old friends which was fun!
Then we came home and went on a walk. It was GORGEOUS out today!
Thennnnnn I talked to Kayt for a long while. She wins. It's awesome. haha
And after that, Mom and I worked on my paper. And then I went to youth group (which was awesome!) and then came home and checked facebook and whatnot and then finished my paper. Which now needs to be printed. But that'll get done. Ya know.

And now I'm pretty exhaustified. And hungry. I had a piece of chocolate cake for dinner... not my healthiest choice. But I made that choice. And it made me happy. So I'll call it a good choice. haha

NIPTO time, I guess.
Hosea 13:9-16

⁹ "You are destroyed, O Israel,
       because you are against me, against your helper.
 ¹⁰ Where is your king, that he may save you?
       Where are your rulers in all your towns,
       of whom you said,
       'Give me a king and princes'?
 ¹¹ So in my anger I gave you a king,
       and in my wrath I took him away.
Israel was going to be destroyed because they were against God. Their helper. 
God asks them where their king is so he can save them. Israel wanted a king, so in his anger God gave them a king. And in his anger he took their king away.




 ¹² The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
       his sins are kept on record.
 ¹³ Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him,
       but he is a child without wisdom;
       when the time arrives,
       he does not come to the opening of the womb.
Ephraim's guilt was stored up. 
And I'm not sure how to describe there rest of that. 


 ¹⁴ "I will ransom them from the power of the grave;
       I will redeem them from death.
       Where, O death, are your plagues?
       Where, O grave, is your destruction?
God would save them, ransom them, from the power of the grave. He would redeem them from death.
Then God questions death's destruction&plagues. Awesome.


       "I will have no compassion,
 ¹⁵ even though he thrives among his brothers.
       An east wind from the LORD will come,
       blowing in from the desert;
       his spring will fail
       and his well dry up.
       His storehouse will be plundered
       of all its treasures.
 ¹⁶ The people of Samaria must bear their guilt,
       because they have rebelled against their God.
       They will fall by the sword;
       their little ones will be dashed to the ground,
       their pregnant women ripped open."
God wouldn't have any kind of compassion on his people even though they were doing well. God would send a wind that would bring them down. 
The Samarians would just have to bear their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They would die by the sword. Bad thing would happen. 


And that seems like a terrible place to end, but that's where the chapter ends. And that's where my brain power ends.
It's been a long day and my brain is about fried.
(But, just because I'm a little bit in a paper writing mode, I wonder how many words I've typed over the past 259 days... A lot, I'm sure!)
And now I print my paper and go to sleep.
G'night alllllll.

NIPTO, Day 252

Hey all!

I guess it's time to update y'all with what's been happening in my life over the past couple of days!

Starting with.... Saturday? Yup.
Saturday morning, bright and early, I woke up and went to GHS and took the PSAT. It was... decent. I feel like I did a good job. I can't do anything but wait until December when I get my scores, and even then I can't do anything about it. Sooo I just wait.
I came home from the PSAT... annnnd ate lunch. And got some stuff together. And then I went to the Alpha Retreat for the last half of it. Then Erin and I headed over to the Ham's house for the rest of the day! When we got to the Ham's, I helped out a little bit then people were getting there... so we basically hung out and talked and ate some food. Then we went on a hike at the towpath by the Ham's house. That was fun. Annnd then we came back and ate dinner... Mrs. Ham made SO MUCH GOOD FOOD! It was fantastic. After dinner we went on a hayride. Now, I didn't like the first half of the hayride. I was sitting near the end of the trailer, and therefore the hay would come straight at me while we were driving. not fun. Yeah. We got out after a while and played kick-the-can (or 2-liter bottle as the case may have been...).  Then we went back to the house and sat around the bonfire and told BK what our ideal date was because it was Sweetest Day. After a while we went inside and watched Iron Man II. I didn't see all of it. Or even most of it. Because I went home. And then blogged. And went to sleep.

Got up this morning and got ready for the day and then went to Kent to pick up Katie and then to Cleveland for Lauren's bridal shower! It was fun. Katie, Hannah, and I sat with the Horstmans and Kay. We talked, we ate, we talked some more. It was great :) Lauren and Tim are so adorable :)

Then we came home. And rushed around so Katie and Hannah could get back to Kent in time for Katie to get to music practice.

And now I'm here. Listening to my "What is this feeling?" radio station on Pandora. Blogging. Thinking about painting my nails again. But probably putting it off. And not actually doing it. I'm great like that. HAH.

A'ight. NIPTO time.
Hosea 6:11-7:16

¹¹ "Also for you, Judah,
       a harvest is appointed.
       "Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,

[Hosea 7]

 ¹ whenever I would heal Israel,
       the sins of Ephraim are exposed
       and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
       They practice deceit,
       thieves break into houses,
       bandits rob in the streets;
 ² but they do not realize
       that I remember all their evil deeds.
       Their sins engulf them;
       they are always before me.

God's talking to Judah. Telling them that there will come a day for their nation when he will restore them. He's letting them know that, whenever he heals Israel, all the other nations' sins will be exposed. The nations didn't realize that God remembered what they did wrong. But their sins were all around them and they were always in front of God.

 ³ "They delight the king with their wickedness,
       the princes with their lies.
 ⁴ They are all adulterers,
       burning like an oven
       whose fire the baker need not stir
       from the kneading of the dough till it rises.

Their wickedness and lies were the delight of the kings and princes of the day. God's delight is our prayers. They were all adulterers and cheaters. They just kinda burned in their sin. 

 ⁵ On the day of the festival of our king
       the princes become inflamed with wine,
       and he joins hands with the mockers.
 ⁶ Their hearts are like an oven;
       they approach him with intrigue.
       Their passion smolders all night;
       in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
 ⁷ All of them are hot as an oven;
       they devour their rulers.
       All their kings fall,
       and none of them calls on me.

People got drunk. They just didn't follow God. They would fall but wouldn't call on God. 

⁸ "Ephraim mixes with the nations;
       Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over.
 ⁹ Foreigners sap his strength,
       but he does not realize it.
       His hair is sprinkled with gray,
       but he does not notice.
 ¹⁰ Israel's arrogance testifies against him,
       but despite all this
       he does not return to the LORD his God
       or search for him.

Ephraim wasn't much better. I'd say from the description that God gives, Ephraim was kind of unobservant. 


 ¹¹ "Ephraim is like a dove,
       easily deceived and senseless—
       now calling to Egypt,
       now turning to Assyria.
 ¹² When they go, I will throw my net over them;
       I will pull them down like birds of the air.
       When I hear them flocking together,
       I will catch them.

Ephraim was easily lead astray. God said that when they went to leave him, he would throw a net over them and pull them down. He would catch them.


 ¹³ Woe to them,
       because they have strayed from me!
       Destruction to them,
       because they have rebelled against me!
       I long to redeem them
       but they speak lies against me.
 ¹⁴ They do not cry out to me from their hearts
       but wail upon their beds.
       They gather together for grain and new wine
       but turn away from me.

I'd, uh, be afraid, Ephraim. God was not happy with them. God wanted to redeem them. But they would lie about him. It's a sad, sad thing. They chose not to acknowledge God, but to cry out to their gods. They would gather new things, but not offer them to God.


 ¹⁵ I trained them and strengthened them,
       but they plot evil against me.
 ¹⁶ They do not turn to the Most High;
       they are like a faulty bow.
       Their leaders will fall by the sword
       because of their insolent words.
       For this they will be ridiculed
       in the land of Egypt.

God trained them and strengthened them, but they turned away and plotted against him. They didn't turn to God. And as a result, they would die. Bummer.




That's a super sad note to end on...
But I'm going to end on it anyways! Hope y'all had a good day :)

NIPTO, Day 245

Hey all!
There's a post coming about yesterday, don't worry! I feel like I need to do this before that :) And that post might come tomorrow. I don't know if I can write coherently tonight haha

Today was church. Sunday school and church. Those were good. Mom and I ate lunch and then drove up to Peninsula to see Dad/pick him up. He finished a marathon ladies and gentlemen!
I drove home annnd then I put up pictures from homecoming on facebook... annd went down to Kayt's for a bit to talk to her and then I came home and ate dinner and went back down to her house and we went to youth group.

Youth group was interesting. I can't really say it was all good. Because parts of it were good. Other parts were slightly terrible.
Let's just say that things (drrrama) happened and I got some good advice. And I'm stickin' to it. So that's good. And we had a good discussion about having an "eternal mindset."
Good stuff.
And I apparently look like I'm mixed. Like, half black. True story. I have 3 people who will tell you that. I then told them the story of how I'm "adopted" from Guadalajara. Fun times at youth group...

And now I'm home. I've had my ice cream and am watching The Amazing Race... I don't have my stuff  together for school tomorrow, but I'll get that in the morning. I just have to get up a little earlier tomorrow morning.

Sooo noww NIPTOOO =P
Hosea 2:1-13

¹ "Say of your brothers, 'My people,' and of your sisters, 'My loved one.'

I feel like this is slightly random and should go at the end of yesterday's post... but I wasn't paying attention at 2:30 in the morning... slightly understandable.

Here's a brief recap: God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. So he did. And they had kids. And now God is giving Hosea a message. (A message from the LORD! =P)

Israel Punished and Restored

 ² "Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, 
       for she is not my wife, 
       and I am not her husband. 
       Let her remove the adulterous look from her face 
       and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.

 ³ Otherwise I will strip her naked
       and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
       I will make her like a desert,
       turn her into a parched land,
       and slay her with thirst.

The message God is giving Hosea reflects Hosea's life. Kind of. It's a parallel. Israel is unfaithful, and Gomer, Hosea's wife, is unfaithful.

 ⁴ I will not show my love to her children,
       because they are the children of adultery.

 ⁵ Their mother has been unfaithful
       and has conceived them in disgrace.
       She said, 'I will go after my lovers,
       who give me my food and my water,
       my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.'

God is basically saying that, because Israel is an adulterous country, he won't show love to the people. They've been unfaithful and have gone after other things.

 ⁶ Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
       I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.

 ⁷ She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
       she will look for them but not find them.
       Then she will say,
       'I will go back to my husband as at first,
       for then I was better off than now.'

God said he was going to block Israel's path with thornbushes. He was going to block them. They would be lost. Israel would chase after what they wanted but they wouldn't get it. Then Israel would return to its first love.

 ⁸ She has not acknowledged that I was the one
       who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
       who lavished on her the silver and gold—
       which they used for Baal.

Israel didn't acknowledge that God was the one who gave them the grain that they sacrificed to Baal. Ridiculous.

 ⁹ "Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,
       and my new wine when it is ready.
       I will take back my wool and my linen,
       intended to cover her nakedness.

God decided to take back what he had given Israel. He had blessed them and they had turned away. So he would take his blessings back.

 ¹⁰ So now I will expose her lewdness
       before the eyes of her lovers;
       no one will take her out of my hands.

He would expose Israel for what they were in front of their gods, and no one would save them.

 ¹¹ I will stop all her celebrations:
       her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
       her Sabbath days—all her appointed feasts.

 ¹² I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
       which she said were her pay from her lovers;
       I will make them a thicket,
       and wild animals will devour them.

 ¹³ I will punish her for the days
       she burned incense to the Baals;
       she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
       and went after her lovers,
       but me she forgot,"
       declares the LORD.

He would stop their celebrations, ruin their crops, and punish them for their worship to the Baals. Israel dressed themselves up and went after the things that looked pretty and forgot about God.

God doesn't always look pretty. Sometimes God looks very unappealing. But God is always the best choice. If you turn away from him, you won't have his blessings anymore. If you genuinely repent, he'll be there to you and pick you up. That's the great thing about God. Even if you turn away, he'll always be there waiting with open arms to welcome you back. Love love love.

And now I am going to go to bed. Because it's way late and a school night. Oops. Hah.

G'night!

P.S. Happy 10/10/10 =P

NIPTO, Day 237

Today:
I took a practice PSAT. Did... better than last time. By like... 16 points? A pretty big improvement, but still not where I want it to be...

And that's all I've done so far. I'm sitting with a shivering dog next to me. Because she got a hair cut yesterday. And my parents haven't turned on the heat yet. (Hence shivering dog... and my cold feet! Literally.)
So we sit and shiver. And I blog... or figure out what to blog about.
Okay. After looking at the rest of Joshua, I'm skipping chapters 14-19 and chapter 21. They're all about who gets what land. And that's not really relevant to what I usually blog about! And I might skip some more... we'll see.

Cue about... 11 hours passing! (About 12 pm to 11pm)

Eh Ler and Ehne Thau came over and we at lunch, Mom and Eh Ler worked on OGT stuff, Ehne Thau and I played the memory matching game, picked out a movie, and then we watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I took a shower... annnd got ready... annd played piano for a bit? ... got ready some more... got my apple! Dried some dishes, and went to the Fall Extravaganza party at The620!
It was fun. I got there... and helped put some stuff out.. played air hocky with Ricky, Ashley, and Jessica... danced, played Uno with Meghan, Ashley, Jessica, and Ricky... danced some more... made caramel apples, watched The Goonies and ate pizza... played charades (and lost D= ), had a dance off, and cleaned up. It was a good time. :)

I had fun. And now I am very tired. And would kinda like to go to bed. BUT I told myself I would blog (NIPTO, not just... blog.) every. day. Soooooo here I am.

Joshua 20:1-9 (GO!)
¹ Then the LORD said to Joshua: ² "Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.


This is interesante to me (Bad Spanish. I know.)
God commanded them to create cities as refuges for anyone who accidentally killed someone else. They could go there and they would be protected.\

⁴ "When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. ⁵ If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶ He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled."

There were rules that were set up for when this person fled to the city. They were supposed to stand at the gate of the city and tell the elders why they were there. The elders were obligated to give them a place to live as the city they lived in was a designated city for refugees. 

If the "avenger of blood" came after the person, they were not supposed to surrender them. Because what he did was an accident. 

The refugee was to stay in that city until he had had a proper trial and until the high priest who was serving at the time died. 

Then he would be allowed to go back to his home town. 

 ⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ On the east side of the Jordan of Jericho they designated Bezer in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ Any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.



These were the cities that they designated in the different areas. Anyone who accidentally killed someone else could go to one of these cities and be safe. 
It's an interesting concept that we don't really have today. Because we have a judicial system who can find someone guilty or not guilty. 
But I still find it fascinating!






And now, here's a video. A song. An awesome amazing song that I forgot that I loved!


Goodnight now!