four-eyes.

mk. so here's my beef. what i dreaded would happen has indeed happened. i have become a "four-eyes."now for the longest time (which is a great song by the way) i have not gone to the eye doctor for this very reason. i knew i had visionary issues butt (which is what is enlarging on my posterior for all the "christmas cookies" and such that i have devoured) i did not want to got into a doc, and pay them to tell me what i already knew and by doing so be labeled a "four-eyes."

*this is my disclaimer* now i'm not in any way trying to be mean or a jerk to my fellow "four-eyes' "--don't worry, i'v already recieved my membership card in the mail--i'm just callin' it like it is and it makes me SCREAM! ........i scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM! haha did you think i'd throw in something that had to do w/ my eye-wear...puhleeazze do you really think i'm clever enough to fit four-eyes into that song. don't think so, or ye of too much faith. naw i'm just kidding about that...well about the too much faith. you can never have too much of that.

and since i have already been labeled a four-eyes by THE MAN! i would like to share with you my adventures of this momentous (or however you spell that) day. 

i really was dreading going in to my appointment today and so i brought snuggle the bear w/ me to keep me company. HAHA NO I'M JUST KIDDING!!! i brought along my fasha and jake. well we got in there and signed all the stuff--and i'm pretty sure i signed my sould to Bob Barker or something cause i didn't really read a word of the little stuff that said "initial after every paragrah or something"--and i waited patiently in the waiting patiently area of the "optomitrist's office." 

now i would like to say something about this doc. the man was wearing glasses himself. could this office be all about revenge? just a thought i thought about throwing out there...believe me, i had plenty of time to think about it since they took jake back first. i mean let us be serious for a second. the man's wearing glasses. who's to say that his perscription is off and that he is giving everyone else the wrong prescription? i mean common. do you really think the guy gives himself an eye examination...puh NO! otherwise he'd have 20/20 vision and wouldn't be president of the club (a reference i made in the paragraphs above...just incase any of you are just reading this and not really paying attention and following the story).

so it was my turn and a lady came out that looked like someone who might have potential to be a cat-lady in 5 to 10 years and she was going to be doing my PRE-eye examination. so she put me on the first doohicky and told me to do whatever it was...i can't really remember cause it all happened so fast i'm still in a daze...and lets just say i didn't pass with flying colors. why? because the color test was next. i think i scored 3 and a half. the half was a two digit number that i could only see the first digit. let's just say that wasn't my forte either. well then she moved me to the next contraption and said look at that dark blot in the center and when you see lines click the button. THAT HAS GOT TO BE THE MOST REDICULOUS "EXAM" EVER!!!! personal opinion. then the potential filled villian of a lady told me to scoot over to the next machine. you could tell i was the number one priority on her line--she demonstrated this by the annoyed expression on her face as i was not scooting fast enough for her liking. she said, "this is a machine that is going to measure the pressure in your eyes. you are just going to feel a light puff of air." nothing harmless i thought to myself. just a light puff of air. a LIGHT PUFF OF AIR. so she says just focus on the little green light and then you'll feel the LIGHT PUFF OF AIR.

*you might have noticed i am emphasizing the LIGHT PUFF OF AIR part. we are quickly coming to that.*

so i focus on the green light and am calmly and patiently waiting for the LIGHT PUFF OF AIR. as i sat there i began to relax just a smidge thinking that it's not that bad and you know those times that you speak too soon? yeah, i was ALL over that. that "LIGHT PUFF OF AIR" cause my head to have a reflex SOOO BIG that i recieved and 11th degree whiplash!!! not cool. i can handle a puff. this was no puff. a puff is like a small amount of air that caresses the eyeball. this "puff" (or so they called it) was like a HURRICANE THAT SLAMMED INTO MY EYEBALL AND DEPRESSURIZED IT BECAUSE OF THE AIR FORCE TRAUMA INCURRED BY A "puff". as you can tell i'm not at all bitter about this, i just think that they need to call it a mass-of-ai-slamming-into-your-eyeball-at-high-speeds-machine...that's all i'm trying to say really. then they made me do another machine which i really can't remember because the trauma that my body endured has blocked any memory of the following few minutes.

well after all that i saw mr charming himself and boy was it special. tin man w/ no heart comes prancing into the room like he's got a wedgie or somethin and instead of just takin the time to go to the restroom and...take care of the problem...he just tries to remove said wedgie by walking it out. for the record, it never worked. he "worked his magic w/ the lenses" and then i was diagnosed a "four-eyes"...there was no sympathy recieved from the guy. just a cold hearted diagnosis and he led me into the other room to get pictures of my eyeballs cause the machine wasn't working earlier.

now i know how bugs feel when they fly around in the summer around those bug zappers. they tell you to focus on the little light and then all of a sudden there is a huge flash that blinds you...and they don't wait for your eye to recover before they move to the next and repeated the same thing. then they told me to go  on out and sit in the waiting area to get some glasses. now keep in mind that i have just been literally flashed and am now asked to WALK into the waiting area..i looked like i just downed a bottle of jack daniels.

all that to say i have now joined the prestigeous league of "four-eyes" and am one for the rest of my life. which is too bad but it's chill i guess. i mean how bad can it get? i'm no longer in 4th grade so i don't gotta worry about messin with my style of a fancy bowl cut and tight black jeans. which i was a very big fan of!!! not gonna lie bout that one! but lets face it. elementary kids can be cruel. along w/ middle schoolers but we won't go there thats for a whole nother blog post.

well it's good to be back and i hope you all had a super fantastic and MERRY CHRISTMAS! none of this holiday crap. MERRY CHRISTMAS MERRY CHRISTMAS MERRY CHRISTMAS! and i hope you guys have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

please have your sanhedrin card ready at the door.

i have been really stressed the past couple of weeks in dealing with finals and i would unload all my beef about my papers and how they make me want to punt a professor but i will hold back and not share with you about all my papers and how they make me want to punt a professor. to all you professors out there, it's nothing personal really, except for maybe not factoring sleep into your equations but it is more due to procrastination than anything else.

there is a man who has been such an encouragement to me since i have been back from jamaica this second time and we keep in touch and talk and i saw this on his facebook status and i am soooo stoked to see what God has in store for me!!

here it is...

Acts 4:13

"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

let me give you a little bit of background so that you can get the full effect. in Acts chapter one Jesus is talking to his desciples before he ascends into heaven and he is explaining to them to fill the place of Judas and that he was going to send the Holy Spirit to be apart of the show. Jesus ascends and the desciples are now left with the descision to pick a replacement...kinda like "the next top model" only it's "the next dusty desciple." well they do an incredible thing here at this point, i mean this is so wierd for them to do (especially if it was in our day and age in dealing with descisions of a large-ish size), they prayed to the Lord to show them who to pick. BRILLIANT!!! (i'm just gonna stop here for a sec cause something needs to be said) THIS IS THE MOST BRILLIANT IDEA SINCE BEFORE BREAD...especially hawaiian rolls. these guys got down on their knees and said "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs" (Acts 1:24-25). 

*this is the question i would like to pose because i have really been struggling with this personally and have almost gotten to the point of fulfilling 100%: when you tell someone that you will pray for them, or that you are praying for them, how many of those do you actually carry out and pray for them on a consistant basis whether once a day or once a week, do you seriously follow through with it? or is it just that we say that for the fake Christian life we are living? or are we lukewarm and we are just fulfilling our Christian duties to encourage fellow Christians that we are praying for their Christian "issues?" And do you look to God when you have to make a descision and such? just something to chew on like a piece of wrigley's. (i prefer orbit to wrigley's).

so back to the background info, they look to God for the answer to be revealed for He is always faithful. then God sends down the Holy Spirit to swoop down and fill them with itself and they burn rubber gettin out the door to share with people of every tribe and nation that Jesus Christ is Lord and of the victory over death he had achieved. Peter heals the beggar at the gate Beautiful which i can't wait to learn more about that but the Sanhedrin were watching Peter and John and they were gettin really ticked off about what Peter and John were saying and doin and preachin and singin and really just breathing air and so they arrested them. 

so the next day the Sanhedrin and questioning Peter and John and and they started to ask about the beggar being healed and basically "by what power or what name did you do this?" and that's when you get the famous verse "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." and then the verse stated above. the Sanhedrin "saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinatry men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

WOWWWEEEEEE!!! they didn't see some 50 year old men in a mid-life crisis, they saw courage in--this is my favorite part--unschooled, ordinary men and they were ASTONISHED!!!!!!!!!! and. they. took. note. there is no way that that was going to be packin' it's bags and fluttering on out the attic window anytime soon. THEY TOOK NOTE!!!

i want to have that courage for Jesus, and so many times i fail in the opportunities that God placed before me, but because He is also a forgiving God, i am givin another chance to have that courage and stand up for truth. are you going to be the one with courage because if God is for us who can be against us? or are you gonna be the sanhedrin and just stand their with your mouth open catchin flies because of what God is doing? i dunno about you but i would rather be a part of it then sit back and watch because i doubt God's "ability" in my own life.

sorry it was kinda long, but i really felt a burden to share it with yall. 

keep the SON in your eyes!

tis the season part 2

i just wanted to say something about something i mentioned yesterday. i love charlie brown. poor guy, he's the most depressed person i have ever seen in my life. he so depressed he won't even change his shirt. i know there's a crewneck sweatshirt in his closet with a great big santa clause on the front of it with a poofy white cotton ball thing on the end of santa's hat. i know he has one! he's just so depressed that he has no desire to be a little festive. not even to keep up appearances. it's a sad thing too because that was prolly his favorite shirt until he found the stripe section. 

well this is gonna be a serious post...sorta. read these lyrics real quick.

HERE WITH US

Joy Williams

It's still a mystery to me

That the hands of God could be so small,

How tiny fingers reaching in the night

Were there very hands that measured the sky

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Heaven's love reaching down to save the world

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Son of God, Servant King,

You're here with us

You're here with us

It's still a mystery to me, oh,

How His infant eyes have seen the dawn of time

How His ears have heard an angel's symphony,

But still Mary had to rock her Savior to sleep

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Heaven's love reaching down to save the world

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Son of God, Servant King,

You're here with us

You're here with us

(Ohh, mmmm, here with us)

Jesus the Christ, born in Bethlehem

A baby born to save, to save the souls of man

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Heaven's love reaching down to save the world

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Son of God, Servant King,

You're here with us

You're here with us

I LOVE THIS SONG!!!! I LOVE IT! from the time that Jesus was on this earth he was giving us the gospel. showing His love to the world, and the world had no clue as to what was going on. there wasn't a procession just a humble little child born in a barn with donkey's and cows and the smells of their deposits. there might have even been chickens in there and they can be annoying but God wasn't worried about making a big deal about His own coming. in fact he sent angels to shepherds, not to the national inquirer or anything, simple shepherds got to witness the greatest show ever to grace this planet! the Bible says that the angels filled the sky! i don't know about you but when i think filled the sky i think there's not even room up there to fit a little chex cereal square thin-ways anywhere. oh to be there when the announcement was made. i can't wait to get up to heaven and see it all for myself. all the angels singing. every child of God singing their HEADS off!!!! singing praises to his name!!! have you told someone the good new of the Christmas season? is there someone that has popped into your head that you need to say something to about the gift of freedom and eternal life that was given to us one holy silent night? is there someone that you need to be praying for that God would open their eyes to the truth? just something to think about it.

tis the season part 1

soooo as everyone has been reminded time and time again before 3 am on black friday that this is the wonderful holiday season. the season where everyone puts on their happy faces while rushing through the malls and department stores shoving people out of the way. the season of smashing old feeble ladies into the clothes rack while sprinting towards the blenders. tis the season to trample store employees and those that are dressed in santa clause hats spreading good cheer from what is now a seated position in a chair that has wheels and is mobile. tis the season to cut in check-out lines by acting like you know someone that you really only met at a friends house who you have no affiliation with whatsoever. tis the season to wait in those checkout lines for hours. tis the season to lose sight of what is really important. 

i would just like to share a story with you in this multiple part dealeo. i have never been a part of the black friday madness. i feel like, if a woman finds pleasure in injuring someone else so that person can't get the last jello-jiggler forms then I WANT NO PART of it. the fact that some women don't even sleep the night before and have their tazors and mace in hand lest anyone tries to cut them in line while they are camped outside the store. what really scares me is the possessed look that they get when they see those sale ads start rolling in the monday before thanksgiving. these are just personal opinions and views of the madness but i would say that they are pretty consistent in most men/males/boys/immature ninnies (whichever you prefer). i just wanted to clarify for what i am about to spill.

so my madre wanted to go get towels for me on black friday because i'm moving to south carolina for school in january and i need towels..haha well actually i need just about everything but towels i figure is as good a place to start as any. soooo she ran in and told me to get ready and we went to kohls on black friday 10 minutes before the sale ended. i was freaking out. i seriously was. i suppressed it but inside i was flipping out! you have no idea (or maybe you do) what it does to a guy to see a store full of women with frazzled hair, bloodshot eyes, and white knuckles ready to get in the ring with anyone that even attempted to ask a questions such as "hey where did you find those socks?" for a single guy that kinda freaks me out just a tad. *i would like to take this opportunity to say to all the married men that are dragged out on this dreaded day by their wives RUN!!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!! i saw your faces and they were not happy! YOU WERE NOT HAPPY PEOPLE!!! PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN!!! and please keep a leash on the individual dragged you there so they are not attacking other customers, it would do us all a HUGE favor.* so anyway, we retrieved the towels and started standing in line to checkout. i looked left. i looked right. i read all the labels of the merchandise that was next to me. 2 minutes had passed. i looked up. i leaned out to see the length of the line. i made funny faces to the little baby behind us. 5 minutes had passed. needless to say we were not moving very quickly and my attention span had maxed out at 5 minutes. well after a half hour we were now standing across the suitcase aisle. there were some asian speaking individuals looking at the suitcases rattling somthing off in their native tongue and zipping and unzipping the same suitcase for 10 minutes. i turned to look at something that was next to me and then when i turned back, one of the aisian suitcase shoppers was missing. it was grandma. she had disappeared from the suitcase aisle. i began to become very worried--more for my personal safety. about 3 minutes later i saw people begin to move to both sides  of what used to be the line and then stared towards my direction. it was like moses parting the red sea. as the parting lines seemed to become closer to me, i saw a gray head of hair about 5 ft tall bobbing up and down moving in my direction. RED LIGHTS BEGAN TO GO OFF IN MY BRAIN!!! COULD THIS BE GRANDMA!!!! IT WAS GRANDMA HEADED FOR THE SUITCASES!!! she was like a fish swimming up stream. instead of walking up along the checkout line and then just politely asking to cut through to the suitcases SHE SHOVED HER WAY ALL THE WAY UP THE LINE UNTIL SHE SAW THE SUITCASES!!! i was freaking out; number one because grandma was no where to be found, number two because something was moving towards me at a brisk pace through a line of people, and number three because i was worried that i might have breathed wrong on one of the suitcases and they were coming for me. well good news she cut out of the line right before she came to me but i was flippin out! how could so many people be so possessed in such a consetrated area for a suitcase, or blender, or towels, or anything!?! 

we finally checked out and i went home and immediately set up an appointment with my therapist...haha i'm just kiddin about that but i was definately in shock. how can so many people lose sight of what Christmas is all about. it's not about the getting it's about the giving. God gave us the most precious gift in the world! and He didn't have to put up with black friday to get it either. i know some of the other side of the argument from you ladies, and i took that into consideration but the fact is that when you are possesed by satan himself till sales are over there's a disconnect there that needs to be checked out. mostly for the personal saftey of fellow black friday-ers and their/your husbands. 

that story was just to entertain you but lets celebrate this holiday season right. Christ came to die for us. set us free from our sin. He came as a gift, to give us a gift, so that we could share that gift with others. after all Christmas is named after Him. i love the holidays!! especially Christmas! part dos will be up next! get ready!!! maybe it'll be even better than part one! maybe-no promises.

10 things to get done this CHRISTMAS season

1) get the peppermint mocha twist from starbucks *it's scrumptious

2) watch the movie transporter 3 *INCREDIBLE!

3) don't procrastinate on your shopping *the only exception is myself

4) get an advent calendar and do it with your fam if you don't already *kids love em!

5) listen to all the barry manilow christmas you can get!

6) send me christmas cookies *i like the sugar cookies w/ glossy frosting--jk..but really if you want to i wouldn't mind

7) play board games *especially 80's trivial persuit

8) watch the grinch, frosty the snow man, rudolph, and charlie brown christmas *i love charlie brown

9) go get yourself a tree *charlie brown did

10) try to count how many different versions of oh holy night there are * there are tons! 

KEEP THE SON IN YOUR EYES

Hebrews 4:14-16

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and ifnd grace to help us in our time of need. "

be a slushy.

i just came to the realization tonight (or this morning...which ever you prefer) while i was driving home from seein' some of my besties about what my life should be looking like. it was snowing substantially and the "mush" was beginning to accumulate on the road. and then i remembered that i absolutely HATE to walk in that stuff. I HATE IT!!! mush and canvas shoes do not go well together. it's like chewing bubble gum and eating a mcdonalds ketchup packet at the same time. it definately doesn't go together. EVER! but since my mind wonder's back and forth from reality to non-reality or not even that, it just wonder's the idea of mush began to take shape in my mind as something else.

*it's amazing how God communicates things to us or triggers a thought process, that while it may seem rediculous at the time it's quite practical.*

so as i was driving home tonight and after  watching the mush pass by as i drove safely down quivira i began to think about slushies. track with me please. i promise it will make sense. it first started when i passed the 7 eleven on quivira and 119th but then the wheels in my mind started turning. i thought about how good a slushy is. cherry is the best. but, for some reason known only to the One who know's all things i started to analogize a slushy with my christian walk and my relationship with Jesus Christ. 

i feel the need to be as fresh as can be in my walk with Christ, i want to be renewed daily. hourly. even split-secondly. but i find myself becoming stagnant some times and i can't stand that. then i began to think about a stagnant slushy. it no longer has any slush, it's just the "E" out of slushy. it becomes luke-warm, sticky, and syrup-eee if it's not constantly be fueled with more slushy or being revitalized in the slushy keeper (or the fridge/freezer). 

when we begin to focus on other things and when our desire is not to grow and learn and reach and tell and praise and worship and live and laugh and breathe and think and thank God, when we focus on everything but that, that's when our live's become stagnant. they become "stuck in a rut." there is no more joy, the peace and comfort wears off because we try to handle things that only God can handle. we ultimately become our own idol when do those things because we are saying "God i don't think that you can handle this, or deal with this, and i don't really even think you know exactly what's goin on so i'll just handle this and you take a break. go put your feet up and let me take care of this." we shove God off to the side  and tell Him to go take a coffee break and we decide to do our own will and be wise in our own eyes. we become syrup-eee and sticky and luke-warm and a tad bit runny. we lose focus and until we refocus on what we need to be focusing on we will remain in that distateful state. it's distateful to us and God. God still loves us, just like we still like slushies, but we need to refocus or refreeze because that is the desire of His heart. that we know him intimately. that we bring Him glory and honour and praise and live a life of worship so that the world can see that He is the reason to live! that is our whole purpose here on earth, to bring glory and honour to Him who sit's on the throne!

i don't know about you but i want to be a slushy. not a melted watery skankmcnasty...thing. i want to be a slushy for the cause of Christ! cherry-because i am washed in His blood! HALLELUJIAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! only He is worthy of our praise!

so next time you see snow mush or when you drive by a 7 eleven maybe it will trigger something in your mind and you will reevaluate where your focus is. is it on you or God? hopefully on the latter. and if not. then PULL OVER AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

i love ya'll!!!!!!! for serious! always and forever!

10 inside jokes

1) uncle george

2) mesquito bites in jamaica

3) Dolce and Gabana

4) TLR

5) "...and jiggly-whaaaaaaaaat?

6) this is why we can't have nice things

7) instead of Yo Yo Ma, there was a misprint and it said Yo Momma

8) I HATE MEMPHIS

9) cut the rope

10) it'll look good if we cover three quarters of it with the wall

i just wanna say again how thankful i am for all you guys! and i do love ya! i'm not just sayin that! 

keep the SON in your eyes!

2 Corinthians 9:15

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"

a man's soap opera.

for the longest time i thought women and people that followed soap opera's were rediculous when they would talk about the characters like they just finished having a heart to heart with the person. i know there's going to be some girl reading this and be like:

"joey, that is just not true! you are a heartless, narscisistic, ignorant boy who knows nothing of what kenny and bebe are going through right now. someone has just kidnapped their [illegitament] kid and is threatening to sell him to some guy down in cuba if they don't come up with 20 million or if bebe doesn't give herself up for the child. but she can't because she's been "doing the deed" with kenny's brother so that her she-boss thinks she's cool enough to keep her job. she's just caught between a rock and a hard place, so you just don't know and if you don't know then you shouldn't say anything about it."

i don't even understand who you should feel sorry for in a situation such as that but i have come to a gripping reality recently that somewhat bothers me. i have come to realize that men have their soap opera's too, we just don't call them soap opera's cause ours are on during primetime television. i hate to admit this but i am the worlds biggest fan of CSI. csi: miami. csi: ny. csi: crime scene investigation (that's the original). i am! and not only that, i talk about the characters like i'm on a first name basis with them. especially with csi miami. it's sad i know but it's true. i...in a way...watch my own soap opera. 

now you will never hear me say "i'm going to watch my soap opera so shut up or go to the other room" but i will refer to the characters in csi miami in first person such as horatio, or eric, or calleigh, or wolf.  i just thought about that just a bit ago and thought i'd share that with you.

now everyone go read Jeremiah 29:11.

it's one of my favorite verses ever.

it's so comforting a reassuring to know that He, Yaweh, has plans for me. and to know that i can't do anything about it because it's in His hands is even a better feeling because i don't need to be worrying about it. God's got it under control. i am so thankful that God has given me His word so that i can read the plans he has for me and know that he loves me unconditionally!

have a blessed and happy thanksgiving!

i am thankful for all of you guys!

more than just a mission trip.

i have been thinking alot about jamaica the past couple of weeks. really since i came back from the trip, but more recently since i came back from my visit to south carolina and saw all the wonderful people that adopted me for that week and made me a part of their group with no strings attatched. 

by the second day they had renamed their group Westside Church and Joey. how's that for special! that week was the first time i that i can remember when i was shown Christ-like love. a love that was unconditional, no strings attatched, i was accepted for who i was and was loved because i was me. yes i recieved that from my family but it's a different feeling when the non-relatives who don't know you from adam welcome you and make you a part of their group in less than a day. if you've ever experienced this you know what i'm talking about. and if not, i can't wait for you to! it will change your life. they had made me one of them so much that when they went back to their church after the week was over, i found out that they'd talk about me and how i was able to be a part of their group. i was in every single one of their pictures haha and when i visited the church earlier this month all the other members already knew me. seriously. they came up to me and said it's nice to finally meet you, and i had NO CLUE who they were.

God does some incredible things with people. and He definately works in mysterious ways. yes i went on that trip to jamaica for missions but God had some other plans. because of that trip i learned about the power of prayer. i learned about His faithfulness and love for me and others. i heard about north greenville university where i am now going to be transferring to in january to finish up school. i met a man by the name jon lyles who totally and radically changed my outlook on what a youth/stutent minister should be (if you want more details on that one just ask). and because of this trip and God callling me to go back i have made some serious life-long friendships that i am so thankful for! 

there's still a need though! in jamaica, in romania, in greece, in london, in the usa. are you going to be the one to go tell the world? i love you all and thanks for readin the blog. i'm not the best one and i hardly ever use capital letters and since there's no spellcheck my errors are far more than on a research paper but thanks anyways!

*if i think of somthin else i'll blog it today too.

KEEP THE SON IN YOUR EYES!

lord of lords.

Lord of lords.

by Brooke Fraser

Beholding Your beauty is all that I long for.

To worship You, Jesus is my soul desire.

For this very heart, You have shaped for Your pleasure,

purposed to lift Your name higher.

Here in surrender, in pure adoration,

I enter Your courts with an offering of praise.

I am Your servant, come to bring You glory,

as is fit for the works of Your hands

Now unto the Lamb who sits on the throne,

be glory and honour and praise.

All of creation resounds with the song.

Worship and praise Him. 

The Lord of lords.

Spirit now living and dwelling within me,

keep my eyes fixed ever on Jesus' face.

Let not the tings of this world ever sway me

I'll run til I finish the race.

Now unto the Lamb who sits on the throne,

be glory and honour and praise. 

All of creation resounds with the song.

Worship and praise the Lord.

Now unto the Lamb who sits on the throne,

be glory and honour and praise.

All of eternity echoes the song.

Worship and praise Him.

The Lord of lords.

Holy Lord.

You are holy.

Jesus Christ is the Lord.

Now unto the Lamb who sits on the thrown,

be glory and honour and praise.

Call all the sinners to join in the song.

Worship and praise Him. 

The Lord of lords.

Lord of lords.

*go look it up on youtube or itunes or something...definately a must have for your musical collection.*

10 Turkey day festivities

1) eat turkey (obviously that's numero uno)

2) give thanks to God by thanking him by eating more turkey

3) MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE

4) plaza lighting

5) getting your game face on for black friday

6) having your annual "how's life" conversation with your uncle howard who won't remember a thing after he's had his nap

7) pumkin pie. pumkin pie. pumkin pie. *chant it with me* 

8) cool whip

9) enjoy your family and the break from life

10) read my blog :)

so you had a bad day...

I don’t know about you but when I have a bad day I become really ticked off. You know what I mean? The whole day is ruined. And I don’t get the joy of going through the whole day having a chip on my shoulder. No. The little catalyst that sets off my bad day doesn’t come until around the middle of the day or later. I know that you know exactly what I mean. I’m a walking whoopie cushion that’s just waiting to be sat on and all the “whoopie” let out the rubber opening leaving me flatter than a two-year-old bottle of grape Fanta. Let me ‘splain.

You wake up just like any other happy morning (which between the ages of twelve and whenever you mature and grow up and act like an adult—which for some is never—is usually an oxy-moron, only on rare occasions is it vice versa). The sunbeams caress your face and that lovely mechanical device that sings sweet melodies in your ear—a radio for those who aren’t following my alliterations—soon becomes handicapped as a result of the nearest hard object being hurled at a velocity that can create a sonic boom; amazing the power one possesses in the morning under the right conditions.  The birds and squirrels that were waiting to sing a cute and charming little song with you flee for their lives as they quickly realize that Cinderella is the only one that enjoys a wake up call from things with feathers and fur.

After you have been conscious for about five minutes you decide to do the roll over. “Oh no, not the roll over,” you say. Yes my friends it’s that time of morning; it’s roll over time. It is really ashamed that the rest of your body cannot wake up in congruence with your eyes, it would save a whole lot of problems and maybe even some “choice” words blurted from your mouth. So as you are rolling over the lower half of your body--meaning the neck down--is still asleep and the mercy of the pillowy cushion beneath it; it doesn't know that that it's not awake until it's too late. Because your body is still asleep there is a zero reaction time once you have realized that you were not a safe distance from the edge of the bed. Not only do you continue to roll, but you roll right off the bed onto the cold, hard, uncomfortable, bruising, abrubt floor; an immediate unwanted body/floor contact has been made. Right from the start your day has been miserable and will continue to do so because you have lost all faith in your own ability to get through the rest of that day positively. In fact you skipped your yoga class because you didn't feel like channelling all that negative energy into a warrior pose. No. You wanted to put on your angry eyes and let the rest of the world know that you are fed up with this (whatever this is)! We are so bitter and angry at the world the rest of the day when it's really no one's fault that you are having an aweful day but yours because you are letting it get to you instead of turning it over to God.

There was a man who had the epitomy of a bad day. The guy had seven sons and three daughters, 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 donkies, and a gigantic number of servants. This man loved his children and took great care of all these things that God had given him and in one day it was yanked from him. A messenger came to this mand and said that this man's oxen and donkies had been taken/stolen and all the servants tending them were killed. Before that messenger was finished telling the man all that stuff another messenger came to the man and interrupted the first messenger and told him that his sheep and servants had been burned and killed by "fire of God." Guess what happened next. That's right before the second messenger had finished telling the man all this a third one came to the guy and told him that all his camels were carried off (you'd have to be super buff to carry one of those let alone 3000) and all the servants tending them had been killed off. It didn't even stop there. A fourth messenger came to this man before the third one had finished his story and let the man know that the house collapsed on all his children and the rest of his servants. 

This man lost everything in a matter of minutes. He lost ten offspring, 7000 heads of cotton, a rent-a-camel service, 5oo oxen and 500 donkies, and all his hired staff. I know if that happened to me I would definately go off and pout. Well I would probably do more than just pout to be perfectly honest but this guy didn't do that. No. As soon as this man heard about all this stuff that just had happened to him he fell on his face and worshiped the creator! "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away, may the name of the LORD be praised." Do you look at your bad day as something to worship God for and look to him for the strength that's needed? Or do you start condemning the name of the Lord, and try to take it upon yourself to do things? It's a hard choice and I struggle with it everyday but I want to be able to be in those situations and say, "the Lord gives and takes away." I want to worship him in those situations no matter when they come. How bout you?

If you want to be strengthened and humbled all at the same time here's somthing for you to read. Job chapter one.

KEEP THE SON IN YOUR EYES!

bowties and tucked in sweaters.

i was laughing and thinking to myself today while i was in my car going to work at what sunday mornings used to consist of. you know. the kind that you thought baby Jesus had abandoned you in your time of need because your parent's made you wear that blue bowtie, the red suspenders, blue oxford short sleeve shirt, and osh kosh kahkis (made in taiwan) and then those little church shoes. 

i will say however that i did beg to wear those bowties and i even tucked in my sweater's and would wail like no one's business when fasha or madre would make me untuck the tucked. that's right, you heard me. i had to untuck the tucked sweater.

but not to get off topic to much, those times when you had to dress up to go to sunday school and eat those saltines (or in my case, rice cakes, cause i was allergic to every single solitary thing...even my bowties) and "take a nap" on those little pint sized muslim prayer rugs were nothing compared to drive to church.

everything is going swell that morning, your parents finally chase you down to comb your hair so you don't look like calvin (which by the way was mostly done in vain because by the time you would get to church that little...ginormous cow lick would make it's presence known like a woopie cushion in a library), they finally buckle you in the seat after spanking you for deliberately kicking your shoe across the yard to see if it would fly, and you are off to go talk about God. 

now the problems start. you walk your fingers across the seat to where your sister is sitting, singing/practicing her sunday school song for the old sunday school teacher. sister sees the fingers. purposely bumps her arm into your hand and yells at the top of her lungs, "HE HIT ME!!!!" now as you can see i was not in any way at fault but that's not what mom/dad bought. no. i was the problem child for that 30 minute drive to church. the happy little family is now playing tag with open fists which really just add to the madness. the father is using his periferals to drive and the rear view mirror as an aiming tool. mother is advising in a rather elivated voice to watch the road while fishing for sister's flailing arms. sister is flailing the arms claiming she's been attacked by an army of one. poor defenseless me is cowering in the seat with my bowtie and combover occaisonally swinging my arms in "defense" and trying to push myself as far back in the seat as i could so as not to be reached by father's arm of correction. and the two younger siblings are sitting in the backwards seat of the red station wagon taking bets and choosing sides. what a lovely picture of a typical family on sunday morning.

haha you know it's the truth. and then there's the, "don't make me pull over!" and yelling through clinched teeth (if that's possible) "we are going to go to church to learn about jesus!" and as soon as those front tires hit the asphalt of the parking lot we are that picture perfect family walking into church that you see on all the gospel tracks and christian literature.

it is sooo funny to look back and think about what the routine family does on a sunday morning when little children are involved. and only on sunday does the devil himself possess the child during the carride to put his finger on the sister's side of the car. only on sunday. 

thank God for giving me a sense of humor! and while some parents might be mortified for these things to be shared. deep down they know it's so true and they know how funny it is to sit back and remember all those things. and i know this didn't just happen with my family cause i spent the night at friends houses before and rode to church with them and the routine is the same. so after all that this is the point i'm trying to make. sisters just need to not be so petty about what part of the car is their side hahahaha! naw i'm just kidding...but really. 

hahahahaha i LOVE family bonding moments like those!

*there will be a break from 10 things for this posting.

p.s. love ya mar!

turtle's playing twister

why can't it make up it's mind. don't you hate it when your mind can't make up itself? it's like a turtle that play's twister--it doesn't matter what colored circle it decides to put itself on it's going to take fooooooooorrrrreeeeeeeeevvvvvvvveeeeeeerrrrrrrr for it to get there. thank God for people with pretty decision making skills. it's right up there with the best--like bow-hunting skills and numchuck skills and shading the upper lip. i guess that's why God gave us smart people, and stupid people. smart people need a stupid person like me otherwise they don't look smart, they look average-and we all know what that means, "if everybody is special, then NO on is special." 

did you hear that? it sounded like a whole bunch of people wailing and gnashing their teeth. everyone wants to be special, but no one wants anyone else to be special. admit it. deep down inside our human nature tells us to think about numero uno (me, myself, and i). that's why there are smart people and stupid people, smart people couldn't be smart without stupid people running their mouths like they know something, and stupid people couldn't look stupid without the help of smart people pointing out their immature behavior and saying, "you don't even know." haha and we all know every single person on this planet have said that at least once in their life, you don't even know. hahaha i said it again. it's kind of catchy. 

(now i promise this is going somewhere, i'm just not quite sure where yet. cause i'm definately not going to stop and ask for directions, that would be against the man code.)

as a disclaimer i do have to say that i was exaggerating about the whole smart/stupid people but it is a logical and very valid alliteration for God and his people and the depravity of man. if it were not for God man would not know that they are in bondage that they are stupid and that they need to be saved. but because we have a God he shows us our stupidity and then we see who the smart one really is. no it's not dr. phill, it's not oprah, it's not joel osteen, it's not david letterman, or martin short (although i find the last one to be hilarious most of the time) it's God and God alone. i think it's soo cool to see how God planned everything that has ever happened. just think about it all. even the really bad stuff. and why he did it. SO HE WOULD BE GLORIFIED!!! THAT BLOWS MY MIND!!! i can't even keep track of  a pen long enough to use all the ink out of it and yet God planned all of..everything to bring himself glory. i'm in awe.

now just cause, there is another category that i would like to classify myself under and it is the category of DORK. a dork know's they're stupid so they decide to play the part and act stupid just because. it's not a bad thing but sometimes you need to be sure not to cross the line. i would like to know how many people are stupid and how many people are just bein dorks. i think the statistics would be very intriguing. 

*well i'm not sure how much this little blog thing helped yall but i felt like i needed to share it so i did. 

**we're kicking it into gear and gonna try to post daily for a week. haha we'll see how it goes.

KEEP THE SON IN YOUR EYES!

10 PUNCH LINES

1) can i have that cheese?

2) those aren't my buttons!

3) to get to the other side, duh.

4) got any gwapes?

5) thumb like it hot, thumb like it cold!

*THESE ARE JUST KILLING ME! ...seriously i can feel my organs failing..*

6) very funny scotty, now beam me up my clothes.

7) the cow jumped over the moon, and racked itself.

8) the big yellow one is the sun!

9) scuba team, 3511

10) i want your hair...extentions!

thank you for your willingness to read all the way through number 10. bless you. your crown in heaven will be ginormous for enduring all that.

stalkers unite!

mk this just came to me and i'm not sure how i feel about it.

you know on facebook how there are advertisements on the sides (some inappropriate..well actually most i would say are inappropriate) so when you are scrolling you get  your week's worth of spam email that's not even email flashing in front of your eye balls? well there was this one that came up and i'm not sure how i feel about it. it's the "Do You Know John Mayer?" one. now that's not what disturbs me. what disturbs me is how many people i hear talking about those advertisements and then discussing their scores. here is the sale's pitch, "Take this fun quis and test your knowledge about John Mayer now!" haha i laugh at that. what was meant to be an "in-depth study/questionaire" of the person is really just a place for stalkers to see who's the better stalker. it's like they are starting a club- STALKERS UNITE! they make it sound like it's some sort of game.  i am being a tad bit facetious but seriously. how do people have time for those kinda things! i'm on facebook 23 hours and 55 minutes of the day and i don't even have time for that! i think it's funny how facebook can consume so much of your life and you don't even know it (i should prolly just insert the word I and my for the "you's" in this sentence cause idk about you) actually it's not that funny but it is. it's kind of like those awkward moment's with people where it's really quiet then everyone gives the awkward laugh and then the sigh and it get's quiet again ALL AT THE SAME TIME! and then they do that short little laugh again. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!! haha i know that all 5 of the people that read this have done it cause i've done it with every single one of you! HAHA! don't feel bad about it, embrace it!

no but in all seriousness, how much time do we invest in things such as facebook, myspace, youtube, blogs, vlogs, world of warcraft, final fantasy and such. now i know everyone of you LOVES the last two things i mentioned so i won't say how i feel about those but i'm sure you could fill in the blanks about those, most utterly boring, gag me with a rusted spoon, time consuming things. but back to the topic at hand. how many of those things do we invest our time and attention and sometimes even our passion into compared to investing our time in growing spiritually. to better know the creator of the universe. i will be the first to tell you that I AM SOOOOOOOOOO GUILTY OF THAT!!!!! all the resources and opportunities that we are given to get to know our Lord and Savior and we don't jump on those. even those people that may not know Christ, or have a relationship with Him, how will they see that they can be free and the relief and love and comfort they can have if they see us using all our time to be on things such as those listed above (the list is really endless)? i want them to experience and feel that peace that passes all understanding! 

i think we should all put down our WoW for a while and stop being stalkers of celebrities and maybe regroup/refocus on what we should be. just a thought. you know where you stand.

keep the SON in your eyes!

1) ABC 123 - jackson five! listen now.

2) tell everyone you know about my blog.

3) Isaiah 59:1

4) turkey day is officially next week! 

5) after you listen to ABC 123 listen to Jitterbug

6) tis the season for Barry Manilow

7) burt's bees

8) brit lit has officially gotten on my last nerve

9) can't wait to see all his buddies during turkey/christmas break and then in january!!!!

10) Rocket Man the movie. that is all that is needed to be said.

the more i seek you.

haha well folks sorry bout the wait. i was outta town for a week and tryin to get back in the swing of things. i am going to try to do this on more of a daily basis though.

these are words to one of my favorite songs.

The more I seek You,

The more I find You.

The more I find You,

The more I love You.

I want to sit at Your feet, 

drink from the cup in your hand. 

Lay back against You and breathe,

feel Your heart beat.

This love is so deep.

It's more than I can stand.

I melt in Your peace

It's overwhelming.

i just wanted to share that because until this summer i can't remember ever feeling like this about my relationship w/ my Savior. in fact my desire was sooo NOT THERE that when my eyes were opened to what i was missing out on and i began to embrace the love of Christ that i became soooo OVERWHELMED and wanted everyone that i ran into and came in contact with to experience that love too! 

it's sooo amazing and reassuring and im' just in awe that God, the giver of life and creator  of the universe would want to have such a deep personal relationship with me.  i mean have you seen any of the pictures that like the spitzer or hubble telescopes have taken? they take my breath away! if you ever wanna be humbled just go look at some of those pictures, or watch the planet earth dvd's....out of all the amazing things that He has created he choose to have the deepest  love and affection towards us. a love that we can't even fully comprehend.

that's incredible! but the sad part is so many people choose not to accept that love that need to be set free! and there are people that keep the love of Christ to themselves and "don't feel the need to go and tell the world!" that makes me mad sometimes but i've been trying to look at it as an opportunity for me to step up and share my faith and encourage others to share theirs. i'm not the poster-child for doing this though. i have been so lackadaisical when it comes to sharing my faith w/ those in need of a savior. I am going to make a conscious effort from this point on to not be shy in sharing the life-changing/life-giving love of God. how bout you?

"Lord, I pray my heart would be broken for the weary and the lost. That your unconditional love would be demonstrated in my actions towards others and that they would experience You and know that You are God."

on a side note.

1) South Carolina is the place to be

2) Cheerwine is the stuff to drink

3) God is the one to dwell in

4) everyone needs to buy or at least listen to the Living for You album by Gateway Worship

5) fall weather is fantastic

6) PE next semester is going to pown (the letter p and the word own) me

7) everyone needs to go to the carolinas during the fall at least once in their life

8) CHRISTMAS MUSIC IS PLAYING!

9) THANKSGIVING IS JUST TWO WEEKS AWAY!!!! -can anyone say turkey cause i can EAT one!

10) God is in control of everything! even your problems! just give em over to Him

KEEP THE SON IN YOUR EYES