true dat.

winter.

i always say i hate michigan, but really, doesn't everyone get sick of where they live?
i think the thing i hate most is the cold in winter. i can't stand it.
this winter seems like it will hold bigger, better things. a new season, new change, new opportunities. im excited...but not for the weather.

oh, and i'm thinking about joining color guard. but nothing is for sure. its just a simple little thought in my mind.

thankful.

generally, i try to be thankful for everything because we take everything that we have for granted, but its thanksgiving and i will just list off the things i am thankful for.
here's a FEW things(certainly not everything: jesus dying on the cross, forgiveness, grace, my moms strength, my loving and supporting family, my friends, my house, food to eat, having more than enough clothes to wear, the money they we have, alive, smiles, laughter, music, my talents, education, wisdom, the bible, love, faith, hope, etc.

but ultimately, but main goal is to be grateful for everything i have, every single day. i love this quote: "when you feel down, focus on all the things that you are thankful for in your life to maintain an attitude of gratitude." - orrin woodward.

happy birthday cassie (:

i cant get "the only exception" by paramore out of my head. im not complainin' though.

today was my last day of school for the week. so happy about that.
the only thing i really have for homework is choir music. so nothing major.

tomorrow is thanksgiving. yes. i love family.
friday and saturday is the thanksgiving mission trip.

i work 23 hours next week. whoa.
next friday is the night of desperation. i cant decide if i want to go because it ends at 7am on saturday morning and i have to work at noon.

okay, im done. (:

i cant wait to graduate,

and start doing what i really love.
because i never want to feel like this:

this makes me giggle.

this makes me think of my dad.

character.

they say that your character is like an iceberg.
10% is what you see on the outside. 90% is what you see when the truth comes out.

i dont know about you, but when my true character shows, i want it to be good.
lately, everyone's character is coming out. whether you are shady or kind, its showing. dont think you can fake it, you arent fooling anyone.

yes,

eleanor roosevelt.

one day, i hope to not let people get to me, to not look back.
just go for it. to take risks - take chances.
"do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway. you'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

"do one thing everyday that scares you."

we all worry too much, i worry too much.

matthew 6:25-34.
"therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. are you not much more valuable than they? who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
and why do you worry about clothes? see how the lilies of the field grow. they do not labor or spin. yet i tell you that not even solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. if that is how god clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, o you of little faith? so do not worry, saying, 'what shall we eat?' or 'what shall we drink?' or 'what shall we wear?' for the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them. but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. each day has enough trouble of its own."

this is what im thinking...

if i could go to school to make beautiful clothes and do hair for the rest of my life, i'd be one happy girl.

i did that.

i want to make beautiful dresses. i just need to be taught the construction of them.

i stole this from stephanie, but i love it.

“Go be that starving artist you’re afraid to be. Open up that journal and get poetic finally. Volunteer. suck it up and travel. You were not born here to work and pay taxes. You were put here to be a part of a vast organism to explore and create. Stop putting it off. The world has much to offer than what’s on 15 televisions at TGI fridays. Take pictures. Scare people. Shake up the scene.”

beautifulbeautifulbeautiful.

so i read captivating and im beginning to know my own heart and the heart of others woman as well. but now, i have started to read wild at heart...basically captivating but for men. i want to know how to make a man's heart come alive, even just as a friend. i just want to encourage guys to be the men of god that they are. i've only read the first chapter and i can honestly already recommend this book to guys.
but here is a passage where john eldredge captures a womans heart in just a few paragraphs - men take notes and women, delight in this beautiful passage:

"there are also three desires that i have found essential to a woman's heart, which are not entirely different from a man's and yet they remain distinctly feminine. not every woman wants a battle to fight, but every woman earns to be fought for. listen to the longing of a woman's hear: she wants to be more than noticed - she wants to be wanted. she wants to be pursued. "i just want to be a priority to someone," a friend in her thirties told me. and her childhood dreams of a knight in shining armor are coming to rescue her are not girlish fantasies; they are the core to the feminine heart and the life she knows she was made for. so zach comes back for paula in an officer and a gentleman, fredrick comes back for jo in little women, and edward returns to pledge his undying love for eleanor in sense and sensibility.
every woman also wants an adventure to share. one of my wife's favorite films is the man from snowy river. she loves the scene where jessica, the beautiful young heroine, is rescued by jim, her hero, and together they ride on horseback through the wilds of the australian wilderness. "i want to be isabo in ladyhawk," confessed another femal friend. "to be cherished, pursued, fought for-yes. but also, i want to be strong and a part of the adventure." so many men make the mistake of thinking that the woman is the adventure. but that is where the relationship immediately goes downhill. a woman doesnt want to be the adventure, she wants to be caught up in something greater than herself. our friend went on to say, "i know myself and i know im not the adventure. so when a man makes me the point, i grow bored immediately. i know that story. take me into one i dont know."
and finally, every woman wants to have a beauty to unveil. not to conjure, but to unveil. most women feel the pressure to be beautiful from very young, but that is not what i speak of. there is also a deep desire to simply and truly be the beauty, and be delighted in. most little girls will remember playing dress up, or wedding day, or "twirling skirts," those flowing dresses that were perfect for spinning around in. she'll put her pretty dres on, come into the living room and twirl. what she longs for is to capture her daddy's delight. my wife remembers standing on top of the coffee table as a girl of five or six, and singing her heart out. do you see me? asks the heart of every girl. and are you captivated by what you see?
the world kills a woman's heart when it tells her to be tough, efficient, and independent. sadly, christianity has missed her heart as well. walk into most churches in america, and have a look around and ask yourself this question: what is a christian woman? again, dont listen to what is said, look at what you find there. there is no doubt about it. you'd have to admit a christian woman is...tired. all we've the feminine soul is pressure to "be a good servant." no one is fighting for her heart; there is no grand adventure to be swpet up in; and every woman doubts very much that she has any beauty to unveil."

isnt it wonderful? i love it.