The Silence is Deafening

This Sunday I attended a lock-in called We Stop Hate.  It was focused on bullying and it really got me thinking about some things...

We all know them.  The person in the corner. The person in the hallway.  The person that never says anything.  The person who has no friends.  The person with no point of view.  The person who is invisible.

NO. NO, NO NO.  That is all wrong.  That person in the corner does not want to be in the corner, but is probably scared of the rest of the people taking up the room.  That person who never says anything, probably has a million things to say, but no one is taking the time to care or listen.  That person with no friends, has Jesus as a friend, a true friend, and maybe that special friend is the only thing keeping this person from taking their own life at night.  The person with no point of view, trust me they do.  And it's probably a greater view than anyone else because they see things that others are too narrow minded to see.  And the person who is invisible.  They're not.  They are shining, they are beautiful.  They deserve to be seen. ...and maybe we are all of these people.  We all have felt like this at some point in our life.

“Turn to me and have mercy on me, because I am lonely and hurting.
My troubles have grown larger; free me from my problems.” -Psalm 25:16-17

It is our job to seek out these people.  To notice these people, to acknowledge these people, to speak to these people, and most importantly, listen to these people.  They need to be heard.  Too many shootings and suicides occur.  And the majority of these tragic events happen with teens.  This is because some individuals are ignored.  No one should live a life that they want to end.  No life is worth ending. 

So reach out to these individuals.  Make them feel as important as they are.  Be caring.  Show kindness.  Share God's love.  Make a difference. Change a life <3

We. Stop. Hate.

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. "-Ephesians 4:31-32

One day too late.

Just another song that goes with my blog titled when the sand runs out.

Tick tock hear the clock countdown
Wish the minute hand could be rewound
So much to do and so much I need to say
Will tomorrow be too late

Feel the moment slip into the past
Like sand through an hourglass
In the madness I guess I just forget
To do all the things I said

Time passes by
Never thought I'd wind up
One step behind
Now I've made my mind up

Today I'm gonna try a little harder
Gonna make every minute last longer
Gonna learn to forgive and forget
Cause we don't have long, gonna make the most of it

(Today) Today I'm gonna love my enemies (today)
Reach out to somebody who needs me
Make a change, make the world a better place
Cause tomorrow could be one day too late
One day too late
One day too late

Tick tock hear my life pass by
I can't erase and I can't rewind
Of all the things I regret the most I do
Wish I'd spent more time with you

Here's my chance for a new beginning
I saved the best for a better ending
And in the end I'll make it up to you, you'll see
You'll get the very best of me

Time passes by
Never thought I'd wind up
One step behind
Now I've made my mind up

Today I'm gonna try a little harder
Gonna make every minute last longer
Gonna learn to forgive and forget
Cause we don't have long, gonna make the most of it

(Today) Today I'm gonna love my enemies (today)
Reach out to somebody who needs me
Make a change, make the world a better place
Cause tomorrow could be one day too late
One day too late

Your time is running out
You're never gonna get it back
So make the most of every moment
Stop saving the best for last

(Today) Today I'm gonna try a little harder (Today)
Gonna make every minute last longer
Gonna learn to forgive and forget
Cause we don't have long, gonna make the most of it

(Today) Today I'm gonna love my enemies (Today)
Reach out to somebody who needs me
Make a change, make the world a better place
Cause tomorrow could be one day too late
One day too late
One day too late
One day too late
One day too late
Share

Quotes I adore

Never forget the essence of your sparkle

Don't shine so that others can see you. Shine so that through you others can see Him.

When one door closes another opens. But often we look so long so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us.

Sometimes you have to stand alone to prove that you can stand.

It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.

You see imperfection...I see the uniqueness in your heart and the saneness in your mind. Be true to yourself... not fake for perfection

We learn from every mistake we make. Let's not judge people who make mistakes because we make them too

If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything.

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.

Ability is what you are capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, or sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Average is Your Enemy.

The only man a girl can trust is her daddy.

I think exercise tests us in so many ways, our skills, our hearts, our ability to bounce back after setbacks. This is the inner beauty of sports and competition, and it can serve us all well as athletes.

I don't know where I'm going, but I know who I'm following.

Ahhhhh.

Wow. I just wrote a really cool lent blog and it's gone! Debating whether I'm going to make it again? No way will I get it to sound the same :(

Bad Hair & Black Gunk

I can definitely relate to this!

It was not the best morning I've ever had.

It started with me frantically shoving apart the clothes hanging in my closet, looking for something to wear to church. Nothing!

I yelled downstairs, "Mom, where's my red dress? You know, the new one!"

"In your closet, dear."

"No, it's not! I looked a million times! Is it at the dry cleaners?"

"Oh, yes. I forgot. Wear something else."

I flew back into my room and continued my search. Out of desperation, I tried on the dress with the lace trim Aunt Myrtle gave me for my birthday. I took a look in the mirror. I looked like a 4-year-old dressed by her mother. "Forget this,"

I said to myself. I got out of that awful dress and tossed it on the floor.

HONK! Dad was leaning on the car horn, getting impatient. I threw on a pair of khakis and a sweater and dashed downstairs. As I hurried out to the car, I took one last glimpse of myself in the hall mirror. Something's wrong. I have no eyelashes. I'd forgotten my make-up. I grabbed my mascara and a small mirror and headed for the car.

As I jumped into the car, my 12-year-old brother demanded, "What took you so long?"

"Don't ask!" I snapped.

Dad pulled onto the street and I started putting on my mascara. Suddenly, we hit a bump, which caused my mascara wand to go into my eye, which then began to water, sending streams of black gunk down my cheek. "Great," I said under my breath.

I tried to clean off the ugly smudges, first with my hand, then with a tissue, but that only made them worse.

My brother laughed, "Nice face!"

We pulled into the church parking lot. I got out of the car and rushed into the church with my hands covering my face.

I headed straight for the bathroom, praying I wouldn't walk into anyone.

It took me a few minutes to get the streaks of mascara off my face. But once my face was clean, I couldn't help but notice that I was having an exceptionally bad hair day. "That's perfect," I muttered sarcastically. My attempts to fix it only made matters worse, so I gave up and hurried out the door.

Naturally, I bumped right into—and I mean literally bumped into!--Adam Smith, the guy I'd had a major crush on since I was 10.

"I'm so sorry," said Adam.

"Uh … no, no. It's my fault!"

I answered. Great, Jamie, I thought. You're making such a good impression.

As we stood there, I couldn't help but think of "Beauty and the Beast," only this time the "Beauty" was the guy. I was sure Adam could see my hands trembling as I struggled for something clever to say. After what seemed an eternity, I told him I needed to find a seat and walked away.

Considering the morning I'd had, I was in no mood for company. So I grabbed a spot in the back row, away from my family. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adam. Go away! I thought, but he sat down next to me anyway. OK, as long as I don't have to say anything, I think I'll be alright. So, of course, he said, "Did you have a good week?"

"Um, yeah," I answered. Thankfully, the service started and I didn't have to elaborate. By the time the pastor got to the sermon, my mind had begun to wander. I was thinking about my horrible morning and worrying about what Adam was thinking. For a moment, my mind tuned back in to the pastor. He was reading from Matthew 6.
"And why do you worry about clothes?" he read. "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?"

It was like he was talking right to me. Getting a little defensive, I thought, Everyone I know stresses over clothes! What's wrong with that?

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Yeah, right, Pastor. That's a lot easier said than done. You haven't had a morning like mine.

At the end of the service I hurriedly said goodbye to Adam and headed to the car. The ride home crept by as my family drilled me with questions. "No," I answered, "he's not my new boyfriend."

When we got home, I went to my room. Aunt Myrtle's dress lay in a heap, along with about half of my wardrobe. What a mess! Between trying to find the perfect outfit, getting the mascara off my face and running into Adam, it was amazing I'd lived to tell about it.

But as I started picking up my clothes, I remembered the words the pastor read: "Don't worry." And I couldn't help but wonder if I'd worried too much about what I wore, what my eyelashes looked like, or even what Adam might have thought of me. After all, my morning wasn't even close to perfect, but I got through it. And all my worrying didn't make things go any smoother. In fact, my panic to look the right way and say the right things actually made things worse.

Maybe next time things aren't going quite the way I want them to go, I'll remember those lilies of the field.

You find out who your friends are.

This summer I was riding home with a very good friend of mine. We were doing what we normally do, turning up the music way too loud so we couldn't hear ourselves sing. Just the way we like it. The song Find Out Who Your Friends Are by Tracy Lawrence came on and BAM! Waterworks. Totally unexpected.

I didn't know how explain to her what was going on. I still can't put this into words although, I've been trying for the past two months.  All I know is that we have true friends, and then we have some that aren't. I'm still trying to figure out who is who...

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare

This is where the rubber meets the road
This is where the cream is gonna rise
This is what you really didn't know
This is where the truth don't lie

{Chorus}
You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are

Everybody wants to slap your back
wants to shake your hand
when you're up on top of that mountain
But let one of those rocks give way then you slide back down look up
and see who's around then

This ain't where the road comes to an end
This ain't where the bandwagon stops
This is just one of those times when
A lot of folks jump off

{Chorus}

When the water's high
When the weather's not so fair
When the well runs dry
Who's gonna be there?

{Chorus}

You find out who your friends are
(yeah, yeah)
You find out who your friends are

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
(Well man, I've been there)
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare
(Man, I've been there)

Man, I've been there
Oooh yeah.

Hi mom.

I'd like to send a shout out to my mother Bonnie Hauser! (otherwise known as Bon Bon). I had no idea she actually reads my blog! Well she proved me wrong when she emailed one of my blogs to the people I was talking about. I was really embarrassed, but then she said if you put it on the Internet anyone can see it. Soo...I'm going to retaliate with that embarassing picture I put of her on facebook. She can't get mad at me, because I can find it on google :)

I think another reason my mom reads my blog is because she is worried I am publicly bashing her online. Yes my mother and I disagree. We both love to be right, which always leads to arguments. And of course we have our differences, I love to shop, she hates to shop. She likes to be silent during the news, I always seem to talk at the wrong time. The list goes on  and on...

But I truly do love my mom.  She is one of my bestfriends.  I can talk to her about everything with her and she gives great advice. The list of things we have in common is way greater than our differences.  We have identical noses.  We both love coffee with our creamer.  We both enjoy running and excercising.  We love singing to the radio in the car.  We waste too much time in the morning talking instead of getting ready.  

She's made me who I am today and I couldn't ask for a better role model. 

LOVE YOU MOM <3

When the sand runs out...

So before you read my blog, I would first like you to listen to a song.  I know it's a lot to ask but, I think it will put you in the right mood and mindset. So bear with me please.  The song is called When The Sand Runs Out by Rascal Flatts.  So halt! Quit reading!

.....Now that you've listened to the song you may continue to read :)

Imagine tommorow you die. You drown in your bathtub, tragic I know.  But how would you feel about your life? Would you be proud about what you left behind?  Would God let you in at heaven's gates? Was what you did with life worthwhile?  These were the thoughts that were running through my mind while I listened to this song.

I think that sometimes us Christians aren't very good at looking at the big picture.  We get so caught up in what's going on in our own world that we forget what we're living for.  We should be living our lives to be glorifying God!  If this is not what we're doing then we need to change.   And we can't wait to change!  If we sit thinking we'll change later its not going to happen. We never know when our last moments are going to be on this earth, and who we are impacting in our lives. 

In the Bible in states that Jesus is going to come to earth again to judge us.  We don't know when this is so we need to be ready. I know I want to be worthy enough to enter his kindom when it is my time. 

When you think about it, after we die nothing we own is going to matter.  It's NOT going to matter what kind of clothes we wore, what kind of car we had, what kind of phone we had, what kind of house we lived in, or how much money we have.  What IS going to matter is our actions.  If we truly love God.  If we've not just called ourselves Christians, but have really been Christians.  We can't just talk the talk. We have to actually walk the walk.

So don't worry about the materialistic things in your life.  Focus on who you are as an individual and continue to progress in your walk of faith.  Focus on what's ahead and make your life worth something.  I know I want to be running when the sand runs out :)

jokes that no one but me thinks are funny.

*Did you hear about the man who lost his left side? -he's doing alright.

*What do you call a cow with no legs? -ground beef.

*What do you call a cow with only two legs? -lean beef

*Did you hear about the sidewalk? -it's all around town

*What did batman say to robin before he got in the car? -robin get in the car

*What did the dog say to the tree? -bark

*What did the digital watch say to his mom? -look ma no hands

*What do you call a sleeping cow? -a bulldozer

*When is a car, not a car? - when it turns into a driveway

*What do you call a guy who never farts in public? -a private tutor

*What's black white black white black white black white black white black white? -a penguin rolling down the stairs

*What do a grape and a car have in common? -they both have wheels, except the grape

*Why is E.T. so poor? -he has a huge phonebill

*What does one casket say to another casket?-is that you coffin

Two muffins are in an oven. One says man it's hot in here. The other says omg a talking muffin!

Superbowl is tradition.

So everyone is talking about the big event that will be happening this Sunday. The big game that almost the whole country will be watching. Even if football isn't your thing, everyone loves to see the new commercials.

The reason I look forward to the superbowl every year is tradition. This is one of the most consistent traditions in my life. I have been with the same group during the superbowl since I was born! There is five of us families that get together every year. We take turns switching houses every year. It's really cool because each family is from a different school district. And each family has atleast three kids all ranging from fifth grade through college age. I've grown up with these other kids and I love them like my brothers and sisters.

As I've gotten older I realized that other friends my age like to get together for superbowl too. When I was invited to join them on superbowl Sunday, it didn't even cross my mind to consider! No way was I going to break this awesome tradition we have going! The cool thing is that I'm not the only one that feels this way. Even our college boys are coming home for the big event! This really did surprise me because, I guess I just assumed that once they graduated they would just stop coming. I thought they would want to experience the game in the college atmosphere and spend their superbowl Sunday with their new friends. But I was wrong, I guess they really love our tradition too.

So treasure your traditions. No matter what they are! Even if they are something simple that doesn't seem important, I can guarantee you they are. Hold on to them as tight as you can, because they make you the person you are today :)

You are valuable.

Cool story our science teacher showed us today! I thought it had a great message!

  A well-known speaker began his seminar by holding up a twenty dollar bill. He asked everyone at the conference, "Who would like this new twenty dollar bill?" Hands went up all over the room. He said, "I’m going to give this twenty dollar bill to one of you, but first I need to crumple it." He wadded up the bill and asked, "Who still wants it?" Hands were quickly raised. The speaker dropped the bill and ground it into the floor with his shoe. He picked up the crumpled, dirty bill."Now who wants it?" Everyone still lifted their hands."Friends, you have all learned a valuable lesson” the speaker concluded. “No matter what I did to the money, you still want it because its value hasn’t changed. Even though the bill is crumpled and dirty, it’s still worth twenty dollars.” Although someone may have been misused and abused, he or she still has infinite worth. Every person is precious in God’s sight.