An Extra Day

I saw a challenge similar to this on another site that I read...

Today is an extra day of our year. Once every four years we get a special day like this. So the challenge is to make good use of this special day. Do something extra special for someone you love (or for a perfect stranger...that's okay too!) You can share something that you did in the comments section if you want. Enjoy this extra day of the year!!!

Life

Usually I try to update my blog everyday, but looking back on this week, I haven't had much to say. Monday was the "big day". And from there.... I don't know, I just haven't had much to say. But I haven't had much going on either. Here's a glimpse into my week:

Tuesday:
No class!!! yay! I'm kinda ashamed to say that I didn't set my alarm clock and I slept until 11:45! I looked at my clock and literally jumped out of bed! Oh my word!!! I guess I needed to catch up from my lack of sleep this weekend. Well, my day was super short, I had to work at 1:30 and then I had a Mission Mobilization meeting after work. I had to leave that early to get to my dance class. It was super fun!

Wednesday:
School all day today. But it was fun :) I got out of my computer class after about 30 minutes (so 1.5 hours early!) so my friend and I went to the cafe and hung out there. Then we had a meeting for our book review group. I'm in a group with 4 others and we have to read a business book, The Innovator's Dilemma, so we had a meeting. My group is way fun and we get along great. It's more like hanging out with friends than it is doing work. So we did what we could and spent the rest of the time talking and joking around. Then we went to class. And we ended up doing group work with our book group. How much better can it get?!?! Then after school, we took a new way home, that's all I'm gonna say for that! :) And Heather and I stopped at McDonald's for shakes (shamrock for her chocolate for me). Mmmmmm Oh! I just remembered mine is still in the freezer...yummy! Then after supper, I went to youth group. I was super hyper because of all the sugar in the drink. My other leader/partner didn't come so I was "in charge" of 9 6th grade girls, but they were really good! Youth group is always fun

Today:
Driving into school was a waste of time, gas, and money today. Sorry, but it's true...just wait. So I only have one class on Tu/Th, my creative writing class. Well, our manuscript (I'll do a post about this some other time) was due today. Or it was supposed to be, the due date kinda got messed up, but anyway, mine was ready to be turned in. I thought we actually had class today though. So I drove all the way to school. 3 people showed up to class. That's including me!!! All we had to do was turn in our manuscript and leave! Grrrr..... so I drove back home. Then I baked cookies, magic bars, and blueberry cobbler to bring to my aunt's house tomorrow. I also cleaned out my car. And fixed my windshield wiper. (I'm sure anyone driving past probably wondered what I was doing sitting on the hood of my car!!!) And checked the levels of different things in my car. And then.....I was bored. So I went online. And on Facebook lol. And I talked to Alecia for awhile. Which brings me up to now.

Oh, by the way....as of 9:35 this morning....I'm officially on spring break!!!! (and it's snowing outside...what's up with that?)

So now you know (pretty much) everything from my week. Kinda boring right? Which is why it only gets one post today rather than one per day this week.

Tomorrow will be fun! I'm going on a roadtrip down to Ohio to spend the weekend with my aunt and uncle. I'm so excited!!! I've been told I have to post while I'm down there, so Brenda, I'm bringing my laptop and I'll do my best!!!!

Word Cloud

I saw this on Mari's site and I thought it would be fun to try. This site takes a bunch of random words from your blog and puts them in a cloud.

It was fun to see all the words it chose out. I see a lot of my friends' names on there, and it looks like everything it picked described me and my blog! :)

Scattergories

I saw this on Cheryl's site and thought I would do it...

**Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following --they have to be real places, names, things ...nothing made up! You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

What is your name........................... Melissa
4 Letter word................................Male
Vehicle......................................Mustang
City.........................................Midland, Michigan
Boy Name.....................................Michael
Girl Name....................................Marissa
Alcoholic Drink..............................Margarita
Occupation...................................Musician
Something you wear.......................... Make-up
Celebrity....................................Madonna
Food.........................................Mancotti
Something found in a bathroom................Mousse
Reason for being late........................Make-up took too long to put on
Cartoon Character............................Mickey Mouse
Something you shout..........................Make the shot!!!
Animal.......................................Monkey
Body part....................................Mind (that probably doesn't count!)
Word to describe you.........................Mischievous

Ain't GOD cool?

So, as many of you know, I've been praying about returning to Romania this year. I know that God is calling me to keep doing mission work in Romania, but I don't yet know to what extent. Anyway, ever since I returned from my trip last summer, I've felt that God wants me to go back.

At first, I planned on going back, just by myself. I had my own intentions of staying for longer than 2 or 3 weeks...like the whole summer. Well, apparently God had different plans. One day at church, Nate, asked me if I would consider leading a group on a mission trip to Romania. Of course I said yes, and I'd pray about it. I knew that I wouldn't be able to stand it if a group went and I didn't go, so I knew that I would be going with them. Well, I prayed about it. And prayed. And prayed. And I finally felt that God was telling me to go ahead and lead a trip. Well, then I realized that I couldn't lead a trip and then send them all home and me just stay an extra few weeks, so I knew I would only be going for a couple weeks.

So, I put an "ad" in our church bulletin. Nothing. Prayed some more. Still nothing. After about 6 weeks of the info being published, it disappeared (hmmmmm....). I also had our pastor announce openings for the trip at both services. And we announced it at authentic. Still nothing.

Ok God. What are you trying to tell me?

By now it's the third week of February. Usually, we order our tickets by the end of January to get the best price. I'm at work listening to the radio. And a song comes on that really makes me think... Am I so concerned about going that I'm not really listening to what GOD wants me to do? So I'm at work praying. And like a human, I test God. Okay God, if you want me to go, send me a sign. Let one of the songs that comes on before I leave the room be one that I also know in Romanian. Nothing. Now I'm thinking that maybe it is just my plan, and maybe God is telling me to wait a year. Then I hear the words (in my head) wait for me. Okay, that's what I've been doing, but alright, I'll wait.

This is Tuesday night. Wednesday, I get an email from Gerri, the lady I usually go with. She forwarded me an email she had received from Lavi, the pastor's wife in Romania. In this letter, Lavi said that they have a team from CERT coming in June, and maybe it would be a good idea for me to come at the same time so I could hook up with them. So I emailed the man from CERT, telling him that I'm a friend of Gerri's, and have been to Romania 3 times and am very familiar with the area that they will be working in.

I got a reply from him on Thursday. After reading it, I was so elated that I felt like I could run around the world and not be tired! :) The dates that they are going to be there are the exact same dates that I had planned on going. (I plan on staying a little over 2 weeks, they'll be there for 1). They are going to Medias, which is my "home". They will be doing VBS, which is what I always do and what I had planned on doing. They will also be running a medical clinic. He said that they would love it if I joined up with them for the week that they will be in Medias.

Now, if you ask me, isn't it pretty clear that I should be there??? It's so hard to wait for God's timing. Patience is not one of my strengths, but obviously God is trying to teach me that. So I plan to order my ticket in the next few weeks (I'm now waiting on a friend who is praying about whether or not God wants her to come with me.) Even though I strongly dislike waiting, I know that God has plans above and beyond anything I could ever plan out...I just have to wait for him!

30 Hour Famine

I was going to update yesterday, but probably would have fallen asleep halfway through :)

30 Hour Famine was a great success! We had about 65 kids come, which was much less than Brandon had told us to anticipate, but still a great turnout. From these kids, we raised over $9300 for World Vision! Praise God!

Friday night, we met at church at 6. After registration, we opened with a praise and worship time. We had free time and played board games. 2 and a half hours of Monopoly....if I never have to play again, I'm fine! :) We also had a dodgeball tournament. My team got out after the first game. It's hard when you're in 6th grade, and are a little scared of the ball. (this isn't a dig at my teammates, but most of them were scared of getting hit, and throwing, the ball!) But it was still fun!

Around 11:30, we left to go Midnight Bowling. Oh what fun! I think I lost both games we played. No suprise there, but I didn't even break 100! We had a great time though! When we got back to church, Tori and I watched some of her videos from Haiti and looked at her pictures. All the other adult leaders had gone to bed so I think Brandon and I were the only ones up. Tori and Anna had already warned me that I wasn't going to be allowed to sleep, so I was prepared for an all-nighter. Anna fell asleep watching a movie and got quite a bit of sleep. Tori and I played DDR and just hung out until about 5:30 or so. I finally convinced some of the younger girls that they should get a couple of hours of sleep, so most everyone headed off to bed. Tori and I decided to give in and sleep for a couple hours around 5:45. Nice try. Sleeping in a cold room on a hard floor is close to impossible for me! I laid there for about 2.5 hours, getting up and walking around every once in a while. I couldn't sleep, so I got maybe 5 minutes of sleep! Surprisingly enough, I was not tired during the day!

At 10, we went out on our canned food drive. We collected food and other items to stock the pantry at LOVE INC. Our team came in second place for collecting food. We had a really good time and were impressed with how generous our community is!

Some kids went sledding later in the afternoon. Those of us who weren't brave enough stayed back at church and played games. The afternoon passed really slowly. I think it was because we knew we would be able to eat soon and the anticipation of that was so strong that it was all we could think about. Some of "my" girls wanted to watch a video, so we watched No Reservations (this is a great family-friendly movie). The only bad part was that it is about people working in a restaurant, so food was still on our minds.

After the movie, we had another praise time. And then.... PIZZA!!! I've done the famine before, but I don't remember being this hungry! Vitale's pizza sure hit the spot! It's already my favorite but I don't think I've ever had better pizza!

The Famine was a great time. And I think Brandon did a good job of helping the kids keep the focus on why we were doing it. Not for ourselves or to brag about what we could do or to have fun with our friends. But instead so that we could feel the hunger that those in 3rd world countries feel daily. We knew that we would get our next meal at 6:00, but kids in other countries may go 100 hours without food, and not know where their next meal is coming from. We had a lot of opportunities to point this out to the kids. And I'll admit, it was hard to be collecting food and going to the grocery store and seeing the food and smelling popcorn and yet knowing that we couldn't eat it!!

30 Hour Famine

Last night, Tori, Anna, and I went out to Carino's for dinner. It was delicious! We started with bread and I had a salad with my meal. The girls ordered a pizza. They were whispering behind the menus about what to order and were trying to freak me out by faking that they were ordering $23 meals :) I had chicken alfredo. Then Jennifer gave us 2 coupons for free desserts, so we had Turtle Cheesecake and Apple Spunetelli (or something like that). It was sooooo good! We had a really good time. I think that Tori is going to tell you more, especially about my blonde moment, so go check out her site!

Today is the first day of 30 Hour Famine. I haven't eaten anything for the past 2 hours and 33 minutes. If you know me, that's quite an accomplishment! It's driving me crazy sitting around home on my computer and stuff and not being able to munch on anything! But it's for a good cause, so I'll survive :) Tonight at 6, I'll be heading to church for the next 24 hours. We'll be doing some midnight bowling, sports tournaments, board games, sledding, and a bunch of other fun stuff. I'm really looking forward to it. And I've been warned not to plan on getting any sleep. Lots of energy drinks right? :) So yeah, it should be really fun, I'm looking forward to it. Your prayers would be appreciated as last I heard we're going to have about 150 students, and I don't know how many adults are doing it. So a good mix of fun and staying safe are big issues :)

Life's Lessons From Science

Did you see the lunar eclipse last night? It was a really neat thing to see.
Do you know what causes a lunar eclipse? The earth moves between the sun and the moon, blocking the sun's light from reflecting off the moon, causing the moon not to glow. (In case you didn't know, the mooon is just a hunk of rock, it doesn't glow on it's own.)
Well, that got me thinking... As Christians, we are like the moon. We are just a hunk of dark sinful creatures...without the love of Christ (the sun). But the sun, or Son's, light reflects off of us, making us what we are. However, sometimes, we let our sinful nature or earthly desires, the earth, get between us and the sun. And that causes us not to let our light shine. Is your light shining or is there something blocking you from the sun?

Follow your heart...

Something (I can't remember what...haha) at school today caused me to think of this commercial. It makes me laugh...you too I hope :)

Can you help me?

Okay, here's my problem.... I can't use my camera anymore!!! Now, if you know me well, you know how depressing this is for me!
The problem is that my battery died. No big deal, right? Wrong! I went to plug the USB cord into the camera to connect it to my computer to charge it. The USB cord won't go into my camera! It gets about halfway, and then it won't go any further! I emailed the company and they tell me that they're so sorry to hear of the problem and they want to help. So far all they've done is asked if I am connecting it to the right spot! Uh...duh! So, I'm in limbo with them.
Now my question is...do any of you have a Kodak M753 camera compatible USB cord or one of those nifty battery charger kits for Li-ion K7600 batteries? And if you do, can I borrow it for a couple hours?
Ahhhhh!!! Why do these things happen to me? :)

Martyr Monday

"A martyr is, he who has become the instrument of God, who has lost his will in the will of God, not lost it but found it, for he has found freedom in submission to God. The martyr no longer desires anything for himself, not even the glory of martyrdom."
-T.S. ELLIOT Murder in the Cathedral

"God, I do not ask you to make my life easy; I do ask you to make me strong."
-A JEWISH CHILD Found in the rubble of a Jewish ghetto in Poland after it was bombed by the Nazis

I'm bored so.....

I found this the other day on BethAnne's blog and seeing's how I have nothing better to be doing right now, I thought I'd do it and share all this random information with ya'll :)

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes, my grandma's name is Jane. My name is Melissa Jane

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? couple hours ago :(

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes, it's kinda funny, but my handwriting changes a lot!

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I'm wierd...I don't eat lunch meat

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? no

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Best Friends

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? No! Never! lol

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS ? As far as I know

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Yes! It's on my "list" (of things to do before I die)

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Rice Crispies with fruit on top

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? nope

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? for a girl...yeah

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? cookie dough!!!!!

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? eyes

15. RED OR PINK? red...pink is too girly!

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my skin

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my friends in Romania

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? blue jeans, no shoes, black socks though

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? a sugar cookie

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Deeper by Hillsong

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Cerulean

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? Cookies baking, peach, grapefruit

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Zack


24. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO YOU LAST SPOKE TO? Yes, he's a very good friend

25. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Football and soccer

26. HAIR COLOR? Dirty blonde

27. EYE COLOR? Blue

28. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes

29. FAVORITE FOOD? I don't think I could pick a favorite....I like just about everything!!!!

30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings!!!!!!!

31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

32. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Purplish/Redish

33. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer

34. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs!!!!

35. FAVORITE DESSERT? Ice Cream!!!

36. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The Innovator's Dilemma

37. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? fingerprints! haha....my mouse pad is built into my laptop

38. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T. V. LAST NIGHT? Law and Order: Criminal Intent

39. FAVORITE SOUND? Music

40. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles....we all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine.....

41. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN from HOME? Brasov, Romania

42. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I hate questions like these.... I think I am a good leader....

43. IF YOU COULD BE PRESIDENT HOW WOULD YOU CHANGE THE COUNTRY? I would abolish abortion. I would have stricter rules for welfare so that the people who seriously need it can get it, and those who are just mooching off the gov't have to work. And I'd make the domestic adoption less complicated so more children can be adopted.

Hanging with the girls!

Yesterday, Anna, Kaylyn and Libby came over for their first cooking/baking lesson. We had so much fun and made a ton of yummy stuff....check it out! Also, I'm going to post some more pictures and recipes on my recipe blog.


First order of business, drink an energy drink and eat a ton of pixi stix. Sugar's good for you right? :)







Kaylyn chose to make Creme Brulee for her mom because it's one of her favorite desserts.







This is the end result...it was very delicious!






Creme Brulee only uses egg yolks, so we had a dozen egg whites. We decided to make meringues, and dyed them purple because it's Jennifer's favorite color. After about 30 minutes of mixing, nothing was happening...that's when I realized we forgot to add sugar! No wonder they weren't peaking!





Libby working on the homemade french bread








We made two large loafs, and there was enough left over for Libby to make an L









Our main course was lasagna. We made homemade sauce!







Kaylyn chopping mushrooms for the sauce









Anna browning the meat and Kaylyn mixing the sauce.








Lasagna and bread in the oven








Garlic bread and lasagna= delicious!!!!!








Libby wanted to learn to make no-bake cookies









They turned out delicious!






The kitchen table was covered with our makings!
Clockwise from bottom left: Creme Brulee, No-bake cookies, (unbaked) Meringues






Anna working on the sugar cookies






They turned out kinda funny, but they still tasted good. I think the dough might have gotten too warm, and the cookie trays might not have cooled down enough, so they spread out a lot! :)







The finished products!
Clockwise from left: Finished Creme Brulee, No-bake cookies, A mix of chocolate chip and sugar cookies, Meringues



We had a ton of fun, and made a lot of good stuff. And we didn't have a single problem with too many people in the kitchen. After eating dinner at my house, we took samples of everything back to the girls' house. Jennifer was thrilled with everything we made, and I heard some raving comments from Zack and Mark as well when they got home. (By the way, go to Jennifer's site to read about how awesome Zack did at the track meet! I'm so excited for him!!!!!) Libby wanted to go iceskating, but she was way too exhausted, so I hung out over there for a while. We watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There is an Oompa-Loompa Dance feature on the DVD. I watched the girls and Jennifer learn the dance, it was fun to watch. Finally, they got me to try it...on the condition that they wouldn't film me. I can't believe I fell for that!!!! Halfway thru the dance, I noticed that Jennifer was filming!!! How sneaky! :) I think you can view it at her site sometime this weekend, if you want a good laugh. They tried to get me to do it again for Zack and Mark, but I was smart this time and refused! :)

Valentine's Day

Love. That's what this day is all about right? It's a time to let those you love know you love them. But what if you don't have a special person, a significant other? Is it the end of the world? NO!! I've seen many people calling it "single's awareness day" and it just made me laugh. Who cares if you don't have someone special...sure it would be nice. But I'm okay with eating a box of chocolates on my own and not sharing. ;) Plus, I can wish all my friends a Happy Valentine's Day, and if I say it to a guy, I don't have to worry about anyone being jealous! :)

But anyway, that's not the point of this post. A few weeks ago, I made a flippant comment on this post about never kissing a guy before. Patty saw it and gave me a book to read. I've had the book finished for a few weeks, but I thought I'd wait until today to share it with you. Bear with me, as this may be a longer post than usual :) I'd like to share a bit about the book, and also add in my thoughts and such.

The name of this book is "Saving My First Kiss--Why I'm Keeping Confetti In My Closet" it's written by Lisa Velthouse. She actually grew up in Holland :)

She starts out the book and tells about how she was totally guy crazy. Her life literally revolved around getting the attention of boy's she liked. Only she was afraid to tell the guy she liked him, so she'd get her friends to do that, or completely make a fool of herself in front of him. I sure hope I don't do that. Usually, if I like a guy, I keep it to myself and see what happens (nothing so far lol). Lisa says that she longed to be accepted and to go on dates and kiss a special boy and not feel like the odd one out. And she wondered why her life wasn't going that way.

My own insert here. Okay, I'm 19 years old. Never been kissed. Does it bother me sometimes? Sure....when all my friends are hanging out with their boyfriends. But you know what? God's got someone for me. And someday I'll find him. But unlike Lisa, my life does not revolve around getting a boyfriend or being kissed.

Anyway, as Lisa gets older, she realizes that it really is a good thing (or a blessing maybe?) that she's never been kissed. She begins to see it as something that she can offer her future boyfriend. And she begins to plan a party (hence the confetti in her closet). She plans that when she does get kissed, she'll have a first kiss party, just for herself to celebrate. That's kinda a cool idea!

Well, pretty soon, Lisa realizes that God has a plan for her life. And right now it doesn't involve a guy. And finally, she learns to accept that. Now she has chosen to use her story to touch the lives of others through this book.

I don't want to necessarily compare myself to Lisa because I don't think that I am quite as obsessive about this as she was. My brief summary of this book doesn't quite explain her situation. So many girls today put so much emphasis on having boyfriends. I know a lot of girls who move practically seamlessly from one guy to the other without a second thought. I don't understand that. I was always told that dating is a serious thing. There's no point in dating someone unless you are considering marriage. (I don't know if I necessarily argee with that exact idea, but I do think that we need to be careful about who we date and "how" we date them). So Patty, thank you for that book. It was a good easy read, but had a lot of Biblical ideas and thoughts in it. I recommend it for any teenage girl who is struggling with the thought of dating. I think it would probably be best to read it around 14 or 15, or before you start dating, kind of to get some ideas before you enter the dating world.

Anyway, enough of my unorganized rambling! I hope that you have a great Valentine's Day...tell someone special how much you love them!

Update on Gerri

Thank you for all your prayers for Gerri. She isn't in pain...yet. She's on a lot of (doctor prescribed) drugs, I can tell just by the way she's talking. They are helping a lot with controlling the pain. I'm not sure exactly what went on in the surgery, but she had one toe aputated, and tendons or something manipulated for the other three smaller toes. Now she has pins in those three. She has a big ole cast on her leg and has to keep it elevated. She also has to ice the back of her leg, by the knee...she's using a bag of frozen corn :)
I'm staying at her house overnight in case she needs anything. It hurts for her to get up, because she's been sitting all day. It's hard for her to use her crutches because the drugs are making her a bit weak. We'll see how long I end up staying here, but she seems to be doing well. Thanks for praying!

Prayer request

Please pray for my friend Gerri (the lady who I go to Romania with). She is having surgery tomorrow to amputate 2 toes, and do some work on her foot. Her surgery is scheduled for 8:30 am. Your prayers are so appreciated!!

Disappointed Excitement :)

I'm very disappointed in this Michigan weather of ours! Just when we start to think that the weather is cooperating, it starts snowing again! My hip hop dance class was cancelled tonight, so I'm disappointed about that.

But I'm excited because when I was reading my blogs, I discovered that I was given some very sweet awards from Jennifer! Thanks Jennifer!



I'm going to use Jennifer's idea (because I have a hard enough time making up my mine!) and pass these awards on to all the people whose blogs I read (see my sidebar)! It is a blessing to get to know all of you though your blogs!

Also, I have taken the test and I am proud to announce that my blog is G-rated!

I am also excited because I am starting a new blog!!!! Check it out at http://melissascuisine.blogspot.com/ :)

Martyr Monday

"EXTREME CHAINS
Cuba: A Christian Prisoner

"Sign the statement!" screamed the Cuban officer, forcing a pen into the Christian prisoner's hand. "Sign the statement!"
The written statement in front of the prisoner contained accusations about other Christians. His signature was all the government needed to arrest the others.
"I cannot sign this paper," the Christian said, calmly lookin the officer in the eye.
"Why not?" asked the captain, with exaggerated calm, before swearing at the man. "Do you not know how to write your own name?"
"It is because of the chain, my friend. The chain keeps me from signing this."
Grabbing the prisoner's hand roughly, the officer held them in front of his face. "But you are not in chains, you idiot!" he screamed.
"Oh, but I am," said the Christian believer. "I am bound by the chains of witnesses who throughout the centuries have given their lives for Christ. I am yet one more link in this chain, and I will not break it."
Though he was threatened and roughed up, the prisoner refused to sign.

Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

Christian martyrs leave behind a rich testimony of incredible poise in the midst of horrific circumstances. Their strength is heroic. Their words are wise. Their calm is unshakable. Thomas Aquinas wrote, "Words pronounced by the martyrs before authorities are not human words, the simple expression of a human conviction, but words pronounced by the Holy Spirit through the confessors of Jesus." Life by life, link by link, the words spoken through the power of the Holy Spirit in the midst of oppression are forming a powerful testimony. You, too, have the potential to add your own chapter to the pages. You, too, are a link in the chain of belivers. Will you hold it together?"

(White, Tom, comp. "Extreme Chains." Extreme Devotion. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2001. 68.)

Ice Skating Again!

Ok, so I didn't necessarily take it easy the rest of the day. Oops. I had a much better offer come up. Zack called me, "Hey, what are you doing today? Want to come iceskating with us?" Uh Yeah!!!! So we went to the local indoor arena (it had open skate today). It was so much fun!! We didn't get to skate as long as the other day because open skate was only from 2-3:50, and we didn't get there until about 2:50. We had a really good time though. After skating, we topped it off with ice-cream...good friends, good fun, good food...how much better could a day get?!?!? :)



Libby and Me. She was skating really well by time we left, when I was going "fast", she could keep up with me!!! Yay Lib, I'm so proud of you! <3








Zack...my crazy friend who just doesn't get cold!!! ;)













Libby...ain't she adorable?










If you look under the Lakers sign, you can see Zack, Anna, and Kaylyn. I think they were getting ready to race. Can you guess who won? :)

Sledding Adventure

My parents decided to abandon my brother and me last night. They had received a free night's stay at a hotel about a year ago and finally got around to using it! Of course, this left me home alone. I figured that I'd just rent a couple movies and have a movie marathon. Well, I went to Science Olympiad practice (I'm coaching this year) and my friends invited me to go midnight sledding with them. Fun! So I ended up renting only one movie (Step Up--one of my new favorites!!!) and relaxing for a little while.

At 9, we met at the local coffee shop and had some nice warm coffee....I recommend the White Lightening. Anyway, we had 8 sleds for 4 people, so we tried calling more people to come. We couldn't get ahold of anyone though. We even went to the local grocery store because we heard that one of my friends got off work at 10, so we went to see if he wanted to come. It ended up being just the 4 of us.

We had the sledding hill all to ourselves. Actually, I think the place was technically closed, because the lights for the hill weren't on, but there wasn't a gate or anything keeping us out! We had a blast! We had 2 tubes which we used most of the time, because plastic sleds over hard snow and jumps kinda hurts! Then we got the brilliant idea to put all 4 of us on those 2 tubes. It actually worked (one person lays on it and the other sits or lays on top!)! We also got all 4 of us onto a small plastic sled, kind of like a tobaggon. It was so much fun and we laughed so much!

I didn't feel any pain until this morning. I had to take a computer test at school. About halfway through, I started feeling kind of sick to my stomach. I figured I was just hungry, so after eating it would go away. Then when I left to go to my car, I had a hard time breathing, it was just really hard to catch my breath. I found some (year old dried out disgusting) brownies in my glove compartment, but the few bites I managed to choke down did nothing for the pain. When I got home, I went to webmd.com to "diagnose" my symptoms. From the sounds of it, I might have a broken rib. Oh joy! I can breathe better now (so all you mothers, don't worry!) But it still hurts. I ended up calling to get off of work tomorrow, so I don't have to do a bunch of lifting. I think I'll just take it easy today...hmmm....less chores maybe? :) I would appreciate your prayers too, I hope it's nothing serious! :)