Zed: an introduction

So! I believe you all must meet Zed. 

He has become a dear and helpful friend of mine. Over this upcoming 2012 I hope to keep you posted on Zed's life. But for today I will just give you an introduction and tell you a bit about himself.

Zed is a maple syrup harvester from Canada. He is known for being extremely helpful and apparently he has a love for raspberry lattes. We were trying to get to the city today and he insisted on getting a raspberry latte. I am on a caffeine strike but since he insisted...

I kind of expected him to be more of a maple latte kind of guy. I guess not.

Anyway, as we go through the year I promise you will hear more from Zed. Maybe soon I will let him do his own blog posts. But I felt he needed a proper introduction.

:) CCT

The laughable "youth resources" (Particularly for girls)

Hello all readers! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of our savior! :) I hope you were able to spend it with family and friends and that it was perfect no matter the circumstances! :)

Now! I need to rant a bit.

Have you ever been to the "youth resources" section of a Christian book store?

If you answered yes then you will totally understand this next line.

ahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaha! Oh! That just makes me laugh to tears!

If you answered no then continue reading for an explanation. (Then you can refer to the long line of laughter with understanding.)

Okay! The youth resources section of the Christian book stores is lacking so much! It is usually the smallest section in the store. But that is only one of the problems. Most of the books do not reach the heart or life of teens in any way! I can't speak for the books written for guys, 

but the books that are written for girls almost all start out with something like this... 

"This book for teen girls is to help you come closer to God in this stage of your life when you are growing up, your body is changing, and you are stuck between an adult and child." 

Okay! Let me start with the obvious. Your body is changing? ew! What the heck! This is really how you want to start the book? And almost all of them say this! That limits your audience to twelve year olds. And even when I was 12! No one wanted to read that stuff! Really. No part of me has "changed" in years. I am the same height and weight I was 4 years ago. And was growing up some horrible experience for the adults that write this? Because seriously, I was moody at 12 but that is about it. What about growing up traumatized these writers? There is something totally wrong about that. And here is the other thing wrong with this. Most of the time we teens don't feel "stuck" between an adult and a child. I have seen some parents that make their kids feel this way when the expect them to act like adults but treat them like children. So I totally get that! But that is not every teenager in America.

Moving on.

There are a few books for teen girls that don't start with stupid things like that. But they tend to focus on staying pure until marriage. And that is great! I totally agree! I think that sex should be saved for marriage because it's Biblical and in my own personal life I have decided to wait for marriage because I want my little sisters to do the same thing. But that is not the only trial teen girls face! What about drugs? What about the age old question of 'how far is too far'? What about friends who have different beliefs than you? What about building a foundation of your faith? What about when your personal convictions differ from your parents, and staying respectful to them with the differences? They seem to just breeze over these things.

And the things that so many of the books tell us girls things that just aren't true! In the Christian world dressing modestly is a HUGE thing! And I totally understand it. But please, do not explain the reason to dress modestly with stupid things like "The things you wear will affect guys thoughts." and "Cleavage revealing tops will only draw eyes and thoughts to one place." and "Men will not be able to control their thoughts and desires." What in the world! And I have heard this spiel so many times! So lets boil these reasons down to the source. You will get raped if you wear revealing clothes. You have got to be kidding me. And they don't say this outright but it is still instilled in so many Christian girls! I have been to the mall with Christian friends and heard these words "Oh you are just asking for trouble with that skirt." Come on! How about we look at the Biblical perspective of modesty and stop treating teen guys like monsters.

The view the Christian world has seem to taken on about teenage guys is so extremely unbiblical that it is scary. Men have their place, they think differently, they were created differently, they have a different purpose that God created them for. There is no double standard! They are just different standards! Making them out to be evil is honestly just plain wrong!

Teenage men are not horrible. They are not evil. They are not out to get you. And yet that is so how they are portrayed! I have had many teenage Christian friends of mine say they don't ever want to go on a date alone with a guy because they want to make sure that the guy doesn't take advantage of them. Really! Let me point out the obvious. If you have met a guy that you really think would rape you, DON'T GO ON A DATE WITH HIM! Most guys aren't going to do that! They are not all evil! (And this is why courting has become such a big deal. It really doesn't need to be! It is totally a person conviction thing.)

So really! What we need are resources that truly will affect the average teen. We need sources that don't become legalistic about dating. We need sources that don't belittle men! The Bible says over and over about going to fellow Christians for advice. And these writers have the opportunity to do this on a mass scale! But writing legalism and even some things that aren't Biblical it is just wrong!
If you have found something that is a good resource please email or comment and let me know!
I would love to read it!

ugh! There is so much more I can add! I believe I will blog more on this subject soon. This is just my opinion on my Christian teen girls resources. I will get into youth resources in general in another post.

(Now refer to the line of laughter. You get it now, don't you?)

Adoption Sunday

So this is a little holiday that most don't know about. It's not so much of a holiday as it is a day to remember. Remember what? Remember our call to take care of orphans. Adoption is such a gift from God. But let me get into my teacher mode (I am a big sister. I have a very prominent teacher attitude.) for a minute and share some statistics.

Over 130 million children have lost one or both of their parents. They are here in America, Ukraine, Africa, Peru, Germany, Mexico, France, you name the location! 130 million. But you see, that is just big number, right?

Even when I write out. . .

130,000,000

. . . it is still just a big number I can't wrap my mind around.

How about we think about it this way. The May Day Stadium is the largest football stadium in the world. It is located in North Korea. This thing is HUGE! Largest football stadium in the WORLD! And it can only hold 150,000. It would take 867 of those stadiums to hold all of the orphans in the world. Even with that it is hard to imagine.

Do you know how many people consider themselves Christians in the world? 2,039 million. 

That looks like:

 2,039,000,000.

So wait a minute! That's a bigger number than the first! Hold on here! Then that doesn't quite make sense! That would mean there is 1 orphan in the world for every 15 Christians.

Doesn't that make you wonder why there are still orphans in the world?

Here is another little orphan fact. Children age out of the system, weather adoption or foster care, at age 18. In some places younger. They go into the world without any support. They were raised without love and a family. They lack a solid foundation that only a family can give. Can you imagine when you were eighteen and moving out on your own or going to college and having no one to call and remind you of home? No one to encourage you to go after your dreams? In fact, in your whole life, you were never told that you could reach your dreams? It's not easy to live that way. Many of them end up involved in crime or commit suicide once they age out. Suicide rates are higher among teens who were not raised with parents than any other group of people. That statistic is true for EVERY culture. America and all over the world. And once they commit suicide who is there to cry for them? Who is there to miss their presence and personalities? Who loved them enough to miss them?
Everyone deserves someone to cry for them.

Now I want to make this point clear. I do NOT believe that everyone is supposed to adopt. Adoption is something that my family was called to. I have one sister who is adopted. And maybe our family will be called to adoption again. Maybe one day I will be called to adopt in my own family. I just don't know. But I do know that every Christian is called to take care of the orphans. If you have not been called to adopt support a family who is. I can say from experience (as a teenager involved in the process.) that an adopting family needs support both in the process and once they have the child at home. It is the churches (universal) job to provide that support. If  you can't adopt or even support someone financially and all you can do it say "Hey let me watch your kids while you go get paperwork done." that is amazing to parents who are adopting! One less stressful thing for an adopting couple.

I have seen the relief on my moms face! Trust me!

So my whole point to this post is that it is that everyone can and should take part in caring for the orphans.

Everyone needs a forever family and everyone deserves someone to cry for them.

CCT

New blog design (again) and catching up!

I am redesigning my blog. again. :) I am very excited! I think I like this one best of all of my previous designs. I like my other designs but they really did not look like me. Yes, that's silly for a blog that actually has no writers name to it. How could there be a "me" for it to look like if there is no name. But! This nameless writer has a personality! And none of the previous designs fit it quite right. But I think I've found it. But bear with me. I can't change it all in one night! Not with my school schedule at least! But in time. :)

So I think I'll catch you all up on my life and my current life goals. If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time you know my life goals tend to change. I think this one's for real. Like for keeps! hehe! But only time will tell! :) I haven't blogged in a while. Partially because somehow every minute of my day has become a precious commodity. I'm taking eight courses and a leader in far to many extra curricular activities. In fact I'm a bit shocked I had time to work on my blog tonight! But I needed some me time...or blog time. Whatever! :) But another reason I haven't blogged is because I have been doing a lot of thinking and praying and figuring out what I am supposed to do.

And I have all the answers now!

hahahahahahahahahahaha! 

Just kidding of course!

But wouldn't that be awesome?

One day, if there is ever a day where I know all the answers, it will be the most epic blog post ever!

Okay moving on. (It's late. I am prone to get off track when I'm tired.)

I've been doing some serious praying and I plan to go to college and get a degree in Youth Ministry. It is the perfect major for me. It would include developmental psychology classes, communications classes, and English and religious classes. I'm pumped! It's going to be great! So that is kind of my general plan right now. I have a few specifics. But we can get into that later. I would share the colleges that are on the top of my list but I'm afraid if I can't tell you my name I also can't tell you where I live or intend to live. You'll be okay. Don't fret. My blog will follow me wherever I go to college! :) And I am still only a junior in highschool. But I am almost halfway done with my freshman year at the local community college! Final Exams and projects are do in a few weeks! Ahhh! hehe! I'll be fine! It's all good! But now I really need to get to bed. Some of those final projects need to be worked on tomorrow. Up with the sun on a Saturday morning. I think there is something just plain evil about that. But oh well.

Signing off! :)

CCT

The Big One-Seven!

So today is my seventeenth birthday! Very exciting! I'm not really one to celebrate my birthday. In fact, it kind of stresses me out every year. But today has been so laid back and wonderful! So I decided to take the time to make a little blog post about it! I have not blogged in what seems like forever! If only I blogged as much as I write in my journal! Wow! Then y'all would be amazed at how wordy I get! haha! Today has been great! I woke up to the sound of my phone going off. It was a happy birthday and good morning text from a very special someone. ;) And then I made myself a vanilla latte and just enjoyed the quiet morning before the rest of my family woke up. Moments like that can be hard to come by in a large family. But they are just as precious as the moments that are extremely hectic. I love it! :) I'm so blessed! It really has been a wonderful day! I spent time with Grandma JoJo and Grandma Kay. That was also wonderful! I had a math class and even that was tolerable. As far as math goes I suppose. (Something about numbers that aren't even real. . . does that make sense to you? yeah, me either.) I have no assignments due today and no tests. It's awesome! And tonight I am going out for coffee at the new (and only) coffee place in the county with my dad! It should be interesting! :) So year number seventeen is looking up! :)

So I have this goal . . .

Well, anyone reading this who knows me knows I am a bit of an overachiever. Okay, A serious overachiever! haha! But my new goal for the year is to finish the rough draft for a story I'm working by new years. I plan to write about 1,000 words every day. Give or take a little. But being finished with the rough draft by new years! It is going to be a great story! As I get more written I will keep you all updated on word count progress and plot progress! It really is going to be cool! But I will give you details later! :) For now just know I am working on something big!
Thanks readers!

In The World Not Of It Tab!

I just wanted to point out to my readers the In The World Not Of It tab. That is the part of the blog where I focus more on my personal perspective about living as a Christian in the world! Feel free to suggest topics for me to write about in that section. And go check it out too! :)

http://counterculturalteenintheworldnotofit.blogspot.com/

Finding peace in indecision and uncertain futures

Wow! Long title! But it really gets to the point of this post!

So! Let me start with a question instead of ending with one on this post. What is something you are indecisive about in life right now? How do you find peace about it? Is your future unclear right now? How do you find peace with that?

Now here is my answer to all those questions! In my wealth of knowledge I have come up with a very believable conclusion!

Are you ready?

Drum roll!

Here is my answer: I don't know. Pray.

Really, I came up with that all on my own! Are you proud? Okay! Enough kidding! (This is why I should not blog sleep deprived) Serious! What are the things you are indecisive about right now?

Have you ever felt like there is this long trail through the woods, a trail that is your life, and you start to follow it but somehow can only see about 10 feet in front of you? You know that it is the right trail! But you just can't see as far ahead as you would like? Yep. I'm there.

I don't know what I am going to major in at college! That stresses me a little!

I am still not sure what college I am going to! That is a bit nerve wracking!

What am I going to do out of college? I don't even know where I will be in life then!

How will I pay for college?

Do I need to go to college?

Will I grow old and never marry?

Will I ever have children?

Will I adopt?

Will I ever get to open a summer camp like I want?

Will I be lucky enough to spend my life working with kids?

Will I ever go back to Ukraine?

Will I make it through this busy school year?

What is God's plan for my life in the long run?

How am I to minister to others not just now but in the future?

Will I leave a legacy for God?

All of these things may seem so far in the future or even just silly! But they are all so important to me! I still don't know where my life is leading! And for me that is hard! I like control! I like knowing what is going to happen when! It doesn't even have to be the way I want it to! It just needs to be in a way that I can put on my schedule! :) All this uncertainty fills me with fear! And in reality it shouldn't! Because I know my God has all of this in his hands! Even if I knew all of my life and had it planned out in front of me it would still be in God's control! That is very comforting to know. And something I really need to remember! No matter what he holds my life in his hand! So praying for peace about it and guidance on how to act and follow his plan is really where I need to focus.

Please tell me what are the things that are uncertain in your life or what you are indecisive about! I would love to pray for you!

Citadel Girlfriend

So for the most part I want to keep this part of my life off my blog and just in my personal life but I just have to share this! hehe! My boyfriend started school at the Citadel almost a week ago now. All the freshman are called knobs because they have to have their heads shaved so close their poor little heads look like doorknobs. They are also called fourth class cadets. But that does not pertain to this poem. Someone named Nicky Moise wrote a poem about being a knob. I keep it on my bulletin board. :) No matter what a crappy day I've had it reminds me it could be worse! And that my boyfriend is really going through hell right now! (They call the first week hell week)

I’m a Knob

I rise when I hear the Bugle blow,

How in the hell, I’ll never know.

But dressing myself in ten minutes flat,

I’ll never see the sense in that.

            But I’m a knob, so I do it.

My back is broken and my arms are sore;

I feel so numb I can’t find the floor;

My eyes hurt like their filled with clay;

Only a fool would live this way.

            But I’m a knob, so I do it.

I climb into my pants and they fit so tight

The feeling resembles an alligator bite.

And I’ll never understand the colors they chose;

Nobody in their right mind would wear such clothes.

            But I’m a knob, so I do it.

“Uniform of the Day” is just a big bunch of words;

And wearing pants under the armpits is for the birds.

Those things they call shoes look four sizes to big;

And wearing gloves in the summertime I just don’t dig.

            But I’m a knob, so I do it.

I pull in my chin and I run down the stairs;

I’m so bald I can count every one of my hairs.

Though I shined my shoes less than six hours ago,

I play hell trying to tell my fat sergeant so.

            But I’m a knob, so I do it.

Why they call it breakfast has really got me beat;

I always thought breakfast was a time to eat.

I think the “food” was prepared for a fasting monk;

It takes a cast iron stomach to digest that junk.

            But I’m a knob, so I do it.

So I’m sleepy and I’m hungry and I look like a fool;

But I know someday I’ll get used to this school.

I guess it’s a lesson you learn along the way:

If you’re dumb enough to come here, you’re dumb enough to stay.

Nicky Moise

El Cid-Knob Year

It kind of makes me laugh and it makes me pray. a lot.

I kind of thought I would play with that poem a little. Mine is not very well written and mostly written in fun although there is some truth to it. :) Enjoy!

I’m a Knob’s Girlfriend

I jump when I hear my cell phone ring,

In case he may have caused that ding.

Dying for just a five minute chat,

Most girls see no sense in that.

            But I’m a knobs girlfriend, so I do it.

I miss him to my very core,

That’s something that I can’t ignore.

I take a lot of time to pray,

I send lots of letters his way.

            But I’m a knobs girlfriend, so I do it.

Citadel girls give me quite a fright,

Because of that I must often write.

I hope he is not making foes,

And his hairless head has not froze.

            But I’m a knobs girlfriend, so I do it.

My letters are just a bunch of words,

I doubt he will even read a third.

The school he chose, brings many nightmares,

I hope he knows he’s in my prayers.

            But I’m a knobs girlfriend, so I do it.

I heard from him six days ago,

Just before he had to go.

His bravery just can’t be beat,

His enthusiasm will soon deplete.

            But I’m a knobs girlfriend, so I do it.

With all this sadness, I know I’m a fool,

But I know someday I’ll get used to this school.

I guess it’s a lesson you learn along the way:

If you’re dumb enough to love him, you’re dumb enough to stay.

:) hehe! He has only been at The Citadel for a week so I am nowhere near knowledgeable about this. But I will say this is and will be an interesting season of life! :)

Today was a good day!

So my dad is a writer. He had a book signing today. It was in a bookstore that is more like a warehouse! It is huge and full of new and old books and there are sofas and chairs scattered in random places between shelves so you can go find a little cove and enjoy a good book! It was a lot of fun! I read an interesting book that I will write about soon under In the world not of it. It will be awesome! Blow your mind! Really! :) Plus I worked cows and moved panels in the pasture! Fun fun! :) Overall a good day.
I smell like a cow. But still, a good day!

I Live for my Back Porch View (short story)

(This is not really the view from my back porch but I drive by a house with this view very often and love it very much. I would love to go sit on their back porch! But I thought I needed to work on a short story so why not about a pretty view? It is given from the perspective of one who lives there.)

I Live for my Back Porch View

I live for my back porch view. It is a beautiful view that looks over acres of tree farm and straight towards large, forest covered, hills, so far away they seem blue as the ocean! The distinction between the trees and the sky is hard to define. And yet it fits in its own beautiful way! A beautiful way that seems could only have been spread out by angels. We do not live near mountains and yet this sight reminds me of the beautiful mountainscape’s of North Carolina.

            No matter what my day holds, starting it out swinging on my back porch and enjoying the sight of the early morning mist rolling over the ground. It brings me to a peaceful place where I am alone. Alone with a beauty that is heavenly! Just the sight reminds you that there must be a God for something like this to exist. And a caring and gracious God to allow me to see it everyday! It brings thoughts that, when dwelled upon, bring tears to your eyes.

            Even on my hardest days, with work and the kids trying my patience at every turn, this view brings me joy. It rejuvenates my soul! It lifts me up to see what amazing things my God can do! It fills my spirit with a fire for my God on a daily basis! Not many people get that everyday just from stepping onto their back porch.

So my conclusion of this view is: God must have so much grace for me because I am no where near deserving enough for this daily beauty and He must love me enough to know that it helps me with my daily trials.

My excitement!

So. . . today I am going to the gym and the pool and I have two volleyball games tonight after I go feed cows! That is pretty darn close to a perfect day if you ask me! :) And Saturday I leave for the beach and the next Saturday I get back to greet some great friends I met at camp that are coming to visit for a few days! It is going to be so great! I am trying to come up with stuff for us to do while they are here. What to do at the beach is easy! Eat Brits Doughnuts! Oh my goodness they are the best doughnuts ever! That is what I look forward to every year at the beach! Who cares about the sun and the sand! These are the best doughnuts in the world! :) Well, I should stop my ramblings and get on with my day. I might start with changing out of my pajamas! :) I mean if I am going to the gym why get up and bike in the morning? And if I am not biking why change out of my pajamas? :) Well we will be leaving the house soon enough and I don't know if mom will let me leave the house like this. So I must depart!
I promise to have more of a theme to my blog posts and not just random stuff from now on! Well. At least most of the time! :)

I need input! Come on readers!

Hey! I have been blogging for a while now and I really want to know what y'all want to hear me blog about! On top of my random ramblings of my days! :) What things do you want to hear about from a Christian or home schooled teens perspective? Are there any hot topics in your life that you think would make a good blog post? What do you want to read? And what do you think would make this blog awesome? Give me some feedback! Good or bad, I want to hear it all! :) Thank you!

Volleyball games!

I had my first two volleyball games of the season last night! We lost both games. But we played really well! We won the first rounds to both games! It was great! The teams are set up really strangely. I somehow ended up on a team with all middle schoolers.  Most of the girls are going into eighth grade. What is really sad is how a couple of the girls are taller than me! lol! :) But we have a good coach and I think we are going to play well this season! I am really pumped! But I had to buy new knee pads. Not because mine don't fit or because I lost them but because I lost one.
Yes one.
I lost one knee pad but not the other!
I have no idea when I ever used one knee pad without the other one! I was so irritated! But oh well. life goes on! Plus my new ones fit better! :)
As a side note what do y'all think of my new blog design?

Back from camp

I got home last night from Camp Vineyard in Temple, GA! It was amazing! God was so present there and so many amazing things were done! I can not even tell you how blown away I was! People were being prayed for, people being healed, and people getting words from God about others! For lack of a better word it was amazing! I was blown away at all the kids! Everyone was so nice and so clearly there to grow in God! A lot of pranks were pulled in the boys section of camp but no one was mean about it! I was on the Blue team! We had some crazy cool kids on our team! I was able to get to know and pray for so many of them and that was awesome! I am still tired from camp and I have a mountain of laundry to finish. I was able to get everyone in camp to sign my shirt! EVERYONE! 268 campers plus staff and counselors! It is the coolest shirt ever! I will post pictures of it later! I also made some really close friends and got to know the kids in our youth group a lot better. I can't wait for next year!
And you know what rocks? Coming home to gardens with ripe blueberries!
And I am going to change my blog design again. I really do not like the one I have now. It is cool but just not me. I used it because it was fast and easy to make. I will work on that some this week.

Getting ready for camp

I am leaving for camp Sunday night and I have a family reunion out of town tomorrow so this may be my last blog post before I get home next week. I have not blogged in a few days now. My Grandma ended up spending the weekend in the hospital and my mom and I went to stay with her. I am sure you understand why blogging was not my priority. And then I spent the night with some friends I have not seen in ever! Oh we had a blast! I hope I remember that night forever! We had so much fun! And two of us only got an hour and a half of sleep! One of the girls I had not seen in years! It was great! But now I am trying to get ready for camp. I am working with my local student arts council and I needed to get my flier and blog finished for them before I leave for camp. I did it! :) And I need to have everything packed. Not done yet. I have a huge pile of clothes on my futon in my room! Plus I made some bottled coffee drinks to take. Ya know, like the bottled frappuccinos Starbucks sells? I made some of those. I am going to try one tomorrow morning. I think I got my milk to hot. And that can be gross. But if not this is going to be awesome! So easy to pack for camp! I can just pour it over a cup of ice! Plus it is a bumble berry (thank you grandma JoJo) coffee syrup that I put in it! I made it myself from the raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries growing here at our house and from our neighbors garden! It smells amazing! :) I will try to let you know tomorrow how it tasted. Hopefully I will have time! Now I am off to shower and then read. A friend has lent me a book called Kings Cross that I can't wait to dive into!

Show Babies

My sister and I are starting a new show team for a local farm. Here are our new show babies!

Aren't they so cute! Today we went out to feed for the first time with this group! They just got separated from their mama's yesterday. They are not currently named. And probably won't be named unless just for the sake of a show registration form. So for now their ear tags are labeled 37-42 or something of the sort. But I would love to hear your heifer name suggestions. As we work with them finding nick names that fit them would be fun! There are 8. Five girls and three boys. We will show the girls and the boys are being raised for beef.

Once again! How cute are they! They are stinking Oreo cows!

For you technical cow people, they are called Belted Galloways.

I am sitting here at the computer trying my best to think of something amazing to write.

*I dramatically turn my head towards my cup of Kool-aid in search of inspiration.*

To no avail.

I will tell you of my hopes and dreams for my sunflower seeds.

The sunflower I wrote about in my previous post fell over. It snapped.

So I took all of the seeds out but they are too young to be dried an eaten. I am going to soak them overnight in water and try and plant seedlings from them! How awesome! My one inspirational sunflower may turn out to be a dozen sunflowers! 

It might be to late in the year to plant but I am going to try anyway! 

So here goes nothing!

I will keep you posted on my sunflowers progress.

Now. I need to go find something awesome and fun to do!

What else are summers for?

The Sunflower

Our yard is set off of a highway in the country. We have a fairly long gravel drive way that circles in front of our house but we are still close enough to the road to hear all of the cars. So my parents decided to let it overgrow into woods. But right not it just looks like really tall weeds. It looks really bad. It looks like we don't mow our yard. But if you drive up the driveway you see that the rest is mowed! You just can't see that from the road. In the middle of our awful looking overgrown yard a sunflower has grown! A tall big beautiful sunflower! In the midst of all that ugly! I love it! It just inspires me! And no one planted it! It is beautiful! And the thought that somehow, some animal got a sunflower seed, put it in the very center of that yard, and it actually took and grew, just amazes me! It makes me feel that no matter how hard things get there is always something beautiful! It is like the silver lining! Or "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." Hebrews 13:5b. It just brings me peace!

Today has been a wonderful day!

So I have nothing crafty to show for today. Nothing new to put under resources, nothing frugal for broke teen, and I am still not sure what will go under In The World Not Of It. So I will give you a wonderful summary of my day! And you know what will make it wonderful? I will leave out all of the boring stuff!
This morning I was able to get up and bike and then enjoy a cup of coffee on the porch while it was still cool out! I love wet, cool mornings with loud birds! My mom and my sister worked in my sisters garden.
Anyway, I also had a church fundraising car wash! That was awesome! We had a blast. I am kind of a loud person so I sticked with the signs and yell really loud at cars and I walked up and down the street telling people going in and out of stores about the car wash. A lot of people laughed at me! I did my job well! :)
Plus I heard some strange things!
I told this older gentleman walking up to the grocery store that we were having a car wash at the gas station across the street and he flat out, in all seriousness, told me. . . He already took a bath today.
That was very strange.
While I was trying to get customers my family went to our gym and pool. My mom worked out 2 days in a row now using all of the weight machines.
She is stiff and sore and we had to help her get from the kitchen to the living room!
Oh how I love my silly mom!
So that was my day in a nutshell. I am sorry I did not have anything more interesting to write, but I had to write something! So there! Deal with it until I come up with something else!
If you don't like it then just leave!
Wait.
Don't!
I need readers!
I am sorry for what I said!
Come back!
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I need you!
:)
Okay I need to go now. I am way to tired to be blogging!

Mad Chicken

Okay. I think I mentioned that I live in the country. If not, well, I live in the country. We have chickens. They are fairly nice. I don't do much with them but collect eggs. And that is not really a hard task the way the coop is set up you open the latch behind the nest, reach in, and grab the egg. Sometimes there is a chicken or 2 that does not want to get off her egg. And you just nudge her a little and she will leave. No problem!

Today we had a stubborn chicken. 

And not just stubborn but MAD! And not mad as in angry but as in crazy.

Although she may have been a little angry at us too.

I should have asked her before I started blogging about her and all.

Oh well. Chickens don't have internet so she will never know.

Getting on with the story.

My friend and I went to go get eggs taking my youngest baby brother with us.

I opened the back and this chicken started to scream!

I have never heard a chicken scream until today!

It was a screaming chicken!

I wish you were here to hear my attempt and recreating her sound.

Anyway, so I closed the door thinking that would make her happy.

Nope. So I decided she would not be happy whatever we did.

So I used a bucket to push her out of the way and grabbed the eggs.

I assumed she would get over it.

We heard her screaming as we walked all the way back to the house.

Our chickens have issues. 

Serious mental issues.

What does Counter Cultural mean?

According to dictionary.com Counter Cultural means this:

"the culture and lifestyle of those people, especially among the young, who reject or oppose the dominant values and behavior of society."

To me that means not following the crowd or todays media to get my opinions. My opinions need to come from the bible. But I do not need to go wear a long skirt to be a modest Christian. I can still wear my skinny jeans and drink that latte and be a normal teen and follow God's will for my life. Plus I can show you how to make an awesome latte at home way cheaper! I live in the country. The closest Starbucks is 45 minutes away and the closest coffee shop is 20 minutes away! 

I do some strange things. I show cows, I am involved in my local arts council, I am the service chairman for my homeschool honor society (I refer to it as the nerd herd or the gathering of the nerds), I play piano, and I do other little things here and there.

I have two little brothers and two little sisters! They are amazing! The boys are 21 months and 8 years. The girls are 11 and 14. 

I love to save money! In fact the first thing I plan to post under Broke Teen will be how I turned my old jeans into shorts and a super cute vest for summer! For prom the only thing I spent full price on was getting my hair done and I bought my nail polish full price. I am a total cheap-o! But I got everything I needed, clutch, shoes, jewelry, dress, make-up, hair, everything! For around 100 dollars! Oh yea!

Okay, all of that to say I am ME! Different, strange, loud, and somewhat interesting!

I hope y'all enjoy my future blogging! :)

NEW BLOG!

I have totally remade my blog! What do you think? I am very happy with it. I like this name better for what I am usually writing about and I love the design. I am still working out some kinks and trying to make it just right. Let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas or things that you think are awful that I should change. :)

Looking like an awesome summer!

Okay! I am starting to get all my plans for summer! I have church camp one week and a week at the beach, possibly volleyball camp, I am managing a local cattle show team, I'm the leader for the county's student arts council, and next week I run for service chair for my honor society group! It is shaping up to be a great summer! I love being busy! I love having things to do! I LOVE checklists. Mainly because if I do not write it down I will not think about it until 3 o'clock in the morning when I am not going to go do it or when I am in the bathroom. And with the bathroom, I always seem to forget once I leave.

Ya know, maybe I should take a notebook with me to the bathroom to write stuff down.

Or maybe not.

Thats a little strange.

I am sorry I shared that with y'all.

Anywho! I have a new work out schedule! And so far I am sticking to it! Today was the first day. I got up at 5:30 to work out! I will post my new routine later. 

But no laughing at how little it is. 

I nearly died this morning on a 15 minute bike ride.

Do you see why I need a workout routine!

And I need it on a check list.

Posted on my wall.

Right above my bed.

With motivational Bible verses.

Don't you laugh! :)

Get up at 5:30 in the morning without God's help? ha! Not gonna happen!

Well. I think I have rambled enough for now! I am going to go watch one of those who knew yahoo news clips.

I just love them.

And checklists.

Checking blogging off my check list,

The Thriving Cowgirl ;)

I am a bad blogger! AGAIN!

Okay! I am attempting to start a blog design company. I have been designing blogs for friends and family for a while. I enjoy it! So it seems like a good idea right? Blogger is messing with me! Suddenly my backgrounds and headers don't fit right on any of the pages! No matter what the pixels are! Ugh! So when I have been on the computer I have been messing with that. Instead of blogging. And I have given up on the coffee blog thing! I am broke and can not seem to afford to make anything besides a vanilla latte! Things are crazy! But I am on spring break! And getting ready for prom! Two more weeks! I can't wait! I am going with some great amazing girls! I have had a pretty good week! On Friday I want out with an amazing friend for lunch and shopping! We had a blast! I can not wait for her to come down this summer! On Saturday I went to a family doda! It was my moms aunt and uncles 50th wedding anniversary! It was a lot of fun! It was nice to see everyone again! I at a half pound burger with fried jalapeños! Yes! Little 5 foot 3, 105 lbs, me ate 1/2 a pound of beef in one sitting! It was that good! Then Sunday we went to church and I played keyboard for worship! That was fun! I like playing keyboard more and more! Then we went to Grandma JoJo's to hang out! She is so sweet! We love her! And these past two days I have been on spring break. So I go outside and tan! :) Nothing productive! Well. I should go now. I will try to write a lot this week!
The Thriving Cowgirl

Weather Trickery!

You will never guess what I mean by that title.

Go ahead. Try and guess.

Have you a guess yet?

...

...

...

Oh! That is what you thought?

WRONG!

The real meaning behind the title:

I spent all day yesterday trying to trick the weather into being warmer.

Yep. You never thought of that one did ya?

You know the saying, "If you build it they will come"? Well I have decided that the same goes for "If you dress accordingly it will come". So in 36º I wore capri pants and flip flops. All day! I was inside for most of the day so it was not too hard. Although our house is a little cold. But then Abbster suggested that it might not work if I am only inside. So I ran outside, in the rain, to the closest peach tree and back to the house. I shivered for nearly half an hour. I think Abbster knew that would happen?

hmmm?

Abbster can be a bit diabolical and a bit of a schemer at times.

None the less. I don't think my plans worked. It only got to 38 degrees here yesterday!

So the moral of the story is. . . you can't trick the weather by wearing different clothes.

I may have to try another tactic.

The Thriving Cowgirl

Beautiful Weekend!

We had wonderful weather here over the weekend! It is cold again. But I took that time to take some awesome pics! Take a look! 

This black and white one with the trees is my fave! I want to print and frame it and hang it on my wall! How wonderful! How beautiful!

Well that is all for today!

The Thriving Cowgirl

My short post before bed

I am hoping to start writing again soon! I am not trying to leave you in the dark. A lot has been going on and blogging has not been a top priority for me. But I will start blogging. I am still trying to figure out how to balance school, friends, social life, family, blog, and hopefully work and still have a desire to do those things. Things have been so overwhelming these days I have little enthusiasm for any of it. But! Tis only a season in life! At least I hope. I need to get to bed soon so I will not write much more. I had a good night. I went to youth group and had a blast! I have been so blessed to have the friends I do. Our lesson was on balancing living a righteous life and living in Gods grace. More balancing! Ugh! :) It was really good! We had a visitor tonight that really got into it! He asked thought provoking questions and was challenging and it was awesome! He really seemed to want everyone to dig deeper into it rather than let the leader just preach at us. He seems like a cool guy! I hope he comes back. But I have no idea what his name is! I can't remember for the life of me! hahaha! Then he killed everyone in a game of Mafia! haha! It was so much fun! Although I was the first citizen to be killed! Killed! Just because a few people suspected I was guilty! And for no particular reason! Ugh! The injustice! lol! Well I really need to get to bed. School tomorrow! Fun, Fun, Fun. (If you read between the lines there is a hint of sarcasm between each Fun. Just in case you were looking.)
Very tired,
The Thriving Cowgirl

Nothing to do with myself

I currently have nothing to do with myself!
lol!
Actually I just finished my school work and have a mile long list of things to do that I am hiding from.
I need to get cattle papers pulled together for a local farm.
I should tune my guitar. Notice not really a need but I would like to have it happen. If only guitars would tune themselves! Oh wouldn't that be wonderful!
I need to clean my room.
I need to find a good exercise routine to start doing in the mornings.
I need to stop making lists and start doing these things.
Well. Now I need to go watch the baby! Oh how I love finding new ways to avoid tasks!
The Thriving Cowgirl

Happy Happy New year!

I hope you are having a great start to the new year! I think I am! 2011 is looking very promising for me! I think it will be a great year! I am having trouble with the cutting off of coffee but I will push through! To read about that click on this link! http://52cupsofcoffee.blogspot.com/ It is another wonderful blog being written by the one and only, Thriving Cowgirl! lol! I have found I am addicted to blogging! Anyway, before I get to rambling I better get to the point!

I GOT MY BEST GRADE FOR ALL SEMESTER IN CHEMISTRY TODAY!

It was awesome! Awesome I tell you! I got the fourth highest grade in the class. I am homeschooled but I take a chemistry class with other homeschoolers. I enjoy it! I have not really gotten to know as many of the girls in my class as I would have liked to. But I am sure by the end of the year I will. I am not good at Chemistry. Not good at all! This year Chemistry and French are killing me! I am averaging A's in every other subject! I don't like French so I am not too surprised I am not doing well in it but I like Chemistry! I should be doing better! Oh well! I am slowly bringing that grade up! I will have it mastered by the end of the year. It always happens that way for me! I am noticing a pattern. I don't do well with Fall semesters. I guess it is because you are not very hopeful of the summer yet. Now with the spring semester starting in a couple of weeks I am ready to fly through it to get to Summer! Well I will try to write more tomorrow. I am going to bed now.
Tomorrow I will tell you about the tattoo of a polar bear I just got on my hip!
Signing off for the night,
The Thriving Cowgirl

New Years Resolutions

This is the time of year where everyone makes resolutions that rarely last the whole year. So now it is my turn to tell you how I am making these resolutions and I will really keep them! I promise! Well I say that every year. So I am gonna level with ya here. My resolutions will help me start the year with enthusiasm and the excitement will dwindle and by December I will not even remember my resolutions. So here are my resolutions; 1) I am going to only have one cup of coffee a week, 2) I am going to learn how to play guitar better, 3) I am going to find a job, and 4) I am going to try and visit my friends in VA more often! Number 4 I think will be the easiest because I am getting my license in March although getting my parents to consent to allowing me to drive that far may be hard. We will see. I have a few months before I will be able to start on that resolution. I have only had one cup of coffee this week. It is only Sunday though. I had one yesterday and I will not have another one until Saturday. It is going to be a long week! But I can handle it! Hopefully! I bought new strings for my guitar and I am going to start going through a teach yourself guitar kinda book. So far I can play a G and a Gm chord! Wow! I am the fastest learner ever! lol! Just kidding! This is the one I am most concerned will dwindle away. I am going to start looking for a job asap. So far no one around here is looking for help. Small town with nothing but fast food restaurants and grocery stores. Which if you think about it that is like all the high school jobs I could want! But because of the economy these days that is where most adults work. When I get my license I will be able to drive farther to find work. So then I will look more seriously to find a job. So there are all of my resolutions and the details of them! :) It is going to be a great year!!!!!! I can't wait!
The Thriving Cowgirl