Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Verse of the Week

John 16:33 - I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Monday, December 22, 2008

My Little Sister's Birthday Poem

Preface: It was my sister's 16th birthday yesterday, and this was the poem I wrote her.

If I had some angels, I'd name them all Holly.
To namet hem all differently would be quite a folly.
See, I have a sister who graces that name,
Who is smart cute and funny and bound for great fame.
She smiles a smile that the angels would smile,
That whenever you see it, you stare for a while.
She sings very well, like the angels do sing.
She perks up our ears, and great joy she does bring.
She is a princess, always nice, never cruel.
Her blonde hair and green eyes, make all the boys drule.
Today is real special, its revered and pristine.
'Cause Holly the angel turns sweet sixteen.
So sound all the trumpets, theres one thing to do.
Its time to say Happy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Verse of the Week

Joshua 1:9 - Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The Week Before Christmas

Its the week before Christmas, and everything is hopping,
The stores are all packed with last minute shopping.
There's snow on the roads, which makes traffic slow,
There's mittens on hands 'cause its fifteen below.
There's lights on the houses, and decorations on trees,
And secret gift wrapping, so that nobody sees.
There's Nog in the fridge, and cookies are baking,
Hot out the oven, they're mine for the taking.
The stockings are stuffed, the snowmen are made,
And under the tree the last gift's been laid.
Fights with the snowball, and sledding down hills,
Hot chocolate and candy canes to comfort our chills.
All this commotion, year after year,
Has given me doubt, and filled me with fear.
Fear that this chaos has put us in danger,
Of forgetting the gift that came in the manger.
The free gift that God, so graciously gave,
The beautiful gift, that will comfort and save.
Enjoy all the fun that this season can bring,
but remember that Christmas is about Jesus the King.

Monday, December 15, 2008

This Week's Verse

John 15:13 - Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

God showed us the true meaning of love when He sent His son to earth to lay down his life for us. This verse challenges us to love like God loves, and to lay down our lives for our friends. Does this literally mean to sacrifice our life for someone...maybe...but I believe we can practice this everyday without dying for someone.

Do something for someone, put other sbefore yourself, worry about others needs before your own.

Glorify God by doing the small things and loving others like God loves you.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Verse of the Week

Sorry, I know everyone has probably been checking back to see what I wrote today, but I haven't had a chance to be on a computer all day.

I know it is technically tomorrow, but I haven't gone to sleep yet, so I'm gonna say that its still Thursday.

Every Monday I'm going to give a verse of the week and since this Monday was dedicated to the introduction to the Blog, I'm going to use Thursday as the new Monday. (If you're not confused by now...congrats! This is proof that I should be sleeping right now instead of trying to be creative)

So here is the verse of the week:

Matthew 5:12 - Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven...

Don't let measly things of this world get you down, because we have hope in Jesus and the promise of Heaven!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A Nibble of Heaven

This last week I had the privilege of going to Colorado for the first time. Some of my best friends had their National Volleyball tournament, so on Wednesday afternoon Paul, Kyle and I packed up the car and headed for Denver. With a few fun stops along the way, we arrived at Colorado Christian University at 7:30 am, exhaustion breathing down our necks. Curling up in the corner of the Gym, or snuggling up in the stiff upright front seat, we tried to take 15-30 minute naps whenever we could find time.

The girls definitely didn't put us to sleep with any of their matches, as three of the four went to the fifth set. It was great to see them play in Nationals, and I would make the trip out there again in a heart beat. Even though they didn't advance out of pool play, they ended their season on a high note, and I am honored to call each of them my friend (ok...I was trying to make that sound overly corny...how did I do?). Anyway, Friday night there was a parade for all of the teams that made Nationals, and beforehand, Kyle, Paul and I (along with Coach John Barnes) challenged four guys from Colorado Christian University to a volleyball match. All of the girls filed in as we were out on the court, and all eyes were on us. To say the least it was fun, and we ended up winning the match. So yes, we are the NCCAA Mens 4v4 pre-parade champions, coming to a Wheaties Box near you.

Since the girls lost, that left Saturday open for me, Kyle and Paul to find some Coloradoan adventure. Well let me back up a little bit. Before our arrival to Colorado, all we had heard about is how beautiful the mountains were. So, entering Denver I was expecting to see the most awesome landscape my eyes had ever witnessed. Well, lets just say Mr. Snowstorm didn't allow my eyes the gift of beauty early that Thursday morning. The whole day was gloomy and foggy, and I was beginning to believe the mountains didn't even exist. Friday morning came, and Mr. Sunshine must have beat the snot out of Mr. Snowstorm during the night, because when I woke up, I finally got to see the mountains. It was right then, that Kyle said if the opportunity presented itself that we were going to go to Pikes Peak. Ok, fast-forward now to Saturday. We drove an hour south to Colorado Springs and decided to make our ascension to the top of the 14,000 + ft. mountain. I'm going to be honest, before we started driving to the top, I doubted whether the extra hours added to our trip home was worth driving to the top of some mountain, but let me tell you that it was worth every extra second. I was going to try to describe to you what it was like, standing on top of the world, knowing that everything you're looking at was created by the Savior of your life, discovering how small you actually are...but I don't think I can put those kind of emotions into words. The only thing we could come up with, is that we saw something that was truly awesome.

Thank you girls for making it to Colorado. Thanks Kyle and Paul for going with me. Thank you God for the mountains and being bigger than Pikes Peak.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

A Boy, a Sword, and a Princess

There once lived a boy who was handsome and tall,
who sacrificed himself for the safety of all.
Some called him Hero for the lives he had saved,
some called him Friend as he past and they waved.
He was famous in town, and loved in the land,
he had a smile in his eye and a sword in his hand.
The King even liked him, and gave him great things,
rubies, and emeralds, and diamonds, and rings.
Even with the fame, his character didn't crumble,
he remained brave, and loyal, and humble.

A beautiful princess also lived in this land,
and every noble men came seeking her hand.
But the princess hated them and thought they were a hassle,
and hired the boy to keep them from her castle.
The boy did his job and kept evil away,
drove off the noblemen all night and all day.
The princess was free from all the dirty men,
and the boy was happy to serve til the end.

The boy traveled with the princess, through rain and through snow,
to make sure she was safe, wherever she would go.
The boy had slayed dragons, and killed hundreds in war.
had captured the elves, and slaughtered the boar.
He had battled with gnomes, in an unknown land,
Had boxed with the giants in lava quicksand.
In all of these feats he had never felt queasy,
but for once in his life he felt quite uneasy.
For deep in his heart he was falling in love,
with the princess, his boss, who watched from above.

The boy served the princess for over a year,
and did everything she asked without any fear.
So one day he decided to tell her how he felt,
He prayed, and hoped that her heart would melt.
"Princess, I Love You, let me be your King,
I'll fight for you forever, To you I'll always cling."
The princess started crying and slapped him in the face,
and told him he was fired and said she needed space.
"Please depart my castle boy, and leave me alone,
I simply do not love you, you can not have my throne."
The boy bowed his head, as a tear slipped to the floor,
he swiveled on his heal and headed toward the door.
But right before he left, he hoisted up his head,
he mustered up some strength and this is what he said,
"But who is going to save you when I'm gone,
and who will watch over you?
Who will be your strength when you're not strong,
who will watch over you when I've gone away?
Who will be there to break your fall,
and who will ease your pain?
Who will fight your battles,
and shelter you from rain?
Someday snow will fall, and winter will come,
You'll long to hear my voice,
But I'll be long gone."

Monday, December 8, 2008

The Beginning

First of all I would like to welcome you to my very first entry of my very first blog.

You may already be bored and thinking, why did this person even create this blog? This blog sucks! or Dear Diary...that's a stupid name for a blog...If you've thought one of those three things then here is what I need you to do. First, take your finger out of your nose and grab the mouse. Move the cursor arrow to the upper right hand corner of your window (upper lefthand if you have a Mac). Find the red "X" and gently left click.

Okay, now that all of the haters have exited their browsers and hate my blog even more, its time to get down to business. I decided to create this blog so I had a place to splat my creative juices. A place to let my imagination run like a wild gazelle chasing its long lost elementary school crush through a field of wildflowers. A place to do something I love. A lot of the things you read here might not be funny or might not even entertain you enough to keep reading, but remember this...you're on this site reading my thoughts for a reason. Something brought you here. Keep reading.

I'm going to try to be loyal to this blog and put in the kind of time and hard work a good relationship with a blog needs. Some days it might be just a word of encouragement to help get you through the day, or a funny joke I heard. Maybe I need to get something off my chest and I'll rant about the old lady that hit me with her bushel of asparagus because I grabbed the last Kemps Raspberry Sherbet in the frozen foods section of the local grocery store. Who knows what will be going through my head, but I'm going to try to fling my thoughts out there so ya'll can read them. (yes I just said ya'll)

If you like something you read...leave a comment. If you hate something...leave a comment. If you want my phone number because what you're reading is making you have a crush on me...leave a comment.

Its going to be fun...keep reading.