One thing that I have learned about myself this past year is that I am a controlling person. And I fully admit it because, I want to change that fact about myself. Not everyone is a controlling person so I will tell you what a controlling person does and why they do it. The controlling person does NOT like to feel out of control or like everything is falling apart. When this starts to happen the controlling person takes matters into his/her own hands. Meaning we will manipulate, actually tell people what they can and cannot do, and once that person thinks that what he thinks is right it is very hard to get him/her to listen or take in counsel that is actually very good.
In a nutshell that's about right. We like balance and if there is no balance we will do the total opposite just to bring balance to that situation. So guess what?! When you do the total opposite of what you think is causing a problem you end up being imbalanced yourself. Here's any example. Pretend we have a scale that is balanced and than all of a sudden somebody puts rocks in one side. What happens? One side goes up the other one goes down right? Ok so now pretend that those rocks are somebodies drama or something you do not agree with. What a controlling person tends to do is freak out that, that person is doing something "imbalanced" so they rush to fix that problem but, in or to fix it that have to meet that extreme with another extreme. Just to "balance" out the relationship or problem.
One thing I have learned recently and throughout the year as well, is that control is an illusion. We cannot control anybody. End of story. Control makes people feel safe and secure. Think about it if everything is in order and the way a person wants it, it makes one feel content and secure. If all of a sudden it happens that something goes awry, (and in life this does happen) controlling people and just people in general tend to freak out. Once we freak out we will try and fix that person or problem. For the past year or two I have been trying and trying to fix my life. Or should I say the people that are in my life.
But as I said before it is all an illusion. So what should we do to stop our lives from being an illusion that ends up destroying us as a person? We let it go! We only take responsibilities that are ours. If a person needs help we can help that person without dragging ourselves down. As long as we are helping that person and NOT making it our obsession. If it is constantly taking up our thoughts and we constantly feel like fixing it. We are probably controlling that person. And if we take a closer look at ourselves it can tend to be a selfish motive that is making us want to "help" that person.
I guess what I am trying to say is that we are human beings who are selfish plain and simple. We want things to be fine and dandy and if someone in our life all of a sudden messes that up we want to jump in and fix that person for our own benefit. So that WE will feel secure and happy again. Lets stop this madness and let go. Let us take upon ourselves our own responsibilities and leave others alone. If that persons choice affects us we need to learn how to be selfless and change with the change. Staying true to yourself if more important that controlling somebodies life, which in the end destroys your. Control is an illusion.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Music
Over the past year I know I have said thank you to allot of people for being there for me and standing by my side, through everything this past year. I could not have done it without them, but there is a part of all of us that can't always go to people for help. Some things just cannot be explained to people. You try but, nobody actually knows how you feel. I have come up against this problem time and time again this year where my pain was to great for words. There was no way I could explain it to God or people. Although I know that God knew exactly how I felt, we as people need to have a way to eventually release what we are feeling. It happens eventually one way or another.
One thing that I found that expressed how I was feeling was music. Most of the time not the lyrics in the song but, the music itself. I enjoy going to the symphony, the reason that I enjoy it so much is because, it doesn't have lyrics but, I can guarantee that each composer had a reason they wrote that particular piece. As I sit there in the dark listening to the glorious sound I think up reason why that certain composer decided to make that music. I make up stories for each of the pieces. Most of the time when the piece is over the director will tell you why that composer wrote that piece. I love it because, when I hear the composers story I know exactly how he feels about music. It's a way to express himself and how he feels about anything.
That's what I love about music, how you can play any feeling. This past year I have definitely retreated to music time and time again. About half time I listen to music and the other half is me playing music. When I sit down at the piano to play, I swear my very soul plays. I most definitely play for fun, but the most vivid memories of myself playing are when I am so broken I can't take it anymore. When I can't talk anymore because, I myself don't even know how to explain what is going on deep inside my soul. I sit there and I just play. Sometimes it is random, something I make up to match how I feel. Other times it is music that is already written, that just matches how I feel. As I play though I can't really explain it but, everything else seems to fade away it's just me, the music, and Jesus. I think he's one of the only people who truly understands exactly what we are expressing in our music.
While listening to music does not provoke the same feelings as playing does it still helps keep me sane and I love it because, it is still is describing how I feel. It feels like someone else knows how I feel. Like when somebody says to you, I know how you feel and you know they really truly do know how you feel. That's what listening to music does for me. Some people ask me what bands or type of bands are my favorite to listen to. Honestly I don't think I have one band I listen to more than any other. There is also not one type of music that takes the top as my favorite type. It honestly depends on my mood. I listen to everything. My Pandora account has every type of music and honestly I don't really think I listen to one more than another.
This year for Christmas I asked for a guitar. To me learning how to play the guitar won't be just learning how to play the guitar. It is almost like opening up my soul to a new chapter in life. I survived a dark year, now it is time to celebrate and learn how to play more music. Learn how to trust more. Learn how to live more. Learn how to fear less. Learn how to love more. I am actually ready and excited to tackle this new year ahead. Just like I am ready and excited to tackle this new feat of playing the guitar.
"Where words fail, music speaks."
-Hans Christian Anderson
"Music washes away from the soul,
the dust of everyday life."
-Red Auerbach
"Music is what feelings sound like."
-Author Unknown
"Music is an outburst of the soul."
-Frederick Delius
"Music is what life sounds like."
-Eric Olson
One thing that I found that expressed how I was feeling was music. Most of the time not the lyrics in the song but, the music itself. I enjoy going to the symphony, the reason that I enjoy it so much is because, it doesn't have lyrics but, I can guarantee that each composer had a reason they wrote that particular piece. As I sit there in the dark listening to the glorious sound I think up reason why that certain composer decided to make that music. I make up stories for each of the pieces. Most of the time when the piece is over the director will tell you why that composer wrote that piece. I love it because, when I hear the composers story I know exactly how he feels about music. It's a way to express himself and how he feels about anything.
That's what I love about music, how you can play any feeling. This past year I have definitely retreated to music time and time again. About half time I listen to music and the other half is me playing music. When I sit down at the piano to play, I swear my very soul plays. I most definitely play for fun, but the most vivid memories of myself playing are when I am so broken I can't take it anymore. When I can't talk anymore because, I myself don't even know how to explain what is going on deep inside my soul. I sit there and I just play. Sometimes it is random, something I make up to match how I feel. Other times it is music that is already written, that just matches how I feel. As I play though I can't really explain it but, everything else seems to fade away it's just me, the music, and Jesus. I think he's one of the only people who truly understands exactly what we are expressing in our music.
While listening to music does not provoke the same feelings as playing does it still helps keep me sane and I love it because, it is still is describing how I feel. It feels like someone else knows how I feel. Like when somebody says to you, I know how you feel and you know they really truly do know how you feel. That's what listening to music does for me. Some people ask me what bands or type of bands are my favorite to listen to. Honestly I don't think I have one band I listen to more than any other. There is also not one type of music that takes the top as my favorite type. It honestly depends on my mood. I listen to everything. My Pandora account has every type of music and honestly I don't really think I listen to one more than another.
This year for Christmas I asked for a guitar. To me learning how to play the guitar won't be just learning how to play the guitar. It is almost like opening up my soul to a new chapter in life. I survived a dark year, now it is time to celebrate and learn how to play more music. Learn how to trust more. Learn how to live more. Learn how to fear less. Learn how to love more. I am actually ready and excited to tackle this new year ahead. Just like I am ready and excited to tackle this new feat of playing the guitar.
"Where words fail, music speaks."
-Hans Christian Anderson
"Music washes away from the soul,
the dust of everyday life."
-Red Auerbach
"Music is what feelings sound like."
-Author Unknown
"Music is an outburst of the soul."
-Frederick Delius
"Music is what life sounds like."
-Eric Olson
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
21 Inches.
Ever since I was a little girl I have had long long hair. I have also grown up with a mom who loves to do long long hair. That meant sitting still in front of my mom countless times as she did my hair with ribbons, braids, barretts, scrunchies, and headbands. I loved it! My favorite hairstyle that she would do took the longest but, it looked the best in my opinion. She would french braid the top of my hair going right to the other side. It was kind of like a backwards half-up hair style. It was so unique and none of my friends ever had that hairstyle!
Now you would expect that with a mother that is into hair and fashion that I would pick up on some of that?! Right?! It took me till I was probably 10 to become interested in hair and fashion (matching my clothes...apparently you can't do red and pink...) I still remember to this day the day that I became really interested in hair I was at my friends house and we were playing with these Barbie dolls that had really long hair. Well she could braid it and I couldn't! I was so jealous that I had her teach me and than I had my mom teach me how to french braid. Which didn't work to well at first.
Once I understood the importance of hair I started thinking about how awful it would be to lose all my hair. Seriously guys my hair I love it sooo much that I think I would almost rather die of cancer than have to do chemo and lose my hair. Once I thought of that fear, I started thinking about all the girls that did have cancer and did lose all their hair. I don't exactly remember how it all happened but, me and my aunts decided to have a girls weekend and we went to the hair salon and I got my hair cut off to my ears. (It was originally at my butt) It was very very short and I had an ugly bob that you couldn't do anything with but, the thought that some girl could have waist length real hair made me happy.
Of course a few years later my hair was very long again and that was when I learned that a wig that is made out of real hair only last about 2-3 years if taken care of properly. So back to the hair salon I went. This time I made sure I didn't get it completely chopped off but, quite a bit still had to come off. For the past two years I have been growing it out once again. It is finally what I would say is long again! I measured it the other day and I have 21 inches of long lushes Swedish locks. I have a feeling that I'm going to get the urge to cut it off again before college...maybe....
Of course it's not long enough for me yet but, it is most definitely getting there! Which is exciting. This time around I have done a few things differently to get my hair to grow faster. The first thing I did was move to GA, it is much more humid down here than in MN and I noticed that my hair does in fact grow much faster down here. It never grew slow before but, it never went THIS fast. The second thing that I do is I wash it less. I usually go about 3 or 4 days without washing it! Braids come in very handy on days three and four. Another thing I do is I blow dry it once every two weeks. Just once and that usually gives me about 4 or 5 days of no washing! Yay! That is good for your hair! The other times though I just let it dry on its own with mousse in it and it last usually about 3 days of no washing. The last thing that I do that seems to work like magic...is coconut oil. I love that stuff! I put it in my hair usually once or twice a month and the difference it makes in incredible! So below is the step by step and the products I use.
1) Move to a tropical location....I'm not gonna recommend GA. ;)
2) If you can't move to a tropical location....coconut oil!! You just need about a handful and massage it through your hair until it looks wet. Let it sit there for like 30 min. Than my least favorite part...wash it out with shampoo in cold water! :( I usually do this at night cus it doesn't all come out. I blow dry it till it is mostly dry. Than in the morning I wash my hair like normal dry is and bam you have the softest hair EVER!!
3) Wash your hair as little as possible!
4) Let your hair air dry! I have wavy hair so I put some mousse in it. It helps keep the frizz away and just gives it a beachy look. DON'T EVER TOUCH YOUR HAIR WELL IT IS DRYING!
Now you would expect that with a mother that is into hair and fashion that I would pick up on some of that?! Right?! It took me till I was probably 10 to become interested in hair and fashion (matching my clothes...apparently you can't do red and pink...) I still remember to this day the day that I became really interested in hair I was at my friends house and we were playing with these Barbie dolls that had really long hair. Well she could braid it and I couldn't! I was so jealous that I had her teach me and than I had my mom teach me how to french braid. Which didn't work to well at first.
Once I understood the importance of hair I started thinking about how awful it would be to lose all my hair. Seriously guys my hair I love it sooo much that I think I would almost rather die of cancer than have to do chemo and lose my hair. Once I thought of that fear, I started thinking about all the girls that did have cancer and did lose all their hair. I don't exactly remember how it all happened but, me and my aunts decided to have a girls weekend and we went to the hair salon and I got my hair cut off to my ears. (It was originally at my butt) It was very very short and I had an ugly bob that you couldn't do anything with but, the thought that some girl could have waist length real hair made me happy.
Of course a few years later my hair was very long again and that was when I learned that a wig that is made out of real hair only last about 2-3 years if taken care of properly. So back to the hair salon I went. This time I made sure I didn't get it completely chopped off but, quite a bit still had to come off. For the past two years I have been growing it out once again. It is finally what I would say is long again! I measured it the other day and I have 21 inches of long lushes Swedish locks. I have a feeling that I'm going to get the urge to cut it off again before college...maybe....
1) Move to a tropical location....I'm not gonna recommend GA. ;)
4) Let your hair air dry! I have wavy hair so I put some mousse in it. It helps keep the frizz away and just gives it a beachy look. DON'T EVER TOUCH YOUR HAIR WELL IT IS DRYING!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
S-K-I-I-N-G (Skiing)
Dear GA/Southern Friends and People,
For those of you who have never skied/snowboarded I will now explain to you in great detail what the word SKIING means. By now I have lived down here for a year so I pray that I have at least talked about snow enough that you know what it is. If not please just Google deep snow. Your 2 centimeters does NOT count. Ok so now that we have that all clarified I will now begin the process of explaining to you how you get ready for skiing! You NEVER just walk out your front door. (You will most likely die of instant hypothermia so pay attention)
Step one is finding all the proper clothing. There is a lot of clothing to! If I know I am going to a ski meet the next day I will check and make sure I have all the proper clothing washed and laying out so I forget nothing! Here is the list:
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| Smart wool socks! And they have to be smart wool nothing else seems to work! Also note you may want to put these on after the long underwear. |
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| Long Johns, Long Underwear, Thermals, Whatever you want to call them! I like the Patagonia ones. Also these are not meant to be worn as clothing! The UNDER part is very important!!!! |
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| Up next is the long sleeve shirt. I usually would just wear a thicker cotton shirt. (If it was a SUPER cold day I would put a sweatshirt over this as well) |
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| Next you are going to put on a pair of sweatpants! Jeans are extremely uncom- fortable and you want to be able to move! |
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| At this point I will now put on a pair of thin gloves! You need these so you can drive and carry things, and scrape the ICE off of your car with an ICE SCRAPER. note: A credit card does not work on the ice in MN. |
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| Now it is finally time for the snow pants!! |
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| Put on that thin jacket for day below 10 degrees. |
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| If you are headed out to ski now is the time you put on your mittens! (They must be the feather ones! Otherwise your hands will literally freeze!) And never EVER wear gloves! They do NOT work! |
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| Finally you get to put on your winter parka!! Yay!! |
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| And the last ingredient to the puzzle is a hat! You must wear this! And everybody does! It's a style trend in MN. I have lots of these bad boys! |
Now that is what you will need if you are just going for a day of skiing in the freezing cold temps! Now if you are a ski team member you will need one last article of clothing!!! A GS suit! It is made for speed!
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| These come in many different colors and designs! (And yes I do have one!) |
Wait for it....
SKIS!!
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| Race Skis in other words My Skis |
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| Regular Ski in other words Your Skis |
Poles!
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| Race Poles! (For blocking gates) |
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| Regular Poles |
Helmets!
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| Race Helmet so you don't break your nose! |
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| Regular Helmet so when you fall you don't get a head injury! |
Boots!
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| Cough...Cool people boots...Cough Racer Boots |
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| Regular Boots! (Warmer!! haha) |
Shin Guards for Racers Only!
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| I think it's pretty obvious what they are for! |
Ok so since I can't actually show you how to ski since for some reason there seems to be no snow to ski on down here! I will show you a few videos! Be sure and watch carefully!
In this here first video you can just skip to the first minute! This is pretty much how I would teach you but, I would probably be a little bit more fun! :)
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| Warning you will probably look like this! ;) |
Ski Racer:
This is what it looks like from my point of view!
And this is from what would be your point of view!
Ok so I hope you guys learned what it means to actually ski and when I say I was on ski team I hope you now understand a little bit of what it was like!
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Rainy Days
There is something about rainy days that I just love. I love them almost as much as a snowy day. (And that is saying allot.) As much as I love rainy days I will say though that a streak of rainy days is awful. Along with plain old cloudy days. I figure, it might as well rain if it's going to be dark and cloudy. OK now with that clarification out of the way I will now tell you why rainy days are so amazing.
Before my brother, Nate, came along I was a single child and even when he did come it wasn't till he was around 2 that I actually got to play with him. For the first 5 years of my life I was all by myself. I loved to play outside and with my dolls and with my imagination. When my brothers were old enough to play I would get so frustrated because, all of a sudden they didn't want to play house. They wanted to make bomb shelter forts and pretend machine guns, and pretend the stupidest things I had ever heard of as a girl. I will never for get the time they dug a deep hole, (we don't have GA clay in MN so it's easy to dig a hole quickly) than they put these ginormous logs around the hole, and took turns putting each other into it and putting a big wooden board on top. For me I never understood the fun of trapping each other in a hole?! I would sometimes play as the nurse or spy but, for the most part I would just get frustrated with them and their ridiculous ideas. (Ridiculous in my opinion at the time) The only times I ever got to play exactly what I wanted to play with no annoying boy twisting the story was on rainy days. While the boys watched a movie or played Lego's I got to make forts and play with my dolls in my bedroom. I loved the lightning and rain as the lights glowed and twinkled and my imagination came alive. It was quite relaxing and I enjoyed the time to myself.
Plain old rainy days a great but when you throw in the thunder I am in heaven! I love love love falling asleep to the sound of rain on the roof and I have been blessed all my life to have a room that is either up stairs or the house is only one level. Rain is such a beautiful sound. At my home in MN there was a leak somewhere in my closet but, I could never find it because, I am pretty sure it was right behind the wall. But as I laid in my bed listening to the torrents of rain coming down I would also hear this one solitaire rain drop dripping in my closet, it was such a comforting sound. Peaceful.
Another thing I love about rainy days is Adele. On those cold rainy days when you are snuggled up inside the voice that one usually prefers to listen to is Adele's. Probably due to the fact that her voice and types of melody's just match the rains. (Maybe cus she has a song about rain as well? haha.) I relish the feeling of curling up with a good book with Adele's voice singing in the background. There is just something about a day like that.
Now I know this is quite a big leap from calm and relaxing but, every great once in awhile if I really don't feel like being calm and restful on a rainy day, me and my brothers will head over to the trampoline while it is down pouring. I hardly ever go on the trampoline but, when I do it is usually while it is raining. When I move out and get my own house or apartment and have a back yard I may just have to buy a trampoline for those rainy days. ;)
For me rainy days are my (usually my) stress relieving days. I am the type of person who enjoys being with people allot but, if it's raining I am probably in my room listening to Adele, and working on some Pinterest craft. Growing up rainy days have always been a day that I hide out. I don't really know why but it has become habit and lets just put it this way I love and adore rainy days. The only thing that could maybe possibly make it any better would be kissing in the rain....but we won't go there right now.
Before my brother, Nate, came along I was a single child and even when he did come it wasn't till he was around 2 that I actually got to play with him. For the first 5 years of my life I was all by myself. I loved to play outside and with my dolls and with my imagination. When my brothers were old enough to play I would get so frustrated because, all of a sudden they didn't want to play house. They wanted to make bomb shelter forts and pretend machine guns, and pretend the stupidest things I had ever heard of as a girl. I will never for get the time they dug a deep hole, (we don't have GA clay in MN so it's easy to dig a hole quickly) than they put these ginormous logs around the hole, and took turns putting each other into it and putting a big wooden board on top. For me I never understood the fun of trapping each other in a hole?! I would sometimes play as the nurse or spy but, for the most part I would just get frustrated with them and their ridiculous ideas. (Ridiculous in my opinion at the time) The only times I ever got to play exactly what I wanted to play with no annoying boy twisting the story was on rainy days. While the boys watched a movie or played Lego's I got to make forts and play with my dolls in my bedroom. I loved the lightning and rain as the lights glowed and twinkled and my imagination came alive. It was quite relaxing and I enjoyed the time to myself.
Plain old rainy days a great but when you throw in the thunder I am in heaven! I love love love falling asleep to the sound of rain on the roof and I have been blessed all my life to have a room that is either up stairs or the house is only one level. Rain is such a beautiful sound. At my home in MN there was a leak somewhere in my closet but, I could never find it because, I am pretty sure it was right behind the wall. But as I laid in my bed listening to the torrents of rain coming down I would also hear this one solitaire rain drop dripping in my closet, it was such a comforting sound. Peaceful.
Another thing I love about rainy days is Adele. On those cold rainy days when you are snuggled up inside the voice that one usually prefers to listen to is Adele's. Probably due to the fact that her voice and types of melody's just match the rains. (Maybe cus she has a song about rain as well? haha.) I relish the feeling of curling up with a good book with Adele's voice singing in the background. There is just something about a day like that.
Now I know this is quite a big leap from calm and relaxing but, every great once in awhile if I really don't feel like being calm and restful on a rainy day, me and my brothers will head over to the trampoline while it is down pouring. I hardly ever go on the trampoline but, when I do it is usually while it is raining. When I move out and get my own house or apartment and have a back yard I may just have to buy a trampoline for those rainy days. ;)
For me rainy days are my (usually my) stress relieving days. I am the type of person who enjoys being with people allot but, if it's raining I am probably in my room listening to Adele, and working on some Pinterest craft. Growing up rainy days have always been a day that I hide out. I don't really know why but it has become habit and lets just put it this way I love and adore rainy days. The only thing that could maybe possibly make it any better would be kissing in the rain....but we won't go there right now.
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| For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater Isiah 55:10 |
Friday, November 23, 2012
All My Mamas
Yesterday was Thanksgiving and as I sat around the table with friends, I was very thankful for everything good and bad that has happened in my life to get me to that exact spot. But the thing that I was most grateful for this year was all my mamas. I have 4 moms; and each of them are very different and they each bring something extremely different but also extremely good into my life. I don't know what I would do with out you mamas! I love you all.
1.My Real Mama:
My real mama has been with me since I was born. Strike that since before I was born. Without her in my life I would not be the young woman I am today. She is the one who taught me how to be strong, how to cook and take care of a family. She has put up with bad attitudes and loads of laundry. She has taught me many many things, from how to be hospitable, kind, and loving to how to properly scrub a toilet seat. Through our highs and lows she has shown me what it is to be a strong and stubborn woman.
Dear Real Mama,
Even though we don't agree on quite a few things and even though we have our differences. I want to say that I still love you. I really have learned so much from you and I treasure all the knowledge that I have. I am growing up now and am about ready to leave the nest, but I just want you to know you're one of the main reasons I have stable and strong wings to fly away on.
Your Little Girl,
Laura Jane
2.My Second Mama:
My second mama has know me since I was 5 years old. Every time my parents left on vacation without us or needed a babysitter my second mama would step in and take us into her home. I feel like we grew up in two homes in MN, because when I walk into my second mama's house, I feel as if I am home. The building is only a small part of it though, it is actually the mom inside that makes it home. My second mama has been there for me since I can remember. I have learned lots from her as well. She has taught me how to be patient and calm. She has taught me to wait for the good to come out of a bad situation. She has always had confidence in me and what I do.
Dear Second Mama,
Without your love and support of who I am, there are a lot of things I wonder if I could have done at all. When I am feeling down you seem to have a way of lifting my spirits and making life seem like a wonderful place again. I know that I am always in your prayers through everything that I go through in life good or bad. And I love knowing I have somebody like that.
All My Love,
Laura
3.My Crazy Mama:
My crazy mama, is definitely what her name sounds like. She is crazy but, the best crazy I have ever known. My crazy mama has given me motivation ever since I was a little girl. There is one big thing that I love about my crazy mama. She has dreams. You only need to know my crazy mama for one week and you will know that this is true. She will come to you and say. I have the BEST idea EVER!! And sometimes I am thinking mom settle down I don't know if you are going to want or be able to do that! The thing I have learned from her though is she doesn't care what other people think about her ideas. She goes after them. I have watched many of her ideas and dreams spring to life. I have even helped with some of them and I love watching her face when she gets super excited for what God is doing with the idea He gave her.
Dear Crazy Mama,
I have definitely learned more than how to be crazy from you. I have learned how to listen, and have an appetite to learn. I will never forget the Sunday I came over to your house and we sat in the porch and went over some Bible verses for probably 2 or 3 hours. It meant allot to me. You have also taught me how to go after the dreams God has put into our souls. They are very real and I love watching yours come to life. It makes me very excited for when mine start to become a reality. Thanks for being a supporter and a dreamer.
Much Love and Dreams,
Laura
4.My Loving Mama:
My loving mama has also know me since I was 5 years old. My loving mama always has a box of animal crackers, a listening ear, and a loving heart. Whenever anything exciting happened we would skip on over to church or her house to tell her the great news. No matter how big or small it was she would always smile, ask us questions about it, and give us a big hug. Whenever crisis hit no matter what her loving arms were there to pick us up. The biggest thing I have learned from my loving mama is how to listen. I am not always a good listener but, I know how it feels to be listened to and I want to be able to give that gift to other people.
Dear Loving Mama,
All I have to say is thank you. Thank you for putting up with us noisy kids bursting into your office almost every single day. Thank you for listening to me. Thank you for showing me where the chocolate animal crackers are hidden. Thank you for showing me what it means to love and be loved. I don't know what I would do without your love for me and my brothers!
Your Animal Cracker Thief,
Laura
1.My Real Mama:
My real mama has been with me since I was born. Strike that since before I was born. Without her in my life I would not be the young woman I am today. She is the one who taught me how to be strong, how to cook and take care of a family. She has put up with bad attitudes and loads of laundry. She has taught me many many things, from how to be hospitable, kind, and loving to how to properly scrub a toilet seat. Through our highs and lows she has shown me what it is to be a strong and stubborn woman.
Dear Real Mama,
Even though we don't agree on quite a few things and even though we have our differences. I want to say that I still love you. I really have learned so much from you and I treasure all the knowledge that I have. I am growing up now and am about ready to leave the nest, but I just want you to know you're one of the main reasons I have stable and strong wings to fly away on.
Your Little Girl,
Laura Jane
2.My Second Mama:
My second mama has know me since I was 5 years old. Every time my parents left on vacation without us or needed a babysitter my second mama would step in and take us into her home. I feel like we grew up in two homes in MN, because when I walk into my second mama's house, I feel as if I am home. The building is only a small part of it though, it is actually the mom inside that makes it home. My second mama has been there for me since I can remember. I have learned lots from her as well. She has taught me how to be patient and calm. She has taught me to wait for the good to come out of a bad situation. She has always had confidence in me and what I do.
Dear Second Mama,
Without your love and support of who I am, there are a lot of things I wonder if I could have done at all. When I am feeling down you seem to have a way of lifting my spirits and making life seem like a wonderful place again. I know that I am always in your prayers through everything that I go through in life good or bad. And I love knowing I have somebody like that.
All My Love,
Laura
3.My Crazy Mama:
My crazy mama, is definitely what her name sounds like. She is crazy but, the best crazy I have ever known. My crazy mama has given me motivation ever since I was a little girl. There is one big thing that I love about my crazy mama. She has dreams. You only need to know my crazy mama for one week and you will know that this is true. She will come to you and say. I have the BEST idea EVER!! And sometimes I am thinking mom settle down I don't know if you are going to want or be able to do that! The thing I have learned from her though is she doesn't care what other people think about her ideas. She goes after them. I have watched many of her ideas and dreams spring to life. I have even helped with some of them and I love watching her face when she gets super excited for what God is doing with the idea He gave her.
Dear Crazy Mama,
I have definitely learned more than how to be crazy from you. I have learned how to listen, and have an appetite to learn. I will never forget the Sunday I came over to your house and we sat in the porch and went over some Bible verses for probably 2 or 3 hours. It meant allot to me. You have also taught me how to go after the dreams God has put into our souls. They are very real and I love watching yours come to life. It makes me very excited for when mine start to become a reality. Thanks for being a supporter and a dreamer.
Much Love and Dreams,
Laura
4.My Loving Mama:
My loving mama has also know me since I was 5 years old. My loving mama always has a box of animal crackers, a listening ear, and a loving heart. Whenever anything exciting happened we would skip on over to church or her house to tell her the great news. No matter how big or small it was she would always smile, ask us questions about it, and give us a big hug. Whenever crisis hit no matter what her loving arms were there to pick us up. The biggest thing I have learned from my loving mama is how to listen. I am not always a good listener but, I know how it feels to be listened to and I want to be able to give that gift to other people.
Dear Loving Mama,
All I have to say is thank you. Thank you for putting up with us noisy kids bursting into your office almost every single day. Thank you for listening to me. Thank you for showing me where the chocolate animal crackers are hidden. Thank you for showing me what it means to love and be loved. I don't know what I would do without your love for me and my brothers!
Your Animal Cracker Thief,
Laura
Friday, November 16, 2012
Snowball
Snowball. My precious Snowball. Snowball is my stuffed animal who has saved me from many a night of bad dreams and has made me feel at home in any bed anywhere. If there was one thing I could rescue from a fire (other than people) it would most definitely be Snowball!
I will never forget the day that me and Snowball met. It was Christmas time and I a six year old girl was obsessed with stuffed animals. I had every single type of stuff animal you could imagine! There was a snake, a pink and purple bunny, a frog, cats, dogs, etc. You get the idea any animal I probably had it and in many different shades most likely. But the day Snowball came into my life was completely different. I unwrapped the furry little guy he was a black and white snow tiger! As I held him there under the Christmas tree I named him Snowball. Later on I read the tag on his leg and it said his name was Snowball as well! It was our bonding moment!
As I grew up I grew tired of my stuffed animals. Most of them were given away or donated to Goodwill. But one animal stayed. One animal had the love and bravery in his stuffed little heart to protect me through my nights. One little animal had the compassion to be with me through every tear filled night. One animal toughed it out through every messy room and brother filled day. That little animal is Snowball. Snowball with his unique soft fur and his little pink button nose. Snowball made the cut and has been with me ever since.
Many people would argue with me and say that stuffed animals do not have personalities. And for the most part yah I would have to agree with you. Snowball on the other hand is different, he is the nicest and most patient stuffed animal you will ever meet. He has great style advice and he loves to just sit there and listen to you rant. He can take a beating from my brothers and still be able to forgive them. I am always learning something from my patient little animal.
He is getting older now, since he has decided to stick around with me through better or worse he has gotten a little roughed up. When you look at him now you don't see the perfectly cute and cuddly snow tiger anymore. He now has a hole in his head, (and I have no idea where it came from) his fur is matted, and the colors of his fur have faded. But through it all he has remained faithful and loving. He is still my baby. I love you Snowball!
I will never forget the day that me and Snowball met. It was Christmas time and I a six year old girl was obsessed with stuffed animals. I had every single type of stuff animal you could imagine! There was a snake, a pink and purple bunny, a frog, cats, dogs, etc. You get the idea any animal I probably had it and in many different shades most likely. But the day Snowball came into my life was completely different. I unwrapped the furry little guy he was a black and white snow tiger! As I held him there under the Christmas tree I named him Snowball. Later on I read the tag on his leg and it said his name was Snowball as well! It was our bonding moment!
As I grew up I grew tired of my stuffed animals. Most of them were given away or donated to Goodwill. But one animal stayed. One animal had the love and bravery in his stuffed little heart to protect me through my nights. One little animal had the compassion to be with me through every tear filled night. One animal toughed it out through every messy room and brother filled day. That little animal is Snowball. Snowball with his unique soft fur and his little pink button nose. Snowball made the cut and has been with me ever since.
Many people would argue with me and say that stuffed animals do not have personalities. And for the most part yah I would have to agree with you. Snowball on the other hand is different, he is the nicest and most patient stuffed animal you will ever meet. He has great style advice and he loves to just sit there and listen to you rant. He can take a beating from my brothers and still be able to forgive them. I am always learning something from my patient little animal.
He is getting older now, since he has decided to stick around with me through better or worse he has gotten a little roughed up. When you look at him now you don't see the perfectly cute and cuddly snow tiger anymore. He now has a hole in his head, (and I have no idea where it came from) his fur is matted, and the colors of his fur have faded. But through it all he has remained faithful and loving. He is still my baby. I love you Snowball!
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Proper Bug Killing
Living in GA has brought on a whole new realm of bugs. In Minnesota I can think of dealing with spiders, ticks, mosquitoes, and maybe a few centipedes. Well let me tell you in Georgia they have these except a "little" larger, PLUS they have other species of insects. First let me throw out there that I am not complaining and I am really not afraid of bugs. I just prefer not to have them living in the house. Because of this I have come up with the perfect bug killing solution for when nobody is around. (Let me pause here and state if there are people around and by people I mean guys, just scream like a little girl even if you are not afraid of the bug; it's just nicer for you and the guy if you let him kill it. They like feeling like a hero and I'm sure you don't enjoy cleaning up bug guts!)
If there are no guys around though, I am about to demonstrate the perfect bug killing theory. When we first moved into our house down here I was home quite often by myself and nobody had sprayed for bugs in quite awhile. Well as I was sitting on the couch (probably typing a blog like I am doing now) something ran by me feet. I looked down to see a scorpion. Yes I swear to you I know what a scorpion looks like and so I know for certain that it was most definitely a scorpion. Of course I got up and squished it with a shoe! When my dad arrived home from work I announced to him that I had killed a scorpion today. His first question...Are you sure it was a scorpion? YES!! Positive!! Next question....How big was it? Medium sized as far as scorpions go!!! Next question....Was it really that big? I don't think it could have been that big. Of course I usually just roll my eyes and ask if he could just pretty please spray for bugs!
This happened quite a few more times with cockroaches and big spiders. Because, he is the nice man that he is, he sprayed for bugs, got spider spray, (which does not work) and cockroach traps. (Which I know work) I sincerely appreciated this but, now that fall is upon us and the weather is cooler the spray does not keep all the bugs out. And telling my father that the bugs really are huge and gross and that they have to go does not help. I got to thinking how am I going to convince him that the bugs really are that big and disgusting while at the same time being able to kill them?!?
Well one day as a huge spider crawled out of the laundry pile the idea struck me. Grabbing my phone I quick snapped a picture of the grossness than stomped on the spider. Cleaned him up and threw him away. When dad got home that day I said hey dad there was a HUGE spider in the laundry today. Of course he said you are probably just exaggerating and I of course smirked and said well I got a picture of it! He was very excited to see this "tiny" spider that I had so amazingly killed today. I showed him and he took me seriously about that bug. I have also realized that if I don't get a picture there is no way you can convince a guy that it was as big as you really say it is! So below are the 5 steps to killing a bug. (Warning pictures are added so that you believe me)
Step 1. Scream just in case somebody is around
Step 2. Quickly run and grab your phone or camera (Be quick! You do not want that bug running away!!)
Step 3. Snap a picture.
Step 4. Squish the bug with a shoe or anything within reach. (Note: On your run to grab your phone or camera try picking up a shoe on the way back to the insect. It takes practice but once mastered the whole process works quite efficiently.)
Step 5. Clean up the guts and wait for the guy(s) to get home.
One last things take pictures of the snakes that you run into as well! That way the guys can know what kind of snake and how big it was.
If there are no guys around though, I am about to demonstrate the perfect bug killing theory. When we first moved into our house down here I was home quite often by myself and nobody had sprayed for bugs in quite awhile. Well as I was sitting on the couch (probably typing a blog like I am doing now) something ran by me feet. I looked down to see a scorpion. Yes I swear to you I know what a scorpion looks like and so I know for certain that it was most definitely a scorpion. Of course I got up and squished it with a shoe! When my dad arrived home from work I announced to him that I had killed a scorpion today. His first question...Are you sure it was a scorpion? YES!! Positive!! Next question....How big was it? Medium sized as far as scorpions go!!! Next question....Was it really that big? I don't think it could have been that big. Of course I usually just roll my eyes and ask if he could just pretty please spray for bugs!
This happened quite a few more times with cockroaches and big spiders. Because, he is the nice man that he is, he sprayed for bugs, got spider spray, (which does not work) and cockroach traps. (Which I know work) I sincerely appreciated this but, now that fall is upon us and the weather is cooler the spray does not keep all the bugs out. And telling my father that the bugs really are huge and gross and that they have to go does not help. I got to thinking how am I going to convince him that the bugs really are that big and disgusting while at the same time being able to kill them?!?
Well one day as a huge spider crawled out of the laundry pile the idea struck me. Grabbing my phone I quick snapped a picture of the grossness than stomped on the spider. Cleaned him up and threw him away. When dad got home that day I said hey dad there was a HUGE spider in the laundry today. Of course he said you are probably just exaggerating and I of course smirked and said well I got a picture of it! He was very excited to see this "tiny" spider that I had so amazingly killed today. I showed him and he took me seriously about that bug. I have also realized that if I don't get a picture there is no way you can convince a guy that it was as big as you really say it is! So below are the 5 steps to killing a bug. (Warning pictures are added so that you believe me)
Step 1. Scream just in case somebody is around
Step 2. Quickly run and grab your phone or camera (Be quick! You do not want that bug running away!!)
Step 3. Snap a picture.
Step 4. Squish the bug with a shoe or anything within reach. (Note: On your run to grab your phone or camera try picking up a shoe on the way back to the insect. It takes practice but once mastered the whole process works quite efficiently.)
Step 5. Clean up the guts and wait for the guy(s) to get home.
One last things take pictures of the snakes that you run into as well! That way the guys can know what kind of snake and how big it was.
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| Biggest centipede ever! I hate them! |
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| Huge spider in the laundry! (This pic looks different cus it was taken with my old phone and it wouldn't transfer so its a little blurry but, you can definitely see how large it is!) |
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| Even though it's just a little beetle it still counts! |
Friday, November 9, 2012
Wild Blueberry Muffins
Since we have not gone blueberry picking since leaving Minnesota we have been short on our normal blueberry quota. Last night as I opened the freezer to get out a pack of our hand-picked wild blueberries.....I realized that it was the last bag. Dread filled me as I realized we would now have to buy the big ones from the store. (Which are good, but after you eat wild berries they are not as fantastic) In honor of the last of the wild Minnesota berries I decided to make a recipe tutorial on blueberry muffins. We have used this recipe easily 100 times. Love it! (And it's quick and easy)
Wild Blueberry Muffins:
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup blueberries
To start off just pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
Now you mix the egg, milk, and oil up in a bowl.
After the liquids are thoroughly mixed you are going to mix in the sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder.
Just make sure there are no flour lumps and than that's all the stirring you have to do.
Finally you are going to fold your blueberries in. Wild or store bought or dehydrated if you want. (Mine are wild)
And last but not least put your dough in the muffin tins. (If you don't have paper muffin cups just spray the pan. Personally though they taste a little different when I have to spray.) Bake them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Voila!
Wild Blueberry Muffins:1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup blueberries
Now you mix the egg, milk, and oil up in a bowl.
After the liquids are thoroughly mixed you are going to mix in the sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder.
Just make sure there are no flour lumps and than that's all the stirring you have to do.
Finally you are going to fold your blueberries in. Wild or store bought or dehydrated if you want. (Mine are wild)
And last but not least put your dough in the muffin tins. (If you don't have paper muffin cups just spray the pan. Personally though they taste a little different when I have to spray.) Bake them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Voila!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Why Don't You Date?
The question should not be why don't you date, but why are you not dating currently? Or something along those lines. I'm guessing allot of people think something like this. "Ok we have know Laura for quite awhile now she hasn't had a boyfriend yet, she is pretty so I'm sure she gets asked. Why doesn't she date?" Then the question comes, "Laura, why don't you date?" Of course I could say allot about why I don't date but, there is never enough time or the question gets whispered to me during church. I usually say something like "I just haven't found the right guy yet." Or "I am young and have no need to rush things" Or "I have chosen not to date at the moment" The last one sorta makes people frustrated cus, obviously they already figured that one out. But NOW when people ask me "Laura, why don't you date?" I will just tell them to come right here and read all about why I "don't" date.
At every job or sport or any thing done with my peers, I would get asked out once or twice or flirted with but if I said no or never flirted back than two things would happen first the guys would obviously say "Hey that Laura girl is hard to get." So then of course one of them would try really hard to get my attention and get me to go out with them. Let me tell you it was never like a cold hearted "NO" when they asked. Sometimes everything in me wanted to say: "YES! YES! YES!" After that the story would go around that "Laura does not date anybody ever." End of story no more guys asking me out in that place.
So what made me say no? Why didn't I say yes? What is my problem?! I think the easiest way to explain it is to show you my thought process when a guy asks me out. First of all I ask myself a few questions: Where am I going in life? Where are they going in life? Is it worth it if they are going the opposite direction in life? Do I want to live in the moment or save my heart from breaking multiple times before finding the guy that I am going to marry? How is this person going to affect me now and later on in life? Now allot of people would say but what if you passed up you soul mate?! Guess what?! I already have a soul mate for life and I know where He wants me to go in life so if I don't find a guy that has the same or close to the same goal why would I bother? Now this sounds all fine a dandy and you are probably thinking easy for you to say Laura.
Well I would like to clarify right here and now that none of this is honestly that easy to put into practice. It is actually quite difficult. Having to say no to a guy you like is actually a really hard thing to do. I know allot of people feel bad about saying no, so how do I have the heart to say it? As long as from the get go I know that no I will never date this person there is no point; than I need to also not flirt or lead that person on. If they ask me out and I have lead that person on I should feel very badly about saying no. (And I am not perfect, it has happened before and the toughest thing is apologizing, saying no, and letting it go.) Otherwise I should not feel bad at all about saying no at all. Trust me most of the guys I have said no to got another girl a few months later.
Another thing is I don't ever want to just jump into a relationship. Say I meet a person that does have similar goals, I'm not going to be like: "OH MY GOODNESS, I FOUND YOU!! LETS GO ON A DATE RIGHT NOW!!" Nah not at all. I want to be friends with whoever I am going to end up dating or getting married to in the end. Feelings don't last forever but, friendships can if treated with respect and honor. Also I may meet a guy that is going in the same direction as me but, that does not automatically mean that he is "the one."
So in summary why am I currently not dating? I am not dating because, honestly right now where I am in life I would learn to lean to heavily on the guy and not my creator. Before I am going to even contemplate dating anyone ever is if my relationship with the man who created me, and has held my heart for years and years is in a good place. If I am not fully relying on and trusting Him with my life; than I am not ready. Especially right now when I am going through allot, if I start dating somebody they are going to become my "solid rock" which, is not a healthy thing to do because, we are all human and all humans make mistakes and hurt people. And that is why I "don't" date.
At every job or sport or any thing done with my peers, I would get asked out once or twice or flirted with but if I said no or never flirted back than two things would happen first the guys would obviously say "Hey that Laura girl is hard to get." So then of course one of them would try really hard to get my attention and get me to go out with them. Let me tell you it was never like a cold hearted "NO" when they asked. Sometimes everything in me wanted to say: "YES! YES! YES!" After that the story would go around that "Laura does not date anybody ever." End of story no more guys asking me out in that place.
So what made me say no? Why didn't I say yes? What is my problem?! I think the easiest way to explain it is to show you my thought process when a guy asks me out. First of all I ask myself a few questions: Where am I going in life? Where are they going in life? Is it worth it if they are going the opposite direction in life? Do I want to live in the moment or save my heart from breaking multiple times before finding the guy that I am going to marry? How is this person going to affect me now and later on in life? Now allot of people would say but what if you passed up you soul mate?! Guess what?! I already have a soul mate for life and I know where He wants me to go in life so if I don't find a guy that has the same or close to the same goal why would I bother? Now this sounds all fine a dandy and you are probably thinking easy for you to say Laura.
Well I would like to clarify right here and now that none of this is honestly that easy to put into practice. It is actually quite difficult. Having to say no to a guy you like is actually a really hard thing to do. I know allot of people feel bad about saying no, so how do I have the heart to say it? As long as from the get go I know that no I will never date this person there is no point; than I need to also not flirt or lead that person on. If they ask me out and I have lead that person on I should feel very badly about saying no. (And I am not perfect, it has happened before and the toughest thing is apologizing, saying no, and letting it go.) Otherwise I should not feel bad at all about saying no at all. Trust me most of the guys I have said no to got another girl a few months later.
Another thing is I don't ever want to just jump into a relationship. Say I meet a person that does have similar goals, I'm not going to be like: "OH MY GOODNESS, I FOUND YOU!! LETS GO ON A DATE RIGHT NOW!!" Nah not at all. I want to be friends with whoever I am going to end up dating or getting married to in the end. Feelings don't last forever but, friendships can if treated with respect and honor. Also I may meet a guy that is going in the same direction as me but, that does not automatically mean that he is "the one."
So in summary why am I currently not dating? I am not dating because, honestly right now where I am in life I would learn to lean to heavily on the guy and not my creator. Before I am going to even contemplate dating anyone ever is if my relationship with the man who created me, and has held my heart for years and years is in a good place. If I am not fully relying on and trusting Him with my life; than I am not ready. Especially right now when I am going through allot, if I start dating somebody they are going to become my "solid rock" which, is not a healthy thing to do because, we are all human and all humans make mistakes and hurt people. And that is why I "don't" date.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Easy Fall Food
It seems that once fall hits all motivation for cooking dinner leaves because, I would rather be making apple crisp, or cookies, or carving a pumpkin, or making some new fall drink, or just chilling outside in the amazing fall weather. Anything but, making the same old dinner. That is where the lovely invention called the crock-pot comes in!
Crock-pot Chicken Wraps
What you need:
2 lb of boneless skinless chicken. (Thighs, breast, it really doesn't matter)
1 cup of salsa
1 can of black beans (strained and rinsed)
2 cloves of garlic (chopped up)
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
12 tortillas
Sour Cream (optional)
Next your just going to literally just dump it all into the crock-pot. Switch it to low for 7-8 hours and there you go dinner!
Now for my favorite part (other than eating it). Grab your hand mixer and shred the meat, until it looks like this. And this take less than one minute to do.
No just put it on some tortillas! I always like to top it with sour cream as well, but it is just as good without!
Also 4 of us ate about 8 or 9 and there were still plenty of leftovers. I usually don't like leftovers heated up but, these taste the same reheated. Just pop it in the microwave.
Crock-pot Chicken Wraps
What you need:
2 lb of boneless skinless chicken. (Thighs, breast, it really doesn't matter)
1 cup of salsa
1 can of black beans (strained and rinsed)
2 cloves of garlic (chopped up)
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
12 tortillas
Sour Cream (optional)
No just put it on some tortillas! I always like to top it with sour cream as well, but it is just as good without!
Also 4 of us ate about 8 or 9 and there were still plenty of leftovers. I usually don't like leftovers heated up but, these taste the same reheated. Just pop it in the microwave.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Religious Speaking
Since I sorta just made this blog for ranting I believe I will continue to do so. Last night I was at a coffee shop just hanging out with a few of my friends. On my way into the coffee shop I noticed a group of girls in a huddle holding hands and obviously praying. When I saw them I smiled and thought honestly you have to live on the Bible belt to see a group of people praying and right next to them a group of people smoking pot, I also thought isn't that cool though. You definitely see more of it down here but, I just thought some people are ashamed to pray in public. I know when I was younger I hated praying when we went out to eat. Somehow the waiter would always show up while we were praying or people would stare at us. As I matured I realized praying in public is the least I can do unashamedly for Jesus.
I headed inside and forgot about the whole thing, until about 30 min later when the same group of girls came into the coffee shop. They were huddled in their little group about 5 feet away from our table. I noticed they kept glancing at us until they finally decided to approach us. After they introduced themselves the first things out of their mouths was "What do you think about Heaven and Hell?" "If you were to die tonight would you want to go to Hell?" Of course we explained to them what we believed and they were encouraged. We were invited back to there bible study and than they said "Pray for us we are headed over to that group of girls over there!"
Now I disagree with a few things about the way they were doing this. First of all if I was a non-believer I can guarantee that what they said would have been a huge turn off to me. Why?! Because, my first thought may be what if I don't even believe in a heaven or a hell? Second if I did, my thought may be why would I want to go to heaven with a bunch of people like that? And thirdly, I think I would feel unappreciated. I would feel like, man they just want to say that they "saved a soul" another check off their list of things to do today. Never to hear from them again. These girls that came up to us seemed like great girls! Really they did they were happy and smiley and I believe they are headed in the right direction.
Now you may ask well now Laura what would you do differently?! How else are you going to reach out to the lost people of your town?! First I would say we are all lost and I believe we need to realize this daily. Without Jesus we are as lost as lost can be. It is him living IN and THROUGH us that makes us found. The next step I would say is befriend the people that are lost but, don't friend them for that exact reason. Jesus came to earth to show the lost (us) the life (himself). Do you ever see Jesus randomly walking up to people and saying. "Hey I am the Son of God and well lets put it simply you are going to die and go to hell without me oh yah and btw in order for you to go to heaven I am going to have to die for you and THAN rise up from the grave so that you can go to heaven with me." (Big sigh) Nope never ever see him doing that. When Jesus calls Zaccheus down from the tree, what do you see? You do not see Jesus rushing about trying to get him to believe in him so that he can move onto the next person nope. You see Jesus going to eat dinner with Zaccheus! A whole meal with just Zaccheus. Do you think Zaccheus felt like Jesus was just trying to win him over? No, I know he felt so at ease and amazed by Jesus that he sought out a way to be more like Jesus. He wanted to please Jesus, and he found the best way for him to serve Jesus was to give up almost all of his possessions and give back 4x what he stole from those around him. That is what we need to be doing; we need to be such a light that people want to ask us why are you so different? What is it about you?! That right there friends is how we can share the gospel without running around with out big bibles asking people if they think they are going to hell or not.
Speaking of that. Why do we go around saying: "Do you think you are going to heaven or hell?" Why do we put it that way? Maybe because we think that we can scare people into believing in Christ. Maybe we ourselves think that going to heaven it the only plus to being a Christian. Whew at least we have eternal life not in a fire hole. Naw those are the wrong questions to ask. Yah they are partly true but, mostly incorrect. I think people should be told about heaven and hell AFTER they are told about Jesus. Did you know the whole reason there is a heaven is...wait for it.....because of JESUS. Heaven is supposed to be a place where we can rest with Jesus. Not a place where we go just cus we trust that Jesus does exist. Nope our motive for being a Christian should be living to the best of our ability for the Creator of this universe. You know he is the only person who understands exactly how I feel. The only person who has never broken my trust. The only person who will be patient enough to listen to me rant all the time. And he is the only person who has enough grace in him to forgive me every single day! I seriously cannot wait to meet him face to face. It's kinda like talking to my best friend on the phone all the time and you count down the days until you can go see them! I cannot wait until I can get to heaven and give my best friend a hug!
Yes I do think these girls are headed the right way and I do think we have all done the same thing before. But please let us check our motives and our actions. Lets us be a light to this dark world by being who we are in Christ. If we are living for Christ people will want to know why we are soo different! Think about it how many different times did people come up to Jesus? And in the thousands no less. Jesus actually had to flee from them just to get some sleep. Guess who didn't run to Jesus....the people caught up in religious fog. Following Jesus is not a religion at all it is living.
I headed inside and forgot about the whole thing, until about 30 min later when the same group of girls came into the coffee shop. They were huddled in their little group about 5 feet away from our table. I noticed they kept glancing at us until they finally decided to approach us. After they introduced themselves the first things out of their mouths was "What do you think about Heaven and Hell?" "If you were to die tonight would you want to go to Hell?" Of course we explained to them what we believed and they were encouraged. We were invited back to there bible study and than they said "Pray for us we are headed over to that group of girls over there!"
Now I disagree with a few things about the way they were doing this. First of all if I was a non-believer I can guarantee that what they said would have been a huge turn off to me. Why?! Because, my first thought may be what if I don't even believe in a heaven or a hell? Second if I did, my thought may be why would I want to go to heaven with a bunch of people like that? And thirdly, I think I would feel unappreciated. I would feel like, man they just want to say that they "saved a soul" another check off their list of things to do today. Never to hear from them again. These girls that came up to us seemed like great girls! Really they did they were happy and smiley and I believe they are headed in the right direction.
Now you may ask well now Laura what would you do differently?! How else are you going to reach out to the lost people of your town?! First I would say we are all lost and I believe we need to realize this daily. Without Jesus we are as lost as lost can be. It is him living IN and THROUGH us that makes us found. The next step I would say is befriend the people that are lost but, don't friend them for that exact reason. Jesus came to earth to show the lost (us) the life (himself). Do you ever see Jesus randomly walking up to people and saying. "Hey I am the Son of God and well lets put it simply you are going to die and go to hell without me oh yah and btw in order for you to go to heaven I am going to have to die for you and THAN rise up from the grave so that you can go to heaven with me." (Big sigh) Nope never ever see him doing that. When Jesus calls Zaccheus down from the tree, what do you see? You do not see Jesus rushing about trying to get him to believe in him so that he can move onto the next person nope. You see Jesus going to eat dinner with Zaccheus! A whole meal with just Zaccheus. Do you think Zaccheus felt like Jesus was just trying to win him over? No, I know he felt so at ease and amazed by Jesus that he sought out a way to be more like Jesus. He wanted to please Jesus, and he found the best way for him to serve Jesus was to give up almost all of his possessions and give back 4x what he stole from those around him. That is what we need to be doing; we need to be such a light that people want to ask us why are you so different? What is it about you?! That right there friends is how we can share the gospel without running around with out big bibles asking people if they think they are going to hell or not.
Speaking of that. Why do we go around saying: "Do you think you are going to heaven or hell?" Why do we put it that way? Maybe because we think that we can scare people into believing in Christ. Maybe we ourselves think that going to heaven it the only plus to being a Christian. Whew at least we have eternal life not in a fire hole. Naw those are the wrong questions to ask. Yah they are partly true but, mostly incorrect. I think people should be told about heaven and hell AFTER they are told about Jesus. Did you know the whole reason there is a heaven is...wait for it.....because of JESUS. Heaven is supposed to be a place where we can rest with Jesus. Not a place where we go just cus we trust that Jesus does exist. Nope our motive for being a Christian should be living to the best of our ability for the Creator of this universe. You know he is the only person who understands exactly how I feel. The only person who has never broken my trust. The only person who will be patient enough to listen to me rant all the time. And he is the only person who has enough grace in him to forgive me every single day! I seriously cannot wait to meet him face to face. It's kinda like talking to my best friend on the phone all the time and you count down the days until you can go see them! I cannot wait until I can get to heaven and give my best friend a hug!
Yes I do think these girls are headed the right way and I do think we have all done the same thing before. But please let us check our motives and our actions. Lets us be a light to this dark world by being who we are in Christ. If we are living for Christ people will want to know why we are soo different! Think about it how many different times did people come up to Jesus? And in the thousands no less. Jesus actually had to flee from them just to get some sleep. Guess who didn't run to Jesus....the people caught up in religious fog. Following Jesus is not a religion at all it is living.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Halloween Whys?
Halloween....I have never fully understood this holiday. When I was a kid I went to a private school, where we were taught that Halloween was Satan's birthday and that if we trick or treated we were worshiping the Devil. Of course my parents disagreed because, it is definitely not true. Every year we got dressed up and went door to door with our friends from the neighborhood. We were never allowed to dress up as witches, or goblins, or anything gross looking but, I think we always had the best costumes. I was Pippi Longstocking, a ladybug, Mrs.Clause, a jellyfish. etc. We always had more fun I believe getting ready for Halloween than actually celebrating Halloween itself, with all the pumpkin carving and hot chocolate drinking it was one of the greatest things of my childhood. But even after all of that I still had to go to school and listen to all my teachers and friends telling me how evil it was to celebrate this day of candy gathering.
Once I turned 13 or 14 I moved onto the teenager side of Halloween. Which I found I don't much enjoy. Yes the bonfires and hanging out part was all fine and dandy. The part that has not thrilled me or should I say thrilled me to much? This is the part of Halloween that I honestly just do not understand! Why would we go to a haunted house just to scare ourselves?! Why would we watch the scariest movies ever just to get nightmares?! Why?!?! I knew a girl a couple years ago, who around this time of year would get super duper skittish. Every little sound would make her jump and she would hardly ever go outside in the dark because, she was scared to death of "something" outside. I have never ever understood this whole lets go scare ourselves to death thing! If somebody has a good explanation of this whole thing I would gladly listen! I just want to know why the heck you would do that to yourself?!
The last thing that I don't understand about Halloween is why do some people just completely trash there yards for Halloween? Like I understand I few decorations, I'm talking about the people who cover every single living bush and tree with "spider webs" and orange and purple Christmas lights. Their yard is full of the blow up ghosts and goblins, and zombies and tombstones put throughout the front lawn. Don't you think that may be a bit over excessive?! Just a little bit?
Again if anyone has any explanations to these phenomenons please I would love to hear them, because I am either one confused person or one boring person who just doesn't want to have to go around being scared to death about taking a walk at night or in the woods. Give me the candy, and the pumpkin carving, and the hot cocoa, and the costumes. But lets just leave out the rest. Nothing in me wants to make myself scared about something not worth being scared about!
Once I turned 13 or 14 I moved onto the teenager side of Halloween. Which I found I don't much enjoy. Yes the bonfires and hanging out part was all fine and dandy. The part that has not thrilled me or should I say thrilled me to much? This is the part of Halloween that I honestly just do not understand! Why would we go to a haunted house just to scare ourselves?! Why would we watch the scariest movies ever just to get nightmares?! Why?!?! I knew a girl a couple years ago, who around this time of year would get super duper skittish. Every little sound would make her jump and she would hardly ever go outside in the dark because, she was scared to death of "something" outside. I have never ever understood this whole lets go scare ourselves to death thing! If somebody has a good explanation of this whole thing I would gladly listen! I just want to know why the heck you would do that to yourself?!
The last thing that I don't understand about Halloween is why do some people just completely trash there yards for Halloween? Like I understand I few decorations, I'm talking about the people who cover every single living bush and tree with "spider webs" and orange and purple Christmas lights. Their yard is full of the blow up ghosts and goblins, and zombies and tombstones put throughout the front lawn. Don't you think that may be a bit over excessive?! Just a little bit?
Again if anyone has any explanations to these phenomenons please I would love to hear them, because I am either one confused person or one boring person who just doesn't want to have to go around being scared to death about taking a walk at night or in the woods. Give me the candy, and the pumpkin carving, and the hot cocoa, and the costumes. But lets just leave out the rest. Nothing in me wants to make myself scared about something not worth being scared about!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Oh Daniel...
10 years ago on this very day another little baby brother was brought into my life. I will always remember Daniel's whole pregnancy/birth experience. First off we were in Nebraska which was a far cry from my sweet home of tree filled Minnesota. Second my mom became very sick (which is what happens when she is pregnant..all 9 months) which meant that I now assumed the role of cleaning, laundry etc. I just remember my mom crawling out of her bedroom showing me how to do the laundry, which required me sitting on top of the washer when it was spinning the clothes. I remember random people that I didn't know very well coming in and out all the time with food and helping clean our house. I remember sitting at the kitchen table one afternoon doing my homework while my mom and dad where in the kitchen arguing on what the name of the baby would be if it was a girl. Finally they both looked at me and said Laura you are going to draw a name out of the hat 3 time and whichever name wins 2 out of three that's what it will be. I also remember my parents telling me and Nate that if it was a girl I would share a room with her and if it was a boy he would share a room with Nate. I remember every night before going to bed praying and praying and praying that it was a girl who would want to play barbies and dress-up with me. Of course by the time 9 months was up I was 6 1/2 and we were getting ready to move to Duluth, MN.
I will never forget the day my mom went into labor with Daniel, we were picked up from school by some people from church. I remember talking to my dad right before bed, him saying that we had a baby brother but, we couldn't come see him till the next morning. I feel very bad for the girl who was probably 16, who had to put up with me that night. I was of course 6 and had been anxiously waiting for this moment for months and now the baby was here but, I couldn't go see it yet! I remember starting out sleeping on the floor in this girls room, than I woke her up probably at like midnight....she than let me sleep in her bed with her, I still couldn't sleep so we went and woke her parents up they let us sleep in the living room, but guess what I still couldn't sleep. Finally probably around 3am I woke the girl up again and she brought me to sleep with Nate. I remember curling up next to my younger brother and falling fast asleep. Of course the next morning we got to go see Daniel Harry Sahlberg in the hospital. I was a little disappointed that it was a boy and not a girl but, lets just say now I am very glad I don't have to share a room with a little 10 year old girl. (I am now thanking God for not listening to those prayers I prayed at age 6)
I am blessed beyond measure to have a brother like Daniel. Yah he does get quite annoying from time to time and yah he back talks occasionally and yah he teases me like any normal ten year old brother would. But without Daniel in our lives I don't know what we would do. I know that he loves me to death even when he won't let me give him a goodbye kiss when the bus pulls up in the morning. He is the most creative and athletic 10 year old I know. He is always laughing and smiling. Even though he is only ten he checks up on all the people (guys) I hang out with and makes sure they are nice and treat me right. As a matter of fact last night at dinner he folded his hands on the table looked me right in the eye and said Laura I think it is time you get a boyfriend...but, not that guy from the coffee shop. Oh Daniel.....so full of humor and joy.
So yes I am ever so glad that 10 years ago today my little brother Daniel came into this world.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
I Saw This Thing on Pinterest....
I have used those six words more times than I can count in countless conversations. My dad walks in from work. "What did you do today?"
Me: "Well I saw this thing on Pinterest....."
Shopping in WalMart, lady shopping in the same aisle as me. "Oooohh I love your hair! How did you do it?!"
Me: "I saw this thing on Pinterest....."
Making dinner for company. "This is delicious...what is your secret?"
Me: "Funny you ask...I saw this thing on Pinterest....."
Hanging out with friends. "Laura you are soo creative"
Me: Not really but, I saw this thing on Pinterest...."
Best conversation starter. "I saw this thing on Pinterest.."
Filling out job applications. Question: Describe your accomplishments in life.
My answer. I am actually one of the top pinners on Pinterest. I hate to brag but, I saw this thing on Pinterest...."
Ok so I think you get the picture. My dad will not let me say that anymore he told me "Laura, I assume you found it on Pinterest unless you say differently." I actually believe it is my favorite six words in the whole wide world, but that is beside the point. Some people find being addicted to Pinterest a waste of time and energy, but I would like to beg to differ and prove to you that it is actually one of the best things to spend time on.
The do's and don'ts of Pinterest:
Do have a whole board devoted to your wedding. My wedding board has 176 pins at the moment. It is full of centerpiece ideas, dresses (for both bride and bridesmaids), good photo ideas, cute and unique wedding favors, save the dates...etc. Now you may say "Laura Jane you don't even have a fiance let alone a boyfriend! Why?!" When I get engaged, I will not have to be engaged for long and I will have the least stressful wedding in the whole world. All because I started planning my wedding little by little on Pinterest. When the time comes I just have to decide which ideas I will have and which I will not.
The don'ts of your wedding board. If you are married don't have one, unless it is for a friend or family member, and even so make sure it is what they want and not what you would have done differently. Don't just pin every single random and cute thing you see....make sure you have a general plan ie. same dress types, same color zone, same type of wedding theme. If I were to pin a pretty dress that I know I would never wear for my wedding that would just be a waste because, I would go back and have way to much to sort through.
Don't pin viruses....people oh dear people these are not that hard to realize. Before pinning something glance at the website under the picture! You will normally recognize it. Or you will notice it being a blog. If a website looks like this: www.gahw9sdrjuhw4guj.com I would generally not click on it. Also there is sometimes a lock that shows you if it is safe or not. Another thing if it says something like. "The first 500 hundred people to pin this will get a $800 gift certificate to Old Navy" It is most likely a lie and you will be pinning something that you probably don't want to pin...just guessing.
Don't pin a creative idea, food, exercise, or hairstyle that you are never actually going to use or do. And if you are using Pinterest correctly you will most likely make half of the food and creative idea items you pin. (If you have time of course) I find Pinterest my go to place when I am bored, I have used to many of the ideas I have found. It is crazy helpful. Love love love it!
Do stalk on all the super good blogs that have awesome tutorials, fashion, and cooking advice. You may find yourself getting lost in a blog more often that you get lost scrolling through the actual Pinterest home page. I have always loved blogs and now there is Pinterest which just shows me all the good blogs without having to go through all the ones that are not as interesting.
Don't just pin pictures of puppies and little ducks and pigs or whatever else is little, fluffy and not human. Alright some of them are cute agreed, but when that is all you pin I get a little bit sick of seeing these fluffy creatures. I think there should be a maximum amount of fluffy creatures you can pin in one sitting. Moderation is key people.
Now since this is probably my favorite site in the whole wide world I could keep going and going I will just show you my top 5 favorites out of 1,000.
I did this one but, with MN instead! And the heart by Duluth, MN....I love it!
This is your fingerprint in your grooms wedding ring! I am definitely doing this and maybe for myself as well.
This is 20 homemade recipes for growing long and luscious hair! I use it all the time!
I really really love this photo and am doing one like it for my graduation pictures.
And I just love this picture cus it has snow and a ski lift which I adore!
Choosing those five was really hard! Like I said 5 out of 1,000 that is to many to chose from! ;)
Me: "Well I saw this thing on Pinterest....."
Shopping in WalMart, lady shopping in the same aisle as me. "Oooohh I love your hair! How did you do it?!"
Me: "I saw this thing on Pinterest....."
Making dinner for company. "This is delicious...what is your secret?"
Me: "Funny you ask...I saw this thing on Pinterest....."
Hanging out with friends. "Laura you are soo creative"
Me: Not really but, I saw this thing on Pinterest...."
Best conversation starter. "I saw this thing on Pinterest.."
Filling out job applications. Question: Describe your accomplishments in life.
My answer. I am actually one of the top pinners on Pinterest. I hate to brag but, I saw this thing on Pinterest...."
Ok so I think you get the picture. My dad will not let me say that anymore he told me "Laura, I assume you found it on Pinterest unless you say differently." I actually believe it is my favorite six words in the whole wide world, but that is beside the point. Some people find being addicted to Pinterest a waste of time and energy, but I would like to beg to differ and prove to you that it is actually one of the best things to spend time on.
The do's and don'ts of Pinterest:
Do have a whole board devoted to your wedding. My wedding board has 176 pins at the moment. It is full of centerpiece ideas, dresses (for both bride and bridesmaids), good photo ideas, cute and unique wedding favors, save the dates...etc. Now you may say "Laura Jane you don't even have a fiance let alone a boyfriend! Why?!" When I get engaged, I will not have to be engaged for long and I will have the least stressful wedding in the whole world. All because I started planning my wedding little by little on Pinterest. When the time comes I just have to decide which ideas I will have and which I will not.
The don'ts of your wedding board. If you are married don't have one, unless it is for a friend or family member, and even so make sure it is what they want and not what you would have done differently. Don't just pin every single random and cute thing you see....make sure you have a general plan ie. same dress types, same color zone, same type of wedding theme. If I were to pin a pretty dress that I know I would never wear for my wedding that would just be a waste because, I would go back and have way to much to sort through.
Don't pin viruses....people oh dear people these are not that hard to realize. Before pinning something glance at the website under the picture! You will normally recognize it. Or you will notice it being a blog. If a website looks like this: www.gahw9sdrjuhw4guj.com I would generally not click on it. Also there is sometimes a lock that shows you if it is safe or not. Another thing if it says something like. "The first 500 hundred people to pin this will get a $800 gift certificate to Old Navy" It is most likely a lie and you will be pinning something that you probably don't want to pin...just guessing.
Don't pin a creative idea, food, exercise, or hairstyle that you are never actually going to use or do. And if you are using Pinterest correctly you will most likely make half of the food and creative idea items you pin. (If you have time of course) I find Pinterest my go to place when I am bored, I have used to many of the ideas I have found. It is crazy helpful. Love love love it!
Do stalk on all the super good blogs that have awesome tutorials, fashion, and cooking advice. You may find yourself getting lost in a blog more often that you get lost scrolling through the actual Pinterest home page. I have always loved blogs and now there is Pinterest which just shows me all the good blogs without having to go through all the ones that are not as interesting.
Don't just pin pictures of puppies and little ducks and pigs or whatever else is little, fluffy and not human. Alright some of them are cute agreed, but when that is all you pin I get a little bit sick of seeing these fluffy creatures. I think there should be a maximum amount of fluffy creatures you can pin in one sitting. Moderation is key people.
Now since this is probably my favorite site in the whole wide world I could keep going and going I will just show you my top 5 favorites out of 1,000.
Choosing those five was really hard! Like I said 5 out of 1,000 that is to many to chose from! ;)
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