| Confessions of a Broke College Kid | Let's Talk Textbooks |

Here's the funny thing, I haven't even started college yet and I've already made a few mistakes.  Now, if you're gonna make mistakes in life you might as well use them to your benefit and learn from them.  If you don't learn from them, well, you keep making them over and over again and in my case that might prove quite costly.  My college tuition was due this past monday so when I made it home from work I immediately started making sure all my ducks were in line.  Tuition, check.  Talk on phone with Financial Aid Office for 20 minutes, check.  Wait on hold with Social Security Administration for 40 minutes, check.  Oh wait, better check my student email like they've advised us to.

Books required for Accounting 101.

Textbooks, not check.  Oh brother.  Of course this doesn't surprise me, If there were any special skills I had acquired over my past years of schooling it would be procrastination.  What I should of done was checked my student email about 3 weeks ago, got the list, and then proceeded to call mom so she could search all of her trusty sources for some cheap college material.  Nope.  I like a challenge. I also like having no money, apparently. I call Justin: "Hey I need to go by the campus bookstore today and get my books."  "I can just go pick them up for you."  He's so sweet.  One hour later I'm on my way to Columbia with twenty dollars in my fuel tank praying that will last me until Thursday.

"Do you know how much those books were?"  Oh, shoot.
 "Uh, a lot?"
"389 dollars"  Oh man, that's worse than I thought.

389 dollars later I'm left with a meager 25 dollars in my checking account.  Moral of this story?  Check used book stores,  check Amazon, check Ebay, check ANYWHERE ELSE before you decide to buy brand new books for classes. (Amazon.com has this cool feature where you can rent college textbooks for a semester, and it's about 1 million times cheaper than buying brand new.)  Oh, and don't do all of this two days before your classes start. Of course, the bright side of all of this is, one, it's funny. . . who needs money anyways? Two, I can resell them back to the school when I'm done.  So that's nice.

My parents tried to tell me, but I didn't listen.
Okay, no, always listen to your parents. They usually know best.  Or just take this guy's word for it.

| How to Save Money the EASY Way | From Someone who Learned it the HARD Way |

 

I've been trying to get myself on a budget system since about May.  After all, money management is a lesson better learned young.  So, with that said, here are a couple truth's about me:

I'm young.

I'm not very good at money management.

Perfect! Let's get this show on the road!  As hard as a tried to be a little more frugal with my money something would always get in the way.  That something was usually a Starbucks or a Panera Bread.  I'm not terrible at managing my money, but I could definitely be better at it.  In fact, everyone could probably use some practice with this. Which is part of the reason why I'm writing this blog.  So there I was, living my life, thinking I was doing alright, when I got a nice, big, hard slap in the face from reality.  And reality said: "You spent way too much money on Christmas gifts this year. Next year, let's stick to something handmade."  Reality was right.  Christmas really knocked me out this year. And  I hadn't quite recovered from that when I was hit again by a collection of really big, expensive college books.

Needless to say, budgeting is no longer a "I'll get around to it eventually" thing.  It's now a "you better start budgeting or you're gonna be living under a bridge" thing.  So in my conquest to save more money I've come up with a few money saving tips from someone who had to learn all of this the hard way.  You're welcome.

Number One: Pack a lunch for work. 
If you work through lunch like I always do and the place where you work is fully equipped with both a microwave AND a refrigerator... bring a lunch. Is it really necessary to go out to eat everyday? Or even 3 times a week?  No, It's not. You could save so much money just by packing a sandwich the night before or bringing some leftovers.

Number Two: Cut down on the Starbucks!
Or any other high priced coffee shop to which you find yourself undoubtedly loyal.  I know, I know, coffee is the life fuel that keeps us going through long, stressful days... but 4 dollars a cup? Let's get real.  I don't live close to a Starbucks anymore (sadly) so any time I drive into the city I stop there because I feel like it's my duty.  "It's here... I might as well buy one." No.  just because there is a coffee shop in the vicinity does not mean you are obligated to stop and purchase a "mocha latte with half the pumps of chocolate and no whipped cream".  I just saved you about 5 bucks.  You're welcome.

Number Three: Set a weekly limit!
This is something I'm really going to have to buckle down on.  When I got my debit card I stopped carrying cash.  Stupid idea. It's so much easier to spend your money when you're swiping a card as opposed to pulling out some cash.  Give yourself a limit.  When you take your paycheck to the bank, leave out 20/30 dollars in cash and instead of pulling out a card to make a purchase you can look at what you have in paper money and then decide if it's something you really need.  For example, no you don't need that 8 dollar mascara, and contrary to what the ad says, it does not make your eyelashes 5 inches longer. 

Number Four: If you DON'T need it, DON'T buy it.
This one kind of piggy backs on number three.  Just because you have money, doesn't mean you can just spend it on the first thing that catches your eye.  Well, I guess you could do that, but it's not something I would recommend.  It's important to look at what you have in total, and then proceed to subtract your expenses (ex. rent, phone bill, utilities, car payment, car insurance, etc.) Once everything is deducted you have a little spending money.  Notice I said little.  You don't want to just blow the rest.  Why? Sometimes, little, out of the blue expenses just fall from the sky and, once again, nail you right in the face.  For example, you're leaving for work and your car battery decides to inconvenience you with its sudden death and you are left with no choice but to purchase a new one.  Always plan for things like that.  You don't want to be hit with an expense similar to that one and not have the necessary finances to pay for it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no Dave Ramsey.  I have to work on all these things just as much as the next person, but it's always good to have a place to start when you're finally ready to buckle down and manage your money better.  It's taken me a few months but I think I'm finally ready to get started on this.

Regionals '12.. Can't really think of anything cool to call this.

I remember pulling out my notebook of inspirations at the beginning of this year and jotting down a list of dreams/goals that I had for the future.   They were a combination of short term and long term goals.  After I finished writing, I stared at the paper, there were about 16 or 17 in all.  As I scrolled back over the list I noticed that each would take a great amount of effort and time.  They would require me to work extra hard and at times, really step outside my comfort zone.  But, I figured that this is what I wanted, so I was gonna work for it.

I ended up posting the list on this blog and if you remember back to that post (The Zone of Comfort: My Dreams ) You'll remember that one of my goals was to make it to Nationals in NCFCA.  In my mind, this is going to be one of the harder ones. 

At the beginning of this speech and debate season I began brainstorming ideas of what I wanted to write speeches on.  I decided to do something a little different this year and try my hand at Illustrated Oratory, which is basically a speech with boards for visual aids.  But what to write my IO on?  That was the question.  I was stumped.  I didn't want to write it on any usual speech topic that everyone else would be attempting to claim.  I wanted something different.  But most importantly, I wanted something I felt strongly about and that would impact the people around me.  Finally, after much thinking I decided to write a speech on Sex Trafficking.  Was it random? Absolutely not.  I feel very strongly about the abolition of sex trafficking.  It's a depressing topic, but people need to know that it happens.  I wanted to make them aware and then empower them to want to end it as well.

My mind was made up, and nothing was gonna change it.  Besides maybe my parents, no one really thought my speech topic was cool.   "What's your IO on?"  "Sex trafficking!"  "..Oh.."  This is usually how the conversations went and they were always accompanied by strange looks.  Times like this made me second guess myself and my speech topic.  Hmm.. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea.  But the Lord encouraged me to keep going.  This speech topic was odd, it was out of the ordinary, and it was different, but I was gonna do it anyway.  In your face, haters. :)

The year started out rough, but when I placed second with it in Houston I was encouraged.  I came home, worked on it some more and prepared to take it to the Regional tournament.  Yes, my dream was to make it to Nationals, and I worked hard.  I wasn't gonna come home after Regionals and wish I had done more.  Needless to say, the Lord never left my side.  I prayed before every round and I placed my PG-13 speech in his hands.  Whatever he wanted.  I was kinda freaked out because sometimes when I get really nervous in a round I blank out and since this was Regionals, I couldn't afford to blank out.

Well, every round was perfect.  I ended up advancing to finals and again, that round was perfect.  I can't give credit to my own strength because I did nothing but give a speech, it was all God.  I gave that last round my best and then waited. Oh, the joy of waiting.

Sitting in that big sanctuary.  Watching people walk up on stage.  Seeing friends qualify to nationals was all incredible.  Finally, they called up the IO finalists.  I don't know if I looked nervous, but I can tell you that my stomach felt like it was gonna implode at any moment.  We all stood there.  They announced 6th place.. 5th place.. No advancement to nationals.. 4th place.. Conner Liberto.  I started walking.  Dang it I thought as I started walking towards the stage, I barely missed it.  Ugh.  Next thing I know Mrs. Cromer says: "And she is advancing to the National Championship!" I stopped.  My mouth probably dropped open, but I can't really account for anything else that I did after that.
 I accepted my award and walked over to get my picture taken.  I don't even think I smiled because I was in shock.  Pretty sad, I know.  But that's not completely my fault, he didn't say " say cheese!' or anything!

I did it.  Not by my own strength, but by God's.  I proved to myself that if you set a goal and work for it, then you can achieve it.  I felt so blessed in that moment and I felt like I didn't really deserve it, but it was amazing nonetheless.

So yeah. That's this years "Regionals story" :)

To South Carolina and Back- Part 2

The scenery was different here as opposed to where I come from.  The trees were tall and dense and the grass was.. green.  It was a nice change.  The only thing that stayed about the same though, was the heat.  But being an inhabitant of South Texas, I was used to it.  I can honestly tell you, the first thing I did upon arrival was bring all of my stuff in, stumble tiredly up the stairs and collapse on the bed where an NCIS marathon was waiting.  Ah, yes! I thought, This place will do. 

I was pretty much a slug for the rest of the day, taking advantage of every precious inch of space I had because I knew it wouldn't be long before I was stuffed back into that mini van.  That night we were given the privelage to go out to dinner with a family I had grown up with.  I hadn't seen them since I were little and it was awesome to catch up with them.

The next day, we were Ashville, NC bound for a little sightseeing trip! (By the way, Asheville is where most of The Hunger Games was filmed.. Just saying.)  The trip up there was beyond beautiful and when we finally reached the little town, I was almost in love.  I mean, a cute, little historic town in the mountains! What could be better? Well, Ashville ended up being a lot like Austin except not as big.  Hippies and tattoo parlors everywhere, and we even saw one guy with a bunch of murderous stickers plastered to the back of his car.  Odd? Apparently not for Asheville.  Nonetheless, it was a neat experience and I definitely enjoyed it.  On the way home mom insisted we stop off at the North Carolina Arboretum (Which is just a place with lots of flowers and stuff) she has an "Arboretum pass" so why not?  I've been to the Dallas Arboretum but this one, out of the two I've been to, might just be my favorite.  It was in the mountains for goodness sake!

After this little adventure we headed back to Spartanburg.

Back at the hotel we found various means of entertainment.  Basketball, NCIS marathon, workout room, free food and some tennis. Very fun.

The next day we were out early and off to the Spartanburg Expo Center for the very first day in the three day 'Freedom Girls take South Carolina' experience.  Well, the next three days were awesome, to say the least.  We talked to people, made many business connections, sold dolls, received lots of encouraging feedback and dad even had the opportunity to teach a few classes.  It was long and tiring but definitely an amazing experience.  There's no doubt that we were all completely wiped out when it was over.  The day after the conference we packed up all our stuff and headed home.  Adios Spartanburg!

To South Carolina and back... 42 hours trapped in a minivan (Part 1)

This trip began like any other trip.  As always, I was throwing things into a bag at the last minute, hoping I had packed everything I would need.  The house was bright and busy and everyone was either packing bags, finishing laundry, sweeping or doing the dishes.  Trip preparation is never fun.

We were more or less awake the next morning at 6:30, bright and early.  The morning was crisp and cool but slightly damp which was unfortunate because I knew out of us three kids, I would be the one forced to climb on top of the car and load stuff into the big black bag of doom.   Nevertheless, we got everything done and managed to fit all of our junk into the back of the car.  In case I forgot to mention previously, we were headed to SC for  Teach Them Diligently, a large Homeschool Convention, to teach workshops and also set up a Freedom Girls booth!  Do you know what this means?  No, you don't.  The beloved, roomy back seats of our car were put down to make room for 40 doll boxes and on top of those space-stealing boxes were two, quite large, freedom girls signs that not only took up the back of the car, but also intruded into my small limited space as well.   And of course, mom wanted to bring half of our pantry and Sydney thought it would be a good idea to pack a bunch of games into a separate suitcase.  Squished? Yeah, a little. 

We crossed the Louisiana borderline at about 4:00, welcomed by a sign that said, "Welcome to Louisiana" and referenced "the wetlands".  The Wetlands huh?  After a few hours of driving in Louisiana I knew exactly what they meant.  The scenery changed from wide open, green and grassy Texas plains to tall leafless trees, property fences drowned in mire and swamps.  We drove a little further before stopping in Lafayette for the evening.  The next morning we continued on, despite minor storm warnings.  Miles and miles of swamps stretched out before us.  A little later on in the day we passed through Baton Rouge and then came to New Orleans.  Honestly, I couldn't figure out why anyone would want to live there, but maybe that's just me.  An interesting fact about New Orleans is that the cemeteries have tombs that are huge and above ground.  Instead of burying the dead bodies under ground they lay them in these stone tombs that sit above the ground.  Why do they do this?  Because that part of the state is below sea level.  When water floods the city, it has no way of running out.  If the bodies had been laid underground then eventually the water, that frequently inhabits the city,  would erode the dirt in the cemeteries and surprise! Lots of dead bodies. . .what a nightmare.  The city itself was not really the most appealing place ever, but it was a cool experience nonetheless!

After a few more hours of driving, we found ourselves in Mississippi. There was an almost dramatic scene change here.  We went from swamps to miles and miles of tall trees and green grass.  Fascinated with all this beauty, I succumbed to just staring out the window.   Mississippi was, by far, the quickest state to drive through.  In about 2 short hours, we were in Alabama.  Alabama and Mississippi were very similar.  We rarely strayed from the interstate except for a few bathroom breaks and only then did we see a change in scene.  Tall, dense, green trees lined the interstate and guided us on our journey through the state.  Although it rained a few times, most of the time we could see the rays of the southern sun brightly shining through the trees. 

Well, we got through both Mississippi and Alabama in a day and ended up staying in Hogansville, Georgia that evening.  At that point, we only had a few more hours to go.  I had been to Georgia before but it was good to be back.  I'd always loved Georgia and nothing had seemed to change about it.  It was still as vast and beautiful as ever! The next day we arrived in South Carolina! I would say, if you haven't been to SC then you definitely need to head up there for a visit.  The girls were beyond excited when we arrived at our destination, the hotel we were staying at was more like a small apartment complex.  With an upstairs and 3 separate TV's (We don't have cable at home) we all thought this was paradise, UNTIL, we found out the pool wasn't open.  All our dreams, shattered in an instant.  (Okay, so that statement is slightly untrue).  We made up for the lack of swimming with basketball and cold showers.  

After 21 hours in a tightly packed car, it was good to be here,

{To be Continued}

All Star.. not really.

Hi. My name is Conner, and I like to be good at everything.  I'm sure most of you know at least one person like this.
You could invite me to a ping pong tournament and my goal would be to beat everyone. . . And I don't even like ping pong.  Or I suppose I should say I don't "appreciate" it to it's full potential, I'm sure professional ping-pong-ers (?) have amazing arms.  But that's besides the point.  Well let me be the first to tell you this, my bloggy friends, I am not good at everything.   I could give you a list of things I'm not very good at:
-Debate
-Being patient
-Photography
-Saying goodbye


And the list goes on and on.   There are people who have a natural gift for speaking in front of other people, and there are others who avoid public speaking like the plague.  That's because everyone has certain strengths and certain weaknesses and that is perfectly okay!


Jesus refers to us as "The Body of Christ." However, before we delve into that let's first look at a human body.  Let's think about how weird it would be it everyone looked like a giant hand.  What are the benefits of looking like a giant hand?  Sure, you could grab things, but you couldn't see, you couldn't hear and you couldn't walk.  Why? Because you're a giant hand.  Same thing goes for any other solitary body part.  You could accomplish what that one body part was originally intended to accomplish, but nothing more. 


Now, let's stop and thank the Lord that we aren't all giant hands.  With our bodies we have hands, feet, eyes, ears, a heart and so on and every single thing fulfills a certain, important purpose.  Eyelashes seem pretty pointless, but those are what keep dirt from getting into your eye.  Eyelashes are the reason we don't randomly see people on the floor writhing in pain and screaming "my eye!!".  Isn't that awesome?


Every part is important and every part is needed.  Now, let's revert back to the body of Christ.  It's the exact same way, we couldn't all have the exact same talent.  We all have different strengths and weaknesses because we all have a purpose to fulfill.

In 1 Corinthians it says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."




So basically, there will be things I'm not gonna be great at but through my weaknesses, Gods power is intensified.

The Zone of Comfort: My Dream(s)

I was thrown out of my comfort zone a while ago. Landed right on my butt.

Reminds me of the time I was in Port A for summer camp and one of the counselors ideas for "an awesome game" was putting a bunch of sun burned girls in a circle on the beach and said "fight".  Well, females are vicious.  I remember being grabbed by 4 girls and thrown out of the circle onto the sand.

Pardon my digression, but that was basically the way I exited my "zone of comfort".  I have vowed never to return.  I know that if I do, I'll become comfortable again and I can't have that.   Comfort is not key.  Unless you're sleeping or taking the PSAT.

I realized that there I things I want to accomplish, dreams I want to see become reality, adventures I want to create and a life I want to explore.  I can't do that if I'm afraid to walk out of my house.

If I had it my way, I'd still be at Geneva.  I'd still be quiet, awkward and would much rather prefer to be in places that are familiar rather than not.  But I gave myself one of those harsh self talks and I concluded that quiet, awkward people never get anywhere in life.  I had to walk outside that door and keep walking, while promising myself to never look back.  It's been a journey, but seeing where I am now.. I wouldn't trade the trials I faced and discomfort I experienced for anything in the world.  They challenged and grew me in certain areas making me who I am now.

So here are my dreams, it is my hope that I can accomplish most of these someday:

~To learn at least 3 foreign languages by the time I graduate highschool.  (Spanish, French and Italian)
~ Graduate college by 23
~Live in England for half a year while Attending L'abri (Francis Schaeffer Academy)
~Attend Summit Academy this summer for two weeks
~Become an intern for Teen Pact.
~Work with the Heritage Foundation
~Live in New York for a year while working at a large journalism company.
~Travel the world.
~Go sky diving and scuba diving
~Go to Nationals in NCFCA
~Become a professional barrel racer
~Start my own company
~Work with escaped/rescued sex trafficking victims.
~Live in Ireland
~Marry someone completely amazing, who's love for God far surpasses his love for me and have him come on some of my adventures with me and most of all be my best friend.


So that's what my list looks like now.  I could do none of these if the Lord and my family had prodded me out of my comfort zone.  Well, more like cattle prodded me out.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

Just Another "Christmasy" Blog

I cannot possibly describe the feeling of utter happiness I experience when Christmas rolls around every year.  I started the season off this year with 70 dozen cookies and LOTS of Michael Buble Christmas.  That was just the beginning!  Just the other day I was completing the perilous task of ascending the attic to retrieve our boxes of Christmas decorations and wreaths.  Singing along, quite loudly, to Christmas music all the while clad in not one but TWO sweatshirts. 

Yes it really does get cold in Texas, believe it or not.

There's just something about the holiday season that inspires warmth, amity, gaiety and familial bonding.  I cherish that indescribable feeling when I am presented with another moment to thank God for yet another Christmas, another beautiful opportunity to celebrate his sons birth.  

What can compare?

The correct answer should be a resounding, "NOTHING. . . duh", but I fear that answer may have gotten lost in the mob of holiday shoppers and personal gratification.  

Somewhere we seem to have forgotten what Christmas is really about.  While I cannot deny my love for pumpkin spice lattes and continual Christmas music, these worldly pleasures cannot be put on a higher throne than Jesus Christ.  Which is more important?  Fulfilling my taste buds desire for something delicious and "christmasy" or spending an eternity with the Maker of the Universe?

And no that is not a trick question.  

The simple truth is Jesus blessed us with his divine and miraculous birth over 2,000 years ago.  How is it that suddenly our thought processes are limited to how much cheaper that flat screen TV will be ON SALE!!  Don't misunderstand me, I'm talking about myself here as well.  It's easy to get sucked into the trap of "buy one get one half off".  

How about we remember that tis the season to be jolly because Christ entered the world as a baby to one day take the burden and punishment of our sins.  Maybe it's just me, but I'd take eternal life with Jesus Christ over a new TV any day.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Broken for Him

Yesterday I was casually sitting on my bedroom floor reading my Bible, Acts 5 to be exact, and I came across a verse that stopped me in my imaginary tracks.

In these passages, the apostles Peter and John are walking around the city performing miracles, praising God and preaching to the lost all in the name of Jesus. As usual The Pharisees and Sadducees are upset, maybe even a little offended by these acts and they call the men in.

"When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death"

This is when a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel steps up to warn the Sanhedrin of the possible consequences of putting these men to death.

"Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He to was killed and all his followers were scattered. Therefore in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

The leaders found Gamaliel to be right in this assumption and decided not to kill Peter and John. So they called them back in and fairly warned them to speak no more of Jesus.  Then they had both Peter and John flogged. And they were released.

Now this is the part I was getting at.

After this, the Bible says,

"The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy to suffer disgrace for the name."

Basically, they had endured a very painful form of punishment and they rejoiced because they were WORTHY enough to suffer for the name of Jesus.

Do we do this?

We are lucky enough to live where we can openly profess the name of God and not be beaten for it.  The Apostles had it much harder than we do. But that doesn't mean we won't suffer as Christians. Maybe you already have and if you haven't you WILL.  And so my question is, will you count yourself worthy to suffer for so great a cause? Will you get mad at God? Will you rejoice because he has called you to suffer for him?

 We must choose to live by faith and read our Bible daily so when the time comes for our faith to be tested we will be prepared. God didn't put us on this earth so we can live a little and have a good time, but rather be a light in a dark world. And this sometimes requires us to suffer so his name can be lifted high.

Garner State Park!

I was definitely looking forward to this years Garner State Park trip. In fact I was so excited that I stretched my creativity to the limit just trying to pass the time.  I made lists of things we would need, organized thoughts and notes for an upcoming event I'm planning and cleaned for fun as well as put together several projects that would keep my mind off of the things that were quickly approaching. Yes, I've always thought of time as quickly passing, but those three days were by far the longest three days in all my years and experience in waiting.

I thought it would never come.  But of course, the future doesn't stay the future for very long. And so it came and I was definitely ready.  That morning I was awake early making breakfast for everyone.  (We wouldn't be going ANYWHERE until dad had breakfast)  After making sure everything was in the car, we piled in and drove out of the driveway, not to return for an entire week.

Neither of my parents were too thrilled at the idea of camping all week under the hot Texas sun, but they were able to sacrifice their doubts for the greater good. Yes, I am very thankful for that.

We soon arrived and checked in.  We then decided we should find our campsite and start pulling out all the junk that took hours to organize.  (Okay.. it didn't take that long.. but it was long enough)  We were driving towards the site when we ran across 4 helpless hitchhikers.  Oh sorry.. I mean my friends.  Looking like they needed a ride we invited them into our small car that was in no way made for 9 people.  But we made it work.

Like last year, the trip consisted of lots of swimming, hiking, dancing and star watching. All which was expected.  What was NOT expected, was the flood that attacked our shelter early Friday morning.  It hasn't rained all year so I was a little shocked when it decided to thunderstorm the week we go camping.


The girls (Emily, Julia, Sydney and I) were originally in the tent.  But seeing that we would be having rain that night we switched sleeping arrangements.  The boys graciously gave us their shelter and they took our tent.  Well that night it poured, the thunder boomed and the lighting lit the entire sky as water started racing into our shelter.  I, being the fortunate one to have claimed the only air mattress was oblivious to the 3 inches of water under me until Emily got up soaking wet. Not being able to go sleep and being without a cellphone, I stood up to see how everyone else was doing.  About this time everyone else started getting up off of their soaking and almost submerged in water sleeping bags.  We all huddled on my air mattress.  Those looking in would probably think we were having an absolutely miserable time, but we laughed at how pathetic we looked and sang rain songs as we counted down the hours until morning.

Finally we were rescued and we took refuge in the only shelter with food, while the boys, thoroughly entertained with our "misery", laughed from their tent.  Until they realized that we were the ones with the food and the games.  HAH! We finally all went to sleep and awoke to a very muddy campsite, a lot of wet clothes and blankets and an obliterated canopy.  Mom was about ready to pack up and leave but I convinced her to stay and we stuck out the rest of the week with cheerful faces.  (But not without a few laundromat runs)

The trip by far was very enjoyable.  I definitely enjoyed the seemingly endless company of my friends and all the laughs and unforgettable memories that came alongside.  I definitely will not be forgetting this trip and I can't wait to return again.

I'll be back again next year, Garner!

"Patience is a virtue"

Patience is an interesting word.  It can also be a name.. but that's beside the point.

I envy my dads patience.  But I suppose living in a house full of hormonal girls requires him to exercise such a virtue.  He must take his responsibility seriously, being the only man in this house with no one to share these duties with besides maybe our male cat, George.  But as George is a ladies man.. or rather, cat, and doesn't take his duties seriously.  My father is left to tend to these duties as a patient and nurturing father as well as a loving husband.

Unfortunately, I did not inherit this quality.

I love working with children which allows me ample opportunity to be patient which is good.  I'm not extremely impatient, but when I get annoyed it's much easier for me to fly off the handle. (As with most people)

A couple of weeks ago I worked with a VBS class.  It was great, when I wasn't singing with the praise team I was helping the kids with craft and taking them to snack etc.  But of course, every class has those few kids that just love being, well.. annoying.

My patience was about to be tested.  There was, as always,  the leader of the troublemakers, had he been absent those five days, my job would have been much easier.  He would start the trouble and the other two kids would follow his lead.  He didn't really treat me like someone who was in authority over him OR someone who would have him sent home if need be.. but I was, oh yes.. I was.

By the end of that week he had kicked me once and punched me.. twice.  Real charming kid. But it was definitely a great patience tester.  God never ceases to give me opportunity to grow in an area that i've proven to need a lot of growth in. He's just amazing, ain't he?

Maybe next time I should count to ten.

1.. 2.. 3.. 4 I'm gonna kill that kid 5.. 6.. okay I won't kill him, just cause him a lot of physical pain.. 7.. 8.. yeah that's a perfect idea.. yeeeaaahhh.. 9.. 10.

Day #30- We All Have Something To Offer

I once ran across a book, and this is going to sound pathetic but I don't remember anything about the book except for the basic story line.  But for the purpose of this post and all that it has to offer.. the storyline is all I need.

Basically, the main character.. whoever that was, was a little on the depressed side.  He didn't really think he had ant talent and he couldn't really figure out if there was anything he could offer.  Therefore,  in a desperate attempt to be accepted he went out and searched for something he could be good at.  He went to friends and family and experimented with their hobbies and talents.  Needless to say, none of them worked out and he was left feeling like a failure all over again.  But of course, the book wasn't going to end there.  In the end, he found something that he could do. And so,  he made it special and he made it unique.

We all have those moments when we feel as if we're not really good at anything and that we don't have much to offer.  But in reality, we have plenty to offer, we just have to have the willingness to be open to whatever that may be.  Everyone has special gifts and talents.  And when each of us come face to face with whatever that talent is, I hope we can embrace it and make it our own with the radiance of Godly confidence.  We have something special that the Lord has equipped us with to build one another up and expand the kingdom of Heaven.  Ephesians 4:12, "To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ."

And so my friends and faithful readers.  Thus ends the 30 Day Challenge. I can tell you personally that my time spent writing these was an enjoyable one.  I'm sure Andrew feels the same way, and don't worry, I'll make him write on here again. ;) Unfortunately, I will probably be returned to my previous state of Writers Block until something else great comes along for me to pore over.  But until then, thank you everyone!!