yeah...

We have all been subject to judgment, and we are all guilty of judging.
I'll be honest, if I see an old man sitting on his porch watching the world go by, i've been guilty more than once of speeding my bike up and saying "creeper" under my breath.

But here's the fact of the matter.

Whether you know it or not, or whether you want to admit it, we have ALL judged.

So stop sitting around telling your neighbor that so-and-so down the street did it with whats-his-face downtown and she's obviously a slut because DUH she's slept around with like EVERY guy. At least that's what facebook is telling me. JUST STOP.

Or OMG did you hear about the new girl? She looks like she's on drugs or something. Guess what? Not every person can afford to have make-up or that new hollister shirt or your precious flat iron. Not every girl has had the perfect little past with everything she wants. Maybe she's been giving up new shoes for 2 years just so her mom could finally afford a surgery that would eventually save her life.

Believe me don't think I'm not preaching to myself here. I'm guilty of this and MORE! I'm just SICK AND TIRED of it and the petty gossip that goes through our schools and all the kids that are so scared to come to school in the morning because they're so tired of being teased, or beat up, or laughed at, or sick of not having a friend in the whole school because everyone else is too afraid of losing their perfect image of the star football player that can have any girl he wants, or that smart girl with all her smart friends that are "studying for their next test" but are secretly laughing at her behind their books. I've been that girl that sits by herself for months. Anyone who went to a new school KNOWS how it feels to be that kid that has always been stared at because not a single person ever took the time to get to know who they really are and what they've been through.. How could ANYONE ever want to put someone through that? It makes me sick to think about it.

Because no matter how much homework you have, or how many friends you have to hang out with, that kid sitting by them self at that table in the corner may be just searching for ONE person to come and say "Hey, come sit with us!". Maybe they say no, but believe me, you will never understand how much those five words could mean in the rest of their day.

You will never understand what everyone's been through, so stop acting like you do.

NAMES! They're what you get when you're born.

So... Sorry I keep changing the blogola. I just don't like staying one way for very long:)

I'm 1 month into the summer and it's grand. I looooove it. But there is one thing this summer I CAN'T stand. The fact that REBEKAH DAVIS is not here with me.
Some of you may know her, some maybe not.. Sorry this is just one of those times when you awkwardly stand by while your friend talks to someone you don't know.
Bekah, I love you.

Okay so.

Recently, I remembered how much I want a dog. So, just thought I should share this fact with you. I want a dog.

Well I didn't really have much to say.. I just felt the need to inform you of a few things.
Stay cool chillens. Stay cool.

You make everything glorious, and I am yours. What does that make me?

Last night a few of my friends and I went fishing. It was definitely the highlight of my summer so far, besides Church Camp of course. :)
I didn't catch ANYTHING for like an hour and a half. Of course Vinci the Asian over here is catching everything on her scooby doo fishing pole. Haha.
Well it kind of made me think about my life, and the fact that we've had to wait on the Lord to provide. We see other people around us that get all this stuff they want for Christmas and Birthdays and all that and go shopping whenever they want, but you have to wait and save for it. I know personally if I wanted expensive things, I usually had to pay for it. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to get all that stuff you want for Christmas and birthdays, but it's so much more satisfying to get things yourself. At one point last night Joseph put his fish on my hook and said,
"Okay, you caught one. Can we go now?"
Sometimes you just have to wait on God to provide what you need. It takes patience and a little wisdom to know what you REALLY NEED, but God provides. He always has in my life and I will keep trusting him.
We waited for a little while longer for fish, and guess what? I ended up catching 8 fish last night.
I'll wait and God will provide my "fish" when I need it. :)

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree

3 days, 13 games, a whole buncha bruises, and a few blisters later, I realize just how tough you gotta be to play basketball. We really don't get enough credit. I am sleep deprived, and I feel like I just ran a marathon. Who knows how many miles we've all ran these past few days.
I realized something about myself these past 3 days.

I like to hurt people.
And that makes it all the harder to be a Christian on the court.

If you elbow me, you can expect another elbow coming back in your face. Because if I get yelled at because you do something to me and for some dumb reason the ref calls a foul on me, you can sure be ready for the same to happen to you. But I don't WANT to hurt people. it just.. COMES OUT! :( I never knew I had it in me! But all of us have been shoved, knocked to the ground, elbowed, and even had the wind knocked outta us a few too many times. Seriously, if someone touches me, beware, I might explode or a limb might go flying your way at this point.

:)

Catcha on the flipside of my skateboard.

This past week I was at our church camp, Summit Camp. I can honestly say that I really believe it was one of the most life changing things that has ever happened to me.Living without internet, your phone, or iPod may sound like death to some people but really, you don't even think about it. It's actually such a relief to not have to worry about constantly texting or calling someone, or calling your parents to tell them where you are. For a week you just let go and say "God, I'm not distracted, stressed, or worried. I'm ready to be transformed." And maybe, by some divine, undeserved reason God decides to have mercy on us and give you another chance. For once I don't want to have just changed my week. I want my whole life to be changed, because when Christ comes back and looks me in the eye and asks me if all those chances he gave me payed off, I want to be able to bow before him and say yes, should he be merciful enough to even allow me to speak in his presence, because Lord knows I don't deserve it.
Our speaker, Mike Keeahbone, was... amazing. But not until the very last night was I really floored. All week for some reason I had been dealing with jealousy. I prayed and prayed all week that God would take that away and I wouldn't have those feelings anymore. On Friday night, we went into Tabernacle, and instead of a sermon, Keeahbone had us pray and read scripture and it was just.. different. I had never seen kids my age so fearless to stand in front of a crowd and boldly read scripture that God laid on their hearts, or go to the front and pray or pray for others. It was truly inspiring. We got back to the cabin that night, and laying foot in the door, there was not an OUNCE of jealousy in my heart. God does amazing things.
That was just one of the many things God did in our group, including one very special girl being saved.
"For our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:29
I am consumed.

Arg Shiver Me Timbers!

I was in Academy (a sports store near where I live) the other day and was looking at shoes. I was wearing my Macinac Island shirt and a man walked by and said "I've been there!". The conversation continued to inform us that he had lived in Michigan but had lived in Arkansas for 30 years. I could still hear his Northern accent but noticed more dominantly his southern openness and kindness.
I guess people down here have just encouraged me so much. Not that Northerners aren't friendly, but meeting random ones on the street you won't really get a conversation. Up there, you get where you're going without pausing for interrupting people more often than not. If you bump into someone at the grocery store I've experienced a few deathly glares up there. But down here, I've had mostly "Oh, sorry sweetheart." or "Oh, I'm so sorry sugar." People are just so.. warm. And I don't mean that in the ew gross you peed yourself kind of way. :)