Freedom Run: Fighting Darkness One Step at a Time.

Yet another day of school. I promised myself I'd study in five minutes. First, facebook. JUST five minutes.

M had posted something that had a big red X logo. I scanned it for anything interesting. "We're in to end it" the post said. End what? *Scroll* Ahh. Human trafficking. Good cause, I thought. Good cause indeed. *Scroll*

S had posted something that had a big red X logo. I did a double take. The same post! I'm  proud of you, S. I nodded silently to myself. Perhaps I should re-post this. It's a good cause. It'd be good to raise awareness about human trafficking.

I moved the mouse over to the "share" button.

NO.

What?

NO. This isn't what you were trained to do. This is not how your parents, your youth leader and your time at Summit Ministries trained you to think.

Oh, ok. What, then?

Check it out.

I shifted the mouse just in time and clicked on the link.

The website was mostly black and red, with the big X logo etched in flashy places. I scrolled through, taking it in. Statistics barreled at me. And estimated 27 million people are enslaved worldwide. Over 100,000 thousand people are enslaved in AMERICA alone. Two children are sold every minute. 

Every MINUTE? The bloody logo stared at me, daring me to believe these outrageous facts.

I can't just ignore this.

I looked at the top of the page and found the "Action" tab. There must be something I could do, some way I could support this movement besides re-posting it onto my social media network. A list of fundraiser ideas came up. Host a bake sale, have a car wash, do a dodge ball tournament, on and on. My hometown does dozens of these a year. They looked way to ordinary. HOST A MARATHON. I jumped. The words flashed at me. I laughed. I don't run! And I'm supposed to host a marathon? That's comical, really.

School tickled my brain and I closed the tab. Homework doesn't wait well.

But I couldn't get the idea out of my mind. I tried not to think about it as an obligation, but in the back of my brain I boiled down the marathon to a more workable portion: a 5k run. A day passed, then a few days, and a week. I couldn't forget about the horrible things I'd read about girls deceived into sex trafficking, and children who didn't recognize pimps until it was too late.

I presented the idea of a 5k to raise awareness about human trafficking - especially sex trafficking - to my college Bible study and my youth leader. They fanned the idea into a plan and volunteered to help see it carried out.

We are hosting a Freedom Run.

Together we have organized a 5k run/walk for June 22nd. Check in begins at 7 AM and the race begins at 8 AM. There is a kids run starting at 9 AM and a silent auction during the races. Strollers are welcome! No skateboards, bikes, wheely-shoes, etc.

Register early for the run to ensure a t-shirt! The deadline for early registration is June 8th. Registration info and the registration form can be found at www.stayclassy.org/1corinth926. Registration after the deadline costs $35. The kids run is only $5 but I still need a registration for each entrant.

There is even a place for people to volunteer NOT to run! We'll need some to point the way for the runners, some to keep track of timing to determine first place winners, some to manage check in, somebody to help with water tables, etc. There will be plenty of work for people who would love to help in a way that doesn't involve a lot of sweat.

If you have questions about donations, donating items for the silent auction, sponsoring our race, registration or volunteering, please contact me! My email is gianna.freedomrun@gmail.com.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers.

May God bless our humble event and use each dollar for precious people caught in trafficking and for his glory.

Amen.

2013: Make it Meaningful

The new calendar hands me a snazzy empty grid to fill with life. Is it opportunity, or is it intimidating? 

I begin to plan for the new year; I pick out meaningful things from the endless list of opportunities and drop them onto that handy sectioned cardstock. But the word meaningful catches me. Meaningful. It’s used so often to describe the old year that I feel it’s a mandate: Find thou something meaningful in this year!

I can’t.

I’m not going to look back and point to 2012 and tell you that my character took great strides, and that I 

gained a sense of direction.

It wasn't like that.

My definition of meaningful changed.

In June I went to New York City with my choir. I would describe it to you in the varying hues of the markets we visited, or the audiences we sang for, or the places we ate. But all that comes to mind is “We had so much fun!” It was a pleasurable and empty trip. We went. We sang. We came home.

In September I went to Colorado with Katie. I won’t try to describe it to you. I can only try to clarify the meaning it taught me.

There was fellowship. There is a fellowship in a choir, just as there is a fellowship in God. But a choir needs a purpose. God is purpose. And to fellowship in Christ then, is meaningful as nothing else can be.

Things came of this fellowship. Study. We came together every morning, afternoon and evening for lectures. We studied the solidness of the truths of God. Desire to study. We took notes, bought books, took time to meditate and pray about what we learned. Close fellowship. We were divided into small groups to pray for, lean on and support each other. Joy. Maybe we just looked like another group of volleyball players at the park, but our smiles didn't end with our physical exertion. We served joyfully – taking plates after meals or helping Mat with his sprained ankle. We took joy in learning, in praising, in prayer, in fellowship and in sleep. More fellowship. We now worship together by posting verses on Facebook. We study by posting and responding to articles and listening to the wise voices of our new friends.  

In June I came back from New York with the choir exhausted, ready to sleep.

In September I came back from back from Colorado with Katie; Katie-bug; My Katie, exhausted and eager to fellowship.

That gridded wall hanging beckons me again. I smile.

Opportunity.

For Meaning. 

The Meaning of Meaning

Because of course all my Summit friends aren't over-loaded with school, or brain-fried with lectures, or exhausted with their families. We opted to review...right?

"Alright, my topic is the Meaning of Meaning.
"We all know that Ideas have...?"

"Consequences," we replied in attempted unison.

"And bad ideas have bad consequences," Michael Bauman added, doubling our perception of the first idea.

A few kids began twirling their pens. Most of us sat and tried to wrap our heads around that in the two seconds before our lecturer used those statements as the foundation for his hour's argument.

He launched.
We gulped.

"This guy's terrible," the guy next to me warned in a whisper.
"Whaaa?" I raised an eyebrow.
"He'll throw out a question and then take the opposite position you take."
"Oh. Um, I don't like arguments like that." And that determined me to just sit this one out and glean what I could from others.

"My other point is that sloppy language makes sloppy thought possible. But back to the first point.
"When you read a book who determines what it means? Do you determine the meaning, or does the author?"

"Well you do."
I glanced at the kid. Not if I have anything to say about it! I thought.

Seriously? As a writer, that's quite defeating! I write my opinion on several things. And if each reader is free to take the words I write and turn them into anything they want to hear, it completely negates the purpose of writing in the first place!

I sat a little on edge, mentally daring somebody to agree with him. But at the same time, fear nibbled my mind. If words I write can mean anything, then they will never truly say what I want them to; not only would it completely cancel out the purpose of writing, but I could be accused of so many false ideas. Writers would be stripped of their influence over culture. Meanings could be twisted to support any position on anything.

And isn't this exactly where people covertly begin to destroy positive influence and ideas? By undermining meaning. People who take away meaning can convince you to question everything from their bias of meaninglessness. And to those who learn this teaching innocently, it even makes sense.

It can't be true though. If somebody is telling you that meaning is only interpretation, then you are quite free to interpret that to mean anything. Even that meaning only means the author's intent. People who teach this twisted view want to be the exception to this philosophy. And so it doesn't work.

"Ok. Secondly, sloppy thought makes sloppy language possible. Case in point. Let us consider hypothetically that Jill has a very clear idea about R. Jill decides to write a book about R. She chooses her words carefully, and is very specific with her language. Her book is published and Jack picks it up. He reads carefully, following the author's intent. And when Jack has finished reading the book, the ideas about R that Jill had are successfully and accurately communicated to Jack.
"However! Maybe Jill was a sloppy thinker. Perhaps she didn't bother to ponder R enough to get a clear picture of it. Moreover, when she wrote, she used a "hand grenade" style of writing (thank you for the quote, Michael Bauman) and chose words that roughly described her already-shaky R. Jack can read this two ways. If Jack is a sloppy reader, he may be so confused by Jill's disorganized thoughts in disorganized writing that he gets a shaky picture of S instead of R.

"Or perhaps, Jack is a good reader and he thinks what a stupid author."

"Our world was spoken into existence; language is at the core of our world. You have to get the words right."

The Last Lesson - Summit Ministries

I can't seem to get the hang of retreats.

Basic recipe: laugh, listen, pray, take notes, fellowship, talk to God.

I can do most of that, no problem. But in the midst of such strong fellowship, in the center of Biblical learning, surrounded by stories of God's grace and truth is where I lose sight of God.

It seems to happen every time.

At home, I can sit on my bed with my Bible on my lap and pray God's grace over my family, my friends, my tomorrow, my sins and never lose that sense of communication. But then when I'm surrounded by people who lovingly expect me to be so strong spiritually my faith gets lost in the shuffle. I know God's there. I know he hears me when we're singing our worship, when we're hiking on faith, or when we're serving with his love. I know God is listening when we're praying, that the Holy Spirit is interpreting when we're learning, that he's inspiring the teachers.
But my heart wonders, and feels empty.
And so my mind begins to wonder.

Colorado was great! We went hiking three mornings, and got to see the sunrise over the hills in the east from the top of Red Mountain. The puns they put on the kitchen walls every lunch were hilarious! We'd sit and laugh about them through our meal. Pikes peak united us in fascinated misery as we hiked 8 oxygen-deprived miles to the most breathtaking view in Colorado. We were encouraged to chat amongst ourselves before and after lectures, and by the end of two weeks, everybody had met everybody, I believe.

But I still felt alone. Until they brought David into the last Foundation session, the last morning.
"Does doubting mean you've lost faith?" Our speaker searched our faces, letting the question settle into us.
"Divide into your small groups and read Psalm 42."

In Psalm 42, David is in agony. He reveals his very soul as downcast, says his tears have been his food. And in the next breath he tells himself "Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (Psalm 42:5b)

He doubts, and he cries out. But he will praise still.
He questions, but he reminds himself that the One he questions is faithful.
He is downcast and disturbed, yet he will praise.

"Alright. Who wants to answer the question? What did you find as you studied this in your groups?"

"Um...What was the question?" Nolan asked quickly. His group chuckled, embarrassed, and gave him the answer quietly.

"Oh! Ok," Nolan recovered nonchalantly. "Well-"

But I've already tuned out. I realized I'm wasn't losing faith. I hadn't lost track of God through all the noise of the camp. Even through the pain of wondering where God has gone, we can worship and fellowship and trust, and praise.

And God is there.

Sunday.

We gathered.
We chatted.
We volleyed the ball.
We laughed hard.
We were breathless.
We lay on the grass and made shapes out of the clouds.
We played on the swings.
We tossed the football.
We roasted acorns.
We ultimated the frisbe.
We claimed we had it.
We dropped it.
We made good saves.
We chuckled.
We put our shoes on.
We panted and drank water.
We promised next week.
We decided every sunday, this must happen.
We left happy.

D2

If you have changed a life, can your life stay the same?

I have to wonder how I've changed. I didn't see it happen. But I think it must have, somewhere.

I don't know when I first learned about disciple making. It probably happened to me before I really knew what it was. Mom lead a Bible study for me and my sisters. We attended. That was that. Then Dad led a Bible Study every Wednesday night for men at the church. Then both my parents told me I should lead one. I gulped. And I turned them down.

Two years later, I must have had a better idea of what Discipleship was. "Mom!? I think I could lead this Bible Study. Do you think so? Can we order the training kit?"

And two years after that, I actually got to learn about disciple making.

Left to Right - Me, Mariah, Tiffany. Tuesday Ladies, we call each other.  Should be more like girls, maybe. We're not old. We studied Discipleship as we practiced it. Mariah and I were discipled by Tiffany as we learned about discipleship. The three of us studied it. We learned that disciple making is a three-tiered work of faith. First we are discipled. We study scripture and strengthen our faith. It's easiest really. It's like going to school. True, you have to work for those moments of revelation, and there's homework, but at least you aren't the teacher.

And then suddenly, you are the teacher. D2. You're a disciple who makes disciples. Just like a graduate student who tutors, you realize the reason for homework. You've needed it all along. And the opportunity to teach usually comes just before you actually think you're ready for it. It must be healthy for us.

Last week marked D2 for me. I have been friends with Little Leah - as my mental faculties consistently label her - for over a year. I can't get her off my heart. I didn't think I loved her any more than any of the other little girls, but God pointed her out to me. When God points something out, you don't have much choice about whether you're gonna do it.

I met with her Wednesday. Tuesday, at 11 p.m. I wrote down a few questions for Leah. "Can you tell me what the Gospel means for you? What do you want to learn about and study in our times together? What do you think 1 Timothy 4:12 means?" I figured I had a pretty good grasp on an hours' worth of material, counting a few awkward pauses and some meditative time.

God: *Snort* Yeah, ok Gianna, if that's what tosses your confetti.

I did get to use one of my questions. "So Leah? Can you tell me exactly what the Gospel means in your own words?"

"Um...I don't think so. No, I'm not sure."

...

*Crickets*

...

"Well, ..." And I began with Romans 3:23. When I finished explaining the gospel, Leah just looked at me. I asked her if she wanted to accept Christ.

"Yes! I do!" So I prayed with her.

I don't think I really caught my breath until that evening. Wait, what?! I think I just...lead somebody to Christ! I couldn't believe what I'd done. I thought back and tried to realize it. Yes, she'd sat there and nodded her head. I'd prayed with her, holding her hands, listening to her talking to her new Savior.

I guess that's what listening feels like. God whispered, and I acted. I can't recall actually thinking about what I was doing. Chances are God was doing the thinking for me.

I want it to stay that way.

Broken Road

Hello everyone! My name’s Mariah Steenerson… I know, I know you were expecting a blog post by my talented friend Gianna. Sorry!

A few weeks ago I got a call from Gianna to do a guest post on her blog about something BIG that’s about to happen in my life. January 15, 2012 I will be leaving this small town of Minnesota for Townsville, Australia to do a program called Youth With A Mission (YWAM). I could give you a long complex definition of what this program is but I’ll keep it basic. YWAM is an opportunity for anyone (generally 18-25 years of age) at any place in the world to come together to be taught and teach the gospel everywhere and anywhere, to make disciples of all nations. The idea of a program such as this was originated by a man named Loren Cunningham while he was on a missions trip. It came as a vision of waves crashing onto the sand of beaches. Then, the waves turned into young people that not only were covering beaches but all the nations.

Fifty one years later and this small program that started out as just a vision is now located in 1,000 locations in over 180 countries! The waves of young people envisioned by Loren are completely evident today. I think of this and I am totally blown back at how amazing our God can work. No words can describe.

So what will a small town girl like me be doing in a big continent like Australia? For 3 months I will be going through a Discipleship Training School where I will learn more about who God is and who he made me to be. This is just like a regular school in many ways. I have a set schedule for each day of the week, tests and homework—you got it, and no sadly I don’t get to sleep in every day of the week. 

Then the next three months are filled with outreaches. Usually a YWAM Discipleship Training school will have one outreach to somewhere around the world, but my specific school will be doing two outreaches. The places I might be are: Thailand, Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, or New Zealand.

It sounds as though when I arrive in Townsville I will have two weeks to pray about the two places God wants me to be. If you would be willing to pray for me and this two week period of hard decision making that would be great! I don’t want to pick a certain place just because it would be a cool place to visit; I want to go wherever God wants me.

Along with these two main phases of my trip; I will be doing a two week camping trip in the outback, visiting Billabong, involved with different ministries in Australia, and hanging out with some cool Aussies.

From reading this you may think I’ve had my mind made up about this for awhile now, but truth is it’s only been a few months. This past year has been one long broken road. I could go on and on about how difficult it was, but the main point is I was broken and defeated and through it God made me stronger. He used every difficulty, every problem to get me where I am today and for that I am very thankful. 

Don’t be afraid to get broken. In fact, you should desire to be broken; desire to be so defeated that your only option is to surrender to the one true God, because it’s when we’re broken that we are closest to God and can be used most effectively by Him. Do not fear brokenness.

For those of you that are young and are still trying to figure out college and a major, I have some simple advice for you. Instead of crying your eyes out every night like I did. Trust in the almighty God! Jer. 29:11 says He has a plan for you. Sometimes we are called to wait and be patient, but take heart God has made many promises in His book, promises that should be taken as truth so much as to thank God for them even before they become evident in your life. None of those promises say I will lead you up to the time you graduate high school and then I will leave you to make all of the decisions. No. God will be there EVERY step of the way IF you give your life to Him.

Below are some verses that have helped me through this past year.

Thank you, Gianna for allowing me to have a guest post on your blog. I am thankful to have such an encouraging and loving friend! I thank God for you daily. Keep on glorifying God with your blog posts; he has definitely given you a gift. 

 

If you’d like to check out my blog go to 

http://heart-of-a-sojourner.blogspot.com

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Blessed.

mariah

Introducing Mariah

I went on a trip once. I went with four others to a small town called Ponemah. I still remember the swirling mosaic of emotions that surrounded that trip. Fear. I was afraid of what I would find. Going into this, I had no idea of what the children we were working with would be like. There was no way of knowing who was helping us with the VBS or what they would be like. We had no clue how God was going to work in us and through us, and that thought was intimidating. Security. I was aware that I was going with an Almighty, all-loving Father at my side. Also, I went with the knowledge that our church was supporting our team in prayer every day that we were gone. I knew that I was a part of the body of Christ, and they weren't about to let me fall. 
Anticipation. I was eager to see what my amazing Father was going to do and how.

Now I'm home. Now it is my turn to watch as a special friend reaches out and experiences life "as a fingertip". She'll be living by the financial support of the church, and living by our prayer support. And I know that she is experiencing all of these emotions and more as she prepares to go.That is why my next blog post will be a guest post by Mariah. I've asked her to share the story of her heart with you as she prepares to go to Australia.

There is a special bond that grows when friends share faith in common. There is little more beautiful than to sit and listen to somebody close to you revealing how our Savior has been working in their heart and life. There is little more beautiful than when a friend becomes transparent and allows the precious light of Jesus to shine through each angle of their lives.

Mariah, you have given me a gift and I am grateful that I can support you by giving you a post on my blog.

Title Here

Did it ever occur to you how many things there are to remember? (Did it ever occur to you how many of those things your mother has reminded you of? Jk.) It's a long list, no?

"Remember to pack your socks. You'll need them, and I'm not sharing." "You always say that, and you always do."

"Remember to drive safe!" "Why not 'Remember to use your road rage?' It's more memorable."

We even get pegged for remembering things for other people! "Remind me to remember that Susy has to remember her..." "Um, no."

I forgot my driver's license today, which is a long story. I didn't need it to drive, I needed to buy a deer tag. I ended up driving home, too.

"Remember that you have a dentist appointment." "I don't like the dentist."

"Remember to get some sleep!" We all know the one and only person whose name goes down in history for saying that. (Don't get me wrong. I love my mother. Just gotta poke some fun. :D )

"Remember your manners." "I do remember them. Do I have to use them too?"

 You are probably wondering why exactly I am posting this.

Several reasons: I am me, duh. It is late at night, the family is asleep, the fire is blazing, and there is something strangely alert in my upper story. It can be quite unfortunate, believe me. Because my sister had a hilarious brain fart that put me in mind of this post.

My sister got to her piano lesson today, sat down on the bench to play her scales and happened to glance at the theory book in her teacher's hands. "Oh!" my sister exclaimed, "I forgot my eyes!" ...uncomfortable silence..."Aaaand...where did you leave them?" the teacher replied. "Oh, no, I meant my I's. I didn't label the root chords the way I should have in my theory book..." *Lightbulb*

"Remember that Northern Indian (India in South Aisa) music style is called Hindustani."

"Remember that one guy we met? You know, the guy with the - " "Yeah! And when we were at the um...the um...that place we went to for the thinger. You know, where that guy was and - " "Uh-huh. And we ate that one kind of food there, that stuff that was like, really good? And there was this inside joke we were laughing about, you know, about that one thing we were doing there...well anyway, you remember the guy?" "Not a clue."

Which above hypothetical reminds me of a conversation I had about two weeks ago with a friend...

But I won't remind you of the details.

Good night!

Gratitudinal Finale

Don't ask if that's a work, because the answer's yes. It is now.

Guess what.

I DID IT!!!  I met my own gratitude challenge! I challenged myself to find 10 things every day that I was grateful for, and I made it. I missed a few days, but I've made them all up! I finished the race! Just a note: it's not too late for you fellow bloggers to join...you can do this too!

And now for my final list.

*An easy test. It was a career, vocation, aptitude testy thingy. I didn't want to take it, but I am glad for two things. 1) it was easy. 2) it doesn't matter. The scores won't count for anything, so no biggy.

*Spaghetti with no sauce, just tons of Parmesan cheese.

*Playing Baloney with my sisters, brother and friend.

*Winning Baloney.

*Being cold. Makes you appreciate the warmth more.

*Hot chocolate. It took a bit of improvisation, but it was good!

*Puppies. The same puppies that I blogged about a week or so ago are now over a week old, and I haven't had to stay up one night with them!

*Watching funny videos on youtube.

*Enjoying the whole afternoon with my bestie (blog) who's finally back from the Land of Scarce Internet.

*Flying kites.

*Getting references sent in for college applications.

*Being accepted to the first school! At least, it is to be hoped it is the first. It's not the school I think I want to go to, so hopefully it's not the only school I'm accepted to...

*Seeing a new blog, designed by a good friend of mine. I respect her, and I wish her well in her sojourning!

*Relaxing in a cozy room in front of a cheerfully comforting fire. And feeling like going to sleep.

Gratitude Challenge: Day 20

I am nearly wordless with gratitude right now. Today was vastly blessed.

*There were 49 pageviews. It may be vain to count them and to rejoice over them, but it's an all time high and I'm feeling celebratory!

*I got a complement. Somebody liked my humor. It is always so encouraging to receive a simple, spontaneous complement. Thank you, um...Complementer! You are appreciated.

*I saw my senior pictures! Gah! I have a wonderful photographer. She managed to make me look good, I think! Some of you commented on my photos - Thanks! My daddy was greatly encouraging and loving. These next sentences are exact quotes. "You sure look beautiful. But then, you always look beautiful." "You just can't take a bad picture." Daddy, I love you so, so much. It's not even funny. *Giggle* (I'll choke up about this later.)

*Seeing my precious 3-5th graders in AWANA. Those girls are wonderful. Eating ice-cream with them is about tops. Except, of course, seeing them learn about Christ and grasp His truth.

*Getting to go to a free, choir concert. It's coming up on Saturday. Been a while since I've been on the audience side of a choir concert. :D

*Mailing in my...second?...college application. Only three to go!

*Finishing a reading assignment and some writing requirements.

*Petting my dog.

*Making $33. Always a good feelin'.

*Having the courage to talk in youth group tonight. I asked our leader/coordinater if I could have a minute to challenge everyone to do the Operation Christmas Child boxes - she said yes - and I just spoke about how easy it was and how I wanted our youth group to step up and fill the boxes we had on hand.

Only one day left of my Gratitude Challenge. It's not too late to join, if you were wondering, friends. Don't be shy! Leave a comment if you can and share something you've been grateful for lately.

Gratitude Challenge: Day 19

Today was good. Really good. I think I still have permafrost in my backside from the bleachers at the football game though. :-\

*Hearing about renowned "DNA" bobby pins. They are reputed to equal roughly 80 regular pins, which is wonderful given my thick hair.

*Eating chili with crackers for lunch. And enjoying my sister's company simultaneous.

*My sister will be in advanced skating with my other sister! She just got an email saying they think she's good enough to skip the last to basic levels and move up to advanced! Woot! Go Little Sister!

*Finishing several assignments.

*Playing Music Box Dancer - again and again and again.

*Trying to overcome writers block.

*Looking at other people's blogs.

*When really amazing gentlemen bring silly girls coats at football games because the silly girls were to silly to bring their own. (Erm...Ahem. Thank you Sir!)

*Knowing that somebody prays for you.

*Having quiet time to just talk to God.

Gratitude Challenge: Day 18

Oh dear. I only have three days left and I shall be done. What shall I blog about then?! P'raps I can find something. I'll be starting a creative writing class (as a student) next semester. That may provide some amusement for ya'll.

Oh right. I'm blogging about today. Right-o.

*Chile. It's the soup kind.

*Watching my sisters ice-skate. They are so graceful! Way to go girls!

*Being told "Come back!" because somebody is excited to see me, rather than being in trouble. (Not like I'm in trouble a lot, you know, but it's just nice.)

*Random crazy people who hide behind banana stands in grocery stores because they are weird like me.

*Hanging with friends.

*Watching puppies sleep.

*Watching a volleyball game. Parts of it were really intense - the ball went back and forth so quickly and the teams played so flawlessly sometimes!

*Tapping the glass screen of my old computer monitor..."Tic tic tic tic tic tic...tic tic. 7 down, three to go!" I'm easily amused.

*Singing about wanting things in Choir. The song was Wanna Baraka. It's beautiful, and you need to come to our choir concert. Period. (Ahem. This only pertains to some of you. You know who you are.)

*Goofing off.

*And going to bed.

Gratitude Challenge: Day Next.

A.K.A. I can't remember which day I'm on and I don't really feel like checking.

It's late, so ya'll just get the basics.

*Frolfing. (Is that how you spell it?)

*Getting some time with my wonderful Heavenly Father during church today.

*Eating chocolate ice cream.

*Squishing five teens (arrrgh, fine. 4 teens and one 20-year-old) into a tiny Chevvy Cavalier. It. Was. Squished. A little.

*Listening to Owl City while cleaning my room.

*Enjoying my room after cleaning and vacuuming all the flies out.

*Standing on the brick ring around a bonfire late at night with my friends.

*Eating (most of) the most ginormous burrito I've ever had in my life! I saved half of it for tomorrow.

*Looking at the stars.

*Seeing one of the proofs for my senior pics.

*Sleep.

G'night!

Gratitude Challenge: Day 15

Today was a good day, a really really good day. I can sleep well.

*Piano. I love making music. The Easy Winners by Scott Joplin - ragtime. Prelude in G Minor by Rachmaninoff - clllllassical? No. Romantic. I think. Ahhhh. I need to build stamina though. My left arm/hand gets so tired playing my prelude - which I need to work on in case I end up applying for a specific music scholarship...

*Acing a test. Need I say more?

*Sunshine.

*Running across the yard - barefoot - in the frost.

*Finishing up my first college application for-reals. (I know, I know. I put that yesterday. Um, I forgot to stamp the envelope though...)

*Having two more applications ready to go. Almost. I need $20 for the application fee for MSUM and an academic reference for NWC. (Any takers? All you have to verify is that I'm really brilliant - a second Einstein of sorts. Not difficult. *Coughcough*)

*Playing the hammer dulcimer. Yep! It's been hiding under my bed forever. Mom bought it years ago, rather more wishfully than needfully. But I like it! Now that I've got some piano under my belt, I have the "tools" to play it. I figured out how to tune the thing and picked out a few melodies on it. I don't think I really want to put it back either.

*Changing my profile picture. You should look at it. The pooch? Yeah. S'my dog, Rusty (female!!!) Her and I is best of friends.

*My soccer coach. I've played under him for 3 years, ever since he started coaching our team. I didn't play this year though. At the end of the season, it's tradition to get the team together for a potluck. We watch a slide-show of pics from the games, make the coaches give speeches, give them a little gift, and give the seniors medallions. I wasn't expecting to receive a medallion during the ceremony. In fact, I had stuff to do, so I stayed home. My coach talked to mom and said "I can't give out the medallions if all the seniors aren't here! Can't she come? Doesn't she get a medallion?" Mom admitted that she'd ordered one for me and just hadn't felt right honoring me with the others. But for him, she called me and asked me to come. It was so special! And I quote my coach: "When I started coaching, there wasn't much of a team. It was these seniors - they were younger then - that I relied on for a majority of the hard work. They played hard and well and they were the players I depended on."

*Baby puppies.

*Good night.

Gratitude Challenge: Day 14

*I am so grateful for my Daddy. Honestly, with what I have been going through in the last week, that counts as a list of 10 in itself.

But just for you, I'll include some more.

*Amazing friends who explain the rules of swim meets and help make my evenings so awesome.

*Finally having a comment on my last post. :D Thanks Inna!

*Having time to play Prelude in G minor by Rachmaninoff. *Ahem* I played as much as I know, which is roughly 4 measures more than 1/6th of the total.

*Finishing my first complete college app. Sent it in the mail today!

*Taking word quizzes: you select (from a list of four) the meaning of 10 words and I made it through the post-college level "Dynamo". It is estimated that I know some 53,000 words. (Hint: try to find a root word and guess from there. It works well - fooled the website!)

*Blogging. It's been a long day of school.

*Finally having my bedroom back (from bags of clothing that were necessarily stored in here.)

*Watching my friend dive exceptionally well at a diving meet. She received the highest scores!!!

*Eating spaghetti.

Gratitude Challenge: Day 13

I am noticing a trend. I make a noble resolution (such as 21 days of posting about gratitude) and then, on the weekends, I get busy with family night and friends night and Sunday night - typically another friends night - and I end up with four posts a week.

I can still do 21 posts, it'll just take longer. Oh well. I'll be thankful for more days that way. :D

*Listening to other people getting up and knowing I got to sleep in. Weeeeeell, I guess I shouldn't call it sleeping in exactly, I got up at 7:30. They just had to get up and be out of the house by 7.

*Playing Battleship with my favorite little brother. (It's ok. I only have one.)

*Winning my favorite little brother in Battleship!

*Sipping delicious, cold water out of my favorite mug.

*Seeing that my mother brought home a Dragon Fruit. There can hardly be a more thrilling name for a beautiful fruit with a uniquely spiked, peeling rind than Dragon Fruit. Doesn't it just sound like it should tast magical? (See next comment.)

*Eating Kiwi to get Dragon Fruit taste out of my mouth. Turns out Dragon Fruit doesn't tast as appealing as it sounds. We peeled off the rind and there was an imaginive - if not particularly tasty looking - white juicy fruit with seeds that looked like Kiwi seeds scattered evenly throughout. It tasted like a gross, slimy lot of nothing. I was glad to eat the Kiwi.

*Talking to my brother. He's not really living at home anymore, so I enjoy talking to him some evenings and hanging with him when he is home. *Sigh* Miss you Bro!

*Getting two chapters read, one assigment turned in, and realizing I have one less assignment than I thought! It was a good day of school.

*Talking about my senior recital with my piano teacher. I've got special plans!

*Actually being able to remember all 7824 notes of my 24 Major and minor arpeggios and 24 Major and harmonic minor scales. The average number of notes I played in a minute was 306...but when I was playing my fastest (sixteenth notes at 100 bpm) it was more like 400. Not to brag or anything.

*That soon, we'll have a roaring fire in the fireplace downstairs and I can sit there to blog! Yay!

Gratitude Challenge: Day 12

What a beautiful day. A bit cold, p'raps. But still good.

*I followed a rabbit home. He was a good Christian rabbit. Even under the heavy pressure of headlights and and a Saturn bearing down on his furry behind, he would not stray to the right or to the left. He swerved in both directions a couple of times, but his faith held fast and he always ended up running straight down the center of the road. Ridiculous bunny. I didn't hit him, for those of you who were wondering (or had young children reading over your shoulder.)

*I'm so grateful for older women in the church kitchen (my daily lunch accommodations) who ask "What are you having for lunch?" and are horrified to hear "Oh, just toast." I quote: "Oh! You can't have just toast! Here, would you like some of my corn chowder? It's nice and steamy hot. Toast isn't enough for a good lunch." Mmmm. Corn chowder is absolutely amazing, especially when you were expecting toast with jam and ramens.

*Texting friends who have senses of humor.

*A hilarious choir teacher. She's so adorable. :D

*Singing "La, Pensiero" in choir. It's a famous opera piece from Nebucco (Nebuchadnezzar) about the Israelites longing for their homeland. It's a beautiful song, and completely in a major key. So cantabile! (Singable)

*Flash mob discussions. Here's what was discussed: "We should do a senior flash mob instead of a senior prank!" "We should do a flash mob as a choir when we're in New York! Right in Times Square!!!" Etc. etc. I. Cannot. Wait.

*I finished my midterm. And I don't even know what I got on it! It had short answer questions though. Argh.

*Our choir sectional was slightly hilarious. Reese said she had exciting news for us, but she couldn't tell us what it was. We simply told her we wouldn't sing unless she told us. We won!

*Seeing the moon through my bedroom window.

*Driving a different way home.

*And singing with the radio the whole way.

*Teasing my dad.

*Getting tucked in by me daddy.

Good night.

Gratitude Challenge: Day 11

Wow. I'm blessed. I just keep coming back to that. There are just so many little things.

*I got to wash my hair.

*My sister let me shower first.

*I get to play an amazing song for my senior recital. Prelude in G Minor by Rachmaninoff. In case you were wondering. You probably weren't. Now you know anyway.

*There are so many other people who are grateful for little things too! It's amazing!

*I have a dog, and she loves me as much as I love her. Just watch her follow me around and tell me otherwise.

*I have a test tomorrow. And you're thinking "Now she's gone off the deep end." Nope. That happened ages ago. Better swimming down here.

Actually, it's a chance for me to prove that I'm learning something - to myself and to my professor. And tests are kind of exciting things, don't you think? Probably not. *Sigh*

*I have six things to be grateful for. That's a lot. Cool.

*It is amazingly beautiful outside. I just can't get enough of fall! Every time I think about it I get that runny-cartwheely-jump-up-and-downy feeling an' I wanna go jump in a pile of leaves and play with me pooch and ride me horse and Ooooooooooh! Fall is just so amazing.

*Praying for people. There is something indescribable about going into the presence of a holy and loving God and saying "I'm not here for me. Please, please be with this friend/family member and bless them.Carry them close to your heart God, and carry their heart in your hands. Bind up their wounds. Be with them and give them the faith and the peace they need." I want those people to know that their cause is being petitioned at the foot of their heavenly Father's throne, and that the cause will not be dropped until an answer is received. And then to say, "Thank you, God, that you have answered me already."

*I don't have to get up at 5 tomorrow. (Others in my family do. Touche.)

*I got to go into the 5th and 6th grade AWANA T&T room tonight and help listen to verses during handbook time. I. Love. Those. Girls. About five of them gave me hugs right off the bat. They're all so energetic and wonderful! I can't wait for next Wednesday evening.

Gratefully yours,
Miz Fingers

Gratitude Challenge: Day 10

I had a full day. Good day to be grateful. And an easy day to be grateful. For just about everything.

*Sunshine.

*Friends.

*Horses. Galloping with my brother riding behind me, trotting while riding behind my friend, such joy. Ahhh.

*Reading crazy books about children falling off giant chess boards and flipping coins as to whether the sun will rise or set.

*Flipping to the next chapter of a fairy tale and reading the chapter title: Enter the Pea. Is that not fabulous?

*Eating potato cheese soup. My absolutely favoritest soup ever. And our first soup this fall. Mmmmm. So cheesy. So good. *Dies of amazing soup.

*Playing with puppies in the light of the full moon. With sisters and brother and friend.

*Loving people. (In response to the comment about No. 5 on yesterday's list.)

*Leaving my Bible open in my bedroom all day long. Whenever I went in there, it was just encouraging to look at it.

*Eating Chocolate cake. Always a plus.

*Playing games on the trampoline in the sunshine. I didn't win, but it was a blast playing anyway. (Of course it was, it was a word game!)

*Attempting to do handstands. They kinda failed.

It was a good day.