#30.
look at that! I made it, 30 posts for 30 days!


Blogger. I love blogger, even though it often gets forgotten about. where else can I practice my awful graham skills that would get me kicked out of my English classes. I mean, seriously. After writing some meticulous papers and essays it's nice to just let loose and not care about grammar. That's right, run on sentences, bad verb usage, sloppy grammar, here I come!

thanks for reading the past 30 days...

i can't say that i'll keep up the posting every day. it's been hard work!

#29
this may seem like a major cop out, but let me tell you, it was carefully planned.

#29 stands for all of my favorite things that I would never mention on my blog.
too personal I guess. Oh I could make a long list. each one stands for a moment or a person, or a feeling. all are unique yet similar in the way that I would never tell anyone about them.

except Snickers. no. he hears about them all the time :P
And God. because he created these beautiful moments that I enjoy.

Ok top 10 favorite things about creation is the night sky. with the stars. the silence. it's beautiful. I can't deny it. when was the last time you found yourself lying flat on your back outside at night just to see the beauty of the stars. yea that's what I thought. Go do it.
and then marvel at our Creator!

#26, I love experiences that teach me something, and this is one of the best 30 min of time I have spent on the computer this week.

you want to learn something about the brevity of life?

check this out: http://claytonsstory.com/

#26
Still on the emotions kick.

*i've decided that emotions can not be fully displayed in a picture...insert picture here*

I almost like tears better then smiles.

They hold so much emotion, pain and joy.

crying is an expression, of so much.

and tears hold so much significance in the bible.

# 25 here it comes!

i'm funny about this. but nothing rocks the world like a good smile.

*insert picture here in your mind...because I don't think this kind of smile can be captured*


i'm going to go out and sound so lame here, so bear with me.

you know the kind of smile from the person you love that makes your insides jump
the smile from the little kid because you know your practically made their day
the smile you get from someone who is having a bad day, but your smile let them know you cared about them
the smile/laugh when someone is having a really good time
the smile that your heart gives when you know Jesus has overwhelmed the grave and you realize anew what a joy it is to live life the way you do.


Smiles are only possible because of what has been done on the cross for us.
a world without smiles, would be utterly awful.
that's why I love them so much... they remind me of my Savior.

I had a moment the other night.
probably one of my favorite moments ever.
a moment that does not have a picture
a moment that does not have a sound bite
a moment that can not be fully explained.

ok...i'm off the food kick.
at least for now.

one of my favorite websites...that cannot be visited enough.
ahhh to have all of their talents. it would be...crazy awesome.

Ok #22 is one of my new found loves...
in the past year or so.
I just noticed the few past posts have been food...
I guess you can tell where my mind is.
anyway

Pineapple fresh ripe room temperature pineapple.
Can you taste it?

so for #21 I had to throw in my favorite stress dissolver...

this comes before the chocolate. this what you do during the hard test, before you find out you got a failing grade and you need the dark chocolate...

yes I have this all planned out...I'll be getting my associates for Goodness sake! there are a lot of survival skills that are obtained in those two years.

without further discussion.

My stress coping device...

Gum....and in my favorite flavor. nothing beats stress like a delicious minty flavor.

I can not believe that I have danced around this so long.
how in 19 days did I forgot to mention my first love.

that's right.
I'm talking about the super food...Dark Chocolate.
the melt in your mouth, everything is going to be all right delicacy.
I have not found a problem yet that Dark Chocolate does not resolve.

mmmmm

okay #19 and I have a love hate relationship.

I have made my self so attached to this thing it's hard to get away

it's the epitome of a waste of time, yet it also useful...ok maybe not REALLY useful.

but it's enjoyable.


yes ladies and gentlemen I am talking about facebook.

that was another cheap post...i'm getting worse at this. i'll try harder tomorrow.

Back to nature...

ok. now I never thought I would be one to have a favorite bird.
it just seems so old lady like and well...frankly, even though i'm 18 I consider myself far from the "old lady" title. though now apparently I seem ancient to the kids I babysit. go figure.

anyway.

I know I have kind of said this before...back last august 16th to be exact but. these things are so darn cute. try and tell yourself to not fall in love. that's right. it's impossible.

ahhh my favorite part of summer...the sun.
let me lay this out for you.
perfect green grass, a blanket, and the sun.
it's peaceful. and it makes you want to fall asleep.
and in the mean time a tan can be acquired...if you have the right skin type.

and it just so happens I do. yes. that is my # 17 favorite thing.
The Sun.
mmmm

I know I have already kind of covered this with the whole Passion thing, but I didn't really cover this part.

One person that encourages me strive to for God's heart is Louie Giglio


God uses him in such a powerful way to stir hearts. and God stirs mine through him.

he has a passion that is encouraging and authentic. he get's me out of my Christian box and actually seeking God's heart. as he says...if God can use him...he can use anybody.

back to the books for #15...
I love books, have I said that?

well Ted Dekker is also up there on my favorites. he pretty much made it there because of the book series he did... Martyr's Song. but don't get me wrong I like his other books, well those that I have read. life is busy you know!

it was quite the inspiring, tear filled, suspenseful, gut wrenching series.
but I loved every minute of it.

makes me want to read it again.
this summer that is. after I acquired my Associates Degree and have nothing better to do until I jump into another two years of school.

Wow, I am still sticking to this.

Ok so since it is the day after my 18th i'm naming my favorite birthday present.
now this was hard, there was a lot of competition here. but one preset easily pulled ahead.
isn't she a beauty? I almost thought for a second the other day when I was using it that I was married. this is kind of the "married" gift. it was a nice feeling :P haha but yes. this mixer is pure DELIGHT.

Thank you Thank you Thank you Ming...
notice I said it three times

Here is to being 17...it was a great age. maybe my favorite so far.

So there's another favorite...being 17, for I shall never be it again.

great things come with being 17...let's see what 18 brings!
(thanks to all my friends for the wonderful fun these past few days, you guys rock)

this month would not be complete without mentioning my family
sometimes I love them...sometimes they kill me.


either way they are worth a post, love you guys!

here you have it...another experience that shaped my life

PASSION 08'

it's not an every day occurrence that I get excited about something..

ok. well maybe it is. but this even ming got excited about...now that is saying something.

I am not sure I have words for this event either. but it made me think. really think about who I was. and where I wanted my Christian life to go. In my hands...or God's.
this favorite is not falling on a random day. no. this time last year we were on our way to Passion.


and Ladies and Gentlemen...we ARE going back, hurray for 2010!



do not laugh at me for taking this picture. if you would have been there. you would know.

sorry another random one...but I knew this had to fit in somewhere...


The SlinkyI Love my slinky, it's definitely under appreciated for it's simple awesomeness.
the end.

I guess I am on a God kick here!

On thing that has really changed me in the past four months is reading through the bibleI figured it was about time, I had been a Christian for long enough. I needed to know what was in the Word. It has been an awesome experience, and surprisingly I have stuck with it for three months now. If you have never read through the bible, you should definitely run with it.

I can't even put into words how great it has been. I know I have said that a lot now.

I would say your quite lucky that I have stayed off of the food subject for this long...
but it is time that this subject will no longer be ignored.

I know you all think i'm crazy. and with that I am ok.

because it really is that good!

what am I talking about?


that classic....oh the good ole' classic PB&JYes, you can mock me...all you want. I will not step down from this.
if there is anything...other then Jesus...that makes life worth living...ok other then my dog too, it's this...yes, i will throw aside the chocolate, for this, and if it comes from Macados well...then that is just icing on the cake.

I do believe I am done here.

absolutley random yes I know. but nothing has "shaped" me more then my new found love for wii fit and running. ok maybe it isn't new found, but I have sort of become an addict.




yea this favorite was kind of a freebie, totally random, sorry i'll get back on track for tomorrow.
ohh that gives me an idea. just wait for tomorrow!

one thing that has totally changed in the past year is my relationship with God. it has grown and for that I am so thankful. i'm excited to see myself fall deeper in love with God. and running to the beat of his heart has been quite the experience.

I feel like I should go on and on and on with this post, because I think that is what you are supposed to do when you can't fit your words around God. but I'm not going too, no, i'm going to let this hang, and let God fill it in.

One of my very favorite authors. since. ever.
see I can't name a favorite any more since ming has expanded my reading scopes, but she is definitely up high on the list of favorites.

Angela Hunt...
there is not much I can say accept these books are my favorites from her. amazing stories.

Oh what to say. this post does not come on a random day either. today I am getting together with my dear friend.

yea we pretty much rock together, were crazy, random, and have the ability to be very annoying. I am not sure what to say that hasn't been said in the past...so let me direct you to my 18th birthday post for ming...enjoy!

It is your birthday,

And you are now 18

So let me reminisce 18 of the things I love most about you.

You take everything with great stride, every challenge, task,

Or great feat, and we both know there have been plenty of these!

Your encouraging, you never cease to remind me there is a

Plan in everything, and that God always has a purpose

We make an awesome pair of bakers, I make the mess, and you clean it up.

I still remember that time I insisted on us using the kitchen aid, and oh

What fun I had with that! And even though it ended up spewing flour

Over the kitchen you laughed at me when I insisted it was the only

“proper” way to be mixed.

You are a fabulous moss block pinner person.

What more do I really need to say, quick you may not be.

But your blocks always look pretty spiffy!

You are my personal librarian,

The library of ming will never diminish. Ever.

And your not just any librarian no, you pick the best books.

The best.

You forever and always will be my Passion Friend.

Because I know when everyone else bails out, *cough*

You were there with your luggage packed at the doorstep of my house

With a shiny red spaghetti pot, just for me.

You are definitely my traveling buddy,

Whether 4 hours, or 4 minutes you and I are the

Safest drivers out there, with our “blind spot checks” and our

Commands that it is safe to pull into traffic, followed by an apology

With an assurance that we do trust the others driving judgments but it’s just a habit.

I love the way you question everything, It makes me question too,

but the way you do it is so healthy, And we learn so much through it

Your excitement for knowledge thrills me. It makes me strive to be smart too.

Emphasis on strive.

Your complaints are very few, semester after semester the complaints you have heard about my work load could probably fill a large vat. And you never ever, ever, remind me that your work is at least twice as grueling and less then twice as easy.

Your craziness and abnormalness kills me

It ALWAYS keeps me guessing, I never know with the next phone call whether you are calling to tell me you ran over your brother, or running off to who knows were!

I love your honesty, even though at times honesty wasn’t the easiest choice, you went for it, and trusted God.

I love your confidence in God, that I have only seen grow stronger in the past years, it’s amazing what two people can conquer and learn through each other in such a short amount of time.

I love how you deal with my random bursts of excitedness, and never cease to laugh at my random quirks like loving the color red, being obsessed with my dog, need I continue?

I love the way you keep God in the center of your life, I love how you search and question waiting for what God will teach you next.

I love our random drives to nowhere, and our random conversations that leave you guessing as to what will come out of my mouth next, and you're always there to offer a laugh, even if what I said made completely no sense, or was completely stupid.

I love our serious conversations, I don’t know what else I can say about them, hours pass and neither of us ever felt it, because we were so deep into talking about boggling things.

Most of all I love your friendship, God truly has been good to us!

So to end this…. Happy Birthday Ming!

Your 18!

Perhaps I started a little to high, it's kind of anticlimactic now...

ok this next favorite, is just a thing, so it won't be too impressive, but I love it, take it everywhere, and it's red, so that's awesome too.



So this is my little blurb that you need one of these...this is like on the top 10 must have's of Lauren Abe. you might think i'm exaggerating...well this thing has not left my side since I got it about four months ago. take that...this isn't your mama's water bottle that fo' so'

Where to go next, who could really out do my pup?

well nothing. that's why #2 is an experience.

and an experience that shaped my life, New Orleans


I left New Orleans with a bunch of feelings inside and no adequate words. God met us on hot sunny days in the middle of a city that needed Him. It was probably the best mission’s trip I have ever been on. Not because it was easy and relaxing, because it was far from either. But that did not matter; we knew that God was using us to make a small difference, in His bigger plan.

we make life awesome. together. I would have married him years ago if my parents would have let me. I don't really think any husband could ever measure up to him. I am not quite sure what I would do without him. for right now... he is the love of my life! and I don't really care how cheesy that sounds :P
so Snickers you get my #1