my hand at haiku

haiku poetry marks a big part of japanese and chinese history. poetry is a form of expression and haiku poems follow a short structure (5-7-5) to guide the writer. we worked on these in flight today for a project we'll be working on in the near future. my sixth grade girls did really well and i was surprised at their creativity! their minds at work are great to see in progress!
here are a few poems i tried while they were writing:

rainbow
an arch in the sky
beautiful colors to shine
just for me to see

sunshine
i see the bright sun
smiling on me as i play
i always smile back

i love you
the brain creates a
mind that controls the mouth that
says: hey! i love you

soccer
it flies so quickly
when i kick it to the goal
only one word: score!

christmas spirit
i can hear the sounds
of jingle bells and carols
it must be christmas

victory
victory at last
it took me so long to reach
what do i do now?

dreaming
once in a blue moon
who has seen such an odd sight?
i've seen it in dreams

seasons
summer is hot and
fall is nice, and winter, harsh
then i hope for spring

here are some of the girls' poems:

for some odd reason
i love to watch wrestling
i don't know why though
-jalisha hunter

the weak heart wonders
forbidden laughter soars
a shine after the storm
-brianna crider

bug's are gross and dumb
they are unsanitary
they are like my bro
-hannah callison

i have a brother
he will fart on me at times
but he's really nice!! :)
-audrey frizzell

a white cloud shimmers,
shadowly laughter soars high
a dream to new life
-emmy cloar

i'm number fourteen
i shoot and try to make three
basketball is great!
-jasmine monk

and here's a tanka:

the room grows dark fast
the dark takes over the world
the world is soon lit
by your beautiful brown eyes
this world's a great place to be!
-keara williams

a 2(day) in the life

i start out the day at 6:30 when i hit the snooze button at least 3 times in a row. after i finally roll out from underneath the warm 15 blankets on my bed, i head to the bathroom to run a bath then to the kitchen to grab a poptart or other anonymous sugary breakfast. after getting out of the bathroom, i go to my room to brush and dry my hair and pick out my clothes. by this time, its 7:30 and i'm rushing to meet my goal of leaving by 8:00. why must i leave so early? 2 words. farming community. that's all i must say

campus also presents a challenge when commuters are late. parking is scarce and the best spots are taken early. a combination of being late + getting the farthest spot from class + walking that distance = late to class and miss important information. aka: don't do it. therefore, i try to leave early. it takes 45 minutes to drive there on a good day, and i have that time to reflect, sing loudly and pray. woot woot!

i have 2 consecutive classes in the morning, lunch, then 2 consecutive classes in the afternoon. one of the afternoon classes is 2 hours, though. thankfully, i enjoy all of my classes and actually like to do homework. then i have 2 online classes and thats a lot to do past the 13 hours in class time each week plus homework. on a good day, its all done well before its time to sleep and i can rest, watch tv or read a book. on a bad day, i push it off onto the next day :) what procrastination!

on the 2 days that i don't have class during the week, i work hard to get all homework caught up, laundry done and dishes washed. i run errands around town, too. post office, bank, the grocery. these are 'ketchup' days. i work at the school starting at 2:30 with the kids from the summer program. we do homework, enrichment and thinker activities, crafts, sports, everything! it's so much fun for me even if sometimes they drag me to the end of my nerves.

you have now experienced a 2day in the life of me! enjoy :)

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:17

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:31-34

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:21

"But He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed... After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Isaiah 53:5, 11-12 (written 500-600 years before it actually happened)

until the whole world hears

summer has been the absolute best! except the fact that my best friend is in georgia till august. but it started with me actually getting a job!

whoooooooooooooo!

greg's is fun to work at. i make pizza, cut deli meat, decorate cakes, and make sub sandwiches. if i work up front, i scan and check out people. it's absolutely awesome! i love the little beepy noise. i'm kind of sad, though, because i don't know my schedule until each saturday, for the next week, which prevents me from taking a trip to see haley and/or andrea :( guess i'll have to wait till school starts back

next was global youth camp, with roger glidewell. i went as a counselor but ended up doing all the camper stuff, except for as a family leader. it's specially chosen people by their youth minister to lead their church and the other people in their pods. (pod a was in the third place until the last day, and we did not feed nor eat the funk, thankfully) the camp was the best we've ever been to, and we plan to go back. actually, brett, levi, logan and i plan to work there next summer as staffers. it will be the most awesome summer i'm sure i will ever have. all for the glory of God, until the whole world hears.

the weeks after global has been good, too. i worked at summer school the two weeks after, and i know that i'm going to work with kids. i love it!

i've gone out with either lauren or alec every week to see a movie. shrek 3 with tori and haley. karate kid with alec. toy story 3 with lauren. eclipse with alec. its like a summer of wonderful movies. i just can't wait until harry potter and the deathly hallows. jacob and i will probably go see it on the midnight premier, dressed as characters. awesomeness :)

all that we lack now, is the 2 weddings coming up within the next 2 weeks. liz and chels getting married and all the stress, but happy stress that comes with it all. so exciting! :D

if you're reading this, i would like for you to know that i hope you have a wonderful summer! Jesus is a life saver, and He loves you!

peace, yo

the plans of I AM

hello

it's me again

a thing called life has recently stood in my way of doing the things i want, but now i'm pushing back. i'm working harder than ever before to get a little exercise in and do all my homework while still bonding with my roomie and staying up late to get the feel of college life. no, it is not easy to put everything together, and yes, i am very tired. always. but, there won't always be a chance to have fun like i'm having, so i put off the boring for later in life and spin my wheels as fast as they'll go

i'm getting ready for two weddings this summer. one cousin on each side of the family were engaged within the last year and are both getting married in july. the most fun part? actually getting to celebrate the weddings instead of just attend them. i actually grew up with these people and now i get to see them start to love the men of their dreams. i will be there on their special nights to watch them exchange vows and trade rings meant for forever.

i'm just a little jealous :p

i shouldn't rush my life along but marriage is something a little girl thinks about her whole life, especially the wedding. a now, how can i not dream about the day that will be all my own? well, and my close-to-perfect man's day of course.

also, about the missions trip i attended on spring break.

wow

that's the best word to explain. which i know doesn't help you, the reader, much, but i cannot put into words how great that trip was.

the plane ride was awesome and i can't wait to get on my next plane. when we started to get close to the islands, the water is what mesmerized me next. the color in those photos you see in magazines, well that's exactly what color it is. no photoshop. then the accent is what caught me next. i love when they say, "Ok, baby." that is a signature phrase there and it sounds so cool. after that, the way the bahamian people respond to the message of Jesus just astounded me. they listen so intently and really act like they want to do exactly what your advising them. which who knows? maybe they are, which is the most wonderful news i've ever been given. as far as we know, around 45 people committed or recommitted their lives to Jesus because of our group. we street preached, gave surveys, handed out tracks, offered to pray with people and invited many to the church whose pastor attended our university a few years ago. the impact was overwhelming and i can't wait for my next mission trip, or for whatever God has in store.

like He says:

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, ' and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.'" Jeremiah 29:11-14

you know, just a lil summin summin

"the silence is loud; ear-splitting loud, even," i think to myself as i sit here blogging for the first time in weeks. i take forever to think of the perfect words to put one after another. it takes time and thought to explain the amazing first weeks of being a christian; a real one, i meant to say.

you may ask, "haven't you been a christian all your life?"

to this question, i will answer yes.

i grew up in church and i sang in the choir and was in the youth group and did all that churchy stuff and was RELIGIOUS. that is the key word. but that isn't the whole story. on march 7, 2010, JESUS, the Savior of the world, the one and only Son of God, and the lover of my soul came to live in me, stand by me, and to hold my hand forever. on that day, i was saved from an eternal destiny in hell and from the worst punishment ever. he showed me his mercy by saving me from that punishment, which is what i deserved to have.

Jesus put his butt in the way and took a spanking that i definitely deserved. but thankfully (how can i express how grateful i am?) He did do that. He gave his life for me so i can have life. He took my shame and sin and guilt to the cross, died there, blameless, and sacrificed his life so i could have life and life eternal in heaven.

can you believe it? for me!!

but again, that's not the whole story. 3 days after they buried His body in a tomb, he rose from his grave. He conquered death and came back to life to prove that he is God and has power over everything, including the thing that scares most people to the thing itself: death. and that is why last sunday, EASTER, we celebrated, and still celebrate everyday, His resurrection.

and now about the past few weeks...

stay tuned for the rest of the story

Mr. Pattie's Day

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the cafeteria was only decorated for dinner. not lunch: just dinner. green table clothes, green cookies, st. patrick's day centerpieces, the works. one thing i didn't expect was the non-alcoholic beer, or "brew" as they call it. no one wants to admit they have beer on campus, even if its non-alcoholic. i got a can cause i was like, what the heck?

and it's nasty

that's really all i'd like to say about that, thanks

i didn't get pinched today,

so that's a good thing right? i wore green by accident, and that's a plus to this day also. the bad thing is i feel sick, like all green inside so i guess it wouldn't have mattered if i wore green today anyway cause my face would have shown it.

so step up 2 is one of my favorite movies, and i am currently watching it. it is keeping me in my dorm instead of being early to church, which i am about to have to leave for.

the point is,

hip hop is cool. i may just do it for Jesus someday :). yay :)

the heavens rejoice for the salvation of one soul

and so, they rejoice for the salvation of my soul :)

simply lovely