I don't have very many pics because I was too busy having fun but here is what I do have!
Our Group:Colin, Paige, Jay, Me, Mandi, and James
My Date!!
This was a once in a lifetime experience for me and I will always remember it!!
I love this saying and i think it's a great reminder to us!
I hope this brightens your day!
DANCE
I have been reading the book called, "Under the Overpass", which, by the way, is a really good book and i totally recommend it. Anyway, while I was reading it today a song came to my mind by Brandon Heath. It pretty much sums up how I'm feeling and it's a prayer that i give to God!
Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what´s underneath
There´s a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared
I´ve been here a million times!
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all along.
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Lord, give me your eyes so I can see
Somethin to think about: We are ALL beggars at the foot of the cross, broken people in need of mending.
I was gonna write about my awesome birthday and the awesome phone I got for my birthday!! But i was cleaning my, much needed, room and came across a paper I wrote back in 2007 and I thought I'd post it!!
She frowns. the reflection in the mirror doesn't please her. But it might get someones attention. Her black shirt's too tight, revealing and uncomfortable, but she won't change, even though she knows she should. She sighs sadly, feeling unsure. Maybe if she wears it, he'll notice her. And if he doesn't she'll find a way to make him.
The Biggest thing guys struggle with is where there eyes go. It's just the way God wired them. While I respond to kind words and a gentle touch, guys respond to what they see. When I walk into a room wearing a shirt that's a bit to low, my skirt too small or my stomach shows when i raise my arms, I'm not helping the guys who see me. I'm harming them.
I know that I can attract certain guys with the clothes I wear. Usually, the girl whose modesty is lacking is surrounded by guys who treat her with disrespect . The fact is I'm sending messages with the clothes I wear. A low-cut shirt says, "Hey, look at my body!" and attracts a guy who does just that. But a modest outfit says, "I'm saving something special." And the guys who are serous about guarding their purity will notice my modesty. It gives me depth and mystery, and they'll see my character rather than my body.
It's what guys will see when I choose to cover up. When I walk into a room wearing a flattering shirt that conceals my top, he'll see my smile. Instead of my midriff showing, my sparkling eyes will catch his glimpse. And he's thinking, "Wow, there's something special about her. She's not looking for attention, but she's caught mine." That's the kind of girl I want to be. And that's the kind of guy I want to attract. But, "I say, "what if I don't catch his attention, or he doesn't notice me?" He may not. But if I've found my security in the Lord, it won't even matter. And I won't need to dress thinking I can make him. I can but my trust in God who, in the right time, will bring me the guy I desire.
One of the main reasons I may wear a revealing shirt or act in ways to gain attention can be summed up in one word: INSECURITY. It's that little voice inside my head that says, Do you notice me? Am I pretty? Will you love me? I've heard those doubts in my head many times.The problem is, through my actions and appearance, I'm directing those unspoken questions to the people around me, whose response may disappoint me. I need to direct those questions to God who after hearing me ask, responds with a, "Yes!" And God's response is enough. I need to change my thinking(and the kinds of clothes i wear) from, "Look at me!" to "Look at Christ in me!" And with changed thinking comes changed actions. That's were my security should come from.
She feels beautiful when she looks in the mirror. A confidence rises in her chest, and she nods her head at the feeling. She knows how much God loves her, and that's enough to hold her head high. the clothes she wears give her confidence. She knows she's saving the details of her heart for someone special. The security she's gained from God helps her act in ways that brings glory to Him. "Am I beautiful?" she smiles when she hears the whispered answer in her heart. "Yes, my child!"
Ok so, wow! It has been forever since I've written anything!!
Not a lot has really been going on in my life except school and babysitting! I haven't been ice skating cause they took the ice off for 2 months to play soccer, which is the pits.
I know my mom likes to just stay home all the time and that's fine because she's a mom but i don't. I know, I know, you're probably thinking, "Brooke, you just need to be content with your life", but, I'm sorry, I'm not content with doing school for 4 hours everyday and staring at a computer screen basically the rest of the day! Is it wrong to, impatiently, can't wait till I'm 18??
Ok so, that is pretty much all that is on my mind and all that i can think to write about! I need to get my school done too.
p.s. 9 more days till my birthday!!!!
I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad
Where the West was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said, "Where've you been?" He said, "Ask anything."
Where were you, when everything was falling apart?
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me.
These words from The Fray's 'You Found Me' keep goin through my head. It sorta expresses my heart. Haven't you had things 'fall apart' on one level or another?
I think It's the tension we feel when we're caught in between the way things are and the way things should be. It's an emotional strain and drain that causes us to remember at the same time that God is good - but also ask why our lives are not.
Like the relationship that started so amazingly well, yet ended with a callous and cowardly texts or messages on Facebook and left us feeling as valuable as garbage.
Like the loss of a friend. Like the disappointment in circumstances. Like the million other things that make us cry out to God and ask - 'Where were You?'
There's this man who lived thousands of years ago who lost more and experienced more pain than perhaps anyone else who walked this earth. His name was Job, and just when his life was going as well as any life could go, here's what happened:
Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's hous, a messanger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and i alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and comsumed them, and i alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in thier oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you." (Job 1:13-19)
Can you imagine this scene? In just that little of time Job lost everything that was near and dear to him. All possessions and family ripped from his life in a matter of minutes. I think i might have been asking God where He was at that point. And yet, here is the song that came from the pieces of Job's shattered heart:
"Naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. (Job 1:21-22).
Job was human just as much as you or me, but the difference is he didn't have a human perspective. Rather than focusing on the sting of things falling apart, he trusted in the power of the God who holds everything together. He worshiped God with tears and resisted the temptation to blame the evils of this world on the Creator of the universe. WOW!
Things do fall apart, and it is OK to ask God where He was at that time. But there's a difference between asking and blaming.
Asking is trying to find an answer. Blaming is assuming you already know. And what you should know is that God has it all under control. You may feel like He wasn't there in a difficult time but the reality is He was probably closer than you ever imagined. He doesn't need to find you because He never let you go in the first place. That's why we have these promises that we need to cling to during the storms of life:
But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you; When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you." (Isaiah 43:1-2).
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, " I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU, NOR FORSAKE YOU." (Hebrews 13:5).
May these truths go with you in the midst of your trials!
