Only Your Real Friends Will Tell You When Your Face Is Dirty

Friendship it sure is a curious thing! Have you ever wondered why or how you became to be friends with the people you are friends with? I have, on many occasions in fact. I've always wondered why we are attracted to the people we are attracted too. Now I guess personality does play a role in it but if you look at some of my friends I did NOT pick them because we are the same person or our personalities work well together. I guess I lot of it is Providential too. Yet, it still intrigues me to think why I like the people that I like. Also why the people who like me, like me! I wish we could trace every moment in our lives and see where we had that thought "oh I like you". To see that action, joke, or phrase that made us fall in love with our best friend? Wouldn't you like to know what it was. Even if it was providential! To see why for that season you became friends with that person. Maybe one day we will see the big picture. I will get to see how I helped others by just being their friend and how others helped and grew me. Like one big movie just watching all the happily ever afters explained!


I love being home and seeing all my friends! It is sooo nice to be around people who know you inside and out. I haven't laughed this hard in ages! I've been goofy, done the most ridiculous stuff, said the most absurd things and the people around me think it is funny!! they haven't given me that stare of disapproval in fact more often than not they have joined in! AHHHH I love these old friendships and it gives me encouragement to go back to knox and make these same kind of friendships with new people! Isn't it fun to watch the Bible come alive! 


Here are some friendship quotes:
~A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world


~A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they're not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they're not so bad.


~The friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.


~The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend


~A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.


~A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked


~Cherish the friend who tells you a harsh truth, wanting ten times more to tell you a loving     lie


~Strangers are just friends waiting to happen!


So go out and make a friend today, be a friend to today, and tell a friend you love them today!


-Abs

A laughing Moment!

This is one of my most favorite videos!! I think it is soo funny and cute! I still don't quite understand what the ending really means....but yea hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

The Weather Outside Is..

Hello World!!!
It has been such a long long long time since I wrote to you! My reasoning is that I am home with the people I love and really am writing this blog for so why keep writing they already know what I am doing. But I guess that isn't fair to all of my new friendly readers who don't live in memphrica! I really have not been up to much! I sleep a lot!! I don't really understand why I sleep so much actually...I guess I am making up for what I lost during the school year! I LOVE  being home with my family! It is so much fun to just sit around and hang out with everybody. I taught my little brothers how to play uno and we have had a good ole time with that! they informed me of course that the first time I taught them I didn't get all of the instructions right. Oh well you do what you can right!

I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner! Like legit in four days! It doesn't quite feel like it is Christmas time yet. I love Christmas time though...All the lights and warm fuzzy feelings....Its just like the world gets a little happier when Christmas rolls around. Of course they also get a little crankier, crazier, and  drive insanely but oh well. I think it is really cool to see all the unity at Christmas time. Everyone is listening to the same music, buying presents for loved ones, putting up Christmas decorations! Sure we don't all have the same religion but because of the ONE and only God we are all being united, even though some don't realize it, by His story! Ahhhh I can't wait to sit around our Christmas tree on Christmas eve with only the tree lighting the room and just talk about the greatest story! I love Christmas...and I love being home with my family! I hope everyone else is having a great Christmas holiday!! Go spread some good Christmas cheer!!

"Laugh and the world laughs with you"

HI,
It's been a while! That would be my fault. The past few weeks have been utterly crazy!! Here are a few pictures of what has occurred.

Chi O formal with my dashing date Jake Baker! And before you get any ideas he is JUST a friend! I know sorry to disappoint but we are in no way dating, talking, or talking about dating lol! I went home and that's all I heard was WHO WAS YOUR DATE!? Yes girls I do realize he is attractive but if you think so just come on down, up , or over to UT and have a swing at it! The dance was a lot of fun! Although I must admit I felt a little self conscious about my dancing! It was a live band that played old jazz music. Which I wasn't prepared for at all so I didn't brush up on my ballroom moves :/...But I still had a blast so its all good!

I got to see a lot of my dear friends over Thanksgiving break! It was a lot of fun to see everyone! It was especially nice to get to be around more girls who thought more like I do! It was soo nice to once again bring up conversations about our relationship with God mixed in with all the other catching up. It is sad that I don't do that on a regular basis with anyone but I don't know there is just something different when you can share and talk with others that think like you do.

Thanksgiving was soo much fun! I'm not going to lie I was a little worried that it wasn't going to be the best one and I think it will make to be in the top ten for a while! We had four Korean girls come over so that was interesting. That is what I was worried about. Because ya see they don't speak perfect English yet and I didn't want to have to try and mingle with the language barrier. Really I was just being selfish and didn't want to have to think about anything else besides my family and dear friends. BUT it was soo much fun having them there. Yea the language barrier was kinda hard but it was still cool to interact. It was funny we tried to teach the what air quote "" are! My dad was a pretty good explainer because by the end of the night they got it! One of the girls turned to another and said your "pretty". We all busted out laughing! We all sat at one table for dinner too!! It was soo cool to have 19 people sitting and talking together. My mom did a wonderful job of decorating it looked sooo pretty!! The food was delicous! I really love being around my family! This trip we talked about how crazy our holidays are going to be once we all have kids! It is going to be so AWESOME! Imma plan a huge football tournament and I assure you every espy will be in attendance at every holiday! I can't wait! p.s. the last picture is what happened when I was leaving! ahhh I love my family!

This week is finals!! Which oh my goodness stress me out soo much! but imma doin okay and keeping my cool! Hopefully I'm going to ace them all! I'm a little bit nervous about my grades this semester I don't think they are going to be anything like highschool! So depressing. But you know what I'm going to come back next semester prepared and going to make it just like high school! You know what I think is funny. The thought process that once you get to college you magically mature. I do not think this is the case. I'm still doing stupid high school sometimes even middle school stuff! I mean don't get me wrong I'm being mature when I need to be but I just go crazy sometimes! I wonder if it's always like that. I think it be kinda cool if it stayed like that! I like still being a kid sometimes!

The other day I was thinking about gossip, judging, and stories and it dawned on me... You know when you hear a person tell you a story about how another person wronged them...You just automatically believe the story and you side with the person telling it and your like I am soo sorry. That's not fair. You are hearing a biased story and without even thinking about it you are already judging and making accusations about a person you might not even know. I think this is why the bible says do not judge unless you want to be judged. Cause think about it how many stories have you heard from your best friend and then later in life you hear it from the other person perspective. The two stories are usually very opposite! I feel like many times I have wrongly judged someone because I believed the person telling the story was telling me the whole story. I have also told stories embellished in my favor that have lead people to judge other people on false accusations. It's sad how many people I have automatically written off inside my head from what other people say about them without actually getting to know them myself.  I am sorry to all those people I have believed lies about, judged falsely or torn down their reputation. I am going to try and be careful about what I say about people. I need to remember that there are always at least TWO parts to a story. I think that is why God warns us about judging and gossiping. It is so interesting when you see those bible verses you have had memorized for years take on new meanings and come to life. I love how when I open the bible every time a new story unfolds!

Well if off to study's for me! May a new or old part of Jesus' story unfold to you today!

The Art Of Deception

Deception is something I have never really been able to understand. I cannot, for the life of me, find a reason where deception is necessary. Yet, deceptions seems to be a part of everyday life in our culture. It is everywhere, you see it in all the movies, on tv shows, and in books! At first I thought it was just going to be one of those high school habits that everyone quickly grew out of. I was wrong. It is almost as if high school was training camp. The place you learned different tactics on how to deceive those around you. Personally I dislike being deceitful with an extreme passion. I believe in being honest with everyone and don't think it is right to say one thing to someone's face and then to turn around and say the complete opposite a second later. I also do not think deceit is biblical in anyway. I will always tell someone to their face what I would ever tell any other person. I hate being fake with people honestly if I do not like you I am not going to pretend we are best friends. I will be nice and polite to you but I will not lie and suck up to you just so that you will like me. I am sorry if this is crude and frowned upon by our society but where does it say that I must be best friends with everyone on the planet? Yes I am called to love everyone but I this does not mean I tell acquaintances that I love their boots when I think they are the uglies things i've ever seen. NO!! that is lying and I do not know why our culture has accepted these actions to be okay. Why are there people who are supposedly "best friends" but when one of them isn't there all they do is rag on the other person and say awful things about them? Is it because we are so caught up on everyone wanting to like us? I think this is more of a problem among girls but I don't thing guys are excused. It is just so strange and sad to me that people will do this to one another. I've seen so many friendships ripped apart and people get hurt when they didn't need to be.

I think the root problem is gossip. Our culture thrives on gossip. I, myself included. I love to hear the latest story. Half the time I don't think I even realize that I am gossiping. This is so sad because the bible obviously describes gossiping and the hurtfulness and wrongness of it. I think if as girls we started to guard out tongues better and actually thought about what qualifies as gossip our relationships would be much better. It worries me sometimes though...the thought what would we talk about always come to my mind. which is so sad because I should be able to carry on conversations without having to participate in gossip. I wish I was better at holding my tongue and not spreading gossip or digging for gossip. I really am going to try and be better because it would make things so much better if I did. Just think if we didn't gossip how confidential anything you said to anyone would be. How nice would it be to know that what you said isn't about to spread like wild fire! Ah to be that girl that people know they can trust to talk to. I want to be that girl. Lord, help me to be a confidential girl who holds her tongue and does not hide who she is from other people. May I never intentionally deceive anyone and may my motives always be pure. Let's do it girls. Let's try and stop spreading the fire of gossip and promote confidentiality!

Happiness

HI! 
Long time no see!!
I don't have much time to let you in on life but here are a few happy quote i found.
Today has been a rough day of life and it's beautiful complications and these were good reminders!
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 

• Make one person happy each day and in forty years you will have made 14,600 human beings happy for a little time at least.

• The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes to do but in liking what one has to do. 

• Looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them.

• Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget
       about it.

• Happy people roll with the punches.  They know from experience that
       everything changes.  Today's good fortune may vanish tomorrow,
       today's crises may turn out to be tomorrow's good fortune.

• Everyone is responsible for their own joy.

• Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling

• What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.  They are trifles,
      to be sure, but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is
      inconceivable.

• Joyfulness keeps the heart and face young.  A good laugh
         makes better friends with ourselves and everybody around.

•      I'm going to be happy today, Though the skies may be cloudy and gray  No matter what may come my way I'm going to be happy today.

• The joyful people are those who are generous and kind 
  The miserable people are those who are selfish & unforgiving.
  The problem solvers are those whose lives are powered by  faith & optimism.
  The problem people are those whose lives are drained by  doubts & pessimism.
  The winners are those who learn to take full responsibility for their actions.
  The losers are those who blame others for their failures.

• Happiness is like a potato salad  -  when shared with others - 
  it's a picnic.

• Nothing has to happen for me to feel good!  I feel good because
          I'm alive!  Life is a gift, and I revel in it.

• Where ever you are going, whatever the weather always bring your own sunshine.

• This is the day the Lord has Made I will Rejoice and be Glad in IT!!!

Quotes always fascinate me. I love to sort through a pile of them and find those couple that are just awesome! I could just curl up with a fluffy blanket and shift through quotes all day long and be entertained the whole time. So let's go be happy!

Life

I don't want to start this week.
I really just want to curl up in a big bed with fluffy pillows and comforters and forget the world.
I'm not sure why I want this. It's a weird feeling that this week is just going to be full of life.
The depressing reality that we live in, because of or fallen nature.
I just have a feeling that there will be more messy-ness this upcoming week.
and I just don't want to deal with it.
I want to curl up with a romantic book and imagine that is how the world is.
To do nothing for days!!
But it is time i brace for the week coming. That I put on my armor and show this world that this isn't the end.
that this isn't the reality we have to live in.
There is more to come.
There is a place that is much more than we could ever imagine.
A place where feelings are never hurt.
Boys are never jerks.
Friends never lie.
People aren't starving.
Children aren't crying.
Wars aren't being fought.
Just a place of peace and rest.
A place where we can look on the face of the Almighty and just bask in His Glory.
So for this week I take on the challenge to show the people around me a piece of that peace.
A glimpse of that happiness
A sliver of that honesty
An embrace of that comfort
because it doesn't take a multitude just a smile and a good attitude.
So let's go attack this week and make a mark for the kingdom to come!