Writings of an "not-so-normal" Christian teen

Tag

2008-10-29T06:27:00.000-07:00

Six random things about myself:

1. I can't stand ham. When I was younger I had ham sandwhiches for lunch one day (and hot dogs for dinner) and that night I got sick with the flu. I stayed sick ALL week and have never liked to eat ham since. The sad thing is I was sick for our one week of vacation that year (and the car broke down), it was a pretty pathetic vacation....lol.

2. I can't sing, but I love music.

3. I love performing, but I get really REALLY nervous before any recital or for example the debate last night. YIKES!!!!!! Usually I can hide it better on the piano, but the trying to play the violin while your hands are shaking is REALLY hard.

4. I LOVE coffee/caffeine (that tastes reasonably good, not like energy drinks per say, although the Vault is awesome). The only problem is, whenever I leave home to go to camp or like a missions trip, and am kind of "on my own" I end up drinking way too much of the stuff. Yeah, like the missions trip last year, I mean I was getting up at like 5 (you know to get a good shower before everyone else;-) and then going to bed at 11-12ish, and working hard in between, so what are you supposed to do- DRINK VAULTS AND COFFEE, thats what!

5. I don't like mice, snakes, rats, spiders, lizards, bugs, or anything of that kind. One time when I was babysitting, there were these three little lizard-catching boys. And, well, they just thought it was so funny that I was scared of the little lizards they caught, so they would pick up one and hold it out into my face. That was a longgggggggggggggggggggggggggggg job!

6. I STRONGLY DISLIKE GEOMETRY. It just happens to be the subject I'm doing now, and I don't like it!!!!

Pictures of vacation will come soon- Jordan

2008-10-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

My....uhhh..."speech" :-D

2008-10-09T13:48:00.001-07:00

A week ago, I tried getting one of my speech's video-taped so that I could put it on the blog. Well after an hour of about 102 takes, Hannah and I came up with a bunch of "tries" but for some reason, I could not help laughing right in the middle of the speech. So here are some of the "takes" on a speech I gave about scheduling:

Take 1: Ok, deep breath!

Take 2: Notice, I never really get past that first statement.

Take 3:

Take 4: I got to that point.....you know, where you just can't help making fun of yourself (along with..like everybody else)

Better luck next time I guess.....lol. I'm doing a humorous interpretation from Pride and Prejudice next week, so we'll see how that goes:-)

~Jordan~

2008-10-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

My awesome friend, Emily, got a blog!!! Go leave her a couple comments today to welcome her! Her blog address is- tismeemily.blogspot.com. (hmmm awfully familiar blog address)

Piano lessons, ortho. appointments, school, chores, violin and speech class is making this a hectic day! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Jordan

What have I been doing?...

2008-10-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

...... School, school, and more school! Plus Speech, Debate, Extemporaneous, piano, violin, chores, ect. Yes, I've been Busy!

On Friday we are leaving to go on a Disney Cruise! My whole family is very excited. Normally, we try to take a post-deployment family vacation, but after dad got back from his last deployment, we MOVED. So, there was no time for a trip down to Florida and back. Then we had to wait until fall because dad was extremely busy all summer, but now we finally get to go!

After we get back from the cruise (the following Friday), my cousin, Eric, will be coming to spend a week with us that Monday. He is around Hannah and I's age, and so we get along pretty well. Then that weekend mom, hannah, and I are driving down to NC so that Hannah and I can play in an honors recital. Our friend, Christine, is also playing in it, so we will get to see her for a couple days too!

Thanks for reading!

Arya

My...uhhh...speech:-)

2008-10-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

Take 1: Ok, deep breath!

Take 2: Notice, I never really get past that first statement.

Take 3:

Take 4: I got to that point.....you know, where you just can't help making fun of yourself (along with..like everybody else)

Better luck next time I guess.....lol. I'm doing a humorous interpretation from Pride and Prejudice next week, so we'll see how that goes:-)

~Jordan~

Christine's Visit

2008-09-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely visit with Christine. We went to an Amish Market with her, a parade, out to dinner, to the mall, to a Starbucks, shopped downtown, and went to chapel with her. We had a lovely visit, and also got to see Cindy McCain at the parade. In fact, we sat very VERY close to her, which was totally awesome. (I really enjoyed seeing all the Secret Service people, THEY WERE COOL) We miss Christine already, and can't wait to see her next month!!!!

Amish Market

STARBUCKS AND THE MALL!!!!

Downtown Walk!

After Church!

We had a GREAT time!

God bless,

Arya

Christine is Coming!!!!

2008-09-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

I am VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY Excited because one of my BEST friends is coming to visit this weekend. Her name is Christine and we used to live near her at the last place we lived. We went from seeing her at least 4 or 5 times a week, to not seeing her in the last 5 1/2 months, and so we are SO excited that she is coming to visit! We have lots of plans, and I'll be sure to post about how our weekend goes:-)

Pictures of our last Church event

The oldest pictures we have from our time with Christine

Till next time-

Arya

Exciting things

2008-09-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

Our friends, the Dawsons, spent a couple days with us and we had an Awesome time with them (I am not so sure they could say the same thing about spending time with us)! I got enough pics for a slideshow, and as soon as Jeremy sends me a couple more, I will post the pictures from their visit.

Anyway, thats the latest exciting that happened in my life. This weekend we are visiting our old, old, old church (3 churches ago) that my dad used to pastor. I am excited about seeing people there, and Hannah and I are doing a lot of music on Sunday morning, so pray that we will do our best for God's glory.

Oh, and school has started. All I am going to say about that is AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

God bless y'all,

Arya

2008-09-02T13:09:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I was going for a rainbow theme.......Not so sure how that worked out, but just so y'all know what all the colors are about:-)

-Arya

2008-08-06T17:46:00.001-07:00

Monday morning, my family and I (except dad who was working) left to go visit my grandparents (the grandpa that has been sick for a while now). Mom had just gotten the idea to go on Sunday, and it was one of those "spur of the moment" trips. We had nice visit with my grandparents Monday night and Tuesday morning. Hannah and I played our violins for the family and there was a family get-together Monday night, where a bunch of my grandpa's siblings came over. As we got ready to leave to go home Tuesday afternoon, I had begun getting a fever and had to stay far away from my grandpa, because he couldn't afford getting any kinds of sicknesses, but as we went to leave I told him goodbye and that I loved him. He responded, "I love you too Jordan, keep working on your special music" and we left. After about 3 hours on the road, my mom tried calling our grandparent's house, but got no answer. When she finally reached grandma's cell-phone, we found out that 30 minutes after we had left, grandpa had started coughing up blood. He had not stopped bleeding for 3 hours now, and the doctors were calling it a "precarious" situation. Mom turned around to come back, but 5 minutes later we got the call telling mom to pull over and then telling her that her "daddy died". Needless to say, it was one of the worst moments of everyone in our family's lives, mom was devestated, and so were all of us. We drove home, but mom flew out this morning to be with her mom. My dad has to work, and I was sick this morning and therefore unable to manage the household, but God is getting us through this trial. Friday night is the viewing and Saturday afternoon will be the funeral. Christine and I will be playing "Amazing Grace" and "Great is thy Faithfulness" at the funeral, please pray that we will be able to get through it and be composed. My family and I appreciate your prayers at this time. We are grateful to know that grandpa is now with Jesus.

God bless, Arya

"Discussions with a Purpose"-New Blog!

2008-07-29T20:33:00.001-07:00

I am pleased to announce that I created a new blog called, "Discussions with a Purpose". Please come join me there. Here is the link- www.homeschoolblogger.com/InspiredDiscussions. Please come join me there soon! God bless-

Arya

"Striving to be a Proverbs 31:30 Woman"

The Rebelution!!

2008-07-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 26th, my mom, sister, and I attended one of The Rebelution conferences. It was one of the most life-changing events I have ever been to before in my entire life. Below is a video about the conference:

On Saturday, there were 3200 PEOPLE there to hear the conference. There were literally lots of people sitting on the floor because they ran out of seats!!! Alex and Brett Harris (the whole Harris family actually) have made a HUGE impact in many people's lives, and it was quite obvious that something was going on that day when 150 people accepted Christ into their lives! The conference itself was amazing and just something every teen and their parents needs to hear. Even if you weren't able to make the conference though, there is still good news. Alex and Brett recently published a book called "Do Hard Things". Here is my review:

"Do Hard Things", written by Alex and Brett Harris, is an amazing book for teens and tweens that will help jumpstart many teens lives into actions for Christ. The twin brothers share about their own experiences, showing that is possible to stand out against low expectations and fight for truth. Against all odds, Alex and Brett challenge teens and tweens to start rebelling against low expectations and to start using their lives in a way the will honor and glorify God, not just partying their teen years away. The three parts in the book are entitled, Part 1: Rethinking The Teen Years, Part 2: Five Kinds of Hard, and Part 3: Join the Rebelution. The book starts out showing a "new" path that teens can take. It tells how the brothers thought up the idea for the "rebelution" as they like to call it and shows a "better way" that teens can use their lives. The next part of the book shows the steps of the process and ways to fight against low expectations. The third and final part of the book tells the stories of many teens lives, showing how they fought against low expectations, and ended up making a big impact on the world. This book is worth reading, and I strongly encourage you to look into getting your own copy today. Quote from the book: "Most people don't expect you to understand what we're going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don't expect you to care. And even if you care, they don't expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don't expect it to last. WE DO."

This book is WORTH reading. If you haven't read it yet, I strongly reccomend reading it TODAY! Also check out their website- therebelution.com. Their blog, the forums, and the whole website is worth taking a look at. Once you get to know more about it too, I highly reccomend applying to be a member of the forums. I have already (in the past 5 days of being a member:-) met some REALLY neat people, and was blessed to meet a couple of them at the conference.

With that I must retire, but I hope it encourages you to know that there are MANY MANY teens in this world who have the same questions, thoughts, and desires to please and glorify God with their teenage years. God bless everyone!

Arya

Striving to be a Proverbs 31:30 Woman!

Triple R Ranch

2008-07-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

  Well I am back from my two week adventure at camp. I had an awesome time and will spend this post telling you about my experience:-)

   I got there on a Sunday around 2. My mom and I drove 5 hours to get there, so it was nice to be done with the journey. I checked in, got my staff t-shirt, and went to the bunkhouse where I would be staying with the rest of the girl staff. It was a LARGE room with about 28 bunk beds (all filled) and there was a LOT OF STUFF. (I thought I overpacked, but quickly learned that I had underpacked according to the other girl's standards..lol) I unpacked all my stuff and headed over to the lodge (where everyone ate and the kitchen was) where there was a staff meeting. After the meeting things got busy as I went to the kitchen and began learning what my duties would be, where everything was, and met the people I would be working with for the next few weeks. After feeding the campers and parents and washing dishes, we were free to go to the Staff Meeting. At the Staff Meeting we played a couple games, sang a few songs, then headed up to bed (curfew for Jr. Staff was 10:30). Well instead of going through each day, telling what I did for every spare second of my time, I will give you a run-down on what I did all day. Since I only had to work in the afternoon and part of the evening, my morning was fairly freed up. I would get up around 7 and go to breakfast around 8. After breakfast I would usually take a shower and head over to the Trading Post, a place where they had a lot of games and a store in the back. I would usually hang out with a couple friends, crochet, or read there and then head over to the Lodge for devotions at 10. After devotions I would go to archery and hang out there till 1. Sometimes I got to shoot, but I mainly went to talk to the campers, try to memorize all their names ( NO EASY TASK for me) and talk a bit with the other staff working there. After lunch it would finally be time to work. We cleaned up from lunch, which usually took about an hour and a half. We would have to do all the dishes, get tables ready for dinner, takes lots of trash out, and things like that. There were usually about 12 people in the kitchen then and so it was usually fun working with other kids and listening to the LOUD music that was played in the back. Around 3 we were off for a couple hours and I would usually go back to the Trading Post to play with the campers, or on the second weeks challenge some of the counselors to games of chess (that was fun, even though I only won like once!). Then at 5 it was back to the kitchen where we worked until around 7:30 and then were off for the rest of the night. 8:00 were the Staff Meetings and 10:30 was curfew, so thats the basic outline of my days there.

  I really loved working in the kitchen. Sometimes it was really tiring and hot (ONE OF THE AIR Conditioners had broke and it was already hot from all the ovens being on constantly!!!!!!!), but most of the time I had a great time working with the other Staff and getting to know them better. Plus you got to pick out food for yourself for later (meaning all the best food..lol) Highlights from the weeks would be hanging out at the archery range, playing chess with the counselors, learning how to play pool, the banquet night, riding a horse, playing a giant manhunt game in the dark, playing a giant capture the flag game in the dark, and swimming in the pool at night (even going down the water slide...YIKES!! Well, I'm sorry if I bored you to death with my account. For now its back to the normal. I will post again soon!

   God bless, Arya

"I'm off to work at camp!

2008-07-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

The post that I was supposed "to continue" will not be continued...lol, sorry.
I am leaving tomorrow to go to work at a camp for a couple of weeks. I will be working on kitchen staff. Its a little bit nerve racking, because I've never been gone from home longer than 2 weeks, but it is also exciting. Please pray that I can be a witness there and that I will be a servant/blessing to the rest of the staff.
I FINISHED ALGEBRA 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yipee!!
Not too much has been going on except getting ready for this and finishing up school. The rest of my siblings went to my grandmom's house, my mom is going to visit her dad, and my dad is VERY VERY busy at his work. He leaves around 5 in the morning and doesn't get back till LATE at night. I still prefer that over a deployment though!
I will post again when I return. God bless y'all!
Love,
Arya

"Who Am I?"

2008-07-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

I posted this a couple months back on my HSB blog. It will tell you a little more about me and who I am. Enjoy!

This Post was inspired by a post by "ChristsInstrument". A few months ago she did a post like this, and I found it to be a neat idea, so here is a post inspired by hers and I hope it helps you learn more about the person I am and who I strive to be. Who Am I?- As many of you know I am a homeschooled, 14 year old girl. To some I may be seen as a "typical homeschooled Christian girl", but there is more than that. I am a Daughter of the King of Kings, designed to fufill a purpose in my life and working towards being a woman after God's own heart. My interests:
(1) As Shelia also puts it, Jesus Christ is my number one interest. I want to learn more about Him and strive to be more consistent in my devotions and spending time with Him. As some of you may know, one of my deepest faults is my, for lack of better wording, inconsistency, as I tend to try new things, and then stop, or get on a steady schedule, but eventually fall out of line. One of my biggest goals is to be more like Christ in this area of my life, and I hope and pray that one day I may the woman He wants me to be.
Reading would hit second on my list of interests. Whether a fantasy novel that takes me to another world and time, \ a good Jane Austen book with classic lines and romance, or a good old Adventure book, I enjoy reading very much. As soon as I learned to read, I enjoyed it and was usually found reading a good book in my spare time. As the years pass on, my love of reading has never faltered and I continue to enjoy this part of my life.
Music is also one of my great joys in life. Whether the piece is a hymn, classical, or even a contemperary Christian song by bands like "Casting Crowns", music has a way of stirring my heart and sending shivers down my spine, that nothing else can do. I play the violin and the piano, and enjoy playing them both regulary during the church services. This is very special, because I can now use my talents to further worship God with my music, and that is a wonderful thing to be able to do.
Cooking, crafts, and History would sum up many of my other hobbies. Whether cooking a meal for my family, or baking a cake for Sunday evening church, I have discovered that cooking/baking is a very enjoyable task, and I have much fun with it....though not so much with cleaning up the mess I make afterwards:-) Crafts is a word that I use to name many things for instance: crocheting, painting, cross-stitching, making jewelry, and more. I have esp. enjoyed beading and crocheting this past year. History is my favorite subject in school, and I find reading about ancient times, places, and people both fascinating and exciting. It has taught me much, and I enjoy the subject very much.
My hopes and dreams: My number one dream is to serve the Lord and be the person he wants me to be. I want to make this world a better place and become a servant to those in it. These words may sound easy to say, but to do is quite a different story. I hope and pray that the Lord will help me become a servant to others-friends, family, strangers- and to not judge them, but worry only about myself and my wrong-doings. I am afraid, among many of my other faults, thinking critically and selfishly is one of my many struggles, and I pray that with God's guidance I can overcome them.
I also hope to marry the man the Lord has chosen for me. Until then, I want the Lord to have my heart, and pray that I will not stray from the path towards righteousness. I hope to be a godly wife and mother and be an example to those around me of a true woman after God's own heart.
My other hopes and dream would be to do well in school, become a better musician, and to be a loving and kind friend. My focuses right now are primarily on school and music, and as they take up much of my time, I hope that I will do well in each. With hard work, and the Lord's help, I someday will hopefully acomplish these. My personality: My friends could probably answer this one for me:-) I am a fun-loving, wierd, different-sort-of girl, with many aspirations, failures, and dreams. Music, friends, and family keep me on my toes, while school, reading, and writing help me to be a more sensible person at times. While I love to be giddy and laugh with my friends, I also enjoy having serious conversations and debates with others. Some may think of me as quiet, and a little too serious at times, while some of my closest friends will realize that behind that quietness, there is a very loud, talkative, and maybe even Fun girl in there, who loves to make her opinions known (though that may not be the best all the time).So, who am I? So putting "my personality" altogether and you will arrive with the conclusion of the person I am. I am Arya, a young lady who loves laughter, excitement, and friends, but also has a logical side to her and can be sensible at times. I love Christ, Music, reading, friends, and family, and these all help form the person I am today. I am a girl who makes many mistakes, and has many faults, doubts, and fears...but Jesus forgives me of my sins and accepts me for who I am, and when it comes down to it, His opinion is all that matters.

God bless,
Arya

Very Sorry

2008-07-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, to everyone who commented on my last post, FORGIVE ME! I didn't even know anyone had commented...until today! Very sorry.

I will try to be more faithful from now on. Please comment if you are still going to read this blog, and I will post again very soon.

God bless,
Arya

A Slow Start

2007-11-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

Okay so this is a pretty boring blog already....I have left it empty for like months, and since I already have 3 other blogs, it would be hard to keep up with another one, but I WILL TRY.

So I am 14 years old, a Christian, homeschooled, Navy Chaplains's daughter. I have 3 siblings and am the oldest of them all and all of my cousins. I love to laugh, crochet, cook, hang out with friends, make jewelry, read, blog, and do all sorts of things. I love the Lord with all my heart.

God bless you all and I will post again soon Lord willing.

Arya