7,004,774,976..and counting

Name.

There are approx. 7 billion people on earth.
7 Billion different fingerprints…
7 Billion different DNA structures…different individuals with their own dreams, hopes, personalities…with their own destiny.

7 Billion different names.

Now there’s a story in the Bible about a man named Jacob who wrestles with an angel. It goes like this:

“That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The man asked him, "What is your name?" - Genesis 32

-what is your name?

This question has a bit of history. Way back in the story, Jacob is trying to deceive his father into thinking that he’s actually his older brother Esau. In that culture, the firstborn in the family would always receive the father’s blessing. And now the father is blind so Jacob disguises himself as his older brother and comes before his father:

“Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "I am," he replied.” - Genesis 27

-When we first meet Jacob in the story, he’s trying to be someone else.-

Now back then, your name was more than just words, your name was identity. It was what reflected your character, the very fiber of who you are. Your name told you who you are.
So when the man asked Jacob, “What is your name?” he was really asking, “Who are you?”

How much of our pain comes from not knowing the answer to that question.
We each have a unique path, a calling, a life, and Jesus calls us to be our own true selves. But we get sidetracked and hung up on how we’re different from her, or how we aren’t like him. We end up asking the wrong questions; What about her? What about him? What about them? Some people are stronger, some people are smarter, some have more money, and some have a certain body type; that’s just how it is. We’ll never live up to our true selves if we are constantly comparing ourselves to those around us.

How much life do we lose when we’re constantly comparing and judging? When we’re jealous of what someone else has, or even who someone else is. The struggle of Jacob is the struggle of all of us. We’re asked “what is your name” but on a much deeper level, we’re being asked “who are you?” You and I have pasts, family’s we come from, mistakes we’ve made, lessons we’ve learned, and places we’ve been. All of that adds up to who we are today. We have to embrace our story, our history. You don't have to be proud of it, but you DO have to claim it…because it’s yours. Only when we can own our own history for what it is, the good and bad, can we ever begin to answer the question “what is your name?”

Have you ever wondered “What if I was someone else? What if I came from that family? With those abilities than the ones that I’ve been given? With that body instead of mine?” What is that to you? We all have our own path. We have limits, there are all certain things we are and things we are not. Maybe that’s why Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as yourself. How can I ever love someone else if I’ve never come to terms with who I am and who I’m not. There are people today who spend their whole lives trying to live up to the expectations of others; whether it’s a family member or some famous icon. Others are crippled by shame and they believe that their mistakes define them and they live with a sense that it’s never going to be better than this.

"Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."
But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
The man asked him, "What is your name?"

"Jacob," he answered.“

He’s struggled and he’s been broken but he’s DONE pretending. He isn’t trying to be his brother or someone else, Jacob has overcome and is ready to BE Jacob. He’s ok with the life God’s given him.
At this point, God pulls him into his destiny as the father of the nations.
It’s as if he said: “Are you ready to be you? Because there’s A LOT of work we need to do together”.

We need to be saved from all the times we weren’t true to ourselves, all the times we’ve pretended to be someone else, all the lies we’ve believed, and all the times we have asked the wrong questions. We missed the voice of Jesus saying, “YOU. Follow ME.”

7 Billion different people on earth.
Are you ready to discover your own true self? Are you ready to find your unique path and feel comfortable in your own skin?


Are you ready to be YOU?

Rainy Wednesday Afternoons

I think Washington weather is getting the better of me. This morning I woke up with heavy rain pounding against my bedroom window (surprise) and another throbbing headache (surprise, again). No wonder we have a reputation as a city deluded with rain. Sometimes I wish I lived in California, where I wouldn’t have to constantly walk around looking like an Eskimo all day, with layers of jackets and a bucket unless it starts pouring again. I wish it could be summer already. Everything just seems better in the sun. As of now, it’s freezing in my room, and all I want to do is curl up in my fuzzy blanket and fall asleep for the rest of the day…that is, if I didn’t have a pile of homework waiting for me… sigh …

There are only three things keeping me going today:
- The fact that youth group is tonight
- The fact that there’s exactly 61 days, 21 hours, 15 minutes and 5 seconds until the last day of school
- And this adorable clip, thank you Pixar! This just made my day :)

101 things that make me smile :)

-in no specific order-

1) Sunshine streaming through my window
2) Playing with the produce sprinklers at the grocery store
3) Smiling so much your cheeks start hurting
4) Reading old notes/letters
5) Fuzzy Socks
6) Chocolate of all forms/shapes/sizes
7) Flip Flops
8) Strawberries with whipping cream
9) Apples to Apples
10) Finding cash in random places in your room
11) Love stories
12) My first grade teacher
13) Country Music
14) Passionate People
15) The sky
16) Riding Shot gun
17) Need for Speed
18) Falling in love with a new activity
19) Making food with my dad
20) Noodles, chicken, mushrooms, -real- Parmesan Cheese
21) Having a friend that’s always, always there
22) The memories you know are real
23) Art, art, and more art
24) Instrument playing/hearing/listening
25) Little smiling children
26) Bubble baths
27) Saturday morning breakfast with my family
28) Quotes
29) Photoshop
30) Embarrassing moments
31) Starbucks
32) Doing really good on a test when you didn’t expect it
33) The color purple
34) Jogging on a late warm afternoon
35) High Heels & Curls
36) Imagination
37) Road trips
38) My beautiful sisters
39) Nicholas Sparks
40) Figure Skating
41) Dancing like nobody is watching
42) Turning the music on full blast in my room
43) Scrapbooking supplies
44) Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
45) Flowers at Pike Place Market
46) My Soft Snuggly Blanket
47) Rainbows after rainstorms
48) Finding seashells on the seashore
49) Picnics
50) Splashing through puddles
51) American Idol
52) Someone who’s so close, they can literally read your thoughts
53) A book I can’t put down
54) Making snowmen with my little sister
55) Watching a senior couple walk by holding hands
56) Laying out in the sun
57) Popping bubble wrap
58) Boutiques and small shops in Seattle
59) Driving in the car with my sister for hours
60) Finding something that I thought I lost
61) Body Butter/Lotion
62) Meeting someone inspiring
63) The sounds a rainforest makes
64) The way it smells outside after rain
65) Christmas time/Christmas music
66) Stand up comedians
67) Shopping
68) Hair Straightners
69) Compliments
70) Finding the perfect piece of encouragement while flipping through the Bible
71) Friends + Glee : Some of the best shows ever made
72) Really hot showers
73) Fireworks
74) Late night phone calls
75) The swings
76) I love you’s
77) Bright nail polish
78) Taco Bell
79) Bonfires
80) Micowavable S’mores
81) Running into someone you haven’t seen in forever
82) “Good morning” texts
83) Smells that instantly make you think of someone/thing
84) Pomeranians
85) Simplicity
86) Birthdays
87) Learning new things about myself
88) Bananas, Apples, Grapes, Oranges
89) Being over-emotionally happy
90) Makeup
91) Origami
92) Making things – like scarves
93) Walking barefoot in the summer
94) My dad’s garden
95) Songbirds that wake me up in the summer
96) Writing my own lyrics
97) Uncontrollable Laughter
98) The fact that I could go on forever
99) Living…
100) Breathing…
101) How you took the time to read this (:



what are some things that make you smile? :)

Crayons, Cliches, and Chocolate

You know what I realized today? I miss being a child and the thrills that come along with it. I miss getting excited about almost nothing, like waking up early to watch Arthur or Clifford. I miss being homework free, responsibility free, drama free, etc. But most of all, I miss the fact that even though I stayed home a lot, there was ALWAYS something to do! I remember having a whole drawer full of coloring books that would keep me busy for hours, along with my incredible collection of crayons (all mostly broken in half I might add). My mom would come home with a new box every now and then; I would practically hug her to death as I clenched my new prized possession. I sure miss those days.

You know what else I realized? There are so many expressions/cliches in the English language that make completely NO SENSE…whatsoever. Here are some of them:

“I’ve been working like a dog” –
Maybe back in the days when dogs had to make themselves useful so people wouldn’t eat them, this phrase would actually make some sense. We feed them for not working – and that sounds nothing like our jobs. If I worked like a dog, I would lay around all day, occasionally sniffing this and scratching that, get up once in a while to eat, or otherwise sleep some more. Does this sound laborious to you? Ha, I don’t think so!

“He’s going to eat us out of house and home!” –
Ok, I understand that if someone literally didn’t stop eating, eventually the cost of all the food would cause them to miss mortgage payments and lose their house to the bank. So the “eaten out of house” part I get. But the home too? Can someone really eat so much that it breaks up the bonds of the family? I’m gonna say no.

“It is what it is.”-
This just has such a cop out feel to it! If that’s all you have to say, please just don’t talk.

"And that's the way the cookie crumbles" –
HA! Not if you eat chips ahoy soft cookies! Besides, who would want to eat the regular chips ahoy cookies now that they have soft ones? I say no one.

“It’s like comparing apples and oranges” –
Why is it wrong to compare apples and oranges? They are both practically the same thing...what’s the big deal? Apples come in more varieties and cost less. Oranges are better for juice and taste better. Which one do I like better? Oranges. There, I compared them.
Now if you really want a challenge, try comparing apples to something like, a hole puncher. That’s a tough one.

“It’s raining cats and dogs” –
This just dosnt make any sense. Ever try saying this in front of a child? Their puzzled expressions say it all. If you insist on using animals to compare how hard it’s raining, try to be a bit more creative? Go with something like. “Its raining Aardvarks and Javan Rhinos!” Although, that may be a bit hard to roll off the tongue.

If you come up with any more, I'd love to hear them! :P

...

As for the rest of my day, it was simply FABULOUS :)

-Apart from it being Friday, it was 65 degrees outside as of 2:00pm, with no clouds in sight(:
-I found out that one of my art pieces won an award in our districts art show!
-I finally aced a Spanish test.
-I lowered my best mile time of 8:43 down to 6:30…woohoo! :D
-I spent 2 hours after school with some of my favorite people in the world: Chrissy and Marissa.

Let’s just hope for an equally-fabulous weekend :P

Oh, and my latest obsession? --- Andes Chocolate Mints :) Individual, foil-wrapped, bite-size pieces of heaven.

If at first you don't succeed, try try again...

...and again, and again, and again...

I remember when I was a child; I had the hardest time learning to ride my bike. As soon as the training wheels came off, the bruises on my legs and elbows appeared. I can still picture my dad running behind to help with balance, but as soon as he let go…I’d instantly loose balance, crash, and sit there paralyzed by frustration on the driveway. Today I felt exactly like I did at that moment: frustrated with myself for getting it wrong, again. Except this time, it wasn’t the concrete that hurt, it was the ice. Learning the Waltz Jump has probably been one of the most challenging – and painful – experiences I’ve had since I started figure skating not too long ago. This past week, I’ve been trying to land it over and over again, only to find myself falling everytime. As I came unto the ice this afternoon, i thought to myself...

“Ok, I can do this, right? I mean, it’s nothing more than: bend, kick, arms up, toepick, jump, land...I can DO this, and no, I’m NOT gonna fall this time”

…and you know what? I finally landed it today(:

This is how I KNOW that practice makes perfect. If at first you don't succeed, try again! No matter how clumsy you feel in the process...
After all, is it possible to learn to ride a bike without failing?



No, I think not (:

I GOT A DATE!! :)

.....with my doctor that is :P and guess what?!?!

(Drum Roll Please)

I’M GETTING CONTACTS!!! :D

My mom, who was quite argumentative about the subject at first, finally gave in...and it’s final: my “orientation appointment” is on April 27.

I’ve been wearing my glasses pretty much my whole life, starting from around 3rd grade. I can still remember my first pair: brown rims, SpongeBob-themed (seriously! They had miniature ship-wheels that I could see in the corner of my eye, a picture of SpongeBob himself on the tips; they were even “glow in the dark”! A third grader’s dream come true :P) Back then, I was one of those kids who’s glasses took more than half of their face. Now that I think about it, they are a big part of me. Physically, they’ve become part of my face and everyday life (you can’t even imagine how much care goes into a framed piece of glass!) By now, I feel like I’ve established a great relationship with my spectacles. Just like we all do with the objects in our lives that we have constant interaction with (guys: your priceless cars, girls: that new purse you just can’t seem to put down)

As surprising as it is, I go through quite an array of emotions with these guys, just like any relationship…I get frustrated and upset when I drop them and they get scratched, I get annoyed when people hug me and press their cheeks against my glasses leaving oily smudges, which are a huge pain in the butt to remove. You know what else is annoying?

The number of ways they fog up: like drinking tea…



Or opening the dishwasher…



I could go on and on with the list: eating soup, coming inside from winter weather, running, etc…

Ha! I’ve even come up with three ways to cleaning glasses:

1) The “steam and shirt-dry” technique



2) The “formal special glass cleaner and cloth” technique:



3) Or my teachers “who cares lick em’ and shirt dry technique”…I’m serious; I’ve seen her do this before!!



Anyhow, as amusing as this all may seem, nothing is easier than popping in a pair of contacts in the morning - forgetting about them - and not having to worry about them being knocked off your face in p.e, them being in the way when you're trying to take a nap in english class, or again, not being able to see once they fog up.

As escatic as I may be, there IS one thing I will miss:



Believe me, the "press your nose against glass making you look like a piggy" technique is quite the charmer, and the beauty of it all is I can do it without the need of a window... pretty sweet! :P

Well, you guys enjoy this incredibly nice sunny weather today, while i'll sit here...with my glasses...and mope for my contacts.

the 27th needs to come sooner.

Beginning Blog

I love to read. I love to write. Funny, I even love to read what I write!

Some time back, I remember my sister, Ilona, set up her own blog. It was fun seeing her work on the beginning of what was to be her blog site. I still read it every few days, and always enjoy being able to read the things that are on her mind and heart. Even though I live with her, I always find myself learning something new. She’s actually the one who inspired me to start one of my own (kudos to Ilona! :) still have no idea on what I plan on writing here, whatever is on my mind, I guess.

So, I will write…on this blog. And I may be the only one who reads what I write, but that’s is OK. Some things are more about “me”. This is one of those things.