family

i am wide awake and i have to wake up in about 5 hours to go to work. i am probably wide awake because i went out to coffee at 730 this evening. i had my mars hill interview today to finish up my membership process. the interview was funny considering it was done by my community group leader who i know quite well. but i am glad all that work is done now.

while i was lying in bed trying to force myself to sleep i started thinking about my family. mostly my siblings. so i thought i would blog about them since i miss them.

this is carissa. my oldest sister. she is marrried to scott and they gave me my beautiful niece grace, who is walking now! carissa lives in spokane and works as a waitress at tomato street. (a family italian restaurant in spokane) she went to school in arizona to become a chef and eventually own her own restaurant! but once she graduated realized she didn't want to own her own restaurant. she is however a amazing cook, she mostly loves to bake. i think she should move to seattle and open up her own bakery then i could be a full time live in nanny for grace! i miss them!

this is aric my older brother, he recently moved to detroit which i hate. he is too far away and wasn't even able to come home for christmas. he moved to detroit to work as a floor manager in the camping department at a sportmans warehouse that my cousin is the main manager of. i think he mostly moved to get away. he used to want to be a chiropractor like my dad and eventually take over my dad's practice, but right now he has put that hold. i think eventually he will go back to it. at the moment he doesn't have a girlfriend which is good because i really didn't like the one he had. for the most part i think he misses home. (he tends to call me a lot more now) he is coming to visit the end of february and i can't wait to see him. i miss him.

this is caitlyn. the baby of the family, even though she is 13 now, she will always be the baby. my baby. caitlyn and i are the closest since we grew up together. she watched me go through all my phases, and watched me get in to all my trouble. however she is the one i worry about most. right now being in junior high is such a hard time. i think she is trying to find herself. but in the meanwhile just doing things because it is the "popular" thing to do. i don't like this very much. i want her to do better then i did. she is an amazing writer for being 13 and wants to be a journalist when she grows up. i hope she goes for it. she plays piano and is also an awesome volley ball player. she actually made varsity this past year, and next year even though she will only be a freshman the highschool coach wants her! i am proud of her, and miss her.

grace and predestination

grace. something i have a hard time understanding. something that is maybe just uncomprehending to me.

predestination. i don't even know where to being to understand that.
definition the decree of God by which certain souls are foreordained to salvation.

calvinism believes that predestination is God reaching to those to reached out to him first, therefore predestining them for salvation. it was explained to me like this. God can look down the line of time, and see the people who will reach out to love Him. so He in turn reaches down to save them. right? i don't even know if i am understanding this right. but calvinism also believes that God can reach down and bring salvation to those whom He choses with out them choosing Him first. like Paul, right? so if calvinism is what i believe (and i think i do) then i believe God can save whomever He wants. and those he choses not to reach down and save without them reaching to Him first are condemned for hell.

i know that God is just, loving, and faithful, and ultimately it was my choice to reach out to God to gain my saving grace. the same goes to those to hear the Gospel and turn away from God, they ultimately choose hell. even those God pursues sometimes turn away. example pharaoh. God came to pharaoh over and over again with warnings and love but pharaoh still chose hell. if we reject God that is our own responsibility not Gods. we are children of wrath, spiritually dead, we are enslaved by our own sin and cannot save ourselves we need Gods salvation.

i had a friend from high school die in a awful car accident over the weekend in shelton. and to my understanding she wasn't reaching out to God for His salvation. that is hard to stomach, when someone you know dies, not knowing God.

grace. definition the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
so God has given me love, unconditional love, and grace.

electing grace, God chose me.
preached grace, God gave people in my life to help me grow.
regenerating grace, God gave me a new heart.
converting grace, God gave me desires for Him.
justifying grace, God made me righteous.
adopting grace, God became the ultimate father i needed.
ministry grace, God gave me the ability to help Him with His work.
sanctifying grace, God gave me motive to do His work.
empowering grace, God gave me the ability to do more work then i can handle alone.
provisional grace, God gave me everything i have.
finical grave, God gave me the money i have to live to and steward to Him.
persevering grace, God gave me the promise to never give up on me.
glorifying grace, God gave me the promise to be with Him for eternity.

i accept His grace, but i have a hard time comprehending it. God gave me, little insignificant me, all of that. when i denied Him, laughed at Him, and forsake Him. through all that He loved me first.

Author and Perfecter.

pastor mark gave 2 amazing sermons on both of these subjects you can listen to them if you want.

what to do?

so i have bronchitis. its gross. i haven't left the house in 3 days, and i might be going crazy. so what do you do when you can barley sit up for more then five minuets?


you totally make yourself and m&m.

you also finish every book you ever started but never finished.
and you watch way to much day time tv, i am pretty sure that is what is making me go crazy

i have been outside twice since tuesday to walk parker. and after that very short walk i pass out for about 3 hours. he has been such a good puppy though. just laying with me. i think he can sense that i am sick.

so after this grueling long post i am so tired and i must go back to sleep.

if anyone wants to make me some chicken soup and bring it by, i wouldn't turn it away. being sick and not being home to have your mom take care of you sucks.

***my plea was answered...
THANKS wes and kat for bringing me soup, and tea, and snacks!

perfect health america

this weekend i went to a nutrition seminar with my family. a little back ground story, about 2 years ago my dad read a book called "makers diet" and had me and my mom read it too, along with any patients he could convince to take the book home and read it. learn more about the book here. the book is about a man named jordan rubin who was diagnosed with chrons disease and was told there was nothing the medical world could do for him. he basically was going to be sick until he died. but jordan didn't want to accept that fate. so he decided to search other methods of treatment and found a man who helped him research the bible and eat foods that God intended for us to eat, in the form they are meant to be ate. after going on the 40 day diet jordan's health miraculously turned around. (it is an amazing story and i am only summarizing. so you should go buy the book) so this weekend we went to hear jordan speak. it was honestly the most amazing seminar i have been to. the whole weekend was based on biblical teachings on how to eat.

so many people buy the food on the shelves assuming because the FDA passed it, it is ok to eat. nothing could be more wrong. a little story, a man who was mixing toxic chemicals together accidentally got some on his fingers and accidentally licked it. thought to himself "hum that taste good" and tada the invention of aspartame (sweet misery)

there are so many things in this world that God never intended for our bodies that we eat. i liked how jordan put it... "tho shall not eat anything God cast demons into". pigs for example, were put on this earth as decomposes they eat anything, even there own feces'. a study was done. they stacked 5 pigs on top of each other in crates and only fed the pig on the top. one month later all the pigs were still alive. (get it...? gross)
ever heard the saying you are what you eat? you are also what THEY eat. pigs also have no sweat gland, meaning no way to extract all the toxins in there body. i hope you enjoy your bacon in the morning.

the same thing goes for shell fish. they are the pigs of the sea. don't eat them.

fish however is very good for you. as long as it is wild fish. the world has decided that everything needs intervention for us to function. and fish in a "farm" is not how God intended us to get our fish. all the nutrients the fish have they get from being in the ocean.

red meat. contrary to popular belief is also very good for you. red meat needs to be from grass fed cows, buffalo, or lamb (yes lamb is a red meat). not grain fed and stuffed with hormones to make them bigger.

dairy. is actually not that important to your diet (well milk isn't) you can get calcium so many different ways. but if you absolutely must have milk you should buy it unpasteurized and hormone free. but stores aren't allowed to sell milk that way. you would have to buy it from a local farmer willing to break the rules for your health. sheep milk is actually the way to go. but again. not available in the states.

i could go on forever, and will probably post more blogs about dieing america in the future.

i was planning on getting my certifications in nutrition from ACE. but after attending this seminar i learned jordan and his team actually offer a "biblical nutrition certification" so that is what i am going to do. i haven't been the most healthy person in the past, and i probably won't be in the future. but it is definitely a goal for me to always be healthier. i want to help someone feel better, and help them understand and how to supply nutrition to there families.

tonight for dinner
cod with lemon on a bed of brown rice. toped with stir fried veggies that will include peppers. squash, onion, and asparagus.

tomorrow for breakfast
my green drink (i always drink that anyway)
cultured strawberry milk ( milk without hormones) and grains with dried fruit
black coffee sweetened with honey, vanilla extract and a tiny bit of cream. (i eventually will be weaning coffee out of my diet. but this is a work in progress)

i challenge you to not buy the microwaved healthy choice(just because something says healthy doesn't mean it is), don't buy diet ANYTHING. and see how you feel. you can pick up a FREE copy of jordan's book at any super supplements store. (i think, if not i will send you my copy!)

a sad fact. more people overweight people living among us then there are undernourished. i mean don't get me wrong i am glad that less people are undernourished. however if america went a week with out potato chips, cookies, ice cream ect. we could feed the world.

i may be a tad-bit cynical today

and for all those who have to encounter my cynicalness today i apologize.

bad breath grosses me out. and even more gross then bad breath is a person with bad breath that smells up the whole room with their bad breath. i should put a box of free gum on the counter.

i have come to realize that dating is idiotic. it is awkward and not fun! who ever said it was, they lied. the couple "dates" i have gone on have been guys that i kind of known, however i didn't really want to go to begin with. see i have a hard time saying no, i feel bad, even when i was dating brian i had a hard time saying no. not because i wanted to go on dates with these guys, but because i didn't want to hurt anyones feelings. i am pretty sure this didn't make brian very happy, and i think i should work on this so my future husband doesn't have to deal with my stupidity. yet i refuse to date from now on so maybe i won't meet my future husband.

another thing that i am feeling particularly cranky about is guys who try to play the friend card with girls they like. i really hate it when you tell a guy you just like him as a friend and he says he is happy just being friends with you. but in his head he is thinking eventually you will like him if he plays the "friend card" long enough. news flash, it usually just makes her mad and annoyed. if you are "just friends" with a girl. do not call her 3 times a day asking why she won't call you back. don't text her repeatedly (she might turn her phone off), and don't get jealous if she hangs out with other guys because she is not your girlfriend, nor does she want to be. (wow i am a bit more cranky about this then i thought, maybe i need some coffee)

ok, so on to a happy note.

this past weekend i went to see thunderbird motel (brian's band) and thee emergency. with rachel, lindsey and my room-mate nathan. both bands were awesome. i really love thee emergency despite the divaness that they have, and i have always liked thunderbird motel. but it is so funny my room-mate loves tbm so much! brian gave me on of their cd's and i actually haven't seen the cd since i brought it home. nathan says quote "i am so stoked for their next show!"

we are pretty much dancing machines!

another happy note. lorenzo moved back up to seattle. so sunday we are going to hang out downtown and then go to church. i miss that kid.

a world of wonder

i wonder why people open their car door before they are ready to get out, leaving no room for others to pass by with out taking the car door off.

i wonder why the government doesn't make people re-take a drivers test every time your license expires.

i wonder why no one learned to only use the left lane for passing.

i wonder when the sun will be back.

i wonder how much i spend of coffee a year.

i wonder why i continue to drink coffee knowing about how much is costs me.

i wonder if i should continue working with youth.

i wonder why people insist on calling their husbands "husband" instead of by his real name.

i wonder where i will live in july.

i wonder if i can handle everything i put on my plate.

i wonder why a guy thinks he can ask you out after meeting you on the street and saying "hey".

i wonder what it would be like.

i wonder why my real dad is trying to be a dad now, when i don't need him.

i wonder if i will ever be an organized person.

i wonder why people listen to doctors, media ect. to give them information about health instead of finding it for themselves.

i wonder what the guys name at church is who knows me by name and hugs me every week.

i wonder why i don't just tell him i don't know him.

i wonder why i care so much if people don't like me. i should just be me.

i wonder why some Christians hate the "church" doesn't God love all, if working towards advancing the gospel.

i wonder what question pastor mark will preach on this week.

i wonder if the book "why people change" will be good.

i wonder why i continue to lock my keys in my car.

i wonder if today will be a good day. it has been so far.

so this is the new year

i have had parker for one year!! (i love him) to celebrate i took him to the dog park. we had fun.

christmas and my birthday were great. so much has happened in the past two weeks i think i will just highlight them.

• watching old family videos with my family ( i was a brat as a young child)
  
• playing pinnacle
• a white chirstmas in shelton
  
• spending time with my younger sister caitlyn (she is growing up so fast, it is weird. she is no longer a little girl and i need to stop acting like her mother)
  
• having coffee with old high school friends and realizing that i have nothing in common with them
  
• singing karaoke at mid-night on my 21st birthday with my sister and cousin to "we are family"
  
• going out on my 21st birthday to joey's and chopstix. so fun!
• getting my grandmothers wedding ring for my birthday, it is from the 1920's and beautiful
  
• spending time with my mom
• watching fireworks at gas works for new years
  

it feels nice to be 21. no one can tell me i can't go somwhere. when looking for shows to go to, 21
and over will no longer keep me out, that feels nice.




i am actually excited to be back to work today. who knew? however waking up at 530 was a little rough.