Finally 15!

Yesterday, at 4:17 pm, I turned 15!!!! It was one of my best birthdays EVER!

I came to school and my locker was decorated with wrapping paper and balloons. FUN!
I got birthday hugs and songs all throughout the day :)
At lunch my friends found it funny to get a couple guys to make me stand up and have the WHOLE cafeteria sing happy birthday to me....urg
Went to Chili's and got sung to then....
Went to SWITCH and got presents from Mack and Sheri :) looove them!!!
Got sung to by about 15 people on the 3rd floor on the mic...haha :)
Went to worship and got pulled up on stage in front of mid high and Sr. high and got sung to then too!
BDE!
Thanks everyone that wished me a happy birthday!!! You made it even more amazing!!!

What do YOU think?

So I haven't really been keeping up with my blog like I should....whoops :) Well here we go:

QUESTION!

What do you think about suicide? Is it a sin? Do you go to heaven?
Thoughts!!!

In loving memory

This past Tuesday my aunt passed away. She was 53 years old. She died of cancer.
I've learned that cancer is a nasty, nasty thing, that takes away the people you love way before it should have been their time.
I pray that she is in heaven, chillin' with God. I suppose that would be pretty cool :)

I just ask that you pray for our family, it's been a rough week.

thanks everyone :)
jordan

Any Ideas?

I had to write a patriotic poem for English today, and I'm wondering if you have any suggestions to make it better. It has to have a rhyme pattern of ABAAB, CDCCD; and 10 lines. Here it is:

Looking at a clear, crisp sky
and rows and rows of endless wheat
one can only wonder why
he had to leave; to fight, to die.
Why did he go, with no retreat.

In my heart I know it's true;
hoping he was not in vain
My soldier fired and he knew,
There was nothing more that he could do.
For aiding in our freedom's gain.

Thanks for readin' y'all!!

Swing, Hit, Drive, Chip, Putt....

I SHOT A 38!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's a 76 on 18 :)

Lost at Lunch...

The other day at school I went to lunch, set my backpack on a table (to save it), and went to my locker to get my lunch. I came back downstairs into the commons and went to heat up my lunch.
Everyone started piling into the cafeteria at that time, so Mack, Sheridan, Haley, Hayley, Hannah, Elizabeth, Alyssa and I all went and sat down (at the table I had reserved). This was about 5 minutes total, if that much, and half of the time there was hardly anyone in the cafeteria.

So we ate lunch, and I went to my 5Th hour, English, when I noticed something. My pencil bag was gone. Now I know what you're thinking: It's just pencils and pens, right? Wrong. I would have been fine with it if that's all that it contained.....Unfortunately for me it had my TI 84+ Silver Edition, $130 calculator in it too.

I looked EVERYWHERE. I checked with all of my teachers that day, just to make sure it hadn't gotten lost before then, and none of them had seen anything. I checked the lost and found in the Freshman Academy and in the Main Building, and it wasn't there. But I already knew what happened to it.
Someone stole it.
It's a real sick feeling when that happens, I don't know if you've ever gone through that or not. Why would someone do that anyway? My calculator was in my pencil bag, in my backpack. It's just gross.

So I went home, told my mom, and we came to the conclusion that I had to buy me a new one, and that I wouldn't be able to go on the Jacob's Ladder trip this weekend. I wasn't very happy, obviously. My mom was calling a bunch of people so that they could pray about it.
It turns out that one of the families she talked to had some interesting news for us. Her husband, Richard, a couple of days earlier had gotten a box of school supplies from his work. And inside the box were two, brand new, TI 83 calculators. So guess who's getting a free calculator??
I LOVE YOU RICHARD!!!!!!! :D
What's ironic is that I had prayed about it about 15 minutes before they called. I don't know about you, but that's "speed prayer" right there.

Today I got called to the office and had to talk with a police officer and then we went to his office and looked at security cameras to see if we could see anything. Unfortunately they didn't have a good angle of our table, and you can't tell who's there or not.

Have you ever had anything stolen from you? Thoughts?

Fall Break!

It's finally here everyone!!!! I'm really excited about it!

We aren't going anywhere, so it's gunna be a good chill weekend for us.

However in the next couple of weeks I may be going to Jacob's Ladder with Lifechurch for a semi-fall break kind of thing! FUUN

What are you guys doing for fall break/ what did you do? Do tell!

NCHO results

*DRUM ROLL*

Yeah...I didn't make it. I did fine on the scale and the first etude, but when I got the the 2ND etude I made a couple small errors. I guess that wasn't good enough for them :( oh and of course sight reading was....well....sight reading. haha

NCHO has kinda turned into an all-state event. It used to just be regional cities in OK, but now it's from all over. Turns out there was only one cello that made it in 8Th, 9Th, 10Th, 11Th, or 12Th from Edmond, and that's saying something. No excuse but yeah, very interesting.

I guess I will just have to work harder next year! Or quit cello.... jkkk ;)

Thanks for everyone that prayed and thought about me though! I really appreciate it!
love all!
-j

NCHO

The tryouts today. Please be praying!!!

-j

Worth It.

You open a door into a dark room made of concrete. The smell of age almost knocks you to the ground, but you're on a mission. Dirt and dust covers the once white walls and ground. The lone light in the chamber dimly shines, illuminating the spiderwebs that you wanted to pretend didn't exist.

You step into the center of the room, avoiding the tools and wood lying around. In the corner is a lone, rusty ladder. Up you climb...
up
up
up
up
finally you poke through to another level of the chamber. You are about 14 feet off the ground.....
You step onto the ledge, off the ladder, and carefully cross to the other side where another ladder stands. You think to yourself, as one of your companions follows you, will this hold us? Will it come off the wall?
You continue up. Another level.

And another

And another

And another

And another

And another

And finally, you reach the last set. There is no light, so you feel around to find the ladder. The room is only 3 feet wide. You have to reach the top.

You climb to the top, and your friend follows. There is a latch; you have finally found the ceiling. You undo the top and lift it up...

You come to find that even though you have just climbed 8 stories, you feel no pain. The darkness you just left is replaced by the unimaginable sight of a sunset. You can see everything from the top. And what's better? You are looking out the top of a cross :)

Sometimes battling through the hard, grimy, dark time is worth it in the end. In fact, I guarantee it is.

If you ever get a chance to climb to the top, do NOT hesitate, even if you are afraid of heights.

Yeah, be jealous :D ( I have pictures on my phone....I'll show you sometime!)

Thanks for the Replay

*I seem to have a lot of stories to tell about golf....*

Today we were practicing on the driving range. Being that It was gusting like 100 MPH....Ok maybe only like 30....but either way it's REALLY windy. Recently I have been working on not having my shots hook/fade. (This is when your drive goes either completely right, or goes straight then at the very end turns right) It's very annoying. It cuts back on a lot of distance, and I'm pretty sure my drives can go further than 120 yards!!

So for an hour I worked with my coach on my stance, back swing, follow through, hand position, distance from the ball, and finally my wrist action :) By the end of the drive session, I finally had my drives going straight!!! (except for the occasional gusts of wind.....)

Coach Mallet told us to keep 6 golf balls. Finally she calls the "big girls" over for the (and I quote)

"WEEEELLLLLCOOME! To the 2008 chipping challenge! First up on the tee will be Sarah and Lindsey!!!"

The goal of the game was to pitch the ball to the first "green" area and have it stay. You got a point if you made it up....Sounds easy, right?

WRONG!

You see, the big girls used to be freshman once, so it's their duty to make everyone miserable, especially the freshman that are mini "big girls". lol

So what do the "big girls" decide to do? Allow me to give an example:

Well, here we are folks, and this is the event of a lifetime. We have Jordan Garrett, standing a full 5 foot 3 inches..."5 foot 4 thank you :)"...oh ok...5 foot 4...preparing to take her first attempt at the green. She is taking some marvelous practice swings, ladies and gentlemen. Now, Jordan has come all the way from South LA!!! Oh yes, she's from the out of the hood program. Oh wait...here is her swing....THE BACK SWING!! ANNNND.....oh...and it shanks off to the right, what a disappointment for her.

Well, it was pretty much impossible to do ANYTHING but laugh and attempt a decent chip shot :)

Haha...Now I don't know about you, but when put under that kind of pressure I don't perform to my greatest ability.

Now here is my question to you: Have you ever been in a situation where you were pressured? What did you do to overcome it? orr bear it?

Question:

If dinosaurs existed in a time where no humans existed...but God created man (and woman) on the 7Th day that the earth was even really around....then how did we have dinos and all that jazz?

HOMECOMING!

Thaaat's right folks!! This past week has been homecoming week! And boy has it been fun! lol

Tonight is the game...you should come! UCO...7:30...GOOO BULLDOGS! Be there!
~j

NCHO...among other music

I just thought that I would give an update on the NCHO music! (North Central Honor Orchestra tryouts which I posted a blog about a few months ago that I was really concerned about and wasn't able to play but knowing I can do all things through Christ!)

Well, it's safe to say that I can finally play all of it, all the way through, no mess ups, major out-of-tuness, squealing on high "in position" notes, rhymically pretty good, have all the scales memorized [ C, G, D, E, F, Eb, Bb, and Ab two octive) and make it sound fairly pretty :)

I remember that I was really worried about not being able to learn it in time and pretty much bomb the tryout like last year, but I feel confident! I kept the thought "I can do all thing through Christ who gives me strength" in my head, and through months and months of practice, horray! I'm finally ready.

The tryout is next week; please pray for me!

On another note (haha) I have finally found my favorite piece of music of all time for the cello, and I'm learning to play it. It's the Prelude to Bach's Suite Number 1. You have probably heard it before, you just don't know it's called that. You should look it up on YouTube, it's really good! (I would go with a Yo-Yo Ma version....he makes it his own)

Are you doing anything soon that you are excited about? Anything needing prayer?

Instructions

My grandma (grammy) has always had trouble sleeping at night; her nights and days are backwards. Lately she hasn't been falling asleep for a different reason. Her husband, Paw, just turned 65. What's weird about that age is that everyone on his side of the family died at 65, so she was fairly worried (as any normal person would be).
She would stay up all night, thinking and worrying what she would do if he was gone. The only time she would ever fall asleep was out of pure exhaustion. This night was one of those nights.
She was having the same dream that she had every time she fell asleep; she was in San Fransisco, walking around and basically doing nothing. Suddenly the dream just stops.

Now,she hears a voice. Not just any voice, she knows that it is God. He says:
"David Gene (Paw) has pre-cancerous lesions on his lungs. I know you are worried about him. If he will stop smoking, I will heal him. but....
Not one more
Not one more
Not one more
Not one more
I know he smokes when he gets stressed, so tell him this instead: when he is stressed, instead of turning to the cigarette, tell him to turn to Me for support.
Not one more
Not one more
Not one more
Not one more
Not one more

My grammy woke up and was completely energized. She immediately called him downstairs and told him the story.

My Paw promised that he wouldn't smoke any more.
Not one more.

And my grammy? She is finally falling asleep at night, and sleeping all the way through.

My grandparents faith is like never before. They were amazed that with all that was going on in the world, that He cared enough to take the time to talk to them.

Honestly I think that its just incredible.

He is amazing :)

Inspiration from a little kids movie

I don't know why, but I was in the mood to watch The Prince of Egypt. I remember I used to watch it ALLLLL the time when I was little, so why not?

I was singing along to all the songs when this song came on, all I couldn't help but really listen to the lyrics:

A single thread in a tapestry
though its color brightly shines
can never see its purpose
in the pattern of the grand design

and the stone that sits up on the very top
of the mountain's mighty face
does it think that it's more important
than the stones that forms the base

So how can you see what your life is worth
or where your value lies
ohhhh, you can never see through the eyes of man
you must look at your life
look at your life through heaven's eyes

A lake of gold in the desert sand
is less than a cool fresh spring
and to one lost sheep, a Shepard boy
is greater than the richest king

should a man lose everything he owns
has he truly lost his worth
or is it the beginning
of a new and brighter birth

So how do you measure the worth of a man
in wealth or strength or size
in how much he gained or how much he gave
the answer will come,
the answer will come to him who tries
to look at his life through heaven's eyes

and that's why we share all we have with you
though there's little to be found
when all you've got is nothing
there's lots to go around

No life can escape being blown about
by the winds of change and chance
and though you never know all the steps
you must learn to join the dance
you must learn to join the dance

So how do you judge what a man is worth,
by what he builds or buys?
you can never see through the eyes on earth
look through heaven's eyes
look at your life,
look at your life through heaven's eyes!

If you haven't seen this movie, you really should. It's a classic!!

thoughts?

And for my next trick. . .

No, I don't know how to pull a rabbit out of a hat. ( and I know that's what y'all were thinking too :) But if you know me then you know that I'm pretty much the biggest klutz you will ever meet. I do stupid, silly, embarrassing things ALL the time. Here is a stupid moment:

My mom asks me to make dinner. So I'm like sure, that's no big deal, I make dinner all the time. Yes, it's true, and I'm not that bad. At least no ones said anything bad about my cooking before :) Anyway, my mom suggests that I make chili since it's really cold outside. So I go and get some hamburger meat out of the freezer so I can de-thaw it. My mom always cuts a big pack of meat up into pound-sized bags and uses one of those machines that sucks the air out of it. It's a really neat way to keep food for a long time. And it makes it simple when a quick dinner is needed.

But anyway the meat is thawed, I cut open the bag, put the meat in the pot, and go and light the gas burner. (A gas burner is the kind with the actual flame) Weeelll....I forgot to move the plastic bag that the meat was in out of the way. Whoops....

So what do I do? I have some burning plastic (that I've decided to pick up! What was I thinking?!) and I don't know how to put it out. Its too big to just blow out....So I go and put it in the sink!!! But what happens? The flame gets BIGGER. So I'm spazing out right now, and I'm yelling MOM!!!! MOM!!!! She comes running, sees the flame, and turns the water on :)

Wow Jordan, way to go using your brain.

Have you ever been in a situation where something happened and you just didn't think straight to fix it? Or any other stupid mistakes that would like to be shared...?

Look out!

Just a quick reminder for everyone out there, It's MRSA season yet again. There is a case at Memorial right now, so prayer would be much appreciated.

MRSA (in case you didn't know) is a staff infection that basically eats your skin. Nothing drastic like what you would expect to see in the movies but close enough right?

Just pray for me, I have two pretty big cut-like things on my legs from tripping at church :) It seems to be the only place I ever get hurt at lol. ( the funny thing was that I tripped over nothing and practically fell on my face. I bet they saved the security camera of it just because it's so epic :) ( I bet the show it at SWITCH.......oh dear....)

Anyway, be sure to wash hands and all that good stuff.....I know I wouldn't want something to be eating me.

Spanish is hard....?

For those of you who don't know, I'm working on my 10Th year of Spanish. Intense right?? When people hear that they often say things like " why?" "how did you do that?" "I don't see how you understand it" "I hate Spanish it doesn't make sense to me its SOOO hard!!" and the classic "can you speak it fluently???"

well, to answer the questions is a because I'm interested/credits, I went to Russell Dougherty where we started Spanish in kindergarten, when you take Spanish for soooo long you start to find that it's all kinda the same (and I can see where they don't understand it considering it's a whole different language ;), Spanish really isn't as hard as it seems, we just don't want to take the time to commit to it and aren't really forced to learn it, annnnd no, I'm really not all that great at Spanish. Sure, I can speak it if I have to, but other than that you wont find me rambling strange things walking down the hall :)

I had an AMAZING Spanish teacher last year, Mrs. Romburger. She showed us a poem at one time and explained, " I don't understand why you guys whine sooo much about Spanish, when English is the most complex language you could possibly try to learn." And the fact is that she is right! Once you get the basic structure of Spanish, it's pretty simple. English on the other hand is a tad more difficult. Here is the poem she showed us:

HINTS OF PRONUNCIATION FOR FOREIGNERS:

I take it you already know
of tough and bough and cough and dough?
-doe?
Others may stumble but not you,
on hiccough, rough, laugh and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead; it's said like bed not bead-
for goodness' sake don't call it "deed"!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt)
A moth is not a moth in mother
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and rear for bear and pear,
And then there's dose and rose and lose -
Just look them up - and goose and choose.
And cork and work and card and ward.
and font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart-
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I'd mastered it when I was five.

Edmond Cup

Today was the first day of the Edmond Cup. It's a golf tournament for all of the high school golf teams. Well, only varsity was supposed to play, but for some reason one of the players couldn't. So I was next on the list! I'm not supposed to play on varsity because lets face it, I'm a freshman, and I haven't quite earned it. (They are all Jr.'s and Sr.'s).

Well, here I am, about to pee my pants on the first hole. I was SOOOOO nervous! This is my first Tournament of the year, and I really want to do good!

We were playing in a scramble against Santa Fe today. A scramble is when you have a partner (my partner was a Sr. named Travis. He's the #1 player on the guys golf team......if that's not intimidating I don't know what is) and you both hit off the tee box. Then you take the better shot and you both hit from there and so on. I was the only freshman, the other 3 people were Jr's and Sr.'s. AHHH! The guys were teeing off the challenge tees...and the girls get the Jr/ women tees :) SOOOO on the first hole...we used my drive...and on the second hole... :)

After that it was really fun. Scrambles are always fun to play, because you aren't really pressured to make an amazing shot every time. The good news???

WE WON!! We beat Santa Fe on the first 5 holes that we played...so we didn't need to play anymore. Cool huh?

Have you ever been in a situation where you were so nervous and you felt out of place? Did you overcome it and end up having a good time?

While golfing....

For those of you who don't know, I play golf :) And yes, I actually really love playing. Many people find the sport to be boring, but I just love it!! One of my classes at Memorial is golf. (Yes, I get a grade for it too :) Practice is hard-core. We play a round about 2 times a week, and the other two days we are out on the range, putting, and chipping. We are out on the course from 2:30-5 every day. I'm tellin' ya, it's got to be the longest hour of the day ;)

Today we were out on the course today, and I wasn't playing too well. I was on a hole right next to the main road, about to make my approach shot to the green. Now I'm thinking about where my hit should go, because I can try to go in between the trees or go around and risk getting in the water. So I decide to take my chances with the trees. I'm concentrating, because one wrong move and I can end up far from where I need it to be. I line it up, take my back swing annnnnnddd...

HOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!

You can only imagine what happened. I jumped because that was the last thing on my mind, topping the ball and it going slightly in the wrong direction.

A word to the wise. It is very annoying when people honk while going by the golf course. Believe it or not, they are actually concentrating and trying to improve on things. So next time when you are thinking about honking the horn, remember: you are about to upset someone with a club made out of iron and titanium and a pocket full of golf balls. I'm sure you would hate to find your car beaten up windows broke by a "stray ball". Just remember that ;)

If we are the Body

Here is another song that I just love. It really makes me think.



It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ

Chorus (2x)
If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way

Why not?

What about you?

Well, if you couldn't guess from the title, I want to know about my readers!!!

Here's my question for ya'll :)

(So far) Tell me about your favorite life memory!!! It can be anything from your most embarrassing, or perhaps it was when you were beyond happy! Lemmie hear ya!

Questions...

Why do bad things happen to good people?

........and why do we drive in a parkway and park in a driveway? Jk...

Legacy

I just want to say that unfortunately, the last Leah lesson is kinda border-line weird, and I wouldn't feel comfortable posting it for the whole world to see. It's an AMAZING ending, so if you would like to hear it, I can give you a run-down sometime! I'm really REALLY sorry about this!!

However, the lesson did talk about legacy, and when that happened a song popped into my head. It's a great song, and so I want to show you the lyrics; just let them sink in.

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest
You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery
Of all who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best
At such'n'such ... it wouldn't matter much
I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights
We all need an 'Atta boy' or 'Atta girl'
But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides
The temporary trappings of this world

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me? Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things? I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

I don't have to look too far or too long awhile
To make a lengthy list of all that I enjoy
It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile
Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy
Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred
Just want to hear instead, "Well Done" good and faithful one...

Are you going to leave a legacy?

.......echo!!! (echo...echo.....echo....)

okkk......I just have to say that Mandy and Jacob are pretty much the coolest people around!! I mean, I don't keep posts up for a week because I have nothing to write!! I'm looking for response here people!

Can you just leave a comment or something so I know people read my blog? That would be a HUGE help to me!

Thank you sooooo much!

-Jordan, J-Dawg, J-Bear, Jay-Jay (li'l brother :), and J

Fun Weekend??

Well, I know that this Labor Day weekend has been a fun one for the Garrett family! We went to Six Flags Over Texas ( the one in Arlington). It was a complete BLAST!! There were vitually no lines; my dad and I walked on to the Titan 3 times and Batman once.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm a roller coaster FANATIC. It's pretty crazy actually, I just LOVE them. I don't really get the tingly feeling from them, so I can just lift my hands when falling 24 stories at 85 mph and actually enjoy the ride down :) It's fun!!!!

I don't know about you, but there is always something in life that is just exciting to think about, and it makes you jump in your seat thinking about doing it!

What is something that you just LOOOOOVE doing?

Oh, and what did you do over Labor Day?

Leah: Lesson 5

There is only one more after this one......I know, I'm crying too. If you have no idea what's going on, then look at one of the earlier lessons (a good place to start would be Leah: Lesson 1 :)

WELL, it turns out that Rachel died in childbirth with her son Benjamin. *I KNOW, SHOCKER RIGHT!!!* So you would think that now Jacob would surely love Leah, but his favoritism continues with Rachel's sons (this goes back to Joseph, Rachel's first son, and his coat of many colors) It always seemed that Leah was always caught in her sisters shadow and could never measure up. But while Jacob didn't favor Leah, God did. It all started with a promise God made Abraham (Jacob's grandaddy) in the early pages of Genesis. God promises Abraham that HE would send the Messiah through his family line. And guess what? God kept to his word, and Leah's son Judah (Praise God), the only son that she didn't view as a tool to get Jacob's love, was going to carry on the line of Jesus. Simply put, Leah was a great-great (many greats)- grandmother of Jesus Christ Himself.

What would you do if you were blessed like this? Isn't that hard sometimes to accept? Leah was totally blessed, but she didn't know it. However, because of one act of humility, she became extremely blessed. But what is humility?

Humility is NOT thinking poorly of yourself. It is NOT having a pity party. It's not even thinking about yourself at all. Humility is recognizing God as King or kings and Lord of lords and being awed that He chooses to love you and use you. True humility is God-focused, false humility is really pride in disguise. In one act of true humility, Leah was truly blessed.

Do you have true humility, or false? What have you learned so far from these lessons?

First-Day Freshman Freakout!

I started my first day of high school today, and I have to say it was the scariest thing I have ever experienced!!!! Being that I didn't know practically anyone (other than my great church friends and elementary friends that I hadn't seen in three years). I was so nervous in the car, practically hyperventilating lol. I just knew I was going to end up that one girl who sits at a table all by herself with absolutely no friends or social life. Luckily for me I caught up with Mack, Haley, and Alec right before school started, which calmed me down tremendously :)

I have health first hour, and the only person I recognized was a guy that I knew from my 3 years of being an orch dork :) Unfortunately I sit front and center, so if the teacher talks I have to pull out an umbrella so I don't get spit on.

Pre-AP Geometry is next, and I get to suffer through with my best friend Sheridan. This will be fun :)

This is where it gets good. Sheridan and I ventured into the main building to Pre-AP Spanish 3. OH man. If being in a class of Jr's. isn't enough, not know what the teacher is saying half the time is even better. She spoke nothing but Spanish, and we had to introduce ourselves, say something we liked, and something we didn't like all in Spanish. Now I don't know about you, but I know I'm pretty rusty from summer. The guy sitting next to us said he didn't like freshman. OOOH snap.

Next me and Sheridan race back to the freshman hall to go to lunch. That was the best part of the day :)

After lunch I went to my 4Th hour, orchestra, only to find that i was supposed to have orchestra first and THEN lunch. *sigh* So I had an orchestra class today full of weird EXTREME orch dorks in the 10Th, 11Th, and 12Th grade. That was awkward.....

5Th hour was English, where we will be reading books like The Odyssey, Of Mice and Men, Night, and Romeo and Juliet. Fun stuff....

6Th hour is Biology. I LOOOOOOVE science, so I'm really looking forward to this class.

7Th hour is my golf class...and we don't start practice 'till Monday or Tuesday. It's pretty boring right now, but when we get to the course it will be hard-core practice. I can't wait :)

Do you have any school-trauma type stories that you would like to share?

Leah: Lesson 4

You can't tell me that the Bible is boring after reading this. If it was a soap opera, I would totally watch it :)

Last time we saw Leah and Rachel, they were in a constant competition for their husband. Do you blame them? Not only were two sisters competing, but they were also competing with their two maids. Since having sons meant carrying on the family name, they were trying to win Jacob over with the most kids. Weird huh?

One day during the harvest season, Leah's son Reuben found some mandrakes and brought them home. Now I know you're thinking "Whats a mandrake?!?" Well, a mandrake was pretty much a "love apple" lol. It supposedly opened someones womb who was unable to have any more children. uh huh.....

Well, Rachel wanted the "love apples", but Leah wasn't buying it that easily. She said, "Wasn't it enough that you got my husband away from me? And now you also want my son's mandrakes?" So Rachel made a deal with her sister. She could have her husband for one night in exchange for the apples.

After that night Leah became pregnant with two sons and a daughter. God then remembered Rachel and made her able to have children. She named her son Joseph ( the one who ends up getting the colorful coat...) Isn't it cool how this all connects?! How drama in the parents life leads to drama and hardship for the siblings? Interesting....

But that's a different story. Both Rachel and Leah were manipulating each other to get what they wanted. Not very wise in the long run, but then again, we do it all the time! We may not realize it, but we totally do. But what is wisdom?

Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Wisdom can be defined in James 3:14-18 as "gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold next, not two-faced". And personally, I'm pretty sure that I don't fit those outlines all the time.

The fact is, It all comes from envy. When we see something we want, it becomes a competition to get it. Then we use manipulation to get what we want.

Hebrews 13:5 says, "Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, 'I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you."

We take so many things for granted, yet we always want more, it's always a competition to get it, we're always manipulating, and it's always dragging us further from God.

What role does envy play in your life? Thoughts? Please? :)

Fear

Imagine this:

It's late, your tired, and all you want to do is cuddle up in your bed and sleep 'till noon the next day. You walk up the stairs, go into your room, and you're about to climb into bed when HOLY COW!!! There's a bee flying around your head. Now, if you know me then you know that I've never EVER liked flying, stinging things.

So what do you do in this crisis? I'm huddled up in a corner, waiting for the bee to land so I can capture it and let it outside or something. But I have no idea where it went. GREAT.......

Again, what to do? Then it hit me! I grabbed 3 pillows, a blanket, and called my dog and sprinted to my closet. Now my closet is pretty big, big enough that if i lay down i can fit with about an inch to spare (not going diagonal). So i grab my sleeping bag from the top of my closet, surround myself with pillows, and curl up with my dog in my closet.

Childish, right? You would think this would be the events of a 5 year old...but alas...this happened a week ago :)

It's amazing the lengths we will go to when we are afraid of something to avoid it..........

What are you afraid of? Any other thoughts?

Leah: Lesson 3

OK, this is the last one until next Thursday! I hope the suspense doesn't kill you.... ;)

In the last lesson, Leah learned that she needed to praise God, not just acknowledge Him. She realized that having children was a blessing rather than just a way to get Jacob to love her. This focus change was her launching pad to freedom, however her attitude of praise didn't last long.

When Rachel realized that she couldn't have any kids of her own for Jacob, she became very jealous of her sister. What?! I know you are thinking, how can Rachel be jealous of Leah when she has EVERYTHING? The answer is competition.

We all know how people can be, especially girls. Would you look at her outfit, it is soo cute! I wonder where she got that....Did you see that hunk of junk for a car? Good thing I have a nice ride. NO! You are not going to win this game of ping pong, I'M going to win no matter what! Uhmm..no, that is MY boyfriend, go find your own! You can find competition EVERYWHERE, everyone does it.

So what does Rachel do? Well, she wants Jacob to be happy, so she tells her maid Bilhah to go sleep with him. What?! OK, 1) what kind of name is Bilhah? and 2) How weird is that?! Now both Rachel and Leah are sharing a husband with 3 people. I'm sorry, but that just makes everything WORSE in my opinion. But Rachel was desperate to keep Jacob's love. So Bilhah has a baby, which Rachel names Dan(Vindication). She figured God took my side and vindicated me; he listened and gave me a son. When Bilhah got pregnant again, Rachel said, "I've been in an all-out fight with my sister-and I've won!" So she named him Naphtiali(Fight). Can you say WOW?

But wait, there's more!

Leah was unable to have any more children. So when she saw Rachel giving her maid to Jacob, guess what? She gave her maid Zilpah (another weird name I have nooo idea how to pronounce). Zilpah had a son for Jacob, which Leah named Gad (Lucky). When Zilpah had a second son for Jacob, Leah said, "A happy day! The women will congratulate me in my happiness." So she named him Asher(Happy).

See what this turned into? An all-out war between two sisters over their husband. Leah didn't want to lose the advantage she had, and Rachel wanted to win Jacob over entirely. Out of jealousy, they started a competition, which lead them both away from God. You see, even though Leah looked Innocent, she had the wrong motive in this. She was so consumed in herself and what she wanted; all it did was drive her deeper into a self-focused way of thinking.

So here is my question, is life a competition for you? What are you most insecure about?
Any other thoughts?

Leah: Lesson 2

So we find Leah, who is married to Jacob, who is ALSO married to Leah's sister, Rachel. Can you feel the tension? I would think so! Leah is feeling pretty helpless. I mean, her sister is better in every area in life, from beauty to talent. How can she win Jacob's love if she has nothing he wants?

Back in the beginning of the world, men valued women who could give them sons. The more sons, the more generations to carry on the family name. Well, Rachel was unable to have children of her own, but Leah was. For once, Leah was ahead. She thought that by having more sons, SURELY Jacob would love her more.

Her first son she named Reuben(Look-it's-a-boy!). She thought that it was a sign from God, saying that He had seen her misery; and that Jacob would love her now. But he still was madly in love with Rachel, who couldn't have children. Leah's second son was named Simeon(God-Heard). She named the 3rd child Levi (Connect), thinking that her husband would finally connect with her. Finally, she became pregnant with a fourth son, who she named Judah(Praise-God), because this time instead of living life all about HER, she was going to praise God for the children she had been blessed with. Even after all this, Jacob still didn't love her.

You see, Leah was looking in all the wrong places to find love. She was obsessed with herself and what she wanted, Jacob's love, that she was forgetting the most important thing, God. Doesn't that sound so familiar? But it wasn't all unintentional. The first three times, Leah acknowledged God and His role in the blessings she was receiving. But since she didn't praise God, her focus remained on Jacob. When Judah was born, her focus turned toward praising God. I think we need to find a place where we don't just acknowledge God, but praise him for the things he does.

Thoughts?

Leah: Lesson 1

This is the bible study that i told you about. If you have never heard the story of Leah, it is one that I think everyone can learn a lesson from. It is the first story of "high school style" drama that you will see in the Bible. Imagine this:

So Abraham had a son, Issac. Well, Issac had a son, Jacob. This is where our story takes place.

In the story, Jacob is this hot teenage guy who is looking for a wife. After searching for a while, he found two sisters, Leah and Rachel.
Genesis 29:17 (The Message) says, "Leah had nice eyes, but Rachel was stunningly beautiful. And it was Rachel that Jacob loved."

So Jacob fell in love with Rachel at first sight. Now back in the day a man worked for a woman's father for 7 years in order to have their hand in marriage. Well Jacob jumped right on that so he could marry Rachel. After 7 years, the wedding takes place. But instead of Rachel, Laban (their dad) gives Jacob Leah.

Jacob is furious. He doesn't love Leah, he thinks she is ugly, and doesn't want to give her the time of day. So what happens? Rachel and Leah are both married to Jacob, but he hates Leah. Can you imagine? Your husband hating you? Think of what it would feel like to be in your sister's shadow. Can you imagine the hurt she's feeling?

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt in someone else's shadow? Any thoughts?

It's Official :)

Well, that's it. I'm 100%, no backing out, ABSOLUTELY going to Memorial. I enrolled today :).

Asta la vista North!

Big Decision With Some Big Help

I had just come home from an AMAZING Bible study (which I will talk about tomorrow!), when my mom brought up a serious topic. Memorial. Now normally when the topic comes up a brush it aside, pouting and proclaiming that I'm going to North and that NOTHING is changing that. I've always been in such a mindset for North that Memorial was waaaay out of the question. There was just no way!

Well, my mom brought it up. "Jordan, I think you should consider Memorial. It would be a much better school for you in the long run anyway! Better drama and arts, better golf, no cliques, less drugs, more friends, and you live a block away! Wouldn't it be a better school for you?"
Now this is the part where i would state my "North case", but I didn't. I felt OK about the idea. I had an overwhelming peace about it all, like if it happened, it would be OK. I have never felt that way before.

So I thought about it, and prayed about it, and the more i thought, the more it clicked. I HAVE to go to Memorial. But first I had to talk to my best friend, Sheridan.

You see, we have been going to the same school for 12 years!!! That's a LONG time. To make this decision, I had to have her take too.

Long story short, God has spoken to me in so many ways. Through Him, through friends, and through my family. Sheridan is going to Memorial ( I mean, I have to have someone to take Pre-AP Spanish 3 with me :) This year is going to be great, I just know it. The most amazing part? God has spoken to me like never before. I love it. <3

Anything ground-breaking in your life right now?

A very large camp review

Well....i decided that I could go with a few blogs of each day or do a large overview of the whole thing. I decided on one BIG post...so be prepared!

Day 1-

Arrival day!!!! After a very long bus ride, unpacking, and dinner, it was the first night of worship. Man the whole place was on FIRE! All of the songs were amazing, and what followed was not what I was expecting at ALL. Andy Tilly talked about how there is one thing in life that is free that is sooo priceless. Your life! But sometimes we find ourselves living for us, and being all about us. But that's not how God wants us to live at all. We should be about serving others. Why be selfish when our life was given to us?

After service was 80's bad prom night!!! Holy cow that was quite amusing indeed :)

Day 2-This was the first official day of camp, and everyone there had waaaay too much energy. No matter, it would all be burned off by the end of camp. All of the team building activities were so fun! It just showed that no matter where you came from, we could all work together and make a difference. Too bad they didn't listen to me when it came to building the boat..... ;)

the service tonight was what really got to me, more than any other night. It talked about how we are so selfish in life, and we have a "mom-ME" attitude. you know, where life is all about you and what you want, no matter what that means.

He also talked about prayer. This is where it gets cool. In the devotional time earlier that day, I had opened up the Message to a random page. It was Luke 10:20-35 and Luke 11. It just happened to be the lords prayer. i remembered thinking that this section was really cool and that i wanted to look at that verse some more later. Well, that night, guess what Andy talked about? Yeah, you guessed it. The lords prayer. He talked about how we pray over such stupid things, like that we will ace our next test or score that hot guy over there. I mean seriously? I found myself thinking "you know? i pray stupid things all the time". It hit home HARD. I'm so bad about truly praying to God. Ah man i was bawling. to learn about the second part of the story, check out Alec's blog. :)

The days that followed we equally as inspiring, but I learned the most from the second message. Well, and then the last night of course, which has a reputation of flooding the auditorium.

Camp is an experience where everyone gets something different from it. I know i was changed,but I'm sure that everyone that went was impacted somehow. I pray for everyone this year it wont be a "camp high". I pray that it will stay with us until next year, and the years to come. Wouldn't that be AWESOME? I can't even imagine.

OH! And my injuries are good now, my back and legs aren't sore anymore either! YAY! lol.....I hope everyone has recovered from camp as well.

Camp

Wow has it been a while since I've posted anything! I've been really busy lately..you know CHURCH CAMP!!!! Man it was AMAZING. It was so life changing and eye opening for me. It was truly an awesome week.

I can't explain the experiences in any words, there just aren't any good adjectives. It was simply a God thing. I learned so much.

Camp is just one of those things that you can't miss, and you can't help but miss it once your gone. I loved hanging out with my friends and strengthening the relationships i have with all of them. Especially the one relationship that counts.

Well, I've decided its very hard to write anything when you're tired. so i think I'm going to get some sleep and tomorrow give some highlights of camp!!! love all!

~j

Alarm

It had been a long, rainy day in San Antonio, and walking was a must all day long. I was tired, hungry, i had a headache, and was cold from being wet all day from rain and shamu-salt spray. So i was laying in bed, trying to get my headache to go away when I hear an alarm going off outside our window. Well, this is helping my headache situation. So i stuff a pillow over my face and try to tune it out. However my grandma and mom think it's much more interesting and look out the window. Wow.

A guy in a white tee-shirt and mustache had broken into a car sitting right outside our window. In a flash he tore out the radio system in the car, got in his little white car, and drove off. We got the licence plate number and called the police, and it turns out this same person has been doing this for a while and they've been trying to catch him. what was scary about all this was that the car he robbed was sitting right next to ours. It could have easily been our stuff that got snatched.

Why does this happen? It just KILLS me that this happens to innocent people. Why do they find it necessary to do things like this? Uhg...it makes me sick.

But don't get me wrong, I've stolen something before. A pack of nerds from a Crest store.....but don't hold it against me! I was like 5 and I returned it in tears. OH! I also had a partner in crime, but i wont go into that....*cough cough*

Any thoughts? Have you ever stolen anything?

Trip Pictures

I'm baaaaack!!! I love Sea World! here are some cool pics! *taken by yours truly*

Sorry, some of them are kinda blurry...my camera doesn't like to take action shots very well....ENJOY!

SHAMU!!

Isn't that AWESOME?! I want to do that :)

Someones about to get wet.....

that's a lot of fat to lug out of the air.

HOW AMAZING!
Fins up! (and a squeak noise!)
Back flip!
Spinning on a platform
And spinning in the center...it was really pretty :)

look closely...there is a diver in the air!
um..yeah it's blurry...but that's one BIG horse!
Yeah, like i said, big horses. The Anhieser-Busch Clydesdale's (sp?)
I will call him squishy, and he shall be mine.
Acrobat in the air


HEY! Someone else who's sleepy... :)
AWH! How cuuuute!
The head seal...with a big head... making lots of noise...
DOLPHINS!
Beluga whale... AHHH!



The entrance :)
Feeding the dolphins
....and petting them...
SMILE!
Another sleepyhead...and i know sleepy!