a different perspective.

I am thankful for...
The mess to clean up after a party...
     because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
The taxes I pay...
     because it means that I am employed.
The clothes that fit a little too snug,
     because it means that I have food to eat.
My shadow who watches me work...
     because it means I am out in the sunshine.
The spot that I find at the far end of the parking lot...
     because it means I am capable of walking.
All the complaining I hear about our government...
     because it means we have freedom of speech.
That lady behind me in church who sings off key...
     because it means that I can hear.
Lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing...
     because it means I have a home.
My huge heating bill...
    because it means that I am warm.
Weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day...
     because it means that I have been productive.
The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours...
     because it means that I am alive.

There are three kinds of days:
1. Good days.
2. Great days.
3. Outstanding days.

By: Nancie Carmody

So I found this and thought it was really cool. Be thankful for the life that you live :)

a few things I have learned about myself lately...

• I am scared to death of loud noises.
• I actually like being by myself and sometimes prefer to go places alone.
• I don't have to wear tons of make-up every day to feel pretty.
• When visiting the huge selection of books at the library, I realized how much I missed reading.
• I am that girl who smiles and waves and then looks like an idiot because the other person ignores me.
• The smallest things irritate me. Examples: the way you breathe, chew your food, or leave the light on.
• I can go hours without eating and not even realize it.
• Babies and puppies make me happy.
• Girls (especially TCU sorority girls) get on my last nerve.
• I have a huge desire to go to Africa and spend time with the little orphan kids.

They look so adorable!

super tan people make me sick.

Attention girls who tan in tanning beds:
You will get skin cancer and you will die. Okay, maybe you wont die, but you do have a greater chance of it by tanning in tanning beds. Girls who feel the need to be ridiculously dark all year round are probably addicted to tanning. Tanning beds can seriously cause people to become addicted to them because they release some hormone called endophrine or something like that. Which is bad because whey you start using the tanning bed all the time you can become addicted and have withdrawls, anxiety, and become nauseous when you haven't tanned in awhile.
Girls think that they look better when they are tan and will obviously take risks like getting CANCER just to be tan and feel good about themselves. While sun tanning isn't exactly good for your body either, it is much better and safer than a tanning bed, especially if you use sunscreen. In a tanning bed you do not use sunscreen and do not have anything to protect your skin. The tanning beds emit strong ultraviolet radiation. Radiation of any type is not good for your body. Tanning beds cause melanoma which is a deadly form of skin cancer. Key word being deadly. They also cause will cause wrinkles, harsh aging, and leathery skin in the long run. Yeah you may look good now, but just wait a few years.

This girl will look like the lady below if she keeps her tanning habits up. If she doesn't die from skin cancer first.

Thats really attractive, huh?

My momma always told me: "Tanning beds will fry your insides."

lets talk Jesus.

When I say I love my church, I mean that I really love my church. I love the building, I love my preacher, I love the youth ministry, I love everything that my church stands for. I. Love. My. Church.


Last Sunday, I heard one of the best sermons I have ever heard. It was given by our new Associate Pastor, Thomas. First you have to understand that I absolutely love our preacher, Rick Atchley. He is such a good preacher. Every time someone else preaches, I find myself comparing them to Rick. But that didn't happen with Thomas. Thomas is young, hes from California, and he knows how to get his point across. He told the story of the woman at the well. He didn't just read the story out of the Bible though. He told the story in a way that made me really understand what he was saying. He made me picture the woman, and exactly how she was feeling.

The woman is from Samaria. Every morning, she gets up and carries a big clay pot to the well which is on the other side of town. She has to deal with the snickers and rude remarks from the people as she passes. The woman is struggling. She has sex with anyone that wants it because she thinks if she gives it away, she will get love in return. She meets Jesus at the well. Jesus asks her if he can have a drink of water from her cup and she looks at him like he is crazy. Jesus is a Jew, and Jews do not associate themselves with people like her. She questions Jesus asking him why he is talking to her. Then he tells her to go and get her husband. The woman does not have a husband. She has had many sexual partners, but no husband. Jesus had to have known this, so why of all things would he tell her to go and get her husband, knowing fully well that she is sleeping around.
I love the metaphor that Thomas used to describe the womans situation. Its like being in the ocean. You are surrounded with all of this water. Water, being one of the main things that you need to survive. So if you are in the middle of an ocean, with all of this living water around you, you would die. You would die from the water. The water that is supposed to keep you alive, would kill you. Ironic, isn't it?

This woman is surrounded by living water and  yet she keeps getting water from the wrong wells. She gets it from the well of sexual pleasure and lust, thinking that she will be loved in return. Now the question is: from what well are you getting your water from? Is it the well of materialism, or wealth, or drugs, or sex? If Jesus came up to you, what would he tell you to go get? (like he told the woman to go get her husband) What would it be for you?
For me, it could be alot of things. And when Thomas asked us that same question, the answer did not come to my head quickly. Then I realized that it would probably be something to do with materialism. I want to have the nicest car, the prettiest jewelry, the newest shoes, and the most expensive sun glasses. But none of that stuff matters to God. Our salvation is not determined by how much money we make or how many nice things we have, which is sometimes hard for me to remember. Especially here at TCU where I feel like girls are wearing a few hundred dollars worth of clothes and accessories on their body daily.


The weird thing is that in my sorority meeting on Tuesday night, we talked about the same story. I felt like God was trying to tell me something through this story, and though I have not quite figured it out yet, it has constantly been on my mind since that night. Maybe I am the woman at the well, or maybe I am the person that needs to help the woman at the well.
Figure out what Jesus would tell you to bring to the well. What do you spend so much time thinking about or doing, that it distracts you from the path of God? Think about it.


Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q49BbfgJbto


Listen to Thomas' sermon: http://www.thehills.org/files/podcasts/20110403-Dying_Of_Thirst-Fitzpatrick.mp3

BIEBER FEVER!

So yesterday I went to see the Justin Bieber movie with my cousins and let me just say, that if I kinda liked him before, I like him a lot more now. If you hate his music, or hate his voice, or hate how he is so young, then you better go see the movie before you start judging him.

His story is so inspiring. He was born to two young teenagers and his parents split before he turned one. His mom wanted to do everything she could to provide for him. Justin was really close to his grandparents. He got a drum for his second birthday and started banging on it like a pro. The videos were amazing. He could play the drums really well before he was five and soon his family started to realize he had real talent. This kind of talent cannot be fake or made up, or just a bunch of hype.

He is so cute. Like the cutest boy in a little kid kinda way. I am not obsessed with him like some girls are, but he is pretty adorable and  hard not to like. His personality is so cute. And he seems like a really nice boy.

This makes me like him even more <3

Bucket list.

Everyone should have a bucket list. Just a list of things that you would like to do in your lifetime. So here's mine. I know there is a lot more but this is all I could come up with for noww. You should make one too and share it with me :)

Go shopping in New York City and Rodeo Drive.

Skydive.

Fly first class.

Do mission work in another country.

Live in a loft in a big city downtown.

Ride in a horse drawn carriage.

Go on a cruise.

Read the Bible all the way through.

Own a King Charles Cavalier Cocker Spaniel:

Go to Australia, England, France, Sweden, Canada, Cabo, Costa Rica.

Plant a garden of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Have a white horse with brown spots and name her Pancake.

Learn how to surf and snowboard.

Go to a broadway show.

Change someone’s life.

Live house-less and travel around the U.S. for awhile.

Have a career where I help people every single day.

Own one of these 3 cars:

Learn to cook amazing food.

Scuba dive in the Bahamas.

See every Audrey Hepburn movie.

Go to the Red River Rivalry game. Hook em Horns!
Become a bartender.

Ride the subway, in a taxi, and overnight train.

Go to Italy and experience the beautiful architecture, amazing food, fashion, language, and fast pace of the country.

Experience Katy Perry live in concert.

Fly in a hot air balloon.

Own a pair of Ray Bans & Christian Louboutin heels:

Work at Nordstrom’s, H&M, or J. Crew.

Ride in a helicopter.

Go on a safari in Africa.

Learn to waltz and swing dance.

Be on Good Morning America.

Drive a Ferrari Enzo.

Sing at a karaoke bar.

Learn to speak Spanish and Italian.

Write a book.

Horseback ride on a beach.

Marry the man of my dreams and spend the rest of my life happy <3

Go to Napa Valley to visit all the wineries:

It's been awhile...

I havent blogged in awhile. Partly because I quit doing the day thing and partly because I have no motivation. Buttt, I am back now. And even though I did not last the whole 30 days, I will still blog about my life randomly.

So yesterday a new little addition was added to our family. He is my second cousin, or cousin-once-removed. Im not really sure how that works but anyways his name is Colton Lee Simpson and he is absolutely precious. He looks just like his Daddy and his sister Kylee. I got to hold him for awhile and he just laid there making faces in his sleep. I love watching babies sleep because they make the funniest faces with their mouths. He was soo tiny, weighing only 6 pounds and 15 ounces. I felt like I was holding nothing when I held him. I am absolutely in love with sweet little babies. Like to the point where I might be obsessed. I want to have a million kids. But ill settle for five. Or three at the least.

Check out this sweet little boy:

I am amazed at how tiny his fingers are.



Kylee waving at the camera and little baby Colton.