Wednesday, January 26, 2011
So I do not plan on going to college. Maybe one day I'll decide to go, but right now is not that time and I am perfectly fine with that. My dream is to either live in a tiny house or be able to travel all the time. The ideal job for me would be selling my paintings and being a volunteer for whatever I'm needed in. That probably won't work out considering I might need more money than that to survive. God is good though and he has a plan for me. I've been listening to that plan so far and I am so extremely happy with my life. So I'm just going to keep going with the flow and listening to my amazing God.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Why
Is it that I can only seem to devote 5 minutes of my time to prayer before I completely lose focus
*Why is it that even after I think I've opened my heart completely to God I still feel a little empty in the end
*Why is it that I can feel when I'm going through a rough patch in my faith but I can't seem to do anything about it
*Why is it that sometimes every word in my bible seems to touch me, but sometimes it feels like my eyes are *just skimming the words as fast as I can just so I can say I read it
*Why is it that right now I feel a burning or a stirring in my heart but I can't figure out why
*Why is it that I can't be completely happy with the place I'm at, even when you've showed me so clearly that my work here is not yet done
*Why?
*Why is it that even after I think I've opened my heart completely to God I still feel a little empty in the end
*Why is it that I can feel when I'm going through a rough patch in my faith but I can't seem to do anything about it
*Why is it that sometimes every word in my bible seems to touch me, but sometimes it feels like my eyes are *just skimming the words as fast as I can just so I can say I read it
*Why is it that right now I feel a burning or a stirring in my heart but I can't figure out why
*Why is it that I can't be completely happy with the place I'm at, even when you've showed me so clearly that my work here is not yet done
*Why?
3:30
So it's just about 3:30 p.m right now. It seems like lately, I've been doing the same thing around this time. I grab a cup of coffee, go to my room, move my three pillows against the wall so I can sit back against them, read blogs/check facebook, and think about a lot.
Today my thoughts are focused on my high school diploma and what it represents. This topic is going to be related to unschooling. My posts will not always be about unschooling but when I become interested in something, I become a little obsessed. Like back in December when I went to a Listener show, all I could think about for the next week was how my friends and I just needed to jump into my 1974 Dodge van and travel the U.S doing spoken word. Of course, I still think that that's a cool idea, but it's not constantly on my mind. So bare with me until my obsession with unschooling ends.
So, high school diplomas, they seem to be so important these days, like you achieved soo much because you now have a little slip of paper that you will most likely stick in some drawer or box and forget about it. What exactly did you achieve in high school that was so amazing anyways?
For me, my high school diploma represents, never having enough time to work on my paintings, skipping classes every once in a while, being bored out of my mind, being stressed about math and science, my mind cannot comprehend the two subjects no matter what I do, sitting in class rooms not listening to what the teacher says because I'm too busy day dreaming, barely doing any homework and being lazy but still managing to make honor roll, which I never really cared about making anyways, being depressed because of lonliness, feeling shy and not really socializing (see, being in public school doesn't magically mean that you're going to socialize with people. That didn't come until after I graduated), reading through most of my classes, wishing I could spend more time at work instead of school so I wasn't so exhausted by the time I actually got to work, ect. ect.
So, all I'm really trying to say is that my high school diploma really means nothing to me.
Today my thoughts are focused on my high school diploma and what it represents. This topic is going to be related to unschooling. My posts will not always be about unschooling but when I become interested in something, I become a little obsessed. Like back in December when I went to a Listener show, all I could think about for the next week was how my friends and I just needed to jump into my 1974 Dodge van and travel the U.S doing spoken word. Of course, I still think that that's a cool idea, but it's not constantly on my mind. So bare with me until my obsession with unschooling ends.
So, high school diplomas, they seem to be so important these days, like you achieved soo much because you now have a little slip of paper that you will most likely stick in some drawer or box and forget about it. What exactly did you achieve in high school that was so amazing anyways?
For me, my high school diploma represents, never having enough time to work on my paintings, skipping classes every once in a while, being bored out of my mind, being stressed about math and science, my mind cannot comprehend the two subjects no matter what I do, sitting in class rooms not listening to what the teacher says because I'm too busy day dreaming, barely doing any homework and being lazy but still managing to make honor roll, which I never really cared about making anyways, being depressed because of lonliness, feeling shy and not really socializing (see, being in public school doesn't magically mean that you're going to socialize with people. That didn't come until after I graduated), reading through most of my classes, wishing I could spend more time at work instead of school so I wasn't so exhausted by the time I actually got to work, ect. ect.
So, all I'm really trying to say is that my high school diploma really means nothing to me.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Unschooling
So recently, as in the last two days, i've discovered a topic that I find very interesting. That topic is unschooling. This post is completely my opinion. There isn't much research or anything behind it really, so please don't judge what I have to say, comments are very welcome though (:
So the basic idea of unschooling, as I took it, is letting your kids learn through personal experiences, surroundings, interests, ect. without actually going to school, or having textbooks, desks, chalkboards, ect.
At first I thought, "You people are just a bunch of crazy hippies who obviously don't realize the importance of normal schooling." But then I really started thinking about it. Every child is born with different talents and interests. School definately does not take that into consideration and every kid is forced to learn the same things. When you really think about it, how much of that stuff that you learned in school did you actually use? How much of that stuff do you even remember? In my case, I really don't use or remember very much of it! The things I use that I learned in school are basic math and basic grammer. Both of those things can be learned just be living your life though. So really, what's the point of "normal" schooling? For me atleast, I spent a lot of time being very unhappy, extremely stressed out at times, extremely bored at times, and wasting valuable time on pointless subjects when I could have been working on the talents that God blessed me with.
While in highschool, I was never really able to take an art class with a professional, meaning everything I did in art I just learned on my own. After graduating, I needed some extra money to travel to Ecuador so I decided to sell my painting at a local coffee shop, Solar Roast. I ended up selling a painting for $225.00 in a very short amount of time. I'm pretty proud of that, especially since I had no actual art classes.
Another reason I like the idea of unschooling is because I believe it would give a child a better self image, or self worth. During the last couple years of elementary school and through middle school, my family had a low income. My mother was working three jobs and could not afford to buy my two sisters and I all the coolest clothes, accessories or school supplies. The biggest importance to most people while in school is what other people think of them. I know that this is very true in my case. Because I couldn't have the "best" things, my self confidence really went downhill throughout the rest of my years in school. Another thing that public schools seem to do is take away self expression, at least that was how it was at my school. I'm a very creative person, therefore, I like to do things a little differently, whether it's in the way I dress, the music I listen to, the choices I make, ect. Since graduating, and entering the "real world" I don't feel the pressure of having to be a certain way and this has made my life so much better. In an unschooling environment, the child wouldn't feel these pressures and they could always be themselves.
This isn't very well written, even after having years of English and grammer classes, God didn't bless me with being able to write, but this is my opinion.
I'm sure after more time and more research I'll be able to develop this more, but these are my thoughts for now.
If you want to know more about this topic, check out these amazing blogs:
http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/
http://theorganicsister.com/
So the basic idea of unschooling, as I took it, is letting your kids learn through personal experiences, surroundings, interests, ect. without actually going to school, or having textbooks, desks, chalkboards, ect.
At first I thought, "You people are just a bunch of crazy hippies who obviously don't realize the importance of normal schooling." But then I really started thinking about it. Every child is born with different talents and interests. School definately does not take that into consideration and every kid is forced to learn the same things. When you really think about it, how much of that stuff that you learned in school did you actually use? How much of that stuff do you even remember? In my case, I really don't use or remember very much of it! The things I use that I learned in school are basic math and basic grammer. Both of those things can be learned just be living your life though. So really, what's the point of "normal" schooling? For me atleast, I spent a lot of time being very unhappy, extremely stressed out at times, extremely bored at times, and wasting valuable time on pointless subjects when I could have been working on the talents that God blessed me with.
While in highschool, I was never really able to take an art class with a professional, meaning everything I did in art I just learned on my own. After graduating, I needed some extra money to travel to Ecuador so I decided to sell my painting at a local coffee shop, Solar Roast. I ended up selling a painting for $225.00 in a very short amount of time. I'm pretty proud of that, especially since I had no actual art classes.
Another reason I like the idea of unschooling is because I believe it would give a child a better self image, or self worth. During the last couple years of elementary school and through middle school, my family had a low income. My mother was working three jobs and could not afford to buy my two sisters and I all the coolest clothes, accessories or school supplies. The biggest importance to most people while in school is what other people think of them. I know that this is very true in my case. Because I couldn't have the "best" things, my self confidence really went downhill throughout the rest of my years in school. Another thing that public schools seem to do is take away self expression, at least that was how it was at my school. I'm a very creative person, therefore, I like to do things a little differently, whether it's in the way I dress, the music I listen to, the choices I make, ect. Since graduating, and entering the "real world" I don't feel the pressure of having to be a certain way and this has made my life so much better. In an unschooling environment, the child wouldn't feel these pressures and they could always be themselves.
This isn't very well written, even after having years of English and grammer classes, God didn't bless me with being able to write, but this is my opinion.
I'm sure after more time and more research I'll be able to develop this more, but these are my thoughts for now.
If you want to know more about this topic, check out these amazing blogs:
http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/
http://theorganicsister.com/
(This is the painting that I recently sold)
Edit: I do realize that every child is different. In that case, if my child was motivated by being in school and learning all of the subjects requried in school, I would be completely fine with them choosing to go to public school. In the end though, it would be THEIR choice. I want to do whatever makes them the happiest.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
http://mrspriss.com/2010/10/14/the-harsh-realities-of-marriage/#comments
Go check out this wonderful blog and read this story!
True Love!
Look what I made!
The only thing I could find that I could possiblly make something out of is a tattoo magazine that I was going to throw away anyways because of the large amount of half naked girls in it. So, I spent a little bit of time cutting it up last night and today I'm determined to actually make something out of all the random things I cut out.
Monday, January 17, 2011
It's almost 11:00 am and I'm laying in bed. I've been awake for a couple of hours but I'm just not feeling very productive today. Our choices for breakfast today were either oatmeal or cereal. I chose oatmeal because I absolutely love the stuff. It had been sitting on the stove for a while so I stuck in the microwave for a little while. When I took it out, I put a decent amount of "sugar" in it and went to taste it to make sure it was warm enough. It turns out that the "sugar" was actually salt. Probably one of the worst things I've ever tasted in my life. I decided some captain crunch would be a better breakfast.
There's only two coffee drinkers in this house of eight and that's Dan Shedd and I. He makes coffee in the mornings and then goes to work and I'm usually still asleep at this time. This morning the coffee was all gone by the time I finally got my lazy butt downstairs, so I haven't had any coffee today. Maybe I'll learn how to make coffee in more coffee makers than just my own one day.
Because of my lack of coffee, I don't really have much energy today. Also, I've found a new blog that I really enjoy http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/ so I'll probably be laying in bed, listening to Lykke Li, reading this blog, thinking of all the creative things I wish I could be doing, and avoiding showering for the next couple hours.
There's only two coffee drinkers in this house of eight and that's Dan Shedd and I. He makes coffee in the mornings and then goes to work and I'm usually still asleep at this time. This morning the coffee was all gone by the time I finally got my lazy butt downstairs, so I haven't had any coffee today. Maybe I'll learn how to make coffee in more coffee makers than just my own one day.
Because of my lack of coffee, I don't really have much energy today. Also, I've found a new blog that I really enjoy http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/ so I'll probably be laying in bed, listening to Lykke Li, reading this blog, thinking of all the creative things I wish I could be doing, and avoiding showering for the next couple hours.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
So last night I had a dream. I'm suprised that I actually remembered most of it because I usually never remember my dream.
The first thing I remember about the dream is driving home from i'm guessing the airport. There were a few other people in the car but I don't remember. Our first stop was my Dad's house. I remember seeing that the were done with remodeling the kitchen. After we left my Dad's house we walked one of my old friends from 4th grade to her house which was in a super sketchy neighborhood. I left as soon as I could. I think Kyla might have been with me.We walked up the dirt road that led to my old house in Rye. When we got there, my mom told me that her and Ron had moved back to Rye, and they had added three small rooms to our old house. If I remember correctly, Nichole had moved back home with her husband and three kids.
I don't remember every detail of the dream, obviously, but I remember not being happy to be home. You would think I would be considering I was able to see my family again, but I longed to be back in Ecuador, in the Shedd's house, living that life that I had grown used to. I didn't feel like I had accomplished what I was supposed to while being there.
I feel like that could be God's way of telling me that even though I've done a lot in the short amount of time I've been here, I still haven't done what he sent me here to do.
That makes me really excited. I know as soon as I'm doing what God wants me to, he'll let me know. I think that will really help me with figuring out the next step of my life after Ecuador.
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In other news, I've had this song stuck in my head all morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTk980WeD8A
And these are my doodles from church today:
And these are the verses I underlined while in church:
(I go to a Spanish speaking church, but I don't speak Spanish, so I just read on my own during the service)
Psalm 65:2- "When we were overwelmed with sins, you forgave our transgressions."
Psalm 66:8- "He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping."
Psalm 66:20- "Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!"
Psalm 119:115- "Away from me evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!"
Psalm 119:127- "Because I love your commads more than gold, more than pure gold."
These aren't all the complete verses but they're what stuck out to me
And to end this pointless post, I love the dress i'm wearing today:
The first thing I remember about the dream is driving home from i'm guessing the airport. There were a few other people in the car but I don't remember. Our first stop was my Dad's house. I remember seeing that the were done with remodeling the kitchen. After we left my Dad's house we walked one of my old friends from 4th grade to her house which was in a super sketchy neighborhood. I left as soon as I could. I think Kyla might have been with me.We walked up the dirt road that led to my old house in Rye. When we got there, my mom told me that her and Ron had moved back to Rye, and they had added three small rooms to our old house. If I remember correctly, Nichole had moved back home with her husband and three kids.
I don't remember every detail of the dream, obviously, but I remember not being happy to be home. You would think I would be considering I was able to see my family again, but I longed to be back in Ecuador, in the Shedd's house, living that life that I had grown used to. I didn't feel like I had accomplished what I was supposed to while being there.
I feel like that could be God's way of telling me that even though I've done a lot in the short amount of time I've been here, I still haven't done what he sent me here to do.
That makes me really excited. I know as soon as I'm doing what God wants me to, he'll let me know. I think that will really help me with figuring out the next step of my life after Ecuador.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news, I've had this song stuck in my head all morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTk980WeD8A
And these are my doodles from church today:
(I go to a Spanish speaking church, but I don't speak Spanish, so I just read on my own during the service)
Psalm 65:2- "When we were overwelmed with sins, you forgave our transgressions."
Psalm 66:8- "He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping."
Psalm 66:20- "Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!"
Psalm 119:115- "Away from me evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!"
Psalm 119:127- "Because I love your commads more than gold, more than pure gold."
These aren't all the complete verses but they're what stuck out to me
And to end this pointless post, I love the dress i'm wearing today:
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Are you afraid of the dark?
I remember being about 12 years old. I was at Camp Lazy Acres, half way between Rye and San Isabel. I was there for a girl scout overnighter. I had been looking forward to it for a while.
I remember being completely happy, hanging out with friends, doing the normal girl scout activities, until I found out that we were going to have to go to bed soon. I wasn't unhappy because all of the fun was soon going to end, I was unhappy because there was a chance that I was going to have to sleep somewhere that was completely dark.
I started freaking out inside and tried to make myself seem calm and composed on the outside. After a while though, I couldn't hold it in and I began to cry.
I ended up making it through the night but this night always stands out to me as one of the nights that I was most afraid of the dark. I'm 19 years old now, but this fear of the dark still creeps in sometimes. Especially when I'm alone.
Last night was one of these nights where that fear came back.
I closed my eyes to go to sleep and it felt like I had only had my eyes closed for maybe a couple minutes. I don't really remember what exactly I dreamed about but I remember sitting up in bed, seeing a lot of black around me and trying desperately to make my bedside light come on. When I woke up completely my bedside light was on and I was sitting straight up in bed. My heart was racing, my body was shaking and I was completely terrified.
I wish I could remember what I dreamed about so it would be easier to convince myself that it wasn't real. Because of the dream I had last night, my fear of the dark is back a little bit and I'm really dreading going to sleep.
Knowing me, I'll be awake every hour or thirty minutes tonight since that's what always seems to happen if I feel afraid before I go to sleep. Also, I've had a decent amount of coffee today which could keep me up.
On nights like these I pray constantly and I'm hoping that will help a little bit.
I remember being completely happy, hanging out with friends, doing the normal girl scout activities, until I found out that we were going to have to go to bed soon. I wasn't unhappy because all of the fun was soon going to end, I was unhappy because there was a chance that I was going to have to sleep somewhere that was completely dark.
I started freaking out inside and tried to make myself seem calm and composed on the outside. After a while though, I couldn't hold it in and I began to cry.
I ended up making it through the night but this night always stands out to me as one of the nights that I was most afraid of the dark. I'm 19 years old now, but this fear of the dark still creeps in sometimes. Especially when I'm alone.
Last night was one of these nights where that fear came back.
I closed my eyes to go to sleep and it felt like I had only had my eyes closed for maybe a couple minutes. I don't really remember what exactly I dreamed about but I remember sitting up in bed, seeing a lot of black around me and trying desperately to make my bedside light come on. When I woke up completely my bedside light was on and I was sitting straight up in bed. My heart was racing, my body was shaking and I was completely terrified.
I wish I could remember what I dreamed about so it would be easier to convince myself that it wasn't real. Because of the dream I had last night, my fear of the dark is back a little bit and I'm really dreading going to sleep.
Knowing me, I'll be awake every hour or thirty minutes tonight since that's what always seems to happen if I feel afraid before I go to sleep. Also, I've had a decent amount of coffee today which could keep me up.
On nights like these I pray constantly and I'm hoping that will help a little bit.
-I write with my right hand and do pretty much everything else with my left
-My ankles pop everytime I walk
-I'm 46 minutes younger than Kyla
-I enjoy not wearing make up because I can rub my eyes whenever I want
-I like my coffee black
-I like waiting until my coffee gets almost luke warm so I can drink it really fast
-I love being barefoot but I don't like when my feet are dirty inside of a house
-I don't like realistic or super abstract paintings
-I wish I had the ability to write
-I usually have goosebumps because I don't like dressing for the weather
-I love not having a large amount of money and I hope that I never become rich
-Right now I have no plans on going to college, therefore I doubt I will ever make a large amount of money
-I love being near water or walking in it, but I don't really enjoy swimming
-I love bike riding, as long as it's not on a small mountain trail
-I love friendly people, but who doesn't?
-I'd love to be able to work with kids more, especially special needs kids
-I'm supposed to wear my glasses all the time but I don't
-I hate when things on the wall are crooked or off centered
-I love buying things for people
-As much as I hate to admit it, I once considered drawing on my eyebrows
-I love hiking
-I hate running
-I love rafting
-I hate sports
-I played soccer for 6 years but was always bad at it
-It's hard for people to believe that I was a cheerleader
-I love cleaning up after people
-I love when furniture and decorations don't match
-I love chandeliers and fireplaces
-I love hugging people but I hate being the one to go for the hug
-I hate wimpy handshakes
-I love the smell of clean clothes and new cars
-I love holding babies
-I want to learn how to sculpt
-I love reading books
-I can't think of the last good book I read
-I love having meaningful conversations
-I want to go backpacking through somewhere, but I'm not sure where yet
-I've always wanted to go to Greece and Ireland
-When I was four I blamed my sister Nichole for me not looking Hawaiian, since I was born in Hawaii
-I get nervous and scared extremely easy
-I like old things over new
-I have a 1974 Dodge Van that I love, but doesn't work
-My ankles pop everytime I walk
-I'm 46 minutes younger than Kyla
-I enjoy not wearing make up because I can rub my eyes whenever I want
-I like my coffee black
-I like waiting until my coffee gets almost luke warm so I can drink it really fast
-I love being barefoot but I don't like when my feet are dirty inside of a house
-I don't like realistic or super abstract paintings
-I wish I had the ability to write
-I usually have goosebumps because I don't like dressing for the weather
-I love not having a large amount of money and I hope that I never become rich
-Right now I have no plans on going to college, therefore I doubt I will ever make a large amount of money
-I love being near water or walking in it, but I don't really enjoy swimming
-I love bike riding, as long as it's not on a small mountain trail
-I love friendly people, but who doesn't?
-I'd love to be able to work with kids more, especially special needs kids
-I'm supposed to wear my glasses all the time but I don't
-I hate when things on the wall are crooked or off centered
-I love buying things for people
-As much as I hate to admit it, I once considered drawing on my eyebrows
-I love hiking
-I hate running
-I love rafting
-I hate sports
-I played soccer for 6 years but was always bad at it
-It's hard for people to believe that I was a cheerleader
-I love cleaning up after people
-I love when furniture and decorations don't match
-I love chandeliers and fireplaces
-I love hugging people but I hate being the one to go for the hug
-I hate wimpy handshakes
-I love the smell of clean clothes and new cars
-I love holding babies
-I want to learn how to sculpt
-I love reading books
-I can't think of the last good book I read
-I love having meaningful conversations
-I want to go backpacking through somewhere, but I'm not sure where yet
-I've always wanted to go to Greece and Ireland
-When I was four I blamed my sister Nichole for me not looking Hawaiian, since I was born in Hawaii
-I get nervous and scared extremely easy
-I like old things over new
-I have a 1974 Dodge Van that I love, but doesn't work
Friday, January 14, 2011
Reasons why today is wonderful:
*I woke up feeling completely awake, even without coffee
*It's a beautiful sunny day
*I had an ice cold shower, which wasn't the greatest, but it made it so the mirror wasn't fogged up when I got out of the shower
*I got to buy more gifts for people today
*I got a pedicure for the first time in my life
*My room is clean
*I stayed warm all night
*I got food for super cheap
*I am just in a wonderful mood
(:
Imperfections
Imperfections. One of my favorite things about people. Take a look around you, at all the people. No one is exactly alike, even twins, like myself. God is such an amazing artist.
I believe one of the things that shows what an amazing artist is imperfections. I am quite the people watcher. I love just picking a place to sit, and observing the people that pass me. Or meeting new people, and studying their faces, finding the little details that God gave them. That scar from an accident when you were young, that birthmark that embarrasses you because of maybe it's size or location, that cluster of freckles, that cowlick that makes your hair not do what you would like it to, the way you walk, the way you talk, the way your eyes aren't the same size, your slanted smile. The list goes on and on but i'm not trying to point out things that are wrong with people. I love these things. I see such art in them. People are such beautiful, wonderful creations. It makes me feel so proud that such an amazing God would take the time to make me, sculpt me out of nothing, and give me my own special touch that makes me special, unique and beautiful.
I forget this a lot of times about myself. I can see the beauty in everyone, except myself. I forcus on a wordly view of people too often and try to become something I'm not. I get nervous about what I'm wearing, I get nervous about my weight, I get nervous about my make up, about everything. It's really stupid. God took the time to make me, why am I criticizing his work?
I believe one of the things that shows what an amazing artist is imperfections. I am quite the people watcher. I love just picking a place to sit, and observing the people that pass me. Or meeting new people, and studying their faces, finding the little details that God gave them. That scar from an accident when you were young, that birthmark that embarrasses you because of maybe it's size or location, that cluster of freckles, that cowlick that makes your hair not do what you would like it to, the way you walk, the way you talk, the way your eyes aren't the same size, your slanted smile. The list goes on and on but i'm not trying to point out things that are wrong with people. I love these things. I see such art in them. People are such beautiful, wonderful creations. It makes me feel so proud that such an amazing God would take the time to make me, sculpt me out of nothing, and give me my own special touch that makes me special, unique and beautiful.
I forget this a lot of times about myself. I can see the beauty in everyone, except myself. I forcus on a wordly view of people too often and try to become something I'm not. I get nervous about what I'm wearing, I get nervous about my weight, I get nervous about my make up, about everything. It's really stupid. God took the time to make me, why am I criticizing his work?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
I see myself as a creative person. The creative people I know are usually very good at writing. I guess God did give me the gift of expressing myself through art, painting to be exact but I don't think I ever say what I'm feeling through my art either.
Right now I have a million things running through my mind. As always though, this is all I can think of to actually write down.
Dog Crap
So far my time in Ecuador has been one big, amazing vacation, and today was no exception. We started out the day around 10:00am and headed to a cable car thing that took us to a place where we could see all of Quito. Most of the family knew that I was going to be a little scared because i'm slightly afraid of heights, depending on the situation. I tried to not show that I was scared but inside my heart was racing. My emotions have a mind of their own a lot of the time though and I become a lot more nervous about situation than I should be. The ride up ended up being incredibly slow and not scary at all. I quickly realized that my fears were very irrational. We all got to the top and walked around a little bit and took in the amazing view. There hasn't been a part of Quito that I haven't liked. It is just so beautiful here.
(This is where I had to stand before getting on the cable car)
After we were done with that, we went out to eat and then headed home. Once at home, I went straight to my room and fell asleep for the next 45 minutes or so. In the last few months, I've felt bad about taking naps, but I was exhausted. I'm guessing it has something to do with the lack of coffee I've had since arriving in Ecuador. I feel bad asking for coffee since only two people, including me, drink coffee in the house. After I woke up I threw on some shoes I haven't worn before and headed outside so we could head to the orphanage. Of course because I was wearing new shoes I just had to step in dog poop. Thankfully it was dry and just crumbled beneath my shoe.
We headed to the orphanage but stopped at the Shedd's old house first to see what the new owners had done with it.
I really enjoyed being at the orphanage today. I was in the infant house. I spent most of the time with an infant named Michael. He's kind of a chubby baby and he's constantly moving. Most of the time I help in the infant house I just hold him the whole time. Today I got to take him outside and take a walk with him while he was in a carrier. It feels so good just to spend time with all those kids. I'm not sure how much of an impact it actually makes on the kids or how much it actually helps the tias, but there's nothing else I would rather be doing with my life right now.
After the orphanage, all 12 of us piled into a car that was definately not made for 12 people. Thank goodness the police here don't really care about stuff like that. We then headed to the mall and Rachel and Jason treated us to a great dinner at Crepes and Waffles. It's crazy how different the service at restaurants is here and in the states. I'm not saying this as someone who thinks they're better than waitresses, I was a waitress and worked in the food industry for about two and a half years. Here everything comes out at different times and the waitresses don't seem to care if anythings wrong, they just blame it on you.
Well that's all for my day. I get kind of bored with describing all the details of my day, so i'll probably post something later on a different topic.
After we were done with that, we went out to eat and then headed home. Once at home, I went straight to my room and fell asleep for the next 45 minutes or so. In the last few months, I've felt bad about taking naps, but I was exhausted. I'm guessing it has something to do with the lack of coffee I've had since arriving in Ecuador. I feel bad asking for coffee since only two people, including me, drink coffee in the house. After I woke up I threw on some shoes I haven't worn before and headed outside so we could head to the orphanage. Of course because I was wearing new shoes I just had to step in dog poop. Thankfully it was dry and just crumbled beneath my shoe.
We headed to the orphanage but stopped at the Shedd's old house first to see what the new owners had done with it.
I really enjoyed being at the orphanage today. I was in the infant house. I spent most of the time with an infant named Michael. He's kind of a chubby baby and he's constantly moving. Most of the time I help in the infant house I just hold him the whole time. Today I got to take him outside and take a walk with him while he was in a carrier. It feels so good just to spend time with all those kids. I'm not sure how much of an impact it actually makes on the kids or how much it actually helps the tias, but there's nothing else I would rather be doing with my life right now.
After the orphanage, all 12 of us piled into a car that was definately not made for 12 people. Thank goodness the police here don't really care about stuff like that. We then headed to the mall and Rachel and Jason treated us to a great dinner at Crepes and Waffles. It's crazy how different the service at restaurants is here and in the states. I'm not saying this as someone who thinks they're better than waitresses, I was a waitress and worked in the food industry for about two and a half years. Here everything comes out at different times and the waitresses don't seem to care if anythings wrong, they just blame it on you.
Well that's all for my day. I get kind of bored with describing all the details of my day, so i'll probably post something later on a different topic.
The unfaithful bride
This was an idea that was brought to my attention by my sister Kyla. It's a simple idea but it's something that people seem to forget.
As we know, we are the children of God. So many times in our lives that's exactly what we act like. If you think about small children, they tend to make a lot of mistakes. Their parents always forgive them though, and a lot of the time, the children make those mistakes again. We as christians do the same thing. We sin, and ask God for forgiveness, knowing that he will openly give it to us. Sometimes we do extremely horrible things, but no matter what, God forgives us.
But the bible also tells us that we are the bride of Christ. We tend to forget that a lot. Think about it. How should a bride act? She should show love towards her husband, honor him, remain faithful, be completely honest with him, trust him, ect. How often to we actually act this way towards God? We constantly cheat on him, try to hide things from him, speak badly about him, put things before him, ect.
I think we would see a big change in today's "christians if we started acting more like the bride and less like a child.
As we know, we are the children of God. So many times in our lives that's exactly what we act like. If you think about small children, they tend to make a lot of mistakes. Their parents always forgive them though, and a lot of the time, the children make those mistakes again. We as christians do the same thing. We sin, and ask God for forgiveness, knowing that he will openly give it to us. Sometimes we do extremely horrible things, but no matter what, God forgives us.
But the bible also tells us that we are the bride of Christ. We tend to forget that a lot. Think about it. How should a bride act? She should show love towards her husband, honor him, remain faithful, be completely honest with him, trust him, ect. How often to we actually act this way towards God? We constantly cheat on him, try to hide things from him, speak badly about him, put things before him, ect.
I think we would see a big change in today's "christians if we started acting more like the bride and less like a child.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Jeremiah 1-3
Chaper 1
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.
* I read these verses right after I got to Ecuador and they just seemed to fit so perfectly. I had doubts for months on whether this was the right thing to do. I even had doubts as I was going through security. Our purpose here is to do God's will, no matter what it is, even if we don't believe we are right for the job or ready for it. We get so selfish sometimes and just want to do the bare minimum so we can still feel ok with calling ourselves christians. We need to put ourselves out there, and listen to God no matter what.
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.
17 But you, dress yourself for work; [1] arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”
* I read these verses right after I got to Ecuador and they just seemed to fit so perfectly. I had doubts for months on whether this was the right thing to do. I even had doubts as I was going through security. Our purpose here is to do God's will, no matter what it is, even if we don't believe we are right for the job or ready for it. We get so selfish sometimes and just want to do the bare minimum so we can still feel ok with calling ourselves christians. We need to put ourselves out there, and listen to God no matter what.
Otavalo
So today we went to Otavalo, a town about an hour and a half from Quito. There have a market there that is world famous. I decided that I was going to get everyones presents from there so I bought a ton of stuff today. It reminded me of the time I went down to Mexico because you can bargain with the people and get stuff for a lot cheaper, even though it's super cheap to begin with. I wish I lived in Ecuador so I could decorate my future house with stuff from there. They have everything you can imagine.
We shopped for a couple of hours and then had lunch at the pie shop. We all spilt huge sandwiches and had huge pieces of pie and we were all completely stuffed afterwards. It only cost a little over four dollars for each person to eat.
(This isn't a picture I took but I was too busy shopping to take any pictures today)
We then shopped a little bit more and then headed home.
Now, I'm sitting in my bed relaxing, because for some reason I'm exhausted. I've been looking at etsy a lot lately and I think I'm going to start buying handmade things. I'd rather help those people out than the big retail stores. Also, I think I should try to sell some paintings on etsy. That way more than just people in Colorado can see them. I really need to start painting when I get home and actually put some real effort into it. Also in etsy, I discovered that I have a new love for crocheted animals, as lame as that sounds.
We shopped for a couple of hours and then had lunch at the pie shop. We all spilt huge sandwiches and had huge pieces of pie and we were all completely stuffed afterwards. It only cost a little over four dollars for each person to eat.
We then shopped a little bit more and then headed home.
Now, I'm sitting in my bed relaxing, because for some reason I'm exhausted. I've been looking at etsy a lot lately and I think I'm going to start buying handmade things. I'd rather help those people out than the big retail stores. Also, I think I should try to sell some paintings on etsy. That way more than just people in Colorado can see them. I really need to start painting when I get home and actually put some real effort into it. Also in etsy, I discovered that I have a new love for crocheted animals, as lame as that sounds.
laundry
It's a little past 7am. I've been awake for a little over an hour. We're going somewhere that I'm not going to attampt to spell the name of. I'm sitting at the edge of my bed right now listening to Jose Gonzales. There's damp clothes covering my entire room right now, except for the floor of course. I took them out too early, and I was too lazy to take them back downstairs so I figured this would work.
I'm starting to realize how lazy I am lately. There's a bouquet of dying roses about two feet away from me. The smell is awful but I guess I've had better things to do than throw them away.
It's finally sunny in Quito. 6am is the perfect time to wake up here. The colors of the sky are beautiful and the reflect on the city so nicely.
I wish I had a good book to read. My mom bought me two books before I left. I read one of them, to pass time, but it was a very poorly written and very predictable story about murder, love, lies and perfect looking people. I wish all books and movies were just documentaries, biographys and autobiographys. That would be a lot more interesting. Maybe some people would stop living in a fantasy world then.
I do have my bible with me, the best book that I really should be reading more...
I'm starting to realize how lazy I am lately. There's a bouquet of dying roses about two feet away from me. The smell is awful but I guess I've had better things to do than throw them away.
It's finally sunny in Quito. 6am is the perfect time to wake up here. The colors of the sky are beautiful and the reflect on the city so nicely.
I wish I had a good book to read. My mom bought me two books before I left. I read one of them, to pass time, but it was a very poorly written and very predictable story about murder, love, lies and perfect looking people. I wish all books and movies were just documentaries, biographys and autobiographys. That would be a lot more interesting. Maybe some people would stop living in a fantasy world then.
I do have my bible with me, the best book that I really should be reading more...
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
January 11 cont.
I've actually been trying to wake up early lately and stay awake. My mom never uses an alarm clock and I never understood how she did that. She told me she prayed that God would wake her up on time. I've been trying that and it's actually worked.
I woke up at 7am. I actually slept all night, which was nice since i've been waking up every hour for about the last week. I spent the first few hours of the morning just straightening up my room, moving my bed next to the wall hoping that will help me sleep, and wasting time on facebook. The Shedd's have a maid, just like most families in Ecuador. She made a delicious lunch today. It was some kind of potato soup. It feels strange for me to have someone clean up a mess that isn't their's. I then showered and sat around for a few more hours waiting to go to the orphanage.
We left around 4:30 and stayed until 6:00. I got to work in the toddler house today and I really enjoyed it. All I did was push a boy around in a wheelchair the whole time, but it brought him joy, and the tia's have their hands full with all the kids so i'm happy doing anything that will make their life a little easier for that day. There was a family there today that's in the process of adopting a little boy. It's nice to see the process actually happening and knowing that that boy will soon have a family of his own.
Helping in the orphanage here in Quito and the one in Shell has really opened my heart even more to special needs children. Ever since my mom started working with special needs kids years ago, they've had a special place in my heart. It seems like those are the kids that people aren't really interested in adopting, they usually want the healthy kids that will be easier to handle. I understand completely though, it would be hard taking in a child with special needs. I do feel like maybe I could be one of the few that adopt a special needs child. I'm still very young though so who knows what God's plan for me, concerning that, would be.
After we left the orphanage we came home and waited for pizza to arrive. I spoke with Riley for a few minutes and then joined the family upstairs to eat pizza and watch inception, and that's where I am now.
I feel like I need to start making my blog more personal, more like a diary. I need somewhere to let everything out. I won't do that here but I'll try to get a little more personal.
Lonliness has crept in every once in a while since I've been here. I haven't been here very long though and I think that's why. I still need to get used to my surroundings I guess even though I feel very comfortable with the Shedd family.
Well, that's all I have to say for now
(:
I woke up at 7am. I actually slept all night, which was nice since i've been waking up every hour for about the last week. I spent the first few hours of the morning just straightening up my room, moving my bed next to the wall hoping that will help me sleep, and wasting time on facebook. The Shedd's have a maid, just like most families in Ecuador. She made a delicious lunch today. It was some kind of potato soup. It feels strange for me to have someone clean up a mess that isn't their's. I then showered and sat around for a few more hours waiting to go to the orphanage.
We left around 4:30 and stayed until 6:00. I got to work in the toddler house today and I really enjoyed it. All I did was push a boy around in a wheelchair the whole time, but it brought him joy, and the tia's have their hands full with all the kids so i'm happy doing anything that will make their life a little easier for that day. There was a family there today that's in the process of adopting a little boy. It's nice to see the process actually happening and knowing that that boy will soon have a family of his own.
Helping in the orphanage here in Quito and the one in Shell has really opened my heart even more to special needs children. Ever since my mom started working with special needs kids years ago, they've had a special place in my heart. It seems like those are the kids that people aren't really interested in adopting, they usually want the healthy kids that will be easier to handle. I understand completely though, it would be hard taking in a child with special needs. I do feel like maybe I could be one of the few that adopt a special needs child. I'm still very young though so who knows what God's plan for me, concerning that, would be.
After we left the orphanage we came home and waited for pizza to arrive. I spoke with Riley for a few minutes and then joined the family upstairs to eat pizza and watch inception, and that's where I am now.
I feel like I need to start making my blog more personal, more like a diary. I need somewhere to let everything out. I won't do that here but I'll try to get a little more personal.
Lonliness has crept in every once in a while since I've been here. I haven't been here very long though and I think that's why. I still need to get used to my surroundings I guess even though I feel very comfortable with the Shedd family.
Well, that's all I have to say for now
(:
January 11, 2011
This blog is going to be all about my time in Ecuador. If you care to read about my first two weeks here you can go to http://sarainecuador.tumblr.com/
We left on Friday morning and headed to Tonsupa. It was a very long five hour drive, but road trips in Ecuador are just so much better than any I've been on in the states. It's so beautiful here. I even find the run down shacks with laundry drying in the front yard beautiful.
We stayed in an apartment that the Shedd's used to own right on the beach. It was so nice to go to the beach again. The mountains of Colorado are nice but I will always be a beach girl. We spent the first night just hanging out at the beach, hanging out in the pools and hot tubs, and just relaxing.
I'm just going ot summarize the trip because I don't think anyone really wants to read all the details of the trip. I had my first real Ecuadorian food and it was amazing, I tried shrimp that wasn't breaded for the first time in my life, I bought some cool stuff right on the beach, us girls got hit on by creepy guys from Columbia in the hot tub, we ate delicious ice cream, i collected some sweet shells, had relaxing walks on the beach, and over all just had a great time.
We were in two seperate cars and on the way home one of the cars got two flat tires. It was dark out and nothing really seemed to be going right. We sat in the dark in the middle of no where next to a little tienda for about two hours. We finally got one of the tires fixed by a mechanic we found and headed back to Quito. Our five hour drive turned into an eight hour drive but I still enjoyed it. There hasn't been one thing in Ecuador that I haven't enjoyed (:
Well I need to get off the computer and actually do something with my day!
Bye!
We left on Friday morning and headed to Tonsupa. It was a very long five hour drive, but road trips in Ecuador are just so much better than any I've been on in the states. It's so beautiful here. I even find the run down shacks with laundry drying in the front yard beautiful.
We stayed in an apartment that the Shedd's used to own right on the beach. It was so nice to go to the beach again. The mountains of Colorado are nice but I will always be a beach girl. We spent the first night just hanging out at the beach, hanging out in the pools and hot tubs, and just relaxing.
I'm just going ot summarize the trip because I don't think anyone really wants to read all the details of the trip. I had my first real Ecuadorian food and it was amazing, I tried shrimp that wasn't breaded for the first time in my life, I bought some cool stuff right on the beach, us girls got hit on by creepy guys from Columbia in the hot tub, we ate delicious ice cream, i collected some sweet shells, had relaxing walks on the beach, and over all just had a great time.
We were in two seperate cars and on the way home one of the cars got two flat tires. It was dark out and nothing really seemed to be going right. We sat in the dark in the middle of no where next to a little tienda for about two hours. We finally got one of the tires fixed by a mechanic we found and headed back to Quito. Our five hour drive turned into an eight hour drive but I still enjoyed it. There hasn't been one thing in Ecuador that I haven't enjoyed (:
Well I need to get off the computer and actually do something with my day!
Bye!
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