God is good

That statement is beyond true. I can't say it enough.
Here's an update.
In May I got a lay off notice. I was told that my last day of work was going to be June 30th. I was really upset, but only because things weren't going according to my PLAN. See, I have this issue where I always have to be in control of things in my life and I always have to have a plan and if I don't then I just get stressed out and have a really hard time functioning.
My "plan" was to work until September, save up money, then move to Sacramento to start Paul Mitchell academy.
So, when the lay off notice showed up I just freaked out and felt like all these open doors that I had seen hadn't REALLY been open doors and I felt like God was just taking all these dreams away from me. (A little dramatic, I know... but that's me.)
After I (with the help of some super encouraging friends) talked myself down from this, I realized some things.
1. I'm GOING to be a cosmetologist. God told me. And once He speaks things, they HAVE to be. There is no "maybe" or "that's not going to work out now."
2. His timing is NOT my timing. By any means. I am going to achieve these dreams, just maybe not the way I wanted to.
3. I HAVE to stop trying to control things. I thought I had already learned this lesson but, God thought otherwise.

I started applying for jobs and got an interview for the Penney's hair salon's front desk! The interview went well! I'm supposed to know on Tuesday whether or not I got it. I'll keep you updated!
I also found out that the lay off notices were "re-sended" which means that I have a job with SCOE till September 30th.
God is faithful. And incredible. I just have to ALWAYS remember that.

Another update... I started a new life group! I'm in the Gaffner's for this semester. They are amazing! I LOVE them so much! There are quite a few people in our group but we split up into men and women for the discussion part of the evening. It's been so fun meeting people from the 10 AM service as well! I love fellowship. :)

Corrections, Corrections

Alrighty... so about the post from last night.

I didn't mean that I didn't have friends.
Or people that I can count on. At all.
Because I do.

I have:
Tina
Ariel
Amanda
Megan
Chelsey
Andrea
Stephanie
Jamie
Jessica
Breanna
Sarah

And I absolutely LOVE all of those girls.
A LOT. A lot a lot.

I just meant that out of some of those girls
who even reside in the same town...
I feel a change coming.

Which is fine.
Change is good. It strengthens relationships.
But it's just really hard to deal with at first.

I had a really long talk with Ariel last night.
It was good.
We were actually able to talk about stuff that we
normally just get in big fights about.
I definitely think God had a part in that.

I also talked to Amanda today.
And her words of encouragement that things would change
when she moved in with Holly but they could be good changes
were so great to hear.

And also, I did not mean to tag Chelsey in the last
post.
I accidently did it and since I am new to all these
"Gadgets" on blogger I didn't know how to "un-tag" her.
So, Chelsey, I am sorry. I love you dearly. :)

That's all for now.

I'm in a complaining mood....

so I apologize to all of my readers. Yes, I know that these are all somewhat lame things to be complaining about and I could have it SO much worse... but I just feel like venting.

Tina and I made a cake for Jamie's bday. But Tina fell asleep while it was baking. (Sorry Tina if you read this...) And that really frustrated me. Just because she was so excited to make it earlier that day and then totally passed out. Like always.

So I take it to Ariel's to finish decorating it. Jordan and her help me. Put candles on. They look kinda lame because I was rushing. Then we go to deliver it. Get there a few minutes before midnight. Try to light them... lighter doesn't work.

Drive to AM PM. Buy a lighter for friggin 2 bucks. (He didn't check for ID.... weird) Go BACK to Jamie's house. Now 12:10. Kinda lame... cuz it's not right at 12. Light ALL the candles... Ariel burns herself. Jordan blows out some of the candles. Call Jamie. Once. Twice. Three times. She doesn't answer. Stand there for awhile... realize we probably look suspicious.. then drive ALL the way back to Ariel's house then ALL the way home.

Then today, my car started revving when it's in PARK. Ariel said this is a sign that my timing belt is going out. Oh joy. This is what I've been saving up for. It's gonna cost a butt load of money. UGHHHHHH

So, I get home and ask my dad to go ask our neighbor/mechanic about it tomorrow and he yells at me saying "I can go ask him about it just as easily"

Yes, Dad. I can. But when I explain things about my car I sound like an effing retard because I don't know the name for anything and end up trying to imitate the noises and having people look at me like I'm crazy. UGH. Just a really frustrating day.

Oh and the man from Shasta School of Cosmetology DIDN'T call back today.

I'm just really not liking today. So now I'm going to bed. And my phone is going to be on silent and I am not setting an alarm.

JesusCulture 2010

How do I even begin this?.....
So, I attended JesusCulture last year. Lou Engle, Danny Silk, and Banning spoke. Overall, it was just an "okay" experience. I fell in love with all of the JesusCulture worship singers but the messages I felt, were just "eh." But now that I look back on it, I think the reason I didn't get too much out of it is because of where I was when I went. My intense Jesus walk was just starting and I was having a dry spell. I knew I wanted to follow God but I didn't know what my next step needed to be and I just didn't really get connected or into any of the messages that were given. So I was really excited for this year! I am in SUCH a different place. I've grown and matured in my faith by leaps and bounds and I was STOKED to see what this conference was going to bring.

The first night JesusCulture band did worship and it was incredible. Words cannot describe how amazing Kim Walker-Smith is. She just grabs on to these prophetic statements and really grasps what God is doing in the moment and just sits and soaks in it. She kept doing spontaneous songs about faith and how faith needed to increase and yeah. Great!

Then Sergio Scataglini spoke. I had never heard of him before, but he was great. He had us yell "Gloria A Dios" REALLY loud and just give God all the glory before he even started speaking. He spoke about living in 100% holiness. About how it is not this unattainable goal that many think it is. He gave us 10 biblical guidelines to begin living in 100% holiness. He gave a really good analogy saying that "if there was a water bottle that said 98% mineral water and 2% sewage water, would you drink it?" Of course you wouldn't. The point was, that God calls us to 100% holiness and that there is no such thing as 98% holiness. At the end he did an alter call for people to repent to God all of their sins. Everything from addictions to drugs, porn, envy, anger and resentment. It was crazy how many people went up. Him and his wife then started receiving words of knowledge for different issues such as thoughts of suicide and they began casting those thoughts away and yeah... it was just amazing.
On Saturday morning JesusCulture band did worship again and it was great. Kim did an awesome job. Then Kris Vallotton spoke. He spoke about purity. I had heard the message before but it was good to hear again. And of course his humor had us all on the floor laughing. At the end he prayed for restoration for people who had made mistakes in the past. Good good.

That afternoon Kristene Mueller did worship and Sergio spoke again. Worship was good. Sergio spoke about how sometimes, in order to continue your walk with God you must take a step down. It was all about humbling yourself. And if God has promised you something, He WILL deliver. It's not up to us to take the right steps. God will guide us. If God is telling you to do something, do it! Even if it seems like it's a step "down." He also talked about having to walk away from your dreams. Just giving your dreams up to God and trusting that He will deliver. This was the most impacting message for me. The entire time he was speaking God kept laying all these other messages or words that people have given me that were about the same thing. This is obviously a concept He really wants me to get. Hahaha. It was great.

Then that night....... Jake Hamilton lead worship. He was BY FAR my favorite. The way crowds respond to his songs is INCREDIBLE. His prophetic songs hit home and ah! Words can't explain it. Go get his cd. Go watch JesusCulture from Saturday night. ibethel.tv. Go now. It was great. We sang Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" over and over. Then Banning came out and had prophetic words about music infiltrating our generations souls. Ughhh! So amazing.

Banning's message was great. About becoming revivalists. And how it has to be a committment you make with God in your secret place. Just great.

I know I've used the words great amazing and incredible like... a billion times in this blog but those are the only words I can come up with to describe it.
If you weren't able to go, go watch it online. It's worth it.

Mmmmm.... David Gray

As I was sitting here listening to David Gray's CD (Draw the Line) I decided I should write a blog seeing as I haven't written in awhile.
Well, Christmas has come and gone. Which is weird. Because it didn't even feel like Thanksgiving had happened and then here came Christmas! But a lot of things have been going on so lets just start updating...
Life group ended. :( It was very sad. The last night, however, was a lot of fun. We played telephone pictionary which always provides laughter for the entire night. I'm really gonna miss those girls, but I'm excited for a new group with new people and new topics.
I went to pick up Chelsey from the airport. It was really good. I had never driven that long by myself before and I was really looking forward to it just to spend some time with God and I did! I listened to worship music the whole way down there and just prayed and talked to Him and it was really good. The ride back was good too. Just being able to talk with her was really good. It's hard to keep in super good touch when we are both crazy busy and she lives 12 hours away so it was a really good time to catch up.
Spent time with Chels, Steph, Tina, and Jamie. It was really good. I love them all. We had some good times complete with laughter... laughter... and laughter.
Had all my finals... went well except for my Art one. However, I got a C in the class so I'm all good! I've gotten all my grades except for my world religions one and they've all been good!
I've been having to work a longer shift at work because the kids are out of school. It's been good because I know it's extra money, but it's hard to be with the kids that long. They get so restless and they don't want to be there so it makes it difficult for ME to want to be there. But on the plus side I got to work in the toddler room for a couple days which was fun.
Christmas was good. I got a lot more stuff than I thought I was going to. My fav gifts were my PINK headphones and my David Gray cd! Oh and SEASON 1 OF WEEDS!!! I can't wait to rewatch that and then start gathering all of the seasons!
Oh! Story!
Stirring has been doing this "Consumed" series which is all about how consumerism wars for our hearts and how we can't be consumed with God AND money. Well I felt that it was all stuff that I had heard before till Sarah started talking about loans and financial aid at LG. She was asking if loans were technically debt and how she should go about approaching that subject. Well, Emily told her that as long as the money was being used for school then it was being used for what it was meant! Well, this hit me. Pretty hard. I had used ALL the last few semesters financial aid to pay off my old car and to get other things. Like, my iPod and all that jazz. Well, I was feeling really convicted when I realized that I can't do anything about that now. However, I was going to use this next semesters money to pay for part of Cosmetology school and to pay off other things. So I started praying about it and I realized that this didn't sit well with me. I wanted to do these things on my own with the money that God has provided me with and I want to TRUST him to provide everything. So I took a HUGE leap of faith and I dropped all my classes for next semester. I prayed before I did it and felt that it was the right thing to do.
Oh! Speaking of Cosmetology school... I went and did an orientation/meeting thing and I loved it. If I was excited before I went.... I don't even know what I am now!
Just seeing all the girls (and one boy) there and doing the stuff and having it all be hands on got me SO excited! I can't wait! Yay yay yay!
Hope everyone else had a great Holiday season! See ya in the new year!

An Amazing Weekend

As Friday morning arrived I was stoked but still stressed. I had a ton of things to do before we could leave for the Bay Area to see Regina Spektor in concert for my sister Chelsea's birthday. Here is how it went down.
1) Took my test for Rock and Jazz. Pretty sure I aced it. Super stoked.
2) Headed to Tina's to pick her up.
3) Ended up sitting at Tina's forever because she took 2 years to pack.
4) Picked up check
5) Ran by the bank and deposited and then withdrew cash for the trip
6) Picked up Chels at school
7) Picked up Alex (Chelsea's friend who was going with us) from Circle K
8) Ran to K-Mart for last minute purchases
9) Got some Taco Bell
10) Drove ALL the way to Bella Vista to get the camera from my mom

THEN we were able to go! We were an hour and a half behind schedule but I decided that it was okay.
Tina drove the first part so I could eat my delicious Taco Bell. Before we were even out of Redding I spilled on myself making me look like a hobo.
Tina drove to Maxwell where we all had to go pee. We went into this "market" and asked the worker where the bathroom was and he proceeded to say something along the lines of "hmm hmmdhj hmmm hdksa back there"
So we wandered into the back of the grocery store and started opening doors. Well one was a kitchen so we kept going. We finally found them but it was in the VERY back of the grocery store. Making us walk through all the ware house-y stuff. Awkward.
After that, I drove the rest of the way. We got into Berkeley around 4:00 or 4:30 only hitting traffic RIGHT before our exit.
Hotel was nice. Flat screen TV, balcony, amazing pillows, and a cute coffee maker.
We got ready and headed into Oakland around 6:30. Parked in a parking garage that was pretty close to the theater.
Regina's opener was "Jupiter One." They were amazing.
Regina was mind blowing. She was probably the best person I have seen live other than Sigur Ros.
Got back to the hotel around 12. Needed food. Berta (our GPS) was dead. Tina and I drove around Berkeley to find food. None in sight. Drove into Oakland. Found a Jack in the Box. The line took 20 minutes but we got some food.
Back to the hotel. Ate. Slept.
Saturday morning. Got ready... late... as usual. Found BART station. Got on BART... the wrong one... got on the right one. Got into San Fran at the embarcadero aka Pier 1. Walked to Pier 39. Ate at Bubba Gumps. Spent time there.
Walked back to embarcadero. Chels had to go pee so Alex went with her and Tina and I waited outside. They saw Regina Spektor and got to take pictures with her and tell her how amazing she was. My sister was beyond stoked. She was shaking and laughing and crying at the same time. It was cute. I was SOOOOOO happy for her.
Got back to Berkeley with sore feet and tired bodies. Got gas then headed home. Berta took us the most awkward way however she got us home. So happy.

Then it was time for Halloween. Got re-ready. Jamie met me at the house. We went to Amanda's to get my costume. Had to go through the window because the door was locked. Jamie was like spider woman crawling through the window. Pretty sweet. Got my costume. Waited for Amanda to get home and for Tina to get there. Amanda was a nerd. I was her calculator. Jamie was "#1 Dad." And Tina was a tourist. Went to the Civic Center. Kinda lame at first then the music started. We danced for awhile. Took a few breaks outside because it was ridiculously hot in there. Saw Emily and Elisa. They were Minnie Mouse and a Powerpuff girl. SO cute. Had a lot of fun. Tina had to leave. Andrea came. We then went to Denny's. Had a lot of fun. Then came home. And slept.

It was a great weekend. Just time to get away. That's always nice.
Church tonight. I didn't go to Bethel this morning. I woke up at 9. And at 9:30. I think it was God telling me to go but I was exhausted. I'll just listen to the podcast. Stirring tonight. Super stoked for that. And possible phone chat with Chelsey. That makes me really excited.