How long have we known each other?

I find it amazing to have friends that I have known for years, that really don't know me and other friends who i have only known for a few weeks or a few years know everything about me basically. To have those friends that you feel like you have known forever and be able to run to with any problem you are having is amazing. I don't know what I would do without my best friends who know me so well and actually care about me and want me to be happy. The few that I can call at 4 A.M. balling my eyes out and I know they will be there to listen and not get mad or something. What would we do without these people in our lives? For me I know for a FACT that I would not be alive. These few friends that I have, have been there and saved my life more then they could ever know. I am so thankful for these blessed people in my life and all I can hope is that I can touch their lives as much as they do mine. When you can talk on the phone for hours and it feels like it's only been a few minutes is awesome. When you can sit in silence for 10 minutes and be OK with that just knowing that the other person is there. Today i am giving thanks for the few AMAZING friends I have that i have just told you about. It's such a great feeling to know that at least one person will always be there for me no matter when or whats going on. I know he will drop whatever he is doing to be there for me and I don't know what I would do without him, even though I have only known him for a few weeks, he knows more about me then anyone else. he understands, cares, and loves me for me, and that's all I could ever ask for. So thank you for being my friend!!!

You Find Out Who Your Friends Are by. Tracy Lawrence

You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are

Everybody wants to slap your back
wants to shake your hand
when you're up on top of that mountain
But let one of those rocks give way then you slide back down look up
and see who's around then

This ain't where the road comes to an end
This ain't where the bandwagon stops
This is just one of those times when
A lot of folks jump off

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A Class on DEATH...

A Class on DEATH…

Taking this class, Death, Grief, and Caring, for J-Term I thought would really get to me, and WOW was I right. This class has made me remember all the people I have lost, but not only that, but how much I want to change myself and become a better person. I realize how we take for granite our tomorrows, and just assume the morning will come. I want to live more day by day and not take for people and time for granite. I want to learn to tell people how I feel and not leave things for tomorrow. I want to live with no regrets, and live like I am dieing, like today could always be my last day.
Another thing that this class has really made me think about is how I treat and/or judge other people. I realize that I judge other people when I have no clue what is going on in their lives. Thinking about this has made me want to change that too, because that person could be hurting and I’m just sitting around judging them. I always see people sitting alone, and I never go up and just say hi, or smile at them. How do I know that, that person isn’t contemplating suicide, and maybe I save their life by saying hi? I completely believe this can happen because I experienced it my freshmen year of college.
Strangers can make the difference sometimes and save lives. If it wasn’t for a stranger one winter night my freshmen year I would not be here typing this now. God sends all kinds of people in to our lives for reasons we may not know. All I know is that I want to be one of those people; I want to open my heart and start being more like God wants me to be. I want to care more and stop taking this life for granite. I want to live like I am dieing and not look back. I want to live each day to the fullest and leave nothing unsaid.

Tim McGraw- Live Like You Were Dieing

He said I was in my early forties
with a lot of life before me
when a moment came that stopped me on a dime
and I spent most of the next days
looking at the x-rays
Talking bout the options
and talking bout sweet time
I asked him when it sank in
that this might really be the real end
how’s it hit you when you get that kinda news
man what’d you do

and he said
I went sky diving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named fumanchu
and I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
and I gave forgiveness I’d been denying
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying.

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"Don't Blink"

Well Happy New Year to everyone! I can not believe it is 2009 already and that means so many things. 1. I graduate from college next year already. Holy crap it seems like I was just a senior in high school. 2. I’m almost 21 3. My little brother is almost 16 and driving (eek). 4. Well I guess I could just keep going…but I wont. Anyway it’s another year gone and another one ahead of us. Where does time go.

Thinking back on this past year like I am sure many people do when it gets near New Years, I was trying to remember what all has happened this year. It took me awhile because some things feel like they were forever ago, and others just yesterday. As I am getting older and I guess you could say growing up, I am finally starting to see what my parents always said about “wishing your life away” and “it goes faster then you think”. In a few years I will be out on my own maybe even starting a family, wow that is pretty crazy to think about sometimes. To think that I am getting older and then seeing children in my family like siblings and cousins growing up and remembering when they were not even born are now 10 years old or older just makes you go WOW.

I’m finally seeing things from my parents view about watching me grow up and seeing how fast time does go while you are living. I know we can’t live in the past and we also can’t change anything because it’s done and over with, but instead we need to look to the future and focus on what’s to come so we can make it what we want it to be. We have out memories from the past year and although some may be very bad memories im sure we have some great ones that make us smile too. So this is to make 2009 just as good if not better than 2008, and to make more memories that will last a lifetime. Remember “don’t wish your life away”!

Instead of a quote I decided on lyrics again because they are too perfect! This song is called

“Don’t Blink” by. Kenney Chesney (This is just some of the lyrics)

“I was glued to my tv when it looked like he looked at me and said
"Best start putting first things first."
Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand
You can't flip it over and start again
Take every breathe God gives you for what it's worth

Don't Blink
Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink”

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Is Our Vote Important?

I know this is really late but I finally got the exact numbers from the survey and I wanted to share them with you all because I though they were incredible. At NYU questions were asked to see how much these college students thought about their vote! Then my history professors asked us the same questions here at Messiah College. Here are the results and questions. (The number asked at NYU was much greater then at Messiah)

This is NYU’s results:
•20% would give up their right to vote in the 2008 presidential election for a new ipod.
•66% would give up their right to vote in the 2008 presidential election for a full ride to NYU.
•50% would give up their right to vote forever for $1 million dollars.
•70.5% believe that one vote CAN make a difference.

This is Messiah college results:
•25% would give up their right to vote in the 2008 presidential election for a new ipod.
•88% would give up their right to vote in the 2008 presidential election for a full ride to Messiah College.
•53% would give up their right to vote forever for $1 million dollars
•71% believe that one vote CAN make a difference.

Wow I mean look at these numbers! I did vote in this survey along with the rest of my class, and I voted that I would give up my vote for a full ride to Messiah College because I don’t have the money for college, I’m in so much debt it’s sad. But although I would give up my vote I do think one vote matters, sometimes more then others but definitely does!

I just wanted to throw this out there quickly before I forgot! I hope you all enjoy and let me know your thoughts on this I would love to hear them!

“Anything important is never left to the vote of the people. We only get to vote on some man; we never get to vote on what he is to do.”

<3 Sara

Family, Turkey, and Apple Crisp

Well of course today is Thanksgiving, and that means, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, ham, and whatever else people make in their families. For us that is pumpkin pie, brownies, and my mom’s famous apple crisp. (It’s the best ever and no one can change that!J) Today is a day to give thanks, spend time with family and eat! (lol) More importantly though it is about family and giving thanks for what we do have and not envying what we don’t. I am so very thankful for the family and friends that I do have during the holidays and all year long. Yes there are plenty of loved ones that I have lost and that are not here in human form, but I know that they are here with me each and everyday in my heart and all around. Yes I do miss them all but who wouldn’t? Although I miss them, I try so hard to remember that I need to not take for granted who is still here. We have our traditions of certain food or certain things we do for each holiday, but that is special for us, because then it’s “just a family thing.” I am so glad that my family has traditions that we get together with extended family and have dinner together. Then afterwards who knows, maybe some playing hide and go seek, movies, talking, or on occasions karaoke (ha-ha that’s a fun one)! No matter what we do it’s the fact that we get together and spend time with each other! The time we have with each other is more precious then we know and we have to be thankful for it each and everyday!

“It isn’t what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart.”

“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.”

“Be careful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”

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A Tree of Hearts

Going to class today I saw a tree on campus with leaves that looked like hearts. A whole tree full of leaf looking hearts! I thought it was so awesome looking at a whole tree full of hearts. Then as I kept walking it made me smile and I looked at the ground and there lying was one of the leaves. This one looked like the others and was mostly yellow, but as I looked at it, it was not exactly the same as the other ones were. This one leaf lying alone, among no others was turning brown, had been stepped on and mutilated by shoes. I thought for a second and was like that leaf on the ground is me! Alone, amongst none of the others, and getting hurt because it was away from the rest. I began to think even more. The tree was like my family, my friends, and all the people I know and care about me, but I wasn’t with them. I had left to try to find “me” without other people trying. I wanted to go on my own without the help of others and find my own way. This leaf was wearing down, broken, torn, and becoming more fragile as a stared at it. I felt the pain of that leaf because I felt my pain. Looking at that leaf made me realize that I can’t do it all on my own and that every one needs help sometimes, even it is just trying to “find themselves again.” Then I began thinking even more about this leaf and the tree of them. We all fall sometimes, and when the leaves turn their brilliant colors and God paints his creation with this beauty, they don’t last forever. We have our moments just like the leaves do, but at the end of the season they all fall. We all end up like the lonely leaf in the end, but it’s because we all have our moments. We are all beautiful creations from God and we all fail sometimes, and feel down and lonely but it’s those moments when the people we love and who love us in return fall with us. Those are the true hearts that we see all around us everyday!

Instead of a regular quote I decided on a bible verse and some lyrics to one of my favorite songs

“1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8-

EMERSON DRIVE: MOMENTS
I was coming to the end of a long long walk When a man crawled out of a cardboard box Under the E. Street Bridge Followed me on to it I went out halfway across With that homeless shadow tagging along So I dug for some change Wouldn't need it anyway He took it lookin' just a bit ashamed He said, You know, I haven't always been this way I've had my moments, days in the sun Moments I was second to none Moments when I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do Like that plane ride coming home from the war That summer my son was born And memories like a coat so warm A cold wind can't get through Lookin' at me now you might not know it But I've had my moments I stood there tryin' to find my nerve Wondering if a single soul on Earth Would care at all Miss me when I'm gone That old man just kept hanging around Lookin' at me, lookin' down I think he recognized That look in my eyes Standing with him there I felt ashamed I said, You know, I haven't always felt this way I've had my moments, days in the sun Moments I was second to none Moments when I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do Like the day I walked away from the wine For a woman who became my wife And a love that, when it was right, Could always see me through Lookin' at me now you might not know it But I've had my moments I know somewhere 'round a trashcan fire tonight That old man tells his story one more time He says I've had my moments, days in the sun Moments I was second to none Moments when I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do Like that cool night on the E. Street Bridge When a young man almost ended it I was right there, wasn't scared a bit And I helped to pull him through Lookin' at me now you might not know it Oh, lookin' at me now you might not know it But I've had my moments

When it rains it really does pour

Why is it way too true that “when it rains it pours”? This past week was going so well until it got be Wednesday, and then the stress started piling on. I had a paper due on Thursday, an advising meeting, a football banquet, and two exams today that I had not had any time to study for until last night. So I had my paper in by when it was due and then had to go to my advising meeting. I get to my meeting and I thought I had had everything all written down and figured out for the next 3 semesters, and my advisor tells me I probably can’t graduate on time. I’m like what? You have to be kidding me?! I was fighting off tears. So I finally get done there and leave, go back to my room and get ready to go home when a friend txt me and asked if I had a book finished and if I was going to our group meeting. I said no I can’t make it, and then of course I was already so stressed I ended up saying things I completely regretted. So then we basically got into a fight. :-\ Then I get home and my mom and I walk in the front door and my cat is taking her last breathes lying in the middle of the living room floor. At this point I have dinner to make for a football banquet, 2 exams to study for, and my cat is taking her last breaths. So my cat dieing was just the icing to the cake. I finally just lost it and broke.

Why do we get so overwhelmed in society today that we just hold it back till it cracks and then explodes? Getting to this point made me feel like crap because I couldn’t pull myself together. The thing I kept trying to tell myself was that it’s not all worth getting stressed over. Yes it was a crappy and very overwhelming day, but I guess If we didn’t have days like this then we wouldn’t appreciate or know how lucky we were on the days that are relaxing and calm. It’s just tough because when you are going through it, it feels like things can’t get any worse. Unfortunately that is usually wrong!

“Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet”

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