If Thou Hadst Known!

I was doing my devotions a few moments ago (I prefer to do them at night when everything is quiet) and the one for today from "My Utmost for His Highest" really touched a nerve. So I thought I'd post it on here:

"If thou hadst known . . . in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." Luke 19:42
Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and the city was stirred to its very foundations, but a strange god was there-the pride of the Pharisees. It was a god that seemed religious and upright, but Jesus compared it to "whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness" ( Matthew 23:27 ).

What is it that blinds you to the peace of God "in this your day"? Do you have a strange god-not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls your life? More than once God has brought me face to face with a strange god in my life, and I knew that I should have given it up, but I didn’t do it. I got through the crisis "by the skin of my teeth," only to find myself still under the control of that strange god. I am blind to the very things that make for my own peace. It is a shocking thing that we can be in the exact place where the Spirit of God should be having His completely unhindered way with us, and yet we only make matters worse, increasing our blame in God’s eyes.

"If you had known . . . ." God’s words here cut directly to the heart, with the tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults. God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because of our sin. And "now they are hidden from your eyes" because you have never completely yielded your nature to Him. Oh, the deep, unending sadness for what might have been! God never again opens the doors that have been closed. He opens other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut-doors which had no need to be shut. Never be afraid when God brings back your past. Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.

Why cats are far superior to dogs

Until recently, I thought that dogs were the best thing ever. I have one, all my cousins have dogs, a lot of my friends have them, and I thought you couldn't go wrong. In fact, I thought they were easier than cats. How wrong I was. My neighbors cat has adopted our house, and I absolutely adore that cat. She's so sweet and cuddly, and isn't so interested in chasing after all the squirrels in the yard. My dog hates her, but he'll live. What happened this morning helped me realize how much I truly loathe dogs.

I woke up at 6:50 to go feed my neighbors two dogs. One of them is a Miniature Schnauzer, named Minnie (who would have guessed?). The other, Murphy, is a huge mutt who has some lab and I think some greyhound in him. My plan was to run over there, feed them, come back, and go back to sleep since I didn't get to bed until 2 last night. How easily plans change. I got them fed alright. The problem occurred when I went to take Minnie from the garage to the fence. The split second I had the fence open enough to let her IN, a certain gigantic mutt shoved his way OUT. Thus began the frantic chase to catch him and get him back in.

Murphy has only escaped three times in the entire four years I've lived here. Once my other neighbor helped catch him, and the other time my ex-neighbor broke her collarbone trying to catch him. Both of those instances were running through my mind as I frenetically tried to follow him, psychotically screaming the whole time. I honestly don't know if I've ever run that fast before. You see, the dog decided he wanted to go down past Austin's house, which is probably a half mile away. After he did that, he ran into a neighbor's back yard and onto a deck, where I caught him. Nothing like going up on some strangers deck at 7 in the morning.

Did I mention Murphy is also really strong? Yeah. Catching him lasted about 30 seconds, until he got out of his collar. So now I had a collarless dog running around. About that time, he started heading home, but got a little confused. So he ran maybe another half mile down the wrong street. He finally turned around, headed back down that half mile, and started going home. About 4 houses before my culdesac, my wonderful neighbor, Tommy, was there. Tommy's the neighbor who helped catch Murphy before. Tommy helped me run him back into the culdesac, where another neighbor, Ms. Cindy, got him back into the fence.

Like I said, cat's are so much simpler than dogs. You don't have to run after them for 2 miles wondering if you're ever going to catch them and freaking out about what will happen if they get hit before you do. I still love my dog, but as a whole, cat's are far superior to dogs.

If you remember this...

You're a 90's kid if:

You can sing the rap to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air"

You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey from "Blossom" and that "How Rude!" comes from Stephanie from "Full House"

You remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.


I'm with stupid t-shirts were cool

You remember reading "Goosebumps"

You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off"

You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.

You made paper scrunchies to see who you'd end up marrying

You danced to "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, Females: had a new motto, Males: got a whole lot gay-er. (so tell me what you want, what you really really want.)

You remember the craze, then the banning of slap bracelets and slam books.

You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...

Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? was both a game and a TV game show.

Captain Planet.

You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green Ranger were meant to be together.

You remember when super nintendos became popular.

You remember watching home alone 1, 2 , and 3........and tried to pull the pranks on "intruders"

"I've fallen and I can't get up"

You remember boom boxes vs. cd players

You remember New Kids on The Block when they were cool

You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell"

You played and/or collected "Pogs"

You had at least one Tamagotchi, GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere

You watched the original Care Bears, My Little Pony, and Ninja Turtles

NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS WERE THE BEST MYSTERY BOOKS

Yikes pencils and erasers were the stuff!

All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand.(pencils.notebooks.binders.etc.)

You remember when the new Beanie Babies were always sold out.

You used to wear those stick on earrings, not only on your ears, but at the corners of your eyes.

You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"

You know the Macarena by heart.

"Talk to the hand" ... enough said

You thought Brain would finally take over the world

You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"

You remember when everyone went slinky crazy.

You remember when razor scooters were cool.



When we were younger:

Before the MySpace frenzy...

Before the Internet & text messaging...

Before Sidekicks & iPods...

Before PlayStation2 or X-BOX...

...Back when you put off the 5 hours of homework you had every night.

When light up sneakers were cool.

When you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs.

When gas was $0.95 a gallon & Caller ID was a new thing.

When we recorded stuff on VCRs & paid $3.50 for a movie.

When we called the radio station to request songs to hear off our walkmans.

When the Chicago Bulls were the best team ever.

Tag.

Get Over Here!!!! means something to you.

Hide-n-Go Seek at dusk.

Red Light, Green Light.

Heads Up 7 Up.

Playing Kickball & Dodgeball until your porch light came on.

Hopskotch.

Tree Houses.

Hula Hoops.

HELLO....HOT WHEELS!!!!!

Running through the sprinklers.

That "Little Mermaid"

Crying when Mufasa died in the Lion King.

Happy Meals where you chose a Barbie or a Hot Wheels car.

Getting the privilege to sit in the front seat of the car.

Drinking Squeeze It "Squeeze The Fun Out Of It"

Or what about:

Hey Arnold.

Rugrats.

The Secret World of Alex Mac.

Rocco's Modern Life.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Doug.

Magic School Bus.

Aladdin.

Pinky and the Brain

Sailor Moon.

Blossom.

Beavis & Butt-Head

Wishbone.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

MR RODGERS!!!!

Where everyone wanted to be in love after watching The Wonder Years.

Under the Umbrella Tree

PEE-WEE!!!

The Big Comfy Couch

Kool-Aid was the drink of choice.

Class field trips.

When Christmas was the most exciting time of year.

When $5 seemed like a million, & another dollar a miracle.

When you begged to go to McDonalds for dinner everyday.

When Toys R Us overuled the mall.



Go back to the time when:

Decisions were made by going 'eeny-meeny-miney-moe'.

Money issues were handled by whoever was banker in 'Monopoly.'

Being old referred to anyone over 20.

A chance to skate as a couple at the local roller rink was like winning the lottery.

When Ninja Turtles ruled the world.


When Aladdin was new, before the trilogy was complete.

Before we realized all this would eventually disappear

Who would have thought you'd miss the 90's so much!!!!!

I hope you had the time of your life

Once again, I'm opening this entry with a song that I've been playing and over-playing the last week or so. No, I'm not a green day fan, but this song describes my life...and probably most seniors lives right now.

I heard back from Meredith this past week. I did not get accepted into the honors program...I'm actually relieved. I didn't want to have to make that decision of whether to accept or turn them down. I can re-apply in the spring if I want to, but I haven't made that decision yet or not.

I've been stressed to the hilt lately. I didn't quite know how bad it was until this past week, when I realized that I have been uptight ever since the school year started. I keep saying to myself "only 61 more days. Only 8 and a half more weeks." But then I realized that I've let stress define my life, and instead of giving my stress and anxiety to God, I've taken it all upon myself.

It's hard to believe that senior year is almost over. High school has been incredibly tough, but at the same time it's been an amazing thing. There are so many memories that stretch over the last four years. Conversations and jokes in the lobby, late night IM conversations, parties, CWIS in the summer, theatre shows, and yes, even the drama throughout everything was a blessing in disguise. I've met the most amazing people, and many of them have become my dearest and closest friends. I'm so excited to be going into this next phase of life together.

And so, once again, I'll leave you with the lyrics to "Time of Your Life" by Green Day:

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.

It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind.

Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time.

Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial.

For what it's worth,
it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

(music break)

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

Superman

This song is pretty much describing my life right now. For months and even years, I've acted like I've had it all together. I applied to one school (Meredith), and got accepted. I told everyone what I wanted to major in (English or Political Science). I said I was going to be either a teacher, lawyer, or FBI agent. But I just came to the realization recently that I don't have it all together. I don't have a clue what I want to major in or do. I don't know what my future holds.

To be honest, that scares me. I've always hated change with every fiber of my being. When I was little, I can remember crying when Dad had two of our trees cut down. I wasn't upset because these trees meant anything to me, but it meant that my yard would never be the same again. Even though change has always scared me, unknown change scares me more. I've wished so many times that I knew what my future had in store; that way, I wouldn't have to be afraid of certain things.

I'm terrified of losing the friends that have become so dear to me over my high school years. I've seen my parents, their friends, and even some of my friends drift away from the people they grew up with and were so close to. This is the last thing I ever want to happen.

I'm also really, really scared about college. I know I'll still be in town, and I've said it won't be so bad since a bunch of my friends are gonna be like 5 minutes away from me at State. But it's going to be a huge experience for me; unless Julie ends up going, I'm not going to know anyone attending. To go from a class of about 12 into a class of about 1,500 is definitely not going to be easy for me. Living in a dorm with half that class is going to be very difficult. Just spending one night there proved that to me.

And so I leave you with the lyrics to the song I posted:

"Superman" by Five for Fighting:

I can’t stand to fly
I’m not that naive
I’m just out to find
The better part of me

I’m more than a bird...i’m more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It’s not easy to be me

Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home I’ll never see

It may sound absurd...but don’t be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed...but won’t you concede
Even heroes have the right to dream
It’s not easy to be me

Up, up and away...away from me
It’s all right...you can all sleep sound tonight
I’m not crazy...or anything...

I can’t stand to fly
I’m not that naive
Men weren’t meant to ride
With clouds between their knees

I’m only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me
Inside of me
Inside me
Yeah, inside me
Inside of me

I’m only a man
In a funny red sheet
I’m only a man
Looking for a dream

I’m only a man
In a funny red sheet
And it’s not easy, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm...

Its not easy to be me

Randomness

So my friend Jess, whom I've known like all HER life, and I have a blog now. It's basically about how her Super Honeycutt thwarts my Peppermint Guy. It's going to be the randomest ever, so if it doesn't make any sense, I'm sorry. Deal with it. :P I'm still going to keep this one, and I'll probably update this one more than the other. But the other is strictly for our craziness and nothing besides that will be posted. http://honeypepper.blogspot.com/

Great Expectations

So I got back from Bri's party and 24 hours at Meredith College yesterday. It was definitely interesting. I had a total of like 15 hours of sleep in 72 hours, so needless to say I was a bit tired today.

Bri's party was definitely fun. It was great to get to hang out with everyone again. :P I can't even begin to describe it. Laser tag, Alan and I against everyone else, Go-carts, climbing up four levels of stairs, listening to the boys singing, getting my wrist twisted off in the car, my hair smelling like smoke for 3 days, Cindy Crawford, calls at midnight...that doesn't even cover it.

Meredith was very crazy. From 2-5, we were divided up into seven groups, and throughout that time we had our 20 minute interviews. During the time we weren't in interviews, we were watching/participating in these 4 lectures. The first three were pretty boring (Honors in general, research, and study abroad). The last one I'm still not sure why they had us do this. We had a discussion about the upcoming presidential election. This was led by, who else, 2 liberal feminists who graduated about 2 years ago. Lets just say I definitely had fun 'debating' some of the more liberal girls there.

After all this and dinner, we went back to our hosts rooms and hung out for the rest of the night. Abby and Sarah (my room hosts) were totally awesome. I definitely hope that I can hang out with them a little while I'm there. I met several really awesome girls who are definitely coming to Meredith in the fall. I'm pretty excited about getting to hang out with them next year. Especially Allison (Ally was in the room next to mine, and is waiting for Teaching Fellows).

The next day was pretty boring. The best part was getting to go to a class, but I had a professor that I had sat in on a class with before. He's really good, though.

I'm still really torn about the honors program. I would love the money, but I am not sure if I want to spend my time in it. My parents have really been pushing it, but I still need some time to think about it.

In other news, I graduate in a little under 3 months....EEK!!!!! I can't believe it's so close. 13 years has flown by SO fast. I'm really looking forward to it, though. College will be a great experience, and I so can't wait. Plus a bunch of my friends will be around the corner at State, so it'll be great to go over and hang out with them.