Crazy Novel Job

Dearest you,
Wow I haven't written in forever. Oh well, there's no time like the present to start back. I got a job this past week at Christie Cookies. It's at the Opryland hotel, which is pretty cool. Christie is a man, just in case you were assuming it was a Ms. I went through a seven-hour orientation today with Gaylord...got to learn all about the hotel, eat a nice lunch, and tour the newly-refurbished building. It's pretty spiffy. You should come see it (and me :) when the hotel opens back up on Monday (the 15th). Guess what color our uniform polo shirts are? Lime. Green. What? You couldn't come up with a color that looks worse on people? Haha, at least I like green :P
Other noteworthy point of the month: November is National Novel Writing Month. That being said, I'm challenging myself to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I'm on day eleven and only a few thousand words behind schedule :D I initially thought to post my story each day, piece by piece. But after realizing how rough, rough draft-ish it is, I've reconsidered. Maybe you'll see some of it in December, once I've had a little time to revise. :P
So now I'm going to be busy with a new job, a 100+ page novel coming straight from my imagination with no pre-planning, and my senior year in high school (which equals college applications, essays, scholarship apps, etc, as well as a pretty heavy load of school :[). Crazy.
And with all that, I must bid farewell for now, as short as this post is. Not sure if I'll blog again soon or not--as mentioned above, I do have a novel to write. Wish me luck!
Praise God for imaginations. Without them, all I'd have is a blank page.

Con amore,
Sophie

County Fair

Dearest you,
I'll blog about the rest of my summer at a later date. Figured I might as well get something on the board while I'm in the mood, to get my foot in the door, so to speak. Never mind that analogy, didn't really make sense upon editing but I'm leaving it up nonetheless.
So...Wilson County fair tonight with the family. Kind of an annual tradition. Other than the rather, shall I say, less-than-intelligent traffic cop, we had a very enjoyable time. The monkey/dog races were adorable. And my dad liked the tent he affectionately calls "Chickens and Such", aka Poultry and Rabbits.Us girls, sticking to our flip-flop-only rule in the summer, were delighted (facetiously meant, of course--by the way, before you think I'm a spelling nerd, I had no idea facetious was spelled thus) to traipse through the wet mulch which covered half the fairgrounds. Bet you had to read that sentence twice, the parenthesis-enclosed portion so long :P Anyways, foot-washing party back at the house! The free lemonade, chocolate milk, dum dum pops (for those not vain about brain cells), popcicles, ice cream coupons, dorky advertising fans, and random pieces of paper which everyone tosses into the garbage anyways were highlights of the night. Free stuff is always good, right? Anywho, if you've been to the county fair you'll know precisely what I'm talking about--it remains the exact same year after year. You know, the bluegrass singers, the elderly man making brooms, the human canon ball, the pot-bellied pig races (during which Evan won a blue ribbon--applause is appropriate here, since he went to all the trouble of volunteering to cheer the winning pig to the finish line), the little girls dragging their pageant dresses through the dirt, the petting zoo--complete with camels and porcupines (don't freak out, you couldn't actually pet the porcupines. Silly :P), et cetera and so forth. And even though we see this every year, somehow we all end up grinning like kids in a candy shop. Or something like that.

Praise God for family nights :)...and traffic cops on what-seems-like their first day on the job :P

Con amori,
Sophie

It's about time...

Dearest you,

I feel the need to apologize to those of you who have been looking for a post from me these past...few weeks. I've been too lazy to write, which sounds so odd even to myself, but considering the state of our computers, working with them can often be more of a frustration than a pleasure. At least I'm on facebook less now :P
Anyways, I guess you're wanting an overview of my life since I last blogged. Music camp lasted a week, and yes, there were music nerds there. Or music geeks. I have yet to determine the difference between nerds and geeks. Anyone care to enlighten? The camp was fun nonetheless. The food was amazing, as always. I memorized over 70 pages of music for choir and musical theatre. I practiced my violin for two and a half hours each day which is WAYYYY more than normal for me. I learned more music nerd-ish stuff during theory class. Oh, and some cool dance moves during theatre :P Fun times, fun times...

The next week was catching back up to the real world. Tough stuff out there, did you know that? No one ever told me life would be easy, but I never really considered how emotionally draining situations could be. And before these past few months I had never really felt a gazillion different emotions at once. Sorrow and anger go hand in hand sometimes, don't they?

Last week I worked the concessions stand at a Little League park with awesome co-workers Gen, Blake, and Evan. Funnel cakes don't smell so swell when they've been swarming around you for five hours every night. And nacho cheese sauce never really smells--or looks--great. And gigantic pickles aren't all that appealing. But it sure was nice to get a paycheck today :D And it was fun to be all professional-like and work a cash register. And watch the young umpires try to flirt with Gen and I--Good thing our brothers tagged along :P

Gen's deserting me next week to go to Seattle, WA. Ok, just kidding. She's not deserting me :P She IS going to Seattle, but it's her graduation/birthday present/vacation with my dad. I'll miss her though :( Today we went shopping to secure a few more memories before her departure. Old Navy, JoAnns, JC Penny, Ross, Target, and Panera were all on our itinerary. More fun times :)

And while she's off gallivanting in Seattle (with relatives), I'll be counseling at a day camp for 30 little eight to eleven-year-old music nerds :D Which should be a lot of fun. I shall tell you all about it at its conclusion :)


Praise God for His everlasting grace! And His daily reminders to extend that grace to everyone else.
Con amore,
Sophie

So long, farewell...

Dearest you,


(Tuesday)
Today I coaxed Gen into driving me to Jo-Anns in Rivergate to find several last items I needed for a sewing project...that's due the end of this week. :/ Somebody's procrastinating again... Anyways, I was designated Navigator, and with the help of Prudence, (haha, you thought I was referring to the characteristic :P Prudence is our GPS) we arrived--and left--safely. We took a couple wrong "turns", but were none worse for wear. Success!

Then we went to Cici's for lunch. Did you know that this pizza place is the most popular diner for police men? Yeaah, Gen and I were surrounded by men in blue uniforms...liiiitttle weird. But semi-comforting at the same time. You know, Gen and I could meander around the buffet without fear of our purses being stolen from the booths :P

Following our lunch with like ten cops, we went to Walmart, where this really old lady glared evilly at us (and possibly cussed--our windows were fortunately rolled up :) because we were driving in the parking lot where she wanted to walk. And then it started raining, a lot, and we had to run back to the car. I was wearing flip-flops with absolutely no whatever-those-groovy-bump-things-are on them. And so I chose the smart route--I removed my shoes and decided to run across the parking lot in the rain looking like a barefoot idiot rather than slip in a puddle and look like a bigger idiot. Smart choice? Smart choice.

As Gen was driving home on our street, she cautioned me about puddles on the road. "They may look shallow and harmless, but they're really out to get you." Ok, Gen, whatever you say :D

(Sunday)
This week I have been sewing like nuts. I had a temporary best friend for the week--Ruby. She's a bright red seam ripper. Yep. :D And then there's Miranda, a female mannequin. She was a lifesaver, particularly for Gen, who no longer had to be my model and risk injury by pins. I finally finished the prom dress for the contest, took pictures of it while I modeled, and submitted them. Now to cross my fingers until the finalists are announced :)

Tomorrow morning I leave for a week-long music camp. Yes, it sounds nerdy, but what can I say? Hours and hours of musical theatre, theory, ensemble groups, choir, concerts, and a jam-packed, deafening mess hall sounds like loads of fun, doesn't it? :P Really, it is fun :)
Oh, and by the way, all electronics are banned, including (but not limited to) cell phones, music players, and computers. So basically we have no contact with the outside world. I'll let you know how I survive next week :D

Farewell until I return!

Praise God for designs!

Con amore,
Sophie

puzzles

Dearest you,

Puzzles..........good stress relievers. There's something comforting about them--they're often challenging, but you know that no matter what, the pieces DO fit together. (Unless of course they don't go to the puzzle.) There's no complicated mystery, no unexplainable reasoning. Just jagged and abnormal pieces of cardboard shuffled together to form a picture.

Praise God for simple things--they prove life isn't composed of ONLY complex, un-logical (yes, I know 'tis "illogical"), and thoroughly-confusing matters.

Con amore,
Sophie

P.S. Of course there are MUCH deeper, more intelligently created "theories" of puzzles I could go into, but today their purpose is to relieve stress, not make life. understandable :P

A wee bit tardy. My apologies.

Dearest you,
So I haven't written in a couple weeks. My bad. One excuse being that our schedules are a bit chaotic since our home is being redone (result of flood damage). Another excuse being that the computer I generally blog on is, well, a bit under the weather. It throws tantrums at random will, causing far too many exclamation!! points! and ! not enough! periods! !! Which would have resulted in this entire post (which will be quite lengthy, I should warn you) being as annoying as the past sentence. You should thank me for sparing the tiny voice in your head from yelling every other word you are now reading :D
And while the computer has been a jerk, I've found productive ways to occupy my time. Like playing farm girl in 90 TN heat. Fun times. (house/pet-sitting for family friends). Most of my siblings and I were just shy of parent-less for nearly a week. Innnnteresting. We braided miniature hoses' manes. We renamed my friend's cats. Gen and I made up a theme song while fishing bugs from the pool. Which we all then swam in. I bruised myself on the water slide while my little siblings came away grinning and un-scarred. Ironic. I laughed my head off watching Evan being chased by three horses and five miniature horses, trying to coax them all to the barn. He succeeded, in case you were pitying him :) Then I tried to catch my first firefly of the season. I failed. (It did seem much easier when I was younger--a jar with a lid, an untouchable amount of energy, and a careless attitude to the smell that lingers on one's hands. Admit it, you've noticed it too. :P)

Several days last week Gen, Evan, and I had colds. We were driving around one day with country music blaring (we do live in Music City, so it HAS to be one of the channels we frequent). And singing at the top of our lungs. You should have heard us--actually, you probably could. You'd have to be pretty deaf to miss our hoarse, tuneless yelling. Or maybe you just mistook the din for...something else. There, I just saved you from insulting me yourself:P

Oh, and by the way, I discovered that I'm pretty much beast at reverse driving down sloping, winding driveways. Just in case that info ever comes in handy.

In the midst of all that action, it was a pretty relaxing week. Lovely. :) At the end of the week as we were leaving to come back home, the eight horses were all waiting at the gate to say/neigh goodbye--so sweet :)



A few weeks ago I was volunteering at an after-school program for elementary students. As I was walking with two little girls, they were each exclaiming how old they were (for example, "I'm 87!", "I'm 592!") At this point I interrupted, saying, "I'm infinity!"
One of them asked, "How do you write that in numbers?" To which I hurried to find an acceptable response, "Um..." Yep, that was all I came up with.
And then I was assisting with homework. Also loads of fun :) One child told another, who was acting rather crazy, I must confess, "You're a hobo!" Not really sure what that had to do with anything, but maybe it was just thrown out there as an attempted insult? The un-offended child claimed "I'm not a hobo--I'm just a wild, crazy boy!"
Well, at least he knew it too. But maybe the humor in this was only in the moment. Nevertheless, I shall resist deleting it :D

Since I've been home, I've been sewing, playing "Mechanic Sophie" in the no-longer-new coveralls my dad and brothers bought so they could work under the house, reading some lovely historical novels, debating my little siblings over brownie/ice cream points (and who qualifies for what points, and to which category :), and planning who wants to travel to which country with me when I'm rich and famous. Knowing that you are curious, I'll post the results of our discussion: Blake wants to travel to London (and England :P), Evan wants to go to Ireland (where we'll raise sheep for several weeks--one of his goals is to be a shepherd), Vivienne desires to tag along with me to New York and Paris (she loves to shop and figured they'd be good places to start:D), and Lilly wants to see Florida and California (she's satisfied with only national flights :D). Now to work on the rich and famous part...

I went to the library the other day--one of my favorite places, but you'd already know that if you know anything at all about me :) I scanned book shelves with my head turned sideways. Bad for your neck, alright. They really should stack the books vertically. Of course, that would be impractical when one attempted to remove a book. Just imagine an entire stack crashing towards you. I don't think the stereotypical librarians would appreciate that very much--doesn't promote quiet-ness very well. Obviously.

I've been thinking recently--which is not a recently acquired talent, I assure you--that all the fairy tale-type stories do go to some people's heads. I always considered the romantic, cliche books and movies (you know what I'm talking about--those happily-ever-after type stories) to be innocent, harmless. I thought everyone had enough common sense to realize they are FAIRY TALES and not REALITY, much as we wish them to be so. Not every Prince Charming is THE Prince Charming. The prince can be charming, but that doesn't mean he's yours. Make sense? Probably not. And yet I shall continue in this useless line. Have you noticed how most movies in particular portray the parents as idiots? And they ARE generally idiots, in the movies. But might they not have reasonable, realistic reasons for trying to persuade this child from falling in love with so-and-so? Or forbidding their kid from doing thus-and-whatever? Wisdom really does come from age, I've determined. And you shouldn't have to make every mistake to learn from them. Life's too short to make them all. I think there's a quote about that. Can't remember the author, though.

Random one-sentence notes--I've got three tonight:
(1)Circle analogies are fun. They're good weapons for confusing people. Oops--that was two. And now three. At least I can count.
(2)Selfish living makes life meaningless.
(3)It's a sad state of things when your little sister prays for things to be "normal."

Praise God for relatives, 'cause I've got two of them in town this weekend! I love my Aunt Angel and Grandmother Vicki! :D

Con amore,
Sophie

Nonsensicality

Dearest you,

Duuuuuuuuuuuh, dunh dunh dunh dunh dunnnnnnnh. Dunh dunh dunh dunh duuuuuuuuuuuunh, dunh dunh dunh dunh duuuuuuuuuuuunh. aka The Phantom of the Opera theme song. We've been watching the movie over the past few nights...illegally :P

The other day Gen and I took a walk in the rain. Then we jogged, and ran and danced in the rain. Did I mention we were wearing rainboots several sizes too big and weren't wearing socks? Now we each have a set of twin blisters to show off. Healing blisters = itchy skin.

FYI, add stress to my imagination, and I go super creative.

Gen's been driving us all hysterical with her impression of a hamster voice. She tells jokes in it, and sings...songs like the macarena, the hamster dance (appropriately), and the hoedown throwdown. Yeeeep.

And then a cockroach decided to appear on my bed inches from my face. Gen's a superhero with a fly swatter. Cockroach near bed = checking covers before hiding underneath them.

After Gen and I made a quick run to Walgreens this morning, she was driving no more than 7 miles on our street. And I calmly inquired, "Genny, why are you driving like a granny?"
"I'm coasting."
"Riiiiight. Because we're really going to save a lot of gas by coasting the half mile to our house." She didn't go any faster :D

I gave an impromptu Italian lesson to kindergarteners who can barely speak proper English. I was teaching them how to say, "How are you, whatever your name is?" And they each asked, "Can you put my name in it? And so-and-so's too?" Sure, whatever floats your boat. Or makes you happy.Or cures your ADD-ness for a minute.

Oh, and I've decided that my beta fish, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is a survivor. He survived being pet-sitted (or however your say that correctly) by a seven-year-old BOY for a week who swapped his clean, purified tank water with chlorinated sink water. He is also a pig. The fish, that is. He would eat a dozen floating meals a day, if I let him. But those dried worms are expensive, you know. Like three bucks a bottle. And it'll only last him for a year or two, or a dozen. So he gets two meals a day.

I had a cereal date with Blake tonight. Cereal = dessert this evening. He wouldn't let me read the newspaper, instead insisting upon sitting awkwardly at my elbow as we chatted about absolutely nothing in particular but having a wonderful time nonetheless, listening to Gen play "Moon River" on the piano. That hit the spot. Which spot I have no idea, but it must have hit one of them.

My dad just came in to wish us all a good night. He gave us each very enthusiastic high fives and thumbs up. And then we all had a group huddle, like a football team, chanting whatever it is they chant and leaning to one side then the other in a frenzied manner. Goodnights in our house = awesome.

Annnnnd if you're wondering why there are so many equal symbols in this post, it's because I finished geometry last week and have been deprived of math for a few days. I love math. NOT. But I just felt like I needed to equal something. You know, to make sure my itty bitty parallel lines stayed in shape.

Praise God for playdough! Without it, I would smell normal.

Con amore,
Sophie

P.S. OK, so now I'm listening to "Pants on the Ground" with Gen. Wieeeerrd. *shrug

P.P.S. Sometime you need to go insane for a moment, in order to rescue your sanity. Vero? Right? :)
P.P.P.S And I've been informed that my blog doesn't make sense, but it makes people laugh. Therefore, the title.

Minus. What an awkward word.

Dearest you,

Since everyone else is blogging today I thought I had best follow suit.
I have nothing humorous to share of the past few days...Well, maybe except the random lady--who I'd met once before (apparently) but didn't remember-- at a graduation party who tried to set me up with her college son (who wasn't even present) for a full five minutes. As I was looking rather confused at the sudden change of topic, her daughter turned to me and said bluntly, "She's trying to set you up with my brother."Oh, ok, that makes sense. NOT. Remind me when I've got a college-aged son not to try to play matchmaker between him and a random girl I don't know in the least. Makes no sense, if you ask me. But a lot of things don't make sense.
Annnd, that's all I can think of to make you laugh.

Have you ever wondered how, when you're unconscious (as in sleeping. Although, maybe it could happen if you're knocked out too. I wouldn't know, so don't take my word for it unless I'm filling in for LeVar Burton on Reading Rainbow...which has probably been discontinued anyways, so forget that.), your mind can take bits of reality and mix it with fantasy? Like how you can dream of a problem you were thinking of before you fell asleep, and in the same scene out jumps a gargoyle or you fall off a cliff and start flying? (These examples are by no means the actual dreams of the writer and should not be associated with her. Certain terms and conditions apply. See store for details, or log on to www.whatswrongwithsophie.com)

BTW, don't actually google that site. Who knows what you'll find...


Praise God for forgiveness! God knows we all need it. Literally.

Con amore,
Sophie


P.S. And because it is the title of this post, I had to throw it in here somewhere. Minus. Yep, it's still awkward.

Brothers--Gotta love 'em

Dearest you,

Innnteresing.
It's mighty hot in the house today. The few minutes of rain today didn't help--in fact, it only served to raise the already high level of humidity. I'm not complaining :)　Buuuuut, those large droplets of water falling from the sky did give Gen a good laugh as she watched me dash out the front door--barefoot and all--to save the open windows of our car from killing the interior by drowning it in the unexpected rain. I was soaked, but grinning.

I played rook with my dad and two younger brothers the other evening. We used to pay it every night, but it's been a while, so we'd almost forgotten how to win. We knew how to play. My dad and I were on the same team and creamed the boys. They were unsore losers--good sports, the lot of them.

I was blown kisses by a boy a couple days ago. Well, OK, he WAS two-years-old, and he can't yet say my name...but he's still reaaally cute :P He's pretty much the easiest child to babysit.

This guy came yesterday to fix the water heater or some such thing. Guess what his name was? Shannon. Yeaaah, that was my reaction too. I was almost as horrified as the time I first watched Gone with the Wind and realized one of the main male characters was named Ashley. And then found out that the actor's name was Leslie.(Sorry to any guys named Shannon. Seriously--I'm REALLY sorry :)

Tuesday evening my mom and I were momentarily insane. Maybe temporarily is a better adjective. I mean, adverb. (Hmph, I had to think for a second there--not studying grammar this year has left my proficiency in it a little lax:) She was holding my hand through geometry problems that were due by midnight for an online course. Nooooo, I'm not a procrastinator. (Just in case you don't know me at all, that was written an intoxicating-ly sarcastic tone.) Anyways, we were both laughing hysterically--between that and allergies that compromise your sinuses, I just about died. But I didn't. Obviously, since I'm writing this. I mean, seriously, I couldn't be dead and still be writing this. Silly.


So Blake and Evan were quite humorous yesterday. Like they usually are, but yesterday I could transcribe their silliness into quotes. :P
Ex.
On our way home from music lessons (which took 2 hours instead of half an hour due to car tantrums), Evan informed me that he and I would be attending bartending school (there's actually one near our home). My little sister said, "Bar, and in ballet bar?"
Blake just got a haircut, and so all evening, whenever he randomly appeared in a doorway, he struck a model pose.
And then in the midst of rather mature discussions they both rambled, in a staggered order, "Can you go on amazon.com with me?" "Can you adopt me?" "Can I have your debit card number?"
And I was like, "Pardon me?" with a clearly confused expression, "Were we not just conversing like normal people? How did we end up here again? I'm lost." (And I replied "no" to all three queries, never fear).


We've been bowling in our living room. The lanes are the deformed and naked wood boards that used to support lush carpet. The pins are empty water bottles, with each of our initials on the cap.

And now Gen and I are having a drinking contest---water, that is. We're trying to see who can drink the most bottles of water. I'm really not sure when the deadline is. Maybe when we can finally drink our own water instead of that which comes in cheaply plastic containers?
And of course we're donating the empty bottles to our bowling alley. Of course.

Oh, btw, I'm winning :P


My little sister just narrated (man it took me a day and a half to figure out how to spell that) a
lengthy story to me. I nodded, and I didn't really digest any of it. Me + writing = neglected multi-tasking skills. Note that.


Praise the Lord for tears! If it weren't for them, think of all the salt water that'd be stuck in my head...


Con amore,
Sophie

P.S. Pictures are back, in case you can't see and are reading this in braille.

NEED...HOT...WATER

Dearest you,

(Friday)
My older sisters and I babysat this morning for a mother's Bible study. I had know idea I was supposed to work from 9-12 until my mother told me at 8:05. Apparently my sister had woken me a half hour earlier, asked me if I would be willing to sub for someone, and received a "yes" as an answer. I have no memory of any of that...whatsoever.
But anyways, Carmen and I played with eight three-year-olds for three and a half hours. I played dolls with the little girls. One charming, adorable, blue-eyed, blond-haired, sweet child repeatedly asked me for permission to pretend things. "Can I pretend this is a baby princess named Ariel?" (baby is pronounced beh-bee), "Can I pretend I'm the queen?" "Can I pretend this is a queen dress?" And I was thinking, yes, child, it's your imagination! You don't have to ask to pretend anything!

We pretended (with my permission, of course) that one doll was Ariel, one was Cinderella, and one was Prince Charming. The latter was a small, bald, ugly, and POSSIBLY male doll that was anything but charming. But it's your imagination, so anything goes, right?

Another little girl suddenly hopped up from where she was playing with a kitchen set, performed sporadic jumping jacks for a full minute, and then promptly announced, "Time for dinner!" She then sat at the miniature table, as if to dare someone to declare her actions were anything but normal.

And then I was asking a little lass for a "couple" of green blocks to finish a castle for another small person. She ran to the play kitchen, grabbed a cup, and proceeded to fill it with green blocks. She handed it to me saying, "Here's a cup of green blocks!" Ummhmm. :D


(Saturday)
We went to the Renaissance Festival today. So many wierdos there, but that shouldn't surprise me. I suppose I could be thrown in the "wierdos" category, considering I went OUTSIDE MY HOME in a medieval gown I made and wore it all the day long. Did I mention I did this in the 21st century?
Yep, with braided hair and jeweled belt and fake accent and all. Ok, the fake accent didn't hold up long.

Our house is now an obstacle course of fans, dehumidifiers, cords, and such laying about. We must yell in order to converse in certain rooms because of the same objects. Now we have an excuse if we "forget" to carry out a request. Not "I didn't hear you," but "I COULDN'T hear you." :P

(Monday)
So Gen and I had a dance party tonight. You should have been there. Actually, you shouldn't have :P
I babysat a two-year-old boy all day today. He's the cutest and sweetest little boy, which is a good thing, 'cause I'll be with him all day tomorrow too :D

We've finally removed all the drying paraphernalia. Now we can converse without sounding irked. We are still deprived of hot water--supposedly that will be returned on the morrow. At the moment, we're all either taking advantage of our neighbors' generosity and using their showers, or we're braving our own (my dad calls them "Indian Showers"). The latter is not an option I would recommend for the sensitive in skin. If you hear someone shrieking spontaneously, it's probably one of us girls washing our hair. Let's just say I don't think I'll be taking hot water for granted for a good long while.

People are still bringing by food and other necessities. Today someone brought by dinner and two rather large boxes loaded with odds and ends. One of my little siblings discovered several boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats and exclaimed, "It's just like Christmas!" In May, yes. :)

Praise God for food and dancing and hot water! :D


Con amore,
Sophie

P.S. In the random chance that you were curious, mugwump is dictionary.com's word of the day, meaning "a person who is unable to make up his or her mind on an issue." It's just a fancy word for a person straddling a fence because they're too cowardly to commit to one side. Generally...In my humble opinion which I will not force upon you by any means...except on occasion :P

P.P.S. I've been having difficulty uploading pictures this past week...or so. Which would explain why the last few posts have been void of colorful images.

Family Bonding 101

Dearest you,
(Monday)
Well, we evacuated our home this morning at about 11.
Last night water started rising again, in our garage, in our front yard, and in our back garden. When we left this morning the garage had about two feet, the yard had close to three, and our patio (raised off the garden) had about six inches (barely an inch shy of coming into our living room). And all this was rising.
We've moved into our friends' home for the moment in Mt. Juliet.
Blake and I were in charge of keeping track of the water level, in order to make an estimated guess when or if the grimy, disgusting water would reach our house. Guess who fell asleep at 1am? Blake. So I had to round up Gen to accompany to the very dark, very creepy back patio. It WAS rising about an inch every half hour, but it slowed around 2:30am, about when I drifted off to sleep :) And two gigantic fire engines pulled up at our house about 2am just to assess the situation. The called back and forth with my mother, who was on our front porch while they stood safely 15 yards away, over the growing lake in our front yard. They didn't offer many suggestions.
We had to cut our electricity around midnight because the water level was getting too high and a power line had come down--but remained attached--just a few feet from our house, caused by a tree falling. Soooo, no stove, oven, fan (for the very stuffy upstairs--where all eight of us had to camp out), and NO lights! Ohhhhh, and our mom wouldn't let us use the plumbing for fear all the pipes would overflow. Welcome to wash basins and chamber pots. Family bonding 101 for sure.
One of my brothers was up at 6:30am, and he woke up several others, including me. So I'm a little tired, as on of my friends could attest to, considering I was talking a mile a minute on the phone with her :D And that was BEFORE I had caffeine.
When we left our house we had to trudge through a 3+ of feet deep trashy swamp, just in order to get to our van. People from our neighborhood--and from others--came down to our house to take pictures because it was one of the only three houses that were still surrounded with water.
Between rapids, stubborn rain, fire trucks, a self-inflicted black out, yard sticks to measure water level increases, and walking through thigh-deep swamp water, we've had an interesting couple of days.

(Tuesday)
We began cleaning up our home. It was dirty. And smelly. Our living room had six inches of water in it overnight. It drained. Praise the Lord the rest of the first floor remained dry. Our neighbors fed us food. A swamp remained in our back yard. We went back to our friends' house. And slept.

(Wednesday)
While my mother and some of my siblings returned to our home, I remained with our friends in the hopes of getting some school done. I did. A little.
I also read a novel on their deck as chickens clucked around me and danced in a robotic way.

(Thursday)
I think that's today. I honestly have know idea what day of the week it is, much less the date.
We went back to our home this morning, hopefully to stay. My dad returned from China last night. It probably wasn't the most welcoming sight walking through our front door, considering the carpet has been torn up in the living room, along with half the walls (thanks to the help of some wonderful friends! Otherwise, we'd all smell like mold. True story.)
Today we've had very random people coming in and our of our home helping with various clean-up procedures. I mean random, as in I-haven't-seen-you-or-talked-to-you-in-years kinda random, and I-haven't-EVER-seen-you-in-my-entire-life kinda random. We've met neighbors we never knew we had. It's amazing how many strange people the Lord has brought to our door. And they've all been a HUGE help! Peoples have been blessing us with food and work and prayers left and right. And forwards and backwards. And day in and day out. And I think you get the picture.

We are all so thankful the water did not get in farther. The damage could have been soooo much worse, but it wasn't. The plumbing and electricity are back in order. And we've received so much help from people we know, and those we don't. Many people had their homes destroyed by this flood. We are SOOOO lucky and SOOOO grateful.

I've written this post in sections because I'm a perfectionist and I don't want to send anything out that hasn't been edited and I haven't had time to go back over it all and I still haven't had time or energy or interest to go back over it all and I've made up my mind and I'm going to post it anyways and get over my perfectionism and I thought the best way to do this would be to write a n extremely long and annoying run-on sentence and keep it going as long as I could keep thinking and so this is the result. Happy breathing.


Praise God for friends, neighbors, and strangers!!!

Con amore,
Sophie

I don't belong here :D

Dearest you,

Last night was indescribable. I started out the evening depressed about certain situations. I plugged up to my MP3 player. And suddenly, I clearly and completely felt the peace and love of God surround me. I felt like dancing for joy! (Actually I did on the patio in the dark). It was THE MOST incredible feeling I have experienced in a long while. And, as mentioned before, it is indescribable. So you won't understand, and that is OK :)

Even later, amidst the lightning bolting through the otherwise dark sky, the thunder shattering the quiet of a house almost entirely asleep, the rain pelting out a steady rhythm of splashes, and flash flood warnings changing every other minute, God's peace protected my soul from depression. It'll sound silly, but I just wanted to shout, "Have at it, Satan! I can take any thing you choose to throw my way because my Guide is the Lord Jesus Christ and He has sole possession of my heart!"

I don't belong here. Isn't that great?! This world is NOT my home, and all the heartache associated with it is not a burden I have to carry alone. Praise the Lord! His grace IS amazing, and His peace DOES surpass all understanding!

This doesn't mean I will never again feel lost and stressed, or that God will remove all temptations and trials and strife. But it DOES mean I can cast all my cares upon Him, and He will sustain me. I don't have to do it alone!!!! :D

As I listened to my family going slightly berserk over various things, not the least being the weather, it was OK. I have the Creator of the universe on my side, and He has plans to prosper me, and not to harm me. I cannot wait to see what HE has in store!!!!

Oh, and we found an orange box turtle underneath one of our cars. You'd never think playing with a red-eyed reptile on the kitchen tile would be so much fun! He's adorable, or creepy, or so-ugly-he's-cute, depending on who you ask. His name is also up for debate. Choices include Neptune, Molasses, Skippidy,and Awkward. Oh, annnnnd, he's training for track and field in the bi-annual turtle Olympics. He runs and jumps. Over human legs and arms.

And today, the rain is still pelting out a steady rhythm, a quick heavy, beat. There is so much water in our back yard, we could probably go white water rafting. Our garage had about two inches of water in it earlier, and a tree collapsed just three feet from our house, carrying with it a power line. We're preparing for a possible shortage of power later, gathering candles and such. We never have any flashlights with workable batteries :P

But GOD reigns supreme, even over this remarkable rain.

Praise God for His reign over His rain! :D
Con amore,
Sophie

The Bare (Bear) Necessities

Dearest you,

I made lunch with Blake a couple days ago. We had an apple fight, but not to worry,no one was bruised. Tonight I tried to throw popcorn for him to catch and, let's just say, my throwing skills could use a little improvement.
Yesterday, while waiting at our music school, I called Evan his spelling words...IN A BRITISH ACCENT. On the way home, my brothers were bragging about how much chest hair they have. I'd say neither has any to speak of.
And then at dinner they were teasing each other mercilessly and one said "Stop causing havoc!" while the other exclaimed, "What? I don't even know what that means!" During the meal I was giving them a lecture about digging yourself into a hole (which I almost spelled whole:), and I--mistakingly--mentioned some dragon flying around. Suddenly Evan was asking "Can I be a ninja?" And Blake said, "Yeah, but the dragon's fire burns your numchucks."
Yesterday morning I did an updo for work. Did I mention it was at 5:30 in the morning? Yeaaaahhh, I used like fifty gagillion bobby pins. My friend and I wore matching dresses too-- Yes, we're probably too old for that, and yes, it was still fun :D
Last night I juggled on the wii. And snow skiied. And hula hooped. And walked on a tight rope. And beat everyone in kung fu rhythm.
Oh, and I had a dream about pirate ships, dragons, and a very cute young captain. :P

My dad's out of town for the next week. I'm really going to miss our awesome talks, and joking around, and helping him with projects :)

I talked to my dad via skype. I laughed, watching him converse with his Chinese translator, Zeke. He was asking him how to say certain words in Chinese. He made a deal with me that he would learn three new words while he's half a world away :)
Now I'm watching The Jungle Book with my three little siblings, who are starting to get too old and intelligent to be amused by old school Disney movies. I've observed that the alpha male wolf has a British accent and the snake sounds drunk, though he shares his voice with the ever-loved Pooh Bear. And the head elephant mumbles about war medals. And his baby elephant son is Southern.And the vultures with the emo haircuts are European (Scottish, maybe?). I always wondered why the little indian girl at the end had a woman's voice when she was like six.
And my little sister, seated beside me, just pulled out a tooth. I remember those days... :)

Praise God for animated humor :D
Con amore,
Sophie

Stranded in Kroger/ "Friendly" Family Competitions

Dearest you,

Friday I went horseback riding with a really great friend. Afterwards we chatted about life. I guess you don't really call it chatting when it's pretty deep...
I work up yesterday to my little brother who's not so little considerately whispering, "Sophie, do you want breakfast in bed?" He had made chocolate chip pancakes :)

Gen and I got stranded in Kroger for half an hour when we went to return a movie at Redbox last night. It was just drizzling as we pulled out of the drive, but by the time we got to the store (just down the street) it was raining cats and dogs. We ran out of the car and into Kroger, but in those few yards, we got soaked. And grocery stores are liberally air conditioned. :P So we walked around Kroger, shivering, as the employees and other customers wondered at our rather bedraggled appearances. Like they didn't know it was pouring outside...

After dinner last evening our dining room hosted a competition, including multiplication/division drills, and a state's capital quiz, all in remembrance of my father's 5th grade elementary school days. Our family possesses lots of competitive genes. Even my mother was not shy challenging my nine-year-old sister :D

We visited a church this morning with some friends. I promptly fell asleep when we returned home. I think I dozed for a couple hours. Allergies really drain one's energy supply :) While napping, I dreamed about...well, about a lot of things. Including being stopped on a trail (during a family walk) by some creepers. It'll suffice to say I was glad to awake :)

Praise God for the rain!
Con amore,
Sophie

Earth Day

Dearest you,
Our family is short on computers at the moment, so confiscating one for purposes not related to school/work is difficult and requires lots of skill... and possibly daring nerve. Thus my excuse for not blogging as often or as long. :P Research papers have been flying out of our ears this week. Which reminds me, I had best start mine...
Google says 'tis Earth Day today, so I guess it is?
Yesterday I worked, as mentioned in a previous post, and shared thoughts with a best friend as we filed papers. Fun times :D Then I fiddled around (haha, get it? :P) on my violin at our music school, afterwards trying NOT to be distracted by my papa at the dinner table. The six females in our family unanimously decided that all boys--no matter there age--are class clowns, at the very least on occasion.
I went to sleep last night with a please-don't-let-that-spider-I-found-on-my-bed-and-murdered-have-any-revengeful-friends-or-relatives prayer as I listened to Josh Groban sing enchanting lyrics in Italian.
I woke myself up this morning sneezing. Thank you, allergies. Love you too.
Tonight I'll fall asleep thinking, "Would you like extra cheese sauce or jalapenos with your nachos?" If you haven't already guessed, I worked concessions this evening. From 5:30 to 10. My older sister and I volunteered to help my dad and my little brother fulfill their obligation to my brother's baseball team by working the concessions stand. I ran a cash register (yes, I'm very responsible :P) while my comrades-in-concessions filled the orders I belted out. More fun times. Now I have memories of my papa wearing thin, plastic gloves that give you clammy hands while stuffing hamburgers. Never would a thunk it.


"Let not your heart walk away from you, lest your mind and legs follow."-Spongebob quote of the day. Hmmm..maybe there's actually some wisdom in that? =D


Praise the Lord for the earth! Without it, where would we be? :P
Con amore,
Sophie

Been sketchin'...and contemplatin'

Dearest you,

Today I've been sketching, as stated above. Mostly drawings related to my stories, which one of these days I plan on adding here, chapter by chapter. I appreciate your patience :)
I watched my little bro's baseball game and cheered from the bleachers.
This day was...well, it was. In the famous line of Scarlette O'Hara, "Tomorrow is another day." :D
Aren't you thankful God's mercies are new every morning? Tomorrow doesn't have to be like today! :D

I get to work with one of my best friends tomorrow. She's such a dear. It's worth it to leave the house at 6:30 am :P I'm not a morning person. I'd MUCH rather stay up really late. But as rising early is supposed to make me "healthy, wealthy, and wise", and I'm lacking in all three areas, I probably should get in the habit of getting up before noon :)
I've been contemplating life and issues therein. Like what it means to be a true Christian. And what honest kindness is and should be. And how we should treat those we don't agree with, those we think are choosing wrong paths. How to replace anger with love, and trust God when the people you trusted changed and you don't even know them anymore.
Praise God for His listening ears! :)

Con amore,
Sophie
P.S. I WILL be catching up on "The Purpose Driven Life" soon :P

Day the fifteenth--the seventeenth

Dearest you,

So I haven't written in a few days. Sorry to any avid readers :P
Consequently, I've got a bit of catching up of "The Purpose Driven Life".
Day fifteen: Formed for God's Family"
"God is the One who made all things and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory." -Hebrews 2:1
"See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are." -1 John 3:1
*We were formed for God's family.
*Our spiritual families are even more important than our physical families because they will last forever.
*Being included in God's family is the highest honor and the greatest privilege you will ever receive.
"His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ." -Ephesians 1:5

Day sixteen:What Matters Most
"No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love." -1 Corinthians 13:3
"Love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love." -2 John 1:6
*Life is all about love.
*Life without love is really worthless.
*Love will last forever.
*Relationships are what life is all about.
*We will be evaluated on our love.
*The greatest girt you can give someone is your time.
"The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" -Galatians 5:14

Day seventeen: A Place to Belong
"You are members of God's very own family, citizens of God's country, and you belong in God's household with every other Christian." -Ephesians 2:19
"God's family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth." -1 Timothy 3:15
*We are called to belong, not just believe.
*We discover our role in life through our relationships with others.
*The church will outlive this universe, and so will your role in it.
*A church family identifies you as a genuine believer.
*A church family moves you out of self-centered isolation.
*A church family helps you develop spiritual muscle.
*The Body of Christ needs you.
*You will share in Christ's mission in the world.
*A church family will help keep you from backsliding.
*Jesus has not promised to build your ministry; he has promised to build his church.
"In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." -Romans 12:5


This looks like a pretty cool church...no idea where it is...
I'll catch up the rest tomorrow :)
Since I last blogged, I've written, gone to prom, hung with friends, read, worked on school, babysat, and many other little things not worth mentioning :P
Praise the Lord for everyday! :D

Con amore,
Sophie

A very short story/ Day the Fourteenth

Dearest you,

"The Purpose Driven Life" day fourteen: When God Seems Distant
"The Lord has hidden himself from his people, but I trust him and place my hope in him."- Isaiah 8:17
*God is real, no matter how we feel.
*The deepest level of worship is praising God in spite of pain, thanking God during a trial, trusting him when tempted, surrendering while suffering, and loving him when he seems distant.
*God promises never to leave us or forsake us, but he doesn't promise that we will always feel his presence.
*Feelings of abandonment or estrangement from God often have nothing to do with our sin--they are a test of faith.
*Christians today generally seek an experience in worship, rather than seek God.
*God often removes our feelings so we won't depend on them.
*The situations that will stretch our faith the most will be those times when life falls apart and God seems nowhere to be found.
*Tell God exactly how you feel.
*Focus on who God is--his unchanging nature.
*Trust God to keep his promises.
*Remember what God has already done for you.
*When we feel abandoned by God yet continue to trust him, we worship him in the deepest way.
*"For God has said, 'I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.'" -Hebrews 13:5




So...funny story. Once upon a time, a girl and her dad were taking an early night stroll down their street. As they were causally treading through a rather dark stretch of pavement, shrouded by trees and shadows, an eerie, cool wind swept past them.
"Do you know what that is?" the father asked, somewhat suspiciously.
The girl hesitated. "Um, no?" she replied.
"It's La Sueve," he stated in a heavy, fake accent, quite confident in his answer.
"La what?" The girl was now thoroughly confused.
"La Sueve," explained the father indulgently. "The female devil winds."
Laughter proceeded.
"Seriously?" the girl queried. "You made up a Spanish word for a random blast of cool air?"
The father grinned. "Are you going to blog about this?"
The end.
True story.
I hope you enjoyed that. If you didn't, it's probably because it doesn't make much sense unless you were there :D
Praise the Lord for humorous fathers! =)

Con amore,
Sophie

Sister date/ Day the Thirteenth

Dearest you,

"The Purpose Driven Life" day thirteen: Worship That Pleases God
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." -Mark 12:30
*God wants ALL of us, as in ALL of every individual.
*God is pleased when our worship is:
accurate (worship God as he is truly revealed in the Bible)
authentic(no pretense or showmanship. Worship with genuine emotion and honest love)
thoughtful (worship with an engaged mind. Be specific.)
practical (passive worship is an oxymoron. Worship with effort and energy, accepting that worship is often a sheer act of will--a willing sacrifice.)
*God-pleasing worship is deeply emotional and deeply doctrinal. We use both our hearts and our heads.
*The best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents our personal love for God.
*Real worship is rooted in the Bible.
*The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.


Today was big sister day! I went on a date with my older sisters--out to lunch and shopping, what could be better? :D
We laughed 'til our sides ached and our milkshake-filled stomaches didn't feel so swell :P We danced in the car amidst many stares and sang as loud as we possibly could with the windows rolled down. Least to say, our outing was the most fun I've had in a while.
Praise the Lord for big sisters!








Con amore,
Sophie

Cast all your cares.../Day the twelth

Dearest you,

"The Purpose Driven Life" day twelve: Developing Your Friendship with God
"He offers his friendship to the godly." -Proverbs 3:32
"Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you." -James 4:8
*We are as close to God as we choose to be.
*We must choose to be honest with God.
*God doesn't expect us to be perfect, but he does insist on complete honesty.
*Bitterness is the greatest barrier to friendship with God.
*We must choose to obey God in faith.
*We must choose to value what God values.
*The more we become God's friends, the more we will care about the things He cares about.
*We must desire friendship with God more than anything else.
*There is NOTHING--absolutely NOTHING--more important than developing a friendship with God.


This week I'm pet-sitting eight horses (of various sizes and temperaments), four cats (who are scared of me and don't come near), and one dog (a very adorable collie). I called the horses' names at the top of my lungs while they slowly meandered their way towards the barn. They weren't in hurry.
I studied Ronald Reagan's presidency. I read The Nashville Retrospect (stories and news from the city's past). I laughed at my brothers' witty comments and comebacks. I complemented my little sisters' new haircuts. I scratched my eyes until they were red (thank you, pollen). I read. I wrote. And I finished this rather dull account :D

I'm still have many more questions and frustrations, but they'll wait for another day. My God is the supreme Savior, and I don't have to worry :D
Praise God for taking our worries away!
Con amore,
Sophie


P.S. In case you were curious, dictionary.com's word of the day is neologism. In case you were confused, it means "a new word or expression." In case you were suspecting, I am not a nerd. =P

Trust, Hypocrisy, and Assumptions/Day the eleventh

Dearest you,

"The Purpose Driven Life" day eleven: Becoming Best Friends with God
"Since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life." -Romans 5:10
*God wants to be our best friend (in addition to our Creator, Maker, Lord, Master, Judge, Redeemer, Father, Savior, et cetera... :).
*We were made to live in God's continual presence.
*Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege, and being known and loved is God's greatest pleasure.
*We can become a best friend of God:
through constant conversation
through continual meditation
*"Pray without ceasing" -1 Thessalonians 5:17
*Everything we do can be "spending time with God" if he is invited to be a part of it and we stay aware of his presence.
*Meditation is simply focused thinking.
"Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him." -Psalm 25:14

CAUTION: If you'd prefer not to hear some ranting, stop reading now. Just thought I'd warn ya :)

First topic: Trust.
Dictionary.com defines it as: (1) reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence. (2) confident expectation of something; hope.

It can be a vocalized pinky-swear or an unspoken promise. The latter is just understood, generally between really close friends or siblings, et cetera.
I've never really thought about trust being hope. I guess if that's true, trusting is a little easier.
Best friends forever?...

Second topic: Hypocrisy.
Again, dictionary.com: (1) a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess. (2) a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.

Now we all know hypocrites. I've been one on too many occasions to count. But that doesn't mean it doesn't bother me. People pretending to be something they're not. Trying to impress you, or deceive you. Yet deep down, you both know it's a pathetic attempt. No one is fooling anyone.

Third (and final) topic: Assumtions.
I think this is pretty self-definable.
It seriously ticks me off when people assume you're doing fine just because you have a smile pasted on your face. You know, "Hey how are you?" "Fine." "Awesome! Me too! It's good to see you! Bye!" A little extreme, but not waaaay off course. They ask but don't really hear your answer. Or don't really care. Although that's usually just with acquaintances, not true friends.
Again, I'm guilty of this too. And again, it still hurts when someone assumes something about you. What's worse is when they don't even ask. It hurts even more when it's someone you love desperately and have known for...well, forever.



There. That wasn't so bad now, was it? :D Not too long, but not to worry, they'll be more ranting soon :D
Praise God for honesty!

Con amore,
Sophie

Good ideas gone bad/Day the ninth--the tenth

Dearest you,
My first good idea gone bad of the day was going outside in the beautiful weather and sitting in the grass amidst the bugs--and POLLEN-- to write. I pressed my luck apparently. Let's just say I lasted about ten minutes...tops. As I result, I've jump-started an annoying case of allergies. Now I can't even sit by an open window.
But anyways, last night I helped wave signs for a campaign and serve at a banquet. I wore a white shirt and served lasagna, with RED sauce. Let your imagination finish the picture. Ok, it wasn't quite THAT bad.
Then I slept over with a friend, which is why I missed blogging last night. But I did catch up on some much-needed conversations with my friend :D





"The Purpose Driven Life" day nine: What Makes God Smile?
"May the Lord smile on you..."-Numbers 6:25
"Smile on me, your servant; teach me the right way to live."- Psalm 119:135
*The smile of God is the goal of our lives.
*God smiles when we love him supremely.
*God smiles when we trust him completely.
*God smiles when we obey him wholeheartedly.
*God smiles when we praise and thank him continually.
*God smiles when we use our abilities.
*What God wants most from us is a relationship.
*Trusting God completely means having faith that he knows what is best for our lives.
* God enjoys watching every detail of our lives.
Point to ponder: God smiles when we trust him.
"The Lord is pleased with those who worship him and trust his love."-Psalm 147:11

Day ten: The Heart of Worship
"Give yourselves to God...Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes." -Romans 6:13
*The heart of worship is surrender.
*Fear keeps us from surrendering, but loves casts out all fear.
*We have to admit our limitations.
*Surrendering often means sacrificing our lives or suffering in order to change what needs to be changed.
*Surrendering is best demonstrated in obedience.
*Trust is a huge aspect of a fully surrendered life.
*The blessing of surrendering include peace, freedom, and experiencing God's power in our lives.
*Everybody surrenders to SOMEthing.
*If you don't surrender to God, you surrender to chaos. -E. Stanley Jones.
*Surrender is not the BEST way to live; it is the ONLY way to live. Nothing else works.
*WARNING: when we decide to live a totally surrendered life, that decision will be tested. It is often inconvenient, unpopular, costly, or seemingly impossible. It may mean doing the exact opposite of what we feel like doing. Commit at your own risk, yet know that the benefits are incomparable :D


My big sister came back home after spending a week enjoying the sand and the sea of Florida. I missed her :)
My second good idea of the day gone bad was trying to make an Alfredo sauce for the first time. It turned out like a thick paste--just shy of being a gloppy dough :\ Annnnnnd, it smelled weird. So my little sister and I (who were the only ones home) vetoed it, and we were more than content with plain pasta. :)

Praise the Lord for tissues...and my best friend, Ben Adryl!!!! :D


Con amore,
Sophie

Tired/ Day the eighth

Dearest you,
I'm weary tonight, so this is going to be even shorter than it has been.

"The Purpose Driven Life" day eight:Planned for God's pleasure
"You created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created." -Revelation 4:11
"The Lord takes pleasure in his people." -Psalm 149:4
*When we fully understand that we are created for God's pleasure, we will never again have a problem with feelings insignificant.
*Worship is far more than music.
*Anything we do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship.
*Worship is not for our benefit, but for God's.
*Worship is not a PART of our lives, it IS our lives.
"For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory." -Isaiah 61:3

My eyes are drooping, but it's still an hour before I generally go to sleep. Oh well, I'll just break the status quo for tonight :)


Cheerio!
Con amore,
Sophie

One Week/Day the seventh

Dearest you,
It's been a week since I started this devotional!
And so without further ado,
"The Purpose Driven Life" day seven: The reason for everything.
"Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory." -Romans 11:36
"The Lord has made everything for his ow purposes." -Proverbs 16:4
* It's all for Him.
*The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory of God.
*EVERYTHING created by God reflects his glory in some way.
*Living for God's glory is the greatest achievement we can accomplish with our lives.
*God's glory is best seen in Jesus Christ.
*When anything in creation fulfills its purpose, it brings glory to God.
*We bring God glory by worshiping him.
*We bring God glory by loving other believers.
*We bring God glory by becoming like Christ.
*We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts.
*We bring God glory by telling others bout him.
*Jesus will give us everything we need to live for Him.



Seven, siete, sette, zeven, sept, syv. Seven. In seven days God created the entire universe. And that included one whole day He completely dedicated to rest. Hmm...
I worked again today with my kindred-spirited friend. And saw another friend I haven't actually had a decent conversation with in years. Not for lack of trying, mind you, or lack of effort on her part. Busy lives, you know :) We take the few minutes we can, anyways.
I didn't play a game with my brothers, so I couldn't beat them. I DID play in a string ensemble and only partly-butchered the songs :D. I didn't read a book that made me cry. But I DID think of ways to make my own stories tear-jerkers. I do plan on hanging with my big sista Gen tonight. Praise God for friends!!!


BTW, when I looked up an image for friends, google gave me Winnie the Pooh.Soooo, yeah. Just so you know...

Con amore,
Sophie

Hmmm/Day the sixth

Dearest you,
This is going to be a bit shorter than the others...just as a warning :)

"The Purpose Driven Life" day six: Life is a Temporary Assignment.
"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and the my life is fleeting away." -Psalm 39.4
"I am here on earth for just a little while." -Psalm 119.19
*Our identity is in eternity, and our homeland is heaven.
*Earth is just a temporary residence. We won't be here long, so we shouldn't get too attached to the world.
*We are preparing for something soooooo much better.
*The fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as Christians, we experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection in this world.
*It also explains why some of God's promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered, and some circumstances seem unfair. This is not the end of the story.
*We're not completely happy on earth because we're not supposed to be.
*All that is not eternal is eternally useless. -C.S. Lewis
"We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."-2 Corinthians 4:18
Point to ponder: This world is not our home.



I read a book that made me cry. I studied geometry formulas that I will never use outside high school. I went hand surfing on the air with the car window rolled down. I considered major life principles, and whys?. I solved no questions. I beat my brothers at a word game. I ate more melting Easter chocolate. I helped my dad (see, Papa? I'm talking about you :P) with a top-secret project. I was not attacked by wasps. I let my hair dry in the sun, and my soul bask in the Son. Praise God for words!

Con amore,
Sophie

Heat and wasps and randomness/Day the fifth

Dearest you,

"The Purpose Driven Life" day five: Seeing Life from God's View
"What is your life?" -James 4:14
*We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. -Anais Nin
*The way we see our lives SHAPES our lives.
*Life on earth is a test, a trust, and a temporary assignment.
*Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test.
*The more God give us, the more responsible he expects us to be.
* At the end of our life on earth we will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well we handled what God entrusted to us.
"Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones."-Luke 16:10

Today I was sweating while I did my school work. We have yet to turn on the AC, and it's only April. It's going to be a hot and muggy summer. On a brighter note, we can soon douse ourselves in the swimming pool and drink ice-cold lemonade and play kick-ball at dusk. And we can make friends with lovely wasps like the one who landed--and remained-- on me (in our house) this evening and scared any wits I had left from yesterday out of me. You can blame him if none of this makes any sense.

I played a new card game with Blake. Of course I won. I watched Thumbelina with the little girls while trying to avoid a heat stroke upstairs. I'd love the fairy prince...if only his voice sounded less like a little girl's :)
The chocolates I hoarded from the Easter eggs yesterday are melting on my desk. They still taste delicious.
And my brothers mumbled unintelligibly when they came to bid me good night.
How's that for a random-yet-fairly-accurate account? :D Praise God for variety!

Con amore,
Sophie

Buona Pasqua/ Day the Fourth

Dearest you,
Happy Easter!!!! I hope you all are enjoying the day, celebrating Christ's resurrection! I sure am! :) We started the festivities quite early this morning, rising at 5:30ish am to attend a 6:30am sunrise service. Much to our disappointment, the service was held indoors (unlike every other year where they at least TRY to have it outside--sometimes the rain intervenes). It kind of defeated the purpose of a sunrise service, since we, of course, couldn't see the sun rise.
The service itself was...pleasant. Our family has had serious issues with important church services, mainly Christmas Eve and Easter. This morning, I had a rather difficult time containing laughter when the music director started us off acapella and then led us through several different music keys during each song (which was challenging to follow), all the while singing at the top of his lungs. It didn't help that my brother was almost shaking with mirth on my right, and my dad was elbowing me on my left. You kind of had to be there. Ah, good times :)


"The Purpose Driven Life" day four: Made to last forever
"God has...planted eternity in the human heart." -Ecclesiastes 3:11
*Surely God would not have created such a being as man to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality. -Abraham Lincoln.
*There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right then, have it your way." -C.S. Lewis
*This life is preparation for the next.
*Living in light of eternity will change how we handle every relationship, task, and circumstance.
*There are eternal consequences to everything we do on earth.
*Our values change when we live in light of eternity.
Point to ponder: There is more to life than just here and now.



Back to Easter Sunday--After church we hung around the house, rather lazily, for a while until we joined together for a big brunch. Yum! Then I was "Assistant Easter Egg Hider" to my dad, which, apparently, gave me an advantage to the egg hunt which followed. Least to say, we all received plenty of candy with which to rot our teeth. :D
I tried to play a football game on the wii with my brothers (Madden '08?). I'm pretty sure I creamed them...isn't the purpose to give the other team the ball and let them smash you to the ground? :P Then we all played Spoons, which is a really intense card game. Not to worry, nobody got hurt :D
Afterwords my dad made me drive him on an errand. Nobody died, and the car is in one piece!!! I'd call that successful :)
And THEN as I was calmly and pleasantly reading a book after supper, when, wonder of wonders, a horrid wasp fell from the ceiling and landed right in front of me. He was a stubborn little guy, but eventually my shoe got the best of him. He shall scare the wits out of me no more. My apologies to bug huggers. :D So there is my account of Easter, 2010.
Praise God for sending his Son to die for US and to rise again so that we might have eternal life!!!!!
Con amore,
Sophie

Sibling bonding /Day the third

Dearest you,

"The Purpose Driven Life" day 3: What drives your life?
"I observed that the basic motive for success is the driving force of envy and jealousy." -Ecclesiastes 4:4
*The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder--a waif, a nothing, a no man. -Thomas Carlyle
*Everyone's life is driven by something.
The five most common circumstances, values, and emotions that drive peoples' lives:
1. guilt (running from regrets, hiding from shame/manipulated by memories)
2. resentment and anger (holding on to hurts instead of forgiving them)
3. fear (missing great opportunities/ playing it safe, avoiding risks, maintaining status quo)
4. materialism (thinking more will make you more happy, more important, more secure)
5. need for approval (allowing expectations of others to control your life)

Five great benefits of living a purpose-driven life:
Knowing your purpose...
1. gives meaning to your life
2. simplifies your life (defines what you do and don't do)
3. focuses your life (become effective by being selective)
4. motivates your life (purpose always produces passion)
5. prepares you for eternity

* One key to failure is to try to please everyone
*Nothing matters more than knowing God's purposes for our lives, and nothing can compensate for not knowing them.
*If we want our lives to have impact, we must focus them.
*We weren't put here on earth to be remembered, we were put here to prepare for eternity.
Point to ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.　

So tonight I was doing my little sisters' hair in preparation for the early sunrise service tomorrow morning. As I was blow-drying Lilly's hair, we were singing songs at the top of lungs in order to be heard above the rather loud, obnoxious, hair dryer. I told her to request a song, and I though I heard her say "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Thinking this was an odd request for Easter Eve, but being the indulgent sister I am ;-), I began belting out "The Twelve Days of Christmas." She immediately burst into a fit of giggles. She hadn't said anything remotely similar to "The Twelve Days of Christmas." It was a made-up song about roses that she requested. Then I had to sing "Painting the Roses Red" from the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland ("Oh pardon me, but Mr. Three, why must you paint them red?"). Of course, following that, we went in to sing all the other songs from the film, which, by the way, my little sisters don't really know any of the lyrics to.

After I tucked them into bed, I went to the family room with my brothers. They forced me to sit through TWO episodes of Star Wars:The Clone Wars (animated). As of an hour ago, I knew nothing about the movie/series beyond the fact that jedis use glowing swords called light sabers. Now I know that it's filled with very strange looking creatures and plots and missions and really cool, enormous, flying saucers. I still can't remember any names though, and I did have difficulty differentiating between the "good" guys and the "bad" guys...or girls. The boys were horrified to find a hint of romance in one scene, and I was horrified to see animated "violence" in all the others. Oh well, all in the name of sibling bonding time :) Praise God for little siblings!
Con amore,
Sophie

Bouno Venerdi/ Day the second

Dearest you,
Yesterday was April Fool's day. Today is Good Friday. School's are out today. Students aren't allowed to pray. Oh, the irony. (And I honestly didn't mean for all that to rhyme:). When I was little(er), I used to wonder why it was called "good" when it was the day Jesus was crucified. It took me a while to understand that it is "good" for all of humankind. God sent His Son, and the Son willingly died--on a cross--so that you and I might gain eternal life, even though we're horrid, selfish sinners and don't deserve a speck of forgiveness. Thank God we don't have to earn our way to heaven. And praise God for Good Friday!

"The Purpose Driven Life" day two: You are not an accident.
"I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born." -Isaiah 44:2
*God doesn't play dice--Albert Einstein.
*God never does anything accidentally, and He never makes mistakes. He has a reason for everything He creates.
*God was thinking of us even before He created the world--in fact, that's why he made the world!
*We were created as special objects of God's indescribable, unconditional love.
Point to ponder--We are not mistakes.

I have a new name now. It's "Teacher." This morning I helped watch eight three-year-olds. One tiny blond lad only wanted to put puzzles together. As I was helping him, he looked up at me with his big blue eyes and asked, "Are you my best friend?" I've never seen this kid before today, and he wanted to know if I was his BEST friend. He didn't even know my name. Ahh, the admiration of a child :)

Con amore,
Sophie

A Purpose Driven Life, Day the First

Dearest you,
I've decided to re-read a book I went through with a friend two years ago. It's called "The Purpose Driven Life", by Rick Warren. It's a forty-day devotional designed to help you discover God's purpose for your life. I thought I might just jot down some of the main points I come across, thereby letting you know of my progress (and keeping myself on track :). The first of April, Fool's day though it is, seemed like a logical day to begin.
Day one, It All Starts with God
"For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible...everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him." Colossians 1:16
*Focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life's purpose.
*We were made by God and for God--and until we understand this, life will never make sense.
*God planned our purpose before our own existence. We can choose our career, spouse, hobbies, etc, but we don't get to choose our purpose.
*God is more than just our starting point in our life--he's the source of our life.
Point of the day to ponder: It's not about me.
Good food for thought...

Other than that, I've been enjoying the weather, though there may have been a few too many swarming bugs for my tastes. We decorated perfect white eggs with bright colors and waxed swirls outside while trying to dodge giant evil bumble bees. I studied. I read a 380-page book, which will brighten any day. I received a very belated birthday card; enclosed was a pretty bookmark that read, "Believe with faith all things are possible." I went on a walk with my wise papa. Praise God for little things!

Con amore,
Sophie

The Dark Before the Morning

Dearest you,
So today I woke up at 5:45am to go to work. I'm pretty sure it should be illegal to rise before the sun does, but mi madre tells me it's not. :) Good day at work, playing secretary and stuffing 1,000 Easter eggs with one of my best friends, AND getting paid for it--what could be better?
The rest of the day hasn't flowed so smoothly. I'm learning to hold my opinions (all of them). The hard part is still talking. How do you talk to a person without telling them what you think? It makes for rather boring, polite conversation.
So good day, sketchy afternoon, and this song. It's beautiful. Praise God for music. And words!
I think this is an incredibly personal song, for every individual. You've probably heard it before. I don't know, there's just something about this song that gives me chills. The good kind, of course. Enjoy!

The Dark Before the Morning, by Josh Wilson

Do you wonder why you have to
Feel the things that hurt you
If there’s a God who loves you where is He now

Maybe there are things you can’t see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending

Someday somehow you’ll see you’ll see

Would you dare would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming
So hold on you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the dark before the morning

My friend you know how this all ends
You know where you’re going
You just don’t know how you’ll get there
So say a prayer

And hold on cause there’s good for those who love God
But life is not a snapshot
It might take a little time but you’ll see the bigger picture

Once you feel the weight of glory
All your pain will fade to memory

It’s just the hurt before the healing
Oh the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the dark before the morning


Con amore, With Love,
Sophie

An Experiment

Dearest you,

I've decided to experiment with blogging. Forgive me if this turns out pathetic :) And forgive me if I end up ranting too much, which, in itself, might also be pathetic? Anyways, if you know anything about me at all, you'll know that I'm generally more of a quiet person. Yes, I verbalize many things, and I know how to talk the ears off my sisters. But I keep many other things to myself. Here is where you'll get a taste of my thoughts. A taste, but little more. I fear I'll always be an inward person :)

I'd like to add that I know most of the rules in the English language, or at least the ones I've been taught through high school. But...I will not be following all of them. Like starting a sentence with a conjunction or this incomplete fragment. Were not the rules, however, meant to be broken in creative writing? And this, believe me, will be creative. The definition of creative is up for debate...

I won't promise wisdom or wit, but I'll guarantee humor...and sarcasm. I may post song lyrics (not of my own writing) or poems (also not my own, for I am no poet, though I cannot deny that I have tried my hand at it). I might even let you view parts of the novels (yes, plural) I'm in the midst of creating. And I will whole-heartedly accept--and prefer--your thoughts and advice and criticism; constructed, or course :P I might just complain about politics, or current events, or how sad this whole celebrity phase is, or why...well, maybe just why. Who knows? This blog will be a variety of many things. I hope I do not bore you, but if I do, you can always move on. I won't quiz you on this content to see if you're actually reading it :) I've always thought blogs are more for the writer anyways...

I may resort to Italian every so often, but I'll try to add the translation. I'm certainly not fluent--nowhere close--but I hope to be one day, and you can never have too much practice.

Well, that should do for an intro. Piu tardi! Later!
-Sophie