Exciting Announcement!

I know, I know.

I've been MIA for like, 3 and a half months after PROMISING I was going to be focusing more on blogging this year.

I still intend to keep that promise, and I have some exciting news!

After a few months of brainstorming, planning, designing, writing, and editing...I have finally started a new blog.

I decided I wanted to start a clean slate, and believe me, I'm going in with a bang. My first post is QUITE personal, but it's something that has been weighing on me. I struggled with posting it -- and seriously considered not -- but everywhere I turned, the issue seemed to come up, so I ultimately decided to suck it up and press publish.

I'm really excited about my new blogging journey! You can check out the new site, Wonderfully Made, here:

http://wondermadefully.blogspot.com/

(Notice the confusing URL. All the good ones were taken. Hopefully someday I can purchase my own domain.)

I would so appreciate it if you would go follow me there, as I will no longer posting here. If you like what you see, please feel free to share! I am hoping this new blog will be an encouragement to all who read it.

And don't worry, not ALL of my posts will be as serious as this first one. I will be doing more of those, but I still have PLENTY of stories to tell.

Thanks, y'all, and I hope to see you over at Wonderfully Made!

Life Without School Is Kinda Boring.

I know that doesn't seem like a logical sentence and you must think I'm losing my mind, but it's true. I've been doing school the last, like, fifteen years of my life and NOW I'M DONE. Which was cool for all of about two hours and then it hit me that, um, I had nothing to do.

Like seriously, I have no life. I kinda had to put whatever inkling of a life I once previously had on the back burner about a year and a half ago when I decided to take the fast-paced approach to college, and didn't realize that that would have severe consequences once I no longer had to do school.

I. AM. SO. BORED.

Yeah, I'm working still. About 30 hours a week. But y'all? There's 168 hours in a week. And yes, I did google that number (twice, because I closed the tab and then promptly forgot what it said), because I'm now [almost] a college graduate and therefore I don't need math anymore. But that's not the point. The point is that there's 138 hours a week where I have nothing to do.

Okay, that's not true. Factor in like, 56 hours of sleep and like two to three hours for church on Sundays...oh! and two hours for my summer group on Tuesday nights...and that leaves me with....hold on...like 70ish (that's not the exact number but AGAIN I don't need math anymore) hours a week where I have nothing to do.

So...what have I been doing with all that free time you ask?

• Reading this AMAZING baking blog I found via Pinterest, and baking ALL of her recipes (Okay, only three. But I'm working on it.)
• Reading this makeup blog (also found via Pinterest) and being reminded how much I LOVE reading up on makeup/hair care/skin care tips, and constantly giving myself makeovers.
• Pinteresting. Meaning, doing every DIY I've ever pinned ever.
• Watching Gossip Girl on Netflix. Because I can't get away from the trashy teen dramas.
• Cleaning/reorganizing my room/bathroom because for some reason THEY JUST DON'T STAY CLEAN.
• Shopping at Goodwill, because it's close and I love new clothes and great deals.
• Spending 45 minutes at Wal-Mart trying to find where the heck they keep the glycerin and the castor oil (for a Pinterest hair mask I was making).

So basically, since finishing college, I have become a well-dressed, thrifty, organized, teen-soap-opera addicted Pinteresting machine monster with cookies. And blondies. Ooooh, can't forget the blondies. They're the best.

Like, no really. When I die, I really hope it's while I'm eating a blondie*. Best way to go, right there.

*I JUST realized that if you don't know what a blondie is, it might sound like I'm eating a female of the blonde hair variety. A blondie is basically a brownie without the cocoa. It looks more blonde than brown so it's called a blondie.

It's crazy how when you have school work to do, there are a million other things you'd rather be doing, but when you don't have school...there's NOTHING to do. That saying that "you don't know what you've got until it's gone" really rings true for me right now. (In a kind of pathetic way.)

But anyway, does anyone else have any other ideas of ways I can keep myself busy? Oh, and PLEASE don't say "working out." Because seriously, I'm not THAT bored.

P.S. Oh yeah, I finished college last week. I just realized y'all didn't know that before I wrote this post. Oops.

It's a Brand New Year.

Happy January 1st, everybody!

Another year has gone by. And if you've been reading my posts all year, you know that I had some major disappointments earlier in 2012, but at the same time, so many great things happened in the year as well. To recap:

I participated in a mud run,

I went to prom,

I graduated from high school as valedictorian (also, here),

I went to San Antonio on a senior trip with my good friends,

I participated in a 3 week long training program with some girls in my youth group,

I started college,

I turned 19,

I saw Les Miserables TWICE (at the Bass Hall and at the movie theater),

I went Black Friday shopping for the first time,

I had a merry Christmas,

And a happy New Year (to be blogged at a later time).

2012 stretched me, challenged me, humbled me, encouraged me, made me cry, and made me smile in so many different ways. I crossed three things off my bucket list, I made some new friends, I joined the "adult world" for the first time. And I missed a lot of things about high school, but I still enjoyed my new stage of life.

This year, I earned about 70 college credits, putting me at a total of 84. (If I pass my test this Thursday, I'll have 90 and officially be a college senior). And I survived the end of the world.

I'm definitely going to miss parts of 2012, and I'm definitely NOT going to miss other parts. But I'm definitely excited to see what 2013 has in store for me. Some things I know will be happening:

• I'm going on a cruise next week!
• I'll be finishing college in May and graduating in September.
• I'll be starting and hopefully finishing getting my teacher's certification.
• I'm entering a new decade this year! 20 years!
• And then of course Christmas and New Year's are always something to look forward to.

I rung in the New Year by throwing the first party I've ever thrown in my 19 years of life...and I do believe it was a success. I will post about that tomorrow or another time this week.

But until then...I wish everybody the best in 2013. I hope everybody had a great New Year's Eve, and here's to a brand new year.

P.S. I had the exact numbers of posts in 2012 as I did in 2011. I am way too consistent.

So Sentimental.

Okay, I have a confession to make.

I......I miss high school.

There. I said it. The thing that I was so glad was over. I want it back.

Here's why: I don't like change.

I despise change. And college? College is change to the max. I don't like it. I want to go back.

I miss my little high school routine. School on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Work on Tuesday and Thursday. Church on Wednesday night and Sunday. Kandu meetings every other week. Football games. Basketball games. Volleyball games. Plays. National honor society meetings. Knowing everyone in my entire school, and being best friends with everyone in my class.

I have not met anyone at UTA. Okay, I've met a couple people. But no new friends. Just acquaintances.

All I do is work and school. Work and school, school and work. Then I do some more school, go to bed, and start all over the next day. The highlight of my week is growth group on Tuesday nights. And church, of course.

So I've been feeling really sentimental lately. Looking back three years on my facebook profile, going through old pictures and videos, and really just wishing I had all that back...

And then the other day it hit me: just about when I'm going to be getting used to college life (next year), I'll be GRADUATING college, and then I once again have to dive into the deep abyss of the unknown.

I don't know what I'm going to do with myself.

I guess I just feel like a huge part of me is missing. You know, I was in high school for four years. I was super involved in my school and in my youth group, and now that's all been taken away from me. I hate being uninvolved...but I'm not going to be at UTA long enough to really get involved there. And we don't have a college group at church. So like...I'm just like a nobody right now.

Okay, I'm not really a nobody. I'm still involved in church, just not to the extent that I was in my youth group. I was a leader there, and now I'm back at the bottom of the totem pole.

I don't know how to explain why I'm struggling with this so much. I'm not type A, I don't like being in the middle of the things, I don't even really like leading. I guess it's just a big adjustment to make and, well, let's just say adaptability is not one of my top strengths. :)

Anyway, please join me in my sentimentality by looking at these pictures. (Disclaimer: There are A LOT. We're talking 4 years' worth.)

Decorating the tree. December 2008.

National History Day competition. February 2009.

Spring Retreat. March 2009.

 

 Missions garage sale. April 2009.

 Spring play. May 2009. (Yes I played an old lady.)

Thailand Mission Trip. June/July 2009.

 

 Spirit Week. October 2009.

 Volleyball. October 2009.

 

  Life Impact. January 2010.

Pine Cove. February 2010.

Spring Play. May 2010.

 Freshman Kidnap. June 2010.

 

California Mission Trip. July 2010.

 

Volleyball. October 2010. 

 Canada Mission Trip. June/July 2011. (As you can see, my junior year is poorly documented).

 

Women's Retreat. November 2011.

National Honor Society. December 2011.

 

HSM Band. Some point in 2011//2012.

Senior Progressive Dinner. February 2012.

 

 Prom. April 2012.

Spring Play. May 2012.

 

Speaking at church. May 2011.

 Senior Class. I miss these guys. May 2012.

Graduation. May 2012.

 Senior Trip. June 2012.

 

HEART. June 2012.

  

I would love to relive any one of these moments right now. You don't know what you've got until it's gone -- never have truer words been spoken.

Things Are Changing!

I know I'm a day late, but it's October! :D

Even though personally I think September is better, October's pretty cool too. We are already experiencing some cooler weather here in Texas! (Which means 70s and 80s for those of you who already have snow).

In other news...

Les Miserables was fantastic! It's technically the only musical I've ever seen live (I've seen the movies of Chicago and Phantom of the Opera), but I think it's the best! Okay, wait...I saw a high school version of Oklahoma...but I was referring to the professional ones at like...the Bass Hall...or Broadway...haha.

Anyway, we went to the Cheesecake Factory afterward for dinner and, well, cheesecake. Pictures anyone?

 We were waaaay up high.

 Yay! Les Miserables!

Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake. They decorated the plate for my birthday. :D

 

My mom's giant chocolate cake. My dad's face wins.

These may or may not be blood relatives of mine. I'll let you decide.

Guess what guys? I get to cross off #9 on my bucket list! Which technically says see Les Mis on "Broadway"...but what I really meant is a professional performance that does not include Anne Hathaway (who is playing Fantine in the upcoming movie, and I'm not sure she can pull it off).

I have also recently accomplished #37 and #41. Though the cinnamon rolls didn't turn out very well. Those were made at HEART, and it was my first time using yeast...I did it wrong, and the dough didn't rise. They still tasted good, there just weren't as many and they were kinda more like cookies, haha. BUT IT COUNTS. I don't care what you say. I'm gonna try again someday anyway, so what does it matter if I cross it off now?

Check out my list if you haven't yet and let me know if you can help me out with any of them! Ex: Your father owns an airport and your mother owns a hotel chain and you can get me free transportation, room, and board for that trip to Europe/visit to every continent. Or you know, your uncle is Steven Spielberg and he happens to be directing a new movie with Alex Pettyfer and Taylor Lautner and just so happens to need a 19-year-old girl about my size to be an extra...

It could happen.

And if it does...TELL ME. Pleaseandthankyou.

Happy October!

It's (Almost) My Favorite Season.

Behold. An alphabetical list of the reasons why I love fall.

Apples.

Apple pie. 

Boots. 

Blankets.

Candy corn.

Caramel.

Caramel apples.

Chicken noodle soup. 

Cider.

Cinnamon.

Cinnamon rolls. 

Crisp air.

Daylight savings time ends.

Family.

Fire in the fireplace.

Halloween.

Halloween candy.

Hayrides.

Hot chocolate.

Jack-O-Lanterns.

Jumping in piles of leaves.

Leaves.

Mashed potatoes.

My birthday.

Orange.

Pine cones.

Pumpkins.

Pumpkin patches.

Pumpkin spice Febreeze.

Red.

Scarecrows.

S'mores.

Spices.

Spice cake.

Sweaters.

Thanksgiving.

Vanilla.

Wreaths.

Just bask in those words for a moment and then try to tell me you're not super excited for fall.

This is Not the Post You've Been Waiting For.

This is not a post about the training I went to last month.

I actually have that one written, but have not posted it yet because I was trying to obtain a video and have not yet been successful in that venture.

But honestly, a big part of that is because it hasn't been on my mind the past several days. I will preface with an analogy that I made up all by myself (please hold the applause):

For the past, oh...yearish, I've been on a crazy roller coaster. A crazy roller coaster with sky-scraping highs and rock bottom lows. I was on the highest peak of that roller coaster when the car came off the track, and fell to the lowest low that there ever was. And let me tell y'all, I hit the bottom HARD.

It was like the car, everyone in the car, and the entire structure of this year-long roller coaster came crashing down on top of me. 

Y'all. I just came out of what was probably the hardest weekend of my life.

The hardest thing I've ever gone through.

And it's going to take awhile to recover.

I'm doing better. And I will continue to do better. And eventually it'll be like nothing was ever wrong. Time heals all wounds, but this wound's gonna need a lot of time.

I don't know what God has in store for me now. I thought I did but now I'm back to square one and I know nothing. And that's hard, because I like to know things.

I don't like surprises. I don't like change. This happens to be a surprise AND a change. Oh yay.

But regardless, I'm going to press on. I'm going to keep on living my life. No matter what happens, I'm going to keep trusting God. That He has a plan. That His plan is better than my plan.

Clearly, because God just basically took the schematics for my roller coaster and threw them in the trash. He showed me why my roller coaster would never work, and He had to tear it down so we could build a new one. A better one. Together.

These verses have kept me going the past couple days. If you're going through anything difficult right now--or even if you're not--I would encourage you to read them. They're good reminders for us all.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." 1 Peter 4:12-13

I put these verses up on my desk at work to keep me going. Cuz honestly, guys, work is hard right now. I can't focus because I have so much on my mind. I don't want to be there. But I'm trying. I'm really trying.

I long for normalcy. I long for simplicity. But my life isn't normal or simple. There's a good chance it will never be. But Jesus's life wasn't normal or simple either. I mean, His life was WAY less normal than mine...he was immortal for crying out loud. If that doesn't scream complicated I don't know what does.

He was crucified.

And then He came back to life.

Y'all. It doesn't get weirder than that.

Of course, that was Jesus and He can handle WAY more than a helpless human like myself can. But, I'm also dealing with way less than Him, AND I have Him to help me.

There's no reason I can't do this. None at all.

That's not to say I couldn't use prayer. If you think about it, include me. Include my family and my friends, too. And if you have anything you need prayer for right now, please let me know so I can return the favor.

At the beginning of the year, my best friend and I made a deal to make this year better than last year. Last year is gonna be really hard to top...but I'm still gonna try, despite all this. 

I will have the summer training post up at some point. I'm not going to say when because I know it will probably happen sooner if I don't. :)

Oh, and as a random post script, one of the keys just fell off my keyboard. Awesome. I need a new laptop.

The Class of '012.

Yes, I did realize I wrote "'012". I did that on purpose. "Class of '12" sounds like it's missing a syllable.

Sooo....I'm graduated! That wonderful day that you all heard me talk about way too much...it finally came! I graduated Tuesday, May 22nd, and boy does it feel grand. Cue the music... "I feeeeeeel good! *duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh* I knew that I would! *duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh*"

 But in all seriousness, I am so glad it is over. It has been so stressful the last several weeks, as you may have guessed from my lack of presence in the blogosphere. I have pictures, which I know you are dying to see...but if I put them in this post, this post is literally going to be a mile long...so, I will dedicate a separate post to them later, but here's a preview:

Oh yeah, things got crazy.

So, you may be wondering...now what? I think the question most commonly heard by new graduates is "So, what are your plans for your future?" Ah, the future. I am a future person. I have my wedding planned. Heck, I have my funeral planned. (Have I mentioned I'm a planner?) I like to think ahead. However...my future is kind of hard to explain....

"I'm going to be enrolling full time at UTA in the fall, because I was valedictorian and have a scholarship I can only use if I enroll full time. However, I'm also going to be testing out of various courses through CLEP and DSST and also taking some online courses. Then I will take all the credits from UTA, the testing, and the online courses and transfer them to this random state college in New Jersey that you've probably never heard of called Thomas Edison and receiving my diploma from there with a degree in liberal studies. My goal is to finish in two years, then go on to get my teacher's certification."

That's the true answer to that question. But what I actually say is,

"I'm going to UTA."

It saves a lot of time and I don't have to answer a gazillion questions about why I'm doing it that way or how we heard about the college or the tests or whatever. Occasionally, people ask about my major, to which I say "liberal studies" and then pray that they don't know that UTA doesn't have a liberal studies program because that just brings up a whole bunch of other questions that I really don't want to answer.

In the much nearer future, however, I have some exciting things going on as well. For instance, I am leaving in the morning to go to San Antonio with some of my best friends for about a week. We're going to Fiesta Texas, Sea World, and Schlitterbahn while we're down there. We're also planning on a fancy dinner at an expensive steakhouse and dessert in a revolving tower overlooking the city. Can't wait! :)

(Don't worry...we have parents going with us, they just won't be hovering.)

Then, a few days after I get back, I am leaving for 3 weeks to go live in/renovate a house with a bunch of other girls from my youth group. We will also be learning life skills like cooking, cleaning, budgeting, laundry, etc. It should be a lot of fun, though it will definitely be challenging as well. So just a heads up...I will be MIA for most of June as I can't bring a phone, a computer, or anything like that with me.

July, I plan on working more, and doing some school (I already have 27 hours! That's almost a year of college...and I just graduated! Woohoo!). Hopefully I'll still have some time for fun though...I don't want to be the boring person who works all the time... :) Anyway, I'm bringing my laptop to San Antonio so you may be hearing from me there. I am definitely most excited for Sea World. When I was little I wanted to be a marine biologist, because I love dolphins so much. Haha, can't wait!

 Oh, on a side note...my phone and charger mysteriously moved outlets last night. My parents said they didn't do it. I have come to the conclusion that someone in my family is a sleepwalker, and I intend to find out who. The culprit will NOT get away with this...unless of course it's me, in which case I forgive myself.

With No Regrets.

This is the story of a girl who let one negative critique rule her life. A girl who failed to recognized her own talent. A girl who lost faith in herself.

This little girl grew up in a show-business family. Her parents were both fantastic actors and her dad could even sing. Her mom could paint almost as well as Picasso, and both parents had an ear for music. The little girl was pretty much destined to succeed at anything in the fine arts genre.

Pretty much ever since she uttered her first word, she was on stage in plays. She did plays, skits, and musicals for both church and school.

When she was about 9, her church started doing children's musicals. Of course, she auditioned. She loved acting, and was hoping to get a lead part.

Everyone was required to not only do an acting audition, however, but a singing audition as well. So, naturally, she auditioned for that, too. She had never really sung before, so she wasn't sure how things were going to go.

They went extremely well.

Her mom was the director for the musical, and therefore had inside information. Her mom found out that her daughter had one of the best singing auditions out of everybody.

The little girl was given a lead role and two solos. This was the first time she had ever sung in front of an audience.

And the last, for many years.

The next year, it came time for another musical. The little girl was 10 now, and thought she had the lead role in the bag. She received a callback on her acting audition. She did not, however receive a callback for singing.

She was not cast in a lead role. She was not given a solo.

She found out later, from her mother's inside information, that she was not even considered for having a solo. The judges apparently had not liked her audition. They didn't like her voice.

The little girl believed this critique. She began thinking that they were right and that she had no talent. She had no intention of ever singing again.

Well, that didn't last long, of course. She loved singing too much. Her mother enrolled her in voice lessons to improve, but that still didn't stop her from believing that she was talentless. The only people she ever let hear her sing were her mom and her voice teacher. They said she was good, but they had to. Their opinions didn't count in her mind.

This went on for about 5 years.

One day, her school decided to have a musical. Anyone with musical talent was asked to audition for a singing role. Under normal circumstances, the now 15-year-old girl would have done what she always does: fade into the background, and pretend to have no talent. Unfortunately, she didn't have that option. Her mom was, to her dismay, the director. She was, quite literally, forced to audition.

And she got the lead role, with two solos.

But that still wasn't enough to convince her that she could sing. Despite all the comments she got after the play, she didn't believe them. Not one.

In fact, it still took her 2 years after that to start regaining confidence in her ability.

After this musical where everyone realized that, hey, she can sing, many opportunities arose for the girl to sing more. And she was expected to take them.

Her mom wanted her to sing in the school talent show. She didn't.

Her parents and friends wanted her to join the worship band for the youth group. She didn't.

Her mom wanted her to audition for a recording as part of the elementary school girls' curriculum at her church. That one she did, but she regretted it. She didn't get the recording--because she sounded too mature. Not a bad critique, just not right for the part. But that didn't matter.

The judges' opinion about her voice from 5 years earlier still resonated in the back of her head. She still believed it.

Then the next school musical rolled around. Again, she was forced to audition. Again she got the lead part with solos. Again, she lacked confidence.

She put on a small concert for family and a few friends (her new voice teacher's idea, of course). This one was even worse than the musicals.

But then, she went on a mission trip. On this trip, she stepped out, and joined the worship band. She, along with her friends, led many in worship during this time. And she had a great time doing it. She actually found herself more confident than ever before, and realized that this was what she was supposed to be doing.

And finally, after three years of hiding behind the crowd, she joined her youth group's worship band.

With no regrets.

----------------
In case you didn't figure this out, this is a true story. The little girl is me. Not to say that I'm like the new Celine Dion or anything, but I am starting to think that I'm not as tone-deaf as I thought I was for so many years. I share this story for a couple reasons: One, for anyone who doesn't get why I was so coy about my singing for so long. Now you know. 

Two, to show how I wasted so many years hiding my gift and feeling discouraged just because I had one bad singing day when I was 10. I chose to listen to the opinion of three people who happened to hear me on a bad day, over the opinion of hundreds who have heard me on more than one occasion.

Third, for some reason this story has been on my mind a lot lately, and writing helps me clear my thoughts. What better place to write it than here?

My New...Uh, Hobby?

Several months ago, it finally hit me that I am a senior. That virtually everything I do this year will be my last time ever doing it. And then, upon pondering this thought some more, I realized that this meant that once volleyball season ended, I would never play another sport again, or have any way at all of staying in shape.

Well, I decided that this was unacceptable. I must have some way to burn calories, or I will get fat. And I'm not changing the way I eat. I love sugar too much. No, I needed something that would simply balance out the effects of my bad eating habits.

I considered my different options. I wanted something that wouldn't cost me any money, and something that I could do on my own time and at my own pace. I came to the conclusion that running was my best option.

Seems like a very logical solution, right? Ha! You're forgetting one very, very important thing about me: 

I DON'T RUN.

More than that, I don't like running. In fact, I don't normally like exercising in general. I'm not athletic. I'm more of an arts person. The only reason I stuck with volleyball all these years was because I actually (most of the time) enjoyed it, and it was a way of working off all those chocolate milkshakes I eat (drink?).

Seriously, almost everyone (okay...everyone) who knows me was really shocked when I told them I was going to start running, and super impressed that I haven't given up yet.

Of course, if you're expecting me to give up, then you're forgetting another very important thing about me: 

I'M NOT A QUITTER.

So, I'm going to stick with it. Volleyball ended last week, and so far, I've run 4 days. The third day I ran my maximum: 2.5 miles. I discovered I can run a mile in about 10 minutes, which I never knew. I also discovered that I can run (at least) 25 minutes without stopping. Next time I think I'll go for 3 miles in 30 minutes. I'm seriously surprising myself. If you'd asked me two weeks ago, I would have thought I'd be dead WAY before I got to this point.

Oh, yeah. And the great thing about running is I can drink (eat?) chocolate milkshakes now totally guilt-free. I often reward myself with one after my runs.

The Little Things.

Almost two years ago now, I was having one of the worst months of my life. Nothing seemed to be going right. I hated school. I hated volleyball. I didn't even enjoy going to church, and I felt as if none of my friends wanted to be around me anymore. I was seriously considering quitting all of it: volleyball, church, everything. I couldn't take it anymore. The pressure was too much, and I was too depressed to deal with it.

A small box changed all of that.

It was about a week before my 16th birthday, and I received a package in the mail. I opened it up, and inside was a birthday card from an anonymous sender and a bag of my favorite candy.

Instantly, I had hope. Hope for tomorrow. Hope that things would get better. And guess what? They did--all because of an anonymous birthday gift. It brightened not just my day, but my whole life. I was ready to give things a second chance.

I've taken away two things from this experience. One, God put amazing people in my life who truly do love and care about me. Before receiving this package, I felt like I had no friends. After receiving the package, I knew that I did.

The other thing this experience taught me is that my problems are NOT too big for God. This is blatantly proven whenever He sends us happiness in small packages. Two years ago, I felt like no one could understand me and that nothing would solve my problems. I'm pretty sure God just laughed at me, because He turned around and sent me a package of Jolly Ranchers and instantly made me forget everything. Believe me, if something as small and simple as candy can solve my problems, then God definitely can.

I never would have imagined I would learn all that from a bag of candy.

So, I encourage you to never take the little things for granted. Because sometimes, it's the little things in life that teach us our most valuable lessons.

Welcome Home.

Day after day, time after time
Nothing seemed to be going right
I'd try to be happy but always would fail
The happiness always was just a thin veil

I searched and searched but never could find
The missing piece to my peace of mind
So once again, I'd wear my mask
And lie through my smile if anyone asked

I needed help, so finally, I cried
And when I did, You opened my eyes
You showed me exactly where I went wrong
And where my happiness had gone

So I'm making some long-needed changes, at last
I'm setting a fire to the bridge of my past
And I'm burning the ashes--there's no turning back
To the haunting ghost of the life I now lack

I'm letting You in as I should have before
I never meant to lock the door
And I'm giving You complete control
Over my mind, my heart, and my soul

I'm ready to follow wherever you go
So, come on in, Lord! Welcome home.