Well, here it is--my first blog.

I guess I can thank Jack (my brother) for getting me hooked on blogging.  I enjoy reading his blog very much, especially since we're separated by so many miles now.  (He's in Albuquerque; I'm in Northern New York.)  And I guess I feel closer to him now than ever before, just because we actually have stuff to talk about now--even if it's nothing deep, or even if it is.  He's one of my best friends, and I'm glad he is, especially after so many years of being apart.

I've often felt bad that I missed his teenage years, and that I didn't treat him very well in the years before I left for the Army.  Life was kind of falling apart around me at that time, and I unfortunately didn't take the time to be the sister I should have been to him, or many other things I should have been.  But you have to be lost in order to be found, and I'm not going back to the way I used to be.

I'm not a writer.  I never scored well on school papers, and I dreaded doing them.  So if this is not the most well-written thing you have ever come across, please bear with me.  Maybe I'll get better with practice.

So, for the past six months or so, I've been thinking about what I'd put in a blog if I had one.  I'll try to include some of that stuff later on.

Here are some of my favorites:

Books:  Luke, Acts, Psalms, Ecclesiates, Proverbs; "Messies Manual" by Sandra Felton; "Night" by Elie Weisel (the older translation; I haven't read the new one that came out recently); "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley; James Herriot's stories; any foreign language book; non-fiction audiobooks.

Music:  Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir; Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers; El Coro de Brooklyn Tabernacle; Bluegrass Gospel; any uplifting, encouraging, upbeat Southern Gospel; a couple Casting Crowns songs; anything that praises the Lord or gets me to think and isn't sappy.

My heroes:  The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Who I'd like to meet:  Betsy Ten Boom; Paul the apostle; Peter the apostle.

I am a Christian, born again.  When I was growing up, I knew I wanted to do something purposeful with my life.  When I decided that I wanted Jesus to be my Lord, I gained that purpose.  Stupidly, I failed to pursue it.  By the grace of God I had another chance--after I'd made a complete mess of myself--and He started me over, through dealing with me in prayer, and through the love of the people surrounding me.

People fall into different catagories:  They either serve God, think they serve God, or don't want to serve God.  I've been all three.

Some people say Christianity is a crutch.  I'll take it, because I sure couldn't handle life by myself.  If this "crutch" made me turn my life around, it's the best crutch I've ever found.

"...right before your eyes."  This is a line from Disney's "The Little Mermaid" that has always stuck with me.  I know it's not deeply theological or philosophical, but it just made sense.  In it, Prince Eric's mentor is telling him to quit chasing after something that was intangible, and instead take what was real, loving, and caring, and right before his eyes.  Well, in the movie it didn't work out happily-ever-after right away.  But the basic thought behind it rings true. 

So often I talk to people and they're grasping for answers, help, understanding, acceptance, anything; they are in such a state of dispair, but they simply will not stop and look at what is staring them in the face.  Some have talked about how worthless life is; how society makes them sick, people don't accept them, they feel outcast.  If they would just give their lives to God!  I mean REALLY give their lives to Him, and turn Him from something they did as a kid, something they give a mental "Hey God, I know you're out there" to, and into their LORD, their everything. 

You know, I heard a preacher say once, that we were outcast not living for God, made fun of, rejected; why not at least live a life for God, full of benefits and blessings?  You'll still be persecuted, but when you ask God to give you help with it, it just rolls and you can smile, knowing that it's all gonna be fine.

Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh what needless pain we bear.

I don't hate people anymore.  I don't get ruffled (too much) when people make jokes about me.  When I do, I pray, and it just rolls.

Okay, I'm done... for now.  I can't help but talk about the good stuff.  And there's a lot more to come!