Relational Little Moments.

I love being able to relate to people. People in my home town, people at school, people all around the world. When I go somewhere I love to find out more about each person I meet. I've had a pretty interesting love and I would never turn down the chance of sharing my life with someone. I feel like if I'm willing to share my story, someone else will do the same. This is one of the little things in life I love the most. 

http://littlethingsxoxo.blogspot.com

This blog is someone I don't even know but we share the same views and ideas and I love that someone out there who I don't even know thinks about the same things I do. I go into a more elaborate details about the things in life that I appreciate but the ideas that this author shares are so similar to my own. How amazing is it that you and someone anywhere in the world can appreciate that first bite into a cupcake, a simple homemade snack, or sharing a little bit about your day. 

While Michelle's blog is wonderful, it was a little difficult to figure it out at first. While it's an amazing blog full of wonderful ideas and plenty of colors that just make me feel happy, it is a little strange to navigate. If everything was a little better laid out it wouldn't have been as tough. But other than that I love all the brightness that her blog offers. I find each food option on her blog so scrumptious looking and the way that she goes into detail about each snack or meal is so cool. She analyzes the food, but not in the way a professional cook would. She studies the parts of it that any other normal person would, making it easier to relate. 

Again, I know I'm being repetitive, but hey guys, relating to other people is kind of what life is all about. I think sometimes we take that for granted. Well stop, because other people bring out the best in us, and that's pretty wonderful. 

Michelle's blog shows a lot of her life. So I wanted to share a little bit of mine with you guys. These are some wonderful people in my life who bring out the best in who I am. 

Moments when I can get my friends to look at a camera and smile with me are some of the best times. Maybe Michelle feels the same way, I mean why else would you want the world to meet your friends?

Life Changing Moments.

I grew up in Valencia, CA, and I went to a pretty big school there. I loved it. I didn't know everyone but that was okay because I never stopped running out of people to meet. While the administration had to be more authoritative and strict, I look back and ponder how many times I resented all of their rules and regulations. My sophomore year the higher ups decided that our school needed a fence around it with lockable doors and a key for every important administrator. No more sneaking off campus for lunch, no more walking out whenever you wanted, it felt like a prison and we were utterly trapped. Yet, over time we got used to the fence's presence and got used to the new way of life we were forced to live. Seniors and juniors were given the privilege to go off campus for lunch as long as they stayed out of trouble and everything just seemed to fall into place.

Looking back now I realize that while the fence was keeping us from going out, it was also keeping anyone else from coming in. How many times a year to we hear about a tragic school shooting or kids getting kidnapped right in front of your eyes? Seriously we will always be dealing with these tragedies but looking back now I see that because my school took precautions, shooter drills stayed drills and everyone was safe. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/nyregion/shooting-reported-at-connecticut-elementary-school.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

How does this relate? Well the little things like protection and safety can seem very minor sometimes, but they really aren't. Without them we'd be living in a much crueler world than we can imagine and I'd prefer this messed up one over something worse any day. 

It's a Process.

You should probably skip to like 30 seconds in. You don't have to, you can hear the man talk if you'd like.

Now that you've heard the song (and I'm assuming you have), I'd like to share why this song is so worthy of a blog post. Life to me has been a very long, hard, and terrifying process. But a process all the same. The lyrics from this song represent who I am as a person. I like to push people away and I sometimes look back an wished I hadn't. I build myself up, just to keep pushing myself back down because I sometimes don't think I'm good enough. How silly.

I've got a lot of loose ends, I've done some damage, 
I've cut the rope so they fray,
I've got a lot of good friends, keeping me distracted,
keeping my sanity safe,

Chorus:
Here, I stand on the edge of the ledges I've made, 
Looking for a steady hand,
Here, I stand in the land of the rocks in the valley,
Trying to be a better man (for you),

I drink a little too much, It makes me nervous, 
I've got my grandfathers blood,
I take a little too much, without giving back,
If blessed are the meek then I'm cursed,

REPEAT CHORUS. 

And I want to learn how to love, 
And give it all back,
And be forgiven for all I've done.

What this song taught me is that friends are important and life isn't just about getting somewhere. Sometimes we all have to stop and listen and something beautiful may happen. We all get so caught up in going, coming, receiving, giving, connecting, etc etc. TAKE SOME TIME TO YOURSELF. Enjoy the little moments of happiness in life with a stranger. Appreciate who YOU are, because if you don't how can you expect to appreciate anyone else?

Appreciate a song or two, it just might teach you how valuable you really are. 

Haitian Teardrops.

Summer 2012 I went on an international mission trip with my youth group. If anything was more life changing, it was that trip. I mean life changing as in how I viewed my life once I got back to the states, because while the sweating and lack of "normal" food took off fifteen pounds, I'm talking about the life change that alters how you think about the way you live life each day. 

One of the first days we were there my youth pastor said that he planned to have us take a hike up to a small Haitian village tucked into the mountainside. It sounded peaceful and really exciting, until I found out that the hike would take about two hours and we were to get up around 6:30. Getting up at 6:30 wasn't so bad because who wants to sleep in when your room is stifling because you have no air conditioning or power to make the fans work? I'll tell you, not this girl. As for the two hour hike, well, let's just say I'll probably never do anything that physically demanding again, unless I climb the mountain again. Or hike in the Himalayas, but I don't foresee that happening in my future anytime soon. 

BUT, I did make it up the mountain and what I saw was a village in need of some real love and care. The houses were made of wood and metal slats, and looked like something that wouldn't exactly survive 20mph winds let alone a hurricane. Those who inhabited the sickly looking homes themselves though were some of the happiest people I had ever met. While they were hungry, thirsty, and very very poor, they found a reason to smile each day.

We continued our trek through the village to their church they had made in the center of "town". When I say church, I mean cinderblock walls and slabs of wood mounted on a few huge rocks to look like pews. But that church service was one of the most powerful services I'd ever attended. But the main event of my story happened while in the church. After the service had ended our group of ten-along with a few Haitian kids from the orphanage we were staying at-handed out juice and bread and dresses for the little girls. After about five minutes, the church erupted in chaos and the village people were grabbing and clawing for more juice, more dresses, more bread, more more more. This is the part where I broke down, sat myself in the corner of the church and cried. I wanted to be so angry at these people for not being orderly and patient, but right as I was about to push everyone away I realized that this is probably the only food they will have that day, or this dress is the only pretty thing their daughter will ever own. And that fact is what broke me. While I'm sitting in the corner sobbing, a little boy crawls up onto the stage of the church, sits in my lap, and wipes my tears away and smiles.

This is Makinglove. Yes, that's actually how you spell it. Regardless of his name though, this little one had a big heart. I have everything these kids will never have and HE is wiping away MY tears. That one small gesture of love stopped my crying on the spot and me and the Makinglove started giggling uncontrollably. The whole church stopped and stared and then laughed with us. That one moment was so beautiful and I don't think I will ever forget it. 

One little boy's finger wiped my tears off my face and it is one of the most memorable moments I hold.