(>^.^)>

Welcome, friends, to another beautiful day. The sky is blue, there are a few clouds that are doing nothing to block the sun, and it is so hot that if you step outside you will probably melt right then and there. There are a number of things happening today. You can sleep, lay on your bed staring at the ceiling, watch the seconds go by on your watch, or even count the cars driving by! Of course, if that doesn't interest you, you could count the number of bumps on your popcorn ceilings, rearrange your cabinets, or scrub your walls! Aren't we lucky to have so many options here in the land of boredom?

Day One of competition: Check!!
My team finished with one first and one second place trophy!
Woohoo

I stepped outside into the thick, humid air.
The sky was black with patches of an eerie orange.
The wind was blowing through the trees.
Lightning struck all around, turning the black sky pinkish blue.
It smelled like dust, rain, and pollution.
I stood still and waited.
Then it happened.
A raindrop fell.

Books!

I am in a list-y mood...

My favorite books:

Till We Have Faces-C.S. Lewis

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Divergent - Veronica Roth

Night - Elie Wiesel

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

1984 - George Orwell

I am about 1/2 of the way through the Book Thief, and 1/3 of the way through 1984, so my opinion might change at the end.

Songs of July 23rd

Today they are ranked. 1 is my favorite.

1. Disconnected by Veridia

2. No Man is an Island by Tenth Avenue North

3. A Million Miles Away by Hawk Nelson

4. On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons

5. Happy by Pharrell Williams

6. Background by Lecrae

7. It's Time by Imagine Dragons

8. Headphones by Britt Nicole

9. Ready or Not by Britt Nicole

10. Let It Go by Idina Menzel

=D

On this day in 1339, Louis the First, Duke of Anjou and King of Naples, was born. I couldn't find anything about him on google, but he gets a birthday party anyway. *<8)

There are 2 days before my clogging competition.
There are 9 days until August 1st.
(school starts in August!)
There are 22 days until August 13th.
(my birthday!!)
There are 154 days until Christmas, and 161 days until New Years.
There are 240 days until Insurgent comes to theatres.
There are 365 days until this time next year.

Of course, now my tongue is in pain cause I didn't wait for all the water to evaporate.

I can eat things besides potato chips and mac'n'cheese!!!!!
*happy dance*
I found boxes of rice in my cabinet, so I can eat yellow rice, dirty rice, brown rice, white rice, or coconut rice!!!!! =D so many options...

HEY EVERYONE!!!!!
Just got back from summer camp!
Yesterday we got school supplies!
My backpack has so many binders... I'll post a picture when I can

Status Update: Confined within the memories of what I have lost and the hope of what is to come.

Taken from writingprompts.tumblr.com

I love Belle's personality... and style... and how she reads books so much...

 "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen."
-Philippians 4:19-20, NKJV

There are things you can’t reach. But
you can reach out to them, and all day long.

The wind, the bird flying away. The idea of God.

And it can keep you as busy as anything else, and happier.

The snake slides away; the fish jumps, like a little lily,
out of the water and back in; the goldfinches sing
from the unreachable top of the tree.

I look; morning to night I am never done with looking.

Looking I mean not just standing around, but standing around
as though with your arms open.

And thinking: maybe something will come, some
shining coil of wind,
or a few leaves from any old tree–
they are all in this too.

And now I will tell you the truth.
Everything in the world
comes.

At least, closer.

And, cordially.

Like the nibbling, tinsel-eyed fish; the unlooping snake.
Like goldfinches, little dolls of goldfluttering around the corner of the sky

of God, the blue air.

-Where Does the Temple Begin, Where Does it End?  by Mary Oliver

On the first day of summer, I was so bored that I decided to assign myself schoolwork: an algebra book, a science book, War and Peace, and Pride and Prejudice. I finished/will finish math on June 19th, War and Peace today, science tomorrow, and Pride and Prejudice on Saturday!! *happy dance* The only problem is that then I will have no schoolwork left, so although I am happy to be done, I am also sad that I will have a whole week with nothing to do. :(

Best artists EVER as of right now!! Britt Nicole, Imagine Dragons, Jamie Grace, and Skillet (in that order)

This is my Countdown to School. When I started, there were like 48 days, and now there's 16 small post-its left! The small ones represent individual days (they don't count next week of church camp) and the big ones are weeks. SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!

My awesome new poster! :D

And the book, too!

I'm on top of the world eh
I'm on top of the world eh
Waiting for this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile eh
been holding this in for a while eh
Take you with me if I can
been dreaming of this since a child
I'm on top of the world eh

Yesterday I stepped outside and there were raindrops! They even came from the sky!!

                                                Walmart has their school supplies out! =D

I love this picture of Elsa. Actually, I just love Elsa in general. She is my favorite Frozen character because I can easily relate to her, and she has awesome powers!

I have a Frozen theory. I know they're all over the Internet, but I can't hold it back anymore.

So, here goes:

The father must have ice powers also. He learned to control them eventually, but then when  Anna got hurt he panicked and convinced himself that keeping Elsa locked up was the best idea. Notice that the troll never said that the girls couldn't play - he actually specifically said that he "leaves the fun." The father is the one who put the gloves on Elsa and taught her to "conceal it, don't feel it" (the mother just stood there). His portrait hangs in Elsa's room, and it's that portrait that she looks at in "The First Time In Forever." She is trying to live by what he taught her, and stresses over being the perfect girl he wanted her to be. That's why she says "No right, no wrong, no rules for me - I'm free" and similar lines throughout the movie. 

                                               taken from writingprompts.tumblr.com

“'What did you do, memorize a map of the city for fun?' says Christina.
'Yes,' says Will, looking puzzled. 'Didn’t you?'” (Veronica Roth)

This is how I feel when I tell my friends what I spend my days doing.
"What do you do, schoolwork for fun?" they say.
"Yes," I respond, looking puzzled. "Don't you?"

July 3rd Songs!

Burn - Ellie GouldingEvery Time You Run - Manafest

Defying Gravity - Wicked (Idina Menzel/Kristin Chenoweth)

A Night To Remember - Shonlock

Hey Brother - Avicii

Safe and Sound - Capital Cities
Safe and Sound - Taylor Swift

Don't Worry Now - Britt Nicole

Have Your Way - Britt Nicole

The Sun Is Rising - Britt Nicole

Still That Girl - Britt Nicole
Wings - Birdy

Let It Go - Frozen (Idina Menzel version)

For The First Time In Forever Reprise - Frozen (Idina Menzel/Kristen Bell)

Demons - Imagine Dragons

Each of these songs is amazing, so I put them in a list based on which is my favorite of the favorites at the moment.

We visited Joplin, Missouri this week, and it was amazing to drive through that town and see the rebuilding process. As we drove down Range Line, there were places where the trees just stopped. Many houses have parts missing or are completely destroyed, while others have been rebuilt. We've met survivors who hid in rooms while the rest of the building got destroyed, and we've talked to people who lost loved ones. 

Joplin, being such a small town, does not have many stories to tell, but this is definitely one that they are proud to tell - how their town drew closer to God and each other and rebuilt their lives. I think it's pretty cool to see. =)