Have you ever sat down and tried to compare yourself with God? Humans are constantly trying to make themselves look better by comparing themselves to "worse" people than them, but if they'd just TRY comparing themselves, filthy sinners, with our gracious, all knowing, all powerful God....they would come to see just how much they lack in everything. There's a song called, "A Picture of Grace" and it says, "Picture a man with no reason for living, With no hope of smiling again. Imagine a world with no golden daybreak,
Enclosed by the blackness of sin. And the sea is bathed in beauty and glory, transformed by love's sweet embrace, The hands of the Savior, erased all my sorrow and painted this picture of Grace. How skillful the hands of the artist, who painted this picture of me, He saw with the eye's of a Master, how beautiful my life could be, where once was a portrait of gloom and despair, this masterpiece hangs in it's place, It's signed with His blood and it's framed with His glory, this beautiful picture of Grace, The ashes and ruin, that once filled the picture, had vanished and faded from view, and beautiful touches of mercy adourned, this picture he painted anew. Such peace filled the eyes of the man He created, a smile gently rests on his face, Since Jesus erased all the guilt of my past and painted this picture of grace." See, we are absolutely nothing...we would be on our way to hell, but God came in and made "a sinner saved by grace" yet another good song. If you could just see the results of coming to the Lord in people's lives, you'd be SO touched. Most people I know, they've always grown up in a Christian home, gone to church all their lives, and have Christian friends. Having a terrible, rough and depressing life isn't something we know very well, because we've always had a loving family, and good Christian friends. However, if you look hard enough, you'll find people who have had their life totally turned upside down from the worst, to the best because of Jesus Christ. I honestly believe your average Christian takes for granted all the privileges they have. We have SO many luxuries, and yet we STILL complain when we don't have the latest and greatest. But we don't think of ourselves as "spoiled rich people" because we don't have that much money. Do you realize HOW much you have, compared to people all over the world? People dying because they don't have enough food, living on the street digging through trash cans to find cans and bottles to recycle, no family to get them through the hard times. I think Christians have become numb to everything around them. They don't care, and honestly, I don't think half of us WANT to care. That's going above and beyond the normal "church youth group mission" and we just couldn't spare any more time...besides, we have a life, and can't afford to add ANYTHING else in, we're just too busy. That describes us, whether you want to put that label on yourself or not is not my job. Don't you think it's about time we start thinking about OTHERS more than ourselves? I think it's WAY past time.
Friday, May 29, 2009
New kitchen picture!
NEW KITCHEN! Well, as of yet. We still have new cabinets, paint, and a new floor to work on...but this is SO much better already!!!New faucet! Wood isn't stained, sink wasn't attached, and the grout wasn't in yet.
More fun work day pictures!
#1- Sam, my friend Jonathan, Josh and Ethan...Ethan wasn't part of the picture...but the other three guys are doing the "Queen wave" such nuts!! *laughing*
#2- Me and Ef...Josh and Ethan decided I needed to look even more dirty than I already was!!#3- Long hard day...Sam decided to change his hair before taking a shower. lol
Goofy/cool work day picture
The ones of Ethan...yes, that's soot! The one of Josh was pretty cool!!!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Tearing out...
Yes, it was pretty bad after we got the tile torn off the counters! There was water damage and all sorts of stuff! It being an old house, all kinds of surprises awaited us...just like our other house remodeling. :-)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Church thoughts
Ok, so I have had this one sentence stuck in my head for about 2 weeks now that I've been meaning to figure out a good post for. So, yesterday I sat and wrote a few pages of my own notes and maybe I can make some sense out of my thinking. :-)
I've recently come to the conclusion that the modern day church is a lot like our government. Don't understand? Here, let me show some examples:
I've recently come to the conclusion that the modern day church is a lot like our government. Don't understand? Here, let me show some examples:
- Promise to do/fix something, yet never fulfill
- Promise a better future for your kids (I think we've seen the results of this)
- Try and make everyone happy, yet fail to fix urgent problems among the people
- Spend money on things to please "wants" and not help with the "needs"
- Ignorance of major problems
- Becoming strangers to God and his laws, so that He pours His wrath out on the people
Late, yet again
Man, I'm really sorry about my lack of writing lately! It just seems like life never slows down.
Last Tuesday and Thursdays tennis went very well. Most everyone was happy the whole time, and it was loads of fun....as always! :-) Coach Jarrett seemed to be less tired, which was great! I think I made him cry a few times because he was laughing so hard though! I still don't know how he can pick me up...he's so going to have a bad back! :-) LOL
Ok, so last Saturday was Emily's first tennis tournament. She lost her first match 8-0, and came SO close to winning her second one! It was 8-6...at first Em had the girl down 3-0, but then her serve wasn't very consistent. Sam won his first game, lost his second. Josh and another guy, whom he's played before and lost to, had to play each other because both of the people they were supposed to play dropped out! They played for about 2 hours...possibly more...and were VERY tired after they were done! Alex, the guy Josh played, said, "dude, I don't know how much longer I can play!" Anyways...Josh finally lost 8-6. They had a million deuces though! They got to where they'd say, "deuce, again." It was fun to watch them though, because they'd talked and hit balls around for about an hour before they actually played each other, so it was almost like they weren't even being very competitive, but were set on having a good time.
Last Tuesday and Thursdays tennis went very well. Most everyone was happy the whole time, and it was loads of fun....as always! :-) Coach Jarrett seemed to be less tired, which was great! I think I made him cry a few times because he was laughing so hard though! I still don't know how he can pick me up...he's so going to have a bad back! :-) LOL
Ok, so last Saturday was Emily's first tennis tournament. She lost her first match 8-0, and came SO close to winning her second one! It was 8-6...at first Em had the girl down 3-0, but then her serve wasn't very consistent. Sam won his first game, lost his second. Josh and another guy, whom he's played before and lost to, had to play each other because both of the people they were supposed to play dropped out! They played for about 2 hours...possibly more...and were VERY tired after they were done! Alex, the guy Josh played, said, "dude, I don't know how much longer I can play!" Anyways...Josh finally lost 8-6. They had a million deuces though! They got to where they'd say, "deuce, again." It was fun to watch them though, because they'd talked and hit balls around for about an hour before they actually played each other, so it was almost like they weren't even being very competitive, but were set on having a good time.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Have you ever been friends with/met someone who said they were a Christian…they had great biblical answers to questions and talked about lessons God had taught them…yet, continually lived a life that went totally against what God’s word said? I get so frustrated when I make a friend only later learn that they had lied about their lives and what they truly believed! I’ve had someone tell me to my face that they didn’t do something, then about a week later learn they DID do it…which means they sat and lied to me about the whole thing. Because of that, I have been told to not talk to them, when I didn’t do anything in the first place! I honestly don’t know where the world is heading when you can’t even trust, supposedly, Christians people. It’s hard for me to believe someone that says they’re a Christians now when I see certain things they do…and doubting someone’s salvation should never happen. You’d think if someone says they’re a Christian, then when great sermons were preached, they would enjoy them and put the lessons into their lives…not say they hated the sermon! Usually the best sermons are the ones that convict you of something. But instead, people like normal sermons…when the pastor talks bad about the Jehovah’s witnesses, and how we shouldn’t take part in anything they do, and how we shouldn’t even listen to them. But we should WANT the pastor to actually stand up for what’s RIGHT…and not NOT mention a religion or such that is part of one of the members lives. He may say he’s “stepping on some toes” but unless you convict the people AT THE CHURCH, you’re just talking about things that can get a good “amen” about because they don’t have an issue with it!!!
Sermon
Ok, so I listened to one of Bro. Bill's sermons on my computer on the way to Dallas...got half way done with the sermon and already had 5 pages of notes! lol
Here it it...I know it's been awhile since I had a post about a sermon. :-)
“Pray without ceasing.” I think I’ve got to be one of the worst “negative thinking” people out in the world when it comes to praying for someone or something that is (in people’s mind) a “lost cause.” Whether it’s people, or even a church. God can work in the hearts of one, just as well as thousands…or even something as small as a family. There is not a single person on this earth that God cannot change around. It’s like the verse that says “with God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26) Prayer works, no matter what anyone says, God can change whomever, whenever. God doesn’t tell us to pray so He can laugh at us “begging” for something. The verse “pray without ceasing” doesn’t mean to pray 24/7/365. It means to continually pray for something, even if it’s just once a day. If we pray for something ONE time, we weren’t really expecting an answer, were we? It was a “I said I’d pray, so I’ll say a prayer.” We also need to remember that praying isn’t just us asking God for things….it’s actually a conversation between us and God. So, that means we not only need to talk to Him, but we need to LISTEN for His response. People are constantly saying, “Well I just want to see God move in ______ ways and change ______ because it/they just need(s) help!” God IS moving in our lives…it’s simply that we fail to open our eyes and see it. We fail to see, because we fail to pray. God is doing things in our families, churches, and communities…but so many times we fail to notice the things He does because we’re so entangled with other parts of our lives that we’ve stopped communicating with Him! We misinterpret what we see, because we judge it according to our own wisdom rather than the wisdom of God that is only accessible through prayer. When we HAVE communication with God, we can look around in our lives and see Him moving and working.
People think that being faithful in prayer means to simply pray at every meal or when someone is in the hospital. The thing is, prayer is not easy…it’s a task, it takes effort to pray. Some people say prayer isn’t really “doing” anything (even though they will say they believe in the power of prayer) so they will try to go fix things themselves. Continue in prayer, don’t back off from it! Prayer is an exercise, a discipline that moves heaven itself! Hebrews 4:16 says, “ Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” There is not even a hint there of an “exit” for prayer…it says “come boldly unto the throne” not, “come boldly before the throne of grace then take your leave.” It means to stay here, abide here…it’s telling us we have an abiding place now, we are told this same thing constantly through the New Testament. God has a place for us to come before Him, and have a time of communication with Him now, but not many will come and abide. They come to visit when they “need” something. When we come and pray to God, we’re showing our confidence in our Father.
Have you ever prayed for patience and not received it? We usually give up about a week after praying for patience (or comfort, control of the temper, kindness, etc.) Yeah, that’s the way we humans work. If we don’t receive something RIGHT away, we give up on ever getting it….we give up on God pretty quickly, don’t we? We say, “well, I guess God doesn’t want to give it to me.” You know, you don’t have a CLUE what all God is working on behind the scenes of our lives. We start something new, go somewhere new, and after a few months totally give up on it and say “well, I guess God made a mistake this time!” Talk about the definite NEED for patience! What better way to teach someone patience, than to make them “wait upon the Lord.” That will annoy some people to pieces! I honestly think we’re giving up on God for everything nowadays…we get stuck in the ways of the world and the instant delivery of everything we want, that when God is making us wait on something, we’ll move on without His guidance and ruin everything! Well, not that God can’t work with our wrong decisions, but don’t you think it would save SO much time to just wait on God for answers and guidance than try to do things on our own? Life would be so much easier for us if we would not rely on our own understanding.
Here it it...I know it's been awhile since I had a post about a sermon. :-)
“Pray without ceasing.” I think I’ve got to be one of the worst “negative thinking” people out in the world when it comes to praying for someone or something that is (in people’s mind) a “lost cause.” Whether it’s people, or even a church. God can work in the hearts of one, just as well as thousands…or even something as small as a family. There is not a single person on this earth that God cannot change around. It’s like the verse that says “with God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26) Prayer works, no matter what anyone says, God can change whomever, whenever. God doesn’t tell us to pray so He can laugh at us “begging” for something. The verse “pray without ceasing” doesn’t mean to pray 24/7/365. It means to continually pray for something, even if it’s just once a day. If we pray for something ONE time, we weren’t really expecting an answer, were we? It was a “I said I’d pray, so I’ll say a prayer.” We also need to remember that praying isn’t just us asking God for things….it’s actually a conversation between us and God. So, that means we not only need to talk to Him, but we need to LISTEN for His response. People are constantly saying, “Well I just want to see God move in ______ ways and change ______ because it/they just need(s) help!” God IS moving in our lives…it’s simply that we fail to open our eyes and see it. We fail to see, because we fail to pray. God is doing things in our families, churches, and communities…but so many times we fail to notice the things He does because we’re so entangled with other parts of our lives that we’ve stopped communicating with Him! We misinterpret what we see, because we judge it according to our own wisdom rather than the wisdom of God that is only accessible through prayer. When we HAVE communication with God, we can look around in our lives and see Him moving and working.
People think that being faithful in prayer means to simply pray at every meal or when someone is in the hospital. The thing is, prayer is not easy…it’s a task, it takes effort to pray. Some people say prayer isn’t really “doing” anything (even though they will say they believe in the power of prayer) so they will try to go fix things themselves. Continue in prayer, don’t back off from it! Prayer is an exercise, a discipline that moves heaven itself! Hebrews 4:16 says, “ Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” There is not even a hint there of an “exit” for prayer…it says “come boldly unto the throne” not, “come boldly before the throne of grace then take your leave.” It means to stay here, abide here…it’s telling us we have an abiding place now, we are told this same thing constantly through the New Testament. God has a place for us to come before Him, and have a time of communication with Him now, but not many will come and abide. They come to visit when they “need” something. When we come and pray to God, we’re showing our confidence in our Father.
Have you ever prayed for patience and not received it? We usually give up about a week after praying for patience (or comfort, control of the temper, kindness, etc.) Yeah, that’s the way we humans work. If we don’t receive something RIGHT away, we give up on ever getting it….we give up on God pretty quickly, don’t we? We say, “well, I guess God doesn’t want to give it to me.” You know, you don’t have a CLUE what all God is working on behind the scenes of our lives. We start something new, go somewhere new, and after a few months totally give up on it and say “well, I guess God made a mistake this time!” Talk about the definite NEED for patience! What better way to teach someone patience, than to make them “wait upon the Lord.” That will annoy some people to pieces! I honestly think we’re giving up on God for everything nowadays…we get stuck in the ways of the world and the instant delivery of everything we want, that when God is making us wait on something, we’ll move on without His guidance and ruin everything! Well, not that God can’t work with our wrong decisions, but don’t you think it would save SO much time to just wait on God for answers and guidance than try to do things on our own? Life would be so much easier for us if we would not rely on our own understanding.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursdays tennis experience
Ok, so I forgot all about writing about tennis!
I can’t remember the last time I played so well! (Ok, not GREAT.) I made over 6 serves in, in a ROW! Jonathan said the most I’ve ever gotten in was 1.…so I think 6 is a little bit better. J Then, during pinball I actually stayed in for about four rounds! I also had fun being sort of a “doubles” team. Pinball is actually a “every man for himself” sort of game, but Mark and I were in, and I got a ball that was going way behind him, so he ran up to the net and got one that I couldn’t get…then we’d switch…and just get each others balls. It was fun! Josh and I did the same thing…usually people just look at me and wait for me to get out so they can move over a space. Anyways…when I was in my lesson and got a bunch of serves in, I told Mama that I was only doing good because I was in a lesson (that’s how it usually works, do good in my lesson and stink in group) but when we did “King of the court” and had to play with serves, I got just about all of them in! It was so cool! I just need to work on making it more powerful now…I can get it in, but people always get it back because I don’t have the needed power behind it. I’m just freaking out that I’m getting serves in now though! That’s amazing when you saw what my serves USED to look like!
So, for me, tennis went great…I had fun, wasn’t grumpy…stayed happy the whole time…but Coach Jarrett seemed sort of sad or depressed about something. I kept asking him why he wasn’t smiling, and he said he was. Makes me sad when he doesn’t smile. Although, he was probably just REALLY tired! Poor guy, he’s got so much he’s doing right now…I told Mama that he’s probably just ready to stop and sleep for a few weeks!
Anyway, so that’s my post for Thursdays tennis. I actually REMEMBERED the camera this time, so I’ll try to get picture at the tournament! Also, I think we’ll be seeing my new cousin, Grace, so I’ll try to get pictures of her as well.
God bless,
~ Jessie ~
I can’t remember the last time I played so well! (Ok, not GREAT.) I made over 6 serves in, in a ROW! Jonathan said the most I’ve ever gotten in was 1.…so I think 6 is a little bit better. J Then, during pinball I actually stayed in for about four rounds! I also had fun being sort of a “doubles” team. Pinball is actually a “every man for himself” sort of game, but Mark and I were in, and I got a ball that was going way behind him, so he ran up to the net and got one that I couldn’t get…then we’d switch…and just get each others balls. It was fun! Josh and I did the same thing…usually people just look at me and wait for me to get out so they can move over a space. Anyways…when I was in my lesson and got a bunch of serves in, I told Mama that I was only doing good because I was in a lesson (that’s how it usually works, do good in my lesson and stink in group) but when we did “King of the court” and had to play with serves, I got just about all of them in! It was so cool! I just need to work on making it more powerful now…I can get it in, but people always get it back because I don’t have the needed power behind it. I’m just freaking out that I’m getting serves in now though! That’s amazing when you saw what my serves USED to look like!
So, for me, tennis went great…I had fun, wasn’t grumpy…stayed happy the whole time…but Coach Jarrett seemed sort of sad or depressed about something. I kept asking him why he wasn’t smiling, and he said he was. Makes me sad when he doesn’t smile. Although, he was probably just REALLY tired! Poor guy, he’s got so much he’s doing right now…I told Mama that he’s probably just ready to stop and sleep for a few weeks!
Anyway, so that’s my post for Thursdays tennis. I actually REMEMBERED the camera this time, so I’ll try to get picture at the tournament! Also, I think we’ll be seeing my new cousin, Grace, so I’ll try to get pictures of her as well.
God bless,
~ Jessie ~
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tennis
Ok, so tonight was sort of a "grump" night for Josh and I. Josh had issues with his toe at tennis, so he got a little bit grumpy, then I wasn't feeling good at all, so I got grumpy. I feel terrible now because of that! Coach Jarrett has been gone for a week and a half and came back to tennis this week and was greeted with grumpy people! Man, makes a person want to slap themselves!
I DID, however, make Coach Jarrett cry he laughed so hard! I was telling him about me landing on my head on the slip and slide, then yesterday running my head into the top of the door of our van...that had him laughing pretty hard, then Emily added, "Yeah, and today she fell out of the van!" Man, he was bent over crying (or maybe "dying) from laughter! It was terrible funny! Then, later on I ran into the pole on the edge of the net...and he just started laughing again! I sure am glad my klutziness can make people happy. :-)
I did LOTS of school today, quite a bit of research on calcium depletion as well. And, it turns out that my cousin, Benjamin (Uncle Terry and Aunt Kim's middle son) has food allergies to...yup, none other than wheat, corn, and soy! Amazing how that worked out! So, all of my research I do, and recipes that are good, and whatever else I find out I am now sending on to her for Benj. Mama says she only wishes we would have known WHY I was always so sick, tired and not able to concentrate when I was little so I could be healthier today! :-) God has a reason for everything working out the way it does though, so I know "it will all be OK in the end" and we all know, if it's not OK, then it's not the end. :-) LOL
Tomorrow will be VERY busy! The boys have tennis lessons in Tyler, then we're going to be playing tennis with Mrs. Rhonda and her kids at the park that afternoon, then I don't know what else we'll be doing! So, we'll be playing tennis from 11:00-4:00 ish! Wow...will we be tired! Then, of course, we'll have group on Thursday, Sam's tennis tournament on Saturday...so LOTS of tennis this week! Tennis is awesome though, and I don't know if I would be able to live without it! It help get rid of frustration, it's great exercise...and as always, GREAT fun!!!
Alright, so that's my update for tonight.
Hope everyone is having a great week!
God bless,
~ Jessie ~
I DID, however, make Coach Jarrett cry he laughed so hard! I was telling him about me landing on my head on the slip and slide, then yesterday running my head into the top of the door of our van...that had him laughing pretty hard, then Emily added, "Yeah, and today she fell out of the van!" Man, he was bent over crying (or maybe "dying) from laughter! It was terrible funny! Then, later on I ran into the pole on the edge of the net...and he just started laughing again! I sure am glad my klutziness can make people happy. :-)
I did LOTS of school today, quite a bit of research on calcium depletion as well. And, it turns out that my cousin, Benjamin (Uncle Terry and Aunt Kim's middle son) has food allergies to...yup, none other than wheat, corn, and soy! Amazing how that worked out! So, all of my research I do, and recipes that are good, and whatever else I find out I am now sending on to her for Benj. Mama says she only wishes we would have known WHY I was always so sick, tired and not able to concentrate when I was little so I could be healthier today! :-) God has a reason for everything working out the way it does though, so I know "it will all be OK in the end" and we all know, if it's not OK, then it's not the end. :-) LOL
Tomorrow will be VERY busy! The boys have tennis lessons in Tyler, then we're going to be playing tennis with Mrs. Rhonda and her kids at the park that afternoon, then I don't know what else we'll be doing! So, we'll be playing tennis from 11:00-4:00 ish! Wow...will we be tired! Then, of course, we'll have group on Thursday, Sam's tennis tournament on Saturday...so LOTS of tennis this week! Tennis is awesome though, and I don't know if I would be able to live without it! It help get rid of frustration, it's great exercise...and as always, GREAT fun!!!
Alright, so that's my update for tonight.
Hope everyone is having a great week!
God bless,
~ Jessie ~
Monday, May 4, 2009
Forever...I know
Well, I am sorry it has taken me so long to write something on here. It seems I haven't been doing a very good job on my writing lately, and I apologize. Life just seems SO busy right now, and I tend to forget about sharing everything on here. :-)
So, we have had two tennis tournaments since I have last written. The first, Samuel's team won the whole thing, so they will all be going to Denton this weekend for another tournament against other winning teams. Then, this past Saturdays tournament, Sam lost his first match and had to go into consolation, but won his match there and went into the semi-finals! He had to play another match the next morning and if he won that one, he'd play in the finals! HE DID win, and then beat the last kid he played...which means he got the bronze medal! He was SO excited! He's never won a medal before! Josh did very well on his matches, but he ended up losing pretty bad. The hard thing for Josh is, since he's about to turn 16, he has to play in the 18 year old draws, so he's playing against kids who have been playing most of their life whereas Josh has only been playing for 6 months! He is dong VERY well, and everyone he plays is totally shocked that he has only been playing that short of time. He has never had a problem with losing, he simply likes to play for fun, but after Sam won the medal he said he wished he'd won his two matches the day before. Poor guy....I feel sorry for him, but we keep telling him we're proud of his playing win or lose. I actually feel very sorry for the last kid Sam played. He was VERY good, had some MAJOR power hits, but he just didn't have a lot of consistency. He had traveled 3 hours to come to this tournament, and only plays in one once a month. He even had a bandage on his hands from having so many blisters! The whole time he was playing Sam, they would smile and laugh when they messed up, but the poor kid just beat himself up every time he hit a ball wrong or double faulted. As soon as the match was over, his mom went to their car, and Daddy and I think she was crying. Poor guy...I prayed the whole time for Sam to win, but I felt so sorry for that kid after it was over!
So, we haven't had group lessons for about a week and a half because Coach Jarrett had a test he had to take one Thursday, then last week he was out of town visiting his brother. Now, he's going to have to be the permanent substitute teacher because one of the teachers husband is dying from cancer. Wow...what a year! Everyone's schedule is SO busy, it is seeming like I won't get to see anyone for a long time! I didn't play tennis the last two group lessons, the first time because I had had a knee problem (I woke up one Sunday and couldn't walk) then the next time because I played on our slip and slide and landed on my head; because of that, I've had headaches ever since, so Mama didn't want me to get out and do damage if it was a concussion. She did an eye check, and said it wasn't a concussion, so I guess it's just something that will wear off. Anyways...I DID go play tennis with my friend Brandon last Friday, and that was SO much fun!
He's so happy/cheerful all the time, and was making me laugh SO much the entire time we played! I actually think it is IMPOSSIBLE to not be happy around him! He won't let you stay sad/depressed or have a pity party on yourself! He would make a perfect guy version of Pollyanna! :-)
School is going very well. I have LOTS of reading, but that's alright because reading is one of my favorite things to do! My driving is also part of shcool right now, and I'm loving it! It is a little bit stressful every now and then...but I really only have one problem right now. Twice I haven't slowed down enough turning onto another road. Well...actually...then there was the time I tried to shift instead of use the blinker, and hit the gas edal instead of the break...but I was going to go anyways then! I always make mental notes to myself about things I do wrong, so that I will fix them the next time around...sometimes I just don't sloe down enough or whatever it happens to be.
One quickie...Em and I have curtens in my room now! It looks SOOOO good!!
Alright...I'd better go now. I still have to pick up my room!
God bless, and I will try my very best ot write on here more often!
~ Jessie ~
So, we have had two tennis tournaments since I have last written. The first, Samuel's team won the whole thing, so they will all be going to Denton this weekend for another tournament against other winning teams. Then, this past Saturdays tournament, Sam lost his first match and had to go into consolation, but won his match there and went into the semi-finals! He had to play another match the next morning and if he won that one, he'd play in the finals! HE DID win, and then beat the last kid he played...which means he got the bronze medal! He was SO excited! He's never won a medal before! Josh did very well on his matches, but he ended up losing pretty bad. The hard thing for Josh is, since he's about to turn 16, he has to play in the 18 year old draws, so he's playing against kids who have been playing most of their life whereas Josh has only been playing for 6 months! He is dong VERY well, and everyone he plays is totally shocked that he has only been playing that short of time. He has never had a problem with losing, he simply likes to play for fun, but after Sam won the medal he said he wished he'd won his two matches the day before. Poor guy....I feel sorry for him, but we keep telling him we're proud of his playing win or lose. I actually feel very sorry for the last kid Sam played. He was VERY good, had some MAJOR power hits, but he just didn't have a lot of consistency. He had traveled 3 hours to come to this tournament, and only plays in one once a month. He even had a bandage on his hands from having so many blisters! The whole time he was playing Sam, they would smile and laugh when they messed up, but the poor kid just beat himself up every time he hit a ball wrong or double faulted. As soon as the match was over, his mom went to their car, and Daddy and I think she was crying. Poor guy...I prayed the whole time for Sam to win, but I felt so sorry for that kid after it was over!
So, we haven't had group lessons for about a week and a half because Coach Jarrett had a test he had to take one Thursday, then last week he was out of town visiting his brother. Now, he's going to have to be the permanent substitute teacher because one of the teachers husband is dying from cancer. Wow...what a year! Everyone's schedule is SO busy, it is seeming like I won't get to see anyone for a long time! I didn't play tennis the last two group lessons, the first time because I had had a knee problem (I woke up one Sunday and couldn't walk) then the next time because I played on our slip and slide and landed on my head; because of that, I've had headaches ever since, so Mama didn't want me to get out and do damage if it was a concussion. She did an eye check, and said it wasn't a concussion, so I guess it's just something that will wear off. Anyways...I DID go play tennis with my friend Brandon last Friday, and that was SO much fun!
He's so happy/cheerful all the time, and was making me laugh SO much the entire time we played! I actually think it is IMPOSSIBLE to not be happy around him! He won't let you stay sad/depressed or have a pity party on yourself! He would make a perfect guy version of Pollyanna! :-)
School is going very well. I have LOTS of reading, but that's alright because reading is one of my favorite things to do! My driving is also part of shcool right now, and I'm loving it! It is a little bit stressful every now and then...but I really only have one problem right now. Twice I haven't slowed down enough turning onto another road. Well...actually...then there was the time I tried to shift instead of use the blinker, and hit the gas edal instead of the break...but I was going to go anyways then! I always make mental notes to myself about things I do wrong, so that I will fix them the next time around...sometimes I just don't sloe down enough or whatever it happens to be.
One quickie...Em and I have curtens in my room now! It looks SOOOO good!!
Alright...I'd better go now. I still have to pick up my room!
God bless, and I will try my very best ot write on here more often!
~ Jessie ~
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