Shadows Slowly Lengthen

The sun longs for its distant bed, 

A cold hard place to rest its head, 

So the shadows slowly lengthen, 

Until the time the sun awakens.

(~)

This summer has so far been very long, full of twists and turns. 

Work has been, well, work, full of constantly changing schedules and long days. 

Transferring to a different college is almost completed.

 My sister is now engaged, and planning a fall wedding this year. 

I still have a trip ahead of me to see my grandmother, and this isn't mentioning the headache I'll get trying to figure out plane tickets for getting to college and mailing my stuff. 

But for tonight, I'll just claim the truth that God is good, and He doesn't put anything in my life that He hasn't prepared me for. 

Until next time. 

God Bless

SDG

Joy

April Showers

This is becoming sad.

I have at least been able to keep this blog going at "a post a month" basis, and this month I didn't have anything prepared. 

Well, here's just what's been going on up here in northern Wisconsin.

College life has been, well, busy.

For one of my Bible Classes I had to read 300 pages of commentaries on Old Testament books over the entire semester, and they are due this next week.

Being who I am, I put it off until the last minute, so I'm busily trying to read about 200 more pages. 

Speech class has actually began to be easier.

Slightly.

I still sway and talk fast, but I'm not nearly as nervous now as I used to.

I'm happily sitting on a solid B.

To top it all off, my piano lessons have gone a bit haywire.

My piano teacher's wife had her baby, a little boy, on the day of my piano lessons.

I'm happy for them, it just complicates everything more.

But tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Founder's Days here at Northland.

A day of no classes for us students, it will be much more relaxing and happy for me.

It'll end with a concert by Andrew Peterson, which is very happy.

*Side Note: I didn't know about his music until they sent out information about this year's Founders Day.

I looked him up and love his music.

I especially like his Life for the Lost Boy and Counting Stars CDs.*

Moving on.

God is good.

He's given me strength to get through the last few weeks.

He hasn't brought snow down on us in the last week.

The grass is turning green.

The sun was out yesterday.

Today was restful.

God is good.

SDG

Joy

Some Days. . .

Some days I feel like an idiot.

That's when I have to restrain myself from face-palming every few minutes because of something I forgot, or said, or did. 

Today is one of those days.

I forgot to order the textbook for one of my classes, and I'll need it by next Tuesday.

And the textbook is out of print.

So I'm going to have to have quite the chase looking for it before hand.

On top of that I'm taking a block class this week, with up to 5 (maybe 6?) hours in the classroom PER DAY.

Yup.

I'm going to be so worn out by Saturday. . .

Well, what I'm learning I'm loving, so that's something to look forward too at least!

As an added bonus, it's very important to know as well!

God is Good, ALL the Time!

God Bless,

SDG

Joy 

The Road Goes Every On and On. . .

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

~J. R. R. Tolkien, The Road Goes Ever On and On

My life feels like this song right now.

My first semester in college is done.

I now have seven left to go.

After that, I do not know.

It's times like these when I sit back and stare in amazement at everything before me and behind.

Who am I, Lord?

Who am I that You have shown me the next path to take for now?

Who am I that You have directed me this far?

Who am I, Lord?

Who am I?

All that I know, is that I'm a creation of the Creature, and must follow what He tells me to do.

For now, I'm to follow the path of a student.

In four years, He'll show me the next path.

I'll just have to wait until then.

Still round the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate,

And though I oft have passed them by,

A day will come at last when I

Shall take the hidden paths that run

West of the Moon, East of the Sun.

~J. R. R. Tolkien, A Walking Song

God Bless

SDG

Joy

What a Bad Girl am I. . .

I feel so bad! 

I'd completely planned on posting about going through the fuel cycles. That didn't happen. Then I completely planned on doing August Resolutions. That didn't happen. 

BUT SOMETHING DID HAPPEN THIS MONTH.

I completed my first novel. The first draft of Shadow Wings is done at a little over 27,000 words. I was able to send it in to the One Year Adventure Novel contest as a last huzzah, as this is the last year that I could send it in. 

College is coming. 

In a little over a week, I'll be heading to college. I'm both excited and freaked out. What if I forget something?!?!?! It's times like these that reading my Bible becomes the most important thing to do each day. God is in charge. He shows it through general revelation everyday, and special revelation when we turn to the Bible. 

In Saying Farewell. . .

I hope to post a quicky partial August Resolution tomorrow. . . Let's see how good I'll be. 

July Resolutions

July is so much more relaxed compared to June! But that doesn't mean I'm any less busy. . . What with college preparations, finishing my first draft before August (at least it's my goal), and looking for a job!

#1  Less computer
      Yes, I'm going to try again on this one. The more I'm on the computer, the less ANYTHING gets done. This month, my goal is to be on the internet for an hour or less, and the rest of the time I'm on it will (hopefully) be working on my first draft of my story.

#2  Help with the Garden
      I love gardening, but I also don't like the bug bites, sunburns, and soreness I tend to get when I do garden. Seeing as I'm in charge of two garden plots this year (brocali, radishes, lettuce, marigolds, cilantro, and cucumbers) I'm going to work even harder on actually gardening!

#3  Finish My College Application Stuff
      Technically I've been accepted to Northland International University, but I'm not all the way finished. It's mainly the smaller stuff like sending in the medical papers, insurance info, and signing up for my classes. I'm a horrible procrastinator (as you can probably guess by now), and I have been putting this off for as long as possible.

#4  Finish My First Draft
      I have the first two and a half chapters written for my first draft, that leaves just ten and a half left to write up before the thirty-first. Word wars anyone?

#5  Complete a Fuel Cycle
     I'm doing the Trim Healthy Mama life style now, and one of the ways to kick starting your metabolism is by going through a Fuel Cycle which forces your body to start burning its own fuels in a safe way. I've already started, but it's a two week long cycle. I'm going to have to really work on my self control throughout those two weeks.

This month, I have FIVE resolutions to work on. Let's see how I do this time.
God Bless,
Joy

How well did I do? June Recap

Finally

After one hectic month, I'm sitting down and looking back to see how well I did on my resolutions. I am a bit ashamed to say I almost forgot about these until I decided that it is time to put up an update. Well, here goes.

#1 Less Computer

    B+ or 85% : I have been on the computer less, but when I have been on I have not been doing what I should be doing; instead of writing or looking up what I was originally supposed to be looking up, I'd be on Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook. . .

#2 Help Keep Things Clean

    C+  75% : One of my banes is how I ignore things that I don't like. Such as cleaning. I have been much better, especially with the kitchen and dining room, but my room is such a mess right now! It doesn't help that everyone in it (I'm sharing it with four sisters) doesn't want to help clean either. To top it off I was gone for a week, and the week before that I was busy with VBS! The excuses shouldn't count though, I need to make cleaning (even more than my share of it) more of a responsibility.

#3 Start FAFSA 

   A 95% : I finished filling out and sending it in about one and a half weeks ago. Woo hoo! Something done on time! The down side, I evidently missed something while filling it out, and now I have to contact a Financial Aid Assistant to figure out the problem. Ouch.

#4 Get as Much of my Story Written before the Summer Workshop

   A 90% : I did get the first chapter written a week before the Workshop! I also wrote a few pages of the second chapter as well. The Workshop was beyond amazing, and I'm hoping to go again next year. I am now plowing my way through the third chapter in my story. I say plowing because I feel so bad about how awfully written my first two chapters are, but I'm not supposed to edit them until after I've written the whole book.

Final Score: B+ or 86% 

Ouch. I'm hoping to do better next month. I'll hopefully be posting July's Resolutions soon.
God Bless!
Joy

June Resolutions

June is pretty busy for me. . . VBS is next week, and the week after I'm leaving for a week long writing workshop! I'm so excited!


#1: LESS COMPUTER
      I'm not sure how many of you have heard of the documentary called Captivated but it has changed how my family and I look at computers and other forms of entertainment. My time on the computer has been cut way back, and as it is now planting season I'm hoping to be outside more working in the gardens (my dad and brother made ready seven large plots this year!) and writing in a notebook instead of on the computer (I need to work on my handwriting, ha ha!). I'm hoping for at least an hour less of computer time by the end of June.

#2: HELP KEEP THINGS CLEANER (at least while I'm at home)
      In a family as big as mine (right now there are eight kids at home, not counting both my parents) and as we are constantly working on school and not the house, you can bet the nine out of ten times the house will be a mess. I'm hoping to kick myself in the behind more and help out. I'm almost twenty! I'm rather embarrassed at how little I do in my own home. Also, I'm really hoping that I'll be able to go to college this fall, but I don't know if I can afford my first choice of college (Northland International University). So, I'll be doing CLEPing instead. My goal for this month (and the months to come) is to help keep my house clean (especially the kitchen and dining room. . .).

#3: START FAFSA
      For some reason, I've been putting that off. I'm not sure if its just the jitters of realizing that I'm actually going to college, or what but I need to finally get it started so that I can hopefully go to college this next year for sure! The longer that college has been put off for me, the more I want to do it so. . . I'm going to at least get as ready as I hopefully can! The CLEPing will help with the cost as well, thank God for a program like that!

#4: GET AS MUCH OF MY STORY WRITTEN BEFORE THE SUMMER WORKSHOP
      Writing, my current love! Except when I'm actually supposed to work on it. . . That's when my procrastinating mind goes blank and I become stuck (aka. a classic case of writer's block). Right now (just under two weeks away from the workshop) I'm so close to starting the first chapter. I'm currently working on outlining the last four chapters, and when that's done! The fun part! But with VBS this next week, and all the business that's going on with planting, I'm just hoping to write a few pages of the first chapter, if anything at all. I'm currently a bit scared that I wont accomplish even that, but I can push myself, and I will do it!

If you read all of that, congratulations! This is my first time doing this, and I tend to ramble on quite a bit. . . Which is odd because I'm a rather quiet person in real life. Until I get to know you, that is. Then I guess I do ramble a little bit. ha ha!

Now and the Future

To put it simply, I'm a horrible procrastinator. I'm working on that. . . In fact, I hope to put up a list of things I hope to get done each month on here with the intention of actually getting them done. Among the things that has been happening, I have gotten a job recently, VBS is this next month, I've been accepted to the college I want to go to, and I've actually started to read some books again.

My newest job is a small hospice kind of job. I'm helping to care for an old lady who is dying of cancer. She is a very sweet lady; she loves gardening, bird watching, and she loves cooking. I'm thankful that I am able to help her in any way I can.

Ever since I moved to where I am now with my family, I have helped with our church's VBS every year. This year I'm taking on a different role then before (I used to be either a craft helper or a group helper). This year I'm director's assistant, costume assistant, and props assistant for the play. This year's VBS is medieval themed, and I can't wait to help!

Yes, I have been accepted to Northland International University. I am very happy about that. What I am doing now is procrastinating horribly with filling out my transcript, FAFSA papers, and everything else I need to do. My goal is to have it done by the end of this month and hopefully signed up for classes, but with my current record (which I hope to change) it look doubtful.

I have been very bad for a few months. I have not touched any books to read for fun. Instead, my computer has entranced me into it's depths. I've been on Pinterest more times than is useful, and played around with things like Paint and Windows Movie Maker with nothing in mind for making with them. I have started to read two very fascinating books, Johnny Tremainn and The Gift of Music. I'm half way through Johnny Tremain, and am completely loving it! (Especially since I've been going through One Year Adventure Novel I now understand what the author is doing and why. ) I've read the first four or so chapter's of The Gift of Music, and adore it! It's written by Jane Stuart Smith and Betty Carlson, and each chapter is about a different composer. Did you know that most of the influential composers (up till Bernstein) wrote music for the Psalms? It's true! Some of the composer's I've never even heard of, and am very excited to listen to their music.

That's all for now, though I hope to be back tomorrow with my resollutions!

Solo Deo Gloria,

Joy