Gray Clouds

Okay, now for serious stuff again… As I write this, I am in the car, somewhere in Montana, headed back home from Wisconsin. I was there for about a week with my family. And I’ve got to say, as much as I love my friends in Salem, I was so happy to get away for a bit and be with my family. I came to a point where I needed to get away, clear my head, be with family and have no communication with anyone else. So I decided to be technology free for the week: no cell phone, no Facebook. It was so nice. On the road, I have been listening to music and looking out the window at God’s creation. I’ve learned that Montana is an absolutely gorgeous state! I like to think it’s a mix between Texas and Oregon- the wide plains and big skies of Texas with the trees and mountains of Oregon. I guess it’s the best of both worlds. I’ve had a lot of time to think and pray and even though some trials still exist in my life, I feel completely content. God has taught me so much in the time I’ve been able to spend with him. While I was sitting in the backseat of the car, looking out the window, I found myself studying the gray clouds in the sky. Then a thought occurred to me. Those gray clouds were like the trials God puts in my life. They don’t seem very friendly, and I get discouraged easily when I’m around them. But I need to remember that it is those clouds that make the plants grow, just as those trials in my life help to grow and mature me. I was listening to a song called Airplane by Bethany Dillon when I was thinking about this and in it, she sings, “When the sky is gray, I want to believe that when the sun is hiding, it still exists.” Although I love the sun and feeling like everything is perfect, those bittersweet clouds are needed in my life. I’ve known this for a while, but this is just a new way to think of it and I wanted to share it with you. So even if you feel discouraged when the gray clouds are above your head, remember that they play an important part in God’s prefect plan and the sun will come out again. I’ve had a great time with my family this week- going to Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Devil’s Tower, Deadwood, Wall Drug, watching God’s 4th of July fireworks show of thunder and lightning, relaxing in hot tubs, having fun at a water/theme park, eating dinner together, etc. I didn’t want to come home again until I felt like my mind was cleared and refreshed and I can now say that I’ve come to that point. I’m in a great place now and I couldn’t be more content. I’m excited to see my friends, go to youth group, and get ready for my 3-week trip to Mexico!! Thank you all for being a part of my life and I love you all very much. I hope you are all enjoying God’s blessings this summer and I’m praying for you.
~Hannah

Good Ol' Northwest

Something funny that I’ve realized going to Wisconsin is that the Northwest is very addicted to coffee. I’m sure you’ve all realized that there is a coffee shop every half-mile, and usually a Starbucks on every corner. I just assumed it was like that all over the United States, but I guess not. When I get coffee, I always order the same thing: a black-white mocha. This is a mocha that has half a shot of regular chocolate and half a shot of white chocolate. No matter what coffee shop I go to, they always know what a black-white mocha is. But as you go further east in the US, you’ll realize that the coffee shops begin to get more limited and the baristas don’t know as much of the coffee jargon as they do in the Northwest. The further east I got, the more I had to explain what a black-white mocha is. When I asked for a black-white mocha in Minnesota, the lady just stared at me with a blank expression. I realized she had no clue what I meant so I had to try and explain what I meant. I could tell she still didn’t get it that much when I drank the coffee she gave me and it tasted different than the normal black-white mochas I usually get. It didn’t bother me at all, but I just thought it was funny and it made me realize how caffeine-happy the Northwest is. It’s kind of pathetic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. ☺
~Hannah

Non-Serious Blog for Jack

Ok, my friend Jack says all my blogs are too serious. So here is a non serious blog for Jack. Ok, so here is a funny joke: So there are two muffins in the oven. The first muffin says, "Boy it's getting hot in here." The other muffin says, "Ahhhh!!!! A talking muffin!" Umm....what else is not serious? Today at youth group, Andrew ate a live cricket!! That was crasy insane! He was like Bear Grylls. Speaking of him, that guy is hardcore. Although, I heard it isn't the real thing. I hear Bear sleeps in hotels when he's filming. But still, if he eats live bugs and drinks the water out of elephant dung, I'd say that's pretty legit. Wouldn't you? Anyways, I like the summer. It makes me happy. I have been feeling a lot like a child lately. I've been playing games I played in my childhood and just loving life. it's pretty nice. Oh wait, this is getting a little serious...
Soooo....I got to hold a newborn baby today! That was fun. Kinda scary, but it was cool. He was so tiny and cute!! Guess what time it is as I'm writing this? It is 2:09 am!! What is wrong with me?!? It's ok, it's summer. i can stay up as late as I want. I'm really not that tired right now though. Not sure why. I went to bed at 2:00 am last night too. Maybe I'm becoming nocturnal. But probably not. Whatever. Ok, I'm running out of random, non-serious things to say. Happy now, Jack?

Junior Humanities

Well, this past year has been the busiest of my life. I had so much homework in my class called Humanities. It was an block class with AP US History and Honors American Literature. We had so many projects, papers, assignments and homework to do. I got super stressed and thought so many times about quitting that class. I'm so glad I didn't, though. Looking back over the past year, I'm amazed at how much i've learned. not only that, I've made so many memories. This class of ~63 was like a family ( a very large, interesting family; but a family nonetheless.) I've come away from this class with so many memories, inside jokes and a great understanding of what to expect in college. Looking back, I have no regrets and although the people I've complained to about this class may think I'm crazy for saying this, I absolutely loved Humanities- the people, the teachers and just the environment. I could have lived without the research paper, DBQs and AP exam, though... 

Anyways, although Humanities was fun, I'm also glad to be done with it. I just have mixed feeling about the whole thing. But it sure is nice not to worry about homework or studying constantly. but I'm definitely looking forward to this summer and I will be sure to keep you all posted! Love you guys!

~Hannah

The Fishing Dock

Here is a story I wrote about an experience I had with some friends in July of 2006. I guess it's quite delayed, but it meant a lot to me so I thought I would share it with you all....

The Fishing Dock
The five of us, after searching everywhere for our new friends, finally realized that we had missed them. We didn’t get to say goodbye. They had left the campsite before we could give them hugs, exchange contact information, or tell them we would miss them. As we reached the end of the campgrounds, we came across a lake. The water was crystal clear and perfectly still. The morning sun’s rays reflected off the water and the vibrant green forest surrounded the lake. The trail we were on led to a dock. It was an ordinary, wooden fishing dock that floated on the cold, silent water. Devastated and hopeless, we stumbled to the edge of the dock. After talking about how sad we felt, Jenny announced that she was going to pray. We all held hands and sat down in a circle on the fishing dock. Each of us said a prayer, thanking God for the opportunity we had to share the story of His love with the kids from France we met the night before. We prayed we could be able to see them again some day, if it was His will, and that the seeds we planted in them would grow until they too, blossomed with the love of Christ. After our prayer, we sat in silence, feet in the water, humbled by our God’s creation – in awe of the beauty around us.
The moment felt bittersweet. We wanted to see our friends again, but still, everything about that morning just felt right. As we looked out at the indescribable creation, we were reminded of how big our God is. He created everything we saw in front of us, and that was only a very small portion of it. Our God was so transcendent, and yet he listened to these five high school girls on a fishing dock. Not only did He listen to us – he answered our prayers. Later that summer, we were blessed to be able to meet up with the French family at the State Fair.
The moment on the fishing dock was also the moment I realized how blessed I was to have been given a close circle of friends who shared my passion of glorifying God in all I do. As I look back over the past couple of years following that morning, I see that God used that moment as the starting point of a precious and lasting friendship between the five of us. We’ve grown together a lot since then. We have had a few struggles together, we’ve changed and matured, we’ve learned to carry each others’ burdens, we’ve been forced to say goodbye to each other as some move or graduate high school, and yet we still remain close in the end. We’ve learned that each moment we spend together is God’s and our lives are His. By keeping Him at the center of our friendship, we have experienced a friendship far more deep and close that many have known.
We’ve gone through many changes, and things will continue changing, but I know that our friendship will always be cherished by each of us. The morning on the fishing dock was a major turning point in our friendship, and ultimately a major turning point in my life. I’ve learned to strive for more “fishing dock moments” and although my friends and I have shared so many memories together since that morning, I always look back and remember it as one of the greatest moments of my life.

Love, Hannah

Catching up....

Ok people...I apologize to those who read this blog. I realize I have not posted anything since January, so I'm sorry for the delay. Basically in the past 4 months or so, I have been to Mexico, studied like crasy for the AP US History Exam and spent time with friends and family. I'm not going to go into details about everything, as I'm sure it would bore lots of you. So I just want to let you all know that life has been hectic but good. I feel like my relationship with God has been strained lately because I am always busy studying and doing homework. I know that is NO excuse and I could probably be finding plenty of time to spend time with Him. Although I am not as close with God as I would hope right now, He still reminds me that He'll never leave me or forsake me, no matter how far away I get. I've seen His work so much these past few months. From beautiful nature to seeing His work be done through the missions trip in Mexico, God has really revealed his majesty to me.
In going to the beach, Silver Falls and Mexico I've seen pieces of God's beautiful creation and His hand at work. While sitting on the beach, I was reminded of the passage in Psalm 139:
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.
As I sat on the beach, with a handful of sand, I could not even begin to count the grains of sand on just one of my fingertips. I was in simply in awe. At Silver Falls, I realized how simply beautiful Oregon is and how blessed I am to live in such a gorgeous place. In Mexico, I just learned a lot, and although I'm not going to go into every detail, all I can say is that I was amazed at how God can use any situations and any people to further his kingdom. 7 kids were led to Christ that week and I think that is just so incredible!!
I'm looking forward to the summer and I would appreciate it if you could pray for me and the people at my church who are going on a missions trip to Autlan, Mexico this August. I am very excited and I know God will do amazing work there and use us in many ways. I will hopefully stay more up to date on these posts and I apologize again for the delay! I love you all and I hope you are doing well!!
Trying to live for HIM daily,
Hannah

SNOW DAY!!

So today, I woke up to an inch or two of snow! Being in a place that doesn't get much snow, it was enough for a snow day and no school. So I called my friends Sarah and Melody and they walked down the hill to play in the snow. We did everything we could think of; making "snowmen", making snow angels, eating snow, having a snowball fight, sledding down my driveway, and taking pictures were just a few of our activities. To people in other places that have snow half of the year, this may seem quite pathetic, but we didn't really care! What I learned from this was that I need to make the most of every moment! If I hadn't played in the snow today, I know I would have regretted it! Even though it was an inch of snow, I had a BLAST!!! Praise God for those small joys in life!