Megan and I!

This was so random and last minute. But as many cons as we could find to this last senior activity, we realized that there are also a few pros that would make us regret not going.

Sooooooooooooooooo, yes. This is kind of exciting now.

Tomorrow (well, today) I’m going to the beach for the first time in YEARS! Jk, just since last summer. And also going to the Angels Yankees game. And then watching Memorial Day fireworks!

And I’m really looking forward to this summer. So far it’s been going great:) Can’t waiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttt.

3 days til graduation (and grad night!), 4 til my grad dinner, 5 til Megan’s Confirmation, 6 til next Sunday…., and 7 til HAWAIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lord, you are SO good to me <3

After sooooo long, the time has finally come. I am in utter disbelief.

This week has been (and will continue to be) full of lasts in high school:

• last finals
• last dreaded monday
• last rally set up
• last rally
• last lunches
• last homework assignments
• last bit of stress
• last late start

&  not to mention:

• last episode of GLEE
• last episode of Dancing with the Stars
• last episode of American Idol

Sunday and Monday were really stressful days. Much more than I hoped for. So yesterday, when I was telling Ruben how overwhelmed I was with everything, he said, “enjoy it all. you will never have that stress again.”

And that’s when I realized, I need to embrace this week at much as possible. Sure, yesterday and today I had pretty big finals and I still have homework and responsibilities. But at this moment, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Ever since I graduated from 8th grade, I was convinced that graduating from high school was gonna be no big deal. At St. James we were a family. From Kindergarten to 8th grade our family members changed, but we were a family nonetheless. I was convinced that being in high school for only 4 years was nothing compared to 9 years at St. James.

Boy was i wrong. In high school I met some of the most amazing people ever. The funniest, the nicest, the smartest; the most incredible. My teachers, my peers, and my best friends. Every experience I had. Every game I watched. Every dance I went to. Every luncheon I ate at. Absolutely everything was worth it. 

It is now the last week of school and I cannot help but get emotional. I was so wrong when I said I wasn’t going to cry when this time came. When I said I wasn’t going to get attached to these people. When I said I wasn’t going to care. I was one hundred percent wrong.

Now, I’m not saying I’m going to miss the immature drama, the tests, the annoying teachers, or pointless assignments. Definitely not. But I am going to miss the amazing memories I have made. The fact that in high school we are still kids. We have few responsibilities. 

As soon as we walk across that stage on graduation, our lives are going to change. Some only a bit, and others a whole lot. I know that I’m not going across the country and starting a new life, but I will be experiencing so many new things. Life is coming so fast at us. I have realized that I’m not ready. For 18 years I have been preparing for this, but now I’m not sure what I even want.

With graduation comes growing up. Growing up means a million more responsibilities, worries, and stress. I know the Lord has so many great things in store for all of us, but still. 

I don’t want to grow up yet. I have been so privileged. So blessed in my childhood. I guess in the end, I just pray that I may never lose sight of the things that have made me so happy for all of these years. 

Today, the Glee seniors graduated. I know it’s just a show. And I know it’s really dramatic and exaggerated, but Glee is a show that I am so fond of. Seeing them graduate and move on with their lives just makes this so much more real for me. I couldn’t help but cry! 

If I’m this emotional over a TV show, I can’t imagine how I’ll be the next few days!!! Tomorrow is the Senior Farewell rally. Thursday is the President’s Farewell. Friday we checkout. CRAP. It’s time.

Finally, may the Lord light our paths to greatness and never let us steer away from our roots. He will never desert us, and we must be forever grateful.

This is all part of life.

[excerpt]

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from perhaps the ultimate Christian life of all time, that of the Apostle Paul. And yet he says after 30 years of following Jesus, Philippians 3:13 - “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

I like the spirit of that, don’t you? I mean, it’s like an Olympic runner who says, “I don’t care about the ground I’ve already covered. What matters is the ground ahead of me; what I haven’t covered yet. The best is not behind me; the best is yet to come.” And look! Paul had some great memories of some wonderful miracles, great sermons preached, and churches founded. But all he’s focusing on is the new ground that he has yet to take for Jesus.

See, the key to a living relationship with Christ can be summarized in four words that Paul uses here. “Forgetting what is behind.” So many believers are like me and my old high school friends, trying to have a relationship today based on things that happened in the past. “Oh, remember the time I committed my life to Christ? I remember that meeting so well.” “Remember, Lord, when I did that job for You?” “Remember when I was really out on a limb; I didn’t know where it was going to come from, and I prayed and all kinds of miracles happened?” “Remember those answers to prayer?” “Remember those people I influenced?” “Remember when we used to have those intimate times together?”

Come on! You can’t base a relationship with Christ on a scrapbook, no matter how impressive the past is. You can’t just let the old missions satisfy you. You need some new experiences with Jesus. You need to be part of some new exploits for the King, places where you experience Christ’s lordship in things that matter to you now. You need a daily rendezvous with Him where you have new encounters, new discoveries all the time from His Word; something new that you just talked to Him about today. You need a new mission, a new vision for what you could be doing for Him; a new reviving work better than all the others you’ve had in the past; a new intimacy, closer than it’s ever been.

Isn’t it time to say, “Lord, I’ve been living on memories. I’ve been living on old experiences. Let’s do some new things together! Today, Lord, let’s start making some new memories.”

© Ronald P. Hutchcraft • Distributed by Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
“A Word With You” by Ronald P. Hutchcraft

Whenever I have too many things on my plate, I have a mental breakdown. I think and worry so much about everything that I have to do, that I don’t get anything done. I haven’t eaten a single meal today, had two cups of coffee, and am running on almost 5 hours of sleep. I have so much to do and have nothing accomplished. 

I am a mess.

Tonight I made good use of my now legal age and went to Morongo with my dad, his cousin, and Ruben. I was kinda nervous at first because it’s pretty obvious that I’m still a youngin’ and I didn’t want people to stare at me all weirdly. 

My dad gave me a short little tutorial on how to play and then we went off. I always thought that if you played on the penny slots then you could play with $20 for hours on end. Well, NO. Definitely not the case. Within an hour and half-ish I wasted lots of my dad’s mula. 

Finally I decided to go to a different section of the casino and I saw a machine that was green and had to do with emeralds, so obviously I was gonna play it! On one of the first few tries I won $98! I immediately cashed out and then watched Ruben lose. He’s such a loser. But then he won. But he still lost.

Anyway, tonight was a fun experience. My mom is afraid that I’ll become addicted… but who would become addicted to something that makes you lose more often than you win? No way.

Also, my hair stinks. Now looking forward to tomorrow morning and night :)

Oh yeah! I also lost my phone. At the machine that I won at! I was freaking out. And then I realized that I should call it with Ruben’s phone. Security had it. When we got it from the security he looked at me and said, “your mom called…”

I’m such an adult :)

joecatholic:

Mirrors are fickle, a play of light and shadow. The only true mirror is within yourself. Clear your mind of doubt and prejudice, and you will see yourself as God sees you - beautiful.

And I better get to see him on his tour in October…