9/15/13

I had a fantastic evening tonight. I wasn't going to write up a blog post about it tonight because I want to write, but I'm still thinking about it and it's kind of right in the moment so I figured I should write a blog post tonight or else I fear I won't have the words to say tomorrow.

Anyway, I got baptized tonight. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I had been looking forward to this since summer camp ended in July, and today finally came and it was fantastic. My family was there (my three brothers, two sister in laws and my nephews and my dad) and some great friends were there as well.

I'll admit, I was nervous and kind of freaking out so badly my hands were shaking, but it might've been because I had cried a bit on the way there, thinking about my mom. But that's okay, that's normal. I was actually surprised that I wasn't crying when I got in the pool they set up in the church courtyard, but that's okay too.

After the service, I hung around for quite a while with friends and family and there were lots of hugs and congratulations and cookies...okay, I only had two cookies and they were delicious, as always. But after everyone had gone, I heard some wonderful words that I needed to hear. It's amazing how God knows your heart and knows what you need and when you need it, and tonight, I needed to hear those things that had been said.

God is amazing and wonderful and I'm so glad I had such a wonderful opportunity to profess my faith in Christ Jesus surrounded by so many wonderful people. God has been good to me and He was there waiting for me when I came back to Him earlier this year. He caught me with His loving embrace when past events crushed my heart and I fell, and I don't know where I'd be without Him. The baptism service may be over, but I put my faith in God every day.

So, I guess I'm just going to leave it at this. I've been baptized, declaring my faith and obedience to the church, but it doesn't stop there. I hope to continue serving God in my life, and I pray that He shows me how I can continue to serve Him, whether it's in big or small ways. He sent His only son to die for my sins, and I want to show the world what He's done for me, whether the world means somewhere far away or simply around the church. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually, with God's help.

Summer Vanished and September Crept It's Way In

Where did summer go? It doesn't seem long ago that it was summer and I was having a pretty lame one but then summer camp came along and then August Sunday nights at church and a few Wednesday nights hanging out with church friends. But then it was over as quickly as it had begun and now it's September. How did this happen? It seems like I didn't do half the things I wanted to do, but that doesn't matter to me anymore. The surprises were far better than my hopes. I mean, seriously, I went to summer camp and came home with more friends than I had had when I left. I wrote (another) book. I became more involved with church. Those are much better things than the ones I had planned.

But September is here, tomorrow's Labor Day and Tuesday I not only start school, but I have my very first piano lesson too. Hopefully it'll go well. I remember writing a blog post on my other blog about how I had eight days until school starts, but now I only have two. I had twenty days until baptism, but now I only have fifteen. Truth be told, I'm more excited about that than school. There's a lot left to do in only one year of high school and I thought it would be nice to wake up early, be more structured and finish school earlier than I do now, but it's still nice to stay up reasonably late without having to wake up early. Which is why I plan on staying up late tonight because I'll be able to sleep in tomorrow.

Senior year starts on Tuesday. When I started high school, a fourteen year old ninth grader that had no clue of what she was doing with herself, I thought I had time. But then January hit me like running into a wall straight on and I realized I had wasted all of the time I never really had in the first place. I wasted it. Now there's no getting it back. So it's senior year and I plan to make the most of it, but in a totally good way. Getting more involved with church, working my butt of to graduate in 2014, getting more involved in youth group, hopefully maybe even write another novel, and learning piano and guitar. I honestly don't know what's in store for me, but we're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?
Oops, that was a Doctor Who quote, but it works. But maybe it's a better thing to use for senior year than quoting Loki saying "I do what I want."