Somewhere there's a boy. His skin may be white, his skin may be black. He may have a T shirt on, he may be wearing a polo. He may be in the United States, and he may be in Ukraine, Uganda, or Uruguay. He may love the sea, he may fear it.
Wherever this boy is, no matter what he looks like, no matter what he fears, he needs to be told that there is nothing to worry about. He needs to be told that his eyes are the most beautiful when they are free of tears and hatred. This boy needs to know that the bad things his parents are a part of do not make him bad. He needs to be told that no amount of water or soap will wash away the guilt that he feels. He must know that his guilt is built upon an unreliable foundation. He needs to see that his sins can be gone; that they can be wiped away. He needs to know that he can look into the faces of all people, because no one is a better person than him. He needs to know that when he stands up, he does not stand alone. Somehow, the news must reach his ears that everytime he is hit, everytime he is yelled at, someone else is being hit and yelled at too. Other people have felt his pain, and also felt love.
A lifetime of darkness cannot erase the love that waits to shine from within you, Dear Boy. You need to know that love awaits you on the new side of your dark past. No matter what you have done, no matter what has been done to you, Sweet Boy, there is life and light awaiting you. Don't ever forget that. And don't ever stop waiting and watching for deliverance, and for your new day. There is hope. Do not give up. The dark will never overcome the light, though it may seem as if all light left your life long ago. Keep believing, Precious Child. You are a member of the kingdom, and you have nothing to fear.

Lydia

These are all French (year one) flashcards, a.k.a. my self-assigned summer homework, and they are done! It's not even August yet and I have studied them all. Hurrah!

Lydia

Here's some of the books I've been reading...

Most of them have been good. Two have been REALLY good, and one has been quite slow. Honestly, that's about all that I've read over the whole summer. It takes me a while to read books. Quite a while.

Lydia

Smell Like a Man, Man.

Ok so smells are a really important part of our human lives here. None of us (under the age of 75) can walk through a breeze that reaks of pig poo and not smell it. Smelling things isn't an option, it's something we just do. When someone walks past, we smell them. Sounds weird, I know, but we all do it.
My grandma works at a bar (she's a cook, alright) and said that one time after she got off work she walked past two ladies and one said, "I smell food". That lady smelled my potato-frying grandma as she walked past, simple as that. This post is about a particular aspect of smell though, not just smells in general.
This post is about deodorant, hygiene, cologne, whatever you want to call it. And not just any deodorant, hygiene, or cologne; we're talking man-hygiene (deodorant, cologne).
Brianna provided a great euphemism yesterday when she said, "I like a nice smelling man". I replied with a, "Most women do". I'd say both are totally true.
It's important that a man smell good. Very important. That is a completely objective truth. Now, though, I am going to be so bold as to interject my own humble opinion...an Old Spice man is a better man than an Axe man. I'm not saying that every dude who wears Old Spice is a better guy than all the dudes who wear Axe (just like there are stuck up jocks who use Axe, so are there strange old men who use Old Spice), I'm just saying that if it came down to random Axe man vs. random Old Spice man, my money would be on the random Old Spice man. Axe men...just aren't as manly, and usually they are drowning in their own smell. There is a happy medium between smelling au naturel and using two cans of Axe every morning. It's called Old Spice. Just kidding. Really, though, ladies like a man who smells like a man, Men.



Now, for me (Brianna) scents are pretty darn important. Lydia quoted me before, "I like a nice smelling man." A very true statement.

As for the question of Old Spice vs. Axe, I'm right there in the middle. Honestly, I like both. I guess you could say I prefer Old Spice, but then again I do like one of the Axe scents quite a bit.

In my opinion, as long as you, as a man, don't stink I'm happy. On the other hand, if you go through so much of this spray that there is a literal cloud of smell following you all day long, that is what I call excess. If this is how you roll, I will not jump in your ride.

Hhhmmm, so I've reached a rough patch in life. Patch might imply to long of a time period because I really don't think these will all last very long, but sigh...it's lasted long enough already if you ask me. Anyway, I'm just going to put the not-so-happy things in my life into a list for now, because I don't want to sound like a winer by detailing them to much. Here they are:
1) My feet hurt.
2) Because of #1, I cannot do my favorite thing. Which is to run.
3) My parents and I are not really able to communicate in the least.
4) I don't have a job because no one in Little Rock cares to hire me. Trust me, I have tried.
5) Because of #4 I have not gotten my license, and therefore can drive myself nowhere, which complicates my life, and depressingly, the lives of my friends.
6) Friends. People. Me. Enough said.
I'm trying to take all this as a compliment from God, like, by making life harder for me He's showing me my great potential to grow, but it's still hard. And I would still love to be farther along in life right now, however great it is being young.

"Afraid? Of What?
To feel the Spirit's glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace,
The strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid-of that?
Afraid to see the Saviour's face
To hear His welcome, and to trace
The glory gleam from wounds of grace?
Afraid-of that?
Afraid? Of What?
A flash, a crash, a pierced heart;
Darkness, light, O Heaven's art!
A wound of His a counterpart!
Afraid-of that?
Afraid? Of What?
To do by death what life could not-
Baptize with blood a stony plot,
Till souls shall blossom from the spot?
Afraid-of that?"
-E.H. Hamilton (I am aware that this poem has little to no relevance to this post, I just like it).

Lydia

I want to apologize. I haven't been writing very much (as Lydia so bluntly put it, "Have you abandoned our blog?!") and I do realize I haven't been. I've sat down to write and the words just don't come. For now. In all do time, I know that they will return. But for now, my words will be scarce.

Brianna

It is the first day of July. Halfway through the year and for all intent and purposes, halfway through the summer. Sigh.

Lydia: I hope to continue spending time out in the sun and bettering myself physically (and spiritually, as always), as well as get started on school. I know that sounds extremely lame, but there may just be two different work oppurtunities coming my way this fall, and I wanna do the best I can to make time to take full advantage of both those oppurtunities.

Brianna: This month is kind of special for me. It's the first full month I'll be working. It's crazy for me to think about, but I'm really looking forward to all the work I can and will be doing. The other thing I'll be doing this month regularly is spending time with people. I've been so busy that hanging out with my friends has taken the back burner. I want that to end.