Here I Go Again - Casting Crowns

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Here I Go Again

Well, it's been a bit sine I last posted. Had a lot of homework and school stuff to do this week, but I'm back! This song has really been on my mind lately, and today the lesson in chapel was about a man who ignored an opportunity to talk to his friend about God. How many times have we done this? Been too afraid, embarrassed, busy, (insert excuse here) to talk to someone that we know about the gift of salvation we have been given? This is a command we are given, but it's often easier to brush it aside than to go out and follow that command. Sometimes, we may even have the intention of doing it. But, we say to ourselves, we'll do it tomorrow. Tomorrow is a good day. One of my favorite movies, the Music Man, has a quote that has always been one of my favorites. When the con man, Harold Hill, asks the librarian, Marian, on a date, she replies with, "Well how about we do that tomorrow?" His reply is "My dear little librarian, if you pile up enough tomorrows you will find yourself left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays." That quote rings so true, and I believe it applies to our faith. If we keep putting it off until tomorrow, we will wake up one day and realize there is no tomorrow. If we really think about and appreciate the wonderful gift we have received, the gift of living eternally with the God who created everything, I don't think we will be able to help but tell everyone we know. Imagine how many new brothers and sisters we would have if we were as ambitious as the first church at spreading the gospel. Do you think we would have thousands added to our number...daily? My encouragement to you would be to think about who you know that needs God's Word in their life, and not let anything stop you. Because nothing in this world is worth keeping the Word to ourselves. Don't let yourself wake up one morning and realize that you've missed your chance.

"What's the point of all of this if you're not going to let it change you?"

-To Save A Life

Be salt and light!!

~Hannah~

What a Night

Sometimes, you can go for awhile without anything uneventful happening, and then all of a sudden, everything happens. I have always known this, but it was made very real to me today.

It started out as a typical car ride back to college. It should be between 6-6 1/2 hours, without stops. A friend and I left at 3:30, figuring this would get us back to college at an opportune time. Funny....funny.

Little did we know, there were a lot of storms in the area that we happened to be when we were about 4 hours into the trip. It started hailing terribly, so we had to pull into a gas station to park under an awning because it had gotten to where we couldn't see the road. Well, we sit there for, oh, about an hour and a half I would say. I got to read a lot of Atlas Shrugged though, so it wasn't a total waste of time. It was still pretty boring though. We had barely missed a tornado or two, but we were stuck. At the time, the tornadoes were supposedly moving in our direction, but we couldn't drive because of the hail. It was a very tense time. Thankfully, the storms started turning away from us and the storm lessened, so we decided to get back on the road just in case it was to get worse later. We drive for awhile, but then we get to where we have to get off of the freeway we stay on for most of the trip and go to a different freeway. I had forgotten my GPS at home, so we made several wrong turns before FINALLY getting onto the right freeway. Exhausted, we arrived on campus. We had been hailed on, we were still wet from when we had gotten out of the car at the gas station to walk inside for a bit, we had gotten lost, and to top it all of, there were no parking spots in the parking lot close to our dorms. Or even a close parking spot in the NEXT lot. We trek the mile (ok not really, but with a heavy suitcase and as tired as we were, it felt like it) to the place in between our two dorms and as we part ways my friend says, "Well hey, it can't get any worse right? Goodnight!" I walk into my dorm, so glad to be back and ready to take the elevator upstairs. I see a sign on the elevator, "The elevator will not go to the third floor. If you try this, you will get stuck." Oh, by the way, I live on the third floor. So I lug my heavy backpack and GIANT suitcase up three flights of stairs. As I collapse into my chair, I realize that I could have taken the elevator to the second floor, and only walked up one flight of stairs. Good thinking Hannah, good thinking.

So here I sit, tired beyond belief typing about my very eventful day. I wanted to get it all down though before I forgot the details. Anyway, hopefully this was slightly amusing. There is not point to it except to lament about my exhausting day. At least we made it safely. And hey, nothing else can happen, right? I'm safe in my dorm.

Well, time to climb onto my tall bed, which can only be accomplished by standing on my swivel chair that is also on wheels. Goodnight all!

Be salt and light!

~Hannah~

Yet Another View on Inner Beauty

Every girl has probably heard at least 15 lessons on inner beauty and how she shouldn't change for anyone. I don't know what guys talk about when girls are having the inner beauty talks, but I'm sure at some point guys have also heard lessons or speeches on how they are unique and special just they way they are. I assume the term "inner  beauty" isn't used, but hey- I could be wrong. My point is, everyone always hears how they are unique and how they are special. This is an especially popular topics in youth groups. I believe that our view should shift a little on this topic. Don't get me wrong, I fully believe that people should always remember and be reminded that they are unique, one of a kind. This is a biblical principle, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139) and that we are made in God's image. But I think that it is just as important to remember that everyone else is just as unique and special as we are, and everyone else is made in God's image, too.

Something to think about. If you go to a museum or an art gallery and start critiquing a painting or sculpture, you are insulting the artist. You are saying that the artist didn't do a good enough job. How many times have we done this to God? When we gossip about someone or laugh or talk about someone who is different than us, we are saying that one of God's creations is not good enough, that God didn't do a good enough job. This was a really tough lesson for me to learn, because it calls for change. But if you think about gossiping as insulting the Artist, it can really make you think twice.

Something my mom reminds me of is that God spent just as much time making you as he did making your neighbor, Moses, your brother or sister, Esther...the list goes on.

How awesome is that?

You're special and loved. Be salt and light!

~Hannah~

What I'm For....

I'm for wildflowers in the window, mechanics you can trust.
I'm for crackers in my chili and leaving grudges in the dust.

I'm for drive-thru order takers who can muster up a smile
I'm for taking in that stray dog that's been hangin 'round a while

I'm for turning off the TV, and getting off the internet
I'm for learning all the words to the Gettysburg Address.

I'm for dusty Pawn Shop guitars, and Boxers past their prime
I'm for soaking up the wisdom when an old man speaks his mind.

I'm for laid off factory workers when the wolf is at the door.
You don't have to guess what I'm against if you know what I'm for.

I'm for Texas margaritas and getting of debt.
I'm for having faith in something that hasn't happened yet.

I'm for the shy kid in the corner 'Fraid to ask the girl to dance.
I'm for the ex-con outta prison who just wants a second chance.

I'm for the inner-city teacher with a heart stuck in her throat.
Who can still see God in every child, who never gives up hope.

I'm for dusty Pawn Shop guitars and Boxers past their prime.
I'm for soaking up the wisdom when an old man speaks his mind

I'm for Detroit factory workers when the wolf is at the door
You don't have to guess what I'm against if you know what I'm for

I'm a-counting all my blessings when the world is at my door.
You don't have to ask what I'm against if you know what I'm for.




- What I'm For-Pat Green


I think we spend a lot of time thinking about everything that is wrong in the world, everything that we wish would change. This song reminds me every time I hear it that if we show people what we support, what we stand for and what our beliefs are, we won't have to tell them what we don't agree with. They will just know, because they will know where we stand. I think this goes for everything in life. 

This is also important to our faith. If we let people know what we believe and what we stand for by our actions, they will be drawn to us because they will be able to see God reflected in our lives. So this week I would encourage you to think about the good stuff going on in the world, focus not on what you're against, but what you are for, and show people what you stand for, because your actions are your best testimony.


"Preach the gospel at all times- if necessary, use words." - Saint Francis

Be salt and light!

~Hannah~

Making a Difference

If you ask anyone who is close to me what my main life goal is, they would probably say to make a difference. This is my life goal that I am most vocal about. What is so frustrating to me is that I don't feel like I have made a difference yet. I know, I'm just 18. But I struggle with feeling like I should have already done something big, something monumental. So I get into my "determined mode". I sit down and decide I am going to figure out how to change the world. Well, about ten minutes into my brainstorming session I get distracted. Later, I start thinking about how I haven't changed the world yet, and I get discouraged.

And the viscous cycle begins again.

Why is it that society has convinced us that to change the world we have to end world hunger or cure cancer? Those would both be GREAT things to solve, obviously. But something I have come to realize is that you don't always have to do something big to make a big difference. One of my favorite songs is a song by Lady Antebellum called "I Was Here". I would encourage you to go listen to it, it has become my life "theme song", if you will. The chorus of the song is "I wanna do something that matters, say something different, something that sets the whole world on its ear. I wanna do something better with the time I've been given. And I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life and leave nothing less than something that says 'I was here'". I love this, especially the last line of the chorus. You can do big and great things, because the world needs people willing to step up and bring about great change, such as changing the struggle with hunger or poverty in the world. But the world also needs people who just want to touch people's lives. I am learning to believe that if I touch just one person's life, I have made a difference. If God wants to use me to solve a great world problem,  here I am. But I think that for now, the plan is to take it one person at a time. It's harder than it sounds though. I've found I have to constantly be looking for people to encourage or talk to, because I don't want to miss someone. I believe that being a good friend, sending a random note of encouragement or just listening to someone who just needs someone to talk to is changing the world. I just have to take smaller steps than I expected.

So look for ways to be the change, in big ways or small, and keep being salt and light!

~Hannah~

A Matter of Perspective

I've recently started noticing the nice things people do. I mean, actively looking for people reaching out or just doing a random act of kindness. Why, you may ask? Let me tell you.

The other day, I was walking with an armful of books. I was approaching a door and started to wonder how I was going to get the door open, but I saw with relief that there was a guy in front of me who would get to the door first. I tried to hurry because I didn't want to keep the gentleman who was going to hold the door open for me waiting. I reached the door just in time for it to close in my face. To say I was frustrated would definitely be an understatement. The rest of the day, I kept getting more and more frustrated at the lack of niceness I saw. By the end of the day, I was fed up. I decided the next day to try and do the opposite. I was tired of being frustrated- maybe if I looked for nice things the next day, I would feel better.

Begin next day. A guy jogged a little to get in front of a group so he could open the door for all of them. I saw a group of people pray at lunch. I saw a girl invite another guy (who I usually saw sitting by himself) to join her and her friends at their table at dinner. My friend was carrying a huge box and dropped a pen, and a guy walked over to pick it up and put it on the box for her. And the list goes on. These may seem like small things, but it was so encouraging to me how much kindness you could see in one day if you actually looked! I realized it wasn't that one day everyone was rude and the next day everyone was nice. It was just a matter of perspective. It was what I was looking for. I find that I am so much more happy and encouraged if I make a conscious effort to look for the good around me, as opposed to letting the bad get me down. This is my challenge for the week. Get a notebook and if you see someone do something nice for someone, write it down. You'll be surprised how quickly the list grows.

Be Salt and Light!
~Hannah~

I Want...

Well, this is my first blog post. I decided this would be a good time to give some of my goals for life, give you a little glimpse into the person behind the keyboard. This blog will be my reflections on life and what I see. I'm really big into music and reading, so I may talk about a song I heard or a new book that I read. Well, this is my first little blog post.


I want to laugh a lot. I want to love people no matter what. I want to be kissed in the rain. I want to stand where nobody has stood. I want to make a small difference. I want to make a big difference. I want to do something I'm afraid of. I want to get married and have kids. I want to adopt. I want to light up a room when I walk in. I want to write a book. I want to dance in the rain. I want to live for God, no matter what. I want to always be ME. I want to lead someone to God. Then lead another person. Then another person. I want to pay it forward. I want to spend full days in the Word, with no distractions. I want to lead. I want to follow. I want to get in shape and stay in shape. I want to motivate people. I want to be an example. I want to snow ski. I want to spend time with people in nursing homes. I want to work with kids. I want to sing and not care if someone is listening. I want to have Disney movie marathons no matter how old I am. I want to laugh off the small worries. I want to be the best friend I can be. I want to speak up more in class. I want to be the best daughter and sister that I can be. I want to be more confident. I want to be more patient. I want to listen more and talk less. I want to learn as much as I can about as many topics as I can. I want to go on a long bike rides. I want to play tennis more.  I want to be more passionate. I want to love people with more passion, live with more passion, and spread the Word of God with more passion. I want to encourage people more. And I want to be happy with my life, with who I've been and who I will become.

I want to be the best person I can be.


Be Salt and Light!!
~Hannah~