The Results Are In!

Today was a funny day.
I laughed a lot.
I cracked myself up many, many times.
And I was just sitting here thinking about life in general, when i started remembering funny stuff that happened today, and it made me laugh all over again. So I was sitting here on my bed laughing all by myself, when Renee stopped by my room.
Lately Renee has been full of smart remarks, and they always make me laugh so hard, because clearly, she is developing a sense of humor, and so our relationship is at this strange place where we can laugh like crazy together, but also get insanely annoyed with each other.
Anyways, this is the way our conversation went:

Jasmine: Hahahahahahahahahaha! (that's me laughing)
Renee: Jasmine, can I tell you something?
Jasmine: Is it something deeeeeeeeeeeeply personal or veeeeeeeeeery important? (yup, there were that many e's.)
Renee: No.
Jasmine: Then I'm not interested.
Renee: Oh. Well, I just wanted to let you know that the results from your test came in.
Jasmine: The results? Wait, what test?
Renee: You are officially crazy. I'm sorry, but we're going to have to lock you up now.

Yup. That was it. Our great sibling moment of the day.
I just thought I would share with anyone who happened to be interested.
Also, I am now certifiably crazy, according to "the test". Haha, I think I know some other people who should maybe consider taking the test too. =)
Kenton also made me laugh really hard very recently.
I went into the living room and he was sitting there on the couch, looking at flyers and making funny noises.

Kenton: Blub blub blub. (those are the noises that he was making)
Jasmine: Um, Kenton? What are you doing?
Kenton: I'm just sitting here making motorcycle noises.
Jasmine: Motorcycle noises?
Kenton: Wanna join me?
Kenton and Jasmine in unison: Blub blub blub.

I still don't know how those are motorcycle noises, but it was just so incredibly random and funny that it makes me laugh every time I think about it.
Have a funny evening, everyone!

Digging Wells in the Desert- an attempt to explain a very amazing concept

So as you know, recently (okay, so for the past few months), I have had a thing for the book of Jeremiah. And I finished reading it awhile ago. I've read other books of the Bible since then. But Jeremiah has just kind of stuck with me, because the lessons that I learned while reading it keep coming back to me.

And recently, I was reminded of what is possibly one of my favourite parts of Jeremiah. (I was reminded of this while I was in Home Sense for the VERY FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, and i kept seeing all of these pretty paintings, and it made me feel so sad, because I cannot paint. However, if i COULD paint, I would totally paint a picture of these verses. It would be the very first thing that I painted.)

Okay, Jeremiah 2:11-13:

"Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the Lord. "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

The Israelites had God.

They did.

God, the spring of living water, provided an oasis for them. An escape from the dry, hot, empty desert and the inevitable aimless wandering that He knew they would do if they were in the desert.

And I imagine that for awhile, they were content in that oasis.

But then someone- possibly some young, curious person who didn't remember what life was like before the oasis, looked out at the desert and saw all that space.

The sky and the sand and the hills and the sun.

We're going to call this person Me. Because in so many ways, it is me. And maybe you too.

From the edge of the Oasis, the desert didn't look that bad to Me.

Me probably wondered what was on the other side of the hills.

And for awhile, Me squelched the desire to find out what was outside of the oasis. What life was like in the desert.

But as time went by, Me found that the oasis felt more and more limiting, and the boundaries became more and more confining. The desert seemed so big. So full of possibilities.

And so Me gave in. Packed some bags, maybe took some friends, and left the spring of living water that had provided everything they had needed.

Me chose to leave. Chose to exchange the security of the oasis for the openness of the desert.

But it didn't take long for Me to find out that life outside of the oasis was not everything that she had hoped it would be.

It was hot and dirty, and when the wind blew, sand swirled around. Me spent every single day wandering aimlessly, headed for no particular place. No definite goal in mind. For all she knew, she was going in circles.

Most of all, it was dry.

And there was no escape.

But she wandered and wandered.

At this point, you would think that she would realize that it was impossible for her to survive on her own and return the Oasis.

But no. Me decided to take matters into her own hands.

She would dig a well. She could be self-sufficient.

She tried her best.

But she simply could not do it. The sand kept sliding back into the tiny hole, and there was no way that she, weakened from lack of water, could ever possibly reach water.

Lol I just realized that I don't know what happens next in this story! I really should have thought this through.

Maybe Me dies there, beside the slight dent that she has made in the sand.

Or maybe someone from the oasis searches for Me and finds her curled up and hopeless, just in time and carries her back to the living water and she lives and gains a full understanding of how necessary living water is to survival.

I guess that either could work.

But my point is this:

Me was so stupid!

She thought that she could survive on her own!

The oasis was right there! She could have turned and gone back to it at any point. (Unless of course, she was lost. lol, we're going to ignore that possibility, okay? I am not good at illustrations.)

In my head, I have this picture of Me.

She is on her knees, furiously digging in the sand with her hands, trying to reach water. Using so much energy even though she must know in her heart that what she is trying to do is impossible. And I also see the oasis. It is beautiful and green and cool and the ultimate contrast to the desert. It is within Me's eyesight.

And if Me would just stop digging, stand up, and turn around, she would see it. She could run to it if she chose too.

The oasis is right there. Easily within walking distance.

But Me is so busy trying to survive on her own that she doesn't see it.

It seems like I spend so much time trying to dig my own wells. And i panic and freak out and feel like life is unbearably complicated.

When all the while, God is right there. Right there. So close, that I could reach out and touch Him and experience His peace. I just have to choose to.

So many times, I just run to God when I get really, really thirsty.

But why would I not just stay with Him? Why would I not constantly dwell in the oasis that He has provided for me?

The place that He has designated as a reprieve from the harshness and hopelessness and uncertainty of the desert.

The boundaries of the oasis actually give freedom, because in those boundaries is every single thing that I need to survive. And I can wander in the desert, and be in awe of all the space and all the directions that I could go, but it doesn't matter, because in the end, the desert will only bring death.

Because as full of possibility as it is, it cannot provide me with Living Water.

That can only be found in the Oasis.

The Best of February/March 2012 (in no particular order)

Okay, so I got to the end of February and was like "Whoa! Where did February go???" and now it's the end of March (okay, and the beginning of April) and Meg asked me if I am ever going to do an end-of-February/March post, and I was like, "What??? March is over now too???" What will that girl tell me next??? =)

Clearly, 2012 is going to be over before I know it.

So here are random things that made February/March good/interesting/exciting/awesome. (These months put me through many emotions, I tell you.)

So this first picture is of my old card table. This was an excellent card table. It served me well. It had a broken leg, but it didn't even collapse that often. This is the card table that I sat at while I did biology last year. This table and I have been through much together. We learned about Punnet Squares together. And yes, I never fully grasped the concept of Punnet Squares (I don't even know if "Punnet" has one t or two), but still... I feel as though this table and i bonded over sciencey things.

But it was time to upgrade. So I did. And I like my new desk. I love my new desk. Sometimes, I can even figure out math questions when I do them at my new desk. Clearly, it is a magic desk.

This desk is special because...well, I am going to write books at this desk. I am going to make my black and white scrapbook at this desk. I am going to finish Advanced Functions at this desk. This is going to be a busy desk. However, as great as I think this desk is... it has one flaw.

It has a drawer. A beautiful, wonderful, big, empty drawer.

And I have no clue what to put in it!!

What does one do with a whole extra drawer?????

So yeah... if you need storage space... I have a drawer. =)

So I got a cold. It really sucked. I felt so fuzzy. It was like my brain had been replaced with Kleenexes. Very heavy Kleenexes that were all fighting and trying to get out of my head. That explains the permanent headache. A Kleenex war was being fought in my head. And I lost my appetite. That was truly traumatic for me. I knew it was bad when I didn't get my eleven o'clock p.m. craving for a mcmini. Also, pretzels started to taste good to me. and I don't like pretzels. So anyways.... I walked around in a daze last week. And Wendy also had this cold. And I got home from school one day, and saw her laying on the chair, and she just looked exactly the way I felt. Except littler and cuter, of course. =)

This next picture means a lot to me.

It is a dishwasher. The one that my family owns.

And see all those pretty little blue lights?

Those mean that it is working.

That it is washing dishes, so that we don't have to.

It even dries them!

I can't believe that I lived 18 years of my life without one of these! =)
So this is my bulletin board. And the other day, I was looking for a place to write down my to do list. And i like to do it in a place where i can always see it, so that if i am tempted to do anything else (like, ahem- blog or something) i will feel horribly guilty. i do love to torture myself that way. anyways, i was annoyed because my board was full, and there wasn't room for me to write on it. so i was gonna take down all my pictures and notes from my friends, but then i started looking at them and remembering the good times i've had with my friends and i was like "eh. I'll buy a new board."

so i did.

so now, my friends smile at me from one board, and my to do list glares at me from the other one.
SPRING WAS HERE!!! I miss it. A lot. But I believe that it will be back!

I have a lot of shoes. Too many, perhaps?

If it helps... I don't wear most of them.

Okay, that doesn't help, because if i don't wear them, then why do I feel that it is necessary to keep them?

My little sisters were out drawing with sidewalk chalk on one of those insanely gorgeous days! So I joined them for a little bit. I have this issue... and it is that i can't draw. And i really really want to be able to draw, because I keep thinking of these amazing amazing things that i would draw and paint if only i could... and i can try to describe them to someone else, or i could try to write down what i see in my head, but it just isn't the same as actually being able to paint. i don't know what i am going to do if i have to go through the rest of my life with these amazing pictures in my head but not be able to express them. seriously... the inspiration is going to start leaking out of my pores soon. If i seem to be surrounded by a pink mist all the time... don't worry. It is just the inspiration escaping in the only way it can, since i am horribly artistically challenged. this just doesn't seem fair to me.

I bought a new purse! It's not the same as the old one.

So I hate egg yolks. But i love egg whites.

And so, instead of simply avoiding fried eggs altogether, like i used to, i came up with a creative, yet simple solution to my problem. All I have to do is eat around the yolk.

As you can see, I have gotten pretty good at it. lol.

The sausage is just there because I thought it really added something to the eyes- i mean eggs.
oooh! This is me and krista! In February, Krista, Jamie, Jason, Chad, and I drove down to MBS to drop off Jason and pick up Ben, Greg, and Jason. Lol that was such a fun weekend!! I have so many memories! Things like being half-asleep at like, three in the morning, and hearing Jason, who was driving, choose the song "Jesus, Take the Wheel" from Chad's ipod. Things like craving granola bars with Jamie and Krista. and sleeping in a big, big bed in the hotel. And going to Joanne's. And there was the time that me and Krista considered going through someone else's pantry early in the morning, looking for pretzels. And laughing at the border. And being scared silly about our co-ops, which started the day after we got back. And being so hungry, but not being able to decide where to eat on the way home. And eating amazing peanut butter ice cream with Krista and Jamie. So much fun. =)
this is me and meg celebrating my eigh-TEA-nth birthday and just generally bein' happy. nothing unusual. =)
There was lots of tea and laughter and feathers and strangling.
Oh oh oh!! (lol it's so much fun going through these pictures, cause sometimes i forget that I uploaded a certain one, and then i see it, and all these memories come back, and i remember how much fun i had!)

So this is the team that i was on for the all-girls volleyball tourney!

We won the tournament. =)

And it was so much fun!

I have never heard so much laughing happening in one gym.

Who needs boys anyways?? =)

And to all the girls on my team.... I had so much fun with you!! We should totally do it again sometime! =)
And then after the volleyball tournament was over... me and meg decided to end the night by going out for Valentine's Day.

We went to Wildcraft.

A word of advice: never go there.

There are creepy waiters there.

And if you do happen to go there and get a nice waiter, well, just stay away from ordering any dishes that involve duck or goat cheese.

But it would really be better if you just didn't go there. lol.

That was the shortest meal ever.

And we went to Mcdonalds and got Mcminis after.

We recently reached the point of being able to look back on this as a fond memory. =)

Okay, so that is just some stuff that I did...

There's other stuff that happened too.

I started my co-op and I love it. That's probably one of the bigger things in my life right now.

And God's been teaching me lots lately. My new motto for the rest of my life is "Trust and Wait". because those seem to be two things that i am very bad at.

So this is beside the point... but I am kind of confused about what I am supposed to be blogging about. Lol and all of you are like, "um, it's your blog. write about whatever you want to."

But it's like this:

I like to blog. i really do. And sometimes i feel like rambling about nothing, and other times i actually feel like creating a structured blog that shares what God has been teaching me and stuff.

But i read this article recently about blogging in a way that honors God, and it just totally confused me! Because it said that you shouldn't write about "nothing", but you also shouldn't share all of your deep, personal thoughts.

And to me, sharing thoughts about God feels like, as personal as it gets. That may just be because i am the type of person that I am though. And clearly, I'm not going to share all of my secrets and stuff on here.

I guess I just need to find a balance that I feel comfortable with. =) But i still don't feel like there's anything wrong with sometimes doing posts about things that hold no significant value.

Okay. That was just me expressing my confusion in a very confusing way.

So i think i'm pretty much done writing now...

I'm gonna do choir homework now.

And decide whether or not to play hockey tomorrow.

I hate making decisions.