Somewhere in the Middle by Casting Crowns

Hey! I heard this song, loved it, and wanted to post the lyrics for you guys. It's from one of my favorite bands ever; they are SO anointed! I have a link here that you can click on if you would like to hear the song too, instead of just seeing the lyrics.

Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Somewhere between the wrong and the right
Somewhere between the darkness and the light
Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle
Are we caught in the middle

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves
Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control
Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle

Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You're by my side
Loving me even on these nights when I'm caught in the middle, caught in the middle

headin' back to Texas...

This is my last full day in Shreveport, which means my Thanksgiving break is coming to a close :( I'm really not excited about going back to school but I'll only have a few weeks before I am out again for Christmas vacation. I have a lot to get done between now than then, though. My school's homecoming is in January, and because I am on the Student Council I am one of the people in charge of making sure that Spirit Week (week of homecoming), homecoming itself, and the Homecoming Bash that follows the game, goes well. The bash's theme this year is going to be a Glow-in-the-Dark Rave. (I came up with the theme..which is cool b/c out of several suggestions, i came up with the one that was selected :) Unfortunately, I'm one of only three people who has to come up with, and give a written list of, ALL the decorations (and prices) we are going to need. I have to have that turned in by Dec. 5 so I know I need to jump on it ASAP. I've also got a World History Honor's project that I need to start on...that'll be due in a few weeks...I need to pick a topic to do it on. I really don't want it to be a last minute thing, so I'll get on it as soon as I finish the Homecoming plans and get all that outta the way and turned in to Mrs. Wisdom (who just so happens to be the coolest, most amazing Student Council sponsor EVER!..and one of the best English teachers out there!:) Cool fact about her: she's been a reporter/journalist for one of the most well known newspapers in Arkansas, she's been to law school, has been a pilot, a school administrator, and an English teacher..not to mention a mother of three. My school is soooo blessed to have her there. I just recently found out that she had previously done all these things-like gone to law school and had been a reporter-and it amazed me so i thought I'd brag on her a lil :) She was telling us stories during class about what she had done as a reporter, and she said that she interviewed Bill and Hillary Clinton several times. She also had several visits with Hillary that were completely off the record and just as two people having tea and talking. She even had a previous presidential candidate say that when he was elected into office he wanted her to work for him...he didn't win, but that's still an honor to have someone like that say that they wanted you to work for them because they was so impressed with your work. Pretty awesome if you ask me! :)



Well, when I get back to school on Monday I'll have a regular schedule, then on Tuesday I am going with a group from my school to see the King Tut exhibit that is visiting Dallas. Dallas is one of 5 cities it is stopping in before it goes out of the country. I think it's going to be super fun and really neat to see all the different things that are part of the exhibit. One of my teachers, who saw the exhibit when it got here a couple months ago, said that they had a chair that King Tut sat in when he was a child that is still well preserved. Sounds really cool to me :) Can't wait to see it. It's going to be extra fun b/c I'll be with my friends...and get to skip a whole day of class :) *whoot-whoot!!!*

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving, you guys! I pray you all have a very blessed time with family and friends! Eat lots of turkey :)

Thankful for...

It's almost Thanksgiving, and I'm making a post about what I'm thankful for. Here's my list...it's pretty long, but I've got a lot to be thankful for so it's gotta be :)

*My Savior's death and resurrection (and through that, my Salvation)

*My wonderful family -including my extended family (grand, and great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins)- who love me (I love you, too! Thanks for putting up with me for 15 yrs lol. By the way, your support and encouragement has meant the world!)

*My beloved mentor/friend (I love and appreciate you so much!...you hold a very special place in my heart )

*My spiritual family...there's something that bonds you stronger than blood.

*My awesome friends who rock (School is bearable because of you guys :)

*My teachers (thank you for all your hard work)

*Pautsch (you've been a great guy to know...and a big "thank you" for letting me do Bio corrections lol)

*The country I live in

*The privilege of being free

*AIR CONDITIONING (I think I'd die without it...those of you who know me, know I'm not joking either )

*The house I live in (it's STILL under "construction" lol...when will it ever not be?)

*Shoes ;)

*Warm clothes (especially my rockin' awzum reversible Hurley jacket from you, Brady :)

*Food *yummm*

*Text messaging...and other forms of communicating with those I love

*The ability to learn...it's painful sometimes but worth it in the end

*My blog! (without it, I'd have resort to other methods of expressing myself...don't know what I'd do)

Today

Today a miracle happened!...well, not quite but it's still worth noting. I took 2 tests and 2 quizzes today and I didn't really study for any of them, (Yeah, not a smart decision, but what I chose to do this time) but still managed to make a 105, a 102, a 92, and a 85. The 85 wasn't so great but I was 1 of only 3 that passed, so my Biology teacher is letting us do corrections for half credit- which will bring my test grade up to a 92 and half %..not too shabby considerin' I wasn't prepared (which by the way, I take complete responsibility for). lol


Something happened after school today that made me a little upset...I'm not going to go into detail b/c of the nature of the situation, but it really frustrated me and made me sad :( I was disappointed with how this situation ended up turning out...it was something I wish could have been avoided...and I kinda thought the whole thing was a little unnecessary.
Even writing about it right now, I'm still a little sad about how it turned out, so I'm going to close this subject before I say too much. -_-


On a better note, I don't have homework tonight *whoot-whoot!!*, and I have the pictures I talked about in my last post :) Here they are:

This is the city we performed in! :)

This is one of the two random guys who asked to take a picture with me...should I be flattered or weirded out? LOL



Here's the second of the two guys



Here's me in front of the Many Pizza Hut...not sure why I took a picture in front of the sign telling their business hours, but for some reason I did lol.



This is me and my friend on the way there...we were bored so we were takin' pictures



We passed through this tiny town called "Goat Hill" (funny name, huh?), and thought it would be fun to get a picture of ourselves in front of it....



Pictured here is my sister (to the left), two of my team members, and me (on the right).



It was a great trip and I'm glad I got some pics of it :)

Weekend in Louisiana

On Friday my Theater Arts team went and performed in Many, Louisiana at a patriotic event the city was having. The whole event was really touching and I now have a greater respect and reverence to those who have served our country in war, and who have paid the ultimate price to keep America free. I appreciate their sacrifice so much, and thank God that we have brave men and women living here that are willing to leave their family and friends and go fight for our country. My cousin is in Iraq right now, so that in a big way allows me to see just how hard it is on families to have loved ones away.

My Theater Arts team was at the event for about four hours. It was outside...so that meant we were in the biting cold wind for a while lol. We had gotten there early so we all just kinda walked around and looked at all they had set up there.
While we were walking around I decided to have my friend Emily take a picture of me, when this guy (1 of 2 that were standing nearby) was like, "hey, my friend wants to be in your picture!". I was kinda surprised, so I was just like "ok.....sure". Then after I took a pic with him, his friend wanted one too, so I took one with him. It was kinda random and a little funny lol. I'll post the pics when I get home and can transfer my pics to my computer (I'm at my grandparents' right now and don't have my USB connector cord). I actually got several pictures from my trip that I'm planning on posting for ya.

After we left Many, I went to see my family in Shreveport and we had our early Thanksgiving meal. We had it early this year since this was the only time my cousin was able to come into town. It was really enjoyable and the food was WONDERFUL!!! :)

Now I am over at my Grandparents. I have to go back home tomorrow b/c of school on Monday. I get out Tuesday afternoon for my official break...which is something I totally don't get b/c, seriously, what are we going to get done on Monday and a half day Tuesday? I'm convinced they should have given us the whole week off. But they didn't, so i have to head back to Texas for Monday and Tuesday, then I'll be free to come back to LA for a few more days.

On Monday I have a Biology test that I should probably be spending time study for, but this weekend isn't a weekend I'd like to cramp with that lol. Normally I'd be freaking' out bout studying... but, honestly, spending time with my G.parents is more important right now.

I had a thought come to me the other day: God never intended us to be so busy in life that we develop misplaced priorities that cause us to no longer "have time" to connect with those we love. When we get so busy that we lose touch with the ones we love, something isn't right.I just have a hard time believing that it's God's plan for lives for us to live in such a rushed state, because we're "busy". This causes us to have less time to devote to what truly matters...
I shared this with my Friend today and she was like, "You're missing your parents aren't you?" Answer to her question: Oh yeah!!!

It's really painful, and it's extra hard, as a teen, when it's your parents who you rarely even see or connect with. Though it positively challenges me to MAKE time for what's important, I sometimes get this incredible urge to run from the situation. I think it's that fight or flight response lol. At first I was ready to take this on and deal with it for the next year and a half, but now I just want to run. I know it sounds weird cuz that would mean seeing them even less, but somehow it seems like it would make it easier to deal with. I'm sorry if that sounds bad or weak, or whatever, but that's honestly that's how I'm feeling right now.
I know that we have things that come up in our lives that we just have to pray our way through...this is just one of those things. But God is always faithful to see us through anything :)

sorry bout the gap in posting

Sorry i haven't been able to keep my blog posts as frequent as i would like. This week has been insane so i haven't been able to get on and make posts. It'll be the weekend soon and you can probably expect another post then. More later.
~Blaire

All Smiles

I just got back from seeing Christian comedian Bob Smiley (funny coincidence, huh?..that a comedian would have that last name lol) . He was GREAT!! He is the epitome of hilarious, and a wonderful guy to sit and listen to. I went to see him with my youth group. I invited one of my good guy friends to go along with me; he did and we had an enjoyable time together. I was really glad i went and really hope Bob comes back to Kilgore sometime soon :)

TGIF!!

It's finally friday! :) Praise the Lord!

After school i have to babysit, but other than that i've got the weekend free. I'm planning on trying to get over to Longview to get my hair trimmed and get a present for my friend at church that just had a birthday. I'm not sure what to get him so i'm gonna head over to the mall and look around in PacSun for something he might like.

I only have two weeks before i get out for Thanksgiving break. I can't wait to go to Shreveport and see the family. I think I'll spend the weekend there with them and then go with them t0 church. It's the church i grew up in, so i like getting to visit and see everyone. There's a lot of new people there now, but something about the church still seems a little like home. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that my grandparents and greatgrandparents go there, along with a whole bunch of people i knew during my early childhood. There's a lot of memories there and going back is always a treat :)

Rest, a movie, and some cookies to boot

I am about to settle in for a night of rest and relaxation :) The day is drawing to a close and i have no homework, so i am about to kick back and watch a movie with my siblings and cousin while i eat chocolate chip cookies and allow myself to nod off to sleep...sounds like a fantastic plan to me :)


P.S.~ i made a 90 on that Geometry test i was talking about in my last post. Not as high a grade as i would have liked, but considering the fact i didn't study for it, i'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out.

Postponed :(

Wow, so the root canal i was supposed to have today was postponed...dang it! That not only means that i have to find another day i can get over there, but i’m also going to be stuck in Geometry today (i have a test today in that class that i purposely didn’t spend time studying for b/c i was planning on being out today). Right now i’m really frustrated b/c the reason it was postponed could have been avoided.

And i’m really irritated b/c this is the second time my appt. has been pushed back....aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh well...

Thursday's root canal

On thursday i will be going to have a root canal finished, and right now i have to say i'm more excited than scared about it...i'm glad i get outta school for a half of a day to get it done :)..and i'm glad i'll finally get this tooth taken care of. I had gone to the dentist about two weeks ago to have it taken care of then, but they told me that they were going to have to send me to a specialist b/c of a "curve" in my tooth (don't know exactly what that means, but they told me if they tried to do it they ran the risk of having one of their instruments break off in there and not be able to get it out. Yikes!!). So, all that to say: I'm having a root canal on thursday, and if you would, keep me in your prayers :)

Like i said in my previous post, i thought i was going to be taking a test today that was supposed to help me figure out what to go to college for, but it turns out it wasn't my grade taking it this year...so i was in class all day. I was looking forward to not being in classes for the first half of the day. But, it wasn't that bad. None of my teachers assigned ANY homework to us (write that one down in the history books, people!!! LOL). Plus i made a 102 on a Cyrano de Bergerac literature test i didn't study for *whoot-whoot*...was happy bout that one! :)

Well, i think i'm going to try to catch a quick nap before i go to church tonight, so i'd better sign off. TTYL :)

Quick post

Hey you guys, i only have a couple minutes until the bell rings for me to go to Biology, so i'm having to type this really quick.

I thought i was supposed to be taking the PLAN test during this time, but it turns out there was a lack of communication in the school office, and it's really another grade that's taking it. I was kinda bummed out cuz if i was taking the test today, I'd be outta class right now lol...which would be really great :)...yea, the class i'm in right now isn't so bad but i have to go to Geometry soon and i am not lookin' forward to it :(

Tuesday Update

Last night's self-defense class was pretty awesome...i learned a lotta cool stuff, and now i've gotta warn people not to come up behind me and try to scare me or they just night get an elbow in the gut lol j.k. I was glad that i was able to learn some practical, useful tools for defending myself...hope i never have to use them, though.

Well, i am back at school now...i almost stayed home and slept b/c i was soooo stinkin' tired this morning. I accidentally overslept by an hr and 15 mins, and i still was dawg tired. Yea, and this happened on a day that i had to leave my house early for school...seriously, what are the odds...well quite large actually, taking into account that this kind of stuff always happens when you least need it to lol.

I just found out yesterday that my Theater Arts team is supposed to go to Many, LA to perform at some special thing that they're having there that all these dignitaries and stuff are supposed to be there. It's great and all, but it's on the same day that my family is getting together for Thanksgiving...not a good schedule conflict. I think what we are going to do is just have my parents pick my sister and i up from Many on their way to LA that way we can go and perform but still be able to visit the family in Shreveport. Hopefully that'll work out as well as it sounds like it will ;)

Monday's here!

Today is Monday...again. lol that means i am once again back at school :( Like i have mentioned before, it's not my favorite place in the world to be. My computer lit teacher is sick today so we have a sub and he's letting us just chill and mess around on our computers...which so totally beats working on an assignment :)



I'm ready for this evening to get here cause i have a self-defense class tonight. not exactly sure how i'm gonna fit it in with all my homework, but we'll see how it turns out. I'm pretty excited bout it..i'm glad i'll be learning how to better defend myself just in case someone ever decides to do something stupid. Not really expecting that to happen, but you just never know so it's good to have the advantage by being prepared.







Thanksgiving is just round the corner, and i'm tellin' ya, i don't think i've ever been more ready for it to finally be here (i get to see my family and have like three days outta school). My family is actually going to be having our Thanksgiving dinner and get-together a few days early this year b/c one of my relatives only has like a couple days she can come down so we are having it while she is here. I'm excited b/c it means i get spend time with my family and not have to worry bout school for a few days..which is always nice.



School is a whole other subject i could go off on, and i will, but with mild restraint.
It's been one of the most character-testing experiences ever...and it's been going on for like three straight years like this. Frankly i am getting sick of what i've been having to put up with and i'm really hoping it changes soon...


Well, i've gotta go- got Biology in a couple minutes. Talk to you later!

With Hope

Right now, even as my heart is breaking over news i received earlier today about a loved one, i am comforted by the fact that God Almighty is still in control and is mighty to save and rescue in times of trouble. He is faithful to those who love and put their trust in Him. A reassurance of this is found in Psalm 91, (verses 14-16 shown)

14 "Because he [she] loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him [her]; I will protect him [her], for he [she] acknowledges my name.

15 He [She] will call upon me, and I will answer him [her]; I will be with him [her] in trouble, I will deliver him [her] and honor him [her].

16 With long life will I satisfy him [her]
and show him [her] my salvation."

I am crying out to my Daddy God, needing His comfort and peace during this time. I feel like the Lord had been preparing me for this for a while now. It seemed that everywhere i turned i was being reminded to cherish moments with family and friends, not allowing anything to be incorrectly prioritized that would therefore cause me to miss out on those special moments.
To live with the constant reminder that this old, decaying world is not our home, yet a glorious Place filled with the Presence of God is what awaits Christians upon the end of this life. When we complete our time on earth, our life will not "end" but will just be beginning. Isn't that wonderful!!

Friday!! :)

It's finally Friday!! I'm sooooooooooooo ready for the weekend; this week has been pretty wild.

I'm going to see a movie tonight then going to hang out at the mall. I'm hoping that it'll be a nice way to relax after such a crazy week at school. Saturday is looking pretty nice for me, i get to see my baby cousin, so i'm excited bout that :) I plan on just chillin' the rest of my weekend...that's if i don't have a boat-load of homework assigned to me beofore then lol.

holding my tongue..showing some wisdom

I could choose to write about the outcome of the election, the problem I'm having with one of my teachers, or the crazy amount of quizzes i've got to study for, but i'm showing some wisdom and choosing to write about something else -mainly b/c of Proverbs 29:11 which states "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man [or woman] keeps himself under control." Ouch. So, i'm keeping myself "under control" and am going to post something not including any of the topics above.



Last night I had the opportunity to go and see Dennis Swanberg with my youth group. I was supposed to work the nursery last night at church but there were only a few kids, so the other worker covered it for me (it was only her two kids and her nephew that showed up). Getting to take time off and just spend time laughing was great. Dennis was sooooooooo funny, and it was really cool b/c during some parts of his routine i knew what was coming up next b/c i had heard a program on Focus in the Family that they had him on, and parts of his routine were the same as the one he did last night. Even though i knew what was coming i still found myself laughing like it was my first time to hear it. lol

It was enjoyable...and now i'm back at school.....bummmmmmer!

FYI

Hey, you guys! From this week on, my Comp Lit class will be changing a little. We won't be spending time working on our blogs; instead we will be doing some other stuff with Microsoft programs. Because of this, i more than likely won't be able to have something new up on my blog every day. I will try my best to, but without having that class time to work on it, it might become a little difficult. So we'll see how it goes, but more than likely my post will probably be only 3 or 4 times a week.

Hope you continue to read and comment, though! I REALLY enjoy reading what you have to say in response to what i post!!

ELECTION DAY!

Today is Election Day!!! Don't forget to vote!!

it's monday

Well, it's monday again, so that means i'm back at school :( ...if you couldn't tell, it's not one of my fave places to be. Seeing my friends is great and all, but if you ask me, school's about 5 months too long lol. Right now i'm just chillin' out in computer lit class. No one else has added anything new to their blogs, so there's nothing for me to read and comment on, so i figured i'd just make a post myself :)

Weekend Update

Yesterday I went with a couple of my friends to Mall St.Vincent and to the Boardwalk.

One of my guy friends picked out and bought me a REALLY CUTE Hurley jack from PacSun as my birthday present. O my goodness, i luv it soooo much. It's adorable and it's reversible so i can wear it two ways :)

1st way...

2nd way..isn't it awesome?

He also got me a couple other things along with my jacket...one was a super cute ring that matches my jacket like perfect...i luv it too :)

My baby cousin came along with us. Like aways, it was a joy to have him around. Above is a picture of him and me in front of the river at the Boardwalk. Isn't he cutest little thing ever? :)