We Are the Misfits

Today I got to go back in time. To my childhood. More specifically to my early teen years. Early 90s. When the grunge look was in.Everyone you knew had a Yaga, No Fear, or Hypercolor T-shirt, or a pair of umbros.Back when television was still somewhat decent. You know,Beverly Hills 90212, Saved By the Bell, and the TGIF FRiday night line up. The shows you would totally rearrange your schedule for. Sayings like "Poof!, be gone"!, "Not", and "Talk to the Hand" were common everyday junior high jargon. Today I went back to that time period, and did so through my daughter.
      Being a teenager is rough. Being a teenage girl is even more rough. I am soo glad i don't have to relive those days and I would never in a million years. Soo much pressure to fit in, and just be accepted. Trying to conform to everyone elses ways just soo people will think your are cool and like you. We have all done it before, all the while feeling the need to put on a mask because we are worried people wont accept us for who we are. Don't deny it. Even if for a brief, fleeting second you have done it.Now add the word christian to the teenage girl, and gets even more complicated.It shouldn't be, but it is.The desire to befriend and form likeminded relationships with other girls who share your faith can often become even more difficult.
   Today I saw myself(my 13 year old self) in my daughter.I was about to see her off to church camp. Shes very shy, just as I was and has a hard time fitting in because of it. One of the girls said something very rude to her(a very common occurance), and it made her  upset.Typical jr High girl behavior. They tend to be catty and full of drama,full of hormones. Yeah, like i said, I would never want to go back there.Anyway, I pulled her to the side and said something like she couldnt focus on how people were treating her,and the fact that she was feeling left out and not accepted,because if she did, she would miss out on what God had for her.She just needed to pray for them. We exchanged tears and I hugged her and sent her on her way. This moment sent me back in time.
      As a young teenage girl, I was always trying to fit in. Especially with my fellow youth group peeps. As much as I tried,those relationships never fully developed.Never got past the surface. It was a "See you on Sunday/Wednesday" or at the next youth outing type of deal. I would sit with them at school at lunchtime on occasion. Never asked to go to their houses and spend the night or have dinner with their family.Although everyone else was. That has carried over to this day.I have friends,good christian friends who I know I can go to for just about anything,but we never call each other on the phone,never hang out, never get our families together for dinner or a fun outing.Its a deep unmet desire that has carried over from my childhood into my adulthood. There are times when I am standing in a room of like 200 people and feel soo alone. I think we have all experienced that at one time or another, for some it goes away and for others it doesn't.Its not like I haven't tried, I have put myself out there. I had a conversation with a friend of mine sometime ago, and the word that was brought up was misfit. I finally had a word to put with what i have experienced and felt for all of these years. Being a misfit though, is not necessarily a bad thing.Jeremiah 1:5 says

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” The dictionary defines the word misfit as a person not suited in behaviour or attitude to a particular social environment . In other words, a person who stands out,or is set apart. One whom doesnt blend in. As Christians, we were made to be misfits. We were made to walk differently, talk differently, to not act like everyone else acts.. As Christians, we are called to a higher purpose. We were made to stand out, to be set apart.  The enemy would love nothing more than to make you feel as if you are all alone and don't fit in. Especially among fellow Christians. This couldnt be further from the truth.I saw many young people earlier who were feeling this way, you could read it in their facial expressions and body language.I have witnessed many adults experiencing this. Like I told my daughter earlier if you arent't careful, and you dont become aware of this, you could miss out on something very important God has for you.We are all called to be misfits, to be set apart, to stand out. So do just that. And do it in a way that brings honor and glory to him.

 

Pinterest Party Part 1

Ok, so this summer I am picking 25 random things off of Pinterest(I may do more if time allows) that I want to do. These include everything from crafts i want to make, to organizing ideas, beauty things, whatever. This blog post is dedicated to the first half of my list. My goal is to have the first part of the list done by July. I am challenging all of my friends to do the same and blog about each pin that they check off of their list. These are in random order:

#1

Art   Wall
So, we are past the pre-k art stage( I think that may be what this pin was originally intended for) but I thought this would be a really great way for my 12 year old daughter, who happens to really enjoy art, to display her work. Pretty sure I am not going to do the buckets. Still not sure where we are going to put it, most likely in her room. You can find the link for this here.  I have recently discovered Jenn's Blog Clean and Scentsible on Pinterest, and I think you will enjoy it. My next pin comes fro her website as well.

#2

Lemonade Bar
also found off the clean and scentsible site, thought this was a really cute idea. Depending on what size basket you have, you could use some starbucks Frapachino bottles( I know I spelled that wrong), or some mason jars. You could also use more that three bottles for more options. She has printable labels on her site.

#3
Kitchen Command Center

Ok, so mine definately wont
't be this elaborate, being that there are only three of us, will probably only be half this size. But its definately going to happen. I am thinking this will probably be one of my more difficult projects to take on.......

#4

Apartment Therapy
I have a banister that looks somewhat similar to this. This wont take me long to do at all  =) Hooray for simple projects that make a huge difference!

#5

Pizza Box Organizer. Doesnt need much Explanation. This one is a little plain, Im sure mine will be decorated a bit more.......whew! halfway there.....

#6


I Love this!!! This one appears to have been done with paint pens. I think I just might tackle this one first.....

#7


What Pinterest Party would be complete without an Angry Bird Pizza .We may have to make some of his friends as well.

#8
Hot Dog Bar


and what summer would be complete without one of these? We have done something similar to these before, but it wasnt this fancy. Im thinking menus and everything........have family that will be down on the 4th so this should be extra fun.
#9
Greenhouse made from discarded windows
My parents recently remodeled their home, and have all of these old windows left over from that remodel. I told them to hold onto them,because I just knew that I could figure out something to do with them. Here we go! I cannot wait to tackle this. This will be a two person project, so I will have to have my husband help out. Not sure if Im going to make a big one or a little one yet, but it is going to happen!

#10
Necktie Pillows
for a list of  really cool necktie crafts visit here. These are going to be amazing.


So that, my friends, is part 1. I hope there will be a part 2, but I am not going to rush it, because I want to enjoy the experience. I look forward to posting pics of my creations.......

No Regrets

So, its official. I exhale with high velocity at this blogging thing . I mean, cmon, my last post was in August. Ridiculous.Last fall(2011) I started going back to school. This past fall, I actually started attending back  campus. Some friends thought it would be cool take a music theory course together. Music is something I have always wanted to pursue, and is a huge part of my life. I want to grow and get better at it. I have always been one to make up excuses why I couldn't and I finally got tired of that and started thinking of reasons of why I should. My biggest excuse was because it would be too hard, you know the theory and ear training part of it. Its definately been a challenging to say the least, but it has also been alot of fun. For example, this past November, i took part in an opera workshop. That was a first for me, i have never ever been exposed to opera on any level and thought that that was for a bunch of stuffy people =) but now I am in love with it to say the least.Same with jazz, had never really dabbled with that,but was able to this past spring. I was even able to attend an opera and a musical theatre show(Camelot) for the first time with my fellow students. I would not have been able to do all of this(and i am just getting started), had I continued to make up excuses. I try my best to live a life of no regrets. If there is an opportunity that comes about, and I know later that I will regret not doing it, then I do it.........
     So, why am I doing this? Well, Im glad you asked. To be honest, I have no idea....lol. I just felt led by God to do it. I dont know what plans he has for me as far as this goes, butI do know that they are good plans. I am staying very ministry focused, but alot of ideas are swirling in my mind. If I could do anything, I would want to perform. Eiether lead worship or just perform for a living, you know, make money doing it. But the reality of it is that most music majors go into some sort of teaching, so I may end up teaching voice. I wouldnt mind having my own studio......
  So,now that you know what I have been up to, in between going to school full time, and homeschooling(yes, we are still doing that,lucklily most of her stuff is eiether online or on the computer), I guess you can understand why i havent been on much. Plus my life really isnt that interesting anyway....lol.
Thats my story and Im sticking to it.