Jesus

I find Jesus fascinating. I find some of the things that some people do in the name of Christianity totally hypocritical. Jesus died for our sins. Jesus was friends with everyone. He was friends with tax collectors, and prostitutes, and other kinds of people. I can't say for sure, but I am pretty sure that Jesus wasn't caucasian, he was Jewish, and he was also like, "Love your neighbors as yourself." And I am pretty sure that referred to ALL the neighbors, not just "certain neighbors", but ALL the neighbors. I try to lead a life worthy of following Jesus. I fail more than I succeed, but someday, maybe, I'll get there.

Life

Life is a beautiful, chaotic mystery. It is amazing and sometimes it tears me apart. It is a contradiction. Sometimes it makes sense. Most of the time it doesn't make sense. There is a difference between living and existing. I choose to LIVE.

A Well-Read Woman is a Dangerous Creature

Reading is very important to me. I love reading books. All kinds of books. Fantasy. Sci-Fi. Historical Fiction. I'm not much for non-fiction, but sometimes I come across non-fiction that doesn't bore me. There are so many great books out there, and I am not sure I am going to live long enough to read all of the books on my list, but I'm going to try :)

"One must always be careful of books and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us."-Cassandra Clare

"When Words Fail, Music Speaks"-Shakespeare

Music is incredibly important to my life. I don't usually talk about how important music is to my life, but I have playlists for pretty much everything. I love songs with meaningful lyrics. I like upbeat songs. Sad songs. Love songs. Songs about betrayal. Losing someone you love. Basically, anything. Music without words. Classical music. Celtic music has a certain pull on my heart. Music has been around forever. When I was growing up, there was a song that we used to sing in church sometimes, called "When Long before Time (The Singer and the Song)". When I was older, and finally got around to reading "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis, there was a section, in "The Magician's Nephew", when Aslan literally sang Narnia into existence, and when I was reading that, I immediately thought of "When Long before Time". I also love playing the piano, it is always calming to me. Music is relevant in all situations, and one of my favorite quotes, which, I don't know who to attribute it to, but it goes, "Music is life, that's why our hearts have beats."


 When Long before Time (The Singer and the Song)


1. When long before time and the worlds were begun,
when there was no earth and no sky and no sun,
and all was deep silence and night reigned supreme,
and even our Maker had only a dream...

2. ...the silence was broken when God sang the Song,
and light pierced the darkness and rhythm began,
and with its first birthcries creation was born,
and creaturely voices sang praise to the morn.

3. The sounds of the creatures were one with their Lord's,
their harmonies sweet and befitting the Word;
the Singer was pleased as the earth sang the song;
the choir of the creatures reechoed it long.

4. Though, down through the ages, the Song disappeared,
its harmonies broken and almost unheard,
the Singer comes to us to sing it again:
our God is with us in the world now as then.

5. The Light has returned as it came once before;
the Song of the Lord is our own song once more;
so let us all sing with one heart and one voice
the song of the Singer in whom we rejoice.

6. To you, God the Singer, our voices we raise;
to you, Song Incarnate, we give all our praise;
to you, Holy Spirit, our life and our breath,
be glory forever, through life and through death.

Sami

I have known my other friend Sami since sometime in high school. We had some classes together, and we became friends. We didn't spend a lot of time together outside of school, but one day I did spend most of a day at her house. We haven't seen each other since high school, but we still talk on Facebook quite a bit, and we WILL see each other again someday.

Amy Petersen and How to Deal with Having to Put up with the Same Sassy Child in Sunday-School for, like, 5 years in a Row....

I have known Amy for most of my life, and she put up with teaching me, and the rest of my age group, in Sunday School for, I'm pretty sure it was 5 years in a row. I am impressed that she managed to survive that. She is a lawyer, and in Sunday School in the 5th grade, she made us do a mock trial, but I don't remember what Bible lesson we were doing in which a mock trial was relevant. Anyways, I was the defendant, but it turned out that someone else was guilty, so....that was fun :) Anyways, I have always liked Amy, she's delightful, and supportive, and fun to have around :)

My Big Brother Wesleigh

When I first met my brother Wesleigh, I was 15 years old. I've spent a bit of time with him since then, and he is a great guy, and I love him.

Mrs. Rosenquist, and also Carol

Mrs. Rosenquist was my third grade teacher. She also lived down the street from my Grandma forever, and she and my Grandma are friends, and now she I just call her Carol :) When I was in her class, I turned 9, and my birthday happened to coincide with the class Christmas Party, and we got root beer floats :) We have had several enjoyable experiences together, including a few retreats and a week in Holden Village, and hopefully we'll get to have a few more experiences when I return.

Trista

Trista and I have "officially" been friends since we were on the track team together during the spring of my sophomore year of high school. We have lots of inside jokes, I always enjoy spending time with her, and she is always smiling. I also don't spend nearly enough time with her, and I miss her, but I will hopefully see her before 2018 comes to a close.

Melanie

I met Melanie in the summer of 2009, when we worked at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp together. She and I lived in the same staff cabin that summer, and so we got to know each other a bit, and we had some pleasant conversations before we went to sleep. I haven't seen her since that summer, which is something that needs to change soon, but I have nothing but fond memories, and I can't wait to see her again.

Shaunna and Jeff

Shaunna and Jeff are my best friend Sami's parents. I met them in the summer of 2009, when Sami and I first worked together, and then in the summer of 2010, they came for family weekend, and they "adopted" me into their family, because no one in my family could make it. They always make me feel like part of their family, and they are wonderful people, and good parents, and they are just great and I love them :)

Field Officer Sarah

I know so many Sarahs, so this Sarah, since she is my field officer here in the United Kingdom, gets referred to as Field Officer Sarah, because yeah. Also, in case you are wondering, Field Officer is not the same thing as Probation Officer. Field officer just means that she is available if I am having any problems in my placement, or life in general, and to make sure that I have the resources that I need to live my best life. Or something :) I first met Sarah in September, and I have seen her a couple of times since then, and we have talked on Facebook a bit, and she is always supportive, and I am glad to know her.

Mrs. Barrick is Synonymous with Sassiness :)

Mrs. Barrick and I got to know each other when she was my AP English teacher during my junior year of high school. She also went to school with my Mom, and they were in the marching band together, and I am not entirely sure how the rest of the band survived that experience :) Mrs. Barrick was known for, "political incorrectness", and sarcasm, and we used to tease each other ALL THE TIME. It still happens sometimes, but much less frequently. She was also the yearbook advisor, and I spent the last two years of high school on the yearbook committee, and then my senior year of high school I was her student aide for her freshman English class, which I enjoyed. Looking back on it, I'm pretty much amazed at how much sassiness Mrs. Barrick actually let me get away with, and actually, how much sassiness any of my teachers let me get away with. But actually, Mrs. Barrick is a wonderful human being, and she was one of my favorite teachers in high school, and maybe she was more mellow when she was in high school and in Marching Band. I don't know. But I am blessed to have her in my life.

Matt, Our Wonderful Country Coordinator

I met Matt last April, almost a year ago. He is our Country Coordinator here in the U.K. He is absolutely delightful, he is always fascinated by my knitting, and I am always amused at how fascinated he is by my knitting. He is always cheerful, and he makes our YAGM retreats very enjoyable, and he sometimes sends me pictures of penguins on Facebook. He is also really easy to talk to, which is good if you are having a problem. So...yeah. Matt is wonderful.

Katie

Katie was appointed the "Mom" of our YAGM cohort way back at Orientation in August. I am years older than her, so I consider myself "Grandma", which works because I can often be found knitting something :) And when I say, "years older", I really am only, like, 4 years older than Katie. Anyways, Katie is great. She is compassionate, and is a leader, and organized, and I have enjoyed getting to know her this year, and I hope that we remain friends in the future :)

Sarah Peterson

Sarah Peterson is another YAGM here in the United Kingdom with me, and she was also my first, and remains the only, house guest that I've had since I've been here.She stayed at my house when she came to visit Manchester for YAGM Thanksgiving. She's pretty wonderful, was very patient when I literally had no idea where I was going when I met her at Picadilly Train Station and we had to get to Salford, which I hadn't been to Salford yet, so I didn't know where the bus stop was that my phone told me to go to, but we did get on a right bus eventually, and got to Grace's house in Salford, and also got rained on, 'cause it downpoured for a bit, but Sarah was very patient and had a sense of humor about the whole thing, which is good, 'cause I get really sad when people get angry at me when I don't know what I am doing. Sarah also handles difficult situations way better than I ever would, and I think that's an admirable quality. I have enjoyed getting to know Sarah over the course of this year, and I am excited to see her in a couple of weeks.

Happy Birthday to my Aunt Terri!

It seems fitting to write about my Aunt Terri today, because today is her birthday, so if you know my Aunt Terri, wish her a  happy birthday today :) Aunt Terri is my Mom's sister, and she has been my Aunt for 29 years :) She is also my Godmother. She's always been there for me, supportive of all my adventures and anything else I wanted to do. So Happy Birthday to my Aunt Terri!

Megan

Megan has been my best friend for almost 18 years. We've been through a lot together. Middle School. High School. One year of college in Missoula. Navigating adulthood, and for several years now, long distance. We have had some good times, and we've been there for each other through the bad times. Sometimes our lives get busy and we go for long periods of time without talking, but when we do talk, it feels like no time has passed. She is the best friend that I have had the longest, and I can't wait until we are reunited.

Sarah Bull, Co-Founder of "The Dream Team"

Sarah Bull is another member of my YAGM cohort here in the U.K., and we started referring to ourselves as "The Dream Team" on the last night of YAGM Orientation in Chicago, in August, when we noticed some other members of our U.K. cohort standing a bit of a distance away from us, and we wondered if they noticed that we weren't among them, so we stared at them awkwardly for a while, but they didn't notice us starting awkwardly at them, and then I told Sarah that one of my greatest fears is that I feel like people don't notice when I'm not around, and anyways, somehow that made us decide to be "The Dream Team". We actually were probably just being way overdramatic about that whole thing. Or maybe I was the only one being overdramatic....anyways, Sarah has become one of my best friends, and I have enjoyed getting to know her better over the course of the year, and I look forward to all the other adventures that we will have over the rest of our lives.

My Cousin Kori

My cousin Kori is pretty wonderful. I've known her my whole life, and I've spent some time with her, and we've gotten to know each other pretty well. She has always been there for me, and I always try to be there for her, and I am looking forward to seeing her next summer when I am back in the United States.

Rosina

Rosina is another of my friends who is part of the YAGM cohort here in the United Kingdom. We've been getting to know each other since August, and she is wonderful. I am glad that we got sent to the U.K. together and that we get the opportunity to get to know each other, and I am excited to see how the next few months unfold for our friendship.

"My Best Friend"

I have a cousin named Karen, and she is almost 14 years older than me. I used to spend a lot of time with her when I was a little girl, and I used to refer to her as "My Best Friend". I don't really know why. However, when I was about 5 or 6, she moved to New York, and I apparently forgot about the whole "My Best Friend" thing, because when she came back from New York a few years later, she wasn't my best friend anymore. Of course, the more interesting, but totally made up by me, story, is that she was my best friend, but then she went to New York and left me, and I was mad at her, so that's why she wasn't my best friend anymore. But that version isn't true. Karen is a wonderful human being, and I love her a lot, and I always look forward to seeing her.

My Oldest Big Brother

My brother John is a wonderful human being. I didn't know that he existed until I was almost 15, but he tried to find me for a lot of years before he finally tracked me down. He's been a pretty good older brother though, although I haven't seen him in almost 14 years, which will change once I'm back in the States. He's a good guy, a good husband, from what I can tell, and a good father, and I love him and will hopefully see him in a few months.

Jetta

I have known Jetta for a long time, since middle school or something, but we only "officially" became friends a few years ago. It's been fun getting to know her these past few years, and hopefully we will be friends for the rest of our lives.

Heath

Heath is one of the most wonderful guys that I have had the privilege of getting to know. Out of the eleven of us YAGMs serving in the United Kingdom this year, he is our only boy. He handles it pretty well though. He is kind and compassionate, and I look forward to knowing him far into the future.

The other Haley that I Know

I met Haley back in August, in Chicago, at YAGM Orientation. Haley is a former YAGM, and she was the leader of my small group. Over the course of eight days we got to know each other a bit, and we have talked on Facebook a bit since I have been in England. I look forward to getting to know her more as the years go on, and I feel very privileged and blessed to have her in my life.

Dejon

I met Dejon a few years ago when I joined a book club in my hometown. We have gone running together and had a couple of movie nights at my house. I am glad that we have become friends, and I hope that we will be friends far into the future.

Sarah, the One that I've Known Forever

I know a few different Sarahs, but the Sarah in this post is one that I have known, literally, forever. We grew up in church together, we ran cross country together for a couple of years in high school, and we still are good friends to this day. I can't imagine my life without her in it, and hopefully I will never have to.

Danielle

I met Danielle in April, when we were roommates at the YAGM Discernment, Interview, Placement (DIP) Event in Woodstock, Illinois. We both had options of either the Jerusalem/West Bank program, or the United Kingdom program. We both got accepted into the United Kingdom program, and I am so glad that I have gotten to know her a bit more over the course of this year. I make fun of her sometimes, but she knows that I do it because I love her, at least, I'm pretty sure that she knows that, I should probably clarify that more. She always adds joy to my life, and I am thankful that life has brought us together.

Rachel

I have known Rachel for my entire life. I don't actually know when we made the transition from just being people who know each other into friendship. Rachel has been studying in Cambridge for a few years now, and a couple of months after I moved to England, I got the opportunity to visit her for a couple of days in Cambridge, and she showed me around Cambridge, and it was really good to get to spend that time with her, and catch up on our lives. I can't imagine my life without Rachel being a part of it, and I hope that she continues to be a part of it for at least several more decades.

Sami

Sami has been one of my best friends since the summer of 2009, when we both worked at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp. I was working in the kitchen, and she was a counselor, and it was basically love at first sight. She was definitely one of the organizers of "Jasmine Appreciation Day" that happened that summer, I still don't know who all was involved in that, but Sami came over to the corner where I was baking that day, and every hour, on the hour, she would bang on drum and give me an "hourly affirmation". In 2010, when Sami and I worked together at FLBC again, Sami's family adopted me for Family Weekend, since my family couldn't come, and I appreciate them so much for always making me feel like a part of their family. In August of 2012 Sami came to England as part of the YAGM program, she was at a different placement than the one I am currently at, but I got to spend a weekend with her before she left, the last weekend of July 2012. In fact, the last time that I saw her was at the Helena bus station, when I had to go back home, on July 30 2012. a little over 5 1/2 years ago. I miss her so much, I've been missing her for years, and when I get back to the States, one of my first priorities is to see her. Best friends for almost 6 years, and hopefully for the rest of our lives, and a love story that was, at least one time, referred to as "The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, except for that One about Jesus and How He Died on the Cross for Our Sins."