Precious People

! This week is one of my FAVORITE weeks of Summer.

Noo..it's not camp.

VB. Stinking. S.

(For all those deprived folks, that would be Vacation Bible School)

At first I weren't very excited because this year my sister, Abi and I got the Pre-K and K class. I looove babies but trying to get 1st-2nd graders (our usual forte) to clam down and listen to the lesson is hard enough, let alone these little humans. 

But...as usual God had a better plan in mind. 

The second all our little ones started flocking towards us I fell in love with each and every one of them.

Sure there's always those few boys that give you a hard time, but they're so stinking cute and obey you just enough that you can't hate them. 

and of course there are those sweet, sweet ones that are clinging to you by the second period.

This year God's put a wee bit of a challenge into our class. 

A tiny, precious, beautiful, human shaped challenge.

This little guy's two big sisters have been coming to VBS for two years and this was his first year. He doesn't speak English though so story time is kind of pointless for him. He's the most precious little guy ever and even though we can't talk much, it's amazing how trusting he is. 

{I did actually tell him to wash his hands, play a game, run, and asked if he wanted water and ice cream in Spanish. And he understood me. scoooore.}

Also..the power of body language is sorely underestimated.

Anyway...this little man is just precious to my heart. Melts it every time I see him. 

That first day of VBS I realized that because of the language barrier, the only way this little guy was gonna get a seed of faith planted was by the Holy Spirit. That my words literally meant nothing to him, but that the Spirit would be able to reach him.

So be praying for these little hearts to be opened to His word and for the Spirit to be ever present.

What's really exciting is when you see kids that have gone to Bible School in the past and are now helping.

[insert melting of heart here]

Seriously. It's just about the biggest blessing in the planet.

While my sister was telling the story the first day the kids were sitting around the table. We have four teachers for our class, us three that weren't teaching had a kkiddo on our lap. One of the teachers, Erika (she's come to Bible School for years and her big family of cousins and siblings have come too. She's thirteen or fourteen.) had a little girl on her lap. We were talking about how Jesus helps us. I'm not sure what the little one asked but I heard Erika reply without a bat of the eye "Yep, He can help everyone."

It seems like such a simple truth. But to hear this teenage girl who I used to see sitting in class be a teacher and now be the one telling about Jesus...again with the whole melting of the heart thing.

The youth at our church amazes me. The crap these young kids deal with is ridiculous. They're not even in High school and they face struggles with sex, drugs, and suicide everyday of their lives. These kids are some of the most loving people I know. The commitment they show by coming to Bible Study every week and helping with church events is just...amazing. They stinking amaze me! I can't even express how much I love these kids. It amazes me every time I see God working in their lives.

Conclusion...God amazes me. Pre-K and K kids are precious to my heart. My youth group is precious to my heart. VBS is preeeecious to my heart. Ahhh. I just love people! 

much, much love coming your way,

hannah dorothy

Your Grace Is Enough

Humph...

do you ever have those days where life just gets you down? Well today started out great but I guess it was just too good of  a day for Satan to be able to stand it. I can still feel those nasty words burning on the tip of my tongue and my head throbbing with regret. You know when people say "think before you speak." and "never speak when you're angry." well..don't roll your eyes next time. 

Cause it's true. 

After you've said those words, you wonder did those awful thoughts really come from the corners of my heart? You hope and pray those words didn't come out of the overflow of your heart, because if they did...well you need a serious make-over. Well..right here and right now is where God's amazing grace kicks you in the butt. Because the moment you realize that He is standing there loving you right through those ugly words you want to take it all back...and you just sit there with your little ugly words and humiliated heart with tears biting at your eyes. Well that was my evening...but lets not talk about that anymore;)

On a lighter note, my sisters graduation was this weekend. Being homeschooled we don't have a cap and gown but we do have a small(ish) fiesta at our home school assistance program. Her party was on Sunday and boy oh boy...do I love my family. My Mama grew up on a dairy farm with four older siblings and one younger. And I adore all of my aunts and uncles. They are precious. They love each other and fight for each other. Even though the oldest has kind of cut ties (not completely) they all still love each other. When it comes time for a wedding or a graduation party boy do they pull together. Two of my aunts (who happen to be twins) came out on Saturday to help us get ready all day long. Day. Made. I love them.

I also really just wanna say...

my mama means more to me than I'll ever be able to realize.

lately that's become apparent to me like never before.

I honestly don't know how I'll ever get married.

Even though it is a desire of my heart I don't know how I'll be able to leave my family. Of course I wont move ten thousand miles away {please, Lord, don't take that as a challenge} or completely cut them out of my life but honestly...the thought of leaving my mama and daddy and sisters just scares to bug juice out of me.

Is it becoming a leetle too clear what I'm getting at?

yes. I AM freaking out about growing up. I am a home body at heart. At the end of the day I'd much rather be at home with my family than anywhere else in the world. Sometimes life throws those shiny pieces of stuff at me and I go chasing after what I think I want to become but I always end up right back at the place that gives my heart peace.

my own precious Whispering Pines.

have a lovely night my dears.

love,

hannah dorothy

Winter to...April?

It's funny...I often find myself making a mental note to blog about the silliest things in life...but they all seem so important.

The first... of these is....those funny looks you get when driving to school. For real, what's peoples problems these days? Keep yo eyes on yo own ca. I guess it's worth mentioning the fact that we were driving in the pick-up...which happens to have a large snow plow attached to the front.
That's because it's winter. And in Iowa that usually means snow. This winter we haven't had a whole lot but my Daddy has to be ready for when it comes. He plows snow in the winter since you don't do a lot of trucking. Yep, my Daddy is an aggregate relocation technician....AKA he drives a dump truck =) 

Anywho...

Lately I've been struggling with loving everyone. Oh gosh...honesty time. Sometimes  a lot of the time I struggle with loving people when I think they're doing something wrong. They could be dear to my heart and soul and I could completely adore our time together but sometimes when I think I know a better way to do life I insist on telling them over and over what I think they should do. Honestly, I mean well. I want the best for people I love but sometimes I think that I know what's good for them better than God does. 

*sigh*

Wrong-o. God knows best. End of story. He may choose to use me to change the lives of the people around me but I do not act without His direction. Learning to love people through situations is one of my goals for 2012. And also learning to love people and get along with them even if they don't do things exactly like I do. 

Also...recently said trials have forced me to remind myself...

why do I believe what I believe? 

What has formed those beliefs? 

What do the people I trust think about them? 

What does God think about them?

Mainly I've been thinking about boy relationship beliefs. Where I stand and why I stand there.

Such as..why do I dress modestly? 

Because honestly...sometimes it would be so much easier to not care what I buy and how much little it covers. 

Well...how selfish. How stinking daggon selfish would that be to dress with excessive body parts sticking out? Women continually tell men to grow up and keep their eyes to themselves....as they sit there wearing shorts that literally only cover their butts and shirts that leave little to nothing for your imagination. We tell them to stop looking. If we want them to stop looking why are we giving them something to look at? Why, if it's hanging out is it not supposed to be looked at? If we think it's wrong for them to look at "it" why is "it" hanging out in front of the world and everybody?

Girls often wonder why boys act the way they do. Why they treat them like less than the ladies they are. Well, possibly one reason is because we don't dress like ladies anymore. We don't act like ladies. We're so caught up in being tough and thinking of quick come-backs we forget that a gentle and quiet spirit is what we're called to. {1 Peter 3:3-4}

Us ladies don't understand just how much our brothers struggle. A lot of them try desperately day after day to keep themselves pure. They try desperately to tear their eyes away from that girl with her short skirt. They think of their future wives and tell themselves "Don't look.". But it's not that simple. They're wired completely differently than we are. When they see a girl with so little clothes on their mind starts spinning out of control into crazy thoughts about girls. We honestly don't understand how hard it is for them to keep those thoughts in check with us girls walking around like we do. We can't understand that they need our help to keep them pure. Or rather we don't care. 
{From here on has been edited on April 28th, 2012, above text written during Winter months of 2011-2012}

Girls if we want pure and committed husbands it starts with us. It starts with what we walk out the door wearing. And it starts with us not being selfish. 
Because it's really up to us. Do we make excuses or do we decide to be the change? Do we decide to help our fellow brothers in Christ.
No more excuses such as 
"I want to dress modestly but I just can't find any clothes that cover me!" 
Girlfriend, I'm right there with you in your frustration, but honestly, it is very possible to find clothes that cover. Not easy, but rather, possible.

Modesty Tips and Suggestions
These are all things I live by, I don't  always follow them to the t, but nobody's perfect!
- As summer approaches it gets harder to be modest, but instead of just buying what is most available, namely shorts that literally cover your bum {isn't that what undies are for?}, get capris {which are also getting shorter} and roll them up or cut them off so they reach the bottom of your fingertips when on. These cover all your bum and are way more comfy that trying to deal with a weggie every time you move. For serious. Don't use the excuse that your arms are just really long, have your shorts hit mid thigh or a little below.
- Keep shorts loose so so you again don't have to worry about weggies just to look...cute?
- Shirts can be pretty easily made modest by adding a cami underneath. Just keep the crack and belly covered.
-  If a shirts straps aren't two fingers thick add a tank top or t-shirt underneath.
- To decide if a dress/skirt is too short, bend over. If you can see your bum in the mirror, it's too short. Add some leggings and roll with it.

Questions are loved and I'd love to hear what YOU do to stay modest!  
 I can promise you from experience that someday you're going to look back and ask yourself why on earth you were allowed out of the house in those awfully short shorts and low top. 
I've heard stories of young men/men expressing immense gratitude towards girls who dress modestly. They sincerely appreciate us helping them stay pure for God and their future wives.


And purity goes way beyond simply boys. It goes straight to and starts with God. We are pure only because He gives us His purity. Without Him we can't come close to what He asks of us. Purity is of the heart and mind, not simply the body. The body could maybe be called the outward expression of that inner purity.


I hope to soon write down some thoughts about purity and how it is so wrongly labeled to not having sex before marriage. 
What are your thoughts on modesty and purity?
love,
hannah dorothy

 

Camo Cake

Hey all! I'm sincerely sorry if his post is a little off, I'm blogging from my sister's itouh as mine is loading Diner Dash (boosh. Don't judge.) and she's on the laptop and I'm unable to get to another computer.
Anyway!
I wanted to share my utter excitement about he recent cake I made. That's right, you guessed it...it was a camouflage came! So much fun, man, for real. I made it for my uncle who runs an elk farm/hunting range with his little brother (and my other uncle). I wanted to do something fun that had to do with animals or hunting and this is what I came up with!
I mixed up a regular vanilla cake mix (I used the yokes, I think it helped get the colors I wanted) and then decided the mix evenly into three bowls. I added green food coloring to one, green, blue and yellow food coloring to another and brown and a little green to the last. It takes kind of a lot of food coloring but don't worry about it affecting the flavor, it doesn't. Then I just started plopping the different colors into two round cake pans. It's Camo so don't worry about how it mixes. When it came out I was a little scared about how the top looked, a little brown/tan. But once we cut it I was soo pleased! It was a lot of fun to make and it turned out great!
I'm afraid I can't add an image from the itouh, at least I don't know how to. I will add a picture as soon as possible!
Meanwhile, my Diner Dash is loaded!;)
love,
hannah dorothy

Winter Blues and Summer Tunes

Ahh. Sometimes in the Winter I just feel trapped. Like I can't do anything. Like the life is sucked out of everything around me. Maybe not exactly that bad but still...sometimes I get the Winter blues. It's harder for me to workout in the Winter. To feel motivated. To be full of life. Sometimes...I just adore Winter. I mean the gorgeous Winter sky is just...breathtaking. But I like to feel like I'm getting somewhere. Like I'm accomplishing things and I don't feel like that a lot in Winter. But I'm praying and working on changing that this Winter. And now...I'm getting excited about that! Change, I mean. Change is an amazing thing...sometimes it's so darn scary but others times...it's just so wonderful. It's fresh. It's new. It's clean.

But I really do love Summertime.

The no school. The working outside. The reservoir beach days. The late nights. The sound of the dirt track. Vacation Bible School days praising Jesus and loving little kids. Christian camp and more praising Jesus.

Sundresses.

County Fair.

Country music blasting.

Windows down.

AC on high.

Sweet Summer Time

This Summer I am determined to have more fun with how I dress. Be more courageous. Wear those sundresses whenever I feel like it. Take an extra half hour to make it be a "cute" day.

Anywho...it's not sweet summer time...yet.

But for now I will be content with the season God has given me.

This is actually from last Winter {2010}. My friend Marissa and I at out homeschool classes:)

Picture taken at the reservoir one early day in Summer 2011:) Four of us went that day {My oldest sister Lizz, second sister Abi and their best friend and our third sister, Steph}

Memorial Day 2011 at my Uncle and Aunt's farm...playing on their granddaughter's toys:)

{Enjoy the little things in life...literally.}

I'm very proud of this. As of last Summer I can still fit into our dryer. AND close the door! Boosh.

My kittie, Howie, and I studying Chemistry in my room this Fall

Happy Tuesday!

love,

hannah dorothy

It's Raining Babies

So my last post was wee bit depressing. Sorry about that. My point was simply that my life isn't easy but it sure is wonderful. I forgot to mention the fact that we cannot do this awfully hard life on our own. It's impossible for us to do those hard, selfless things without the power of God giving us strength. But..it's such a beautiful thing. Needing God. Needing His strength. Because you really do need Him. I cannot on my own strength be the selfless person I'm called to be. But God is enough. He gives me His strength for those times when I feel like I can't go one more step towards that person.

Yesterday I got to spend a bunch of time with one of the cutest babies in the world. This little guy is a good little man, he doesn't complain a lot as long as he's got something to do:) He's got these round cheekies that melt your heart. I absoluately love children. Specifically babies. Good gosh. There's just nothin' like them.

Their squishy, soft skin. Their wide open, searching eyes. Their precious little squeels and happy cries. Their tiny, little baby feeties. Their most adorable little noses. And their sweet, innocent smiles. Their heart shattering unhappy cries.

They're just for serious wonderful, precious gifts from God.

I cannot wait to have my own precious babies.

Pinterest...oh Pinterest, what have you done to me? I'll tell you what you've done, you've made me a hopeless dreamer. One of my absolute favorite things to pin is house stuff. From decorating ideas to organization tips, they make me all giddy inside for the house I'll one day have to organize and make a home.

My heart melts at the thought of both of these huge, wonderful life happenings.

Winter 2010 Snow Angel:) We haven't gotten any snow this winter yet:(

My precious cousin and I after Thanksgiving dinner in 2010. This boy makes me laugh.

Love,

hannah dorothy

It's Lovely

Crazy. That's one word that comes to mind when I think of my life lately. But also, lovely.

~It's lovely to have a cheap dinner at Taco Bell {$3.95 Powned.} with your two lovely sisters after the first day back at school.

~It's lovely to make cookies and watch people enjoy them.

~It's lovely to dump on your sisters worries and struggles no one else would understand.

~It's lovely to pray in the moonlight.

~It's lovely to have such a green winter.

~It's lovely to know God gives grace even when we don't deserve it.

~It's lovely to be living.

~It's lovely to feel good after working out.

~My God is lovely.

Sometimes life happens. 

Sometimes harsh words pour out onto the people you love. 

Sometimes you feel broken down. 

Sometimes you don't feel pretty.

Sometimes you don't act pretty.

But all the time, our God is faithful. 

All the time He is good.

All the time He forgives you.

All the time He is changing you.

All the time you can choose to be selfless instead of selfish.

God's been showing me lately that life is easy  hard.

It takes a lot of hard, painful, faithful work to be the person I was meant to be. Everyday, I have to work hard to be selfless and ignore what I want to do and do what God wants me to. Sometimes I just plain don't want to be selfless. But I can guarantee that the feeling you have after you've done your selfish deed and hurt those you love (or maybe don't love so much) you feel like dirty laundry. Like something that should be thrown out. It's an awful feeling, and I'm all too familiar with it. One of my 2012 Goals is to be selfless. It's such a beautiful thing, I want to be a part of it. 

2012 has begun. What are you doing differently?

Hannah Dorothy 2012

~Peace. One of my three words for the year. Jesus is my Prince of Peace. I want to be His princess.

~Compassion. Second word of 2012. This world is harsh and cruel. I want to change that.

~Purity. My last word of 2012. This means so much to me this year. I do so many things that compromise my hearts purity. Those foul words I hear, those foul things I see, those crazy jokes I laugh at. My heart will be pure for my Lord, the Holy One.

~Verse - John 3:30 He must become greater, I must become less.

 

Have a wonderful 2012 lovelies. Let's let this be the year we let God change our generation, if we'll let Him, He could use us to change the world. 

Love,

hannah dorothy

 

This is a blurred picture of the moon from last Spring/Summer<3

 

  Another picture of our God's amazing creation.

Pinterest Lovin'

I'm such a bad blogger...I really do enjoy blogging, I swear. It's just hard to find the time, and I usually have to be in the right kinda mood. I have completely and 100% failed at Fotography Friday. Possibly because my computer is so stinking slow at adding them...and I've just totally forgotten about it. So anyway...I haven't blogged in a veery long time so prepare for a run down of absoluately random things.

Pinterest Lovin'

Number One

I made these adorable little pretzel snack things. They are addictive. For real.

Its round pretzels sprinkled with mini chocolate chips. Put them in the oven until the chocolate has melted but not lost it's shape, remove and stick M&M's in the middle. Let cool and enjoy. <----

Make a bunch because they're amazing.

Note the chocolate coverd pretzels to the left. Also very yummy.

Click here for the how to:)

Number Two

I made buckeyes! Yum, those things have been my mama's family favorite for a long time but we haven't made them forever. So even though my Pinterest recipe wasn't the best they did turn out:)

Number Three

I made mint bark! It was probably the easiest thing I did that day and super yummy.

Click here for the recipe!

Number Four

These are from a long time ago but..they're just sooo good I gotta share. My friends looved them even though I think they were a wee bit underbaked. There's nothing like people liking your baking, seriously.

Click HERE for deliciousness.

Number Five

This afternoon I made these yummy things. {Note to self: Do not use unsweetend chocolate to drizzle. Yuck}

Number Six

For my best friend and also for my sister, Abi, I redecorated headbands! It was fun and super simple. Find or buy a headband, doesn't matter what it looks like you're going to cover it. Dot some hot glue on one end and secure one end of the ribbon, wrap the ribbon and use hot glue to secure the other end. Now add whatever you want. A bow, beads and bow and beads:) I added lace to my sister's and it's soo cute.

Number Seven

My sister and my fake sister (my sister's best friend) got these paperclip earrings. They didn't turn out exactly like I'd hoped but when my sister wore them the other night they were really cute with her blonde hair:)

Number Eight

My favorite gift possibly of this Christmas were the Praise Journals I made for my sisters and mama. I tore pieces of vintage looking paper and hot glued them to a regular composition notebook. I used my mama's caligraphy pens to write Praise Journal across the front. They turned out adorable if I do say so myself.

So far I think that's all I've made off of Pinterest but much more is to come:) And I'm super excited about it!

We've made so many Christmas cookies this season I swear I gained at least ten pounds from them alone.

Recently I've started one of my favorite book series of all time...again. I'm currently re-reading Anne of Green Gables. YES! Gosh she never gets old. She's so...innocent. She's so joyful. She's so Anne. She brings back so many memories and I'm absouately loving reading those books again.

That's all for now my friends, hopefully I'll be back soon!

Love,

hannah dorothy

Here are some random pictures to kinda highlight my life these past weeks, enjoy!

My sister Abi and I the night of Christmas:) Happy Birthday Jesus!

My sister, me and our precious friend Melissa at her New Years Eve party:)

My sister's and I made gingerbread houses with these five kiddos:)

Thanks for the adventures 2011, lets go have some new ones. <3

Crazy, Lazy Notes

Good morning fellows...wow I shoulda been in bed a long time ago...but we wont talk about that now.

Recently life has been...a wee bit crazy...but also a lot bit lazy. I'm a lazy person, just in case you haven't caught on to that by now.

Confession time...I stay up late and get up late. I think "Ohh...you'll drag your butt outa bed at a decent time in the morning..." yeah. right. Like, when has that ever happened?! Fo real...most of the time I don't get up before 10am. It feels so nice and cozy when I'm laying there...but I just feel worser and worser every time I do it. (Yeah...I just said worser. What can I say? I was raised by hicks and homeschooled;) So tonight I honestly commit to working on this and getting out of this baad habit.

Note. My young, beefy cat just attacked my old, fat cat. Respect, young one, respect.

Anyway...

Recently it's come to my attention that God really listens to your prayers. He listens to your not even prayers but rather your heart crying for an answer kinda things too. He knows you better than anyone. He loves you more than anyone. He cares about your well being so much He sent His Son to die for you.

.what an amazing God to have.

One night I was laying in bed thinking about a lot of things...I was looking for a verse about protection but wasn't exactly finding one. Flipping through my Bible I ended up in Psalms. I was reading one page and suddenly decided to skip to the one beside it. There it read that my Creator, my Protector knows each and every star by name and that because of His power and His might not one of them will be lost. Think how much more valuable you are to Him than stars. For real...what kind of amazing God is He?!

Oh wow...just drink it in. Be filled with all that loving kindness. Be filled right to your tippy top and then let it gush over into other peoples' lives. Now that's what life's about. Being so fulfilled by your Creator that you cannot help but let it flow out of you. Beautiful.

Good n...morning lovelies. Have a wonderful Monday.

Love,

hannah dorothy

Cozy Iowan Saturdays:)

Afternoon, ladies and gents from my corner in cold, rainy Iowa to yours. 

I'm sorry I haven't written in so long, but hey, sometimes life gets in the way of blog life;)

Thanksgiving was two days ago! Gosh...I love Thanksgiving. My family celebrates by having my mama's side of the family over and eating until all we can do is sit and stare at each other in silence. Psh! Who am I kidding? Holidays are never quiet around here! It's a lot of fun. Everyone brings waay too much food and then everyone eats waay too much food and we talk waay too much and laugh waay too much. It's pretty great and if you can get along with some crazy hicks you'll fit right in.

I've never participated in Black Friday...haha I couldn't handle it. Crowded stores are not my thing. But this year Abi (my sister) and I decided to check it out. So we got up at 1am and headed to town...ahahaha! JUST KIDDING. Nothing you can buy at the store is worth getting up that early...I don't think.

Although I would welcome that adventure one of these years.

Anyway....

Abi and I did drag our sorry bums outa bed in time to meet the oldest sister, Lizz, for lunch on her break. The chick just started at Wally World. That's right. I know, be jealous. My sister works at my favorite store. We also got our hair cut. My cutter (what do you call her?!) was nice enough to inform me that I have a cowlick. Day = made. The mall was our next stop abut we weren't too impressed with any of the sales the stores were running so we ended up at Wally World again. I did buy a red cardigan, which kind of made me super excited for the three Christmas get togethers we have coming up. It was a fun day and the perfect way to end it was...

Breaking out the Christmas decorations!

Yeeesss! I LOVE Christmas...the lights of the tree have always just been magical. So as my sisters, mama and I sang the Christmas tree up with the same music we've been listening to on that same day for years...I realized this joy and togetherness will sometime end...one day my sisters will be married with their own trees to put up and this old farm house will be lonely without our warm laughter. The moral of this story...cherish the time you have with loved ones now. You will miss it one day, I promise.

Later that night the girls {Note...I will refer to my sisters as "the girls" all the time in this blog. Don't ask why that's just what we call them {Note numero dos...we usually means my family and I}) best friend came over. Stephanie became sister number three years ago and is moving to another state for college soon:( Boo.

We all four smashed on the couch (a usual occurrence) and used two laptops to look at Pinterest. Fo real ya'll...Pinterest is a drug. We spent at least and hour and a half on it. Don't judge.

After staying up til about 1am it was difficult for me to get outa bed this morning but I finally did. My mama, sisters and I went out to my Uncle's farm to package a pig they're giving us. Granted, they cut it up for us before we put it in the bags;) I showered when we got home, had lunch with the family and now am sitting on the floor in my living room. Wind is howling outside. I'm warm and cozy inside. That's how it's supposed to be. Now that I've given you a play by play of my last few days...let's move on to more interesting subjects, yes? Yes.

I've started a prayer journal/blessings journal and I'm really enjoying it. It's a place to let all my fears go right into the hands of my Savior, right where they're supposed to be. It also helps me realize how incredibly blessed I am. No, my family isn't rich and yes we struggle with money, but I have so much. For real...at the end of a day just think about all you have that many people can't even imagine having.

My sisters have showed up on my lists at least twice already. It really makes you think.

I would also like to mention the fact that I bought a purse the other day for $7 marked down from $20. Boosh.

The Lord also dropped into my lap a $4 sweater from Hollister. BA. OOSH.

I'll sign out for now...I'm on Pinterest and watching 27 Dresses...very important matters, ya'll.

Have a wonderful, rainy, cozy Saturday,

Hannah Dorothy:)

Favorites and Failures.

Today is Thursday. Which means tomorrow is Friday. Ha...that has nothing to do with anything but I just thought I'd share=) Is anyone else like SUPER excited about Thanksgiving?! Cause I sure am! Ok..gotta admit a LOT of it is the pie baking day I've got planned with my sister {possibly even both sisters:)} or maybe it's the much loved time I get to spend with my family:) Following will be a list of Favorites and Failures of the week.

1. I thought my mama was going to kill the guy at the cellular store trying to help us get our new phones. Poor Jeremy.

2. God stepping in and having Jeremy be super sweet and understanding.

3. Jeremy, the U.S. Cellular man, told me that people actually put their phones in the microwave/oven to dry it out after dropping it in water...America is seriously starting to scare me.

4. I dropped my phone in the tiolet.

5. Pinterest and all the yummy ideas for fun Christmas food:)

6. Pies...I love making pies and I can't wait to make some for Thanksgiving.

7. Having lunch with my sisters and papa:) It consisted of ramen noodles and pop and a lot of laughs:)

8. Snuggling with my kitty cat.

9. I just like Jesus and He makes a lot of stuff bettter.

10. The song It's All About Us by He Is We featuring Owl City...:) <3

Love,

hannah dorothy

{Break}away

Whew....this has been a long weekend! But a GREAT one! Where to begin...hmmm....perhaps at the...beginning? Yes, I think so.

On Friday a mixture of high schoolers from my church, my youth group, and the town youth group (small town people...community youth group happens) loaded up and headed out in pursuit of Breakaway 2011. Breakaway is a high school conference where you compete with other church groups in a bunch of competitions. Basketball, volleyball, ping-pong, fine arts, drama and music are just a few. Our group totalled thirteen. Ten kids and three "sponsers" (leaders). The leaders were the couple with the little blonde kiddos I've talked about before? (Is that creepy that I talk about other's children on my blog? Hmmm.....) and my sister, Lizz. My other sister, Abi, and I were the two homeschoolers of the group, but everyone was so super sweet and accepting. We stopped for supper at KFC and were in and out in about ten minutes (we ate in the car). Boosh. Abi and I had been to this Taco Bell/KFC before with her best friend Steph and Steph's little brother, Andrew (He's a teenager just for the record). It'd been a long day at the Nationwide race and after driving into the ghetto looking for a food place Abi wanted to get our food, eat and get on the road but we were failing at deciding between KFC or T. Bell. As we were sitting in the drive-through not making decisions Abi knew we needed to hurry up. In an exasperated voice she said "Ok, chicken or poopy?". Oh Abi....how we love you.

Anywho...

We loaded back up and hit the road. I either read, "napped" or looked out the window. First we had to go to the high school where it was all goin' down. Registration, signing in Abi's and my photography, 3-point shots, and dodglball followed. One of the guys in our group won the guy 3-pointers and one of the girls in our group either won the girl 3-pointers or girl free throws and I just don't remember which it was:P After all that went down dodgeball was the last thing (leaders vs. kids) and then we headed to the hotel. The leaders had a meeting, we had our first "sessio" with the speaker. He was fantastic! We hung out a little, made t-shirts (yeeeees!) and went to bed around 2am after the session. For the record...I. was. free. ZING. during the night...always take sweats for overnights in November, people....always.

The next day after breakfast we went to the high school to start out the day with boys basketball three-on-three. We didn't make it very far but it was fun! One of the girls brought a cow bell...yep. It kinda made my day. Abi and I did good on our pictures, she got second on one (BOOSH!) and I got third on one of mine. After much sweet encouragement and poking from everyone I decided to play girls basketball with the other other girls with us (well...Abi didn't play, so there were five girls in all...but uh, anyway). It was a super fun day. People on our team competed in volleyball, ping-pong, backgammon, chess, free throws, basketball, photography and...I think that's it. But we watched friends compete in drama and "badle of the bands" and anything else we happened to notice them doing. It was a bunch of fun. Our team got to the championship game of volleyball so we were the last church there other than the other church playing. When we got back to the hotel we got ready for the awards banquet.

Hold up, wait a minute put a little LOVE in it!

Sorry...all I really wanted to say was hold up but that song was playing today so I thought I'd just finish it=) Anyway, my hold up is I have a major craving for french silk pie right now. Like for real...I cannot wait for Thanksgiving.

The banquet was fun, afterwards we had another session. It was amazing...the Holy Spirit was totally moving, at least in our group He was. After the session we talked for a while and the leaders gave a chance for the teens in our group to pray and give their lives to Jesus and to recommit. Everyone prayed something and a lot of us were crying. And Jesus...well...He was working. <3

 We got up off our knees and hung out while some of the groups went to get the pizza we orderd. We ate and drank (Don't worry, it was pop;) and it was fun. Today we had breakfast, moved out of our rooms and went to session numero tres. The worship was great! A guy from our town was actually leading it with his band! The style was super cool, rock. Mhm. Rocking for Jesus.

We left around...I don't know when:P But stopped soon after for lunch and then hit the road. The van with the girls in it wasn't very lively since we all slept, save for the driver of course;)

So here I is. it was a totally fun weekend and I hope I'll blog more in depth about the sessions later on.

Thanks for reading:)

Love,

Hannah Dorothy 

Healthy is the New Skinny

Ok...I'll own up to it..I lied. I didn't post you pictures on Fotography Friday! I'm sorry! I WILL post you one today! I PROMISE!

Moving on...life has been crazy lazy. I'd like to say that I awake at 6am to get my school done by noon and then  spend the rest of the day walking around talking to butterflies and reading. But...this is real life. So I'm either doing the very BARE minimum of school and watching tv and sleeping. Don't judge me.

Fall is settling in...and in Iowa you never know exactly what to expect when this time of year approaches. We could have snow by the morning. NOT that I'm pulling for it. So it's October 28th and I'm FREEZING. But...I'm still enjoying fall. I LOVE fall. It's probably my favorite season. The beautiful colors on the trees are just...breathtaking. It's fall! What is NOT to like about it?! Apple pie. Apple turnovers. Apple orchards. Changing leaves. Thanksgiving. Homemade soup. Fall is glorious. Thank You Lord for fall. Amen.

Recently, I've been seeing SO many things (Mainly on Pinterest. Yes...I AM pretty much obsessed.) about how being skinny is a need. "Nothing tastes better than skinny feels." Clearly they've never had my Aunt's Banana Split Dessert. But anyway...that's pathetic. A few years ago I may have actually adopted this as my motto. But now...it just makes me sad. We tell ourselves "I NEED to be skinny." NO! Who said skinny is beautiful? Who suddenly decided that you need to be skinny to be attractive? Well they can go...jump off a bridge. Or run six miles. I'm going to eat some cookies and spend time with my family. Yes, I will try my best to keep my body healthy by working out weekly and try to eat healthy, but I will not punish my body because it doesn't look exactly like the chick on tv. We need to stop focusing on hating ourselves and getting skinny and start loving ourselves. That's not an excuse to pig out and let your body go to waste by not keeping it healthy. But where in the Bible does it say what a beautiful woman wieghs? You know a hundred years ago a woman with curves was considered gorgeous. Do you remember when people actually ADDED to their butts? They wanted them bigger! And in Anne of Green Gables Anne is jealous because she's thinner than Diana. Anne actually wants to weigh more. Amen, Anne. The point is...thin hasn't always been in. And I say we bring healthy back! (That's right, I made THAT reference. Uh-huh.) For real though, thin is not the same as healthy. And healthy is waaay better than skinny. Personally, I struggle with looking in the mirror and saying "You are pretty." I think it's boastful but...honestly, girls are so hard on themselves these days I think it's ok for us to call a spade a spade and tell ourselves we are beautiful. {Don't get cocky. Yeah, you. It's not a "I'm a diva, and look better than you." thang.} Lets start seeing ourselves how our Creator sees us. See..I don't get complimented often. Not at all. I can think of three times in my life when a boy my age has commented on my looks in a positive way (The negatives will go to my sisters boyfriend>:[ ). Once when I was about twelve a kid said "Wow...serious Hannah." on a Facebook picture. At age twelve I was pretty excited to hear a boy say something about my looks. A few years later my best friend told me a guy I knew said I was cute. I blushed. {Don't judge me} And it made me feel good about myself. Then last year at classes (Homeschooler classes...I know...I'm a rebel.) one of my guy friends commented on how he liked my bangs. Another guy friend agreed. Ok...one more. My sister's boyfriend said I looked nice at prom...score one for the sister's boyfriend.

Anyway...I learned two things from these comments. First, I'm very glad that I'm friends with the kind of boys who respectfully and sweetly compliment me. Second, when those four boys commented on my looks I wasn't super thin. In fact The first comment came in the years I call myself "butter ball". A boy still thought I was pretty. The last two were the years of my life where I wasn't diligently workingout or counting calories. So...the conclussion is...you don't have to be Kate Middleton to be attractive. Not that boys thinking you're attractive is important, but don't be afriad of not finding a man who thinks you're beautiful.

But Somebody already thinks you're beautiful. Yes. I'm about to get cheesy. But for real...the Creator who made everything that we find so beautiful in this world also made you. So sometimes we feel ugly, right? Sometimes we call ourselves ugly. So if we are also made by this Creator but say we are ugly, that doesn't make sense. The God who made everything that's so beautiful in this world turned around a made an ugly human. Well...that's not exactly consistent. See...He didn't wait to make the ugliest thing til last...He waited to be His masterpiece to top of His creation. YOU were His masterpiece. You and I are this Creator's masterpiece. Think about that, my dear. You're beautiful.

Love,

Hannah Dorothy

Fotography Friday

I took this on the way back to the car at the apple orcahrd the other day. I went with my sisters and my oldest sister's boyfriend to take some of Abi's (middle sister) senior pictures. God is creative. Amen.

<3

Fall Favorites, Mommy Mode, and Marriage

"I hate the word "hate"." Ohhh Mama...she cracks me up:)

In other news...Fall Favorites For the Day include but are not limited to;)

 1. Breakfast with my Mama

2. Homemade bread and apple jelly times five

3. Discovering Pinterest. I thought it was overrated. I was wrong.

4. Homemade noodles in spaghetti for supper. YUM.

5. Babysitting four of the most precious little boys ever. (Yes, the precious little boys I always talk about.)

Recently I've been in major mommy-mode. I need children. That sounded a wee bit weird...I don't mean I want to have a child right now, I mean that I need to babysit much, much more and that I really don't mind if someone accidently leaves their child at my house. Oh well, guess that means I can keep it. I also cannot wait to have my own children. For real...babies are so very precious and I want to be a mommy more than anything. But to have children you need a husband.

After highschool and maybe college you settle down. You get married, you have kids. Nothing is wrong with that. Nothing. Honestly, that's all I've ever wanted. 1 Corinthians 7:8 says "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do." 1 Corinthians 7:24 "Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them." 1 Corinthians 7:27 "Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife." For years all that women (most women) have wanted was to be married to the man of their dreams and because marriage is a wonderful thing we assume it's what God wants for us. I'm not saying everyone does this, there are so many people out there are so diligent in seaking God's will in their possible marriages and asking God to lead them to the right one. But...that's just it...aren't we approaching marriage as a must. A need. A fact of life? How many of us would be ok with never getting married? I think the reason Paul was saying this was because when you're married you don't have as much freedom to just pick up and go where God leads you. I'm not saying you loose freedom but you don't have the same freedom as you did before. Can I honestly say to my Savior that I will still love Him, still follow Him faithfully if marriage is not in His plans for my life? At the moment, I'm not sure I can. Sometimes it feels like I'm just waiting until I can date and find "the one" so that life can be hunky-dory but the Bible says that if you do marry you will facemany troubles (1 Cor. 7:28). I'm getting better at understanding that life will not be perfect when/if I get married, life is still life. But I feel like I don't have something I need and that something is a man. But I don't need a man. I only need a Savior and He is more than a man. 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 "I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord." That's beautiful. To be fully committed to the Lord. But the Bible also says in 1 Corinthians 7:28 "But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this." I know marriage is (or can be, this world perverts it so much) a wonderful, wnderful God glorifying thing and in no way am I trying to sway people into "singleness". But these verses have just got me thinking. Now this is just a small portion of the Bible and what it has to say about marriage so I will continue to seek out what it says about it. Leave your views and advice in my Thought Collector (AKA comment!!) And as an online ministry pointed out the surroundings and such were different back then, but I refuse to let that be an "excuse" to ignore what these passages say. It may have been different but God knew what it was going to be like in America 2011 and He still wrote these things. Prayers as I continue to seek His will for my life are welcomed :)

On another note...ok so I'm still on the note of boys...am I such a total girl? Please, don't answer that. I was standing in front of the mirror today thinking to myself "I need to run...guys don't really find a flabby tummy attractive. Guys will think I'm pretty once I'm a little more toned." Now, mind you, I'm not looking for a boyfriend. I wont be for at least three to four more years, so remind me...why do I care what boys think of me? And why do I want them noticing my body? And the boy I want to date will not date me becaus I have a toned tummy. And what do I really know about how guys think?! Why do I assume I know what the right boy finds attractive? Exactly. I don't. So...if I'm not looking for a boy why am I trying to impress all of them?

But I do need to keep my body healthy. After all...it's the dweling place of the Holy Spirit. Remember, ladies, thin is not the same thing as healthy. Prayers for keeping myself healthy are also welcome. I have serious issues with snacking too much...what else do you do while translating spanish homework?!

Many things to think about my friends...drop by the thought collector and leave your extra thoughts :)

Thanks for reading, lovelies!

Love,

Hannah Dorothy

One. Two. Three.

 Number One

I'm super excited about this blog all of a sudden..do not ask me why I just am. Oh. And I would like to announce that I now have six followers. Ba.Oosh. Any who diddle...I've got a few things I want to share to my whole six followers. I love photography so I'm starting something called Fotography Friday {Don't worry...I know that photography is in fact spelled wrong..but the f-f thing is working for me}. So keep checking back on Fridays!

Number Two

My friend told me about his blog { http://operationbeautiful.com/ } and I absolutely loved it. You gotta check it out. Anyway, I want to support her and make it a goal to put at least one random Operation Beautiful note somewhere each week. Join in and tell me how it goes:) I can't wait to get started, I'm gonna put a pad of sticky notes in my purse so I can stick one whenever I get a chance. 

Number Three

I've started a list of things I want to do this Fall and Winter and will be adding to it on here:) Join me if you want! I've already crossed a few things off mine and will add it later:)

Thanks for reading, lovelies:)
Love,
Hannah Dorothy

I Am Worth More Than Rubies

It's high noon and high time I shared my personal struggle with self-image, self-worth and self-acceptance.
I think my battle began when I was born. My parents had struggled with self-worth for years, since they were little but I didn't know that until after I'd gone through the same. When I was really young my weight was pretty normal. As a homeschooled kid the second we all got our school done my two sisters and I were out the door or up the stairs to play one of our many games. There was "Life" our personal favorite, pioneer, Narnia and many more. We were always running around our 10acres out in the country playing together. As I approached probably age nine or ten I started gaining weight...or maybe I just gained it all at once, I honestly don't remember how it happened. What I do remember is being much bigger than my best friend. I do remember not fitting into clothes very well. I do remember feeling bloated all the time and I do remember not liking myself.
I don't think people realize how much words really can hurt. Especially when we're young, we don't realize that our tongue is indeed a deadly poison that can spoil the blood of many people. [James 3:8] It was probably my twelfth year on earth when one day as I was playing on the playground with my two best friends, one of them was talking about her neighbor. Apparently he was an annoying thing called a boy and he often came to her house. One day when he went to her house he saw a picture of my friend and I, looking at the picture he said "She could stand to loose a few pounds." I was so mad I could have burst. I was so embarrassed I could have died. And I was so heartbroken I could have cried. I've never forgotten those words. I honestly don't think my friend meant to hurt me by them and I think she may have regretted even saying them. But I think that was one of the biggest moments of my childhood that hurt me so deeply, I began disliking myself. I started to get real obsessed with myself. The next few years I call my butter-ball years. I was very large and...round. it's not like I enjoyed it. I often regretted eating something and engaged in more than my share self-verbal abuse. I didn't like myself and I made sure I knew it. But somehow I could never really say no to food. To working out? That seemed to always find its way to the back of my mind. Granted during this time I was about ten or eleven. I struggled with trying to make myself feel good about myself for around two or three years when finally....I got so fed up with how I looked and felt I just cracked. I started working out all the time. Exercise was my number one priority. Not friends, not family, not school and certainly not God. I HAD to get thin. I HAD to look like the other girls. I remember telling myself "Don't eat that. Exercise, do it for ____." Insert name of my current crush. I thought he would never like me when I look like this. I drank water like it was going out of style and felt guilty a lot because of eating unhealthy stuff. Once I wrote myself a note that said "Just don't eat." When I got a Facebook I continued my self-hate on there. On nearly every picture of myself I said I looked like crap or something was wrong with my appearance. I was so self-absorbed it was ridiculous. It honestly began to annoy people how much I talked about how bad I looked. I was fishing for compliments and I thought I was being sneaky about it. Even when people did compliment me I fought with them that they were the ones who looked good not me. I also put myself down trying to build others up, but really it just made it about me again. I'm not sure when I decided to try not to eat, but somewhere along the way I did. I ate as little as possible but still ate some because I knew my Mama would think something was up. She did notice something was up, she complimented me on my commitment to exercising, and honestly that was every chance I got. I'd randomly go outside and walk around our farm (not a working farm, it's been long out of order). I was constantly compairing myself to my friends, my family and strangers. I always thought they were judging me when in fact...I was judging them. It didn't help that for some reason I believed my oldest sister thought I was disgusting and fat. I continued to workout and eat less and drink water more. And I lost weight I lost a lot of weight. At one time I was down to 125lbs. One day while jean shopping I went into the fitting room and slowly tried on a pair of jeans. When they were pulled up and zipped I wanted to dance and squeal with joy! They were a size five! A size five! And they fit ME! Oh the inch deep happiness I felt. It wouldn't last for long though. Like everyone who has been through similiar issues, it was never enough. I always needed to loose more. I'm not sure when in all this blurry mess it occured but sometime I became very desperate. I had also had friendship issues mixed in with all these other emotions and self-hating. I had gone wrong again and eaten something I shouldn't have, and a lot of it. What to do? I wanted to just undo it. But wait. I could. I'd recently read about how to do it. Just stick your fingers in and wait. It sounded easy enough. But I wouldn't do it again, it was too risky. I went up the stairs, closed the landing door, went up another flight and straight to the bathroom. I closed the door and slowly walked to the toilet. I knelt beside it and told myself I shouldn't do it, but I pushed those red flags out of my mind. I ignored my Jesus desperately trying to call me back to Him and took the plunge. I shoved two fingers in my mouth, trying to get them as far back as possible, it just hurt and made my eyes water. I gagged and gagged but nothing was coming. I stood up, wiped my eyes and went to my room. I promised myself never to do that again. But...desperation everrides all sense and promises. I did try again, at least once more. Nothing ever came up though and I was forced to work off the calories by exercising. The last time I did it, the results were the same. I stuck my fingers in, gagged, nothing came out. Again, I walked to my room. I hid in the corner with my cell phone feeling sorry for myself. {I had become a real expert at how to throw pitty-parties for myself} I texted my best friend and asked what was up. She replied with not much what about with you. I had to tell someone. My pitty and self-hate was too much for myself. So I replied, saying that I'd just tried to make myself throw up. Little did I know that her Mama read her texts and would soon find out too. I pleaded with her to just erase the message but she would get in trouble for that so she couldn't. I begged and begged anyway. She wouldn't budge...I was out of luck. Soon her mama would call my mama and my secret would be out. A day or two later my heart sank as I listened to the phone call from the living room where I was watching tv with my sister, Abi. My heart was racing like never before and I was terrifide. I texted another friend and asked what I should do. She told me to just sit and let my mom talk to me and that she'd be praying for me. So as my mama came into the room I sat on the couch, heart pounding through my chest, palms sweaty and my heart full of fear. We talked for no longer than ten or fifteen minutes and I promised never to do it again. I think she was so shocked she didn't know what else to say and I was glad for that since my sister was sitting on the other side of the Christmas tree hearing the whole thing. (I was just thankful I didn't have to look my sister in the eye) After around five tormented years full of major water drinking, working out, neglecting Jesus and my heart Jesus set me free. The date and time can't be placed since it was more of a process than a fixed time. But slowly and surely my Savior saved me again and again.

I still struggle with my image and confidence but not like I used to, those awful days are over and I try to look to my Lord for my worth now. I will never find it in size five or even size zero, only in Him who made me beautiful and precious. The God who created this beautiful planet and all the wonderful people on it didn't turn around a make an ugly you, He just doesn't know how to make ugly things.

I'd like to write more and more on this subject of worth and self-image and I'd love to hear what you have to say about it all. Please leave me questions and comments (and by comments I mean looong letters that have the name "comment"). Let me pray for you if you are also struggling with anything similar to this, heck let me pray for you no matter what you're struggling with! Remember, if you find your worth in the Lord, you will be worth more than rubies.
Love,
Hannah Dorothy

I Fail and Call, He Catches and Answers

I've been wanting to write about this for a while now, cause it's just a total God thing.
Last Sunday my youth group leaders (This is the couple with the four blondies) were hosting a dinner for Gravity (the youth group). Sure, whatever, "It'll be fun." I thought. Nice time to just hangout. But on Saturday I discovered my sister would be busy at a race (Like a car race, ya know, dirt track) with my dad and my oldest sister was busy with another youth group she helps lead. So, it was left to me.  Was I going to step out of my comfort zone and support one of my favorite families and their wonderful efforts at helping us have better relationships with God or was I going to whimp out because I'm shy? I battled it out in my mind until Sunday morning...I KNEW I needed to give it to God and that He would give me strength to go and support them, despite my desire not to go as a lone ranger. But I just couldn't give it to Him. I was afraid He really DID want me to go (why wouldn't He?!) and I really didn't want to. Sitting in church I still rolled around with it in my mind. Finally, trying to sneak around in my own mind, I did it. I just gave it to God. As silly as that sounds, it was hard for me. So it was deciceded...the Lord wanted me to show my support and go. A few momenst after walking through the door to my house my sister announced that the race had been canceled (Whaa?) due to rain. I had just come inside from a gorgeous early Fall, late Summer day and the fact that the track was only about an hour or so away was pretty silly that it had rained enough to cancel the race.
Shhhh...don't tell my sister and daddy but...I was rejoicing! Look at what God had done! Even though I selfishly hadn't wanted to give the situation to God, after I had He still listened to my fears and made a way to comfort me. It was after I had come to terms with the idea of going alone, ahem excuse, with the LORD, that He surprised me in a way I never expected. I had put my trust in Him, I had taken the step off the mountain and He didn't fail to catch me.
Doesn't that go to show just how glorious our Lord is?! Granted, I WAS sad that my Daddy and Sister had to miss out on one of the last races of the season, I'm not TOO selfish. And even if the race hadn't been canceled and I still had to go alone, the Lord was still with me. Not to mention the fact that the meal had been canceled due to the fact that a bunch of other meals were happening that night. Is our Lord awesome or what?! I would have only had to endure a normal night of Bible study with God to lean on. He's. Just. That. Cool. I failing at trusting Him and when I finally called out in fear, He caught me gently and answered my prayer in His perfect timing.
Love to all lovelies,
Hannah Dorothy