Family

Family.  These are the people you trust.  The people that you run to when your scared.  You have hurt each other, and you have healed each other.  Family has been your strongest support, your constant assurance.

Family is not just a word.  Family describes a bond that goes deeper than time and distance.  Family sees past all the things you can not see past in yourself. 

Family will not baby you.  They will spank your bottom and tell you to get over yourself.

But before you ever get a boyfriend, warn him.  If he breaks your heart, Family will make him regret it.

Family has hurt itself.  It has torn shallow gaps across a deep bond.  Sometimes those gaps take a little while to be sewn back together, but they are eventually either fixed or forgotten.

All this is because it is Family.  It is what we do.  Family.

~Anna

Ps.  Lindy, your writing challenge for missing a day is as follows:
       A poster, a penny, a poodle, and Nigeria.
       Go!

Thirteen Already !?

     When I was two months short of being two years old, my little brother was born.  He was a big baby weighing almost eleven pounds.  All the normal things that happen when a baby is born happened.  Our Aunt came to take care of Lindy and I.  Everyone was excited.  People made us dinner.  There was a lot of excitement, but eventually things quieted down.  Apparently, I got tired of all the quietness, and decided to make our life a little bit more interesting.
     It happened early on a weekday morning.  My dad was getting ready for work when he heard a horrific noise coming out of the nursery.  It sounded like air being forcefully driven out of someones lungs, and then being raggedly dragged back.  This sound repeated itself several times.
     My dad rushed into the nursery to find me happily jumping on my younger brother.  Dad quickly knocked me off, and scooped up my brother.  He just stared up at my dad and smiled.  He was perfectly fine.
     On the twenty-seventh, that little newborn on whom I jumped turned thirteen.  I can't believe it.  I remember hours of playing in the backyard with him.  We argued over everything.  We made each other cry. Then we apologized because we were bored and needed someone to play with.  He has frustrated me to no end.  He's my best friend, and will point out when I'm at fault even if I don't want him to.
      Even though I jumped on him, he turned out pretty well.  I can't wait to see him grow more in the coming years.  I love my little brother, and I don't know what I would do without him.

What I'm Currently Listening To

I had this great idea for a blog. It was going to be so great, and it was going to go viral!

But for some reason I can't seem to write it right now. Instead I'm going to give you a list of some of the music I've been listening to lately. (Don't worry, I'll write the other one eventually.)

"Am I Wrong" by Nico & Vinz

"Demons" by Imagine Dragons

"Pompeii" by Bastille

"Best Day of My Life" by American Authors

"When We Were Young" by Take That

Wonderful Things are Upon Us

Now that we are at the end of summer, I find myself looking forward to the fall and winter.  There are so many wonderful things that happen over the next two seasons.  Instead of trying to write out all my favorite fall and winter things in a descriptive paragraph, I am just going to compose an eloquent list.

1. Over sized sweaters
2. Snow flakes in my hair
3. Beanie hats
4. School ( mostly for the social aspect, but the actual learning part is not half bad )
5. Christmas
6. Winter wonderlands
7. Pumpkins
8. Dried corn stalks
9. Pumpkin pie
10. Thanksgiving
11. Colored leaves
12. Bared tree branches
13. Pumpkin cappuccino
14. Hot cocoa
15. Curling up under warm blankets with a book
16. Scarves
17. Seeing little children dressed up in adorable Halloween costumes
18. Brisk air
19. Animal tracks in the snow
20. Snow days 

                                                                                                                                        ~Anna

Beads

The front cover of the current issue of "Baily's Beads"

My English class this semester is entitled "Literary Editing and Magazine Production." Since I will probably end up in some sort of magazine work after graduation, I was extremely excited when I discovered it's title. A class entirely dedicated to the science of magazine making! (Call me a nerd, but I get excited over this sort of thing.)

However, it gets even better. The main portion of this class is actually comprised of editing and publishing the school's literary magazine, "Baily's Beads:" a magazine that has won several national awards.

I'm not entirely sure what my role will be in the creation of the publication. We only met for the first time today so I don't know how everything will work out. I know for sure that I will be on the promotion committee with some intensely creative people that I look forward to working with.

The most exciting part for me is being able to work with other people in my department. These are the kinds of people who I will someday share a workplace and a professional field with. The magazine is also opening up a whole field of opportunities for me to establish a network and meet people who make a living doing what I want to do. It gives me opportunities to share God-given gifts and talents.

While I still am feeling overwhelmed and disjointed, I'm looking forward for the rest of this semester. I feel like it has something special to offer. Something that, like a bead, will gleam brightly on my string of college semesters.

Worship or Performance?

For the past two and a half years I have been part of the worship team at my church.  It has been an amazing growing experience for me.  I have learned so much about music, and have been challenged to think more seriously about worship.  As in many cases, my musings about worshiping God brought me around to a difficult question.

On a Sunday morning, when I get up to play worship music with the worship team, am I worshiping or am I performing?

This question was brought to my attention when the worship team and I were invited to lead worship at a church other than our own.  I was very excited.  My imagination went far beyond reality. 

 What if this was just the first of many shows.  What if we kept getting more gigs.  Could we become a famous band?  Maybe someday we would perform concerts in front of millions.

Then one day, I was jerked back to reality.  When did I start thinking of worship as a show?  When did I start getting up on stage every Sunday morning to perform a gig?  

I started thinking more and more about this.  In many ways I believe that working hard to make the music sound good is important, but have I let that get in the way of praising and adoring God?

I have recently realized that worship is not about the chords, the piano, the half hour every Sunday morning, or the raising of hands.  Worship is about God.  All the thing that I have listed are just tools in the act of worship.  Worship is about lifting God up and speaking of his greatness.  It is about adoring him for all that he is done.   It is about being thankful to God.  
                                                                                                           ~ Anna

     "Sing to him; yes sing his praises.  Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.  Exult his holy name.  Rejoice you who worship the Lord."  

                                                                                                          ~ Psalm 105 : 2 - 3

                                                                                               

  

Playing House

I am officially moved into my very first apartment. (Yay me!) Before we go anywhere, I would like to give you a quick tour.

My apartment's basic outline

There are four girls living in our apartment, two per bedroom. The kitchen is more of a kitchenette that has a small fridge, microwave, sink, and cupboards. My roommate and I have our room set up so that there is a divider down the middle made of our wardrobes and desks. I took a few pictures of my half of my room and the rest of the apartment:

My bedroom

My desk and half my wardrobe

Our living room

Our Kitchen

As we were moving into our kitchen and putting all our stuff away, I had the oddest sensation that we were little girls playing house. We really don't know what we're doing and we're just trying to figure out where is best to put our cups and how to work our blenders. (Somehow we ended up with three blenders in our apartment, two of which are nearly identical. Go figure.) It gave me the feeling of being very small person in a very big world. I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing, and that is an unsettling feeling.

But at the same time, I like it. It creates within me a feeling of adventure, and I like adventures. It's a new opportunity to learn and grow, and I don't want to take that for granted. 

Here we go college. Let's do this!

Grand Entrance

The curtains part.  The audience waits in suspense.  They hold their breath.  The "tap tap" of our feet is heard long before they can see us.  We walk out of the shadow of the curtain and into the stage lights.  The audience claps politely and then waits for us to perform.  For several months now we have been planning on making our entrance into the blogging world.  We have waiting to get over our stage fright.

Actually, we have just been waiting for the opportune moment. We are Lindy and Anna.

I (Lindy) am a sophomore in college attending the University of Pittsburgh to study writing. I love 

the outdoors and find nature awe-inspiring. You can tell what mood I'm in based on the amount of music I hum or sing; the more you hear, the happier I am. My favorite animals are polar bears and cats, and I love warm sweaters. Unlike a large population of the United States, I prefer snow to sand and don't like the beach that much. Give me pine trees and mountain lakes and I am a very happy girl!

I (Anna) am also a sophomore, only I am a sophomore in high school. I am home schooled, and have been home schooled all the way through grade-school. God, people, and art are the most important things in my life. I have known God my whole life, and he keeps introducing himself to me in new ways. I would be a wreck without Him. People are second on my list because without people, life would be colorless. I enjoy taking classes in school that help me to understand people, races, ethnics, behaviors, etc. better, but my favorite way to learn about people is to go out and talk to them. I like to meet new people. One of the easiest ways for me to relate people is through art, whether it be through music, dance, paint, charcoal, or writing. Art is also the way I express myself. I find it so much easier than talking. Hopefully through this blog, I will be able to share some of that with you.

We are sisters, and we decided to start this blog because I (Lindy) am going off to college. I did my first year at a local college but am now moving away from home. Using this blog, we hope to stay connected over the miles.  

The Rules

1. Lindy will write on the even days of the month. Anna will write on the odd days of the month.
2. Blog topics are only limited to our imaginations.
3. If one person forgets to post on their assigned day, the other will challenge them with a writing prompt of the challengers choice in varying levels of difficulty. The challenged blogger must then respond the next day with their piece of writing brought forth from the writing prompt. 

We hope you enjoy this blog and partake in this journey with us.

Much love in Christ,

~Lindy and Anna