LOOOOOVE

Hey dudes it's your favorite Alpha Female!

So with Valentine's Day coming up on Sunday, I figured I should do something love related.

My favorite poet is Erin Hanson (if you don't know her, check her out, her stuff is heart eyes)

So here's a sort of love related poem because also I was turning up this Friday night so I don't have a lot of time to write. (And by turning up I mean getting joggers and chocolate shakes with the rest of the alpha pals)

Love you one followers 😽

I promise my blog will be better next week. BYE Y'ALL

Throwback Thursday

It's Thursday, so why not go back to my childhood and talk about my most and least favorite childhood memories! Throwback Thrusday.

Well first off I should let you guys know that I was a devil child. I was mean and didn't like anybody and nobody liked me. I understand why. Also, I was a biter, I would bite someone for a number of reason, but that didn't make it right. My parents had no idea what to do with me, they were raising a devil child. 

Here we go:

- I was born in Seattle, Washington and lived there for four years. Then we moved here, that's not important, the memory is that I only remember one thing while I lived in Seattle for four years of my beginning life. There was a massive earthquake, I was at preschool and I was so scared that I was going to die. Tragic, right? Well that it's the only thing I remember while living in Seattle. Kind of depressing!

- Here is a funny one. My sisters and I were taking a bath together, I was 2 and my sisters were 5 and 6. I was sitting on my sisters lap and all of the sudden I pooped right one her lap. She hated me from then on out, now we all laughs at the whole situation, and one of my favorite memories.

- I'm going to throw it back to my camp days. Our camp does team games and the teams are separated into about 11-12 colors. I was on the teal team, and we were undefeated! I was doing pretty well as a team player, if I do say so myself. Our team won that year and it was the best camp year if all time! I haven't been on a winning team since then.

- This memory makes me laugh every time. My family went on vacation to two days and decided that the two gold fish we had were fine, so we didn't ask anyone to watch them. That was a bad idea because when we got home there was one really fat goldfish. If thought that one fish ate the other fish, you are correct. It's hilarious now, but at the time I was heartbroken because my fish was the victim. 

There are four childhood memories that I have shared with you. It wasn't easy figuring out which ones to use, but I enjoyed throwing it back to my childhood. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! Have a fantabulous day! And remember God made you special and He loves you very much! 

                                                                ~ Mindie~

The Most Interesting List In The World.

I've thought and thought about what I'm going to write today, and since I seem to be drawing a blank on anything cool or creative, I'm going to write you a list of a BUNCH of random facts about me... Enjoy! ;) 

•By far the most important thing to me is Jesus Christ! 

       He saved me, has filled me with endless joy, and so much more! I would be nothing without Him. 

•I love lists. 

     I'll make lists all day long. You want me to make a list for all the lists you need to make? I'll do it. 

•I'm a lover of rules. 

      I've been called a "goody two-shoes" on more than one occasion. Yup, I'm that person... 

•I adore reading. 

       I've read hundreds upon hundreds of books. Historical Christian fiction is my fav. Trust me; it's better than it sounds. 

•I'm really good at fake crying. 

      If I pretend to be sad long enough, the tears will start flowing. 

•I'm (almost) always happy! 

       It takes a lot, (or a specific person), to put me in a bad mood. Life is better with a smile!

•I'm an aunt, and it's one of my favorite things ever. 

     I'm serious. It's the best thing ever. 

^^ my nephews and niece (i know, they ARE the cutest things EVER.)

•I like being up in the mornings, but I don't like getting up in the mornings.

      Nuff said. 

•I compulsively buy notebooks. 

      I can never get enough of them. Want to make me happy? Give me a blank notebook. <3 (to make lists in;)

•I took four years of French, and I speak pretty much NO French.. 

       I don't know what happened..

•My dream is to visit the Library of Dublin. 

     If you've never heard of it, look it up. If you have, you know what I mean. 

•PUNS, PUNS, PUNS. 

      Puns are my favorite thing. Not actually, but I do love them. 

^^this is usually how people respond to my puns.. But that's ok ;) 

•I'm a dog person.

     All I want is a golden retriever.. Is that too much to ask? 

•I sing in the shower. 

      Before you ask: why yes, I do use the shampoo bottle as a microphone. 

•My favorite season is: summer, fall, and winter. 

      ANYTHING BUT SPRING.

•I love country music. 

       Sorry, Alysse. 

•Also, classical music. 

      Bach, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, you name it: I <3 it. 

•I started saying things like, "legit", and "dude", as a joke, but now I can't stop. 

        Thanks, Internet. 

•I'm a crazy grammar nazi, except.. I don't know all the rules of grammar, and I can't spell AT ALL. 

       But: You're and your.. Know the difference. 

There is so much more about me that I could tell you.. But I'll spare you! ;) thanks for reading. If you only read this blog one day a week, choose Wednesday's ;) 

   

-Meranda 

 

Pulling the Cord

Many of my acquaintances don't know that I have a part-time job as the janitor of our local church. The job certainly has it's disgusting moments, but I find it rewarding over all. 

 

Recently, the vacuum at the church broke, so we had to order a new one. I was given this tiny, roll-around sucking machine to use. It follows through well in its intended function; however, the cord is only about 10 feet long. 

 

As you might guess, this is quite limiting when one has to clean the floors of an entire building. So, I took the obvious action: attached an extension cord. 

 

 

Ahh.... The extension cord. It gives me so much more freedom, but it does come with a limit. Eventually, I have to switch plugs, but who wants to waste time with that? Whenever I plug in, I like to see just how far I can go before the plug comes ripping out of the socket. 

 

 

 

The other day, I repeated the process of pulling the cord as far as it could possibly stretch and becoming annoyed when it popped out of the socket. It was then that God began to speak to me about my spiritual life. I was convicted as He asked me the question, "How many times do you pull the cord as far as it can go in your life? How often do you dip into questionable areas to see just how far you can go before it becomes blatant sin?" 

 

 

 

Whoa. 

 

That's an interesting concept. 

 

 

 

How many times have I spoken to my family members with a rude, sarcastic tone? 

 

How often have I allowed myself to wallow in a bad attitude? 

 

How many times have I given less than 100% in my devotional times or in any activity God wants me to participate in? 

 

 

The list goes on and on. 

 

God's grace given to me through Jesus is the extension cord that gives me immense amounts of freedom while still keeping me connected to God, but it does come with a limit. Even things that I might not consider horribly wrong can easily become such when I toy with the idea of "how far is too far?" 

 

 

 

At the end of Paul's 1st letter to Timothy– the young man he mentored– Paul gives Timothy a charge that I think all of us should take to heart. 1 Timothy 6:11 says, "But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness."

 

In the previous chapters, Paul had given Timothy advice about dealing with various sin problems in the church. To sum it up, Paul instructs him to flee from those things and pursue the things of God. 

 

 

 

Notice he said flee.

 

Not pull the cord as far as possible. 

 

 

 

Also, notice he said pursue. 

 

We are called to pursue a life that includes righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. In this lifestyle, there is no room for toying with questionable areas. We are called to a complete, all-out, sprinting pursuit of the things of God. 

 

 

 

So, I encourage you today to get alone with God and ask Him, "In which areas of my life am I pulling the cord?" We all have things in our lives that we haven't totally surrendered to God, so I guarantee that He'll have something to say. And when He shows you, act on it! Flee from that problem, and pursue what you know to be right. 

 

 

 

 

God loves you, and He wants the best version of you. Pursue that you today. 

 

______________________________

Tuesday Post brought to you by Chloe 

Letter to Myself

Despite always loving writing, the one thing I've never been able to keep up and enjoy consistently is daily journals.  I find it hard to write when I don't think anyone but me is going to read it, and I don't necessarily find myself interesting enough to read about. But something I do find I enjoy a lot is writing letters to people.  I have a pen pal in Arizona and I love writing letters to people in general, whether I end up sending them or not. 

I was talking to Bryce and another friend of mine, Sam, yesterday about vivid childhood memories and it got me thinking about little me...the person I was growing up.  So I thought I'd write a letter to her and give her some advice.  Maybe this advice will help you, too! 

^^^^Alysse, Chloe, and I a few years ago

Dear Michelle, 

You're never going to get to read this letter, but I really wish you could.  By the time you get to my age, your life is so much better than you dreamed it would be.  You're 18 now and about to graduate high school.  You've been accepted into college, and you're nervous, but mostly excited.  You're not going to college where you thought you were going to go.  You're not dating who you thought you would end up with either.  I know this may seem like a shock to you, but it's a really good thing, I promise! 

Here's a list of things that I know now, that I wish you had known: 

-Chasing and dating boys doesn't make you feel better about yourself and it doesn't make you cooler.  Just stick to being good friends with people, and don't focus too much on finding the right person for you.  You met him when you really weren't looking for him at all. 

-Your panic attacks and anxiety are definitely scary right now.  It's really hard for you to see past that, and I know you feel a lot more alone than you act.  They will go away, and you will be so much more confident than you are.  Do not be afraid, because the biggest thing you have to combat your panic is Jesus.  He is the ultimate Comforter and Protector.

-Speaking of Jesus, you should definitely spend more time with Him.  Like actually, I know you don't think it's that big of a deal, but you should definitely get deeper into the Bible and actually listen during church, instead of passing notes with Alysse or Chloe. ;) 

-Eventually, you cut all your hair off! You totally won't believe me, but I'm not kidding.  You will actually get to a point in your life where you're confident enough to rock a pixie cut.  (Look it up. You look good in it) 

-Don't get so worked up about what people think about you.  In the long run, it doesn't really matter as long as you're honoring God and being as kind as you can.  Also, you're definitely still working on this one.  

-Challenge your mind.  Please write more stories, start playing the piano more, read as much as physically possible.  You're still working on this one too.  

-Love yourself.  I know this one is really hard, but you have to make sure you don't tear yourself up.  Don't be so hard on yourself.  You're really not all that bad. ;) 

Love, 

Michelle