Greatest joy in life...

Hello.

So, if you had asked me a week or so ago what my greatest joy in life was it might have taken me some time to answer. I would think about it, go through everything that makes me happy, everything that I love doing, everything that I have done and it would still be a hard decision for me.

Ask me now...go ahead. Ask me. No really...ask.

*You* "What is your greatest joy in life, Jaimie?"

*Me* "Well, funny you should ask, because I've been thinking about this! I'll just tell you. Thanks for asking!"

I realized my greatest joy in life this past week on the beach being with family and...more family. And that is...making my family laugh, making them happy, and/or making them smile. Especially when it's my dad, mom, or sister. I LOVE the beach and so being there, I was just so happy, then you throw family into the mix and my week was complete. I thought I couldn't be happier. Then I said something one night and my family was laughing (not at me..but with me..i swear. ok i hope) and I was just so happy and content in that moment that I didn't want it to end. I loved watching them laugh, I loved laughing with them, I loved being the one that made them laugh. I looked over and my dad was laughing and everything just felt...perfect. I realized right then and there that nothing made me happier than making my family happy.

Christian fail...

Hello.

Sometimes I just feel like I'm a complete failure at being a Christian. I don't compare to some of the amazing people out there. They're just so at peace with where they are at in life and they are so in love with God and it shows. Everyday feels like turmoil between choices I've made and the Christian I can and should be.

This past school year, there were times that I pushed God so far away and I started becoming someone I was not. I acted different than my thoughts and slowly my thoughts changed too. I knew some of the things I did were bad, but I kept doing them because they were fun. It took a lot of love from my sister and some supportive loving friends for me to realize that this wasn't go work and it needed to stop. I worried that the thoughts and actions had become habits and I wasn't going to be able to change, new people I met would never know the real me. But, last week 2 people made comments that gave me hope. One person said (this is definitely not exact quote bc I don't remember exactly what they said), "Do you ever cry? You are always happy. You are like a robot set on constant happy mode." (sorry if I messed that up). And my dad said (after an incident with a friend), "You are one of the most patient people I know. I would have dumped her as a friend a looong time ago."

I didn't change :) I'm still the happy me...and I'm still the girl that gives people more chances than I probably should because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings even if mine are being hurt and because I just want everyone to be happy. I'm still here...I just have some dirt I need to wipe off.

Title...

Hello.

So I started this poem...it all just popped in my head one day...and now I can't finish it.

There’s This Thing Called Love

There’s this thing called Love:

With patience it waits for the lost,

With kindness it brings hope to the hopeless,

With strength it protects the weak,

With gentle hands it heals the hurt,

With open arms it holds the broken.

Some search far and wide for a glimpse,

Some wait years for a feeling,

Some hold it deep within themselves,

Some do not understand it,

Some fight long and hard for it.

That's all I got.

Hello.

"The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it."

-Psalm 24:1

The US game today against Algeria...

Hello.

So I don't know if anyone else saw the soccer game today. AMAZING! It's games like that, that just make me absolutely love soccer more than I already do. I missed all of the 1st half because I had class this morning, but I was able to see the 2nd half. I was told we had a score, but yet again...a ref didn't count it for who knows what reason. The game was scoreless for 90 minutes, both teams constantly taking shots on the other...the US missing some very easy shots too. 4 minutes was added to the end of the game and Landon Donovan finally scored in the 91' on a rebound from the goalie. I'm pretty sure every single American that was watching at that time was on their feet, jumping, screaming, and celebrating. I don't think my heart has ever beat that fast during a soccer match...whether I was watching or actually playing. Landon Donovan was crying during the interview after the game which shows just how much all of this means to him and how exciting all of it was. He said in the interview, when the rebound happened and he was running up to score..."all time just stopped...". It was soooo amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_2m4EH7-0g

I still get goosebumps every time I watch it.

Father's Day...

My dad is the best daddy in the whole wide world and I love him lots and lots and lots.

Today is Father's Day and I am so thankful to have such a wonderful dad!

(Also in the picture is my dad's dad and dad's brother)

Extraordinary...

Hello.

Today at church, the pastor had 2 sentences that really struck me and rang in my mind the rest of the service (well I guess they were more like questions).

These past couple weeks I have had it in my mind that I am just an ordinary girl, with an ordinary life, and I will never be anything more than that. I wondered if there really was anything extraordinary about me, anything special at all? I don't live a super glamorous life, I don't go on awesome adventures ever really, and I don't get straight A's/perfect ACT/perfect SAT scores. Can I ever be different, extraordinary, special?

What Pastor Tommy asked was: "Does your heart break for what broke Jesus' heart?" and later on "Do you look at the world and want to fix what is broken about it?"

I realized I don't have to do extraordinary things to be extraordinary...yes Jesus performed many miracles, died for our sins, and rose again; but He was an extraordinary man even without all of that. He was soooo full of compassion towards the people that are just thrown off to the side or looked down upon. He lowered Himself to raise them up. Obviously I can't heal blindness with the touch of my hand, or cure a man of leoprasy, or anything crazy amazing like Him, but I have a lot of compassion in my heart that is just screaming to be shared with people. I have love coursing through my veins that some people in this world have never experienced (love from family, friends, God) and I can't keep it all to myself. Just by serving, and letting Jesus live through me...that's what makes me extraordinary. I am special in every way.