uh oh...

Oh no I got a facebook! Will my blog suffer because of it? I hope not!

.k grace.

Interesting Stuff

Hey!
So lately I've been looking into scholarships I can apply for, it can be kinda frustrating!
Last night I found this website www.scholarshipexperts.com
It's pretty cool =) Sometime if you're feeling ambitious, fill out all the info on their site and get pages of available scholarships based on your profile!
And best yet, it's free! Yipee! =)
~Kiana

A story teller's story

Sometimes I feel like posting but think I have nothing to post. So I post something I have drafted previously, maybe changing something here or there. And then I realize within usually 5 minutes that I have something to tell the world after all. I thought about removing the previous post but it is exactly what I need to be thinking about so I'll leave it and just post for the second time tonight.

Shortly after I posted about faith, my mom asked me to brush my five year old brother (JD)'s teeth. Not an unusual request, I do it almost every night anyway. So I set aside the laptop and went to brush his teeth. He started to act a little stubborn about it, but I ployed him with a reminder of mom's promise to read him stories after his teeth were brushed. That got him moving, but still, it wasn't enough. He wanted stories NOW. You see, in my family I am the storyteller. I always have been.

When I was little, younger than 5 probably, I began making up outrageous stories that no on would believe. It's a good thing though, because they were never true. I have just always been a storyteller. I used to share a room with my two younger sisters and to get them to sleep I would tell them stories. When my brother JD was a baby, he would get cranky in the car and so I would whisper in his ear, just making things up as I went. By whispering he would have to stop crying in order to hear what I was saying and then stay quiet because he wanted to hear. It didn't ALWAYS work, but most of the time. After I switched bedrooms, I no longer told them stories. As JD got older he was better in the car. I didn't have the occasions when I needed to utilize that gift. But more recently, in the past months or year, I have had to pick it up again.

I remember the first time in several years that I had to call on that gift. It was this year. I had to put my sisters to bed and my youngest sister Em asked for a story. I racked my brain for something, ANYTHING. I got nothing. I walked away wondering, "What happened?" I used to be able to come up with a story on a moment's notice. And now? I couldn't anymore. The next time she asked I told her my version of a long joke about turtles. But I still wasn't satisfied. I felt like I had lost a huge part of me. So the next time one of my younger brothers or sisters asked for a story I made one up. It was stupid and sounded stilted and I had to stop often to think of what to say next. But I worked at it and became more fluent as time went on. Now tonight when JD asked for a story I felt good. Because I have rediscovered a part of me I had lost.  I thought fast and told him a story about a snurtle and a porculinus who got all stuck together with superglue and  had to use toothpaste to unstick themselves. It felt  like a rebirthing moment. One of those moments when you have just come out of the forest and marvel at



the light breaking through,





the sun in your face,




and the wind in your hair.

 I just felt good about that and wanted to share that little piece of joy in my week.

.k grace.

note: all photos I post are my own unless otherwise noted, please do not use without permission.

Faith: Living what you believe you believe and making it count

I feel like such a faker sometimes, you know? I know what I say I believe, and I know what I show the world that I believe. But when it comes to believing what I believe I believe, it doesn't work out exactly how I thought it would.

I mean, don't you just decide to believe something and then believe it? Nope. Doesn't work that way. Believing is all about faith and faith is all about actions. No, I am not saying your good behavior's gonna get you into heaven. But how is the world supposed to know who God is, if the people who are supposed to be His followers aren't reflecting Him? Our actions are supposed to be the very REFLECTION of HIM. Not our wants or needs.

And if our faith is driven by actions....well by ourselves, it's a hopeless mess. What I mean by this is that without the "works" our faith is "dead", remember that verse? I can't remember the exact place to find it, but somewhere in John, I think, there is a verse that, simply put, says, "Faith without works is dead". Therefore if we don't put that faith into action it's worthless.

Just like the scientific principle that if you are pushing something, but it never moves, you have done no work. The proof, the actions, are what drives the whole thing. But this doesn't mean you have to see it to believe it. Because to even make the faith work, to do the actions that make the faith valid, we must step out.

As Fireflight's song, "Unbreakable", says, "Faith is moving without seeing, can I trust what I can't see, to reach my destiny". I believe that's the cry of every teen trying to live for God. Can I step out and trust that He's gonna have me in His hands? Can I believe that He's really gonna catch if I fall? Will I see another tomorrow if I take this risk? Yes, you can. In a world that tells every Christian "you can't believe that, you can't do that, you're a failure, you just simply can't do that", I am telling you YES YOU CAN. Because of Him and through Him.

It's time to step out. Maybe it's not stepping outside the box, maybe it's stepping back into the place where you felt so unsure of, and believing that God is gonna bring you through. This is what I believe. This is what I try to put into action every day. But unless I truly do it, not just TRY, my believing that I believe won't do me any good.

So I keep going back to square one. And once I have passed square two, I know I don't have to go back to one.
Believing is not seeing, nor seeing believing. Believing is you making your decision to essentially do or die. To live what you believe or die trying. Like Cassie Bernall. Live like today is the day you will have a gun put to YOUR head. Live like today you will be asked if you believe in God. Show the world that they don't even need to ask. When you walk into the room something changes. When you walk away from spending time with someone and they say "wow, she really walks what she talks". When people clamor to be around you because they know you're the real deal. This is when you know that you are truly fulfilling your destiny. Your destiny to live for God every day, every moment.

.k grace.

Our Father's Love

This is a post I did on my old blog Modest is Hottest that I thought I would post here because i love it so much. I have a bunch more, too, from that blog that i will probably repost here. (Note that this was written when my pen name was Sal, my name is actually K Grace!)

This morning when I woke up, I was thinking about God. No surprise there, but I was having new thoughts about Him, new thoughts about His love. As i was doing some chores shortly after i got out of bed, I realized that some qualities I would only attribute to earthly fathers are inspired by God!

Now, my dad is not big on a lot of fruits and veggies, and neither am I. But my mom occasionally says, "Sal, you need to have a piece of broccoli". Many times I can get out of it by eating an extra helping of collard greens or spinach, but sometimes there are no collard greens or spinach available. So I sit at the table, staring at the dreaded broccoli. When I am being stubborn, my dad encourages me. He encourages all of my six siblings in similar ways, too. He says "Sally" in such a way that there are so many extra syllables that I have to smile. So he says "Sally", (with all the extra syllables), "You need to eat your broccoli". And then when I am finished eating it, he smiles and says "I knew you could do it". God is the same way! He whispers "Sally, my girl, come on! Eat that broccoli." And I do, and I get a great big hug and a "well done my girl". That was a lot like my daddy's encouragement. He knew I was being stubborn and that if I drank two glasses of water really fast after eating the broccoli I wouldn't hardly taste any of the gross stuff. What else does my Heavenly Father do?

Sal is about to walk away from the kitchen counter, when she feels a nudge on her shoulder. She turns. "Hey, um, nice looking counter, eh, Sal?" the guy says. Sal spits out a fake laugh, "sure" she says. Sally turns to walk away again. This time it is a tug on the back of her shirt. "Now, come on Sal, you KNOW I'm a nice guy, so just listen a minute or two, awright?" Sal leans against the kitchen sink. "I'm listening", she sighs. The guy begins his speech. "You know, I know, we all know, that if you go and sit at that computer one room over, your momma, she gonna walk right through this room and see that messy counter". Sal groans and rolls her eyes. "Hey, none of that now. Bad habit. Your mom isn't gonna like that. What would happen if your mom saw this right now? That's right, you would have to come back and do it all over again, and while you were away from the computer your brother is gonna go on facebook, and he won't wanna get off because he has to go to work tonight and he wants to catch his friends first, and give 'em a message or two". Then again, if you clean this counter right, then your momma will walk through this room and do a double take when she sees that spotless counter, and by the time you are ready for the computer, your brother will have already found out that none of his friends are online because they're already at work, and he will decide to go get some extra time practicing that new song on he guitar. Waddya say?" "Well, I guess you could be right, but..." Rebel breezes through the room "who you talking to squirt" he laughs and knocks her on the shoulder. Sal turns back to the man, but she is alone. She smiles, and starts scrubbing at some water stains.

How Great is His love for us? It is higher than the heavens, and deeper than the seas. But it is never too high to care about the details.

.k grace.

Impossibility

I was on amazon looking at the first chapter of "God Chasers" by Tommy Tenney. I ordered it into my library and haven't been able to pick it up,  but I wanted to know what to anticipate, whether i should look forward to it and try and pick it up soon, or send it back. Trust me, I will be trying to get a hold of that book as soon as I possibly can! Just the first chapter made my heart want to be a God Chaser, to follow after Him with all my heart, not to examine and analyze His trail, but to truly know Him. Somewhere along the line I came across another book, "Ever Increasing Faith", by who else, Smith Wigglesworth. The last lines of what appears to be the introduction hit me like a ton of bricks. Listen to this.

There is nothing impossible with God. All the impossibility is with us when we measure God by the limitations of our unbelief. -Smith Wigglesworth

Whew, that is a lot to take, but how true, how true.

.k grace.

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

So here's the before picture

Mom got hers done too =)

After!!!!

Yipee!!!!!!!!! I did it!!!! I finally got my nose pierced and as usual it was sooo much easier than I expected! It didn't hurt at all! Like seriously!

The lady who did mine was super good and I am super glad I went to her.
So whaddya think?! I'm lovin' it more every minuet XD

~Kiana

Chasing God

Do you ever have times in your life when you feel like you're just dry? You pray and can't feel anything. You can't stay focused when you try to read the Bible. Frustrating, isn't it?
I've been feeling like that lately and I've kinda come to the conclusion that if you really want God in your life, if you really want to be close to him and feel like he's near you everyday, you have to chase him. Doing a devotional in the morning is not enough. God wants to draw closer to you, but you have to choose to draw near to him. Sometimes that means changing the way you live everyday life. It's not easy, it seems like God always tells you to do things that stretch you.
Any thoughts on the subject?

~Kiana

Btw, I'm getting my nose pierced tomorrow!!!!!!!! =D

Humanity

This song speaks to me today, not sure why. But it does. And just sayin, Tim Be Told is the best band ever.

.k grace.

My song for today

Hey! So I was listening to a Jeremy Camp CD a little while ago in my room and this song played and it has stuck with me and I can really relate to it. Especially with all these huge changes that are happening in my life right now. I dedicate this post to Saint (y'all remember Saint? I've talked about her several times recently). I know a lot of changes are happening in her life, too and so yeah, I just wanted to post this song for me, for Saint, and for all of you guys.

.k grace.

Destiny Call

Hi. Watch the video above and read the lyrics before you read any further.

The title of this blog is Ever In The Present Moment. It is both mine and Kiana's goal to live our lives every second making the most of it, never pushing to be in the future and growing up to fast, and never dwelling constantly on past successes - or regrets. But how do we live ever in the present moment? And how do we live forever with God when we live here on earth? I will tell you, if you haven't already figured it out from the lyrics of this song. You do it by loving what He loves, seeing what He sees, a hope burning like He is far inside us, with His light in our lives, our hearts renewed, and believing that "Here we are forever with you" never separated from His love. That is how we live forever with him in the present moment.

Why should we try to live ever in the present moment? What is the point? The reason? At one point this song declares "I want to live like every breath matters". Why? Why should we strive for a life that is meaningful and impacting and leave a lasting legacy? Because since God planned you, yes even before anyone else knew you would be born, He made a call rang out, your call. Your destiny call. You must listen to that call, but before you can listen and obey, you need to acknowledge that God has an amazing plan for you and your life. You need to acknowledge that you HAVE a destiny call. It is then that your destiny can be sprung into action for real. Don't wait for it to come find you, you need to listen for it. Listen for your Destiny Call.

.k grace.

life and school... what you make it

"About 90% of the times you're afraid to do something and do it anyway, it's not nearly as bad as you thought it would be." That's my latest motto or whatever. This is me jumping off a cliff. So for those of you who don't know that is like totally out of my character. I always used to be extremely quiet, not outgoing at all, insecure (not that quiet people are insecure, it just happened to be the case with me).
The present has overcome the past. I'm not afraid to be me anymore and I don't look back.

I'm home schooled. My mom does things a little bit differently than most other homeschooling moms. About a week before school starts she drags about 10 big boxes out of the closet and starts deciding what stuff we'll need for the year.

I always dread that fateful evening, but this year it's different. I was praying about school this year and I felt like God was reminding me that what the school year is like, I'm going to decide.

It's not always about how hard you're going to have to work on school or what classes you take, but what attitude you have about them. I want to learn this year. I want to do well. I don't know about you, but I want to LIKE school!

This is the present overcoming the past.

So lets continue to strive to live Ever in the Present Moment...

~Kiana

To the bestestest best friend in the whole wide world

Yesterday I was slightly crabby and annoyed (partly cuz I had just burnt my hand on a very hot pan) so I called my best friend, the other author of this blog, kIaNa!!!! (also known to me as Buttercup) After we talked and she cheered me up she sent me this.

Darlin, Darlin, you're so grand! 

You're sweeter than the best chocolate in all the land! 

Friends like you are sooo very high in demand,

So keep your head up, Darlin' cuz I wub you more than ocean sand =D

 

xoxo ~Buttercup

 

I felt so special and loved that I wanted to tell the whole wide world about the bestestest best friend in the whole wide world.

 

Kiana never minds if I call her and complain. She sympathizes when I need sympathy and tells me to snap out of it when I get too deep into my pity party. She loves it when I call her because I am excited. She squeals and giggles and and gets just as excited as I do when something goes well. I know I can trust her with any and every secret I want to tell her. She lets me rant and rave about frustrations just to get them off my chest and then when I am ready to move to a new subject she makes me laugh and forget about being mad. She also calls me and tells me everything that's going on in her life and asks for advice and tells me about the horrible things and the spectacularly great things that happen in her life. This makes me feel trusted and loved because I know I am the first friend she will call about stuff. And I give her my best advice, which is reserved for her, and sympathize with her problems and help her forget them, and I get excited every time something cool happens in her life, cuz I love it when she's happy....which seems to be most of the time. If things are going well for her I have hope that they can go well for me, too.

 

Even though we see each other about once a year, sometimes only for a day, she has never given up on me. I have never had a more faithful and true and loving friend ever. Which is why she is my best friend. We live almost 2,000 miles apart but she has never failed once to be there for me. I plan on being there forever for her, too, just so you know. We have known each other our whole lives. (Ok, ok, so I was six months old when she was born, it's still practically my whole life) Even though she moved away when we were three, we never lost touch. When our parents didn't keep in contact as much, we kept the relationship going between our families (and we were little kids!!!!!) Our families try to get together every year. (thank you Jesus! I couldn't live without my bff, it would be so hard to never ever see her) I look forward to seeing her all year, from the very second she gives me that sad look as one of us walks out the door to the car to leave, until we get to see each other again.

 

So, kIaNa, Buttercup, I just want you to know, you are my favoritest bestest most beautifulest gorgeousest prettiest specialest funnest coolest spectacularly fantastically awesomely extremely sweetest faithfulest lovingest caringest best friend and I wouldn't trade you for anybody else in the world, cuz you are perfect just the way you are.

 

I yub you, Buttercup!!! <3

 

.k grace.

 

 

Trip to WA Coast =D

So this weekend I got to go to my cousins wedding on the WA coast! Vacations are so much fun!! <3
It was sooo worth the 12 hour drive!
The pics aren't really in order, but I don't really feel like fixing them sooo....

Giant lollipops from Giggles the clown

As all the hotels were booked, we found an apartment to rent for the weekend on craigslist. Can you guess where we stayed? Giggles the clown's family fun park!

Blackberries growing wild alongside the road

Me dancing with my great uncle

The band at the wedding

Yummy XD

Fresh salmon from the coast <3

The best torte ever!

Like seriously.... WOW!

*Speechless*

Yes, I really have my feet in ocean water! lol

Haha my little bro found a snake in the rocks and had to show the bride =D

The bride with her parents

Hmm....

Yep, it's really a crab hehe

~Kiana

What I do for fun on friday nights.

Just for fun (since friday nights are supposed to be all about part-ays and fun and the weekend) occasionally I will indulge myself with a floor washing session. I sit on the kitchen floor, under the table, scrubbing at minuscule spots with a rag, trying to discern whether the spots are part of the "pattern" in the linoleum or not........

The last thing I leave you with is this:

Remember to never forget.

.k grace.

Stars, Amusement Parks, Suicidal Frogs, and God's Best

My title today reminds of my best friends mom's blog. Outdoor.mom's stories are always hilarious and so are her titles. When we were little she had "superkids" stories she would tell us that we couldn't get enough of. Anyway....

This weekend my family had a fire in our driveway (on purpose, don't freak out here!) to roast hot dogs on for supper. I was sitting there mind my own business when all of the sudden my mom goes, "Si, quick get a stick, there's a frog! (Si's my li'l bro by a year and a half) He grabs a stick and tries to guide this teeny little frog away from the rocks around the fire. He would almost get it out and it would dart right back in, over and over. Finally it broke away from him completely and flung itself into the flames. It was awful. Maybe it panicked and didn't know how to get out. But why would it leap for the fire when it was being prodded towards free, open, cool, clean air and freedom? Why do we do that? We start to wander too close to danger and bondage and God starts prodding us back towards freedom and safety. But we are so fascinated by the fire, captivated by the leaping flames. We think we won't get burned, it won't leave scars if we just touch it, just to see what it's like. But no, you can never play with fire without getting burned - or killed.

I was at the biggest amusement park in my state with two of my sisters, a group of teens, and most importantly one of my bestest friends, Saint over at Life as a PK Teen and Our Guts. We have known each other for almost six years and are very close. This group went because my older sister is the leader of my friend's youth group and their church is categorized as Assemblies of God, I guess, and it was Assemblies of God Youth Day at the amusement park, so I got to go with their youth group. (does all that make sense? lol!)

The day had some stressful moments, with drama thrown in for punctuation. But my friend Saint (that's her blog name so I'll just go with that name) was there and because of her I could handle everything the day threw my way. Every once in a while we would find a way to sit and chill together and talk or sit in silence. The highlight of my entire day was not a crazy roller coaster ride or dropping face down from 150 feet in the air. It was laying on the sidewalk with Saint, staring up at the only star visible in the sky. God's Best star, put there just to make me smile and feel peaceful that night. As the group was heading towards a ride that day I was slightly hyper (just cuz bad things happen when I am very tired and not hyper), I was like, "I want to be somebody, who shall I be?" Just before we decided to lay on the sidewalk I knew who I wanted to be. I was walking along in my red plaid flannel shirt, my cutoff denim shorts, and hot pink sandals and feeling good, confident good. I looked up at the sky and just said, "I know what I want to be Saint. I want to be God's Best." And that has stuck with both Saint and I since then. We laid there looking at that star, God's very best star and knew that whatever life had for us, there was someone we could rely on, somebody willing to do anything for us. As we sat in the car a little while later staring up at that star again, we knew even more how great and strong and all consuming His love is for us. So great that He died. Jesus was willing to pay whatever it took, and it took His life. You are worth as much as someone is willing to pay for you. So don't sell your self for less. Because you are worth dying for. YOU are God's Best.

.k grace.

One cool chick! XD

Last week I helped out at our church VBS program. At the parents night program I met this AMAZING chick named Steffany! Her mom told her about me a long time ago and she always gives me tons of cute clothes ! <3
Anyway, talking to her the other day I was like sooo totally inspired! She started her own contracting business for flight attendants. Here's her website www.flyskyangels.com
She's one of those people who just stands out. I mean, talk about creative, resourceful, ambitious, etc.
It takes a pretty special person to start something like that and stick with it.
Have you met any inspiring people lately?

Casting Crowns - Praise You In The Storm (Live)

Lovin' Life! (uhh, maybe?)

A really disgusting army worm nest... kinda cool though, huh?! lol

Daisies I took pics of today where we were cutting firewood

Focaccia bread I made the other day =D (Super yummy with my homemade marinara sauce!)

Empty pizza tray from last week when Mine and K Grace's families when to Young Guns pizza together XD

"Lovin' Life"? haha what a joke. Well, today I'm officially guilty of not living in the present moment... but you know what?!

I can't keep thinking about the mistakes I made earlier today because then I wouldn't be living in the present moment right now! Make sense?! Soooo... If you're feeling like I am today then lets change our focus right now! Are you with me?! Lets start choosing to love life even though we don't feel like it!

Randomness seems to cheer me up a little so here's a few pics AND I have been like totally crazy about this song lately!

~Kiana

My Brain Hurts...

Do you like cheese?! I'm sitting here right now next to my BFF! She's making me an adorable yellow fashion accessory out of an old t-shirt! Isn't she amazing!!??

She's actually at my house visiting for like 5 days. We've been suntanning together, we hiked up a mountain trail today (we even saw a moose!), and went to a huge lake the other day for a family picnic! Tomorrow we have a big day of kayaking planned=D

I am having sooo much fun!!!! ~Kiana