Believe

Believe verb
1. to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, though without absolute proof.

I believe in the innocence of children, even when they know how to push your buttons. I believe that colors can affect a person’s mood. I believe that hearts are the most fragile thing part of any human. I believe that love knows no bounds, but healthy love does. I believe there is such a thing as unhealthy love. I believe there are roughly 100,000 hairs that make up my, what I believe to be, beautiful and awesome brown hair. I believe that Starbucks is the best place to get homework done. I believe that two pumps of white mocha can make any cup of coffee the most amazing cup anyone has ever tasted. I believe that the best birthday/valentine’s/Christmas/whatever cards come on construction paper decorated with crayons by the hands of a child. I believe that there is no sound more sweet than a little kid laughing. I believe that everyone would benefit greatly if they would sit and listen to an elderly man or woman tell stories of their younger years. I believe the best times are the times one spends in the company of loved ones. I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe that middle schoolers can have their lives changed, and continue living the new way. I believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God.

Believe is also a two-day middle school conference. (: This weekend was my first believe ever, and, actually, I wasn’t even supposed to be there. Come with me as I revisit my week, leading up to the wonderfulness that is in my heart right now.

Tuesday – I went to EPCOT and Disney’s Magic Kingdom for the first time in… YEARS. It was fantastic, and I loved getting to spend time with my friend Crystal! However, my allergies were being really vicious and horrible, so I was sort of miserable on the inside. But it was still a really fantastic time. (: Then, I went to Crystal’s apartment and Rachel and Andy were there and we made/ate pineapple and chicken kabobs and then made CREPES! So good.
Wednesday (1am-3am-ish) – I spent my time wrapped around the toilet, puking out everything I’ve ever consumed (okay, not really). It was completely horrible. I had the chills. I had the hot flashes. I was sweating. I was shivering. I was crying. I thought I was dying. More than once, I laid on the cold tile to cool down and ended up falling asleep for a little while. On one occasion, I almost had a panic attack because I got that I’m-about-to-throw-up feeling in my stomach while I was laying there half asleep and I thought “oh my gosh. I’m going to throw up and asphyxiate on my own disgusting throw up and I’m going to DIE and someone’s going to find me and it’s going to be such a horrible sight.” It was pitiful, and so sad. Like a horrible Lifetime movie.
Wednesday day – laid it bed pretty much all day, and slept pretty much all day. Cried a little bit. Called my mom. Mom called me. Mom picked me up from school and took me home and I slept from 7pm-8am Wednesday. it was awesome.
Thursday – siiiick as a dog. Lot’s of sleeping and watching History channel and reading blogs. Then I went to the doctor’s office. I haven’t seen her in eight years. 8. So we joked about that a lot. Turns out, I’m freaking hilarious when I’m sick. It’s awesome. Also, I have strep. Yep. pretty horrible, right? So, massive amounts of amoxicillin. And Nasonex for my allergies which messed me up on Tuesday.
Friday – feeling about 98% better. Decided to go home. I was going to go to a CD release concert in orlando… but this is where my weekend gets freaking awesome…

Last night, somewhere around 5pm, as I was driving to my CD release concert (not MY concert, but the concert that I was going to attend that I deemed as mine just so no one else will ever try and call that concert event theirs), my phone rang. (: It was Jill. My first thought was, oh. Jill wants to know if I can house a few girls for this weekend’s Believe conference. Sure, but I need to clean the fishbowl first. But, my dear friends out there in cyberspace, that’s not what she wanted at all! In fact, they had the unfortunate happen to them and one of their female sponsors pulled out of the trip last minute (or something like that) and they needed a stand in! ME! THEY NEEDED ME! SOMEONE NEEDED ME…. to sleep in a hotel room with four middle school girls so that they didn’t die or sneak out or fight or go crazy. Not exactly the most glamorous job, but still a fantastic one, I think. I happen to love middle schoolers, so this was right up my alley. (:

But wait… Jill only wanted me to show up to sleep in the hotel? Not for like, real sponsor stuff?

As I kept driving towards my concert, I realized that I should probably take the time to invest in these kids’ lives. For one, it may be only for a night, but what if one of these girls is in such a predicament that she’s too scared to talk to a regular youth leader? Sometimes as a middle schooler I was more apt to talk to a new sponsor because they were, well, new. They didn’t know me. I was able to be me the way I wanted to be me. I could be cool, or I could be some lame youth group kid. I could hide my heart from my youth leaders because I was nervous they would hate me or tell my parents or whatever, but with a new youth sponsor? Especially a temporary one? I could let the heart go and not have a care. Maybe one of these girls was going to be like me. Maybe one of these girls needed to talk about something. Or maybe these girls just wanted to have a good time! I’m a good time! I’m fun! I’m funny! Well… when I’m sick. (;

Anyways, I called Jill back and told her I’d like to come to the actual conference, and she had an extra armband for me. IN! I was in! So I showed up and went to the conference last night. It was so good. So good, in fact, that instead of going to work on a house project in Orlando like I had originally planned to do, I went to Believe’s second day. Also, it’s not like I just bailed on the house project. (I feel the need to justify myself right now because ditching someone in need for my own personal gain may very well be a horrible thing to do and I don’t want that on my shoulders.) I had emailed the coordinator of the event two days before and told him I had strep and might not make it. He said it was fine. So… take that!

Well, today, the Lord surely spoke to my heart. And I’m going to tell you how. But first, this post is going to end because I have to leave Starbucks before I freeze to death and/or my bladder explodes. (;