For You.

it's been about two, yes two years since I was last on here... writing.

it has been a long two years. long, and quite eventful.

just the other day, I took a "break" from my world and cut off communication with people through my cellphone and computer. and just yesterday, I broke out of hiding.

Happy.
Renewed.

and I've come to the realization that these "breaks" are something I'll always need. and always look forward to.

they're important to me. i don't know if they affect my well-being as much as my heart, but i'll bet it's both.

sometimes, you've just had enough. enough of what? i don't know... but that's the feeling that precedes my decision that it's time for another break.

you might be wondering what happens during these breaks. a lot, and i mean A LOT of "me" time.

this break followed the conclusion of a bible study i was leading with some friends from high school, where we used a book called Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. On a scale of 1-10, 10 is a huge understatement.

so, i was drained. emotionally and spiritually.
maybe because when i spend myself on people, i do it completely.
and when it involves sharing with them all of who i am, it's like double the spending.
the first drains me emotionally. the latter, drains me spiritually.
somehow, i overlooked my needs. my relationships. including my relationship with God.

and so, taking another break was the best thing i could do. the thing that seemed the most inviting. not a girls night, not talking about it, but resting on Christ's love for a little while. Alone.
and it worked. here i am, after about a week and a half of being alone with Him.
i am renewed in every sense of the word.

I was alone but obviously not lonely.
and then i thought of you.
whoever you are.
Im writing again because i know many of you are, lonely.
And i know many of you look to these pages for companionship. because there are people on here, just like you, looking for the same thing.
and then there are people like me, looking for people like you to share hope with.
so, if you're reading this, let me know. i want to know who you are.

in Christ,

gabyyy

Intermission.

dear reader,
So, in case you didn't know, im a senior in high school! yayy :)
But with all the excitement there's also tons and tons of responsibilities :/ But i have the Lord to help me through the upcoming year, just as He did through the oh-so-stressful, junior year. Last year was THE most stressful year i've ever had.
So with that said, i go back on Monday. Yes, THIS Monday. Summer is over for us school kids. yay again! (not a yay for summer being over. hahah.) im excited because i can't wait to see the opportunities & the open doors God will present, but im also nervous. If you've been through this, you know how i feel.
So on to my point, having to be in school, homework and all, i probably won't get a lot of chances to blog & when im free ill probably want to use that time to rest or cuddle in my bed and read a book. (to relieve myself from working so hard for school; yes i am planning on excelling this year. i know God can help me do so because last year He gave me glimpses of my true potential. That does not mean that ill, by any means, forget i have a blog and that i committed myself to sharing with you about my relationship with Christ & whatever else comes along my one life. Our relationship & experiences as Christians shouldn't be kept secret.
I will post whenever i can, don't you worry. But the posts will probably be a lot more spaced out, not like in the summer. hahah.
Tomorrow, Sunday, is officially my last day of summer, and i'd like to rest. So i might go silent on Twitter for bits there... & might not even log on at all just so that i give myself a complete break before Monday. Technology & all. But then again, i just might not. Who knows. That's just something i thought about like 10 minutes ago. hahah.

So, this is not by any means a good-bye blog world, it's a simple intermission from constant action on my blog that'll probably take the whole school year. With some intermissions from school to come and blog on here & fill yall in about my life as a senior. (the more in-depth version) I will however, continue to update regularly on Twitter. (hopefully. hahah.)

lotta love! (still pending. i've gotten several opinions about my new sig, and this one has been a favorite.)

,gaby

Funnel Cakes.

dear reader,

(specifically two of my dear Twitter friends... you know who you are. haha.)

Here ye here ye! it has finally come. i've finally stopped putting it off. (sorry it's not laziness i felt, i just felt the need to back away for a bit. stop writing on my computer and write on paper. i've been indulging myself in books too. (as you may've seen from my Twitter updates. haha.) i lovelove reading! :D So, here, im giving yall the recipe for the Funnel Cakes i baked the other day. :) i hope you enjoy the experience of making them & eating them as much as i did. :D
here are a few pictures from my own experience; >

So. while i was editing this post, getting ready to post it today, the bottm half erased completely :( on accident. hahah. so instead of re-writing it i decided i'd simply lead yall to the link where i got this from. I saw it on tv, them went to the website for more help. :)

ENJOY!

the other version of this post had explanations and suchh... if you want help LET ME KNOW. i'll be glad to help. :D

ActivitytTv. there's the website guys. i feel so upset that this post isn't how it orginially was, but oh well.

Again, if you wanna ask me for the little tips i used myself to make this a lot easier, let me know. :)

take care!

lotta love! (signature still pending and you'll find out why by reading my previous post.)

,gaby

Too lazy to post.

dear reader,

So basically, i could stop right here and just let you figure out what it's all about based on the title. Yes, i've been too lazy to post, but not to write. I have 3, yes, 3 blogs in the draft category as we speak that will go up soon. As soon as i finish writing. :) hang in there!

that is all. in the meantime, i'd like to leave a couple of songs that i've been obsessed with lately and direct you to some of my favorite blogs if you haven't checked out my blog roooooll :D
"Laghing With"- Regina Spektor.

My obsession spurred from reading this blog. you must go read it if you haven't, the next post on the "Tough Topic Tuesdays" should be up later today. I hope. Jenny is a busy mommy, singer, blogger, human, so we'll have to wait. (that is, if you're as obsessed with her blog as i am. :))

I love Jenny Simmon's blog- "Cupcakes, Sprikles, and other Happy Things" she's part of the band Addison Road. :)

Other music; Owl City. Have you heard? Have you listened to Adam Young? He's amazing. For lack of a better word. ( i couldn't quite put together a review that would serve his music justice if i tried.) So you should go have a listen. :)

Last. (for now) Jon McLaughlin. Amazing. I won't even try to say anything further. Just go listen! :)

and that is all for now my friends. enjoy your Tuesday! & remember, God loves you.

lotta love; (trying a new signature) if you comment, let me know which of these three you like; 1-lotta love, 2-love love, or 3-sick love. thanks! :)
gabyyy

Inkheart.

dear reader,

So, some day last week i saw Inkheart. And let me tell you, i loved it. I'd say it doesn't take much for me to love a movie, but at the same time it does. I don't know what that means either, so let me try to sort this out.
When i watch a movie, i don't expect it to be great, except if it's a Hallmark (Larry Levinson) production, because in my opinion they hardly ever disappoint. Anyways, if the movie turns out great, i love it.
Possible reasons why it was great; (in my young, ignorant opinion) ;)

• beautiful plot. usually something to do with heroic actions, love stories, redemption stories, or something inspiring of that sort.
• the characters are cute. HAHA! girls, you know what i mean ;) (im kidding, im not that superficial.) Geesh.
• if it draws tears, laughs or smiles from me, it was to be a good one.
• when it's over, i feel like it could be made into a saga.
• or i wanna watch it again.

That's how i know, a movie i've just seen is great. I've seen way to many movies to remember all their names, but i know that each one left something in me that moved me, changed me, or made me think. A lot.

Like Inkheart. No this isn't a review of the movie, (cause i don't think im good at reviewing stuff...or things.... its just really hard to explain with the right words... etc). Anyways, this is however, a post about my insight. What really stood out to me from the movie. Which even drew tears and, once again, a lot of thinking afterwards.

For those who haven't seen it, i'll give you guys some sort of...idea of what it's about. I'll try not to make it into a review, and if after reading my description, you find you can write a better one, one that's not so confusing, please do, for me. And send it in! I'll post that one instead. I have a feeling that mine will be confusing and all over the place.

STOP RIGHT THERE.

If you haven't seen it, and don't want me to spoil it for you, then please come back next time when there's a different post, or go watch the movie, then resume reading. :)

Now, remember im not great at explaining, but for the sake of this post, ill try my best.

Basically, the movie's about this guy, Mortimer, (Brendan Fraser), "Mo" for short, who has this amazing talent to bring characters out of a book by reading aloud. When his daughter, Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennet) was younger, his father was reading her a story (Inheart) and he drew some characters out of it. Supposedly, when he brought someone out, someone from this world would go into the book. Kinda like a "one for one" situation.

Well, this particular time, his wife, Meggie's mother, went into the book. Ten years later, Meggie finds out about his father's talent and about what really happened to her mom. So now that she knows, they try to look for the book. But before they can find it, they come across the three charaters Mo brought out of the book before. Two villains; Capricorn and Basta and Dustfinger, a fire-eater.

The fire-eater wants Mo to take him back into the book (he can do that too.) For awhile they work against each other, because Dustfinger works for the villain, Capricorn. Capricorn sends Dustfinger to find Mo, when he does, both Mo and Meggie find themselves in the villain's castle. Mo reads a storm out loud and they manage to escape, Dustfinger is now on their side. When Meggie is alone when her father and Dustfinger are out, she discovers that she has the same power her dad does. Shortly after, Capricorn manages to find her as he looks for her dad (he wants to use him to "read" riches and power out of books for his glorious kingdom), but soon realizes Meggie is also gifted and decides to use her instead.

At the end, Capricorn, after He finds out about Meggie's talent, forces her to "read" out "The Shadow" from Inkheart which would give him the necessary power to take over the world completely. Or maybe just his kingdom. As Meggie reads, and does bring out "The Shadow" her dad and the author of Inkheart, hang in the air in a basket looking thing. Meanwhile, the author of the book (sorry i forgot his name) writes another part of the book, (im guessing a happy part, one that would take all the characters back into their books) for Meggie to read aloud, and save herself, along with everyone else from Capricorn and "The Shadow."

Ok, i tried. Forgive me, if that wasn't any good. :S

The Insight.

I found it interesting that the charaters go back into their books like these; their body turns kinda "rock" like and then they "dissolve" into the air... on their way back into the books they came from. (Does that jog your memory, yet?) No... let me keep going then. These characters, once out of their books, and into the real world, are not the characters they were in the books. They change themselves according to how they want to be, not how their Author made them. (Your little lightbulb should start turning on now...)

So, i also find it interesting that the way they go back into the books, (first rock-then dissolved into sand) is like punishment for disobeying the instructions from their Author. You know, like what comes next in the book, in that chapter of their lives. (Come on!) The villain, along with his companions, were disobeying these instructions by trying to become what they wanted to be, not what they were intended to be. However, i know that even though eventually they would've had to go back into the books, if they weren't disobeying, it would've been less brutal. Don't you think so? Like how Dustfinger goes back into Inkheart, way at the end of the movie. ( He does go back, and is just "read" back into the book by Mo.

The whole rock-dissolve thing reminded me of that story in the Bible. (Get it yet?)

Sodom and Gomorrah.

Genesis 19. But the particular verse, is Genesis 19:26. When Lot's wife looks back and immediately "becomes a pillar of salt." I think this relates, somehow. She, like the characters who disobeyed, also disobeyed the voice of the Lord by "looking back," when He clearly said not to. And the result was that she turns into a pillar of salt then dissolves. (or maybe the dissolving only happens in the movies i've seen.) But it's still similar right? Right. Here's another photo. Lot's wife- although i really liked the previous one. It's clearer. -Lot's wife looks back.

Real Life.

So, just like the characters in the book, when we disobey the intructions set for us in the Bible, by the author of our lives, there are consequences. Obviously we don't turn into salt and dissolve, and obviously the Bible doesn't give us a look into the future of our own individual lives, but of the life of "The Churh" as a whole. The consequences however, range from missing out on our own blessings, which God withholds from us because we are not ready for them. We may think we are, because we want them, but God knows us best. Just like parents wouldn't reward their children after disobeying, neither does God reward His childeren when we disobey.

We were meant to live our lives as offerings to Him for the sacrifice He made for us. The offering im talking about isn't a sacrificial offering like they did back in the Old Testament, when they would offer animanls, preferably lambs, as sacrifices for their sins. This kind of offering, while sacrificial in some sence, (beause we sacrifie our own desires for our lives and replace then with His) is meant to be a thankful offering. In consists of a life of worship and seeking His will for our lives. We give Him our lives, not because we "owe" Him anything, (nothing we can do could ever thank Him enough) but because we surrender to our own efforts and try to life our lives the way they should be lived. The way He wants us to live.

We give Him our hearts because we are thankful that He would send His son to die for us, sinners. We die to our own selfish and wicked desires, and seek His purity. This is why we have a choice, a choice to follow Him. We aren't forced to do so, we choose to do so. He never has and never will force Himself upon any one being. If that were the case, don't you think the whole world would be Holy by now? I think so. He could easily change us all if He wanted to. But He doesn't because He wants us to want to want Him, not be forced to want Him. You follow me?

So my friends, here it is. Another long post i know, but i don't think i would've been able to fit everything in that i wanted to say if it was shorter. Sorry :S It is what the Lord placed on my heart, and honestly, i don't know how i managed to write, yet again, another long post.

Questions, comments, concerns? Let me know :)

all my love,

gabyyy

AnnieBlogs and makes Oreo cookies.

dear reader,

So, this past Monday, i made cookies. Oreo cookies. I got the recipe from my new friend, Annie.
Im not gonna lie, my first attempt at these famous cookies was a pure disaster. Nuff said.

The second attempt however, was unbelievably rewarding. I loved the cookies. :)
Here are some pictures i took, excuse the quality, i just couldn't get a good one. haha.
I tried to make mine look fancy, like Annie's. :D

If you want the recipe for the cookies, go visit Annie's post and while you're there, say HI :)

We also made Turkish Delights, yea from Narnia. Ours were not with strawberry-delish that Edwin (you do know who he is, right?) ate though, we used orange juice and limon. Pretty good though. :) Didn't take pictures though. Bummer! It just flew by me, i didn't even think about it. Next time, promise.

Recipe.
Turkish Delight; a sweet treat from Narnia!

Questions, comments, concerns, shoot! :)

Btw! If you guys try these recipes out, do share. I wanna hear of your success or not so success. I wish you all the luck/skill/gift or whatever it takes to bake wonders. ;)

all my love,
gabyyy

the fire that turned into a lovely experience...for me.

dear reader,

Hold on, don't judge or question the title before reading what i have to say. Im sure you're thinking, "what kind of fire turns into a lovely experience?! hear me out.
Saturday, a fire started nearby.
The Beginning
I was sitting on our longest couch in the living room, watching tv, one sister on the computer, the other in the bedroom, and parents in the kitchen watching tv while my dad ate.
Not long after, my sister comes out of the room, speaking in a high-pitched voice (but not yelling) saying, "they're telling everyone to get out of the apartments."
We opened the balcony door not long after going a little crazy because she wouldn't tell us what was going on. Out of the balcony we could see tons... TONS of black smoke coming over us.
(that's when we knew something serious was up, besides the smoke being up in the sky.)
Get it? .. No. Ok.
*first time i texted Twitter so that everyone would pray that no one was hurt. (thanks to all of you who did.)

Moving On.
We decided we'd leave the apartment to go see what was going on. going around some corners, we saw that the black smoke was coming from part of the south wing.
*cause of fire; unknown.
As we approached, we saw that some apartments behind the laundry room were on fire, big time. It was simply unbelievable how much fire & smoke was coming out of there. (first experience in front of a real fire, with people i knew-which i later found out there was MORE people i knew involved)
*place where fire erupted; first floor apartment. cause still unknown.
As is the norm, everyone from the apartments was nearby... as nothing more than spectators. The whole time we were out there i wondered, "is this being, you know... like when you're up in people's business? Nosy?" Then i told myself no, it's not. We're just worried and want to know what's going on... after all we live here too. We are all neighbors. And our neighbors are in trouble. Although the regular people (the spectators) out there, in the scene of a fire don't normally help the Firemen out, we were still there to see if anybody got hurt. Nosy? Nah, i still don't think so.
The Middle; Firemen + Spectators.
I don't know what was my favorite part, seeing how amazing Firemen are, or seeing how amazingly they put out the fire. I think it's a tie. They are smart, intelligent, selfless people who put their own lines on the line to save others,(but you already knew that) leaving their families hanging on a thread worrying that today, today may be their Firemen's last day. *Cause of death; dies in a fire trying to save someone's life, without regard of his own.

• 
  Definition of selfless; showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

Yup, it fits. Perfectly.

So, four out of five of my family members were out there, along with the rest of the complex literally, as we all watched in awe the work the Firemen are putting in to put the fire out. Or some of us at least, ok just me. Some, we're critizing that the Firemen weren't going fast enough and that there was still smoke/sparks at the top of the building. I thought to myself, "could you be anymore DISrespectful? these men know what they're doing, i don't see you suited up in a huge yellow suit, with a big helmet, holding a huge 20+ pound hose in your hands in this 90+ degree weather. Let the men work."

I always thought, (i think), that if you're putting a fire out, you start from the bottom. From the source. Not try to put it out from the top down, i'll keep coming up. Plus there was wind. Isn't that right? Yeah, that's what i learned in my "First-Aid and CPR class last year."

It really bugged me that there was this particular guy, who kept criticizing the guys. In the end he FINALLY left, and i didn't see him around anymore until... the end of the commotion.
People. Humans, when will we learn? Never.


People. My friends.
I later found out that my dear friend's apartment was near the fire. Nothing happened to her home, but i couldn't find her and she wasn't answering her phone. The worry began when her dad came around and asked if we'd seen his kids, (my friend and her little brother) but we hadn't. Both of her parents were at work and he'd just gotten home from leaving work early. So he went to look for them. He found them later on, then i saw them a little later and they were fine. Thank God. Then my friend told me that one of my other friends' apartment was actually in the fire. I was shocked. She told me which one, and the apartment nearly lost a whole wall and part of the ceiling. I just hoped she was ok, i couldn't see her anywhere. I had her number, but i didn't want to be the bearer of bad news for her. I just couldn't. How could i text/call her and tell her "hey, your house was just on fire." So i chickened out, (is that being a bad friend?) and didn't tell her anything. Just after i decided that (in my head), i saw her and her mom come through a walkway. So a little bit later i went up to her and she said that she was supposed to be back from Mississippi 7 hours before the fire but decided she'd go to her cousins place instead, while her mom got out of work. She also said that if she would've come home, she would've been asleep. Asleep. Now, i don't think i need to explain to you why that's important, but was God in this all along or what? Another proof, that things happen for a reason. Or reasons.
The Other Side.
So we also went around, probably on a 180 degree turn around the whole building to where the firetrucks & police cars were parked. Nothing really happened to the other side of the building, but we were closer to the Firemen and the trucks, and away from where the smoke was blowing.
I saw; the trucks, two firemen who come out of the burning apartments red as can be, reaching for oxygen, (scariest part because for a while one bent over one of the trucks and stayed there... trying to breathe), a man who's arm had been barely touched by the fire due to the red-kinda bloody arm he had, (not big time, just a tad-bit), scared people, nearly everyone on their cellphones, Paramedics, cops, you name it.
As soon as they pulled some beds in from an ambulence, i feared the worst. Frantically looking around to see who was hurt so bad that they needed a bed. No one. It was just a precautionary move on their part, ... just in case.
My eyes were literally lost in the scene. Like in a movie where that one person, in the middle of all the chaos looks around trying to find hope in all of it, and then the camera slowly zooms out on her leaving her in the middle, amoungst all the other scared people, and when there are now tons of other people on the screen, no one can take their eyes off of her, you can still see her there. Scared. Except, it wasn't a movie. It was real.
I saw how each caretaker moved, how they reacted, how calm they were, and how amazing they were. I'd never seen them in action so close, it amazed me. Making sure everyone was OK, was their main priority. They handled the situation with class and skill. (of course they had skill, they train for these kinds of situations, Gaby!)
I know, i just never saw it in action. It was amazing to me.
I also saw how the spectators were, i saw our community, our complex community. While it's not the kind of community with lots of happy-go-lucky, friendly people, it's our community. Where God has placed us, altogether. Even if a lot of people don't know that.
This experience only left me wanting to be a caretaker, specifically a Pediatrician, even more. I cannot wait to serve my community and other communities.

God provides.
You'll be happy to know that the managers here gave the families that lost their homes another apartment to stay in, so they aren't completely homeless. In every sense of what that word means. Since it's not really their home, just temporary or perhaps a replacement. Ya know? But God is good, so good.

The End.
So in my first experience near a real fire, i learned and examained a lot. As you've read. If you've stuck with me this far, read all the way to this point, thank you for that. Im sure there are lots of other blogs out there who could probably explain this better, or use better-bigger words to describe a danger scene, or who've learned more interesting things. I'm sure. But i'm also sure they are famous, with degrees and real jobs. Ok, maybe.
So thank you for reading all of my words.
This is me and my experience.

P.S. My sister and i were so proud to be girls when we saw like three women-Firefighters ;) haha.
The was this one lady who was feeding the water hose to the men in the building (by herself after the fire was out, and she said, "that lady's my hero." :)

all my love,
gabyyy