Surprise Dates with Jesus

I learned that my primary love language is quality time. I can totally see that in my life and how it plays out on a daily basis. If I care for a person, I show them by giving them my time. When people give me their time, it makes me feel loved.

 

Lately I’ve been learning that this is the same for my spiritual love life as well. I show God that I love him by spending time with him. Honestly, when I am really busy and don’t make time to spend it with him, I neglect that time, and often it doesn’t happen. This is why he has been showing me that I need to make time to have dates with dad and dates with Jesus. :) Floor chapel today (happening right now) was just that, go have a date with Jesus. It sounds lame, but it is a great concept. I’m using this time to just reflect on what the Lord has been teaching me and how I can apply those lessons to my life.

  

The other day I went to help with Youth Group at my church and I showed up an hour early on accident (because of some confusion with the previous weeks’ schedule). The Lord showed me that he had taken me out of my dorm room and away from my homework to spend time with Him in his Word. And I did just that, I sat and enjoyed the time that I had with him. It was an amazing hour.

 

APPLICATION: Schedule specific times to be with God and don’t let other thing fill that time up. :)

Google brings up slavery?

So I googled how to use my own picture for my blog background and I got it to work!!! It took quite longer than I thought it would, but what matters is that I DID IT!!! :) So as of now, this is a picture of an old Southern plantation that I went to see while I was visiting my best friend Katelyn. It was beautiful there! However, it was quite a life changing experience to realize that not even 200 years ago those hundreds of acres where full of slaves working and probably singing! Take a moment and realize what that really means, how life would have been for them. Now think about how different our lives would be if slavery still existed today. It's fascinating to think about all the things that have changed over the course of our nations history.

learning a new skill

I am trying to figure out how to use a picture of my own (or my own choosing, more correctly-b/c I didn't take either of these) as a background for my blog.
The orange flower I found on the Internet.

Lance McWilson, a friend from camp and AMAZING photographer, took the picture of the door. :)

Tomorrow is August 26th

The answer to "When do you leave for college?" has always been, "August 26th."
Tomorrow is August 26th.
Tomorrow, I leave for college.
Tomorrow, my life changes completely.
Tomorrow, I will no longer know the fastest way to get to the closest Wal-Mart or where to find the cheapest gas in town.
Tomorrow, I will say goodbye to my family.
Tomorrow, I will leave and not know the next time I will be back home.
BUT
Tomorrow, I will prove my faith.
Tomorrow, I will make new friends.
Tomorrow will be my first big move, and life will go on.
Tomorrow, new opportunities will present themselves.
Tomorrow, I get to change my life-and learn to love it all over again!

*FIRST TIME* Does this mean I'll be lucky 4ever?

I think it will be fun to have a little section of blogs (as they happen, of course) of things that I do for the first time because so many things will be changing within my life. :)

So for the first time ever, I found a 4-leaf clover!!! It's so simple, and people find them all the time...and now I can proudly say that I have!

Here's a picture to prove it! (and I'm even sporting fingernail polish that is my favorite color-ORANGE!)

Expedition Imperfection

This weekend I was at one of my best friend’s graduation party and her entire family got into a giant water fight. I’m talking like aunts, uncles, cousins, grandpa & grandma, this was serious business. I (like normal) found a reason to not get wet “Designated Cell Phone Holder,” I was off limits…until I got hit with a splash of water from a big bowl. The cell phones were placed in a true “off limits” place and the water fight escalated. I eventually got water straight to the face (on accident) and had dodged several water balloons (unsuccessfully I might add), at which point I gave in and joined in.
I walked up to the pool with a cup (thinking that I could be sneaky or something, I have no idea what I was doing-just living by the moment without a plan) and got drenched from the front thanks to some excessive splashing in the pool. I turned around w/ my mere cup of water and got drenched in the backside w/ a 5-gallon bucket. I got drenched in a matter of 5.4 seconds. Standing still in my friend’s lawn, in my soaking jeans and t-shirt, I was out of my comfort zone…and I embraced it for all that it was worth. I eventually jumped into the pool (dressed in full clothing, jeans and all, just like I had when I arrived at the party) and had a blast.
I’m not used to doing things like that…I’m the person who has a swim suit in the car but refuses to get in the pool because of some lame reason. *To prove my point: I had a swimming suit in my car about 100 feet away the entire time this water fight was going on… I don’t know why but I am that person. But it’s beginning to change, I am beginning to realize that spontaneous things really do allow you to have more fun. Jumping in a pool with your clothes on is so much more adventuresome than jumping in with your swimsuit on, hair in a bun, and your watch, sunglasses, and rings off and in a safe place. Being spontaneous and doing things out of the box this weekend allowed me to really LIVE life! If I had stayed dry during the whole fight, I would have been the lame fun-sucking friend, but I am not that person.
Jumping in the pool with my clothes on would have seemed imperfect to me a week ago. Imperfect and unfun.
Today I say that I’m ready for imperfection because imperfect spontaneity is fun!

Stanley and his BFFs

For those of you who don't know, I unashamedly drive a blue minivan, named Stanley. He is often referred to as "Stan the Van" because he is the man. :)

Anyway, so this particular day I went to the neighbors house really fast and came back and parked in my normal spot, only to find that I parked next to identical red and green minivans (we had company over). I ran inside and excitedly screamed, "Stanley found his best friends!"

And the communal process of naming began...

Red...Ruby? Mom said, "I like to go fast." okay.....Ruby the Red Racer.
done. that was pretty easy.

Green...hum...we need some cool names for Stanley's friends..."He looks like an avocado!"...humm, we can't just name him Avocado....oh, what about Fernando? oh, yeah! Fernando the Avocado.


And so, I am please to introduce, for the first time ever, (from left to right)
Ruby the Red Racer, Stanley "Stan the Van," and Fernando the Avocado

WAIT-a poem by Russell Kelfer

Here is a poem that was written on a white board at Turkey Hill that really made an impact on me. To this day I do not know who wrote it on the white board, or when, or why, all I know is that the Lord has used it to help me in many ways. I have shared this serveral times, and I wanted to post it here so that you may also read it :)


Wait
by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."


"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.


"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.


"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."


Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"


He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.


"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.


"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.


"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.


"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.


"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.


"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

Great Life Verse

‎"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:10-11

When we don't see eye to eye...

Philippians 3:15-17
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

The second half of verse 15 says it all: if you simply don't agree on one thing, God will make it clear to you. Paul doesn't say that he must convince you, or even that it's my duty to convince you...he simply says "God will make it clear to you." Paul takes no responsibility for showing another person their faults, just that God will take care of it. I've learned that it would be wise for me to follow Paul's example...let God handle it and make it clear to me, and also to another. :)

To Become a Blessing is to be Blessed

I was recently able to visit one of the best summer camps on the planet, Turkey Hill Ranch Bible Camp. After an enjoyable visit with the staff, I had to return home to work and the mundane routine of life. On the car ride home (b/c everyone knows that the best thinking is done in the car, shower, or laying in bed trying to fall asleep :) ) I realized that during that trip I was blessed b/c I allowed myself to be a blessing to the staff at camp.

That's when I realized that God and life are both full of paradoxes.

When we give, we receive.

When we teach, we learn.

When we search for an answer, we find more questions.

When we embrace solitude, we find friendship in the Lord.

When we are silent, we hear more.

When we argue, we always loose something.

When we are weak, we are stronger than ever.

When we become a blessing, we are blessed.


Sometime we don't allow ourselves to become the blessing. I don't know why, but often pride is to blame. We should allow ourselves to become the blessing and in blessing other people with our presence, our attitude, and our friendship, we become blessed ourselves. :) May you become a blessing today.

Catching Joy, in bug form

Honestly, what is the point of a lightening bug? They truly have very little purpose in life.
EXCEPT
for the fact that they provide joy.
Think about it, lightening bugs provide countless hours of joy for young children and adults alike. There is something almost magical about catching lightening bugs on a warm summer night. Imagine what summer would be like without lightening bugs…it just wouldn’t be the same.
I believe that God made lightening bugs just for our enjoyment, because He loves his children. Go catch a lightening bug and catch some joy! :)

God's Love Letter to Me

While staffing at Turkey Hill Ranch Bible Camp there was a girls staff Bible study given about love. At the end, Melissa (who was giving the Bible study) challenged us to write a letter from God to ourselves about God's unfailing love for us. Then she challenged us to write a letter in response to the letter that God wrote to us. This is the letter that God wrote to me. I honestly believe that he wrote it to every single one of his children. It has been a huge blessing to me, and many others, so I pray that it will be shared and that it will become a blessing for you as well! :)


My Dearest Child,
I love you.
You will never understand that one single word as I do, but that is okay. Someday, I will show you exactly what it means. For now, let me show you as much as I can.
Enjoy my presence in your life.
Accept me.
Love me.
Trust me.
Know me.
Listen, because I am speaking directly to you all the time.
Look around, and see me.
Enjoy me.
Let me love you. Don’t fight it, just let it happen.
I’m in control, don’t be scared of that, take comfort in that.
Don’t put limits on me, I can do all things! I created you, I have blessed you, what else do I need to prove? What else do I owe you? Why do you demand things that have already been given?
Happiness is all around you, be happy.
I know many things about you, but I will never use them against you because I am love.
I gave you a special laugh, because I am love.
I gave you a body all to yourself, unique in its own right, because I am love.
Though it may not seem like it, this will always be true: I put you in this place, right here, right now, because I am love.
I don’t do these things because I love you. I do these things because I am love. Beloved, it is very important that you understand the difference. I am love. Just as butterflies have no choice but to fly, because they are butterflies, that’s what they do, they fly. I have no choice but to love, because I am love.
As you get to know me, you will learn that I am love. No matter what you do in this life, I will always love you because I am love.
Beloved, my love for you is undeniable. I can’t change it. I am madly in love with you, more than you can possibly imagine. Why?

BECAUSE I AM LOVE.

I will never stop loving you.
Take comfort in these facts. Let this letter change your life-you have seriously NOTHING to loose. I own all things, and give and take all things. Let this change your life and I will bless you richly because of your trust and faith in me.
Take me at my word; I will never let you down,

Your Creator, Lover, and Lord

as given to Jilli Roberts on June 29, 2010

Rhyming doesn’t make them synonyms

I was at my Grandma’s church and the preacher was making a really good point, he was comparing God providing a sacrifice to take Isaac’s place (Gen 22) with God providing a sacrifice for our sins. He said just as there was a lamb stuck in the thicket, Jesus is the Lamb of God. The point sounds nice and makes a lot of sense. BUT IT’S NOT OKAY!

Here’s the problem: there was a RAM stuck in the thicket by its horns, not a LAMB. And NO ONE caught the mistake!

This has always been a very important issue to me-How many people actually question what the speaker is saying before accepting it as truth?

Yes, this could have been a simple mistake, but it also could have been avoided by re-reading a text before speaking on it. I’m not trying to blame of vilify the preacher in anyway at all. I am simply trying to bring up the point that when we sit in the pew and listen to a sermon, we need not forgo the ability to reason for our self. We can’t accept a speaker’s word over God’s Word. We should take the responsibility on ourselves, instead of on the speaker. Next time someone, anyone, is talking to you about anything spiritual, I urge you to be an ACTIVE listener instead of a complacent one. :)

Being a mom for a week-WHAT?!?

“I’ve never done this before.” no longer works as an excuse when there is no one to say it to because you are the “mom.” This is what I learned from the week I spent babysitting/house sitting. One of my teachers (who I often baby sit for) when out of the country for a vacation, so I spent the night with the two children at their house, it was a 24/7 deal. My sister helped me when she wasn’t at work, and my mom helped one afternoon when I wasn’t feeling so great. But other than that, it was just the three of us. I did a lot of cooking and cleaning and, of course, some chillin’ too. :)
After this experience, I have learned that no amount of money is equal to being a mom. No payment is worthy. I have learned that I don’t want to have children until I am married (for many reasons) especially because I don’t think I could handle raising a child without someone else’s full time help and support.

Encouragement that only 3 middle-aged women can provide

It’s midnight, I mean, seriously, who isn’t blogging at this hour? Oh yeah, every other person in their right mind! :P

Today I was in Hobby Lobby looking for things to decorate a graduation cap when I over heard 3 women speaking quite loudly and excitedly. After overhearing bits and pieces of their conversation from a couple of aisles over it was obvious that these ladies were catching up, they had went to high school together and apparently not seen or heard from each other in quite some time. They were all talking 7,000 miles a minute about everything under the sun. As I walked past them, I found that they were all middle-aged and had each appeared to have made something of themselves.
After slowly walking through every aisle within earshot of them, without verging on the edge of “stalker” or “creeper,” I knew that life will be okay. Graduation will come and go, along with the friendships made over the last 4 years. But later on down the road, I will be able to bump into my old friends and talk about life and all the things that have happened since we parted ways and laugh and smile and just remember “the good ole’ days.”

Today’s expedition to Hobby Lobby brought this realization: maybe it’s not such a bad thing to let a few friendships fade so that they can be brightened and rekindled later on down the road when the Lord allows us to cross paths again. :)

History: Revisited

Some history is fun to hear about and relive, like that funny time my brother’s shoe flew off into the pond at my great uncles funeral and a couple of guys in suits had to canoe out to get it (true story by the way). Other history isn’t always as pleasant, but it is often just as memorable. Think about it, in history class we only learn about the bad stuff; wars, depressions, and genocides.

It’s just like living life. We hope that everything is a pleasant and happy experience, but it often isn’t. Even when life isn’t the greatest, or even flat-out, down-right bad, our attitude can make it better. I’m all about attitude, but that’s not what this post is about. It’s about reliving history for the better.

Today, I finally got the chance to talk about some of my “history” with one of my really good friends. Of course we all have a “history,” but this “history” needs to be said in that special kind of way that lets everyone instantly know that we had a history.

Long story short, we got into a vicious deadly circle: I can’t trust you because you don’t trust me, well I can’t trust you because you don’t trust me…back and forth, until it ended with both of us unable to even be social toward the other. Why? Who knows. But I do know that we both look back on it in the same way, “I could have handled that soo much better. I wish it didn’t have to happen, but I learned a lot from it.”

Now how awesome of a friend is that?! She is amazing. (Notice the lack of names in all of my blogs, that’s for a reason, I don’t want creepers to know all about my life :) ) It is so refreshing to know that people like her actually exist in the world. People that are able to look back and say, “Wow, I really could have done better. My actions were horrible. I’ve got no excuses, it happened, and that’s the way it was. But I’m not that way anymore.” We should all strive to solve our problems in this manner.

But I think the most awesome part of this story is that even though this happened a couple years ago, we gradually started talking to each other again. We finally came close enough to the definition of “friend” that we both felt comfortable enough to refer to the other as friend. This whole time we sort of brushed this whole incident under the carpet and pretended like it never happened. It was hard to do, but it was worth it. Today’s conversation made everything finally seem okay. There was closure. Amazing, God given closure.

I challenge you to seek that closure in your life in whatever situation keeps coming to mind as you read this. Pray about it. God answers prayers, just not always in our timing. It took many years for these prayers to be answered, but they are answered. :)

God, in the Police Car

God is everywhere, always. This can seem intimidating to some people, but I find comfort in this fact.

Yesterday, I went on a citizen ride-along. This means that I just rode along with a cop during their shift. It was way more fun than it sounds like it would be. But anybody can do it, you just have to sign a release form and go. It's pretty awesome.

So we got a domestic violence call so we got to "run code" (which is cop code for lights and sirens get there as fast as possible). We got to the house and the cop I was with, B, went and found the male and brought him to sit in the car. (I'm not racist, I'm just telling you how it is...) So, me, this little never-been-in-a-fight, I'm-scared-of-scary-looking-people white girl, is locked in a cop car, sitting not even 2 feet from a scary looking black guy who just got the cops called on him for domestic VIOLENCE in the back of the police car. Forget the bars and glass between us, I was scared and I felt too awkward to start up a conversation, so I turned on the radio. (When we were at the last call I got tired of listening to some junky song, so I changed it to a Christian radio station that plays more of the Christian Rock genre.) And here's what came on the radio:


Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next?
What happens next?

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

At which point B comes back and starts to question this guy, and turns the radio down.

I couldn't believe what had just happened! Of all the songs on the radio, this song (Dare You to Move by Switchfoot) at this specific time! There were kids outside playing and they were the "everybody's here, everybody's watching you now" part of the song. "What happens next?"-logically question to ask yourself as your sitting in the back of a police car, now isn't it? God was in that police car at that moment when I turned the radio on. He was their with me the whole day, keeping me safe, teaching me many things about life and about this world.

From B's questioning we learn that this "scary looking black guy who just got the cops called on him for domestic VIOLENCE in the back of the police car" really was the victim of the domestic violence. He had a job. He had two twin boys who were 9 months old. He was trying to take care of them and the girl over-reacted. When B left to question the girl to see if the stories lined up, I started a conversation with him. I learned a lot about him too. He was super cool. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and he was trying to do the right thing.

God was in that cop car with us both. I think I will remember this situation for years to come because it shattered so many of my previous thoughts about life in general.

Situations don't make you a bad person.

Black culture is not like white culture.

Bad stuff happens to good people.

I am blessed.

God is with me.

God loves me.

God love everybody.

You included.

Life's Expedition: My Official Bucket List

My best friend Katelyn encouraged me to make on of these, so I did, and boy am I glad! It is so fun!!! Here is my Bucket List, 100 things that I want to do before I die.

1. Guess the flavors of a whole box of chocolates
2. Ride a snowmobile (in Alaska?)
3. Go to a Disney theme park
4. Enter an eating contest
5. Go Trick-or-Treating
6. Fly an airplane
7. Stand under the Eiffel Tower
8. Witness to someone in another country or language
9. Decoupage something in Bible verses
10. Sneak out for a night to be with God
11. Have a photo collection worth a thousand words and smiles
12. Paint a room full of bright colors
13. Adopt an old lady/work/volunteer in a nursing home to listen to history’s stories
14. Buy something useful at a pawnshop
15. Give myself as a surprise gift in a box
16. Visit all 50 states and have something to show for it (Picture collage of each state shaped like each state?)
17. Be in four places at one time (state lines?)
18. Give a homeless man a gift card for food
19. Volunteer at a homeless Gospel outreach center
20. Be able to play the trust game and have someone catch me
21. Get into the habit of going for an early morning run
22. Invent a new kind of candy bar
23. See the Northern Lights
24. Go to New York City
25. Buy a random kid an ice cream
26. Go to the Olympics to watch
27. Sell a photograph I’ve taken
28. Use $1,000 worth of coupons
29. Eat a wooden chair
30. Keep a notebook for my kids and grandkids
31. Win a radio contest
32. Be in a magazine or write something that’s published in a magazine
33. Do everything on this list
34. Design a tract and give it out to people
35. Get a massage
36. Write something for Campbell’s Soup for the Soul
37. Be on a TV (game) show
38. Be an extra in a movie
39. Live in a poor third world country
40. Go on a mission trip
41. Get my ears pierced
42. Dye my hair red
43. Put “Jesus” or a reminder of Him on my nail
44. Show someone the “How Great is Our God” video by Louie Giglio
45. Go stargazing with a friend
46. Take my kid to soccer practice (or any other sports practice)
47. Paint a room for someone else
48. Start a fire with a magnifying glass
49. Bonneville Utah 130 club
50. Go skydiving
51. Own a starfish
52. Have a working ant farm
53. Pay $1,000,000 in taxes
54. Be my kids biggest cheerleader
55. Run a marathon
56. Take a picture of the Bellagio Fountains
57. Win money in a lottery
58. Buy something from Billy Mayes off a TV commercial
59. Dye an egg
60. Volunteer for Habitat 4 Humanity
61. Scuba Dive (on the Great Barrier Reef?)
62. Go to a New Year’s/Thanksgiving/Rose Bowl parade
63. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower
64. Play tic-tac-toe in a crazy way
65. Write “Jilli was here.” in some random place with a Bible verse
66. Get a weird pair of glasses for me and Katelyn and make a photo album of us wearing them in random places and doing funny things
67. Go to the spa
68. Have a made up persons birthday announced (Flat Stanley?)
69. Wake someone up with “The Good Morning Song”
70. Bury something in the sand for someone else to find later
71. Write an encouraging letter and put it in a strangers mail box
72. Go on a road trip to see Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore
73. Burn a lot of great road trip CD’s
74. Put this list on a piece of paper so I can mark them off when done
75. Design and make a cute bag
76. Make a fun shaped candle
77. Speak in only questions for a day
78. Bet money on a horse race or professional game of some kind
79. Learn to be conversational in another language (Spanish?)
80. Get all my children purity rings that actually have meaning
81. Write a series of devotionals
82. Make a head covering
83. Go to or host a masquerade party
84. Make a rubber band ball as big as a softball
85. Sing karaoke in front of a crowd
86. Have something on a menu named after me (Jilli’s Chilli?)
87. Have a 12 hour movie marathon
88. Foster/Adopt a child
89. Learn to juggle and have 100 great moments
90. Help build a Habitat 4 Humanity home
91. Do a cartwheel
92. Weld a work of art
93. Make a huge domino trail (then watch it all fall down! )
94. Ride in a hot air balloon
95. Be in New York City to watch the Ball Drop on New Year’s Eve
96. Have a Seniors Only Pancake Breakfast at my house before Graduation
97. Take a computer apart and put it back together, in working condition
98. Complete my list of 10 things to do before graduation
-Make a priest laugh at confession (I'm not Catholic)
-Change a tire
-Go to a ROMCOM (Romantic Comedy) by myself and convince someone to sit by me
-Design and make a toe ring
-Prank call someone, like really really good
-Play Farmville
-Wear a pair of skinny jeans
-Call into the local Christian radio station to share my opinion/play a game
-Finish my t-shirt quilt
-Hot glue a card tower
*Bonus List*
-Ride in a police car with the lights and sirens on, without being in trouble
-Wear cute makeup to school
-Watch the winter olympics
-Win at Jenga
-Take a picture of my snowman
99. See the Seven Wonders of the World
100. Read over 100 books

Expodition of the Week: Tearing Apart Technology

So maybe I'm not so great at this blogging-on-the-right-day thing, but I think I can manage to at least blog about events. But, pretty much, you shouldn't pay attention to the date it was posted on because it makes no difference :)

As part of the ciriculum in one of my classes at school with the awesome name of Indy Comp (Independant Computers) I took apart a PC and then put it back together again. This is something that I have always wanted to do, but never had the nerve to try myself.

And as any good blogger would do, I took pictures to share with you. Enjoy!

Step 1. Gather Materials.

This is what I started with...A standard PC, a screwdriver, and pen and paper to document where everything came from and where it went.

Step 2. See what your working with.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into....there was a lot of stuff going
on inside that little box.

Step 3. Disconnecting everything

It may not look like it, but there was a lot of stuff to take out of that thing. It involved lots of pictures, letters, and numbers.

Step 4. The Realization

I noticed a very important little metal plaque on the side of one of the CD drives, that read, "WARRENTY VOID IF REMOVED" good thing this computer is currently being stored in a deep dark place to wait for the recycle man to come destroy it.

For the record, I wouldn't recommend trying this at home...

Step 5. Everything has a place and there is a place for everything

And I found them all!!! I put everything back to the where it was supposed to be :)

Step 6. The Test

The final step was to test the computer to make sure that it worked. When everything is correct you get a beautiful screen like the one seen to the left :)

*Excitement followed this screen, for anybody who was wondering :)

These are my pretty pictures that I drew. Every little detail had to be labled and drawn out so that I knew where to put everything when it came to putting it all back together.

So I would say that this is my first offical blog, leave comments and let me know what you think :)

Explaining the Name

Northbound-adjective-northward (moving toward the north)
Expedition-noun-a journey undertaken for a specific purpose (some say in a faraway land)

These are both me. I will be moving several hours north for a specific purpose when summer comes to a close in a few short months. This blog will capture my journey to the North and life once I am there. It won't take much reading to realize that I am in love with the Lord. This is why I think the title of my blog fits my life so perfectly; I am Northbound when it comes to seeking the Father. I am constantly looking to Him for answers and guidence. He is the reason I am Northbound in geography as well as spirituality.
*And I like the name because my mom helped me pick it out :)

Source of definitions:
http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=northbound
http://www.alphadictionary.com/goodword/word/expedition

Today's expedition: this new and unknown world of blogging.

I've been flirting with the idea of getting a blog for quite some time now and never could actually do it...until today. I was viewing a blog design website when I found a banner (those cute picture things at the top) that said "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happend." I instantly decided that today was the day that I should start blogging.

With that I welcome you to my blog. Enjoy!