COAL BASKET BIBLE The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible.His grandson, who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water." The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was "impossible to carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!" "So you think it is useless?" the old man said. "Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. "You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out."



Monday, December 26, 2005
ok so the point of this is not for you to tell me how hopeless or stupid or emo i am, but for you to offer up helpful advice:
ME: OMGOSH, _____, I WONT SEE YOU UNTILL NEXT YEAR!
HIM: WELL IF YOU WOULD call me WE COULD HANG OUT.
ME: OK, I WILL THEN.
HIM: ::NOD AND SMILE AS HE EXITS ROOM WITH A BACKWARDS GLANCE AND A WAVE::
ok so i was gonna get ki n becca n call him n b like, "wanna go see a movie with US?" and then they were gonna like "accidentally" ditch us. but, but, but, they r both away on vacay...and its so much harder to say "wanna go to the movies with ME?" AND i only have his home phone #, and i dont wanna have to talk to his sister bc she already had a problem with me n her brother "hanging out" in the past.
so, any body wanna volenteer to be a thrid wheel??

confessions of a tennage drama queen

I think I'm ugly sometimes. I have many scars. I wish my hair was a different color. I am self-conscious about my appearance. i have braces.i wear glasses.I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free. I have freckles. My biological parents are together. I want to have kids someday.i almost always do my homework. I've missed a week or more of school. I've been on the Honor Roll within the last 2 years. I've slipped out a "lol" in a spoken conversation. Disney movies still make me cry. I've snorted while laughing. I've laughed so hard I've cried. I've glued my hand to something I've laughed till some kind of beverage came out of my nose. I've had my pants rip in publicI've driven over 200 miles in one day.I've been on a plane. I've seen a shooting star. I've wished on a shooting star.
i go out in public in my pajamas. I've pushed all the buttons on an elevator I've kicked a guy/girl where it hurts. I've been to a casino. I've gone skinny dipping. I've played spin the bottle. I've been in a play. I've caught a snowflake on my tongue. I've sat on a roof top at night. I've played chicken. I've played a prank on someone. I've eaten Sushi. I've been snowboarding. I'm single I miss someone right now. I have a fear of abandonment. I've had feelings for someone who didn't have them back.I've told someone I didn't love them when I did. I've kept something from a past relationship. I've had a crush on a teacher. I am a cuddler. I love to flirt. I am a terrible liar. I've done something I promised myself I wouldn't. I've snuck out of my house. I am keeping a secret from the world. I've cheated while playing a game. I've cheated on a test. I've witnessed a crime. I've been in a fist fight. I hate funerals. Someone close to me has attempted suicide. Someone close to me has committed suicide. I've planned my own suicide. I own something from Hot Topic. I own something from The Gap. I'm very outgoing. I'm religious. I dress fairly modestly. I sing in the shower. I like sportsI twirl my hair I love being neat. I bake well.My favorite color is either white, yellow, pink, red or blue I would wear pajamas to school. I am in love with love. I laugh at my own jokes. I can't sleep if there is a spider in the room. I am really ticklish. I love white chocolate. I bite my nails. I play video games. I'm good at remembering faces. My answers are totally honest

survay yay!

W O U L D Y O U R A T H E R
1. pierce your nose or tongue? nose
2. be serious or be funny? both
3. drink whole or skim milk? skim
4. die in a fire or drown? i dunno, i think drowning would be less painful yet burning would be oh so dramatic...
-------------------------------------------------------------A R E Y O U
1. simple or complicated? complicated
2. Gay? yes, as in, now we don our GAY apparal, falalalalaalalalala, but i dont like girls, at all. well a lilttle. gah! y is this such a hard question?????? jk but not really.
3. Hardcore? totally. crap, "totally" isnt a very hardcore word is it???
4. Honest? completely
DO YOU PREFER
1
. flowers or angels? thats kinda a werid question...flowers
2. gray or black? black
3. Color or Black and white photos? black n white
4. lust or love? love
5. sunrise or sunset? sunset
6. M&Ms or Skittles?:skitles
7. rap or rock? rockkkkkk
8. staying up late or waking up early? um, staying up early!
10. eating apples or oranges? both
----------------------------------------------------------------------
DO YOU PREFER
1. being hot or cold? cold
2. sun or moon? both
3. Winter or Fall? fallllll
4. left or right? left
5. having 10 acquaintances who will have sex with you or having two best friends? Definitely the two best friendssss
6. sun or rain? rain
7. vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream?: vanillaaa
8. boys or girls: boys

-----------------------------------------------------------------ABOUT YOU
What time is it? 9:53 pm
Name? amanda
Nickname(s): matanda
--------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT DO YOU WANT
Where do you want to live? LA!
How many kids do you want? eaither like one or two or twelve
What kind of job do you want? A fun one
Do you want to get married? DEFINITELY
-----------------------------------------------------------------
UNIQUE
1. Nervous Habits? nail biting
2. Are you double jointed? no
3. Can you roll your tongue? yes
. Can you raise one eyebrow? yea but i have to try really hard
5. Can you cross your eyes? yes haha
6. Do you make your bed daily? nooooo, lol, well i kinda half make it-----------------------------------------------------------------------CLOTHES, ETC
1. Which shoe goes on first? whichever ones clsest to me at the time
2. ever thrown one at someone? haha, yes I have
3. On the average, how much money do you carry in your wallet? like a couple dollars
4. What jewelry do you wear? earings and bracelets, id wear necklaces if i had ones i liked...hey u could buy me some! :D
--------------------------------------------------------------F O O D
1. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? twirl,
2. Have you ever eaten Spam? no
3. Favorite ice cream flavor: strawberry cheesecake
4. How many kinds of cereal are in your cabinet? four
5. What's your favorite beverage? i dunno
6. What's your favorite restaurant? pizannos
---------------------------------------------------------------------------GROOMiNG
1. How often do you brush your teeth? al lest twice a day
2. How do you wear your hair for the most part? on my head
3. Have you ever dyed/highlighted your hair? nope,
---------------------------------------------------------------------MANNERS
1. Do you swear? i try not to
2. Do you ever spit? no. hahaha this made me think of tyler. lol. i lov u tyler!
3. You cook your own food? occaisionally I try
4. You do your own chores? yea
5. You got laid today? ? what? of course i did. jk.
6. You like beef jerky? i like chicken jerky
. You like pepsi or coke? vanilla coke
8. You plan on going to college? definitely,
9. You're happy with your hair? not really
10. You own a dog? Ouiiiiiii. His name is shadow
11. You spend your money wisely? i dont really have money...lol

12. You're always making new friends? I liketo make friends, maybe I do...
13. You like to swim? yea
14. Have you ever gotten bored so you call a friend? Yeah,
15. You're patient? im mediokre
16. You like this survey? it's kind of lame, but I'm still doing it
-------------------------------------------------------LET'S BE HONEST.
In the last month have you...
1. Had sex: ALL OF THE TIME...no
2. Bought something: yes, and that's a stupid question
3. Gotten sick: no
4. Sang: yes
5. Been kissed:no
6. madeout, or further? psht no
7. Felt stupid: ha, all of the time
8. Missed someone: mhmm
9. Got drunk: nope
10. Gotten high: nope
11. Danced crazy: every day of my life
12. Gotten your hair cut: no'
13. Watched cartoons: nope
14. Lied:no
------------------------------------------------------------Last Person that...
1. Slept in your bed: me
2. Saw you cry: my brother
3. Made you cry: mom

4. Went to the movies with you: becca n matt
5. You went to the mall with: becca n matt n steph
7. You went to dinner with: becca n steph
8. You talked on the phone with: becca
9. Said 'I love you' to you: lizbet1
0. Broke your heart: i dunnno
11. Made you laugh: kiki
12. Bought you something:mom----------------------------------------------------Have You Ever...
1. Wished you were the opposite sex: not really, but I'm sure it would be fun
2. Snuck out of your house: yes
3. Gave money to a homeless person: yeah,

theres beauty in all imperfections

ok so i have a test for you to see how smart you really are.
how do you put a tiger in a refrigerator?
open the door, put him in, and close the door.
that question tested wether you do things in an overly complicated way.
next, how do put an elephant in a refrigerator?
did you say open the door, put him in, and close the door?
WRONG!
open the door, take out the tiger, put the elephant in and close the door.
that question was to see if you think about ur previous actions.
next, there is an animal meeting and evry animal is there except one. which one?
the elephant!
that question tested your memory.
ok one more question to try n prove ur smartness...
you need to cross a river but its inhabinated by crocidiles. what do you do?
swim across, all the animals are at the meeting.
that question tested if u learn from ur mistakes.
howd you do?

am i a girly girl?

You Can Hang With the Guys and the Girls

You've struck a good balance between girlie and laid back.You can keep it casual but when you dress up, you are as girly as the next girl.

How Girlie Are You?

just a joke

so i think some people are getting the wrong idea... in case you didnt already realize this, that last entry was just a joke, in fact i didnt even write it, kierra and company did. (thanks alot guys). nikas party went well but none of that stuff really happened. i think some people read this and took it seriously, but really they just made it all up, in fact if i knew how to delete entries i would but since im so blog-illiterate i dunno how so i guess its just gonna have to stay there. i just hope you guys know me well enough to know that that wasnt me...and if you did, i hope you read this so you know the truth.
peace.

the party

ok so, last nite i had a freaking awesome party...if u were there, you know what i mean. i dont really have enough energy to put up a play by play on here but here are my highlites:
~justin in the shower with his glowsticks
~trampoline wrestling
~trampoline stripping *cough*cough*jakobkierraandbishop*
~the trampoline in general...getting unvirginized..thanks to ross
~me n tyler (firsts)
amanda says: that was hott
~tyler n kierra (sloppy seconds)
kierra says: ew, that was wet
~tyler n becca (super sloppy thirds)
becca says: he freaking choked me with his tongue!
~wtf tyler?????
anyways...
~Chris: "no black on black violence!"
~cop: thats illegal, so unless you have $50 i suggest you get out....two seconds later...kierra: ok guys hes gone, get back in!
~brennan: sure, ill make out with becca......me: dont you have a girlfriend?.....tyler: and isnt she like right there? .....brennan: yea, so?
~brennan: kierra, i didnt know you were rough like that......jakob: i like it! kierra: just because im strattling jakob doesnt mean...
~Chirs: whats that smell?....me:shut up chris, nothing smells!....chirs: yea it does, it smells like smoke...me: shut up chris, beccas mom is rite there!....chris: o! nothing smells! what are you talking about, ur crazy!
~Matt g: really, its 7 inches! honest! you guys dont beleive me! im telling the truth, 7 inches! here let me show you...everyone else: GOD NO MATT! PUT THAT THING AWAY! WE BELEIVE YOU!!!!
~jakob: my (unbuttons 1st button) pants (unbuttons second button) are falling (unzipps) down!
~joey: ive proved my theory, white ppl love techno music!....becca: but black ppl cant dance to it!
well those are some of the highlites,,,but lets just say....you had to be there.
and now, thanks to me n kierra, here are the award winners!!!:
most action award: tyler
least clothed award: jakob n bishop n kierrA
best dancer: chris
weirdest mexican: justin
best dressed: me
best pre party: vips (me becca nika kierra justin jason jakob)
best after party: the one at beccas house n the one at tylers house
best soccer stars: kierra n derek (justin n omar just suck)(and matt d disappered)
most likeLy to have contracted herpes: me (THANKS ALOT TYLER!)
best dj: joey!
most boring: matt d, derek n omar ( sorry kids, sorry)
most stupid ppl who shoulda been at the party but wasnt: kayla n posse, saudii, steph s
most stupid ppl who left the party when they shoulda stayed: tyler n posse (xcept ray)
most stupid ppl who shoulda left earlier but didnt: ray (sorry kid, sorry)
coolest ppl: ten finger game participants,,,xcept for ray
comment if you have any
lov, kierra n amanda

revelations

here are some revelations (things i have realized) today:
~i am fun
~i love low rise jeans
~gwen steffani has an awesome sense of style
~i am obsessed with rachel mc adams
~hugs can get you just as high as drugs
~girls will never be too old for sleepovers
~its quite fasinating how u knock me off my feet
~some seacrets were meant to be told
~life isnt about getting thru the storm, its about learning to dance in the rain
~id do anything just to hold you in my arms
~whats wrong? is a hard question to answer when the answer is everything.
~i like bad boys
~i want to sing like th birds
~i love you, you idiot

you know that feeling?

when in evry spare moment your mind wanders to them? you think about them right before you fall asleep and right when you wake up? when they r always the first name you look for on your buddy list and you read their away message a thousand times even tho it always says the same thing? when your worst fear is no longer being lonely, but fearing that u will be forgotten by the one person you cant forget? when you have found one person who makes your heart beat faster and slower at the same time? you know that feeling?

i hate that feeling.

The Chase

along time ago i won a book and a free ice cream cone from pastor wayne. needess to say, the ice cream cone has been long gone, but id never read the book. so im finaly fonna read it... as much as i would like to deny it..from bordom. it actually looks pretty good. ive read tha forward thingy so far and ive aready come across alot of good stuff. but i dunno if im gonna keep reading b/c it keeps recommending to readit with a friend so ucan like talk about it and stuff...hint hint! any volenteers?

dietary needs

well nothing much has happened.

nick is healing well... hes getting most of tha stitches out monday. i think thats pretty quick, then again, i guess i wouldnt really know...ive never had stitches.

i have come to the conclusion that while here i will probobaly gain ten thousand pounds. or at least 5. my dietary needs just are not being met. let me explain, at my house everything is low fat, non fat, soy, no sugar added, low carb, no carb, no sugar, whole grain, all natural, whole wheat, high fiber, or otherwise "good for you". so thats what im used to. im not used to eating maccaroni&cheese, chicken nuggets, hamburger helper, perogies, donuts, poptarts, and so on and so forth. thats all all they have to eat in this house! the only veggie i have seen is corn! corn! corn is not even a veggie! its a starch! ah! sigh, plus its not like im even getting excersise....video games is like all they do here. (on the plus side i am now an expert at donkey konga 2) o well i guess ill just have tolose it when we get back. anyone wanna be my new running buddy???

im here

thats right, i am here in reading PA. the car ride here was severly uneventful...but then again i was cmparing it to the awesome car ride i had last i was on my way to PA. (yea ms elanes car!) anywayz, so we finaly get here and we arent even here 5 mins when matt n my cousin nick rush out side to play baseball (their fav thing to do together). well nick was a lil excited, ok, ALOT excited because he like never sees matt and matt is like his idol. so he gets out there with his new metal bat and matt tosses him a pitch and nick swings the bat REALLY HARD...he hits the ball....but....he swings ALL the way around and since hes right handed that means he smacks himself (with the metal bat) just above his right eye. to make a long story short, theres blood al over tha yard, carpet, deck, kitchen, and nicks clothes, and nick has 6 brand new stitches. the kids taking it fairly wel...hes outside playing baseball...but come tomarrow hes gonna have one heck of a black eye and some throbbing pain, so keep him in ur prayers. later!

i dont wanna go!

ok so im really upset cause wedensday i have to go up to PA for a week. to me thats just a humoungous waste of summer. i mean, sure i guess ill see my moms side of tha family, who i only see at like christmas, but beleive me, christmas is enough. i mean i love them and all but they r just soooo boring. if i end u staying wit my grandma that means ill be stuck in a tiny old house that has no air conditioning, no internet, no cordless phone and no digital cable. aka, i will die. if i get stuck with my aunt Sharon i guess its not so bad. she has internet, but id have limited access, she has digital cable but its always on random sports chanels because all of them r sports freaks, and she even has a pool but id also have to put up with sami and nick, my 2 adorable cousins to are spoiled little brats to the point of no return. plus when i stay with Sharon, she expects me to cook, clean and watch after all the kids. so why am i telling you this? there are 5 things you can do for me. 1) tell me i can come stay with you for a week! 2) let me know which option you think is best, aunt or grandma. 3) lend me your laptop, ipod, or other form of usefull technology...or even a good book. 4) hang out with me today n tomarrow and when i get back. 5) PRAY FOR ME!


Moses on His Walkie Talkie
Nine year old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned at Sunday school. "Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. "When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. "Then he used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved." "Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?" his mother asked. "Well, no. But if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!"

scince ive been gone

ive missed you. dont beleive me? hit it up: www.xanga.com/xamandapanda866x

woohoo

wow another blog thing, like i dont have enough already. unfortunatly i prolly wont use this so hit me up at www.xanga.com/xamandapanda866x.