Things of the Morning

The things of the morning of are quiet, small, and quaint
Understanding the night has gone away, faint faint faint.
Dim and dark until the shine comes through
Waking, waking, waking to the new.
Rise up and roll to the world,
Unclenched fists, unfurl unfurl.
A splash of water, a brush of the hair
The things of the morning are shining and clear.
A rush to the fresh air and dash back in
A rush back out and in again.
A talk of words, a smile, and a see, see, see
And back again to watch Eve, Eve.
The cafe is sweet, the air is breathing its take
Here I am this morning, awake awake awake.

-An Original Poem by Juana :)

To Love and To Be Loved...

I heard these words in a movie once and I have been thinking about them since. Love can be such a powerful thing...it is not to be toyed with or faked. Love can heal...love can create...love can reassure. I hope that if I accomplish nothing else in life, I would have only wished to love and be loved. And I think that one cannot be complete without the other. I recently found some beautiful words by Elizabeth Barrett Browning in her "Sonnet 28": "To come and touch my hand...a simple thing/ Yet I wept for it". It reminds me of how much we yearn to be loved and how a simple act of love can stir up powerful emotions in us. And the act does not have to be outrageous in order for us to feel the intensity behind it. Just as Browning wrote, a simple touch can make us weep because we know that love is the driving factor. Another statement of love that I live by is from a movie called "I Capture the Castle"..."I love, I have loved, I will love". This statement captures the ongoing nature of love...it never stops. My heart swells with love and I take every possible moment to love those around me. I pray that all may find love in family, friendships, and beyond. Remember...I love...I have loved...I will love :)

Blessings!

Singing, Dancing, and Laughing!

Wow! It's my first post of 2010! Gooooo meeeeeeee! :) I woke up this morning in a particularly good mood. Later on, I just kept singing, dancing, and laughing...for pretty much the whole afternoon! In the car, at my computer, walking down the stairs, running errands everywhere! I didn't even care if anyone gave me crazy looks! They'll just have to deal with the fact that I'm a crazy, happy, and blessed girl!!!! And all of this joy got me thinking...why can't we be like this all the time? Why can't we express the joy of the Lord everywhere, anywhere, and anytime, even amidst suffering? He wants us to be happy and joyful! Moping will get us nowhere fast! Singing, dancing, and laughing with a joyful spirit will help us slow down and smell the roses! So be happy for a change! SING, DANCE, LAUGH with all your might!!!!!! You won't be sorry :) Blessings!

Juana's Year in Pictures :)

Here's my 2009 in photos...all the way from January to December :)

And I recognize that some pics are out of order, but that's makes for a more interesting photo album ;)

One of the first pictures taken of me in 2009

At the movies with Alex :)

Ashleigh, Ayj, and Alex and Bennett's party

Our Group at the Movies

Alex and Amor at the Bowling Alley

Me playin' around in the car

Me and Alex before our beach day

Me at the beach

The girls before Ashleigh's wedding

Playing tennis

At Louis's Graduation

Mommy and Daughters :)

Okay...I did not get married...I was the tissue bride at the bridal shower :)

Our trip with Anna at the Zoo!

On my 20th Birthday

Me and Noah on our way to the Lake

On Alex's 17th Birthday at MM

Mommy and Me at the beach

Our Legally Blonde Trip

Our AZ trip

Sister and Mommy

Test driving my new hair cut :)

At Thanksgiving

Dressing up :)

Why, of course we have wild girl's nights!

Christmas 2009 :)

:) Many blessings for all of you during the New Year! :)

A Year of Diamonds

2009 is almost over...the time has come too quickly. However, I am super excited about the New Year. Though I try to renew myself many times through the year, the New Year always feels like a good time to start fresh. So the point of this post is to recap the year and remember the great times I had and to outline goals, dreams, and wishes for 2010.

THE RECAP

Where do I start?! This year has been a whirlwind of happiness and joy, surprises and downfalls...but everything made the year what it was meant to be. Some major things that I did this year was hang out with my friends more. Though school/work kept me busy, I was able to make new friends. I went to 2 weddings and visited the beach more than once (wooohooo!). And I was treated to Legally Blonde: The Musical by my mom and sister as a birthday present. I also asked guys I didn't know at the weddings to dance with me...hey, I'm not the kind of girl that waits to get asked to dance! ;) I left my teen years! Got my driver's license :) Began volunteer work at my church. So many amazing things happened! So let's transition into the New Year.

2009 WAS LOOKIN FINE...2010, LET'S DO IT AGAIN!!!! :)

I hardly ever make resolutions...because I know that I will not keep up with them. So, I try to make "guidelines" of what I'd like to do in the New Year and let the chips fall where they may. So for 2010, here are my guidelines :) Run more (whether that be running on a track or running around my house), Understand where God wants me to be and trust Him that He'll get me there, make new friends, and have great adventures! I think that's a pretty good list :)

So, I'm not sure why I titled my post "A Year of Diamonds", but maybe it’s because the year was a little rough, but like a diamond, it sparkled and shined as well :) May you all have a blessed New Year!

I Can Feel God Poking and Prodding Me...

...with a giant stick and He's stirring me all about. I could first felt it this Sunday when I was sitting in the church coffee shop eating my croissant and drinking my coffee. I noticed a lady sitting a chair or two away from me eating her donut quietly. I was busy with my phone, texting away when I suddenly felt the urge to talk to her. I sat quiet for a minute, not sure how to approach her or if I should even say hi. Then, suddenly, words started coming out of my mouth...like I was on auto pilot. I said, "Hi! How are you today?" And that was the start of our conversation. During our talk, she said that she had been invited to church while she attended the "toy run" at a local park the day before. The toy run was a holiday event where my church's motorcycle ministry served Christmas dinner to the underprivileged people in town and gave toys to children. Then, she asked me if there was someone she could talk to about getting new clothes and food for Christmas. I knew just who to introduce her to. After I brought her to one of the pastors, we said goodbye and I walked away...smiling. Later, my mom got her address and phone number so that we could keep in touch and check on her during the week. I was so glad that I talked with her because she might not have gotten introduced to the pastor and, in turn, not get any clothes/food for the holidays. And, as an even bigger bonus, no one else may have talked to her or shown her kindness. I think it would have been horrible if she came to our church and no one made the effort to introduce themselves because, as Christians, we sometimes become complacent and don't want to step out of our comfy world. But as I said, I can feel God poking at me saying, "Juana, I need you to do something". And I am sure glad He did! :) May you have a blessed day :)

Don't You Understand?....

That drinking coffee or tea makes me want to write on my blog?! I've been in a blogging state of mind for the past couple of weeks now and it only gets worse when I drink those afore mentioned beverages :) It's about 1:30 in the afternoon and the weather has cleared up since the weekend. Yes, that means warmth and sunshine in December. At least we had a weekend of rain...it was nice. Today marks the last Monday of the Fall semester. So, I got up and did some of my schoolwork early so that I could have time to do other stuff during the day. I'm eating breakfast (bread/butter and coffee) and enjoying the quietness of the house. Over the weekend, I had a Mary Kay party and found that I really like purple eyeliner :) We saw New Moon, which was awesome because Tay Tay is in that...gotta love Tay! I'm so excited to finish up school for the semester and relax for Christmas break. I'll definitely blog more and more! And by the way, my mom started a blog, so I'll also post the link here sometime so you can read her blog. I hope that everyone has a great holiday!