What's In a Name

I've always been interested in my name. It's not very common and I don't meet many people who share it with me. It has a unique pronunciation and spelling and I've often wondered about the meaning behind my name. So I looked up my name on an online database that gives name origins and found that my name is both Hebrew and Hispanic. The Hebrew meaning is gift from God! I love that! It makes me know that God is always close by and that He treasures and loves me (I would still know that EVEN if Juana wasn't my name :) ). In Spanish, Juana is a variation of John (feminine), Joan, or Jane. Personally, I like the English translation Lady John :), it sounds very regal!

I encourage you to look up your name on a name database...just look up "name meanings" on google. I've looked up my parents', sister's, and other family/friend's names and have found that their names suit them perfectly! :) Look up yours and post their meanings, I'd love to hear them :)

Have a blessed day!

Alex and I at Kema Boardwalk...next to that yellow guy named Spongebob :)

Pieces of my Poem

I was required to write a poem for my Brit Lit class last semester and I was inspired by a dream that I had a few weeks before. These are two stanzas from my poem:

God’s presence is like none other that I have felt,
I can do all things through Him.
In Him my human heart has dwelt.
I feel strength in every limb.
Now, the Devil is afraid,
He knows I am already free,
He knows he has been betrayed.
He grimaces at my rising jubilee.

The angels take me away from the doom,
The Lord is going to speak with the Creature,
Now I am in the light and out of the gloom,
I smile at my glorious Teacher.
He causes the Devil’s demons to cower.
I always knew that He would come.
According to His Word and power,
To Him I must succumb.

My poem was over 1,000 words, but these stanzas capture the theme of it. The Lord is so amazing!

Have a blessed day :)

Movie Recommendation: Stardust

I just watched a movie called Stardust and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to recommend it to all of you! It had been sitting in my DVR list for about a month and I was really close to deleting it in order to free up space to record more media. My expectations weren't very high; I viewed it as mainly a kid's movie. But boy am I glad that I watched it!

Who's in it: Charlie Cox as Tristan; Claire Danes as Yvaine; Michelle Pfeiffer as Lamia

Here's the premise:
A young man, named Tristan, is born under magical circumstances and the movie follows his journey into manhood. Tristan tries to win the heart of a girl by fetching a fallen star for her. It turns out that the star is actually a woman who fell from the sky. As he takes the "star" named Yvaine to the girl who he wants to marry, he encounters a prince (or two) who wants the "star" for everlasting life. That way he can be king forever. Tristan also encounters a old witch who wants to eat the Yvaine's heart so she can be youthful and pretty. All the while Tristan is trying to get Yvaine to meet his would-be wife, but finds Yvaine is really in love with him. You can imagine all of the adventures and exciting things that come from Tristan's encounters.

Why I liked it:
I usually really enjoy action/adventure movies. I actually enjoyed the movie's run-time, which was about 2 hours. The movies didn't try to hard to please the young kids, but didn't try to be raunchy to appeal to adults, either. It was just a movie that we could all watch to have a good time. It was very funny; I laughed aloud many times. If you look hard for a lesson, you'll find one: "Love someone who accepts you for who you are".

Watch it and let me know how you like it! :)

Look me up on Facebook; I post more there too.

Have a blessed day!

Summer Summer Summa Summa

Woweeee! It’s been a while since I lasted posted. School's kept me so busy, but I'm glad for it :) Plus the studying has paid off; I kept up my high GPA! Lots of things have been going on...God has led me in a new direction that I wasn't planning on going. But I guess that's what happens when you think that you have control over everything. I know that God will lead me to the place I was meant to be with or without my consent ;) I'm excited to see how He wants me to use the gifts that He has given me. So a couple of things to look forward to this summer season:

1. My 20th birthday :) Yay, bye bye teenage years...
2. Look for a new job, one that'll help me build up my journalism and writing experience
3. My sister's birthday
4. Lots of beach days & a wedding (not my own :D but its gonna be fun!)
5. Try new things...let's see what they are... hehe
6. My mom's birthday
7. Being a great friend to my friends and family, near and far...you know who you are! :)

So I'm sure that my list of "looking forward" will grow and grow and I'll be able to check off what I've completed. Thank you Lord for getting me through another year sucessfully...I'd have fallen over without You!

This is kinda like my yearbook sign-off, you know "Stay awesome!" or "Keep in touch!" or "Have a great summer!" But really it’s just the beginning...it’s my summer sign-on!"

Onward my good friends! To summer and to life!

Have a blessed day!

Me, my mom, and Alex at the beach, 2008

Book Recommendations by Juana!

Hey Everyone!

I love to read! I'm always on the look out for a good book. A couple of summers ago I came across a book called City of Masks in the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman. I bought the book not really knowing what it was about, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. I liked it so much that I continued to read the series. I recently recorded a video blog about the books. I am posting it here, so enjoy :) It's my very first "vlog" that I have posted on my blog! If you have the read the books or pick them up sometime, let me know how you liked them. Have a blessed day!

New Year, New Beginnings

Happy New Year!

Ok, I know I'm a couple of weeks late, but it's been a busy start to the new year. I'm back in school and I really enjoy my classes. Lots of reading, but I'm getting used to it :) I also started doing video blogs on my Facebook page (look me up!). I'll definitely post the videos here as well. Well, I haven't really set any New Year's resolutions, but I am looking forward to what God has in store for me! This is going to be a WONDERFUL, BLESSED year! Wooooohooooo! We are going to see a new president in office. Thank you, President Bush, for leading our country for the past eight years! I think I'll miss him in office :) I am glad that we are going to experience a major historic time very soon. I'll get to tell my grandchildren, "Yes, I remember when our first black president took office". For my parents, it was seeing the first man walk on the moon, but for our generation it's seeing Obama as president. Well, I am excited to see where God takes me this year and know that He knows what He's doing :)

Have a blessed day, and a blessed year!

Christmas Time!

It's that time of year again! Wow, the year just breezes by, but I'm so glad that God gives us this wonderful time to celebrate. We should celebrate Christ's birth ALL year long and always remember the sacrifice that He made for us. How special does that make us feel? That God gave his one and only Son to die on the cross for us that we may live? Wooooooo! God loves us sooooo much! Sometimes, we get so wrapped in presents and whose party we are going to, but we should always remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season. So as we approach Christmas, we need to just take time to thank God for our blessings! I pray that you all have a safe and blessed Christmas! Have a blessed day!