Life,love, and other Mysteries

Beg for you to move

2008-03-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Not really wanting to go into to much detail for that is not the purpose of this blog right now...but more so to show how I'm feeling and these words by Shane and Shane off their new c.d. pretty much sums it up.

Here I am
One more day of not
Loving Him the way He asks
In fact my heart is singing praises to the things
that make me feel alright

So I’m sinking fast like a stone heart should
And on the way down
I’ve done what I could
To try and try to turn this stone to flesh

I’m haunted by my God
Who has the right to ask me
What by the nature of my rebellion
I cannot give.

So I beg for you to move
I beg for you to move
I beg for you to break through

So here I am
Got my deeds for the day
All my cute little words about
How I am saved
Am I saved?

Could I love you with my mouth like a church kid should
At the end of the day
My words get burned as wood
Oh, but I was good.

I’m haunted by my God
Who has the right to ask me
What by the nature of my rebellion
I cannot give.

These songs are noise
In your ears
A clanging drum
You want my love

[Beg Lyrics on
http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

I'm continually haunted by the verse in Romans 7:24 " what a wretched man I am! Who will save me from this life of death?!"

Praise be to Christ Jesus who is working this wretchedness out of me. He was pierced for my iniquity and the pain that I feel is minuscule compared to the pain and price He paid for me.

Another year has come and gone

2008-02-11T18:56:00.001-08:00

It's official I am now 27 years old! Wow! I have really enjoyed this last year and stand in amazement of God's grace, sovereignty, and leading in my life. Not only could I have never guessed I'd be where I am today but I would have never thought my life would be so rich with experiences and significant relationships I've made along the way. I am humbled to be called God's child and blessed beyond all measure at His goodness in my life.

As a way to celebrate this oncoming of another year myself and some friends decided a day trip to Chicago was in need. I'll post some pictures down below...

It was a great day full of friends, laughter and new memories. I can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday.

The group at Rob's sisters house...the ultra cute little one is Rob's niece

Rob's other ultra cute niece

A shot of Chicago

The group

One of the biggest burgers Rob had ever tried to eat! But man they were soooo good!

Me and Brit Brit!

Wow how things change

2008-02-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

As I reflect back on this last year I can't help but to be amazed at how God has orchestrated and changed the scenery of my life. This time last year I was still waiting the arrival of my niece, my grandfather had just passed away, I was working full time, and lets not even mention how many relationship changes have progressed! All of these realizations seemed to hit hard Sunday night while I was sitting with my youth group kids watching the Super bowl. I couldn't help but smile at how fast and complete the change has been. I am so blessed to be where I am right now. I have an incredible group of friends, an amazing church family, awesome youth group kids, a beautiful and supportive family, two new jobs, and an incredible school in which I get to learn at. But to top it all off I have a renewed sense of God's presence and activity in my life. What more could a girl want?! All I can say is I am enjoying the second half of my twenties a lot more than my first half...although I don't want to leave my twenties (yes I have few more years until then) I have to trust that my thirties will be just as good, if not better.

Well I am completely procrastinating on my paper...one more page to go...so I better get back to it.

Blessings to you all!

My Babies...

2008-02-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

So here is some fun that we had at the Museum....

Hello

2008-01-30T18:28:00.000-08:00

I do not fully remember the last time I blogged...so perhaps it is time to blog again :).

Second semester is back in swing and I am loving it! I love being around like minded individuals where we can bounce idea's off of one another-what a great place to be.

I am going to start training again for the Riverbank run...eeekkk! But this time I have a different motivation...

Let's see what else-
My babies aka my niece and nephew are getting so big! Abigail is almost a year and Samuel is 3 already-seriously where does time go!!!

For my birthday in nearly 2 weeks I have decided to go to Chicago with some friends I'm totally looking forward to it and am praying the weather holds for our day trip.

Well not much else to say....

Until next time.

You know it's been a while when you have completely forgotten your password

2007-11-14T17:57:00.000-08:00

I'm not dead (or at least I don't think I am)

Life is actually going great. School is not only amazing but also a lot more work than I realized (even thought I was warned). I am realizing how incredibly blessed I am to have amazing friends, a great church family, and an opportunity to go to Africa this summer. Yeah I'm totally excited about this new opportunity, it sounds like it is right up my alley. I'd be working with a team of counselors/psychologists counseling orphaned children with HIV and AIDS in Kenya. I am praying about it and seeking more information...so if you wanna join me in praying, that would be great.

Other than that life is moving faster than ever before and I know I won't have an opportunity to blog again until Christmas break...I have 3 10 page papers, a huge presentation, and 2 exams to work towards, ohh and a ton of reading. :)

Well I hope all is well for you my friends! See you on the other side my first semester :)

Good byes and the final weekend of freedom...

2007-08-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

I hate good byes and sometimes I even hate Hello's. Because sometimes that Hello is only for a short time and you wish you wouldn't have to say good bye. Well tis the season of everyone leaving (some for the first time and others for yet another year of schooling, sigh.) So as I sit here on a Friday night blogging (what an exciting life I lead :) ) I recount the many memories that I have enjoyed this summer.

-So lets do a summer recap

-Lloyd and Kristina got married! One of the best weddings I have ever been to! :)
-At the wedding I met a great guy, Mr. Stephen Lovell, whom I adore. We danced and danced and danced...as well as had a great conversation. You never know who you will meet..but I am really glad that I've met Stephen.
-Lots of great volleyball games every Sunday evening after church (some nights the trash talking got to be pretty funny coming from a bunch of non-volleyball players.)
-The two bible studies I attended taught me a lot and continued to show me new and forgotten characteristics of God.
-bonfire at Andy's where we played "I've never..."
-The numerous Starbucks (Sevenbucks) runs with Karrie this summer! :)
-Going with Rob for the first time to DownTown Trini's (my favorite Mexican restaurant)
-Going with Stephen to my ALL TIME FAVORITE restaurant Marie Cattrib's! :)
-Chicago Mission Trip with Beaverdam CRC and my church...I'll give you the 401 on that ;)
-Let's not forget going on Superman with Glenda! Six Flags was great (but not as much fun as Cedar Point)
-Eating Kringle for the first time
-Seeing Zacher preach
-Knee boarding at dad's
-Seeing the Tigers play for the first time (even if they did lose,it was fun)
-Seeing Steve preach
-Driving to Detroit to pick up Karrie and having fun catching up and hearing about her mission's trip
-Hearing the words come out of my nephew's mouth "Ummm...I don't think so." I'm still laughing about that one!
-Having "ah ha moments"
-dog sitting for dog's that could get picked off by a hawk, no joke!
-Killing 4 exotic fish opppss....
-Spending time with my family
-Going to the drive in movie theater
-seeing Levi come home
-playing scrabble with Levi and Rachel...I still hold to the word Doxen Rach!
-Attending Ebiri's open house and being so proud of him and his accomplishment!
-Last but not least truly enjoying my summer. It is sad that it's over but I am thankful that the Lord has blessed me with it and now I am looking forward to a great semester. Speaking of which I can't even tell you how much reading I have to do. Yes I know I signed up for this but HOLY COW...good thing I like to read :)

So to sum it up, as summer comes to a close for me I am thankful for the people I have been able to meet, connect with, and grow closer to.

Keep pushing ahead

2007-08-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

It suddenly dawned on me tonight that perhaps I have been holding onto certain area's of my life to tight. Yes I have been praying and striving to trust in God, but then I thought to myself why am I wanting X,X, and X to happen, when I have a great life here and now. I need to focus on the things I have right in front of me instead of wishing I could be somewhere else in life. What I have is dear and a blessing from the Lord, so no need to look behind me anymore, I'm going to push ahead and look for the ways that God is working around me so that I may re-align myself with Him and become more sanctified in Him. All of life is a journey and this part of my journey is requiring something a bit more unique than most...but I'm willing to do it.

Goals revisted....

2007-06-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Because I love to mark things off of my list of things to do, I'm going to proceed to mark off the goals I've accomplished thus far, this summer:

Ran to my grandma's this past weekend and it felt GREAT!!!! It was the farthest I've run since the RiverBank Run. So on one hand it was disheartening to see that I've lost 8 miles but still encouraging to see that I can still do 7 ( I could have done more, but didn't think it wise, and I was out of water).

I got a job!!!! I start on Friday at Pier One on Alpine, so please stop by and visit me as I love to see friendly faces.

I'm making plans to see at least 2 Tigers Games, one with family and one with friends, so that should be fun!

I'm going to Detroit in July and going to my favorite restaurant there. Good times!!!

Ohh and I'm going on a Mission's Trip to Chicago in two weeks!!! Crazy, but I'm excited. I hold such a dear spot in my heart for Roosevelt CRC in Chicago and I'm really looking forward to going back and also joining up forces with Beaverdam CRC.

Those are the things I have done thus far. God has blessed me soooo much this summer and I am really excited to see what he has coming up for the month of July, and then for the month of August :).

Summer will be over before I know it...so I am going to keep on enjoying it, but for now I have a couple of bible study lessons I need to work on.

Keep the Faith!

This that and the other thing...

2007-06-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

I've had many people ask me how the job hunt is going, so here is my official statement "It is still in hot pursuit". The Lord is good and faithful because I have been able to pay my bills and not worry much.

But more importantly my goals for this summer alone :)
I love marking off things I've done..it makes me feel so accomplished :)

Goals for this summer:
Tigers Game
Cedar Point
Shaving off at least 2 minutes on my running
Making my first pie with my grandma (mmm...no one makes pies like Grandma!)
Running to Grandma and Grandpa's at least once this summer (it is only 7 miles)
I guess acquiring a job :)
Read through the entire bible
Go to J.Alexanders (one of my favorite restaurants, located in Detroit)
Take a road trip...to anywhere...
Go to the beach
Go put put golfing
Ride the go-carts (or should I say school someone on the go-carts...oh that's right I am the queen of the go-carts :) )
Last but not least...Enjoy every minute of my last summer of freedom :)

Well should probably get off to bed....gotta get up to clean my dad's office again..OHHH the HORROR stories (no kidding!) Perhaps I could write about that next.
Peace out Yo!

So you would think....

2007-05-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

So you would think that I would have all of this free time to spend on the internet updating my blog and keeping you all posted on the day to day fun of just being me....well it has been pretty apparent that that isn't the case :).

So what have I been doing you may ask-nothing and everything, is that possible! Well sure :), after all this is my blog.

I've applied at so many places I can't even begin to name them all, but to no avail. I'm not discouraged, God has provided for me just when I needed a little bit of help...He is so good!

Let's see what else is new...OHHH I'm back home with my mom. Home being the thriving Metropolice of Kent City. I am still putting my new home together but it will all fall into place soon, of that I am sure. I must say it is a little odd to be home again.

This past weekend was a blast...moving home, a wedding, a bonfire, and great chats with many people, ohh and DANCING! I kicked off my shoes and let the good times roll...it was awesome! I swear it must have been since high school that I've danced that long. One cute story from the wedding. Was the fact that I "adopted" a little girl. It was Lloyd's neice, actually, and she was standing in the midst of the dance floor looking lost so I picked her up and danced with her. But after a while she got a bit heavy so we sat down and blew bubbles, which was way fun. I never got her name but she was glued to me for most of the evening, until she went home. She was ultra cute...I have a pix, but can't upload them yet...I'll do that later.

Well Peace out YO!

Riverbank Run 07

2007-05-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a fantastic day for a run...mid 50's, no chance of rain, and no wind, perfect!
I slept about 3 and a half hours the night before the race, I just couldn't get settled in. But all of this to say it was fantastic! The scenery was incredible, the encouragement I received along the way was amazing, and I will be doing this run again next year, Lord willing.

Well that was the last thing on my list of posted things to do...looks like a new list needs to be made. :) I'm thinking Cedar Point, Tigers Game, Whitecaps, a good tan, among other things. I have another run in the fall that I'm going to stay in training for, but at the moment I am taking a little break. Only one or two days and then I'll ease back into it...I would like to do a five miler this weekend, so we'll see. Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement, it meant the world to me.

And as a little reward for those of you who encouraged and cheered me on here is me finishing the race with my family yelling in sheer excitement.

More to come...perhaps raising my Ebeneezer's (thanks Cal for the idea) or something else fun. Ohh the life of the unemployed, praise the Lord for His daily provisions!

Go to this link to see me finish my race-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkeFi3KQhyI

Breaking up is hard to do...

2007-04-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so maybe we didn't break up but we did agree that we would still be friends....you may be wondering what in the world is she talking about. Well Friday was D-day, the final farewell at the radio station, the last hooray, etc. All week I had people saying "Do you really want to leave?" "Have you really thought this through ?" "We don't want you to leave." All of which I replied, yes I've thought this through and yes I know what I'm doing and I do not want to leave you either but it isn't as though we can't be friends still (realizing that it will become increasingly more difficult as time goes on) but all of this to say, I laughed, I cried, and I will always remember the radio station with a deep love and admiration in my heart.

Ohhh and I have pictures :)
Let's start the day...the first picture is of me and JB, he was just getting back from training and I totally needed a picture of us with his uniform on! :)

JB wanted a picture of him being "mean" but anyone who knows JB knows he isn't really mean, in fact he is known as the "nice" guy, but here is his "mean" face.

The next one is of me and Sierra, she is one of my bestest friends at the station. :)

This one is of me and Donnie...or as Donnie calls me Hani :)

The last one is a group shot...none of them really turned out well, so I'm choosing the least evil one that was taken...

To sum up the day it was bittersweet...

Some of my Favorite People

2007-04-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

I love my youth group girls!!!

Here is a cute picture of some of our group....

(L to R)
Sarah, Kelsey, me, Kristin, and Pam

My first true running injury

2007-04-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

I was thinking that I would start a separate blog about my running adventures....boring for all of you, but a good look into the crazy world of runners(if I can call myself one of THOSE people ;)).
Needless to say I must share the joy with you that, it is now official, I am apart of the injured runners club. *as she thinks to herself* I wonder if they have a support group for this...." Hi my name is Hannah and I have an injury. It's been 2 days since I've been able to run and I'm starting to get the shakes." Ok maybe not but whatever....
I don't think it is anything more than a few pulled muscles, but it is forcing me off of my foot for at least one more day. So my two best friends right now are ice and ibuprofen, ahh the good life.

But it was all worth, 13 miles baby! Rock ON!

Just for fun

2007-04-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since I've had just a straight up picture blog so this is it.....

My mom this past Friday was Honored for 15 years of incredible service at Grant Christian School. For those of you who don't know, she teaches First and Second Grade, and is by far one of the best teachers I've seen. No I'm not saying that because I'm bias, I really believe it. :)

I got my little man a really cute Easter cookie and of course I had to take a picture of him with it! He is so cheesy! :)

And another one of him...he was hilarious, only because I wanted him to pose for this pix and he reallly wanted his cookie...so this is him inching the cookie towards his mouth...he almost got it that time. I'm sooo mean....

And of course me and Abigail...although she is looking a little wigged out by the flash of light...I perhaps was taking a lot of pictures before this one...but I'll never tell. ;)

Well that's all I got for now...more to come later I'm sure.

Peace out yo!

Weather

2007-04-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

I hate snow, or at least snow in mid April! JB and I were talking about our mutual hatred of the snow today after we got back from a coffee/cookie run. We both decided we need to move out of snow infested Michigan. Although I think I have a better chance of getting out of Michigan before him. :) So I'm thinking either Nashville or Cali...two of my favorite places. :)

Hopefully this weather isn't still here when I run my Half Marathon in two weeks. That would really bite!

I looked so goofy

2007-04-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

So in my possession I have some pix's of me from high school, I looked soooo dorky, hold the comments...needless to say it is good to travel down memory lane. I would say I'd post those, but that really isn't appealing to me.

All I will say is, is that I will never have short hair again! Man a living...so not hot!

Procrastination

2007-04-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

Definition of Procrastination-according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is "to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done" or in other words something that Hannah is exceptionally good at. Take for instance right now, I should be writing my paper but instead I'm writing a post on procrastinating. I rationalize this though by saying I have 2 more days before Easter (which I refuse to do any homework on Easter, not when my whole family is going to be together!) Another rationalization is that I have a half day of work tomorrow and then on Saturday the only thing on my plate is running 12 miles, so I have plenty of time to nail it out. So I'm not "worried", but I do need to get it done sooner rather than later because my proof reader, aka my mom, hates having to proof it so close to deadline (how she every ended up with a kid like me she'll never understand.) :) Ok ok...enough procrastinating...I've convicted myself to get to work.

Peace out ya'll!

Only in Michigan

2007-04-04T06:08:00.000-07:00

Only in Michigan can it be muggy and 70 degrees one day and then 30 with snow the next. So bizarre.

Ahhhhh...

2007-04-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

I just keep thinking...this time next week I'll be done with my 15 page paper...as I sit here printing off 100's of pages of journal jazz. But I can't complain to much, after all I did sign up for this (although the thought of dropping the class did pass through my mind, but I'm sticking to it and it helps to get an A on the first paper :))

I will say I'm glad it is Spring Break for my high schoolers, because that means I have some more free time to write my paper as well as a half day of work on Friday to finish it off. I'm really thankful the Lord has given me this light week of responsibilities now I can get this paper done well.

Well I'm sure when I reach a point of sheer boredom I'll write again... :)

Ohh and I can't forget to say I did 11 miles and it wasn't horrible. In fact I think I like running long distances better than the short ones. Sick, perhaps, but I think it pushes me more and requires more from me...I guess I like the abuse.

Peace out Ya'll!

Shamrock Shuffle

2007-03-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

***Listening to a new Michael Buble song called Everything, it is fantastic!***
Ok on to the race....
This was incredibly difficult for me, yes only five miles, but still incredibly difficult.
It was 70 degree's, sunny, and gorgeous, perfect weather for running. My spirits were high, I had cute new running gear on, and a good mental attitude, just what is needed for a successful race.

When the race started Britt and I were together, but at mile two I knew it wasn't looking good, I was thirsty and nearing a point of dehydration, seeing I'd been there once before, I already knew the signs. Now you would have thought I would have learned my lesson the first time, but apparently not! I had part of my fuel pack, but I decided to leave the most important part, the water, back at my car. I was told there were water stations on the course, and there were, but only one. I made it there, took some Gatorade, went further up and took some water, breathed deeply to relax the cramping, and lost Britt...

I was feeling better though now that I had some liquid refreshment in me, I was bee bopping along enjoying the view of 30,000 runners all in route when it hit. My side (where I normally cramp) took me like a wave. I thought push through, just push through, I started to cough, and then knew something worse was going to happen if I didn't walk for a little bit. So I stopped my pace and immediately felt defeated, walked a few feet and then picked up my pace again. Still doing my deep breathing I continued to look for the next water station. Along the way I gave myself markers to keep me going, rounded the corner and saw Mile Marker 4, not much longer. Still no water station, and my body was screaming at me for some liquid. At this point I was beyond heated, with a side cramp, and also additional cramping in my lower abdominal...I had to stop, this was not worth killing myself over. I walked a few more feet and then tackled the last hill, rounded the corner and off in the distance I saw the Finish Line. I pushed as hard as my body would let me, until I crossed that ever illusive finish line.

My time ended up being a lot better than I thought it would be, it was 56.53. Although I still feel slightly defeated and dissappointed in myself I learned a lot. As Britt and I debriefed the race we found several reasons why I cramped, and I'll fix those so I can be ready for the next race. Speaking of which I'm thinking of going to go to Nashville for it. It is only a Half Marathon and it would be a good longer distance run right before the Riverbank, but I'm still weighing that out...so we'll see.

The rest of the weekend was good as well...but this was the main event. Of course I have pictures...scroll down!

Me before entering the Expo(I'm at the lower left hand side)

Britt and I at the Expo, picking up our race packets

Britt, me, Jen, and Chris (Britt's married friends who ran with us)

Post Race...eeeewwwww

Rocking out in the middle of Colombus Street

Until Next time Ya'll!

Spring has finally Sprung!

2007-03-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Last night as I was driving home from youth group, I drove in silence enjoying the rain as it came down on my car. I love rain...thunderstorms, and especially lightening. I love when lightening cracks across the sky in such a way that it sends chills down your spine. It reminds me of God's power and of His strength! Ohh how I love rain! Some may say "I'm only happy when it rains" (can anyone name that tune?!).

One other way I know Spring is finally here, is while walking out to my car this morning I had to dodge the worms that were crawling all over, I hate to squish them, for many reasons...but mainly because they are a life and I'm not all about killing things (even if I like to shoot:)).

Ahh I love Spring...but I also love Summer, Fall, and Winter, all for different reasons of course!

Welcome to Spring Y'all!

A free Saturday...just what I needed!

2007-03-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been overly stressed, due to my over bearing schedule. But as we all know you can only handle so much stress before the damn breaks and it broke for me last week. I was sick (literally) and tired all the time, the doctor had no idea what was wrong with me, and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep everything away, but we all know that isn't the solution. :) Sometimes you just get so tired of fighting that you need to just lay it down and let someone else carry the burden or get rid of some of the burden all together, well I chose option B. I got rid of one activity that I love, nooo not running, I wouldn't give that up, but I did have to give up BSF. At this point in my life I need that extra night to focus on other things like class, my youth group girls, or just resting. So as I am about to start another week I am ready and rested, mainly because I had a great Saturday! A Saturday where I felt normal again, I didn't think about class, work, or my other various responsibilities that were waiting for me. I let it all go and just enjoyed being!

So let's start with my race! ***I know you are all dying to hear about it...based on the mass calls I received ;)****

One race down and 2 more to go...unless I can sign up for more before the RiverBank. Anyways, my time ended up being 32 mins. and 18 secs. so I was running about a 10min - 38 second mile, which isn't bad for my first race. It was a good starter race for me, and I now know the things I need to improve upon for next weekends race. Hopefully when I reach the RiverBank race I'll be able to get in the zone faster and feel right at home on the course. I of course have a picture of me before the race, not just me...but also my cousins Tammy and Brian whom ran the race "with" me. I'll have to post more pictures later when I get them from Tammy, I didn't charge my camera before, so I only got one picture...*sigh*. But one is better than none! :) After the race I met up with some friends who came and supported me. Thank you Rachel, Ebiri, Alicia, and baby Zion! :) We went to Marie Cattribs for breakfast and later on in the evening we gathered in Holland at a friends place. Everyone had fun talking, eating, and of course playing cards. Although I went through 2 partners in one game of Euchre I/we still won! :)

All in all it was a fantastic Saturday and just what the "Doctor" ordered!

Now for some pictures! :) I know I know that is the best part.

Race Day

Euchre
Rachel(Nate's girlfriend, me, Nate, Ken-euchre partner #1)

Kaleigh (Ken and Esters little girl) and I

So Rock on! Another week just ahead and I'm ready!

Goals revisted

2007-03-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

I realized today, while writing a friend, that a lot of my goals I set for myself are coming to fruition. So I decided I wanted to share how some of my goals have been going.

One of my goals was to go to California-obviously accomplished, and I liked it so much I'm going back in June.

Next goal-going on a cruise for the first time-again obviously accomplished that, although I haven't posted any pictures, I will.

The next large goal is to run the Grand Rapids RiverBank Run not the 5k, but the 25k, which equates to 15.5 miles. Prognosis on that, I'm currently up to 9 miles, which is ahead of the training schedule:), so needless to say things are moving right along. This weekend I'm going to be doing my first ever race. It is only 3.1 miles, I am not worried about it, more so nervous, not completely sure why... although it could be just nervous energy. I'll post pictures of that later this weekend hopefully.

Those were the only goals I posted on my blog in January I believe, but I obviously have other. Some I'm not comfortable sharing, just because of the personal nature of them, but one more that I am comfortable in sharing.

For those of you that know me well, you know that I am passionate about people and helping them. Well the Lord has opened the doors for me to go back to school full time come this fall, I will be pursuing my Masters in Counseling at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and I can't even tell you how excited I am for my new move. Yet another goal coming into actuality.

Well that is all for now. I'll post later some of my cruise and race day pictures later.