Jesus, Draw Me Close

Jesus, draw me close,
Closer, Lord, to You.
Let the world around me fade away.
Jesus, draw me close;
Closer, Lord, to You.
For I desire to worship and obey.

~Rick Founds

The longest night

The saying goes, "The darkest hour is just before dawn." And Psalms 30:5 promises that "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Lord, when is morning coming? I feel like I've been in a month of night. I've never been plagued by such persistent feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. I've never felt so continuously lonely.
Did I make a mistake in accepting this position? Am I being tested, refined? Will I be pure gold when this is over? Or am I being chastised for stepping outside Your Will for my life? Lord, I'm here for at least a year. I can't take a year of night. A month has been almost more than I can handle.
Lord, I feel an absence of hope and joy in my life. I can't bring myself to believe that that is what You would have for me. How can I be a light if there is no light in me? If I am in such despair, where is my faith? If I don't have faith, how can I please You?
Lord, increase my faith. I am not sufficient for the task ahead. But Your grace is sufficient for me, for Your strength is made perfect in my weakness.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
~Romans 5:1-5 (NKJV)

68 out of 145

IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE HAVE YOU....

Level 1
( ) smoked a cigarette.
( ) smoked a cigar
( ) smoked weed
( ) kissed a member of the same sex
(x) drank alcohol

so far: 1

Level 2
(x) been in love
( ) been dumped
( ) shoplifted-including when you were little
( ) been fired (twice)
( ) been in a fist fight

SO FAR: 2


Level 3
( ) snuck out of a parent's house
(x) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) been arrested
( ) made out with a stranger
( ) gone out on a blind date

SO FAR: 3


Level 4
(x) had a crush on an older person 3 or more years older
(x) skipped school/class
( ) slept with a co-worker
( ) seen someone/something die

SO FAR: 5

Level 5
( ) had/have a crush on one of ur MYSPACE friends
( ) been to Paris
( ) been to Spain
(x) been on a plane
( ) thrown up from drinking

SO FAR: 6


Level 6
(x) eaten Sushi
( ) been snowboarding
( ) met someone BECAUSE of myspace
( ) been mosh pitting

SO FAR: 7

Level 7
( ) been in an abusive relationship (verbal)
(x) taken pain killers
( ) love someone right now
(x) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
(x) made a snow angel

SO FAR: 10

Level 8
(x) had/been to a tea party
(x) flown a kite
(x) built a sand castle
(x) gone puddle jumping
(x) played dress up

SO FAR: 15


Level 9
(x) jumped into a pile of leaves
(x) gone sledding (In Florida, the one time it snowed, we had to pull each
other around on a homemade sled because there were no hills to slide down)
(x) cheated while playing a game
(x) been lonely
(x) fallen asleep at work/school

SO FAR: 20


Level 10
( ) used a fake/someone else's ID
(x) watched the sunset
(x) felt an earthquake (It was more of a jolt than a quake)
( ) killed a snake.

SO FAR: 22


Level 11
(x) been tickled
( ) been robbed/vandalized
( ) robbed someone
(x) been misunderstood
( ) pet a reindeer

SO FAR: 24


Level 12
(x)won a contest
( )been suspended from school
(x) had detention
( ) been in a car/motorcycle accident (two car accidents)

SO FAR: 26

Level 13
( ) had/have braces
(x) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
(x) had deja vu
( ) danced in the moonlight

SO FAR: 28


Level 14
(x) hated the way you look
( ) witnessed a crime
( ) pole danced
(x) questioned your heart
( ) been "obsessed" with post-it notes

SO FAR: 30

Level 15
(x) squished barefoot through the mud
(x) been lost (too many times to count)
(x) been to the opposite side of the world
(x) swam in the ocean
(x) felt like you were dying

SO FAR: 35

Level 16
(x) cried yourself to sleep
(x) played cops and robbers!
(x) recently colored with crayons/colored pencils/markers
(x) sang karaoke
(x) paid for a meal with only coins

SO FAR: 40

Level 17
(x) done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(x) made prank phone calls
(x) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( ) kissed in the rain

SO FAR: 43

Level 18
( )written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) been kissed under a mistletoe
( ) watched the sun set with someone you care/cared about.
(x) blown bubbles
( ) made a bonfire on the beach

SO FAR: 44

Level 19
( ) crashed a party
(x) have traveled more than 5 days with a car/bus full of people
(x) gone rollerskating/blading
(x) had a wish come true
( ) humped a monkey

SO FAR: 47


Level 20
(x) worn pearls (of the faux variety)
( ) jumped off a cliff or a bridge
( ) screamed "penis"
( ) swam with dolphins

SO FAR: 48


Level 22
( ) got your tongue stuck to a pole/freezer/ice cube.
( ) kissed a fish
(x) worn the opposite sexes clothes
(x) sat on a roof top

SO FAR: 50


Level 23
(x) screamed at the top of your lungs
( ) done/attempted a one-handed cartwheel
( ) talked on the phone for more than 6 hours
(x) stayed up all night

SO FAR: 52

Level 24
( ) picked and ate an apple right off the tree
(x) climbed a tree
(x) had/been in a tree house
(x) scared to watch scary movies alone

SO FAR: 55

Level 25
( ) believed in ghosts
( ) have/had more then 30 pairs of shoes
( )gone streaking
( ) been in jail/visit

SO FAR: 55

Level 26
( ) played chicken
( ) been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on
( ) been told you're cute/hot by a complete stranger
(x) broken a bone
(x) been easily amused

SO FAR: 57

Level 27
( )caught a fish/crab then ate it
( ) made a ........ video.
(x) caught a butterfly
(x) laughed so hard you cried
(x)cried so hard you laughed

SO FAR: 60

Level 28
( ) mooned/flashed someone
(x) had someone moon/flash you
( ) cheated on a test
(x) forgotten someone's name
(x) slept naked
(x) French braided someones hair/or tried
( ) gone skinny dippin in a pool/lake/hottub
( ) been kicked out of your house

SO FAR: 64

Level 30
(x) Rode a roller coaster
( ) went scuba-diving/snorkeling
(x) had a cavity
( ) blackmailed someone
( ) been black mailed

SO FAR: 66

Level 31
( ) Been used
(x) fell going up the stairs
( ) licked a beetle
(x) bitten someone
( ) licked someone

SO FAR: 68

Just what kind of American English do I speak?

Your Linguistic Profile:

55% General American English

25% Dixie

15% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

This was interesting to me because no one can ever guess where I'm from when they hear me speak. People have guessed everything from "Up North" (being from the South, that's pretty much the polite way of saying, "You're a Yankee, aren't ya?) and "Somewhere in the Midwest" (which doesn't bear out, according to this survey) to, more specifically, Ohio (which my Dad is from, so that's not so far fetched) and Utah (this one from a trucker from Utah). The most bizarre guess was, "Are you're parents from England?" No one ever guesses that I'm from a small town in North Florida where everyone talks country.
I think this survey was actually fairly accurate in its own limited way. Most of my vocabulary falls in the "general" range, so it makes it more difficult to place me. I did, however, grow up in the South and have never made a conscious effort to hide it, but I speak enough Yankee to throw people off. (Also, I refuse to refer to Sodas as Cokes, because I just may get a Coke and I detest any Cola flavor. It may seem odd to those not from the South, but this will quickly identify you as "not from around here.")

My Mexican Name

Your Mexican Name Is...

Doña Olademis

What's Your Mexican Name?