Still alive.

I haven't posted in forever simply because life these past couple months has been crazy. It's consisted of......

• Soccer
• School(exams and SOL's)
• My new job :)
• Church
• Younglife

And that's a long list, but it takes up all my time. 


This year soccer, going into tryouts i was striving for Varsity, i was working as hard as my body would go and pushing it to the limit to make varsity. But that's not what i got. Coach pulled me aside and told me that she thought it would be better if i played JV this season. Let me tell you i was heartbroken. All my hard work( i thought) had gone to waste. Going into JV i was just going to hate it, but i ended up loving it. It was my way to play and do what i love and also love girls with my whole heart for everyday basically all day. Could you ask for anything better?! My team and coaches basically became my sisters this year, my family. I could go to practice and be so happy or so mad and they still loved me and always made me laugh. 




School. Oh school. My GPA now is a 3.6, which i am very proud of :) i'm done with spanish FOREVER. and now i'm a junior. Where has time gone.....it feels like yesterday that it was my first day of high school and now i'm an upper class man :):) 




My new job. Back in march i applied for a job at the city pool in the concession/ attendent. And i got it :) i work basically everyday but i love it! everyday i enjoy going to work, and i just love the place. And i'm making money while doing what i enjoy, life is so so good! 




Church/ Younglife. In two weeks i leave for Saranac, New York with Younglife...AHHH! i'm so not prepared. This year i'm not going for myself, i'm going to the girls who i want to love and spend time with and hopefully impact their lives greatly. I'm so excited! 






I'll post again soon...


Hal :)

Watermarks.

Last weekend I went to Watermarks camp in Scottsville Virginia with my church youth group. I've been to watermarks every year since my 6th grade year and its the best camp ever. It's one weekend out of the year that you get away from all the craziness in your life. Let me tell you my life has been CRAZY. So when the weekend approached i knew that i was going away to see basically my other family. Watermarks always seems to come at the best times in my life.

When we got to Watermarks i knew that i would cry saturday night. But i knew that i didn't plan to. So as saturday approached we did all of our team building activities, which were amazing. The obstacle course is always the most challenging. This year it was terrible. Everything was going great and my team was cheering each other on, and being so supportive. When we reached the last obstacle everything fell apart. The obstacle was to build a "car" and get our whole team in it and ride in it. We started going and i was standing in the back when all of the sudden i fell out...and so did my team..on me....probably the most painful thing ever. But that's beside the point.

The title of this blog is Being Joyful. Every year, as i said, we cry on saturday night worship. This year i had some things on my heart, that i had cleared up before i came so i could come and be focused on my why we all came. For God. The speaker was great. Instead of crying i was so joyful. Most people sobbed, but i was the happiest person ever. The speaker made me joyful in Christ. The main thing that he talked about was getting God right now, not waiting and how to live out a relationship with him. I thought that i had it all together, until he said, God's not playing games. That's when i realized that i needed to get serious with God. Here are some quotes that our speaker said....

"If we are the same after we meet God them something is not right. "

"We think that we know ourselves until we are face to face with holiness."

"Mercy, Grace, and Forgiveness are defined by our relationship with God."

"We are struggling to live better in the world-we should live in a kingdom of God."

"God calls us to overcome. "

"Live free."

"God wants to give us peace in the middle of a storm."

I learned this weekend, that you should be joyful in christ, and that I should be living differently and people should notice that i live differently. So now i a JOYFUL. <3


Romans 15:5
-May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.





Hal.<3

Growth through struggle.

This week ,as some of you know, has been absolutely terrible. It was one of those weeks where everything went wrong, and i was hurt a lot. I won't go into detail about what happened because that's not something that needs to be put out in public. But looking back on this week i have realized it was just what i needed. Some of you may be thinking, you're crazy! But i have learned so much about myself and others this week. I've learned that i depend on people i shouldn't and tend to look past peoples flaws and love them anyways. And i've learned that the people you care about the most and think are your best friends with can hurt you. And i'm not going to lie, learning some of the lessons that i did this week were very hard to digest. I started out this week dwelling in the moment and sulking in my sadness but halfway through the week i realized i have to move on. i HAD to gain my life back. 


I feel like this week was Gods test towards me to see how much i could take. And if i would have blogged about this earlier this week it would have been all negative. I know that God does test us, and this was him( in some way that i have not figured out) testing me. He definitely tested my patience, and my trust in him overall. Looking back on this week i would not have done things differently, said anything different, because what i said and how i acted was needed to help me realize things. But i would have trusted God more and i would have gone to him instead of filling my life with stuff to keep me busy and distracted. i would have faced him and all my struggles. If i would have done  that this week could have gone a lot smoother. 

You live and learn.

I lived and learned how to live in difficulty. 

Hal.

My parents.

I love my parents.


Even though most teenagers would, i hate my parents. not me. i love mine. i'm not going to lie sometimes they annoy the crap out of me. but most of the other time, i love them.


My dad is the funny yet supportive one. he is hilarious. if you ever need a good laugh, hang out with him. because trust me, you will laugh. the way he tells stories and does things is absolutely hilarious. my dad is also very supportive. i don't think he has ever missed a concert i was in, a soccer game, or any other sport or something i am involved in. and even if i play terrible or do a terrible job he is still waiting to give me a hug afterwards and tell me how wonderful i was. it's great. i love you dad.


My mom and i are basically the same. we sometimes act the same way, and some people have even told me  that we walk the same way. she is also very funny(maybe that's why my parents love each other). my mom and i have had our rough patches, we have had fights. but in the end i always end up realizing that she was right and i should have just listened to her. but recently, or since high school, i've learned to cherish my time with her.  my mom also supports me just like dad but since she is a girl i can talk to her about my boy problems and stuff that my dad doesn't really understand i guess. my mom will listen to me, and then she gives the best advice. and i always know she is right even though i may not want to hear it. i love you mom.


that's my parents. and i know i have blogged about them before but i needed to again.

Hal.

if you really knew me.

if you really knew me you would know....

i love to laugh.

my laugh is really obnoxious.

i wear my heart on my sleeve. 

i am not from virginia.

i am chasing really hard after the lord.

i get my hopes up easily.

i tend to be let down often.

i am trying to be a leader.

i love my family.

i wish i could live in sweatpants.

i don't care what i look like.

i sleep to pass time away.

i am not boy crazy.

i am self-conscious of my feet.

i love giraffes.

i always need to vent.

i don't trust easily.

i do everything with the best of my  ability.

i don't hate anyone.

i sometimes hate my freckles.

i don't look at my self as beautiful.

i listen to music that describes my mood.

i could go without facebook.

i avoid drama at all costs.

i love listening.

i am very shy.

i have two role models in my life.

i am terrified of needles.

i am scared of ants. 

i love the color orange. 

i have many acquaintances.

i only have a few best friends.

i jam out to music at least once a day.

i am always working my butt off in school.

i get stressed easily. 

i hate disappointing people.

i tend to rush things.

i have an "excited" dance.

i don't care what people think of me.

i am always myself and nothing else.

i don't like the snow.

i wear flip-flops all year long.

i get in moods when i don't talk.

i often let things build up inside of me and then i explode.

i don't need attention.

i want to be someone's role model. 

i will be in the medical field when i am older.

if you really knew me you would there is much more to me than people think.

Hal.

Never grow up.

Your little hands wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

To you, everything's funny
You got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple

I won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
No, no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up

You're in the car on the way to the movies
And you're mortified your mom's dropping you off
At 14, there's just so much you can't do
And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots

But don't make her drop you off around the block
Remember that she's getting older, too
And don't lose the way that you dance around
In your PJs getting ready for school

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple

No one's ever burned you
Nothing's ever left you scarred
And even though you want to
Just try to never grow up

Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room
Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said
And all your little brother's favorite songs

I just realized everything I have
Is someday gonna be gone

So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It's so much colder than I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on

Wish I'd never grown up
I wish I'd never grown up

Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
Could still be little
Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
It could still be simple

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple

Won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
And even through to you want to
Please try to never grow up

Don't you ever grow up
(Never grow up)
Just never grow up

New year; fresh start.

Happy new year everyone! yayy. 

News years eve isn't my favorite time, i don't really see the point of the excitement. and i'm the type of person who has to see the point in something to enjoy it. But news years day i love :) :) it's always the day where i reflect on what has happened. some memories i wish i could erase forever, and others i wish i could go back an relive forever. i'll share a couple of those with you..

I want to go back to Fall Weekend, not to fix anything, just to be with those girls 24/7 again and be at Rockbridge(if you've been there you understand why i wanna go back). another memory i want to go back to, would be the weekend i spent with kari, katherine, and paige. those girls i have written a blog about before and i could spend every waking moment with them, and also the night i spent with my sister at college, i love spending time with her! and the last memory favorite is just spending time with my family, i love the nights where we watch movies, and jam out to music, i just love spending time with them.

Many people make new years resolutions, but for me i don't. I sound negative saying this but, i never keep them and i don't want to announce a resolution if i know that i will not keep it. so this year i'm forgetting about things that made me cry, hurt, and mad and moving forward. instead of trying to make a resolution to fix them i'm moving on and not going to back to that memory.  

So this year, i'm living in the moment, not looking to the future but dwelling in the moment. Not hoping for something, or trying to rush a relationship, but loving that relationship at the point its at.

i'm looking forward to a fresh start this year, to things that will make me laugh, to things that will make me hurt yet i know i will grow from, and to maturing in so many ways. 




So heres to a fresh start.






Hal.