A New Year

Well, once again, it's been a while since I've posted. A lot has happened since then. The main thing is ... it's a new year! We're finally in 2009 -- my high school graduation year!

2009, I believe, will bring about many new and different things. For one, we have a new president -- Barack Obama. Though many republicans don't see him as the "right one" appointed for office, I believe he is appointed. No, I don't agree with most of his policies; however, I believe that God has placed Barack Obama in the position he's currently in at the right time. We never see God's plan, but there is always a plan from Him for us to "prosper and have a hope." President Obama will make right decisions, and he will make wrong decisions. No one is perfect. Christians all around America should pray daily for not only our president, but his family, his cabinet, and the other leaders working hard to maintain the safety and well-being of this nation.

Currently, I am getting ready for show choir competition season to start. (For IMPACT's competition dates, go to www.impactshowchoir.org.) We begin competeing this Saturday in Ellisville, MS, at Jones County Junior College. We will be competing in the South Jones Invitational against many groups. Pray for us as we compete. I'm very excited about competition. It's a great time to enjoy being on stage as well as meeting other people from all around the south.

May is coming soon! I can't wait to graduate! Yes, I'll miss my friends and teachers, but I'm so glad that these last twelve years will be behind me. It's been such an experience! I'm ready to begin a new chapter of my life. :)

Well, that's all for now.

- Christian

Time Has Flown By

Well, it has been what feels like FOREVER since I have written on here. A LOT has happened since the last time I wrote on here. To sum it all up so that I don't take up an entire page, I guess I could say: school finally started, show choir fall season has come and gone (now, competition season is right around the corner), senior year is stressful/great/nerve-wracking, and, as always, I have an amazing family and some awesome friends.

Here's a little summary of what has gone on...

• August 2008:
  - School started on the 6th.
  - Alexis and I kicked off FCA with a great start. (I'm STOKED about the entire year!)
  - Cameron turned the BIG 8 on the 15th.
  - Shawn (our choreographer) came to teach the Fall Show.
  - August 29: Yes, it was the 3rd year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina; however, for me, it was the kick-off of high school football season, which sadly, didn't go too well.
  
  
• September 2008:
  - Hurricane Gustav hit on the 2nd. (We stayed ... I took pictures ... whoopdee doo.)
  - I kicked off our FCA Guy's Bible Study on Tuesday, the 9th.
  - September 29 - October 3: Homecoming Week (aka. dress-up days at school, which were lame this year)
  
  
• October 2008:
  - First 9 weeks Exams were the 8th and 9th.
  - IMPACT performed for the Excel by 5 program at Beach Park.
  - October 20-24: Jackson County Fair
  - October 31: Great day! Due to it being Halloween as well as a football game for us, we had a pep rally at which IMPACT performed Thriller. The crowd went CRAZY! It was awesome!
  
  
• November 2008:
  - November 4: Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. No, I was not able to vote this year, but I still followed all candidates' campaigns.
  - IMPACT had its annual Dinner Theater on the 11th. This year was extremely great and emotional for me. It was my last one, and not only did my grandparents who live here get to come, but my granny who lives in Alabama was able to attend! Considering it's my senior year, I think she's trying her best to be at everything she possibly can this year.
  - Shawn came to teach the Competition Show. We just finished ... tonight. He was here Friday through today. (What an awesome and fun show we have this year!)
  - Tuesday, November 18: Cameron had surgery. He had his tonsils and adenoids removed as well as cartilage from his nose, due to the deviated septum.
  

It's been crazy since July! Fortunately, I am a senior, and I can begin counting down the months until I graduate! :) Mrs. Jackson stated today that there are only 18 days left of this semester. (Thank God!).

Before I forget ... some of us students from IMPACT made a Christmas video about safe driving and submitted the video as part of the Holiday Holla contest. The video, along with 14 others, was selected as a semi-finalist video. Our job now is to go to the website and vote for the video. The top five videos with the most votes will have the chance at receiving cash prizes. If you would like to help us and vote for us, visit: www.holidayholla.com to vote. (Once you are on this site, on the left side of the screen there is a yellow box that says "vote now" -- click that. Then, select our video on the right side. Our video has the most students in it, and we're all wearing red shirts and jeans. The title of the video is "O Come All Ye Drivers / Out on the Highway," and it is by cmyrick. Click on "vote for this video" and enter a valid email address. You should be sent an email asking you to click on a link ("Confirm Vote") to confirm and submit your vote.) Thank you, in advance, for helping us make the top five!

Well, I'm stoked the November is almost over. Yes, I'm ready for Thanksgiving. I have TONS to be thankful for -- so much that I cannot even put it all on here. However, I'm so ready for Christmas ... it's my favorite!! :)

I guess I better get off of here and head to bed. I just felt like I needed to update.

Hope everyone is well!

God bless!
Christian

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Alexis and I at Praise in the Park

IMPACT performing at Excel by 5

IMPACT Seniors '09!

Dad, me, and Mom at Senior's Night
(football game - 10/31/08)

"Four in Harmony" (Zack, me, LaBrandon, and Gary)
performing at IMPACT's Dinner Theater
(11/11/08)

IMPACT Show Choir
Dinner Theater - November 11, 2008

The Past Two Weeks

Wow ... A LOT has gone on since I last posted.

First off, last week was our 2nd Annual Show Choir Summer Camp. It was a lot of fun. Even though I was REAL sore afterwards, it was extremely fun! I got to see people that I met last year, and I got to meet new people that I hadn't met the year before. It was a great experience and I cannot wait until next year! I also got a solo for the show we did at camp. My solo (or duet ... whatever ya wanna call it) was in the song "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)," from the movie Hairspray. Liz and I both had solos. It was awesome! We had tons of fun!

After that, I went to tubing with some friends Sunday. That was great! Haha ... along with being sore from camp, I also became even sorer from tubing! :) ... it was AWESOME! I had a lot of fun though. I surprised myself while I was on the tube. I didn't realize I could hold on as long as I did, especially since we were going between 30-40 mph. :) We had a lot of fun though. We were able to spend some time with our friends over there, which we haven't seen in a while.

This week ... I've been pretty lazy (well, not so much on Monday). Monday, some of the guys and me helped Laura and Emily move. Some furniture was pretty heavy, other pieces not so much. Since then, I've been hanging out with friends. I'm enjoying being able to hang out with my friends more, since it is the summer.

Today (haha), Gabe, Liz, Kaleigh, and I began playing Mario Party around 11:30 am. We stopped once for lunch and once for an ice cream sundae break. We finished around 4:30 pm. We played 50 turns! We're crazy!!! But we had SOO much fun!! :)

I love my friends! And I love my family! I have a great family!

I guess that's all for now ... just wanted to give a little update. :)

God bless!
Peace.

Today (Wednesday, June18, 2008)

Well, today was pretty great! I woke up around 11 and helped Laura and Emily move some stuff out of their house. I love them to death, and I enjoy serving them as much as I can ... they deserve it!

Then...as I said yesterday, me and some of my friends planned to play Volleyball at the beach today. Well, we did! It was a lot of fun! It was VERY HOT, but it was so much fun. After we played volleyball, a few of us went swimming for a while. That felt GREAT! Haha.

Like I said yesterday, I am so thankful to the Lord for giving me such great friends! No matter what, they are always there and always loving and caring. They are great and I couldn't ask for better! :) I hadn't seen a lot of them, so today was great to be able to see them and catch up a little bit.

Tonight, Blaire and I went to Pass Road for church. That was great as well. I love the people there so much. We have such great friends over there that we might as well call family. We've known most of them for at least eight years. They are all amazing and they all love the Lord so much, which is great!!

What I got from tonight? ...
Don't be typical! We've got to be DETERMINED not to be "typical" Christians. Be untypical and walk in radical humility! Be humble for the Lord. That doesn't mean be weak and don't do anything. Serve others! Be there! Do what Jesus would and serve! Don't be a hypocrite ... don't say one thing, but do another. Don't be one thing in church and another thing outside of church. We've got to live for the Lord everyday, in church and out! We've got be the RIGHT example of the Lord for the world!

That's what I got out of tonight, and it fired me up!! I hope it fires you up too! :)

Once again, I'm out for the night. God bless!!

- Christian

Different Things

Well, we got back from Nashville late Saturday night. It was an awesome trip. I was glad to get away and relax a while. I was also able to see my family that lives in Tennessee too. That was great! We haven't been together like that in a while. You can see pictures from that night on my last post.

Then, Sunday we had church and Father's Day. Church was great, and I really enjoyed it. I also needed it. After church, we had lunch and just sort of rested all day. Sunday night, we ate pizza, watched a movie, and just spent time as a family. Cameron and I also gave some cards and a gift to Dad for Father's Day. I must say that I have the best dad in the world. He's great! He loves his family and isn't afraid to tell that. He also loves the Lord will all of his heart and strives to reach people to the Lord! I love him and am so thankful that the Lord has blessed his life!

This Week
I've been lazy so far. I haven't done much of anything. Since I was away for almost a week in Nashville, I haven't seen my friends in a while. So...we're going to go to the beach for a few hours tomorrow to play volleyball.

As well as having the best dad in the world, I have the BEST friends in the world. My friends are amazing! They really are some of the most genuine and sincere people. They are always there when I need them, no matter what! I am so thankful to the Lord for putting them in my life!! :)

Well, I'm going to go and spend some time with my sister.

- Christian

His Amazing Creation

Yeah, I know...it's almost 4 am and I'm still awake. I'm crazy, but I guess I've sort of wanted a blog for a while, so I decided to create one. Ha!

We're in Franklin, TN this week while Dad is attending a Worship Conference (with Lindell Cooley) here in Nashville. Tonight we went to Danny and Jana's (my dad's brother) house to have a "family cookout." Our whole family was there: Granny and Bob; Jeff, Debra, and Anna Rose; Dad, Mom, Cameron, Blaire, and I; and, of course, Danny, Jana, Caleb, and Brayden. We haven't been together as a family in a while, so that was great!

As we were sitting outside after eating tonight, the boys (the dads) began to play music, of course. We all joined in and sang, if we knew the words (haha). Because I don't know THAT many songs, I wasn't able to sing a few of them. In those moments that I did not sing, I just began to look up and see the moon and stars. I also looked around at the yard and street. Then I looked at my family. The entire time I was doing this, I couldn't help but think how awesome my Father is!

The Lord is really and truly SO amazing! I sense it more and more everyday how awesome He is. I want to be better at striving for His presence daily. I want to WANT His presence daily. I NEED Him daily ... I know I do. There are days that God probably looks at me thinking, "You know better," or "Be wiser!"

It's just amazing to me to be able to look at my family and know that the Lord has blessed me with such a great family! My family is seriously awesome. They're talented, loving, and caring! I couldn't ask for anything better! :)

Well, I just thought I'd share a little of what I was feeling. I just had an amazing night and decided to share.

I'm getting tired and need to go to sleep. I'm going to lunch with my uncle tomorrow.

I'm out...
Christian

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Pictures from that night ...

Debra & Anna Rose, Granny, Danny, and DadDad singing and playing. Granny and her boys. The boys
Mom and me

Of course I HAD to catch some of the singing on video! :)
(*Notice Dad calls Jeff, "...Christian.")