Leaving The Salvation Army

I had been volunteering with The Salvation Army since the beginning of August up until the end of January.  Most of what I did was working in the mailing room.  I'd stuff envelopes, write signatures, add labels, do sorting, etc.  

I also got to help with Christmas stuff (Angel Tree and counting out and sorting stockings) while I was there.  But the BEST part of everything was getting to work a little on the computer doing data entry on MS Excel.   

I had always wanted to try that...  And I finally got the chance through volunteering....  All in all, I think it was a great experience to work there.  I got to gain some experience myself, I now have something to slap down on my resume, AND I helped them out all in the process.

However, recently I have decided to leave The Salvation Army because I have been offered another job working at Lavender Fields Herb Farm...  And this time, I will be getting paid for my efforts.  I figure that will also help with paying for everything involving the wedding.

It was kinda sad to be leaving them, as I've really grown to care about Ms. Bridgette (my supervisor) and Maddie (she works alongside Ms. Bridgette).  Everyone there has always been so kind to me and appreciative of my efforts.  

I hope God will continue to bless The Salvation Army, as it continues in "Doing The Most Good" for all those around them.      

A very small glimpse of what I'd been working on recently for The Salvation Army.

My last day!!!!

Farewell, my friends at The Salvation Army...  May you be blessed as you continue in your work for others....

~Courtney~

Jaime's Birthday

Recently, we celebrated my little sister's birthday.  Jaime turned 14 on January 19.  I know...  This post is a little late, right...?  Sawee!!!  DX

We had a lot of fun going to Sweet Frog for the first time.  Sweet Frog is a Christian based business that sells frozen yogurt.  Doesn't sound spectacular, right...?  But it is INCREDIBLE.

I love the coffee flavored stuff and all the chocolate-y yogurts!!!  It's actually very similar to ice cream, believe it or not.  It's just slightly flavored a little differently.

Here are a few pictures from Jaime's birthday:

Dad, Mom, Will, and Jaime at Sweet Frog!!!

That would be me...  I know I look dumb....  >.>

This was the present that I made Jaime for her birthday...

It's a sock monkey!!!  =D

My brother helped me mummify the monkey in white streamers, so this is how she found him upon opening the box....  =)

Unwrapping the monkey....

I think she liked him....  =P

Laughing!!!  =D

This was Jaime's gift from my brother.  It's a box that LOOKS like a book!!!  She actually thought it was a book before, however, upon opening it and having all the candy stuffed inside spill out onto her lap, she realized....  It's not a book!!!  It's a box!!!!  =D

Jaime with her new hat, "book", and candy....  =)

A better view of the box....

All in all, I think Jaime had a really great birthday...  And I quite enjoyed it myself!!!!  Lol!!  I actually was really excited about her opening all the presents we got her....  Especially mine.  

Actually, I chose to get her the sock monkey this year because once when I made my fiance a sock monkey (a blue one), she told me that I had to make her one before I leave (or before I get married and head to Ohio).  

And obviously, I took that very seriously...  Lol!  =P  

She was really surprised too 'cause she was actually at a friend's house when we (Mom and I) took out the sewing machine and did all that.  She had NO idea...  =D

Jaime also received a Willow Tree statue from my parents, so that was really cool as well...  Unfortunately, I don't have a picture for that....  =/

But it looks like this:

Think that's really cool...?  Check out their website for more Willow Tree statues: http://willowtree.info/products/figurines/all

I think my favorites are "Quest" and "Promise"...  =)

Anyways, Jaime had a great birthday...  Got some really cool stuff....  We all enjoyed Sweet Frog very much.  So yep.  =D

~Courtney~

My New Phone!!!! XD

Heya!!!  So guess what???  I got my first phone yesterday!!!  It's AWESOME!!!!

And now I can text and talk to Grant via my own phone...instead of using the house phone....  So that is pretty sweet.  =)

It's a Samsung Convoy 2, so yep....  Awesome...  Even comes with a music player and can take an sd card up to 32 gb.  =D

And this baby has a better camera on it than even my webcam!!!  Haha!!!  Craziness....  =P

~Quartney~

Encouragement for Struggling Believers

Isaiah 26:3-4

***You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.***


Don't trust in earthly things... Money will not control your future or what happens to you.... But Jesus is in control of all things. He is the only one you can TRULY trust in...because He has ultimate power over every situation....

When you're struggling, pray to Him... Because only He can really help you.... And He will help you to have peace in a raging storm... Those who follow and lean upon Him will never be shaken.

Though the sea is raging and the powerful ships are sinking, He will be there, calling you to walk across the powerful waves...and come to Him.... Just as He called Peter. What SEEMS impossible IS possible with God. He is mightier than you know.

Remember...He looks after all of creation.... Taking care of you is not difficult for Him. And He will look after you. Maybe things won't go exactly how you want them to, but He has a plan and a purpose for your life.


Jeremiah 29:11

***For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.***


Pray to Him for strength...and He will strengthen you.... If you are truly following after Him. You can by no means play both sides, but if He is truly your Lord (or MASTER) and Savior, then every prayer you pray reaches His ears.

Jesus is affected by your words because He really does love you and care about you. Tell Him what is in your heart, and He will hear you. Just lean on Him, and He will hold you up in your time of trouble.

Forget this world and dwell on Jesus.

~Courtney~

Crazy Dreams Last Night

I had some more weird dreams last night....

First, I dreamed we were at like a beach-like area.  It was a REALLY small beach though....and there were a few large rocks around it that the waves were hitting up against.  My family was around in the area, but I wasn't really near them.

And suddenly there was like this hurricane weather that started up.  The wind was blowing really hard and everything.  And Dad was yelling for everyone to get to shelter.  I didn't really want to 'cause I was enjoying it....but I did...

Headed for the truck, which was parked really close to the beach in the sand.  Lol!  And I just remembered....  The wind was actually blowing me across the sand as I was walking to the truck...  Like it was picking me up slightly and blowing me towards the truck.

Well, I made it to the truck, and I noticed as I was getting in that the truck was slightly tilted towards me....  But I didn't pay much mind to it and closed the door...

Then suddenly the truck started ROLLING down across the beach, and I'm like, "Okkk....what am I going to do...?"  But of course, I couldn't do anything but wait for it to stop...

Unfortunately...when it did stop again, right side up....  It ended up sliding down into the ocean, and so as I'm going underwater I'm like, "OH NO!!!  Now the pressure of the water'll build up so much that I won't be able to open the door...the water'll slowly fill in, and I'll drown to death!!!!"  D=

Then the dream ended, and I flipped into another dream.  Lol!

In my next dream, Grant was there, and I think he was on the computer or something....  So I glanced down at the date and time in the lower right hand corner...  And it said 3/10/12, so I'm like, "Oh my gosh, Grant!!!  We're supposed to be getting married in 3 days!!!"  =O

(The wedding is really supposed to be 4/13/12, but I got the numbers mixed up in my dream apparently...  So it looked like 3/10/12 instead of 4/10/12.)

So yeah...I was freaking out over that....  Lol!  =P

Annnd that's it...  The other day, I dreamed I had this caterpillar worm stuck up in my nail...and I was doing everything I could to get it out....  'Cause I knew if it was alive it would push up in there and tear my skin away from my nail...like it already had from getting shoved up too far in.  But it was dead...

There was just a whole bunch of its eggs locked up under my nail too....that I was trying to get out, so that when the hatched, they didn't eat all the skin out  from under my nail...  Yeah...scary dreams....

But caterpillars are always evil in my dreams anymore.  I hate them.  They're always like the moth caterpillars, with not much hair...and big ugly faces that wanna....who knows what.  I SO hate them in my dreams though...

I've had so many crazy bug dreams...  Like I was infested with these skin worms in one of my old dreams...and you could only get them to come out if you got REALLY hot....

So I would get under the covers in my dream, and try to get all sweaty...and they'd come out, panting....  I know...so weird....but as soon as I got out of the covers, they'd go back in me.  >.>

I must have too big of an imagination or something 'cause my dreams are practically always somewhat crazy....

Whether it's ghosts, or demons, or evil giants who try to give you stuff in order to FORCE you to stay with them...or bugs or zombies or evil torturers who particularly want to target ME (and then I gotta be the smart one and save everybody) or evil toys who also try to give you things if you'll only do their bidding...  

Grant's dreams are always so logical and normal compared to mine.

~Quartney~

Happy New Year!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!  XD

...Wait....  >.>

I mean...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  XD

Lol!  Hope it's as awesome for you, as I want it to be for me.  I'm getting married this year too, so that'll make it EXTRA special.  Hahaha!  =D

~Quartney~

Headed for Ohio

‎Grant just left for Ohio, and I miss him already.... I'm probably gonna cry tonight... Lol! But it'll be alright.... It'll just be a bit lonely without him here...

I'll have to call him every day. Told him to call me in the morning whenever he gets the chance, so... He'll probably arrive in Ohio around 7 or so.... Then he'll probably sleep for a bit... Hopefully, he'll call me sometime later.

I'm so gonna miss him like crazy...

~Courtney~

All the Tears in the World

So my fiance, Grant, is probably going to end up heading back to Ohio tomorrow.  It was originally Saturday night that he was going to head back, but since he doesn't have work, he thought tomorrow would be best, 'specially seeing as on New Years Eve there'll probably be drunks and cops flooding all the roads.

I suppose it will be safer...  Though, it still saddens me....  Almost cried in the car today, riding back from work with him...

Just been thinking about it....  For 3 months I won't even be able to hug him again...  It'll be alright though, I know.  We've been separated before anyhow, and 3 months isn't gonna kill us.

In a way, I think God might be trying to show me something through this...  I mean, it's really been reminding me of Jesus in some ways...  Not that I'm exalting Grant as though he were as great as Jesus was.

But....  It's kinda like Jesus in that...

When Jesus died, all His disciples were so sorrowful...  Like I'm going to be when Grant leaves....  But then, after 3 days, He rose again and returned to them.  Similar to how Grant is going to return to me in 3 months.

Another way it reminds me of Jesus is how Jesus told His disciples that He was going away to prepare a place for Him, but He would return to take them to Himself.

Grant's also going away to prepare a place for us after we're married....  And similar to Jesus, the Bridegroom, Grant is going to return in order to marry me...  It's like Jesus and the Church.

I really think God is trying to teach me something about Himself through this, and it's pretty amazing....  I really believe our love has been a beautiful thing...

And I'm SO glad God brought us together how He did.  Everything has been so good and worked out perfectly according to His plans.

Jesus has really done marvelous things in our lives.  I hope He continues to use us to be a light and a blessing to others.

I know that I'm going to miss Grant very much...  And there are times when I'm going to cry for him, I'm sure....

And if we miss our earthly loves that much when they're gone, how much more should we yearn to see Christ, our Lord and Savior...?

The One who loved us more than His own life.  The only perfect One, who would never do anything to hurt us, and in the end has promised to wipe away every tear from our eyes and bandage up all our wounds.

So merciful...so kind....  I can't tell you how many times I've cried to Him, and He has heard me.

I can feel His presence in my room...  I speak aloud to Him, and He answers me and comforts me.  No one has ever been there for me as much as He has, and I love Him more than anything in this world.

Sometimes I hate it when He corrects me, and I complain to Him about it....  Like, "I know, but..."  But, I know I must always submit....  Sometimes it's a little bit difficult...

Especially where it concerns other people...  But I must obey Jesus.  Even if it means giving in to things I believe are unfair.

I know I'm going off on a rabbit trail here...

Haha....  Sorry.  =)

Back to the subject.  Grant's heading back up to Ohio tomorrow.  I won't get to see him for 3 months.  Though he is getting me a phone, so I'll be able to talk to him more easily with that.

Still, I'll be incredibly depressed when he leaves...especially the first few days....  I'll try to keep my head up, but I have a feeling there'll be a lot of tears flooding my pillow at night.

Yeah...  I'll miss him something fierce, but all in all, I know it'll be alright.  God's plans are ALWAYS perfect, and I have faith that things will all work out how He wills.

Anyways, He sees more than I do and knows whats best for us and others.  Maybe Grant will be able to be a light up in Ohio.  Something that can help to lead others out of the darkness and into Christ's saving arms.  =)

And perhaps God isn't yet finished with me here.  Maybe I have a part to play in Virginia still.  Who knows...?  God's will be done in it all though, and may He bring about the most good through every situation.

Even through the destruction men bring about through their sin, God has the power to use it all to bring about good.  HE'S JUST TOO AWESOME!!!  XD

Lol!  =P

Well, I'm not even 100% sure where I'm going with this anymore, so I think I'm just gonna call it quits tonight.  Love ya all!!!!  And don't even think about denying it...  >=[

I love Jesus.  He loves everyone.  So if you're a real human being, then I love you.  So there.

~Quartney~

P.S.  I love animals too, so...  =P

Christmas.... Oooh... 8o

Christmas...  Will be over in less than ten minutes....  So enjoy the rest of it while you can.  O.o

On a quick note, you should see the pictures my sister took of Grant and I with our matching penguin pajammies!!!  AWESOME!!!!  Lol!!  =D

Don't have them on the computer yet, but I'd SO like to post them!!!  Haha...  =P

That's it for now!!!!

~Quartney~

Little Wooden Cross

Tonight I've been making a little wooden cross for my friend in Michigan, Joy.  It's gone pretty well so far.

I started out with just a slice off of a relatively small log.  Then I got some help from my fiance, Grant, in sawing down the edges to make it into a basic  cross shape.

After that I just dug it out more with the knife, rounded the edges better, and sanded it down pretty well.  I'm still not finished, but this is what it looks like so far:

Perdy sweeet....  =D

I think I'm gonna try making more of these, as well as other shapes for necklaces.  That'd be really awesome and great for gifts!!  

Grant and I are trying to make some coffee mugs for the siblings for Christmas.  They still don't know what we're making.  I think they think it's just going to be containers for us.  But nope!!!  It's for them!!!

We're taking advantage of the fact that they don't know and getting them to help out with the fire and everything.  We're using the hot embers in order to burn out the logs.  

Basically, we just drilled large holes out in the logs we cut.  Then we're starting a fire in the grill.  When some of the wood has burned really well, there's red hot embers left, which we pick up and place in the holes we cut in the wood.  

And pretty much after that, we just blow on the embers and allow it to burn the wood.  Kinda like how the Indians made canoes.  Course, we gotta replace the embers after a while.

And watch out for sparks that wanna fly up into your face!!!  I think I've gotten hit with those at least 3 times now....  2 of them landed on my nose and 1 nearly went in my eye.  Luckily, I snapped it shut in time!!!  Still hurt though....

So yep....  It's been pretty fun doing this stuff lately...  We just gotta try to get everything done in time for Christmas!!!  And try to keep it a surprise....

Well, that's it for now.

~Courtney~

This Is Just Me Saying

First one kinda messed up....  Haha!!!  =P

But uh...this one is better....  =)

~Quartney~

Introduction

Welcome to my blog!!!  (You're gonna love it here, trust me.  *wink wink*)  =D

To say a little bit about me....

My name is Courtney.  I'm an 18 year old girl following Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Currently, I'm volunteering at The Salvation Army as an administrative assistant, and I've been engaged to a guy who is 6 years older than me since my last birthday back in February.

Oddly enough, Grant and I met on a forums game some years ago when I was just turning 16 and he was turning 22.  Even odder, our birthdays just happen to be on the exact same day, Feb. 19.

We were just distant friends for a while there, but by the time my 18th birthday rolled around, he had decided it was time to ask me to marry him.  So he wrote up a cute little poem...that morning....  And somehow I didn't even catch on.

He had this whole little game idea set up.  He wrote parts of the poem on all these different note cards.  Then he had the cards all hidden in different places, and each card had a hint on how I was supposed to find the next one.

So he put me through this whole game in order to find my last "present"...in front of EVERYBODY at my party....  Even when I had acquired all the note cards and started reading the poem on the back, it wasn't until almost the last line that I realized what he was doing.

When I read all that was on the cards, he got down on one knee and finished the last line of the poem with, "Courtney, will you marry me?"

I was beaming.  My answer was a playful, "I don't know, Grant..."

Then after I had a good laugh at my own joke, I replied more seriously with, "Sure!"

I know...not your typical female who gets proposed to, but hey....  That's me!!!  =D

So that's a real quick run through of how I became engaged to the most perfect man ever.  =)

I haven't nearly told you everything there, but this post isn't about how I became engaged or who my wonderful fiance is.  It's more about who I am and where I am now, so you can kinda know a little more about me beforehand.

Anyways...  As of right now I'm looking at being separated from my fiance for 3 more months, as he's going to be moving back to Ohio with his parents.

Long story short, he moved down to Virginia on May 21st....  Yes, that's right...  The day the world was supposed to end according to some people.  It didn't, however, and I'm honestly pretty glad!!!  Haha...  =P

He was hoping he could get a good job around here, so that we could get married in April (4/13/12) and live somewhat close to my parents.  However, things haven't quite gone as planned.  He has a job currently, working with a friend who does carpentry work.  Unfortunately though, he's not making enough for any apartment around here to accept him.

Our new plan is for him to move back in with his parents, try to acquire a job there, and then in April we can get married and move up there.

No, I don't really want to leave my family and move so far away, but I feel that that may be where God is leading us.  Perhaps He wants us to be a light in the darkness.

I'm not exactly sure where He wants us; I just know that I'm supposed to go where He leads.  And this, I feel, is His leading.  Still praying about it all though.  May God's will be done in our lives.

And I'm not worried about the 3 month separation.  I sure will miss Grant a lot, but we've done this before.  And I believe our bond is even stronger now than it was then.  All we need to do is focus on what needs to get done in order for us to be prepared and talk some everyday if we can.

I'm hoping I can get a phone soon.  Yeah, I know...  Crazy I don't have one yet....  Haha...  Though, I haven't really wanted one so much until now.

So yep.  That's what's happening so far.  And I'm done with this post.  So...later!!!  =D

Not sure what I'll write next, but I've got so much in my head to write....  Honestly though, that actually kinda makes things harder for me in a way...  But, eh...  I'll figure out something.

Blogger better be nice,
~Quartney~