Flying Pie

Yesterday I had the most wonderful experience at Flying Pie Pizzaria. It is a scrumptious pizza place locally owned and operated only in the Boise Valley. Never had I been there before, but after passing it multiple times as I drive around the city and especially after hearing the company closed down for a week and took their employees to Costa Rica I just had to try it out.
So, after a long day of thrift shopping with Rachelle and Kate we decided to go in for dinner. It was absolutely fantastic. The ambiance is quite fun, the employees crazy (in a very good way), and the pizza is absolutely delicious. Seriously, the best I've ever had.
We got a small pizza, breadsticks, and three drinks for less than $15! For five dollars a person I really can't complain about anything. It's one of those weird, eclectic restaurants that everyone loves. If you are ever in the Treasure Valley be sure to check it out! :) I'll even go with you if you need some company.

Flying Pie Website

In other news... life has been busy as per my usual. I've enjoyed a few quiet moments this weekend, but not nearly as much as when I was home, being a coach potato in Lewiston ;) The past week has been full of new and interesting classes, seeing my friends again, going to my beloved Impact, baby-sitting some of my favorite kids in the world, laughing a lot with new and older friends, watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with my campus minister and his family, staying caught up on classes, attending meetings, etc.
Tonight I am going to a leadership meeting for Impact and then journeying on to church at Calvary Chapel with my friend Chantel. Should be a lovely Sunday night.

I have a few things on my heart that I hope to develop into a post soon, time will tell if I accomplish this or not! ;)

God be with you all,
Samantha

Let Go

So life has been crazy, as you well know. But I have a feeling it's going to slow down. At least enough to where I can be on here long enough to read and comment your blogs and maybe write a few of my own. ;-)

I've been pretty down in the dumps lately (as you may have gaged from Casey's blog) and confused about a lot of aspects of life. Some, I don't really care to talk about as I'm still coming to terms with it all.

Then there is this whole summer of limbo. I'm no longer in high school... but not yet in college. I'm just here. Waiting to say good-bye to friends, praying that I will meet new friends in college. Waiting to say good-bye to my family while trying to enjoy every minute I do have with them. Trying to spend time with people that matter most, while not shunning the rest of my friends.

It's an odd and unattainable balancing act. As soon as I think I have a handle on one thing I drop something else that I'm juggling and it shatters around my feet. Then, not only am I juggling 85 different things, I also have to tip-toe around all the shattered things on the ground. I seem to be making a mess of my life. But I'm beginning to realize I just need to give it all to God, stop being such a control-freak, realize that I am His child and He will clean up my mess and help me learn my lesson if I just relinquish whatever control I think I have.

To say the least, I do believe this will be a summer of growth and change if I just open my mind and heart and soul to God. Most importantly...
I need to
LET GO.

Thursday ;)

Thursday was the end. The last day of school. The last day of high school. The last day of public schooling. The last day I wouldn't have to pay a penny for my education. The last time I would walk the halls of my beloved high school as a student. The last time I would venture into that world as a student to my teachers. From now on, during visits, I will refer to them on a first-name basis... awkward (maybe I just will always call them Mrs. Yarno, Mrs. Snider, etc. :))

I woke up, with not much anticipation. I did not feel different. I wasn't overly excited. I just was. I was happy to be done with school (although it felt like just another year under the belt.) I was excited that I didn't have any tests. I was excited for graduation practice. But other than that... life wasn't much different.
While making my breakfast I was treated to my annual end-of-year-note from my loving father. Telling me how proud my mom and he are of me. He also gave me five dollars for a coffee, what a lovely man :-)
Drove to school and floated through first hour. But then second hour arrived and by the end I was an utter mess. My second hour teacher is like my mom. I have been through a lot with her. We have fought like mother and daughter, gone to dinner like mother and daughter, laughed, cried, and shared with one another for the past three years. She gave me a bracelet that I will always cherish and I will continue to keep in touch with that lovely woman. Then, I continued on to third hour and floated through that.
After third hour was the Senior barbecue. But Rebecca and I decided to be rebels and skip out :) We went to Mandarin Pine instead and had yummy egg rolls, fried rice, chow mein, and almond chicken. Way better than burgers :D Plus, it gave us time to ponder our last day, think about the past year, and wonder about what was to come. I began the school year with her, and ended it with her, it was fitting.

Then came the ever traumatic graduation ceremony practice. First, I need to explain five things.
1.) My high school has a tradition of allowing you to walk with whomever you want instead of coming in alphabetically. You can only walk up to four people in a group.
2.) David is my best guy friend and we had planned on walking with Heather and Rebecca.
3.) Heather is not really a friend of mine anymore... but she didn't have anyone else to walk with, so we let her walk with us.
4.) Jeffrey is Rebecca's best guy friend and didn't really have anyone to walk with.
5.) I've been having problems with David lately, and on Thursday he said that if his friend Marina didn't have anyone to walk with he was going to walk with her. (Which upset me.)

So, we get to the venue and we are told to get in our groups. Everyone is pretty much standing there looking at everyone else, trying to figure out who was going to be kicked out of the group. So I made a snap decision, told David to walk with Marina and her group and then Jeff could walk with us. I instantly regretted my decision and spent the whole practice upset that I was walking with Heather who I don't even particularly care for instead of David my best friend. I am a poopy person for so many reasons. But I gave it all to God, got over myself, and was able to be happy with my group in the end.

I got my hair cut Thursday, it was nice (:
My grandparents came into town! I absolutely LOVE them. We went out to dinner. Ate at Applebee's, had a lovely time visiting and catching up.

And that was pretty much the sum of Thursday.

What I learned from that day...
1.) High school is not really the end, but merely a beginning. On the horizon are so many opportunities, so many places yet untraveled, so many lives yet to be met, so many experiences yet to be had. So, if you ask me if I'm sad, I have this to say. Not really, because I know there is so much more to come and for that I'm joyful. I can look back on my high school years, proud of my growth and happy about the friends I made, but the past is the past and I need to live in the present :)
2.) Sometimes life will not go the way *I* had planned. I need to learn to get over that. I also need to realize that my attitude and how I react to things affects the people around me, so I need to be careful, especially as a representative of Christ.
3.) I love my grandparents =)

Tra-la-la!

Hey friends :D

This past weekend was fantastic. I had a lot of fun, and the best part is I didn't even do much! Friday night I worked until 9:00 but my friend Rebecca visited me and we decided to go on a walk after work.


We passed a fire hydrant and just had to take a picture with it!! ;)

We ended up walking to a store a mile or two away from my house and then ended up calling a friend to pick us up. I had shin splits from running Wednesday night and thus was in pain. It was fun and we talked a lot about the future and college. It's good to know somebody is in the same boat as you are and is experiencing the same emotions.

Saturday I worked the morning shift and had a fantastic time. I love my job, I wish I could take it with me when I move... anyway.

I got home and did a few chores then my bestie CaseyMay came over so we could start our sleep-over fun! :D We talked a LOT, cooked dinner, set up her new and amazing blog!, went and had milkshakes, laughed a ton (so much tears came out of our eyes), had silly discussions, serious discussions, and I just felt so blessed.



These past two nights showed me what true friendships are. They don't have drama. They don't have to be drunk. They don't have to talk about things of the world. True friendships are the ones where you can pray with your best friend before bed. True friendships are taking goofy pictures. True friendships are all about discovering new things, good and bad, and loving each other just the same if not more. A true friend will laugh with you, even at random nonsense such as popping out of a cow to surprise your parents (don't ask.) And a true friend asks you how you are... hears your fears and your hurts. And listens and loves.

I'm beyond blessed for my life- my friends, ma familia, and my past, present, and future. I praise and thank God for all that I have.

Oh and most importantly... Happy Mother's Day to my amazing mother. I love you dearly!!

Oh May!

May has thus proven so far to be a CRAZY-BUSY-FANTASTIC month. And I'm assuming it will only get more crazy, more busy, and (hopefully) more fantastic (:

This past Saturday was prom. My date was my best guy friend and we doubled with my best girl friend and her best guy friend. It was fun and relaxing.

As I was dancing to the last song with David, tears welled up in my eyes. We had come so far. From playing on the playground when we were kids, to "dating" during our eighth grade year, to our first cars and first drives together (where I infamously ran the stop light), to where we are presently. We have gone through so many things together. I can't even explain the bond I have with him. And to think, it will all soon be over. I will be moving, he will be staying... and I know our friendship will have to change. It was a truly bittersweet moment of my life.

That last dance has made me realize it really is ending soon. I will soon leave the high school I've been attending for the past three years, for the last time. I will walk the halls with my friends for the last time. I will eat the cafeteria food for the last time. I will see so many of these people for the last time. And all that will begin to happen in a mere 23 days. How major is that?

And yet, despite all I'm leaving behind, God is showing me that He has so much more to offer to me as long as I keep following Him. I feel so BLESSED. Words can't describe. My past means so much to me, my present is amazing, and my future... my future is His :)

This post was intended to tell you what all I've been up to since I last blogged. But somehow... this is enough. One event and how it impacted me pretty much sums up the most major part of my life right now. I'm on a balance beam, treading water, you get the imagery... and yet... this is my life here and now. And I couldn't ask for more!

Happy April!

As I wrap up my first full month of blogging my heart is filled with peace. There is no other way to describe it. The weather, with all its ups and downs, certainly parallels my April. There were times of snow... times when I didn't think I was going to be able to get up for even one more day. There were times of rain, difficulties/struggles/nagging thoughts about school and other to-dos. And of course, my saving grace, were the sunshine days. Days where nothing got me down. No word or course of action could change the joy that I had in my heart.

It's interesting that we so much desire to be joyful all the time. We are called to "rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice" (Phil 4:4) This means that no matter what trials we may be facing, no matter what mountain we are climbing, no matter what valley we are walking through, we are called to find JOY in the Lord. Do not confuse this with happiness, for happiness is a fleeting feeling, while joy should be apart of who we are. We have been given the gift of salvation, God has a plan dear sisters! He will guide us through the hardships. He would never bring us this far to leave us. So let's rejoice. Let's dance and sing for our Father. Let's run and fly. Let us be bold. Let us DO HARD THINGS. I'm learning that when I push my doubts, insecurities, troubles, etc. to the side and focus on the people around me, or at the very least focus my attention on God, it doesn't seem all that bad. Perspective is a jewel. Figuring out what's really important, that's a diamond!
I'm learning that to be a woman of God I must be modest in so many more things than just my dress. I'm learning from you, my dear sisters, about ways to prepare for my future as a wife and mother (God willing.) You all have blessed me so much, you have no idea. Thank you for an amazing April. All of your blogs, all of your insights, all of your troubles and triumphs, they have helped me. As I've began to get to know each and every one of you I feel completely blessed to have this amazing tool, the internet. For without it, I wouldn't know any of you, not one. And some of you have become an important part to my life, so I thank you for your blogging friendship :) I thank you for your acceptance to the blog world. I thank you for your wisdom and most of all, for your prayers. You are all beautiful young women of God, and I can't wait to see where May takes all of us!!

Speaking of May... tomorrow (for me) is May 1st!! A mere hour and a half from now sparks the beginning of the National Day of Prayer. I will be praying for all of you :) I encourage you all to take the time out and pray, for five minutes or for five hours. Whatever you can manage. God calls us to prayer, it may be hard and not yet quite part of your routine, but man... is it worth it :) God is amazing my dear sisters, let us devote some of our time to Him, let us speak to Him and let us hear what He has to say back. Prayer is powerful!

I love you all and pray this post finds you in good health and spirits!!
-Samantha

Update.

Setting: A small city in Idaho. The weather is dull. Rainy. And when it isn't raining it's cloudy. And it if isn't cloudy, it's cold. Are we aware that it's April?

Characters: God, Samantha Marie, Daddy & Mommy, Casey (best friend), Rebecca (best friend), David (best friend and date to prom), Michael (friend), Jaymi (friend that doesn't live here), dream boy (I'll explain later), and work people.


Premise: An average girl, with an ABOVE-average Father. She leans on Him for all understanding (sometimes, well often, failing but He always picks her back up off the floor.) Trying to make it through her last month of high school, Samantha is going crazy. She has finals to study for, prom plans to make, family and friends that want to spend time with her, and all she desires to do is spend time in the presence of God and read and write. Senioritis at its best. Will she get those graduation announcements finished? Will prom be a super-fun night? Will work pay the bills? Will she remember to always put God first?

Conflict: She feels stressed out with all that must be accomplished. She needs to prioritize but is feeling abundantly lazy. With all that she has going on, her flesh is pulling her in the direction of this boy that has come into her place of work twice and that she has seen at his place of work one time. She has even dreamed about the boy (hence "dream boy"). She doesn't want to think about him, because he's only a distraction. (Did she mention that she doesn't even know his name?)

Resolution: Stay tuned to find out what happens!!

Life is... beautiful (:

Every day life is a bit more amazing. Every day, the gifts I unwrap become more spectacular. Every day, God is closing my eyes and opening my heart.

It's true what they say; it's better to give than to receive Today I gave one of my best friends a spiritual birthday party She's five years old in Christ. I got her balloons, a card, took her out to dinner and a movie. And it was lovely. The smile on her face was fantastic. That's the best gift I've gotten in a long time (-:
Tonight I danced with my dad to a song that was on Footloose. It was fun and there were tears in his eyes. My time here in this house is waning, I need to remember no matter how excited I am about college; I will be leaving my parents behind and that hurts them (let alone me.)

I want to dance, breathe, touch hearts, smile, laugh until I cry, move mountains, be broken, work hard, spread the love of Jesus Christ, and live life for God. My way is not of the world, but dang it, it's the best life!

Joy in the face of adversity

Are you aware that no matter how happy you are, things can (and do tend) to go wrong? It's so true...

Sunday was another perfect day. Worship at church was soooo, refreshing and moving. I am not always able to focus on worship (bad Sami) but this past Sunday, I was really into it. It felt great to worship the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. The One that should have my praise and focus at all time. Yeah, it's great when we can give Him our small offering of praise and we can rest easy knowing that He enjoys it. The sermon was about how we need to watch our words and we can either give someone life with what we say or kill them (figuratively.) It's so true and something I've been trying to work on as well, God's timing is unmatchable.

Yesterday was pretty good, fairly busy at work, but a good day all in all.

Okay, now here comes the wrong. (And my disclaimer comes now, it really isn't a bad thing at all, which is another reason why I'm bothered so much.)
So, another new thing that God has placed on my heart to work on is to stop being so selfish. Selfish of my time, selfish with my money, selfish with possessions, and selfish with people. I was sure tested today. I'm going to prom with my best friend, David. We are doubling with my other best friend, Rebecca and her best guy friend, Jeffrey. A fun group, destined to have a good time. Or so I thought.
David went to the last dance with another close friend of his, Chelsea. Apparently, she asked him if her date and she could join us for dinner. BLARG. Should this bother me? No. Does it? Yes. Why? Because it's an attack of the enemy and a test. I need to not be selfish with PEOPLE. To be honest, my flesh DOESN'T want her to intrude on our cozy little group. -Sigh- I think God is showing me I have a long way to go. And I didn't pray about it like I should have when things went down and now I kind of made a mess of the situation and stepped on toes and really made it into a bigger deal than it was. Not to mention Rebecca is upset about it too. Oh dear, we'll need God to get us out of this mess. I have prayed about it since, and will continue to do so. Why is it so hard at times?

But the good news is, I'm completely joyful :) I put my trust in God and He will give me wisdom on the situation and everything will be okay.

Hm, so yes dear friends. That's my very teenagery-sounding post. Well, I am a teenager, and I am a sinner, sometimes these things are bound to happen. It's by God's GRACE that I am saved, not by anything I did or will do. Thank the good Lord :)

With all love,
Sami

Trip Review and other randomosity.

Well, I got back from Boise two days ago. It was a WHOLE lot of fun. I love getting away from the valley and experiencing something else for awhile. Plus, in about four months I'll be living in Boise, so it was nice to get even more experience driving around there and figuring out where things are.

My lovely best friend, Rebecca, and our other close friend, Heather left about 10:00 in the morning. We listened to some good music on the way down there including a newer band, Cadia, I recommend them if you haven't yet had a chance to listen :-) We stopped in McCall for lunch and ended up in Boise about 4:30 there time. Had dinner at Red Robin that night, it was delicious. I chatted with my auntie Janice until 11:00 (we were staying at her house) and then fell dead asleep, driving really does take energy, I promise! :-)

Saturday we got up and drove to Kohl's. The girlies found a couple of things to buy, then we went to Maurice's and I found a cute shirt. Then it was on to the mall! One reason we went down there was so Heather and I could find our prom dresses, and we did!! :) Mine is an olivey green color, it's REALLY pretty. After prom (which is May 3rd) I will post a picture of all of us so you can see all three of our pretty dresses :) After shopping for about... five hours we went back to my aunt's house and watched Enchanted. Oh my goodness! I love that movie. It's such a happy, feel good movie!! We also watched The Hills. It's one of Rebecca's favorite shows. It completely SHOCKS me how they live their life. We were having conversations through-out the whole series about how they look so unhappy, even when they are smiling. I think praying for them would be a good thing for me to do... I can't be the one to tell them about the love of Christ, but I CAN be someone that prays that someone will tell them.

Sunday we went to the church I might end up going to when I move. It's Calvary Chapel and it's pretty big (at least for a girl whose biggest church service has been 250 some people) I'm really praying hard about going to the church that God wants me to be, I've never had a church home and would love to have one while at college. The rest of the day we spent chatting, watching movies, and doing homework. (Yes, the evil teachers gave us homework! How rude ;) hehe!) We have so many weird random inside jokes. I love that! We took some really goofy pictures and I just may post a few once I get them uploaded!

Monday we did even MORE shopping. First we went downtown and I drove them past BSU's campus and then we found a parking spot and did a whole lot of window shopping. Shops downtown are EX-PEN-SIVE! We ended up going back to the mall so we could find matching graduation shoes and found the perfect pair for all three of us at JC Penney's :) They are white, with a small heel, very cute. Now the three of us will have matching shoes and lei's! I'm very excited for graduation!

Tuesday we came home and I was exhausted by the time I crawled into my very own bed. I'm so thankful we got to go and that God kept us safe the whole time. That drive can be pretty dangerous, plus it was in the lower 30s all while we were down there and so the roads were questionable, but our Father took care of us :) I started to get sick AGAIN, but I slept a lot and I feel completely better today, I think I was just fatigued.

Went back to work last night. It was actually not too bad. I was thinking I would dread it the whole day and then have a bad attitude, but I spent time in prayer and praise and God changed my attitude to one of Jesus :) I love how going to God with our problems can make things... better, not perfect, but He just fills us up with His love and we can continue facing everything. It's truly refreshing. Prayer is so powerful, I'm learning that more and more. Work was interesting in that the person who stole still hasn't been caught so we all have our privileges taken away, it makes the job kind of difficult. I just gotta keep praying for resolution and for the person who did it.

Sorry if you read that whole entry. It was kind of more for my memory than anything else, but if you did read this whole thing then thank you for your time! :-) Now tell me, how have you all been?!!