So, HI, I was just chilling at my computer, and decided maybe it was time for a little updation. You may have noticed the title of this particular blog entry...it has relevance in my everyday life. Today was the day my no-more-than-one-person-in-the-car rule ended, 9 hearty months of car trains and parental chauffers is over, and I couldn't be happier. Then, as I thought through all of this excitement, I paralled to something much cooler....

"because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." -Romans 8:2 

...see how cool that is? You know, Jesus dying to set us free!

He is one very, very cool guy...to say the least.

I feel pretty alert right now, despite the later hour. I am definately a night owl, stay-up-late-sleep-in-late kind of person. Although, this summer has been more of a stay-up-late-get-up-early kind of summer, I don't mind too much, because it's easy to sneak midday naps...yay.

This weekend was nice. I spent the majority of it with David and at work. I'm really glad that he is able to come home on some weekends, so I can see/hang out with him, but I'm also excited to write to him at camp. Yay for letters at camp!! Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to see him again until Lifest, but that is okay--not too far away.

Yesterday was okay--because of my sister working everyday in DePere, my dad working all day everyday, and my mom working all day on certain weekdays--transportation is a sensative subject. It's been working out really nice though, because I would rather bike/walk/rollerblade places anyways, but yesterday it was constantly anticipated-rain. So I kept asking myself if I should go or not, and could never really decide because I didn't know if it would actually rain or not. So I stayed home most of the day and played guitar, which I like. A lot. But it was just weird being inside all day.

Today's weather definately made up for yesterday's...it was sunny, clear blue skies, with those white whispy clouds, MY FAVORITE. On top of that, it wasn't steaming hot either, but the wind gave a natural air-conditioned feel. I loved it, I could put in it a bottle and save it for every single day ever. So, Anna and I met up around 8:30 for a run, which was very good, because I haven't talked to her much all summer, and the weather and everything--good time. We ended up going to Fitness America after, and lifting weights and I just showed her a bunch of machines and stuff. It was a good time, then I rushed home and got ready to deliver meals-on-wheels with my mom.

Meals-on-wheels makes me happy and sad at the same time. Sometimes I think that my spiritual gift revolves around caring for the elderly, because I love them, but I don't really know how to go about using it. Anyways, today...I helped deliver meals to the elderly with my mom. One incident that really yanks on my heart was a man who had a very cute little dog. I went in, delivered his meal, and asked him what kind of dog he had. He was more than excited to explain this dog to me, and what was a casual question soon became a longer conversation. I didn't want to leave, but I had to deliver more meals by a certain time. He seemed like such a nice, nice old man, and lonely, as if no one had talked to him in a long time. I don't ever want anyone to be lonely ever. ever ever ever.

That was a good time, quality time with my mom and brother. I still want to do more the community, especially the elderly. I need to get on that. I think I'll be starting at Franciscan Assisted-Living Home this Friday. If anyone is interested in coming with me, just let me know.

After I got done with that, I came home and remembered I was tentatively to do something with Jake. So I called him up, and we decided to do a sneak-attack with water balloons on Ryan. Only problem was---we didn't have any water balloons...however, we did have bikes! First stop: Save-a-lot. No balloons..no suprise? Next, Piggly Wiggly--No balloons again. Finally, Walgreens--yes, balloons. We got the good not-really-water balloons kind so they would be bigger. And they were. We filled up a bunch. Then we called Ryan and used our funny skills to set Ryan up. I told him I wanted to play tennis (which, I actually did want to, but it was more part of the plan.) and so we played tennis in the street while Jake snuck around the back with the balloons for the sneak-attack. It would have worked, but somehow Jason filled up a bucket of water, which threw off Jake, and Ryan somehow got away dry. So did I. All the water balloons were used. This seems confusing, and it is...but it was a fun time anyways. I went home and washed the car after that, to make up for the lack-of-wet. Then, I had vball (yay) which was nice, but I realized that I need to work hard because I haven't played in a long time. You'll have that.

I was home for a bit then, before I picked up Nikki...then we went to Lindsey's house and jumped on her trampoline. Man, those things are FUN! We went to Snobiz then, and met up with Anna, Abby, Kevin, and Pete (yes, the latter 2 have graduated) and that was fun talking with them for a bit. Then we went back to Lindsey's and jumped on the trampoline some more. Did I mention those things are so fun? It was very nice to have some girl talk with those two ladies tonight, awww, so fun. Having God in my life, and having friends that have God in their life make EVERYTHING wonderful, I tell ya.

Tomorrow brings more exciting things...maybe they will be written about later!

Lifest is 15 short days away! I'm very excited to hear a certain band play and be up in the front row skanking it up with an awesome girl (fellow healthy-groupie?). If you want to go down there together with me, that would be excellent...just let me know! I leave for Castaway Camp (PLEASE WRITE TO ME!!

Lauren Kwaterski

Young Life Castaway Club

51709 County Hwy 31

Detroit Lakes, MN 56501) in 5 days!

I want to hang out with Ashley Beck very soon!

Keep having an excellent summer...
Lauren

 

IMPACT was last night, the first one of the summer. it was nice really, the only thing i really missed was the worship music, because i absolutely love that, but we kind of did a different thing. everyone was able to choose one of three sessions to go to for a smaller-group type thing. i went to a cool discussion lead by pastor ben, where everyone just kind a discussed a few issues that were brought to the table. i gathered a lot of new information, and kathy taught nikki and i something very useful.

will picked me up and brought me to IMPACT, which was really nice because he and i really don't hang out as much as we probably should. he's one of my only friends left from sjms, and i cherish his friendship a lot. he taught me a very cool song on guitar after IMPACT. that was a good time, and he even let me drive his car almost all the way to my house (shhhhh.)

i visited more people at the new Copps Food Center again yesterday. those cool people included alex leahy, stan, and jake fuller. yay for them! tomorrow i might just have to go there again and visit miss lindsey higgins.

oh yeah! i went and watched my brother's tennis meet, that took up the majority of the afternoon. it's always nice to watch some quality tennis.

other than those exciting things, my day was basically the same as everyday. christina and i have been really good about running, which is fun, and i really am enjoying the time we have to run and talk.

i just read ashley's blog, as i patiently await her arrival back to appleton (hopefully with the ball!!) PS KELLI RECIEVED THE BALL TODAY! YAY!!! that news absolutely made my day. anyways, after reading ashley's blog, i've realized that i do not know the difference between further and farther. honestly, what is it?

all the days of the summer so far have been fun, but i'm still waiting to see what God has in store for me, really. they all seem so normal, and i really want God to use me in a way...i'll keep you posted.

ahh, today. i'll keep it short. i got up really late, went on a bike ride with sonja, which was really nice to talk with her, went to work, then played tennis with matt. some how, he beat me (but it's not over yet!) it was the most unlazy i've ever seen matt! believe it or not kids, he was running all over the place. i think the funniest part was when i took a whole game by simply talking about save-a-lot. matt was serving, i started to talk about save-a-lot. he must have gotten really distracted and just kept on serving really bad. that store rocks my world.

i was thinking, if i want to send cotton candy to a person in the mail, would it melt in the summer heat so that they would end up with a bag of [sick, melted] sugar instead? let me know on that one, i'd appreciate it!

tomorrow is friday, the week seemed pretty quick! then comes the weekend (which i can't wait for. it's hard to hang out with somebody for 10 days straight, and then not see them at all...so i am very excited.)

the slow summer has also given me beaucoup time to practice instruments! i hope that continues

i hope everyone's summer is going wonderfully..
lo

"we were meant to live for so much more..." -switchfoot

i woke up early again today to the sound of my lovely alarm, so i could cut the lawn. my parents have this really cool "summer system" going that i am very down with. they leave a list of chores/jobs to do in the morning, i quickly and thoroughly get them done and i am able to do whatever i please for the rest of the day. so, i mowed the lawn, cut some flowers, and vacuumed the garage, and i was free!

i'm very sorry about my lack-of-updatedness, i have been quite the busy girl.

today, i feel, pretty much marked the "commencer" of my summer. (non-french speakers: start). The weather was gorgeous, and i ended up doing some really summer-y things. the day started off great; christina and i did our normal run, backwards again, and then i went home and slept some more. nikki popped over around 2 with a couple of colorful balls that we sent in the mail to ashley and kelli (more about that later!!...sooo funny.) then i played some basketball with jess, christina, and linds, and we talked some. i love those girls, and i am very much looking forward to spending more time with them as summer progresses. i had a guitar lesson, so i went to the post office and then there. then there was a young life camp meeting that i attended, which was very fun, and encompassed a big surprise!

lately, i've been really enthralled with random items you can send in the mail....ie beach balls, frisbees, flip flops. today i sent 2 beach-ish balls in the mail, and you know what the best part was? they are light. much to my surprise, the mail system goes by weight. this is a silly system, i think, because beach-ish balls are by no means small, but are cheap to send because of their light weight!picture this: 5'2", brown haired girl carrying 2 20-24inch diameter balls into the post office. just for the record kids, there is only one way to carry to large balls: one under each arm. i looked like a goon, but i didn't care, i was excited by the whole thing. i waited patiently in line, and then, of course, it was my turn, and i mosied up to the counter with balls-in-arms only to be commented to by the cockiest mail person on the face of this earth. he says, "those are some nice balls you have there." i, not very amused by his joke, smile warmly and reply, "i know." what a weirdo! lol, glad he could get some entertainment out of his job. then, after several tries of balancing the balls on the weight scale, found that it was very cheap to send such an awesome mail item! this kind of thing really makes my day. hooray for the post office. i can't wait until the girls get them!

then, as forementioned, the girls came over, first nikki. (ps. kudos to nikki for buying the beach-ish balls, i heart that girl. nikki also did a very cool thing today, so, anyone who reads this should head over to the AAL trail right now, and check out some special spiritual messages.) i am laughing to myself now thinking of part of our conversation that involved the advantages and disadvantages of driving in the summer...hahaha. ps. everyone should visit LINDSEY AT COPPS FOOD CENTER on friday 10-4, or just stop in another day and see if she is working. i know i will...

i haven't really been around much to write in here, because i've been spending a lot of time with david. he left for camp today. the last ten days with him have been such a blast. it was sad to know that he was actually going, and that he's gone for the [majority] of the summer. i feel kind of sad today, however, i'm really glad to know that he is having a wonderful time at his favorite place!

yesterday, i spent the day with david, grace, and matt. grace is one of my new favorite people--she lives out of town, and i met her through matt. she's very cool, and i look forward to the time i get to spend with her (lifest!!)

the young life meeting tonight made me really excited for camp in a couple of weeks (i'll be gone from the 27th of june until the 3rd of july) however, you all have a fantastic opportunity to write to me. there are no excuses...here is the address:

other people you may feel like writing to could include dan parks or justin coenen (this was the big surprise of the night!) i feel really excited for camp, like i said, but also nervous because i don't really know any girls going and that makes me kind of scared. i really hope that i get to know many people though, because i think God is using this as an opportunity to share His Word and Message to people, and that really really excites me. i don't even feel like i'm going to camp for me as much as i am going to camp for God. if writing to me is a feat, prayers would also be just as appreciated!

tomorrow should be another fun day. the weather is supposed to be gorgeous again, and i think we are heading to jenny's pool. i also can't wait for our summer girls bible study to get rolling, since we are going to be following a very good book, Authentic Beauty and that is very cool. and and and...if you are around from 7-9pm tomorrow night, you should go to frank's pizza palace, and see the leftovers because dan parks plays bass in that band. there is also some very cool guitar stuff going on because mr. parks is excellent on guitar as well as dan's youth pastor! so go kids, you'll be glad you did.

i can't wait for more summer events to occur, getting more and more into God's Word, and seeing more people. call me really, and we can hang out...i would absolutely love to!

sorry about the obsurd length of the blog, it's because of my lack-of-updation recently. however, i plan on a more consistant updating plan from now on, and yes, they will be shorter because i won't be covering a weeks worth of stuff!

have yourself a wonderful....and and and Live for Jesus.

Lauren

Have a wonderful night!

Actually kids, I am going to try to keep up with this for the summer. I've decided to re-start my journaling in light of the next few months. It will be a lot easier to keep up with you all this way, and you can comment here (even if you are not a member!!!) so we can keep in touch. yay.

Summer vacation is only a few short breaths away, and I'm all mixed-feelings about it. I am definately looking forward to the good times and I am looking, surprisingly a lot, forward to volunteering this summer. This sounds weird--but I love the elderly! Not only will hanging out with them be fun, but in the final years of their lives, I think it's important for them to have someone to talk to, and I'm really looking forward to those conversations. Also, when I head over to Pilgrim's Cafe Library to return my almost-overdue books, I'm going to ask if they need volunteers as well. I'm really feeling like I need to spend time absorbing knowledge this summer, since I probably didn't devote enough time to learning more about the bible, and God, and especially comparing Catholicism and born-again Christianity this school year. Knowing that I have a lot of time this summer to do that, and then volunteering at a Christian library--is there a better combination? I think not!

Yesterday, Nikki got a puppy. It's adorable. If it wasn't hers, I'd take it home with me. Although, if my family decides to get a dog, our dogs can be friends, and we can go and hang out at the dog park and such.

Also, last night I was able to hang out with Ashley and Nikki. That was fun because I love those girls. I missed Dave's party on Saturday night, because I went to the Griffin's house instead, and then crashed because I didn't feel so good.

Friday night was Bandemonium at North, and that was a really good time because all good bands played this year...including one of my favorites: Johnny Okay. Also, Oak Switch Division made their debut, and that is always fun to see your friends up there making music.

Today was the parade, and I thought it was a good time. Amazingly, the rain seemed to seize in that hour long time slot that we were outside rhythmically walking and playing our patriotic tune. I was surprised when David showed up there, since I didn't think he was going to be home, and I wasn't expecting to see him at all this weekend. He's leaving for camp in a couple weeks, which is so awesome for him, because he loves it there. I'm excited for him to come back and tell me all about the things he's learned, and just see all the spiritual growth. On a side note, though, I'm sad he's going to be away for so long. That's life.

Until next time...

Lo