The Kindness of a Stranger.

This post is dedicated to the kind ole' gentleman that helped this city girl change a tire. 

      After today,  I can no longer say "Never have I ever.." been stranded road side due to a obnoxious tire. . .or if you want to get technical a nail that lodged itself into the side-strip of my tire. I had just finished my last shift of the holiday weekend at the good ole' Depot and was headed back for a relaxing saturday afternoon at my friends home (since it is Thanksgiving break after all!!!) and all of a sudden, well -you can imagine my surprise as a few cars rolled up beside me mouthing words and pointing anxiously at my back wheel. It was only after I pulled over in a neighborhood that probably isn't the safest place to be stranded in alone; that I did the only thing a single girl thinks to do when she has car trouble. . .
Called my daddy (who I might add is over 500 miles away and does not have a personal jet at his disposal... but I called anyway). I may or may not have teared up a little bit but hey, being on your own has some scary moments. Needless to say it was about this time the gentleman.. named George walked up to my car and asked if I needed help.
I had a decision to make. I could trust this guy and have immediate help, or wait 3 hours and call AAA like I'd been planning to do.
     I must have looked pretty nervous (after all I'd seen my far share of CSI , NCIS, and all the informative TV shows now a days) because the gentleman called me on it said that It was okay - he told me he had a daughter about my age and he'd want someone to offer to help her if she was ever in my situation. So I decided if worst came to worst I had pepper spray.
     I popped my trunk and within 30 minutes he had the "Donut" spare on and I knew a little bit more about this kind fellow. I eventually got home with daylight to spare and now the next thing on my to-do list is make a stop at the tire shop to get a new tire.
    I will probably never see that kind ole' gentleman or his wife again, but I am sure grateful for the kindness of that stranger. I made it through that seemingly impossible situation - I got home safe and sound, learned some new tire lingo, and have one more story to tell my kids someday. After all 'tis the season to count your blessings and today was just another gift that showed me what Gods goodness looks like.
Have a good one Guys!
- Jac

Walking Zombies

     It’s a bitter cold day here in the South today. Believe it or not, it is possible for the temperature to suddenly drop below 30 degrees. Although I must say, the reaction of southerners to snow. . . I mean Sleet - is unbelievably enthusiastic and very entertaining to watch.

     Today is a day when all the college kids go running to their local coffee shops or if they desire coffee but want to avoid the chatter - pick up their favorite drink & head to the cozy nook in Barnes and Noble. At least that’s what I did.
     A girl can only take so much psych, and after reading a grand total of 5 pages (at least I finished a section) I decided to take a study break.  The grand thing about book stores is that there are ALL kinds of interesting books to look at. . .
Books on Philosophy. . .

. . . are right next to books on Dieting & other random psychology books. . .

. . .and then a few shelves down are books on new age, Wicca, myths and fantasy, history and Christianity. 

     So I’m walking around, after a crazy last couple of days, which have basically been consumed with my own schedule; and I have one thought. ONE Random thought. That blows my mind.There are probably 500 books in that section alone… each by a different person. 

I know -  you are probably thinking, "Duh! Where do you think books come from"----I know. I'm not THAT blonde.  
     It is the concept that each book represents the thoughts that fill up the heads of individuals who write them. Questions and concepts that plague the closet poet, the world evangelist, the mother turned fiction writer, the university professor, the world renowned doctor, the Graduate student of historical studies. . . and here I was concerned about not failing an exam. Where are my priorities? talk about pushing matters of LIFE AND DEATH to the back of my to do list. I became a little overwhelmed. 
     I like looking at things differently and recently I've been asking God to show me people differently. God never disappoints and over the last few weeks, I've realized that I love stories - especially PEOPLES stories, what makes them the way they are. In a society of individualism - I LOVE to listen (So, yeah - I might be that person eavesdropping on your conversation in the corner - but only because I'm curious of how you VIEW life) and the more I LOOK and LISTEN to see people as who they are, the more I see souls searching. WALKING ZOMBIES. Individuals looking for life who 'don't endure sound teaching, but with itching ears, accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and who have turned away from listening to truth and wandered off into myths' (2 Tim 4:3-4) and the more broken I become. I may have been standing in a bookstore but as I stood there surrounded by classic novels of past and present; I found myself reorganizing my priority list and aching for individuals in need of THE truth (John 4:16). 
     Next time you pick up a book - weather a textbook or a old classic think of the person who wrote it, I guarantee It will change your perspective a little bit. 
Until next time.
- J

  

1-800-DESPERATE

LADIES AND GENTS.

Guess what! I survived another week; and if you are reading this. . . Well, that means you did to! So, CONGRATULATIONS are in order! 

Lets be honest the real reason you opened this page is because you saw the word DESPERATE. (I would have too) let me explain a little bit. First off, Formal is one of the bigger events here at CIU. Everyone gets all dressed up, takes pictures, and heads to some fancy location where they eat and dance the night away.

UNFORTUNATELY its when the issue of "having a date" comes up that all the drama starts. (mostly with girls.. because well.... We like to get emotional) Recently I myself, have been convicted of how easy it is to place my identity in the fact that I may or may not have a date, but I am working on that. Nobody is perfect and this is the time when taking every thought captive really matters. 

So, to add some HUMOR to a iceberg situation Our FRIDAY VIDEO is on how NOT TO get a date... Haha!! 

I wish you could see all the BLOOPERS that came about during this shoot because Hannah (http://diaryofamissionarykid.wordpress.com) can pull off a Fabulous ditzy character. Plus, now i know what I would sound like as a Dude.... or a chipmunk... we might have experimented. But by now you've read enough... (you're probobly thinking, Gee. What is this a textbook?) I know, I know. 

Sooooooo....

LAUGH ALOT, feel free to share with all your friends and ENJOY the latest episode of "THE HANNAH & JACQUELINE SHOW"...

Thanks for watching!!! 

- Jacqueline

Oh SNAP!

I don't know if you know this about me, but I have A LOVE FOR MUSIC. All kinds, I can listen to pretty much anything. . . with the exception of Scremo (If you can - I applaud you, I usually get a headache). SOME of my favorites are listed below. . .

Acoustic pop: Matt Kearney, The Rend Collective Experiment, Tori Kelly, Andrew Allen - Loving you tonight, (a new favorite) Taylor Thrash, Andy Grammar, the Workday release, Lorde - royals is my favorite though, Jason Reeves, Phillip Phillips, Tyler Ward, and He is We. 

Pop rock and R&B: Pink, Katy Perry, Imagine Dragons, NEEDTOBREATHE, one republic, Bastille, Avicii, Tristan Prettyman, Bruno mars, Jason Mraz, one direction, OneRepublic, Taylor swift, Christina Aguilera, Demi Lovato, Passenger, Gavin Degraw... and SO MANY MORE!

Rap: Eminem, Benjiah, Trip Lee, Lecrae - Don't waste your life,  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, KJ-52, pitbull, T-pain, Lil Wayne - How to love is my favorite, Grits... and more... 

...Then there is 

Country: Carrie underwood, Florida Georgia line, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Jake owen, Zac Brown band, Hunter Hayes, Kelli Pickler... the list could go on forever. . . and I haven't even mentioned my favorite worship bands!  

I say all of that to say. . .

 THE COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS were on tonight!
I have to say Carrie underwood and Brad Paisley were FANTASTIC hosts! 20 minutes into the ceremony I was impressed with their sarcastic and playful humor on rough events to address and their more than creative introductions - Particularly The Duck dynasty intro, that one was defiantly my favorite! All I kept thinking was OHHHHHHHHSNAP!! 
Not just about the show as a whole (which I really Loved), but more or less because as I sat their watching performance after performance - listening to lyric after lyric I began to see just how much these songs represented our culture.

How we think, what we value, why we do what we do. . . and It breaks my heart. 
This Is my country, these are my people, and they are lost. The only world they know is unsatisfying, filled to the brim with double standards, empty, self-centered, its all about what makes you happy. There is a bigger word than individualism that can be used to define our culture - Existentialism. . . and I would go as far as to say Epicureanism. Christianity might be the face. . . but the HEART of this country is a mix of those two.
So, how do I react when I know truth. When I know there is something bigger and more satisfying than MY PLEASURE to live for? How do I approach a world (friends, neighbors, strangers) that believe WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU IS RIGHT.

2nd Corinthians 4:1-6 says  "Therefore, by having this ministry by the mercy of GOD, WE DO NOT LOSE HEART... In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbeleivers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the Glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as servants for jesus's sake. For God who said,'let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light  of the knowledge of the glory of God". 

The answer. . .Be encouraged. Pray, trust, & as soon as possible act. Act as a light in a dark, dark place. 

- Jacqueline 

When life gives you props, make a video.

Hello there friends! :)

It is a beautiful Saturday morning, the birds are chirping, and I have another VIDEO to share with you! 

Getting out of class a few minutes early and a closet full of unique props not to far away can get people in touch with their dramatic side!

So Enjoy the latest episode of "The Hannah and Jacqueline Show" (Hannah from http://diaryofamissionarykid.wordpress.com )  when you need a break from whatever your Saturday to-do-list looks like.

Thanks for watching... I hope you laughed as much as I did! :) 

Peace out! 

- Jacqueline