Savior is Here

    Today was awesome!  I really want to grow closer to God and when I went to youth group tonight He really touched my heart!  We had a special prayer time and I really wanted God to show me that he was there!  He really touched me when we started singing a song.  I don't remember what the song was called but it said something about have God all around us and being closer to him.  I started to cry and I was so happy!  It was truly amazing!  I am so thankful that my youth group is so good at bringing people closer and closer to God!  I hope all of my friends feel what I felt tonight!  Thank you youth!!!
    God loves you, me and everyone and he wants us to love him back!  Tonight I felt like I was extremely loved by God so I think these verses will relate a little:
1 Corinthians 13:
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Hope's Love Chapter 1

I am writing a book and I would like some reviews of the first chapter so here it is.  If you have read this on my blog before then I suggest you read it again because I have made some changes and tried to make it better.  I hope you enjoy and please post comments and tell me what you think.

Chapter 1 

Jacob 

    I sit back on my fuzzy purple chair thinking about
Jacob Smith. Jacob is the cutest blonde in the fifth grade.
He has brown dreamy eyes and his hair just sways to the
side so wonderfully. I have a huge crush on him. The
first day we met was in the school cafeteria when we were
ordering our lunch I accidentally tripped and fell on him.
My juice ran over his face, but he wasn’t mad. I think he
actually smiled a little.
    “Hope!” My mom calls. I don’t hear her. I am still
thinking about Jacob.
    “Hope Johnson!!” She calls again.
    I run down the stairs to my mom’s office out of breath.
“What do you need?” I ask.
    “What do you say about this?” She growls holding a slip
of paper. I walk to her desk and look at the slip. It’s my
report card. Now I understand why she is mad. I haven’t
been getting good grades in geography or math because
those are the classes that Jacob is in.
    “I guess I haven’t been getting good grades in two
subjects,” .
    Mom doesn’t take that I don’t want her to know about it. “Well, why is that?”
    “I am getting distracted a little I think,” I am hoping
that she will realize that I want to be left alone. But she
doesn’t.
    “Well then why would you be distracted?” Mom goes on.
    “It’s just stuff at school,” I am done. Mom doesn’t say a
word. So I am thinking that this is good. I go upstairs and
read.
    At 6:36, Mom calls, “Dinnertime!”
    Then she brings up the subject at the table. “Hope is
not getting good grades in math and geography,” Mom
tells Dad. When anything is said about grades at the
dinner table then that means something is serious.
    Kenzie, my little sister knows that so she perks up and
says, “Hope has a crush on Jacob Smith so she can’t
think straight about anything that she is doing,” Kenzie is
laughing.
    I am so mad at her right now that I jump up before
anyone can comment on what Kenzie said. “Shut your
mouth you little babble head!!!” I scream. I run up to my
room and jump into bed. I start crying. Why does my
sister have to be a big mouth all the time!
    The next morning I wake up. It’s 7:03! I have to be
at school at 7:45! So I jump out of bed and get dressed.
I don’t have time to sit down and eat so I just grab a
banana, gobble it up, and go.
    The school bus arrives just in time. When I get to
school, I see him, Jacob Smith. He smiles and I smile
back. He is sooo cute!
    The bell rings so I grab my bag and head for my first
subject, geography. It’s my favorite subject except that I
can’t pay attention because of Jacob.
    I try my hardest to concentrate but I can’t help it. I start
looking at him and dreaming. I dream about sitting in
Diddy’s yogurt shop eating my favorite, cookie dough, and
sharing it with Jacob.
    My dream pops right as the second bell rings.
    Finally I can pay attention until lunch. Lunch. Lunch.
At least I don’t get a bad grade for staring at Jacob at
lunch. He sits at the table behind me.
    I have English and then Science. 

    I go to lunch after class and it is amazing! I catch Jacob talking about me to his friends. I finally start my daydream up again. 

    Where was I? Oh ya! I share cookie dough with Jacob and we
start talking.
“Hey I am so glad I get to spend time with you. I have
loved you for a long time! I have not gotten the chance to
tell you so I guess now is the best chance I had, Hope,”
He says my name so softly.
    “I love you too!” I say, staring into his brown eyes thatare more dreamier than ever. I finish my dream and find
that Jacob has caught me staring at him again.
    I have PE next. I play volleyball and he plays
basketball, but today I find out that he is using the other
half of the court for his basketball because his gym is
being repainted.
    I can't concentrate at all today in PE. 

    We have math next and I am starting to learn a little bit. But when Jacob asks a question, I look at him the rest of the period.
    We have band next and I play the flute but Jacob plays
the Saxophone so we are in separate classes.
    I get home at about 3:43. Mom is looking at me, still
thinking about last night.
    “So, tell me about this Jacob guy you have a crush on.
Is he nice? Is he cute?” She asks.
    “Yes and yes. I am going to do my homework in my
room now,” I say. I didn’t even want her to know about
Jacob. Running to my room I try to think positive. At least
Mom forgot about the grades.
    When I get to my room I don’t do my homework right
away. I cant keep on thinking positive. I just start thinking
about what my sister said last night. I am still a little mad
at her.
    While I am busy thinking, Mom knocks on my door.
“May I come in?”
    She comes in before I could answer. “I once had a
crush on a boy when I was your age. He was always on
my mind. Whenever I was around him I got this jitterbug
feeling inside me. I got low grades too. He was the cutest
boy ever. But one day I realized that he was getting in the
way of my friends and my life so I had to let him go. It hurt
me but I just had to.
    “Then God showed me that he was not a good person
by showing me when he asked me for the answers for the
test. Then I found out that he liked Josie, my best friend.”
Mom said.
    Then I asked, “Did Josie like him back?”
    “No, She thought he was prideful and he was, but I
didn’t look at him on the inside. I looked on the out which
you shouldn’t do.” I pay attention to what she says.
    “Well thanks for talking with me mom,” I say, wanting
her to leave so I could think about some things. She
leaves and shut the door.
    I started to wonder. I am looking at Jacob on the inside,
right? And I know he is a good person, right? I think
about it for a little bit, then I do my homework.
    I am called down to dinner after a little.
    I thought that we were through with the grades, but I
was wrong. Dad starts, “Hope, It’s not really a boy that is
making you get those low grades in class is it? If it is then
you better move on to a different one or none at all.” Dad
jokes a lot, but this time he was not joking. Like I said,
when grades are mentioned at the table, it is serious.
    Mom answers for me, “Honey, I talked to her about it
and she is going to think about it. It’s her problem. Let’s
not get into it.” I am thanking Mom in my head because
if it weren’t for her, then it wouldn’t be the end of the
conversation.
    I love my mom. She does look like me. She has
brown hair, rosy cheeks, brown eyes, and thin lips. That
is, however, not why I like her. I like her because she
is thankful, sweet, honest, loves the Lord, and she has
taught me so many good things. There are more but I
think if I listed them all I would be out of mind-breath, if
there is a such thing.
    We eat the rest of dinner in silence.
    I go to bed and thank my mom in person for what she
said. 

    The lights are turned off and I start thinking again.
What if Jacob is getting in the way of my friends and my
life. I try to stop worrying. I have had enough thinking for
tonight.
    The next morning I wake up on time to shower, get
dressed, sit at the table and eat. I go to school.
    It’s Friday so after today I have a whole two days to rest.
    Kyra, my best friend, comes up to me. “Hope,
we need to get working on our science fair project. The
science fair is 3 months after next Friday. Have you come up with the designs?” 

    The science fair is one of the biggest things to
me and Kyra, but I haven’t been able to concentrate very
well. But just well enough to get the designs done.
    “Yes, I have them right here,” I say. I pull out the
designs. We are trying to build an ice cream machine.
We are going to call it The Icer 3000. Cool name, huh?
Kyra came up with it.
    Right as I hand the designs to her, Jacob bumps into
me. My folders drop. He bends down to help me pick
up them. “Oh, I am so very sorry. I didn’t see you there.
Clumsy me,” He says. I look into his blue sparkly eyes. I
start to say ‘It’s ok. It was an accident,’ but I am of in la
la land so I don’t say anything. I just sit there like I am a
statue. Jacob leaves.
    Kyra pulls me up and says, “Girl, that was Jacob Smith,
the guy you have a crush on, and you just sat there? You
need to be more polite.”
    Kyra always gives me advice. That is one of the
reasons she is my BFF. She was the only girl that came
up to me and was nice when we first moved down here to
Jacksonville, Louisiana. I was the new girl in 1st grade.
In 3rd grade, Jacob moved here and that is when the
cafeteria accident happened. 

    I tell Kyra all my secrets including the one time that I walked in a grocery store with my dad and then came out with a totally different man who I thought was my dad. That was scary.
    When I get back from school I see Mom first. She is
working on her computer sending emails for the picnic
next Wednesday. 

    “Hi Honey. Anything new at school?” She asks me. 

    “No. Anything new for you today?” I ask back. 

    “Actually yes something very exciting. You will find
out at the dinner table tonight!”

My iPod Touch

    






   
        

I am doing something where I have to not have sweets (only on holidays and birthdays) for a whole year and I get $150.  I started on November 8th, 2010.  After 6 months I can choose if I want $50 then and then $100 later or $150 at the end.  I chose to get $50 after 6 months.  I had worked hard by being a mommy's little helper.  That is a person who watches the kids while the mommy is in the house, I worked a lot so I had earned some money.  With the money I earned and the money I already had ended up to be $150.  I wanted an iPod touch so I went on eBay to look at some.  I bid on some refurbished ones and one day I won one!!!  Here are some funny pictures above that I made with my iPod: 

Home School in 2011

On Thursday I started home school.    I am in 6th grade, Melissa is in 4th, Mark is in 2nd, and Matthew is in kindergarten.  I think we are doing My Father's World curriculum for some of our school.  For my math I am doing Pace.  It's really fun.  Mark and Melissa are doing Horizons.  Matthew is doing Bob Jones math. They all really like their math.  My mom says maybe this year we could take a class at our church's school if my dad gets a job in Longveiw.  Can you please pray that my dad gets a job soon?  Thank you!!!   

Exactly a Year!!!

    Today, June 12th, 2011, I have been in America for exactly a year!  A year ago from today my family and I were flying into Houston, TX.  I was so excited to be home.  We met my grandparents at the airport.  We were all so excited to see them.  We had to take a car and a truck because we had brought 18 pieces of luggage. (what a lot of luggage!)  It was so fun being home.
    Since everybody had missed all of our birthdays (every one except Matthew's) we all had our birthday party close to Mathew's birthday.  I'm so glad that we came to America a year ago from today!!! 

My Soccer Team

     In February, I started playing on girl's soccer team named Phoenix.  There are 8 games that we have to play.   We have played 8 games already.  Most of the time, I play on defense , but sometimes I play midfield.  Our first game, we tied 1-1.  The second game we lost like 1-7.  The third, fourth, and fifth games we lost also.  The sixth game the other team forfeited so we kind of won.  The seventh game we actually won 2-1, but the other team only had 9 players and we had 15 players (there were 11 of our players on the field and there were all of their 9 players on the field) so their team players did not get to get to have a break during the game.  The 8th game we lost 0-4.  I love my team, and I want to play on the same team next year!!!!

Our Room is Changed!!!

      Yesterday, Mom switched around our room!  The room had Melissa's bed turned in between the bed frames and my desk was right by our door in our room, but now Mom has turned around Melissa's bed and she moved my school desk.  There are two boards by my desk and Melissa's bed.  Before Mom switched everything around, I would have to climb on Melissa's bed to tack things up, but now my desk is right in front of the board so I can tack things up easier than I could before!  I hope you like what mom did!!!

My New Shirt

For Valentines Day, my mom and dad gave me this shirt.  They gave Melissa the same shirt.  The boys got a toy, Toothless (a nightfurry from How to Train Your Dragon) from Mom and Dad.  Me and Melissa love our new shirts and the boys play little house with Toothless.  I am thankful for my mom and dad, and that they gave me this shirt!!!!

Encyclopedia Brown - Boy Detective

Today, I read the book Encyclopedia Brown - Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol.  My mom got it for me from the library.  It's my favorite book!  It is about a boy named Leroy Brown, but the kids at school usually call him Encyclopedia because he is really smart like a detective.  Usually, I start reading a book and I can quit when I want to, but, with this book, I could not put it down.  There is a case in every chapter.  I love mysteries.  I finished this in an hour and a half---my fastest time yet to complete a book!   I think it is the best book ever!

Aunt Linda's Gingerbread Houses

      I am sorry but this post came out late.  My mom's Aunt Linda makes these wonderful gingerbread houses.  She makes her own frosting and even her own gingerbread!  Aunt Linda makes two sometimes three story gingerbread houses.  She even makes the little details in the houses.  Aren't they amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Snow in Longview

Today it snowed in Longview.  I went outside to play.  I threw a snowball in the air, but most of the time, I was clearing the sidewalk with my shoe.  While I was outside, the mail lady drove by and gave us some mail and then she tried to drive off to give the mail to the other people on the street.  I dont think that she had winter tires on the mail car because there was slush on the road and she was stuck.(Mom: we don't have winter tires in the south!-hehe!)  My cousin and I watched as she tried to get unstuck from the slush.  It took a few minutes until she was free.  She drove a few feet away from where she was and then she got stuck again!  So I told my dad to come help.  He and my cousin helped push the car away.  It was so funny!!!

The Lego White House

My aunt and uncle, who live in Washington, D.C,, gave
me, Mark, Matthew, and Melissa a lego White House
for Christmas.  Melissa did the flag and she sorted the
legos in the box, but the rest, Mark and I did.
Do you like it?