Erica's Place

Thanksgiving - noun 1. The act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors 2. An expression of thanks, esp. to God. 3. A public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness. 4. A day set apart for giving thanks to God I am so thankful in so many ways, I could never tell everyone but I COULD give a few of the main reasons I am thankful 1. God - without Him I would be nothing. I still have such a long way to go, but with God with me, I can do it 2. My family - My parents have ALWAYS been there for me. They have been so supportive of every choice I've made, if it is not quite the right decision, they let me know (heheh) and it really has meant much knowing that whatever I decide to do, wherever my life leads me, my parents with be "rooting" me on. Mom always has the best advice, and although I hate to admit some of it, she is right 99% of the time. Daddy is my hero, I want someone just like him. My brothers are also so supportive of me... if ...

So, yes, I am one of *those* people that absolutely ADORES the holiday season. I have been waiting for this all year! I have been listening to Christmas music already since the first week of November. It's a wonderful feeling! Christmas never, ever gets old to me! One thing that has made me so happy this year though, is that I get to go home! I was a little unsure there for a bit. SOOO... I mainly wrote this cuz I just wanted to put up a Christmas song, :-D cuz I just love it, and because I WILL be home for Christmas! I'm dreaming tonight, of a place I love Even more than I usually do And although I know, it's a long road back I promise you I'll be home for Christmas You can count on me Please have snow and mistletoe And presents by the tree Christmas Eve will find you Where the love light gleams I'll be home for Christmas If only in my dreams

Wow.... I seriously don't know where these last three months have gone since I last posted. I have let down my reading audience! So to summarize my life in the past few months... hmmmm school, work, church, practices, and late nights! yup that's pretty much it, with a few trips thrown in there! So the main reason for me posting, is to let you know that I am going to start posting again!!! Bekki and I were talking about how she felt like she hasn't written much lately, and I haven't written AT ALL on here! I am a failure, but give me another chance! I would say I am going to post pictures, but instead, I'll give you a link of where to find my pictures! And if THAT doesn't work, I'll post pictures! LOL

Well it has been a long while since I last posted!! So I figured I had better let everyone know I am alive! It was a crazy few last weeks before we left, and a little emotional too at times... It was hard to leave, yet it wasn't! But we had a fun yard sale the Saturday before we left, then we left around 11 am (due to a few stops before we finally left town) Monday and drove STRAIGHT THROUGH to White Hall Arkansas. We arrived (like how I said that? All professional) at the Corbitt's house around 3:30 pm the next day, then had dinner with them, and spent the night and left for Congress early the next morning! I have pictures, and will put some up in the near future, but Youth Congress was such fun. We saw so many people we haven't seen in a while, including cousins! Yay for cousins! Our friends kept telling me that I was related to everyone somehow ;P. So now we are back in Arkansas for a few days then on to South Bend to spend a few days with my Aunt Carlene, then to IBC to...

SOOOOOOOO hard to do! As Thomas Kempis so well said, "All men commend patience, although few are willing to practice it." patience - noun 1. the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like. 2. an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay: to have patience with a slow learner. 3. quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care So many things that we have to be patient for, but our present world has made patience practically impossible. We have ~Fast food restaurants, because who has time to make dinner anymore? ~DRIVE THROUGHs at those same restaurants, because not only don't we have patience to make dinner, we don't have time to get out of the car and enjoy our fast food dinner ~ATMs - because who wants to wait in line at the bank (and you still have to end up waiting in line anyway) ~Drive through ATMs... even better! ...

So, as you can tell from my enthusiastic title, MY LAPTOP WORKS!!!!! That is exciting to me. It did take 2 visits from Dell, and a walk-through by phone to get it totally up and running. But thank the Lord that was all free! So, obviously without a laptop as my companion. I have had a lot more, well, let us (no I do not have a mouse in my pocket, us as in you the reader, and me the blogger)so kindly refer to it as time. Well, other than the time I spent working that is. So a lot of my time, I spent with family, and trying to get stuff done! One of the things that I noticed was, I MISS BLOGGING!!! Bekki and I were both talking about our random comments on each others' blogs that quickly became comment wars! Another thing that I noticed was, I miss reading! I used to have such a joy in reading just about anything that I could get. Yet another thing that I noticed was, I was able to get a lot more sleep than usual! The point of this??? Heehee... to waste YOUR time reading this! SOOOOO...

Well I surprised myself by wanting to post again today! Well, mainly because I really, really wanted to share this poem. Lol well, not really REALLY, but you know... IF If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat these two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of p...

Well as you see, the promised pictures are above... I don't know where to begin really, this summer has been so eventful! Either I am at church, working, sleeping, out with Bekki, or out of town!!! So many neat youth things, and I was also able to go to Ventura Camp Meeting for one night! And that Thursday I headed up to Northern California to help out at my Uncle and Aunt's church in Tracy, CA (close to San Francisco/San Jose area). It was such a fun, but draining weekend, I taught their sign team 7 songs! I know those girls probably were so glad it was over when we finished Sunday night. I had so much fun though! Then we left Monday and were home that night! And right back to work! So, my computer is in ICU right now... no signs of life... Seriously... Phillip is still trying to get it to even turn on! UGHHHHH WHY ME???? I hope that it is something that can be fixed... Because I wouldn't survive without having my own computer! Count-down has officially begun! I leave in 2...

Whoa... Everything just needs to CALM DOWN!!! As I speak/type... I am on my way back from the beach where Bekki, Sister Heather, some of her family and I spent the day! We have a stop to make and then home we go, but moving on... I don't have a computer right now and haven't been on here in a WHILE but I plan on catching up as soon as I get my computer back from the hospital (it tried to commit computericide so I had someone take it home!) but I have pictures and more!! So hopefully that will happen soon! Til then!!

Here are some pictures from weeks past! It has been an eventful summer already! There should be some more pictures coming up too!! YAY

So, no... I have not spent the last month traveling home from Indiana :) I made it home that Wednesday after graduation! It was a fun trip, and it really is good to be home, so fast forwarding through the month that I have been home, it seems as if I have been busy every weekend since I've been home! It's been fun though! BUT, I now have a job, so I'll be semi busy during the weekdays too. I still have some sorting and organizing to do to get my room somewhat back to normal... I miss my friends of course! And Nicole and Sarah so much! So I go in tomorrow (or is it today?) for orientation for my new job. I will be working at the Yucaipa Kids' Club. It is a summer program, and a summer camp of sorts. I am a recreational leader there. I enjoy working with kids so I know I will have fun! Besides that... Courtney and Olivia will both be working there! YAY! I can't wait... Oh and did I mention that I miss Nicole and Sarah? I wasn't sure ;) I have been a horrible blogg...

Well, there has been so much going on! Bekki and Mom got in Thursday, and we've just gone from party to party! Here are some pictures from the Banquet and the Graduation. It was such an emotional weekend with friends packing and leaving, and some not coming back!!! But, I leave Monday for home!

Here are some pictures from the past two weekends, I am going to miss all my friends so much! I can't believe that the end of the school year is so close!!!! Hope you enjoy the pics! I sure did lol!!!

I put this up on February 2nd of last year, and thought I would repost this cuz I LOVE this song! So here goes again! For all you single women out there! A Few Good Men 1: What we single girls could use is a willing man of God Who dares sometimes to use his brain and works without applause A man who has a decent face and patience to endure Whose love is tough and gentle a man who is secure 2: We wouldn't mind an orator who knows just what to say But then we want authority to reason him away He really needs humility to guarantee we win We just need a few good men Chorus: Men full of compassion who laugh and seldom cry Men who have maturity and won't tell little lies Men who don't like freedom and always say "Yes Ma'am" We just need a few good men 3: We don't want a derelict with many debts accrued We want the ones who have some strength, reject all the uncouth If these stringent lines you meet, we may want you as kin We just need a few good men!!

I used to be really into looking up the "did you know?"s for our youth bulletin, so I thought I would start putting some of those up randomly in my blog too lol here goes for today's "did you know?"! Did you know that most car horns honk in the key of F? Did you know in Texas that it is illegal to graffiti someone else’s cow? Did you know that Daniel 4:37 contains all the letters of the alphabet except for "q"? Did you know that the longest word in the Bible is a name, Mahershalalhashbaz (18 letters) and is found in Isaiah 8:1

I wrote this a while ago (as in years), and just ran across it again today. I figured it would be a nice break from the usual "CAPTAIN ME PLANET" that is normally posted here :). For clarification, this is a true story, many of you from back home may know exactly who I am talking about, as I changed the names. Hope you enjoy it! LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE California is a land of desolate beauty, where the lonely vegetation desperately cries out for water. The beauty of the mountains, Hollywood, casinos, the night life, the glamorous lights all have magnetism to them. However, it is an empty endurance. The beauty is only surface deep. The unfaithful friends, the teen pregnancies, the horrible reality of it all. There is no hope for the young people of this generation, until they come to the realization that they themselves have the ability to change their future. Until they finally see a light in this fake, dark world. Stephanie, an 18 year old woman, goes to a public college. Step...

Well, last night we were surprised with a little tidbit of information, that the Day Apart that had originally been planned for earlier this semester, but was cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control, was back on! FOR TODAY! So, I was up around 8:30 this morning listening to (what else) WICKED, and then headed down for breakfast a little after 9! Today was so relaxing! And it was an amazing day to be out! Not a cloud in the sky and bright and warm (I have a sunburn to prove it!). No one knew what the plans were until we met in the chapel around 10, and then headed outside. So no one really knew what to prepare for, but we had so many choices! Volleyball, Croquet, Softball, and Football. I played volleyball for awhile... a LONG while since for some reason we went into "overtime" 4 times... I finally just helped lose the game cuz I was tired of the same game! Ha! OOPS! Don't tell anyone I said that! They thought that I was distracted and missed the ball on accident...

Well.. there are very few words that I could say to describe Music Festival.... other than "Amazing, fun, exhilarating, and just plain fantastic"!!!! If you have never been to a Music Festival, I would highly suggest you go to one next year! IBC to me has one of the best Music Program's. I can honestly say that I have learned so much here, and look forward to learning more still. I have had so many great opportunities opened to me! Back to Music Fest. So, Mom and Dad flew in Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at midnight and we somehow got lost trying to get to the hotel! Bekki flew in Wednesday, we honestly had so much fun. There were concerts Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night, and classes/seminars during the days. So my parents (and both Aunts) left Saturday :( and then Bekki left yesterday.. I so can not wait to be home for the summer! I know I will miss everyone, but it is going to be a good break! Anyway, here the pictures are obviously from Music Festival, and afte...

So.... what has Erica been up to lately??? Well obviously everything BUT checking and posting her blog!!! I am a failure! Full and complete failure! So I will just run through a list really quick of some highlights from the past TWO WEEKS!!!! -There was a tent revival last weekend that my sign team had to sign for -I spent most of the week before learning Hosanna Forever (Kirk Franklin) for Tent Revival. -Last Sunday was the last "Choir Sunday" for the rest of the year -I have spent every night this week practicing with my sign team/"helping" out for music festival -I am now at Aunt Carlene's for Easter! I know there is so much more than just that... But since it has taken me forever to post I have forgotten most everything I wanted to say! I have pictures to post later, so I will add some details to that post as well... GUESS WHAT???????? Music Festival 2009 IS IN 4 DAYS!!!!! My parents fly in Tuesday night/Wednesday Morning at midnight and Bekki flies in Wedne...

So! The last time I posted I cheated by just putting up pictures from the previous post! Well, last week was Spring Break. I loved being able to sleep in! I cooked for the boys every day! It was fun, AND delicious! I was proud of myself. I worked Monday through Friday so I couldn't accept any friends offers to spend Spring Break with them, but I had fun hanging out with my brothers and friends. On Wednesday night around midnight a group of us went to Denny's just to hang out. It was entertaining, then right after I got off of work on Friday, I left with Emily Sims to head to Sullivan, IN. She and I spent the weekend at the Easton's house. Kyle (if you remember) is not only Justin's roommate, but he also plays guitar with him on IBC Praise. His sister Kara is an amazing singer, and is an alto on Praise. They gave us a "concert" while we were there. That whole family is so talented. Their parents pastor the church there, and both parents sing, and their mom play...

Wow.... a week later!!! Sorry! Here are the pictures I promised, there are not a lot, wish there were more, but there hasn't been much going on this month!

Wow... I didn't realize I hadn't blogged on here in almost two weeks! Oops! I just let time fly by between now and then! Not a lot has happened between now and then! LOL well, not a lot in my definition of the term! The last time I blogged was Saturday the 28th! I believe that was the weekend we had our IBC Connect Music Club Concert! LOL long name! So I have pictures from that, as well as from the following weekend (which would be last weekend) when we went to Indian Head, PA for an unofficial MSA trip! It was fun! Only a few of us went this time though since so many had to be out of town for various reasons. I believe there were over 100 people out of town on MSAs, and other trips last weekend. I will put up the pictures sometime soon! Don't worry. So, I have news! I now am EMPLOYED! Last week on Tuesday, I began working at American Documents. It is an office that is working on sorting and keeping track of DOCUMENTS (brilliant) for many different AMERICAN companies (heehe...

Jonah... Called of God for a purpose. Instead of turning to God for support and peace on his feelings toward Ninevah, Jonah runs from his calling. While running, he runs headlong into trouble that never would have come his way, if not for thinking his way was higher than God's So many times I feel like I am heading down the road to be a Jonah. Please don't misunderstand, I am NOT a Jonah, but I know what God requires of me (or at least I feel like I do) and then other times I wonder if He is requiring MORE of me than I first thought. As many of you know, I have my Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from California State University, San Bernardino. I could be teaching right now if I had stayed on and began my Credential program. However, there are just times (especially during services) when I wonder if that is where I am supposed to be heading. I know so many people now expect me to return to school and finish my Credential. Please don't take this wrong, but it is what I w...

SO!!! My birthday was pretty much amazing! The whole day was so much fun, I didn't really do anything out of the ordinary, it just went so so well! A bunch of us went out to Texas Roadhouse that night, and then afterwards some of us went to Starbucks! I FELT SO LOVED! Here are some pictures from Tuesday. Warning you now... this is not a normal photo shoot lol! I have hardly any normal smile pictures! Something is wrong in almost every one... But it was too fun, so I just put every single last one up! So here goes!

Thought this would be fun! LOL especially since it IS "Celebrate Me" day! LOL I made myself my own holiday!!! LOL Thought you might enjoy getting a glimpse into my past and up til now! LOL hope it brings laughs and smiles cuz it sure did for me!

I can NOT believe I haven't posted on here in two weeks!!! A LOT has happened! Well kind of but not really. I got called back for the job that I went in for about 2 weeks ago, but they haven't called me back to tell me to come in and begin work. Last week (the week before Valentine's Day) was a Valentine Madness week *hmmm cool name and I came up with that all by myself! I should copyright it!* And we had to do stuff for our secret Valentine, so I made posters for mine and hung them all up downstairs and then gave him candy and a stuffed gorilla! LOL we were supposed to find out who each Secret Valentine was on Tuesday Feb 17 (the Valentine social) but mine told me that morning instead since he wasn't going to the social. I was happy when I found out it was a friend of mine, Jermaine. So on Valentine's day, I was in Tennessee with Cheryl, Cody and Theresa, I had so much fun. We lounged around til 1 doing laundry and just relaxing then got ready by about 4 to leave ...

So this week has been so fun! Monday was Twin Day, and Theresa and I wore our Choir tops and jean skirts, and come to find out, a few other girls had the same idea! It was fun, we spent a lot of the day doing nothing because most classes were cancelled. Then Tuesday was the same way, a lot of classes were cancelled, I only had one class and Chapel, so we just hung around a lot of the day. Then Wednesday back to normal! Thursday night was the Pep Rally for our Basketball Tournament. We had a lot of fun then too! Friday was the big day! There were about 11-13 teams 3 were from Indianapolis (2 IBC teams and one Calvary team) there were so many people there. The tournament is actually still going on today, and will be for a few more games, so they should be out by about 9 tonight because they use 2 courts at once. I was torn last night because Justin is on B team and Jason is on A team so I watched Justin's first game, and then Jason's first game was at the same time as Justin'...

That was a BUSY night! Wish I could have gotten more pictures, but we were running around.... And SURPRISINGLY I didn't even have my phone for 3 hours. It was so so so much fun! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

So I meant to put these up the other day, but here are pictures from our Snow Day. They had to cancel church Wednesday night because there was so much snow and the roads weren't safe to drive. Besides, IBC parking lot STILL isn't safe to drive in! They haven't plowed it so it still has about a foot of snow in some places, and people get stuck in the snow and just leave their cars random places! It is rather funny to watch. So Wednesday I had an 8 am class, and we get there and Bro. Mooney starts talking about wanting to have class outside because it was so beautiful and it would just be fun. So he talks for a while then spends the rest of the class period getting everything together to go outside and have "class" it was so much fun! The rest of classes were cancelled for the rest of the day, so everyone just sat around and played games and hung out! So this week had been leading up to last night. We had our IBC 2009 Live Recording! It was so much fun. But due to a...

So today was so much fun!!! It started snowing slightly on Sunday and then it had pretty much melted by Monday, but it started snowing again last night, and now we are possibly getting up to a foot of snow! But, after school today, a few of us decided to go play in the snow! It was so much fun. Here are some pictures we took (plus a few thrown in randomly!)

I SO meant to put these pictures up before I left for Indy!!! SO here are pictures from New Years, some from the Acts 2:38 convention and then SURPRISE! LOL I moved into my own room! No there is nothing going wrong with my roommate (or rather former roommate) and me. But, we had room inspection yesterday and right afterwards, Sister Vonnie (our dorm supervisor) pulled me out into the hallway and told me that there was a room open right down the hallway that 2 girls never showed up to take, and that I was her first choice to take it. I told her to let me think about it, and within about 20 minutes I had talked to Breana, and then to Cheryl and Kristen, and finally told Sis. Vonnie I wanted the room. So within about an hour we had all my stuff moved into the new room!! YAY! LOL So now Breana has her own room (which she just ended up making a huge bed out of both of our beds) and I have my own room. I had to keep the other bed in this room, hence the mattress underneath, but hey, I have a...

Friend: 1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. 2. A person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have... "True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice." - Samuel Johnston "True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost." - Charles Caleb Colton "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." "Why so many quotes?" you ask??? "Why not?" I say! I could not just pick ONE out of so many that seem to represent my friendships! I have been blessed with so many wonderful friends! I am so thankful that I have friends that are always willing to be there for me and friends that I can just be myself with. I have so very many friends to talk about but the main ones that I have been missing being around lately have been Nicole, ...

So I had been planning on posting soon... I have been so busy with school that I haven't taken time to post in a few days. SO before I decide to post I check my email and realize that I am getting comments for a blog that I didn't post and didn't remember the title for... Strange LOL Then I look and I immediately begin laughing because of all people Jarron decided to post on MY blog! LOL So cousin... stick to your own blog please or I will be forced to change my password on you lol! But hey it gave me entertainment! LOL Oh and by the way I never sign my name as ERM on my blogs silly... sigh I miss my cousins!! So This week has been so fun... and COLD!!! Tuesday was the ice-skating social and I was kicking myself because I brought my camera, but I forgot the memory card! UGH! So I will try to get some pictures from friends up here for you! Classes have been so wonderful I have a really good feeling about this semester. So back to the temperature... I hadn't really rememb...

Not only is he dashingly handsome, but his intelligence supercedes the average. His winning/charming personality will sweep any beautiful girl off her feet. He is a very wise individual. And did I forget to mention DASHING??? Oh yes, very dashing. Not only is he working at this time toward achieving a bachelor’s degree in the study of Business, but also he is currently working for Starbucks Corporation and could quite possibly be a contender for the “Most Outstanding Barista” position. He also is quite debonair. Did I forget to mention dashing? In fact, a recent study showed that 9.75 beautiful girls out of 10 find him irresistible. Yes I am speaking of the one and only Jarron Brown. I’m so proud to have him as my cousin. Mere words could not begin to express my deep love and sincere adoration for this my favorite cousin of all – Jarron Dale Brown. (If you would like to meet this incredible guy, get in touch with me as soon as possible before he gets taken.) - ERM

Well today's service was so so so good. It made me think... What do I really want and expect in this year? Bekki and I were talking about commitments and committing. It seems like we let go of the things that should mean the most to us. I know that I have made a resolution to read the Bible through this year, but I didn't really COMMIT to anything else. Why is it that the MOMENT you make a decision to do something your flesh IMMEDIATELY tries to fight against you? When you say to yourself "I should fast" you become hungry! LOL That happens to me all the time! But I forget what is most important in life sometimes, my walk with God and my family. Other than that... What do I have to lose? Friends? Sure, I need those and I absolutely appreciate the ones that I do have, but where would I be without God? I wouldn't even have those same friends if it weren't for the intervention of God. He put us in each other's paths for a purpose and I am so thankful. I am not...

Wow this last week has passed so fast! I had so much fun being in California! I am blessed with such wonderful family and such amazing friends! My last night there we had some friends and family drop by and we had yummy-ness everywhere! LOL my mom made chicken spaghetti, green beans, and blueberry pie! Then Jenn brought over some brownies! It was so much fun! Yesterday morning was a little hectic. I woke up first around 7 to try something on that my mom had fixed, then I got up around 8 something to get everything together. My mom made a wonderful breakfast for us, then made us lunch to take with us. Then she took us to the airport around 10:30 (we dropped by my dad's work to say goodbye first) and our plane took off around 11:40. When we landed in Houston I honestly wanted to kiss the ground. Our flight was like a roller coaster. I came off the seat once or twice because it was bouncing so much! LOL there was much praying going on! Houston was pretty nice, we just sat around waiti...