Florida: Part 4: Victorious Victory Party

As you can deduct, by God's grace our candidate won the election! I don't think any of us could stop smiling after Rick Scott himself announced he won the election. I always wondered what it was like to be in one of the places where there is confetti after the announcement. It was cool. 

 Rick Scott encouraging us all!

It was an extremely close race.

 First set of triplets I've met! They were so awesome! 

By the end of the trip, I think I was able to keep them fairly straight...

 Our van + team leader! 

 Our van sitting in front of the super neat horse fountain. It was late, and we were all tired, as you can see...

Rick Scott announcing his victory! The confetti came about 30 seconds later.

 "Well done, partner."

 I'm not quite sure...

 Victory party smiles and silliness!

How many people can you fit into a selfie?

Final farewell of Florida. 

We didn't get to bed until around 1 or 2 that night, and had to get up at 4 for our flight...When we gathered to head out, I know I at least had to repeat my sentences two or three times before they made any sense...It was rather hilarious how tired those of us who had an early flight looked at the airport. I can just imagine how it must have looked: 10 or so teenagers, draped across chairs, staring vacantly into space. 

And so, this concludes the long documentation of my trip to Ft. Myers, Florida. It was a grand trip, loaded with growing experiences and fun times. So thankful for the opportunity!

Christmas Hustle and Bustle: Setting My Lens Straight

I was so excited when I finished wrapping the last gift today, then I realized I wouldn't be shopping anymore, and I became a bit depressed. I love buying things for people...Oh well. 

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparation and work, I know many of us struggle with focusing on the real Reason for the season. 

In truth, nothing really matters except Christ and celebrating Him coming to earth so that we might come to Him. All because He loves us. Us, who are sinners, separated from God because of our depravity. Us, who were once in darkness, totally against Christ, focused on ourselves. It's so amazing that God would love us so much that He would send His one and only Son to save us. 

Colossians 1:9-23, "For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

      13For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

      15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

      21And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister."

I am continually in awe of the fact that Christ saves us when we call on His name, forgives us when we repent, and shows His grace every day. 

Ephesians 1:1-9, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

This Christmas season, let's remember that family gatherings, gifts, and food are blessings, but not the focus of Christmas. Remember the focus is Christ, Christ who is fully God and fully man, Christ coming to earth as a helpless baby, born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life on earth, knowing we would crucify Him, and yet still showing His grace...Man, as I'm typing, I keep wanting to add more and more passages of Scripture! I keep thinking of Philippians 3, John 3:16, and other verses of which I don't know the reference. I'll close with these:

Isaiah 6:9, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." 

Matthew 1:20-23, "But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.21'She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.' 22Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23“BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.'"

Florida: Let's Keep Working! Part 3

...And so we come to Election Day! We phone-banked tirelessly, blitzed through neighborhoods, and, by God's grace, met with victory (spoiler for final post)! 

Last day of campaigning, hitting the phones hard.

Adorable little owls we saw between dropping door-knockers off.

 When it gets intense you gotta have your orange juice!

 Tallying up our final day of door-knocking!

On Election Day, Rick Scott came by the campaigning office with his wife and a Texas (?) governor (the gentleman talking) ; it was so neat to meet Rick Scott in person! I also think the guy in the black suit looks like a legit, slightly creepy security dude.

 Even though we have a Five Guys in my city, I had never gone...Since there's a first time for everything, why not have it in Florida?

And so, this concludes the campaigning craziness; final post to follow documenting the victory party, where we were truly victorious.

Florida: Let's Keep Working! Part 2

T and I door-knocking the first day! It was so windy, yet gorgeous outside!

This fountain: so awesome!

 My sweet room-mate, KH!

Door-knocking the second day! In addition to being super sweet and fun, this gal has THE most amazing hair...

Wish I had taken more pictures of the different neighborhoods! This was one of the more middle-class ones, but still so beautiful!

 Yay!

JB (navigator) was awesome enough to spot this coconut and stop so I could take a picture!

 Weird duck/turkey birds.

One of the fancier houses. About five minutes later we drove by some more houses that were even more incredible.

On a totally random side-note, I learned that it is now acceptable to end sentences on a preposition, unless you're writing a very professional business letter or are old-fashioned. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm just going to start with the generic, "Happy Thanksgiving, folks!" and go from there. So, Happy Thanksgiving, folks! 

Some things I am especially thankful for this year are:

• My relationship with Jesus Christ, who will never leave me or forsake me, Who shows boundless grace and mercy to His children, Who will, by grace, save anyone who will call upon His name in repentance and faith.
• Freedom to worship freely without fear of persecution.
• Family members who love one another, flawed as we all are. Especially thankful for how much care they are showing to me while I'm recovering from getting my wisdom teeth out.
• My amazing sister-in-law and darling niece, who is growing up way too quickly.
• My wonderful girl friends who are like sisters is so many ways. All my other friends who are a huge blessing, and bring so much encouragement. 
• God keeping my siblings and mom safe in the accident earlier this year and for keeping everyone safe from harm.
• The opportunities I have to study at college and the various work opportunities. So many people are jobless and I have been blessed with more than one job opportunity. 

We had our Thanksgiving Dinner last Sunday, which I was able to enjoy as well, and today Munchette made a delicious-smelling breakfast which I am not able to have, but she was so kind to go to the store yesterday and buy me a bunch of mushy food that isn't just applesauce and pudding. As Americans, we aren't nearly as thankful as we should be for the little things such as food variety. 

And, before I conclude, here are some pictures:

Sweet-Pea and I taking a selfie on Munchette's phone last Sunday.

 Clari and I accidentally matching.

 WWII era swing dance at a historic air museum hanger.

The dance!

HB and I ready to head out. Unfortunately, we don't have good pictures yet, but I am so thankful we are able to document these special memories at all. 

So thankful for a healthy, happy, and adorable niece! She's already learning to walk!

Colossians 3:15-17, " Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Florida: Let's Keep Working! Part 1

When I first heard I was stationed in Florida, I was a bit disappointed because Florida is supposedly so hot, humid, and muggy.

Friday morning, October 31st, 8 a.m., found my parents and I at the airport, me excited to fly across the country and have new experiences, them excited as well but also a bit nervous about letting their daughter go so far away. Thankfully, I was able to fly there with a friend from my home state. 

We went through security, boarded the plane, traveled all day, and arrived in Ft. Myers, Florida at 8 p.m., tired but happy to be there. 

Stepping out of the airport, the first thing I noticed was that it smelled like coconuts. Secondly, I noticed it wasn't nearly as hot or humid as I was expecting. 
Okay, I shan't bore you with any more detailed descriptions until the end.

I met my roommate and we got along very well, which was such a blessing. We never got to sleep until after 12:30, despite the fact that breakfast was at 7:30 the next morning. She is awesome, and her tolerance of my weird quirks was incredible. 

Next morning we were assigned to our van teams. My team was in Cape Coral the bulk of the time, and if you've ever been to Cape Coral, you understand me when I say it was confusing. For example, we had a 43rd Street, 43rd Place and 43rd Terrace all in a row, and then we had quite a few streets that were separated divided by canals, so you could only do one part of the street before having to be driven to the next section of it, which was across the canal.

After the first day and a half with our driver attempting to navigate and drive, I was so excited when, the next morning, he announced he  had a dedicated navigator. 

Then he said, "it's you," and the expression on my face drooped a bit for a minute. It turned out to be a huge stretch and growing experience. I also learned that not looking down on curves reduces car-sickness by about 61.3%. 

If you haven't ready my post about Virginia last year, I will remind you that we door-knock from 9 a.m. to dark, around 6:15 p.m., and the van transports groups of two to different streets, where they blitz through the doors, we pick them up and drop them to the next street. Keeping track of who was on what street and where each street was proved confusing. Thankfully, our driver was able to keep track of where the streets were most of the time, and when he wasn't, I could usually figure it out.

Buddies in the back seat! 

 Tallying up our results...Fun stuff. ;)

 Phone-banking with this sweet gal!

This was what I had for navigation...Being slightly directionally challenged, I learned a lot. 

Other random adventure: I got to pump the gas. Call me weird, but something about pumping gas in a car you've never driven and in a state you've never been in is pretty cool. I also had to ask a random old guy what the zip code was because it was required to pump gas. Weird. 

After door-knocking/driving/navigating all day, all teams arrived at the Rick Scott for Governor Campaign office and phone-banked until 9 p.m. SS (part of our van), JB (our driver) and I spent the first half of the evening tallying up our voter contacts and doors knocked, which was time-consuming, but so gratifying after reading the figures we had accumulated. Our record voter contact attempt rate was 894 for the day, and our record doors knocked on was 656! That's pretty good for when taking into consideration that we were in Cape Coral, if I do say so myself. 

This concludes part 1 of my Florida experience. Coming posts will have more more pictures and less text. Oh, and just to explain, "Let's keep working!" was Rick Scott's slogan for his campaign. 

Another Update on Life And Introduction of One of My Most Favorite People

I have a feeling my posts are beginning to be very redundant. But since I don't have a problem with it and it since it's nice to take a break from homework to write a blog post, any readers will have to live with it. ;)

First, contrary to the order in the title of this post, I would like to introduce you to my niece, The Squish. She is my favorite. I don't have time to upload pictures, but here's a recent one:

Isn't she she the most precious? It's amazing how much love one can feel toward someone so small...She is dearly loved by all her grandparents, aunts, uncles, other relatives, and friends. She knows she has us wrapped around her pinky finger. 

So, once again, school and work have been keeping me very busy! It's creepy how much math and business English are on my mind. I keep analyzing sentences and thinking of subject-verb agreement scenarios in my head. According to Clari (too old to mention), I've also been sleep-talking about math. 

Seriously, keeping Christ and His Word as a priority is so important during this time, and I confess it's easy to become sidetracked. I have to keep reminding myself that Christ comes first, family comes second, etc. etc. 

Forgive the sloppiness, but this is probably the only kind of math I don't mind doing. Graphs.  ;)

 Beautiful weather the beginning of the quarter! Today was quite the opposite: cold, wet, windy...

 Dear HB and I before an event at the historic site where we volunteer! Don't you just love the flattering hairstyles?

Annnd, a selfie because...Well, just because I felt like it and this post needed more pictures...

Oh, and I should probably mention that I'm going to Florida this Friday. Super excited and a little nervous. Haven't done a ton of flying, and never flown by myself, so this will be an adventure! 

I was rather shocked about being stationed in FL (going to campaign with the same group as last year when I went to VA), and was thinking out loud about it, kind of sarcastically saying I was concerned about alligators, and Mini-man (8), very seriously said, "Don't worry, Sonia, only a few hundred people are eaten by alligators." So comforting. 

Finding time to pack has been tricky with work, school, homework, Bible Study, college group, family time, sign-waiving, voting, and getting sidetracked on Facebook. But God is good so I shan't freak out if I can help it.

Okay, I'm done talking now. 

Hold fast to Jesus!

Today Is a Gift

I really should be doing homework right now, but felt I had to post something about a recent event.

"Yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift."

Yesterday evening while driving home from Bible Study, two of my sisters and my mom were hit by a car running a red light. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, but just from looking at the car, one can see that it's nothing short of a miracle. 

If the back passenger seat had had an occupant, someone would likely still be in the hospital. 
That almost happened. I was driving home in my car, received a call from a different sister saying that mom didn't have room in her car after all and I had to turn around and get her. After picking her up (with some grumbling), we realized that there would, in fact, have been room. Coincidence? I don't think so.

When I first heard about the accident, the feelings that came over me were overwhelming; fear, shock, anger, longing to make everything better, and the realization that life without family would be a nightmare. 

Even after hearing they were okay, I was jolted back to the reality that life is precious and can end at any time. When it's least expected. Literally in the blink of an eye.

I cannot help but thank Jesus that they're okay, that I have another day with my family. 

Lesson I (re)learned: Take time to appreciate family. Stuff has no value in the long-run. Homework and high grades are not important. People, on the other hand, are priceless. Treasure your family and friends, and don't ever, ever, let anything but Christ come before them. 

...And so, with little grief, we say farewell to our earthly possession, Auto-cado, thanking God for protecting what's truly important.

Update on...Life?

So, life has been so crazy lately.

The end of August found me coming to the end of my job at the law firm. It was such a wonderful learning experience, and the people were so friendly. 

The selfie below is from my last day there; you can't see it clearly, but it is such a beautiful office. Loved the atmosphere. And seriously enjoyed filling in for the legal assistant whose desk I am sitting at in the picture...Felt so official answering the phone, placing calls, scheduling appointments, seating clients, etc. :) The cluttery desk was a downside though, I suppose. The joys of being literally "overloaded" with work. So admire the legal assistants. Maybe someday I'll join their ranks.

I keep asking myself why I left, but it seems like God has different plans for me right now.

The beginning of September found us hunting again. As of yet, Mozzerella (15), Clari (to old to mention), and Munchette (too old to mention), have bagged deer. Pollywog and I have been super busy with school and such, and haven't been blessed with deer...Although it's unlikely, we still have hope that we will give a deer the shaft... 

In other news, today marked my first day as an extern at an orthopedic and neurosurgery facility in the hospital. I'm excited to see where it will take me...So far it isn't quite what I'm hoping for, but it's a foot in the door toward my goal, which is to be a receptionist of some sort, or at least working with/helping people. :) I am fully confident this will be an incredible learning experience even if it isn't doesn't lead to an official job. 

Tomorrow morning classes start at the local community college. Math at 8 a.m. So. Excited. Have a strong feeling this quarter is really going to teach me to rely on Christ more. :)

Pollywog and I familiarizing ourselves with the college! Pollywog is taking a class as part of her high school curriculum.

I'm rambling...

Here's a picture of Sweet Pea (13) and I about to embark on a shopping adventure. 

I shall conclude with this wonderful verse:

Colossians 3:17, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

In Christ,
Sonia

1920s Croquet Game

Wow, I wrote this post in mid-August, and was so busy I didn't review and click "submit."

Last Saturday evening was a splendid game of croquet, 1920's style! The National Historic Site I volunteer at puts on various events from different time periods, and the fantastic costume department dresses its volunteers in the appropriate costumes. So. Much. Fun.

Since last night was 1920s, adopting the attitude of our dresses was great fun. We became a tad stuffy, very sophisticated, and fully lady-like with a touch of sass.

I love how our appearances are all so different, yet from the same time period.

RB's hat (far right) was fantastic.

Spectating as we wait for our turns to swing the mallet.

  I may or may not post more pictures, although I have a sneaking suspicion these are getting rather old...

On the 26th of July, we also enjoyed dressing up for an 1867 Vintage Base Ball (yes, two words) Game. Hoopskirts, hats with feathers, etc. etc.  Unfortunately, as of yet I have failed to find adequate photo documentation. 

Since writing this, I have in fact found adequate photo documentation...More to come. Unless it doesn't.