I still love you, but facebook and I have been seeing other friends for awhile now..

Wow. That is so pathetic and just plain sad that my blog STILL had a thanksgiving background as of today, January 31. So, I am getting the skeletons out of my closet so to speak, and you are about to read the dark and horrible truth........

I have traded blogging for facebook. There, isn't that scandalous?? My defensive reasoning lies in the simple fact that, quite frankly, Facebook is instant and easy. Like Starbucks coffee, it's quick, addictive, and gives you a little pick-me-up. When one is a busy person trying to balance a full college class load and music and work, and pretend to be a helpful daughter around the house, blogging goes by the wayside, and Facebook becomes the idol of choice. It wasn't intentional. Oh no, it wasn't pre-meditated in the slightest. The change came about slowly, creeping through the hedges, slithering along the highways and byways of my mental realm until one day, the metamorphosis was complete, and instead of beauty, there emerged in it's place, a new social network.

What a sickened society, when we opt for the easy, conveniency of popular social networking as opposed to the now stable, old fashioned, and slightly outdated blog. Come to think of it, I cannot exactly recall one witty or slightly well written post on Facebook since I cruelly ignored my poor blog. Perhaps, just perhaps, there is value in the staid and well known regimentation of spilling one's thoughts out into an online journal. Then again, it could just be a larger outlet for the mind to ramble, because no person with brains actually wants to listen to these incoherent, insipid thoughts. In which case, this blog merely becomes a form of false advertising, luring the unsuspecting reader in with cute backgrounds and soft music, then delivering the full force of idiotic ramblings displayed on a silver platter. Then and only then does Facebook hold value, because it's ignorant "likes," "Hello's" and other short, sweet nothings, have more worth comparatively than an entire blog page devoted to idle chatter.

Anyway, this is my blog, I still love it, and if you are reading this I probably love you too, unless you are a creepy stalker. I shan't make any promises about regular posts, but I do give you my word of honor that never again shall you, my blog readers (if you are even still with me), have to suffer through outdated blog backgrounds. Yes, 'tis true that Facebook and I have been seeing other friends, but the return of the prodigal blogger is nigh. Until the great day when you see several new posts in a row, tootles, and have a jolly day, night, afternoon, mid-day, whatever; just make sure you are keeping the energy up, and super jolly.

"ello, and 'ows everyone doing?"

You know, this has been a good week. Not one of those, "I ran around like a headless chicken, but life was good weeks", but rather a quieter, kind of, "wow, I'm getting things done in an organized fashion and I feel accomplished!" kind of weeks.

Meh, actually, my vocal instructor might beg to differ on that point when I confess that I only practiced for about an hour...oops. Oh well, greater things were accomplished, like the serious outline for my 5 page paper on the French Revolution. I whole heartedly believe that no man can serve two masters, so this week, I made my English professor happy. School is frustrating that way, because there are so many people to please...I must purpose to not let more interesting things get in my way.

But anyway, back to the original topic, this has been such a great week, because it's been a week in which I can totally see the hand of God at work. You know those days, (especially when it's cold, rainy, and windy) that it just seems like God isn't exactly present? Murphy's law is in full swing, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and you find yourself feeling totally negative and miffed that life isn't bright? Well, maybe it's just me that gets that way, anyhow, I haven't been making a very conscious effort to be cheerful and look on the bright side the past couple of weeks. My family can definitely attest to that fact. :D The root of the matter is the fact that I let work, school, and friends take precedence over God, and I wake up and realize that I have spent the bare minimum if any amount of time with him for quite a while. It makes me feel so UN-christian like, and naughty almost...but when I purpose to get back into His word and spend some time with Him, everything magically becomes right. Really, everything in life seems okay, when I spend time with the Lord. I'm half irritated with myself that I let other things get in the way. Why is it that I have time for work, time for school, even time for friends, but at the end of the day I don't have time for God? Yeah, I think my priorities were definitely due for a change around. Which leads me back to why this has been such a good week...now that I've been making time for God again, He's been opening several exciting doors! It's really humbling to know that He loves me no matter how shamefully neglectful I am, and that He never neglects me. That truly is true love. God isn't joking when He says, "Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass...Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for him;...do not fret it only causes harm." Psalm 37:5-8

Choices

I am so grateful to God for His goodness! He's so amazing and wonderful, it blows my mind. This Autumn has been so beautiful, it almost takes my breath away every time I step outside the door. The crispy cool air, and the leaves, awaken some indescribable excitement inside of me. There is so much joy and beauty in life, if we only force ourselves to see it. It lies in simple things like a beautiful song that stirs your soul and brings tears to your eyes, or in a multi colored flower. Beautiful thoughts and joy are personal choices, especially in this age of evil and horrifying circumstances. God gave me a real life example today of how we choose our emotions. Today, a friend of mine told me that he trys not to listen to the news because it's so depressing, and the state of our world is so messed up. He went on to explain that there are generations of people that aren't even living their lives because they're debilitated by the fear that they sense through the media. Instead of pursuing joy, they continue to let themselves be dragged down. So instead of focusing on the darkness, he devotes his time to improving his mind and playing / creating beautiful music. It's a choice that he makes every day, a choice that all of us need to make. Life is so full of small choices that we don't give much thought to, but they end up affecting our lives forever. Choices affect not only our generation, but the lives of generations to come. I want so desperately for people to see Christ in me, and to live my life totally devoted to Him. It's like a hunger, and there's so much to do that I can never satisfy it. There's so many dreams and desires that I have, but I really just want to love God and seek joy and beautiful thoughts. That's the choice I want to make, for the rest of my life.

Springtime and Brooke Return to the Blog..

Isn't that hilarious that back in February I apologized for "not having written in a LONG time" when it had only been 3 weeks between posts?? I mean, come on!! It has been almost 6 MONTHS since I last wrote! :D But seriously, if you all are sad about the long silence, you should really feel pain for my dear pen-pal Rebekah. She has patiently waited for an un-countable number of months for a letter. And it is finally being written and sent as well.

There's just something about Spring time that breathes hope and life into everything. It charges one with energy, and makes you want to press forward and finish unfinished tasks that have slept all winter. This has been a busy spring, but then again, I guess that every spring is really busy! I recently started a Life Guard course at Discover Aquatics (the pool where I work), and it has been very taxing. Somewhere in all the craziness I've been trying to find the time to pick up writing again... henceforth this blog entry.

Because of my Life guard course, I am out of the house swimming, approx. 6 days a week, and two of those days I swim at our local high school pool. It's very fun, because all the senior citizens turn out for water aerobics, and I have made fast friends with several of them. After just two days of swimming with them, I have received two job offers (life guarding / teaching at that pool), and a movie on swimming like a fish. Actually, the video is coming to me next week, but you get the idea.

Well, I have to get up early tomorrow and teach, so I need to depart. But hey, maybe I'll keep up with y'all more regularly. By the way, did you notice that my blog has changed it's face a bit? The old look was so last year. :D

Have a jolly day!!

Love, Brooke

Hello World!!

Hello Everyone! So sorry that I haven't posted in awhile!! Anyway, I wanted to share with you all something really neat that my friend Lauren wrote on Valentine's day. Even though it's a bit past the date, the message still definitely applies. So, read her post, be inspired, and I promise to commence writing again soon! :)

Love, Brooke

Thoughts On Singleness and Contentment This Valentine's Day

By Lauren Torres

As each passing February day has brought Valentine's Day closer and closer, I will admit that I have been thinking a lot about love, romance, and relationships. I am what you would call a "hopeless romantic". I sigh over romantic movies...whether the hero of the day is Mr. Darcy or Gilbert Blythe. As the movie credits roll and some inspiring film score plays, I am filled with hope and excitement for the future. While I don't believe that it is wrong to look forward to that time in our lives, I do believe that oftentimes singles are guilty of wasting time. And I am including myself in this! I have noticed that we as singles are often looking to the next big thing in our lives to bring us happiness and contentment....finishing school, getting that job, starting a career, beginning a relationship, etc. We focus our time and energies towards that point in time and forget to invest in today.

This can also be applied to the romantic relationships area of our lives. I have known many young people who are so discontent with their lives simply because they do not have that special someone in their lives. They feel incomplete with the intimate companionship of the opposite sex. And yet, when they are finally in that much-desired relationship, they are rarely truly happy, because either the relationship should have never began, or it was started for selfish reasons. Don't waste time! If God has marriage in your future, then this time is precious! You will never have this time back again. This is preparation time for us. There are so many things that you are free to do while you are single that you may not have the opportunity to do once you are married, if God so desires. Don't waste time longing for the future to come--it will come soon enough. I encourage you to use your singleness to serve God with passion. Use your singleness to serve others....family, friends, and church. Focus on growing and building godly friendships with other singles, and encouraging one another in their relationship with Jesus. We as singles will never be truly content in any relationship until we have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. And no, I am not talking about going to church on Sundays, or reading our Bibles for a few minutes and then mumbling a prayer for the day. I am not even talking about missions trips and ministry. I am talking about a intimate, personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe, the One who's mighty hands formed us. The One who knew us before we were even a thought in our parent's minds. Paul writes in Philippians 4:11, "...for I have learned to be content with whatever I have." This is so true. For those who long for romantic relationships and marriage and are not content with their present situation, they will likely be discontent in a relationship or marriage. The romantic earthly love of another person can never compare the love of Jesus. He is the Lover of our souls. He desires to be close to us! We don't deserve His love, yet He longs to be one with us. Jeremiah 31:3 says "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself." I love that! His unfailing love draws us to Him! His love will never fail and never end. Even in good, godly relationships, we will face disappointment at times. Those we love will let us down and hurt. But God promises unfailing love. Let's not be discontent this Valentine's Day! I would encourage you to get alone with the Lord, spend some time talking the King of your heart. He is the greatest romantic...He died so that we might know the beauty and hope of His unfailing love. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). -Lauren

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year, everyone!! Won't 2009 be simply splendid??

We started off the year with 3 feet of snow, which has now melted down to about 11 inches.
As the snow continued to fall, the 'phone rang off the hook, canceling all my plans for the week.
For example, the phone rang, I answered. "Oh, the pool is closed due to snow, so don't come to work? Okay, bye,"

Two minutes later, the phone rang, and again I answered. "Oh, the Christmas party is canceled, due to snow? Okay, bye." An hour later, the phone rang, I answered - and knew before I picked it up that somewhere, something was canceled due to snow. "Hello! Oh, the choir concert and church are canceled due to snow? Okay, bye."
This pattern continued for a couple of days, until one Christmas party, several days of work, church, a Wilderness Northwest meeting, and a choir concert was canceled, while one was still being decided about. What had started out as a horrendously crazy week, quickly turned into a very quiet, stay-at -home week, due to snow. Needless to say, we are all so tired of the snow now! God's creations are always so beautiful, but sometimes he sends a little too much of them. :)
So, the New Year has started out cold, snowy, and a little quiet, but the joy of a fresh New Year is warming our hearts. There is something so exciting about a New year..it's like tomorrow - fresh, with no mistakes in it yet, as Anne of Green Gables would say. :0) Have a wonderful, blessed New Year everyone!!

Love, Brooke

Merry Christmas!

(Be sure to click the "pause" button on the music player located to the left of the blog, before listening to the music videos.)

Merry Christmas Greetings from snow bound western Washington. (Check out my Mother's blog for some snow pictures!) I've been pretty busy lately, but will (Lord willing!) get back to blogging about my Tennessee adventures soon! For now, I'll leave you with a tidbit about what I've been up to lately... A couple of weeks ago, I was blessed to go the the Fiftieth annual Julfest (featuring the Swedish Lucia Bride Service) at First Covenant Church in Seattle. The Shoemaker family took me, and we had a wonderful time!! The Julfest was so Christ centered and uplifting - truly an exciting pre-Christmas experience! The short clips of the service below are just a sampling of how awesome it really was. For a special touch to the usual program, a Swedish choir came all the way from Sweden to sing for the Julfest!! I really wish that I had more pictures, but it wasn't one of those situations where it was appropriate to be a 'shutter bug.' :o)

Next year, my parents and I are hoping to attend "Handel's Messiah" also in Seattle... wish we could have made it this year, but things were way too busy!


I was hiding behind a pillar, so the view isn't that terrific. In person it was breathtaking!

And just yesterday evening we attended the Shoemaker Brothers concert in Shelton. It was held at the Shelton High auditorium, and about 300 people showed up despite the crazy snow! The concert was amazing, the boys did so well, and we were quite proud of their sucess. Mrs. Shoemaker and I supplied the refreshments and it was a huge answer to prayer when my friend Lael showed up with a bunch of cookies. Thank you so much Laelann!! We were worried there wouldn't be enough, but God was in control and it all worked out beautifully! By the way, for anyone that's interested, the next local concert is January 9th, at Charles Wright academy in Tacoma, WA - 7:00 p.m - $12 at the door. Below are pictures from the concert and the boys' recent youtube video.

Samuel, Nathanael, Daniel, & Gabriel

Be sure to check out the Shoemaker Brothers Website for tour dates - they're embarking on a national tour and may be coming to a town near you...

Shoemaker Brothers - Dancing Girl