Pieces (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Soo I wrote this in Old Testament... enjoy it haha

We're all made up of parts and piece; different sizes, different shapes and different portions, and they all make up the person we are today.
In our lives we're steady giving away pieces while steady receiving them. We give away pieces of our heart, pieces of our time, pieces of our personality, pieces of our opinion, and pieces of our money. All the while receiving in return pieces of advice, pieces of friendships and relationships, pieces of character, pieces of teachings, and pieces of love. Your relationships with people determine the amount of pieces you have/give/receive and there will always be the risk of losing and giving away more pieces than you receive.
While this intimidates us all on select levels, I believe it should encourage us to give away more pieces than we're comfortable with because what is a life lived if you've kept all your pieces to yourself?
I myself am made up of many pieces and they make up all of who I am. I have piece after piece given to me by my parents whose pieces are soe of the most important and fundamental pieces I'll ever posses, I have pieces from the kids I've worked with..their pieces some of the sweetest and innocent I have in my whole person, I have pieces from the dear friends who have shaped a lot of my life on who and what I am and what I believe, I have pieces of the teachers and adults who have been strong influences in my life, I have pieces from every single one of my siblings (I value these the most), I do have pieces I've given away that have never been returned, I have pieces that were given to me by force, I've given away countless pieces that I'll never be able to get back, and I've been given countless pieces I don't deserve.
Above all else all of the pieces have had love in them. Love that was too young, love I didn't deserve, and love that has passed my understanding. I didn't always recognize these pieces as love, and I still haven't, but I know that every single piece was given to work me together for good.
Everyone is given pieces; they're all different shapes, sizes, and portions and they all make up the person we are today. Throughout our lives we scatter our pieces, we examine them, we take them for granted, we give them away, we keep them to ourselves, and over all we will never truly understand the impact they have on us.


I'm not sure where it came from but it kept me awake during class.. :))

Empty Without You

::Sunday::

Went to Morrison Heights at 9:00am for sunday school, the church was alright; not exactly what I'm used to but I could get used to it if I wanted to. Thing is, I just want to find my fit, which will be hard (and is hard) because I found my perfect fit back at home at Faith Baptist and finding a new one for the school semester(s) is something I'm not really wanting to do. Anyway, after church went over to a friend from Singers' house, which was awesome because we made a spectacular lunch and ate it! Btw, it was the first time I've ever stuck Italian bread onto a raw pork tenderloin... mac n' cheese was AMAZING loaded up with cheddar cheese and we had those little green pea/bean things they put in Chinese food and it was really good, which surprised me.
After getting a ride back to campus I took a quick 30 minute nap (best decision I've made since I've been here) and after I woke up spent about an hour and a half in a, I mean MY, practice room =D as I was walking back got stuck under the downpour so I had to run into the Caf and sip a Dr. P until it let up. =p. Finally got up to my room and did my Music Technology homework, which I won't lie it's really retarded, finished up Diction homework, and started and finished most of my Old Testament homework.. I don't think I'm likin this homework thing haha but is it really up to me? I think not.
Made another -quick- Walmart run with Laurie instead of going out to eat.. which I'm really regretting now because at 12:48am I'm kinda sorta really hungry. Met up with Matt (a Church Music major with alot of the same classes I have) at Jazzman's and just talked and talked and talked about a little but of everything. We ended up educating each other on some youtube videos, swapping drinks (which was gross), and trading music. Twas a fun night =D
Got a little more homesick today after talking to my oldest younger sister and my mom today... -sigh- I'm going home Friday, bring on all the "fat" hugs you can possibly bring

<3 <3

Sunchips, Harvest Cheddar flavor

Goodness gracious what a week.. half week, whatever
Finished up classes and already have a nice decent amount of homework expected by Monday ha
Today I went with some girls up to Madison and Ridgeland, both cities of which are very unfamiliar to me; bought an awesome yellow scarf and a green "alligator" watch = rockin awesome! (especially since I don't usually wear watches, at all, and wouldn't, but I'll wear this one..) AND THEN we came back and chilled. Changed out of our cute clothes and sported some Nike shorts and t-shirts =) Went to Taco Bell for dinner, got a 5-layer and grilled steak taquitos, as always, and made a Walgreens run for ice cream and sunchips!! Came back to the dorm and with 3 other ladies watched Made of Honor, mlehh, ate mah ice cream and beefed some sunchips, and finally started getting homesick. Which I would have called everyone in my house if it wasn't so late. My little sister successfully threw a legit surprise party, my little brother placed second in a Jiu Jitsu tournament, and the rest of my family, I'm not sure. But I do know I miss them, and my friends, wayyy too much. I'm uber happy I get to come home next weekend for Labor Day and see everybody!

Beef

Secrets

My Tuesday was eventful.. I think... I can't really remember it... darn it... WAIT! I do remember going to the (awesome) bookstore and picking up the rest of my books that I needed for class today, and we went to Walmart, which we seem to be doing everyday, hahaaaa. Um started classes today, 8am I had Diction with Ms. Sparkman, very interesting class, learned about the "tongue vowels" and it's amazing how much your tongue can effect the way you talk; at 9am I had Theory class with Dr. Oswalt (which I found out from a fellow freshman music major that I was in the smart theory class.. which made me immensely happy because I love hard theory and I've already taken an advanced theory class, THANK YOU JOSH STEWART!) then I had Old Testament with Dr. Mahaffey which looks and sounds like fun and I'm kinda sorta really excited to start digging deeper into the bible and seeing how it ties into everyday life and to understand and appreciate the literature it has to offer.
And one really cool point our professor pointed out is that you never stop learning from it. Ever. Even the most advanced individual in the study of the bible still learns something, and how many times do we read through verses and passages and then one day it hits us in a totally different way? Yeah, I got really excited to hear that; that I will never stop learning, and that the word of God is active, living and breathing =]]]
*ahem* After Old Testament, I had a lunch break and ate with my 5 favorite girls. I say favorite because, well, they are haha it's my roommate Kristen, the 2 girls directly across the hall, Meagan and Lorin, and their suite mates Shelby and Laurie (which Laurie is such a relief to me because she acts JUST like my sister, so I almost feel like I'm at home). We're planning on driving to Madison on Saturday and just having a fun girls day shopping, going to see a movie (most probably The Switch) and dinner somewhere. I'm definitely excited, these girls are legit awesome. OH and then I had choir practice, it excites me.
Tomorrow I have Ear Training and Keyboard at 9:15, sleeping in, yay, then Chapel at 10, break at 11, Music Technology at 12, then Singers for about an hour and a half :-)) then later on I have a Music Seminar I have to go to. Kinda like the one I did today, which was Performance Lab.. where basically we just learned about the gist of the whole entire Music program at MC and met all the faculty and went over the rules and guidelines and privileges of the whole place. I met my piano teacher today and set up my private lesson times and set up a time with my voice teacher.. I am so thrilled about both of those =D and I signed up for practice rooms and got my own key, teehee, Room 315 if you wanna come see me ;)
We had a progression dinner tonight with 4 churches in the Clinton/Jackson area, which was fun mainly because of Cameron and Michael haha they make me laugh. Made yet ANOTHER trip to Walmart and I think I have everything now... yeah... hope so

Love you Mom and Dad for reading this and for helping me out with finances.. (and you could always put some extra money in
my bank account.. yeah? thanks! :)

Love, Kendall

MiSsIsSiPpI cOlLeGe

SO
I have officially moved into my dorm and what not at MC, and am loving every second of it! The move-in day was a bit overwhelming, but I got through it and I'm glad my parents were here to help me move in and set up everything (thanks mom) and we all cried when they left. I had allllll of my sisters give me tearful goodbyes, and that was probably the hardest goodbyes I've ever had to give =/
Saturday was spent in tears with my roommate and getting our room situated, and trying to meet other freshman in the same situation and eating in the Caf and getting into a Welcome Group with girls on the same floor as me and guys from a random dorm.. ha
Sunday morning I went with my roommate and her boyfriend to First Baptist Jackson and oh my word, that church was HUGE! It was almost as big as Bellevue, if not bigger... and the college ministry was as big as the big church at Faith. Whew. Afterwards we went to a mexican restaurant, where the service was terrible but the shrimp chimichangas were terrific =) then we came back to the dorm and took naps and showers.. =]]] THEN there was a picnic on the Quad with a mini worship service afterwards, where I saw a friend from J-Creek and met his twin.. (?!?) and then my roommate and I, the girls across the hall, and friends from Memphis hung out and met alot of random fun freshman and they were some cool ones and some weird ones... haha then just hung out with mah girls the rest of the night
TODAY I skipped my Welcome Week group and went to a 6 hour hoir rehearsal. Honestly, some of the warm-ups we did tickled me just because they were a bit ridiculous, but these people were dead serious.. ha. So we started singing and I was legit surprised at how good we sounded haha call me humble but daggum we were awesome! After sitting in that room for too long of a time period, and without air conditioning, I went back to my dorm room with a fat headache and a hungry stomach. But a bottle of water, a nutri-grain bar, and a skype call with my cousin later made me feel awesome. After all that, most all of the freshman went out to the lake and had a hamburger/hotdog cookout playing ninja and getting to know even MORE people! There was also a big ferry boat thing that took 3 trips around the lake; our group was on the 3rd trip which was probably the best one, the sun was no longer shining and there was a nice breeze on the top deck =) Watched a bunch of .. for lack of a better word, "eehn-teh-ress-teeng", dance.. but they weren't really dancing, at all. They just looked retarded to me.. hahaha at least we all got a good laugh out of it. Hit up Wal-mart (for like the 4th time) with my girls and we were there for like an hour getting snacks like grapes and candy and bandaids and random other necessities, we had so much fun!

With all that being said, I'm really having a blast here, I might freak when classes start because I'll be so overwhelmed with music, but I;ll be loving every second of it too ;D and I'm really getting to know these 5 girls in the rooms around me and I can definitely see some lifelong friendships blossoming.

-sigh- So yeah, this is the life of an MC freshman so far, hope you enjoy it and I'll try to post more often.. yeah!

mm

I didn't think saying goodbyes were gonna come this hard and I really didn't think the tears were gonna come this fast

Leaving for a different place, away from everything familiar, is something I've never experienced. I won't have the same luxuries of jumping into my car to meet my girls up at Sonic, or meeting at church for the college ministry, or going to catch a movie with my friends.

This day seemed like it would never come, and now it's here and heck it's almost over. I'm not sure what to do now.. except hope for the best, put a smile on, and pray that God gives me the strength and energy.

Bye Memphis, I won't be missing much of you, just the people in you like my amazing friends and family of 12

Love,
Kendall <3

swimming without waterproof mascara

So this week, I've kinda been all over the place, seeing as many people as I can before I leave, and I haven't hardly had any down time; which that hit me last night during church. I felt it hit me like a brick in a sock, which stunk because the service was really good but I could hardly pay attention!
But this post, this post will just be about my today: I got onto my older brother in a mom-like manner, and then he turned around and was nice to me (I still don't understand it.........) went to see Jessica before she leaves for Union University tomorrow, went by the preschool to see my baby brother go through his first day there =) got some gas at Kroger, oh yeah, and then over to Tori's house for Lean Cuisine's and messing around on our new Mac's hehe then an unspoken, then came home to a house full of people, actually it was just family who my family has known for 8+ years, went swimming, ate frozen lasagna, and talked and cackled our heads off haha good times with good people is what this week has been about

Now tomorrow, whew, is lockdown day. Where I have been restricted to not going anywhere so I can spend my last day at home, SO all my friends are coming to me :D heehee so if you're reading this and you feel the need to see me tomorrow, COME ON!

<3 <3

goodbyes, commence

goodness gracious
a new friend left on Wednesday for Mississippi State
my favorite cousin and old friend left friday for UT Knox
my big brother/cousin is leaving tomorrow for a Navy base in Chicago
one of my best guy friends is leaving next Wednesday for Samford
and I'll be leaving Saturday for my beloved Mississippi College

goodbyes are a strange thing.. a thing I've never experienced full throttle; and now I'm the one who is causing a lot of goodbyes and giving away a good deal of my own.

I don't know, goodbyes sound a bit too final for me.. I won't be leaving and returning in 4-6 years, I'll be home for fall/spring breaks and Christmas break if I don't have too much homework... and I'll always have the summer to be home if I don't get the job in Kentucky... God and I are gonna be getting pretty tight these next couple of years, and of course me and my homework will be too :-)

This week=ultimate stress week... yeah

tryin to think like a bald guy...

I.am.so.sore.from.Picwick.
I can hardly feel my back, my neck, and my arms. If I have to lift anything heavier than a kitten I think I'm gonna cry. I mean, inner-tubing is like my homeboy, but it leaves me in such pain afterwards!
:-p
Went to my Uncle J.O.'s funeral today; twas a weird feeling since I've never been to a funeral before. Seeing the body, talking to relatives I had never met, seeing my great aunt alone, being a part of the funeral procession and watching the burial aroused weird feelings in me I didn't even know I had. It turned my whole day funky, this funeral thing, but I'm glad I went. It felt like something that you're afraid and unsure of doing, but once it was over you're glad you did it.
I finally met my cousin Nikki Cox (who plays in Las Vegas) and her husband John Ferguson Cox Mohr (who is an actor/comedian). Interesting people they are.. the Hollywood life doesn't seem to have done them very much good :-p
Hung out tonight at the Brownings, possibly one of my favorite hang out spots, played kemps and drove a golf cart around, and of course ended the night by piano playing with Dex playing stuff from Twilight, original and jazz music, and we attempted Clair De Lune (him left hand and I right hand) and failed miserably haha but had a semi blast while doing it.
I got church tomorrow, last Sunday I'll be in town =/ and this week I have deemed "hang out" week because I think I've already had at least 8 people say that they wanna hang out with me before I leave. -whew- bring it on :)

UT Knoxville

is NOT where I'm going (see title above) BUT my friend Abby is, so best of luck to you dear one!
LOVED my day today! Had brunch and catching up today before work, then at work we enforced lots of discipline, got lots of cooperative-ness, and I got to make crafts in peace :)) then after work came home for michael's birthday dinner, got made fun of by older brother (or course) and then off to a going-away party where I reunited with and met some pretty awesome people (and got to eat gummy worms!!!!)
Tomorrow it's off to Picwick with the next door neighbors; praying for a tan or a burn or anything, and just chillin with my big ole family :-) I might post pictures if I get some good ones
so, yeah

peace out home skillz

CoNsIsTeNtLy

Consistency: a good thing to have in Kendall's daily life
a consistency at work with snack and center and movies and schedule
a consistency as to who I hang out with and for how long
a consistency to how much I'm allowed to do and where I'm allowed to go while still living under my parent's roof
a consistency in the way friendships are starting to become
a consistency of what me and my closest sisters talk about
a consistency with what and when I eat
a consistency of what I say around select people
a consistency of me getting on facebook at least twice a day
a consistency of starting to write on this blog more
a consistency of praying out loud in the car
a consistency to see the small things about anyone or anything and smile
a consistency of going to church twice a week (and possibly mexican afterwards)
a consistency of brushing my teeth and washing my face
a consistency to how often I look in a mirror in passing or just in my bathroom
a consistency to ignore those who I don't want to talk to
a consistency with having like 3 1/2 different styles
a consistency of customizing and arranging everything

and then, there are those moments, that throw everything consistent I ever knew out in the outfield, and I don't know what to make of them. Things are consistently changing.

Baskin Robbins

Man, last week of work, and I can't stop thinking about how much I have to do before I leave.
Learn 5 songs (one in Latin that's super fast) before school starts, got a cookout in Mississippi tomorrow night, church and a party wednesday night, thursday morning brunch then work then dinner with joey, friday will be spent at Picwick all day =D saturday is chilling but then major partying at the Brownings, sunday church and what not, hopefully some legit hang time with joey and friends before he leaves for the navy. I just need to keep my sanity throughout this week and the next, and I'm afraid there's not a very good chance that I will :-p Gotta get psyched about starting a new class schedule, new social settings, new people surrounding me 24/7, new habits, and a whole new life in about a week in a half. *sigh* Lotsa prayer and tylenol

A Spoonful of Sugar

Remedy for a heavy heart?
yet to be found.

What worked on this particular day?
chocolate pudding, phone calls, and a whole 5 minutes to just breathe.

the weekend

man, a lot of stuff has happened this weekend.. enough stuff to grow me up a bit.

Thursday was, well, it was just a terrible day. My mouth started swelling up again from my wisdom teeth being out, had a super headache from the pain pills, had every kid at work on "whiny-mode" got my dinner plans jacked, got texting taken away because I was texting at a stop light (?!) and later on that night, as I was just whining and moping to God about it, after I got done I felt Him say, "Hey guess what? This is my problem, not yours." I kind felt like, "..oh." Like, hello Kendall, wake up and smell the coffee =p (and I don't even like that smell) I got a text shortly after from a wonderful friend saying, "Just a reminder that I'm praying for you and I hope you remember that our God is the God of the universe. He can do anything." It was kind of a wake up call, and I really needed it.
Friday I woke up determined to keep God in the center. Of course, I fell short, but I had a lot of car time so I just kept on praying (a.k.a. talking out loud) with FF5 in the background and even though the day didn't go my way, I felt happy. Scratch that, I felt joyful. I couldn't stop smiling and my attitude was far better than it has been in a long time. I got to share it with a friend, and he told me it was an encouragement to hear, which just made my whole day :-)
Today was busy, hung out with the oldest-younger sister and favorite cousin; went to our older cousin's house party (congrats for buying that house Jared!) braved the Germantown Parkway area at Rue 21 and the mall, and shortly went home after because it being tax-free weekend and all brought too many people out of their homes in public... =p finished off the day with a pint of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, chocolate pudding, and when I weighed myself I realized I had lost 6 lbs from the whole wisdom teeth removal thing.
Great weekend? I think so.
Tomorrow, here's the plan: make it to church on time, stay focused (and awake) during sunday school and service, maybe possibly go out to eat with my sister and favorite guy friends, come home for little brother's 17th birthday party (aw mike), go back to church and hopefully be available if they wanna do anything after, have energy, wear waterproof makeup for swimming, rock a pair of cowboy boots, and try not to talk too loud.
ready set go

-kendall <3

P.S. share you testimony/story. with anybody and everybody. even if you think it's weak sauce. whether you've had a bad life before it or a good life through it all, it effects people. and I just found that out, and now knowing that my testimony has effect, I'm ready to share it with the world.
"Go and make disciples.."

=]]]

3 things that brightened my day:

*rex and dex talking with gauze in their mouth

*joey cunningham putting up with my pleas haha

*erin hatcher