Ohh Jasmine 04.22.13

This entry is pointless.

I changed my blog name and URL from "An Unconventional Princess" to "Ohh Jasmine". It seemed fitting for a completely random reason. My friend Elizabeth V. at work is always saying that to me as well as my roommates whenever I do something particularly amusing or off the wall so I thought it was apropos in regards to who I am.

I don't really have much to say. I'm sort of at a block with my writing. I've recently joined a leadership eGroup at church and I'm supposed to be writing a 3-4 page letter to myself that I'll open in a year. It's our homework assignment and it's due on Wednesday. I haven't started on the thing. I haven't even taken the special wrapping out of its plastic. I'm procrastinating. A part of me is trying to wait and think of something creative, witty, and insightful to tell my future self about my present (well would be past) self, but I'm coming up short. Then another part of me wants to type up the letter an just staple it to the pages. I feel like being a smidgen rebellious. Idk. The thing will get written. Just in about 2 more days, an hour before it's due.

I'm also supposed to be working on my short story that's due for the April writing contest in my fictionpress forum Labyrinth  Well, it's not my forum, I'm just a member. The thing is I had the perfect introduction mapped out in my head 2 weeks ago when I was taking a shower. Only, I was in the shower. And by the time I got back to my room I couldn't remember what I had said nor did I try to flesh it out and sit down and type it out. Needless to say I lost all that clever wording. I'm starting to think I need to be one of those writers who carries around a tape recorder. It'll keep me from losing my work. The 2,000 word short is due April 25th. I've got until 11:50 to send it to Fyloe Fox.

I entered the March competition (my first time doing so) and tied for 2nd place with 2 votes. I consider that huge. I was expecting the winner okunoin to take all the votes with his weirdly unnerving yet beautiful story. He took over half of the reported 11 votes, but I was still surprised I got any. It just shows me that people do appreciate my work.

Oh well. Just like with my letter to myself, It'll get done. Just probably on Thursday afternoon. I wrote the March entry the day it was due. I can make it happen.

I work well under pressure.

Hillsong "Oceans"

This song is speaking to me like nothing else. Heard it for the first time about 3 weeks ago in church. Have had it on repeat all afternoon.

My Teacher Has Hips

...but oh wait! I'm the teacher. That's what was inferred about me. I have hips. 

Here's what went down. 


So I'm walking through the middle of my class at the end of 3rd block and one of my boys gets a weird look on his face as he looks at me. I meet his glance with a frown. He then proceeds to say, "Don't take this the wrong way Miss Davis, but I just noticed that your hips are bigger than your legs." Then he continued to make an "eeww" face. After a split second of thinking did he really just say that to me, I told him, "Well, yes. This is normal. You say eeww now, but when you're 16 you'll have a different opinion." At which point the girl sitting beside him said, "Yeah, Miss Davis is right. Girls are supposed to look like this." And then she proceeded to put her hands in the air and air draw the standard hourglass body shape of a woman complete with wide hips. 

There -- in my third block -- at 1:30 on a Tuesday afternoon -- is proof that kids do, in fact, say the darnedest things. 

Go ahead, laugh.

Getting Plugged In

Well I did it, I took the next step at church. One of Elevation's philosophies on getting "plugged in" is called the 4 Gs: giving, gifts, growth, and groups. Well I've been giving my tithe. I've grown the church by inviting people with me. Now I'm ready for the gifts aspect. I signed up for the M1 mentoring initiative and I signed up to be a volunteer in the eKidz department at Elevation Church - Gaston.

Ever since I started going there back in June 2012 I felt that I had not only found a church that I could call home, but I found a place where I felt God was leading me to serve. I've been having this feeling for months that I need to get involved, start working with the kids, do something else with my life besides just working, eating, and sleeping. Now I'm doing it.

I know this move is a step ordained by God because of how easily it happened. This summer I happened to attend Elevation Uptown on one of the first weeks they talked about starting up the M1 initiative  Well, once the school year started I just never took the next step to go to a training or see if I could get hooked up with a student. Well today at the Gaston campus they brought it back up, saying the need was still there since they'd only gotten about 800 of the desired 1,000 mentors. I figured now that I'm attending Gaston regularly it was a good fit. Plus, Katie was there with me and as soon as she heard the call for mentors she looked at me and said, "Hey, we should do this. Do you want to?" I knew that was God speaking to me through her. And ya know what, since we were there, I went ahead and signed up to be a volunteer in the eKidz department so I can start working in the nursery again. I've been saying I wanted to be a nursery worker for months and I've just been putting it off saying I wanted to start tithing again and I wanted to make sure my school schedule was more stable before I got plugged in. Well, life is good, it's time to make it great. I'm getting plugged in!

Pastor Steven Furtick is in week 2 of his The New Rules of Resolution sermon series, and today's message was about receiving and achieving. He said that as Christians we need to adopt the lifestyle of "regifting". Yes, regifting. :-)  God has given us gifts. It is our job to then go out and give those gives to others. He blesses us so we should in turn bless others. He gives us grace so we should in turn give grace to others. God served us and gave his life and time for us, now it's my turn to use that gift and start giving back.

I feel really good about this! Boot camp for the eKidz department is next Sunday so we'll see how it goes. I can't wait to see where God takes me with this!