Iced tea and 103.

Ah summertime. If you're not outside having fun with good friends and family, you're likely inside with the air conditioning blasting subzero temperatures or on the porch swing with a nice tall glass of iced tea.

The other day my siblings and I were at home, chatting and enjoying the cool inside amid the volcanic temperatures outside.

While Michael and I were upstairs talking, we noticed the power went out. A minute later my sister yelled upstairs and repeated what we had just recently discovered.

I walk downstairs into the basement to check the fuse box...nothing. Then the nightmare began to set in. THE POWER WAS OUT! Almost instantly the intense heat from outside made its way in, and the house began to feel like an oven!

Our first assumption was that the electric bill hadn't been paid, but upon further inquiry found that not to be the case. 

We finished off the last of the cold bottled water...we were done for.

So soon we all began whining, griping and complaining!

Amidst our grumbling and negative spirit the power was back on within about an hour. As it turns out there was a neighborhood outage.

Shortly after, I began to reflect on the recent events as I was walking in the heat towards the nearest pawn shop.

We were in the wrong for our attitude in that situation. The Bible teaches us not to act in such a manner, and I'm sure the Lord wasn't pleased.

We are told to give tsomething ALL situations: good or bad.

Where there's something complain about, there's something to give thanks for.

While it was unfathomably hot inside the house, we can be thankful that we even HAVE a home to begin with. There are people who are outside in the blazing heat ALL DAY because they are homeless.

So next time you begin to or are ready to gripe or complain about something, think instead about why you can be thankful. :)

Gone too soon

Today was a difficult one. My brother and I were Paul bearers at my cousin's funeral.

Two weeks ago my cousin Montenae (Mon-tuh-nay) passed away very suddenly, just a week after attending a funeral of someone close herself.

The terrible news shocked the entire family, she was only 16 :(

She was born December '98 just 3 months after the passing of our grandfather. She never got to meet him.

In about a week from now she was to become an auntie, her older sister is 9 months pregnant and she was able to name her nephew before she passed.

When I first heard the news in was sad, and to be honest I wasn't able to fully grasp the situation, until this morning.

As we approached her and peered into the casket, it hit me all at once. She's actually gone. And for the first time since her death, I cried almost uncontrollably.

It made me think about things, in my life and otherwise. I regret the time I couldn't spend with her, and the memories I did have of her while happy ones, still brought tears to my eyes.

People: family and friends, bless us in different ways. Whenever possible we should at one point or another make time for them, visit them, smile with them, laugh with them, joke with them, take pictures with them, make memories with them.

Because no matter how young or how old our friends and family are-ourselves included, none of us are invincible.

The title of this entry however isn't correct. In our eyes from our human perspective she's gone too soon, but only the Lord knows why she was only to be here 16 years.

There's a song by Matthew West called "Something to say" and part of the lyrics say: "Listen up I've got a question here, will anybody miss you if you disappear? For you life is the song that you sing, and the whole wide world is listening"

We're all here for a purpose, and we're to touch others lives in one way or another, even if we don't see it. In fact just last night a good friend of mine helped me to realize that myself.

There's always a reason to keep going, there is a purpose in your life.

No matter the struggle God is there with you. Your sorrow may last for a night, and that "night" that season of sadness may be more than a night, it may be weeks, months, years. God is there. "For when I am weak, your grace and your peace is perfect, completely all I need"


There's a song by Brandon Heath that I really like called wait and see, and the chorus goes: "There is hope for me yet. Because God won't forget. All the plans He's made for me. I have to wait and see. He's not finished with me yet."


"Siblings side-by-side or miles apart, we are siblings connected by the heart."
 R.I.P. 
Montenae Hicks.
We love you and miss you! ❤❤

My new camera!!

 Well today my camera arrived in the mail today and I couldn't be more excited. My friend Marilyn and I have been talking about it and she said she feels like she's more excited about it than me! I think it's true. I've been wanting to get into photography for a little while now, it's something that up until now I did as sort of a minor hobby just using my phones camera.

   I have a few friends who are also into photography, one of which being my friend Marilyn who kind of inspired and encouraged me to pursue it. The camera I purchased is a Canon EOS Rebel XSi / 450 Digital SLR Camera with EF-S IS 18-55 mm lens. I friend of mine recommended it to me when I was first looking for a camera. He said that it was a great camera and would work well even in the hands of a beginner. My friend Marilyn, also reporting good things about it so I'm SUPER EXCITE :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

  I found an affordable on on ebay last week and I had the winning bid, my first actually. I've had my ebay account since 2010 but never used it, so it was essentially my first time using but I won the bid so that was really neat. I had a previous bid on another item that same day which I had lost, but my second bid I WON!! So now that I have another camera aside from the one on my phone, I'll be using it unless a super quick photo op pops up and my phone is the quicker option.

   I was considering maybe getting a degree in photography, not entirely sure though for now it's just a hobby I suppose! Although one unfortunate thing, for the type of photography that I normally like to do, there isn't much of that here in the city.

22 Years and Counting!!

 Well tomorrow, 3/11/2015 will be my 22nd birthday. But it's a bit of a bitter sweet moment I suppose. I'm getting old lol. My older sister just had her 25th birthday this past January (She's getting SUPER old). It's funny because growing up you seem to always live in the moment. You talk sometimes about what you want to be when you grow up, that sort of thing. But many people don't actually think about what happens when that time comes. 

I'm am interesting individual. My mother used to tell me I was akin to Peter Pan because I never wanted to grow up. And I suppose to this day, a part of that is still with me. Don't get me wrong I am an adult and I am aware of and do take care of my responsibility. However, I can be super childish :) But that's something about myself that I would never want to change because I LOVE it!!

I'm that 21 year old who would go to Chuck-E-Cheese. I would play in the McDonald's Play-Place if I wouldn't get into trouble. And yes I am still very much a HUGE fan of swing sets, as well as riding mechanical animals outside of convenience stores!

As time passes you begin to look at life more carefully. Opinions change, views change. For some they have their entire life planned out from early on, and for some people those plans actually work out! And then you have the people like myself, who aren't entirely sure where they're going. It's not always a bad things to be truthful. But overall I trust the Lord with my life and everything in it. As written in the song "Walk by Faith." "I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see." That's what we often have to do in life and in our walk with  God.

I want to take this time now to thank Him for everything. For 22 wonderful years of life. For always being there for me and never giving up on me. Whenever I felt abandoned and alone, the mere thought of His great love for me was enough to bring me back. "For He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." He has done many great things for me and I pray he will continue as I move forward in life on a path that glorifies Him. Doing that which is right in his eyes. Moving forward to live and even better and more dedicated life to Him is what I'll do from my 22nd onward. 

And thanks to all those family and true friends who have been there for me or have supported me and any way. Just knowing that people care is always enough. I hope to make many more great friends like you in the coming years of my life, exploring other aspects and things in life. Having people like you in my  life brings me a great joy like no other!!!

Location, location, location!

I've been thinking recently, it's time for a change in my life. I've made some changes to my life in the recent months that have been astronomically good for me. But I've been thinking and I'm about ready to make a few major changes to my life. 


   Of course we have the dreaded career question which I'm still a little uncertain about. I'm considering becoming a photographer, I LOVE photography!! For around a year or so I was considering becoming a dental assistant or dental hygienist. I forget which one (if not both) require a degree. My other yet currently last career choice was to become a mangaka. However being one from America has it's struggles. 

  Anyway on to more exciting news, I'm MOVING!!! Yeah, pretty soon!!! ...Kind of. Well here's the deal. I've lived in Kansas City my entire life. And to be completely honest I'm pretty bored of it. I have a few friends who live in smaller towns and they're always envious of me because I live in a bigger city. But between the noisiness and all of the hustle and bustle, I'm ready for a change. So soon I may be moving to Joplin!

   A few years ago there was a tornado that ripped through and destroyed most of Joplin Missouri. They're actually still rebuilding it to this day, but most of it looks pretty good. It's a decent sized city with a bit of a country feel. It's actually pretty close to the country, so that makes sense. Most of my family actually want to move to Texas. My older sister, Jocelyn, is in medical school and would like to move to Texas or California. The rest of my family...just really like Texas.

   If everything works out by the end of the year I'll probably be moved to Joplin and I'll probably buy my own house too, unless I decide to get an apartment instead. ( To be honest I really don't NEED a house to myself right now, I don't need that much space for one person.) Weeeeeell that is unless I'm able to get a horse around that time. Yeah I forgot to mention that I plan to get a horse as soon as I can also. Sooooooo I suppose owning a house would come in handy then, because I'd have much more room. Oooh oooh plus then I can finally get my SIBERIAN HUSKY!!! And he (or she) Would have ALL the room to run around as they pleased!
I plan to get a few other dogs also, but I want to start off with a Husky. What should I name it?

   I never really thought much about moving to another state, it would pretty fun to be honest. I have considered studying abroad or living in another country for a couple of years that would be pretty neat as well, but that's a MUCH bigger decision. I've been in Kansas City for 22 years. 22 YEARS!!!! Yeah I think I'm ready for a wee bit of change. Lord Willing, I shall do so. We'll just see how things go!
   

Past, Present and Future.

Yesterday I did something interesting. It's the kind of thing you hear about many times in your life, but often don't think of doing it yourself. It was on my Bucket List so I decided, hey let me go ahead and get it out of the way. So last night I wrote a letter to my future self. 

I've heard of many people doing it before so I was interested in doing it myself. To be honest I wasn't entirely sure what to write. So I guess as a basis I told future me about how things are now as a reminder from the past, as well as remind future me of the things I wanted to accomplish within the next few years. The envelop is dated 3/11/2023, for those of you who know me 3/11 is my birthday. And 2023 will be my 30th. There are many things I hope to accomplish by then so it should be fun to receive a present from my past self on that day.

But then however I decided to take things a step further. I did something that I haven't really heard of anyone else doing before, so it was essentially my own idea. I decided to write a letter to my future wife as well.

Now this one was a bit trickier than the first. I know who I am, and what I plan to accomplish. It was a bit easier to write one to myself, but my future wife? Well if I'm being honest there is someone in my life that I'd eventually like to marry. No we aren't dating or courting or anything of that nature. But if it be the Lords Will then maybe, you never know. I'm a man of great faith. Anyway still do to uncertainty my future wife is addressed as such or just Mrs.Kendall Ford. 

Writing this letter was...interesting to say the least. Neither letter was very long, no more than around 3 pages on lined notebook paper. But for me it wasn't the length, but more-so the words in which were spoken. I'd much rather the letter to my future wife remain a surprise to everyone, and to be honest it's something that I want to be special just for her and her heart only. 

I hope to forget the contents of the letters soon so that when the day comes it may truly be a surprise. The letter to Mrs.Kendall Ford is dated as you can see for our Anniversary of the same year. I considered setting the date for my birthday also, but I thought that our anniversary would be more special. I'm not too bad when it comes to keeping track of things, so I'm hoping that I don't have any trouble keeping track of these letters. I pray that on that day she opens that letter I may have fulfilled all that I sought to in our marriage, been everything I've needed to be and make that a very happy and special anniversary.

A Voice Like No Other

   This morning something interesting happened. I heard a voice. That's it, it was as simple as that...although it wasn't. It was someone singing, I couldn't quite tell who it was or what they were singing, but it was one of the most incredible things I've heard. It was simply angelic, seriously. Whoever this was, they are seriously WAY better than 98% of professional singers I've heard. Throw out the name of any celebrity, singer, band or anything and this person would mop the floor with them easily...easily.