Laugh!

Remember the saying “A laugh a day keeps the doctor away.” - Okay, okay it’s possible that I just made that up... But it sounds good, right?

I am here right now to hopefully give you a big smile on your face and make your day a lot brighter then it would be if you didn't stop by to read these jokes:).

(Just so you know, I wrote this late last night. So things that wouldn’t normally be funny to me were making me laugh super hard! So, if you don’t find these jokes funny, come back tonight when you’re tired and read them again... If they still aren’t funny to you then you need to learn to find joy in the simple things of life.)

Are you ready for some amazing jokes? Here we go:).

What did the football coach say to the broken vending machine?
-Give me my quarterback!

What time did the man go to the dentist?
-Tooth hurty.

What did Cinderella say when her photos weren't ready?
-Some day my prints will come.

What did the beach say as the tide came in?
-It waved and said: Long time, no sea.

When is a car not a car?
-When it turns into a garage.

Why do elephants have trunks?
-Because they would look silly with glove compartments.

What did one plate say to the other plate?
-Lunch is on me.

How do you make antifreeze?
-You steal her blanket.

How did cows feel when the branding iron was invented?
-They were impressed.

 Smile. Be Happy. Enjoy Life. Have a GREAT day and be the reason that someone else smiles today.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wow. I have so, so incredibly much to be thankful for. Since I couldn’t write down all that I’m thankful for even if I had all day,  I’ve decided to just write down 33 things because three is a wonderful number.

(In no particular order)

I’m thankful for...

1. God, and all that He has taught me this year.
2. My family which is full of unconditional love.
3. ThreeLife Church and all my amazing friends that I get to call my family.
4. Friends, both near and far away.
5. My bright room. (It’s hard to be sad in such a happy room!)

6. Family trips, family meals, family movie nights, and family meetings.
7. All you awesome people that read my blog, (and all those who have yet to be converted.)
8. Texting and emailing.
9. Writing cards.
10. Singing with my cousin/best friend and getting to see her every day. Just amazing.

11. Reading Zig Ziglar books.
12. My awesome prayer warrior parents who pray for me every day.
13. Jokes that make me laugh more than they should. (Why did the chicken cross the road? - To get to the other side. Hahahaha that one just kills me every time.)
14. My Thankful Wall in my room.
15. The Rhye family: Pastor Josh, Miss Amanda, Khyler and little Miss Pretty Flower, who will grace the world with her presence very soon.

16. My ThreeLife T-shirts that make me so happy every time I wear them.
17. The fact that every persons’ story matters. 
18. Hugs from my little cousins.
19. Sisters who encourage me.
20. Brothers who eat lots of food.

21. Colorful pillows, curtains, and paintings.
22. Doctors with a sense of humor (they said I should be well by now.) {Followed by this dialogue: “Hahahaha. That’s a good one.” “If you have a sick sense of humor.” get it?}
23. Having my cousins live right next door. Ahhh, truly a dream come true.
24. Brightly colored laundry detergent dispensers. Thank you to whoever decided that laundry detergent dispenser should be bright and happy.

25. Helen Keller, and how she inspires me with her words.
26. Howe Insurance Services, and the great leaders by whom I’m surrounded.
27. The experience of being stuck in an elevator with my older brother Logan! (Getting stuck on an elevator is just funny on so many levels. We were stuck 45 minutes, but we didn’t let it get us down. Sorry, I was going to make a funny pun about the elevator, I just haven’t come up with any yet.)

28. Having the opportunity to hear Rory Vaden speak.
29. Pumpkin Spice Candles.
30. Baking pumpkin cookies, and Andes mint chocolate cookies (to. die. for.)
31. My sister who just baked 8. Yes, 8, beautiful pies.
32. Sparkles on everything!
33. My ThreeLife friends flying up from Georgia to surprise me.

Action Kids' Club

Hey Everyone! Lydia Howe here from over at Noveltea. Johanna asked me to do a guest post so I could tell y'all about my new book that was just released on November 10th! So, without further ado, here it is:

Action Kids’ Club Back Cover Blurb:
Twelve-year-old Olivia Hall’s dream of a friends' club ends when she finds out her family is moving. Her parents assure her it's a good thing, opening a new world of possibilities for the Halls. But going from ‘miss popular’ to ‘the new girl’ won’t be easy, and Olivia is not convinced.

Soon she begins to realize that although her life has suddenly changed, there's plenty of adventure to keep her on her toes. From making new friends at Forward Focus, to hanging out at the world-renowned Kids Zone, to meeting the curious head chef, she discovers that there's much more to life - and her new surroundings - than she ever imagined. How will she make the most of these new opportunities? Or will she let them slip away?

You can find out more about the book by visiting my blog! Also check out this post for your chance to win a $50 Amazon giftcard!  

Find Action Kids' Club here (e-version) and here (paperback)!

Thank you so much, Johanna, for hosting me on Semicolon today!  

Gratitude

With Thanksgiving coming up I’ve been thinking about the story in Luke 17:12-19.
Jesus was going into a village, and ten men who had leprosy met Him, and, to make a long story short, Jesus healed them.

This is the part that has always really bothered me and I’ve really been thinking about recently. Only one of them, when he saw he was healed, went back and thanked Jesus.

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this one?"

For real? Only one out of ten came back to say Thank You. That just kinda makes me sick.

Come on people, let's be the ones that go out of our way to say thank you. It doesn’t even have to be a big thing to be thankful for it. It can be as little as telling the waitress at a restaurant: Thank you so much for your work!

I want to give y’all a challenge because of Thanksgiving this month. My challenge for you is: Take a few minutes and write a card to someone telling them Thank You.

It can be someone at school that you’ve noticed that they’re always smiling. You can write them a card to thank them for being a bright person that is full of sunshine.

I really enjoy writing cards. But as I was reading the story in Luke and was so upset that those nine didn’t come back to say thank you I realized that I’ve been to tons of doctors but I’ve only once sent a thank you card. So I got out a card and started to write to one of the doctors that I’ve been to in the past.

I had such a hard time finding things to thank her for. But guess what? I did. It took time but the more I thought about it the more I realized that I could thank her for a lot of stuff. You know, she didn’t have to be a doctor. Yes, she got payed for it, but she also had to work with sick people and probably a lot of the times they were grumpy. By the time I was done writing to her I felt a great level of respect for her and was also so thankful that I was not in her place.

So, all that to say. You don’t have to write to someone you like. Write to an enemy, that person that annoys the life out of you. By the time you’re done I bet you’ll have a lot of things that you’re thankful for about that person.

You know, cards can make a big difference in someones life when they get it! Like I wrote in the “About me” page. It was a simple card from my friend Cheryl that changed my life forever. You never know when someone needs a card and how much good it will do to simply tell them that you’re thinking of them.

Last week my Grandma sent me this card. It didn’t say very much but it came at just the right
time and completely made my day and had me smiling every time I thought of it!

 I love writing to sick people and then imagining how happy they are when they get a hand written card in the mail. Sometimes my cards are as simple as saying: I thought you could use a little extra sunshine today!  Here are the cards that I sent this week to sick people that I don’t know.

 Go check out the Thankful Wall page and write what your thankful for.

Freedom

“It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter


Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet


Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer


Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer


Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician


Who has given us the right to vote.”
~Charles Michael Province, U.S. Army~

 

“There is no greater love then to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.”

 John 15:13 (NLT)

Thank you to all of the men and women who have served our Country

 and to those who are serving today.

Am I The Only One?

Am I the only one? Has anyone else ever felt fear? 
Not just any fear, but a seemingly never ending fear. 
The kind of fear that, in the moment, feels like fear is the only thing you'll ever know.

****
                                                                                  
You thought you could outrun it, but you were wrong every time. It's now what controls you. 
You almost respect it. You listen to it and obey it. It's your gauge that tells you what's impossible. 
It holds you so tightly you can't even scream for help anymore.

It's like a bungee cord how it pulls you back and slaps you in the face every time you reach out for one of your dreams. 
It says: Why did you even try? I've told you you're a loser. 
It tells you: Hope’s a fake, but assures you that pain is real.

It has to have your attention; without your attention it will die. 
That's why it's so demanding and why it screams so loudly. 
It's behind your insecurity, it's the thing that asks you every night: Why God would love you? 
It's the thing that tells you over and over again what you did wrong and why you can never change.

It tells you you'll trip if you take that first step. 
I took that first step, I didn't trip, it was all a lie. 
I stopped giving fear my attention. It has now died.  
Am I the only one?

You've Got My Name Wrong

“You've got my name wrong.”

Isn't it awkward when someone calls you someone else's name. It's not so bad the first time or even the second, but by the third time you're starting to think: Maybe they really don't know that's not my name. We never think to ourselves: Wait. Maybe I'm the one that doesn't know my name. Maybe I was wrong.

Something that’s interesting to me is that so often when someone calls us stupid or a loser instead of thinking: That's not my name. Obviously they don't know me well enough if they're calling me by the wrong name. But no. So many time we think: Maybe they're right.

That is the craziest thing to me. Why would we ever let someone calling us by the wrong name change the way that we look at ourselves? If someone’s called you a loser or said that you’re not good enough then they obviously don’t know you well enough.

You are a winner. Your life matters. Next time someone calls you a loser just realize that they don’t know you well enough and they’re the one that’s missing out ;)

Page 1 of 1

I was sitting here getting ready to write when I noticed that at the bottom of this page in small letters it says: Page 1 of 1. I started thinking about it and how true to life that is.

Everything that we want to be remembered for has to fit on one page, so to speak.

One of my favorite quotes is: “Live twice the first time.” Meaning, instead of waiting until the end of my life and then looking back saying, If I could live my life over again, I would... I want to be the person who looks back and says: I loved people. I shared my faith. I lived what I spoke. I encouraged every person I met. I gave hope to the hopeless. I saw people’s potential not their past. I lived the way I want to be remembered.

Shortly after I heard that quote I took a day by myself to write down things that I wanted to be remembered for, such as encouraging people. This year I decided to ask great leaders what they wish that they had known/started doing at my age.

I knew that if I asked enough great leaders, no matter how busy they were then I would at least get a few to give me words of wisdom. Here’s the first letter I got back. Since it’s such great advice I wanted to share it with you. It’s from Dr. John D. Hall.

One of my favorite things to do, and something I want to be remembered for, is being thankful! I have alarms set throughout the day to remind me to be thankful. One of them is at 3:33 and it comes up and says: God gave me another 3:33!  I love the number 3 because of ThreeLife Church. Today was extra special because it’s the 3rd! You know what’s cool about setting reminders to be thankful? I have them set to come on every day, so no matter how my day’s going, I am reminded that there’s always something to be thankful for! I’m also super thankful for these amazing and encouraging difference makers from ThreeLife. I smile every time I see my background!

Encouragement

Hey Amazing People!

My goal with starting this blog is to encourage you to be the best that you can be and to inspire you to reach out and go after your dreams! 

So, I should probably start out by telling you a little about myself, like that my name is Johanna and the fact that I say awesome way too much. I say awesome as much as the average teenager says “like” which is a lot! Something else you should probably know is that I am a teenager ;) 

Enough about myself, I want you to understand that no matter what anyone has told you, your life matters and you CAN make a difference. I truly believe that you can change the world, and I am here to cheer you on! 

I have something to tell you: You were born to shine. Did you know that every move you make matters? Hard to believe, I know, but it’s the truth. Do you know that a butterfly can flap it’s wings once and set molecules of air in motion, which will move other molecules of air, in turn moving more molecules of air - eventually capable of starting a hurricane on the other side of the planet. Crazy to think about... 

You know, if a flap of a butterfly’s wings is capable of starting a hurricane, think of the difference that our words make... I want to be someone who encourages you with the words I speak (or should I say write). I plan to be that cheerleader that says: “YOU GO! I believe in you even when no one else does! You are a winner!!” 

Here’s one of my very favorite quotes: “Where there’s life, there’s hope.”  No matter how helpless life seems right now, I want you to know that I believe in you, you are more than what they’ve said you are. You are a winner and I want you to know that no matter how messy your life may be, there IS hope. Keep your head up because the sun is coming out!