Autumn is here...

I am starting to believe that nothing is more satisfying than a nice mug full of Earl Grey tea on a chilly autumn night. It is 46 degrees outside, but due to large amounts of rain we have received, it feels as if it were in the 30s. So, here I am, doing what I love to do: drinking hot tea and blogging. I can't believe that I got so far away from my blog, because I simply adore to write my thoughts and feelings in here.
I had a small adventure today as my lovely brother, Casey, attempted to teach me how to drive a manual! I say "attempted" because I am not the best at driving a manual. I have extremely short legs and fail to push the clutch in far enough, causing his poor car to come to a screeching halt! It was quite funny, because we had our lesson at an abandoned Wal-Mart parking lot. A group of teenage skaters had somehow gotten into the outdoor garden area and were, um, skating QUITE poorly. They then had the nerve to laugh at my driving! It was my first lesson and, of course, I made mistakes, but these young men consider themselves to be skaters when they can't even skate! I found it quite amusing to watch!
A few days ago, I spoke of our youth group's Christmas play. We have now had a few practices, and I must say that this past Wednesday's practice was absolutely HILARIOUS!!! I don't remember laughing that hard in my entire life. Everyone was just terribly funny at their parts. For example, my brother, Casey, has completely adapted to playing a bumbling country hick. He kept us all in stitches. I am not sure if we'll be able to get through this play without everyone in the cast bursting out laughing! Also, I tend to speak extremely fast regularly. For whatever reason, if I speak slowly, I start speaking in a English accent. I do not know WHY I do this, because it is definitely not intentional, but I do. That made everyone laugh even more because I was a British Jewish woman! It was extremely funny.
I am in a quartet along with three lovely young ladies. Last month, during our church's revival meetings, Bro. Knickerbocker heard us sing a wonderful song entitled "Jesus Passed By". When he got up to preach, he told the congregation that in the end of December, a youth congress would be held at Crown Southwest and Norris Bible Seminary. Unfortunately, the extremely brilliant, kind, and talented girls at Crown who usually sing at these meetings will be at their homes for Christmas at this time. Bro. Knickerbocker asked our quartet, Redeemed, to sing at the congress!!! You have no idea how much this means to us. We all feel extremely blessed of and grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ for giving us the gift of song as well a love for Him. Bro. Knickerbocker would not have asked us to come if he even assumed that we sang pridefully, I believe. This is such an honor for our quartet! We will need to have about eight or nine songs ready by then and be ready to give our testimonies. Our quartet consists of Taylor and Courtney, who juggle between alto and tenor, Hannah, who sings alto and second soprano, and myself. I sing first soprano. I love these three girls more than I could ever say; they have been such an encouragement and a blessing to me and my family! They have such lovely voices and even more beautiful hearts! Hannah's parents, Bro. Rick and Mrs. Tammy, are our youth leaders. Also, an amazing woman, Miss Sherry, helps out with our crazy group. We are also extremely blessed to have a pastor, Bro. Carrier, and a church family who loves and supports us all the way. I couldn't pick a better church family. They are such amazing people, and they each pray for us often. We wouldn't be able to do any of this without their support, as well as the support from our parents and siblings. I am so honored that God would give me a voice to praise Him with as well as friends to praise Him with!