What do you want to hear next?

Hey All! :)

Just a quick note to let you know that my poll on the left side of this post has 4 days left for you to vote on what you want me to talk about in a blog coming up soon! :) So far "High School" is in the lead, followed closely by "My Faith Journey". If all you readers that want to read about high school, can you please comment here with more specifics on what you would like to hear from me if high school wins?! That would be great! :)

So please VOTE VOTE VOTE! :) Let me know what you wanna hear! :) And remember you CAN vote MULTIPLE times :)

VOTE VOTE VOTE!

On an ending note....

"May the Lord Bless you, may the Lord keep you, may the Lord's face shine apon you"

God Bless,
Ashley

Future Plans..Oh no...Help!

Wow, do you know how much pressure teenagers are under in this world today?!? Way way too much!
Although we are faced with many things daily, one of the major things that i believe is so tough is our future.

Daily we are bombarded with homework, studying, lectures, speeches, presentations, and teachers preaching to us about college and what are we gonna do with our future??

And sometimes I want to scream at them and say WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DONT KNOW FOR SURE!?!?!

We are under so much pressure to do so many things, and to accomplish so much that multiple times during the year I break down, cry, am beyond sressed and basically loose it!

Ok, now saying that I think about what Im going to do with my life??
Oh no...

For me right now I really want to go into ministry of some sort. More than likely youth ministry, or something with being involved with the church and in that community. I would so LOVE to do that! :) But then the doubts come into my mind...
-What if i cant get into college?
-What if its too much?
-What if I cant understand it?
-What if I loose all my money?
-How am I going to get a job?
-How am I going to live?

And honestly the list could go on and on. And when i look at colleges thats the list that is going through my head and man, it scares me to death.

On a daily basis i work my butt off to do as well as I possibly can in school to get into college, and it is so tough. So much to do in such a short period of time it seems. Its pretty sad.

So right now I now what I want to do in the future, and I know that I really want to attend St. Thomas. But all the details that come with that are no where close to being comprehended by me.. So much to think about, so many concerns and sooooo many fears. Some days I really dont know what to do. I just want to succeed and live life to the fullest and do what I love and what God wants me to do.

But...
GOD is not very forth-coming about what he wants to have me do with my life! :) *Yeah Mr. Up there! :) A little guidance PLEASE!?!**

So im going to pray daily that God directs me into what he wants me to do with my life. For him to show me his way. Because after reading at the top what I had to say about my future plans you can definately tell that I dont have much of a clue..

Its in God's hands.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:5-6

Lord,
Please help me to listen to you and your will for my life. Please Guide me, lead me and push me to do what my purpose is in life.
Amen

Love,
Ashley

The Dignity Of Women

Hey all! :) Im back! :) I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving, and hopefully a not too crazy black friday! :)

Tonight I decided to discuss the topic of "The Dignity Of Women". While you read this please keep in mind that this is my opinion, I do not mean to put anyone down by this post. Thanks for understanding! :)

Well I hope you all can see by my posts that I do value myself, along with respecting myself. As well as I do respect, hope and pray for an improvement of the dignity of women in this society we live in today.

I feel as if though women in today's society are lead to believe that they have to fit so many "criteria" to be "accepted" or "Good Enough" Which I find appauling! Also the fact that society seems to look as women as objects. Basically sexualizing, exploiting, and de-feminizing them. In most of the movies that have been released recently what do you see? Sex, fighting, possibly drugs, cursing, women in outfits that DO NOT fully cover their body or attract a man for the WRONG REASONS!

It seems that lots of women feel that they need to dress provacativly, "sexy", seductive, exploitative, and so much more just to get a man's attention. To get that love, to get that attention, but honestly is that what you want to be known for?? Do you want that random guy to talk to his friend about you and say they ask him "well what is she like??" and he says "she is the really hott blonde, with the short short skirt and really low cut shirt. You know what im saying bro?!" *Insert High five*
HONESTLY!?!? Is that what you want a guy to remember about you is how you dressed?

There are so many things that a girl should be remembered by. Not just her body! (Honestly at the very least her body!) There is sooo much more to a woman than just her body, and thats what a lot of people dont understand. And its partially because of the way society portrays women.

I believe that women are so much more than we are shown or lead to believe about ourselves.

As you can tell I have a passion for empowering women, I truly believe its a gift from God. He helps me to help the ones who need it. And so many people come to me with issues and I feel God telling me what to say. I just feel so strongly about this topic and im sorry if this is rambling on, but it just blows my mind what people consider "ok" or how they see women. Its sooo sad!

So what can we do to help?!?
-Dress Modestly (Or encourage other women to!) And I know when some of you think Modesty you think dumpy and not stylish. UNTRUE! :) There are so many cute outfits that are completely modest.
-Value yourself and other women!
-Dont encourage movies, tv shows, magazines etc that dimean women.
-Dont support things that dimean women.
and so many more things! :)

Guys, this can be changed! :) But we all need to work together to make this issue, no exsistent any longer! :) Start today! :)

Your father up in heaven, and his son value you soo much, why shouldnt the world value you that much?! You are the daughter of a king, show it with grace and modesty. :)

You are so loved! Please dont ever think that you have to do all of those things just because thats what people "accept". Because you are so much better than that!

"God gave each man a job..... The dignity of a woman"-- Pope John Paul II

*Sorry if this rambled on! :( Let me know what you think!*

Love, and Prayers,
Ashley

What to be Thankful For This Thanksgiving..

Hey all! :)
In the spirit of Thanksgiving (Being tomorrow!) I thought I would post what I am thankful for :)

(These are listed in NO particular order)

-My family, even through the rough times some how we all stick together and get through. They love me unconditionally and I am truly grateful to have them.
-My wonderful friends! :) Where would I be without you guys?!? You all have done wonders in my life and I continue to thank you so much for all of that! :) Through thick and thin, through laughter and tears...man you guys are amazing!
-God. Man what to say?!? God has blessed me so much in so many ways, and still to this day I continue to count the ways. The one who hears my cries, pleas, hopes and dreams. God you are amazing! :) And I am so glad that I turned back to you!
-My Future Husband- Who right now only God knows, but he is getting us ready to be together. I love you with all my heart. :)
-For St. Henry's Youth Group! :) Man, I love it there! :) Even though we are still promoting and in the early stages, i couldnt ask for anything better than what we have and what we will continue to have :)
-My Puppy! Lilly is my love! :) Dogs know how to pick you up when you are down, and make you laugh and have fun with them! :) She is my absolute love, hope, pride, joy and my little girl :) I love her so much!
-My Parents- For putting up with me through so much! :) Thanks for all you do for me and teach me! :) Please continue to do so even if Im not the nicest person about it... haha :)
-My Grandparents- Grandma and Grandpa Theisen are amazing! :) I love having Grandparents sooo close! :) Thanks for all you do for all of us! **I cant wait to come over for thanksgiving tomorrow!** Grandma Fran, you are such an intelegent woman. Full of wisdom and hope. Thank you so much for all that you have taught me!
-For being able to get an education. I know most of the time we all hate school, but to think about it... man we are really really lucky to be able to learn and make the world a better place!
-The Bible. Without God's word I would be lost!
-For all the people who go out and CHOOSE to make a difference!
-MY YTM FAMILY!
-My Job :)
AND SO MUCH MORE! :)
What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?! :) Let me know!

My message to all of you....

Since tomorrow is a day of celebration, giving thanks, and together-ness, why not spread that on?? Do anything you can to spread those things on to others who may be less fortunate than you, or are just in need of a little happiness.

God gives us all PLENTY of things to be thankful for! :) So tomorrow when you wake up, or throughout the day tell him what your thankful for. Let him know how much he has changed your life, and made you thankful.


Lord---
Thank you so much for this day. Please bless all of us tomorrow, with our travels and family time. May our time together be memorable. Let tomorrow be a day for us to give thanks for all the blessings you have given us.
In your name we pray,
Amen


God Bless,
LOVE love love,
Ashley :)

Waiting For My Future Husband

Alright Guys! :) On the side of my blog I had a poll going for a couple of days about topics that you would like to hear me talk about here on my blog. And the winner was "Waiting for My Future Husband". :) Sooo.. here we go!

It all started after I got out of a bad relationship, it was so difficult for me to not have someone there for me. So I continued to cling to boy after boy, thinking that would make me feel loved and accepted. Once I would get close to another guy, my heart would hurt, and my concience would go crazy! Its hard to explain but its just one of those feelings that you know when something just isnt right. Nights would go by and I would be so upset, and I would think these questions to myself...
-Why wont a boy like me?
-Am I ever going to get married??
-Why isnt this working??
And along with those questions came these statements...
-Im too fat for any guy to love me
-Im not pretty enough for someone
-Im too wierd
-No one likes me
And the list could go on and on.... pretty sad huh?! Typing about my past is really hard for me, and now I am realizing it more and more as I get further into this blog.

***Sidenote.... during my bad relationship I turned my back on God, and turned away from the Catholic Faith as well. I thought that if I had sex with my boyfriend at the time that it was ok because he loved me, and God would forgive me. Not a problem! MAN I WAS SO STUPID! Thank God I DID NOT give up my virginity to him. That I am so thankful for!

So slowly after all of those short little "flings" with boys came and went I started going to Youth Group. It wasnt until the first trip to MOA and Lifeline *Teen Mass In St. Paul* that things started to change. A few ladies had an AMAZING talk with our wonderful youth minister Kym in the car on the way down and on the way back. This is one day and talk that I will never forget. It wasnt until I had a min to talk to Kym just one on one that she just talked to me. She didnt talk AT me she talked TO me. Telling me her story, and so much more. And then, it all just came out, I told her what was going on and how I didnt know what to do anymore. I told her my doubts and my fears. And what I was shocked about was that she told me she knew how I felt! Kym made me feel so much better that night and helped me turn back. And to this day I'm not sure if she knows fully how much she changed my life that night, and how much she continues to change it for the better on a daily basis.

Then Kym introduced me to this book titled "When God Writes Your Love Story". Which is written by a married couple. I LOVED THE BOOK! :) It was so amazing to hear that things do happen through God, Faith and patience.

So after I finished the book I made a list of all of the things that I want in my future husband. :) It made me feel different, but in such a good way though. I have always thought that I have to sink down to a guy's level to get him to like me and be with me. But man was I wrong.

So from that day on, I look back at that list and remind myself that God has MY future husband out there for me, and he will bring us together in his time :) I also make sure to pray for him :) which is very important.  And when Im sad, happy, excited, and so much more I sit down and write him letters. Telling him how much I love him and miss him. And now I know you are asking "How can you love him and not have even met him yet?!?" And I answer that once I started loving the Lord, I started loving my future husband. Its through that love that i have for my savior, and how much i fall more and more in love with him, that I love my future husband. Because the Lord is the writer of our love story. ***I hope that makes sense! :) Hard to explain***

I have also made another big commitment, that being waiting to have Sex until marriage. And for some odd reason society portrays it that teenagers CANNOT abstain... I find that hurtful and incorrect. I'm abstaining, im waiting :) My future husband deserves that gift that God intended for him :)

BELIEVE ME guys it gets soo hard! Im not going to lie! Some days im like "Ok are you here yet?!?" haha ;) but i know i have to wait which is hard but well worth it. So I plan on sitting and waiting for my Prince Charming to come to me. Im not dating anyone else. I dont care how long it takes. God has a plan for me and him :)

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans for you to prosper, not to woe. To give you Hope and a Future"-- Jeremiah 29:11 :)

"There is a love, unabiding love, more than your dreaming of. And all you are is his hearts desire, beloved beautiful."- Jesse Manibusen "Maria"

"Im waiting, Im waiting on you Lord, and I am hopeful. Im waiting on you Lord though it is painful. But patiently I will wait."-- "While Im Waiting" From the movie Fireproof

"Wait on Me, My princess. My timing is always perfect. I know you're anxious about many things, and I see your passion for all the plans I have put in your heart. I know that you long to fly, and I see your enthusiasm. However, just as a vinedresser nurtures the vine and waits patiently for the right moment to harvest the grapes, so too am I working tirelessly to prepare you to bear much fruit. Don't run ahead of Me or try to fly before My plans are complete. Your strength will fail you, and your dreams will wither away. Trust Me that My dreams for you are far greater than you can dream on your own. You will run farther and soar higher if you will patiently wait for the season of My blessing. Draw close to Me now, and I promise that this season of waiting will bring you the sweetest of rewards.

Love,


Your Kind and Lord of perfect timings"


But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. - Isaiah 40:31
 
Thank you all for taking time to read this blog, and I hope that I fullfilled what you were looking for when you voted on that poll. :) 
God Bless!
 
Ashley

NCYC & Changes

Hey All! :) IM BACK! :)

Sooo many people have been asking me about NCYC and how it went...and man Kym was totally right.. you cannot explain it. But im going to try my best!

-We arrived at about 3:00 pm in Kansas City. Got to the hotel quick to change and drop off our stuff and then headed to the conference center.
- General Session I walked into and seeing everyone and all the music by John Angotti made me cry, along with my jaw dropping... Unbelieveable!
-Went to different workshops, such as A Catholic Comedian who was hillarious!, and to Mark Hart the bible Geek! :) Both amazing!
-General Sessions continued to raise the bar :)
-Jason and Crystalina Evert Spoke on Saturday night which brought me to tears... They are my idols and their message is so powerful and so true! Look up Jason Evert on youtube, you wont regret it!
-Steve Arigsano, and Jesse Manibusan were AMAZING emcee's :)
-I MET JASON AND CRYSTALINA! :) I completely freaked out and was in awe by them! :) I got a picture with them too! Plus Crystalina gave me her email adress and said that they would send me copies of their books to give out at my purity ball, and that i should let them know the dates to speak (If they can fit it in their busy schedule)
- Went to Reconciliation and Adoration
-Heard amazing teen speakers! My Favorite was Philip Ryan, he had an inoperable brain tumor which eventually just went away, along with other miracles from God... Sooo amazing!
-Took part in mass with 21,000 other catholic youth! Communion took 40 mins, and there were 140 clergy men persiding! :)
-HAD AN AMAZING TIME! :)

NCYC was so unbelieveable and so wonderful. I learned so much, the major one being that I am not alone! There are so many other Catholic's just like me! :) Completely blew me away!

Thank you for all who donated time, money and prayers for me and our delegation over the trip! They helped so much! Thank you all for this amazing opportunity!
 Here are some pictures.... :)

Now on to the changes aspect of this blog.... Here is a note that I wrote and posted on my facebook, hopefully this gives you the jist of what exactly went on... :

'Hey Everyone!
It has come to my attention that many of my status updates about my faith have been taken the wrong way. To some it was considered "Shoving it down peoples throats". I would like to apologize for those coming off that way. I honestly did not mean for the status' to come off in the wrong was and i am very sorry that people felt that way about it.


To me my faith is SO VERY important, and i just wanted to inspire and help others. I did not mean for it to be taken as me forcing people to be just like me. I know everyone is different that is for sure.



It has also come to my attention that lots of people still really enjoy reading my posts etc... well you people are in luck! :) I am going to continue blogging about more faith oriented things, inspirational things, struggles, life, God, Catholocism, my life, and so much more on my blog! :) I hope that all of you read it, by your own choice. Please visit www.highschoolcatholic.blogspot.com to read all that i have to say.



To me i just want to proclaim God's amazing message to the world, but i dont want to frusturate/irritate or hurt anyone in that process. I sincerly apologize if you were offended or hurt by any of my posts, that was not my intention.



If you choose so please let me know what you think of my blog posts! That would be soo appreciated to see that they are reaching someone and that someone actually gets something out of it. :) Please feel free to comment here, on my blog, message me with any questions/comments/concerns and email me at ashleywalz@gmail.com.



Thanks and God Bless All Of You :)'
 
So this blog is going to be my life, and i really hope to keep up with it! Sometimes its hard to sit down and take time to type and all of that, but honestly I dont just do it for me, i do it for the people that i can reach, help and hopefully inspire. Thank you so much for your loyalty to reading my blog and all its contents. And i apologize if i have offended anyone of you as my readers.
 
ON A LIGHTER NOTE!!! Since at NCYC i had a wonderful opportunity to stock up on a few books (6) my youth minister and I are doing a social experiment :) We are both going to read the same book, but we divided it up into chapters. Going every other chapter, so i am the 1st! :) I will post my interpretation of the chapter on my blog here, and then she will post her interpretation of the next chapter on her blog. I am really excited and glad that Kym came up with the idea! :) So please visit Kym's Blog to see her interpretations as well as mine on here. I can definately tell you that you will for sure get lots of things out of Kym's blog, she is an amazing mom, wife, Catholic, youth minister, smart, funny, and truly an inspiration to many. I hope you like our soical experiment! Let us know what you think, comment here or email me at ashleywalz@gmail.com :) 
 
Lord---
Thank you so much for all you do for me and my family. You truly bless me on a daily basis, and you open up doors for me in all different ways. Thank you for the AMAZING experience at NCYC, let us all be the light in the darkness, shining for all to see. You are an amazing God, who does so much because he loves me and all of you. Please continue to bless my writings here, and the eyes and people who read them. 
In your name,
Amen 
 
God Bless,
And please let me know what you think! :)
LOVE!
Ashley

Missouri Bound...... :)

Good Evening everyone!!! :) This is going to be my last blog post for a couple of days. Because if you havent noted, haha in my past blogs, I am leaving for the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Kansas City, MO!   I am so excited and so blessed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHzh0nIeJQY  <-----NCYC Promo on youtube :) Well worth watching!

Tonight has been all about getting my ducks in a row! :) Getting money, packing, finishing up some make up homework : /, praying, blogging, making lists and still prepping! :) Even though it may seem like its a lot, its pretty well worth it! :)

Right before bed tonight will be my last time praying the NCYC Novena, sad but definately exciting and reasurring :) God has really watched over me and preped me for this trip :)

----So and 9:30 pm, with a candle lit and music playing, please join me in prayer over myself, my family, our delegation, our chaperons, all 21,000 participants, the bands, key note speakers and all of the people who make this possible. And also praise the Lord who makes this all possible, the one that got us to where we are today and is defiantly not finished with us yet ---

All prayers are sooooooo appreciated :) Thanks in advance! :) I know this sounds a lot like my post last night, I guess I am just in awe and really excited to be going :)

I woke up this morning and I thought... TODAY IS MY FRIDAY!!! :) Got ready for school in a wonderful mood, made it through all of my classes anxiously awaiting, got home, went to the bank, packed and all that fun stuff and now I am here :) Updating you all, waiting for Glee to start, then to watch a little blog feature about my amazing friend Kami on the Fox 9 news! :) All I know is that they are featuring her family and her blog :) Cant wait to see her! :) I love you Kami!

AND THEN..... its off to bed for me! :) Hopefully I can sleep! haha I have to be up to church by 4:45am and then we are headed to Eagan, MN and hopping on the coach bus for 6 hr's and 45 mins to Kansas City :) Its gonna be great! :) Man soo excited!!!

Please pray for all of us, and join me from your own homes/places you are at at 9:30pm tonight for prayer :) 

May God Bless You All, and May He Keep You Safe :)

Thank you all so much!

God Bless,

LOVE!,

Ashley

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for you to prosper, not to woe, plans to give you hope and a future"- Jeremiah 29:11 :)