Happy Belated Birthday!

I’m excited to announce that I am officially 21 years old! I realize that I am about two weeks late in the blog department, but life is more interesting. In the past two weeks: I traveled to Tennessee to visit friends and family, started summer classes, saved a little money, gave someone a tattoo, moved out of my apartment, spent a few hours in the E.R. with Jonah, and made a gym schedule. Being 21 isn’t much different than being 20 aside from the fact that I feel a little older. I feel like I can finally rent cars and foster children!

This month I want to focus on the words I say to people. I want to edify people and speak life into their situations instead of tearing them down. I know how badly words can hurt a person because I’ve hurt plenty of people in my lifetime. I’ve said the wrong things at the wrong times, and accidentally crushed the spirits of people around me. I’m sure we’ve all said mean things out of anger. We are sinful people, and only God can change our ways. I want to be an inspiration to the people around me, especially in my words.

One thing I’ve learned in the past two weeks, besides the definition of fiscal cliff, is that actions speak louder than words. When I do something wrong, like kick someone out of my apartment, the first thing people like to attack is my Christianity. When my actions don’t appear to align with scripture, regardless of the situation, I am hurting the word “Christian” in the minds of the unbelievers around me. Another way to phrase this phenomenon is to determine me a hypocrite. I live a life that loves Jesus Christ, but I am not always perfect. I do not always do the right things. I am not always gracious. I cannot always forgive the same person multiple times. I am a sinner.

SO!! With all that said, my goal in life is to be a little bit better because Jesus was better. Every day I strive to look more like him. It’s a progression, but I’m working on it. Moving forward is always better than standing still. I don’t want grow up to be one of those Christians that never makes a difference. I want to change the world – one child at a time.

Renee Lynn

P.S. – May is foster care awareness month!

Who Am I?

There are thousands of people in the world, what sets me apart? We each have a unique God-given fingerprint that distinguishes us from the rest of the world - our DNA. Call me obsessive, call me crazy, but last Christmas I bought myself a DNA test. I did it on a whim. I wanted to find out more about my heredity. I wanted to know why my tan skin color was so different than the 'white' race choice I selected on standardized tests. My curiosity brought me to www.familytreedna.com. I saved almost 200 dollars, and threw it all down for a chance to really know. I don't regret it, and I still feel like it was a good choice. Now when people ask me "what are you?", I give them a genetic breakdown. One of the coolest parts about my results is that my DNA gets put in a database, and every time I get a new family link, a notification gets sent to my email. the closest match I've gotten so far is a 2nd or 3rd cousin. It's so interesting to me, and my nerd side starts showing. Let me stop talking about it and just show you!

Here's my breakdown. you can click on the picture to get a better view. Pretty cool right? I assume my darker color comes from either my native American background or the Middle East. I wonder if that's enough Native American to get a scholarship. :P

This is the country breakdown. My DNA matches up to the following countries. This doesn't necessary mean my ancestors grew up in these countries, but there is a very high chance that the original people migrated from here.

One of the best things about the country breakup is that it can trace both Native American and Jewish blood. There are characteristics in these blood types that are unique to these people groups. I happen to have both of them! I can't help but get a little excited knowing that I have blood linked to God's chosen people. 

:) There you go! This is me. I have charts of actual DNA breakdowns, but sharing time is over. I think I have a justified reason to start marking 'other' on my future race selections. :P

Renee Lynn