June 12, 2009
Dear Journal,
I made two new friends at the park this afternoon. They were a brother and sister named Josh and Kelly. Josh is 16 and Kelly is 14. They're homeschooled. I figured out that they live three houses down from mom and me so they invited me to hang out at their house tomorrow afternoon for a couple of hours. They have a big pool so we'll probably swim. And Josh said he'd teach me how to skateboard. He's pretty cool.
Kennedy

June 13th, 2009
Dear Journal,
I had a really good time at the Gray's house (that's Josh and Kelly) today. Their mom made cupcakes for us while I was there. They don't mind that I don't have a dad. They invited me to go to church with them tomorrow and Mom said I could. They don't have a youth group at their church; I think that will be nice. I'm sick of the silly kids in my youth group. They're all fake, and they laugh at me for wanting to learn more about the Bible. The Grays think it's really good that I love God and love the Bible.
Kennedy

June 14th, 2009
Dear Journal,
I loved the Gray's church! It was wonderful, and everybody was so nice to me. The pastor was preaching on marriage and "courtship". I had never heard of courtship before. It was different from what I used to think but it made sense. After the service I heard Josh talking to a couple of his friends about dating and courtship. Josh was mostly arguing with a guy named Carl because Carl thinks dating is dangerous and that (what he called) "superficial relationships" are against the Bible. Josh was getting angry because he thinks dating is good. He has a girlfriend named Courtney. She's nice but she seems too quiet for Josh. He's pretty goofy. Mom said I can go again with them next Sunday. I'm glad.
Kennedy

June 21st, 2009
Dear Journal,
It's been a busy week! Mom had the flu from Tuesday to Friday so I had to cook all of our meals. I love cooking but I don't have much experience. Two nights in a row we had to eat cold cereal because I burnt or dropped the food. I felt bad but Mom said it was okay. She reminded me that the best way to learn is through experience.
I went to church with the Grays again today. The pasted have the second half of his sermon on marriage and courtship. It was really good and it gave me a lot to think about. I told mom all about it and showed her my sermon notes. She said she wished she knew about courting when she was my age. But she said that God always knows best even if His timing isn't the time we want. I love Mom. She's such a wonderful woman.
After church today Josh and Carl discussed the sermon again. Josh went away mad and in the car he told me that Carl is a "prude" and that he doesn't want to be friends with him anymore. I like Josh a lot but sometimes I think he isn't very mature.
Kennedy

June 27th, 2009
Dear Journal,
Today was Josh's birthday and he had a small pool party at his house. I felt really weird because before I thought my one-piece bathing suit was modest but next to the other girls' suits it looked pretty skimpy. Courtney and Kelly were wearing one-piece suits but the rest had on knee-length dresses over leggings or else long loose shorts and a tee shirt. I asked one of the girls (I think her name was Bekah) why she wore her swimsuit like that and she said it was because she wanted to glorify God by what she wore, and that she believed it was more modest that way. I had never thought about that before. I thought I was modest but I think that if I really looked at myself as if I were standing right in front of Christ I wouldn't wear half of the things in my closet. It gave me a lot to think about. I told Mom about it when I got home and she just looked at me for a bit and then said "You are so wise for your age. Always do what is right before God, even if I tell you something different." She said she would go through her closet, too, and see about what she should do differently.
Kennedy