Acceptance With Joy

The Beauty of Hope

2011-08-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

Hope. Such a beautiful word. A word full of possibilities. Running over with anticipation. Tinted with promise.

Hope- A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that is obtainable. Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety. ~Websters 1828 Dictionary

I just love hope! It really is full of joy and pleasure! At Ellerslie graduations the staff at Ellerslie picks out a "name" for each student to describe them. The name that was picked to define me was "The Hopeful". I almost cried with joy, they couldn't have picked a more perfect description. I really am a hopeful person and I am filled with the joy of having hope. There are two verses that were chosen to go with "The Hopeful";

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold if the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stead fast. . . Hebrews 6:18-19b

These two verses have been a source of remarkable relief and joy in my life. The first one in particular has been such a blessing to me. Just to know that I can hope in Christ, that He has begun a good work in me and that He will not cease to perform that work until it is complete is such a wonderful thing to put your trust and hope in.

In the second verse, the one in Hebrews, we see that hope is a strength, it is an anchor, a refuge. But only a certain kind of hope can be that for us. Only one kind of hope can satisfy us. For a while I had forgotten the divine joy and wonerful hope. I had placed my hope in things of this world, thinking they would make me happy. I had misplaced my hope and trust. I had put them in people and circumstances. I was expecting so much out of that hope, and I got nothing but pain. It all came crashing down on top of me, I was broken and I was hurting. Then the Lord showed me the following verse.

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5

The kind of hope I had been having was very disappointing in the end. Why? Then I realized that the one and only thing I can place my hope in is Jesus Christ, anything else is simply a wish or desire and is accompanied or followed by pain and anxiety. There is no real hope except that which is placed in my Father. I know He will fulfill me, I have hope of Him changing me. When I put my hope in Jesus I know I can trust Him. He will never let me down. He may not give me everything I want, He may allow things I don't like, but He always puts such joy in my heart that I can't help but hope in Him! He is my only Hope!

Writing

2011-07-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Wow! I haven't written in such a long time! Well I just want to let you all know that I'm going to be posting fairly regularly again so look for a nice long post soon! :)

Sacred Surrender

2011-04-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

Article I did for the Ellerslie Post.

I come to Christ in such a pitiful and utterly unattractive state of being. I come to Him having done everything to offend and hurt Him and nothing that has even remotely brought Him glory. My warmest thought of Him is cold. I just can't make myself passionate for Him. And yet that's all I've tried to do. I've tried to do things for Him, I've tried to love Him - I want it so bad! I want Him, I want life in Him. But I can't crucify this flesh that is ruling over me. And yet with flesh, I can't have Him. Light and darkness can't dwell together in the same place. I'm a slave to darkness and selfishness - I'm in bondage. I just can't do the things of Christ. I can't bring Him glory. Why? Why can't I break myself? I know the only way to come is in brokenness but I feel so hardened. This situation is impossible. I just can't do it! I can say I'm a Christian but I'm not the full possession of Christ. If every thought, word, and action is not directed by Him, If every thing I do is not done specifically for His glory, if my whole point of living is not to bring Him glory, if every part of me is not overcome by Him, then I'm simply not Christ's possession. The only way to truly live a Christian life is to live in perfection. Self has no part in perfection.

If I were to stop here it would seem that the situation is impossible, but even through all my inadequacies, my huge amount of failure, and my muddy heart - there is hope. His name is Jesus Christ, and He accomplished something absolutely phenominal when He died on the cross. Something which can and will make me perfect in the sight of God. The flesh in me makes me unable to follow Christ and live in His perfection. But my Jesus has taken all of my inadequacies onto Himself and they were crucified with Him. His body was broken and it accomplished the breaking of my flesh. No, I couldn't break myself, I couldn't crucify myself, but He could and did. He bought me at the highest price that can be placed on anything - the blood of God.

Included in the purchase of the cross, is everything that is me - my life, my mortal body, my thoughts, my personality, my feelings, my heart, my soul, my all. Anything to do with who I am is now owned by Christ. If I yield to Him, He will come into my being and I will be covered by His blood and from henceforth will be owned and operated by Christ Himself. All that I am will be swallowed up in everything He is.

The turning point is what I choose to do with this knowledge. I must believe that the Son of God did in fact purchase me - heart, body, mind and soul. In order to see change, Christ must become the center of my existence. Just like the sun is at the center of the solar system and brings all the other planets into orbit, placing the Son of God at the center of my life will bring everything I say, think, and do into alignment with the perfect life Christ has for me to live.

Now I see the purpose of my life in Christ - being wholly possessed by Christ alone to constantly bring Him glory. Now, all of my thoughts ought to follow the pattern of Philippians 4:8; Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. The things I allow my mind to dwell on should be always, only for His glory!

In the same way, every word that comes out of my mouth is to come only at the direction of my Lord -always pure, uplifting, and loving. Any rebuke should be conveyed in a loving manner and only at the direction of the Holy Spirit. My words should point others toward Christ and His goodness, never lifting me up or glorifying me in any way. Any good works that comes out of me are only a result of Christ dwelling in my heart. My words are all useless, but every word of His, that is directed by Him, is perfect.

In everything I do, my life should bring glory and honor to the name of Jesus Christ. There are so many things that happen in a day, many things that need to be done. And yet even these everyday things ought to be done for Him. The motive behind each of my actions is of the utmost importance. There is a way to do good things in the wrong way or for the wrong reason. Prayer, for example, is a beautiful thing and it is something that we, as Christians, are to do all the time. But when we are praying with selfishness, constantly asking God only for the things we want or praying in public just so others can hear how spiritual our prayers sound, we are not bringing glory to God. We should do things for Him and not for anyone else. Even if no one ever knows how much we have given up or how hard we have worked, we should be completely content knowing what we have done is for our King and He is pleased.

Jesus Christ is all - He is the answer to my weakness, filth and hardness. He is love and He will be love through me. When I focus my eyes completely on Him and don't worry about anything else in the world, I will be filled to overflowing with all of Him - His Joy, His passion, His kindness, His compassion, His heart. Christ and Christ alone is who brings me to a place of brokenness, cleanses my heart, and fills me with the perfection of Him. He is my All in all!

Pictures!

2011-04-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

So I fully expected to keep my blog updated while I've been here, but that was before I got here and found out that free time, even though we have two hours of it, is not nearly enought to fit in all the extra things that I need to do! Besides that, you can only load up five pictures at a time on Blogger as apposed to about fifty on Facebook. So I just sat down to check my email and there were only two in my inbox and both of them were junk mail :P So I have a bit of time on my hands now. So I will attempt to give you a bit of an update. It's not going to be anything profound because the Lord has done so very much in my life that I couldn't possibly begin to scrach the surface of it. there would be miles of scrolling down you would have to do ;) But I guess that bit of information is good because now you know at least that the Lord has done a mightily work in me. All glory and praise be to His name alone!

So for this post I'll put pictures and in the next one I'll put the article I wrote for the Ellerslie Post. That will give you a bit of perspective of some of what's happened to my life.

These are very randomly placed and completely out of order. But I hope you enjoy them :)

Ellerslie Chapel

Kala's All Stars

David's All Stars

Shalea and I at an old Pizza Parlor with all kinds of writing on the brick walls

Estes Park

Shalea (BTW, she is the best room mate in the world! We are sisters now :)

Yes, "adults" are playing duck, duck, goose here ;)

Shalea and Rachel

Shalea and I

Loodles!

Me on top of a mountain in the Rockies!

Me again

Leslie Ludy playing the piano for us, the song was the one she wrote when she was 16! Jacie is playing her penny whistle :)

Loodles

The clocks at Loodles

Rock formation in Estes Park

The view outside my dorm window

Snowing on a campus bench

View outside my dorm window. Yep, I know, I'm very blessed!

The Ellerslie Post

2011-02-25T15:54:00.000-08:00

Here at Ellerslie we put out our own newsletter. It's completely managed by students. I'm so excited because you all know how much I love to write :) So I'm a head writer for the Post :) Exciting!!! We will put out 4 issues over our time here at Ellerslie. The first one ill be out next week and I will post a link to it when it comes out. So here is a sneak peak into the Ellerslie post for this coming week. It's an article written by yours truly ;)

One of the lovely things about the landscape here at the Ellerslie campus is that we get to behold a beautiful lake every time we come out of our dorms, the Lake House or the Everett Center. When all of us new students arrived, the lake was frozen solid. I had never seen a frozen lake before (being from central California) so I thought it was really cool (no pun intended ;) However, after a while I began to anticipate seeing the lake in it's unfrozen state, rippling in the wind, reflecting all the things that are above and around it, and capturing bits of sunlight so that it would dance and sparkle like so many diamonds and flakes of gold, as apposed to the unmoving, dull, frozen mass that I now beheld. After being here for a few days, in which Windsor enjoyed nice warm weather, I expected the lake to suddenly be totally melted some afternoon after we came out of class. However this was not the case. It was still a frozen mass. A few more days went by and then, one afternoon, we began to see a ribbon of water around the shore! As exciting as that was, most of the lake was still ice. Over the next couple days it melted more and more and then, finally, one afternoon, we came out of class to behold the lake, in it's entirety, dancing and rippling as the breath of the wind wisped across it. It shimmered and sparkled as the sun began to set. It was a glorious sight to behold in and of itself, but those of us who attend Ellerslie Leadership Training were, for some reason, filled with an extra special excitement in watching all of this unfold. The Lord used this progression to speak in a loving and gentle, yet awesome way, to one of our fellow students, Rachael Beall.

On the day that we finally began to see a ribbon of water around our frozen lake, Rachael felt the leading of the Spirit and when Eric opened up the microphone for those whom the Lord was pressing to share, she obeyed the nudge of the Spirit. As she held the mic to her mouth she announced to all of us that she didn't like mics and also that she didn't speak well in front of people. Well as she went on we discovered that she actually speaks pretty well in front of people. Here is the parallel that Rachael saw between our frozen lake and what God was doing in her heart.

Our hearts, like the lake, are frozen, cold and dead within us. But then the warm breath of the Spirit of Truth blows on our hearts and suddenly, we notice that there is a melting process going on in our hearts. It's a little surprising because we expected to just suddenly be free from this frozen, dead state, but the Lord is working in a slower yet surer way. In the beginning stages there is still so much more ice than dancing water. If we focus on the ratio of ice vs. water it can become disheartening so focus instead on what the Lord is doing. As the Spirit continues to fill us, the portion of ice becomes smaller! Here, Rachael drew a parallel to C.S. Lewis' book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. To borrow Lewis' quote “Aslan is on the move!” Spring is on it's way. It doesn't just suddenly come, but slowly and surely it takes over. It may not be here yet, but it's coming!

Another thing Rachael shared with me is that, just as the lake reflects, so we are to reflect Christ. When the lake is frozen, it cannot reflect. When it is melted, then it reflects but even still, the only time you see a picture perfect reflection in the lake, is when it's perfectly still. So we are to be calm, still, and yielded to Christ in order that we may reflect Him perfectly to those around us. Rachael pointed out that in and of itself, the lake is just a bunch of water, water is clear, transparent, not exactly what we would call beautiful. It would be like saying a window pane is beautiful, or the air is beautiful. She said “The lake is only beautiful in it's ability to reflect.” And so we are only beautiful when we are reflecting Christ.

We were all moved by what she shared and began to look forward, with greater eagerness and confidence, to seeing our hearts melt as they were filled with the Spirit. It's interesting to note that a few days later, we had two days of Spirit led, public confession. On the second day we all walked out of class feeling freer and lighter and that evening we saw our lake, completely thawed, dancing and shimmering! It was a beautiful picture of what we had all just gone through! The journey isn't over, it has just begun, but we have begun and we are on our way!

It's interesting to note that this semester of Ellerslie is called the Winter/Spring semester. It's the same with our hearts, when we get here, our heart is in the dead of Winter, but we get to watch it turn to Spring!

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the Winter is passed, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!”

And so we say, Jesus is on the move, Spring is coming!

Preparing to Leave

2011-02-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

Well it's finally time! Come Saturday morning, I will be on a plane headed for Ellerslie Leadership Training in Colorado! I can hardly wait! The down side is that I've been sick since Monday and am only just beginning to recover. And I still have all my packing to do and a wedding to go to tomorrow night. Then our plane leaves the next morning! Needless to say, I'm feeling a bit stressed :P I mean, trying to pack for two months in less than a day! Whew! Talk about crunch time! On the flip side, I'm really excited about going! My mom will be flying with me and will stay for a couple days. Then she'll fly out on Monday, and Monday is when all the other students will be flying in. Monday evening there will be a formal banquet where all us students will have a chance to meet each other. And so will my adventure begin! I will be posting as much as I can while I'm there, sharing pictures and stories etc. I can't wait!!! Oh yeah. . . packing :P *sigh.

I'm a Wildflower

2011-01-24T18:04:00.000-08:00

Finding out the meanings of names is fun and in the past I have enjoyed finding out the meanings of different names. My name, Leslie, means Meadowland or From the Meadow. Today I was listening to the radio and I heard a song called Wildflower. I really enjoyed the words in chorus and they describe me well.

Hey, I'm a wildflower, growin' in the sunshine
Soakin' up the way of life I was raised in.
Runnin' barefoot, bloomin' in a Summer shower
Ponytail dancin', I can't help it, I'm a wildflower!

~The JaneDear Girls

Books, Movies and Events

2011-01-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy packing and getting ready to move that I haven't had a lot of time to devote to reading :( I remember the days when it took me just a day or two to finish a book! Or, if it was a big long one, three or four days. Now it takes me a week or two :P So I'm working on two books currently.

The Fifth Seal, By Brock and Bodie Thoene
This is a book I wanted to read during Christmas time but I don't own it and never got the chance to borrow it. However a friend brought it by for me about a week or so ago and I'm about half way through it. It's the Nativity story given in a way that makes you think about each thing specifically; the shepherds, the wise men, Mary, Joseph, Herod, the two sons he had put to death for supposed conspiracy, Hannah, Simeon etc. It's quite well written and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter
This is a required read before I got to Ellerslie. It gives the background on the name of the Leadership Training, Ellerslie. So far it's very sad. But I've heard that it's a great book so I have high hopes that it eventually gets better! We'll see ;)

Now we have packed all of our movies and DVD's, not that we watch much anyway. But still, while packing there have been a few nights when it would be really nice to just sit down and watch a good movie ;)

Pendragon: Sword of His Father
So a friend suggested one to us that she had bought and recently watched with her husband. She let us borrow it, it's called Pendragon: Sword of His Father. It was a great action packed movie set in the Dark Ages. It's about a young man who's vision is to free his homeland from the marauding Saxons with the help of the Lord. It's a movie full of battles, friendships, enemies (from within as well as well as the Saxons), romance, sword fights, horse chases etc.

Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
My mom is not a big Narnia fan, they're just not her type of movie, but I wanted to go see it when it was in the theater and, as I had no one I really wanted to go with and I didn't want to go alone, I asked her if she would come with me. She said yes! We had a wonderful time and she actually really liked it!!! I had to explain a few things to her because it had been a long time since she had seen The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and she hasn't seen Prince Caspian and their are a few things from both of those movies that carry on into this one. But we laughed together and were startled together and our hearts raced together at the intense scenes :) It was a blast!

Now for the events part of this entry ;) For Christmas my mom bout tickets for her and my grandma to go to the Fresno Philharmonic to see a famous Bass Cellist, Edgar Meyer. Well about a week before the performance we got an email from another homeschooling family and they were able to get tickets for free for homeschoolers! So all of us girls got to go too!!! Of course we didn't get to sit with mom and my grandma because they had reserved seats near the front. We sat in the balcony. It was so wonderful! I love classical music and the bass cello sounded so deep and wonderful! It had a very broad range! It went so very low and cot up really high too! And all the violins, cellos, horns, trumpet, flutes, drums etc. they were all so beautiful and soothing! We all really enjoyed it!

Well that's all I have by way of updates, oh except to say that choir starts tomorrow for Heidi, Tabby and Priscilla ;) So that should be fun! :D

So Many Blessings

2010-12-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

I have been so blessed over the past month! I have so much exciting news and updates to share!

First of all I had an opportunity to go up to northern California at the beginning of December for a week and a half. I went to visit my Uncle and his new wife and help them move. Their new house was very nice and I really enjoyed visiting with them! However Northern Cali is very cold compared to Central Cali! As fun as it was visiting and helping, I was ready to come home to my family after about a week ;) I missed them very much! I think being away helped me to appreciate them a bit more.

Well when I got home I was informed of the sneaky dealings that went on while I was gone ;) First of all, my grandmother, who lives in a trailer right next to our house, got a new Dachshund puppy. He is quite adorable!

The other bit of news that I was told when I got home, is that my family is moving! Not far, just to another house in the same area, but it's a bigger house and better suited to our needs. So we have a month in which to pack up five people who have lived in the same place for the last five years! Oh joy :P But I am very excited about the new house :)

Also, the Lord provided all of my tuition money for Ellerslie! So I will be going to Colorado in February! I can't wait to see what the Lord will do with me while I'm there! He has already done so much even just in providing all the money I needed in the short amount of time I had!

We had a wonderful, yet simple Christmas this year and are planning the same for New Years :)

As busy and crazy as my life is right now, it's a really beautiful time for me. I'm just learning so much! And the Lord has really been reassuring me of His love! Thank you all for your prayers! I hope you all have a lovely New Year! Blessings in Christ!

Snow!

2010-11-26T13:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the snow we've already had this year. It's so Beautiful! An today we finally get to listen to Christmas music! I was pleasantly woken up hearing my favorite Christmas music this morning!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T21:24:00.000-08:00

It's finally time for one of my favorite holidays! Thanksgiving! We are having family and friends over to our house to spend the day and have Thanksgiving dinner with us! I so much enjoy filling our house with people I love! I made apple pie today and mom and the littles made pumpkin pies.

Okay so what am I thankful for? Well the Lord has richly blessed me and my family! It would take so much space to tell of all the things I'm thankful for. But here are a few:

My Savior Jesus Christ
My wonderful loving family
My dear friends
My animals
My imagination
Cameras
Pencils and paper ;)
Warm fires to sit by
The ocean
Books
Music
Sisters
Love

Just to name a few! Here is a song by Josh Groban called Thankful. It's on his Christmas album but I think it's a great Thanksgiving song.

Music

2010-11-19T13:01:00.001-08:00

Okay, well in case you all haven't noticed I am one of those people who loves music. The one who couldn't do Algebra without listening to music, the one who works way better with music. And when the room is quiet, I turn on the music.

Music is a really wonderful gift that the Lord has given us. He created it in nature in the trickling of a stream, in the lilting songs of the birds, the whistling of the wind, the rushing of a river. . .
Music is beautiful, relaxing, fun, inspiring, invigorating etc.

I will start out by saying that my absolute favorite singer is definitely Josh Groban ;) I'm very excited about his new CD Illuminations and can't wait to get it!

It would take a lot of space and you would be really bored if I listed all my favorite bands and told you about each one. So I'm not going to do that, but I will list a few :)

Though Josh Groban is my favorite, a majority of the music I listen to is Christian. Some of my favorites are;

Derek Webb
Caedmon's Call
Britt Nicole
Tenth Avenue North
Down Here
Brandon Heath
Chris and Conrad
Newsboys

Non Christian artists that I like are;

Owl City
Enya
Michael Buble
Josh Turner
Celtic Thunder
Celtic Woman

I also really enjoy listening to soundtracks.

Titanic
A Beautiful Mind
Narnia the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion King Broadway version

Now, in case you're wondering, yes, there is music that I really don't care to listen to. Rap and Screamo music are two things I really dislike. I don't think they really qualify as music anyway, just so much noise. Rhythmic noise maybe, but noise just the same :P

So there's a peek into my love of music :)

Writing

2010-11-10T16:13:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I have no idea what to write, but I really want to write! So I grab a note book, turn to a blank page and just start putting down words. Something about words on a blank page is so appealing sometimes. I don't consider myself a great writer, but I have been able to get my feelings on paper a few times.
Words are such amazing things! The fact that you can get a feeling to come out of your heart and soul, then translate that feeling to words so that others can understand your heart, is fascinating! It's the only way you can let someone into your inner soul so that they can feel what you're feeling, like you're feeling it. In a way, words are a miracle! They are full of power!

Ellerslie

2010-10-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

Recently I went to a conference called Set Apart Girl by Erick and Leslie Ludy. I was so blessed by the message and I learned a lot about being a girl set apart for the Lord! Also while I was there they shared a video about the ministry the Ludys do in Colorado. It's called Ellerslie. I was very blessed by the video and the Lord has shown me that this is where He wants me to be. So I'm going to the Spring semester. I don't know how I'm going to afford it or what God's gonna do, but I trust that He's leading me down this path and He will provide! I would appreciate your prayers as I prepare for this adventure in the Kingdom! Instead of trying to explain what it is or tell you about it, here is a link to the video they have on their website.

New Things

2010-09-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well several things have happened since I last posted anything. First of all, I'm no longer a teenager! Yes, I turned twenty this month. I can't believe it! I have to say I still feel like a teenager though :) The only way to help me to believe I'm actually twenty is to look back at all the things that have happened in my life. I'll spare you from having to hear all about it as it would take a great deal of time ;) But I'll say this, I have learned so much from my loving Savior! I've been through valley's , and been on the peaks of the mountains, been in storms, and been by the quiet waters. I've wandered away and gotten lost and He has always been there to show me the way back. I've shed many tears, and I have had many times of laughter. I've felt, joyful, confused, angry, prideful, peaceful, bashful, pain, sadness, hurt, loneliness, love, happy, discouraged. . . So many things! And there's still a long way to go! But with Jesus leading I know I'll get through.

I've also recently returned with my family from a two week vacation. One week visiting my Grandpa, and the other week visiting my uncle and his new wife. It was a fun relaxing time! I took so many pictures but here are some of my favorites. They're not all in order :P

Heidi

Tabitha

Creek rocks are so amazing!

L to R; Me, Heidi, Tabitha, Priscilla

S'mores!

Me and my aunts Labrador Retriever

Another new thing is that I got a puppy! I named her Autumn. She is so smart and is learning super fast!

And last but definitely not least, My favorite guy on America's Got Talent won the 2010 competition! Michael Grimm! I've been following his progress on the show all season and I was so impressed by his first audition that I was hoping even then that he would win. And I'm so elated that he did!

Got to Have Water!

2010-08-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

You know it's a scary thing when you wake up in the morning and try to turn on the faucet and nothing comes out! You try to flush the toilet and it just kinda burbles. You run up to check you water tanks and find something that shocks you. . . they're empty! An awful sinking feeling comes over you as you realize that your reserve tanks are also empty. Absolutely no water. Zero, nil, zilch, nothing. Well as you've probably already gathered, that happened to my family. It was last week on Friday. The one puzzling thing is that we had checked the water tanks the night before and they were full, next morning, empty, no holes in either tank. Where did all that water go overnight. Well we got a water truck to come deliver us some water because we knew that our well, being shallow, would never recover itself. Well, he came out and got our tanks filled. Strangely enough though, it seemed to be taking way more water than the tanks were capable of holding. We actually used up the entire water truck full! Well mom went to the house and after some investigating she checked the water heater. It was absolutely gushing water! We turned off the valve and are now happy to at least have water. Though I'm realizing how inconvenient it is to have no hot water. But it won't be for long and at least we found the problem before our tanks emptied a second time!

One fun thing was having a huge water truck in our driveway :) My sisters especially enjoyed it. So I took out my camera and decided to get some fun photos.

Yeah that's me ;)

The truck driver let the girls get in the cab and poke around.
Priscilla (left) was honking the horn, of course startling everyone;)

Let No One Despise Your Youth

2010-07-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
I Timothy 4:12

Here Paul is speaking specifically to the youth. He is encouraging them to be an example. Most of the time when we think of being an example to others we automatically think of showing Christ to non believers. While this is good and right, I think we tend to forget about our fellow believers and the fact that we, as youths, are exhorted to be an example to the believers as well. We all have our struggles and areas in our hearts that are less than desirable, even as Christians. In Proverbs we are told;

As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
Proverbs 27:17

We are to be an example to our fellow believers. We are to sharpen their countenance, sharpen the example they set. Just as they are to help sharpen our countenance and our example.

Paul gives us a list of areas that we are to focus on being an example in;

Word
When you speak to others, family friends etc. here are some things to think about.
First of all, How am I speaking? What you are saying may be needed but are you saying it in a kind and loving way?
What am I saying? Here is an acronym to help you think;
Is what I'm saying,
True
Helpful
Inspiring
Necessary
Kind

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Ephesians 4:29

Conduct
Are my actions displaying a love for Christ?

Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Philippians 1:27

Love
Am I showing the Love of Christ, full of grace and mercy? Or am I showing the love of the world? I love you but. . .

Spirit
Is my heart full and pouring over with the Holy Spirit of the Lord? Do the fellow believers see His Spirit in me? Am I allowing the Spirit to guide me in everything I do?

Faith
Am I showing that I fully trust the Lord with my doubts, my what if's and if only's. Do I have the peace that comes with putting all my faith in the living God? Am I showing what it means to have true faith?

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Purity
In all that I say, do, and think, am I being pure in mind, body, heart, and soul?

Let's rise up to our responsibility as youths for our Lord. Let's help advance His Kingdom in the ways He has called us to. And let us be and example to the believers.

Is Worry a Symptom of Pride?

2010-06-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

I would venture to say most of us worry about one thing or another at some point in our lives. Of course some people worry a lot more than others. I tend to be one of those that worry comes easily to. After all there is a substantial amount of things to worry about, finances, loved ones, health, and dangers that could come upon our children, siblings, parents, friends, animals etc.

In all my worrying I've had to ask myself this question, is worry a sin? Well lets turn to the scriptures and see what the Lord has to say about it;

~ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ Matthew 6:31

~ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34

~ “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. Luke 12:11

In each of these passages the word worry is preceded by the words, do not. We are told not just once but several times, do not worry. If we love God we will obey Him and if we are to obey Him then we are to do as we are told here, do not worry. So yes when we worry we are disobeying God because He clearly tells us not to.

Now that we have decided that worry is a sin I want to go a step further and say that not only is it a sin but it stems from that horrible thing called Pride. Now, before you tell me I'm carrying it too far (I know some of you are already reeling because I called worry a sin ;) just listen to this for a minute. When you worry, it is a total absence of faith in God. You are saying "I don't trust that God can take care of this". If your worried your not trusting God. There is compleete rest in trusting and if your worrying there is no rest, no trust. So if we are not trusting God what are we trusting? Not usually someone else. When we worry, we tend think that there is some way we can prevent something from happening, or make something happen that won't happen with out our help. This is not trust and faith in God to be in control of all things, this is trust and faith in ourselves to fix things. And if you just think about that for a minute you'll see that we are believing that we can control something that God can't. That is pride! Thinking you have it all together and that you can fix something and not trusting in God is Pride.

We need to stop worrying and start Trusting God's sovereignty. Keep the Faith Brethren!

Back Again

2010-04-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

Well it's been forever since I've payed any attention to my poor little blog! So here I am :) I' guess I'll just fill you all in with what I've been doing.

Books

Well I just discovered a book series call Zion Covenant by Bodie and Brock Thoene. It's set in the WWII era. They are one of my favorite finds so far!

Also I'm doing two different bible study's right now. One is with my mom and sister and a friend. It's called Calm My Anxious Heart. The other one is with a friend and her sister and it's called Knowing God. They are both great!

Music

Well we were blessed to be able to go to the Rock and Worship Roadshow when they came through! It was absolutely awesome!!! Live music is the absolute best! I'm a huge lover of music but you really can't beat live music. I was able to take one of my awesome pals with me and she loved it too. We had Sidewalk Prophets, Remedy Drive, Fee, Francesca Battistelli, David Crowder Band, and Mercy Me. I think I had the most fun with David Crowder. Mercy Me is my moms favorite so she was blessed by that. My favorites out of the opening bands were Remedy Drive and Fee.

Outdoor Activity

Well we have all our seedlings sprouting now and we are very excited about that. There is just something so exciting about watching little plants push their way up out of the ground! God is just amazing! Our baby apple trees are full of beautiful little leaves, our iris's and tulips are budding, the wild flowers are covering the hills and meadows in splashes of color. Our mountain grass is still a vibrant green though the grass in the Valley is already turning golden. Our trade mark, the California Golden Poppy's, are absolutely everywhere!

Animals

One of our cats had a litter of kittens last week! We've had many cats in all my growing up years and we've never had one give birth so it's a fun experience. I got a new baby goat this year from a friend. She is absolutely beautiful! Her name is Dahlia Darling.

Random Pictures

Me and Ashley

I love mushrooms! They look so amazing!

Me and my favorite baby goat born this year. His name is Beemer ;)

Spring is Coming!

2010-03-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

The Power of Your Love

2010-03-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

This song has really spoken to my heart lately. The power of His love is so great! I hope it speaks to your heart too.

P.s. You may want some tissue, it's a song that pulls on your heartstrings)

Being a Joyful Daughter

2010-02-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

There is a difference between being a loving daughter and being a joyful daughter. You can love your mom, dad, and siblings, but are you joyful being with them? Usually, due to the fact that we have spent all of our lives with the people who make up our families, and due to the fact that we've seen all their down falls and short comings, we tend to dislike being with them. Instead of taking joy in the people the Lord has given us as our family, and appreciating the protection of our parents, and the friendship of our siblings, we tend to do all we can to be away from them. Preferring instead, to be with the friends we have outside our families. To be off doing what we want to do. "Living our own life" so to speak. Sisters, this is not what God had planned when He gave us our families. Our families should be the ones we go to in our joy and in our sadness, in our frustration and in our contentment. But we have lost the desire to share with our parents and our siblings because, "my parents don't understand me. They're so strict! They don't care how I feel. They never let me do anything." or "my sisters/brothers are SO irritating! I can't stand being with them all day!".

After we've spent our whole life with our family, we start to see only the ways in which they fall short. We cease to notice all the wonderful gifts and sacrifices your parents make for us. We brush our brothers and sisters aside when they want to be with us or play with us because "I have other things I want to do with my time. Quit being a pest. Stop following me around."

Now, quite naturally, we don't want anything to happen to any of the members of our family. We comfort and help them when they're sick or hurt. We would be devastated to loose any of them. You probably love each member of your family with your whole heart. So, if we love them, why don't we take joy in spending time with them?

We need to turn our hearts back to our families. Not just loving them, but taking joy in beiong with them, loving them for who they are, and loving to be with them. I'm not saying to stop spending time with your friends out side your family. I'm saying, make your family your best friends. Take joy in being with them. Be a joyful daughter as well as a loving daughter!

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ~Psalm 133:1

Random Tid-Bits

2010-02-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

Exciting events

First of all I've joined a choir! I love singing so I'm having a great time. I know a few of the people there and so I don't feel uncomfortable, we all just have a great time! We're working on three songs and another will be added next week. It's so funny, all the different genres; we have Southern Gospel, Mexican, Hymn, and our song we'll be starting next week is in Hebrew! My favorite one right now is our Mexican one. It's called Chili Con Carne. Here it is so you can hear it. We're having a blast singing it!

My whole family does choir so we are there from 9:20a.m. till 8:30p.m. with a half hour break for lunch at 12:30p.m. and a break between 3:00p.m. till 6:30p.m. during which we go to my Aunt Carie's house to visit and she makes dinner for us. My cousin Cali also comes over to her house to visit with us while we're there. It's great fun!

Our other exciting event was that we got to go skiing with some friends on Monday! I haven't been skiing in three or four years but awesomely, I hadn't forgotten how! I helped my two youngest sisters learn to ski for the first half of the day, and the second half of the day I was able to take a bunch of runs with my sister Heidi, and a bunch of our friends! We went to Badger Pass, and while I really enjoyed it, I'm more of a Sierra Summit snob. I'd love to go to Sierra again sometime. It's just so much bigger, at forty ski runs, as opposed to Badgers ten runs. But I have to say I did have lots of fun! though I must admit, I was sore on Tuesday (which is choir day and we were there all day so today I feel like a vegetable)

Books

Well I just finished a series called the Singing River Series by Gilbert Morris. It was a great book series and I enjoyed it a lot. Now I'm reading a great big, fat book called Christ in the Camp by J. William Jones. I haven't gotten very far but what I've read is good. It's about the American Civil War, and army chaplains who brought the gospel to many of the soldiers of both Northern and Southern camps. I'm guessing it should be a great book.

Music

Well I have been listening to a lot of stuff lately but I'd like to share the lyrics to a couple songs that have spoken to my heart.

Prodigal Like Me
~ Jonny Diaz

Joshua blow your trumpets towards the walls around my heart
And you better bring your army come and tear my world apart
Moses help me wander from the desert that I’ve found
Cause it feels like forever since my knees have touched the ground

I never thought I would be this way
To let what we were begin to fade
I never thought I could say goodbye to all we had
I never thought I would come to be
Alone with all my apathy
I never thought You could still love a prodigal like me

David grab a stone and sling it toward my giant pride
Debra call the troops cause I’m ready for a fight
Peter there’s a roaster did you once again deny
Or am I the guilty one who can’t look Him in the eye

(…Prodigal like) me with so much sin and shame
In need of such amazing grace
But still I find I turn away from You

Waiting Room
~Jonny diaz

Here in this waiting room yearning for You to say go
And though I’m convinced that a yes would be best
This time You’re telling me no

It’s not that I don’t have an answer
It’s just not the one that I’d like
But through this time Lord I must keep in mind
You’re always wiser than I

You have a much better purpose
And You have a far greater plan
And You have a bigger perspective
Cause You hold this world in your hands

The things that I seek are from You
Like the strong healing touch of your hand
But when You say no help me trust even though
There’s a reason I can’t understand

When that miracle comes cause Your answer is yes
I will praise you for all of my days
But when Your wisdom declares that a no is best
I will praise You just the same

Jonny Diaz and Chris and Conrad

2010-01-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

We were really blessed to get to go to an awesome Jonny Diaz/Chris and Conrad concert last night! Mom and I and Heidi and Tabby went and my Aunt Carie came with us! It was fantastic! I had an awesome time!

First, we went to my aunts house and she made dinner for us. Then we all headed over together. It was at Northside Church in Clovis. We got there really early and had to stand in line for about 45 minutes. We were blessed to get there early though because the line wrapped all the way around the church!

First we listened to Brian Weaver, who was a newer artist. He was kinda the warm up. He sang some really good songs. The one I really liked was called Running. It talked about how were constantly trying to make ourselves look good and we're running from who God made us. Brian told us how he only writes songs that talk about something he's experienced or been through. I really appreciate song writers like that because you know that they know exactly what they're talking about. He came up on stage during an intermission after he sang and showed us a video about Compassion International. Then the ushers came out and Brian told everyone that if they wanted to sponsor a child, then we should raise our hand and the ushers would give us a packet for a child. This is where he said that he didn't want to promote something if he wasn't going to do it, so he said he actually just started sponsoring a child a few days earlier. Our family felt like that was something the Lord would have us do, so we raised our hand. Our little girl is six years old and her birthday is the same as mine! I'm so glad that the Lord is allowing us to take part in this!

After the first intermission, Chris and Conrad came out. They were the loud and active part of the concert. You could really feel the Lord moving in and through them to the people there. Their great love for the Lord was evident in their lyrics and music. They've quickly become one of my favorite artist.

And last but definitely not least, Jonny Diaz. His Song More Beautiful you has really encouraged many girls, me included. He has written a lot of wonderful songs that really speak to your heart and talks about being who God made you, how God still loves us no matter how apathetic we've grown, about how when we ask God things, a lot of the time He gives us our least favorite answer. . . wait. But that we need to trust Him and be patient to wait on Him. He writes some deep songs.

It's really hard to find artists who, both write good lyrics and sing well. But we were able to get both last night at the concert!

After the concert, we stood in a long line to get autographs. Mom and Aunt Carie didn't want to stand in such a long line so they decided to go to Starbucks to get a coffee. On there way out of the church they walked up to the table and asked Jonny, Chris and Conrad if they wanted a Starbucks coffee. The guys were shocked! They loved it! They all ordered, Jonny got a Vanilla Bean Frappaccino, Chris got a White Mocha and Conrad wanted a Blue Monster so they ran to the store and got him one of those. Mom got us three girls a hot chocolate. Then when we got to the table Chris said "Oh, these are the people who got us a Starbucks!" and Conrad said, with a big grin on his face, "Not me. This is what I got!" and he pulled out his Blue Monster. They then proceed to sign all our cd's and we all chatted for a while :) I think that it's important to realize that, even though these artists are famous, a lot of people know about them, and it's really neat to meet them and talk to them, they're still normal people and I know they appreciated it that we treated them like such.

A happy row of people
(Me, Tabby, Heidi, Aunt Carie, Mom took the picture)

Excitedly waiting
(Me, Tabby, Heidi)

Brian Weaver

Chris and Conrad

Chris

Conrad

Jonny Diaz

Heidi, Jonny, Me

Tabby and Jonny

Chris, Heidi, Tabby, Me, Conrad

I got one of these guitar pick necklaces. Jonny's wife makes them!

Christmas

2009-12-26T15:06:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! Nice and relaxed,dressing up, visiting with family, playing games. We watched Little Women on Christmas Eve. A Christmas tradition. Over all awe had absolutely brilliant fun!

A lovely, decorated lamp post we passed by on Christmas Eve. I had to stop and take a picture of it!

Christmas Eve

The Christmas gift we made for mom :)

Christmas breakfast, homemade cinnamon rolls!

The dinner dishes

The snack table! Yum!

Aunt Carie and me

Dinner time! (L-R, Mom, Tabitha, me, my grandma, Aunt Carie, Heidi, and Priscilla)

Sisters, preparing Glögg (a Swedish holiday drink)

Special Glögg cups

Glögg with almonds

Glögg and butter cookies! Yum!

This is what happened after I took a sip ;) Everyone knows which cup is mine ;)

Playing Catch Phrase

Dessert time!

An Afternoon Walk with my Little Sisters

2009-12-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

My little sisters and I went for a wonderful afternoon walk up to see our neighbors' horses. It was a treat for the littles for doing a good job on their school. Here are some pictures of our walk. Hope you enjoy them.

Starting out

Autumn Beauty

"Do you have any apples? Or maybe a carrot?"

Kisses

I thought this one was kinda cool with the intense light

I was really happy with the way this one turned out! I love eyes

Jahza was really enjoying the visit with Priscilla

This is Butch

This is Big Boy

A road. . . to where?

Lovely Autumn colors

Happy Tabby

Three of our five cats. This one is Sammy.

Stilla

Sebastian

Goings on

2009-11-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

In the last month I have been so very busy! Lots of different, exciting, interesting happenings.

Events
First of all, my aunt took my mom on a tour of Europe for three weeks. Meanwhile I took care of my three sisters, did schooling and all. It was a great learning experience, but I can assure you I missed my mom!

While mom was gone, we did some apple processing. We made some apple sauce, apple cider, and my sister even made an apple pie! I love the smell of the warm cinnamon we put in the cooking applesauce, and the hot cinnamon and cloves in the cider! It made it feel more like holiday season!

Another event, one that wasn't so pleasant, is the fact that, despite the precautions, sickness visited our house. I went down with it a couple days before mom came home, I got a flu :( Then, my mom went down the day after she got home, with something different than what I had, some kind of flu though. I was in bed for a week, during which my three sisters got sick with something different than what either mom or I got! I guess we figured if we were going to all get sick we may as well have a variety to make it interesting ;) Now we're all pretty much recovered, though we're all tired now.

Music

Recently I've started listening to a style of music that I've decided is my favorite, Celtic. My favorite two groups are Celtic Thunder and Celtic Women. Of the two, Celtic Thunder is my ultimate favorite. What particularly impresses me is the voice of the youngest member, Damian McGinty. His voice is so strong for one so young! In this video he is about 14/15.

Celtic Women is also very impressive. The women all have amazing talent, very strong, impressive voices! The violinist is amazing! Just amazing!

Books

I just finished a really wonderful book, The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas. The setting is ancient Rome and Galilee during the latter part of the reign of Tiberius. It's about a young Roman Tribune. An extremely well written book and has an amazing story to tell! I was really moved by it and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would strongly recommend it!

Also, my little sister Tabitha, is reading a book on Martin Luther to me for a school project. Though it is a book written for a younger audience, I'm enjoying it and the illustrations are very well done.

Extras

Every year the excitement mounts in our home as the holidays come around! I'm playing Christmas songs on my violin and Tabitha is playing Christmas songs on the piano. I love the hot chocolate, cider, tea and coffee. Curling up by the fire with a good book is my idea of a very pleasant afternoon.

One Year

2009-11-24T09:36:00.000-08:00

Today is the one year mark for my blogging adventure. I've really enjoyed puting down my thoughts and adventures and sharing events in my life! I look forward to continuing on in this second year of blogging, sharing thoughts, ideas, etc. with you all. The Lord has really done some awesome stuff in my life this last year, I can't wait to see what I can blog about next! Thank you all for reading! Please feel free to suggest ideas that you may have on how I can change things and make things better and more interesting in my blogging. I would be open to any ideas you have. Happy future reading!

Staying Well

2009-11-18T18:01:00.000-08:00

With the H1N1 virus going around not to mention the colds that come with this season, we're doing what we can to avoid getting sick. One thing that my mom has been having us do is gargle with salt water. None of us minds it much, it's actually quite comical when there are four cups of salt water in a row on the counter, and then four gargling children, sputtering with mouths full of warm salt water. Different pitches of "agagagag" erupt at various intervals from one bathroom or the other and sometimes from the kitchen. So far we haven't gotten sick so it must be working!

Meeting with God

2009-11-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

I've been going through some really tough stuff today. After worrying about it all day and fearing the worst, I finally came to a place where I just couldn't handle it any more! I needed to go meet with God. So I grabbed my bible and went for a walk.

Halfway down our driveway there is a small grassy meadow, it was bright, sunny and comfortably warm. I just sat down and drew my knees up to my face, folded my arms across them, laid my head down and just sat, for a while. God met me there, no not in person, but He was there. I just stayed there and worshiped in His presence, I read some scripture and sang to the Lord and He filled me with peace and comfort.

One passage that really stood out, was;

Psalm 139
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. ¹ O LORD, You have searched me and known me. ² You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. ³ You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. ⁴ For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. ⁵ You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. ⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? ⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, ¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; ¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. ¹³ For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. ¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! ¹⁸ If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You. ¹⁹ Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men. ²⁰ For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain. ²¹ Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? ²² I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; ²⁴ And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

I'm so glad that the Lord took my burden and He has given me peace! Though I'm still going through this hard trial, I'm leaning on Him, knowing He is in control. May His will be done!

Apple picking!

2009-10-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about fall is family apple picking! The Lord blessed us with a wonderful opportunity to pick apples for free! We love going out together to an orchard and picking all the apples we can find. The trees were heavy with fruit this year, big, beautiful, juicy apples, just waiting for us to come and pick our fill. Here are some pictures from our wonderful day!

My lovely mother having fun picking apples with us

Heidi

Tabitha

The best I could do at a picture of me picking apples

Big heavy box!

Me again

The first box Heidi & I picked

Before

After

Priscilla and her "sun umbrella"

Flitting about in the apple orchard

Me, walking down the orchard lane to nowhere

Happy apple picking sisters

Our loaded Subaru and our happy faces!

Such a blessing from the Lord

New Laptop

2009-10-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

I recently had my High school graduation party and was really blessed with funds! I was actually able to purchase my first laptop! It's a really cute Dell Netbook! It's 10 in. x 7 in. It has a webcam! Green, of course is my favorite color so I got it in green :) It is a great size for transporting and not too small to see, though some of my friends have jokingly asked for a magnifying glass upon seeing the screen ;) Here are some pictures.

The Apple sticker is to show where my true favor lies ;)

This is a bright picture so it flashed out the mouse pad that is under the keyboard.

Isn't that just the cutest little mouse?

The pair :)

The laptop is too small to have a disk drive so I got an external one, it works great though!

Fall Flowers

2009-10-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

I got a new camera for my birthday and I've been having fun with it!

Knowing in Love

2009-09-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:2

The Lord gives us, as Christians, the understanding of his word. He opens our eyes to new things and grants us new insight. This knowledge He gives us is a precious gift! As it says in Proverbs 2:6, "For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding;" And yet, in all our knowledge, we sometimes become so focused on all that we know that it never reaches our heart. Sometimes we use the knowledge the Lord has given us for our own gain, that we might be looked upon as "righteous" by others. We become prideful in the things that we know. And yet we see here in Corinthians it says, if we lack love in our knowledge, we are nothing. Nothing! All that we thought we were, because we "know so much" doesn't amount to a thing without love. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 2 Cor. 8:2 The minute we loose sight of love, and start focusing on all we "know", that's when we can be sure that we know nothing as we ought to know. So let love reign over your knowledge, because it's nothing you did, only the Lord gives true knowledge.

More Beautiful You

2009-09-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

This song has really encouraged me to pay more attention to what is inside my heart instead of worrying about getting people to except me for my looks. It's a great song for girls and young ladies just to let them know that God gave them the outward features they have and they are beautiful just the way they are.

"...I wish you could see beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are
There could never be a more beautiful you..."

Speaking in Love

2009-08-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
~1 Corinthians 13:1

Speaking is a huge part of everyday life (unless you are a monk) We talk quite a bit each day, mostly to others, sometimes to ourselves. We talk to all kinds of different people, our family, friends, acquaintances, and business people. As Christians, the way we talk in public is very important to us, we have to sound good so people will notice the difference in us, but are we really genuine?

This verse is telling us that, even if we say an absolutely beautiful thing in the most lovely way, if we're not genuine, if we aren't speaking these things in love, were just making a bunch of worthless, irritating noise. People can tell if you're not genuine, they're not usually stupid on that point, all they see is a person that is trying to look better than everyone else. If we truly want to love others and show them the love of Christ, then we need to speak in love.

The Beauty of Real Love

2009-08-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

The Lord has really been showing me a lot in my life lately! One of the biggest things I'm learning is how to truly love someone. The Lord brought this to my attention through what I call a "Divine Trial", when a relationship with someone who is really close to me was going through a "growing pains" stage. Why is it that we only learn through trials? I believe it's because once you've been through a trial, what you learned during that hard time really sticks to you and you understand it more than if someone just told you everything. Something means more to you if you've had to fight for it.

One of the primary places in the Bible that teaches what true, pure love really is, is in 1 Corinthians 13. This is a fairly common chapter, appropriately referred to as the "Love Chapter".

¹ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰ But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

My desire in the next few weeks, is to go through this chapter and really look at each part of it and expand on each thing. I'm not pretending to know all about this topic, my knowledge of it merely scratches the surface! But I want to share what the Lord has taught me. So that's what I'm going to be blogging about for a while. My hope is that we can all learn to have a more perfect love, for each other and the Lord!

*Photo from Flickr

August?

2009-08-07T16:53:00.001-07:00

Here we are in the most dreaded month of the year, (especially in California) and the weather is actually below the nineties?!?! It totally feels like fall! There has been a delicious breeze every day so far! The skies have been partly cloudy, and there's no unbearably hot sun, amazing! I am thoroughly enjoying the gift of gorgeous weather from the Lord! Hope everyone else is enjoying this beautiful time!

Picking Berries

2009-07-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening we went to a friends house to pick some veggies from her garden. She's on vacation and gave us permission to harvest from her bumper crop. Aside from the traditional tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, snap peas, beets, and corn, she also has some thornless blackberry bushes. Now, when we got there I wasn't going to pick berries because, you know, "I'm too old for that kind of thing". But then I thought "Well, maybe if I'm careful I won't get berry juice all over my hands". Yeah right! No sooner do I grab the first berry, trying to gently remove it, than I have warm, sticky, magenta juice flowing down my fingers into my palm. I looked at it for a moment, cringing a little, then thought "Oh, what the heck. Who's gonna care anyway? I've always enjoyed picking berries in the past so I can still enjoy it." And I did! I had a blast with my sissies. When I was done I looked at my hands, they were very sticky and covered in the magenta juice. My fingernails weren't much to look at either. But they'll wash up and be none the worse for wear, what matters is that I had fun with the girls, after all, we won't always live together and I want our memories to be of wonderful, fun times together, even if we got a little messy :) We are going to make a couple fresh berry pies too! Yummy!

Tenth Avenue North

2009-07-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a video that shows a band who's real desire is to show that God does truly love us! I've really enjoyed listening to their songs and just really listening to all the lyrics, they really speak to my heart! I hope this is a blessing!

The Streets I Feared to See

2009-06-17T22:03:00.000-07:00

I said: "Let me walk in the field."
God said: "Nay, walk in the town."
I said: "There are no flowers there."
He said: "No flowers, but a crown."
I said: "But the sky is black,
There is nothing but noise and din."
But He wept as He sent me back,
"There is more," He said, "there is sin."

I said: "But the air is thick,
And fog is veiling the sun."
He answered: "Yet souls are sick,
And souls in the dark undone."
I said: "I shall miss the light,
And friends will miss me, they say."
He answered me: "Chose tonight
If I am to miss you, or they."
I pleaded for time to be given.
He said: "Is it hard to decide?
It will not seem hard in Heaven
To have followed the steps of your
Guide."

I cast one look at the fields,
Then set my face to the town.
He said, "My child, do you yield?
Will you leave the flowers for the
crown?"
Then into His hand went mine,
And into my heart came He;
And I walk in a light Divine
The streets I had feared to see.

~George MacDonald (1824-1905)

No Computer is Infallable

2009-06-05T15:20:00.000-07:00

Nope, no computer is infallible. Ours crashed :( So, I may not post regularly for a while, only when I can borrow a computer (like now) or when we get our computer fixed. I'll let you all know when that happens.

Goings On

2009-06-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a bit longer than I'm used to since I've posted something substantial. My life seems to just keep getting busier! On Wednesday our family was invited by a friend to join her and her family on a pontoon boat on Bass Lake! That was so awesome! We were out there for most of the day; we even had a BBQ on the boat! That morning was nice and sunny and then later in the afternoon we got to experience a thunder storm (on shore of course) and after it blew over we went back out! Then when we were done we went and had ice cream at The Forks. It was such a great day!

Speaking of thunder storms, we've had quite a few of them this past week. I just love hearing the loud crack of the thunder and seeing the sky light up from lightning strikes! Fortunately, our power never went out! That was a plus!

I'm in the middle of a great book called Schindler's List, I'm really liking it so far. It's a WWII book. (WWII is my study hobby) I would be really excited if anyone has a favorite WWII book to suggest to me!

We have finally started our summer job of cleaning Bass Lake rentals on the weekends and I'm also starting a job as a secretary for a friend during the week (starting tomorrow)!

I finished my English course and, not to boast, but I got an A+ on the course! (Sometime in the future I'll probably take more online collage classes, I really like them!)

We are going to move my grandma in with us this month! I simply can't wait! It'll be so wonderful to have her right here with us! She is probably as excited as us to be coming. She is so great! I'm glad God gave her to us!

Next month is when we move out beds out on the deck to escape the heat in the house at night. I love moving out there for the summer! It's like a vacation even though it's at home :) The stars and planets are my favorite, not to mention it's a wonderful way to watch shooting stars and meteor showers! The only down side to it is when there is a full moon, it's like trying to sleep with the light on when we have a full moon. But the crescent moons are awesome!

I'm looking forward to a full summer and I can't wait to see what God has in store for my family! I'd love to hear what your all planning for the summer!

Bind My Heart to Thee

2009-05-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Oh to grace how great a debtor

daily I'm constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

prone to leave the God I love;

here's my heart, O take and seal it,

seal it for Thy courts above

Put on Your Armor

2009-05-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

As I'm getting older I'm starting to really feel it when I'm fighting a spiritual battle. Lately I've been at war and after talking to my mom about it she shared with me a very familiar passage. Though I've read it many times, having her share it while I'm in the middle of a battle gave it new meaning.

Ephesians 6:10-18

The Whole Armor of God

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

National Day of Prayer

2009-05-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

In these unstable times, with the economy crash and the future unsure and, at times, frightening, there is something that we can be sure of; God's faithfulness. This year on the National Day of Prayer, let's unite with brothers and sisters around the nation and lift our voices up to our Heavenly Father.

Pray for. . .

Our government leaders
The many people suffering from job losses
Our brothers and sisters in Christ, especially the ones over seas; some starving, others in dark prisons for keeping the faith
Our families and friends
The love of God to shine forth from us to the unsaved
That we would remain forever faithful to our Lord

And most of all that God's will would be done in our country and the world.

*Image from photobucket

I'm waiting

2009-04-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm graduating this year and I can't help but have that feeling, the same feeling that most high school graduates feel, that my adult life is now beginning. It's such an exciting feeling, and yet, at the same time, it's scary. Still, I find there are so many things I just can't wait for! I feel like a little kid who just can't wait for their next birthday to come. I can't help but be a little, a lot, impatient. I can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for me! Yet, the Lord keeps telling me to rest and wait patiently. The following is a song that I feel is just for me.

While I'm Waiting

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

~John Waller

*Image from Flickr

Review

2009-04-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

I just read two very good books and I thought I'd share them.

Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold~C.S. Lewis

This was a great book! It was one of those books where, when you get to the end, you finally

grasp the enormity of it all! There are so many hidden treasures that you finally understand the value of in the last chapters. It was eye opening for me and explained in a different way, the things we all face in life. It's about three sisters, princesses, Orual being the oldest, then Redival, and their half sister, Istra / Psyche. They live in a country called Glome, the people worship the goddess Ungit known to the greeks as Aphrodite. Even if you don't really like myths, it's a great book!

Tortured For Christ~Richard Wurmbrand

I've had mixed feelings about reading this book for a very long time, because

reading about unspeakable tortures doesn't settle well with me. Rather, it gives me big fears and so I generally like to avoid reading that type of thing. But I find I can't avoid the urge to know, and I finally give in and read the book. I've avoided this book in particular because I knew with a title like that, it was bound to be an emotionally difficult read; and so it was, but I

was ever so glad I finally decided to read it. It really opened my eyes to what not only happened but what still happens to Christians in communist countries. It really made me want to strive more to live my faith in more of a real way. I'm so very grateful that my mom can be free to teach us the scriptures! While in other countries, if a mother teaches her children the gospel, she will have her children taken from her for life. Yet, that mother will still teach her children the gospel even with that deathly real threat looming over her. The western Christians sleep while the eastern Christians, going through countless brutal tortures, endure it with a prayer of love, for salvation for their torturers. It's time for us to wake up and help the body who is suffering! They love their enemies in a very real sense, we need to love them too, but we also need to be on our knees for our brothers and sisters who suffer more than we can imagine. Instead of closing our eyes and ears to the reality, we need to except the reality and act on it! This book will open your eyes and hearts to what God can do through us, the free Christians.

He Has Risen Indeed!

2009-04-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

Happy easter everyone! May the Lord bless you richly as we celebrate the most special time in the history of the world. This video is perfect for the holiday, expect to cry while you watch it and make sure to have the tissue box near by.

Two More!

2009-04-09T15:19:00.000-07:00

Well our goat, Jessamine, had twins! Two does! That makes a total of eight kids borne this year, four bucks and four does! That's the last kidding for the spring. We'll breed four more to be due in the fall so no more kids till then.

These two kids are really cute! I've decided to keep one of them, I named her Plumeria. She is so cute!

Plumeria and Me

She's so Adorable!

This is Gracie

(Don't get to attached to that face, she's sold)

Spring Baby

Fun, Busy Weekend!

2009-03-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

Wow! Lots to do, places to go, people to see, you know, the times when life just kicks in to gear and gets busy. My sister, Heidi, just had her birthday Friday, and it was really great! Our family went up the mountain (to Cascadell) to a creek we used to play at when we were little. There is a big falls there that you can look down on and we found a little meadow and had a picnic lunch. There are tons of ladybugs up there at this time of year and so we had little red beauties that joined us. After lunch we had fun exploring all the little places we used to go when we were little. We scaled the rocks, down to the waterfalls and just enjoyed the beauty! Then we got together and played badminton, that was so much fun! Later, when we got home, Heidi and I watched one of our favorite movies, Singin' in the Rain! All in all, we had a wonderful day! Today a friend is coming over to make homemade ice cream! We can't wait!

Mom and the Birthday Girl!

A Beautiful Picnic

Mom and Priscilla

Done with Lunch

Our Happy Family!

Heidi on the Rocks

Down by the Little Falls

Priscilla in the Cold Water

Tabitha in the Cold Water

Me and Heidi (The water goes over the road behind us)

Walking on the Logs

Loving Sisters

The Big Waterfall

The Many Little Waterfalls

Peace at Last!

2009-03-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my 1200 word essay! I was getting sick during the last few days and we had to have it in by Saturday! I was trying to hold my head (and brain) up that long. I was just barely able to finish it. Today I'm really sick with the cold :( But, at least now I can be sick in peace :) I'm planning on taking it real easy today and hopefully I won't be sick long. I'll post something longer and more interesting when I'm feeling a bit better.

Hope you all have a blessed Lords day!

Many New Arrivals

2009-03-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

Well things are busy for our family! March 2 my goat Sweet Pea had triplets! Two girls and a boy. Then, just yesterday, March 9, our other goat, Nutmeg, had triplets too! Three boys. So now we have a full house! Bottle feeding six goat kids is quite taxing on us but it's so much fun having baby goats bouncing around! Here they all are, aren't they just adorable!?!

Alex, Tommy, Girty, Midnight, Bailey, Jeremy
(left to right)

New Age Essay

2009-03-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

Well our english class has been given our first essay to write. We got to choose our topic from our previous reading and discussion, my topic is going to be on the New Age belief. To be specific, my research question is "What's wrong with the New Age belief?" Well needless to say I will have lots of research and much work will need to be done to get this essay done. I would appreciate all the prayers I can get.

Books, Books, and more Books!

2009-02-26T20:26:00.000-08:00

I have totally gone book crazy!

Our house is full of books, we have several floor-to-ceiling bookshelves full of books and guess what? We have approximately one hundred, yes one hundred books out from the library! Now we do have five people in the house and five library cards that hold twenty books each but its rare that each person uses their own card for their own books. We just put books on whoever has an empty space. Also there is quite an age difference in our house 18, 14, 9 and 6(7 in three days :) not to mention mom. And all of us like books. I think I'm the one who loves books, actually I know I am! I'm also a fast reader. But, I'm currently reading seven books! Thats a lot to get through! Following are two book lists.

Books I'm reading

Dead Certain: The presidency of George W. Bush ~ Robert Draper
Manalive ~ G.K. Chesterton
The Quilter's Legacy ~ Jennifer Chiaverini
The Great adventure: Theodore Roosevelt: And the Rise of Modern America ~ Albert Marrin
The Light and the Glory ~ Peter Marshall and David Manuel
Mere Christianity ~ C.S. Lewis
Screwtape Letters ~ C.S. Lewis

Books on the Waiting List (until I have Time)

Tortured for Christ ~ Richard Wurmbrand
Laura Bush: America's First Lady, First Mother ~ Antonia Felix
George Washington Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War ~ Thomas B. Allen
Dewy: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World ~ Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
Beloved Bride: The Letters of Stonewall Jackson to His Wife ~ Bill Potter
Kingdom's Dawn ~ Chuck Black
So Much More ~ Anna Sofia Botkin and Elizabeth Botkin
The Lost Clue ~ Mrs. O.F. Walton
Titus: Comrade of the Cross ~ Florence Morse Kingsley

Wow! Enough said!

If any of you have read any of the books I have mentioned let me know how you liked them! And if you have any books that I haven't mentioned that have really inspired you or that you just really like, let me know and they can go on my list!

The Sweetness of Friendship

2009-02-21T17:10:00.000-08:00

We went to a family bible study Friday night. We call it Solomon's Porch and it's a place where christian families can gather together and be encouraged in the Lord. We do it once a month, and we have a different speaker each time. After the speaking we have a time of fellowship and visiting. Lots of my friends go and we had some great talks! When I got home and reflected on the evening, I realized how much of a blessing it is to have friends. I well remember a time when I had no friends and felt so alone. It was in that time that I had to lean on the Lord and make Him my best friend. Since then He has blessed me abundantly with friends! The friends I'm very close to now will probably be my friends for the rest of my life. The love that flows in a good friendship is just amazing! being able to tell someone something and know they will hold all you say in confidence is so comforting! It's even better when they pray with you right then and there and you can feel sure they will continue praying for you! I'm so glad that the Lord has blessed me abundantly with friends. Sometimes I take it for granted that I have friends, but then I remember being friendless and I praise and thank God for this precious gift of friendship!

~I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,

~Philippians 1:3-5

Excitement Today

2009-02-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

Today was the day that the famous cyclist Lance Armstrong came through. Armstrong and one hundred some odd other cyclists are doing the Amgen tour of California. They flew right passed our road! It was just amazing! Of course you can't really tell, out of over a hundred cyclists, which one he was. But it was just so fun being out there watching! Some of the cyclists were even chatting with each other! They came, in all their magnificence, flying around the corner and down the hill with one big whoosh! The wind flying off them was more like a gale than a breeze. It made my hair fly! I've never seen so many bicycles in one place in all of my eighteen years! It was truly amazing! They kicked up a lot of dust too and I jokingly told the family "I got to breathe some of Lance Armstrong's dust!" :p They came by so close that if I stuck my arm out I could have touched them, seriously!

All the cool cars with bicycles on top were neat too!

Here are some pictures we got. The group of people that you see on the right side of some of the pictures that are near the blue Suburban are our neighbors, my mom and two of my sisters. (The Suburban is our big rig) And yes, that is snow on the ground.

A song(sort of)That I'm Working on

2009-02-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

I Want to Fall in Love With You all Over Again

You saw me from beyond the sky, You saw me, I caught Your eye.

Your desire for my heart caused a pain in Your own,

So You came down from Your throne,

Just to save this miserable soul.

You paid all my debts for me,

By dying a horrible death on a tree.

The love You gave me overwhelmed me,

And so I fell in love with You,

And gave You all of my heart.

But the tests and trials came,

And I betrayed You for a cheep, easy way out.

I left You and broke Your heart.

Finally my sin covers me, overwhelms me,

And I realize what I've done.

The chains of sin bind me so tight!

I can't get away! There is a wall of sin around my heart,

Blocking me from You.

Now I want to fall in love with You all over again.

Renew the love in my heart and take away this burden.

I come totally crushed and useless,

I know I'm not worthy of Your love, but please,

I want to fall in love with You all over again.

Renew my heart that I may know Yours.

Hold me in Your strong, loving arms again.

Please, purify my heart!

I'm sorry, so sorry for burning You so bad!

Heal me, hold me,

and help me to fall in love with You all over again!

~ By Leslie M.B.

Let me know what you all think!

*Photo from Flickr

Valentines Day: For Singles

2009-02-13T21:27:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day is commonly a day where you show special acts of love to someone special. But what about those of us who are single? This day may make certain of us singles disheartened, sad because we don't have a "special someone" to be with. I often have feelings of loneliness in this area. But then I am reminded that I do have a Groom waiting for me. He loves me so much that He gave His life for me when I don't deserve it. And now He is eagerly awaiting the Wedding Day when He can hold me close in His arms and spend the rest of eternity with me. When you feel a longing in your heart for a partner remember; Jesus Christ is awaiting the big Wedding Day when He can come for you, His Bride, the Church. Lets fall in love with our Savior again. Ask Him to renew your love for Him and to make it a perfect Love.

Our Prince is coming, lets prepare ourselves to receive His coming!

*Photo from Flickr

Updates

2009-02-04T20:23:00.000-08:00

Well, the english course I'm taking is going so well! I'm thoroughly enjoying it! Discussion just flies back and forth, it's so neat being able to freely express your thoughts. There are three other girls taking it with me and I'm enjoying getting to know each of them! We have our first assignment due next week and I'm kinda nervous about it, I would appreciate your prayers!

Our reading assignment has been in Mere Christianity by C.S.Lewis, what an awesome book it is! I have been learning ever so much from it!

Violin lessons have been going well, though you can't imagine how utterly dreadful a violin sounds if you don't play it just right :p I sometimes wonder if I'll ever get it right! Hold the violin and bow just right, keep wrists straight, keep the bow parallel with the bridge, keep your feet in the proper position. And then, through all that, try to play and make it sound right. Well, I guess with plenty of practice I shall do well, or so I've been told :)

New activities

2009-01-23T20:24:00.000-08:00

Well I have some very exciting news, I just started an online english course! I'm so excited about it! Our instructor is Max Parish, you can look into this course and others by visiting Sharper Quill.com .

My goal in taking this class is to advance and refine my writing and discussion skills. I love writing and have been told that I'm good at it, but I want some advancement in this area. I also am very interested in discussion, Max really focuses on discussion and our participation in it makes approximately 1/3 of our grade. I think it's wonderful to get other peoples opinion and discuss different angles on things. I've been noticing in the past year or so that I like to debate things a lot, but I'm not always sure how to put some of my thoughts into words. I hope to get better at these things by taking this course.

Also, I got a violin from my mom for Christmas! I am currently taking lessons and really enjoying it! My teacher is the best! She has a wonderful way of teaching and is so patient! The violin has such a beautiful sound (when played correctly :) and I hope to one day be a great player.

However, between taking the online course, violin lessons and practice, and every day (and by no means normal or boring) life, post frequency might be affected. Just how much I don't know yet as I have just started my course this week. I WILL be continuing this blog though and will post as often as I can. I'm going to try to maintain my usual activities; emailing, blogging etc. So don't feel as if I'm gone! I'm still here :) and look forward to keeping in touch!

I would ask, though, that you pray for me, this is my first online class and, though I'm excited, I'm also a little nervous. Also pray that I don't get overwhelmed by my (now very busy) days, that I'll be loving to my family through frustration, and that I will put God first in my days even when I'm busy.

Typically Country!

2009-01-17T20:53:00.000-08:00

Today we were going to do a cleaning job for a friend. I went down to get some cleaning supplies out of the garage, as I came up to the car I saw my little sister Priscilla.

This is so typically country farm kid! Hair flying wild, shoes that don't match her outfit, and leg warmers, one down around her ankle and the other up and they really don't match her outfit! But of course, like a country farm kid, she also has the biggest grin on her face! I've gotten over being shocked at how my younger siblings look sometimes when they go out, you know, the times they look like they just finished eating a scrumptious mud pie, or when they've been going exploring and have Manzanita berries, dried leaves, twigs and all manner of other underbrush debris in their hair, how about when they were so proud of getting themselves dressed and your in town and look over at them and realize for the first time that their socks don't match, their shoes are on the wrong feet, their shirt is on backwards, and the pocket on their skirt is in the middle of the front! You just know the town folk are going to be aghast! You do your best to put them to rights in the parking lot of the grocery store, you know, combing your fingers through their hair and pulling out the underbrush debris, irritably telling them "I'm sorry it hurts, but you look like a country bumpkin!" then, for lack of a wet washcloth, you resort to licking your finger (much to their disgust, like mother did when you were little) and getting the most prominent dirt spots off their face till you can get to the restroom and wet a paper towel to finish the job, switching the shoes, not much you can do about the socks, and turning the skirt. Then you stand back to observe and, as you see the big grin they still have on their face, your exasperation dissipates and you laugh out loud remembering a time long ago when you looked the same way.

Pray Continually

2009-01-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

As I was reading Before you Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally, I came across something I really thought was necessary in my life! Let me tell you what she says;

Have you ever prayed for a whole hour? Find a place where you can be alone without interruptions for an entire hour. If this isn't possible at your home during the day, go to a park, an empty room at your church, or consider getting up in the middle of the night. Spend the hour in communion with the Lord. To help you stay focused,write a schedule for yourself to follow. Heres a sample pattern you could use:

5 minutes - worship

5 minutes - thanksgiving

5 minutes - confession

5 minutes - pray Psalms to the Lord

5 minutes - pray for your authorities

5 minutes - pray for missionaries

5 minutes - pray for unsaved friends and family

5 minutes - other general requests

5 minutes - ask for wisdom, grace and humility in specific areas in which you need to change

5 minutes - personal requests

5 minutes - ask for Gods abundant blessing

5 minutes - praise and thanksgiving

I've decided to try to do this daily. After all how do you get to know someone personally without spending time with them? I would encourage you to put forth an effort to try to do this daily as well. The Lord loves us with His all and longs to have us know Him in a special, personal way. To get this we need to ask Him to show us Himself, we need to spend time meditating on His word and listening to Him, and we need to spend time praying to Him.

I would really like to get your feedback on this and let me know what you think about all this. Maybe you can pick someone to keep you accountable, a parent, an older sibling, or another sister in Christ. It's wonderful to pray with others too, getting together with others is great! But just getting alone with your Lord and pouring your heart out to Him is such a beautiful thing! Just spend time siting with Him, listening to him, crying to Him, pouring your love on Him, delighting in Him, just let Him overwhelm your whole being! It's the most special thing that we have the privilege to partake of, He gives us each His undivided attention, lets give Him ours!

Image from flickr

Books and Music

2009-01-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! (if there are any of you left) Sorry It's been so long! I've been so busy since the new year. I finally found time to start blogging again.

I've recently read some really good books and have a few I'm starting and I thought I'd share them with you.

Books I've read recently

First one is, Before you Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally. It's a really great book for single young ladies and I found it extremely encouraging and helpful in this time of waiting for that perfect person that God has for me. Believe it or not, most of us young ladies share the same daily struggles. It helps to know that I'm not the "only one". If you are a single young lady, then this is a must read!

Another book I read recently is The Shack by William P. Young, 'where tragedy meets eternity'. It's a book that will turn your brain upside down! If you haven't read it, you might find it ... interesting, (very interesting) It's a book thats kinda hard to explain but I really enjoyed it, and it's a book that, if nothing else, will really get you thinking.

Books I'm starting

This next book is one I came across in an economics book, An Inquiry Into the Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Quite a mouthful and pretty self descriptive. I'm really looking forward to reading it, it may seem pretty boring to most of you but in this time of economic breakdown this book really piqued my interest.

I'm also starting a book that I've wanted to read for quite some time, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Just a book that was recommended by a friend a while back, most of you have probably already read it. I'm looking forward to it though!

Now for music! I don't know about most of you but I REALLY like music! I've recently added two new CD's to my already large collection.

The first one is Wide Eyed and Mystified by Downhere. I borrowed it from the library a while back and have been wanting to get it ever since. Downhere is a christian band and I like the lyrics that they write to their songs. It has a good beat too! Both very important in my book.

The second one is Closer by Josh Groben. Believe it or not I just recently heard some of his stuff and really liked it! He has the best voice I think I've ever heard! I'm really enjoying this one a lot!

There are lots more books and tons more music that I like but thats all I'll do for now ;)

merry christmas!

2008-12-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

Luke 2:1-20

1And it came to in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “ Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Merry Christmas!!!

Snow!

2008-12-16T12:47:00.000-08:00

The weather said it was going to snow on Saturday. I was very skeptical, it wasn't cold enough! On Saturday it was foggy, so what, it started hailing, so what, that isn't snow! Then I saw a few little snowflakes fall with the hail, oh come on, give me a brake, so thats all the snow they were talking about? They may as well have given an estimate snowflake count! I mean my gosh.

It hailed mostly with snow mingled in and we ended up with crunchy, icy "snow" by the evening. Well the little girls didn't even play in it it just wasn't user friendly "snow". Then on Sunday night when we headed home from fellowship, it was snowing! Real snow! I was very pleasantly surprised! Heidi and I went down to the barns to do chores and it was like a fairy tale! The silence of the snowfall on a beautiful dark night was just wonderful! Monday morning my two little sisters wouldn't stop asking when they could go outside and play in the snow! They went out and each built a snowman on the deck, then they went down the hill and built snow forts and played in them. When they were done they came in with rosy cheeks and big smiles and I made them hot chocolate.

That evening we walked up to our neighbors house. I threw snowballs at mom, she shrieked and threw one at me! We all pelted each other the whole way down our driveway and had a blast! Today the snow has mostly melted and what's left is slushy, but we had so much fun while it was here and I'm glad that even through my skepticism, it did snow! Well you know those wether reporters, they say it's gonna rain and it's sunny, they say it's gonna be sunny and it rains. Oh well I thoroughly enjoyed their precision this time!

Family pets: Cats

2008-12-05T17:44:00.000-08:00

Note; posts may be sporadic due to the bustle of the season :)

Our family loves animals and, much to my joy, we have been blessed with many of them! Later I may tell about more of our large quantity of animals, but for now I'll tell you about our five cats.

Cats are among my favorite animals we own. They all have such distinguished personality's.

First and foremost is Annie our Siamese, she's our favorite. We've had Annie for about twelve years and, being fourteen years old, she's earned the description of geriatric. She has a queenly disposition and keeps the rest of our cats, and even our dog, in line. She loves our family A LOT! Any time were sad or sick she comes and lays with us and is a great comforter. Even though she's older, she still gets frisky moments, flying across the floor as she chases a bead or water bottle cap that someone dropped, or batting enthusiastically at a string. Her remarkably beautiful blue eyes stare at me and I can't resist hugging her! Of course like most Siamese, she's got a cocky flare to her, putting her nose in the air, turning down a tasty morsel, until you leave it there and walk away. She's also very tolerant, allowing us to dress her up in doll cloths, scarves, bows etc. She's defiantly one of a kind and extremely loved by our whole family!

Then is our cat Theodore, of course we call him Teddy, and I actually call him Teddy Bear. He is a big fluffy loafer of a cat. Teddy is our lover, he climbs up and rubs my face with his, purring happily when you pay him attention. You will be sure to find him at the barns during milking time, waiting for me to spray a stream of milk his way.
Next is Teddy's brother Sebastian. He is the 'King of the Outdoors'. He has a very sweet personality and always following us around or sitting in a regal position somewhere on the deck. He's also a great hunter, catching mice, gophers, birds, bats, and he even caught a young squirrel once!

Reesy is our other female kitty. She has the role of the playful princess. She'll let you do anything with her; the little girls put her in the doll stroller and buckle her in, they carry her slung over there shoulder etc.

Last is Bean, Reesy's brother. He is the purr motor! He loves to be held and petted. Though he is a little reserved he loves our family. He's a great mouser and between him and Sebastian we never have many rodents.

Sunrise Sunset

2008-12-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

This is a sunset at our house

The other morning I got up extra early to do a driving lesson, It was a bit nippy outside when I went to warm up the car. As I let the car warm up I noticed that the sky had a pink hue through the trees. Being a person who is awe struck by sunrises and sunsets, I was drawn to go down the hill to get a better look at this sunrise. As I reached the lower area where I could see, I looked up into the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen! A golden bar of clouds with deep pink and dark purple accents, spanned across the crisp blue sky. Once again I felt that breathless, awe stricken wave wash over me and these words just burst forth;

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
~Psalm 19:1

The Cold Days are Coming

2008-11-29T10:43:00.000-08:00

I thought that since the days are getting colder and Christmas is just around the corner I would make things look festive, hence the background change!

Yesterday was really exciting, we got to start listening to Christmas music! I love this time of year! Hot chocolate, tea, hot apple cider, curl up on the couch on a gray evening with a good book, who wouldn't like this time of year!?!

Don't get me wrong though, I don't just get to sit back and relax all the time. It's freshening season for our goats, and everyone else's too, (for those of you who don't know, freshening means breeding) , and aside from that there's those icy cold days when the barn needs mucking out, and of course the milking morning and evening. Not to mention the countless chores inside the house, cooking for the family, dishes, laundry,etc. But even through all the chores the Christmas music floats on, the smell of spices swirls through the house, and the smiles and excited chatter of me, mom, and my sisters flits along.

A Wonderful Day!

2008-11-27T22:45:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was awesome! We were cooking and getting ready all morning. Afternoon came bringing with it moms family and a friend of ours, practically everyone brought food. The table was heavy laden with delicious things. The house was full of beautiful decorations, charming aromas, and lots of merry people. The joy was intoxicating and the conversation, full of laughter and mirth, was filling every corner. The dining room had a soft glow and all was warm and cozy.

As we waited for the turkey and a couple of casseroles to finish, we ate tasty hors d’oeuvres*, drank wassail (a German holiday drink) and chatted away.

When we all gathered at the table, mom read Psalm 100 aloud to all of us. Following the beautiful passage we all sang " For the Beauty of the Earth", it was wonderful lifting our voices up together in thanksgiving to our Lord! Then we all bowed our heads as my grandpa said a prayer thanking our loving Father Who has provided us with so much!

Of course we all ate too much and had to let our dinner settle before we went on to dessert. In the mean time some of us napped, others of us (the heroic ones) did the dishes and put the leftovers away, all the while chatting and having a gay ol' time!

Finally came the exciting moment when the dessert call was made. A mouthwatering assortment of pumpkin pie, apple pie, tarts, raspberry cheese cake, and of course, whipped topping, met our eyes as we all gathered to fill our plates. We were pleasantly surprised by our friends husband (who is a CHP) who joined us for dessert and brought such a pleasant happy touch to our group!

The evening was pleasant and everyone left happy, warm. . . and full! All together it was a wonderful day full of newly made memories!

Psalm 100
1 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

* Yes I did have to look up the spelling on that ;)

Thanksgiving bustle

2008-11-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

Well Thanksgiving is upon us! We have been doing prep all afternoon! Were having my moms family over to spend this wonderful day with us.

I was thinking about how I've always been told to be thankful for what I have. As a child I always thought "but I really want that new doll outfit" or " I wish I could have more dessert" Now that I'm older, I don't have that problem. Yea right! Of course I still struggle with it, only on a different scale. More like "I wish I had that CD" or "I want that book" Very rarely are we just totally content with what the Lord has given us. You may be saying "Yea, yea, I know, I've herd this a thousand times!" But when was the last time you thanked God for your trials? How about the fact that your younger sibling thinks that you know everything and asks you all kinds of questions?

James 1:2-4
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

I go through all kinds of trials during the day, weather it's burning the dinner, or having a whining sibling that just wont listen! Knowing that the Lord is producing patience in me is not always exciting because I know it will be very difficult, but knowing that His end result is to make me perfect and complete, lacking nothing, that is exciting!

So this Thanksgiving I'm thankful for the trials that the Lord takes me through knowing that He cares enough for me that He continues to work on me even though sometimes I 'kick and scream' the whole way!

Acceptance with Joy

2008-11-24T15:17:00.000-08:00

So I really wanted to start a blog and then I finally found a name for it! You may or may not have read the book "Hinds Feet on High Places" If you haven't then I would strongly recommend it. Acceptance with joy is the name of a flower that was planted in a rocky, rugged area in a spot where she shouldn't have been happy at all, but she said merrily instead "behold me Thy handmaiden Acceptance with joy". She was accepting what her maker had chosen for her and not only that but she was accepting it with joy. It was so encouraging to me, I need to learn to accept all that my heavenly Father takes me through with joy!
My purpose for this blog is to just write! In it you'll learn more about me, my struggles, my joys, my heart aches. My desire is to be totally honest in this blog, I'm not going to try to put up a front, I think it's important to be myself, so get ready for the ride!