Idols

Hello everyone! I suppose it's about time I wrote a post. Well, I had a wonderful Christmas! I got 3 books - "The Pleasures of God" by John Piper, and "The Lost Art of True Beauty" and "Sacred Singleness" by Leslie Ludy. Wow, they are such great books! God has been teaching me so much recently. He has been calling me to lay everything down at His feet... all my desires, all my dreams, and all of my "rights." But once I lay them down, He satisfies me with His love, which is so much more wonderful than anything the world could give me! I love the passage in Matthew chapter 4 about Jesus being tempted.

"Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, 'All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."' Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him."

Often Satan offers us "pleasures" and "glories." All he asks in return is that we worship him by making those pleasures idols in our lives. And all too often, we agree to his terms and believe his lies. But Jesus said, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'" That is what our response should be. And when we do that, we get much greater blessings. An intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is so much more wonderful than any of Satan's lies could ever be.

I also wanted to tell you all that I deleted my facebook. That was a huge step for me. It's not that facebook is, in and of itself, "bad." But for me, it became and idol. I found myself wasting so much time on it, and caring way too much what people thought of me through it. Often I based my social "worth" on how many comments I got, or something like that. God was asking me to give it up for Him, and He enabled me to do it. And honestly, I don't miss it! I still have email and blogger to keep up in touch with people, and I have so much more time to do God's will because I'm not wasting it on facebook! God has torn that idol from my life, as He is doing with many others. And the process is oh, so painful at times, but so worth it! He is so good, all the time!

Festivities!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Ah, it's going to be a wonderful week! Erik is home, and this whole week we're going to have food, family, and fun! My grandparents (on my dad's side) are coming for Thanksgiving, and since we're not going to see them at Christmastime this year, we're going to celebrate Christmas with them while they're here, too. We went shopping last Friday, and bought a TON of food! We have delicious food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day this week. :)

Here's our plan for Thanksgiving day: we'll have our delectable turkey dinner for lunch, then Emily (Erik's girlfriend - who happens to be my best friend!) is coming over. We'll have pie and watch a movie, and enjoy time together with all the family. Later that evening, we'll open presents from my grandparents under the Christmas tree which I set up today! :) We have an artificial tree, and we're also hoping to get a real tree this year.
I am SOOO excited about Christmas! By nature, I am a very festive person. I love an excuse to celebrate, no matter what the occasion is! Christmas is most definitely my favorite time of the year.

So let the festivities begin! Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day all right in a row! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season... I know I will!

That's the God I serve!

Well, this has been an interesting week. Do you ever have those times when everything just feels hard? It's been one of those weeks. In truth, things have been just fine. But then, there are things that weigh on me that I can't tell to anyone, things that no one knows. It often leaves me feeling alone. But, it also leads me to Jesus. It causes me to cling to Him. To tell Him everything. To trust Him. To wrestle in prayer. To search His word - all the more! He is so good! It's kind of a strange feeling... I feel so absolutely overwhelmed and sad, but yet so absolutely elated! It's a feeling that comes from being a Christian. Life will always have hardships, but God will always be exquisitely awesome. Therefore, we can always have joy. So, I will rest in Him, knowing that He is a God of love, healing, joy, peace, and perfection. He is good even though He allows struggles! Struggles allow Him to show how real He is, and they give us a chance to delight in Him. Unfortunately, all too often I turn to other sources for answers and fulfillment, and they leave me more broken than I started. He is the ONLY source of satisfaction. He is a God of sovereignty, majesty, grandeur, supremacy, and glory. That's the God I serve! To Him be all the glory!


"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance." Psalm 42:5

A million thoughts

Hello folks! I have so many things on my mind... wonderful things, sad things, silly things, heavy things.
Some wonderful things:
~Erik is coming home for Thanksgiving in ONE WEEK!!
~I'm babysitting 2 adorable children tomorrow
~I got my haircut last Friday. It's different - layered, textured, angled, thinned(but still long) - I love it!
~My voice is getting SO much better thanks to my voice lessons
~I got a bunch of cute headbands, hairclips, and earrings today for 50 cents a piece - what a steal! :)
~God is teaching me AMAZING things about prayer, forgiveness, and His love. Wow, I want to give all of my life for Him - it's so sad (and stupid!) that I live so selfishly!

Some of the heavy matters:
~I am so unworthy of Jesus' love. So far from holiness, godliness, and righteousness. This is a heavy matter, but not really a sad one because God is glorified through forgiving me! My unworthiness shows His worthiness, holiness and righteousness even more brightly! He is so good. I cannot express how thankful I am for His perfect love!
~I miss Erik SO much. Think of your best friend, okay? Now imagine being 10x closer with them. Now imagine them moving 500 miles away. Yeah, it's not easy. But God is teaching me to depend on Him in yet another way! Amazing, isn't it, how He is faithful and good in even hard times? :)

I need to go spend some time with my Savior. I am really looking forward to ending this busy day in His refreshing presence! Please pray for me, guys. There are also other things weighing very heavily on me that I can't tell about in this post. Pray that I will delight in God more, and depend on Him for absolutely everything. Thank you!! Stay strong, friends!

It's a wonderful life!

Hey friends! :)

Well, the NANC conference was AWESOME!! I learned so much, and it encouraged me! It reminded me that I can give all my worries to God, and never worry. It reminded me that God LOVES to forgive us - if we ask. And, it reminded it me that there is a glorious hope for this dying world - so let's share it with them!

You'll think this is just crazy, but... we went to Kentucky again! Haha. Dad decided it would be nice for Emily (the girl that Erik is courting) to be able to see Erik's house, town, etc. Also, he knew that Mom and I would love to go down again and see Erik and all of our friends. :) We traveled down on Friday, stayed through Saturday and Sunday, and traveled home on Monday. It was such a fun trip!! Emily and I (we are very good friends!) had fun together, and I had a wonderful time in general.

And then, I had to get back to school. I've been busy as ever with it all! Today Emily and I got together and discussed Chemistry... it was very helpful! Earlier this afternoon, I went to piano and voice lessons. I love it! I'm so blessed to be able to take lessons :)

Tomorrow night I am going to a (gasp!) dance! You don't need to worry, though - it's all 19th-Century dances: Reels, Square dances, etc. Nothing inappropriate. ;) It is going to be *SO* much fun!

So that is an update on my life... and now I must go, because it's 6:30 PM and I still have to do history! Blessing, all!

Blessings :)

So, I just thought I would post and tell you what is on my mind today. :)

~ I am REALLY excited because I am going to a NANC (National Association of Nouthetic Counseling) "Hope Seminar" tonight and tomorrow! It's a program that trains people to do Biblical counseling. I'm looking forward to what God has to teach me!

~I am SO glad that it's Friday because this has a been a very long school week.

~I am sad that my blue and green monkey socks wore through. :(

~My singing and piano playing are getting a lot better, and I'm really enjoying practicing! It takes up a lot of time, but I love doing it!

~I LOVE my family! Mom, Cody, and I were just talking and laughing in the kitchen a few minutes ago, and it was fun. :)

That is all! Blessings to all of you~

Some thoughts on God's love and my life :)

Hello all! God has been SO good to me lately. This week I have been growing so much in Him. I've been learning about just how much he loves us.

I think that too often we get into a mindset of thinking, "Okay, if I can just do this right... if I can just do the right thing, obey God... THEN God will love me and be pleased with me." That is just not the case! God loves us SO, SO much!! His love is not dependent on our works! Song of Solomon describes God's perfect love for us... "You have ravished my heart, My sister, my spouse; You have ravished my heart With one look of your eyes, With one link of your necklace." (Song of Solomon 4:9) Put into modern terms, God says "You make my heart beat faster... I LOVE it when you look to me!" WOW!! Do you get what that's saying? God doesn't just think, "Well, yes, I guess I'll forgive you... I'll be good to you and answer your prayers just because I'm good, even though you're a loser, even though you stink, and even though I can't stand you..." Not at all! He is in love with us. Take a look at a newly married couple... they can't get enough of each other! They are obsessed with each other, really! They love to make each other happy! That is how God feels about us! Isn't that amazing?! We can't comprehend how much God loves us. It is SO wonderful! We don't have to be discouraged by our sins, or by how difficult life is, because God will always be faithful, and will always do us good!

On a somewhat different note, let me tell you what I've been up to lately! I have been really busy with school. I start at about 8:30 in the morning, take an hour for lunch, and get done around 4:30 most days. Some days though, like today and yesterday, are much busier! Yesterday I got to go shopping! I went to Salvation Army and Second Impressions - two second hand stores. :) Salvation army is a donation store, so it has lots of junk mixed in with a few nice items. But, if you look hard enough, you can get some great clothing for hardly any cost at all! I got lots of nice skirts and shirts there. Second Impressions is a consignment shop, so the prices are a little higher but the clothes of beautiful! I got a pair of nice, modest pants for $9 in excellent condition! Today has been busy also. I had a full school day, plus piano and voice lessons. It has been a wonderful day - I am so thankful that I get to have music lessons! It's getting late though, and I still have some school to do, so I'd better get off! ;) Thanks for taking the time to read! :)

Kentucky - Part 2

Okay, and now for the conclusion! :)

We were home for only 1 week before we went back to Erik's house again. This trip was a lot easier, but still had a lot of challenges. We were SO blessed. It's amazing how God has lead Erik all of the way... giving him the perfect job at the Creation Museum, leading him to a house in Petersburg, blessing him with a wonderful church family... everything!

I was with my awesome friends every day -it was SO much fun! When I'm with them, I can be myself. Even in spite of me being a total loser sometimes, they still loved me! It was really refreshing. We had tons of fun, crazy times, good talks, lots of laughs, and fellowship in Jesus Christ. What more could I ask for?!

Above: Lauren, Me, Patty, Otto ~~~ Below: Autumn, Patty, Me, Gwen

Below: Me, Patty, Candy, Otto

And Joseph. :) He wasn't there the day we took the other pictures, so I had to get a different one.


I got home again Monday, the 11th. It's been weird trying to get back into the rhythm of school/life/etc. I've been so blessed being home again though... I've missed my good friends here! God has also been working in me so much... I've been reminded of how important it is to live life 110% surrendered to Jesus Christ - not holding back, not distracted, not looking to anything or anyone but Him. He is enough. He is so much more than enough!

Kentucky - Part 1

Whoa! I haven't posted in a LONG time! The reason is that I have been in Kentucky for most of it! Yes, I know, I was only going to be there for a week... but things didn't go as planned... at all!! I don't know where to begin because so much has happened. I guess I'll have to leave out all of the details and just sum up.

Erik's house was a wreck at first!! We worked for a whole week and got some stuff put together, but not nearly all of it. It just so happened that Erik decided t get a well drilled, and God perfectly worked it out that he was able to get one right away!! You have NO idea how amazing that is! Many people wait months or even years to get their well drilled by the person who drilled his well. God's timing is amazing!!

Since he was getting a well drilled, though, we had to stay until it was finished. That meant that we stayed all the way until September 25 - more than 2 weeks!! It worked out so well, though, because we were able to get a lot more work done.

And, while I was down there, I met an AMAZING family - the Neffs!! They are the Pastor's family of Erik's church. I ended up hanging out with them every single day the second week of our trip! I've become really, really close with them... it was so hard to say goodbye! We had lots of fun, and God taught me SO much on the trip. In spite of how hard some things were, it turned out to be an amazing trip!!

We got home on Saturday night, the 25th. As it turned out, there was so much work left to do on Erik's house that we ended up going back a week later! I'll write about that another time though... I'm worn out from typing! :) Thanks for taking the time to read!

Craziness!!!

Wow, where do I begin?! The past 2 days have absolutely crazy! But yet, they have been so full of God’s mighty hand. Well, lets start at the very beginning... a very good place to start. :)

We left for Kentucky at about 12:30 PM on Friday. After about 45 minutes of driving, our minivan started having serious issues! We weren’t sure what to do... it was looking like we would have to wait at least another day before we left! We prayed about it, and after looking the vehicle over carefully I guess Mom and Erik were able to figure out why it was having a problem, and somehow we were able to be one our way again in less than an hour! Now, from were we live in NY to Erik’s house in KY, it’s about an 8-hour drive. With a couple of stops for restrooms and gasoline, we got there at 10:00 PM.

Erik’s house is kind of a fixer-upper - the whole place is dirty, old, and somewhat run-down. Since it’s not clean yet, we brought out camper to sleep in. But... it doesn’t really fit as many people as its supposed to. I mean, our family has 4 men that are all about 6 feet tall! So, Cody and Dad slept in the camper, Erik and I slept outside, Mom slept in the van and Zach slept inside. None of this situation has been ideal... we have no water (that means none to drink, shower or wash with), no beds, no appliances (no cooking, no laundry, no fridge... yeah.) But you see, that is how God has been shown to be so mighty through it all! We’ve truly had to rely on Him. And, we have been so blessed! The staff at the Creation Museum are such wonderful people! They are like a family. They’re letting us shower at the Museum!!! YAY!

There are so, so many more details I’d love to tell, but it would take too long. This post is getting long already! But PLEASE, PLEASE pray for us!!!! Everything is very difficult, and there’s tons to work to do. Thank you so much!! :)

The Widow's Might

Hey everyone! I have a movie recommendation for you! It's about 2 families, endeavoring to help a widow who is in danger of losing her home because she can't pay her taxes. I love it because it's a great, wholesome movie that shows God's power through those who serve Him.




Here's a link to their website, too - widowsmightthemovie.com

Hope you get the chance to watch it!

Me? Fun? Is it possible?

So I was thinking today. (Amazing, right?) And I realized that most people write blogs that are actually fun to read, and well, my blog is usually pretty boring. So that made me even more thankful for the followers I do have! And it also made me think that I would like to make my blog more fun and interesting. Aren't you excited?! Haha, I am!

Anyway. I was also thinking about how amazing it is that God just will NOT let go of me! I couldn't run from Him if I wanted to! Despite all of my sin, my selfishness, and everything about me, HE is still GOD! He is an amazing Lover and Friend.

And guess what! I'm going to Kentucky this week! Erik, as I have mentioned, is moving to Kentucky - only a few miles from the Creation Museum! I am going to miss Him so much. :'( So we are going down for about 9 days (including travel time) to help him clean, fix, and set up his new home. I think it will be really fun! Whenever I have access to internet, I let you know how it's going. :D

God bless!
~Christy

Sunrise

This morning I got up to watch the sunrise. It's kind of hard to see, considering that our entire property is surrounded by trees, so I stood in the read. Now, if you live in a place where there's a lot of traffic, you're probably thinking I'm nuts. But we live on a dirt road, traveled by about 2 vehicles an hour, which you can hear approaching from literally a mile away. Anyway, I stood in the road and talked with the Lord for a little while, while watching His beautiful sunrise. It was wonderful!Psalm 113:3 From the rising of the sun to its going down, the LORD’S name is to be praised.

Hello all! God has been SO good to me lately! About a week ago, life seemed really hard and wearisome. I felt distant from the Lord, and it felt like He wasn't feel as real and present as He truly is. Then I realized... I had hardly even read my Bible for several days! No wonder I didn't feel the Lord's presence! I decided to listen to a sermon on my iPod while doing my chores. Actually, I decided to listen to the first part of a 6-part sermon called "True Gospel," by Paul Washer. WOW. It is amazing! Through it God gave me a greater grasp of His holiness, my sin, Christ's sacrifice, and His amazing love and mercy. I was listening to Part 4 last Saturday, doing some chores, and praying. About half-way through, the Holy Spirit started to do a major work in me. I just fell to my knees and cried, realizing how great my sin truly is. Even after the sermon was over, the tears continued to fall as I spent much of the afternoon with the Lord - praying, singing, and reading His Word. Oh, it was so wonderful! My joy was restored as I read in Scripture of God's amazing love and forgiveness.

The Lord has been drawing me closer and closer to Him, raising my standards, purging me of sin, and ripping idols out of my life. Let me tell you - being carved into His image is not easy, and it's usually quite painful. But oh, the joy it brings! There have been a few things I have faced even in this last week that have been very hard, but He is such a Comforter, such a Friend! Please, please pray for me - it's often difficult and painful to let Him smash all of the idols in my life, but it's so necessary! I'm falling more in love with Him, and praying that I will be more like Him. He is so good!

My, oh my!

My goodness! Life has been good but very busy lately. I turned 15! So now I'm all old and wise and mature and all that - NOT! :-) God's been doing such amazing stuff in my life!

For my fifteenth birthday, I had 4 of my very close freinds over - Kyla, Emily, Kara, and Kelsea. Great girls! We stayed up til 5:00 AM (or later ;) ). We atched 4 episodes of my very favorite show ever - Sue Thomas F.B.Eye. It's about a deaf woman who's an F.B.I. agent and it's really awesome (minus a couple of moments in a couple of episodes, which I do not give my approval to.) Also, we did our nails, talked laughed, sat around the fire, and took a walk out to the beautiful field with the windmills, which I do believe I have mentioned before. It was asuch a wonderful time!

Cody is back from Circle C! I missed him SOSOSOSO much, as you know! He's such an amazingly awesome brother. :)

Erik is moving to Kentucky in less than a month!!! Wow... it seems so crazy. He will be 6 miles away from the Creation Museum, which is why he's moving there. That way, he will be able to work at the office. He's bought a little 2-bedroom house, and we're going down in a couple weeks to help him get it fixed up and ready to live in!

Our youth group went on a camping tip this past weekend. It was really neat! We stayed at the home of one of the guys in our youth group - they have a big yard and were very generous to let us all camp out there! We went rafting on the Genesee river at Letchworth, and we also went hiking and swimming there to. It's SUCH a beautiful place! For those of you who are reading this and are not from New York: Letchworth is a state park with a huge gorge and some spectacular views! God's creation truly is amazing. I grew a lot closer to God this weekend, too!

Today is my dad's birthday! We didn't do much for it though. :( We wanted to, but life's been so crazy that we didn't end up getting anything ready in time. So we will probably celebrate it more another day.

Cody, Erik and I went to my wonderful friend Abby's presentation about her missions trip to Mexico this evening. She went on a missions trip to Chiapas, Mexico this summer and tonight she told us all about it. Afterward we all stayer around for a while and had a TON of fun!!

All in all, God had been really, really amazing lately, and has been teaching me a lot about standing up for my faith - especially when it costs me something! I need Him so much... may He get all the glory in my life!

Update

Well, I have not posted as much as I should lately. I've been, busy, and life has been so up and down that I just didn't want to post. So I will simply say that God has been so good to me, and has really been lifting me up the last few days from a very discouraging week last week. I might not post for a while, or a might post a lot. I don't know.

And a prayer request - my Dad, Mom, and oldest brother are down in Kentucky now looking at a house Erik is considering buying. Please pray that God will give them direction and wisdom about the house, and safety as they will be driving a lot. Thanks!


And... I will be 15 in 6 days. Yipes! :)

God bless.

"These are a few of my favorite things..." =)

Ahh, what a lovely day! And on this lovely day, I am going to post about things I love.

Some things I love and am particularly thankful for today:
Beautiful skirts
Puffy clouds
Tortilla chips and salsa
"The Challenge"Nail polish
Sunflowers
Cats
and most of all,
Jesus Christ, His grace, His forgiveness, His glory, and all of who He is!

And I was also thinking about my favorite words. Here are some:

Precept: "A prescribed rule of conduct or action; instruction or direction regarding a given course or action; especially, a maxim in morals."
I love how this word is used so many times throughout the Bible, especially Psalm 119.

Lovely:
"Possessing mental or physical qualities that inspire admiration and love; charming."
Psalm 84:1 - "How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts!"

Maiden: (according to the Webster's 1828 dictionary)
"A young unmarried woman; a virgin; fresh; new; unused." It goes on to describe a maiden as one who speaks and acts "demurely or modestly."Modern dictionaries simply describe "maiden" as an unmarried woman. Rather than being a modern "maiden," or "chick," or even simply a "girl," I want to be a Webster's 1828 Dictionary maiden!

There are so many more words I love, so many other things I am thankful for, and so many blessings in my life, but I won't go on all day! ;)

May Jesus Christ be praised!!!

The Challenge

Wow, where do I begin?

I haven't posted in a while because God has been teaching me so, so many things, and I have had too many thoughts to put into words.

First of all, I have been reading a book called The Challenge. It is so overwhelmingly wonderful! It is about a man named David, as he serves the Lord. Near the beginning, he meets a young woman named Hope and her family. I have learned SO much from reading about the gentle and quiet spirit Hope and her mother have, and I've been in awe of how David and all of Hope's family serves, worships, delights in, and communes with the Lord. The book is a novel, so it's not "real," but the challenges and lessons in it are very real. Christ CAN make me that much like Him!

Jesus has been drawing me closer through so many different things, each and every day. Through reading this book, especially, He has revealed so many new and wonderful things to me! It seems discouraging when, although I know the truth of how to live as Christ would desire me to, I still act so foolishly and fail Him so much. But change is a process, not an event. The purpose of me becoming like Him is not so that I can be proud of myself, or delight in my "goodness," but so that He will be glorified, and that I may know Him more.

So as I continue to fall on my face before the Lord, and He continues to forgive me and pick me up again, I want to day by day be more like Him. I want to be a woman of prayer, communing with Him every moment, and becoming more like Him every day.

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen."
Jude 24-25

(photo credit to Cody for these pictures)

Love Song for a Savior

In open fields of wild flowers,
She breathes the air and flies away
She thanks her Jesus for the daises and the roses
In no simple language
Someday she'll understand the meaning of it all
He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on her lips
Someday she'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call her and she will come running
And fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray,

"I want to fall in love with You, I want to fall in love with You.
I want to fall in love with You, I want to fall in love with You."


"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness," Psalm 30:11 ♥

As a little girl, I believed in Jesus, but I didn't know Him deeply. Over time He's teaching me the meaning of it all, and how to trust and see Him. And I want to fall in love with Him!

Photo credit goes to Cody for this one. Song lyrics are "Love Song for a Savior," by Jars of Clay.

Blessings galore :)

My brother, Zach, turned 19 yesterday! Woo-hoo! Also, my grandpa came to visit, which was really neat because he lives far away and we don't see him very often. We all had brownies and ice cream to celebrate Zach's birthday last night, and he's also having a party tomorrow night. What fun!

Sunday School was a real blessing to me last night. We talked about sharing our faith, and some of the essentials of it. Our youth group is planning a 3-day rafting (and camping) trip for mid-August - I can't wait!

This morning my grandpa stayed for breakfast, and left around 9:00 AM. We've done some chores and such today, but it has been a restful day overall. I got a chance to read a couple chapters of the book, "A Quest for More" by Paul David Tripp, which a mentioned in a previous post.Only one more chapter left! It is SUCH a good book; God has taught me so much through it! You really should read it - it's very helpful and encouraging!

Time flies!

So, I was looking through pictures last night on my computer of me a few years ago, and thinking how much has changed.

This is me (left) and my best friend (right) about 6 years ago - when I was 9. Can you believe that chubby face is mine? :) Emily and I have been good friends through the years, and I am SO thankful for her. Our friendship strengthens through time, and she is still my closest friend! We've been through a lot together.

I think I was 10 in this picture. This picture was taken at one of the lovely tea parties I used to have with my mom. :) Life sure was simpler back then! I mostly did was I was told because I wanted to make people happy, and because it was easy. It wasn't until later that I actually had make a hard, but wonderful decision to serve Christ, no matter what.

This is me at almost 11. When I was that age, I always did my hair by pushing it back with a headband. The day this picture was taken is memorable because it was a Sunday afternoon, and Erik and I were taking a long walk together. What a wonderful day! When I was 11, some things started to change. It wasn't always easy. One of the best things that changed was that Christ started becoming truly real in my life.

12 was an interesting year. I somehow went completely nuts. In some ways, it was a really fun year. But I was not living for Christ like I should have been, and I started out on a downhill path. I couldn't find any *nice* pictures of my at 12, so I made a collage of the crazy ones.

Thirteen, at first, was a really great and really awful year. For a while, I started to walk back uphill again. But it was in my own strength, not Christ's. About halfway through the year, I started to run downhill again, hard and fast.

Near the end of my 13th year, God started to wake me up. He used some pretty awesome things... one of them was my mom! My mom was a huge help to me. I didn't always appreciate it at the time, but I sure do now! Then starts this past year - 14. God has really taken hold of my hands and started teaching me dance with Him. I am every bit as sinful, and every bit as unworthy as I ever was, but he has shown me that it's not about me! I don't have to earn his grace. I am falling more in love with him every day. There have been times, this year, when I have stooped so far, and my heart has left my True Love, Jesus Christ. But He has never left me. He keeps bringing me back, and teaching me more about who He is. Wow, He is SO awesome!!

And now, I am almost fifteen. My birthday is August 1st - wow, time sure flies!

Our God is an Awesome God!

Wow... I just have to start by saying God is good.

I've learned so much lately. Over the past few days, there have been several tests of my faith. Sometimes I passed them... and often I didn't.
But you know what? It's not about me.

Jesus didn't die on the cross to make me a better person.Jesus didn't die on the cross to make me love him.
Jesus didn't die on the cross to make me happy.
Jesus didn't die on the cross to make things easier for me.
So why did He die on the cross?Ephesians 3:7 "that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

He did it because He is God. He is holy. He is awesome. He is good.
The reason He died is that He is love, and He wants to lavish His love and grace on us!

I'm not going to wake up someday and be overcome with joy that I am perfect, thrilled that I know how to live the Christian life. That joy comes from waking up and knowing that He is God, and He is AWESOME!

I don't have to be perfect; I just have to rest in his grace. I will never be able to repay Him for His awesome love, but I don't have to! Thankfully, it's not about how "good" I am, it's about how truly GOOD and AWESOME He is!

However, that doesn't mean I should just go and live however I want to, and not try to please Him...
1Peter 2:16 "as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God."
Romans 6:1-2 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may bound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"

I am FREE! Serving Christ has been given to me as a privilege and delight! He loves me, and has saved me! I am so thankful and so in awe that He would save a wretch like me!

My brother Erik!

Ah, another beautiful day that the Lord has made! And today, I get to write about Erik!
Erik is my awesome 20-year-old cowboy brother. Throughout my life, he has been a great friend and mentor to me.He is very smart and studious. When it comes to linguistics or grammar, I can always ask him for help, because he is spectacular at them! Since he loves languages so much, he loves to learn them. He knows at least a little bit of many different languages. Incredibly, he has even created languages!During the day, he is usually quite busy working as a web editor for Answers in Genesis. For the most part, he edits website articles, blog posts, and emails, or manages technical things.

Erik is very sweet and sensitive. Understandingly, he can always tell when I'm sad or upset. He's an admirable person. Exceeding my wisdom, his advice is something I really treasure. For me, it is very encouraging to talk to him because he always helps me to hold to a high standard in every area of life.
Theology, history, photography, computers, fantasy, books, and the outdoors are some of his many interests. As I mentioned before, he's kind of a cowboy. He loves horses, country music, and campfires. He looks great in a plaid shirt, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat!


He's crazy about music! Practicing often, he has learned to play guitar, pennywhistle, chord piano, djembe, and even a little bit of violin.

Doesn't he look great in his hand-made chainmail?

He's also carved flutes out of American bamboo, created languages, and written songs. He's so creative!

While he is often serious or calm, Erik can also be really fun! He and I have had a lot of laughs together. :) Sometimes we can be so silly, and just laugh for a long time about things that aren't even all that funny!
Dependability is a quality that Erik has that I really appreciate. I can always rely on him!
It's such a blessing to have a man of God like Erik for my brother! <3

My brother Zach!

Hey again! Today I get to write about... Zach!

My brother Zach is 18 and will be 19 on July 11th. He is a really awesome brother! Finding pictures of him was hard, but I got a few good ones. :)

Zach is imaginative and artistic. I think that is why he's also very good at writing. In his stories, he always writes very interesting things. Dragons are something he's especially interested in. If you were to look at the pictures he has drawn of them, and the clay models he's made, you would have to agree that he's quite skilled!

I'm not sure how he does it, but he can bake really well! Creatively, he bakes delicious food without even using a recipe! Even if he and I both baked something using the same recipe, I know his would turn out better! :)

Zach's not a particularly extroverted person; usually he enjoys being alone or with a few people he knows well, rather than being in a large crowd.

I love laughing, so I really enjoy how remarkably witty and funny he sometimes is!

Because he is extraordinarily smart when it comes to science and history, he understands a lot of concepts that I don't understand at all! He also knows a lot of miscellaneous facts about many other things. Memorizing things comes relatively easily to him, so he's great at memorizing scripture!

He's also very generous. If he gets a gift or something, he often loves to share it. :)


Considering all of the evil in this world, it is a rare and wonderful thing to see him seeking to be a man of God! It is fantastic to see him desiring to do what is right!

It is such a blessing to have a great brother like Zach, and I am so thankful for him!

Old Testament, Camp, Wales, and Zach! :)

Guess what!?!

I have been reading through the Old Testament this year (which I have never completely done before) and I have stuck with it for 6 months! I'm half way through! Wow! There is so much to be learned from it, I'm totally loving it!

I got to visit Cody at camp today! I was at camp all afternoon. It was neat to see all of my friends and meet some new ones! I even convinced a couple of girls that I was from Wales (the country)! It was really funny. I kept messing up... I can't believe they still believed me! But don't worry, I told them the truth before the day was done ;)

Tomorrow (hopefully/most likely) I will be posting about My dear brother Zach! Stay tuned!

To God be the glory!
<3 Christy

My brother Cody!

So, I got an idea the other day. I was putting pictures up of my family, and I decided that I would like to do a blog post about each family member. So to start, I'm going to do Cody, my 17 year old brother.Cody is a really fun person. He always makes me laugh :)

We don't always get along, obviously, but we have gotten really close, especially this last year I think. Before he left for camp this summer we went a lot of places together and had a lot of fun. I really love going places with him, because usually it's just he and I in his truck, listening to music and talking. He's very sanguine and choleric, and if you don't know personality types, that means he's very fun, outgoing, and a strong personality. He's always been a really good worker. He'd usually rather be out working on cutting wood or mowing the lawn than washing dishes or something inside. He also snowboards and plays guitar, and is very good at both!!

He has mostly taught himself to do both, which is amazing because he's so good!! He also writes songs, and is quite good at that too. He's very protective of me, which I really appreciate. He's been a good listening ear throughout a lot of hard times for me, and I am SO thankful for him in so many ways!! Most of all, he is a strong Christian and lives to the glory of Jesus Christ alone.

He is such an awesome brother and such an encouragement to me! I have really missed him while he's been at camp.
If you want, you can go to his blog - livingextreme009.blogspot.com. He hasn't posted on it in a while because of camp, but there's still lots of great stuff on it!

Oh, what fun summer is!

Hey all! Sorry I never posted an outfit from day 6. I have to have my brother to help me get it, and we've both been so busy that I never did! Well, I made a collage of days 1-5, so that you can see all the outfits at once. It's small, but kinda cute :)

So, I have not posted a *real* blog post this whole week! It's been a good week. I thought it would be a really boring week, but it turned out to be very fun and eventful!

On Tuesday a friend (and mentor!) of mine, Sarah, called me up and asked if I would like to go to the mall with her. Of course, I was thrilled! It was a lot of fun. She was able to find a modest bathing suit, and I got some very nice smelling body spray from Bath and Body Works - on sale, btw, for only $3!

On Wednesday I got to go over to my friend Kyla's house for a few hours while my mom was at a ladies' Bible study. We were peeling potatoes in the kitchen, when the stove started shaking like crazy! It was odd, because nothing else seemed to be shaking. It stopped after a few moments, and we thought nothing more of it until our mothers got back and told us there had been an earthquake!! People felt it from Toronto all the way to the border of Pennsylvania, and it was rated a 5 - 5.5, so apparently it was quite a big deal! Thankfully, no damage was done as far as I know.

Thursday night, I went to the home of some family friends. They had a Bible study for college-age young adults, so Erik, my oldest brother, went to that while I hung out with the rest of the kids. They have 2 teenage boys, an 11-year-old daughter, and some little boys (besides 2 college-age kids who were in the Bible study), so altogether we had a blast. Hopefully I will post a few pictures up soon!

On Friday I went to a 19th-Century Dance at the home of some friends. It was SO fun! There were no indecent moves, and the most physical contact there was was holding hands an arms length away from your partner. It was really, really fun, and also great exercise!! I was glad to be able to enjoy dancing that actually was pleasing to the Lord!

Saturday-Sunday I traveled to see relatives and go to a graduation party to for Cody and Zach, two of my brothers, as well as a few other relatives. On the long drive home I prayed and listened to Christian music on my iPod, and basically had a heart to heart with God! It was SO wonderful.

So that was my week! I'm guessing most people will get bored after reading the first paragraph or so, but that's okay, I enjoyed writing it and it's there for those who want to read it! God Bless!

Day Five - "Brown and Purple Dressy"

Day Five: A theme? Hmm.... How about "Brown and Purple Dressy" sure, that works.

I loooove this outfit. It's so gorgeous! the pictures do NOT do it justice. But it was raining, so we had to take them inside where there was lousy lighting.

Anyway, Brown Slacks: Hand-me-down from Mrs. Reger, Brand: Haggar (that's... weird!)
Shirt: $2 at Salvation Army, Brand: Studio Y (also weird...)
Cami: Another gift from Katy, also another $5 Rainbow one
Shoes: Same as day 3, $1 at a garage sale

I am so glad today is not the last day! I'm having too much fun to stop!

Day Four - Think Pink... and Purple!

Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't post the other day. The power went out at our house! Here's day 4
"Think Pink... and Purple!"This outfit is so fun and bright! I love it!

Pink button-up: $.99 at Salvation Army, Brand: No Boundaries
Purple striped cami: gift from Katy (it was $5 at Rainbow, if anyone wanted to know. They have some great camis!), Brand: Ambiance apparel
Jeans: On-sale at Kohls, $8.40 if I remember correctly, Brand: Sonoma Life & Style
Pink shoes(my favorite part): Christmas gift (they were on-sale at Walmart for $7), Brand: Faded Glory