My life for Christ

1-0-0 !!

2012-02-14T08:45:00.000-05:00

Happy corporate love-themed merchandising day everyone! Or should I say happy Singles Awareness Day? Anyway, happy Valentine's Day. :) I know everyone is going to post about love today, so I won't make this post just another one like everyone else. Besides - this is an important post. It's my 100th post! It sure took me long enough to get here. For my 100th post I decided to post a list of 100 things I like. I don't know if anyone will read it, but at least I will have fun writing it!

Things I Like

1. JESUS CHRIST!

2. The Bible

3. Sparkly stuff

4. Flowers

5. Music, music, music!!

6. Friends

7. Laughing

8. Animals - especially babies!

9. Pretty dresses

10. Talking

11. My family

12. Windmills

13. Pictures

14. Kids

15. Chemistry

16. Accents

17. Tangled! I love Rapunzel :)

18. Zoos

19. Julian Smith's Grandma

20. Courageous - best movie ever!

21. Watching football

22. Kohl's

23. Dirt roads

24. Being outdoors

25. Big fluffy snowflakes

26. Journals

27. Playing piano

28. Meeting new people

29. Fire

30. Stars

31. Lace

32. Snowboarding

33. Fireworks

34. Picking apples

35. Bright colors

36. Narnia :)

37. Christmas

38. Candles

39. Weddings

40. Dill pickles

41. Reading inspiring Christian books

42. Reading books that make me cry

43. Memories

44. Quoting movies

45. Wrist corsages

46. Seafood

47. Casting Crowns

48. Shane and Shane

49. Acting in plays or musicals (especially musicals!)

50. Jane Austen movies (the old, really long ones)

51. Going on a crazy zealous cleaning spree and cleaning the whole house

52. Taking walks

53. Eyes

54. Listening to sermons while doing chores

55. Cotton candy

56. Museums

57. Owl City

58. Baking

59. Berries

60. Flower gardens

61. Traveling

62. Pouring out my heart to God on a prayer walk

63. Peanut butter

64. Chocolate

65. Peanut butter and chocolate together!

66. Garage sales

67. Watching volleyball games that my friend are playing in

68. Nail polish

69. Zip lines

70. Hugs

71. Looking for shapes in the clouds

72. Middle names

73. Thinking and pondering

74. Rainbow sprinkles

75. Singing

76. Clothes

77. Sunrises and sunsets

78. Picnics

79. My cat and dog

80. Being able to encourage other believers and share Christ with those who don't know him

81. Letters

82. Roller-blading

83. Riding on, but not driving, 4-wheelers

84. Sun rays coming through the clouds!

85. Brownies

86. Styling hair

87. Sleepovers

88. Sue Thomas F.B.Eye

89. Blonde jokes

90. Spiritual victories

91. Coffee with lots of French vanilla creamer

92. Cinnamon rolls or chocolate chip pancakes on a Saturday morning... mmm :)

93. Smiles

94. M&M's

95. Blowing bubbles

96. Planning

97. Trying new things

98. Long, bonding conversations

99. Gummy worms

100. Having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

Hope you enjoyed my list!

Facing another week

2012-02-13T12:56:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, you just need a break. A chance to forget about the pressure of everyday life. As the winter has dragged on, that's exactly what I have needed. And thankfully, I got it this past weekend. My best friend, Emily, came over on Saturday night and we had SO much fun. Staying up until after midnight, we painted our nails crazy ways and watched movies, which is what we always do when she comes over. And of course, we talked and talked and talked. That's the best part!

It's been a lonely week without Cody here. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with such good friends and loving family, because I don't know what I'd do without them. :) Happy Monday everyone; let's face another week with the joy of the Lord!

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." ~~Hebrews 12:1-2~~

New Hair!

2012-02-04T14:37:00.002-05:00

I have been trying to decide whether or not to get my hair cut differently for quite a while. Everyone told me, "No! It looks good like it is! Don't cut it!" But they only saw it when I had spent aloot of time styling it - not the way it is if I don't do anything to it. Every day I had to face a hug mop of thick, impossible hair! So, I decided to change it. I went to my favorite hairdresser EVER, and she worked miracles! Here are the before and after pictures:

BEFORE

Not so bad in the front, right?

Well, the back is a different story. Try straightening that - yikes!

And...

AFTER

Ta-da! So much easier and healthier. And not so heavy!

Back view

Wavy... I don't like the way it looks it the front.

But, the back looks good, so I'll have to figure out how to make the front work.

Ah, it is so much easier to style now. What's your opinion? Does it looks better now? Do you like it better wavy or straight?

2012-02-02T16:54:00.000-05:00

Guess what! Today I taught a piano lesson for the first time ever! :) :) It was exciting. I'm teaching an adorable little girl in our church who is very musically talented. After so many years, it was really fun to go back and look at my old primer books.

Cody is leaving for Kentucky tomorrow to spend 3 weeks with Erik, volunteering at the Creation Museum. Without him round, my life is going to be extremely boring! I am sure it will be wonderful for them, though, because they don't get to see each other much anymore. Having my brothers growing up and moving away while I'm just a junior in high school is strange.

I'm going to go bake some chocolate chip cookies to send for the guys tomorrow. Mmm :) Have a great night all!

God's Glorious Word

2012-01-31T21:05:00.001-05:00

Tonight I am feeling very thoughtful. I guess that's partly owing to the fact that I've been reading some great books these past few days. Here's a section of the first book of the wonderful series: Elsie Dinsmore.

[Speaking of the Bible] "Do you really love it so, Rose?" asked Adelaide, lifting her eyes to her friend's face with an expression of astonishment; "Do tell me why?"
"For its exceeding great and precious promises, Adelaide; for its holy teachings; for its offers of peace and pardon and eternal life. I am a sinner, Adelaide, lost, ruined, helpless, hopeless, and the Bible brings me the glad news of salvation offered as a free, unmerited gift; it tells me that Jesus died to save sinners - just such sinners as I. I find that I have a heart deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and the blessed Bible tells me how that heart can be renewed, and where I can obtain that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. I find myself utterly unable to keep God's holy law, and it tells me of One who has kept it for me. I find that I deserve the wrath and curse of a justly offended God, and it tells me of Him who was made a curse for me. I find that all my righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and it offers me the beautiful spotless robe of Christ's perfect righteousness. Yes, it tells me that God can be just and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus."

I guess that's all I have to say for now... God is working in my heart and tearing down idols. He is good, as ever! Hope you're having a great week my friends.

God is good, and so is life!

2012-01-29T16:13:00.002-05:00

Wow. So many thoughts. I went to the IABC Heart Seminar on Friday and Saturday, and, as usual, learned a LOT. I was reminded of how deceitful and desperately wicked the heart is, and how God is our only hope and His word has all of the answers we need. I also gained lots of specific information about specific things - idols of the heart, lies I often believe, and how to overcome sin. And of course, how to counsel others about the same things. I also met lots of new friends, which is always great.

Okay, so, I got a camera for Christmas and I've kind of been going nuts taking pictures this month. I love it! So I thought I'd share some. They aren't that spectacular because my camera isn't the best, and I'm certainly no photographer. But oh well. :)

My puppy dog! She's so cute :)

Very red outfit... ironic cuz I've never really liked the color red.

I was felling very colorful this day!

My fluffy kitty <3

I'm still skeptical of this copycat who lurks in my bedroom, above the bathroom sink, and various other places...

Ah, the expression of so many emotions! I love piano :)

Just another week...

2012-01-27T09:33:00.000-05:00

Another week has gone by. It has been a rocky one, but I've met a few meadows on the way, too. Some of the rockiness has been school; there seems to be so much of it! Thankfully it is Friday again. Although, on Wednesday night I was able to go to a Bible study with a bunch of young adults. That was phenomenal. Most of the people who came were either in college or married, so I was the youngest person there. I didn't feel out of place, though, and I was very blessed by being able to be with other Christians who love God. I really hope I'll be able to go back next week, because I really need more fellowship with other believers to help keep me afloat in the raging river of life right now.

Tonight and tomorrow I'm going to an IABC counseling seminar. It used to be a NANC seminar, but they switched to a different organization. I've been to them at least 4 times before. I am super excited to go again because every time I come away so encouraged. I'm going to go to the advanced tracks, which are about addictions. I'm looking forward to gaining biblical help for myself and friends of mine. it's going to be great!

Okay, so, I know last time I posted several cute animal pictures, and I don't want to go overboard on the whole cute animal thing, but I have to post just this one cuz it's so stinking cute. Hehe :)

Okay, that's all! Have a great weekend my friends!

A Perfect Saturday

2012-01-14T09:38:00.002-05:00

I am so glad it's Saturday! It's been a long week. Having a cold the past few days, I've had trouble sleeping. Last night I woke up at 3:30 AM and couldn't fall back asleep, so I picked up a novel I've been reading called Safely Home, and read it until 5:00. I couldn't put it down! As you can imagine, I slept in pretty late this morning after that. Again, I am thankful that it's not a school day, or I wouldn't have been able to do that.

When I woke up this morning I thought, "Man, I really want pancakes!" It just so happens that my brother Zach makes superb breakfast food, so I read my book some more and waited for him to get up. And sure enough, when he woke up, he made pancakes! So, two pancakes slathered with creamy peanut butter and dripping with real maple syrup, along with a cup of coffee loaded with sweet French vanilla creamer, I snuggled under a blanket to read my exciting novel. Oh what a perfect Saturday! And to top it all off, we got and entire foot of snow overnight, so the world looks like a dazzling white winter wonderland!

Since Saturday is a sleepy kind of day for many people, I thought I'd share a few cute, sleepy pictures with you to brighten your day.

Hope that made you smile! Happy Saturday everyone :)

Beauty Secrets

2012-01-10T18:43:00.002-05:00

Every girl wants to be beautiful. It's a natural desire. So, I thought I'd share a few secrets to being beautiful that I have discovered.

~Beautiful Hands~
To have the most lovely hands, wash dishes and scrub toilets often,
hold onto other people's hands,
avoid letting them sit idly for long periods of time
and always extend your hand to someone who needs one.

The most beautiful hands are hands that serve.
"She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy."
Proverbs 31:19-20

~Beautiful Face~
Make sure your lips are always turned upward,
and your eyes are brightened by joy and cheerfulness.
Apply generous amounts of compassion and peace to your expression,
and never wear anger, sullenness, or worry

"A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance:
but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."
Proverbs 15:13
"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking,
be put away from you, with all malice:"
Ephesians 4:31

~Beautiful Hair~
Apply humility, style reasonably.
Wear your hair to the delight and service of the Savior
He made it, so He deserves to get glory and delight from it!

"In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel,
with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,"
1 Timothy 2:9 (Braided hair was showy in that culture)
"Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus,
and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil."
John 12:3

That's all I have for now... happy "beautifying!"
:)

Breaking Free

2012-01-07T17:53:00.008-05:00

Hi again, friends! It has been a busy December, and first week of January. My brother, Erik, visited for two weeks, and for the second week his girlfriend, Leah, and her family came to visit, too! It was a full house, and lots of fun. It was especially fun for me, I think, because I don't often get to have girls in the house, and there were several that week. :)

This week I have been getting back to doing school, and I am loving it. Having had a break over Christmas, I've come back to it with a new vigor. Also, my best friend Emily has come spent the night at my house twice this week, which has been a real treat for both of us.

As this new year is starting off, I decide to assess my life and see if there are changes that I need to commit to this year. I discovered a lot of things that need to change, but the biggest thing is the media input in my life. I realized that I watch a LOT of movies, and listen to a shocking amount of secular music, not to mention the amount of time I spent on facebook. I didn't listen to "bad" music, but it wasn't music that edifies me and inspires me to serve Christ more. The same is true about the movies I usually watch. As I became aware of these things, I felt the Lord calling me to make some significant changes this year - like I've never done before.

"Come away," Jesus was whispering to my soul. He wants me to know true joy, not settle for counterfeit joys in godless entertainment. Truly, these influences only extract joy from life; they don't add to it.

So here are the "resolutions," if you will. I have committed to God that I'm not going to waste my time watching movies or listening to songs that do not push me on to knowing Jesus Christ more deeply, which is the purpose of my life. Now, if my family wants to watch a movie together or something, that is okay. The purpose is to glorify God and break free from being saturated with our sinful culture, not to follow some spectacular rule that will magically change my life. Because, as you know, discovering God is what is life-changing, not legalism.

I also deactivated my facebook. I know my life will be much better without it. I can still email my friends, write on my blog, and all sorts of wonderful things. But, facebook just did not have a positive affect on me.

Since I am getting rid of some facets of my life, I also decided I need to replace them with better things. I am reading through the Bible this year, and I love it! I'm reading a Daily Bible, which is divided into daily, chronological readings, with devotional thoughts. Reading about Lot in the the city of Sodom today, I was convinced yet again that the changes I am making this year are necessary. I don't want to live in a such a way that I am completely imbued with sinful, secular concepts. I want to flee them! It is essential that we pursue righteousness - hard. I need to get out of "Sodom" (A place of secular influence) and live well.

I am so excited to see what will happen this year. Surely it will be a year of extreme change in my life, and hopefully I will be much more like Christ by breaking free of this entrapment.

Our visit to Kentucky :)

2011-12-13T17:13:00.004-05:00

Last week I visited my brother Erik, in Kentucky. It was the most wonderful, refreshing week I've had in a long time. The reason we visited him was because he had to get all 4 of his wisdom teeth taken out, and needed some help through that. When he first came out of the surgery he was SO funny! The laughing gas and anesthesia made him totally loopy, and he would not stop talking, and saying the funniest things. The funniest part was that he had gauze in his mouth, and Novocaine making his mouth numb, so it was really hard to understand him. He was so funny! He was in pain for a while afterward, but overall he did very well, and was soon talking and laughing again.

Some of my best friends live in his little town, and I was extremely happy to see them again. I spent every evening at their house. It's so wonderful to be in a place where there are so many people who you love and who love you! We had lots of fun, and I miss them all a lot.

Also, we got to see the Garden of Lights at the Creation Museum. I was excited because, although I've been there many times, I've never been there at Christmas. It was absolutely spectacular. I adore Christmas lights, so it was especially beautiful to me. We even got to see a sneak preview of Christmas Town, and we didn't even plan on it! Another cool thing was seeing Jason Lisle's "Christmas Star" video at the planetarium. I have often wondered about what the Christmas star was, and it answered a lot of questions.

I am so blessed to have such an awesome family, and friends, and opportunities. :)

Oh, how He loves us!

2011-11-29T09:22:00.002-05:00

Well, November is coming to a close, so I will post one last time this month about what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for the lovely dinner and fellowship we had for Thanksgiving.
I am thankful that it's finally the season for Christmas decorations and music.
I am thankful for the godly leaders in our church who challenge us with truth.
I am thankful for truth in general, and all of the many sources it comes in to change my life - music, books, sermons, prayer, scripture, and even movies and the words of my friends.
I am thankful that God has blessed me by allowing me to take piano lessons.

Most of all, I am thankful for the intimate, everlasting, and personal love of my Lord Jesus Christ, and that I know Him personally. I possess the secret of what is so sought after in this world - love and happiness. Why would God choose me to be one of His children? I will never know. It certainly wasn't anything in me that drew Him to me. I am speechless when I think of all He endured to make me His own, His very own. The Bible is packed with so much wealth. The joy and wonder of it all, oh! I never want to dull to it; I want to learn more and more of His love and press on to greater and greater levels of holiness for His sake.

"And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all"
This is one of my favorite songs these days... I just sing it all the time because I am just in awe of this fact. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9:15)

Unto thee, O God!

2011-11-15T08:39:00.002-05:00

Well, last week was a VERY busy week! I had even more things going on than I told about in my last post. I was gone all day every day except Monday! I got a little behind on school because of that, so this week I am working hard at school to catch up. So, this busy November day I am thankful for:

Oatmeal with strawberries
Phone calls from my big brother
Stepping Heavenward (AWESOME book!)
Thunderstorms
Knitting (Yes, I am learning!)
Christmas shopping
Answered prayer
and Long, pretty skirts

Thanksgiving is soon. How are you going to celebrate? :)

"Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for
that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare." Psalm 75:1

Thanks be to God

2011-11-07T17:43:00.005-05:00

Another day to be thankful! Today I am thankful for:

Relaxing weekends
Christmas songs
Friends
School
My brothers

And, I thought I'd give you an update about what's going on in my busy life lately. Last week I was kept busy with: Prayer group, visiting friends, choir practice, a volleyball playoff game at the Christian school, and of course, lots of school. This week I am looking forward to spending the day with my friend Mrs. Reese tomorrow, enjoying an afternoon with Mrs. Taylor on Wednesday, and a Veteran's Day program on Friday. Trying to get school done amidst all those activities does get a little tricky, but today I was able to do extra work, so I know things will all work out. :) I absolutely cannot WAIT for Christmas. It's when I really shine. I've already started thinking about my Christmas shopping, and I can't wait to get started on it. As soon as December starts, you can be sure I'll be singing/playing Christmas music (I already am! hehe), baking lots of Christmas goodies, decorating for the season, dressing in seasonal colors, shopping, wrapping, watching Christmas movies and classic shows, and of course, getting together with friends and family to celebrate! Are you as excited as I am? But of course, Thanksgiving comes first. We'll have a big dinner, and my Grandparents are coming on Friday. I am so thankful most of all for Jesus Christ, salvation, and the amazing things God is teaching me every single day!

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Corinthians 15:57

In everything

2011-11-04T12:54:00.004-04:00

Well, I see that my post-on-blog-every-day idea isn't working so well. I've missed
2 days already! I guess I'll change that to post-on-blog-as-often-as-possible. ;)

Today I am thankful for:
Volleyball games that I get to watch my friends play in
Our church's Pastor -We're having a pastor-appreciation dinner tonight!
Kids to mentor, talk with, and just have fun with
Christmas - Yes, I'm thinking about it already ;)
Bible study tools - Commentaries, cross-references, and concordances are SO cool!
Piano music
the blessing of education
windmills
and beautiful, blue skies

1Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Give thanks

2011-11-01T12:27:00.003-04:00

This month, as it is the month of Thanksgiving, I've decided to post every day (if possible) some things I am thankful for. So here's day 1!

Today I am thankful for:
wood stoves that keep the house toasty warm,
good memories with friends and family
music to brighten every day
brisk walks in through the woods
and of course,
a blog to post my thoughts on.

Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
1 Chronicles 16:8

New news :)

2011-10-31T15:44:00.007-04:00

Hey everybody! I don't have anything particular or profound to say today, but I thought I should update you on what's been going on in my life.

I've been busy as ever with school. It snowed at my house last week - almost 3 inches! It made me feel so Christmasy. :) Speaking of which, I'm starting to play Christmas music on the piano so that by Christmas I will have learned some new, beautiful songs to play.

Considering the fact that my blog is mostly read by girls, I though you'd like to know that my big brother Erik has a girlfriend! Awww! :) They became "Official" a couple of months ago, but they have been good friends for years. They make and adorable couple, and they're so perfect for each other! Her name is Leah. If you'd like, you can check out her brand-new blog,
God's Daughter

Well, I think that's all I have for now, folks! Enjoy your week :)

Dad :)

2011-10-11T16:58:00.011-04:00

I just wanted to tell you all about my dad. He's been such an influence in my life. He's always fun to be with, and supports me when other people don't.

He's a hard worker, and makes sure our family is well provided for. He's smart, and has had many different businesses over the years, because he's good at investing, managing, and creating new ideas.He's also really funny. He is a total nut sometimes, which is why I am too, I guess. ;) His jokes, puns, silly songs and faces are common - always lightening things up.

Also, it's funny to see my serene, quiet mother next to him. ;) Don't they make a cute couple? :D

I'm so thankful for him, and I wouldn't trade him for any other dad in the world.

That's it!

Let Them Live!

2011-10-04T17:08:00.003-04:00

I'm taking biology this year. In biology, you learn about life. The past few weeks I have been studying microscopic, single-celled organisms, and it is stunning to realize the complexity of these tiny creatures. And, it confirmed to me yet again something which I have already believed all my life: human beings are fearfully and wonderfully made, and are alive and fully human from the moment they are conceived. How did miniscule protozoa, algae, and bacteria remind me of the sanctity of human life, you may ask? Well, as I began to comprehend how intricate the design of these little creatures is, I comprehended just how elaborate an unborn child is. If there can be that much detail and life in an amoeba, just think how incredible a child in the womb is. Astounding life is existent from the very start, and continues to flourish as the baby forms.

Psalm 149 14-16 says, "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 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."

This is God's word. That means that this is a very serious matter! We must stand up for life, and protect it. It is our duty as believers in Jesus Christ.

I'd like to recommend a blog to you all called Let Them Live. It is written by 3 girls who support life, and are working hard to defend it. Also, please sign their Petition.

Stand up for what God's word says, Christian friends, and let them live!

Restored dreams

2011-09-30T17:39:00.008-04:00

Lately I have been thinking thoughts that I haven't thought in a while. Somehow, as a teenager in our modern culture, I've lost the vision I used to have for my life. When I was a little girl, all I wanted out of life was to be a godly wife and mother, and to have a simple, loving home. But, of course, ideas like that are "out-of-date" and repugnant to us these days. After all, isn't it absolutely vital for women to go to college and have a thriving career? She could get married later on if she really wanted to, and maybe have a baby... but only as a supplement to a successful career. Being a homemaker is demeaning to women. Equality of the sexes! Women's rights! Our culture flaunt feminism, instead of femininity.

The Bible, however, has a different approach. Titus 2:4-5 says, "...admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." Also, 1 Timothy 5:14, which encourages, "Therefore I desire that the younger women marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully,"

This is what we were created for. This is the pattern of scripture. From the very beginning mankind was told, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh," and, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over... the earth." (Genesis 2:24 and 1:28) And, this is a beautiful thing!

Often it's easy to be repulsed by the idea of submission, or "gentleness and quietness of spirit" because it's easy to misunderstand these concepts. Submission does not mean being beneath or lower in value. Jesus Christ is in submission to God the Father! It's a joyful position that has blessing and value equal to the position of leadership. Gentleness and quietness does not mean somber, oppressed silence. To be gentle is to not be harsh, to be considerate and kind. Even men are commanded to be gentle. (1 Timothy 6:11) In order to have a quiet spirit, we must quell the clamor in our hearts. Vanquishing all fear, anxiety, hurry, stress, and worry will cause our spirit to finally be quiet enough for us to hear God's still, small voice. I don't know about you, but I think that sounds wonderful, not oppressive!

The Bible doesn't encourage wimpy, whiny, helpless women(even though many people think it does). On the contrary, radiant and courageous femininity is commanded! Reading proverbs 31, you will find that the godly woman is diligent and strong, yet wonderfully selfless. She works hard and is strong for purpose of serving others, not for pursuing her own plans.

Before I end this post, I want to say that the Bible is not opposed to women having a job outside of the home. Deborah, for example, was a judge. (Judges 4) What I would like to do is dispel the false ideas that we as women often have towards scriptural instruction to us, and to point out that marriage is the norm in scripture, not career.

God has a specific, unique plan chosen for each of his daughters. He has restored my dreams of courageous femininity, and I hope He will give you that vision, as well.

Live Every Moment

2011-09-08T16:30:00.003-04:00

Last night, at prayer meeting, Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 was preached on. What grabbed me the most out of this passage was verse 10: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going."

Recently I have been living in the future. Dreaming about something that will happen next week, next year, or far into the future, I tend to forget the life is composed of only one moment: right now. It will never be "tomorrow." Do you realize that? Wow! It will always be right now. When tomorrow comes, it will become right now. If I live in the future, I'm not really living at all. This is my only life; I want to live every minute of it to the fullest! I don't ever want to miss the opportunity of the present moment. I need to do everything with all of my might. Whether it's studying Biology, writing a blogpost, listening to a sermon, sorting laundry, or anything else, I want to delight in it and use it to serve the Lord. My life should be a continual offering.

Also, what if I don't live to see tomorrow? What would I do today if I knew I didn't have another day of life? I certainly wouldn't get caught up in my dreams of the future; I would take advantage of every single second. I wouldn't waste time doing selfish things, "vegging out," or complaining.

Life is short. Since we don't know if we have tomorrow, let's live like today is all we've got. We don't have to cling to right now or become desperate, either. We just need to trust in God's goodness, mercy, and grace, enjoy every blessing, and persevere through every trial. Live every moment!

"Only one life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last." (C.T. Studd - Missionary)

Infinite Love

2011-08-19T19:55:00.008-04:00

Oh my goodness! I haven't posted in a very long time! Silly ol' me. Life has been so busy this summer, and I've just gotten kind of lazy about it, I guess. I think it's time for a fresh start - in many ways.

The busyness of the summer has required me to suppress some emotional and spiritual issues for a long time, which caused them to enlarge under the surface. This week they finally emerged. My heart has been disquieted by numerous fears for far too long. Mainly, I've been afraid of rejection and not having control. Those fears fears which have so seized my heart have displayed themselves in many ways... I have been afraid of being ugly, not having enough talent and aptitude, being rejected by people who love me, not having a "likable" personality, etc. You get the point. Quite honestly, I haven't trusted in God's unfailing grace and have not allowed Him to keep me in perfect peace. Fixing my eyes on myself, I have forgotten what my life is all about. It's all about Jehovah, my Savior! He is my Rock, my Lover, my Friend, my Father, my Redeemer, and my Joy. He is my life! Oh, how foolish it is to worry about not being lovable; that's the whole point! If I could gain favor with God by my own works, there would be no gospel. Christ died for my sin, because I could never earn favor with God on my own. Additionally, if I could "earn" grace, it wouldn't be grace! I am nothing but a totally depraved sinner, and that is why the gospel is such good news. the Lord Jesus loves me - though I do not deserve even a smidgen of His love - and has given His life to save me! Since I never earned His love to begin with, I can never "un-earn" it by not being good enough. He took the penalty for my sin, and placed on me infinite value. I am now adopted by the infinite God of the galaxies, and I am a co-heir with Jesus Christ! What incredible news! Can I get an amen?!

To tan or not to tan?

2011-06-09T12:57:00.011-04:00

This summer I decided I was going to get a tan. Yup, that's right. Me, Christy - who is normally bleach white - decided to tan! So, I proceeded to lay out in the sun for a while every day. And sure enough, I got a tan! But then I decided to do some research because I wanted to know the truth about tanning.As you probably know, our culture is completely obsessed with physical beauty. We're the only ones, though - many other cultures have also done absurd things because they want to look attractive. Throughout history, people have: broken girls' feet to keep them small, stretched out women's necks with metal rings (to the pint that they can't even support their own heads), tied boards to their babies heads to make their skulls cone-shaped... the list could go on. When we observe those practices, we can see that they are clearly harmful and unnecessary. We would never do something like that in America! Or would we?

As a mater of fact, we have all sorts of harmful "beautifying" practices. Tanning is one of many. According to research, too much exposure to UV rays greatly increases your risk for skin cancer. Yikes! Why would I do that?!On the other hand, however, many people shun sunlight altogether for beauty purposes. Since pop culture glorifies youth, women often try to avoid sunlight to protect their skin from aging. Well, it's true that sunlight ages your skin. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, because sunlight is good for you, too! Sunlight is the #1 source of Vitamin D. Studies indicate that people who wear sunscreen every time they go outside in the summer are very likely to have vitamin D deficiencies. Vitamin D is incredibly necessary for your body in many ways. It helps prevent many types of cancer, it keeps your bones strong, and keeps your hormones in check. In other words, vitamin D deficiency is a very bad thing!So what am I saying? Sunshine causes skin cancer, but yet prevents cancer? It's good, and it's bad? What are we supposed to do?!

Well, my final conclusion is this: live your life! Don't worry too much about it. And don't try too hard to be "beautiful." Enjoy sunshine reasonably. If you're going to be in it for a long time, slap on some sunblock. In the end, you may not be very tan, and may get some wrinkles when you're older, but you'll be healthy! The Lord never tells us to stay young or to have perfectly bronzed skin tones, but He does tell us to be good stewards of what he gives us, and to take care of the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is our body. We don't have to harm ourselves to beautiful because He sees us as beautiful when we honor Him with our lives, through Jesus Christ. So live life, enjoy it, and strive only to please your Savior!

Bake Sale!

2011-05-28T21:10:00.012-04:00

Hello again everyone!! First, I want to say thank you all SO much for praying for me... I have been feeling much better! Hopefully it will last.

And I wanted to tell you about my bake sale! It went AMAZINGLY well. The Lord brought in a lot of money for the orphanage - people were so generous! And, it was super fun baking everything. And since my awesome friend Sarah took lots of pictures, I thought I'd share some of them with you. :)

This is Sarah and I at the beginning of the day, excited and ready to go!

Mixing lots of things up :)

Cupcakes! :D

Silly grin! I looked so horrible :P

Mmm... rocky road cupcakes and Oreo cupcakes all finished!

Triple Chocolate cookies... sooo good!

Are they done yet?!

This batch was a total FLOP! But surprisingly, they sold pretty well.

They tasted like rocks!! Very tasty rocks, of course ;)

Marshmallow pops! So cute and yummy :)

My beautiful bouquet :)

Cinnamon Swirl bread :)
(I know, it looks sunken in, but that's just because of the swirls)

The whole table of goodies... and that's not even all of them!

Another angle... mmm so tempting :)

It was such a wonderful, faith-building event! Perhaps sometime I will write about how awesome God was through it, but right now my brother wants the computer. So goodbye for now! :D

Ugh...

2011-05-15T16:07:00.004-04:00

So, I just wanted to ask you all to pray for me. I have been very sick lately. I have no idea what's wrong with me, but I've been nauseous, my stomach hurts, and I get killer migraines. It's been going on for quite some time, and my doctor doesn't know what's wrong. Please pray. Thanks!

Alone?

2011-05-13T23:00:00.004-04:00

*Sigh*

Lately I've been feeling pretty lonely and discouraged. Ever since my brother moved away I feel like I've lost a really close friend. And lately, I've been missing him a lot. Also, our family has been really busy lately, so we don't have as much time together. Sitting at the kitchen table - alone - has become a hobby of mine. I don't want to write on and on about melancholy details, but I just feel so alone.

But am I?

I know I am not. Even in the times when I feel so alone, I have a Savior, a Father, a Friend, and a Husband to be with and talk to. Sometimes I forget that. And when I do, I miss out on a wonderful joy and peace. He's waiting, eager to talk with me, to listen to me and comfort me, and to show me more of how marvelous He is.

So my challenge to myself - and anyone else who struggles with loneliness, as I know we all do sometimes - is to cry out to God. He will listen, comfort, help, and strengthen.

"Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." Psalm 62:8

"...casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

"This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life." Psalm 119:50

"My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him." Psalm 62:5

Spring is wonderful!

2011-05-05T15:44:00.004-04:00

Oh. My. Word! It has been almost 3 months since I've posted! Well, I won't try to catch you up on all that's happened. I'll just tell you all what has been happening recently. :)

In about 3 weeks I will be done with school for the summer! WOOT! I can't wait. As of right now, I only have 3 subjects left - Spanish 2, Chemistry, and Algebra 2. Also, my spring piano recital is coming up in a few weeks. I'm totally loving school these days. Since I don't have as much to do, I am able to really focus my attention and effort on a few subjects, which I really enjoy. I've been spending my extra time cooking and baking up a storm - and I love every minute of it!

Some exciting news: I'm holding a bake sale at the end of this month, and giving the proceeds to an orphanage! I'm trying to raise $1,000 to send to Danita's Children, a wonderful Christian orphanage in Haiti. I've been working on it since about Christmas, but all of the other things have tried have fallen through. I'm SO excited that I am finally going to have an opportunity to do this!

I am SOOO glad that spring weather is here! Since it's been cold for so long, I am soaking up every bit of this warm weather! It's sunny, warm, and green! I am so thankful to the Lord for all of the blessings He has given and continues to give me. He is teaching me so much!

Hopefully soon I can upload some pictures to show you all what I've been up to lately. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

A Passionate Romance

2011-02-15T20:27:00.011-05:00

"Love is here, love is now, love is pouring from His hands, from His brow. Love is near, it satisfies, streams of mercy flowing from His side." (Love is Here - Tenth Avenue North)

Wow, those lyrics are so true! In light of Valentine's Day, I thought it would be apropos to write a post about love.

All too often, we look for love from other people; girls are especially guilty of this. And, as Christians who are striving to remain pure for the person we will someday marry, it's easy to act like love is something that's in the future.

Love is not somewhere, someday. It's here; it's now. Jesus Christ is the only one who can satisfy us.

"Why are you looking for love? Why are you still searching, as if I'm not enough? To where will you go, child? Tell me, where will you run?" (By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North)

Jesus loves us. Yes, it's true! He loves you more than you can imagine. He gave up everything for you. Even though we are, by nature, God-hating, selfish, and wicked, God chose to love us and sacrifice everything for us. But His love has one condition. "But," you say, "I'm nothing, I'm a failure. I can't meet any conditions!"

Well, read on. His one condition is this: You must hope in Him. That's it! You must reject any other hope, any other pursuit of love, security, wealth, power, or anything else, and place all of your hope in Him. He is the only hope of salvation, love, and joy. If you cling to Him as the only way to save you from your sins, repenting of all of our sins, rejecting all that is contrary to His word, He will adopt you as His child. He will betroth you as His perfect bride. You will no longer be condemned, and sin will no long have any power over you.

And this isn't some distant, mystical love. Having a relationship with Him is a day by day, hour by hour, intimate romance. If we really believed He was our lover, how would our lives be different? We would daydream about Him. We would laugh with Him. We would talk about Him. We would tell Him everything, and listen with delight to everything He tells us. We would pour over His love letter to us, memorizing it, obsessing over it. We would be so much more joyful!

That's my challenge to you today. Treat Him as you would treat a lover.

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness(alone with Him!), and speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there(blessings/tokens of affection), and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt(Coming out of Egypt = Being freed from sin/salvation). And it shall be, in that day," Says the LORD, "That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’ for I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals (idols/sins), and they shall be remembered by their name no more... I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in loving-kindness and mercy;" (Hosea 3: 14-17, 19) (All of the words in parentheses were added by me, for clarification.)

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day, everyone! I pray that you will have an every growing, passionate romance with the Lord.

Hope and Courage to Face Tomorrow

2011-02-09T19:04:00.003-05:00

"God, I can't do that again! I just can't!!" I bawled. "I wish I could just erase this day from history."

It had been an awful day. From the time I got up, things weren't going as I had planned. Everything, even the most trivial inconveniences, seemed overwhelmingly difficult. I cried, and then prayed, and got my emotions straightened out. Diligently, I tried to keep my emotions tamed and work on my school work. But, I ended up crying again, and the process started all over.

As the day continued, I eventually got my strength and joy back. Later on, I went to play practice, which I normally love. It started well. While we were working on our choreography, however, I started to get discouraged. I was the only girl (out of about 1o girls) who couldn't do my part correctly. Finally, I started to cry. Yup, I cried. Right there, in front of everyone, I started sobbing. To make things worse, just a few minutes later we were supposed to go on stage and practice with the rest of the cast. Trying to regain my composure, I went into the bathroom to see if my appearance made it obvious that I had been crying. Well, I looked okay, so when I felt ready I started to go out to the stage. I made it about halfway... and then started my ridiculous weeping all over again! I couldn't bear the thought of failing in front of everyone. Exhausted, I sat in a dark room and thought, prayed, and listened to music. Eventually, I went out and practiced with everyone. It was humiliating - everyone could see my tear-stained face.

After the practice, my mom came to pick me up. As soon as I sat down in the car, my emotions sprung up yet again. "Today was one of the worst days of my life!" I told her between sobs. She listened sympathetically as I recounted to her the traumatizing events of my day. When we arrived home, I sat in the car for a little while, praying. This is where the first line of this blog post fits in. I just wanted to disappear, and never have to face the mountain of fear and embarrassment that stood before me.

I went inside, got some supper, and flopped on the couch. Hoping for some spiritual encouragement, I started to watch, "Facing the Giants" (an AMAZING movie!). Wow! It was SO uplifting! God reminded me that He wants me to give my very best - for His glory. The only way to every be truly fulfilled is to be poured out for Jesus Christ. Whether I perform perfectly or completely fail, I need to give my very best and give Him praise. And, I can be triumphant! The greatest success I can ever have is to honor Him. He loves us so vastly... I don't ever have to be afraid of what anyone else thinks of me, and I don't have to be the best. All I have to do is give Him my very best. He's my audience, and He gives me the hope and courage to face tomorrow, whatever it may hold.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

Though none go with me

2011-02-02T12:19:00.002-05:00

I've been reading The Chronicles of Narnia recently, which I had never read before, and I am amazed at how spiritually beneficial they are! I had seen the movies plenty of times before, and there is some spiritual analogy in them, but not nearly as much as the books.

I just finished reading Prince Caspian - the second book of the series. At one point in the book, Lucy finally meets up with Aslan (who represents God). The conversation that follows goes like this:
"Welcome, child," He said.
"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."
"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.
"Not because you are?"
"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

I love that! There are times in our life when God seems big to us, and times when He seems small. But is He the one changing? No! God is always the same, infinitely awesome God. But as we grow, we get a bigger glimpse of just how awesome He is.

As her conversation with Aslan continues, she tells him about how she saw him earlier, and knew it was him, but the reason she didn't follow him was because no one else believed that it was him and they all went the other direction. She felt like the only thing she could do was go along with the others, even though Alsan wanted them to follow him. But then she realizes (with Alsan's help) that she should have followed him, even if she had to do it alone. Aslan tells her that she must go and tell the others that she had seen him, and tell them to follow him with her. But if they wouldn't follow, she must follow him alone.

Wow, what an amazing analogy that is! Often, God shows Himself to us, and asks us to follow Him. We get excited and tell other people, (as Lucy did) but when they don't believe us and scorn what we have to say, we give up and decide to follow them. God wants us to follow Him, even if no one else is. We are never alone, because He is with us. And in the end, if we follow Him, we find out (as Lucy did, but it would take too long to quote the whole episode) that following Him is the only safe thing to do, and it leads to victory!

Every day I must make the choice to follow Him, through dark and seemingly dangerous paths and unknown territory, even if it means being abandoned and mocked by everyone. His path is not always the easiest, but it is the only one that lead to life!

Busyness

2011-01-25T07:11:00.004-05:00

Wow, my life has been busy lately! Between school, friends, music, and everything else, I hardly have a calm day! But it's wonderful... I've really enjoyed the busyness of the past few weeks.

One thing that is keeping me busy is: Practice for a musical! Yes, that's right, I get to be in "The Fiddler on the Roof" musical with a christian school nearby! I'm so excited. I don't have any lines; I'm a towns-person. I sing a lot of songs though, and I even have 3 words of a solo in one song! Haha. We have practices almost every day, and often I spend the evening with my best friend and her family afterward. It's so much fun!

I also am busy with schoolwork, church, youth group/youth events, and friends. Last Thursday and Friday I stayed at the home of a good friend who I hadn't seen in a long time, which was such a blessing! On Sunday I went to 2 youth group and 2 church services. It was very fun, very uplifting, and very tiring. ;)

Well, speaking of my busyness, I had better finish this post up because I've got a busy day today, too. Thanks for reading! :)

Eric Ludy - Depraved Indifference

2011-01-14T08:45:00.001-05:00

"Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy." Psalm 82:3

The True Gospel!

2011-01-04T20:22:00.002-05:00

I have so much I could say right now, but yet I'm at a total loss for words. I will try to tell you a glimpse of the wonders God has been showing me.

Oh, He is so good! I am absolutely nothing. I am the worst of sinners, deserving eternal punishment in Hell. Yes it's true. There is no such thing as a small sin. One sin is enough to send me to hell, because it is a sin committed against an infinitely perfect God. But yet, He is glorified by showing unconditional love to me. How is that possible? How is it that God is able to "let me off the hook" for my sin, and still be perfect and just? It is only because Jesus Christ, who is God and is perfect, was crushed for me. He was separated from His Father, whom He had been in perfect unity with for all of eternity past. He endured all of the righteous anger of God that I deserved. For me! And now, when God looks at me, He sees the spotless holiness of Jesus Christ. It's not a hardship, a burden, or a difficulty for Him to love and forgive me. He doesn't sit in heaven and say, "Well, you're a stinking, filthy mess, but I promised to forgive you, so I guess I will, even though you disgust me." No! He is delighted to love me! He tells me, "Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold you are fair! You have dove's eyes." (Song of Solomon 1:15) That is God, the perfect, infinite Creator, speaking to me!

This, my friends, is the gospel. The gospel is not a magical prayer that you repeat to get a ticket to heaven. The gospel is that I am eternally sinful, and God is eternally holy. In order to be a good God, He must punish my sin. But He chose to humble Himself and take the punishment for me - God the Father crushed God the Son, and now salvation is offered to me freely. God called me, and I cried out to Him, repenting of my sin. In that moment, He transformed my heart and made a covenant to love me forever, unconditionally. The fruit of that salvation, the evidence that it is real, is that He teaches me, day by day, to be more like Him, and to live righteously. And it is so wonderful!

Is He your Lord? Has He transformed you, and changed you into a new creation? I hope, I pray that He will, if He has not. And Christian friends, don't grow weary! Remember His love, His sacrifice, His forgiveness. Rest in Him, and serve Him. He is worthy!

Idols

2010-12-31T12:19:00.005-05:00

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!

2010-11-22T17:33:00.005-05:00

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!

2010-11-20T21:19:00.008-05:00

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

2010-11-12T19:33:00.003-05:00

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!

2010-11-04T18:26:00.000-04:00

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 :)

2010-10-22T12:07:00.004-04:00

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 :)

2010-10-21T18:53:00.012-04:00

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

2010-10-18T20:28:00.012-04:00

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

2010-10-13T16:31:00.005-04:00

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!!!

2010-09-11T18:26:00.002-04:00

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

2010-09-08T19:07:00.004-04:00

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?

2010-09-07T18:36:00.005-04:00

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

2010-08-27T06:27:00.005-04:00

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.

2010-08-26T13:22:00.003-04:00

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!

2010-08-15T23:23:00.002-04:00

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

2010-07-26T14:53:00.005-04:00

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..." =)

2010-07-20T14:34:00.006-04:00

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

2010-07-19T15:53:00.010-04:00

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

2010-07-13T07:54:00.005-04:00

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 :)

2010-07-12T15:26:00.004-04:00

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!

2010-07-10T07:49:00.001-04:00

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!

2010-07-05T13:04:00.000-04:00

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!

2010-07-02T13:16:00.000-04:00

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!

2010-07-01T13:37:00.000-04:00

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! :)

2010-06-30T22:10:00.000-04:00

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!

2010-06-29T11:50:00.000-04:00

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.co m. 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!

2010-06-28T19:17:00.000-04:00

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"

2010-06-25T08:23:00.000-04:00

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!

2010-06-25T08:02:00.000-04:00

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

Day 3 - A walk in the woods

2010-06-22T20:50:00.001-04:00

Day Three - "A walk in the woods" :) I LOVE this outfit! It's so feminine and pretty! I have actually not worn this skirt more than a couple times before, because I didn't have anything to go with it. But then I got this shrug, and it's so perfect!
I also looove that I can go out into the beautiful woods to get the pictures! I love where we live!

Skirt: $1 at a garage sale, Brand: Sixty-Two East
White tank: On-sale at Sears, don't know how much it cost, Brand: Classic Elements
Shrug: Hand-me-down from Katy, Brand: Arizona
Shoes: $1 at a garage sale, Brand: MontegoBay Club
Purse: $.50 at a garage sale :)

P.S. -- Photo credit goes to Erik, my awesome 20-year-old brother *who works for Answers In Genesis, by the way!* Love him so much! :)

Vivid and Summery =)

2010-06-21T22:35:00.000-04:00

Day two! I feel weird that I am wearing pants when almost every girl in this fashion thingy only wears skirts. But, I am definitely NOT a skirts-only girl, although I do love them. So I'm gonna be me anyway. I couldn't think f a good theme for this outfit... maybe "Vivid and Summery" How's that? :)Red button-up: Salvation Army - $.99, brand: No Boundaries (I guess it was originally from Walmart =P)
Black tank top: On sale at walmart, don't know the cost, brand: well, the tags ripped out, but obviously it's a walmart brand... haha :)
Capris: $3 at a garage sale and get this - they were brand new, still had the tags on them, but I got them for $3! Brand: Seven7 (I'm guessing Sears)
Studded belt (which you can't see): $1 at a garage sale
I'm barefoot, so... Feet: free!! :D

Day 1 - Casual Chic

2010-06-21T22:10:00.000-04:00

Sorry I'm a day late... this is DAY 1 of the Thrifty Chic fashion week! And to start us off, my outfit is:
Casual Chic
Shirt: $1 at a yard sale, brand: New York & Company
Skirt: Salvation Army... probably around $3, brand: UnionBay
Flip Flops - On sale at Walmart, dunno the cost, brand: Uhh... some Walmart brand (duh =])

I'm also supposed to tell my favorite brands. I like American Eagle and Aeropostale. But I don't care too much as long as I like the clothing. I dislike Hollister and Abercrombie - they stand for many things I am very opposed to.

My favorite Thrift stores! Well, I am a huge garage sale junkie; I get most of my clothing at those. I also like Salvation Army. Amidst all the ugly and dumpy clothes there, you can find some cute stuff! We also have a thrift shop in town called Second Impressions. I like that too. There are other good ones, too, but those are the ones I tend to shop at because they're nearby.

That is all! Thanks for reading :)

"Thrifty Chic" Fashion week!

2010-06-15T07:44:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! I'm going to be participating in the "Thrifty Chic Fashion week" hosted by Luci at Virtuous Girlhood! If you want to see what it is and what it's about, click here. I am sooo excited! It starts June 20th, so check it out, and join! I'd love to see pictures of your outfits! To any of my friends who don't have a blog, just post the pictures on facebook. :)

A Quest for More

2010-06-10T11:58:00.000-04:00

Well, the summer weather didn't seem to last very long. Recently it's been really chilly. That's good, though, because it rained a lot and we desperately needed rain. Because of the rain, the trees have gotten a lot greener.

Youth group with Circle C is mostly over for the summer; the camp has staff training week starting Sunday, and then a whole summer of camp. My brother, Cody, is working there this summer, so I'll miss him.

I've been reading a book called "A Quest for More" by Paul David Tripp. It is SUCH a good book!! I've really enjoyed reading it; it has opened my eyes to a lot of things. It has really helped me understand what a life of purpose is and looks like. Instead of the typical "Christian" book, it shows that serving Christ is SO important, and what we are really fighting against. I highly recommended it to any Christian of any age.

I have been absolutely loving serving God. It is so fulfilling and He brings so much joy. Keep fighting the fight, everyone!!

Summmerrrrr

2010-05-21T14:34:00.000-04:00

I have been loving the summer weather! It's so nice to be able to wear shorts and a t-shirt and not worry about being cold! And, I'm almost done with school. This week I have officially finished math, so now I have only a few days of science and history left for next week. Then I'm done! YAY!

On Wednesday I went to an outreach with the youth group (Circle C). It was really awesome! I was really encouraged to share my faith, and I hope others were too. Plus it was a lot of fun. =)

Tonight we're having a party. A bunch of friends are coming over to hang out from about 7 PM to midnight. We'll probably watch a movie, have a bonfire, play music and sing, eat, and all that great stuff. I can't wait!

Psalm 84:11 "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly."

<3

Purpose in your heart

2010-05-17T17:12:00.000-04:00

So... I have less than two weeks or school left! I'm SO glad! The only subjects I have left are math, science, and history. I spent 2 hours on history today and now my neck really hurts from the position I was in. :-/ But, my jaw is felling a lot better. I've been on a no-chewing diet for the past few days, and I think it's helping. Eating soup and applesauce does get a little old though! :P

I got a new piano book with the music for 19 songs by Chopin. I'm excited to get working on them! I also got the piano music for "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven, which I LOVE. It's not very hard, so I should have it learned before long.

And to leave you with a little bit of what God's teaching me -
"But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself." (Daniel 1:8)
Daniel made a commitment ahead of time to do what was right, no matter what, and he took a huge step of faith to do that. I want to have that kind of faith! :)

It's been a while...

2010-05-15T19:43:00.000-04:00

Well, I haven't felt like writing on my blog for a while so I just... didn't. But, now I feel like it, so I will. =)

Life has been interesting for me lately. I've been busier than usual. I started going to another youth group at a really awesome camp nearby which has been really good for me. It's been fun meeting everyone from their group and getting to know them all. Wayne, the director of the camp/youth group leader always has really phenomenal teaching. What I also love about it is that he splits us up into groups each week and has us find passages in the Bible about whatever topic we're talking about, and then find a real-life application for it. That is SO important, because you can hear truth all of your life, but you need to look at it for yourself and apply it to life to really make it come alive in your life.

God's been teaching me so much lately. He's been teaching me a lot about trusting Him... through everything. For one thing, my TMJ has been really giving me a hard time lately. My jaw, neck, and shoulders are in constant pain and it's just really, really hard to deal with. But a verse that keeps coming to mind is Deuteronomy 8:2 -

"And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not."

God has been showing me just how faithful He is. In spite of TMJ, stress, school, insecurity, and everything else in life, He is my one true friend and confidant. It's so awesome to have a friend to turn to, and He is the most faithful friend I could ever have. <3

Dreams Must Die

2010-03-23T22:05:00.000-04:00

This is a section of the book "Before You Meet Prince Charming" by Sarah Mally, which is a great book for any young lady to read by the way, and I thought it was just really good an very applicable to me.

The princess was silent for a few moments and then began to speak slowly. "Years ago I decided that I had a purpose in life much bigger than marriage and that I would gladly stay single if my heavenly Father asked this of me. Time after time, I have prayed for His will to be done and purposed to be content. And just when I thought I had finally understood contentment, Sir Valiant came to visit, and... and... and that made everything harder. I just don't understand why I can't learn to trust and am so easily distracted. And why -" she concluded with a sigh, "why does this have to be so difficult?"
"Struggles are a necessary part of life," her mother said. "They strengthen us and prepare us for the new trials that lie ahead. When one struggle is overcome, another one is often around the next bend."
"I suppose. But Mother, I feel like I'm failing each struggle, not overcoming them."
"You are growing. You are learning. These are the very things the struggle is designed to accomplish in your life. Do not forget, dear daughter, that except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit."
"Bear fruit... that's exactly what I want to do," the princess said quietly, as if deep in thought.
"Then your dream must die."
"But my dream is a good dream, not a bad dream. It is the dream God has given me. It is nothing wicked I desire, but only what is natural, wholesome, and beautiful. Why must it die?"
Her mother stepped off the path, knelt down, picked up an acorn, and explained, "Observe this acorn, perfectly designed for what it is intended to do - die. The acorn does not know why; the acorn does not understand what is ahead, but only if it is buried in the cold and dark earth - forgotten and left alone - does it fulfill its purpose and become what it was created to be. Would the acorn ever have imagined that it would become the beautiful oak tree you see before you? Not in it's wildest dreams. When you admire the oak tree, do you mourn the loss of the acorn? Of course not. By losing it's life, the acorn became something so much greater, so much more beautiful, so much more valuable. The death is forgotten. The fruit is remembered. Nevertheless, death was required.

2010-03-18T15:25:00.000-04:00

Ahh... I am SO thankful for this beautiful spring weather! I LOVE the sound of birds singing, and I'm so glad I get to hear it every day now! We will probably get more snow before the summer comes to stay, but it won't be long! :)

So a little update of what's been going on in my life:
-Last weekend I went to a NANC conference at Faith Fellowship Church and it was wonderful! There was a lot of good teaching.
-I have been learning to cook and bake! I thought this would be important to work on , since I hope to get married someday. I baked home-made bread for the first time and it turned out absolutely perfect!! I've also made supper almost every night the past two weeks, and often baked desserts, too.
-I can't wait until school is done for the year!! I'm persevering... but it's getting old!
-I am so, so very thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as always! I'm reading through the Bible this year and it's so exciting! I have been learning about choosing to have joy in life. I can be very melancholy if I don't try to be joyful, so I've been working on it. And you know what? Being happy is so much more fun. ;)
-Today and Saturday are the Youth Seminars!! I went last year and LOVED it a TON, so I'm really excited about this year! There's a ton of good teaching and lots of fun and friends. I can't wait!!!!

That's what's going on with me!

What really matters...

2010-03-05T11:06:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I challenged all the girls reading this to the "7 Days in a Dress" challenge. I thought I should tell you how it's going.

The first day, Tuesday, I picked out an outfit, and attempted to do my hair up. I did a style that was very simple. Later on, though, I had to change it to something else because my hair is very thick and hard to manage, so it poofed up and looked terrible. Then, throughout the day, I had to keep on fixing it over and over and over again.

The next day, Wednesday, I finally found an outfit that would work for the day, and I did my hair in a way that seemed simple, but then later, it poofed up and got all frizzy and knotted and the clip fell out, so I had to re-wet my hair and start all over from scratch.

That evening at prayer meeting (our church has prayer meeting on Wed. nights) I prayed with my mom, and then we sat around and talked for a long time. As we did, I realized how foolish we can be sometimes. In the Bible, it never specifically mentions that we should always wear skirts or dresses. It also doesn't encourage us to spend excessive amounts of time on our hair. The Bible tells us not to be adorned by outward things. I am not defending having a sloppy appearance, or dressing immodestly. In fact, I usually wear skirts just because I like to, and it's hard for me to find modest pants. But I don't think that a modest skirt is any better than modest pants. The concepts in the Bible tell us that, as women, we should dress modestly and respectably, in a way that honors God.

1 Peter 3:3-5 says:
³"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. ⁵For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands,"

Now ponder that for a moment. God says we're NOT to be wasting time on making our hair extravagant, or wasting money on fancy clothes and jewelry, or vainly dressing for attention. We are to be quiet, and gentle, not drawing attention to ourselves. Now wait... does this mean we can't wear pretty things? Do we always hair to look drab and never do our hair? Of course not! Look at Proverbs 31:21-22:

"²¹She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
²²She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple."

Sounds to me like she wears beautiful clothing! But that's not what defines her.

"²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come."

She dresses in a way that is beautiful and feminine, and she's certainly not sloppy or lazy about her appearance, because she's not that way about anything! Her beauty, though, is in her spirit. She is a woman of God! THAT my friends is what really matters - not dresses and skirts, or hairdos, or shoes, or jewelry, or anything that we might think.

So it's up to you. If you believe God would have you to wear skirts, then by all means, do! But if that's not you, then glorify Him in wearing other modest clothing! I am resigning from this 7-day challenge because my life has a lot of circumstances where it is easier/better for me to wear pants (snowboarding, for example). But I'm never going to resign from the challenge to be a Proverbs 31 woman, and I hope you won't, either! Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. May God bless you as you rise up in Him!

So much to say, so little space!

2010-03-01T18:00:00.000-05:00

Goodness! Has it really been 2 weeks since I've written? I guess I have this idea in my head that I'll write every couple of days, but that never happens, does it!

Well, my trip snowboarding on the bunny hill with McKayla was wonderful! Added to the coolness of that, she's letting me borrow her snowboard for a couple of weeks to finish out my season! It's so neat how God works things out like that. I didn't go snowboarding last Thursday because I was REALLY tired! I think that's the first time in a long time that I've been home on a Thursday. Hopefully I can go this week though. I'm excited to be hitting the slopes again!

Another thing I am exited about: My month without sugar is almost over!!! :D I have SOOO missed my chocolate and ice cream! I will be done this Sunday, and I'm going to eat a whole chocolate bar!

Today my oldest brother had his first day working full-time with Answers in Genesis! Yay! Congratulations, Erik! He has been working part-time with them for a couple of months now, and to celebrate him going full-time we went to Pizza Hut yesterday! Yummy! I also made him some fudge because he loooves fudge. I had never made it before so I was afraid it wouldn't turn out right. It turned out quite well though. Too bad I couldn't have any!

Tomorrow is the first day of a new challenge! Try it with me - you'll like this one! This one isn't as hard though. It's called "Seven Days in a Dress," and is hosted by Simply Sarah-Anne. It's a challenge to wear only skirts or dresses every day for 7 days, and to do your hair differently each day. The principle behind it is learning to dress in a way that is feminine, orderly, and modest. I can't wait! I'm not a skirts-only girl, but I do love wearing skirts! It is quite possible to dress in a way that is feminine, modest, and neat wearing pants, but wearing skirts is also a great way to do it! Dressing modestly makes a statement to the world that a girl is not "for sale" and is set-apart. Now if you're not accustomed to wearing skirts, this might be more of a challenge for you. But try it! It really is a lot of fun, and wearing skirts is certainly becoming of a Christian woman, so it's so worth it! I hope you all will try it with me! :)

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I'll end with some scripture to ponder...
James 4:6-10
^"6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' ⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."

May God bless you in all that you do! Stay strong in Him!

Pefect timing :)

2010-02-17T14:36:00.000-05:00

Ahh... I just have to tell you all that our God is AMAZING! He does everything perfectly in his time. I have been learning that lately. For example, one of the bindings on my snowboard broke last Thursday. If I don't get it fixed, that means I'm done snowboarding. Getting it fixed, however, is expensive. Sounds like a no-win situation, right? Well, as it turns out, it's most definitely not! I still have one functioning binding, and the other one kind of functions. I can still use it on small hills, like the one at the town park or the bunny slope at Kissing Bridge. It's harder, though, because if I'm not careful, my foot will slip out of the binding. Yesterday I went to the town park, which has a great sledding hill, to meet one of my good friends whom I haven't seen in a long time. She has a snowboard and wants to learn to ride, so I was going to teach her the basics. We spent several hours and had a lot of fun. Then we got an idea... what if she could come to KB with me? After looking up the details, we decided it would be a great idea! So, she's coming snowboarding with our family at KB tomorrow and the staying overnight. It's going to be so awesome! The fact that my snowboard binding broke actual provides a new challenge for me. If it hadn't broke, it would be really easy for me to be on the bunny hill. Since it did, though, it will be fun and challenging to go on the bunny hill, AND I get to spend the day hanging out with a friend!! We're both really excited!

I probably could ramble on about hundreds of other things, but I won't ;) God is so awesome... in so many ways! I knew my binding would break eventually, (it was in lousy condition) but I was hoping it wouldn't be this year. God timed it perfectly though! Pretty cool! :)

:O

2010-02-06T18:45:00.001-05:00

So... I'm taking the challenge. No desserts/sweets/sugary foods for one month! I'm not trying to lose weight or anything, I just though I'd challenge myself. I'm starting tomorrow - Feb. 7. My friend Katy is doing it too, except she started yesterday. Anyone else want to do it with me? This is going to be really hard for me... but I'm gonna do it!

So for a month I won't eat this-->

.........Or this.....

Neither of these, and nothing of their sort... yeah, you're getting hungry just looking at it, huh?

It might be a long month, but I know I can do it! And, it will be a good way for me to practice self control. Wish me luck! :D

An AMAZING weekend!!

2010-02-03T14:09:00.001-05:00

So, this past weekend I went to snow camp and it was amazing!! We got there Friday at 7 PM for registration, then after some games and unpacking and stuff we went roller skating. It was super fun... tons of people, friends, and fun. There were lots of "special skates," like limbo, couples' skates, backwards skate, all girls skate, etc. that were lots of fun. We got back from roller skating at about 2 AM and we were all sooo tired! The next day there was lots of fun stuff like laser tron, rock wall climbing, karaoke, games, dodge ball, and (my favorite) free time! I loved free time because we would just sit around and talk, or play ping pong, or something else like that. The chapel sessions excellent. During the first chapel session a lot of people made professions of faith. One of them was my friend Lynne! I had just met her at that point, but we got to be really good friends by the end of the weekend! I'm so thankful for her! My favorite chapel session was on Sunday morning. They gave us 15 minutes of just being still and being with God. I read some scripture from 1 John, and prayed, and it was extraordinarily good. They gave us a few minutes to go around the chapel and pray with people - even people we've never met. That was really cool... realizing that even though we don't even know each other, we have something in common - our love for Christ. I think I prayed with 3 or 4 people, and it was a huge blessing to me. Sunday was fun - we had the "Donut Classic," which is a race that involves a lot of people and obstacles and a tray of donuts. It was so fun! The goal was to be the first team to go through the race ad eat all of your donuts, which were shot out into the mob by 3-man slingshots. We didn't win, but it was really fun. :) Lunch was pretty fun that day... we were all SO overtired and crazy - especially our youth leaders! We kind of had a food fight... it was so funny! Everyone in the dining hall was staring at our table. :) After all of that we had to clean our cabins and say goodbye. :'( I miss everyone so much already! All in all it was an AMAZING weekend! I hope I get to back next year! :)

The good, the bad, and the painful!

2010-01-27T18:41:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! I've had a great week! This post will be long, but bear with me!

Last Thursday I went snowboarding, as usual. Surprisingly, it was not a very good day. At the start of the day I was very tired, and I continued to be throughout the whole time I was boarding. I probably shouldn't have been snowboarding, because when you're tired you can't focus, and therefore you fall and get hurt. Anyway, I decided to go to my lesson in spite of my debility. I was learning rails. After trying the easiest one (which was a straight box, for those of you who ski/snowboard) a few times and not succeeding, I was totally worn out. But, I was NOT willing to quit! I also didn't want my instructors to consider me a wimp :P. So I tried again. Buuut... I was totally not ready for it and my toe side slipped off, causing me to fall forward and smash my shin REALLY hard! Deciding not to finish out my lesson, (for the sake of my safety and sanity) I headed down to the lodge with my instructor. I didn't really feel like snowboarding the rest of the day, and I only ended up going out a few more times. But still, I have to agree (for the most part) with this flair -

The nest day I had an appointment with a TMJ specialist. I think I've told most of you who read my blog about my TMJ, but in case there's someone who doesn't know what it is, it's where someone's (mine, obviously, in this case) jaw slips out of joint making the muscles have to strain, and causing a lot of pain in my jaw, neck, and head. It's been bothering me for several years now, and after trying 3 different physical therapists, the doctor recommended we see a specialist to tell us what we should do. I was hoping he would be able to recommend a definite fix, such as surgery, or wearing a brace for a certain amount of time, or something of the like. Physical therapists usually give you lots of exercises and rules that are very hard to keep up with. I wanted something easier. The specialist told me that my main problem is that I tighten my jaw up and am too stressed, which I have to agree. I'm very "type A" and tend to stress about everything. He said that really, all I needed to do, was learn to relax my jaw, along with some stretching and using heating pads to relax it. I was disappointed at first; I was hoping for something that wouldn't require a lot of work on my part. But, it's actually quite simple to maintain and it has made a lot of difference!!! I am SO thankful!

I have also been realizing how much I need to be trusting God. I am always putting unnecessary stress and pressure on myself because I don't trust God! He has been so gracious in teaching me about His love. I was struggling a lot in my spiritual walk - I was understanding God's holiness without understanding His grace and mercy. He is incredibly holy and righteous - we can't comprehend what it is to not sin. If it weren't for Christ's death, we would be doomed to the ultimate, unimaginable damnation. Jesus, however, took all of that on HIM. That is SOOOOO HUGE!!!!!! We are the one's who DESERVE every bad, horrible thing, every curse, everything awful. He was spotless, holy, and had never ever made a tiniest mistake. He had never NOT been in perfect communion with God. But yet, HE took the horror of the cross on himself. The awful physical death he endured wasn't nearly the worst of the cross though... the horror of it was the rejection He received from His father. Can you ever imagine how horrible it would be to hear God curse us, and reject us, and throw us out of His presence?! Now think... that was JESUS!! He endured something so awful, when He deserved the very best. WOOOWWW!! I can't stress this enough. Sometime you should listen to "The Cost of Not Following Christ" - a sermon by Paul Washer. It is SO good! If you want it you can ask me for it or look it up on Youtube. Anyway... back to the unimportant topic of me being stressed... ;) I has not been focused on God's forgiveness and loving kindness. I was afraid to make even the slightest mistake, and when I did I felt like dying. God reminded me, though, of all of His love, and that lifted a huge burden off of me. I have not been so stressed this week, and it has been wonderful!

There isn't much to report about the rest of this past week, it's been good though. I've been learning about weather in science and it's really cool! We've been studying clouds. I love it when my life is orderly, scheduled, and predictable. This week it has been exactly that, and I've loved it!

Oh, and another thing... I really beat my shin up that day snowboarding! It was swollen for a couple of days and had an enormous colorful, bruise. I've been doing everything possible to make it heal faster this week, and wow, it makes a difference! I've had small surface bruises that took just as long to heal. There's still a big bruise on my shin, but it's not nearly as big, and it's just a light one on the surface now. I'm glad, too, because I wouldn't want to go snowboarding tomorrow if it was still bad.

Over all I guess it's been kind of a painful week... I hurt my shin, I've been working on my jaw pain, (which, by the way, hurts more when you first start to relax it. It's been pretty painful this week but will get better, I hope.) and I've been learning spiritual lessons, which are always painful at first. But pain is not always a bad thing. Tomorrow I'm going snowboarding, and then I will be at snow camp from Fri.-Sun. That will be SO fun! God is so good to me!! Thanks for readin'! :)

Sweet Josiah is in His Saviour's hands....

2010-01-24T15:44:00.000-05:00

Hi guys,

PLEASE, PLEASE pray for the Wilson family. I have posted a link to their blog before: TheWilsonHeart.com. Their son, Josiah, had HLHS (A heart defect) and was struggling for life since before birth. He passed away today. God clearly had his hand in Josiah's life though, and He has His hand in their lives now. Please pray for them!

Shelter amid the chaos

2010-01-20T12:48:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't written much these past few weeks. I actually intended to write about more things than snowboarding in my last post, but I ran out of time. I guess now I'll have to double time to catch you up! I will summarize though; it won't be too long. :)

Saturday, 1/9 - Sunday, 1/10
My wonderful friend friend, Vicki, came over! Although Christmas was already over, we wanted to make a gingerbread house, so we did! We got a gingerbread house kit at Wal-Mart for a couple of dollars; it was on sale because Christmas was already over. We had a hilariously awesome time putting it together! We made a mess! After a lot of messy, fun work and lots of laughing, we were finished. Amazingly, we didn't destroy anything in the process. ;-) It looked creative and adorable. We watched Fireproof (a GREAT movie!) and then went to sleep.
The next day we went to the morning church service together. After it was finished we went home and had lunch, and then Vicki went home. We had a great time!

Tuesday, 1/12
Psalm 37 is such a great chapter! God is so incredibly good to us! Although we are sinners, He still continually takes us back. If not for Him, I would be nothing! I love Him so much!

Thursday, 1/14
Yay! Another Thursday! That means more snowboarding for me. :) The sun was shining cheerfully, the air was warm, and it was a fantastic day! Excitedly, we threw on our snow gear and went out to enjoy the day. I rode with my friend, Courtney, for most of the day. It was nice to have such a sweet friend to go with! Talking and riding with her was a lot of fun.
My lesson was at four o'clock. My instructor said that I was advanced enough to start learning jumps, if I wanted to. Nervously, I said I did. Although I was scared to try the jump at first, I got used to it. I learned a lot from the lesson, and continued to try the jump throughout the evening. I only tried a few small kickers and rollers(the two smaller types of jumps) because I'm not very good yet. I improved a lot! I can't wait to go again this Thursday.

Friday, 1/15
When I got done with all of my school I went to a Bible study. The study is held at the home of some friends of ours. The topic was love. It is so astonishing to see what true love is! The passage was from 1 Corinthians 13: "⁴Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸Love never ends." We all fall miserably short of this level of love. Thankfully, God is forgiving!
We stayed for several hours after the Bible study and spent time with our friends. We laughed, talked, sang, danced, and had altogether a wonderful time.

Saturday, 1/16
I went shopping with my best friend! We went to Kohl's, which is my favorite store ever! I got a pair of nice jeans and two shirts. I was excited to be able to get a pair of jeans that were modest and feminine! It is so hard to find them.
Seeing my best friend is always SUCH a blessing. I love her SO much! Not surprisingly, we had a delightful time together! I thank God for her every time I remember her. (Philippians 1:3 =])

Sunday, 1/17 -Wednesday, 1/20
The message in the evening service was very good. It was about Ai from Joshua chapter 7, and avoiding defeat. God has been teaching me so much. I love reading His word; it is the only shelter amid the chaos in this world. Please pray for me. Specifically, please pray for me on Friday: I have an appointment with a TMJ specialist. Hopefully he will be able to help me know what to do from here on out. Thank you so much!

~Christy <3

CHRISTmas!

2009-12-27T17:43:00.001-05:00

Okay, I have a lot to say, but I don't even know where to begin, or how to say it all.

I guess I'll start with Christmas. It was wonderful! On Christmas eve we had a nice supper together, and then played games. We had my friend, Vicki, and my neighbor, Zach, over and they added to all the fun! Right now my bedroom is torn apart because we're fixing it up some, so my bed was out in my oldest brother Erik's bedroom. So, I slept in his room. It was kind of a funny night... somehow the heat got turned off so it was FREEZING cold, and I kept having weird dreams and waking up (mostly because it was so cold!). Anyway, we all slept in on Christmas morning and that was actually really nice. I think this is the first year that I've slept in on Christmas. We all got up around 8:00 and sat around talking and such for a few minutes... then we all took our showers and got dressed. It was neat because it was just a nice, low-key day. We opened our stockings, and then had a nice breakfast. After breakfast we opened presents. It was a lot of fun... all of us just sitting around together, laughing, and enjoying ourselves. I got a couple of pairs of shoes which were really cool - one pair was neon pink and the other was neon green. :) I got two books - "Before You Meet Prince Charming" by Sarah Mally, and "Raising Maidens of Virtue" by Stacy McDonald. I've read both of those books before, but it's especially nice to own them. They are SUCH good books!! I would very highly recommend them to any young lady who wants to serve Christ. I also got a really nice handbag with music notes and Scripture about music on it. I love it!! We got some gifts that were for all of us - a bunch of Christian movies! We got Fireproof, Facing the Giants, Flywheel, and some others. I couldn't have gotten any better presents! I love my family so much. It was great to be with all of them for the past few days.

Now to tell you about all the WONDERFUL things God is doing in my life!! I don't know how to put it into words... He has totally changed me, and my view of life! A week or two ago, I was trying very hard to live righteously, but I didn't feel the passion and closeness of our Savior. I wasn't living completely for Him. I was tying, but I wasn't trying in HIS power, filled with HIS Holy Spirit. I just couldn't take that. I hadn't done anything the most people would consider a "big" sin, but I had strayed so, so far from where I needed (and still need!) to be. I got down on my knees and poured out my heart to God. I confessed everything I had done... all of my selfishness and pride, all of waywardness, everything. I prayed and begged God to reveal Himself to me, to give me a passion, to fill me with the Holy Spirit. That was my constant prayer for about a week. On Christmas day, He truly did show Himself to me. I can't explain it... I just had a total change in my understanding of Him. These past few days I have just CRAVED Him. It's wonderful!! I have been reading the two books I got for Christmas, another book called Stepping Heavenward, and of course, the Bible! It's wonderful. God is teaching me so, so, SO much about how I am to live. Please, please pray for me. I don't want to lose this passion. God is doing marvelous things in my life. He is SO INFINITELY GOOD! Praise Him!!

"I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice, and He gave ear unto me." Psalms 77:1

"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known they faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 89:1

The Wilson Heart

2009-12-23T18:32:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,
I'm putting in a link here to a blog from a family I know of who's 7-month-old baby boy, Josiah, has Hypoplastic Left heart Syndrome (HLHS). If you take the time to read a little bit about him and the family, I know you will be blessed. Please pray for them! Pray for healing for Josiah and for rest and comfort for the whole family. They are a wonderful example of trusting God through hard circumstances!

TheWilsonHeart.com

Lessons...

2009-12-22T20:13:00.001-05:00

Today I just have a thought to tell you about what God is teaching me. I have been learning to let go of things. I have a real tendency to be angry about things... which leads to bitterness. I used to just get depressed when bad things happened, but recently I've started getting angry. I've been watching a series of sermons on DVD by Paul Tripp called, "How to Be Good and Angry," and it has really been good for me. I realized that the reason people get angry is that we make our normal desires into demands. God has given us desires... that's completely normal and good. The problem is when a desire becomes a demand. We HAVE to control our desires! We all have a sin nature, and our desires can very easily take control of us. The human heart is an idol factory. We have to keep laying our desires down before God and not let them become controlling. I've been learning to keep returning all of the things God gives me to Him, and also learning to rise again after I fall and mess up. When you sin, don't fall into a pit of despair. It is right to feel grief over your sin, but don't wallow in it. Repent and keep going on to do what's right. Thankfully, God is SO merciful and good as I go through the process of learning these things!

"For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity." Proverbs 24:16, ESV

Thanks for taking the time to read! God bless you all; have a great Christmas!

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." Philippians 1:3-5, ESV

Christmas Vaycay :)

2009-12-13T08:54:00.001-05:00

So, I'm on Christmas vacation!!

On Thursday we packed up to leave for my Grandparents' (on my dad's side) house on Friday morning. We didn't expect, however, to get about a foot of snow, or to have our snow-blower break! We got a new snow-blower on Friday, and got up bright and early on Saturday morning to leave. When we left we had about 2 feet of snow, and we probably will have more when we get back!

Anyway, after a hectic morning of packing and cleaning, we left at around 8:30 AM and traveled for several hours, and with a few stops along the way, made it to Gma and Gpa's house at lunch time. Grandma made us a delicious lunch - she's such a great cook! After we were done eating, we sat around the table and shared Christmas memories. It was especially fun to hear my mom and dad's memories of Christmas as kids. Later we watched a movie together, and then opened presents!! I got a big purple storage box thingy (kind of hard to describe) that will look great in my bedroom. I also got some jewelry and candy. I love everything I got! Supper was wonderful. We had shrimp, homemade cream of broccoli soup, garlic bread, and fruit salad. The table was beautifully set, so it looked very lovely. We had quiet Christmas music playing in the background. It was so nice. It was especially nice to spend the day together with family.

Today we got up and went to my grandparents' church. It's really different from ours, but it was nice. :) Everyone recognizes me, but I don't recognize most of them - lol. As soon as we got home, we headed to my other grandparents' house for Christmas with my mom's side of the family. It was a great night. I got a lot of presents, too! I got a bracelet, some body spray, and shower gel from my aunt and uncle. My grandparents (on my mom's side) got me some earrings, sheets and a furry blanket, and candy. I also got to see my uncle's 2 month old daughter, Macy Elizabeth. She is so beautiful!! Tonight my grandma and I and maybe my brothers are going to watch a movie together, then head home tomorrow. God has blessed me SO much, and showed me such abundant love and mercy! He is the reason for the season, not presents or travel or any of that. And HE is what is truly bringing me so much joy. Praise be to HIM!!

I'm Back!!!

2009-12-10T08:04:00.002-05:00

Hey there everyone!! Guess what - I'm back!

I haven't blogged for a while because it was getting very stressful. Life is still pretty crazy, but I'm going to start blogging again, even if I don't do it very often.

I won't write much now, because it would take a long time to try to summarize the past 3 months! I will try to keep you posted about what happens from here forward though, as much as possible. All that I'll say now is that God is SO GOOD to me! :) That's all for now friends!

2009-10-05T14:12:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone, I don't think I'm going to be blogging anymore, or at least not for a long time. It is extremely hard for me to keep up with blogging amidst my busy schedule. So, sorry about that, but I won't be blogging for while.

Life...

2009-09-17T14:00:00.001-04:00

Soooo...

Last Saturday we had drama team practice in the morning, and then we discussed with Pastor Jim, a few other adults, and a bunch of us teens whether or not we would be able to do the skit for the Teen Power-Up, and in the end we decided that the best idea would be to just go through with it, so I am SO EXCITED!! Please pray for the Power-Up that it will go well and many people will see Christ through it. I think it's going to be really good, and I can't wait! After we got home from practice, we went to a home-school picnic and stayed for a few hours. That was nice. I was supposed to babysit that evening, but it didn't work out.

On Sunday I had my friend, Vicki, over for the afternoon and we did a photo-shoot. (I always love it when we get a chance for a photo-shoot =]) We got a lot of nice pictures and it was a lot of fun. :)

Monday started another week or more school. Yesterday we had another drama team practice which went well, but it was a pretty long day for me.

Today I went to piano lessons and loved it! I'm getting a really nice book of Christmas songs this year. I know it seems way too early to be thinking about Christmas, but the songs take a lot of practice and I want to be able to play a bunch of them by Christmas time.

God has been teaching me a LOT lately! I've been memorizing a lot of scripture and reading a lot too. I have read all of the New Testament except Revelation this summer. I can't really write everything I've learned, but basically, I have been learning to walk with God all the time, have joy in Him, and not be ashamed of Him.

That's about it. Thanks for taking the time to read this! God bless.

School and skits and stuff

2009-09-11T14:04:00.001-04:00

Hi! Sorry it's been so long since I've written (do I say that every time? lol =]). It's hard to keep up with posting. A lot has happened; I'll try to post a summary of it. Let's see... I started school this past Tuesday. It was hard to get used to it the first couple of days, but I think I'm adjusted to the new schedule now. I usually like school because I'm the kind of person that likes a very structured, scheduled, orderly life. (You may not know it by my bedroom, but it's true =P)

This past Wednesday I did school again, then in the afternoon was drama team practice for the Teen Power-Up. I mentioned before that we're doing the "Everything" drama, which is REALLY awesome and powerful. I'm not in it, but I go to the practices anyway to fill in for anyone who couldn't make it, and just to help whenever I can. We stayed through from practice until prayer meeting that evening. At prayer meeting we got some disappointing news.... we might not be able to do the drama. There was some concern that the dancing/choreography wouldn't be appropriate, and a couple of other things. Everyone has been REALLY praying about it these past few days. I think that it has a really powerful message that is exactly what we want to express at this event, and if we do it it will be a huge ministry. At the same time though, we don't want to offend anyone, or cause anyone to stumble. So PLEASE pray that we would figure it out and be able to make it happen.

Yesterday I went to piano lessons! I am on my 5th year of lessons and they just started up again for the school year. I'm really excited - I love piano! Then today hasn't been terribly exciting, just school and chores, but it's been a good day. Tomorrow will be busy... we have drama team practice at 10 AM, then a picnic to go to, then I'm babysitting from 4 PM until late that night. I'll write more later I guess! :)

August 28-30, 2009

2009-08-30T13:36:00.001-04:00

Wow! It's been a busy weekend! On Friday we headed out in the morning to go see some of our friends from PA who we were meeting at a mall a couple of hours away from our house. We got delayed by a whole bunch of stuff - road work, traffic, etc. and we got there almost an hour late, which was a bummer since we only had a short amount of time. We met our friends at the mall, then window shopped for a little while, just talking and enjoying ourselves. We had conflicting interests though... my friend Emily and I wanted to look around in Deb, but the boys wanted to go to Zumiez. We all just sort of went around and had fun and then went to Subway for lunch. We ate and then continued to walk around and look at stuff. Emily and I went to Deb and tried on some really pretty prom dresses. The one she tried on was yellow and she looked like Belle from Beauty and the Beast! It was really pretty. I tried on one that was off-white and really fluffy and lacy and it was so pretty. If it was a little longer and was pure white it would have looked just like a wedding dress! It was really, really pretty. After that we had to leave, so we said goodbye and headed to my grandparents' house to stay for the night.

The next morning we had to go to a funeral for my Great Grandmother. I was really encouraged to find out that in her last days she had accepted Christ as her Savior and so now she is in heaven with Jesus! Hallelujah!! After the funeral and a meal we headed home.

On Sunday, my mom and I had nursery during the morning service. There ended up being 7 kids there - all under the age of 3! It was pretty busy, one was wailing and crying for her mommy, one was really tired, one had an accident in the middle of the floor, and the rest were playing happily, but quite noisily! It was fun though; I love little kids. I found out that a family in our church who lives about 15 minutes away from us is in need of a babysitter, so I am REALLY excited about that!! I love babysitting!

Today I got up early and did chores throughout the morning. We had auditions today for a skit called "Everything" that our youth group is doing on September 19th, so I headed out to go to that around 11 AM. Different people tried out for different parts, and after a lot of practice we finally decided who the cast would be. I didn't get a part and was pretty bummed about that at first, but I'm glad because we got the perfect people for each part. After we had the parts chosen we practiced it a few more times. It went very well for a first practice. I'm really excited to see what God will do with it!

And I think that pretty much sums up my weekend. God is good! :)

An eventful week :)

2009-08-25T18:49:00.001-04:00

Wow! The past week has been good. Last Saturday I went to a youth event called the Gathering and it was REALLY good! I had to show up at my church at 8:30 AM because it was a 2 hour drive. We all carpooled and had a fun van ride. When we got there they were giving out door prizes different things and we all had fun trying to answer the questions, and just talking and hanging out. Then the whole group of about 430 people all sang some really awesome praise songs to God and it was so encouraging to hear that many voices raised in praising Him. After that, there was a message presented by a speaker and it was really good. It was about living out our salvation. When it was over we all filed out and made our way through the lunch line and just ate and enjoyed the nice day for a while. We laughed and had a ton of fun, then headed back in and there were more door prizes, and then more awesome praise music. There was another message which was REALLY good. It was about Esther, and how huge of a sacrifice she was willing to make to do what's right. If you think about it, she was really well off. She was the queen of Persia, she was considered the prettiest girl in the country, she probably had servants catering to her every whim, and basically anything she wanted could be hers, but she was willing to sacrifice all of that, even her very life, to do what God wanted. She was willing to live a truly dangerous life for Jesus Christ. I was challenged to do the same. I must be willing to sacrifice anything (including popularity, friends, reputation, etc.) for Jesus.

On Sunday I went to the morning service and really encouraged by the sermon to stand and fight. Pastor spoke form 1 Kings 19, about Elijah. Elijah was a man of God, but in this chapter, things got tough and he went and hid and pouted. He listened to Jezebel's threats even though he KNEW how much more powerful God is. We can't let the enemy bully us into that state! We have to stand our round and not try to run from our problems.

That afternoon we went to a coming home party for my friend Abby, who just got back from Papua New Guinea. It was SOOO nice to see her and her family again! We all spent time together and had a crazy and fun time. We stayed there until 12:30 AM talking and it was really encouraging.

The other days this week haven't been very eventful, so I won't write about them. That's all for now!

LIfe is good, eternal life is better! :D

2009-08-17T15:21:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! God has been teaching me soooo much lately! I have been learning about being truly set-apart for God, and really having joy in my Christian walk! I have been reading the book "Set-Apart Femininity" By Leslie Ludy, and it is an AWESOME book! All of the books by Eric and/or Leslie Ludy are really good! Something I have learned is that we often spend way too much time feeling depressed that our relationship with God doesn't seem close and vibrant and personal, and too little time actually SEEKING him and striving to become closer to him. In Sunday School we have been talking about holiness, and it is SOO good! The only way for us to become holy is to be daily in God's word. Doing a a short little morning "devo" every day doesn't cut it, either. We really have to seek Him, and let Him search our hearts, and ask Him for His wisdom. We really need to be living out His word, too. It doesn't matter how much we read it and think about it and memorize it if we don't obey it! So I have been really striving toward holiness and joy in my walk with Christ.

I also have found that I love hymns!! A lot of songs these days basically say "Life stinks, everything is hard, you're all alone..... but God is good so don't give up." If you ask me, that's a pretty depressing outlook on life! Yes, life is hard. Yes, the world will be full of heartache and disappointment. But that can't be our focus. We need to let nothing get in the way of our joy. If we are walking with Christ, there will be joy. Even when Paul the Apostle was imprisoned and hated by many people he was full of joy! The more I seek God, the more joy He brings. I have really been seeking Him a lot lately, and let me tell you, it is so worth it! :)

Now to write about the events of the past week... my brothers came home from Lamoka on Saturday for GOOD! They have been at Lamoka most of the summer and now the camp year is over. I'm really happy to have them back. Saturday was also my dad's 47th birthday! I baked him a German Chocolate cake with coconut-walnut frosting, which is tradition in out house. He loooves that kind of cake and frosting, so we always make it for his birthday. That evening was our church's annual Sunday School picnic, so we went to that for a few hours and it was fun. This Saturday is a youth event called the Gathering, and I am SO excited! That's about all I have to say now. Thanks for reading, fellow bloggers! :)

Some hard times.

2009-08-12T20:06:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone. The last few days have been hard ones. On Sunday, I found out about 10 minutes before church started that I had to play morning offertory. I have played piano for 5 years now, but I still don't think I'm very good at it. I don't even know why they choose me to do morning offertory, but it's fine I guess. It was a little crazy, though, because I had no time to prepare or practice something to play. I didn't do well at all, but I got through it, and I didn't do it for man's applause, and that's all that matters I guess. Sunday night was a lot of fun - it was SNAC night. SNAC stands for Sunday Night After Church, and so that's what it's called because that's exactly what it is! We have it about once a month, and this time was a TON of fun!! Someone left the dehumidifier off in the gym, so the floor was crazy slippery, which made for some funny (and some painful - lol) falls. There was soda and some snacks, and also lots of fun games. After we played a bunch of crazy and funny games, including human tic-tac-toe and capture the flag in the wet, dark softball field outside, I was able to talk with a few friends and it was really nice and refreshing.

On Monday evening, things took an unexpected turn. My parakeet, Julie, was sitting on the floor of her cage and was not looking good at all. I was really concerned, but I didn't know what to do for her at that hour of night since she was sleeping, and I very much wanted be. So I decided to see what I could do in the morning. I slept in a little, and around 7:45 my mom came in and woke me up. Then she told me that my bird was sitting on the floor of the cage. I knew this already, but I had forgotten. I got up and looked at her. She looked awful. I was thinking about what I should do for her, and then she let out a feeble "peep," and fell over on her side. What I didn't realize was that right then, she died. I thought she was still alive , so I was talking with Mom about what we should do. I didn't know if she was suffering and I should put her out of her misery, or if I could nurse her back to health. Then I suddenly realized what had happened and I said, "She may already be dead!" I reached in and picked her up and found that she was. It was the most awful thing... picking up her stiff, little body and realizing that she was gone. I held her and cried for at least an hour. I would have cried more, but I had to get ready to leave for the day, because I had an appointment at the dentist.

We headed out for a long day. First we went to the dentist and I got my night-guard (something sort of like a retainer that I wear at night because I grind my teeth and I have TMJ) fixed. After that, we headed to an oral surgeon for my brother, Zach, who had to get all 4 of his wisdom teeth out. We got there 1/2 hour early, and they were an hour behind schedule, so we ended up being there for a total of 2 and 1/2 hours. In that time I read and memorized a lot of scripture and read part of the book "Set-Apart Femininity" by Leslie Ludy. It was a long time to just sit there, but I had a good time with God and managed to forget Julie's death. On the way home, I remembered it. When I got back I sat on my bed and cried more. Julie was more than just a bird, she was a very special pet and friend. She wasn't just a family pet, she was MY pet. I bought her, kept her, cared for her, and trained her. She was like a little friend.

Wednesday, I got up and worked most of the morning. Then I went out and buried Julie alone. I had a parakeet a long time ago who belonged to my great grandma before she died. We kept him (the parakeet) for a long time. For the first few years he was cared for by my older brother Erik, and then Erik passed him to me. He was a very special friend, too. He eventually died of old age, and that was really painful for me. That happened about 4 or 5 years ago. We also had to have our dog, Misty, put down a long time ago, maybe 7 or so years ago. Both of those pets are buried near each other in our woods. Their deaths were hard for me to bear for a long time, especially since I was so little when I lost them. But, time goes on, and we've since gotten a new dog, and I got a new parakeet. Then when Julie died, and I buried her near the other 2 pets, I felt the pain of losing all 3 pets all over again. I cried the whole time.

The rest of the day was dull and hard. The only reason it was hard was just because it was so hard on me emotionally to lose Julie. In case you're wondering how Julie died, she has been sick for probably about a year now. I don't know how she got sick, or what she was sick with, but I could tell she was. I have nursed her through several times when I thought she was going to die, but she never got completely better. I guess this was just all her body could take, and she died. I feel horrible about it. I feel like if I had paid more attention she might still be here, but I don't know. Without a vet, she probably wouldn't have lasted long, and I couldn't afford to take her to one. She served her purpose on earth, which is to bring glory to God and pleasure to both God and man. It really comforted me to remember that God says that He sees every sparrow that falls, and cares about it.

I guess, over all, it has been very hard these last few days. The pain won't go away for a long time, but it will eventually. It's not like losing a person, but it's still hard. I have really been taught to lean on God through it, and to trust Him, even though it doesn't seem fair that I should lose her. God does not withhold any good thing from those who love Him, so I know that even though it's hard, it will be okay. God has lessons to teach me through this, and I am ready and willing to learn them. Please pray for me, this is a really hard thing for me. I know it sounds childish to make such a fuss over such a small thing, but it is really big to me. So please pray for me. Thanks.

Lessons from LOTR

2009-08-08T12:38:00.001-04:00

Hey! I haven't posted in a while because there hasn't been much to tell about. We have mostly done lots of chores for the past week.

Two nights ago I watched "Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring", and last night I watched "Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers". I absolutely LOVE the LOTR movies. I also gained a lot spiritually from it. Tolkien (The writer of the LOTR books) didn't intend for it to be allegorical, but I found it to be in some ways. Some of the things that really struck me are:
-The hearts of men are so easily corrupted and deceived.
-Frodo has to carry the ring, which is evil, with him, even though he doesn't want to. In the same way, we have the burden of a sin nature that we have to take with us, even though we don't want it.
-Frodo never HAS to put on the ring, but he does several times when he wants the easy way out of situations. If we have been saved by Jesus Christ, we never HAVE to sin, but we do so many times when we are tempted.
-Then there's Gollum: he started out as a normal, hobbit-like creature, but he allowed the ring, and what seemed like pleasure, to poison his mind. He became a hideous, worthless, disgusting creature. Likewise, as Christians, we don't have to be hideous creatures, but if let we the temporary pleasures of sin poison our minds, we will be.
-Gollum meets Frodo, and realizes that he doesn't have to be Gollum. He can be Smeagol, which is who he would be if he wasn't under the control of the ring. He realizes that he doesn't have to be a slave to its power. He wrestles with this for some time. He is torn between his addiction to the ring, and his desire to be free. By the end of the series, he has completely given himself over to the ring's power, and his greed for the ring brings him to his death. We also don't have to be ugly creatures. We don't have to give ourselves over to sin. If we are born again believers in Jesus Christ, we have the power to fight the temptation to sin. We can be made new in Christ. We DO have sin natures with us though, and if we don't continue to wrestle against them, we will give in. Sin has the power to tempt us still, and if we don't fight it, we'll give in, and sin always leads to ruin.
-Gollum struggles constantly with his own self. One side of him tells him that he NEEDS the ring, and that Frodo, who helps him and understands him, is a thief, while his other side tells him the truth. We, as Christians, often struggle with listening to lies that Satan puts in our minds, instead of the Truth from Christ. If we listen to the lies, we will give in to sin, and it will destroy us.

All of that goes to say that you can learn SO much from so many things, if you think about it! Instead of just watching a movie, I try to pick it apart and see what the worldview is, and what there is to be learned. I hope that all makes sense. That's all for now. God bless! :)

My birthday! :)

2009-08-02T20:56:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't written in so long. It's been busy! Let's see... on Friday we headed to my Grandparents' house, and we spent the day with them. We watched TV for a long time and talked. Then we had supper and they made me a cake for my birthday! :) It was nice. I got a present which was jewelry, nail polish, and lip gloss. AND GUMMY BEARS!! I love those things - lol :).

On Saturday it was my birthday!!! YAY! We headed toward home at 8 AM and Mom said she was planning something special but wouldn't tell me what. After about 2 hours of driving, we showed up at Camp Lamoka, where my brothers work! See, I worked there for one week on a Ministry Team last year and I LOVED it, and my brothers always tell me how much fun they have working there, so I wanted to go there again and meet all their new friends! I met some friends, and enjoyed a couple of hours there, and I found out I was going to my brothers' friends' house with them to spend the afternoon there! I was nervous at first, but it turned out to be an AWESOME day!!

On Sunday, I had 2 friends over and we did a photo-shoot in a beautiful field. It was so pretty! We all wore coordinating colored dresses and the pictures turned out so nicely! Later, I opened my presents from my parents. I got: an AMAZING black hat with studs on it. (That sounds punk-ish but it's actually really cute) and I got very pretty earrings, and a big purple plaid pillow, and an awesome little purple plush doggy. The 2 friends I had over, Danna and Glory, gave me $14 and one cent! The one cent was because it was a day late. :) All in all, I had an awesome birthday and awesome weekend!

I have also been learning a lot about sin. I often feel like I'm a slave to sins that I keep doing over and over, but then I realized, I am NOT a slave! I have been freed by the blood of the Lamb! I don't EVER have to sin again!! I won't be perfect, of course, but it is very relieving to know that sin has no grip on me, and I never have to sin again. It's a battle though, and it has to be fought! It's guerrilla warfare. The enemy has been defeated, but refuses to give up, so he sneaks in and tries to cause as much trouble as possible. Therefore, we must watch and pray!! God has taught me so much. Please pray for me, that I will fight the battle and not give up.

That's all I have to say now, so toodles! :) :)

Surprise Party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-29T20:52:00.001-04:00

Disclaimer: This was actually written on Wednesday, July 29, but I couldn't post it then. So, pretend it's the 29th as you're reading this! Sorry about that.

Wow! So, I really have a lot to say! So way back on Sunday I went to church and was able to put in the final details for a surprise birthday party for my friend, Brittney.

Then, on Monday, I went shopping all afternoon/evening for the party. Well, that's not all I shopped for, but a lot of it. We (my mom and I) went to Wal-mart and shopped for food for the party and also got Brittney a present and got most of the decorations at Dollar Tree. Now, Dollar Tree has some nice things and I really was able to do some good decorating with their stuff, but their balloons are TERRIBLE! They pop for no reason at all!! Anyway, we got all the things for the surprise birthday party, and we also went to salvation army, and I got 2 nice skirts for $5!! I love second-hand stores. My mom also went birthday shopping for me (I waited on a bench by the entrance =]) because my birthday is this Saturday! We got home at almost 9 PM, exhausted, but it was a good day.

On Tuesday, I cleaned the whole house. I cleaned the bathrooms, washed dishes, folded laundry, vacuumed, and everything! Whenever we do something big in our home I get all OCD and everything has to just PERFECT. So I did that, and baked cupcakes, and did some stuff like that in preparation.

Today was a CRAZY day! I got up at 7:40, which was later than I had planned, so then I rushed like crazy. I took a shower and got dressed quickly, then tidied up the house again quickly, and went straight to decorating. I did banners, posters, streamers, balloons, and SO many fun things!! It looked absolutely awesome. We left around 12:10 to get everyone rounded up. The people who came were: Brittney, Emily, Kyla, Ally, Becca, and I. We went to pick up Emily first, then headed towards Brittney's house. We had a couple stops to make along the way, including picking up Kyla, and then we met Ally and Becca at the end of Brittney's road. Then we all got into our vehicle and my mom drove us to her house. We got party noisemakers, jumped out of the vehicle, and ran and barged into the house without knocking (yes, Brittney's mom knew we were coming =]) and blew all the noisemaker horns as loud as we could and RAN into Brittney's bedroom and shocked her out of her mind!!! She was so confused as to what was going on. See, her birthday was actually 9 days ago, so she totally wasn't expecting this. When we started singing Happy Birthday she understood it was a belated birthday surprise, and she was stunned enough at that! Then we told her that there was a totally decked out party planned and that she was coming to my house to party all day, she was TOTALLY surprised!! It was the most hilarious thing ever. Her face was priceless! She looked stunned, surprised, excited, and even scared! When we came in she was absolutely speechless! So once she got her wits together, we headed back in our van to our home where the party was set up, and played awesome fun games like Mad Gab, Catch Phrase, and Apples to Apples, and we opened presents, ate, laughed, and had an AMAZING time!! Then all but Emily (who wasn't able to come) headed out for prayer meeting. So we were sad we had to leave Emily. :( But that was the official end of the party and then we went to prayer meeting and that was good too. So all in all, today was one of the BEST days I've had in a long time!!! I LOVE MY AWESOME FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!!!! :D :D :D <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 !!!!!!!!!!!

Saturdayyy

2009-07-25T18:23:00.001-04:00

Today my brothers came home. Cody was at TLC (teen leadership conference) and Erik was working at Camp Lamoka. Cody works at Lamoka too, but he took this week off for TLC. It was hard for me because when Erik got home he told me about how great this week at camp was, and when Cody got home he told me all about how great TLC was, and I stayed home all week. I had a good week, but it was still hard because I would have loved to be at either of the places they were. Then also we were considering going to a graduation party today, but it didn't work out because of the business of the guys getting home. But I'm still alive and God is still good, so who am I to complain?

I also watched part of "Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution III" which is the 3rd DVD in a series of DVD's about absolutely amazing creatures that completely counter evolution. It was great to see how awesome our God is and to see how intricately designed everything in this world is.

This evening I was feeling really negative about the whole day, so I took a long walk to get my attitude right again. I walked out and then sat down on a hill and prayed and thought and then headed home. Now, I am feeling very refreshed and thankful again. God is good! :)

Busy, busy!

2009-07-24T22:41:00.001-04:00

Whew! I am exhausted! It's actually almost 11 at night as I'm writing. So, yesterday I had my friend, Vicki, over from about 2-8 PM and we had an absolutely awesome time! Mostly what we did was talk. Which, if you know me, you know that talking is what I do best! And we looked at funny pictures and cracked ourselves up, and we took a walk. So it was really, really good to be able to see her.

Then today my friend, Courtney, came over and we talked, then went for a walk and talked some more. When we were about half a mile from home, one minute it was sunny, and then Courtney looked up and said "Is that rain?" and, sure enough, it was sprinkling. Then about a minute later, it started to DOWNPOUR! We ran into the woods, but still got soaked. When we got back we changed into cozy PJ's and were gonna make hot cocoa, but we didn't have any, so we made coffee. (I don't really like coffee, but with enough cream and sugar in it, it's good lol) Unfortunately, I accidentally put the filter in wrong and it got filled with grounds. So we had to re-filter it! haha. It was about lunch time so we thought we'd get some food, but we were really in need of groceries! And I mean REALLY in need of them! So after a lot of searching we came up with rice, cottage cheese, baked beans, and broccoli for lunch. haha. It was a CrAzY day!! So I have had an AWESOME 2 days!

I also learned a lot. I read Isaiah chapter 1 today and if you've not read it recently, GO READ IT!!! It was so convicting, it made me almost cry. It is God telling Isaiah what to tell Israel, and it's all about their sin. But He doesn't leave them hopeless, He promises to be with them and to forgive them if they will put off their sin and follow Him. It was really a great encouragement and very convicting.

I also started to watch a lecture thingy on DVD by Paul Tripp, and he was talking about how the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart, and it was, again, very convicting. We often say, "If my circumstances were better, I wouldn't be having an angry outburst." Well, maybe you wouldn't be at that moment, but that's not the problem. For example: A man is in a traffic jam. He is angry because he's already late for work. He hits the dashboard and yells, "If I weren't in this traffic I wouldn't be so frustrated!" Well, if it's the traffic's fault, then you would think everyone in the traffic jam would be upset. But then, there's a woman in the car in front of him and she is just SOO happy! You see, she's putting on her make-up, so she is really grateful for the extra time! The reason the man is angry is because something is getting in the way of what he wants, and he is choosing the wrong response. If He were more focused on living for Christ, he could be in the traffic and be joyful. We are, by nature, worshipers. We were created that way. Now, not everyone worships the right thing, but everyone worships. Some worship food, others money, others appearance, etc. We don't realize it, but we are often worshiping things in subtle ways. The way to tell if something has become an idol is to stop and consider if you would be upset if you didn't have it or it didn't work out right, or whatever. If you would be, it has an unhealthy hold on you. Wow, isn't that a scary thought! That means for every time we get upset, we are worshiping the wrong thing! So I have been very challenged, especially today, to keep my focus on JESUS not ME. Tough, but SOOOO worth it! And I could really use prayer, so please do pray for me as I am growing in Christ and living out life.

That's all I have to say now, so thank you to anyone who took the time to read it! =]

Another day done...

2009-07-22T21:13:00.001-04:00

Today was actually a busy day. I spent the morning doing yard work and washing our van and vacuuming it. It's hard to keep a minivan clean when you live on a dirt road! So I spent the morning in the hot sun sweating and working hard. But it feels good. Then this afternoon I attempted to sew. Yes, that's right - sew. I mean, I have always hated sewing and I'm horrible at it. And, I don't have the patience. But, I tried it. I thought I'd start with something simple and small, since I don't have a sewing machine. So I tried to make an A-line doll's skirt. I cut it, and then hemmed the bottom of it by hand, which took a long time. And, I only ended up bleeding in one place! Haha. :) Then after all that work, I realized I cut it totally wrong to make an A-line skirt, so it will either be a wrap-around skirt or a shawl. Anyway, I think I will cut some more fabric tomorrow or the next day and try again for an A-line. Then I went to prayer meeting tonight, and it was very encouraging. I'm especially thankful for all of my good friends, it's so nice to talk to all of them. And speaking of friends, I'm having my awesome friend, Vicki, over tomorrow afternoon and I'm very much looking forward to that. :) I also fell asleep while sewing today and slept for like an hour. Haha. It seems like I'm always tired lately. I take a nap almost every day. I love sleeping. lol. So that's how my day has been today, and now I think I'll go outside and roller-blade and maybe listen to my mp3 player. :)

Another seemingly dull day made bright in Christ :)

2009-07-21T19:50:00.002-04:00

Hey all! So, not an awful lot has gone on the past few days, but hey, that's my life! :) Yesterday I didn't do much of anything. Today, I did lots of chores and cleaned my room, which now feels so much better to be in.

I was reading in Jeremiah chapters 1 and 2 this morning. I love those chapters!! God comes to Jeremiah and tells him that He has called Jeremiah to be a prophet and to do huge things. Jeremiah responds by saying "What? Me? I can't do that! I'm just a youth!!" But God replies saying "Don't tell me what you can and can't do, I made you! And I will be with you every step of the way. Don't be afraid, you will be able to do anything if you follow Me." That is so often how I feel, like I'm just a kid and I'll never be worth anything. But God is showing me how to take one step at a time and follow Him day by day... even though it doesn't feel like I'm doing anything worthwhile.

So that is all that I've done today. I'd like to take a walk now, but it's pouring rain. maybe I'll just sit outside on the porch. Goodnight :)

HELLOOOO!

2009-07-19T08:50:00.001-04:00

hey! So, I've never posted on my blog before. I only made it so I could follow other blogs, but, i think i will post. Although, I doubt anyone will read it for a long time. I don't have time to write much, but I'll just say that I am headed off to church this morning, and I'm glad to be able to do so, and I need to hurry and get ready! So if anyone has read this, please comment so I can know if it's worth anything to post on here. thanks :)