Teasers

Even though I haven't been bloggin' a lot lately, I have been taking pictures!! A LOT! It's been super busy and I've got a lot to tell. So here are a couple pictures to kinda give you an idea of what I will be EVENTUALLY posting about. :)

I Must Tell Jesus

I must tell Jesus all of my trials;
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me;
He ever loves and cares for His own.

Refrain

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!
I cannot bear my burdens alone;
I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.

I must tell Jesus all of my troubles;
He is a kind, compassionate friend;
If I but ask Him, He will deliver,
Make of my troubles quickly an end.

Refrain

Tempted and tried, I need a great Savior;
One Who can help my burdens to bear;
I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus;
He all my cares and sorrows will share.

Refrain

O how the world to evil allures me!
O how my heart is tempted to sin!
I must tell Jesus, and He will help me
Over the world the victory to win.

Refrain

-by Elisha Hoffman

Petals

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A Chance To Die

Amy tackled the study of the language at once. It was a great gulf fixed between her and the people with "dark eyes, dark windows of darker souls," and she felt the helplessness of the alien. She was surprised and delighted to find that it was possible to start giving out the Gospel by means of an interpreter. A Christian Japanese girl, Misaki San, became her "mouth," her travel companion, her teacher.

"The honorifics are peculiar," Amy wrote. "for our 'go slowly' they have quite a touching appeal, 'augustly leisurely going, deign to be;' if you are hungry, you explain with polite frankness that your 'honorable inside is empty,' and if you want to say somebody has died, you say he has 'honorably deigned to cease to become.' "

Upon arrival at one of the small country hotels she was greeted with the announcement that a chicken had "deigned to cease to become," and that a bath was "on the boil."

When she had been in Japan for one month she felt it was high time she took a missionary journey. She wrote long , long letters at every stage, filling twenty or more of the thinnest pages imaginable with her round, clear handwriting and delicate drawings (storks, centipedes, people, fish, swordplay, incense burners, pagodas). There was an audience, of course. People hung over her shoulder, studying the writing. "Oh!" said an old lady when Amy explained that she was describing to her family the silkworm business in that village, "Our honorable worms and we ourselves are going to England in a letter!"

-A Chance To Die, The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael

If you have not read this book yet, you really need to!! It's FABULOUS!

Hello all! I am sorry for the lack of posts lately. I will post as soon as I can. I have been really busy with work, softball, school and piano. Thank you for your patience with me!! For those of you who have blogs that I visit regularly... I will get there!! I will comment eventually. Be prepared... because when I start posting I think there will be a lot. :)


Have a great day!

It's Smokin'!

Caleb smoked a pork for us the other night on his new-homemade-smoker and it was DELISH! Wow! He also made this fabulous vinegary-spicy sauce to go over it...delectable! It was definitely worth the wait! Thanks bro. :)

The master cook... or should I say smoker. :)

I'm in love with this picture! It's officially my new personal favorite... :)

A Budding Eye for Photography

All pictures taken by Ethan. Perhapes there is a new photographer in the family? :)

Driven By a Purpose

Every human being is driven by some purpose. Some people are driven by other people, by careers, or other dreams-always driven, though, for the purpose of accomplishing a certain goal. We may not always agree that the effort expended was worth the end goal. However, the fact that we are driven beings always pursuing some desired objective cannot be denied. In fact, the Bible teaches us that we were created as individuals of purpose. Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:19 states, "Desire realized is sweet to the soul." God has placed in us a drive to reach the goals we set for ourselves. What differentiates each person is the purpose for which he strives and his degree of commitment in striving for that goal.

~For The Sake of His Name, David M. Doran

Already?

Yes, I'm planning for my Senior recital already. Sure it's a good year away... but I like to be prepared. I think I've actually been planning since 10th grade. :)

Is There a God?

In human existence there is no more profound question demanding an answer. Is there a God? is a question that challenges every thinking person, and the answer has far-reaching implications for each of us no matter where we are in life.

To begin with, consider the law of cause and effect. No effect can be produced without a cause. There's a note in your door. Someone put it there. The painting on the wall, someone drew it. Nothing comes from nothing! We as human beings and the universe itself are effects that must have had a cause. We come eventually to an uncaused cause, who is God.

God, the Creator, the Beginner, by definition is eternal. He is uncreated. He is self-existent. Were God a created being, He would not be a cause, He would be an effect. He would not and could not be God. R.C. Sproul, author and lecturer, explains, "Being eternal, God is not an effect. Since He is not an effect, He does not require a cause. He is uncaused. It is important to note the difference between an uncaused, self-existent eternal being and an effect that causes itself through self-creation.

The human body, for instance, is an admittedly astounding and complex organism, a continual marvel of organization, design and efficiency. So impressed was Albert Einstein with this that he concluded: "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illuminate superior Spirit who reveals himself to the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God." To our knowledge, he never progressed to believe in a personal God.

There are basically two choices for Christians and non-Christians alike: Did the universe and the human race begin by chance or by purpose and design?

Life forms would then evolve. However, the difficulties this theory presents are so enormous that today those same scientists are forthrightly pointing out its weaknesses.

The distinguished astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle has proposed an analogy to illustrate these difficulties. He asks, "How long would it take a blindfolded person to solve a Rubik's Cube?" If the person makes one move per second, without resting, Hoyle estimates it would take an astonishing 1.35 trillion years! Therefore, he concludes, when you consider the life expectancy of a human being, a blindfolded person could not solve the Rubik's Cube.

Hoyle then explains that it would be equally as difficult for the accidental formation of only one of the many chains of amino acids in a living cell in which there are about 200,000 such amino acids. Now if you would compute the time required to get all 200,000 amino acids for one human cell to come together by chance, it would be about 293.5 times the estimated age of the earth (set at the standard 4.6 billion years). The odds against that happening would be far greater than a blindfolded person trying to solve the Rubik's Cube!

In another analogy Hoyle bolsters his argument. He likens this to a "junkyard mentality" and asks, "What are the chances that a tornado might blow through a junkyard containing all the parts of a 747, accidentally assemble them into a plane, and leave it ready for takeoff" Hoyle answers, "The possibilities are so small as to be negligible even if a tornado were to blow through enough junkyards to fill the whole universe!"

In the beginning you [LORD] laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

Psalm 102:25

-Know Why You Believe by Paul E. Little parts from Chapter 2

Oh the patterns I could sew!

I talked to the director of our play and I asked if I could make my own dress for the play and she said yes!! WAHOOO! I am extremely excited. I haven't shown her the patterns yet but I will do that soon. It's gonna be hard for me to pick ONE to make. I want to make them ALL. :) What do you think? Which one would you pick? :) I was thinking, being that they are all sleeveless , that I could just wear a cardigan sweater over them. I also had different ideas for what kind of material I could use and altering the patterns a bit. So, please share your thoughts on the topic. I would GREATLY appreciate it.

B6582

B4790

B4513

B4443

Some People...

have problems with stray dogs...

we have problems with stray turkeys...

Minnesota Marshmallow

They're just bigger here... :P

June!

Nettie
March went out like a lion
Awakin' up the water in the bay;
Then April cried and stepped aside,
And along came pretty little May!
May was full of promises
But she didn't keep 'em quickly enough for some
And the crowd of doubtin' tonuses
Was predictin' that the summer'd never come

Nettie
June is bustin' out all over
All over the meadow and the hill!
Buds're bustin' outa bushes
And the rompin' river pushes
Ev'ry little wheel that wheels beside the mill!


Nettie
Fresh and alive and gay and young
June is a love song, sweetly song

I love June! It's so fresh and happy, plus my birthday is in June! :) This is one of my favorite scenes from the movie. Actually, it's the only scene that I can stand now that I think about it. I don't like the rest of the movie. :)

Happy 1st of June everyone! :)