Elizabeth's Blog

I'm still here :)

2012-02-10T20:57:00.001-06:00

Still living at home and loving my family...
Still helping with Awana...
Still teaching my "Hero-training" class...
Still sponsoring my two favorite African kiddos ever...
Still praying...
Still playing guitar with our worship team...
Still square dancing sometimes...
Still reading good books...
Still studying and cherishing the best Book...
Still growing... (only spiritually, ha!)

And yes, in case you were wondering, I am still working at the library.

Asking the Tough Questions

2012-02-10T20:36:00.001-06:00

Loss

2011-12-30T16:06:00.000-06:00

Today it rained most drearily. And although we have all been hoping for snow - especially for the sake of my sister-in-law Hannah, visiting from Arizona - the rain seemed appropriate.

We got the news this morning that a man from our church died from a heart attack. Please be in prayer for his wife - now widow - and his two daughters, a sensitive 11 year old and a rambunctious 4 year old. Pray also for us a church family, that we can be the Body of Christ to them. Thank you.

~*~

Psalm Pstudy: 31-40

2011-12-20T21:24:00.001-06:00

Feeling stressed? Frustrated? Bored? Insecure? Reckon some Fact:

31. My times are in His hand.

32. Jesus is my hiding place.

33. Jesus is right.

34. Jesus delivered me from all my fears.

35. Jesus fights against those who fight against me.

36. Jesus gives [men] drink from the river of His pleasures.

37. Jesus upholds the righteous.

38. Jesus is my salvation.

39. Jesus is the remover of plagues.

40. Jesus thinks upon me.

I love this stuff! Look up the actual Psalms - God said it and He cannot lie.

Random - New, Almost-new, & Timeless

2011-12-04T16:20:00.001-06:00

New favorite Eric Ludy sermon: Wings Like Eagles (4/25/2010). I just listened to it yesterday, and it was amazing.
Timeless favorite E.L. sermon: Reckoning With Truth (10/31/2010). This may be my all-time favorite. That message, that week, changed my life for good!

New favorite song: I don't know the name of it, but one line is stuck in my head: "Love, and Joy, and Peace, and Righteousness, in the Holy Spirit, oh oh oh oh...."
Almost-new favorite song: "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" A new version of the old hymn, combining majestic and personal adoration of Jesus.

Almost-new favorite book: Princess. This book was fascinating, heart-rending, and at times even horrifying. It's a real life story that reveals a lot about the lives of Saudi Arabian women. After I finished reading, I walked outside into a lovely sunshiny day and felt guilty. Not that I had done something wrong, but that I was free in so many ways they might never be. God came for them to have abundant life, and He is burdened for them.
Timeless favorite book, again!: Psalms

New favorite movie: Babies. Zadok Johnson once said something to the effect of, "Who needs a TV when you have a baby around?" Just watched a film by this title that lets you watch four babies from totally different countries "from their first breath to their first steps". It's relax-paced, funny, and extremely cute. Caveat: It's not for everyone; there is cultural/maternal nudity throughout. (PG) Go find a baby near you to watch!

New favorite tradition: Giving overdue thank-you cards at Thanksgiving. The only problem is that you can never thank everybody you ought to!

Almost new & timeless favorite verse: "But the word (†) is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it." Deuteronomy 30:14

Quick Quote

2011-12-01T09:37:00.001-06:00

Cheerful holiness is the most forcible of sermons. - Charles Spurgeon

Thanks to NRJohnson for the quote. O how I want my life to illustrate this!

Thankful Thursday: 2011

2011-11-24T23:18:00.000-06:00

Every Thanksgiving our mom has us write what we are thankful for in our "Thanksgiving Scrapbook". There are also pictures of the day, and a verse that my dad picks out.

Here is what I wrote this year:

Thankfulness Two Thousand Eleven
Nothing tops Jesus, the sweet taste of heaven
Ellerslie, a year of blessing
Hero-training, waiting and testing
Priceless family, days at home
Precious study, times near the Throne
Working and learning, an endless frontier
To Jesus be all my thanksgiving this year.
~*~ Elizabeth

I thank Him for you, my friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful Thursday: Just Because!

2011-11-18T17:51:00.000-06:00

Although I've been attempting to establish a tradition for the month (things to be thankful for on Thursday) but I didn't have a post ready this week. Instead, take a minute and meditate on the verse my Hero-Training class memorized this week:

...in everything give thanks...

I told them the story of Corrie and Betsy ten Boom giving thanks for the fleas as they were prisoners in a Nazi concentration camp. Then I asked the kiddos what the hardest thing for them to give thanks for was. Their answer: Mosquitoes.

Thankful Thursday: Good Books

2011-11-10T08:52:00.001-06:00

I heard once that you can tell a lot about someone by what's on their bookshelf. Apparently I am not the same person that I was before Ellerslie (no one ever is!) because ever since I came back my book collection has, without any conscious action on my part, taken on a whole new character. Stick around and I'll take you on a virtual tour of all my best books... well, almost all of them.

Exhibit A

One of the shelves of my dresser. Baby name books, assorted Christian books, my NASB and Precious Moments Bibles, miscellaneous journals, calligraphy books, and on the far right, the novel of novels, Scottish Chiefs.

Exhibit B

The it-didn't-fit-on-the-shelf stack atop my dresser. With the exception of The Believer's School of Prayer by Andrew Murray, these are all post-Ellerslie. The pink book is by a fellow student.

Exhibit C

My primary music collection. L-R: Guitar music folder, piano music folder, church worship team collection, Ellerslie song collection, hymnal.

Exhibit D

My current bedside study stack. Because He Loves Me (thanks Kristen!!!), The Calvary Road, and the dual-service notebook. Also my very old KJV Bible.

Exhibit E

The best for last! This stack goes upstairs and downstairs every single day, minus the concordance. My NKJV Bible, Journal, and mechanical pencil are my best friends. More of Jesus!!! Books that point to Him are worth giving thanks for.

PS: You know how there's always somebody who misses picture day and doesn't get their pretty face included in the yearbook? Well, here too. Not pictured: Rees Howells - Intercessor, and my Ellerslie Session Notes.

Thankful Thursday: Grandparents

2011-11-03T15:03:00.000-05:00

I am blessed to have five terrific grandparents, all living. I would like to share why my grandparents are so great.

Grandpa (My dad's dad) - He introduced me to a love for playing piano. He was the first piano teacher I had, and the one who challenged me to take it up again when I was a teenager. Now I love playing on his grand piano, not the least because I think he enjoys hearing me! I also love his constant wisecracks and jokes, and the fact that he was a square dance caller!

Grandma (My dad's mom) - She is always serving. Preparing food, helping grandkids with constant requests, and never complaining about it, ever. But she's not a pushover. She is, however, one of the gentlest, most clear-headed people I know. She taught me and Valerie how to sew... a great gift.

Gramma M (My mom's mom) - She is so many things: a hairdresser by trade, a gift-giver by nature. I love that she visits every year, even though she lives in California. She is also a tireless servant, washing dishes and scrubbing bathtubs without ever being asked (like we would!). She keeps us on our toes - if we don't do our chores fast enough, she will! I love that she is still an active square dancer, and looks amazing in the fancy dresses. :) She always sends a card for each birthday, half-birthday (family practice), and anniversary.

Grandpa O (My mom's dad) - He built our favorite swingset, despite our "help". That is only one of the many projects that he has tackled when he came to visit. (He lives in Washington State, formerly California.) He is a very diligent worker. At one time he worked at a station above the Arctic Circle. I like his Canadian accent that you can hear sometimes. With him as my partner, we pulled ahead for a great victory in Spite & Malice! (his and Grandma Jan's favorite card game).

Grandma Jan (My mom's stepmom) - Even though we are not biologically related, she has always and will always be a grandma to me. She is very candid and intelligent and a great person to converse with. I always like hearing about places they've traveled. I think it's great how she and Grandpa O play golf together. She remembers our birthdays, too!

Thank you for being such wonderful grandparents! I love you!

Anno Domini

2011-10-11T15:44:00.000-05:00

One year ago, I was just arriving in Denver, Colorado. I was more excited than I've ever been in my life. I didn't know exactly what was ahead of me, but I knew it was good. God had brought me thus far, and I knew He had something amazing in store. I had no idea how true that was.

That day was the start of something. Something that so defined my life, that I feel like this is the beginning of my year rather than January 1.

2011 AD. Anno Domini, "the year of our Lord". I don't know exactly (or partially!) what's ahead of me... but I know it's good. God has brought me thus far, and I know He has something amazing in store. I have no idea how true that is.

And even though this October 11 doesn't look much like last year's, I'm excited.

O Israel, hope in the Lord! (Ps. 130:7)

Quick Quote

2011-09-11T18:31:00.000-05:00

"I have found truly joyful Christians only in the Bible, in the Underground Church, and in prison."
-Richard Wurmbrand, from Tortured For Christ

If the Lord wills...

2011-08-18T14:46:00.001-05:00

Maybe you would be interested to know that my brother Chris is getting married on Monday? Hannah Joy is to be my very first sister-in-law. We are all flying down to Arizona on Saturday. Of course...

"If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."- James 4:15

May His will be done! Thank you for your prayers!

Maturity is a funny thing.

2011-07-15T11:20:00.006-05:00

Remember how when your mom told you to set the table you needed her to get the plates and cups down for you because you couldn't reach them?
Remember how when you were younger, your dad had to pitch the baseball about 20 times before you could hit it?
Remember when 7x8=? was a hard question? And 3X+2=14 didn't look like a sensible question at all?
Remember when you couldn't start the push-mower by yourself because you couldn't pull the ignition string hard enough?
Remember when writing a 300-word essay sounded as hard as writing a book?
Remember how when you were first learning to drive, you had to concentrate so hard just to stay in your lane?
Remember when flying by yourself within the United States sounded super-daunting?

Those are just part of growing up here on earth. But there's another realm to grow in.

Remember when Bible stories were only stories and not "doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness"?
Remember when you did your devotions because you knew you were supposed to and not because you would feel spiritually hungry if you didn't?
Remember when your time, body, money, effort, affections, and future weren't surrendered to the One they belong to?
Remember when praying for more than 5 minutes felt like forever? How about 30 minutes? An hour? All night? (My little brothers still feel that more than 30 seconds is a stretch.)
Remember when you didn't know how to say "No!" to the enemy?
Remember when sermons were boring because you didn't have any interest in them?
Remember when you didn't care about the souls of the people around you? Or those on the other side of the world?
Remember when you read Bible verses but didn't get them yet?
Remember when you didn't love Jesus as much as you do today?

This list is not one of things I have mastered. Most of these areas can never be mastered. There's always room to grow, farther to go. But that's part of the adventure!

Farther up and further in!

Why mouth?

2011-07-05T16:12:00.000-05:00

This summer, the four youngest kids are participating in the Bible Bee. They are memorizing a whole bunch of verses as well as doing an inductive Bible study on 1 Peter. Even though I had several memorization projects already, I decided I wanted to memorize the verses along with them. Stephanie and I are doing about 70 verses, and they are conveniently ordered in the order found in the Bible. Currently I'm working on Psalm 32:3-5, but I'm a bit behind schedule.

One morning not long ago, I was reading in the book of Joshua. I've been making my way through it since April, and I had made it to Chapter 12 already, but on a whim I looked up the only Bible Bee verse in Joshua.

Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.- Joshua 1:7-8

It read it through, and suddenly a question occurred to me. In verse 8 it says, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth". Why "mouth"? Shouldn't it be your eyes? What would a book be doing in your mouth for anyway? Ah, but it clearly says "mouth", not "eyes". Every word of God is flawless (Prov. 30:5), and there isn't a single word of Scripture that is put in on accident.. Still, I wondered why it was so.

Right then, in that wonderful way that He does, God made me realize something. The Book of the Law was in Joshua's mouth because he was speaking them, not reading them. He had them memorized! How else could he meditate in them day and night? Joshua was a busy man! He didn't have all day to pore over the printed page; he wasn't a scribe. He was a war general, the leader over an entire displaced nation. He needed to know it anytime, anywhere.

There is something about memorizing Scripture that gets it into you in a way that simply reading it doesn't. When I am memorizing, I have to pay attention to every single word; skim reading just won't cut it. The meaning comes out in a new way every time. "For GOD so loved the world/ For God SO LOVED the world/ For God so loved the WORLD!" I repeat it over and over again, and in effect, am preaching to my own soul.

There is a power in reading words, another in hearing them, and another in speaking them. It says in Romans 10:10, "with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." You cannot say something you do not believe, unless you are lying. It shows whether it is actually in you. If, when my siblings do their regional Bible Bee competition, they are asked to recite a verse that they haven't memorized, will they be able to speak it? Of course not! It's not in them. Likewise, unless we have taken in the Truth, we cannot speak it.

If you think about it, the eyes come first, but the mouth is much more intimate. You might look at everything at the buffet table, but that doesn't mean it's all going in your mouth! (Watch out for the wasabi!) And think of the change in a relationship after that first kiss, or even after the first conversation. Eating, breathing, kissing, speaking, all these are what the mouth does. And what are we to have in our mouth? Jesus! He is the Bread of Heaven, the Breath of Life, our Heavenly Bridegroom, and the very Word of God. He's the One that all these metaphors were created to point to in the first place. It is clear, He is supposed to be in us.

Now think for a moment, if God's words are in our mouth, and they aren't departing, then there isn't exactly any room for your words any longer. Your mouth has become His mouth. As it should be, for we are His Body. "'and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Eph. 5:31b-32) When His words are in your mouth, it doesn't mean you quote nothing but Scripture all day long (Although I'd like to see someone give directions for making chocolate chip cookies that way.) What it means is that the only words that come out of your mouth are what is in accordance with Jesus. Only what is true and noble, pure and praiseworthy, wise and edifying. Only what glorifies the Lord.

Oh that you and I would be filled with Him today! That we would delight in Him, taking Him in and pouring Him forth. That we would literally "treasure [His] words more than [our] necessary food" (Job 23:12) and "meditate in them day and night" so that we do not turn from Him to the right hand or to the left.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

"But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it." (Deut. 30:14)

Free

2011-07-04T14:31:00.000-05:00

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5:1)

For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ's slave. (1 Corinthians 7:22)

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. (Romans 6:22)

A book about the Book

2011-07-02T21:35:00.010-05:00

Another book recommendation!

After being advised to read some Puritan authors, I decided to see what I could find in our library's catalog. It was a simple search because I could only remember one eligible name: Matthew Henry. To make things even simpler, the only item featured by him in the whole interlibrary system was...

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

So I checked it out. And it's fantastic. Don't panic at the ginormous size. I got an somewhat abridged edition and it's still huge. Just read what you can. I especially like reading what he says about passages that I'm already pretty familiar with. My favorite section that I've read so far is the very beginning: Genesis 1. It's good stuff. Plus, I realized that one of my favorite quotes came from this book:

“Eve was not taken out of Adam's head to top him, neither out of his feet to be trampled on by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected by him, and near his heart to be loved by him.” - Matthew Henry

Blessings as you treasure the best Book of all!

Rainbow Camp

2011-06-30T15:29:00.000-05:00

This isn't our picture but it captures the week. And we did have fruit loops. :)

Last week was Camp Week for our family. Valerie, Michael, Stephanie and my mom went our Awana honors camp, and my dad, Laura, David, Brian, and I did Rainbow Camp at home. Christopher wasn't left out, since he is working up at the camp in Wisconsin all summer.

I loved doing Rainbow Camp! This was the second year in a row I kept house while Mom went with the older kids, and this year was even better. Mostly because I was actually excited instead of nervous. Also, the basement didn't flood the night before (thank You, Jesus!) The reason it's called Rainbow Camp is that every day we do a different color theme. We wear the color, eat the color, even play games or activities related to the color. It has been so neat to spend this extra-involved time with my little sibs, as well as more time with my dad. They are such a blessing! It was also been a super practice opportunity for "playing Mom". I was telling my dad that it's not the individual jobs that are the challenge; I'm basically able to make meals, clean house, do the laundry, direct kiddos, etc. The hard part is being responsible for all of it, or as my grandma put it, "doing it all at the same time". Designing a well-planned schedule makes such a difference. The kids thrived with it. And you know what their favorite part was? Quiet Time after lunch. Yep, they like to read. I liked Quiet Time too, but I think directing Outside Games was my favorite part.

I thank God for where He has me right now. Did you know I have a home-schooling God? He has me at a perfect training ground. "He knows the path that I take." I wouldn't trade it for the world.

The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
-Psalm 16:5-6

Quick Quote

2011-06-17T09:33:00.005-05:00

"If you don't like holiness, then you probably won't like God." - Eric Ludy

Wordless Wednesday: Recent Joys

2011-06-08T09:01:00.012-05:00

In 10 words or less...

2011-05-26T15:31:00.000-05:00

The other day while I was shelving books at the library (my part-time job), the back of one book caught my eye. It was a memoir, or some sort of learn-from-my-life book by Valerie Bertinelli. Except for shelving her books -she has more than one- I would have no idea who she was, but I think her claim to fame is that she lost weight and looks 48 going on 21. Anyway... on this back cover there was a quick character sketch survey, ie, name/height/weight/purpose in life/etc. It was the very last one that grabbed me, though.

Everything you know in 10 words or less:
Her answer: "Love, you always have a choice, exercise, portion control".

Ok, good for her. It shows what is important to her and what she wants to communicate to others. But what about me? How would I sum up everything I know in 10 words or less? What do I know? Anything? (My parents and teachers hope so.) And if so, what would I want to communicate to another?

As I considered how to best use my 10 words, I finally came to the conclusion: I only need three. Everything else is extraneous.

My answer: Jesus is all.

How about you? What is everything you know in 10 words or less?

Have you met Brother Andrew?

2011-05-09T15:37:00.000-05:00

Book recommendation of the month! Title: God's Smuggler. Author: Brother Andrew.

More than anything else, I love reading or hearing stories of God showcasing Himself, and that's what the book is. It's about a man, known only as Brother Andrew due to the nature of his work, and how God got ahold of his life and gave him a ministry. He made many trips behind the Communist Iron Curtain to encourage the persecuted church and distribute Bibles. Many pastors and entire churches didn't own even one Bible! The stories are exciting and more incredible than any fiction, and testify to the faithfulness of our God. I was left praising God, as well as burdened to pray for the modern persecuted church.

There's also a "sequel" - the story of Brother Andrew's later work with Muslims, called Secret Believers. That's next on my reading list!

Quick Quote

2011-05-04T10:55:00.002-05:00

Here's some food for thought (don't choke!):

I can tell how much God you have by how much entertainment you need. - A.W. Tozer

Psalm Pstudy: 21-30

2011-05-01T20:37:00.000-05:00

Did you know...?

21. Jesus' hand will find all His enemies.

22. Jesus is holy.

23. Jesus restores my soul.

24. Jesus is the King of glory.

25. Jesus teaches the humble His way.

26. Jesus vindicates those who walk in integrity.

27. Jesus is the strength of my life.

28. Jesus will give the workers of iniquity according to their deeds.

29. His voice is powerful and full of majesty.

30. His anger is but for a moment. His favor is for life.

(Sometimes I just had to sneak two in there!)

Rejoice!

2011-04-24T07:34:00.026-05:00

Happy Easter!

May the Lord Jesus Christ be the glorious center of your day.

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. - Matthew 28:8-9 NKJV

Watch this.

2011-04-23T18:16:00.000-05:00

In my blog reader, where I can see new posts from the blogs I follow, there are 6 posts in a row that are about the exact same thing. I will risk being called a copycat. It will be worth it if one more person can glimpse the majestic wonder of The Gospel. 12 minutes isn't that long. Please watch it.

The Gospel is so much more than "fire insurance", or a 6 letter acronym. It is life and freedom and it is real! We never stop needing it, and it only gets better! Oh, what a Jesus!

Prayer Request

2011-04-17T19:42:00.000-05:00

I know this is kind of short notice, but if anyone reading could please pray for our pastor and his family. On Friday Pastor Cal was having chest pains and went to the hospital. Turns out he had a few heart attacks. One of his major arteries is completely blocked, and the others are 80% so. (No wonder he was getting tired easily.) Tomorrow (Monday) he is scheduled to have quadruple-bypass surgery. Please pray:

That God would heal; that the surgery would be successful; that there would be no complications; and that his recovery would be accelerated.
For his and his family's faith, peace, and joy in God; that they would trust that God and His Word more than Experience; that they would know Jesus' presence deeper and sweeter than ever before.
That we as a church would be able to support them; that no breaches would happen or distractions prevail, especially right now at Easter time.
For me - I'll be babysitting their grandkids tomorrow; pray that I can be sensitive and helpful.

Thank you so much! ~*~

Psalm Pstudy: 11-20

2011-04-17T19:23:00.000-05:00

I feel like putting multiple exclamation points after each of these! This is exciting!

11. Jesus loves righteousness.

12. Jesus' words are pure.

13. Jesus has dealt bountifully with me.

14. Jesus looks down from heaven to see if there are any who seek God.

15. Jesus lets those who walk uprightly to dwell in His tabernacle.

16. Jesus is the portion of my inheritance and my cup.

17. By the word of His lips I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.

18. Jesus delivered me because He delighted in me.

19. Jesus' commandments enlighten the eyes.

20. Jesus saves His anointed.

Psalm Pstudy: 1-10

2011-04-09T13:55:00.002-05:00

I am very, very excited about this post. It is Really Good Stuff. That's because it's nothing about me or my words. When I was at Ellerslie, I caught on to the amazing fact that the Word of God is, in fact, the Word of God, and it is absolutely TRUE! When you truly realize that, the Bible comes ALIVE! Combined with the truth that Jesus = the Word of God, it becomes even more amazing as you see Jesus shining out of every page.

This post was birthed out of two desires: the desire to know Jesus more, and the desire to read the Psalms again. I decided to read the Psalms and find and write down one thing that it taught me about Jesus. For 99% of the Psalms this was very simple, since Jesus is God, and the Psalms are full of clear statements about God.

So here are my findings, pretty much verbatim from whatever day I read them. I know from experience that when people post long informational posts, or posts full of Scripture, it can be easy to just skim over it, even if you know it's good for you. So I've decided to spread this over 15 posts to make it more accessible. Even so, please, please slow down and really take time to see Jesus for who He says He is.

Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessings as you seek Him!

1. Jesus does not sin - His delight is in the law of the Lord.

2. It is useless, laughable, to stand against the Lord and His Anointed [Jesus].

3. Jesus is a shield for me.

4. Jesus has set apart for Himself him who is godly.

5. He is not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness.

6. Jesus has heard my supplication.

7. Jesus is trustworthy.

8. Jesus' name is excellent in all the earth.

9. Jesus shall endure forever.

10. Jesus observes trouble and grief, to repay it by His hand.

The Best Thank-You Card Giver In The Whole World

2011-03-30T13:50:00.000-05:00

I love my sister. The other day she was showing me the thank-you cards she had made for our grandparents for Christmas and such (better late than never!) I liked them so much that I told her,

"You are the best thank-you card maker in the whole world. I hope I draw your name [for the gift exchange] next Christmas so I can get a thank-you card from you!"

I think it was only the next day that she gives me this:

If you didn't understand all of that, don't feel bad. Reading her writing is like solving a good riddle or code (fun!). I'm still not sure what the part about the green paper (apperpay) is about. LOL.

When you pray for little sisters (or brothers), God is so good! I love you, Laura!

Hungry

2011-02-24T18:07:00.000-06:00

"Did you see Anna*"? my sister asked. "She looks so different." It was true. Anna was the younger sister of a friend of mine, and it had been almost a year since I'd seen her last. She was a freshman in high school now, and taller than ever. But that was not the most noticeable difference about her. She'd always been a slender girl, but now she was as thin as a reed. Her face was sunken and deathly pale; her frame looked like skin on bird bones. Something was horribly, obviously, wrong. Later, I heard the explanation: anorexia. The eating disorder of not eating. It had gotten so bad that she was in danger of kidney failure and could die in her sleep. She wasn't allowed to run or do any strenuous activities. The news could hardly surprise me, the evidence was so obvious, yet I couldn't understand why. Why anyone would do such damage to their body, but most of all, why her? She is a Christian, and had been learning about God and memorizing Scripture since she was very young. She has a wonderful loving family, who is not too poor to put food on the table. And to top it all off, she had always been pretty, and never overweight. It just didn't make sense. The only explanation is that she was believing lies.

As I was thinking about Anna's sad state, I realized something. She is a picture of us - the modern American church. We too are believing in lies, and as a result are starving spiritually. On the surface we look great, with our megachurches and our music industry, our buildings and our Bible studies, but when you look deeper, what do you see? Is there freedom from sin? Is there peace that passes understanding, faith that moves mountains, love that bears all things, joy that runs over? These are the realities that should characterize our every minute of every day. But most people can't even comprehend such an existence, let alone live it out. They have no concept of standing up to the forces of darkness with the authority of Jesus Christ and "always being led in triumph". Instead they lie helpless on the ground, being kicked around by the enemy. In this helpless state they can hardly look beyond themselves to see the lost, needy, and oppressed in the world, much less go and rescue them.

Just like in Anna's situation, though, the solution has been available to us the whole time. Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life." If we take Him in, we are nourished, satisfied, and made strong. The reason the church is weak and dying is the same reason the world is weak and dying: they need Jesus. We have believed the lies that the world believes. "You don't need to know Jesus personally. It's enough to know about Him." "You don't need to read the Bible yourself. It's enough to be aware of the gist of it." "It's okay to read the Bible, but it's a little too extreme to believe it literally and obey it." No! The world's standard of beauty is deathly thin, and it kills. There is a better way. There is strength to be had, and it comes from Jesus.

But how do we take in Jesus? Again, the answer is right in front of us.

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. - John 6:35

He says it so simply: you must come to Him and believe. Jesus is the Word of God in Person, the perfect expression of the whole Scripture. The Word of God in text is the treasure map that leads to Him. When we read it, hear it, believe it, and obey it, we are changed. There is more of Him and less of us. The Spirit of Christ is our Helper, and He fills us. And more and more, we know Him.

"We taste Thee, O Thou Living Bread,
And long to feast upon Thee still. " - St. Bernard

^"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." - Psalm 34:8

Dear reader, do not assume this message is for others less mature than you. If anything, the strong need more sustenance than the infants. There is always more to be had of Jesus, higher degrees of maturity, deeper measures of satisfaction. It is not an instant one-time event, but a process of growth and increase. Continual growth requires regular meals. If you lack appetite, don't just shrug your shoulders and give up. Pray as A.W. Tozer did, "I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing;" That's a prayer that God delights to answer, for He loves to fill those who are hungry for Him.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live; -Isaiah 55:2-3a

A kid's dream come true!

2011-02-17T17:38:00.000-06:00

I hope I never grow out of loving snow.

Brian (I think he might've just been hit by a snowball.)

Ever measure drifts by how many rungs of the ladder are buried?

*open the door very carefully*

That's David, in case you couldn't recognize him.

Who needs more than a tunnel to get into the garage?

You can see the average depth here.

Our industrious workers. Don't quit now, we've only started!

6 hours later. We did it!

A beautiful sunset after a beautiful sunny, snowy, shovel-y day.

About Elodie

2011-01-30T19:59:00.001-06:00

There's a little girl I know whose name is Elodie. I met her when I visited my penpal Lucile in France in 2004. She was only 5 months old then. She was a really adorable baby. She didn't have much hair, but she had a smile that could melt anyone's heart. She had chubby cheeks that dimpled, and when she laughed you could see her first teeth starting to peek out. She would giggle furiously whenever I shook my hair around. I never got tired of hearing her laugh. I would play with her while her mom chatted in French with Lucile's family. We had fun, Elodie and I. She was a very special baby.

Sometimes I think about how she is now. She's probably in school, learning French and arithmetic and science and art. I imagine her with her little school friends, playing on the playground. Maybe she likes making up stories like my little sister. Maybe her favorite thing to do is play with dolls or toy animals. Maybe she draws pictures and writes, "Je t'aime Maman!" (I love you Mommy!). I wonder if her hair is long and curly like her mom's was. I wonder if she has a little brother or sister now. I wonder if her family has ever heard about Jesus.

Elodie would've turned seven this year. But she won't be having a birthday party. In fact, she's never had a birthday party. She never even turned one year old. That's because her life was cut short before she was even born.

Elodie is real, but I never met her. I never heard her laugh, and her mom never heard her say, "Je t'aime, Maman!" While I was in France, Lucile just happened to tell me about a girl at her school who had gotten pregnant. The school nurse was able to give her abortion inducing drugs to "take care of it" without her parents ever knowing about it. When I heard this, I was shocked and horrified. I knew abortion existed, but this was the first time I really comprehended the godlessness of it. My heart was instantly tied to this poor girl, this prematurely young mother who never met her baby.

As far as I know, Jesus and I are the only ones who grieve for Elodie. (My apologies if it should be Elias.) Her mother and the school nurse didn't regard her as precious, her grandparents didn't even know about her, and even Lucile referred to her life with a shrug. I gave her a name since no one else did: Elodie Elàn W. I'm not sure what the W. stands for but if you listen to or watch the message that stirred all these thoughts up, maybe you'll understand.

Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy
-Proverbs 31:8-9

Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, "Surely we did not know this,"
Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?
-Proverbs 24:11-12

Open your mouth, Bride of Christ! Pray! When we pray His prayers, His Word will not return void. We are not helpless bystanders. Pray that even today that hearts of mothers and fathers would be turned toward their children, and toward their Heavenly Father. Lord Jesus, let us be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

Ellers

2011-01-17T21:09:00.000-06:00

I was flipping through the indexes in my hymnal (The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration), when something caught my eye. In the index of tunes, there was a tune with my name on it. Cool! I'm still not sure why it has my name on it, but the song is "Jesus Is All The World To Me". I'll take it! While still looking at the tune index, I saw a name that made me look twice: there was a tune with the name "Ellers". Two different songs went with it. So I looked them up. Wow... Now I realize that hymns are usually about Jesus, and Ellerslie is about Jesus, so it makes sense for hymns to relate to Ellerslie, but I thought these two songs particularly captured what happened there, especially the first one.

439 - Cleanse Me by J. Edwin Orr

Search me, O God, and know my heart today; Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray: See if there be some wicked way in me: Cleanse me from ev'ry sin, and set me free.

I Praise Thee Lord. for cleansing me from sin: Fulfill Thy Word, and make me pure within; Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame: Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.

Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine: Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine; Take all my will, my passion, self and pride; I now surrender: Lord in me abide.

O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee: Send a revival start the work in me: Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need: For blessing now, O Lord, I humbly plead.

604 - Savior, Again to Thy Dear Name by John Ellerton

Savior, again to Thy dear name we raise
With one accord our parting hymn of praise;
Once more we bless Thee ere our worship cease;
With eager hearts we wait Thy word of peace.

Grant us Thy peace upon our home-ward way;
With Thee began, with Thee shall end the day;
Guard Thou the lips from sin, the hearts from shame,
That in this house have called upon Thy name.

You know you're from Ellerslie if...

2011-01-10T23:10:00.001-06:00

In honor of the start of the Ellerslie Winter/Spring season starting, I present this lighthearted post. My apologies to everyone who hasn't been through Ellerslie; it's not my intention to make you feel excluded. It was simply a stroll down Memory Lane for me and I hope it brings a smile to somebody.

You know you're from Ellerslie if...

you know where Windsor, CO is without looking it up.
you say, "Good job, buddy!" as a quote.
you know more than a dozen people who pace while they pray.
you can't describe something as rich without adding dark chocolate rich.
you laugh whenever someone says something about, "There are three things".
you know what enunciate and efficacious mean.
you think Johnson and Falencia are two of the cutest kiddos in the world.
"God Most High" and "Jesus I My Cross Have Taken" are two of your favorite songs.
you know what book the Chapter 5 is in.
"Ono" reminds you of going out for coffee.
you use odd Greek-English phrases like "No ekkakeo!"
you're the Big Meanie's Archenemy Number 1.

With Sword in Hand

2011-01-04T22:22:00.000-06:00

Never have I been more aware that I am in a battle. Not with the people around me, not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this world. God is giving me specific assignments to wrestle in prayer for. I was feeling really inadequate - which is a good thing, since I certainly am - but by the Lord I received this commission and by Him will I do it. He gave me this Scripture today, and it really encouraged me that I was doing what He wanted me to do.

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
- Isaiah 62:6-7

If you read it in context, the rest of the chapter is about the awesome things the Lord is going to accomplish. Righteousness -the way it ought to be- will go forth. (v.1) The Lord will be praised! (v.9) Salvation is coming. (v.11). Be strong and courageous, children of God! He is faithful and worthy to be praised at all time. You have everything you need in Him.

The Truth About Happy New Year

2011-01-01T13:56:00.000-06:00

I had a lot of fun this morning during my quiet time. With the help of my trusty concordance, I searched the Word for what He had to say about Happy New Year... one word at a time. I thought I'd share some of my findings. As much as I would've liked to stop on each verse and dig deeper, there's something really neat about looking at the collection as a whole. Jesus how magnificent you are from every angle!

Verses are taken from the NJKV unless noted as KJV.

.::Happy::.

Happy are you, O Israel!
Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD,
The shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
Your enemies shall submit to you,
And you shall tread down their high places.

Deuteronomy 33:29

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127:3-5 KJV

Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!

Psalm 144:15b

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the LORD his God

Psalm 146:5

He who despises his neighbor sins;
But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

Proverbs 14:21

He who heeds the word wisely will find good,
And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.

Proverbs 16:20

Happy is the man who is always reverent,

Proverbs 28:14a

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

John 13:17 KJV

But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

1 Peter 3:14 KJV

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

1 Peter 4:14 KJV

.::New::.

(There were so many exciting verses about new things that this is quite a long list.)

For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.

Leviticus 26:9-10

And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

Judges 15:15 KJV

Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

Psalm 33:3

He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,

And will trust in the LORD.

Psalm 40:3

Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

Psalm 81:3 KJV :)

Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;

His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

Psalm 98:1

Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,

And His praise in the assembly of saints.

Psalm 149:1

Honor the LORD with your possessions,

And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
So your barns will be filled with plenty,
And your vats will overflow with new wine.

Proverbs 3:9-10

That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which it may be said,
“ See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.

Ecclesiastes 11:9-10

The mandrakes give off a fragrance,
And at our gates are pleasant fruits,
All manner, new and old,
Which I have laid up for you, my beloved.

Song of Solomon 7:13

Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

Sing to the LORD a new song,
And His praise from the ends of the earth,
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!

Isaiah 42:9,10

Behold, I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19

You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the LORD will name.

Isaiah 62:2b

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

Jeremiah 31:31

This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“ The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“ Therefore I hope in Him!”

Lamentations 3:21-24

Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel 11:19-20

Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and live!”

Ezekiel 18:31-32

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.

Mark 2:22

Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

Luke 22:20

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

John 13:34

Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

Acts 2:13

Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

1 Corinthians 5:7

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:20-24

In that He says, “A new covenant, ” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 8:13

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:19-22

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

2 Peter 3:13

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.

Revelation 2:17

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

Revelation 3:12

And they sang a new song, saying:
“ You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”

Revelation 5:9-10

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

Revelation 21:5a

.::Year::.

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him.

Genesis 26:12

This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.

Exodus 12:2

I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land

Exodus 23:29-30

And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.

Leviticus 25:10

Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey.

Numbers 9:22

For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.

Deuteronomy 11:10-12

Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

Joshua 5:10-12

This shall be a sign to you:
You shall eat this year such as grows of itself,
And in the second year what springs from the same;
Also in the third year sow and reap,
Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.

And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah
Shall again take root downward,
And bear fruit upward.

2 Kings 19:29-30

Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD. Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly.”
However the Levites did not do it quickly.

2 Chronicles 24:4-5

And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the LORD;

Nehemiah 10:35

You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.

Psalm 65:11

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me...

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;

Isaiah 61:1a,2a

For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.

Isaiah 63:4

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

Zechariah 14:16

And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have.

2 Corinthians 8:10-11

For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Hebrews 9:24-26

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

James 4:13-14

Oh that 2011 would be a year of happiness, of blessing, of newness and regeneration, because of the impartation of the Everlasting Father, the Ancient of Days, the Beginning and the End, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Come Lord Jesus, come!

Coincidence? I think not!

2010-12-27T21:38:00.000-06:00

Tell me I'm not just seeing things...

Back from Ellerslie...

2010-12-23T16:15:00.001-06:00

I'm back!
Words are insufficient to describe my time at Ellerslie.
But this I will say: Jesus is so good. He is bigger, deeper, nearer, dearer, and worthier than I ever knew before. I saw Him do more extraordinary things than I have ever seen in my life. My life was not simply changed, it was exchanged... mine for His. It's an exciting, joyful, adventurous, hard, supernaturally-enabled life. I love it.

To any new readers who I have the privilege to call an Ellerslie brother or sister, don't forget:

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. -Philippians 1:6

That's fact! Go forth with the grace that He gives!

Until we meet again...

2010-10-11T04:30:00.001-05:00

Goodbye! I'm off to Ellerslie to become a poured out vessel and a world changer for Jesus Christ. See you when I get back!

~*~Elizabeth

Photography

2010-09-30T17:56:00.003-05:00

I don't consider myself a full-blown photographer; I'm more of a person with an interest in photography. In any case I do enjoy taking pictures. Here are a few (okay, maybe more than a few) that I am submitting to Maidens of Virtue photography contest. The theme is Pure. Enjoy!

(Can you tell I love taking pictures of clouds?)

Feel free to ask any questions on the story behind a picture!

جون ٣:١٦

2010-09-23T15:12:00.000-05:00

فور جود سو لوفد ث وورلد ذات هي جاف هيس اونلي بجت سن ، ذات وحفر بيلييفيس إن هم شال نت بريش، بيوت هاف يفيرلاستينج ليف .

جون ٣:١٦

No, my blog didn't get hiijacked by anybody (not even Michael again *smile*). The above writing is John 3:16, in English, but in the Arabic script. I came across a book in the Junior Non-fiction section of the library that immediately intrigued me: Sugar comes from Arabic: A beginner's guide to Arabic letters and words. So I checked it out and started studying the Arabic alphabet! Arabic is not something I had a particular interest in before, but I really enjoy learning other languages and letters in general, and it is quite pretty. It's interesting, because you cannot transcribe it letter-for-letter with English. First of all, a lot of the vowels are not written. Pronounced, but not written. And then there is no corresponding letter for v, p, or g (you substitute f, b, and j). And then there are several Arabic letters that have no corresponding English letter: "strong S", "strong H", "strong T", and 3 other throat-noise letters. But I don't worry too much about those since I'm just writing English words. And going right-to-left isn't so bad once you get the hang of it.

It's like learning a ready-made secret code! Now nobody can understand what I write in my margins, hehehe. ;)

Seeing Red

2010-09-20T00:02:00.001-05:00

We had a fantastic tomato harvest this year! I love growing tomatoes almost as much as I love eating them. :)

Laura was a great helper for picking the tomatoes. We had about 14 plants. Compare this picture to when we first planted!

We planted a couple varieties: I don't remember what the huge ones were, (Early Girl, maybe?), but the medium ones were Beefsteak (thanks, Ert!), the oblong ones were Roma, and of course the wee cherry tomatoes.

This is one day's pickings! It had been a few days since the last picking, but we were literally picking buckets at a time. The cone has cherry tomatoes in it.

This was the same day, but combined with the rest that we had on hand. There's no way we could eat them all raw (not everyone likes them as much as I do), so my mom has been making batches of tomato sauce.

Lunchtime!

The Scottish Chiefs

2010-09-02T15:42:00.000-05:00

I understand better now.

Being a reader of Eric Ludy's blog, and now going to Ellerslie, I could hardly help but hear about the book The Scottish Chiefs. In fact, in my acceptance letter to Ellerslie, there was a recommendation (not a requirement) to read it if I hadn't already, because of the insight it gives into the heart of Eric Ludy. Also, the name Ellerslie originated from it, being the name of Sir William Wallace's estate.

"Ok", I thought, "I'll look into it." Instead of buying the book, I looked it up at the library. They didn't have an unabridged version in the entire interlibrary system but they had the above edition (edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, 1949), so I put it on hold. Before too long, it had arrived, and I checked it out.

It didn't take me very long to realize that I had uncovered a treasure! It has everything: adventure & old-fashioned romance, vice & virtue, history & battles, vivid characters both good and evil. It is pretty fast paced (at least in this edition), with many exciting plot turns, yet it lasts for 500 pages! That's something I like, because I don't like a good book to be over quickly! Men are manly, and women are feminine, and both are valiant and honorable... the good characters, anyway. It wasn't till the end that I caught on to the allegory in it as well.

I haven't seen the movie Braveheart (I know you love it with a passion, Shane) but I think I have just discovered the better alternative. The book's always better than the movie, right? (Star Wars being the exception.) This book is the most incredible, majestic novel I've ever read. I don't think I knew what honor was before I read it.

If you have a mustard seed of tolerance for old books and rich vocabulary, I heartily recommend that you read The Scottish Chiefs. You won't be sorry.

A Melodious Blog

2010-08-30T22:13:00.000-05:00

I just came across the blog of a young lady known as Melodious Echo. She is a set-apart woman who has been well-acquainted with the Ludys. She often writes articles for Leslie's online magazine for girls. God has taken her lots of places so far, and most recently, to Ellerslie this summer! That summer session is over (released into the world!). However you can read about a lot of what went on there in her recent posts.

http://melodiousecho.blogspot.com

41 days till Ellerslie!

Ellerslie!

2010-08-26T15:52:00.001-05:00

I'm going to Ellerslie!!!!!

I could've used about a hundred more exclamation points there. With every day that goes by, my anticipation and excitement grows. The more I learn about what goes on there, the happier and more amazed I get that I am actually going.

It's not "just" a Bible school. I usually tell people that I am going to a "little Bible school in Colorado", because that's something they will understand. But it's so much more than that. It's a set-apart time and place (I can't avoid the Ludy-isms, lol) where real people meet with our real God in a real way. When I heard about what was happening during the summer session, my flesh got nervous. It's not going to thrive there. In fact, according to the summer students, it's going to be put to death there. About time, I say.

Some more things I am looking forward to at Ellerslie:

Experiencing God's presence.
Learning how to pray.
Meeting and getting to know like-minded believers. There are only about 50 students, and they are from all across the US and even other countries.
Meeting the Ludys and Annie and Sandi and the rest of the staff. As much as I like and respect them, I have never idolized the Ludys or their books. But it will be a privilege to meet them in person.
Being in an environment where men and women are encouraged to be ladies and gentlemen.
Lord willing, there will be orphans at Ellerslie! That will be so neat! See their website for details on that.
Visiting Colorado again. Everyone tells me it's beautiful out there.
Flying "by myself". Of course I am tempted to be nervous, but the Lord will take care of me, and I am looking forward to the adventure!

Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation!
Selah
Psalm 68:19

I'm going on a picnic with God...

2010-08-04T14:10:00.000-05:00

On the way back from Ohio, one of the car games we played during the 8 hour drive was "I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing...". Have you ever played that? You take turns naming what you're bringing according to the letters of the alphabet, and you have to recite everything up to the current letter. So it usually goes something like, "I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing asparagus, bananas, cheese, Doritos, everything, french fries...", etc etc. Well after a "normal" round, Rachel K. suggested that we do the attributes of God. So...

I'm going on a picnic with God, and He is: Awesome, Beautiful, Creator, Divine, Everlasting, FANtastic, Gracious, Holy, Infinite, Joy-giver, Kind, Love, Magnificent, Never-failing, Omnipotent, Powerful, Quite-indescribable, Righteous, Saving, Trustworthy, Unlimited, Victorious, Wonderful, Xtremely-invincible, Yahweh, Zebra-inventor.

Not coincidentally, I was listening to Moody Radio recently, and someone was talking about praising God through the alphabet. Good idea! They suggested going through the whole alphabet, rather like the above game, but there are so many attributes for each letter that I've been doing a letter per day. So today, I've been thinking about how God is Majestic, Most High, with a voice like Many waters, Master, Marvelous, Miracle-worker, Missionary-sender, Monkey-inventor, Man (Jesus), Mentor, and so Much More.

When God Writes Your... College Story?

2010-07-29T15:17:00.001-05:00

A thought occurred to me one day.

You know, I have given God the pen to write my love story. I believe He is going to "write" something really good. I am waiting with anticipation and watching for His lead and direction. I am trusting Him without too much of a struggle. But there are other stories in life besides romance. Am I trusting God with my college story?

I realized that even though I had given my love story over to God early on, there were other things that I was still anxious over. Namely, college. The normal route of finishing high school on time and going straight to college or at least community college, didn't fall into place for me. When I was younger, I always thought I would go to college. My parents both went to college, and that's just what people who were good at school and wanted to make something out of their life did, right? Maybe not. I didn't believe in going to college just for "the experience". I really didn't want to invest any time and money unless I knew it was worth it. So I didn't enroll anywhere. True, a big part of that was some unfinished homeschool business. But I believe that God has been leading me even with that.

Last year, I heard about a school out in Colorado called Ellerslie School of Honor. It was started this year by Eric and Leslie Ludy, authors of When God Writes Your Love Story and many other good books. They were offering a 10-week summer course for this summer. I was very interested, but the dates interfered with our already-planned trip to Washington, and I knew it wouldn't work. Still, I couldn't forget about it. It really felt like God wanted me to go. Maybe next summer? Then they announced that because of the high demand, they would be holding another 10-week session this fall. That was when I knew God wanted me to apply. As I've been praying, I asked Him to make everything fall into place if He wanted me to go. And they have been. Even finances! So yesterday I submitted my application. It's in God's hands.

Are you giving God the pen for all the stories in your life?

Missions in Ohio

2010-07-29T15:09:00.000-05:00

The second week in July, I went on my first missions trip. Location: Brimfield, Ohio. Our church's youth group does a trip every year, and this year I went. It was a great trip.

Why Brimfield? Our church's former youth pastor, Matt, is involved with a church plant there - Bridge Bible Church. The area is reported to be over 90% unchurched. Our goal was to show Jesus' love to people, and to take every opportunity to introduce them to Him. We did a lot of work projects, especially cleaning and landscaping the elementary, middle, and high schools. Some people served breakfast to policemen, lunch to firemen, ice cream to senior citizens and preschoolers. Some people got up early and gave out free coffee at an intersection, in the afternoons some people handed out water bottles (it was hot out!). We ran a VBS in the evenings - I helped with crafts. What pinatas have to do with a circus theme I do not know. A couple of the afternoons we did Backyard Bible Clubs in a low-income neighborhood. We didn't know we were doing that until the night before, and I found myself head of the Bible lesson team. That was a stretching experience - leading and telling the Bible story - but God is good and it ended up being one of the highlights of my week. We did a lot of door-to-door, handing out flyers with information on the VBS and church. Later in the week we collected canned food. Always we looked for open doors to start conversations and Jesus with people.

It was a busy, busy week. There were so many activities every day that it felt like 2 or 3 weeks instead of one. We were told to expect to be exhausted by Wednesday and it was so. One of the things I learned was how to keep on working and serving even through the exhaustion. "Do not weary in doing good..." Of course it probably didn't help that bedtimes weren't enforced... lol. Speaking of late nights, on the eve of my birthday, I wanted to stay up til midnight, but I didn't tell anyone that. Strangely enough, no one else wanted to go to bed either. A whole bunch of people, especially from our youth group (there were 2 other youth groups from Ohio there) seemed uninterested in going to bed. We were just talking and playing games... nothing to make me suspect... but I should've seen it coming. Once the clock struck midnight, they dumped a bag of balloons on my head and sang "Happy Birthday". :D Thanks, guys, you're the best. And then we all went to bed. My actual birthday was really nice too. They gave me two cards and a present, and totally coincidentally, we had cheesecake for dessert (yum!) and went to see a movie that night. Tony from Ohio's dad owns the theater, and we got to watch Toy Story 3-D for free! And then we swept all the theaters. :) I think that it was the best way I could've spent the day! I love our youth group. It was awesome getting to know them better.

One of the things that I was really struck by was the genuine focus on serving. At camp, it's really about discipling and developing your character. Here, the whole point was to reach other people. Except for meals, a brief nightly worship time, and debriefing (daily "what happened today" testimony time), every other planned activity was work. No mandatory fun and very little preaching and teaching. If you were going to come out of it having learned something, great, but it was going to be because you took the time and thought to learn it. Yet, we learned stuff. And we had fun, too.

Oh and if you don't like cold Spaghettio's out of a can for dinner, too bad. :P (That was our actual first dinner. Matt is not a detail-oriented person at all, and he thought it was hilarious. After that some ladies from Bridge Bible stepped in and made us good food. Yay! So we didn't have to "rough it" the whole week, lol)

PS: I got to ride in a hot air balloon! The last day of VBS we had a carnival, and there was a real hot air balloon giving rides. It was pretty lame in terms of height and length of time, but it was a fun experience!

A teenager no longer...

2010-07-15T11:20:00.003-05:00

I dreaded my thirteenth birthday. I did not want to be known as a teenager - that disagreeable term that conveyed stereotypes of lazy, rebellious, selfish creatures. However, it couldn't be avoided, and I turned 13 anyway. Gradually, and with a little help from Do Hard Things, I realized that the stereotype didn't matter. My actual character did. Teenagers can be good or bad, just like any age person. Having said that, I am happy to announce that as of today, I am no longer a teenager! Hurray! Hang in there, my brothers and sisters. Be one of the good ones.

This is a pre-written and -scheduled post, as I am at this moment in Ohio on my first official missions trip! :)

Home again

2010-06-14T22:05:00.000-05:00

We're back! As some of you know, my family went on a trip to Washington state (with a notable stop in Iowa!), to visit my grandparents. They used to live in California, but they moved to the little town of Sequim (pronounced "squim", lol) 3 or 4 years ago. So this was the first time we've been to see their "new" house. Also, it was my grandpa's 75th birthday!
We had a great time. I took LOTS of pictures, so I'll try and do some picture posts soon. Getting home hasn't slowed down the pace any, since camp is right around the corner. Pray that everything goes smoothly this year.

Oh, but it's good to be home again! And to see that my garden survived without me. :-)

Garden!

2010-05-25T15:28:00.001-05:00

Laura sitting by her tomato plant she planted for me. It has a cage over it "so it can't escape". :}

Introducing... "my" garden! This is our fourth and newest plot and is officially my responsibility. (Valerie has a plot to the immediate west and Stephanie has one near the tree line. Mom takes care of the Kitchen Garden.) In years past I haven't helped much with gardening but I wanted to this year. And I like it. I even like working with the aged horse manure, I mean, the dirt. ;) Tomatoes and sweet potatoes, yum!

Bye, Fluffy!

2010-05-22T22:57:00.000-05:00

Fluffy moves out tomorrow. He's not going back to camp yet, but someone else is going to have him while we're out West. Believe it or not, I'm actually going to miss having him around. It's been cool watching him. Plus, he's a great icebreaker for visitors, and his heat lamp is great for reading by. :)

Yes, that's me holding him. He feels like a muscular, boneless, jointless human arm... except for the scales, of course. Surprisingly heavy and eerily strong. I like him better in the cage.

Thanks for the memories and the educational experience, Fluffy!

Beyond Blaze Again

2010-04-27T00:07:00.000-05:00

The following account is not about the actual Blaze conference. But I think that it could rightly be described a result of it.

The week before Easter, my Great Uncle Jerry ;-) and Aunt Lucretia were in town, and my family wanted to go somewhere neat with them. They decided to go to the zoo. Unfortunately, the only day they could go was a day I had to work (argh, being in the workforce -.-), so I didn't get to go. The night before they were going to go, however, Michael made a suggestion that surprised me. Valerie and I were sitting on the couch, and he comes up to us, saying, "Hey Val, how about you and me go proselytize someone tomorrow?" Valerie did a huge double take at his vocabulary, but I replied right away, "Yeah! How about two people, one for each of you?" After we set Val straight on what he meant by proselytize (go up to someone at the zoo, start a conversation with them, and if possible share Christ with them), he excitedly came up with Inspiration #2: "How about everyone talk to someone? Liz can talk to someone at the library, Dad can talk to someone at work, Chris... etc." Ok, now this was getting personal. But hey, how can I say no? How could I want to? I've never seen this brother be excited about this stuff before! So I agreed. Now if I was in, I was going to be all in. So I started praying, and thinking about who I could talk to.

Now as it happened, Chris wanted to use the truck that day (he wasn't going the zoo either), so he dropped me off at the library. He said that he could pick me up when I was done, but I told him it wasn't necessary. I figured I would get a ride from someone. There's a certain really nice lady that I work with: she goes to church because her daughter likes going to Sunday School, but I don't think that she has a genuine relationship with Christ. Maybe I could talk to her. And, if she wasn't there, then I could just walk the two miles home. It was a nice day... and I might meet someone on the way.

Well, she wasn't working that day. Alright, walking it would be. Oh boy, talking to strangers. When my shift was over, I got on the library computers as is my custom. But it wasn't too long before I started to get fidgety. I had to get going. What if I was late for a divine appointment? So I got going.

It was a sunny and breezy day. Most of my route home is neighborhoods and lots of people were out and about. The first house I walked by the garage was open, and a guy was walking around, rather aimlessly it seemed to me. I wondered as I walked past whether he was who God wanted me to talk to. Now when you simply wonder instead of actually ask it's easier to substitute your own answer instead of God's. It's like pretending to listen. But God doesn't give up that easy. Several houses later, I still couldn't get the guy out of my head. All right, all right! I told God, "Ok, I'll turn around, and if he's still there, I'll talk to him."

Well, what do you know: he was still there. Here I go. I stepped into the driveway. "Excuse me?" He turned around. "Yes?" "Well," I answered, "I couldn't help but notice, but you didn't seem too busy... would it be all right if I asked you a question?" The guy was probably about my age. Not overly talkative or friendly, but not hostile either. He probably thought I was selling something. (Not entirely wrong, I guess). He shrugged, so I plunged ahead. "If you died tonight, do you know what would happen to you?" His face was getting more stoic by the second, but he shook his head no. "Well, if I could tell you how you could know you were going to heaven for sure, would that be good news?" Abruptly, he turned on his heel with a "Have a good day" and retreated into the garage. I was undeniably dismissed. Whoa! Must've hit a nerve there!

After that experience, I was tempted to think, "Well, that's enough. I've filled my out-of-comfort-zone quota for the day." But when you do something like talking to strangers for Jesus' sake, something funny happens. You get a shot of spiritual adrenaline. I wanted to try again. After all, I hadn't really shared the gospel with anyone yet. So I kept my eyes open.

Fast forward about a mile. I walk right past a certain playground, which of course was filled with people. On pretense of putting a can in the garbage I enter. It feels very odd to be here all by myself without some other kids with me. But today I have a mission. Who am I here to talk to? There's a nice looking lady with 2 young children on a picnic blanket... maybe her. I head in their direction... and chicken out. I walk right past them. Deja vu, anyone? I circle around again, and this time stop. "Hello." "Hi," The mom answers. She is friendly, and I am relieved. I comment on her cute kids. The little girl starts chattering with me. Then, I get sudden inspiration. I invite them to the Easter Egg hunt that our church is having this weekend. After some discussion on directions to get there, the lady mentions that they currently don't have a church that they attend. So I happily invited them to come any Sunday as well. No deeper topics were broached, but I continued on my walk happy and hopeful.

In the end, I never did actually "share the gospel" with anyone that day. But who knows what God will do by one girl's meager attempts to obey. Maybe that guy talked that night with his friend about this weird girl who wanted to tell him how to get to heaven, and maybe his friend is a Christian and has been waiting for an opportunity like this to share with him. Or maybe the lady (I know her name but am not going to share it here) will decide sometime that she wants to find a good church and will think of ours. In any case, now that I've met them, I can pray for them. A few more people in this world that aren't faceless to me anymore.

Working with Jesus is truly an adventure! And I know I haven't tasted the half of it.

BLAZE & beyond...

2010-03-21T18:14:00.101-05:00

Dare 2 Share 2010! The name of the tour this year was Blaze, and it was awesome. My dad, Chris, Valerie, Michael, Stephanie, and myself, along with our super youth group (27 people including leaders), all went, with a little help from "The Beast" (our "15 passenger" van).

In case you don't know, a Dare 2 Share conference is a two-day weekend that is all about mobilizing teenagers to share the gospel. There are thousands of people there, youth groups from all over the Midwest. So what did we do these past two days? Worshiped with Starfield, listened to teaching and hilarious stories by guys like Greg Stier and Zane Black, watched really intense skits, and were very challenged.

What I really came away with was how possible it is to share the gospel. Yes, it is very awkward to start conversations at first, but once you swallow your initial fear and just do it, it's not that hard. It doesn't matter if you know everything, because it's Jesus who does the saving, and the Holy Spirit who prepares and plans and works. Yes, you might lose "cool points", but isn't that was losing your life for His sake is all about? Jesus was definitely not concerned about what people thought of Him when He gave His life for us.

On Saturday there were a couple specific goals they challenged us to do that very day. One was the cell phone challenge. I'll tell you about my experience with that in a minute. Another one was to find a stranger during dinner and share the gospel with them. We ended up going to a little pizza joint, and I know I wasn't the only one who scoped out the place as soon as we got in there: 2 boys at one table, 2 girls at another, and a couple workers. Not really enough for 27 people to each witness to someone. But some boys went and talked to the two boys, some girls to the girls. Then Mrs. G (that's really what we call her) and Sarah went to talk to the employees, actually one in particular whose name is Lucy. Mrs. G asked her Lucy she knew if she knew where she would go, heaven or hell, when she died. Lucy said no, she had never thought about it. They got to talking a bit more, Sarah and Chris C. joining in as well. By and by they explained the good news of Jesus to her, and asked if she wanted to accept Christ as her Savior. And she was ready! She replied, "No doubt about it!" So they prayed with her, and now we who are in Christ have a new sister who was born yesterday! Incredibly, no customers came in that needed to be served the whole time they were talking with her. Also, Sarah had a Bible with her that she could give away. God is amazing!

Now about the cell phone challenge. Everyone had to call one friend who wasn't a Christian, and start a conversation with the purpose of sharing the gospel. And you didn't get off the hook if you didn't have a phone or bring it with you... you had to borrow someone else's once they were done. I borrowed my dad's phone, but the only person I could think of was my grandpa. I was pretty sure my grandma was a believer, though we had never talked of it, but I knew my grandpa was not. Usually he avoids talking about spiritual things. But, I called my grandparents' house, and someone answered, but I couldn't hear a thing. I figured that it was because of the murmuring stadium that I was in the middle of, so I said into the phone that I would call in a half hour, and hung up. Next on the schedule was our lunch break, so I went outside of the restaurant and tried again, but the same thing happened. I could tell that someone had picked up, but I still couldn't hear anything. So very apologetically I said I would have to try later and hung up.

So today, Sunday, after church I called first to see if they were home... land line to land line, no connection problem this time... and then I hopped in the car and drove over. Chris came along too at the last minute. We got there and before we had been there very long, my grandma asks how the conference that we went to was. Ok. This was it. I took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "It was great. Actually, that kind of why we came over today." I then went into what the drama had been about and how it had made me realize that I needed to do what I could so people I cared about - them - wouldn't go to hell. I probably used similarly run-on sentences like that too. Well, they had not been expecting an answer like that. Awkward. Then I asked if she knew where she would go if she died. (At this point Chris split and went to talk to Grandpa, who had been listening from the other room. Thank You God for letting him come with me!) Grandma's reply was, "Heaven, I hope." So I probed a bit to see the reasoning behind her answer. She said it was because she believed; she agreed it didn't have anything to do with earning her salvation. I have to believe that God didn't want me to do any further persuading, because He didn't lead me to. But we did get into a honest conversation about church and such. Meanwhile, Chris was talking to Grandpa in the other room. At first, Grandpa was like, "I'd rather not talk about it". But then Chris was just sitting there, not talking, so Grandpa started talking to break the silence. :) They talked about why bad things happen and I don't know what else.
In the end, no conversion happened there that day. But because we went over there, God was brought to the forefront their minds yet again, and they know that their eternal destiny is important to us.

It's funny, I almost didn't go to Blaze this year. After all, I already knew that I should share the gospel, and I already know how. Loud music isn't really my thing, it's geared for public-schooled people (btw that was a bad heart attitude on my part... better now), I'm really too old for it, etc etc. But I ended up going anyway. And I'm glad I did. Jesus saves. The harvest is already white, but the laborers are few. Here am I, Lord, send me.

Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs... but mostly hymns.

2010-03-15T22:10:00.000-05:00

A month or two ago, our church gave away all the hymnals to whoever wanted one. Now lest you think that our church doesn't sing hymns: that isn't true. Most weeks we sing a couple familiar ones. It kind of depends on who's on the worship team that week. And because we have the projector screen, the hymnals just aren't needed anymore. As it turns out, I had been wanting (praying for) a psalter or a hymnal for a long time (they don't exactly stock them at the library), so I was delighted to take a copy. And it's been such a blessing to me. As it turns out, it is the exact same hymnal that my other church used to use, and I knew quite a few of the songs in it.

My favorite way to use it is to just go through it and play the songs on the the violin while taking in the lyrics. Songs I knew, songs that looked familiar, songs that I'd never heard before. Good practice for my violin and my music-reading, but the songs themselves were the real treasures. Did you know there are songs about how to be holy? ("Take Time To Be Holy") There are songs on prayer, and missions, and service, and pretty much every aspect of the Christian life. Why don't we hear these songs anymore? There are songs of peace, security, and comforting. There are songs about God's majesty, and lots of songs about Jesus' incredible sacrifice. And then of course there are the Christmas songs. :) But I'll leave you with this one.

Come, all Christians, be committed
To the service of the lord;
Make your lives for him more fitted,
Tune your hearts with one accord.
Come into His courts with gladness,
Each his sacred vows renew,
Turn away from sin and sadness,
Be transformed with life anew.

Of your time and talents give ye,
They are gifts from God above;
To be used by Christians freely
To proclaim His wondrous love.
Come again to serve the Savior,
Tithes and off'rings with you bring.
In your work, with Him find favor,
And with joy His praises sing.

God's command to love each other
Is required of every one;
Showing mercy to one another
Mirrors His redemptive plan.
In compassion He has given
Of His love that is divine;
On the cross sins were forgiven;
Joy and peace are fully thine.

Come in praise and adoration,
All who in Christ's name believe;
Worship Him with consecration,
Grace and love you will receive.
For His grace give Him the glory,
For the Spirit and the Word,
And repeat the gospel story
Till mankind His name has heard.

"Come All Christians, Be Committed" Words by Eva B. Lloyd

Aslan is on the move...

2010-03-04T14:52:00.000-06:00

The first week of March is my favorite time of the whole year! At least weather-wise. It's that first hint of warmth after winter... the wondrous sunshine... the bright blue sky! It's when you realize you didn't have to wear your coat and gloves after all... when 40 degrees Fahrenheit actually feels great! But the air is still brisk and so deliciously fresh that you breathe deeply for the joy of it. It's the perfect weather for exercising. Maybe everything's not green yet, but that's all right. It'll come, and I'll enjoy that too. But this first week of March, that point where you realize that winter is capitulating to spring, this is glorious.

A blog that is way more important and meaningful than mine.

2010-02-28T23:31:00.000-06:00

Today, across the ocean, in the African country of Uganda, lives a 21-year-old young lady named Katie. Jesus called her to leave her comfortable life in the USA and she obeyed. Now she is a single mother to 14 adopted African girls and pours herself out for hundreds of other children there. Her life is not easy at all, but she has such tremendous JOY. She is living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And... she has a blog. It's inspiring and fantastic, but very challenging. So consider yourself warned. But read it anyway.

The Journey

Illinois's First Mountain Range!

2010-02-25T15:52:00.001-06:00

What do you get when you put together: 1 fresh snowfall of great packing snow + 1 morning with no pressing time commitments + 2 girls itching to build something really cool? Answer: Snow cones?

Valerie and I have been wanting to build something (reliving the good old days) for the past two years, but we never had the "perfect snow". We also discovered that it is hard to build giant forts and such without the boys. (Good packing snow is heavy!) So we did our own thing. It took about two hours to make 22 cones and we were too tired to do the other side of the driveway. ("Tomorrow", we said.) Of course the next day it was colder and the snow was horrible for packing!

Project Proverbs 365 - The Blog!

2010-02-20T23:04:00.002-06:00

I started a new blog! Don't worry, my little readership, it won't replace this one. In fact, it isn't about what I have to say at all. It's simply a directory of all the Proverbs I'm memorizing, one a day. I think it will be a useful index, and typing them in will be a nice reinforcement. (Speaking of typing them in, I should mention that I am not caught up to today's verse yet. Hopefully that will not remain the case for long.) Though it was made mainly for my personal benefit, and I do not expect a horde of followers, I thought I'd make a mention of it.

http://www.projectproverbs365.blogspot.com

As our pastor says, "May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Word." Amen.

More Grand Prix Car Pictures

2010-02-15T16:46:00.000-06:00

Brian and David arranging the cars.

Center: Mine ("The Dice") Clockwise from top: Michael's "Clothespin", Laura's "Icecube", Brian's "Speed Van", Mom's "Upside-Down Flower Basket", David's "Like-the-sample-instructions Car", Stephanie's "Skateboard".

Michael's was my favorite.

Grand Prix 2010

2010-02-04T15:20:00.007-06:00

This was our first year doing the Awana Grand Prix at this church, and despite some differences, I think everyone had fun! There was a clubbers' and a leaders' division. Our family's cars are never big speed winners so we tend to go for Best Design, often with non-car designs. I didn't know what I wanted to do until the eleventh hour, because I really wanted to do something rectangular (a tradition starting with "Butter"), but Laura came up with a great idea the day before - dice! And then Chris and Michael did the drillwork. So all I did was sand and paint. But I am happy with how it turned out.

Before paint and wheels / After paint and wheels

The ribbon is just for participating. Sadly, the leader division had no Best Design judging.

If I can, I'll get a picture of our family's other cars. Stephanie made a skateboard and Michael made a working clothespin! (I think David was the only one that made a "real car", lol.)

Project Proverbs 365

2010-01-01T23:57:00.003-06:00

Anyone into New Years' resolutions out there? It's not a tradition that I usually make much out of, but this year I decided on one. My resolution is to memorize a Proverb a day. Proverbs has been one of my favorite books of the Bible ever since the first time I read a chapter a day for a month and really meditated on the verses. I was amazed at how much they impacted my life. So now I'm going to hide them in my heart. My memorizing plan goes like this: Day of the month = Chapter #, Month = Verse #. So for example, July 15 would be Proverbs 15:7. Feel free to check up on me and see if I did my Proverb for the day. That's part of why I'm sharing. Happy New Year and God Bless!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2009-12-29T23:14:00.001-06:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I sure did! And although I made a peep last month about not being a "gift" person, when it comes down to it, I really enjoy the giving and the receiving at Christmastime. :-D

My favorite gift to give - In our family the siblings do a mystery name exchange. This year I had Michael... and I did not know what to get him. Then, about a week before Christmas, I remembered that, last year, I had wished I had drawn his name so I could get him a cape, or the stuff to make it (If you know him well you would understand why.) So this year, that's what I did! I made him a calf-length black/red hooded cape. It was pretty crazy since I hadn't made anything like it before, but I finished it, well past the 11th hour, I might add. And he loved it! What was really funny: doing it as last minute as I was, I couldn't always wait until he was gone to work on it. When I was working on the red satin side, both he and Stephanie thought I was making a skirt! And after I had put the black and red together, Stephanie made some remarks. "You know what that looks like? A cape... like Michael's dream cape." I just kept quiet and grinned to myself.

My favorite gift to receive - was a very special gift for the whole family - a violin!!! Valerie and I have wanted to start violin for a long time (longer for her) and we were thrilled! Everyone has tried it, but she and I have been practicing every day. I love it, and I've been picking it up pretty quickly. The smaller shape and fingerboard, the simplicity of doing only one note at a time (so far), it's all good.

Oh, and if you care, my mom gave me a card reader for High-Capacity SD cards. :-)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T23:46:00.004-06:00

Here are the pictures that we put on our Christmas cards. Have a blessed Christmas!

Mute Monks Provide Words for Wednesday

2009-12-23T23:41:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T00:46:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. The Bible commands over and over to "Give thanks unto the Lord". How great that we have a national holiday set aside for just that! Plus, for us, it's a generally relaxed day of visiting with extended family and sharing a great meal. (And, there's no stress about having to deal with presents, unlike a certain other holiday! Gifts is not my primary love language. ;) Have a blessed holiday and don't forget to take time and personally thank the Giver of all good things.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
Psalm 92:1

About our turkey flock: This is a resurrected tradition that we used to do every year. We also used to make them with chocolate-dipped marshmallows and chocolate sandwich cookies so they would be brown. Can you imagine, more sugar?! But they are cute, and fun to make.

PS: I'm thankful - we figured out what was wrong with the card readers... nothing! They just can't read my new High-Capacity SD card. But Chris' laptop can, so I guess I'm "back in business". :)

Brian is five!

2009-11-05T15:47:00.004-06:00

The baby of the family is five today!
Of course he's not a baby anymore, but he'll always be my sweet, smart, and SO CUTE baby brother!
Happy birthday Brian!

Good enough? No. Willing? Maybe...

2009-10-15T14:45:00.006-05:00

Not long ago, my brothers and sisters and I, with our mom, were invited by a lady from our church to do a presentation for a Bible study at a local retirement home. We had done this once before, in January, and the seniors there appreciated it so much that we were invited back again. Our presentation was simple: we sang some Sunday School songs with the guitar accompanying, recited some Scripture from memory, did a semi-improv skit about the Good Samaritan, then sang some praise songs. Afterwards someone else we know from church taught the Bible Study.

Now, we are no Von Trapp family. True, a couple of us have some musical talent, but it's not in the voice department. None of us are great singers. We are lucky if we sing in the same key - forget about harmony. Ok, maybe we are ahead of the average youth when it comes to Bible memory, but our acting was far from noteworthy. But none of that mattered. It's hard to describe how grateful they were to us for coming. We had many people say such sweet things to us - thanking us for coming, complementing us on how nice of a family we were, even on our singing and guitar playing! I remember back in January when we went the first time thinking, "What are we doing here? There are other families that do this sort of thing so much better than us." But those families don't live around here or go to our church.

I came across this quote last year:

I wasn’t God’s first choice for what I’ve done for China… I don’t know who it was… It must have been a man… a well-educated man. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps he died. Perhaps he wasn’t willing… and God looked down… and saw Gladys Aylward… And God said – “Well, she’s willing. -- Gladys Aylward

No one who knows Gladys Aylward's story would even dream of second-guessing that God wanted her doing what she was doing. But like the rest of us, she had times where she felt weak and inadequate.

The truth is, that's exactly what we are: weak and inadequate. But, as any child who knows the song "Jesus Loves Me" knows, "we are weak but He is strong!" He is strong, and His power and His Spirit are available to us. But are we willing? God knows what He's doing when He asks us to serve for Him. It's to grow us as well as do His work. It doesn't matter whether we are "good enough" because it's His power that works to do His will anyway. (Eph. 1:11)

Let's be willing! Instead of worrying about whether we're good enough, let's remember that only One is Good, that is, God. Even in the small things, let's cheerfully obey God.

Why you cannot see the snake

2009-10-11T17:24:00.002-05:00

I didn't realize how dependent I was on pictures for my blog. There are several posts I was thinking up that just beg for a photo. But alas, neither of our card readers are working, so my pictures are trapped on my camera for now. Sorry... that's why you cannot see the snake.

Our winter boarder

2009-10-08T14:31:00.005-05:00

We have a new guest in the house. His name is Fluffy. Or maybe it's a her, I don't know. He/she/it is an animal from the Nature Center at the camp that Chris works at, but we were offered a chance to have it during the winter. What? Did you ask if it was a rabbit? No, it's not a rabbit. A hamster? Nope, not a hamster. A gerbil? No. A guinea pig? No. A chinchilla? No. It's not a mammal. A... um... bird? Nope, it's not a bird, either. It's a snake, a very large (9 foot long) red-tailed boa. I have no idea who named it.

It's been a neat experience so far. He's quiet and easy to take care of (because that's Chris's responsibility, lol). And he can be fascinating to watch. Sometimes when he is stretching out he seems to defy gravity. The other day he curled up in his water bucket, with even his head submerged.

He only bites things he knows he can swallow, so as long as your hand doesn't look like a gerbil, he won't bite you. But I don't think anyone besides Chris has been brave enough to hold him. (Of course the little kids can't by themselves even if they wanted to because he's so heavy.)

Keep off the sidewalks!

2009-09-10T15:00:00.002-05:00

I finally got my driver's license yesterday - on 9/9/09! :D Thanks, Mom and Dad for making me drive all the time these last few months. I'm glad that I wasn't pushed into driving, but I'm glad that you were wise enough to not let me put it off forever. You're the best!

(PS: To anyone who heard the above news via Facebook: that's just one more reason why I don't need a Facebook. If anything of importance happens, Chris can and probably will announce it to the world for me. :P )

What I've been up to in a nutshell (nutshells not included).

2009-08-06T17:57:00.003-05:00

Update time! Life keeps happening, and there are a lot of posts that I wanted to write but never got to. Whether they ever get revisited or not, here is a quick outline of "what I've been up to".

Do Hard Things conference in Chicago. Great, fun, lived up to expectations. :) Alex and Brett are great speakers. Read their book!

Citation Connect '09. I got to go to Awana headquarters for a few days with a group of other Citation Achievers (a Citation Achiever is someone who has finished 10 Awana handbooks). We got a tour of HQ and the building where they handle all the shipping stuff (Penny Lane). We also took a sightseeing trip to Chicago and did some other fun stuff. I learned a lot and especially enjoyed meeting other Awana people from all around the country. Some came from as far as Maryland, Washington state, California, Texas, etc.

Illinois Square Dance Convention! Ironically, this year it was in Davenport, Iowa! But we didn't mind, because we stayed with our friends who live there, the S. family. Best of all, Megan S. learned to dance just so she could come with us! She was famous that weekend because she learned all of Mainstream in two 4-hour lessons the previous week and did great! (Her brother Jared also came and we pulled him through... he also did great despite the fact he had no idea what was going on, lol!)

Well there you go... my exciting highlights of July. :)

Do Hard Things Conference [Going Soon!]

2009-07-09T17:42:00.004-05:00

I'm excited! Seemingly at the last minute, details have fallen into place for Valerie, Michael and I to go to the Do Hard Things conference next Saturday. Our friend Jacqui is going to drive us, and we are meeting some camp friends (and some non-camp friends ;) ) there. If you've never heard of Do Hard Things, I'd encourage you to check out the Rebelution website and Alex & Brett Harris' blog www.therebelution.com. Alex & Brett are 20 year old twins, and the younger brothers of Joshua Harris who wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye. A couple years ago they started the Rebelution. The Rebelution is a movement of teenagers that are "rebelling against low expectations". It's pretty awesome. Check it out, and if you can, come on Saturday!

Imminently before camp...

2009-06-23T22:56:00.004-05:00

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. James 4:13-16

God is alive and active. So is Satan.
Within a span of a few hours last Friday evening, our family was beset with several incidents that messed up our plans, to say the least.

   As you know, we were preparing for camp. My mom drove up to WI with the three little kids to pick up Chris from where he's working. My dad was trying to make the most of some resting time. It had been overcast most of the day, with thunderstorms predicted for the night. Believe it or not, in IL, the weather report are usually accurate. The storms came. The power, however, left. This did not seem like a problem at first. Normally, I enjoy when the power goes out. It usually comes back within an hour or two, and it is fun to see what we are "dependent" on for electricity in the meantime. But, it was raining now. Hard. And our sump pump does not have a backup battery. Nor do we have a generator. So... the basement started to flood. Anyone who has been in our basement knows that is a very bad thing. Not only do we have carpet down there, but there are tons of piles of stuff down there: boxes of books and papers, musical instruments and amps, computers. We brought the guitars, amplifiers, and most-at-risk boxes of paper/books upstairs, and prayed for the power to come back on.

   Meanwhile, my mom is getting ready to return with Chris... and the van won't start. And it won't start. And it won't start. So they are stranded at a youth camp 40 minutes away. This development isn't very encouraging to us here at home.

   But the power comes back on after a bit more than an hour. Hallelujah, thank you Lord! It's hardly raining at all now. We kids who are home go out on the driveway for a bit for a short refresher from being cooped up indoors. Michael and Valerie start sparring with homemade swords made from metal bars. My dad tells them to stop because, "All we need now is for someone to get hurt". (!) Sadly, they do not obey immediately, and Michael's sword hits Valerie on her upper lip. It is quite a bad cut, with substantial bleeding. It will need stitches. Dad, Valerie, and I go to the ER. Val gets 8 stitches.

   Back in WI, a friend is working on the van, but nothing is happening fast. Mom and the kids spend the night at the WI camp. The guys work on the van until 5 in the morning, but to no avail. It will have to be taken to a mechanic.

   We get back from the ER at about 11 (after stopping at Walgreen's for antibiotic prescription. The basement is 3 inches deep in water in places. Dad and Michael run water soak-up until 2 AM; I bake the quadruple batch of Amish friendship bread that Valerie was about to bake when the power went out (I let her go to bed) and wash dishes. I also take a turn on water soak-up using the carpet cleaner. It's tiring work, especially at this point in time.

   The next day, Saturday, was quite different from originally planned. Instead of the kids and Dad pulling out at 7 in the morning for camp in the van, and we at home doing Red Day, we at home were doing water soak-up and Mom and all in WI were riding home at 1 PM with a friend who works at camp. She lives in the same town as us and was returning home for her day off. Not only that, she has a minivan and so could transport 5 people. It was Providential! Michael and Stephanie got picked up by yet another friend, who drove them to camp. (their son was originally supposed to ride down in our van. This friend also is graciously lending us a car that they aren't using this week until tomorrow when the van is done.) Dad, Chris, and Val drove down to camp in the car after dinner, having missed half a day of camp. Mom and I continue on water soak-up while at Rainbow* (Color) Camp.

   Through it all, God has been protecting and providing even as we are being stretched. I am learning a lot about sleep deprivation, perseverance, and prayer. And Rainbow Camp is fun, by the way. My little siblings are a blast.

   Satan is alive and active. So is God. And God wins.

*My mom was remarking about Rainbow Camp being after The Flood. My dad replied, "Does that mean it won't happen ever again?"

Camp, imminent.

2009-06-18T17:36:00.004-05:00

On Saturday, my Dad, Chris, Val, Michael, and Stephanie are going to camp (that which was formerly known as Awana Scholarship Camp). They are super excited. It is exceedingly strange to not be going - I've gone for the last 8 years! But now I'm too old (or, if you ask my dad, I had no more handbooks to complete). Those who are remaining at home are going to be doing Year 2 of Color Camp. Each day is designated a color, and we do our best to wear, eat, and do activities of that color. So that should be fun.

Pray that it is a great week and that God does a great work in the campers' lives. Every year that I went I was challenged and energized in my walk with the Lord. Pray also that the high schoolers' mission trip (to a day camp for Peoria inner-city kids) is a blessing to them and brings many to salvation.

Jerry Story Weekend '09

2009-05-28T18:00:00.004-05:00

It was SO. MUCH. FUN! This past Memorial Day weekend, Dad, Chris, Valerie, and I went to the Jerry Story weekend in Dubuque, Iowa. Jerry Story is a phenomenal caller (many say the best, and I won't argue) and the dancing was incredible.
Here are some of my highlights:

Dancing with our "Wisconsin friends". That's fun no matter whose calling, and this time was no exception. At times, we had 2 whole squares of just kids (OK, my dad was in there too, and even in the square dancing world he's not a kid. But he keeps up.)

The tip where we did 2 all-girls squares and 1 all-boys square. It was a fast song, too!

The tip where we were trading like crazy between the two kids' squares!

The tip when my dad and I was in a square with Bob Asp. We kept the same square for the "Killer Plus", and that was the most successful one I was in all weekend.

Speaking of which: the Killer Plus dancing. That was my first time doing DBD, so I didn't know what to expect. It was fun!

The afternoon workshops; learning new stuff. It's not every day that you get to do point-to-point diamonds, Left Coordinate's, and Stretch the Recycle.

Staying in the same hotel as the WI kids and many other dancers (including Jerry Story!). It's neat seeing familiar people at breakfast.

Seeing the couple of which the lady is in a wheelchair. We danced with her at the WI convention, and my grandma danced in her square at the Senior Olympics! So it was neat to talk to them some more this time and get to know them better.

Going to Goodwill and Perkins on Sunday with the WI group.

Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday night with the light-up Frisbee. Chris was doing great catches and impressing everyone. Ask him about the catch involving the invisible chain-link fence. ;-)

Alex doing the Chicken Dance. :-P

The good, good dancing, of course!

So. Much. Fun. Anyone who is reading this and does not square dance needs to learn how to immediately (over the next year, at least), so that you can come next year. :-)

Ups and downs

2009-05-20T18:26:00.003-05:00

Up: Play ball! Chris is playing on the church softball team, and David and Brian are playing T-Ball. We have been having lots of fun doing batting practice and 5-person games at home.

Up: School! I really like Sonlight curriculum... we get to read some really great books! Right now it's The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis.

Down: School. It never ends.

Up: The weather! Admittedly, I like most types of weather, but it's hard to stay inside on these warm sunshiny days.

Up: Square dancing! (Always an up!) This weekend Chris, Valerie, my Dad, and I are going three hours away for three days of dancing that are going to be so much fun!!! Also, Laura just graduated from lessons, becoming the 6th kid of the family to dance (of this generation, anyway.)

Up: Sewing. Valerie and I have been enjoying our "sewing Mondays with Grandma" immensely. We finished several skirts (improving each time). Valerie also made a shirt, and we are working on another. I am also currently making a skirt for my friend Hannah - our first project without Grandma's help at all.

Down: Friends that are hurting. There is a dear older couple from church who recently lost their only son (I think they have a daughter) to a car accident. Another family, who we know from our other church, is also grieving. The wife was pregnant with their fourth baby, who was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a serious genetic disorder. A week or two ago, the baby died in utero.

UP! God is so good, all the time. He is my joy, comfort, strength, and best friend. .:Philippians 4:4:.

Michelle, married!

2009-04-23T18:10:00.005-05:00

As some of you know, Michelle and Ryan, friends of ours, got married last Saturday!
I've been friends with Michelle for since I was 7 and she was 10, and I was one of her bridesmaids. It was my first time being a "real bridesmaid". I was a junior bridesmaid in my aunt's wedding when I was ten, but that's not really the same. (Junior bridesmaids are basically promoted flower-girls, ha.)

It was a beautiful wedding. I didn't cry, but I got close at one point. There came the part of the ceremony where Michelle and Ryan gave roses to their mothers, and they surprised everyone, including me, by giving a rose to both my mom and to Mrs. S. (There is a traditional "joke" about Michelle being "adopted" into our family, and also the S. family. ) I wish I could've gotten a video of their expressions! It was very special.

The reception was lots of fun - there was great dance music! Got to put that ballroom dancing to use... waltzed with Dad and Chris and swing-danced with Valerie, Laura, and Morgan. :D

Sometimes it's hard to believe that she's actually married now. It feels so right, though, and I know God orchestrated it just the way He pleased. All my prayers and congratulations, Michelle and Ryan! God bless you in this new part of your life!

Competition-crazy month

2009-03-22T15:44:00.005-05:00

Been wondering what we've been up to? There's a lot to tell! For 4 weeks in a row, we had some sort of competitive event, most of them having to do with Awana. My sister Stephanie was especially busy, as she participated in each one! A privilege of being in 6th grade.

First weekend: Awana T&T Bible Quizzing. My mom helped coach, and I served as Timekeeper. Very interesting being part of such suspense. Steph quizzed alone against one other Book 4 quizzer (normally they are teams of 2 or 3). They were well-matched, but Stephanie pulled ahead and won! Yay!

Second weekend: Gamequest. It's true! Awana goes all the way to high school... it's a big secret, I know. Jr. and Sr. High have regional games and quizzing competition all on the same day. Chris, Michael, and Stephanie all joined onto other church's teams so they could play games. Michael and Stephanie's team (Trek) got 2nd place in the first round and 4th place in the second round. Chris's team (Journey) got 3rd. We see a lot of people that we know from camp there, so that's always great. Megan and Jared S. even came out to watch (long time no see, haha).

Third weekend: Sparks-A-Rama and AwanaGames!!! (I almost made a whole post for just this one, but obviously I changed my mind.) I was so excited for this day! I wish I could still play as a clubber, but helping coach is the next best thing. This was a very interesting day, because it was almost exactly like last year, except with all new people from our new church. Even down to the scores... Sparks finished, um, last... but our T&T WON!!! Woohoo! They did fantastic! At first we didn't know if we'd have enough people to make teams, but we did it, though we had to pull kids from 4 other churches to have enough. (Sparks did end up being short a girl, but they needed us to play so bad they let it slide). We had really cool blue camouflage T-shirts that made it very obvious who you were cheering for. (Ironically, they make it really easy to spot friends across the room, and they didn't help our Sparks at all in the game Rabbit Hunt.) Afterwards, we went to Culver's for ice cream, another tradition.

Fourth weekend: Odyssey of the Mind (or OM for short). OM used to be called Olympics of the Mind, and what it is is a competition of creativity. Michael and Stephanie did it with a couple other kids. They had to choose one of several tasks, then creatively accomplish it. The task they picked was to research the trials of Hercules (or Heracles), then make up their own and act it out, overcoming a few prescribed obstacles. This weekend was the State competition in St. Louis, and they got 2nd place out of 5 teams. That means they will go to World in May, which is held in Iowa. They will literally be up against teams from all over US and the world!

So there you have it: our past several weeks in a nutshell. Busy but fun!

Books

2009-02-19T18:46:00.002-06:00

As most of you probably know, I'm a big reader. These are some books I've read in the past couple months:

The Bravehearted Gospel by Eric Ludy
This is a powerful book. I would recommend it to all Christians, and especially pastors. It has a culture-defying message, a call to lay aside everything that entangles us and to wholeheartedly serve our Mighty God. A call for us to follow the cross, the world behind us, no turning back.

Set-Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy
Wow! From the very first chapter, this book spoke to my soul even more directly than The Bravehearted Gospel. It's specifically written to women about the awesomeness of giving your whole life to Christ. It has definitely called me to seek the Lord even more and surrender everything to Him. This may be a girls' book, but it's full of braveheartedness! I can't recommend it enough, and I'm only halfway through it!

Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally
To be honest, I thought I had read enough relationship books to last me for a while. But the compelling title (true for me!) and some shining recommendations persuaded me to go for it, and I'm glad I did! Refreshingly pure presentation, but with a relevant and Godly message, it was an instant favorite. I think my favorite aspect of it was that it was geared to girls who came from a like background as me (Christian, with Godly parents, already wanting to be pure, etc.).

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Surprised? I prayed a lot before I read this series... and strangely enough, God gave me a green light. Or so I thought. More likely I was listening to my own temptations. I can't recommend it to anyone. Though the numerous "you've got to read this book" comments I got could count as "whatever is of good report" (Phil. 4:8), after reading it myself I have to conclude that it cannot count as noble, pure, virtuous or edifying. The values of the characters were contrary in so many ways to God's Word, and it is true that it is portraying evil as good. In many ways it reminded me of the Harry Potter books. Sensationally addictive but not spiritually edifying.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
This was a book assigned for school, but I was glad to finally have the chance to read it. I haven't finished it yet, though I'm close, (and I know how it ends). It's been interesting, but the character of Jane is a bit gloomy, and therefore the book has been too. Still, I've enjoyed it. A couple more chapters to go...

Finally... the best for last!
Ephesians,1 Corinthians, & 2 Corinthians written by Paul, inspired by God
Genesis written by Moses, inspired by God
Proverbs written by King Solomon, inspired by God
Psalms written by King David and others, inspired by God
If you can't read anything else read these! Hugely powerful, educational, and encouraging. :D

Skirts

2009-02-03T17:39:00.009-06:00

Well, it finally happened. Someone asked why I was wearing skirts so much. I told them that it was because I had become used to them. That was a true statement. Even after wearing them for a week or so, it feels kind of weird to wear pants again, especially jeans. But as I thought about it later, I realized there were some more meaningful reasons that I started wearing skirts more in the first place.

First and foremost, they make me feel feminine. From about age 6 to age 16, I was a definite tomboy. Pink was not my favorite color. I was better friends with Chris and Michael than with Valerie. But there came a point that I realized that being a girl didn't mean I had to be a pink-ruffles-and-bows girly-girl, and I relaxed my guard. I started wearing first jumpers, then skirts to church, because I wanted to. Now, because I want to, I'm wearing skirts on other days.

Besides making me feel feminine, skirts also make me feel modest. I'm not saying that pants and jeans are in all cases, immodest. After all, I do still wear them now and then (actually I am right now as I type this). And not all skirts are modest, although I hope the ones I wear are! But there's something about skirts that, besides being modest in themselves, encourage me to act modestly, to act like a lady*. And that's what matters, really.

Most females I know do not regularly wear skirts. Wearing skirts makes me feel somewhat like a maverick. It's rather fun going against the norm. But skirts also make me feel connected to both women in history (before World War II women wore skirts/dresses as a rule) and real-life current-day Christian families that I admire, including but not limited to a certain group in Wisconsin. ;) It was that WI group more than anything that actually got me started. I'd never seriously considered it before. But if they could wear skirts every day, even living on a farm, milking cows and riding horses, then I could too (minus the farm part)! There was nothing stopping me.

I can't predict my skirt-wearing trends. Maybe someday I'll go 100% skirts. Maybe I won't. But I'm leaning toward the former. I'm ready to stop rationalizing away Deuteronomy 22:5:

A women shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, not shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God.

Therefore, whether you [wear skirts or pants], or whatever you [wear], do all to the glory of God. (paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 10:31) God bless!

*I'll be the first one to admit that I haven't lost all my tomboy ways. I still run, play Frisbee, sit Indian-style, and even climb trees. (Hurray for long flared skirts!) I do, however, still prefer pants for Awana games and dodgeball. Old habits die hard.

Ice Rink! (pictures and video)

2009-01-25T22:00:00.012-06:00

It's here! After many hours of cold, hard work, our backyard ice rink is up and functional! We are having lots of fun, especially Valerie, Stephanie, and I. We three have used it almost every day. It's 35 x 45 sq. ft. We thought it was funny to tell people that we used buckets to fill it, but actually we used hoses. (More than one because our back faucet stopped working for some reason.) We were very careful to not let water freeze in them.

Chris putting some water in the rink.

A couple kids out on the ice. Closer zoom-up from the same day.

It's great having our own private rink. You can do anything from "change direction whenever you want" to, what else, square dance! :) (Sorry for anyone who can't watch the below video... it's not too amazing :P)

Holidays, 2008 style

2009-01-02T11:08:00.012-06:00

I hope you all had a great Christmas! We did, except for a few incidents of the "24 hr" flu. (Who knew that Dad and Chris both have a tendency to black out when they vomit?) This year, my parents' gift to us kids was a trip to the Creation Museum in Kentucky! We went there last spring on the way to Florida and really enjoyed it. Going again at this time of year was great because we could see all the Christmas extras... the live Nativity (above picture), the lights in the gardens, and my favorite - the special "Christmas Star" planetarium show. Plus they have a petting zoo now... no dinosaurs, but there's a camel and a zonkey/zedonk (never found out which one it was) .

For New Year's Eve we did our yearly tradition of everyone making a batch of cookies. (Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that's 10 batches of cookies.) This year I made Cookie Dough Truffles (basically balls of chocolate chip cookie dough dipped in chocolate.. really good if not strictly "cookies"). New Year's Day we did our tradition of donut snowmen... it's quite a junk-food holiday for us, LOL.Hope you all had happy healthy holidays! Thank you Jesus for being the reason for the season!

Pictures of our snow creations

2008-12-21T17:51:00.009-06:00

As much as I like snow, this -28 F with wind chill weather is too much for me. It sure makes me thankful for a warm house and clothing! Here are some pictures of past creations from the last two years, in chronological order.

Our first major work and masterpiece: the Keep

Stephanie and Snow White (who, though you can't tell in this picture, has a spiked mohawk) on the spiral pedestal.

Me, Stephanie, and Valerie with the arch. The arch after some melting (it was April).

David on top of the mountain.

This year we started on a new one (not telling what it is in case it doesn't work out :P ) but the snow hasn't been real good for packing so we haven't gotten that far. Sorry, still no ice rink picture. I keep forgetting to take one during the day, and right now it's kind of hard to see with all the snow on it anyway.

Ice Rink!

2008-12-07T17:30:00.003-06:00

Because this winter is supposed to be a cold one, my dad has decided we could put up the ice rink in our backyard this year! They set up the frame right before it snowed, and on Friday they fixed the broken seam in the plastic sheet. Now it's laid in and they've started filling it. I haven't really helped at all this year, but I'm very excited... it looks like we might have it ready to use before Christmas. I think that's a first! Sorry, I didn't think to snap a picture before it got dark; otherwise I would have put one up.

Post-It note for Aliisa

2008-11-26T22:17:00.004-06:00

Hey Aliisa, do you have an email address? If so, do you check it often? If you're willing, I'd like to exchange addresses. :) If you're agreeable to that, reply to this post. If you leave your address, I'll email you and then delete the comment. Otherwise I'll leave my address and when you (hopefully) email me I'll delete the comment. My reason for deleting the comments is simply for security's sake. I don't really want either of our email addresses waiting around for spammers to find.
Hope to hear from you soon! ~*~elizabeth

Update on school

2008-11-20T18:44:00.004-06:00

Keep praying!
I'm basically all caught up in every subject except... physics and writing, the two most time-consuming ones. For physics, I need to work on doing some every day. It's a subject that is hard to do more than a day's worth in a day. For writing, I need to just... start! If I think about what to write for too long, but never put down the first sentence, nothing happens. (I can see the novel-length comments from Shane already... :P ) I am a couple projects behind still.
Not much of a post, but that's all for now! Thanks so much for your prayers!

November 4

2008-11-06T17:48:00.003-06:00

I got next to zero school done on Tuesday. But I had a good reason! Chris and I served as election judges. It was a very long day; we had to be at the polling site by 5AM and didn't leave until after 8. But it was a neat experience. There were 3 precinct voting at this particular site (our church, as a matter of fact) and Chris and I were assigned to the least populous precinct... hurray! One perk, besides the good pay (that's not sarcastic) was getting to wait and see when there were no lines before taking my turn to vote. There actually was no point at which 0 voters were present, even when the polls opened. The lowest it ever got to was 2 people. Turnout was about 50%, which is pretty high. I like that my first chance to vote was a Presidential election, despite the results. As it turned out though, in our precinct, McCain won over Obama. But it was close, and in the neighboring precinct Obama won by 5 votes.

Halloween and ballroom dancing.

2008-11-02T20:05:00.004-06:00

This is my Belle-from-Beauty-and-the-Beast dress! Our next door neighbor made it for her daughter ten years ago and fixed it up for me last minute. She's the best! I wore it trick-or-treating for a little while. (Yes, even though we don't care for Halloween in general we do go trick-or-treating. As kids we like the candy of course, but it is actually a great way to see the neighbors, lol!) My brother Michael said it wasn't obvious that it was a Belle dress but numerous comments proved him wrong!
After about a dozen houses we had to head home so we could leave for ballroom dancing class. I met Samuel. No bad surprises there. He is polite, a bit taller than me, and learns at about the same pace. I think it will work fine. Dancing went well. The only bad part was my shoes kept catching on my hem and one of the ruffle-seams came untacked and it was dragging on the floor. Kind of embarrassing to deal with but I survived. :-} I can't wait to try it in my non-tripping length skirts. (To Aliisa: Not to say I wouldn't try a SiegmannSquare skirt, lol!) I think learning how to follow the guy's lead will be very interesting. I seem to have picked up a bad habit of watching the guy's feet from my attempts at round dancing with my dad. Apparently I'm supposed to look over their shoulder.

Out of the blue, a surprise for me too!

2008-10-30T18:40:00.003-05:00

Want to hear about the newest development in my life? Ok, here goes. Michelle and Ryan (my friends who are getting married next spring) wanted to to take a ballroom dancing class. Hannah wanted to take the class too. But she needed a partner, so she asked my brother Chris (someone safe who actually is willing to at least square dance, and will be going to the wedding besides). He agreed. Then Michelle's parents and my parents decided that they wanted to take the class too. My mom realized I would probably feel left out, which was true, but I told her to go ahead and do it. It would be fun to watch them go through it. And besides, they promised to come home and teach me everything anyway. Thus I warmed to the whole idea.
They went to their first week of class last week. When they got home they told me, "Good news!"
"What?", I replied.
"We signed you up for the class!", they said.
I was flabbergasted. "WHAT!? WITH WHO?!?!"
"Samuel"
"Who's Samuel?"
As it turned out, they had not actually signed me up yet. What had happened was that there was a couple at the class that the Carols were somewhat aquainted with. They mentioned that their 16-year-old son had really wanted to take the class but had no partner. (*!*) You can guess what happened after that. Both sets of parents went home and asked their respective children and recieved affirmative answers. So next week I start class with someone who none of us have met yet! Should be interesting! I am excited to be able to join the class though!

Pumpkin Launching! with pictures

2008-10-16T17:31:00.013-05:00

This week my brothers and Dad competed in a pumpkin launching contest at the church we're going to. It was great fun to watch! They made the whole trebuchet out of materials that we already had. Readying for a launch: The team=Stephanie, Chris, friend Matt, Dad, and Michael: Pulling back... And release! One team had a seriously cool-looking ballista: Below; on the left is a super-tall slingshot; it won in the distance competition. I think it went about 450 ft. on it's best launch. On the right is another (bigger than ours) trebuchet. It placed second, I believe. Our team was getting less than 100 ft. in the distance competition, but after that they added some length to the throwing arm, and it was getting up to 180 ft... good enough to get 3rd in the accuracy competition!

Update on school

2008-10-16T17:28:00.005-05:00

Okay, I got the less-than-deserved miracle. I didn't plead or try to bargain for it, but I was permitted to go lessons last week. I'm still kind of surprised about it. Anyway, I am still not caught up in school, but I am feeling more hopeful. I can't slack off at all though or I will lose any momentum I had. So continue to pray!

School: a prayer request.

2008-10-09T17:47:00.002-05:00

For all my loyal readers out there: I have a prayer request. I need Help keeping up with my schoolwork. I knew this year would be one where I learned how to work, and hopefully grow past the indiligence that I've been plagued with for years. But I'm not "arrived" yet. I started the school year promisingly enough, but now I am falling behind in varying degrees (depending on the subject). An uncomfortably-wrapped blessing has been that my parents have done some deadline and grading reforms, that is, they are enforcing more consequences if we do not finish the week's school on time. That helps me, because I am not naturally internally motivated. But punishments are punishments, and the one that hits where it hurts is the newest: No square dance class unless school is done. So last week I didn't go, and I won't be able to this week either, barring a less-than-deserved-miracle. Short-term goal: I want to stop the trend and go next week. Longer-term goal: I want to be able to stay caught up! Please pray!

My personal testimony of God's undeserved grace to me.

2008-09-25T18:07:00.004-05:00

Last week the secretary of our Awana club asked me, along with the other new leaders, to give her our written testimony. I was supposed to have it done yesterday (sorry Jackie!) but didn't get to it til today. I thought it would be a good thing to post:

When I was little, I heard stories about the Bible at Sunday School and Cubbies. My mom told me them at home, too. One day, when I was four, almost five, I was at home with my mom in the kitchen. She was telling me about how everyone has sin. People who sin have to be punished. The punishment for sin is to go to a terrible, painful place called hell. But God sent Jesus, who was perfect and didn't deserve any punishment, to die on the cross and pay for our sin. If we believe that He did that, then we don't have to go to hell when we die. We can go to heaven to be with God. If we don't trust in Jesus' death to save us, we will have to go to hell. Well, I didn't want to go to hell. I wanted to trust in Jesus. My mom helped me pray to God and ask Him to forgive me for my sin. As soon as I was done praying, I felt like a heavy load had been taken off my shoulders. I couldn't even describe it. I was so happy. I remember thinking that I loved Jesus more that any of my favorite things.

Well, there wasn't an immediate dramatic change in my life after that. But I kept learning about God and what the Bible teaches from church and Awana and at home. I memorized lots of verses out of my Awana books, too.

The summer I turned 11, I got to go to Awana Scholarship Camp. There I decided that I really wanted to follow Christ. I purposed to read the Bible every day, and I came home really excited. But, despite my good intentions, I couldn't keep it up, and the spiritual high passed. Life went back to normal. Sort of. This happened year after year. As the years passed, there would be times that I sensed that my spiritual life was stagnant. I would pray and ask God, "What do you want me to do?". And I would always hear that still small voice say, "Be baptized." Now I knew what baptism was: a public declaration to follow Christ. I knew it was good, and I knew it was what believers should do. But I was afraid. I was afraid of going in front of the whole church, not to mention going to the pastor to say I wanted to be baptized in the first place. So I put it off. I rationalized. And I remained discontent. There were times that I almost did it. Several times on the last day of camp I would tell myself that I was going to get up at testimony time and announce that I would be baptized when I got home. But I didn't get up. I was too afraid. It was my secret battle. Finally, when I was 15, I came home from a Christian retreat, and I was tired of fighting. I surrendered and told my dad that I wanted to be baptized. A month or so later, I was. And a most thrilling surrender it was.

My third year of camp, my counselor had really encouraged me to be baptized. She said that after she was baptized, she really experienced blessing. Looking back, it was the same with me. The habit of reading the Bible finally fell into place. The winter I was 16, I had a hard-to-describe milestone moment with God. To sum it up, I fell in love with Him. I learned what it meant to have a personal relationship with God.

As I grow up and life goes on, I lean more and more on this great God I serve. He is constantly teaching and growing and helping me. The Bible memorization and study that I've done have been invaluable. I want to obey Him wholeheartedly, although I fail every day. This life and love I have from Him is the best thing I have ever been given, and I want everyone else to have it too. May my story bring Him glory!

It's Thursday!

2008-09-18T17:25:00.000-05:00

So it's Thursday... that one crazy long day in my week. Sunday is long but not crazy. Friday is crazy but not long. Thursday is both. For a month or so this is how it goes: I get up early (I will not admit how early, lest I get lambasted for labeling it as such) so I can catch a ride to the library with my mom when she takes the little kids to storytime at 9:30. I work on schoolwork until 11:30ish when I go to the staffroom and eat my lunch. At 12:15 my shift starts. So I shelve books and all that good stuff until 5:15. Then I get on the computer until my dad picks me up on his way home from work, at about a quarter to seven. Then a welcome dinner at home. (Thank you Mom!) Last but not least, square dance lessons, where we are Angeling and Laura (and hopefully some friends!) are starting.

Right now I am still on that computer time segment. This will probably be my main posting time (and, as some of you know, my main e-mail time).

The Bravehearted Gospel and dying to self.

2008-09-16T23:15:00.002-05:00

I just finished listening and watching Eric and Leslie Ludy's second online event. They were talking about the message in their new book The Bravehearted Gospel. (To be honest, even though I got a virtual advance review copy, I have not read it yet, due to technical difficulties.) Despite not having read the book yet, I think I have an basic concept of what the book's about: returning the church to the true Gospel; fighting and standing up for the truth that is in the Word of God. The Ludys are passionate about Jesus and about calling His followers to truly follow Him. Along with their video feed tonight, there was a video clip and an audio sermon, both of powerful preaching by Paris Reidhead. They can be accessed at www.braveheartedgospel.com. One of the things from the very end of the audio sermon that stuck with me was this story. (here is a excerpt from a transcript of the actual sermon.)

Two young Moravians heard of an island in the West Indies where an atheist British owner had 2000 to 3000 slaves. And the owner had said, "No preacher, no clergyman, will ever stay on this island. If he's ship wrecked we'll keep him in a separate house until he has to leave, but he's never going to talk to any of us about God, I'm through with all that nonsense." Three thousand slaves from the jungles of Africa brought to an island in the Atlantic and there to live and die without hearing of Christ.

Two young Moravians heard about it. They sold themselves to the British planter and used the money they received from their sale, for he paid no more than he would for any slave, to pay their passage out to his island for he wouldn't even transport them. As the ship left its' pier in the river at Hamburg and was going out into the North Sea carried with the tide, the Moravians had come from Herrenhut to see these two lads off, in their early twenties. Never to return again, for this wasn't a four year term, they sold themselves into life time slavery. Simply that as slaves, they could be as Christians where these others were. The families were there weeping, for they knew they would never see them again. And they wondered why they were going and questioned the wisdom of it. As the gap widened and the housings had been cast off and were being curled up there on the pier, and the young boys saw the widening gap, one lad with his arm linked through the arm of his fellow, raised his hand and shouted across the gap the last words that were heard from them, they were these, "MAY THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN RECEIVE THE REWARD OF HIS SUFFERING!" This became the call of Moravian missions. And this is the only reason for being, That the Lamb that was slain may receive the reward of His suffering!

When it was finished, I was just shocked. When I read in the Bible Jesus' teachings to "count the cost and take up your cross" and to "die to yourself", it doesn't usually sink in what it means to "die to yourself". To have all my dreams, joys, wishes, comforts, inclinations and opinions not just subservient, but cast aside entirely, deserted. Dead. To really live out the song "I Surrender All". To give unconditionally without thought to self... that sounds familiar. It sounds like love. It sounds like Jesus.

My first blog! and my first post.

2008-09-10T11:47:00.000-05:00

So... I actually started a blog! I'm not exactly sure what I'm planning to do with it, but we'll see where it goes from here.