Unfailing Love

My Prayer

2011-10-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

“Bad company corrupts good character.” - 1st Corinthians 15:33

Sometimes, the weight of the world presses on me
so hard that I can hardly breathe -
Only short breaths pulse through my lungs,
I cannot breathe deeply.
Just as it is with bad company
they tighten us, strain us
Only shallow thoughts flick through our mind,
we make ourselves content with the trivial.

Our character begins to decay with time
the influence of those we know
chipping away at our passion, our desire
for our one and only true God.
This is my prayer -
that we would turn away from anything
that threatens to minimize our desire for Christ
and maximize our tolerance - no, even our love -
for things that He abhors.
That we would shake our heads and defend
the truths we hold in our hearts
from His word.

This is my prayer.

Bloggy Makeover!

2011-10-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new and improved blog! :) Joy, for me, is not usually something I struggle to have. But in my sophomore and junior year, I experienced some pretty hard "down-yos." Thus, Joy in the Morning was perfect for my life at that moment in time. God has mercifully taken away much of the sadness and discontentment that I experienced during that time...but as you may have guessed from my last post, discontentment still lingers and I know in my heart of hearts that it's because of my irrational doubt about God's true fullness and the satisfaction He brings merely by being in our lives. May I constantly be reminding myself that His love is truly unfailing...as precious and edifying as our relationships here on earth may be, they will inevitably fail us from time to time just as we fail others, being the fallen beings we are.

My favorite singer, Chris Tomlin, wrote this song...just as Sovereign Grace's song "Joy in the Morning" was sort of my "bloggy theme song" before I changed it, this song, "Unfailing Love," will be fulfilling the same purpose. Enjoy. :)

A Follow-Up from my Last Post

2011-09-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted to add this quote from one of my favorite authors, Leslie Ludy. I think it fits in perfectly with what I was trying to convey the other night, and it's been a huge challenge & encouragement for me lately.

"Even a beautiful God-scripted love story can never satisfy the way Jesus does. Even the most heroic and Christlike man on earth can never fulfill the longings of our heart like the true Prince and lover of our soul (Jesus Christ). And until we are able to truly make Him our first love, until we are willing to give up our dream of an earthly love story for His sake, we will never know the fullness of Him who fills us all in all. We will always be looking to a mere man to meet the desires of our heart, rather than to the One who created us, who knows us better than we know ourselves, and who gave His very life's blood to rescue us."

Beautiful, true words.

Right Now.

2011-09-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

Right now, I am walking and holding Jesus' left hand.
On His right, I notice that there is a young man walking steadily
holding His right hand, I can't see who that person is, nor do I know
when he will be mine.
Jesus is standing in my way.
At first, I am anxious and I feel unrest in my heart; I want to let go
of Jesus' hand and grab the young man's hand instead.
But Jesus whispers to me, "Keep holding on."
Then I realize that the more I look at Jesus
the less I worry about the person on the other side.
Jesus is enough to satisfy me...His strong hand in
mine is all I need right now.
Years pass, and the three of us tread onward.
While I cannot deny my longing to see and touch
the grown man holding Jesus' right hand,
the strong, perfect hand in my own right grips me tightly
and does not let go, and my longing for that man is calmed.
My curiosity grows - but it never overcomes my deep love for Jesus.
Then one day, I feel Jesus squeeze my hand lightly, and I turn to gaze
into His precious eyes...they gaze back at me and He smiles.
Then he whispers..."It is time."
He brings the man's hand and places it gently in mine.
Then He releases our hands, only to walk behind us,
with two hands placed firmly
on our shoulders.
I revel deeply in the joy that the hand holding mine brings me,
but even more so,
I rejoice in the hands that are on our shoulders,
guiding us,
protecting us,
holding us up.

Lately, God has been convicting me of some serious idolatry. I am putting all of my confidence and finding all my hope and joy into the created rather than the Creator. I won't deny that, even though I'm only 17 (as my family members are quick to point out...I am grateful for their accountability!) I'm experiencing some fierce longings for an earthly romance, a pure and innocent wedding, and a sweet family to call my own. All good things in and of themselves...but to let go of Jesus' hand, running after these things that will only happen in this life?

I hope this analogy can encourage anyone going through the same thing...the discontentment, the impatience (at my age, I know, I KNOW!), the pressure from all of the guys and girls who bounce from one boyfriend/girlfriend to the other, seemingly content and joyful with all of the attention and comfort that that brings. (As if.)

For those who long to sing this:

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." - Psalm 16:11

Fullness of joy...FULL. Complete. In HIS presence. At HIS right hand.

Forevermore.

Le Chemin, Le Verite, et La Vie.

2011-08-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

A Little Creation for You All :)

2011-08-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry that I've neglected posting. I visit this blog every day (to check for comments and visit other blogs, you know, the norm) and I always feel a twinge of guilt for not posting. But then I never do. Ahh!

Well, about 5 weeks ago, my family and I went to our cabin on an island in Lake of the Woods, Canada. It's an incredible place and I always feel God's presence SO acutely when I'm there. It's very much in the middle of nowhere and there's no people around, except for the occasional boat. I love it, because it's the perfect getaway and the peacefulness makes me feel more content and ready to dive into God's word and worship. I had a TON of fun with my camera (I got it AFTER Canada last year so I hadn't used it there yet. SO exciting!) and with subsequent editing on Picnik. ;) Enjoy...and let's never, ever stop marveling at our Creator.

Just look at this sunset!! I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Oh, those COLORS!!!

Every time I'm riding the boat out to our island, this is the song that runs through my head:

Indescribable by Chris Tomlin

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same...
You are amazing God!

Always a Purpose

2011-07-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever had a billion self-defeating thoughts rush into your head at once, so fast that all you feel like doing is crying and saying, "I'M JUST NOT WORTH IT!" Because I sure have. Today was one of those days. I'm constantly feeling like I'm just, not, good, enough! I'll never have what I want because what I want is too 'good' for me. Thoughts like: That brilliantly intelligent/very attractive/very spiritually mature (whatever they happen to be!) guy will NEVER like ME! rush into my head. That's a good example, unfortunately, there's so much more. These thoughts are not only a worthless cycle, but I think it goes deeper. You know? There's some trust issues I've got to work on.

My precious Father loves me and has the most wonderful plan for my life, but here's the catch: I'll be miserable with what He's got unless...unless I am in Him and He has helped me shape my desires to His. Until then, my whole life will be drudgery: Waiting for high school to end will seem like I'm a marshmallow that God is getting ready to toast for smore's, completing college essays will seem like God slowly putting that stick through my abdomen, and waiting for my husband to make his stellar appearance will seem like God sloowwlllyyy roasting me over the fire. Fun, no?

And yet, there is another option. As long as I am in Christ, there is no drudgery...there is beautiful purpose. There is time to grow in the Word, to get lost in prayer, to completely lose myself in my Savior! The Christian life always has a God-given purpose, whether single or married, full of babies or barren, rich or poor... How amazing is that??

I feel like I'm not good enough for what I desire, which is a family, but I'm realizing that it's not about being "good" enough, it's about waiting for God to shape and mold you, and to wait for His timing while all the time getting to know Him better. This was/is a huge lesson for me! I'm going to pray that God would continue to help us all be content...whether it be with our singleness, or with our barrenness, or just with anything we may want but not feel ready or worthy of attaining. God is enough to satisfy!

"As for God, his way is perfect" - Psalm 18:30

"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" - Jeremiah 29:11

"The pain now is part of the pleasure later." - C.S. Lewis

"Our mentality is: 'God, tell me who, tell me when, and tell me how...and then I'll trust You!' What God wants us to see is that if He did this, our trust wouldn't be real. We want a definitive answer so that we don't feel weak, vulnerable and dependent on Him. But guess what? We are weak, vulnerable and dependent on Him. And it's only when we realize our true condition that God can demonstrate His love on our behalf." - Joshua Harris

Summer Camp Overview

2011-06-23T15:47:00.000-07:00

Wow - what a week! I'm only just now getting to posting stuff on here. What can I say? It was a great time to grow in my walk. Our speaker was awesome - his name was Mike Salvati and he spoke about the gospel and how we can prevent becoming over-familiar with it and letting it become same-old, same-old.

He talked about how cultivating humility helps us in this fight. Realizing how insignificant we are compared to God's greatness gives us a humble heart, and we're more ready to open up our hearts and admit that we NEVER outgrow the gospel, we NEVER outgrow simple doctrine, and we NEVER stop needing God's grace, His grace that came to us because of the cross.

I'm not the only one impacted by his messages! I think the subject was perfect for our youth group...the majority of us have grown up in Christian homes and we are most definitely subject to become apathetic towards "simpler" theology and bible stories. I've come away from the week with, by God's grace, a humbler spirit. I've fallen into the pit of self-righteousness so many times. Growing up with godly parents (which has been a huge blessing, of course!) has sometimes tempted me to think "I know it all". But I don't know it all. I never want to let the gospel grow old.

Another convicting message was one of the workshops, given by Jordan F., our (hilarious!) game planner & leader. He really laid it out...his topic was on worldliness and materialism. I'm very much tempted by materialism. I rely on cute clothes and food to bring me joy more often than prayer and bible reading. It's hard to admit that, it's just so wrong! Why would I find silly, shallow things more joy-giving than God Himself?? Jordan did a great job of digging deep into our minds and unearthing our motives that cause our materialism. I feel more motivated to fight this sin.

In any case, it was an awesome, awesome week. The place we were - Conference Point Center in Lake Geneva - was BEAUTIFUL. We were on a peninsula surrounded by the lake and there were these swings dotted around the camp. I loved sitting to do my TAG (Time alone with God) time on this bench, right outside the gorgeous Victorian house all the girls stayed in:

I LOVED it! If I wanted Liz or Rachel or another friend, I could just call for them instead of trekking to their cabin. Hah!! It was an amazing week!

I'll leave you with this picture of a chipmunk that was running around - I'm really grateful for my camera's zoom! Hehe!

He's a cutie!

"...Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified..." 1st Corinthians 1:22-23

Tomorrow...

2011-06-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

...I leave for Summer Camp!! I know it'll be an amazing, amazing week (it always is). I'm on Green Team just like last year, so I had fun this week scrounging around for all things green in my house! (And the mall...) Please pray that we would have great fellowship, growth, conviction and encouragement this week.
.
On a completely unrelated note, the other day I was outside with my camera and I saw this little guy:

I came a little bit closer to I could get some good shots of him and his nut:

Heehee!! I LOVE his face!!

When he saw me coming closer, he ran up the tree to eat his nut in peace.

I LOVE this - I think it looks like he's praying!! Hah!!

See you all next week - I'm sure I'll have LOTS of stories, encouragements and pictures to share!! :)

Carnal and Unbelieving

2011-05-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

It's been so beautiful here lately. The weather has been warm, but not too hot, and sunny. I'm beginning to realize how much it affects my mood. I'm so much happier when it's nice outside. It's like my brain and sun are somehow connected...when the sun is behind the clouds, my own mind clouds over.

And when my mind clouds over, it's like I'm a different person. I'm impatient, sometimes rude to my family and I'm just not very happy. Worst of all, I'm less motivated to meditate on the Word. I'm less motivated to honor God in all I think, say and do. I just want to curl up with a blanket and play spider solitaire, shunning all of my schoolwork and chores and devotionals. And then when the clouds clear, and it's sunny and bright, and warm...I take my dog out on a walk, turn on the worship music on my iPod and I feel alive again. It just depends on outward circumstances. Does anyone else feel this way? Does anyone feel like they can't motivate themselves to be on fire for Jesus when the weather's bad? Or they're sick? Or they're in a bad mood?

I'm realizing that He is who He is, no matter where I am. God is still the same even when I'm not. Still, it's a struggle to get into this mentality. I need Him so much!

It is not the distance of the earth from the sun, nor the sun's withdrawing itself, that makes a dark and gloomy day; but the interposition of clouds and vaporous exhalations. Neither is thy soul beyond the reach of the promise, nor does God withdraw Himself; but the vapours of thy carnal, unbelieving heart do cloud thee.-John Owen

This quote is very encouraging to me. It reminds me that no matter how I'm feeling, God is still the same. He never forsakes me. In my sinful, fickle nature, I just refuse to seek Him.

Just some thoughts. It's a little bit gloomy today, and of course, I'm feeling a little down. But writing this is helpful. It's good to admit when we're struggling. If we act as though sin doesn't exist, we're denying ourselves and lying to others. I've been feeling convicted of this, too. It's so hypocritical to pretend like everything's dandy when we obviously need accountability, fellowship and encouragement each other. I don't know what I would do without these things! :)

...

On a different note, I need some prayer. In two weeks and 4 days (I'm so excited!!) my youth group is leaving for summer camp. I LOVE summer camp, but the past two years my team has gotten 4th place. Now, I'm paranoid that it'll happen 3 years in a row. This is so ridiculous!! It's so prideful to let a silly little thing like THAT get in the way of my feelings during camp. With all of the teaching we hear, the songs we worship with, and the fellowship we have, that's all I'm concerned about?? I need an attitude change!!

...

I'll leave you with this song: (Again, rather unrelated...I'm in an eclectic mood, haven't you noticed? Hehe!)

Isn't this boy amazing?? I love his version. Be Thou My Vision is my absolute favorite song in the world, no question about it. This gave me so much joy. :)

For You and You alone

2011-04-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

In our hearts, Lord, in this nation
Awakening
Holy Spirit, we desire
Awakening

For You and You alone
Awake my soul, awake my soul and sing
For the world You love
Your will be done, let Your will be done in me

In Your presence, in Your power
Awakening
For this moment, for this hour
Awakening

I need this often. I wake up in the morning, I wash my face, I drink coffee. I go about my day, I pray, I read God's word, I listen to my praise music. I feel His presence all the time...I know He's always there. Yet I still need an awakening. My natural inclination is to sin, to not please God. I need an awakening sometimes, and I think we all do.

Like the rising sun that shines...
From the darkness comes a light...
I hear Your voice, and this is my
Awakening.

Hallejuah!

2011-04-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

It is finished.

John Piper on Worship

2011-04-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

In my quiet time this morning (I'm doing Life as a Vapor), I read John Piper's letter to a man who was against worship because it made God seem 'arrogant', especially since we didn't 'ask' to be created.

Piper mentioned a few things that struck a chord with me.

He mentioned that, of course, God is more than worthy of our praise. He is greatly to be praised because He is great! "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised." (Psalm 96:4) Also, Piper says the Bible talks about praise as being pleasurable in Psalm 16:11. This is all undeniable.

But some of my favorite things Piper said was that God demands praise from us because He demands happiness from us. "Deep in our hearts we know that we were not made to be made much of. We were made to make much of something great. The best joys are when we forget ourselves, enthralled with greatness. The greatest greatness is God's." How beautiful is that? He couldn't have said it better - the most joyful moments lie in the moments when we aren't focused on ourselves. Standing before Niagara Falls. Canoeing through the shining lake in Canada. Standing in the Sears Centre with a thousand other people, singing God with Us by MercyMe...just like the picture above.

Another beautiful thing Piper talks about is that God gifts us with praise out of love. "The reason God seeks our praise is not because He won't be complete until He gets it. He is seeking our praise because we won't be complete until we give it. This is not arrogance. It is love." See, it all makes sense now. Of course God doesn't NEED our praise. He doesn't need anything! It's us that are in need. And so God gives. He gives us the gift of music so that we can feel His presence and revel in His beauty. For me at least, worshiping makes me despise sin. Because in those moments of praise it's so clear: God is so infinitely better than anything our sin promises. Worship is such a gift. An amazing, beautiful gift!

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.
The LORD has made known His salvation;

His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;

Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
Sing to the LORD with the harp,

With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
With trumpets and the sound of a horn;

Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.

Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands;

Let the hills be joyful together
before the LORD,

For He is coming to judge the earth.

With righteousness He shall judge the world,

And the peoples with equity.

-Psalm 98

The Proverbs 31 Woman

2011-04-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

"10 A wife of noble character who can find?

   She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband has full confidence in her

   and lacks nothing of value.

12 She brings him good, not harm,

   all the days of her life.

13 She selects wool and flax

   and works with eager hands.

14 She is like the merchant ships,

   bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up while it is still night;

   she provides food for her family

   and portions for her female servants.

16 She considers a field and buys it;

   out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She sets about her work vigorously;

   her arms are strong for her tasks.

18 She sees that her trading is profitable,

   and her lamp does not go out at night.

19 In her hand she holds the distaff

   and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

20 She opens her arms to the poor

   and extends her hands to the needy.

21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

   for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

22 She makes coverings for her bed;

   she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,

   where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them,

   and supplies the merchants with sashes.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;

   she can laugh at the days to come.

26 She speaks with wisdom,

   and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

27 She watches over the affairs of her household

   and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise and call her blessed;

   her husband also, and he praises her:

29 “Many women do noble things,

   but you surpass them all.”

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,

   and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

What does it mean to be all of these things? Times have changed since this Proverb was written. Obviously, there's traits that stay the same throughout time...eagerness to work, sympathy for the poor, strength and dignity. These are important. But there's things that have changed in the modern world. If I don't sew clothes for my family, am I not a noble wife in the sight of God? I love sewing, but there's many women who don't. I don't feel as though that's sinful! If I don't make linen garments and sell them, if my 'trading' is not profitable...is that wrong?

I'm going to pick apart this passage and re-word it in more modern terms. I believe that there's more of an attitude that is being presented here. After all, to just do these actions without any feeling would be legalistic. So I wanted to give my opinion on what attitudes and good duties are stressed here.

10-Who can find a noble wife? She is rare. She is worth so much more than precious gems. 11-Her husband is fully confident that she is good, and his values are good. 12-As long as she lives, his wife helps him, and doesn't harm him. 13-She picks up useful things and eagerly works with them. 14-Like a merchant ship, she brings in food from all over the place. 15-She gets up very early to make sure there is food for her family. 16-With her money, she assesses the things she is thinking of buying and makes use of those things. 17-Her arms are strong as she vigorously works. 18-She makes sure she is spending money on useful things, and she doesn't just drop into bed as soon as it gets dark. 19-She works with useful things to provide for her family. 20-She cares about the poor and gives to those in need. 21-When the weather turns bad, she isn't worried because she has provided proper clothing for her family. 22-She takes care of her house and looks very presentable. 23-Her husband has a good job and is respected by all. 24-She does what she can to provide for her family. 25-She is strong and has dignity, and she isn't worried about the future. 26-She is wise and she faithfully instructs. 27-She takes care of her house and isn't lazy or negligent. 28-She children love and respect her, and so does her husband. 29-He tells her that he's glad that she is his wife. 30-Outward appearance is deceptive and it won't last. A woman who loves and fears the Lord is to be honored. 31-Let everyone honor all she has done.

So, I don't think I need to hold the distaff or sell linen at the city gates to be a God-honoring woman. I need to be strong and eager to do the work in my home. I need to provide food and clothing for my family so they won't be cold or hungry. I need to present myself respectably, but not be too absorbed in how I look because that's shallow. I need to lovingly correct my kids. I need to make sure I've married a good husband who loves the Lord and helps provide for his family. I need to use money wisely. I need to not be lazy, or worry about how I will provide for my family in the future.

And of course, above all, I need to do all these things in His name and glorify Him as long as I live!!

Wisconsin Pictures

2011-04-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

First thing's first... I wanted to get around to posting photos from my friend Alex's cabin up in Wisconsin, even though it's been nearly two months. Yikes! In any case, it was a great trip. I'm really blessed to have Alex as a friend, and we had some really great spiritual talks.

Just thought I'd share :)

Tree of Life

2011-04-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

"Hope deferred...

...makes the heart sick...

...but a longing fulfilled...

...is a Tree of Life."

Proverbs 13:12

Grateful for the Sorrow.

2011-04-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

"God sometimes marvelously raiseth the souls of his saints with some close and near approaches unto them -- gives them a sense of His eternal love, a taste of the embraces of His Son and the inhabitation of the Spirit, without the least intervening disturbance; and then this is their assurance. But this life is not a season to be always taking wages in; our work is not yet done; we are not always to abide in this mount; we must down again into the battle -- fight again, cry again, complain again. Shall the soul be thought now to have lost its assurance? Not at all. It had before assurance with joy, triumph, and exultation; it hath it now, or may have, with wrestling, cries, tears, and supplications. And a man's assurance may be as good, as true, when he lies on the earth with a sense of sin, as when he is carried up to the third heaven with a sense of love and foretaste of glory." - John Owen

When I read this today, I was both encouraged and convicted. I've found that Owen's works manage to strike those two prominent feelings at the same time in my heart, and it creates the perfect chemistry. While realizing how hopeless I am, I realize how incredible God is.

Sometimes I think to myself, "When do I feel God most near?" Because when God is most near to me, I am most satisfied. When I ask that, I immediately think of worship. When I sing to God, whether it's sitting in my friend's family room with a lone guitar or literally shouting to the Lord surrounded by thousands of voices at the Sears Centre, I feel His presence so clearly. I think of the times when I get in the car with Laura and turn on praise music to the max. Singing is an enormous part of my emotions, and since I'm an extremely emotional person, an enormous part of my emotions is an enormous part of me, period. I know that God has put this passion into me because He knows it will take hold of me and make me so, so much more aware of His amazing beauty.

Anytime I'm truly upset, it's because I'm having an inner struggle that my sinful mind refuses to hand over to Him. Apathy is the biggest, I think. I won't dig too deep into that, (another post...) but I believe it's the worst thing you can go through. You feel absolutely nothing. No joy, no motivation, no emotion...just blank apathy. So it's definitely those times when I feel most distant from God.

That could confuse some people. Is apathy worse than emotional pain? To me, yes. And I'll tell you why. I've experienced pain. At one point in my childhood, I had the worst experience of my life, and the pain hasn't gone away and I don't think it ever will. It still haunts me and takes my breath away for all the sadness I feel. And guess what?

I'm grateful. I'm grateful for the sorrow.

Because in those moments of pain - not just pain inflicted by that particular event, but all emotional pain I've ever felt - God is nearer than when I worship and I'm joyful. When I curl up on my bed and cry like there's no tomorrow, I get the most acute sense that He's wrapping his arms around me and it gives me peace that is past understanding. This is something that came to me not too long ago. It hit me like a rock. Realizing it was astounding.

Because up until then, I had dealt with those moments of pain by telling myself that I deserved it. And of course, it's undeniably true. Like John Piper says in "Life is a Vapor", everything we receive here on earth is mercy. Compared to what we deserve, the worst experience on this earth is mercy. Pondering that humbles me. But there's even more.

God, in His amazing, amazing grace, is just in His actions. I deserve much more than that trauma, I deserve hell. But yet...YET...God has used the worst experience of my life for good. I'm serious when I say that the worst thing that happened to me is also the best thing that has happened to me. Of all the joyful things I've experienced in life, nothing has brought me closer to God. Because...nothing else has made me feel my need for Him more than my trials. And that has brought me the most everlasting and satisfying joy. God is just, and He brings trials, and we know we deserve it...and then He uses them to bring us joy. He piles mercy on top of mercy. It's mind-boggling.

And then I can truly say, I'm grateful for the sorrow.

What is Love?

2011-02-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

noun, verb, loved, lov·ing. - a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

What is love, anyway? How is the world's love and God's love different? How are we supposed to love one another?

I think that once we understand the difference between our kind of love and the world's kind of love, we can better understand the difference between the world's view of God and our view of God. The two go hand-in-hand.

The world often views God as someone who doesn't exist, or an enemy. But I think these people - the active Atheists - are in the minority compared to what I like to call "convenience Christians". These people claim to "know" God, and speak of Him nicely, but they're only getting half of Him. What I mean is that, they prefer to focus on God's grace, mercy and beauty, but when it comes to His (rightful) wrath and judgment, it comes to a halt.

This morning, I was thinking about how closely this relates to the world's take on "love". I've always felt that, as Christians, our view on love is so different than the world's, for many different reasons. And once we crack this whole matter open, we can understand God better, and most importantly, we can understand Him for ALL that He is.

Here are some examples of the world's "love":

Giving someone what they want in order to make them happy or comfortable. I once heard, on another blog post about a woman who let her high school senior daughter get ~~a boob job~~ certain enhancements because she "just wanted her to be happy". And recently, I was watching the TLC T.V. show called "Toddlers and Tiaras" when I picked up another example. 4-year-old Makenzie still used a pacifier for comfort, and even had a name for her ("Ni-ni! Mommy, I want my Ni-ni! Give me her!"). Her Mom excused her actions by saying "I tried taking Ni-ni away from Makenzie for a couple of weeks, but I felt so bad that I just had to give it back." Yikes.

Lust, or sexual attraction. This is huge. People these days think that when they feel physically attracted to someone, or they "want" them, it means that they love them. In reality, that's not what real love is. Don't get me wrong - physical attraction is NOT bad. Of course not! God created us to be sexual creatures, didn't He? No, what I'm trying to say is that physical attraction is only part of a relationship, not the foundation or the cornerstone of it.

Most common, I think, is acceptance and tolerance. This is also huge. While it's important to be loving and patient when keeping someone accountable, there's a fine line between that and letting the matter slip completely. It's all the rage these days..."you can't change who you are." You can be have anger problems, and the world will tell you that it's okay, because you can't change who you are. You can be homosexual, and the world will tell you that's just fine, because of course, that's just the way you are. You can defy authority, indulge in lust, and even murder unborn children and what will the world tell you? That it's just fine, of course. Now, this could easily stray off-topic, so I'll wrap it up: constantly reassuring someone that their sin is "okay" is NOT love. I'll touch base on this later.

The point is pretty clear: the world is pretty messed up on this whole "love" deal. To the unsaved, love is making life comfortable for someone, lusting over them, and reassuring them of their own "self-worth" when they mess up. But the Bible teaches us something very, very different. The way God loves us and the way we are to love each other differs, because only God can truly judge the motives of the heart, and we can only guess. But they're still very closely linked. Here's what God has to say about love:

God's love is grounded in discipline. God's love isn't making us feel "good" - it's Him doing what He (of course!) knows is best for us. In Revelation 3:19, God tells us that "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." And Proverbs 12:1 says " Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid." God wants us to be holy, and He wants us to be satisfied in Him, therefore glorifying Him to the fullest. We need to CRAVE God's discipline, because we know that it's the very best thing for us.
God's love is everlasting. Psalm 100:5 tells us that "the LORD is good and his love endures forever." His love isn't just a feeling or an emotion. It won't come and go. It will ALWAYS remain - no matter what the circumstance.
God's love isn't always what we want. This is an elaboration of the first point. Isaiah 55:8 says: "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,'” declares the LORD." We aren't the ones who know best. God is. He knows that the simple, brief pleasures in life aren't what will sustain us in the end. It's His discipline. It's the knowledge that He is in charge, not us. Although God's love might confuse our sinful minds, it's what our love towards each other must be grounded in.

Now that we have a clear picture of God's love, how are we supposed to take it into account? What are we supposed to do? Like I said, we don't always know the thoughts and intentions of other peoples' hearts. Only God can see within. When we hold them accountable, we can't speak for God. But we can try to mirror the love He shows for us to the best of our ability. And God shows us lots of ways that we are to love each other:

Accountability. God disciplines us, but that's different. Discipline is God's job; reminding each other about God's discipline is our job. I've found that unfortunately, many Christians take the liberty to judge others based on their own personal convictions instead of solid, biblical truths. I'm not exempt from this. I've sinned this way in order to feel better about myself. Again, this could easily branch off into another discussion, but I'll leave it with this: Galatians 6:1 tells us that "if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted." The first part is easy - hold each other accountable lovingly. The second part is more challenging - we can't become judgmental or holier-than-thou. Because then we're not truly loving the person we're restoring - we're only trying to make ourselves feel better about our own sin.
Wanting what's best. Boob jobs for high-schoolers and pacifiers for 4-year-olds are not what's best. Discipline is. The Bible is clear on this: "Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them." Proverbs 13:24. My Dad said that other night, "tough love is the most genuine love." It's so very true. He and my Mom have made sure that my siblings and I know that. The reason they discipline us is because they love us.
True feelings of affection, not just shallow lust. The Bible very clearly warns us to stay away from sexual immorality (Romans 13:13). When you sin sexually, you aren't just hurting yourself. Obviously, you're hurting the other person, too. Taking away someone's innocence for your own brief pleasure is not love. Waiting until marriage is. Denying the sinful desires of the flesh and submitting to God's authority is love - loving yourself and the one you're in love with.
And of course, the infamous 1st Corinthians 13 passage: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." When we hold each other accountable, we're supposed to be patient and kind. True love won't be jealous or prideful, it will be selfless and humble. Love won't be committed to dishonor others in sexual immorality, only to satisfy self. Love won't lash out quickly and hold grudges. Love will cling to what is good. Love will defend what is good and put all its faith in what is good. Love will prevail when all else fails.

What is love? This is love.

Happy Valentine's Day... ;-)

"What About Socialization?" If I hear that question on more time...

2010-12-28T00:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of update ;-) It's been a busy (and AMAZING!) Christmas!

Tonight I decided to do a little research on anti-homeschoolers and the points they're set on. I thought it would be good to think of answers to say to them in defense - sort of like home-schooling apologetics ;-D

Anyway, I found this (rather disturbing...) article that luckily had follow-up comments. I decided to put my own two cents in. Here's what I said, and the author's points are in italics before my answers to them.

~*~

I'm 16 years old and I've been home-schooled my entire life. I wouldn't have it any other way. I want to give my opinion. I know people are going to disagree - but that would most likely be the result of a different worldview, and difference of worldviews are the reason home-schooling debates exist. So while I'll back up most of my points with spiritual motives, I'll try to point out some logistical and common sense points as well.

10. “You were totally home schooled” is an insult college kids use when mocking the geeky kid in the dorm (whether or not the offender was home schooled or not). And… say what you will… but it doesn’t feel nice to be considered an outsider, a natural outcropping of being homeschooled.

Actually, I honestly don't care. I know I'm not a geek. I keep up with fashion, I watch T.V., etc. ... but my point should really be, if somebody judges me based on where I was educated, I consider it to be THEIR problem, not mine. Furthermore, as a devout Christian I believe that it doesn't matter what the world thinks - it only matters what God thinks.

9. Call me old-fashioned, but a students’ classroom shouldn’t also be where they eat Fruit Loops and meat loaf (not at the same time I hope). It also shouldn’t be where the family gathers to watch American Idol or to play Wii. Students–from little ones to teens–deserve a learning-focused place to study. In modern society, we call them schools.

What does being home-schooled have to do with eating meat and cereal together? Do you really think we're so ignorant that we have no taste buds? But anyway... being able to concentrate no matter what your surroundings consist of is a GOOD thing to have under your belt, in my opinion.

8. Homeschooling is selfish. According to this article in USA Today, students who get homeschooled are increasingly from wealthy and well-educated families. To take these (I’m assuming) high achieving students out of our schools is a disservice to our less fortunate public school kids. Poorer students with less literate parents are more reliant on peer support and motivation, and they greatly benefit from the focus and commitment of their richer and higher achieving classmates.

Not a problem. Home-schooling isn't nearly popular enough for that to take hold. If it gets to that point, well, then you can get back to me. ;-)

7. God hates homeschooling. The study, done by the National Center for Education Statistics, notes that the most common reason parents gave as the most important was a desire to provide religious or moral instruction. To the homeschooling Believers out there, didn’t God say “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations”? Didn’t he command, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me”? From my side, to take your faithful children out of schools is to miss an opportunity to spread the grace, power and beauty of the Lord to the common people. (Personally I’m agnostic, but I’m just saying…)

Ooh, this is a fun one.
Psalm 127:4 says "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth." What is the logic of a parent putting their arrows into the enemy's quiver? This branches off into an entirely different conversation that I won't get into now, but basically it's safe to say that (as a Christian) it's wrong to follow the world's standards (Romans 12:2). So if (as Christians) we're not to listen to the world, is 7 hours a day of humanistic teaching a good idea?

Now, about witnessing to others. I won't say whether or not it's legal to witness in school, as that does vary by district. But I will say that there are MANY ways to witness otherwise. I'm involved with many extracurricular activities. Those are the places where I witness. And there's things like charity work and mission trips.

6. Homeschooling parent/teachers are arrogant to the point of lunacy. For real! My qualifications to teach English include a double major in English and education, two master’s degrees (education and journalism), a student teaching semester and multiple internship terms, real world experience as a writer, and years in the classroom dealing with different learning styles. So, first of all, homeschooling parent, you think you can teach English as well as me? Well, maybe you can. I’ll give you that. But there’s no way that you can teach English as well as me, and biology as well as a trained professional, and history… and Spanish… and art… and counsel for college as well as a school’s guidance counselor… and… and…

Guess what? Being able to teach myself has been one of the greatest home-schooling benefits I can think of. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm a lot more self-motivated than my friends who attend public school. They've even said it themselves. They have trouble getting themselves to do things. I've found that a lot of home-schoolers I know are more self-motivated - it's a proven fact.

Also, please do some research. Most home-schoolers are involved with co-ops. This is where someone can take classes in which they need a specialized teacher to teach them a subject. I take a writing class. I'm not particularly gifted in that area, thus my teacher has helped me get better so that I can prepare for the ACT.

5. As a teacher, homeschooling kind of pisses me off. (That’s good enough for #5.)

Sorry. Do people who specialize in anesthetics get 'pissed off' when a woman decides to deliver her child naturally? I could think of more examples, but I'm sure you get my point. You can't get angry when someone decides not to put you to work.

4. Homeschooling could breed intolerance, and maybe even racism. Unless the student is being homeschooled at the MTV Real World house, there’s probably only one race/sexuality/background in the room. How can a young person learn to appreciate other cultures if he or she doesn’t live among them?

I absolutely despise racism. Again - I'm involved with many extracurricular activities. I know many, many people who are of different race/sexuality/background than me. As for the majority of home-schoolers, I can't imagine that not being submersed in a certain environment doesn't mean that they aren't completely aware of it. There isn't a crucial difference between the two (complete submersion and being aware) and anti-home-schoolers tend to overlook this fact.

3. And don’t give me this “they still participate in activities with public school kids” garbage. Socialization in our grand multi-cultural experiment we call America is a process that takes more than an hour a day, a few times a week. Homeschooling, undoubtedly, leaves the child unprepared socially.

I've touched base on this earlier. You don't have to be submersed in something 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 9 or so months a year in order to be able to understand and act on it.

2. Homeschooling parents are arrogant, Part 2. According to Henry Cate, who runs the Why Homeschool blog, many highly educated, high-income parents are “probably people who are a little bit more comfortable in taking risks” in choosing a college or line of work. “The attributes that facilitate that might also facilitate them being more comfortable with home-schooling.”

More comfortable taking risks with their child’s education? Gamble on, I don’t know, the Superbowl, not your child’s future.

This is why many parents home-school for awhile and then send their kids to public school. Or they do it all the way through. It just depends on what they feel the need for. If you've come across a home-schooling parent who has obviously (for academic reasons, not social as we obviously disagree on what social requirements consist of) made the wrong choice, I'm sorry. Can't win 'em all, I guess. But I'm fighting for home-schooling in general. Just like you're fighting for public school in general. And there are kids who obviously got their drug addictions and dirty language from being in public school, so... I'm sure you get my point. ;-)

1. And finally… have you met someone homeschooled? Not to hate, but they do tend to be pretty geeky.

There's really nothing to say about this.

I'll reiterate what I said earlier. The main problem behind the home-schooling debate is a difference of worldviews. The majority of parents who home-school do so because they don't want their child to learn from humanistic and evolution-based curriculum. But for a lot of parents who send their kids to public school, that's exactly what they do want. So I think I'm making my point pretty clear. I say tomato, you said tomahto.

No hard feelings here. I just felt the need to defend myself, my parents, and my fellow home-schoolers. Best of luck in your career. :)

~*~

I hope you enjoyed that. My favorite part was when he used "home-schoolers are geeks" for two seperate points. :-)

Happy Homeschooling. It's one of my favorite things about this crazy, wonderful, wild life that God has given me.

It's Been Awhile!

2010-12-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

Yikes! It's been almost two months. And I promised to be more diligent about updating! : P Well, I guess now is the time!

It's officially Christmas time now for our family. I can't explain how much I love Christmas. Everything about it is so amazing! Of course, Jesus' birth is the first and foremost thing on my mind during the season.

It's officially Winter now, too. Well not exactly, but there's enough snow on the ground to convince me, whether or not the Winter Equinox (Solstice?! Yikes, I don't know!) agrees or not! :P

Thanksgiving came and went, and it was great. I can never concentrate on the holiday very well because of the decorating and shopping the next day! Mom, sisters A & L and I got up at 5:30 to shop at Macy's. I got an early Christmas present (although I can't have it until Christmas!) of a brown leather jacket with gold military-style buttoning... I'm soooo excited! It's Steve Madden and it was originally $130, but we got it on sale for $45!! I LOVE Black Friday!

But in the midst of all the materialism, we have to be reminding ourselves of what life's really about. During the season, when all the beautiful Christmas things have the ability to make us forget about our sin and begin to love the world, it's important to be reminded of this verse and to think about it everyday.

On that note, I'm off. Happy Wednesday and treat it well. :)

xox Emma

October Sky

2010-10-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

I wish Indian Summer stayed longer here in Illie. I feel like it's scorching one day and freezing the other. Today it was a little more on the freezing side, but still pretty out.

So I took Abby out and took her picture.

I love Autumn! :)

Mums are so beautiful.

Happy Monday.

Chicago Marathon 2010

2010-10-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

Every year, my Daddy runs the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. And every year we go downtown to cheer him on. Even though I had to get up at 3:45 a.m. (yes, you heard me), it was a fun day. And he made it too - all 26.2 (and he says the .2 is the hardest part!) miles!! :-)

Chicago is such a beautiful city - It was so worth it to carry my (kind of heavy) camera around all day so I could get some nice piccies!

This was how it looked when we left the house at 5 am. Yikes.

(btw, these first few pictures aren't good at all - my camera does NOT do well in bad lighting and I didn't want to disturb anyone with the flash.)

Then around 6 am when we got to the city.

Off he goes! Looking spiffy in his cap and nylon shirt ;-)

The traditional McD's breakfast while we wait for the marathon to start!

Another tradition - we park ourselves right in front of the Bank and wait for the first runners to come.

The bikers!! So cool to see disabled people using only their arms to push themselves the whole way!! WOW!!

There they are!!! (oh, those lights!! Thank goodness for crop. :-P)

There he is!
"Take my cap, it's making me hot!"
;-P

Ummm...yes. That's a guy carrying the Eiffel tower on his head. Ooooo...K!

I liked getting these shots of the buildings.

Then we went on the Riverwalk before heading to another mile point to see if we could spot Dad. This was my favorite picture of the day above, and a close second below.

I got REALLY grouchy after that. Low blood sugar.. so we all got some Starbucks.

My favorite part of Chicago - the Lakefront. Less crowded and closed in. I love Chi-town, but I could never live there, it's too busy. But maybe if I lived on the Lakefront.

I liked seeing the sunlight through the trees - and playing with the 60's edit on Picnik. ;-)

My parting gift to you. This was so encouraging to see. :)

Tomorrow I'm leaving to visit brother E at college, 9 hours away (with no iPod, still - yikes!!) so please pray that we would all be safe. :)

Psalm 94

2010-10-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

Those are my 3 favorite verses from one of my new favorite passages, Psalm 94. I discovered it the other day and loved it. Weird, because I've read all the way through Psalms, and it never particularly stuck out to me. Hmm. But it did last night, and I'm going to try and memorize it. I don't memorize scripture for the sake of feeling more "holy" or "diligent" (that's too legalist for me), but because I like to have these things on hand when I need an encouragement and I don't have a Bible on hand. Those times come a lot, I've realized. :)

xox

***ETA***
Until I published this post I didn't realize how much the orange blog template and the purple graphic designs HORRIBLY clash!!! Oops!!! :-P

Streams of Consciousness

2010-10-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

Who hates being sick? I know I do. My Mom told me that when I was little, I would get mad every time I got sick. I'm just not a lay around, watch T.V. all day kind of person. Sure, I like to do that stuff every once in awhile, but I also love to take walks and listen to my iPod on full blast. And not to mention it's Indian Summer, my FAVORITE season (although I guess it's not technically a season, but it is in my mind). October is arguably my favorite month, at least as far as the weather goes. Not a fan of Halloween, though. I hate the origins of that holiday. Oh well. Anyway, while we're sorta-kinda on the subject of my iPod, I have a lovely story. I left mine at Oasis (youth group on Wed. nights) because I have a special playlist that we play often over the speakers during fellowship as background music. I left it there and texted my (dear, sweet) friend R and asked her to bring it home. Well, my (dear, sweet) friend left in her pocket and her Mom washed those pants and poor iPod has met its demise. Bye-bye, iPod. You were well used and well loved. My poor (dear, sweet) friend R. I felt terrible for her when I heard the news. It's really no one's fault. I was being forgetful, R didn't know her Mom was going to wash those pants, and R's Mom didn't know those pants had my iPod in its pocket. Ah well, such is life. I'll be getting a new one, for sure. I'm really hoping to get this one. Isn't that nice? I LOVE the color. The 5th generation nano's pink was a hot pink, which I don't like at all.

Anyway, right now I'm listening to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Can I even begin to express my love for these movies and books? Seriously. I think it's safe to say they've changed my life. I can never, ever get sick of the films, the books, or the music. Ahhhh, the music. Howard Shore is a genius. Right now, "Breaking of the Fellowship" is playing. ::happy sigh:: Speaking of LotR, the other day Mom and I were talking about heaven and I told her I hope that Heaven looks like Rivendell. Although I know it'll be INSANELY more beautiful, considering Rivendell is a place conceived by fallen human minds. I can't wait. On a more awkward note, Mom wondered out loud if we're going to be naked in Heaven. Ummmmmmm. That makes too much sense. No lust, no shame, right? And of course that's how it was in the Garden of Eden. Who knows. Anyway... ::shakes awkward picture from mind::

I'm eating granola right now, and it's pretty filling which is probably a bad idea right now since Mom's having Minestrone Soup ready in like, a half hour. Yuummm. Just what I need right now, hot soup. :-) Granola aside, I'll eat the rest later. Speaking of consuming, I've been drinking so much water I'm pretty sure it'll come out of my pores. Typical sick Emma. Speaking of sick Emma, something that really seems to work for me is eating raw garlic. I did that today and yesterday. It's worked in the past, but let me tell you, UGH. And it really does come out of your pores.

So, if you're even in Chicagoland, I strongly recommend you visit Downtown Geneva (about an hour west of the city). It's one of my favorite places in the world. Go to Graham's 318 (the most amazing chocolate fondue), get some clothes at Savannah Rose, get a Hot Apple Blast from Caribou, visit all the antique shops and there you have a completely perfect Fall afternoon. Mom and I did that yesterday (minus Graham's and SavRose) and although I'm sure the fresh air was good for my cold, I walked around and pushed myself too much and it had a bad effect. :-/ Oh well, it was definitely worth it. The funniest part was when we were about to go into Caribou and I saw my Pastor's son, Jackson (remember this post?) through the glass. He was there with his Momma and his two siblings. What a nice surprise! Here's a picture of him more recently, in case you were wondering:

What a cutie patootie. Oh, speaking of cute, I found a new Etsy shop to fawn over. I especially love that hedgehog and owl - I think I'll ask for it for Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I'm so excited that a) the day is only 84 days away; b) the actual season (for my family, anyway) starts in only 55 days, and c) my parents said I could have a Christmas party for all my youth group friends. Yay!

Enough streams of consciousness for now. By the way, I ate the rest of that granola. I couldn't resist. And I'm still hungry. Minestrone soup...yummy :-)

Have a great weekend!

Poor Willie.

Our Dog, Abby

2010-09-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

This morning, I woke up feeling like I had a head cold coming on. I've been feeling like that for weeks now because of allergies. I ALWAYS get them this time of year. Ugh! But this morning was worse than usual. I went down and sat on the couch in my parent's room. Abby came over, jumped up next to me, looked up at me so sweetly and laid her paw on my leg. Then she laid her head in my lap and looked up at me a couple times. Isn't it funny how animals and little kids just sense when things aren't right? I love our dog, she's just the best! :-)

Her only flaw - considering she's beautiful, sweet and VERY smart - is that she's extremely high-strung. Especially when we take her on walks and when she's in the car. See? :-P The funniest thing happened when we put her in Dog Training School. She barked herself until she sounded hoarse and her eyes were bloodshot. They ended up asking us to remove her from the class because she needed a private trainer. Um, WOW. xP

Now her theme song is that song from Grease, but it goes "Training school kick-out...no graduation day for you, training school kick-out..." LOL. :-)

Pictures From Canada

2010-09-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

So, ever since my Dad was little (we need not reveal the year...) his side of the family has owned a small cabin, on a remote island in Lake of the Woods, Ontario. I've been vacationing there since I was a baby. It's one of the most beautiful place in the world, to me anyway (:

Me, Mom, Dad and brother E went there at the beginning of August. I don't know why I haven't posted about it until now - didn't get around to it. I need to be more diligent in updating my blog!! I know that years down the road, I'll be really glad that I did.

Anyway, the picture above is of the "Mouse House", where we stopped for cheese. (We live in the Chi-town area, so we go straight north.) Normally we stop at "Humbird" cheeses and we have for I-don't-know-how-many years, but this time, we left a full 12 hours later than usual (at 6 pm rather than 6 am) so Daddy could get in a day of work before taking off.

Here is the place we stop for doughnuts, in Minnesota. If you're ever near Orr, go!! I don't even LIKE doughnuts (I know, I know) but I LOVE these. P:

Then we were in Canada! Here's all my favorite Canadian candy.

Ahhhh, here's the cabin. Isn't it so pretty? It's an eight-mile boat ride to our island. Nice and rural ;-P The waves made our boat go up and down. It was so much fun! Small pleasures :-)

This is the view from our cabin. I wish the picture was bigger but that's okay. I may be a little biased, but I do think we have the best view in all of Lake of the Woods. :-)


Inside our cabin. I slept on that futon over there. The nice thing about not having as many people staying in the cabin is being able to choose a better sleeping place! (sister L had to work/go to Cosmo school and sister A and bro-in-law J also had work. We missed them.)

View from one side of the island.

This was the first morning, when I took my bible and devotional notebook down onto the front dock. It was such a pretty time!

One of my favorite things to do in Canada - catch crayfish. They're SO fun. :-)

I caught a total of 5 fish and this was the only good picture ;-P Sadly, they were all about that size and no bigger. Although I think Daddy was more bummed about this then I was. Hah!

Canadian Sunsets are the best.


The coffee that makes my existence that much more worthwhile. :-)

Happy (Belated) 9th Birthday, Hannah!!!

2010-09-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was angel Hannah's 9th birthday. She went to Heaven when she was 5, and in celebration of her birthday I (and many others) put some of my sparkliest things on and went to class like that :) Those are my sequin shoes and star clips. I sure hope Hannah would approve!

Different European Architecture

2010-09-20T18:38:00.001-07:00

For my Literature class, our homework was to choose (out of a list) certain projects to do. We're reading the book Trumpet of Krakow, which takes place in Poland (COOL!) and one of the choices was to write a report comparing three different architecture styles: Gothic, Renaissance and Romanesque.

Gothic-style structures are similar to what would come into mind as soon as any teenage American hears the word “Gothic”. The word “gothic” these days refers to teenagers who listen to Punk music, are very quiet, have their hair dyed black and shop at Hot Topic. All this in one word: “Dark”. When I see a Gothic-style structure, the intricate detail and almost menacing look of the building makes me think of the word “dark”. Gothic-style architecture features lots of turrets with spikes or knobs on top, extravagant windows and many different facets along the windows, doors, etc. It has the look of a place a king during the Dark Ages would live, maybe even a dictator (or someone similar), because of the said “dark” look. I think the sinister minds of a lot of people in that day had a lot to do with the looks of their architecture. People want to live in a place that fits them, so they designed buildings that expressed their own personalities.

Renaissance structures are similar to Gothic structures in some ways. They have the same extravagant and detailed look, but are definitely softer around the edges. They have more rounded roofs and windows that give it a “cathedral” look. They are very royal looking, and compared to Gothic, almost a bit more classy and modern. It’s interesting to see styles morphing throughout the years, and to see certain aspects of certain styles being influenced onto other styles.

Romanesque structures are plainer in comparison to the other two styles. They are strict looking, made of stone and almost have a Greek look to them. They have more rounded windows and roofs, but the starkness of the buildings gives it a rather pointed look considering the round corners. I can imagine a school having a Romanesque style because of the serious and studious look it possesses.

Comparing all three styles, I would say that Gothic is the darkest and most extravagant, Renaissance is the prettiest and most religious, and Romanesque is the most serious. It would be like a dark, menacing, respect-demanding father, his pretty Catholic wife, and their straight-A student son.

I hope my Lit teacher likes this! I think the personification at the end might have been a little over the top, but oh well ;-P

I am a Toad

2010-09-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

I am a little toad,
Hopping down the road.

Just listen to my song,
I sleep all winter long.

When spring comes I peep out,
And then I jump about.

And now I catch a fly,
And now I wink my eye.

And now and then I hop,
And now and then I stop!
-I am a Toad (anon.)

Aren't they such photogenic animals?? I love their eyes. :)

Etsy, Etsy, Etsy

2010-06-27T19:13:00.001-07:00

I love to sew. And I also love kid's clothes, and color-coordinating, and fashion in general. Sooooo, recently I decided that as soon as I get a real job (like Subway, Starbucks, etc.) with a reasonable income I would start my own Etsy shop (or "Children's Boutique"). Sometime this summer, my Mom was saying I should read this book by Martha Stewart about starting your own business. I'll probably make mostly girl clothing, simply because well I'm a girl and a frilly one at that, but I'll try to make some cute boy's stuff too. I want to get most of my fabric from Warm Biscuit (see link to the right) and set up my sewing machine and other tools on my (HUGE and comfortable) desk. I'm SO excited! Above is the banner I designed. I really like the name. It seems to wrap up my desired style quite nicely. Wish me luck(:

xo Em

What Ensues when Emma Goes to Camp.

2010-06-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

This was a VERY encouraging, convicting, exhausting, amazing week. I grew and stretched in my knowledge, respect, and love for the Lord more than I could have hoped for.

Summer camp is extremely fun, the games are awesome, and the performances we do at the end (normally we do a lip sync, but we had one less day to practice for it, so they ended up cutting it halfway through camp and replacing it with a variety show..which turned out just as fun!).

But that's not the main reason I go. They pack so much teaching into those 5 days and that teaching is packed. You'd be surprised at what that can do. It's easier to "ignore" sin when you're going about your day and doing things that don't directly involve God. But when you're at camp, it's constantly up in your face. It's such a great thing...it may not "feel" great, but it really is.

This week, our speaker talked about death, and also dying to yourself and the death of sin. He talked about God commands us to "take up our cross and follow him daily". This means to put to death the things of the world (Romans 12:2) and follow His commands, which the world does not do. He also talked about putting sin to death, and quoted John Owen saying "You need to be killing sin or it will be killing you!" That's so true! During one of our TAGs (Time Alone with God), I read about how you need to stop running towards Christ in order to sin. This encouraged me to stop sinning, because there is greater satisfaction in God then in sinful pleasures.

And I can safely say that sitting around a bonfire with your brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing testimonies, and singing God of Wonders beats partying and getting drunk by a mile; no, by an uncountable number of miles. Thank You Lord, thank You.

Another thing I learned at camp, was that the devil knows of my anxiety problems and also, he would do whatever he could to make me NOT want to be at Camp. He HATES me being there...he hates us ALL being there! Growing in God, singing praises, and fellowship? The devil would do whatever he could to yank us away. I realized this with the help of one of my leaders, when I was starting to have a breakdown. It was a great lesson...I will always remember it.

Anyway, I'm exhausted (sleep deprivation, no good!) even though I slept for a good 10 hours last night. :P But happy, too. I'm so happy and thankful for God's presence in my life.

Now, where's Summer Camp 2011? xP

Other pictures from camp:

We have Theme Nights at camp, where we get points for dressing up on certain nights. Me and one of my closest friends, Liz, dressed up as made-up superheroes "Toothpaste Girl and The Cavity"! It was too fun!

Me and my friend, Alex, were Wilbur and Fern from Charlotte's Web on Country Night. Fun!

I was on Green Team, the "Green Berets". Ha!

And, a video to give you a taste of Summer Camp.

Wow, what a week.

Lastly...please read these lyrics. This was, what I thought, our camp theme song. The lyrics really convict me, and make me want to worship God that much more. So beautiful.

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life.

xoxo Emma

Summer Camp 2010

2010-06-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for since last summer. SUMMER CAMP! I am getting up at 4 (!) a.m. to go to the church and leave for Roach (LOL, I know, I know...) Missouri and driving 8 1/2 hours (on Coach buses! Alright!) to camp! I am just SO excited!

The above is some of the verses we get points for memorizing and reciting to our leaders. I hope I can do it!

Love you all! MUAH!

What is on my Checklist for the Summer?

2010-05-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

Most important: work on the above!
Take piano lessons! Especially so I can play this.
Go to SUMMER CAMP! (4 1/2 weeks away, I'm SO excited!)
Read: the rest of the LotR trilogy (almost done with FotR!), Alice in Wonderland, Pride and Prejudice, and some more, too!
Um, sadly, get a job. :P

Emma Update!

2010-04-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

Hey there! So I though it was time for an update on my life, it's been about a month since my last post!

If you're wondering about these verse pictures you keep seeing me post, they're what I call "Digital Media Edits" that I make using texts on Picnik.com. The purpose is to take beautiful Christian quotes and emphasize the keywords to make a nice picture. Someday, I plan to print them onto mugs, pictures, etc. and sell them on Etsy! Hopefully that'll work out someday!

So, in a little less than 2 months my youth group is going to summer camp. SUMMER CAMP! How has it been that long? Weren't we JUST there?? It's gone by so fast, and let me tell, that's a gift from God...summer camp is just, well, amazing. What more can be said?

Oh and a week from tomorrow? SIX FLAGS opens!! I'm SO excited. I'm the thrill-addict type, so roller coasters are my FAVORITE things! (after Jesus and Drama) ;P

So life is good! God is revealing Himself to me in all sorts of ways. I've read the books "I Kissed Dating Good-bye" and then "Say Hello to Courtship" by Joshua Harris...and let me tell you, they're amazing books. I so recommend them. It takes romance and relationships and completely focuses them on the Lord. I definitely plan on courting!

Since I finished those, I've started reading "Don't Waste your Life" by John Piper (I'm a HUGE fan) and it's really stretching and challenging me. It's SO good.

<3 Emmaline

No Power of Hell, no Scheme of Man...

2010-03-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ ..

From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

Let me find Your grace In The Valley.

2010-03-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

When You lead me to the valley of vision
I can see You in the heights
And though my humbling wouldn’t be my decision
It’s here Your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley’s where You make me more like Christ

Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You’re near with every breath
In the valley

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley’s where Your power is revealed...

Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You’re near with every breath

In the valley.

A Tribute.

2010-03-04T15:07:00.000-08:00

I consider myself a 'deep' person. I think, I consider, I ponder.

Not long ago, Scott Alan came onto the scene. An amazing singer/songwriter. PERFECT music for who I am, as a deep-thinker, singer and theatre-person. If you have time, please listen to:

Never Never Land

Hold On (on his website, click the Scott Alan link above for it)

Always
(I prefer Sutton Foster singing it, but I couldn't find it on Youtube, so sorry!)

And my FAVORITE:

Kiss The Air.

xoxo Em

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

2010-02-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

Tim Burton + Alice in Wonderland + Johnny Depp = Perfection.

Tiramisu, or Red Velvet Cake, or anything chocolate.

Lord of the Rings, Ted Nasmith's art, and J.R.R. Tolkien in general.

Shopping, particularly here, or at VS's Pink and PacSun.

Chris Tomlin, along with Sovereign Grace and Jeremy Camp, and old hymns like this.

Castles, and England, and Warwick Castle in England which I can proudly say I've been to.

xoxo Em

A lot on my mind...

2010-02-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

See that picture? How distorted and twisted I look? Yep, that's about how I feel right now. There's a lot on my mind:

There's an enormous lack of disk space on my computer. I went to Winter Camp with (who else?) my youth group this weekend. It was an amazing weekend, to say the least. As always, extremely exhausting, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, too. The disk space is making it so that I cannot upload ANY of the photos I took yet. It's frusturating, to say the least.
I'm waiting impatiently for CTE/FVTC to announce their next show. This past fall, they did "Children of Eden", a show that distorts and changes the bible, so because of personal convictions my parents wouldn't let me do it (I would not have wanted to anyway). Now, it's been almost a year since I've been on stage and I'm DESPERATE to get back on there again. DESPERATE, I tell you!
Money..money..money. Not to get too personal, but basically, my family was suffering BEFORE the economy did what it did. It's been very very tough for all of us.
School. I'm still at home, and tying into the previous bullet point, Mom has been taking any subbing jobs (she has a degree in Teaching) she possibly can lately, so I'm home alone. It's alright for the most part, until we get to Math. I'm AWFUL at it, and it's getting HARD and I can no longer rely on only my videos. We're not sure what the plan is for Junior year since obviously homeschooling has had its run. We're thinking public school *shudder* or possibly classes at co-ops or colleges. Big decisions...big impact. It's tough.

Little things. My room is messy, there are dust bunnies underneath the furniture and I'm too sore from camp (more on that later...) to deal with it. I'm a neat freak and this stresses me out. Then there's my own reputation. I learned that one guy in my youth group said I was annoying, and not only does it hurt, it worries me. What did I do to make him say that?

Now. I'm listening to Mighty to Save and thinking about the root of these worries. Pride - wanting to do your best (in school, among your social groups) is natural, but I need to think about where my heart REALLY is. I've made this choice to be a Christian and glorify God...pride doesn't fit in that anywhere.

So this stress is really helping me rely on Him more and more - thus, it's becoming more of a blessing than a trial. I love it - I love how it works out like that.

Prayer, too, is a big thing. That's a weak spot in my spiritual life - I forget, my mind wanders, I don't do it as often as I should. Trevor - our speaker at camp - talked about this. It's a big deal, and I'm glad he did, because it opened my eyes to that fact.

And I need to realize that God has it ALL under control. Anxiety, stress...it can lead to many different sins. I just need to trust in Him and realize that I'm not alone in any of this.

Well this post meandered this way and that way...I guess I'd better get off my duff and do somthing, right? I'm glad I got it out, though. I feel a lot better, having it written down somewhere.

Later,
Em

The Name Game

2010-01-28T14:17:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was little, I've loved names. I'm notorious in my family for naming everything. The story my Dad likes to tell the best is of the time he, Mum and I were fishing in Canada (we have an island and cabin up there)..I caught a fish, a smallmouth bass, but my Dad said it was too small to keep and we'd forgotten the camera. This pretty much was the end of the world to me...as I waved good-bye to the fish I sobbed out "bye Gracie!". : P

That's not really changed. I still name everything (including the fish I catch in Canada, if you're asking). So (as you'll read to the right) since I'm looking forward to being a mother above all else except meeting my Father, I've thought out names for my kids. I like names that are unique, but not weird. Right now my favorites are (fem.) Stella Magdalene (I've always always loved Stella, and I love the middle name being biblical), Maisie Kate (first name courtesy of MckMama, and I'm a Dr. Suess FREAK, although I know the spelling is different [Maizie]. Anna wants to name their first daughter Kate so I thought if the Lord allows that to happen, she'll be named after her) and Ivy Delilah (predictably, another blog name, thank you Sheye. Middle name biblical as well - are you seeing a trend?). Favorites for boys are Cullen James (NO! Before the accusations start, let me issue a disclaimer. I love Twilight, although I am more of a LotR chick, but I am NOT naming my son after Edward Cullen! xP Again, thank you MckMama. And of course James is a classic, sturdy biblical name), Emmett Daniel (another Twilight disclaimer. In fact I think of this as my son being named after ME! Do you like that? And of course Daniel is another strong, sturdy and biblical name) and Dillon Asher (I just really like Dillon, and Asher is, again, biblical).

So what do you think? Of course, these are just for fun..I know my husband is going to have an opinion as well! xP What names do YOU like?

P.S. Off-topic, but:
A beautiful quote: "Lead me to peace that is past understanding, a peace beyond all doubt". - Newsboys
Isn't that great? It lets me know how much more God is powerful than I, and how tiny I am compared to Him...really, I don't need anything in this world!

xooxoo Em, Emmaline, M&M...girl of a million nicknames ; )

Jackson

2010-01-22T21:40:00.000-08:00

This is my pastor's son, Jackson. He's about 11 months old. Isn't he SCRUMPTIOUS?!? I could just eat him!!!

He just has the cutest chin and turtle mouth : )

I know this picture is a little blurry, but his face was too cute to share : )

xoxo Emma

Obedience.

2010-01-14T16:02:00.001-08:00

A couple years ago - the summer of '07 - my close friend Rachel and I were at her house, alone, hanging out while her mom was running errands. We got bored and wanted to swim in her rubber blow-up pool (like this one, but bigger) but we thought maybe we should call her mom first..and then we grew frustrated when she told us 'no'.

Rach and I were convicted enough to obey, so then we decided to play in her camper, next to the pool. As we were sitting, griping about our disappointment, we heard a loud POP followed by the sound of rushing water. We scrambled to the other side of the camper and saw that the entire pool had not just deflated, but was completely flattened to the side, to the point where the bottom of the pool was completely covered by heavy rubber. .. Just big enough to trap 2 girls our age underneath.

Now, granted, there is a chance we would have been able to scramble out - but it collapsed so suddenly and who has reflexes like that? Not us, I say..what if we had been trapped? What if we couldn't get out from underneath the rubber? It would have been heavy enough to suffocate us, I'm sure. We would have dead, and we would have died because we had disobeyed. The irony of the situation was shocking..were both shaking from relief and fear combined.

The point of this story is not only to praise God for convicting us enough that we didn't disobey her mom, but to keep us from doing just that. God's hand was working in that..

Definitely a story to get you thinking ( :

xoxo, and in Christ,
Emma <3

What I'm going to do during 2010

2009-12-31T00:28:00.001-08:00

Make a joyful noise to the Lord...

For though the world moves like mad, YOU ALONE are faithful...

And because I (and Jeremy Camp!) know WHO I AM...

I will NOT be moved.

For You are the joy in my morning...

And no power of hell, nor scheme of man, could EVER pluck me from Your hand...

And during my trials I know You will not leave my side but will carry me through my them.

And You're my reason for living.
And You're basically my LIFE.

And glorifying YOU in everything I say think and do is what I'll keeping myself busy with this year.

Those are some of my favorite lines from different Christian songs or stories. They have all struck a chord with me and I only thought it approriate to end 2009 with them and some of my favorite photos from the year.

xoxo..
In Christ,
Emm <3

P.S. If you're wondering about the black-and-white distorted photo, I went to a Jeremy Camp concert and took a picture of his shadow that was cast on the wall as he sang.. : )

Wishful Thinking...

2009-12-10T11:03:00.000-08:00

Someday... ; )

NerdTalk

2009-11-19T21:26:00.001-08:00

Yes, as you can see above...WoW (World of Warcraft) is an amazing game. I've been having tons of fun with it lately! In the photo above, I had just turned an evil man into a toad! Ha!!

My former pet, Maisie (I currently have a green spider named Charlotte, hehe), killing one of her own kind!!! Manslaughter, I tell ya...

Riding a hippogryph - THAT was cool.

I had to release a spider's spirit into this fountain...it was odd, but I thought the ghost-spider was worthy of taking a picture of : )

My pet! She is amazing to have - she runs up to my targeted enemies and fights them FOR ME while I stand back and shoot arrows! Haha!! I admit I feel a little guilty making her do all the work, but hey, I don't hear any complaints, and as long as I feed her Spider Limbs she's fine...

(wait, isn't that cannibalism???????)

; P

...

As off-topic as this is, I wanted to post a link to my newest song obsession, Oh the Deep Deep Love. I am OBSESSED, I tell you. Listen to it...I can't stress this enough. It's just beautiful. It is Not Death to Die (sorry, couldn't find a direct link to it) is amazing as well. I haven't really lost anyone close, besides sweet Ray (who had an extremely solid relationship with the Lord and was at an old age, as well as having cerebral palsy, which caused him a lot of pain) but I can imagine this song would be a big comfort in that sort of situation.

xxoo Emma

An Interesting Discussion...

2009-10-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

So in British Literature this week I had to write a paragraph on my opinion about good works and how they contribute to our salvation. It can be a tough subject to approach. But I managed to come up with a few words on what I think:

Do Good Works Contribute To Our Salvation?

I believe that good works do not send us to heaven. That being said, I believe performing good deeds is crucial to our relationship with Christ considering the following:

That Jesus tells us in the bible to "love our neighbor as ourself". This means (but is not limited to) helping those in need, providing accountability to fellow Christians, and putting others needs in front of your own needs and desires.

He alo tells us to love Him with all our hearts, souls and minds, and if we willingly spend our time doing things that enrich our own spirits and the spirits of others, we are displaying our love for Him in a productive and meaningful way.

I also believe that once we instill this principle within our hearts, we can more understand the goodness of Christ and can make ourselves pleasing in His sight. More so, the way we spend our time and live our lives must reflect that we are one of God's children if we hope to glorify Him.

So ultimately, although doing good works won't initially lead us to Christ, trying to be like Him in all we do will put us on the right path and is a good start to witnessing to others and making our hearts good and pure.

there will be a day.

2009-10-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that trys to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
that we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always

I know the journey seems so long
You feel your walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you’ve walked out all alone

Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting

I can’t wait until that day where the very one I’ve lived for always will wipe away the sorrow that I’ve faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery
This is why
This is why I sing….

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face

There will be a day, He’ll wipe away the stains, He’ll wipe away the tears, He’ll wipe away the tears…..there will be a day.

New Look!

2009-09-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

So! I decided that the cupcakes were getting old, so I changed my blog to something a little more fall-ish. Speaking of which, I LOVE fall. Despite the fact that it means winter is fast approaching *shudder* I love the leaves, the cool weather, apple cider, cornfield mazes, and Halloween.

Halloween should be fun this year. I'm thinking of sewing a dress so I could be a Renaissance princess (I LOVE LOVE Renaissance-type things...dragons, griffons, princesses, castles, it all just makes me crazy with love). Or maybe painting a laundry basket green and attaching it to my back so I could be a turtle. LOL! I don't know yet, we'll see.

xo Em

Revelation Song

2009-09-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

Summer Camp, June '09, Indiana Wesleyan University

Worthy is the,
Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to Him who sits on
Heaven's Mercy Seat

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the Only Wise King

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You!

Filled with wonder,
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvelous mystery

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You

Hannah's Birthday and My Philosophy on Death.

2009-09-21T15:32:00.001-07:00

Today marks the birthday of sweet Hannah. She would be eight today, that beautiful Monkey Queen.

Situations like these cause people to think, and to question authorities they may not even question very often. Even Christians, who really do have so much faith in God, can't help but wonder why God takes away such innocent people, especially children.

I think about it, too. It's a big thing. After awhile, I've gained my own perspective on death.

We're all sinners. And God is perfect. Furthermore, God made us. And we belong to him. Therefore, isn't it only fair that he takes people back sometimes?

It's not even close to what sin deserves. The pain, the shock and the missing is really only a taste of what it could be. You might say, isn't it like He's teasing us in a way, by letting us have our loved ones for a time, and then randomly taking them away? Well, we have to remember all the time that we ever get with our loved ones are gifts. We can't take anything or anyone for granted. I am always reminding myself of this. God has the right to take anyone away at anytime. Like I said, it's only fair...not even fair, on His behalf. We can't expect God to let us have everyone share our lives on earth, and when we do, it's a huge and merciful gift.

So that's my philosophy. There's been so much controversy over this subject, and even though I feel like I've pretty much figured it out, I also know that no matter what, He's got it all under control and that's all I need to know.

xoxo M&M

Because I'm great at updating my blog.

2009-08-22T08:58:00.001-07:00

Tyler Creek, August 2009

So. My blog. I wish I could say that I've been busy but umm...that's not so true. Sure I've done stuff but nothing that would keep me from updating...so I guess, I've just been putting it off. Not like it matters terribly, anyway, but...

I'm rambling. Here's what I know you all want instead...pictures!

You got something in your eye. (Peace Out would work well, too.)

Wattup?

And my personal favorite...the one on the top is definitely a PRAISE JESUS!!!

And praise Him we should because Anna and Jeremy are officially moving back here and in fact living with us until they get their own place..oh happy day :D

We (Me, Ade, Kattie, Kay) found this skateboard in the creek.

And some nature photos...

Trying to decide which action I like better. Both are a little too exposed but that's due to my cheap editing software and point-and-shoot camera (for where art thou, SLR and Photoshop...)

Kattie peeks over the bridge : )

We're crazily awesome : )
~*~*~

Dunes Trip with Youth Group. July 28th.

So, that's all for now. Three of my girls are over and they themselves got bored of messing around on Bro's computer, so I'm off to eat some more cheetos and maybe divulge some more secrets? I think so.

xoxo Emm-Emm

Latest Things...

2009-07-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

Sarah Jane Illustrations on Etsy. Unbelievably cute. How gorgeous are these cards...I want to pick them up so badly.

Ohh. Sweet Dreams is right around the corner from my Nana's house, and seeing as it's over a half hour away otherwise we always stop and get a box of Yum of cupcakes filled with amazing, cold, buttery icing. If you're ever near Dekalb IL I strongly advise the Red Velvet especially, though the Vanilla is divine as well. I'm definitely a sucker for excellent cupcakes : )

Belle and Boo, another Etsian. Brace yourself. Not only the beautiful story behind 6 of her illustrations. You can get lost in these drawings. Cheap, they're not...though the 8 pack party invites of Ava's Tea Party is only eight dollars. That'll come after one or two solid babysitting jobs..anyone?

Damask. Or, more specifically, White Aisle.

So light and soft. I love Isa Ferreira, and she's not bad price-wise. Hmm. More b-sitting jobs for that one.

So A&J are in town...Lulu as well : ) Off to play Mario Kart, or eat the remainer of said cupcakes, or take said dog on a walk.

xoxo Emmy-Em

Please Please Watch!

2009-06-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFl2LqTE6SQ

This is one of my very good friends! He is amazing. I love him so much and I'm very very proud of him. His hair is too long in this, though :P

2009-06-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

So! Last week was Summer Camp and all I can say is wow, what an encouraging week. I could feel myself growing so much spiritually throughout the days. Sadly I managed to forget the thing I would least expect...MY CAMERA! ARGH! How could I?!?! I had my BlackBerry, which for a cell phone, is good...so I wasn't completely without a camera.

Sitting on the bus - it was pretty crammed.

Yes I realize I look pretty frightening...they had these theme nights and this one was Holiday Night.

Look at Liz and Alex! Liz's hair is normally springy and curly and Alex's is usually wavy and unstyled...check out how much older they look.

A blurry picture of my dorm.

A few photos I took around the pretty campus:

Again, awesome week. Easily the best of my life thus far. Can't wait til next year!!! Only 356 days to go! ;P

xoxo Em

Long Time Coming

2009-06-14T12:14:00.000-07:00

Whew! It's been MUCH too long...well, as you have most likely noticed, I changed my blog. I've been obsessed with Damask print lately and of course pink is always the right way to go... ;P Anyway, I've also taken up a new broadway obsession, The Little Mermaid (don't laugh!) ,. It's how I roll, I get a new obsession every few months.

The above photos were taken the other day when Adrianna and I found a toad in the window well which is the norm these summer days...speaking of summer, it's SUMMER! Enough said...I was so seriously DONE with school that I was beyond relieved when at last what I had done became enough...and also speaking of summer, tomorrow I'm leaving for Indiana to go to my youth group's Summer Camp. (GO BLUE TEAM!) I can't put into words how much I love my youth group so yes I'm pretty psyched!

(That paragraph sure had the word "summer" in it and look I just said summer again. Seems I can't get enough of the word...summer...)

:)

xoxo Emma-Emma

Youth Group

2009-05-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

I love my youth group...tonight we shared prayer requests and praises and got to choose what hymns we wanted to sing by raising our hands. I chose "On Jordan's Stormy Banks" and it is one
of my favorites. Just wanted to share the link, it's a really good one!

Em xoxo

Mackinac Island

2009-05-27T12:50:00.001-07:00

Wow! This weekend was really fun. Mackinac Island is so beautiful!

We passed Great America on the way there. It got me excited to go tomorrow!

About an hour before we got to the ferries which took us to the island, we stopped at this pretty beach/lighthouse place and walked around.

I just LOVE this picture of P'Pa.

The ferry ride was fun! Of course when we got to the island, fudge was the first thing on our list:

Chocolate peanut butter is my favorite :)

I loved this ;)

Walking in town, on the way to the resort:

We stayed at Mission Point resort, which was very beautiful and had a forest, woody, rustic theme. Perfect for us, we all love that sort of thing!

This painting hung in the room...we spent so long trying to interpret it (this is only a small bit of it.) It was funny :)

Seagull loving.
Around the resort:

And flower loving:

The next day we rented bikes and rode the 9 miles all the way around the island:

Then that night, the rents were resting and Evan and I decided to visit Arch Rock, which we had passed biking earlier:

It was SO beautiful.

Then we decided to go hiking down Manitou Trail..which turned out to be a LOT longer then we expected but so beautiful, it was worth it.

The resort from above.

Evan climbs up and down:

More seagull loving:
That night we ate at a VERY Italian restaurant...they had such thick accents and of course the food was SO good.

Other bits from the weekend:

And more seagull loving:

xxoo Em

Good photos to follow. That's a promise.

2009-05-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

I'm off. And I promise to stop venting about American Idol. Of course my opinions had NOTHING to do with the people themselves...in fact, I almost cried after reading what Kris said on the latest post over on Kelly's Korner (link to the right). How amazing.

Anyways, Mackinac Island is supposed to be VERY beautiful so I will have lots of nice photos to share when I get back on Monday.

xox Em

Post in which Emma is crushed and must vent.

2009-05-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

First Obama, now THIS? *sigh* Oh America why have you betrayed me yet again?!?!

My dear sweet lovely Adam....I LOVE YOU!

Okay, okay, I'll admit I adore Kris too. But not NEARLY as much. I know I made it sound like I only liked Adam a little more, that was because I pretty assumed he would win. *sigh* again. I really should learn by now...I assumed I would get a solo last year and I didn't, I assumed I would get a lead in Pinocchio seeing as it's my last show and I didn't, I assumed my dear Kattie would be okay at Great America and lo and behold, she came down with the first headache and we had to leave. Yes I really really do need to learn.

I can just picture it now: years and years from now I'll be on my laptop and I'll decide to pop in some old tunes. Adam Lambert will be wailing away on my computer and my daughter will come in and say "who is this guy?" and I'll describe him to her as one of the best male vocalists of all time...no doubt she's heard about American Idol, it's still a popular show even though it's changed, Ryan Seacrest had long since been replaced and that mean judge Simon Cowell had long since been assassinated during the 2017 Britain's Got Talent finale...and she'll say "he won, right?" Well....nope.

*sigh*
(Again.)

On a lighter note, we're heading off to Mackinac Island this weekend. I've never been though Daddy and Evan have so I'm really looking forward to it...but now I have to pack and get ready to go to rehearsal to help with the Yellows.

xoxo Emmsters

Who will it be?!?!?!

2009-05-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

Kris
or
Adam
?!?!?!

Me? Well, it's not a huge tidal wave. There are things I like about both.

Adam is just WILD, he really appeals to the punk-rock-shop-at-Hot-Topic part of me. Of course it's obvious he has an enormous amount of talent, I mean that range (funny, my Adam has a three-octave range, is it that all Adams have amazing ranges?? ha!) and not to mention he's in theatre!! ;)

And there's Kris, who I also LOVE. He has that soulful, bluesy feel about him which appeals to the bohemian-The-Beatles-beachy part of me (yes I have many 'parts' ;P) and I love his humble and quiet personality. Not to mention he reminds me very of much Jeremy (my b-in-law for those not in the know) which is a big plus! :)

So? I guess overall I like Adam better. I ended up voting for him last night. But, like last year, I'll be happy with either. Last year I wanted David Cook because of the husky tone of his voice, but I loved David Archuleta too (he's ADORABLE). It's nice when it comes out that way!

Well I'm off...it's so. gorgeous. outside right now...breezy sunny and eighty degrees...perfect!

Cross your fingers!!! :D

xxooxxoo Emma-Bemma

Turtelles And Such

2009-05-14T19:35:00.001-07:00

Meet the newest member of our family. His name is Nelson. :D We're thinking his mummy died because I had found two dead on the road already...so I rescued this little guy and dubbed him my new pet. Surprisingly Mumuu is letting me keep him...?!

(Look how tiny he is compared to my Ipod nano! And those things are pretty small!)

...

So, this mommy robin began building her nest in the most convenient place...right outside our back door! (Right where we let the dogs out! ha!) Whenever she flies off to find worms (don't worry, I would NEVER scare her away from her nest) I get whatever pictures I can. Here she is guarding her nest fiercely:
It went from this...
...to this! (And on Mother's Day! Ha!)
...to THIS!!!

...

Summer. It's SO close...May is the hardest school month because at that point, I'm just DONE.
If you're wondering about "turtelle", it is how me and Katarina say "turtle". Ha!
Today my friend Adam came sooo close to blowing up his foot. So he was being a little....naive...(ha!) and was lighting those firework-type things in his driveway (and they were LOUD!). So he lights one and it doesn't go off right away. So he nudges it! With his foot! And suddenly it sputters and JUST as he jumps away it exploded. I kid you not. Thirteen-year-olds and explosives aren't so hot together...

Nothing else going except life in general.

xoxo Emmy-Blue

Here It Comes

2009-05-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

The beginning of May. My all-time favorite part of the year - tied with the Christmas season of course. It's the relief after the winter...temps get into the negatives on a daily basis from December to March here, folks. The cold just bites. And of course it means... summer.

I'm one of those people that stops to sniff the flowers maybe a little too much. I connect with summer by big things - like no school and vacations - but just as much as with little things. Like the smell of sunscreen and mowed grass, of chlorine and funnel cakes. Even that nasty smell on my hands after catching lightning bugs,, I love it.

Canada. Adrianna. Roller coasters. Crocs. Hamburgers and corn on the cob. Croquet. Movie theaters. Flip flops. Toads. Lightning bugs. Screen doors. Ice cream. Sprinklers.

And! Since we can't have a bare post, just a tidbit of things that remind me, of course, of summer.

xoxo Em