Obedience.

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

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...

Someday... ; )

NerdTalk

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...

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.

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!

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