Christmas has always been a time of reflection for me. And this year is no different, except that I want to share my reflections with all my friends and family. Some of you may be wondering exactly what's going on in my life, and I want to satisfy your curiosity through this long, newsy and hopefully interesting letter. What have I been doing...
Borrowed my daddy's truck several times in the last couple weeks. That is one massive, scary, loud and obnoxious and powerful truck. (enough adjectives for ya? Haha)What is it about big trucks that transforms intelligent, verbose human beings into grunting animals?! I put the key in the ignition, the truck roars to life and all the sudden--I want to GROWL, ROAR and make...
Through the last few days, I have not stirred from my house very much... only down to the barn to feed the horses and outside to get firewood and once a drive down the lane to pick up the Little Bro. "Why?" you ask.Because of ice. The mountain is covered in ice. The trees are encased in ice like glassy coffins. The wire...
For some reason, people laugh at me (or with me) alot. But I laugh at people (with people) alot, so I guess it all evens out. My sense of humor came mostly from my dad. I don't know where my wit came from. Wit is an odd thing. It must always be kept in good regulation. Very often wit is confused with quick...
In a not-quite-24-hour visit to Virginia, I helped to clean a church for a few minutes. Not my own--but a church that would almost be like mine if we had like 450 more people. :) Cleaning the church is pleasantly familiar. The Youth Group and I even have special "clean up" music. No joke! Every Wednesday night, when the opening chords of the...
"To be a living sacrifice will involve all my love. My emotions and desires are to be actively dedicated to the Lord, with one burning desire, to worship Him more worthily and to serve Him more whole-heartedly, I relinquish the right to choose whom I will love and how, giving the Lord the right to choose for me... Whether I have a life...
From the Thanksgiving holiday:- Ashes on a hearth rug smell like burning rubber. Ewww. Open up the doors & windows!- No matter how smart it seems, if you can't open an old jar of molasses, slamming it on the concrete patio is not a good idea.- Mixing red and blue food coloring into frosting does *not* make purple. It makes a disgusting purple-tinted...
"We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."II Corinthians 10:5 Ever talked to yourself before? I have been doing that lately. I've been getting frustrated with the flood of unGodly thoughts in my head. Too much "speculation." Too much wondering. Not enough trusting. But...
A housefull of teenagers means hilarious, raucous, incredibly fun times. Let them loose for an hour or so and they'll take over ten or more rooms---always gravitating towards the food. They will sing Christmas music in mid-November, scramble around on the floor play-fighting for a pen, take the noise level up several decibels, turn a card game into violence... and end up cushion-sledding...
... Because they break the heart of God.It's hard to see the destruction that sin brings on people's lives. There's been many times lately that I've felt heart-pain or physically sickened by the manifestation of sin's consequences in the lives of people around me. Truly, the enemy does come to Steal, Kill and Destroy. Through the sin of man's rebellion, we have opened...
Last night the youth group and the campus group united for a Halloween outreach. We went downtown and did the "Freedom" drama about 6-7 times. In between dramas, and the campus group did this all the time, we handed out tracts with candy and talked to people. I estimated that we handed out about 1000 tracts! As usual, there were some interesting responses....
How funny it is that so many of my favorite authors reference the poems of Tennyson. After two references in two days, I endeavored to find this one... and was surprised to realize that I knew it--I just hadn't recognized the title. This poem is an enchanting reminder of the Blessed Hope that we have in Christ. "O death, where is thy sting?...
Dreary rain fell throughout Friday afternoon and evening. An autumn chill-finally-was in the air. I just wished the cooler weather would've come another day. I spent the evening walking around the high school football game. Sometimes I watched and sometimes I muttered, "C'mon, lightning! Come now!" (If there is lightning, the game must be stopped.) The Crazy Kid gave me his gloves to...
From reading over my last few posts, it looks like I'm a wee bit obsessed with making lists. I am going to try to be a little more paragraph-oriented in the future. :)Oh yes, so about "boxing." I'd just like to tell the general public that if you fall down a flight of steps, you wake up the next few days feeling like...
"Be anxious for NOTHING" "But in EVERYTHING, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."Philippians 4:6-7I could try to elaborate on these verses. But I'm still meditating on the amazing promises/instruction within them and I don't think my explanation...
The Little Bro only turns 18 once. So we had a big party. I love parties. I love big parties. I love big, happy, loud parties at my house. It's just FUN. I spent no less than 2.5 hours creating tiny appetizer-type whoopie pies for the party. They were adorable and disappeared in record time, but I was so tired from baking and...
I must be weird. We just returned from family vacation to Maine. Every time I was confronted with a breathtaking vista, a hundred adjectives would fly through my mind as I searched for the perfect words to describe these scenes. Here I am—stunned by natural beauty—thinking about adjectives.So it was my first time in Maine. But most definitely not my last. A few...
Youth Group - This past weekend, we had a prayer retreat. Great time spent worshipping the Lord and seeking His face. And always a good time spending large amounts of time together.... laughing at the middle schoolers, passing around pictures, laughing at the Sparkly Girl now called "Gimpy" and anything The Witty Kid says. And The Hazel-Eyed Girl's mom makes the BEST danish...
Throughout last week, the Lord has been reminding me of the reason that we live on this earth. It is Souls. Specifically, the souls of people all around us that have not surrendered to Christ. Those souls who at this moment are destined for eternal punishment. God is amazing. His love is incomprehensible, and yet He is just. He must recompense the wicked...
Don't you love Centre County in the fall? It makes me want to....Watch a soccer game. :)Drink apple cider.Go on a youth scavenger hunt.Jump in a pile of leaves.Wear a leather bomber jacket.Roast pumpkin seeds.Work at a football game.Go hiking!Make fun of Penn State students. (sorry, my friends! hehe)Have a bonfire.Drive to Gatlinburg. :)Walk in a cemetery.Make (and eat) apple kuchen.Swing on a...
"...And He was telling them that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart."....."...As He is, so are you in this world...""... why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God!...""...not to put a restraint on any of you, but to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord...""... by this, the children...
Eating supper by (oil) lamplight and reading by flashlight, courtesy of a 2 hour power outage last night. Call me crazy, but I enjoyed it. It seemed like a return to the "old ways." The family all gathered in one room, but employed in their singular occupations. Sure, The Little Bro was studying on a laptop, but the concept was the same! Eating...
The New Kid comes up to me before youth group last night."Amethyst*, what's a ministry?"So I explained it."Do you understand now?" I said."Yeah," he nodded. "I like your shirt."What? Haha. Okay then. Gotta love youth group. ...
Bright and whiteAgainst the blacknessMorning by nameEvening by sightHe fights to remainThis crusader of lightThrough the passage of timeA moon's journey goes on...Golden faceWarmed by invisible raysMidnight seemsa distant memory Black becomes beautyDark finds its way to mysteryThe moon is cradledBy azure blue...Bronzed faceIn a teary daybreak hazeThe moon is a manOvercome by sadnessSinking down to kiss the mountainsBittersweet farewell, as Moonset greets...
"Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, `Come immediately and sit down to eat'? "But will he not say to him, `Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink'? "He does...
By the grace of God, nobody got hurt today... well, unless you count a couple scrapes and bruises from climbing rocks on steep trails and diving during Ultimate Frisbee onto sand. And because of that, I count it as a successful day! The youth group (and me, of course) went to a state park full of waterfalls, but to see those waterfalls requires...
"Why haven't you blogged lately?" The Mom asked me last night.Good question. Maybe because I have too much to blog about and I'm so obsessed about "matching" (yes, you can laugh now) that I only want one subject per post. Maybe because I've used my usual blogging time to research the family vacation to Maine. Maybe I'm concerned about being "self-absorbed" in blogging."The...
It is raining. Hahaha. Now I don't have to wash my car! :)"...Bring me anything that brings You glory,And I know there'll be days,When this life brings me pain.But if that's what it takes to praise You,Jesus, bring the rain."-MercyMeThese lyrics have been running through my mind lately. As humans, we naturally desire a nice life. Something comfortable and pleasant. But that's not...
That's my new favorite word. If only I had more opportunities to use it in conversation! :)The last week has been interesting. Last Friday & Saturday, The Mom and I put up insulation in the apartment. Yes, by ourselves. We did an entire wall, the loft and the cathedral ceiling. Yeah, you should be impressed. We were born in the wrong time period-we...
The title says it all..."Pray and Obey."In those three simple words, my responsibility, my motivation, my mission, all clearly resound. I have no other goals, no other responsibility. The cross that I bear on my shoulders is one of obedience.. obedience to the Master, which means denial of self, denial of others, denial of worry, denial of confusion.All. I. Have. To. Do. is...
* To The Original VA Friend: Yes, I did spell it wrong first. Old habits die hard, I guess. On Wednesday, I took some pics to youth group. I was gonna put some on the youth bulletin board. Those were thoroughly enjoyed. The youth liked to look at the miscellaneous other pics that I had with me, like some NYC pics! While they...
So I've been reading... Nothing unusual about that. But my choices in books have been, ummm, a little heavier than normal. Lately, I've been gripped by the stories of persecuted Christians. Many in the last few days. Tortured for His Faith, Corrie Ten Boom's Prison Letters, Faith Despite the KGB and Prisoners of Hope. These were people just like me, making daily choices...
It's been a very long time since I've had such a relaxing weekend. Since The Sis is expecting a baby at any moment, I'm not allowed to leave the area. And so, I am forced to relax a little bit more. That's a good thing for me. So yeah, even thinking about this weekend makes me smile. :) So I'm gonna try and...
Top Ten Reasons I Live at Home (at 24 years old).1. I feel the peace of God about it. At the moment He tells me to move, I will. But not before then.2. I love my family, and want to be close to them. I believe the family was ordained by God to be a unique cohesive unit that glorifies Him through daily...
"No reserves. No retreats. No regrets."William BordenThis man challenges me. Can I live with this same devotion to Christ? ...
There's an on-going joke in youth group... something about me having to explain any word over three syllables. Yes, they count the syllables. I guess my words are a little bigger than they're used to. Even when I write, I'm trying to express things that are inexpressible.Like every time I write about the Lord. Spiritual things are so far beyond the natural comprehension....
"I want to do something that will cost me something by way of sacrifice. I'm hungry to suffer for Him."These are the words of Rachel Winslow in the book, "In His Steps" by Charles Sheldon. These words have captured my heart in the last few days. A theme began on Sunday when I read "Tortured for His Faith" by Haralan Popov. Then I...
This is the state of our household lately. Finally, things are movin' and shakin' on many fronts. My parents officially started their own business. They had meetings with lawyers and accountants and all those fun people. And now everyone in the family is working 1 1/2 or 2 jobs. At the homestead, big stuff is happening! There will be a large hole in...
I hate secrets.Yes, I do. VERY, very much. Even "good" secrets, like surprise parties. I had the brilliant idea a few months ago to plan a surprise baby shower for my sis. My sis = the person that I talk to THE MOST. She knows pretty much everything that goes on in my life. Why I torture myself in this way, I do...
Just got back from a four-day road trip with some college girls from church. We went to experience the strange fascinating pleasures of New York City. We stayed in New Jersey, which we called "Little Hispania" because we were the only white people there (It's true!). I brushed up on my Spanish a little though. Now I can say.... well, nothing really. But...
Sickness. It was our greatest challenge on the Great Summer Getaway. Even now, the thought of sickness makes me angry, because of the schemes of the enemy to destroy the Lord's work in the youth's lives and hearts. And lest you shake your head and wonder how that could possibly be such a great challenge, this sickness put down the overwhelming majority of...
Some of you have wondered where I've been these last few weeks. The answer is--preparing for or recovering from the Great Summer Getaway. What a glorious and completely exhausting time it was! I could barely move when we returned. My body was not obeying commands very well, meaning I couldn't even talk right! Even though the GSG schedule was laid-back and unrushed for...
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,And lean NOT on your own understanding.In all your ways, acknowledge Him,AND HE will direct your paths."Proverbs 3:5-6I memorized these verses in 1st grade at Christian school, and can still hear the class's little voices chanting in monotone. They had to teach us where to give emphasis. (note the words in all caps). :)These verses have...
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Hebrews 12:1I wasn't planning on running a race today. The Little Bro and I had been talking about the Firecracker 4K for several...
"Sometimes circumstances humble me."That statement was just a shadow of things to come. Friday was the literal interpretation, but Sunday was the real deal. It was a humbling day. Nothing like trekking along, happily oblivious to your own weaknesses, when suddenly circumstances, people and situations come together in one painful blow to inform you--quite thoroughly--that you're not perfect. Far from it actually.Ouch."For a...
People say that the eyes are the window to the soul. Maybe that's true. Personally, I never let people get close enough to my eyes to stare into my soul! lol just kidding...My theory is that sports are a window to the soul. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But really, you can learn so much about yourself and others by observing how people act...
Last weekend was a very short roadtrip to Wisconsin for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary party. Some interesting things are, as follows:"They don't drink water in Wisconsin; only milk and beer." according to my brother-in-law, clearly frustrated at the lack of water quality. And it's just about true. The consolation is that we were staying at the family dairy farm, which means.... all...
