I think God made Spring for me!! ;)

I love seventy degree weather!!!!!!   :)  These past few days have been so gorgeous! It reveals even more to me of how great and wonderful our God is! The greens and yellows, and pinks and purples, and blues and violets...they all speak of God's handiwork and craftsmanship. It reminds me of Psalm 8:1,3-4.

 "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. ....When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"

Just imagine. God - the creator of the universe, the One who arranged the galaxies, He who spoke a few words and the stars and moon fell into place - cares for you. He remembers who you are and thinks of you. You - the minuscule speck on the earth, (the earth being just one of the smaller planets in just one of the many solar systems in just one of the thousands (at least) of galaxies) - are cared about by GOD! This just amazes me.

Jerusha and I decided to enjoy the spring weather and go outside to take pictures...now she wants me to post them, so here ya go!  :)

 I absolutely LOVE this picture of Jerusha!!!!   

Jerusha likes to edit pictures and most of these were her work on a website that she uses.  :)

My sister is a good photographer, but she doesn't always have the best things to photograph.  :)

Another edited photo...

Classic wheelbarrow pose...  :)

Jerusha is so much fun to hang out with and take pictures with!!  I have the best little sister in the world!!  :)  Thanks sis!

It's OVER!!!!!

Federation solos are finally over!!! Yay! For those who don't know what Federation (or festival) is, I will heretofore enlighten you.  :) 

   Once a year in March some music teachers require their students to preform two pieces -usually memorized- in front of a judge. The judge has a piece of paper with which to critique on, and both of the pieces of music the student will be preforming. So basically you go into a room and get all nervous and play for a person you've most likely never seen in your life and then (after your pieces are done) go through a torturous time of waiting for your score - oh! that's right, I didn't tell you that the judge also gives you a rating on how well they thought you did.
The ratings are from 1-5 with 5 being superior (the top-notch). In some areas the scale is flipped to where 1 is the best and 5 is the worst. Anyway, the goal of federation is to get a gold cup - a trophy that sits in your bedroom and usually collects dust...the more trophies you get, the more dust you get.  :)
You can obtain a gold cup by earning 15 points. It takes a minimum of three years getting "fives" to get fifteen points. The trophies go all the way up to 90 points. Every 15 points the trophy gets bigger, so if you go all the way to 90 points, you've got one huge trophy! Most people, however never attain that level, so a 90 point trophy is rather rare!  :)
This is my tenth year of playing piano for federation and I still got really nervous today. I also got to accompany a girl on the piano while she played violin. This was my first time to do that for federation and it was a really neat experience! I really enjoy being able to utilize this special opportunity and get advice from different people on what I should work on and be paying closer attention on in my music! Needless to say, I'm SO glad it's over!  :P 
I haven't been feeling well the past week, so mom went into all the rooms I played piano in and used wipes on the keys after I finished practicing or preforming!! She's amazing and so sweet to do that for me(and all the kids that played after me)!  :D  Thanks momma!!

Okay, now that I've totally overwhelmed you with way more information then you ever wanted to know about federation . . . on to something else!

February pretty much failed for memorizing verses for me . . . I don't even have a legitimate excuse! Isn't that terrible!?   :) Well, I thought that even though I didn't do February, I could still do the rest of the year. I might even be able to catch up on those lost verses later on in the year!
Without any further ado, here is March's first verse!

Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

One of the reasons I picked this verse was because our Spanish class had this verse as one we had to memorize. Of course, that was in Spanish, so I thought it would be good if I memorized it in English too. This is an amazing verse that speaks of God's love towards us and the promise of perfect peace when we completely trust in the Lord. Here's the verse in Spanish as well.

 Isaías 26:3 "Tú guardarás en completa paz a aquel cuyo pensamiento en ti persevera; porque en ti ha confiado."

Lord willing I'll get a chance to write more soon!!!

Psalms 104:33-34 "I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD."

Wisdom in Proverbs

Yesterday morning as I was doing my personal devotions, I read Proverbs 15. Most of the time my morning Bible time is rushed - plus I'm not quite top-notch coherent yet - and I don't usually take the time to really think about the words and let God speak to me through them. This time, however, I wanted to really ponder and get my mind focused on the Word.

As I started the first few verses of the chapter, I began thinking about 1 Peter 3.
I'd better explain. I think of Proverbs as sort of a godly guideline of living wisely. Proverbs 15:1 says "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."
How true these words are to me. I remember a couple years ago I would get really frustrated with my siblings (usually if they were violating what I thought to be my "rights"). My anger would soon boil over and I'd treat them very poorly. Then I started applying this verse to my life when I felt provoked or angry. I'd say it to myself in my mind and just keep quiet.. And you know what? It usually worked! Of course, sometimes it was my own fault that I was angry or I had started the whole fight, and then it was better if I didn't get bitter but just apologized right away. :)

Other verses in this passage speak to me of using my tongue wisely and for the glory of God, listening to the instruction and reproof of my parents (or those in authority over me), following in the path of righteousness, having a merry heart, getting counsel and advice when planning, thinking right and pure thoughts, and fearing the Lord.
So what is the "end result" (at least on earth) of these things? This is where I think of 1 Peter 3.

"But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which  is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." 1 Peter 3:4

This Scripture is actually talking about how wives are supposed to act and how to present themselves, but can't this be applied in other situations as well? I think that by following the instructions in Proverbs - listening to the leadership and reproof of those in authority, thinking holy and pure thoughts, having a reverence for the Lord, and speaking wisely (to name a few) - we can be well on our way to obtaining "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price" 1 Peter 3:4b (italics added) As I was writing, the last part of that verse popped out to me. (See? God shows you new things all the time!)
"...which is in the sights of God of great price." Who wouldn't want to have a spirit of great value in God's eyes?? I sure would!  By having a "meek and quiet spirit", we can point others to God by our example . . . which brings me to the next verse: 1 Peter 3:15.

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

What do I do if someone does ask me about my faith? or about the "hope that is in you [me]"? 
I looked up this verse in a Bible program we have and glanced at some different commentaries. This is part of one by John Wesley. (The Scripture is in red and his commentary is in blue.)

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts - Have an holy fear, and a full trust in his wise providence. 
The hope - Of eternal life.

With meekness - For anger would hurt your cause as well as your soul. 
And fear - A fear of offending God, and a jealousy over yourselves, lest ye speak amiss.

In other words, if we have a holy fear and a full trust in HIS wise providence, then we should want to always be ready to give an answer to anyone that asks us a reason of the hope (the hope we have of eternal life) that is in us. We should be able to talk to people about Christ with meekness and fear (of God).

Anyway, those were just some of my thoughts I wanted to share with you'll today!  :)  My apologies if I didn't write it in a clear manner. Getting my thoughts out in words is not really my forte. Ah well...  :)

Lord willing I'll write more some . . . but until then, on with the life of a busy high-schooler!  :)

Snow! Snow, snow....oh....

Here are some pictures of my siblings and I in the snow from the last week or so.   :)

Jerusha and I went outside and did some photo shots of each other in the snow.

 A day or so after the snow came, we all went out and shoveled the walkway and the driveway...well, *some* of the driveway. We shoveled enough that our sister could go to work the next morning and not get stuck.   :)

Josiah was an awesome big brother and came out with us even though he had a headache! 

 After we finished shoveling, Jessica, Jerusha and I scrambled on top of a big snow pile in our neighbor's field . . . it's actually a lot bigger than shown here.



Since Jerusha and I had our photo shot the day before, we all concurred it was only right that Jessica should have one too!  

-Dramatic change of subject-

     I have decided that the Kindergarten/First grade Sunday School class that Jessica and I teach is absolutely the cutest class ever!!!! Their prayer requests are so sweet.

Little boy: "Um, I, umm . . . umm, my dad, uh . . . my dad's other dad died . . . so could you, umm . . . could you pray for him?"

Jessica: Okay, well, if your grandpa died then - "

Little boy: NO! Not my Grandpa! It's my um . . . uh, my dad's other dad.

Jessica: "All right, but you don't need to pray for him, we should pray for comfort for your family instead." 

Finally convincing the little boy that she was going to pray for the right thing, she moved onto the next prayer request which was a little girl asking for prayer for her "aunt who died in Heaven".

Sorry, I didn't mean for that to be morbid or anything. Unfortunately they all seemed to be about death.
There are other really cute things that they do . . . but it's not the same trying to write them down. (*Warning! Cliche line ahead!*) You would have had to be there.    :D

~ "The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:" ~ Numbers 6:25

The second verse

I promise I haven't forgotten my blog!! I've started a new post about four times, but I never got the chance (or time) to finish any of them. :P  I just thought I'd let you know that I am going to write sometime soon, so don't give up on me just yet.  :)

Oh, and here's the second of my bi-monthly Scripture verses. 

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." Isaiah 30:21

The First Verse of the Year

Okie-dokie...here's my first verse. I'm not positive if this is really my final choice, but I said I'd post one today, so here it is.  :D

"But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness."    

1 Timothy 6:11

Happy New Year . . . Yesterday

2011? That's a scary thought. Of course if I keep this blog up, I'm going to look back at this post and think "2011? That was ages ago!"

Anyway, as it is the beginning of a new year and as I am in the habit of at least trying New Year's Resolutions (I'm thinking that if I don't actually do it the whole year, than at least January will be better than if I hadn't done anything at all.) I'll write about a couple of these resolutions, that way I'll remember them more.  :)

My first and chief-most desire is to draw closer to my Lord. I don't want my time this year to be wasted on mundane things. There are SO many things today that can and will, if I don't look to Jesus, distract me from God. I want to put Jesus before everything else in my life.

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33

Secondly on my list I want to ask God to help me in respect towards my parents. I don't think I realize how much they do for me each and every day. Their prayers, support, and love for me in every situation I face is such a blessing. Unfortunately I don't always appreciate their patience with me and I get upset or annoyed at them for the smallest things.

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;" 2 Timothy 3:1-4

Since God put "disobedient to parents" (a sin we might not think would be that big of a deal) alongside other "major" sins, it should convey to us that He does not aprove of backbiting tongues, rolling eyes, and rebellious attitudes (to name a few) towards our parents. I pray that God will help me in this area and that every day I will strive to honor and obey my parents in every matter.

My third ambition for this New Year is to memorize two Bible verses every month. My mom and sister read a blog called "Living Proof Ministeries" by Beth Moore. On this blog Beth Moore is challenging all of her readers to memorize two verses a month along with her. Twice a month they can comment on her blog and write what verse they have been working on. Everybody picks the verses they want to memorize that applies to their own life and struggles. Beth Moore posts her verses on the blog so that if someone can't think of a verse, they can memorize the same as Beth.

My mom suggested this for my blog as an accountability project and I think it's a great idea! I know I don't have many readers (if any) yet, but I will go ahead and twice a month post the verse that I'm working on. If anybody wants to do this as well, they can comment on the post and write what verses they are memorizing. I'll be posting my memory verse on Monday, January 3rd.

(Just in case y'all wanted to know without doing the math, that's 24 verses a year. . . not very much, but 24 more verses than before!) 

"God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend." Job 37:5

May God do great things in our lives this year. Happy New Year!!