Backwards could work . . .

I've tried reading through the Bible a few times . . . starting in Genesis and going to Revelation. Well, 'round about Genesis 19 or so, I'd either get behind in my reading, or just forget completely! After this happened several times, I decided to start again . . . except backwards. I still wanted to save Revelation for last, so I started in Jude. 1 Peter is almost completed and then it's on to James! I kind of like this arrangement . . . although if reading the Bible "forwards" isn't even necessarily chronological sometimes, reading it backwards will be really non-chronological. However, it could be like a negative times a negative equals a positive type thing. :)

Anyway... :) Mom, Jerusha, and I are leaving for New York to visit our relatives in a few days! Because of this impending trip, Josiah decided about a month ago that Jerusha and I could have his old netbook. (He was buying a new laptop for himself...) Regrettably, I destroyed the old netbook before it was even totally ours yet! Not-regrettably, Josiah (with the help of one of his friends) bought us a new one!! And it's an amazing shade of red! ;) I could hardly believe it when he set a box on the table and said "This is for you girls." He's such a great big brother!!!! :)

Recently I've been really enjoying going through our hymnals and sitting outside singing them. Sometimes I just pick a random one and try to sight-read it . . . it's at those times that I'm glad our cat is the only one outside! :p  The one song that has stuck out to me in the past few days is called Give of Your Best to the Master.

Give of your best to the Master; Give of the strength of your youth;

Throw your soul's fresh, glowing ardor Into the battle for truth.

Jesus has set the example; Dauntless was He, young and brave;

Give Him your loyal devotion, Give Him the best that you have.

Chorus:

Give of you best to the Master; Give of the strength of your youth;

Clad in salvation's full armor, Join in the battle for truth.

Give of you best to the Master; Give Him first place in your heart;

Give Him first place in your service, Consecrate ev'ry part.

Give, and to you shall be given; God His beloved Son gave;

Gratefully seeking to serve Him, Give Him the best that you have.

Chorus:

Give of you best to the Master; Give of the strength of your youth;

Clad in salvation's full armor, Join in the battle for truth.

 

Give of your best to the Master; Naught else is worthy His love;

He gave Himself for your ransom, Gave up His glory above:

Laid down His life without murmur, You from sin's ruin to save;

Give Him your heart's adoration, Give Him the best that you have.

Chorus:

Give of you best to the Master; Give of the strength of your youth;

Clad in salvation's full armor, Join in the battle for truth.

 

Although it has a nice tune, I really like this song because of it's words. It reminds me that I truly need to give every single part of myself to my Master; to HIS service. Nothing less than everything is worthy His love.
I am required to give Him all my heart's adoration. When I hear this song, why wouldn't I want to give Him everything? ...It's all the distractions in life that keep me from loving Him wholly. All the things to whom I give little pieces of my heart, when all of it should belong to my Saviour.

Mark 12:30 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."

Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

Oh! I have a blog! :)

Short answer? Facebook.

Yes, now that I look at my last post, I realize it has been quite a while since I have written. A friend reminded me of this tragic oversight, and so I have decided to once again write to you all! :)

Quite a bit has happened since my last post, and I will try my best to convey them to you!
Jerusha and I were in our church's Easter drama in April. We both had speaking parts (if two words count...), but we were mainly just part of the "crowd".

Jerusha played a blind person in the play; she did really well!!

Of course, being a blind person means you have to have a blindfold over your eyes to show the audience that you are, in fact, blind. :) They put a blindfold over her and them applied tons of make-up to make her look like the above pic! 

<3

The weekend after the drama my aunt and uncle from New York came to visit us! They were able to hear Jerusha and I in our Spring Piano Recital, and we all went to Eureka Springs together the next day! :)

Jerusha played "Jazz Suite No. 2".



I played "Prelude II" by George Gershwin.

Daddy with his girls!! :)

For lunch in Eureka Springs, we asked a local where he suggested. He mentioned "Local Flavor"...great recommendation!!

My mom and her sister! It was so great to have her and my uncle come to Missouri!!

After the recital, Jerusha, my mom, and I were involved in a Homeschooling convention here in town. SHEM (Southwest Homeschool Education Ministries) was held in the first week of May.

Jerusha and I worked the convention as Pages. A Page is basically a volunteer at the convention to help the exhibitors, speakers, and attendees. Usually the volunteers are from 13-18 years old. We worked with about twenty-two other Pages.

This year the Pages were organized by a young man who has been a Page for three years. He did exceptionally well in planning and getting all the Pages together before and during the convention! (I heard his sister helped him quite a bit, though. :))

We had a great group this year! :)

We've had many more things since April (including a birthday, garage sale, graduations, orchestra performances, etc...), but I don't want to bore you with all the details. :)  I will tell you that recently I have been studying for the ACT which I am taking in a week and a half. Coincidentally, I'm taking it the day after I return from a Worldview Leadership camp . . . should be interesting. :) I would really appreciate it if you would pray for me if you happen to remember. Please pray that God would give me strength to be able to keep going after camp so that I can take this test with a clear mind! Thank you! :) 

Anyway, thanks for reading this unique post! ;)

I know there are a lot of pictures on here, but there are many more on facebook! :p

"As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him." Psalm 18:30

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