Blessed

I really am blessed.

I have friends who are truly amazing. I love them so much and what's more is that they love me.

They love me. I'm far from perfect. I definitely have my faults. I don't always answer emails on time. I sometimes leave them when they need me. I don't give them what they need. But still,

They love me.

Katherine and I

These are the friends who encourage me when I am down in the depths of despair.

Jeremy and I. He's the best "big brother" ever.

These are the friends who I can trust with my whole heart.

Lidia and I

These are the friends who lift me up in prayer and who are always positive and ready to tell me that Jesus is good.

Veronica and I

These are the friends I can get really hyper with. They've seen me at 2 in the morning and they still like me.

Anna and I

These are the friends who know that I wish I was there so they send me pictures.

 

These are the friends that hold me when I cry and recite scripture to me until I'm okay again.

She's engaged!!! So happy for her and her prince!!! (Miss Elizabeth and I)

These are the friends that come running down the road and jump into my arms when they haven't seen me in two whole weeks.

Katherine and I again. :)

These are the friends who share my love of photography.

These are the friends who share big family jokes with me,

Naomi and I

 and who brighten my day with their sweetness,

Genevieve and I

 These are the friends whose purpose in life is to give God all the glory.

Yes, I may not be perfect. Yes, I'm only 14. Yes, I have faults. But yes, Jesus is good. Yes, this is only a small portion of my friends. Yes, they are the best friends in the whole world. Yes, I know that Jesus is the Best Friend ever. Yes, these friends draw me so much closer to Him.

Yes, I am blessed.

This

Sometimes life gets busy.

You know the feeling when you feel as though there were things you should have done but didn't.

That book you wanted to finish.

That e-mail you wanted to send.

That closet you wanted to organize.

And what were you doing??

Writing for your blog. ;)

Watching TV.

Sleeping in. (I'm a firm believer in not sleeping in, as are my twin toddler sisters, but that's another story!)

So here I am, getting frustrated at myself for not getting done the "important" things.

But then I remember what really counts.

This.

The back of our "homeschooler" van :)

Thankful for You

(This poem was written a few months ago during a scary experience one of my mom's best friends had. Their little one-year-old is like my little brother and we prayed so much during these dark days. Jesus healed him and he is now a jolly two-year-old!)

It was a cold winter’s night
We were happy and free
When the phone rang and all seemed okay
Then Dad said “We’re praying,
And we’re here if you need us.”
Then I tried to keep the tears at bay.

To...
Laugh at your rosy cheeks,
Spot the twinkle in your eye,
Watch you play around,
I’d try not to cry.
To hold you in my arms,
and call you mine,
To think that you
are completely fine.
What I wouldn’t give...

Right now.

At this moment in time
My mind’s flyin’
In a thousand different ways.
Toward memories and what-ifs
And “How many more days?”

So I kneel down to pray
And God takes the pain away
My heartbeat’s finally slowin’ down
A few deep breaths
And my thoughts go back
To the hospital across town.

{Entering in Abby's contest}

My friends are so encouraging!

"Satan will only attack you if it is something that the Lord wants you to do.  Or something that can be used to bring him glory.  Take the trial as a blessing!  It happens to everyone...  You are not alone!"

 I hope you find some inspiration in this quote from an email I received last night. Veronica is one of my role models. She loves Jesus so much and is always ready to give a hug and a sweet smile. I love her so much!!

Anger Management: God's Way

*I wrote this up for a school project last spring, and although some of you may not have read The Bronze Bow, I think that we can all learn this lesson. This is one of my favorite things that I wrote for school all year.*

Anger can be a horrible thing. In the beginning of our book, Daniel really struggled with anger problems and he always let it get the better of him. Proverbs 27:4 says, “Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming...” Daniel’s fury toward the Romans overtook him and he was proud of it. He held on to his anger and he didn’t want to let it go.

It makes me wonder what we are holding on to that we should be letting go. Only too often we hold on to a grudge, or to anger or to jealousy, when we should be lifting them up to Jesus and letting him take them away.

When we are angry or upset, it is easy to get carried away and to say and do things that we don’t mean. The book of Proverbs states in chapter 15 verse 1 that “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” We should be careful not to get angry in the first place but to handle our problems with grace.  

When we do get upset, we need to ask forgiveness of both Jesus and the person we hurt. The Lord is always ready and willing to forgive us {“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”} but the person we hurt might still be hurting. You know that the myth “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” is just that, a myth. It’s not true because words can be hurtful.

    At the end of our book, Daniel has learned to trust in Jesus and he takes the first step toward resolving his anger. By inviting a Roman soldier into his house, Daniel shows how much he has grown. I pray that before we finish the next chapter in our lives, we will be able to see how much we have grown too.

Summer Books

These are the books I'm planning on reading this summer. I would love suggestions!

Uncompromising by Hannah Farver

I've read the first 22 pages of this book on Hannah's blog and it looks so good. Just those first pages really ministered to me and I got so much out of them. I can't wait to order this one and read it by the lake!

 

Being a Girl Who Leads by Shannon Primicerio

I'm leading a Bible study at the end of the summer and I'm excited to read this book to prepare for it. I think that it will help me in my role of a big sister who leads often also.

Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy

I've read 2 Ludy books so far and loved them! It can be a hard being a set-apart girl in today's world and I'm looking forward to harvesting so many tips and quotes from this book!

A Young Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

I haven't really done a lot of research one this one... but I'm sure it will be good!

You can read my full list of Books to read on Pinterest.

So what do you think? Have you read any of these books? What books are you planning to read this summer?

Hab. 3:17-19

As a school project I had to remake these verses into something that was relevant today. It was a really fun assignment and it showed me how I can worship the LORD and praise Him in everything. 

(all images via google images)

Though the cookies burn in the oven

  and though I didn’t get the e-mail I wanted, 

Though sisters throw clothes all over the closet floor, 

  and the twins each want their own way, 

Though I step on army guys,

  and school takes forever, 

Still I will rejoice in the LORD, 

  I will stay composed and faithful.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength; 

  he makes my heart sing joyfully, 

  he enables me to work for Him.

Best Friend

I want you to think for a minute.

Think about your best friend.

Does your heart swell up with love?

Does a smile come to your face and a light to your eyes?

Do you want to praise them up to every one?

This is the way we should feel about Jesus Christ. He should be our best friend.

Our heart should swell with love for Him.

We should smile and our eyes should be bright because of Him.

We should want to praise Him up and tell everyone about Him. Our Best Friend.

"...but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." {Proverbs 18:24}

Eph. 3:14

"Now to Him who is able to do 

immeasurably more 

than all we ask or imagine, 

according to his power that is at work within us, 

to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, 

for ever and ever!" 

The Saturday Morning Daybook

*hosted by Jo March@Scraps from my Workbasket*

 

Date... June 11, 2011

Starting time... 7:35am

Mood... blissful! :)

Outside my window... The sky is gray and it's misting slightly... hoping it clears up for the soccer games this morning!

I'm thinking... about how blessed I am.

I'm currently reading... God Girl by Hailey DiMarco

I'm listening to... Thank Goodness from Wicked. Wicked is all I've listened to for the past two weeks. Highly recommended!

I'm wearing... A charcoal knit skirt and olive green silky tshirt. So comfy... I love it!

I'm looking forward to... Seeing Marley for the second time and getting to attend her blessing this afternoon.

I'm hoping... I get to hold her!

Yesterday, I... babysat for 7 children under the age of 12 for 5 hours.

I'm hungry for... The pancakes my dad is making.

The song stuck inside my head is... Thank Goodness from Wicked. I mean, I just finished listening to it! :)

I love... two year old twin sisters with little flower clips in their hair who peek around the corner and say, "Hiiiiiiiiii, Lindsey!"

I loathe... wet hair.

This week, my goal is... to finish writing letters for all the seniors who are graduating that I know.

Did I meet last week's goal?... um, I've never done this before! :)

Ending time... 7:45 am (Those cute twin sisters slightly distracted me!)

Sometimes...

It's remembering the little things that mean the most.

Such as these picture from AGYG. Everyone is in costume and fully embarrassing Isaac and getting ready to go perform an amazing show.

 

It's also at time like this when I remember how blessed I am to know such a Godly, wonderful group of people.  

The people who care that it's your birthday and you are completely sleep-deprived and that you have no time with your actual family so they throw you a party with your other family. Your HPA one.

The people who know you inside and out.

The people who feel what you are feeling in their hearts, too. 

The people who take time to listen.

The people that I love.

These people are HPA.

One of my favorite pictures...

...of my Hannah girl. It is hard to capture such pure delight very often. I was blessed.

{Linking up to Hannah's}

Piano

Today we have piano.

I love piano.

As in love it.

This week I have come to realize how hard it would be if I couldn't play the piano. My sister sprained her thumb and is in a splint that covers most of her lower arm and wrist. Piano playing is not coming easily for her.

This is an endeavor 6 years in coming.

And it has been worth every minute.

:)

(All images via swagbucks)

We have a Church

The past few weeks our church has had a problem with the air conditioner. That seems trivial until you get several hundred people packed into the pews. The heat is distracting and many people are fanning themselves with their programs and glancing longingly at the slight breeze blowing in the window.

After we sang a few opening songs, our youth pastor got on stage and said,

"I know that it's a little hot in here. We are aiming to have the air conditioning problem fixed by next week. But as I was sitting in my seat, I remembered that we have a church with air conditioning. We have a church. We have a solid building over our head and we have the freedom to be here. We don't have to meet in secret or hiding. We aren't meeting outside in the blazing sun or pouring rain. When you are thinking about how hot you are this morning, just remember how blessed we are."

I just thought that this was an amazing remark. It broke through people's "I'm so hot." "This is going to be the longest church service ever" and turned it into good.

This Summer

This Summer I will connect with my siblings- helping them to grow and learn- and helping them to become the children God wants them to be.

This Summer I will fill our freezer with food for next year- cooked ground beef, chicken prepared in various way, several casseroles, muffins, cinnamon rolls and pie crusts – along with taking food to several people who need it.

This Summer I will lead a group at our church’s VBS. I will throw myself fully into the work- not slacking, not acting as if I’m too old for these things and not letting the heat get to me. I will demonstrate the love of God to these boys and girls.

This summer I will work my way through Philippians, being willing and open to whatever it is that God wants to teach me.

This Summer I will not be “afraid” of the heat and dally around inside. I will take initiative and work and play outside- working in the garden, jumping on the trampoline and biking to the library.

This Summer I will work on my “Seniors project.” (more on that later)

This Summer I will journal my life, because I know that these days go by too fast.

This Summer I will make time for friends. I won’t let my “busyness” keep me pulled away. I will reach out to them. I will talk to them. I will pray for them.

This Summer I will organize my room.

This Summer I will work without complaining. I will remember to “do everything without complaining and arguing” and “Rejoice evermore.”

This Summer I will pick a Bible passage and commit it to memory. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

This Summer I will grow closer to God. He is the only thing that truly matters and He is what I should be focused on. All this shall be done proclaiming “To HIM be the Glory!”

What will you do this summer? :)