These Three Remain...

Today is Memorial Day, and 3:00 pm is the official "moment of remembrance". Could you just take a moment to thank God for all of those men and women who have given their lives for their country, for their God, and for their families? We, as Americans, have been blessed with so much, and I pray that we would treasure it, not take it for granted. And thank you to all of those who have served and to those who are still serving, daily putting their lives on the line for our freedom!
Oh, and take a look at www.remember.gov for more information on Memorial Day. Blessings!

Hello all!
I just wanted to share this quote with you all (from my devotional book) that stood out to me:

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."
- Jim Elliot, Christian missionary and martyr

Isn't that a great thought? What a good reminder to stay focused on God's will in every situation...to make sure that we're not so self-focused that we are blinded to what we know God would will in the situation. I especially like the phrase "live to the hilt". Doesn't that put the image of a Christian warrior fighting the spiritual battle into your mind? Living to the hilt; using the "sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6), God's Word, for every situation. Doesn't that just challenge you? Challenge you to "live to the hilt every situation" instead of just trying to simply "make it through"? It also reminds me of a song I heard on the radio...I don't know who it was by. It went something like...I think of all the years I spent just passing through. I'd like to take that time and give it all to You! Something to that effect, anyway. That kind of adds on to Kallie's post "Is God your all?". Do you give God all your time? I don't mean that you should stay at your bed praying every second of the day, but have you thought about how much of you is given to Him? I guess what I'm trying to say is, yes, God wants us to have leisure time, I'm not trying to discourage that in the least, but are we always seeking our own pursuits in every second of extra time, or do we take the time to look around us and be aware of others and their needs and desires as Jesus did?
Anyway, I know I got a bit off topic there, but I really enjoy being able to share my thoughts with you! Let me know what you think!

Hello again everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that yesterday started National Remembrance Week- a time to remember those men and women who have defended our freedom and given their lives for our liberty. It continues until Memorial Day. Yet, our remembrance shouldn't just be restricted to one week; I think that we tend to take for granted that which has cost others so much. So again, I'd like to say thank you to all those men and women who have shown their patriotism, their love for their God, their families, and their country, and I'd like to say how grateful I am to them for the sacrifices that they've made so that I can say I am proud to be an American! May God bless our troops and may God bless the free America that they fight for!
Blessings!

Hello all! In case you didn't know, today is Armed Forces Day...would you take a moment and pray for all of those men and women who are (and those who will be) fighting for our freedom? God has given us so much in this wonderful country, and I pray that He will richly bless those who have realized this and are willing to give their lives for their families, their country, and their God; those who are willing to die so that we may continue to be "one nation under God". I can't even begin to express what I want to say to those men and women...so, in my inadequate, small words, thank you and may God bless you!

How do you define a "normal day"? :) Our life has been so busy lately with "abnormal" events, that we haven't had a "normal" day in a very long time. :) Today definitely wasn't completely normal, but I actually got quite a bit of school done! Spanish, Physics, and SAT prep were completed; the only thing that didn't get done was history (which I really enjoy). I really didn't expect to accomplish that much, since I was taking care of Joshua and Rebecca today while my mom took Kara and Ryan to do some SAT testing and my grandparents were out for a check-up at the hospital. By the way, thank you so much to everyone who is praying for my grandparents! My grandpa is actually going to have a CAT-scan June 1 to see if the tumor is shrinking. I'll be sure and let you know the results! Please continue to keep them in your prayers. Blessings!

Hello everyone...this is a quote that my mom gave to me a while back; I don't know what book it's from, but it's so true (yet hard to follow), isn't it?

"If we wish to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.
2. Never picture thyself under any circumstances in which thou art not.
3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.
4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.
5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. 'The Lord will provide.' "

-E.B. Pusey

Hi everyone! For those of you who were praying for my little cousin, thank you so much!! I haven't heard anything else, so I'm assuming that everything's ok...As to what caused it, they think that it was a temperature seizure. Two of my other cousins have had this before, so it's very possible. Anyway, praise the Lord, as far as I know she is fine now. Thank you again for your prayers!

Hi everyone-I don't know if any of you even got a chance to read the previous post, but for those of you who were able, thank you so much for your prayers!! Little Olivia is awake now; she is on her way to the hospital with her dad and the paramedics. Praise the Lord!!! She is out of danger of death for the present, but please continue to pray for her! Thank you so much!

Hi everyone! I know that we have a lot of prayer warriors out there, and I need to put an urgent prayer request up. My Aunt found my little cousin Olivia unconscious on the ground a little while ago where she had been playing with her sisters; the paramedics are there now, but she's still not responding...I don't know any details, but if you all would please, please pray for her and her family, we would appreciate it so much! Thank you all so much; I'll let you know if there are any changes, hopefully. Thanks again!

Well, I looked out of our backyard window this afternoon, and realized that our gardenia tree is now blooming it's beautiful, big, white flowers! Do any of you have gardenias? I think they must be one of the absolute best smelling flowers God ever created! If I could post a smell, I would surely post the scent of gardenias for you! :P Unfortunately, technology hasn't come that far yet. :) I wanted to post a picture of a gardenia for you, but I'm having internet problems :(....maybe later. Anyway, have a great night!

Ok, here's one of our baby, Rebecca Joy...isn't she so cute?!

Yes, today is my younger sister Kara's birthday! Please leave her a note!
At our house, the birthday person gets to choose the meals for the day, and the cake that they would like. They also usually get to choose the activity for the evening...This morning Kara chose french toast with strawberries and powdered sugar for breakfast; for lunch, she decided Jason's Deli, which is really good! And for dinner, we're having steaks! mmmmmm! So happy birthday Kara! Love you!
Well, here's a picture of me and all but one of my siblings...Kara's the one on top, then me, then Ryan, and Joshua's the smallest one...my youngest sister Rebecca didn't make it into that one, but I'll put one up of her as well. Have a great day!

Well, I thought that I'd post some pictures for those of you who haven't seen my family...I don't have an up-to-date family picture, but I have some individual pictures. :) I'll do my mom and dad today, and my siblings tomorrow maybe...
There's a picture of my mom...isn't she beautiful? :)

This is my daddy!

Anyway...hope you all have a great night! Blessings!

This is an analogy from A Young Woman After God's Own Heart that I thought was perfect for our Christian walk...
"In bygone days a process was used for growing the trees that became the main masts for the military and merchant ships. The great shipbuiders first selected a tree located on the top of a high hill as a potential mast. Then they cut away all of the surrounding trees that would shield the chosen one from the force of the wind. As the years went by and the winds blew fiercely against the tree, the tree only grew stronger until finally it was strong enough to be the foremast of a ship."
Isn't that such a great perspective of our trials? It reminds me of two Scripture passages: Romans 5:3-5, which says "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." and also James 1:2-4, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Anyway, those are my thoughts...let me know what you think! Blessings!

Here's one more picture; this time the waterfall is on...:) Please drop me a note!

Ok, Kallie requested a picture of our pool, so I took a couple this morning. One of them is looking down from the second story of our house, and the other is from the side. The two little circles of rocks on either side of the pool are the hot tub and the baby pool (which is less than a foot deep). I should have gotten one of the waterfall when it's running....maybe I'll put one up later.When the K's would come over when we were little, we'd play all kinds of games up on that big waterfall, like "coke factory", house, or make it our secret cove, etc. It's a lot of fun...and as you can see, my dad puts a lot of work into the landscaping around it. :) Can you tell that he loves plants? lol It's one of his hobbies...Anyway, hope you enjoy those pictures! Blessings!

Well, I know it's not usual to post twice in a day, but I just have to put this picture up! This is my dad's garden; he's had one almost every year for 15 years, and he says that this is his best year yet! He is soooo excited, he's almost speechless! :) Anyway, just wanted to share that with you all! Please leave me a note! Blessings!

Well, this morning was pretty unproductive...it was my Aunt Pony's (no, that's not her real name; she's been called that since she was little. And yes, she does like horses :) ) last morning with us, so we wanted to spend it with her. She came down (from Michigan) to help out for a little bit and spend some time with her dad (my grandpa is staying with us). He's been going through chemo treatments for his bile duct cancer...please keep him and my grandma in your prayers. Anyway, she was such a blessing! My mom had gotten behind in a bunch of paperwork because of all the things that have been going on lately, and she really needed some uninterrupted time to get it done. I had also gotten pretty behind in school for the same reason. My aunt took charge of the younger kids; she took them on walks, read to them, played with them...and they so enjoyed it! Poor Joshua; he cried this morning when he learned that she had to leave (he's 6)! We look forward to her whole family (she has 8 kids) coming down this summer. BTW, she's the one who has the music ministry (see my links on the side). Well, I guess I'd better go; I have lots of school waiting for me! :) Please leave me a note! Blessings!

I just want to put something out here that my Grandma said the other day. She was talking about her mother and some things that happened soon before she died, and she said, " You know, the two things that will stick with you to the day you die are your attitudes and your habits." Wow...Doesn't that really put it into perspective? Those two things will be with you your whole life. It kind of puts a new incentive into working on them, doesn't it? Anyway, that just really struck me. Let me know what you think! Blessings!