These Three Remain...

Ok, that title is only partially true....I don't think my life will ever be "normal"! :P Of course that depends on your definition of "normal", I suppose. Anyway....We are glad to be back and settling into full-blown school now. I am trying to be finished by the end of this semester, to give me some time to slow down a bit before graduating this May and starting some college classes. So my time has been full of Physics, Spanish, and 15th century history lately! :P I am very much looking forward to getting all of those finished so that I can focus on other things. I am also trying to work up about 7 piano pieces by this May that my teacher and I picked out. There is a special music diploma that you can receive if you meet certain requirements, including learning and memorizing 7 pieces (that also have to meet certain requirements :P). In addition, I took a music theory test this Saturday, which took me about three hours to complete...thankfully it wasn't too difficult, just very time-consuming. :) Speaking of piano...You all have probably been wondering why you haven't seen any pictures of our piano yet. That would be because we never received it. :) I won't try to explain the entire process here, it was too complicated; basically the man we were dealing with was not honest, and we eventually had to drop the sale and get our money back. However, on our way back from Michigan, we stopped by a store in Chicago, from which we ordered another piano that was almost exactly the same! The only difference is that it's a bit smaller; a 6'2 rather than a 7'4. I think that it will fit the room better anyway....assuming that it comes in. :) It is supposed to be here in the next couple of weeks....we'll see! I can assure you that you will know when (and if) the piano comes in!!
Let's see....I think that's about all for this update. I will try to be more consistent in my posts :). Sorry that they've been so sporadic lately!


Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for me and my family. We had a safe drive to and from Michigan, and the funeral went fairly smoothly....Blessings!

Hello everyone....I just wanted to let you all know that about 2 hours ago my grandfather, known as "Dan" Deneen, passed on into eternal glory. He was a believer, and I can just see Jesus Christ standing from His throne, walking to Grandpa, taking His hands and saying "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" He was ready to go, and now he is at peace with no more pain or sorrow.

We will be leaving soon, in the next couple of days, to go to Michigan for the funeral, and will be gone for 4-5 days...Please keep us all in your prayers; traveling safety for all of the family members, in addition to comfort and peace, especially for my grandmother. Thank you so much! Blessings to all of you!

Here is a list of books that I have read (although is this just a small percent of them!) and recommend reading! I hope to put up a brief review of each soon, and I will also try to keep updating this as I continue to read good books! I may also eventually have a section of books that my parents have read and recommend as well....To make sure that you can find it easily, I'm going to put a link to this post under my "Links" menu....be sure to check back often!

• The Bible :)

• Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss

• They Loved to Laugh by Katherine Worth

• Millie Keith Series (Life of Faith)
  

-Note: I read the newer version of these books based on the original text by Martha Finley. Published by MCP, copyright 2001.

• Books by C.S. Lewis:
  - The Great Divorce
  - The Chronicles of Narnia
  
• The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Kingdom Series by Chuck Black
• Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
• Books by G.A. Henty, including:
  -In Freedom's Cause
  -Beric the Briton
  -The Dragon and the Raven
  
  
  

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.

You hem me in behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

Hello again everyone! I have an update on my grandpa's condition...I'm sorry that I've been so delayed in getting it to you. My grandpa was on a new chemotherapy for about a month, but, unfortunately, this chemo did not work either. So he is now off of all chemotherapies, and actually is in the hospital right now...the other night his fever was 102, and he was in so much pain that my grandma had to call an ambulance to come and take him to the hospital. Please pray for healing for him, peace for my grandma, and wisdom for the doctors and us as we are trying to decide what to do next in terms of cancer treatment for him. Thank you so much!

I have one more prayer request. A few weeks ago, little Rebecca came down with the chicken pox! :S It was not fun! Now, even though they have been immunized, Ryan and Joshua also have it. Besides the itching, they have a high fever and overall pain at times...please keep them in your prayers! Thanks again!

As for me, I have been busy with different summer projects and catching up in school....I'm hoping to be finished with all highschool work by the middle of the school year or so.

I had hoped by this point that I would have a picture of a beautiful Bohemia grand piano in our living room to show you, but I don't. :( For many "unknown" reasons, the piano has not arrived on time. How can you lose a 7' 4" grand piano? They seriously don't know why it hasn't been delivered yet! lol Oh, well. You'll know when it's here! I'm so excited!!

One last thing. We'll be leaving over Labor Day weekend for a family camp up in Indiana; I hope that I'll be updating before then, but just in case I'm not able too, you'll know why.
Thanks again for your prayers!!

Blessings!

Hello everyone! I know, it's been a long time since I updated....I have a good excuse, though. :)
Take a look at this:


This is our whole family on my mom's side! My grandparents, my aunts, uncles, cousins....33 people in all, for one day. Then we had 25 for one more day, 24 for three more days, and then 19 for the rest of the week. It was so much fun!! From swimming almost every day to Dutch Blitz'ing ourselves to death, we had an absolute blast!

So that was my life for a week...now I'm getting ready to go on a weekend mission trip! My dad, Ryan, and I are going with a church group today to another church near the Louisiana border to help them rebuild; they're in the middle of an addition and also need help cleaning up after housing people from Hurricane Katrina. We should be back by Tuesday evening....please keep us in your prayers!

Also-my grandpa is going in to have a CAT scan sometime in the early part of August, so I'll let you know what the results are; thank you for keeping him in your prayers!
Again, I'll be back Tuesday evening....
Blessings!

Hello everyone! Sorry that I've been so long in updating; life is almost non-stop right now...we have had company in and out for a while, and we're getting ready to go to a weekend conference this coming Thursday. Immediately after we get back (Sunday), we'll have more family in for a week or so; at one point we'll have 27 people in the house at one time! :D It will be very interesting, but it should be a lot of fun. Thank you to all of you who are praying for my family, and specifically my grandpa. He is doing much better now that he is on a different chemotherapy; I will try to keep you updated on his progress!

Anyway...these are some clippings that my grandmother showed me from a magazine....enjoy!

"Voice mail is my sworn enemy--I have never understood how it works. Finally, I broke down and called the office operator to walk me through it. 'I can send you an instruction sheet,' she said.
'Great, fax it over.'
'Sure,' she said, 'But fax it right back. It's my only copy.' "
-R.B.

"I went to a store to buy some insecticide. 'Is this good for beetles?' I asked a clerk.
'No,' he replied. 'It'll kill them.' "
R.A.

"I heard the dog barking before he and his owner actually barreled into our vet practice. Spotting a training video we sell, the owner wisely decided to buy one.
'How does this work?' she asked, handing me a check. 'Do I just have him watch this?' "
-B.C.

"I was on line in the cafeteria of the hospital where I work when I overheard a doctor ask an anesthesiologist how his day was.
'Good,' came the response. 'Everyone's woken up so far.' "
-J.G.

Oh, and I'm working on an update from Independence Day...lots of pictures to come! Have a great night! Blessings!

John 15:1-8
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, no more can ye, unless ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered,; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples."
I hope that this passage challenges you to "abide in Him" as it does me....
Blessings!

This is a beautiful prayer that I read in a book called Raising Maidens of Virtue by Stacy McDonald.


Dear Lord, let my life be a reflection of Your mercy
and goodness. Allow a lovely and gentle spirit to
shine forth from me. Make my countenance properly
express your holiness. Keep me from attempting to
glorify myself and help me to instead glorify You in
all that I do, wear, and proclaim. Take my life, Lord--
do with it what You will, and make me content and
joyful always and in everything. Amen.


That just expresses so perfectly what I want to say to Him; I'm so thankful that He showed me this prayer, so that I can give it back to Him with all of my heart.
Many blessings!