A Work in Progress

Blog is under construction.  Wish I could finish now, but American History (aka Mom) is calling my name. It will be finished by tomorrow hopefully.

Today was a Good Day

Yes, you heard me right: today was a good day!  Being productive makes me feel good. I woke up early and cleaned my bathroom.  Mom, my brother and I ran a few errands and I read The Consequences of Ideas and The Roar on the Other Side in the car to Mom.  I finished all of my Philosophy homework :) Poetry is still a work in progress, but I got a lot accomplished.  I had an assignment to go to the grocery store and study the fruits and vegetables.  It was really fun actually.  Poetry is my favorite subject.  Although, I’m definitely not a master poet, I enjoy trying to be poetic.  It is such a beautiful way to write/talk.  I look forward to learning more about it.  Tonight, I went to play bingo at a nursing home with my youth group.  It was so much fun!  They loooove them some Bingo, let me tell you!  It's intense!  Most of the night, I hung out with this one lady: she had difficulty reading the numbers, so I had to point to her which ones she could put a chip on.  She was as sweet as could be.  One time, I pointed to a number and she grabbed my arm and kissed it and told me how she hadn’t played Bingo in forever and how she was going to quit after this round.  Well, she played the entire night :)  I hope we go back soon.  The family was all together when I got home due to some out-of-town company.  So I enjoyed being with everyone and I did my Latin homework.  Now, I am exhausted, but I’m going to try to do a little more homework.  I’m getting really worried about getting it all done before Tuesday. 

Oh hey! I finally uploaded those pictures that you have been awaiting in anticipation :)

So, scary story:

I was wandering around outside when I came across this big guy.  First reaction is to scream. Second is "Dang, I need my camera!" Third, "Ooh, look at this ladybug." (Maybe I'm ADD afterall) I ran and got my camera and by the time I got back the spider had jumped down to the bottom of his web and was spinning what I am almost positive is that poor ladybug I saw a moment earlier.  It was fascinating, but horrifying at the same time.

This is his underside.  Check out that web.  Spider webs are spectacular. 

Zoomed out so you can really see how BIG he was.  Out here on the farm, we see some big spiders, but this one... he is like the macdaddy of all spiders.

Moving on to more pleasant thoughts, so I don't dream of humongous spiders eating me tonight...

Couldn't fit the whole quote, but isn't it pretty :) 

Hay bales (in this case, sloppy mounds of hay): one of my most favorite things about a farm.

Black&white version.

"What is that?" you may ask.  The answer is, a wooden, bench, swing; a place I find much peace. It is a great place to think, pray, acknowledge God's creation... As I was sitting there, I decided to take this picture because I liked how the screws looked. When I edited it, I added these words which are oh, so relevant. (Scroll down)

  I rest here deep in thought and prayer.  My heart is weary, Lord, I lay it down before you.  I hear a whisper in the wind, "Be still, and know that I am God," and it dries my tears.  I will sit here and wait, in awe of Your beauty and magnificent creation, worshipping you all the while. (My attempt at being poetic)...

This is from Wesley's Covenant Prayer.  I made a powerpoint of the whole thing for church, so I will post it on Sunday. It's beautiful. 

I totally just used blogging to procrastinate and now it is very late.  I'm off to bed! Goodnight and have a good Saturday!

Restoration While Keeping

“If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.” [John 14:15]

I’m finding out that keeping God’s commands is much harder than just doing them.  If you read “An Act of Love” you know what I am referring to.  Isn’t there a phrase like, “Set on fire for the Lord” or something?  Well, the truth of the matter is, when God speaks to me I get truly excited and encouraged.  It’s not too often I get a clear direction from God.  Ultimately, I want to do God’s will, I want to obey, so whenever He does give me a clear direction, I get this sort of “fire” inside me.  I’m doing a poor job of explaining this, but I think you understand what I mean.  The ups and downs you face when obeying and keeping God’s commands.  Right now, my “fire” is pretty dim; I just went over the peak of the rollercoaster and now I am speeding down, down, down. I did the initial obeying of God’s will, but now everyday I’m faced with more and more “tests” to see if I’ll keep.  Why do we start out so strong, but are so quick to weaken?  God has given me no reason whatsoever not to trust Him.  So why do I have all these doubts?  Why am I so quick to want to give up?

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” [Philippians 2:8]

If that doesn’t give good perspective, I don’t know what does.  JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God, died the most painful, humiliating, shameful death ever, on a cross, for us, all in obedience to God. If Jesus loved me enough to do that, then certainly I can handle this simple directive.  There is power in God's Word. Amen?

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” [Romans 8:28]

Also, this is not only an act of love to him, but to God.

“And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.” [2 John 1:6]

Oh God, You are more than enough.  “When the shadows fall and the wrecking ball swings and tears me through the heart... Will you lead me? Beside the still waters? Where the oil, it runs over? And my cup overflows.  You restore my soul.” [Walk With Me by Caedmon’s Call]

I will keep.

Goodbye, Summer...

Summer is over. School has begun.  

I have mixed feelings about this.  It makes me really really sad that summer is over and that I have to get back into a routine again, but at the same time maybe it will be good for me to have routine again and it will keep me distracted from other things. Overall though, I am not ready for the daily, long, grueling hours of homework. 

Fact about me: I am a homeschooler and I attend a program called Classical Conversations.  (Want a balance between homeschooling and private/public school?  One that will give you structure, community and a great education? Look it up!)

I am certain I will learn many things that I will want to share with you in the future, so to save time, I'm going to tell you about my classes now rather than later.

1. Shakespeare/Poetry (I’m really excited about this class! Our first play that we are reading is, Much Ado About Nothing along with Brightest Heaven of Invention by Peter Leithart as a study guide.  And in Poetry, we are reading The Roar on the Other Side by Suzanne Rhodes)

2. Advanced Philosophy (I look forward to this class as well.  We’re using The Consequence of Ideas by R.C. Sproul as our text)

3. Chemistry (Hm. Math and Science combined. Not much more to say other than I am not a Math or Science person.)

4. Latin 3 (I thoroughly enjoy learning languages.  One problem: I have only taken Latin 1.  So, I have a good bit of catching up to do…)

5. Advanced Math (People always get confused when I call it this, so let me explain.  Saxon is the curriculum we use and that is what they named the book; it’s basically a combination of geometry and pre-calculus)

6. American History (In other words, a big fat, 932 page book, with small print, filled with our Country’s history.  Definitely not looking forward to this class.)

Well, I need to go finish up today's homework before Church.  I hope everyone is having a great week! And to those of you who are starting school, good luck and work hard!

Best Friend

Just when I thought all hope was lost and this Friday was going to be a total bum, I found out my best friend, Hannah, finally got Skype!!!  It made my day :)

Hannah and I grew up inseparable; best friends forever.  When she moved away, things changed... but... not really.  Sure, we don't see each other as much and our lives are completely different, but when we reunite it's like not even a minute has passed by.  I love it.  When you are a kid, friendships are so easy.  You meet someone your size and immediately you become best friends.  There are no conditions, you just play and love each other.  Hannah and I worked our hardest to see each other every single day.  I have a very vivid memory figuring out what we could do each day. 

Monday: Piano lessons
Tuesday: Ballet
Wednesday: Church
Thursday: Gymnastics
Friday: Sleepover
Saturday: Try to talk our Moms into another sleepover
Sunday: Church

That's probably not the right order, but that was basically our life back then.  We would make desperate attempts to have sleepovers almost every day.  Those were the days...
Anyways, Hannah's and my friendship has stayed easy.  It's a miracle.  It seems that once you become a teenager, friendships become very difficult.  But our child-like friendship has remained and that is why she will always be my best friend.

If you read this, I love you and I am so, so thankful for you. :)

Aww, nostalgia is getting to me. I have so many fond memories with her...

Ha!  I just found a quote: "The only reason God didn't make us sisters is because one mom couldn't handle us both." Hahaha

Let the Rant Begin

Although, I slept fairly well last night (compared to the night before), I would still like to vent about my sleeping issues. 

#1: It takes absolutely FOREVER to fall asleep! Sleeping is something that just happens, right? Normally, we don’t think through the process of falling asleep.  I do.  Every time I start to enter into a sleep, my mind jerks me back, so then I try and focus on how to get to that state of sleepiness again. It just doesn’t work out.

#2: After the struggle with myself to fall asleep, I am then faced with constant dreaming.  CONSTANT.  I’ve heard something like dreams really only last 2 seconds… well, I don’t think I believe that.   I wake up several times throughout the night from these “dreams” and in the morning, I’m exhausted (no matter how many hours of sleep I get).

#3: These “dreams” could hardly be called such, but they’re not really nightmares.  Most of the time, I am just really tense during them.  I had like a Transformer’s dream where big robots kept chasing me. Being chased is my biggest fear… but I was able to beat them, so that is why it doesn’t qualify as a nightmare.  Anyways, you get the point.  Being tense in my dreams probably means that I’m tense in real life, which is why I wake up so tired.

Well, that is all.  The saddest part of this all is that I used to LOVE sleep. I would get all happy and warm inside when I thought about it..and now I dread it. It is very sad. :( Well.. if anyone has any remedies, please share :)

A Day in Narnia

Narnia. As in The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. As in a beautiful and magical world.  I wish my closet had a secret passageway to a place like Narnia.  Anytime the world became overbearing, I would just sneak into Narnia.  What would I do?

First, I would find Aslan.  I would run to him and hug him tight.  I would lie on his soft mane in a quiet meadow next to a clear spring.  Releasing all of my troubles, I would cling to his every word and feel reassured. Eventually, I would fall in a blissful sleep.

Then I would visit Mr. Tumnus for tea time.  I would be relieved by our deep, but simple friendship.

Of course, I would have to have a little chat with the Beavers.  They are so sweet and caring.

I would take a boat ride out into the Sea of Lilies, surrounded by purity.

I would sing as loud as I could and dance with the trees, laughing all the while.

Then sit on the beach with Aslan and watch the crystal clear waves come in and out, acknowledging the majestic sound and breathing in the salty air.

Say my goodbyes until next time and enter back into my world, refreshed and at peace.

Yup, this sounds just about perfect, don’t you think?

 

"Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again."