TV Tales, Country Experiments, and Basic Random

Hello dear people! My gracious, I have not posted much in quite a while! But I do have a legit. reason, though you have probably gotten as tired of me using it as I have: school. Yes, school. *BLAH!* I am on Spring Break this week, but it has not been much of a "break" really - though I am so thankful for it, for it has given me a chance to catch up with all the homework that is coming up due, and that I haven't had time to devote to yet because of all the other assignments that were due "now". Thankfully so far I have all A's and B's, even in the two classes that have really been whipping me. Thank the Lord! My desire is to be a Godly witness for the Lord in whatever I do, and it will certainly not be a good reflection on Him or other believers, if I miss deadlines or do poorly. So I have devoted most of my time this week to HARD WORK - which never hurt anyone, but which sometimes threatens to make me scream! ;) So if I haven't commented on your blog in a while, and you are someone I 'follow', it's because I just haven't had computer 'free time' to do it in. I hope to catch up though before too long!



Well, moving on, I wanted to take a moment's break from my school and tell a little bit about the things other than school that have been going on lately - not much, but I still thought I'd share it.

Uncle David and his family were down visiting all last week, and though I had college, it was Spring Break for the Christian Academy, so I did not have work. That was very nice, so I got to spend more time with my two young cousins (even if alot of it was just being in the same room with them, while sitting on the couch doing homework on a borrowed laptop! LOL). But seriously, we did get to do a few things together. On Tuesday evening since I didn't have work, we got to sit down and watch a movie (all together) that I had heard about a while back. Aunt Winny's mother had gotten it for the kids after that, and they had been wanting us to see it. It's called "Pendragon: Sword of his father".







It is EXCELLENT. It was made by two homeschool families and a small army of friends and volunteers, and gives glory to the Lord while sweeping you off on an adventure ride back into the medival days of Britiania. There were a few goofs in a couple of places, and at times the acting wasn't quite as convincing, but for this to be their first movie, the quality was unbelievable. Add to that the fact that it was clean, wholesome, and God-honoring (which is ALOT more than I could say for most "Inspirational" "Christian" movies), and I was an immediate fan. If you have seen it, I'd love to hear your opinions! And if you haven't seen it - TRY TO! It really is a great movie! Click on the image to visit their website.



Still along the lines of TV, we've recently been introduced to a show that also seems like something worth watching. My grandparents have cable, and my grandmother started watching it, and got us started. It's called "DOC".







It's about a Montana cowboy/doctor who moves to New York, and is really too tender-hearted for his own good. He always takes his patients into his heart, and goes above and beyond his call as their doctor to help them. The staff at this clinic are not ashamed to talk about God, the Bible, and family values. Now, I haven't seen all the episodes, so it may not end up being as good as it first seems, but so far I have been quite impressed (the fault I have is that Doc could use a haircut). It comes on on the Gospel Music Station, and we enjoy watching it whenever we are free at 4:00 in the afternoon. If any of you knows more details, has seen it, or has opinions, I would love to hear more about it from another "angle". There's also a show that comes on right before it called "Sue Thomas, FBEye" that looks pretty good, but we haven't seen it as much as Doc.



Well, I was going to also post some new pictures of my "inside garden", but I guess my little camera really has given out at last. The pictures took fine, but when I tried to load them onto the computer, it was as if they had dissapeared off of the memory card. So anyway... But all my little plants seem to be doing well, except for the Lavender - only one little plant finally came up, but I still have seeds left over of all my plants, and after I get these set out in the garden (which I really need to do soon), I want to start them growing too.



This morning Mom and Trissy went into town to hopefully get Trissy's driver's license, and as they were leaving we noticed that one of our front Oaks (the younger one) was full of lady Cardinals! They were all facing South. There's alot of cloud cover right now (it's supposed to storm later on), but it seemed so strange. Do any of you, who might be a little more nature-wise than I, know what would have caused them to behave this way? Unless I'm mistaken, all the birds were female red birds, all facing the same direction, all in the same young oak tree, and there must have been seventy of them or so. I took pictures too, but couldn't load those either. Anyway, it just had us puzzled, and I wondered if any of you would know.



One more thing and then I've got to go. One of my instructors gave us a bunch of chicken eggs and loaned us her incubator so we could try to raise some chicks! We are down to five chickens (four hens and a rooster), none of them are setting, and almost every time we have tried setting our own, it has resulted in trajedy of some sort. So we are really hoping (and even praying) that all these will hatch and do well. We've put plastic Easter eggs, and golf balls out in the nests, hoping that will encourage some of our hens to set, and then when these chicks hatch, maybe they would "adopt" them so that we wouldn't have to keep them in a box in the house until they were old enough and big enough to fend for themselves out there!



Ok, well I really need to go. I just wanted to take a break and fill y'all in on a little of what's been going on. :)



Til later, Keep Looking UP!



-Kyrie<><

What God Hath Joined Together...

Sunday was a wonderful day! Somehow everything seemed to glow almost. I can't really describe it, but it was as if the whole day just had this sort of other-worldly type vividness of color and experience - I know, it sounds kind of strange, but that's the only way I know how to describe it. It was really a 'lift' to my spirit though, so I'm posting about it ;)

Part of it (well, at least one thing that happened that I can pin my finger on that wasn't just a 'sensation') was looking over at Bro. and Mrs. A and seeing ... Well, let me say this first:
Because you all don't know these people (I've changed names anyway), then I feel like I can tell this. Bro. and Mrs. A are a couple in the church who I have secretly been worried about for quite some time. They are both very active in the church, they stay busy "doing things for God" as the expression is, and they both 'talk the talk'. But, I've been concerned about them. The two of them. Their relationship as husband and wife. Now, outwardly, everything is fine. But I like to observe people - I always have. I like to study those I love, and try to find out what makes them 'tick'. So, over the past few months I've noticed little things about them... it has greatly concerned me, and I've prayed for them earnestly - that the Lord would give them an unquenchable Love for Him and for each other. One that would only grow stronger as time wears on. One that lasts forever.
Ok, so Sunday morning at one point during the sermon, I happened to look over at them. And Bro. A had his arm around Mrs. A (propped on the back of the pew), and his thumb was just brushing back and forth against her shoulder in this sortof comforting little jesture! Maybe all this sounds silly, but that one little thing just made me sooooo happy! It was just such a cute and protective little action, the type of which I had rarely seen him do. Now, he is always kind, but he has seemed sort of distant to her, and a wife needs to feel safe in her husband. Sunday night was the same thing, only now his whole hand would squeeze or rub her shoulder gently every now and then.
(And yes, I did hear the sermon :)!)

I wanted to include the notes I jotted down in my bulletin about it. One thing that grieves me more than anything is to see marriages break up, and this little incident was just such an encouraging thing - I have cried so many tears for them! So even though (and I know this is true) I can't express my thoughts and feelings very well or successfully, just believe me when I say that the Lord is working, and it is greatly encouraging me.
Here are my notes. I am very happy.

~

Sun. Morn. March 14, 2010

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" -Ps. 107:8

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

There is none like our God.
No one is worthy to look on Him -
to look to Him
yet, He looks to us;
He deigns to see to our comfort -
to answer our prayers - to dry our tears,
and make us to laugh again...

~

Sun. Night March 14, 2010

God is the God of Love -
He is the God Who answers
prayers, Who banishes heartache.
Glory to His Name

"There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid."
-Prov. 30:18 & 19

Oh my dear friends! God bless you!

~

If you would, please pray with me for the strengthening of this marriage, and the glory of God in this couple's life.

"Inside Garden" Update

Just a little update on my "inside garden" experiment :) . I noticed yesterday morning (or maybe it was the night before) that the pot I had planted the Asters and the 'mix' in had little sprouts in it! I was so excited!




And then last night, the dish I have the Shasta Daisies, Forget-Me-Nots, California Poppies, and Carpet of Snow in had sprouts on the Carpet of Snow row, and this morning the Shasta Daisy and California Poppy rows did too! So now in that dish (and yes, it is one of those trays you buy ground meat in. We recycle, OK?! ;) ) the only thing that hasn't come up (yet!) in that dish are the Forget-Me-Nots, and I'm hoping they will soon.
You probably can't even see the little green sprouts in the picture - they are very small still. Maybe if you look really close...




None of the seeds were even supposed to come up for at least a week, but every time the dirt even looks a little dry on top, I've been misting it with water out of Mom's spray bottle we use to dampen the clothes with when we're ironing :D ! So I think that has really encouraged them to go ahead and grow :) .




The only pot that doesn't have anything yet is the Lavendar pot. Hopefully they will start coming up soon.




I have all the dishes in front of our dining-room window during the day, to catch as much sun as possible. Then when it begins to get cold in the evening, I move them away from the drafty window and put them against another inside wall. I can't wait to have little plants to put in the garden!




Don't you just love my Americana flower pots, by the way?! I am a very patriotic and crafty person, and one year while Trissy and I were still young enough to be in 4-H, at one of our end-of-the-year closing programs we had a patriotic theme, and pots like that were used as centerpieces for some of the tables. I commented on how I liked them and would like to paint some myself, and our 4-H leader heard me and just gave me two of them! Wasn't that nice?!

Well, class is about to start so I'd better go. Have a wonderful day!

Reading And Crafting Are A Good Combination

Good evening to you all! I hope you have all had a wonderful and profitable Monday!
I have been working hard on school pretty much all day, but I'm looking forward to an evening of rest. Mom often reads out loud to us as a family during the evenings, and we've been through lots of good books together that way! Lately she has been reading "The Gentleman From Indiana" by Booth Tarkington. It is a pretty old book. Have any of you read it? If so, please tell me what your opinions/thoughts were about it.
Anyway, while she reads, I work on crafts (Trissy does too sometimes), while Dad watches the backsides of his eyelids (he deserves the rest)! I've made lots of things that way, and it makes the whole evening so enjoyable! I finished my blue/green/yellow dishrag/washcloth Saturday night and started on a stormy blue one, which I finished last night (Sunday) while she read a little while after we got back from church. I thought I'd post pictures, and y'all tell me what you think please. Any suggestions on improvement?

I took these pictures this morning on our dining table, and just as I finished taking the varigated one, the sun came streaming through the dining room window, and so that's why the stormy one looks all lit up like that :) .

Oh, I posted pictures of my finished shawl, so if you want to see them, you can click HERE. Tell me what you think! And not just if you like it - I value constructive criticism as well as praise :) !
Well, I'd better go. I've still got a little school work that's due in the morning. Y'all have a wonderful evening, a good night's sleep, and may the Lord guide your day tomorrow for your good and His glory!

Mystery Picture

I must appologize for my lateness in posting the answer to the mystery picture! I havn't had much of a chance to blog since that post, and when I have had a chance, I've forgotten about it! Shame on me, I know, but here I am finally getting around to letting y'all know what it was. Grace, Hannah, and Cora, you were all close, in that you guessed it was looking up through the roof of a building that had no top. I am going to say you all "got it", because one would had to have been to this particular building to know what it was specifically. It is the "Illinois Memorial" in Vicksburg Millitary Park. Here is a picture of it from the outside:


(I got the above picture off of the park's website)

Once some of my family visited Vicksburg, and some of them wanted to tour the national park. I thought the open top of this building provided a neat subject, so I snapped the "mystery picture" standing inside, looking up! :)



Once again, I appologize for the delay!
Hope you all enjoyed it (the mystery picture, I mean, not the delay ;D LOL) !

Happy Birthday Cora!

Sorry this is a little late :/

"You brighten my day with your kind words,
you increase the flowers along my road.
You've helped to cheer me when I'm down,
thank you for being my friend!"

A wonderful Happy Birthday to my friend Cora!

"32nd Street Blog Parade"

I found out about this from Lindsay's blog, and decided to join in!

Click on the button above to learn more.



Deciding on the answers was really hard on some of these questions! I could have multiple answers for several of them! I hope you enjoy it, and maybe learn a little more about me!



1. What's your favorite time of the day, and why?



Definitly evening! The time right after the sun goes down, but before it is "dark". This time is so beautiful - it always seems so almost unreal, like another world. I often feel like I could start running and never stop



2. If health wasn't an issue, what food could you live off of?



That one's a little harder. One choice would be homemade biscuits and gravy, like you have during a true Country Breakfast!



3. If you could have one wish granted (besides wishing for more wishes), what would it be?



Any wish? Then that one would be easy: I'd wish that all the people who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior would see their need of Him, be saved, and give their lives for His service.



4. What's one thing that you get teased about a lot?



Talking with my hands! That's one of the "jokes" among the folks I spend alot of time with at church - that if my hands were tied, I wouldn't be able to talk!



5. If you could choose one movie, book, or TV show to spend your life in, which would you pick? What type of character would you be?



Now this is a HARD question!!! I guess it would be a toss-up between the books The Chronicles of Narnia, Johnny Tremain, The Scottish Chiefs, Tree of Freedom, and Little Men! I would be courageous, resourceful, reliable, and very involved in the events of history as they happened. (We're wishing, remember - I can dream big! :D)



6. If you could have one talent that you don't already have, what would it be?



I've got to think on that one. It's not hard as far as choices, but hard to come up with one at all - if it's something I haven't tried, I might already have it and just not know about it, and then my wish would be wasted! ;D



7. If money were no object, where would you go on vacation?



Scotland or Ireland!



8. If you were an awesome singer, which genre would you sing?



Southern Gospel or (Godly) Celtic



9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, what would it be?



Another hard one... Does an entire website count? Then either ebay or (probably more likely) Etsy!



10. If you could live in any point in time, when would it be?



Really hard one! Umm... Probably Medival, or during the American Revolution, or the 1800's in America.



11. If every outfit in your wardrobe had to be one color, what would it be?



Blue. My favorite color is red, but that would get a little worn out after just a few days. Blue is my second favorite, and is very versatile! There are hundreds of shades of blue!



12. If you were one of the seven dwarves, which one would you be?

(Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Happy, or Dopey)



I'm not a big fan of Snow White... I honestly don't know them well enough to know which I am more like.

Doc, I suppose.



13. What's the last album you listened to?



Entire album, or song off an album? The last song was "When We Pray" from the CD of that title - The Meyers Family, listened to one side of a record last night: "He Pilots My Ship" - The Joyful Tones Trio... Not sure when was the last time I listend to an entire one all the way through from start to finish. :]



14. What's something we'd be surprised to know about you?



Surprised? Hmm... Ok: I've only gotten pulled over by a policeman once, and it was not for speeding, but for going too slow! It was one night after I'd spent a pretty exhausting day at the college and I got out on the highway coming back, and I guess I was so tired that I wasn't paying attention to my speed. I'm a very conservative driver anyway, but this time I was only going 40 in a 65 mph zone. I guess he just wanted to make sure I wasn't "on" anything, if you get my drift. He cautioned me that it was probably not safe to go that slow, and let me go. But I thought, "How ironic! All these crazy people doing 80 and 90, and I'm the one that gets stopped!" Anyhow, it didn't hurt me other than my pride :]



Well, I'm going to go for now. The day is drawing to a close, and I must go :).



SOLI DEO GLORIA!



-Kyrie<><

Confess Your Faults, One To Another...

Well, if you read all I have to say about my day yesterday, you would not go away uplifted, I am sure. Lets just say I had a "Jonah Day", and if you don't know the story behind what that means, it just means I had a really, really bad day. It seems that the devil lets me get to the end of one of Jenna's monthly challenges, and then lets me have it! *Sigh* It was just one of those days where everyone and everything seems against you. The day starts off at the bottom, and goes down from there. And many times I did not react in a Godly way. The Bible says to confess your faults to one another, and to pray for one another, so here I am confessing my faults, and hoping you will pray for me and my temper when the Lord brings it to your mind.
Hopefully I learned from the situation though - I know the Lord can take the crumbiest situation and use it to teach us something valuable. Sometimes it's just hard to find the diamonds in the dirt. :]

Well, enough griping - I did get to accomplish a couple of things that were enjoyable, one of which needed to be done soon if it was going to happen this year:

I love growing things, and last year Dad gave me a little section of the "big garden" for my own, to grow any flowers, vegetables, and herbs I wanted! The only dissapointment was: nothing came up! I'm not sure what the problem was, but I thought I may have started my flower seeds a little too late. So this spring, I'm going to try starting them indoors in pots, and then moving them outside when it's warmer. I got Shasta Daisies, Forget-Me-Nots, California Poppies, and Carpet of Snow, and (when I get them outside) I want to plant those in rows next to each other. Because of the stair-step heights they are supposed to grow to, and the amazing color contrasts, I thought I'd like to see how that looks! I also got Lavendar (I love herbs), and Asters, and a perinial mix. I put the Lavendar by itself, but mixed the Asters and the mix. Hopefully they'll all grow and provide us with some beautiful color and cheer! :) I took pictures of the pots once I'd gotten the seeds planted, but they didn't turn out, so I'm just posting a picture of the packages before I'd planted them. :)

I'll try to keep you informed with how this "expirament" (that spelling doesn't look right, but I can't remember for sure how it is LOL) turns out!

I also started on a knitted dishrag! Recently I've been on a dishrag crocheting frenzy, and have made about ten. Knitted projects don't take as much yarn as crocheted ones do though, so I'm changing to knitting for a little while. :)

Aren't the colors in this yarn just wonderful!?! I love combinations of bright contrasting colors :) ! I'll post a picture when I finish it. Bye for now!

Wedding Trip - Part 2

Ok, so after the actual wedding, there was the expected hour or so of taking pictures with the whole wedding party, the family, etc., etc. I stuck around and snapped photos for a while until it dawned on me that since the main photographer was here taking pictures, that meant that there were probably none being taken of the reception! So leaving the auditorium (and another of my photography-loving cousins to snap away with her camera), I headed over to the fellowship building where the guests were already making themselves at home ;). I just went around taking random pictures of the guests, the food, and the decorations. Later Aunt Bonnie said she was so glad I took pictures of random people! Even though I had no idea who they were, they were special friends to Jenae and her family, so they were glad that there was a photographic record of their presence.

Finally the wedding party was done with pictures and came over too, where the bride and groom exchanged the traditional bites of cake and sips of punch, and greeted innumerable friends and guests, until poor Dane looked like he was about to fall over, he was so tired and hungry! But he held up bravely ( ;) ), and finally it was time for them to leave. In a flurry of bubbles, a din of hearty laughter and calls of congratulations, they sped away in their shining chariot for the land of happily-ever-after! Well, not exactly :D ... The first part of that sentence was truthful, but the shining chariot was actually a somewhat ancient white Toyota pick-up, lovingly be-decked with window paint, masking tape, and tree branches by Dane's devoted brothers! As for the happily-ever-after part... Well, if the Lord stays first in their lives, as He seems to be now, that part will come true also.

After the couple left, clean-up began. There was lots to do, and the C. family had worked so hard already! Mom let Trissy and me stay and help while she took the grandparents on back to Aunt Bonnie's house, and led one of Dane's brothers back too, who was taking a load of gifts to the house for them. Aunt B. was still visiting with people, and didn't know that Mom had said we could stay and help, so when she was ready to take the cakes home, she assumed that she was supposed to give us a ride - plus she needed help holding the cakes to keep them from sliding around in the car. So we quickly found the C. girls and told them we had to go, but they had an idea: since we hadn't really gotten to visit during all the hub-bub, maybe we could go to their house the next day after church! They had cleaned especially that week, hoping that they could have some friends over, maybe people from the wedding! That sounded great to us!, but we agreed that the "Moms make the final decisions"! We promised to talk to Mom about it, and Mrs. C. said she would call a little later and see if it was alright.

So we went back to the house and just all relaxed, rested, and got to 'breathe' some after finally getting everything unloaded and creating some semblance of order after all the merry caos! :) The rest of the day was very relaxing and enjoyable, just sitting around visiting, reading, watching a little of the Olympics, playing games with the younger cousins (Uncle David and his family got to come, as well as Uncle Alvin and his (I'll tell more about his family later)), and later eating pizza for supper. I know, so healthy isn't it? But Uncle David inssisted that everyone was too tired to cook for the crowd, and it was lots more important that we get to enjoy this family time - so that's what we did!

The hour finally drew late, and we began to part our different ways - Uncle David's family stayed with Uncle Billy and Aunt Bonnie, but their house can only accomodate so many, and the rest of us were in hotels. So we said good night, and parted.

The next morning we gathered again (minus Uncle Alvin's) to have church at the house - Uncle Billy's eyes bother him so much that sometimes they are unable to go to church even, because the fumes in the air from perfume, aftershave, or lotion get in the scar tissue in his eyes and make him so sick. So we had church at their house together, as a family. After church, we sat around and visited some more until Uncle David's had to leave - he was going to be preaching in another church that night, and it was quite a drive, so they left right before lunch. For lunch we had left-over pizza :) ! After lunch we took nice naps that felt so good after all the sleep we'd lost!

Then later Mrs. C. called, and it was decided that we could go! So we were there at their farm for supper and a wonderful time of fellowship and getting to know each other better. Trissy and I exchanged addresses with the girls, and hope to write each other. As we pulled out that night, I wished SSSSSOOOOO bad that I'd had a camera! - As we all left in the van, the whole 10-member family was standing in the entrance to their garage, waving and calling good-byes. They were all silloetted perfectly against the light, and the effect of all the obvious differences - boys and girls, little people, young people, and adults, parents and children - and yet the family, was just an incredible picture! Maybe you can imagine it. I didn't have a camera, I wasn't able to 'capture' the moment, but I have a feeling that that image will stay with me a long time, and will always be connected in my mind with feelings of warmth, hospitality, friendship, and love.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed my narrative of our Wedding Trip! Be sure to tune in next time for another maybe-not-so-exiting-but-deffinitly-real-life episode of :



-Kyrie<><

February's Challenge - From Feminine Farmgirl

February's Challenge - Joy

Jenna's assignments and my responses for this month's challenge:

"Read and meditate on 8 verses in the Bible that relate to being joyful."

Done. Here is my verse list:


1 Pet. 1:8
Ps. 126:3
Ecc. 2:26
Philemon 1:7
Phil. 4:4
Neh. 8:10
Zeph. 3:17
Ps. 107:8

And my thoughts:

1) 1 Peter 1:8 - "Joy in Salvation"

"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

It almost seems necessary to start back at verse three to get the full context for this verse. Peter is encouraging the believers in the "temptations", or trials, they are going through. These things are only for a little time and are reletively insignificant when compared with the awesomeness of Salvation, our unworthiness as recipients of such a gift, and the indescribable magnitude of eternity wiht Christ!
He has raised us from the lowest, most despicable postion that such vile, repulsive creatures could come to, and given us an incorruptible inheritance, shared with the most holy and pure being ever to exist - His Son.
Considering this, it is totally reasonable that he seed to "try (our faith) with fire" that it may be found at the end, to glorify and honor this One Who gave Himself to give us Hope! And though we have never seen Him, yet we believe He has accomplished all - this belief caused (for the believers addressed here) a joy that was "unspeakable" in it's magnitude.
Now for the personal application: I began to think on these verses, and was struck with this thought, "When have I been so amazed and grateful for the Salvation He has given me that my joy was 'unspeakable'? How often have I been speachless in the presence of such sacrifice?" Not often enough.


2) Psalms 126:3 - "Joy in Blessings"

"3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."

The joy and thanksgiving that the Psalmist feels here seems to just jump from the page! You can feel his enthusiasm, his gratefulness, and his worship of the One Who blesses.
This verse in itself has been a blessing to me, for it expresses so simply, yet so adequately, the emotion I often feel in recent months.
Great things! he has done great things for us! And we are glad!
But here's another thought. He blesses us abundantly - but do we take time to thank Him for those blessings? This may be just my interpretation, but I think that an inseprable part of true joy is it's expression - and what higher way to express it than to be thankful to Him Who gives it in the first place?! If someone is not thankful, they are not truly joyful. They may be happy - but not joyful. Take the story of the ten leppers in the Bible. Jesus healed them all, and they were all glad. But one was truly joyful - and he had to express it!


3) Ecclesiastes 2:26 - "Joy Bestowed"

"26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy:..."

This verse can be really convicting if we allow it to speak to us.
Everyone who has been saved may be considered 'good' in the sight of God, for they are convered by Christ, and He is What God sees. However, a saved person's actions are not always 'good'. Many times, though we are saved, we fall back into the ways of wsin. Those times obviously are not pleasing to the Lord.
To me, the verse seems to be implying a message similare to that of James 1: If you want, truly want, the Lord to give you some 'good' thing (like wisdom or joy), you must ask. And we must be sincere in our asking. If we are saved but living like we don't care, dare we think God will just automatically bestow all these righteous qualilies on us?! Seems mighty presumpuous to me.
Let us live 'good'. Let our lives ask, as well as our voices, and He will freely give us all good things.


4) Philemon 1:7 - "Joy in Other Saints"

"7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother."

It almost seems as if Paul here is writing what we'd call now, a "friendly letter" to Philemon, this dear friend and brother in Christ. This man was evidently a very righteous man, someone who could be depended upon, and of a loving, compassionate nature - and encourager.
Paul and Timothy had been blessed and comforted in his love. And not only in his love toward them - but also because of his love toward all "the saints". Sometimes it is just as much of a blessing to experience friendship for others that you love, as it is to be given friendship yourself.
Whatever the case was, Philemon was a believer who brought Joy to other believers.
Personal application: I am blessed with several dear friends who I acan truly say I "have great joy and consolation" in. They are my brothers and sisters in the Lord, and we are family! The Lord has increased the joy in my life through the love of these dear friends.
Does my friendship give others joy?


5) Philipians 4:4 - "Joy Commanded"

"4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice."

Practice counting your blessings, and Joy will begin to come naturally. Make it a way of life! We have so many reasons to be joyful, period! but what more wonderful reason is there to be glad than to think that Jesus, the Son of God, is our Lord?! There is none!
Sure, difficult times come, and come often. We will get discouraged, hurt, or angered. But we aren't commanded to be 'happy'. Happiness depends on immediate circumstances. Joy looks to eternity.
He is our Friend. He is our Brother. He is our Life! Rejoice!


6) Nehemiah 8:10 - "Joy Empowering"

"10 ...the joy of the LORD is your strength."

This is an interesting verse to me. The meaning of this phrase really hit me only a few days ago. I think that most people unconsciously interpret this to say in effect, "Be joyful, for the Lord is your strength." But it doesn't! it says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength"! Their strength was in the their Joy! It was their strenght! Maybe I'm all off base about this, but it sure provides some food for thought!


7) Zephaniah 3:17 - "Joy Divine"

"17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

I love this verse! To think that the Lord of all creation, the One Who made the UNIVERSE, God Almighty could rejoice in us is just absolutely mind-blowing!! It's also very, very humbling - how often I have grieved Him! Oh that He would find more Joy than sadness in my life!!


8) Psalms 107:8 - "Joy"

"8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!"

I think that if I had to pick my favorite passage in all the Bible, this would be it. I've talked about it before... This verse says it all.


"List five blessings that made you smile"

Here mine are:

1. I've mentioned before that Bro. Earl is the principal of the Christian Academy our church started, and that sometimes I see him there on the days I work. Well, one day I was having a pretty hard time with some of the kids (I'm more upset with the parents though, 'cause they are the ones who should be teaching them better), and he was there and came and straightened things out, and then stood and chatted with me for a little while. That really cheered up my day!

2. I love thunderstorms - I guess it's the Scottish/Irish blood in me that joys in the rain. The other day we had a real down pour, and I think that was about my best day all month! ;)

3. The other morning I'd gotten up early to read my Bible while no one else was up, and it was still dark - it was also still cold! A dear friend of Mom's had made me one of those fleece blankets out of wonderful patriotic material (one side is red - my favorite color - and the other side has eagles), and it is the warmest, most comfortable wrap-up you can imagine! I was so cold, but I just pulled that blanket a little closer around me, snuggled down into the corner of the couch, and had a very nice Bible-reading time!

4. One evening after it had already gotten totally dark, I was outside for something, and I looked up at the sky, and was caught up completely in the beauty of the stars. I love to star-gaze anyway, and the magnitude and complexity of the universe just overwhelmed me! To think that God is bigger than that, and yet He still sees me!

5. Recently the Lord has been bringing to mind many of my most favorite old beloved songs, and also many new ones that I have grown to love dearly since being introduced to them. That is too long a story for now, but it seems like my heart has been especially ministered to through song this month. Maybe I can go into detail later.

Can I just add two more? Five is the number of Grace, seven is the number of Perfection, and there were two more blessings that made me smile, that I'd realy like to add, even though they may seem small:

6. I love to read!!! And when we were visiting at the C.'s house (told about in the post below) we got to discussing some of our favorite books, and it was like talking about mutual friends! :) Thinking about some of these old 'friends' definitly made me smile!


7. And last of all, one night as I was getting ready to go to bed, I suddenly noticed this sweet little sort of spicy smell that was just lovely! I was trying to figure out what it was, when I remembered I have a short, fat little Ginger Spice candle on my desk - that must have been it, and though I usually don't smell it just any time I walk in the room, that quiet little sent came to me then, and it was almost as if the Lord directed it just then as a special way of saying "Good night"! Maybe I'm too sentimental (I know I have a very active imagination - Lol), but however it happened, that nice little smell really brightened my evening, and made me smile!


I've got to say one more thing before I go: Just as the devil seemed intent on defeating me at the end of January, so he worked REALLY hard on me yesterday in the area of Joy. Please continue to pray for me as I join in these spiritual challenges.

Ok, I've got to run, but that's my post on Jenna's February challenge! Looking forward to March's!

Wedding Trip

Well, we're back! We had a great trip and a great time! We left early Friday morning, and arrived a little past lunch time. We stopped at Uncle Billy and Aunt Bonnie's house for a while to visit and talk about what was included in what Trissy and I were supposed to do. Aunt Bonnie had made Trissy a little book with a wrist strap that had all her 'duties' as a "Bride's Assistant" in it that was so cute! Jenae (our cousin that got married) went ahead and gave me her camera, so that I could have it to take pictures at the rehearsal that night. We visited a little longer, then 'us travelers' went over to the hotel and, after getting settled, we just "crashed" for about an hour before getting ready and going to the church for the rehearsal. The naps felt great, and we were glad later that we'd taken time to rest!
A little bit about the people 'behind the scenes': The C. family have been good friends with Uncle Billy and Aunt Edna for years. They have eight kids, 4 and 4, and are hoping to start a family business 'doing' weddings - the older boys are into video and photography, the girls cook, sew, and decorate, and the parents oversee and make sure everything runs smoothly. So they wanted to do Jenae's wedding at no charge! Uncle Billy is legally blind, and they really didn't have enough money for a traditional wedding, even a small one. They told Jenae they could buy her dress, and that was pretty much all they could afford. Then the C. family, and an army of other kind friends and church members stepped in, and literally did everything else! Jenae is an only child, and her best friend is an only girl and they consider themselves 'sisters'. She is already married and has three kids (I think it's three), and they are pretty well off. She and her husband love Jenae to death, and went all out giving her showers and paying for a majority of the expenses to give Jenae a beautiful wedding!

Anyway, so at the rehearsal, Trissy and I got to be friends with the two oldest C. girls. They are so sweet and truly seem like "ladies". We sat together at the rehearsal dinner, and became fast friends!

Jenae's husband, Dane, is a wonderful Godly man, and also comes from a large family. He is the next to oldest, under the only girl, Cavanna. He has five younger brothers who are evidently prone to pranks :) - Jenae was a little worried that they would mess up the house as a joke (instead of the car), but said that Cavanna's husband Ian (she and one of the other brothers are married already) promised he would hold them back. I really liked Ian and Cavanna. They have three kids and have been married for several years, and seem like such wise, Godly people. It was cute to watch them during the wedding, 'cause Ian was a groomsman and Cavanna was a bridesmaid, and they kept smiling at each other across the stage at different parts during the ceremony :).
This is totally random, but I wanted to mention this: A large swatch of Ian's left eyebrow was pure white. He is dark haired, and the effect was very striking. Mom said it was a birthmark of some kind. I have never seen anything like it before, but it was neat looking! Have any of you ever seen something like that?

At the rehearsal dinner, everyone was asked (if they wanted to) to share a story about the bride or groom. Several did, and many of the stories were wonderful testimonies! My grandmother told one of when Jenae was little, that they had gone into the post office together, and she was talking to the clerk. Jenae started tugging on her dress and saying, "Tell her about Jesus! Tell her about Jesus!" One of Dane's brothers shared that Dane had been the one to lead him to Christ.

After the dinner Trissy and I got to help with the clean-up! The kitchen was busy with a bunch of the church women, the C. girls, and Dane's mom and sister all bustling around, putting food away, wiping tables, and washing dishes. The atmosphere was one of cameraderie and fun though, not at all stressful, and we had a ball! They seemed to be glad for the extra hands too :) !

We got back to the hotel and fell into bed. The next morning I worked a little while on writing out my thoughts for Jenna's Joy Challenge, until breakfast, then getting ready to head over to Aunt Bonnie's to help Jenae get ready (she decided to do her hair and that sort of thing before going over to the church), and take pictures of the proccess!
Mom drove us over there, then went back to the hotel to help her parents, my grandparents, get ready to go to the church.
When Jenae was as fixed up as she was going to get before going to the church and getting dressed, Aunt Bonnie drove us over there, stayed to help Jenae into her dress, then went back to the house to help Uncle Billy get ready.

The wedding was scheduled for two in the afternoon, and for me the next few hours are a blur of running little errands, getting lost (it's a huge church building, and very easy to get lost in if the first time you were even there was the night before!), snapping pictures, sore feet (I had to wear high heels - YUK!), laughs, flowers, and a delicious ham sandwitch about 1:30!

Finally, two arrived, and I slipped into my seat beside Aunt Bonnie. Yes, I got to sit with the Mother Of The Bride! Jenae wanted me to be close so I could get pictures during the ceremony.
It was a beautiful wedding. Uncle Billy had a tremendous headache, but he was able to preach (he's a preacher and a Christian counselor), and did an excellent job! He preached on forgiveness, and explained that the reason many marriages don't last now-a-days is because one or other, or both, of the couple are simply not willing to forgive. It was so good!
He did something else that I had not seen done at a wedding before, but that I thought was a wonderful idea. He charged the wedding party, the groomsmen and bridesmaids, that they had a right - indeed, a responsibility - that if they ever saw or knew of anything that was going on in the marriage that was not right, that they, as witnesses of the marriage, were to go to the couple and lovingly confront them about whatever the issue was. I thought that was pretty neat!

There are lots of other details I could share, but for the sake of time and space, I'll refrain ;) !

I did want to mention though that instead of marching out to the traditional "da, da, da dun dun da da" song (sorry, can't remember the name :\ ), they used "Love Is Not A Fight" off of Fireproof! :D

I'll come back and finish this a little later, maybe even finish it in another post... my eyes are getting tired :) !

Bye!