Thursday, April 30, 2009

2008 Pictures!!!!! (and a little 2009)


2009


"Like Heaven's shining pearl..."



Love this one... Ü


Look closely and you can see the moon!

The ring my Dad gave me that I never take off no matter what...
except for this picture!
















2008



The next four were taken by my brother!



















Sunday, April 26, 2009

Pictures Coming Soon...

I know I haven't been here lately!!! I'm wanting to put up some pics from 2008 - it'll be a tradition for my blog. Ü I have soooooooooo many pictures to download!!! But I can't do it right now - too busy and plus I need batteries for my camera! God bless y'all - 'til next time!

Monday, April 13, 2009

The Bright Morning Star

As I watched the sun rising from the East this morning, I remembered a thought I've had for a long time that sort of lifted me up when I was down, but had never told anyone. I'm going to share it with y'all. Ü


The sun was making its way up past the violet sheet of clouds. I was on the roof watching and reflecting on my life's present situation. This morning's sunrise was unexplainably gorgeous. Simple, no fireworks or blinding gold, but gorgeous. I didn't bring my camera (stupid!) but I didn't want to leave the sight to go get it. (why? The sunrise can shine a once-in-a-life-time scene right before your eyes that only lasts about 20 seconds. I've witnessed it!) Anyway, the whole thing made me think of what hope and joy would "look like" if they could be described with a sunrise. Y'all, sometimes my troubles and struggles rage so loudly within me, I feel as though I can hardly hear God's calming voice. But this sunrise reminded me to "Be still and know that I am God..." (in Psalms); for as I kept my eyes fixed on the rising sun, its brightness seemed to melt everything else out of sight. The trees, the birds flying around, the blue sky on every other side of me - everything just disappeared and all I could see was the bright sun. A wonderful thought came to my mind! The Word of God describes Jesus as the Bright Morning Star. Just like the sun, if I keep my eyes on Jesus - the Son - and just follow him anywhere, live by faith and not by sight, all things - every obstacle - will fade away. His glory, His brightness... His majesty... will tune it all out of vision. I know this to be true. (I'm disappointed in myself - I can't really fathom this to y'all. I can't express myself in the way my heart sees this. I'll try.... ) The whole of God's power and Jesus's brightness is unfathomable. It shines in the darkest night. It gives hope when only the weak are left. It gives joy when the hardest times are among us. God gives me beauty to behold every day, even when all of life seems to be ugly (though it's very beautiful right now!). He lets me hear the birds praise him in the morning, even though the world curses Him. And His brightness, if my eyes are fixed on it, keeps me traveling the straight and narrow path, hardly even aware of the ugliness around - that's what joy and hope do. And his brightness is joy and hope.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Words have a Purpose

I guess y'all watched the Inauguration Emancipation on TV in February? I and my family only watched little bits and pieces. But from what I watched, it was uneloquent and unmeaningful. Almost everyone there was filled with pride of heart and pride of life. And when you are filled with pride, your head will get REALLY big. Let me tell y'all - when you become prideful, your head can get sooooooo big, you'll start to think it's attractive while everybody sits around hissing about how silly you look. Pride can be detected in many ways. In the way you act, the way you walk or carry yourself, the way your eyes scan a room, or the way you speak. God gave us words to speak to express ourselves. He gave us beautiful words like 'beautiful'! Some of my favorite words are life, abundant, everlasting, endurance, strength, righteousness, justice, light, passion, glory, lucky, cabello (Spanish for horse :), mustang, free, liberty, gorgeous.... words are powerful and meaningful. They can refine or deform. Beak down or build up. Honor or disgrace. Puff up a heart (or head) or humble it. I say all that to say this - we are losing (and some have lost) the powerful, elegant and dramatic use of words. Some are content to know little about speech. But some are just totally ignorant! It's disgraceful! That's why I brought up the Inauguration. Did y'all listen to those people ramble on and on and on.......? Here's a short poem that I found in my Rod and Staff English book. The credit goes completely to them -



"One there is above all others,

Well deserves the name of Friend

His is love beyond a brother's,

Costly, free, and knows no end."




This is true poetry. True, meaningful words! Is there not someone in an influential position for America who is so eloquent and convincing? The Inauguration Emancipation shows just how loose we Americans are becoming with our speech. Just think - we have millions of words to choose from and yet we use (probably) only about 10% of them. I could be exaggerating, or I could be just right! Think - the Lord God gave us all those piles and bundles of words - and we use so little. How sad! What beautiful words we exclude from our vocabularies, leaving us dull and colorless. No secrecy or mystery. No charm or intelligence. My Mom use to harp on me about improving my vocabulary. I never really listened to her until now, and I'm practically repeating her words. I started trying to get a better grip of words just a few months ago. I'm sixteen now and I'm doing exceptionally well (I think)! It's not hard! This is just a thought. I'm not trying to convict you, just share what's in my heart. There are lovely movies in which the characters have particularly picked out words for them to speak. Life's words can't be that perfect - but it can be close. We speak a beautiful language, but most of the time it sounds harsh and dry because our speech is so 'limited'. It doesn't have to be that way......

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Ginger








As ya'll will read in my 'Interests' on my profile, I am really into herbs - healing herbs. And just other natural healing foods. I learned about ginger root recently. Did y'all know that you can just stick a chunk of ginger root in the ground (moist ground) and keep the ground moist and in about 5 months, it's ready to harvest! Ginger is a rhizome - an underground root. The lady that wrote the lesson on ginger root said that she and her kids planted it by their outdoor AC unit so that it would send an aromatic scent throughout her backyard. The ginger flower is gorgeous!!! So exotic! But ginger root is where most of the nutrients lie. If you have motion sickness, an upset stomach, head ache, congestion, or mood disorders, it can help if you brew a tea or steep some in a hot bath - that especially helps high fevers to go down. Note: if you have an upset stomach, don't take a lot, because I did a while back and it ended with me throwing it all up!!! (hehe...) It's a spicy food, and therefore raises oxygen levels, and helps along blood circulation. If you're pregnant and have morning sickness, this can aid you. Ginger cleanses colons, heals colds and heals thinning blood, and it's used in other countries to make candy, ginger ale, and for pickling! I love learning about things that heal. Ü

For Such a Time as This

The story of Esther is one of my favorite Bible stories, besides the story of Jesus. Ü I think we all know the story of Esther. Just in case you don't, I'll give you a very quick over view. A beautiful orphaned Jewish girl (Esther), sworn to secrecy of her nationality by her cousin, is suddenly chosen to be queen of all Persia. Everything's going great, until evil, bad-sport Haman the Agagite talks the king into destroying all the Israelites. Mordecai, the cousin who had been raising Esther, asks her to go to the king, tell him of her true nationality, and plea for her life and her people's. She is afraid and gives an excuse (a pretty agreeable one).


"All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days."




She feared for her own life! Who wouldn't!? If she came into the court and made the king angry, she'd be put to death. If she was allowed to speak, but couldn't convince the king to help her and her people, she'd die anyway! Two obstacles.... two big obstacles. But read Mordecai's reply to her...






"Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"





Then Esther told the messenger to answer Mordecai:

"Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish."


Another thing my Mom told me in those few days I was devastated about the things going on in this country, was to remember this story. I may have been put here by God for such a time as this. I most definitely won't be a queen or a renowned leader, maybe just a simple girl to do a great work, like Jael in Judges 4. God does everything for a reason, and he knew that putting me in this era of time was the perfect time. Maybe I was put here to put courage in the hearts of the faint, just like my Mom has done for me. Or to fight for a freedom that we're losing.... that we've lost. Or maybe I'm just here to simply remind others that God will be our deliverer. Whatever the reason, God has a purpose for me being here and now. For such a time as this. I want to find that reason and live out my God-given task. And if I perish, I perish. Oh - Esther's story ends well! Her courage prevails and the king harkens to her pleas, he has Haman hung on the gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai, and the king defended the Israelites on the day of their supposed execution! Just to know we all have a purpose, and that that purpose is meant for us.... But if we don't fulfill that destiny, we are warned just like Esther was warned by Mordecai. If we don't fulfill our purpose, someone, somewhere different will rise up another time and claim the victory that was meant to be ours, in our time. I'd rather perish than lose the present victory and relinquish the battle to someone else because of fear. I was placed here for such a time as this. And so were you.