story continued.

To start off I'd like to say that since no one else has cast a vote for the chipmunk's name I would like to declare Warren the winner and the chipmunk is now named MISTER chipmunk. :) Thank you again to anonymous for making it possible for me to continue my story. I am currently sitting here drinking a starbuck's frappucino and eating a mars bar. YUM! I haven't had a chocolate bar since...a really long time ago because I can't remember the event. Well...on with the story. I ended with...what appeared to be a great castle...I start to feel excited. I've never seen a castle close up before. I start to run. I run through a meadow filled with buttercups and soon reach a field filled with thorns, briars, and rot-weed. I look behind me at the beautiful meadow and fruit grove and then ahead at the death and desolation through which I have to travel in order to reach the castle. I look around me to see if there could be some other way but there isn't. I hesitantly place a foot on the field as though I might suddenly be cursed if I dared to touch it. I take another step and soon I am walking through the field, cringing at the sting of thorns that cuts through my clothes. I am glad that I have sturdy black boots. Eventually I arrive at the other edge of the field scratched and sweaty. I stare at the huge moat ahead of me and at the drawbridge that is drawn up on the other side. I slowly tiptoe to the edge of the moat and look down. It is filled with slimy sludge that could never pass for water and in it were hundreds of crocodiles. A stench rose from the moat and I could feel the bile rise in my throat. I quickly step back and sink to my knees in despair. I have to get to the castle but there seems to be no way to do so. Suddenly behind me there was a great rush of wind...

That's where I'll stop for today. What do you think the wind should come from? Please give me some more ideas. I'll keep the other ideas for inside the castle in mind. ttfn

This is what I have on my desktop right now. I drew this sometime last year and I think he is really cute. Does anyone have any good ideas for a name for him? 

most awesomest dayest "Everest almost"

Hey! Today was an awesome day! It was beautiful outside, and WET! I spent the morning driving around town with my Dad. This afternoon I played some piano and then...and then...and then we went...HIKING!! WOOHOO! why am i so excited? I haven't been hiking in a really really long time. Warren went hiking up at Riding Mountain with some friends this weekend and I was pretty jealous. So we ended up going hiking today. He took us (Tim, Ash, Liane and I) to the Morden beach trails and we had a blast. Before we left Ash asked me if she should wear her ski pants and I told her that she wouldn't need them unless she was planning on falling down every 2 minutes. Of course when we got there and started hiking (without Ashleigh's ski pants) she did fall down basically every 2 minutes. It was hilariously fun skidding down icy, slushy, muddy trails! Ashleigh just couldn't seem to stay on her feet and she almost brought me down with her a few times not to mention the others. Warren wanted us to see a "cool" spot before we headed back to the car. It seemed to take us a really long time to get to the "cool" spot because we kept on getting sidetracked. Like one time the other girls wanted to climb a boulder and Warren decided to try to jump up on top of it to join them. He takes a running start and jumps...only to bash his leg against the rock (just like I told him he probably would) :), but obviously he wasn't too injured because...the hike continued. Finally after a few slipping, sliding, and falling incidents with Ash, we made it to the "cool" spot. And it was cool. basically it was a great view of the river and hills. Of course I had to open my big mouth and point out a trail leading higher, which Warren said offered an even more impressive view. So up we went. Tim and Ash decided to come up the hard way. Tim got up all right but it took Ash some time before she could get up the mud cliff (Everest almost). Meanwhile we were having a jolly good time making the echoes on the otherside work their vocal chords and watching Tim "break dance" and generally make a fool of himself. (as we all were doing) Ash finally gets up(Everest almost) and we stand up there for a while longer enjoying the echoes and the view. Soon we decided to head back down and somehow on the way down Ash slipped again. We were still right at the top of the mud cliff (Everest almost) and Warren made the comment, "Ash, we aren't going to carry you home" and just as Ash is trying to get up she tumbles backwards off the mud cliff (Everest almost) and bounces and rolls to the bottom of the hill which I have named (Everest Almost). We were all a little stunned and then it struck us as funny and we cracked up. We laughed so hard we were bent over. Ash landed at the bottom in a puddle and thankfully she hadn't broken any bones and wasn't seriously hurt. She was very wet and muddy. Finally we got back down and slipped and slid our way down the trail to the lake. We decided to take a shortcut by walking on the lake instead of the trails. The top layer of the lake was slush and water and soon my feet were completely soaked. Eventually we made it back to the car. On the way home my face felt like it was frozen in a smile. My face and stomach hurt from laughing so hard and so often. I can't wait to go hiking again! :) We all had supper at our house and went to worship team practice afterwards. I just got home about an hour ago since I stayed after both worship team practices to play some piano. I feel very tired now and since I am getting up at 7:00 to go running with Dad tomorrow I'd better get to bed. G'night all!

continuing the story

Hey! Thanx to anonymous for the comment. I was hoping for a few more ideas but I'll have to work with this for now. Now where was I? oh yes...
...but in each and every bubble I saw... a beautiful star. At first the stars appeared as they would in a clear night sky, but as I continued to gaze at them I saw that they were not just a clear point of light but a many faceted jewel with as many colors as are in a single ray of light. "This water is too precious to drink." I said to myself. "I will come back later with a vial and take some with me." So I rose from my knees and continued down a path that seemed to appear before my feet as I walked. I walked for what seemed like a long time. I passed through a small grove of fruit trees. I did not know what kind of fruit they were for it was not the season of fruit-bearing. As I came out of the grove I saw in the distance what appeared to be a great castle...

And that is where I'll stop for today. Please give me some more ideas so that I can continue the story.
This afternoon I am going hiking with the College and Career group. It should be fun. I've been wanting to go hiking for quite a while now. This morning my Dad took me driving for a while and I picked up some paper so I can photocopy a bunch of sheet music that Candice lent to me. There are some really great songs in there! Hope you all have an excellent day. ttfn

Joy of literature

Yesterday was a good day. Nat and Candice were out from the city and we had a good visit. We played some Cheat in the evening (which I enjoyed immensely since of course I love cheating) :). After playing cards for a while, we decided to rent some movies. Ladder 49 wasn't really all that great, but Flight of the Phoenix was pretty good. We stayed up until 1:00 am. Good Times. I missed Josh though. It wasn't quite a complete "family gathering". anywhoos... just for kicks...I've decided to try and write a bit of a story. I want to make it a joint effort and would appreciate comments from anyone who reads my blog regularly. I'll start it off, but would appreciate any ideas that anyone would have. My goal is to have the story finished by the end of April and have it completely published in one entry on my blog. This is mostly motivation for me to write on here more often. Could be fun, but it also could fail miserably. Here goes...

One night as I was walking along in my dreams I came upon a wonderful fountain. It was in the shape of a many pointed star and the water appeared to be cool and clean. I suddenly realized how thirsty I was and drew near to the fountain to take a drink. As soon as I knelt beside the basin of the fountain to take a drink, I realized that it was not only water but in each and every bubble I saw...

That's where I'll stop for now. Please give me some ideas so that I can continue the story. Goodnight all and Happy Easter!

Hey Guys! It's beautiful outside! It's starting to feel like spring. I can't wait till the ice melts and the trees start budding! Have an awesome day! 

ice cream and lazy days

Hey! Well today has been what you would call a lazy day. I spent a lot of time doing...not much...and having a great time doing so. :) It started off this morning when I slept in till ten. Then I decided to do some reading. My breakfast consisted of a bowl of ice cream with chocolate sauce. When my mom came home I had a hamburger for lunch and did my bible reading. Today my reading was in Deuteronomy and the book of John. Often I get bored in Deuteronomy but today I noticed some really good stuff. God is constantly commanding the Israelites not to get sidetracked by other people and by worshiping other gods. But of course Israel had to find out for themselves just what the consequences would be if they didn't obey. I think everyone is like that. We all learn to some degree that if we do something bad than we will most like be either disciplined for it or pay some kind of price for our actions. Even though we know this we still like to test it. It's almost like being warned against something piques our interest as to why we shouldn't. I love the book of John. The book has a feel of intimacy with Christ that none of the other gospels quite has. I am very glad that I memorized it two years ago. I should really remind myself to review though. Anyways...after I finished devotions I decided to go up town and pick up some parcels from Sears and also go to Time Out and try to find some new running shoes. I hate shopping for shoes! I never know quite what I like. (By the way Warren, the ones I tried on were really nice, but I hate white shoes.) :) I probably am far too picky. Oh well. Then I took Heather to Tim Hortons. I went for the cappucino and she went because I wanted to. Can you believe that she had never been in our Tim Hortons yet?! After some great food and fellowship I came home and decided to look on Nike.com to see if they had anything I would like in the way of shoes. Of course they did, but it's not smart to buy shoes that I have never tried on. not to mention that it was in American dollars and I'd have to pay for shipping. Pricey!! Made some pancakes for supper then played a bit more on the computer and finally watched a movie. Now I am sitting here with a bowl of half eaten and half melted ice cream with chocolate sauce to end off the day. Hope you all had a great day! ta ta for now!

Quiz Meet

Hey. Ya, I know, it's been a long time. Oh well.
This past weekend our quiz team went to Moose Jaw for a Quiz Meet. It was a fun weekend! Roger and Mary brought us out there and they brought their kids along to make it kinda like a family holiday. We listened to Ella Enchanted (a book on cd) a lot of the way there. (I got it from the library of course.) Our first quiz when we got to the church was brutal. I was the only one from our team that got a question right, but I also errored out. We were in the B division for this meet and the difference in the quizzing from A to B took us off guard. The jumping was really slow and no one knew a lot of their material. After that first quiz though things got better. The next three quizzes we won and I quizzed out in each of them. For our last quiz we were late and therefore lost our twenty points and missed the first question. I still got 3 questions right but our team lost anyway. Oh well. After we were done our quizzes we went out to Tim Hortons for coffee. Then we decided to go see if the Moose Jaw tunnels were open. We ended up buying tickets for a tour that evening. We went to the 7:30 tour and we were the only ones booked for that tour. the kids found it a little scary but it was a lot of fun. Since we didn't go swimming with the rest of the quizzers, we didn't find out till later that there was an accident at the pool. A Callie Snider had a seizure while she was under water. They had to call in the paramedics and she was rushed to the hospital. She did not recover consciousness till the next morning. It was a stressful time for her teammates and coaches and for all the quizzers who had been at the pool and saw what happened. Last I heard, she was doing well and breathing on her own. It was great that all of us quizzers could all pray for her. The trip back was uneventful and entertaining the kids was fun. I forgot to tell you about our billets. The family we stayed with was a doctor's family and they were quite well off. Christa and I got a double bed in a beautifully decorated room with a huge mirror on my side of the bed so that I could see how awful I look when I wake up. (ugh!) :) The bathroom was right across the hall from us. Also they treated us like royalty and served us eggs and bacon for breakfast with fruit and yogurt and muffins and coffee and... etc. It was incredible! Normally we have to sleep on the floor and get a bowl of cereal for breakfast which is usually good enough. I am happy to be home though. I slept in till 11:00 this morning. crazy!! it's amazing how tired you get from sitting all weekend! anywhoos... I gotta go eat supper. ttfn

nothing in particular...everything in general

Hey people! Life is good. Last night I went to a Pillar concert in Winnipeg at the Church of the Rock. It was a lot of fun. The sound was not the greatest but it was high energy anyway. I learned that when people jump on your feet in the mosh pit it doesn't hurt all that bad because they aren't on them for too long. I also learned that the best way to not get jostled too badly is to jump along with everyone. FUN FUn Fun fun. etc. I think I'm a little rattled after all that fun. :) When we got to the church there was a long line up right out the doors for many many feet. I didn't bother to bring a jacket because I figured that I would just be in the van and then in the church right away. Things don't always go as planned. I was freezing by the time I got in the church. We met Nat and Candice and Josh and Jenna outside the church. Jenna really is shorter than me. Amazing!! After the concert we all went back to Nat and Candice's for pop and munchies. We sat around and talked for awhile. We left around 10:45 and got home around 12:45. I was super tired when we got home but I still couldn't sleep right away. I hate it when that happens! I went to work this morning for 9:30. I have a prayer request for a lady I work with. Nicole came in this morning as planned but as she came in the door she told me that she probably would have to leave in the middle of the day because she was feeling sick. Later on she had to leave. She suffers with pretty severe diabetes and weight problems and depression and stress and all sorts of stuff. She is going on sick leave for a month and really needs to get some rest and relaxation. You can pray that she gets that. Also she is not a christian so pray that God will somehow work through me and all sorts of circumstances in her life. I feel that she would be doing better if she had God to depend on for her depression and illness. She was crying when she left work and that was hard to see because I couldn't really offer much comfort. Well... I've gotta get to bed. Early morning again tomorrow. g'night.

Thank God For Friends

Wow! I just got back from work. Has anyone been outside tonight? It's beautiful!! The air smells fresh and sweet. I don't usually describe the smell of air like that, but tonight it's true. Anywhoos (as Warren would say)..I did a bit of thinking on the way home about friends and what a blessing they are. Just recently I've started thinking about things from more than one perspective. Friends are a blessing 'cause they support you and also friends are a blessing 'cause you can support them. When friends are going through a rough time I always try to be supportive and helpful, but I've never thought that I was benefiting as well. I've discovered that by supporting friends, I grow closer to God and to my friends as well. My relationship with God gets stronger because I am constantly lifting my friends up before Him and my relationship with my friends get stronger because I am constantly thinking about their needs and what I can do for them instead of thinking about what I can gain out of the friendship. Awesome!! God works in mysterious ways.
Speaking of friends... I hope to make a new one tomorrow. Josh is coming out and is bringing his girlfriend. I can't wait to meet her and I hope that we hit it off right away. You guys can all pray that they will be safe as they travel tonight and that they arrive safely at Nat and Candice's. They should get there sometime in the very early hours of the morning. gotta go now
Toodles!!
Oh!.. here's another riddle:
Thirty white horses on a red hill
First they champ
Then they stamp
And then they stand still
What are they?
(From JRR Tolkien)

Quiz-o-rama!

This weekend was a quiz meet in Saskatoon Saskatchewan. It was at a huge church called Circle Drive Alliance. That is one huge church.. It is in the shape of a pentagon and has so many rooms it could be a convention center. The guys stayed at a place right across froma huge manse that they said looked like the white house. On the way home we said that they stayed across from the White House and we quizzed in the Pentagon. Snazzy!! The drive to and from Saskatoon takes about 9 hours so we had a lot of time to do nothing in the van. Actually it wasn't all that bad. We were all really tired and so we had a lot of fun joking around and sleeping and listening to music and studying and all sorts of stuff. Our team didn't do all that great for the quizzing part of the weekend but we had fun anyway. I was billeted with Sharlyn Dueck. We stayed at her friend's house. Her name is Elisha Ruck and Kyla Dyck was also staying there. Sharlyn and I shared a Hide-a-bed. The second night we came into the house and Kyla took off her shoes and her feet stank so bad that she had to immediately wash her feet. It smelled worse than all three of my brothers put together after they had played hockey for 5 hours. It was so funny!! We couldn't stop laughing at poor Kyla. We got to bed at around 1:30 that night. Last night after we got back from the quiz meet I decided to go to College and Career. Ellie and her family moved here from Germany and we had a bit of a party for Ellie. We played games and talked and stuff. I was really tired by the time I got to bed but I didn't sleep well last night. Oh well. Maybe I'll catch up tonight.

Here's a riddle for ya all:
What has roots as nobody sees
Is taller than trees
Up, up it goes
And yet never grows?

Have fun! ttfn
PS: Here's a hint. We don't have them here where we live

Good Life

Hey all! I thought I'd update you on the things going on in my life lately. Right now life seems to be really good. I have so many things to be excited about! Monday Heather, Liane and I went out on the town for a fun day. We went shopping at Walmart with Heather's big stuffed monkey. It was a lot of fun! We stuffed him in the cart and took him inside. We got a few strange looks! After we were done shopping and running around town we took Liane home. She invited us in and we stayed for supper as well. (You've got a really cool couch Liane!). It was lot of fun just spending the day together! Next weekend Ellie is coming from Germany. I can't wait! It will be so good to see her again. Then the next weekend Josh and his girlfriend are coming out from Ontario for the weekend for a Pillar concert. That should be fun as well. Yesterday I went over to Candice's parents and her mom loaded me down with a bunch of stuff for when I move out. She was just getting rid of it anyway so she thought I might want it. Now I am more excited than ever about moving out in fall. I also ended up changing my room around yesterday. It's always nice to have a change but it is such a hassle to move my bedroom furniture! I needed room for the coffee table my parents bought me. I hope it comes in soon! Thinking about all this makes me realize how blessed I am. I thank God for all I have but I think I take them forgranted way too much.
Lyric of the Day: Good Life by Audio Adrenaline

I've watched my dreams all fade away/ and blister in the sun/everything I've ever had is unraveled and undone/ I've set upon a worthless stack/ of my ambitious plans/ and the people that I've loved the most/ have turned their backs and ran// Chorus: This is the good life/I've lost everything/I could ever want/ and ever dream of/ this is the good life/ I've found everything/ I could ever need/ here in your arms//Loneliness has left me searching for someone to love/poverty has change my view/of what true riches are/Sorrow's opened up my eyes/to see what real joy is/pain has been the catalyst/to my heart's happiness//(chorus)//What good would it be/ if you had everything/ but the thing you didn't have/ was the only thing you need//(chorus)//

I think that every once in a while I need an eye-opener to help me realize how blessed I am. The Tsunami made me think about how I would react if I suddenly had everything taken away from me including my family. I hope that I would be able to trust God in the midst of it. Is Christ really the center of my life? I don't think He truly is. I need to change that.
ttfn

No Time

Hey all! I know I haven't posted in a really long time. Sorry 'bout that. My excuse is that I haven't had much time on the computer. I will soon have internet access on my own computer so I should have more time to write then. Since I last posted I started my job at the library and everything is going well enough. I'm still struggling a bit with not finding a different job. Yeah, it's nice that I don't have to be trained, but I was hoping for something different including more hours. I guess God has other plans though. It's really great that I am not nearly so bored as I was before. I actually have a bit of a schedule! This past weekend we had a Quiz Meet at our church, which was really fun. By the end of Saturday I was exhausted, but it was a good kind of tired. It's really fun to have a bunch of kids get together and spend the whole day reeling off scripture. Sunday evening was College and Career. We spent a lot of the time laughing. :) Of course we got through our lesson though. It was supposed to blizzard last night but it only actually started snowing here about an hour ago. Last night was Ladies fellowship at the church so I stopped by there after work. They were having a PJ party and watching a movie. I didn't have supper before I went to work and I forgot about Ladies Fellowship till I was at work so I didn't end up eating till 10:30. Boy was I hungry!! Well... I've gotta go get some memorizing done before Quiz practice this afternoon. I'll leave you with a bit of Matthew.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16:24-27

Finally!

Yes!! This morning I got a phone call from the library. I have a job!!
I begin next Tuesday at 4:00 pm. I finally won't be bored anymore.
Anyway...since the last time I wrote on here...I had a great Christmas! It was awesome to see Josh and Nat and Candice. It was also good to be busy for a little while.
Our Christmas program on Christmas Eve went off very smoothly (surprisingly). Also we had a birthday party for Heather last Wednesday.
We had a blast playing games and watching movies. The highlight of that night was seeing Warren fall backwards in his chair. :)
Now I need to figure out what to do for my birthday. If it snows some more, maybe we can go sledding.
Well..I've gotta go.
ttfn

I Love Christmas!!

This past week has been one of the best weeks ever! Christmas must be my favorite time of year! It used to be that it was the best because of all the great presents and stuff, but now it's more about relationships with other people and with God.
At Christmas everybody gets together to do stuff and it feels like we all get just a little bit closer personally. Josh is coming home tonight and Nat and Candice will be around a bit more for the next couple of weeks. I guess now, after they have moved out and away, it is more special to have them around.
Right now for me it seems like everything I say, do, read, sing and whatever, are a lot more clear. I guess I'm just paying more attention.
Tonight I was at Alex and Julie's place for supper and we were talking about how long they have been here. We've known them for about three years and to me it seems like I'm just getting to know them. It's the same way with a lot of other people. I've been babysitting Natalie Klassen for over 3 years and it seems like just a few months. I've been friends with Heather for 10 years. Wow!
How does time go by so fast? I've been saying that "I'm getting old" but I don't think that's quite the feeling. I'm not old, but I've let a lot of things pass by without thinking about them enough and enjoying them to the fullest. All too soon somebody else will be babysitting Natalie and Ryan because I won't be around to do so. Heather and I will always be friends, but so many years have passed already and things will never be quite the same. I was actually talking about moving out next fall! :O
I want to go back to being 15 and just stay that age and have nothing change, and yet I want to go on and see what else God has in store for me. I hope I will appreciate life a lot more as I get older.
Here are the Lyrics for a great Christmas song:

"I Celebrate The Day" by Relient K
And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know
How much You've touched my life
Because here is where You're finding me,
In the exact same place as New Year's Eve
And from the lack of my persistency
We're less then half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that
You would be my Savior
And the first breat that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare
The things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That You were born so I might live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day
Pray for You to save my life

God Bless! ttfn

It's That Time of Year

It's that time of year when we all go crazy and enjoy doing so.
This week looks like it will be quite busy. My dad just got home Saturday night and it already feels like he wasn't even gone for a day, never mind three weeks. Last night we had an awesome college and career games night in Altona. Tons of fun!! (If you weren't there, you should have been). Tonight is Worship Team practice. Tomorrow night is Celebration Night at WBC. Thursday night is carolling. Friday night is "adult" dessert night. Saturday night I'm babysitting Natalie and Ryan. (Yay!)
I guess for this week it might be a good thing that I don't have a job. :)
I got my shopping done earlier this year than normal. Last year I waited till the week before Christmas to do my shopping. Boy! Was that stressful! I think my parents are out buying a tree right now. I can't wait to set it up and decorate it. We haven't done any decorating in our house yet. I guess it just didn't feel right to do that while Dad was gone.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Josh, but he doesn't even know when he's coming yet. :( It'll be good to see him.
Well I've gotta go figure out what to do for supper since the parents aren't home yet.
ttfn
Oh yeah, I almost forgot :) Here's a verse to help keep you mindful of the reason for the season. (he he)
Matthew 2:11
On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

You've Won My Heart

Hey! I thought that since Warren never put this song on his blog that I would just steal it. So this is my "Lyric of the Day".

At The Foot Of The Cross

At the foot of the cross
Where grace and suffering meet
You have shown me Your love
Through the judgment You received

You've won my heart
You've won my heart

Now I can
Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

At the foot of the cross
Where I am made complete
You have given Your love
Through the death You bore for me

You've won my heart...

Sorry Warren, but you forgot and I love this song!

Wonder upon wonder

I was just recently reading in Isaiah and came upon a passage in chapter 29:13-14. It says:
The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder;"
He goes on to tell what He will do in order to win His people back from their sin.
I read about the Israelites and kinda laugh and think "What is wrong with these people? They were given Miraculous signs over and over again and they still turned away!"
Yet on the other hand I'm exactly the same. I don't think that I can say that I would be different in their situation.
God gives us wonder upon wonder in so many things. John 1:12-13 the right to become children of God, John 16:7-8 He sent the Holy Spirit to us to guide us. The whole Bible points toward the wonder of salvation through Jesus, there are many more "wonders" that would take hours to write down. God has shown me all these wonders, but I constantly take them forgranted. When I sing worship songs I am often too "busy" thinking about other things rather than using the time to actually worship God with more than my mouth.
To be brutally honest, I could probably look at one of those pharisees that I always laughed at in sunday school, and see myself. (horrors)
The other day I was complaining to my mom about how complacent all the Christians in Winkler are. I realize that is a really general statement, but sometimes it really feels like that's the way it is. We have missionaries come to our church every once in a while and it just feels like a normal thing. Or we have special speakers come to town and it gets advertised in the newspaper and all the pastors are made aware of it but only a dozen or so people show up at the meetings.
I'm exactly the same way though. As long as nothing wrecks my world I'm happy. I was probably complaining more about myself than anyone else. I'm all for people doing mission work or helping out with money, but when it comes to me, I brush it off saying, "someone else will do it."
I'm a terribly self-righteous person and always find some way to forgive myself for my actions or lack thereof.

As I lift my Hands by Philmore

Lord I know my own righteousness is as filthy rags to You
so change me, cleanse me, purify me, make me white as snow
And even if I run one thousand miles away from You
I know that You're always just one step away

As I lift my hands before You
Jesus, oh how I adore You
I worship You, I worship You

Isaiah 64:6

Now after stating all these things maybe I can try to do something about them in my own life. Please hold me accountable. :)

Does It Ever Sink In?

Have you ever said anything that made you feel really stupid? That if you had thought it through a bit more you wouldn't have said what you did?
I had that experience this morning. Tim was pointing stuff out to me and naming them, trying to be funny. He pointed at the thermostat and said, "That's the thermostat" then he pointed at the smoke alarm and said, "that's the smoke alarm" finally he pointed to the doorbell box and said "that's the doorbell". Then I (not trying to be funny but managing very well to be exactly that) said, "Really? I didn't know that." The sad thing is that I really didn't know. I had never really thought about where the sound for the doorbell came from. It had never been important enough for me to think about.
Too often I am the same way with other things that are far more important. I just happened to have the song "People Need The Lord" stuck in my head today. My Dad often goes around the house either singing, humming, or whistling this song. He would also remind me that "people need the Lord" whenever I would comment on all the junk happening in the world. So whenever I would hear the song I would think of all the unbelievers out there who "need the Lord". Just today I finally stopped to think that believers need the Lord almost just as much as unbelievers. Yeah, we're saved eternally, but we still need God to continue to save us from the power of sin each day. I think it's going to take a lifetime for that to sink in.
I Corinthians 10:13
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
ttfn,
Beth

Prayer

Hey everyone!
I guess I haven't been on here in a while. Not that I'm too busy or anything. I just haven't thought about writing lately. A friend reminded me on Sunday night. (Thanx Steve :) )
I guess I'll say something about the message at Celebration Night last Tuesday evening. Again it was a great time and Phil Bock came to speak to us on prayer. Yay Phil! The main thing I got out of it was that often times we pray when things are rotten and we feel let down when God doesn't answer our prayers the way we expect Him to. But as we continue to pray, maybe our situation won't change, but we begin to change. As we continue to give the situation prayerfully over to God, asking that His will be done, our hearts can change and we trust God to guide us through. Proverbs 3:5-6 are great verses to live by. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
As I live I can't depend on my "understanding" of a situation and tell God what He needs to do to make things come out right. I need to "acknowledge" that He is the authority and that He will work things out in His time. His way may not be my way, but His way is always the best way. As we draw near to God in prayer we come to know Him more intimately and therefore step by step His will becomes our will.
I don't know if this makes any sense to anyone else but it helps me to be able to thrash it out like this. :)
A good song is:
One Heart One Mind
If you will see with my eyes

If you hear with my ears

Then you will speak with my voice

And when I laugh you will rejoice

Then you and I

Will be one, we will be

one heart, one mind (x2)

If you despise what I hate

If you esteem what I love

Then the world will know me through you

Give to them what I give to you

I've gotta go now. ttfn.