Today! And whenever else

Today was actually really fun. It really doesn't seem like it would be, cause Monday isn't my best day, but it was. CT and I had anatomy and physiology in the morning, and Lane dropped us off and went to clean a friends house. She picked us up (without getting lost!) and went to get her hair cut while CT and I went to Kohl's. He loves that store. He loves the clothes, the suitcases, the kitchenware, you name it. And he wanted to show me all of it. They did have really cool stuff, and I loved shopping with him. Laney's haircut looked really good, so we went to show Dad at his office, since we were right across the street, and he took us to lunch at Wendy's! On the way home Lane says, "CT, we've got to stop at grandma's"
He says, "Why?"
She says, "I drank a really big lemonade at Wendy's, and I gotta go!"
He says, "Can't you wait?"
She says, "NOOO!"
So after A Lot of that, he does go to grandma's with Lane chorusing the whole time, "Go faster! You're going slow on purpose! Hurry!!!"
Hilarious. And of course, afterward on the way home, CT just could stop jibing at her. She'll never live it down :P
After we got home, CT and I left again almost immediately for our next two classes, history and writing. Pretty uneventful, but I got to use my new purple backpack. Mom got it for me last Fri. cause we had a 12 mile hike 40 mi. hike uphill on Sat. with some of the people from our home school group. That was a blast! We went to Devil's Den and saw a bunch of cool sights to see. Twas awesome! But anyway that purple backpack is my new best friend. It holds literally EVERYTHING!
Yup. Pretty cool. And now I've got to go do homework so I can get a headstart on the week. Tomorrow is Hebrew class.

OK, so maybe not

     This time I might actually be back for good. Hopefully. I just went on a bike ride around our neighborhood. I have a relatively new bike that I absolutely love. Since the weather is getting warmer I'm getting to ride it more often.
     No TKD today cause Jess is at a basketball game right now. Its the last one of the season and I really hope he wins! Mayfe was going to get to go too but he's still kind of sick and we didn't want to risk it, so most of us just stayed home.
     Just finished all of our classes for the week. CT and I are taking Hebrew, Science, History and writing. The cool this is, all of those are on Monday and Tuesday, so now it's all over fir the week and I just have a bunch of homework to do;)
     I changed the look on my blog! Is it cool?
     Mom and I just finished our book study on Until You Meet Prince Charming. It's a book on purity. We were doing it at a friends house with a bunch of other girls and moms. It helped me out a lot, and I really enjoyed it. Great read for girls.
   

      Galatians 6:1
     Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.
I need to think about that when I feel like I need to boss around my sibs. Many people think that its like power to be the boss over everybody else. It makes you feel strong and like, well, the boss. In our book study yesterday a lady talked about how she discovered that being humble took a strong person. It's not easy to 'restore someone gently' when you feel like lashing out at them.
Galatians 5:17
For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
Stinks, doesn't it? Luckily for us:
Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
I'm so glad that God makes all things possible through him.

I'm Back!

I'm back everybody! CT started up a new blog yesterday and it made me want to post again too! I finished school today at 11:45 this morning, and I got a 100 percent on my math! Mayfe is sitting by me on my bed playing my rubix 360. I'm pretty bored, but I have the Fellowship of the Ring to read so I really shouldn't be bored, but I feel like I've been reading too many books and I'm trying to take a break. I babysat an adorable 20 month old boy named Austin yesterday for 3 hours. I missed taekwondo, but it was super easy and I got thirty dollars!!!! Austin has two enormous fish tanks in his room that I love. Maybe in the new house Mom?

Proverbs is my favorite book of the bible. It's overflowing with good advice and knowledge.

Proverbs 20:3
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.

Proverbs 14:29

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

Proverbs 19:11
Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

I'm having trouble with my anger lately, especially with my younger sibs. I skimmed around proverbs this morning looking for verses on anger, and I came up with these. The bible says that every fool will be quarreling, but whoever keeps his mouth shut has great understanding and honor. It also says good sense makes one slow to anger, and that made me think of a verse we memorized:  

Luke 6:45
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Is the treasure in my heart good? Do I have good sense?

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I'm thinking that maybe I'm not thinking on the right things.

Ezekiel 18
“Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things (though the father has done none of them): “He eats at the mountain shrines.
He defiles his neighbor’s wife.
He oppresses the poor and needy.
He commits robbery.
He does not return what he took in pledge.
He looks to the idols.
He does detestable things.
He lends at usury and takes excessive interest.
Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.


“But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:




“He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel.
He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.
He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan.
He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.
He withholds his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest.
He keeps my laws and follows my decrees.
He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live.  But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.


“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

 I think this is verse is by all means right and it makes a ton of sense. But it seems like it clashes with a verse in exodus that says "for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the father to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. But showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." So God seems to be contradicting himself. But I re-read  it in the ESV version, and it almost sounded like God was just making a new rule.

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

"Go, shut yourself within your house. And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house."


So far, the book of Ezekiel has been nothing but confusion. It sounds like God is speaking literally, but that can't be right. What was the point of this passage anyway? First God says Ezekiel won't be able to speak, and then He says that he will be able to. Maybe I'm just confused because I'm sick.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.And he said to me, "Son of man stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me." Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice  of a great earthquake: "Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!" It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me.

This might be kind of unclear, I used several passages from the first three chapters of Ezekiel to get the piont across. You can read it here. But basically he just saw the full glory of the Lord, God lifts him up, tells him to eat a delicous scroll, speaks to him, takes him to a certain place, and Ezekiel is upset. Why? If that happened to me, that would be the best day of my life! How on earth could he be upset about it?

Branson was TOTALY AWESOME!!! We got to see some CO friends and ride roller coasters and water slides and eat and talk and all that kind of stuff you do at Silver Dollar City. SO FUN!!!
Yesterday I got to go sew with Mrs. Hartsfield. She's sooo sweet. She taught me how to make this adorable little bag, and then she took me out to sonic! Thankyou!!

I'm reading in lamentations, and I think it's really neat that God loves them so much, yet he's willing to nearly completely obliterate them, and them build them back up to serve him, over and over and over.

God Is Love

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

When I say or think God is love, I think he's very loving. but it goes way beyond that. Love made him perfect. Dad told us about a test you can take that came out of book called Crazy Love. He said take the passage above, and replace the word love with your name:

I am patient, I am kind. I do not envy....

He said eventually you'll start to feel like a liar. He's right. Ok, Now fill in all the loves with God's name.

God is patient, God is kind. He does not envy.....

That sounds a lot better.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

God had love. He was perfect in every way.

Ammon, Moab, Philistia, Egypt, and even Babylon, are all gonna get wiped out. And guess who's the messenger? Jeremiah. What I think is pretty cool is that the Israelites are in exile right now, and Jeremiah is an Israelite, but he's still going out to all these places. God really takes care of him.

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
But the LORD said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.


Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

Both of the men killed somebody, God punished both of them, but they both respond to the punishment quite differently. Cain says, This punishment is more than I can bear, while David says, I have sinned against God. I really don't think Abel was sorry for what he did at all. But David obviously was. There's a big defference between being sorry for your sin, and being sorry about the punishment.

We watched a video a couple of days ago, it was about creation. I don't even think I watched all of it, but it was really amazing. It had a lot of images of stars and galaxies and stuff like that, and it also talked about things like all of the energy in a tree or a grain of salt. It was a great video, but it really sunk in the next day. I was still thinkin' about it, mostly about the stars and galaxies part, because I love astronomy, and I thought, (I don't know if they put this verse in the video or not,) 'what is man that you think of him, the son of man that you care for him?' I didn't know the verse very well, or where it was found, so I looked it up on biblegateway, and the verse I found was even more appropriate for what I was thinking on:

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpChZxPfa-c I have a video here, it's not the same video as the one we watched a couple days ago, but it's still pretty cool. And when you watch that video and read that verse you just think "Why?" You look through the bible, and filled to the brim with people who messed up. it's not like we have anything to offer God. Thank you God, for minding and caring for us.

When Jeremiah finished telling the people all the words of the LORD their God—everything the LORD had sent him to tell them— Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’ But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.”
So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers and all the people disobeyed the LORD’s command to stay in the land of Judah. Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led away all the remnant of Judah who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered. They also led away all the men, women and children and the king’s daughters whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the LORD and went as far as Tahpanhes.

If you notice, it said all the arrogant men rebuked Jeremiah, but all of the remnant followed them, not just the arrogant people. It seems people would start believing Jeremiah, because he's been right in everything he says, but that made no difference to the people, they listened to the arrogant men, and only a tiny remnant of people stayed behind.

Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the men of the Recabite family and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ We have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab commanded us. But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the LORD. ‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’


Wow. I wonder if the Recabite family were faithful to God too. I think they were a great example to the Israelites. If you can obey your ancestors like that, it should be just as easy to obey God like that.

The great things about Mom

She's patient

She loves us undeservedly. Seriously, it's incredible

She's the perfect christian example.

She gives you hugs when you need them.

She never yells.

She's a great cook.

She's very pretty.

When she works on something, she does it diligently.

She eats vegan.

She has self control

She loves us a ton.

She takes things seriously.

Happy Mother's day Momma! I love you!

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

When I've read or heard this passage, I always imagined the person not departing from it when he was an adult. An old man, a man in his twenties. But yesterday I had an experience that helped me to see it in a new light.

I was brushing my teeth before bed, and I was thinking on how I had slipped out of the habit of brushing my teeth after breakfast. Sometimes I did, but it wasn't just a part of my day, like it used to be. My older brother got a cavity (sort of) at the dentist, and my older sister had gotten one at about that same age. I don't know if they brushed their teeth after breakfast or not, but I didn't want to go down that road, so I decided to put brushing my teeth after breakfast back on the 'part of my day' list. That's when the verse came to me. Hmmmm...... Suddenly I realized, that it didn't just mean when he is old, it meant when he is older. HAHA!!! That does seem to make more sense.

In my school, I'm writing Proverbs 31, and when I got to the wife of noble character, I thought it would be cool to do a kind of study on her find out some of the reasons she is such a rare jewel. So I'm making a list of what she does. These are just a few of the basics:

She and her husband have a good relationship.

She has incredible self control.

She doesn't sleep much.

She does some amount of sewing and spinning.

She isn't lazy.

She has children, and disciplines them well.

She gives to the poor.

That's quite a woman, and that's only a few of them.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God was about to send them into eighty years of captivity, because of what they did, but he gives them a promise, a hope, that they could grasp while they were in exile. He loved them so much, he warned them and pleaded for them to repent for 23 yrs. And now that they're going into exile, he gives them good advice and promises a future and a hope for them despite what they've done.

This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”

And he took it everywhere.

Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn and cursing, as they are today; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people, 20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab and Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places[c]; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media; 26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach[d] will drink it too.

How on earth did he do that? That must of taken a looooooooooooong time.

CT said yesterday he was studying Revelation, and it made me wanta do it this mornin, so, I found a spot and started reading.
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
The Crazy love book had referenced this recently, and I had read and dissected most of it. But today I looked at the last sentence. A sea of glass? What is that? The dictionary reference thingy in the back of my bible didn't help much, so I got out the 2 HUGE bible dictionaries and started looking. Not much to say about it in there either. It did give me a reference to 1 Kings 7:23-26. But no. I already knew about the sea of cast metal and the sea of cast bronze that were made in Solomon's temple. But what were those for? Were they just for decoration?

For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the LORD has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the LORD gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.” “But you did not listen to me,” declares the LORD, “and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves. Twenty-three years! That's a long time to be warned. It really shows how much God wanted them to turn from their ways. It seems that if someone has been trying to tell you about something, over and over, nonstop, for twenty-three years, that they would probably know what they're talking about.