Through Trials and Suffering...

"To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose
under the heaven...
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;"
Ecclesiastes 3:1,4

As life goes on, we all experience
different seasons in our lives.
As these verses say, life isn't just
'woopty doo' and all fun;
there will be times of
hard trials and sufferings.
Though we have no option
of if we want the trial or not,
we do have, basically, 2 choices:

§ To turn from the Lord,become discouraged or even bitter;
§ Or to draw closer to Him than we've ever been before.

And, as with all things, there are
consequences with which we choose.
If we say we've had enough, throw up our hands,
and are 'through with living for God',

then we've made the obvious foolish choice

and will reap the consequences.
We will no longer be able to experience the joy
and peacefulness of our salvation;
we break our Heavenly Father's heart,
as well as others' around us.

So then maybe we should just pretend

it's not really happening or hurting us,

and we decide to take it as "nothing".
We just keep it in the back of our minds and

try, half-heartedly, to 'trust in the Lord',

because it really might work out after all.

Oh yes! This seems to work!
But suddenly, I don't seem to get the same feeling

when I pray or am in God's Word.
Why does God seem so far away?
Well, just because we think we've dealt with something
or 'pushed it aside', doesn't mean it isn't there.
Satan will always try to creep in where he can and say,
'You can't handle this! It's too hard!'
But let's remember:

"I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
The fact is, we can do nothing on our own.

When a soilder would get wounded from an arrow in battle,
he could either leave it in and 'deal with the pain' or remove it.
If he leaves it in, it will cause an infection and he'll end up dying:
but removing it would be so painful!
Plus, he couldn't do it on his own...
he might not remove it all the way or he may cause more damage.
He has to trust an experienced one to remove it for him.

Well, we can't just leave that 'arrow' in and 'deal with it'
or 'tough it out'; that will ruin us.
We cannot trust in our own knowledge of the matter.
We need to trust in a much Higher and experienced One
to lift the load, rather than try to do it ourselves.
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding." Proverbs 3:5
We must fall on our knees and cry out to God

that we simply cannot handle a situation on our own.
Yes, it can really hurt sometimes to let something go,

especially if it, at the time, seems dear to us go.
But completley give it all over to the Lord
and He'll not only free you from your heavy burden!...
He'll bandage the wound, pick you up, hold your hand,

heal you, and see you through.
He'll never let go!

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
Psalms 55:22

"For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand,
saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."
Isaiah 41:13

He promises never to leave us or forsake us,
no matter how hard times will get.
What a friend we have in Jesus!

The purpose of trials is to grow us more like Him
and to bring us closer to Him.
If we missed that, then we'll certainly feel
our suffering was in vain (and it will be in that case).
But, "And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God..."
Romans 8:28

If we hearken unto God and turn to Him,
then He will grow us and draw us closer to Him.
And any trial is worth that, really.

As the beginning verses say,
there is a time for everthing.
Our trials will not last forever, praise God!
"...weeping may endure for a night,

but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5
When we pour out our heart to the Lord,
He will give us that peace and joy we've been thirsting for.

And something that really helps me to keep going...
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us."
Romans 8:18

The hardness at which we suffer down here
is not even worthy to be compared with
the greatness and glory that awaits us in heaven!
To think that one day I will see Jesus face-to-face
and hold His nail-scarred hand as we walk

down streets of gold together:
that's enough to make one shout

"Amen and glory to God!" 100 times a day or more!
The One who was always there,

Who carries us through the deep waters,
Who we can tell everything to, pouring our hearts out,
and Who cares and understands like no one else,
is waiting to greet us over in Gloryland...

where no more sorrow is!

Praise God!


(graphic from allposters.com)

A Weekend Review...

Busy, busy, busy!
There are so many times I want to post,
but I always find something else I need to do.
This week was especially busy with Thanksgiving.
I thought I'd share at least 10 things I'm very thankful for...

1. The wonderful gift of salvation!!!
2. A great family and church friends.
3. The privilege of audience with the King of Kings.
4. The freedom to worship the Lord and to homeschool.
5. The strength Christ gives me to face the battles.
6. The victory He gives in those battles.
7. The trials He has given me to grow me.
8. The grand piano He's giving us in church!
9. The ability to play various musical instruments.
10. Jesus' sweet fellowship,
always being there to hold my hand,
and His faithfulness of never letting go or failing me.


Wednesday evening we had a fellowship
after the church service and giving testimonies.
I made a cake for the occaision...



I also brought along my guitar and violin,
so after the service I played
while the children gathered around to sing...



I, also, played the violin while the men were moving the piano out
for the new grand piano that I mentioned we're getting!

Thursday we had a family Thanksgiving dinner...



We had ham, mashed potatoes, oreo fluff, and various other goodies.
Then afterwards, we set up the Christmas tree.
This, being a major bird lover, is my favorite ornament!



Yesterday I sewed my Christmas dress for our family photos.
Mom made hers and is now working on the girls' as I type...



Today we had some old friends visit, which was a blessing.
I decided to give myself the day off from schoolwork
Thursday and Friday, so I'll probably catch up some today.
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Mathematical Musings and More...

Sorry I haven't posted all week.
I've been, as they say, 'cracking down'
on doing a lot of schoolwork.
And we've had various other things during the week.
But I was so thrilled when we returned from grocery shopping
last night to find a package for me at the door!
It was my math that I was waiting for...





I used Teaching Textbooks a few years ago for Algebra 2,
and liking the method, I wanted their pre-cal as well.
Now this particular subject was NOT my first choice,
(I'd have rather taken Algebra 2 again!)
but it was this or Geometry!!!!!
So naturally, I picked the calculus,
which will help me in Advanced Chemistry anyway.



Speaking of Chemistry, we went to the library yesterevening
and I went to my favorite section (can you guess??)... science!
I found a whole shelf of chemistry books and had a hard time choosing.
Since the books were so big and thick, I just got two.
One is all about Physical Chemistry,
and the other is Chemical Bonding... my two favorite branches!

Well, today we have a homeschool park day.
My friend and I like to bring our violins to play while we're there.
And then, it's 'Friend Friday' for us!
And speaking of violins, I'll be playing my violin for church
sometime next month for the congregational singing.
And my friend's mom will be taking my place at the organ,
so we'll have a 3 person 'orchestra' for some Christmas carols!

Well, it's about time to leave.
I'll try to post again next week.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Friday Fun and Busy Baking...

As our usual Friday tradition,
our friends came over and we had a great time.
We had fun doing Bible study and fellowshipping.

Before I go further, I wanted to say "Thank you, Mom"
for the baking book she purchased for me!




Oooooh!
It was so thoughtful and sweet of her!

Perhaps you can guess what my friend and I did?
Oh yes! We spent 40 minuets drooling over the book
and then we had to make the hard choice of what to bake!
We decided on chocolate mint wafers... yum!


(these are NOT our wafers, unfortuneately,
these are from the book)
Thankfully, we had just enough mint extract!
So she started mixing the cookies
and I started making the sourdough pizzas
that we have every Friday...









We had a great time in the kitchen.
After the pizzas were done and the dough was chilled,
we sat together making shapes for the cookies.
Lots o' fun!

I've also been really busy crocheting gifts.
I'm finally almost finished with Mom's, but I can't
tell you until after Christmas because she reads my blog ;-)

I've also really been enjoying my Advanced Chemistry...




I've finally learned all there is to physical chemistry
(my favorite branch of chemistry!) and I love it!
Actually, the one who wrote my Advanced Chemistry
said that most chemists don't like physical chemistry
and have a difficult time comprehending it.
But I sure LOVE it!

Speaking of Chemistry,
we did one of my experiments together yesterday.
I dippped a Q-tip in colbat chloride solution
and wrote on a piece of blank paper.
You couldn't see it until I blow dried it,
and the solution was readable in blue...
(Please excuse the hideous faces mom caught us in!)



(Colbat Chloride is originally pink,
but I won't explain all the deatils in the experiment! ;-)
You can hardly see the writing in the picture, though.

The Lord's creation is SO wonderful and complex!
How can anyone believe this all happened by chance?
There is so much evidence of God in His complex creation!

Well, I hope everyone's had a great week!


"Therefore also now, saith the LORD,
turn ye even to me with all your heart,
and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
And rend your heart, and not your garments,
and turn unto the LORD your God:
for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil."
Joel 2:12&13

Not I, But Christ...

Sunday morning, I sang a duet
with our assistant pastor's wife.
And the song we chose really spoke to my heart.
It was a good reminder that we can do nothing
on our own, and to give God the glory for the victory.
I loved singing the words
and the tune went so well with them.
I thought I'd share the song...


Not I, But Christ


Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted.
Not I, but Christ be seen, be known, be heard.
Not I, but Christ in every look and action.
Not I, but Christ in every thought and word.

(Chorus)
Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord!
Oh, to be lost in Thee!
Oh, that it may be no more I, dear Lord,
but Christ that lives in me.

Not I, but Christ to gently soothe in sorrow.
Not I, but Christ to wipe the falling tear.
Not I, but Christ to lift the heavy burden.
Not I, but Christ to hush away all fear.

Christ, only Christ ere long will fill my vision.
Glory excelling soon, full soon I'll see.
Christ, only Christ my every wishful filling.
Christ, only Christ my all in all to be.

words by Mrs.A. A. Whiddington
music by Mac Lynch



"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Galatians 2:20