Pardon the "Dust"...

I'll be playing around with Blogger's
new templates/features for a little while,
as well as playing around with the sidebar and such...
I, also, hope to get back to posting soon! ;o)

Bearing Fruit...

(Below is from my notes when listening to sermons by Clarance Sexton)

Fruit is a very important thing mentioned in the Bible.
We as Christians are suppose to have fruit in our lives.
Fruit gives evidence of something deeper.
Barrenness gives evidence of something deeper as well.

In Isaiah 5, we see that the Lord has a vineyard...
"My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof,
and planted it with the choicest vine,
and built a tower in the midst of it,
and also made a winepress therein:
and he looked that it should bring forth grapes,
and it brought forth wild grapes..."

When he saw that it didn't bring forth
what He expected of it, He said...

"What could have been done more to my vineyard,
that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked
that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard:
I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up;
and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down..."

That tree that didn't give fruit was taking the place
of ground where other fruit could grow, so he hewed it down.
As Christians, the Lord has given us everything we
need to bear the fruit He wants from us.
He has been so good to us and has blessed us so greatly
and He has a right to expect us to be fruitful!

There is evidence of life when fruit shows.
We need to be fruit-bearing Christians.
If there is no fruit in a person's life, 1 of 2 things is evident.
As a Christian, they're not abiding in Christ.
Or they are not born-again.
But we so many times place the emphasis on the fruit,
but we need to be focused on the root.

1. We must be right with God.
If we try to produce fruit, we busy ourselves with
things we shouldn't be busied with.
We just need to make sure we're abiding in Christ
and He'll produce the fruit in our lives!
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman...
Abide in me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine;
no more can ye, except ye abide in me." John 15:1-5

Unfortunately, it is our natural, sinful human desire
to not want spiritual things.
But Christ separates us to the Lord from the world.
(Ex. 33:12-16)
The struggles we have in this world are not between
us and things, people, etc... it's between us and God.

There's a fruit-bearing work the Holy Spirit does.
The same Holy Spirit that produces fruit,
produces death and withering. (John 15:6)
And He will wither the things that don't belong in our lives.
There are so many things that steal our time that
we should be using for Christ and abiding in Him.

He says right back in Isaiah 5:4,
"What could have been done more to my vineyard,
that I have not done for it...?"
Is there anything more Christ could have done for us? No!
He expects a thing and when He goes
to get it and if it isn't there,
then all He did to care for it He'll remove.
He doesn't forget, but He sets aside.

2. The fruit.
There are many places that talk about the fruit.
Galatians 5:22-23 for example.
And please, do read 2 Peter 1:1-10.
These things are all produced by the Holy Spirit.
We need to be right in order to do right.
If we're not the Christians we're suppose to be,
there will be fruit there that's not suppose to be.
The biggest failures on our lives are when we
succeed in areas that aren't God's will.
We need to spend more time in the Word of God.
We must determine to strengthen ourselves.
We need to die daily.

Now, dying is not supressing.
When we die to ourselves, it brings forth much fruit.
But of course, nothing wants to die, so there's a struggle.
We must not supress our sinful desires,
but rather put those away and use all that energy for the Lord.

3. Bringing glory.
It is all the Lord's victory.
He is glorified through our fruit.
Our biggest goal should be to bring glory to God.
Our desire should be for people to see us not saying,
"What a great person", but rather "What a great Savior".
As long as we desire to glorify Him, then He will bless us
and will give us what we need to bear fruit.


photo courtesy of allposters

I'M FINISHED!!!!

After 10 page (at least) long lessons,
lots of numbers, letters, figures, graphing,
laws of trigonometry, and lots more...
I'm finally done with my Pre-Calculus!!!!
WOO HOO!

I finished up the last 4 lessons today!
At a rate of doing about 7 a day the past week ;o)
Now I'm free from the task I gave myself
for math in this 11th grade year!

Now I'm extremely glad to say that
I get to relax and am able to enjoy, appreciate,
and focus more on my Advanced Chemistry(!!!!),
which I'm a little more than halfway finished with.
And that's bitter-sweet, of course. lol
I'd also like share a poem for this "wonderful thought"
that my mom and I found online some time ago...

A Chemistry Poem

I'm reading a book by Jay Wile
That feels 'bout as thick as a mile
It's a chemistry course,
And reliable source,
I sure am enjoying his style.

The characteristics we see
Of chemicals in chemistry
Are works of God's hand,
And part of His plan,
For the earth to function for me.

The way atoms all seem to dance
In molecules inside of plants
Is one of the ways,
God meant to amaze,
That couldn't have happened by chance.

Experiment with metals like chrome
Experiment with mixtures like foam
Please try to have fun,
Clean up when you're done,
I hope you don't blow up your home!

by Bailey Gillespie


Your friend and chemist~ Alexandra
LOL!

God On The Mountain...

The song below has been a real blessing to me.
I always need the reminder that God is God
no matter what situation I'm in.
When life is going good,
its easy to say 'we have faith'.
But when the troubles and trials come (and they will);
if we have faith and trust Him all the way through,
then He'll work everything out for good.


God On The Mountain



Life is easy when you’re up on the mountain
And you’ve got peace like you’ve never known.
But then things change and you’re down in the valley;
Don’t loose faith, for you’re never alone.

(Chorus)
And the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He’ll make them right.
And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.







We talk of faith when we’re up on the mountain
But talk comes so easy when life’s at its best.
But it’s down in the valley of trials and temptations,
That’s when faith is really put to the test.

(Chorus)
And the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He’ll make them right.
And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.


I was unable to find a sample of the song online
but it's the words that are good. ;o)


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

My Birthday...

My birthday this year was a good one ;)
(Of course, I've never really had a bad one!)
My mom took me out to my 'favorite of all favorites'
restaurant... as my sisters call it, "Red Lawnspur"!



YUM! I got my favorite dish of lobster, scallops, and shrimp!
And mom thought it would be funny to get me a 'lawnspur' bib...



I only wore it for the photo, of course!
Afterwards, we went shopping.
I couldn't resist buying one of these
little 'chick heads' that I found
with the money I got from my gramma...



Also, at church, the assistant pastor
and his wife gave me a very cute purse.
It was very sweet and thoughtful!
Then we came home
and everyone gathered around to sing 'Happy Birthday'.



I made my cake and I think it's really good.
It's a double layer mocha chocolate cheesecake!
And since I can't eat ice cream,
I got multi-flavored sherbert!
And then I received my gifts.
It was a Jane Austin piano book! And lots of Sweettarts. ;)
I've really enjoyed playing the pieces...
and eating the pieces ;) lol

Today I received a gift from my uncle, aunt, and cousins...



My dear aunt made it for me.
They knew that I needed a real guitar strap,
since I used a rope untill now!
I really like the color of it as well!
Also, attached were some really nice picks!



It's actually much more comfortable to play with a real strap!

Today I cleaned my room from the 'vacation mess'
and did a few lessons in Calculus.
I should be done with it by next week.
I hope you all have a great week!


"Watch ye therefore: for ye know not
when the master of the house cometh, at even,
or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."
Mark 13:35-37

Our Family Trip...

I'm baaack!
Terribly sorry I didn't inform you I was leaving.
My Great-Grandfather went to be in the presence of the Lord
and we had to pack up and leave quickly for the funeral.
I didn't get time to say I was going away but now I'm back!

Oh, how I've missed being up north!
It got to 4 degrees while we were there!!
Oh yes, the weather was definately lovely!
I loved the scenes as we drove through the mountains...


And the Lord blessed us by letting it snow on the way...


When we arrived, Dad started shoveling the snow
and I was unloading the van;
and, of course, we couldn't resist enjoying the snow :)


I was more than glad to be asked to
play my violin at my granpa's funeral.
It was also nice being reunited with family.
I, particularly, liked this photo of my aunt and I
with my uncle in the background...

;o)

The weirdness you see from my immediate family:
well, it is in the whole family!
Speaking of weird,
here's my mom and sisters in the hotel room...


The younger children also enjoyed the snow,
since they'd never really seen it...


I, too, enjoyed the long missed snow,
but in my own way ;0)

My uncle and I also made snow cream,
but I've always liked it just plain!

It snowed so much one evening,
the roads were completly covered...




Also, we drove to the shore where we could see Canada...


The younger ones have never been to Canada,
so Will was really excited to see the shore of it!
I went there quite a few years ago, when I was younger.

One afternoon, my great-grandmother heard me singing
in her room and wanted me to sing to her on my guitar.
It was a blessing being able to minister to her heart
through songs that glorify the Lord...


Also, my grandma wanted to celebrate my birthday together,
so she asked me to play my guitar for my birthday song!
She also gave me a slice of carrot cake
with a sucker sticking in it for a candle!


(I'll post about my birthday hopefully tomorrow:)
Then the time finally came for us to come home.
I couldn't resist having my picture taken
in front of the adorable Virginia sign!


I'm glad the Lord gave us safety on the road.

We also had a funeral today for a loved one at church
who went on to be with the Lord.
He was known as 'Grandpa' to everyone
and was an amazing, faithful soulwinner.
He left behind a wonderful example to us all.
Please pray for the pastor's family as they go through this.
I hope to post again soon and respond to comments.


"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."
Psalm 116:15

We Interupt This Bloggie Silence To Bring An Update...

Where have the past 2 weeks gone?
I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while.
Things have seemed to be so busy!
As I'm finishing up 11th grade,
I can hardly find time to do anything else
but schoolwork (and music)!
My Calculus, especially,
is taking up a LOT of time and studying!
Oh well, I plan to be done by next month
and then hope to get back to posting a little more.

The above is pretty much what's been going on...
Lots and lots of schoolwork.
I was excited this past week when I got to talk
to Dr. Jay Wile twice over the phone. ;o)
(For those who don't know, Dr. Wile is the author
of the Apologia cirriculum... the science I use.)

I was struggling on an Advanced Chemistry equation
and decided to call, as he says you can do in the book.
Dr. Wile is as funny on the phone as he is in his books!



And he also indirectly helped me with my calculus ;)
I LOVE Chemistry, but anytime I try to explain
things to the people I know they're like "HUH?"
So it was REALLY neat to be able to speak
"Chemistry language" with someone else!

I am also very thankful that the Lord
provided a specific graphing calculator for me.
I needed it for my calculus but they cost over $100!
The local base high school was kind enough to lend me
their TI-84 graphing calculator until I was finished with Calculus.
Praise the Lord!

Today was our homeschool group park day.
It felt so good, being mid 40s!
While I waited for my friend to show up,
I read some books I borrowed from the liabrary:

"Mathematical Preparation for Laboratory Technicians"
and an SAT Chemistry subject test preparation book.
I'm not planning on taking the SAT or anything
but I wanted to quiz myself on the questions for fun ;)
(Dr.Wile said that after I've completed my Advanced Chemistry,
that it's equivalent to a 1st year college course Chemistry,
so I wanted to see how much I knew :)

When my friend arrived, we took pictures of everyone:
The little girls were burying their toy horses...


The older ones were playing tag, I think...


My friend and I were having fun with the camera...




The moms also were enjoying their time together...
(My favorite one is marked with an arrow!)


Hee hee, I LOVE YOU, MOM!

My friend and I loved watching the dozens of robins.
We tried feeding some with molded bread (kind of us, huh?)...

but red-winged blackbirds came and scared them off.

Then we ventured home and my friend and I
practiced a song we'll be singing soon for church.
Then all of my violin 'students' gathered
into my room for the lesson...



About an hour ago, my dear 5 yo sister, Beth,
came upstairs and said, "I want to play my violin wits you!"
So I got out my violin, tuned hers,
and gave her her first lesson...



She learned E and A string.
We played counting 4 Es, then 4 As.
It was so cute watching her getting use to
holding it and playing it...



Oh how I thank the Lord for my family!
My siblings are so sweet and my parents are so wonderful!
He has given me so much!
I hope you all have a great weekend!

By the way, the picture in my last post
was a CROCHETED HAT that I turned inside out. :)


"I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,
and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant..."
Genesis 32:10

Embellishing, Hair Cuts, Artwork, & Photos...

Well, it's been a busy weekend and
beginning of the week so far.
Last week we had fun making a welcome home sign for Dad
and I enjoyed playing around with the fabric markers...



I decided to embellish a plain apron that we had.
Here it is half done...


And here's the finished project...


I love birds!

I was, also, excited this past week
when I was able to figure out how to restring my violin! ;)
I was a little nervous to take the strings off,
but I did do it and now my violin sounds much better :)

Today I had an orthodonist appointment,
for I'll soon be getting braces again :( ,
went to teach piano, and went to our friend's house.
We intended on doing schoolwork together,
but didn't get around to doing it.
She really wanted me to cut her hair
and so we had fun doing that in the bathroom...


She wanted me to cut off quite a bit,
so what was down to her hips
is now barely past her shoulders.
It does look nice and healthy, though!
Speaking of cutting hair,
I, also, trimmed my mom's hair the other day.
She allowed me to do my first haircut ever on her.
I was thankful for the tips she gave me,
they came in handy today!
Tomorrow I'll be cutting my friend's 2 sisters' hair :)

Well, I thought I'd share some of
my personal favorite pics from the weekend...

Mom just being herself... lol


Will's self-photo...


The girls "eating the wind" as we drove
down the road with the windows down...


Also, I was having fun doodling this evening.
After about 20 pages of nonsense
(except my cute 'Cardinals in Alaska')
and lots of scribbling out,
I finally drew something that I liked...



Bread.
Why bread?
It just looked fun to draw.

Because it's late, I'm just a little tired
and I tend to get a little goofy when I'm tired.
(A family trait ;)
But can anyone guess what in the world this might be?



I'll tell you soon!
I saw it sitting on the table and
couldn't resist changing it's form a little.

As I listen to the classical station online,
hearing beautiful violins, violas, cellos,
basses and double basses harmonizing together to
create beautiful music by Mr. ?
(one of the many classical music composers)...
poor Mother is trying to finish sewing
Carolynne's birthday present for tomorrow,
and she just broke the second needle tonight!
And I am frequently hearing 'OW!',
for she keeps poking herself with the needles.
She's, also, talking to the sewing machine:
which, in return, is not cooperating. lol

Well, have a great rest of the day!
Well, actually, enjoy the new day!
(It's midnight, oh deere!)

How About the New Year?

The new year is another year of opportunity
in our youth that we have
to mature and grow in the Lord.

A few ways that are necessary to grow are:

1. Have daily quiet time with the Lord
2. Pray often (all day long)
3. Memorize Scripture
4. Meditate on Scripture
5. Review and study notes
from sermons and personal quiet time

Listing ways are simple,
while applying them can be more of a challenge.
It takes time. OUR time!
When we don't take the time to spend with the Lord,
it is sin, it is selfish.
God has something to say to all of us,
no matter what our age.
We cannot really grow when we aren't in His Word.
Listening to the preaching (although good to do)
isn't enough for our spiritual growth.
God talks to us personally and changes us
through His Holy Word.
We, also, need to be memorizing and meditating
on His Precious Word.
When we are memorizing and meditating,
His thoughts become our thoughts...
We are armed for spiritual battle.

Another way He can grow us through trial and error.
We are always failing somewhere in our life,
making mistakes and bad choices
but the Lord wants us to learn from our mistakes
and we can... if we choose to.
He also gave us parents to help us grow, guide us,
teach and train us while we're still at home.
But there will come a time when
we'll have to make our own decisions.
They are helping to train us now,
so we can be prepared for those times in the future.
We should heed to what they say.

2007 was a year that we can use
as an example and a learning experience.
The trials we went through, decisions we made,
the paths we chose, and our failures and successes...
the Lord wants us to learn from it all.
We need to think back and see where
we were useful for the Lord and praise Him.
And we need to see where we can improve and grow.

How about the new year???
Let's make a goal and decide to be in His Word daily,
memorize it, meditate on it, and use it in our lives to
become changed more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.


"But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night."
Psalms 1:2

Wow! I haven't posted since last year!

I hope you're all enjoying the 1st day of 2008!
Sorry I haven't posted much for a long while.
I've been very busy the past few weeks,
so much that I even took, almost,
the entire month of schoolwork off! :(
I had to finish my mom's present... a crocheted tree skirt.
I also had many, various other thing going on.
A surprise... I had my hair cut on Friday!
I haven't had it cut for a little over 2 years
and it was down to my hips.
Mom cut the dead ends off... about 6 inches!
Now it doesn't even reach my elbows :(
But it does look healthier and the length will grow back. ;o)

This Sunday evening was our 2nd annual Youth Night Service.
I thought I'd share some videos...

Here is the children's choir...




This was my offeratory...




And my friend and I sang a duet for the special music...
(I lost my pick at the beginning! LOL!)




Afterwards we had a fellowship of pizza and brownies.
It was a lot of fun and I look forward to next year's.
(This year's, really :)

I hope everyone had a good Christmas.
On Christmas morn, Mom lured me out of bed
with a cup of Christmas coffee... yum!
I could have slept the rest of the day
but the younger ones were so eager to open presents.
We read a chapter in Luke and then opened our gifts.
I got a lot of sheet music I'd been wanting,
a lab coat, fluffy socks, a really neat pen/pencil,
a face wash, and CANDY!!!!! ;)
I felt kind of bad because I wasn't
able to completely finish my mom's present.
I still have to sew on 11 more poinsettas!!!
By hand!!!

Let's see... what else is new?
I'm now teaching piano
and will (this month) start teaching violin.
I've also been baking like crazy.
We made baked goods to send all of our family.
And I was busy making our yearly Christmas video.

Well, I had some extra time today so I thought I'd post.
I think I'm finally able to start posting regularly again.
Oh, and great news!
My dad is coming home from Iraq VERY soon!!!