Why Art Thou Cast Down?

You know how sometimes you're kinda down, but don't know why?  And then you realize that you really do know why, but you just didn't want to admit the reason to yourself; and even now that you've realized the reason, you still don't want to admit it?  I've found myself in this mood a few times recently.

When there are a few things that are sort of upsetting the symmetry in our lives, we ought to praise God and trust Him to set things right in His time.  When the boat we're in is in some pretty wave-tossed water, and we're kinda just trying to hang on, praise God and trust Him to do what's right and good for us, His children.  When we look out across the horizon and we see so many other boats that are in perfectly calm water, praise God and trust Him to bring us into the peaceful waters in His time.  

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

~Psalm 42:11~

Let Go

I read a tract once that started out with a burning ship with the survivors quickly getting into life boats to escape certain death.  The last person to leave the ship is a boy, who, once he is hanging onto the ship with only his hands, must jump to the raft below.  But he is afraid.  The men in the life boat below him are trying to persuade him that he must jump, or he will perish with the ship.  To this the boy replies, "I can't let go!  I can't let go!"  After a minute of the mens' urging, the lad takes a leap of faith and uncoils his fingers from around the ship's deck rail.  He falls into the safety of the life boat and is rowed away from the sinking ship.

Never say never, right?  Well, my dad's thing is: never say can't.  To say you can't do something is like giving up on it.  I guess that's why my dad doesn't like us kids to say it.  He doesn't like us to give up on something, especially if we really don't know if we can or can't do it.  A lot of the time if we hear something that at first glance seems impossible, we'll just write it off and say we can't do it, without another thought to it.  When I'm going through trials and they seem to just keep coming and never stop, a lot of the time I feel like screaming that I can't do it anymore.  But if we take a second look at the impossible, we may find that there's a way to actually accomplish that whatever-it-is.  It may be hard.  It may be a very small way, but if we persevere we just might be able to take the contraction away from that forbidden word.

I think that as Christians, we all come across some burning ships that we don't want or are afraid to let go of.  What will happen if I let go?  Will I miss the life boat and sink in the dark water?  Will I really perish if I hold on?  I don't know about my brothers and sisters in Christ, but I know I've asked myself those questions before.  It's almost like I feel that since I have a hold, however small it may be, if I stay, maybe things will get better.  And I fail to remember the fact that the ship is burning, and won't stay above the water much longer.

Sometimes we just have to let go of things that we want.  No, I take that back.  We have to let go of all things that we want; not just sometimes, but all times.  As Christians it's our duty to give up our own will to the Father, and seek only that His will is done.  Now, it just may be the Lord's will to give us some things back, but how do we really know, unless we first give everything to Christ?

(I'm talking to myself, here.  Please don't feel like I'm trying to judge anybody.  These are just some things that I am dealing with personally.  And I write down my thoughts with hopes that if there is someone else going through similar times, perhaps (and I pray) I may be an encouragement to them.)

We have to take that leap of faith.  Every day.  Satan tries over and over to trip up the children of God.  And he may succeed sometimes, and we may go through tough trials; but we can rejoice in the fact that our Lord and Savior will not let us go, if we are truly His.  And we have only to confess our sins and ask forgiveness.  Jesus never fails.  He'll never pass away.  He is forever.  He loves His children and wants to bear their burdens for them.  So, let Him.

 "When Satan tempts you to doubt whether you will be kept from falling, you should tell Satan that you cannot despair when you look at the cross." ~ J.C. Ryle

And, yes, I realize that the past few posts have all had the same message in them: lay your all on the altar and trust the God of all with your entire life.  But can I say it too many times?  I know that I can't tell it enough to my own self.  Give everything up to Christ.  Trust Him with your whole life.  Let go of those burning ships.

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. ~Deuteronomy 31:6

Give Thanks

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

~Romans 8:28~

Wow!  What a thought!  All things?  Really?  Even the what-we-call "bad things"?  The answer, as much as I sometimes really do not want to admit it, is yes; even the bad things.  You hear people sometimes say, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"  Well, the answer to that one is simply, they don't.  The reason?  There are no good people.  There is only one good, that is, Christ.  We all sin, and, even if there was a person who had committed but one sin in his entire life, what do you think?  The smallest of sins is enough to send us to hell for eternity.  But, praise God, Christ was, is the propitiation for our sins.  All those who call upon His name are redeemed by His blood.  Anyway, I got a little off track, there.

If all things work together for the good of them that love God, can anyone tell me what we shouldn't be thankful for in our lives?  Anything at all?  Yes, that means, I should be thankful that 3 years ago our family was uprooted from our home where we had lived with our friends and family for 15 years, and that we had to move to Colorado where we don't even really know anybody, and can't find a church that preaches the sovereignty of God, even after 3 years.  I should be thankful when the car in front of me is going extremely slow, like 15 miles under the speed limit.  I should be thankful we didn't get to go to that Bible conference for the past 3 years.  I should be thankful I had to quit Tae Kwon Do two years before the rest of the family because of a knee injury that I deemed stupid.  I should be thankful for that knee injury that still bothers me, too.

Well, I guess whoever reads this is going to see that it's pretty hard for me to be thankful in all things.  And I'm sure there are others with "bad days" that have been worse than mine.  But that doesn't change the fact.  The fact that all things, all things, work together for good.  And that we should be thankful in all the circumstances, good, and, especially, bad (and I say that only because it is naturally harder to be thankful for those things that we say are bad).

There is a purpose to everything God does.  If you have read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, you'll know who I mean when I say that Betsie ten Boom, when she and her sister, Corrie, were taken to a new prison camp in the middle WWII, thanked God for the fleas that infested the barracks where they were to sleep.  Corrie didn't understand how her sister could thank God for those pesky little creatures.  Shortly after, the ladies realized the reason the German guards wouldn't come into that building.  Why?  Because thy didn't want to risk the fleas.

God is good.  God is great.  Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.  And, just maybe, it's a blessing that God put my family, me, right where I am today.  In Colorado.  Away from everyone I know and care about.  I may not know why.  But I certainly know that God knows why.  He has a reason for everything.  And I know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

May God help me to accept these things in my life, cheerfully, as of the Lord.  And may He help me to be thankful for them.  And may the name of the Lord Jesus Christ be praised, glorified, and honored throughout the earth!

Pray!

In March of 2010, (and I know I've said before that it was 2009 when I was saved; please excuse the mistake, it was 2010), the month the Savior came into my heart, I prayed - a lot.  I prayed that Christ would use my life to glorify His name.  I kept short accounts with God; whatever happened or whatever I did wrong I was so convicted of immediately after that I would tell the Lord everything right away and ask His forgiveness.  Everything was most wonderful for a time.  It seemed as though nothing could or would go wrong.  But it just seems that when a person is saved, the devil tries harder and more frequently to attack that person, and it seems as though he'll never let up.

The first thing that seemed to put a bridge (which I could have crossed if I wanted to) between me and my God was so small a deal that I'm completely ashamed to bring it to remembrance.  There have come times in my life when I would get mad, or angry, or upset with some silly little nothing and I wouldn't go to the Savior right away.  I wanted to be angry.  I wanted to have my revenge in my mind for whatever stupid trifling thing that dared upset me.  I actually wanted to be mad for a while.  And this is what the devil used to keep me on my own side of that bridge for a time.

As soon as I let my guard down, Satan struck.  And it wasn't a simple little slap.  It was quite a blow.  As I faced trial after trial, I became more and more sick with everything.  And the stupidest part played by me was being too stubborn to ask my Savior to help me overcome the evil.  And because I didn't, I sank into a dark pit of depression all because I didn't carry everything to God in prayer.

My next mistake was being of the mind-set that since I hadn't talked to the Lord in quite a while, that I wasn't worthy to come before His presence.  This is another trick the devil uses to keep us from the Forgiver of sins.  I had come to the point where I was so weary with all my sin that I wanted to go to Jesus, wanted to confess everything, but I didn't.  What would He think?  How would He respond to such a poor wretch as me who had purposely turned my head away from His face so as not to see His pleading look beckoning me, "Come...and I will give you rest."?

O what peace we often forfeit, 

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!

I eventually realized that no matter what, I had to get to the Savior.  No matter what lay in my path, no matter what befell me on the way, I knew I had to pray and pray and pray and not give up until I had gotten through all of Satan's stumbling blocks and was safe in the arms of my Jesus Christ!  I didn't care anymore!  I had to get this infinitely deep ache that was rotting away my soul removed!  And I knew that only Christ could heal my broken spirit.  If it took years for the Lord to turn His head in pity to look upon me, then it was going to take years.  I wouldn't, couldn't give up.

But it didn't take years, or months, or even weeks.  I poured out my soul to the God of heaven and immediately He heard my cries and brought me up out of the miry clay.  I wept.  I was so broken and ashamed that I had denied my Savior for so long and that it only took me asking once for forgiveness and it was granted.

The first part of that verse written above goes like this:

What a Friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

But so many times I was too stubborn to trust in Jesus.  I had to do it all on my own.  I so wish I could erase those times, but sadly, it can't be done.  What I can do is pray.  Pray for strength.  Pray for faith.  Pray that the Lord is always near.

If I had only asked God to deliver me of what I was feeling when that anger first crept into my heart, it would have gone much  better for me.  I wouldn't have become so cast down and depressed, which is what will always happen as a result of sin.  Oh, if only I had confessed my sin to Christ the moment I felt it rising, I would not have gone through so much trouble.

But as Christians, there are marvelous, wonderful, beautiful times we spend with the Savior.  What a blessing it is while in prayer to feel as though Jesus is right beside us listening to and caring about what we have to say.  How sweet it is to fall asleep at night doing nothing else than communing with the Father, and then waking to the thought, How Deep the Father's Love for Us!

I have heard of some people saying that the song Sweet Hour of Prayer is not realistic.  They say, "Who actually prays for an hour?"  Well, I would venture to ask that person if they truly believed they were a Christian if they had not spent an hour at one time in prayer to the Lord.  Communion with our Lord and God must be the sweetest thing that we can obtain on this earth.  How can we not but spend an hour, or two, or three, or all night in prayer to Jesus the Christ, the Savior of our souls?

I guess what I'm trying to say here is, well, mainly, pray.  But if you ever find yourself in the position I was in and have it in your head to turn your eyes away from Jesus, don't!  Oh, friend, once you go down that road, it becomes increasingly harder to walk back up to the right path again.  The very moment you find yourself in a spiritual battle, take it to the Lord in prayer!  He will all our sorrows share.

"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  ~Matthew26:41

Patience

Definition of the word "patience": the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Some people may automatically think that they have patience, perhaps more than the next person (I know I thought this about myself for a long time).  But when we really stop and actually think about it, what a big meaning the word "patience" has.

I honestly never thought that I would go through a trial where it seemed to be that the main lesson of the whole thing was to gain patience.  I would never have expected it, but there it was, knocking on my door.  And by answering that knock, I let that tribulation get a strong hold on my self, my heart, and most definitely on my mind.  But we are to "glory in tribulations", are we not?

Going through this trial I recognize that patience is something I am going to need dearly.  I know I'll need a lot of it for a long time.  And I recognize also that there is only one way I can obtain it: through continuous prayer.

I suppose I'm naturally a stubborn girl, (and I also suppose that's not really going to shock anybody).  Patience isn't my strong point.  The Bible says "...tribulation worketh patience..."  I can only pray that during this trial period, my stubborn nature won't rebel and toss what little patience I have or gain out the window.

But you know what?  God is Lord, and He is good in all things.  In all things.  What he does for His own children really is what is best for them, whether they know it or not, whether they accept it or not, whether they're willing to wait and be patient for an answer or not.  And the only thing we, as children, can do about it is pray for the right attitude.

I actually know some people who absolutely will not pray for patience because they know that with patience comes tribulations.   This baffles me greatly.  I understand the not wanting tribulation part, but the end result is a fruit of the spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering [patience], gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance..."  I suppose I know what I'm asking for when I pray for patience, but the end result is a blessed sweetness that enables us more fully to trust in the God of our salvation.

God give me the faith to say, Thy will be done.  As I said in an earlier post, we, as man, are sinful even in our righteousnesses; so we ought only to seek the will of the Father, and not what our own wretched selves want, even if we want it really bad.  May God grant me the patience I absolutely know I will need to emerge from this trial a victor.

"By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;  And patience, experience; and experience, hope..."  -Romans 5:2-4

Blessed be God the Father, Who giveth me trials and tribulations to endure.

Pray for patience.  It's the only way we'll ever get it.

I Almost Pulled My Eye Out!

Ok, so it wasn't that extreme.  However, I did almost pull the cornea out of my eye.  Tuesday morning was just like any other morning: I woke up, studied, did my hair, put my contacts in, ate breakfast.  It around 10 a.m. that I realized that one of my contact lenses wasn't working.  I thought that maybe I had put it in backwards, but still, I should still be able to see ok.  I'd put the lenses in backwards a few times before and nothing happened, so...But anyway, I decided to take out the lens that wasn't working and flip it around just to be sure that wasn't the problem.  Only, the real problem was I couldn't get it out! 

What was going on?  My contact lenses had stuck in my eyes a few times before and it was difficult to take them out again, but not like this at all!  I couldn't even get my finger-nail underneath the lens.   So, I decided to wait a little bit and try to take it out again later.  When I had tried 3 times, I decided I should probably call the doctor to help me get it out.

Now, I did not want to call the doctor.  If he got it out right away, I'd feel, well, pretty dumb for not being able to do it myself.  But I called the doctor anyway and asked if there was a trick to getting a stuck contact lens out.  The lady I talked to gave me a tip.  I hung up and tried what she said.  I didn't get any farther.  So, I called back and scheduled an appointment.

Mom told me that I should try one more time to take out the ornery lens 5 minutes before I had to leave.  So at 10:55, I went downstairs (to my room), got in front of a mirror and tried again.  This time I actually got a finger-nail under it!  So, I grabbed it with 2 finger-nails (they were longer than I usually let them grow) and pulled gently.  But I tell you, it felt like I was ripping my eye out!  I couldn't understand it!

So, I went upstairs and asked Dad to watch and see if he could tell if I was grabbing  the lens.  He said it looked like I had it, so I told him "But it feels like I'm pulling my eye out."  "Ok, lets go to the doctor," he said without any hesitation, and boy am I glad he did!

At the doctor's office I felt even dumber when he said that I was actually pulling on my cornea, that I didn't have a lens in my eye at all!  That explains why that lens wasn't working.  So, yes, I really did pull up part of my cornea!  *Creepy* 

The doctor told me what kind of ointment to get, then and we went home and told everyone that I had tried to pull my eye out.  It sent chills up everyones' spines, especially when Dad said that when he saw that it looked like I had the lens, he thought about telling me to just pull it and get it out of my eye.  That would not have been good.  So it's a very good thing indeed that I said that it felt like I was ripping my eye out!

Last night was the third night of putting the ointment in, and my eye is much better.  But every time I think about what I almost did, I cringe.  Who knows, I could have gone blind!  But God, in His mercy, prevented me, and I thank Him so much!

May God's Will Be Done

Sometimes the Lord intervenes and does the direct opposite of what we wanted done.  When this happens, some may think, "The nerve!  He has no right to intervene in my personal life, especially when I really wanted something, and He didn't give it to me."  But how can we possibly say such things so dishonoring to God the Father?  We may want something, yes; but we should always ask the Lord's will to be done in our life.  And when He does step in and His will is done, we ought not to oppose it.

Think about it this way: if we, man, being so wholly depraved that even our goodnesses are sinful, how can we deliberately blame God, in Whom is no sin found and is completely righteous and is always good, for stepping into our lives and pointing us in the direction that He wants us to go?

It is sad to think about how many times we've blamed God for being in our way, when in fact, He was doing something good for us!  Some may say, "Well, I don't need God's help.  It's my life and I can do whatsoever I please with it!"  My friend, be very careful of what you wish for.  Thinking in such a way will only lead you farther and farther away from the Savior, and that is a truly dark place to be, where no light is found.

'If we would be saved form the destruction which is coming upon the World, we must submit ourselves without reserve to the commands of our Lord Jesus.  We shall not be saved for keeping the commands of God, but if we have true faith we shall prove it by following the Lord's directions.'  That is a quote from Spurgeon.  The Father looks after His children, but if we refuse to heed to His judgment, He may allow us to be led into temptation.  And once there, it is not an easy task to humble ourselves and ask forgiveness of the Lord.

God's Word says in Psalms 119:9: "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?  by taking heed thereto according to thy word."

Give heed to the Lord of hosts, and let not the feelings of this sinful flesh get in the way of serving the God of heaven.

The Fifth Commandment

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."
                                                                                       ~Exodus 20:12

That's what the Bible says, God's Word.  And God's Word is not to be taken lightly.  As we see what would happen to a child that does not honour his parents in Deuteronomy 21:18-21, which reads: "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:  Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto to the elders of  his city, and unto the gate of his place;  And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.  And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear."

Jeremiah 17:10 says: "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."  We should obey our parents with a cheerful heart.  We shouldn't obey them grudgingly, with the attitude, 'Well, I'll do it, but only because I'll get in trouble if I don't.  As I said a moment ago, the Lord searches the heart.  Even if Mom and Dad don't know what we're thinking or feeling, God does.  And He will reward us according to our doings.

Parents only look after their children.  They usually know best.  If they tell you not to hang out with certain group of people, and you decide to dishonour them by disobeying and you hang out with those people, and they turn out to be a murderous gang, turn around and kill you - what then?  It's too late to go back home, say sorry to you parents and start trusting them.  Or if they say, 'Look both ways before you cross the street,' and you deliberately rebel, look straight ahead while crossing, and get hit by a car, what then?  "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."

"Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul."  -Proverbs 29:17  It seems that the children who are disciplined by their parents are more honouring, respectful, and obeying to their parents.  But today, the parents who actually discipline their children seem to be in the minority.  But even if some children are not disciplined by their parents, the Bible still says, "Honour thy father and thy mother..." and it ought to be obeyed.

Deletion of Rocky Mountain Maiden Blog

Those of you who read my Rocky Mountain Maiden blog probably can't find it anymore.  The reason is because I deleted it.  I just wasn't doing anything with it, so I decided not to keep it.

My Testimony

Growing up in a Christian family, having devotions every night, praying often as a family, going to church every week, and you can see why I've wanted to become a Christian for as long as I can remember.  I didn't want to go to Hell when I died.  Heaven is where I wanted to be, living up there on golden streets, never crying, never getting in trouble.  Living splendidly with Jesus.  I thought I could earn all that if I was saved.  Boy was I wrong!  I don't, can't earn anything from my Lord and Savior.  The Bible says "...All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..."  We sin even when we try to do good things.  And if we sin in everything we do, how can we possibly even hope to earn a single thing from Jesus Christ?

When I was 11 years old, a boy in our church who was 12, made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized. And I thought, If he's 12 and he's saved, why can't I be saved, too? So, I made a decision: I was going to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.  Dad and I had recently been having late night discussions on the Bible, mostly Dad talking and me listening.  So, that night, I asked to talk to my mom and dad.  This is what I said right off to them, "I believe the Lord has saved me, and I would like to be baptized."  Thinking that would be it, that they would cry a little and congratulate me on my "decision", I was surprised when Dad asked me why I thought that.  Well, what do I say now?  Remembering the talks I'd had with my dad, I said, "Well, everything you told me about God, I believe."  "So, it's just me you believe," Dad said.  Long story short, I fumbled my way through, making even myself half-way believe I was saved.  The next Sunday, Dad took me to talk to the pastor and the assistant pastor of our church, and I told them what I had told Mom and Dad.  They also asked me a few questions and with tears in my eyes, I answered.  My baptism was scheduled for 3 weeks from that time so that my grandma could see me baptized.  During those 3 weeks I convinced myself that I really was saved and that I wanted to serve God.  After I was baptized, I was even surer of myself.

Everything was great!  I wasn't going to burn in Hell, I had been saved, I was baptized, I was protected.  I started reading my Bible and if there was something I didn't understand, I'd ask Dad.  Every once in a while, I'd even boast that I'd read this many chapters in the Bible or I read Psalm 119 all in one day, and wasn't that something?  I even sent out some letters that I'd been saved and that I wasn't going to Hell, I was going to Heaven when I died.

After a while, the excitement faded,  I wouldn't read near as much, wouldn't even pray very often.  There were times when I would start to doubt my salvation, but then I'd remember I was baptized.  My pastor baptized me, and he certainly wouldn't baptize me if he didn't think I was saved.  So, that would give me a little comfort.

Over the next few years again and again that doubt came back, and it was really bothering me.  I even talked to some girl friends and told them that sometimes I don't think I'm really saved.  They'd turn around and say that they thought I was saved, that the way I acted made it look like I was saved.  I even had one friend tell me that she knew my heart, she knew what was in my heart and I wouldn't have made a profession if I didn't believe I was saved.  That stuck out at me - big time!  I didn't know much about God, but I knew enough to know that He was the only one who knew my heart.  And when I thought of that, it really scared me.

I kept thinking back to that day when I told my parents I was saved.  Am I really saved?  Or aren't I?  But I've been baptized.  But baptism doesn't save a person.  Oh, I'm so confused!

Sometime when I was 16, I started doubting my salvation, and I couldn't comfort myself in any way, couldn't make myself believe I really was a Christian living for Christ.  It tormented me!  But I didn't tell anyone.  What would they think if I did?  I had already been baptized, said I was saved for 5 years.  And if I just up and told someone now what I was dealing with, they would have said, "So, you've been lying all these years."  That was what I thought.

I couldn't shake the feeling of despair, helplessness, hopelessness.  I knew I was lost, and I didn't know how to find myself.  I wasn't really happy anymore.  I tried to hide it, but Mom and Dad both noticed it and said as much.  I tried to make something up, but I'm not sure if they believed me.

I would think of everything I've done, and try to see if I could remember anything that I had truly done to try to please God.  I couldn't think of anything.  Anything at all.

Then, one March night in 2010, I was lying in bed (couldn't sleep), thinking of all the sinful things I'd done.  And so suddenly I became (and I don't use this term lightly) overwhelmed.  I was so completely overwhelmed with all my sin that I felt like dying!  I cried out to the Lord Jesus to save me, to forgive my sins against him.  I poured everything out and laid it at His feet.  And if you're reading this and you're not a Christian, you won't understand when I say that at that moment, I felt the most peaceful peace all around me.  Christ Jesus took my sins and bore them on the cross at Calvary.  He redeemed my soul that night.  He made me a sheep in His pasture.  I am a child of God's!  Praise the Lord of Hosts, He saved my soul!  You've never truly felt peace unless you are child of the Most High.

Now, it's not about going to Heaven when I die.  Now, I want to serve the Lord in everything I do, say, and even think.  If I died and went to Hell, I'd shout His praises at the top of lungs until the end of eternity!  He is the Lord!  He is God!  He's my Redeemer!  My Savior!  He's my Lord Jesus Christ!  He owns me, and no one and no thing can ever take that away!  So, praise Him, glorify Him, and bless the Lord, o my soul!

I implore those of you who are not saved to seek the Lord with all your heart.  God's Word says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  -1 John 1:9

My First Camping Trip! (Part 2 - People)

Ok, I know these are a lot of pictures.  But I just couldn't leave any of them out!  Enjoy!  We certainly did!

Abigail, directing the breakfast traffic.

Sisters aren't just sisters.  They're Friends!

Washing dishes in freezing cold creek water!

I love this picture!!!  So funny!

Look at all that hair!  I'm jealous!

Karate Cook

My First Camping Trip! (Part 1 - Scenery)

I was so excited for this trip, because it was my first camping trip!  And it was a huge blast!  I took lots of pictures, so I'll make this a 2-parter type thing. 

This is the view from the hike we went on.

Zach, eating a pancake breakfast.

Anna, on the hike.

Mom, Anna, and I went for a short walk during the sunset to get some pictures.

This is the next morning.  The 4th of July.

I'll post Part 2 in a few days.

Father's Day

Dad really wanted a video for Father's Day since Mom got one and he thought it turned out so well.  So, that's what he got.  We filmed it at Jason and Nicole's house on a Sunday.  And Dad was pretty confused as to why he wasn't invited to come.  We eventually gave in and told him why we were going to Jason's and why he wasn't allowed to come along.  Then he was like, oh, ok.  So here are some pictures of the process and the video is at the bottom.

I actually have no idea why it looks like I'm scolding Zach here.  By the way, I got contacts, so I don't have to wear glasses all the time anymore!!!  It's AWESOME!!!

Jason played Dad in both mine and Zach's memories.  It was so funny how Jason looked just like Dad in Dad's bathrobe, hat, and slippers!

                     If you click on the video, it will go to the youtube site and you can see it bigger.

I love you, Daddy!  Thank you for doing everything you do for me.  And thank you for guiding me and really talking to me about stuff when I needed it.  I love you so much! ♥♥♥

Sunday Hiking

 

Abigail, watching Dad, Zach, and Nathan build a dam.

Me and Abigail, I'll confess I went up there with Ab so I wouldn't get roped into building the dam with the guys.  It didn't work.  I ended up helping after all.

Dad, Nathan, and Zach starting to build the dam.

Anna, looking gorgeous.

Dad and Zach making progress on the dam.

Nathan with Prince.  Sadly, Prince is the only dog we have left.  Lady got really sick about a week ago and we had to put her down.  *tear*

Dad and Zach moving a big heavy rock into place on the dam.

Nathan and Zach in the Platte River.

Mom decided to get her feet wet.

The guys and Abigail decided to go for a swim in the Platte River.  I almost wanted to, but I didn't want to have to change my white shirt to do it.