Showing posts with label Writings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writings. Show all posts

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Young men

You are probably wondering what a young lady is doing posting a topic about young men. I will tell you that it is nothing bad. You can trust me on this one. :)

I have been able to have the privilege of recently putting on a Ball with a friend of mine. We have gotten several comments from moms about the young men there. The young men were polite, generous, and courteous. When we did a circle dance and the ladies were passed from gentleman to gentleman, most of the men, would say hi, smile and reach for your hand. This is what I always thought young men to be.  I soon found out that not all young men are like this. Most of the young men in our culture are afraid of girls/young ladies.

I know a young man, who is a day younger than I am, who is an awesome guy. He does not really care who he is talking to, he will just talk. You don't see many young men, who can talk to a strange young lady. He is kind to his twin sister, and you could tell he loved her. I'm not trying to say that he is perfect, but this is how I think a young man should act. To treat their family member with love and respect, kindness, and gentleness. 

 

Relying on God; Not Man

I have realized over the last month or so, by watching some good friends of mine, that even though we might have a guy and his love, we won't be completely satisfied. If we don't completely dwell on God's love and rely on Him, our relationship with the opposite sex will only fail and go down the wrong road.

 I have to say, I have struggled with that. I have tried to lean on my sister or a friend or someone and all that happens is my life turns upside down. Friendships capsize, I get overwhelmed with school work and what I have to do, and the day just feels a mess. Today, this thought hit me right between the eyes. "This is why my day ended up like it did. Because I was relying on man and not on God." I have found that it is not really worth it. Man will soon crumble away and fade like a flower. A friendship might seem like a good friendship, but if God is not a part of it, it will soon fall apart. There will not always be a shoulder to lean on if you rely on man, but there will be if you rely on God. 

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. ~ Isaiah 40:7-8 (KJV)
Why rely on something or someone when it will only fade away? Is it worth it? Why not rely on something or someone that will last forever? There is nothing here on earth that will last forever. There is only one thing that you can rely on. That is God.

The Five Pillars of the Reformers

I had a conversation with some friends today on what the Five Pillars of the Reformers are, what they stand for and what they mean. So, I thought I would share my thoughts on the subject.


The Five Pillars of the Reformers are:
                     1). Sola Scriptura - By Scripture Alone 
           2). Sola Gratia - By Grace Alone 
             3). Solo Christo - By Christ Alone 
       4). Sola Fide - By Faith Alone 
                          5). Soli Deo Gloria - Glory To God Alone


Both John Calvin and Martin Luther supported in Sola Scriptura, scripture alone. One thing that came up in the debate is was "How can you have all five, yet have the alone at the end of each fragment?" 
The conversation started out with a guy and I going over numbers one, two and four. (Those are the ones I will cover in this post.) He raised the question by saying this: "It's kinda ironic. How can you have all three? Faith alone, grace alone, Scripture alone."  His statement is true. How can you have all three with alone at the end?  Let's look at Sola Fide first. 


"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." James 2:17 (KJV) 

You can't have just faith and nothing else. It is worthless. Without the saving grace of Jesus Christ and without the Scripture, what is faith? How does faith come about if there is not the Scripture to show you what God has done or to tell you what He is going to do? Faith does not automatically happen. It comes by believing in something. Could a wife have faith in her husband if there is no one there to believe in? Of course not! There has to be something to believe in before you can have faith in something. 


Sola Gratia; by Grace Alone. We can't also just have grace or else we would sin all the time. 


"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." ~ Ephesians 2:5-9 (KJV)
Through faith, grace has saved us from our sin so that we may have eternal life. If we had just faith, we would not have the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and if we had just grace, there would be no reason for faith.  


Sola Scriptura; by Scripture Alone. (Note, I am doing these in the order we talked about them today.) You can't have Scripture alone because then we would not know what grace was or  would not have anything to believe in, which would leads us to have no reason for faith in Jesus Christ. Without Scripture, we would have no clue to who God was and what He did for us. 


"All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" ~ 2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV) 

If you took any one of these elements away from Christianity, you would have almost nothing left. If you took away faith and grace, you would have nothing but words that were put into a book. They would mean nothing to you. 
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"  ~ Hebrew 11:1 (KJV) 

God's love letter

Dearest Beloved,

I have waited for you and called you. Why have you not answered? I have knocked, yet the door was not open. Why? I have written you letter after letter. Have you not read them? I receive no reply. Why?

I love you, my beloved. More than you could ever conceive. Am I not that important to you? I gave my life for you. I led you thru life, yet, I receive no thank you. I have laid out instructions for you, yet you don't listen. Is there someone or something more important in your life ?

Why do you turn to man for love when you have a strong, everlasting arm to lean on?
Why do you kick and scream when Someone knows better than you do?
Why do you pull away from the Hand that tries to lead you down the right path? 
Why do you not open the door when there is a knock?


Is it fear or is it hate?
Is it fear of the unknown?
Is it a lack of trust?
Or is it unbelief?


Do you really know what is best for your life?
Is that why you kick and scream?
Do you not trust the Man to lead you?
Is that why you pull away?

Beloved, I sent my Son to die on the cross for you. To bare your burdens so that you do not always have to. Isn't that enough to give me your love? I have waited long hours for you to give me everything you had. Waited for you to give me your trust. Am I only to be treated like the dust in the road? To be shuffled about with everyone that walks by? 



I have written a whole Book that portrays my love for you. But still, you don't listen. What will it take, my beloved, for you to seek and find me? I have always been waiting outside for you, won't you please let me in?

I love you, beloved, 

~ God ♱

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Trust In Jesus


One of these days we all will stand in judgment for
Every single word that we have spoken
One of these days we all will stand before the Lord
Give a reason for everything we've done
And what I've done is

Trust in Jesus
My great Deliverer
My strong Defender
The Son of God
I trust in Jesus
Blessed Redeemer
My Lord forever
The Holy One, the Holy One

What are you going to do when your time has come
And your life is done and there's nothing you can stand on
What will you have to say at the judgment throne
I already know the only thing that I can say I
Trust in Jesus
My great Deliverer
My strong Defender
The Son of God
I trust in Jesus
Blessed Redeemer
My Lord forever
The Holy One, the Holy One

There's nothing I can do on my own to find forgiveness
It's by His grace alone I trust in Jesus
Trust in Jesus

Trust in Jesus by Third Day

I know I have been posting a lot lately about trust, but lately, that is what God has been telling me to do, and I just want to share what I have learned. 

I this past week has been fairly difficult for me. I have been stressed with school work, this Ball coming up next week and all that has to go into that, and sometimes, just with life. Yet, through the struggles, I have watched God work in my family, in my friends around me, and in myself. I have been amazed to see how God can work through a sinner, who has completely got her life mixed up, and turn her back to Him. Without completely leaning and resting on Him, life can become a mess. An ugly mess. 

Today, I look back at the past week and see how many times I have fallen, yet He picks me up. How many times I have trusted in Him and I don't have a care in the world about what happens tomorrow. How many times I have turned my back on him, yet He still loves me. That is greater than anything on this earth. To be a daughter of God is something that is more wonderful than anything on this earth. 

The last 2 months has seen great change for my family. God has been right there beside us the whole time. He has done amazing things in our family in those 2 months and I am excited to see what He continues to do. 
 

Monday, February 14, 2011

Trust ~

My family has started going through the book called, Experiencing God, with some friends of ours. We meet about it, for the first time,two weeks ago. When I went thru Day One, there were some things that stood out to me that I wanted to share.

Lesson that was learned: Trust God with EVERYTHING.

God wants us to trust Him. He wants all of our life, not just a part of it. I need to be willing to give up the 'I wants' and let HIM lead me thru life.  He will take me by the hand and lead me where HE wants me to go.

John 14:6 says " I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (KJV)

If you remove God from your life, or even from a country, what do you get? Sinful man who wants to run things the way he sees it. With God out of the picture, man has no moral restraint.

The natural way of man is to not trust God completely, if  at all. We want to run our own lives and countries. When that happens, havoc sets in.

Picture this, God is a wall that you can lean against. Take that away, and you have nothing there at your back. God's Word is concrete, take that away, and nothing is concrete. All that is left are man's ideas that are abstract; always changing.

Do you trust the chair you are sitting on? Of course. God won't let the chair break. God won't break like a chair, or change like a man. He wants to be the King of our lives because HE WON'T CHANGE! We need to trust Him in EVERYTHING, big or small things in our lives.

He won't fail you like friends could do. The wall will always be at your back, protecting and giving you something to lean on.

Learn to lean on Him completely,

Suffering ~ I'd Rather Have Jesus ~ Part 2

I hurt for suffering around me. I want to stop all the pain that goes on in families. I wish I could do something. There is so much pain and wickedness in the world that I wish there could be something I could do. We watched a movie last night called "The Lost and Found Family." It is about a family who has foster kids. Throughout the movie you get a glimpse of what happened to these kids. And it hurts. I am so blessed to live in a family who has never had major problems and I want to be able to share that with kids around the world. I want to be able to show them the love that Jesus has for them. Teenagers are so broken. I wish I could help.

Life is too short to waste. 



Yesterday, I was talking to a friend of mine and she told me her parents are on the brink of separation. That is why I wrote what I did above. I have come to the realization that even though I come from a good family, there are still families who have a hard time. A family who loves me, who treasures me, who would do anything for me. A family who has never gone through some of the hardships others have with bad influences, extended family pushing away each other, and who has never experienced separation or close to separation. There are families, I am sure, thousands of families who go through that. Teenagers get into cutting, smoking, drugs, etc. I have not done that. I have been sheltered from the world and I did not know this kind of stuff happens until a few years ago. And now that I know it is out there, I hurt for those people who go through that and who don't know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. 


And be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.



I know that all I can do at my present state in life is to pray for those teenagers who are lost and for those families who are suffering. 


I have a friend who, to me, is not a believer, but he thinks he is. He believes that the only way to be saved is to do good works and you are saved. My heart goes out to him because I know that apart from Jesus Christ those works are only filthy rags. Satan will try to get us to believe that our good works are worth something, but Jesus says that they will count as nothing. 


"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" ~ Matthew 7:22 (KJV) 


He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs;
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead



Where Jesus is present there is also suffering, but there is suffering also where Jesus is not present. I may not be able to help those who are suffering, but at least I can pray for them. Jesus means so much to me now, more than He ever has, that He is fairer than lilies of rarest bloom, sweeter than honey from out the comb, and all that my hungering spirit needs. 


May God bless you, 

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 




Is Valentine's day just about the cards, candy and saying 'I love you'? 
Is it just about the gifts that are passed around and the love that is shared? 
Is it just the remembrance of St Valentine?
There has to be more to it than that, hasn't there? 

Something more than that. 
Something more lasting.
Something more worth remembering.
Something worth more love than that. 

Is there anything that has more meaning,
Than just the cards, the chocolate, the hearts, the 'I love you's, the candy?
What is it though? 
What is the real meaning of Valentine's day?

There was a man who shed blood, suffered, and died. 
He suffered mockery and blasphemy.
He was nailed to a cross and left to die. 
All for you.   

He has called you to be His princess and His daughter. 
He has carried your burdens when you can't.
When you turn your back on Him, He still waits for you.
He leads you and takes you by the hand. 

He waits for you with outstretched arms. 
He always has love in His eyes. 
He always does what is right for you. 
His name is Jesus, the Christ. 

He has saved you when you are drowning. 
He has heard and answered your prayers.
He has carried you when you are too tired to go on. 
His name is Savior. 

This love will last longer than any man's.  
This love won't abandon you. 
This love will never bring harm to you. 
There is always a love to celebrate.

I have learned, over the course of a week or so, that we don't need a boyfriend or whatever to keep us happy. Even though this holiday is all about love and what not, I still have a love I can celebrate with even if I don't have a boyfriend. That is God. He wants to be your love.  

I have a few good friends who are either courting or dating, and as this time drew closer, I knew I would have no one special to share the day with. I never really pondered the thought, or I never really pushed it out, it just kinda sat there with no real meaning, till this morning.

God wants to enter into a love relationship with us so that He can work through us. That is why we were created. For us to love and honor Him, and for Him to love us. God's love is greater than any man's.
"To be loved by God is the greatest achievement, and the noblest position in life." ~ Henry and Richard Blackaby in Experiencing God

God will provide what ever you need when you are dwelling in His love.  He will guide you along your way, feed you when you need food, clothe you when you need clothes, protect you when you need protection and love you when you need love. 

May God bless you this Valentine's Day and I hope He becomes your true love. 

King ~ I'd Rather Have Jesus ~ Part 1

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand


Refrain:
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.


I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;
I’d rather be true to His holy name


He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs;
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead



~*~*~*~* 
I was sitting in our music/library room sipping a cup of tea, sunshine pouring into the room, and going thru my normal Bible study for the morning. It started out great. My mind was open for God to teach me whatever He wanted, I had a cup of my favorite tea in my hand and the sun was shining. Who could 
have asked for more? 


Well, as I started going through my study, this song (I’d Rather Have Jesus) jumped out at me. The man who wrote the study had put the song in there, and I have always loved it, but this time was different. There was one line that jumped out at me. "Than to be the king of a vast domain."


Two days ago, I was talking to a friend of mine and we were just having some fun and started play acting. He said that he wanted to be the King of Awesomeness. So, I 'crowned' him. :P After that he started giving out ‘rules’ to his ‘subjects’. The first one was to have a national holiday that would honor the King of Awesomeness and the second one was to take a nap. *laughs* After his ‘nap’, he sat up, took of the ‘crown’ and said, “Being  king is boring.” 


You might be thinking, “Why would being a king be boring? I have always wanted to be a princess or a queen, or something like that.” 


Well, after reading/singing this hymn, I realized that being a King, Queen, Princess or Prince, would only be fun for a time, but then would get boring. You would always have people bowing down to you. You would always have to watch your p’s and q’s. People would look up to you because you had authority over them. Even though the dresses would be pretty, or it would be fun to live in a castle, things would get boring. 


This guy was ‘King Awesomeness’ (wouldn’t that be fun to be king over? ;P). But when King, he could no longer be himself. Having all the power could be fun up to a point, but there would be no one telling YOU what to do. Wouldn’t that get boring? I know I would surely get bored. 


Wouldn’t you want Jesus than to be King of... awesomeness or of a vast domain? Everything that is talked about in the song is what a king would have within his grasp. Silver and gold, riches untold, houses and lands, men’s applause, and worldwide fame. A king would have all of that but one, Jesus. He would be rich in the world’s eyes, so therefore, he would not need Jesus.

If you don’t know Jesus, being a king would get boring very quickly. But if you know and love Jesus, you have become a Prince or Princess, of more than you could imagine. You might not be a king in the world’s eyes, but you have Jesus and that makes you richer than a king in the world.


Thursday, February 10, 2011

Modesty

I promised my sister I would do a post on modesty. So, Jane, this is for you. :) (I am sorry it has taken  me this long to get it posted.)

I have had some conversations lately with some of my friends about modesty. So, I just thought I would share some things. 


When I think of modesty, I think of modest dress. As Christians, we need to dress modestly. We do need to be modest and not cause people to stumble. But there are  other aspects  I have found that also, in my eyes, are considered modesty. 


Modesty - behavior, manner, or appearance intended to avoid impropriety or indecency. 


This definition applies to all of what I am going to talk about and I will explain as I go. :) 


Clothes are a big part of our culture. We, as young ladies, are concerned about what we wear, what we look like and what not. We want to make sure that we look good and that we can ‘attract’ guys. I will say that I have fallen into this. I am always concerned about what I look like and what I wear, but I am learning, thru what God has been showing me, that I need not be so concerned about those things. 


Matthew 6:25 -26 (KJV) says: “Therefore I say unto you, Take not thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”


God will take care of you. There is nothing to be concerned about. Yes, you still have to take responsibility for getting dressed, doing your hair and all. But, God will make you look beautiful from the inside out. Although, you may want to make sure that you don’t wear polka dots and strips and that your hair is nice, not ragged. :D 


A few weeks ago, my mom, sister and I went to a Mary Kay party.. (for those of you know what it is. :D) I was kinda skeptical at first, but I went and enjoyed myself. Not because I was ‘trying’ new make up products, but because I was with godly friends. As we were talking about taking care of your skin, the mom who hosted the party said that our bodies are the temple of God and that we need to take care of our bodies. When we put on makeup, do our hair and get dressed we are just bringing out what God has already put in us. We are beautiful just as we are. Without makeup and without our hair done. Although, we most likely will look pretty ragged in the world's eyes, we are still beautiful in God’s sight. 


I will tell you that after that I began to relax. You are God’s child and He will always think you are beautiful. 


Okay, I got side tracked. That is not where I was going with this, but it is still important. :) When I think of modesty, I think of higher neckline shirts, not tight pants but long skirts and looser jeans. When I say higher necklines I don’t mean turtle neck shirts. I mean a modest neckline. You may ask, what is considered a modest neckline? 


Well, my definition is something that does not show to much... That is kinda hard in our culture, I know, but I just wear a camisole under the really low shirts. That can always fix your modesty problem. :)

That is one way to stay modest, yes. But there are other things that can keep you modest. These things that I am going to mention are not something that are seen by just looking at a person.

 Purity - You may be thinking, how can this be considered modesty? Well, when I say purity, I mean not flirting and not going after guys. This can also be considered modesty.

Still don't get it do you? *thinks* Let me explain it a little bit more... 


"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."  ~ Matthew 5:28


This can also go for us women. As emotional people, we can get emotionally involved with a guy. We can, once we get to know a guy and become friends with him,  easily start pouring out our heart to him. We can also look at a guy and say, "Oh he is cute. I like him." That is how we can commit adultery. By not doing these things, we are keeping ourselves pure and modest. 


From conversations I have had with other young ladies, this is something that every young lady struggles with.  I know I do struggle with it. It is a hard thing to do in this culture. It tells us to follow our feelings and not to follow truth and God.  


At the end of the movie, Two Towers, Sam has a speech that he makes. (You can find it here if you want to see/hear the whole thing) 


"I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something." 


"What are we holding onto, Sam?"

"That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for."



We, as Christians need to fight for the good. We don't need to be walking around with super tight pants, low shirts, always flirting with every guy we see. We need to be shining the light of Jesus and proclaiming His name. 


"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." ~Matthew 5:14 (KJV)


When we have the light of Jesus in us, we cannot hide it. We should dress, act, think, speak, do, and hear, as if Jesus was right by our side, in person, taking note of everything we do. What would He think of what you wore, or  how you act around guys? 





Sunday, December 5, 2010

Time Changer

A few weeks ago, we watched a movie called Time Changer. It was about a guy who lived in the 1890 and came to the future. In his own time era he was working on writing a book. The book has basically taken the morals that Jesus taught, but taking him out of them. So, he ends up taking a trip into the future. He finds himself in our own time and he shudders at what he finds.






He finds a man blasphemed the name of Jesus, a man and woman kissing without being married, that it is okay to steal, that it is okay to disobey your parents. And that that is the way of life and everyone is comfortable in it. He cannot grasp that concept. Everyone is comfortable in their sin.

After the movie was over, it really opened my eyes. We all are comfortable in todays culture. Christians and Homeschoolers need not to be comfortable in that. We need to be like this guy in the movie, an outsider to the world, and not to become comfortable with it. I have to say that I have not done that. I have known that what things are said in movies, what the child does to the parents, that it is not right to steal. I have known that, but have not practiced that. And I have been very ashamed of that.

Later, I will follow up on this and do a post on modesty.

Anyhow, the movie was very interesting and it opened my eyes. I think it is a must see movie for everyone.


Friday, November 26, 2010

Writing

I have gotten back into writing my novel the last few days. I am so excited about it. I had to set it aside because I was busy with school work and did not have the time. :( But now I am writing again and I just wanted to post a scene of my latest work. :)

Actually, I think I will post two scenes. :) The first one is part of my 'main' novel. The Hope Of A Sunrise. Now, last time I did a post on this novel it was The Promise Of A Sunrise. I have just about completely rewritten the whole novel, chapters 1-7. I am working on Chapter 4 and just about done with it. So, what you read the first time was just a fake. :P Sorry. Here is a little part of Chapter 4. Enjoy!

Cole left early the next morning. Early enough so I could not say goodbye. I was hoping that he cared enough to say goodbye.


I slumped down in my chair at the breakfast table just as Mrs. Adams was ladling some hot oatmeal into my bowl. Instead of the oatmeal going into my bowl, it went onto my skirt. I jumped up, upsetting my glass of water and hitting the serving bowl of oatmeal Mrs. Adams was holding. That, in turn went crashing to the ground, spilling the hot, creamy breakfast all over. 


Johnny was the first to move and break the silence. He hit the table with his hand and started laughing. We all must have been staring at him (I know I was) because he suddenly stopped with his mouth open and looked around the room. I stole a glance at Sara and noticed that she had a faint smile one her face. Pretty soon the whole room was erupting in laughter. 


After what seemed like forever, Mrs. Adams finally managed to say “Oh, my dear Margaret.” She said still laughing. “That is one way to start out the day.” I smiled. “Why don’t you go get your self cleaned up because that is oatmeal in you hair, too.” 


I slowly moved from my place, trying not to step on any oatmeal as I went and then headed upstairs.  


I leaned heavily on the bedroom door once it was closed and burst out laughing.  I placed my hand on my stomach and continued to laugh. Then I realized that I still had oatmeal on my dress. I quickly changed out of the spoiled dress, washed my hair and was back down stairs with in the hour.  


When I came into the kitchen, the whole Adams family was sitting at the table with their napkins on their laps and their hands folded. I stopped in the doorway. “Oh, you did not have to wait for me.” I said as I once more sat down in my chair. 


Mr. Adams gave me a warm smile. “Margaret, the telegram boy delivered this while you were upstairs.” He said as he handed me a letter. 


I looked at the writing on the front of the envelop. I did not recognize the hand. I looked at Mr. Adams and then Mrs. Adams before I opened the letter. I gasped once the letter was open and the contents reviled. 


“Margaret, Are you all right?” I heard Sara saying, but I did not answer. “Margaret?” She said again. 


I finally looked up from the letter with tears in my eyes.  “It is from Captain Taylor.”  I said as I held up the letter. “He says that the information he gave me last night at the ball was wrong. He did not know it at that point. He only found out when he returned to the camp.” I said as calmly as I could. 


Sara and Johnny gasped, Mrs. Adams put her arm around me and Mr. Adams sat there staring at his breakfast. 


“Margaret, are you sure what Captain Taylor said is true?” Johnny asked. 


I looked up from staring blankly into my lap. “What do you mean Johnny?”


“Well, is there hint in the letter that could tell you that he is alive?”


I looked back at the letter that was now sitting in my lap. “No, Johnny. From what I read, there is nothing to say other wise.” 


“Could you please read us the letter?” 


I picked up the letter and started reading. “My Dear, Miss Kennedy.” The letter started. “I am glad that I got to make your acquaintance last night at the dance.” I stole a look at Sara and gave her a smile and she giggled. “I am writing to tell you that the information that I gave you last night is false. I did not know this myself until I got back to camp.  I had just gotten into camp when a private came running up to me. He told me that Matthew had come to the outskirts of the camp looking for more supplies. As the men were getting the supplies  for him, they heard several gun shots. When they arrived back at where they were to meet Matthew with the supplies, he was not there. They searched for a half an hour, but found nothing. Miss Kennedy, your brother is dead." 


“Margaret?” Sara said. “Is that all the letter says.” 


I looked at the letter again and sighed. “‘I am so sorry for your loss Miss Kennedy and if there is ever anything that I can do for you, just let me know.’ That is it.” 


“Does that mean you are going home Meg?” Johnny asked when he noticed that I was not paying attention to anything else. 


I looked at him and stared for a second before I answered. “No.” I said and everyone stopped what they were doing. Sara was clearing the table with her mother, Mr. Adams was reading the morning paper, and Johnny was just getting up from the table when he asked. “No, I am not going home.”


“But Margaret, what can you do? His body will most likely go to your home town cemetery.” 


“I know Sara.” I said as I cleared my place at the table and let the letter slide to the ground. “There is something missing from the letter is there not?” I felt a huge burden lift from my shoulders as I said that and I felt like I could laugh. 


“What is it missing Margaret?” Mrs. Adams asked. 


“Captain Taylor did not mention that they found a body. Why would Captain Taylor say that Matthew is dead when they had no body to show for it? What evidence do they have for it?” 
Mrs. Adams and Sara laughed. “I did not know that you could think like that Meg!” Sara said as she splashed water on me.  I shrugged and dried my hands on my apron. 

There is a small part of chapter four. I hope you enjoyed it. :)

So, this last excerpt is set in the World War 2 era. (No, I don't have a name for this one yet. I call it, for now, something something without wings. :P) It is about two brothers who are in the Army Air Force. (They are great friends) The youngest, Jase, is a B-17 (bomber) pilot, and the elder, Mike, is a P-51(fighter) pilot. (To tell you the truth, I am not sure what plane I am going to have Mike fly. It is between a P-38, P-51, and a Corsair.) Jase has always had Mike there to help him with his decisions until one day, they get assigned to a mission. Somewhere during the mission (this is Jase's first mission with his brand new B-17 Eagle's Wings), one of the B-17's engines goes out and Jase has no choice but to land the plane behind enemy lines.

So, with that, I will let you read a small snippet of it. :)


That night I lay in bed thinking about the mission, the practice mission, and what Mike had told me. “We are fighting for freedom.  For our loved ones back home and for the future America.” I sighed and rolled over. 


I felt the plane lurch as the last engine died.  I gripped the yoke harder as the nose of the plane dove forward.  I softly pulled up on the yoke. At first, nothing happened and my heart sank into the stomach, but then the nose slowly eased up.  


“Jase, you need to relax. You cannot land the plane if you do not relax.” David said and put his hand on my shoulder.  


I gave him a half smile. “All right.” I said and loosened my grip on the yoke. I concentrated my gaze on our path and took a deep breath.  


“Relax Jase, relax. It is okay. I know you can bring her down.” I heard again. “Slowly bring the nose down. Not too much or we’ll crash. Push down a little bit, but if you do it too much we’ll hit the ground too soon. ” 


I nodded and slowly did as Dave said. Once again, I felt the plane lurch forward as the wind caught the nose.  Sweat ran into my eyes, blinding me.  I shook my head. Keep your eyes on the path, Jase. You can do it. I told myself. 


After about five minutes, I could not hold the plane any longer.  “Dave,” I said as I relaxed my grip. “She can’t make it back. Collins, how far is it to the airstrip?”


“It is about 2 miles, sir,” Bill Collins answered. 


“Thank you, Collins. Dave, she will not make it there. I have two choices, put her down here and walk back or start the engines back up.” I said as I lightly pulled back on the yoke, causing the nose to pull up a little. 


David sighed. “Well, if we were in Germany, we would have no choice but to put her down. We need her in a week to fly to England. It will be difficult to get her out of all of these trees. Start the engines back up, Jase.” 


“Starting engine number one.” I said as I opened the throttle.  I heard a small sigh over the radio. The engine sputtered, and then sprung top life. With in a few minutes, all of the engines were started and we were all at ease. 


I sat up, with sweat running down my face. I looked around. It was still dark. It must have been a dream. I laid back down. 'The real mission will not be that easy. If I run out of gas or get shot in an engine, there is no way I can start the engines back up. I have to make it over the enemy lines before I can set her down.' I started to panic. 'I have never gone back to base without my engines before. I have never made it. I have had to start the engines at least two miles away from the airstrip.' My heart started to beat faster and sweat ran down my back. 



Sunday, October 17, 2010

The Golden Cross By Angela Elwell Hunt

I recently finished reading The Golden Cross. It is the second book in The Heirs of Cahira O'Connor series. The book over all was okay. I would really not recommend it because there were a few iffy parts in it. Now, as far as the first book goes, that is a must read.... but I am not here to talk about that one. :)


There are a few things that I do want to pull from the second book that are good lessons for life.

Here is what the back of the book says:

"Aidan O'Connor was raised among pickpockets and prostitutes in a Duch colony on Java, Indonesia. But when a world-famous cartographer discovers her natural artistic talent, she is given a chance to leave her troubled life behind. Disguised as a boy, Aidan joins her benefactor at sea and begins the work of drawing the flora and funa of the new world. This fresh beginning leads her into adventure- and to a great love. But can this love survive the force of Aidan's past...and her ambitions for her future?"

That does not sound too bad.... The thing that I did not like was that the life of the wharf played a HUGE part in the book. (I am not going to go into any details. :P) Another thing that bothered me was that this was a romance book. To tell you the truth, those kind of books are not my favorite to read.

Anyhow, I did not post this just to tell you that. I wanted to tell you something that I picked up in the last words of the book and that was a theme through out the whole book.

It was this: "Aidan twined her arms about her husband's neck, then turned to see a crowd of curious guests watching from a discreet distance. She closed her eyes, wishing them away, and Sterling's hands slipped under her arms and wrapped around her waist. A delightful shiver spread over her as she remembered another time she had danced on the beach. In starlit dreams she had danced in a burgundy satin dress like this one, her partner conjured by girlish fantasies and longings.

How much more wonderful to dance with the man God had brought into her life! Sterling was more than she could have ever imagined, more than she had dared to hope she might deserve."

The book started on a...... well, lets just call it an interesting note, but it ended on a beautiful note. God took Aidan's filthy, dirty rags and turned them into something beautiful. Aidan was a daughter of a processor, but married a doctor.

He can take us as dirty, filthy, stained rags, and make them in to something more than we deserve. I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but I pray that my wedding will be a beautiful one.

Aidan worked in a tavern by the sea. It is not really the best place for a young lady of the age of 20 to be working. Aidan managed to keep herself pure for her husband. As you can see from the excerpt from the book, Aidan was glad that she did. Even though I said that this book was too romantic for me earlier (and I am keeping to that and not going back), it opened my eyes to yet another reason why I need to save myself for my husband. From the image that the author gave, the love can be so much more vibrant between a husband and wife, when the wife has saved herself.

Colossians 3:18 says, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord."
If we do not save ourselves, we will not be able to submit to our husbands. It will be harder because we gave our  heart away to another man and that part will always love him. After you have done that, you will never completely submit to your husband.

Now, I am not trying to say I am perfect, because I am not. I am far from perfect. These are just some thoughts I had while  reading this book and thought I would share.


Monday, August 9, 2010

The Promise of A Sunrise

The Promise of A Sunrise

This last school year, my sister and I started a writing program called One Year Adventure Novel. As you can tell by the title of the program, it is not your average writing program. Daniel Schwabauer, the teacher, teaches how to write an adventure novel. It is a very fun program. :) There is a student forum where you can meet other kids from across the country.... I mean across the world, who also love to write.

Anyhow, I have been wanting to post some of my novel for awhile. Here is a small summary of what I have written. In The Promise Of A Sunrise, Margaret is reading the following letter:

Dear Captain Taylor,
I am writing to tell you that everything is going as planned. I need you to write to my sister, Margaret Kennedy. On the little sheet of paper I have enclosed, is her address. No one must see this address except for you. I fear my family is in danger. I looked around the desk to see if there was a little scrap of paper, but to no avail. Captain Taylor must have hidden the paper. I continued to read. She needs to know what is going on. Do not tell her the plan in your letter. I have 8 other siblings, who sometimes can be very nosy. You are a smart man, Zachary, find a way to get her to the camp. Then take her far away... away somewhere were she will be safe. You know what to do after that.

Second Lieutenant M. Kennedy


P.S. Don’t worry about the rest of my family right now. I will take care of them. Margaret is the one who is in the most danger.



When I finished reading the letter, a thousand questions spun in my head. ‘What does Matthew mean by ‘everything is going as planned’? What plan was Matthew talking about and why hasn’t Captain Taylor told me anything about it yet? Once Captain Taylor got me to the camp, then what? How is our family in danger? What danger am I in?’






Stay tuned for more......

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Our God Of The Universe

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." ~Psalm 19

About two weeks ago, my family and I watched a movie called Apollo 13.



If you have not seen it, it is about the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. It is a good movie. I am afraid that if I tell anymore, I will give the movie away. :) One day later, I slept out under the stars with some friends on their tramp. I was in awe. Our universe is so big, so gigantic, that we can only reach the moon. When I looked up at the stars, I felt small and insignificant, yet a God who is bigger then the universe and who can measure it with the span of His hand (Isaiah 40:12), can love me. God can name every star in the sky, yet He still loves me.

"He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite." ~Psalm 147:4-5