46 Days of Lent: Day 11

Today I challenge you to pray for the missionaries serving in Africa!

46 Days of Lent: Day 10

I challenge you to pray for the missionaries in Europe today!

#profoundlyloved

The lovely Jana from Jana's Faith tagged me to answer 10 questions and then pass on the #profoundlyloved tag. So here are the questions she gave me and my answers:

1. tell me about someone you love, and why.

Oh this is hard....I'll go with my Mom. Why? The cliche answer would be because she's my Mom, but she's so much more than just my Mom! She's someone who is wise, clever, smart, funny, beautiful, crazy as I am, and just a wonderful lady who loves to serve God!

2. what is one thing you do that makes you feel all like "man, I could do this forever" when you do it?

Dance and sing!! Technically it's two things, but they kinda go together....

3. what do you love about yourself?

I'm actually slightly stumped with this. Probably that I have a desire to encourage and pray for others.

4. what advice would you give to someone who doesn't believe she/he is beautiful?

I'd probably share 1 Samuel 16:7 with them.

5. what is the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about confidence?

I've probably gotten many pieces of advice about confidence, but I can't remember any of them.

6. If you were your own daughter, what advice would you give yourself? 

Proverbs 3:3-7 is a good reminder to always have; follow God!

7. a verse, poem, sonnet, ancient-old proverb that inspires you to love yourself and others?

When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong along with the fearful, the true mixed in with the facade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way. -- Fred Rogers

Alrighty, I'm supposed to tag 10 people, but the only person I can think of is the lovely Bethany from Liberty or Death. If anyone else would like to join, please do so and share with us your answers!

46 Days of Lent: Day 9

I challenge you today to pray for the missionaries serving in South America!

Pneumonia and why I'm thankful for it!

Nearly 2 weeks ago, I was diagnosed with pneumonia. Pneumonia is not fun, in case you want to know. You're exhausted, your lungs ache, and you just feel blah! Today I actually feel like I'm getting better. It's rather nice I must say, and while I could talk about my pneumonia, I'd rather talk about some things I find amazing and I'm so thankful for!

First of all, people who have been praying for me! So many of my friends, my family, my parents' friends and people from Church have been praying for me! To know that people care that much about you is truly amazing. For all of you who have been praying, thank you. It means so much to me!

Secondly, my friends have been a big source of encouragement! From quick "how are you?", to long emails full of alliterations, to listening to my ceaseless chatter, or even coming over for a visit, it's been so encouraging! I'm so thankful for their encouraging words, verses they've shared and just giving me something to laugh about! (Even though laughing really hurt for a while....  ;~)They've been such a blessing to me! Thank you, my dear friends, for everything you've done!

Thirdly, my family, specifically my parents. They've let me get in extra naps when I've needed them. They've given me space to just sit quietly to rest. They've gone out on snowy nasty days to get my medicine, and freezing-cold days take me to the doctor's. They have done so much for me. Thank you Mom and Dad!!

This pneumonia has been a test of my patience. I've wanted to do things, go out to the library/post office, help around the house, etc., but I've been unable to. Instead it's given me a chance to sit, and study my Bible. It's given me a chance to spend time in prayer and pray for others. I've even been able to encourage others which is hard to do when one is busy. I'm very thankful for this time of quietness. God is so good!

(Two little munchkins hopped on my lap while I was resting one day. They were cold from playing outside and ready for some delicious hot chocolate!!)

46 Days of Lent: Day 8

Today I challenge you to pray for Missionaries in North America!

46 Days of Lent: Day 7

I challenge you to pray for the shut-ins at your Church, those who are unable to come to Church anymore due to health issues/age.

46 Days of Prayer

Birthday Candles!

When ever I smell candles, I think of birthday cake!!

On my 4th birthday, I informed my Mom that I was not 4 until I blew out my candles! So now y'all know: until you blow out birthday candles, you'll turn a year older...it's the secret to long-life ;~)

I lit the candles on my Mom's birthday cake this past weekend, and it reminded me of a funny story. About 4 years ago, I was at a friend's surprise party, and for each of her candles,  a guest was supposed to light a candle and say something about the birthday girl. I had never used one of the lighters before, so when it was my turn, I panicked, and couldn't move/speak/do a thing!! I've since gotten over my fear, but any time I use one, I can't help but laugh!! 

46 Days of Lent: Day 6

Today I challenge you to pray for those who are on your worship team!

46 Days of Lent

While playing restaurant...

While playing restaurant...

...sometimes it's fun to use the Church bulletins for your menus! 

Creativity at it's finest!

Venerable Vintage Hats: Timeless Simplicity!

A timeless beautiful chapeau of simplicity for Church! I can envision light streaming through a stained glass window upon the lovely lady who wears such at stylish timeless hat!

"In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

46 Days of Lent: Day 5

I challenge you today, to pray for the janitors at your Church/School/Work!

46 Days of Lent

46 Days of Lent: Day 4

Today I challenge you to pray for the Deacons and Deaconesses in our Church!

46 Days of Lent

46 Days of Lent: Day 3

Today I challenge you to pray for the Elders of our Church!

46 Days of Lent

46 Days of Lent: Day 2

Today, I challenge you to pray for our Sunday School Teachers!

46 Days of Lent

46 Days of Lent

For my friends on google who I teased mercilessly, this is what I've been working on all day. My beautiful flowers! For the next 46 days during Lent, my family is going to pray together. Here on my blog, we shall follow along, in a way.  On every flower that I made, we have a piece of paper with something to pray for. We shall randomly pick flowers (pun may or may not be intended) and pray for that, that day. I'm really quite excited about this! Here on the blog, I shall be going in the order in which I wrote the 46 things down. I challenge you all to join us!

Today, let us pray for our pastor(s)!

Light!

The light was beautiful yesterday!

Shoveling!

(Posing next to the snowbank...I'm 5'8" for a comparison)

Heehee! We've got snow. We've got a lot of snow. In fact, I shoveled at least 320 cubic feet of snow yesterday. I must say, it was quite pleasant. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I love shoveling. It astounds a few of my friends, which I find quite funny. I chatted a bit with my neighbor while I shoveled and he shoveled. He asked if my Dad was out driving home from work at the time, and I said that he was. My neighbor reminded me how awful that stretch of road has been. In fact, my family and I drove on it the other day when we went to the Saranac Lake Ice Festival this past weekend. God was with us on the way home. The weather was icky and the roads were slick, but God kept us safe and we made it home! It continues to amaze me how God takes care of us in so many different ways. As I continued to shovel, I paused to watch the sparrows. We have quite a few that live in the ivy of our house. I will admit, I stood there whistling to them. It was so peaceful just listening to them chirp and chatter among themselves. My neighbor commented on the fact that they must stay warm from the insulation of the ivy. About 20 minutes later, Matthew 6:26 came to mind. Shoveling was tough as this snow was hard and heavy, but I persevered and did it! It was interesting to watch my neighbors interact. My one neighbor came home, and couldn't even get in his driveway. So my other neighbor who I had been talking to, let him park in his driveway until they could shovel and plow it. Shoveling is hard, it requires a lot of energy, but in the end, it's worth it. You get to clear away shovel-fulls of snowflakes, each unique, each are like a sparkling crystal, each imperfectly perfect, and each created by God. Watching the dusk fall, and the night arrive, was beautiful! It was cold to start off, but by the end, I was warm and toasty from working. Snow is so beautiful, and so enjoyable. I love winter and everything about it! Enjoy winter, for it is a beautiful time of year!

Please Pray!

This morning as I was spending time in prayer, I felt led to find out how LeTourneau Christian Camp is doing. I told y'all a bit about them this past summer. They are still currently trying to raise money so that they may procure the deed to the property so that they may be able to do so much more with it. They'd like to upgrade things that are outdated, weatherize the tabernacle, and so much more!

The camp is located about 10 minutes away from the city of Canandaigua, and is on the shore of Canandaigua Lake. One of the most beautiful places to be is when the sun rises behind you, and the sun sets in front of you when you're on the shore of the lake.

I've gone to LeTourneau for the past 4 summers, and for a couple winter retreats. It sounds cliche, but they have impacted me there. Being able to serve by encouraging and reaching out to those in my group, and be served in similar ways, is a blessing. Before I end this post, I would like to share my experiences from this past year when I took Child Evangelism Fellowship's Christian Youth in Action training for the 4th time.

Monday: I arrived and I settled into my room. I met my roommate who was a sweet girl. We all went up for lunch, and right after we prayed I went to stand up, but felt nauseous and sick. Lunch smelled horrible to me, so I went straight to bed for 3 hours. I felt miserable. I told myself if I didn't feel better by 6:30 I was calling home. Thankfully I improved over the afternoon, and by evening I was 90% myself. Being sick changed something in me. I can't quite put my finger on it. I sang on the praise and worship team which really lifted my spirits. 

Tuesday: A long day with classes all day. I learned many things in the Bible, adding a few more sticky notes, bookmarks, and underlined passages. God's word really spoke to me that day. I also began to consider sharing a testimony on prayer. I almost did it that night during praise and worship, but something held me back. In my diary it says "When you open your heart in Scripture, praise or prayer, it's simply amazing how God shows things to you."

Wednesday: This was the first day of our practicums. The interns (I was an intern) were taken out for ice cream. I also demonstrated the first lesson of the missionary story on this day. I "over-dramatized" it, and I will probably be teased for years! It was a wonderful day.

Thursday: From my diary "POWERFUL day! Wow! The awesome power of God is unexplainable! I shared a testimony during praise and worship that had a ripple effect that was all GOD. Praise God for his glorious plans!" God said yes to my desire to share something. I shared a testimony about the fox attack and how prayer sustained me. I then shared that during the time this spring with my Mom off her ankle for a month, and then her sinus infection for 2 weeks, my prayer life grew in leaps and bounds. I would not have gotten through it without God. I used 1st Thessalonians 5:17. Right after I shared that, one of the leaders shared something on prayer, which lead to many heartache-filled testimonies which we prayed for as we went through them. I would have never guessed the stories from some of them. God's hand was moving that night. Tears and prayers were lifted to God and burdens were lifted. (That night still amazes me to this day!)

Friday: I had a few people come to me for prayer, as I had offered to pray for them, and one person told me that morning that the verse I told them to look up was an answer to prayer. They had asked God for someone to give them a verse to encourage them. God answered not only that prayer, but another one. From my diary - "God is so good. I praise him for the glorious things he has done. <3 He is truly amazing! A lovely day @ camp & some heavy prayer requests" 

Saturday: "This is the best year yet! I'm so sad it's almost over!!!! I miss everyone though. Thank you God for this lovely day you've blessed us with!" Monday and Tuesday were hot. Wednesday was nice. Thursday and Friday were very chilly in the morning and evening but nice in the afternoon. By Saturday the weather was quite enjoyable. 

Sunday and Monday were days filled with busyness as it was the end of the training, we went to Church, finished up our practicums, packed up, and were commissioned for the work we were doing that summer. It was a long powerful week, and I still look back on this past summer as the best summer I've ever had. Why do I say that? Because I grew remarkably in my faith in God.

In closing, I ask that you pray for LeTourneau as they continue to raise the money needed to procure the deed. They have a wonderful ministry, and after 80+ years, it's still going strong! Praise God!

(Here is a video about the camp!)

George Washington Carver

Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God.
George Washington Carver

The Awesome Blog Award!

The lovely Bethany Carson from Liberty or Death awarded the Awesome Blog Award, along with some fun questions! So hold on to your hat (and I'll hold on to my 90 some odd hats) and here we go! :~)

(See? I'm holding onto my hat ;~)

1.  If you could have an expenses-paid vacation to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? 

Hmm, probably France. I'd probably go with my Mom. Why would we go to France? To see the beautiful countryside, enjoy fresh bread and cheese we've never had before, and of course to explore Paris!

2.  What would you like to accomplish by the end of 2015?

Good question! I'm not sure actually. I didn't make any goals this year. I'd probably have to say finding ways to serve and grow my Faith.

3.  If you had a million dollars, how would you use it?

Ah, I've had the same answer for the past several years! $400,000 would go to New Hope Family Services, $300,000 would go to Samaritan's Purse, $200,000 would go to Make A Wish. and $100,000 would be set aside for blessing others. 

4.  What are your favorite foods?

Cranberry sauce, biscuits, and dried coconut!

5.  What are your favorite quotes and Bible verses?

Hahaha! I have way too many! Here's a list of Bible verses I compiled back in September. It's grown since then, but here's a few for ya!

1 Chronicles 29:17

Psalm 13, 20:7, 46:10, 63:3, 73:22-26, 91

Proverbs 3, 4:11-13, 4:23, 20:6, 31:25-26, 31:30

Isaiah 14:24, 26:3-4, 29:13-16, 40:26, 46:4b, 52:7, 54:8&10, 58:10-11, 64:8

Jeremiah 23:23-24, 29:11-13a, 30:22

Jonah 2:9

Habakkuk 3:19

Matthew 5, 6, 9:13, 22:37-39. 25:31-46

Mark 10:17-31

Luke 11:33-36

John 3:21, 3:30-36, 12:36, 15:13, 16:33, 17:17, 21:15-25

Romans 5:1-5, 6:7-14, 8, 10:15, 11:29, 12:1-2, 12:9-21, 15:13, 16:25-27

1 Corinthians 3:16, 10:12-13, 10:24, 12:12-31, 13, 14:25, 16:14

2 Corinthians 2:15-17, 3:18, 4, 6, 9:7-8, 

Ephesians 3:14-21

Philippians 1:10, 2:14-15, 4, 

Colossians 3:23-24

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, 5:16-18

1 Timothy 1:17, 2:8-11, 4:12-16

2 Timothy 1:6-7, 4:2

Hebrews 4:12-13

James 1:17, 3, 4:17

1 Peter 3:2-6, 3:15, 5:6-11

6.  What is the best advice on life you can give in up to 3 sentences?

Put God first above all else. Love and serve others everyday. Take time to read God's word and pray as often as you can!

7.  What is your favorite place to shop?

Wegmans! lol I love Wegmans!

8.  What is your dream car and your dream home?

I don't have either actually. I'm content to wait and see what God provides. :~)

9.  What languages can you speak?

A smidge of French, that's barely a smidge, and I have a smidge of knowledge of Latin.

10.  What sayings can you think of that people quote as Bible verses without realizing they're not in the Bible?

The golden rule, "Do to others as you would have others do to you."comes to mind. (Luke 6:31)

Thank you for nominating me, Bethany! And thank you for your lovely comments about my hat collection! Always brightens my day.

I'm not sure who to nominate, so if you'd like to be nominated, just comment a link to your post, and here's questions for you to answer:

1. Favorite meal for breakfast?
2. Do you like to accessorize with hats or scarves?
3. What are your favorite spices to use in the kitchen?
4. Name one thing you'd like to do, that most people would know about you.
5. What was the title of the last book you read?
6. Do you have any goals for 2015?
7. Favorite hymn(s)?
8. Do you like all the seasons?
9. Have you ever kept a journal/diary?
10. If you could visit another country, what would it be?

Venerable Vintage Hats: Wisdom above Pearls!

Job 28:18

No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls.