Saturday and Exercising

Every Saturday morning my dad takes turns to take each of us kids out to eat for breakfast to spend some quality time with us; to tell us our strength's and weaknesses and how we can overcome them.
My sister and I do it together, and this morning my dad had a coupon for "IHOP"...which is a very very rare occasion that we go there because it's so expensive.
Any way's, we took our orders, and I read my dad the "Tidbits" newspaper that's out every Saturday. I read him the 20 questions, and he guessed...all off them right. (except for 1)
Any way's, as we were doing this, and realized how blessed I am to have a father that cares so much about me. It's days like today that I am thankful!!!

So, after my sister and I got back and our family went for a 12 mile bike ride!!! ...(to lose all the weight we gained from eating at IHOP!...just kidding)
I'm more of the jogging/walking type of girl, but lately I've loved bike riding. Our family found this great trail that goes through the town, and around some lakes/ponds. There's an occasional beaver dam there too!
Exercising is very good for you! There are all kinds of exercises that you can do to help out your body...along with eating right. So, lately I've been doing jogging, walking, biking, and yes jump roping. It's actually gotten quiet fun! I carry along my iPod, which has a pedometer on it as well, and I walk/jog.
I would love to hear if you do exercises and what kind of exercises every does...besides I need more ideas!

Hebrews 12:1-2

"...and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith..."

I Choose Life part 2

Our pastor sent us this through email. Very interesting!
The Didache describes the way of life: The way of life is not the way of murder, adultery, sodomy, fornication, theft, the use of magic and aphrodisiacs, infanticide and abortion. “Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion.”
Barnabas - declaring the way of life: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor more than thine own soul. Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion, nor again shalt thou kill it when it is born. Thou shalt not withhold thy hand from thy son or daughter, but from their youth thou shalt teach them the fear of God."
Clement (190 AD) - "Our whole life can go on in observation of the laws of nature, if we gain dominion over our desires from the beginning and if we do not kill, by various means of a perverse art, the human offspring, born according to the designs of divine providence; for these women who, in order to hide their immorality, use abortive drugs which expel the matter completely dead, abort at the same time their human feelings.
Clement continues the main themes of the Christian community: "Abortion is killing human life that is under God’s care, design and providence."
Tertullian writes: "In our case, murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to the birth. That is a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in the seed."
Hippolytus (AD 222) - "Women, reputed believers, began to resort to drugs for producing sterility, and to gird themselves round, so to expel what was being conceived on account of their not wishing to have a child either by a slave or by any paltry fellow, for the sake of their family and excessive wealth. Behold, into how great impiety that lawless one has proceeded, by inculcating adultery and murder at the same time!"

I choose Life!

As many of you know, I am Pro-life!!!
On Sunday our pastor was talking about how God cares for the unborn/born babies and children of this world.
He opened up verses that I didn't even know existed!

For instance, did you know that in Exodus 21:22-25 it says, " “If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. ²³ But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, ²⁴ eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise."

And in Exodus 22:22-24 it says, "²²You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. ²³ If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; ²⁴ and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless."

It saddens me when another baby is killed. A friend of ours from church, went with a friend to an abortion clinic, and took babies out of the dumpster, and gave them a proper burial.
Please be Pro-Life!

Abortion Survivor: Gianna Jessen (OCTOBER BABY was inspired by her Story!)

On Faith Alone

On Faith Alone-Robert Pierre

On faith alone I stand
There is no higher ground
I give all I am For my soul will never doubt
Though the storms they may be raging
You have always held my hand
To thy cross my heart will always cling
On faith alone I stand
On faith alone I live
Not in what I say or do
But the blood you freely give
Covers me and makes me new
For your love is ever with me
Lord Jehovah Great I AM
oh my trust grows stronger On my knees
On faith alone I stand

Chorus: Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, on faith alone I stand

When I reach my final breath
And I fall into Your arms
I'll proclaim with no regrets
On faith alone
on faith aloneI stand

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,Hallelujah, on faith alone I stand

Do you Trust God?

When times are tough, I have a question...Do you trust God?
My mom just recently got a surgery on her mouth, and during the entire day and week before her surgery, she was worried, and scared. She knew that God was there, but she had to keep reminding herself, "Do I Trust God"...to know that I will be alright? Do I trust God to know that the Doctor's/surgeons know what their doing?
Life is like that isn't it? With friendship we have to earn each other's trust, and with God, we have to trust him to know that he's there.
I found this poem online, and i thought I'd share it with you.
Enjoy!

Do You Trust Me?
Do you trust me
When things aren’t going right
When life deals some painful blows
When finances are awfully tight?

Do you trust me
When tragedy comes your way
When you don't get all the answers
When you bend your knee to pray?

Do you trust me
When friends don't understand
When there's no one you can talk to
No one to hold your hand?

Do you trust me
When there's warring in your soul
When there's darkness all around you
And you’re left out in the cold?

Do you trust me
When evil is against you
When there's nowhere left to run
And you can't find the truth?

Do you trust me?
I need to ask you this
'Cause you don't always know
I'm there in the midst
Of all your tribulations
Everything that you go through
I am always there, my child
And I will never leave you

So I must ask of you
To see if you believe
No matter what you face in life
You must always trust in me

~© By M.S.Lowndes

Death

Many people have had a death happen some time in their life, whether it's an animal, parent, sibling, friend...etc... everyone dies right?

Tonight my dad announced some very sad news for me, "Just to warn you all a head of time, Annie (our dog) is getting to the point where we will have to put her down. She is getting old, and I don't want her to suffer."
It saddend me to hear this, and I cried. I kept the tears hidden, but after a while, I wiped my eyes. I couldn't bear to live life without our dog. She is our first dog, and our friends call her the, "Christian, Homeschool Dog" because she's so sweet, friendly, and kind. She's great with kids of all ages, she's never bitten anyone, (Except for my brothers who play with her) loves to go on walks, wants to be by your side, (at all times) and is always looking forward to meeting someone new.

Yes, we will feed her the fat off of our chicken. (that's cooked, mind you) Annie has learned not to eat or bother our Egg layers, because if she does, they will peck her.
Anyway's, as I was saying...ah, yes...we feed her our leftover meat on our plate, and occasionaly give her peanut butter to lick off of her nose over, and over, and over again

Annie used to love to go chasing after other dogs, squirrels, rabbits, and such, but lately, she doesn't really seem to care.

It's sad isn't it? Why does death have to happen? The last time I experianced death was when my mom miscarried my little sister at 8 months pregnant (Grace Elizabeth Baughman, born August 22nd 2001)

Why is there death in the world? The answer is...because of sin.
When Adam and Eve, gave into temptation, they took a bite of the piece off fruit, and from then on death entered the world.
we know that one day, we will see Jesus face to face, and that their will be no more death, no more fears, and no more tears.

My Hope Lives on

In The Night My Hope Lives On- Andrew Peterson

I am weary with the pain of Jacob's wrestling
In the darkness with the Fear, in the darkness with the Fear
But he met the morning wounded with a blessing
So in the night my hope lives on

When Elisha woke surrounded by the forces
Of the enemies of God, the enemies of God
He saw the hills aflame with angels on their horses
So in the night my hope lives on

I see the slave that toils beneath the yoke unyielding
And I can hear the captive groan, hear the captive groan
For some hand to stay the whip his foe is wielding
Still in the night my hope lives on

I see the armies of the enemy approaching
And the people driven, trembling, to the shore
But a doorway through the waters now is opening
So in the night my hope lives on

Like the son who thought he'd gone beyond forgiveness,
Too ashamed to lift his head--but if he could lift his head
He would see his father running from a distance
In the night my hope lives on

I can see the crowd of men retreating
As he stands between the woman and their stones
And if mercy in his holy heart is beating
Then in the night my hope lives on

I remember how they scorned the son of Mary
He was gentle as a lamb, gentle as a lamb
He was beaten, he was crucified, and buried
And in the night, my hope was gone

But the rulers of earth could not control Him
They did not take his life--he laid it down
All the chains of earth could never hope to hold him
So in the night my hope lives on

Treasure Each Moment

Yesterday was a wonderful day for me!
The morning started out as a simple Saturday.
My mom went to a used book curriculum fair with a friend of ours, so my dad took the time to start to make me a piano bench. (because our chair broke) My dad was making it out of logs, so I helped take the bark off of the wood.

For lunch I took my sister (Joy) out to eat since she had a coupon. Afterwords, our family went to Walmart and Sprouts. Once we got home, my brothers bar-b-qued some Turkey Burgers, while the girls helped inside.

After dinner and dishes, our family watched a movie called, "A Bear named Winnie", which by the way is a true story, and is an amazing movie! Any way's, after that my dad came out of the Laundry room and said, "Would you guys mind if we went to get a little sweet treat" (we all assumed that he was talking about our mom and him going on a date to Dairy Queen which is pretty usual.) we all said, "sure", and then my dad said excitedly, "No, I mean all of us, as a family!" Everyone jumped from the couch, and raced to get their shoes on."

Once we got to Dairy Queen, every one's eyes turned to us. After all, we are a family of 8! We all took our orders and ate, laughing at all kinds of stuff. We had a wonderful time, before we headed home.

...I know that I keep saying this, but, isn't our family important? There was yet another treasured moment that I kept. As we went home that night, I couldn't help but think how blessed I am that I have a family. True, not all the time we get along, but as I've gotten older, I have seen first hand, what a blessing a family is.

so...treasure them while you can!!!

Friendship

What is true Friendship?
I thought about this for quite some time. What are the qualities you like about some of your friendships with your siblings/friends/family?
Maybe for you it's talking about cooking, or sewing a dress. Maybe it's the kindness and compassion that someone has for someone else.
For me, some of the qualities that I love seeing in my friendships are...loving, caring, talking, listening...etc...
I have quite a few friends who will ask me, "How are you doing?" I will then reply, "Great!" or "Good", but then their response is..."No, really, how are you doing?" "Is everything okay?"
And I love it when they do that. It shows someone that you really care, and that you want to take the time to listen to them if they have a problem.

In today's culture, I've noticed that many people talk about movies, music, love stories, and such. But what about when you go to church? Do you still talk about those things? Something to think about huh?

I've noticed that when some of my friends conversation will get into music or movies, someone else will change the subject and say, "So, what book of the Bible are you reading from right now?"... I love it when they do that.

So, what is true friendship?
That's up to you, but to me...it's a phone call or an email from someone telling me how much they appreciate my friendship or just want to find out how I'm doing. In other cases, I love it when people don't just talk, but listen as well. That's very important to a lot of people. So the next time you are talking to your friend(s) don't just talk, but listen.
...this is true friendship...

Martyred

Martyred:

This last Sunday,
our pastor, “Kevin Swanson” announced to the congregation that there was a
martyr who died for his faith this last week.
To be honest, I didn’t think that
“Martyrdom” happened very often. I thought that…sure people would be put in
prison, or beaten, but…killed...for their faith? Wow! I pray that God will have
mercy on those that have wronged.
It’s sad, isn’t it? We have so much
in this world, and yet so little. We have hot water for showers, food to eat, a
roof over our heads, a bed to sleep in, blankets to keep us warm, a car to get
us from here to there, (most of the time) and so many other things. We have
money to go places, and see things. There are so many people in this world who
don’t have that kind of stuff. They are lucky if they just get to sleep in a
bed, and they are blessed if they get 2 meals a day. Can you imagine?
Some people that are poor, know that
they are blessed to be alive. Do we know?
I know that there’s no such thing
as, “What if?” but let’s play the game for just a minute. Imagine yourself as a
Missionary, or even someone who just wants people to know the Gospel. Would you be willing to teach the Bible, even
if you knew that it could kill you? If someone asked you to recant your faith
or be killed, which would you choose? If someone tortured you brutally until
you recanted your faith, would you give in?
What does it mean to be a “Martyr?”
Do you remember Steven in the Bible?
...he was stoned to death for his faith.

Let’s pray for:
those who are serving in other countries and states to bring the gospel to
those that need it. Let’s pray that God will have mercy on those people who
have done wrong. Let’s lift our cries up to the God who is in control of
everything, and has a purpose and a plan for everything.

Captivated by...T.V...?

Last night my brothers and I got together with some of our friends for a movie night/pizza night and watched, "Captivated"...it's a movie about how technology has taken over our generation.
I was actually quite surprised by how much people use electronics every day.
There were so many stories, but one of them was really amazing!
There was this couple who had a camp, (I don't remember where) and it was for troubled teens. The teens would go there for one whole year, and wouldn't have anything that had to do with technology! (amazing huh? I honestly don't think I could do it for that long) no cell phones, ipods, music, ipads, computer, or electricity. These kids would have to think for themselves! They would care for the farm animals, build cabins, and such. By the end of the one year period, most of the kids went home, and literally got rid of all their computers, ipods, c.d.'s, and all other kinds of things.
It is so amazing how much time we spend on the Internet. (whether it's on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, email, etc...)
I would encourage you to borrow or own the movie, "Captivated"!!!
It will change your perspective, of the ways that you use technology, and how it's taken over our modern day culture!
I've posted the official Trailer below, please share with everyone!

Did you Know...?

This week for family worship, my dad was reading from a magazine that we got in the mail from answers in Genesis. However, this specific article that I read about Blue Whales was amazing...check it out:

Did you Know?
*Blue Whales have a special design for sucking nearly 15,000 gallons of water into their mouths. The skin has accordion-like folds that can expand like balloon. Then they force the water out through their "teeth"(actually, plates), leaving behind a snack of shrimp-like krill.

*Baby Blue Whales are the largest babies on earth. They can reach 25 feet at birth and gain 200 pounds each day.

*Blue whales can communicate with other blue whales hundreds of miles away. In fact, there is a special layer of water where they can send and receive messages 2,000 miles away. (At this water layer sounds can travel extremely far without dissipating. The sound is "Channeled" by the low-density water layer above and the high-density water below. It is technically called the Sound Fixing and Ranging Channel, or SOFAR)

*The Blue Whale's heart is the size of a Mini Cooper car.

*There are nine groups of blue whales in the oceans. The largest group is the California group and may have approximately 2,000 individuals. There may be close to 10,000 big blues worldwide. Scientists think that there were hundred of thousands before the whaling industry almost wiped them out in the early 1900's.

*The Stomach of a big blue can hold one ton of krill, and they can eat over 4 tons each day.