Feb 27, 2006

Fast Gun Fife

Turn on a re-run of "The Andy Griffith Show," and there is Andy, Opie, Aunt Bee, and....wait where's Barney?

Don Knotts, who played the character Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show," died last Friday. He was 81.

For more information click here.

Bible Verse (Psalm 25:4-5)


Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalm 25:4-5

Picture from FreeFoto.com

Feb 24, 2006

YES!!


South Dakota legislature has passed a law to ban abortion in almost all cases!! Click here to read the story.

Picture from AbortionTV (not recommended for ages under 12)

Feb 23, 2006

Different Things

What's going on with me:

Well, I'm really busy with school. I've had to step up the pace with it in order to get done on time.

Besides that, there isn't anything so exciting to tell, and that wasn't all that exciting either!

If you'd like some good reading here are a few recommendations...

Books I'm reading right now:

SHE by Rebecca St. James and Lynda Hunter Bjorklund

This book is for a range of ages. Rebecca writes from a younger perspective and Lynda writes from an older perspective. It is a really good book!

The Professor by Charlotte Bronte (and we just ordered Shirley!)

So far it has been excellant. It is especially interesting for me because the main character, William Crimsworth, goes to live in Brussels, Belgium.

(Thanks again Jacqui for recommending Shirley!)

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I've read it before but it has been awhile so I have forgotten alot of it. It is also really good.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis has such a way of explaining things! It has been a great book.

Girl Talk by Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Mahaney Whitacre

Just started on this one. So far it has been great. (And I have always loved reading their blog!)

In Need of Prayer:


This little girl is in need of all our prayers.
The doctors discovered that Candace has "gram positive cocci infection" originating on the bone and spread throughout the soft tissue in her body.

Candace is only 7 years old. And she has had to have 12 surgeries in 15 days.

For updates on how she is doing, visit her website.

Feb 22, 2006

Favorite Books of the Bible

My favorite books of the Bible (I can't choose just one!) would be Genesis, the four Gospels, and Revelation.

Genesis because: It tells Who created the world and how we got here. And also because it has some of the really familiar Bible stories in it. Like Adam and Eve, Noah's ark, Joseph's coat of many colors, etc.

The Four Gospels because: of Jesus! The four Gospels tell the life of Jesus and also they tell us how and why we can be saved!

Revelation because: it gives us hope that this world will not remain this way forever. And because it tells us what heaven is like!

What are your favorite books of the Bible and why? (I know I have a poll on the sidebar asking this question, but the space is limited and so I can't list many of the books. )

Feb 21, 2006

Trusting God

God is love: I think we have to realize this before we can completely trust Him.

Sometimes we think we know what is best for us. And we are afraid to let God take complete control of our lives because we are afraid of what He might do. We are afraid the He might close the door when we want to go through it. But if He closes the door, He does it for our own good.

How do I know this?

Because He loves us. He would never do anything to hurt us because He loves us.

Take for example a child who is running towards the street. To them it looks like a fun place to play because they don’t realize they could get hit by a car. But the mother of the child know the danger, realizes that her child might get hurt. So the mother quickly goes and prevents her child from getting in the street. She did this because she loves her child. She didn’t do this to spoil her child’s fun, but she did it to protect it from harm.

Sometimes we are like that little child running towards the street. We are oblivious to the danger we are heading into. But God, like the mother, sees the danger and He protects us from that danger because He doesn’t want us to get hurt. Because He loves us!

Think about this: God, who created the universe, the stars, the sky, and the sea, He loves us and cares enough to take interest in our everyday lives. The One who is King of kings and Lord of lords loves you and loves me!

When we realize God’s amazing love for us, then it is not so hard to trust Him. Because we know that He will do what He know is best for us. We can only think we know the right thing for us. God knows the right thing for us.

Feb 20, 2006

Bible Verse (Psalm 100:3)


Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 100:3

Picture from (c) FreeFoto.com

Feb 18, 2006

Happy Birthday!!

Okay, so here it is already the 19th, but in the US it is still the 18th. So I'm not too late to say...

Happy Birthday to Spunky Jr.!!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Agnes Grey

I just finished reading Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte! It was really good. It is not as long as Jane Eyre or Villette, but it was definitely worth the read! (I won't tell you what happens at the end in case you haven't read it.)

Now I've started reading The Professor by Charlotte Bronte. So far it has also been good. (Don't tell me what happens!)

Have a great weekend! "See" you next week!

Feb 17, 2006

The Olympics!

Okay, I’m normally not a sports fan. But because it is the Olympics, I’ve made an exception.

So many great athletes from all over the world come together and compete against one another.

The best of the best is determined.

But with these athletes, what impresses me is not always their ability but their humility. When a great athlete says, “I’m the best!” “I’ve got to win!” I am no longer so impressed with their ability and to me they are not so great anymore. But when a great athlete shows humility, I become more impressed with their ability.

It is the same with other things. Someone may excel in a certain area, but if they show no humility, it overshadows their ability.

We need to examine our own life and see if there are areas in which we struggle with pride. Humility is not always easy. Sometimes it is really hard to do! It is something that has to be worked at. Of course we will trip and make mistakes (we are not perfect!), but we shouldn’t let that stop us from getting up and trying again.

Feb 15, 2006

9 A.M.!

When I was around 6-8 years old, I was afraid of getting locked in places. Because I got locked (more like stuck) in an elevator and the lights shut off and I got locked in a bathroom. (But both times I got out quickly. But the memory of it didn't go away very quickly.)

Here is a joke that sounds similar to my experiences (similar in the way that I wanted out!!)

"What time does the library open?" the man on the phone asked.

"Nine A.M." came the reply. "And what's the idea of calling me at home in the middle of the night to ask a question like that?"

"Not until nine A.M.?" the man asked in a disappointed voice.

"No, not till nine A.M.!" the librarian said. "Why do you want to get in before nine A.M.?"

"Who said I wanted to get in?" the man sighed sadly. "I want to get out."

Feb 14, 2006

Are you ready?

One day Jesus is coming back. But when He will return, is unknown to us. God is the only one who knows the day, hour, and second. He could come back today, tomorrow, next week, next year, or in 100 years. We have no idea when that time will be. It is a mystery to us. But one day, this mystery will be unveiled for all eyes to see. Are you ready for this unveiling?

God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His
side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else—something it never entered your head to conceive—comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last for ever. We must take it or leave it.

(Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: page 65)


Anthony Evans has a song called I Choose Now. The chorus goes:

I choose now
To be humbled in your presence
I choose now
To fall on my face
Cause one day
Every knee will bow but Jesus
I choose now.

[bold added]

Have you chosen now?

Feb 13, 2006

Bible Verse (Psalm 118:29)


Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 118:29

Picture from (c) FreeFoto.com

Feb 11, 2006

Vacation! (not really)

Sorry for not posting much this week. On Thursday I got sick and spent most of the day lying on the couch. But I'm doing alot better now, so I hope to post more next week!

Feb 8, 2006

98th Post!


This is my 98th post! "What's so great about your 98th post?" you might ask? Well, it's just that celebrating my 100th post is so, well, normal. I just decided to do something different. Why did I pick 98? I don't know!

Picture from (c) FreeFoto.com

Feb 7, 2006

School

Below I’ve listed the classes I’m taking for school.

Math: Geometry (Math U See)

Science: Exploring Creation With Chemistry: 2nd Edition (Dr. Jay Wile)

Grammar: Grammar and Composition III (A Beka)

Social Studies: American Government in Christian Perspective (A Beka)

Spelling: Spelling Power (Beverly L. Adams-Gordon)

Literature: Reading various books (right now I’m reading Agnes Gray, Jane Eyre, SHE, and Mere Christianity)



Extra (but I get credit for them)

Music: Piano lessons once a week + practice through the week

Teaching: I teach a Sunday school class every other week.

Computer: Keepin up this blog!

BTW is anyone else registered with NARS (North Atlantic Regional School)?

Picture from (c) FreeFoto.com

Feb 6, 2006

Bible Verse (John 14:27)


Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

Picture from (c) FreeFoto.com

Feb 4, 2006

Here's a Laugh!!

Funnybone!


Wanna read something funny? Read Girl Talk's Friday Funny! (Click here)

Feb 3, 2006

How Could It Have Just Happened? (continued)

A continuation of yesterday’s post.

(3) It is undeniable that change and development within various species of living things occur. For example, some varieties of species are becoming extinct; on the other hand, we occasionally see new strains forming within a species. But there is no evidence, not even in the geologic record, which supports the theory that one “kind” of living thing ever evolved from another “kind.” Rather, existing evidence supports the Bible’s declaration that God created each living creature “after his kind” (Gen 1:21, 24-25).
(4) Bible-believing Christians must also reject the theory called theistic evolution. This theory adopts most of the conclusions of naturalistic evolution, adding only that God started the evolutionary process. Such a theory denies the Biblical revelation that ascribes to God an active role in all aspects of creation. For example, every main verb in Gen. 1 has God as its subject, except for Gen. 1:12 (which fulfills the command of God in v. 11) and the recurring phrase “there was evening and there was morning.” God is not a passive supervisor of an evolutionary process; rather, He is the active Creator of all things (cf. Col. 1:16).

Taken from Full Life Study Bible article written by Donald C. Stamps, pg. 7


I am doing Dr. Jay Wile’s chemistry course. Read what he said at the end of one of the modules (chapters) in the book.

As I have pointed out before, there are many such incredible “coincidences” in nature. There are so many that I find it impossible for anyone who really understands physics or chemistry to believe that all this we are studying just came about by chance! The universe is too perfectly designed for that. From the smallest atom to the largest galaxy, incredible design features abound in our universe. These design features are the fingerprints of God, making all who objectively study the universe aware of His existence.

Taken from Exploring Creation With Chemistry: 2nd edition by Dr. Jay Wile, module 7, pg. 240

Cool Lego Creations

LEGO

My brother loves to build with legos. And after we saw the Narnia movie, he created some of the characters off the movie with legos! They are pretty cool! Check out some pictures of them on his blog.

Feb 2, 2006

How Could It Have Just Happened?


What if I were to tell you that the car in this picture just happened, that all of a sudden there was a bang and then this car appeared? You would think I was crazy. I would think I was crazy! This car was designed and created by someone.


Well, what about this flower? Do you think it was also designed and created by someone? Or do you think it just happened?

Listen to this…

CREATION AND EVOLUTION. Evolution is the predominant view regarding the origin of life and the universe proposed in the scientific and educational community of the contemporary world. Bible-believing Christians should consider these four observations about evlolution.

(1) Evolution is a naturalistic effort to account for the origin and development of the universe. This view begins with the assumption that there is no personal, divine Creator who made and fashioned the world; rather, everything came into existence by a series of chance happenings that occurred over billions of years. Proponents of evolution claim to have scientific data that support their hypothesis.

(2) The teaching of evolution is not truly scientific. According to the scientific method, all conclusions must be based on indisputable evidence gathered from experiments that can be duplicated in any laboratory. However, no experiments have been or can be devised to test and substantiate theories about the origin of matter from some supposed “big bang” beginning or about the gradual development of living beings from their simplest to their most complex form. Consequently, evolution is a hypothesis without scientific “evidence”; therefore, to accept it one must have faith in a human theory. The faith of God’s people, in contrast, is in the Lord and in His inspired revelation, which states that He is the one who made all things out of nothing (Heb. 11:3)

Full Life Study Bible article written by Donald C. Stamps, pg. 7

I plan to continue it tomorrow...

Pictures taken from (c) FreeFoto.com