Walk around the Capital

Yesterday my sister and mother and I walked around the Capital of MN with 6,000 others to protest Row v Wade. It was really up lifting to go and be a part of it with others from our church and people around the state all protesting abortion of unborn babies. Many people came up to speak on the subject. We all were glad to hear from our Governor and many others that the abortions in our state are less and less and that the people around us are starting to see the affects of their action of abortion.
Lots of people in this nation still believe that unborn babies are just pieces of lifeless tissue that can't feel the pain of death. And women across the country abort their babies because they didn't want motherhood, they only thought of present enjoyment. And because of Row v Wade, men don't have a say in their child's life. Mothers may choose to do with their bodies as they please even though it affects the father too. All this was said at the rally yesterday and it had an impact on me.
Maybe some of you went to a rally held in you state and heard these things as well. Some how I hope to help the cause of those protecting life. I add my voice for those who have none.

Huzzah! Huzzah! I'm back!

Yes, I am back, my computer is running well again, and I am ready to write and post more on my blogs! I had a wonderful Christmas with my family and have some exciting new years resolutions. I also have joined a new writing club with my friends and have tons of stories spinning around in my head. Now the thing is to write them down so I don't forget them. I am busy these days with my band, pep band, events for school,(I play the tuba) but thankfully Band is the only class I take at the high school so I am not so busy after all. I have so many things to write about! I don't think I could fit them all in once post, I sort of need my pictures off my camera to complete all the subjects if you know what I mean. For example I would love to show you this antique china doll I got for Christmas. She is 30 inches tall and has a homemade dress that flows past her feet, she is so wonderful. Don't worry though, I will get the pics on here sooner or later. Darn it! This isn't the picture I wanted. I guess I will leave it.

Man I need to label my pictures better, I can't find what I am looking for, all I am getting here are random pictures.

Here we are. I made a little doll and bed during Christmas out of holly fabric and red felt. I made the doll two years ago to tell the truth, but I made the bed around Christmas.And, the pic below is of the set of the play I was in, also during Christmas.
And since I didn't get to say this before bcause of the crash, I will say it now: Merry Christmas!

Sad

The reason I have not posted for a few months is because the computer I use crashed. Oh, how sad I am not to have a computer for posting with. I feel like I am neglecting you all. So much has happened since the crash, I find myself almost dependent on writing on my blogs. I guess God is weaning me from the need of my blog.

I am using my sister's computer to write this. Once the computer is back up and running I will flood my blogs with posts, but in the mean time I am just waiting. Look for these posts in January.

NaNoWriMo Sneak Peek

Yes it is November, so that means one thing, right? NaNoWriMo! The time of year when writers of all ages and talents get together to write novels! Because that is what NaNoWriMo is all about: National Novel Writing Month is what it is abbreviated for.
Now, I have done NaNoWriMo in years past and they all have been a blast, but I wanted this year to be more interesting that before. I had my novel planned before NaNo started and it was my dream plot. It was to be a sequel to last years novel which had fairies in it. Alas though, for this novel I had to wave good bye to the fairies and their Secret Forest. My main character had to find a new world. A land stuck in time. But I don't want to give too much away.
"Into the Secret Forest" was the first.
"Out of the Hidden Past" is the sequel.
"Through the murky Waters" is going to be the trequel*
Now I will give you a sneak peek into my novel. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Welcome to Dover Castle in Kent. (Pretend thats not where it is. Ok?) There is a castle in "Out of the Hidden Past" that just so happens to look like this. Cool isn't it?

*Trequel: A word I made up that means third in a series.

Tagged!

Do you like to write?Oh I adore writing! Life would be so boring if I couldn't write!
Favorite books?All Bryan Davis' novels and Christian fantasy.
Do you compose music/write songs?All the time! I love to doodle on the piano and my tuba.
Do you like poetry?Sorta.
Love someone so much who made you cry? Yes, yes. *Sniff*
Broken a bone? Oh Never! Thank God for that too!
Been in a police car? Ha Ha! I don't think so!
Been on a boat? Yup, a cruise ship going to Mexico!
Fallen asleep in school? Well thinking of the fact that I am home schooled I would have to say yes.
Did you sing today? Well yeah because I just got back from church.
KFC, Popeyes, or Church's? What an odd question. I have no idea.
Chick-fil-a or What-a-burger? A-what-a-what-a???
Starbucks of McCafe? STARBUCKS!!!! YUM YUM YUM!!!
What's your favorite time of year? My fav time of the year is the year time of year.
Do you ever talk to yourself? Yes, I am on my way to the nut house.
Do you have a favorite treat you like to buy on occasion? FOOD!!!!! Anything unhealthy! (Occasionally like you said though.)
Do you believe the Bible is the literal Word of God and is infallible?YES of course.
What's your favorite sport? Marching band! Yay! With my marching tuba!
What color is your ipod? silver, boring I know.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? The world. mostly India though.
If you could go to any fictional place, where would you go? My little world where the fairies live and where animals can talk.
Do you love to write or do you just like writing?Heh heh heh! I can control the world when I write!
What do you want to be when you’re a grown up? Costume designer, I REALLY am working on becoming one!
Favorite animal? Elephants. *Baby talks* Cute little guys.
Favorite song?Any sort of lovely music, all music that I might play in band.
Do you like school? Love it!
Are you a people person?Lead me to the party!
Do you like to talk? Yup, I talk to every one I meet and I get some strange looks back.
Favorite food? A favorite FOOD?! Is that a question?!
Hobbies? Oh no don't get me started! Lets just say Sewing and writing and drawing and... it's so tempting to give you the whole list!
Favorite author? Me. Just joking! Bryan Davis.
Favorite weapon? I would have to say my ferrous man eating bunny.
Is this a fun tag or are you getting bored? eh, can't complain.
Do you like Hannah Montana and all those girly people and movies like High school Musical? No. flirts.
What are you scared of? Barney.
Favorite flower? All the flowers in the universe.
What is the expression on your face? Blank faced, mostly with my mouth hanging open.
Color of your eyes? Greenish hazelish brownish dark yellowish.


I tag everyone that reads this and love tags!

A Maid in the Forest

Today my sister and I went walking through the woods around our house in costume. I felt like I was really in the Sherwood forest. It had just rained and was quiet out. The grass was wet and soft. A perfect day to take pictures. My sister took pictures of me in my costume so I could post them here.
I couldn't resist the temptation. Ever eat a pine tree?

Medieval Fashions of the cat world (part two)

Here are more fashions for cats set in the medieval era.
This hood hides its owner from the view of unwanted eyes and keeps the weather out. The one wearing it can go about the forest undetected. This is what all cats desire.

Never remove one's hood from their head, or BEWARE!

Medieval Fashions of the Cat World

There is something going on right now called "Maid Marian's wardrobe", An online medieval fashion event, and lots of people will be writing posts having to do with medieval styled clothing.

This is a post written for the Maid Marian fashion event, all the costumes were hand crafted and designed specially for the event. Although it has a kitty twist!

This lovely cat is wearing what was very common among maids in the medieval era.
Note the lace around the collar, and the pink ribbon bow. The hat is as well of the medieval era.
In this view you can see the ruffled lace better around her collar. Her cape is made of a silky fabric. The cape can be worn in both winter and summer and should be worn to a fancy event.

This hat is normally not meant to cover cat ears, it is a real style but it looks like it is meant for a cat.

All cats in this fashion event are volunteers, they are getting paid the same amount salary as other models. The costumes were matched with their personality so they feel as comfortable in costume as possible. Come back tomorrow for more medieval cat fashion updates.

School Life

I have been home schooled all my life but now, I am going to public school part time for high school. It is very different from the school I came from. I love the classes I love the teachers, the kids are nice most of the time, but all of it put together for six hours every day is monotonous. Thankfully I'm only going part time! School is such an opportunity to shine for Jesus, there are so many people there that haven't ever really heard of God's love or Jesus' death. School is a big place for me filled with lots of people who don't know what it's like to feel God's compassion. My life is filled with blessings that I could offer them, but why do I hold back? Why am I scared of sharing Jesus' story?

Psalm 34: 17-18

"When the righteous cry out for help,

The LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit."

Here is my school:

The grounds are very lovely. There is a farm right next to the school and every once in a while you can see some cows hanging around the fence, mooing. The school is an interesting place. You get kids to cows and everything in between.

Fall Fell on our house....Literally

A few days ago, around the change into fall, there were terrible winds all day one day. It was not a storm, just some fall winds like there always are around here. Then as I am coming home from school on my bike with my brother I glanced at one of our dogs in the dog pen. I did a double take, She was playing around the top branches of one of our oldest maple trees! A large chunk of it had come crashing down onto our deck and dog playpen during the day because of the winds! We had been planing on building a tree house in that tree for a long time, but now we really can't. Now when ever I look out my window or the sliding door I see a jungle of branches and leaves just out side.

This is what I see from my dining room.

The tree crushed another when it fell!

This is a close up of the crack. It really cracked! And the wind was what caused it. Amazing isn't it? I guess the tree was not fully alive though. I wish I could play in it like I did years ago when another large tree fell. I remember playing I was an Indian in the jungle with my siblings. We caught a big fish and carried it home to our chief (Dad) and gave it to him. Of course this all was just make believe in our front yard with a fallen tree. But I had so much fun that fall.

Much ado about Much

Our marching band is taking a trip tomorrow to Marshall Minnesota for a competition! We get to ride in coach buses with flip down TVs and recliner chairs, the buses even have bathrooms in the back! We leave at 6:45 in the morning and will bus for four hours down to Marshall MN. I should probably be packing at the moment, because we will stay over night in a gymnasium full of hyper teens. I am so excited, I have waited all week! This is something I have never done before. By the way, is anyone here in a marching band or have been in one? I would love to know if you have gone on trips to competition before. I am looking forward to the trip back too because I will be really tired from the weekend and will be able to sleep comfortably on the bus.

I am loving the marching band, there are some really nice people in it. God has given me a wonderful opportunity to talk about him with people who need him. I have prayed all summer that I might be a blessing in someones life and I believe this is the time. You could pray though that I don't forget all God has given me in good times like this. I can already see that I have forgotten him in the last week or two.

I was tagged by Evergreena my sister! This tag is the "30 Things You Probably Don't Know About Me" tag. Well this is my first time getting tagged so here I go!
1. I love India, maybe a future home of mine?
2. I mouth my words silently after talking.(Some people are driven nuts by this)
3. I'm crazy over the color purple.
4. I day dream about flying like a bird! WEEE!
5. Since I can't fly, I love to ride my bike which is as close as I can get to flying...safely
6. I play the tuba, and when I start playing it is hard to get me to stop.
7. I have eaten dog food before.( Ok, ok, I was 5 years old and hungry, what else was I to do?)
8. I have read all the "Redwall" books more than once, some three times.
9. I don't have a cell phone and proud of it. I don't know why I am proud of it though.
10. I love elephants! I love them!
11. I write in my journal to often, my imagination runs away when I write in it.
12. I like the idea of someday traveling the world and living in dangerous places.
13. I'm sick right now.
14. Today is my sister's Birthday! Wish Evergreena a happy birthday!
15. I love to act. I am an actress in the making, just ask my family if I like to act and they will tell you I do it every day!
16. Ok, here's a good one I bet you never knew: I already ran out of things you don't know about me! Think think think.
17. I sleep in the basement where creepy spiders live under the bed. Yup.
18. The first story I wrote was called "Abby Is" and it didn't make much sense, but I was proud of it.
19. My sister is nineteen.
20. I used to carry an old rag doll everywhere I went, even to the store. I stopped doing that a few years ago though.
21. I am left handed! Go left handers!
22. I used to like rolling in the garden dirt. Yeah, I stopped doing that awhile ago too.
23. My name isn't really Hepzibah for which I am sad to announce. I love that name.
24. I can't stop drawing dresses. I draw about three dresses every hour. I'm not sick of it yet.
25. My family is planning my aunt and uncle 25th wedding open house right now.
26. I was born on the same day as George Washington.( He's my twin)
27. I am the only person in my whole family that has lived in the same place my entire life, and I wouldn't want to move.
28. I live on a sod farm in humble Minnesota.
29. I like it when people think I have a "Minnesota accent" when they really have the accent!
30. I love to be me, a farm girl with a passion for Jesus Christ and a love of creating. What else can I say? I wouldn't want anything more.

I now tag Brynn Richardson!

All I have been doing

This last week I was at the high school for eleven hours every day. Yeah I was practicing marching band. But so much has happened I can't really tell you all of it. Well, maybe I will tell you through pictures because I have some pics that a mom sent to me.

This is Mr. Houser our band director. (he got a little frustrated)

And the girl wearing the sun glasses that plays the flute is my third cousin. We randomly found out one day that we were related.

And I am the center tuba player. The guys around me sure look like tuba players but I hope I don't!

And then at the end of last week which is called heat week ( The hardest week) The leaders gave awards to the kids who did best that week, and I got the Epic Award for being the most epic.

Well that is what happened this week, heat week. Ah, what a week it was!

Left!...Left!...Left! (Boot camp for me and my tuba)

Yes, boot camp. Well you may call it marching band, but after only five days of practice I call it boot camp. Our drill coordinator shouts "Left! Left! Left!" as all us kids jog around the track together. But then add a tuba for more fun.

I have joined the Andover high school marching band for fun, and I really must say, it is fun. I am the only girl tuba player the band has ever known and the other kids are eager to see how I can do. The tuba that I play in the marching band rests on my shoulder, and it weighs 25 pounds. I was REALLY sore the first day of lugging it around for three hours on my shoulder, but now I don't even feel it. ( most likely because it is numb:)

I really can't wait for next practice. Even though there is a lot of pain in starting out, I still am having fun. Our band will play at the foot ball games and in competitions and maybe parades, so many things I have never done before!

Just so you know how to imagine me with my marching tuba I got a picture of one off line. This pic of the tuba is the same sort of tuba I play in the marching band.

(This pic I got off line so the guy in the picture is a random guy, I don't know him.)

This next week is called Heat Week for marching band people because it is the hottest week on average in the year. What makes it important for marchers is the fact that we practice out on the field from 9 a.m to 8 p.m in the hot sun, over and over every day of that week! I still am exited though. Maybe its because I am a rookie and have not experienced it first hand yet;)

Maybe after our first game I can post a video so you can see my band at work. We get better every day. So I have a lot to look forward to this week! I'll be back soon!

We Won!

Do you remember the post on our movie that I wrote, well here it is, the movie we made!
Every costume you see in this film is mostly my job. I was the costume designer for our movie.
Our movie won honorable mention special effects in the Quiet on the Set film competition! Here is the movie we had spent hours, days, weeks and yes, months on. I hope you like it.

A World of Fair Maidens and Knights

Last year my family and I went to a Renaissance festival together to go back in time. We soon found ourselves in a world full of color and excitement, fair maidens and knights, jesters and minstrels. The little shops were a buzz of society as aliens (like us) to the Renaissance world eagerly took it all in

We were wandering from shop to shop when a trumpet sounded from afar. The joust! The crowd started to move to the arena and we tried to see the knights who were about to battle. In the arena an armored knight on an armored horse loped around with his maiden on a horse at his side.
The maid left him and soon another knight appeared in the arena. They backed away from each other until they were as far apart as they could be. With their helmet visors down over their faces, they looked ready for a fight. Then suddenly they charged each other with jousts aimed. They closed in on each other quickly, and as suddenly as it had begun, it was over with the good knight standing over his opponent. The crowd cheered for a long time and then started to dissolve into the streets. My family and i walked over to a Renaissance "Taxi" for a ride. I climbed on finding it hard to straddle such a thing while wearing a dress.



Yes it was a day full of fun and excitement, I loved every minute of it.

A Movie From the Hastings Five

Wow, today has been BUSY. My family and I filmed a movie today at the library for a film contest sponsored by the library system of Minnesota. We had been planning the movie for over a month and now the whole filming in the library part is done! Now the hard part: Editing.

Thankfully all I am is the costume designer for the movie so i don't have to worry about editing. This was my first official job as costume designer for a "movie", and I got to design a cowgirl, a space lady, a detective, and a scientist. Here are the actors wearing the costumes along with the cast and crew.

I am the cow girl in this picture and my mom is the space person. My dad has the camera on the tripod and my sister is the scientist. My friend Mia is standing next to me and her mom is the detective. My brother is standing in between my sister and my mom, and last but not least, my friend Mrs. Waltho is holding the yellow pamphlets.

I know that was a long train of names, but I thought I would mention all the people involved.

So there we are, filming in the Library having a blast. If you want to know how to have fun, film a movie with your family, that truely is a blast!

God is Good

I have a favorite Psalm that I would like to share with you. I t is Psalm number 40 and has a message about how God saves us when we cry for him.

Psalm 4o

Verses 1-5

1

I waited patiently for the LORD;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

2

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and the mire;

he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

3

He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

4

Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look

to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.

5

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done.

The things you planned for us no one can recount to you;

were I to speak and tell of them,

they would be too many to declare.

Sun Springs in Summer

Summer is almost here! I can hardly wait for the first day of summer because I am starting my own summer writing challenge. I will write a novel starting the first day of summer and ending the last day of summer. The goal is as it was for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which is 50,000 words. For NaNoWriMo I wrote it by hand because I am better at it, but this time I will do it on the computer because I need to learn. Also my summer challenge is three months long rather than only one, but has the same word goal of 50,000.

The novel I will be typing is called Sun Springs Samantha about a girl who lives on a ski resort in Sun Springs Montana. I have been planning it for about three months now and I can't wait for it to begin!

Samantha Saint Michel ( pronounced "SAY Mee- shell", it's french.) lives on one of the biggest ski resorts in the north west with her parents, and every once in awhile she will go to her Swedish friend's resort in Sweden to visit her. On one of these visits she finds her grandmother's journal. She can't figure out why her late grandmother's journal is in her Swedish friend's home. When she starts to read it she realizes it is from her grandmother's childhood. No one had ever known about her grandmother's childhood because she went missing at that time for 14 years. She never talked about her childhood to anyone. As Samantha reads it she realizes why her grandmother never talked about it. Her grandmother's story changes Samantha's way of thinking forever.

That is the basic story line for now. I didn't give away any thing on purpose because I hope to self publish it soon after writing it.

Barack Obama, Our President

Let me tell you about Obama, our President. Obama said in 2001 that the Constitution of the United States of America reflects a fundamental flaw, which means that he thinks the founding fathers were wrong in what they wrote in the Constitution. The President of the United States of America is supposed to protect the constitution, not say that the founding fathers were wrong in what they wrote! He is also for killing live babies, (Babies that are in the womb are alive and can feel pain). Just think what our country would be like if Abraham Lincoln's mother had aborted him! Choice or no choice, a mother should love her baby enough to keeps it's life. I am not a supporter of killing babies made in the image of God.

"Spread the wealth" is a socialist idea. America is gradually becoming more and more socialist. Let’s say that you work hard at starting a business out of your home. Year after year you work on making it better so that people will buy your product, and a long time from now you are a big thriving business. But the government says “You don’t deserve to be wealthy, there are people in this country who aren’t as rich as you!” So they take away your wealth and make you pay the other people who didn’t get a job, in the form of taxes. Wasn’t America founded on the rights of men to defend their freedom? The main idea of the founding fathers was liberty and justice for all, not, “You don’t have rights to be wealthy and be your own boss!” When people realize that they can vote into office someone who promises them gifts from the government treasury, they become dependent on the government.

Do you know what money is? It is society's evaluation of how much you have contributed to it. So when the government takes over and "spreads the wealth around," the competition that drives this country goes down the drain. Working harder will do you no good when the government will only take your money away from you and hand it to the person watching TV, waiting for the next government welfare check to come in the mail.

Here is a video of the first 100 days that Barack Obama has been president. He might say somethings that sound good to the American people, but his actions will not necessarily agree with what he just said. this video can put it into words better than I can.



In the upcoming four years, I hope you all begin to see who Barack Obama truly is underneath all his smooth speech and winsomeness.

Abigail Dorothy, a proud Christian conservative American.

Words in Wordle

As you may already know, I wrote a novel during november last year, and my sister has been typing it out on her computer for me. (I hand wrote my novel.)

My sister put all the most used words in my novel into this fancy pool of words that you see below. The program she used to do it is called Wordle. It is very simple and fun to do with any written works. As you can see, I used the main character's name the most so it is the biggest of all the words.

The Grand Canyon is.....GRAND!

I just recently got home from the grand canyon with my family during spring break, and wish to share God's splendor with you. We really didn't have the money for a vacation to Arizona from Minnesota, but God made it work. My family and I started to put some cash in a jar labeled "The Grand Canyon Fund" to see if we could come up with enough to go. Well, some of us were doubtful, in fact, we all were doubtful at times that we would be able to go. But then, in just one morning, the jar had 500 dollars from only four members of my family, which showed us that God will provide if he wants it to happen.

We did go on to the Grand Canyon very soon after we gathered enough money to drive down, spend a few bucks down there, and drive back up. I had never been through the rocky mountains before and we were going to go right through them at Denver. I had never seen anything so beautiful before in my life. As we drove through the mountains, my siblings and I kept trying to take pictures as we went along, but the windows were rolled up and very dirty so we really didn't get any good pictures.

(This is a picture of our hike into the Grand Canyon.)

I had never really thought much about how pretty the mountains could be, or the Grand Canyon for that matter, and once I got there I was blown away at the idea that God created all the beauty of the mountains and the Canyons we saw with just a stroke of his fingers. It all proves the power, love and might of our God.

May God's passion fill your life.

What I have been doing lately

What a long and busy time these last eight months have been for me! I wrote a novel in a month, sewwed a skirt, started playing my tuba in a new band, had friends from half way around the world come and stay at our house, went on a church youth retreat and saw God in a new and wonderful way, and made it into the youth Honor band. I have been naglecting my blog through it all and now feel compelled to do something about it.

For starters I think I will go a little more into the subject of my novel. Yes! I have writen a novel, and I did it in a month. November was National Novel Writing Month, which is shortend into NaNoWriMo. thousands of people are involved in NaNoWriMo every year and most of them use the NaNoWriMo website to talk to other NaNo writers and update their word count. They encourage each other and inspire each other to keep writing and not give up. Most people set their goal for 50,ooo words from the beginning of November to the end of November. 50,000 words is considered the size of a novel. That was my goal and I barely made it. I stayed up writing on the last day to midnight with my siblings and finished it as the clock chimed twelve. My word count added up to 50,006 words! But my novel needs alot of work still and it will take a lot, I mean A TON of editing! I am working on that now. My dream is to get it in publishing shape by the end of this year, but that is a bit of a high goal for a year. We'll see.

And that is the highlight of 2008 for me.

NaNoWriMo!

National Novel Writing Month is on its way! November is National Novel Writing Month for anyone who loves writing. I love to write, so I am really looking forward to November this year. My brother and sister will be writing novels this November as well. Most people set a goal to write at least 50,000 words in the 30 days of November, But my siblings are going for a far higher goal: 100,000 words! I am just going to 50,000 and hopefully I will finish this time. Last year I found out that trying to write a historical fiction novel in only 30 days would be a stressful stretch. This year I will have to settle with a fantasy fairytale. I will be writing about fairies because they inspire me even though they are not real. I have drawn some of the charactures, and that helps me to think about the plot of my novel.

Productivity Challenge!

I just got another idea! I am going to start a challenge called the productivity challenge। I am so exited about this i can't wait to tell you. This is a challenge to go a whole day with out watching any tv or using the computer for no reason at all, and no video games either. (Some times that is a big challenge for me.) And if you want, you can make it last a whole week for more of a challenge. I think I was not realizing that I was wasting my life when I would tell my mother that I would do my math and then plunk myself down on the couch until supper. So I would tee myself; "God gave you your life so you can spread his glory and bring others his light, not so you get to rap yourself up in a video game with your friends all Saturday. But there is hope for you yet." these Ideas help me when I am bored:

* Try and keep your room clean (that one is hard for me)
* Ask your family about what you can do to help them.
* Start some kind of a project (sewing, writing, building)
* Go for a whole day with out watching tv, and spend the day outside.
* Memorize Bible verses (that is probably the best one yet)

You can do so much in your life if you only try, spend every moment as if it were your last. There are so many things that I want to do in my life and I am going to try and find time for them all. Please come back with your Productivity Challenge results!

A Love of Animals

I have some pets, and I would like to share some of their funny pictures with you.

As I was cleaning my room just the other day, I came across this video that I made for 4-H last year. I think it has all my pets on it except for our latest horse. So here is a peek into my daily life.

Check it Out... Do Hard Things!

On Mother's Day I got the Harris twins' book called Do Hard Things. I can't believe how well they present the topics in their book and illustrate their point. It really makes you think of how you could inprove in your daily life. (You should get their book!)

Well anyway, I am now trying to think of how I could do hard things for Jesus' name. Up until I got their book and read it, I had thought of myself as a pretty good example of the Rebelution. But as I think back to only about two days ago, I never really made my bed each morning because I didn't feel like doing it! What a lousy thing to think, basing my actions on how I feel. If the world was built on feeling alone, this would be a pretty bad place to be. I also would put off cleaning my rabbit's cage because I would convince myself that the cage was very heavy, and I had to carry it all the way to the woods! And how is it that I don't mind carrying my tuba to band and back when it weighs about 50 pounds? Hmm. I wonder.

We all try to settle for the easier stuff in life, and sometimes just get by in our daily basis because that is human nature, instead of striving to do our very best job in everything. I know there is something holding me from doing my hardest in everything, we could all do better if we just made an effort to do so.

Alex and Brett Harris' book Do Hard Things is the perfect match for what I have just wrote. What they have to say in it is breathtaking. You probably never would realize what they said is true in your own life until you read about it in the book. I strongly suggest that you read it some time soon. The picture above is of their book, Do Hard Things.

Hope to hear from you soon, and feel free to ask a question or leave a comment. I will be back soon with more posts.

Tuba Music for God

I'm back at posting on my blog again. I took a break from it while I was in the Minnesota Honor band with my tuba. And when I was in Honor band I got the idea to write a post on music for God. My brother says that whatever you do in your life, it was made to bring God glory. That is why he has a blog about Aerospace to the glory of God! I am so inspired by him that I want to try and do everything, not just play music, to the glory of God. It is so amazing that God would take our pitiful little words from our mouths and use them in such a way that can bring him glory!
I love to play my tuba and harmonize with the rest of the band, but lots of times my heart is not looking upward. I know that everybody has that problem because we are humans, and that is human nature, but that should not stop us from trying our hardest to lift our hearts in praise no matter what we do.
My goal for my tuba hobby is to not be a receiver of praise, for man's praise is nothing. But be the praiser to the one and only receiver. Do you have a hobby or passion that you are having a hard time giving God all the glory with? I have lots of hobbies that I still am taking the credit for.
Maybe some day I will join a professional band and be a missionary to the other musicians, because lots of the musicians in this world focus on the music and not God. Do you have a passion for music and God? I would love to hear you story too. Feel free to leave your own ideas on my blog, I would love to talk to you soon.

An interesting quote

This is a quote from a book called The Basket of Flowers. I just started reading this book and I am already really into it. It is an old book about a young girl and her father, who are both devoted christians. The quote is taken from the very first chapter which is more like an introduction really. Anyway, I found it quite interesting, and I hope you do too.
"Human nature is the same in all countries; on the one hand we find the human heart, sinful,producing a life apart from God which leads to total misery and sorrow; and on the other hand, the remedy for this despair, is the work of the Holy Spirit of God, producing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ which leads us to a life of purpose and peace. 'For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.' (Romans 10:13). The whole book is full of interest, and of the most valuable moral and biblical instruction; and we are persuaded that young people and old alike, will peruse it with pleasure, and reap from it many great advantages."
I hope you find that just as interesting as I do. the author of this book is named, Christoph Von Schmid. He wrote lots of Christ-centered books and novels. If you have any good God-centered books that you think others might enjoy, please tell me about them. I would love to hear about them.

Helping Elephants

Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to help the elephants in Africa from being killed for their ivory tusks. I have researched the ivory trade over the years and it is terrible to hear of all the elephants that are being killed illegally in Africa. People think that all elephants are very dangerous animals and need to be kept under complete control, but in reality they are very peaceful. If you keep your distance from them, they might not even take heed of your presence. There are people out there who are trying to help the elephants, like a woman named Cynthia Moss, who has been researching African elephants for a very long time, and follows certain herds around to watch their natural behavior. Also ther is an organization called The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which saves orphaned baby elephants and takes care of them until they are big enough to take care of themselves. I used to help foster some of these baby elephants with some friends of mine and I hope to find other ways to help out the elephants again sometime. Until then, I will try my hardest to keep you up dated!

Try creativity

Do you know why creativity is so great? Because it makes you think of new things and keeps your mind thinking, unlike watching a movie. When you watch a movie you are just consuming, not producing. Sometimes being creative is a challenge, which is good because if we always did easy things, we would never really go anywhere in life worth our while! Test what I am saying and try to do more than what other people expect of you and see what happens. You might just like it, or maybe it will take you more than one try to start seeing the effect.

So what are my hobbies?

Well, my main interest at this point in my life I would say is taking care of children at my church's nursery. I love to watch them gradually grow in understanding of God, and learn new things. I also like to dream about the future, and how I will raise my children. I want to inspire these youger children to be creative, and not as much to copy other people in their life. Being creative really stimulates the mind and makes you feel like you have accomplished something, which you have! you will end up a happier person if you are more productive, and that is what I want to see the children at the nursery doing.