"Blogiversary"

I guess people are celebrating their "blogiversaries" now? So I decided I should join in on the fun, and celebrate mine too :) This is the first blogiversary for this blog and for me, so I don't really know what to do for it... I guess I'll take Kim's idea and say that you can ask me anything you want and I'll answer the questions in a later post! Have fun :)

Simplicity

"It is God's business, not ours, to care for what we have. God is able to protect what we possess. We can trust him. The lock on the door is not what protects the house. Simplicity means the freedom to trust God for these and all things."

-Richard Foster

Mean Girls

My mom bought me a book in like 5th grade from Family Christian Stores, and I started to read it... well since then I have read less than 50 pages of it :) oops... but I wanted to read it finally. So I started yesterday, at the beginning, I don't remember the part that I read over the course of 5 years (shocking I know... everyone should be able to remember that kind of thing) ;)

Anyways, the book is called "Mean Girls: Facing Your Inner Beauty Turned Beast". I read a part during seminar today that I wanted to put on here for you guys... and it is relatable to everyone, not just people with "mean girls".

"No matter what people call you, they can't change who you are. Only you and Christ can do that. If you choose to let others make you into their image, you lose - and you deny Christ, because He calls you to be made into His image, to 'put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator' (the apostale Paul's letter to the Colossions, chapter 3, verse 10). Christ died to set you free - free from the enemy, free from yourself and free from the Mean Girl. You might not be feeling it right now, but it's true: You are a child of the King, not the punch line of a bad joke. Don't let anyone convince you by the means things they say that you are less than a princess. If you want to know how to turn it around and be the girl you were made to be, find out what pleases your Father. Find out how he wants you to react."

My Adorable Cousins :)

These are my cousins that live in Minnesota, I took these pictues when my mom and I went to visit their family out there this summer, and I just haven't gotten to posting them yet :) So here they are. Sorry I don't have a very good picture of Niko, he wouldn't let me take pictures of him when he was looking, so I have a lot of shots of his back ;)

Natalie

Neve

Niko

Do Not Worry (Luke 12:22-34)

22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothes you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32Do not be afraid, little flock, for you Father has been please to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

*Study Bible notes*
-Does Jesus command us not to worry? (12:22)
Jesus does not give a command so much as an invitation to rest in the arms of a loving Father. As humans, we will at times cross the line and fret when we should trust. But only when we allow ourselves to constantly focus on ourselves instead of God do we violate Jesus' principle. He gave it to us as a liberating principle, not as another law to worry about.

-Does Christ really want us to sell all our possessions? (12:33-34)
Jesus' concern is that our possessions do not possess us. Some have felt that God wanted them to take a vow of poverty, learning to trust him by giving away everything they owned to help the poor. Others look to other verses in the Bible to help interpret this one. They believe the point here is that all we have belongs to God. But he gives us the responsibility to manage those possessions in ways that will honor him and accomplish his will.

Free Rice

I don't know if any of you have heard of this game before, but it is really cool. It's called Free Rice. There are a bunch of different subjects you can choose to play from (like multiplication, English vocabulary, English grammar, learning Spanish, learning French, learning German, learning Italian, world capitals, world country locations, famous paintings, and chemical symbols) I didn't know that there were different subjects until tonight when I was playing it. I guess I should tell you why it's so cool.

For every question you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end world hunger. It has a little wooden bowl on the side of the screen that shows how much rice you donated.

Tonight Iwas really bored, and I tried all the subjects except learning German and Italian and the full version of chemical symbols. I ended up donating 10,000 grains of rice.

Also, I realized that if I was to have a test on one of the subjects on there at school, this would be the best way to study EVER. I did the Spanish one because I am taking Spanish 2 right now, and I did the French one to see how much I actually would know.

So if you get bored sometime, you can try this game :) I know world hunger is never going to end, doesn't it say that in the Bible? But the Bible also says to feed the hungry, so go forth and learn :)

Why are there hard times?
Why are their lives harder than mine?
Why are they dying
with nobody trying
to tell them it gets better?

And if they've heard,
why didn't they learn?
They're hungry and poor,
maybe tired and sore,
but chose to ignore hope.

The weight of the world on my shoulders.
Only God can move these boulders.
I don't even know
where else to go.
But I know where I'm headed.

I want them all to come.
I want them to know love.
They could be free
if only they could see
this light in the dark.

Show them how to open their eyes.
Tell them to look to the skies.
And when they pray,
they can't see the gray.
Only God can make the storms pass.

With Him or without,
there's rain and there's drought.
You know why it comes
and Who it's from
when you have that faith.

I just don't understand
why you wouldn't if you can?
I wish I knew
what to do
and why they didn't listen.

God has everything worked out,
but I want to know what it's about.
How long is the wait
until that planned date,
and what do I do until then?

Father, show me my part.
Show me, where do I start?
Why don't people care?
What do I share?
Lord - Here am I, send me.

Heart and Mind

How would you describe the difference between having something on your heart and having something on your mind?

I thought about that when I was out shopping with my mom today, and she told me what she thought, but I wanted to know what everyone else had to say about it. :)

Dude Math

I thought this was funny even though I don't agree with it :)

Convo #2 of Babysitting... :)

Caden: Hchhhhh!! (pretending to be a jaguar)
...silence...
Me: Ooh the mad beast fell asleep...
Caden: What?
...more silence...
Caden: Hchhhh!!

Convo #1 of Babysitting... :)

In the car on the way to my cousins house tonight:

Kayla: Mom, you're showing off again.
Aunt Michelle: Oh I am huh?
Kayla: Yeah, because Tori's here.
Aunt Michelle: Oh really...
Kayla: Yeah... oh and try not to talk to any old people tonight ok?
Aunt Michelle: Why?
Kayla: Like people that are 80 or something.
Aunt Michelle: Why can't I talk to them? Don't you think they'll be sad if no one talks to them?
Kayla: No! They might fall asleep!!
Aunt Michelle: Because I'm so boring??
Kayla: NO because they're so OLD.

In His Eyes

Why don't people understand?

Everyone is the same.
It doesn't matter your race, gender, or shoe size.

Everyone is the same.

If you're tall or short,

Fat or thin,

Boy or girl,

Adult or kid,

Everyone is the same.

You could be fast as a cheetah,

Or slow as a turtle.

You could be a lion, who roars with power,

Or a small, little mouse, who squeaks in fear,

Everyone is the same.

Even when we all forget

And sometimes judge ourselves,

Someone remembers.

In His eyes,

Everyone is the same.

-written in 7th grade for English class