Ponderings and Pictures

New blog

2012-01-13T12:52:00.001-08:00

Check out my new blog... ready for a new year and a new start!
http://photographybyrachel.wordpress.com/

2011-09-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get that feeling where you don't want to talk to anybody? You don't want to smile and you don't want to fake being happy. But at the same time you don't know exactly what's wrong either. There isn't a way to explain it to someone who doesn't already understand. If you could want anything in the world it would be to be alone. People have stopped being comforting and being along never was. At least when you're alone no one will constantly ask you what is wrong and there isn't anyone who won't take 'I don't know' for an answer. You feel the way you do just because. You hope the feeling will pass soon and that you will be able to be yourself again, but until then all you can do is wait.

2011-08-17T13:23:00.001-07:00

2011-08-17T13:13:00.001-07:00

2011-08-17T13:04:00.001-07:00

2011-07-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

Anna

2011-07-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

2011-07-13T08:23:00.001-07:00

When Life doesn't...

2011-07-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

When life doesn't turn out the way we want it to... what do we do?

Life doesn't meet our expectations...

Life doesn't take the right turn...

In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room. Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.

But I trusted in thee, O LORD:

I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake. Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

~Psalm 31

Comments

2011-07-05T12:17:00.001-07:00

Sorry to those of you who have left comments and they haven't been published :) I just now figured out what was wrong... (i think! :) Hope it's working now!
Thanks!

God... My God!

2011-07-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

Just a thought from my devotions this morning.

The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust...
In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God...
For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness...
For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall...

How many times do I veiw God as MY GOD? Not just God who rules over everything, but MY GOD! He is here for me. In light, and in darkness. In joy and in pain. In laughter and in sorrow.

2011-06-21T07:48:00.001-07:00

Sarah k 2011

2011-06-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes...

2011-06-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when we cry out in our pain, asking God to make himself know, we can't find him. He seems faraway and distant, and we conclude that he just isn’t as good and kind and powerful as we had thought. Our weak faith is shaken, and we wind up distancing ourselves from God, because our own means of comfort seem safer.

Perhaps the most faith-shaking, fear-generating experiences are those in which God provides a blessing and then seems to pull the rug out from under us by taking away the blessing as soon as we get a taste of it. God is not who we thought he was.

When we go through that sort of experience, our foundation is shaken to the core.

When we first discover that God isn’t who we’d thought, when he doesn’t turn out to fit our image of him, our fall into doubt or unbelief can be extraordinary, “Who is God if he is not the one I can count of to rescue more from bad things?” we ask. “Is he a God I can be close to after all? I’ve always gone to him with everything large and small. Does he care? Or have I been kidding myself all this time?” When our view of a loving God is called into question, we don’t know where to turn.

When God comes near to us, we are going to respond in one of two ways. Either we will cling to God in the midst of our fear, discovering in the process at that Jesus is for us, or we will run away from our only source of help.

~Lydia Brownback

The latter is easier to do.

There's someone who'll always let you in... God

2011-06-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Some quotes that I read today that have REALLY impacted me! In ways that I'm still struggling through, but taking one step closer to the truth is as much as I can hope for right now!

He wants you to know He loves you whether or not you believe in Him."

"Never forget, when you have lost your faith, when God is no longer real to you... go back. Go back to the last place you saw Him. He will be waiting for you there."

"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength."

"It's not something in your genes like your mother's eyes or your grandmother's nose. No, faith is something you gotta work out for yourself and it doesn't happen in the good times."

"God has a plan and just because you don't understand it does not mean God doesn't understand it."

"God never gives up on us, baby, even though sometimes people do."

"God has many names, you know. Jehovah, Almighty, Everlasting Father, Alpha and Omega... But do you know what He calls Himself? 'I Am.' Ask God who He is, and that is what He'll tell you. 'I Am.' Not 'I was' or 'I'm going to be.' But "I am.' 'I am here for you now because that's where you need Me.' And if God is here, right here, right now, what is there to fear?"

"When we ignore the truth, we ignore God, because God is truth. And what isn't true, He doesn't want any part of. He can't. It's just not who He is."

"You'll be wrapped in God's love no matter what happens today or tomorrow or ever."

"You're not alone. God is here and the fastest car in the world can't outrun Him and the toughest heart in the world can't ignore Him because wherever you go God will be there ahead of you, waiting for you with a miracle."

“Imagine that you are locked in a closet for years… Now, uh, during this incarceration, you have a baby… Now, you hope to get out, right, but you don’t know. So you start drawing pictures of, uh, birds and, um, trees and dogs, you know, to show this baby of yours, who has never seen what life is like out in the real world. So, imagine that, uh, one day this baby comes and says, ‘You know, uh gee, houses and birds and trees and dogs are all pretty small and, um, flat, aren’t they?' And you realize that no matter how hard you try to draw these pictures, you can never get this baby of yours to ever imagine what reality looks like. Never. Not until he sees it for himself. So in the meantime you tell this child that you love him and you ask him to trust you."

"You put up a wall to block out your pain and your fear. But a wall works two ways. Yes, it keeps things in, but it also keeps things out; like joy, trust, hope."

Anniversary

2011-06-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

June 1st always sitcks in my mind. In fact, the first of every month brings a smile to my face. It is the day in which I wait to see which parent wins. Wins what, you may ask? Well, the monthly anniversary of their wedding. Dad won last month... "Hi, honey, happy anniversary." on the other line on the phone: "Stink! You beat me to it! :)" Whoever can wish the other happy anniversary first "wins"

I'm thankful for parents who love each other. It means alot to me. Mom, Dad, sure, sometimes babysitting the younger kids for you for the third time in a week gets tiring, but, knowing you love to be together makes it worth it!

Love you both!

2011-05-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

Finished!

2011-05-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

In this post I just want to say one thing..... GOODBYE HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!!! I finished my high school last night at 10:30 pm! (more exciting posts to follow when I have time :) but I was just busting to share the news!

~Rachel

2011-05-13T18:05:00.001-07:00

My little Friend :)

2011-05-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today, as I was waiting to start work... I decided to take a little walk. On that walk, I passed a pet shop.

Well, at the end of my shift, I was standing in the aisle of the pet shop. I told my dad, "Now I know what a perent feels like... I just want to buy all these things for my little baby." I have a panda hamster... my new friend... and, well, here's the name... Thesaurus, with the nick name of Theo. He's black and white... and ADORABLE!

Pictures soon to follow!

Standing in the doorway

2011-05-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

Feelings abound. How many times through the last few weeks I have wished that I wouldn’t feel anything. Wouldn’t feel the hurt. Wouldn’t feel the sadness. Wouldn’t feel.

I have even thought that feeling nothing at all would be better than feeling what I’m feeling. I’d gladly give up the feelings of happiness and contentment, if during the hard times I didn’t have to feel the pain.

Collapsing into my shell would be my choice. Shutting the door and never opening it again. Opening eventually results in pain. Recoiling is my first choice. Pulling my hand back from the hot burner. And, isn’t pain a tool used to teach us? Teach us what not to do?

But what happens after you recoil, locking the door and rolling the key under the door… so you can't ever open it again? What happens when someone else finds that key? The key to your heart. Your stone, cold heart. They unlock the door… and, opening it, expose you to the light on the other side. Show you your darkness…. But, then, without condemning your position, they reach their hand out. To you.

But you don’t. You don’t move. You don’t reach out. You just sit there. Not wanting to again be hurt. Not wanting to need again. Not wanting to love again. Not wanting to feel again.

But, what do you do? What would you do? What did you do?

What you did changed your life. What you do is going to change your life. What you would do will happen. Eventually.

Will you stay in the shadows, unwilling to take the hand before you? Or will you again trust, even with the remembrance of what happened before?

Will you take a step toward that hand? Or do you lash at that hand, cowering behind the past?

No one should be on the inside of the door in every relationship. Because there is a Perfect One. One who never lets down. One who never changes. One who never makes mistakes. One who never leaves. One who never forsakes. One who never rejects.

Even if someone hides from everyone else, they MUST allow the Lord to comfort them. He is the TRUE Comforter. If we have Christ… we need nothing else. We don’t need to let anyone else in as long as we have Him.

And, yes, after trusting Christ to heal the pain, we slowly begin to trust others…

How this truth has comforted in a personal way...

For those who are on the other side… holding out your hand to someone in desperate need of a solace, you have to be willing to accept them where they are. Just how deeply they have been hurt only changes just how much you have to love them.

Pass me not, O gentle savior. Hear my humble cry.

While on others thou art calling do not pass me by.

Savior, Savior. Hear my humble cry.

While on others thou are calling do not pass me by.

Let me at the throne of mercy find a sweet relief.

Kneeling there in deep contrition, help my unbelief.

Thou the spring of all my comfort more than life to me

Whom have I on earth beside thee? Whom in heaven but thee?

5+6= in need of good weather

2011-05-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

"Life must go on."
"I don't know that it MUST, but it does."

Life here has gone on... and on... and... on!

Babysitting six other kids on top of the five that already exist in our home... well... I sure can count to eleven quite well!

Mom has organized everyone into teams. Team A is the youngest 5 with me leading :) And team B is pretty self sufficient. The one qurestion I get alot is, "Why can't we do what Team B is?" Or "Team B got to!"

Everything is done with time and quantity in mind. Lunch... hot dogs (we bought 2 packages of 24) and well... it went great. I think the record for hot dogs was J. with 5 of them eaten. :) Needless to say, he didnt eat much for dinner. Dinner consisted of chicken strips and fries. Again... quick and easy to cook in quantity!

Trips to the park are second nature. I think yesterday we were there five times.... one time for more than three hours. Taking 8 of the 11 with me alone to the park was QUITE an adventure. Deciding to try a new park turned out to be QUITE a major decision! Crossing at least three majorly busy roads... well, I've never seen so many people staring as we crossed :)

Bath time was, well, rather wet. Tonight shall be intersting.... everyone needs a bath for tomorrow :) And tomorrow should be rather interesting.

~Me

Curl up and Cry

2011-05-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever lost all ambition? All drive?

Have you ever wanted to curl up in a corner and do nothing but cry?

Get up, and muddle through your day. Do what you have to do.

And curl up and cry when you can.

Eventually… well, I can't see eventually. All I see is now.

But…

The pain now is part of the happiness then.

2011-05-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

When my way seems dark and drear and the future I don’t know,
My heart feels so empty as the tears unending flow.
When my heart breaks with sorrow and a tempest fills my soul,
This one thing I know for sure: my God is in control.

Chorus
His way is perfect, His way is perfect.
Though I don’t understand His wise and loving plan,
His way is perfect. His way is perfect.
Take my life and make a vessel purified.
God makes no mistakes, His way is best.

When the toils of life are come and my heart is worn with care,
I faint ‘neath the burden of a cross I cannot bear.
When the joy has departed from my sorrow stricken soul,
This one thing I know for sure: my God is in control.

Chorus
His way is perfect, His way is perfect.
Though I don’t understand His wise and loving plan,
His way is perfect. His way is perfect.
Take my life and make a vessel purified.
God makes no mistakes, His way is best.
~Kistler

Toddlers, Dresses, Flips, and Face-plants

2011-05-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

Because I work with my dad now, I leave three times a week between 5:30 and 6 am. It’s nice to have some extra money, and I have some extra time to work before I start my shift.

But I’m missed. Yesterday, I came home, and Anna was sitting on the couch reading a book. When she saw me, the smile that illuminated her face melted my heart! She proceeded to tell me about two of her greatest joys that day: her dress that zips (any dress is a joy for Anna J) and her flips on the trampoline. I didn’t think much about it when she ran to me and laid on my shoulder for a few minutes, just snuggling. (my joy of the day J)

Then I thought it would be nice to take her out on the trampoline, just to spend some time with her. So, we bundled up (after she went and changed her dress for culottes. She didn’t want to rip her dress) and went outside. She jumped for a while before she exclaimed, “Rachel, watch me do my flips!”

At first, I was nervous, hoping she didn’t flip right off the side of the trampoline. Until I saw what she was talking about.

She jumped about ten times in the air. Then, to my horror, she threw her arms in the air, turned her body to the trampoline, and fell. Nose first into the trampoline. Face first. Onto her stomach.

She laid there for a few seconds, and I got nervous. Just when I was going to say something, she made a sound. Giggling. Laughing. She looked up at me with the biggest grin on her face. Then she said in the most angelic voice, “Did you see me flip? I’m really good at that too!”

Then, she did the same thing again. And again. And again.

We gotta love ‘em!

~Rachel

2011-05-02T16:56:00.000-07:00

How easy it is to rest and believe during the easy times! Every truth is exactly that – truth. You accept it for what it is. You blog about it. You talk about it. It is reality. It is right. It is truth.

Until…

Trials come that test truth.

Until…

Your heart is breaking.

Until…

Sorrow is eating away at your soul.

Until…

You don’t think you can go on.

Until…

The truth becomes reality.

What do you do when your whole being is pushing against what you’ve been taught? What do you do when truth requires you to do exactly what you know you can't?

The immediate reply, “Just do it. Trust the Lord.”

But, that’s from the outside of the situation.

The inside isn’t so easy. I mean, it is… but it isn’t.

Our mind may know.

Our will may be to do what is right.

But our emotions don’t. Every time you think about the decision, you get a knot in your stomach. Tears drip from your eyes constantly. Smiling seems like jumping across the Grand Canyon.

Ladies hear this all the time. Don’t let your emotions rule you! Don’t depend on your emotions. But, again, that’s easy to say… much harder to do.

So, what do we do? We decide, “I’ll just not think about it.”

In fact, just a few days ago, I told someone, “I’m just trying to keep it from my mind.”

But are we ever commanded to ignore the problems? Ignore the hard part of life?

Are we ever told to focus on the problems? To become consumed with our trial?

No.

The solution: ….

I can’t claim to have the answers. I don’t.

Focus on the Lord. What a Great God our God is! He cares for us. He loves us. He’s all-knowing. He’s just. He’s our hiding place. Our Hightower. Our Refuge in time of trouble.

Focus on Him, and the rest of life grows dim. Not goes away. Not escalates. We see our struggles in perspective.

He is the fountain for a thirsty soul.

He is the healer and so much more.

When my heart is broken by this world’s demands,

The pieces are mended with one scarred hand

It’s a hand that holds this whole world in place.

Oh, a hand that was scarred just to give me grace.

And to think of the hand that holds the stars

Is small enough to mend one broken heart.

And when I can't stand, I have to lean.

And when I can't see, I have to believe.

The Great Physicians touch is a bond that can

Mend broken hearts with one scarred hand.

~Kyla Rowland

Serving

2011-04-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

“We can only enter into sanctity in the eyes of God by returning into infamy in the eyes of men.”

Who do you seek to please as you serve? Well, most Christians would immediately answer, “God, of course!” But in reality think NOTHING about God as they serve. Think about Christ washing the disciples’ feet. Do you realize just how disgusting that was? The dirt and grime of the dusty roads mingled with sticky
sweat to make traces of mud on their feet. This job was relegated to the lowest servant.

Christ washed their feet.

Let that sink in.

Christ – the Son of God. The Creator of the universe. The Messiah.

Washed – used his hands, getting all the grime on them.

Their – the disciples. The overzealous Peter who would soon thrice deny him. The traitorous Judas, who
would betray him to the religious leaders.

Feet – sweaty, dirty feet.

THAT was ministering. THAT was serving.
Serving is working in the nursery changing diapers and wiping snotty noses.

Serving is doing someone’s dirty laundry so they don’t have to.

Serving is cleaning up messes after a sick family member.

Serving is doing the dishes after a church fellowship while other people are fellowshipping.

Serving is being like Christ.

Serving is doing the unwanted.

But serving isn’t only “doing” things.

Think about it… Jesus took time for people. He CARED about them.

Think about the people Jesus served. Blind men. Lepers. Lame men. Prostitutes. Children. Sick. Poor. Dead.

Serving is becoming part of someone’s life. Caring for them. Caring about them.

How many times do we as Christians care only what others look like or act like? We become so concerned with “issues” that we neglect to love them. To love what they ARE. Why? Because Christ loved us where we were. And, yes, we do have to see where they can go, but they should know that we CARE about them, not just about what they “do.”

Do we minister and serve those who are in need? Or do we “minister” and “serve” those we deem as “acceptable” for us to mingle with? While Christ dined with Zacchaeus, the publican, the religious leaders said “He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.”

But Christ said, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”

“We can only enter into sanctity in the eyes of God by returning into infamy in the eyes of men.”

Longing for Home...

2011-04-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Envision with me an extravagantly poor city. People sleeping in wet and damp cardboard boxes. Children starving, their thin frames covered in rags. No family group exists, each person alone in the world. The smell of death covers the rotting city. But, they take pleasure in their things… their rags… their cardboard houses…

You live here. But, you are different than most of the people. You have a ticket out of the city. You have a home in the Great City. There everyone has enough food, a mansion with heat and air-conditioning. The softest clothes that exist. All your family is there. You have all the riches you could ever want… in that city. You have a date that you go home… but what do you do until then?

Do you fight over the cardboard boxes? Do you compare your rags with other people’s rags?

No, you look expectantly look to the day you get to go home. You can't take your card-board boxes with you… nor would you want to.

The only thing that you can take from the poor city is people… you can tell others about the Great City… and about how they can gain a home there. Would you tell people?

Of course!!!! Why wouldn’t you?

And, when that day comes, would you say, “I don’t want to go. Let me stay here! I want to stay in my card-board house.”

No! You would run into the arms of the Mayor, thankful to be home.

Then why do you?
Why do Christians fight over the “cardboard houses” of this life when we have mansions in eternity? Why do we tear others apart when we should be uniting for survival? A quote I heard that hit me, “How can we see souls saved when we’re shooting our own wounded?” How pointless! We should be joining together to tell others about eternity. But instead we try to make ourselves look better than another rag-clad person.

Why do Christians cling to the things of this world? Why do we hoard our rags and cardboard boxes like
they are worth something? We can't take them where we’re going… nor would we want to!

Why? Because we don’t live for eternity. We see only the poor city, and after a while of ignoring the value of eternity, we cease to see that value. And we place our value on what we can see.

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Many times this is used to refer to our finances and possessions. But look at the meaning of the last part of the verse… “there will your heart be also.” Our heart, desire, and longing should be eternity.

But, even I’ve thought… there is so much here on earth, and in heaven, all we’ll do is worship… that’s great… but after a while, it’s going to get kinda… well, you know where I’m going with this, because you’ve sometime thought it too.

Think about this: Have you ever either got something right with the Lord, whether it be an area of sin or just surrendered to Him, or had a truth come alive before you? When that has happened to me, I’ve just wanted to read my bible, pray, or fellowship with other believers. Then… life goes on. We can't just sit in our rooms and read our Bible for the rerst of our lives.

But in heaven, that “feeling” will be on steroids… and the pull of this world or duties of life will not get in the way of that. We will be with CHRIST! No sin to separate us from Him. No responsibilities to fulfill… we can glory in the PRESENT glory of Glory.

Can you imagine? Heaven’s sounding sweeter all the time.

Why live for this world? Take some time to think about eternity… and LONG for it!

Rejoice!

2011-04-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

I was up early this morning. Sunday mornings are early for me. Why? Because we have only one bathroom. Sure, you're thinking, "big deal!" But, when you have to get seven people looking somewhat presentable... you have to start early. And, guess who was first this morning at 5:15? Yep!

But, as I looked out the window as the sun slowly came up, I rejoiced. Having written the first post about the crucifixion, it was easy for me to emotionally feel down, looking at the spiritual life from the suffering side. And, yes, there is suffering and sorrow in the Christian life. But that is not what Christ wanted for us.

"Rejoice evermore."
Christ paid the sin debt! I can have the same resurrection power in my every day life... the same that raised Christ from the dead! He is not a dead man we worship. He is the One!
Rejoice today!

"Why hast Thou forsaken Me?"

2011-04-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

(I hope I'm alright in saying this, if not, forgive me, you know who!)

But today I was talking with someone about my previous blog post, and she said, "I have often wondered about whether the Bible doesn't emphasize the physical part of the crucifuxion because the practice of crucifixion wasn't foreign to those living in Bible days or because the physical aspect wasn't the focus." (that is in summary, not EXACT words :) So, that encouraged me to do another blog post on the SPIRITUAL significance of the cross.

Think about the incarnation. God became Man. God became His creation. He became dust. Why?
Because the price for heaven was perfection. Man, from the Garden of Eden, had become imperfect. Every one of us is a sinner. And was a sinner. All men were marred with the stain of sin. Their sin. "Dead in trespasses and sins."

Thus, when Jesus came to earth, He was the ONLY perfect one. And, He was the only One who could pay the price for sin. OUR sin.

But the price was death for the sinless and perfect.

As he hung on that cross, Jesus took on Hell. He had been deserted by his family, friends, and, then by God. That day, Christ experienced what no living human will ever experience. God forsook him. God left Him. Why? Because Christ WAS every sin we ever committed. The agony of the physical didn't even compare with the spiritual separation. "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"

The same separation that YOU will experience in Hell. If we dont accept the full atonement of Jesus, Hell will be horrible, not because of the fire, not because of the darkness, but because of the separation from God. Living death in a God-less eternity.

The sinless, perfect life that Christ lived on this earth seemed to end in defeat. But his last words foreshadowed what would three days later shake the world. IT. IS. FINISHED!

Behold, the Lamb of God

2011-04-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

This excerpt I got from here. This puts it into perspective of what Christ really did for us.

As the sheep/cattle bone lacerated the skin and actually dug in under the surface of the skin, the skilled and trained legionnaire could whip his wrist and literally lift small shards of skeletal muscle out through the skin, leaving small ribbons of muscle, about two inches long, hanging through the skin.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

Save in the death of Christ my God!

All the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to His blood.

As best I could tell, and from some of the information I was able to gather from the Shroud of Turin exhibit, one lash with this whip - one thong - would make a cut about two inches long and about three quarters to an inch deep. To put that into medical terms, that's a cut that takes about twenty stitches to close. So with one lash, one swing of the whip, a total of nine lacerations could be inflicted on the victim, each laceration two inches long and three quarters to one inch deep.

With one blow, one Roman legionnaire could inflict enough wounds to take one hundred eighty stitches to close. If you multiply that times thirty-nine, those two Roman legionnaires inflicted enough lacerations to take about 2,000 stitches to close. I've seen people who've gone through the windshield of a car or wrecked a motorcycle into a barbed wire fence, and I've still never seen anyone that tattered up in any of my medical experience. This gives you an idea of the amount of the physical trauma that was inflicted upon Jesus just from the scourging.

During Jesus' trials and humiliation we also know that a crown of thorns was plaited and placed on his head. In Christ's case this was done to mock him as being King of the Jews. Some of you have been to Israel and have seen these thorns. They're about an inch and one half to two inches long, and they're as sharp as an ice pick. The custom was to take a small three or four foot long reed and slap the thorns on top of the head of the victim in order to drive the thorns into the skull. Those thorns laid upon someone's head and then tapped down with a reed were hard enough to penetrate the outer table or the outer bone of the skull. Imagine the bleeding from three or four hundred puncture wounds in the scalp and around the forehead from these thorns.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

The nail wounds....The Romans practised crucifixion for hundreds of years, and they perfected the art of pain and suffering. How could a man have spikes driven through his hands and feet and not bleed to death? The Romans figured out that if they drove the spike through a man's wrist right at the middle, they could avoid hitting any arteries or veins. If you go back and look at the Hebrew word for hand, it's inclusive from the fingertips to about where your wristwatch crosses your wrist. So the hand didn't necessarily mean the palm, and I can tell you, from having been a hand surgeon at one time and from dissecting cadavers to try to see if the muscle was strong enough to hold the body weight, it's not. You can not drive a spike through a man's palm and hang him by it without it pulling right out between his fingers. It is an accepted medical fact that the muscle in your palm is not strong enough to support your body weight.

In order to be able to drive spikes through the Lord's hands, they had to drive them through at the wrists. There, there's a very strong ligament, called the traverse carpal ligament, that's strong enough to support the body weight. The Romans figured out that if they came about where the crease in the wrist is and drove the spike through this area, they would miss the radial artery (the artery people cut when they try to kill themselves by cutting their wrist - right where the doctor takes your pulse), and they would also miss what we call the ulnar artery over on the little finger side. What they would do though, is drive the nail right through the biggest nerve in the hand, called the median nerve. If any of y'all have ever had carpal tunnel syndrome, you know how uncomfortable any inflammation or irritation to that median nerve can be.

When the median nerve is transected, it gives about the sensation of having an electric cattle prod stuck to your w rist and a constant electrical shock going through your hand, and causes the fingers to claw. In essence, the Romans devised a way they could drive a spike through a man's hand and not lose one drop of blood, while maximising the amount of pain and suffering that man would endure.

The Romans did the same thing with the feet. They calculated where they could drive a spike through both a man's feet and not cause blood loss that would cause the victim to bleed to death. The spike would have been placed between the first and second metatarsal bones, missing the dorals pedis artery. There again, they drove the spike through the feet with no blood loss. The spike misses the artery, but does hit the plantar nerves, thereby causing that same horrible shock sensation.

His dying crimson, like a robe,

Spreads o’er His body on the tree;

Then I am dead to all the globe,

And all the globe is dead to me.

Every time he took a breath, that tattered, lacerated and riddled back was drug and scraped across the splinters and the rough knobs and spikes protruding from the cross. Each time he breathed out, each time he uttered a word, he would have to pull up with his arms and push up with his legs. That's why I want to remind you just how precious Jesus' words from the cross were. That's why he couldn't say more than three or four words at a time. Because when you talk, you only talk as you breathe out, not as you breathe in. Every word Jesus spoke on the cross was spoken as he was pulling up against the nails and dragging his back across the cross.

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Many times, I think Christians shy away from looking at the horrors of the Cross. It was horrendous. There was nothing to take pride in. There was nothing that was more humiliating and painful.

Why?

Because without the cross, we have no hope. Before the Cross, we were dead. We had no hope of life. But the One, the Only One who met the standards of perfection. The sinless Lamb of God. Was crucified. Was Beaten. Was Whipped. Was Punctured. Was SLAUGHTERED. For YOU. For ME.

Tears run down my face as I write this. What little, petty things that I take pride in, what do they matter? Who cares what small remarks people say to hurt me. Does it matter? People were shouting insults at Jesus WHILE He was suffering. For Me!

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,"

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Thyself?

2011-04-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

“What sayest thou of thyself?” In John 1, the priests and Levites, which were sent from the Pharisees, ask John this question.

What would your answer be?

“What sayest thou of thyself?” I’m a mother.
“What sayest thou of thyself?” I’m a teacher.
“What sayest thou of thyself?” I’m a student.
“What sayest thou of thyself?” I’m a photographer.

What did John reply? “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord…”

What do we say we are? Is our first response what John’s was? Do you say, “I’m a Christian, leading souls to the Savior.”? Or, do we immediately think of something that has no bearing on eternity?

“What sayest thou of thyself?”

Love: Christ's Way

2011-04-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

The utmost revelation of love. The ultimate sacrifice. The perfect Lamb of God took upon himself SIN. The Creator of the universe, the One who held and does hold all things together. With a thought could split the atom, sending our world into oblivion. This same One was the One who died the most painful death imaginable in that day. The most shameful demise. He hung on a cross of wood. Wood that HE created. He hung suspended from metal spikes that ripped through his wrists. He suffered the agony of being separated from His Father, because he WAS sin. He was OUR sin.

Why?

Because He Loved us. He gave the ultimate sacrifice that WE might live.

"Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friend."
If Christ's death on the cross was the picture of what love really should be, can we evalute our own relationships and see where our selfish nature has belittled the immensity that God created for our interactions with those we love.

When those we love hurt, we hurt. Have you ever experienced this personally? I have. You watch as the pain, grief, or sorrow tears to the heart of your friend or family member. And, as you watch, you begin to feel the same pain. Why? Because when we love someone, they take a place in our soul. And, when they hurt, we feel that same pain because they are part of us. We become so in tune with them that in some instances, we know what they are thinking or feeling, even if they are doing all they can do to hide it. We also are aware of anything that could hurt them, whether in what we do, or what others may do. Why? Because we love them.

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

But, the joy of friendship is rejoicing when they rejoice. Christ showed us the ULTIMATE example of Love. Christ is love. When we love, we show Christ. The risen Christ. The Christ who LOVED us!

Viewing God

2011-04-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

Perspective does not change essence; rather it changes the depth of the perspective.

Humans will have problems with this phrase. How do I know they will have problems? There are two reasons: either they will attribute wrong definitions to the words, or they will achieve the right definitions and disagree with the truth encapsulated in the statement. To save from the first, I will endeavor to define the statement into understandable references.

What do I mean by perspective? I mean outlook. How one looks at something. If someone said, “You just have wrong perspective,” you would take offence, not from the fact that he called you wrong, but the fact that he doesn’t view your perspective in the way you do. He doesn’t look at it the way you would, did, or could.

What do I mean by essence? I’ll degrade for the benefit of arriving at the same conclusion in the end. I, along with many readers, have washed my hair with a shampoo that claims to be made up entirely of herbs. Herbal Essence. You are hopefully not cringing in disgust, wondering how I could clean my scalp with herbs, are you? Nor are you thanking your lucky stars that I’m not sitting next to you, smelling of stomach-turning herbs. No. All essence means in the shampoo is that the fundamental nature of the liquid is one of healthy, benefiting herbs. Essence: the fundamental nature.

What do I mean by depth? Think of a swimming pool (this is NOT going to be a discussion on benefits versus hindrances of swimming. Just follow my logic here, please!) Imagine with me the largest pool in the world, consisting of extensive areas of play for all ages. Olympic size lap swim for the proficient swimmers. Tens of hundreds of slides of all shapes and sizes. Water toys that all children would drool over. And imagine on top of this, mothers, that it was pre-supervised, a free – babysitting service, prepared with references from extensively important insurance companies, guarantying the safety of your children. What would you say if as you were walking through the facilities you saw that the “kiddy pool” had a depth measurement of ten, not feet, but yards? You would say, “I don’t care what references there are, it cannot POSSIBLY be safe for my two year old to be playing in that large amount of water.” Why? Because you didn’t learn your conversion factors in elementary school and have a personal grudge against the unit of measurement? No! Because the amount of water compared to your two year old is entirely un-proportional. You knew it was TOO deep. That’s what I mean by depth.

Now, although I am sure I have lost some of you, I wish to move on. Let me rephrase the previous phrase in different, but equal terms.

How a human views the fundamental nature of something does not change that fundamental nature, but rather changes the amount that is allotted to be understood from that perspective.

I have probably succeeded in confusing you, because, as I write this, I agree that the first statement is less confusing than the latter; but, don’t get lost. Follow me with this one.

In Israel, there are some roofs that are flat. Like flat. (Must I define this too?) With no angles of inclination or declination. Flat. Picture yourself lying flat (the SAME definition) on the roof. Those of the readers who value their dignity, they might want to imagine someone else lying flat on the flat roof in Jerusalem. Anyway… here’s where the dignity goes out the window. Now, consider that you stick your neck off the balcony while lying flat on the flat roof in Israel, creating a ninety degree angle with the wall that extends to the ground. This is important, so stay with me.
Moving on… as you stare down toward the ground with embarrassment reddening your cheeks, you notice something right beneath you. As an American, you KNOW that you KNOW that you KNOW what you are looking at. The greatest comfort food: a Hershey chocolate bar.

Now, speaking entirely from what you see, all you see is the chocolate bar. It looks great. But, you begin to wonder, what size is this WONDERFUL treat? All you can see is the fact that it IS a chocolate bar. You know the dimensions of it – it is so long by so wide. Yet, as your stomach begins to growl, you wonder what the volume is? Or, how THICK is it? From this perspective, thickness cannot be measured. Does that mean it really IS as flat as it looks to be?

Your curiosity is screaming. It is then that you notice a ladder extending down the wall. You climb down the first two rungs, look down, and… what? You see that the candy bar isn't flat, but has a thickness to it

It has changed with your perspective. Right? Think about it. Did it CHANGE its thickness because your perspective moved? Get real! No! Did the fact that it is a chocolate bar change because your view changed? No! Your perception of the depth of the chocolate bar changed, not the fundamental nature of the chocolate bar.

Right now, one or both of two things are happening. Your stomach is GROWLING yearning for that chocolate bar. Or, you are scratching your head and asking, “Thanks for the geometry lesson, but what on earth does this have to do with LIFE?” Well….

The mind of finite man as he views God from the roof takes into account all he can see. But, when we climb down the ladder and see that there is more than what we originally saw, has God changed? No. Perspective does not change essence, but rather changes the depth. At salvation, we were looking down from the roof so to speak. God, from our point of view, was. He existed, and interacted with us to the extent that we realized our need for salvation. But, as we begin to build a relationship with Him, we realize that there is more to God than just the aerial view. He is God. But there is SO much we didn’t understand. Does that mean he is MORE than He was in the past? Perspective does not change the essence. He is still the same he was before, but now we are beginning to see THE EXTENT that He is.

Taking it a step further. Did the chocolate bar CHANGE as we stepped down the ladder? Our perspective, or the place from where we viewed the chocolate bar, changed, but the chocolate bar didn’t grow thicker as we gradually walked down the ladder. It was as it was. God doesn’t change as our relationship with Him expands. He was as He was. He is as He is. Our perspective did the changing, not God.

Further. Did the ingredients of the chocolate bar change as we walked down the ladder? Do the attributes of God change as we grow in our relationship with Him? Is this making sense to you?

I can hear screaming! “Compare God to a chocolate bar? How sacrilegious! Shame on you.” I want to make one thing QUITE clear. I am not COMPARING GOD to a chocolate bar, but rather using it as a metaphor (and my English teacher would supplement the RIGHT literary term here ) God supplied human beings with finite minds, with the ability to only think in what WE can understand or what has been revealed to us. Our finite minds cannot wrap itself around the fact that God is not encapsulated in a body like ours, nor is He just a ghost that walks through walls like a white sheet. But yet God says we, man, are made in “the image of God.” God compares HIMSELF in terms of His creation, so that we might be able to grasp just a sliver of the concept.

Here is something interesting. Suppose someone, thinking that God wanted him to go to a particular college, enrolled, packed up, moved many miles from home, and settled into college life. After a short time, he realized that he had mistaken what God had wanted for him, and spent the rest of the semester with this knowledge. God subjected His perfect will to the imperfect thinking of His creation. Doesn’t this fact limit God’s working in our lives? God limited himself to this imperfect thing He created. But God can't be limited, right? But He limited. Thus contradicting the very NATURE of God. Right? Stepping away from this “problem,” I would like to take another step in our illustration. Straining from your perch on the third or fourth rung down, your fingernails are able to pick up a sliver of chocolate, which you immediately drop onto your tongue. Picked up by your taste buds, the bitter taste of dark chocolate invades your senses. With this, you make the ASSUMPTION that the chocolate bar is, in its entirety, dark chocolate. But, un-known to your “finite” mind, the bar is filled with syrup, white-chocolate, and milk chocolate throughout its entirety. Does your assumption that it is dark chocolate all the way through change the fact that it’s not? Your THOUGHT matters nothing in the COMPOSITION of the chocolate bar. Just as our THOUGHTS about God CHANGE nothing in the very Being that God is. We make mistakes – he misread the will of God – does that mean that God’s will for that semester of college was WRONG? Absolutely NOT!

In conclusion, I’ll restate the facts.
1. As we grow closer to God, He doesn’t change, our PERSPECTIVE does.
2. As we grow closer to God, He is still the same He as He was before – we just begin to see more of the picture.
3. The character of God remains the same, no matter how we view Him.

2011-04-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

2011-04-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

2011-04-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

2011-04-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

2011-03-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

Jack: - You happy? -
Joy: Yes.
Jack: - What kind of happy? -
Joy: Just happy.
Jack- You know my kind of happy? -
Joy: How stupid. I forget. When you ask a question, it means you have the answer waiting. So go ahead, tell me.- Come on. -
Jack:I'm not telling you now.
Joy: What do I have to do, go to the lecture?
Jack: Yes. Buy the book. You know, I don't want to be somewhere else anymore.
I'm not waiting for anything new to happen... not looking around the next corner and over the next hill. I'm here now. That's enough.
Joy: - That's your kind of happy, isn't it? -
Jack: Yes. Yes, it is.

2011-03-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

"When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him you will be - or so it feels - welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence."

By the end of A Grief Observed, Lewis has come to terms with his suffering, although his pain is obviously still raw.

"Talk to me about the truth of religion and I'll listen gladly," he wrote.

"Talk to me about the duty of religion and I'll listen submissively. But don't come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don't understand."

My Background to My Computer

2011-03-08T16:12:00.001-08:00

Joy Davidman Gresham Lewis

2011-03-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

A nominal deist will say : "Yes, of course there must be some sort of Force that created the galaxy. But it's childish to imagine that It has any personal relation to me!" In that belief atheism exists as an undiagnosed disease. The man who says, "One God," and does not care, is an atheist in his heart. The man who speaks of God and will not recognize the presence of God burning in his mind as Moses recognized him in the burning bushthat man is an atheist, though he speak with the tongues of men or angels, and appear in his pew every Sunday, and make large contributions to the church.

~J. Gresham Lewis, Smoke on the Mountain

Quotes

2011-03-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. "

~Marianne Williamson

From A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

2011-02-28T17:48:00.000-08:00

And all this time I may, once more, be building with cards. And if I am He will once more knock the building flat. He will knock it down as often as proves necessary. Unless I have to be finally given up as hopeless, and left building pasteboard palaces in Hell forever; "free among the dead."

Am I, for instance, just sidling back to God because I know that if there's any road to Joy, it runs through Him? But then of course, I know perfectly well that He cant be used as a road. If you're approaching Him not as the goal but as a means, you're not really approaching Him at all. That's what was really wrong with all those popular pictures of happy reunions "on the further shore;" not the simple-minded and very earthly images, but the fact that they make an End of what we can get only as a by-product if the true End.

Lord, are these your real terms? Can I meet Joy again only if I learned to love you so much that I don't care whether I meet here or not? Consider, Lord, how it looks to us. What would anyone think of me if I said to the boys, "No toffee no. But when you've grown up and don't really want toffee you shall have as much of it as you choose."

If I knew that to be eternally divided from Joy and eternally forgotten by here would add a greater joy and splendor to her being, of course I'd say, "Fire ahead." Just as if, on earth, I could have cured her cancer by never seeing her again, I'd have arranged never to see her again. I'd have had to. Any decent person would. But that's not the situation I'm in.

When I lay these questions before God I get no answer. But a rather special sort of "No answer." It is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook Hos head not is refusal but waiving the question. Like, "Peace, child; you don't understand."

Can a mortal ask question which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable. How many hours are there in a mile? Is yellow square or round? Probably half the questions we ask - half out great theological and metaphysical problems - are like that.

C S Lewis on Pain

2011-02-19T13:24:00.000-08:00

Theology and Faith of a Great Man

2011-02-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

“Why love if losing hurts so much? I have no answers any more. Only the life I have lived.

Twice in that life I've been given the choice: as a boy and as a man. The boy chose safety,

the man chooses suffering.
The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal.”

~from Shadowlands, a movie based on the part of life when Lewis meets and marries Joy Gresham.

Believing

2011-02-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen-not only because I see it,

but because by it I see everything else."

~C.S. Lewis

Anna

2011-02-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

Book Excerpts.

2011-02-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

This excerpt from So Much More comes from chapter 10 "Fathers, Daughters, and the Highest Education."

An education can be defined as the training and shaping of the heart, soul, mind, and strength. An education consists not only in the learning of facts and skills, but also in the developing of affections and worldview. Our worldview is how we see and judge our culture and the world around us. Anything which affects our worldview and affections - in fact, anything which influences our hearts, soul, minds, or strength - is educational, whether for good or for evil. And this means that all education is inescapably religious.

Many girls have never thought of an alternative for the bright, gifted girl. Some think that an environment of debauchery is a necessary initiation for real life. Well, occasional brushes with danger do tend to strengthen character, but long-term immersion in an environment of false religious ideas can destroy good character and does corrupt morality.

What kind of education are you saying is important?

We are referring to the kind of education that makes us useful to God, in contrast to the schooling that makes a pupil useful to the State. In the mind 1800's a loving father William B. Sprague explained the essence of the "right" education to his daughter. "I would have you, then, in the first pace, bear in mind that the great object of your education is to enable you to bring into exercise the powers which God has given you in such a manner as shall contribute most to his glory. For all the noble faculties with which you are gifted, you are indebted to the same Being who gave you your existence: on Him also you are dependent for their preservation; and it is a first dictate of reason that they should be employed in His service... the object of education then is twofold: to develop the faculties and to direct them; to bring out the energies of the soul, and to bring them to operate to the Glory of the Creator. In other words, it is to render you useful to the extent of your ability."

Godly education is purpose driven. Because our purpose as young Christian women should be to glorify God and obey Him, our educations need to be our tools in this task. As the great scholar R.J. Rushdoony points out, "...the purpose of Christian education is not academic: it is religious and practical." Therefore the kind of education we need to pursue first is the training and shaping that will equip us to do His work comprehensibly.

The line is drawn between the two competing types of educational priorities at the very beginning of the Bible. As Tom Eldredge points out in Safely Home, "The first conflict in recorded history was a battle over education." He explains that Adan and Eve were given a choice between knowing God and walking with Him, gradually discovering more and more of His truth and wisdom; or a shortcut to instant knowledge - to eat the fruit and know everything, good and evil. These two education philosophies - the empty, shallow knowledge centered around man, and the wisdom of God, which comes only through knowing and fearing God - are still at war today. According to Eldredge: "[the humanist philosophy] emphasizes the autonomous reason of man and his eternal quest of personal philosophy, on the one hand, and social utility as defined by the State, on the other. [ The Christian philosophy] emphasizes obedience before God, a key component of which is the development of wisdom and godly relationships."

We live in an age where even Christians don't question the importance of pursuing trivia, nonsense, political correctness and credentials, and view these as the educational priorities. In a culture devoted to the pursuit of wealth, pleasure, comfort and entertainment, shallow, man centered education is now higher education. Academic "qualifications" have become a goal that has nothing to do with learning or wisdom.

We know families who skipped the "college experience" whose lives are filled with joy and excitement - even professional fulfilment. Family business can be not only fun but successful. We know daughters who work with their fathers and fathers who work with their daughters. These are stories of happiness because the families broke out of the enslaving mentality that "success is impossible without a college degree."

Are there ever and circumstances that might make college attendance, on campus, a legitimate option for young women?"

The Bible never says college is off limits to girls, and we are trying very hard in this book to advance only those ideas that can be defended exegetically. We are attempting to raise a simple question that is too rarely asked by our generation:

If a young woman was determined to think and act biblically, how would she live?

She would rediscover God's design for virtuous womanhood for every stage of her life and try to conform her service to God to that plan. Central to that plan is a virtuous heart, a pure mind, the right education, a strong father-daughter relationship, a wisely contracted marriage, and a wise, God-fearing descendants.

The role of the Proverbs 31 wife and mother is not a role that can be:slipped into" easily. In fact, to do it really well takes a lifetime of training. What are out priorities? Learning to survive" can teach girls attitudes of independence. Hardness, authoritativeness, cynicism. Can this be wise or godly if it damages our ability to become Proverbs 31 woman?

We should be bending all of our energies toward making God's ideal a reality in our lives, pursuing the best-case scenario will all our might. Settling for the status quo will not help pull out society up out of the mire, but choosing the better course can.

These truths have made a major impact on my life. Learning to submit to my father's wishes. and make his priorities concerning higher education mine. I hope this had been as much of a blessing to you as it has to me.

I encourage every unmarried woman to get a copy of this book.

The Reason For Our Faith

2011-02-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

"God didn't put you and me here to save the world.

He already did that."

~Anonymous

Reaching the World should be our goal. But, we as Christians MUST realize that without Christ and His finished work on the cross, everything we tell people wouldn't matter.

We MUST look to Christ as THE reason we can have the hope of eternal life. Focusing on reaching the world is wonderful, but if we forget the Reason we are evangelizing we aren't in victory, nor are we going to see God's power manifested in the lives of those we are witnessing to.

"Looking unto JESUS..."

Book Review 1

2011-02-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

"Nowhere in Scripture does it even hint that a woman has a duty to provide for herself. Even in a worst-case scenario, our Heavenly Father has arranged for masculine protection for needy women.

"Here is an interesting perspective. Throughout history, men have had to bear only the curse God gave directly to them. They work hard to provide for and protect their families. They don't bear children. In our society, women are freely embracing a double curse - the curse of the man (difficulty in providing) in addition to the curse of the woman (pain in childbirth.)"
~page106

"God has a lot to say on the subject of how women are to view and relate to those in authority over them. In most biblical instruction directed at women, we are commanded to reverence or respect the authorities over us: '...and the the wife see that she reverence her husband.' Ephesians 5:33). This same kind of respect is required for sons and daughters to their parents ('Honor you father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise; that it may be will with you and you may live long on the earth' Ephesians 6:1).
~Page 38

If an authority commands you to do something God has commanded you not to do, or if an authority commands you not to do something God has commanded you to do, you have a moral duty to obey God rather than man. You will need to study Scripture carefully to know what God's commands really are and what would constitute disobedience it Him. We also need to be able to discern the difference between God's real commands and the interpretations of our own imaginations. We must not assume that God is leading us through our hearts and passions, which are 'decietful above all things, and desperately wicked.' (Jeremiah 17:9, see also Ezekiel 13:2-9.17) but only through His infallible Word.'
~page 57

Please read this book - it will really encourage you and build you up to a place of reverence for your father and God in a wonderful way!
Be ready for more soon, and I would LOVE to have your thoughts on the excerpts!
~Rae

Book Reviews

2011-02-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

For all those who don't know this about me, I love reading. From the time I was four, I could read. My parents encouraged us kids to read, and there is never a shortage of books to read. (but always a want for ones I hadn't read.) So, on my thirteenth birthday, I wasn't surprised when my parents gave me a book. But I found out as I read the book, that it wasn't just A book. My mom had read through the book, writing special notes to me and underlining key phrases. This last week, I was again reminded about the book, and I decided to pull it out and read it.

And I thought I would post somethings that stood out to me, or that I think would be a blessing, encouragement, or challenge to others.

The book, So Much More, by Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin, is a wonderful book for every unmarried girl out there.

My Walks

2011-01-15T15:07:00.000-08:00

Although this picture was taken in the fall, I thought it appropriate for my post. To get moving and exercise, I have been taking walks with Anna. After changing her into warm clothes, getting hat, gloves, boots, and coat on, we head out. I have such a fun time with her. She loves the snow, and I am constantly telling her, "Anna, get out of the snow."

Spending quality time doesn't require intense planning. It's just taking your life and enjoying it with the ones you love.

Just a thought!

~Rae

Me - not a fun topic :)

2011-01-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

Hey! Things have been busy around here! Let me bring you up to date - my Mom's blog best describes it - and yes, I did ask to post a link - I'm not plagarizing!
http://highnotes.blogspot.com/

And, I want you to know that I'll be trying to post more - with more pictures - you dont want to hear about me :)
Holed up at home - Rachel

Some old pictures I found!

2010-10-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

More Fun!

2010-09-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

2010-09-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

This was just one I got of Zak. He decided to wear this "funny" hat. And this is the smile that Zak is famous for! LOL!

Outside Fall Day

2010-08-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

2010-07-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

2010-07-29T16:22:00.001-07:00

2010-07-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

2010-07-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

Bugs in the hair!

Jolene

2010-07-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

having some fun

Coming Soon!!!!!!!

2010-07-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody! Check back next Wednesday! I am so excited. Next Tuesday I am going to do a photo shoot here in Mayville. I've got all sorts of fun and interesting poses ready! Some bridge shots and a great stairstep to take some awesome pictures! And, on top of all the plans - the "model" is amazing! And - plays the french horn.(which will grab some awesome lighting!) But, most of all, she has an AWARD-WINNING smile!(inside joke!) Stay tuned!

Museum Trip!

2010-06-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

My family and I went to the museum yesterday. I took these. I, of course, being a photographer, have tons more pictures, but these are the ones that I have right now!

Tired after a day at the museum(she slept all the way home!)I need to sleep too! Thanks for lookin'

...

2010-06-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

...

2010-06-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

A Day With Anna's friends

2010-06-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Went to the Park!

2010-06-15T06:20:00.000-07:00

One More Anna

2010-06-07T14:06:00.001-07:00

More Anna

2010-06-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

2010-06-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

More Anna

2010-06-07T14:01:00.000-07:00

More Anna

2010-06-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Anna Faith

2010-06-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

Family

2010-06-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

This Page is being updated. Please check back later!

A Made Up Anna!

2010-05-19T17:27:00.000-07:00

Being sick has its fun parts too(not really, but I can pretend). Sitting in the chair, keeping an eye on my sister, I had the brilliant idea to have a little fun with Anna. So, we went and put on some makeup - Anna Loved it! And then, who could resist taking a few pictures? Hope you like them!

She was watching an educational film - ;) - and it got to her favorite part. I love her little mouth!

I'm not sure about this one, but I kinda think that it adds a little variation to the mix.

The perfect little girl!

Just waking up from her nap

Miss Smiley!

I think this is my favorite one. Mom said to smile for the camera, and Anna did - but not at the camera.

Pictures!

2010-05-09T15:08:00.000-07:00

Seniors

2010-03-04T14:46:00.000-08:00

This Page is under contruction. Please check back later!

Just some Promised Pictures!

2009-12-30T12:41:00.000-08:00

2009-12-29T09:11:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to let everyone that I really have been taking pictures. I just have used my dad's laptop, and I cannot get the pictures over to this computer. Stick around - there will be pictures soon!

More pictures!

2009-08-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

These are some great friends!

I have not been posting because I have been really busy! OK, that's not a good excuse - but it sure seems like I have been super busy lately - getting ready for school! Going to school this year will be a whole new experience! Wow!School starts on Monday - but the school open house is on Saturday!So, here are some pictures. Treasure them, because you will not see many more for a while!

More Beautiful Pictures

2009-04-22T04:59:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Pictures

2009-04-22T04:58:00.000-07:00

The Lord - Our Savior

2009-04-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

2009-04-06T04:54:00.000-07:00

We are redoing the stairways in our hallways - and I got this picture that I was unsure of - please leave comments and tell me what you think!

New Pictures!

2009-03-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

Hope that you enjoy these! Have a great weekend!

First Customer!

2009-03-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to type a quicke post to tell you I sold my first pictures!!!!!

I hope that this is just the beginning!

Logo!

2009-03-09T05:54:00.000-07:00

I am debating about my logo - I like friend foto but I also like homefront photography I just want some advice!

Zak

2009-03-04T05:29:00.001-08:00

Here is a picture that I got of Zak - and I LOVE it!

Pictures of Anna

2009-02-26T09:02:00.000-08:00

Meeting

2009-02-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

I thought that you would enjoy these! These were taken on our last meeting - in January!

Sorry

2009-02-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry that I have not been posting - I have been having some trouble with my camera batteries - they opened up and the battery acid came out! So, I am debating whether to get rechargeable batteries or regular batteries. If you have any suggestions on what type, brand, or any hints please comment!

Thanks for caring

Rachel

Teen Retreat 09

2009-01-21T05:09:00.001-08:00

This last weekend, I had the privledge to spend time with my friends. We all had digital cameras, so you can imagine some of the shots that I got! Enjoy!

Recital

2009-01-15T08:10:00.000-08:00

This last November I had a music concert. Another photographer took these pictures( used with permission) - and I edited them. Please enjoy!

I want to thank the Music Director of this Academy of Music - all the hard work that she and the other teachers put into the concert was amazing and well deserving of praise! Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

If you would like to order a photo shoot of any event - please email me at violin2011@sbcglobal.net to schedule your free mini shoot!

Thanks for stopping by!

Rachel

My Day at Subway!

2009-01-03T17:24:00.000-08:00

This last weekend I spent the day at the Subway where my dad works.I had a great time doing little things around the store, and watching my dad work.My dad as the day began!

We made cookies . . .

. . . bread . . .

. . . ate some of the bread and cookies. . .

. . . and just had fun together!

New Camera!

2009-01-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

Up until now, all my pictures have been done on my mother's camera - which is a great make! But I always wanted my own camera - to do with what I wanted, to do what I thought looked good, and to do things that I would have never done with a borrowed camera - - - and now my wish came true. Thanks to my grandparents, I now have my own camera to use - great camera because it is my camera!

The one person that I love to take pictures of is Anna, the cutest person in our family! Enjoy these photos - taken on MY camera

Suzannah Faith

2008-12-26T14:36:00.000-08:00

Today was my first photo shoot - and probably the most personal one. I took pictures of my new sister, Suzannah , adoption. I thought that some pictures would be great - but they are not done yet, so here are some other pictures of her:My BOO!

Christmas Baby Daddy's Little Girl

Scenery

2008-12-23T19:11:00.000-08:00

More Pictures

2008-12-23T19:10:00.000-08:00