Psalms 51

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

This... umm... YEAR... in pics :)

I've been told that I need to put more pictures on my blog, so I got some together to put :)  Unfortunately, they're just ones I've found online because my camera's batteries are dead, and I'm feeling lazy and haven't put new ones in!   And for the ever creative post title, I am trying to avoid any copyright infringements lol!

I'm super excited about redoing my room sometime soon!! I've picked out my color scheme, bedding, and everything, I can't wait :)
  
I love the yellow and grey colors!!




















Other big news is that before too long my brother will be opening a shoe store similar to the one we worked at in Shipshewana soon!!  We're all super excited about that!  On top of that, the other night, we went to 'check out the competition' and they were having a super awesome sale on some really cute shoes.  They were buy 1 @ 50 % get the second pair free.  So for a late valentines day gift, my brother bought me some shoes :)








I love these shoes!! Aren't they awesome?!  And comfortable!  Lol, it will be amazing when Luke has his store going, because he'll be carrying lots of shoes like these :) YEEHAW!!

Six Essentials to Abound in the Ministry

I got an email from one of my friends at school with an outline from a recent Christian Education class.  They had Pastor Archie Parish from Idaho as a guest teacher and he used this outline for his lesson.  Following is the oulting that she sent me, it was a great encouragement to me, I hope it's the same for you :)

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

 1.     Have a deep personal relationship with God. 

a.       Without this, you will get discouraged.  Your relationship with God strengthens you against sin. 

b.      Who do you want to please most? people/friends? If you so you compromise. 

c.       How much time do you spend with God?  Where is your priority? 

d.      What is the quality of your time with God? 

e.       Do you get your strength, comfort, joy, peace, etc. from Him? 

f.       Can you get by with having Christ as your only friend?      The ministry can be lonely.  Standing for what is right sometimes leaves you standing alone.

2.     Know what you believe. 

a.       What is your standard for what you believe? What others tell you or the Bible? 

b.      Do you apply that standard to every area of your life? 

c.       Can you back up what you believe with scripture?                 The Bible applies to every area of our life. 

d.      Are you confident enough in what you believe to stand on it when no one else does?

3.     Have a developed faith in God. 

a.       Is what you read in your Bible real to you in your life?  Did God really feed Elijah at the brook?  Did the widow’s cruise never run out?  God has not changed. 

b.      Have you trusted God in the hard times? 

c.       Are you ready to pray for the hard things and expect God to do it?             Ask God to increase your faith.    Life is hard but God is great.

4.     Have a healthy habit of self-examination (not self-defense). 

a.       James 1:21-25 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 

b.      Do you take the time to allow the scripture and the Holy Spirit to reveal your problems to you? 

c.       Do you have a desire to discover and correct your faults? 

d.      Are you honest about your faults? Do you take criticism well? 

e.       What steps do you take to correct your problems after they’ve been revealed to you?

5.     Have perseverance. 

a.       What is your habit of follow through in other areas of your life?  Do you finish what you start? 

b.      What’s your motivation to do God’s work? Is it to please God or man? 

c.       Will you keep going when it’s hard? 

d.      Can you keep going when others are against you? 

6.     Be a self-starter. 

a.       Do you pay attention to what needs to be done around you? 

b.      Do you know how to set goals for yourself? 

c.       Who or what is your motivation to do what needs to be done? 

d.      Can or will you do the work of the ministry with no one else to help you?

Lord of My Heart

Jesus, my heavenly Father,

King of the heavens you are,

Loving and caring, forgiving,

You are the Lord of my heart.

Jesus, my wonderful Savior,

King of all kings from on high,

Lord of all glory forever,

You are the Lord of my heart.

Jesus, my rock of salvation,

My refuge, my fortress, my God,

Hope of the world and all nations,

You are the Lord of my heart.

Lord of my heart, Savior divine,

You shed your blood, suffered and died;

Giving me life, you gave your all,

Lord of my heart.

Added to my List of Knowledge

Let's see... 2013 is 50 days old... And in those 50 days I have managed to add to my skill list quite a bit.  I am rather proud of myself, if I might be for a moment :)

1. Staining cabinets- check (while watching a little munckin and a cat away from wet cabinets)
2. Writing shopping lists instead of just buying - check
3. Laying peel and stick tile - check
4. Effective budgeting - check
5. E-filing my own taxes - check
6. Planning room decor with homemade/goodwill items -check
7. Planning effective lesson plans for the kids I tutor - check
8. Living for a week without water and learning to 'manage' - check

Some people might be reading this and saying "so what" but, for me these are just a few steps practicing for when I'm on my own, and I'm rather excited about it!!

Smile Awhile :)

AHH!!

I seem to be the living epitome of the phrase "when it rains, it pours" Among all the craziness that equals my life, Wednesday we discovered that there are a few big leaks under our kitchen sink... Mom called our plumber as soon as possible, but he wasn't able to get out to our house until Friday morning... So then Thursday before we left for skiing, we had the city come turn of our water.  We haven't had water in our house since then.
I tend to be a little bit on the spoiled side when it comes to personal comforts, so this has been rather annoying for me!! Lol.  Yesterday we were able to go to a local motel and get a room for just a few hours without having to pay full price to get showers and such.
We found out that our pipes have been totally corroded.  The plumber should be calling us tomorrow with more information, and Pastor Shuster is coming out sometime tomorrow to look at it and see what's going on.
Please be praying that the water gets turned on soon!!!

Pictures from Skiing

Well, I got pictures like I said I would!!  4 pictures total! Haha, one blurry pic of Luke, Pastor, and Christian, and three pictures of Arlin!!  So, here they are! :P

Arlie was such a good boy!  

And chubby!! Really really chubby!

I came in early and played with him for a while!  He's so cute!! 

Power of the Cross

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.
Chorus:
This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow. 

Now the daylight flees
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the victory cry. 

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

This, the power of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us
What a love! What a cost! 

We stand forgiven at the cross
.  

Can I Get an Amen?!

He Died for Me

I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood;
He fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

Oh, can it be, upon a tree
The Savior died for me?
My soul is thrilled,
My heart is filled,
To think He died for me!

Sure, never, till my latest breath,
Can I forget that look:
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Tho' not a word He spoke.

Oh, can it be, upon a tree
The Savior died for me?
My soul is thrilled,
My heart is filled,
To think He died for me!

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair;
I saw my sins His blood had spilt
And helped to nail Him there.

Oh, can it be, upon a tree
The Savior died for me?
My soul is thrilled,
My heart is filled,
To think He died for me!

Alas! I know not what I did,
But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain.

Oh, can it be, upon a tree
The Savior died for me?
My soul is thrilled,
My heart is filled,
To think He died for me!

A second look He gave, which said,
"I freely all forgive:
This blood is for thy ransom paid,
I die that thou may'st live."

Oh, can it be, upon a tree
The Savior died for me?
My soul is thrilled,
My heart is filled,
To think He died for me!

Skiing pics... or... not :(

This Monday we went to Cabrafae in Cadillac to go skiing with my grandparents.  The weather was absolutely perfect for it.  A little chilly, but the wind was not to strong, and the hills weren't icy at all... in fact it was almost to powdery!!  I was going to take my camera to get pictures, but I forgot my camera... But I get another chance :)  We're going up to Crystal Mountain with our church this next Thursday and.. ahem, hopefully, I'll remember my camera this week :)

You Tell on Yourself

My Pastor read this poem in his sermon last night, and I thought it was a great

 thought.  Something we always know, but is nice to be reminded about every once in

 

a while.

You tell on yourself 

By the friends you seek

,

By the manner in which you speak;

By the way you employ your leisure time,

By the use you make of every dollar or dime.

You tell what you are

By the things you wear,

By the spirit by which your burdens you bear;

By the kind of things at which you laugh,

By the records you play on your phonograph.

You can tell what you are

By the way you talk

,

By the manner in which you bear defeat;

By so simple a thing as what you eat,

By the books you choose from a well-defined shelf 

.

In these ways and more, you tell on yourself.

So there is really not a particle of sense

In your efforts to keep up your false pretense

 

Bow the Knee

There are moments on our journey following the Lord

Where God illumines ev’ry step we take.

There are times when circumstances make perfect sense to us,

As we try to understand each move He makes.

When the path grows dim and our questions have no answers, turn to Him.


Bow the knee;

Trust the heart of your Father when the answer goes beyond what you can see.

Bow the knee;

Lift your eyes toward heaven and believe the One who holds eternity.

And when you don’t understand the purpose of His plan,

In the presence of the King, bow the knee.



There are days when clouds surround us, and the rain begins to fall,

The cold and lonely winds won’t cease to blow.

And there seems to be no reason for the suffering we feel;

We are tempted to believe God does not know.

When the storms arise, don’t forget we live by faith and not by sight.

Oh yeah, I'm Professional!

Lol, this morning I went over to my friend, Jesse's, house to help her stain her cabinets because she and her husband are getting ready to move into a new place.  It was fun to spend time together...  She was joking around and pointed out that by the time I get my own house I'll be a pro at remodeling after helping her.  We had a great time, it was both of our first times staining wood and so it was a fun experience for both of us!  we talked about where our country was headed, which for a while was depressing, but at the same time we both agreed that we just have keep trusting in the Lord, knowing that He holds tomorrow and we can trust our future to him!  And, as usually the case with my li'l group of friends, we spent the afternoon blasting out some of our favorite songs :) It was neat because Jess sings alto and I switch back and forth from alto and soprano...  so we blended. well. somewhat well :)

I Could Read It, Can You?!