Heading for the hills...

My family has decided it's time for a little mini vacation and so we'll be heading out tomorrow. We're going to the Smokey Mountain's (hence the blog title) and if it's as chilly in Tennessee as it is in Kentucky, we'll be bundling up well.=~0 If you all would pray that our trip would go well and no one will become ill, this seems tp happen on some of our travels, I would appreciate it. I'll try to take some pictures to post upon our return. To each of you, have a great week!

Oh, I added a blog poll.=)

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Honoring the Elderly

In this day and age, we seem to have it all wrong. We loftily think that those older than us should respect us because we are the, "future" when in reality, we should be respected those who were our past. My Great-grandmother (the only one I ever knew) was a woman who loved God and loved others. On several occasions, she asked me if I was a Christian and I was so glad that I was able to tell her that I did. A few years ago, my great-grandmother went home to be with Lord whom she had served so long, and I can truthfully say that I am so thankful that my parents instilled in each one of my siblings and I the virtue of honoring and respecting the elderly.Had I been rude, self-centered, and thought that spending time with my great-grandmother was a waste of my time, I would have missed out on many blessings, stories, and memories.

"You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD."
-Leviticus 19:32

Why is it important that we honor the elderly? Is it because it might make us look good, help our esteem, or even make the elderly feel special? No, it is because God commanded it. Today, if you have been blessed to have elderly grandparent's, know elderly people, or are simply somewhere and see an older gentleman struggling to open a door; do what God would have you do - honor them by helping, speaking respectfully to, and showing them that you care. Think about it this way, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. As young people, we have the opportunity to respect and honor the elderly; choose to exercise this God-given chance.

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Salvation story

It was a wintry night, near Christmas, and I just could not sleep. I lay in bed and could hear my mom doing a late-night load of laundry. I re-adjusted my pillow and once again vainly tried to get some sleep. In frustration, I got crawled out of bed and went to find my mom. I told her my state of sleeplessness and she said I could sit on the couch for a little while as she finished up the laundry. Lying on the lamp table beside me, was the instructions for the assembly of a LEGO nativity scene. I casually picked it up and felt like something, or someone, had pricked my soul. My young mind (I was around 9 years old) hadn't quite been stirred enough to the fact that it might have been God who had begun touching me. My mother came upstairs and began getting ready for bed and I decided to shuffle back to my bedroom as well. When I got to my room, it was as if a cloud was removed from my thoughts and I realized the reason I hadn't been able to sleep. Jesus Christ was convicting me of my sin and wanted me to accept him as my personal Savior. I found my mom and told her that I wanted to be saved. We prayed together and I felt such a peace that I had never experienced before.At that moment,the "peace of God which passeth all understanding" was mine. I have never regretted my decision to become a blood-bought Child of God and it is my desire that if you don't know Him, that you would come to him. There is salvation in no other and I am forever thankful that God convicted me of my sin and that I chose to lay myself before his cross.


Note: If you're wondering why I didn't mention my Dad, it was because he was out of town on a business trip.

P.S. If you don't know Christ as your Savior, don't hesitate to ask about how you may attain his free salvation.

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On the topic of boyfriends...

I decided to share this with you ladies, keep in mind that I wrote this over a year ago. I would like each of you to feel more than welcome to share your thoughts about the below article, let me know what your convictions are.


Somewhere after "No Boys Allowed" and Boys still having these things called "cooties" is the fact that you then become aware that maybe you and your girlfriends would eventually consider getting married to a boy, who when younger ,you may have considered quite ridiculous. I'll admit that I've never had a boyfriend but I will tell you that even though I'm 16 I don't have a desire to have one. You can call me crazy, and say "Man! Is she still in third grade?" But I'm sticking to the "No Boys Allowed" (in a romantic sense) until I'm ready to get married. Below or 5 reason's why I don't do the boyfriend/girlfriend thing, this is my opinion (and excuse me but I think I'm right) as to why I don't think boyfriend's are essential to your surviving the teenage years.

1. This is the main reason that I don't want to have a boyfriend! I do not think that God intended me to go around "falling in love" with every cute guy that comes my way. One day there may be some godly and amazing guy who comes into your life who truly loves you and wants to marry you but do you want him to be constantly thinking "I wonder if she really loves me? How does she know that she likes me more than the last boyfriend she had?" I really believe that there is one guy out there who I should marry and there are a lot of guys I shouldn't so why should I be interested in them if they're not the one?

2. Boyfriends usually don't allow you to see yourself as God sees you. God made you beautiful the way you are and if me or you feel like we have to dress to impress or keep a guy's attention than the chances are that his attention's not worth having. We are to easily tempted to dress or act differently to gain status and if I have to do that to get a boyfriend then I am not pleasing the Lord.

3. Come on, admit it! Boyfriends are distracting! I'm in high school and have lots of work to do, if I was busy chatting on the phone, texting, and emailing a boy I know I wouldn't have time to excel spiritually or academically. Maybe you're not totally concerned about academic excellence at this point in your life but there may come a time that you might say "I wish I had studied more and goofed off less."

4. I've seen how so many girls and guy's react when they "break up" with a girlfriend or boyfriend and to be honest it disturbs me a lot. I don't think that God intended for me or you to have our hearts broken over and over again by some one who isn't what God may have planned for us or even wants us to be involved with. If I could just have the heartache of breaking up with a boyfriend but instead have that sort of heartbreak when some one rejects the Lord then I think my sense of loss would be worth so much more.

5. Finally and VERY importantly this is the most biblical reason as to why I don't have a boyfriend and that is because I know how easily it is to be tempted. I could be the best Christian in the world but I still could be tempted, I am not saying I would be tempted to sin in a relationship but the possibility of Satan destroying me as a Christian is there. During our teenage years I think we are more vulnerable to temptation and having a boyfriend would possibly add to any temptation that I might have. God commands us to be pure and honor his standards in all situations. Having a boyfriend (and I don't mean having just a friend who is a boy) is helping me on my way to keeping me emotionally or otherwise for the man I may one day marry.

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B is for Bible

In the past days, I have come to notice something that has startled and upset me. Maybe some people don't know it but I am certain there are many who do, but all names referring to the deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible are to be capitalized. I do realize that we all make errors from time to time, but spelling "bible" with a lower case b throughout entire passages most likely isn't an overlooked mistake. I can imagine that you might be wondering why I care so much about this sort of the thing but here is my driving reason: we need to respect and honor the name of the Lord and his Word. It isn't that I think people who fail to capitalize things referring to the Deity and the Bible are horrible disrespects, are lazy, or just don't care; I care because I believe our Adversary has unknowingly crept into all our lives in subtle ways we may not have even comprehended. Do you think it is just a simple error that some may have not been taught a simple grammar rule or could it possibly be that there is a greater force at work in such a simple way that no one knows? I think it is the latter. We know to capitalize the first letter of cities, states, and other people yet there is a lack to remember to capitalize the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm not striving to be a nit-picking grammar police officer or your English teacher, I just would like us all to remember one simple punctuation rule that honors God and brings the due respect to his name.

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Attempting great things...

"Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God."
-William Carey

What are your goals, your dreams, your passions? Do they seem to be never achieved or do you believe that if God enables you, they can come to pass? William Carey was a man who spent his life expecting, attempting, and achieving great things for the Kingdom of God. He knew God had called him to be a missionary to India and he did not give up even when he preached for seven years and not one person had been saved. Has God called you to do something that others might call a "lofty goal or dream"? But how can we peg them as lofty? If God has called us don't you think he has equipped you to be able to do all things through him? If we were to feel as though there were no way we could ever do something for God, we would not attempt to do it (the thing God has called us to do). If we did not attempt to do anything for God, would we expect great things from God? I just want to challenge myself, and anyone else as well, to realize that we need to be attempting great things for Jesus Christ instead of thinking that one day we'll do something. God has called us now; let's allow him to take our lives and let them be used beautifully for him.

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I don't have a title but here's the poem anyway

If we cared, if we shared, if we knew
If we listened;
We could see past ourselves
We would know, we would listen.
To the voices of those
Who are lost,
Who are missing.
The Love of the Savior,
And one moment of time
Could reach out to a person
And quench a heart's soul-searching cry.
Take a moment, to share, to care, to listen;
And one desperate soul may find the Savior they're missing.

by Elizabeth A. J.

September 16, 2009

I know that the above poem isn't wonderful or anything like that but it came from my heart and I wanted to share it.

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Jesus and His followers

I'm not sure who invented the idea of blog "followers" but I pretty sure that whoever did, most likely did it for his own merit. While I think the followers gadget is a good way to keep up with your readers and to find blogs that share in your faith, we can become too obsessive about it and get our eyes off Jesus and instead look to ourselves. What if Jesus had a blog? Would we find that he had as many followers as we have or would we find that no one was really interested in him? The way I see it, we need to become more centered around helping more people see the necessity of following Jesus Christ instead of worrying about people who might stop following or reading our blogs just because we share our faith and our beliefs. The Lord didn't come to the earth to appease or smooth things over with people, he came to seek and to save the lost. Blogger/Wordpress etc. can be a wonderful tool if we can use it to further the gospel and find more "followers" for our Savior. Share the Word, Follow Jesus, and let's stop worrying about how popular or wonderful our blog may be. In eternity, it isn't going to matter how many blog followers I had, how many post I wrote, or how beautiful my blog background was; the thing that will matter is if I shared the love of the Savior with those who needed him and those who knew him.

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I'll be honest and it might be painful...

...for me at least. I was awarded by Antonia and I have to share ten honest things about myself, so here the are in all their uniqueness. Thanks Antonia for the Honest Scrap Award!

1. I have dreadful fear of snakes
2. I'm a rather impatient person
3. I worry too much
4. I do not like coffee
5. I really don't like people to call me "Liz"
6. Jane Austen is one of my favorite authoresses
7. I like to collect purses
8. I enjoy snail mail (ie letters in the mail)
9. I like big cities
10. I drive a mini-van

I think that's it! Anyone who would like to do this may visit Antonia's blog and read her post about the tag.
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Oh, and here is a little simple inspiration for you all. I really love these quotes.

I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go. - Abraham Lincoln

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?- Corrie Ten Boom

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Never Forget...

When I heard the news, I was sitting in my bedroom watching my homeschool lesson and working math problems, where were you? I pray that none of we Americans have forgotten where we were on September 11, 2001. We must never forget the tragedy and the courage that was displayed on that day. While some thought God had abandoned us, he had not. Do you remember the way people prayed and united together during the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks? I do. So many people lost and gave their lives for their country and by remembering the events of 9/11, we can honor them by acknowledging their loss and sacrifice. Today is September 11, 2009 - eight years since I heard the silence in the sky (my family lives near and airport) and watched the horrific images that shot across the news. So today, reflect on that day and thank God for those who died because they were Americans and for those who died because they were the heroes who were attempting to save our fellow countrymen.

Also, if any of you know someone who died in the attacks or are related to someone who did; thank you for your courage.


P.S. I don't really like the music on the video but I wanted t post it because it captures moments that mattered. May God Bless America!

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All things are possible!

First of all, I'm not 100% sure that this video is "real" but I do believe it is possible that it is real. I found the video on Tangle (formerly God Tube) and being a violinist, I had to share it. It kind of touched me because I had always wanted to learn to play the violin and when I was 15 years old, I finally started playing and I really thank God for the opportunity. Enjoy the video.

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His Plan for Me

When I stand at the Judgement Seat of Christ
And He shows me His plan for me,
The plan of my life as it might have been,
Had He had His way; and I see

How I blocked Him here, and I checked Him there
And I would not yield my will,
Will there be grief in my Savior's eyes,
Grief though He loves me still?

He would have me rich, yet I stand here poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While memory runs like a hunted thing
Down the paths I cannot retrace.

Then my desolate heart will well nigh break
With the tears that I cannot shed;
I shall cover my face with my empty hands;
I shall bow my uncrowned head.

Lord of the years that are left to me,
I give them to thy hand;
Take me and break me, mold me to
The pattern Thou hast planned.

-by Martha Snell Nicholson

In 8th grade, I read "His Plan for Me" and ever since, it has been one of my favorite poems. It speaks of a person who realized, nearly too late, that they had not yielded to the will of the Lord. I don't want to be 80 years old woman and look back over my life as I shake my head and then see that I wasted everything the Lord had entrusted me with. We cannot take back what we have lost and I want to grasp that more. I do not want to stand before my Savior and see the remorse in his eyes and feel the pain as I acknowledge what I could have been if I had allowed Him to use me. I want to stand before the Savior having lived His plan for me...

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Eternal security: truth or myth?

First of all, I'm not trying to break open a, " can of worms" but I'm going to truthfully tell you what I believe to be true about Eternal Security. If you don't agree with me, I respect that and I hope you'll not feel as though I am setting myself up to be better than you or are condemning you because you don't believe the same thing I do. Each one of us is entitled to our own opinion and I realize that. If you disagree with me, you can kindly comment and say so and that will be fine with me.=) Thanks for taking a moment to read this.

So, is it true that we can lose our salvation? I am absolutely firm in my belief that it is not possible for Christians to lose their God-given salvation. You may say, what about all those verses that tell us that we can lose (also called "fall away") our salvation? In truth, many verses that have been used to support the belief that we are not eternally secure have been taken out of context and are not the "proof" they've been claimed to be.

(1)If they *fall away, to renew them to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put him to open shame. -Hebrews 6:6

At first glance, Hebrews 6:6 appears to be good standing for the thought that we can lose our salvation, however; a bit deeper look reveals a little something else. In Hebrews 6:6 the first part of the verse (1 and the *) is a reference to Hebrews 5:12. What does Hebrews 5:12 state?

For though by that time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
-Hebrews 5:12

Literally, Hebrews 6:6 is speaking about the back sliding of Christians who have become lax in their growing in Christ and have shed a bad name about the name, "Christians". The again had to be engulfed in the Word of God so that they could continue to mature as Children of God and through their actions, stop shaming the name of Christ.

You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace. - Galatians 5:4

Galatians 5:4 seems to be a strong verse about falling away but in reality, I do not believe it to be. Take a second glance at the verse, did you notice the "you who attempt to be justified by the law"? If we were to attempt to be justified by the law, we have not placed our faith in Christ and have not accepted his salvation through grace. When we try to save ourselves by our own efforts and striving, we have not received the gift of God's grace and have turned our back on or fallen away from the gift of grace that could have been ours.

If I believe in Eternal Security (the fact that I cannot lose my salvation) who on earth would I ever desire to live a good life or do what is right? When we truly are saved and place our faith in Jesus Christ sacrifice he offered by dieing on the cross, we will have a passion and desire to live for the glory of Jesus Christ. Because when we realize how undeserving we are of our salvation and when we grasp the truth of how much Christ endured for us, we will not want to continue in our old ways; we will stop our intentionally sinning and doing what is wrong. We may fail and displease the Lord but he isn't like us; he doesn't snatch away salvation's gift as we would if we had offered it. My sin is forgiven, our guilt is all gone, and I know that my home in heaven is forever reserved for me.

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Set Apart Femininity: a book review

Have you ever had a friend tell you that you should really read a certain book and then took forever to get a copy of the book she recommended? This was the case with my friend Ashley and I. She highly recommended Leslie Ludy's Set Apart Femininity book to me but I never purchased a copy- until a few weeks ago. The book was very good, but I think you might like to read a bit more detail.=)And Ashley, thanks for letting me know about this excellent book!

Set Apart Femininity
by Leslie Ludy

After seeing the eye catching a feminine front cover, who wouldn't want to read Set Apart Femininity? I'm not sure who wouldn't.

The book, which starts off with an introduction written by Leslie, makes you see that Leslie has a passion for what she writes about and for whom she writes. Set Apart Femininity is, in a nutshell, a christian book which sole purpose is to help girls shake off the worlds ideas and opinions and instead, embrace the beauty and desire of Jesus Christ. Have you ever struggled with feeling like you must be accepted by the world, have to have the approval of the opposite sex, or feel like identifying yourself with Christ will totally ruin your life? If any of those thoughts have penetrated your mind, then Set Apart Femininity is a book I suggest you read. However, I would point out that this book would be best understood for readers ages 14 and up. After completing my reading of Leslie's book, I was challenged to strive to live a life that is based soley upon the standards of Jesus Christ and not standards of this world. As Christians, we are all called to embrace a life that is wholly dedicated to Jesus and if you read Set Apart Femininity, I think you be challenged to do that with a stronger fervor.

Here's the link to the Set Apart Girl website.

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A light little post

Deep breath...okay, I got my arm splint of and my arm is healed! I am so thankful for that! The doctor was very pleased with how well my arm/wrist has healed from my surgery and I don't have to go back to the doctor for six more weeks. It was kind of funny to see other's reaction to my scar. These older couples looked at me like I was pitiful- really don't think that's the case.=) Anyway, I did start to think about what it must have been like for Jesus when he was crucified and rose again. What would we have thought if we had seen the scars of all he had endured so that we could be saved from what we deserved? I think we would have been humbled to see the physical evidence of his vast love for us. My scars are relatively small, Christ's were not. He was beaten, pierced through with nails, and had a crown of thorns beaten into his head; those are the scars that no one can overlook. Those are the scars that tell the story of supreme love and our un-deserved forgiveness. Normal life circumstances can get us thinking about more about how little we go through compared to what our Savior did and I've personally discovered that.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.



P.S. I did notice that this wasn't such a "little" post.=^)

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