Monday, October 24, 2011
Books For 2011 #4 "Wintergirls"
Thursday, October 13, 2011
What's the Big Deal About Halloween?
"Beware of false teachers who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are wolves and will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles. Different kinds of fruit trees can quickly be identified by examining their fruit. A variety that produces delicious fruit never produces an inedible kind. And a tree producing an inedible kind can't produce what is good. So the trees having the inedible fruit are chopped down and thrown on the fire. Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit produced. "Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still won't get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven. At the Judgment many will tell me, 'Lord, Lord, we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do many other great miracles.' But I will reply, 'You have never been mine. Go away, for your deeds are evil.' (TLB, Matthew 7:15-23)
This is the "TLB" teaching of Matthew 7:15-23, and I think it paraphrases the orignal verses well. Here is the KJV.
What do you think God likes? Think about it for a second. Do the words gloomy, dark, vile, corrupt, evil, scary or malevolent come to mind? Of course not! Well, first what are some things God hates? God hates divorce, arrogance (the world tells you the opposite), lying, killing of the innocent, plotting to do evil, perjury, the causing of discord in a family, religious hypocrisy, the desire of violence or evil.
"Abstain from all appearance of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:22.)
There God said it. If we are Christians, we will love the things God loves, and hate the things God hates..AND we will run from evil. Notice it says "the appearance of evil." What does that mean? Imagine this: You're walking into the bathroom of the church building, and notice something smells really, really weird. As you look around, you notice some of your youth group friends huddled around in one of the stalls. You know what their doing, and you want to be with them...but your not going to smoke anything. So you go in with them. Then, the pastor walks in, and sees what's happening. Have you sinned? Yes, because you were in the "appearance of evil." The best thing to do would be to walk out and tell someone.
Now, what does God love? He loves a cheerful giver, the world, justice, the righteous, those who love Him, those who obey Him, those who pursue godliness, those who fear Him.
When you picture God, do you picture Him in a dark room, with an evil look on His face? Do you picture Him having dinner with vampires? Oh course not! Most of us, when we picture God, first we get a comforting feeling in our hearts, and we see Him sitting on a bright throne, in a place of light and color...Him smiling down at us. (Or at least that's how I picture it.)
What would God think if you participated in what you know is evil? How do you think God feels about Halloween?
I'm not going to tell you what to do this year when it comes to Halloween, but I want you to try to get a picture of what God thinks about it and what He would want you to do about it. Know that when you see a vampire or monster, no matter the excuse you might come up for it, those things are always considered evil. Would God want you to partake in evil?
If you want to know more about why Halloween is considered "evil," look here.
God Bless,
Hannah
Thursday, October 6, 2011
10 Things I Like In a Guy
1. Must be my best friend. If he doesn't know how to just be my friend then he doesn't deserve to butter me up!
2. Must love pickles. I'm an ultimate pickle person, and I would hope my boyfriend is too!
3. Must be able to make me laugh so hard I cry. Most of you know it's really easy to make my cry, weather its being mean or being funny. A guy should have good humor!
4. Must be comfortable watching chic flicks with me. Alot of people know I'm a big chic flick girl, and it's always fun to watch them with someone else! If he really can't stand it, I'll play Black Ops with him as a trade :)
5. Should surprise me every once in a while. A relationship and marriage can be boring if couples get comfortable with the way things go everyday. It's always great (escpecially for the girls) if there are some surprises in there!
6. Must be liked by my family as much as by me. If my family isn't comfortable with a guy I'm with, then chances are he's not the right guy for me. I normally date for the purpose of looking at the future, and if a guy I'm dating doesn't appeal to my family, it won't look good in a marriage!
7. Must be okay with me taking pictures with him. If there's anything I can't stand, it's when a guy doesn't like taking pictures with me...his own girlfriend!
8. Must accept me for who I am. If a guy is gonna love the way I look, yet critisize me for my beliefs or concerns or ideas, I simply can't be with him. A good relationship can't work that way!
9. Must respect my space and be willing to keep the relationship pure until marriage. I've had circumstances when a guy is really trying to push me to do things that could potentially damage my reputation as well as his and it can sometimes be hard for me to say "no." A guy needs to respect me enough to know what I want and treasure purity.
10. (Last but NOT LEAST) Must have a proper relationship with God. God designed relationships and marriages and tells Christians to be with Christians only. All relationships and marriages alike will crumble if God isn't the centre.
BIG NEWS!
Hey everybody! Sorry....I actually don't have BIG news, but isn't the fact that I'm back big enough? :)
So due to certain circumstances, I have been unable to log onto my Gmail (which I use to log onto my blog) so therefore I have not been able to post anything. But I'm back now in full force with my blogs. Now I will share with you some of my latest obsessions.
My first is beautiful pictures. If you haven't noticed, the last several blogs have had some kind of picture at the top. I just feel like they kind of catch the eye and get you excited about reading my blog (yeah..no). So I pretty much just search the internet and find beautiful pictures that catch my eye. I'm actually pretty much obsessed with taking pictures (not just of myself) and I would love to get involved in some really photography. Now, I'm not trying to sound like a nerd or anything, but the art of taking perfect pictures at certain angles to give a picture a particular feeling or approach facinates me! This year I was actually considering taking a photography class. Well, not just "considering." I actually joined a photography class, just to find out my digital camera does NOT qualify! I needed a USL or DSL or RSL or what not kind to be able to participate in that class. When I found that out, I was like poopy! That would have been awesome! Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to stick with taking pictures of myself....(hehe).
My next obsession is biology. Okay, I don't want to sound like a complete trekkie, dolt, weirdo girl..(Actually I AM being a nerd for Halloween) but I must express my latest preoccupation to you. Okay, most of you know, I am a complete math genious (hahahahahahahaha did I just say that!?) ...no I bet I can't even tell you what 5 minus 4 is...or the recipricol of 4/4 (ha just kidding) but no, really, I am horrible at math! I'm a sophomore taking pre-algebra again! (I know, pathetic, right?) I'm just not a math girl. My mind doesn't work in numbers. My mind works in pictures. (Not bad pictures, mind you.) I hear people talking about things like "prime numbers" or "critical numbers" or "rate of time" and the whole time I'm like "Uhmm.....what the heck?" So yeah, I think you get my drift on that. So, aditional to that, I am not a "history/literature" person. Now, I'm also not the kind of person that will throw up at the sight of a chapter book or the story of Christopher Columbous (I think that's his name...) but I just cannot grasp all those dispensations and time periods and geography. I mean, for all I know, the egiyptians were making hyroglpyics while Jesus was dying on the cross. People tell me "to just put yourself in the story" but I really don't want to imagine myself running around with a cloth over my body rowing a boat in a swamp with croccidiles running away from an african elephant in the rainforest or getting hanged by an evil King or something. Nope, I definately don't do stuff that like. But contrary to that, I do quite enjoy writing. It's kinda my thing. You know, songs, poems, stories, jokes, novels, etc. I actually think I'm pretty good at it, and stuff like that comes easily to me. In addition to that, I cannot stand spanish. Oh, that terrible word, spanish. I will die before spanish people take over the world. I couldn't tolerate it! For all I know I'm a "chica." Which, I think is a girl. Yeah, so spanish I can't do. But you know what I can do? As I already pointed out, (which was supposed to be my MAIN point) I'm in love with biology. Yes, I just confessed...I will probably marry it. It like, my life now. I find myself spending hours on the computer just taking random biology quizzes submitted from collages. My family and friends tell me to "get a life," and I'm like...this is my life! (Haha, get it? The study of life?) Yeah, I crack myself up...Anyways I love learning about DNA and the different Kingdoms and the way photosynthesis works and all of the different animals and how their classified and all of the different plants and their cells and I could go on and on and on. I'm like, addicted to my biology book. I take it everywhere. It's like, my new best friend. I swear, I'm gonna be like some famous biologist something like that (probably not). I'll probably actually go into something like a nutritionast or dietitian or nurse or Biology teacher or something in that catagory. I don't know what it is, but the way life works and is built just amazes me!
My next obsession is chocolate milk. Yes, chocolate milk. I have at least two glasses a day. I know that sounds HORRIBLE considering all of the corn syrup and everything else that's bad about it. But I really don't like soft drinks at all (out of all I'd prefer DP), and I don't really care much for gatorade unless I'm working out. And lemonade is good...but not as good as chocolate milk! I don't know, there's something about it that just gives me chills and shakiness and mouth watering and everything else that comes with that craving. For my birthday I think I want like, a whole bunch of containers of chocolate milk powder. (Is it weird I'm always asking people for food for my birthday?) But yeah, I wouldn't drink anything else or eat any junk food ever again if I could have chocolate milk. :)
My next obsession is PLANNING MY SWEET SIXTEEN! I know, that's like six and a half months away, but you can never start planning too early! I always knew I was gonna have a big party for my sixteenth, cuz you know it's the age when you get to drive and you get a cell phone and you get to hang around with the cool people and your not considered a little girl anymore and so on. Plus, I've met so many amazing people over the past two years because I have been to so many different churches and schools and other events, and it's hard to see all of them individually, so a big party seems like a good solution. But I need help planning for it! It's in April, so I don't know about an outdoor swimming party. But there will obviously be no illegal stuff there, and it will be supervised. I want it to be fun and I really need some help planning it. You would think I've already had most of it planned by now, but every year I've come up with something, I've changed my mind! It's gone everywhere from having a sleepover with my friends to watching high school Musical movies all night to bomb fires to all nighter hide and seek around the neighborhood! I just cannot decide what to do. Maybe I should get invited to other people's parties so I can get an idea on what to do for it.
My last current obsession is playing guitar. Okay, I know your probably rolling your eyes, but lately I have really, really, really been getting into the guitar and trying new styles and transposing screamo to country and rap to lullibyes and rock and roll to hip hop. All with my guitar! I'm also working on writing songs and playing them and posting them on youtube. The problem I have with that is I don't have a camera. I know I keep saying that I'll get one, and I will, but I just can't come up with the money. I'm only fifteen and I don't have a job or anything. Hopefully soon I'll be getting the iPod Touch 4 which has a camera on it and I can just use that. So yeah, my favorite style of music to play to is country because it's obviously the easiest style to play to. Right now I'm working on some Lady A. and The Band Perry and Keith Urban. If you have any songs you want me to play (for you?) then just let me know in the comments!
So that was a lot to type and I hope I didn't bore you. I probably really need to break down my blogs into different sections so I don't overwhelm you too much. Let me know if you like my "Latest Obsessions" blogs because I really enjoy writing them! Talk to ya'll later!
Hannah
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
"Faith Can Move Mountains" Faith Story #1
Sara’s mom and dad went to church when they felt like it, if ever. Young couples even today feel that they have little time to get up every Sunday morning and yet it seemed harder in the 1950’s to attempt to dress four children and themselves properly for church. The dread of having to walk the three fourths of a mile was pure agony with young children ranging from six years to nine months. Pride prevented Sara’s parents from ever asking for a ride from a neighbor or a relative that just happened to be going to the same church.
Things drastically changed when the five year old Sara fell from a flight of stairs going up to a second story apartment. She had to wear her Grandma’s high heeled shoes and climb the steep outside stairs to show her girl friend. How proud she was to wear those special shoes…little did she realize that she would miss making it to the top landing by four steps.
Just as she was going to step up to the fourth step to the landing with her right foot her left ankle weakened causing her to loose her balance. There was only a thin railing with no spindles in between to break her fall. Her tiny grip snapped freeing her to fall from the second story on to a cement sidewalk.
By the time the ambulance arrived she was in a coma. After being taken to the tiny community hospital after many tests it was revealed that she had a compound fractured skull, a concussion, a fractured left hip, and a blood clot behind her left ear. Doctors gave little hope for any recovery. They informed the family that praying was all that would help. Of course doctors never like to be truthful, they want to give some hope, so they told them it would be a miracle if their daughter woke up let alone be normal.
Sara’s parents called a priest to administer last rites as their religious beliefs recommended at a time such as this one. Their daughter did indeed receive the sacraments but continued to remain in a coma. Around the clock vigils were held at the bed side by friends and family, while priests from Sara’s Moms’ parish took twelve hour shifts to comfort family and close friends. On the afternoon of the third day she opened her eyes and saw her parents, recognizing them at once. Doctors rushed in and more tests were completed to verify that she was indeed 100% normal. Of course she would have a headache for awhile, but that would lesson each day as her head healed.
It was from those three days of praying to saints and the almighty one above that gave them the faith to believe in miracles and that religion in their life was important and needed to be practiced weekly if not on a daily basis.
Today Sara is a healthy individual who has gone far in life. Her accomplishments include BSA in teaching, Certified in Psychology and Mental Health, and an author of several self healing books.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Summertime and Schooltime
Hello!
I hope ya'll are having a great week. Here it's extremely hot...about 100 degrees to be exact. But I'm actually enjoying it. I'm not sure why, but I like being outside in the heat. My coach said that there shouldn't be any exception or excuse for not going out running. So I'm trying to get prepared for this up-coming basketball season but making myself work a little harder than usual. I'm also trying to eat healthier and do more push-ups. All of it will pay off when the season comes. :)
This summer actually hasn't been all that eventful for me so far. I did go on a canoeing trip with my family, but most of the time I'm sitting around at home doing weird stuff like blogging and excersising..yes, I know I need a life, don't remind me again. But the boredom of the summer house really got me excited for school to start. Is that like, really weird? Yeah, it is..but I can't wait to finally be entirely occupied with something that will keep my busy.
I'm particularly excited about biology this year. Science is probably one of my favorite subjects in school, and I love learning about the human body and stuff.
But this year I have a pretty full schedule!
I'll be doing
Biology
Photography
Drama
Speech
Algebra 1 (again)
World History
Literature
Voice Lessons
Guitar lessons
Basketball (2 teams)
Home economics
Phys Ed
So that's a LOT for me to be doing in one school year! Just pray that I end up following through with all of it!
Love,
Hannah
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