Amazing Grace

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
Chorus:
My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

Chorus(x2)

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

I'm not usually a fan of Chris Tomlin....but this is one song that really touches me. I really love the way my brother can sing it....I wish y'all could hear it. He (IMO) puts something into it that Tomlin totally misses. I think it's called: true and honest worship. I know that Chris Tomlin does worship God, but it is tainted with a desire to also put on a show. (That's all my opinion of course. ;)) You can watch the youtube video here: Amazing Grace

Love in Christ,

~E

Something I hadn't thought of before.

Last Sunday, one of our pastors brought out a point I hadn't thought about before. He said that when he was a boy, he always thought that people say "Happy New Year!" because they're wishing everyone a happy New Years day. However, that is not the case; we're actually wishing everyone a good year!! As I was thinking about that, I wondered what a good year meant? It came to me that a "good" year does not mean that I am happy all the time and lots of great stuff happens to me. It means that I am doing the Lord's will in everything I do and praising Him with thankfulness, even in the hard times. When you think about it in that light, every year can and should be a good year. :)

~E

BTW, how do y'all like my "new" blog? ;D Can you tell I love putting new stuff on my blog? It's so much fun!

Happy New Year!!

Wow, another year has passed. Lots and lots happened in our family in this year! I'm sure that all of you have had an interesting year, too. As I think back on this year, I wonder what I've accomplished? Quite a lot, actually. Here are some things I managed:

Driver's license

Graduated school

Picked my job at Petsmart back up

Became a groomer through them

Bought my own car from grandma

Partly learned how to love someone when it's hard (I'm still working on it. ;D)

Here are some things I'd like accomplish this year:

Read my Bible every single day.

Work on praying without ceasing.

Keep working on being a better big sister.

Learn better how to balance my love of animals and my love of humans. It can be really hard to find the balance sometimes...I tend to tip too much towards animals. Don't worry, I catch myself. ;) ;D

Those are only a few things...I know I have much more I'd like to accomplish...it's just that I can't always remember things to put down on paper when I'm actually trying to think of them. *rolls eyes*

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Matthew 28:20b ...and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

In Christ,

~E

P.S. No, I didn't actually post this at 12...I scheduled it. ;D

Concerning my testimony

I made a few changes to it...first of all, I evidentally got the story of my great-grandma losing her first baby slightly wrong. She wasn't drugged (I was pretty certain she was, but dad said no). So, got that a bit wrong. Also, evidentally mom changed her mind about posting her book on the internet as a free e-book. So I changed that....she's not sure how she's going to publish-distribute it. Also, in Patrick's interesting experience with a demon paralyzing him, he actually wasn't dragged onto the porch. (If you'll remember, I did say I wasn't sure about that. ;) So I found out I had reason to be unsure. ;D)



I know that my family's testimony is very, very weird. I understand that. It's so weird, some of you aren't able to take it and will cut contact with me. I understand that, too. However, please don't just assume that something is wrong with me and my family because something like that happened to us!! I realize that I didn't prove a lot of what I said with Scripture. I really didn't have time; that thing took me at least an hour as it was! Mom's book contains the Scriptural backing for all that has happened. And yes, it's all in context and everything. :) However, I'd encourage y'all to go look at the Scripture for yourselves. Perhaps one day I'll post a bunch of Scripture verses for y'all to look up....but that's a perhaps. ;D


In Christ,

~E

It hasn't always been this way
I remember brighter days
Before the dark ones came
Stole my mind
Wrapped my soul in chains

Now I live among the dead
Fighting voices in my head
Hoping someone hears me crying in the night
And carries me away

Set me free of the chains holding me
Is anybody out there hearing me?
Set me free

Morning breaks another day
Finds me crying in the rain
All alone with my demons I am

Who is this man that comes my way?
The dark ones shriek
They scream His name
Is this the One they say will set the captives free?
Jesus, rescue me

As the God man passes by
He looks straight through my eyes
And darkness cannot hide

Do you want to be free?
Lift your chains
I hold the key
All power on Heav'n and Earth belong to me

You are free
You are free
You are free


This is a beautiful song; it helped me through many hard days when my family was being delievered from the demons that bound us. (I'll post more about that story later. :))

Listen to it on my playlist at the bottom of thsi page; it's #3 or 4. Beware, it gets a bit rocky, so if you really are offended by that style, don't listen. Considering the subject matter, I understand the intensity of the music style, but some would be offended by it.

In Christ,
~E

What's going on today...

Does anyone struggle with being irritable a lot? I do.....it's hard to admit, but I do. It's not that I walk around all frowny and upset, it's just that little things upset me. Little sister doesn't come into the kitchen to help me when she should; I get upset with her. Little brother is being foolish (again. ;D) and I snap at him. I've really been trying to ask for God's help with my weakness there....and He does help me when I ask Him. But how often do I ask for His help? Not as often as I should. How often do I just try to do things in my own strength? WAAAY too much. Sadly, I'm pretty stubborn. I want to justify myself for getting upset with my siblings and therefore eliminate the need for God's help. Really, the battle is half won when I"m willing to admit to God that I'm wrong and need His help in something. In my own strength, I am nothing. But "I can do all things through Christ which stregtheneth me" (Philippians 4:12)





Today is cleaning day....oh boy, that in and of itself could get me down. ;D Our cleaning always seems soooo overwhelming at the beginning!! Thankfully, we're almost done. Just have to vacuum/mop my room. Really, it wasn't as bad as it looked at the beginning. You know how when you sit and talk about what needs to be done that day it all seems almost too big to handle? Once you get going, it seems to get less. Once the cleaning and other necessaties are done, I'm going to work on our latest home movie!! I came up with it. Here's the story line (disclaimer: it's meant to be excrutiatingly corny. That's my family's style with stories we make up!).

The two fastest pacers in the land are going to have a match race.




It's all arranged, and the owners are training for it. M knows that


her horse is slower, and knows she has to do something about it or


she will lose her fame. She researches ways to pump a horse up,


and decides on purple grape jelly. Meanwhile, D is training her


horse for the race; twenty miles a day at a fast gallop. Patsy is in


top form; she isn't even blowing after those twenty miles and


wants to run more. D knows she has a great advantage.


The day of the race:


Minutes b4 the race, M secretly feeds Pepper several spoonfuls of


jelly and sends her out to the wire. D straps her horse to her jockey


and sends Patsy out, too. The crowd cheers wildly. The horses are


ready and prancing. The bell clangs and they are off!! The horses


power down the track, both striving for the lead. Patsy is ahead by


a nose. Pepper tries harder. For a minute, it looks like she'll make


it!! Then, the jelly wears off and she falls back many lengths. Patsy


is the champion of the race! !






After the race:






M congratulates D. Suddenly, D sees a spoon with purple jelly in


M's purse. M is mortified. The officials penalize M heavily and


take away her racing privileges. M pleads for a lighter sentence,


and promises never to cheat again. The officials relent: she only


has to pay the $1 million but still gets to race. M is radiant!!


The end.


This afternoon I hope to get a lot of it filmed; I already got Patsy running for her workout. I loaded her up in the car, drove her to a spot in the neighborhood that's a ways away from our home and let her out to run beside the car. She loves it!! We average about 20 mph; I'll take her out again today to get a few more shots at different angles. (BTW, I'm not the one filming; I drive. ;) Sis' takes a video....) Then I'll get all my siblings together and we'll get the rest of the movie done!! ;D We've done several already. It's a great way for us siblings to spend constructive but fun time together. And it creates lots of good memories. I mean, some of the bloopers we get are hilarious!!

In Christ,
~E

Something to think about...

Today mom was checking up on us about our Bible reading. I must confess, I haven't really been reading my Bible. I mean to, but forget/have to go to work, etc. Anyway, mom said something to the effect of: if you can't stop long enough to read your Bible for a few minutes, you're too busy. I'd never thought about it that way; but she's right!! We must make time for God and His things.

Prayer is another thing that one must make time for. I personally don't set aside a time of prayer, but instead pray as I think of ppl who need it and as I think of specific prayer requests. After all, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says:

"Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing
In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

I definetly don't make the "pray without ceasing" mark, but one can't reach a goal without trying. ;) Like everything else, it's an on-going discipline.

Needless to say, I will be doing my best to read my Bible daily and pray without ceasing before I do other things. :) After all, if I put "other things" before my Lord, what am I saying to the rest of the world? If I were one of the world and saw a Christian putting the things of God after his other obligations, I would probably assume that that Christian wasn't truly a Christian. I certainly don't want to appear as a Christian in name only. ;) I'd actually appreciate prayer in this discipline. :)


Tonight we're going to be having a prayer meeting with a family and my grandparents. Evidentally, President O'bama has invited some Muslim leaders to the White House for a day of prayer to Allah. That will take place tomorrow. Here is a quote I found off of here: http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/2347019/posts

QUOTE: "American Muslims have also enjoyed the direct support of President Obama. In April, he traveled to Egypt where he told the Muslim world that America no longer considers itself a Christian nation. He later traveled to Turkey and announced that America was one of the largest Muslim nations in the world (despite the fact that 78% of Americans claim to be Christians but only 1% claim to be Muslims). Then in May, President Obama refused to invite Christian and Jewish leaders to the White House to participate in the National Day of Prayer (as former presidents have done), but in September, he did invite Muslim leaders to the White House for a special Muslim Ramadan celebration to commemorate Allah delivering the Koran to his prophet Mohammed.




Heartened by this new encouragement, Muslim leaders have called 50,000 observant Muslims to come to the Capitol this Friday, September 25, for a day of Jummah (Friday congregational prayer). The sponsors promise that from 4AM to 7PM, “the Athan [the call given five times each day for Muslims to participate in mandatory prayer] will be chanted on Capitol Hill, echoing off of the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and other great edifices that surround Capitol Hill.” The goal of this event is that “the peace, beauty and solidarity of Islam will shine through America’s capitol.” In fact, their website:





Please let's be in some serious prayer!! Our nation is in dire need right now.

In Christ,
~E