A Lesson in Hair-Cuttery

  

~ My Lovely Sister ~

BEFORE >

(By the way, my sister made the scarf she is wearing.  It's one of the products of her new hobby "Knitabits.")

  When cutting hair, there are some definite dos and don'ts.  Although it wasn't my "furst" time cutting my sister's hair (it was my second), I learned some valuable tips from the experience that I thought you might benefit from :)

   Never! 

Make your sister laugh and then expect to cut her hair in a straight line

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  Never!

Cut her bangs while she is drinking

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Never!

Poke her in the eye with the scissors

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Never!

Get too close to her eyelashes

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or eyebrows

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this next is a big one

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Never!

say "oops"

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AND

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Always!

Check to make sure your spray bottle is on the 'mist' setting so that you do not direct-stream water into her ear.

I hope you've found these tips helpful, but the real secret to my success............ is my sister :)  No matter how many tips you get on hair-cuttery, you'll never meet with as much success on your second try as an amateur hair-cutter as I have with my ever-encouraging, ever-gracious sister.  

And by the way, her new haircut is a big hit with the family ;)

~ After ~

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"Awakening" Facts

Read this quote.  
        Discover the piercing reality of the world around us:

"The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases and the 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million needy children.  And though at first glance that looks like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth proclaim to be Christians.

The truth is that if only 8 percent of the Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left."

Katie Davis.  Kisses from Katie.  2011.

I Love You Camp Shoshi!!

Soooo.. we're talking about "fursts" right?  

             [ - By the way,  Sorry Guys!!  I know I haven't updated you in a while but I haven't updated my journal either so.. don't feel too slighted :)  - ]

         Anyway - back to "fursts."  I just finished my second summer working at Camp Shoshanah!  It was another great experience, even better than last year because I got to connect more intimately with people and make some lasting friendships.  
         Many of the experiences of camp were repeats for me this summer but a new "furst" that I highly enjoyed was teaching!!  I was blessed with the opportunity to teach one class a day to our group of students ages six through ten.  I've heard people say that teaching is the best way to learn something and I've been anxious to test that theory.  It is so true!  I Loved every minute of teaching and studying for the classes and found myself having to ask my employer, and co-teacher, a lot of questions.  I am very grateful to God for bringing me back to camp this year, grateful for my employer's trust and encouragement and grateful for the attention and participation of the students.  All of these worked together to create a wonderful experience and season of growth this summer.  
          My word to young people in the church is - take opportunities to teach!  Look for opportunities to help out at your Sunday School or Children's Church.  You don't have to have everything figured out.  (No one does, you know.)  And Christian adults, give your young people responsibility.  Put them in positions of leadership and see how it challenges their beliefs and gives them opportunity and reason to grow.  Teaching is a great way to find out what you know and ... what you still need to learn.  :)  And besides,  children are amazing! 

Matthew 19:14

But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me.  Don't stop them!  For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children."

Matthew 21:15a

The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the temple shouting, "Praise God for the Son of David."  

John 1:12

But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. 

         Blessings to all of you and I hope that this summer was for you enjoyable, and a season of growth!  <3 

Reflections and Poetry

Life doesn't always feel fresh.
            Sometimes it feels boring.
                                             Routine.

        I've felt lately that there wasn't much to write about.  However, life does not have to be a constant roller-coaster of joyous "fursts."  :)  Life is made beautiful by family, health, our walk with God.  I am, and have felt, blessed by all of those things lately.

        Although I will be posting some highlights soon I would like to share this poem now.  I read it in my Literature book today at school and it made me cry.  I have copied the first half of it here:

Long ago the Lord looked down
Through the years to this small town,
This street, this house, and planned that I,
While I was living here, should try

To do His work and will, and so
He started, long and long ago,
To make this person which is I,
He watched and guided from the sky,

Had this one marry that, and He
Sometimes would make one cross the sea
To meet the one he was to wed.
Strangely, strangely they were led,

And strangely mixed, some Irish, Dutch,
Some Scotch, a little French, not much,
and English blood to some degree,
Till many races met in me

To give me just this mind and face.
And then He saved me, by His grace!

~  "Long and Long Ago" by Martha Snell Nicholson

            I guess it's just a reminder of how much our infinite God loves us, how He watches over our lives and has plans for us even when it seems like nothing's happening.  

Will You do Nothing?

                         ~ "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing." ~ Edmund Burke

      

  One of the deacons in my church is also my high-school teacher and my youth pastor.  Every week he pours out his time and compassion to the unsaved kids at my youth group, trying to lead all of us closer to God and to disarm the lies and misconceptions of this world.  Tonight we watched Veil of Tears.

       This movie exposes the heart-breaking way of life for most women in India.  We know that poverty and the caste system are hurting these women, but there are even greater contributive factors.  The cultural mindset of many Indians is damaging and can have tragic effects.  In India, women are not valued.  They are considered inferior and, at best, are treated unfairly.  Many are beaten, raped, murdered, abandoned, disowned....... the list goes on.  

       The movie was about one and a half hours long.  As I watched, my heart became more and more burdened for these Indian women.  What really made the experience so poignant was that, one month ago, I was walking in the slums (of Africa).  I saw the naked children of drunken fathers and of mothers who felt that their only option was prostitution.  I became so discouraged watching the movie that about half-way through I wondered, "What is the hope for these millions of people?  What could possibly happen to them to make their life better?  To give them a transformed future?"  Isn't it crazy that I even had to ask!  

   

       Of course the answer, - that this movie did end up revealing - the hope for these millions, is only found in the Gospel of Christ.  Only God's Word and God's love are strong enough to shatter the mentality of an entire country, engraved through the millennia.  Only His Word can transform the way these people see themselves and give them the hope and the power to rise above their current position in life.

       God has sent people into the country to aid the citizens of India, but He has also sent us into the world.  There are so many things we can do.  We may not be able to fly over to the country and spend the rest of our lives with these people - but we can still be helping!  We can aid in furthering God's work in these broken lives.  It may be through donations; it may be through sponsoring a child.  Even if we can't give financially, we can pray.  In fact,  brothers and sisters in Christ, we are commanded to pray.  Jesus said in Luke 10 (and other places), “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields." 

       I need this lesson just as much as anyone.  I need to be reminded over and over... and over.  :)  We as Christians have a responsibility to give, at least our time in prayer, to the people around the world: the widows, the poor, the fatherless.

I am only one, 

but still I am one. 

I cannot do everything, 

but still I can do something;

 and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

Helen Keller

"You can be the turning point in the life of a needy child."   Check out the link http://www.africaconnect.org/pages/ian-memorial.html  

to find out how!

The Shocking Reality

       I love reading my Bible.  However, I seem to operate on a pendulum in many areas of my life: at one point,  I may be digging gold out of God's Word like there is no tomorrow, and, at other times, you may find me in a state of seeming apathy, hardly ever opening my Bible's cover.  Despite these contradictory actions I truly love God and I always desire to please Him and enjoy reading His Word.  For the past year or so, my goal was to read every book of the Bible that I hadn't read before.  Except for Revelation, I have accomplished that goal.
        Last week I decided to read the Bible again, this time putting into practice some of Deitrich Bonheoffer's advice, from his book - Life Together.   He suggests reading multiple chapters at a time, two from the Old Testament and one from the New.  I now do this every night and am not only taking notes on what I read but also compiling a summary of the Bible in my own words, chapter by chapter.
       Last night I read Matthew chapter seven.  I was especially struck by verses 13-23.  These verses related to something that has been a concern of mine for several years now.  That is, whether the young people around here - where I live, and in my youth group, are really saved.
       It seems that in recent times, kids are spoken to about salvation and are then taught about God's love and acceptance and compassion.  These are all majorly important attributes of our God, the God of Love, who does have compassion on all men and will accept any who turn to Him, and although it is important, and maybe even necessary, to understand God's Love and Grace in order to have a real relationship with Him, kids (and any new converts) should also be taught what pleases God - and what doesn't.  The Christian life is a TRANSFORMED life.  Through Jesus Christ we have died to sin (Rom. 6:11) and because of His power living within us we are no longer subject to it - so why do many people today think that it is okay for kids to pray the salvation prayer and then continue in their old lifestyle and sin patterns?
        The verse that really stood out to me in my Living Bible last night was verse 21, which says,

             "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."  

I think that this really sums it up and describes countless Americans today.   To me, it is just as frightening, and maybe more, to see someone that has false security in their salvation than to see one who knows he's not saved. 
         I just wanted to share this and to try to spread awareness of this issue.

       Please pray for me.  Due to instances in the past I have been inactive in my youth group for a long time.  God has recently put it on my heart to step back in and reach out to two girls in particular.  One professes faith in Christ but I'm not sure that the other does.  Pray that I will be able to develop a close relationship with them both; that I will be a good friend and that God would use me to show His love to these girls and would use this desire in my heart to help both of them to find true salvation and experience a transformed life. 

JEEP!

        Remember when I said that I couldn't get my permit on my birthday, which was a Wednesday?  Well, I got it on Friday, 14th.  That's right - I am now the proud possessor of a permit! :D   ~ (Yay!) ~    It took Dad and I two trips after school to the DMV and several phone calls but I was finally able to take the test, scoring a 19/20.  And, despite my habit of cramming,  I still remember the information in the study manual.

       But - what good is a permit, if you can't drive?  Dad has graciously spent several hours with me already, practicing in his red, manual-transmission, 5 speed, jeep.  I've only stalled the car about 5 times so far and have only run up on one snowbank.  I'm making progress! :) 

        On the very 'furst' trip we all went together: Me, my Dad, and my little sister who had been just as eager to go as I was.  (I say had.  She has not volunteered to accompany me since then.)  Thankfully, although our house is on somewhat off a main road, we are very close to a decent network of practically deserted side streets.  Dad directed me around a certain loop ending back at our house.  When I parked the car in the driveway Dad said, "Now. Get out of the car and walk around it twice before getting back in."  I suppose he thought that I needed to calm down.  The second time we made the loop and parked Dad said, "This time, you get out and walk around the car again - and I'm coming with you!"  :)  At school the next morning Dad reported that he had felt himself aging during our practice time.   However, we are all still alive and I have made enough progress since then to drive us to church on Sundays!........ in Mom's car...........which is automatic.  :/   I guess a little more practice is needed in the jeep.