Happy Sweet Sixteen?

"Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days."

~Job 12:12

A week ago I realized that this year I would be turning sixteen.  Since last week I have began to bombard pinterest of my ideas, and I must say I have a lot!  My dream party is being planned on pinterest, while my birthday is still six months away.  I guess I better slow down, but it is so much fun. As I have been scoping out idea, I have ran across some.....well how should I say this, some interesting ideas for a sweet sixteen.  Let me show you what I mean.  

There is one major thing I have noticed while looking at ideas for my sixteen. Almost every one thinks their sweet sixteen is their wedding, with a little bit of pink, or in most cases a lot of pink!

What would you consider the perfect sweet sixteen?

Would it be being carried in like barbie in a box?

Or how about being carried in like a foreign princess?

Are you not the carrying type? 

There is a fix for that. 

You could be brought by way of pink over the top limo!

Would your dream be to be royal for a day?

With your own crown?

Or would it rely on the way you were treated?

Or on how many balloons you had at your party?

Or how many lights?

Or better yet, just how pink!

Would your perfect sweet sixteen be based upon how extraordinary your candles are?

Or what about your cake(s)? Is that what would make your day truly special?

Would you base your opinion on your friend's enjoyment? You could easily score some points by sending home cakes as your party favors.

Or by just having a very SWEET sixteen.

May I make a suggestion. Don't look for enjoyment in any of the things I just listed. All of this is only temporary.  And if you are like me, your sweet sixteen will look something more like this...

You know what though, I wouldn't want it any other way! <3

Waiting On The Lord

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

-1 John 4:8

Waiting on the Lord. What is waiting on the Lord? Pause your thoughts; let me put this in simpler form. How much of your future do you know? Your only know one thing for sure right? Some day you will meet God. This is also known as Judgment day. We certainly know our past, but everyday until meeting God, and everyday after that remains in the unknown for us. So what must we do until then? We must wait, wait, and wait. We fall victim of patience, or rather the lack there of… called impatience.

 

Unfortunately we often suffer from the illness of impatience. Few of us have that age-old virtue. Patience isn’t the thing we have lost however; the thing we have lost is the drive to obtain patience. We do not desire patience anymore, because everything has become instant, instant Internet, instant food, and instant gratification. We see no need for patience anymore.

 

James 5:7 says,

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.”

Just as farmers wait for the rain, we are called to wait on the Lord. Why do we wait? We wait because we love.

-1 Corinthians 13:13

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

 -1 Corinthians 13:4 

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.”

So, what does the bible say love is? It says love is patient. Though we may not have much desire for it in our culture, you cannot deny we do desire love, and therefore need patience as well. If we love each other, we are patient with each other. If we love the Lord, we wait on the Lord.   

We may have our whole life planned and ready, but unless God has approved it, it’s not going to happen. And what do we do when things don’t happen the way we thought they would, we get upset and angry and the situation that we are in. We mess things up and God sends us a fix. His fix is to rely and trust in what He has planned.

But, we can’t do that now can we, because that requires patience and waiting, and we don’t like that. We like to have things our own way. If we give things to God then we are trusting in an unknown future.

Trusting is waiting on what He has planned. We fear that after all that waiting we will be disappointed in what finally happens.

Corrie Ten Boom puts it best. “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.  What is holding you back, is it the fear of taking a risk in the future God has for you. That is no risk. The true risk is not in the Lord’s future, it in the patience to wait on the Lord. Having patience is the biggest risk, but it’s a risk worth taking. Take a God risk. The Lord loves you, and His love is patient.

As we go through out our lives remember what God says in Ephesians 5:1-2.

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

One thing people miss understand is just because you are waiting and sitting still, does not mean God is waiting and sitting still. As we wait, God is building. He is building you a future. His design has been specifically drawn for you and your life.

Waiting on the Lord however is so much more then waiting for Him to reveal His plans for tomorrow. It is a patient action to be taken now, an action to love others. Love is an action that can be taken while waiting.

So when your parents, siblings, or children start pushing every buttons possible, choose to love. And remember that love is patent. Choose to be like God, for God is love. Wait on the Lord and His timing for the future He has planned, but remember to always love.

What a Blessing

"Children are a blessing

    and a gift from the Lord."

~Psalm 127:3

Would you be willing to live your life in front of thousands of people while rearing nineteen children, and setting a godly example?  This is exactly what the Duggar family does everyday!  Living your life as a television show is hard.  I've seen examples of how it breaks families apart.  But the Duggars have something most people do not, other than their nineteen kids; they have a strong Christian faith. 

Many people disagree with having so many children, but the Duggars believe it is part of God’s plan.  Jim Bob and Michelle are both open about the mistakes they have made, and how they have learned from each and every one of them.  One such example is how they learned that children are a blessing from God.  Michelle spent the first three years of their marriage on birth control pills.  She went off of the pills and had their first son Josh.  They loved being his parents and spending time with him. She then went back on the pills.  Shortly afterward Michelle became pregnant while on the medication.  What they thought was impossible had become reality.  Between her second and third month something horrible happened, Michelle had a miscarriage.  The doctor told them that this miscarriage was probably due to the fact that she had conceived while still on the pill.  They were devastated.  To them it meant that something they had chosen caused the death of this precious unborn child.  Jim Bob and Michelle chose to learn from this mistake, and spent many hours praying and studying they Bible.  While doing so they learned that the Bible told us God considered children a blessing.  They were gifts that are meant to be treasured.  They made a vow then to follow God’s plan for their lives.  Michelle stopped using any form of birth control, leaving it up to God how many children He would give them.  A few months later they were blessed with the double blessing of twins!  They chose to accept God’s will for their lives.

   

Raising children is not easy, especially when you are being watched by the world all the time!  The Duggars have their own television show called, “19 Kids and Counting.”  They also have published two books called, “The Duggars: 20 and Counting!” and “A Love that Multiplies.”  In both their show and their books I can see clearly the way they live their lives. Nobody is perfect, and there are times when children disagree.  The Duggars constantly demonstrate how they deal with this.  They are not afraid to show the world their lifestyle and how it is centered on God.  No matter how public their lives are they continue to live by their Christian principals. 

I often wondered how they have time to give each child the attention they need.  The Duggars are very careful about how they spend their time.  They do not watch television, instead they use this time to bond as a family.  It is not easy to keep up with their children’s hearts, it is a constant, full time job!  They try to have individual talks often with their children.  Over time they have learned how to ask the right question without having a critical spirit.  A common saying I found that Jim Bob and Michelle use is to, "praise children ten times more then you correct them."

Though it is a tough job, Jim Bob and Michelle continue to raise their large family in a God honoring way in front of the world.  Their whole marriage has been based on God and His standards.  They have filled their children with God’s Word and His morals.  The Duggars are a great illustration of what a God loving family is.  They learned from their mistake and God has immensely blessed them with nineteen children, and three grandchildren.  They truly believe God’s word that “children are blessing...”  (Psalms 127:3)

Homeschooling

"Let brotherly love continue."

~Hebrews 13:1

Every person has different masks or hats that he or she wears.  There are many pieces to the puzzle of their life.  In this post I am going to tell you about one piece of my own puzzle.  This piece is my life as a Homeschooler.

   Yes, I am a homeschooler, shocking right?  I have been a homeschooler my whole life, and I do not want to change that anytime soon.  I am not shy, I do not hide in corners, I do not wear turtlenecks and denim skirts on a daily basis, I have many friends, and I have been given homework before.  I am hoping that by the end of this paper you will have a better understanding of what a “Homeschooler” actually is.  I am not some freak locked away in my house, spending every waking moment on studies.  No, not quite.  Now in this matter I can only speak for myself.  Most days I do school in my pajamas until we have to go somewhere, or I have to get a shower.  I wake up at 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning, not 4:00 in the morning.  I do chores, and then do regular school just like the rest of the world.  My subjects include, Bible, Algebra, Biology, History, Spanish, and English.  I do school the whole day until I have to leave for dance and theater, but my siblings are typically finished at about 2pm.  After my extra curricular activities, I go home, read books required for school, and spend time with family.  That is my typical run-down, a day in the shoes of my life.

I started teaching when I was 4 years old.  That may be preposterous to you, however it holds much truth.  You see being a homeschooler I learned very quickly the amazing gift of how to teach myself.  By the time I was teenager I had become a mini professional.  Okay, do not mistake my words.  I still have adult teachers, who teach me, and I still need them to do that, but I have learned to teach myself a lot of things too.  My mother will give me my work, make a general outline of what I am supposed to do, and send me off. When I am finished I bring back my work for her to check it, or if I have questions I come to her for help.  It is not like sitting in a classroom watching as the teacher explains every detail.  I do a lot of the work myself, but I cannot do all of it!

“Your siblings are your classmates?”  “You have to spend the whole day with your family!”  I hear these a lot, and they are always said with that “Oh, you poor thing!” tone of voice.  Having my brothers and sisters, as my classmates are not that bad.  Though sometimes I do wonder what it would be like without them.  In a regular classroom I can pull a prank on the teacher and my friends will back me up, they will keep my secret.  When my siblings are there this is not the case, unless of course it is a joint effort. :)  If I pull a prank on my mom there is always a multitude of people ready to tell on me.  They are all trying to earn their extra brownie points for the day.  In most usual cases I am beyond thankful I have my family with me.  I am never bullied by others, never picked on, or cast out.  I mean sure there have been name callings, ice cubes put down shirts, and pencils thrown at heads, but that is what siblings do.  I know that none of it is intentionally meant to scar me.  In less than five minutes we will be back to partner’s in crime.

I have a relationship with my family that is closer then many, and for that I am thankful. I hope you can see now that homeschooling is not as bad as you may have thought!  Homeschooling gives you the opportunity to grow extremely close with your family, and extremely close with God.  You learn more than just school, you learn life.

“What is most important and valuable about the home as a base for children's growth into the world is not that it is a better school than the schools, but that it isn't a school at all.”  -John Holt

   

   

A Conversation That is Worth it

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

~Ephesians 4:29

 I do veritas once a week. For those of you who don't know what veritas is, let me explain. Veritas is a when a lot of homeschoolers come together to make one day of what others call, "real school". They offer class such as Algebra, Biology, Chemistry, Debate, English, Writing, Orchestra, History, Literature, and more, for those mothers who do not want to teach every subject in their child's life. 

Today, I sat in the fellowship hall after English class at church. As I sat there waiting for my mom to come and pick me up I began to listen to the conversation around me. "People watching" is what became of my patience, or rather lack there of. I listened to conversations about what class room biology had been in last year, when someone was going to eat lunch, what homework assignment they had been given, what the latest episode was about, how comfortable some one's coat was, and mostly a lot about Twinkies.

You may be thinking, "Oh! What weird teenagers," or "Oh! What weird homeschoolers," but these were the topics of conversation around me. I sat there awhile listening to people's opinions on Twinkies. How bad they taste, how amazing they are, how plastic-like they are, how some thought they had stopped making Twinkies, some teasing about how un-American it was to say you didn't like Twinkies. Let me just say I don't like Twinkies (GASP! I know.) and I am still very much American. :) 

I began to think about what other were saying, what they were saying reflected them. No one was saying anything bad, the problem was that no one was saying anything really worth it. Every conversation I listened to had no real goal. I am not saying small talk is bad, but there is a balance to be had between the two. 

The conversations, made me think about what goals people should have. Not one time in a conversation did I hear the mention of God. He may not have to be in every conversation, but isn't our goal to make God the center. How can we put God first if we are to scared to even bring Him up in a conversation. So, I ask you. Listen to your conversations with others. How many of them have a purpose, or are the majority just words that will mean nothing when tomorrow dawns?

Biology's Lesson

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whom have been called according to his purpose."

~Romans 8:28

Biology is a fun subject for me. It is not one that I struggle with, yet also not one that I can breeze through. It is an "ok, so-so" subject. I do find lots of enjoyment in though. Maybe the reason I find so much enjoyment is because I feel like I am actually learning something. I can sit down and read a page in my module and when I am finished I have gained useful information that comes into effect as soon as I read it. Math on the other hand, well, lets just say I don't feel that way. Math is more of my struggle. When I am finished with a page of math, especially now doing Algebra, I feel as if I have gained nothing useful. I am not at all saying math is useless, I think it completely and totally useful, and worth learning. However finishing math I feel like there is nothing I can put straight into effect at that minute, rather it is something I learn now, to use later. Maybe that is why I struggle with it, because it is not immediate learning.

Last night as I was reading my biology lesson, I was reading a bible lesson. My lesson happened to be on parasitic worms. Lovely right. Well, I was reading about how each one is harmful if they get into the human body and I came across one in particular a worm called Trichinella Spiralis. This worm is parasitic and makes it's home first in pork and other raw meat, and then they can be transferred to human bodies through the intake of poorly cooked pork. Now, this is not meant to scare you from eating meat every again.My first thought while reading this was, "I am never ever eating a hot-dog again. Forget it!"  Living in fear of these little worms wont do much could either. I still plan on eating meat! :) Anyways as I was reading this my book (or really the author) brought up a biblical example. In the Old Testament the Lord specifically told Moses and others that eating raw meat is forbidden. When I was young I have to admit at times I considered the bible a huge book of laws, and is, but I thought of a lot of the Old Testament laws as useless, harsh, and completely impossible to keep up with. Boy, was I wrong! God does everything for a reason, He has a purpose. He knew that if the people ate this meat they would die because of worm infestation in their bodies. Those people had no idea that meat is supposed to be frozen at 5 degrees  Fahrenheit for 21 days or -22 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 hours. Where were they suppose to get a freezer anyways! Although this may have seemed like a cruel rule for them, it was there to protect them, even if they couldn't see the immediate reason why.

Even though I was supposed to take away a lesson all about worms last night, I ended up taking away so much more! We want immediate it is what our culture is all about. Immediate Internet, immediate food, immediate enjoyment, immediate weight loss, immediate friends, immediate popularity, immediate everything. What we have to learn in that everything is not immediate. God doesn't always give you immediate, so what do you do? Move on, change religions. No, that won't help. You have to go back to the ancient lesson that Patience is a virtue. Stop looking for immediate and start trusting in faithful. The quote below puts it perfectly.

“Quit questioning God and start trusting Him!” 

-Joel Osteen