Wednesday, June 30, 2010

NIPTO, Day 143

“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.” Martin Luther

This is a great quote. :) And I thought I would share it with you.

I just got done skyping with Anna. It was fantastic. She's funny. I like her.

Hannah was just talking to me... and I just heard "a hobo pig that turns into a man! Nightmares for yoou!!" ... uhm... wow.

Lets see. Today I made ice-cream pie. (And ate it later, it was good) Annnnd while I was making ice cream pie, I discovered that the plastic that was the cover on one of my pie crusts was cracked. So we took it back to Tarje and got a new one. The girl who did the exchanges was nice and was like, "Oh. Yeah. That's not good. Do you want to return it or exchange it?" So that was good.

So I made 2 ice cream pies. They were described in yesterday's post. Erm.... then I practiced piano a bit? I don't really remember what I did in the afternoon. OH! I finished my book that I was reading. And then I cleaned my room up a little bit. My beds are being bunked this weekend! I'm so excited to have a little bit of extra space in my room :)

Then I had my piano lesson. I got some good advice. Then I rushed home and grabbed the pies and a sandwich and then went to the Encounter62 game night. It was fun! They were playing "the lying game" when I got there. (BS... aka Bologna Sandwich) Guess who won? Our fearless youth leader, Brandon. Dur. =P Then we played Spoons. Annnd I got like, 3 in a row. And then I got out =P
Then we played POKER. (Don't you love the games we play at youth group game night?) I ended up winning poker too. We decided that the round we were playing next was going to be our last round. And so all of us went all in. And I just happened to have a pair of queens. And that won it. And I got everything. See?


I look super tan in this picture. I'm not that tan. But yes. I'm collecting my "pot" here :)
So that was fun. Then I came home and watched So You Think You Can Dance for about an hour. Then I skyped with Anna for over an hour. It was a good time.

Now it's time to do NIPTO and get ready for bed and then SLEEP. So. NIPTO TIME!

Acts 2:1-13
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

Basically: PARTAY! Or something like that ;)


2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

oooooo. Mysterious.



3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

Uhm... SCARY.


4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

SWEET. Yet kinda strange. But they were all filled with the Holy Spirit... and that was something that was new at the time. And they all started speaking in different languages... as the Spirit enabled them. So it was all up to God and the Holy Spirit. Interesting.

5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

Soooo there were a bunch of Jewish people staying in Jerusalem. From every nation under heaven. That's a lot. It was a long time ago when things were more "localized," but still... that's a lot of people!
All of these people (who loved God and feared him) heard what was going on and a bunch of people formed a crowd because they were so confused. Everyone heard everyone else speaking in their language. The person listening could understand everyone. Crazy.


7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

They should be "utterly amazed"! A bunch of people were speaking a ton of different languages! The cool thing is that they weren't just talking. They were declaring the wonders of God in each person's native language. How cool is that?! But they were confused. And they asked questions...


13Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

But some people just made fun of them and thought that they were drunk. NICE. Declaring the wonders of God while drunk? It's possible that they were drunk... on the Holy Spirit! =P


Okay. I'm going to go get ready for bed and then sleep. Although I do have some exciting news! For NIPTO we're starting to read Walking With God by John Eldredge. He's the Wild at Heart guy.
It should be fantastic! I might actually blog about this book ;) We'll see.
Alrighty. G'night blog reading people! You're awesome for putting up with me!
Much love,

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

NIPTO, Day 142

Busy, busy, busy!
Let's see... yesterday:
I ended up going to the Gorge with Uncle Tom. We shot lots of stuff. It was fun! I learned a couple new things. (I'll do a photo post with pics sometime soon... maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow.)
We came home and ate dinner... the adults went on a walk (Hannah was working) and I took a shower and surfed the 'net. Read Katie's latest blog post. The SUPER long one. It was fantastic. I think I might've read a book or something.... But I can't remember...
Eventually, Hannah got home and I went to bed.


Today we had Urban Vision. I helped with piano, ballet, and reading. From what I remember things went well. ;)

We came home. Hung out with/talked to Uncle Tom&Dad.
Uncle Tom left for Atlanta. Dad left to go golfing. I mowed the yard. Took a shower. And I just got home from Target with Mom!

You see, I have to make these ice cream pies. They'll look something like this. One of them will have a chocolate pie crust, peanutbutter, moose tracks ice cream, reese's cups, more moose tracks ice cream, and more peanut butter and reese's cups on top. The other one will have a grahm cracker crust with peanut butter, cocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, reese's cups, more chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, and more peanutbutter and reese's cups on top. I'm not sure about all the peanutbutter in the second one. We'll see.

But that's what I'm going to be doing tonight. (The pies are for Encounter tomorrow. We're celebrating June birthdays! :) Come if you want. (And you're not in Germany. *rub rub*) I'm pretty sure it starts at 6... or 7. =P)


Let us seeeee... anything else interesting happen today or yesterday.... not that I can remember!

Acts 1:12-26
12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. 13When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Okay. There's a lot going on in this passage (total. But this passage (vs 12-14) has a lot going on in and of itself!)
After the disciples saw Jesus go back up into heaven, they went back to Jerusalem. And they went to where they were staying. And then they all prayed. Constantly. Uhm. That's crazy. Today while I was mowing, I was praying. But at a certain point, I zoned out. I guess with 12+ people there's a little more consistancy =P
But praying while I mowed today was great. You might've been prayed for ;) In fact, if you just read that, I prayed for you.

15In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17he was one of our number and shared in this ministry."

Peter was a preacher man. And he told the people stuff. Like what was going on. And how Judas was part of a fulfilling piece of scripture.


18(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

That's gross. I'm sorry. But I guess he bought the field himself and kinda sorta killed himself?
And everyone heard about it. I mean, betraying Jesus was big news. Annnnnd then to kill yourself? Probably big news too.


20"For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms,
" 'May his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,' and,
" 'May another take his place of leadership.' 21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."

Peter gives the people an example from the Bible that these people would've known well. And he observes that, in order to fulfill what was written, they have to choose another person to take Judas's place.
I think when he says "one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection" it doesn't necessarily mean that they had to actually see Jesus's resurrection. (Even though no one did?) But the person who was chosen for this leadership role had to believe completely and be willing to give up everything in order to tell other people his "eye wittness account" of Jesus's ressurection.



23So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs."

They had two guys to choose from. And they prayed about it. They asked God to show them which man he had chosen.
Do we pray about who should be put into leadership? I know that I don't really pray about it. I mean, I guess we pray for the President. But do we really pray to make big dicisions. All the time. Even small disicions.


26Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

So they cast lots. Which I understand to be like... kind of gambling, but not?
Okay. I just looked it up. It's like drawing straws. Or choosing a pebble type thing.
And that's how they chose. They let God decide who the "lot would fall to." And so Matthias was added to the apostles!


Alrighty. I have to go. And I'm not making the pies tonight. But they will be made tomorrow morning/afternoon. Definitely in time for Encounter. People are counting on me. Especially Brandon. =P
Hope you had a good day!

Monday, June 28, 2010

NIPTO, Day 141

Gooooood morning! It's a beautiful morning here... if you're a duck.
It's just raining, raining, raining. But I love rain. It's soothing. And the lightning was sweet last night.
Okay. Let me start from when I stopped blogging yesterday.
I drove to the house where I was babysitting. It was fairly uneventful. The Honda's muffler is not doing it's job and consequently is... loud. But it's getting fixed today. Hallelujah! ;)
The kids were good. Cora went to bed at 7 and Soph, Riley, and I watched a movie. Then Riley went to bed at 8. Neither of them made a fuss. Good kids, eh? Soph and I read some books and ate some ice cream! And then all of the adults got home. Ruthie drove me home and I went inside and said Hi to my parents. Mom told me that Hannah had poked her head in to say that she was getting coffee with some people. So I called around to see where they were. Then I drove the Saturn to Starbucks and got some Refresh tea. I'm coming to love that tea. And it's a lotttttt cheaper than coffee! (And I just got way sidetracked looking at how much it is to buy tea online. It's really cheap. I'm going to get meself some Refresh tea. YUM.) Soooo I hung out at Starbucks with Erin, Adam (for a little bit), Hannah, Alex, Kaytee, and Brandon. It was fantastic. Brandon told us what was happening with the youth group and with Generation Akron and it's all fantastic. I'm SO excited.
So we hung out at Starbucks until they closed. At 11. (I'm thankful that, even though it was a Sunday night, Starbucks is open 'til 11.) Then we stood outside for... 15 minutes? and then we went home. And stood outside (in the rain) for another 5ish minutes. It was all funtastic. I like those people a lot.

At the end I asked Brandon what we were reading for NIPTO next. Here's how the conversation went:
Me: What are we reading next for NIPTO?
B: Keep reading Ephesians
Me: I'm done with Ephesians
Kaytee: Abby, you're such an over achiever
Me: Not really...
B: I thought we've only been doing Ephesians for 2 weeks.
Me: I've done it for three?
B: Read Acts.

So Acts will be the next book we go through.

But before we get started on Acts, I wanted to share a post that I read at (in)courage this morning. It was a fantastic reminder. It was titled Note to Self:
soak up each day. slow down and be present in the moment. make realistic to do lists (it doesn’t all have to get done today!). notice the little things. appreciate beauty. ignore the mess. laugh at yourself. linger over coffee. enjoy today. today is all we have.
Goooood reminder. Thanks (in)courage people :)

Alrighty. NOW we'll get started on Acts.

Acts 1:1-11
1In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

Acts was written by Luke. So his "former book" is the book of Luke. And this was a letter written to Theophilus (sounds a little like "the awfulest"). And in the book of Luke, Luke wrote about Jesus. It is one of the gospels. Yeah.


3After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

After Jesus died, he came back to life. And during those 40 days that he was alive, he proved to the disciples that he was alive. And he talked to them and taught them about the kingdom of God.


4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

So everyone was eating together. And Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem. He told them to wait for the "gift" that God has promised. What was this gift? The Holy Spirit. It's kinda crazy to think about. Before then, no one (besides Jesus... who is part of the trinity) had ever really experienced having the Holy Spirit live inside of them. Crazy.


6So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

Everyone thought that Jesus was going to be king. They thought that he was going to overthrow the  authorities of the time and give the kingdom (Rome? Not sure.) back to Israel.
Jesus basically told them that that wasn't what he was doing. But not really. He told them that they didn't need to know what God was planning.


8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

This is a pretty famous verse. It's a pretty sweet verse too!
We receive power when the Holy Spirit "comes on us." Power. And we are called to be witnesses in... everywhere? To the ends of the earth. I want to go to the ends of the earth. Which might possibly be in Thailand or... somewhere in Africa... or in my back yard?

9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Uh... bye, Jesus!

10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

They were all looking up to see where Jesus was going and these two guys popped up beside them. They asked the disciples (or whoever was there) why they were looking up into the sky. I would've been like, "uhm... did you just see Jesus float up there? That's where I'm looking..."
But the "men dressed in white" reminded them that this was Jesus. He left to go to heaven. And they told them that he'll come back down in the same way that he went up. A little scary, but I'm thinking that it was reassuring for the people who were there.
This shall be continued tomorrow :)
 
Alrighty. I think I'm going to go to the grocery store and library with my mom. Not really sure what we're doing the rest of the day! I know Uncle Tom is coming back this afternoon, but I'm not sure what we're doing. I guess you'll find out tomorrow ;)
Byeee.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Driving With Abby-Just another Sunday drive...

Hello all.
I went driving today! Surprise, surprise! I might even drive a little bit more later today.
I think things went well. I made the mistake of turning into the left lane on Arlington. But I won't do it again. I promise. =P
I didn't drive on the expressway. I just didn't feel like it. But I got a solid 20 minutes. So that's good. It's all about the hours. I need 2,400 minutes of day-time driving and 600 of night-driving. That's a lot of driving. But I'll do it! I'll make it. Maybe there will be another driving anecdote for you soon :)

Au revoir!

NIPTO, Day 140

Twenty weeks. Crazy.

We had church this morning. It was a little differnet for me. And for everyone else. My Dad spoke on conversational evangelism. It was good. You should probably listen to it at Grace Summit's website. =P
I did the power point. It was a little crazy. But to make up for all of the power point stuff, Dad put in a picture of baby otters. (That's not the picture he used, but it's still super cute :)
It was good. Thennnn after church we went to Chipotle! Hannah and I sat with Nathan, Seth, Rachel, Jon, and Caleb. They're funny. I like them a lot. Mom and Dad sat with Rosie and Chris. They said that they had a good time. They sat outside (due to lack of space inside) and we sat inside.
Then we came home. And we looked at Karlien's pictures from Prague. And then Dad and I drove to Giant Eagle to get a news paper. (More on that in another post.)
And now I'm blogging. And I have to leave in about 45 minutes to babysit. To babysit some adorable kids! (Sophia, Riley, and Cora!)
So, I shall do NIPTO now. (No NIPTO Sunday post! Maybe on Wednesday. We'll see.)


Ephesians 6:21-24
21Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.


This letter to the church in Ephesus was apparently brought by Tychicus. He knew how Paul was doing. And Paul sent him specifically so he could tell them how he was doing and to encourage them.


23Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

This is a final... thought? prayer? to the people in Ephesus. I like the last verse: Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. A love that never dies. Fantastic.


I guess I'll be off now! Maybe I'll catch the tail end(ish) of Encounter at the Fuller's tonight... We'll see. I'm going down there anyways afterwards because Kayt&Paige will probably be down there... Yup yup.
Hope you're all having/had a fantastic Sunday!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Driving With Abby-MOM

I drove with Mom for the first time today. It was a short drive. To Shaffer's Market. Not bad at all. I'd never driven on any of those roads before. Ever. But things went smoothly. The only thing I really wish I had done better was parking. I was super crooked. But I'm okay with that. I really haven't been driving much. So it's all good. I don't think I freaked Mom out too badly ;) Maybe she'll even let me drive again! haha. That's all for now!

NIPTO, Day 139

Hello readers! Today is a gorgeous day... but I believe that it's going to get hot! But I don't mind... since there's a possibility of going swimming today. Maybe. If I play my cards right =P
I went swimming yesterday. It was fantastic. 2 1/2 hours in the water. 3 at the pool. It was nice. I got a little burnt. But it doesn't really hurt. I am sore though, from swimming for two and a half hours. That's a long time. I definitely got my exercise for the day!
After we went swimming (the Karen girls were over) we all came home... I took a shower... Then we packed it up and I went with mom to take the girls home. Then I came home and read for a little bit. And then ate dinner. And watched A Cinderella Story (Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game)(<-- that's my favorite quote :) or maybe the "it's the botox. I can't show emotion for another hour and a half" one... or maybe it's the "wanna cookie? they're so moist" one. All hilarious) Then I hung out with/talked to Paige... and then Katie to some extent. Then Paige and I went to Starbucks. I got tea. It was good.

I'm tired this morning. But it's time for NIPTO.


HELLOOOOOOO. I'm horrible. But wonderful at procrastination! It did turn out to be a hot day.
Just so you know. And I drove MOM to Shaffer's annnd I didn't do badly ;) and... lets see... we went to Target and got a bunch of stuff... annnnd then came home and watched the USA vs Ghana game. USA lost :( Ate dinner/read Safely Home (FANTASTIC book!) annnnnd then went to Tarbucks with Kaytee... walked around Target... ran into Alex... stood in the toy aisles forEVER (so much fun) annd then we walked out to Kaytee's car and stood and talked there forever and then Meg came and joined us... and we stood there for a little longer... then we went back to Target after it started raining... walked around there... stood in the book aisle forever... and then walked out to our cars and came home. It was a FUNTASTIC evening. So many funny things :D I love Kaytee :)

I guess I'll do NIPTO NOW. And I might eat something. I'm hungry.
Okay. Car pulled out of the garage (by myself): check. Food: Check. NIPTO: coming up next.

Ephesians 6:10-20
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

We have the power of GOD. Uhm. That's only a little fantastic! So we should use that to be strong. (HA! Let's get down to business. To do defeat. The Huns. Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons? ... gotta love Mulan;)


11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

The armor. To protect us. Against the devil and his schemes. Muwahaha.


12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

This basically sums it up. We're not battling the things we can see. We're fighting against the "dark powers" of the world. It sounds like something from a book or a movie, but it's real. Crazy, I know. "Spiritual forces" sounds all... fantasy-y. But it isn't. It's real. Sooo. We put on the armor of God. Ready to find out what those things are?


13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Okay, not quite. We put on the armor of God so that we can stand up against what comes our way. So that we can stand.


14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Okay. So here we stand with the belt of truth. We should always be immersing ourselves in truth. Constantly. That's what NIPTO is. It's washing (nipto) ourselves in truth daily. It's cool. And we should be wearing the breastplate of righteousness. To me, a breastplate might be one of the first things you see. Our righteousness should be out there.
And our feet should be ready. Ready with the readiness that comes from the gospel.


16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

In addition to all of this, we need to carry our shield of faith. Shields block things. We can block/extinguish the arrows that are hurled our way. Those things shouldn't penetrate us. We should be able to block them.


 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And don't forget your helmet. Helmets protect your head. Your head is important. It should be protected. And if you think about it, the helmet of salvation should block impurities that might try to penetrate our minds. The armor of God is about protecting ourselves spiritually and mentally/physically.
And, of course, don't forget the sword. That's important. Our sword isn't made out of metal. It might not even have substance. But it's the word of God. And that's more powerful than anything we can conjure up for/by ourselves.


18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

And pray for all kinds of things. All prayers and requests. ALL. Even the littlest things that seem stupid. God wants to hear them.
Keep the armor of God in mind. And be alert. And keep praying. Pray for the saints. Pray for those who are being persecuted. Pray for those that are comfortable. As a Christian, being comfortable is the most dangerous place to be. Comfort, in some ways, leads to apathy. There's no room for apathy in a true relationship with Christ.

19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Dude. This is awesome. We should pray this for each other. We should pray that, when we open our mouths, we are given words so that we can fearlessly and clearly make known the mystery of the gospel. Even as Paul was in chains he was praying for courage. And he wasn't praying for courage on his own. He was asking other people to pray that he would have fearlessness, even while he was in prison. Amazing.


Sorry about all of the italics. I was just in a mood :)
Well. I guess I'll go to bed now... (The word "bed" looks like a bed. Fantastic, I know :)
I'm not going to NIPTO tomorrow because I'm babysitting. And I'm not sure that we'd have NIPTO anyways since we're not having youth group at the church... but we might do a mini NIPTO on Wednesday? I'll have to ask Brandon about it. So I'm just cutting my Ephesians readings even shorter ;) I'm fantastic. I know. Wow. I just said "Fantastic. I know" twice in the same paragraph. That makes 3 times. That's not fantastic. Or, as Captain Awesome would say "not awesome!" hah!
I'm going to go to sleep now. Good... night!

Friday, June 25, 2010

NIPTO, Day 138

I just read the most awesome post! I think this might be a project for me one day... I'm going to build a fort in the living room. Or my bedroom. I'm not sure which. Buuut there are fantastic instructions on how to build a great blanket fort! So I'm going to use those. :D

Mom just left to get the Karen girls. So I guess I'll do NIPTO so it's done. Makes sense, right?



Ephesians 6:1-9
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

I think this is the verse that every child says they hate, but secretly loves. I mean, sometimes obeying your parents can be a drag. But most of the time, when they tell you to do something, it's in your best interest... in the long run.


2"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

I love that this is the first commandment with a promise. The others really didn't have anything to go with them. But this one does. When a child honors their parents, things will go better for them. It's a fact. When you honor your parents, there will be less trouble in the house. It's simple yet sometimes hard to do.


4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Ahh the good ol' "Fathers do not exasperate your children" verse. It's a good one to remember, DAD. =P



5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

I love how this goes from children to slaves. It almost makes you think there's a connection ;) Just kidding.
Slaves are to serve and obey earthly masters with respect.  They're to be sincere. They're to obey their masters as they would obey Christ.
Also, as a slave to Christ, we are to obey him without question. Kind of. I mean, we can still question him, but we really should trust him.


6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

This is a great verse. Don't obey them only when they're paying attention. And don't obey them only to win their favor. Be like a slave of Christ and do what God wants to do. Which is to obey them at all times.


7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

I like this verse(7). I tend to think about it when I'm doing yard work. I don't like yard work, but I'm keeping God's green earth... green. And not brown.
And I like verse 8 too! It's one that I don't think about because... I don't know it really. But I'll know it after today! haha. The Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does! YES! I like rewards. Rewards are great incentive to keep doing what is good. =D


9And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Masters are to treat their slaves well. Don't threaten slaves because God is master over everyone and he doesn't show favoritism. (Even though I could've sworn I  was God's favorite ;)


Hm. I feel like I should leave you all with a video or something... so I'll leave you with this beautiful song. I found it a couple days ago, and I love it! I'll even give you the video that has animation with it. :)

Hope you enjoyed it :)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Driving With Abby-Random

Hola! I have 2 driving times to cover. But I don't think it should be too crazy.

On Tuesday I drove to Wal-Mart to return Alice in Wonderland to the RedBox. I went the back way. And it wasn't too bad... I don't think. It's a little crazy turning left across Arlington Road, but I did it. And I manage to turn without any cars coming towards me! It was fantastic.

Coming home wasn't crazy either. There was a little bit of a crazy left turn. But it was okay. There was no one at the stop sign =P



I just got home from driving to and from North Canton to see Unseen Masterpiece (Jeremiah&Jen's band) play at Cafe Gelato. They were good! I love listening to them play. You can listen too! Just click on this link or this one! :D

I took all back roads to get there. It was pretty tame. Nothing crazy. Hannah says I got close to the curb a couple of times but I didn't do anything too crazy.
I don't feel like there's much to report for the way there...
On the way home I just kind of drove where Dad told me to drive. Not really sure exactly where we drove, but we drove and got home. We got gas at Get-Go on Massilon and then went home via Boettler and Arlington. I wasn't up for expressway tonight!
We made it home. I have more night-driving. And I have more time on my card. So that's good.

Peace OUT Girl Scout!

NIPTO, Day 137

Hello. I'm tired. And I don't really have anything to write about... so I'm just going to to NIPTO.

Ephesians 5:22-33
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Wives are to submit to their husbands as well as to the Lord.
Husband-Wife relationships mirror Christ-Church relationships.
Christ is the head of the church, the church is the body. The husband is the head of the family, and the wife is the body. The church submits to Christ and wives submit to their husbands.


25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Just because wives are called to submit to their husbands doesn't mean that husbands can be abusive. Husbands are told to love their wives as Christ loved the church. And Christ gave himself up for the church to make the church holy and blameless. Husbands should be willing to give themselves up for their wives. It's all kind of circular.


28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body,

This amuses me. It makes me think of the "body builder guys" who are obsessed with themselves. Husbands should love their wives like they love their own bodies. Because if a man loves his wife, he loves himself. No one seriously hates their body. I mean, people want to improve their bodies, but you don't improve your body by starving it and not taking care of yourself. You have to feed it the right stuff. You have to take care of yourself. Christ fed and took care of the church. Husbands should take care of their wives. Because we're all one big happy...body?


31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."

One. There aren't separate people any more. They're one. Which is such a strange and unusual idea in today's culture.


32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

He's talking about Christ and the church. But he's also talking about husbands and wives. And this "profound mystery." It's interesting.
 
 
I think I'm going to finish The Irresistible Revolution. Then I'm going to try to finish a post that I've been working on for liveGrounded. We'll see how this goes. My family should be home soon which will be nice. :)
Hope you have a fantastic day!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

NIPTO, Day 136

Hello readers!
I'm sore today. It's from ballet yesterday. At least that's what I think it is.

I feel like the judges are taking FOREVERRR on So You Think You Can Dance!

Let's see. Today...
I ate breakfast with Uncle Tom. I watched the USA game on espn3.com. And I took pictures. Then I ate lunch. Then Paige came over. She drove us up to Chipotle. She ate. I ate some chips&salsa. We went to Paige's house to check on the baby raccoon that her mom took in. We stopped at the Fuller household to drop off a note and got an invitation to swim. Soo we went to my house and I put on my bathing suit and such. Then we went swimming with Ian and Courtney. We ended up playing blackjack in the pool. Then it started to thunder. So we moved our "casino" inside. And we played blackjack for a while. After we did that I went home and changed into normal clothing and blocked off the stairs so the dog couldn't go back up them. Then I went back to the Fullers and we played Trivial Pursuit. Courtney&Mrs. Fuller won. After we finished our game, we watched the end of Get Smart with Ian and Jared. We ate dinner... and hung out a little bit and then I came home.

I watched So You Think You Can Dance.

And now I'm going to do NIPTO, kay?

Ephesians 5:15-21

15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

We're supposed to be careful about how we live. We should be wise. We need to pay attention! We need to make the most of every opportunity that comes our way.
The days are evil. There's no doubt about that. I'm watching the news right now, and it's sad. So sad. Keep reading though.


17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

Because the days are evil, we can't afford to be foolish. We need to seek God and his will for our lives.


18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

Don't get drunk. It only leads to bad things. Don't be filled with alcohol, be filled with the Spirit.


19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 19 is a favorite of music lovers. It gives freedom to sing and be joyful towards God. To be thankful through music. To praise him through singing. Verse 20 is a reminder to always give thanks to God for everything. It doesn't say the good things. It doesn't say the the things that make us happy. It says everything.
21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

This verse leads into a section that I'm going blog about tomorrow. But there's one thing I want to say about it tonight. And that is this: we should submit to each other, not because we're necessarily being respectful towards the person we're submitting to (although you should be respectful to others), but out of reverence for Christ.


Watching the news makes me sad. There's so much going on in Cleveland. So much sad stuff. There was a story on tonight about the court result of a man who shot a police officer and killed him. That in itself is sad. But what makes it sadder is the fact that the friends and family of the man who was killed were so spiteful and mean towards the man who killed him. What makes it even worse was the fact that they were "Christians." They quoted bible verses at him. There was one clip in particular that didn't sit right with me. It was a woman talking to the man. Asking questions like, "how can you believe in God?" "how can you think that you can be forgiven?"
And it makes me sad! The fact that someone can tell someone else that they will never be forgiven by anyone, including God, is so upsetting and saddening.
(I do get that that family has been hurt by that man. But as Christians, we're called to love our enemies and bless those who persecute... or hurt.... us. And it was a sad example of Christianity.)
Our world is in a downward spiral. And reading The Irresistible Revolution is making me realize how much love can overcome. If more people loved unconditionally, violence would not be nearly as prevalent as it is. And that's sad. That hate can be more prevalent than love. I'm making it a goal to love everyone I come into contact with. No matter what. They deserve love and nothing less.

And on that note, I'm going to bed.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

NIPTO, Day 135

Oh my! Today has been somewhat crazy. But I guess it's all 'normal crazy' ... if there is such a thing!

Urban Vision was today. I felt like I was everywhere... even though I wasn't. There are 10, 25 minute, periods every day. Kind of like school, but different. Here's my schedule
1-Breakfast
2-Science
3-Reading
4-Piano
5-History
6-History
7-Ballet
8-Lunch
9-Gym
10-Gym

I think that ballet might be my favorite class. In fact, I think I might stop typing for a bit and dance! =D
Maybe not. Maybe when I'm done.

So that is from 9-1:05. It's a longish day. But it's fun!

Uncle Tom is coming tonight! And he's leaving tomorrow for Millersburg&Bowling Green. I'm not exactly sure what he's doing. But I guess we'll find out tonight. He's coming back next Monday night? and is flying out Tuesday. So it'll be fun to see him.

Uhm... let's see. Hannah works tonight. And she has orientation tomorrow&Thursday at Kent... annd yeah. I'm not really sure what I'm doing... those days. Probably just hanging out around here... blogging and reading =P

We got Icees after UV. It was so hot outside. So we needed something cold to cool us off. It was yummy.... :)

NIPTO!

Ephesians 4:8-14
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord.

Okay. Sooo we were darkness. We weren't in darkness, we were darkness. But now we are light in Jesus. Sooo since we're light, we need to live like light! Because everything that comes from light is good, righteous, and truthful. So we need to live like good, righteous, truthful people.
We're also told to "find out what pleases the Lord." Well, reading the Bible is a great way to find out what does and doesn't please God! He's pretty clear about it in there :)


11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

We are to have nothing to do with thing that aren't... the right thing? I guess. Nothing to do with "deeds of darkness." Annd since we're light, we're to expose them. Light shines on something dark: Exposed.


12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

Shameful. That's it. That's all I'm saying. Shameful.


13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."

Everything that is in light is visible. That's a common sense fact for you! But light is what makes things visible.
We were sleeping. Dead. Dark. But then Jesus shined on us and made us light! ... and I feel like that sounded like a little kid. =P


STORY TIME! I just went out to get the mail. And before I got the mail, Mom and I were talking about how she wanted to get a $100 bill in the mail. Well... she got what we thought was a $100 dollar bill. The cellphone bill. Muwahaha. But it turned out to be less than we thought because Kate's phone is "on the bench" for the next couple months until she gets back to the States. :)
The end!

Monday, June 21, 2010

NIPTO, Day 134

Hello! All of the videos from yesterday are uploaded to YouTube! You can go here to view all 13 of them! =P

Today I went to the bank, library, and grocery store with Mom. I got signed up for the summer reading program at the library.... and they put bubbles in the teen bags! YES!
At the grocery store, Mom and I got Alice in Wonderland at the RedBox. I love the RedBox! =D

When we got home we ate lunch and whatnot... I read a book that I got at the library... Hannah and I washed the Honda... and then I took a shower and cleaned my room up a bit... then I read some more.
We ate a fantastic dinner of veggie burgers and waffle fries (with malt vinegar!) and grapes. SOOOO good and SO filling! Except for the fact that I'm getting hungry again... I want something like... a brownie&ice cream! haha

Now we're watching Alice in Wonderland. It's such a good movie. ... beware the JubJub bird and shun the fumorous bandersnatch! (There are a bunch of AWESOME quotes here :D)
Lewis Carroll was a GENIUS. Or he was mad. Like the hatter. ;)
Helena Bonham Carter is a fantastic actress. (I do like a nice warm pig belly for my aching feet.)

After this movie is over, I'm going to be reading over, and commenting on as I always do, Ephesians 5:1-7

Ephesians 5:1-7
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

We are to imitate God in everything we do. And we're to live a life of LOVE! AH! This corresponds so much to what I've been reading in The Irresistible Revolution. Love everyone. It's simple. But it's SO HARD. I can't find the quote that I want in that book... but how I remember it was something like this: "When you love your enemies they don't know what to do... and that's how true peace will come about."
It was something like that. Now I really want to find that quote! But it'll have to wait till later.


3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.

This is intensity. Like. Really. It's impossible... without God. But with God all things are possible. And we are God's holy people. If we are his people, he'll help us, won't he?


4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

What? No obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking? That takes all the fun out of everything... except for the fact that they're out of place and uncalled for. What should we replace those things with? Thanksgiving. How long do we go without thanking God for the world he made? That he made us? Too long. It doesn't matter how often it is, it's too long. Our thanksgiving should be continual.


5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Immoral, impure, or greedy? Don't expect any kind of inheritance from Daddy.


6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them.

He's basically saying that people will try to deceive you. They'll try to make you think that being immoral, impure, and greedy are the "cool, in" things to do. But "because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient." Soooo don't "partner with" those people. Hang out with them. Or talk to them? I mean, we should still love those people. We should be kind to them. But we shouldn't be "partners" with them.


Wow. The longest day of the year went by so quickly! It only gets shorter from here on out... until December =P

But I guess it's time to sleep now. Urban Vision in the morning! I'm excited for ballet! And piano too! I like my schedule and hope it hasn't changed...
Goodnight/morning/afternoon dear readers. I'm going to sleep now!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

NIPTO, Day 133

Hello readers!

We've had quite the eventful day! To read about it/watch videos about it (eventually) you can go here :)

My dad is watching golf right now. And the guy who's leading (McDowell) is from Northern Ireland. And he has a fantastic accent. And he looks like he's gonna win it!

Soooo there was no NIPTO tonight because Brandon and Erin both left for SOWER (a kind of habitat for humanity project) in Southern OH this afternoon. So I just shortened the sections that I read.

So tonight I'm going to cover Ephesians 4:29-32

29Do 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.

Ahhhh... Language. I love the part that says "let... only what is helpful for building others up" part. Apparently at LT a few years ago one of the quotes that the girls hung up on their wall was "edify, stupid!" It's like, one of my favorite lines :P
But really. What we say shouldn't tear other people done. We should only say what is beneficial to others.


30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

To be completely sure what "grieve" ment in this situation, I went to Blue Letter Bible. So trusty :) So... copied and pasted, here is what their definitions of "grieved" are:
1) to make sorrowful
2) to affect with sadness, cause grief, to throw into sorrow
3) to grieve, offend
4) to make one uneasy, cause him a scruple
Just to clarify things. Don't make the Holy Spirit sad. We're sealed with him for the day of redemption. It's pretty intense stuff!


31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

This is a heavy list. Bitternes, rage, anger, fighting, slander/gossip, along with every form of malice. That's a lot of stuff. That's a lot of stuff that isn't easy to get rid of! But he doesn't give it to us without something to replace it.


32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Instead: be kind and compassionate. Forgive each other. And don't just forgive eachother. Forgive eachother as Christ forgave us. That's intense forgiveness.


Alas and lack a day, I'm being summoned to bed. But I just had a fantastic time Skyping with my friend Anna! We need to Skype more often! And also dancing to Manipulation by Group 1 Crew. It's one of the best songs to have a dance party to! :D

Goodnight!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

We have had quite the eventful Father's day today.

I had to do music this morning at church. So we were all up early-ish.
Mom was getting ready and she heard this scraping on metal sound. She wasnt' sure where it was comign from. She was looking outside and all around and eventually asked Dad if he had heard anything.

Turns out, there's something in our chimney. We're still not sure what it is. We can just hear it.

We ended up going to church and leaving it till after we got home. Because I didn't want to be late. But now you're getting what's happening as it happens on my blog. HEH.

I'm going to try to get it on video.

It's still there. It's like, an hour later. We've tried a few things. The flue is now open. We're just waiting. And watching World Cup soccer! YES! Brazil vs Ivory Coast. Good game... if you're from Brazil/supporting Brazil.

Okay. It's about 8:30 now. And the bird is freeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

We let the bird... get into a dreamy state. Then Dad got the bag underneath it and the bird came out... not into the bag. Soooo then we had the dilemma of having the bird in the fireplace kind of inbetween the "cage" (netting) and the glass doors. So the bird was there for a while.
Eventually Dad reached in with a gloved hand and kind of grabbed the bird and took him outside and set him freeeeee.
There will be a series of videos on YouTube soon! Once they're all up, I'll link them here :)

Here's the first video! The rest should be up within the next couple days...


I hope you had a fantastic, much-less-bird-filled father's day!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

NIPTO, Day 132

I have lots to tell all of you, but it's going to have to wait until tomorrow! It's late and I need to do NIPTO. I have to get up early tomorrow to do music. :) Should be a good time. But, I'll tell you about that tomorrow! NOW:

Ephesians 4:25-27

25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

Therefore: because we're all created to be like God in righteousness and holiness.
False-ness goes away. Truth comes in. You can't lie to yourself... or to your own body. And we're all members of one body.


26"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.

It's interesting. I kind of watched the sun go down tonight. I wasn't watching it set, but I was outside while it was setting. And it goes from lightness to semidark to dark pretty fast. So if you think about it, anger has to be delt with quickly. Anger has no purpose in a life that is fully commited to God. (Unless it's righteous anger against something that is obviously wrong or evil.)
Anger is only giving the devil a little step closer to us.


28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

I think this is basically saying "MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL!" Do something that is productive. Do something that has an end result you can share.


Alrighty. That's all for me. Short, I know. But I have to go to sleeeep!
But in honor of Toy Story 3 coming out the other day, here's the much loved song "You've Got a friend in Me" :)


Good_____ (<-- insert time of day! I'm going to sleep!)

Friday, June 18, 2010

NIPTO, Day 131

Hello all!
I'm sitting here watching Toy Story 2. We (Mom, Dad, and myself) just finished Toy Story.
I love Disney-Pixar movies. They're so clever. The young kids love them for the simple fact that they're Disney movies. But they stick in the humor that's funny pretty much only to adults. Genius.

Mom and I went to Ang's house today... Mom&Alycia&Angie talked and I kept an eye on the boys. All 4 of them! 4,3,2,1... not blast off... just crazy boys... of the ages 4, 3, 2, and 1. And 1 month old twin girls. But they slept the entire time. Not too much trouble ;)

I read some of the Irresistible Revolution this afternoon. And finished my "VBS-Day 4" post... and ate dinner. And watched some videos on YouTube. Then we watched Toy Story. And now we're watching Toy Story 2. And Toy Story 3 came out today. Awesome.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader trailer came out yesterday I think? I don't know. But I've seen a little bit of buzz about it on facebook. So I thought I'd post it. Cuz I'm cool like that. Or something...



NIPTO time! :D

Ephesians 4:17-24
17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.

There's a point to the letter he's writing. He's giving them a new way of life. An irresistible revolution.


18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

Paul's telling them that they don't want to be like these people! They're separated from God. They're ignorant. They're not sensitive. They do whatever they want. And they want more.

20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

He's telling them that that was not how they learned about Jesus. They heard about him and were taught about him in truth. They were taught that they had to get rid of the stuff that they were doing. To get rid of the desires that were controlling their lives. They were to be made new in their attitudes. To put on a new self. To put on a permanant Jesus suit of sorts. To be like God in his true righteousness and holiness. Fantastic.


That seemed short. But it's all I have time for right now. I'm going to go to sleep! 2 parties tomorrow... and SKYPING WITH KATIE! Those are the things on my calander... Maybe driving too! Could be a crazy day :)

[You've got a friend in me]

VBS- Day 4 - Jesus was an elephant?

Hello readers! Last night was the last night of VBS. I was about to drop dead when I got home. Hence, I did not post. Lets see... My mom and I picked up Paige on the way there. When we got there I did a couple thing like looking over my schedule and looking over the reflection time.

Then we sang and stuff. I danced a TON! I love those songs. There will be a video at the end from the closing ceremony. It's special ;)
Captain K came out and did his thang. The story for the day was On The Road to Emmaus.
Brandon had been talking to Erin and me the other night about how hard it was to come up with simple ways to tell these stories. Soooo he found a YouTube video telling the story of The Road to Emmaus. And it's so special, I'm going to let you watch it! (This also explains the title of this post :)


"He's kickin it somewhere else" (or whatever the quote is) made me laugh. I'm sitting in the pew with my K-1 group, and I'm laughing. Stifling my laughter is more like it :)

After the opening stuff we went to our discovery "mission!" They tried to do the baking soda-vinegar thing, but the bag kept leaking. So we went outside and Alex set off smoke bombs and fireworks. The smoke bombs were pretty colors :)


The purple one was my favorite :) So pretty!

Then we went to our game.
 For the game, the kiddos had to go pick up a ball and bring it back to us. Each ball had a word taped on it. There was a paper that had the "key phrase" on it (one of the bible "boosters" (verses) or one of the praise phrases). Whoever matched both of the phrases on the papers with their balls won! The girls won that one though.
Goin' out to find the right words!

After our game we went inside to do music. Always a favorite time :)
Singing&dancing

Then we went to our snack. YUM. (During snack, Erin was inside getting her snack and we were both dancing to A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and... one of the other songs that I don't remember the name of! But it was fun :) I think the kids think we're crazy!)
Snackin'
After snack we went to crafts where the kids used up the rest of the craft supplies since we were the last class of the last day of the week. So that was kinda fun.

Getting their instructions from Ms. Sandy
After crafts we headed outside to see the rockets launch! For every Praise Phrase that the kids learned they launched a rocket. So that was fun :)

Captain K giving us the instructions/Praise Phrases
After we launched the rockets we headed back inside for more singing and dancing... and for the handing out of necklaces, candy, and glow in the dark stars!
It got kind of crazy. See?

This is probably one of my favorite pictures. So funny!
Singing and dancing some more!
And then it was over. Kids left and I ran after some of them to give them their papers and whatnot... But it wasn't over until I got a picture of Captain K looking epic. Ready?

Epicness. RIGHT THERE.


Yup. That was VBS. In a nutshell. A really big nutshell. It was a good time! We would just be finishing up our reflection time if it were still going on tonight!

AH! I almost forgot! I almost forgot the epicness that is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!! AH! But. I didn't. So: here it is!


I think I'm going to go hang out with my parents. Seeing as they're the ones who are here... my sisters have deserted me! or something like that ;)


Thursday, June 17, 2010

NIPTO, Day 130

Alrighty. I just finished the Day 3 post from VBS. You can go read that here :)

Mkay. Today I have to mow. I might have to take a nap... (I am planning an afternoon nap at 9 AM. Something might be wrong with me...)
Then it's the last night of VBS. Always a fun night. Always a crazy night. I have to take a nap so I can be CRAZY! Right? That's what I'm telling myself at least!


Today the reading for NIPTO is Ephesians 4:1-16. I know it's a lot to cover, but we can do it! Just bear with me :)

1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

If he's a prisoner for the Lord, the least we can do is live a life that is worthy of our calling, right?


2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

These are some general instructions. Things that we should strive to be. Humble, gentle, patient, bearing with one another in love. HEY! I asked you guys to bear with me... would you do it in love? :)
We should strive to be in unity with the Spirit with peace.
Alright. Everybody have that? Yes? Moving on.


4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.


One. We are all one. One body, one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, one Father, over all, through all, in all. That's a whole lot o' one.
Is the church one? Or are we separate? I think that, unfortunately, we're mostly separate. We can be different, but we should still be one.


7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men."

We've all been given grace. This verse almost makes it seem like it's rationed out to people. Which it kind of is. But not really. But kind of.
But when he went back to heaven he lead captives (freeing them) and gave gifts to men (us?).


 9(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

So cool. What goes up... must've come down at some point? ;)


 11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.


I think that we're all called to be something. It could be a job. It could be motherhood. I think that in each calling, we're called to something bigger: to build up the body of Christ. To prepare God's people for works of service so that can happen. We're to build up the body of Christ until we're all of one mind in our faith and in our knowledge of God. Until we become mature.

14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

Once we're mature, it will be so much harder to be "blown here and there." We'll be more stable.


15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

Speaking truth in love. Truth... with LOVE. Not love without truth. It's not "tender steamrolling" as Mark Bowen at IGNITE told us not to do. (You can listen to that sermon here (Growing Wiser People Skills by Mark Bowen)).
When we speak truth in love, we will mature in all things. We'll grow up into God. The Head... Christ.


16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

We're all joined together in Christ. We support each othere, grow with each other, and build eachother up in love when we do our work.


Alrighty. I'm going to gow mow. Thanks for bearing with me!
There might be a post about VBS tonight. I don't know though. I might be too exhausted from being HYPED UP! We'll see though.
Hope you're having a good day!

VBS day 3-Sparklers!

Hello. I am, once again, exhausted. And it's not even 10:30.

VBS felt crazy and kind of short for me tonight. I got there a little bit late. But everything was okay. We went to our Games Mission first. We used the game that was supposed to go with the previous night when we did the story of the Women at the Well. They took styrofoam cups that had holes in the bottom (on purpose) and filled them with water and had to run to the other bucket to fill it before all the water ran out. According to Erin, our group was the one that got the wettest. Figures =P


See the watter dripping? All over them.

I think I get the meaning of the phrase "hearding cats made of jell-o" now. K-1 kids are crazy. And aren't very good at staying in a single-file line.


Thankfully they don't have to during music time! (A-M-A-Z-I-N-G is the song we're singing. Go look it up on YouTube)
L-R Katie, Marcy, Lillianne, Aubrey, Bella, Daniel, Alex P (blue), Alex B (red), Me.

(Cue going to bed and finishing in the morning!)
We went to snack after that. Then craft. I don't usually take pictures during those "missions" because I'm helping or occupying the kids.
After crafts we went to our Discovery time where they lit a BUNCH of sparklers. It was sweet. I have a video of it. So here it is :)

You can hear us talking about Magnesium from yesterday! haha


I also took a couple pictures. Here's one of them :)

This is Daniel. The only boy in our group who isn't an Alex! (Granted there are only 3 boys...)

Then, because we were done, we decided to roll down the hill a few times. I did it twice. I was very dizzy! And I got a grass stain on my pants but I think it came out :) It was all worth it!
Getting ready to roll down the hill! (I'm on the far left... ;)
From L-R: Me, Alex S, Alex B, Daniel, Lilliann, Aubrey, and Bella
After our Discovery "mission" we went back to our room to do our reflection time. That is when it's like trying to heard cats made of jello. It's really hard to get everyone to hold hands in a circle, then sit down so we're in a circle, then sit crisscross applesauce (indian style. Just a fun way to say it!). Sounds easy, right? WRONG. They flop once we get to that room. They know we're almost done and they're tired. It's 8:00. It's probably getting close to bed time for a coupel of them. And it can get frustrating. Especially when the Alexes are causing trouble by a) flopping or b) non-stop talking.
But we get there. And actually use all our time! So that's exciting :)

Tonight should be fun. It's the last night. I might have to take a nap/rest time this afternoon so I can be especially HYPE tonight! I want to take a lot of pictures and I want to be CRAZY! The kids think it's funny when I'm crazy. At least I hope they do... =P
There might be a post tonight... it might have to wait till tomorrow morning though!