NIPTO, Day 252

Hey all!

I guess it's time to update y'all with what's been happening in my life over the past couple of days!

Starting with.... Saturday? Yup.
Saturday morning, bright and early, I woke up and went to GHS and took the PSAT. It was... decent. I feel like I did a good job. I can't do anything but wait until December when I get my scores, and even then I can't do anything about it. Sooo I just wait.
I came home from the PSAT... annnnd ate lunch. And got some stuff together. And then I went to the Alpha Retreat for the last half of it. Then Erin and I headed over to the Ham's house for the rest of the day! When we got to the Ham's, I helped out a little bit then people were getting there... so we basically hung out and talked and ate some food. Then we went on a hike at the towpath by the Ham's house. That was fun. Annnd then we came back and ate dinner... Mrs. Ham made SO MUCH GOOD FOOD! It was fantastic. After dinner we went on a hayride. Now, I didn't like the first half of the hayride. I was sitting near the end of the trailer, and therefore the hay would come straight at me while we were driving. not fun. Yeah. We got out after a while and played kick-the-can (or 2-liter bottle as the case may have been...).  Then we went back to the house and sat around the bonfire and told BK what our ideal date was because it was Sweetest Day. After a while we went inside and watched Iron Man II. I didn't see all of it. Or even most of it. Because I went home. And then blogged. And went to sleep.

Got up this morning and got ready for the day and then went to Kent to pick up Katie and then to Cleveland for Lauren's bridal shower! It was fun. Katie, Hannah, and I sat with the Horstmans and Kay. We talked, we ate, we talked some more. It was great :) Lauren and Tim are so adorable :)

Then we came home. And rushed around so Katie and Hannah could get back to Kent in time for Katie to get to music practice.

And now I'm here. Listening to my "What is this feeling?" radio station on Pandora. Blogging. Thinking about painting my nails again. But probably putting it off. And not actually doing it. I'm great like that. HAH.

A'ight. NIPTO time.
Hosea 6:11-7:16

¹¹ "Also for you, Judah,
       a harvest is appointed.
       "Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,

[Hosea 7]

 ¹ whenever I would heal Israel,
       the sins of Ephraim are exposed
       and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
       They practice deceit,
       thieves break into houses,
       bandits rob in the streets;
 ² but they do not realize
       that I remember all their evil deeds.
       Their sins engulf them;
       they are always before me.

God's talking to Judah. Telling them that there will come a day for their nation when he will restore them. He's letting them know that, whenever he heals Israel, all the other nations' sins will be exposed. The nations didn't realize that God remembered what they did wrong. But their sins were all around them and they were always in front of God.

 ³ "They delight the king with their wickedness,
       the princes with their lies.
 ⁴ They are all adulterers,
       burning like an oven
       whose fire the baker need not stir
       from the kneading of the dough till it rises.

Their wickedness and lies were the delight of the kings and princes of the day. God's delight is our prayers. They were all adulterers and cheaters. They just kinda burned in their sin. 

 ⁵ On the day of the festival of our king
       the princes become inflamed with wine,
       and he joins hands with the mockers.
 ⁶ Their hearts are like an oven;
       they approach him with intrigue.
       Their passion smolders all night;
       in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
 ⁷ All of them are hot as an oven;
       they devour their rulers.
       All their kings fall,
       and none of them calls on me.

People got drunk. They just didn't follow God. They would fall but wouldn't call on God. 

⁸ "Ephraim mixes with the nations;
       Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over.
 ⁹ Foreigners sap his strength,
       but he does not realize it.
       His hair is sprinkled with gray,
       but he does not notice.
 ¹⁰ Israel's arrogance testifies against him,
       but despite all this
       he does not return to the LORD his God
       or search for him.

Ephraim wasn't much better. I'd say from the description that God gives, Ephraim was kind of unobservant. 


 ¹¹ "Ephraim is like a dove,
       easily deceived and senseless—
       now calling to Egypt,
       now turning to Assyria.
 ¹² When they go, I will throw my net over them;
       I will pull them down like birds of the air.
       When I hear them flocking together,
       I will catch them.

Ephraim was easily lead astray. God said that when they went to leave him, he would throw a net over them and pull them down. He would catch them.


 ¹³ Woe to them,
       because they have strayed from me!
       Destruction to them,
       because they have rebelled against me!
       I long to redeem them
       but they speak lies against me.
 ¹⁴ They do not cry out to me from their hearts
       but wail upon their beds.
       They gather together for grain and new wine
       but turn away from me.

I'd, uh, be afraid, Ephraim. God was not happy with them. God wanted to redeem them. But they would lie about him. It's a sad, sad thing. They chose not to acknowledge God, but to cry out to their gods. They would gather new things, but not offer them to God.


 ¹⁵ I trained them and strengthened them,
       but they plot evil against me.
 ¹⁶ They do not turn to the Most High;
       they are like a faulty bow.
       Their leaders will fall by the sword
       because of their insolent words.
       For this they will be ridiculed
       in the land of Egypt.

God trained them and strengthened them, but they turned away and plotted against him. They didn't turn to God. And as a result, they would die. Bummer.




That's a super sad note to end on...
But I'm going to end on it anyways! Hope y'all had a good day :)