NIPTO, Day 353

Heyo.
I'm extremely tired today.

Yesterday I went to Urban Vision. Sat in the gym and read/prepared for my ballet class. (Last minute, right? Yeah. I know.) Ate dinner, delicious chicken and rice stuff. Helped a few people with homework (at the same time). Got ready for ballet. Went up to the "studio" of sorts (which will be getting mirrors soon! YAY!). Stretched some. Practiced my fuette turns (I think that's how that's spelled. Probably not). Then a couple of the girls came up and we cleaned out their LOCKERS! Yes, they all have lockers. I'll take some pictures next week and put them up... hopefully the mirrors will be up by then!
Then we had class, which went really well. Michelle is a huuuuge help! I love having her around to help me... it makes things much easier!
After class I went to my dance classes. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Then I came home, at a piece of cake, got sucked into the internet and didn't get pulled out until almost 11. Then I went to bed.

Got up this morning. Got ready. Went to Spanish class.  Caught up on the blogs that I didn't have time to catch up on before I left. Did my work. Ate lunch. Did physics during Mom's class. Packed up. Went to the lib-a-rary. Finished physics for the day. Looked at some books. Picked a couple out. Checked out. Came home. Put grocery stuff away. Relaaaaxed. It was nice. Listened to Dave Ramsey some. Talked to Katie some (Oh the funny stories! :) And now it's almost time for dinner.
So I'mma peace out until dinner (quiche!) is over.

Ahhhhh dinner was yummy!
After dinner I did some SAT Question of the Day questions. And took some kind of personalty whatchamacallit for college majors. Annnd now I'm going to finish my blog. Then I'm going to watch American Idol. And then I'm going to go to bed and sleep for a very long time. (Hallelujah, amen.)

NIPTO.
1 Timothy 4:1-5

 ¹ The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

Unfortunately, some people will abandon their faith. They'll follow other religions... things that are taught by demons. 

Other religions aren't things to be taken lightly. They're taught by demons. Uh. Wow.
It makes me think of Safely Home when Li Quan takes Ben to a Tibetan temple and the priests are basically possessed. It's creepy. But true, nonetheless. 

² Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.³ They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.

The teachings by demons come from liars who don't have a clear conscience because it's been seared with an iron. The teachings forbid things that God created to be received with thanksgiving by people who know and believe the truth. 

⁴ For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

Everything that God created is good. Nothing should be rejected if it's received with thanksgiving. I mean, why would you do that? And anyways, it's consecrated by the word of God. What he creates is consecrated. Set apart. 

Good stuff.
I'm going to relax... have my cake and eat it too. Literally!
Adios!

Tornado Tuesday and Wiped-Out Wednesday

SO. You want to hear about yesterday and today? Well, you're in the right spot!
Yesterday: Got up and did school or whatever... that was uneventful. Then I went to Urban Vision and sat in the gym/played with the kids for... an hour and a half ish? LaTajare came and sat on my lap for a long time. She had a headache and wasn't up for running around in the crazy gym. I loved just having her sit on my lap. She's such a sweetheart!
While I was in the gym, Jeff came in and was taking a couple of the kids out to talk about prayer requests and how things are going and whatnot, and he came in and saw me and was like "Oh! I need to talk to you!" Annnd he offered me an internship at Urban Vision this summer! So I'm thinking about that... I still need a little more information and stuff. So yeah. But that was exciting!

I also taught (in the loosest sense of the word!) my first ballet (if you can call it that...) class yesterday, too! It was... harder than I thought it would be! An hour is a really long time to keep eight 9-11 year olds occupied with ballet. Soo yeah. It was good... for the most part. I have some books from the library out on ballet&teaching dance and whatnot. (But they say that there's nothing you can get from a book that you can't get from a television faster... hm... maybe I should watch some TV shows or instructional DVDs about teaching? hahaha)
After teaching Mom&I dropped Eh Dah Po off and then I went to my dance classes. Annnnnd yeah. Those were good too. We learned a sweet combination for Jazz that might be in our new dance... still haven't decided what we're dancing to yet. (Grenade by Bruno Mars or another song that I'm not quite sure what it is... maybe Politics of Dancing? Not sure. The combination was to Grenade. Super sweet!)
We looked at 2 dance costume catalogs for a specific costume for our modern class, but Nancy, apparently, didn't leave the right book. Annnnd we lifted Emma and didn't drop her (kinda!) so that's good. Annnd I drove home and that went well.
I ate when I got home because I was starving and we always talk about food during dance, so I ate and blogged and did whatever. And that kept me up until 11:30.

Today: I got up too early. But I actually got up on time. It was just too early for my body's clock. I didn't get my allotted 9 hours of sleep. I only got... *gasp* EIGHT.
Got ready and whatnot. Went to Spanish class with the Runers. Made it through class. Did my physics and then had to move classrooms. Did more school. Ate lunch. Sat in Mom's class and did school. Packed up and went to the library while Mom went to the grocery store. I got a bunch of movies and a few books. So yes. Then we came home and put groceries away, finished geometry, and relaxed! And to relax I watched Stick It. Then Mom and I ate dinner, I helped her clean up and stuff, and then I did NIPTO.
And RIGHT NOW I'm watching American Idol and blogging. Next commercial break I'm going to start getting ready for bed.
The new season of American Idol is... decent. I like the judges more than I thought I would.
And I'm going to sign off and turn the computer off for the night! :)

Goodnight! I hope this was a good update!

NIPTO, Day 339

Heyyy!
So lots has happened since I posted yesterday!
We ended up not going to Urban Vision and my ballet class doesn't even start until next week! Sooo we stayed home and I did some ACT stuff and Mom and I talked to Katie for a long time :)
After dinner and whatnot, I got ready for dance and Dad drove me up there. We did Jazz (and finished the finale!) and then Modern (there were 4 of us in class. Smaaaaaall class). So those were good classes. And I came home and ate the last of the Brownie Trifle, took a shower, and went to bed.
My alarm was set for... 7:30 this morning and at 7:15(ish), Dad came in and told me there was no school today. So I turned my alarm off and went back to sleep until 8:45. I got up... didn't get ready for the day. I'm still in my pajamas and it's almost 7 PM. hah. I did my school. I'm still not done. I still have 3 physics problems to do... but I'm kind of feeling done for the night. But I'll probably finish this, finish those, and then watch Make It or Break It on Hulu. :)

Dinner was good tonight. We had honey-mustard-red-hot-chicken with green beans, sweet potato fries, and rice. Yum yum yum. Good stuff.

Soooo... Haggai?
Haggai 1:7-12

 ⁷ This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. ⁸ Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD.

God told the people, through Haggai, to think about what they're doing. He told them to go up to the mountains and bring timber down to build the temple so that he could be honored and take pleasure in what they had done. 

⁹ “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. ¹⁰Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.¹¹ I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

God tells the people that what they expected to be a lot, turned out to be a only a little. What they brought home, God blew away. WHY, you might ask? Because God's house was a ruin. It was crumbling down. But all the people were busy with their own houses. Because they were neglecting God's house, God called for a drought on everything that their hands touched. Seems harsh... but God needed to get to them somehow. 

 ¹² Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.

Then the people obeyed the voice of the LORD. How proud must God have been when the turned back to him? I'm guessing very. :)

Soooo..... now I'm going to do something. Not sure what, though. Probably finish school. But maybe not. We'll see.
Later, gators!

NIPTO, Day 283

Heyyyy all.
Lots has happened since I last blogged! Well... not lots. But enough to make a lengthy "I did this and then that" section. Hah.

So. Yesterday. Went to Urban Vision. Was in the Gym. Ate dinner. Helped Ehne Thau with her homework. Went to ballet. Got my butt (or biceps... No. My butt) kicked by Lauren. Went to Jazz&Modern. Got nice bruises on my knees from modern. Annnnd then came home and went to bed.

Got up this morning, got ready, went to school. Spanish class, study hall, lunch, Mom's class, cleaned up. Went to the bank and the grocery store. Came home. Did school. Watched last week's Survivor. E-mailed  pictures to Kayt's soccer coach for a slideshow. Ate dinner. Finished e-mailing pictures. Watched the end of last week's Survivor that I hadn't gotten to, watched Glee (You should check out this and this from this past week's episode!). And here I am.

Soooooo...... NIPTO? Yeah.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

¹ Remember your Creator
   in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
   and the years approach when you will say,
   “I find no pleasure in them”— 

Remember who created you. Remember him when you're young, before you have trouble, before you find no pleasure in your life.

² before the sun and the light
   and the moon and the stars grow dark,
   and the clouds return after the rain; 

Remember God before the sun comes up and before it goes down. Remember him before the clouds return after a rain.

³ when the keepers of the house tremble,
   and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
   and those looking through the windows grow dim;
⁴ when the doors to the street are closed
   and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
   but all their songs grow faint; 

Remember God when people tremble, strong men grow weak, and the windows grow dim. When the doors on the street are closed, remember who created you. 

⁵ when people are afraid of heights
   and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
   and the grasshopper drags itself along
   and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
   and mourners go about the streets.

Remember God when people are afraid and are in danger. Remember who created you when there are beautiful blossoms on the trees. Remember him when animals drag along.

People will eventually go to their eternal homes and those who mourn them will be in the streets. 

 ⁶ Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
   and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
   and the wheel broken at the well,
⁷ and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
   and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Remember God before the pretty things break and the dust returns to where it came from and the spirit returns to the one who gave it. 

Remember.

 ⁸ “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
   “Everything is meaningless!"

Joyful, isn't it? Yeah. No. Meaningless. Everything is meaningless. But we need to remember our creator nonetheless.

And now. I'm going to go to bed. And I hope to blog tomorrow afternoon... because I'm going to see THE WIZARD OF OZ tomorrow night!!!!!!!!!!! I'm super pumped. If you couldn't tell by the massive amount of exclamation points that are ^^ up there.
So. I'm going to go to bed so I can get sleep. And get up and get work done!

Hope y'all had a gooooood day :)

NIPTO, Day 278

Hey-o. Me say heyyy-o. Daylight come and I want... to... go... home?
I am home! And today was a good day.

I did school. I ate lunch and watched Mama Mia. It's a good movie. It's a kinda messed up movie, but the music is good.

I finished up a little bit more school, then Mom and I passed out fliers for her Open House.

I took a shower and got ready for the Urban Vision Open House and then ate dinner and left!

We went to the Open House and I went upstairs to help get people ready. Tying skirts, doing hair. It was lovely. They looked adorable! I actually have a picture. Let me get my camera and get the picture.

23ish girls with Lauren! (There are... 4? missing)

They did such a good job! I'm proud of them.


So now I'm home. Annnnd we just finished watching Super Nanny. And What Would You Do? And then I got sucked into watching a live webcast of JUMP Dance Convention and got inspired to dance, so I practiced my dances and danced around like a crazy person to (If You Want It) and Be My Escape [Acoustic]. Sisters: I got this fantastic idea for a dance for Be My Escape [Acoustic]. One person is a puppet and they're begging another person to be their escape from their puppet world and another person is the puppeteer in the background. Sweeeeet? Yeah. In my opinion. haha
Whew. Dancing around got me all sweaty. AWESOME. Love being sweaty right before I go to bed.  Not.

Now NIPTO.

Ecclesiastes 9:13-18
¹³ I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: ¹⁴ There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it.


This person is looking around. Most of what he's seen has been foolish and meaningless, but he sees something that's an example of wisdom that impresses him. 
Okay. So there's this city. It's a small city with not a whole lot of people. And this king comes and prepares to attack. Ooooookay?




¹⁵ Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.


There was a man who lived in the city. He was poor, but had wisdom. And he saved the city by his wisdom. But, somehow, no one remembered him. That's sad. Haha.




¹⁶ So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

 ¹⁷ The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
   than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
   but one sinner destroys much good.

Wisdom is better than being physically strong. But a poor person's wisdom isn't accepted and what this person says isn't heeded.

The quiet words of the wise are more important than the loud shouts of a ruler of fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons. It is a weapon in my opinion. One sinner can destroy the good that wisdom provides. 

And that is all for tonight. 

I'm going to go to bed and sleep until I wake up tomorrow. Boo to the yahhhhhhhhhh. 

G'night blog readers! :)

NIPTO, Day 261

Hi everyone.

Today has been a very long day. 

Got up (with much... trepidation? not really. Just didn't feel like getting up.), got ready, did a tiny bit of school, went to the dentist, did some school in the waiting area, went home, did more school, ate lunch and watched Pushing Daises, and then did more school. Then we went to Urban Vision (after a lot of hemming and hawing about whether we should go or not because the weather wasn't looking so great. Big storm went through... sometime today. We were at Urban Vision in their large brick building and I didn't hear or see a thing.). I was in the Gym for the entire time, except for dinner and homework. Dinner was super yum. Rice and sloppy joes, applesauce and a cupcake. Pumpkin cupcake. YUM.

I got ready for ballet and went upstairs... I'll have to take some pictures of the "studio" eventually to put  up here. Annnd we did ballet. And then I went to dance for two hours. I got my jazz shoes (exciting! Now I don't fall when I spin! And I can actually do decent turns!). Annd yeah. I drove home with Dad... I was talking to him in the car... There are two girls who are in jazz who aren't in modern. E and K. As soon as they left, almost everyone started making fun of K. It was so sad. Like, it wasn't even anything... super serious, but it was still mean. They are mean girls. I sat back and didn't really do anything, but if they do anything next week, something's gonna go down. It's saddening and disappointing to see five or six girls who are nice people get so mean about something little. It's rude and hurtful. It makes you wonder what they say about you behind your back. I know I shot up a prayer during that. I just didn't know what to do. I wanted to say something and stick up for her, but I wasn't sure what to say. One of the girls even asked me, "Are you friends with her?" and I was like, "Well... kinda? We talk a little bit." And she was like, "Oh. Okay." and then started/kept talking about her. 

It makes you realize how shallow people are. And how immature and stupid high school girls are/can be. 

I guess that right now all I can do is pray and do something if they do anything next week. I'm not going to let this go. K is a nice person and doesn't deserve to be treated like that behind her back. 

*Deep breath*

Moving on. To NIPTO.

I think I'm going to start Ecclesiastes. Here is some great background information on Ecclesiastes! (It's a PDF, just so you know.)

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

¹ The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

 ² "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
       says the Teacher.
       "Utterly meaningless!
       Everything is meaningless."

In the words of the Teacher, a son of David, the king of Jerusalem: Meaningless. Everything is utterly meaningless. Hm. I wonder why. Let's keep reading.

 ³ What does man gain from all his labor
       at which he toils under the sun?

 ⁴ Generations come and generations go,
       but the earth remains forever.

 ⁵ The sun rises and the sun sets,
       and hurries back to where it rises.

What do we get from working under the sun? People come, people go. The earth is here forever. The sun rises, the sun sets, the sun rises again.

I'm sensing... a little bit of monotony. 

 ⁶ The wind blows to the south
       and turns to the north;
       round and round it goes,
       ever returning on its course.

 ⁷ All streams flow into the sea,
       yet the sea is never full.
       To the place the streams come from,
       there they return again.

The wind blows in circles. All streams go to the sea, but the sea is never full. Where the streams come from, they go back to.

 ⁸ All things are wearisome,
       more than one can say.
       The eye never has enough of seeing,
       nor the ear its fill of hearing.

 ⁹ What has been will be again,
       what has been done will be done again;
       there is nothing new under the sun.

All things are wearisome. Everything that you do is going to get tiring. The eye never has enough seeing and the ear never has enough hearing. That could go on forever. 

What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again. 

The author makes a bold statement. "there is nothing new under the sun."

Wow. Uh... okay. Keep reading. (The author is kind of a Debbie Downer. (or Negative Nancy, if you will.))

 ¹⁰ Is there anything of which one can say,
       "Look! This is something new"?
       It was here already, long ago;
       it was here before our time.

Is there anything that we can really claim newness for? Well. Not really. Pretty much everything has been here. That's something interesting to think about. Because people are making "new" things every day. But how new are they really?

 ¹¹ There is no remembrance of men of old,
       and even those who are yet to come
       will not be remembered
       by those who follow.

There is no remembrance of the people of the past. The people who are yet to come won't even be remembered by the people who follow them.

All depressing. Huh.

Debbie Downer. 

Annnnd moving on again. I know six people who have birthdays today.

Kaytee, Connie, Josh, Christine, Janaya, and Ye Shen.

So Happy birthday to all of them! Even though I don't think any of them read my blog... haha

I'm going to go to bed now. Spanish class tomorrow! Ole! haha 

Hope you all had a fantastic day :)

NIPTO, Day 255

Hey all!

Time for an update starting with yesterday afternoon:
I went to Urban Vision. And I was in the gym (two periods), art (one period), dinner (one period)(and I helped serve. Peaches. Peachy! haha), gym (one period), art (one period), and homework (about one and a half periods).
Then I went upstairs to the "studio" and got changed and then Lauren and I worked on the dance a little bit. The girls are dancing to "Who Am I" by Casting Crowns. I think it will be a very pretty dance.
The girls got there and we stretched and warmed up some and then started working on the dance. Annd that took us to the end of the class time. Then I went to dance, danced, fell down, almost fell down, and almost fell down again (my socks were not conducive to turns!). Annnnnnd then there was Modern. Which was much better. We worked on our dance (True Colors, Cindi Lauper). Annnd I drove home. And finished my blog (I let you in on a secret there =P). Took a shower and then went to sleeep.
Got up this morning, managed to get ready. Went to Spanish, got half a doughnut from Carrie (YUM!), annnnd we did Spanish. And it was good. Annnnnnnd then I did stuff? Ate lunch outside. Sat in on Mom's class. Came home. Did Geometry and listened to Dave Ramsey. And now here I am. Listening to my parent's conversation... occasionally adding something. (They're eating dinner. I'm a loser and am sitting in the living room. But I'll eat at Alpha.)

So that's all for my update, so on to NIPTO!

Hosea 10:1-15

¹ Israel was a spreading vine;
       he brought forth fruit for himself.
       As his fruit increased,
       he built more altars;
       as his land prospered,
       he adorned his sacred stones.
A'ight. God is still going over Israel's punishment. They were fruitful... for themselves. They did things for themselves. And they prospered. 


 ² Their heart is deceitful,
       and now they must bear their guilt.
       The LORD will demolish their altars
       and destroy their sacred stones.
 ³ Then they will say, "We have no king
       because we did not revere the LORD.
       But even if we had a king,
       what could he do for us?"
They were lying and deceitful. And because of that, they had to bear their guilt. God would destroy their alters and stones. And then they would say that they don't have a king because they didn't honor and revere God. Even if they had a king, what could he have done for them?


 ⁴ They make many promises,
       take false oaths
       and make agreements;
       therefore lawsuits spring up
       like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
They made promises that they would break. And that would cause lawsuits to come up: "like poisonous weeds in a plowed field."


 ⁵ The people who live in Samaria fear
       for the calf-idol of Beth Aven.
       Its people will mourn over it,
       and so will its idolatrous priests,
       those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
       because it is taken from them into exile.
 ⁶ It will be carried to Assyria
       as tribute for the great king.
       Ephraim will be disgraced;
       Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.
 ⁷ Samaria and its king will float away
       like a twig on the surface of the waters.
The people of Samaria lived in fear of Beth Aven's idols. Those who had rejoiced over the idol would mourn because it would be taken from them into exile. It would be carried away by another country as a tribute to a great king. The other cities would be ashamed of their idols and Samaria would float away, insignificant.


 ⁸ The high places of wickedness will be destroyed—
       it is the sin of Israel.
       Thorns and thistles will grow up
       and cover their altars.
       Then they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!"
       and to the hills, "Fall on us!"
God tells them that their wicked places will be destroyed. Those places were the sin of Israel. The altars would be overgrown and would want to be covered.


 ⁹ "Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel,
       and there you have remained.
       Did not war overtake
       the evildoers in Gibeah?  ¹⁰ When I please, I will punish them;
       nations will be gathered against them
       to put them in bonds for their double sin.
Israel sinned for a long time. And they stayed in their sin. War overtook the people who did evil. And when God wanted, he would punish them. Nations would be gathered against them and would take them and put them in bonds that were twice as bad as their sin.


 ¹¹ Ephraim is a trained heifer
       that loves to thresh;
       so I will put a yoke
       on her fair neck.
       I will drive Ephraim,
       Judah must plow,
       and Jacob must break up the ground.
Ephraim was routine. They liked what they did. So God put a yoke on their neck and drove them. Judah had to plow and Jacob broke the ground up. 


 ¹² Sow for yourselves righteousness,
       reap the fruit of unfailing love,
       and break up your unplowed ground;
       for it is time to seek the LORD,
       until he comes
       and showers righteousness on you.
God gives instruction here: sow righteousness for yourselves and reap the fruit of unfailing love. Break up your own ground. It's time to seek God. We seek him until he comes and showers his righteousness on us. 


 ¹³ But you have planted wickedness,
       you have reaped evil,
       you have eaten the fruit of deception.
       Because you have depended on your own strength
       and on your many warriors,
 ¹⁴ the roar of battle will rise against your people,
       so that all your fortresses will be devastated—
       as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
       when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
So if you sow righteousness, you'll reap righteousness. If you plant wickedness, you reap evil... you eat the fruit of deception. Because they depended on their own strength and on their warriors, the battle would rise up against them and their fortresses would be destroyed. 


 ¹⁵ Thus will it happen to you, O Bethel,
       because your wickedness is great.
       When that day dawns,
       the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
That was going to happen to Bethel. They were wicked to the max. Not in a good way either. When the day dawned the king of Israel would be destroyed. 
Bummer, eh?




Well.... off to Alpha!
Have a gooood day! :)

NIPTO, Day 248

Today was a good day. So was yesterday. I'll start with yesterday.

Finished blogging and left for Urban Vision. Was in the gym and did stickers mostly (the kids get a sticker for each "period" that they're in, unless they lose it by not following rules). Annnnd then I was in art, dinner, gym, art, and then there was ballet.
Ballet was mostly logistics. I don't think we actually did any dancing.
Then it was off to Jazz and Modern. We learned a little bit more of the jazz finale annd some of our modern dance which is exciting. I'm looking forward to this modern dance. It's sweet!
Then I came home and took a shower and went to bed.
Hit snooze about 5 or 6 times this morning. Annnd got up, got ready... went to Spanish. It was quiet without Sean and Carrie. Then I went to study hall and actually got something done *GASP*!
Annnd then it was lunch time... we ate outside because it was gorgeous out today! Then I sat in Mom's class and didn't do a whole lot because I got everything done! So I outlined my paper for Lit annd I got a call from Lauren about ballet stuff... annnd yeah. We cleaned up Mom's stuff, I went to the library while Mom went to the grocery store, annnnd then we came home and unloaded the car and here I am. At the computer. Listening to Dave Ramsey (LOVE HIM!) annnd blogging. Trying to be productive.

Sooo NIPTO?
Hosea 4:1-19
¹ Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites,
       because the LORD has a charge to bring
       against you who live in the land:
       "There is no faithfulness, no love,
       no acknowledgment of God in the land.


This is the accusation against Israel. What they've done wrong.
God tells them that there is no faithfulness, love, or acknowledgement of God in the land. Whew. Steep accusation to start with! (None at all?)




 ² There is only cursing, lying and murder,
       stealing and adultery;
       they break all bounds,
       and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
 ³ Because of this the land mourns,
       and all who live in it waste away;
       the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
       and the fish of the sea are dying.


Instead of faithfulness, love, and acknowledgement of God, there is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. Bloodshed follows bloodshed.
It sounds like this wouldn't be a very nice time to have lived!
But because they weren't faithful to God and were doing all those things, the land mourned. Everyone who lived there wasted away, the beasts, birds, and fish were dying.



 ⁴ "But let no man bring a charge,
       let no man accuse another,
       for your people are like those
       who bring charges against a priest.
 ⁵ You stumble day and night,
       and the prophets stumble with you.
       So I will destroy your mother-
 ⁶ my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.


God tells them to not accuse each other. When they accuse each other, they're like the people who accuse a priest. 
They stumble around and the prophets stumbled with them. And because of that, God would destroy them. Because of that and their lack of knowledge.



       "Because you have rejected knowledge,
       I also reject you as my priests;
       because you have ignored the law of your God,
       I also will ignore your children.
 ⁷ The more the priests increased,
       the more they sinned against me;
       they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful.
 ⁸ They feed on the sins of my people
       and relish their wickedness.
 ⁹ And it will be: Like people, like priests.
       I will punish both of them for their ways
       and repay them for their deeds.


Because they rejected knowledge, God rejected them as priests.
Because they ignored the law of God, he would ignore their children.
The more priests there were, the more they sinned. They exchanged the glory of being a priest for something disgraceful.
The priests fed on the sins of the people and relished in their wickedness. How wrong is that?
God told them that it would be "like people, like priests" (Like father, like daughter?)
God said that he would punish both parties for what they did. It didn't matter that one of them was supposed to be holy. Same treatment. God's cool and non judgmental like that.



 ¹⁰ "They will eat but not have enough;
       they will engage in prostitution but not increase,
       because they have deserted the LORD
       to give themselves ¹¹ to prostitution,
       to old wine and new,
       which take away the understanding ¹² of my people.
       They consult a wooden idol
       and are answered by a stick of wood.
       A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;
       they are unfaithful to their God.  ¹³ They sacrifice on the mountaintops
       and burn offerings on the hills,
       under oak, poplar and terebinth,
       where the shade is pleasant.
       Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution
       and your daughters-in-law to adultery.


They would have enough but would never be satisfied.
They gave themselves to others and not God and would not be prosperous. It took away their understanding. They worshiped idols. They asked the idols for answers and got "answers" from a stick of wood. They were led astray and forsook their God. 
They sacrificed to idols on mountains, burned offerings on hills, under trees where it was nice.
Because they did it, their children would turn to prostitution and adultery. 



 ¹⁴ "I will not punish your daughters
       when they turn to prostitution,
       nor your daughters-in-law
       when they commit adultery,
       because the men themselves consort with harlots
       and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes—
       a people without understanding will come to ruin!


God said he wouldn't punish them when they turn away because the men did the same thing. He couldn't punish the women and not the men too. 




¹⁵ "Though you commit adultery, O Israel,
       let not Judah become guilty.
       "Do not go to Gilgal;
       do not go up to Beth Aven.
       And do not swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives!'


God told the Israelits to go ahead and sin, but not to get the other countries involved. And don't swear "As surely as the LORD lives" because they weren't following him to swear by him.



 ¹⁶ The Israelites are stubborn,
       like a stubborn heifer.
       How then can the LORD pasture them
       like lambs in a meadow?
 ¹⁷ Ephraim is joined to idols;
       leave him alone!
 ¹⁸ Even when their drinks are gone,
       they continue their prostitution;
       their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
 ¹⁹ A whirlwind will sweep them away,
       and their sacrifices will bring them shame.


The Israelites were stubborn. God was kinda wondering "how can I make these people like lambs?"
Ephriam was an idol worshiper. God said to leave him alone. 
Even when they were "dry" they would keep trying to fulfill themselves. They loved what they did too much. But their shameful ways would bring them to shame.


Whew.
That's intense.
And now, I've gotta go!
Hope you're doing well :)

NIPTO, Day 149

Holaa.

Today has been off an on busy.

We had our last day of Urban Vision's Summer program. It went well. Ballet was fun! There was a girl from the company that Miah used to dance with to help. It was fun to have someone different in class. She was really sweet and was a great dancer! (She said that she had been out of dance since before the company's spring show because her back was hurt.)

We went to Target and got an Icee (YUM) to celebrate the last day of UV. It was good.
I read some...
I went down to Kayt's house to see if she was home. She wasn't, but I talked to Paige for a while. She was kind of upset. It made me upset to see her upset. It makes me upset when she says no one cares about her. I care about her. I know a lot of people care about her. I just don't think that she always sees it as caring.

I came home and talked to Mom for a while... then I read some more? I think I've been reading all day. =P

I made pancakes for dinner! YES! I love making pancakes. That started... years ago(?) at my grandparents house (HI MEME!). I would help Meme make breakfast... and eventually I just took over :)

So we had dinner.... I read some more (=P)

Watched Losing It With Jillian. Watched Downfall. (Downfall is a stupid show. I read during most of it)

And now I'm blogging. The news is on... They're reporting the same stuff that they did last night... about half.
Glad to know there's nothing major going on in the world right now... no war... or anything like that.


NIPTO, I guess.

Acts 4:1-12
¹The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ²They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.


Hah. This is kinda funny. The guards&Sadducees (aka important people?) were disturbed by what Peter and John were teaching. Andd so they arrested them. But that didn't stop a ton of people from hearing what they said and believing in it. 5,000 to be... approximate. 


 ⁵The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. ⁷They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

Oooooo more big scary important people. They decided to question Peter and John. And they asked them a very important question. "By what power or what name did you do this?"


 ⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, ¹⁰then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

Peter got pumped with the Holy Spirit and told them off. "If you called us in to question us because we were nice to a guy and healed him, then you should know that we did that in the name of Jesus who you KILLED. Booyah and boomshakalaka." I somehow don't think that Peter actually said "booyah" or "boomshakalaka," but it was worth a go. (That was very British of me, I know.)
But yeah. That guy was healed by the guy that they killed... a little confusing, but super awesome.

¹¹He is
   " 'the stone you builders rejected,
      which has become the capstone. ¹²Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Jesus... he was the one they rejected. He became the foundation that everything was built from. We are saved only by Jesus. And that's the simple truth.




I'm going to leave it at that, methinks, and go to bed. (Holland/Netherlands won their game today! Go Oranje! (They're in the final!) But we don't know if they're playing Germany or Spain. We're hoping Spain wins that game so Karlien and Katie aren't killed for supporting Holland! =P)
Night all!

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!

NIPTO, Day 128

Hello all!

I am home from Day 1 of Urban Vision. I'm tired. But it was very fun!
When we got there Mom went over her reading stuff and got set up and stuff and Hannah and I went to the cafeteria to help with breakfast.
After that, I went upstairs to help with piano. For 4 periods. That's 100 minutes of piano! I helped Jayla and Heh Gay Moo and Too Dan Paw. All adorable :) And then I went upstairs (third floor!) to help Lauren with ballet!! It's so much fun! We get in a circle and stretch. Then we did review (positions, pliés, tendus, relevés) and then we practiced bourre´e.
And then we had a relevé contest to see who could stay in relevé the longest. I did NOT win. My calves were killing me. Crazy. I'm out of dance for a week and I feel so "out of shape" dance wise!
After ballet, we went down to lunch. Ate lunch. Went to the reading room and helped Mom set up for the next class. Had the next two classes and then we were DONE. Crazy. It was a fun day! I hope my schedule is the same next week. :)

Please tell me you're in the mood for some hip-hop music. Because I am. Group 1 Crew. Amazing. Christian hip-hop. FANtastic! You just want to danceeee! They sound like the Christian version of The Black Eyed Peas! It's great! I give you permission (unless you're my father ;) to dance!


Good music, eh? (Katie. HAH. I saw a moose today. Just kidding. Eh. =P)


Okay. NIPTO :)

Ephesians 3:7-13

7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.

Interesting. Paul didn't become a servant by his own strength. He had the grace of God. I think that that's something that we possess that we forget about. I mean, sometimes we definitely don't forget about it, but sometimes we do.


8Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

Man. Paul is humble. "I am less than the least of all God's people." Uhm. Crazy humble.
But he was given grace to be able to teach to the Gentiles about God's kingdom and riches. And to be able to make it clear to people that it wasn't him who was telling them this mystery. That it was God.


10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God's intent was that his wisdom would be made known to those in charge of the "heavenly realms" which is in accordance with his eternal purposed that he accomplished in Jesus.


12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

In and through Jesus, with faith, we can approach God freely. And with confidence. We don't have to be scared. Amazing...


13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

And now he's telling them to not be discouraged that he was suffering. His suffering was their glory.


And now I'm going to go get really nervous. I'm going to call Panera to talk to one of the managers and see if there's any chance that I'll get a job soon. *faints* Okay. Well, I'm not that nervous. But I'm still nervous. I get jumpy. And I don't like talking to people on the phone. MEH.
Okay. I might post something about VBS tonight when I get home. Or tomorrow morning. We'll see.
Hope you're having a good day!

Also, happy birthday to my DAD! He's wonderful. He's golfing right now. Maybe at Firestone Park. I'm not sure. But I'm sure he's having a blast :) Love you, daddy!