NIPTO, Day 327

Hola!
Yesterday and today were super fun!
We went to see Secretariat with Carrie and her mom, and then I went home with them to spend the night. We played Bananagrams and Dutch Blitz. Then we tried to decide what to watch. We landed on Psych and watched 3 episodes. Then we went upstairs and talked until 1:30 (am) and then finally went to sleep. Got up around 9... ate breakfast and hung out in the living room with Caitlin. And Indiana Harrison Ford Jones. And Patches. (The last two are their dogs. haha)
Dad picked me up around 10:30... came home and caught up on blogs and Facebook and whatnot. Mom and Dad got home from the grocery store around 1:30, so we ate lunch and went on a walk. Katie and Mom went to the thrift store and I'm waiting around for Kayt so we can go to Tarbucks for caf��!
And I might watch an episode of Chuck. Because Chuck is awesome. :)


But for now, NIPTO!
Colossians 1:21-23
²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.


Ew. We were alienated from God. That's just sad. We were enemies. All because of how we acted! Crazy. And sad. But there's good news! :)




²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ��s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation�� ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.


God reconciled us by Christ's death so that we could be pure. But we can only be pure if we stay firm in our faith and hold onto our hope. The gospel that has been heard so many times and has been said so many times to every creature under heaven. And the gospel that Paul was a servant of. That I'm a servant of. 




Well then. I think I'm out for 2010. Next time I post (probably) it'll be 2011! Crazy. 
Happy New Year, everyone!

NIPTO, Day 326

Hola! I'm going to be heading to Carrie's house tonight, so blogging happens NOW.
Today we got up and ate breakfast, took curlers out of the girls' hair, played some Pounce, and then the girls went home. I got ready for the day and whatnot and then we went to Kohl's and exchanged stuff for different sizes and I got a vest. Then we came home, ate lunch, and went for a walk. I packed some and now I'm blogging before I leave.
So NIPTO!

Colossians 1:15-20
 ¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.


This is simple. Yet awesome. Jesus was THE IMAGE of the invisible God. Jesus was the firstborn over all of creation. Sweet. haha




¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.


In God all things were created. God holds everything together. And I'm very thankful for that!




¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.


God is the head of the body that is the church. God was the beginning and the firstborn soooo that he could have supremacy. God liked having Jesus with him and because of Jesus he was able to reconcile us to him. He was able to reconcile all things to him through Jesus. Anything. Whether it was on heaven or earth. He was able to do that because Jesus died on the cross. 
Thank you, Jesus. 


I'm going to go and finish packing or something.
Adios!

NIPTO, Day 325

Ahhhhhhhh.
Today has been good.
Got up. Ate breakfast. Read until it was almost lunch time. Got ready for the day. Had a family meeting to figure the next few days out. Ate lunch. Went for a walk. Went to Giant Eagle to get Ramona and Beezus from the Red Box. Went to the library to pick a couple things up. Came home and did my stretching routine while Katie and Dad went to pick up Eh Dah Doe, Eh Dah Po, Ehne Thau, and Be Bin. They got here and we all caught up a little bit... then Mom, Hannah, Eh Dah Doe, and I played Monopoly Deal. Then Katie and Ehne Thau joined us and Mom left to finish dinner... then we ate dinner. And now we're watching Despicable Me. Except I'm blogging because I've seen it 3 times in the past 5 days. Hah.
Tomorrow we're taking the Karen girls back and then we're going to see Secretariat at the dollar theater and then I'm spending the night at Carrie's house! So that should be fun! :)
I will hopefully be able to blog in the morning... and thereby not break my "blog every day for a year" "resolution." A month and a bit before I'm "done." Ya know.

NIPTO!

Colossians 1:9-14
⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, ¹⁰ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.


My "New Years Resolution": To pray like these people did. They prayed like no one was business. They prayed and prayed and prayed. They didn't stop praying. They were in constant communication with God. They asked God to give the people of Colosse with wisdom and understanding so that they would live a life worthy of the knowledge of God. They prayed that they would be strengthened so that they would have patience and endurance. And they gave to God who qualified them to share the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. Whew. That's some crazy awesome prayer. 




¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.


Rescued. God has rescued us. This reminds me of Jon Acuff's latest Serious Wednesday post. He's rescued us and he brought us into his kingdom with his son. His son that he gave for our redemption.
Crazy. 


And now I go back to watching movies with the girls. I believe that Ramona&Beezus is up next! :)
Adios!

NIPTO, Day 324

Helloooooo!

Yesterday and today were both great!
Yesterday... we got up late... went on a walk... did some stuff that I don't remember... played Monopoly Deal, ate dinner, listened to Dad read some of Gazelles, Baby Steps, and 37 Other things Dave Ramsey Taught me about Debt, watched Little Women, then got ready for bed. After that Katie, Hannah, and I sat around in the living room with Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstine) on in the background and talked. Then went to sleep. Got up this morning and got ready. Then we went to the mall! Hannah and I went to Forever 21, Claire's, Bath&Body Works, a puzzle store, Sears, Payless, and Charlotte Russe!
Then we got lunch... (at three pm). And... went on a walk? Played a lot of Monopoly Deal. Ate dinner. And now we're watching Confessions of A Shopaholic.

Annnnd now NIPTO.

Colossians 1:3-8
 ³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— ⁵ the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel ⁶ that has come to you.


Paul and Timothy would always thank God when they prayed for the people of Colasse. Why? They heard that they were faithful and loving. The love that they had for others came from the hope that they had in heaven. 




 In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. ⁷ You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.


The gospel was being spread because they heard it and understood it. They learned it from Epaphras. He was faithful to God and to God's people. 






And I think that's where I'm going to leave it tonight. I'm going to head to bed early. 
The Karen girls are coming over tomorrow and are spending the night, and then on Thursday I'm going to see a movie with Carrie, and then I'm spending the night at her house! So I need to get a decent night's sleep. 
Goooodnight!

NIPTO, Day 323

Hey-o.
I'm going to be super lazy today. And my sisters are waiting on me so I can stare at their faces.
So.

I'm going to start Colossians... so
Colossians 1:1-2

 ¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

 ² To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:

   Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

Paul and Timothy (again!) wrote this book to the brothers and sisters in Colossae. They were writing to God's holy people. To people who were faithful to Christ.

Grace and peace. That's what they "sent" them with this letter. 

That is me being lazy. Now I'm going to watch a movie and sleep in the living room with my sisters! =D

NIPTO, Day 322

Yesterday was sooooo much fun!
We got up at the crack of 8. "Woke" the parents up. Opened presents. Got ready for the day. Ate breakfast. Opened more presents. Got ready for people coming over. People came over. Those people were Aunt Lynne, Uncle Paul, Aunt Lisa, and Jeff. And Meme&Pops were already here.
So we ate lunch and sat and talked for a long while... the guys started getting tired/antsy, so the ladies started to clean up... then we read a version of the Christmas story... and talked some more... then did our white-elephant exchange. After that we opened presents from Aunt Lynne and Katie... ate dessert... ate some more dinner... sat around and chatted... around... 6:30 or 7, people started to leave. We cleaned up some more, got ready for bed, and then watched Despicable Me. Which is one of my favorite movies. (I can't wait until Tangled comes out on DVD! Maybe for my birthday...)

So that was our day/night.

Today was music practice, music, sunday school/small group, music, church, hanging out with people for a bit, coming home and eating lunch, watching Million Dollar Money Drop and Minute To Win It and a little bit of the Survivor season finale, watching some Psych, eating some food, watching an episode of What Not To Wear, eating some more food, playing Scrabble Slam and watching Undercover Boss (we watched a lot of TV today!), and then listening to Dad read "Gazelles, Baby Steps, and 37 Other things Dave Ramsey Taught me about Debt" by Jon Acuff. Then playing a bunch of Fast Typer 2 on Facebook. hah. That game is addictive.

But now... NIPTO. And I haven't actually thought of something to read yet... I'm thinking about doing the end of Isaiah... but I haven't decided yet. I might do something like... Jude. I don't know I'm going to ask Hannah. Ha.
I'm going to be lazy and "take one more day off" (I'm reading this, but not commenting on it) and posting
Matthew 2:1-23
¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
 ³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
 ⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
   who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
 ⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
 ⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

 ¹³ When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” ¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
 ¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ¹⁷ Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
 ¹⁸ “A voice is heard in Ramah,
   weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
   and refusing to be comforted,
   because they are no more.”

The Return to Nazareth

 ¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” ²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³ and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.


That's all for today. I'll try to put some pictures or somefink up on facebook or here tomorrow from Christmas!
G'night, all!

NIPTO, Day 321 - Christmas Day

Today has been great, but I'm going to post about it tomorrow.

As a reminder of what today's really about, here's the story of the birth of Jesus.

Luke 2:1-21
 ¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.
 ⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
 ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
 ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
 ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
 ²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.






I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas!

NIPTO, Day 320 - Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve!

I'll give you a brief rundown of what's happened so far today and what will happen today. And then I'm going to post an excerpt from the Christmas story in the Bible.
So. Today. Got up, ate breakfast, got ready for the day, hung out and talked... chopped some onions. Went to lunch at Panera Bread (like we've done every year for the past 3 years!), went to Target to get eggs. Came home. The rest of the day will consist of baking and cooking. I'm speaking at GVUMC's Christmas Eve service at 4 o'clock. Just for about 2 minutes about Alpha. Then I'll come home... we'll probably eat dinner. Then head to the Christmas Eve service at our church. Then we'll come home, eat some shrimp cocktail and cookies/sweets, then we'll go to bed uncharacteristically early. So that's Christmas Eve in a nutshell.

I just read this story. And it's so awesome. I'll post the actual birth of Christ tomorrow. But this is today's section. Take the time to read it. It's completely worth it. Think about it too!


Luke 1:26-56
²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

 ²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 ³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

 ³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

 ³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

 ³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song

 ⁴⁶ And Mary said:

   “My soul glorifies the Lord
 ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
   of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
 ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
   holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
   from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
   he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
   but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
   but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
   remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
   just as he promised our ancestors.”

 ⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

NIPTO, Day 319

Hey all!
Today was a good day. Got up and read for a longgg while. Ate breakfast. Did my chores. Wrapped some presents. Took a shower. Read some more. Played Wii with Katie. Wrapped a couple more presents. Was on the computer? I don't remember. Maybe I read some more. Ermmm... then Meme&Pops got here. So we all hung out for a while and talked... I eventually talked Dad into signing me up for the ACT. So we did that... hung around in the kitchen for a while. Ate dinner. I read a ton more. Then we watched 2 episodes of Psych. One of them being the Christmas episode. They were both very good. And very funny!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas is on... so people are watching that. Other people are going to bed/have already gone to bed. So it's time to get my NIPTO on. And finish what I'm saying tomorrow at the Christmas Eve service at GVUMC.

Philippians 4:21-23
²¹ Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. ²² All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.

Greet all God's people in Christ Jesus. Don't shun other Christians. Say "hello" to them! The Christians who were with Paul sent their greetings to the Philippians. All of God's people that were with Paul sent their greetings. Those people were super connected. I feel like a lot of churches aren't that connected with the churches in their area. I know that the church that I go to is part of a national association and a local association. So stay connected.

 ²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

May God's grace be with you. Ahhhhhhhh men. 




I'm going to go to bed. And tonight is Christmas Eve-Eve. Or as Jon Acuff said "the Christmas Eve pre-party!"

Yes yes.
I'm going to go figure out what I'm talking about tomorrow. Bounce things off of Katie, hopefully.
G'night!

NIPTO, Day 318

*yawn*
I'm tired. But I got almost all of my Christmas shopping done! So that's good.
I got up today and got ready... ate breakfast... drove to Play It Again Sports with Dad to get a new exercise bike, came home, ate lunch, went to Kohl's, Wal-mart, Deals, and Target. And got all of my Christmas shopping done. Thennn once we got home I took The Princess Bride and Pride&Prejudice down to Kaytee. She got her wisdom teeth out and I thought she needed some awesome movies. Came home. Read blogs. Watched this video. And now I'm bloggoroggoring.

Philippians 4:14-20

¹⁴ Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. ¹⁵ Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; ¹⁶ for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.

So. Even though Paul had learned to be content in whatever circumstance he was in and didn't really require sharing of troubles, he was still grateful that they did. When Paul was just starting out, he was pretty much alone. No one shared his troubles with him except for the Philippian church. They sent him what he needed when he needed it. Support. Nice. :)

¹⁷ Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. ¹⁸ I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

Paul didn't necessarily want their gifts... he wanted more to be credited to them. Paul got more than enough of his "payment" and had enough. The gifts that Epaphroditus sent were seen as an offering to God. A fragrant sacrifice.

¹⁹ And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

This (and the next section) is really all we need to remember: Follow God and he will meet and, I'm sure, exceed your needs and expectations. Why? Because it's for his glory. 

 ²⁰ To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

This is the second thing: All glory goes to God. No matter what. For ever and ever. A-men!

There's a little bit more of Philippians that I'm saving for tomorrow. Then on Christmas eve and Christmas, I'm going to be posting (but not blogging about) the Christmas story. I'm thinking Luke for one day, and Matthew and Isaiah for the other... maybe some Micah too! We'll see.
I'm out!

NIPTO, Day 317

Whew. I feel like I did a whole lot of nothin' today!

And ohhhhhh my. My dad and sister are crazy. That's all I'm allowed to say. hahahahahaha.

So. Today... got up, ate breakfast, got dressed, made peanut butter kiss cookies, read a book? ate lunch, read some more, went on a walk and figured out some of our Christmas song stuff, stretched... did I don't know what, ate dinner, and thennn we played Set for a bit and then watched Elf! twas a good evening.
We also all sat on the couch. That was fun. :)

NIPTO!
Philippians 4:10-13
¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.


He was glad (he rejoiced, even) that they were concerned for him. They didn't have an opportunity to show that they were concerned, though. But he wasn't saying this because he was in need. Definitely not. He learned to be content in whatever circumstances he was in. That, my friends, is crazy faith. It's so hard to be content in AMERICA where we have ANYTHING we could NEED, yet we want so much. It's just wrong. *sighs and shakes head*




¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.


Paul knew what it was like to be in need and what it was like to have more than enough. He learned "the secret" to being content in every single situation. Food or no food: contentment. 
The great thing is that Jesus knows those things too. He's the one who can help us through those things. He knew hunger. He knew being full. Jesus experienced anything and everything that we're going through. And that's comforting. 




¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.


Paul's secret? He learned to be content through him who gave him strength. Jesus. God. He'll give us the strength that we need to be content in every circumstance. 


I think, especially with Christmas approaching in a few short days, that contentment is something that I'm writing on my hand or my arm. A reminder to be content, no matter what I "want" or "need." Contentment is something that I can choose. And today, I choose to be content.

NIPTO, Day 316

Hey all!

Today was lazy and fun!
Got up late. Ate breakfast. Hung around for a while. Started to make sugar cookies. Let the cookies chill. Mom, Katie, and I went to one bank, then another bank, then the library. And then went home. Cut out the sugar cookies/baked them. Frosted/sprinkled them. Ate dinner. Got ready for dance. Went to dance (modern&jazz). Came home. Read Mockingjay for a little bit. Then facebooked or whatever for a while. And now I do be here. Blogging. Hungry for foooood. I think I might get somefink to eat.

Ooon that note, NIPTO.
Philippians 4:8-9
⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.


Lastly (but not least...ly): Think about things that are TRUE. The devil feeds us lies. So often we believe those lies. Think about things that are true. Think about things that are noble. I think of royalty when I think "noble." Think "royal" thoughts. Think about things that are right and pure. To me, "right" goes with "true." I could be wrong. But in my mind they go together. Pure. Think about things that are holy and can have no blame tied to them. Think lovely thoughts. Admirable. Think about things that can be admired from God's perspective. 
If anything at all is excellent or praiseworthy, think about those things! 
Remember yesterday's post? Where, once you give things over to God so that you're not anxious anymore you'll have the peace of God which guard's your heart and your mind? Yeah. Give things over to God and your thoughts will follow suit.




⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.


We need to put into practice the things that we learn from other strong/mature Christians. We need to. There's no way around it. It's something we need to do. And once we do, the peace of God will be with us. Exciting, huh?
I thought so. :)




I'm going to finish eating my peanutbutter crackers, and then I'm headed to bed!
G'night y'all!

NIPTO, Day 315

Hey-o!

Today has been a good day. Even though I feel like I didn't go to church today... even though I did go to church. hah. (Sunday school, play practice... and that was my church day!) We had play practice. That was good. Annd we had lunch with Kasey and Bethany! I like them a whole lot. Wish they would move back up here... but, hey, they both have jobs! So that's good.

Then... I... did some facebook stuff? Then it was time to leave for the play! We ate dinner and got everyone in costumes and then it was time for the play! It was really good! The kids were great and it was funny and I messed up the 3 lines that I had, but it was okay. Hah. My narration went much better. Then we ate cake and talked to people.
After that, Hannah and I went to The620 Christmas Party. It was fun! Hannah and I hung around after and did some dishes and listened to awesome worship music. Mucho de fun-o. I mean... fue muy divertido! haha.

Then we came home and the whole family watched the Survivor Finale (and Reunion show). The next season of Survivor seems like it's going to be great!

And I finished my blog that I "published" last night. And now I'm doing this. :)

NIPTO!
Philippians 4:4-7
 ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!


Rejoice. In the Lord. Always. Not when we feel like it. Always. And he'll say it again: Rejoice! It's hard to remember to rejoice. Always. Lots of the time, you just want to stay... neutral in your emotion. You don't want to rejoice. 




⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.


Gentleness. Huh. No one focuses on this verse. It's sandwiched between two great verses. But this in and of itself is really good. We should show our gentleness to others. We shouldn't be harsh. Gentle. It makes me think of a little kid and a baby. You always tell the little kid to "be gentle!" We should be gentle to others. Why? Because the Lord is near. Always. 




⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


I don't know what to say about these verses. They're so picked over. But here's what I've got: Don't be anxious. About anything at all. Don't just forget about stuff, though! In every single situation, we should pray and tell God what's goin' on. And don't forget to be thankful. Because thankfulness can kind of be key. When you've truly let go about whatever it is that you were anxious about by telling God about it, you'll receive peace. The peace of God. No one can understand it. But that's kind of the point. If we could understand it, we wouldn't need it. But we need that peace desperately. When we get that peace, it guards our hearts and minds. In a stressful situation, your mind can wander so much to worst case scenarios. But when you have this peace, it won't. God will guard your mind. And that's peace in and of itself. 




Whew. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to bed. And I'm going to SLEEP IN. Because I can! Yay me, huh?


G'night!

A crazy couple of days...

Okay. So. Yesterday. Friday. I did school and whatnot. I watched Elf. Annnnnnd I didn't have to babysit!

Around 4:00, Katie and Hannah got home from school for BREAK! So they'll be home until January. So that's exciting. So we hauled all their stuff upstairs and to the basement and made sure that the house was in party form. Then, at 7:00, we had a partay! Well, my parents had a party. It was their annual neighborhood Christmas party that Katie, Hannah, and I "crashed." Read: we were the only teenagers there. So we talked to people, ate food, talked to people some more and whatnot. We had a white-elephant gift exchange which was awesomeee. And I laughed A TON. Because my next door neighbor is hilarious. And yeah. So that was really fun. People left around 11. We cleaned up. I blogged. I went to bed.

Got up this morning, got ready and whatever. Went to play practice. Read my lines. Read some other people who weren't there's lines. Ate two pieces of pizza. Came home. Flat ironed my hair and put makeup on. Got dressed for ze wedding. Ran around trying to find last minute pieces of outfits. Annd then we were off!

Ahhhh. The Kline-Wyszynski wedding. It was gorgeous. The church that it was at was beautiful. Lauren looked gorgeous. As did her maids of honor&brides maids. I cried. Of course. I always cry at weddings. But yes, it was gorgeous all around.

Here are some pictures of the wedding, and a couple from the reception!

Lauren and Tim exchanging rings

Lighting the unity candle.

The parents praying with Lauren and Tim

Aaaaaaand the kiss. :)

Mr & Mrs

It was great to see people that we hadn't seen in a long time, too!

Me, Morgan, and Katelyn!
We were the three musketeers back in the day!

Me&Erin&Hailee! :) 

Hailee, Erin, Erin, Hannah, and Katie :)

Lauren and Katie... friends since 6 mo. and birth, respectively! 

Tony dancing. Baaahaha. Love that kid.

The faaam! :)

Mom&Dad dancing... dawwwww

Yay for weddings (drinks all around! hah!)

Their wedding was discreetly OSU themed. (Bridesmaid dresses were red, tables had grey center cloth things, flowers were white w/ red, centerpieces were dark red...)
Here are a couple pictures of the cakes that were on every table. It kind of gives it away. ;)

Sooo pretty! 

Delicious too!

Buckeyes on top too!

But now I'm exhausted. And I have church and play practice and the actual PLAY tomorrow! So I think I'm going to head to bed.
Hope you enjoyed this!

NIPTO, Day 314

This is NIPTO. I'm thinking about writing a separate post about yesterday and today. SOOO much has happened. All good. No worries! But I want to do NIPTO. So. Here goes.

Philippians 4:1-3
 ¹ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

Stand firm. Firm. One spot. Don't waver. In the Lord. Remain in the Lord. I think if one remains in the Lord, then that person will stand firm.

 ² I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. ³ Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

He was asking these two women (I think) to get along. To be of the same mind. He asked the other people he was writing to to help them. Those women worked beside him and worked for the gospel. All the people who worked with him had their names in the book of life. How sweet is that? Pretty sweet.




Is it time to blog about parties and a wedding? YES. ;)