Thank you for serving

I don't care what you may think about the wars we are waging over seas. The fact is there are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers giving their very lives so that your freedom is preserved.

To all my friends and family who serve, and who have served. And to every soldier laying down their life for me. Thank you.

Just ‘cuz I’m bored . . .

. . . here’s a tag I found.

1. Do you like to write?
Love it.

2. Favorite books?
Yeah, right. The Bible first and foremost . . . others include “The Apocalypse Code,” “Mere Christianity,” “Do Hard Things,” “They Shall Expel Demons,” “Heaven,” “Vote of Intolerance,” and most of Frank Peretti’s stuff. And I could go on and on.

3. Do you compose music/write songs?
Well, sorta. I’ve been someone who mostly just reads music, but I often do just sit down and play whatever comes out. Problem is, I could never replicate what I played, so I don’t know if that counts as composing.

4. Do you like poetry?
Some. Depends on the author. I like my friends’ stuff. :)

5. Love someone so much who made you cry?
Yeah, like I’d admit that. :) Yes. All the time. And I’m not gonna name names, ‘cause I’ll start crying right here and now.

6. Broken a bone?
One finger and two toes. Nothing major. But still painful.

7. Been in a police car?
Yup. NO, IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!! When I was younger we got to go in police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, etc, while on field trips.

8. Been on a boat?
Nearly every summer. My grandpa LOVES to fish, and he’ll take us tubing and skiing, too. Lots of fun.

9. Fallen asleep in school?
*Cough* Um . . . er . . . well . . . *sigh* . . . yeah. Once in high school ‘cause I was s’posed to be listening to this computer-based lecture on how to use Microsoft something or other, and well, the dude doing it spoke in this really monotone, slow, annoying voice . . . and I was tired as it was . . . I woke up and saw the screen was telling me it was time to take the end-of-lecture quiz . . . “Oh boy. I’m in trouble.” And I’ve come super close to falling asleep in Stats on more than one occasion.

10. Did you sing today?
Oh yeah. All day. Probably drove people nuts. :)

11. KFC, Popeyes, or Church's?
KFC’s okay. Never heard of the other two.

12. Chick-fil-a or What-a-burger?
Huh? I don’t like chicken sandwiches very much . . . have no clue about the other.

13. Starbucks of McCafe?
Coffee. Yech.

14. What's your favorite time of year?
Fall. I love the cool, crisp air, the gorgeous blue skies, and the leaves turning brilliant colors. And of course the return of FOOTBALL! Don’t like the fact that winter comes after it, though.

15. Do you ever talk to yourself?
Uh . . . do I have to answer that? *grin* Actually, mostly I talk to God, and people give me weird looks ‘cause it looks like I’m talking to myself. But yes, I do on occasion have one-sided conversations.

16. Do you have a favorite treat you like to buy on occasion?
Music, when I have the money. :)

17. Do you believe the Bible is the literal Word of God and is infallible?
Absolutely yes.

18. What's your favorite sport?
To watch: football. To play: football, volleyball, baseball, basketball, etc.

19. What color is your iPod?
Don’t have one.

20. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Minneapolis. Or thereabouts. *smile* I dunno, maybe New Zealand or London or Austria.

21. If you could go to any fictional place, where would you go?
If it’s fictional, why should I care?

22. Do you love to write or do you just like writing? Or do you write at all?
Isn’t this like the first question? I love writing—blogging, essays, articles, stories, you name it (well, not so big on the poetry).

23. What do you want to be when you’re a grown up?
I have to grow up? :) Well, besides a nurse, eventually I want to be a stay-at-home wife and mother, and a part of a missions-oriented family. (On that note, I’m already part of that family. But you know what I mean.)

24. Favorite animal?
Pet or in general? Pet: dog. In general: lion.

25. Favorite song?
Yeah, just one? Right now I am loving “Overcome,” by Desperation Band. Another would be “Worship the King” by First Assembly.

26. Do you like school?
Sometimes. I’m enjoying making so many new friends and having more opportunities to witness to people. I don’t like some of the junk they’re teaching. But that just comes with the territory. Jesus, keep me focused on You.

27. Are you a people person?
Kinda. I really like being with people, but I also enjoy being by myself and spending time with just me and my Savior.

28. Do you like to talk?
Depends on whom I’m with. And what kind of day it’s been. With my mom and a scant few others (and I do mean a scant few), I can talk and talk and talk. Especially if it’s been a rough day and I need to blow off steam. But most of the time when I’m with friends I do most of the listening.

29. Favorite food?
Most stuff my mom makes (the things she makes that I don’t like are just things I don’t like; not her cooking). But my favorite would probably be lamb, when she marinates it, grills it, and serves it as gyros. Yummy.

30. Hobbies?
Music, reading, music, biking, hiking, playing sports, music, hanging out with family, hanging out with friends, more music . . .

31. Favorite author?
God. I love the Bible. Other authors would include C.S. Lewis, John Piper, Derek Prince, Frank Peretti, Brannon Howse, Michael and Debi Pearl, and a gazillion others.

32. Favorite weapon?
Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
I like shooting guns, too. And some day I’d love to learn how to sword-fight.

33. Is this a fun tag or are you getting bored?
It’s okay. Not too boring.

34. Do you like Hannah Montana and all those girly people and movies like High School Musical?
Absolutely not. Never ever. Yuck.

35. What are you scared of?
As I’ve said before—like I’d admit that! I’m not scared of much . . . sometimes I get nervous or upset, but actual fear? That’s something God worked out of me when I was a little girl. ‘Cause I dealt with it a lot. Psalm 91 is still a favorite.

36. Favorite flower?
Roses. But I’m not really that picky.

37. What is the expression on your face?
I’m singing to the radio. And smiling. It’s one of my favorite songs.

38. Color of your eyes?
Blue.

That's my brother!

Last night Carl's football team had their end-of-the-year banquet; basically lots of food and giving out awards. The players vote for most of the awards, and this year Carl earned Most Improved Player. He deserved that so much; he started earning it way back after last season was done, when he started getting in the weight room. He was there pretty much every day throughout the whole winter, spring, and summer, and it sure paid off this season.
Way to go bro! We're so proud of you!

Say what?

I started the chapter on Organic Chemistry this week in Chem. I figured evolution would be preached, since it always has been. But I was absolutely astonished to open my textbook and find that the Miller experiment was still being taught in the schools as proof for evolution. My jaw nearly scraped the floor. The Miller experiment! The one that's been proven completely bogus in so many ways I can't even count them.
Click here for an excellent article explaining all of the problems with the Miller experiment, as well as other experiments cited as "proof" for evolution. (You have to scroll down a ways to find the Miller experiment part of the article.)

Genesis 1:1
"In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth."

John 1:1-3
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."

On the topic of homeschooling

I've been thinking about the video I posted below ("The Homeschool Song"), and I've realized that it has stirred up two different responses in me. And since I'm at a lack of things to post, I figured I'd share my thoughts.

The first response is obvious; I find it absolutely hilarious. It accurately depicts what people think of when they hear "homeschool." One of my friends (who was also homeschooled) and I were talking about this after class one day. She commented that while there are homeschoolers who fit that stereotype, it's only like 20% or so. But because they are so outside of the "normal" society, that's all people see.

The second response I usually have comes later, as I'm really thinking about the "stereotyped" homeschoolers. When I stop and think about it, I wonder why people would live like that. Not "only wear certain clothes," or have tons of kids, or school a certain way; I couldn't care less what you wear or how you teach your kids; and I too want to have a big family some day. No, I mean living so far away from the rest of the world that they are in essence hiding. Hiding from the government, hiding from the world, hiding from the Call God has placed on every Christian. Living out on some nowhere farm and always staying at home; never interacting with those outside of your family; never sending your kids into the world as witnesses for Jesus; only befriending those who live exactly like you. It's like modern-day Pharisees, and it saddens me. Now, I know I'm probably stepping on some toes here, but please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that any of these things is wrong; I know full-well that God has called people to farm, or to raise their children a certain way, whatever. What I do think is wrong is when that's all you do. So many times I've heard homeschool parents say something to the extent of "Oh, I'm so glad we got out of the city and are away from all the bad stuff in the world." Again, I know that God calls many people to live in the country or on a farm. BUT, He did NOT call them to hide from the world. He calls us to go into all the world. You would not believe how many homeschool kids have told me (or my brothers) "You guys need to get out of the city and move to a farm. Get away from all the junk and 'bad' influences of the city." Uh, excuse me? Leave my mission field? Um, no! Should I say it stronger? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Leave the very people God has called us to minister to? Dream on! Let the lost continue to live in utter darkness and hopelessness while I hide? As if! Can I get my point across any other way?

Again, I don't think living out in the country and stuff is wrong. I have many friends whose families live on working farms, or live out in the country, homeschool, whatever. The thing is, these friends are also very active in promoting the gospel of Jesus Christ. They support missions, pray for our nation's leaders, are strong witnesses for Jesus, are involved in the fight against abortion, etc. Their parents are teaching the kids to be lights in the midst of darkness, which is awesome. So like I've said, it's not living out on a farm that I think is wrong; it's when people use it as an excuse to avoid going outside of their comfort zone and into all that Jesus could do through them.

Stereotypes

I love this video. It so perfectly captures the stereotype of homeschoolers. And it's HILARIOUS!

Why?

My Chemistry class has been quite the adventure. Of course, the textbook and my instructor are both very evolution-based; but despite that, the more I learn about how the world works on a microscopic level, the more I stand in awe of my God. And the other day I had a conversation with Him that left me smiling.

One of my practice problems for a chapter was to estimate how many atoms are in the entire universe. Now, believe me, the numbers they gave me to work with were huge. But the thing that really caught my attention was when the book said "Because the planets constitute less than 1% of the atoms in the universe, they can be ignored." Now, just think about that for a minute. ALL of the planets are so small that they are completely ignored when calculating the mass of the universe. Think about how big our planet seems to be to us, and how much bigger other planets are compared to earth. And yet they still don't count! Now think about how much bigger our God is compared to His creation. It'll blow your mind if you think about it long enough. After a few moments of silence after realizing how incomparably insignificant we are in relation to our great Creator, this is where our conversation went.

Me: If You're so much bigger than we can comprehend, why do You even care?

God: Why do you care about others?

Me: Huh?

God: When I created you, I created you in My image. I gave you a heart fashioned after My heart. I care for the same reason you love those around you.

Me: Oh.

God: So, why do you care?

Me: (pause) Um, I dunno. I just do.

God: You can't explain it?

Me: I guess not.

God: If you can't even comprehend why you love others, why should I explain why I love you?

Me: *smile* 'Cause I'd never understand it anyway.

God: Right.

Lighter post

Okay, so as I've been looking back on my previous posts, I've realized that for those who mainly keep up with our family through the blog, it probably looks like I've absolutely been hating school, and it's a complete waste of time, and why am I paying for something when it's so awful? Right? Well, not exactly. I guess I should set that straight.

Let me start out by saying that yes, I do get frustrated, and yes, sometimes I do think it's a waste of time; though you probably already knew that, considering some of the stuff I've written. :) BUT, it has not been as bad as I've been making it look. For one thing, I've met some great friends, and have been having fun getting to know others better than I used to. I have a couple of classmates that I see every single day, so that's been really nice. Also, I know some of you have heard this from me before, but I've been getting involved with Chi Alpha, and it's been amazing. Chi Alpha is a college-age oriented ministry by First Assembly and is fantastic. The kids are so deeply in love with their Savior that it is super-motivating for me. It's been a long time since I've seen kids my own age dive into worship for their King, and it's awesome to be able to spend time in His presence with other believers--especially other college students! The worship week after week is amazing; and the preaching is great too. The place packs out every week, and each week we see more and more college students turning to Jesus. On that note, I will say that while I do sometimes question the accuracy of the number of people who actually become Christians, I think it is definitely more accurate on the college campus. These kids know full well what taking the name of Jesus will do; the price they will pay, both in the classroom and with their friends. It's not anything close to what people in some countries go through, but it's still a price they must be willing to pay.

Anyway, so yeah, Chi Alpha's been great. The biggest thing for me, though, is a change in viewpoint that God has completed in me. During the summer, I was kinda dreading college, because although I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that's what He had called me to do, I didn't want to deal with the battle that I knew would take place. But since the school year started, the Lord has changed my thinking to come from His viewpoint; that is, seeing the campus as a mission field. Many years ago, God called me to be a missionary and a nurse. Well, here I am fulfilling one part in that plan, so why can't I begin to fulfill the other part? Who says I have to go overseas, or graduate college, before lighting my world for Him? When Jesus said "Go," He didn't say "Go into foreign countries," and He didn't say "Get a good education and lots of training and then go;" no, He said "Go into all the world." And right now, my world is my campus; therefore my mission field is my campus. It's been a long and sometimes hard process, but God is faithful. He has already given me chances to be a witness for Him, most of which I've taken. Yeah, there have been times that I've totally blown it. I'm not saying I'm perfect; but "He who began a good work in (me) will carry it on to the day of completion."

I'll leave you with one final thought that I hope encourages you the way it does me.

"God doesn't require perfect preaching; He requires a perfect heart. If you don't have a perfect heart, He'll make it perfect; just yield it to Him."
~Bruce Harpel

Don't we wish!

Where will you stand?

"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
~Patrick Henry