~ What ~

Happy birthday, Mama!

So what is this 12 year old, brown haired, brown eyed girl all about? 

First of all, I'm a Christian.  You might say that I'm crazy about God.  I actually became a Christian when I was five.  BUT, I just recently began acting like one.  Before, I was basically like all the other girls my age.  Don't get me wrong, I was a good person, but I wasn't a Christian person.  There's a difference.  I talked about boys, text-talked, emailed and texted ridiculous forwards, and I was sort of a typical tweenager.  And then we went to C*ina.  I cannot thank God enough for sending us to C*ina.  Not only did we get the most beautiful little boy on earth, but I was changed.  I actually got what my parents had taught me for all of my eleven or twelve years.  It sank in.  I went all out for God.  The reason for this change after C*ina?  That will take a whole other post.  That post will be titled ~Why~. 

I love my family. 

My mama is my all-out best friend (besides God).  I tell her everything.  I cannot live without her!  She holds the whole family together.  She's raising me up in the Lord and encouraging me to live for Him in everything that I do and say.  She is completely selfless, thoughtful, and compassionate.  She's understanding and so wise!  I treasure her words and most of all I treasure her. 

My daddy is super supportive and teaches me how to do a lot of things.  He's a wonderful Daddy and he's very godly.  He's super smart, too.  He keeps us laughing!  I'm so thankful for his working so hard.  Otherwise, Mama would have to work and I wouldn't get to be homeschooled and spend time with her.  Daddy knows a little bit about everything and he never gets tired of answering our sometimes endless questions.  He's always ready to give hugs! 

My older brother, Colt, is so musical.  He can play the guitar, bass, drums, and some on the piano.  He can also sing really well!  We're all proud of him.  He's a hard worker and he's an entertainer.  It's fun to have him around!  He's twenty-two so he's not home very much, though. 

My younger brother, Luke, is three.  I adore Luke.  I admire him.  When Luke was a few days old, he was abandoned.  He was sent to an orphanage, and, at a few months old, he underwent surgery on his back.  Just shortly afterward, he was placed in a foster family.  He lived with this foster family until he was 27 months.  At that point, he was moved back to the orphanage because it was just a month after that we came to get him and take him home and love him forever.  But, before we could go home, we stayed in three hotels, rode three airplanes, and rode a train.  Then we came home.  But how did Luke know we were home?  How could a two year old go through so much grief without hating someone?  Luke doensn't hate anyone.  He is an extremely lovable, polite, and pleasant little boy--he keep us laughing!  He's super smart, too.  Again, Luke doesn't hate anyone (I'm not saying he loves everyone he meets, but he doesn't hate anyone).  He is very secure and speaks English very well to have been here in America only one year.  What I ultimately have to say about Luke is that he is beautiful--inside and out. 

I love C*ina.  I want to go back so much!  I like the culture and the history and I love the children.  The people there are wonderful.  I think that God gave me the desire to work in C*ina.  I would like to work in an orphanage there.  I have a dream of taking kids in off the street, feeding them, bathing them, and letting them sleep in my bed and live with me for as long as they like.  I would, of course, stay in constant contact with my parents through email and S*ype.  I also have a dream of walking through an orphanage and picking up kids from cribs one by one and just loving on them!  I know that may be a little unrealistic, but I would love to do that!

I love reading and writing.  I like words and the sound of words--words like accomplish, polish, cinnamon, vanilla, spicy, and lavendar.  I love sharing a book with my mama. 

Some more things about me: I'm taking Chinese classes every week.  My favorite color is blue.  My favorite songs (at the moment) are two that I've heard on K L*ve (my favorite radio station--Mama and I turn this on every time we get in the car)--This Is the Stuff by F*ancesca Ba*tistelli and I Love the Way You Hold Me by Jamie Grace.  My favorite sport is probably soccer or baseball. 

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27 NIV

And that is, in a nutshell, what goes on in this 12 year old's head. 

P.S.  Today is my beautiful mama's birthday!

Mama, you are my best friend!  I love you so much!  Happy birthday!  Thank you for always leading me in the Lord and giving me your awesome advice and wisdom!

Faithful Fridays ~ ALL

Hi everyone!

It's time for Faithful Fridays!  Doesn't it go by quick? 

I started Faithful Fridays so that Christians could have one designated day of the week (although we shouldn't contain it to just one day a week) to share something about their Faith--a prayer request, answered prayer, something God has laid on your hear to share, etc.  If you would like to join in on Faithful Fridays, just grab the button above, link up to my blog in your post, and then let me know in your comment that you participated!  You can see my mama's Faithful Friday post here.

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"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:19-20 NIV (One of my favorite Bible verses)

All nations.  All nations.  All.  Every single one of them.  Yes. 

That means every single country on every single continent.  North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.  Every country from A-Z. 

I myself have issues with this one.  Oh sure, I want to go to C*ina and work with orphans and witness to people, but, I'm too shy to give a tract to a cashier!  Do you know how contrasting that is?  Mama took me to a local Bible bookstore and bought me two packs of tracts.  I've kept most of them in my purse and we have a few in the car for when we go by the drive-through.  When I do give out a tract, I get shy. 

Wait.

Me?

Shy?

Meeeee?

Yes, me.  The girl who never met a stranger when she was little!  And yet somehow I'm too shy to just hand someone a tract and say, "Can I give this to you?" 

I wonder why that is.  Why can't we just be bold? 

Mama and I just finished reading a biography about Corrie ten Boom.  Corrie wrote a book (along with a couple of other folks who partnered with her to write it) called The Hiding Place.  You may have read it.  I believe it's in our homeschool curriculum this year.  Anyhow, Corrie took a box of those books with her everywhere she went.  When she rode planes, she would turn to a stewardess and say, "Can you give this to the pilot?" and hand her two copies of The Hiding Place--one for the stewardess and one for the pilot. 

Why in the world can't I be brave and bold like that? 

I really hope and pray that I can be brave enough to share the Gospel boldly and freely.  I am given the perfect opportunity--I live in a free nation (free for now anyway), thank God, where I will not be persecuted because of my Faith.  Others don't have this opportunity, yet they share the Gospel, no matter what the consequences. 

We Christians tend to be shy, timid, and reluctant about sharing the Gospel with others, whether it be handing out a tract or traveling to another country to preach to its people (and everything in between).  We worry about what others will think, how they will react, or how we will look.  But as Christians, we ought to seize the opportunity that I mentioned above. 

For now, I'll leave you with this wonderful song by B*andon Hea*h:

Suggestions?

I've been pretty blank about posts lately.

I either

1. Can't come up with good posts

2. Come up with posts ONLY about China (and I can't post about China all the time)

3. Can't come up with good posts

Did I mention that I can't come up with good posts? 

Do you have any suggestions?  You guys are the readers--so what would you like to read?

Faithful Fridays ~ Beautiful

Hi everyone!  I'm a little bit late on my Faithful Fridays post this week.  I started Faithful Fridays so that Christians could have one designated day (although we of course shouldn't limit ourselves to just one) of the week to share something concerning their Faith--a prayer request, praise report, something encouraging, something inspirational, etc.  If you participated in Faithful Fridays, please let me know in your comment and give me the link to your blog--I'd love to stop by!  Also, don't forget to grab the above button for your post! 
My mama has already posted her Faithful Fridays post on her blog, Country Girl at Home. 

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What is beautiful?  It's been determined in different ways throughout time.  If you google "define beautiful," you will see this:

"1. Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically.

2. Of a very high standard; excellent."

 

Hmmm...I didn't quite understand the "aesthetically" part, so I googled "define aesthetically."  Here's what came up:

 

"in a tasteful way; 'this building is aesthetically very pleasing.'" 

 

In Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary, you can find beautiful defined like this:

 

"1. Elegant in form, fair,having the form that pleases the eye. It expresses more than handsome.
           A beautiful woman is one of the most attractive objects in all nature's works.

A circle is more beautiful than a square; a square is more beautiful than a parallelogram.

2. Having the qualities which constitute beauty, or that which pleases the senses other than the sight; as a beautiful sound."

 

In China, fair skin is considered beautiful. 

 

In America, we've come to consider beautiful as a girl whose skin color is as tan as roasted chicken, whose hair is long, thick, and lucious, and whose waist is about the size of your calf.  Note: She also wears itty bitty shorts and a tube top with gigantic pumps and loads of flashy jewelry with three layers of eyeshadow and five layers of eyeliner. 

 

At one time, plump girls were considered beautiful.

 

At another point, itty bitty, short, fairy-like peanuts were considered the "in." 

 

You see?  It changes.  It always will.  And not only does it change from time to time, culture to culture, country to country, but it changes also from person to person!  You could line up four people, and every single one of them might have different perceptions of beautiful. 

 

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
    So God created man in his own image,
   in the image of God he created him;
   male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27 NIV

God made us in His image.  He is beautiful itself.  He is all things good.  He is the one that made each and every one of us (not to mention, ahem, the entire universe and everything in it).  And if He made us, don't you think He knows what's best for us--how we should look?  And if we were made in His image, don't you think that we are beautiful?  God defines beautiful.  Not humans.  Not culture.  Not Hollywood. 

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7 NIV

That says it all, doesn't it?  We dumb humans look at the outward appearance--the shell.  God looks at the heart.  He looks at the inside.  I want you to remember--men are fallible, dumb, dirty, sin-filled, mortal, and unreliable, and God is infallible, wise beyond all, pure, perfect, immortal, and the Creator of All.  Men and their bodies will soon pass away--and if they haven't accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they will spend eternity in flaming d*ath. 

for like the grass they will soon wither,
   like green plants they will soon die away.

Psalm 37:2 NIV

And really, some of the people today in America's culture that are considered beautiful have filthy, dirty, yucky hearts.  And believe me--they feel it.  I know it.  Those bad things may see "fun," but they make you feel dirty and used.  When you live for God--even if it's hard at first--you feel good.  You feel pure and clean.  You can forget the bad things you've done and try to move forward in Jesus Christ. 

So girls--I encourage you to not worry about your looks.  We're girls, so we naturally tend to do that (especially with the pressure put on us by our culture and the girls around us that we need boyfriends).  I'm not suggesting that we let ourselves look bleh, and I think it is totally okay for a girl to get dressed up from time to time (like to church on Sundays, etc.) because I think that a girl needs to feel pretty sometimes.  BUT, there is a line that you have to draw.  You have to keep your priorities straight. 

Just remember--God looks at the heart.  We're supposed to be like Him.  So are we looking at our looks and outward appearance (and the outward appearance of others--this applies with others, too) or are we looking at the heart? 

My Favorite Things

God moments

My family

Mama-and-me time

Freshly baked brownies

Sprinklers

China

Sleeping children

Tiny toddler bodies

Luke's chubby legs

Old books
Journals

Perfume bottles

Fall scents

Sparkly things

Rainbows

Old furniture

Words

The sound of scissors cutting paper

The sound of someone biting into an apple

Blue, cloudless skies

Juicy fruit

Beautiful sunsets

Kids

Fluffy, sparkly, aqua dresses

Simplicity

A cool, clear glass of water

Lemons

Lemonade in a clear glass

Freshness

Spirited eyes that are filled with personality and shine

Muffins

Cinnamon rolls

Cookies
Tutus

Cupcakes

Tulle

Moist, freshly mown, green lawns

Orphans (although I wish they were not orphans!)

What are yours?

Faithful Fridays~Radical

Hi everyone!  Phew...yesterday, Mama said, "What are you doing for your Faithful Fridays post?"  It had completely slipped by me!  So I'm a bit later than I usually am, but I wanted to make sure I posted!

I started Faithful Fridays so that Christians could have a special day of the week, Friday (although I don't think that Christians should limit themselves to once a week) that they post about their faith: prayer requests, praise reports, encouragement to other Christians, Christian songs, etc.  If you participate in Faithful Fridays, please let me know in your comment and give me the link back to your post (I don't have that Linky thing figured out yet).  Also, don't forget to grab the button above for your post!

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Last Friday, Mama and I went to the nursing home to help out with giving the ladies manicures (VERY fun!) and I sat down to do a lady's nails.  She was a bit plump, she had very gray hair, and I wondered if she might now be all...you know, there.  Believe me, she was.  I began talking with her.  This woman has lost both her sons--one didn't make it through a heart surgery and another was a bad diabetic.  She has lost her husband.  She has lost all of her family except for her grandchildren.  But she told me over and over how the Lord must have her here for something.  She's in her ninety's.  She has had both hips replaced, both shoulders replaced, and two back surgeries..."And the Lord's brought me through it all," she said.  "He's got to have me here for some purpose and I'm going to do whatever it is!"  This lady is a gem.  She's so sweet.  When I heard what all she's gone through, I said, "Wow...the Lord must really have you here for something...and maybe you've already done it!"  And she said, "Well maybe it's just telling people about Him!"  Later on, she said, "I talk about Him, talk to Him, all the time."

And all this got me to thinking the other day.  Take a look at my Mama's post here.  It's called "Every Little Thing."  She played a song by S*even Curtis C*apman called Every Thing.  It talks about how no matter what you're doing...sweeping, working on your house, taking care of your kids, teaching (blogging) or whatever, it all matters just as long as you do it to the glory of God somehow.  And then I think of that lady at the nursing home...Ms. Mozelle.  Everywhere she goes, I'm sure she tells EVERYONE about what God's done for her.  Why can't I do that?  That would be really radical.  And you know, sometimes I love radical.

Mama was doing some shopping on C*aigslist the other day and called someone about a refrigerator for The Cedar Loft.  She got the guy's voicemail, and in it he said: "I care about why you called, but I care even more about where you'll be spending eternity."  And he goes on to say that "We'll be talking real soon."  And Mama turned around to me and said, "I love it when people are radical like that!"  I love it too. 

The other day I thought of this: Radical Glorification to God.  That's what I'm shooting for. 

What if we took up the challenge from my Mama's post?  What if we sought to find some way to glorify The Creator Of All in every.single.little.thing.we.do.?  What if we were radical?

The Simple Woman's Daybook 8/8/11

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... The same view as always from our dining room bay windows!  I see one side of my grandparents' house, some trees, our fence, the top of my grandparents' garage, and the bushes right outside our window.  I see a blue sky. 

I am thinking... About what I'll do for my next blog post!  I have a couple of ideas...I've been all out of them lately!

I am thankful... For what Jesus did for me.  I recently read an article that was written by a physician (Tommy Mitchell, I think).  It was called "Our Suffering Savior."  It told what all Jesus really went through.  This little bit stands out to me:  The whip used on him had pieces of broken glass and metal attached to it.  It made awful wounds.  And when the scarlet robe was put on him, it became even worse.  Every single time that he moved, the robe rubbed up against his wounds.  It was so.miserable.

From the learning rooms... Not much, really.  Mama did finish reading When God Writes Your Love Story today (see our most recent Faithful Friday posts). 

In the kitchen... I got a new cookbook!  Mama and Daddy's anniversary was July 31st.  They stayed in a cabin and brought me back a cookbook from the visitor's center in that area (and they brought Luke a little car).  Also, I'm going to be cooking supper for a whole week sometime soon.  I have plans already!

I am wearing... Pink shorts and a flowy tie-dye blue/pink/purple shirt.  I'm also wearing one of the necklaces I got from C*ina.  :) 

I am creating... Plans in my head!  Plans for supper, plans for blog posts, etc. 

I am going... To my first C*inese lesson on Friday (I'll tell you more about that later)!  I'm so excited!

I am wondering... When I'll finally get to go to C*ina again. 

I am reading... A book about--guess what--C*ina!  It's a novel about a girl growing up during the C*ltural R*volution. 

I am hoping... To sell lots of hairbows!

I am looking forward to... C*inese lessons on Friday!

I am hearing... My daddy talking. 

Around the house... Luke is taking a nap, Mama's working on her computer, Daddy's working on his computer/talking, and I'm working on my computer. 

I am pondering... Hmm...I'm mostly pondering what all I've been writing here.  I'm sort of lining up in my head what I need to do here on the computer.

One of my favorite things... Writing!

A few plans for the rest of the week: Tomorrow, Mama, Luke, and I are going to get up early and head over to the Antique Mall!  Woohoo!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

                                                               

Lots and Lots of Hairbows!

Hi everyone!

Some of you may know that I'm fundraising for what I call my "China Fund."  The money that I raise (I'm aiming for $10,000 by next summer/fall) will be used either for a family trip to volunteer in an orphanage/children's home or (if I can ever convince my dad to let us adopt again) for our own adoption fund.  Either way, the money will be spent on Chinese waiting children.  :)

I've fundraised before by writing sentimental short stories for folk's kids, grandkids, etc. 

My newest fundraiser is making and selling hairbows!  The bigger bows measure between 4 1/4" and 4 1/2" across.  The flower bows have three different sizes.  The large is approximately 3" across (this one is best for little girls) the medium is approximately 2 1/2" across (this one is best for toddlers), and the small is approximately 2" across (this one is best for babies). 

Here they are!  All profit goes to the mission trip fund! 

Oh and sorry for the poor picture quality...my camera isn't just great. 

#1- $5.00

#2-$5.00

#3-$4.00

#4-$4.00

#5-$4.00

#6-$4.00

#7-$4.00

#8 (Medium size)-$3.00

#9 (Small size)-$2.00

#10 (Medium size)-$3.00

#11 (Medium size)-$3.00

#12 (Medium size)-$3.00

#13 (Small size)-$2.00

#14 (Small size)-$2.00

#15 (Large size)-$4.00

#16 (Large size)-$4.00

#17 (I have this one in Large, Medium, and Small)-$3.00

If you would like to order, send an email to my mama's email telling us the number of the bow you want and your zip code so that we can figure shipping costs.  Paypal preferred.  Her email is countrygirlathome@att.net.

If you would like a different color bow, I can make custom bows. 

God bless you,
Joy

Faithful Fridays~Matthew 11:25-30

My mama and I made Faithful Fridays so that once a week, Christians could post something about their Faith--prayer requests, praise reports, etc.  If you participated, please let me know in a comment so that we can come and visit you!  And don't forget to grab the button above for your post!

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Hi everyone!

I was reading this in my Bible today.  I thought it was a really great passage.

Maybe you're just down in the dumps today.  Or maybe there are day-to-day battles going on in your life.  Or maybe you've lost someone you loved. 

Whatever it is--well, just read this.  I think it says it better than I ever could.

Matthew 11:25-30

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.  Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
 
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”