Faithful Fridays ~ A Song for the Girls.

Hello, my friends!  It's time for Faithful Fridays.  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly "meme" hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians would have a designated day (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the Faithful Friday button from my "Faithful Friday" page, and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)
*********************************************************************** Many of you ladies have chosen to take a route different from the world's as far as dating goes--as have I.  I know views and terms very on this, but I think the most accurate way to describe the route we're going down is courtship.  You've probably chosen courtship, whether in a mild form or a more extreme form.  Another part of being a Christian is carefully choosing the music we listen to.

A powerful reminder.

Moriah Peters, a new singer in the Christian music world, has a few songs out that are just great.  Some of my favorites are "Well Done," "Sing in the Rain," and "Haven't Even Kissed." I feel like "Haven't Even Kissed" is a song you girls would enjoy.  It's encouraging.  It's a love song.  It's a song about purity.  Moriah is saving her first kiss for marriage.  In this song, you sort of get a glimpse of what it might feel like when you finally meet the person you know God wants you to marry.  You'll know (so I've been told).   :)

Now, Moriah Peters has certainly had her faith tested.  She auditioned for American Idol a little while back, and she has a great story to tell about how even though American Idol wasn't the plan for her life, the five months she spent on it still had a purpose.

I hope that Moriah's story encourages you.  :)

Have a great day and God bless!

Joy :)

Sunday Snapshot ~ Friends and Photography

Hey everyone!

I decided to link up with my first Sunday Snapshot.  I've been watching this for a little while and decided to jump in and give it a try.  :)

So, while we were in Alabama, I had wanted to do a photo shoot.  Christina, my friend that went with us, really likes Instagram, so she took pictures with her amazingly good phone camera.  I don't have those today, but I do have the ones we took with my mama's Nikon DSLR camera.  Some of these were taken by me (the ones marked "Sweetpea Photography") and some were taken by Christina or my cousin Kemper, who is now pretty attached to photography.  :)  They both have a good eye for it!

So...get ready for a post with a ton of pictures.  :)

Linking this one up for Sunday Snapshot.  :)

Taken by Kemper.

Taken by Kemper.  I really love this one, and thought I'd play around with the "watermarking."  :)

Taken By Christina.

Back behind the land our family has in Alabama, there is a really nice wooded area...it's quite big!  And there's this gorgeous creek....

Taken by Christina.

"I'm being glamorous."

Taken by Kemper.  He loves the focus.  :)  He caught on really quickly--this is one of the first pictures he took and it has really great focus, with the "bokeh" effect in the background.  I'm pretty proud of him.  :)

Taken by Christina.

I'm not really sure who took this one.  I think it was me, but it might have been Kemper.  :P

If I remember right, when we took this picture, Kemper said, "Act like you're talking!"  :)  Yeah, we don't have to act...we're always talking.  ;)

That's it for today.  Hopefully, I'll be back with some more pictures.  :)  

God bless you,

Joy :)

Faithful Fridays ~ Starting Your Day Off Right.

Hey, everyone!  Time for Faithful Friday.  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly "meme" hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians would have a designated day (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the Faithful Friday button from my "Faithful Friday" page, and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)
*********************************************************************** Have you ever just had a plain out bad day?  Okay, of course you have.  You know, everything goes wrong.  You're grumpy, you keep tripping over stuff and hurting yourself, you yell at everyone and say things you regret, you forget things, you don't feel pretty enough or good enough, you're tired, you're late, the list goes on and on.
Yeah.  We all have those days.  I mean, sometimes it feels like every day is just another battle.  You get up, you go through the motions, have good moments, have not good moments (and it seems like there's more of those), and then by bedtime you're so exhausted, you just fall into bed.  And then you get up and repeat.
Another day, another fight It always feels like an uphill climb Another step, another mile The story of your life It's harder than you ever thought And it costs you everything you've got When you're back against the wall And you feel like giving up This is only a mountain You don't have to find your way around it Tell it to move, it'll move Tell it to fall, it'll fall This is only a moment You don't have to let your fear control it Tell it to move, it'll move Tell it to fall, it'll fall -"Only a Mountain" by Jason Castro
But you know what?  Something always makes me get up in the morning.  I want to get up in the morning.  Every morning.  I do believe it's Jesus, folks. 
But how can we start our days off right?

Picture via Pinterest.

I have a little routine now.  :)
Stumble out of bed.  Throw your hair out of your face, look into the closest mirror, and smile.  Try to smile really well.  This will get you awake and (literally) give you something to smile about.  :)  Say hello to God, say hello to yourself.  Quickly splash some water on your face.  Just get awake and smiling.
Now.  Get down on your knees and pray!  Yes, down on your knees, or on your face.  Just pray.  My prayer usually goes something like this:
God, please help me to focus on You and You alone today.  Please guide me, lead me, protect me, and care for me.  Give me opportunities to serve You and serve others and love You and love others, and help me to see those opportunities and seize them.  Help me to do well in ____ (school, work).  Help me not to have an attitude or get grumpy.  Help me to be a God Girl!  God, You are my everything.
Love you, Amen.
Start your day off with a smile and a prayer.  See if it helps.  Reading your Bible in the morning is also a good thing to do.  Not that I'm an early riser, because I'm really not.  It generally takes me a while to wake up, but I'm hoping this little "system" helps with that.  :)  I think it's beautiful to wake up early enough to see the sunrise.  Such a wonderful thing.
In the same way, pray before going to bed.  It doesn't have to be long.  Just get down on you r knees and say a prayer.  Thank God for the day you had and ask Him to give you a good next day.
What if you're having a bad day already?  What if things just don't go right from the start?  
Look for the silver lining in every cloud. Try to find something good--something to look forward to--in every day.
Ask God for guidance.  Try to look for only the good things in your day rather than the bad things.
God can turn your day around!
Well Ya, took my day and You flipped it around
Calmed the tidal wave and put my feet on the ground
Forever in my heart, always on my mind
It's crazy how I think about You all of the time
And just when I think I'm bout to figure You out
You make me wanna sing and shout

Oo, I love the way You hold me, by my side You'll always be
You take each and everyday, make it special in some way
I love the way You hold me, in Your arms i'll always be
You take each and everyday, make it special in some way
I love You more than the words in my brain can express
I can't imagine even loving You less
Lord, I love the way You hold me 
-"Hold Me" by Jamie Grace
So anyway, I hope you guys have a good day.  :)
God bless! Joy :)

Pinned It, Made It! Monday ~ Photography

Hey everyone!  It's Monday, which means...it's time for Pinned It, Made It! Monday.  :)

Pinned It, Made It, Monday is a weekly meme/link-up my mama hosts on her blog, Country Girl at Home,  to encourage others to post something they've pinned and done--a craft, recipe, game, hairstyle, photography tip, etc.  :)
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So, I think some of us spend quite a bit of time on Pinterest.  I mean, I don't stay on there all the time, but it is a fun site, am I right?  :)
So anyway, while we were gone to Alabama, my friend Christina, my cousin Kemper, and I got out and took a lot of pictures (more of that coming soon).  I had an idea for a pose that I had seen on the lovely Pinterest pop into my head, so I used it for one of my pictures.  :)

The original pin.

My version.

Okay, so, we didn't have a field of wheat, but this little hillside worked.  :)

Christina is so gorgeous.  And sweet.  Love her.  :)  Thank you very much, Christina, for being my "model"!  :)

That's about it for today, folks.  Talk to you later!  :)

God bless,

Joy :)

Faithful Friday

Hi! This is Joy's mom, Tammy (Country Girl at Home). Joy is out of pocket, enjoying a little vacation time for fall break with her friend, Christina. She didn't want you folks to miss out on Faithful Friday! She asked me to come over and let you know that if you'd like to participate, you may link up on my blog here. And we hope you will!



Thank you for stopping by today! Joy will be back soon!

Have a great weekend! :)

Blessings, Tammy
(Joy's mom)

Just a Little Fall-Related This and That.

Welcome to my post with an unusually long title.  ;)

Well, while you guys are reading this, I should be with my family and friend Christina in another state having some Fall Break fun.  :)  In the meantime, I thought I'd leave you with some photos I've taken lately, and some 'this and that.'  :)

Gah.  So much fall loveliness around here.  :D

Someone wasn't happy I was having him pose for me.  I think he was trying to smile, but it turned out looking something like this.  :P

This photo...didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would.  It focused on the flowers further away instead of the flowers up front...but I kind of like it.  Thoughts?  :)

My pretty purity ring.  :)  And my crazy nails.  I do my nails on a whim, people.  

Luke has started to really like baseball.  Although, he never gets the name right.  He calls it basketball or "bat-ball."  :P

Well, folks, looks like that's it for now.  Hopefully I'll be back in the future with more pictures and scheduled posts.  :)

God bless you!

Joy :)

Do I Look Chinese?!

That was my answer to a little girl in my Chinese dance class when she asked if I was Chinese.  People.  Do I look Chinese?  :)

Our teacher quickly explained that it didn't matter whether or not you were Chinese; anyone could take the class.  :)

L-R: Maggie, Ying Jie, Kaia, Annie, and me.  :)

But, since then, I've grown pretty close to a few girls in my class.

From left to right, that's Ying Jie, Annie, me, and Kaia.  

I call Ying Jie my puppy dog.  ;)  She is the sweetest thing, and so beautiful, too.  She has the prettiest "puppy dog" eyes.  She's very quiet, but she often just smiles at me and it's the sweetest thing.  I guess it's one of those things where we can speak without saying anything.  :)

We all have those one or two nutty friends, right?  Annie is one of them.  This girl makes me laugh so hard.  Our faces start turning red.  She is so hilarious.  :)

And Kaia is so sweet.  We're quite alike.  :)  Her little sister is the one that asked if I was Chinese.  We help each other out with the dances.  :)

So, anyway, I've been having lots of fun at Chinese language and dance class.  It's so neat, and it gives me a chance to sort of step back into that part of China I love so much.  :)

Have a great day.  :)

God bless,

Joy :)

Faithful Fridays ~ Just a Little Lifting Up.

Hey everyone!  Time for Faithful Fridays.  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly "meme" hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians would have a designated day (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the Faithful Friday button from my "Faithful Friday" page, and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

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Today, I wanted to share some quotes and such with you guys--just give you a little lifting up.  :)

"Break my heart for what breaks yours."  

That is my prayer.  :)

God bless you and have a great day!  :)

God bless,

Joy :)