i'm a Christian

i saw this on sophie's blog (hope you don't mind me posting it on mine, too, soph!), and i thought it was really good! :) it is so true!! as Christians, we are no different from other people, other than we're saved by God, and we're trying to live differently according to God's word! :)

Christians - By Maya Angelou

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin".
"I'm whispering "I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than you,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow.

pride and prejudice

soo, last night was the last performance of the play "pride and prejudice" that my high school did!! i went with my youth group, and it was amazing!! one of the amazing seniors in our group, bekah, was elizabeth, and she did a spectacular job!! she had sooo many lines to memorized, and she did them all perfectly!! so, great job everyone who played in it, it was awesome!! and bekah, you were amazing!! :)

beautiful weather!!

wow, we've had absolutely beautiful weather this past week!! sorry for the lack of posts, the past 2 weeks have been really busy with school and such. so, hopefully more posts soon! :)

poetry

aaarrrrrgggghhhhh.....i have to write a blank verse for lit....for one thing, poetry is nice, but i can't write poetry. period. that's ashlee's department....soo, we have to write 10 lines, with no end rhyme, and every line has to be 10 syllables, and every other syllable is unstressed and the others are stressed (it goes stressed, unstressed, stressed, unstressed, etc.) (it's official name is iambic pentameter)...sooo, at the moment, i have 9 lines that are sorta kinda iambic pentameter and sorta go together, and i only need one more!! so i should probably go write that....yea...

i just found this cool avviee...

this is so cool!!

this is one of the coolest (and most random) things i've seen in a while!! it's awesome! :)

idol gives back

so, ashlee and i watched the last 2 songs on idol gives back last night, which were mariah carey and the people who are still on the show. we were really surprised that the last song they sang was "shout to the lord"!! it was really surprising, sort of a nice shock. what was not nice (o.k., it was bad) was that they changed the 1st line from "my Jesus, my Savior" to "my Shepherd, my Savior," they just totally took Jesus out from it, which is the whole point of the song!! they never said Jesus at all. of course, the song was about Jesus, which they totally took out of it, but since they changed that, you could substitute anyone in there. this is part of our sick society and the work of the devil trying to take Jesus out of our culture and our lives, when that's the only thing we need that'll save us, we need Jesus. i also wonder how many of them actually know what they're singing or actually believe it. they're singing "nothing compares to the promise i have in You," and how many of them actually have that promise?? so, that's my opinion, they did a nice job, their voices are a beautiful gift from God, but you can't sing a song like that without Jesus! i would have been fine if they had left Jesus in, but since they took Him out, there's my problem. it's wrong.
oh, i just thought of this, it sort of goes with the barlowgirl song, "keep quiet." here are the lyrics-

keep quiet
written by barlowgirl

oh the things i've sacrificed
so that i could bring You to this world
i want them to see You in me
but Your name just keeps them far from me

so i'll keep quiet
let's hope they see i'm different

Jesus, Jesus, how Your name offends us
why are we so scared to tell this world You've saved us
when all of the hope of the world's in Your name
why are we so scared to say
oh Jesus

if i avoid to speak Your name
tell me would You do the same to me?
if relevance becomes my goal
tell me will i loose You to it's hold?

but if i keep quiet
they'll never see i'm different

Jesus, Jesus, how Your name offends us
why are we so scared to tell this world You've saved us
when all of the hope of the world's in You name
why are we so scared to say
oh Jesus

i'm sorry i cared about my name more than Yours
i'm so sorry, how could i hide You anymore
but if i keep quiet
they'll never see i'm different

Jesus, Jesus, how Your name offends us
why are we so scared to tell this world You've saved us
when all of the hope of the world's in Your name
why are we so scared to say
oh Jesus

(c) 2007 Word Music, LLC, Barlow Family Music (ASCAP)

update on camp...last year

i finally got around to posting about the rest of the week of girls camp at berea last summer (i know, i know, i'm really, really, really late!)!! here's the last post about the last day, but i can't find the pictures from that week, so if i do, i'll post them, but for now, you're just gonna have to read it (*gasp!!*)!!

spring weather...summer yellow

i love spring!! today's weather was absolutely amazing!! i think it was the first actual real day of spring! it was beautiful!! the sun was out, and it was cool/warm, and just a great day!! right when i came home, i changed into a bright summery yellow shirt and flip flops, and then went outside in the sun to read. :) i'm so excited, i have a 4 day weekend starting tomorrow! yeay!! so tomorrow, i think i'm helping reuben make breakfast for mom, and doing homework, then friday, i hope to do a photoshoot with sophie, meghan, and possibly ashlee and naomi!! :) yeay! i also spend almost my whole study outside today which was great! :) anyways, i'm in a very springy mood!! spring's my favorite season because everything's growing and happy and bright and beautiful!! :) so, my new blog colors hopefully reflect that cheerfulness (with the yellow and blue)!! :)
random picture i like, that ashlee and i took on erika's phone sunday, i though it was really cute, thanks for sending it to me, erika! :)

more pictures!!

check out some pictures from lancaster (a.k.a. amish country) from our trip to pennsylvania!! and let me know what you think!! :)










[click on the picture, as usual]

pictures!!

hey everyone!! go check out more pictures from our trip to pa, this time from gettysburg, on my photoblog!!
also check out picture from a walk turned photoshoot on my photoblog, too! :)
and let me know what you think!!

soooo...

i was just checking out my awesome jc from a couple years ago's blog, and now i really miss berea!! :( hopefully (if i get my form thin filled out and sent in!) i'll be working there this summer, which would be awesome! :) soo, last week was my first week of "normal" school after vacation and interim...it was rather long...sorry if i was acting strange at youth group last night...i was just really frustrated...my day hadn't started off well (literature, and then health...health was what really killed it, we talked about abortion and all the horribleness of it...which was frustrating to me), and then just i guess the way people were acting at youth group didn't help any...whatever...anyways, sorry 'bout that! sooo, i think i'm going to get off the computer, brush my teeth, journal, put up pictures in my room, figure out what i want to do this summer (only 9 weeks of school left!! WOOP!), and work on my application for staff at berea this summer!! :) ttyl!
i'm going through this awesome devos book called "God's Priorities For Your Life For Teens" and it's really good! i would definitely recommend it to anyone. it has little short thoughts on a whole bunch of topics and verses and quotes from awesome Godly authors, etc., to go along with the topic. here are just a couple quotes and verses from the section i read yesterday on patience (anyone who really knows me knows i have issues with patience, and it was really good for yesterday...)
"God is never in a hurry" -Oswald Chambers
"The next time you're disappointed, don't panic and don't give up. Just be patient and let God remind you He's still in control." -Mex Lucado
"When life is difficult, God wants us to have faith that trusts and waits." -Kay Arthur
"Wisdom always waits for the right time to act, while emotion always pushes for action right now." -Joyce Meyer
"God has chosen you and made you His holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle, and patient." -Colossians 3:12 (ncv)
"But if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently." -Romans 8:25 (nlt)

i'm don't regret choosing God...

just made this...i totally don't regret choosing God in my life...and i'm so glad that it's Him who's holding my heart and not some guy... :)

addison road

sooo, i got addison road's cd for my b-day, and it rocks!! they are my new favorite band (next to barlowgirl, of course!). all their songs are great, and the lyrics are so meaningful and really have made me think! :) so, i think i'll post a couple of their songs...here's their song "it just takes one"

it just takes one
by ryan gregg, travis lawrence, jenny simmons, ryan simmons, jeff stutton & chris stevens

what if we moved
what if we wandered
took a reckless ride to the other side
of the tracks
what if we knew somebody's story
would we write them off like a number
on a check

or could we be the only sould
who take the time to love and find
the beauty in the nameless face

it just takes one
it just takes one
to step out from the crowd, and show
what love is all about
one, it just takes one
to change a life forever,
touch the world and make it better

so what if we moved with no hesitations
and learned to love the least of these
without reserve
let's spark a change in this generation
and let our actions speak louder than our words

and what if there's a world in need of hope
that only we can bring
brighter than the midday sun

it just takes one
it just takes one
to step out from the crowd, and show
what love is all about
one, it just takes one
to change a life forever,
touch the world and make it better
(c) 2007 Simple Tense Songs/Simply Complex Songs (both adm by Simpleville Music Inc.)/SECAS and Meadowgreen Music (adm by EMI CMG Publishing)/ASCAP All Rights Reserved.

come on guys, let's step out and change our generation, let's stop being half-baked Christians and show the world this love that we have. go out and make a major impact, take a stand that no one else will take for Christ!