Christmas Elf and Her Poems

I was looking at my earlier posts and I found a poem that I wrote that I'm so proud of I thought I'd post it again!

Hee, hee, hee!!!

I glide, I skate,
stretching my sore muscles.
I spin and push
the wind is in my face,
the sun on my back.
My hair springs lose
it has a mind of its own.
I turn around and go backwards...
I spin again.
right
left
right
left
I push and stretch
I spin. I miss.
I fall and the sidewalk
rises
to catch me
I land roughly.
my hands sting,
my knees ache.
I stand again.
I reach, I jump,
I soar, I fly.


Now, a poem Katie and I wrote. Some of you my recognize it. *smiles slyly*

Battle! Hear the weapons clash
hear the sound of axes smash
To strike down a brother.

Battle! Hear the blood curling cry
Hear the dying soldiers sigh
the boys who left their mothers.

Battle! They fight for right or wrong
Then they shout the battle song
Killing the one who left his lover.

Battle! Each fight for power of their own,
but then they die, and then it's gone,
and they've already killed the other.

Battle! The tear that hits the ground,
The groan, the breath and nothing found,
all so they can kill another.

Battle! Raging night and day,
It will never end, they say,
always trying to hurt each other.


HA HA! Now I've had my bragging session... time to sign off!

If

Here's a poem I thought was interesting.




If - - Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

Cookie Tins

Once upon a time there was a little cookie tin. His name was Freddie. Freddie was sad, because he was just a small cookie tin with no cookies in it, and he want to have cookies in him...


Sorry, peoples, Lindy's suggestion. You can blame her. And, I maybe could be more creative but I really don't feel like it right now. So that's the story of the day.

Cookie tins come in ceramic, porcelian, metal, cookie, asphalt, adobe, brick, clay, and (my person favorite) clouds. They come in all shapes and sizes. Like the one that was blue and shaped like a cow, or the one that was sort of like a safe, and Dad kept it locked up and the next day it was empty, or the one that was made of wood and shaped like a tree, or I've even seen one that was shaped like a bee hive. A little too dangerous to get cookies out of that one.

Okay, okay, enough randomness. Bye, peoples. New post coming later.

Been Thinking

I've been thinking....

Em said recently that sometimes she thinks of God all day, and doesn't do regular Bible reading, and sometimes she does Bible reading everyday, but forgets God the rest of the day.(I think a lot of us are or could be like that. I know I easily am)

Well, it got me thinking. I think so many Christians get into a pattern of reading the Bible everyday (which is by no means wrong), and they do it just because they have to, not because they WANT to. Recently, I was reading the Bible everyday, but I wasn't thinking about God very much the rest of the day, and my prayers were robotic, praying the same thing every time. I wasn't doing so people could see me and say, "What a good girl she is" because I always read the Bible in my room alone.

So I prayed to God to help me change. And He is helping me. I still try to read the Bible everyday, but it means more, and I think about what I read more.

I think that could be a danger of praying before you eat. It's a good habit, but it's easy to forget why you do it, and it's easy to forget it's not a law (if you don't do it, you're breaking God's law - not true). It's okay if you eat food before praying. I think churches can fall into that trap too. Especially Reformed Baptist churches. But I'm not really sure...

Thoughts?

Me and thoughts

I'm sitting here in front of the computer, there are tears in my eyes. Why? I don't know. I'm so confused and I don't even know where to start my thoughts....

I don't have any great tragedy or sadness in my life. I have only small trials, though they may seem big to me at the time. Why do I have so much when some have so little? Why do I suffer with so little, when so many suffer so much? I guess it's just God's providence and plan. Lord, your will be done, even if I do not understand.

Sometimes life makes so much sense! As if all the pieces of the puzzle come together and I have but one fleeting glance... I feel as if I made sense of it all, then I don't. Or I just don't know. Is there "the deeper meaning in life"? Is that all just wishy washy? I don't know. It's all so complicated....

And those moments I have those great revelations, I am never right at the point to right it down, and I am unable to share it with you all.

I'll just keep trying...





....more:

How Can I Keep from Singing?
Robert Lowry

What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Saviour liveth;
What though the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night He giveth;
No storm can shake my inmost calm,
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

Happy Halloween! Or Reformation Day, or whatever you want to call it...

Hi people! It's October 31. I'm sitting here at the computer, giving you younger four siblings support through a walkie talkie. They are hiding under leaves and jumping out at people. (Especially teenagers) :-).

Since Dad said that we can't honk the horn when people walk by, we found a different way to scare them. (Dad did say it was okay to scare them as long as we don't honk the car horn - I know, it doesn't make much sense to me, but awell..)

Anyway, their mission sounds awfully fun, so I will join them now.

Ugg. My writing is really annoying me. Sorry, people. Well, I'm going now to help in the scaring brigade. Signing off!

Work

Work
Angela Morgan


Work!
Thank God for the might of it,
The ardor, the urge, the delight of it;
Work that springs form the heart's desire,
Setting the brain and the soul on fire-
Oh, what is so good as the heat of it,
And what is so glad as the beat of it,
And what is so kind as the stern command,
Challenging the brain and heart and hand?

Work!
Thanks God for the pride of it,
For the beautiful conquering tide of it,
Sweeping the life in its furious flood,
Thrilling the arteries, cleansing the blood,
Mastering stupor and dull despair,
Moving the dreamer to do and dare;
Oh, what is so good as the urge of it,
And what is so glad as the surge of it,
And what is so strong as the summons deep,
Rousing the torpid soul from sleep?

Work!
Thank God for the pace of it,
For the terrible, keen swift race of it;
Fiery steeds in full control,
Nostrils a-quiver to greet the goal.
Work, the Power that drives behind,
Guiding the purposes, taming the mind,
Holding the runaway wishes back,
Reining the will to one steady track,
Speeding the energies faster, faster,
Triumphing over disaster.
Oh, what is so good as the pain of it,
And what is so great of the gain of it?
And what is so kind as the cruel goad,
Forcing us on through the rugged road?

Work!
Thank God for the swing of it,
For the clamoring, hammering ring of it,
Passion of labor daily hurled
On the mighty anvils of the world.

Oh, what is so fierce as the flame of it?
And what is so huge as the aim of it?
Thundering on through dearth and doubt,
Calling the plan of the Maker out.
Work, the Titan! Work the friend,
Shaping the earth to a glorious end,
Draining the swamps and blasting the hills,
Doing whatever the Spirit wills-
Rending a continent apart,
To answer the dream of the Master heart;
Thank God for a world where none may shirk-
Thank God for the spendlor of work

No Title- I'm tired of thinking up titles

This song is called Stand. It's by the same group that did the song Emily posted on her blog. I thought this one could be a good one to post, too.

You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless
Like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright

Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand, Then you stand
Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on, keep holding on

Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand, Then you stand
Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on, keep holding on

Everytime you get up
And get back in the race
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place
Oh

Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand, Then you stand
Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on, keep holding on

Us

Taken on our vacation.... I think this is perfect for a music video cover. If we ever made a family music video. (Yeah, right.)
Let me know if you can see the picture.

Okay, the picture's not working.  I have to go to bed, so I'll get it on later...

I'm Nobody!

I'm Nobody! Who are you?

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us- don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog.
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

-Emily Dickinson

Smile

Last night I was standing in the bathroom brushing my teeth, etc. when I heard the twins talking to Dad who had just gotten home from playing racket ball. They were arguing over who got to tell Dad a story about something that happened.
Allison: Dad! Today, two-
Sarah: Let me tell!
Allison: No, I'm telling!
Sarah: Two boys were-
Allison: Let me tell!
Sarah: No, I'm telling!
Allison and Sarah: I'm telling!
Allison: Two teenage boys-
Sarah: I'm telling! Two teenage boys-

I never heard what the story was, I think Dad stopped them and decided hearing the story was not worth the effort. (something like: "work it out and tell me the story tomorrow.")


I am so blessed! I am so happy! I just wish I could share my happiness with others, so they could have it too. What can I do to share all that I have with you? How can you understand how happy I am? Sometimes when I read your sad posts I read, shake my head, wondering, and hoping I can help you see how I am so joyful, and help you to be joyful, too.

The Lord has blessed me greatly, I will praise His name. Could I praise God if didn't have all I do? I think I could... I pray I could.

What else can I say? I am so blessed! The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. God is very good.



A couple hours later

I was baking cookies and I went out to the garage to where Katie, Nathan, Allison, and Sarah were playing (actually still are playing) and I saw Allison there with her bit of cookie dough. Nathan grabbed her hand and made her drop some of the cookie dough and so Katie, Nathan and Allison all went inside to help Allison get more dough. I went out side. I heard some crying. There's Sarah, bound up in jump ropes, scarves and rope, tied to a tree. Crying. Katie came outside and began to sheepishly untie her (putting all the blame, of course, on Nathan).

Ahh, I love my family.

Little House in the Forest

Sandhill 2 (very unromantic name, eh?), our house, is in a col de sac, our loupe, and is stationed among a bunch of other Sandhill houses. We pull up to the drive way, come with me, and explore the inside. We must walk up these step to get to the front door. I know, the steps don't look very nice, but wait till you get inside to judge the house. You see the deep, reddish brown door, carved with an owl in the center, and leaves at the bottom. Turn the key! We will go inside... As you open the door, you see a small flight of steps going down, and a wide set of steps, though equally small, going up. Let's go up first. You look to your feet, Ginger-colored carpet covers the floor. You've reached the top of the stairs, everything is decorated with a forest/Northwest theme. There is only on large room at the top level, but it is used as the kitchen, dining room, and living room, In the living room part, you see two futons, a chair, and a coffee table. Opposite these is a large, real (yay!) fireplace. Next to the fireplace, built into the wall, is a TV. Behind the couch or futon, there's the dining table, only seated for four, unfortunately. towards the left of the table is the kitchen. To the right of the dining table is two sliding doors, let's go through them. Okay, now we're on the deck, and quite high off the ground. On the farther end of the deck, you can see a hot tub. Let's go downstairs now..
Alright, we're in a hallway, turn left. See that door in front of you? No need to go in, that's the bathroom. turn left again to see Beth's and my room. It's rather small, but large enough for a dresser, a table for a record player, a closet, and, most importantly, a double bed (it might be a queen) with a bed table on either side. Do you like how the room is themed with fishes? Let's keep going. Go out the door and go right, down the hallway. Never mind, you follow me. As we're half way down the hallway, look to the left, that door is the laundry room. Okay, keep going. That door there leads to Mom's and Dad's room, with a bathroom attached. There's a door in front of us, let's go in. Follow down the mini-hallway that leads to Katie's, Nathan's, Allison's, and Sarah's room. It's a little tight for four people, but it works. This is one of my favorite rooms because of the bear theme. See that door to the left? It leads to Mom and Dad's room, they're connected.
Well, we're almost done. Back out in our main hallwayh, we see two more doors. One's a closet, one leads to- come on, open it! Okay, okay, not that exciting, it's just a garage. But it does have a pingpong table and fourteen bikes. No, I'm not exagerating, there are really fourteen. Count for yourself!
Let's go back upstairs. Wait, I just remembered. In the kid's bathroom, there's the loveliest picture, come with me. See it? it's of a lady in colonial clothes, leading a white horse down a lane. Alright, let's go back upstairs. it is time for you to bid good bye to this house, but I'm here for a week. Staying here with my little family in the little house in the forest.

My New Post

Okay, what do I write about? Let's see my week so far (and the week before.)

Last.... what day was it? Last Monday we painted the Den. It was kind of boring, by nature of the fact we painted it the same color after we stripped off the wallpaper.

Tuesday we did... nothing. Oh, no, that's not true. We had beautiful, lush, berber, green, well, tannish with a green hint carpet installed. Too many adjectives. We cleaned up after the men left and just walked on the carpet as much as possible.

Wednesday. Nothing. Quite a boring day, nothing really happened. We did a little bit of school, everyone worked in the den, and caught up in school what we missed the day before...

Thursday - After Katie left for Grandma's house, the furniture came. It's beautiful! A rich honey maple that works beautifully with the yellow walls and green carpet. That night, we drilled (or Mom and Dad drilled) holes in the furniture where the plugs were. The next morning, us six kids found the furniture set against the wall, clean and empty.

Friday, Dad took off from work. Mom and Dad worked all day loading up the desks, and us kids got school off because it was the last day of summer break. Does that make any sense? Nevertheless, us kids did not complain. Then Beth and I thought of the idea of filming for our movie the next day. We convinced Mom and Dad to let us, then we did TONS of work to prepare. I mowed the lawn (a fairly large project) so we wouldn't have to do it the next day with the yard work.

Saturday. You guessed it! Yard work. We got it all done by 12:30. Mom even said we had to do a complete and thorough cleaning of the shed. I had to work very hard not to complain when she said that. Beth and I got started on the shed while Mom worked on the rest of the weeding. I'm not sure what Dad was doing... We finally got it all done and had a delicious lunch followed by the arrival of our cousins. After filming two scenes - it took 2 hrs. (?), we met Mom at a store after dropping off the Watts. I know you're getting bored. So-

Sunday was normal and fairly quiet, except after church, we went out to lunch for an end of school (now does that make any sense at all?) and a begging of the new school year with some of our friends, the Geyers, from church.

Monday. We went to our Church Labor Day picnic. It was tons of fun, but rather interesting, too. We played football with almost all the kids. Tackle football. The boys weren't allowed to tackle the girls, and the girls could tackle the boys if they wanted to. Mostly in the first game, the girls just watched the boys tackle each other.

Tuesday. Boring. (Funny, another boring Tuesday) no, actually. It was our first day of school! Yay!!! (JK)

Wednesday, we had science class with a girl from our church, and after finishing the rest of our school, all six of us kids went to the park and rollerbladed/biked for over an hour. And now I'm sitting here, at the computer typing...


Thank you for letting me bore you. (I do realize you only read that thank you if you lasted all the way to the end of the post.





Rollerblading. Rollerblading is amazing. (I am spelling that wrong some how)

I glide, I skate,
stretching my sore muscles.
I spin and push
the wind is in my face,
the sun on my back.
My hair springs lose
it has a mind of its own.
I turn around and go backwards...
I spin again.
right
left
right
left
I push and stretch
I spin. I miss.
I fall and the sidewalk
rises
to catch me
I land roughly.
my hands sting,
my knees ache.
I stand again.
I reach, I jump,
I soar, I fly.

Poems

Speaking of poems, I want to share a poem I just read in my Literature book. Tell me what you think:


The Book Our Mothers Read
John Greenleaf Whittier

We search the world for truth; we cull
The good, the pure, the beautiful,
From graven stone and written scroll,
And all old flower-fields of the soul;
And, weary seekers of the best,
We come back laden from the quest,
To find that all the sages said
Is in the Book our mothers read.



It's an older poem, I believe, like the other one. What do you think?

Poe,s

Friendship

Okay, here's a poem that I like. It is old fashioned, but if you can't get past the old fashionedness, at least try to appreciate the poem for what it means. I did not write this poem, by the way.


Friendship

Friendship needs no studied phrases,
Polished face or winning wiles;
Friendship deals no lavish praises,
Friendship dons no surface smiles.

Friendship follow Nature's diction,
Shuns the blandishments of art,
Boldly severs truth from fiction,
Speaks the language of the heart.

Friendship cheers the faint and weary,
Makes the timid spirit brave,
Warns the erring, lights the dreary,
Smooths the passage to the grave.

Friendship- pure, unselfish friendship,
All through life's alloted span,
Nurtures, strengthens, widens, lengthens,
Man's relationship with man.


Butterfly

I'm random.

Alright, though delayed, here's the post you've been begging me for. Sorry, but I haven't been on blog recently so...

Anyway, here it is.


So what can I write that hasn't been said, what can I think that hasn't been thought? Should I go on about how Camp is amazing like everyone else, or can I think a though of my own? For me, Camp Hope seems to almost capsulate and capture my life, no, not my life, but the way I think of life, or perhaps the way I live it, I don't know.

When we're doing something so amazing and enjoyable, like singing in Chapel, or playing volleyball while dusk is falling and all you can see is sand in the air, and your eyes are hurting but you don't really care. Like when me and Elizabeth leaned over to talk to each other in our bunk beds and have our own "emotional devotional", while we're really just talking about things that some could say don't really matter. Or when Katie and I walked down to chapel together, and when I showed Nathan the horses, or when I chased Sam around the soccer field. Or when we drove up to Goat's Peak singing when I really didn't want to sing, or when we finally reached the top of the mountain and you were left to view the incredible glory of God's creation. Those moments, which seem even more precious when you think back to them make me remember and think back to other moments of my life, not just Camp Hope, but moments that have happened all through my life.

I will normally think about all those things, and come close to tears and laugh at the same time. I always come to one conclusion. I am soo blessed!

Once Again

Okay, I need to revisit an earlier conversation- I know, I know, I can never get away from it.

Sam, what do you mean, you are an arminian?

You see, Verya, God chooses some to be saved and some not. Why? To show His glory. Romans says that God hardened Pharoh's heart; chose Jacob, not Esau; Abel had the better sacrifice, etc. to show His glory! If you view it this way, it all makes sense. Not to mention, this is what the Bible says. Man is sinful. Man does not want God, he wants to stay sinful, but God changes the heart of His elect people so that they have the desire to become Christians. Does that make sense?

And, there's nothing wrong with women being missionaries. I do not agree with women going and preaching to a congregation, they are not meant to do that. But women going with another group, or going with their husbands, or going to help children. I think that is perfectly fine.

Sorry, to start another argument/debate/conversation...

P.S. My Camp Hope post is coming.

GALS Camp out

Well, we're back from Camp Hope, and now on Sunday, we're leaving for the GALS camp out. I'm really not excited at all. I'm really tired of camping, I don't want to miss a gathering on Sunday, and I don't want to be with the GALS when they talk about things I really don't want to talk about. Oh, and I don't want to stay up till 2 or 4 o'clock every night. Ah well, can't really back out now. Maybe I can make a difference or enjoy it as it is. I think that's all for now. Yes, yes, I"ll have a more exciting or philisophical post later.

(Do I getinto the Guinness Book of World Records for the shortest post?....)

The Doctrine of Election

Am I asking for argument? If so, someone let me know.

Sunday night, we went to the Watts' house to say goodbye to the Carlsons. While we were there, we revisited an earlier conversation. Emily had said that alot of people had questioned her about the doctine of election. So we spent some time talking about it, and looking up in the Bible passages that could support it.

We never really got to finish the conversation, but I've been thinking alot about what we said. I really wanted to talk about this on blog. So here goes.

As a calvinist I believe in the five doctrines of grace: 1) Total Depravity; 2) Unconditional Election; 3) Limited Atonement; 4) Irresistable Grace; 5) Perseverence of the Saints

I believe that before God created the world, He elected those who he would save. When Jesus died on the cross, He offered to all who would believe on Him would go to heaven. But, man cannot choose Christ of His own power. It's his own descision, but man won't choose God unless God changes his heart first, and God changes the hearts of men who he has elected. Man is naturallly sinful. No man can or would come to Christ of his own power. If we believed that when Christ died, He died for whoever would let Him into their heart, then Christ failed. Because if Christ died for all, and only some would choose him, hen Christ's death wasn't perfect. It would mean He didn't save all He died for, but He did. Christ's death on the cross is complete. He died for His elect people. And His elect people will go to heaven.