Why I'm Happy I'm a Christian

     There are SO MANY reasons I'm happy to be a child of the One True King, but here are just a few of them that I jotted down in my journal the other day:

1. I don't have any reason to fear death of eternity. I'm heaven-bound!
2. My sins and failures are not held against me. Because of Jesus, I am forgiven!
3. My life has a reason, a purpose, meaning, and a destiny!
4. I am a child of the One True King... a beloved daughter and a princess of the Kingdom.
5. The Holy Spirit, GOD IN ME, is my constant convicter, corrector, comforter, and companion...but NOT condemner. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1, ESV).
6. My joy, peace, and security do not depend on my outward circumstances, buy my inward Hope.
7. I have the incredible honor and privilege to tell others how they, too, can experience all of the above and MORE if they choose Jesus! (OK, I just realized that sounds like a cheesy telemarketer line... "But wait! There's more!" :) ) I am an ambassador for Him.

     And I know I've shared these verses before, but they are super-important, so I'm sharing them again :) Really think about the words...
     "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:17-21, ESV).

"Firm in Faith"

     As I wait for pictures from Peru (my camera liked the Andes Mountains so much that it decided to stay there permanently, so I have to wait for pix from the rest of the team), I thought I may as well start blogging about other random things. Nearly every morning (typically during devos) I think of all these posts I want to write... and then I don't do it. So today I'm doing it!
     I've been studying Isaiah lately, which (contrary to popular belief) is not a boring book to read at all! It is really fascinating! Man, there are so many good things in that book, you'll probably be seeing more posts on Isaiah in the near future :)

     One phrase that really stuck out to me is located in the middle of chapter 7. God is talking through Isaiah to Ahaz, the king of Judah, who is about to be attacked by the combined forces of Syria and Israel (as far as I understand). Ahaz is probably quite nervous at this point, to say the least. But God comforts Him with these words: "Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint" (7:4, ESV). God assures the frightened king that the coming attackers will not be victorious, then ends His speech with a seemingly random admonition. These two short lines really stuck out to me as I read them. While they were written for a specific king facing a specific problem at a specific time, these words from God outline an essential truth that applies to every person everywhere:

"If you are not firm in faith,

you will not be firm at all" (7:9).

     Now the word "faith" is thrown around constantly in Christian circles, though I don't think we always grasp the full meaning of what it means to be "firm in faith". I'll try not to make this post super-long, but real faith needs a bit of defining. I suppose the best thing to start with is the object of our faith. And this is actually the most important part of understanding what it means to be firm in faith! JESUS; the God who created the world; the only One who is perfectly holy and sinless; our Savior who loves us so much that He DIED to save us; the Risen King who defeated the power of death, sin, Satan, hell, and fear... JESUS is the object of our faith! Is He not worthy of 100% of our trust? He is the only unchanging being. He is our ANCHOR.

     Even if everything around us changes, lets us down, or fades away, Jesus will always remain. When we stop trusting in temporary things (money, comfort, our own ability, other people, earthly treasures, etc.) then we are free to trust 100% in Jesus. When that happens, when we are firm in faith, then our happiness, peace, joy, and security will not depend at all on our circumstances. I don't know about you, but I want to have that kind of faith!

      All this reminds me of a song...

     Anyway, thanks for listening to my rambling on about what I'm studying, and I hope you'll dig into the Word for yourself! It's sort of ironic, but I'm actually teaching on "Fear vs. Faith" tonight at the children's ministry I work with. The lesson is based on Numbers 13-14... go read it if you want to read a story about ten guys who were definitely not firm in faith... and two who were :)

Leibster Award!

     So apparently there is this thing called a Liebster Award. From what I understand, bloggers without a ton of followers can be nominated, and it helps them get "discovered"... or something like that. ;)
     Anyway, I've seen some of my friends posting about it, and thought, "well, there's no way I'm getting nominated for that, because I think I'm below amateur on the non-existent 'blog experience scale'." But, low and behold, my friend Reyna at A Peace of the Past (awesome blog, by the way, be sure to check it out!) nominated me!!!! Thanks so much, Reyna, that pretty much made my day :)

     Here's how it works:
         * Link back to the person who nominated you (Done, notice the link in my previous paragraph.)
         * List 11 facts about yourself.
         * Answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
         * Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers.
         * Ask them 11 questions.
         * Let them know about the nomination!

So here go 11 random facts about me!

1. If you've kept up with my blog at all, you'll already know this, but I AM A BOOKWORM! Want proof? My mom and I went to this huge used bookstore yesterday, traded in a bunch of old books, and ended up getting 26 new (to us, anyway) books and movies for 18$!!!! And this made me WAY more excited than it should have :)

     2. I am a missions/children's ministry student at Moody Bible Institute (going up to Chicago this fall!!!)
     3. I am about to try this recipe as a way to utilize our overly-abundant supply of summer squash...
     4. Two places I would love to go one day are Norway (pleasure purposes) and India (mission trip).
     5. I really love coffee way too much for my own good ;)
     6. Recently, I have had a huge interest in keeping up with world missions, Christian world news, the persecuted church, and unreached people groups. Here are a few sites I hope you'll check out, as I think staying informed helps us, as followers of Jesus, know how to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world (as well as those who do not yet believe):
            * https://www.opendoorsusa.org/
            * http://joshuaproject.net/
            * http://www.worldmag.com/
     7.  My favorite flavor combination is chocolate and peanut butter :)
     8. Target is my favorite store EVER!
     9. I love playing the piano, and some of my current favorite songs to play are I See Fire (by Ed Sheeran, from the end credits of Desolation of Smaug), Song Without Words by Felix Mendelssohn, and It's a Small World (the classic Disney song, arrangement found in this book).
     10. Here is one of my favorite Bible passages:
             "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:17-21, NIV)
     11. I just recently watched most of the Disney princess movies for the first time!

And here are the 11 questions Reyna asked me!

1. "Do you have a favorite classic hymn? If so, what is it?" Ah, I have too many to decide! However, since that's not really a valid answer, my most recent favorite is How Firm a Foundation :)
2. "What is your favorite way to eat potatoes?" Well... I must say that I love Peruvian french fries. I know, it's sort of odd that Peru serves lots of french fries, but hey! They're good!
3. "What do you consider to be the most fascinating time period in history?" Probably medieval :) Even though nothing much happened for over a thousand years.... 
4. "Which time period would you like best to live in?" While I pretty much want to live in whatever time period I'm reading about at any given time, I'd have to say that overall I'm glad God placed me where He did, when He did!
5. "Have you ever worn a hoopskirt?" A costume one, yes :) It was at a medieval feast with my homeschool buddies! 
6. "What might one find you doing on a rainy afternoon?" Most likely reading, playing games with my family, doing something random in town, or watching movies...
7. "How many bookshelves do you have, if any?" I have two in my room, but they're overflowing, so you'll find random stacks of books here and there :)
8. "Do you prefer a laptop or a desktop?" Laptop, definitely! Love the portable-ness!
9. "What's the desktop on your computer right now?" 
   
10.  "Do you like to write with a pen or a pencil?" Well, being left-handed, I have the choice of either having ink dots all over the side of my hand, or graphite smudge. I choose the latter.
11. "What was the last song you sang?" I remember singing some Air1 song while cleaning my room this morning, but I don't remember what it was...

And now for my nominees (let's see if I can come up with 9! Some of them may have already been nominated):

•  Beth at Adventures of an Elven Princess
• Karis at The Horse Nextdoor
• Vanessa at A Bit of Everything
• Hailey at Coming Like Christ
• Michaela at Adventures of a King's Daughter
• Sandra at MountainTop Blessings
• Hmmm.... I can't think of any more at the moment....

And finally, here are my 11 questions for YOU!:

1. What book/s are you currently reading?
2. Have you ever been on a mission trip, or multiple trips? If so, where? If not, where would you go on one if you could?
3. If you HAD to choose a favorite book of the Bible, what would it be?
4. What is your opinion on funky colors of nail polish?
5. Have you ever seen the same movie in theaters more than once? If so, which one/s?
6. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
7. What is the most adventurous thing you've ever done?
8. Have you taken a selfie in the past week?
9. Are you a Duck Dynasty fan?
10. What is your favorite fruit?
11. And finally, do you play any instruments? Which one/s?

So, that's that! Hope you enjoy!

Just so y'all know, I WILL be posting very soon about Peru! I'm just waiting until after our team presents the trip to our church to avoid "spoilers"  :)

Third Time's a Charm! (A.K.A. Returning to Peru)

     When I was a little girl and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, sometimes I would say a vet, or an astronaut, or something like that. Doesn't every kid want to be those things at some point in time? But there was one response I would give to that question that I simply can't explain.
     "When I grow up, I want to be a missionary in Peru."
     What? Where in the world did that come from? Brazil would have been a more logical destination, given that my dad grew up there and half of my extended family still lives there. I had literally no connections to Peru. Maybe I wanted to go there because of the llamas at first, IDK. Looking back, however, I think the reason goes a lot deeper than that.
     Some of my favorite verses are found in Psalm 37:3-7:

  "Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 

 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this: 

 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

 Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him" (NIV)

     Now, I don't think these verses mean that God is like a genie, giving us everything we desire all the time. I desire chocolate most of the time, but that doesn't mean that God's going to make it miraculously appear in front of me :) I think it may mean that God gives us certain special desires- deep, unexplainable ones- and He will fulfill them in His time and in His way!
     I ended up going to Peru for about 2 weeks in 2010 with my dad:

      And again in 2012 with my whole family:

     
AND IN THREE DAYS I'M GOING BACK FOR A THIRD TIME!!!!! :D :D :D So. Stinkin'. Excited! God has opened the door once more for me to go to the country I love so much. Here are a few random points/prayer requests about the 2014 trip:
     * Praise that God provided the rest of our team's financial support in the past week!
     * Caleb and I (the only one's from our family going this time) will be able to meet the little girl our family sponsors! Her name is Fabiana :)
     * There is a lot of work still to be done, for me anyway (I put the PRO in procrastination sometimes!). Pray that all will get done in an unstressful way...
     * Our team will be doing evangelistic outreach along with Peruvian youth group for a couple days, something we have not done in the past.
     * Pray that we will be selflessly devoted to God's will, ready to change lives and be changed!

ALL GLORY TO GOD!
Be back on the 21st!

Dreaming of a Cosplay...

     I love dressing up. Always have. In fact, my hope chest is full of random costumes instead of keepsakes for my future life. So going to the first two Hobbit premieres in costume was right down my alley! And as long as my school schedule has me home for Christmas break by the 17th of December this year, I will be going to the final midnight premiere along with my awesome cosplaying friends!
      Here we are at the first movie:

     And after the second:

      For the third, I'll more than likely borrow one of my friends' old costumes (notice that's what I did for the second one) because I'm just not much of a seamstress :) But... I like drawing, and I like dreaming, so I sketched out some quick designs yesterday of a dress I would like to make if I could actually convince myself to start sewing (which is super-unlikely, by the way). The basic design is practically identical to the blue elvish dress seen above. Then I came up with three variations based off of Eowyn's white dress in LOTR, and Aurora's dresses in Maleficent (the designs are very similar). Note: these sketches were thrown together in about 30 min., and the variations were simply drawn on top of copies of the basic drawing... so excuse any imperfections :)

Let me know which one is your favorite!

COMING SOON: A post on my upcoming mission trip to Peru! (Which I'm getting super-stoked about!!!)
 

From One Amateur Photographer to Another...

     Hey everybody! I hope you're having an absolutely lovely spring :)
     So besides reading, playing the piano, and discovering new music, one of my favorite pastimes is photography. I have posted some of my pics on my blog before, but figured it was high time to share a few more... along with some tips for any more aspiring photographers out there! So here are a few of my recent faves:
   
                                                                Photo #1: Cityscape

Tip #1: Don't wait for the "perfect" day. I took this photo from a dorm room at Moody Bible Institute one morning. The tiny glimpse of sunlight peeking through the low cloud cover adds variety and intrigue. Don't be intimidated by less-than-ideal weather conditions. Some of the most interesting photos happen when the weather refuses to cooperate :)

Photo #2: Sunrise Field

Tip #2: Seek out backlighting. Backlighting is a photography term referring to light coming from the back of a subject, as the name suggests. Really experiment with this technique and I promise you'll love it! You can get this awesome warm glow around your subject, and often some really cool solar flares. Sunrise and sunset are the perfect times for taking backlit pics.

Photo #3: Bean Sprout

Tip #3: Back up and zoom in. You've probably heard that its best to get physically "up close and personal" with your subject. However, if you don't have a DSLR (I don't), I have found that stepping back and zooming in gives the most professional-looking results. That is the only way I have found to get this blurry background without buying a really expensive camera...

 Photo #4: Tiny Blossoms

Tip #4: Focus on detail. This was really a very ordinary-looking little bean plant just starting to bloom. But when I zoomed in on the tiny details (notice the ants on one of the flowers) it suddenly became very interesting and unique :)

Photo #5: Sunset Horse

Tip #5: Pick an unusual subject to focus on. The natural choice for a focal point in this picture would have been the horse grazing contentedly in the field... but who likes to do what's expected? ;) The focus on the cluster of oak leaves turned out really intense. Sometimes the best thing to do is to take several different pictures of the same subject, experimenting with different focuses.

Photo #6: Setting Sun

Tip #6: Don't be afraid of the sun. I know that there are times when it is best to have the sun at your back, or even for it to be completely covered by clouds. And if you're doing portraits, you might not want a big flaming fire-ball stealing all the thunder. But don't give up on it all together. As one of my friends once said: "The sun is so photogenic!" :D

Photo #7: Maple Sillhouette 

Tip #4: Silhouettes are awesome. Really the only way to get great silhouettes is to put the light behind your subject (again!). You can do silhouettes of nature things, like these here leaves, or of people! I recently took some silhouette photos of some girls sitting on a gate... turned out really good!

Photo #8: Senior Photo

Tip #8: Get creative with placement. I could have put my brother (the next three are from his senior photo-shoot) on the other side of  the frame that way he wouldn't have been looking out of the picture, but the long evening shadows were just too cool to cut!

Photo #9: A Few of My Favorite Things
Tip #9: Incorporate key objects. Including carefully selected objects, like my brother's guitar and Geo Tracker, can really add to a photo... especially when doing portraits. If you're taking pictures of people, think "what does this person really like?" and try to let that shine through!

Photo #10: Le Guitar
Tip #10: Edit. Now, you don't have to go all wild-and-crazy with editing, but some simple exposure adjustments or color filters can make an ordinary photo "pop." For these photos, I used picmonkey.com, which I HIGHLY suggest for non-professional-but-still-good-looking edits! The features I used on these photos include "auto-adjust," "black and white," "contrast," "dusk," and my all-time favorite: "cross-process" (used on 7, 9, 10, and possibly 2...)!!!

     Let me know which pics are your favorites!

Milestones

    

My "little" brother and his high school diploma!

     Well, I have been working for the past week or so on a rather long photography post, but feel like I should take a break from that one (why is it taking so long to finish that one crazy post???) and give a little update about the past week.
     It has been a week of milestones for my family. Why? First of all, my "little" brother graduated high school on Friday! Being homeschooled, we have very non-traditional graduations, especially when there's only one graduate. Needless to say, he was Valedictorian. We had nearly 100 people up at our mountain home for a big Brazilian BBQ, and it turned out to be an awesome day! I truly am very proud of the godly young man my brother has turned out to be. Congratulations, Caleb!
     And Monday I turned 20 years old! I'm not sure how I feel about exiting the technical teenage years, but I know God's got great things in store. My family and I shopped around Chattanooga for a while, and it turned out to be a lovely day :)
     Anyway, God is good, and He has blessed our family so much and brought us through so much together. Thank You, Lord, for the awesome week!

Verse of the Day:

"I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

I have set the LORD always before me;

because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

or let Your holy one see curruption.

You make known to me the path of life:

in Your presence there is fullness of joy;

at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

                                           ~Psalm 16:7-11, ESV