TRUTH SEEKERS

2011-11-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters!
I pray you are all well. :) I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I am sure you understand how crazy things can get. Time gets away from me so often lately!

Anyways...a friend of mine showed me this vid and I found it very, very encouraging. It is well, well worth the six minutes of your day. It's simply inspiring!!!

I hope you enjoy and are as encouraged as I was!
Christ bless you!
In Christ and for His glory alone,
Anna

The Pamphlet

2011-11-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

I had to write a story for school using certain words and I thought I would share it with the Truth Seekers as well.

The Pamphlet

One Friday, Sam sat in the holy Jewish synagogue, taciturn, as he waited for his colleagues to arrive for this important occasion.
A prodigy when it came to Jewish theology, Sam had completed his schooling at a nearby seminary with astronomical scores. Today he would be ordained as a Jewish rabbi, his life long dream.
Sam's family had chosen to denounce the Jewish religion. Sam continued forth in pursuing his dreams, although he became an ignominy to his family. He saw his family as nothing more than quislings, betraying him and the faith they once held. They continually tried to sabotage his plans and future. Sam pushed forth with remarkable aplomb.
The sound of the big synagogue door opening pulled Sam away from his thoughts of his family and past. A man he didn't recognize weaves through the pews towards Sam with his warm eyes fixed on the young prodigy. When the man reached Sam he silently handed him a small pamphlet. Sam looked up at him as he accepted the small book, the man smiled warmly and walked away.
When Sam heard the big door close, he turned his eyes to the pamphlet he was holding. It was a tract. Sam felt his eyes roll in annoyance. "That guy was one of those stereotyping hooligans who wrongly believe that their 'Mr. Perfect', the man Jesus, was the Messiah. Those Christians give a human man more eminence than they give God Himself, whom they claim to believe in. Stupid Christians! They know nothing! They must have liaisons in low, low places to believe in such filthy, stinking lies!" Sam's accusatory whispers spread through the quiet synagogue seeming louder than he'd spoken them. Nevertheless he found himself opening the booklet in his hands with growing curiousity. He began to read.
The tract explained more deeply than he'd ever heard about Jesus and His sacrifice. It explained how His death freed everyone from the Old Testament laws and covenants. He read about the Pharisees who had turned Christ over to the Roman government to have Him unjustly crucified. It said that Jesus had been supernaturally raised from the dead.
The more Sam read, the more he began to believe that perhaps the Christian Jesus really was the Son of God and the long awaited Messiah. Sam's own angry words filled his ears again. He immediately felt sorry for the things he'd said. A rush of guilt flooded him. Tears filled his eyes. He wanted to believe. He wanted to believe really, really bad. He sat where he was, head in hands and cried his eyes out like a small boy. He mumbled pleas for God to forgive him.
Hearing the door creak again he looked up to see the rabbi that was to ordain him walk in. The older man looked curiously at Sam, "You been cryin' boy?" he asked. Then smiling he said, "Ah! I see! You are worried about that speech you will be saying later. Well, get over it boy, you will have to learn to speak to be a rabbi!" He chuckled.
In truth, Sam had been worried about his speech, but for different reasons than the rabbi had thought. He'd have to change his speech now that he didn't believe any of the things he had been going to say. He looked at the rabbi and shook his head, he'd speak the truth. He'd take his first stand for Christ.
Sam's colleagues and other people began filing in, his friends thumping him on the back as they walked past. When the time came for Sam to give his speech, he stood up and proclaimed the truth of Jesus Christ. He catalogued the reasons that Jesus came and the differences between the Jewish beliefs and the Christian beliefs. He explained that Jesus was the Messiah, and that believing otherwise would be eternally pernicious, as they would be condemned to Hell. Sam unabashedly claimed that he beloved that Jesus Christ was and is Lord. At the end of his speech the aisles were crowded with people racing forward to Sam to beg him to tell them how they too could be saved.
Sam looked to Heaven and smiled.

2011-09-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I pray you are all well. A good friend of mine wrote this and he has graciously allowed me to share it with all of you.

I hope you enjoy it and it is an encouragement to you! :)

Christ bless you,
Anna

A Sinner’s Prayer
By: Ric Alden

My Jesus, my King, what have I done?

I have sinned against you, yet again.

Please forgive me, bring me back to your Son,

For I do not wish to be a servant of Satan’s; but yours, Lord.

Praise the Lord! He lifts up my soul!

He heals the sick, and listens to the prayers

Of those in need, and to those that cry out,

Who are longing for their suffering to come to an end.

Lord, you are the Most High, the King of Kings,

You rule the universe, and everything is known to you.

You knew me before my birth and everything about me,

Even what my thoughts are and will be.

Thank you Lord for saving me from sin,

For if not for you, I would be enslaved by it.

Let me now be allowed to bask in your presence,

And see the glory of the One and Almighty Jehovah.

2011-09-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I pray you are all well and content in the joy of our Lord.

I love to write...as many of you know. And sometimes I will be going about my normal duties and something will hit me and I have to write it down. This happened today at around 5 p.m. I thought I would share the results of one of these impulsive writings with you all. ;)
I pray it can be a blessing. The content of this poem is another one of those many lessons that the Lord has taught me lately. Like most of the lessons I learn...this one came the hard way. When we think that God has left us...it's really the opposite. God made us a promise that He would never leave us or forsake us...if someone has fallen away or left, it is us who have done the leaving...not God. And it is only in Him that true joy is found. I suppose that is the main point of this poem.

May Christ bless you always as you live each day for His glory!
Anna

IN ME

My cries rang out in the night, Father! Where are you!?
Why have you left me to sink into despair? Lord, I need you!

Why have you allowed my heart to be crushed so?

Why have you let my innocence flee like a scared cat?

Why are you no longer giving me strength or will to fight?

Right now I want to die! I have nearly tried to take my own life,

Do you not see? Do you not care? Why have you abandoned me?

I am withering away, my body and my mind are small and frail

I am afraid to love or be loved because it seems that all loves fail

God, why? Why has all of this happened? Why do you leave me so?

Do you not see how afraid I am? I am so afraid I can't even think!

Do you not see? Do you not care? Why have you abandoned me?

And then I heard something...whether it was a voice or not, I cannot say...

But I heard, or felt, I know not which, words like these,

My child, I am here.

I have been here all the time. It is you who have turned away.

Come home, my love. Come home to Me.

In Me there is no despair.

In Me there is nothing that will ever crush your heart

In Me there is the joy and innocence of a new child

In Me you will find strength to face everything

In Me there is life that you will not want to give up so easily

In Me you will never be left alone

In Me your mind and body will be full

In Me you will find love that is never failing

In Me you will never be afraid

I am here my child. Come love, find your true home In Me.

2011-08-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It often seems that when things are going so wonderfully...just as the sun is beginning to shine with all it's brightness...something comes along to block it out again.

I think that is part of the spiritual battle that we, as children of God, are called to fight. It can be nothing other than another attempt of the devil to steal away that joy that Christ brings.

I have been wondering for the last couple of days, “So, how do I fight back? What do I do?”. As I have said before in my posts...I am not in any position to say how to fight the spiritual battles. I write this as one searching...and hoping that maybe writing this will help me figure it out and maybe encourage a couple people at the same time.

But...what I have found is one of the best weapons (in the situations I have been through) is trust. It doesn't sound very powerful, but it is. I have fought battles both ways....trusting God and not trusting Him.

It is amazing what just trusting God can do!

When I stopped trusting God, during one of the greatest battles I have fought so far, it didn't turn out well. I failed. Miserably. Living without trusting God is nearly impossible. I had thought things couldn't get much worse...but then I stopped trusting God. And let me tell you...it got a whole lot worse for me.

Then... after coming as close to completely failing as I ever have, I started trusting God again. I realized that trusting myself simply didn't work. And as soon as I did start trusting Him again, completely, the sun began to shine again. I am not saying the trials go away. On the contrary, I think that the devil sends more and harder blows when we are at our best. Because he can't stand to see us triumphant in the love and grace of God.

But the harder the blows, the more we have to trust God. Our trust in Christ can become like a wall around us...a shield from the attacks of the devil, so to speak.

Recently something happened that I just couldn't (and still can't completely) see why it happened. There didn't seem to be much logic or reason to it. But...the Lord has been teaching me (and I have made it so that I have ended up learning it the hard way) that it just doesn't matter if we see what the plan is. Because He does. He knows...He sees all. His plan is perfect. What else could/should we do but trust Him?! I think He has made it pretty clear over the last eternity, or so, that His plans are always perfect and always work out according to His will.

And just because something doesn't happen or result the way we want it to, doesn't mean that it was not a success. We often times don't see what the results are or how they did affect the Kingdom...but one thing is for sure; anything that we use for the glory of God is a success. God made us for HIS glory. So by trusting Him and glorifying Him in the highest and lowest moments...we succeed as His children.

Anyways, that's been on my mind the last day or so and I just wanted to write up and hope it can maybe encourage someone who has been going through their own spiritual battles. And I hope it all made sense. ;) As Christians we are all in this war together...and what a blessing it is to have brothers and sisters who are also fighting for Christ and His glory!

May Christ bless you and keep you as you continue the battle and fight for His glory.

Anna

2011-08-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

I know this hardly seems to count as a post...but I recently heard this song and it was such an encouragement to me...I wanted to share it with all of you and hope it can be a blessing.

May Christ bless you all as you live your lives for Him!!
Anna

The Shadow of Doubt

2011-07-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

I have been fighting deep depression for the last few months. I have been wondering/worrying about my future. Different events keyed my worries and fears. I know it is wrong to worry and I am doing my very best to trust Christ now. No matter what happens, no matter who hurts us or leaves us...and no matter what events happen that seem to cast us into despair...we must remain close to Christ and trust that He has a plan! This is the lesson I have been being taught by God lately.

How great God is...oh His love and mercy are just so amazing! I pray that you grow closer to Him day by day!

I wrote this up quickly today. It came in a white heat...It really was a product of a talk I had with a friend that stuck in my mind all day. I thought I would share it with all of you.

May Christ bless you my dear brothers and sisters!
Anna

The Shadow of Doubt

Its shadow lurks around me, body and soul. It weaves it's slimy self through my mind and heart.

It slowly encircles my whole being until I am weakest, then it strikes with full force, crushing my very soul.

Oh, that it would rise and face me in its fullness that I might draw my sword and defeat it. But it is far to crafty for that. Instead it is content to wait until my spirit is lowest and then it makes its hardest blow, dashing me to the ground. It causes my will for life to flee as though a great army was after it.

But now! Arise, you great black beast! Arise, you servant of Satan! Arise and be gone! Return you to your master, the Devil, and tell him that I will no long be under your spell. Inform him that you no longer strike against mere flesh and blood, but that you now must attempt to strike He who made all things. He who's hands crafted the earth and all that is in it. Yes! If you dare, try to fight God Himself! I think you will not be long in seeing the futility in such a stupid act.

Farewell, to you beast. Farewell to you, you low and sick creature.

No longer will you, Doubt, take charge over me.

2011-07-03T17:06:00.001-07:00

Loyalty...it's a rare thing when you think about it. And when you find it in a person, you want to cling to it. It can hurt when you think a person is loyal and then find out that they are not.
We can't make people loyal, as much as we may wish we can, it is not in our control. But we can prove loyalty to others...I don't have this all figured out, but I have been pondering this subject a good deal lately and this is one way that I have learned proves loyalty. It is one of many ways, but I think it is one of the most important.

1: COMMUNICATE... this is sooooo vital to any relationship. I was having a hard time because I wanted to prove loyalty to my parents. I wanted to make sure they knew that I would never hurt them by being disloyal. A dear pastor friend of ours talked to me about it when we were having lunch at his church. I asked him in tears how to prove loyalty. His reply was very simple as he took my hand and said..."Keep the line of communication open." How true that is! We are all tempted at times to be disloyal to someone, be it our parents, our siblings, friends...and I imagine spouses (though I obviously don't know about that just yet ;), but if we go to them and tell them we are having a hard time (communicate to them) we are much less likely to follow through with that disloyalty. Just think about it...when we want to be disloyal we don't think "I want to do "this and that". I know "so and so" wouldn't like it...so I think I will go tell them right now."
If we are talking with the person/people who we want to prove loyalty to, they will see that we are talking to them about our problems and even if they don't realize it right then, you are proving loyalty.
Yes, it will be hard to communicate at times. There have been many times (even very recently) that I just did not want to talk to my parents about a struggle I was having...but I decided to and I was amazed by their response of gratitude. They saw that I didn't want to tell them my problem. But when I did talk to them about it, I saw the satisfaction in their faces and I knew that loyalty had been proven, once again, through communication.
It is really, really important to communicate when you don't want to. When someone has upset you or you think you have upset them. Don't just stop talking to them. It can crush them...and you may not even know it.
And...communicate about the small things too. Don't just talk about the big, life changing things. It is much easier to talk about the big issues if you are in the habit discussing the small ones.

Well, I hope that made sense. It's been heavy on my mind lately and wanted to share that with you. I would love to hear what all of you have to say/think about communication and loyalty so leave a comment about it.

Christ be with you!
Anna

2011-07-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I hope you are all enjoying your 4th of July weekend!
I had the pleasant surprise to receive a few articles by a very talented young writer. She sent them to me and asked if I would like to share them with all of you...I am sure you will enjoy them as much as I did. :)
Christ be with you,
Anna

A Few Short Stories and Essays by 13 Yr. Old Anna W. thanks for sharing these with us, Anna!

1) Spring Has Finally Arrived!

Perfect in every way, the first warm day of spring is lovely. Slow and careful, snowdrops peak out of verdant clumps of new, juicy grass. Daisies and daffodils also sport their bright colors, waving gently under trees laden with fuzzy buds. Lambs frolic beneath pale azure skies, filled with scudding clouds and a bright sun. Like dancers on the floor, the odors of plowed earth and sweet flowers mingle and waft on the wispy southern breeze. A swollen stream rushes and gurgles past children playing in the warm weather. Butterflies flying, birds fluting, all nature seems to sing for joy that spring has finally come.

2) A Giant Felled

I was standing in front of my large, silk tent with my generals when the ground shook and a voice thundered from the philistine’s camp. My men panicked and screamed racing and tripping in their haste to escape the horror emerging from the philistine’s camp. As my generals and I tried to restore order, the giant thundered a challenge for a one on one battle. None accepted. I suffered many sleepless nights because I did not know what to do about the colossal soldier. Frightened and tired, we prayed for deliverance.

One day, when I was worrying over the giant problem, a boy came to see his brothers, and heard the huge warrior issuing his challenge. Boldly he marched into my tent and announced he would fight the giant. At first my generals and I laughed, but the stony determination on the boy’s face told us he meant it. Refusing my armor, he took only his sling and a few stones, vowing to bring down the tyrannical giant. In breathless anticipation, both sides stood silent, watching the giant laugh at the small boy, then charge. David stood his ground, swinging his sling once, twice, three times before letting the stone fly. ‘Thump,’ the giant face planted in his own dust. With an elated shout of triumph, the Israelites charged the enemy and swept them away like chaff in the wind.

3) A Storm on the Beach

3) Meandering down a steep, rocky path I watch the ocean, white with foam, crash and roar on a pebbly beach. No gulls fight the pounding wind which harries a heavy curtain of dark thunderheads, flattening grass and snapping trees. Rain falls in deafening, drenching sheets. Salty spray is flung high and carried on the wind. Rough rocks are dragged out to open water by the ferocity of the waves as an unusual dance reaches its high point before my eyes

2011-06-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sister,
I pray you are all well. :)
I wanted to share an amazing poem from a friend of mine (who started Kingdom Pen mentioned in previous posts.)
He is a really gifted writer and uses his gift for Christ in wonderful ways...and he said that I could post this on here...so I hope you all enjoy!
Christ be with you,
Anna

Shout in the Face of Hell!
By: Eli King

When the heat’s so real
Your sword and armor melt,
All the terror you feel
In the blazing face of Hell.

Lesser men quake,
Falling, surrenduring all around.
The demons march against you,
You’re the only man left in your town.

Then you stand, then you fight!
If you quake in the day of adversity,
Your strength is so small,
Struggle for the final victory!

Shout in the face of Hell!
Defy the Devil his feat.
Fight for the helpless, defend the fatherless,
You never have permission to retreat!

When Hell is all around you,
When you’re deserted by your closest freinds,
When life is imploding with you inside,
Now is when you fight, now is when you stand!

When God takes all away,
When life and love seems so far,
When the dragon roars his loudest,
It’s all but to purify you with fire.

Strike back all the harder,
Bring the Devil total war.
Carry the battle to every front,
But never quit amid the bloody gore.

Show him the black flag!
Show your flesh the same.
Mercy has no place in this war.
To take no prisoners is no shame.

Shout in the face of Hell!
Defy the Devil his feat!
Fight for the helpless, defend the fatherless,
You never have permission to retreat!

When Hell is all around you,
When you’re deserted by your closest freinds,
When life is imploding with you inside,
Now is when you fight, now is when you stand.

This war will cost you everything,
And you’ll be forever changed.
You’ll lose everything you loved most,
Your sin to kill and flesh to blame.

Your trusted friends will betray you,
Your own family on you will turn,
Everything you trusted will be a lie,
In the flames of Hell your old self must burn.

But the goal is worth the cost,
The victory worth the pain,
The cause worth the blood lost,
Our Lord to exault, his name to proclaim.

So shout in the face of Hell!
Defy the Devil his feat.
Fight for the helpless, defend the fatherless,
You never have permission to retreat!

When Hell is all around you,
When you’re deserted by your closest freinds,
When life is imploding with you inside,
Now is when you fight, now is when you stand.

Selling Indulgences

2011-06-05T18:43:00.001-07:00

Do you remember Martin Luther? Do you know one of the major things he fought against? Wasn't it the selling of Salvation?
Tetzel was a man who sold indulgences...if you paid a certain amount, you could free a loved one from purgatory and they would go straight to Heaven...there is more to that, but the point is...Martin Luther fought against this and showed people that salvation comes by the grace of Christ alone! No amount of money on earth could get a single person into Heaven and eternal bliss with Christ.

We were watching something on TV and there was a man on saying that (and this is not an exact quote) if you "plant a seed" of $237 you will be one of the 3,000. God apparently gave him some kind of "epiphany"...and if you "plant this seed" your financial problems will be solved...your family problems will perish...everything in your life will be better. I am not joking here...this is really what he was saying.

What came to my mind was..."Didn't God tell us that there would be hard times? I don't ever remember reading a sing verse that said that life was going to be "sunshine and lollipops"...do you?

Yes...God wants us happy...but that happiness is the peace of Christ. The joy that comes only with belonging to Christ. You just can't buy that peace for $237. And no mere man has the right to sell it! I am not only sorry for the people who spend their money on this, thinking that they are buying something that is impossible...but how sad for the man who is selling it. Taking advantage of desperate people. Selling lies instead of telling and sharing the Gospel of Christ. What must go on in his heart and mind? Does he really think that he is doing what is right? Does he really think that he is helping people? Does he really think that Christ receives any glory at all through this? Can he think those things?

The sad thing is...maybe he does. He may have told himself this so much that he really believes it. It may seem like I am doing a lot of speculating and rambling here...but seeing the man on TV got me thinking about how to keep from deceiving ourselves.

How do we know for sure what is right and what is wrong?

Do we have to go out and study every wrong religion inside and out so that we can identify whenever something false is before us?

This is what my dad told me about this...

When cashier or banker is being trained how to distinguish a counterfeit bill from a genuine one they are not showed every single counterfeit bill out there and told to study it in detail so that they will know if one comes their way. They are given one single, real bill and made to study every detail...every color etc.

It is the same with us and Christianity. We can't be studying all the false religions out there...but what we can and should do is know the one true religion inside and out...if we know what is right, we will know what is wrong. Because in this world there really only is right and wrong, black and white.

We must engulf ourselves in the Word and study it...talk to Christ all the time, fellowship with the brethren. If we don't know what is right...we can easily slip into confusion and deceive ourselves.

May we all stay close to Christ and may He bless you greatly with His love and mercy!
Anna

Kingdom Pen 2

2011-06-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I did a post a while ago for an amazing e-meagazine for young, Christian writers started by a friend of mine, Eli King.
Just wanted to let everyone know that the email address has changed. It is now:

kingdompenmag@gmail.com

Here is the post that I did a while ago for KP. I just want to say again that this is a wonderful resource for young, Christian authors! It is full of wonderful knowledge and advice. I highly recommend it!

May Christ bless you!
Anna
P.S. I have changed the email address in the post below to the new one so there is not confusion. :) Oh, and one more thing...there will not be a new issue for a couple of months after the one coming out next...from what I understand! :) But, you can still get your name on the mailing list!

KINGDOM PEN

"Encouraging teen authors to write well, write purposefully, and to always write for Christ."

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31

Kingdom Pen is a free e-magazine/newsletter by and for teen writers who strive to glorify Christ in their writing.
Started by Eli King, the purpose of Kingdom Pen is to encourage teen writers to use their gift to the fullest for Christ's glory alone.
The e-magazine will be sent out six times a year. If you want to subscribe to it email here: kingdompenmag@gmail.com
If you are interested in submitting an article, please email Eli at the above email for the submission guidelines.
if you have any questions, email Eli or you can ask me through a comment here and I will make sure you get a response as soon as possible.

I know that I am very excited about this and I pray that Christ blesses it and above all, that He is glorified through Kingdom Pen and the lives of those who write for it and read it

May Christ bless you,
Anna

2011-06-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I pray that you are enjoying your Saturday!
Today my family and I went to a park nearby that has a river on it where you can swim and just enjoy the shade in the 101 degree weather.

My very favorite setting to be in is a river in lush green woods...so I was so excited to go today. When we got there we enjoyed some time swimming and exploring together...and doing the things that you only do with an adventurous older brother that makes mother dear call everyone's names and say "be careful!" Or "don't do that!" ;)

After a while I took the opportunity to steal away by myself and enjoy the solitude and peace. The song, one of my very favorite hymns, is "It Is Well With My Soul"...and the first line it is "When peace like a river attendeth my way"...whenever I go to a river I see why the author used that metaphor.

I am amazed by how drawn to Christ and how close I feel to Him when surrounded by His handiwork! Of course, I am close to Him at all times...but the peace that comes when being engulfed in His masterpiece...nature is an amazing thing. How good God is to give us such beauty in this fallen world! The reminder that He is here...that we are His.

Calm, peaceful rivers are always a small glimpse of Heaven for me. A tiny, hint of what it may be like.

I know this was more of a rambling post, but I just wanted to remind us all that there is such beauty all around us...when you are discouraged by the sad state our world has seemed to come to...look at the sky, the trees, the water...Evidence of a powerful, merciful, perfect God is all around us.

May Christ bless you and I pray you have a wonderful Lord's Day!
In Christ and for His glory alone,
Anna

2011-06-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I pray that you are all well and dwelling in the love of Christ this day!
If you will permit me, I would like to share something that happened to me very recently.
Okay...I will try to make sense. ;)

There have been some very difficult things going on for me recently...won't go into that, but just keep that in mind as you read.
Normally, I can stand tall, take the blows and let them glance off of me. Normally I can be strong.
These last blows that flew at me all at once were just too much to take. I know they should not have been, but I let them be. No trial should be to great for those who love the Lord

...but moving on.

I sunk into a state of deep depression. I was in my room crying all the time. The stuff that normally brings me out of down times just didn't work. I tried all the normal stuff, reading, writing, singing, playing guitar, praying, thinking...not of it worked. I wrote in my journal almost all the time...and none of it worked!

I tried fighting it, but no matter how hard I fought, I just sunk deeper and deeper into the depression.

After about three or four days of this, and when you are depressed it seems like weeks believe me! I was laying in bed looking out at the stars thinking. Normally they bring me such comfort and inspiration! But that night they were dark to me. I decided to stop fighting the depression. I just gave in. I didn't care. I know I was wrong, but I just gave up.

Then I saw my Bible laying a little ways from me. I admit with shame that I have not been dwelling in the Bible as much as I should be...but I picked it up and read three Psalms. 148, 149 and 150. They are alllllll about praising God in different ways.

I was like a dry sponge in a sink full of water. I soaked it all up! Each word was powerful, moving...alive! When I had finished reading, I had complete peace! Overwhelming, almost unbearable peace! And this is me...the girl who a few mintues before had given up!

I am still fighting the depression, but the point is, I am fighting! God used His word to bring me back to where I should be.

God's Word is ALIVE. It is more alive than anything else on this earth. I know this may sound crazy, but I believe that I had a supernatural experience. It had to have been for me to go from complete depression and no motoivation to go on, to the extreme peace I had. I could feel God with me. I had begun to think that He had left me. But then He made himself more real to me than He ever had before!

I know that we all get down at times, that Satan is always looking for our weak moments to attack with full force. But, if we turn to Christ, dive into His Word, pray to Him, live for and with Him...no power on earth nor in Hell could ever come close to destroying us or Chrsit who lives in us.

I hope this post made sense. :)

May Christ bless and keep you always!
In Christ and for His glory alone,
Anna

What Really Matters

2011-05-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I just wanted to do a quick post and share something that has been in my mind today.
There are some things that I do as a matter of principle, things that I do because I believe them to be what Christ would have me do...as all of us do, but why do we do them really?
What I am getting at is this. There is no mold. There is no perfect way to do things. No body has things figured out completely...
Let's test this. Here is a list of my "perfect life". (Notice I put that in quotes ;)
I am homeschooled, active in the church, I wear dresses/skirts most of the time, I live on a farm, I cook, sew, knit, I don't have boyfriends etc. If I just told people that...I could have people want to be just like me...if all anybody saw was the good...why wouldn't people want to be like me? I am perfect! I have a perfect life...right?
Well, here is the catch. I am not perfect and I don't have a perfect life...there is no perfect person alive today and nobody has a perfect life.
I could also make another list...my "ugly" list. All the sin that is inside of me, all of the evil, darkness and over all dirt that is just under my shell. We could make a list, but I don't think that even the internet (World Wide Web) has enough room for that list!
Here is what I am saying...the homeschooling, gardens, skirts, cooking and all that is not what is important...it is just simply not what life is about. Sure! Those are all good and nice things to have...but really, why do we have them? Why do we do them? What is the purpose?
I think that sometimes we can forget why we are here. Is it really for Christ? Is He the first thing whenever we think about what we are doing...I have to admit, with shame, that He is not always for me. It can be so easy, especially as second generation Christians, to forget why we do what we do...because we have always done it. Our parents left the world's ways to live a life of service to Christ...they were convicted and did it. We were born into the service of Christ. So we must be extra vigilant in our walk...(am I saying I do this perfectly? Not at all!!!!! I am talking to myself here too.) We have to make sure that we are convicted, that we know what we do and why we do it.
So...to round it all up, homeschooling and gardening etc. should not be what we are. It should reflect what/who we are.
If Christ is not the first in our life and our reason for living and doing what we do, we may as well not do any of it. It would be better to sit around all day, watch TV and eat bon-bons. Because then at least we won't be deceived into thinking we are following Christ when we are just following an idea.
So, you don't have to be homeschooled, have a garden, cook, sew, clean, where dresses etc. (men, you can come up with your own list ;) to be a true follower of Christ. Yes...we should strive to do the right things...dress modestly, educate rightly, and it wouldn't hurt to throw in some cooking and sewing skills. But, we must, must, must remember why we do it!
I like to say about all things "In Christ and for His glory...alone." If we keep those seven words (notice that seven is the number of perfection/completion ;) always in the front of our mind...then we prove that everything we do is done for a reason. And our reason is Christ.

Anyways...guess that wasn't really a quick post, but that was on my mind and I wanted to share it with you and hear your thoughts. So...leave a comment so that we can talk about it. I love discussing such things with my brothers and sisters!
May Christ richly bless you as you serve Him!
In Christ and for His glory alone,
Anna

You Know You're a Homeschooler When...

2011-05-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

Note: Some of these are mine but others I have found somewhere else.

You play with other "unsocialized" homeschoolers you've never met before, and have a great time.

You do a word study on the word "social" to try to figure out why people think you aren't social.

You spell check the world. I.e. Spotting a sign stating that "Your on camera", you badly want to tell the manager that it is not grammatically correct.

You and your siblings play "School"... With real homework... While your mom is out grocery shopping.

You and friends decide to learn German without telling your mothers.

You tell your mom what the best deal is while grocery shopping, so she can save money (to buy curriculum of course!)

Homework and schoolwork are the same thing.

It's noon and school's out.

You read books like "Moby Dick" and "Sense and Sensibility" for fun.

You give your teacher a 5 page research paper you did for fun.

You don't have a clue what grade you're in.

You text in complete sentences.

You freak out if you don't know how to spell a word.

You view the world as your classroom.

Your school bus is either a 9, 12, or 15 passenger van.

Outside of the house = Field Trip!

You sleep in your school and go to school in the same thing you slept in.

You quietly dread the days the public schoolers are on break...

There is no such thing as a snow day.

You have to look at the clock to see if your friends are home. (so you can be social)

You want to research everything.

Parent-Teacher conferences scare you.

There is no such thing as a stranger.

You have more recess time than school hours.

By the time you are up and have eaten breakfast, public schoolers are on their way home.

You balk at white bread.

When your mother finds you and your brother arguing you argue with her that you are really having a well thought out debate.

Closet = Locker and Bed/couch = Desk

Your friends are 3, 8, 17 and 25.

Your prom is either a barn dance or a contra dance.

Your highschool reunion is also your family reunion.

Your first date is also your honeymoon.

You're 10 year old sister is a Revolutionary War geek and can name all the generals.

Your mother finds you still awake at 10 o'clock pm doing MORE school.

You still take naps.

You find great pleasure in watching Winnie the Pooh and VeggieTales still.

Your stack of books to check out exceeds the library limit, but is only enough to get you through a week.

You have to decide what year you want to graduate.

Your parents hand you your diploma.

When asked about your further education you reply, "Life."

You spend more hours a day reading than you do watching TV.

Your favorite TV channel is the History Channel.

You beg your mom for the new school book you want, not the latest video game.

You dread sick days. The one day you really DON'T want to learn, your teacher hands you a stack of homework.

If you get stuck on something you can ask your teacher for help, if she can't help you the principal can.

You look back, after graduating, on your school life and decide to call up your teacher from each grade just to say thank you.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Thank You Lord for calling my parents to teach me in the way You have called me to go.

Thank you Momma for teaching me everything I know and everything I don't. And for being obedient to the Lord's call.

Thank you Dad for supporting Mom, for helping me learn to subtract. ;) and for reading my reports and stories even though you don't like to read. It means a lot to me.

Aubrey :)

Pray to Stop Abortion!

2011-05-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
Sorry for being so inactive lately.
I am on a wonderful site that many of you know of and are also on called the Rebelution. There was a post in the prayer section by fellow rebelutionary, Dave M. I wanted to share it with all of you.
Thanks for the post and the passion you put into it, Dave!
God bless you all!
Anna

Here is Dave's post:

Hey guys,

God has really put a burden on my heart about abortion lately. He has reminded me that abortion is not just a political issue and a sign of our culture's moral decay, though it is those things; it is, more astoundingly, murder- LEGAL murder, at that. This abominable practice claims thousands of lives each year, and it does so under the protection of the world's major national governments.

Proverbs 24:12
"Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back."

I believe that God has called His Church to deliver the babies being slaughtered in their own mothers' wombs from death, and while we might not know exactly what God wants us to do about abortion in the meantime, WE CAN PRAY (and that is a powerful thing).

1 John 5:14-15
"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

I do not presume to know the will of God, and I believe that abortion has endured to this day for a reason, but delivering thousands of babies from death seems to be the type of thing God would be about!

Luke 19:1-8
"Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

James 5:16b
"The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (remember that we have become the righteousness of God in Christ!)

God hears us. God will answer us.

Please join me in entreating our Heavenly Father in the name of His Son Jesus to end abortion, the holocaust of our generation.

[NOTE: to any of you on Facebook or any other social networking sites, PLEASE consider copying this post and making it into your own note; don't quote me as the author if you don't want to]

2011-03-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

This is just an amazing video that I saw for the first time on Josiah's Blog .
It is really powerful...and really well done.
Hope you enjoy it/get the chills as much as I did! :)
Christ be with you,
Anna

Starbucks Give Away

2011-03-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!!
Some of you know that Josiah B. used to run Truth Seekers...well, on his own blog now he is doing a Starbucks gift card give away. Go here to check it out! Josiah's Life
God bless!
Anna

2011-03-16T09:15:00.001-07:00

Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Aubrey showed this to me and I really liked it. I wanted to share it with you.
May Christ bless your day!!!
Blessings!
Anna

2011-02-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Hello dear Brothers and Sisters,
I just wanted to share a picture and what the picture is to me.
You can see that on the side we are on is dead and brown and there is hardly any light. And on the other side of the fence is bright, the water is sparkling, the grass is green and you can almost hear the birds singing when you look at it.
That is kind of how I imagine it is for us on earth looking to Heaven. Someday we will all cross a fence, so to speak, to one place or the other. I pray that all of you who read this join me in crossing the fence to the most glorious of all places. The place that God has prepared for us.
The other place, hell, is even darker and uglier and more dead than the leaves in this picture. Really, the death and darkness of those leaves does not even compare to the horrors of hell.
And this picture does not do the glories and wonders of Heaven justice. For it is not the beauty that is there that makes Heaven so amazing, but the fact that we are allowed to live with Christ for all eternity! What an amazingly overwhelming thought it is.
I pray that this picture made sense and means what I hoped it to.
May Christ richly bless you and draw you closer to Him!
Anna

2011-02-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

Kingdom Pen is a free e-magazine/newsletter by and for teen writers who strive to glorify Christ in their writing.
Started by Eli King, the purpose of Kingdom Pen is to encourage teen writers to use their gift to the fullest for Christ's glory alone.
The e-magazine will be sent out six times a year. If you want to subscribe to it email here: kingdompen@hughes.net
If you are interested in submitting an article, please email Eli at the above email for the submission guidelines.
if you have any questions, email Eli or you can ask me through a comment here and I will make sure you get a response as soon as possible.

Beautiful Rebirth

2011-02-11T18:59:00.000-08:00

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.' Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born again, can he?' Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the into the kingdom of God." -John 3:3-5
Rebirth doesn't make sense to Nicodemus, nor to those who have not been born again themselves. To those who have been born again, born in the Spirit, it is the most amazing thing ever. For those who don't understand rebirth, or for those who have, who need a reminder of what it was like, Ted Dekker paints a very vivid picture of rebirth in his fictional novel series, The Circle.
In these books, the concept of rebirth is this way: You meet the Horde. The Horde people are people whose skin is gray, chapped, bloody, rotting, etc. Their hair is in dreadlocks, their eyes are dull and they smell terribly of sulfur. On the other hand, you have the Forest Guard. They are a beautiful people, with skin tones from tan to dark chocolate. Their eyes are vibrant colors, blues, greens, purples. Then you meet Justin. Justin is perfect. He is a great military leader. He's just what the Forest Guard is looking for to defeat the Horde.
However, Justin has other plans. He seems to be sided with the Horde! Eventually the Forest Guard Counsel accuses him of being a traitor and allow the Horde to kill him their way. ("Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him and led Him away to Pilate the governor." -Matthew 27:1-2) The Horde's way of killing is a torturous drowning. The victim's feet are tied to a scaffold. Then victim is then hung upside down, head in the water. They have no choice but to die.
As Justin dies a merciless death, a bystander, uncontrolled, rushes at Justin with his sword drawn and pierces Justin's side. Blood gushes out into the water. ("But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out." -John 19:34)
Justin is dead. ("Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." -John 19:30) The Horde throw his body into the lake. They don't know that a law was created that the green waters of Elyon were never to be contaminated. As we know, however, a covenant can be broken, if only by it's creator. That covenant was just broken. Justin was Elyon. Only a few of the Forest Guard realize this and when they do they are furious with themselves and the Horde for killing Elyon. ("When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, 'Surely this man was the Son of God!'" -Mark 15:39)
Immediately after the death of Justin, the Forest Guard start turning Horde. The disease takes over much faster than the 3-4 days it used to take. Elyon's green lakes used to heal them of the disease when they bathed, but now that the waters are contaminated, the healing affects are no longer.
The main character, Thomas, realizes he's supposed to follow Elyon. This means drowning, as Justin did. ("And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.'" -Luke 9:23) He'd rather die than have his mind clouded by the Horde disease. He'd better do it soon though, as the disease is already taking over him.
Thomas dives into the now red lake. He breathes in.... water. He coughs, only causing more water to rush into his lungs. Everything goes black. His body starts ceasing violently. As he jerks uncontrollably he's shown things of his past, evil and wrong things. He's torchered. Suddenly everything goes black again. His body goes limp. ("Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in the newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is free from sin." -Romans 6:4-7)
When he wakes everything is different. It's light, not dark. Thomas is like a little boy. He can now breathe in the water safely. He stays and plays with his Creator, Elyon. When Thomas finally gets out of the water he is a completely different person. ("Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed, the new has come!" -2 Corinthians 5:17)
Thomas looks back and sees a couple hundred following him, including a few Horde, his wife, son and daughter. ("For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." -John 3:16)
Although some now follow Elyon, the numbers of the Horde have grown greatly, with the addition of some fallen Forest Guard. The Horde are afraid of Elyon, of the water, and of light. ("This is the judgement, that the Light has come into the world, and the men loved darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." -John 3:19-20 "And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me." -Matthew 10:38)
As for the Forest Guard, they have experienced rebirth. They have died to themselves and have been born again. ("In reference to your former matter of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." -Ephesians 4:22-24)

Have YOU been born again?

Hi All

2011-02-11T18:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't been on the blog in quite a while. Anna was great enough to post my poem for me when I sent it to her. I've been very distracted here lately what with college scholarship applications and other forms and such! The other day, an idea crossed my mind. Now for a little background info on my writing style. I don't usually write fiction/stories. Reason why: I can't.. Seriously, I have no skill with plot or dialogue!!!! I did write a 'book' in 8th grade, but it wasn't at all good. So all of my work that I feel to be of merit is poetry. And most of that is strictly Christian-based, and I feel God-inspired. Well..... I think I may have my first short story in the works. I do not know how it will turn out. But I will give yall a hint. It's about an angel sent on a mission from God. I just wrote the first chapter(yeah, i suppose short stories don't have chapters.... well this is going to have chapters). And I'm loving the opportunity to write about how I picture Heaven to be. I'm not going into much detail so far in the story because frankly, I've never been to Heaven... But I know I will one day. So anyways, all, please pray for me that God will grant me the wisdom and the words that I need to write this story. I can't write without him guiding me in some way, shape or form.

Thanks,

Aaron.

By: Aaron Mitchell

2011-01-06T13:28:00.001-08:00

Light up the sky

To let us all see

The darkness around us

The Devil’s deceit.

Light up the sky

to show us the way

through all of the paths

Hindering me today.

Light up the sky

To give us a start

Of warmth deep inside

That’s healing my heart.

Light up the sky

To tell us what’s right

How to follow by faith

Instead of by sight

Light up the sky

To see all you gave

A son sent to die

To love and to save.

Truth Seekers Changes

2010-12-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
You may have noticed that Truth Seekers has not been very active of late. I think that we have all just been really busy and had to keep our priorities straight.
Josiah decided to go ahead and just shut Truth Seekers down for a number of reasons, I think that the biggest was that he has had allot of things going on, getting a job etc. and found that he did not have enough time to do everything. (Correct me if I am wrong, Josiah. That is how I understood it :) )
So, I (Anna) offered to run Truth Seekers instead of shutting it down. He agreed and so I am now going to be taking care of it. I have at least one person who wants to become a new author and I may find some more.
Also, I would like to gear Truth Seekers towards more creative writing that is based on Biblical things. Things like short stories, poetry and the like.
If anyone has something that they would like to have posted here, just let me know through a comment and we can work things out. And if I get enough and frequently enough from you, we can talk about you becoming an author too. :)
Please tell your friends about Truth Seekers. We can use all of the support we can get. :) And follow us so that we know that you are there!
Thanks so much Aaron, Apollos and Aubrey for all the work you are/will do for the future of T.S.!
Merry Christmas to everyone!
In Christ and for His glory alone,
Anna

A Poem

2010-12-25T11:55:00.000-08:00

The End is Nigh
By: Anna L. Pendleton

“The end is nigh! The end is nigh!”

From the old man’s lips came that cry

”Run from the wrath to come, Run from what’s to come!”

The old woman was where this cry came from

“Satan is coming Flee!”

“He’s here to capture you and me!”

But all around in a daze the young walked,

As the demons in them slyly talked.

They said in gentle whispers o, so calm,

“Do not run from this joy to come.”

“These cries from the Lips of Old”

Upon these lies do not be sold!”

“All is well! You are redeemed,”

From the lips of demons these lies streamed

The young only listened to the demons lies

And never listened to the olds’ sound cries

And now, to no surprise, the end is here

And as the young burn the demons cheer

“We have won! We have won!”

“We have ruined the old man’s son!”

“We have made a great slaughter!”

We have killed the old woman’s daughter!”

But in Heaven the Old sang

“Hallelujah To the Lord’s holy name!”

A Short Story

2010-12-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! I pray you are well. I wanted to share this story that I wrote last year. I wrote it for a story contest (that I did not win :) and see what everyone thought of it. :) The paragraphs may not be right because of the formatting on here.

God bless!

In Christ and for His glory alone,

Anna

The Beggar’s Cry

By: Anna Pendleton

The wind howled and the rain came down in sheets as a dark figure struggled along the winding road leading to the village. He was clad in little more than rags, with his hair lying like a mop on his head. On his face could be seen countless years of begging and fighting.

As he entered the village the lighting flashed all around him. Running up to the first door he saw, he pounded on it yelling, “Help me! Help me!” As the door opened he clasped his hands and cried out to the man, “Please! Help me! My friend has fallen deathly ill and is in great distress! Won’t you come to his aid?”

The man seemed willing to do so and hurried to get his cloak. Rushing into the empty street he shouted to the beggar, “Where is this friend of yours?”

“Just beyond the leviathan’s cave, by the sea.”

The man stopped dead in his tracks. Turning to the beggar he shouted, “Are you mad! To go by the cave of the leviathan is to die! Nay, I cannot go!”

“But sir! Have you no compassion? Come, help my friend!”

“Risk my life to help a beggar? I will not be such a fool! Be gone, man, before I take your life into my own hands.”

Greatly distressed the beggar ran to the next house, but received the same words as before.

All through the night he went from house to house, being turned away at every door. Despair came over him as he approached the last house in the long row. The modest hut’s roof was made of hay and the walls that of plaster. The beggar knocked on the rough wooden door. It creaked open and there stood a young man. His hair was black, being softened by his deep green eyes.

“What is it man?” He shouted above the shrieking wind.

“Please!” The beggar cried. “My friend has fallen ill unto death; will you hurry to his aid?”

“Indeed!” He said fastening his sword around his waist, “Where is your friend?”

“Just beyond the Leviathan’s cave by the sea,” replied the beggar.

“Onward, then!” The man said, greatly surprising the beggar.

“You’re not turning back?” He shouted.

“Why should I?”

“Are you not afraid of the Leviathan?”

“Certainly. I would be a fool if I wasn’t. But this man needs help.”

“Very well, then!” Came the beggar.

They hurried up that winding, treacherous road. It was a most frightful journey with lighting flashing all around them, the wind shrieking violently and the rain falling in hard giant drops.

For three quarters of an hour they walked, stumbling, doing their best to not go hurling over the jagged cliff that they were walking along. Now they were within a stone’s throw from the cave. Deep growls could be heard coming from it. They took slow careful steps hoping not to encounter the dreaded beast. One soft step, two, three, four, five, one more and they would be safely past. But, alas, once the beggar was safe on the other side and the man was about to take his last step, a giant claw seized him and threw him up in the air! He landed in the monster’s enormous hands. Though shaken, as a shepherd he had grown accustomed to surprise, and before he could think twice; his sword was out of its sheath and in his hand, hacking away at the paw. He got several jabs in, forcing the Leviathan to drop him; he landed hard on the ground and went rolling towards the cliff’s edge and the raging water below. He tried with all his might to stop himself but to no avail and was soon dangling over it, clutching a shrub that he had managed to grasp. The beast roared in triumph. If it had not been for the thought of the beggar, who would undoubtedly be the monster’s next victim, the man would have given up all together. But thinking of that and of the man lying ill just beyond the ridge he was motivated. Girding every last morsel of strength in him, he pulled himself up with the use of the shrub.

Before the leviathan knew what was happening, the man had picked up his sword and was now rushing at the beast. The monster charged with his head down and his razor sharp claws extended directly before him. They collided and there was a brief struggle. The man and the beast went tumbling and rolling, with sword and claws slashing. Now they were next to the edge of the cliff, the man being on the outer side. His strength was nearly gone, but using what little he had left, he raised his sword and pushed it into the monster’s side causing it to release him. Taking advantage of this, he rolled underneath it to the other side. Then, through the hand of providence, the monster lost his footing and went tumbling down the precipice, dashed to pieces and landed in the raging water below.

The man stumbled over to the beggar, who had been lying stunned the whole time. He lifted him to his feet and supported him.

They hurried on their way to the side of the dying man, reaching the place where he was said to be in little time. But instead of the rough hut that the man had expected, there was in its place a great crimson tent.

“Please, enter,” the beggar said, his whole face lighting up.

The man entered and found, to his great surprise, the king lying there on a low couch with his beautiful, golden haired daughter sitting at his feet.

“Approach, friend,” the king said, extending his hand to the man.

The man kneeled and kissed it. “I do not understand, my king,” he said.

The King replied, “I am told by the leeches that I am to die within the month. Because I have no sons and, though I have searched all through the land, I have found none that is noble enough to take my place and care for my daughter. I hired this man here,” the king nodded to the beggar, “to go into the village and find a man that would be willing to help even the poorest of men. Then I would know that he who would do this would be the only man able to properly lead the kingdom. For is it written: ‘And whoever wishes to be first among you shall be the slave of all.’ ”

“On the morrow,” the king continued, “you will be knighted for conquering the dreaded Leviathan, and if both you and she are willing, you will be wed to my daughter.”

Accordingly, the next morning, on the grassy slope, just beyond the mote, with the castle sitting behind them, the shepherd was knighted and thereafter, he and the princess were joined in holy marriage before God and man. At the death of the King the young knight took his throne, following in the King’s foot steps, leading the people with the heart of a servant.

A Poem

2010-12-25T11:50:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all,
Okay, This is not the best and the rhythm is off, but I wanted to write something a while ago and this is what appeared on the screen as I was typing. :) I have not really edited it yet either. Just took out and added a couple of words here and there.
Would love feedback!
God bless you richly as you live your lives for Him.
In Christ and for His glory alone,
Anna

WHO AM I?
By: Anna L. Pendleton

I am piercing I am strong,
I will teach you right and I will teach you wrong.
I am always constant and every vigilant,
I will bring you great riches and rob you of every cent.
I am loved by some, I am deeply feared by all,
I will bring you life and I will make you fall.
Where I seek I find,
I am ever there in your mind.
I make you laugh, I make you cry,
I teach you the truth and I show you the lies.
You may be wondering then, who am I?

I am Conviction!

A True Story

2010-12-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

I know that I posted this before, but I am trying to bring up more of the stories now since we are trying to write more Christian stories and such (I'll explain in another post some things that have happened around Truth Seekers). :)

Christ be with you,

Anna

From Job to Me

By: Anna Pendleton

“Why? Why, oh why?” My heart pounded hard in my chest as I tried to hold back the tears that were forcing their way out of my eyes and down my cheeks.

“As hard as it is,” dad was saying, “God has His reasons.”

“But this is the ninth one!” I said to myself. “Now mom has lost more children than she has had them live.”

Yes, it was true; we had had children and nine miscarriages. I was ready to scream, but I had to stay strong for dad and the kids, but mostly for mom. This was harder for her than anyone, it was not only mentally painful for her, but it was very physically taxing as well.

We all sat on the couches with long sad faces thinking our own thoughts on the sad matter before us. My thoughts were going over this whole short pregnancy,

‘Mom and dad came out of their room and called us all together. They were sober as dad said, “Guys, mom is a couple weeks pregnant.” There was not the usual excitement you would expect at this news. Not because we didn’t want a baby, we did terribly, but because mom had just had four miscarriages in a row over the past year. We were all apprehensive. My first thoughts were a prayer. “Oh, God please let this one live.” Dad

and Mom went to the doctors to get mom the medicine she would need to help the baby along. We all prayed for days. I fasted. I tried to go about my normal tasks, but my heart and mind were distracted. I was constantly praying for the baby. I was afraid of going through the pain yet again. It was only two months before this that mom had lost the last baby. The house was almost silent for a week, and when it came time for the one week check up I could not keep from trembling to hear what the news would be. Dad and Mom

went. The two hours of waiting were agony . . . then they came home. I was afraid to look outside as they came in and when I did I knew what the news was. Moms face was tear stained and Dads was so sad and gloomy. My heart dropped down to my toes as I stood there waiting for them to walk through the door. As they walked in we all clustered around them and dad told us what we already knew. The baby was gone.

Some of the little ones broke down in tears right there. A couple of them ran off to their room to hide their tears in their pillows. My older sister and I stood there trying to think of something to say, as if anything we said could bring back the child we all already loved more than our own lives. Dad called us all back together and we prayed that the baby was with Jesus, and that He would help us all with our sorrow. And that is why

I was sitting on the couch thinking about all this.

After a few moments I couldn’t hold it back any longer. I quietly went back to my room. After shutting my door I sank down to the floor, leaning against the wall I sobbed bitterly. My heart was torn into shreds. I felt as though I could never stand up again.

I heard a footstep in the hallway and stood up quickly, wiping away my tears as best as I could. There was a knock on my door and I heard my mom say, “Anna? Can I come in?” I took a deep breath, put a sorry kind of smile on my face and opened the door. She came quietly in and looked at me with the kind of peaceful look that is hard to look at.

“You have been crying, haven’t you?” She asked me. I nodded, knowing that if I opened my mouth to say anything I would not be able to keep from crying. She held out her arms and I rushed into them, not really caring that I broke down sobbing. Mom was crying too. I can’t explain the painful, despairing feeling that I had. Only someone who has lost someone could understand it. It is a feeling of its own that nothing else can cause.

We stood thus for a few moments then I released my clasp and said,

“I’m sorry mom, I know this is harder for you than it is for me, but it still hurts, oh, so bad.”

“I know sweetie,” She replied, “It is hurting all of us. But, we have to accept what God sends to us. Remember this baby never was and never really would have been ours, it belongs to God.”

“ I know,” I said, “And I didn’t want you to see me cry because I really do trust God, it’s just hard to follow His will at times, and now especially.”

She left me to my own thoughts then, and I sat back down to pray,

“Dear Father, I know that you hold all things in your hands, I want to trust you. I want to lay my life down and take whatever you see fit to send me, but this time it is so hard! Help me to follow you without question, to love you without fail and to trust you with all that is in me. Amen.”

I rose and went out to the rest of the house where everyone was trying to make the best of things and not focus on the pain. Even with all of our efforts the day was quite gloomy. That evening we ate dinner, did family worship and all separated for the night to our rooms. I went back to mine, my mind ablaze with a million thoughts.

Needless to say I did not sleep very well that night. Whenever I closed my eyes, I could see the faces of all “my” babies looking at me with deep piercing little eyes and soft, loving, gentle little smiles. My heart was aching. I was still asking the question, “Why?”. I didn’t understand. What was the reason? There had to be one, there is a reason for all that God does.

What little sleep I did have was filled with dreams of death and tragedy.

I got up the next morning thinking that everything would only last a day, and that it would all be better that day. Not so! My heart still ached; I was gloomy, depressed, listless and miserable. You would think that after all the miscarriages we had gone through I would be used to it by now and know how to handle it all. I still don’t know why this one had such an affect on me, but it did. Everyone knows that no matter what tragedy occurs with people the sun keeps rising and setting and life continues. It is said that time heals all wounds, and that is very true. In time mom was back to her normal self, we were back doing school, we were all happy and ready for life to continue. I was included in this new vigor and determination. I looked forward to things and I found so much enjoyment in life all day, but at night, without fail, my mind turned to the babies we had lost. My question was never really answered. I still didn’t know why. One of the huge things that just didn’t make sense was why millions of unwanted babies were killed every year through abortion, but the families that dedicated their whole lives to raising and loving children and that wanted as many as they could have, were punished by the death of so many babies.

Night after night I had those thoughts. One night while lying in bed I decided I just couldn’t go any longer without having my questions answered. I determined to talk to dad the next day.

We were all busy that day and the first opportunity I got to talk with him was after most everyone was in bed and he was in the dining room staining trim. I went in there and timidly approached him. I remember the exact spot where he stood. I don’t know why I was so nervous, I always went to dad with questions and he was ever ready to help me in such a way that would calm me. Why would this time be different? I approached him and said,

“Daddy?”

He turned to me and said kindly, “What do you need, Anna?”

“I just had a question.” I replied sitting down.

Without looking up he continued with his work and said, “Go ahead, what is it?”

I took a deep breath and began. “I know it has been a while since the last miscarriage, but I am having such a hard time about it. I have never ever been angry or even upset at God, but it just doesn’t make sense why he is punishing us like this. I mean, we have had more babies die rather than live. What did we do wrong and why is He doing this to us?”

Still staining dad smiled a little bit and said plainly, “Why did Job, a moral and righteous man, lose not only his entire family, but all of his lands too”

I thought for a moment, and then it hit me. “So that God could be glorified?” I said hesitantly, that thought had never entered my head before that moment.

“Exactly.” Dad replied. “And Job did glorify God. He never once got mad at the Lord for all the pain. Instead he had the attitude that if God desired for him to lose everything, than who was he to stand in the way of God Almighty? None of it ever really belonged to Job. It was all God’s to begin with. Now, of course, Job was pained deeply. It hurt terribly to have his family all die and lose all of his land and goods, but the main point is that he trusted and obeyed. And God rewarded him for it in the end. Does that help you?”

“Yes,” I answered, “Thank you daddy.” I gave him a hug and went to get ready for bed.

That night I slept very well. It was the first night in a long time that I could really rest. It all made sense now. God wants to be glorified. And the babies never really belonged to us. They were never intended to be with us. Who was I to stand in God’s way?

I have learned now to glorify God in everything. That has become the main focus in my life. I trust God like I never had before. We have had several more miscarriages since then, and I was hurt just as deeply, they were not easy, but God was glorified through them and I was able to rejoice at the thought of another baby in Heaven, who would be

there when I go.

If you are planning on reading through a book of the Bible, I would strongly suggest that you read the book of Job. There are more lessons to learn in that book than I have space to write.

Solo Deo Gloria, if you will remember this through everything, life will have more meaning to it than you ever imagined possible.

For The Record : God Is Funny

2010-12-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T19:03:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am sure that we all know why we celebrate Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims thanked God for bringing them out of the starvation that was in the land, and since they were out of England, they could thank God the way they wanted! They had a big feast that lasted for days! Yum.

But I have always wondered if the Bible supports Thanksgiving. Lets see…

Psalms 95:1-3, “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.”

Psalms 100:1-5, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

1 Corinthians 10:16, “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?”

Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Cool! Philippians 4:6-7 is amazing! The peace of God will guard your heart and your mind in Jesus Christ but only if we go to Him in prayer, petition and with thanksgiving.

Well, I hope this post made sense to you all. What did you think about this post? Please, let me know!

God Bless,
Apollos

PS:

Be light and salt to the world

2010-11-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

Recently, I have been listing to one of my favorite songs called “One-Armed Man”, and it is done by the Christian band, Project 86. The message they are trying to get out is that people in the world need something real, like Jesus.

Everyday, I see people who sit on the fence, trying to figure out if the want to go with there “friends” into the world. Sadly most people have already slid down the fence to the world’s territory, but there is still hope for them to repent of there sins and come to Christ. Everyday, I see opportunities to tell people about Jesus Christ!

The Bible talks about how we are supposed to be a light in the darkness and salt to the world, and that God is our Light and our Savior!

2 Samuel 22:29, “You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.”

Psalms 18:28, “You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

Psalms 56:13, “For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.”

Psalms 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

Isaiah 2:5, “Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

Isaiah 53:11, “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”

Isaiah 60:19, “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.”

Micah 7:8-9, “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.

Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.”

Matthew 5:13-16, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness , how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Nether do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to every one in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Psalms 27:1-2, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?

When evil men advance against me to devourer my flesh, when my enemies and my foes
attack me, they will stumble and fall.”

Isaiah 49:6, “He says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Wow! That is amazing! I guess the Bible is very serious about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people, and being light and salt to the world! That is a big job, but it will be exciting and enjoyable if you have a deep passion for Christ!

I don’t know about you, but I am ready to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everybody I meet!

What did you think about this post? Please let me know.

P.S. The verses I listed are just a small fraction of all the verses that talk about being the light and the salt to the earth. I thought that if you are really interested in this subject, you will look the rest of them up.

God Bless,
Apollos

What do you think about Kent Hovind?

2010-11-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

I have been wondering what you guys think about Kent Hovind. Do you think he is a Godly man or do you think he is a sneak?

Please let me know.

I think he is a very Godly man, and he has made my belief in God stronger!

God Bless,

Apollos

The human tongue

2010-11-16T15:16:00.000-08:00

My favorite part of the human body is the tongue. Why? Well, because we can taste ice cream, chocolate chips, and the list goes on! Although there are a few exceptions, such as squash, mushrooms, ect.

Did you know that there are two senses for the human tongue? The spiritual sense and the physical sense. I am going to try to explain what I mean in this post.

I would like to begin by looking at the dictionary’s definition for the word “tongue”.

1. fleshy organ inside mouth: the movable fleshy organ attached to the bottom of the inside of the mouth of humans and most animals, used for tasting, licking, swallowing, and, in humans, speech. Technical name glossa (sense 1)

2. animal's tongue as food: the tongue of an animal, especially a cow, used as food

3. language: a language or dialect

4. way of speaking: somebody's manner of speaking. She can have a sharp tongue when she's annoyed.

5. ability to speak: the power of speech. She was so overwhelmed her tongue deserted her.

That is cool.

Now lets look at my science book and see what it says.

Lets begin by discussing the four basic senses of taste: sweat, salty, sour, and bitter. I think we all have experienced all four of those tastes!

Now the question is, “how do we taste?” Well, all over you tongue are little bumps called papillae, and some of them have tiny holes called taste pores. That leads to a microscopic clusters of cells called taste buds. These cells have super small “hairs” that are sensitive to certain chemicals. When the taste buds detect those chemicals in your saliva, they send signals down the sensory nerves in the tongue to your cerebrum. Your brain then gives you the sense of “taste”, which (as you all know) could be good or bad, depending on the chemicals in your saliva.

And that all happens less than one hundredth of a second! Now if evolution is true how could this complex tongue have evolved? It could not. Only a Creator could have created that!

Well, we just looked at the physical sense of the word “tongue”. Now, lets look at the spiritual sense.

The bible talks about how the tongue can hurt others:
Psalms 5:9, “Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.”

Psalms 52:2-4, “Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit.

You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.

You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue!”

Proverbs 26: 28, “A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”

It all so talks about how the tongue can heal, how God hates a deceitful tongue, and that you should keep your tongue from speaking evil and to speak righteousness:

Psalms 34:13, “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.”

Psalms 37:30, “The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.”

Psalms 39:1, “I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.”

Psalms 51:14, “Save me from bloodguilt, O God, and God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.”

Proverbs 10:19, “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.”

Proverbs 12:18, “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Wow! That is amazing! The tongue can be reckless and it can also be healing! I think we all have experienced that both ways.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t my words to destroy others. I want to be like Psalms 39:1, and the second part of Proverbs 12:18.

There are a lot more verses on this subject, and I did not write them all down because I thought that if you were really interested about it, you would look them up.

What did you think? Please, let me know.

God Bless,
Apollos

The Human Brain

2010-11-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

Recently, I have been reading the last chapter in my science book. It is titled, “Exploring Creation with General Science.”

Anyway, it is discussing the human brain! I am sure you are wondering why I am talking about the brain. I want to discuss the fact that if evolution was true we all would have died or have been severely hurt!

I would like to begin by looking up the word “brain” in the dictionary…

1. organ of thought and feeling: the controlling center of the nervous system in vertebrates, connected to the spinal cord and enclosed in the cranium.
It consists of a mass of nerve tissue, nerve supporting and nourishing tissue called neuralgia. It is the center of thought and emotions, and regulates bodily activities.

2. center of invertebrate nervous system: a nervous-system center in some invertebrates that is functionally similar to the brain in vertebrates

3. mind: somebody's intellectual ability He's got a good brain.

4. intelligence: somebody's natural intelligence (usually used in the plural) She's got brains as well as beauty.

5. somebody intelligent: somebody very intelligent (informal)

6. most intelligent person in group: the person in a group who is considered the most intelligent and who devises plans or strategies for it (informal) (usually used in the plural) Lee's the brains of the family.

Hmmmm, interesting. Now, lets look at what my science book says.

I am going to start by talking about the nervous system. As you know, the brain is connected to your back bone which is connected to all the nerves in your body.

Now there are two types of nervous systems: Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) and the Central Nervous System (CNS).

The PNS is responsible for receiving and sending signals to and from the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is composed of both brain and spinal cord, and it would absolutely be useless without the PNS! Why? Well, they both receive and send messages to and from each other from the body and the brain.

Now lets think for a minute, if our nervous systems evolved we would be in trouble! Why? Well, because if one is more evolved then the other the system would not work! That would lead to disaster!

Now lets look a special fluid called Cerebrospinal fluid, that is in your skull and in between all the vertebras in your back bone. What is so special about this liquid? Well, it is like a special solution. For instance, your brain is held in your skull by that liquid, and it acts like a shock absorber when you get hit on the head! Cool, uh? It also helps cushion the back bone.

If we evolved, we all would have died or have gotten sever brain and backbone damage with out the Cerebrospinal fluid protecting your brain and backbone! You could not control certain parts of your body if you backbone is broken in certain places, because you could not send signals to your brain!

A cerebellum is connected to the back of your brain next to your brain stem. What is so special about it? Well, it plays a large roll in muscle movement, and the most important job it does is helping you keep your balance! So, if your cerebellum evolved you would stagger around like a guy who had one to many bottles of beer! Even animals need cerebellum.

Here is a test: What farm animals stand perfectly on one foot for a long time? Answer: Chicken. Yes, the chicken. I have tried to see if I could beat them in a standing contest twice, and…the stupid chicken won!

The brain stem is a very important part of the body as well. It controls your breathing, heart rate, and the blood pressure! When I read that I said to my self, “ If we evolved we would have died!” Why? Well, think about it. If you can’t breath - you die. If your heart is pumping to much or to little blood your blood presser would not be correct!

The verses I have for this post are from Genesis.

Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Genesis 5:2, “He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “Man”.”

What do you think? Let me know.

I found this little study fascinating because without the Designer the whole world would be in utter chaos! What do you think? Let me know.

“Remember to give glory to the One who authored nature.” A quote from Robert Boyle, the founder of modern chemistry.

God Bless,
Apollos

Something to Think About!

2010-10-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

How reliable are our senses? Use the illusion below to test it! It’s an important reminder that what we see and what we think we see can be very different things. If we can’t be sure of what we see…how can we be sure of what we cannot see? How can we be sure where we will go when we die? Read 1^st John in which it says, 1 John 5:13 ¶ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Christ be with you!
For His glory alone, Anna

Do you see a young woman or an old lady?...or both?!

Anna's Testimony

2010-10-24T20:16:00.001-07:00

Well! I saw Aubrey's testimony and realized that I have never posted mine! :) So I thought I would...

I am sixteen years old, seventeen next Feb., and was saved when I was seven. I remember the night that I sat on my dads lap and asked God to forgive me of my sins and become my Lord and Savior. I have walked with him for these years and never doubted that what I believed right, even though it has been very hard at times. That is not until about a year ago. I was laying in bed thinking about salvation and death, and ultimately eternity. I got suddenly very frightened and questioned weather or not I was right in my beliefs. I asked myself, “What if I am wrong? Will I go to Hell? Is God real?” I didn’t want to be “a man in the jungle” who goes to Hell even though he was never told what was right and wrong. I have never been so scared. My heart was pounding and my head was throbbing. I was sweating; I didn’t know what to do. I wrestled with it for months and months; it got so bad that I couldn’t take it any more. I went to my dad and told him what I was going through. He said that this was a great sign...I didn’t understand. He gave me some books to read. I told dad that I wanted PROOF. I wanted to have the facts…I wanted to know that I knew that facts. But I didn’t know how to find out if I did. I was just getting more and more scared. I cried out to God…of course He was there the whole time, but I didn’t know then if He was. And if He was, why was I going through what I was? The answer soon came…I enjoyed watching the show by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron, The Way of The Master, for as long as we had been recording it on TV. I was raised on Mr. Comfort’s teaching and evangelizing and had long loved his work. Mr. Cameron’s story had inspired me to continue in my walk with God, and I loved the movie “Fireproof” that he were in, so I was excited when I saw that the two of them had teamed up to make a show. I was eager to watch it every time there was a new one. But lately I was not excited about anything. My confusion and despair was all consuming. I tried not to let it show in front of my family and friends, but I hardly slept and whenever I was alone I found myself crying and agonizing. One night when the rest of the family was in bed or in another part of the house I decided to check and see if there were any new “The Way of the Master” shows. There was so I pressed play and began watching. They were asking questions about God and Salvation. Death and eternity…the questions I had not thought to ask myself. Without really thinking I was answering all of the questions before they had fully asked them. Question after question…answer after answer. It only took me a few minutes to realize that each question they asked and every answer I gave was a little bit of proof that I DID know what I believe and WHY I believe it. I had heard the “have you ever told a lie” questions every since I could understand what words meant, but this was the really truly first time that they meant anything so important. God had used that show and the questions I had heard all my life to show me that He is real. I know now beyond a shadow of a doubt what God’s will is for me. Before it was all foggy, I didn’t know it until it was made clear. But it is and now I find so much joy in doing what God would have me do. I am no longer just pricked and prodded by my conscience into doing the right things. I WANT to do them!

Just a couple weeks after I went to and helped with a “Raising Kids to Do Hard Things” conference by Mr. Gregg Harris and was inspired by what he said…it really reassured me.

Above all I have learned that it is ONLY by God’s grace that I am His child. I can’t say how grateful and happy I am to be chosen. It blows my mind every time I think of it.

So... There is my testimony in a nut shell. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Aubrey's Testimony

2010-10-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

I felt like it was time to share my testimony. I have only shared the whole thing with one person. Other people know bits and pieces but not all of it. Now, I don't have a very exciting testimony but I think every testimony is worth rejoicing over.
I was saved when I was 5ish. Christian is the way I have been raised, both my parents are Christians, so being saved was just kinda the normal thing to do, I guess. I understood what it meant to be a Christian and stuck true to Christian values, and the way I was being raised.
Problem was I didn't have a place to grow, I wasn't getting the Word. We went to church at Prescott Christian Church (PCC) for practically all 8 years I lived in Arizona. The Sunday School classes were pretty much the same for pre-school through 3rd grade. The older kids were seperated from the younger kids but the lessons were basically the same. I don't remember them teaching salvation, what it meant to be a Christian, how to live your life for Jesus. They told the basic Bible stories, Noah and the Ark, Jonah and the Whale, etc., with felt boards and play-dough. So I was not getting fed. (after we moved PCC fell apart biblically, spiritually, then finally the body of the church left, most of the people who attended faithfully are now hardly what you would call a Christian)
When we moved to Missouri after I had spent 8 years of my life in Arizona (I'm almost 15 now) we immedeatly started attending James River Assembly. I attended the kids program til 5th grade and grew only slightly. In June of 2004, a month before I would be 9, I was water baptized at JRA. In 6th grade I went to a Bible Study called Metamorphisis. I think thats where I was finally getting what i needed. After I went through Metamorphisis I started going to 6.8 (6th-8th grade) choir. I enjoyed that very much. In May 2007 I went on my very first Choir Tour. We (about 70 of us) went down to Oklahoma City in two huge tour buses. We sang at the Oklahoma Memorial (bombing sight), then went to an inner city church. There we helped them out by cleaning, which they badly needed. We spent the night there, which was scary. We took an offering from all of the kids, out of 70 6-8th graders, we gave over $200. Our last stop was at the 6.8 pastor's old church, where we sang in the Sunday service. During the youth service we attended, I would say was when I really wanted to live my life for my Savior, I actually understood everything now. May 20th 2007 was when salvation actually meant something to me. Choir Tour 2007 was a very life changing trip, especially spiritually, I think I cryed half the time! I went on another Tour in 2008 to Iowa, but it was way different.
My life was pretty good until last year (2009) when I started to fall away from Christ. I don't think I cared either, I was too caught up in my struggling. Now it's obvious why, duh, I didn't have my full trust in Jesus. I knew I needed to get right with God but I wasn't trying hard enough. It was making me frusterated that I couldn't make things better for myself. Read that again. I couldn't make things better for myself. I would ask God for help but then not allow Him to do His work. In fall I felt like I was losing all my friends, and felt depressed. In September I joined the adult choir at church. Not only have I made some life long friends, but have grown spiritually. I still felt depressed, but had more of a desire to have Jesus take control over my life. November 22nd, during JRA's Worship Night, I started crying and decided that I couldn't live without Jesus anymore, so I rededicated my life to Him, not publicly but that doesn't matter.
Things have been alot better since I did that, but I hadn't fully put my trust in Him. Choir does this service for all the people involved in any area of worship in the church. It's on the first Tuesday of every month and it's called, guess what, First Tuesday. I love First Tuesdays. One First Tuesday I told God that I was trusting Him and I would go where He led me. Little did I know it would be so hard. I believed that I really was trusting Him and really would follow Him...until I found out we were selling Miracle Acres and trying to find a different house. I realized this was what God was asking me to trust Him in, but it was really hard on me. Really hard. It made me mad that I had made the commitment to follow Him, but was having a hard time following through with it. We found a house, but I wasn't letting myself be open to the possibilities. It really looked like we would get the house, so I knew I needed to do some attitude adjusting in that area. I started to pray about it. Finally I was okay with the house. We found out that the bank had refused our offer. That set me off big time. I was confused and frusterated. We found another house to look at and I did the same thing. On another First Tuesday I decided I wanted to come home with a new attitude about the whole thing. I was really ready to trust that He knows whats best for me now. I went, prayed about it and as a result I have a change of heart about it. I am still sad that we have to sell Miracle, but at least I am willing to be open to the possibilities. I am now fully trusting in Him and surrendering my life to Him. After all, He did DIE for ME!!!! I want to live my life for Him. It may be hard but I know He'll give me the strength I need. What an awesome God we have that He is willing to accept us back into His arms, even after we have made the worst mistakes possible. "How can greater love than this ever possibly exsist?!"
~Aubrey

Christ Before Pilate - Jon McNaughton

2010-10-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

This is amazing!

God Bless,

Apollos

Were will you go? Heaven or Hell?

2010-10-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago my dad was talking to a friend of his, and he asked my dad if he is going to make it to heaven. This got me thinking. Will he make it? Will I make it? Who will make it?

As I was thinking a verse came to me:

Luke 13:24, “24 Strive to enter in the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not able.”

Wow! That is scary! Look at the following verses:

Luke 13:25-28, “25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, an to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

26 The shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.”

Wow! That is incredible!

Here is a few more verses…

Matthew 7:13-14, “13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter though it.

14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

These are very important verses!

Now, I am sure you are wondering why I am saying these verses are so scary to me. Here is why…

They all are saying MANY will enter through the wide gate (Hell), and very FEW will enter into the narrow gate (Heaven). They are telling us to strive to enter into the narrow gate! Why? Because MANY will try to enter through the narrow gate and FEW will make it!

What are your thoughts on this? Let me know.

So, will you make it?

God Bless,

Apollos

The 7 C's of a Walk with the Lord

2010-10-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

I am:

Chosen= Ephesians 1:4 "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him." God chose us each individually before He even created the world. He chose us to have a personal relationship with Him.
Convicted= John 16:8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement." Jude 15 "To execute judgement upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." When we have heard the Gospel, God convicts us. He helps us to realize what we have done to sin against Him. If we are ready for the Gospel, there will be a pressing on our hearts, a sense of urgency to know Him. This is conviction, we need to act on it.
Compelled= Luke 14:23 "And the master said to the slave, 'Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house my be filled." This analogy is saying "And the Master (Christ) said to the His children (the believers), 'Go out into all the world, and compel them (the unsaved) to come in, so that My house (Heaven) may be filled." God wants us to come to Him!
Confessed= Romans 10:9 "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We need to confess to be saved. Repent, turn away from your sin and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord!
Confirmed= 1 Corinthians 1:6-8 "Even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." God will confirm us as His children. He guarantees our place in Heaven and our personal relationship with Christ Jesus.
Conflicted= Jeremiah 50:24 "I set a snare for you and you were also caught, O Babylon, while you yourself were not aware; you have been found and also were seized because you have engaged in conflict with the Lord." Philippians 1:29-30 "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me." Christians do not get out of jail free. Just because we have repented and been saved, doesn't mean life will be perfect. We will be tested and we will suffer, but we will suffer for His name. Peter and John rejoiced over suffering, seeing it as they had been considered worthy to suffer for His name (Acts 5:41). Suffering is hard, there's no denying that! We need to realize that God is either testing us to grow us or He has found us worthy to suffer for Him. Even though it's hard we should be grateful for these times of trials.
Committed= 2 Chronicles 15:14-15 "Moreover they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns." Psalms 32:5 "I acknowledge my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord'; and You forgave the guilt of my sin." We need to be committed to the Lord, fully, no matter what comes our way. God loved us enough to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. (John 3:16) We should commit our lives to Him, for His use, to grow His kingdom. Submit yourself to the Lord. If He asks for you to do something for His kingdom, do it! You are His. You became His when you accepted Him. Live like it!

ARE YOU?

Galations 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

PRIDE

2010-10-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

Lately, I’ve been watching a video by Dr. Kent Hovind called the Leviathan. The main thing he was talking about was pride. That is a great video and I highly recommend it for people who are dealing with pride in there life.

Anyway, his video spured me on to study pride, so I looked up the Dictionary’s definition for pride.

1. satisfaction with self: the happy satisfied feeling somebody experiences when having or achieving something special that other people admire took great pride in his work

2. proper sense of own value: the correct level of respect for the importance and value of your personal character, life, efforts, or achievements Defeat didn't damage her pride.

3. feeling of superiority: a haughty attitude shown by somebody who believes, often unjustifiably, that he or she is better than others Her pride prevented her from making many friends.

4. source of personal satisfaction: something such as an achievement or possession that somebody feels especially pleased and satisfied with.

Did you notice two different definitions in there? Definition 1,2,and 4 are different from definition 3. Definitions 1,2, and 4 are a good sense of pride, and definition 3 is a bad sense of pride, why?

Well, look at it this way, this is definitions 1,2, and 4. You were at a garage sale and you found an AR 15 assembly kit for $12,000. You buy it and take it home, and when you get there you set it on the table. You open the box and begin to put it to gether, and when and if you put it to gether correctly you put it on you wall in your hunting room next to your deer head you shot the year before. You stand back and look at it, and you have pride in your work.

Do you see the good pride?

Here is an example of definition 3, you were walking in Walmart, and you have a high paying job and you took a shower, brushed your hair, brushed your teeth, put on your expensive suite, tie, and shoes, and you have big expensive truck.

And you are walking down the produce isle and you see a old man who does not have a high paying, did not take a shower that morning, he did not brush his teeth that morning, he wore a old t-shirt with some holes and stains, and old pare of pants with holes in the knees, and he wore beat up shoes, and he had a old hammered truck. And has you walk past him with you nose in the air and a discussted look on your face you think, “I am so glad I am not him! I keep clean! I ware good clothes! I don’t smell like body odor!”

Do you see the bad pride?

Now, lets look at this from a biblical prospective.

In the Bible, it shows you what happens when you have good pride and it shows you what happens when you have bad pride.

Here are some verses to support my first example:

James 1:9, “The brothers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.”

Galatians 6:4, “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.”

Here is a verse to support my second example:

Proverbs 8:13, “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

Proverbs 11:2, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Proverbs 13:10, “Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”

Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Proverbs 29:23, “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”

Galatians 6:4, “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.”

The rich man in Walmart really did not follow this verse! (Galatians 6:4)

Isaiah 25:11, “They will spread out their hands in it, as a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands.”

Daniel 4:37, “Now, Nebuchadnezzar, praised and exalt and glorify the King of Heaven, because every thing He does is right and all His ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble them.”

According to this verse, the rich man has a chance to be humbled, if you, follower of Jesus Chirst , are willing to humble yourself and witness to him about Jesus Christ our Lord!

So, which one are you? Are you the prideful man in Walmart, or are you like Nebuchadnezzar in the verse above?

Let me know what you think.

God Bless,
Apollos

7 Things the Lord Hates!

2010-09-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

By: Anna Pendleton

Proverbs 6:16-19

1: Pride

Pride can also be called exaggerated self esteem. The Bible has allot to say about Pride and God obviously looks on it very seriously as it is, not only one of the seven things He hates, but the first one on the list! Look at these verses: Proverbs 16:18a“Pride goes before destruction...” and Mark 7:22 “...deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.” There are so many more, but the idea is made pretty clear in these two verses. In the first one from Proverbs the point is very clear, where pride is, destruction/ruin are close behind. We may have our “moment of glory”, but it will not last very long. And in the second verse, the one from Mark, Jesus lists many horrible and foul things, some of which we think we would never dream of doing...and what's right there along with wickedness, sensuality etc? Pride! Pride is dangerous, and yet we all have it. We can run and run, but it will still be there. So if you find you can't run away from it...fight it!

2: Lying

To lie is to make a false statement. Deception is also a form of Lying and as you can see in Proverbs 19:9b it is no small thing; “...And he who tells lies will perish.” We all know how horrid lying is by the way our conscience hurts us and will not leave us alone after we tell a lie. There is something called a white lie. A white lie is something that people call a “little lie that was said to make things better and really couldn't hurt anyone.” The Bible says differently. All lies are wrong! John 8:44b is speaking about the devil when it says, “Whenever he speaks lies he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” We are to be like God, but when we speak lies we are following Satan's very nature.

3: Murder

Murder is, normally, the unnecessary killing of an innocent being. Allot of the time when we think of murder we think of a shooting or stabbing incident, but what about abortion? As horrible as it is to shoot, stab or beat someone to death, abortion is just as bad if not worse! I won't go into the details of abortion because of how incredibly horrific it is. It is equal to medieval tortures. We are told in 1 John 3:15 “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” So Murder is not just physical killing. “Thou shall not kill” is one of the Ten Commandments and again shown as very important it is to God.

4: A heart that devises wickedness

“The wicked strut about on every side when worthlessness is exalted among the sons of men.” Psalm 12:8. Wickedness comes in many forms such as, envy, pride, murder...and on and on. A wicked heart is a heart that is always devising evil plans and does not care for what is right. As Christians we will still commit many, many sins each and every hour, but if we truly desire to do the right thing than our heart is not wicked...it is just a fallen sinful reminder of God's grace. There is a difference.

5: Swiftness to evil doing

It seems as if we are guilty of this far too often. What does it mean to be swift to evil doing? It means, in my own thoughts, that if there is a chance to do something wrong that looks very appealing and it is something that we really want to have or do, we won't think twice about it...we will simply do it...swiftly. We must be so very careful to think before we do anything. One my father's favorite things to say is “Think before you speak; think before you act.” Proverbs 3:7b “Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.”

6: False witnesses

This is also one of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:16 “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Now, who the neighbor? Our neighbor is everyone we meet. Being a false witness is lying about something that you say you witnessed/saw. You may say that you saw something when you really didn't, or you may have seen it, but lie about the way it really happened. Proverbs 12:1 describes it better than I can, “He who speaks the truth tells what it right, but a false witness, deceit.” And Proverbs 19:9a “A false witness will not go unpunished.”

7: Stirring up of strife

And number seven!!! Stirring up of strife. I find that it is very easy to do this without meaning to or even knowing you have done it. Have you ever said something to a friend and then found out a while later that what you said caused a problem between them and someone else? And stirring up of strife can, of course, be done deliberately. I am sure that everyone has watched a child push another child or take their toy. It seems like a small thing, but we are all guilty of doing the same only in bigger and worse ways, think about it. Anger is the main thing to cause the stirring up of strife, it can be so hard not be angry at times, but if you think about it there is no anger without strife. Proverbs 29:22a “An angry man stirs up strife.”

The Garden of Eden

2010-09-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

This is his second seminar. Please watch it. It is filled with knowledge, and it is very interesting.

http://www.drdino.com/the-garden-of-eden-seminar-part-2/

Apollos

The Feeling of Working in a "Non-Christian" Environment.

2010-09-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since I wrote a post, I am sorry, that's all I can say, I have been wrapped up to much in this worldly life, that I almost completely forgot about this blog. Sorry!

In this post, I am going to challenge myself and explain, in detailed form, what it's like to work in a Non-Christian Environment.

Have any of you ever worked in a "Non- Christian" store?

Let me first explain some facts about this place, how I came to work there, etc.

This here is the Website to the place I work, feel free to click the link, there is nothing sinful that goes with it. - www.jetspizza.com

I have been working here now for about 4-5 months. It has been fun, and I have already gotten promoted and have gotten a raise. I work as a Pizza Cutter, Pizza Boxer, I make the Pizzas, Cashier, Clean-up, Prep. boy, and other multiple jobs around the place.

The employees, there are about 12, are the ones that have gotten me so distracted from the Lord, and this blog.

I am not saying that I forgot about Jesus, and my Religion altogether, I still believe the way I believe. I have witnessed to the employees, challenging their beliefs. And it has caused several of the employees to question there actions. It's slow, but I have gotten one of the Employees to stop saying the words "geez" and "OM-" and say instead "Lincoln" I know, it's a weird transition, but it's better than taking God's name in vain.

Daniel 1:8-17 explains how Daniel and his friends did not defile themselves, or "go along with the flow" of the worldly men, but stuck with God, and His commands. I am working on this, and have been challenging myself everyday at work, and it's working, God has been helping me not to "go with the crowd" but to stick with my gut.

Could you all keep me in your prayers on this subject? Not to go with the sinful, and to stay close to God? Thanks!

What about you? Is there something that you need praying for? Leave a comment, I will answer back with an encouraging prayer that will be in my heart while I work.

God bless,

Josiah

2010-09-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.drdino.com/seminar-part-1-the-age-of-the-earth/

Watch this video. This man's name is Dr. Kent Hovind, and he is a strong believer Jesus Christ.

In this video he explains the age of the earth, and he makes evolution look REALLY stupid.

I hope you all enjoy this video.

God Bless,
Apollos

Meditating on the Law

2010-09-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

Isn't this a good verse? We should "meditate in the law (bible) day and night."
Exact dictionary definition: to think quietly, to engage in deep and serious thought.

Psalm 1:2 "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

Just reading your bible without really meditating on it doesn't teach you as much... When I read my bible without really meditating on it I don't learn as much, and its not as enjoyable, either. DANNY-

Christian Fantasy???

2010-09-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Readers,

I pray you are all well. This is a subject that my dad and I have been discussing lately due to the fact that I love to write and I really enjoy fantasy. We have been discussing whether or not fantasy is good, whether or not Christ can be glorified through it. I came up with this...

Fantasy…Christianity, can they work together? Well, yes! Of course they can. But, first we have to define what fantasy is and what Christianity is.

Let’s start with Christianity. Christianity is believing that Christ Jesus is Lord and that He came to earth, lived a perfect life and died on the cross for/because of our sins. A Christian should try to honor and glorify Christ in everything he does. If we question weather or not God wants us to do something, it’s a pretty safe bet not to do it. The core, the very foundation of everything a Christian does should be focused on reflecting and glorifying Christ! I could go on about this forever, but let us move on.

This brings me to the next element in this highly debated subject. Fantasy. What exactly is it?

Well, unlike Christianity, fantasy can have many different definitions. Harry Potter is a fantasy series and if you used that as your example for fantasy, then you can rule all fantasy out of your life. But don’t make a decision so fast! There are many, many degrees and levels of this kind of writing. Harry Potter and Eragon (Though I have never read them, nor desire to do so, I have heard a great deal about them) are the extremes. They use all kinds of black magic, demonic characters and blasphemy. It is up to the author to decide how far he/she is going to take it.

In my writings I refrain from using magic of any kind and yet I still call my work fantasy. Fantasy can really just be a fairy tale that is based in a place that comes from your imagination. Most fantasy tends to have a medieval thread running through it and thus when we think of fantasy we think of dragons, castles, knights in shining armor and young beautiful princesses. Magic is not at all necessary to a fantasy story…

Now, let’s combine our two components, Christianity (Following and honoring Christ), and fantasy (An unrealistic fairy tale based in an imaginary world.). And so we get Christian Fantasy. We can certainly honor Christ if we follow this definition!

I think it is important for Christian authors to make a stand for “non-magical” Christian fantasy. There is a whole, almost undiscovered world here! If we are willing to put our feet down and stand by our convictions there are countless opportunities to entertain people in a wholesome way and, above all, glorify Christ Jesus!

Some may not be able to restrict their fantasy to mere story telling. If that is the case I think that it is safer to stay away from it. It really is up to the individual to decide.

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think on this matter. :) I am still searching so input would be very much appreciated.
Christ be with you all!
For His glory alone,

Anna

1 Pet 1:7 ...So that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

A Poem for my King

2010-09-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

I was a sinner but You forgave me
You gave Your life to save me
What amazing grace this is
To be loved with a Love like this
You were denied and betrayed
I was rescued and saved
You were mocked and abused
I am free to be used
For Your glory
You were bleeding and gory
Made to carry Your cross
So all would not be at loss
You were crucified on that tree
So Your children could be set free
Two nails through Your hands, one through Your feet
Lucifer will be beat
You turned Your head to Your Father above
And cried out with a voice full of love
On behalf of those men who did this to You,
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
The earth turned black and started to shake
With the force of a huge earthquake
When You said "It is finished."
Sin was diminished
The people started to see what they had done wrong
They didn't realize You'd be alive before long
The Lamb had been slain
But had risen again
This is what was prophesied about
Jesus is alive! Why did Thomas doubt?
You sent Your disciples throughout all the earth
To preach the Good News, Your glory, Your worth
Many came to know You
They believed what had happened to be true
Many suffered for Your name
Miracles were preformed such as healing of the blind and the lame
Believers wait for the day You come again
To rescue us from the evils of men
We look forward to the day
You will take us away
To live with You forever
Evil You will sever
The battle will be won, but not by sword
Victory is Yours Lord
We will live in Your presence
Though we are Adam's descendants,
We will not sin as he did
Nor hide as he hid
We will sing songs of Your holiness
And shout praises of Your mightiness
You are holy
I am Yours fully
My heart is Yours Father
It'll never belong to another
"Take my life and let it be
All for You and for Your glory."
I will follow You all my days
Savior, You deserve my praise

Another Witnessing Video

2010-09-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

I have used this same message to witness to people at my work, you should try it too! I promise you won't get a negative result! :D

Modesty Survey

2010-08-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

I highly advice girls to read this and apply it to their dress code as sisters in Christ protecting their brothers in Christ.

Modesty survey

20 REASONS TO HOME-SCHOOL

2010-08-28T19:22:00.001-07:00

Hello Dear Readers,

I am often asked if I like being home schooled. My answer, of course, is always “Yes!” After that question there is another one… “But, aren’t you socially deprived?” …Um, no. I have seven brothers and sisters to “socialize” with. Then, “but don’t you want a boyfriend?” …“No”. I am being saved and preserved for one man. Not a “boyfriend”…or two…or three…or more! More questions are out there, but these are my most common.

Being home schooled has many advantages over attending public, private, or even “Christian” schools.

Let me elaborate on a few of the reasons why I believe home schooling is so superior to any other method of learning. I have already stated the “objections” above. Those were very easy to breeze over. So now…let us dwell on SOME of the MANY benefits to this wonderful way of learning. I will state some of the reasons that I came up with and then talk on a few of the main ones.

1 No Social “stuff” getting into the kids’ heads.

2 There is no pressure to have a boy/girl friend. (And all that comes along with that)

3 A student is allowed to excel more, because there is no “no child left behind.”

4 You are able to spend the whole day building relationships with your siblings and parents.

5 You have space to breath without having to sit strictly at a desk for hours at a time.

6 Your school work IS home work.

7 You are not taught false “facts” such as evolution, history etc.

8 Students are not taught that socialism (and things relating to that) is the answer for a happy world.

9 We are constantly engulfed in the Word through the Christian textbooks etc.

10 Proper home schooling does not, usually, produce “tools” for the government to use.

11 Mom is also “teacher”.

12 There is not the competitive spirit. (I.e. if you aren’t first in your class you are a loser.)

13 You are your class!

14 There is more time flexibility.

15 You learn to follow your parents’ rules (I.e. schedule)

16 Dad is the “principal”.

17 For girls, home economics is part of your education.

18 A girl does not feel pressured into going to college.

19 The younger ones often read, write, add etc. earlier from watching his or her older siblings learn.

20 Each student gets individual attention according to what they need.

So there are a few reasons for home schooling.

To touch on a few of those key reasons. One of the toppers is, of course, that you are not taught the false information by atheist or homosexual teachers. So many people have been raised believing, truly believing, that there is no God. Or, perhaps not in words, but in the whole idea, that you are your God, or money is your god, or that anything you like to do is your god. In the class room is where children are taught that we evolved from monkeys or some kind of galactic ooze, or the Martians planted us here.

The first reason I gave was “No social stuff getting into the kids’ heads.” The main reason that this is so important is because the Bible says that the fear of the lord (Knowing His character and respecting Him and His Word) is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge, therefore, God must be the center of all learning. Otherwise, there is no true learning.

We are CONSTANTLY surrounded by God’s Word. The textbooks that we are taught out of are Christian based and each lesson in arithmetic and English and so on has a good Biblical, moral lesson behind it, whether its diagramming sentences from a Bible story, or finding out how many talons the servant had left etc. We are taught creation vs. evolution. History is not all whacked out. And so on.

Mom is the teacher. This is sooooo wonderful! Having your mom as your teacher makes you give her a certain kind of love, respect, and appreciation that you would not otherwise be capable of giving her. I already mentioned that some teachers are now sodomites, and many teachers are atheist, and even if they are not you wouldn’t know it, because teachers these days are like robots programmed to say whatever the government wants them to say, and if they don’t they are thrown out with the garbage. This is all the way from preschool to college. Being taught by “mom” allows the parents to decide what they want their children to be taught.

Home economics, really, no longer exists. Only a choice few people who are bored or really want to learn to sew, cook, etc. have special classes to learn. We are able to incorporate all of that and more into our school. As a matter of fact, it is a requirement for us. The girls learn to cook, sew, garden and so on. The boys learn how to build, cut grass…and so on.

I find number twenty to be a very important one. If a student is struggling in a certain area…no problem! Mom and dad are there for you! When I was struggling in math in sixth grade, mom asked Joel (my oldest brother) to sit down and explain to me. A good deal of the time daddy would help me. And of course, any question I had…mom is there.

So…there are twenty reasons to home school. I could go on and write a whole book on just those twenty points and still come up with more. But for now these are what I find to be the most important ones.

Christ be with you all!
For His glory alone,

Anna

The Gospel

2010-08-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

What is the gospel? We all know it, but what is it, actually? How does it apply to us?

The gospel is literally good news. It is the Good News that God has reconciled sinful man to Himself through the blood of His son.

This naturally leads us to a difficult question, though. How can God be Just and the Justifier of wicked men? In Exodus God says "...I will not justify the wicked." (Ex. 23:7) Man is utterly wicked. Deceitful, depraved, decrepit, sinful, disgusting, filthy, ugly, unable to do any good thing, enslaved to sin, lust, passion, evil of all kinds. Man is vile. God, on the other hand, is Holy, Righteous, Just, Perfect, Beautiful in every way, free to do all things yet constrained by His character to do only Good. His Glory and Righteousness are so great that Moses was told "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live." (Ex. 33:20) How can this God justify the ungodly?

There had to be a sacrifice. That mush is obvious. Someone had to die. Who could do it though? Who could repay God in full not only for his own sin, but also for everyone else? No man could do it, because all men are sinful. (Rom. 3:23) So here we are. God cannot justify us, and we cannot repay it. Looks like we're stuck, doesn't it? Not quite.

God had a plan. Before time, before anything came into existence, God planned a way of salvation. He knew man would sin. He knew there had to be a perfect, spotless sacrifice. There was, and is, only One who can make that sacrifice. And He did make the sacrifice.

Jesus Christ, born of woman, born under the law, became a curse for us. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. You've heard of imputation, how when we believe in Christ, God imputes Christ's righteousness to us. Well, imputation works two ways. God imputes Christ's righteousness to us, because He imputed our sins to Christ.

On the cross, God treated Jesus as if Jesus had committed every sin ever committed against God, though Jesus committed none of them. The worst about the cross was not the cross, or the crown of thorns, or the whips, or the spear, or any of that stuff, though it was part of the sacrifice. The worst about the cross was that Jesus, who had perfect communion with God for all eternity, was suddenly abandoned. Completely. That is why we hear Jesus cry out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" God abandoned Jesus to the full outpouring of the wrath that WE deserved. And Jesus took it willingly.

That is how God is Just, and the Justifier of Sinners. It's all been paid for. All of it. God has nothing on you, if you are truly in Christ.

Satan walks into the presence of God, and says "Look at Jeremy Fodge down there! Do you know what he has done? I'll tell you! I even made a list!" Jesus Christ walks in and says, "What have you got there? Oh, Jeremy Fodge? Can I see that? Oh, I paid for that already. That one too. And that one. Paid for. Paid for. Paid for." And God looks at Satan and says, "Sorry Satan, I can't see those sins. All I can see is the righteousness of Christ."

Killing vs. Murder

2010-08-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

The dictionary’s description for kill is to cause the death of a living person, animal, or other organism.

If you kill a person for no reason you murdered him, but if you had to killed him to protect yourself or other people you would not have murdered him. If you could avoid killing him that would be grate, but sadly sometimes it is necessary.

Now, lets look at the word murder. The dictionary’s description for murder is the crime of killing another person deliberately and not in self-defense or with any other extenuating circumstance recognized by law.

The law allows people to murder unborn babies so the law seems to have a evil definition on the word murder.

Any way, the definition is saying that it is saying that if I kill somebody for no reason I murdered him, but if I was attacked by somebody and I was forced to killed him for self-defense I did not murder him.

Now, lets look at this from a biblical prospective…

Exodus 20:13 (NIV) (the Ten Commandments), “You shall not murder.”

That is very easy to follow.

Ecclesiastes 3:3 (NIV), “A time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time build up,”

What would that first part of Ecclesiastes 3:3 apply to? Well, I think it applies to war and self-defense.

The book of Judges is full of fighting and killing. I encourage you to read it.

What are your thoughts on this? Let me know.

Apollos

Renewal of the Mind

2010-08-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

For the past couple weeks at our church renewal of the mind has been a heavy topic and something that has really hit me personally hard. I am writing this in case this is an area that you too need to look at in your life. I am combining my notes from church and thinking through them as well. I hope that this all makes sense. :)
Ephesians 4:22-24- "that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you may renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." (NASB) So I have some questions for you to ask yourself to see if you need to be renewing your mind and spending more time with God.
1. Am I more in love with God than ever?
2. Is my prayer life improving?
3. Are there things in my life that shouldn't be there?
4. Have I maintained a genuine awe of God?
5. Do I delight in daily reading of God's Word?
6. Is my spiritual diet helping me grow?
7. Is obedience in small matters built in my reflexes?
8. Do I sense God's presence in my heart and upon my life or do I feel distant toward God?
9. Does my life declare God's worth and value?
10. Do I have joy in my service of God?
I want you to really take some time to examine your life in these areas and pray over them because it can be so easy to be prideful and say yes to all of these questions when in reality the answer is no to some. Do you remember when you were first saved? How new you felt? That feeling has probably gone away by now huh? We need to REnew ourselves daily, so that the answer to those questions is yes. So HOW do we renew our minds?
We have to realize what's wrong with our minds. Part of our sin nature is sinful desires, or even good desires that overtake our thoughts. God should be the one thing we think about the most, but we seem to have trouble staying focused when we try to. We need to understand the work of the Holy Spirit in renewal. How does God renew you? He convicts us of our sins and makes us realize our need for God, then He enables us to behold the glory of God, He will teach us and remind us of His works, He cultivates a desire and a sensitivity for Him. How do we renew ourselves? We read and learn to understand the Word, we spend time in personal conversation with God, and we try to focus our thoughts on Him. We must follow the Holy Spirits leading and enabling. Some steps to renewal: 1. We must set our minds on the things of the Spirit. 2. We must fill our mind with the Word of God. 3. We have to take control of our thought life. 4. We have to avoid certain people, places, things that tear us away from a mind set on God. 5. We must daily keep our heart and mind clean by confessing our sins. 6. We must spend time with Jesus.

Witnessing~

2010-08-17T05:24:00.000-07:00

Another Great witnessing Video. Go to www.livingwaters.com to find more just like it!

This website gives you the ability to purchase Christian videos, tapes, tracts for really cheap! I myself am going to buy some tracts, for work.

Here's the video, tell me what you think! :D

A Short Clip, A Powerful Message.

2010-08-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

Working in a "Worldly" environment, I know what it's like, confronting someone with my belief, but not knowing what to ask them, about theirs.

I watched this short clip, and I now know what I will ask them, every time I confront them. These 4 questions are powerful.

1. Where will you go when you die?

2. Have you obeyed at least the 4 first commandments?

3. You are a sinner, you just admitted that, now, where will you go when you die?

4. Would you like to know how to be saved?

Watch this clip, it's amazing, I know I have posted several videos on here, but I thought this one, was a need to know Movie, showing all of us, how to confront some one's false religion.

How annoyed is Jesus, with you?

2010-08-11T16:23:00.001-07:00

God Chose You!

2010-08-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

I decided to write about Ephesians 1:3-14. I personally love this passage because it reminds us of what our God did for us. My pastor preached on this passage at the beginning of the year. He pointed out 8 specific words which I too will point out and explain. Note: I am using an NIV Bible (New International Version) for the sake of it's easier to understand without adding or discluding anything, the Websters New Pocket Dictionary and the Websters New Pocket Thesaurus.
I love how Paul begins these verses with praise. Verse 3 says: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Because God has blessed us it is only right for us to praise Him. We need to be praising Him constantly. Why? As you read the next few verses you'll soon know why.
Verse 4 has our first word in it, chose. "For He CHOSE us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight." Have you ever really sat and thought about God choosing you? You specifically, nobody else, YOU! Well He did! He chose you, and before the creation of the world! How long ago was the earth created? Probably about 6,000 years ago. He chose you over 6,000 years ago! That is something to be proud of! One of the synonym phrases for chose is "place one's trust in". To me that makes it all the better! God has put His trust in you!
The next word, adopted, is found in verse 5. "In love He predestined us to be ADOPTED as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will -" It's cool to think that God has adopted us into His family. A synonym for adopt is "take as one's own". God took us in as His own, to love us, to nuture us, to teach us. An antonym for adopt is reject. I think life would have been completely different if God had rejected us instead! As you read this verse you may have noticed that it says "adopted as His sons" and you say, "But I'm a girl! I want to be His daughter!". No, you don't. It's sons for a reason. In Biblical times the sons got the inheritance, not the daughters. So if you want the inheritance from God, which you should, you girls need to be willing to be adopted as His sons.
Verse 6: "-to the praise of His glorious GRACE, which He has freely given us in the One He loves." So our third word is grace. My dictionary actually gives one of the definitions of grace as "God's unmerited love for man". God's grace must be pretty special if it's in the dictionary! Now, I know about you, but I find grace extremely hard to give. I don't know how hard it was for God to offer us grace, but if it meant sending His only Son to die for OUR sins, not His because He is perfect, but ours, then it might have been pretty hard. I know it was hard for Jesus because He prayed that He wouldn't have to do it, meanwhile He was sweating blood! Grace is unearned forgiveness. We definitely do not deserve God's glorious grace.
The next two words are in the same verse, verse 7: "In Him we have REDEMPTION through His blood, the FORGIVENESS of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace-". Redemption through His blood. That one caught my eye. Some of the definitions for redeem are "buy back" and "free, as from sin". Jesus bought us back and freed us from our sins, through His blood and suffering. He didn't just free us from our sins but also forgave us. How hard is it for you to forgive somebody? Do you know anybody who has done like the worst things you can think of? Have you forgiven them, loved them? Would you die for them?
Verse 8: "-that He lavished on us with all wisdom and UNDERSTANDING." I take understading to mean He understands what we go/have gone through. We sit here and complain saying "You have no idea what I am going through, You don't know what this is like, how hard this is for me!" Have we forgotten that He became human? He has been through this life. He endured all the things we've been through. He handled them much better than we do, but He's still been there, done that. You have no idea what He went through, He suffered way worse than you! Don't forget what He's been through for you! Trust Him, He deserves it!
Verses 9-10: "And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He proposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ."
Verses 11-12: "In Him we were also MADE HEIRS, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the power of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory." So, we were made heirs. We will recieve an inheritance. What is that inheritance? We don't know for sure what all that includes, but I definitely see eternal life as something worth inheriting. The Bible talks about rewards. We can only wonder what those rewards will be. I can't wait to find out!
I think verses 13-14 are the best of all. "And you were also included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation. Having believed you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit GUARANTEEING our inheritance until the redemption to those who are God's possesion- to the praise of His glory." I don't even know how to explain this one, because to me it seems so simple, a promise guaranteeing our inheritance. It's exciting for me to know that I am God's possesion, His child. I am His possesion because I have heard the truth and believed it with all my heart.
I know that Christ was incarnate, a perfect, innocent child born into this world, born just to die. Born to die for you. (read Luke 22-24) He suffered and dies to give you life, eternal life. You can live forever. You have the choice though, the choice of living forever in Hell, the dictionary describes it as "place of torment for sinners after death", yes, hell is used as a cuss word, but it is also a very real place, with real demons, you will be completly alone in complete darkness, with the sounds of wailing and screaming surrounding you, it'll be hotter than anything you've ever felt before. Hell will be 1,000,000x worse than your worst nightmare. Or you can live in Heaven, which will be beautiful beyond your imagination, and you can have all the rewards and inheritances Paul wrote about. Your choice. How do you choose Heaven? Super easy, but you have to be completely honest if you do this. Step 1. You need to realize you're a sinner, no matter how many "good" things you've done. Nobody is perfect. If you think you are, ask yourself these questions, "Have I lied? Stolen (even toys from a sibling)? Looked at the opposite sex and lusted? Dishonored my parents? Used the Lord's name in vain? (i.e. OMG is definitly using His name incorrectly) etc." If you have done any of these you are a liar, a thief, an adulterer, etc. You are a certified sinner. Just so you know, Christianity is NOT a religion, it is a relationship with the One who died for you, our Lord Jesus Christ. Step 2. You need to repent, repenting doesn't just mean saying you're sorry, though you should do that too, it means turning completely away from your sin, leaving it in the dust behind you. Step 3. You need to fully believe that Jesus died to redeem you (buy back from the devil and free you from sin) and forgive you (the grace you don't deserve). He took YOUR punishment! Step 4. Ask Him to forgive you. Step 5. Now you need to live like a Christian, a Christian is known by His fruits. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Buy a Bible (I'd recomend NIV or ESV. Do not buy the Message, it adds too much) and start reading it everyday. A good place to start is John. Find a church to attend. Go live your life for Christ!

2010-08-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

Glory

When Sinners call in darkest night,
Forsaking grace, God's love and light.

Fleeing Glory and shirking faith
God won't save now, it's now too late.

Now those who trusted unseen light
Are bathed in glory and shining bright.

Angels singing, with the choirs atone
Halos glowing along the streets of gold.

The pearly gates now shall open wide
For Christians walking along God's side

Glory to our Savior the King
He walks along as the church bells ring.

My apologies to you all

2010-07-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

My apologies to everyone on this blog for causing confusion. What I was trying to say was that I DO NOT listen to most of the secular music in the world because they are wicked.

So to those of you who are wondering if I ship-wrecked my faith in God and moved on the Devil’s ship the answer is most defiantly NO!

Now, are we all on the same page? Let me know.

A Short Film on the Rapture

2010-07-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Music

2010-07-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

Music…it is ONE of the weapons that the Devil uses to corrupted us. Now there are two types of music: Christian and Secular. I like some Christian songs and I like some Secular songs. The reason I only like some Christian songs is because most of them are stupid, meaningless, and boring. And the reason I like some Secular songs is because a LOT of them are about love, VERY inappropriate things, and hate.

Now lets take this one step farther, if you are only going to listen to Christian music why don’t you start shopping only at Christian stores and only watching Christian movies, etc.

What is your opinions on this? Let me know.

Apollos

2010-07-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

The Fire

Fire burns
It destroys all life
It uses weapons
like wind and strife
But is it truly
wickedness?
or does it kill
to bring new life?
Fire burns,
we know that now
but why does it burn?

The trees that strive
for earthly gain
leave no more room
for others' rain.
They block and cover
all below.
But will they stand?
Fire will know.
It leaves a path
of ashes strewn
But trees above
now have been hewn.

Life begins
to creep up past
the broken trees
that did not last.
The fire did take
but still it gave.
Now who shall fight
the fire's wave?

Taking God's and Jesus' Names in Vain

2010-07-23T07:25:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of Abbreviations that people say, to take the Lord's name in Vain. Have you ever heard them before? I sure have!

Here is a list of some, that take God's name in Vain.

1. Oh My God

2. Oh My Gosh

3. God

You only hear these phrases when someone is mad, annoyed, etc. True?

Here are some that take Jesus' name in Vain.

1. Jeez

2. Jesus

3. Jesus Christ

4. Oh My Word

Now, I know what your thinking, but let me explain why I believe "Oh My Word" is taking Jesus' name in vain.

First, here is a scripture...

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word, Became Flesh, and dwelt among us. Who is that? Jesus!

So when we say, "Oh My Word", your taking Jesus' name in vain!

Now you could say, "but I am not saying 'the Word' I am saying, 'my word'"

Okay, lets just think about that one for a second, what did Jesus come down, on earth, to do? He died for us? For us, Jesus died for us. See where I am going with this?

When you say "Oh My God", your saying the word "my". Jesus gave himself to us, that we might live an everlasting life!

Tell me what you think, this subject has been on my mind a lot!
I have said the phrase, Oh My Word, a lot, and now I plan to stop!

Thanks, and God bless,

Josiah

Car Wreck

2010-07-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would mention this. I know it is not a "Truth Seekers" normal post, but it's important for my family.
Click on the word "link" below.
Christ be with you all!
Anna

LINK

The Chicken and the Egg

2010-07-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

This is something I found on a discussion board I am on…I found it so interesting how much “scientists” put into finding out things that have been plainly written out for thousands of years! Read this and I will tell you what the scientists can’t figure out. (oh, and I am no scientist, I’ll just say J )

“British scientists believe they have cracked the answer to the age-old question of which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Researchers have found that a protein called ovocleidin (OC-17) is crucial in the formulation of eggshells, and it is produced in the pregnant hen's ovaries, the Daily Express reports.

Therefore, the answer to the conundrum must be that the chicken came first.

Using a high-tech computer to look at the molecular structure of a shell, the team of scientists from the Universities of Sheffield and Warwick found that OC-17 acts as a catalyst, kick-starting the conversion of calcium carbonate in the chicken's body into calcite crystals.

They make up the hard shell that houses the yolk and its protective fluids while the chick develops.

"It had long been suspected that the egg came first but now we have the scientific proof that shows that in fact the chicken came first," said Dr Colin Freeman, from Sheffield University.

"The protein had been identified before and it was linked to egg formation but by examining it closely we have been able to see how it controls the process."

But the researchers have not yet got an answer to how the protein-producing chicken existed in the first place.”

Now, you read the last line again… “But the researchers have not yet got an answer to how the protein-producing chicken existed in the first place.”

They sound pretty convincing and inelegant, don’t they? That is until the last line. Their entire argument falls apart when they say this. If there was a chicken running around but they have no idea where it came from and they never found a fossil or anything of a chicken that was the original one… then beside the fact that you need a certain protein to make an eggshell there really is no proof.

Now! This may seem surprising. The scientists are correct! The chicken came first! But, they did not come to the conclusion rightly and the reason is completely off.

Here is the real reason we can know that the chicken came first.

GEN 1:21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

Gen 1:22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."

Gen 1:23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

It’s obvious that eggs cannot multiply and therefore, the chicken came first! The lesson I think we can all get out of this is that God has said so many things that perplex thousands, actually millions and if they would only turn to the Lord they would have the answer. Let’s let this be a reminder that no matter what our troubles are, we need to turn to the Word of our Lord and Savior! There is an answer in there for every hardship or question we have!

In Christ and for His glory alone,

Anna

Daily Proverbs!

2010-07-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I am adding some new "things" to the side of this blog! To make it a little more interesting! :D

One is called, Daily Proverb. I will (hopefully) be posting a proverb everyday on there.

Another will be a poll, I will have a question, you give me your answer, then I'll write a short post about the answer!

I soon hope to have a Blog Button on the side, and the HTML code, so you all can try it out, I'll also share a link to another blog, explaining how to make a Blog Button.

If you have any ideas on how to spice up this blog, let me know! I would love your idea!

God bless,

Josiah

2010-07-07T08:41:00.001-07:00

This is something I wrote a little while ago. My goal is to glorify Christ and I hope that is what this story does!

From Job to Me

By: Anna Pendleton

“Why? Why, oh why?” My heart pounded hard in my chest as I tried to hold back the tears that were forcing their way out of my eyes and down my cheeks.

“As hard as it is,” dad was saying, “God has His reasons.”

“But this is the ninth one!” I said to myself. “Now mom has lost more children than she has had them live.”

We all sat on the couches with long sad faces thinking our own thoughts on the sad matter before us. My thoughts were going over this whole short pregnancy,

I was sitting on the couch thinking about all this.

We stood thus for a few moments then I released my clasp and said,

“I’m sorry mom, I know this is harder for you than it is for me, but it still hurts, oh, so bad.”

“I know sweetie,” She replied, “It is hurting all of us. But, we have to accept what God sends to us. Remember this baby never was and never really would have been ours, it belongs to God.”

“ I know,” I said, “And I didn’t want you to see me cry because I really do trust God, it’s just hard to follow His will at times, and now especially.”

She left me to my own thoughts then, and I sat back down to pray,

What little sleep I did have was filled with dreams of death and tragedy.

Night after night I had those thoughts. One night while lying in bed I decided I just couldn’t go any longer without having my questions answered. I determined to talk to dad the next day.

“Daddy?”

He turned to me and said kindly, “What do you need, Anna?”

“I just had a question.” I replied sitting down.

Without looking up he continued with his work and said, “Go ahead, what is it?”

Still staining dad smiled a little bit and said plainly, “Why did Job, a moral and righteous man, lose not only his entire family, but all of his lands too”

I thought for a moment, and then it hit me. “So that God could be glorified?” I said hesitantly, that thought had never entered my head before that moment.

“Yes,” I answered, “Thank you daddy.” I gave him a hug and went to get ready for bed.

there when I go.

If you are planning on reading through a book of the Bible, I would strongly suggest that you read the book of Job. There are more lessons to learn in that book than I have space to write.

Solo Deo Gloria, if you will remember this through everything, life will have more meaning to it than you ever imagined possible.

Bible Question???

2010-07-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

So, on your side bar, it says this site is a blog for answering questions about the Bible. I have quite a few. I mean, I have theories of my own, just wondering what others thought of it.

Now, background information. I have a King James Version study bible that has a lot of references/explanations on the bottom of the page that helps kind of translate what some of the scriptures mean. And the other day in church the pastor was preaching on Hell and used the scripture of the rich man and Lazarus. In the story, Lazarus was a poor beggar that, when he died, went to 'Abraham's Bosom'. The rich man went to Hell. Obviously, this event occurred prior to the Ressurrection and Ascension of Christ when he took his blood and paid our debt in full. The scripture of Lazarus/Rich Man starts on Luke 16:19.

Now. In Ephesians 4:8 it says this: Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on High, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto Men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

My references say that apparently, the dead descended into Sheol first before Christ ascended. Meaning, prior to the Ascension, people didn't necessarily go to 'Heaven' as we do today when we that are saved die. According to the ones who wrote those statements after studying the scriptures, Sheol was basically like the Underworld in Greek mythology in that it was separated into Paradise(Abraham's Bosom) and the unsaved went to the place of torments. They say that Christ led the ones that were in Abraham's bosom into what is Heaven. I kinda see where they are coming from because if what we believe is true, Heaven is higher far than any of the stars we can see. And Hell would be the opposite... just my thoughts, idk if that's right. But in Luke, the rich man was able to glimpse Abraham's Bosom. sooooo...

What do yall think? Yeah, no, maybe...

2010-07-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

Love has Come

Raindrops falling from the air,

the sinner's cry,

the mother's prayer.

Saddened widows cease to weep

as her weary children

fall fast to sleep

So rise O soldier of the cross

come draw your sword,

bring home the lost.

The cross that bore the Son of Man,

The King of Kings,

The Great I Am!

Now here we stand upon the road

the Lamb has come

to bear our load.

When trumpets blare from East to West

Our God has come!

Here comes our rest.

2010-07-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all,
Okay, This is not the best and the rhythm is off, but I wanted to write something yesterday and this is what appeared on the screen as I was typing. :) I have not really edited it yet either. Just took out and added a couple of words here and there.
Would love feedback!
God bless you richly as you live your lives for Him.
In Christ and for His glory alone,
Anna

WHO AM I?

I am piercing I am strong,
I will teach you right and I will teach you wrong.
I am always constant and every vigilant,
I will bring you great riches and rob you of every cent.
I am loved by some, I am deeply feared by all,
I will bring you life and I will make you fall.
Where I seek I find,
I am ever there in your mind.
I make you laugh, I make you cry,
I teach you the truth and I show you the lies.
You may be wondering then, who am I?

I am Conviction!

2010-06-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! I pray you are well. I wanted to share this story that I wrote a couple of months ago. I wrote it for a story contest (that I did not win :) and see what everyone thought of it. :) The paragraphs may not be right because of the formatting on here.

God bless!

In Christ and for His glory alone,

Anna

The Beggar’s Cry

By: Anna Pendleton

The man seemed willing to do so and hurried to get his cloak. Rushing into the empty street he shouted to the beggar, “Where is this friend of yours?”

“Just beyond the leviathan’s cave, by the sea.”

The man stopped dead in his tracks. Turning to the beggar he shouted, “Are you mad! To go by the cave of the leviathan is to die! Nay, I cannot go!”

“But sir! Have you no compassion? Come, help my friend!”

“Risk my life to help a beggar? I will not be such a fool! Be gone, man, before I take your life into my own hands.”

Greatly distressed the beggar ran to the next house, but received the same words as before.

“What is it man?” He shouted above the shrieking wind.

“Please!” The beggar cried. “My friend has fallen ill unto death; will you hurry to his aid?”

“Indeed!” He said fastening his sword around his waist, “Where is your friend?”

“Just beyond the Leviathan’s cave by the sea,” replied the beggar.

“Onward, then!” The man said, greatly surprising the beggar.

“You’re not turning back?” He shouted.

“Why should I?”

“Are you not afraid of the Leviathan?”

“Certainly. I would be a fool if I wasn’t. But this man needs help.”

“Very well, then!” Came the beggar.

They hurried up that winding, treacherous road. It was a most frightful journey with lighting flashing all around them, the wind shrieking violently and the rain falling in hard giant drops.

The man stumbled over to the beggar, who had been lying stunned the whole time. He lifted him to his feet and supported him.

“Please, enter,” the beggar said, his whole face lighting up.

The man entered and found, to his great surprise, the king lying there on a low couch with his beautiful, golden haired daughter sitting at his feet.

“Approach, friend,” the king said, extending his hand to the man.

The man kneeled and kissed it. “I do not understand, my king,” he said.

“On the morrow,” the king continued, “you will be knighted for conquering the dreaded Leviathan, and if both you and she are willing, you will be wed to my daughter.”

Introductions

2010-06-29T15:43:00.001-07:00

Well I would just like to say hello to all of you. My name is Aaron and I have been invited to be an author on this blog and I am really looking forward to it. I enjoy writing, especially when I can use it to glorify my God. To start off, I have one poem in particular that I like:

Sweet By and By
The river's voice
calls sweetly o'er the trees
And the flower's scent
comes wafting here
carried by the breeze.

Hark to the voice
that whispers words
of peace and love and grace
the voice that's tender
kind and soft
that all the creatures face.

O how I long
to bid adieu
to sin and pain and strife
and wing my way
on lifted arms
to find a golden life.

The angels fly
and wing their way
through heaven's gate and street
Strumming harps and singing songs
They sing round heaven's seat.

2010-06-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
I pray you are all well this evening. :) My sister found this video on a board that she is a member of and I loved it so much I wanted to show it to all of you!
Click on the word "video" (below) to watch it. :) I think it really applies to allot of people today!
Enjoy and let me know what you think by leaving a comment.
God bless you richly as you live your lives for Him!
In Christ and for His glory alone,
Anna

VIDEO

2010-06-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

What are your thoughts on this? (Click on the word "this" to see the video) Regardless of who you think "won" the argument, who do you think was right? Not from a political view at all, but from a Biblical one.
God bless!
Anna

WINNERS!

2010-06-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

Here are the winners for this month's Contest, congratulations everybody!

1. Apollos

2. Anna

3. Zoe

Thanks everyone who participated!

Apollos, Anna, Zoe, I will need you all to send me your address, BY E-MAIL ONLY, and I will try to send you the books as soon as possible, I will e-mail the 1st place winner, to see what he would like as his reward, and then I'll ask the 2nd place winner.

Other than the Contest, I have something I want to tell all of you! :D

I am going to Work today! Thank you so much for your prayers, God has given me a job! I can't wait to start! :D

God bless!

Josiah

Deadline for Contest!

2010-06-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

This week will be the Deadline for the Contest!
I must say I didn't get as many votes as I hoped for, but it's something, and I hope all of you enjoy the book(s) you win!

Here are the people who tried out for the contest!

Zoë - 2

Allison - 6

Apollos - 6

Jeremy - 2

Anna - 6

Danny - 5

Kimberly - 1

If this is not right, please tell me, if your name is not on here, please tell me! I will not know if you are applying for this contest if you don't comment! :D

The Deadline for this Contest is Saturday, June 12th.

I will post the winners on the blog, and you must e-mail me your Address and what book you would like.

Can ask you all a favor? Could you all pray for me? I applied for a job at a place called Jets Pizza, I think I made a good impression on them, and they told me they would call me with their answer on Monday/Tuesday. So, could you all pray for me? I would really like this job, I need something to this Summer and through Highschool! :D

Thanks everyone, and God bless,

Josiah

Contest, reposted!

2010-05-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I thought I would spice up your summer by giving you the chance to get a free book, or 2!

This Contest does have a few rules,

1. You must be 12 and older

2. You must follow the directions below to be able to apply

Directions (How to be able to get MORE tickets!!!)

(1) For 1 ticket - Follow my blog

(2) For 2 tickets - Follow my blog and Subscribe to http://www.wix.com/TransformedWebzine/TransformedWebzine
Don't subscribe if you are already a member.

This is a Christian Teen Site, that I am a part of, once you sign up, you'll get a Newsletter written by teens themselves!!!

(3) For 3 tickets - Follow 1-2 and send me a Poem, a Blog post, or anything, written by yourself, that would please God.

www.wiserstill_josiah@msn.com My e-mail!

If you send me more than one written item, you will get more tickets, you can send me some things you have written, five times, and you WILL receive an extra ticket each time!

In two weeks I will mix all the names in a box. A box? Why a Box? Because I think, and plan to have over 50 people get a ticket, yes 50, and some might even try out for extra!!!

There is four books I am giving away, I will let whoever wins, have the choice of the four books.

Here are the sets:

(1) Jesus Freaks Volume 1 and 2 (written by DC Talk)

(2) Good and Evil Comic Book (written by Michael Pearl)

(3) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens (written by Sean Covey)

If you win 1st place, you get to choose, whichever set you want! 2nd place will then get to choose from the other two, and 3rd place will get the book that is left.

If you have all these books, go ahead, try-out, why? I am sure you could give it away to a friend who doesn't own one. Christmas Gift, Birthday Gift, anything! :D

Please, Tell Your Friends About This Give-Away!!!

God bless,

Josiah B~

By the way, you need to comment if you are going to enter, I will have no way of knowing your name if you don't. Thanks!

The Tickets are as follows,

Zoë - 2 (5 more available)

Allison - 6 (1 more available)

Apollos - 6 (1 more available)

Jeremy - 1 (6 more available)

Anna - 6 (1 more available)

Danny - 5 (2 more available)

Kimberly - 2 (5 more avalable)

If this is wrong, and there should be more, or your name is not on here, please say so! I will have no way of knowing unless you comment!

Christlike

2010-05-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

Howdy all! I am excited because of this wonderful blog, started by wonderful people, talking about wonderful things!!

I have been really burdened lately about what it means to live "Christlike". I used to think, " Well, I just have to read the Bible, and pray sometimes, and maybe do a good deed every once in a while." No. That is not Christ-likeness. To be frank, that is blasphemy. It is also blasphemy to say that I am a Christian if I am not, because "Christian" literally means 'little Christ'. It is a lie. It is a pernicious lie, that Satan loves to foist on people.

When I say I am a Christian, am I demonstrating it with my actions? James says "Faith without works is dead." (James 2:18) When I say that I am Christian, and my actions do not support my claim, I am grieving the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 4:29f)

If I truly am a Christian, I will live a single-minded life, with a single goal. Christ. You may say "what does that mean?" What does it mean? It means that I am willing to sacrifice my personal pleasure for Christ. It means that I am willing to sacrifice my lifestyle for Christ. It means that I am willing to suffer for Christ, and it means that I am willing to die for Christ.

Christ is the only goal worth living for, and He is our objective!! (Philippians 3:8-11) When I live for Christ, it doesn't matter what happens to me, and I can say like Paul, "For me to die is Christ and to live is gain"!! (Philippians 1:21) Persecution, hardship, pain, suffering, turmoil, conflict, hunger, cold, death, it doesn't matter, and in fact we can rejoice in it because Christ is being glorified, and Christ counted us as worthy to suffer!(Acts 5:41) When we suffer for Christs sake we are molded into Christ's image! When we suffer for Christ's sake, people are saved! When we suffer for Christ's sake people see that we count Christ as more worthy than anything else. When we suffer for Christs sake, God is GLORIFIED!!!! How can we then shrink from suffering? It is not in our strength that God works, but in our weakness! (Zec 4:6, 2 Cor 12:10) So I urge you to accept hardship with joy, and suffering with happiness, and above all, to pray.

Wait a minute, why above all to pray? Shouldn't we do good deeds first? What about the ministry of reconciliation? What about "Faith without works is dead"?

Why is prayer so important? It is a gauge of my walk with Christ, for one thing. If my prayer life is strong, then my relationship is probably pretty strong.

Prayer is a tool that God gives us to petition for others and for ourselves. Prayer allows us to bring our burdens into God's presence, and the Cross allows us to place those burdens at the feet of God, and we have no need to worry anymore, because God is in control!

Prayer is a weapon, allowing us to support one another against the attacks of the Devil.

But most importantly, prayer is a tool of worship. The Psalmist said "For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness." How do we spend a day in the Court's of God? Through prayer. The Psalmist however, could only stand in the outer court of the Temple. He couldn't go into the Holy Place, let alone the Holy of Holies where God dwelt. The beauty of Christ, and the beauty of the Cross, and the beauty of the Resurrection is that now, we, you and I, us, we can go straight through the Courtyard. We can go straight through the Holy place. We can go straight into the Holy of Holies where God Himself has His throne!! And we don't go in once a year like the Old Testament priests did, we can go in any time, at any place!!!! We have access to the Throne Room of God!!! How's that for amazing? Prayer is not a discipline. Prayer is a blessing. If we really, truly understood this, we would have no problem with spending minutes, hours, days, or even solid weeks in prayer.

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men... this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. 1 Tim 2:1-3

-Jeremy

Does God take your rights away?

2010-05-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

I was listing to a song called, You Take My Rights Away. It is done by a band called Invincible. The guy who sings it is saying that God takes all of his rights away, but does He really?

No, He does not. He gives them all to you, but you need to decide to fallow God or the Devil. If He took your all of your rights a way you would be like a slave being told what to do, who to fallow, etc...

What are your thoughts on this? Let me know.

Apollos

Contest!!

2010-05-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I thought I would spice up your summer by giving you the chance to get a free book, or 2!

This Contest does have a few rules,

1. You must be 12 and older

2. You must follow the directions below to be able to apply

Directions (How to be able to get MORE tickets!!!)

(1) For 1 ticket - Follow my blog

(2) For 2 tickets - Follow my blog and Subscribe to http://www.wix.com/TransformedWebzine/TransformedWebzine
Don't subscribe if you are already a member.

This is a Christian Teen Site, that I am a part of, once you sign up, you'll get a Newsletter written by teens themselves!!!

(3) For 3 tickets - Follow 1-2 and send me a Poem, a Blog post, or anything, written by yourself, that would please God.

www.wiserstill_josiah@msn.com My e-mail!

If you send me more than one written item, you will get more tickets, you can send me some things you have written, five times, and you WILL receive an extra ticket each time!

In two weeks I will mix all the names in a box. A box? Why a Box? Because I think, and plan to have over 50 people get a ticket, yes 50, and some might even try out for extra!!!

There is four books I am giving away, I will let whoever wins, have the choice of the four books.

Here are the sets:

(1) Jesus Freaks Volume 1 and 2 (written by DC Talk)

(2) Good and Evil Comic Book (written by Michael Pearl)

(3) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens (written by Sean Covey)

If you win 1st place, you get to choose, whichever set you want! 2nd place will then get to choose from the other two, and 3rd place will get the book that is left.

If you have all these books, go ahead, try-out, why? I am sure you could give it away to a friend who doesn't own one. Christmas Gift, Birthday Gift, anything! :D

Please, Tell Your Friends About This Give-Away!!!

God bless,

Josiah B~

By the way, you need to comment if you are going to enter, I will have no way of knowing your name if you don't. Thanks!

What dose vain mean?

2010-05-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

In my last post I talked about how God was not kidding when he said, “Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain; for the Lord will NOT hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

What dose vain mean? I look up the word vain and it means…

1. excessively proud: excessively proud, especially of personal appearance.

2. unsuccessful: failing to have or unlikely to have the intended or desired result a vain attempt to escape.

3. empty of substance: devoid of substance or meaning.

He commands us NOT to take His name in vain, and when you disobey Him you take His name in vain or to make it simpler you are dishonoring and defiling His name.

The same thing happens when you disobey your parents. When you do that you are dishonoring and defiling their name as well!

What do you think?

APOLLOS

God was not kidding when he said, "Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain."

2010-05-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

When God said in the Ten Commandments, “Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain; for the Lord will NOT hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain,” He was not kidding!

Hear is a verse that supports the 3 Commandment, (Matthew 12:31 KJV) “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall NOT be forgiven unto men.”

Hear is another verse that supports the3 Commandment, (Mark 3:29 KJV) “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”

What do you think? It is cool to have a God who says he is going to do something, He is not joking! But it is scary for people who have broken that Commandment!

APOLLOS

Worry Not!

2010-05-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Read these verses, and tell me what you think about them.

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

I worry about a lot of things, about what lies ahead, about what might happen after we eat, anything. I am a leader at heart, but I also like everything to be neat and orderly. I don't like plans to change, and I really don't like it when nothing happens at all. Jesus is saying here that we need not worry about what is to come, about the future, for if God feed the birds of the air, the little birds. God will also take care of us, even more so!

I worry mostly about the timing, if something goes wrong and I know I'll be late in the future for an event, I really freak out. But Jesus says in verse 34, "Therefore, DO NOT worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is it own trouble." Do not worry, my mom tells me this all the time, but to read it in the Bible, commanded by Jesus Himself, is even more touching.

I am praying that God will Help me not to worry about the future,and that I can just go along with the flow of the days to come.

God bless,

Josiah

The End is Near? Nope, Not Yet!

2010-05-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.

5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows."

Did you read that? Look at verse 6, "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars" I have had a few people tell me, World War III is coming, I even heard it on the radio or something like it! But I really don't believe there's a war coming, not soon anyway, not World War III for sure.

See the last part of 6? "for all these thing must come to pass, but the end it not yet." Wow...see that? Jesus told His disciples, once these things come, the end is still not coming, not yet anyway.

Look at 7, "For Nation will rise against Nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places."

Whoa, anyone seeing what I am seeing? Earthquakes in Various place...How many earthquakes have happened in the past 2 months? China, Chile, Haiti, and a few others...And those are all in Various places...

I don't think Nations have risen against each other yet, I mean, sure were having a war with Iran/Iraq, but I would call this a big war, maybe even World War III everyone is talking about, so yes, I am a little confused about the first part in verse 7. But still, the earthquake thing was cool, it's so true! And the cause of those earthquakes in Haiti? Pestilence and famine. I don't know if there is Pestilence and Famines in the other countries, but there is a lot of Pestilence and Famine down in Haiti!

Well, tell me what you think, as I have been reading Matthew, I see how clear Jesus was with all of His teachings. The reason I keep going on about this is because, my family and I have been reading the old testament over the years. Kinda boring stuff, but you still learn a lot!

God bless!

Josiah

Transformed!

2010-05-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

Transformed is a free Christian teen bi-monthly webzine. It is based on the principle of Romans 12:2 which says: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Transformed’s aim is to encourage, build up and assist teens in being a Godly witness to those around the world, assisting each other to "go against the flow" of the world.

www.wix.com/transformedwebzine/transformedwebzine

Come Check us out! We’d love to have you!

Zechariah 14:12-15..........

2010-05-06T15:12:00.001-07:00

STAND WITH ISRAEL!
In Zechariah 14:12-15 it says: (12) And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem:
Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, and their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. (13) It shall come to pass in that day that a great panic from the LORD will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, and raise his hand against his neighbors hand; (14) Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.(15) Such also shall be the plague. On the horse and the mule, on the camel and the donkey, and on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be.

Their eyes will dissolve? And their tongues and skin? Do you think the LORD could be talking about nuclear war? I definitely think it's a possibility. What do you think? DANNY-

Matthew

2010-05-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

Today I read through Matthew, and wow, I have read this whole book in the past, but not in a way where I understood it. It is so important to understand what your reading!

Matthew 4-7

Read that real quick, read it again if you don't fully understand it. Did you read all those lessons?
I have had almost all of those lessons be done to me, or I have done to others...wow, let me give you an example.

Matthew 7:1-6

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.

2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?

4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?

5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

Have you ever judged a sibling? I sure have, I have judged my brother or sister in the past, and the present! But after reading this and fully understanding it. I know now, that if I judge, then not only will I be judged by God, but I also do the same thing!

Lets say I tell my brother to clean up his toys and tell him that you never should leave messes around the house. I don't have any toys to play with, and I don't make messes anymore, so why can't I judge?

The age difference, the brother I am talking about is 7 years old! I am 15...But I know for a fact, that when I was 7 years old, I made messes everywhere! Why am I to judge?

Now, I am not saying it is not okay, to tell him to clean up his toys, and usually you judge people for more serious things than clean up toys. But I think this is a strong message Jesus told us, and I will definitely be working on my "judging attitude" towards my siblings!

Let me give you another example.

Matthew 5:33-37

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’

34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;

35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.

37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Wow...this one was easy for me to understand, and I am sure it will be for you too, but if it isn't let me give you an example.

"Daniel, I promise I will clean up your garage tomorrow, and if I don't I'll give you ____"

Get it? You don't have charge over the day.
Who is the Creator?
Who is in Charge over you?

God...is in charge over everything, right? What about you? Are you in charge of everything? Do you know what will happen tomorrow? Nope, you don't, so why make a promise you don't know if you can withhold?

May your Yes be Yes or your No be No.

Well, I'll be writing more, and my fellow Truth Seekers will be blogging too, so please, keep on reading and sharing your thoughts!

God bless,
Josiah

A Poem Written By Anna Pendleton!

2010-04-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

The End is Nigh

“The end is nigh! The end is nigh!”

From the old man’s lips came that cry

”Run from the wrath to come, Run from what’s to come!”

The old woman was where this cry came from

“Satan is coming Flee!”

“He’s here to capture you and me!”

But all around in a daze the young walked,

As the demons in them slyly talked.

They said in gentle whispers o, so calm,

“Do not run from this joy to come.”

“These cries from the Lips of Old”

Upon these lies do not be sold!”

“All is well! You are redeemed,”

From the lips of demons these lies streamed

The young only listened to the demons lies

And never listened to the olds’ sound cries

And now, to no surprise, the end is here

And as the young burn the demons cheer

“We have won! We have won!”

“We have ruined the old man’s son!”

“We have made a great slaughter!”

We have killed the old woman’s daughter!”

But in Heaven the Old sang

“Hallelujah To the Lord’s holy name!”

It's Your Turn!

2010-04-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

Hello Guys,

Sorry for not writing up a post, no reason why I am not, just haven't been reading my Bible as much, WHICH IS BAD.

But I was thinking about it, and I thought, "Why not let the readers of my blog have a chance?"

Found something interesting in the Bible? Have a message you want to share? Send them to me at this address;

wiserstill_josiah@msn.com

I will then post it on my blog, I might talk to you about it, but other than that, your free to write!

I know I don't have many people reading my blog, I just thought it would be away for you to share your ideas, and your faith to fellow believers through writing.

God bless!

Josiah

Psalms 23

2010-04-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

I opened my Bible today, for my daily reading, just to see what I would open too, and this is what I read; Psalms 23

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence
of my enemies;
You annoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

This is a comon Chapter in Psalms, I am sure you all have read this before, but I thought I would write it down anyway. After reading this chapter, I am fully aware that I am not to Fear of anything. Why should I, God, who is mightier than all things, who created all things, who is to be feared, will protect me.

In the future I want to become a cop, I am sure there will be many times when I am afraid of a bullet going into my chest, but why should I be afraid? God is with me, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, if anything ever happens to me.

God bless,

Josiah

Google, Bing and Yahoo~

2010-04-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, Google is scary!
I found out a few weeks ago that Google, Bing and Yahoo share your searches with other people and sites. They also keep records of your searches for nine months, and after that they file them away.

Someone even asked Google if they would give them a list of all the people who have searched for Christian-related stuff. Google said they would.

Yeah, pretty scary! The good thing is that there is an alternative! Startpage does not share your info with anyone. So, instead of using Google, Bing or Yahoo ANY longer, try out www.startpage.com !

~Alli

Luke 11:1-4

2010-04-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered if the Bible tells use how to pray? Well I did and I found the answer in (KJV) Luke 11:1-4...

1. And it came to pass, that , as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

2. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

3. Give us day by day our daily bread.

4. And for give us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

I found it fascinating because God wants use to pray a certain way, and he tells us how to! What do you think about it?

Apollos

Proverbs 12:1-3

2010-04-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

This is some of what I was read in my Bible today, and I thought it was very interesting!

Proverbs 12:1-3 says (KJV),

Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish (stupid).
A good man obtained favor of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

The first verse is saying if you love instruction you will love knowledge, but if you hate reproof (correction) you are stupid!

The second verse is saying if you are a good man you will obtain favor from the Lord, but if you are a wicked man he will punish you.

The third verse is saying a you shall not be established by being wicked, but if you are established through righteousness you shall not be moved!

This is not all I read from my Bible today, but I thought these few verses were very interesting.

Apollos

Happy Resurrection Day!

2010-04-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Resurrection day? What is that? It is what I believe the True Name for this day. Allison told me that the word "Easter" means goddess of spring. I will never say, "Happy Easter" again because of that. Instead I will say, "Happy Resurrection Day!"

Matthew 28: 1-7

Now After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the

other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, the was a great earthquake; for an angel of the

Lord descended from heaven. and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

His countenance was like lighting, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook

with fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women,

"Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He
is Risen, as He said, Come and see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His
disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you in Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you."

Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of age." Amen!

I hope you all have a wonderful day! And Remember, Jesus is not Dead, but He is Risen. And He will be with us forever, yes, even until the end of time!

JESUS RIFLES

2010-03-31T15:50:00.000-07:00

On ABC NEWS recently there was an article about how Trijicon, an optics company, puts little bible references on their scopes! The U.S. Military has bought a lot of scopes from Trijicon, and soldiers have been using them overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. The soldiers call them" Jesus Rifles ". The verses are next to the serial number. But now the government doesn't like having bible references on there equipment. They say that its not appropriate and have asked Trijicon to take them off. They have said" We won't be able to make friends with the muslims if we have religious references on our optics".

Psalms 21:31 " The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.
I can't believe that the government is taking verses off of the scopes and then sending soldiers into battle. Do they expect God to protect them when they are doing things like this? Well, no, they probably don't. We really need to pray that the people who are trying to take the verses of the rifles would change their minds! Danny-

A Little Information About God

2010-03-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

All I am about to say here, is what I believe, you may not believe in what I am saying, or my not agree with it, but I just thought I would let you all know what I believe.

This might be a little long again, but everyone seemed to like it last time, so here you go!

This is what I don't believe: I do not believe that God is a gentle, all the time, peaceful God, who never punishes someone, and never hurts people.

A lot of churches preach this: God is loving, caring, and never punishes anyone. You shouldn't be afraid of Him, He never punishes Christians. WRONG! How many times in the Bible does it say Fear God?

Exodus 32 : 7-10 (I'll write it all down for you, but you should read it in your Bible anyway)

And the Lord said to Moses, "Go, get down! (Sounds angry here...)For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!'" And the Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation."

His what? His wrath! God was so mad at His people that He would change it all, destroy them, and restart with Moses! Wow, does this prove to you, that God has wrath? Revelation has many verses that say, The Wrath of God in them.

Well, you might be saying, well, that's just God, but Jesus is a nice loving God, who doesn't punish us. Wrong...Did Jesus not take out His wrath upon the temple square, when He went into God's temple and found many people buying, selling in His holy house? He whipped them up!

God is our Father, correct? Does your Father punish you, if you do something wrong? Most would say Yes, sometimes your father would have mercy, and let it go, God does too. God is our Father, I believe he will punish us if He needs too!

What I do believe: God Punishes those who needs to be punished, even Christians. God disciplines us, just as our father's disciplines us.

I am not saying here that God has no love! I am saying He has more love than we know!

Proverbs 23: 13-14 Read that...I want you to read it for yourself, go ahead, than come back.

Correct your Child, beat him with a rod, and deliver him from hell. This is a father to a son on earth, how much more so to God to a son on earth? Do you think it is easy for your dad to spank his child? Ask him next time, ask him, "Dad, did you enjoy spanking your child?" I can assure you, he'll say no.

But what is he doing by punishing you? He is saving you from sin, telling you what is right, and what is wrong. Why would God our Father, not do the same? Your dad loves you enough to punish you. I am sure it hurts the father, more than the child. What do you think? Ask you dad next time.

I believe God will punish Christians, just like our father will punish us, if we do wrong!
But our dad loves us, so does God.

God bless,

Josiah

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur~

2010-03-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

The latest post about the End Times and the Jewish feasts, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, you can read at my blog here.
Because it takes so long to italicise and make words bold and space out the words ect :) I have just decided to direct you to my blog if you want to read it.
~Thanks! ~Alli