Who's Your Hero?

We live in a world of honored men and women. People who make their mark in history by doing things that others have only dreamed of accomplishing. Who are these people today? Are they the businessmen? The Politicians? The Sports Stars? While some of these have made some tremendous feats, they are not my heros.

Who are my heroes, you ask? One would be my Dad. Despite the demands of the NAVY, he chooses to put the Lord first. While overseas he continues to train for the ministry, during a time when most others would lay out worthy excuses. He's passionate about things, but firm when he knows it's best for you.

Another hero would be my mom. The life of a military wife is not an easy one. Frequent separations with four little rascals to take care of. :-) And all while serving our Lord and seeking to please Him.

My other heroes are put into a group. Those would be the missionaries and evangelists. I have just finished reading To The Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson. What an amazing book! I encourage every person to read it. Our world is full of men and women who have dedicated their lives and sacrificed that nations and people groups might hear the Good News. Adoniram Judson was bombarded with obstacles as he made his way to Burma. He made more sacrifices than any person would ever want to make. Because of his faithfulness, Burma has the Word of God in their language. This has opened the door for other missionaries to go in and work with the Burmese people. Even now, the Gaudets are working with Judson's translation. All of this because Judson and three others gave their entire lives, knowing they wouldn't return to America. What are we willing to give? These are the people who deserve to be called "Heroes". I know many of them do not desire the title, and no, we are not to put our trust in men. But these are the people who have made a lasting difference in the world!

Who's your hero?

I'm An Addict...

Yup you read it right.....I'm addicted! To what? WALLYBALL!!! It is the most wonderful sport in the world! A lot of people have never heard of it. If you are at all familiar with Raquetball it will be easier to picture in your mind. It is played in a raquetball court with a net stretched across the middle. Picture the ball as basically a larger raquetball. Very bouncy! The game is played basically the same as regular Volleyball. EXCEPT you can use the walls! That is the very best part of the game. You can bounce the ball off the walls in all sorts of angles to get the ball in the spot you want. Another great aspect of the game is that there is no chasing of that ball!

When I was 13-14 and we lived in Iceland I pratically lived at the gym. No kidding, I would go to the gym every single day and a lot of times it was to play Wallyball with my friends. This was partially due to the fact that I had to do PE everyday for A Beka. When we moved away I hardly ever played because I couldn't drive and in Iceland I could just walk to the gym.

Recently myself and some friends have started the tradition of a weekly Wallyball game. I am remembering now why I used to play almost every day. It's a blast! Slamming against walls, falling on the floor.....much more fun than it sounds. haha It's a great time to spend with friends (sometimes we are laughing so hard we are doubled over) but you get a really good workout! Seriously, if you like to play any type of sport you MUST try this. Once you play one time, you WILL want to go again. Beware lest you too become an addict...

My Favorite Things

"These are a few of my favorite things!"

Three of my favorite bros:  Josh, Chris and Buck

I love the look on his face as he chews on the toy!

Great Thrift Store Finds!

My favorite little brother and my favorite little dog. :-)

My Bible!  Right now I am reading through Genesis.  After doing Module 1 of Old Testament History in Bible Training Institute I am finding more things jumping out at me!

Beautiful flowers from my Secret Prayer Sister.

(picture taken from my front porch)  Living so close to the church that...

I can go in the big empty auditorium and play as LOUDLY and as long as I like. hehe

Sending care packages to my Dad overseas.

What are some of your favorite things?  I would love to hear in comments!

The Master's Call

Missions Month here at Bible Baptist Church is officially coming to an end in a few days.  Our own Bro. Majors will be preaching for Faith Promise Sunday and I am really looking forward to it!  The Lord has shown me so many things over the past month, and really given me a burden for missions.  It made me begin to question myself: Am I really willing?  What if He asks me to do this? or that?

This evening after work I went to the church to piano practice.  It's one of my favorite things to do because I have the auditorium all to myself where I can play as long and as LOUD as I like! :-)  First thing on my agenda was to practice choir music and offertories.  I couldn't justify playing Mozart and Chopin until I had practiced the things that were really important!  One thing to note, when I practice choir music, I usually sing along....sometimes the accompaniment alone can be rather mundane, plus I just love to sing! :-)  With that said, I was singing along with one of the upcoming choir songs, "The Master's Call" by Steve Hall. As I was singing the words I realized, this is my prayer!  This is what I have been praying all month long.  I felt like it was worth sharing, so even though we have not finished the song in choir, I wanted to post the words here for you to read. I hope it's a blessing....

The Master's Call  by Steve Hall

Can you hear the plea? "Who will rise and go for me? Who will tell the ones I love, of the precious blood, full and free?"

Can you hear the call? "Who will rise and give me all?"  Will you be the one to stand? will you heed the Master's Call?

CHORUS  I will follow Him, surrenduring all!  I will give my life, I will sacrifice, for the Master's Call!
No mountain is too high, no valley too low.  My eyes are on the goal, my God is in control. I will give my all, for the Master's call!

"How shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear if we do not preach the Word?"

"How beautiful are the feet of them that go."  Father I have heard your voice, where You lead me, I will go!

CHORUS  I will follow Him, surrenduring all! I will give my life, I will sacrifice, for the Master's call! 
No mountain is too high, no valley too low.  My eyes are on the goal, my God is in control.  I will give my all, for the Master's Call.  I will give my all, for the Master's Call!



I wish there were some way for me to post the song on here for you to hear.  It's a great song!

A Great Find!

Holly season always presents difficulties for me.  It's cold and it's wet....right gear is essential!  For the past few years I have been without the right gear, making picking holly miserable!  This year, I was determined to be prepared in order to work more effiiciently!  Warm leather gloves, check! Warm jacket, check!  Boots, no check.  It has been SO hard to find the right boots.  Yeah I was pretty picky: inexpensive, warm, waterproof, and decent to wear with a skirt or my victorian caroling costume.  Can you say impossible?!  At least, so I thought.  The past few years I have not come across any boots fitting all of these descriptions. Today, however, I found some!  I drove to Burlington on a quest for boots, and I was determined to come back with some.  First stop was Ross, nothing.  Next stop, Famous Footwear.  Found some!  Only problem was they were $80! Yikes!  So I put them on hold thinking I would keep looking....and praying.  My next stop was the mall.  I prayed as I drove over that the Lord would give me a pair of boots that were cheaper because I am trying to save money right now.  The first store in the mall I stopped at was JcPennys.  TADA!  There they were....boots that were definitely waterproof, warm and fuzzy on the inside, and pretty stylish. AND the best part was that they were only $45!  I was thrilled!  The Lord certainly answered my prayer. Praise the Lord!  Now....boots, CHECK!

Lord, Here Am I- Alyssa and Daisy

During the Evening Service Daisy and I sang "Lord, Here Am I" with Missions Month in mind.  I just love the words to this song! I was definitely singing straight from my heart.  I hope you enjoy it. 

Pardon the aura of light behind my head. :-) Lovely spotlight....

My Favorite Things

Here are some of my favorite things about my day...

My friend, Chester, keeping me company as I get ready for work.

Spiced Pumpkin Latte from Whidbey Coffee. YUM!

Beautiful Mums.  Love this color!

October Roses still beautifuly blooming in the Rose Garden.

A Four-O-Clock that has FINALLY bloomed after waiting ALL summer!

My pals: Puma, Carhartt, Cashmere, and Deuteronomy (the one jumping)

This is Deuteronomy, who happened to be a girl we found out.  She was thus dubbed "Dudette".

A beautifully sunny October sky.  I love those sunny days with a little chill to them.

And to end my day, Finale Songwriter!  I am working on a few new songs and I am looking forward to how they turn out. 

I am hoping to make this a weekly thing.  I had the idea to do a "My favorite Things" post this morning and I found myself always looking for things that I liked throughout the day to take a picture of.  How fun is that?!  Needless to say, I realized that my life is comprised of hundreds of things that I enjoy.  Why shouldn't that make me smile?!?

The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me

While I have shared many joyous occasions with family and friends, what matters most to me is that I share with you the most joyous occassion with my Best Friend.  It truly is the best thing that ever happened to me...

I am, what you could call, a second generation Christian.  No, I am not saved because my parents are saved. But praise the Lord, they ARE saved.  And it's because they are saved that I was exposed to the gospel at such a young age.  MY story begins with their story.  I praise the Lord that my parents were saved sooner rather than later because immediately they began to search God's Word for how to raise their children, (my twin brother and I at the time).  We were exposed to what God's Word was and taught to read it and to obey it.  At the time I didn't understand just how important that was.  As I reached the age of understanding, I also reached the age of "knowing I am a good girl".  I was most certainly a people pleaser, thinking that I had all my bases covered by "talking the talk". I made several false professions, knowing in my heart that my reasoning was wrong.  I did all the "right" things: memorized scripture, obeyed my parents, read my Bible.  But what I was missing was the conviction that I WAS a sinner and that I needed to repent and trust the Lord as my Saviour.  My rejection was not for lack of teaching.  I was surrounded by Biblical teaching of salvation and even had all of the verses memorized!  This made it very easy when I came to the realization that I truly was lost and on my way to hell.

I was 12 years old when that day came for me.  The Lord had been working on my heart for some time and showing me constantly that I wasn't saved.  But did I listen?  My rebellious heart said "No. You are saved."  But I learned that I needed to stop listening to myself and listen to the Lord.  I realized that that day could be the LAST day that the Lord convicted me before he stopped forever.  I decided then and there, Sunday evening in the middle of the preaching, that I would not wait another second.  I bowed my head, and received Christ as my Lord and Saviour!  I did not need someone to show me scriptures, for they were all repeating in my head as I accepted Christ. Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Chris died for us."  Ok Lord. I'm a sinner and I KNOW you died for me! I know that you love me.   2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Repentance is more than just believing that God exists. It is repenting of your sins, which is a change of mind that results in a change of direction. 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Lord, you said you will forgive me!

Based on the promises of God, I knew immediately that I was then His child.  My heart rejoiced as I experienced a peace I had never felt before.  The knowledge that I could now have a relationship with the one who created me and gave his life for me.  What a privilege!  A privilege I don't deserve.  That just shows how much He loves me.  My relationship with Him did not stop at salvation. NO!  He is constantly showing me things through His Word: How I can be a better servant, how I can be more like him.  No, I am not perfect. Far from it!  But by God's grace I AM able to tell others what He has done for me, how he's changed my life.

If this is something you have yet to experience, I encourage you to search God's Word for answers to your questions.  http://www.elifestudies.org/ is also a good source.  Don't wait another day, for this could be your last chance. Don't wait...

The Typical Monday...

You've heard it said that Mondays are very hard days, generally because it means back to work, back to school, etc.  Usually I have Mondays off, and those days generally consist of sleeping in (usually to catch up from a busy Sunday), casually running errands, playing the piano (or practicing, whichever you prefer to call it), and cooking.  Today I experienced what the rest of the world calls a Monday.  I worked today instead of Thursday so I could fill a big order that was due by tomorrow.  Do you ever find yourself in a daze?  Where you are walking in one direction then you suddenly "wake up" and realize that's not where you need to be going? Boy! That was my day today!! I was completely out of it.

After work Linnea and I stopped by Whidbey Coffee to check out their new cafe and to get a cup of joe.  We had a splendid time talking about life and what the Lord is doing in our lives and in the church so far this Missions Month.  Let me tell you, it has been wonderful so far!! Yesterday we had Bro. Travis Jones, a pastor from El Reno, OK come to preach all day.  He really presented Missions in a way that I've never thought of before.  It really opened my eyes (And I have a feeling the church's eyes) to what Missions is all about.  I look forward to seeing what the Lord does through this church over the next month and in the year to come.

I ended the day wonderfully!  This week is Bible Training Institute and the class is Old Testament History I.  It's pretty intense to delve into it, but it really gives you a new appreciation for the circumstances you read about in the OT.  Tonight we just did a Background study, but tomorrow night we will dive into Creation and go on from there.  Looking forward to it!