Seek Ye Out the Old Paths

For those of you who may be wondering if I have fallen of the face of the earth . . . I thought I would let you know that I am still here! Maybe not here in the blog sphere, but still alive. : )

Last night my family and I were watching The Waltons again. During one part of the episode Grandma told John-Boy about the first time she was kissed.

He asked, "How did that make you feel?"

She replied, "Well I thought I was going to have a baby!"

John-Boy laughs.

"Don't laugh at me."

"I'm not laughing at you Grandma, I'm just wondering how you could be so innocent and still be kissed."

Grandma said, "Well he took me by surprise."

"I can see Grandpa doing that."

"Well . . . it wasn't your Grandpa who kissed me first. It was someone else."

"Does he know that? Have you told him?" John-Boy asks.

"No! Do you think I would tell him that I was kissed before I was married? No! And you better not tell him either."

What innocence! I couldn't help but laugh when Grandma said she thought she was going to have a baby! If that was the case, there would be even more pregnancies out of wedlock.

I still believe God wants me to save my first kiss for my wedding day. A lot of Christians don't believe this anymore, but I do. Mama has told me many times about the temptations kissing will bring along. I don't know from experiance, but I belive her words of wisdom because she has been there before. The Bible says to "hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother." (Pro. 1:8) The Bible also says "Thus sayeth the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. . ." (Jeremiah 6:16) In the old days, it was shameful to be kissed before marriage. A kiss was a sacred thing saved for marriage. That's the way it should be. I know we are all flesh and we may not keep this commitment, but we should at least try our best.

So on my wedding day, adorned in pure white by the grace of God, I hope to recieve my first kiss without any feelings of guilt! Ah, that must be a glorious feeling!

Transactions

I can't believe I'm almost done with college. The past year and a half has flew by like I couldn't imagine. First Grandpa gave me his old car, I got a job, then my GED. Once I started college things really started to speed up. Now I find myself reaching the end of the tunnel with mixed emotions. I will be glad to be done with all the bookwork and long hours of studying which only keep me from spending more time with my family or reading books I want to read. Yet at the same time, it's kind of cool being a college student! : ) I feel very grown-up to say the least.

There is also the excitment of getting a real job. I suppose since I never intended on staying at the restaurant I am at right now for a long time, I never considered it a real job. Plus, the job I have right now doesn't have benefits. But my next job will hopefully be one that I can stay at for a while. It will be a job that I can be proud of.

But before I know it this transaction from college to the medical feild will be over. Truely, our life is "even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." So I am going to try to enjoy my last few weeks of college before they are gone. (But I will still celebrate with gladness when it is all over! : )

If I Had My Life to Live Over Again

By Erma Bombeck

If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.


I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's".. More "I'm sorrys" ...But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give it back.

Stop sweating the small stuff. Don’t worry about who doesn’t like you, who has more, or who’s doing what. Instead, let’s cherish the relationships we have with those who DO love us.
Let’s think about what God HAS blessed us with.


Life is too short to let it pass you by.We only have one shot at this and then it’s gone.


I hope you all have a blessed day.

An Update and Picture Searches

I suppose it is time for another post of some sort. Trust me, I wish I could post more, but making the time to do so is not very easy. I almost feel guilty for writing now because I still have school to be done and I should probably fold the clothes for my sisters who are gone on vacation.

Things have pretty much been the same the past few weeks. Other then school and work I have actually done quite a bit. Last Saturday we had three families out to our house to help us make sausage and lard. It was so much fun! After we were done making the sausage us "kids" played kick ball, volley ball, "Man Hunt", and Spoons (always a noisy game!). We also ate pleny of snacks and walked down to an old church and cemitary near our house. I always love having a lot of people out to our house! The next day I was very tired and soar from all the "play". (It's still fun to be a kid at times!)

Last night I went to the skating rink with some friends. We had a great time!

Earlier while I was looking for a picture on Google I found this interesting picture of two boys. As soon as I saw it I was reminded of the good old times. Times when all the neigborhood kids got together to play baseball, kickball and such. Times when doing out door activities was fun! Now all most children want to do is play video games, computer games, talk or text on cell phones, or watch TV. Things have changed so much! While looking for another picture I typed in "chatting". The second and third picture that came up was of two people "chatting" online. What ever happened to talking face to face? Some times I wish that I could go back in time and live 50-100 years ago. Even 30 years ago things were better! Things were so much purer.

A good movie to watch is The Time Changer. After watching it I realized how far even conservative Christians have gone. This man, from the 1800's traveled 100 years into the future for a week. When hearing a cuss word on a movie he ran out of the movie theater screaming, "Turn the movie off! Turn the movie off! They are blaspheming God's name!" He thought it was appalling to hear such words. This leads me to think: do we find the sins of this world horrifying like this man did? And if so, what are we doing about it?

As Thorns to a Child

Can you remember how you felt about pain when you were really little? Didn't it seem like such an awful thing? Of course pain still hurts, but small children seem to hate it worse than the more experienced people.

I was reminded of this one evening by my little sister. I was watching Amy play in the yard by herself while Bethany and Phillip played on the swings a little distance away. Since she was playing bare footed on grass that was not free of sticks and stumps, she soon got into some thorns that pricked her little feet. After calling several times, Bethany came to help her out of the situation. Once Bethany got over there she was going to pull the thorns out but to Amy this was not the solution. All she could think about was right then, and right then it would hurt to pull the thorns out. Bethany asked, "So what do you want me to do?" Amy replied, "I don't know!" Eventually, after I explained to her that once she pulled then out it wouldn't hurt any more, Amy let her do it. Just like I had told her, she only felt the pain for a few seconds.

Sometimes in the Christian life I feel just like Amy did. When I find myself in an unpleasant situation I cry out for God's help expecting Him to take care of things the easy way. When he provides a way out I cry, "Not that way Lord! Do something else!" Then, when I search my heart, I realize that I don't know what I want God to do . . . but I want Him to do something. Just like Amy, I can't see how this will affect me in the long run. All I know is that I don't want that the way it looks now. But God knows what the end will be and He knows that I will be happier if I let Him do things His way.

So what do I do? In times like these, the best thing to do is follow what our Lord said and, "Be still, and know that I am God." Often times it is when we stand still that God will help us get the thorns out of our feet.

Then I think again about what Amy was so afraid of: the pain of a little thorn. It was so simple, she really had nothing to be afraid of. Do I have anything to be afraid of? In five or ten years, will this hard time I'm going through seem as big as it does now? When I start my everlasting life in Heaven, will I even remember this as being trying? If I had been there when Jesus Christ was brutily crusifed on the cross, would I complain of this little trail? I belive I would look at it all and realize that my pain is as little as thorns are to a child. Truly they are.

Peaceful Living

Today was like any other day in some ways. I woke up before the sun had risen to head out to work. There, I did my usual tasks of taking customers orders, carrying food out occasionally, bagging food, cleaning, stocking shelves, and what ever else needed to be done in a fast food restaurant. At times it becomes very loud in the small building. Above the ice maker and exhaust fans you can hear the customers chatter and laughter and vehicles going by on the road out front. For a small town, it is a busy little gathering place.

When I got home tonight though, it was different than most other nights. After talking to mama I went out side to start on my school work. I usually don't study out side, but I knew I would enjoy the fresh air and sunlight. For a few minutes time seemed to stand still. As I sat there in silence with only the sound of rustling leaves and birds talking back and forth in chirps, I watched Phillip play on the trampoline with a water hose. Then glancing to my right I saw Amy running through the yard, skipping over mounds of dirt so freely. They both seemed so care free and happy.

I started thinking about how wonderful it is that we live out in the woods far from town. Our little five acres are so peaceful. The privacy we have allows us to do as we please without worrying about our neighbors watching and complaining. Being surrounded by farms means we live in a place void of heavy traffic, noisy trains, and loud music. We have the privaledge of watching nature every day through our animals and many plants. There are so many blessings from living in the country!

I am so thankful that God lead my dad to move out hear seven years ago. I would rather live in the country in a double wide trailer than in the city living in the nicest house imaginable any day. The country life is wonderful!

:: The picture at the top is of the goats that we no longer have, but don't they look so peaceful? The other picture has all three of my younger siblings on the trampoline. Sorry for the blurriness! By the way, I also have an older brother Ryan, but I haven't put a picture of him on here yet. I will some day!::

Great Quotes

"The measure of a man’s greatness is not in how many people serve him, but in how many people he serves.

God does not look at the magnitude in which you serve, but at the willingness of your heart."

Dr. Paul Chappell