Hello everyone! Though I haven't posted in approximately 2 weeks, I finally decided to post today and wish you all a very merry Christmas! In the midst of all the craziness, shopping, and frantically wrapping presents, don't forget the reason we celebrate Christmas! Yes, I know that we celebrate Jesus year round, but Christmas is the day we celebrate when He came into the world as a little baby boy. When He put on the flesh of humans, and decided to come down and grow up like us small people so that one day He could die on the Cross to take away the sins of the world.
The other day I was listening to a local Christian station, and one of the Christmas songs they played was, "He Made a Way in a Manger." I immediately fell in love with the song, if that's possible.

Longing for a Savior
A hopeless world would wait
Sin demanded justice
At a price we could not pay;
But God displayed his mercy
The greatest gift of love
When we could not reach heaven
Heaven came to us.

He made a way in a manger
A way to the cross
Messiah the promised
Before time had begun;
For God so loved this world
Though he knew what love would cost
He made a way in a manger
To make a way to the cross

In Bethlehem a stable
Became a throne of grace
As God himself our Savior
Drew near to take our place;
His mother smiled in wonder
As shepherds stood in awe
The sacrifice of heaven
Lay sleeping in the straw.

He is the life that died our death
The precious Lord Jesus
Laid down his sweet head

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog! Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy this beautiful time of year and make sure you let all of the people in your life know how much you love them!=)

~Amber~

Christmas or Xmas??

Ok, I'm taking a deep breath right now before diving into this subject.

This year I've seen blog posts and gotten emails about "Xmas." Both saying "Don't take Christ out of Christmas!! It's CHRISTMAS not XMAS." I realize that some people, while reading this at their computers, might scrunch up there face, do the whole "whatever girlfriend", or just plain not read it, but I beg to differ that saying "Xmas" is taking Christ out of Christmas.

I found this while looking up the origin of "Xmas." It comes from crivoice.org in their article about Xmas NOT taking Christ from Christmas.
You’ve heard the classic story about the little boy who noticed the huge red-and-green sign spray-painted on a department story: "Happy Xmas." And he wondered aloud about the X. Why was it X-mas? And finally, in a forlorn voice, he asked his dad: "Did they cross Christ out of Christmas, Daddy?" And the father had never thought of it that way before, but finally nodded. "Yes, Son, I guess they did." And it makes you think.

According to dictionary.com, Xmas means "The abbreviation Xmas for Christmas dates from the mid 16th century. The X is the Greek letter chi, the initial in the word Χριστός ( Christos ) “Christ.” In spite of a long and respectable history, today Xmas is offensive to many, perhaps because of its associations with advertising."

So technically, those who say "Xmas" in lieu of "Christmas" because it's politcally incorrect, are actually putting Christ in Christmas either way:) For myself, I prefer Christmas because there is no mistaking Christ being the main part of Christmas, but those who say Xmas are NOT "crossing out Christ in Christmas"

Man!!

Ok ya'll!! I am a terrible friend!! First I missed mentioning my dear friend Erin, and that she is one of my very dearest friends! Now---:'( I missed Miss Meagan's birthday!! I feel so bad for missing it so I decided I would post about it and try to make up for it! She turned sweet 16 yesterday!! If you all wanna help me make it better, stop over by her blog, www.meaganrowell.blogspot.com, and wish her a happy 16th birthday!!

I met Meagan through her blog and we have become fast and good friends! Meagan is one awesome teenage girl! She doesn't bend to the rules of what a teenager should be. She has a successful and really awesome blog, she has a desire to see the lost saved, and she has a dream in her heart to be a missionary in Ireland. Most teenagers are worried about having the latest techno toys, latest fashions, and finding a boyfriend. Not Meagan=D So yeah, she's an awesome girl! I love you Meagan!!

Uh-oh....

My dear blog readers, I have made a terrible "oopsie." In my Thanksgiving post I named off the people who keep me sane...I forgot a VERY important and dear friend....Miss Erin!! Erin is an amazing girl...she has gone through a LOT in her life. As of right now, she is pretty much raising her 7 year old sister, and she is taking care of her teenage brother as well. She is going to medical school on top of all the things she does at home. And if you ever needed someone to talk to....Erin's your girl. The Lord has blessed her greatly with an anointed voice that she uses for Him. Erin is a prayer warrior. If I have something I need or am worried about, I know that Erin will be praying. She is connected to the Holy Ghost, and is basically just one awesome child of God. She is another one of my very best friends....we are so much alike that it's almost scary sometimes:-/ I'm just kidding...it's not scary at all....well for us it isn't. But with the way our minds work, if you get the two of us together it might be scary for anyone around us;-) Which brings me to my next little subpoint about her....she is most likely coming to visit me in March!! If everything goes as planned she'll be here for one wonderful, fun, and AWESOME week!!!! Watch out T-ville here comes the evil duo!!;-)

Procrastination

A couple of weeks ago my pastor was preaching about Joseph. When Joseph was in Egypt his brothers came to him asking for food because there was a huge famine. Obviously his brothers didn't know who he was, maybe from all the make up and Egyptian clothes, because Joseph finally revealed who he was. He told his brothers, "Draw near to me." That's what Pastor preached about:) Our church family drawing close to one another. He said that as a family, we should draw together. And we shouldn't have a mask on with our family and hide our faults. I'm going to confess one of my faults to the whole wide world...well everyone who reads my blog :-D

I'm a terrible procrastinator!!! Hence, not a lot of blogs. Also, I've been falling farther behind in my school work. I know usually people get their "new beginning" after New Year's day, but my school work cannot wait that long. So, my new beginning started today, after the little Thanksgiving break we had. I'm going to be a better student, a better blogger, and a better room cleaner:-D So does anyone feel like commenting and telling me their faults so I don't feel all alone?? :-p I'm just kidding!:-) Thanks for bearing with me through all of the "few-and-far-between" posts. I am going to try to do a LOT better!:-)

Thanksgiving

Well ya'll I found something to post about--THANKSGIVING!! *Duh me!!* I'm gonna ramble a little bit, so please bear with me:-D First, I'd like to tell you all some of the things I'm thankful for. 1. I'm thankful for the grace and mercy of the Lord!! I don't know what I would be without it! 2. I'm thankful for my parents! They are THE BEST!! 3. I'm thankful for my sister and brother:-D 4. For my grandparents, which also happen to be my pastor and pastor's wife:-) 5. I'm sooo thankful for all of my friends!! Specifically Laura, Jonah, Monique, Anita, and Brittany! Those are the people that keep me sane;-) 6. For a WARM house!! Ahh! It's wonderful!! When it's 30 degrees outside, you can count on it being 70 degrees inside! (That is if Dad isn't here;) When Dad's here it's about 68:-p) 

I have to say, Thanksgiving is my very favorite day of the year! A lot of people have said, "What about Christmas?" when I've stated that. Well, in my family, Thanksgiving is the "big day." My aunt and uncle and their two kids from Indiana come home for Thanksgiving every year. We we used to have the dinners at different places-my aunt Alicia's, my grandparents' house, our old house, and now we've started having it here at our new house because it's the right size for all of us to get together.

Something I've always liked about our dinners is that we usually have a friend or family of friends over. We used to have a woman in our church that was all alone and we would have her over every year. Now, she's married with her own family, but we have a single mother and her family over. It's always very enjoyable, especially since her daughter is one of my very best friends!

Back to the Christmas thing, we usually don't do anything special for Christmas. I don't know why, but usually we just stay home, open gifts and eat regular food. This year we will probably be having a big meal at my other aunt and uncle's house, so it will change this year:-)

So this year, we had so much fun again! We ate around 1:30, and then sat around giving my baby cousin all kinds of attention:-p We played Liar's Dice-Anthony's are great at it;)-which is sooo much fun!! Then we ate again, (yes we eat a LOT) and did the same thing. We don't have like another sit down meal, but go back and forth from the kitchen:-D So yeah, I think that pretty much describes my day. Eating, playing Liar's Dice, and laughing a TON!


How was your Thanksgiving Day? What are you thankful for?

Saturday 9

My dear faithful blog readers, PLEASE forgive me for my lack of posts lately, and for trying to make up for it with little surveys! I do apologize, but once again I'm posting a little "get-to-know-me" survey. Sorry!:D I'll try to get some different posts next week!:)


1. Tell us about your very favorite (yes we know that's redundant) Thanksgiving.
My favorite Thanksgiving would probably have to be last year's. We had quite a few friends over, but also had our family here. My aunt and uncle from Indiana stayed with us for a while.

2. What are you doing for Turkey Day this year?
The family is coming to our house again this year and we may have a few friends here, too.

3. If you were to go to somebody else’s house, what would be your favorite dish to bring?
I would definitely take apple pie!:D

4. Tell us about the funniest person that you'll be with this Thanksgiving.
Um...that's a hard one!! The men in my family are all hilarious! It's a toss-up between my dad, my uncle, and my grandpa.

5. What would surprise us to know about your Thanksgivings?
Umm....two years ago we finally ended the "tradition" of burning bread sticks! The only reason that it ended is because my uncle got married to a woman from Kansas who is an AMAZING cook! We all pale in comparison to her, so we did our very best and paid close attention to the time the bread sticks cooked;-) (We all just LOVE her! Tim couldn't have married a better coo...er, woman!)
6. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you’re happy to see?
It's my familia!! Of course I'm happy to see them! Thanksgiving is the only time we're all together!:) We all love each other, so we don't have petty, dramatic arguments:)

7. What did your family do for Thanksgiving when you were a kid? Do you still do it?
Well, considering that I'm still a kid, we still do it:D We always get together and eat a big dinner with the family, and sometimes a single mother from the church, every year:)

8. We know you've been asked this probably 15 times this week. But share with us in 2010, what are you most thankful for?
I would have to say I'm most thankful for my trip to Colorado...if I were to pick one specific thing it would be the wonderful friendships that I have. I have amazing friends that are always there for me:)

9. Okay, the big question: are you going to 'attend' any of the "Black Friday" sales? ...and if you are, are you hard core serious like the 5 am "be there" crowd? Well here's the thing...my mom doesn't like crowds. And since I don't have my license, I won't be shopping on Black Friday.

Confessions of a Two-faced Blogger

Well everyone, after reading my mom's confession post, I decided that I should come clean with all of my lovely blog readers. If you all remember, I posted the day before my birthday about the knowledge I have gained in the past 16 years. One of things I said I have learned was to never wear heels to the mall. Weeellll, I went against my own advice.

Last Friday, my wonderful mother had a surprise birthday party for me. I got some money, and my parents gave me a gift certificate to the Label Shopper, which had a dress that was super cute and I really wanted. Well on Saturday my sister took me to Cranberry to the mall, and we met up with my aunt and uncle. Since my mom's car is in the shop right now, I have no flats to wear. I didn't have the flats on Saturday either, so I decided to wear these really cute, almost flat shoes. They were toeless and backless, so they were kind of like a flip flop.

Long, agonizing story short, my feet were in soooooo much pain by the end of the night!! It was the balls of my feet that were really hurting. I don't know why, but something about those kind of shoes are just extremely painful. I cannot express the amount of pain I was in for about 2 or 3 days. Even in my barefeet I didn't want to walk because of it. So take my first-hand advice for the second time. {[(<"'NEVER'">)]} wear heels to the mall!! (Sorry for all the punctuation....I was trying to emphasize the seriousness of that word:D)

Saturday 9

Well everyone, I have found what I'm going to post on Saturdays:D The "Saturday 9." My mom told me about the website on which I found this nifty little survey. For some really great blog quizzes or little things to post, go to thedailymeme.com. So anyways, here's the little quiz:D


1. When was the last time you cried? This past Tuesday

2. If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would it be? I don't know if being mulitlingual is a talent, but I would want that! If it's not, I would love to have the talent that artists have.

3. Who is someone (other than yourself) would you like to go back into your past and talk to and why? The little boy I met a Pigeon Forge. I would have loved to learn more about him, where he was from etc., so that I maybe could've tried to find him again someday.

4. What is your favorite meal eating out? Ooo that would have to be eating at a Mexican restaurant! I looove Mexican food! And I always get the chicken salad in the tortilla bowl.

5. Do you feel energized or drained by being in a group situation? If the answer is "it depends," on what does it depend? I have an "it depends" answer. If I am helping organize it, I feel drained. If I'm able to concentrate on just having fun because I'm not helping organize it, I feel very energized.

6. What word do you use far too frequently? I use the word "like" waaay to much!

7. What’s a word you’ve invented? (alternate question: What needs a word but doesn’t have one yet?) I think I invented "Crunk" lol I'm not sure tho....I use it a lot:D

8. Pick out one of your favorite songs. Go to Song Facts and tell us about the song's history.
One of my very favorite songs is by Casting Crowns. It's called "Praise You In This Storm." Here's what songfacts.com has to say about it:
Singer Mark Hall explained in the liner notes of Wow Hits 2008: "This song came out of a relationship that we formed with a family early on. Their young daughter, Erin, was battling cancerous tumors all throughout her lungs. Her mother began including us in emails that she was writing to her group of supporters. They were constantly going back and forth to doctors and hospitals for treatments. I still have most of them. The journey this mom went through was just amazing. There's no way I'll ever be able to understand what she was going through. These emails described the journey of her faith and what her worship would look like. One day it was, 'We're going to be okay. We have faith God is going to do this.' And then another would be like, 'What is the deal? Is he even here?' She passed away earlier this year. We decided to subtitle the song 'Erin's Song' in her honor."

9. What is your absolute favorite piece of furniture you have and why
That would probably have to be a couch cuz it has many faces. You can sit or lie down on it:D

Letting Go

Well, I'm back to my very "experienced" *ahem* advice giving:D This time though, it's a personal lesson that I've learned that I think everyone needs to learn. This lesson is about letting go.

For this blog post, I'm going to address letting go of people, but I know this can be applied to a lot of other things. Letting go of anger, bitterness, sometimes letting go of dreams that aren't meant to be....the list goes on and on. For my personal experience, I've had to let go of some people.

Once upon a time, I had this friend who we'll call John. I met John at a time in my life where I really wanted to have a guy friend. I didn't want a boyfriend or anything like that, but I was just really wanting to have a friend that was a guy. Since there aren't very many guys in my church, and the ones that are in our church aren't my age, I had no guy friends. To some it may not seem like a big deal, but there's just something special about having a guy friend that doesn't have crazy girl emotions and drama.

So anyways, I met John. We were the same age, with the exception of about a month and a half, and we quickly became very good friends. I understood him, he understood me, and he put up with all of my randomness and meaningless babblings. After about 8 months, I realized that are friendship was not what it had been. We no longer treated each other the way we had when we first met-I was quick to get upset and he was quick to have a sharp word or be rude to me.

After a while it began to wear on me. I didn't want to talk to him, I was usually upset with him, and I just didn't want it anymore. I kinda gave myself a pep talk about it. I told myself that I didn't deserve to have someone treat me badly, and I shouldn't constantly have to be on guard to defend my playful picking and joking. I didn't want that emotional strain all the time. I realized that some people come into our lives for a season. Not everyone that we become friends with come into our lives to stay. Sometimes they come into our life for a season. I realized with John that he was there to temporarily provide friendship for me. He wasn't meant to stick around forever. If I were to try to hold on for him, and believe me I did for a while, it would be worse for me. Now, I occasionally talk to him, and when I do it's very pleasant:) I guess the saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt" is very true:)

There's just something about trying to hold on to those "seasonal" people. If it's not meant to be, it will only drag you down and hurt you. I once heard it said that "saying good bye is another way of saying 'I love you'." It's so true! If a relationship whether it be friendship, or a more serious relationship, sometimes when you really love someone, you will be willing to say, "I love you enough to realize that I'm not what's best for you, so I'll let you go."

I hope I wasn't too redundant in this blog post, but I wanted to share my knowledge with other people:D Letting go is sometimes the best thing...better for you, better for the people around you, better for the other member of the relationship:)

Clear the roads!! Wait no, clear the sidewalks! Warn everyone that a dangerous threat is about to arrive!! "What is that threat?" you might wonder. The threat is....

This girl is turning sweeeet 16 tomorrow!! And with those numbers also comes the privilege of getting my driver's permit! Oh yeah!!:D


I figured in honor of my birthday, and in realizing that I am becoming more wise with each year *ahem*, I should post some things I've learned in life thus far:D


1. Make sure to carefully read recipes when you're cooking! If not, you may end up with 8 teaspoons of salt, watery Velveeta shells, very, very doughy snicker doodles, or 6 cups of Crisco! (YES I did this! I thought that bars of Crisco were measured the same wasy as a stick of butter, and the recipe called for 3 cups of Crisco. It was fixable tho. I only had 5 sticks in-unblended- so I took two out:D)


2. ALWAYS do a full-body clothing check before going to church!

(One night as I was down praying at the altar, I reached behind me to adjust my blazer and make sure it was pulled down all the way. To my absolute horror I discovered that the jumper I had on under the jacket was all the way unzipped. Thankfully, it wasn't very noticealbe, and was easily fixed. I can only imagine if I hadn't had the jacket on!!)


3. That the words for a very common church song aren't, "I won't sell it for smoke," but actually, "I won't settle for smoke!"

4. Hairspray is a Pentecostal girl's second best friend. The first is Jesus:D But yes, hairspray is wonderful! Many times my hair has been rebellious, but I whip it back into order with a spritz of hairspray:D

5. Those girls who walk around the mall in very, very tall heels are absolutely C-R-A-Z-Y! It's been my experience that after walking in high heels for about 10 minutes, my feet begin to yell at me to just STOP it! If I don't listen to the yelling, they give me HUGE amounts of pain! And I continue to suffer after I take them off because there is a muscle in my foot that sometimes pulls after walking in heels. So, my advice, do NOT walk around the mall in heels! Ever!

I have learned a couple of more serious lessons. I'm not completely ditsy, just a little:D Sometimes my mind starts working and the house gets a little smoky from all the work going on:D

1. It's a saying as old as the hills. "Never judge someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes." This is soo true! Something that you be able to deal with and come through easily may be the biggest trial of another person's life. And something that may be meaningless to them would be the biggest trial of your life. The Bible also has something to say about judging other people. I like Matthew 7:1 in the Amplified Bible. "Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judge and critized and condemned yoursleves."

2. What goes around truly does come back around. If you're mean and nasty and spiteful towards others, they're going to be mean, nasty, and spiteful back to you. If you show love and kindness to other people, they're going to show love and kindness to you. Isaiah 3: 10-11 of the NIV Bible says, "Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done."

3. Respect will get results. If you disrespect someone, don't expect them to be nice and do something for you or listen to what you have to say in return.

4. Things do not last forever:) I used to be pretty high-strung. Then one day, I was thinking-yes the smoke was filling the house- and I thought to myself, "You know, nothing lasts forever. Will this matter in eternity?" That's pretty much how I view things. In life, accidents happen. Things get broken, words are said that shouldn't be said, feelings get hurt, but they aren't going to last forever. That's not a free pass to insult people and be hateful, but if you do accidently hurt someone's feelings, apologize. You might be embarrassed, but it's not going to last forever. If you don't apologize and cause someone to stumble, that may last forever:) So, let's humble ourselves. I don't know why I added that because it really doesn't have anything to do with being high-strung:) But, I've discovered that life is too short...we need to enjoy it while we can:)

Well, that's the wisdom I'v gained in the past 16 years:) Well, not really 16 cuz I didn't discover that when I was a few months old. Anyways, I'm babbling. I hope you all have a wonderful day/evening/whenever you read this:) I love you all! Thanks for being faithful blog-readers:D

Domestic Violence part 2

Well everyone.....it's here! Part 2 of my thoughts on domestic violence.

In my last post I gave a couple different examples of domestic violence. I hope that maybe it brought to light something you've never thought of before. Maybe it stirred up a desire in you to help stop all of the abuse that goes on. Or maybe, if you're one of the people that has been abused, you've decided that you're going to get out of the mess you're in.

The first line of hope that I'd like to extend to you if you are the one in an abusive relationship, is to let you know that you are loved. I can guarantee that you that you have many people in your life that love you very, very much! Maybe it's your kids or maybe a brother or sister. Maybe it's your parents, or even a co-worker or neighbor. Whoever it is, someone loves you, and if they know or find out about your situation, they want to help you out. So, my question is, how can they help you if they don't know or you won't let them??

Someone else who loves you is Jesus. I know you've probably heard it before and sometimes it's so simple that it's hard to accept, but Jesus loves you. He really does care about Y-O-U.
1 Peter 5:7 says, "Casting ALL your care upon him; for he careth for you."

You, my dear person, are a wonderful creature that was hand-fashioned by God, and you were not meant to live a life of misery and abuse. You owe it to yourself to get out of the abuse you may be living in and to start fulfilling the plan of God:) I encourage you to please reach out and let someone know what you're going through! Maybe you're afraid if you tell a friend or family member that it will get back to your abuser. I urge you call the hotline for domestic abuse.
There are two different hotlines that you can call: 1-800-799-7233(SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224

For those of you who aren't in an abusive relationship but maybe you're wanting to help someone who is. The worst thing you can do is tell their abuser. Do NOT go to the abuser! The victim will be the recipient of a lot more abuse if you do. In my last post I stated that many people fear death because they have been threatened with it. This is a reality, not just a half-hearted threat. These people may suffer death for telling you about their situation. If you are one of the people that is honored enough to have an abuse victim talk to you, please, do not regard what they tell you as a joke or an imagination. This person is taking a huge step in telling you what's going on! Don't tell them that you wouldn't be there, or if they had done something different they wouldn't be there. This is not their fault.

Since I've not been a witness to a lot of situations in which abuse was an issue, I really don't know a lot of the things you can do to help, except for get them out of the situation if at all possible. Be their friend. Encourage them. PROTECT THEM! Most cities have a shelter so if you would like to do something to help a mistreated person you could volunteer at a shelter and maybe your local soup kitchen. Both places will be VERY thankful for your help, I'm sure of it!:)

Below I've posted the link to the national domestic violence hotline. It's a good way to see if maybe you're the one being abused, or if maybe someone you know is being abused. It's a VERY informative and good website:)
http://www.thehotline.org/

I hope that these two posts have some how made you aware of a little piece of the world around you. There are sooo many more things! There are a LOT of different instances of abuse that are not domestic violence, but still abuse. One of which being trafficking, but that's a topic for another time.

Domestic Violence part 1

Even though I haven't been the recipient of abuse, I've been told first-hand stories of it, and I hope that we can all be a little more aware of the abuse. If the people who are not being mistreated can be aware of abuse, we have more of a chance of helping someone out of that life style:)

After my experience with the little abused boy in Pigeon Forge, I've become very aware of abuse. When reading the news online, I get sick to my stomach while reading stories of abuse. Actually I try to avoid them if at all possible, but sometimes I read the stories just to remind myself that life isn't all pleasantness. The life of joy and freedom that I enjoy is not enjoyed by all. There are people who suffer and hurt, and they're all around us. I'm positive that many of the people we see everyday are miserable and hoping that someone sees their pain, and can provide a lifeline out of their situation.

Along with child abuse, abuse in the marriage is also very, very common. More often than not, we hear about a woman being abused by her husband. Many women are afraid to tell their friends or someone that can help about the abuse for various reasons. I know that one reason is because before the physical abuse starts, mental abuse takes place. A man will sometimes manipulate his wife and play with her emotions until eventually, she has no self esteem left. When the physical abuse begins, the woman may feel like nobody will ever love her again or that she is too ugly, fat, etc. for someone to love her, so she has to stay with her husband. Another reason is because she really does love the man. She loved him before the abuse started, so she continues to love him. And a last, very extreme reason that women keep quiet, is they are afraid of death. They've been told that they WILL be found and killed if they ever leave or speak out.

Now I'm going to bring up a situation that many people would scoff at, but it's very, very relevant to our society. Many men are also abused. We would think that a man being abused would be ridiculous. Men are stronger than women, right? They could defend themselves? That's true, but a lot of men are true gentlemen and wouldn't lay a hand on a women, even if she's not a lady. In my opinion, I think a man wouldn't want to tell someone about his situation, or make a move to stop it, because they're embarrassed to admit they're being abused by a woman. But what other word is there for the slapping, hurtful words, and manipulating that many women use to control their husbands?

Since we've discussed the downside of abuse in this post, I want to offer a little bit of hope and comfort in my next post:) Stay tuned for part 2!

So...last night I made

Apple pie!!!

Sis. Brenda taught me how to make apple pie last night! A very easy recipe for the crust, and the pie filling is just delicious!

My mama bakes and cooks very often, but she's never made a "warm" pie before. So, that was my first warm pie. Just delicious! I know I keep repeating myself, but it was one of the most exciting experiences!

Yes, I'm a very simple person, and I get excited about small things, such as making my first apple pie. Well, I'm done rambling. Just letting you all know that I've entered a new phase of my life---making pie!:D

Hello everyone!:) As of late I've had blogger's block-not having anything to write about. I'm sure there are a lot of things I could post about, but nothing that I wanted to post. Well, last night I found my topic:)


Many of you know that for a while I've had a desire to be a missionary. It started a few years ago at Apostolic Youth Conference when Bro. Raul Alvear Jr. from Brazil was preaching. Over the years the desire was still there, but not as strong. Once again, I have an overwhelming desire to be involved in the foreign missions field.


In World Geography last school year, I had 3 weeks devoted to learning about the countries of Africa. The pain and famine that the Africans suffer is just awful! I was very affected during my World Geography PACEs.


While thinking about Africa lately, one country has stuck out to me. Sudan. I think it was last summer, I was over at Monique's house and she was showing me how cool Google Earth is. She just happened to zoom in on Sudan and was showing me this nifty little feature. There were little red, orange, and yellow flames on different parts of the country. If you scrolled over them, they would give you some info about that area. Those flames represented the villages that were either destroyed completely, or partially destroyed by the Sudanese government.


I cannot imagine having the government, the people who are supposed to be helping me, dropping bombs on my village, or coming in and killing or doing other unmentionable things to the children and women of my village.


Last night I decided to go to Google Images and look up Sudan. That's all I typed in, and the first image was a picture of a little child leaning on someone's legs sleeping. The fact that you can see every rib in his back and his little arms are maybe 4 inches around made me cry so much last night. I looked at pictures of that poor, starving country, and I read about the different things they suffer and I sat at the table and cried. Little 8 year old boys are not supposed to have guns and they're not supposed to be fighting a war against the government, but in Sudan, they are.


Sudan's dictator, Omar Bashir, is the first place winner for the 10 worst dictators in the world. He most notorious forms of abuse are slave trade and aerial bombings. He's a greedy, filthy, disgusting, and evil person. I wonder how he ever came to power in the first place. Millions of people having been affected by the dark, evil caverns of his heart. If there was a way to express how I feel about him, I would put a little spitting-mad face on here. :D Sorry, just had to let ya'll know how I feel:D


I realize that being a missionary in a predominantly black country can be dangerous. I also realize that being a missionary in Sudan means there may be days that I don't eat and that I'll probably learn to drink the filthy water that they drink in that country, but to me, being a light in the midst of the dark, dark world of the Sudanese people would be worth it. Seeing the peace on the face of a dying Sudanese woman because she knows she's not going to suffer anymore and she'll get to live with Jesus forever, is all worth it to me.


I've decided that I'm going to pray for that country, and for that people, and allow the Lord to lead me. If it is the Lord's will for me to be a missionary in Sudan, He will keep His hand on me, He'll make a way for me, and He'll provide for me, and that's all I need to know:)


Thank you all for taking the time to read this post! PLEASE, take time to pray for missionaries in foreign countries, and take time to pray for the Sudanese people:)

I Kissed Dating Goodbye

This post is to all the single people out there. Right now, I'm technically "single" but really I should have no relationship status because I'm not the appropriate age to be involved with someone. The reason that people "date" is to find a future spouse. No, finding a future spouse through dating does not mean that you should date fifteen different guys or girls to find out if they're the right one or not. I don't think that dating is wrong by any means, but I do believe that it's important, not just something a young person does when they're single.



I kind of got ahead of myself but that's alright:) I'm writing this post to tell you about a wonderful book by Joshua Harris entitled "I Kissed Dating Goodbye: A New Attitude Toward Romance and Relationships." I'm actually in the process of reading this book for the second time. The first time I read it I was younger and didn't actually learn anything from it. This time I'm learning a lot! I've determined that I'm not gonna play the normal "game" of dating. There IS a better way to do it and I believe a way that pleases God:) So, if you get the chance, please read this book! You'll be glad you did:)

As of the past 3 months, I've adopted a song that has become my "anthem" so to speak. The chorus goes:

Falling in love with Jesus
Falling in love with Jesus
Falling in love with Jesus, was th best thing I've ever, ever done.

I cannot describe to you how much that song speaks my heart. I'm gonna give a little testimony on here that only two people know about. Probably 6 months ago and going back for I don't know how long, I was not doing so well spiritually. I was constantly struggling with things and constantly struggling with my attitude (my Mama can testify to that one:D) I'm not giving this testimony to draw attention or to have people feel bad for me. I just pray that God can use it and draw someone else, that is possibly struggling in their walk, closer to him.

The devil started working on my mind, and things that I knew were wrong beyond the shadow of a doubt all of the sudden starting seeming not so wrong. The world didn't seem as bad as what everyone made it out to be. I started having thoughts like, "Just a little taste of the world and I can come back and get right with God," or, "It's not as bad as it seems. The world's not gonna work me over like it does every other backslidden saint of God."

I don't remember the exact date, but my pastor preached a message and in that message I found myself. I felt like every wrong attitude, every wrong thought came back and hit me in the face. We didn't have an altar call, just dismissed and went home. When I got home, I laid on my bed as I was going to sleep and poured out my heart to God. I repented for so many, many things that were wrong in me. I prayed like David prayed in Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." I asked Him to purge me and take out everything that was not like Him.

That was the beginning of the work that God started in me. Some specific things I had prayed about that night, I no longer struggled with. Those feelings were gone, and I praise the Lord and thank Him for that. The next step was at Apostolic Youth Conference in Canton, Ohio. Brother Jonathan Alvear preached about Calvary on Friday morning. I have never, ever heard it preached that way. I stood in the presence of Jesus, the One Who suffered the most horrible death, Who took all of our sins upon Himself and suffered and died for us, and I sobbed. How could a God that knew how many times I would fail, that knew all the times I would shame Him and ignore Him, take it upon Himself and say, "I love you in spite of that"? That morning I began falling in love with my Jesus:)

Then came Summer Heritage in Colorado Springs the next week. Even though God had begun a work in me and started changing me, I still had somethings that I struggled with. The main thing I struggled with was modesty. It was in my mind, but it wasn't completely rooted in my heart and my soul. A lot of things happened, and I'm not going to go into details, but Brother Brian Jones preached about "Revival in th Family" and what he preached was straight down my alley. Once again, I was broken before God and asked Him to take the immodest spirit out of me and put a deep love for modesty and a deep love for him in me. Once again, God did that for me. God changed me so much in just a two month period.

I have felt a complete change in me. I stand in awe that such a big God would take time to see me with every thing in me that's wrong, and love me and forgive me. I can honestly say, "I love my Master." My walk with God isn't just there because that's what's expected of me, and that's what my Mama and Daddy expect of me. I LOVE Him with everything that is in me. Tonight's church service was absolutely amazing. When I get in the presence of Jehovah and can't help but stand where I am and just bawl! He's been TOO good to me! I really can't explain what I feel, but I can tell you that falling in love with Him is the best thing that ANYONE could EVER do!

If all God ever did for me was die for my sin and choose to forgive me, that's enough. But He didn't just leave me with that. In Luke chapter 24, after Jesus was resurrected, and before He ascended into Heaven, He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. He sent the Holy Ghost down in Acts chapter 2, and He gave us power that we wouldn't just keep messing up and stay the way we are, but that we'll have the strength to walk right and the strength to live right. He gave us the Holy Ghost to change us so we can be like Him.

So anwyas ya'll, that's my testimony. I'm closer to God now than I've ever been, and the #1 reason is because I've fallen in love with Him. I believe that that's one of the main keys to living a victorious walk with God. When you love Someone, you don't want to keep doing wrong against them. You want to do what pleases them. Well, that's the end ya'll. I just felt like sharing my testimony that maybe it'll encourage somone to really, really fall in love with Him.

Trust

Trust, according to Dictionary.com is "to rely upon or place confidence in someone or something ." A synonym of trust is assurance, meaning "absolute confidence and certainty."

Lately I've been thinking a LOT about trusting the Lord. Sometimes it's with things like being assured that the Lord hears my prayers. Other times it's knowing that He has a plan for my life, and other times still, it's trusting Him that He knows what He's doing with me and He knows what's best for me. This post I'm going to address trusting him through the hard times.

As a Christian we often goes through various trials and times of testing. While in the midst of the trials we hear so many times, trust God. What does that really mean? I don't believe it means saying, "OK, God, I'm supposed to trust you so I'm gonna just talk to you about my time of testing and still struggle through and wonder if I'm gonna make it."

Job 23:10 says, "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Nobody is gonna say that going through times of trying are fun. They're not going to say they enjoy it or that they would love to be in that position for the rest of their life. But many, many people will tell you that Job knew what he was talking about in 23:10. God DOES indeed know the way that you take. He hasn't forgotten about you and He hasn't decided that you're going to permanently be miserable. One day, when you come out of this trial or this test, and you WILL come out, you're going to be as gold!

I've heard the comparison so many times, and I'm sure you have too. The description of how gold refiners work. When they take a piece of gold to refine it, they put it over very, very hot fire. As it's heating up, it's brings all of the impurities and imperfections to the surface, and the refiner can scrape them off the top. In the spiritual sense, if we never went through the hot furnace, the Refiner couldn't get the imperfections out of us.

Back to the first paragraph and original reason of this blog post, through the storms and tests, put your complete confidence and trust in God. He knows what He's doing, He knows what's best for your life, and He has a purpose for you going through whatever it is that you're going through.

Ecclesiastes 3:11a "He hath made every thing beautiful in HIS time..."

Ok, so I'm soooo excited!! Why?? Wait for it.....

CAMP!!! Yes, the day is finally here! About 15 of us are heading off to Virginia tomorrow to Bro. Peters' camp. Even though I've been to two conferences, one in Akron, OH, and one in Colorado Springs, CO, there is something special about a campmeeting.

Every time I think about a campmeeting, my mind immediately goes to a girl's dorm room. Something I lovingly call "the hairspray cloud" descends as all the girls get ready for church and fix their hair all big and beautiful. The reason I say "lovingly" because hairspray has tamed my hair many a-times! I have one of those crazy hair textures so it takes a strong, freezing hairspray to control it. Any how, the smell of steam from the iron is in the air. A mysterious, unnamed smell is in the air from a mix of about 15 different scents of perfume.

I don't know how to explain it, but I have many fond memories of camp and getting ready for church service. Speaking of the services, there's also something so special about being in a church service with a room full of people, most of which you don't know, and worshipping the Lord and feeling His Spirit with them.
Well, I haven't started packing yet and we are leaving the church by 9 A.M. so I gotta get moving!

I'm sure I'll have a looong story to tell you all when we get back so get your reading eyes ready!;) Ta ta dahlings!

Well I've made some big changes to my blog. I hope to continue to change it to make it more inviting and fun:)
I have to give a big shout out to Meagan Rowell! That girl is AWESOME! Her blog is super fun and she has insight beyond her years.
I got some ideas for my blog off of her blog. Ya'll should really go and take the time to look over her blog. Thanks for the ideas Meagan:D
www.meaganrowell.blogspot.com

Blog mess

Hello everyone! How are ya today? Just a quick heads-up, if you visit my blog today you'll probably see it in a little mess. I'm going to change the layout because the one I have is starting to get boring=D So please bear with me and make sure you check out the new look

Pics

For some strange reason, the urge just hit me to post pictures I have from my trip to Colorado. So enjoy! I literally had the best time of my life:) Enjoying God's beautiful creation, His wonderful people, and His awesome presence! It can't get better than that:)

I made my dad pose for the above picture:D I thought that was just the saddest thing and that

Mr. Cowan deserves our respect and honor:)

Colorado Springs from Cheyenne Mountain. Breath taking!

Colorado Springs again. I

I have a feeling that I'm gonna be posting these pics a few at a time. It's kind of complicated to get a lot of pictures up and spread out on here:(

*Pssst* You're inside out!

Hello my lovely people!
Just wanted to share a quick, quite embarrassing story with you all.

So the other day my mom and I were shopping at the Meadeville Salvation Army (Woohoo! Thrift stores ROCK!!) *ahem* and so of course, you gotta go try on all the clothes that you're wanting to get. I had a large stack of clothes, so it took me about 10 minutes to try them all on. My mom wanted to finish looking at the rest of the store so she didn't stick around.

When I finished trying my clothes on, I went and kinda followed my mom around until it was time to go. We were there for about 10-15 more minutes. I was standing in the check out line and my mom leans forward and whispers, "Your shirt is inside out."

WHAT?!? I started laughing and the cashiers joined in. Wow! I thought the inside-out style was supposed to leave when you turned seven!

Hey everyone!

Hey everybody!
How are ya'll? Once again, I find myself apologizing for not posting. This time I have a very legitamate excuse, no computer! My parents left for Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 2. They went to Indiana, and dropped my brother off at my aunt's house. The Lord bless her for her patience in keeping him during the trip;) Then my mama and papa went to ADMIT, a preacher's conference in Oklahoma. My dad told me that it was amazing:) Then, my parents went to San Antonio, Texas. I must admit that I had to repent over my attitude, but I was sooooo jealous!! I posted about Becca in my last post, well she has become a super close friend. I didn't know it was possible to find a best friend in a month, but it happened:) The reason I was jealous is because my parents were helping the church that she's from:) Well, she's not the only reason because they people from that church are all very wonderful. I'm really glad my mom got to meet all of them though. It's such a blessing to be able to go to conferences and meet people and make friends with people like Bro. Nix and his church:)
Speaking of friends, I'm very thankful for all of my Titusville friends! You all are the very best! I wouldn't be able to make it through life if I didn't have you all to encourage me and make me smile and forget my little problems:) I love you all!
Sincerely, Amber
BTW, I'm still planning on posting pictures. My camera isn't in the house right now so I have to go get it, and I'm a little sick so I'm being lazy;) For the sickness, I can thank my awesome friend Anita!! lol

Busy, busy, busy!

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted so long. As many of you know, my dad and I went to Colorado Springs for a week  for Summer Heritage at Bro. Burgess' church. We left last Monday afternoon and got back early early this morning. Like, 2:30 :) Well, the two weeks before we left were extremely hectic. Not only did we have quite a bit of company, we also had to do all the last minute shopping trips for things we needed for the trip.


As my first time flying, I was more than a little nervous at first. But, after about 2 minutes and a couple of bumps, I was more relaxed and enjoying the flight. It amazed me how fast everything on the ground became very, very small. I did take quite a few pics so I will be posting them as soon as my dad gets his laptop unpacked.

We flew out of the Akron/Canton airport to the  Charlotte airport, then from Charlottle to Denver. Our flight into Akron was about 20 minutes late, and having only a 36 minute layover in Charlotte, made us miss our flight. So the lady very graciously scheduled us for the next flight to Denver....two hours later. Well, the two hours became three as the flight to Denver experienced some delays. We flew into Denver at about 12, then we had to rent a car and drive to Colorado Springs.

The experience was wonderful! My dad,  being a preacher, is on a preachers' forum online. When we got to the hotel he discovered that some of his very close friends on the forum were in Colorado Springs. So on Tuesday we got together with them and went to Royal Gorge. Now let me say this, Bro. Kelly Nix has one awsesome youth group! I felt an immediate bonding with Lauren, Jennifer, Courtney, Becca and Marissa. I didn't talk to Jonah and Kevin much at the Royal Gorge, but since then have talked to them more and have discovered that they are also very, very wonderful.

Wednesday night was the first serivce, and Bro. Jason Calhoun preached about disease in the garments. His main point was young people need to get into the fire of the Holy Ghost and let God burn out the diseases and sins in us. Thursday morning Bro. Brian Jones preached about "Turning the Hearts of the Children to Their Fathers" I cannot describe to you the awesome power of God that was in that message. On the way to church my dad and I had had a discussion and Bro. Jones quotes some of the exact things my dad said and I KNEW that the message was for me. God changed my life forever and it started on Thursday morning. After Bro. Jones preached, Bro. Kevin Archer preached. This is just horrible, but I can't remember what he preached and he didn't give a title. I'll have to listen to the message later and tell you what it was about.

Thursday night Bro. Ron Garrett preached about the cry. His main point was about young people, especially, crying out to God in their affliction. It was a very powerful move of God. Friday morning, Bro. Burgess preached "When I Speak They Are For War." He really, really stressed young people standing up when no one else will. Moving up in God even if some of the carnal young people don't want to and stop talking to you. It was really great! Bro. Burgess is amazing! :)

Between messages on Friday morning we had a really great time of worship and the Holy Ghost reeaally moved! Bro. Archer got up and preached "Possession Mentality." He preached about possessing the promises God has given to us. He gave reasons that we can have a possession mentality. It really really spoke to me again. On Friday night we had a really good time of prayer, and really there was no worship serivce. It was a constant prayer room for most of the service. When Bro. Garrett did preach, he preached about some young people getting a burden in their hearts for more than just themselves. For getting themselves and focusing on the calling that God has placed on their lives.

There really are no words to describe how life-changing Heritage 2010 was for me. I can't wait for church in Titusville tomorrow night. Look out, Devil! I'm on the war path!

On Saturday we met up with Bro. and Sis. Wheeler, and their two sons, Nathan and Josh. We went to God's Garden ( renamed by us. it's actually Garden of the gods) and the Flying W ranch. The Wheeler's were such a blessing to us, I'm so glad we met them!

Well, I have tons of pictures to post so I'll be doing that later. Thank you for reading all the way to the bottom ;) Until next time!

4th of July

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to say Happy 4th of July to you all. Also, I wanted to encourage us all not to forget why we celebrate this holiday, and the reason that we have it. Let's not forget the many people who will not be celebrating tomorrow, but will be grieving because they lost a son or a daughter in the fight for freedom. If you see a soldier, don't forget to thank him or her for the great sacrifice they've given so that you and I could have the freedom to do as we please. I can proudly pledge my allegiance to this country and to the American flag.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

And to the republic for which it stands. One nation

Under God, indivisible
With liberty, and justice for all.

God bless our soldiers and God bless the U.S.A!

Amish Airline

Hey everyone! I know this is really...umm...mean maybe? But I saw this picture the other day and thought it was hilarious!

Relaxing a.k.a. Being Lazy

Well, as ya'll know it's summer vacation. And since it's summer vacation, I've been living the dream life! Staying up til one, or two, or three, sleeping in until 12, not having to be any where at any specific time! Whew! I'm loving it! Today was the earliest I got up so far this summer. I woke up the first time at 7:40, pushed snooze, then got up eight minutes later. I didn't even change out of my pajamas til around 8-8:30ish PM!! lol Jesten came over with Megan, Brittany, and Brianna, so I had to get dressed to entertain company. If I lived like this every day I would be SO spoiled! But, whenever school starts it will be no longer. Well, I just had to let every working person know what they're missing ;-P Love ya'll!!
~Amber~

Miss Hannah Putman

Right now we're in Revival with Brother Jason Putman. His daughter, Hannah, has been spending a lot of time at my house. Yesterday we were bored, so we decided to go outside and take some pictures. Here's my pitiful attempt at being a photographer. Enjoy!:-)

Don't ask me why, but Hannah wanted a picture with the fire hydrant...very strange:)

Little monkey :-)

My poor, poor babies

Today we got our kittens back from the vet's office. On Monday, they were spayed and declawed. I missed them immensely while they were gone. No little fur balls to come in and scratch my eyelids off in the morning with their tongues. No kittens to walk under my feet while I was busy in the kitchen. No annoying little meows that meant, "Pet me! Pet me! Feed me! Love me!"

Now that they're back I feel quite sick to my stomach. They are both limping and and favoring their right paws. Diamond adjusted to being home more quickly than Chloe, but I think Chloe is coming around. We just fed them some tuna so hopefully they'll be a little happier being home than when they first got here.

Well, I'm gonna be going now. I hope to post more, but with being in Revival and the bake sale on Friday and everything, I'm not sure how much I'll get around to it. Bye for now!

God is Our Refuge

In my last post I mentioned the tornadoes that we've been having. On Friday we were all down in our basement waiting for the storm to pass over. I was on the computer when my mom came downstairs after she answered the phone and told us that we had to go into the basement because of the tornado. The first thing I thought of was my Bible.

When we were in the basement I got so much comfort out of God's Word. I read from Psalms where David talks about God being a Buckler and a Defense. One of the girls that was here was terrified. As I was reading she started crying.

I really don't know how to explain it, but through the whole thing I had so much peace. Even while I was scared I knew that God was going to take care of me and that I could just be calm.

Hello everyone!

It seems that once again I'm feeling an immense amount of guilt....it's been over 3 weeks since I last posted. For this, I'm terribly sorry!
Let's start out by letting you know that we've been extremely busy, but that's all good.

A week ago from last Friday, my aunt and uncle and their family came all the way from Indiana just to see us! Not really just to see us, but they were here for the annual Memorial Day picnic that our church has. On May 30, Sunday, we had our 5th Sunday service which was a blast! (I just love it when we have those.)


Then on Memorial Day, we had the picnic of course, which was also a blast. We played volleyball and the team that I was on won both games. Not because of me, of course, because I only had one good hit. I served quit a few times and those were all good, but I wasn't in on most of the action. After we went to the cemetery to visit Nicholas' grave, we got rained out of the picnic.

On Thursday our school went to the Carnegie Science Center and we were there all day. It was a lot of fun:) On Friday, after we had a tornado warning and were in our basement with like 15 other people, we-all the girls that spent the night that is- prepared for the yard sale on Saturday. So on Saturday we had our yard sale and ended up getting rained out of that. But before it rained we did ok.

We've been getting all kinds of tornado watches and warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings...its crazy.

Well, yesterday morning we went into Revival service with Brother Jason Putman. God truly blessed our church when Pastor Anthony met Brother Putman. He's a real man of God and he knows how to get in touch with Him. God has really been moving in our church. I just can't explain how awesome it is to see people being pulled out of the world and into the church. Wow! :) Well, I'm gonna quit rambling. It's just about time for me to start getting ready for tonight's service. I'm looking forward to and expecting a mighty move of God! :)

Happy Mother's Day!!

To all the mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day!! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be here today:D


I want to tell you all how thankful I am for MY mom. My mother, Josanne, is a beautiful person, inside and out. I'm thankful that people think I look and act like her;) She is a very giving person, too. My mother is also a praying woman, for which I'm also very, very thankful. I know that when I'm heading in the wrong direction that she'll be on her knees asking God to straighten me out and show me the way. My mom is very supportive. She has never once laughed at my hopes or dreams. If I get a bad grade in school or fail a test, she doesn't get mad or scold me. She just expects me to do my best.


I could go on for pages, but I won't. I love you, Mama!!

Please pray

Hi everyone. My sister just came home and told us that one of her good friends from work was killed in a car accident today. Her name was Sarah Bronson. Please pray for her family, my sister, and also for Tammy Caton because Sarah was her best friend.

Butterfly Kisses

I found this video as I was looking through different ones posted by a guy from Gateway Bible College. It cracked me up! Enjoy! :)

Not much

This blog post is totally random. The topic kind of cracks me up, and since I'm at a loss for blog posts right now, I'll bore you with it.

Neck cramps. Most of you are probably gonna think, what in the world? Yeah, well I get them. The first time I got one was a couple of months ago. In music class with Sister Stef, we were humming and learning to warm our voices up and sing music as we read it. It was neat and stuff. Well when I got home, later on in the evening, I had just made brownies and was *ahem* eating batter off the beater *ahem* I had my tongue out, and a HUGE cramp of pain ran through my neck. Actually, it came to a screeching halt about the middle of my throat. And it stayed there. All night. : D Well, I found out at our next music class that neck cramps aren't all that uncommon when you're learning to use your voice muscles.

Sister Stef told me that, when my neck cramps up, I need to hum. I was glad she told me that because it's a lot easier and looks a lot more sane than sticking my tongue out as far as I can and massaging my neck. So lately my neck keeps cramping up but I forgot that I need to hum. I've just been massaging :)

So my advice for the day is, never make faces trying to uncramp a throat muscle. Just hum and maybe put a cold or warm compress on it, I can't remember which. OK, forget the compress idea. lol

My Awesome Neighbor

This blog is to tell everyone about our wonderful neighbor, Hope. We actually met her at Wal Mart, then when we moved to our new house, we found out that her and her boyfriend, Tim, are our next door neighbors.

Hope visits our house often. And she stays for a while. And by a while, I mean like HOURS! She's so much fun to have around. Whenever we have her over, we always expect her to leave at a regular time, but we always end up talking til way late. One night when we met up with her in Wal Mart, we ended up talking to her for about 1-2 hours by the check-out line.

Tonight we had Tim and Hope over. Dad and Dakota caught some fish while they were fishing in Lake Erie so we ate it for dinner tonight. We didn't have enough vegetable oil for all the fish, so hope brought over her gallon of vegetable oil for us :) It would take forever and a day to tell you all the funny stories that Hope has told us, so I won't try,  but trust me, she has plenty to tell.

I know this post isn't very long, but I tried to make you all wish that you had wonderful neighbors :)

The Rest of the Story

Well, I've finally decided to post about the rest of our trip. I'm gonna start to with AMC. When we arrived at the Gaylord Opryland, I was unsmashing to say the least. I had a blackish-blue skirt on. The reason that it was tinted blue: I had covered my lap with a blue microfiber blanket and it had decided to being very loving and share it fuzz with me. The skirt I had on is a collector of many great fuzzes and lints. I was incredibly embarrassed to be seen, seeing as how it is a preachers' conference and all their beautiful wives and daughters looked great. I quickly ran to hide in the bathroom and attempt to make my hair look like I had NOT just traveled five or six hours and slept most of it. I stayed in my room for most of the evening. When I left the room for church, I looked like five thousand times better than when I went into the room.

The rest of the conference was amazing. It would take a long time to type all of it, so I'll just tell you, I was impacted in a major way. Brother Morton preached the message that affected me the most. I've never felt the love of God so strong. It was incredibly amazing.

After AMC, we traveled to Pigeon Forge. Who'da thunk that a small town like that would have bumper to bumper traffic ALL THE TIME!! They have so much traffic that the comedian at the dinner theater we went to mentioned it! The theater we went to was great! The comedian, Scraps, was a LOT like my dad. Scraps even told my dad that he was hired to work there because Dad could clap on beat! :D After the dinner theater, we went to the magic show where I saw the little abused boy. The magic show was also really great. Sean Paul and Julianne are really good at what they do. Julianne can even "read" minds ;)

After Pigeon Forge we went to Dollywood, which was AWESOME! :) We felt very, very safe there. It was real secluded and just felt great. My favorite ride was probably the Tennessee Tornado! It has three loops in it, and the ride is smooth.

After Dollywood we went to visit my aunt and uncle in Indiana. That was fun, but unfortunately we only got to stay for an evening. I'm glad that they're gonna come up for Memorial Day.

Well, I'm all done posting. Gonna eat some food! :D BTW, if ya'll ever go to Pigeon Forge, stop by the Old Mill and have a meal. You won't regret it! The prices seem high, but when the entree is priced at $15.99, it's paying for your main meal, the salad, a couple of side dishes (I can't remember which ones), and your desert. We had pecan pie.....oooohh my goodness! It was amazing! I'm going for real this time! :D I'll try to post again soon.
Amber

Topic #2: Child Abuse

Hello everyone! Right now we're heading to Indianapolis to be with my wonderful aunt and uncle and their family. This post is a more serious one, but I'll post about our trip later. When I put up my first post, I was planning on addressing certain issues. One of them was child abuse. I never got around to it because I was going to have to do a little research to find out statistics and things. Now, I'm not going to have to now-I've been an eyewitness to a case.
When we were in Pigeon Forge, we stopped at a magic show. While I was washing my hands, I saw a little boy and his mother in the restroom. It was a little odd to me because the boy was probably about 9-10. His mother looked at him with distain, and told him that he was in "huge trouble." The little boy just nodded his head. He had a little bit of an attitude so I figured that was what he was in trouble for. His mother took him into the stall and within seconds he was bawling. When he came out he was wiping his eyes and still had an attitude.

At the beginning of the show, a man had all the kids 10 and under go up onto the stage to do a dance for the video. I lost sight of the little boy, but enjoyed the little dance they were doing, as it was adorable. When they stopped, the man looked at the little boy and told him he could go to his seat if he wasn't going to participate. The little boy went to his seat. I still didn't suspect anything but an attitude about being in trouble.

During intermission I went into the lobby to see what was being sold. As I was getting ready to leave the little boy and his father came out into the lobby so the dad could buy something. The little boy was practically begging his dad for a toy. It was so sad because, yes, I've asked my dad for stuff and pleaded a little, but the little boy was asking like it really really meant something to him. The dad just ignored him and bought himself a drink and some m&ms. Nothing for the little boy-nothing for the rest of the family. I noticed, too, that the little boy had a bruise on the left side of his face in the shaped of a handprint.

I went back to my seat and told my dad what had happeneed and what I had heard. He agreed that the little boy was being abused, as he had heard the father in the restroom. The little boy was in the stall and the dad starting yelling at him to get out "right now, you're just wasting time." The little boy told his dad that he wasn't wasting time, he was just using the restroom. The dad, then, very angrily, yelled, "No you're not. Get out here right now!!"
Dad said that the reason the little boy wouldn't participate in the song and dance was because he was abused. I'd like to note that the older sister was with the famly as well, and she was smiling and happy. After the family sat down, the little boy just sat in his seat and cried. When I realized that the little boy was indeed being abused, it made me cry. I sat there and cried so hard. I just don't understand how someone could abuse a child that they are twice the size of.

When the show had started again, the little boy got up to use the restroom. I really felt like I needed to tell him that I was praying for him. I asked my mom and dad, and Dad suggested that I tell him that God loves him. So I ran out to the restroom to tell him. He was standing in the bathroom looking up at the pictures. He realized that I wanted to talk to him, so he came out. I put my hand on his should and told him that God loves him very much. I told him that I was praying for him, too. I think I said it more than once, but I really wanted him to know. He nodded, and looked like he was going to cry. He turned to walk away, and I asked, "Do you want a hug?" He nodded and so I gave him a hug and held on to him for a moment. I couldn't help but start crying again. He was so small. He told me his name, which I hauntingly cannot remember, and his age-8. After I hugged him we looked at the pictures a little and I asked him if he liked the show and he told me about his cousin that did a magic trick.
There are so many people that are hurting out there that it's unbelievable. Who would have thought that I would walk into a magic show and see a case of child abuse? I've been praying for him off and on throughout each day since I met him. I pray that God will let the little boy feel His love. I ask God, that when he is in pain, maybe having been smacked around, that God will wrap him in His arms. I pray that God will also send someone to be a witness to him. That God will make him a great witness. I told a friend that maybe someday he'll have a story like Brother Russell Frazier. If you've never heard the story of Brother Frazier's life, it's an amazing one. But that's a post for another time. I'm going to go now, but I'd like to ask anyone who reads this to keep the little boy in your prayers. I want to someday hear that he was delivered from the situation he's in now. Also, please offer up a prayer for all the abused children, and don't be too busy with your life to stop and help someone who is hurting. Probably the most comforting a person can hear is that God trully loves them and that you're praying for him.

Washington D.C.

Hello everyone! Vacation has been awesome so far! On Friday we went to see Joseph, as you all know. That play was the most amazing thing ever! It was funny, tear-jerking, and just plain old amazing. It's definitely a play that I would recommend to everyone. If I could, I'd go every day! lol On Saturday, after Dad went to the dentist, we ate at Friendly's, and went to Old Navy, we headed to D.C. When we finally got settled in and figured out how to ride the Metro (which is awesome!) we attempted to go the the Arlington Cemetery to watch the changing of the guard. Well, there was a bomb threat in either Pentagon or Pentagon City, and we had to get off the Metro at Crystal City, which was like 2 stops from where we were supposed to get off. So, we figured since we had to get off we might as well eat. Thankfully by the time we were done eating the Metro was able to go to Arlington Cemetery. We did NOT get to see the changing of the guard because it was too late. So basically, on our first day in D.C. we learned how to ride the subway. Now, we're all experts, except for Mom who says, "I'm just confused. I'll follow you guys."

On our second day in Washington D.C. we went to the National Aquarium and saw some really awesome fish, frogs, alligators, and other neat sea creatures. Did you know that an electric eel's digestive system is all in its head? And did you know that a Hellbender, a type of salamander, can grow up to 29 inches long and weigh up to five pounds?

At the aquarium, we saw this lobster that was HUGE!!! It weighed FIFTEEN pounds!! It was the ugliest thing you ever wanted to see. Actually, the Hellbender was uglier. Those things look like nasty slimy rocks. Ew!

After the aquarium we went up and to the Washington Monument and then to the National Museum of American History-at least I think that's what it's called. It was pretty neat. I didn't enjoy it fully because I had a headache and my feet were tired. We all were tired so we came back to the hotel and slept! (yes!)

After we woke up we went to Walmart and bought some shoes and other things. Then, we went to Denny's which was delicious! :) Well, we're getting ready to leave again, so I'll post later!! :)
Have fun in Pennsylvania with all your brown grass, while I enjoy a sunburn in sunny D.C.!

Vacation: Get Ready for the Anthony's, Baby!

If you read my mom's blog, or you read the title of this post, you know that we're going on vacation. That's right! 10 days of being stuck together as a family. So, tomorrow morning we head out on our adventure. We'll go to Lancaster to see the Sight and Sound play, Joseph. The link below is the advertisement for "Joseph"

http://remote.sight-sound.com/StaticContent/joseph/Video.html

So, we'll be seeing that on Friday. On Saturday, we'll drive to Washington D.C., and we'll be there until Tuesday. The Cherry Blossom Festival will be in full bloom, *ahem* excuse the pun, so we'll be seeing a lot of that. We'll also being going to the different Smithsonian museums, and possibly the Smithsonian zoo. I'll finally get to see the Lincoln Memorial and all the stuff that D.C. contains.  On Tuesday, we'll drive halfway to Nashville, then go the rest of the way on Wednesday. Wednesday night is our first service of the Apostolic Minister's Conference (AMC). The conference continues through Friday night, then we have a youth lock-in Friday!! (Oh yeah!) We're not totally sure what we're doing after the conference. We DO know that we're going to Indiana to stay with my aunt and uncle and their family. Hopefully we'll get to go to church on Sunday even if we're not back in PA.

We appreciate all your prayers for travelling safety :) Please also pray that we don't half kill each other on the road ; ) I probably won't be posting until we get back, and when I do post, I'll post some pictures. Farewell my faithful readers! I'm off to do some more laundry and pack some luggage!

Babblings About My Day Thus Far

Well, here I am, sitting at home at 9:36 am on a school day. Reason: A gas leak at the school. Who'da thunk that we'd get to school and begin our day, then get sent home?

It started as we were going through our morning routine at school. We all line up, go out to the restrooms, then do what we call "morning exercises." They're not actually exercises. We say our pledges, read our monthly Scripture, then we pray. We didn't get to the prayer part because of the fumes coming from the furnace in the church.

So, we were evacuated into the parking lot where we stood around waiting for our parents to come and get us. Poor Sister Melinda. She's stuck there until the Schmidt guy leaves :)

Will the Disasters Ever End??

So, we all know that I'm an accident waiting to happen in the kitchen. Let me tell you about my experience from the other night, before I tell you about today's experience.

I decided to make home made snicker doodles. (Thanks for the recipe Laura!) When I was getting the ingredients out, however, I realized that we had just short of two cups of sugar. We were all really craving cookies, so I decided to make them anyways. The solution to the problem: 1/8 of a cup of brown sugar. If you've ever made snicker doodles with the recipe I have, you'll know that forming the cookies involves rolling them into balls, then smashing them down.

My BIG problem came about when I was rolling the cookies. The kept sticking to my hands. I thought that maybe I didn't have enough flour. So, I added more flour. That did NOT help. So, more flour....more flour....more flour...more, well, you get the picture. All in all, we (my mom tried to help me) ended up adding 1 cup or more of flour.

I don't know if you've ever had sweetened bread, but that's what these babies tasted like. I didn't have any sugar left for cinnamon and sugar, so I made sugar cookies with little green sprinkles. Ugh! I can still feel them in the bottom of my stomach. It was like putting sugar in a bag of flour, adding some milk, then trying to shove them down your throat!

Well, right now I'm in the process of making the snicker doodles again. (This time with all WHITE sugar!) My dad, my brother, the parent neighbors on the left, and the father of the family across the road were my first cookie devourers. My dad went inside to get a glass of milk, as is his tradition for any type of sweets. After giving Brian a cookie, (neighbor across the road) I headed inside to see what my dad thought of the cookies. (Did I mention that Brian just happened to grab the cookie with a burnt edge?!?!?!) I asked Dad what he thought of the cookies. I had one myself, and I thought they might have been a little dry. Dad agreed. So, I gave my neighbors dry cookies.

The problem was easily fixed, however, by turning the heat down just a tad, and only baking one dozen of cookies at a time. On my third dozen, I forgot to smash the cookies down, so we had little lumps of cookie dough and cinnamon. :0)

I'm happy to report, however, that the last two dozen I baked are delicious! :) The little tiny dough balls weren't that bad either : )