Day 7: Five things I couldn't possibly live without

 am trying the new timer thingy on this blog post.. we'll see if it works! *wink*.  I have it on timer because tomorrow will be extremely busy. Up early to get to some cleaning in the house, shop, barn, corrals, etc.  We have someone who is coming to look at the ranch to possibly buy some acreage. Please pray that God's will be done in this matter and that He will give us peace about the decisions.
Ok, so five things I couldn't possibly live without:
1: The redeeming love of my Saviour, Jesus Christ the Lord.  Without Him, I would still be wallowing in my sin; an ugly, filthy, dirty little sinner.

2: My wonderful family!  They love me so much. They have helped me through my struggles by reminding me of God's Word and His promises.

(Christmas photo several years ago)

I don't know what I would do without them, especially my wonderful parents who have raised me in a Godly home.

(from top-12 o'clock- around clock wise- Caleb, Joshua, Me, Becca -who took pic-, Mom, Dad)

3: My friends!  God has blessed me with so many encouraging, Christian, Godly friends that I truly don't deserve.  So many of them know me inside-out and have loved me through it all. I am truly blessed...

(My friends at my 16th birthday)

4: Music! I LOVE music.  Music helps me get through the day, especially ones that have such wonderful, meaningful words to them that remind me of God's goodness, Mercy, and love!  I also love playing my fiddle.. if I don't play it for a long time, my fingers start itching for that wonderful feel of flying over the strings in a fun jig or reel.

(Photo Courtesy of a very good friend)

5: Laughter.  Laughter is definitely part of me. 

I love laughing, any one who knows me could tell you that right off the bat.  If they think of me, they think of me laughing. It is just who I am, but I love it. I love it because God created that laughter and when it bubbles up inside of me, I feel God smiling along with me.  I love taking walks and laughing with Him over my funny little quirks in life.  Laughter is what definitely helps me throughout the day.  Without laughter, I am sure that I could become one unhappy person.  HOWEVER! Have no fear! My dear brother will make sure that I never go a day without laughing!

(Taken of Josh several years ago)

He can keep me laughing over anything, at any time.  When I am in a grumpy mood, Joshua saves the day! He comes in and makes a funny face while saying something, or tells a joke he made up.. anything.

(I totally love this pic of my "Mr. Big Foot"!!)

He can cheer me up like no other.  Love you Bud!

Ok... guess this post could've been shorter.. oh well!!

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Day 6: A moment I wish I could relive

This one is kind of tough... There are so many moments in my life that I wish I could go back to, maybe change things... but what we did in those moments, helped to shape us to who we are now.  If I had done things differently, things wouldn't be the same right now.

I think one of the biggest moment(s) that I wish I could relive are times with my Bampa.  Many of you know that he passed away after a long and painful struggle with pancreatic cancer just almost two years ago.  Unfortunately, my Bampa was not a believer.  We tried talking to him, our friend's tried talking to him, but he always just said that he wasn't interested in those things.  Because we took care of him at home those last few months, we had many chances to talk to him.  I know my mother did, when it was her turn to be at her post, helping Nana with him.  For the first couple of months, nothing changed too drastically, except that he lost a lot of weight.  Towards the end, though, when he was bed ridden, I wish that instead of sitting by his bed holding his hand and saying prayers in my heart, that I said them out loud, or perhaps have been bold enough to try talking to him more.  I often got discouraged whenever he refused talking about Christ and His redeeming blood.  Whenever I got a rebuttal, I tended to clam up and not say any more, being afraid of... I don't know what.  Although I know that at one point the Holy Spirit came through me and I said something I probably never would have said on my own, being afraid of offending him or something, I wish I had done more than that. I wish that I had prayed for more of the Holy Spirit to help me instead of just praying for his salvation.

Through my tears of writing this, I realize that although I wish for something more during those moments, wishing to relive them, I am glad that God has shown me something through it.  By not being able to share with my Bampa because of my cowardice, I have learned to try to share the Gospel at any chance I get.  That doesn't mean that I succeed every time, that the words pass my lips, but at least I know what I need to do and know that the Lord will give me strength and courage to do it.

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Day 5: A Favorite Quote

Well, I am taking a quote from the BEST book ever.... The Bible!!!  I figure that if God said it, it counts as a quote, right??

Isaiah 41: 8-14   (sometimes when I am afraid, I like to take 'Jacob' or 'Isreal' and change it to my name)
   "But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend, You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and called from its remotest parts and said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'  Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.  For I am the Lord you God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'  Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you," declares the Lord, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel."

This is such a great reminder to me that no matter what troubles I get in, or whatever temptations, trials, or suffering I go through, He is always there! He will uphold me and keep me steady, tearing away my enemies. Isn't that such a wonderful thought?

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Day 4: My Favorite TV Show

Well, first off, we don't have TV.. We have the screen, so we can watch movies, but we don't have stations or any thing...  However, we have been able to get TV shows on DVD or Netflix... so, mine is probably George Burns and Gracie Allen show.  They were an extremely funny couple on TV and fun to watch.  She is kind of the Amelia Bedelia type on the show, but an extremely bright person in real life.  Of the ones I have watched, I am pretty sure they were clean....

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

You must check this out!!

If you love the movie "Sound of Music", then you are going to LOVE this new site I found!!  Edelweiss Patterns!!  It is run by a young woman, Katrina Casey, who has a passion for sewing (not to mention talent!) and is sharing that passion and talent with others through her patterns.  Right now she has the "Liesl's Dancing Dress" up for sale.  She did an excellent job recreating this scrumptious dress...

Who wouldn't love twirling around in that lovely dress, dancing the night away to the Laendler???

Her next pattern, which will be released soon, is "The Baroness's Evening Gown".  Ooh, I can't wait to see it!  So, click on the website's name and go check it out! Edelweiss Patterns.

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Day 3: A favorite book

Once again, another tough question! There are so many good books out there... Actually, this one was fairly simple.  My all time favorite book has to be "Christ Commission" By Og Mandino.

(From the back of the book) "In front of eight million TV viewers, "The Greatest Mystery Writer in the World" bragged he could prove Christ was actually stolen from the tomb and never really rose from the dead...if he were given just one week back in ancient Jerusalem.  That night, author Matt Lawrence got his wish.  A knock-out punch took him right out of this world and landed him in the Biblical Judea in 36 A.D., just six years after the execution of Jesus at Golgotha.  In relentless pursuit of his investigation, Lawrence walked the same streets Jesus walked, visited the same places... and found himself facing the same dangers. Eyewitness reports might lead him to a discovery that would shake the world- but will he live long enough to tell the 20th century that he just solved the greatest mystery of all time?"

Definitely a must read!!

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Day 2: Favorite Movie

For day two of the 30 day challenge, I have to put up my favorite movie.  I am really having a hard time with this one! I am still sitting here trying to decide... Pride and Predjudice?  Inception?...... ok, I think I decided.  My all time favorite movie is.......*drum roll*

Pendragon: A Sword of his Father

This movie was done by home schoolers... and it was really good!!  The message in it was really good, and the filming and acting was really good!!  Totally blew me away. My brother and I having gotten into movie making mood lately, so this was extremely encouraging and inspiring!

Good Guys

Bad Guys

And Damsels!! 

Just Can't go wrong with that.. lol! ;-)


Please keep my mother in your prayers. She is flying out to California to help some friends drive down (they are moving down here-back down here, actually. They used to live here, moved to CA, and are now moving back!) Any way, I guess she had an hour delay in Pheonix, AZ, so pray that all will go well with her and that she and the other family will be safe driving down.  Mr. will be driving the moving truck and Mrs. and Mom will be driving the big van with all the kids.  They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow.  Thank you!

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Day 1 of the 30 day challenge

I am embarking, along with several other blogger friends, on a 30 day blog journey.  I must post something every day from the 30 day challenge list.  If you would like to join in, visit this link to check it out.

So, for day one,  I have to list my favorite song.  Well, this is extremely difficult because I have SO many, not to mention that they change from time to time.  However, the ones that stick out most (yes, sorry, but I can't do just one) are below.  Enjoy!

"Light up the Sky" by The Afters.  I just love this song because it reminds me that God is there all the time.  He shows His love by "lighting up the sky" with glorious sunsets, sunrises, bright moons, etc.  It is truly amazing and humbling.




This is a really cool fiddle song done by Mairead Nesbitt and some other girl.  I LOVE good fiddle songs, being a fiddle player myself, because they are inspiring.  It makes me want to practice more so I can get this good!




My other big time favorite song is "One Small Child" by David Meece, but sung by Anthony Delallo.  Delallo has an incredible voice.  Personally, I prefer male bass/tenor voices to that of a soprano or alto (yes, traitor to my own singing group! Sorry altos!). I have only known one guy who can sing really well.. until I found Anthony Delallo. Unfortunately I can't find a video to share and the only other thing is just the sample piece I found online (which I now cannot find..) any way....

Moving on to other things, I have to say that I was truly blessed today.  Some good friends of ours came by and dropped off two huge trash bags full of wool!! I am SO excited! I can use this stuff for needle felting, spinning, knitting and crocheting (after I spin it, of course)! All that for free! Sure beats buying it at the store, especially when you want to get the experience of spinning.. yes, some of you may think me extremely weird, but that is who I am. :-) Weird. lol!

Well, off to finish supper prep!  Hope some of you join in on this 30 day challenge! It should be lots of fun!

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Give away!!

My dear friend, Grace, over at Grace's Garden Walk, is hosting her 200th post giveaway!!  Please go check it out and enter!  Several wonderful sponsors are donating items (such as a free PDF download from Sense and Sensibility!) that you don't want to miss out on!! So, click on her blog name and go check it out!




In Christ's Service,
Sarah