When life gives you lemons...

Have you ever heard the phrase, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?"   My understanding of the sentence is that when bad things come your way, you should simply make something good out of them, or at least look at them in the most positive manner possible.  I struggle with that one, with being happy despite the circumstances, and I think that a lot of other people do, too.  Sometimes other people become down about something that we think isn't a big deal, and we think that they just need to lighten up a bit and then life'll go on just fine.  Other times, it's the opposite—we make a big deal out of a seemingly small thing, and other people start avoiding us because we're complaining and upset about something that's really out of our control.  That's where we need to look to God.
I did a study on the will of God and how we should react to it today, just so I can understand why "bad things" happen in our lives, and what we should do when things don't exactly go our way.  1 Peter 4:19 sums up the whole matter really well:

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

That passage is really hard to comprehend, even though it reads easily enough.  Some people may say that the summery of the verse is "if you're suffering or hurting, it's according to God's will and you should respond to his will by doing good."  I disagree.  I think that the summery should go something like this: "Our faithful and loving Lord will at times make us suffer by His will; during these times we must commit ourselves to His faithfulness and continue to grow and mature in Him."  We need to trust Jesus in the times of our suffering, rejection, pain, or frustration—this is the only way that we are able to grow and do good.  If we chose instead to turn away from God and vent our frustration and anger against other people, all it does is cause more hurt, but God's made a way for us to grow through it instead—by keeping close to Him.
So the next time "life's giving you lemons," don't give them back or act like they don't exist.  Make a big pitcher of lemonade—something sweet from the pain—and share it with family, friends, and most importantly, God!

Samwise the brave

The Lord of the Rings movies are some of my very favorites.  The prospect of a different world (or one in a fictitious history!) similar to our own, with the exception of technology, has always interested me greatly.  Sometimes I wish that I could live in such a world myself—I definitely wouldn't mind being an elf, or a hobbit.  One thing that's always caught my attention has been Samwise's devotion to Frodo.  I love the way that he follows Frodo, not because he was affected by the ring, but because he could see how the ring was affecting Frodo.  It makes me wonder what type of devotion can spur such love and affection for another person, whether you were his servant or not.  In this day and age, devotion seems to be an unknown word.  Genuine devotion for your friends and family has been forgotten, left on the wayside among the graves of other like virtues—caring for others, giving encouragement, finding joy. Even devotion to your spouse seems like an unknown subject.  Divorce has raged rampant over our country, even though your husband or wife should be one of the people you show the most devotion to.  Teenage rebellion was at one time unheard of—as was the very term "teenagers"—and now it has become a raging firestorm of hurt on the parents' side as well as the teenagers' side, scarring both with wounds not easily healed.  Devotion no longer has a part in the relationship of a teen and his or her parents. 
It makes me wonder what our world would be like if we all showed the type of devotion to our friends and family that Sam did for Frodo.  If we could try it for a day, really care for one another instead of "be there for them" (unless they really need you!), what would happen?  What would the outcome be, and how many lives will you change?


You never know until you try.

100 Things I'm Thankful For

      1.       A Lord who loves me

2.       A father and mother who take care of me

3.       The sun

4.       My cat

5.       My dog

6.       Being able to cry

7.       Being able to laugh

8.       Love

9.       Life

10.   Books

11.   The Bible

12.   School (yes, even algebra and geometry...)

13.   Paper

14.   Pens

15.   Smiles

16.   The smell of a new baby

17.   The smell of a clean dog

18.   Music

19.   Joy

20.   Faith

21.   My journal

22.   Missions

23.   Orphans laughing

24.   Slaves set free

25.   Food

26.   The knowledge of how to prepare that food

27.   Blessings

28.   Prayer

29.   Poetry

30.   Imperfect people

31.   A perfect God

32.   Salvation

33.   Sacrifice

34.   Homemade bread

35.   buying yeast from a Mennonite store

36.   corn swaying in the wind

37.   the color of soy beans at harvest

38.   crinkly leaves

39.   the smell of rain

40.   the sound of thunder

41.   a whispering tree

42.   mountains

43.   baby calves with big brown  eyes

44.   homemade yogurt

45.   raw milk

46.   little children

47.   younger siblings

48.   the colors of a rainbow

49.   the eyes of a person with hope

50.   tears of happiness

51.   picking blueberries

52.   cooking garden-fresh pumpkins

53.   weeding a garden

54.   canning apple butter

55.   the smell of my mom's favorite candle

56.   friends I can trust

57.   letters

58.   patience

59.   petals of a dried rose

60.   hard times of testing

61.   good times of growth

62.   our Compassion children

63.   watching movies late at night

64.   reading my Bible in the quiet of morning

65.   the sunrise

66.   the sunset

67.   my favorite crocheting needle

68.   a bed

69.   being close with my siblings

70.   that the church isn't a building

71.   forgiveness

72.   windows that I can see through

73.   those days when you wake up and the world is perfect

74.   being able to serve people

75.   hugs

76.   that turkeys don't weigh much more than twenty pounds

77.   birds

78.   flight—and the miracle of humans flying

79.   pencils

80.   art

81.   faces

82.   beauty

83.   being homeschooled

84.   phase ten (my very favorite card game)

85.   adults who invest in the lives of kids

86.   dictionaries

87.   tulips

88.   sandals

89.   coats

90.   coffee

91.   spell check

92.   blogging

93.   martial arts

94.   running

95.   my camera

96.   hot chocolate on a cold day

97.   -30 wind chills to make life exciting

98.   Vitamins

99.   Two feet

100.      thanksgiving

An update on life

           My poor blog has sat forsaken for the last ten weeks, while I have been having an amazing (though exhausting) time watching God at work in my and my family's lives.  I want to share a little bit of what God's done this summer:

As some of you know, I left home in early June to serve and grow in the Lord at Eagle Lake Camp (ELC) in Woodland, Colorado.  I was part of the Crew program, which meant that I grew for five weeks alongside other teens, learning more about Christ and working at the camp.  Instead of the usual five-week commitment, God had other things in mind, and I ended up being at ELC for ten weeks.  I did the Crew program two sessions instead of one, and had the opportunity to learn, grow, laugh, and serve double the time I had originally planned.  Halfway through my time at Eagle Lake, I found out that my dad had lost his job.  He found another in late July, and will soon be working for Compassion International in Colorado Springs.  We are in the midst of selling our house in Iowa and are starting to pack up for the move (an adventure with the small children running around everywhere!). 

Throughout the many transitions that have been taking place in my life lately (coming back to the "real world" after 2 ½ months of Christian camp, getting ready to relocate to a different part of the country, beginning to look at the monster piles of school work ahead of me this next year...), I've been able to find God in the middle of everything.  He has been the eye in the hurricane, the safe spot in the center of the storm.  I have been excited to see my faith deepening to new depths, and my hunger for Christ is growing every day. 

            Being at camp in Colorado, away from family and unable to contact them very often, was definitely challenging at times—especially while my dad was job hunting and my mom was trying to get the house ready to sell while pregnant.  I wanted to be there for them to help with my younger siblings, but God's presence in my life made it obvious that I was exactly where I needed to be.  As hard as it sometimes was (though not always—ELC is a wonderful place!), looking back, this summer has been both one of the best and one of the hardest ones yet—and I can't wait to see what God holds in store for me next!

(Energetic) Emily

Emily's one of the two family drama queens (Sophia, the other one, will be introduced next week.).  She is also Samuel's hero.  She's probably the most bouncy, happy child I've ever seen—almost always wearing a smile on her little face.  Right now she's seven years old, and she's been learning to read at an amazingly fast pace over the last six months.

This is Emily's "excited" look.  She gets that look on her face, either folds or claps her hands, and starts jumping up and down if she's watching a suspenseful movie, or, in this case, her older sister playing a computer game. 

I think that one thing we'd all miss seeing without Emily is the joy that she inspires.  She's so happy and joyful that it's hard not smile at her, even if you're having a bad day.  And the silliness that goes along with joy at her age just makes it even harder not to smile!

And that's about it... Emily at her best. 

Samuel

This is my four-year-old brother Samuel.  The sticker on the forehead is temporary.  So is the spiked hair.

Sam's one of the orderly kids in the house—my mom was so excited when he actually wanted to clean his room for the first time, or make sure that the napkins and forks are placed just right on the table.  He's the oldest boy in the house, and despite the spoiling he's gotten from his four older sisters, he's good at playing crash the car with Isaiah.

This is Samuel's "Baby Tractor" (a kid's John Deere Gator).  Sam's so fond of the thing that it's been replaced once when the old one (a hand-me-down from friends) broke down from the constant use.  Seeing Samuel outside in the summer without Baby Tractor is pretty close to seeing a pig fly.

  Samuel's a sweet little boy, a favorite among his family and friends.  One of his many talents is helping people out—something I'm sure he'll be known for a long time!