When I Consider...

Many of us have been blown away by these photos...

 

 

 

 

Some of you may or may not have seen the above star, Canis Majoris.

Want to have a little perspective on how big our God is?

If you put Canis Majoris in the place of our sun it's surface would extend to the orbit of Saturn- that would mean that Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter would be covered. 

I was reading in the Psalms with morning and came across these verses:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, 
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; 
What is man that You take thought of him, 
And the son of man that You care for him? 

~Psalm 8:3-4

When I see all of these amazing photos of things that God has created- things so much bigger than we humans- and even our planet- it amazes me that the Maker of all this would come down in the flesh to suffer and die at our puny hands- so that we might have fellowship with Him.

Have you ever seen this photo?
It's called "The Pale Blue Dot".   Can you see it?
That's you and me.
That's where we are sitting right now.
That's been our home since the beginning of time.
Every life that has ever lived has lived it out on the "mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam" (Carl Sagan).


Now, want to see more of how amazing God is and how He is "intimately acquainted with all our ways"?


Allow my friend, Louie Giglio, to intoduce you to a little thing called Laminin.

Be blessed my friends, and know that you are loved by the King!

~Amy

Purpose

~Amy

When I'm older....

Is this normal- or am I crazy?

I am like really, really, really, really, REALLY excited about Christmas!  I know... it's pathetic... I've been excited and planning since September... :-)
(My birthday is a few days before Christmas... maybe that's why I like it so much...)

It's so amazing when I think about the Christmas story... how God came down out of heaven and was born into flesh to live a perfect life and to ultimately die as a sacrifice for our sins.  It's mind-blowing actually.

Us Christians have a beautiful ministry platform at Christmas time.

Everyone is bustling around in the "Christmas spirit", cheery, festive...  what better time to tell them the Christmas story- the gospel message?  

Go caroling!
Sing about the gift of God...

Bring cookies and tracts...

Bring tracts with you when you are in line at busy stores... Wouldn't it be nice to read a comic while waiting in line?

Anyway... just thinkin'...

Is it to early to be thinking about Christmas?!?!?  I can't help it!

Have a fabulous day, my friends!

~Amy

Embrace WHAT?!?!?!?

Ha... you are probably on the edge of your seat as to what the "WHAT?!?!?!?" is in the title aren't you?

Patience, patience...

Pop culture, movies, album covers, and even books have been screaming to us girls...

"To be pretty, you must have a PERFECT face!  No pimples, scars, or un-plucked eyebrows... Oh! and don't EVER think that you can go without makeup!"

Yesterday I was feeling... well... ugly.  I have some leftover very subtle acne on my face but I noticed some temporary scars where the acne had left.  My hair dried kind of funny because I waited a bit too long to brush it after coming out of the shower. 

Ugh.

I had to babysit later in the day so I found a few free minutes, snagged 'em and went to the bathroom to cover up my "ugliness".  I wanted to cry just looking at myself... why did I feel like this?

I came to my Momma afterwards and mentioned how I felt...  She began trying to make me feel better about my appearance but then she stopped and said, 

"You know, you should be grateful for your blemishes and when you feel like that because it keeps you from getting prideful about your appearance."

Pure wisdom. 

It was like a light bulb moment for me...

What's the matter with a perfect face?  What's the matter with having no pimples, scars, or un-plucked eyebrows?  Nothing's that matter with it- but it can make it a whole lot harder to view yourself as what you really are: a dirty sinner that doesn't deserve to have anything- not even good looks.

  

So embrace your blemishes- after all where does true beauty really come?

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

~1 Peter 3:3-4~

Thanks, Momma!

What to Say?

"For I did not speak on my own initiative but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak."

~John 12:49~

Wow... I read that verse this morning and I'm still trying to come to grips with it.  

Jesus, the Son of God, God in the flesh, only spoke what God commanded Him to speak?

If the Son of God relied on the Father to command Him what He was to say how much more so should I? 

Food for thought.

Handmade Holidays!

Wow... it's November already...

Today is the start of the highly anticipated  Handmade Holidays over at Sew, Mama, Sew!

I'm so excited!  Today is the first day...

If you are unfamiliar with Sew, Mama, Sew's Handmade Holidays it is an online event in which you can win prizes, see free tutorials for Christmas gifts, and free recipes! Every day is a different theme... Today's is "Passion for Accessories"
 This is their 5th year doing it so the past 4 years of tutorials is still on their website and worth checking out...  I've been all over it ;-)


Here are some of today's tutorials:
(Click the photos to be directed)

Pleated Headband Tutorial

Cake Batter Chocolate Bark

Here are a few of several prizes for this week:

Are you as excited as I am?!?!?


Have a wonderful day!
~Amy

Where's Your Heart?

"for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:21

Most of the time when we hear this verse we think of "treasure" as our money, but what else do we treasure?  What do we hold dear- everyone has it- that is much more valuable than all the money in the world?

Time.

(Clock sold here)

It's a tough thing.... so much can steal our time away if left unbridled- TV, movies, Facebook, Twitter, hobbies.... the list could go on and on.  Are we investing our time into things that really matter?  Because whatever the activity, worthless or not, our hearts are in whatever we spend our time on.

Food for thought.

When I sat down to write this post I was specifically thinking about my brothers and sisters.  Do they have my heart?  Am I spending enough on my "treasure" of time (and/or money!) on them?

What about the Lord Jesus? Are you spending your most precious possession to read His Word- to pray to Him and to enrich your relationship with Him?  Your life is a gift- He gave you the time that you spend now as you please... how are you using it for His glory?

Just been thinking...  I know I need to work on prioritizing where my time is spent!

Meet the Newest Member of the Family!

Say "hello" to the newest member of the family!

 

Momma and Daddy found him on the sidewalk while on their morning walk yesterday...  We suspect that he had just recently hatched- Hannah said she still sees his egg tooth!

(Hannah's hand- btw) :)

Isn't he cute?  He's so tiny!

He is a Three Striped Mud Turtle...  still researching on how to thoroughly take care of him... :)

This tiny little turtle reminds me of the verse that I have been recently pondering...

"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear ; you are more valuable than many sparrows."

Matthew 11:29-31

God knew about this little turtle crawling around on the sidewalk.  He knew exactly when my parents would come strolling by and see it.  He made sure that the little thing wouldn't get stepped on.  He had a wonderful plan- even for a little turtle's life.  He knew that Momma and Daddy would bring it home and make their nine children very happy.  He knew that He would be glorified as we pondered the wonders of His design...

Just a tiny 3/4 inch turtle.

How much more valuable are you?

Just food for thought...

Anyway, this little guy needs a name!  Any suggestions?

Modesty- More Than What You Think...

Our family has been defining our standards of modesty over the years and it has been a tough road.  It's hard giving some stuff up.  It's hard when you buy a shirt at the store that you love, bring it home, try it on for your dad and him to look at you and say (not wanting to burst your bubble but having to tell you the truth anyway), "I don't think so...."  Seeing the puzzled look on your face he gently continues on to explain how this is too tight here and could draw attention to there and so on and so forth.

I found this morning something that I thought you all might enjoy to give you some perspective and inspiration- throw some light on what is going on inside the mind of guys- so that when we go to buy something from the store we won't have to save the receipt. ;)

(Click the image)

Also as we are on the topic of modesty  (I could go through a whole study- but I won't- for your sake :) )  I feel as though we should look a little bit at the heart.

Modesty is more than the way we dress.

It's a whole attitude.

You can wear completely modest dress but have a rebellious and flirty attitude and attract the same kind of attention as though you were not wearing modest clothing.  Your posture, the way you walk, the way you laugh, talk, and interact with young men- it all screams who you are.  Loud and boisterous?  Soft and feminine?  You choose.

The clothes are only the first impression of you.  They don't define who it is that you are- they only provide a little first impression insight into your personality and character.   Once someone gets to know you they see the "real" you.  Whether you are lying about your "modesty" by your clothes or not they will soon find out.

"Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness."

1 Timothy 2:9-10

(Emphasis Added)

So do you have integrity in the way you dress and act?

Do the two go hand in hand- are they integrated- or are they two totally separate elements?

I don't know about you but I feel that I need to work on that a little more myself...

 

"Your adornment must not be merely external -braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses ;  but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God."

1 Peter 3:3-4

(Emphasis Added)

I hope you enjoyed this...

I hope to be posting more on the topic of fashion soon- hopefully more practical tips! ;)

P.S.  Guys (or girls, tell your dad and brothers), they are still accepting signatures for the Modesty Survey Petition, so this is an opportunity for you to still share your voice on the topic of modesty!

Introducing Courageous- and a little hint of perspective...

I am so excited about Sherwood Pictures' newest movie, Courageous, coming out in September!

Their past two films, Facing the Giants and Fireproof, were awesome- leaving me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next movie to come out by them...

Thinking about Courageous got me thinking about their other films and on some wild hair I decided to Google them.  (Just for fun I guess... I don't really know why! :) )  What I discovered when I looked at them in Wikipedia astounded me.

Did you know that the budget for Facing the Giants was $100,000?

The movie's gross income was $10,225,767.

What about Fireproof?

Budget: $500,000

Gross Income?

Here' what Wiki says:

Fireproof's advance sales accounted for 40% of all Fandango sales the week before the film opened. It was released on September 26, 2008 in 839 theaters and grossed $6,836,036 in its opening weekend, placing at #4. During its run, Fireproof had a domestic gross of $33,456,317, more than triple the lifetime earnings of its predecessor, Facing the Giants, and moving it into the top 6 grossing Christian films of all time. It was the highest grossing independent film of 2008.

On its first weekend of DVD release, it ranked third in retail sales and fifth in rentals with a rental index of 51.02. After the upcoming weeks, it sold $28,507,308 in DVD sales.

WOW!

It was astounding to me when I read that!  But it was more amazing when I looked up another Christian film to get some perspective.

"Letters to God is based on the true story of Tyler Doughtie, who was played in the film by Tanner Maguire. Parts of the story are real, and others were fictionalized, such as the character of a drunken mailman named Brady McDaniels (Jeffrey Johnson), who receives Tyler's 'letters to God.' The film was released to theaters on April 9, 2010, with mixed reviews. Despite opening at #10 at the box office, it fell just $150,000 short of its $3 million budget with a final gross of $2.85 million."

I would say that Letters to God was a pretty good film.  What was different about it than the Sherwood films?  What made them get such a better reception?

The difference that I saw was that Letters to God was a good movie- Christian and wholesome- but Fireproof was a great movie- on fire (ha- literally!) for Jesus with no compromises (no excuses for disrespect toward parents- in Letters to God, this is accepted as "normal").

Maybe people just want the "real deal"... it's possible.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 6:5-6

"Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men."

Proverbs 22:29

Thank you, Sherwood Pictures, for making movies that aren't "watered down"- that my family and I can watch that are not only "clean" but also edifying and encouraging in our faith!

God surely seems to have His hand on Sherwood Pictures...

Don't miss Courageous coming out on September 30!