Our Mint Forest

Off the Top of My Head

I'm not emotional. I cry am pretty emotional when it comes to dying dog stories, but who isn't? The kind I mean is like crying during church, or lifting my hands because I feel 'spiritual', or weeping while reading about Jesus' suffering. Do you have to be emotional to be a Christian? I don't think so. If I lifted my hands during prayer or said 'amen' during the sermon, I would feel like the Pharisees.

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 6:5-6

I, for one, would feel like a hypocrite. I don't lift my hands during daily worship, so why do it in church, where everyone could see? Of course, I'm not judging those who do. I think it's wonderful to see people do this.

Your thoughts?

Grace be with you,

Abby :D

Psalm 1

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

I love this psalm. I think it describes how a righteous man should live. I've been reading in the Psalms, but I still think that my favorite is either this one or Psalm 23.

What is your favorite psalm?

Grace be with you,

Abby :D

My friend Nehemiah is starting a writing blog and was wondering if anyone would like to join. Check out his post here.

(nearly) wordless: dandelion

Well, it's not Wednesday, but I posted a (nearly) wordless anyway. Who doesn't love dandelions? They're so whimsical.

Hated

I want the world to hate me.


If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
John 15: 18-19



I want to be the complete opposite of the world. I want to stand out, apart from the world's ways, be hated by their systems, glorify God in everything I do. I want to be hated by the world. To be persecuted just like Jesus. And while I don't exactly want to be hated (after all, who does?), I want to be like Jesus. I want to be chosen out of the world. I want to be a child of the Most High.

Your thoughts?

Grace be with you,

Abby

Our Strawberry Crop

Yum! God has blessed us with some nice sweet strawberries. They are really good with cream and our mom has tried her hand at strawberry lemonade.

What is your favorite way to eat strawberries?

Grace be with you,
Abby :D


Photos by Leah

Frolic!

I've finally gotten around to this. Hooray! There's some great giveaways over here!


Favorite thing about summer? Hmm... I like the heat. Why? Two words: The pool. :)

In your opinion, the best scent in the entire world? I really love the smell of mint. Or lavender.

An embarrassing moment: Oh, my. There's so many. I'll have to pick one, let's see. Ah ha! One time, we were doing a recital at an assisted living home. Leah and I were doing a duet on the recorder. Well, in the middle of the song, I burst out laughing. Then Leah started laughing and we had to start over 2 times. :P It was SO embarrassing. Another? All right. This one is just awkward: I was playing with my brother outside on the porch, and I got the idea to charge into the yard like a warrior (think "For Narnia and for Aslan!") using a bamboo rod for a sword (bright idea, right?) Well, I charged with my 'sword' in front of me, and as I did I noticed the next-door neighbor watching me. That sure was a red-faced moment. :)

This is a bit overdone, but, what's your clothing style? Uh... comfortable? Yeah, some of the things are wear are rather unfashionable.

Deep question time: vanilla or chocolate? Chocolate, for sure.

What do you think: is the Twilight fad dying out?  And if it is, are you dancing over its grave? Yes, I think it's dying out. I haven't heard as much about it lately. And again, yes, I did not like the vampire craze. ICK!

Favorite quote? I don't have one. There's a lot of quotes that I like, but I can't pick one.

Best thing that has ever happened to you and why? Hard, hard question. I think it was when my mother announced that she was pregnant with twins. (After a tubal reversal and a mistake with the number of babies)

Traveling: where would you want to go? I'd like to go to Paris. (Doesn't everyone?)

Favorite food? Spaghetti.

What type of music do you like? I love hymns. They're so old-fashioned and pretty.

Canon or Nikon? (If you're not a photographer, don't feel like you have to answer this...) I couldn't tell you for my life. I'm not a photographer.

Are you a squeamish person? Any stories? Nope. Sorry to disappoint.

Flipflops, bare feet, or heels? Bare feet all the way. :)

Do you like old black and white films? Yes. Especially Ma and Pa Kettle.

Skirts or jeans? Skirts.

Fresh or saltwater? Freshwater.


Grace be with you,

Abby :D

He Loves You

{Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong!
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so!} ♥


I love this song. It's a sweet, simple reminder of Jesus' love for us. And we all need that now and then, right? :)

Grace be with you,

Abby :D

wordless: the fireman

wordless: cross-eyed cutie

I'm a sinner.

Sometimes I feel totally and completely worthless, and a 100% failure. And I wonder "Why?" Perhaps it's because I feel frightened at the thought of witnessing. Maybe it's because I get angry too easily. Because I'm not patient. Because I don't like housekeeping (and I want to be a homemaker someday). Because I'm doing poorly in Algebra 1. Because I am a sinner. I know God loves us and forgives our sins, yet I want to ask, "How long can He keep forgiving? How could He love me?" I keep messing up. Keep failing. Keep on sinning.

 But then I remind myself of Paul. He was a sinner. He even persecuted God's people. Yet he was saved, forgiven, and loved by the Most High King, the God who knows our hearts, yet loves us in spite of it. And I wonder how this mood could come on, when I know He loves me, He is my master, my King, my God.

~Praise to the Almighty, the King of all nations, who was, and is, and is to come!~

Grace be with you, and keep on the straight and narrow path!


Abby :D

(I just had to share this song. It seemed to fit the mood, and the words are beautiful, just beautiful)

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea,
A great high Priest whose Name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.


When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me,
To look on Him and pardon me.


Behold Him there, the risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace.
One with Himself, I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood.
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God!

One with Himself, I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood.
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God!

An annoying list and other things...

1.Uncapped markers

2. Crying babies~ they're sad, too! :(

Yes, this is my darling sister Essie. She is so cute!

3. Out-of-tune pianos

4. Unreadable (or just hard to read) cursive

Do you have any other annoying things to add to this list?

 A little update on my life:

~Baby Essie is doing great, although she does have her off days. She is so cute!
~Our dog Speckle gets a lot of sores (or hot spots) under her floppy ears. So on Tuesday we're going to have her shaved. I think she'll look funny when she's done! :)
~My piano recital was today. It went pretty well (as in, less shaking and sweating less than usual), and there were  some yummy refreshments afterward.
~For Bible time, I'm reading Numbers, 2 Chronicles, and Revelation. I have been reading through the New Testament and I'm almost done. Revelation is sort of scary because of the judgments on unbelievers.

So that's about it for my update. How's your life going?

Grace be with you,

Abby :D