I haven't written since practically last year!

Happy New Year, everybody! This has been a great year, and I'm looking forward to what God will teach me in the next one. I hope you will all join me as I hope (hope hope hope!) that my blog will get better and more interesting. :) And I can almost promise more photos. See ya next year!


Grace be with you,

Abby :D

A Tag with Character

I found this fun looking tag on Julia's blog. It looks really really fun. We shall see if it is, shall we not?

The rules are to name 12 literary characters and then answer the questions. Here goes!
First my list of 12 characters:

1. Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie
2. Mary Poppins from, well, Mary Poppins
3. Desperaux from The Tale of Desperaux
4. Pip from Great Expectations
5. Meg from A Wrinkle in Time
6. Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings
7. Elsie from Elsie Dinsmore
8. Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables
9. Mandie from the Mandie series
10. Count Olaf from A Series of Unfortunate Events
11. Mary from The Secret Garden
12. Betsy from the Betsy-Tacy series

Now to answer the questions!



1. Who would make a better college professor, 6 or 11?
Hmm... Sam or Mary. Probably Sam. He knows more.

2. 12 sends 8 out on a mission. What is it? Does it succeed?
Betsy sends Gilbert. Uh, maybe a mission to find a way to make her hair stay curly? He gets a curling iron. :)


3. What is, or what would be, 9’s favorite book?
Mandie? The Bible, most likely.

4. Would it make more sense for 2 to swear fealty to 6 or the other way around?
Sam to Mary Poppins, or Mary to Sam? Probably the first way. He's kind of that sort of guy.
 

5. Number 5 is looking for a roommate. Should s/he room with 9 or 10?
Definitely Meg with Mandie. I don't think Meg would enjoy sharing with Count Olaf.
 

6. 2, 7, and 12 are going out to dinner. Where are they going, and what do they discuss?
Mary Poppins, Elsie Dinsmore, and Betsy. They probably go to a fancy restaurant. After all, Elsie is rich. I don't know what they talk about. Maybe theology and uh... looking pretty?



7. 3 challenges 10 to a duel. Who wins?
Count Olaf and Desperaux. I would hope that Desperaux would win, but Count Olaf is bigger. So he'd probably win.
 

8. If 1 stole 8’s most precious possession, how would s/he get it back?
Gilbert could probably just ask Laura for it. Unless it was something she really wanted. Then she'd shut the door in his face and he would have to resort to stealing it back.

9. Suggest a story title in which 7 and 12 both attain what they want.
Betsy and Elsie. How about, "Inward Beauty" or some such name.


10. What kind of plot device would you have to use to get 1 and 4 to work together?
Pip and Laura. Well. I really don't know. First Pip would have to have a boat to sail to America, then he would knock on her door and ask very politely.


11. If 7 visited you for the weekend, how would it go?
Elsie Dinsmore. I've always wanted to meet her! We would probably spend the weekend sewing and talking.
 

12.  If you could command 3 to perform any service or task for you, what would it be? 
I would send him to fetch me some soup from the cook.

13. If 2 had to choose sides between 4 or 5, what side would s/he choose?
Mary Poppins choosing between Pip and Meg. She'd choose Meg. They both come from sort of magic-y tales, so they would most likely like each other.
 

14. What might 10 shout out while charging into battle?
Count Olaf. Maybe he shout, "I will get your fortune!" :)


15. If you had to choose a song to best describe 8, what would it be?
Gilbert. Probably some song about loving never failing or something.



16. 1, 6, and 12 are having a dim sum at a Chinese Restaurant. There is only one scallion pancake left , and they all reach for it at the same time. Who gets it?
Laura, Betsy, Sam. I should hope that Sam would be gentlemanly enough to let the ladies have. I think that Laura and Betsy would split it.



17. What would 5 most likely be arrested for?
Meg. Uh... maybe fighting... for her brother?



18. What is 6’s secret?
Sam. That he wanted to steal the Ring for himself?


19. If 11 and 9 were racing to a destination, who would get there first?
Mandie and Mary. I don't know, they're both pretty fast. Probably Mary, because she's more determined.

20. If you had to walk home through a bad neighborhood late at night, who would you be more comfortable walking with, 7 or 8? 
Elsie or Gilbert. Gilbert, because he's stronger. 


21. 1 and 9 reluctantly team up to save the world from the threat posed by 4's sinister secret organization. 11 volunteers to help them,but it is later discovered that s/he is actually a spy for 4. Meanwhile, 4 has kidnapped 12 in an attempt to force their surrender. Following the wise advice of 5, they seek out 3, who gives them what they need to complete their quest. What title would you give this fiction? 
Laura and Mandie team up to save the world from Pip's secret organization (funny, he never struck me as that sort of person). Mary volunteers to help, but is discovered that she is a spy for Pip. Meanwhile, Pip has kidnapped Betsy (poor Betsy) in an attempt to force their surrender. Following the wise advice of Meg, they seek out Desperaux, who gives them what they need to complete their quest. 
It could be called, "The Wisdom of a Mouse".




That was really fun! I liked it a lot! Now, I'm not going to tag anyone, but anyone who wants to take it can. I recommend it.


Grace be with you,


Abby :D

running through my head: sanctification

I've decided what to be when I grow up. Ready to hear?

Alright. I want to be a role model.

"No, no, Abby. You're supposed to choose something like a veterinarian or an author or something."

Nope. I'm going to be a role model.

I'm going to be the type of person that everyone gets along with and wants to be around. The kind of person that knows the right things to say. Who everyone depends on and trusts. Who is always cheerful and ready to help. The kind of person who loves God passionately and talks about Him all the time.

The next thing I need to do is to figure out how to become that kind of person. Becoming a role model requires a lot of sanctification. Prayer and Bible-reading is probably the best road to becoming a role model. Every day, I have to constantly pray, "God, help me to be cheerful," or "Lord, please help me to stop complaining." I have to check myself every minute to be sure that I have a good tone of voice or facial expression. But I want to become that kind of person, that kind of model to the people around me. Something to remember is that even the people who seem like that to you, who are like that, have the same kinds of struggles. Maybe people consider you like that. Would you be surprised if someone told you that they wanted to be like you? I would. Becoming a role model is not easy. It's a growing journey. It's being justified and sanctified by God. And it's something I'm reaching toward, stretching towards, with the hopes that maybe one day I'll be able to look back on my life satisfied with what I've done.


Grace be with you,

Abby :D

a short thought for the week

 A week or two ago, I stood around for 5 hours. Of course, I wasn't just standing there. I was helping to pack shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. It was a wonderful experience, checking and taping boxes for needy children. I willingly stood there and packed for 5 hours... and it made me think.

At home, when my mother assignment vacuuming as the 'chore of the day', I grumpily get out the vacuum. I slam it around and grumble under my breath at how hard and unfair it is.
What is so different about serving out and about, and serving at home? Is it just that it's more fun to be with friends while working? Or maybe that we try to make a good impression on people, "Oh look! I just love to work so much! I'm so cheerful and happy as I work!" I'm certainly not like that at home. Would I have been so cheerful if we had to pack boxes at home, without friends, without anyone to impress?

What is your opinion? Do you work more cheerfully at home, or out-and-about?

Grace be with you,

Abby :D 

I'm A Horrible Blogger.

Do you not agree? It's been- what? Seven days? And I don't blame most of you for not commenting on or reading my last post. You've probably gotten sick of my unfaithfulness. Sorry!

Christmas is coming up. The most celebrated holiday in stores... you know, when they give you all those Christmas discounts and fun new holiday products. But you have to wonder, is this a good thing? Have we taken the celebration of Christ's birth and turned it into a big sales holiday? I know many of you hear a lot of this around this time of year, "Think about Jesus this year!" "Jesus is the reason for the season" "Christ is the true meaning of Christmas". But do we take this to heart? This year, we need to really, truly make this a celebration of Christ's birth. I'm not trying to judge those of you who make wish lists and put up decorations and buy things with holiday discounts. I do it too, and love it! But maybe this year, we should do something like donate to a charity in someone's name, or maybe tithe Christmas money or donate it. Do something in Christ's glorious, wonderful name.

Boy, have we had a lot of recitals this season! We have had one piano recital, almost three hand bell recitals, and one violin recital. It was a lot of music to learn, but much, much fun. Have you done any recitals this year?

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season! Look for better posts soon!

Grace be with you,
Abby :D


ps. How many people read my blog? Just wondering.

story idees

 These are some ideas I had during my daily life. I typed them up off the top of my head, so don't expect any first-class writing. How do you like them? Do you have some helpful criticism to add? The two paragraphs are not related, by the way.

“Any last words, Jones?” The town’s mayor looked up at the man sitting on the horse, a rope around his neck. The sheriff had finally managed to catch the notorious robber and horse thief, Jackson Jones. He had been bothering the town with his crimes for almost two months, and was very slippery and hard to catch. The sheriff and his officers set up a trap and caught him. They looked very pleased with themselves as they helped tie the other end of the rope to the tree. “Well,” said the criminal, looking around at the assembled townspeople, “just that pretty soon I’ll play my last trick. Hah, hah!” The people looked at each other and laughed. He was about to be hanged! How could he play any more tricks? “Giddap!” the mayor said to the horse. The horse leapt forward, leaving Jackson hanging by the rope. But what was this? The man reached up and started pulling himself up on the rope, using just his arms. The townspeople watched in disbelief as he climbed to the top of the branch where the rope was tied. No one moved. Jackson untied the rope, climbed down from the tree, and saluted cockily. “Guess I’ll be seein’ you folks later, then,” he called, and winked. Then he was gone. The people couldn’t believe it. Nobody made a move. No one spoke. They weren’t sure what they had just seen. Finally, one by one, the townspeople dispersed, talking amongst themselves.

“It’s creepy,” the words were spoken in a whisper. I rolled my eyes and looked over at my cousin. “Come on,” I sneered, “Are you saying that one old abandoned trailer is creepy?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m not chicken, if that’s what you’re saying.”

I gestured toward the old trailer. “Then come on. You promised you’d come with me.” We were going on an expedition. My cousin Thomas and I loved to explore and find treasures (well, to us they were) like old bottle caps and pennies. I asked him to come with me to the old abandoned mobile home way back in our woods to see what we could find. “There’s probably things living in there,” he whispered to me as we got closer. “Things? Like what kind of things?” I asked sarcastically.

“Um… like spiders…”

“You mean like ghosts?” I smiled incredulously, “come on Thomas. Ghosts aren’t real.”

We were almost to the door when suddenly a loud crash came from inside. “Oh, they aren’t?” Thomas was shivering; I could hear his teeth chatter.
"Let’s go home!” I whispered to him frantically, scared now myself. But it was too late.

The door sque-eaked open and out stepped…

Grace be with you,

Abby :D

ps. The trailer one came from a abandoned looking mobile home in our neighborhood.