Friendlight Friday

Sarah Grace from Breezes Through the Meadow

Almost every future homemaker in-training has a vision of what they would want to be like as a homemaker...right ? Or is it just me ?

As a little girl, I wanted to be like Laura Ingalls Wilder, the genuine frontier girl. She stuck it out when times were rough. Each day she tackled the tasks ahead, trampled the hardships down, and always wanted to be a help to her family. Did I mention that she paid for over half of Mary's college tuition, and almost never wanted to spend a dime on herself ? She was sacrificing..But, as reality hits, I know that I would never be a Laura Ingalls Wilder.

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Who Wants Cupcakes?

It's a normal scene: a kid at school brings in a tray of cupcakes to share with her classmates.  Maybe they're homemade, with rainbow sprinkles falling off onto the tray.  Maybe they're storebought, with the frosting stuck to the top of the plastic box.  She carries them with her backpack and purse into the classroom and sets them on her desk while she puts her bags down.  Once her teacher gives her the go-ahead, she shares the tempting pastries.  Maybe she walks around the room, setting one on each desk.  Maybe she opens the box and waits for her classmates to swoop in and claim their sweet cupcake.

The classmates, of course, wish her a happy birthday and possibly thank her on their way back to their desks.  But then the scene becomes less than normal.

"It's not my birthday," she announces, her voice bold and something very close to flint determination filling her eyes.  She waits for the inevitable question.

The boy three seats back is the one to ask it.  "Well then... whose is it?"  After all, cupcakes at school must mean a birthday.

She clears her throat.  Her mouth is caught between a steely line and a powerful smile.  With a strong, clear voice she proclaims, "Today is October 9, and these cupcakes are in memory of the fifty-three million children who will never have a birthday," she pauses... "because of abortion."

This scene plays out with boys and girls across America every year.  This year will be my first year participating in this event.  This year, October 9 falls on a Sunday, and the Sunday School classes of Mikado Baptist Church are in for a wake-up call.

786,500 abortions were performed on self-proclaimed Christians in 2008.  Countless Christians know little to nothing of abortion and its horrors.  Countless Christians know the terrors of this legal murder, but turn a blind eye and deaf ear to it.  How can we let this continue?  How can we let millions of babies die cruel and preventable and selfish deaths, while we sit in cushioned pews in air-conditioned auditoriums discussing which restaurant to meet at for lunch?  It's time for the church to wake up and face this evil - along with the many others than we allow to eat away the flesh of this nation while we live inside our little bubbles of 'happy Christian lives.'

"Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked." ~ Psalm 82:3-4

K is for...

Kids!

Haha.  I don't have any photos of kangaroos (why do I always think of animals first?), but I have plenty of kid photos!  This one's Bella. :)  Did I mention she moved while I was at camp? :(

This would be Hannah, my little fourth of July model.  She's Mikaela's little monkey of a sister.

Random child from the church nursery.  His name's Reed. (Or is this one Ethan? They're unrelated, but they look so much alike!)

Finally, Becca.  Who did the 'toe-painting' in the last of these photos.  And who has also moved away.

Lists

If there are any guys reading this, sorry, but today happens to be girls-only.  Come back tomorrow for gender-neutral content. :P

Seriously, guys, why are you still reading?  I said see you later!

With this bloggy schedule of mine, I've been posting various lists each Tuesday.  They might be lists of things I like or don't like, or things I've done or hope to do, or just a random list I found on somebody else's blog.  This week, while racking my brain for a good list idea, I realized I've never talked about the ultimate Lists.  Ladies, you know what I'm talking about - that List of everything your future S.O. Must and Must Not Be.  Even if you don't have one, I'm sure you've heard of them.  Some ladies have eight-page Lists, right down to the birth date and hair color.  (Yikes.)  Others only have one or two things on their Lists, but those one or two things are absolutely nonnegotiable.

I, in fact, made a List a few months ago.  I've made additions and revisions with time.  My List was originally copied out of Titus and 1 Timothy.  As time passed, I added qualities I admired in the guys I saw around me.  As I considered how lengthy and repetitious the List grew, I took some things off and consolidated others.  At the moment, here's what my List looks like:

He Must Be...
~Protective
~Grounded in his specific beliefs
~Respectful to his parents/authority
~Christ-like (clean speech, appropriate behavior in different situations)
~A good leader
~Kind to his siblings
~Clear-headed, sensible
~Honest - 100%
~Growing spiritually
~Can read me well, understanding
~Makes me laugh
~Good with children
~Loyal, trustworthy

He Must Not Be...
~Possessive/controlling
~Violent
~Smoker
~Drinker
~Selfish
~Disrespectful
~Greedy

Obviously, nobody's perfect, but I'm not talking isolated incidents here.  You know when a guy is acting out of character, and when he's just being himself.

So, single ladies, do you have a List?  Care to share what's on it?  And to the married women - did you have a List at some point?  How well do you think your husband matches your List?  Any recommendations for ladies like myself, who are still working on their List?

Remembrance

America has certain days during which we remember things of the past - usually lives lost and tragedies that occurred on that day in history.  One such day that passed recently was the tenth anniversary of 9/11.  Another obvious day is Memorial Day.

Today is a lesser-known one of these days.  Today is the day that Americans remember the millions of lives lost and the tragedies that have occurred since January 1973.  Today is Pro-Life Memorial Day.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton in 1973, 53 MILLION babies have been surgically and medically aborted - millions more have been killed chemically. This staggering death toll is the direct result of these two decisions.
On the first Monday in October, the U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term. This is a day on which pro-lifers across the nation will mourn the victims of America's hidden holocaust: abortion.
Who will hear the cries of these preborn children? Who will be their voice? Who will mourn their deaths? On October 3rd, thousands of Americans will be mourning the victims of abortion by gathering for prayer and candlelight vigils at the U.S. Supreme Court and abortion facilities nationwide.
~from Pro-Life Memorial Day website

Here at Struggles of a (Maybe) Teen Author, we're having our own virtual vigil.  At exactly 7:30 PM, I am taking a minute of silence.  60 seconds of prayer.  60 seconds without a voice, in memory of the millions who will never have even 60 seconds with one.  I ask you to join me.

The abortion holocaust is not over yet.  But if we never forget its hidden terrors - if we never stop fighting to save these children's lives - then, one day, it will be.

Book Review: Close Enough to Hear God Breathe

Close Enough to Hear God Breathe by Greg Paul
The great story of divine intimacy

Click the cover to buy

Before we start, I just have to warn you: this is the first book I've reviewed without reading it from cover to cover.  I've read the first section and a few random chapters, but I totally forgot about my reading schedule this week and am still scrambling to catch up.  I never like to review a book I haven't finished, but since this is nonfiction and I already have a very strong impression, I'm making an exception. (Also, if I were a normal shopper, my opinion would be made with the first few pages I read - so really, this will be just as honest a review as any other.)

When I chose this book, it was only because nobody else had yet.  I really didn't know what the book was about, or what genre it fit into.  It's not an 'about' book full of facts or detailed timelines, but it's still nonfiction.  It's not a devotional book, but it still focuses on God.  It's not fiction, but it still breathes life and imagination into the words.  It's a book of its own, rather beyond description or categorization.

I've never heard of this author before, and that's certainly my loss!  His writing style is one of the best I've ever read.  Very few authors can capture the 'talking-right-to-me' essence that Greg Paul has.  It's like we've known each other for years.  The Bibles stories shared are told like a father telling a bedtime story to his eight-year-old.  The examples are perfectly suited; the emotions are real.  The humanity of the author and the readers is right there, but so is the wonder of life and God.  To quote another reader, "This book has a heart that beats louder than most any book you'll ever read." (Leonard Sweet)

Each section is set apart and deals with a different aspect of life; yet the whole book ties together in some inexplicable way.  Each chapter starts as if it were its own book; yet there's no sense of disconnection.  The beauty of the words and the honest, open soul of the writer shines through to make this a truly inspiring work.  I give it 4.5 stars, only due to the use of non-KJV Bible passages.

I received this book for free through Booksneeze in exchange for this review.  All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day Two - A Favorite Movie

Like I said last week, I don't really have favorites. (I mentioned color and blogger as the two constants: I forgot cereal! - Cheerios, of course.) But I do have several movies I enjoy, so today I'm cheating and sharing more than one. :) I suppose that's a bad idea, cheating when it's only day two...

So, movies I love:

~ Christy movies I much prefer the television show, but the third and last of these continuations is such a perfect ending.

~ Disney's Tangled Their love isn't first sight (ick). The music is good. The guy actually has a personality and a back story and looks like a person. Also, I have this thing for hair...

~ Disney's Beauty and the Beast Again, no love-at-first-sight, good music, guy has a personality and story... plus I am a sucker for all things Beauty and the Beast related, as we will learn when we get to favorite television shows.

~ Left Behind trilogy I am in love with Buck. Have been since I met him in the books, and will probably always be.  (Ditto with Chloe.) Whenever I see Kirk Cameron I see Buck, and I don't even know Chloe's actress's name - she will always be Chloe to me. Another thing: the movies are so totally awesome, but the books are better. I never finished them, though. (I lost the ninth book and by the time I found it I had no clue where I'd left off or what was going on.)

~ Fairy tales retold Thinking of Ella Enchanted, A Cinderella Story, Another Cinderella Story... you get the picture. Most redos are Cinderella, but if it isn't Shrek-oriented (ughck! hate him!) then I'll probably enjoy any fairy tale redo.

~ Amazing Grace You know, the movie that features "Amazing Grace My Chains Are Gone." It has amazing actors and actresses and is full of truth and emotion surrounding a previous battle as passionate and controversial as today's social/political/moral war over abortion. Really, there are more similarities than I could list. Maybe that's why I love this movie so much. It's probably the only 'true-story' movie I love as much as fiction.

So there you have it. Just a sampling of what I enjoy. Trust me, if you could see our Netflix queue and history, you'd realize what a movie addict I am. But then, I'm always after the story - book, movie, song, poem, photo, whatever: the story is what I want.