Caption #10!

For this one, I got twelve suggestions, all of them very good! For this one, in first place is a tie between Rose and my Grandma. Both were excellent additions to the game—thanks for entering! I also enjoyed reading Jesseca Dawn's and Faith P's. Here is my Grandma's caption, Rose's is found with the picture below. "Where's my welder's helmet? My mother always told me not to look directly at an eclipse.... maybe I'll listen to her the next time."

I just had a mind blowing idea!

Two God Crazy Gals!

My friend, Marci, and I recently designed another blog called Two God Crazy Gals. We would love to have you visit, follow, and subscribe to it! Here is the link: 2Godcrazygals.blogspot.com

The newest post has a poem from a friend about love. I felt it very important and God placed it on my heart to share it with you! Click HERE to visit that post.

The Legacy of Rachel Scott

Rachel Joy Scott.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Columbine, Colorado. Just outside of Columbine High School two teenaged boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, walked up to a young woman named Rachel Scott and young man named Richard eating lunch together. Suddenly both boys drew guns and opened fire. Richard became paralyzed as a result of the bullets. Rachel was shot three times by Eric. As Rachel attempted to crawl away and the young man lay on the ground, the boys walked away toward the school but then turned back to Rachel. Eric held her head up by her hair and asked the simple question which, depending on her answer would be the difference between her life and death, “Do you believe in God?” She answered, “You know I do.” And with that Eric responded, “Then go be with Him.” He then ended her life with a final bullet. The killers then went on to murder eleven other students and a teacher but also injured many more students before taking their own lives. Rachel's brother, Craig, narrowly escaped death himself in the school library where most of the shooting went on. On today's date, April 20th, it has been 16 years since the tragedy in 1999.

Fishing!

Rachel Joy Scott was a devoted Christian even to her last breath at age 17. She wrote in her many journals about starting a “chain-reaction” for Christ by acts of kindness. She also wrote about her struggles and temptations. Even though she wasn't a “super-Christian” she desired to serve God even at the expense of friends. She paid attention to the whispers of the Holy Spirit and blessed many people. Rachel reached out to those at her school who were outcasts, bullied, and physically or mentally challenged. She even reached out to Eric and Dylan. In doing so, she was fulfilling her desire to “walk the talk.” She was determined not to be like many who claim to be Christians but then live no different from the rest of the world. She also had a goal to not be labeled average as she wrote on the back cover of the diary that she had in her backpack the day she was murdered.

There are several places where you can find out more about Rachel Scott. First of all there are at least three books written by her father and others that discuss her life and legacy: Rachel's Tears, (Picture of cover to the right) Rachel Smiles, and Chain Reaction. Rachel's Tears is the only one I've read and it has changed me. Now I've decided that I won't be labeled average—I will change lives by listening to God's voice and remaining faithful to Him. Also there is a website set up by her family that contains pictures of her as well as a bit about her. Link: www.racheljoyscott.com.  

Then there is the Rachel's Challenge page that talks about the challenge that Rachel left for us: reach out to those around you with Christ's love and thus change the world one step at a time.

Rachel had always felt that she would change the world. You might say, “Well, she was wrong for now she is dead.” But no, in her death she is changing the world. According to the statistics on the website “Rachel's Challenge,” through the messages that they have preached about Rachel they have prevented about 500 suicides in the last three years.

I am encouraging you to read Rachel's Tears and ask God how it should affect you. Check out this challenge that Rachel left us. Continue her mission to change yourself and in doing so, to change the world one step at a time by following God and letting Him work through you. I hope that you enjoyed reading this and that your life will be changed. God bless you!

Caption This #10!

Alright! Here we go with the next Caption This post! I love it when you participate and it doesn't have to be completely witty, I just love the interaction I get from these so feel free to comment an idea!

The dog in this picture is not mine but a friend who house sits for people took it. Thanks, Amy M!

Leibster Award: 2015 (Part 2)

In my last post I mentioned that I had received the Leibster Award twice and I answered the questions from Jesseca Dawn. Here is the second set of questions from Blessing Counter with Counting Your Blessings One by One. Thanks, Blessing Counter!

Just as a refresher . . .

The Rules are:
1) Link to the blogger that nominated you.
2) Answer the 11 new questions.
3) Nominate other bloggers. (As many or as few as you like)
4) Create 11 new questions for them to answer
5) Notify the new nominees of their award.

Now for responses to the questions!

1. Do you find that you read more fiction or non-fiction books? 

Fiction. Mostly horse stories and mysteries.
2. Skirts or pants?

Pants! Jeans or sweatpants to be specific. ;-)

3. What is your dream pet? Or do you not like animals in general?
I loove all animals! (Except for snakes, spiders, and the like) Dream pet—a horse!

4. What is your favorite Bible verse?
John 3:16 never becomes old. :-) Proverbs 3:5-6 also produce for me both a challenge and a comfort.

5. Who in your family do you look like the most?

My Dad mostly. Or at least that is what people say . . .

6. If given the chance, who is the one person that you would want to meet? 
Umm . . . can I go back in time to meet a person? If so, Jesus. If not then, well probably someone that has something to do with horses. ;-)

7. Say some of your siblings were fighting, either by words or physically. Would you watch them and cheer for your favorite, be a peacemaker, or ignore them and walk away?
Well, when I was born, my parents felt that I was to be both a leader and a peacemaker. I have seen both those qualities in me and so I would be a peacemaker for sure!

8. Do you prefer singing or playing an instrument?
Yikes, I don't sing well and I don't play any instruments.

9. Who is your favourite singer/band? 
I don't really have one but I like For All Seasons (formerly Reveal), the Advance, Casting Crowns, the Newsboys . . . you can check out my profile for a complete list.

10. What do you spend the most time doing/ What do you wish you spent the most time doing?
Well, most of my time is spent in school but I wish that I could spend all day out with horses, reading, writing, blogging, etc. (Again, my profile has a more complete list of my hobbies.)

11. What characteristic do you not have that you wish you had or are trying to learn?

I am working hard on being generous, not as selfish. Also I am trying to not take control of things all the time.

Okay, that was fun! Now for those who I am nominating:

Sarrah from Girls and God.
Amy from Living in Faith and Fun!
Cara from Faithful God Girls.
Marci from Two God Crazy Gals! 
Kelpie from C'est La Vie.

Here are the questions for my nominees to answer...have fun!
1. What is your favorite school subject? Least favorite?

2. What is your favorite pastime?
3. At what age did you receive Christ? (If you have)
4. What is your ideal vacation spot?
5. Who is your favorite author/series/book?
6.  What is your favorite food? Least favorite?
7. If you were given a million dollars, what would you do with it? (Honestly now . . . not what you think would be good but what would YOU do?)
8. What is your favorite joke?
9. Who is your favorite Bible character and story?
10. Do you enjoy writing? Have you published anything?

11. Briefly share of an exciting adventure that you have had. ;-)

I hope that you enjoyed reading my answers and getting to know more about me. Maybe you can connect with some of the other bloggers that I nominated as well as Blessing Counter!

Also:
I just changed the blog look so be sure to check it out and give me your feedback! The biggest picture in the collage is of my family and I on a trail ride (I am on the last horse). The picture in the top-right is of my sister with out new horse, Baylie. The bottom-left picture (not the big one) is of Dream and me one burn day out doing school by the fire; the top-left picture is of me and Dream one day after church; and the bottom-right is of my boots in the snow up at Shaver Lake where my family like to vacation. Enjoy!

Leibster Award: 2015 (Part 1)

Last year I was awarded the Leibster Award which basically lets people get to know you better and makes others aware of other small blogs. This year I was nominated twice so I will do it in two separate posts. Here is post number 1!

The Rules are:
1) Link to the blogger that nominated you.
2) Answer the 11 new questions.
3) Nominate other bloggers. (As many or as few as you like)
4) Create 11 new questions for them to answer
5) Notify the new nominees of their award.

A big thank you to Jesseca Dawn from A Kansas Wind for nominating me.

Now for responses to the questions!

1. What type of books do you like reading the most? (i.e fiction, non-fiction)

I prefer horse stories (fiction or nonfiction), mysteries (like the Trixie Belden series and Nancy Drew books), and books by Jerry B. Jenkins. Biographies in novel form also beg me to read them.

2. Do you enjoy writing? If so, what do you like to write about?

Are you kidding? I love to write! I mostly write stories just for the fun of it and getting creative but I mostly write totally random topics. It could be from the point of view of a snowflake or my "major" work right now is a story about a teenaged girl who likes horses and is struggling with adolescent rebellion.

3. You've suddenly been transported back in time.  Where do you choose to go?

A cattle ranch in the wild west? The time of Jesus? Not sure!

4. What is your favorite kind of weather?

Rain, snow, thunderstorms . . . they all give me a sense of freshness.

5. What is your favorite chore?

Feeding the horses! (Oops, guess I let that slip for those of who know me well, we got a second horse and I'll try to do a post about that later but I've been swamped lately!)

6. If you could go back in history and change something, what would it be?

Could I bring some things and ideas back from today? If so I would bring back all the new remedies for sicknesses that took many lives or I would try to help all the persecuted Christians in the time after Jesus.

7. Someone just handed you a plane ticket to wherever you've been longing to go. Where are you going?

Longing to go . . . hmm. Hawaii? Alaska? The East coast? Is there a ticket to the Kentucky Derby too or the Olympic equestrian events? Not sure! (Maybe I was given several tickets . . . .)

8. What is your favorite Bible verse?

That is a hard one . . . well, I like the promises in the Bible. John 3:16 never becomes old. Proverbs 3:5-6 also produce for me both a challenge and a comfort.

9. You're scheduled to speak before a large crowd. What are you speaking about?

I would run! But well, if I had to it would be something about horses . . . .

10. You're handed a piece of sheet music, given a piano and asked to play without any practice. What do you do?

I sit down and as I play the room QUICKLY empties.  I cannot play piano or read the music very well!

11. Jeans or skirts?

Jeans!!!

Okay, now for those who I am nominating:
My dad, Erick from A Great God and Good Coffee.

Susan Marlow from Suzy's Scribbles.

Emily from The Imaginary World of Emily McConnell.

Rebekah from Rebekah's Reading Room.   

Here are the questions for my nominees to answer...have fun!
1. What do you like best about your present occupation?
2. What is your favorite pastime?
3. At what age did you receive Christ?
4. What is your ideal vacation spot?
5. Whose books (other than your own) do you most admire?
6.  What is your favorite food?
7. If you were given a million dollars, what would you do with it?
8. What is your favorite joke?
9. Who is your favorite Bible character?
10. What is your favorite Bible story?
11. Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?

I hope that you enjoyed reading my answers and getting to know more about me. Maybe you can connect with some of the other bloggers that I nominated as well as Jesseca Dawn!

St. Patrick—Hero of Ireland

Pinch! Are you wearing green? Like Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day is not just a day that many people think of as just for fun. While many people connect this day with rainbows, pots of gold, leprechauns, four-leaf-clovers, and luck, it is intended to be a remembrance of St. Patrick.

Patrick was born in 389 and lived his early years in Great Britain. Although Patrick was born into a Christian family, he had no interest in religion. He was nearly an atheist when he was a teenager. But then, at age 16, he was kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave in Ireland. He looked upon his captivity as a punishment from God for his unbelief. However, through his time as a shepherd for his master, Patrick grew in his relationship with God and Patrick himself said, “I prayed a hundred times in the day and almost as many at night.” Then one night, about six years after being kidnapped, God sent him a vision telling him to flee his master and there was a ship waiting for him to take him home. Patrick fled nearly 200 miles to this ship but when he arrived, he was rejected passage. After a desperate prayer, Patrick was allowed passage and he returned safely home.
Now, this is not why we celebrate him; he is celebrated for his later years of life. It is said that when he returned home he began to study for ministry. But then he had a dream of an Irishman pleading with him saying, “Holy boy, please return to us. We need you.” Patrick did not want to go preach and help the same people who had enslaved him but after seeking God's heart through deep praying, he chose to go back to Ireland. Upon arrival he began to share the truth of the one true God with the people. Previous to his teachings, the Irish believed in many gods, especially those that related to nature. The truth set them free from these pagan beliefs and they began to follow the Christian God.

Perhaps some of the reason that Patrick became a saint is that he performed many miracles as well as starting more than 300 churches! It is recorded that he healed the blind, the lepers, and even raised nine people from the dead!

Although many legends have arisen around Patrick, such as that he drove out all the snakes from Ireland, one symbol commonly associated with St. Patrick's Day is the shamrock. It is true that Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to demonstrate the three parts of God (the trinity). God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He used the clover to show how each leaf (each one representing a part of God) is still all joined together as one.

Patrick is celebrated for his going to the people who enslaved him and teaching them about God. Patrick was actually given the title of St. after his death. So now that you know the true story of St. Patrick, tell others about him and his life. Explain to them about the clover. And may you have a blessed St. Patrick's Day!

P.S.
Several blog readers have said that it was difficult to read the black on brown so I changed it to white on brown. I hope that this is easier for you to read. God bless you!

Torture of the Red Dot...

I thought that you might enjoy these pictures.

This is so frustrating! I can never get that red bug!

Grr! Must get the bug...Ready and pounce!

I'm pooped!

Satisfaction at long last!

Caption #9!

Drum role please...I was very pleased with the turnout of comments this time! Thank you to all you participated! I had an extremely difficult time deciding which one would win but in the end I came up with a tie—give a hand to RingNerd and Amy! I would also like to acknowledge Blessing Counter and my Grandpa (Randy.) All of your suggestions were really cute! Thank you to all! As of now, I will just continue to do these posts but if anyone wishes that I would stop, please let me know. Have a good evening, all! Oh, and for this post only, I am posting every single caption in a list after the picture. They were all so good that they deserved a post!

Here is the picture...

And here are the captions! (They are not necessarily in order of my favorites, however, my favorite four are at the top.) I am posting a comment of my own after their comment to the author of the caption.

First Place: RingNerd
"This is what i think of you posting pictures of me online!"
Super job, I think it fits perfectly, RingNerd!

Also in First Place: Amy
"Why did you give me cat food when I loved you and purred for you? I wanted the chicken you ate for dinner!" The cat sighs. "Humans never understand."
I chuckled at this one. It is so true of all cats!

In close second places are...

Blessing Counter:
"Hmph! Since when did cats go to school?"
It really does look like she is saying that, doesn't it!

Grandpa (Randy):
"Well..., I don't like you either!"
But I do like you...! (Love you actually!)

And all the others were super cute! Thank you all very much—I had a really fun time!

Grandma (Debbie):
"I don't always feel this way—I'm usually very lovable!"
 Sometimes lovable, sometimes not...;-)

Skylar:
"This air tastes good!"
Does it? I've never tried it...

Rishona Raub:
"Augh! I am not pleased with this food that you are feeding me."
Poor kitty!

Rose:
"You are so mean I don't want to play with you anymore."
Me! I'm not mean...I want to play!

And last but not least...
Calamity Rene:
"Nyeh, I don't feel like talking to you anymore..."
Well then. TTYL. And if you feel like talking before then...talk to the hand! lol!

Smile!

As I looked for pictures of smiley faces,

this one struck me as really true for

Christians. We should be the happy, joyful,

smiling ones in this world full of

sorrow, pain, and sadness.

"Smile! Because Jesus loves you and so do I!" This was my "motto" as of a little while back—that is, until it was used on me. To start at the beginning, several months ago I got this jingle stuck in my head so, whenever anyone in my family was upset, discouraged, or sad, that is what I told them. Well, once when I was upset, my little sister told me the same thing. It didn't help. It practically only made me madder for some reason. Anyways, I didn't use that saying with anyone again for a long time.However, the next time she told me that, I stopped. And I thought. I realized that, because I am a Christian, I have every reason to be happy, and I should let that joy show through. Wow, Jesus loves ME. The creator of the entire world cares enough to love a sinful girl like me. That meant a lot to me. It's not easy to be smiling and keep this in mind, but from now on, I'm going to try to let that joy show through me. I have every reason to smile, to be joyful—I am loved. And you know what? So are you! No matter who you are, what you've done, or what you are going through, Jesus loves you and is waiting for you to run into His open arms. So, smile! Jesus loves you and so do I!