MUSIC! is what I'm thankful for today. The sound, the variety, the rhythm. I love absolutely everything about music. It's one of those things that I don't think I could live without.
Music is literally everywhere. You can hear it when the wind blows or when the birds sing. When the rain is pouring or when the water is flowing. I love how music surrounds us in so many different ways.
Monday, November 5, 2012
November Thankfulness Challenge: Day 2
Today I am thankful for my family! Especially for a family as close as mine. My family is always here for each other, through the good and bad we stick together. I've been blessed with amazing parents who have taken the time to homeschool me and my siblings, so we can get the best education and foundation they can give us. I am thankful for each and every member of my big crazy family and wouldn't change it for the world.
November Thankfulness Challenge: Day 1
Today I'm thankful for color. One of the things I love about fall is all the color with leaves changing and the scarves and hats we take out for the cooler days. I love color in general. It makes everything so much brighter and interesting. I can't imagine a world without color.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Everyday be Thankful-November Thankfulness Challenge
November is here and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. November is the month were we encourage one another to be thankful. There is a challenge going around on Facebook to list one thing you're thankful for everyday. I think this is a great idea! It's a great way to keep my perspective in check this month. I'm going to post something that I'm thankful for everyday and why I am thankful for it. It's a great challenge and I challenge everyone to do it.
Friday, September 21, 2012
The crazy game of LIFE
I love the board game LIFE. As you travel around the board trying to get to retirement you get to "experience" the crazy ride of life. For example: getting married, have a baby, mid-life crisis, family vacation, etc.
Like the game of LIFE, real life can be a crazy and eventful ride sometimes, but unlike the game of LIFE we don't just wander around the board until we make it to the end. As a believer in Jesus Christ our purpose in life is so much more then that.
What is our purpose in life? Well let's grab a LIFE Chip and see:
LIFE Chip #1:
"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
We were created to bring glory to God in everything we do. Whether you are eating, drinking, sleeping, working, doing homework, watching TV...we need to be sure that it's glorifying to God.
Let's grab our second LIFE Chip and see the next one:
LIFE Chip #2:
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10
We also need to be willing to be used by God. God has given us special talents and gifts that He wants us to use for His purpose and His glory. We need to be using those gifts for Him and not ourselves.
We can also glorify God by doing what He asks us to do.
Alright, let's look at our third and final LIFE Chip:
LIFE Chip #3:
"For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the LORD, thoughts of good and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11
God has a special plan for our lives. We aren't just aimlessly roaming a game board trying to get to the end. We are working towards a goal: to glorify God in all that we do and to strive to be more and more like Him everyday.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Children Without a Voice (Ethics Essay)
I'm in an Ethics class this semester. We had to pick a moral belief that we stood of and defend it using two out of four ethical terms. This is the stand I took...
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Murder: the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with forethought.
Termination: end in time or existence.
Abortion: the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy.
I just gave you three different definitions for three different words. To some, these are just three different words with no connection, but to me they couldn’t be more intertwined.
According to the principle of impartiality all people are equal. I believe this includes life inside and outside the womb. We hear of murder trials and convictions almost every day. We hear that people have their “rights”. According to our own Declaration of Independence here in the United States “all men are created equal…with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life…” If all people are indeed equal, then doesn’t that include the life of the baby inside his or her mother’s body? Doesn’t he or she have the same “right to life” as any other human being?
Men and women who murder are put on trial. Should it not be the same for those who kill these innocent children? The universal perspective gives the idea that if one moral rule applies to one situation then it also applies to all other same and similar situations. The life of an unborn child is just as important and valuable as the life of any other living person. If murdering a born “living” child is wrong, then killing an unborn “living” child is also wrong.”
More than fifty million babies are aborted each year in the United States alone. Many will argue that the baby being aborted is, in fact, not an actually baby. I can’t scientifically prove to you that life starts at conception, but it can’t be disproven either. A baby’s heartbeat can be heard between eighteen to twenty-one days after conception. At five weeks his or her eyes, hands and legs begin to develop. At six weeks the baby’s brain waves can be detected. By eight weeks all the baby’s organs are in their proper places. Between nine and twelve weeks the baby can turn his or her head. The organs begin to function and it grasp things in his hands. It can experience pain, because his or her nervous system and spinal cord has developed. At week seventeen the baby can dream. At twenty weeks the baby can recognizes his or her mother’s voice. Anytime between the time of conception and twenty weeks any woman can abort her baby. Each one of those children are special and unique. They can’t use their voice to tell you who they are, but doesn’t mean they’re not there pleading for their lives.
In our social system today, children who cannot protect themselves are appointed a Guardian Ad Litem. This is someone who acts or speaks on the child’s behalf. This includes children with handicaps and special needs. The Guardian Ad Litem becomes the voice of the child. Our society supposedly values children. Do you, society, value the lives of these unborn children? All children deserve a voice, born and unborn.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Murder: the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with forethought.
Termination: end in time or existence.
Abortion: the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy.
I just gave you three different definitions for three different words. To some, these are just three different words with no connection, but to me they couldn’t be more intertwined.
According to the principle of impartiality all people are equal. I believe this includes life inside and outside the womb. We hear of murder trials and convictions almost every day. We hear that people have their “rights”. According to our own Declaration of Independence here in the United States “all men are created equal…with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life…” If all people are indeed equal, then doesn’t that include the life of the baby inside his or her mother’s body? Doesn’t he or she have the same “right to life” as any other human being?
Men and women who murder are put on trial. Should it not be the same for those who kill these innocent children? The universal perspective gives the idea that if one moral rule applies to one situation then it also applies to all other same and similar situations. The life of an unborn child is just as important and valuable as the life of any other living person. If murdering a born “living” child is wrong, then killing an unborn “living” child is also wrong.”
More than fifty million babies are aborted each year in the United States alone. Many will argue that the baby being aborted is, in fact, not an actually baby. I can’t scientifically prove to you that life starts at conception, but it can’t be disproven either. A baby’s heartbeat can be heard between eighteen to twenty-one days after conception. At five weeks his or her eyes, hands and legs begin to develop. At six weeks the baby’s brain waves can be detected. By eight weeks all the baby’s organs are in their proper places. Between nine and twelve weeks the baby can turn his or her head. The organs begin to function and it grasp things in his hands. It can experience pain, because his or her nervous system and spinal cord has developed. At week seventeen the baby can dream. At twenty weeks the baby can recognizes his or her mother’s voice. Anytime between the time of conception and twenty weeks any woman can abort her baby. Each one of those children are special and unique. They can’t use their voice to tell you who they are, but doesn’t mean they’re not there pleading for their lives.In our social system today, children who cannot protect themselves are appointed a Guardian Ad Litem. This is someone who acts or speaks on the child’s behalf. This includes children with handicaps and special needs. The Guardian Ad Litem becomes the voice of the child. Our society supposedly values children. Do you, society, value the lives of these unborn children? All children deserve a voice, born and unborn.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Nicaragua-Day 9&10: July 7-8, 2012
This was our fun day in Nicaragua. We got to see most of Managua and some other places in Nicaragua. I ziplined over a volcano! Scariest thing I've ever done, but so amazing at the same time! We also went swimming in a volcano. So fun! We went to the market again. It was fun to just relax and hang out with the Woughter family for the day.
On Sunday we taught at the church we taught at our first Sunday there. It was the perfect ending to the trip. The kids enjoyed having us back and we enjoyed getting to teach them again.
I was so sad to leave. I really miss it down there. I hope I get another opportunity to go down there, but maybe for a little longer this time. God worked in so many ways in my life. It was so cool to watch Him touch the lives of the people down there. So thankful that I was able to go on this trip.
On Sunday we taught at the church we taught at our first Sunday there. It was the perfect ending to the trip. The kids enjoyed having us back and we enjoyed getting to teach them again.
I was so sad to leave. I really miss it down there. I hope I get another opportunity to go down there, but maybe for a little longer this time. God worked in so many ways in my life. It was so cool to watch Him touch the lives of the people down there. So thankful that I was able to go on this trip.
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