The might of the pen

He is Risen!

2010-04-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

First off Happy Easter your and your families :). I told you last post (Jan) that I would share my new years resolutions with all of you in my next post. Well it's now April and ironically two of my resolutions had to do with procrastination and posting more often. It seems that I'm not off to a great start , but regardless I though what better way to renew my resolve to post more than by starting with an Easter post. I think that Easter is my favorite holiday hand down. I love it for so many reasons 1) It's the day to celebrate the resurrection Of My savior and subsequently the greatest gift of mercy I could ever hope to receive 2) The time of celebration is shared with my friends ,family, and loved ones 3)I love the church service on Easter Sunday because everything about it is so energized ; The whole mood is celebratory. More than any other Sunday there is an atmosphere of Joy.4) It's a great time of reflection. There is so much to consider on so many levels. Today I have contemplated: the enormity of the gift that was given for me, what I will choose to do with the knowledge that I didn't deserve the gift but it was given to me any way, how I can share the meaning of this day with others, The order in which I place my priorities, and even my future goals. Each thought allows me to contemplate my relationship with the Lord. New Years is a great time to self reflect as I pointed out in my last post, but Easter offers its own opportunity to reflect on spiritual matters and 5) On a more superficial level the excitement of a new Easter dress is something I don't think I will ever grow out of. To me it represents a renewal. With a new dress comes opportunity as the outfit has the potential for new memories and experiences to be associated with it. It's a piece of fabric that carries a sense of potential with it. In the same way Easter Represents a renewal - a Renewed depth to a faith, A renewed focus on the cross, A new potential for spiritual exploration. Each is a new set of memories and experiences that God is calling us to dive into.

Matthew 28:5-8 = 5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

God Bless,
Ashley

2010- Time to change

2010-01-02T07:54:00.000-08:00

The New Year is finally here! As I think about this I begin to reflect on just what that means for me. What I wist to do with this knowledge and how I can make a difference this year. One of the things I think about is 2 Corinthians 5:17 -Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! I realize that I am already made new in Christ with a decision to accept him as my Lord and Savior and that knows now time or year span. So I use that verse to reflect on how I changed when I accepted Christ; How I let myself trust him instead of trying to do it all myself ; How I stopped worrying so much I would make myself Sick, Even those small things show how I was made knew in Him. So I think about 1) How awesome that is and 2) how my new resolutions can reflect my love of Christ and His will. I think about my spiritual gifts
-Romans 12: 6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his^b]">[b]faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
-Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
I decide that I will go where God's leads me this year and not let fear hold me back - 2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Even as my mind wanders to all the other new things this year will bring Like SATs, ACTs, finals, and all of these things that I don't want to think about , that stress me out I think about yet another verse -Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I realize that no matter what it is I can take it to God and that I will never face anything he can't handle and that I will always be okay in his loving arms.
I love the new year because I think it's a time for a heart cleansing not just a celebration. It's a time to reflect on the past year and learn and grow from each experiences and It's a time to renew Body , Mind and Soul. It's the perfect opportunity to make changes and to renew commitments . Whether it be wanting to read your bible more (http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/) or whatever I urge you to take the time to reflect , to be still and spend that time with God, to let go of the sin that ensnares you.
- So ,what are some of your new years resoultions ( I'll post mine next post) and how do they reflect the changes you wish to make>
- What do you enjoy about reflecting on the new year?

God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Reading the bible- why we should

2009-09-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't blogged in awhile( I'm trying to get back in the habit) but I've really felt the purpose of this post laid on my heart. It's so easy to get caught up in our routines and busy schedules and neglect our time with God. We have so many things to do and after all we go to church on Sunday's right? When we neglect our time spent with God in his word we neglect our relationship with him. One of my favorite Bible verses is Matthew 4:4 ( Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.') God's word is our bread - our substance, and just like food it should not be forgone.^{John 15:10 says this -}If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. God's commandments are are laid out for us in the Bible. So if your not in the habit of reading the word I would encourage you to pick a specific time of the day to stick to every day. You don't have to read a lot to experience the power of God's word.

God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A

Pray for Kate McRae!

2009-07-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

I would ask you all to come together in lifting up prayer for this little girl and her family. The power of prayer is an awesome thing. It's a direct line where we can communicate with God. If it is not a part of your daily routine, I would challenge you to make it so."Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).

God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Woa where has the time gone?

2009-06-03T03:37:00.000-07:00

Wow I haven't blogged since march! I really didn't think it was that long - every time I got an idea for a post I wasn't near a computer. Time has flown by for me - today is my last day school and then I will officially be a junior! Today is also yearbook distribution day so when I'm not doing yearbook stuff I can see my friends one last time before summer, , especially my best friend who is moving to South Carolina on Friday. Best friend doesn't even begin to describe her though she's been my sister of the heart for almost 4 years now. She's changed me for the better, helping me not to be so shy and to try new things. She's understood everything about me no matter how odd ,and I never felt judged around. When life got tough she would listen and that was all I really needed. I'm going to miss her so much but if we have our way we will be calling and emailing so much it will be like she never left. So as this chapter of my life closes and another opens I wonder what God has in store for me?

Jeremiah 29:11

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God Bless,

Ashley Lane

Ashley

Ashy

Ash

The rescue is on! Read me!

2009-03-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

Invisible children is an organization very close to my heart, some of you know know what I'm talking about, but if you don't here's a bit of background: Invisible children was started by three boys who made the trip to Uganda and were horrified by what they saw and decided it had end. So the made the first video called : Rough cut. What they saw was a nation that had been at war for over 20 years , hundreds of children flooding into the city at night to avoid being kidnapped and turned into child soldiers by a man named Joseph Koni, they saw devastation. This was my reaction to the first Video, Scroll down to hear about an update and their latest video:
"Tonight at a beta club movie night we showed the film Invisible Children the rough cut to get the rest of the club and the parents fired up about our project of building a school in Africa, and it pretty much broke my heart. I wanted to cry so hard, but most importantly I wanted to do something to change it. You see my faith was kind of starting to reach a point of stagnancy, and I was trying to find something to blow that door open again. You see I didn't believe any less than before, I had my little candle of faith, but I wanted a bonfire instead. What I mean is I wanted to always continue to grow in my faith everyday of my life. I started becoming committed to reading my bible everyday, and I spent a lot of time praying about it. Slowly but surely I felt God at work in my life for this. I had some awesome youth group experiences that blew those doors open, and then I saw this video, and I have never felt more sure of my faith or passion to make a difference. I thought if these children, who everyday endure pain, that I on my worst day will NEVER experience, can still get up at the crack of dawn and pray, I can most certainly live out my faith and grow stronger in it. I CAN make a difference with my God. I urge you to see it . Borrow it or buy it at www. invisiblechildren.com. Tell everyone you know about it. I know that I will, I will also throw myself into helping those children through my beta club and others, I will praise the lord everyday for what I have been given and don't deserve. I will be a follower of Christ."

Now: The number of death has risen, the number of children abducted has risen, and the number effected has risen! After the sixth attempt at a peace talk agreement with Joseph Koni, and after the 6th time he has backed out at the last minute .Invisible Children has decided enough is enough! Now Joseph Koni has moved into five other nations and is forcing more children to become killers and see things No Child, No person should ever see. Watch the latest Video entitled the rescue Here:http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=73887301046&h=VTI2y&u=z1ujj&ref=nf becauseit's about rescuing the children. So on April 25,2009 in cities around the world we will come together . We will Abduct ourselves for however long it takes to rescue this kids. We will all be cramming into one location until we are rescued by a celebrity or person of influence whom we will contact. The stipulations are that they come to our location , bring the media and make a statement about the invisible child soldiers and calling for Koni to be arrested. This is meant to be overnight. If we are rescued quickly we are invited to spend the night and still spread the word and if we aren't rescued for three days we stay there for three days!

After seeing this movie today and being brought back to the reality of their life it's hard to imagine life here going on still when there peace is JUST A DREAM, and to me that's part of what the rescue is about- stopping the way we live(if eve for a short time) To make a statement and a difference in their suffering! Today after the screening I went to the store and was struck as I walked by the magazine racks by how much useless info is being published when There is a war devastating millions and turning children into killers going on. It's time to end the War!
God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Fireproof!

2009-02-03T16:27:00.001-08:00

I'm sure many of you have heard of the movie starring Kirk Cameron by now, and If you have not had a chance to watch it I highly recommend it. It is a wonderful portrayal of God's amazing grace as well as the value and work of a marriage. It is a great movie whether you are married or not and it is full of emotion. Unlike most romantic or marriage type movies, I didn't just want them to say they loved each other I wanted them to truly work out their problems and come out stronger. I don't wont to spoil the plot for you, but I will say it is a great movie and I would watch it again. Marriage isn't easy but God intended for it to last. If you did see it what did you think?

God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

I'm back!

2009-01-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! I know It's been a while, but I have been having technical difficulties with the computer: It was crashing almost every 2-5 minutes. However we were able to get it fixed So I hope to be blogging a lot more often. Since I haven't made a post since before New Years I though I might share some of my goals for 2009:
Learn to/begin to:
Sew
Knit
Quilt
Cook
Crotchet
Make soaps/candles

Read:
4 of Shakespeare's books
2 books of poems by Elizabeth Barret Browning
The bible cover to cover
Other:
Keep and update a prayer list
Blog more often
Establish a hope chest

These are some of the things a I hope to accomplish in 2009, and I hope you will join me as I attempt to blog more often!
God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Simple Womens Daybook

2008-12-29T12:27:00.000-08:00

http://bp2.blogger.com/_dUrUa10NCDQ/R_oYnQ_FpeI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/fOF6zzksxXU/s1600-h/simple-woman-daybook-small.jpg

FOR TODAY 12/29/08
Outside My Window... I see the endings of fall with leaves clinging to the ground and the throes of the winter season with the trees left bare.
I am thinking... about learning to sew and knit and possibly starting a hope chest
I am thankful for... My family and the love they share, my new puppy and God's blessings
From the learning rooms... There is no school in session for me but learning is not confined to school, I'm learning to enjoy God's blessings.
From the kitchen... There are the cookies we started making last week and need to finish
I am wearing... A shirt from my school and jogging attire. ( The new puppy is fast!)
I am creating... A scarf at the moment, although I'm hoping to soon expand my skill
I am going... no where
I am reading...The Bible, and many books from the library ( to many to list!)
I am hoping... That others will read this
I am hearing... At the moment silence only Mom and I are home.
Around the house... There is a inquisitive yet tired new dog and as always work to be done :)
One of my favorite things... is reading and coming away with a new understanding of God's word.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Homework and learning some sewing skills
Here is picture thought I am sharing:

2008-12-25T06:43:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

An Awesome News Story!

2008-12-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

There are some games where cheering for the other side feels better than winning.
by Rick Reilly

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.
It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.
Did you hear that? The other team's fans?
They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.
"I WOULDN'T EXPECT ANOTHER PARENT TO TELL SOMEBODY TO HIT THEIR KIDS. BUT THEY WANTED US TO!"
It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.
"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"
And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.
But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.
This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.
So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."
Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"
And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."
Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!
"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"
It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"
Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.
After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."
And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.
As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.
The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."
And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.
Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.
Hope.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373

2008-12-24T11:04:00.001-08:00

We got an early christmas present- A PUPPY!!!

2008-12-24T09:10:00.001-08:00

Today is Christmas eve!

2008-12-20T11:56:00.001-08:00

can't wait to begin making Christmas Cookies!

2008-12-20T08:35:00.001-08:00

Is soon to be going on a cleaning spree!

2008-12-18T15:28:00.001-08:00

is ready for the break!

2008-12-17T14:05:00.001-08:00

is so tired and is going to find a way to eradicate the stress!

Hide and seek

2008-12-16T18:02:00.001-08:00

This week it seems that I've been seeing God in different areas of my life, and It's so cool to see him at work in my life, but what I also realized is that God ha salways been there I've just gotten busy and stopped seeing it. I have decided to focus on my relationship with God , first and foremost. Spend time in prayer and daily devotion . I have become far to caught up in wordly things . God is my rock and my salvation, my joy and ope. Not the world. To quote a song the world don't give it and the world don't take it away(speaking of joy). Anyways especially during this season its easy to become busy and caught up in the world just remember to keep your eyes on God.
God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

2008-12-16T17:46:00.001-08:00

Looking for inspiration!

Hello Everybody!

2008-12-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

Hello,
I know I've been absent from blogging for awhile, However I have missed it a lot. It seems whenever I have a post in my head I not near the computer. Anyways From now one barring technical difficulties I will be blogging once a week, in addition to short updates through www.ping.fm which allows me to update twitter and facebook and all the sights like that at one time. I'm so blessed to have discovered so many things and people through blogging it almost seems like I have another "online family". As a side note have any of you ever had experience with the tradition of a hope chest. I recently discovered the tradition and was intrigued by it.

God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

2008-12-13T17:21:00.001-08:00

I'm so glad that I had the experience of seeing what cobb christmas does, and having a part in it!

2008-12-13T06:16:00.001-08:00

I have the house to myself today, thinking of cleaning the house some.

What type of reindeer are you?

2008-11-30T15:33:00.000-08:00

You Are Donner

The most lovable and sweet reindeer, you're also a total dork!

Why You're Naughty: You keep (accidentally) tripping the other reindeer while flying.

Why You're Nice: You're always smiling, even if you've fallen flat on your horns.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Trisomy 18

2008-10-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

Above is a video about elliot who was born with trisomy 18. For those of you who don't know Trisomy 18 is a chromosomal disorder that occurs when there is an extra chrosome or chromosomal matter. In this respect it is like Down Syndrome or trisomy 18 expect that it occurs on the 18th chromosome. For more info on the disease and its effects go here http://www.trisomy18.org/site/PageServer. This video touched my heart, and I encourage you to watch it. For those of you who don't know I began working with special needs children at age 11 and I feel led by God to work with them by getting a doctorate in elementary education and special education then possibly getting more degrees in the special needs field. It totally fills my heart up and I can't imagine doing anything else.

God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Saturday psalm and praise! - I'll fly away

2008-10-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'll Fly Away

Some bright morning when this life is over
I'll fly away
To that home on God's celestial shore
I'll fly away

I'll fly away oh glory
I'll fly away (in the morning)
When I die hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away

When the shadows of this life have gone
I'll fly away
Like a bird from these prison walls I'll fly
I'll fly away

Oh how glad and happy when we meet
I'll fly away
No more cold iron shackles on my feet
I'll fly away

Just a few more weary days and then
I'll fly away
To a land where joys will never end
I'll fly away

I've been tagged!

2008-10-17T07:07:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Sharon(http://starbright.at.ua/blog/2008-10-09-30) So here goes! I meant to get this up sooner but ran into some computer trouble!
Rules:
1. Link to the person(s) who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself
4. Tag sixish people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up

Six thing about me:
1. I'm a bookworm , love to read and write.
2. I'm often times a mixture of things like, quiet and loud
3. I love thinking and pondering things, and talking to God (prayer)
4. I was born at 2:20 in the afternoon
5. I love to smile
6. I talk really really really fast
I tag:
Lauraborialice at http://waytobored.blogspot.com/
um and that's all
God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Saturday psalm and praise! - Oh happy day!

2008-10-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

Verse 1:The greatest day in history, Death is beatenYou have rescued meSing it out Jesus is aliveThe empty cross, The empty graveLife eternal You have won the dayShout it out Jesus is aliveHe's aliveChorus:Oh happy day, happy dayYou washed my sin awayOh happy day, happy dayI'll never be the sameForever I am changed

Above is an excerpt from the song oh happy day by tim hughes. I receently discovered that he was behind serveral worship song that are close to my heart. This one in particular reminds me that Jesus saved me and that I need to rejoice in that and share it with the world! I haven't been posting as regularly as I should so look out for a few post this week!

http://jacquedixon.com/?cat=7

God bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Saturday psalm and praise!

2008-10-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

Worthy is the lamb - Hillsong
Thank you for the cross, Lord
Thank you for the price
You paidBearing all my sin and shame
In love You came
And gave amazing grace

What more can be said. We did nothing yet he gave everthing...

GGM Giveaways

2008-10-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to do a quick post on some really cool GGM giveaways I recomend you check out.
The first is A book called "Journeys of Faith" that I can't wait to check out . It is written by sarah clarkson check out the review and how to enter here http://www.growingingraceonline.com/2008/09/snuggle-up-with-journeys-of-faith-by.html
The second is an awesome scarf the post even tells you how to make your own!http://www.growingingraceonline.com/2008/09/portfofolio-de-couturier-fall-scarves.html
The third is earings that you can use to evangelize to others! They look great and each color represents something special!
http://www.growingingraceonline.com/2008/09/faith-factor-evangelize-with-jewelry.html

God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Feelin Feminine Challenge!

2008-10-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

This week I have been participating in what is a challenge designed to encourage young ladies to dress in a feminine manner. I decided to participate as I am very much into wearing skirts and dresses and of course always being modest. It's been a fun week. I wanted to post some pics but due to technical Issue I cannot. If you would like to participate , it's not to late see this http://feelinfeminine.com/?p=414 and this http://feelinfeminine.com/ff%20flyer.pdf. Please don't misunderstand I don't think that girls wearing pants is wrong by any means, in fact I have a very well used pair of jeans but I lean more towards skirts because I enjoy wearing them and feeling feminine. It will help you feel fresher and put together. I urge you to check it out if only for this one week!

P.S. If any of you have any favorite home-made good recipes you would like to share I'm interested in learning some yummy things to bake!

Saturday psalm and praise! - Lord I lift your name on high!

2008-09-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

Lord I Lift Your Name On HighWords & Music by Rick Founds
Verse:Lord, I liftYour name on high
Lord, I love to sing Your praises
I'm so glad You're in my life
I'm so glad You came to save us
Chorus:You came from heaven to earth
To show the way
From the earth to the cross
My debt to pay
From the cross to the grave
From the grave to the sky
Lord, I lift Your name on high

This song says it all. God grace and love is the reason I'm here today and knowing that how can we not lift up our hands in praise to the Lord.

http://jacquedixon.com//?p=38

God bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Saturday Psalm and Praise!

2008-09-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

Psalm 119 (New International Version)
Psalm 119
verses 1 - 16
' Aleph 1 [a] Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD.
2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
3 They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.
b Beth 9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
g Gimel

See previous post for link to meme.

Saturday psalm and praise!

2008-09-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain -Mercy me excrept from Bring the rain.

This song always touches me, because it truly expresses my walk in christ and reminds me that in everything I do that it's for the Lord. I remember a time in my life when eveything seemed out of control and no matter what I did things seemed to spiral even more into choas. I felt raw and like an open wound, but I now a relish that time in my life because thats when I got it. I realized the need for God in my life and instead of trying everything I could to fix any problem that anyone around me had I turned to the Lord and I've never turned back. I've never regretted the pain it took to get me there. So the Lines "And I know there'll be days when this life brings me pain But if that's what it takes to praise you Jesus bring the rain really hits home for me. Though things are hard sometimes, I'm never alone I can always turn to the Lord and like this song I say Jesus bring the rain because knowing that there is nothing I can't do with my God.
C.S. Lewis has said “We're not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be” What do you think? Have You ever been afraid because of thoughts like this? Remember God has promised never to leave us, So take comfort, and remember this as you face each new trial with him.

http://jacquedixon.com/?p=38 Check out this if you want to join the Saturday psalm and praise .

God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Psalm readings.

2008-08-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned a few blog ago I have started reading three chapters of my bible everyday and I have started with the Psalms. What I love about them is David who wrote them was human and he struggled to but he overcome. For instance :
Psalm 13
For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.

In this psalm david laments and despairs and seems to feel lost, yet he knows that God is there a commits to trusting him. I relate to David in that I know that when I feel lost and alone I am not that God is there with me always. David connects to me in this and many other senses so I thought it would be a good place to start. In today's world and society is it easy to despair because we are constantly bombarded with it one the news story after story. Each day we face it when we compare and judge each other. Her kids are so much more well behaved then man, She looks so good in that outfit and I haven't done my laundry all week. We are also self critical over the smallest things. We forget that God is there through it all and he didn't call us to be of this world. He called us to be set apart. There is a line from a song called joy that I believe is by newsboys that says: "The world don't give it and the world don't take it away" Just food for thought.
God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

2008-08-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hi! Second week of school done. I'm really excited for this year(like I haven't mentioned that already!) I found out that I am one of the editors of my schools yearbook for the second year in a row. So prayers that I am able to glorify god in that leadership role. Last year was our first year and we all didn't know what we were doing, but this year we have more experience and better equipment to use. So north paulding legend volume 2 should be great. I'm gotten settled into my school routoine although our schedules are different everyday it seems. It should be normal next week! Today we have our first football game! Go wolfpack! Our pep rally today was a lot of fun. I can't go but I might watch online.

My reading of the bible and prayer time has gone well! It's so refreshing , rlaxing and rejuvinating. Although tonight I'm playing catch up because when I spent the night at my friends house last night I forgot to grab it on my way out the door. I will not let that stop me though. Oh by the way I am currently reading the psalms. At the bible study in church we are studying james as well. I really like the way my youth director leads it, and how I can feel god in it. Today I realized once again that God's timing is the best and that I just need to trust in him because he knows my heart!
God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A

School

2008-08-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

School has started! I know that It's been awhile since I have posted, but I wanted to wait until the first week of school had passed to update.
So on Monday I woke up at 5:30 to take a shower and make sure I was completely ready. I had decided to wear a knee length white and black skirt I had recently gotten and a white top . I was a little nervous but excited as well. When I got to school I found I had a different advisement teacher than the one I met at the open house and was excited about having. Luckily I was able to find it, because it was down stairs like my other one was, and the map from open house.(For those wondering I'm in tenth grade, but this is the first year in the building because last year it wasn't built :)) Anyway, I found that my best friend had also been moved to that advisement which was a relief because it's the only "class" we have together. Although we have the same classes just not together so we plan to study together. Anyways, I found I liked my new advisement teacher a lot as well the rest of my teachers. We moved to a hybrid block schedule which means I will have 3 new classes next semester, but I really like it!. My locker is on the opposite end of the school but that isn't a big deal either.

My classes are as follows:
First semester:
AP World History
Honors Chemistry
Lunch
Journalism 2
Spanish 3
Honors Algebra 2

Second semester:
AP World History
Business Essentials
Lunch
Journalism 2
Honors Lit
Intro to health care

Like I said, I'm really excited about the year, and my classes and teachers. Please pray that is safe and good for all!

I have also decided to read through the bible in a year by reading three chapters every morning and spending time in prayer. I'm aiming for 15 minutes uninterrupted! For more info see http://dixonhomestead.com/rachel/?p=119
Since the first week is over I will be updating regularly!
God bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A

Christain living

2008-08-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

What is christian living? How can we possibly live up to Jesus without falling short. Answer : We can't. We as humans are going to mess up. Christian living is about showing the world the Jesus in are hearts by following his laws, and turing to his grace when we fall short. Admitting we have sinned, asking for forgivness, and truly repenting. It can be easy to simply say I can't do that , it's to hard. But what exactly does that do? I know that when I struggle all I need to do is turned to God and he is there to help and offer me strength to do his will and live like him. At the hear it's about love. Loving him enough to follow his will and accept it, even when it's painful and hard and the tunnel is dark . Loving him enough to follow his will. Loving him enough to say I believe . I love him enough to say that I'm not worthy but that I believe and I'm going to live like it - not only in my actions in front of others , but in my heart as well.

What about you?

Fireproof

2008-08-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

I forgot to add in my last post that I have now put a link to the site dedicated to the movie on the left side of the blog. For those of you who don't know Fireproof is the new movie from the creators of facing the giants about a firefighter and his wife struggling to save their marriage. It is scheduled to come out in theaters this fall. I can't wait it will be awesome and hopefully help people renew commintements to their marriage and God. The divorce rate today is far to high and it destroys far to many lives. Make sure you check out the trailors!

IN CHRIST,

Ashley Lane

Ashley

Ashy

Ash

A!

Update

2008-08-05T08:53:00.001-07:00

Hi! My internet has been down so sorry about no posting! I'm hoping we get it fixed soon. So anyway here is what has been happening plus some thoughts later on in the post.
Last thursday : spent the night at my friends house stayed up till two something. The next day we got my mom to drive us to barnes and noble for book release party. We hung out there and it was fun! The book was actually a twillight book- which if you know me is not something I normally read. However I read the first book and found it suprisingly not what I thought it to be and I enjoyed it. Although that will probably be the last vampire series I read - I prefer realistic fiction and most vampire books contain language and scenes I don't agree with , and just doesn't do it for me. Anyway we stood in line for an hour and then went back to her house ( it was about 1 :50 at this point anyeay we scarfed done are dinner stayed up till 5:50 fininshing it (me anyway) ,crashed till 11:30 then left for a braves game at one and returned at 9:30. It was all so fun. Although it was a disapointment that we couldn't stay for the Steven Curtis Chapman Concert . The next day church.
Oh for any of you who also love Karen kingsbury she is giving an interview tomorrow on 104.7 the fish! If you don't live in the area you can listen online @ www.thefistatlanta.com!

God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A

Faith

2008-07-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

Hello! Today's topic is faith. When we decide to believe and take the journey of faith we expeirience a vast aray of emotions ranging from joy to confusion even emotions we can't name. The journey of faith isn't easy but it isn't supposed to be.In revelations in the letters to the seven churches their is always a verse that begins" He who overcomes ..." and then it goes on to explain different rewards. One of which says that Jesus will acknowledge us before God! Notice the word Overcome though. We do not live above those who don't believe. We are not exempt from death, sorrow, dissapointment or pain. The difference is we know that God is at our sides and that we are his children. We can turn to him knowing that. So I will rejoice in my faith , even when times get tough. Your thoughts?

2008-07-17T05:21:00.000-07:00

Hello, sorry its been awhile , no I didn't forget, my computer has been having issues. Anyway the night before last I just finished my readings of first and second peter and found so many versus that spoke to me about the truth and power of our Lord Jesus. Remember peter is the one who's faith was continually faltering. He walked on water towars Jesus than began to sink when fear overtook his faith. He's the one who also cut off the guards ear when Jesus was taken away instead of listening and accepting to what Jesus was saying. He also denied Jesus three times afterward yet from the same mans comes :

1 Peter 2: 21,23 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. When they hurled insults at him,he did not retaliate; when he suffered he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

2 Peter 3: 8-9 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

In the little things..

2008-07-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

God reveals himself in the small things to. We all know this so why do we continually overlook it?
Yesterday was our movie night at due west from 8-11 and we were out on the deck with a projector and a sheet but anyway we had to wait for it to get dark and it was the quiet that spoke to me during that time. The day had been filled with loud noise from video games and noise that brothers make it was the utter contrast.. the quiet that spoke to me. Then we watched an awesome movie : august rush, and the peace and awarness from the quiet had me making connections all throughout the movie. I saw little pieces of God all around me and my life. Then when it started lightning we went into the sanctuary and still there was the peace where connections were flying I felt so close to God and my creative side. The little things the quiet led me to the the bigger picture of God's awesome power. The way home I was looking at the heat lightening and it was like a flashlight turning on and off a piece of the sky was bieng uluminated only for a second it was a glimpse of a puzzle piece... A glimpse of God's power a glimpse of what he created..Awesome huh?
God bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Books

2008-07-03T06:31:00.000-07:00

Okay here are some of the authors I love:

Karen Kingsbury - http://www.karenkingsbury.com/

Terri Blackstock - http://www.terriblackstock.com/

Tracie Peterson - http://www.traciepeterson.com/

Lynn Austin - http://www.lynnaustin.org/

Judy Baer - http://www.judykbaer.com/

Robin jones Gunn - http://www.robingunn.com/

Robin lee Hatcher - http://www.robinleehatcher.com/

Beverly LaHaye

Tim Lahaye - https://timlahaye.com/

Jerry B Jenkins - http://www.jerryjenkins.com/

Lori Wick

stephanie whitson - http://www.stephaniewhitson.com/

Gayle Roper - http://www.gayleroper.com/

Star wars books! - http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/starwars/timeline.html

Okay I like these authors, plus more! Any way instead of trying to review all these now and making an ultra long post , I was thinking one per update. What do you think?

Ashley Lane

Ashley

Ashy

Ash

A

hello?

2008-07-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Hey just a quick update from Mt.bethel UMC - my mom's work place. Next week have our second VBS with 700+ kids. It's going to be a blast , and since this is the last workday , it's a made rush to get everything together. Monday morning it will all come together for the glory of God though! Oh and most of you who know me know I read all the time, I'm the quintessence of a bookworm so when I get home I'm going post the links to the websites of my fav christian authors and review them plus some other books I love. Got to go- God Bless,
Ashley Lane
Ashley
Ashy
Ash
A!

Awesome God!

2008-06-29T16:44:00.000-07:00

God is truly awesome! I have felt him in my life so much more each day. It's just an amazing feeling when you get struck with a God thought! Tonight was the crossroads UMC practice service at my old stomping ground ( elementary school)! It was just a great service all around. Crossroad UMC is a North Paulding branch(where I live) of my church Due West in Cobb. Services will kick off in september so we will probably go to both churches which should be fun and intersting to say the least. Anyway tonight one of the songs we sang really reached out and struck me It was lead me to the cross. Here's the link to a video on youtube with the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcvMQOZkusQ
It really reached out to me because I realized I had been worrying and holding onto things that belong to God because It isn't going to matter much when I die, What will matter is whether or not my heart is With Jesus!
This past week I volunteered with a camp sponsered by FOCUS for special needs children and their siblings. It was my fourth year and it couldn't have been better. Working with those kids teaches me so much- each one is so sweet and innocent. God used this camp to put somebody in my life to let me know I'm not alone in some of the situations that go on my home and that it does get better. It was exactly what I needed to here and it came at the perfect time.
I leave with a the beginings of a prayer from the book dance of heaven check it out:
" Lord, I pray for all of us the ability
to fall down before You
and speack aloud the deepest secrets
that You already know exist.
May we turn to You alone and
not to substitutes of our culture
to find mercy and forgiveness for our sins..." This whole prayer is to long to type but I really like the begining part especially the Substitutes of our culture because what we turn to are exactly that... Substitutes. Check out the whole thing in the book!

Choir tour

2008-06-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

my new hair cut
ditto
me and my friend with our new do's
choir tour pic
ditto

Hey!!!! How have you been!?The trip was awesome amazing, indescribable!!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad I went! There was eleven of us in high school choir, five chaperons and we had a 60 passenger bus! we all pretty much had our own isle! It was a bus that had TVs and a bathroom in the back. First day we drove to North Carolina we stopped for dinner on the way and we almost all had brought subway! then we continued till we arrived and met up with the middle school at the church we were staying at, we helped make dinner for the middle school than had desert and hung out. at midnight we (high school) practiced will middle went to bed. there was one part we all shout i am only there was a huge echo, and we woke everybody up talk about oops but it was fun! then both middle and high preformed at a nursing home(really funny story about that, but i have to tell you in person!) then high departed for Baltimore... the bus rides we all full of fun and games. we got there really late, but the church we were staying at was cool, much more comfortable than the first. two interns for the summer live there and they were both nice showed us everything etc. one was cute too. then the next day we started our first mission project the church picked a gas station and lowered the price by fifty cents! we cleaned up the lot and then some of us held signs, some offered free refreshments, some pumped gas, some wiped windshields, also Valvoline was there and checked all fluids and air pressure for free. we were on at least five news stations! but even if we weren't it was a blast!!!!!!!!!! then we sang at another nursing home... sweet people! then we went to a baseball game the orioles vs. the red sox. the red sox lost but it was still so fun! the next day we cleaned up the church yard then went shopping then to the aquarium! It was a blast I found a ton of cute stuff. we had dinner a johnny rockets which was fun ( it's 50s style) then we went shopping for thirty minutes and were supposed to meet at the bus but our choir director(billy) forgot to tell us were the bus was so the entire choir excluding chaperons all found each other but we all lost for like ten minutes wondering around in front of the mall but it was so fun/funny! we teased billy about it for the rest of the trip! the next day we went to Philly saw liberty bell/Independence hall/ ran the rocky steps, ate real Philly cheese steak, came back preformed at church stayed up late playing awesome/insane games. the next day went to Virginia checked into hotel ate at a tavern. Next day Busch gardens all day next day we returned! It was cool cuz we had devotions every night! there is so many more stories but you probably wouldn't get them unless you were on the trip! sorry this is so long!

Oh yea I finally cut my hair for locks of love!

Yeah!

2008-05-31T05:11:00.000-07:00

So we leave for choir tour today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Be back next saturday, so depending on we get in I'll update on Saturday or Sunday!

2008-05-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

So we leave 4 choir tour on saturday! Practices have actually been going pretty well we just have to fine tune everything. I've been staying late and getting there early due to ride issues but have been using that time to help others and I've really enjoyed that! I enjoy preforming these acts of service because I draw closer to God-it brings me a peace that I can't get anywhere else.

Also I can't wait to start doing all the summer youth stuff at my church! We are doing a ton of stuff- it should be awesome!

New song discoveries/old favs:
Image-BarlowGirl
Braid her hair-randy owens (this is a must listen go to www.randyowen.com it stars to play automatically . It's a really sweet song.

What's up?

2008-05-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

This one is a pic af me and my friend getting ready for homecoming. It was in October... Think I'm a little late!

Ditto above!
One of hundreds of pics from my spring break trip...
Ditto
Ditto

Well a lot has gone on....

I'm now a sophmore!

So that's exciting. I'm leaving for choir tour in exactly one week and will be gone for a week. We are doing a musical called fruit bearing tree done by one of our choir directors friends. We will be the first to preform it! So if you could please pray that we will be able to pull in all the loose ends and share God's word.

Summers's here and along with the explosion of summer heat has come my brothers volatile temper yet again. It's always ten times worse in the summer but at least he will be on his meds this summer. (he's got ADHD) I'm just not sure I can handle being stuck in the car with him for two hours everyday this summer when he pretty much says whatever he feels like saying, hits whoever he feels like hitting, throws whatever he feels like throwing(This is bad anyway, but in a moving car on 75) My parents can't really do a lot about it, but this is something I learned along time ago is something I must give completly to God and just trust in him for.

Oh and this summer is also going to be exciting cuz I can dive right into my 24/7 volunterr schedule. I've so missed some of the special needs kids I see every year! Also my best friend and I have a summer project of tracing back our family history(now we have in excuse to hang out all summer!lol) Plus I hope to get back to the books I'm trying to write. I've missed doing it because of the lack of time I have had.

This summer my assignments include reading: Lord of the flies ( for honors 10th grade lit), Guns germs and steel(AP world history), Doing a 35 page packets of worksheets(Honors Algebra 2) , Typing 60 something words/definitions/relation to world history/online assignments(AP world history) . It's really not that bad so yeah. My other classes I will be taking next year are Spanish 3,Honors Chemistry,yearbook, intro to culinary arts(maybe switch to computer apps) and health and PE.

A couple of songs I've recently discovered:

Harder than the first time - BarlowGirl

The guy song-BarlowGirl

Every little thing - HawkNelson

Songs I already discovered but love:

Average Girl - BarlowGirl

California - HawkNelson

Friend like that - HaekNelson

Cinderella - Steven Curtis Chapman

Dive - Steven Curtis Chapman

Which brings me to my next point. Steven Curtic Chapman is an amazing and inspiring christian musician. He has a very close knit family on wedensday night one of thier three adopted daughters was killed and the funeral is today. Please pray. My heart breaks for their lost and I can't help but weep with them. http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/

Hey

2008-05-08T16:01:00.001-07:00

Hi, I'm back, and planning to do this once a week again. So my thoughts for tonight are this:

I'm rembering all the people in the bible who have let God lead them like Ruth and Job in a way when things were uncertain , and that is the kind of faith I want to have, I'm seeing God everyday in the little things now because I seek that, and I love it. I'm leaning to God more in new areas and that gives me peace, I'm learning more about my faith. So my point is seek it. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

2008-04-19T06:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is so late!! I've been lazy! Let me update on what you've missed. The trip to destin was awesome! The house we stayed was literally a millon dollar house it was huge. We spent our days during lesson on the bible, beaching, and just haning out. On Saturday we arrived almost four hours late, because the buses we realy almost 2 hours late, but the four hour delay didn't count this. Despite the rocky start the ride down was awesome. Since It was my friends church I got to meet a ton of new people. The only reason for the four hour delay was that we stopped for food all the time! One of the leaders joked that baptist trips are all about food, and I guess it's true cuz i've never eaten so much food. When we finally got there we were supposed to have a session but we didn't have time so we just unloaded and chilled the boys left their house wich had a path from ours. Sunday I work up early and helped the cook(my best friends mom) and that was fun. After breakfast we had 2 sessions that were awesome! Then later it was beach time! That was fun , afterward though it was a mad dash to the showers in the girl house! then we had my eye opening sessions! The next day was about the same excapt we went to the go cart/putt putt place that was fun to. The next day we had to get up early to make it back in time, this time it was a 6 hour trip! 2 of my fave things we the lessons and just hanging out with new people! part 2 of what you missed later!

I'll update when I return!

2008-04-05T04:30:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll I just wanted to let you know that after a I return from Destin, Florida with my friend and her church I will post another blog! Aren't ya'll excited! lol I will return late tuesday , just to let ya'll know. Bye!

Update

2008-03-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, I just got back from singing at my church. We (the high school and middle school youth choirs) sang out the 8:30 and eleven o'clock services and had brunch inbetween . Talk about fun. We sang the chorus parts of blessed be your name with a middle school soloing the other part. Then we sang the song joyful , joyful from sister act two, although for the services we took at the rapping part. However when we sing it tonight our asociate pastor will be rapping. In addition the high school choir(me) will be singing and dancing to you can't stop the beat from hairspray. BTW we are doing this at our church (DUE WEST UMC) tonight from 4-8:30 to raise moeny for youth choir tour. The will be an auction dinner and of course the show with many great acts.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the sermon this morning. It was entitled Doubting Thomas? and the pastor talked about how we tend to just throw a blanket over thomas, because he did a lot of other great things and there are a lot of thomas's out there, questioning. And that jesus came back for thomas and he'll came back for you. I really enjoyed that, and the scripture readimg was very good as well.

2008-03-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

This is an awesome E-mail I recieved. What do you think?

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, "Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and v alleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life . No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72 First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped takin g a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings. Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult mo ments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD. NOW . PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

John 20-21 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
John 20
The Empty Tomb 1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples 19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
Jesus Appears to Thomas 24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may[a] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 21
Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish 1Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias.[b] It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered.
6He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c] 9When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."
11Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus Reinstates Peter 15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
20Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") 21When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
22Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." 23Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"
24This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

The lord is risen! Christ died for you and me, to forgive us, and today he rose again. How awesome. This story just amazes me. Even though I don't deserve it, he died so I could be forgiven.! I wish you all a happy easter.

Prayer request: Amanda, Coleman, Mikayla are all facing cancer.
P.S Don't forget to chech out http://www.invisiblechildren.com

Invisible children

2008-03-20T17:54:00.001-07:00

Tonight at a beta club movie night we showed the film Invisible Children the rough cut to get the rest of the club and the parents fired up about our project of building a school in Africa, and it pretty much broke my heart. I wanted to cry so hard, but most importantly I wanted to do something to change it. You see my faith was kind of starting to reach a point of stagnancy, and I was trying to find something to blow that door open again. You see I didn't believe any less than before, I had my little candle of faith, but I wanted a bonfire instead. What I mean is I wanted to always continue to grow in my faith everyday of my life. I started becoming commited to reading my bible everyday, and I spent a lot of time praying about it. Slowly but surely I felt God at work in my life for this. I had some awesome youth group experiences that blew those doors open, and then I saw this video, and I have never felt more sure of my faith or passion to mske a difference. I thought if these children, who everyday endure pain, that I on my worst day will NEVER experience, can still get up at the crack of dawn and pray, I can most certainly live out my faith and grow stronger in it. I CAN make a difference with my God. I urge you to see it . Borrow it or buy it at www. invisiblechildren.com. Tell everyone you know about it. I know that I will, I will also throw myself into helping those children through my beta club and others, I will praise the lord everyday for what I have been given and don't deserve. I will be a follower of Christ.

Preparing for easter

2008-03-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

Today at church was very cool. The first thing I was there for was when we "reinacted" The last supper. We did things that you might not associate with that night. We dipped celery in salty water to represent a scripture, and we drank soup from cups like that night, we washed each others hands too. We of course broke the bread and had the grape juice as well, and while I have done this many times this was a different atmosphere. We sat on the ground and around a table with candles, but we did our "reinactment" according to scripture so I enjoyed it. As easter is earlier this year I've kind of have just not been thinking about it and this was a nice reminder that hey easter is coming up, and look what Jesus did for , aren't you grateful.

Oh yesterday I found a new song I like, it's called set the world on fire by britt nicole. Here are the lyrics:
I wanna set the world on fire Until it`s burning bright for You It`s everything that I desire Can I be the one You use?
I, I am small butYou, You are big enough I, I am weak butYou, You are strong enough toTake my dreams Come and give them wings Lord with You There`s nothing I can not do Nothing I cannot do
I wanna feed the hungry children And reach across the farthest land And tell the broken there is healing And mercy in the Father`s hands
My hands my feet My everything My life, my love Lord, use me
I wanna set the world on fire I wanna set the world on fire, yeah
I`m gonna set the world on fire Set the world on fire

I thought the song represented me in a way. It's also has reminded me of several spirtual matters that have been on my mind this week.

Matthew 11:28

2008-03-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.-Matthew 11:28

This is one of God's most awesome promises. He's telling you to run into his arms!This verse has come up in my life so much this week. On www.carepages.com I follow those of several children and their families and their struggles with cancer, and this week all I could think about was this wonderful promise that God offers us all. This verse is letting us know that when the storms of this life come o knockin God is there, he wants to comfort us. He wants us to know his amazing love. I think this verse has another side too though, he's telling you to believe that he is there, that he is all powerful, he has it all and he wants YOU . So however you look at it its an amazing scripture, one that if you let it can feel you with peace. So what do you think?

2008-03-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

Wow I've been busy! I had 3 projects due this week, and I got them all done Yahoooooooo! I feel so free!!!

Well anyway I had a sprirtual epiphany yesterday. We were presenting our healthy living projects in my spanish 2 class and one of my classmates got up to present. When he was reading off his healthy living tips (in spanish) he turned to my spanish teacher and told her "that means to help you see." To really understand this you have to know that my spanish teacher majored in spanish in college and has at least her masters. Most of my peers (including presenter) complain that they don't understand what she is saying and that it's to hard. So my spanish teacher obviously new what that meant. We all just laughed, and my teacher just smiled. Later I was thinking about it and was like is that not what we all we do with God? He obviously knows what he's doing , so why not give him control? So I thought that was cool.

Oh guess what I have no homework! When in all advanced classes that happens like once for every three blue moons, but I'm making use of that. I'm relaxing ,organizing stuff ,than when my mom gets home i'm going to church!

Quick post.

2008-03-02T18:16:00.000-08:00

This is going to be short but I just had an awesome experience with my youth group. I was able to break some chains that I couldn't break. The lord was def. at work , so I just wanted to urge you to get involved in your church or a church. Due west is an amazing church if your looking!

Recap of week.

2008-02-28T18:13:00.000-08:00

This week has def been interesting and I'm ready for friday. We were supposed to have our math test on Tuesday but had it on Wedensday instead. It was easy. Tuesday was fun beacause we had our "poetry readings" in my honors lit class. My teacher really created that mood and we had coffe and tea. Of course I didn't like mine but I really enjoyed listening to others. There are some amazing writers in that class. Even when it was made to seem funny the poems revealed something about everyone. Tomorrow is my AP quiz and when we get to see a theatere company preform Romeo and Juliet! This Sat. i'm going to help clean part of the Silver Comet trail with my beta club, and next week I have 3 major projects due. However they are for the most part easy. My biology project is time consuming , but def intersting. I have to create a 5 generation pedigree chart and have pics for at least half the people in it. My brother (matt) seems to be having even more of his anger fits this week. We no longer have a printer and my second cell phone has been smashed. I got my first cell phone for christmas and my second after he smashed the first. Both were my parents old ones but I liked them. At least they are only material things though. Sometimes I get really tired of having a brother that does what he does. I love him, but I wish he didn't get so angry and I have a roller coaster of emotion from it. These are the time I must lean on God the most, and I feel his presence in a stronger way. I like that feeling that peace even if I've got some hard valley's to walk through to find it. There is no instant solution no magic powder but there is God. What could be better?

2008-02-24T17:47:00.000-08:00

I just got back from an awesome youth group session. It never fails to get me to think and open my heart and mind. It always brings to mind something I can apply to my life. My youth leader is great, he helps my spirtual life so much, and he's def. wise. I love hanging with the people in youth to. They are so nice and just funny. Now if only I could stop bieng so shy! When people or older than me even by just a year I tend to be shy I guess because of an automatic need to please type thing that I don't even think about! For example I normally talk non stop but around older people I am just eerily quiet, but that is not always bad because I can learn from just bieng quiet so It's something I'm praying about~How to find the balance. Anyway the lesson tonight was about choices,and one of the things we talked about that struck me was the choice to seek advice. I'm the type of person who turns inward with a decesion, and granted that hasn't turned out bad, i'm thinking in addition I could be seeking counsel to help me not only with my choices but to grow spirtually as well.

freedom.

2008-02-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.-2 Corinthians 3:17

Freedom has many different meanings to many different people, but isn't it something we all want? I've noticed that especially in the teen years a lot of life revolves around the idea of freedom: Bieng able to go places with friends rather than family, getting your liscence, your own car, going to college, living away from home. We view all these things as freedom. We wait in anticipation for all these events. I know I do. I can't tell you the number of times i've desperatly wished for these events to be upon me. But this verse tells us that true freedom is in the Lord, and as nice and as wonderful as all those events are they aren't the kind of freedom that will put us on the right path. I remember a time when I was in my room and I was just about to rip my brothers head off. I wanted so bad to yell and scream at him and make him see how he hurt me. I contemplated throwing anythinng that was in my reach, but then I remembered the many words the bible has against anger. I rembered the verse that said to feed your enemies if they are hungry, give them simething to drink if they are thirsty and in doing so you will heap burning coals on their heads. And for minutes I felt so restrained, I didn't feel free. Look at what he does to me I thought , and I can't show him a fraction of what I feel because I'm a better person! He screams at me , he hits me, and he hurts me with his words, and feels no guilt, and I have to do nothing about it? Then I realized that I really didn't want to yell and scream and carry on, yea I was angry but I didn't want to act like that. I realized God and his words weren't a restriction on me, but a freedom I hadn't connsidered before. They offered me the freedom to walk with God, and to make the right choices. Now when I'm angry and want to lose it I try to remember the freedom I can find in God . I don't always remember within the right time frame, but I have decided that I will choose the freedom that GOD offers me in every respective of my life. So what do you think? What freedom have your experieced in God?

backround info on me.

2008-02-18T06:54:00.000-08:00

Well I guess it's time to fill you in on me. My middle name is Lane. I am 14 years old, and was born on July 13th , 1993 at 2:20 in the afternoon at Northside hospital. I have long curly brown hair that sits at my belly button. In December I will cut it for locks of love, but will try to keep it as long as possible, while still donating a lot ,if that makes any sense. After that I plan to grow it to my knees, and then well most likely donate it again, however you will never see me with short hair. It drives me crazy, I can't do anything with it. I am currently about 5'1, and the shortest person in my biology class(and probably in most of my other classes to)! yes! I always said that I either wanted to be really tall or really short, never average, so I guess I got my wish :). Who knows I might have another growth spurt in me , but I like bieng short so yeah. I have blue eyes and wear glasses that are shaped like squished hexagons. I have a light to fair skin tone, and most people say I look exactly like my mom. I'm in the ninth grade at North Paulding High School and I currently take all advanced courses there. At this point I feel lead by God to be a teacher. I hope to go to college with a double major in elementary education and special education. I want to teach as soon as possible , but through the course of my career I hope to recieve a doctorate in both of the above areas. I don't want to be anything more than a regular teacher, I just want to challenge myself and be the best teacher I can be. I want to study abroad in Italy and spend one year teaching in an LDC(less developed country). And if it is God's will I hope to be married and have a big family, biological and adopted. Above all else though I want to continue to grow in Christ. My spirtual experience began at a very young when I accepted Christ. My mom has always worked In churches so they become my second home, most of the time I spent more time there than my house.This instilled a deep love of the church which helped my relationship with him grow. I would throw screaming fits if we had to miss church . Once I even put on my mom's enormouse parka filled the pockets with all the change I could find and threatened to walk there. When I was in sixth grade my faith reached a defining moment. That time was a rough time in my life I was making the change from elementary to middle school, and making what felt like a thousand others at the same time. We had stopped going to the church I grew up at and we had not started going anywhere else. I greatly missed my second home , and as you can imagine was not happy that we weren't at least going somewhere. I had previously been plugged into every sort of sport, and heavily involved in church so I was a liitle lost, and things in my house had seemed to have reached a boiling point. Most of the time I felt like I was 2 people,but now I thank God for that time in my life. In that time I relied heavily on God, I began to study his word and grow closer to him, and thousands of door opened up in my faith. We finally started going to church again at Due West UMC and I LOVE it. I have two younger brothers. My interest include reading ,writing, knitting,and volunteering. I love to write and am currently trying to write some books, and I hope to continue that. I am a walking oxymoron. I can be quiet or loud(more often loud) shy or outgoing(I'm usually shy at first but once you get to know me I never shut up, and sometimes i'm just outgouing for know reason.) I talk really fast! To me it's normal but it amazes most people. I've been known to deliver a full page typed speech in about 45 seconds. I like to meet new people, although I sometimes feel shy at first I can usually get over that fairly quick. I love bieng creative, and most of my writing is exteremly detailed( as you've probably guessed!) I am definatly a bookworm and a self-proclaimed nerd, but I like that. I talk a lot, and I love to schock and amaze people, usually by how much of a nerd I truly am. I also like to smile and help somebody. I volunteer with children a lot especially special needs children, I love it. ( I think I'm overusing the word!) I spend some time as a hippotherapy volunteer, as well. I 'm the editor of my school's yearbook and am involved in the beta club. My high school is only ninth grade and my class will be the seniors all four years. If anybody actually read this far wow!

lyrics to think on

2008-02-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

Michael W. Smith - The Heart Of Worship Lyrics
When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is YoursEvery single breath
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itselfIs not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus

I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You
,It's all about You, Jesus

2008-02-16T14:24:00.000-08:00

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

This is my favorite bible verse because it speaks deeply to me. We live in a time where we "Live" off so many things. I know that I live of music, noise , books, and so many wordly things. It so easy to justify bieng addicted to or "living" on these things . IE: It helps me concentrate, i'm tired, I like it, whatever you want to insert here. This verse puts everything into perspective for me. All we need is God. Whenever I come across this verse it reminds me that I need to take a step back and focus on God. So often I find that i'll turn on something just for the noise or watch something I don't like just for something to do. Could I not just spend some time in God's word or just talk to him. I say this beacause the times when I can hear God clearly, when I can feel him deeply are when all is quiet and I am listening, yet so often I don't let myself listen I turn up the music instead. This verse reminds me to listen, reawakens me to the fact that some of the things I'm placing importance on don't matter. All we need and all we have ever needed is God.
Have you, like me ever found yourself focusing on something other than God,like homework video games, facebook, ect, instead of just listening. If so how did you realign yourself, what steps did you take?

little more info

2008-02-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I created this blog because for a long I've wanted to start something where I could talk about my spritual life , share thoughts and verses from the bible and stuff. I hope to kick that of this weekend when I can add some things to get me started. What I plan to do is at least once a week, most likely more often, post a verse and my thoughts on it/ my life applications of it as well as ways in which I struggle with it. I will also post about my daily life, but I want to grow in my faith by sharing it with others.

Here is a video of one of my two little brothers. It's so adorable!:

Welcome to my blog!

2008-02-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I just started this blog so we will see how it goes! I'm going to try to add some really cool things and tell you all about me a little later. Right now, I have homework so i'll be back.