Quoth the Raven, Nevermore!

So, first off, I apologize for not being that great at blogging lately. You see, I was attacked by this purple people eater who took me to his cave to eat me. But, I fought my way out and came back and did not get eaten because I'm cool like that. Aw, who am I kidding? You want the truth? My allergies and school have been driving me up the wall, so lately, most of the stuff I have been doing is watching Lit classes and blowing my nose. Yup. Nothing too heroic. Just time-consuming. LOL.

Anywho, I do believe I promised y'all a poem. Weeeelll, guess what? I'm not gonna post it. I decided I didn't like it, which shouldn't be surprising. My poetry isn't that great. I prefer essay/short story formats. I do have one poem that I wrote that I actually like, but the file is on a different computer. So no poems for you!

Something that a friend mine said once was that I should write a book. Well, before she said this, a book was in progress! And still is . . . lol. I've been kind of slow with working on it lately, but I have the rest of it outlined, and it should be ready for publishing by the end of the year.

Here's a brief synopsis:
Esperanza's Journey is a modern fantasy story about a girl who goes on a life changing journey. Unsatisfied with her life in the Dark Forest collecting beautiful but temporary stones, Esperanza uses her discovery of a small something in the distance (called 'light') to go searching for something better. Rejected by people she thought loved her, Esperanza begins her journey alone. In this story meant to show similarity to Pilgrim's Progress, Esperanza discovers true happiness and the love of the One who gave His life for her.

In a few weeks, I will be headed to TeenPact's Endeavor West, which is an all girls TeenPact Alumni event. I'm super excited to spend a week with some of my favorite girlfriends, worshiping God and learning how to be a true Proverbs 31 woman. And of course, I will write about it when I get back. :)

At some point I'm going to post my thoughts on this whole Obama-suing-Arizona dealio. It's kind of driving me nuts.

Well, that's it for now! Hope y'all are having a great Saturday! God bless!!

Just a Quick Hello..

Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to write you a quick note to say: I haven't forgotten about this blog!! Things have been a tad crazy with the launch of the Ripple Effect blog, but I promise to keep posting on this one. Tomorrow, I'll (hopefully) be posting a poem I wrote on the fly today (it's completely unedited, but I thought I'd test on y'all anyway), and some other random tidbits that ran through my mind. But, for now I'm out of time. God bless!

--Rose

P.S. Just thought I'd throw in a pic of me and my awesome bro :) I'll have a bragging rights post on him (since I did one on my sister) at some point this summer. :)

"Till He fill thy mouth with laughing and thy lips with rejoicing." Job 8:21

Everyone loves a good laugh. And why not? One of the best feelings is to have a good laugh--one that comes deep from within you. When we are happy, God is happy. He loves to see us laughing and enjoying ourselves. There is evidence everywhere that God has a wonderful sense of humor and wants us to see us laugh. So, in light of that, today's post is dedicated to laughter. It's chock full of humorous quotes, quips, and some, um, unusual conversations I've had with my friends. Enjoy!

(This conversation took place entirely via texting. I was in a bad mood, and Logan began poking at it. I think this is why we get stares when in public together. Just maybe.)
Rose: I need something to bite..
Logan: Just don't bite me!!
Rose: You're the only thing available! graah!!!
Logan: aah!! *runs away*
(running scene)
Rose: *catches up, jumps, and BITES* HAHA! I got you!!
Logan: No you didn't!
Rose: Ya, I did!
Logan: NO, you didn't!!
Rose: Oh ya? Then what's that?
Logan: Cherry. Jam.
(nuff said.)

(The way the roads are set up, if you are driving up Denmark Hill, and someone is driving towards Denmark Hill on Thrall Rd, you are closer to my house than that person. So here's the story: my sister and I are coming back in from town, trying to beat our dad home. We're driving on Thrall towards Denmark Hill. I see my dad's truck . . .)
Rose: Oh, look! There's Dad--he's on Denmark Hill
Emma: Good!! That means we'll beat him home, right? 

(Another one of my dear sister's blond moments. The funny thing about these moments is my hair is way lighter than hers. So, we're driving down a two-way road . . .)
Emma: Hey, Rose, you know how when you're driving the other direction and the passenger seat is on the inside of the lane?
Rose: . . . You might want to re-think that one.

(There was 400+ people at National Convention. It was always quite loud in the Dining Hall at meals. Conversations were always an adventure.)
Kiefer: (talking about his abundance of t-shirts and mentions they are his favorite clothing)
Rose: I like hoodies!
Kiefer: WOW, Rosie. That wins the award for the most random comment of the week!
Lily: What did she say?
Rose: All I said was that I like hoodies . . .
Lily: Rosie, that is very random.
Rose: How is it random?? Kiefer said he likes t-shirts and I like hoodies!
Kiefer: Hoodies? I thought you said pudding!
Lily: Pudding?? I thought she said cookies!!
(Well, I guess it was better than a million "huh?"'s)

(The rest is just random funny quotes I like.)

A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.  ~Fred Allen

There are three types of people in this world: those who can count and those who can't.

Four out of three people don't understand fractions.


Welcome to the dark side. Are you surprised we lied about the cookies?


Be alert. The world needs more lerts. 


Eagles may soar in the clouds, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines.  ~Attributed to both Jason Hutchison and John Benfield


The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us.  ~Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.  ~Author Unknown

Who says nothing is impossible.  I've been doing nothing for years.  ~Author Unknown

 Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.  That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile way and you have their shoes.  ~Author Unknown

Lead me not into temptation; I can find the way myself.  ~Rita Mae Brown

Ever have one of those days where you drop your car keys in hot lava? Just let 'em go . . . ~Deep Thoughts With Aaron Watson



(Hope you enjoyed this little side trip from deep thoughts (lol)! Remember that laughter is a gift from God!! Have a wonderful and blessed day!)   

When at First You Don't Succeed . . .

Last night, my sister (Emma) and I had our spring piano recital. Being who we are, we were both excited. The way our teacher does things, one gets to play two pieces per recital. Emma and I both had a piece from the soundtrack of our favorite movie series, Pirates of the Caribbean, along with another piece. It was supposed to be just an ordinary recital. Go there, play our pieces, nibble finger foods and mingle around afterwords. But, it didn't go quite as planned . . .

A Typical Night
 
The recital started as usual, with younger, less experienced kids starting out and leading up to the more advanced kids. 


...then came my sister's turn. 


She walked confidently towards the piano, ready to play her pieces. Her first piece went well. A small missed note here and there, but then again, it was kind of a weird piano. Next, she played her second piece; her favorite.

Forgetting . . .


The song started out strong, bursting with her usual confidence.


Oops . . . a missed note here. 


Uh-oh . . . there's another one. 


She started playing slower, with less enthusiasm.


Then she stopped.


Desperate, she began searching her mind for the note. Where was it?? Our teacher slipped up to the piano, trying to help by tapping out a few notes. But to no avail. The notes had flown from her memory. Emma walked back to her seat, shaking, the tears already starting to flow. 


Defeated . . .

As I walked to the piano (I had been placed right after Emma), I could her my sister sobbing. Her sobs faded into the background as my mom took her to the bathroom to comfort her. My heart aching for my baby sister, I sat down and began to play.


Not long after I finished and had returned to my seat, my mom and sister came back. Unsure what to do, I reached across our mom and gave Emma's hand a squeeze.

Heavenly Encouragement
 
Unbeknownst to me, after Emma and our mom had walked out, a lady (one of the other moms), had followed them. She encouraged Emma to go back and try again, gave her hug, and prayed with her and my mom. 

That's what really helped Emma. When that lady mentioned the Lord. Because what she said was so right. 

"Sometimes Satan tries to keep us from being successful, from doing well. But God is bigger than Satan, and He can help you play again."


So she played again. 


After the last student on the program had played, our piano teacher looked at Emma.


"Do you want to play again?"


Cautiously, Emma nodded and approached the piano once again.


And she played . . .


It was the best she had ever done at a recital. She started off slow, picking up speed gradually until she was at full force. By the time she made a flawless finish, everyone in the room was grinning, and clapped enthusiastically for her. 


With a smile on her face,


Emma rose,


Bowed,


And returned to her seat.

She had done it. She had played. 

Emma, you are an amazing and beautiful girl. I'm so glad you tried again last night. Getting back up there was hard, but you did it!! I'm so proud of you! I love you sooo much!!! <3 Ro-Ro

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

The Ripple Effect: Rissa's Story

Today's Ripple Effect story is kind of a combination story. In order to greater understand the Ripple Effect, I'll start of with a bit of my own story, then move on to how God used my story to affect Rissa Crowe.

When I was eleven, my mom led me to Christ while sitting in our living room late at night. A few years after that, some dear friends (the Solem family) told me about TeenPact. I was a little iffy about going--and delayed going for at least a year. Finally though, at age 16, I went to a TeenPact State Class for the first time. It really got me on fire for God, for government, and for leading. Just last week, I attended the TeenPact National Convention, where God did some major work in my heart. I felt so light and burden-free! As soon as I got home, I began blogging about my experience at NC. I am very much on fire for God now, and want to honor Him with everything I do. Then, yesterday, I opened my Facebook and saw that I had a message from Rissa Crowe. Now here begins her story . . .

"[L]ately, I've been in a "hit and miss" mode. I do the stuff I need to for God then be done with it. Quick & shallow prayers, skipping on some bible reading, not really caring to try at anything. It's my life, I can do with it as much or as little as I want... right? Wrong! But such has been my mindset.... until tonight.

It seems a million and one things have been gripping me and stabbing at my heart to bring me to repentance. Everything from tv commercials to the very ground I walk on seemed to remind me of my condition and pound me with conviction. But I was still spiritually "asleep", no matter what the Lord was trying to put in front of me. But tonight, He put your blog in front of me. Sleepily I kind of just stumbled into my room... grabbed the iPod touch and got on facebook. There it was... your blog. I clicked it and started to read, read, and read some more! I couldn't stop! The way the words flowed kept my attention, and the way in which Christ and His ultimate glory was pointed out as foremost in nearly everything, brought me to my knees. Was it the way I admired your love and devotion to Christ? Was it your ability to pour your testimonies into beautiful wording? I don't know. But there was a small moment when in reading your blog, I broke. I woke up.
 I don't understand the feeling, I really can't explain it! But I just put the iPod down and started to pray. It was the sweetest time of prayer I think I have ever had. :) God and I talked. I repented from what I had been doing against Him. The joy afterwards was immense! I got right back on the iPod and started to write this message to you!!!"

God definitely gets the credit here! I was absolutely floored when I read this message. God's amazing-ness knows no bounds! Rissa and I met while on a "College Up-Close" trip at Bob Jones University. The deal is, the way we met, we could have very well gone on the entire trip and not have met each other! God can use even the smallest event or person to affect a lot! Take Rissa's story for example. I am merely one person. In a big world of everything, my blog is just one small thing. But God, in His grace and mercy, used it to affect something big: Rissa's relationship with God. Everything big that happens can be traced back to one small thing.

I hope you enjoyed reading about how God worked in Rissa's life! Thank you for reading!!

Send your own "Ripple Effect" story(s) to: pigeongirl93@gmail.com

The Ripple Effect: Kiefer's Story (part 1)

Today's post marks the beginning of the "Ripple Effect" stories I will begin posting periodically as a special feature. A good friend of mine, Kiefer Partridge, sent me a paper he wrote a couple years ago on the "Ripple Effect". It doesn't completely line up with what I initially had in mind, but I think it gives a good opening to branch out to all aspects of the "Ripple Effect". He sent it to me in this really cool pdf format, but it won't upload here, so this is just the text:

 "Billy’s absolutely on fire. He gave his life to Christ this summer at a teen rally, and
he meant every word of it. Billy loves to make funny YouTube videos, and he’s
getting good at it — so when he accepted Jesus as his Savior this summer, he
immediately knew that there was nothing he’d rather do than make Christian
movies.
No one at school knows it, though. His friends can tell something has changed,
for sure, because he used to hang out with them. Now he’s taking advanced
filmmaking and video production classes, along with photography. He’s joined
the young writer’s club, and he spends all his spare time reading or watching
DVDs about filmmaking. He simply doesn’t have time for them anymore, and
they can’t figure it out.
Meanwhile, his parents are getting frustrated, too. They were thrilled when he
told them he accepted Christ, and thrilled when he realized he should be using his
moviemaking skills to tell others about Jesus — but he doesn’t seem to have time
for his family anymore.
Aren’t we all a bit like Billy sometimes?
so heavenly minded…
We’re all a little prone to becoming, as the saying goes, “So heavenly minded,
we’re no earthly good.” It isn’t surprising. After all, God’s a God of God-sized
dreams, and He usually gives us a vision that’s just a little too big for us to handle
alone. But we often take it too far, and the result is sometimes very short of
disastrous to the people around us.
Take a look at this:
“The most important [commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this:…. ‘Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 10:13-16 [NIV]
We’ve all read the parable of the good Samaritan, and we all know that
“neighbor” includes everyone around us — but I’m afraid we all too often
overlook the fact that “neighbor” also carries with it the idea of starting with
those close to us.
This is exactly what Jesus did:
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the
disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them,
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of
God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the
kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in
his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Mark 10:13-16[NIV]
Let’s face it, little children were not Jesus’ target audience. Certainly the gospel is
meant for them as well, but if Jesus were simply concerned with making the
biggest splash He could on the political scene of His day, He wouldn’t have
bothered to waste His time on kids.
So why did He? Because the best way to impact people is not by what we do, but
by how we live. Unless we are actively engaged in blessing those immediately
around us, we can never have a big impact on those who are far away. Blessing is
like a drop of water; the ripples will spread across the entire pond, but they must
start from that one single drop. And if we are to reach the very edges of the earth,
we have to start at our own front door."


Beautiful thoughts. Thank you, Kiefer :). Also, Kiefer has his own personal "Ripple Effect" story that he has offered to share, and that will be posted as soon as he sends it to me.

Okay, and if any of you are confused now, let me explain. The "Ripple Effect" is something I had an idea for just a few days ago. Everyone knows what a rock dropped into a pond does, it makes ripples that grow and grow until everything in the pond is affected. Our lives are very much the same. It seems everywhere I turn, I realize this choice I made affects that choice, which affects that occurrence in my life, and so on. What I'm asking from you is your own thoughts, stories, and ideas about the "Ripple Effect". It could be anything! It's not limited to just my own perspective. Also, I'm just one person. Network this idea to your friends! I really want to see just how big this can get. My e-mail is pigeongirl93@gmail.com. Send your stories, questions, or anything else there!

The Ripple Effect

Just in case I haven't said it lately; God is amazing. He works out every tiny detail of our lives. Everything that happens to us, everything we do acts as a stone dropped into a pond: it makes ripples that gradually become bigger and bigger and eventually touch everything. Everyone has had at least one specific thing in their life happen where if they hadn't gone somewhere or done something, their life would be totally different. They'd know different people, wouldn't know others, would or wouldn't have done a certain action, and on and on. These stories are some of these most amazing I've heard, and they've given me an idea. I know I mentioned this in my last post, but I would like to set this in stone a little more. I want to start a special feature on my blog called "The Ripple Effect". Every so often (and as often as possible), I will post true "Ripple Effect" story. This is where you all come in. I'm requesting your story(s). If you have a Ripple Effect story you would like to share, please e-mail it to: pigeongirl93@gmail.com. Also, please network this among people you know. I would love to see how big God can make this special feature!! If it gets big enough, I will create a separate blog made specifically for these stories. Thanks for your contributions and God bless you!!!


And one more little tidbit. You may have noticed that my template changed. I was looking over my blog today, and felt like reading it was kind of hard. The colors were dark and the writing was kind of shadowed. Plus, the position of the posts made it hard to read. So, while the dots were cute, I have changed the template to something lighter and easier to read. You're welcome :)

Can't wait to see what y'all and God send to my way with the "Ripple Effect"!! Goodnight!