The Light Among the Darkness

Today has been busy. As most of you know, today was the first day of school. To be honest, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Sure, I got aggravated quite a few times cuz nothing was working like it was supposed to and so I only got one task done, but everything worked out in the end. In fact, a friend of mine just got a new adopted brother today!

I was up at the courthouse in Marshall for a couple hours this morning, and witnessed it all. The judge said that was his first adoption-related case ever and that it was one of the happiest ending ones that he's been a part of. Marvelous!!

So yeah, today wasn't a total disaster after all. In the end we came out smiling. :)
Yall don't ever lose hope; as long as you let God in, it wont matter what happens to you in this life. Just keep looking at Gods miracles and keep on keeping-on!!!

The Answer

Ok, it's Tuesday and I've kept yall waiting long enough. I posted those questions Saturday to get yall to think about what you could do to change the world with God. Every single one of us makes mistakes and doesn't take the leap of faith to do what God wants us to do. I recently failed at doing what He wanted me to do.

I was on vacation, and the night before we were heading off, I got this awesome idea to do some outreach while I was there. Why not right? I had everything planned out: Bible, Pen, Notepad, even an email account so I could stay in contact with the people I minister to. They could ask questions about anything I couldn't say then, or maybe new questions they had just thought of. Brilliant right?? ......Well that's what I thought too, and even through most of the day on the way there. BUT, as soon as I reached the city, I was so tired, I put it off. Again and again and again...We were there for three days and two nights!! I could've done something, SOMETHING!!!!

Sigh...but yeah, we all do this. We all disappoint and fail, but never give up, because He will help you if you let Him. Some of you are probably thinking this: "I don't feel Him. I know I should and I believe in Him, but I just don't feel inspired to help." or, "I do feel inspired to help, but like you I put it off for selfish needs that I can't seem to overcome." Well good news, cuz I have an answer for both.

"I don't feel Him. I know I should and I believe in Him, but I just don't feel inspired to help."
To start off, I will answer this one first. I used to struggle with this, and to be honest, you never truly stop feeling this way about certain things. You will always feel like you just aren't being called to do anything during certain points all throughout your life, there's no stopping it. The best way to stop is to pray. You can also try to basically do something. That's much easier said than done, but that's the best first step. Do something that you normally wouldn't do, something out of your comfort zone. Something that you think God would want you to do, such as something as simple as talking to your siblings or friends about Jesus, seeing how their journey with Christ is going. This helps both ways, because they get to think about exactly where they are at spiritually, and you will get more experience!
Another way to help you with this is to go to youth group more if you don't often. Listen to the lesson, don't drift off into your imagination every time. This will help considerably. Reading the Bible is something that helps as well, and not just a little bit either. Reading His Word is one of the most powerful things you can do other than praying, and is something that can never be replaced. Never forget that.

"I do feel inspired to help, but like you I put it off for selfish needs that I can't seem to overcome."
As for this one, I struggle with this one constantly and I pray that I quit. The selfish desires of human beings are nothing compared to the big picture that God has painted for us, yet we always forget how important it is to do the things He asks. The best way to stop this is to pray (of course), read the Bible (always), and try to think about things differently. Try and put other peoples needs above yours and go from there. I know that's easier said than done, but it helps for me, although not all the time. My personal needs tend to take over sometimes.

Really the best way is to pray. I can tell you all sorts of ways to live your life and how to control certain actions, but really none of what I say will truly help unless your heart is in it. That is why you must pray, to become closer to God. If you don't, none of what I say will matter in the end.

Anyways, enough of my lectures. I hope yall enjoyed the time yall spent thinking about the question, and I hope this post was too long and boring!! Until next time, keep on keeping-on!!!

The Question

How many of you feel like you aren't making a difference in the world? How many of you feel like you need to do something, like you are called to do something so important by God that it could change the world and way we live, yet don't because it seems so "out of our comfort zone"??

Something else to think about too: Why? Why is it out of our comfort zone?? Why isn't it easy to do what God asks???

Sit and think on those questions for a minute. Just sit and think.....think about it for at least 10 minutes. That's my challenge for you, to think about something that could change your life, but since that's so scary, most people don't. And if you cant concentrate long enough, don't think about it alone. Do it with a friend or family member. Include it into a conversation with your friends. I'm sure even your parents would think about it with you if you asked.

I will give yall till Tuesday to complete the challenge, and will publish the rest of my post then, so you might as well think about it. Also, please send this post to at least one person who doesn't already follow this blog. This is very important and as much people as possible needs to see it. Post in the comments if you like on how you completed it or maybe any questions you have after thinking. I will answer to the best of my ability. I hope tons of you complete this challenge. Thanks and keep on keeping-on till at the very least Tuesday!! :)

A Possible Possum Predicament

Well this is not what I expected today.. Caden was working outside on our run-down tree house, when he finds a POSSUM out there! Sure they live around here, but they only come out at night. He got scared at first cuz he thought it was a rat, so he ran up to the house and shot it with his .22.

 

He sure does like killing things with his gun, these kind of pictures are the one's he actually doesn't mind smiling in! You may think that was mean of him at first, but in a way he was helping it, because it looked like it was in pain, struggling to survive....

 



...so you can expect he didn't want it too close, he didn't want to stink or get what it had. Notice the gloves. ;)

But back to the tree house, eventually we will get it to where we can have air-soft wars out there, with barricades and everything. It is going to be awesome!! Can't wait to be awesome out there!!!

 

That's all I got for now, so until next time, keep on keeping-on!!



Catch Phrase Decided

Ok, thank you for everyone that commented on the last post about what last catch phrase should be. They were very helpful, but I've made up my mind. I'm going to stick with the one I like the most, "Keep on keeping-on!!". It sounds most like me, but I still appreciate the comments that were posted. Thanks!!!

The Daily Prophets' New Story

You will not get this title if you are not a Harry Potter fan. For you wizards out there however, I have some impressive news! I look kinda like Harry in the movies!! ;)

Ok, yes that was very random, but let me explain. My youth group did something very fun yesterday, we made a movie! We had to bring a costume and two props, and what we did was from 9-5, we traveled all around town shooting a movie. It was really fun!! I went as a reporter and wore a wig and those glasses. Me and my camera crew went looking for these two organizations that were against each other. A very interesting story, tons of action, and a final battle scene at the end. Pretty amazing, and not just because I did a lot of the directing for my group. I wish I had some pictures of us doing it, but sadly I do not. I will try and get some and post as soon as I can. Maybe my hair-style will rub off on people if I show yall. ;)

 

Alright, that's all I got for now. I'm trying to find a good catch phrase for me to sign off every post with, but I cant think of a good one.. I was thinking about maybe, "Keep on keeping-on!" but I'm not sure. Please comment below of your opinion. Do you like that one, or do you have a better catch phrase for me to try?? Keep on keeping-on!! ;)

Which Game Does This Apply To?

To answer that question, the animal/game is what this post can be applied to. I learned that fact from my dad; he teaches us a lot about what to do outdoors under different circumstances. As it just so happens, we just recently were shooting outside. Take a look at the pictures below:

 

Caden shooting his .22 at the target. He's very serious when he does this, as you can see.

 

That reminds me, he doesn't like to smile for pictures, so if I can get him in a picture, don't expect him to be smiling. Unfortunately he doesn't care what the picture is for, it can be difficult to get him to smile. Oh well.



 

Here's me shooting the same gun. I know it looks like im doing a backbend, but pay no attention to my body form. Instead, pay more attention to the smoke coming out of the barrel. Looks awesome!!

 

Dad is teaching Grace how to shoot a gun in this picture. This is her first time to shoot a real gun, so she was nervous. "Red means Dead, No Red means No Dead" is what Dad said. Grace asked, "Why does red mean dead?" and Dad replied with, "Because the red signifies blood. If you shoot someone, they will bleed, a lot."

 

That made her a little more nervous than she already was, but she ended up doing fine. As you can see, Dad is holding the gun for her as she aims and shoots. See the dust flying by the target? That's her shooting and she actually hit it on her 1st try! Next target up for her would be a squirrel or deer. My stomach can't wait for that day!!