Flywheel Movie Trailer

We just watched this one last night! I highly recommend it! It's from the makers of 'Facing the Giants.' Watch the trailer and movie. Applies very well to real life!

Fireproof Teaser Trailer

You have to watch this! I can't wait til it comes out! Sounds so good and it has to be since it's from Sherwood Pictures! Enjoy!

Facing the Giants of Fear

Yesterday we went hiking/rock climbing at the Four Hills/Manzano Open Space. The plans were to go hiking, but the kids found rocks that looked more challenging. Some places were flat enough to run on, which I got some good exercise... but fatigue follows! ;) Then we climbed up this "mountain." Now I don't know how many of you are aware of this, but I'm extremely terrified of rocks. When it comes to them supporting my weight and finding the next grip to pull yourself up with, that's when I freak. I HATE the "if" factor. (If this rock gives way... If I slip... If...) Several times I felt like giving up and inching my way back down to solid ground. But somewhere deep inside I found this faith, courage, and fearlessness. Maybe some of it had to do with adrenalin, but none-the-less I faced my fear. That big giant of fear. Who stares me in the face. But I defeated it! I fought forward til the end and overcame my enemy! There were times that I thought I could go no farther, seeing that rounded rock with no easy way to grab onto it or the loose rocks that I may loose my footing on. There is one Bible verse that says something about "facing giants of fear" and I've looked for it but haven't been able to locate it. But whatever it is that you may be facing, if you know it's the right thing to do and somewhere deep down inside you know that you CAN do it, give it your all and DO IT! Go for it! Hope I was so sort of inspiration to you today! Have a great one! God bless, `janelle`

Jesus is YOUR Friend, Therefore Let it Show in Your Face

Howdy y'all!

How is everything going for all of you guys??? Everything has been going fairly smooth here... I'm somehow managing to keep up with school, cooking, cleaning, and whatever else I can fit into my limited spare time. For the past month or two I've taken up cooking most of the meals for dinner (which also provides leftovers for lunch the following day) and cleaning the house. I've found a new passion and absolutely love it! This morning I got up and made biscuits and a to-die-for fruit salad for everyone for breakfast! I really enjoy it and plan to continue! I don't know what it is that I find so fun about cleaning and cooking, but I'd so rather cook for 3 dozen people that have to talk in front of people and be the center of attention... Ok, maybe most people don't want to stand up front anyhow, but still... It's so fantastic! In fact I'm making Ratatouille (w/Pasta) for Grandma tomorrow for her dinner! I told her that I was making something, but am keeping it a secret from her as to what it is!

Another thing that's been keeping me "busy" is a new quilt that I'm making for/with my sister. She picked all the materials out and paid for it too! LOL. The main print is a "lime-green," aqua blue, and pink animated floral pattern, with corresponding pink and green squares that alternate. The backing is going to be a matching blue. I'm hoping to have it completed in less than 2 weeks, because my Grandma is due to be released from the nursing home/rehab center (Lord willing) in the next week or two and all of my Dad's siblings are coming in (including a cousin that I haven't seen in 4 years... He'll turn 21 while he's here too! ;D). And I'm sure all my aunts want to see the finished product, since they've seen it in process or heard about it! (BTW, Grandma is out of her wheel chair and up and using a walker now! Praise God! She's still on the road to recovery and prayers are readily accepted!

Our new Wal-Mart opens this Friday (hee hee.. and the Dallas Cowboys' Cheerleaders will be here), so I'm planning on getting school done early that day so I can go "celebrate" by doing a little exploring and shopping! No more traveling into town for stuff, it'll be right here at our fingertips... Though the down side is that our little town is no longer so small. Not only have we acquired a Wal-Mart, but a Sears department store, a Credit-Union branch location, a new Newspaper, talks of a Salvation Army, Home Depot, and the soon construction of a 10 screen movie theater and an 80-room Hotel. They've also recently re-modeled our grocery store (imo, it's to prepare for the coming competition of Wal-Mart...), but none-the-less they've made some nice renovations. Unfortunately, it is really beginning to not feel like home at all. I really don't care for all this "improvement," as I think it will slowly corrupt our humble community. However the one thing I could REALLY use (and believe me I'd USE it ;D) is better cell service so I won't have to go under the bed each time to pick up "Extended Network" to make a phone call. Some of you know how I struggle with this all the time.

We haven't had to go to town recently (in 3 weeks), other than our visits to Grandma on the weekends. My back has been feeling completely fine, other than a little "stiff" here and there. There's more to that, but you'll have to wait 'till later on.

A week ago Steve Wohlberg came out to a near-by local church and we went to one of his meetings last Sabbath. That evening I went with a couple friends of mine to our sister church, where they had the gymnastics team come out from our academy, and a youth-basketball, fun night! I didn't participate in any of the games, but had fun talking with a friend of mine, who I didn't know that well, and man did I find out... HE CAN TALK! LOL. I had a blast just being around people my age. There's something about it that just makes school, life, trials, or whatever just to be easily put behind you that you're more able to fully enjoy yourself! We also went ice skating with some good friends of ours a few weeks ago; it was so much fun! I actually skated for 1 1/2 hours and didn't get too cold!

A couple of weeks ago I had 6/8 more pictures accepted and they are now proudly for sale! This coming week, if time permits, I will be trying to submit more. It's almost overwhelming how many photos that I have that are worthy of being sold, but it's all a matter of effort and time. I've also taken up going through my pictures before I upload and submit them. Briefly, I just blow them up to 100% and check for "perfect" focusing, good/better composition, and just seeing how I could "edit" them and make them my absolute best! Going through old submissions/reviews has been helpful by looking at the picture and trying to find what they found "wrong" with the photo and seeing how I could prevent those mistakes in the future. I think that just cropping pictures to where the eye is more drawn to the object could have a lot to do with upping my rate of acceptance. Though I haven't actually tried submitting images that have undergone my critical eye, I hope this will help me rather than just thinking it looks good, like I've always done before, and hope they're "good-enough." It also may take away the "guilt" that it was my fault the photograph was rejected. At least then I'll know I gave it my all and tried my hardest!

Speaking of pictures... The other day I thought of this an I may as well tell you! Since this summer I'll be at/ON the beach for a week straight with Mom's entire family. (Which I'm looking forward to daily, more and more... I hope this anxious feeling doesn't get too much worse, but I absolutely CAN'T WAIT!)... Well, I have a talent in photography, obviously... (don't take that wrong, that I'd being snobby, vain, or whatever. But honestly I feel God has blessed me with this gift!). And thought that I could put it to use this summer, by doing portraits (on the beach, with palm trees, at a lighthouse, or just wherever in that "tropical" setting) of each of my family members (the 22 of us!) as individuals, groups, and families! As I think about it, I dream more of doing it! I'm overjoyed and just plain, can't wait to do it, providing all goes well! You never know, I may find another passion and go into that business! (Just as a thought... Putting up advertisements of doing scenery portraits around here isn't that bad of an idea...)

Oh and this summer I want so badly to spend a least a couple weeks (straight or spread out) at the Botanical Gardens, taking pictures of all the lovely flowers, barns, and butterflies! This is something I've wanted to do for at least one year and hope to fulfill my wishes, finally-sooner than later!

Goodness! Oklahoma Family Camp is just a month away! I get antsy just thinking about it! I desire so much for that break in school, fellowship with friends, spiritual refreshment, and trip away from home! We forgot to call and reserve a cabin and normally they book up right away. It was 2 days later that we remembered and much to our surprise we got one! Yeah, no camping and no staying in a hotel aways away; we'll be right there on "campus." God is good! I'll have to share as much detail about it, with y'all after the fact. (Which reminds me... I never did finish my adventurous stories of this past vacation to FL... I'll plan to make time for that soon and conclude it).

School is going fantastic here! OMJB! I got behind a day last week and was kind of down about that... We'd been so busy last Friday that I couldn't find any time to do any school work at all. Well, I told my mom not to move it off, but to add it all to Monday's load! Well I worked at it (even with going to the gym and Smiths for 4 hours or more) and got almost all caught up on Monday and as of right now am up to date (minus the Math Test I'll do tomorrow). I'm not behind for that day any more; I'm so happy! I hate being off schedule. Now I think that I'm going to try and fit 6 days of work into 5 days EVERY week, so I can get ahead! I hope my goal plays out and that I can find a schedule that fits all of my needs throughout the day(s)! For English my mom got this new program that I'm really having difficulties doing, for some reason. But Mom and I thought the other day that I'd take posts from my blog starting from the beginning and edit them and start another blog, dedicating it to the re-written posts to compare with! I think I'll really find this interesting, because I won't just be writing some goofy story about nothing, but actually practicing my lessons on my own works.

This afternoon our church/youth group went to the nursing home where my Grandma is and sang 10 songs to the folks there. Afterwards we passed out 35 cloth, long-stemmed, colorful tulips to the "inmates," as my dad likes to call them. It made their day-they smiled so big, sang along, and were so thankful for the blessings, cheerfulness, and encouragement that we brought them. Not only did it fill their hearts with joy, love, comfort, and peace, but it brought us a feeling of happiness, knowing we'd made someone else happy for the glory of God. If you have the opportunity, I highly encourage you to do the same. It truly is refreshing! I had so much fun, just talking with the residents and sharing God's message with them! There is this one lady who sang along with us on the hymns and clapped right along! It brought tears to her eyes when we "performed" for them. We sang to another lady, a room-mate of my Grandma's, privately since she wasn't able to come and participate. She loved having someone think of her. I've learned that it's the littlest things in life that sometimes make the biggest difference (whether it be for better or for worse). It reminds me of a poem:

Smiling is infectious; you can catch it like the flu,

When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin

When he smiled I realized I’d passed it onto him.

I thought about that smile then I realized its worth,

A single smile, just like mine could travel round the earth.

So if you feel a smile begin, don’t leave it undetected

Let’s start and epidemic quick, and get our world infected!

~(unknown author)~

Today, believe it or not... In FEBRUARY it was 70 degrees Fahrenheit at 5 pm in the afternoon. It was so nice! This past week we've had just beautiful weather, in the 60s, and perfect for bicycling, running, and sports without the burning heat of summer, yet accompanied with the cool breeze of spring. We really haven't had much of a winter this year... Only an inch of snow here or there, 5 times, if that! It's beginning to look a lot like springtime! Pretty soon all the cool temperatures will subside and the trees will start to bud and grow new leaves, the bulbs begin to pop-up, and the cactus to blooming. I look forward to the prospect of spring, as it opens more doors for vegetation to spring-into-life.

This brings me to the mention of revival. “Re” means again or new and “vive” means life. So thus: New Life. Recently I've decided to start "re-living" my life. In many aspects-spiritually, physically, mentally... etc. (LOL, but not financially)... Over the past month or so I've just been "convicted" about certain areas in my life, slowly... But not until the past couple days have a really taken it all in and chosen to put it into effect, e.g,. Before I thought that going to the gym in the mornings would throw my whole day out of whack and that I wouldn't be able to focus and do school later morning and into the afternoon. However, this past week I've decided that I'm going to re-dedicate my life to my Saviour, only eat food that's good for me (Though I'm vegan almost all the time, I've decided to lay off any sugar that's not in the fruit and the fruit alone... I may look healthy and fit and I may be to an extent, but I know the truth by how I feel), and to exercise at least half of the week for an hour each session. So far, I've been faithful (even refusing myself the ever-so tempting desserts at potluck today... I'm so proud of myself for actually saying no and using my self control). The results of just simply choosing to get up at a decent hour (others would call it early), eating properly, and exercise are spectacular! Three times a week (or more if possible) I go to the gym and do the circuit for 30 minutes, stretch for 10, and then run vigorously on the tread-mill for 20 minutes. I feel so rejuvenated and invigorated! I love it and am motivated! This is why my back has been feeling so amazing lately, due to keeping it in shape. I have more energy and am more ready to face the day and whatever trials may come my way! It's been truly amazing! Today's sermon (we watched a video) by David Shin (a message from GYC) has even helped me even more in choosing to expand my prayer life. I've made up a map of the world and US and marked where each of my family members and friends live across the world, to help me remember each and everyone and pray for them and their needs specifically each and every day! I think it's going to prove very useful! I think some of this "movement" has come from the realization of how fragile, frail, and tender life really is. I knew how serious and critical Nick's case was and everything, but it really hit home a week or so ago... We never know when the end of our lives will be and I've taken on a whole new perspective of life since. I think that has player a part in my decision to take better care of myself. God gave us these bodies to glorify Him (1 Corinthians 6:19), the temple of the Holy Spirit... God wants the very best from us, so why let him down in any area of our lives? I'm also hoping to come up with a mission statement for my life and am praying that I find a way that I can meet and complete my mission to help towards the Lord's return. I really have felt a burden for the "homeless" and needy lately. I guess, just those is general who don't seem to have a chance really, not specifically outcasts, but those who would otherwise may never hear of our loving God and Friend. I don't know how many of you saw the video/"advertisement" on GYC Friday night about the Patten Towers from Southern University and that area's Youth Conference, but something to that effect would be my ideal witnessing tool. I also have a burning desire to help spread the health message, because personally I've found that my mind is more clear and accepting to spiritual matters when I'm exercising and eating healthfully. Help us to "Set Our Faith on Fire" and start a blaze!

Hope you're doing well! And I hope to talk to you soon! It's been too long... Since we've added Grandma to our cell phones I don't have ANY minutes that I can personally use (infact I've used 1 (no joke) minute in the past 5-6 weeks). So, sad to say, it may have to come down to you calling me (if you're able to) if you want to talk, since at least point it's a day by day thing of how packed my weekends are going to be (when I have "unlimited" call time). Luckily you "caught" me in a talkative mood, when I feel that I have time to fill you in on most everything, with the exception of a couple more boring details. My prayer today is that I've uplifted or encouraged you do find a way to put some meaning into your life and share love with others! And that you don't just come here to see what goofy things I've been up to... ;) And to bring a little spunk into your day and make you laugh occasionally. Proverbs 17:22

Talk to y'all soon! Have a great day!

God bless,

`cjs`