Gods at War

     For the last couple of years, my pastor has begun the year with a church consecration. Basically, this means we each make a personal commitment to consecrate one part of our lives in January— a fast to work on our personal relationship with God. I joined in this year and I am really glad I did. Over the last month I have spent far more time in prayer than I normally do. And when I drew near to God, He drew near to me... just like He promised.

    At the beginning of the year, my youth group started a book study on the book Gods at War. If you have not read it, I highly recommend looking into it. It will totally change your perspective of sin. When we think of gods today, we think Greek, Roman, Norse, Buddhist, Hindi, Islamic, ect. But the Church seldom looks at the gods in the USA. Gods of power, self, pride, lust, and many more. This book, by the author of Not a Fan, Kyle Idelman, addresses many of them and how to win the battle in our hearts.If you want to learn more, you can visit City on a Hill's bookstore here.

    This book has been incredible. It makes you look at your struggles with sin much differently than we are taught to look at them. I think it makes us see how big an issue, how large of an obstacle some of these issues are, and how great a wall they build between us and God, our father. 

CAUTION:
This is an adult/young adult book. It is not geared toward children. It deals with adult topics, if you know what I mean. Please use discretion. Thanks!

Gods at War Trailer from City on a Hill Productions on Vimeo.

    God wants us free from all of the gods that are holding us back from Him. He does not want us giving ourselves over to them. We are His treasure. We are His bride. When we worship our idols, whether we know they are idols or not, we give Satan God's treasure and bride. We are cheating on God with Satan.

    But there is freedom in Christ! But you have to sacrifice your gods on the altar of your heart each and every day so that you can be free from this slavery. God is patiently waiting for you, child, to realize your mistake and take the first step toward Him. He will help you get past and through this!
Have faith! Expect His goodness in your life.

  "In all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."

   May God be with you!

   Teen for the Lord
   Emily

I am that I am

Who is moving on the waters?

Who is holding up the moon?

Who is peeling back the darkness?

With the burning light of noon?

Who is standing on the mountains?

Who is on the earth below?

Who is bigger than the heavens and the lover of my soul?

Creator God, He is Yahweh

The Great I am, He is Yahweh

The Lord of All, He is Yahweh

Rose of Sharon, He is Yahweh

The Righteous Son, He is Yahweh

The Three-in-one, He is Yahweh

Who is He that makes me happy?

Who is He that gives me peace?

Who is He that brings me comfort?

And turns the bitter into sweet?

Who is stirring up my passion?

Who is rising up in me?

Who is filling up my hunger, with everything I need?

Creator God, He is Yahweh

The Great I am, He is Yahweh

The Lord of All, He is Yahweh

Rose of Sharon, He is Yahweh

The Righteous Son, He is Yahweh

The Three-in-one, He is Yahweh

Even when we are ready to quit... His word still says "I am, that I am".

Just a reminder.
 Emily

Pretty Thrifty He Carries Us Through

   Hi everybody! I know I haven't written (again) in a long time. We are so busy with school and our restaurant, I just don't have a lot of time to blog. Today being Halloween, and us being so tired, Mom declared a school holiday! So we're watching Love comes Softly. I haven't watched it in a long time and this scene struck me. The reason being, we've been having a really hard time. And I have been angry. The only person I can find to blame is God. As I've said before, I know this isn't right. But I sometimes feel exactly like Marty. Clark is right though. Just because we fall when we are walking with God, it doesn't mean that HE tripped us. We just hit a bump in the road. Sometimes it takes longer to get up when you fall, but no matter how long it takes, we can count on God to pick us up and carry us through. Who knew a Hallmark channel TV show could be so deep? ~smile~

 Amy                                                      Matthew                            Michael                    M

T-shirt: $1.00
Skirt:$3.00
Flip flops:$1.00
Necklace: free
Total: $5.00


Emily
Teen for the Lord





 Essential Fridays - Faith Filled Fridays - Show and Tell Friday - Mom's the Word - Modest Mondays -  The Art of Homemaking   
Thursday
This Week in My Kitchen -  Home and Garden Thursday - I Choose Joy -  Imparting Grace - Hearts for Home Thursdays - All Things Thursday -  Share Your Cup Thursday - Serving Joyfully   - Shine

Teen Talent Live!

  So I finally got the videos of my performance for Teen Talent in March uploaded to YouTube. It took forever, but all good things take forever. I only uploaded the performances that placed. The human video wasn't recorded well, so I haven't bothered with it yet. Maybe someday...
P.S. I'm the angel. Sorry some of the footage is really shaky!

      

OK, if you want to watch it, I posted below the recording from my first year of competition two years ago. I simply posted it to show the progress I've made since I began. Honestly, I have to credit, my youth leaders, friends and God. Without them, my voice would not have grown nearly as much. So, thank you all! 

WARNING:

                               Recording quality is really BAD!!
                                

Pretty Thrifty and Why We Love Latin

Thank you, Amy for the great pics!

Earrings (made by me): $1.00

Sweater (thrift store): $2.00

Skirt (made by me): $1.00

Shoes (garage sale/given to me): $0.00

Total: $4.00

  

This week we entered a contest with Compass Classroom to win a iPod nano. All we had to do was say why we love Visual Latin in 30 seconds or less. So Amy and I brainstormed, disagreed, and brainstormed again. This is what we came up with. We hope you enjoy it!

God Bless ya'll!

Emily

Let it go! In a whole new way!

   
  This guy is amazing! Then again, I'm a huge Disney fan! I was literally on the ground laughing at his Scuttle impression! And of course I loved Jack's voice. Timon and Pumbaa, Pooh and Tigger, Mickey and Goofy were incredibly good! The laughs just make it! My hat's off to you, Brian Hull! Check out his other stuff on YouTube. Just type in Brian Hull.

  As you might have guessed, our house has been filled with The Sound of Frozen for the last couple days... mainly Let it Go. So this post is for all of you Disney fans who are going to adore this version and you Frozen fanatics who are going to say that this is a mockery of the original song and that he didn't do a good job and that he had no right to ruin the song like that etc., etc., etc.
 
   God Bless,
   Emily

Who you are: A message to all women

  This speaks to every girl and any girl! I'm so glad I found this on Khloe's blog! God bless this man for speaking out and telling us the truth about us! We are all Esthers. If we all had the revelation of God's love for us, and we stood in it, women wouldn't need to be able to do everything a man can do to make a point. We would be a point in the way that we live and how we would act. Am I perfect? Far from it! Like I've said, God has been dealing with me about love. But we all need to know we are loved from the inside out. Because that's how God loves. That doesn't mean He loves the outside any more than the inside, but the Bible says that "man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart". I don't know that the Bible was talking about love, but I think it still applicable. God loves you for who you are, not what you appear to be to man. You're everything in this video. So rise up you Woman of God. It's time to stand and fight for love.
Emily
Teen for the Lord

Wow Us Wednesday - Wonderful Wednesdays - - Fluster's Creative Muster - Making a Home - Wholehearted Wednesdays - A Wise Woman Builds Her Home - Raising Homemakers-Welcome Home Wednesdays - Hope in Every Season -

King David, Shakespeare, and John Branyan

This morning I was reading Psalms 30:8-9 which reads:
    "I cried to You, O Lord, and to the Lord I made supplication. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit (the grave)? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth and faithfulness to men?"
   Why is this significant? Because it is bold! And bold is not something that is found in religion. Let me define what I mean by religion. The kind of religion I am talking about is legalistic. It lacks the love and leniency that we experience as Christians. It is also what people think of when they think of the Jewish laws in the Old Testament.
   David was a man who looked beyond the rules to the relationship. But he knew that his God was all powerful and could take away all that he had in an instant. Yes, he fell and sometimes quite hard. Gosh sakes, he had a man killed after he was with the man's wife and then married the woman. But he repented, and when, as a result of his sin, their son died, he rose, washed himself, and worshipped God in the temple! (2 Samuel 12:18-20) Truly David was an incredible man.
   David was a man of bold faith. He was a man who didn't strive to please men, but God. Did that mean he was unconventional in his beliefs and worship? Probably. I do know that he didn't worship conventionally. (2 Samuel 6:14-23) But God was pleased by it.
   David spoke to God on a one to one bases. In this passage, David was reasoning with God. "If you let me die, who will praise you and declare your truth? The dirt?" David knew God's character, so he was bold in prayer.
   I think we can learn a lot from David. But what I want you to come away with is that our faith needs to be bold. You wouldn't ask your parents for five dollars and then not expect them to respond. Would you? It's the same way with God. He has immeasurable wealth and our requests are the equivalent of that five dollars.
  


   But what does that have to do with Shakespeare and John Branyan?
   Well, David liked to write psalms which were kind of like poetry. Which leads to Shakespeare, which leads to John Branyan, which leads to The Three Little Pigs, . Enjoy this video. It cracks me up. I love it!!
  
   God Bless you guys!
   Emily

Texas and Teen Talent

Hi! I'm back! Our computer has been having a lot of problems. Thus no posting. I promise, once my computer is working right again, I'll post a Pretty Thrifty. But since I can't right now, I'll tell you what is going on in my life.
  1. Monday morning my dad and I set out on an excursion to the Lone Star State. Yep! I went to Texas!!  Okay, before you start to think that I'm a romantic who thinks that the Texas is entirely peopled by cowboys that ride their horses everywhere.... stop!

 The reason is, I have never been out of the four state region of MO, KS, OK, and AR. Okay.... I crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois for about five minutes when someone took the wrong turn in St. Louis... but that doesn't really count. And everyone else in my family had been out of the four states.

So when I got to Texas, I let out a scream. (I know, melodramatic. But, that's who I am.)

  2. I spent seven hours reading a 500 or so page book and finished it, and then found out it was a series and the library didn't have the next one. So I have to wait a week until we go to our local library to see if they have it.
  3. I am preparing for Teen Talent Expo, which is being held at my church this year. (Yay!!)

  I'm going to sing 'Don't Deserve You' by Plumb.

  I'm going to perform an interpretive dance solo to 'You are for Me' by Kari Jobe
  and a group dance to The River by Meredith Andrews.

  Also we are doing a human video to 'Bombs Away' by Jonathan Thulin.
  So that's what's going on in my world.
  How about yours?
  God bless,
  Emily

"Good guys, and bad guys, and some guys in between. "

  Monday night I saw "Pirates of Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" for the first time. (I know, I know; and it came out how long ago?)  Still, I enjoyed the dialogue; all the various tidbits of comedy sprinkled throughout it just made me giggle! And of course my favorite character was Jack Sparrow... excuse me! That's Captain Jack Sparrow!
  We had to wait until our mom got home from the grocery store, because she wanted to see one scene near the beginning. So by the time we started the movie, it was about 10:30 p.m. Suffice it to say we had a late night. But now I know why she wanted to see it.
  If you're a fan of  the Princess Bride, then you were probably giggling some when Jack Sparrow and Will Turner had their little sword fight in the blacksmith's shop.
  Now if you haven't seen the Princess Bride, then you have been deprived and should proceed to watch it in the very near future. In the mean time, here a a couple snippets from both movies.
 That is why my mom made us wait for her!
   My favorite sword fight ever!

 I hope you enjoyed them both! 
 Emily

Yahweh

What truely "makes you Beautiful"

These guys know what to look for in a girl. 

God bless them all!

Emily

(1:40- 1:41,

2:40-2:48)

Cracks me up!

Going after God

God is Faithful

  Good morning, everyone.  It's a beautiful rainy morning.  It's funny, our pastors wife was praying for Spring time weather in Summer.  Thank you God for being faithful to answer our prayers!

  Anyway, last week I went to Youth Camp. First off, I had a lot of fun and made some new friends. But best of all, God showed up.

  I wasn't very excited about going to camp this year. I didn't have any specific expectations. I just wanted revelation, which He gave me.
  He showed up the first night and didn't cease fire until I left Saturday.
  He worked on so much. Some of the things are too personal to share on-line, but He worked on loneliness, humility, purity, and love.

  I think it was Wednesday night. I just stood there and worshipped, enjoying His glory. I want to thank Him for that.  A couple of the nights, I was overcome by my love for Him.  I kept saying, " I love my Jesus." I guess you could say I fell more in love this week.

  I do want to share something that happened Thursday night.  The speaker was Randy Lawrence.  If you have never gotten to hear him, he is an excellent speaker. Thursday night he spoke on purity. Afterward, he asked for anyone who needed restoration of purity to come up. I went up and gave God all that was on my heart. I didn't feel anything, but I had to trust that he had restored me.

 That's something that I love about God. He is faithful. If you call on His name, He will answer. You may not hear Him, or feel Him, but He is working. And He who started a good work in you is faithful to complete it.

 In the last couple of years, God has made it a point to impress upon me that He is faithful. He loves me so much, and as my father, He wants to take care of me and bless me. He is, was, and always will be faithful to me. Even to the end.

     Teen for the Lord
     A Servant and Daughter of the Most High God




Shared:
Modest Mondays
Proverbs 31 Monday  
 Loving Our Children Tuesday
Teach Me Tuesdays
Character Corner

Waging War

   As some of you might have gathered, I have a passion for drama, writing, and dance.  I love drama because, well, that's who I am.  I love writing, because I can impact people and write the kind of stories I want to read.  I love dance, because I get to worship God and honor Him in my own, passionate and personal way.  Plus, it's just awesome! ~grin~
 So this year, for the 4th of July, we are doing a dance to the song Waging War, by CeCe Winans.  It's gonna be pretty neat!  I found a dance for the same song that another church performed. It's awesome.  I really liked it!

    Okay, I have to admit I liked the Hip Hop better than the signing.  If you didn't watch the video, do it!  I wish I could move like that.  Hip hop is really cool!  Yeah, I know, get back to writing this post.
Okay.

   The problem with Christians today is that we are not aware of the battles going on around us. Some of us don't even know that there is a war; and if we do, we don't know how to fight, and don't know what to fight with or how to defend ourselves.  It's sad, really,  especially since it is so easy for us to learn about the fight,  about our weapons, and about how to fight.
So, here's a rundown on our mission.

   Who's our enemy?

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
   1Peter 5:8
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
   Ephesians 6:12 NIV    
 
  What are our weapons?

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
    Hebrews 4:12 NIV

 
  What is our defense?

" Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."
  Ephesians 6:10-18

 
   Finally ,what is our mission?

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 
It's not rocket science, to borrow the colloquialism.( Yes. Eugene.)

  But why don't Christians step out and fight? I think, honestly, that that is a question each one of us needs to answer for ourselves. I think it's probably been generalized enough.  It's time for us to search our own hearts and see what is preventing us individually. So get quiet, go in your room, close the door, turn on some worship music, and pray.

  He'll talk back.

 Teen for the Lord



  
  

Back to the 20th century?

Are you suggesting I go outside!?

NOOOOOO!

Modesty: More than a fashion statement

  So often in our society modesty is made something that our parents force on us (and they do it just to irritate us. They don't really care, and besides, what do they know about fashion, etc. Can you relate?)  The truth is they want to protect us and sometimes they don't want their little girl to grow up. To get that first pair of heels, put on makeup for the first time, to have that first date, to go off and have their happily ever after. It is because of LOVE that they want us to be modest. It is because of LOVE that they shield us from "fitting in", and if you think about it, fitting in doesn't always mean looking pretty in the first place.

   The world has a twisted view of beauty. It's our job to untwist it. It's our job to show the world that beauty does not need to be flaunted or paraded like a toy. It should be cherished and nurtured. Does that mean that you have to join a convent and never go outside again? No. God tells us to be a light to the world. We are to be in the world but not of the world.
    YOU CAN DRESS MODESTLY AND FASHIONABLY AT THE SAME TIME.
    Talk to your girl friends, do some research. As a famous someone from some movie once said, "It's easy; just hard."
    Don't be discouraged. Do it for the guys around you. You will be rewarded.

    God Bless, and Good luck!

    Emily

Love this song!!

A Bit of Worship

Found your Prince?

A word of advice for you!!




    Save that first kiss for your prince sent form the King. He knows exactly who you'll need!! And when you'll need him!
 
   Emily