–>Links. They are in the sidebar, and you should check them out. Some people in that list write real good.
Just sayin’.
Also, I’ve updated my Resources page, found at the very top of the site.
Category: Announcements
Over the next few weeks, I am going to write about and post relevant videos/sermons on media, entertainment, and whatever else we’re amusing ourselves with. It is my goal to collaborate some excellent videos, sermons, transcripts of messages, notes, and articles from the Internet and my own DVD and CD collection to make my message clear. I believe that it is a sin to be dumb, so I try my best to learn all I can, and share with others what I’ve learned. It pains me to see people blindly following the world. We have a responsiblity to be informed.
For a long time, I thought Facebook wasn’t even worth mentioning, because it’s a huge time waster and totally unnecessary. But I’ve come to realize how many ‘Christian’ people are on Facebook, and it appalled me.
So, here goes a new series covering:
Movies- Music- Facebook- Myspace-Video Games- Peer Pressure in Media- TV-Magazines- Internet- and much more…
Stay tuned!!
A few minutes ago, a letter from Summit came in the mail. It contained three $50 off tuition coupons to give to three people- and my challenge is to give these away. I wouldn’t be getting anything in return- no discount for myself, no thank you gift, nada. I really feel burdened to give away these coupons to the people I blog to.
Summit is an excellent 15-day conference filled to the brim with lectures, fellowship, great food, and of course, fun. Your time at Summit will change your heart, and you will most UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE!!!! The small group sessions changed my heart towards others, enabled me to view people as people, not ideas to be shot down with a passion. The nights spent under the stars, thinking of all that I’d learned made God seem even more real to me!
You should not miss out on Summit. You’ll hear lectures on postmodernism, Mormonism, Islam, abortion, civil liberties, wars, God, philosophy, feminism, evolution, intelligent design, leadership, social justice, ministry, catholicism, and much MUCH more.
So the details:
When: August 7-20, 2011
Where: Green Lake WI
Who: Anyone between 16-26 years of age- some younger and older are accepted, however! 
What: Summit Conference
Why: Because ideas have consequences…
The cost is $895- but with the $50 of, it’s $845. There are plenty of scholarships and financial assistance funds available, and do NOT hesitate to ask. The cost seemed extremely high to me last summer, but God provided incredibly. Don’t think money is an issue- because God can do anything!
Please leave a comment if you’d like a coupon…
Almost every week I am asked questions about my choice to live at home through college. I try to answer them, and have actually written out several answers to some questions.
Then it turned into a blog series.
Over the next few days (weeks?months?) I hope to share with you 14 frequently asked questions about being a “Stay At Home Daughter’. Maybe more. Make that probably more.
I’d also ask you to do your part and share some FAQ’s you are commonly asked, answers you share with the ask-er, and some other answers I might come up with. I may turn your Q/A into a blog post (with your link, of course, if you have one )
Spread the word!!
A tan manila envelope with “Soroti Uganda” and then our address. Hmm. It was thick, somewhat heavy and looked quite travelled. Perhaps many hands held it before it left the village, locals wondering who had business in Amerika? I ran up the driveway, anxious to open it.
Staring at the package, I wondered if it was one of my pen-pals from Uganda, dear Jethro, or Carol, or Aunie Lynette. But none of them live in Soroti.
Then it hit me.
Those children from the orphanage wrote thank you letters! I tore it open, excited (okay, I was jumping up and down and screaming “they wrote! they wrote back!!”)
On top was a small card sized envelope with a thank you note from the director:
Dear Friends, Thank you so much for your loving generosity towards the orphans at SOAP. The children will receive countless hours of fun from the items that were sent. Candy is always very much ENJOYED by the children. May the Lord bless you richly… as you have… so lovingly blessed us.”
Underneath it was a note from the missionary we sent the two big boxes to, explaining why it took so long to get the boxes to the children, and why the letters are just now coming. (Turns out, US is not taking much mail from Africa- maybe the Sudan conflict and Libya trouble?)
All of the letters mentioned the candy (sweets)- and all of the kids thanked our church multiple times and a few asked a specific prayer request for them.
Click on the pictures to make them larger.
PS~ How do you like the new background? I’m fiddling with it (a lot) so your input and suggestions would help. I discovered I could upload my own backgrounds, and I was getting sick of the aqua (though I love aqua).
Augustine’s view of God was like that- or so Pelagius thought. God can make the rules- but since he’s God, he can keep the rules. We can’t. We’re ‘massa perditions’- lumps of sin.
If I told you to fly around like a bird, it would be very funny and you’d think me to be halfway to the nut house. But, if a professor at college told you to do these things, and said you’d fail if you were unable, you’d probably get frustrated and leave. Nobody could spray paint the moon green- much less fly around the room like a bird…
Recently, I delved into the Augustine vs. Pelagius matter (what? My library doesn’t have Pelagius???), and I’m quite… entertained by it. People have argued this for centuries, and if you’re not familiar with the issue, and you’d like a brief summary of the argument, pay attention to this dialogue:
Augustine: Hey God, since you’re up there as a known fact, how about you make up some rules. Only, since you’re God, you make sure you keep them- cuz we sure can’t…it’s impossible!”
Pelagius: Hey buddy- are you saying that God would make laws He knows you can’t keep? And punishes you for not keeping them? What’s up with that??? Is that even right?
Augustine: Of course, that’s exactly right.
(bold- adapted from dear old Dr. Bauman)
This ages old argument intrigues me. Filius Dei vs. Massa Perditions (Children of God vs. Lumps of Sin)
There are too many different sides to each story…
This battle is one not over God’s nature, but I believe it’s over human nature.
Ah well, to elaborate on this topic would take fifty lifetimes. I’d encourage you to get lost in this matter, too. Read the books. Study the people. Conclude for yourself…
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During my break, so much GOOD happened! But, I doubted a lot for several weeks. I felt like doing nothing, I felt very sick, and bad news kept coming. There was good news, though. An answer… but more on that later.
“Winter… what a pretty word for such a long, dreary time…”
We thought it was over, the feet of snow that had piled up around us was melted, the field were flooding, the air was warm- if you’d call 35 degrees warm!
Then the temperatures plunged below the 20 degree mark, and took my high spirits with it. The snow came again, ice too. The ice came around my heart and tempted me to become bitter at, well, everything. The woman I thought was going to be a nice lady to talk to and learn from ended up just being nosy and jealous because she wanted to know what it was like being a “sheltered” homeschooler- and wondering why I was so good when her foster daughter was so bad.
The women at church talked of meeting once a month for lunch, {exciting prospect}, but I learned they only met to discuss “Christian” romance novels {Will Levi Miller catch Susanne Zook? Find out now in this cut and dried yet excitingly distracting new Amish romance!!}. My chair was taken away at choir and I was moved to an area far away from the action. The news came I wasn’t going to the internship came that Tuesday. I was not asked (once again) to be in the church’s Resurrection Sunday drama. I sat alone every Sunday in Sunday school. Nobody talked to me, people purposed to leave me out. To rub it in, a lady told me to “bloom where I was planted”. What if I haven’t been planted? Or, if I have… what if I’m not getting a chance for sun, water, and Miracle Gro? Maybe I’m wilting?
I re-read Contentment by Lydia Brownback over two nights, reading the verses and soaking up the thoughts. It blessed me, and had me asking questions about my life. Your comments, dear readers, also helped to motivate me to seek God’s will.
I decided to wholeheartedly see what God had in store for me. I decided to try my hand at being patient and waiting for my time to serve.
It seemed God blessed me for that decision. On a night where once again, I felt like crying my eyes out and blaming Him for everything, I heard a whisper in my ear: “Trust me.”
So I did.
I woke up that morning and to my utter amazement, I felt… joy. For the first time since that awful week full of bad news for me, I actually felt remotely happy. I sprang out of bed and leapt around my room listening to the Getty’s, over to my window to throw open the curtains wide. A view like none other greeted me. Overnight, the snow and ice had all melted, and there, sitting on the roof of the neighbor’s house were two robins! Spring was on its way! It was an exhilarating sight. The goldfinches and doves had returned as well. A few days after that, the doves began to coo- a glorious sign of spring. SPRING!! I haven’t heard that wonderful sound since September… ah!
My thirst for books struck anew- if that is possible. More, more, more, MORE! I’ve re-read my whole collection in a matter of nearly 2 weeks. Hungry to learn. Hungry for more… I’ve checked out every single book at the library on the Russian communist revolt of 1917-1991. I want to learn! I’m going to study every single major event in history this summer.
It seemed encouragement and hope was popping up around the corner- little girls at AWANA hugged me and told me they loved me, and that God loved me too. A little deaf girl hung on my arm, smiling up at me with an unparalleled cuteness. I signed “I Love You” to her, and she signed back “I love you more more more.”
There were spectacular sunsets to behold, wonderful songs to be written, verses to commit to memory. There were friends to meet, Sparks to lead, and fellowships to attend. God kept me busy, indeed. He gave me so much more than He’s ever taken away! Has God ever really taken anything away from me other than my sin? I wondered. Every good gift comes from above…all things work together for good…
Even when things happened that were bad to me, I realized- nothing is bad if it means I get to grow closer to the King of Kings. Really think about that name… King OF Kings. He wants me? Why would He want me- or even want to do good for me? I wondered what the “good” was.
The day or so after the news came about the internship; a song touched my heart- one that I had never heard before. It’s called “A Greater Yes.” After listening to that song, I wondered, “What’s the greater yes to all this? It seems so fragmented, it doesn’t make sense… I’m confused!!” Everything was seemingly working together for Iowa… but now what?
The answer came a few days later:
“Dear Laura,
“We are happy to inform you that you have been accepted to attend our worldview camp in Wisconsin…”
This August, God is calling me to Summit once again. All that working together for what seemed like that opportunity for interning was working for Summit.
That’s not all…
For the past several years, I’ve asked to teach Jr. Church and at VBS, but when I was 13, I was told I had to be16. When I was 16, I was told 18. This past week, I was given not only one but THREE teaching jobs. I am teaching at VBS in July, Jr. Church during the month of July, and JR. Jr. church in November. These jobs would not have been possible if I were in Iowa…
I’ve worked on my book, getting it into a more organized format. But, I only write about 5-6,000 words about a topic and can’t think of anything more to say! Not sure what I’ll do about that. I seem to have idea bursts that go away after 20 minutes of typing.
I’ve been reading, studying, and analyzing my collection of Clive Staples Lewis- taking notes, reading critiques online. I highly recommend the Weight of Glory. [A good order to read CS Lewis in is: Mere Christianity, Abolition of Man, Problem of Pain, Screwtape Letters, Miracles, and Weight of Glory. After that, I’d have to say any order, because they do not expound or require prerequisites].
I’d also like to order as many DVDS and CDs from Vision Forum as I can! I am almost being overtaken by this hunger to LEARN!!!!!! I want to especially buy the Homestead Blessings series- if any of you have a set or one DVD, pretty pwease tell me about it. Or, recommend a CD or a book- if you’d like.
Now I close this {really long} return post by saying~ I’m back! And I shan’t leave you again… until August. Oh, and this year, you can send me mail/letters and packages [hopefully full of letters, Twizzlers and Cheezits] while I’m at camp- address and details to come later. I love mail- and getting a lot of mail at camp would be so wonderful! Really, it would. I’m serious. {not to hint or anything}
PS~ I’m going to be at Midwest Homeschool Convention, and am planning on meeting up with a Bright Lights leader I met through blogging- Allison. If anyone else from bloggy-land will be there, please let me know- I’d love to meet you. Don’t think you’ll just run into me eventually- cuz this conference is HUGE (rumored to be 18,000 people there this year). The place is enormous- it takes about 30-45 minutes to get through the main halls from one back corner to kitty front corner.
Yahoo! I feel as though I could cram my brain with just about anything!
{insert a very happy, contented sigh right here}
It feels good to press that publish button again…
In the announcer-voiced words of my radio dad:
*We now return to our regularly scheduled programming*
A new series is in the works! I’m calling it ‘Pressures’. We all face various pressures from other people, and sometimes it may cause us to become weak and tired. So far, I have the following topics:
~ Pressure to be Best
~ Pressure to be Thin
~Pressure to Conform
~ Pressure to have a boyfriend/get married
That last one will bring in the
Big Surprise
on Feb. 14th. You may want to stay around! 
…to manifest the spirit of Psalm 119:11 in thy heart!
I am trying to memorize 1,000 verses this year. ^ I made this banner for the cover of a 1″ binder that holds the passages I have chosen so far. Deuteronomy 29-29 is my life verse, not the reference for “Thy word…” (Psalm 119-11).
If you want to memorize say, 365 verses, or 500, or some other amount, that is fine too. Just make it a stretch. Personally, I am trying to memorize whole passages of scripture that aren’t too long, and have some familiar verses in them. That way, I can memorize them within their context. The verses you choose to memorize are up to you. Have fun with it! Put them all over your house and drive your family nuts! Post them on your blog! Put them in the car!
You also do not have to do this all year long, you may set a six week goal, a two week goal, or specifically choose a passage to work on.
Care to join? Leave a comment and let me know how you will be participating. If you have a blog…
Here is the button for the challenge, but this brings a problem: I need someone to make the coding for me! That is one thing I can’t do! If you can make the HTML code, please let me know!
Otherwise, just upload as an image, put it in a widget/gadget, and link it back to http:// echoesinthewind.wordpress.com
My mom and I were talking last night about the day in the life of Laura post; and she doesn’t think it would be a good idea. You see, my blog here is not supposed to be all about me- nor would I want it to be entirely. So, I’d like to bow out on that post, even though I did have it ready to post. I’ll choose to honor my mom’s request.
However, we discussed doing a photo post on my blog ‘What The Eye Has Seen’- so that’s what I’m doing…
Go see what Herbie and Me have been up to lately!
http://whattheeyehasseen.blogspot.com
Now that the post issue has been cleared up, I’ll return to my regularly scheduled programme quite shortly. Jewish Holidays, actually, and how non-Jews, like myself, can relate to them.
And, if you’re just having the pleasure of joining me, I am not from Britain. I am from Michigan. I simply like speaking in a Brit-sort-o-way. I call sweaters, woollies, and I say “whilst”.
Oh, and I found this annoying little guy just now. I don;t like everything it says, but it’s funny! Have fun~
__Comments__
I’ve stated before I don’t like the idea of rules for comments, as it discourages comments, limits content, and defeats the idea of exchanging ideas.
But lately, I’ve had a wide variety of crazy comments. So I’m going to revise the “polite and friendly” encouragement and put my foot down, ramp up my standards, and encourage a Christian spirit.
1. No self-promotion- Don’t leave links to your site, or hint at your blog in your comment (unless it has to do specifically with the post). A sign of a good commenter is being humble and encouraging. I have not approved several comments that hint at personal blogs. You’re invited to leave your link in the provided slot with your name.
2. Don’t ramble about other people or me. A spammer has paired me up with someone and given us kids and a life story complete with lots of expletives. It’s annoying. It my wastes time. It’s uncalled for.
2 1/2- Don’t use expletives.
3. Make sense. “So and so is an Italian from Mars.” “Are you Amish?” “George Bush and Bill Clinton don’t like each other” are recent examples of not making sense.
4. Don’t respond to other people’s comments in a rude way. If something is wrong, I’ll address it. Conversations can still start, I enjoy watching back and forths
.
5. Don’t leave links to random sites, unless it’s relevant.
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I think that covers it.