New York, New York!!

Hi everyone! This is Emmy! This is my first post to write on this blog!

Libby had mentioned something earlier in the blog about my trip to New York City!
Well, the trip has come and gone, and it was a blast! Me, the 2 other girls, and my ballet teacher had a great time touring, sight seeing, and enjoying the city! It was an unforgettable trip and experience. 

More details on the trip and pictures will be coming soon! (:

The End is Near!

No, this is not some post about the End Times, you can relax. :) The end I'm thinking about is graduation. At co-op today we took our Sr. group photo for the yearbook with our "Class of 2011" shirts and got our cap and gowns. I can't believe that in 3 months, my school career will be ended- but not my learning career. Such a drastic change like this will be weird, exciting and cool, but weird. As I get ready to "go out into the real world" (I really don't like that term, is it saying where I live now isn't real or something?!) I still haven't decided what I'm going to do yet about continuing education. I have too many choice, and time is running out. As I have been seeking God's guidance, another alternative came to my mind and I pray that it is His plan that has been revealed to me. It seems like it would be the perfect plan and I would get to do some great work for Him with my best friend! Like Dori says in Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming", I have to "Just keep praying, just keep praying"! With graduation approaching, and deadlines for notifying colleges about my choice I humbly ask for prayers that God will clearly make known to me the best route for my next steps in life.
Other noteworthy happenings, one of my very best friends is coming TOMORROW!  And the lovelyTexas bluebonnets are in bloom! Praise God! I think they are my favorite of His beautiful flowers.

He first loved us

Yummy Valentine's Day cookies that got eaten up before the actual day!

Happy Valentines Day, dearies! I hope this day finds you all surrounded by a loving family, and sharing your love with others. As we think about today, the holiday for love, let us not forget the Greatest Love of all.

Love. It's crazy! What is it? Is it an emotion, a choice, a lifestyle? It is multi-faceted. Love for family, for friends, for spouses, for God. We even find different kinds of love, if you will, in the Bible. However, I think the best way for us to define love and how it relates to us is this: 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.                                   (1 John 4:7-11)

I like to call that the "love chapter." 1John 4 is absolutely terrific! In that passage it gives the message of the Gospel: God loved us and sent us his only Son so we can live. It reminds us that we are sinners, and that we did not love God, but He loved us. Notice how it uses the word beloved. John's use of the word means: very dear, esteemed, favorite, and worthy of love. Wow! Continuing on in the chapter we see what life is like when we have the love the Lord and His Spirit living in us:

 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  We love Him because He first loved us.  (1 John 4: 17-19 emphasis is mine)

That last sentence gives love a whole new meaning to me. We learn in just eight simple words that the source of all love is from God. He created it, and gave it to us. That is the only way we can love, and we learn from Him. 

Dear friends, on this "love" day let us not get so wrapped up in mushy cards, candy, chocolate, and flowers that we forsake our First Love like the church in Ephesus did (Revelation 2:4). On the contrary, we should remember constantly the ultimate source for love- our Heavenly Bridegroom Jesus- and share His love with those who need it. 

Love your secret admirer, Libby (well I guess it's not a secret anymore!) :D

Howdy Friends!

It seems that since 2011 has been upon us, I haven't posted yet! The new year so far has been full of many new blessings and changes. I have also realized that I am terrible at taking pictures, as I hardly have any to share of our recent happenings. 
Some fun news is that we have been honored to receive the Stylish Blogger Award from Miss Frannie over at Authentic Virtue ! Thank you Frannie!
If y'all can wait just a second, I'm going to go get my camera and put the pictures on the computer to see if I have any worth sharing.  :P

Alright, I found some! 

Auto-timer, take 1...looks like I'm dancing!

The temps dropped on Christmas night so we bundled up for a walk!

I got to go visit my elementary school....happy memories!

Dad and I went to OKC to celebrate my lovely Grammy's birthday!

Hmmm...wonder what they could be....

I know these are overdue, but I was so excited with how they turned out I just had to share them!

 

Well with the New Year, here's what's happenin':

1. Co-op started! Emmy has: basic Chinese, Personal Finance, and study hall . I help teach 1st grade art, Drama, and Study Hall
2. I started helping on Mondays and Wednesdays at a Christian school where a sweet lady from my church is the principal. I help in the 3rd grade class, mostly with a little girl who lost her leg in a car accident and needs help getting caught up. It's such a blessing to get to spend time there and I hope I can be a blessing to the teacher and the 3rd graders. (there are only about 15!)
3. Emily is learning choreography for Beauty and the Beast ballet and getting ready for a trip to New York!
4. I have been reading 1 Samuel-2Kings in order to get ready for a mission trip to Arizona next month.
5. Last Saturday, we visited Medina Children's Home and had a wonderful time of fellowship and service with the teens there. (we picked up trash along the highway, and found some interesting rubbish such as a cowboy boot and a skull of some animal. [: )
6. And the most important news of all.....

             .....WE ARE MOVING! To Colorado Springs. Daddy had to go early so he left on Monday, but we won't be going until sometime in June. He'll be able to come back a few times. As much as I wish we could just up and leave, because i'm so excited, we must stay behind a while longer for co-op graduation and to sell the house. 
This move is such an answer to prayer. The Lord couldn't have chosen a better location for us to move. We have always loved His creation up in Colorado. The honor, praise, and glory all goes to Him for His unfailing faithfulness. Have a blessed week my friends! I'll try to post more often!

Homeschool and schedules!

Good afternoon folks! Today we are going to be talking about....schedules. Okay maybe not just that, we'll talk about other fun stuff too! Anyway, back to the schedule thing. For the homeschooled readers out there: What do your days look like? Is it structured with a daily schedule of when to wake up, do English, eat lunch, etc? Or do you use your homeschool freedom to the fullest extent by just doing whatever, whenever, as long as your work gets done everyday? I have some friends who say they wake up early to do their math, and others who tell me that they sleep til 10 a.m. and "go to school" in their jammies! So just for fun, I'd love to hear back about what y'all do!
At our house, we go by a loose schedule. By that I mean we wake up at a decent hour, have breakfast, and start the day. Some mornings we wake up earlier than others. We usually have lunch around noon, depending on what time we ate breakfast. The school work tends to wrap up around 2 or 3. And we hardly ever work in our pj's.

Also friends, I was wondering if anyone had any tricks to remembering when to use who and whom. I'm learning about it in English Comp. and I mostly have a grasp on it, but it still takes me a while to figure out which pronoun to use.

Hope the week is good and that everyone learns something new! Many blessings, Libby

Movie Review: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Have you ever wondered how laws are made in this great country of ours? Ever wondered what a Congressman does? Well this movie teaches you about both! Yes, a movie. Ladies and gentlemen: Allow me to introduce you to....

 

Made in 1939, this movie showcases the legendary talent of Jimmy Stewart along with Jean Arthur. It is about an everyday American who finds himself elected as a Senator for his state after one of them dies. Mr. Smith chronicles his journey from small town life to politics on Capitol Hill. Upon his arrival, Jefferson Smith learns about how Congress works and how laws are made.

     
This movie would be a wonderful supplement to a Civics/ American Government class. I learned almost as much as I would reading a textbook. Viewers learn alongside Mr. Smith about the workings of our government including political terms such as filibuster and the complexity of lawmaking.

This movie also includes deeper elements. It discusses the beliefs of our founding fathers for a country where everyone has a chance to be a part of its government as well as the principles on which America was founded. It promotes the idea of courage, integrity, character, and duty. Mr. Smith even has a scene where Senator Smith is reading the "Love" passage in 1 Corinthians 13; additionally the movie has included themes of Providence in the founding of the country.

Personally, I thought this was a fantastic movie. I recommend everyone to go rent it or check it out at your library! Enjoy this clip from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Prophets vs. the Bible

     Have you ever thought about what a treasure it is that we have the Bible- the Word of God- to guide our lives? Many times it becomes too easy to take it for granted. Today, that was brought to my attention when I read Jeremiah chapter 23.
     Before I elaborate, I encourage you to go read it so you have an idea of what I'm talking about. In a nutshell, the chapter is about prophets who have led God's people astray through their false teachings. They prophesy from "the deceit of their own heart" (verse 26), rather than the word of the Lord (see verse 16). They tell everyone "I had a dream!" along with other untrue prophesies. These dishonest prophets even tell evildoers that they will have peace and no evil will ever come to them (verse 17).  As a result, the prophets and the people had forsaken God's commandments and turned to wickedness. God was utterly appalled by their actions.
     What does this have to do with the Bible? I'll tell you. The wicked prophets of Jerusalem were supposed to bring messages from God to His people. The people relied on them to honestly speak the words God had told them. Because of their deceit, however, those who listened to their words were led astray. Those prophets were how God communicated with His people, how He told them how to live. Today, we have the blessing of the Bible. Our Sword is how God communicates with us now. The people of Jerusalem did not have an Old and New Testament to verify what they were being taught, but we do.
     There is still the danger of men teaching from their own deceived hearts rather than the word of God. Unlike Jerusalem, however, we can stand against being led astray by false teachings if we are grounded in Scripture. We don't even have to rely on prophets to bring us the word of the Lord. We have His words and messages in the pages of our Bibles.  Let us be like the church members in Berea in Acts chapter 17, who searched the scriptures to test the validity of what they were taught. Let us also thank our gracious Lord daily for the blessing of the Bible, the freedom to read it, and the freedom to talk about it.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  (Hebrews 4:12)