We hear people talk about what God is like alot. He's good, He's merciful, He's always right, etc. Even if we know these things are true, sometimes it helps to see them in the Bible for ourselves and to have specific verses that we can hang onto to prove that God really is all of those things. So, let's take a look at what some of these are and where we see them in the Bible (though of course they are talked about in many more places than just the ones listed here!) |
Like pretty much always, we've been pretty competitive over in TT this month. We did have something funny happen with that though. See, we wanted to reach our goal before any other tents, but there was one tent that we were having a tough time staying ahead of. So we came up with a plan. Instead of recording our words on the public progress sheet, we started a "secret stash" where we wrote our words down where no one else could see them. That way the girls in the other tent would think that we weren't writing alot and that they could slow down. |
But then they stopped recording as many words as they had been, and some of us got scared that they were doing the same thing! That started a frenzied race to reach our goal. Come to find out, that wasn't needed because the other tent wasn't doing that and wasn't even thinking of trying to reach their goal first, but it did make us reach our tent goal earlier and be the first to reach it! Here's a picture of the banner that Auntie made us.
That doesn't mean that it's time to quit writing yet though. Oh no, that just means that we can raise our writing goals and get even more done!
Which brings me to what I've been working on. My goal at the beginning of this month was to write 10,000 words on my YA novel. (Right now, I'm calling it "Rebelle's Story." It's about a fifteen-year-old girl who, after her single Marine mom is reported MIA and her life is turned upside down, must find where true Strength comes from). But since I reached that goal, I raised my goal to 20,000 words! Right now I have about 14,400 words. I'm thinking it would be fun to finish drafting my novel this month, but we'll see.
Besides what's been going on with our writing, we've been learning about joy over in the chapel. Today we read about Philippians 4:4: "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." Not only is this a command, but the auntie who wrote the devotional today pointed out that "rejoice" is active. It doesn't say something like "have joy" or "be filled with joy." It's something that we have to actively do! Also, "re" implies "again." We have joy again and again and again; even when we don't feel happy, we are commanded to have joy.
And then, of course, there has been some fun and silliness. We have had a few pillow fights in our tent and some chatting too. Normally I wake up my tent with a tornado siren (Tentalizing Tales girls sleep like rocks and not even that works for many of the girls in there, but I have to try something, right?). This camp we have several girls who are fairly new to TT though, and they aren't used to my tornado siren, so I haven't been using it as much. Maybe I can use it a little more as camp goes on and they'll learn to love it like the regular TT girls do. :P |
The lake has been too cold to go swimming, but we have been hanging out talking around the campfire some. There was even a game started, where one person says five words, and everyone else has to write a sentence or paragraph using those five words. I didn't play, but it was fun to see what some others came up with!
Well, I'd better wrap up this letter now. My letters can get rather long, can't they? And besides that, I need to get some other things done so that I can Lord willing write later on today. Auntie is trying to get us to get busy doing some more writing today, as we've slowed down some since meeting our goal.
Thinking about you all,
Sophia E. Davis
What's your favorite memory from a camp that you have attended?
Mark 16:15 says, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Alot of us hear this verse all the time, and we have some typical things that we associate with it. Going on door-to-door visitation, going to a foreign country and sharing the gospel, helping to start a church, and passing out tracts are some of these things that we tend to think of.
But God often works through ways that we may not immediately think of. He allows people to use the desires and talents that He's given them to further His kingdom in a unique way; after all, He instilled our specific talents in us for a reason!
FBN (Fundamental Broadcasting Network) is an example of just that. God laid a desire on the heart of Pastor Clyde I. Eborn, now in Heaven with the Lord, to use radio to reach people with the gospel. After thirteen years of waiting, God answered His prayers, and the station came on the air at the end of 1988. Though at first this was just one station reaching the community it was centered in, God opened many doors until today it is reaching listeners literally all over the world.
FBN isn't only to reach the unsaved though; the majority of the content is actually geared for the believer, to help to strengthen and encourage their walk with Christ (and through this the gospel message is also presented!). Programs for all ages (using only KJV), sermons (also KJV), audio dramas, and an abundance of conservative music make it something that my family has personally enjoyed leaving playing in our house for years.
Listening is also very convenient! If you are in the area of an affiliate station (those can be found on the website), you can listen that way. However, more popular ways include the Apple and Andriod apps, smart devices, the instant audio phone line, and right in your browser.
So, what are you waiting for? Check it out here: FBN Radio!
Have you ever heard of FBN before? If not, did you get to check it out?
Well, I don't know how many of you have a blog or something like it. But in case you've never experienced it before, I'll explain it. :P Sometimes you're looking at your calendar, you realize that you don't have more than two or three blog posts planned. As you look farther down the calendar, you see that your schedule is getting busier, and there's not a whole lot of time for writing intricate blog posts.
And then you get on a friend's blog one day. And she has a blog tag that she left open for anyone to do as well.
And then you get on a friend's blog one day. And she has a blog tag that she left open for anyone to do as well.
So, what do you do? You snatch it, of course! :P
Which means that today we're doing something a little different, and y'all get to hear what I think about some of the common pet peeves that book-lovers have.
I got this tag from Rebekah's blog. Here's how it works. For each question, I'll tell you "IN" if I approve, but I'll tell you "OUT" if I don't. Simple enough, huh?
- Reading the Last Page First
OUT. I mean, I confess, I have read ahead, and I have flipped to the end of a book. But I don't like to, and it's not really smart. ;P Even if it doesn't end up spoiling the whole book, you could end up seeing a person's name or place that will ruin some of the suspense when you go back to the beginning!
- Enemies to Lovers
OUT. I don't typically read romance anyway, but if I do, I don't like bunches of drama.
- Dream Sequences
Uh... Probably OUT. This just sounds confusing and strange. (If it's a flashback though, and it's made clear that it not happening right now, then I don't mind it).
- Love Triangles
OUT. Once again, I don't really like drama in romance. There probably are books where this is handled well, but it's not an element that would make me want to pick up a book.
- Cracked Spines
IN. (Finally, right? I promise I am for some things. :P) I LOVE these! I do like the look of a brand new book, but there is something about holding an old, slightly tattered copy of an old book.
- Back to My Small Town
IN. It's fun to read about people going back home, reflecting on the changes in their life, and seeing what the people they knew growing up are like now.
- Monsters are Regular People
OUT. I don't think I've read a book about monsters, but that's okay, because I don't want to either. ;P
- No Paragraph Breaks
OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, AND *takes deep breath* OUT! Just no.
- Multi-generational sagas
OUT. I have enjoyed stories that follow families as time progresses, but if it drags on for too long and follows too many people, I get bored.
- Re-reading
OUT. It seems like so many book-lovers just love to re-read, but I don't. I don't know why, but I'm always wanting to move on to new stories and new characters. Lately though I have been thinking about re-reading some that I enjoyed when I was younger. It hasn't happened yet, but we'll see where it goes...
- Artificial Intelligence
OUT? I haven't read books with this in it.
- Drop Caps
Definitely IN. Of course it depends on the type of book, but typically I love the fancy or cute look that these give to a page.
- Happy Endings
Most definitely, IN. Generally, why would I want to read a book that leaves me sad? Now, I do want the story to be true-to-life. I don't want "happily ever after and they never had any problems again" endings, but I do want to finish a book feeling encouraged.
- Plot Points That Only Converge at the End
Hmm... I guess IN. If it's done well anyway. I have read some books like this where I just feel frustrated that the author won't reveal anything and then confused when they finally do. But if it's done well where it's not frustrating and creates that lightbulb/satisfied moment at the end, then IN. That's fun. :D
- Detailed Magic Systems
OUT. I don't read books with magic.
- Classic Fantasy Races
OUT? I don't read fantasy either.
- Unreliable Narrators
I suppose IN. As long as I can tell what's truth and what's the unreliability at least most of the time, and it doesn't get too confusing. But then it also depends on what kind of unreliable narrator we're talking about...
- Evil Protagonists
OUT. I like to, well, like the main character. Even if I don't always agree with them, I want to at least be able to cheer them on. And like I said, I like to be encouraged when I read in a book. Evil isn't encouraging.
- The Chosen One
OUT, since I haven't read books that use this.
- When the Protagonist Dies
OUT. Maybe there are good books out there where the main character dies. But overall, no thanks. :D
- Really Long Chapters
OUT. This one I don't hesitate on. I usually don't like short chapters either, but at least those are better than really long. I like to be able to read a chapter in one sitting, and most of the time, my sittings aren't super long.
- French Flaps
OUT. These tend to get on my nerves. As do dust jackets in general. They slip off the book while you're reading, but if you take it off, you have this random dust jacket laying there that ends up getting bent. Or maybe that's just me. :P
- Deckled Edges (basically untrimmed pages)
IN. I love the old feel that I get reading a book with these.
- Signed Copies by the Author
IN! This is fun, particularly if you are familiar with the author already! (Though has anybody else ever gotten a used copy that was signed by the author where the author wrote a note to the former owner, and now you have this random stranger's name in the front of your book? I find that odd-feeling sometimes, but anyway :P ).
- Dog-earing Pages
IN. *ducks* I know, I know, this is strange! But honestly, I've never completely understood what it is that everyone has against this. Too many dog-eared pages look messy, and you shouldn't be dog-earing someone else's book, but otherwise they make a book look so loved!
- Chapter Titles Instead of Numbers
IN. I like chapter titles, and I did especially when I was younger. I do prefer for there to be a number underneath the title too though.
Are there any of these that you are particularly for or particularly against?