New pages!

Hey readers! I am adding 3 new pages to my blog!
   the Cooking page will include a variety of recipes , an feel free to add your own!
  the Hope chest page will be for ideas for creating your hope chest
  and the gardening page will be to revive your green thumb!
   I hope you enjoy them.  Unfortunately, blogger only allows comments on additional pages, so the new posts will all be added under comments. I am sorry for any inconvenience!
     God bless!
     -delighted daughter

Only 11 days!

Praise the Lord! Christmas is almost here! I must say, I over shopped this year, but it was soo much fun!
    Often though, in enjoying the festivities, shopping, wrapping gifts and sending money to charities, we forget the real meaning of Christmas! why do we celebrate it? Christ's birth of course!
     Often I dwell on the great commission, hungry children, and the idea of giving a gift to a poor needy child on Christmas. (now,I need to find a good way to do it!)
       Christ is a gift you know. he was a gift for poor needy children, not only financially poor, or physically hungry, But without Christ, we are about as poor as a poverty stricken family, only in spirit, not flesh.
 I accepted Christ's gift to me a long time ago, and He is my sanctification, provider, and strength.
   as you think of what to give others this season, remember one thing, the gift God Gave to you, it is then best gift anyone could get. if you haven't received him yourself, here is how:
        1. realize you are a sinner "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23)
        2. realize you need Jesus. His grace is sufficient, and we can not go to heaven by works. "For by  grace   are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.(Ephesians 2:8-10)
        3. Confess your sins to Jesus, pray and ask him to become Lord of your life. by doing this, you are telling him to take you, form you, and to use you for his perfect plan."That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9)
        4. Realize that what you want to do and do do must change, because of your love for Jesus. "As he spake these words, many believed on him.Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(John 8:30-32)
       Pray, ask God to forgive you, your sins will be forgiven, and your eternal home will be in heaven!
   What greater gift is there? If you received Jesus today, look for a good Bible (KJV is the best one) , Pray for fellowship with other believers, and search for a good church. read the Bible and pray everyday. don't be afraid to open up about trials or temptations, or for continual forgiveness, Because God cares for you, and will help you.
   Life as a christian isn't all bubbles, trials will come, and you will fail at times, But God will forgive you if you seek it with a repentant heart, and daily he will help you. He loves you!
      Why not share this wonderful gift with a friend? it is the most wonderful gift to share, (you can't give it. only God can do that!) or to receive!
      Merry Christmas! remember Him this year!
    - Delighted daughter



   

Christmas is comming!

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, put a little penny in the old man's hat!
    Today is only 19 days till Christmas!
      Our family has a lot of traditions! the first, is decorating right after thanksgiving! another one we have is opening one gift from one of our siblings on 12 days till Christmas, and 5 days till Christmas, and opening the rest on Christmas eve! we wake up early on Christmas morning, (my siblings and i) and watch a Christmas movie, play games, and drink hot tea and cocoa!  (oh, i don't know, 4:30 in the morning :)  )  and read the Bible account of Christ's birth.  We write a "Christmas Contract" every year, where we agree that we can wake up early, but go nowhere near the Christmas tree, until we wake mom and dad up no earlier than 6 am. we always wait one minute (till 6:01), so we can tell them "hey! you slept in!!"  when we go in to wake them up, we sing a Christmas song and say "MERRY CHRISTMAS!!" then we pray, dad turns on the tree lights, and we all go into our living room and open gifts!
      I love Christmas! I have a little tea shop in my room every year,  I call it "Christmas cheer", I put my lights on in my room, and  then make hot water. I buy all kinds of chocolates, and teas, and some cocoa, so they can come into my room and order it from me and I make it :) .   I like to do that! (of course, it's free to them! :) )  There are many things we can do to help lighten the mood of our families, Christmas is just an Ideal time!
        Merry Christmas!  - delighted daughter

Shining stars Givaway #3!!

Shining stars magazine is giving away 2 prizes ! one is a cute little pocket purse, the other, a card set! come check it out ! enter today!
  Click here to find out how to enter

can you believe it?!?

   Can you believe it? It is the beginning of October, and the weather is beautiful! ... can you guess what I'm listening to? Christmas Music! of all things! (and in Japanese of course!) ]
    All year I wait to hear the beautiful Hymns and silly songs of this season... It is a part of my fall i guess.
  I am a very musical person, and i very much like to practice my christams music So i know it well in advance....
   But lets look spiritually, In our lives, we have many seasons of waiting. waiting to marry, waiting for a baby, waiting for Christmas!!!  God gives us Hope, and dreams, and sometimes we expect things to happen when we want them to.  God only says one thing about that... "wait on The Lord"....
   I think though, that go had  planned before hand our lives and our dreams, and the best we can do is improve ourselves, grow closer to God, and wait patiently. Prepare for that blessed day when you marry, But don't ruin the now. Keep pressing foward, fight the fight of faith, hold on tight, it may be a bumpy ride!
    Keep practicing and reading. God has a plan for you, just wait on the Lord, and He will guide you.
      God bless! -Delighted daughter
          

fall, where art thou fall?

  Fall is a beautiful time of the year, where the trees turn to a crisp brown, red, orange,and yellow ,and fall to the ground in a beautiful slow and gracious dance.  The air is crisp and cool, and apples are for sale everywhere.Pumpkins cover porches, and scarecrows stand guard. The corn stalks are tied, and lean against the stairs, and you walk slowly, and breathe in the fresh air, wearing your green cotton sweater, a turtle neck, a comfortable corduroy skirt, and beautiful brown boots. You feel like twirling around and around, looking to the sky of deep blue, and enjoying the masquerade of falling leaves.... but wait.. that didn't happen yet!
  Sometimes the things we deem perfect are not what God has planned. In my own "perfect" dream, I would have been married a month after I turned twenty, and had a house to care for, and perhaps by now have a baby on the way. I would be shopping for food and clothes the family needs, cleaning house, making bread and roast for my hard working husband. But God said that it was not time yet. Sometimes waiting can be hard. I love summer, it is one of my favorite three seasons (sometimes,winter is too cloudy and lasts too long !lol! But if it :) ) but the changes of the seasons, that is my favorite. I like to watch the snow melt and the birds congregate in the trees and "chat" about who is going to live where or how their trip was (perhaps they have a worship service too! lol!).  The warming of the air, the flowers and sounds of the summer, then , the colors, gentle cooling and quietness of a blue skied fall,  when the earth prepares to rest. Then of course, I like the signs of winter. the air gets colder, Christmas comes,and everyone decorates and goes shopping! (I think I will keep my decorations up all winter in my home, perhaps that would lighten the mood :) )
   This year, fall is coming slowly. The air is till pretty humid and warm, and rather cloudy. But soon, I know, fall will come. I just need to enjoy the now! :) 

  Keep on enjoying your season, because the seasons of life change, and in life, they don't go around again :)
  

trusting with an open heart.

openness with our family is an important part of practicing for our future life as a wife. trust is an important factor in our relationships. do you trust your parents? some don't, some do. the key to trusting your parents is  first step for some: tell them everything. Don't be afraid to tell them your thoughts, feelings, interests,  time you were way, when you were surfing the web. everything.
      never lie to your parents. this will start a wall of separation from your parents. never keep secrets either. eventually as you "leave out" something or "tell a little lie" , you start to make it habit to keep your life a secret.
    this is a slippery slope ladies. God gave you your parents to be protectors and guides, best friends,leaders and confidants that are with you until you marry. starting to lie or leave out information now, will likely cause you to do the same in your future marriage. this secrecy will ruin the gift of marriage, and rob you of the blessings God had for you.
     How can I begin to communicate after i already lived this way? you have a tough situation. your parents may not trust you now, but you can earn their trust. begin now. when they ask you what you did on your lap top, tell them you read this article, and what you learned from it. tell them that you are sorry for the lies.  tell them you understand that you have to earn their trust again, and that , with God's help, you will try to be more open, and not keep secrets or lies anymore. they may not believe you, depending on how serious the situation. but most parents will likely be very happy and suprised at such a change. but one thing. make sure you change. make sure you change. without change you will have little effect and rob yourself of the joy God had in store for you.

          Remember, God sees everything,and he knows your "secrets".  ^{Numbers 32:23;}"But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out."

are you ready?

  Recently we were hit by a horrible storm. we were warned it was coming, and that flooding could ensue for low lying areas. we have experiecned flooding before,and did not want to have the losses again. we prepared.  our basement was emptied, and we could relax.
     I knew some people who said it would not be anything,and nothing would happen.
   They were wrong. we fled to another state to watch the storm from a distance. when we returned, there was a lake in our back yard, and very wet basement.
    many houses in our area were destroyed and are no longer livable.  the warnings were there, and many people did not heed the warnings.
    Listen, thereis a warning now. it is in your heart. do you hear it?
     the warning says that if you don't acccept christ, you will end up in a flood of fire. Will you heed the warning? will you prepare for the future by accepting Jesus Christ as your saviour today? by living his way, and not your own?
     if you are ready to make the most important descision you will ever make?  if you are ready to accept christ, i will tell you how.
         1) realize you have sinned "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. " (Romans3:23)
        2) realize that you cannot save yourself "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God  not by works, lest any man should boast."
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
         3) realize your descision to follow Christ means surrendering your life to Him , to serve Him and obey Him "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed." (John 8:31)
        4) confess your sins to Jesus, tell Him that you dedicate your life to Him, and that you accept His gift of salvation. "that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)
    I will not leave you a prayer to say here, because I believe what you say should come from you,not a paper.  But do remember to close with Jesus' name. He said: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13)
    Be sure to share the gospel with others too! "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke 24:47)
     Christ will bring you  ever lasting joy, if you would receive him today " Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matthew 29-30)

       Remember, Christ alone can save you from the flood of fire to come. Will you trust Him today?

Homeschooling Days!

Are you a home schooled? Do you home school your children? What are you most memorable days of homeschooling? I can remember two special days we had at our home school, We had around the world day, where each student learned about another country, wrote a report, cooked a food from that country, prepared an oral report, and tried to dress in some sort ot traditional clothing. We invited the grandmother's over for Around the World Day! The children really enjoyed it. They put together posters of famous land marks, traditional dress, animals of the region, etc. One daughter represented China and made Egg Drop soup, another daughter represented Ireland and made Irish soda Bread, my third daughter represented Germany and made Apple Strudel. My sons represented Great Britain and Scotland. They made Earl Grey Tea and Scottish Short bread. It was a memorable day for all. The grandmother's tasted the food and looked at their displays and listened to their reports. I assigned the report in early October and Around the World Day was in mid January. It gave them plenty of time to work on their reports and learn a whole bunch in the process. Another time we transformed our garage into a Creation Museum. They again learned about a certain subject and created a display of what they were learning about. The children learned about, the Solar System and hung paper mache planets from the ceiling. They also learned about Amphibians and insects they created posters of the life cycle of an amphibians and posters detailing the parts of an insect. They also had their pet frog on display in his habitat. My sons made posters of Whales and Dolphins, and had whale songs playing in the back ground. They also had their plastic whales and dolphins on display. My oldest daughter made posters and diagrams showing the geographical details of the Atlantic ocean, namely the continental Shelf and the mid Atlantic Ridge. We had family come and see our museum that too was allot of fun. Well those are two of my most memorable days of homeschooling. However special those days were, I can also remember the quite winter days when we studied at the kitchen table as the snow outside piled up deep. We would make hot tea and cocoa and watch the cardinals, wood peckers and chickadees at the bird feeders. I can remember making crafts with them and hanging them up all over our home. I really loved homeschooling them, because I really loved spending all that time with them. I am thankful to God for the opportunity to do so. I love you all, my children.

Gracious ladies

  "a gracious woman retaineth honor..." Proverbs 11:16 a. Are we gracious women? in our day of age, girls are not taught different speaking patterens than boys. many girls, including myself, use slang words, like "sick" or "sad" or "that rocks" . perhaps you have heard girls say "dude" , "idiot" or "bogus". None of these are good enough for a good godly woman to use. why?
      1. Just because a man says certain words, does not give t woman freedom to use them. men always had their own more vulgar language. I have been studying the Japanese language for some time now. in Japan, women have a nicer speech  than the normal one, and men have a more vulgar one. curse words should never be used by anyone, don't get me wrong.  but words like dude, or perhaps idiot have a place, but not for a Godly woman.
       2. The Bible makes it clear that there is a distinct difference between men and women. men are the protectors and providers, and women are the helpmeets. men may need to use a more vulgar language at times to defend you. woman have no need to use a vulgar language.
      Then what kindof language is appropriate language for women?
    well, lets pretend this is a grammar class then, it will be easier to understand. 
     here are the rules of the female language, (at least what i believe sounds feminine)
       1. words that denote a form of stupidity should not be used.
             i.e. idiot, stupid, dummy, retard, 
            rather, you should use pity in your expressions toward the foolish.
           Exapmple:  
                   That idiot passed me on the right!
               to fix it, we should omit idiot, and replace it with a kinder phrase.
                   that poor foolish man will hurt himself if he drives like that. he is blessed to not have 
                     been injured!
       2. correct word usage should be on our tounges.
           fix this sentance: i woulda been better at that if i practiced more.
             use instead:       If i had practiced, I would have been better at that. 
       3. use of the words should have, would have, or could have, can not, would not or should not as opposed to should've , would've or could've, can't,won't, or shouldn't sound far more feminine and intelligent.
               ex. I should've been there! I can't believe I missed it
                  -or- i should have been there. I can not believe I  missed it.
      4. the proper use of the word have has and have give a more feminine connotation.
                example: I can not believe i missed it!
                                 I can not believe i had missed it!
       5. we should avoid slang like "man", "dude" or "o boy", and replace them with more gracious words, like dear, oh my, or o dear,
          example: Oh boy! I'm excited
                       Instead: oh My! I'm excited!
                          -or- Man! what were you doing?
                        Instead : oh dear! what were you doing?
     6. use of slang like sick., sad, or retarded should not be used.
                      ex.  that is sick!
                    instead: that is not right!
                       or : that is so retarded
                        Instead: that is not wise!
                     or :they don't have it, sad!
                          instead: they don't have it, too bad!
     7.   lastly, a list of good feminine phrases
                oh my!                 wonderful
               would have           could have
               should have          goodness!
                oh how silly!         very nice
             that is good           poor foolish (man, woman, child)
              oh, the poor lost soul
           

    let us try some on our own! copy the section below and paste it to a word program document, then print it!(or print this page!)
     Rewrite the sentances below to sound more feminine.
    1. Dude! what is wrong with you?


  2. what's that?



  3. that stupid woman! she shouldn't have done that.


4.   oh man! I can't believe it!


 5. excuse me, why can't I do this?

  


  Answers:   1.  dear, what is wrong with you? , 2. what is that (was that) ? 3. that poor foolish woman, she should not have done that.    4.  Oh dear! I can not believe it!  5. excuse me, why can I not do this?



      Hope you enjoyed this!  -delighted daugher
   p.s. , it also helps too speak in a sweet soft voice, but loud and clear enough for people to hear and understand you.  be considerate, and you should do fine!



           


                             
   
                 
 

shining stars giveaway #3!

  Shining Stars magazine is having another book giveaway! they are giving away The King's Daughter. to see the entry and contes rules, click here!  The contest ends June 22! enter soon! (become a subscriber to shining stars! it is a great magazine for Christian Girls. you must subscribe or be a subscriber to enter.

Updates to our website

Hey Everyone! While you are here I decided to tell you about the content of our website!
    First, I added some soothing piano and classical music to our site for beautifying purposes. I also have one song on the list called "hosehold of faith" By Steve Green , Which I (delighted daughter) want to play at my wedding! (some people may consider it contemporary, I apologize if it seems that way to you) .If you would like to change songs or turn them off, they are at the bottom right corner of my site. theremay be advertisements from the host site at times as well. I am sorry for those....
     Then, I have at the bottom left hand of the page the "psalm of the day". For encouragement, just headdown thereto read one.
  On the side bar I have listed ministries, websites I recommend, and a listing of John 3:16 verses in multiple languages. there is also the regular blog things like a topic cloud, followers, and listings of blog posts.
    I hope you enjoy your stay!

     -Delighted daughter

Shining stars magazine and book giveaway! #2

There is a new giveaway at Shining stars! It ends today so hurry and enter:


http://shiningstarsmagazine.com/2011/05/book-review-and-giveaway-his-chosen-bride/

You must subscribe to enter, for extra entries, add  yourself as a friend with Google connect, post a article about the contest on your blog, and make a link for shining stars on your blog.

     His chosen Bride! Enter now! Ends tonight, May 22nd!