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This is the final post to wrap up the year 2016! Again, this is another picture overload post! Enjoy! October - Little Bro's 1st Piano Recital, Big Birthday Month, A Buddist PartyFor some reason we don't have pictures from Mom's birthday which was six days before Baby sis. Happy Birthday Mom! November - Nationals!To see more from our Nationals trip visit our website: Greater Phoenix Bible Bee December - Miss L.'s birthday, Recitals, Outings, Operation Christmas Child and ChristmasFor Miss L.'s birthday, we went to Prescott to enjoy all the Christmas festivities there. It had been some years since we went. We enjoyed visiting the Gingerbread contest buildings on display, the Walk Thru Bethlehem, light display maze thing in the mall and the drive thru Lights of the Valley. Below is a snippet from a few of those events. Harp RecitalChoir RecitalPiano RecitalFor one of our Christmas presents, Mom took two kids at a time to a special event or place. 2nd Bro and I went with her to see Handel's Messiah (and it was AMAZING!) Mr. O and Miss L. went with her to the Nutcracker ballet. And Little Bro and Sweet Sis went with her to see Zoo lights. We love having outings as presents! Mr. O had the privilege to help some friends out at their church's nativity village thing. He had to be Joseph leading a donkey around. We had the privilege to volunteer at Operation Christmas Child distribution center and we all loved it! The littles spent most of the day out at a zoo/park with Mom, while the rest of us went through the boxes. This was a highlight of the year for sure! (It was also enjoyable to meet up with some BB friends for dinner, though we didn't get any pictures from it. :( ) Spent some time at the beach! It was awesome! I don't have much pictures after our CA trip. We had a wonderful Christmas with a few family members and a family friends!
Yay! I finally made it to the end of 2016! This wraps up the year! I hope you enjoyed getting to see what we did this past year! Until next time... ~Holly
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This year I decided to read through the Bible in chronological order. Despite the fact that I have read the beginning of the Bible multiple times, I still find it fascinating! Of all that I have read so far (the beginning half of Genesis and the book of Job) Abraham's story has stood out to me most. Many books of the Bible talk about Abraham's righteousness and I want to share what I have learned about his righteousness so far.
Not too long ago, my Mom asked me, "Why was Abraham righteous?" After contemplating it for a moment, one word came to mind. Belief (or faith, if you will.) That further led me to remember the verse that goes, "And Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God." Wow. Think about that for a moment. Abraham was righteous because he believed. It was something so simple that made him righteous and ultimately a friend of God. The book of John has a lot to say on believing. One of my personal favorite verses from John on the subject is from John 4: "And many more believed because of His own words..." It's a simple thing. Just believe. But for some reason, we don't. This culture that we live in doesn't believe. In a culture of simplicity, we can't even do the simple thing of believing in Christ. Oh sure, we believe in other things, but we don't believe in Christ. Why? Lately, I've been asking myself the same thing. Why don't I really believe? It seems that the answer can also be found in a single word. And it too, is very simple. Doubt. The opposite of believing (or faith.) Your belief can be broken by one little seed of doubt. As I write this, I wonder why it is that we doubt. Ultimately, I think it all comes down to the fact that we don't really, truly know God. In our innermost being, we just really don't know God. Who He is, what He is called, what He does, etc. It's a sobering fact. Why don't we know God? Probably for several reasons, such as not spending time with Him, meditating on His word and the "riches of His goodness..." or talking to Him in prayer. This year, my number one goal is to pursue Jesus. To know Him more. I was given a devotional titled Simple Pursuit. I think the title sums up this goal very well. I want to simply pursue Jesus above all else! Living without Jesus is hard... I've been there and I don't want to be there anymore. So, my question for you today is this: do you believe? Take time to really ponder this question and consider making your main goal in life to pursue Jesus. Let me also add that it is a goal that will never end. Even after we leave this earth, John 17:3 says, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only True God and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent." Let us join together in pursuing Christ for the rest of our lives! Pursuing Jesus, Holly July- 4th of July, My 18th Birthday, Bible Bee fun and the end of localsOn my birthday, I received many texts, phone calls, chats, emails, gifts and even a video call! Thank you to those who made my day so special by contacting me somehow! My Mom said she had "hacked" into my email and asked people to say happy birthday to me, to make my day special! I felt so loved, yet little did I know the real reason behind the email hacking... Pictures with my family. The next day we had a Bible Bee meeting at our house. Apparently, there was a lot of whispering behind my back and smiles... I never noticed though (for a few reasons.) After the meeting was over, everyone started getting ready for lunch. Mom said that we needed more food and if I wanted to, Dad would let me drive to go get more food. I willingly took up that offer! Dad and I went to one fast food Mexican restaurant and picked up some food. He checked his phone and said Mom needed more food, so we made our way to Fry's. I knew something was up... I could just tell. Plus, Dad never usually walks around the store with his phone out, texting every so often! ;) After buying a few more items, Dad said he got this long text from this guy from a school where Dad does landscaping. Supposedly, something concerning water needed to be turned off. He directed me to the school and where to park. After parking I jumped out and with Dad. We went toward the building. I was slightly confused as I didn't think the water thing was in the building. Suddenly, Dad started to almost run to the door the of the building. I followed, more slowly and what did I find as the door of the buildling was swung open by Dad? A surprise party!!! To see more pictures from the last Bible Bee hive meeting of 2016 click here. August - Bible Bee Celebration Day, Bible Bee Campout, Mr. O. Goes Hunting for the First TimeThe Bible Bee campout was such a blast! We most certainly enjoyed our time together after the summer study! September - Sweet Sis' Birthday, Parents 25th Anniversary, Family Pictures, Nationals Practice FunEver since Dad and Mom got those awesome cupcakes for my birthday, we have had cupcakes for every birthday and occasion, which included my parents 25th anniversary! Dad picked silver sprinkles for the 25 years and a blue heart, the color of their wedding color! We have been needing to get our family pictures done and we finally got around to it! It was a privilege to photograph my family! It was my "official" photoshoot! We asked different families if they would like to host a Nationals practice. Here we are enjoying time at the T. family's house for a Nationals practice. Until next time...
~Holly I am finally getting around to posting about April! Yikes! The year is almost over and I haven't finished recapping the last few months! Sorry about that. This is another "picture overload" post! :) April- Texas TripIn April we went on our annual trip to Big Sandy, Texas. Those who know me best ( and I may have mentioned it on here before) know that I love Texas! It's green, big and very country! Beautiful, green scenery pictures below. May- Mother's Day, Grand Canyon & Ian's BirthdayI wanted to also share a few pictures from this month of our ripe fruit! For 2nd Bro's thirteenth birthday, we took a trip to the Grand Canyon, taking the train (Grand Canyon Railway) to get there! It was a really fun experience, as most of us haven't been on a train before! June- Bible Bee StartsBible Bee starts... 'nuff said. (Right Bible Bee-ers? ;)
The months of June, July, and August are filled with Bible Bee hive meetings that we host at our house each week. We enjoyed prayer, worship, scripture memory, competition practice, games, food and fellowship! This year's hive meetings were my favorite in the three years that we have been doing hive meetings. Today is the last day of the blog party! If you still haven't had a chance to "go" to the party, just click the following link: http://readanotherpage.com/2016/09/top-5-mystery-christian-fiction.html to see what it is all about! Today I'm going to share my top five favorite mystery books, so enjoy! I LOVE these books!!! Not only are the really well written, the plot lines are incredible! These are the type of books I am literally. glued. to. every. page!!! I just can't stop reading! The Baker Family Adventures series, follows the Baker family (duh!) as the get pulled into one wild and scary adventure after another! This is the one and only Christmas mystery book I've ever read and it was really good! (It's a do-not-read-at-night sort of book!) Follow two families through the Christmas season, as they enjoy the festivities, sing and memorize a new Christmas carol/hymn every day, and get caught up in a supposed murder! The Truth Seekers Mystery series is combines mystery with science! While very similar to the Jonathan Park adventures, follow the Murphys as they face strange mystery and defend their faith through biblical creation science! This is a great way to learn creation science! How can you have a list of mystery books without Sherlock Holmes? :) Another one of those books that you really shouldn't read at night! Some stories were pretty intense, but I did enjoy the classic stories! The Secret at Pheasant Cottage isn't technically a mystery, but it comes pretty close to one. I was in a lot of suspense throughout the book, dying to know the girl's history! Patricia St. John writes very a very engaging way, which makes for an enjoyable book. And there is my top favorite mystery books!
Again you're invited to the Five Fall Favorites party! Come join the fun that has been happening this week! (Hurry, because there is only two days left!) For more information click the following link: http://readanotherpage.com/2016/09/top-5-mystery-christian-fiction.html Today's genre is inspirational books! Though it is a story, In His Steps really inspired me to think about my actions before I do them. Would Jesus really want me to do this? Would it bring glory to Him? It was a really enjoyable read of various people who strive to walk as Jesus would walk! (While a good book, I don't heartily agree in the way the opinion of doing what Jesus would do comes across. It could almost come across as the person "feeling" like Jesus would or wouldn't do such and such thing. We shouldn't base everything off of feelings.) If you want the best book in learning what servant leadership looks like, this would be the book! While using real life experiences and going step by step through some main pillars of leadership, Randy Sims teaches you want it really means to be The Greatest Among You! The Calvary Road is a must read! If you have not read this book yet, go buy it off of Amazon and read it! You will be so inspired! Roy Hession talks about true revival in the heart of a christian, through brokenness, true repentance and confession. While a girls book, It's Not That Complicated dives straight into the practical side of guy-girl relationships. From the dealing with tough situations to online interactions, Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin write with humor, truth, and in a thought provoking way! I really enjoyed this book and it's one I often come back to! Last, but definitely not least, Girl Defined. Fresh off the print, Girl Defined is all about the true design of femininity and identity as defined by God. Sisters, Kristen and Bethany dive deep into what it truly means to be a God defined girl in today's culture. (Another reason I love this book is that the authors are from Texas! Bonus! :D :D ) There you have my top five favorite inspirational books! Hope you enjoyed it!
You're invited to the Five Fall Favorites party! Come join the fun that has been happening this week! For more information click the following link: http://readanotherpage.com/2016/09/top-5-mystery-christian-fiction.html Hope to see you there! Today I want to share my top five favorite Historical Fiction books! Historical fiction is my favorite genre, so I wanted to share some of my favorites with you! Hope you enjoy! My #1 favorite book, from one of my favorite authors! "When I started reading "From the Dark to the Dawn" I wasn't sure what to expect. I hoped for a good story and I was blown away by what a great book it was! Once I got reading, I couldn't stop! Each chapter held me captivated and kept my attention through the whole book. There was never a dull moment. "From the Dark to the Dawn" taught me what it means to live for Christ fully, despite the circumstances.... To read my full review, click here. (Not recommended for young children.) Ah, "To Have and to Hold" is such a good read! While a thick book, it can easily be read and will keep you captive! Set in Colonial Jamestown, "To Have and to Hold" is a wonderful tale of adventure, mystery, love and courage, as told through the eyes of Captain Ralph Percy. Though I love the time of Colonial America, I also love the 17th-century Scotland time period. Rarely, have I read a book series that inspired me in my walk with God and grew my faith, but the Crown and Covenant series certainly fulfilled that and much more! What I love best is the wisdom that is displayed by the father of the family and their courage to press on despite the persecution. (A bit graphic for young children.) While this book series is way below my reading level, I still loved it! The Klondike Gold Rush was one of my favorites of the series. Follow Munford, a water molecule (yes, I said water molecule) on an exciting adventure through an important time in history! Seeing things from a water molecule really makes this book exciting and a fun read! The slave trade. A sad business, but such a vital time in history! I love how Alicia tells this tale of grace through the eyes of three different characters in three different walks of life, each affected by the slave trade in some way. Alicia weaves fictional and non-fictional characters, with a dash of mystery, adventure, truth seeking and God's grace, into a wonderful tale that you can't walk away from not being touched or changed! There you have it! My top five favorite historical fiction books! Now go read some books! :)
~Holly |
AuthorI'm Holly, a creative gal who thrives on adventures, triumphant music, chocolate, inspiring quotes and a good story. I gave my life to the ultimate Storyteller when I was four and have never ceased to enjoy each chapter of life with my amazing family of 9. Categories
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