The Family "Museum"

I love family history-things! :D For the past couple of days, Anna and I have been at my Grandmama and Grandaddy' house, helping Grandaddy clean after their church's VBS. During the in-between-times, Grandmama showed us a ton of family "artifacts". ;) We saw a dress from the `40's that my Great-Great-Grandmother had made, still in perfect condition. And then we were shown a bunch of sweet paintings that had hung in her house. They were not rich, so they are not originals, but framed prints. There is one great gorgeous one of the singer Jenny Lind, and then a few others. Also a huge framed print of some famous Revolutionary War painting. These things were really fun to see, but my favorites were the papers and photographs, and the stories that went along with them! My great-great-great-grandfather was a city jailer in Norfolk, Virginia. One night the prisoners broke out, and were about to shoot him, but one said, 'Don't shoot him- he was nice to me." So they locked him in a closet instead! :P It was all over the papers, and there are pictures of him, just as Grandmama has always described him; bowler hat, glasses, smart cane, and dapper suit. From what I hear, Great-great-great-grandfather was a bit of a dandy! :D
We were shown pictures of relatives, some unmarked. It was rather funny to see the "bathing suits" of the day, because they look like ruffly pillow-cases! :) Just like any other story there was some tragedy mixed up in the bunch. The lovely Gertie, with the most delicious dimples in her cheeks, traveled for years to try to recover from her tuberculosis, but ended up dying of it. Previously, her husband was killed by a cargo hook in a riot! :O One uncle, a police officer, was kicked by a drunken woman and died of blood poisoning! :( Rather gruesome ways of dying! But then there were some sweet stories to go along with the sadness! My Great-great-grandmother married one Gates brother, and they had my Great-grandmother. But only two years later, that Gates brother died. A couple of years later my Great-great-grandmother married the other Gates brother, and they had two more children and lived happily ever after! :) I love stories like that! :) And then there were pictures of the most deliciously adorable babies, and we aren't even sure who they are! Anyway, this may not be interesting to anyone but myself, but I just LOVE family history! The little oddities that surface when rummaging through attics, and the secrets lying on the pages of long-forgotten papers...it's enthralling! I got a peep at my Great-great-grandmother's marriage certificates! On one of them, the clerk had not finished the year! All it said was "September (something or another), 190-". He probably just forgot to finish it! But it is much more funny to imagine something about that clerk. Maybe it was a quiet wedding, and he had had a little too much of a nip at the champagne provided for the wedding party! During the ceremony, the pastor' droning voice lulled him to sleep over his pen. A few minutes later with a loud"ahem!" the clerk woke to the gruff pastor, and the loving couple watching him anxiously. With an incoherent mumble, and a rough rubbing of his suspiciously rosy nose, the clerk took up his pen again, and, not being quite himself, could not remember the year, and so skipped it, and quickly finished the certificate, hoping no one would notice. There! I have incriminated the poor clerk of over 100 years agone! Justice comes someday! ;D Hey! Wouldn't it be fun if each family could have a sort of family museum, where all the treasures were displayed? It would be so much the better to be able to enjoy and learn about the things from people who knew the owners of them, than to wait till they've all died off, and everything is merely speculation! :) Just an idea! -Rachel

The Blue Award

Alright. We were tagged by Jo March with this. :) Here are the rules:

You've got to answer the person who tagged you's questions, and then make up ten of your own and tag whoever you want.

1. What is your favorite song? Um... right now? It's probably Draw Me Nearer by Meredith Andrews or Sawing on the Strings by Allison Krauss! :D

2. Why do you enjoy reading my blog? I like your blog because you have alot of fun posts, you enjoy your family, and love the Lord.:) (Oh! and I like your whole blog design)

3. Oh, look! We have two hours of free time this evening.Lets.... make a movie!!! (or, if we're all too tired: finish Cranford!:)

4. How long have you had your email address? Let's see...... I think since I was around 10 or 11.

5. Do you like coleslaw on your hotdog? Nope. I don't mind it to the side, but I've never really thought that sounded good.

6. Sweetened or Unsweetened iced tea? Sweetened!!:) (Hey, I'm a southern belle, what would you expect? ;)

7. Do you like to sing? Yeah! I'm constantly humming, belting out a fun song, or singing along to c.d.s!:D

8. Are you interested in learning any foreign languages? If so, which ones? Yes. German or French would be cool! :)

9. Do you speak *chuckles* Pig Latin? epYay! I oday eakspay igPay atinLay! :)

10. What's the farthest place you've ever been from where you are *right* now? California!

Wow! that was fun! So here are my questions:

1. Do you like chocolate? If so, what kind is your favorite?

2. Ever been to Mount Rushmore?

3. How long have you been blogging?

4. Have you driven a tractor?

5. Soundtracks, or normal c.d.s?

6.Do you own a iPod? What kind and color?

7.Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?

8.Have you gone on vacation this year? Where'd ya go?

9. Country, classical, or contemporary?(music:)

10.What's your favorite song right now?

And I tag......

Daniel

Ashley

Stephanie

Micah

Graham Donahue

Matthew

and Always Narnian! :D

That's all for now!

-Sarah

A Few Thoughts on My Husband.

Got your attenion, didn't I?
If there is one bad thing to be said about BBC dramas, I think it would have to be that they tend to leave us feeling a tad discontent. Not any big discontent, but a little twinge of, "Oh dear. Are there really any Mr. Darcys out there?" I am guilty of such thoughts now and again, as are most girls. At the same time, I feel that most of the men in those movies have qualities worth keeping in mind for a future husband. The younger girls and I had just finished "North and South", and were discussing the main male character, Mr. Thornton.
"I wonder if there are really any men out there like him?" Leah mused. I laughed and replied, "Why don't you pray for your future husband that he will have some of the qualities you admire in Mr. Thornton?"
Leah looked at me in a shocked way. "Praying for someone you don't know right now?..."
I tried to explain the thinking of my proposition. I pray so often for my future husband, even though it is more than likely that I have never met him! Leah then asked me a question I have asked myself: "What if you don't get married? You would have been praying for no one!"
Believe it or not, I have thought of this question. And the answer I came up with is this: Perhaps I won't get married. But most people do get married, and chances are, I will. So would I give up the years I can be praying for my "Mr. Thornton", just on the outside chance he doesn't exist? I don't think so. Maybe I will be praying for a non-existing personage. But I feel that somewhere out there, the Lord is preparing a man for me, and I will not stand idly by hugging a weak "what if?". In Proverbs 31 it says that "she does him good, not harm all the days of her life." (emphasis mine) All the days include right now. And while I cannot very well be a help-meet to him in many ways, I can act as his right hand gal by being a prayer-warrior. Girls, it really helps battle discontent to pray for your future husband! Try it! It is amazing how much easier it becomes to wait. Don't worry about the "what ifs". As long as you understand that true fulfillment and contentment are found in Jesus, than pray as often as you want for your "someday" man! :) Here are some verses I found that apply:
Romans 12:12 "...rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer...." I rejoice in the hope of having a husband someday. I will be patient in the times it is very hard to wait, and I will continue steadfastly in praying for him!

Psalms 139:16 "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned fr me, when as yet there were none of them." God has a plan for me! It may include marriage, it may not! But He really does have it all written down! A great comfort!

Proverbs 15:29 "The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous." What can I say, but He is listening, and He does want to hear my heart? :)

Colossians 4:2 "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving..."
So I am! :) I don't know about you girls, but someday, I have a feeling that my "Mr. Thornton" will be blessed to know that for many years, his wife has prayed for his safekeeping, his character, his well-being, and his relationship with the Lord. That's just about the best wedding gift I'll ever be able to hand to my beloved husband someday! :) -Rachel

North and South Movie - DVD Theme Song

So, here is some of the most beautiful movie music I have ever heard. It's from BBC's "North and South". Well, the LOTR movies, and Little Women, and the Chronicles of Narnia have some great soundtracks too, but this is heartbreakingly beautiful. I will say that this is by far the BEST music on any dvd menu! :D I actually am not sure that this figures in the movie at all, but they aced it for the menu! I wish someone would learn this on the piano for me! ;) Anyway, enjoy all 47 seconds of it, and if you have seen the movie, imagine the little train station scene where Margeret discovers Mr. Thornton went all the way to Helstone and brought her back a little yellow rose! :) -Rachel

Ken Ham's "The State of The Nation"

Last night Sarah, Daniel, and I were priviliged to be able to watch Ken Ham's D.V.D. "The State of the Nation" with a few fellow Gen-J members. It was a GREAT talk. As usual, Ken Ham did not mince words, and said thing like they were. I'm telling you, I LOVE frank people! :) Basically, the idea of the d.v.d was to take a look at America, and try to explain where things are going wrong, and what we can do about them. Here are some of the main points that stuck out to me:

1. We as Christians need to stop saying the reason we are against certain issues is because "they are wrong", "the founding fathers....", "well, traditionally," "we shouldn't...." and other weak excuses. Those terms are merely matters of opinion to the World. There is no absolute in that. No. We need to clearly tell others that the reason we are against abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriages, and other issues, are because they are against God's Word. When you take God's word out of the picture, then you have virtually come to a duel and laid down your sword in preparation to face an enemy who is fully armed and prepared for war.

2. Generally in these days, when someone talks about science, they are no longer speaking about science as a study of experiments and documentation to try to figure out the natural world. They are speaking of "science", but truly meaning "evolution, and millions of years". That is why people always suggest that science and religion don't mix. If you take away all the politically correct terms shadowing it, what you come up with is, "atheism and Christianity" do not mix. And that is entirely true. But people, we need to say it how it is without sugar coating it.

3. Everyone has a religion. You cannot be "non-religious" because religion is a system of beliefs, and whether your system of beliefs is the One True "religion", or some little idol, or "nothing", you are still believing something.

4. Yet another word is being twisted to mean more than it seems in this culture. And that word is "religion". When they say that they want to take "religion" out of the schools, that is code word for "Christianity". I could carry around a pocket idol of Buddha all day long, or wear a little red dot on my forehead, but if I pray in the name of Jesus Christ in any public sort of place, I could very well cause a riot! :/ In one part of the d.v.d., it showed an atheist professor at a school, mocking Jesus in the name of "science". In one part, he was talking about how stars exploded and made us, and then he said, "Forget Jesus! The stars died for you!" and the whole room errupted in laughter and applause. It almost made me cry seeing how blasphemous that class room was. There is another clip he used on the d.v.d. that was a GAP commerical from this past Christmas that really states the attitude of our culture currently: "You 86 the rules, you do what just feels right. You do whatever you "Wannakuh", and to all a cheery night!" (Or something like that.) So the main part of the d.v.d came down to this: Are we living our lives on God's Word, or Man's word? The whole problem in today's society, is that the attitude is "Forget Jesus", and "do whatever you Wannakuh!". We must not be ashamed of the gospel, and we must use God's word as the double-edged sword it is.

5. There is also a movement called "I am not ashamed", that is sponsoring billboards such as the one up at the top of this post. You can get to that website here.

The d.v.d was very convicting and sobering, and I suggest you all watch it if you are given the chance! It was really great, and I'd watch it again if I could! :) -Rachel