316 pages.

I was looking random things up in my handy pocket dictionary and came upon this definition for family:
fam·i·ly : /ˈfæməli, ˈfæmli/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[fam-uh-lee, fam-lee] : noun, plural -lies, adjective
.a group of persons who form a household under one head, including parents, children, and servants.


Yes, even servants.
hahahahah.

sleep, a lack of.

I got a letter in the mail today!


[Ephesians 6]
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

ma famille.

Family is a good thing. I love my family. I love that we do EVERYTHING together. I love that we are close to each other. I love that we are friends. I love that God has blessed me with such amazing people in my life, like them.

Psalm 100:5
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

p.s. i love you.

It's snowing!!!!

Yeah, so this is a lame post but I just thought I'd share my joy with you four who read my blog oh-so faithfully. It's so beautiful, I love it. Said it time and time again throughout my blogging days, that snow is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Hope it snows lots tonight and we can have snow ball fights tomorrow.

some tea with that?

"Answering a student's question, 'Will the heathen who have not heard the Gospel be saved?' thus, 'It is more a question with me whether we, who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not, can be saved." {Charles Spurgeon}

everything must come to an end... (Sedona at sunset )

...except for the song that never ends. But this trip did come to an end. It was good, it was fun, it was really good. Thanks to the Evans (minus Sean and Heather), Mr. Robertson, and Mr. Hastie for hanging out with us and staying with us. Some of the best parts: the Grand Canyon, Sedona, the Suns game, and just chilling in the beautiful sunshine.

I'M IN PHOENIX!

...and remembering last year's exciting events and all the purdy people I was with. Here is one of my favourite pictures from last years ladies conference. Much fun here with the Evans, Mr. Robertson, and Mr. Hastie. We're going to the Grand Canyon & Sedona tomorrow. I guess I don't have anything meaningful to post but I thought I would do something while we are waiting to go to the mall. Be home soon (Wednesday).

craysay.

"'Second to the right, and straight on till morning.' That, Peter had told Wendy, was the way to the Neverland." {Peter Pan}

take my life.

Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise;
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose

Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne

Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee

all over the place.

"For reasons unfathomable to the most experienced prophets in Maycomb County, autumn turned to winter that year. We had two weeks of the coldest weather since 1885, Atticus said. Mr. Avery said it was written on the Rosetta Stone that when children disobeyed their parents, smoked cigarettes and made war on each other, the seasons would change." - Chapter 4 - To Kill a Mockingbird {by Harper Lee}

By the way, the illness was gone quickly, just for one night (no, I am not bulimic Kars! - feels funny saying that, since I too am "Kars"). Hope none of you get sick! Back to school...

By the way, this is my one hundredth post. WOOT WOOT. hahahaha.

Word of the Day
recidivism \rih-SID-uh-viz-uhm\, noun: A tendency to lapse into a previous condition or pattern of behavior; especially, a falling back or relapse into prior criminal habits.

I love this picture hahaha. Good times...good times.

and they said she would never walk...

Another web design post...

Learned more about tags and formatting a web page. Looking forward to next week's class where we learn to put a page on the web. Thanks, Mr. H.

of angels and angles.

I miss it.

web design class.

This post content is about the web design class I took with Mr. Hewlett this morning. (The photo above has no relevance to the text in this post)



We learned about tags.
The main tags are:

bold

italic

underline

Today was a great class. I used what I learned about tags in todays class to compose this post in the "Edit Html" section. I look forward to next week when we begin building our own website.

chuck taylor.

[Philippians 4:6] Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to GOD.


This is something I posted a while back, last winter I believe. I think I need to hear it again.:
"Trust the LORD, Kara! HE plans out all things and HIS will is perfect. Kara; dwell in HIS word and spend time in HIS presence. Listen for HIS voice. Look to HIM for guidance. Breath in the showers of blessings HE has given you. I am an undeserving sinner whom GOD does not need, yet HE pouredHIS grace, mercy, and love upon me and the ones I love."

I love how I switched between talking about myself as a third person and back to first person again. haha.

italian blues out of an overcrowded river bus.

So I was thinking...prayer needs to be a bigger part in my life. Not just prayer as in asking GOD to heal her and save him and help them, but prayer as in praising HIM and having a relationship with the GOD who is incredibly faithful and merciful. I love talking to my friends all the time, my family too, but why not the GOD who if not for HIS grace I wouldn't be able to do anything, let alone live! The GOD who saved me, who raised me, who pulled me from the grave. I think that a healthy relationship is built on constant communication and time with one another, as well as being passionate, and my passion for CHRIST and the gospel is often missing. Sometimes, when HE allows me to, I can see the difference between when I am finding my joy in CHRIST and when I am looking for peace and happiness in other places. Those times are usually when I am not spending time with HIM (not just by HIM but with HIM) whole-heartedly. I let myself get distracted so easily and end up putting aside my time with GOD to finish the rest of my list of things to do for the day.

Anyways, I don't really know if this will make sense...this jumble of words on not very much sleep and not a lot of time either.

i love thee...

BOOM! That's what I heard when I went to the tree fort today. A big boom of thunder. The clouds were angrily rolling over our house and tearing apart the blue sky. I figured this was the best time to go for a bike ride and get some fresh air before the rain came, so I rode down the street to check the mail. It started with a couple light drops and by the time I got to the mailbox I was soaked to the bone. It was movie raining. In addition, I had gotten a beautiful letter from my darling Kara(A). I ran inside, sat on the couch to read it, and then without waiting another minute I ran back outside and rode my bike again to the corner store to get some stamps. People must have thought I looked ridiculous, or insane, because I was literally drenched as if I had stepped into a shower right then...and I did. Not just a shower though, a violent shower that was more than perfect. On the way home it started to hail mint-sized beads of ice that stung my face as I pedaled for home. I kept my head down the rest of the way, not able to see past the sheets of pouring rain or the pellets of ice. As soon as I got home, I changed into dry clothes and made myself a cup of tea in my POPGOESMYHEART mug. It may sound really silly to all of you, but this afternoon couldn't get any better, except for if that letter in the mail was sent in person!



POP.

sillybilly.

[Galations 5:24-25] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

goodbye to summer, hello to fall.

I hear the Savior say
Thy strength indeed is small
Child of weakness....watch and pray
Find in me....thine all in all

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin hath left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone
Can change the leper's spots
And melt the heart of stone

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim
I'll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calvary's Lamb

And when before thy throne
I stand in Him complete
Jesus died my soul to save
My lips shall still repeat

splash.

"God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December." _JM Barrie

old glory antiques.

My blog has lacked excitement and comments in the last while. And a couple people have quit blogging. However I enjoy it because I can share thoughts, scriptures, opinions, funny things, favorite songs and so on. I often write things down much more comfortably than saying them out loud. I don't post as much as I did one year ago (there were like fifteen posts every month). This month especially I can understand why the interest of reader's has declined. Anyways, that doesn't matter. Last night we had a long car ride and lots of time for me to reflect on the weekend.


I went down to Vancouver, Washington with my family and some other people from Crossway. I had so much fun with the people I knew, I got to meet people I had never met before, and got to know people I didn't know very well. On top of that, I had the awesome opportunity to help out Christ Our Redeemer Church kick start their first "official" Sunday. The theme (displayed on our beautiful and matching t-shirts) "itsnotaboutus" ( = it[apostrophe]s[space]not[space]about[space]us ) is something I let slip my mind way too much. Even though I was wearing the shirt and surrounded by dozens of others wearing it too, I sometimes found what I wanted more important than why I had come down to Vancouver in the first place. However, as well as being reminded of my own failures and selfishness that I continue to struggle with day after day in my sinful nature that I am drawn to so greatly, I was reminded again of God's unchanging grace, love, and mercy. This He has shown ultimately through the crucifixion and resurrection of His Son that we may be forgiven and be able to come to Him in those times of difficulty and defeat and although undeserving of everything He brings our way, we are welcomed into the arms of God.

I am absolutely in awe of how great our God is and I am so thankful for the chance I was given to participate in such a fantastic experience this last weekend with other believers who love God and have such servant hearts. I was encouraged to see so many people down there helping with this church plant for His glory alone.


[Romans 11:33-36] Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.



HOLLER to Kristina and Alysha Lyn, both dear friends of mine.
Aly and I celebrated our one year anniversary this last Tuesday, August 14th - even though her date and my date are slightly different. Aly challenges me to do things for the glory of God, reminding me that it is not about ME. She's been there through eggs and ham and I love her!
Kerstina's birthday was Thursday, August 16th. I don't know when we became friends but ever since she's been with me for tons of laughter and great chats - bowling @ new years, ladies conference in phoenix, the tree @ celebration'07, and most recently vancouver, WA.

this.

watch this.


amazing.
bewildering.
clever.
daring.
exciting.
fantastic.
gallant.
heavenly.
incredible.
jaw-dropping.
killer.
lively.
magnificent.
notorious.
overwhelming.
powerful.
quite dramatic.
radical.
sensational.
thenthational.
unbelievable.
varying.
wonderful.
xcellent.
yikes.
zed.

(semicolon)

Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
I'll praise the mount I'm fixed upon it
Mount of thy redeeming love

{lahf-ter}

laugh [laf, lahf] - verb : to express mirth, pleasure, derision, or nervousness with an audible, vocal expulsion of air from the lungs that can range from a loud burst of sound to a series of quiet chuckles and is usually accompanied by characteristic facial and bodily movements.

"If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane." [Jimmy Buffett]

joy.joy.joy.

[Hebrews 12:1-2] Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.



I am so amazed at God's incredible grace and love and the blessings He has placed in my life. I have an awesome family. I have fantabulous friends. And sin had left a crimson stain and He washed it white as snow.

Hello. My name is Korea.

[Romans 12:9-21] Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

here, LORD, I give myself away; 'tis all that I can do.

Alas! And Did My Saviour Bleed [Isaac Watts]

Alas! and did my Savior bleed,
And did my Sovereign die!
Would he devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?

Was it for crimes that I have done,
he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide,
and shut its glories in,
when God, the mighty maker, died
for his own creature's sin

Thus might I hide my blushing face
while his dear cross appears;
dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
and melt mine eyes to tears

But drops of tears can ne'er repay
the debt of love I owe
Here, Lord, I give myself away;
'tis all that I can do

do you ever feel like your mind is going at 100 miles per hour with no contingency for a pit stop?

I don't know why (although I do have a few ideas: lack of any form of sleep, organization, or energy), but lately this is how I feel. However, I have no reason - that I can comprehend - to feel this way (other than the very late-night weekend).


[Sovereign One] .. Zach Jones

When I’m all alone and afraid
I will trust in You
For You watch over my ways
When things in my life don’t make sense
I will trust in You
For You are good, You are good

Sovereign One
You work all things to Your plan
Sovereign One
You hold all things in Your hands

When I don’t get to have my own way
I will trust in You
For You know what is best
When tears begin to roll down my face
I will trust in You
For You are good, You are good

Perfect in power, You control all things
Perfect in wisdom, You know everything
Perfect in goodness
Jesus, You’re so good to me
So good to me

yuzz-a-ma-tuzz.

“My alphabet starts with this letter called yuzz. It’s the leter I use to spell yuzz-a-ma-tuzz. You’ll be sort of surprised what there is to be found once you go beyond ‘Z’ and start poking around!” --Dr. Seuss


_thanks Katie for the fun day @ the beach.

fly me to the moon.

[2 Timothy 2:8-13] Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.

trees, flowers, clouds, and stars.

God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars. -- Martin Luther

vernon.

It is so lovely up here. The sunshine, the heat, the lake, the mountains, the family, the sunsets, the moon. It is truly scumptious. The colours in the skies change so often, so beautifully. The shading on the mountain is always picture perfect; in the morning you can see the greens and yellows and browns and pinks, and at night it washes into a silhouette of wonderfulness. So many stars, so far away, so big, some we can't even see but they're there. It is amazing. And so adventurous. We had a picnic last night, built a log cabin up in the hills this morning, and just now Matt and I came in from a fight out on the dock, ending with both of us in the water fully clothed. Don't worry, Mom and Dad, no one got hurt and no one got upset. It was much fun.

Come visit me, will you?

no title.

"Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that's why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with." -- To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

"he chit."

[Titus 2:11-14] For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.


The more time we spend with our Savior, the more we will come to know Him, the more we will become like Him, the more we will glorify Him. He is faithful, even when I am not, even when I am completely unaware of His hand on my life. God is so good.

agnes+trudy.

[Amazing Grace, v.2&3 - by Rev. John Newton, 1779]

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieves;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed

Thro' many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home

just a coffee.

::My frightening ordeal of the day....ordering "just a coffee"::

I ventured to Starbucks this afternoon with my Dad. Before I ran in to grab us some drinks, I asked him what he wanted. He replied with an answer that I will never be able to get over. "Just a coffee," he said. I agreed to fulfill his request and with my leg half way out the door I realized I didn't know how to order "just a coffee" from Starbucks. Ordering "just a coffee" from Starbucks is implausible, unheard of, never been done before. I was completely lost. When I went to seek council from my dad about how to overcome this he said to just make up some kind of low-fat-so-fat-no-fat-go-fat-thing and kind of morph it all into a mumble.
I must be honest, ordering a drink from Starbucks often terrifies me, for they have created a language and class of their own so complex that everyone knows you have to be at a certain level to be able to casually walk into a Starbucks, order your drink, and be out in less than a minute and a half. I stand in awe of those people. I am one of those customers who walks in with sweaty palms, darting eyes, and my ears trying to catch every conversation around so I can maybe get a hint about what I am supposed to do in that jungle of business men and faithful college students.
After a pep talk from my dad, I confidently got out of the car and walked into the coffee shop. I ordered my own drink first, only to blank out on the low-fat-so-fat-no-fat-go-fat-thing. I gave up and told her to surprise me. Predictably, the overly friendly young girl who obviously studied for nights to be able to say "tall nonfat cinnamon dolce latte" in less than half a second flat to get her wages at the end of the day so she can pay for her first car made a good call. This horrifying situation ended pretty well as my dad received his drink and was more than satisfied as we drove away.

I can tell you that it will probably be a long while before I am able to face those mighty jaws, waiting to suck me into the heartache and misery of questioning the law of coffee, just so I can get a caffeine buzz, ever again.

For now, I think I'll stick with my dietPEPSI.
And I don't even like dietPEPSI.

'till her daddy takes the t-bird away.

[Isaiah 12:2-6] Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples, proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.



WORD OF THE DAY (this isn't from today but i liked it) :
quagmire \KWAG-myr; KWOG-\, noun; 1) Soft, wet, miry land that shakes or yields under the feet. 2) A difficult or precarious position or situation; a predicament.

ytinas.

[Isaiah 63:15-19] Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me. For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name. O Lord, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Your holy people held possession for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary. We have become like those over whom you have never rules, like those who are not called by your name.


>>My apologies, folks. No word of the day tonight.

sidetracked>>

Where is my zeal, my passion? I have not been treasuring His word in my heart, nor have I been seeking and meditating and trusting on Him fully. I've been a little side-tracked, slightly off course, looking into my own interests first. This passage, I must remind myself of constantly. This is how I want to be.

[Psalm 119:10-16] With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.



WORD OF THE DAY:
prepotency \pree-POTE-n-see\, noun:
1) The quality or condition of having superior power, influence, or force; predominance. 2) (Biology) The capacity, on the part of one of the parents, as compared with the other, to transmit more than his or her own share of characteristics to their offspring.