I got a new blog.

awakenusall.blogspot.com

I won't be posting on this blog (4gratitude) anymore.

I guess I've decided to write a post about what's going on over here.

Lanna will be going to a private school, and I will be homeschooled with my younger brothers and sister. I will be bored with lanna at school all the time (yes, she keeps me quite entertained). So after being inspired by Pirates Of The Caribean, I've decided to entertain myself by writing a pirate story. And Lanna couldn't let me do that without her so we made a deal. We decided that we would each write a pirate story in one year (our deadline is the 1st of September 2008) and we'll see who's story is "better".

So this morning I've been spending most of my computer time looking up pirate stuff, like parts of a ship, the different kinds of ships, weapons, that sort of thing. It's acctually really fun.

Well, I'll be posting more important stuff pretty soon.

Arrrrggggg!!! lol

Jo

(First a note to Austin: I answered your questions on my last post. :) )


Live ~Nichole Nordeman~

Did you come that we might just survive?
Did you come so we could just get by?
Did you walk among us so we might merely limp along beside?

I was bound, I have been set free
But I have settled for apathy
Did you come to make new
And know I'd crawl right back into the skin you found me in?

It's where I am- not where I've been

You make me want to live
You make me want to live
You came to shake us
And to wake us up to something more
Than we'd always settled for
And you make me want to live

We've all been up on the mountain top
A golden glow that's bound to soon wear off
Then it's back to the mundane, telling tales of glory days
When we were hopeful that this change was here to stay

So why would a young man
Live in a waste land
When the castle of his dreams is standing by?
Why would a princess
Put on an old dress
To dance with her beloved and a chance to catch his eye?


___________________________


Now a fun song (one of my favorites) by Hanson:

Been There Before


There's a downtown corner, people downtown know
And a back beat rhythm on the radio
And the girl who listens
To a young man's song
On the block I live on
In the place I'm from

Well the young man sitting
On the dock of the bay
He took a longterm trip
On a first class plane
Now the whole world listens
To that one man's song
On the block I live on
In the place I'm from

Tell me, does it move you
Does it soothe you
Does it fill your heart and soul
With the roots of rock & roll

Well the man in black sits
On a screened in porch
Making birthday wishes
Seventy one almost
You can hear him singing
Chariots swing low
On the block I live on
In the place I know

Tell me, does it move you
Does it soothe you
Does it fill your heart and soul
With the roots of rock & roll

Na na na na na I've been there before

When you can't get through it
You can listen to it

This is our statemant of faith:

We believe:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Psalms 111:10)

There is one God eternally existent, Yahweh, and one mediator between God and man, Yahshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ). That Yahshua is God's only begotten son, who is the foundation of the kingdom of God and that all authority in heaven and up on Earth is given to Him.
That Yahshua was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary.

In Yahshua's sinless life, miracles, vicarious and atoning crucifixion and death through his shed blood. His entombment and bodily resurrection on the third day. His ascension into Heaven where He reigns at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, and in Yahshua's return in power and glory.

That man is created in the image of God, but is born with sinful nature. That because of sin, all mankind is in rebellion against God. That salvation of lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary. That man's only hope for redemption is through the atonement made by the Messiah. That salvation is by grace through faith and that faith without works is dead. In the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by indwelling the Christian believer is enabled to live a more godly life.

We believe in the spiritual unity of all true believers in our Saviour and Lord, Yahshua the Messiah.

The Bible is our tool to be used to facilitate out thirst for knowledge that we may learn what we seek in earnest of our Creator, Savior, creation, history, and His Will. We accept its teachings as the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

Note: Since Jesus refrained from such labeling "Catholic,""Protestant,"" Baptist," etc in scripture in reference to his faith, our family has been unwilling to adhere to any particular label of Christian faith as well. And, since we believe that labels tend to inhibit spiritual growth, we prefer to remain "non-denominational."

The Fray lyrics How To Save A Life

"Step one you say we need to talk

He walks you say sit down it's just a talk

He smiles politely back at you

You stare politely right on through

Some sort of window to your right

As he goes left and you stay right

Between the lines of fear and blame

And you begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong,

I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best

Cause after all you do know best

Try to slip past his defense

Without granting innocence

Lay down a list of what is wrong

The things you've told him all along

And pray to God he hears you

And pray to God he hears you

Where did I go wrong,

I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice

You lower yours and grant him one last choice

Drive until you lose the road

Or break with the ones you've followed

He will do one of two things

He will admit to everything

Or he'll say he's just not the same

And you'll begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong,

I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

___________________________________

Work lyrics by Jars Of Clay

Just in case,

I will leave my things packed

So I can run away

I cannot trust these voices

I don't have a line of prospects that can give somekind of peace

There is nothing left to cling to that can bring me sweet releas

I have no fear of drowning

It's the breathing that's taking all this work

Do you know what I mean when I say, "I don't want to be alone"?

What I mean when I say, "I don't want to be alone"

Empty spaces with shadows hit by streetlights

Warnings signs and weight of tired conversations

In the absence of a shoulder,

in the abscess of a thief

On the brink of this destruction,

on the eve of bittersweet

Now all the demons look like prophets and I'm living out

Every word they speak, every word they speak

Do you know what I mean when I say, "I don't want to be alone"?

What I mean when I say, "I don't want to be alone"

What I mean when I say, "I don't want to be alone"

Do you know what I mean when I say, "I don't want to be alone"?

What I mean when I say, "I don't want to be alone"

What I mean when I say, "I don't want to be alone"

Alone, alone, I don't want to be alone

I have no fear of drowning

Its the breathing that takes all the work

_____________________________________

Hello everyone.

I made a few changes on my blog. I put some of my favorite scriptures on the side underneath my "About Me" if you would like to go and read them. :)

Here is a song called The Walk by Zac Hanson. This is one that I learned to play on the piano. Hanson is not a Christian band, but there songs are 'safe',I guess you could call it.

THE WALK by Zac Hanson


Well deep in the woods
Where nothing is seen
A tightrope is strung to his heel

And high on the walk
He's down on one knee
He waits for the slow of the breeze


Oh, wow, look at him now, on his feet
High up in the sky

And every moment stands endlessly
It feels as though time isn't moving

And every second, one breath not to breathe
I watch as he moves to the beat

While I'm on the floor
I watch from my seat
And watch as he sways with the trees


And slowly he moves,
but elegantly
I'm more on the edge of my seat

On the tightrope
Everything's bare
All that there is is from here to there

On the tightrope
The goal is quite clear
Don't lose yourself in your fear

Everyone waits on the walk
Some are long and some small
But all of them tall
Everyone must make a choice

Will I go for it all
And possibly fall
The tightrope is thin I could possibly win on the walk

Well high on the walk
The tightrope it bends
And nobody knows where it ends


To win or to lose
You're all on your own
Everyone must be alone

On the tightrope
Everything's bare
All that there is is from here to there

On the tightrope
The goal is quite clear
Don't lose yourself in your fear

Here are some pics that I took for photography:

This one's not great>

Hey everyone.
Sorry for not posting in forever. I have been really busy and have not had much computer time.

I'm assuming that all of you have seen Lanna's post about what's been up.

We went to another wedding yesterday. It was beautiful!!! The bridesmaids wore really pretty purple dresses. It was cool. The wedding was outside so the scenery was beautiful.

I'll hopefully be posting more soon!


Jo

Jars Of Clay

Love Song For A Savior

In open fields of wild flowers, she breathes the air and flies away

She thanks her Jesus for the daises and the roses

in no simple language

Someday she'll understand the meaning of it all

He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens

As close a heartbeat or a song on her lips

Someday she'll trust Him and learn how to see Him

Someday He'll call her and she will come running and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray,

"I want to fall in love with You"

Sitting silent wearing Sunday best

The sermon echoes through the walls

A great salvation through it calls to the peoplewho stare into nowhere,

and can't feel the chains on their souls

He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens

As close a heartbeat or a song on our lips

Someday we'll trust Him and learn how to see Him

Someday He'll call us and we will come running and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and we'll pray,

"I want to fall in love with You"

It seems too easy to call you "Savior",

Not close enough to call you "God"

So as I sit and think of words I can mention

to show my devotion

"I want to fall in love with You"

"my heart beats for You"

Found this on an email, and I believe it is by Ben Williams.

______________________________________________

A BEAUTIFUL ANALOGY!

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.
As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects.

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I
don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't
exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would
there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither
suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of
these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't
want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer
left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the
street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked
dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said
to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am
a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did,
there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like
that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! " answered the barber. " What happens is,
people do not come to me. "

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES
exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him.
That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

Circles by Switchfoot

Another day
Another sunrise
Another factory call
Another nigh
Another sunset
Another freefall

In my life
In my own purpose
Within the weakness
Within the weakness

Spinning out in circles
In circles, in circles
Spinning out in circles
In circles, in circles

Another day
Another lifetime
Another engine stalls
Another line
Another freeway
Another freefall

In my life
In my own purpose
Within the weakness
Within the weakness

Spinning out in circles
In circles, in circles
Spinning out in circles
In circles, in circles
In circles, in circles

I’ve lost all that I wanted to leave
I’ve lost all that I wanted to be
Don’t that there’s nothing this true
Don’t believe in this modern machine
The modern machine

Circles Spinning,
Spinning In circles, in circles
Spinning out in circles
In circles, in circles
In circles, in circles