I'm Finally Back...

Life has been busy (I need to re-word that...life has been normal) which is the reason I've been absent from my blog for the past several weeks. But that's fine with me as sometimes it's good just to take a break from the blogging world. There are so many other things that are of more importance, and putting aside blogging for a few weeks was actually kind nice. So if you have been wondering why I haven't responded to your e-mail, commented on your blog, or posted anything here...that's why.

My friend, Rachel, and I have gone out and done several photography shoots in the past couple weeks, and I like to share just a few of those photos with you (ok...maybe more than "just a few" photos). I've loved having the opportunity to work on my photography skills, and doing it with friends is even better. Picnik is my new-found photo editing friend, and I've enjoyed exploring it's endless possibilities!

So now for some of my favorite photos from the past few weeks (sorry they don't all have captions)...

{Our friends are currently taking care of four adorable puppies}

{I actually didn't take this photo...Rachel did}

{Rachel playing her guitar}

{Wood parks make great places to take photos!}

 

{Talking with a friend while sipping a hot cappuccino on a cold day...so relaxing}

While I was gone from the blogging world, Nela over at Beloved Star tagged me (thank you!). But since I don't have enough time to do that right now, I'll leave that to a later post :)

I also have many other things (and pictures!) I would love to post about, but I really don't want to bore you with an overwhelmingly long post! I would also like to get some other things going on this blog so that it is more interactive for the readers. Maybe a recipe exchange or a photo challenge...something along those lines.  Let me know if you have any thoughts about this!

I'll try to post again soon, but for now I want to leave you with this verse:

"Let us hold unswervingly 

to the hope the we profess, 

for He who promised is faithful. 

And let us consider how we may spur 

one another on toward love and good deeds"

Hebrews 10:23-24

Challenged

I've had so much else going on that it was nice not to have to worry about blogging for a couple weeks. I have pictures loaded onto the computer, so I'll try to update you as best I can along with a few pictures. Over the course of the past few weeks, I have had a couple of things that the Lord has been challenging me with, and in this post I'd like to share them with you.

August 10-11 was the Strong in the Lord conference, and August 13-14 was the Radiant Purity conference, both in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I came away from them so encouraged and challenged. One of the things that I was challenged with the most was totally surrendering my teen years to the Lord and asking Him to give me a passionate love for Him and His Word. I want Him to be the center of my life so that He is the one who controls my thoughts, actions, and words. We can't gain a love for the Lord if we aren't continually in His Word, and I'll have to admit that though I do read the Bible often, I probably don't read it as faithfully as I should. I have committed to trying to read at least one chapter of the Bible every day, but I know that in my own strength I can't do it. It's only by His strength that I can be diligent about it.

Did any of you attend any of the conferences in either Iowa or Minnesota? If so, I'd enjoy hearing your comments about it. If you would like to share something that you learned, I'd love to hear that as well!

{A chalk drawing from one of the "Chalk Talks" that Sarah Mally gave at the Radiant Purity conference}

August 18th we performed our quartet for 4-H Share the Fun at the State Fair. It was a great learning experience, and we all enjoyed it. We were encouraged to find out later that the judge who was giving comments (it wasn't a contest, she just commented on each performance) was also a Christian! 

After we were done performing, another girl that had also performed that night came up to Alexandra and I, and we got into a short conversation with her. Alexandra asked her if she was a Christian, because the song she had done her dance to sounded like a Christian song. She said that she wasn't, and then she mentioned that we seemed so joyful while we were performing our song. I told her that it was because of Jesus in our lives, and the conversation pretty much ended there. Later as I was thinking about it, and I wish that I would have been prepared. Prepared to give an answer. In 1 Peter 3:15 it says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect". Here the Lord gave me an opportunity to be a witness, and I wasn't ready to give an answer. How many times does the Lord give us opportunities, but we aren't equipped and ready? This incident really challenged me to not let this happen again. Next time, I want to be prepared.

 {Pictures from State Fair}

Those two events took up a majority of my time the past few weeks, and I hope I didn't bore you with details :)  There were so many good topics covered at the Bright Lights conferences, so they'll probably make their way onto this blog in the near future. As I close this post, I want to challenge you with two things...to be passionately in love with the Lord, and to always be ready to give an answer.

County Fair Update

I have to apologize for not keeping my blog up to date in the last few weeks. Our 4-H county fair started last Friday, and it goes through this Thursday! Today doesn't have much going on, so I'm actually home for the afternoon. I know some of you had mentioned that you would like to hear what is going on during the fair, so I though I'd give you a little update.

Friday wasn't too busy...we just took the horses to the fairgrounds. The dog show was also on Friday night, and Hannah showed our dog Bentley. They got 2nd in their obedience class. She was quite excited about that, and is also looking forward to showing again next year!

On Saturday I showed my Quarter Horse, Flash, and my sister Sarah showed her Shetland pony, Misty. Flash and I didn't place very well in any classes...but I'm alright with that as we have greatly improved since last year, and that's what counts. Sarah showed Misty in the 2-3 year old halter class, and there was only one other person competing against them (which was really nice since this was Sarah's first year showing). Misty was a little ornery, but they still placed 1st in their class...great job Sarah! We also had our exhibits judged on Saturday, and all of my pictures got blues. The seasons collage went onto State!

 (Sarah showing Misty)

(Myself showing Flash)

Yesterday was communications, and I participated in two Share the Fun acts. The first was a skit that I did with my club, and the second was a vocal quartet that I did with my sister Hannah and my friends Alexandra and Jessica. We did the song "On Faith Alone" by Robert Pierre; Hannah and Alexandra played violin, Jessica played piano, and I sang. We hope and pray that all we did represented Christ, and that He got all of the glory! I think that all of us were quite nervous, but we were able to do it almost perfectly...which is better than we have ever done before! We got a blue ribbon, and tomorrow we'll find out if we go onto State or not. One of my close friends and her family had been missionaries overseas, and she came in on Saturday. Their family came to the fair yesterday...it was great to see them again!

(From left to right: Hannah, Jessica, Rebekah, Alexandra)

Tomorrow is the swine show, and then Thursday is the livestock auction. This will probably be the last post before fair is over...it's quite a busy week!

~ Rebekah

Happy Birthday to a wonderful friend...

Alexandra, I hope that you have a wonderful birthday! You have become such a close friend over the last few years, and I thank God for all the fun times we have shared. It is neat to see how the Lord is working in and through your life and I want to thank you for encouraging me in my walk with Him. You are such a great friend and I hope that you have a wonderful birthday. Keep shining for the Lord!

Your Friend,
Rebekah