In a boat: at a party: and a light saber duel.

Yesterday my brother Caleb and I went for a short boat ride.  Caleb wouldn't stop bugging me to go with him, so I ended up going.  I was hoping it would down pour while we were on the boat.  I've always wanted to be going super fast on a boat while rain is coming down in torrents.  It never did though.  It was cold but it was a delightful kind of cold, frigid yet refreshing.  When we finally got around to the place where we could go really fast, I grabbed the camera and started recording the fast ride. I posted the video up above.  Hopefully you can watch it.  While we were going fast, the wind whipped at me so hard that I had tears streaming down my face, and my earrings were frozen to my ears!  It didn't take long to reach Prince Cove where we were bringing the boat.  It was a very nice boat ride and I enjoyed it very much.  I'm glad I went!

 On Sunday evening,  I went to my dear friend, Rowan's, birthday party.  I had a great time and was happy to be celebrating her 15th birthday.  We had yummy food, and we played cops & robbers, twister, and frizzbee baseball.  Fun!

 Sarah and I had a lightsaber battle in the living room last night.  We didn't finish, so I can't say who won.  Oh! Owl City's new album comes out today!!! It's called All Things Bright and Beautiful.  I would buy it, but all my money is going to my horse riding lessons. :\  I already own his other three albums and I'm s-l-o-w-l-y putting together money to buy albums from his other projects.  He has a lot so it will take me a while.   Here is a link so you can hear how good it is:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnWw24s5gG8  That one is In Christ Alone...

Am looking forward to my orthodontics appointment today!  I'm going to ask how much longer these dreaded braces will be on. Plus, I'm going to pick a funky color for the bands, maybe orange and neon green.

~ Lydia

Chemical Chaos, open windows, and bouquets of flowers

Chaotic chemical expressions.

Polyvinylidenechloride translation = plastic wrap.

Concave combination utensil translates to = bowl.

Metallio chemical compounder = spoon.

Metallio small solids manipulator = tongs.

Chemistry has a language all it's own. : )  Anyway, this is what I'm learning in my chemistry book.

Okay I have come across a fun, new word to say: chortle.  It has quickly become one of my favorite words to say. Oh, and it means joyful chuckle.

For Mother's Day I bought my lovely mother a beautiful bouquet of flowers, ( don't ask what kind of flowers they are... I don't know) and they came in a cute little vase.

Today, because it was raining, ( I love rainy days) I read for an hour on my day bed with the window open.  I love open windows with rain pouring in!

It's 9:27 pm and I still haven't done my math. Mum and I were suppose to do it right after dinner, but I got busy with other  important things, ( and no, that doesn't mean watching T.V). Of course every time I try and dodge math I'm only bringing more work and frustration upon myself.  Yeah,  I should probably start on it right after this blog post...

I was piled up in quilts today because my toesies were freezing!  It was so cold this morning.

Looks like I am being pushed out of my OWN bed tonight!   Sarah got it into her head that my bed is way comfier than hers, ( which it is :) and that she should be able to have it as her own for tonight.  I wouldn't be surprised if I never get my bed back..... Looks like the couch for me tonight. :\

Good night!

~ Lydia

This is Phineas lounging on Caleb's bed. :)

Pictures of the flowers I bought my mum....

Just a post in the morning

Here is a song that I meant to put on my post about my baptism.  It's one of my favorite songs! Hope you enjoy it.  Warning! This song quickly gets stuck in your head!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSif77IVQdY

It's Tuesday morning.  I just did the laundry and dishes.  As I look outside I can tell it's going to be another beautiful day.  Earlier this morning, as I was reading my daily devotional (that gets sent to my e-mail) I thought I should put the devotionals  at the end of all my blog posts!  They are so good and I love sharing them.  I have profited from them and I hope you readers will too.  I know some of you already get them, but it's good to read them over again.  Here is the link to the web site where I get them.  http://www.gracegems.org/editor.htm

Recently I've been ruminating about how many hymns I actually know by heart.  I was surprised at what I came up with.  I only know about 3!  I thought that that was pretty sad.  I can easily sing all 54 of Taylor Swift's songs, but I can't sing songs that are pleasing and praising God!  That's going to change from this day on.  I'm even getting the whole family to participate in learning a song a week.  The first song I want to learn is Amazing Grace.  I only know the first stanza or so.  I'll keep you all updated on how I do!

Here are some thoughts that Blaise Pascal wrote, ( I have just finished learning about him in history.)

"God alone is man's true good."

"We do not know of ourselves what we are, we can learn it only from God."

"It is vain that you seek within yourselves the cure for your miseries.  All your intelligence can only bring you to realize that it is not within yourselves that you will find either truth or good."

I'm going to start putting in quotes and things like it, so you'll be getting a little knowledge every time you read my blog.  It also makes it more interesting.  I could probably go on and on about many things, but I have to start school, ( you could count this as school.  It's writing :) and I have to go switch over the laundry again.   I do my own laundry, but this week I'm helping Mom out with everyone else's.

In Christ,
~ Lydia
The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. Psalm 33:5

Today's Puritan Audio Devotional:

A vexing vanity!
By Thomas Watson, insightful
Play Audio! Download Audio

  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

How long will you love vanity?

(James Smith, "Important Questions" 1858)

"How long will you love vanity?" Psalm 4:2

Vanity represents the light, changeable, carnal, and fading things of time. Upon these things, the natural heart is set; around them, the unsanctified affections gather. What a vanity it is to prefer . . .
  human friendship--to divine friendship,
  earthly riches--to Heavenly riches,
  carnal honors--to spiritual honors, and
  the pleasures of a day--to the joys of eternity!

Vanity appears in the intoxicating cup, the mirthful and costly attire, and trifling with God. Surely every worldly man walks in a vain show, like an actor on the stage--and displays the most consummate folly!

Reader! are you in love with vanity? Do you love that which leads from God, keeps Him out of the thoughts, and binds you down to earth? This is vanity! How long will you love it? You have been doing so for years--though warned, convinced, and having promised to reform. You are doing so now, though . . .
   mortality is at work within you,  
   death is very near you,
   Hell is open before you, and
   eternity is within a step of you!

You love vanity, when you may . . .
   obtain divine mercy,
   enjoy peace with God,
   receive sanctifying grace, and
   walk in the way to Heaven.

"How long will you love vanity?" Until . . .
   some sudden stroke takes you away;
   or some affliction puts you beyond the reach of mercy;
   or God's Spirit ceases to strive with you;
   or Satan fills your heart as he did the heart of Judas;
   or God laughs at your calamity?

How long? God your Creator would ask you. "Why will you die?" 

Will you carefully consider this question, and give the Lord an answer? Will you tell Him why you prefer . . .
   eternal death--to eternal life,
   sin--to holiness, and
   Satan--to Himself?

"They who observe lying vanities, forsake their own mercy!" Jonah 2:8  

Convention

Hi all!   I just got back from Worcester, MA.  We left, ( my Mom and I) early Friday morning.  We stayed at the Courtyard Hotel.   The main reason we were in Worcester was because of the MASSHOPE homeschool convention that was going on Friday (8 am to 8:30 pm) and Saturday (9 to 3).   After leaving the Cape at 6am, we arrived there on time, and I went in to listen to Jay C. Wyle talk about science and creation.  It was very interesting.  Thankfully, I was able to sit next to a familiar face, my friend, Amy Chapman, during that hour.  After it was over though, I felt like I hadn't gotten anything out of what the speaker was talking about as I already knew everything he was speaking about, and I felt like I was wasting my time going to hear him speak, so I didn't go back to any more of his classes.  I went to a far better, more beneficial speaker. Gregg Harris, ( father of Alex and Brett Harris, authors of the Do Hard things Book) was/is an incredible speaker/pastor.  He did such a great job that I loved sitting for 9 hours to hear him speak!  I didn't want to miss any of his sessions, and he is the  only speaker I went to hear.  I bought a CD recording of one of his sessions that I particularly enjoyed, The New Mayflower Strategy: Living for The Glory of God in a World With No Exits (referring to the homeschooling movement), and was hoping to put it here on my blog, but I can't seem to find a way how...   After Friday's sessions were over, we went out for dinner, then went back to the hotel.  I just relaxed on the bed, being tired from sitting and walking for so long.   I was so happy that I was able to watch the royal wedding that night on tv!  We got back to the hotel just in time to watch the replay from London where the wedding took place, ( obviously!:) and the bride's dress was just gorgeous!  The whole wedding was beautiful and I enjoyed being able to see inside West Minister Abby.  At around 10 pm, I went down to the pool.  I went down there at such a late hour because I figured all the little kids staying at the hotel would most likely be in bed, so therefor rendering the pool area empty! I just stayed in the hot tub; it was so relaxing.  Then I went back to our room and got ready for bed.  Now I'm sure you're all thinking I'd be really enervated after such a tiring, long, day, but I only slept for 2 hours that night.  I just layed in bed awake all night.  I was just not tired at all!  I got out of bed at around 4 or so. Well, here's the story. At 3am I was thinking to myself I'm never ever going to fall asleep, so why not take my shower now?  That way I won't have to rush to get ready for the convention that day. I poked, ( awoke) my Mom and asked, "Mom, can I take my shower now?" And she said,"No, it's too early." I sighed and got out of bed and tiptoed to the window and watched the early morning train go by down at the railroad station.  After it went by I crawled back into bed, and watched the clock. 3:59, 4:00, 4:01. When would it be 5?! Well, it was going to take an hour for it to be 5, so I prayed, and repeated Scripture in my head.  I took my shower at 5, then just read until it was time to check out of the hotel and leave for the convention.  When we got there, I immediately headed for the room where Gregg Harris would be speaking that day.  Eagerly, I sat for another 5 hours listening to him.  Oh, and yes, there were a couple of breaks in between each session.  After all the speakers were done speaking, my Mom and I went down to the vending hall and browsed around looking at all the neat stuff.  
We got my brother Caleb a book written by Mr. Demmy, ( Caleb's DVD math teacher) and Mr. Demmy was there!  We asked him to sign the book for Caleb, ( because we knew Caleb would just love a book signed by his favorite math teacher : ) and he did.  I also picked out another book for Caleb called,  Thoughts for Young men, and for Sarah a couple of horse books.  I got a couple of books I'd been wanting, ( books from the Elsie Dinsmore series), and I also got a 1 inch indent on my shoulder from lugging around my 5 pound purse.  The purse strap was just rubbing on my shoulder making it really red and sore.... I must have carried that thing around for 4, ( not all at once) hours or so!  Well that's just about everything.  You all have a great week!  Thanks for reading!
PS If you haven't read any of Mr. Harris's books, or his son's books for that matter, you should!  They are full of wisdom.  Check out these web sites:  Gregg Harris:  http://www.nobleinstitute.org/  Alex and Brett Harris:  http://www.therebelution.com/  Joshua Harris (author of I kissed dating goodbye) http://www.joshharris.com/  

In Christ alone,
~ Lydia
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Psalms 100:1

Easter Sunday

I hope you all had a pleasant Easter.  I know I certainly did!  Most of you already know that I was baptized on Easter morning at Christ Chapel.  The photo above is of me right before I was dunked.  It was a lot more emotional for me than I thought it would be.  After coming out of the baptismal I was handed a white rose.  I was also baptized with 8 other people.  The only part I was uncomfortable with was having to stand in front of the whole congregation,  so I was nervous at that part.

Last week I did the standardized testing for 3 days.  It went fine, except on Wednesday.  We had math.  After the math I asked to be excused for a 3 minute break because I needed to find my Mom and get a hug from her.  I needed one after having to sit through torture.  It was awful.  Other than that, it was an average week!

In the love of Christ,
~ Lydia

1 Corinthians 15:20

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.   For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.   For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.  

Weekend Happenings

On Saturday my brother, Caleb, had his first baseball game.  His team hadn't even had any practices yet!  I was at the baseball field from 9:30a.m to 2:30p.m.  Not a fun day! Plus, it was so cold and windy, but I was smart enough to bring a quilt.  My face did get a wind burn\sun burn though.  Caleb sat on the bench for the first few innings, and then he went in to play third base.  When up at bat, he got hit in the arm by a wild throw from the pitcher, ( so much for all his big talk about hitting a home run first time at bat!) so, he got a walk. You can see the picture of him up above.  His jersey is #12.  His team one 11 to 5.  Oh, on Saturday night my Mom and I decided at the last minute to go see Soul Surfer at the theaters.  It's based on the true story about Bethany Hamilton.  For those of you who don't know, Bethany is a surfer in Hawaii who was attacked by a shark and because of that she lost her arm, but she didn't give up her surfing. The story is about how she fought to get back on the board.  It's a really good movie.  Testing starts Tuesday!  I've been studying all week for it.  I've been bugging my Mom all month to order my school books for the summer.  Recently I've been filming Phineas, the family's pet guinea pig,  but he just sits there!  I cleared an area in my bedroom for him to run around, but he just sat there for an hour.  If I ever catch him on video doing something, I'll be sure to post it here on my blog.  Right now I'm reading The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis.  Here is a short passage of Screwtape's letter (the senior demon writing to Wormwood his apprentice):   " The patient has made some new friends—just the kind Screwtape likes. They are bright, funny, skeptical, wealthy, and worldly. Encouraging these sorts of friendships is just the thing Wormwood should be doing. Screwtape warmly approves."

"Although the patient will soon realize his faith is at odds with the way these people think and live, he may not defend it or assert it with them, and he may become so influenced by them that he willabandon his beliefs. He may not realize, in the modern age, that the choice of friends, the use of one's time, and worldly vanities are things the Christian really must be careful about. These old-fashioned virtues have fallen by the wayside. The patient may even be encouraged to pass such concerns off as "Puritanism", ----and may I remark in passing that the value we have given to that word is one of the really solid triumphs of the last 100 years?" 

I am looking forward to going to the homeschool convention next Friday.  I will blog about that afterwards.  ~ Lydia

My adventures of the week, ( well really only 2 days of this week :)

I love Saturdays!  Just thought I'd throw that out there for starters....  So, this morning I had to wake up super early.  My mom, dad, and I went to the CBD, ( Christian Books Distributors) sale in Peabody.  The sale started at 8am and we wanted to be there when the doors opened.  We ended up getting there at around 8:06am.  It was so jammed packed with people, I thought I was going to suffocate.  No,  just kidding, but I'm not kidding when I say it was really crowded.  I bought a couple of books, ( Elsie at Viamede, Hattie Big Sky, and Christy) And then one magazine, ( Revolve Dream On the New Testament), a bracelet I've been wanting for ever, (it's a John 3:16 bracelet) and a movie I've been wanting to see just because my best friend is in it!  After being jostled and pushed around for 2 and 1\2 hours we proceeded to the check out, ( oh and I saw a couple of people I knew at the sale as well  (homeschoolers, and two people from church) and then we  proceeded to the car.  On the ride home we stopped for bagels.  I listened to my music and my Go Bible most of the way home.  I love driving through cities, (we drove through Boston) it's so much fun, and I also love long car rides.  I had a great trip with my parents, it was the first time I think I've ever been with them alone.  There is almost always another sibling along.  When we arrived home, there was a souvenir from Hawaii sitting on the table.  My brother recently came home after vacationing there for two weeks and while he was there he bought the family some gifts, but when he got to his house and unpacked he realized he forgot the gifts in Hawaii!   Yesterday they arrived in a package.  He bought me a wooden box, and a beautiful shell necklace.  Last Wednesday my mom and I went to the Nickelodeon 5 movie theater to see Jane Eyer.  I thought it was a good movie.  It was my first time going to that movie theater and I thought something was odd about it.  I mean, come on, what kinda movie theater is in the middle of nowhere?  During the movie something mysterious rushed past my feet.  I jumped and almost squealed out loud!  So there I was sitting in the theater holding my feet in midair for 20 minutes, muscles sore, not daring to put my feet down, lest that "thing" jump out and grab my feet.  I honestly thought the "thing" was a rat.  Anyway I finally dared to put my feet down and when I did I felt the thing touch me and roll away.   It was dark in the theaters and I couldn't see the dark, foreboding floor.  When I got enough courage to feel around with my foot and to grab the supposed ''rat'', I realized  it wasn't a rat.  It was a water bottle.  So that's why the people behind us were snickering!  Seriously, there were people behind us who were giggling when the water bottle hit me and so forth.  So yeah, that was my "terrifying" experience at the movies.  Now I hope to be able to go to the library before it closes!  Have a good afternoon\evening! Au revoir!

In the love of Christ,
~ Lydia