Quote

Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves.
Emily Bronte

Courage

            When you hear the word courage what do you think of? I think of brave men and women like William Wallace, Amy Carmichael, Thomas Jefferson, Dolly Madison, and Stonewall Jackson. I think of swords, bows, and arrows; fire, bombs, and blood; soap boxes, microphones, and crowds. It’s not often that I think of myself, or my sisters and brothers. We just aren’t those kinds of people. I hear battle cries and passionate speeches, not the voices of those I hold so dear. Yet, are we not all called to be courageous? Aren’t we all told we can make a difference, change the world? Somehow, it seems that we’ve dug a large trench between the famous heroes of history and our own simple selves. There seems to be some strange void keeping us from being great men and women like them. But, it doesn’t need to be that way. We can be courageous right here, in our homes, with the people around us. Spelling the word “courage” with seven simple words we can understand the depths of courage. We too can be courageous.

Christ

To be courageous we must know the courage of Christ. It is easy to think that in all His perfection He felt no fear. But, Christ was God made man. He knows what fear is. Yet, when all odds were against Him, He willingly conquered sin through the greatest act of love. He took the sins of the world to the cross. His burden was far greater than any that we bear and still He took it. In His death He bore our sins, and in His resurrection he conquered sin. This was the greatest act of courage that Christ gave us, but He was courageous even before that time. When the Pharisees mocked or questioned Him, He did not hesitate to give answers that would make many of us cringe. The truth flowed from His tongue whether it pleased or displeased people. He rebuked the rich young ruler and He boldly rebuked His own disciples. Christ was a man of courage.

Optimistic

Optimism is a huge part of courage because how you view things is how you will act. If something is frightening to you then you will be hesitant to face it. If you are fearful of a situation it will only make the situation worse. If we look as positively as possible at difficult situations, they will appear brighter. Trusting in God’s all powerful plan gives us the hope an assurance to face any task or situation. We need to have the courage to smile, even when life looks bleak. Having the courage to smile, even when we are afraid, can help us make a bigger impact, to touch more lives.

Unafraid

Fear is one of the greatest tools that the Devil has against us. Nothing will drive us away from taking a stand, speaking up, saving lives, like fear will. As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Fear stops us from moving. It hinders our every step, paralyzing our actions. Only when we conquer our fears and hand them over to God can we be courageous. Trusting in His sovereign power and authorship, we can move on, through the darkness, onto the stage, into the seas, wherever He sends us He will give us the courage to go.

Risk

Being courageous is taking risks; Big or small. The board game Risk is a prime example of what risks are like in real life. If you roll the right number you can take over the country. However, if you roll the wrong number you lose your armies. So it is in life. Risks are, well, risky. You could lose everything. But you will never, NEVER, win if you don’t take the risk. You have to push yourself out of your comfort zone. As you push, practice. Don’t go out there unprepared. Learn the skills, get the knowledge and go out there in confidence. Stand up for what’s right and don’t be afraid. Help those that need your help. Don’t give up. No risks are easy. It’s a risk. They’re risky.

Alert

One of the saddest realities of life is that there are opportunities and moments when heroes are needed all the time, but we miss them because we don’t open our eyes. If we aren’t striving to be courageous and help other we won’t. We won’t see the bruises, we won’t see the dejection, we won’t hear the lies, and we won’t fight the fight. We will simply miss it all. If we want to be courageous then we need to be alert and ready. We need to know the skills to save lives, to give a speech, to write a letter, to give a rebuke.  We need to have the knowledge to explain why evolution is false, why abortion is murder, why homosexuality is an abomination. If we aren’t ready and we don’t know, how can we help? And if we don’t open up our eyes, how will we ever see our chance to make a difference?

Gutsy

Being gutsy is much like taking risks, but it’s taking the risks that most people wouldn’t dare take. A major part of being gutsy is being bold, being willing to say what no one else will. There are definitely intimidating people in this world, but the gutsy person will not let that hinder doing what God wants them to do. With courage they will face the giant like David. Who cares about what other people think and say? It’s none of our business anyways. If someone is defying what you know to be right then face them and say something.

Eager

Courage takes action…now. You can’t wait. If you just wait around for a situation in which you can be a hero to present itself, you will be waiting for a long time. Start small. You don’t have to rescue a hostage as your first mission. Be eager to show courage in the small things. Defend others, stand up for what’s right, jump to help at every given opportunity. But, don’t sit and wait. It just doesn’t work.

Courage is a big deal. Many people dream of being heroes and making a difference, but most of those people just aren’t willing to pay the price. Most of the greatest heroes of history never considered themselves to be great. They were just everyday people like you and me. The difference is they had the courage. Do you?

My, My, It's Been A While

Ah, it seems that my posting has been a bit scattered these days. I do have a legitimate excuse though. :-) We are switching the bedrooms in our house around, and my new room is currently under construction. Plus, 4-H Communications Arts Festival is tomorrow, which I am not really ready for, so life has been a wee bit on the crazy side, but it's wonderful!

The Bible Reading Challenge has been going well. I did get a few days behind this week. (There is nothing quite like the realization that you have to read 45 chapters today in order to get back on track. - I split it up.) But, I am back on track and lovin' it. I've been reading about David as of late. I'm always so inspired by his life. God used him in mighty ways, and yet he wasn't some perfect being. He was a completely human man that made some pretty bad choices and yet God used him.

We listened to a sermon by Paul Washer on Sunday night called "What a Man is Not." You can listen to it here. David and his life were talked about quite a bit. My Bible readings kept reminding me of the sermon. By the way, this is good for the girls too. I was sorely convicted, in fact there some parts in that sermon that are especially important for all people, men and women alike.

Today, we were reading some stuff on this website about the persecuted church in North Korea. Oh friends, my heart aches for our brothers and sisters there. It is so easy to put them out of our minds, but they so need our prayers. I really feel burdened for them, so I would like to ask you all to keep them in your prayers this week - and month, year, decade... They have endured so much for Christ.

That's all for now.
Maybe I'll have some pics of the work I'm doing in my new room later.

Blessings to y'all!!!
Kaila

A Vision As Big As An Aspen

A Vision As Big As An Aspen

By: Kaila Babiak

            The largest living organism in the world is located in the state of Utah. Its name is Pando, meaning in Latin, “I spread.” And spread it does. For hundreds and hundreds of years it has continued to spread, covering more ground and claiming more land its own. What is Pando? It is one colony of Quaking Aspen trees, all sharing the same root system, with each new tree being an exact clone of the original male tree.

            Aspen trees grow mainly in North America. They do produce seeds, but rarely grow up from seeds. Rather they expand from the original tree’s root system. They are smaller, thin trees, with a whitish bark. They do produce seeds each spring. There are generally about 10 seeds in each pod, covered by fluffy white stuff. In the fall, the leaves turn a glorious, golden color. When they turn this color it is easy to identify the separate colonies of aspens.

            There’s nothing all that special about Aspens. Sure, they look beautiful in the fall and they have lovely bark, but other than that there would be nothing to draw you aside on first glance. But it is upon deeper and more intense examination that we discover the true glory of Aspens. Their root system is a spectacular example of an intertwined generational unit that builds upon earlier generations. This is a beautiful example of the vision that Christian families need to have. We need a vision that reaches far beyond the outward appearance, but stretches down deep into our roots. We need a vision that passes on from generation to generation. We need a vision created to last, so that the future generations can still hold on to that same vision.

            Having a vision may seem unrealistic at times, especially because so many of us live in a day to day world, focusing on getting through the present trial at hand. But, though it may be hard, it is essential that we think about our future generations. Aspens would not be able to spread the way they do if they had a weak root system. It is because of the strength of their roots that they can spread and take over the land. In the same way we need to have strong, Scriptural visions that will last and be passed down to our great-great-great-grandchildren and so forward.

Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

It's Not "The End"

Many stories end the with the famous words, "The End."

I'm always tempted to laugh when I read that phrase.

 It seems so vague, so unreal.

It's not a bad phrase, it just isn't the right phrase, because where one story ends, another begins.

 I've always loved a tragic ending, like a Shakespeare ending that leaves you lost in a state of shock.

But in real life, tragic endings are hard and painful.

When a "story" in life ends in a tragic way, that is when I remind myself of the new "story" that is beginning.

 I do not know the new story's plot, or all of it's characters, what the climax will be or if it will end happily.

I only know the Author of all stories is writing another marvelous story and even if it ends tragically, it is only because the ending of a future story will be better because of it.

Mondays

Mondays are usually my least favorite day. And dreary, windy Mondays are usually even lower on my favorites list. But today is a great Monday - even though it's rather dreary and windy. It just feels like one of those days meant for accomplishing things.

My Bible reading this morning was all in Leviticus. I worked hard to keep my mind focused. Reading these chapters helps me to marvel in the fact that Jesus Christ, my Savior, was the final sacrifice. All of those rules and laws regarding sacrifices are finished in Christ. He is my sacrificial Lamb. Because of Him and through Him, I can come to God with my prayers and supplications, without a lamb or dove or any other animal. Reading those passages with that in mind was way more powerful than just mindlessly reading through them.

So, what else have I accomplished today? Well, I did a lesson of math, which for the record counts as a HUGE accomplishment. :-)
I have three lovely loaves of Italian Bread in the oven. I did half white flour, half whole wheat flour, in an attempt to make the recipe more healthy. I'm praying they work. I absolutely LOVE making Italian bread. The dough is so smooth and soft to knead. The recipe I have is so wonderful. My favorite line is "Knead until as soft and smooth as a bambino's behind." Now that's my kind of recipe! I get that kind of language! :-)
I also started working on a drawing of my Mom's "pretty" picture from her "pretty, happy, funny, real" post this week. It is a gorgeous photo of our bleeding hearts that we have growing in the front yard. A friend from church gave me a bunch of tips on graphing out the photo, and darkening my lines. You know, I discovered that graphing makes drawing pictures way easier. I had never tried it before, but I rather like it. My drawing is much more precise.

Oh my! I just took out my bread to spray some water on the crust and it smells soooo good! I wish I could put a smell sample on my blog.

Well, dinner is waiting to be made. I need to end now.

How was your Monday???

Kaila

These days....

So, I have only done one, single blog post about my Bible reading progress. Sorry about that. Life has been very busy. One thing I have decided is the reading portions are quite large. I enjoy it, but it usually takes me all day to finish. It helps me focus on the Word more during my day.

Yesterday, I was reading in Exodus. I was tempted to get rather...well...bored, but I decided that I shouldn't be bored with the Bible. The Lord showed me so very interesting things about the Scripture I was reading. All those plans and measurements that He gave in regards to the tabernacle and Aaron's clothing, were specific instructions for beautiful pieces of art. When you actually think about the materials and the colors that the Lord instructed them to use, you realize what an artistically minded God we have.

Something else I thought of - and I'm not saying this is a revelation or anything - is the fact that God's wanting the priest's breastplate to be laden with all of those beautiful stones, shows that He likes when we use certain of His creations for our decorations. :-) I mean, those stones are rare and exquisite stones. It seems to me that God actually intended us to make use of those gems and wear them. Of course, I say that while keeping in mind that it should not be our goal to draw attention to ourselves, but I don't think that it is bad to wear pretty jewelry.

Going back to what I read earlier this week, I am always amazed at the whole history of the 12 tribes of Israel. What an incredible story of God's faithfulness to generation upon generation. And these weren't perfectly holy people. They were flawed human beings, like you and me, that God used to fulfill His purposes. That encourages me so much, because it helps me to remember that God can do great things through any person's life regardless of their situation and social status. His ways are better than our ways and His plans far exceed ours!

So, as we head into another week, do you have anything that the Lord has taught you that you would like to share? Even if you aren't doing the challenge feel free to share. God reveals different things to people and I think that it is great when we share those revelations with each other.