that five letter word

There are two little ones playing this game at my feet. There's a brother wrapped up in a blanket listening intently to his father reading while looking out the window wishing, hoping for snow.
There's that one sibling who's supposed to be listening quietly but in reality is trying to ruin the little ones' game.
Seriously, in the few moments it took me to write that paragraph, our peaceful evening has been disrupted.

Peace. that five letter word that everyone longs for. This word is all through our house in the Christmas season. It's on ornaments. And Christmas cards. It's in songs.

Because truly, Christmas is not peaceful. There are enormously long lines at walmart. There are crazy sales and more parties than you can count.

Now that Christmas is over and done, I'm sick and tired of crazy. This 2014, I'm yearning for peace.

 

So, as we inch towards this new year, I'm going to inch towards peace. This five letter word may change my life.

Don't be afraid.. Choose Joy

Our Church's theme for Christmas this year is joy.
Instead of fear, choose joy.
Fear of the economy, sickness, broken relationships.
Joy in Christ's provision, healing, blessed friendships.

There's a common theme in the Christmas story- a theme of don't be afraid.
Mary, when the angel comes to her? Don't be afraid.
The shepherds, when the angels came? Don't be afraid.
Jesus, when he has to come to take our sin? I can imagine his father speaking~ don't be afraid.

I love to write a Christmas song every year- here's my meager attempt to convey my feelings...

Do not be afraid, do not be anxious/ For the babe you'll bear will be the savior of the world/
And though you will be scorned, always come back to me/ Though you're just a girl, you are so precious to me/

Do not be afraid, I come bringing good news/ For you've been chosen to tell the world that the savior is born/
And though some won't believe you, always come back to me/ Though you're just shepherds, you are so precious to me/

Do not be afraid, my son, I will miss you/ For you must go and tell the world of my amazing grace/ And though you will be so abused, always come back to me/ Though you'll become the least of them, you are so precious to me/

Do not be afraid, my child, you are chosen/ For you must tell of my love, you must tell that the savior is born/ And though you will be turned away, always come back to me/ Though you're just one, you are so precious to me/

That last verse? That's for you. You've been chosen to proclaim of His Love.

Do not be afraid, for perfect love casts out all fear/ Do not be afraid, proclaim of my love from the highest of heights/

And I'll hold you're hand through the darkest night/ When fear blinds you I'll be you're light/
I'll carry you down the longest road/ When fear steals joy I'll be you're hope/

Here are a few of my all time favorites...

Thanksgiving... and Duck Dynasty

Okay. First of all, I realize that it's been a while since I posted. Everyone in our fam has asthma, and that has put us under the weather for the last couple weeks. Also, life has just been a bit of a hurricane.
Now that we have my meager excuses out of the way, let's get to the real stuff.
Well... we are planning a Thanksgiving week for roughly thirty people, so my mama and I have been putting together a menu. Yeah, one day isn't enough Thanksgiving for us, so we'll be celebrating for a week.
The "theme" for Thanksgiving is Duck Dynasty- you know, big beards, camo, red necks? Haha. All the uncles who are coming for Thanksgiving are the clean shaven, button down type of guys, but we want to give them a taste of our world. Just a few days ago, my mama with the help of the boys field dressed a deer for our meat supply for the winter. Just to let you know, my mom rocks.

Sooo... here are some links to recipes that sound great and we are using for Thanksgiving week-
~UHHmazing apple sheet cake- we had a bountiful crop of apples this year, so we'll be makin' this one for sure!
~Venison Shepherd's Pie-  even though my mama makes awesome Asian food, my dad admits that shepherd's pie is his all time favorite.
~Perfect Pizza dough- do you know how much it would cost to order pizza for 30 hungry people? A lot. This will give you crunchy, moist, awesome, pizza crust.
~Bacon Cheese Potatoes- my brother and friends have a middle school boys "bacon night" and we made this for them to bring. Easy? yes. Delicious? absolutely!
~Sweet Potato Pie- yum. just yum.

As Jace of Duck Dynasty says: "never under estimate the power of miss Kay's sweet potato pie."

Speaking of Duck Dynasty, have you seen this trailer? I think this movie is going to totally rock the house. Any thoughts?

 

and of course. the joy dare. today I'm so very thankful for...

~cupcakes

~campfires



~libraries
~schoology
~radios
~metronomes
oh so much more!!!

Blessings,
Sophia

You know you've got brothers when..

Today I'm really thankful for my brothers. Yeah. I just have to keep telling myself that.

You know you've got brothers when...

~The formal room has weathered remote control car races
~Family night consists of eating cookies and watching the minion's banana song. Watch it and you'll know what part always erupts a burst of laughter. (hint- think like little boys... always solving things with violence)

 

 

~Playing Settlers of Catan can start as friendly sibling rivalry... and end with World War III
~The house magically does. not. stay. clean. Seriously. One minute you've got clean floors, the next, mud. everywhere.
~The cup song has been played on every surface of your home. the toilet. the couch. the fireplace...
~It sometimes seems like you're car schooled, not homeschooled. Appointments, classes, scouts, and everything in between.
~You get excited when you see lego & starwars stuff on pinterest. I'm so crazy that I'm attempting to cross-stitch Han Solo.

~Trying to do a photo shoot is like trying to swim up the Niagara Falls.
~Lord of the Rings are carefully added into every conversation.
~Everywhere you turn, there's a nerf dart.
~You laugh constantly. Okay, maybe not aloud, but certainly in your head. Seriously, wouldn't you be laughing too if your brother told you that math is clearly overrated and we should just eat pie?
~You understand that God most definitely has a sense of humor.

Modesty- plain and simple.

Modesty has been mind so much lately.
I'm not really sure why, but every morning when I'm trying to get dressed the question of modesty keeps coming up in my mind.

Okay, so I'm going to try to share a little bit of my heart on this matter.

~Modesty is not dressing to attract or draw attention. That's an easy one. Modesty is humility. Taking the focus off you and onto something else, like your faith, your spirit, Jesus.

~Okay, so if modesty is not dressing to draw attention, it means not showing off all you got, but also not dressing frumpy and dirty and yucky.

~Modesty is not always the prettiest, the trendiest, the hottest. Yes, there is tons of fabulous modest clothing, but you sometimes have to make the choice between darling or decent.

~Modesty is dressing in a way pleasing to God. Ask yourself "if I was standing in Jesus' presence right now, would I be comfortable with what I have on?"

Those are just some general ideas of modesty that I have, but you are going to have to form your own view on certain things. Here are a few practical tips on modesty that I try to follow...

~Try to follow the below the knee rule. For skirts and dresses, they should cover your knees. This will ensure that you can bend over and sit down without showing anything.

~Shorts- the fingertip rule plus a few extra inches. When you stand up with your hands at your sides, your fingertips should be touching fabric, not skin. a few inches longer than that always helps.

~With your four fingers placed straight at the base of your neck, your pinky should be touching fabric, not skin.

Since I was around 12, I've felt convicted to wear mainly skirts and dresses. I'm not saying this is for everyone, but I feel much more feminine and modest in them. True, if I'm camping with AHG and it's 40 degrees, I will wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt, but skirts are the way I like to go

So I hope my random thoughts have helped you, or at least not hindered you.
blessings,
Sophia

oh yeah! I almost forgot! Remember my joy dare? Here ya go!
a few things I'm thankful for...

~bananagrams
~apple orchards and corn mazes
~libraries
~tater tots
~sweater mittens
~hobby lobby

My Joy Dare

     So I've been reading Mrs.Voscamp's blog for a while.She is always encouraging me with her poetic thankfulness and her beautiful pictures.

     I've been thinking about it for a while, but I finally decided to take the Joy Dare. I going to take a breath and leap into a crazy attitude of gratitude, a crazy thankful, grateful, lifestyle. I'm going to write down a multitude of things I'm thankful for every day... normal things... funny things... God ordained things...

 

     Will you hold me accountable? Every time I write, I will try to mention some of my 1000 things I'm thankful for. If I forget, (which is not an unusual thing) will you remind me?

Okay. Here goes. A few things I am thankful for today...

~The Autumn rains that make everything smell fresh
~The little brother who snuggled with me this morning
~The tall stacks of books that are full of things just waiting to be learned
~The neighbor who dropped off muffins
~The friends you can crochet and sew and giggle with
~The young pianists who I get to hear play every week
~Amazing Grace

     My hear is full. Wanna know something? when I began this blog post,  my heart was grumbling about the dirty dishes, school undone, freezing feet, and anything else that I could think of, but now those things don't really matter that much. Because of thankfulness.

When Grapes tell of God's faithfulness

Today in our Bible Time, we were sharing stories of God's faithfulness and how He already planned our lives oh-so-intricately before we were even born.

My little brothers shared on how God helped them learn to read, how God planned their friendships, and so many other amazing examples on God's ever-faithful plan.

I thought about how God gave us have neighbors back when I was still a toddler who became missionaries right across from where my mama was born in Asia. How those neighbor's family became our business partners to this day.

Then my mama shared a story about when she was a little girl escaping a communist country.

"When we were in a refugee camp, somehow my dad found some grapes for us to eat. These grapes were the best thing I had ever tasted. Heaven on earth. I thought that I would do anything for more of these delicious grapes. I decided then and there that I would marry a grape farmer. For a six-year-old, that's a pretty awesome dream. Well, life kept moving. We emigrated to America, we had God-ordained people caring of us, and my life in the States began. I became a Christian, I went to college, then later on I met an awesome guy. We married and some ten years later moved back to my hometown- where I first lived when I came to America. My husband, who dreams of being a farmer, started an orchard and numerous gardens.... and a vineyard. Last night, when I was harvesting grapes, I thought back to when I was a little girl, tasting those heavenly grapes. God remembered my dreams, and fulfilled them beyond my imagination. Even with the little things, God amazes me with His faithfulness."

Doesn't that story just warm your heart? That God has your life planned so greatly, that He will take your childhood dreams and turn them into reality?

Psalm 37:4, 7a “Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him.”

for when everything doesn't go slow enough

The little brother's sick.
Crazy week is next week. (think 3+ families over for a week)
Algebra doesn't make sense.

The thing that drives me crazy about all of this is that I can't seem to calm down, breathe. Everything seems to move faster than me and I'm always trying to catch up.

You know, that doesn't make any sense, though. God doesn't give me any more than me and Him together can't handle.I just have to constantly remind myself that.

So if you ever feel like you can't take the craziness of life, take a moment, hide away, read those beautiful Psalms, and remember that you and God together can do this life, this craziness. 

For you, here are three beautiful songs that help me remember to take a deep breath and beg God to be right there, guiding me, helping me.

AMAZING chocolate chocolate chip cake

Okay, so I really like to bake. I also like to try new recipes. (Like making lemon meringue puffs... -hint- yours won't look exactly like Martha Stewart's. Mine look more like globs of white goop.) However, this recipe is one I come back to again and again. It was passed down from our beloved friend to my mama, then my mama to me. It {almost} never fails, and -did I forget to mention- it's TOTALLY DELICIOUS. If you don't like don't like sweet, if you don't like moist, if you don't like chocolate, keep on moving, but for the other 98% of us, here is the perfect recipe for you.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake

1 box of yellow cake mix (any kind, you can even use a gluten free one to make it gluten free)
1 box of instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of oil
3/4 cup of water
1 cup of sour cream (or yogurt, either one works fine, plain yogurt is best, but vanilla yogurt is fine, too, it just makes it sweeter)
4 eggs
1 to 2 cups of chocolate chips- depending on how much you love chocolate. you can even make it without them, but I only do that when we forget to buy more chocolate chips. ;)

1) Preheat the oven to 350

2)Mix it all up- I don't really follow any particular order.... usually the dry ingredients first- cake mix, pudding, & sugar, sift them together, then add the other ingredients. I use a kitchen aid, so I just dump all the wet ingredients in and mix it up.

3) Grease and flour a bundt pan- or use spray... what I do is use a paper towel and spread the oil evenly around the pan with it, then sprinkle flour in- to make it easier to get out of the pan. Another alternative is to use a 13x9 pan, then you just have to grease it- not flour it. ;)

4) Bake the cake. If you are doing it in a bundt pan, it takes somewhere between 45-60 minutes. I just made one, and it took exactly 50 minutes to get it perfect. If you are using a 13x9 pan, it usually takes around 30 minutes.

5) Let it cool. Not completely, because this cake always tastes better warm. Then take it out of the pan. (only if you are using a bundt pan. Trying to take it out of a 13x9 pan might be a little tricky) This cake is sweet and moist enough that you shouldn't need icing, but if you think that it does, you can use the glaze from my hummingbird cake recipe.

6) Enjoy! I hope you like this recipe as much as I do. (and by like I mean LOVE)

Summer Stuff

Hello, totally awesome people!
I know you know that I haven't been posting at all this summer, but I do have a reason. It's simple. LIFE. From planning camps to going to camps, from working to playing, from reading to writing, this summer has breezed past me in the blink of an eye.

Here are a few highlights...

Civil War Camp- planned and led by me and our awesome team, we enjoyed three summer days of craziness and fun. We did crafts, games, cooking, history and oh so much more. I'm extremely grateful for days without rain, smiles without tears, and fun without fights.

Yes, we are all VERY serious and responsible at camp!

Fabulous Friends- I am so totally thrilled that some of our closest friends moved within fifteen minutes of us. After 15 or so years of moving around, (for both families) we finally are sort-of-neighbors! I'm grateful for our mamas who met in college, our daddies who talk about politics and outdoors and stuff, and all of us crazy kids who get along fabulously.

Summer Camp- After an amazing week at AHG summer camp, I'm sore, tired, and happy. At the beginning of the week, I don't think we were entirely comfortable with each other, but by the end, we were all completely weird and funny with each other. I'm grateful for CPR training, freezing swimming, late night giggles, and all the amazing girls at camp.

So thankful for these awesome girls!

Though those are just a few highlights since my last post, this entire summer has been filled with blessing after blessing. I'm so grateful for every person God has placed in my life this summer.

Thoughts on Thursday

One of my awesome piano students wrote an essay on someone she admired for school. Her mama gave me a copy of this sweet essay. This essay brought a smile to my face and a tug on my heart.

you see, I want to be the type of girl others can admire and look up to. Someone who people can see as a role model. I don't want people to just admire my clothes or appearance, but my heart. 

This verse has been whispering to my heart, and I want to share it with you today~

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. 

1 Timothy 4:12

So, I'll keep this short and sweet because I have a kitchen that won't clean itself, but here is my thought for Thursday~

Be the type of girl {or boy} that others want to be like. be a role model and example in your thought life, your love life, your work life, every aspect of your life.

blessings,
Sophia

home.

ahhh... home.
i guess a little less than a month away from it leaves you to appreciate this special place. (by the way, that was why i haven't been blogging)

from islands to ferrys to sand dunes to plays to horses to hotels to shopping to museums, the best part of my trip was reuniting with my crazy brothers and awesome parents. They surprised me for my birthday by driving three hours to where I was staying and blessing me with smiles and laughter and fun.

 I guess I realized that I wasn't homesick for my beautiful bedroom or our lovely gardens, but homesick for those awesome people who have my heart and share my last name. From the boy who is almost taller to me to the one who still likes to sleep in my room, I missed them.

So hopefully for you, it doesn't take you nearly a month away from these people we call family to realize that they are a part of you, they are your home.


{on another note, I've made up my mind to start blogging more. here's what i'm thinking-
music on Mondays- an inspirational song, a song I've written, something musical
tea on Tuesdays- have a cup of tea with me! i'll share my recipes with you.
words of the wise on Wednesdays- special bible verses I've found
thoughts on Thursdays- just little thoughts I've had, little things happening in my life
fun on Friday-  laughs, fun games, celebration! after all, it is Friday. ;)
i'll try to do at least a couple of these each week... and we'll see how it goes. }

Vacation Bible School, Miracles, & Standing Strong

What do you post on a blog when you forget to post anything for a long time?
Well... The reason i've been sadly neglecting this blog is because of Vacation Bible School. Mama and me both volunteered and my four brothers were in it. (except for one little brother who refused to go to his class) My amazing mother lead the Kitchen crew and Theater, and I got to lead a group of awesome girls with the help of my great friend from AHG. The amazing part was that 69 kids came to Christ that week! Praise God. It truly is a miracle to see all the kids doing the hand motions to songs, all their voices praising Jesus, all their smiles of delight. I've truly witnessed a miracles this past week.

The theme for the week was standing strong.
God's love helps us... Stand Strong
Friends and Family help us... Stand Strong
Prayer helps us... Stand Strong
Trusting God helps us... Stand Strong
God's Word helps us... Stand Strong

So as you go about your day, remember to stand strong for Jesus- He truly does work miracles.

Hummingbird Cake

When life gets crazy... bake a cake. seriously. this is probably the best cake recipe from our home!
Presenting....

Hummingbird Cake

• 3 Cups Bread Flour (You can use All-purpose flour, but bread flour was just what we had on hand)
• 1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar (or you can do a half and half mix of white and brown sugar)
• 1 Tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 Tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 3/4 Cups Mashed Bananas
• 1 (8 oz. can) of crushed Pineapple ( i accidentally used cubed pineapple once- not as good results)
• 3/4 Cup Yogurt
• 1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla
• 3/4 CupPecans

 Glaze~

• 4 oz. Cream Cheese
• 1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla
• 1 to 2 Tsp. Milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
 2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

 

 Oh, and the tomatoes on the side are NOT going in the cake-

i'm not even sure how they ended up in the picture! ;)

3. Stir in the eggs, bananas, pineapple, yogurt and vanilla. stir just until moist. 

4. Grease and Flour (or use spray) a Bunt Pan heavily. Seriously, do is heavily. 

5. Sprinkle the Pecans into the bottom of the pan.

6. Pour the batter gently into the pan....

7. Bake for 1 hour, give or take a little, depending on the oven.

 

8. Let it cool... for about 15 minutes and then turn it over onto a plate 

9. Wait until it's COMPLETELY cool, and pour the glaze over it. 

Glaze~

1. Pretty simple. Whip the cream cheese and slowly add the powdered sugar.

2. Add the Vanilla, and if you think it needs it, add the milk. (some people like thicker glaze, some people like thinner)

Enjoy!

My prayer for you...

As I wave goodbye to my piano students for the summer, the feelings are a little weird. They're bittersweet, sad yet happy.

I'm sad to say goodbye to these giggly students who have made my day for the last eight months, but happy to see the accomplishment in their eyes after another year of piano. I'm sorry to watch them walk away, yet hopeful that they will use their talents for His glory.

and this is my prayer for them...
May your songs be a smile, may your songs be the sunshine, may your songs be the hope and light for all.

May your songs be testimony, may your songs be a witness, may your songs show that our God is great.

May your songs be a blessing, may your songs be an anthem, may your songs be a declaration of the goodness of our God.


And maybe your song isn't musical. maybe your song is teaching, writing, painting. This prayer is for you, too.

Pray that your life will be a song telling of Jesus, a song to Jesus, and a song from Jesus.

a Ceremony, an Arch, and a Patriot

Monday was my last day being a pioneer. I am now a patriot. When I say that, I'm talking about American Heritage Girls, and Christian scouting organization for girls.  Yesterday was the final ceremony for the year, and I got to walk under the arch. Amazing.
I'm trading my white shirt for a red. I am now one of the "old ones", and with the title of Patriot comes new responsibility. New leadership. New experiences. I hope I'm ready.



our AMAZING group of girls!

These girls rock!



my sweet friend and I



the beautiful arch.

Our troop's theme verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:21~ "but examine everything carefully, hold on to what is good."



You know it's spring when...

Dandelions are coming up...

Pretty pink flowers are radiating beauty and color...

Barefoot days are here~ chipped, dirty and bruised...



Plum trees are blossoming...

Pear trees are amazingly lovely...

Plum blossoms are most beautiful and fragrant...

As are the pear blossoms...

New life is coming from the ground...

 

Brothers are happy...



and of course, it wouldn't be spring without mud. sigh. ;)

just a note...

so, friends. I've made it through two very crazy weeks of "business stuff". I'm still alive. whew! you are welcome to hear allllll about it, but I'm afraid I would just make you tired. ;) It included getting up at five-thirty to finish school, and eating dinner at eleven. pm.

SO very tired! and yes, we slept in our living room.

 but anyway, today is MOTHER'S DAY! Thank you, to all you mamas who've been raising the next generation of leaders.  And thank you to my mama, who's put up with her children's crazy antics. We hope you enjoyed your chocolate and cards! You are a true Proverbs 31 mama.

10 ways to be a blessing

hello, everyone!
here's a hint- if you want to stay up all night, come to our house tonight. ;) we are madly working to get ready for a huge sale this week for our business, and we are totally. not. ready. oh well, i'm just going to take a deep breath and take a quick break and write this post. oh, and excuse any spelling or grammatical errors, i'm so very tired. :)

since the blog is called "house on a hill" i thought i'd share a few ways that i try to be a house on a hill.

10 ways to be a blessing~

1) pray. you know that homeless guy on the corner or the stressed out mama at the grocery store? breathe a quick prayer up to heaven before you grab the next thing on the shopping list.

2)smile. be the sunshine in a dreary day and warm someone's heart with a cheerful attitude. you will also give yourself a better day. :)

3)sing. especially for your family. sing while you do the dishes and laundry- even if you are dreadfully out of tune- amazing grace, how sweet the sound

4)give. even a small gift- like a hand written "happy" note or a piece of chocolate- to friends and strangers alike- will brighten their day 

5)laugh. call your silly friend or sister up and just laugh. tell them of your crazy life and let the laughter work its healing effect.

6)praise. compliment others around you on their good work, let them know you care about them and their life.

7)encourage. teachers, bosses, this one is for you. maybe they didn't play their music perfectly or spell everything right, but tell them to keep going, press forward.

8)bake. oh yes, the age-old way of blessing- through food. new neighbors? new baby? bake them some lovely treats. (for ideas~ pinterest.com/sophfulton/for-the-kitchen) baking not your thing? even a treat picked up from the bakery is a blessing.

9)host. even if the house is a disaster, invite someone over for a cup of tea and a talk. (even if you do have a crazy house, just talk on the porch) or invite that shy family over for a meal, get to know them.

10) worship. when you are constantly praising God, others will see it in your attitude, and sense something different. who knows? maybe you will open the door to a salvation of a soul.

This is hope

life is crazy... as usual.

Human trafficking has been on my heart lately, and I though I would share a simple song I wrote trying to express my thoughts on the subject.

What is hope/ what is peace/ what is love and what is joy/
What is life without fear/ who is this God who cares/
These questions are asked every day/ 
By people living afraid/
And maybe these words don't belong in a song/
But they've been on my heart/

But what is it that I can do/ what is it that I can say/
I can't stand by and watch this world slip away/
What is it that I can do/ what is it that I can say /
How can I help and free them from their chains/
I need His grace/

What is faith/ what is trust/ what is believing in God's love/
How can I believe in God when it seems like His back is turned/
These questions are asked so many times/
By people living hurting lives/ 
And maybe these words don't belong in a song/
But they've been on my heart/

Jesus, use my life in ways I can't imagine/
Use my heart and soul for your eternal passion/
Use my hands and feet for your glory/
Use my songs, my words to tell this story/

What is it that you can do/ what is it that you can say/
you can't stand by and watch this world slip away/
What is it that you can do/ what is it that you can say /
How can you help and free them from their chains/
We need His grace/

This is hope.

{Sophia Fulton, 2013}

GenJ, Truth, and Very Little Sleep.

I am absolutely about to pass out, but I want to get this blog post done before the thoughts leave my brains.

I had one of the most amazing times this weekend. My friends and I and a bunch of other kids (around 200) had a fabulous time (at least, I had a fabulous time. I can't speak for the others) learning about legislation, advocacy, congress, and other things that I don't remember what they were called.

I have to admit, I'm NOT politics oriented. I also do not like public speaking, and when I think about it, I think this is why I love to perform piano- I don't have to speak.

When I first heard about the GenJ teen track (www.generationjoshua.org) I was on the opposing side for doing it because I felt like I would be out of my comfort zone. (that was supposed to sound smart but it didn't) But I had a fabulous time even though I told myself I wouldn't.

I think what drove me to have a fabulous weekend was really a heart matter. I felt that with this knowledge of politics, I could do things. I could make a difference based on my values.

One of the many things I learned this weekend was in a devotional this morning.

When we do not have truth, we do not have a basis for our beliefs, therefore we do not have a basis for our political, religious or any other view.

What is truth? Our truth does not come of this world. Our truth is The Truth. We can find the truth from the Word of God. This is key in developing a view that is pleasing to God. If you want to know God, read what is from God. Simple, right?

So maybe you can walk away with this~

When you are making decisions-big or small- base your decisions off of the Truth.
 A lot will fall in place after that.

Well, now I am going to go pass out. good night!

some of my great friends and I! we were very tired by the end, if
 you can't tell. two nights of very little sleep does that to you.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

I've been sadly ignorant of this little blog lately.
It has been a whirlwind month. (actually, more like a whirlwind life.) We have been working like crazy on our business, trying to clean out our house, and we have lots of lovely families staying with us for a couple days. Crazy!

God is good. Breathe in. Breathe out. 
This lovely reminder popped into my head this morning. And boy, did i need this reminder.

Because when life seems like a whirling storm, and you haven't finished you math and you have tons of things to do and your brothers are screaming you can forget to breathe. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Take a moment today and take a breath- remember that even in a whirlwind life, God is good.

"Be Still, my precious child. I am God. I will protect you and make sure you are safe"

on modest outfits...

Hey friends! Modesty is a definite challenge for christian girls. I thought it would be fun to show some fun outfits that are both modest and cute. Hope you like them!

So here is a fun, colorful outfit for the beach. Long, flowy skirts are both comfortable and cool (temperature wise) for the beach. 

Here is another colorful summer outfit. If there is a low neckline on a shirt, a scarf can help with that, and if you are uncomfortable with sleeveless shirts a funky cropped sweater can solve that problem.

I think coral and lime green go together really well... I love this dress, and you can dress it up or down with accessories.

So, tell me what you think! do you have any good modesty tips, or any ideas on how to make these outfits more modest?

Blessings,

Sophia

Easter weekend thoughts

I hope you had a blessed Easter.
We had such an Easter. The joining of three families whose friendships were made in college was amazing.
There were kiddos all over the place, the kitchen was never completely clean, and honestly, we were a bit chaotic. (twelve kids can do that to a home) But the laughs that we shared, the prayers said together, the meals...The egg hunt... And most of all the celebration of Christ's Resurrection... It was all so blessed.   

But what I really draw out of the weekend didn't happen on glorious Easter Sunday. What I really draw out of the weekend came on Friday.
I guess I never really saw the Crucifixion in this light. To hear about the pain, the hurt that was caused to Jesus, and to think I did that. I hurt Him even more when my heart is not where He wants it to be.
The good Friday service was haunting... thought-provoking... tear-filled...

To hear the pounding of a hammer... Thinking that nail went into my Jesus, it lodged something in my heart.
To hear what the thunder sounded like... see the flashes of lightning... It sent chills down my back.
To gaze on the cross bathed in a red glow... to sit in silence for moments... to take it all in.

Then to sing Hallelujah, what a Savior... It struck me to think of what Jesus had done. really. amazingly. powerfully.

Perhaps you can ponder this for a few moments. Hallelujah, what a Savior.

on books and thank yous...

I love reading the acknowledgements at the end of a book.
It gives me a peek into to the process of the book writing (probably not the right term) and a peek into the author's life.

I had a random thought the other day that the author always thanks God at the end of the acknowledgements. Now maybe they do that because they want your last thought to be of giving all the glory to God, but I don't see why they can't give the glory to God at the beginning, too.

What if we were to write acknowledgements for each day of our life? I would want mine would go something like this~

 

"First of all, to God be the glory, from the moment I woke up to spring sunlight to the moment that I fell asleep to the roaring wind. I pray that I gave Him glory every moment that He gave me.

Thank you, mama and daddy, for this wonderful haven of a family that I'm growing up in.

Thank you, brothers, for giving me something to laugh about and cry about and pray about.

To my piano teacher, thank you for pushing me to keep going when "passacaglia" seemed like the longest song in the world. Now I know why you made me keep going. thank you for helping me.

Thank you, best friend, for putting a smile on my face when I read what you pinned on pinterest.  

To the amazing authors of books I've read, thank you for giving me the inspiration for this post.

Thank you, thank you, Jesus that it is finally beginning to feel like spring!

My sweet awana group, you amaze me with your ability to say so many verses. You guys rock! thanks for all the smiles.

Jesus, at the end of the day, I want it to be you that is most important.

Soli Deo Gloria!"

 

~Sophia