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April 12, 2013

sweet sixteen

     Today I am officially sixteen! At last!--the song "I am sixteen going on seventeen..." has some shred of relevancy in my life:) 
     But honestly..... I thank God for what a wonderful 16th year I have had..... and I know that He will guide me through my 17
th with the same loving care. 
     My sister Clara took all of the following pictures for me. We had fun goofing off and striking silly poses..... Can you tell?  
Which of these pictures do you like the best? Black and white or sepia? 



 
 (the wind was not doing justice to my hair.) 

 
 
Mom gave me these nice garden togs for my birthday.... I love the pastel blue! 

 
 

My birthday was concluded with an intense game of monoply that lasted till midnight. Thank you to everybody who gave me such a happy day! 

 


Now that I am so mature and wise, I would like to share this pearl of wisdom with you all:-)
Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a dream - realize it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it.
(from brainyquote.com)
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April 8, 2013

Trust and Obey

This is a short message I wrote for our church newsletter. Hope you enjoy it!
Last time I wrote for the Bell, I briefly mentioned the joy we experience when we come to know Jesus. But today I want to talk about something else that brings us joy! Can you guess what it is? It is obedience.
But how are they even closely related? The answer can be found in John chapter 15:
 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing……..If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
Jesus is really good at using imagery! He uses a vine and branches to describe our relationship with Him. Without Jesus (the vine) we cannot do anything---we wither and are thrown into the fire. (John 15:6) But if we abide in Christ, and obey God’s commandments our branches become heavy with fruit.
I want to interrupt this lovely imagery by asking you a question. How do you feel after finishing a huge project? You probably feel relief right? You feel like you’ve conquered something—you feel accomplishment. Well, if we keep God’s commandments, we are not only fruitful, but we are full of joy! That’s how obedience and joy are related. Obedience is the source of our fruitfulness and joy is its result.
As the old hymn goes: “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey!”

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