Life stays exciting...

I have two basset hounds that I regularly pet-sit; they're a bunch of fun! However, this morning when I went over, there was evidence that the owners hadn't left yet. I kept hearing noises, but I wasn't sure. Then Mrs. K came down after I'd fed the dogs, medicated the dogs, and given them their rawhide chews. At least her job with them was mostly done for the morning. Oh well. Life would be so much more dull without happenings like this!

Pencils: proof of God's immense grace

Today I was cleaning one of our old pencil boxes, weeding out the stubby, unusable ones. And it struck me. We are so blessed to serve a Creator who isn't like I was with those pencils; He doesn't get rid of us when it seems that we are past our use, when we feel like we have no drive to accomplish anything. No, He takes us, and He sharpens and refreshes us again and again, as much as is necessary; He makes us new and whole. He'll never throw us out, He'll never leave us by the wayside. He'll never treat us like an old pencil...

"Because of the LORD's great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."

~Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

"The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made."

~Psalm 145:13 (NIV)

Little laughs....

I just found this on a blog I follow. Try it and see!

• Go to google.com (the actual website, not a search bar)
• Type in "google Chuck Norris" (make sure to include the word google)
• Hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button (not the regular search button)

See??

Tooth update

Thank you so much for all your prayers! The procedure went really well, even though it took about two hours to get me properly sedated. I'm well on the way to a full recovery, and today I'm feeling ever so much better. I go back probably on Thursday to get the sutures out, and then I'm done with wisdom teeth forever! Thanks again!

~Livvy

Summer Stars

Summer Stars

Bend low again, night of summer stars.

So near you are, sky of summer stars,

So near, a long-arm man can pick off stars,

Pick off what he wants in the sky bowl,

So near you are, summer stars,

So near, strumming, strumming,

So lazy and hum-strumming.

~Carl Sandburg

Tooth take-out....

My dear blog readers, this is a request for prayer! Tomorrow I'm having all four wisdom teeth extracted. Needless to say, I'm not bouncing off the walls with joy. :) I start on medicine this evening, an anxiety reliever (how timely!), and then will be on antibiotics for a week. I am allowed to eat a diet of almost totally ice cream and milkshakes (!) for 48 hours, but I still have quite a bit of trepidation about the procedure and would appreciate your prayers and thoughts. Thanks!

~Livvy

True Faith

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

~Martin Luther King

Indiana vacation

My mom and I spent three lovely days with my older sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. Jen recently got a compression fracture in her back from a whale-watch [look out for those zodiacs! :)], so we thought we'd go up and spend some time with her. We met at a beautiful lavender farm to pick lavender to make wands, an oh-so-fun and easy project. We also enjoyed watching the 4th of July fireworks in downtown Indianapolis and eating scrumptious barbecue wings. :) Yesterday we spent the morning shopping, visiting multiple yarn stores, Penzeys Spices, and the ever-popular Trader Joe's, which sadly we don't have here and are therefore required to stock up on their products whenever we frequent a TJ's store. They do have the most delicious chocolate mints. :) Mom and I also got to see Jen's Outdoor Learning Center, a cabin from the 1800's. So much fun!

Quotes

"Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way." ~American Proverb

An excellent reminder

This is a really great post!

Lies Young Women Believe HALT!

His promise to us....

Today I was looking through a journal a friend had given me. On each page is a Bible verse. The one I opened to was:

"God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble." (KJV)

I feel that this is a really good reminder. God is always with us. He promises that He will never leave us, He will never forsake us. (reference Hebrews 13:5) He will never abandon us or leave us to work everything out ourselves. God is there and He always will be!

Book Review: Mark of the Lion Trilogy

I recently read A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Darkness, and As Sure as the Dawn all by Francine Rivers. I really enjoyed these books, staying up into the wee small hours to finish them. The books are much to complex to go into much, but I'll try to give a small preview. The chapters rotate between characters, so that makes it a little more difficult to review too. However, here are the individual reviews of each book:

(Spoiler Alert!)

• A Voice in the Wind: The touching story of a young Jewess and Christian named Haddassah. All of her family is either killed by the Romans or die of exhaustion and starvation. Haddassah alone is left alive, and even she is taken as a slave. She is bought by a Roman family as a maidservant for their young daughter, Julia, who is wild and ambitious. Haddassah ends up falling in love with Julia's brother Marcus. Near the end of the book, Julia agrees to release Haddassah and let her marry Marcus. But Haddassah refuses because Marcus isn't a Christian. Julia is furious and sets Haddassah up to be taken to the arena and eaten by lions. Marcus goes to the games that day and is sickened by what Julia is done, but he's too late to stop it. Thus ends Book 1.
• An Echo in the Darkness: As it turns out, a doctor waiting for the bodies when the lions are finished rescues Haddassah and treats her. Haddassah works with him, and God blesses her with healing power. She becomes know as Rapha, or healer. Through a twist, she becomes helper to Julia again without revealing her true identity! During Haddassah's ordeal, Marcus has gone to Judea to search out why Haddassah so steadfastly stuck to her faith. Marcus becomes a Christian on his journey. At the end of the book, Haddassah reveals herself, and after another twist, Marcus proposes again. Haddassah accepts.
• As Sure as the Dawn: This book is a follow-up of a sub-plot in A Voice in the Wind. A former gladiator named Atretes pursues his lost son and struggles to return to Germania, his homeland. But a young lady named Rizpah complicates matters...

These were among some of the most well-written books I've read in a long time. The faith of Haddassah and Rizpah is astounding. These books were so encouraging! There was a lot mature content, though, so just use wisdom and discernment when reading. What have you been reading lately?

Woodworking II

Last week I showed you the newly created dog table. Here's the finished product! I went over it first with basic white indoor paint to form a base coat. Then I did yellow acryllic, followed by green stripes, and then Mom put on the polka dots and names. Cute and a moneysaver!

Homemade Fajitas

Yum!

Summer Reading

Our local Knox County library hosts a summer reading program every summer. The teen summer reading only requires five books. I've often participated and have some good books that I'm planning on reading that I thought I'd share with you!

My required school reading for next year is The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway and Night by Elie Wiesel. I'm also in the process of rereading The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. And I just put A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Darkness, and As Sure as the Dawn (all by Francine Rivers) on hold at the library on the recommendation of a friend. I'll be posting reviews as I read them. I'm eager to hear your reading for this summer! Who has some good books?

P.S. I'm also in the process of writing a book! It's definitely a little kid book, a spoof on the forming of the United States of America. My brother likes it though (as a 13 year old), so I may post some snippets as I write...

Patriotic Pavlova

Mom and I made a pavlova for our Memorial Day get-together this evening. It turned out really great!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Today, take a minute to think about the sacrifices made by our countrymen and to pray for those currently serving to protect us...and our freedoms.

Woodworking

Because of Tallie's back problems, Dad and I decided to build a little table for both dogs' food bowls. Tallie and Bono were a little skeptical about eating off of it, but in the end, with a little encouragement (and a few treats) they gulped their food down. I'll post some pictures of the painted version later (after we paint it), but here are the current pictures.

Listen to this......

"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." ~Mark Twain

Broken-Armed

Yesterday, my brother sustained a buckle fracture to his left wrist. He'll have to wear a cast for about a month, so at least it's the end of the school year, since he's left-handed. He's already gotten a few signatures on his cast, and one in German and Russian!