Childhood in a trunk

1. Bo. Bo.

 I wouldn't dream of put it in the trunk, but a special item from my childhood is my FAVORITE stuffed rabbit,   named Bo. Bo. I got him when I was one year old and sleep with him every night. Bo went on almost every trip with me and I used to drag him around the house when I was younger. Bo is very worn out now but I intend to keep him forever.

2. The Disney movie Pocahontas

 Pocahontas was my all time favorite movie when I was little. I used to watch it all the time! We were constantly checking it out of the local library. It also got to the point where I was Pocahontas for Halloween one year. John Smith was always my favorite character and Meeko the raccoon always made me laugh. This movie definitely was part of my childhood.

3. Recorded Stories i listened to at night
 A lady that was at our old church, whose name is Mrs. Leone, read and recorded many different children stories onto a cassette for me when I was little. I listened to that tape until it wouldn't work anymore. Some of the stories were Paul Reveres' Ride, Make way for Ducklings, Goodnight Moon, and many others. Mrs. Leone had a very soothing voice, perfect for reading children books. I can still remember some of the stories that she read on that tape. That is definitely a strong childhood memory for me.

The Wonderings of a Disciple

It had been a long couple of days. The we could hardly believe what had just happened. Our beloved master and friend, Jesus, has been put on trial and crucified. John himself had been there when Jesus died and when they brought his body down from the cross. What about all the glorious things He'd promised us that would happen. What about his claim that he would rise form the dead? Had it all been in vain?
As these thoughts were racing through the disciples' minds, Jesus suddenly appeared and stood before them. All of is were terrified and thought that he was a ghost. Jesus showed us where the nail pierced his hands and were the spear went into his side. When some of us still were in doubt he ate a piece of fish in our presence and then we believed. We fell at his feet and I felt like my heart would burst with happiness. He was alive!!! My Savior lives, and so shall I! Death is defeated.
Jesus stayed with us longer and told us to go into the world and teach in his name,  baptizing those who believed. He also promised that he would be with us always, even to the very end of the age. He also instructed that we wait in Jerusalem until he sent us the Holy Spririt.
After Jesus said this, He was taken up into heaven and we just stood there, staring up into heaven. The two men clothed in white stood before us and said that He would return in the same way he had left us.  What a promise. He will return someday! We may not know the day or hour, but He SHALL return.
                        ~ James son of Alphaeus

He Is Risen!!!

Dutchfest

Dutchfest will be arriving shortly just like it does every year. Ever since I came to Shalom I have greatly enjoyed it. In fact, I can remember selling drinks in sixth grade when we had Miss Strite. I really do think that Dutchfest is really neat tradition that Shalom has and does it each year.
One thing that I really enjoy at Dutchfest is the book room. I've had some really good finds in the past years. Last year I found a little book called: A Biblical Guide to the Passion of the Christ. I love being able to get books for really great cheap prices. My dad likes to look around in the book place too.
I also looooovvvveee the strawberry pie that they make. It is like eating heaven. I always get a piece each year and it is so yummy. It is also fun to see the tents being put up and thinking, "Is Dutchfest here already???"

At the cows at Dutchfest. I love cows :)

August

A month that has significance to me is August because that is when we go to my uncle's beach house in Rehoboth , Delaware. Most of my dad's side comes down and we all spend a week together. The house is right on the Delaware Bay and it is really fun to take the Jet Skis out for a spin. This past year I got to drive one for the first time and had a blast! I even took my cousin Laura out another time during the week. There is a swimming pool there and we can swim whenever we want to, which is nice. I also see it as a time to get to know my family members better. In fact, this year I got to play Wii with my older cousin Phil and it was great to just talk with him and get to be closer to him. He's a Harry Potter fan too. ;)  I'm not really a beach person though, so often I just chill out at the house.
That is why August is significant to me.

All for Love

All for love is why he chose to die

"It is finished!" was his cry

He embraced the cross for and for me

How can it be? How can it be? 

Jesus paid what we cannot 

What is our lot? 

He made all things new 

As new as the morning dew 

He hung on the tree 

A

  

French Fries

When I eat french fries, it makes me think of good, fun, lovely times. Like when I've gone to the Greenvillage Diner with my mentor or with my dad. Greenvillage Diner has the best fries in the world, next to Wendy's. If I had a choice though, I would defiantly pick the diner fries in a split second. When I eat french fries I also think about getting them after a long Dinner theater practice during which I had no dinner. My dad stopped on the way home and got me McDonald's food. When you go to Greenvillage Diner, they give you what seems like a small mountain of fries.
I have to say, french fries are one of my favorite foods. No doubt about it.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

This has to be one of my favorite books in the series. It follows Harry and his friends' second year at Hogwarts. I know some people font like Harry Potter, but i like it for the humor and adventure in it. Not to mention the yummy candy that is described in it...
IN this book, a huge snake-like creature is released into the school by Tom Riddle (who's actually Voldemort the bad guy). Harry also discovers that he can speak Parsltounge which is snake language. The snake goes around and stuns people if they look it in the eye. Harry and his friends must go into the mysterious Chamber of Secrets to rescue Ron's sister Ginny and to defeat the evil snake. They manage to do that and save the day once more. Great read if you ask me, but only if you like stuff like that.

The Passion of the Christ

Despite some of the graphic content of the movie, I see The Passion of Christ as a good reminder of what Jesus did for us on the cross. There are some Roman Catholic things influences in it, but aside from that, I think it is one of my favorite movies. It does have some intense and violent scenes, so I wouldn't suggest it for younger children.
In the movie Christ is played by Jim Caviezel and he did a superb job in this movie. He is a devout Roman Catholic, but I wonder if he may truly be a Christian. I hope so. He suffered some injuries while working on the Passion of the Christ. He was struck by lightning, accidentally scourged, and got sick from the gas heaters they used to keep him warm when he was on the cross. Sometimes he even had to sleep with all the makeup on if they ended up not shooting In the end, he said it was a blessing to be able to portray our Lord's son.
I saw a behind the scenes on the movie and it was neat to see how they did some of the effects in the movie. They used special effects in the whipping scene which is how they made it look like he really was being flogged. They also used some special effects for when you see the executioner nailing the nail into Jesus' hand. I did notice that the nail was placed incorrectly, but oh well.
All in all, the Passion is one of my favorite movies and I have seen it more then once. I watch it because it reminds me of what Christ did and the depth of it.

Nick Vujicic

Another one of my heroes is Nick Vujicic. He was born without arms or legs. They didn't know he didn't have any limbs because it didn't show up on the ultrasounds. At first his parents didn't want to see him or hold him. No one brought his mom flowers when he was born. It was caused by tetra-amelia syndrome.
It was very hard for Nick growing up and kids teased him for the way he looked or because he was different. When he was 10 years old, he tried to drown himself, but his love for his parents stopped him.
Today Nick is very independent and is a Christian. He goes all around the world and speaks to people and encourages them. God has used Nick in BIG ways for Him and His kingdom.
Nick likes to swim, which he learned to do as a kid and he also got married on 12 February 2012! He stared in the short film The Butterfly Circus and even met and talked with Bethany Hamilton.
God can use anyone to share His word and His love.

Nick Vujicic