Macro Shots

I had fun with my camera when we were up north on the long weekend. I can’t get very good macro shots most of the time, even with oodles of patience. It just won’t pick up the detail very good. I guess that’s what I get for not having a DSLR.

These are pretty good, but I also cropped and edited them a tad. :)

Some of my favorites:

Youth Group Trip. 02/15-18/2013

On the Family Day weekend our Youth Group headed up north to Lowell Lake Lodge in Temagami for a weekend of fun, relaxation and awesomeness!!! Oh, and it was cold. It was –30 C when we left on Monday morning.

For those of you who go up in the summer, you’ll know what I mean when I say this place looks so much different in the winter and with a couple feet of snow!!! :)

The Guys got the skates out and shot the puck around. Too bad the ice wasn’t better.

On Saturday afternoon we went to the fire tower up in Temagami. After a long hike and lots of steps we got to the top. On a clear day you can see about 100 km in each direction, but it was snowing on the horizon, so we couldn’t see that far.

St. Jacobs Farmers Market. 01/26/2013

A while ago we spent the Saturday in the Kitchener/St. Jacobs/Elmira area.

Our first stop was the Farmers Market on King Street in downtown Kitchener. My sister works there, so we said hi, had coffee and bought her and her co-workers a treat. :)

We then headed to the St. Jacob’s Farmers Market and then to Crossroads Restaurant in Elmira. Crossroads doesn’t just have an amazing homemade buffet, it also has a beautiful gift shop and a quilt shop, called “The Quilter’s Patch”. And yes, I got fabric. lol. ;)

Here are some snap-shots from St. Jacobs Market. There aren’t oodles, but I had fun. :) Oh, and even got ‘the look’ from an Amish person because you have a camera in your hands??? I would never take a picture of them, but I get why they don’t like me.

Baby Girl’s Outfit–Gifted

A friend of mine had a little girl about a month ago, and I wanted to make something really special for her.

I went to Children’s Place and got an adorable little cardigan, size 6-9 months, and then based the rest of the outfit off of that.

A cute little jean dress lined with lavender and white – checked sweet sucker and a matching diaper cover with the same material.

Here are some of the details.

Again, the doll comes in handy. ;)

I am glad you loved it Rebekah!!! :)

GOD Makes All Possible

Matthew 19:26 – “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With me this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

I think God is trying to tell me something. It seems that whatever I do, wherever I go, and whatever I hear, I always get hit with the same thing:

“GO and do it.”

           “SAY it, boldly and with faith.”

“With GOD all things are POSSIBLE.”

I go to church and hear a sermon on God using even the least of men, and the greatest sinners. I hear a message that stresses that we don’t have to present large and important things to God for things to happen – we present what we have and God will take it and expand it and bless it beyond our imagination. ALL things are possible with Christ. On Thursday night I went to a youth speaker evening and heard about Effectual Calling – God will never leave me or forsake me. And He CHOSE me as one of His own, not because of what I have done, but because He desires to change me and mold me into the person He desires me to be. Then I find something about going and taking up the challenge the Christ has called us to. Tonight I watch a movie [Facing the Giants, just so you know :)] and all I hear is that EVERYTHING is possible with God. NOTHING is impossible with God.

I have been a bit discouraged lately. I feel that I have taken on too many things and can’t give my all-in-all to everything anymore. And then I want to do more, but don’t know how that will ever happen. I look to the future and worry about how everything is going to work out, how I am going to get enough money to pay for school next year and pay off the debt that I owe my Dad. I worry about if I made the right decision to open the Etsy shop or start with Aloette.

But, I am now a qualified Aloette consultant. I met the deadline and sold $1.00 and a few cents more than the requirements. My deadline was Monday.

The Etsy Shop, well, that still has a long way to go. But, I have ideas and plans and I am praying that God will bless that. And I just dropped off another custom order today.

And school, well, I LOVE it. I know I am doing what is right. God has confirmed that over and over and over again.

You know what. I can do this. So can YOU!!! Our Youth Group can make a difference [fellow board members, we CAN do this!!! Pray about tomorrow and Monday nights!!!!]. Our families can make a difference. Teachers, parents, students, Opas and Omas, EVERYONE!!!!

GOD CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE THROUGH YOU!!!!

What about you? Where will you start? What ideas do you have? What, big or little, do you have to serve God with? USE IT!!!

We all face giants in our lives. We all stumble and fall. We all have something that we would love to do, but don’t think we could ever do it, or make it possible.

GOD can DO IT!!! He give us the strength to stand. And to stand amazed before Him. He will not fail, and He will not leave or forsake us.

And you know what, we all have access to Him through PRAYER. Let us be a praying, trusting and dependent people. Let us put our lives in the hands of Christ and allow Him to take the lead.

How God has been calling you to serve Him? We don’t have to do this alone. We have Christ and OTHERS. Sharing with others give encouragement. Asking for prayer [I promise you, it is hard and seems weird, but do it!!!], it is a HUGE blessing!!!

Romans 8:37 – 39 – “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities not powers, not things present not things to come, nor height nor depth, not any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Praying for you ALL!!!! Have a blessed Sunday!!!

-Emily

A Beggar’s Story

There is a beggar shuffling down the street. He is dressed in rags, has holes in his shoes and a tattered hat on his head. His shoes are slapping away in the late-winter slush.

BUT.

He has a loaf of bread in his hands and his stomach has just been filled with a couple bowls of warm, thick, savory, nutritious soup. The warmth is still working its way into the rest of his body.

And the look on his face; joy!!! Oh, inexpressible joy!!!

And then he meets another beggar. A friend who knows him well, and notices the joy on his countenance.

“What are you so happy about?” the second beggar inquires.

“You are hungry right?” the first beggar says. “Go around that corner over there.” pointing behind him. “Then turn right at the second street. There are people giving out food in the old deserted building next to the bingo hall.” A grin spreads over his face. “Good food too.”

Three quarters of an hour later you see a similar encounter. This time it is the second beggar spreading the news to a number of his beggar friends. In a short while the old building is brimming with people, all receiving good food from the hands of generous people.

“One beggar telling another beggar where to find food.”

Does that saying look familiar to you? I have heard it many times before, but have not really thought about what it means. Tonight I finally did.

We, church people, are the first beggar. We know of a place that serves good food. In our case, we were brought up in a place that serves good food. And truthfully, spiritually we look just like that beggar does.

The implications of this are HUGE. Are we sharing the joy we have received with the second beggar? A friend. A neighbor. Someone you meet at school. A teacher maybe. What about a stranger on the street or the girl behind the counter at the grocery store or at our favorite coffee shop?

Are we fulfilling our calling, given to us by Christ, and spreading the amazing JOY of Christ?
And what about the second beggar. I personally think we should respond more like that second beggar. Telling more than just our one friend, telling many friends.

We have the love of Christ, WHY are we holding it back????

The Gospel

I recently came upon this video by Ellerslie. Ellerslie is the Bible Academy founded by well known authors Eric and Leslie Ludy.

Take 10 minutes and watch this video and then share it with the people around you.

It is typical Ludy-fashion. BLUNT. It is also powerful. Intensely powerful. It has the potential to change lives, if God chooses to use it in that way.

The film part of it is uncomfortable for me… the role playing of the prisoner and Christ. But, the message is so good that I think we can over look it and zoom in on the message.

The video won’t embed, so here is the link: http://www.ellerslie.com/short-films/the-gospel.

My CHALLENGE for you is to watch it and share. Share it on your blog, on Facebook, with your friends. And ACT. What is Christ calling you to do??? Go, both you and I can change this world only with Christ and His power at our sides. Why aren’t we sharing and acting on Christ’s behalf???

It is a question I struggle with myself as well. I have known the truth for a very long time, I just haven’t done anything about it. Christ is slowly changing me though. What about you??? Think about how Christ is using you. Or, how He can use you, and then act on it.

-Emily.