When I was Little...

I was terrified of something under my bed or in my closet. This isn't unusual, but I wasn't afraid of monsters. I was afraid living people were in my closet waiting for my mother to leave to come out and get me. We had dolls that our family members gave us(NOT for playing with) that sat on a shelf in our room. They would put shadows on our walls and terrify me.
When I would have bad dreams, I remember laying flat in my bed holding my breath, because if they couldn't see me, they couldn't get me. I would lay there till I found the courage to jump out of my bed and run into my mothers room.
I remember once that my dad had gone outside to check on the dog and while I was running across the hall, I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. That terrified me more. So i jumped into my moms bed screaming which scared her. Now it is funny, but it wasn't then.
I had a similar experience the other night. My mother and I were coming back from my riding lesson in Henderson. My friends car was at Panera so I had taken her to her car. I would have thought mom would have beaten me home. I was pulling in my drive way talking to my friend on the phone. I looked in the rear view and saw car lights. I flipped out! I sped up, slammed my car into park(halfway parked in the right spot), and ran into the house screaming my head off. "SOMEONE FOLLOWED ME HOME, SOMEONE FOLLOWED ME HOME!" However, my dad wasn't much help because he was in the shower. So I wait. And then... I hear the garage door. It was my mother. Here I was nearly in tears because who follows you all the way home and my mother should have beaten me. She thought it was funny, but I was very upset!

what are you thankful for?

I am so thankful for my family. I have the best family anyone could ask for. We are not always perfect, and we fight, but I know I am loved. I love that I get to see my grandparents every weekend and spend time with them. My grandmother is the most caring and giving person I know. She is always there to give a helping hand and a treat. My granfather (A.K.A Bop) although stubborn, he is very loving and cares for his family. He would do anything for us. Those are my fathers parents and I get to see them all the time. Less often, however, I see my moms mom and step-dad. They love to travel and are almost never home. My real granddad died of cancer before I was born so Ray has been the fill in. My mom calls him her extra-father. My nanna is crazy but always makes you laugh. Ray is also a funny man and very kind.
No matter what kind of family you have, it is always great to have one and I am VERY thankful for mine.

"May the Force be With You"

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20samual%2017&version=NIV

This scripture is of David and Goliath. David was a Shepard and his three older brothers were away at war. David shows great courage and belief in this passage. He knew that he could take on the giant because he had killed lions and bears that had attacked his sheep. He stated that he could do it because God was helping him. Saul didn't have much faith in him. Saul didn't think that David was strong enough to beat the giant. David beat him with a sling and a stone. This reminds me of the song, Voice of Truth, by Casting Crowns. In one part of it, it says...
"Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy, You'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe
The Voice of Truth

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me"

We have to listen to what story God is telling us. He is the ONLY Voice of Truth. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. You just have to know that God is with you and He will bring you through. "For nothing is impossible with God." -Luke 1:37. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline." 1 Timothy 1:7. "But a spirit of power," so we have the power to do anything for Him and with Him. God has great plans. He doesn't need us to do them, He is the Lord of the Universe, but He chooses to use us and impact the world. The world is going to bring you down and tell you that you aren't good enough, but that is not the Voice of Truth. Don't listen to it. You are perfect in the eyes of God. He made you how He wanted to you and made you the person you are. He has a plan for you, just listen and obey.

Motivations

So I was trying to post my  devotionals every day on Facebook. It's not working out at all! I have posted three times. I don't really know how to fix this problem. But I'm going to have to come up with something. I feel like I always have something else that HAS to be done so I never have time to just sit down. This morning on KLove they were talking about how in order to get something accomplished, you have to find what motivates you. Money is always a good motivator, but that's not going to work. I don't need to get paid for something that I should do. The host was trying to loose wait and she found that money, competition, and helping others are what motivates her. She asked some of her friends to donate money for every pound she lost. She has about 200 people that agreed to go so. And she has lost 21 pounds and is going for 30 by the end of December. Every penny that she gets, is being donated to feed kids who are starving. I just think that is the best idea ever. She is working for something that she wants, something that she will not get any material award for, but a reward in knowing that she helped feed 600 kids. That means a dollar feeds a kid. That's one coke that you don't get this week or today. For me, I could care less about cokes since I don't drink them; but it would be no new shirt for the month.
So, I'm working on what I should do to motivate me. The simple fact that I was reaching out to other people on Facebook was enough motivation at first. It's not that that motivation is gone, but it doesn't have the same effect. In my mind, if I set my status to the current KLove song, or a bible verse, that it does the same thing. It may, but I truly I know that the postings about my devotional give much more thought and care.

Is God Enough?

 ¹ When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders.^{[a] 2} The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. ³ But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
 ⁴ So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead^[b] us, such as all the other nations have.”
 ⁶ But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. ⁷ And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. ⁹ Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
 ¹⁰ Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king.
LORD will not answer you in that day.”
 ¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. ²⁰ Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
 ²¹ When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. ²² The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”
   Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”


The Israelites wanted God, but they also wanted an earthly king. We see this all the time in our world today. People say they are a Christian, yet they think other people need to run the country. I realize that the world and countries need someone who is the head honcho, but they don't necessarily need to be a king. If this was a perfect world, we wouldn't worry about who was going to lead us into battle or if we were like the other "coutries." Unfortunately, the world isn't. People want a "king" and that is where the problem is. People don't want to stand out or be different. Everyone is guilty of it at some point. They want to be accepted and want people to like them. I am guilty of this, but I feel that I am not as much as others can be. I see myself more like Samuel in this passage, but I don't use it well like he did. I feel like I am in a world where I am pressured to do and be what I know is wrong. It is so hard to be the best person you can when you are constantly being pressured in this world. My solution, is to block it out and not accept anyone associated with it. I see all the wrong in this world and judge it and get angry. I see all the wrong that people do and get mad and judge. Which now, I see that it is completely wrong. Jesus accepted everyone; the lepers, the tax collectors, and the prisoners. God was enough for Jesus, and we have to keep in mind the sacrifice they both gave for us. We are so unworthy. He gave everything. How is that not enough?

Until the Whole World Hears

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln0T26aTXJE&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

This song is by Casting Crowns who is one of my favorite bands. Their song "Until the Whole World Hears" came to my mind recently. I decided I was going to take a break from Facebook. I was getting behind on my devotionals and I was feeling really convicted. At first I thought I would try my "Facebook Fast" for a month, but after talking it over with Christina, I decided I would go two weeks and see how it was going. This was going to have me off Facebook until Thanksgiving Day. So I went home and changed my status to,"On a Facebook fast, see ya in two weeks, if you need anything text me!" then I deleted the app off my phone. Since then, I have kept tract of how many times I have wanted to update my status, and right now on November 14th at 10:31 p.m, 2 days after I have been on my fast, I have thought about updating my status 14 times. That is a little outrageous. Anyways...the next night I went to a Chrysalis Gathering and we were having a group discussion on what we were struggling with in the past month. I stood up and shared about how my time with God was being filled with other things and how I was taking myself away from Facebook. Someone else stood up later and said how she had taken to posting her devotionals on Facebook and how she had also wanted to take a break from Facebook because she felt it was taking too much of her time. She said when she did, she had people who were begging her not to because they looked forward to reading her notes every morning and that she had no idea how much it affected them. That got me thinking on the whole, "You may be the only God they ever see" saying. So I decided I was going to make the best out of the Facebook situation. I was going to start posting about my devotionals. Its going to be like what I do on here, but I'm going to try to post everyday. I think this will keep me more in a routine because every time I am on Facebook I will think about how I need to do my devotional. And that is what leads me to the song. In the chorus it says, "We'll sing until the whole world hears." We need to reach out and tell about God and put Him in every aspect of our lives. So that is what I'm going to do.. on Facebook.

American Christianity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cncEhCvrVgQ&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

This was not one of my devotionals, but it was a video one of my friends had posted on their wall. It's an hour long, so you probably won't have time to watch it. I had a Sunday afternoon to spare, so I watched it. I do not cover nearly as many points that he made, but I do cover a few. This man was asked to speak at an annual christian conference, just once. What he said, he knew that he probably would make people mad, and he probably would not be asked back. He talked on how "American Christianity" is way off than what was taught even 50 years ago. I have quoted some of the things he said in this blog. This man, Paul Washer, is a preacher who doesn't do alot of his work in America, but in other countries. He has seen people die for their religion. In America, you do not have to necessarily worry about being shot because you are a Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Buddist, or any other. But, this man did realize that we are being taught wrong. I watched and listened to him talk, and I am still trying to fully understand what he was saying. This is probably because I have been told my whole life that if I asked Jesus into my life, even just once, then I would go to heaven because Jesus died for my sins and he has forgiven all of them. Part of this is true, He did die for my sins, and I am forgiven. But, I have to daily walk with Him and I have to constantly be working on my relationship with Him. God says we were born sinners, we were born dishonoring Him, that even our greatest works are dirty rags in His eyes. It is not a one time thing where I ask God into my life, and it is not something that I should do again and again every summer at church camp or at a revival. You know you have God in your life when there is a supernatural change in your life. Your whole thinking is turned around. We have to want to be like Jesus Christ, not like the world or like the celebrities. The Bible tells us to examine ourselves and test ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Paul says that everyone claims to be a Christian. 85% of them do not go to church or worry about pleasing the Lord, but they are saved because a preacher somewhere told them they were saved. Many people acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, Satan acknowledges that Jesus is Lord, but the devil is unholy. The only way that anyone will be saved is through Jesus Christ. In Matthew 7:14 is says, "But small is the gate, and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Only a few find it, so of everyone who claims to know Jesus, only a few are known by Jesus and allowed to come in. In America, we like to think that anyone and everyone who has asked Jesus into their hearts, even if they did it 40 years ago, will go to heaven. But the case is, does Jesus still know you like he did 40 years ago at Bible School when you asked him to come into your life. You may know who Jesus is, but what matters is if Jesus knows who you are. Matthew 7:22 "Many people will say Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and perform many miracles. And then I will say, 'I never knew you, away from me you evildoers!'" You have to have a personal relationship with Him. You can't go through the motions, or conform to the world and expect to get into heaven. Most of what we know to be "Christian" is what we hear in songs, or read on t-shirts, but we don't get it from the Bible. All Christianity in America is cliches. In America, no one tells us we are wrong. We just conform and want to be accepted by everyone else. "The person who loves you most, will tell you the most truth. A false prophet will tell you what you want to hear, he will never rain on your parade and keep you so happy that you won't think about if you are truly saved or not, because he told you you were. You don't tell men they are saved, you tell men how to be saved. God tells them they are saved."
 "One of the greatest evidences that you will be born again is that God will NOT let you talk as your flesh might want to talk, God will NOT let you dress as the sensual world and the sensual church will allow you to dress, God will NOT allow you to walk like the world, talk like the world, smell like the world listens to the things the world listens to. God will make a difference in your life."

Don't Forget

Reading: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=numbers%209:4-12&version=NIV

I don't really think the reading goes alot with what I am going to talk about, but my lesson made me think of this. It told me to pick something that would make me remember to praise God throughout my day, like a picture or some friends or a rock that I had found. It made me think about how I don't take enough time everyday to really thank God for what He has done in my life. My life is very hectic and very stressful and I'm always on the go. However, whenever I am in my car, it is ALWAYS on k-love. The music on there is so uplifting and they always have something positive to say. I have decided to make a poster that I am going to hang on my ceiling that says, "PRAISE GOD." I normally fall asleep praying every night, but I find myself not talking to God when I first wake up. So hopefully this poster will make me think to do that. God does so much for me during the day, and I do not give Him nearly the credit He deserves. I pray before a quiz or test, just something simple like, "God, I know I can do this, please help me through this," but other times I don't. God deserves so much more glory than we give Him. One of my favorite verses is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, "Be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances for this is Gods plan for you through Christ our Lord." It says to give thanks in ALL circumstances, not just sometimes when we feel like if we are pleading for Gods help. We need to pray CONTINUALLY, not just when we go to bed or get up, but we need to constantly be in tune with God. Another thing I think about, which I am very guilty for is, if we opened our Bible as much as we do facebook or our texts, what a better person we would be. I am trying so hard to make time for God more often in my day. I am constantly checking my messages all the time. The least I can do is spend 10 minutes in my Bible everyday. 

The Offering

Reading: Leviticus 4:32-35
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=leviticus%204:32-35&version=NIV

In this time, they gave animals as sacrifices. In this case it was a lamb. Why did God was them to sacrifice a lamb for their sins? Think Jesus, Lamb of God. I think that is enough to answer the question. Jesus died so that we could be forgiven. The lambs were sacrificed to be forgiven before Jesus came. When we sin, we are requiered to ask for forgiveness. We don't have to sacrifice an animal, becuase we are already forgiven. In a sense, Jesus is the sacrifice of God. Not that he sinned, but God gave up His Lamb so that we could be forgiven. Thats why Jesus is called Lamb of God. Today, asking for forgivenss is much simpler than taking a lamb and killing it and burning it. All you have to do is talk to God.

Daily Devotional

I have decided to go a new way with my blogs. Since this is named "Ellie's Excerpts," I decided I should do something where I have to give my thoughts. I recently started this devotional book called The Message Remix: Solo. So for some of my blogs, I am going to talk about the devotionals that I had that I really liked.
Here we go...

Day 3 October 19, 2010
A Picture of Forgiveness

The readings come from Genesis 50:15-21
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+50%3A15-21&version=NIV

Think:
When I read this passage the phrase that stuck out to me was, "Don't you see, you planned evil against me but God used those plans for my good." This reminded me of the people who have hurt me in my life. The ones that I put my complete trust in and they just ran me over. This gave me a whole new perspective on how to look at those situations. Yes, I did get hurt, but I learned from it and became a better person. God takes those situations and you somehow grow or receive from them. As the saying goes, "Everything happens for a reason." God has a plan for you Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future...You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, and will bring you back from captivity." God knows what is going on in your life, but he has a plan that will be for your benefit. All you have to do is seek Him and trust Him. Let him know that He is the one guiding you. Then He will set you free from any grudges or hurt you have. You are completely free only when you are completely with Him.

Fly With Christ

Haunted Houses

I love going to the haunted houses. I think they are fun even though I freak out every time. I recently went to the haunted houses with my sister, two friends, one of their dads, and my dad. We started out with the zombie farm. I think this one by far was the scariest. Maybe it was because it was the first one we went to but, regardless, it was good. There was a teenager working outside that took our tickets. He made us laugh before our doom. We started going through and came to an open graveyard, but we didn't know where to go so we just ran in circles. This reminded me of a Scooby Doo show where Shaggy and Scooby are running around trying to find a way out. After we lived through the Zombie Farm, we went to the Insane Asylum. This one wasn't as scary, but it was still good. At one point someone was chasing us and all four of us went through a door at the same time. Then we went to round a corner, and someone met us on the other side. We backed ourselves up and rammed into a wall. So then we had ourselves cornered. We finally got around the man and ran out! Thank goodness! After that adventure, we went to the Catacombs. This is held in the basement of the old courthouse. You have to walk down these set of stairs, and before we ever got our tickets, my friend had a death grip on me. I'm not really sure who designed this basement, but it wasn't planned very well. The ceilings were  low and the had pipes running all over them. The floor wasn't even even. You were constantly stepping over mounds or squeezing through holes. It was the coolest one out of the haunted houses. I had a really good time and I enjoy going to them, even though I scream alot!

Taken

I am NOT a scary movie watcher. Unless I have someone to hold my hand and a sweatshirt to cover my face, I do not watch scary movies. Even if I don't watch the movie, I still jump when something happens. Even though most scary movies are very predictable, they get me everytime. Of the few scary movies I have actually watched, Signs wigs me out the most. This is because of its real life feeling that the alien is really going to be in your pantry or walking through my cornfield. The Lovely Bones also really really scared me. It mainly made me mad becuase I wanted to yell at them and tell them the nieghbor killed her. He obviously had something wrong with him. The one movie that scares me the most, is Taken. This is mainly because my absolute worst fear is to be kidnapped. I am terrified that someone is going to take me and I am going to be raped and killed. The whole time I watched that movie, my face was in my knees and I was jumping every 2 minutes. To make matters worse, I always seen to attract the freaky men. On more than one occasion, men at the gas station have felt the need to talk to me. One time left me in tears. I had to go at night so that I could make it home. I called my dad becuase I really did not like the idea of going to a gas station in the dark, but he told me I would be ok. So, I get the the gas station and I notice this man with long white hair across from me filling up his car. He goes inside and comes out and has two mountain dews. He continues to come over to me and offer a me one of the drinks. I politely turn it down and rush to get my gas cap back on. However, I had a gas cap that you had to have a key to get on and it was difficult to put back on. This time is was giving me heck, which probably had nothing to do with my nerves. In a panic because I notice the man in taking his sweet time washing his windows, ALL of his windows, I get my phone and call my dad. I mainly wanted someone to be a witness if I was kidnapped, but in the movies they tend not to bother you if you are on your cell phone (a trick my friends and I use all the time when we are walking to our cars.) I'm trying to be descrete about telling my dad that a freaky long white haired man just offered me a drink and was washing all of his car windows, and he tells me just to go inside until he leaves. So, I leave my gas tank open, doors locked, and I march myself (more like power walk) into the store. I walk around the store for about 5 minutes trying to kill time until he leaves. I'm sure the workers in the gas station thought I was crazy. I finally booked it out of the store, got in my car, and locked the doors. I drove off and made sure no one was following me. It was one of the wierdest things that has ever happened to me.

Cellular Devices

I would just like to start out by saying that I have had to worst of luck with cellphones this summer. I have been through a vu, propel, duo, razor, pantech, and finally an iPhone. But those first five weren't used just once. I had been using my vu for a while and I loved it! Then one day, it decided it didn't want the battery to work anymore. The thing would not stay charged for more than a couple of hours and would randomly turn off. So then I used my moms duo for about a day until I found my old propel. I had quit using it last year because it randomly decided to stop getting service and I couldn't call or text anyone. I used it for about a week and then it started having the same problems again. So I started using the razor. It was going well until we were out of town and then it wouldn't let me push any of the buttons. I couldn't even use the end button to turn it off. So mom graciously let me use her duo again. I had that phone for about a week and then it wouldn't make any phone calls, to or from my phone. So that one went in the trash. While my sister was cleaning out her closet for college, she found a mysterious phone in the bottom. It was a pantech and we had a charger, so that's what I used. This one worked for a while...until it decided to send me 43 of the same messages one night. That was NOT fun to go through the next morning! But I was out of options. We had gone through all of the phones in the "old phone drawer." So I kept using it. Then last week on Tuesday, I laid everything on my car so I could open the door. I put all of my books in there, got in, and drove off. A few minutes down the road, I started looking for it. When I couldn't find it, I assumed it was in the back with the rest of my stuff. I get to the salon and I'm looking for it, but it's nowhere! So, after about 10 minutes of dumping my purse out and pulling everything out of my car, I go back to school and look in the [parking lot. Well what do you know, there is my phone on the ground. I pick it up and there is black all over the back. I flip it open and there is just this white screen. So I turn it off and turn it back on... still a white screen. Well crap! I call my dad on one of my friends phone, but since my upgrade is soon, my dad says I can deal. So that night I start using the razor... again( and the buttons magically work now.)  Now my dad isn't a huge tight-wad, but he didn't want to buy me a new phone when my upgrade was  September 24th. (That's how I got the iPhone) So I dealt with spastic phones all summer. I just got my iPhone tonight, but of course, not without any problems. They had to order it because there wasn't any in stock (of course.) This was on Friday, so it was going to be about Tuesday when it got here. Well Monday came.. no phone. Tuesday came... still no phone. I was starting to get worried till Elizabeth told me that you can go online and track where your package is. So I got online and it said it was at the FedEx place in Owensboro. They tried to deliver it to the house, but someone put the wrong address on the box. So I called and told them I would come and pick it up. I finally got my phone. I am very happy with it at the moment.
And I have an Otterbox.. so this one is indestructible!

Don't Worry About Tomorrow

"The road doesn't tell the traveler what lies ahead." Tanzania

Sometimes I wish there were road signs in life, "Go this way, Do this." Unfortunately there isn't. Everyone makes mistakes, and we learn from them. We never know what tomorrow has in store for us. Matthew 6:34 says, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I am always stressing about things. It holds me back sometimes from enjoying my day. I am constantly worrying about homework or school in general. God doesn't want me worrying all the time. I don't need to worry about what is going to happen next or when something is going to get done. He is going to provide for me. I think that Chrysalis helped me with that. I didn't know what to expect or what time it was. I just need to "Let go and let God."

Lean On Me

When the video started playing, I thought about my Chrysalis group. Chrysalis is a once in a life-time experience, literally because you can only go on it one time. It is like a retreat, but you get to have gatherings with those people again after your flight. In the Chrysalis, you go from a caterpillar to a butterfly on your walk with Christ. It is an amazing experience. The whole time you have no idea what time it is or what you are going to do next. When you have a break you are told how much time you have by the amount by hands. If the leaders hands are really close together, you have a small break. If they are far apart, you have a while to relax, play ball, and hang out. You are split up into tables during the weekend. You have an adult table leader with you and also some other youth. These people are your small group for the weekend. The boys and the girls are split up; but sometimes we come together and have a service. We always start out with singing. The main song for my Chrysalis was "Lean On Me." I love that song. We came up with hand motions for about every word. You really get to know the people on your Flight. And the cool thing is you get to hang out with them at least once a month! You get really close to alot of them so you can actually 'call on them when you need a hand.'

"All That I'm After is A Life Full Of Laughter"

Laughing is one of the best ways to reduce stress. I love a good laugh. I remember when I was younger, my best friend at the time, Emily Wilkerson and I could sit and laugh for hours on end. No joke. Something funny would happen and she would giggle, and then I would giggle. Then we would laugh for about five minutes absolutely rolling on the ground. Then we would stop long enough to barely catch our breath and the next thing you knew we were giggling again. The littlest thing made us laugh, but what really got us going is when my dad would sneak out the front door and come and bang on my window, or he would randomly pop into my room. That led to us being chased around the house screaming our heads off, or trying to lock ourselves in a room. He would jump over the couch or chase us around the dining room table; anything to make us scream. It worked. When he finally captured us, and he always did, he would tickle us till we begged for mercy. We would laugh till we cried or almost wet ourselves. He didn't even have to actually tickle us to get us to scream; he could just act like he was going to start. If the words, "Goochy Goochy goo" came out of his mouth it was followed by a LOUD scream. When we could finally could get settled down, we would sit and giggle about what had just happened. This didn't happen on just one or two occasions; it was every time she was over, which was quite frequently.
I also like to listen to peoples laughs. Everyone is different. There are the guys with the deep laughs or the girls with the giggles; and then you have the people with the hilariously outrageous laughs. One of my all time favorite laughs to hear comes from the one and only Dylan Baker. He is one of my best friends and we have gone to church camp together for years. He just graduated from Greenwood High and is now going to WKU. I do everything in my power to make this kid laugh when I see him. When he laughs, I automatically start laughing. Picture this: a football player that is shorter and built. When he laughs it seems to come from deep inside of him. I wish there were words to explain this totally contagious laugh. Every time it is three huah huah huahs. Unless its really funny and then its a bunch of huah huah huahs. There is no one that can remake the Baker laugh. I also like it when people laugh and then it is followed by a long drawn out sigh. My aunt does it every time she laughs. There was also a girl on my bus that laughed that way and we would get in trouble because every time she finished a laugh everyone else would bust out laughing.
Laughing together really does bring you closer to people. I love laughing and I love laughing with my friends and family. Laughing is hilarious and relieves stress you might not know you had. So hang out and laugh it up!

Blah Blah Blog

I have nothing to write about... so hopefully this is my only blog that I just ramble. Maybe if I come up with something after I finish, I can use this one for another time. I like blogging and normally the porverbs I can write something to. This week must be an off week. I always have a song that reminds me of what the proverb says. I just couldn't make the connection this week. Soo therefore, I have nothing to say. I am just going to keep tying until this blog looks long enough to actually be a blog. Right now, it's not looking so well. Especially compared to my other blogs that are forever long. This one will be shorter. I guess I could talk about myself. My middle name is Anne, I am the 5th Ellison, but the first girl. My dad and granddads middle names are Elison (not Ellison, but I still count it) my great and great-great grandfathers names were Ellison. What is also weird is that on my grandparents farm, there is a tombstone that says Ellison Humphrey on it. I'm not sure if they are family or not. I have a sister, who I have talked about before, she is now 19 and is going to WKU. We are about 2 years apart. She has brown hair and is tall and skinny. My moms name is Christie and she has short dirty blonde hair. She teaches at Sorgho Elm. School in the 4th grade. My dad is tall with dark hair and he is currently starting his own business called Hollison. (My sister and my names put together.) We live out in Utica about two minutes passed the food mart on 140 East. I have a chocolate lab named Roscoe that is more like a bear than a dog, but he is the biggest baby you will ever meet. I love my family dearly
Well it turns out this is a kinda long blog anyways!

Mi Casa es Su Casa

My mother is currently going through "empty nest syndrome" even though I am still in the house. My sister recently moved to college and even before she left, my mom was having troubles. However, we think we have found an answer to moms problem. My sister and I have always wanted more brothers and sister and since my mom can't have children we have begged for them to adopt. We aren't quite that far yet, but we convinced my parents to take Foster Care classes. My mom was easier to win over than my dad. He still says he doesn't want us telling people we are getting foster children because he hasn't made a decision. Even though we have gone through the classes, filled out tons of paper work, had physicals, retrieved our old toys from church, and bought bunk-beds; he still isn't sure? Hopefully he will make up his mind soon because I love having children in our house. We watch my cousins a lot and I love when they spend the night. I think childrens laughter brings joy to a home.
Another delima is that if they are over the age of 5, boys and girls (even if they are siblings) cannot sleep in the same room. In our house, there are three bedrooms: my parents, my sisters, and mine. So we don't have enough room in our house for all of us. I am not going to have a bunkbed in my room. I am totally fine with the little girls sleeping in my room, but a bunk bed is not flying. I have agreed to a trunnel bed, but my dad has been wanting to move to town. That does not fly with me either. I ablsolutley love where we live. You can look out the front window into a big field with a horse field to the side. Our driveway is about a half mile so there aren't many distractions. We have 15 acres of pure peacefullness. I don't see how anyone would want to move away from such a paradise. That is my home. I am dreading having to move away or build a new house somewhere. I tell my dad all the time that when they die, or when I build a house of my own, I want to live on that land. Therefore he cannot sell it. I love living where my nieghbors can't see me. I dont have to worry about walking around my house in my sports bra and having creepers peering in the windows.

I also love that place because it is the place I have known since I was five years old. We moved when I was in kindergarten, but I still remember the day we moved. There are so many memories that have been made and will be made there. My dog Copper is buried on our hill, my first fish is buried in our front yard. No, we did not flush her. I would not hear of Angel being treated in that way. Its where I have put all my teeth under my pillow, where I have spent every christmas that I can remember, where we have rode the 4-wheeler with a sled pulled behind it. Our home is where we have a door siding that marks our growth; its where I brought my horse home for the first time and rode him in a full our gallop around the yard. It's one of my favorite places in the world.

Walk A Mile In Their Shoes

Luke 6:37-38 says, " Do not be judged, and you will not be judge. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you."

John 8: 15-16 "You judge by human standards, I judge no one. And if I do judge, My judgement is true, because I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me judge together."

John 7:24 " Stop judging according to outward appearance; rather judge according to righteous judgement"

We all judge. I am guilty of it too. Normally I judge those who are different than me. Mainly older men that scare me or peers that don't make very wise decisions. But those are the ones I should be loving on the most. They might not have Jesus and they need him just like anyone else. Jesus and the Father are ultimately the only ones who have the right to judge. They are the only ones who can give rightful judgement. They do not see through human eyes, but through perfect sight. They can see what is really happening within a person and can truly understand them. That is something that bothers me when I catch myself judging someone. I can't help but think, "What is their story?" or "What made them want to act that way?" What could be going so wrong that they would act out like that. We all judge before we ever even try to learn the story. As the saying goes, "Walk a mile in their shoes."

Might As Well Be Twin Sisters

I personally don't think my sister and I look alike. She has brown hair and I have blonde. However, when we are both in our glasses and have our hair scrunched, we are told we look alot alike. We apparently have the same movements too. The other day I was in my peer tutoring class and one of the teachers told me I did a "Holley pose." My sister and I have very different personalities though. She is very outgoing and doesn't really care about what people think of her, while I am not as outgoing and I care alot about my impressions on people. I like being friends with alot of people and I hate it when someone is mad at me. Our different personalities might be why we don't always get along. Then again we have similar interests. We both enjoy softball and working with special needs children. We both are in love with the same foods; macaroni and cheese (craft is the only way to go, unless its grandmothers), peanut butter and animal crackers, mashed potatoes, and strawberry cake. I guess we could be twins at times.

Be A Hero

This summer, at Loucon Church Camp, the theme was "Be a Hero." We learned how to make a difference in the world. Senior High 1 is the camp that I attend. A lot of us have been going to camp together for years and we are like family, so our small group conversations are very deep and we can open up to each other. We talked about everything from trying to witness to people and school and being afraid of what others think of you to problems that we are going through with our families. To be a hero you don't have to change the world, but if you make a difference in one persons heart, it can mean much more.
Today's song is "Human" by Natalie Grant. She says, "We gotta do better than this, cause we only got one chance to make a difference...Little love, little kindness, little light in this time of darkness." Today a lot of people are suffering. Many are out of work, don't have a home, or have lost loved ones. You hear all the time about the children in Africa who die everyday because of starvation, but you don't always hear about the children in America who go to bed hungry to. The ones who only meal is at school and when the weekend comes, they don't get anything from Friday at lunch to Monday morning at breakfast. It is up to the rest of us to make a difference. Every one needs love. A smile goes farther than you may ever know.

Love Will Hold Us Together

I love listening to K Love, which is our christian radio station in Evansville. When blog time started I put on K Love. Our blog option was to talk about what family meant to us and who we were in our family. On K Love the song "Hold Us Together" by Matt Maher was on. I actually got to listen to him this past weekend at New Song Music Festival held at Loucon in Lietchfield. I decided to tie the two together. Love is what holds a family together. Every family has their problems and troubles, but in the end there is still love. You can get mad at each other, but no matter what at some point you are reminded at how much you love your family. I have a sister and we are 2 years apart. We don't always get along very well and we have our rough spots. She recently went to college so it is very different every night when she doesn't come home. We get in a lot less arguments now that she is at college and not home everyday. I have always kind of felt my sister were not as close as we should be; but really all sisters fight. I held it against her for a while which did not help our situation. We are working on our relationship, and us having time apart is helping. But no matter what, when my sister is hurting or upset; I am too because I really do love her. That is what family is about.

"Were Here Now" Tenth Avenue North

"So you thought you had to keep this up,
All the work you do
So we think that your good
And you can't believe it's not enough
All the walls you built up
Are just glass on the outside

So let em fall down
There's freedom waiting in the sound
Were here now

This is where the healing begins"

This song is called "Healing Begins" by Tenth Avenue North. I heard this song on K Love again when we were writing our blogs. When it says, "Were here now" that made me think of how people are here to support you. This song is talking about someone who doesn't think they are good enough or they can't do enough. He is telling them to let there walls down and let people in to comfort them and encourage them. Everyone needs someone they can rely on. You can't keep everything to yourself. I did that for a long time and there are still things I keep to myself, but you need someone who you can share what you are going through with. When you keep everything bottled up inside, you eventually will crack. Every person goes through some type of trial; you are not alone. You have to share what is on your mind. I use my friends as the people I vent to. When there is something really bothering me, I know I can always go to them. Who is yours?