101 Things to see before I die...

We've all seen those 101 things... lists. It seems like there's a new one every week or so: 101 places to see before you die, 101 books to read, movies to see, paintings to see, buildings to visit – it goes on and on. I am not what you would call a well-traveled person, but I have collected my own list of places I'd like to visit, starting with places here in the United States.

United States

New England States

• Boston National Historical Park – Boston, Massachusetts. This park connects eight different historical sites that show Boston's role in the American Revolution, including the Paul Revere House and the Bunker Hill Monument.
• Portland Head Lighthouse – Portland, Maine. Visited by hundreds of thousands of people a year, this lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine is considered the most photographed lighthouse in North America.
• Gettysburg Battlefield – Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battlefield is now the home of Gettysburg National Military Park and Gettysburg National Cemetery.
• Newport Cliff Walk – Newport, Rhode Island. The Cliff Walk is a designated National Recreation
  Trail. It consists of 3.5 miles of walking trails that follow the beautiful shoreline.
• Independence Hall – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Independence Hall is the historic building where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were signed. It featured prominently in the movie National Treasure.

Mid-Atlantic States

• Smithsonian Institution – Washington, DC. The Smithsonian Institution is a complex of museums related to American history, including the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, and many, many more.
• Lincoln Memorial – Washington, DC. This memorial was built on the National Mall to honor President Abraham Lincoln. The memorial includes a large sculpture of Lincoln, and has been the location of many speeches, including Martin Luther King. Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
• The White House – Washington, DC. The White House home of the president and the seat of the Executive Branch of the United States Government. It's many historic rooms are filled with presidential memorabilia.
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial – Washington, DC. Simply known as "The Wall," the Vietnam Veterans Memorial contains the names of the 58,256 veterans who were either killed in action or were still unaccounted for at the end of the Vietnam War.
• The Boardwalk – Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Boardwalk in Atlantic City was built as a way of keeping visitors from tracking sand into hotel lobbies. It is currently the world's longest boardwalk.
• The Statue of Liberty – New York City, New York. The Statue of Liberty is located in New York Harbor, and is one of the most enduring symbols of the United States.
• Empire State Building – New York City, New York. Built in 1931, the Empire State Building is currently the tallest building in New York City, since the World Trade Center was destroyed in 2001.
• Hershey's Chocolate World – Hershey, Pennsylvania. Who could pass up touring a world of chocolate?

Southern States

• Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church&Parsonage – Montgomery, Alabama. This is the church where Martin Luther King, Jr. started his ministry and his work as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement.
• Bathhouse Row – Hot Springs, Arkansas. At Bathhouse Row, you can bathe in the natural mineral hotsprings in the Buckstaff Baths, which is the only historical bathhouse still currently in use and open to tourists.
• John F. Kennedy Space Center – Cape Canaveral, Florida. It's always been a dream of mine to watch an actual shuttle launch.
• Landmark District – Savannah, Georgia. This area is full of historic sites that evoke a feeling of the Old South.
• The French Quarter – New Orleans, Louisiana. The French Quarter is the oldest and most historic neighborhood in New Orleans, and a great place to find delicious cajun or creole food.
• The Belle of Louisville Steamboat – Louisville, Kentucky. This steamboat was originally built in 1914, and has been completely restored to her old-style glory.
• The Grand Ole Opry House – Nashville, Tennessee. This is the home of the oldest continuous radio program in the USA, and a great place to hear terrific country music.
• Shenandoah Valley – Virginia. Located between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountain ranges, the Shenandoah Valley was mentioned in John Denver's famous song, "Country Roads."

Midwest States

• Niagara Falls – Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara Falls used to be the destination for honeymooners. The sheer majesty of the falls will astound you.
• The Gateway Arch – St. Louis, Missouri. This arch and park complex were designed to commemorate the Louisiana Purchase, and comprise the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.

Great Plains States

• Mt. Rushmore – Keystone, South Dakota. Mt. Rushmore is American history carved into a mountainside. It displays the heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Mountain States

• Rocky Mountain National Park – Colorado. For breathtaking mountain views and terrific hiking trails, the Rocky Mountain National Park can't be beat.
• Glacier National Park – Montana. You can take a tour of this park on a 1930s red tourist bus, called a "jammer."
• Monument Valley – southern border of Utah. Any lover of Western movies will recognize the glorious and majestic buttes in Monument Valley.
• Frontier Days – Cheyenne, Wyoming. Visit one of the largest and best-known rodeos in the United States.
• Devils Tower National Monument – northeastern Wyoming. Have you seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Then you will recognize this distinctly-shaped rock formation.

Southwestern States

• Grand Canyon – Arizona. You can hike to viewing points, or take a helicopter ride in order to view the Grand Canyon in all its glory.
• Las Vegas Strip – Las Vegas, Nevada. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, right? Whether you want to gamble, see a show, or just stay in a world-class hotel, Vegas is the right destination.
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park – Carlsbad, New Mexico. If spelunking (cave exploring) is your thing, then these huge natural caves with uniquely shaped stalactites and stalagmites are a must-see.
• Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument – southern New Mexico. These dwellings were carved out of the cliffs by people of the Mogollon culture in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
• The Alamo - San Antonio, Texas. The site of a decisive battle in Texas's war for independence from Mexico, the most famous Alamo defenders were Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett.
• The Live Music Capitol of the World – Austin, Texas. Austin is known for its many nightclubs featuring live music: blues, country, jazz, swing, and just about every genre you can think of.

Pacific States

• Hollywood Boulevard – Hollywood, California. Along this boulevard are many famous landmarks: Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Walk of Fame (with the stars of the stars!), Bob Hope Square, and the Kodak Theatre.
• Golden Gate Bridge – San Francisco, California. This suspension bridge spans the opening of San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean.
• USS Arizona Memorial – Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This memorial was built to commemorate the Americans killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
• Powell's City of Books – Portland, Oregon. Powell's is the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world, and if you're a book-lover like I am, it's a must-see.
• The Space Needle – Seattle, Washington. The Space Needle is the ultimate symbol of Seattle, and the surrounding area includes the Pacific Science Center and many other attractions.
• Pike Place Market – Seattle, Washington. I'm a Washingtonian, and so Seattle is a favorite place to visit. Along with the Space Needle, you have to see the fish-sellers throwing their wares at Pike Place.
• Deception Pass – Whidbey Island, Washington. Located in the beautiful San Juan Islands, Deception Pass is a strait that connects Skagit Bay with the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the Puget Sound.
• Northern Lights - Alaska. March or September.
  

Canada

• Charlottetown Festival – Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Anyone who has read Anne of Green Gables (or seen the film version) will recognize Charlottetown. This musical theater festival runs from May to October.
• Christ Church Cathedral – Victoria, British Columbia. Christ Church is a beautiful Anglican cathedral in Victoria, BC.

Mexico

• Chichen Itza – Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. This is a huge archeological site containing many Mayan artifacts and Mayan pyramids.
• The Beach – Cancun, Mexico. For picture postcard beautiful beaches and some great nightlife, try Cancun.

South America

• Festival of Flowers – Medellin, Colombia. Every August, Medellin hosts the Festival of Flowers. The area is known for its orchids.
• Christ the Redeemer – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This beautiful statue was recently voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
• Carnivale – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On the other end of the spectrum from the Christ the Redeemer statue is this wild and unbelievable carnival celebrated around the same time as Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
• Incan Ruins – Macchu Picchu, Peru. Macchu Picchu was an ancient city of the Inca Empire.
• World's Southernmmost City – Ushuaia, Argentina. In Ushuaia, you can see penguins without visiting Antarctica.
• Angel Falls – Canaima National Park, Venezuela. This is the world's highest free-falling, freshwater waterfall.

Europe

• The Grand Canal - Venice, Italy. What could be more romantic than a gondola ride?
• The Colosseum – Rome, Italy. The Colosseum was the site of many gladiator battles.
• St. Peter's Basilica – Vatican City, Rome, Italy. Traditionally the burial site of Saint Peter, this is the most famous church in Rome.
• The Acropolis – Athens, Greece. Home of the Parthenon and other Greek temples.
• Mount Olympus – Greece. According to myth, Mount Olympus was the home of the gods.
• Copenhagen, Denmark. See the statue of the original Little Mermaid, a tribute to Hans Christian Anderson.
• Stonehenge – Wiltshire County, England. Archaeologists believe this prehistoric monument was built around 2200 BC.
• Tower of London – London, England. Throughout history, this tower has been used as a prison, a place of execution, a treasury, and the Royal Mint. It is the current home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
• Big Ben – Westminster, England. The Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster has become known as Big Ben, although technically that is the name of the bell inside the Clock Tower.
• Westminster Abbey – Westminster, England. This gothic cathedral is still in use for worship services today.
• Edinburgh Castle – Edinburgh, Scotland. This castle dates back to the Middle Ages.
• Blarney Castle – Blarney, Ireland. This is where you go to kiss the Blarney Stone.
• The Louvre – Paris, France. The Louvre is the most famous art museum in the world.
• Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France. Notre Dame is a gothic cathedral located on The Ile de la Cite, one of the natural islands located in the Seine River in Paris.
• Champs Elysee – Paris, France. This is one of the most beautiful and historic streets in the world.
• Arc de Triomphe – Paris, France. This arch honors those who fought for France in the Napoleonic Wars.
• Eiffel Tower – Paris, France. This French landmark is the tallest building in France, and was built for the World's Fair in 1889.
• Monte Carlo Casino – Monaco. This historic casino is the epitome of gambling establishments.
• The Cathedral of Seville – Seville, Spain. Visit in the spring to attend the Seville Fair and see some amazing flamenco dancing.
• The Rock of Gibraltar – located in Gibraltar, Spain, but property of the United Kingdom.
• The Running of the Bulls – Pamplona, Spain. This custom takes place during the Festival of San Fermin, and involves extremely crazy people running in front of bulls let loose in the city.
• Belem Tower – Lisbon, Portugal. This gothic tower was built in the early 16th century.
• Neuschwanstein Castle – Bavaria, Germany. This castle was built by King Ludwig II as an homage to the composer Richard Wagner, and looks like something right out of a Disney fairy tale.
• Salzburg, Austria – All the beautiful scenery in The Sound of Music can be found in and around Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart.
• Vienna, Austria – This city is full of beautiful, historic buildings and is located on the Blue Danube River.
• The Alps – Switzerland. The mountains are glorious, and the Alpine meadows in spring are breathtaking.
• Prague Castle – Prague, Czech Republic. This is the largest ancient castle in the world, located in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.
• Parliament Building – Budapest, Hungary. When these historic buildings are lit up at night on the banks of the Danube, it is a breathtaking sight.
• Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia – Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes in Europe, and is so clear that you can see to a depth of 65 feet. Also, stop and see the St. Naum Monastery, which dates back to 905 AD.
• Optimisticeskaja (Optimists' Cave) – Ternopil District, Ukraine. This is the third longest cave system in the world, and contains 230 kilometers of mapped passageways.
• St. Basil's Cathedral – Moscow, Russia. The colorful 'onion domes' of this cathedral on the Red Square in Moscow make this building look like something out of a fairy tale.
• Kazan Cathedral – St. Petersburg, Russia. Located on Nevsky Prospekt, the most famous street in Russia.
• Hagia Sofia – Istanbul, Turkey. Once a Christian cathedral, then a Muslim mosque, this building is now a museum in the city formerly known as Constantinople.

The Middle East

• Western (or 'Wailing') Wall – Jerusalem, Israel. This is a Jewish historic site located in the Old City in Jerusalem.
• The Dome of the Rock – Jerusalem, Israel. This Islamic shrine is located on the Temple Mount, the historic location of the Jewish Temple.
• Petra archaeological site – Southwestern Jordan. This site is a city carved in stone.
• Cedars of God Forest – Lebanon. This is the last of the forests of Lebanese cedars that thrived in Bible times – King Solomon built the first Jewish temple using Lebanese cedar.

Asia

• Taj Mahal – Agra, India. This mausoleum combines architectural styles from Persia, Turkey, the Islamic Empire, and India.
• Great Wall – China. This wall stretches over 4,000 miles, and took centuries to build.
• Imperial Palace – Beijing, China. The Imperial Palace is now a museum that houses art and artifacts of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
• Sapporo Snow Festival – Sapporo, Japan. The sculptures of ice and snow at this festival are mind-boggling.

Africa

• Pyramids of Giza – Cairo, Egypt. This complex of pyramids includes the Great Pyramid, the only remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the Great Sphinx.
• Victoria Falls National Park – northwestern Zimbabwe. This national park houses Victoria Falls, one of the largest and most beautiful waterfalls in the world. It is also the home of a variety of exotic plant and animal species in the rainforest below the falls.
• Serengeti National Park – Tanzania. If you tour this park, you can see lions, giraffes, zebras, hippos, gazelles, and other native African wildlife.
• Table Mountain National Park – Cape Town, South Africa. You can hike, go caving, or take a cable car to get the best views of Table Mountain and the surrounding area.

Australia

• Sydney Opera House – Sydney. This beautiful building is an example of Expressionist Architecture, and is one of the most famous symbols of Australia.
• Great Barrier Reef – Queensland. This is the world's largest coral reef system, and a popular destination for scuba divers.

Oceania

• Moai (Easter Island Statues) – Easter Island, Polynesia. Easter Island is the home of the Easter Island statues, huge stone structures of human figures.

There you have it – my travel wish list. Some have been crossed off, MOST have not. If you're looking for a list of 101 places to see before you die, feel free to borrow mine – or, better yet, create your own! Bon voyage.

Tales of the Scales

January 2, 2011
Starting Weight

January 9, 2011
After Week One

YAY!!!!!




















January 16, 2011
After Week 3!
Down 11 lbs!

New Year, New Body.

In December, My husband and I were fortunate enough to have someone love us so much that he bought us a cruise! It was amazing. We were able to go to Cozumel and Progresso, which turned into a bus ride to the Yucatan Capital of Merida. As with all vacations, comes pictures.

Cozumel



Merida



But one picture, caused me to see something I did not want to: My Fat!



So I decided to change! I started a "game" with 40 or so people on Facebook who all had the same ideas I did about change. They wanted it! So I started "The Biggest Loser."

It just officially started this Sunday, January 2, 2011. I weighed in at a whopping 223 pounds. A weight I have never before seen and in no way wish to see in the future. Since Sunday, I have worked out everyday using either the gym or using the Wii system in our bedroom--Wii Fit and Biggest Loser games. I hate working out but the results had to come so that I could feel better about who I am as a person: physically and emotionally.

I started eating right: not diet food and stuff that I can't stand to eat but mine and my husband's favorite foods and in proportion. Cooking is actually something that I loved to do since I was a kid. My mom is an amazing cook and she taught me my way around the kitchen. I love experimenting with foods and creating new things.

A few of those things include:

Shish Kabobs



Who said losing weight has to taste bad?! Each Kabob is 230 Calories and was GOOD! It includes onions, green peppers, tomatoes, LEAN steak, chicken, and sausage. I seasoned each kabob with 1/2 teaspoon of Tony's. I cooked them on our George Foreman so the fat and oils drained. And it was fun to make, if you have kids, this could be fun for them! You cut the stuff and they put the kabobs together! Win, win!

Vegetable Soup



Made with onions, carrots, green beans, corn, Beef Stew meat, diced tomatoes, black eyed peas (already boiled to ensure softness), sweet peas, kidney beans. I place all the ingredients in the crock pot uncooked, then I mix them up to ensure that the frozen foods are broken up and each scoop would include everything. Then I fill the crock pot up half way with coke (Don't ask me why by Coke makes it cook and taste better. I promise.) I stir again. Then I sprinkle a tablespoon of Tony's over all of it and stir again. Then I place the top on it and set it to low. Now...you wait. about six hours. Long wait but well worth it. ;) After 5 or so hours, I place it on high for the last hour. I then check to see if the meat is fully cooked. If it is, then you are ready! As an added tangy, sweet flavor, I add a tablespoon of Baby Ray's BBQ and stir it into the soup. Then I serve.

After the first serving, I go ahead and place the rest of the soup in containers so we are not tempted to eat too much. Proportions are the problem in America. We SuperSize everything. I mean think about it. You go to a restaurant and order a steak. Likely you will receive a 12oz or bigger steak PLUS sides. The problem is, a 3oz steak is actually a serving! So you are consuming 4 times what you are supposed to! And we wonder how we get obese! So I place them in bowls.

My mom a few years ago, bought me a box of bowls from Wal-Mart. It included bowls of all sizes and their lids. The smallest of these bowls holds two cups of whatever you place in it.



In my case, two cups of veggie soup. This is the perfect size for the meal. It allows you to reach into the fridge, pull out a bowl, pop it in the microwave and enjoy the correct serving that does in fact fill you up! There are those days where we want something to go along with it so what I do is make whole wheat cheese quesadillas. I lay down a whole wheat tortilla and put a serving of shredded cheese inside (serving sizes vary by what type of cheese we use) then top it with another tortilla. I put the oven to "Broil" and then toast either side, flipping it when it is browned to our liking. I then cut them into 4ths and serve! It's amazing and takes me back to elementary school where soup and grilled cheese was the best meal we had!

2 cups of the soup = 160 calories
1 wheat quesadilla = 300 calories
Which means this meal is a slim 460 calories! Add that with water or if you are absolutely craving a coke then use Coke Zero! And you are getting off cheap!

So these are a few meals to get you started. Depending on your family size, your soup can last ya a week, and considering all the ingredients cost about $10-$15, you are getting off cheap!

Canon Rebel Pictures: The Beginnings!

Trace! Cute kid with gorgeous eyes. He was bouncing off the walls that day! Typical little boy. ha

Jacob playing a tune to the sky.

Brother and sister. Great kids. Very fun. The boy was constantly posing. Too funny.

The sky was gorgeous this day! Loved it. I had a blast taking family photos for them!

This really captures who he seemed to be. Really quiet and just a nice kid.

Jacob is a music maniac. Love this kid.

Unbelievable... never before felt... emotion and CHOICE of the heart.

Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? I mean, it's a great thing... but it makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and REALLY mess you up. You build up all these defenses as you go through life... Life experiences have caused you to build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you...no one can hurt you... then it happens, one person, to the untrained, unknown eye they are seemingly no different from any other person yet they simply wander into your life...

And oddly enough, inspite of all the walls you have built up around yourself, you give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like smile at you or hug you or show you that all those walls and defenses that you have built up your entire life are completely idiotic... And eventually that feeling of wanting more, and wanting another person in your life doesn't seem so bad, so you give your heart to them...piece by piece. Then your life and your heart isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It begins eating away at your insides so that eventually you are hollow and no longer completely yourself...

With some relationships however, it could leave you crying in the darkness. So simple a phrase as 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. That type of pain can cause one to truly hate love. But I sit and ponder why that is... Why is it that we allow ourselves to fall so madly for someone that even when things turn sour and that person is CLEARLY not for you, you can't help but still want them? Is it perhaps that we were created to love?!

I mean it is true that to love is to risk not being loved in return. And to hope is to risk pain. And to try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. But what if it were possible to jump into a true love relationship with the knowledge that you would NEVER get hurt? What if it were offered to us, "Let me show you what love REALLY is, then you will be able to show that love to others and in return, you will be able to be loved as well." What an offer! But that is an offer that is already on the table. I mean God is love. And before we offer our hearts to anyone else, God wants us to offer our hearts to Him.

He wants to be a TRUE love relationship with Him. And when we receive that offer, He comes in and shows us what love is. And as He begins to transform us into His mini-me's, He longs to see us BECOME love as well... 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the Love chapter in the Bible... but what if we take it a step further? What if everytime we see the word "love" in the passage in verses 4-8, we replace that with our names? After all, that's what God longs for...us to BECOME love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Abbie is patient, Abbie is kind. Abbie does not envy, Abbie does not boast, Abbie is not proud. Abbie is not rude, Abbie is not self-seeking, Abbie is not easily angered, Abbie keeps no record of wrongs. Abbie does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Abbie always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Abbie's Love never fails.

Ok...I don't know about you...but that makes me feel like a liar... So where do we go from here?! I think we should recap our lives and ask ourselves DAILY in the famous song of Tina Turner "whats love got to do with it?!" I mean do we REALLY live each day as God's love?! Are you always patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, etc?! Because I'm sure not...but that has become my prayer... GOD, DON'T JUST SHOW ME LOVE, MAKE ME LOVE...LIKE YOU ARE LOVE!

Bucket List...

I have had this a while. But today we were talking about Bucket lists...aka things we want to do before we "kick the bucket." Here's mine. It grows (and shrinks due to accomplishing things) daily.

Abbie's Life List:

-Get my education paid off and eventually get enough money to pay my parents back for what they have given me to further my education.

-Be able to show my community that you can make something of your life even if you are from a small town in the middle of no where.

-Gain more confidence in all areas of my life. **2009

-Write to somebody famous, and get a REAL reply **Jonathan Safran Foer 2007 (writer of one of my favorite books.)

-Save somebody's life **2007

-Take a road trip with a few friends and document the whole thing. **2006

-For somebody who doesn't know me or anyone i know to know my name.

-To step foot in every state in The US

-To throw out the first pitch at a major league game

-Ride on a passenger train.

-To attend the Olympic games

-Go to every continent

-Dance in the streets of a major city **2006

-See one thing that is the “world’s largest"**2007 Drove on the world's longest bridge

-Stay out all night and go to work the next day without having gone home **2008

-Drive across America from coast to coast.

-Find a job I love. **2007 CAMP!

-Overcome my fear of failure.

-Give a phenomenal speech in public **2004

-Make myself spend a half-day at a concentration camp and swear never to forget.

-Run to the top of the Statue of Liberty.

-Catch a ball in the stands of a major league baseball stadium **1994

-See the Northern Lights.

-Go to top of the Empire State Building

-Visit Mt. Rushmore

-Walk every stair up and down the Eiffel tower

-Own a laptop **2007

-Drive down route 66

-Cook something for a celebrity

-Fall in love....a real love beyond just some high school romance **2008 and more and more everyday since... Oh man do I love that boy! :P

-Get painted like a statue and sit in a park and shock people all the while filming every moment of it.

-Make a dream come true for a friend

-Make a comedian laugh**2008 Mark Lowry

-successfully do a stand-up comedy act **2007

-Learn to do “the worm"

-To meet a really famous person and to pretend I don't know them

-To ride in a limo for a cross-country trip

-To read the Bible cover to cover

-To go Scotland, and sleep in one of those old castles

-To walk down the red carpet at one of those famous movie premiers

-See Angel Falls in Venezuela

-Kiss the Blarney Stone

-Take a cruise

-Teach somebody to read

-Teach somebody to ride a bike **2007

-Take a martial arts class **2009

-Drive at more than 140mph.

-Have my name spray painted on the side of a railroad car **2005

-Get my name in the "thank you" section of a CD

-To be able to say....in everything...whether success, or failure...I Tried

-For somebody to dedicate a book to me **2008 (discovered it in 2008....)

-To have a song dedicated to me on the radio **2000

-To Sky Dive

-To sell a soda at a pro baseball game

-To be a person with a nick name **2007 Bagels...long story. lol

-Crowd surf at a concert **2007

-To sleepwalk somewhere in public **2002

-Fly in a glider

-See every movie that ever won an oscar for best film

-Go to a major league baseball game **1994

-Have my photo taken with a leg on each side of the equator

-Design a video game

-Do something that no one expects of me **2007

-Break a really large plate glass window

-Tip a waiter with something other than money **2008 "Movie Bucks"

-Kick open a door **2006

-Spend a night in a "haunted" house **2004

-Swim with dolphins

-Fly a plane

-Learn to play an instrument well.

-light a match with a gun (my grandfather used to be able to do it with a .22)

-make a movie

-Fly first class

-Jump off of a bridge(into water...duh) with some friends to prove to everyone that “yes I would jump off of a bridge if my friends did."

-Perform an Anonymous Favor **2006

-be on national television for something I have accomplished **2007 Operation Purple Camps

-Work for a cause I believe in. **2005

-SING in the rain! **2002, 2006

-Be able to send my parents on a 2nd honeymoon

-get a tattoo **2006

-Save up $5,000

-Learn to drive a stick shift **2004

-Go to a drive-in movie

-See the ocean **2006

-Go sledding on a food tray **2008 (@Tech! lol)

-Watch the sunrise/sunset from the roof of at least one university-owned building.

-Throw a huge party **2003

-Watch the launch of a space shuttle

-Receive a dozen red roses…just because **2009

-Be a member of the audience in a well known TV Show

-Send a message in a bottle

-Ride a camel in the desert

-Learn a new dance **2006

-Get passionate about a cause and spend time helping it, instead of just thinking about it. **2009 MCH

-Experience weightlessness.

-Learn to juggle.

-Stay in a penthouse apartment in NYC

-Win a contest of some sort **2002

-Buy a house

-Drive in a car race

-meet my heroes of comedy: Ellen DeGeneres, Dane Cook, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, among others...

-Graduate High School **2004

-Graduate College **2007 Associate's

-Pull a prank on someone I just met **2006

-Ride in a horse drawn carriage

-Help my dad quit smoking

-stop procrastinating...now....well...maybe later... :D

-exercise more

-lose 20 or more pounds **2006...25 over the summer! woo!

-get an iPod

-run in a marathon

-Learn a new language....fluently

-Attempt to climb Everest.

-have a newspaper story, other than in my small town, with my name on it **2006, 2007, 2008

-spend new years eve in NYC

-be a motivational speaker that travels across the US talking to youth and kids

-get my passport and start filling it up with adventures I have taken...

-have something to show for my life by the time I am 25

-own a horse

-learn to ballroom dance

-make a positive difference in a child's life **2007, Camp

-try sushi **2007 in California! I like it!

-eat a piece of food for every letter of the alphabet

-tell the people that mean most that I love them everyday...and mean it everytime

-go somewhere besides prom that requires a formal gown

-visit an orphanage and become really involved in helping **2009

-not be afraid to step out on faith and do something**2006(roadtrip and camp)

-be completely carefree for a day**2006

-show my friends, who have truly been there more than anyone could have imagined, that I really care for, love and appreciate them then help them make a dream of theirs to come true...

-Buy a sportbike

-get back into riding dirtbikes and race a bit

-Learn to surf

-Get my PhD

-Sleep under the stars**once a year almost every year

-Kiss in the rain

-Write a book

-Change the world for one person**2007, at least he made me feel like I changed the world for him. RIP

-become something great



This is pretty much what my Life List consists of...I encourage ya to write one of your own...if you write it down then you are more likely to actually do the things on there! later yall!

Ongoing struggle to talk to the Creator of the Universe...

I don't know how many times I have sat on a pew within a church and watched as the preacher proclaimed to me that prayer is as much about listening for God's response as it is about speaking to God. And that my words are merely half of a dialogue with God. Still, I continue to struggle—I'm talking major struggle—with the notion of prayer.

I, however, refuse to apologize for this. After all, even the disciples were all about failure to pray... Whatever do I mean?! The disciples?! NO! lol. Ok, well check it out:

Like us, they had Jesus himself as a model. They saw him go off by himself to pray. They listened to him pray publicly. They overheard those seemingly weird private yet public prayers of his in which he told his father stuff like, I know you’re already doing this, but I am just saying this for the benefit of those listening. And yet, they didn’t pray enough—or perhaps the correct way—to cast out demons on at least one occasion. And they fell asleep instead of praying in Gethsemane. And, most importantly, they questioned Jesus about how to pray. They were, in other words, just like me. They were worried about prayer. They decided, or feared, or fantasized, that there might be some right way to pray—the way John the Baptist prayed, perhaps, or Billy Graham, or the way some dorky self-help book on morning devotions described what the author did each day, or the way some preacher told them was how prayer was supposed to be done—and they weren’t doing it that way. They thought their prayers were inadequate, somehow. I know they did. This is how I perpetually feel about prayer.

Don’t get me wrong. I pray. I prayed as a child. Nowadays, as then however, I pray on mostly an as-needed basis. I worry on behalf of others, a kind of intercessory prayer, I think. I also get great relief, many nights, from silently talking to God, so to speak, and knowing that he’s listening. In my few years years of being a bit agnostic, the prayers of my abandoned faith were what I missed most. Asking. Complaining. Being comforted. Feeling heard.

Yet... really... I don’t know what to say here. How did I come about a transition from this obviously knowing how to pray that I have had from childhood—and there is this sense that we all, deep down, actually do know how to pray without being told—to the conviction that my “prayer-life” is somehow faulty in the eyes of God and of men?! Is it just the influence of the sort of people who use such terms as “prayer-life” that devalues my habits? Or is there really some better way to pray, some more mature way of praying beyond the crying out like a newborn and being comforted?

I keep thinking about this, toying with it. It’s a deceptively easy subject, it seems to me. Maybe I worry about it too much? A lot of people tell me this about a lot of things, and they are surely right. Every one of those Fear-not!’s in the Bible was intended for me, I think. The preacher, whoever the preacher may be, says, "Prayer is just talking to God. Like in a normal conversation."

But here’s the thing. In most of the conversations I have with anyone else but God, the person responds. Out loud. In audible words. In my language—or at least in a language which I can understand and recognize as language. Which is not how God does it. .....Unless, of course, my experience of God really is far more limited than I know about. I mean we say that God doesn't speak audibly anymore... but... why not? I mean is that biblical "I shalt no longer speak to thee audibly."?! Don't think so... Yet when we do hear someone say "I heard God speak... I mean ACTUALLY speak to me." We just stare at them and wonder if we should contact those people that will come and give them one of those jackets that makes you hug yourself...

I have decided to consider the way those other conversations I have had—the ones that did not involve the other person audibly responding in recognizable words—to see what might be found there about the nature of prayer. Aside from mental telepathy, which I can't seem to make work the way it's supposed to... LoL, and talking to the radio, which poses similar difficulties, these one-sided conversations fall into two categories for me. Well, three. Conversations with babies. Conversations with animals (mostly dogs, but also hurt birds I have found in the yard. And conversations with dying people who are able to hear and process what I am saying but are not able to respond.

In all of these instances—with babies, with animals, and with people rendered mute as a result of disease—I held conversations, first of all, by paying attention to nonverbal responses. Eye rolling. Smiling. A look of gratitude. Wailing. Those ridiculous conversations I have with my baby nephew that cause me to wonder if people think I am nuts... “Is Christian wanting Abbie? Does he have a poopy diaper? I'm going to change it. Yes, I'm getting rid of that old nasty diaper. Oh, what now? Does Baby want the keys? Here are the keys. Here they are. Yes, Christian likes the keys, doesn’t he?”

Also, as you can see with that baby, I asked a lot of questions. Similarly, a “conversation” with a dog was usually a series of questions too, followed by a few reassuring answers, or, better, the thumping of that back foot when I scratch the "sweet spot" on their belly...

Finally, I typically supplied answers for my silent conversation partner. The best example is with the mortally sick person in the hospital. When a friend's mom lay dying, she couldn’t keep her mouth closed because she wasn't able to get enough oxygen simply through her nose and her mouth STAYED dry. I knew she was desperately thirsty. She panted heavily. Every time I caught her eye, she directed her gaze meaningfully at the table by the bed, where we had kept a cup of ice chips to give her. “You’re thirsty,” I told her. “There, you like that. That feels good, doesn’t it? That’s enough now. You’re wondering where your husband is. He’s gone to get something to eat. Yeah, that’s good. He had your Jell-O at lunch. That was all. He wasn't hungry. Too worried about you. You don't want him to worry, I know. You want me to tell him that. Yes, he doesn't need to worry, does he? It's going to be okay.”

These are inadequate examples of conversations with God, I know. God’s not a baby or a dog or a dying person. And He’s certainly not incapable of responding in my eyes. He's not incapable of anything, except maybe NOT loving us... I mean, He can't help that... God is Love. And God is crazy about us. But what I get from thinking about these conversations with the mute is something relevant, I think, about how we talk to a seemingly silent, invisible, conversation partner like God.

First off, in praying, we have to pay attention to non-verbal information rather than direct responses. Events. Preexisting evidence of truth. Divine gestures, like awe-inspiring weather conditions, a potted plant suddenly blooming, or an auto accident involving the child of friends that suddenly thrusts one’s pettier complaints into perspective. I say we have to pay attention to these things, but, in truth, I think we often do it unconsciously. Sometimes, even, to an obsessive degree, resulting in superstitions and misguided notions about how God works, or ought to work, in our lives. Nevertheless, I believe God does respond to us in such gestures. This idea especially bothers a non-believing friend of mine, who makes much mock of Christians’ egotistical notion that God would cause rain or redirect the attention to a car wreck or orchestrate a bright pink sunrise just for one person praying. Absurd, yes, but, I think, true.

Second, prayer, like conversation with a mute partner, inevitably involves questions. Lots of questions. Sometimes nothing but questions. Questions one is forced to answer oneself, usually with a reassuring offer to take some action. I’m coming. I’m here. I’m ready to do what you want me to.

Finally, if engaging in more involved discussion with God than the prayer-equivalent of reassuring a baby or offering to wet a dying woman's tongue, one has to be ready to supply both sides of the conversation. Supplying another’s unspoken response is possible only to the degree that one is familiar with that person and can recreate what he or she is likely to be thinking. The ability to predict another’s thoughts is, of course, dependent on some degree of previous interaction with that person. Knowing what the person likes and despises, what topics are important to the person, what the person has said in the past.

God’s past utterances, of course, are helpful here. And luckily, lots of them are recorded where we can check and make sure we’re right about them. We can look them up and cross-reference them and read them in all kinds of translations, get down to the word level. That, then—our reliving, if you will, of God’s side of the conversation, of his gestures, the history of our relationship with him, his words on the pages of our Bibles—is what, for today, I have decided that my more experienced Christian friends must mean when they say that prayer is “just being quiet and listening to God.”

I have begun a prayer journal to help me on my journey to a better relationship with God. I am going to begin writing down my prayers in the form of P.R.A.Y. (Praises, Requests, Admitting of sins, Yourself) Then I leave the back of the page open so I can eventually record how and when God answered my prayers.

One last thought. Interestingly, one doesn’t make many requests of babies, animals, or dying people. But prayer does involve requests of God. Or, at least, all of Jesus’ recorded prayers to our Father did.

So, conversely to everything I have written here, perhaps, in praying, it is we who are the mute ones—the babies, the animals, the one who lies dying on the raised bed. We think we are doing the speaking when we pray—casting our thoughts out to some invisible, silent troller of words—but actually we are the ones lying awake and voiceless, listening, trying to respond, wanting to cry out and make our needs known, but, ultimately, silent, while God leans over us and speaks and speaks and speaks and speaks...

Walk the Walk... But not alone.

Ephesians 5:15-21

15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Galatians 5:16-26

16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Our Eyes automatically blink, lungs automatically breathe, and heart automatically pumps blood... All of this without being told specifically to do so. There are a few things that we can learn to do, like singing, playing sports, or just walking and talking, and some of those things require more effort and years to achieve successfully...

There are also things that we will never be able to do as much as we may try... For instance, flying like Superman or completely stopping the aging process (sorry people... no fountain of youth...) But you know what?! That truth can also be applied to our lives spiritually. Within our Christian walk we will never be able to live a Christian life within our own power. We can stop ourselves from saying and doing things that we may regret, we can show restraint with the opposite sex, we can even read our bibles daily...

But when it comes down to it, we can't depend own our own strength to win over sin consistently and confidently. We simply can't live up to God's standards on our own... WE NEED HIM TO HELP US! To walk on through this life and make the most of it, as the verses above encourage us, we have to acknowledge that we are powerless without the Holy Spirit. We have to surrender ourselves to the will of God and actually let Him take over COMPLETELY. It is extremely hard, I must admit to do this, but in order to live a life fully devoted to righteousness, this is the ONLY way.

You are in my prayers.

Ideas for youth/girls ministry

--Girls/Guys Night Out--Girls go out with the girls of all ages above youth! Guys go out with all the boys youth and older!
--Relationship Weekend followed by "Polite Night"--Godly relationships. Girls and guys will spend friday night at separate houses talking about relationships, sex, etc within the view of what God wants then Saturday afternoon the youth begin getting ready for "polite night" where they will be shown how a Godly date can look. Dress up! Make it fun!
--Daddy-Daughter Date Night--Dads show their "little girls" (ages 6-106!) how they should be expected to be treated by the opposite sex in a night of food, games, a movie (Time allowing), and Bible study! All done at the church!
--Before Prom/Homecoming dance Make-overs/After Party with Jesus--Call up local hair stylists etc, or find some willing people within your church to help the youth get ready for the big night! Then after dancing the night away, youth can spend the night at the church where you can rent blow-up games, have plenty of food, and just chillax' without worrying about the things of the world!
--JC & PJs--Sleep overs just to hang out and be kids! (of course genders are not together on this one people. duh. lol)
--Out on the Lake--Once a month during the summer months, take the kids to the lake for some Fun in the Son (yes...with an "O")--Swimming, boating, Jesus!
--Text Devotions--using twitter or other free/cheap utility
--Letters of Affirmation--(NOT EMAIL, NOT HALLMARK CARDS) But personal notes to each kid!
--"Youth" Magazine--Your own church magazine! Monthly/Quarterly, include photos from past events (church, sporting, ANYTHING YOUR CHURCH FOLK ARE INVOLVED IN!), Notes from the pastor, youth pastor, "member of the month," Q&A, Random Advice, To the Next Step(advice columns for EVERY stage in life--teens to kids, teens to teens, adults to teens, older adults to young adults, etc), Discussion starters--Questions to start conversations within small groups, the home, etc., Scripture of the Month, Daily Devos, Music of the Month. Announcements for the coming months!
--Christian fashion shows--Have some fun showing off the latest fashions that are tasteful and cool! Just cause we're Christian doesn't mean we can't be stylin'!
--Self-defense classes for the girls--Let's face it, there are some just plain ole jerkfaces out there who look for nothing more than to take advantage of our girls...why not teach them how to handle a situation that we hope never happens?
-- Mary Kay Cosmetics apparently has a spiritual "application" to its products...i need to check more into that but when i find it im sure it will be a great thing... includes stuff like applying foundation and how we should look at our spiritual foundations as well. etc.
--Scrapbook nights anyone?! you could just put together scrapbooks for your youth group...at the end of each year you have them to look back at all youve done!
--Creative Prayer Ideas--PowerPoint--Display Scriptures, prayers, words, pictures, etc. and have youth write in a journal what God reveals to them as they pray about what they see/read. Wifitti also has a pretty cool application where youth can text in something about what they see and it will display anonymously on a screen for the group to see.--Pray 30 minutes a day see what God reveals--Prayer stations--each station has a different thing to pray for, pray for it then move on--Prayer stations at the start of the school year to cover schools and all involved in them (teachers, principals, housekeeping, secretaries, students, etc.)
--Dinner with the staff--Youth hang out and actually help in cooking a meal with the staff rather than just ordering pizza.
--Sticky note prayers--give youth sticky notes to take home and put up, once a week, on their mirrors, etc. Just a constant reminder to be in prayer about a certain thing, people, missions, etc.
--Prayer partners--Big Sister age, parent age, grandparent age, etc. every generation to be a part!
--Adopt a grandparent--2-3 kids per grandparent or youth group take one grandparent
--Prayer bracelets--convo starters, beads, etc
--True Love Waits--each youth given a journal with a pocket in the front for their TLW ring. Youth can write notes, prayers, etc, to their future spouse, a gift to their spouse on their wedding night. (how sweet...i know...lol)
--"Show the Love" Valentine's gifts for the children's home... the kids that rarely get love can be shown it through some gifts and just hangin' out with the kids. (MAKE SURE YOU GET PERMISSION AND TRAINING FOR THE KIDS BEFORE YOU GO!)
--"Christmas for others" etc.
--Hospital Missions--food, magazines, goodies, etc to people in the hospital and in the waiting room! (ONCE AGAIN, GET PERMISSION AND TRAINING! ONE BAD VISIT CAN RUIN A MINISTRY FOR A LIFETIME!)
--Clothes Line Ministry--At the end of the school year, have a school uniform drive where people can give "old" school uniforms, take the youth to the laundry mat to clean them and just be a part of a life changing ministry. Give the uniforms to needy families!
--Bus people to church, youth to do community work, bus dem Christians to do some work for Jesus!
--City Wide Love--Shop with a cop, shop with a (whatever school mascot is at the local school), shop with a hero, etc. --Go to local school and ask about local needy families. Allow the kids to go shopping for their family for christmas and buy them some gifts too (as a surprise of course)
--Get youth to hang out with kids that maybe need some help with whatever life throws at them: school work, peers, anything!
--Get involved with the Schools!!!!--Character Counts, FCA, Pre-planning teacher breakfast (provide teachers with breakfast during the time they are at school with no kids the few weeks before class starts), New teacher breakfast, Grill week, Cinnamon Roll week, Pizza for kids coming in late from sporting events, etc so they dont come in hungry...no need to preach just give em some food and let em know ya care!

Francis Chan: Balance Beam Life

Who are you?!

My name is Abbie. I am a 22 year old college student who has always lived in Louisiana. I'm an athlete of all kinds. Lover of fun, adventure, and life. I'm a daughter, a sister, a grandchild, a niece, a cousin and a friend. I'm nearly always a cut-up and my greatest joy comes from seeing others smile and laugh. My love language (how I show others that I love them) is serving and therefore I do it as much as I can. I am a Christian and I believe that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. I am me.

All of the above shows just a small portion of who I am as a person. I have been molded by my environment, my family and my life experiences.

I got saved when I was 16 years old and at that very moment, I became completely on fire for God. I was so on fire in fact that if I were sitting on a bench and someone were to approach me and ask "is this seat saved?" I would respond with a quick "no. But I am. Let me tell ya about Jesus." I was hot for God. Slowly I allowed that fire to lose oxygen to where although I'm saved, I have my struggles with sin and with living a life that is completely and utterly righteous before the God of the universe.

So how do I come about figuring out who I TRULY am as a person? And how do I change what needs to be changed?!

Let's check out the Word. Romans 12:1-8 says:

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

The most important thing about you is what you think about God.

• No matter if you believe God is loving & Sovereign or at the other end of the spectrum you believe there is no God at all then your life will reflect those beliefs.
• What's amazing about this is that even the tiniest bit of doubt in one's faith can be reflected through the life you lead. If you have your doubts about the very existence of God then it is likely that you will not live a life where you are consistently sharing your faith with others.
• It's kinda like this: I am not that great at math. OK. OK. I am HORRIBLE at math. I mean I just recently found out that they are now putting letters in equations! So if someone needed some help with math, would I jump up and say "OH! I can help! I got this!"?! NO! I'd probably even leave the room because math is so hard to me that the stinkin' subject makes me completely uncomfortable and even kinda scares me.
• And if we doubt ourselves about anything, then it becomes uncomfortable to share about that subject. Whether it be math... or Jesus.
• But that's the beauty of Christianity. It's not about OUR abilities. It's about a holy and living God that laid it all on the line for a people that hated Him.
• So now you question. "Ok. If I didn't have the few doubts that I did, then I wouldn't need to be lectured on this. My faith would be rock solid and I could share Jesus with ANYONE."

Then what's your doubts?

• Let's start with the very existence of Jesus. History itself acknowledges that there was a man named Jesus that walked this earth over 2000 years ago. No matter what you do, you can research your entire life and never find anything that says otherwise. He was here.
• Ok. Jesus was here. He came, He got crucified, He died. "I mean how do I KNOW that the resurrection happened?! I mean what if it was a huge hoax put on by the disciples? What if they came to the tomb, knocked the guards out, and stole the body?" Ok...fair enough. Loads of people have tried to say that. But let's look at it a little deeper. First of all the guards. If a Roman guard fell asleep while on duty, or anything happened to them that caused them not to be able to perform and finish the task at hand, then they would be killed! So I am pretty sure those guards would have done every Chuck Norris-ninja move they knew so that those redneck disciples didn't steal the body. So that's a no-go on my list.
• Next in the "the disciples stole the body" theory is the disciples. Maybe they were pulling a hoax. "Ok guys. I have this great idea. Let's try to get EVERYONE on the face of the planet to believe that our boy Jesus rose from the grave. It will be the April Fool's joke to end all April Fool's jokes." then they throw in a few LOL's and celebrate beastin' the world. ...ok...seriously?! Do you remember the freaks we are talking about here?! THE DISCIPLES! The 12 biggest chickens the world has ever seen! I mean, when Jesus was arrested, they broke every land speed record ever held and ran. Peter kinda hung back a bit and checked out the scene but when it came down to it, Peter, the guy that said "Yo' Jesus. I will go 6 feet under wit' cha" denied Jesus 3 times. They were chickens! And there was no way they were gonna peace out of life following a guy that was about to get crucified. Then something happened. Something miraculous. Something HUGE. The disciples became martyrs for the man that they denied.

Deaths of the Disciples:

• Judas Iscariot, hung himself after betraying the Lord.
• Peter, was crucified, head downward during the persecution by Nero.
• Andrew, died on a cross at Perrae, in Achaia, a Greek colony.
• James, was thrown down from a pinnacle of the temple and then beaten to death with a club.
• Thomas, the doubter, was run through with a lance.
• John, died of extreme old age in Ephesus, the only one to die a non-violent death.
• Bartholomew, was beaten to near death then crucified in Armenia.
• James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded in Jerusalem by Herod.
• Phillip, was hanged against a pillar in Asia Minor.
• Matthew, was slain by the sword in Ethiopia.
• Thaddaeus, was shot to death with arrows.
• Simon, died on a cross in Persia (now Iran).
• Matthias, who took Judas' place, was first stoned and then beheaded.
• Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, was beaten then beheaded in Rome.

Don't you think that if these guys made all this up about Jesus that at least one of them, as the ax was coming down on their head would have raised up and say "ok...ok...you got me. It was a joke. whoo! glad I got that off my chest. Oh man, we almost had ya though right?! I mean, you set up this beheading and everything! whoo! Fun times. Now who's up for some ribs?!" I mean seriously. Something happened to them! Something that changed their prospectives of dying for this Jesus guy. PEOPLE DON'T JUST DIE FOR A LIE!These cowards turned into martyrs! Some life-changing event took place!

We are able to have confidence in God and if we are Christians, we are able to have confidence within ourselves because that very same God lives within us. God gave you the abilities and the talents and the personality He did for a reason. Use them with confidence to share what He has done for us all. And consider this: if we, as Christians, truly believed all the stuff Jesus did on that cross, if we believed with all our hearts that He endured what He did on our behalf, would we be living the same as we do now? I know I sure wouldn't. I wouldn't be afraid of sharing my faith. I wouldn't be afraid of being "different" from this world! I would become such a great asset to Christ that the only way this world could shut me up would be to take my life. We sit here and sing in our churches these songs to God that reflect this so-called desire to come to know Him better. But do we truly believe those words that we say?

Sonic Flood came out with a song a few years back called "I want to know you." The chorus says:
"I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more, I want to touch You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You more." In Genesis 33, it says that "no man can see God face to face and live."

So as we sing those words, do we mean it? Do we desire to see the works of God so greatly in our lives that we are willing to die?! Because the devil is perfectly content to let us profess to be Christians...as long as we don't practice it. He wants us to live in sin. The devil wants to persuade us that it is ok to call ourselves Christians and yet hold onto that sin that we love so much.

Chew on this a bit: Think of one sin. ANY sin. What if God were to say today that it is no longer a sin...think about it. That sin you just thought about. That sin that just jumped in your mind, no matter how big or small you claim it to be. That is the sin that is keeping you from having a full blown revival in your heart. That is the major sin that keeps holding you back.

The prayer for my life and the prayer I possess for everyone is that we will have a revival within our hearts, we will let go of that sin that just passed through your mind, and that at the end of the day we can change our identity in Christ and proclaim that we are Wide eyed, Sanctified, Blood Bought, Spirit Taught, Bible Totin', Scripture Quotin', Satan Bashin', Sin Trashin', Christ Followin', Pride Swallowin', Hard Prayin', Truth Conveyin', Faith Walkin', Gospel Talkin', Bonafide Big time Believers.

You're in my prayers.