Blogger Guest! :D

This is just a random picture I took at Fort Clatsop
while we were down at where Lewis & Clark landed their canoes.
 It has nothing to do with the post. :P

Hmm...I think writing must run in the family... :) I asked my brother, Maxwell, if I could post this story he wrote called "The Battle between Conscience and Will". He said I could, so you all are in for a treat this week! :D

I now present:

The Battle between Conscience and Will

John was walking down the road. The sun was shining, but he could still hear the gunfire behind him. It was the beginning of a Civil War; the War Between the States. There had been many Civil Wars throughout history, but this one would be known as THE Civil War because there where so many more people killed in it than the other ones.

John could remember, just that morning, being called to the front line while he was playing chess. He fingered the pawn in his pocket, which he had been holding when the news came, remembering that on his way to the front he realized that he was only a pawn too. What difference could he make in the battle?

       Being tired and hungry, John went into an inn and ordered some food. He sat down in a corner near two people playing chess. While waiting for his food he watched as one of the chess players was taking pawn after pawn from the other.

 His conscience was beginning to bother him.

“Your country needs you.” one voice said.

“It’s too dangerous!” another replied.

“If you all leave, then no one can protect your king.” The first voice insisted.

“The pawns can do nothing, as you just saw.” The second countered.

He ignored them both as he saw the innkeeper coming with his food.

 Then he suddenly realized that he was still holding his own pawn in his hand. With much more force than was needed, John threw the pawn across the room.

 His chess set would never be complete. He would never return to the battle. One of the pawns would always be missing. He would no longer be a pawn in the army. He was not in the army at all.

 While John ate, another game of chess was beginning. This game seemed somewhat closer. One of the pawns was being a lot of trouble. The champion of the previous game couldn’t get around it. Slowly his position collapsed and the new champion quickly plundered his enemy’s ranks, and checkmated the king.

 The voices returned to him.

“See, pawns can help.”

“But the high pieces were the ones who checkmated the king.”

“But it was the pawn who stopped his enemies from getting through.”

 John’s mental war was over, his conscience had won. Now determined, he walked over to the spot where his own pawn had rolled to a stop and picked it up. He would return it. The chess set would once again be complete.

MAXWELL EDDY       1/2015

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I thought this story was too good to pass up! :) He wrote it for a school assignment, but I wanted to post it just for fun, and for an audience to enjoy it.
How did you like it?

Cannon Beach

This was a herd of elk that was about 200 feet from our van! We were able to stop safely alongside the road and get some pictures. I circled the one bull elk. Can you see it's set of antlers?

Yes, I had a wonderful time! :) Yes, all the days  (except for the days we were travelling to and from Cannon Beach) had beautiful weather, and I hardly ever used my coat. It was great. Every evening, except the last day of course, we spent in the Conference Center's gym and played Ping-Pong, Volleyball, Football, Ultimate Frisbee, Pool, etc. We made new friends and I was able to add some PE hours to my school record! (Yay! :P)

Here's a quick overview of how our week went:

Day 1: We mostly traveled this day, but we did stop at Fort Clatsop and look around. I got some good pictures, and got some pictures taken of me too.


This is a statue of Sacagawea, friend and interpreter for Lewis & Clark
during their expeditions. I couldn't help getting in there and taking a
picture beside her. She doesn't make me feel short! :P

This is a picture of Fort Clatsop from the outside. It's not very big is it?
Can you imagine having to spend a Washington winter in that?
Sounds and looks miserable to me!

 

Here's some more pictures of the fort:

 

  

 

 

 

This was where Lewis & Clark landed in their canoes.

 

This photo was hard not to photo bomb... :P

 

Day 2: This was our shopping in Cannon Beach/walking down to Haystack Rock day, and that's exactly what we did. (Surprise! :) Here's some pictures.

Shopping with the family, so we
stopped for a quick picture.

Ocean in view, oh the joy! :)



There's everyone looking at stuff in the tide pools.



There I am, on Haystack Rock! :)
My hair was not behaving itself and kept insisting on
being a lion's mane. :P

Yes, I'm posing. :P

Day 3: We hopped in the van and drove to Seaside to do some shopping there as well as doing the arcade games and eating lunch at Fultano's. (Their pizza is pretty good, but I still am bias towards Sarah's. :P)

Day 4: Last day in Cannon Beach. :( We pretty much spent that day packing everything back up into the van and driving home. Nothing very exciting.



I don't look at all like a crane, do I? :P

I'm always sad to go home after having so much fun on vacations, but once we're packed up and on our way, usually I find out how exhausted I really am. Then I'm glad we're on our way home. :)

God bless your week, and I hope you enjoyed having a quick peek into our vacation! :)

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy, Jig

Yay! I'm so glad to be back! I'll be posting about my vacation in the next post, but I thought I'd say a quick "Hi" today right after we arrived home and unpacked. I'll give you more pictures in my next post too, but for now, I'm just going to post what is going to be my new blogger picture! :D
Thank you Mom for taking it. :P

 

My New Year Resolutions

I haven't got a lot of them, but I thought I might as well write down some of the ones I did make and ask you: Did you make New Year Resolutions? If so, what were they?

Here's mine:

1: Read through the Bible in a year with other people from our church
2: Grow closer to God and my family
3: Get better at driving and learn to drive our family's twelve passenger van
4: Be a little better about keeping my belongings organized
5: Start buying my own clothes and shoes on a regular basis
6: Finish writing at least one of my books, hopefully more
7: Get it/them self-published
8: Make new friends
9: Finish math! (forever!)

Welcome 2015!

 

Honestly, I am very excited to see this New Year finally here. Not only will I be turning 17 years old (!) :), but there are so many other things to look forward to as well!

 I am thrilled to say that my walk with God has only grown closer as I grow older. I have never doubted that He is always by my side. Whenever I pray I feel that He merely hears and understands, but that He will answer my prayers according to what is best for me.

 My relationships with family are good, but definitely could be better. Especially with my younger siblings. I tend to think of them as “little kids” and forget that they are growing up too and need to start being treated like they’ll eventually be a teenager like me. :) I’m very close with my older sisters and pretty close with my oldest brother, and I’ve been working on improving my relationship with my younger brothers, Max and David. My younger but a whole lot taller brother, Maxwell, and my younger and still a little shorter brother, David, both love football and are always asking me to come outside and play with them. I’ve been trying to say “yes” more often than “no, I’m busy right now”.

 I’ve been very blessed with wonderful, Christian friends, mostly from our church, but this last year I made some online friends. These girls have really encouraged me and even helped me strengthen my relationship with God and my family by challenging me with questions about my faith and what the everyday life of a pastor’s daughter is like. They made me have to really think about why I believe what I believe and what I should do to apply what I believe to everyday life.

 Of course, there are many challenges that come with being a pastor’s daughter, but God has been faithful in leading me through all of them so far, and I trust and pray that He will continue to do so in the future. :)

 One of these challenges is not judging other people, (which, I am sorry to say I have a difficult time not doing). I found this verse helpful:

Romans 14:13

Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or cause a fall in our brother’s way.

And another wonderful passage that encouraged me this last year:

Romans 15:4-6

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 Also, I need to keep in mind that:

Romans 14:18

For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

 God bless you all! Enjoy the year 2015!! :)