Random Pictures

I haven't posted in so long, that I have quite a little stock of pictures just waiting to be posted! So, here's a typical random photo post... :-)

Strawberry coffee milkshake- yum!! :-)



It's been raining a lot in Kansas- goes right along with all the tornadoes we've been having here in the Midwest...

A cute little chipmunk decided to come visit... :-)

My cat Midnight was keeping an eye on the chipmunk for us. She wasn't too happy that she couldn't get to it!

"You leave it, you lose it!"

I tried out a new recipe for Ultimate Turtle Brownies (minus the nuts) for a steak dinner at work. They turned out amazing! :-)

We found our screened-porch table like this one morning... It had happened around 11 o'clock the night before, and we all went out to investigate, but of course it was too dark for pictures, so that had to wait 'till morning. We're not sure what happened- it just collapsed! The glass of the table wasn't even sharp on the edges, really- it more of cracked internally, or something. We're guessing it must have been something in the air pressure, but don't really know what caused it to do this.

Messing with depth of field on my point-and-shoot. I can't decide which one I like better- what do you think? Do you like the table or the piece of glass in focus in these pictures?

My inquisitive horse Velvet finally stood still long enough I could get a clear picture of her :-)

Nerds- yum! :-)

Memorial Day

"I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning; I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed it. We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant commemoration of what they did." ~Benjamin Harrison

May 21, 2011, at 6 o'clock PM...

...the world was supposed to end.

When I first heard about this idea that "the world will end on May 21,2011 at 6:00 PM", it seemed rather laughable, and hilarious that anyone could seriously think that they could predict the day of Christ's 2nd coming!

But as I read up on the issue, a feeling a sadness came upon me, and I began to feel sorry for those who believed this lie. The Bible says, in Matthew 24:36-44:

"36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."

It's so simple to understand. Yet these people have a very twisted perspective of the Bible. In fact, on the website for Harold Camping, the man who started the whole idea of May 21, 2011, I found this statement:

"The language of this verse [1 Thessalonians 5:3] describes perfectly all of those in the world who on May 21, 2011 are still following any church. Because churches teach many things that are not true to the Bible, including a plan of salvation that is contrary to the Bible, and the Holy Spirit has abandoned all churches, those still following any church on May 21, 2011 are not saved. Nevertheless churches teach their members that:

1. They as confessing members of their church are safely in Christ’s care.

2. No man can know the day or hour of Christ’s return. Therefore, they are certain that Christ will come as a thief in the night.

These dear people do not realize at all that they, themselves, are in spiritual nighttime, a condition that guarantees that when Christ comes they, themselves, will be destroyed in the Day of Judgment. How awful! It is the true believers who know the time (the hour) and much about Judgment Day (the day). They are not in the nighttime of spiritual darkness."

Rather than it being us who are the "dear people" who they feel so "awful" for, it should be the other way around. They have become so infatuated with analyzing the Holy Scriptures past anything that God ever intended that they have persuaded themselves into believing all sorts of lies.

I read most of the information from that website, and there are so many loopholes in the information that they provide- I could list several things wrong with their statements, with barely a glance at the page. But that is not the purpose of this post.

But rather it is to encourage myself as well as all of my readers to be praying for those who believed this fallacy, that they may come to know the real truth, and God's timing, which will never be understood by man. Jesus Himself doesn't even know the time of His returning (Mark 13:32)!

So instead of laughing over what others think, ask yourself this: If the world did end tonight, would you be ready?

Would you be ashamed to meet your Saviour in heaven right this minute?

How about all those souls you had a chance to reach for His glory- did you even try to reach out to them?

In discussing the May 21, 2011 theory, did you stand up for God and state the truth, or did you laugh it off with others, and let them keep thinking one way or another?

I don't want my Lord and Saviour to be ashamed of me because of what I have or have not done. How about you?

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think about this event in America. :-)

All Scriptures used in this post are from the KJV

Oh, I also forgot to mention something else- there are people running "post-rapture pet cares", where non-Christians (or in one case, a "Christian" started it) offer to take care of your pets for you after you have been taken to heaven after the rapture. How sad it is, that these people willingly accept that they are not going to heaven, openly admit it, and don't even care? They need our prayers!

Blessings Photo Challenge

Johanna from Growing up on a farm has a photo challenge going for the theme of "Blessings". This picture below is one of my favorites, and reminds me of Matthew 5:18 :

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

This is such a great blessing to me, being a writer. It's so amazing that God promises that nothing in His Word will ever change. As I edit my stories, lots of things change- even the main plot changes to some extent- but that will never happen to God's Word- not even one word will change. It's just incredible to think of it.

(sorry for the poor quality of it when enlarged- it's just taken with my point-and-shoot camera, with pretty poor lighting. ;-))

Chocolate Cake, Anyone?

"Long time, no see" a blog post on here! Wow- it's been quite a while! I just got a job, and am now working Monday, Wednesday, and Friday all day, so I don't have as much time to write blog posts. ;-) So, I'll start back with a book review and a picture. :-)


Horse Tales From Heaven by Rebecca E. Ondov
Time to Hit the Trail!

"Drawing on 15 years of living "in the saddle" while guiding pack trips and working as a wilderness ragner, gifted writer and avid horsewoman Rebecca Ondov invites you to experience life in a wilderness camp, discovering wisdom to live by through true stories about...

• a frisky cayuse and an early morning chase
• a nigh-blind horse and mule's unusual relationship
• a sleepless night in grizzly country
• a startling cure for snoring at base camp
• a wilderness "drive-thru" cafe

Horse Tales from Heaven capture authentic western life and what it means to depend on God for love, provision, and grace as you ride the trail with Him every day."


No, I did not write this- it's straight from the back of the book. ;-) However, I have really enjoyed reading this book- her writing style and the stories itself make it very difficult to put the book down, even though the chapters are relatively short. I think this may be one of my favorite books now, and I definitely encourage you to read it- it's great! :-)

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And now for the above-promised picture.... Chocolate cake, anyone?? Allison and I made this cake for our elders and wives retreat last weekend, and it looked so incredible I insisted we snatch a picture. :-)


Not the prettiest in the world, but it sure tasted amazing! What could go wrong with chocolate cake, home-whipped cream, and fresh strawberries?? Well, I guess when you put too much of the latter two ingredients on, something might go wrong.... After my mom had cut it (Allison refused to, because of the mess it was sure to make), and all the adults had gone back into the dining room, I turned around to see the top half of the cake upside-down on the counter! Apparently cutting the cake threw it all off balance, and the top half fell off! Oh well- it was still the best-tasting thing all day! :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you're wearing something green... But then, if you're like me, that could be pretty hard... This is my green for the day, after discovering that I don't own a single green top- or even one that has a stripe of green in it!


I've been helping my mom with some group piano classes she's been having during spring break, and this time the theme was St. Patrick's Day, so we had an Irish composer, John Field, and also a talk about the history of St. Patrick's Day. I would add it to this post, except the file is on the other computer, not mine. ;-) So, I hope you have a great St. Patrick's Day!

Book Excerpts #2

I figured it was about time to put another book excerpt on here for you guys... I can't let you have too much from this particular scene, though, or it'll give away half the story, so it's a rather short one, but is the beginning of one of my favorite scenes. ;-) I'll try to post a few longer ones soon...

“Well, good morning, Aniya,” Jed greeted her as she came in the barn.

“I don’t see what’s so good about it,” she replied tartly.

“Oh, mornings are always good- God made them all good- all we have to do is find the good in them.”

“Well, I can’t find anything good in this particular morning, and I can't see how you could either.”

Mud and Goals

Here in Kansas, it's muddy. Very muddy. And, as my family owns horses, and they have gone out into the pasture some, even with all the mud, I have had to walk through the pasture in thick mud... My boots are incredibly muddy, and need a good cleaning! However, as I was walking one of our horses to the round pen in the middle of the pasture, a thought came to my mind, and I wanted to share it with you. :-)

Life is like mud in some ways. Especially when it comes to goals. When you're walking in mud, you can see your big goal- you can see the spot you want to go. But you also have to watch where you are walking. If you don't, you will most likely fall flat on your back (or face!). Those are the small goals. In order to make it to your big goal, you have small goals to get you along. For example, if you have a big goal of memorizing all of Colossians, you have little goals to get you there- a little goal of one verse. Then you take another step closer to the big goal- one "paragraph" of a chapter, then another goal and another, until you make it to your big goal. It's possible to not have your "little goals", but just like walking in the mud, you're a lot more likely to slip and fall on your way. Little goals keep us motivated, and the more little goals we get done, the closer the big goal is.

What about you? Does it help you to have little goals, or do you prefer to stick with your big goal?

"It is time for us to realize that we're too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We're not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope. We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look."
~Ronald Reagan

More pictures

I went with my mom, dad, sister, and a couple of my dad's bank customers to a Lipizzaner show yesterday afternoon. Since it was with the bank, we got to go and be in a suite! My dad's bank has a permanent suite at the arena this was in, so we got to go for free- as long as he takes along at least one customer! It was really cool... :-) And the pictures I got were amazing- they said that flash photography was fine, and the horses didn't mind (good thing- mine would probably freak out!), and they had spotlights on the horses, and no other lights on- it was incredible! And since I would love to know which picture(s) are your favorites, I'm going to number each one below the picture- let me know what you think! :-)

Pic. #1- I love the lighting- it just looks cool... ;-)

Pic. #2

Pic. #3

Pic. #4

Pic. #5- enter "Elvis"! This horse's nickname is Elvis, and is a Friesian. One of the ladies in the booth with us had just been commenting on how cool it would be to have a big black Friesian out there amidst all the white Lipizzaners, and out came this horse! :-) All the music to go with the Lipizzaners was Classical music, but they had jazzier-type for Elvis- it was pretty cool. :-)

Pic. #6

Pic. #7

Pic. # 8- I love his bow!

Pic. #9- learning about the brands on a Lipizzaner- it was really cool- you should look it up! Just by looking at the brands, you can tell who their parents were, where they were born, etc.- anything that a registration paper would tell you. :-)

Pic. #10- Our "storyteller" :-) He had a cool way of remembering how to spell "Lipizzaner"- think "Li-pizza-ner". Pretty cool!

Pic. #11- learning about the Lipizzaners journey from Austria during World War II, and how General Patton helped to save the horses from extinction. Also another thing you should look up. ;-) They have a website- http://www.lipizzaner.com/home.asp.

Pic. #12

Pic. #13- there were 8 total riders & horses doing this part.

Pic. #14- love this one, too...

Pic. #15

Pic. #16

Pic. #17

Pic. #18

Pictures

Well, I haven't posted in forever, and I have a ton of pictures to post! But, since I just took these today, and want to know what you guys think of them, I'll post them first, rather than going in chronological order. ;-)

Icicles on the icicles!

Our lovely driveway :-)

This tree looked like someone had been throwing snowballs at it- but no one had- the snow just ended up like that...

One of my favorites ;-)

I love this one!

We have so much snow it was coming up so far on my legs that it was getting in my boots! Nice wet jeans and socks... :-)

Part of a windchime

The squirrel feeder

In case you hadn't noticed- I was rather obsessed with deer tracks when I went out this morning... :-)

Let me know what you think- I'd love to hear what you think of my pictures- I know what I think, but it's always better to get someone else's opinion! :-)