Happy Halloween!

Millions of sparkling diamonds are scattered across the night sky. The full moon has never been so big nor so beautiful. The sound of the wind whistling died out as the sound of footstep and excited chatter among the streets overpowered it. The faint glow of the jack-o-laterns showcased the faces of clowns, batman, hannah montannas, ghosts, princesses, power rangers, indians, farmers, cats, dogs, police officers, cowboys...as they screamed with eager "Trick-or- Treat!" and their eyes lit when their reward of sugary goodness fall into their bucket and reassure them with the faint thump as it hit the bottom. The trick-or-treaters continued on their sense of adventure as they ran across lawns and streets to go to every house until their bags were filled to the brim.

We all have childhood memories of Halloween. Good or bad memories.Good memories can be of dressing up as anyone or anything you wanted to be, celebrating the occasion at school with apple bobbing contests, trading candies with your siblings, scooping out the orange slime with your father, and eating your favorite candies. Bad memories can be remembering the horror stories that your big sister told you that will forever scar you, or being scared by a friend wearing a hideous monster mask that scared you half to death, or watching horror movies that haunted your dreams for weeks.

Some Christians have a hard time with Halloween because of its roots and sometimes "evil" overtones with all the popular "be scared" or "be spoooky!" sayings. Based on their morals, should Christians celebrated Halloween or not? I think to answer that question, it's important to examine the history of Halloween. I found a blog that talks about that. I found it interesting that the word "Halloween" came from a saints holiday called "All Hallow's Eve." To find out more, the link is below:

http://blog.marshillchurch.org/2009/10/29/the-history-of-halloween-revisted/

One way to destress: carve pumpkins!

Lately, I've been stressed out with trying to balance 6 classes (18 credits), church activities, and 3 jobs. So I decided that to do something that would help me to relax and loosen up so that I have the motivation to finish the rest of the semester strong. What better way to do that by reliving your childhood memories? Or bringing out the inner child in you? For me, on Monday, it was pumpkin carving! On campus, they were having a pumpkin fest and giving out free pumpkins to carve along with some treats such as pumpkin rolls and apple cider (they were to die for by the way). I love getting my hands dirty by scooping out the squishy, stringy, orange gunk inside of the pumpkin. Then I carved...a lot. It took me about 1.5 hours to get this pumpkin done. My favorite part of pumpkin carving is waiting until it's dark outside and then putting a lighted candle inside...then the inner beauty shone through my creation! I love it!

This is the pumpkin that I carved to look like a cityscape. And I added holes
for the stars and moon so that it looks like it's shining through. It turned
out pretty cool...I think. Well, one of my favorite that I've done so far.



Oh the things I look forward to...

My sister and friends made those cookies back in 2007 around Christmas times. I was thinking about making cookies today...and remembered the fun times I had decorating those cookies. So I decided to add this picture and look up some Christmas poems online related to Christmas seasons...Enjoy!


Christmas Joys

Evergreen boughs that fill our homes
With fragrant Christmas scents,
Hearts filled with the loving glow
That Christmas represents;

Christmas cookies, turkeys stuffed,
Festive holly berry,
Little faces bright with joy,
Loved ones being merry;

Parties, songs, beribboned gifts,
Silver bells that tinkle,
Christmas trees and ornaments,
Colorful lights that twinkle;

Relatives waiting with open arms
To smile and hug and kiss us;
These are some of the special joys
That come along with Christmas.

By Joanna Fuchs
Recipe for Christmas All Year Long

Take a heap of child-like wonder
That opens up our eyes
To the unexpected gifts in life—
Each day a sweet surprise.

Mix in fond appreciation
For the people whom we know;
Like festive Christmas candles,
Each one has a special glow.

Add some giggles and some laughter,
A dash of Christmas food,
(Amazing how a piece of pie
Improves our attitude!)

Stir it all with human kindness;
Wrap it up in love and peace,
Decorate with optimism, and
Our joy will never cease.

If we use this healthy recipe,
We know we will remember
To be in the Christmas spirit,
Even when it's not December.

By Joanna Fuchs

Colors of Fall...

My favorite thing about fall is watching the leaves change colors, enjoying fresh apples or apple cider, cameral apple, snuggling in a warm, thick, fleece blanket, and the list goes on. What's your favorite thing(s) about fall?

A thought to live by...

"Live simply so that others can simply live." - Unknown

Imagine how different the world would be if we all actually did that....just something to ponder about..

Talk about guest services!

I found this on a Engrish site. It's a site that showcases the major mistranslation that some people make from translating Chinese into English.

Do you think the American tourist would give their hotel a 5 star rating for suburb guest services? I think not! But I thought the mistranslation was so funny and had to be shared!

One of the most beautiful place in the fall: Greene County

A couple weeks ago, my professor mentioned once that Martha Stewart recognized Greene County as one of the most beautiful place in the country in the Fall with its vibrant fall colors on the rolling hills. Today, I was driving home and I'm realized that Greene County is INDEED a beautiful place. So, I decided to get my hands dirty and see if I could find the article. I did!

Here's the link to the article : Click Here

Hillsong - From The Inside Out - With Subtitles/Lyrics

I was browsing through YouTube and  can't help but love this song from Hillsong! (link)

The Heavens Declares Your Majesty

  "The heavens declare the glory of God;
       the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
 Day after day they pour forth speech;
       night after night they display knowledge.
 There is no speech or language
       where their voice is not heard."
                                  -Psalm 19:1-3

I was reading Psalm 19 for my devotions this morning, and I found it powerful. The last few days has been sunny, warm, and really highlighting the beauty of God's creation. This morning's sunrise was so beautiful. The fogs were hiding the valleys and the sun was peeking out of the horizon... the sunrays were visible and hit the radiant orange, reds, greens, and browns of the millions of leaves that dotted the rolling hills.

The sight of it all made me stand in awe while I was riding to school in the passenger seat. All creation clearly proclaim that there is a maker that created them all. Seriously, all creation screams there is a God who is worthy of praise!

Thunder & Snow

So it has been raining the last few days...and it kind of reminded me of these verses that I read from my devotions last week...

  

"At this my heart pounds
       and leaps from its place.

  Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,
       to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

  He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven
       and sends it to the ends of the earth.

  After that comes the sound of his roar;
       he thunders with his majestic voice.
       When his voice resounds,
       he holds nothing back.

  God's voice thunders in marvelous ways;
       he does great things beyond our understanding.

  He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,'
       and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'

So that all men he has made may know his work, 

       he stops every man from his labor. 

  The animals take cover;
       they remain in their dens.

  The tempest comes out from its chamber,
       the cold from the driving winds.

  The breath of God produces ice,
       and the broad waters become frozen.

  He loads the clouds with moisture;
       he scatters his lightning through them.

  At his direction they swirl around
       over the face of the whole earth
       to do whatever he commands them."

                                              -Job 37:1-12

So...through his creation and his word, He reveals Himself to us. Pretty cool, huh? 

Mud Pies and Caskets

A topic to ponder: write a one paragraph response where you discuss you first experience at a funeral, making sure to detail how other mouners reacted and your own initial thoughts, and stating what misconceptions you had about death before or after that initial funeral experience. 

--------

Prior to age 11, I was a child who lived with passion and unbreakable joy. Anyone could see that I was a happy child who loved to play dress up and make mud pies in the enchanted ‘mini’ forest in my backyard. Most of my waking hours were spent with my sisters in the great outdoors filled with exploration, giggles, and smiles. That childlike happiness was turned down a notched – not vanished – when I attended my great grandmother’s funeral. The concept and idea of death was foreign to me. Mother told me to wear nice church clothes for her grandmother’s funeral. There, I saw many of my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and my mother crying. I felt guilty because I did not cry or miss my great-grandmother due to the fact that I barely knew her. At that funeral, my father pressed my back to prompt me to approach the casket down the ancient aisle at the church. The walk seemed like a mile. Then suddenly, I saw death. I saw my great-grandmother’s body, and finally got the concept of death. Death meant great grandma died and left her now-lifeless body and will not come back for a long time. Death also took away her ability to make her eyes sparkle and her friendly and generous nature warm anyone’s heart when she greeted them. Now, her body laid in the coffin was a stark contrast of what I knew her to be, for now she had an unnatural, sickly, pale skin color and her rosy cheeks and smile were no longer visible. I left the funeral distressed and heartbroken that I had to learn the cold, hard fact of life: there is a time to be born and a time to die. 

Pancakes and Patience

Hmm for fun...the topic is write a one paragraph reflection telling about a skill you learned from someone and how that knowledge was imparted to you: 

As a child, I always looked forward to Saturday mornings because that is when I slept in until 10:30 a.m. and woke up to the pleasant smell of my father’s cooking. After all, the sound of sizzling hickory bacon and buttermilk pancake frying does sound like a great way to wrap the end of each week... does it not? Being the patient teacher he was, my father taught me how to cook breakfast food which happened to be my favorite meal of the day. He taught me the value of waiting patiently to get a bigger reward later. For example, it’s better to wait for the griddle to warm up slowly, for the butter to melt, and wait for the right amount of bubbles to reach the pancake’s batter until it is the right time for it to flip it to achieve the perfect golden brown pancakes otherwise the result will be a very doughy, wet, or burnt pancake. My father was a patient man because for years my pancakes were oddly shaped and burned. “It takes practice,” he said often. I was frustrated and wanted to give up many times but he nudged me on the shoulder to keep trying. And now, after years of practice, my friends complimented me on my mad skills of getting close-to-perfection golden brown pancakes whenever they sleepover. In the background, my father was swelling with pride as he looked in my direction. :)

What's rough on the outside...and sweet in the inside? Kiwi!!!

So I thought would take a shot at food photography. I set up a white background on the kitchen table to reflect the light from the light box (which by the way is really bright and blinded me on several occasions). I made sure that the light was shining from the side so that it would showcase the colors, the depth, and the textures of the kiwi. God's showing off again. :)

God's Awesome Creation: The Eye

The Iris is a really cool invention that God came up with. According to dictionary.com the iris is defined as:

iris  (ī'rĭs) Pronunciation Key  Plural irises  or irides  (ī'rĭ-dēz', ĭr'ĭ-)  The colored, muscular ring around the pupil of the eye invertebrate animals, located between the cornea and lens.Contraction and expansion of the iris controls the size of the pupil,thereby regulating the amount of light reaching the retina.

All that definition did was define what the iris does...but it doesn't do it justice on how amazing it is! It's a circular muscle around the pupil and it automatically knows how much it should close or open the pupil to let the right amount of light to go through...if there's too much light let in...it's going to be overexposed (just seeing all white)...or if there is too little light let in..it's underexposed... (seeing all black). If there's just the right amount of light let in...it's just the right exposure...which means you can see colors, highlights, and shadows of the everyday objects that you see everyday. Every muscle in your body is some shade of red...so why did God decide to make the iris pretty by splashing a little color on them?  Because He can. ;) My eyes are blue. The eye in the photo is my little sister's. She has brown eyes with specks of blue and green. My oldest sister has brown eyes. They come in different colors...and each is a sign of God's handiwork all over it. :)