It's done!

I finished my book just awhile ago!!! Yay!!!😊😊😊😊😊 

Praise God! I give Him the glory!! God Bless!!!!

Q&A videos (Last Day of New Years Blog week)

First of all, I'm sorry for this being late, our internet wasn't working for a couple of days!😏😏😏

But anyway, now here they be  and I hope you enjoy!!! Thanks for keeping up with the blog week and a special THANKS to Isabella, Olivia, Serengheti, Alisha, Grace, and Grace for being featured here! If you haven't read their post, make sure and do that! 😊😊

So let's get on to the videos and Happy New Year!!



Q&A Pt. 1

Q&A Pt. 2

God Bless!!!

An Interview With Grace: (Day 7 New Years Blog Week)

Beth: Hello Grace! Thanks for joining me here for this interview!

Grace: Well, thank YOU for asking me, Beth! I can’t wait to get started!

Beth: Okay so let's start with some fun stuff!

Grace: Awesome! :)

Beth: Okay so are you more of a chocolate fan or candy fan?

Grace: Hand’s down, chocolate!

Beth: What's your favorite chocolate?

Grace: Anything pure milk chocolate.  Hershey bars and Lindors are some of my favorites… and ice cream!  You can’t beat ice cream :)

Beth: Neat! What's your favorite song?

Grace: I can’t choose just one, but a few of my favorites are: His Robes for Mine, All I Have Is Christ, and All I Ever Want to Be.  I love sacred music and hymns!

Beth: Cool! What's your favorite pass time?

Grace: Blogging and playing my instruments.

Beth: Nice!What's your favorite book and what's your favorite book of the Bible?

Grace: My favorite book is Kisses from Katie, by Katie Davis {Majors}.  And how do I pick a favorite book of the Bible?! ;)  The Psalms are very special to me, though!

Beth: Cool! My sister has that book! And Psalm is very good! What's your favorite place you've traveled?

Grace:  I haven’t visited many places, but I love Orlando, Florida.

Beth: Great! I've been to Florida several times! So do you mind sharing with us a little bit about what you think God wants you to do with your life? And how he revealed it to you?

Grace:  Sure!  Well, I think it’s very apparent that the Lord wants me to do something with music.  God has gifted me with musical talent, especially in piano.  I love music and playing instruments, and I love using it for God’s glory!  God has given me such an apparent talent, a love for music, and wonderful people in my life who have encouraged me to pursue that talent.  God has made this talent so apparent in my life, that I’m sure He has a plan for me in this area!  I would love to purse teaching, composition, and music ministry in the future!  I also think that the Lord may be preparing me for being a youth pastor’s wife.  My mom and I talked through this possibility not too long ago, and I realized, through many personal experiences, that the Lord may be preparing me to work alongside my husband (whoever that may be) in youth ministry one day!  And lastly, the Lord placed something big on my heart.  I really have no idea how this will work with my music and possible youth ministry in the future, but I’m just trusting God, and I know that He has something in store that is far greater than anything I can fathom!  Last year on New Year’s Eve, God put Africa on my heart.  To be honest, I was scared and I didn’t want to surrender that to Him.  But He had put such a big love for Africa in my heart that I couldn’t say “no.”  I surrendered that to Him just moments before midnight.  I can’t say yet whether or not He’s called me to be a missionary there, but I do know that He put it on my heart for a reason.  Maybe it was just to pray for the continent; I don’t know!  I really don’t know what He has in store for me in this area!  But I can’t wait to find out, and I’m sure it’ll be amazing.

Beth: Neat! I know how much you love music!  Have you had experience in missions before?

Grace: Yes and no.  I’ve grown up in the same town my whole life and I’ve never been out of the country.  I haven’t even been to many states!  The only “mission” trip I’ve been on was a trip to New York this past summer, for less than a week.  So no, I don’t have much experience in geographical missions.  I am, however, trying to fulfill the mission God has for me here, just doing what He asks me to do each day, whether it’s babysitting my siblings, talking to the new girl at church, helping my mom around the house, or volunteering at a weekly afterschool children’s Bible club.  I hope to do more with geographical missions in the future, however!  I would love to be a part of a musical mission team one day, as well as take a trip to Africa!

Beth: Cool! Your New York trip sounds like a lot of fun! So what has your favorite part of 2016 been?

Grace: I loved going on our New York mission trip this year, playing the piano in a wedding for the first time, learning 2 new instruments, and playing volleyball this fall!  And just serving God where I am right now!

Beth: Nice! So if you have any advice for the New Year, what would it be?

'

Grace: Live each moment thinking, “How can I glorify God right now?”  Sing, pray, learn, serve.  Make each moment count.  Be thankful and smile often.  And above all, trust God!

Beth: That's great!  Thanks so much for joining me on this interview Grace! Do you have any thoughts you would like to share with us before we go?

Grace:  I just want to challenge y’all to give everything to God.  That’s one thing that God has challenged me to do repeatedly this past year!  I personally struggle with wanting to feel in control.  I don’t want to surrender to God and trust Him sometimes.  But God’s plan really is SO much greater than mine!  I don’t know His plans, but I need to lay everything I have at His feet and let Him do with it what He wills.  That’s all!  Thanks again for interviewing me, Beth!  I had a great time answering these questions! :)

Beth: Thank you and thanks for joining us!

 My name is Grace, and I’m a red-headed girl who loves my Redeemer.  I live in a wonderful family of 9, and love laughing with my siblings and making memories!  My interests include writing, music, volleyball, journaling, and ministering in whatever way I can.  I blog over at sourcreamchipsgirl.blogspot.com, where I hope to encourage other young ladies.  My deepest desire is that God would be glorified through my life!  Philippians 3:7-8

A Fun Sibling Memory: By Grace Helland (Day 6 Of New Years Blog Week)

  A few weeks ago, we had snow. Not a lot of snow, but enough to go sledding! We had ordered our sleds a short while ago, so we were ready and raring to try them out! To be honest, I don’t believe any of us had ever done it before, so we were all super excited!

The first person to test out our new device was Daniel (18). He went sliding down at a faster rate than I thought was possible. Suddenly, he accidently summersaulted off of the sled and fell unceremoniously into the snow! Mom was laughing hysterically, and the rest of us couldn’t help but join in as Daniel came back up the hill with the sled and a big grin in tow.

The next person who tested out a sled was Jacob (12). I don’t know how he did it so well, but he slid down like a pro. When he came back, he was smiling from ear to ear.

The rest of us were eager to join in! Even Isaac (18), who was home from college on Christmas break, hopped on a sled and skidded down the hayfield.

We definitely did have some accidents though. Once, Jacob went zooming into a clump of trees (we’ve dubbed the area ‘middle earth’) and came out with his neck scraped up from the branches. But he really didn’t mind; he went ahead directly after the event and continued sledding. Also, once when I went down, I accidently dragged my thumb in the ground for about 2-3 yards and got a good sprain. However, I didn’t really care and proceeded with the sledding fun with a hand brace.

The most intense, frightening, and suspenseful accident of the day was when Abigail (14) went down with Elijah (3). There was a thick ground-rod in the hayfield that had to be about a yard deep at least. We had tried everything to get that big, annoying metal stick out, but nothing had worked thus far and we were afraid we would have to resort to renting machinery to remove the obstinate pole. However, we found out that such resources would not be needed...

Abigail went sliding down with Eli, the extra weight propelling the sled at a rate that would have gotten them to Pluto in two seconds flat. Everyone watched in suspense, the same thought rushing through the minds of the young and the old: don’t hit the ground rod. DO NOT HIT THE GROUND ROD!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, the thought didn’t count and they hit the post dead on and the two riders were flung unceremoniously and violently into the snow. With one accord, everyone went rushing to the area where Abigail and Eli were. Fortunately, they were both okay, and were more than ready to continue with the fun. However, to our surprise, the ground rod was bent very badly and came up with no resistance whatsoever. See, sledding can be useful!

All in all, however, we all had a blast. Not everything was an accident. We were able to do it several times before the snow disappeared. It’s definitely something I’m looking forward to doing next time we have enough snow!

Grace Helland is a 16-year-old daughter of King Jesus living with her parents and ten siblings who loves singing, playing various instruments, Southern Gospel music, working and playing outside, spending time with friends and family, making new friends, and writing poems and songs.

A Favorite Memory: By Alisha B. (Day 5 Of New Years blog Week)

  It all happened with three very best friends: me (7), Josh (9), and Jordan (5).  

One cold winter day we decided to play at Joshua & Jordan's house.  Since I lived behind Joshua and Jordan, the three of us played with each other 24/7!  Anyway, Josh was grounded this particular very cold winter day, and Jordan was taking her afternoon nap.  

Being the trouble-maker that he was, Joshua decided to go against what his mother, Heather, had told him, and played with me anyway, since I was playing in my backyard.

      

Josh: Hey Alisha, come on over so we can play!

      

Me: “No Josh we can't your grounded, maybe tomorrow.”

      

Josh: I'm only grounded from going over to YOUR house...we can still play.

      

Me: Oh, okay I'm on my way.  So I started heading toward the drive way.

      

Josh: No, no, no, it will take too long, just climb over the fence.

       

Me: Joshua are you nuts, I'll get stuck, no way, I'm walking over!

       

Josh: I'll even help you over, I climb over the fence all the time!

      

Me:  Fine, but you better help me!

As I was climbing over the fence, my right leg got caught between the pickets.  Josh had no clue what to do...if he told his mother...he would be in deep trouble.  If he left me in the fence, I might end up with a broken leg (again).  So Josh decided to run for help...he jumped the fence I was stuck in, and ran into my house yelling “Ali's stuck in the fence!” over and over!  Now my mom had just finished getting dressed after a nice hot shower.  Hearing Josh yell this, she ran outside with wet hair, and helped me out of the fence!

Three hours later, Heather returned from her friends house, and she and my mom talked for quite some time.  My mom told Heather how I had gotten stuck in the fence after being convinced by Josh.  Heather then told my mom that Josh had been grounded for the day, and wasn't allowed to play with me.  My mom apologized for allowing us to play together.  While our two mom's talked, Josh, Jordan, and I had our own conversation...I told Josh that I would never take his advice again.

I'm a 21 year old blogger, living in Virginia

Coffee is my blood-type (bring on the Scottish Grog y'all)
I love my parents (even when the going gets tough)

I have an awesomely awesome younger sister (yes we are partners in crime)

As a Christian, I have been called to let my light shine before men (see Matthew 5:16).

When I'm not drinking coffee, you can find me writing, blogging, studying scripture, and much more.

You can visit my blog at: www.alishainprogress.blogspot.com

Q&A with Serengheti (New Years Blog Week Day 4)

Q&A With Serengheti

Beth: Hey Serengheti! Thanks for being here today.

Serengheti: Hey! Glad to be here!

Beth: Okay so let's get on with the questions. Ready? 

Q: Currently what is your favorite song?

 A: Oh man... my favorite song? That has to be a three-way tie between

- Hall of Fame by the Script

- Crazy=Genius by Panic! At the Disco

And -Turn the Music Up by NF

Q:  Do you have a favorite band?

 A: Yes! I have many... but I really like Family Force 5 haha!

Beth: Haha! I know much much you like them!

Q:  Okay if you had to pick a Christian band to meet, that you hadn't me before, who would it be?

A: A Christian band I haven't met before... OBB definitely... or Capital Kings... or Toby Mac... oh my I think I have a problem. I don't know! :)

Beth: So cool!! I love CK and TM!!

Q: If you could travel any place in the world, where would it be?

A: Anywhere? Wow.... Egypt, hands down. I've always been a huge fan of the Egyptian lifestyles and their mythology.

Beth: Cool!!

Q. Do you prefer spring, summer, fall, or winter?

A: Winter! I prefer being cold haha

Beth: Me too!

Q: What's your favorite holiday?

A: Is my birthday a holiday? Just kidding. I love New Years.

Beth: Haha! Me too!

Q: What's your favorite book in the Bible?

A: Revelation.

Q: Do you have more of an adventuress side or calm side?

A: Definitely adventurous. I'm always ready to try new things, and if I ever fall or make a mistake, its way better to laugh about it then be mortified.

Beth: Cool! I'm adventurous too!!

Thanks for answering all those questions! Before we leave do you have any advice to give our readers for the New Year?

Serengheti: Advice? Hmmm... Be weird. This nation's society right now really focuses on "fitting in". I definitely know what it's like to be pressured into fitting in. I would be focused on clothes and what others were think of me, and when i was at public or church events, I rarely was having fun.

Then one day (I think I was around 14), i came to the realization that being "normal" was boring! Now don't get me wrong, changing from "normal" to myself was a long trip. People would ask me if I was okay. I even lost some friends. 

Losing one of my friends was really painful, so I started praying that God would bring people into my life that would accept me and my personality, and help me to build and grow. Not even a week later, I met some new people at a summer camp, people who were welcoming. And better yet? Many of them lived in my hometown!

So the moral of the story is, if you're "weird", then you are you. If you are you, than you are awesome! That's why when I end videos or letters or even blog posts, i say: 

"Be weird, be you, be awesome."

God bless guys!!

 Serengheti Rose is a 15 year old girl from the St Louis area. She loves listening to music, hanging out with friends, and meeting new people.  She is hoping and waiting for God to bring her her one and only spouse. She can't wait for what God has in store for her in the coming years. She also is kicking off a YouTube channel [channel name: Serengheti Rose]  Be Weird, Be You, Be Awesome.

Favorite Memory Of 2016 By: Olivia B. (Day 3 of New Years Blog Week)

Summertime at Schweitzer Mountain Resort

By: Olivia Bell

                

    Hi everyone! I am so honored to be a part of Beth’s special New Year’s celebration week! First, I’d like to start by thanking Beth for allowing me to do this post. Now, you probably can guess what this post is about by the title; I am sharing about me, my Dad, and my brother’s summer experience at our local ski resort this past summer, so sit back and enjoy!

Getting up early that morning, we gobbled down a quick breakfast, then hopped into our car and were off down the road. My mom isn’t really into the whole chairlift thing, so she decided to stay home for the day, but that’s okay!  Arriving at the resort, we knew it was going to be extremely busy because it was the only day of the year that the resort offered free chairlift rides. Finding a parking spot, we jumped out of the car and my brother Josh pulled his mountain bike out of the back and got ready for a day of riding. Schweitzer has some pretty good mountain bike trails during the summertime, so he was excited to get to do some riding. We all applied a good layer of sunscreen because we knew that the sun is much closer up on the mountain, plus we didn’t really want to look like a bunch of tomatoes by the end of the day, lol! As Josh left to hop on the chairlift, Dad and I took our time walking through the village. It’s amazing how different the resort looks in the summer than what it looks like in the winter. Heading towards the chairlift, we got on and enjoyed the ride up to the top of the mountain. The views from the lift are breathtaking, especially when you ride down! Below is a picture of the view from when we rode down:

Riding down is a real treat, because in the winter you always ride up but ski down, so riding down was probably my favorite part of the day!

Above is a picture of the lift at the top. Once we made it to the top, we were able to see the new lodge that was under construction. It was coming along well! Below is a picture:

The view from the top is so stunning; the Lord was so wonderful to give us mountains and such a beautiful creation to enjoy! Below are some pictures of the view:

So, we hiked down along the top ridge, enjoying the coolness of the mountain top air when we came upon a really big Huckleberry patch. I know most of you have never seen or tasted Huckleberries so to give you an idea of what they look like I’ve included a stock image of some below:

They resemble blueberries, as well as taste similar although some are tarter than blueberries. There are different varieties of Huckleberries, some are tarter and some are sweeter, the sweeter ones are much better! Anyway, back to the story, we came upon a large patch of Huckleberries, and we were so delighted! The berries were so big and sweet, it was a welcome snack after the hike. Ah, so yummy! But, I shall stop dwelling on the deliciousness and move on with the story, lol! 

   

After we hiked back to the top, I couldn’t resist taking pictures of practically everything! Here is a picture of the other chairlift that is at the top of the mountain:

We also were able to relax and hang out in some really neat chairs that were made out of bungee cords; they were fun to bounce up and down in! Here’s a picture of one of them:

     We were able to enjoy the view, and to have fun watching all the mountain bikers ride past. Time flew by, and then it was about time to go back down the mountain, but the line for the lift was so long! We must have had to stand in line for 30 minutes or more! But, that’s to be expected on free day. Once at the bottom, we bought some fire roasted pizza for lunch, which was pretty good! Dad and I hung out in the village for awhile, listening to the band that was performing while we waited for Josh to finish up biking.  There were so many people and cute dogs walking through, and vendors selling neat items. We bought some super delicious kettle corn, my favorite! There are many different activities you can do at the resort during the summer, there’s zip-lining, horseback rides, a tennis court, mountain biking, a rock climbing wall, and giant chess and checkers! Fun, fun, fun!

 Once Josh joined up with us, we headed to the car and packed up to leave. I was sorry to leave, but I looked forward to returning in the winter to the stunning white slopes to do some epic skiing!

I hope you all have enjoyed hearing about my summer Schweitzer Mountain Resort experience, which was my favorite memory of 2016! Beth, thanks again for this awesome opportunity!

  Olivia Bell is a teen young lady living in the Pacific North West with her loving family and cute dog. Her interests include: reading God’s Word, writing articles and such for Christian magazines, doing guest posts on her friends blogs, skiing, traveling, decorating and arranging her bedroom, making products for her craft business, using her talents to give aid to persecuted Christians around the world, drinking hot tea,  writing her book, and much more. Her desire is to bring glory to Jesus Christ with all her writings, because He is the True Author of her life. God bless you all!

Hey y'all 😁😁 So as I said before At the end of the New Years blog week my sisters and I will have a fun video! Well that video will be a Q&A!! The questions can be directed to all of us or individually😁 So comment with with a ton of questions and tell all your friends about it!!! God Bless!!!


(Sister's: Chloe, Reya, possibly Grace, and me)

Don't Wait: By Isabella Morganthal: Day 2 (New Years blog week)

Don’t Wait

Isabella Morganthal

     When was the last time you put off something until tomorrow that you really could’ve done today?

     When was the last time you decided to wait until next summer or next winter to focus on a project, when life gets less busy?

     It can be so easy to put things off until the future. Waiting until the next day, the next season, the next year.

     Oh, tomorrow I’ll write that article or that post or that book. Oh, in the summer I’ll start that ministry because I’ll have more time. Oh, next year I’ll start planning that mission trip.

     But what happens if next year your life is completely different? What if next summer is even busier than your current season of life?

     What if tomorrow never comes?

     Not one of us is promised tomorrow. Not one of us knows what the next year will hold, or even the next hour. The future is not guaranteed to us and all we have is the time in front of us. The minutes passing us every day are a gift from God. Are we embracing that gift?

     “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

~Proverbs 16:9

     “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

~James 4:14

     Have you ever planned out your entire day, your whole schedule, and then one problem changes everything? Maybe your car wouldn’t start so you couldn’t go where you wanted to. Maybe you got sick so you had to stay in bed. Maybe there were long lines at the mall and you couldn’t finish all your shopping in time. Whatever it is, more often times than not, our scheduled plans don’t always go according to our schedule.

     Or maybe you’ve experienced something bigger. You had your whole year planned out, everything you wanted to do. You had big plans and dreams. And then something stopped them in their tracks. Maybe your whole life fell apart with a diagnosis. Maybe your world collapsed with an accident. Maybe you lost everything in a sudden change of events. Whatever it is, moments of disaster or trauma that cause things beyond our control, quickly help us realize how fragile life is. And not only how fragile life is, but also how we lack the power to control the future.

     In our lives it becomes so easy to think we have control over what happens tomorrow, next summer, next year. We put things off until then because we assume that we have control over what happens later.

     But the truth is that we don’t have control over what happens at all. The above verse from Proverbs says that while we can make our plans, it’s the Lord that will direct our steps and control what happens next. The control is His and when we try to take it back from Him and control the future we are only putting an impossible, unnecessary burden on ourselves.

     Of course, I’m not saying to not make plans or to not make goals. Goals and plans are great! At the beginning of every new year I set so many goals, I can’t keep up with them all! :) No, what I’m saying is that we can’t place our trust in those goals or in our plans for what comes next, because it’s not guaranteed to us. Instead, we must place our trust in the One who holds our future.

     My challenge to you at the beginning of this brand new year, 2017, is to not wait for tomorrow to start living out your goals or your calling. If you know that God has called you to write that story from your life or to write that book to inspire others, why wait until next year? Open up your computer and start writing today!  If you know that God wants you to start a Bible study or ministry, why not start planning it today and setting things in motion today! I bet in a year you’ll look back and be happy you did.

     This moment is a gift from God, a gift He is asking you to open right this very minute and make it amazing.

     Will you embrace it?

Isabella Morganthal is a nineteen-year-old daughter of the King of kings. She is the indie author of three books and she blogs over at: www.Jesusisworthitall.weebly.com. She is also a YouTuber, drummer, and co-creative arts director for her creative arts ministry with her twin sister. Her passion is to inspire others to live the life God has for them.

A Goal

I know I said this article would be title "A little Goal" yet I realized it's not a little goal.

You see the first thing on my goal list for 2017 was to become more like Christ. But that's not a little goal. It's one we have to pursue over a lifetime.

Some of the character traits I wrote down in my goal notebooks were these: be compassionate, Love, Give Selfishly, Go the extra mile, forgive.

Jesus did all these things, there is several times in the gospels where it says Jesus had compassion on the people, and He went the extra mile, loving and giving when He was tired and I'm sure just felt like resting for the day. But He gave. And of course He loved! He loved/loves us so much He died for us! He look on every shame and pain we could ever have and nailed it to the cross. And He forgave, he forgave all those people who condemned Him to death, He died for them! And He forgave countless sins!

These things can be hard and I think I realized today just how hard this could be! But we have to do this! Our lives our made to reflect Jesus Christ! So let's strive together to be like Christ! And know that when we fail, there is forgiveness from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

1 Peter 21-25 (KJV)

(I just found this verse and I think this will be part of my goal! A perfect scripture to use!!)