It's 12:35.

Well..twice in one month. The rapture must be near.

 I don't particularly have anything to write..i just felt the need to write. so some thoughts to (i suppose) begin your Wednesday.

1) God is good
2) the gospel is amazing
3) boys
4) i want to say yes to God with no hesitations.
5) i may have officially decided to homeschool (and even come up with a good reason!)
I mean only if the Lord wills. and i get married. and have kids.
6) I love to travel. The speaker at Maranatha talked about traveling a lot today..and now thats all i want to do.
7) i just remembered there are brownies on the bookshelf.
8) i had a brownie, ice cream and part of a pop tart today.  vacation at its finest.
9) my Skype keeps making noise.
10) i seriously am so thankful for my church. it is a huge blessing in my life.

the end.
thank you and goodnight.

Because It's July

I like to start my notes to you as if we're already in the middle of a conversation.I pretend that we're the oldest and dearest friends..Kathleen Kelly(You've Got Mail-My favorite movie)

It's July, half the year is already gone. It's true what they say- time does move faster the older we become. In a little less than 2 months, I am going to move  To Chicago. Moody Bible Institute to be exact. And yes-it is exciting, but at the same time:"You are going to feel so different, because you are going to be different and you are going to want your home and your friends and everything in your home town to be the exact same as when you left -because toats obvi their worlds revolve around you!- and its not going to be, they are going To change too." this is the quote  you hear and you get a little freaked out-to say the least. {I should have prefaced that this is not a woe-is-me post. this is just a life documentation.}

  "For everything there is a season." (Ecclesiastes 3) High school sortof felt like a forever season, and a fast 2 second season at the same time. Sure-it had its ups and downs..but hello(!) that is what made it high school.(here is a free tidbit about myself- i hate the fact that high school is 2 words instead of one)    (You're welcome) Right now as I type I'm in the in-between season. I {sadly} am not a high schooler, and technically I am not a colleger.(Not a word-but it should be) This is sometimes frustrating in the way that some people think you are a kid, others treat you like an adult, and you kindof wish you could be one or the other-but not the adult because they have responsibilities and sometimes responsibilities scare me. they scare you too- you can admit it. 

" I don't know what the future holds but I know who holds it."(unknown..at least to me) "Help me grasp the heights of your plans for us."(the gettys-speak o Lord)

God had great things for me in high school. If you and I went to coffee (even though I don't drink coffee) and you said-"Madison, what is the one thing that God really showed you in high school?" I maybe would grin like a fool and tell you-"The thing that God really showed me was how Faithful he was, is, (and because He is unchangeable) always will be." God has great things for me in this in-between season.  If you asked me-"Madison what is He teaching you in this in-between season?" I would take a small sip of my chai latte and ponder a little before replying-"Well, I know that He is sovereign-nothing is ever outside His plan. I have an everlasting Hope that will never fail. and patience-because sometimes life is messy and hard. and I am learning what it means to rest fully on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." and then we would nod our heads, both think about how good God is and share a brownie. And I know He has great plans for college, and whatever He has for me after college. May His glory be the very passion of my heart both now and forever more. 

Soli Deo Gloria

Sin and bugs. (and how they both effect our lifes)

On occasion we will have bugs in our house, and every time we see a bug its a mad dash to kill it.
But on the other hand, sometimes i am just to lazy and i let it continue its happy bug life.
On one such day of laziness, i thought..hmmm, bugs are like sin. if we are lazy sin grows and multiplies. if we kill it when the Lord reveals, its gone. as far as the east is from the west.  just some thoughts for your day:)

two thousand and eleven.

hey folks....as you see i have not blogged in a while. so lets do a little year through review.:)

2011

January: molly had a birthday. my parents had their 29th anniversary. snow camp!

February: janna moved back from Czech. valentines day!

March: I had a birthday. Celebrated 1 year in our new church building.

April: Went to the Gospel Coalition! (dont worry! part two will come..i think)

May: I was in Gilbert and Sullivan's- Gondoliers. I was the duchess, and i got to wear a huge wig.

June: Went to church summer camp. Went to a choral camp. Went to Worldview Academy.

Found out Julie was going to have a BABY! kates sweet 16!{she know alot about Jesus. so go talk to her}

July: Was a table leader and music leader for our churches Vacation Bible School. The theme was western, it was kindof hilarious. I went to Maranatha, and one of my friends there re-dedicated her life to the Lord!

August: I went on my first missions trip to the Czech Republic, i was a cabin leader at a missionarykid/thirdculturekid camp. let me tell you one girl in my cabin spoke like 3 maybe 4 languages. it was crazy. And i met/made awesome new friends!(hi, guys!)

September: Janna got her visa, to return back to the Czech Republic, total answer to prayer. I started my Junior year. Jed and Julie celebrated their 3rd anniversary! God worked alot.

October: Rosie turned 2! Found out the gender of Julie's baby..(but its a secret) Started looking at where i would like to continue my education. Started memorizing the book of 1 John with my friend jackie.

November: Mamaw (my grandmother) celebrated her 93rd birthday! (go mamaw!) We gave thanks.

December: Community Christmas happened, and it was awesome. My school choir sang the Christmas portion of the Messiah! I sang with the said choirs madrigal group, and went to a barn dance. Christmas. and i decided to learn how to play the guitar.(so did molly)

January 2012: Mollys birthday is tomorrow. shes getting old. My parents are about to celebrate their anniversary- 30 on the 30th. Julie could have her baby any day now. my friend lindsays birthday!{guys if you need encouragement talk to her!}

God really worked in my life this year....

Tis' so sweet to trust in Jesus

And to take Him at His word

Just to rest upon His promise

And to know thus saith the Lord.

Jesus, Jesus how i trust Him

How i've proved Him o're and o're

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus

O for grace to trust Him more.

(and the little "L's" in the post are really exclamation points. :))

huzzah.

i just got back from the czech republic.
had the best week of my life.
can't wait to tell you all about it.
made friends.
heard opera in prague.
learned about God.
ate good food.

Psalm 73:26!

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26.
i read this today and it blew me away.
my body...it will fail.
my heart....it will fail.
BUT.( that is such a great word.)
God, the almighty Father, is the strength of my failing heart.
my portion forever.
hallelujah!
Praise God.
claim this promise. hold on to it.
grasp it.

the Gospel coalition! part 1

i went to the Gospel coalition.
it was amazing and a half.
i am going to share some quotes with you for the moment. : )


there is grace in the knowledge of our sins. there is grace in the the knowledge of our need for a Savior. ~ Al Mohler

when we become a christian we have a status change. like Paul - one day he was a killer, the next a fruitful apostle. ~ Tim Keller

Jonah said the only way to calm the sea of Gods wrath was to throw him(Jonah) in. (remember he got swallowed by the big fish:)) On the cross Jesus was thrown into the sea of Gods wrath for the world. ~ Tim Keller

when we can't carry both our sins and God's correction - we need to drop the sin! The correction lets us see the vain things that charm us most. ~ James McDonald

maximizing the fear of the Lord shall minimize the fear of judgment of others. ~ James McDonald

Jesus embodies my trust, exemplifies my trust and enables my trust. ~ James McDonald

weakness is a preexisting condition the God can use. ~ Tim Savage

holy gospel, batman! there's a whole world out there!~ Robin / Michael Oh

if the gospel is so awesome, how come Christians rarely share it? ~ Michael Oh

if the gospel is not going out- there must be something you/I don't believe. ~ Michael Oh

we all have skills that we can use on the mission field. we all speak English. ~Michael Oh

God is not calling everyone to go to the mission field- but - from His children for whom He died, He just wants to hear, "I'll go." ~ Michael Oh

There are more quotes but that is for a later time. : )

what i want to be....

"i just want to lobby for God." ~ billy graham ______________________________________ today in church we had a awesome church service, we learned about the goodness of God...it never gets old. : ) we never need to ask God if He will change or if He will be faithful tomorrow. Praise the Lord! its always a great reminder. He is in control! and worship was great! ____________________________________________ back to the title of this post....its hard deciding what you want to do. its hard to just leave it up to God. But..................... we NEVER need to ask God if He will still be faithful or good or if He knows what i am going to do in a couple years. He does know. i pray that i will rest in His hope. : )

lets talk books...

on midday connection today they were talking about books they were currently reading, so i decided to join in here.
here is what i have read recently or am reading right now or about to read:
whats the difference. by john piper(great book!!!)
dorie: the girl nobody loved. by doris van stone and erwin lutzer. (it is a missionary biography)
the princess. by lori wick.
the count of monte cristo. by alexander dumas.
pride and prejudice. by jane austen.
love letters from cell 92. correspondence between dietrich bonhoeffer and maria von wedemeyer.edited by ruth-alice von bismark and ulrich kabitz.
stepping heaven ward. by elizabeth prentiss.
the christy miller series. by robin jones gunn.
margo mysteries. by jerry jenkins.
the tips from tulip series. by mindy starns clark.
and most importantly my school books and the Bible!

what are you reading???

plays and or musicals.

we have entered play/musical season.
i am excited.
i am going to see phantom of the opera.
i want to see beauty and the beast.
i am in gondoliers.
i am the duchess.
i am excited.
i love going to plays and musicals.
i would love to go to an opera.
there are a lot of 'I's" in this blogpost.
this is all to say....welcome to play season. : )

buds.

a normal conversation:
madison: {smacks cara with pillow}
cara: you smeared my perfectly applied lipstick.
madison: sorry about your pillow katie..it has cara's red lip mark on it.
katie:thats ok....i never look at that side anyway.
katie: im a funny little person.
i love you both! : )

Kitchen work.....(.well im not doing it.)

kitchen work..... my sister molly is doing it right now : )

dishes(gross)

putting food away(ok if you have the right tupperware(!))

(i love tupperware)

cleaning the counter-tops(the problem word here is cleaning)

wiping the counter-tops.(i like doing this...the soapy warm dishcloth is so nice : ))

sweeping the floor(i like sweeping)

the fun things you can do to keep your mind of the work above:

listen to some good music(i suggest 88.5 or pandora(right know we are listening to show tunes...the song on right now is from monsters inc.)

dance to said show tunes(like the dance on the king and i)

have a water war(tell your work buddy to sing into the faucet head than turn on the water...this has happened to me..and it works)

pour a lot of soap on the counter-tops and have fun.

eat marshmallows.(yum)

good luck on your kitchen! i really mean it! : )

Valentines!

taking a cue from another blogger........14(and some extra) things I love!(in honor of valentines!)


1. Jesus my King.

2. my awesome family!
im ready to beat you all in wii......: )

3.my church family.
God has blessed me so much with our church, His wonderful grace is so evident in our churches life.

4.i love the Bible reading plan that we are doing as a family.

5. i love europe. (and America!)

6.i love middle names......no joke i know so many.

7. i love my friends. they encourage me in my walk with the Lord.

8. i love mysteries.

9. i love to sing......mostly opera. and hymns. : )

10. i love comfy cars....i sat in one the other day...it was nice.

11. i love crafting. im not very good at it...but.......i do love making valentines.

12. i love getting valentines. we got one in the mail yesterday.(thanks miss pat!)

13. i love weddings(and babys).(and sharpie pens.)

14. i love surprises.

(15.) i love bsf.

(16.) i love that Jesus loves me....even though i am totally unworthy.

(17.) i love the story behind Valentines day........if you don't know its a holiday remembering St. Valentine, in his day the roman emperor banned marriage because men were not joining his army, St. Valentine kept on marrying people, so finally he was put in prison and killed.
He knew that marriage is ordained by God and that is a sacred.

(18.) i love valentines day.

this valentines day lets remember that the person who love us most is our heavenly Father.

Christmas!

Christmas is about.......
Christ
baby Jesus
the cross
ultimate love
family
joy
wonder
amazingness
thankfulness
good smells(!)

where do we put our joy in at Christmas??
lets put our joy in the only one(Jesus) that can bring us the forever kind of joy!

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!
We have so much to be thankful for.
We always hear around thanksgiving: We need to be thankful all times of the year not just when it is Thanksgiving.
do you all hear it or is it just me?? Ha!
Are we always thankful in all circumstances?
i know i am not.
Its true we DO need to be thankful in all circumstances.
It is a hard thing to accomplish!
we can pray for that desire daily!
let that be the desire of our heart to always be thankful to God always!
i hope y'all have a great Thanksgiving in the Lord!

God is bigger than we give Him credit for.

have you ever thought about that about that?
God is bigger than we give Him credit for.
just sit there and thing about it for a minute.
what do we define "big" as?
the monsters on tv?
football players?
our friends tv?
peoples houses?
those seem SO big to us!
think how SMALL they are to God.
Psalm 19:1-The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands!
the heavens glorify God!!!
how much bigger are the heavens compared to us??
what a great and big God we serve!!
Hallelujah!!

He's been faithful..

God has been so good to me.

how could we ever thank Him?

for new life?
the gospel?
freedom?(happy fourth!)
freedom of worship?
family?
friends?
house?
car?
food?
water?
life?
clothes?



we should think about these simple things every day!!

when i was a worldview my small group leaders encouraged us with a couple of thoughts about prayer/praising the Lord...



A-adoration

C-confession

T-thanksgiving

S-supplication





adoration- praise Him.. adore Him...just simply praising God for who he is....just take five minutes and praise Him for His attributes, praise Him for what He has done in your life!!



confession- ask forgiveness for the things you have done wrong. ask him to help you remember to do better next time.



thanksgiving- thank Him...take five or ten minutes...(i know that sounds like a lot but once you start going...)



supplication- we tell Him our needs...funny this one is at the end...:)





we have SO much to be thankful for!!

take every opportunity you have to tell someone about our God and Savior, Jesus Christ!!

Our God is so Big, so strong and so mighty!

i went to worldview academy last week.
it was so so so so so good.
i learned that:
it will not always turn out our way,
but God is still faithful!~Praise the Lord!
there is so much corruption in the world.
evangelizing is SO important.
everyone is going to die...
how much do we hate a person
to not tell them about heaven?
God is a just and merciful God!!
i learned more than that..i will write again later.

He(God) has been so good to me.

Ok well i know i have not written and i am sorry. boo madison. oh well.

ok summer camp...no joke this was the best summer camp i have ever been to.
it was very convicting and very helpful.
i realized how blessed i was.
how great it is to meet new people.
seeing how God works in peoples life.
i realized how important reading my bible was.
how much i love prayer.
friends are great.(old and new!)
how blessed we are with people at church who love us.
how great my parents are.
that our God is good.