Count Your Blessings

This has been one ordinary week. This week was more toned down compared to previous ones.

1. Monday- Started The Wonder of Your Love by Beth Wiseman

2. Tuesday- After such a long time talking to Aizess about Adventures in Odyssey, we listened to some episodes.

3. We had dinner at my grandma's house. I enjoy the fact that she lives one floor up from me. Kianna and her family were also there with us.

4. Thursday- I started reading a review book from Tyndale, and I can not wait to get it over with. I do not understand what I am reading.

-I received A Distant Melody from the library.

-After church we ate some yummy Taco Bell.

5. Friday- I hope to watch Saving Sarah Cain today.

Even though this was a "typical" week, I have to give thanks to God for giving me each of these blessings and a wonderful life.

Just Five Words

In the world there are many smart people. Albert Einstein was pretty smart. Most elderly people are wise. They have had experiences and can instruct others. There are always the smart kids in school. Are you smart? Are you a wise person?

The apostle Paul writes: But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others then ten thousand in tongues. 1 Corinthians 14:19

I wonder what five words the apostle Paul would have said. We can say a lot of things in a little bit of words. How can one share the whole Gospel message to someone in just five words? It took many more  years for the arrival of the Messiah and His entire life than five words could give it justice. If given the opportunity my five words would be Jesus Died, Rose For You!

What would your five words be? How would you sum up the message of salvation in five words. Leave a comment and let me know.

90 Day Challenge

On June 26, 2011 my mother and I started a challenge. Not an ordinary challenge and definitely not an easy one. This challenge would test our perseverance skills to the maximum level. We decided to read the entire Bible (Genesis-Revelation) in ninety days. Normally one reads the entire Bible in one year, but we would end up finishing it in 1/4 of the "normal" time. To do this challenge I had to read about 12 pages a day.

It was super easy in the beginning. I started reading about the Creation and ended with Sara's death in just one day. I felt like I was reading so much, but I enjoyed the pace. When I started Leviticus and Numbers it became difficult. Then there was the Chronicles. Since Kings and Chronicles are basically the same, I felt like I was rereading the same thing over. The rest of the books were easy as well. Then came the major prophets. Isaiah and Jeremiah were hard books to read for me. Even with its difficulties I pressed on in the battle for perseverance. 

To commit to read twelve pages a day is big goal. There were times when I would fall behind but because I had a goal I would continue reading. I think that was one benefit of this challenge. It tested my perseverance skills, checked my priorities, and strengthened my discipline.

Well you may ask yourselves did I finish this challenge? On September 24, 2011 (all the praise goes to Jesus) my mother and I finished reading the Bible in exactly 90 days.

My dad said if we completed the challenge, we would get a prize. My mom and I split $90.00 for the prize. I am still not sure what I am going to get. I was thinking of the first two books of the Rose Trilogy ( I borrowed the first two from the library.) I also want to get the Wings of Glory series by Sarah Sundin. I was also considering getting a new Bible, since as many have seen, is pretty beat down.

NOTE: We were not doing this challenge for the prize. My dad added that himself a little after we started.

Book Review-The Mercy

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This story takes place in the beautiful meadows of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 

Rose is a hurting young woman.  After the end of one relationship, she wonders if she will ever find the right Amish man to settle down with.  Even is she does find that right man, will she be able to forget the Bishop's foster son, Nick?  She wonders what the Lord has in store for her future.

Hen is taking care of her husband after his accident.  He has agreed to stay in her Amish home for now.  Hen knows that as long as her husband depends on her he will stay, but once he can take care of himself he will leave Mattie and her again.  Will her love for Brandon deepen as he stays and cause her to forget her faith?  Will Brandon ever recognize the need for Jesus in his life?  Does the Lord's plan for Hen include a united God fearing family?

Journey with Rose and Hen as they learn about forgiving, true love, happiness, and most importantly the greatness of the Lord's mercy.

This book was the last book to The Rose Trilogy Series and by far, the one I enjoyed the most after having read all three.  In this book, I learned new things about the characters that were shocking, but so very important.  There were many unexpected twists that made this book all the more enjoyable.  It was funny, sad, bittersweet, and had some clean romance in it.  Although the ending tied up all the loose ends, it was not a predictable read.  The author did a great job with this series' conclusion.

I would recommend this book to all who enjoy Amish fiction and all who enjoy a good read.  

I received this book as a free copy from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

You can purchase this book at Amazon or CBD.

Count My Blessings

Last week I did not post my blessings so I will double up.

1. We had a blessed time in our campaign at church. Our church was celebrating its 14 year anniversary.

2. Even though it was cold on Saturday, we had a good time. After the service we enjoyed  some Central American bread with coffee (or milk).
3. On the last day of the campaign Aizess, Abigail, and I sang a new song.  It was fun fellowshipping with Abigail. Since she is not from our church, we got to make a new friend.

4. I am a little sad that summer is basically over. I got some last summer pictures.

5. Our home school desks are just finished! I forgot to take a before picture.

6. I finished my library book, but I had to renew it because it was too little time to finish it.

7. I am so happy to be able to share another library book with friend who really wanted to read it. I renewed it for her so she could have time to read it.

8. On Tuesday I got my book form Book Sneeze- The Wonder of Your Love by Beth Wiseman. 

9. On Thursday I got The Mercy by Beverly Lewis from Bethany House Publishers.

10. I put some books on hold to read in the library and I am pretty excited. I also took out the movie Flicka (Kianna you should stop by my house since I know you like it!) I also reserved Saving Sarah Cain.
11.  God is so good.  I was mentioning how the Arizona Watermelon was my favorite.  He had one reserved for me at my grandmother's house:)

Product Review- Book Holder

For awhile my mom was trying to make a book stand for our books. She used different little trinkets but nothing worked. Finally, she bought one to try it out to see if it was actually helpful. When my mother opened it up I was a little confused. It looked so weird. Then my mom showed me how it worked. After my mom opened it, I put the heaviest and biggest book I had to see if it would hold it. Thankfully it held up. 

The book holder was so fun to use. Most of the time my little sister used it. I used it occasionally when she let me. Then my mom surprised me and bought one for me as well.  I was super excited. I used it for most of my subjects in homeschool.

There are many benefits to the book holder. After you read something for a long time your neck starts to ache from looking downward. Since this device elevates the book, you can look straight at the book instead of downwards. Sometimes my desk gets so messy with so many different books on my desk that it is hard to write in my notebook and balance all the others. The holder does not clear your desk but it does allow your book to be off the desk so you can write perfectly neat in your notebook. 

Since I like to read a lot, and the hours in the day for relaxing are few, I use all the opportunities I can to read. Sometimes while I am eating, I use that opportunity to read. Unfortunately, there were some problems, I did not want to dirty my books. I also found it inconvenient to try to keep the book open while I ate. Now that I have my spectacular book holder I can read my books during my meals without any hassles. I does not prevent my book from getting dirty but it lessens the chance of it happening.

Another great thing about this product is that you can adjust the width and decrease it depending the size of your book. You can put big dictionaries and also your small ipod as well.

Of course there are some negatives about this product. You can not put very thick books on it. If you do actually fit a thick book on it, it will be hard to turn the pages. You can not put tall, flimsy books either.

By my review you can tell that I absolutely enjoy it. It has made homeschool life much more enjoyable.

There are many more ways you can use it, such as while you are baking you could put the recipe on the stand so it does not get lost in the mess of ingredients. I would highly recommend you to get one. I would give this product 5 stars.

You can purchase the same one I have here.

Rachel or Leah?

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A while ago my mother and I were talking about the Bible characters Rachel and Leah. They are two very interesting women. Would you not like to be the younger, more beautiful sister of the two?  Rachel was the beautiful shepherdess. Leah was just the plain older sister. Naturally, we as young girls want to be like Rachel since she had everything "good" in her favor. Many times we look down on Leah and forget her good qualities.  Before we can look at the good in her, we should first review her past.

Leah was the older sister of the two. She was expected to marry first. However, that was not the case because she was not born with a lovely form nor beautiful like her sister (Genesis 29:17). Every man wants to marry a woman  with good qualities and looks. However, no one wanted to marry Leah.  She was unloved by every man including her father. As soon as he saw a way to get rid of Leah, he jumped on it. He did not even take her feelings into consideration. 

The Lord saw that she was unloved by her husband Jacob, so He blessed her with children. She bore Jacob many sons while her lovely sister did not. The Lord honored her by giving her six sons and one daughter. When Rachel died, she was buried on the side of the road. When Leah died, she was buried in the cave that Abraham bought for Sara's burial. The patriarchs were all buried there with their wives. Even though Rachel was the wife Jacob loved; Leah was the wife that was buried in the family tomb. Therefore, Leah was buried with honor. 

The first king of Israel was from the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was the second and last son Rachel had. We all know that because of Saul's disobedience God took him off the throne and gave it over to someone else. David was the new king and was from the tribe of Judah.  

According to 1 Kings 2:45 "David's throne will reamain secure before the Lord forever."

So the kingdom was given over to a descendant of Leah's son. Jesus was born from the tribe of Judah. Since He is the Alpha and Omega, His kingdom will last for ever thus, fulfilling His promise to King David.  Leah was highly honored to have the Messiah come from her lineage.

In conclusion, we should not look down on Leah. She was a woman not accepted by society. She was a woman that was unloved and not outwardly beautiful. God still loved and accepted her just the way she was. She was a women honored by God and later by man.

A Blast From the Past

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Twenty-first century children are born with an itouch in one hand and a flat screen in another. Well that's not true, but you get the point. One headline reads, "Kids Spend Nearly 55 Hours a Week Watching TV, Texting, Playing Video Games."  Isn't that sad. Children these days have to be plugged into something or they are not having fun.

What did the children back then do for fun? Well, for one thing they had toys, friends, and the radio. The radio was their "tv". The radio is less harmful than the television because you are not exposed to the bad images. Although caution should be taken when hearing/listening to both.  The radio actually benefited people. You had to have had sharp listening skills to hear what was being said. Since, they could not see what was happening, they also had to use their imagination to picture the scenes. Thus, they were having fun, but also benefiting their minds and ears.

My mother recently found on itunes many free episodes of the show Adventures in Odyssey. I also found a website that shares many audio shows of The Adventures in Odyssey . They are like television shows, but you can not see the action you just hear it and picture it. They teach life and Biblical lessons through fun stories.

If you are interested you can find it at:

iTunes and type: The Official Adventures In Odyssey podcasts.

Or you can go to The Adventures in Odyssey

Movie Review- The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry

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The movie starts in the summer of 1970. Three friends, Dustin, Mark, and Albert plan to have a blast on their summer vacation. As Dustin works mowing lawns, he gets a new customer Jonathan Sperry, a seventy- five year old man.  Mr. Sperry starts having bible studies with the three boys. As Dustin continues to work for Mr. Sperry,  he and his friends grow closer to God. Journey with the three friends as they deal with bullies, crushes, forgiveness and lot's more.

I really enjoyed this movie. It had such a good message. There were many unexpected things that happened. I cried and laughed in this movie. It was great!

When it first begins, it starts with Dustin liking this girl Tanya. I thought it was going to be a movie with inappropriate romance . To my surprise it wasn't. However, it did mention about his crush throughout the movie but it is not the main focus. They also used some words that I would not particularly use. Other than that it is a very clean, edifying, and Christ centered movie.

I have a surprise you can watch the whole movie for free right here. I hope you enjoy. Comment and tell me what you thought.

Count Your Blessings

1. Another group of our Church got baptized.

2. Abigail came for Sunday School and helped us sing a new song that Aizess and I hope to sing soon.

3. We had a blessed prayer service in my grandma's house.

4. My mom found some cool desks, they are going to be for home school.

5. I finally finished reading The Cat of Bubastes book. This was part of a home school assignment. Sometime in the future I will write a review on it.

6. I am trying to finish reading 2 big books in about 1 week. I do not want to have to renew them from the library.

7. I signed up for some publishing groups that give away free review copies. I have already been accepted in 3.

(This was at the baptism. It reads "In The Name of Jesus")

Summer Fun!

This summer was so great. It was super busy for me and my family. I still can not believe it is basically over already. We have to take advantage of these fun, care-free summers, because I have only 4 more summers left. You may think I am dying but I am not. I have 4 more summers and then I am an "adult" I will try to take advantage of my fun youthful days from now on. This is basically how my summer went.

In my church we planted a garden.

I made the most delicious hot dog on a 4 of July barbeque.

After my dad's graduation, I played with his tassels.

We had a girls retreat and I was enjoying a melting icey.

Went bike riding with my dad and lil" sister.

Spent a lot of time washing my hair after all the times I was in the water.

Went to a nice park and found some bread to feed "her".

As a church trip we went to the Circle Line. We had a tour of the whole island of Manhattan.

Had a good time in the hotel while we were in Mahaniam, a Christian camp.

Got baptized in the name of Jesus!

Enjoyed the grapes that grows in our backyard of the church.

The End

Homeschool Days

School is beginning. For some it starts on the sixth and others the eighth. That does not apply to me because I have already started school. This year I start high school!

What high school am I in? Well I am a homeschooler. My family started homeschooling after I finished the 6th grade in public school. At first I was not so excited. Who would be excited to leave their friends, classmates, all the fun and competition? Then the Lord ministered me and I was at peace with my parents' decision because the decision was actually the Lord's. 

I live in the city so homeschool is like a "must". Not because I live in a city but because I live in the City of Cities, NEW YORK. New York has lost all concept of morality. I am so glad that I am not exposed to those anti-biblical concepts.

If you are in a public school then that's the Lord's calling for you. Maybe you are there to preach to the lost souls in school. To shine your light amongst the darkness around you. 

Just remember whatever you do wether you homeschool or go to public school do it unto Jesus.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.  Colossians 3:23

Have a happy school year!

Book Review-Vigilante's Bride

Title: Vigilante's Bride

Author: Yvonne Harris

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Genre: Historical/Romance Fiction

Emily is kicked out of the orphanage because she is too old. Now she is forced to become a mail-order-bride. She is  on her way to marry a man named Bart Axel who is a complete stranger. Little does she know that she is about to enter into a journey of a lifetime.

Luke Sullivan is a"good" man. He does not lie or steal. He makes sure no one gets away from the punishments they deserve. While witnessing a man's just death, memories of his past begin to haunt him. Luke is now trying to get even with Bart, the man that ruined his father and family. He holds his nemesis' stagecoach and robs the money that is rightfully his, or rather technically his fathers. He also kidnaps his enemy's bride-to-be. How can once "good" man Luke reduce to this? He believes he is doing the right thing taking back his money and saving poor Emily from marrying that scoundrel, Bart Axel.
Journey with Luke as he fights the bad guys, encounters Indians, learns to forgive, falls in love, and most importantly he learns to surrender his life over to Jesus.

This was a great book! I really enjoyed Harris' story plot. She made the book sad, funny, suspenseful, and still very Christ centered.

I would highly recommend this to all those who enjoy a good read. This is not a book where you have to guess who the bad guy is, but his schemes will keep you in suspense. This book does contain some violence and romance but nothing graphic.

I got this book as a free E-book at CBD Free.   You can purchase a paperback copy at  CBD or Amazon.

Count My Blessings

1. Praise the lord that he kept me safe as hurricane Irene made her way to NY.

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2. It was fun to have the pastor in my grandmas house which is on the next floor. He brought some stuff just in case the church did not make it.

3. I found some good books in the library.

4. My pepper in the church garden is turning red!

5. I remodeled my closet it looks so neat.

6. Yesterday was my little sister Sara's birthday and tomorrow is my dads.

7. A family from our church is coming back from Dominican Republic today.

Praise the Lord for His many blessings!

All About Ali

Peace be with you bloggers. I am a 14 year old girl, surrendering her life to Jesus daily. I really enjoy reading. It is like my hobby. I only read wholesome literature. I have read many books but the Bible is the best for my life.

I also enjoy double dutch. It is like the only "sport" I do. Even though I am a naturally slow paced person I like to run and I can run fast. Singing is another thing I like to do.

I am a believer in Jesus Christ. I accepted Him into my heart when I was just 5 years old. This summer I was baptized in the name of Jesus. I will share a bit more on that in a later post. I like spending time with my friends and family at the church.

From preschool- 6th grade I was in public school. Then I started homeschooling in the 7th grade till now. I recently started 9th grade. Since I am home schooled I get to start whenever I like. History is my favorite subject. Maybe it is because my mother was a history teacher. My least favorite subject is science. In the name of Jesus I will like all my subjects.

Well that is a little bit about me. Hopefully through my posts you will get to know me better.

Welcome

Welcome to the Surrendering All of Me blog. I hope you plan to stay and visit for a while as I embark on my new journey. It is my desire to give myself to Christ each passing day. I hope you will be blessed as you continue to read this blog.

I am going to write about a variety of things. I will post about my life. I will share my homeschool days and book reviews. I will count my blessings and share my random thoughts with you. Most importantly, I will talk about my dear Savior Jesus. I hope we can all surrender our lives to Jesus and be willing to do whatever he asks of us. Thank you for taking the time to visit.

Lots Of Love,

Ali

Book Review-Salt Lake Dreams

Title: Salt Lake Dreams
Author: Paige Winship Dooly
Publisher: Barbour Pubslihing, Inc.

Salt Lake Dreams will have you dreaming about what will happen next. Three women struggle on what man to put their trust in and whether they will put their trust in God.

Dr. Abigail Haynes is headed west to Utah. Abby survives almost being held hostage in a train robbery by the prayers of her new friend. When she takes a turn at praying to God for his intervention things do not happen in the way she "prayed" for. Will Abby ever be able to trust a man again? As she helps heal others will she allow God to heal her? Will Jake be able to make Abby trust him and God as well?

Ellie weathers can not understand why her grandfather spent his entire life savings for a carousel! She could make the resort bring more income with all of that "wasted" money. Carousel builder, Bascum Anthony tries to put his grief aside and help heal Ellie's bitter heart while building an amazing carousel. When Bascum's past resurfaces to hurt Ellie and her daughter Prissy, can he protect them? Can Ellie ever trust a man with a haunting past?

Tabitha Augustine and her father are determined to find the first dinosaur fossil in the site. All of a sudden her father and many others drop out of the competition because of threats. Can she put her independent spirit aside and become a team with Hunter against the malefactor?Somehow, Hunter has not been threatened. Could he actually be the culprit? Hunter wants Tabitha to trust him but most importantly God.

This three-in-one collection was very well written. This was my first time reading a book by Paige and it was very good. I could not wait to find out what happened next. The author used very descriptive words you could easily picture the characters. The hardest part was finding out their true character and emotions. I would recommend this book to all readers who love action, suspense and some clean romance.

The only drawback, if I had to name one,was that the three stories had nothing to do with each other. However they were very good stand alone books. These are good reads for teens and adults alike.

I found this book at my local library but you can purchase it at: CBD and Amazon.