Another Treasure: Encouragement

My friends call me an Encourager because
I am always loudly cheering for them!

Do you like to be encouraged?  

This month my parents want me to learn scriptures about encouragement. 

I do like it when people tell me that I am special. 

That's what encouragement is all about.

At our house, encouragement is important. 

We do lots of good deeds for others. 

My Mom says we need to try to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus

That means we make lots of meals for others. We have people over a lot. We send cards to people when they are sick. or sad.

I make funny photos and put them in the cards to cheer people up
I like to distort faces on my DS and make silly shots.

The Bible is full of verses to lift people up. Here is one of my favorites: 

Deuteronomy 31:6 

Be strong and courageous. 

Do not fear or be in dread of them, 
for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. 

He will not leave you or forsake you.”

We have kids over all the time and play

board games and other fun activities. 

Fun with my Dad

The Treasure of Jesus by Steven Curtis Chapman

I love this song, which goes along

with a past Theme from L2L.

Here are the lyrics, and I posted the  link to hear it below.  

What can I do
How can I live
To show my world
The treasure of Jesus

What will it take
What could I give
So they can know
The treasure He is

And if I can sing
Let my songs be full of His glory
If I can speak
Let my words be full of His grace

And if I should live or die
Let me be found pursuing this prize
The One that alone satisfies
The treasure of Jesus


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atuT0DUaf90

Source:  Dayspring.com

The Anchor Holds

My Hope is Built on Nothing less

Than Jesus' Love and Righteousness!

In every high and stormy gale: 

My anchor holds within the vale...

God does not promise that there will be no Storms,

 no discouragement,

He did promise that when these times come, 

He will give us an Anchor…

Super Heroes: Beating Down Evil

     My cousin, Brayden and I like to dress up like Superheroes.  

We imagine we have super-powers, and we do lots of good deeds and help beat down evil and let good win. 

"In due season, we shall reap, if we do not lose heart." 

Galatians 6:9

I think this verse means that if we keep believing in God,
 and we don't give up (lose heart), 
will overcome 

anything in life.   

Our enemies may be nicer, 
our schoolwork

will come easy to us, and we will have friends. 

Our life won't be as Hard as it used to be,
 because we will grow close to Jesus by praying,

 listenting to music that praises Him, 
and reading more about the Bible. 

America's Treasure: Civil Rights (my report for school)

Source:  Buzz Feed News

     Civil Rights are equal rights for the civilians of America. 

 This is important! 

I am studying civil rights in my Social Studies Class right now. 

Civil Rights are for all races, and all the kinds of people who are alive in this country.  I am glad we have civil rights because they support people who have disabilities.  The meaning of the civil rights is found in our Constitution, in the statement, “All men are created equal.”  Everybody has the same rights in this country. 

       Discrimination used to be big in this country because we had slavery, and the poor black people got ripped from their homes in Africa to come here and work in this country.  People said blacks were 3/5ths human.  That angers me.  I have many black friends.  I hope that if I were living back in that time, I would help them escape from slavery. 

Source:  Buzz Feed News

     Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her bus seat to a white man in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama.  Martin Luther King, Jr. led peaceful protests, and gave a speech that helped to make him famous.  President John F. Kennedy made discrimination against black people illegal in 1963.    But we still have discrimination in our country.  I see discrimination all the time in my life.  In Soccer, the Captains pick the best players first.  The worst players are left to be picked last.  Usually, the worst soccer players get put in a place where they barely play at all.  Lots of places discriminate against people because they are different, even though it is illegal.  Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 5:48).  If we did this all the time, we wouldn't need laws for Civil Rights!

Source:  MarandaHawthorne.org 

      Another place I see discrimination is in business.  Just because a person is a little bit different, he doesn’t get raises or move up in the business.  I am talking about someone’s accent, or their looks, or their clothes.  These things should not be used to judge if they get a raise. 

     At my Summer Camp this past summer, there was a kid who was very different from the others.  He had Autism.  The other kids said, “I don’t want to play with him, he’s gross.   He is a cry baby, and he is always in trouble.”  But I tried to be nice to him.  I tried my hardest to be a good friend to him.  It was pretty hard, because he was really eccentric.  Some of my friends even put pressure on me to NOT spend time with the different kids.  They said I wasn’t cool anymore.  I had a lot of talks with the Counselors, and with my parents about all this.  In the end, he got sent away from the Camp, and had to go to a special school in another town.  I felt really sad about that.  I did not get to say goodbye to him. 

These kids have Down's Syndrome and
live in Honduras.  I send money to their school
to help with supplies and stuff they need. 

     In conclusion, Civil Rights are rights that prevent discrimination, but not always.  People are not treated equally all the time.  I am not even great at treating people equally.   Sometimes certain people get to me, and I don’t want to be around them.   I don’t want to give them a second chance.  I get mad at them more easily that other people.  John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. both were assassinated for trying to end discrimination.  So you can see that we still need improve on treating people equally in this country. 

Rich in Good Deeds...

Command them to do good, 

to be rich in good deeds, 

and to be generous 

willing to share. 

This way they will 

lay up treasure for 

themselves."

I Tim. 6:18-19

Here is a video of our time at the L2L Convention this Past Year. 

Faith with Works... My take on it

 I read the the Bible every day with my Mom or Dad.  We love to learn about the Bible.    It is God's Word.

I have been thinking a lot about what it says in  James 2:18 

 "But someone will say, 
“You have faith and I have works.”

Show me your faith apart from your works,

and I will show you my faith

by my works." 

 I heard my preacher say that people get confused by this verse.   
I asked my Daddy about it, 
 and he told me to research it 
and 
write an essay about it 
for my English Composition class.  

                

It was not easy to write,

but here are my thoughts about

Faith and Works.   

I think it means that if someone says, '' I am a Christian!''  and punches, kicks, abuses, swears like crazy, makes fun of others, and never, ever gives any second chances,  he is also a liar!   He says he has Faith, but what does his life show?

But another person says, ''I am a Christian!'' and does the opposite of the first person.  He is telling the truth!   I want to be more like this person.  

  In my life, I show my Faith in God by helping other people.  At least this is one way.  I helped my Daddy dig, insert pipes, and re-cover the pipe and hole with the dirt. 


It was hard work, but it was better than a flood in the basement! I saw my Daddy hurting because he was working so long and his back was sore.  

I had Faith and wanted to help him.   I showed my Faith by my Works... Digging and Helping.  This is all part of becoming a Strong Leader for Jesus. 

Christ's Love Does Not Change

"Christian, take this for your comfort, 

that there is no change

 in Jesus Christ's love to those 

who rest in Him. 

Yesterday you were on the mount

 and you said, 

'He loves me:' 

Today you are in the valley of humiliation,

 but He loves you still the same"

.- Spurgeon♥ - A great man and Author 

A Day in the Life... a Video

here is a video of my daily life

Unity: ONE Faith

Me and my Daddy at Church Services

My father is called “Daddy.” Even though I am eleven years old, I call him “Daddy.” My Daddy called his father “Daddy” until the day he died.  That’s because they lived in the South, and Daddy says lots of people call their fathers “Daddy” in the south.  I love my Daddy very much.   There are tons of reasons why I love my Daddy.  He takes me fishing, and he brings me old things like radios and old computer monitors to tear apart and try to fix. 

     Daddy teaches me how to build stuff, like sheds, and how to fix boat motors.  He teaches me how to make Mom’s vacuum cleaner work better, and how to cast and fish the best way.  He always keeps his cool in times of trouble, and he says that I should do that, too.  He hums when he gets upset.  

I know my Daddy hasFaith.  He reads to me and the whole family every morning from the Bible at the breakfast table.  He likes the Proverbs. From the Proverbs, I have learned that I should not be arguing a lot with others, I should be loyal to my friends, and I should not use credit cards when I grow up.  I learned all this from Daddy reading me the Bible, and then he talks to us about it. 

     It is sad for me when he has to go to work every day.  He has to work a hard job, lifting boats and engines, and doing other tough things.  He is a good Daddy because he brings in the bacon and pays the bills for our family.  When he comes home at night, he sometimes even grills food for us after all that hard work.  That shows me that he gives up his time and is unselfish, so we can all live together and I can be Homeschooled. 

     I know my Daddy loves me, because he spends lots of time with me.  We go on trips, like fishing all day, and one time he took me Duck Hunting in Arkansas for a whole week.  He even helped me with all the schoolwork I had to do during that week.   I kept on want to quit the school stuff that week, but he was patient and stern enough to make me do it, anyway.   When I get upset or disobey, Daddy never yells at me.  He corrects me very tenderly.  He puts his hand on my shoulder and guides me to do the right thing. 

     When I grow up, I am going to have 8 kids.  I want to be like my Daddy to my kids.  One way is taking them to work with me.  I will also take them to caves and dams and neat places like the places that my Daddy takes me.  I will read the Proverbs and Revelations to them, too. 



This shows a "Red Neck Trompoline" that my Daddy
made for me in Arkansas at the
Hunting Camp

     Finally, my Daddy is probably one of the best fathers in the world.  He always helps everyone in my family.  He loves to spend time with me. He works to make money for us to live.  He teaches me to always love others and help them.  I am so thankful for my Daddy. 

      

"The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. "

Proverbs 23:24

Unity: ONE Heart (Words from my Heart)

I read my Bible to
my little friend, Phoebe

   I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you. ---

Psalm 119: 11

One of my goals to help me be more like Jesus is to learn many verses. 

I am learning 1 new verse every week.

I know lots of verses now.

They come into my mind when I need to

do something or

feel tempted to do wrong.

That is a good thing.

working with my Mom outside

Missions: One Young Missionary to Follow

Truett is a good friend of mine.  He loves telling others about the good news of Salvation through Jesus Christ. Truett is an excellent example of a Leader, and someone I am trying to imitate.  I know that Truett loves Jesus.  He loves the lost.  He is a Soul Winner.  This is what I want to be, so I am sharing this article from the Harding University Bulletin today.  Please support this good work if you are able... 

****************************************

This is a Re post from 

"Around Campus" 

in the Harding Bulletin 

March 4, 2016 in Around Campus by Hannah Beall Owens |

Source:  Hannah Beall Owens

Harding University Junior, Truett Keener had never been to South America before this week. He has been co-leading a group of 22 students on a spring break mission trip in Ecuador.

Keener has participated in mission trips during spring break before, but this is the first trip he has led as a part of spring break missions through the Mitchell Center for Leadership and Ministry.
“People often don’t realize how many opportunities there are to travel, to lead groups or participate in a group, and that’s something I would love to see vocalized more,” he said. “I would love to see the program grow.”

The group has been busy ministering to children, leading Bible classes and chapel, and working on the property around a local school. While Keener has been focused on the specifics of his trip this week, he can’t help but see the impact of spring break missions as a whole.

“Sometimes we can get caught up in what’s happening with our individual trips, but when we look at the big picture, it’s very impressive what actually happens,” he said. “I’m really happy to be able to be a part of it. “

Hannah Owens, director of digital media

Treasured Purposes: My first Job

When I was 10 years old, My Parents and I talked about a business I could start on my own.  





We talked about all sorts of things, 
but in the end, 
I decided that 
I would start a Service
 of Refuse Collector Work, 
where I took our family's trash and the neighbor's trashcans out, 
(and then back in) 
on Trash Days.

 It was pretty hard work because I had to get up at 6 in the morning to beat the Garbage Truck.  They paid me 25 cents for each can I moved.  

 I was very ready to start this business, because I needed money for stuff, and I wanted to have a chance to show my Mom and Dad that I could do something like this.

I have learned a lot of Lessons doing my job.  Here are a few of them:  


Hard Work
AT first, I was really excited to be working for money, and helping out my neighbors, too.   But, then I started to hate getting up so early, especially in the winter, because it was icy, or snowy.  On those days, it was hard to get out of bed.  I was getting grouchy and having a bad attitude about that for a while.  







My Dad had a talk with me then, and  told me that my job was important, especially for the old people because they might fall on the ice.  I was really helping people, AND earning money to buy what I wanted WITH my own money.   

My Dad told me to focus on the PAYOFF, which was the $$, and also that I was helping others. 

So I began to grumble less, and get up without so much trouble.  

Now I get up pretty good, I guess because I am used to it, plus I DO like having that CASH to spend!
.

Self-CONTROL

my self regulation Submarine Sticker Chart
I made it to help me get ready faster
without arguing

Self Regulation is a word I learned a long time ago, but I didn't like the word, or what it meant.  I remember when I used to put sticker charts on paper to help me get ready for church and school in the morning.  I had a Submarine Sticker Chart.  It was fun, but it did get boring after awhile.  



I like going and buying THINGS

With my business, I get to make all the decisions.  I decided to expand to the next block from our house, but if I wanted to, I  could decide to quit it.  My parents say it is up to me. 

 What I like is that I also get to spend the money my own way.  I do give some to Jesus, some to spend, and I save some in my Bank Account.  But I could spend it all if I wanted to.  My parents let me make that decision, because it is my business.  





I like collecting Hex Bugs and
their Habitats

At first, I spent all the money on toys.  That decision was not wise.  Then I did not have money to give to a Missionary who visited our Congregation one Sunday.  I felt really bad about that.  Now I save a little of the money for things that come up, like Missions, or projects , and for Operation Christmas Child.  




Sometimes I buy Pizza for my whole family, 
but it wipes out my earnings.  
Ten Dollars for 2 Pizzas is actually 40 trash cans taken out! 

 I am glad that my parents let me make the decisions myself.  They say it will help me in my future, like when I go to college like my cousins did.  It will teach me about spending, saving, and what they call "budgeting."  It already is teaching me that.