Book Review: Hidden In My Heart Scripture Memory Bible

Hi, everyone! I'm back with another awesome book to review!

Recently, I had the chance to review the Hidden In My Heart Scripture Memory Bible, and it is amazing! It's not your usual Scripture memory Bible - it's better!

With this Bible, you get access to free songs that use memory verses as the lyrics. Studies have shown that music aids in memorization (which is why you'll never forget the Kit Kat song or Jesus Loves Me), and memory verse songs are a fun way to encourage memorization.

The text is very easy to read, and memory verses are highlighted in special sections. Each section contains a memory verse in 3 translations (NLT, KJV and NIV) for various ways of memorizing them.

My favorite part of the Memory Bible is the thematic memory verse plans. This section provides a list of verses to guide you in memorizing verses based on a theme, such as peace, joy, and hope.

The only disappointment I have with it? Most of the memory songs do not have the contemporary sound I like. They're more written for children ages 6-10. If they were a bit more like the contemporary worship music I listen to, I would definitely be more prompted to memorize the verses that way.

All in all, this Scripture Memory Bible is perfect for any age, and is a wonderful prompt for easy Bible verse memorization. I would definitely recommend this Memory Bible!

(I received this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.)

Book Review: Can I Really Know Jesus?

Happy Fall, everyone! Today I am reviewing a book called "Can I Really Know Jesus?" This book is full of questions and answers (101, to be exact) regarding a relationship with Jesus.

I jumped at the chance to review this book because faith does not always come easily to me, and I am naturally curious about a lot of things, especially regarding faith. I'm the kind of person who has a lot of questions about a lot of things, and this book helped to answer quite a few of my faith-related questions. One thing that really stood out to me is that the authoress does not answer questions through pure speculation. Each answer is based on Scripture and history.

The book features whimsical artwork which subtly decorates each page, and the text is easy to read. No flowery language or hard-to-understand theological wording. The book is divided into three topics - Jesus, Salvation and Prayer - and answers questions related to those topics. Each page ends in a Bible verse relating to each question and answer. Questions range from "Is Christmas Day really Jesus' birthday?" to "Is Jesus mentioned in the Old Testament?" to "How can I be sure I'm saved?"

It was a quick read - very short pages that left me feeling like I could read another...and another...and another. In no time at all, I had read the book from cover to cover. It's a book that can be flipped through to find an answer to a certain question, but it's so full of information that it can be read page-by-page in order.

All in all, "Can I Really Know Jesus?" is a great read for Christians who are curious and searching for answers, and I can see it being a great book for new believers. If you're looking for a book to strengthen your faith, this book is for you!

(I received this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.)

My TeenPact Experience, Part 4

This is the last post in this series, though I'm sure there will be many more TeenPact references to come.  I hope you've enjoyed this series on what I've experienced and learned as a TeenPacter!

To end this series, I'm going to start with something I've learned about TeenPact elections.

All my life, I've wanted to be important, loved and accepted.  Doesn't everyone?  But I've realized that just because I didn't get through the primaries until this year doesn't mean that I wasn't well-liked or accepted by the other TeenPacters in my party.  And it doesn't mean that I wasn't good enough or hadn't tried hard enough or hadn't met enough students for anyone to want to vote for me.  I blamed myself for being fake, for not even trying to be brave, for being too shy.  And, as you've read in my previous posts in this series, I had made myself believe that no one would like me for being myself.  I put that lie in my head, walked into TeenPact and owned it.  And afterwards, I knew I'd done it all for the sake of being popular and accepted.

In the first part of this series, I wrote about how TeenPacters have a "game" of sorts.  When I first started going to TeenPact, I was so worried that I'd play the game wrong.  If I didn't play right, no one would vote for me.  If I didn't play right, no one would recognize me and ask me "For what purpose do you rise?"  If I didn't play right...On and on!  I was so afraid of the game that it consumed me. But the game is just an imaginary, silly game.  It's unwritten.  It changes.  It's not about popularity or being voted for in the elections - it's about having fun with suspending rules to make the PD talk like Kermit The Frog, or having the clerk read bills in a Speedy Gonzalez voice.  It's about poking fun at speaking con.  It's about debating a bill to make the state a constitutional monarchy, and amending it to appoint the Program Director as the king (and then, after Rendezvous, crowning him with a paper crown and giving him a coffee mug with The King written on it).  The game isn't an imposing threat that if you mess one thing up (and you don't even know what that one thing might be!), you'll fail miserably.  The game is purely fun and not real.  I just wish I'd known that sooner.

So, this year was the first time I stopped fearing the imaginary game.  I stopped caring about being fake to be liked, and started caring about being real.  And if people liked me for who I really was, well, I'd have some new friends.  And perhaps it wasn't just about me coming out from behind my mask and taking charge of my real self.  Perhaps it was actually my slogan that got me into General Elections.  Perhaps it was actually what I said during Rendezvous that allowed me to meet new people.  Or maybe it was so many things combined with my mission to stop being an awkward fake person and start being an awkward real person that brought a whole new light to my TeenPact experience.

All I know is that, this year, I didn't regret anything, cry afterwards, or kick myself for saying something dumb.  Like Lecrae says in his song, Broken:

Ain’t a soul on the planet
That’s better than another
And we all need grace in the face of each other

So I'm done with putting on masks for the sake of making friends.  If I do that, I won't be making the right friends: the ones who accept me for who I am.  I'm not Taw, Paprika, the PD who can play Devil's Advocate, or TeenPact President Fitzpatrick (of the #thanksFitzpatrick and #thanksFitzpatrickthe2nd fame).  I'm myself.  And that's good enough for me.

TeenPact, thanks for teaching me about chewy fruit and good-for-the-environment candy, for giving me fun memories that will last forever, and for getting to know awesome staffers, interns and Program Directors!  But most importantly, thanks for helping me find myself.

TeenPact has taught me to be a leader not just in my TeenPact life, but also in my daily life in general, and has greatly impacted me in my walk.  I recommend the classes to anyone and everyone in their teens!


Other Parts Of This Series:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

My TeenPact Experience, Part 3

I learn a lot when TeenPact rolls around.  The alumni track was really good this year.  The American Criminal Justice System is much more interesting than you'd think.  I had to write a 1,500-word essay about it, after all!  In the time it took me to research and write up my essay, entitled "How To Reform The American Criminal Justice System," I consumed loads of facts, stories and statistics.  I don't know when I'll ever again have to talk to someone about the 2.2 million people currently in prison, but if I do, I'll have lots of facts to back me up!

Our PD this year was, in a word, amazing.  He could play Devil's Advocate like nobody's business.  He asked questions that made us think about our opinions and why we believed in them.  "Not that your ideas are wrong, but you want to be able to back them up if someone asks you the why behind them." He said.  I still wonder if he put forth some of his own opinions when he played Devil's Advocate though. ;)

One of the things that has impacted me the most about TeenPact this year was how real I was.  I was more open with the people in my Rendezvous group.  And I'm not open with people.  But this year, when the staffers in my group asked about anything we needed to get off our chests, I didn't feel like staying quiet.  I didn't want to hide behind a mask anymore.  I didn't want to worry about whether or not one of them would judge me.  I didn't want to bother with hiding.  So, I opened up a little and found that one of the girls I know empathized with me...she knew exactly what I was going through.

When I got out of General elections, even though I didn't win, I had no regrets.  I didn't regret coming up with a dumb agrarian slogan, didn't regret trying to make people like me, didn't regret making a fool of myself, didn't regret putting on a lot of masks for everyone, didn't regret losing in the primaries.  Because I didn't have to.  Things were different this year.  I was different this year.  I had a great slogan courtesy of my Mom (thanks, Mom!), met lots of new people by just being myself, found that I had a lot more in common with some people than I'd originally thought, and got into the General elections.  And I didn't regret anything I'd done at TeenPact this year.

I made it my mission during TeenPact week to be myself.  Truth is, sometimes I don't know who that is.  But I believe TeenPact, its staffers, its program directors and its students have helped me learn day by day, week by week a little bit more about who I am.

And who knows?  Maybe next year, I'll be a senator.

Have you been to TeenPact?  Tell me in the comments section about how TP has shaped who you are!

I hope you enjoy this series of posts about my experiences at TeenPact!  Thanks for reading!

Other Parts Of This Series:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4

My TeenPact Experience, Part 2

Hey, y'all!  Hope you enjoyed my previous post in this series!  Here's Part 2!

I knew a lot of the students this year.  Some of them were staffers now.  I smiled, shook their hands, gave them hugs if I knew them well enough.  Our PD seemed familiar to me.  Turns out, through a slightly awkward conversation, I realized I'd seen him on TeenPact Memes.  He's famous there, I guess. ;)

After catching up with my TeenPact buddies, I met a few new people...Most of them were first-timers.  I told them that, if they liked the first year, the Alumni Track would be even more fun.

I spent months writing up my essay (the previous year, you had to write two 500-word essays on interventionism.  This year, it was one 1,500 word essay on the American Criminal Justice System), planning my bill topic, and coming up with the slogan.  No more dumb agrarian slogan.  This year, I'd be myself.  This would be my slogan.  Well, not quite because...

See, every student knows Taw's name.  So, they also know that I'm his little sister.  If I had a dollar for every time I met a student or staffer who said, "Hey, you must be Taw's little sister!"  I can't tell you how rich I'd be.  But connections are good.  Especially when you have a big brother who's been elected to every position.

So, this year, my slogan was "Vote For Me.  I'm Taw's Little Sister!"  Yup, that was my slogan.  I loved it.  It was funny because everyone knew who Taw was.  And, oh, the laughs I got when I said it!  A candidate standing next to me when we were in the primaries liked it a lot.  Every time after that, when we started talking to each other, he'd say "Vote for me.  I'm Taw's little sister!"  And I laughed too.  Pretty good slogan compared to my agrarian tree hugger slogan two years before.

Primaries...Students nominate others and/or themselves.  Every candidate in your party stands in a line.  You all get asked questions, like "What would you do (selfishly...no giving it to charity) with a million dollars?"  And then you get really deep questions, like "What kind of fish would you be and why?"

I said I'd be the humuhumunukunukuāpua'a.  More laughing (mind you, I was laughing too).  One of my friends, a staffer, exclaimed, "Say that again!"  One of the students said, "I can't fit that many syllables into my mouth!"  Ah, it was a good feeling.  Being myself and loving it.  It's nice to have a good laugh with everyone when you say you'd like to be the Hawaiian state fish. And humuhumunukunukuāpua'a sounds so much more impressive than simply saying Reef Triggerfish. :D

Another part of being myself was reassuring other students - first-timers and alumni alike - that they should run, or that they'd do great, or that it'd be lots of fun.  I like to focus on helping other people feel comfortable, especially when I'm feeling just the same.  Those butterflies I told you about in my previous post?  Well, I'm not the only one who gets them.  One girl, she got elected Senator.  She sat next to me the last day, fretting about her speech, telling me she'd probably make a mistake, or just stand there and freeze.  I told her she'd do great, that I knew she would.  She gave a little laugh and said she'd totally campaign for me next year - do anything to help me out since she didn't want to run again.  She delivered her speech, and sat down next to me, breathing out a sigh.  I complimented her and she grinned.  I like that feeling of making people feel good about themselves.

So, as you can probably guess, I didn't get elected this year either.  But there's something I have to tell you.  For the first time as a TeenPacter, I got voted out of the primaries!  I made it to the General elections!  I was so, so happy!  I could hardly believe it.  I finally got to stand where my friends - and big brother - had stood.  I got to answer questions about which donut I'd be, and what our party stance was!  And there I was, more content than I'd ever been at TeenPact, standing in front of all the other students.  Lined up with all the other Senatorial candidates, answering every question with a huge smile on my face.

And, yeah, the other students laughed with me when I announced my slogan.

Have you been to TeenPact?  Did you get into the elections?  Tell me about your TP experience in the comments below!  

I hope you enjoy this series of posts about my experiences at TeenPact!  Thanks for reading!

Other Parts Of This Series:
Part 1
Part 3
Part 4

My TeenPact Experience, Part 1

Hey, y'all!  Hope you've enjoyed Memorial Weekend.  It's nice to see that over the decades, people still care about remembering America's soldiers.

This past week, I've been having a "missing the memories" time of it.  Basically, that means I remember something and feel sad about it...in a good way.  For the past few days, that something has been TeenPact.

I love everything about TeenPact except Sine Die (saɪnɪ daɪɪ - Latin, lit. End of the end.  The end of TPLeg).  So today, I'm taking that happy-sad memory of my week at TeenPact and turning it into a post. :)

TeenPact is rather, um, difficult to describe.  It's a Christian government class for teens.  You write bills, run in elections, hold a mock legislature (where you debate bills), listen to speakers, and debate stances on a subject in the Alumni Track.  And it's...it's...fun.  Person who has never attended TeenPact: "Are you kidding me?  How is that fun?  Don't take this personally, but is there something wrong with you?"

I've met kids who have attended TeenPact for years, and they've said their parents literally dragged them to the class their first year.  They just plain didn't want to go.  Four days of government stuff just didn't sound fun.  And afterwards?  They begged to come back the next year!  Hmmm, guess they actually enjoyed this government stuff.

I've never had that kind of story...My big brother, Taw, started attending the classes with his buddies who had been going for a long time.  So, naturally, I was more than excited when I was able to attend.  My first year at the Four-Day class (the One-Day is less intense, but it did prepare me for the new experience of the Four-Day), I was nervous beyond words!  I was excited, but there were butterflies in my stomach that didn't go away.  Actually, they've never gone away.  Every year, when I get up and stand in line, waiting to read my bill, those butterflies come back.  I choke and smile at the other kids standing beside me, wondering if they have those butterflies too.

Besides the butterflies that never leave, I had a crazy first year!  I was one of the new ones at the Four-Day class, so I didn't know how to "play the game."  Yes, there's a "game" of sorts at TeenPact.  The game consists of a lot of inside jokes and "cheating without cheating" of the rules, like where some students (including your big brother!) decide to pull off a "speak con on your bill" thing.  I still cringe when I remember saying "no" to my brother when he asked to "speak con."  All the alumni kids gasped, some chuckled.  Turns out he'd played the game.  Many times, the students speak con to help you (and the other students) out.  To get your bill passed.  They obey the TP rules, but when they get to the well, they joke about how "awful" this bill is for the environment, how this could never in a million years help anyone...Sounds painful, but they say it in the funniest voice, and you know they're not serious.  They're okay with your bill.  They want to help you out.  So they joke their way through speaking con.  And if they're serious about speaking con, that's okay.  At least you're one step closer to getting your bill through TPLeg.

So, I was one of the new ones.  I learned my way through the "game" (I still ended up crying a little that night after Night Class...I was sad that I hadn't known about the game before I'd said no to my own brother!) that week, and decided to run in the primaries.

Primaries are crazy things at TeenPact.  In preparation for the General elections, people create T-shirts, make posters, give out candy (mostly Starbursts and Hershey Kisses), and pass out business cards.  You never know who voted for you, just whether or not you got into the General elections or not.  My first and second year, I tried to be liked.  I wanted everybody to like me.  To me, it seemed like everyone loved Taw.  He'd been elected to every position: Governor, senator, clerk, chairman.  Man, one year he and another former Governor ran a smear campaign against themselves just so a First-Timer could win!  That was a hilarious election.

But anyway, I'd wanted to be liked.  I didn't want to be one of "those kids" who was weird and had a funny laugh and found pleasure in calling "Point Of Order" whenever I pleased.  I wanted to be like Taw.  Liked by everyone.  So I tried to be Taw.  I tried to make funny jokes that everyone laughed at.  Tried to be witty and extroverted.  Problem is, I'm severely introverted.  I can fake extrovert for a long time, but eventually I'll go back to my corner and die inside because I peopled "too much" for one day.  And I can't make up a joke on my own to save my life.  I'm funny on accident.

So, I wasn't myself.  I tried so hard to be my big brother because he was popular and smart and funny and just plain awesome.  And I wasn't myself anymore.  I felt like I wasn't good enough if I tried to be myself.  No one would want to hang out with, much less vote for, a shy, introverted, awkward, not-funny-at-all girl, right?  I made up a "funny" (dumb, actually) slogan in the agrarian party because Taw is funny, so I should be too.  I lost in the primaries that year.  Tried again the next year.  This time, I was a bit more me.  Way better than trying to be Taw.

I lost in the primaries that year too.  But I felt better.  I still wished I was in General elections, but my best friends (including my big brother, naturally) were in General elections, so I was really excited for them.  But there was still that nagging feeling inside me that I hadn't tried hard enough, that I wasn't good enough, that I'd tried to be the best I could be and had failed again.  I didn't want to be myself because no one would want me, like me, vote for me, befriend me.  I got caught up in the popularity of it all, the desire to be identical to my big brother.

But this year?  This year I made myself promise to totally be myself.  The real me.  Not the fake me.  The different, shy, introverted, not-funny, awkward girl with the awesome big brother was going to TeenPact.

Have you been to TeenPact?  Tell me what you liked most about your TP experience in the comments below!  

I hope you enjoy this series of posts about my experiences at TeenPact!  Thanks for reading!
Happy Memorial Day!

Other Parts Of This Series:
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Saturdays Selections

Romans 1:16 is one of my favorite Bible verses.  It reminds me to never be afraid to show Jesus to someone.  And one time, a person asked me about my cross necklace!  I wear it every day and I'm hoping my reactions are showing the reason why I wear it.

Blessings In Disguise

     You've probably noticed the Compassion Banners I put on this blog that say "Sponsor A Child."
Those banners make me smile because I feel that I'm showing my thankfulness for Compassion International. I never would have had the wonderful experience of getting to know Priscyla, my wonderful, loving girl from Peru. I want others to have that experience.

Last year, 3,159 children were sponsored because of Blog Month. Currently, over 1 million children have been sponsored. That's a whole lot of kids!
So, why not make that number bigger? Find more sponsors for more impoverished boys and girls?
We need to love the least of our brothers and sisters and do more for Jesus.

If one person sponsors a child, that is hope for more children to be sponsored. We need to go above and beyond just speaking, saying we need to act for Jesus. We need to do. That's how so many good things have been started: Someone comes up with an idea and puts it into action and when people see all the good change, it causes something big.

That's what Christians need to do.

Priscyla is a blessing. I want others to see those hidden blessings, those children in poverty. If one boy or girl is sponsored, he or she can grow in Jesus and change the world through Him.

The least of people can change everything. We need to start giving these kids hope, giving them the care and love and life they need to put them on a path for Jesus.
 

And you can help by sponsoring a child, whether in an AIDS-affected area or waiting over 100 days for a sponsor. You can show that you care. They aren't destitute when they know Jesus loves them.

These impoverished children are blessings in disguise.

(This is a post for Compassion Blog Month. Please join in the fight against poverty.)

Memorization

This past week I've been watching some Christian movies with some great Scripture verses in them.

I've read them in my Bible for myself and they've really stuck in my memory.
Here are the verses and others I have read:

Romans 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Ephesians 5:8  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), proving what is acceptable to the Lord.

Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to the salvation for everyone who believes.

Ecclesiastes 8:1  Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the sternness of his face is changed.

2 Timothy 2;11-14  This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

1 John 4:17-19 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

Saturday's Selections

The widow's offering is something we can all learn from!

You've got a Friend in Me

Toy Story's theme song is a favorite of our family. We enjoy hearing it on our CD player.
But, I have this (good) habit of thinking about what the people are singing about and mixing it with what Jesus says. When I hear "You've got a Friend in Me", for instance, I think: "Hmm, OK, we have a friend in Jesus ...Nobody has ever loved us like He does."  It's kind of fun doing that! (;

It's quite true, though. Jesus does love us and He is our Friend. "If we are faithless, He remains faithful— for He cannot deny himself."(2 Timothy 2:13 ESV). Even if we stumble and deny Him (even though I strictly discourage doing that ever!), He's still our Friend! He stays faithful!

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."(Romans 5:8 NIV) 
And we, as Christians, need to love Him back, of course. "If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed!"(1 Corinthians 16:22 NIV)

  "Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."" (John 14:23)

And we need to love our fellow believers. "He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God" (1 Peter 1:20-23)

"And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:17)
 God loves us and wants to be our Friend...Believe in Him (It's worth it!).

“These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:9b)

August Photo-a-day challenge

  Kianna and Ali are hosting this amazing challenge! I'm 3 weeks, 2 days late today but I thought I might join in.

 

 Day 1. Simplicity- One of the simplest I have.

Day 2. Toes- My best friend's.

Day 3. Books- Some of my favorites!

Day 4. Color- I like this shade of pink.

Day 5. Little Ones- For theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Day 6. Water- For the birdbath.

Day 7. Sky- My friend agrees that the cloud looks like a horse.

Day 8.Where I stand- For my God.

Day 9. Night- When I should be in bed.

Day 10. Morning Routine-  Don't get me started!

Day 11. Bokeh- I really like flowers.

Day 12. Laughter- Laugh lots, Live longer.

Day 13. Hair- My Mom found this on Pinterest.

Day 14. Dirty- My friend's sister got dirty on purpose. 

My friend and I weren't so amused.

Day 15. Your Scent- Some of the others are a little awkward!

Day 16. Something Blue- Diapers count, right?!

Day 17. Flower- Orange is vibrant. So are many other colors.

Well, I guess that wraps it all up until next Friday! I can't wait!

He ran well

Last week we traveled to my Great Grandpa's  funeral. ):
Lots of tears, lots of sadness. I loved him so much. But he ran well.

My Great Grandpa took up golfing at 70 years young and got a hole-in-one at a fascinating age! My uncle talked about him at the funeral. He talked about, as he put it, "extraordinary" things. He also gave an Irish (My Mom's Dad was full-blooded Irish.) prayer. "God saw you getting tired, a cure was not to be....."

My Great Grandpa really was great. In fact, he was awesome! He still is. And, hey, I still got him in my heart. I can't see him, but I can remember him!

Galatians 5:7