Wow, if you ever get the chance to go to Bob and Dannah Gresh’s Pure Freedom conference, GO! That is one of the most awesome and life-changing things I’ve ever been to! Have you ever been in a room full of 700 teens jumping and singing at the top of their lungs for Jesus? And you have ever thought that I would be one them… quiet, dead serious me? That’s 700 more teens that now have a chance to stay pure in a sex-saturated world, 700 teens who can take a stand for purity. Kids came from as far as Connecticut! And, though Bob Gresh estimated half of the kids didn’t want to be there in the beginning, I dare you to find even one who would’ve said the same at the end – even though they weren’t all “goody two-shoes Christian’s” either! I mean, I’ve read both Bob’s and Dannah’s books (Who Moved the Goalpost and The Bride Wore White) before, and yet I learned so much! Just the way they would word things differently than I’ve ever heard them before, challenge my thinking in ways I’d never thought before, and the whole experience of being there, with other teens, it was so awesome! This changed my life radically, and yet I believe I was one of the least effected teens there – if there is such a thing! I wouldn’t take back that experience for a million dollars!

SAT's in 5 days.... AAAAAH!!!

I'm really worried about Lauren......

MUAHAHAHAHA! We have reclaimed our basement! Me and my Dad have spent a lot of time down there together... and let me tell ya, when two organizers like us get together, a lot happens in a short time. Two weeks ago I thought only a bulldozer and a dumpster could get our basement clean again... and now, IT'S CLEAN. Now if we could only get rid of a few more boxes (probably my Mom's stuff, my Dad's stuff, and old schoolbooks), and get rid of the freezer, we'd actually have a good-sized 'living room' down there. And of course I could always dream and say that Mom's sewing area could be cut in half... but that's not gonna happen anytime soon without a miracle.

THE PARKER'S GOT A DOG! Definitely a story of God's intervention. A pure-bred collie with all of its shots was unwanted, so someone brought it down here to see if they could give it away free (it's normally $350) instead of shooting it. Our neighbors just happened to know that person and took it in to see if they could find some people to take it, then just happened to call us to see if we wanted it. The Parker kids just happened to be here, said they might want it, and we went down to take a look. Mr. Parker somehow warmed up to it just enough to be undecided in five minutes (He originally said NO WAY), and said he'd think about it. The dog just happened to be extremally calm, gentle, and lovable, and Katherine just happened to like it and wasn't scared of it (A first EVER), Mr. Parker's friend just happened to say they should definitely get this dog when Mr. Parker asked him if they should, and somehow Mr. and Mrs. Parker warmed up enough to say yes. THEN, the Parkers called my neighbors, who said another family had just called and said the want the dog for sure. My neighbors called that family back, and the family just happened to decide that they would let the Parkers have it (after much prayer and discussion). Thus, the Parker's came to own a dog, when one day earlier they weren't even looking for one and thought it was out of the question!

His current name is 'Reddy' or 'Ready' but we are searching for a new name, specifically some Elvish names that mean 'gift', 'faithful', 'loyal', 'gentle', and 'friend'. We wanted 'gift of God' but decided it was to hard to pronounce for the little ones (and kinda for us to, lol). So here's the choices, vote for your favorite.

Voronwe (Vore-on-way) - meaning 'faithful'

Meldiron (Mehl-dear-on) - meaning 'friend'

Sadron (Sahd-ronn) - meaning 'loyal' or 'faithful'

Nostalion (Nost-ahl-ee-on) - meaning 'gentle' or 'kind'

Antien (Ahn-tee-ehn) - meaning 'gift'

And of course 'Reddy' and 'Ready'.

VOTE AWAY