Why My Lamp Doesn't Go Out at Night ;)

I spend a lot of my late evenings reading in bed with my lamp on. It just seems like the perfect time for that because all of my responsibilities for the day are complete and I can focus my mind better on what I'm reading.

I've always loved to read! My favorite kind of books are the ones I can learn from and/or be encouraged by spiritually. I really love true stories... especially ones that involve missionary experiences, because I find it exciting to read about situations where God has worked miraculously in people's lives! Here are few of my top favorites:


Bruchko by Bruce Olsen; Faith Like Potatoes by Angus Buchan; The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson; Peace Child by Don Richardson; God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew; & Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot

I have to say, though, that my most favorite book of all is definitely the Bible. It contains some of the greatest missionary stories, and I certainly do benefit from it the more than any other book! :)I'm so glad that God allows us to learn from and be encouraged by stories of prayer and faith in Jesus Christ. The six previous books I mentioned may have been written by human hands, but we all know who the real Author is. :) God is the one responsible for those stories--and that's what makes them so worth reading to me!
It's also amazing to think that God's story and plan for our lives is being carried out with each and every moment that passes. As the Bible says in Hebrews, He is the author and perfecter of our faith. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2) It's comforting to know that He has our story all planned out and nothing that happens (good or bad) comes as a surprise to Him. I know my life story has been filled with all kinds of action so far, and the neat thing about it is that I know what happens in the end. :) I may not know what's going to happen in between but I do know that one day, after my life here on earth is done, I will be with my Lord and Savior--forever praising His name!

I'm so glad that Jesus is the author of my life.

PRAISE THE LORD ALL THE EARTH!!

Picture credit: Google Images, unless otherwise noted. :)

A "Pictorial" Explanation...

For not posting in almost a week! :)

Hi, everybody! I can honestly say that the past couple of weeks have been two of the craziest weeks I've experienced in all my 17+ years. :) We finally started the full therapy/diet and our days are now busier than ever. It includes making juices at least every hour (in the morning it's more often) and also preparing meals that take a lot more time and effort than they used to... among many other things. I must say it's been a challenge for us all. It's difficult finding enough time to get much else done throughout the day, therefore we are having to learn to work in shifts. We made a schedule for ourselves to keep up with what has to be done and when (including our chores, schoolwork, etc.) but it needs a little adjusting. The first week I tried waking up at 6am and finishing my schoolwork by 8am which is when we have the first juice and our breakfast... Well, by the time the afternoon rolled around I was just exhausted! So I really need to figure out a new way to get my school accomplished. Hmm...

Anyway, after our first juice of the day (which is our yummy orange juice) comes the awful and dreaded...

Green juice! It includes:

Romaine lettuce, bell pepper, apple, chard, endive,

escarole, & red cabbage.

The next juices are the tolerable...

Carrot and carrot/apple juices!

Which obviously include carrots and apples!

All three of these juices are then used throughout the day.

After each juice we end up with lots of pulp which has

to be thrown in a bucket outside because we recently found that

just throwing it all in the trash can inside makes it WAY too

heavy to carry out. :)

Now, here are a few vegetables we use to cook for our meals quite often...

Broccoli

(It's a family favorite now!)

Fresh Garlic

Leeks


Onions

Celery Root

(I had no idea that was edible. lol!)

Potatoes

Tomatoes

And occasionally we even get...

Yes!

Organic chocolate bars for each of us girls. :)

What a YUMMY treat!

Thank you SO much, Mommy & Daddy!

The last juice we make is at 7pm and that's also when we have dinner.

By the time we get get everything cleaned up, we're ready for some relaxation! :D For me that often includes watching a movie, reading a book, getting on the computer, reading my Bible, and going to sleep. :)

We're starting to get used to this whole thing now, and it's actually been going pretty well. At first I worried because I didn't understand how we'd ever make it through a day, but the Lord has been sustaining us with the energy to get it accomplished. I know that it's definitely worth all the time and effort. We're already seeing some good results with my Dad's health, which is a praise! Please pray that things will only continue to improve and not worsen. It's easy to start worrying, but we are always reminded to trust in the Lord with all our hearts. He is still in control! :)

Thank you so much for your prayers, everyone! I hope you've been having a wonderful week!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him

and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Picture credit: Google Images

Ah, Spring is in the Air!

And I have pictures to prove it. ;D

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I'm so thankful for this lovely spring weather. It helps to make my days so much more enjoyable! :) Don't you just love it? ...I hope you're all enjoying it as well!! ~ Have a blessed Friday, everyone!


All photos taken by: Me. :)

"A Friend Loves at All Times..."

Proverbs 17:17

I have some very sweet news to share. :)

Stephanie has tagged me with the "Friendship Tag"!

Thank you so much, Stephanie. I really appreciate the

sweet paragraph you wrote about me on your blog

and I love being your friend! It's been fun getting to
know you and follow you on your blog as well!!
...

Here are the rules to this tag:

• Choose any amount of friends, blog friends or real life friends, and say at least two things (Or more!) you admire or like about them.

• Tag the friends that you wrote about.

• If those friends have blogs, be sure to link to them!

First I would like to tag my friend Lindsay.

She has been a very dear friend of mine for a few

years now. Wow, it's hard to believe time has passed

by so quickly! One of my favorite things about her is her

big smile and kind heart. We share a lot of things in common

but--most of all--I love having a friendship with her that is

based on true faith in Jesus Christ! What a blessing!!

Thank you so much for your wonderful friendship,

Lindsay! I love you, dear friend!! :)

~

Next, I want to tag Allison. I met her not too long

ago through Blogger and I have really enjoyed

getting to know her more and more through her posts!

She always has something to share about what she's

been learning from God's word and it's encouraging to

read. Not to mention... I love seeing her pictures

and hearing about what all's been going on with her recently.

I appreciate her kindness and her friendship!

Thank you so much, Allison! :)

~

I'd also like to give this one to Eden, who I met not very

long ago either! I love seeing each of her wonderful blog

posts and it seems we have quite a few things in common

as well. ;) It's always nice meeting other young ladies who

share some of the same interests and desires as yourself!
Thank you, Eden, for being such a wonderful

encouragement and friend in Christ to me! :)

~

Now, I also want to tag Leah. She has been such a sweet

influence to me through her blog, and I appreciate

her kindness as well! God has gifted her with the wonderful

ability to sew beautifully, (as he has with quite a few of you ;),

and I love hearing about the things she's been working

on during the week. It's always exciting to see some of

her new creations! Also, I love her sweet fervor for the Lord!

Thank you for being such a lovely friend, Leah!

~

And lastly, I would like to tag Chloe. When I first met

her through Blogger, I could tell we were a lot alike. ;) I

always enjoy and appreciate her thought-provoking
posts filled with encouragement and Scripture! It has been

a great blessing to meet her and follow her on her

blog. I always love getting to read what she has to say!

Thank you, Chloe, for your friendship as well! :)

Wow, it's so hard choosing only a few!

I've met a lot of very sweet, Christian young

ladies since I started my blog and I've really

enjoyed getting to know EACH and EVERY one!

I appreciate greatly all the kind and thoughtful

comments I've received from everyone as well.

I pray a special blessing upon you all today!

Thank you for your friendship!! :)

Picture credits: Google Images

Boots, Hawaii, and a Gazillion Chickens!

I've been tagged...

by Lindsay! Thank you, Lindsay! As you can see, I got a little creative with the post title. ;D Now, let's get started!

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*NOTE*
There is a special giveaway
announcement in the middle of this post! ;)

----------------------------------------------------

1. High heels or boots? Boots

2. What time did you get up this morning? 8:20

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I think that would be "The Princess and the Frog". (It was pretty disappointing though. I really don't recommend it.)

4. What is your name? Ummm.... Taylor!! :D

5. What is your favorite TV show? Hmm... I guess that would have to be "Little House on the Prairie".

6. What do you usually have for breakfast? Oatmeal with honey. :)

7. What is your middle name? Ummm... Taylor!! :D (I know, doesn't that answer look familiar? It still applies, though! :)

8. What food do you dislike? Beets!!

9. What is your favorite CD at the moment? "Love & War" by Barlow Girl, I guess.

10. What characteristic do you despise? Selfishness.

11. Favorite clothing? Ah, my pajamas! :)

12. Anywhere in the world on vacation? Hawaii...

13. Are you an organized person? Yes.

14. Where would you retire to? I haven't really considered that yet. :D

15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? My 17th. *smiles*

16. What are you going to do when you finish this? Put on my pajamas and probably read! ;)

17. What is your Birthstone? Topaz

18. Person you expect to publish this first? I have no idea!

19. When is your birthday? December

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? That's hard to answer. I usually stay up pretty late ('til midnight at the latest) but I'm much happier in the mornings!

21. What is your shoe size? Well... that's funny because I just bought three different pairs of shoes the other day. The first was a 6 1/2, the second was size 7, and the third was a 7 1/2! I'm typically a size 7 though. ;)

22. Do you own any animals? Yes, a dog, 2 cows, 5 guineas, and a gazillion chickens.

(Okay, so maybe we don't really have a gazillion chickens...

probably more like 50 I'd say. :)

23. Any news you'd like to share? *YES!!*

Rebekah over at Living in His Beauty

is holding her very first giveaway!

You have until March 20th to enter...

So head on over to her blog and check

it out, by simply clicking HERE. :)

24. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A mommy. :) But for awhile I thought I wanted to be a "police girl" so I wouldn't ever get in trouble for anything. lol!

25. What is your favorite flower? I like white roses and daffodils. :D

26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? The first week of April because my cousins will be visiting. (Lord willing, of course!) We haven't seen them in 3 years!

27. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple, I guess.

28. How is the weather right now? Cool and sunny.

29. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My mom.

30. Favorite drink? Distilled water. :D

31. Favorite restaurant? It's beteween Chili's, El Chico, and Olive Garden. Jason's Deli actually has some organic, vegan choices on their menu though! ;D

32. Hair color? Brown.

33. What was your favorite toy as a child? "Puppy"

34. Summer or winter? Winter. I just can't take the summer heat!

35. Chocolate or vanilla? Definitely chocolate.

36. Coffee or tea? Definitely tea... No hesitation there! (Mom & Dad, I'm sure you understand!)

37. Wish you were still young? Well... I am still young... right??

38. Do you want your friends to publish this? If they want to.

39. When was the last time you cried? I'm not sure! (It wasn't too long ago, though. I'm sure of that!)

40. What is under your bed? Oh, my! There's too much to list!

41 . What did you do last night? I babysat a soon-to-be 4 year old little boy and his 14 month old baby sister. :) They're so precious.

42. What are you afraid of? Ooo... I guess my answer would be flying bugs. (Particularly wasps and bees!) :D

43. Salty or sweet? Both sound delicious right now, but I'd have to go with sweet. :)

44. Best quality you have? I don't know!

45. How many years at your current job? Currently, I don't have one! :D (I quit my babysitting job a few weeks ago, and I did that for 9 months!)

46. Favorite day of the week? Hmm... I think that would be Friday.

47. What four people will you tag? Amber, Morgan, Leah, and Tessa.

I hope you all have fun with this! :)

~ Have a great Sunday,

everyone! May the Lord

bless you and keep you!!

Picture credit: Google Images

All Ready for Spring! :)

We've been having such lovely weather these past couple of days... Sunny, cool, and not a cloud in the sky! I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to spring! It's one of my most favorite seasons. I love having all the windows open in the house and feeling the nice, gentle breeze come through. It makes me want to curl up on the couch with a good book! And that's exactly what I've been doing this week. :) Wednesday we took a trip to the library--one of my favorite places. We hadn't been in a really long time so I was looking forward to finding a good read. I didn't actually have any particulars in mind, so I just headed over to the Christian section and started searching. I found three books that looked interesting and checked them out. I've only read one of them so far, and I really like it. The book is a sweet story set in the late 1800's. (It reminds me a lot of the "Love Comes Softly" series.)

Yesterday was a lovely day as well. I got to spend the afternoon out with my mom and we had a really nice time together. :) I even did a little bit of shopping! It's always hard for me to spend my money because everything is just so expensive these days. But I found a few items I liked at some really reasonable prices... and, well, I bought them! :D

Here's what I got...

A long, colorful dress with a cute pair of brown shoes to match. ;)

When I got home I found a nice top to fit underneath the dress... it matched perfectly!

(The book pictured is what I'm reading right now. :)

I also got a couple more pairs of shoes...

If you haven't noticed yet, these are my favorite kind of

shoes to buy--they're cute, comfy, and affordable... at only $15 each. :)

Anyway... Yesterday and today we've been doing some serious cleaning in preparation for starting the full diet/therapy we're on next Monday. We had to get a water distiller for our sinks and the only place for it to go was in the utility room. Therefore, we had to move our coats and boots out of there and into our newly cleaned-out pantry! Since we can't eat any pre-packaged or processed foods we had to get rid of a lot of stuff, which actually worked out nicely. Now, we are only using three shelves on the left side of the pantry for food and the right side is where all of our coats and jackets are now hanging--with the boots sitting underneath! ...I guess you could say we've been doing some "spring cleaning"! ;D

I just thought I'd share a bit of what's been going on this week.

...It looks like spring is just around the corner...

and when it gets here, I'll be ready! :)

(This is the gorgeous sunset we had last night.)

~ Have a blessed Friday, everyone!

Mmm... Mmm... Good

I just love drinking hot tea!

I really prefer the regular stuff, but all that's allowed

on this therapy we've started is organic chamomile and

organic peppermint. I've gotten pretty used to it now,

though, and I think I like chamomile the best! :)

(I have to admit that my absolute FAVORITE way to

enjoy my hot tea is by adding a bit of sugar and some milk. ;)

~~~

~~~

"Praise the
LORD. I will extol the LORD
with all my heart in
the council of the upright and in the assembly.
Great are the
works of the LORD; they
are pondered by all who delight in them.
Glorious and majestic
are his deeds, and his righteousness
endures forever.
He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious
and compassionate.
He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant
forever.
He has shown his people the power of
his works, giving them the lands of other
nations.
The works of his hands are faithful
and just; all his precepts are
trustworthy.
They are steadfast for ever and ever,
done in faithfulness and
uprightness.
He provided redemption for his people;
he ordained his covenant forever—
holy and awesome is his
name.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his
precepts have good understanding. To him
belongs eternal praise."

PSALM 111

I hope you had a blessed Monday!

Pictures taken by ~ Me

Some Blog Party Fun!

Yes, I decided to join the Blog Parade that's being hosted
by Abigail Kraft! I've seen it going around a lot and I
thought it would be a lot of fun to do...
If you're interested in joining in on the fun, just click on the
banner above. :)

Now I'll get to answering the questions...

(this is going to be really hard!)

• What's your favorite time of the day, and why?
  
  

My favorite time of day used to be at night, but now it's when I wake up in the morning because we get to eat oatmeal with freshly squeezed orange juice. I love it! :D

• If health wasn't an issue, what food could you live off of?
  

My answer is salt.

Maybe that doesn't really count as a food, but I didn't realize how hard it would be to live without until we started this new therapy! I love salt!!

• If you could have one wish granted (besides wishing for more wishes), what would it be?
  

For my Dad to be healed completely, and no more hospital stays! :)

• What's one thing you get teased about a lot?
  

My height.

(I'm only 5'1" and when I stopped growing at 12 years old I was afraid I'd never be able to see over the steering wheel in a car! LOL!)

• If you could choose one book, movie, or TV show to spend your life in, which would you pick? What type of character would you be?
  

I guess my answer would be Mary Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie. I always liked her character.

• If you could have one talent that you don't already have, what would it be?

To know how to ice skate! I've only been to the rink a couple of times before and I am really terrible at it. :D

• If money were no object, where would you go on vacation?
  

Hawaii

• If you were an awesome singer what genre would you sing?
  
  
  

Probably Contemporary Christian.

• If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, what would it be?
  

I love this place, but it's always too pricy for me to ever spend anything here. If I had 10,000 dollars to use at any store, this is where I'd want to go!

• If you could live in any point in time, when would it be?

Probably the late 1800's to early 1900's.

• If every outfit in your wardrobe had to be one color, what would it be?
  
  
  Purple! (My favorite color.)

• If you were one of the seven dwarves, which one would you be?

It's a mix between Happy and Bashful. :)

• What's the last album you listened to?

Barlow Girl -- Love & War

• What's something we'd be surprised to know about you?

Okay, when I get really hot my temper can easily flare and I become this little guy right ^^^here.^^^

Don't ask me why! :D

Well, that's it! I hope you enjoyed reading my answers. This was a lot of fun and I'm glad I decided to join. :) Have a great evening!

Picture Credits: Google Images