Josiah's Blog

Music Purge!!!!!!

2011-08-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

So I've heard of girls who periodically go through their closet, and examine each and every article of clothing, while asking themselves; "Does this honor God?".
Well, guys don't really have as much of a problem with that sort of thing, but here's another things we Christians should consider; (guys *and* girls included);

What about the kind of music you listen to?
Music is a powerful thing, and whether or not you want to admit this to yourself, the facts are inevitable. Music is a drug, it can make you use energy you didn't know you had; for the better, or worse. I've even heard of friends who I would consider more on the sane side, reduce themselves to even "head-banging" to music. At a Christian band concert no-less!
God created us to be so intimately connected and affected by music, but not for the purpose of bringing glory to ourselves and spouting reasons like "It just feels good", but to bring glory and honor to Him who sits on the throne.
It's when people take the unique gift that God has given; to create music, and use it in a way that glorifies one's-self rather than The One who created them, and gave them that ability. The devil well knows this, and it's one of his best tools in his "arsenal".

Lately I've really been evaluating where I'm at with the Lord, and asking myself what are some of the things that could be standing between me, and a better relationship with Jesus Christ.
I'm not going to list them all here, but one of the main things I've been realizing more and more is the music I listen to, and how it effects me; Most, to which I've kept my mind in an almost jaded state.
I really don't want to admit it, but I'll eat crow; Mom always said "The music you listen to will effect the way you look at life.", and at first I didn't believe her, but it turns out she was right. Music is one of the most powerful ways of indoctrinating, and a valuable deice for good... and evil.
Every song has something it wants to teach you. It holds a presupposition, and it's up to you to figure out what the artist is really trying to convey.
Ask yourself a few questions like;
1. "What are some of the artist's outlooks on life?"
2. "Does the lifestyle he/she is promoting, honoring to God?"
3. "How can/is this music having an effect on me?", and after you've asked yourself these questions, be sure to ask yourself;
"Am I being honest with myself in answering these questions?".

I would encourage you, Brother and Sister, to take a look at your collection of music and remove anything that is less than satisfactory from your music library.
I actually just finished doing a music purge, and the feeling is great! I'm honoring God, and I'm making less of a struggle for myself in my walk with Christ! I'm excited for a better chance to be closer to The God who loves me, and it doesn't get much better than that, Folks. :)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and the Unseen Children of Today

2010-11-15T21:29:00.001-08:00

As I watched "The Boy In Striped Pajamas" tonight, I felt the knife-in-the-heart kind of sorrow the director intended every viewer to feel.
It was a real eye-opener at how not-so-long-ago it was when the holocaust against the Jews happened.
It amazes me. It amazes me to think that such a modern day society would stoop so low, and act just like the savages they accused the Jews of being. Well what do you know; the "savage" was more human than the accuser, and the accuser the least "human" of all.
The thought that so short a time ago, all this went on, makes my stomach churn, and I feel as if I should be sick. The thought of innocent children, women, and men being killed in the most horrific ways is enough to make any civilized person's blood boil.
"Well", you may say. "Thankfully that is all behind us, and our country would never do something like that!"
Guess what. A real, live, actual holocaust is happening right here in your local county. One that kills boys and girls in the most horrific ways known to man.
This holocaust my dear friends, is abortion. Millions of little boys and girls who may not even have visible bodily features to determine their gender, (or may not even be visible themselves to the naked eye) who are genetically male or female from the moment of the fusion of cells from the mother and father, are tortured and killed to this day.
I call you to become aware, that the days of holocausts in America and other "civilized" countries is far from over.
The way propaganda was spread to candy-coat the dreadful conditions Jews lived in while they were in concentration camps, is the same way propaganda has been spread throughout the world on how abortion isn't as sick as it seems. Through the media and other ways of spreading ideas, the government, and advocates of radical pro-choice beliefs have essentially brainwashed today's society to the point where many mothers don't believe the child forming inside her is even alive until it can be considered one who can survive out of the womb with our relatively poor technology.
So I call you to awareness. Awareness of this holocaust which is very much alive and well in our modern-day society, and I call you to pray, act, and play your part in defeating this monster.
Remember the Jews, and remember our children. Soli Deo Gloria.

Overview;

2010-09-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, due to the fact that I have been so busy, I haven't had much time to post, so I'm doing it in one big blow, to give you snippets of what has happened in the last few months in my life. I'll have to say, my pointer finger is tingling and threatening to go numb from using my laptop's trackpad.
Because of the lateness of the hour, I'll be trying to add a few more captions to these pictures sometime soon!

Overview Part 4 Mandisa!

2010-09-10T22:20:00.000-07:00


	Singing "My Deliverer"!

Like she said; "I believe in gettin' a little dance on when worshiping! If you don't want that, you got deh wrong girl." :)

Mr. Toadie Pie

2010-09-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

A local toad who is almost a pet because we see him so often.

He has taught himself how to hop onto the deck and explore.

He'll hop all the way onto the deck then to the back,

hop up 2 steps, and would find this specific pot to hide in.

The last time I saw him in here, he had two fairly good sized thorns sticking out of his nose,

and many more all over his little body. :( I think he did this for about a week!

Overview Part 3 Happy Birthday, Hannah!

2010-09-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

The eyes say it all.

Elita happened to be puppy-sitting Teddy, so I think he had a fun time too

She has such a cute smile! 'Love that girl!

Hanna likes to get Lady into the festivities.....

and Lady is more than happy to comply

Overview Part 2 Illinois State Fare

2010-09-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

This was taken at the end. She's so happy. :)

Entering the ring

Victory Pass!

Sittn' Pretty....

The Back-Up

Standing out

You can see his good form right there.

Stacy B :)

Mike leads the champ out

Here's our Winner!

Overview Part 1 Starved Rock

2010-09-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

I honestly have no idea what possessed this tree to grow in such an odd way....

...and this is the drop-off on which Reanne gave Anna and I a heart-attack.

The Group :)

Morning's Glory

2010-06-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

With the morning's dew coating anything and everything, it brought some inspiration, and the motivation to get outside and snap some shots. Here are a few of my favorites of the batch;

Lavender!

2010-06-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to trim the lavender plants out front, and employ Elita and Hannah to help separate the sprigs into bundles for sachets. I don't have any pictures of Elita unfortunately because when I had the camera out, she was in the other room talking to a special friend who's birthday was today.
I think Hanna enjoyed it, and I know Mom loved walking through the room, relishing the calming essential oils' vapors drifting through the kitchen.

2010-06-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

Lots and lots of lavender!

In bundles and about to be tied

The finished product

Ready for drying!

Gone Roofin'

2010-06-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

I know I've skipped quite a few events such as Elita's Bday, and a few other random things, but I'll be sure to get back to those later! (LW) So anyway, I will blog about this event while it is still fresh in my mind.
Today we went to help our wonderful friends, the Bandys, work on their roof. It was a great evening filled with laughter, fun, food...... and work! But who minds when you are surrounded by such great friends, and have an opportunity to serve others! It makes it, dare I say, fun! Yes, from hefting shingles, to climbing ladders. Scaling the roof, to toting a wheelbarrow with three people because it's wheel was flat. These are memories that make my life what is is today, and what it will be tomorrow.
After arriving, we were soon joined by some of our other awesome friends, the Niesens, with Jeff who's a pro at roofing. You should have seen that nail gun fly!
After about half and hour or so, "Dinner!" was called, and in no time we were being treated to an amazing (as always if it was made by the Bandys) Dinner of Garlic bread rolls with meatballs and tomato sauce, salad with Fetta Cheese, and other things that can be put under the category of "Delish"!
Going back out we were ready to hit the roof, or at least that crew, while the ground crew, among other things, hauled shingles up the ladder, and onto a stack where they could be easily accessed. I think I can feel my muscles growing as we speak. ;) Anyway, without further ado, enjoy the pictures as you catch a glimpse of our evening!

Dad wanted me to photoshop in some big muscles :)

Workin' on a roof, you need walk extremely carefully

Those ladders were moved around quite a bit!

2010-06-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Check out 'dem muscles!

It's fun to ride on the back of the pickup.... even if it is just to the other side of the house. :)

Hello Emil!

Thank you, girls, for the Gatorade!!!!

2010-06-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

Apparently everyone got a kick out of this.

But hey, it it had a flat. Here's the dump!

Heap o' Rubbish

and here's the ice-cream maker which conveniently decided to brake itself, and Grace looks perplexed, but Mrs. Bandy saved the day with some delicious ice-cream treats!

2010-06-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

Work hard or.....

Grace will hit you with a rake!

Haha, just kidding! We had a great time working, and being spoiled by her and her family with some wonderful refreshments!

Thanks to Lenna, I actually have pictures to put up here! :)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed scrolling through these pictures!
Stay tuned for more fun!

Would You;

2010-06-08T07:14:00.000-07:00

Rather have smarts, or common sense?

Unfortunately, common sense isn't so common.
I should state that while there are many uses for advancement through technology, a down side to that is many of the people with smarts and no common sense are commonly found in congress. ;)
Put smarts with a Christian attitude, and you've got yourself a winner.
I would personally like to have a bit of both, but if I had to choose one or the other, it would probably be common sense. Although I think both parties have their niche to fill per se.
I mean, where would we be without those crazily smart people who just come across as weird, and create extraordinary things! Where would we be if we didn't have those with common sense to help us get by every day, and bring pizazz into the world through many things such as dress and etiquette, and so on.
I've been growing up here in central IL for quite a while, and one thing I've really appreciated is that even though farmers may be *just* farmers, they are smart in a different sort of way, down to the basics, and just plain 'ol.... Common sense! i.e. Work for what you want, and if you don't work you don't eat! If you take God out of the system, what do you think is gonna happen! It's a long way from your heart, you won't die kind of attitude. It's what America was built on. I know I'm getting into Christian values now, which I should hope the crazily smart, and the intuitive should each have.
So although we may wish we could have both, there is nothing demeaning of having one talent or another. It's amazing how God made us to each have our own gifts, and the important thing is that we use them for His glory!

Witness

2010-05-28T07:27:00.001-07:00

The sun radiates warm rays of light into the house from the east. The shadows which are cast upon the west windows cool the gentle breeze which wafts in through the screens. The birds are singing, and the sound of rustling leaves dancing gently in their suspended place is heard ever so subtly. Through these simple things, creation bears witness to it's Creator. It's a beautiful morning.

-Josiah Candler

Crazy Week!

2010-05-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

I have promised to post, and so I will. What shall I post about? Well, non other than this late-and-great crazy weekend my family and I have had.
To start it all off, the tenth of Monday was my birthday, and in honor of that, Mom and Dad asked me who I would like to have over. The end result was a group of 4 couples (Bandys, Candlers, Michaels, and Rykens) talking upstairs while their children, + Jacob Guenther, (otherwise pronounce Goo-en-ther) had an amazing and fun filled evening playing Dutch Blitz!
Tuesday and Wednesday were relatively normal as far as I can remember.
Thursday ended in a prayer at our Home School Co-op choir's Mega Rehearsal, asking God to bless our efforts, and (what was on the thoughts of each and every one there) to help us do much better the following night than we had just done.
Friday night's concert was a blast! The Lord had truly come through, and had blessed us with an outstanding performance! In honor of one of the teachers who had recently went to Heaven due to Cancer, all of the songs picked were fun loving and beautiful to honor this person who filled so many hearts with joy.
Some of the songs our group did was a correlation of songs from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", Aladin's "A Whole New World", a song from the musical "Wicked", a spiritual, and the men's piece was "William Tell's Overture, and the women's was "Down To The River To Pray".
I was surprised to find how deep the songs from Disney's "Hunchback Of Notre Dame's" lyrics were, and how fun, but complicated the music was in general to learn and perform!
Saturday;
The most notable day of the week, (besides Sunday) due to the fact that two of our dear friends, Ben Hector, and Tiffany McDonald became man and wife! It was a joyous, and fun filled day full of memories! The evening dinner was delicious, and everything looked amazing.
Sunday;
I think most everyone was ready to hit the sack upon getting out of bed that morning, but we all persevered, and enjoyed a wonderful sermon by our pastor. The day ended with us and a few other friends getting together for supper to enjoy some excellent fellowship, and music.
Monday;
What was expected to be a boring day turned out to be almost the most enjoyable day so far! Sierra had been spending the weekend with Darby Sproul, so on Monday our family, Darby and her father, and a family we had just become acquainted with; the Wintons (or Winstons, Whitmires, or what ever else you want to call them. JUST KIDDING! ;D ) were staying the day at our friends; the Michael's house. While Sierra, Darby, and Mom hit the thrift stores, Cody, Jesse, and I had a wonderful time discussing apologetics with Pastor RC Sproul Jr. Later on that day, Mr. Winton, his two sons, Pastor RC Jr. and Darby, Sierra, and I went into Peoria to drop Darby off at the airport, and to do a few other things. We had the most hilarious time in the van, and unfortunately one of the most epic pictures didn't get saved to my phone. We came back to the Michael's house, had supper with everyone, then went for a nice walk in the rain with Daryl and Lei M., Mom, Dad, and I.
So to summarize this last week, it has been a busy, but most blessed one at that.

Until next time! (Which hopefully will be soon. I'll try to post about the upcoming presbytery meeting.)

-Siah

On Being The Watchman

2009-11-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

Today almost everyone from our church had the wonderful experience of meeting for the first time, a missionary that we support over in the Philippines. His name is Carl Henderson. He brought a message today that I would like to share a brief overview of it with you.

I want to start out with a Bible verse, and then a question;

6. "But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
7. “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul."
11. "Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’"
~Ezekiel 33:6-9,11

So I ask you, what does this verse mean? Notice verse 8. It is saying that if we don't share the gospel with others, their blood will be on our hands. God is telling us through Ezekiel that if we pass up an opportunity to share the word of God with others, than He will hold us at fault for not witnessing to them. You may start to say, "I just don't feel led!" or "I was just waiting for the right time" but guess what, God never said "Go tell others about me when you feel like it and if you do your best than your good". No, if that watchman in verse 6 sees the enemy coming, it's his primary duty to warn others of the coming danger. I don't think it would go over well with the judge, if there was one left in that city after it had been pillaged and destroyed, if the watchman said "I just didn't feel like it". Well, as you can obviously see, it would have been his fault for not sounding the alarm! God is the one to do the saving of souls, but he has given us the duty to be the "watchmen" and sound the alarm of the coming day in which each and every non-believer will be cast into the eternal and unquenchable fire. God doesn't take delight in the death of the wicked as is stated in verse 11, but when they reject the warning from God's children who try to share the gospel with them, they aren't rejecting the one sharing the gospel at all, it's really God whom they are rejecting. Then the blame is not to be found on the Christian for not sharing, but on the unbeliever for hardening their hearts.
Pastor Henderson also talked about how if we share the gospel, hopefully God will use the message to plant a seed into the heart of that person. There's a statistic that says a person on average hears the gospel 7.5 times before yielding to Christ. If that's the case, then when we help bring someone to the Lord, most likely the first thought to cross through our mind would be "Oh yeah! I've just brought this person to Christ!" when really, you were probably the person who happened to be the last in a line of others who sowed seeds of God's promises into the heart of that person. It reminds me of the song "What if I'm 15". The great news is that you will be able to reap rewards in Heaven. By doing this you are obeying Matt. 6:19, by laying up treasures for yourself in Heaven. Because everything on earth will be destroyed, but in Heaven, you cannot lose what you have received. We must also be aware that the seeds we plant into peoples hearts may not sprout till another person comes along, so you may not see the results, but they happen.
Another thing Pastor Carlson touched on was the fact on how Christ should be self evident in your life. He told a story on how this person went to Canada and visited stayed with some lumberjacks then came back telling stories of how terrible the lumberjacks would treat Christians, and went on and on about it. Well, the pastor put his arm around the man and asked him how the lumberjacks treated him, and he said "Oh, they didn't bother me, I was only there for two years so they never found out". Now I'm not sure if this story was just a story or it had actually happened, but I'm sure there have been scenarios that have been similar to this in real-life. How terrible a thing it is to have been in a place for two years and no one ever realizes that Jesus Christ lives in you! Talk about hiding your light under a bushel! Christ should be evident every hour of our lives, let alone ever day.
It's getting late, so I need to bring this to a close, but all I know is that one thought that just kept going through my head after hearing Pastor Henderson's message; "How many people's blood do I have on my hands for not sharing the gospel of Jesus with them, or for not making Christ in me evident to all in the way I look and act?"

Capital Punishment in the Animal World EXPOSED!

2009-10-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

Out in the middle of a cornfield, the body of Sammy the coon, hung from a telephone pole. No one knew what the vicious woodland creatures did to those who would not comply.

Enjoying Summer

2009-10-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

The lighting was right, and the summer blooms were awesome, so here's a glimpse into the flower garden through my eyes....

Catch-up

2009-10-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone, I know I haven't posted for a while, partially due to the reason that I've been so busy, and also that my camera hasn't been working well enough to suit me. So the following will be kinda random, but it will just give you a few glimpses into my summer. Enjoy!

This photo doesn't do this plant justice in the least, but this is the second time I've tried growing a "Love Lies Bleeding" Amaranth plant and I was pretty pleased with the results. :)

Sorry about the poor quality of this picture, but at the pumpkin festival we were able to see the Budweiser Clydesdales.

This is our to-be castle wall for our church's "Reformation Day Faire" that will be held on Oct. 23-24.

Pepperoni is trying to catch a butterfly. I thought it was so funny how he stood on his hind legs ready to pounce. Not to worry, the butterfly made it away safely.

Again, I wish I had more pictures to share of this wonderful event. This was our church's 1st Multi Church Jubilee Picnic. We had members from 5 like-minded churches attend this at Birchwood park here locally in Morton. Again, check out Sierra's blog for more pictures and info.

Now the following pictures are from on top of the King's "Harvestore" Silo. Sierra and I climbed all the way to the top and believe me, it was quite an accomplishment. :) Quite unnerving when you look down, and even scarier if you look down on the way up climbing that ladder. (thankfully it had somewhat of a guard that surrounded you, and the ladder)

This is a picture from our "Soda is Evil" shooting session, we took soda, shook it up in the can, and then shot it with my air pump gun. You can check out Sierra's blog for more on that.

This is Mai Kyono from Japan! She was our neighbor's exchange student and was visiting the U.S. for about a month.

Tremont Turkey Festival

2009-06-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

Last night we joined some of our wonderful friends, the McDonalds and Riggenbachs at the Tremont Turkey Festival. It was an evening filled with fun and laughter. The girls decided that they wanted to start out on the "Comfy Couch" ride. Caleb and I watched from the sidelines and took a few pictures. After that, Jessica and Sierra were ready for something a little more adventurous, so they decided to try the "Orbiter". I enjoyed my one-funnel-cake-of-the-year and smiled and waved at the two girls being flung about in such a savage manner that one would be afraid to vomit for fear of it being "mixed" all over oneself. After seeing the ride demonstrated by the two dizzy, but enlivened girls stepping off the ramp to leave the ride, Caleb and I decided it was worth the five tickets. Once the ride got up to speed, we could not stop laughing while Jessica and Sierra were screaming their heads off. (I admit to at least attempting a scream, but it came out more like a weird sort of croak).
The girls decided to sample a few other rides, while Caleb and I used our tickets on the rides we already knew were our favorites, namely: "The Gravitron", "Orbiter", "Zipper" and the couch was tried once. The Zipper is another ride that violently swings you up, down, and around in a pod that will flip around on it's own set of spokes, making for a very fun and freaky ride.
We ended the day by going to "Pinky's" which is a local ice cream shop, and is very popular around Tremont. After all those rides we felt the need to let our stomachs settle, but Lenna told us we would feel better if we ate something as she had felt the same way. We had small cones and that actually did do the trick. Following the ritual of saying good-byes, we left very satisfied and happy for a wonderful evening with friends.

Thanks to Sierra, Lenna, and Caleb for helping take some great pics!

2009-06-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

So long!

I love Hannah's expression in this one.

The girls on the "Comfy Couch"

2009-06-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

The girls with their "stunned look on"

Enjoying the "Orbiter"

2009-06-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

Our favorite place to gather on these kinds of evenings

Meet The Puppies!

2009-05-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

Cooper

Cappuccino

Diesel

Moto

The Puppies Are Here!

2009-05-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! As many of you know by now, Lady has had her puppies. They were born 5-01-09. They are pure-bred, to be AKC registered, Standard Poodles. There are two creams and two blacks and all males! Unfortunately one was stillborn,(also a cream male). We named him "Baby Bourne".
We haven't named the others yet, but once they're personalities start to come out, we might land a temporary name on them. :)

A Week At The Barn

2009-04-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

I hope to post a few pictures later, but for right now I hope you enjoy this little vid. As many of you know, I helped out for about 3 years at Mr. Diemer's barn, so when his Daughter, Stacy and family (the ones who usually are active with him in taking care of everything) went on a trip, Sierra and I had the opportunity to go over there to help with the chores, feeding, ect. and also were blessed to have a few lessons in long-lining (me), and longeing (Sierra).

Blog Catch-up

2009-04-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

I meant to post these events earlier, but hadn't gotten around to it until now, so the posts below are in the succession they would have been in if I had posted right after their happenings. Enjoy!

Random picture of the post: The light was shining in at just the right angle to create the illusion that we had a candle in there. I mainly took this picture though, because of that little ball of light at the top of the neck of the candle holder.

Spring is Here!......... Or Not!

2009-04-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

I wake up to the creaking of my door as it slowly opens, and hear the voice of my dad say in a quiet, but a bit surprised, "We have about three inches of snow outside!" I could barely manage to be able to groan out a "nooooo".
Wanting to see it for myself, I staggered out of my room, and glance over to the window to find the "hooligans" (cats) staring out with almost the same amount of surprise on their faces as I had. I heard that we were supposed to get it, but with the nice day before, I just couldn't believe it was going to happen. Boy, was I in for a rude awakening.

I wonder which way the wind was blowing? :)

The lilac blooms just starting to come out.

Black Olive Studios Photo Shoot March '09

2009-04-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

Lady's favorite Toy.....

2009-04-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

Spring Is Here!

2009-04-04T19:20:00.001-07:00

Up close, you can tell it's kind of windy.

Farther away.

Sierra W/"New" Red Dress

2009-03-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

So Sierra found this dress at a second-hand store and wanted me to take some pictures. It worked out pretty well 'cause I got to use her Nikon for once! :)
For the whole album, here is the link right here.

2009-03-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Taken in Texas

Taken in the summer

Taken in our driveway

Blue Skies

2009-02-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know why, but taking pictures of the sky has always intrigued me. Here are some that are of, or involves a rich blue sky.

Pictures on a nice day in winter

2009-02-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

Just the other day I was wondering how I was going to enjoy those few nice days we had. Well, what better way to enjoy them than by breaking out the camara!

iMacPerson Now

2009-02-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

Well, last time I was on here Dad's computer was about to crash and we couldn't put anymore pictures on there until we got an external hard drive. (Circuit City was is going out of business, so we took advantage of that).
I didn't want to say any thing about me considering a Macbook though because I wasn't sure if I was going to end up getting one, but the Lord provided the means to get one. So anyway, here's a picture of my new toy (on which I'm still trying to get used to!) :)

Yes, I'm still here

2009-01-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

Well, many of you at this point are probably like:"Why hasn't Josiah Posted yet!". I assure you that I really would like to, but at the moment our computer's hard drive is so filled up that I'm afraid if we put any new pictures on, it will crash or something. I guess it's time to get an external hard drive, (when I can afford one). I hope to be able to be back to posting in about 2-3 weeks if the Lord wills.
So, until next time!

-Josiah

The "Funky Hat Chant"

2009-01-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, so after promising Ashton that I would post a video of some of my siblings and I doing something when we were in a weird mood we finally stumbled into doing this....

TEXAS, Land that I love

2009-01-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all! I hail you from the Country of Texas! :) As many of you already know, we had been struggling to make the decision if we should go to Texas to visit family and friends down there. We had pretty much decided we weren't going. You have to think about who's going to take care of the animals and-so-on-and-so-forth. (We had already decided if we were going to go we would leave 12/20/08, which was a Saturday.) Well, Dad comes home from work that Thursday and tells us that we would actually be going Texas! WOW! Only an evening to pack and that would be after work on Friday! As you can guess it was a frantic rush to call some friends and neighbors to take care of the livestock before we went down. Saturday morning came and we took off bright and early all bundled up and looked like fat little sausages. Our goal was to make it across the Oklahoma state line into TX. and get a hotel. MO. and OK. came and went, finally TX! a daunting 12 hr. trip.
Right around that time we get a call from our Uncle Carlos asking where we were because he had just heard we were coming down. We told him where we were and he said "Your only 5 hrs. away, why don't you come down and stay at our place!" Dad asked mom how her back was feeling and suprisingly it was doing pretty well, so 5 hrs. later we arived to a temperature of 65. (A bit chilly, but like spring weather in Il, so still enjoyable.) My uncle and I talked horses, (roping, cutting, and other rodeo-like sports performed with horses), while mom talked to Aunt Leti and the girls talked to our cousin Sarah.
Next morning after breakfast we went out to check out some Quarterhorses my uncle and I wanted to take a look at and in the evening we left for Robstown (which is close to Corpus Christi)where our friends the Martinez' live. We spent time just catching up and played a few games (one of them was ping-pong of course). Monday we did the same thing and Teusday we left for Brownsville, which is at the Southernmost tip of Texas. This is where my grandparents live and some other realatives. We spent weekdays down in Brownsville and weekends up in Robstown.
While down here we went to the beach once with my Aunt Martha and Uncle Dave on South Padre Island, and to North Shore Beach of Corpus Christi the second time, which is where the USS Lexinton aircraft carrier (from WWII)and is permenantly docked there and is now a museum. We played on the NS beach with the Martinez'. Volleyball and Ultimate Frisbee(which was a blast). The weather has usually been about 70 degrees and gets up to about 80 in the afternoon-evening (once the sun has burned off the clouds).
Currently, I'm sitting here at my Uncle Dave's house typing away and am being called off to breakfast so I'd better go. Taquitos are calling!
I just want to reassure everone in Il., that I do miss them and today Lord willing we will start to make our ascent to Illinois.

-Josiah David

Pepperoni, Li'l Priss, and I In The Snow

2008-12-18T16:48:00.000-08:00

Went outside today to take a few pics of the cats in the snow. They were cold and all Pepperoni wanted to do was be close to me! He started climbing up my leg and when I started to hold him he just started to walk all over me. Li'l Priss being herself was off doing her own thing and wasn't too happy about anything except when we brought them into the warm house.... Only then will she be happy. I plan on adding pics of Zest sometime soon when I get the chance.

Garrison Sanford's Going Away-Graduation Party

2008-12-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

From Gar's Going Away Party

Saturday night we celebrated Garr's graduation, and being accepted into the United States Marine Corps. It consisted of Mr. Sanford telling us about how he was blessed to have a son like Garrison, and the men of the church giving Garr a charge and prayed for him. Afterwards it was a time of food, fun, dancing, pictures and goodbyes. We look forward to seeing him once he gets back from bootcamp (when he's home for ten days). It's really a mixed feelings situation, I'm so happy that he got the job he had been wanting, but of course sad that a "big brother" is away for so long. It's so cool that he is going to be graduating so close to his birthday! God clearly has shown that this is what He wants Garrison to do and we are all proud to call him our friend.

-Josiah

Six Things I've Learned This Month

2008-11-23T15:18:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I haven't posted in awhile, so I thought to myself, "Josiah, you have to post something!!!.....but what? " So then I remembered I was tagged, so now I have something to post about! BOOYAH! Okay, I need to list 6 things I've learned in the last month, and tag six other people (which I think I'll skip because this survey-like thing is like really old, and everyone who I would tag has probably been tagged ages ago.... Okay, so here I go:

1. Same as Robert, I too learned how to play an X-box 360 (thanks Garrette!)

2. How to ice-skate better. Tip, skate with either side of the blade, but never with the middle. Also, it is not about lifting one foot and sliding it forward, it's all about pushing your feet outwards, this especially comes in handy when making turns, if you're turning left, you almost have to lean to the left and kind of push out to the right, with practice you can go really fast! :)

3. Do reminders count? In family devotions... Never ask God for justice, because he may just give it you you!

4. I really need to practice playing piano in front of large groups of people. (Had a piano recital this week and made a few subtile mistakes, and even before I started my heart started beating twice as fast!)

5. Did you know you lose about 7,000 nurons a day, and they never, ever can be replaced! good thing you have about 1x10 to the 11th power neurons! (I'm not quite sure how to type that out), but anyway, the amount you lose hardly makes a dent in your neuron count.

* This is under normal circumstances, but if you drink alcohol excessivly or use drugs the number of neurons you lose goes WAY up.

6. How to put in a trench. *sigh of relief!*

Okay, that's it, and if I've been tagged for something else let me know!

See The Movie

2008-10-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last night my family, 3 of the King kids, Mrs. Diemer, and I went to go see the movie "Fireproof". The movie has been out in theateres for some time now, but that didn't matter, the theatre room was packed anyway like it was opening night. It was a very touching movie that makes you laugh, cry, and basically just grabbed your heart. I have never seen so many couples hold hands after a movie. They were truly touched. Only their third movie, Sherwood pictures keep getting better and better. Their acting and lines are a little iffy in the beginning, but you don't care. This movie has a great message about the importance of the vows you make with your spouse (present or future), and that when you say "For better or for worse" that you shouldn't just be thinking about the better. Also your vows are made before God and should NEVER be taken lightly. My parents have taught me that all my life as I'm sure yours have and of course isn't anything new to Y'all, but I just thought I would put it down as a reminder.

In Christ,
Josiahdavid

To Fellow Blog Followers-

2008-10-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

To everyone who has sighned on that they follow my blog..... If any of you have a blog that I don't have listed please leave your html in the comment box and I will be sure to add you to my list of blogs I read. Thanks!

Josiahdavid

2008-09-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

The emblem on Ashton's guitar case which holds his precious Taylor Guitar. I love mine too.

My randome pic of the post; can anyone guess who this is? To anyone who was there today, please do not say. Thanks!

P.S. And please feel free to give me suggestions anytime on taking better pics!

2008-09-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

Lunch At The Creaths

2008-09-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

After "The Pit" (the basement of the Christian Center where we meet for church) flooded,
we all had to meet in the cramped quarters of the upstairs room at the C.C., so
last night the church decided that we should have lunch at eachother's houses.
We were invited to the Creath's along with the Evans, Bandys, and Riggenbachs for lunch,
where we had Mrs. Bandy's rolls and jelly, our porkchops, and other good things like that.
And as always whenever brothers, and sisters in Christ get together it is always fun to
just hang out, talk, and as for the boys, have a breif moment of immaturaty, by throwing
sticks at eachother. *smiles sheepeshly*

Emil dishonored the totem! AAAAWWWWWMMMMMM!

Hymn Sing At The Degenhart's

2008-09-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday we went for our first time to the Degenhart's hymn sing.
It was a wonderful time of fun, felloship, and singing.... of course!

Grace, Abigale, and Emma singing a Psalm

2008-09-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful musicians three

Shawn Degenhart played the piano for us and put a gospel twist on with style!

And now I must end with a randome picture of the Degenhart's rooster

Some Pics Around The Farm

2008-09-19T18:05:00.000-07:00

Well, not much has been going on around here to blog about which is why I haven't posted anything for a while, but after all that rain the creek was really swollen. Now it's quieted down though.

2008-09-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

Dejavu? Kinda, I took a picture of this tree from the same angle in the winter

2008-09-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

When my parents went to Tx. the brought back some of this cacti to eat and grow.

Black Olive Studios photo shoot

2008-08-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

This is Dallas, one of Jeff's friends

2008-08-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

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2008-08-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

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Friday Father's Day

2008-06-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

Since we don't really like to celebrate Father or Mother's Day on Sunday because it's the Lord's day, we decided to celebrate it today. We ended up going to Hickory River Smokehouse for Dinner to see how close they really came to a Texas BBQ, and you know what? I think they did a pretty good job. It reminded me of those Bill Miller's BBQ Restraunts they have down there. Of course it wasn't quite there, but for the most part it was really good. It sure smelled like it though!
I am really thankful for my dad, he, with my mom have always told us to "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you". They encourage us kids constantlyto grow stronger in the Lord. I'm sure your parents do the same for you too. Make sure to thank God for them, not only around holidays, but everyday. Our parents have done so much for us that we will never be able to realize just how much they have done for us.
Yum!
Dad reading his Father's Day card

We wanted to take a picture of the whole fam together, but I couldn't hold it out far enough, so here is who was on the other side of the table.
I love you Mom and Dad

Summary

2008-06-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I know it comes and goes, my blog does, but I hope that you will enjoy what I have put up. I have created a summary of what has been going on so y'all could see what has been going on, and that I have actually been trying to gather things to post! ;) I always hope to post consistantly and keep things up, but with our primary computer being out of commision for a while I kind of get off track, but anyway, onto the good news, our birds just hatched out ducklings, the geese, ducks, and chickens...yes, I said chickens, and they are taking quite good care of their little ones. I am going to try to put up a few pictures of that soon, so keep and eye out!

Visiting the McDonalds 6/8/08

2008-06-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday Evening we were invited to go to the McDonalds for supper. It was a blast! So to not echo my sister, you can check out her blog, and get all the details about our wonderful evening. I really don't think that thing could hold us both up ;)
What can I say.
"He leeds me beside the still waters"
Bliss
Imagine conoeing through the panama with tropical flowers lacing the canal.

Canoeing Fun

2008-06-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

The happy boaters (gosh, I needed a haircut!)
Picture taken from the stern
taken from the bow
Enjoing the best icecream in the world
Thanks for sharing, McDonalds!

Monday Mornin' 5/19/'08

2008-06-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

Strawberry cream cheese on a cinnamon and rasin bagel! MMMM hard to beat!
(Of course those Pop-Tarts were pretty good too)
Elder Price gave us a wonderful morning devotion
and everyone listens intently

Of course all good things must come to an end ;)

Memmorial Day Campout 5/18/'08

2008-06-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Stephany Niessan is so cute

*cough*,*sputter* well, at least the smoke kept the bugs away.
Peter holding William and Jeremy being, well....Jeremy
Zach and I

This is the way I see it when I'm about to fall asleep.
Sitting by the fire is so relaxing.

After Presbytary 5//18/08

2008-06-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get some good pictures of presbytary,
but it was allot of fun, and we had a great time. Sunday evening we had the
Hector and Davis family, plus David and Anna Price over for supper, and some Ultimate Frisbee.
It was a blast! Although it took forever to figure out which dance we were going to do!

Melissa sprained her ankle really bad, but seems to be in pretty good spirits.

Melissa teaching Anthony H. to waltz.

Brown Sugar was intrigued with Anna's hair.

2008-06-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

Mr. and Mrs. Hector, Mrs. Davis, Melissa, Mom, and Dad enjoying themselves.

Becca and the kids having fun watching a movie

After exausting ourselves with Ultimate frisbee, and dancing we all played a
nice quiet game of Catch-Phrase......Yeah Right! :)

GOT PAINT? 5/10/'08

2008-05-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

Before starting it's traditon to test the accuracy of our barrels on this tree.

Who's side are YOU on?

LUNCH TIME!

2008-05-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Deep discussion?

Brats, hot dogs and burgers... OH YEAH.

End Of A Good Day

2008-05-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

TOUGH GUY!

Peter with his little buddy

Spring Pics

2008-05-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Off with the winter coat!

More Spring Pics

2008-05-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

Columbine

Lilacs about to bloom

Flowering Crabapple in full bloom

Lilacs In Bloom

2008-05-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Qick Texas Trip 4/19-25/'08

2008-05-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Due to a huge accident in which my grandfather was a victim, my mom, dad, Elita, and Hannah took a week trip to Texas to visit my grandparents. Appearently what happened was two road-raging drivers crossed over the medium and into oncomming traffic. One person died of fatal injuries, and about five other drivers were seriously injured. My Grandfather was driving a semi, and to avoid the oncomming vehicles swerved to miss them, and the semi flipped over. My grandmother was already having health problems with an infection, and the news about my grandfather caused her much stress. In just one day my mom could have lost both of her parents, but the Lord saw fit to give them back to us on this earth for a time more. Praise the Lord they are doing much better now, and my grandfather has now been attending church with my grandmother! We have been praying that God would use this in his life to make him realize how much he needs God, and that his faith would continue to grow. We ask that you would keep him in your prayers, that he would grow in the Lord, and his recovery would be quick. For my grandmother that she would continue to heal and that her faith would stay strong in the Lord.

Looks like everyone had fun! I wish I could have gone!

SICK!

2008-04-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I'm back! I've missed posting, but after getting sick I just kinda got out of the posting biz. Well, if wasn't just me, but the whole Providence church family who got sick, and let me tell you I hope we never get anything like it again! FIt was horrible, and you don't feel totally back to normal untill about exactly 3 weeks! With everyone in the house being so sluggish, Lady started to pretend she was sick too. LOL And since I'm not going to post any pictures of us in our agony, I'll just show this picture of Lady. Once she started acting sick all she did was lay in the beds all day. I mean, with everyone in the living room or in Mom and Dad's The big comfy beds were free for the taking. ;) One day Sierra walked into her room and there was Lady on her back and all four paws up in the air!

The Wedding of Alan King and Melissa Nash

2008-02-02T20:59:00.000-08:00

Alan and Melissa King

Alan dancing with his mom

The Last Dance

2008-02-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

And Sending Them Off!

2008-02-02T19:10:00.000-08:00

SNOW DAY!!!!

2008-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning Lenna, and I went out first thing to enjoy the 8 inches of snow....
But as soon as Sierra saw us taking pictures, BAM! She was out there in a flash! :)

*News Flash* Sierra actually getting along with Uno.

....And Lenna too?!

Pretty sweet!

Down In The Woods and After

2008-02-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

The creek looks so cool when it's frozen.

By the time we came back from the creek we were soooo cold!

A big comforter, a soft chair, and hot chocholate will get you warmed up in no time.

I'm Still Here!

2008-02-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! I'm still here! After about a month of not posting I feel really guilty and will try to do better in the future. So far, anything of significance that comes to mind, (since I last posted) is that Ashton Bandy stayed at our house for about a week and towards the end of the week Grace stayed the night. It was allot of fun. The girls had fun talking and taking pictures, (some of which I think Aston posted on his blog), but if not I know he put some of his stay with us. Well, I know other things happened, but just about everyone knows about them, so anyway, I shall leave it at that and try to do better about posting. Pictures coming soon of what we did today, after it snowed 8 in. last night at our place.

2007-12-15T12:56:00.000-08:00

Waterfowl look really nice in the snow

African geese have a certain air about them

I pwomise! The opossum was 'dis big!

Joyful Messengers

2007-12-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

I don't rember what the names of the songs they sung, but this one was an African song that was really fun. They even got Ben Harding to play the bongo drum.

This song was a suprise for the parents with the sunglasses and all.
Cantate group

In this song Sierra sang in a trio part "The Celtic Carol", with Karissa S. and another girl.

Peoria Cooperative Chorale

2007-12-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

The young men singing "And All The Town Be Merry"

The Madrigals singing "Go Tell It On The Mountain"
I have never liked that song untill I heard the Madrigals sing it.
(The Madrigals are from the Coop Choral group who have exceptionally good voices. (Tryouts are in the spring! *hope*))

The night ended with the group singing "Good News"
Among the other songs we sang that night are:
"Christmas Gloria" (It was really fun!)
"Adoramus Te"
"Dadme Albricias"
"Hanerot Halalu", My Favorite :)
and "Jesus, What A Wonderful Child"

Mrs. Salazar did an excellent job in teaching us this semester, I look forward to next year :)

Turkey Shoot '07!

2007-12-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

Samuel likes his new gun...maybe that's an understatment.

Sierra thinks its fun, too.

Sierra did pretty well, 5 out of 6

2007-12-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

Emil is quite the marksman

And we all know what Ashton is!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

2007-12-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

But how about some pictures with words.

Wouldn't it be terrible if God said, "I never knew you."?

This is an illustration of how hot the fire was, and how tall the fire was too.... And how much taller are you than the pallets?

Oh, snap!

...And Then Our Peaceful Thanksgiving Meal

2007-12-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

The Story Of The Buffalo

2007-12-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

Grandpa told us the story of how he caught the buffalo, every year, cut him open, and took out the meat, then sewed him back up again. Then one day a little boy told him to sew a zipper into the buffalo. Grandpa did, and the buffalo liked that much better.:) (This fable was abridged of course.) He was pretty energetic while telling the story. It was fun.

Afterwards, Grandma took out the "Medicine"...
Part of one of Grandpa's stories was that he hung up the meat and a bear came and ate a piece, but in the morning it had a terrible stomach ache because the meat was so rich and succulent, so we needed to have the medicine to coat our stomaches so we wouldn't get sick from the meat....One thing though, all the parents were talking about how bad the "medicine" tasted.

The "Medicine"

2007-12-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

Issac really didn't want it and when Grandma tried to put it in his mout he almost dropped it!

Brooke knows what the medicine is...now

The other grand-kids did a good job of convincing Elita the medicine tasted bad, she really didn't want any

But was pleasantly supprised to find it was only chocolate!

"Trowing" On The Buffalo!

2007-12-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

It wouldn't be a buffalo trow if you didn't "Trow" it on the fire!

Matthew looks cold.

As a matter of fact, I think everyone was.

Doesn't Everything Look So Festive!

2007-12-02T20:22:00.000-08:00

And Afterwards Everyone Enjoyed The Babies

2007-12-02T20:08:00.000-08:00

Bennett sure didn't lack for any attention.