by the renewing of your mind

now the sky could be blue..

2010-03-19T18:58:00.003-06:00

...i don't mind/but without you it's a waste of time...

the picnic happened!
and i played strawberry swing while eating a delicious ham on wheat sandwich!

peace.love. and. politics.

2010-03-17T13:07:00.004-06:00

One week until I leave for Washington D.C.!

It's my first trip to the Capitol, and I'm counting down the days 'til our plane leaves with great anticipation.

Late last semester, I got the opportunity to join the UH Honors College Model Arab League team. As we represent Iraq, I've gotten a chance to learn more about politics and foreign policy in Arab nations. As a member of the Iraqi environmental committee, there has been some interesting finds in my research regarding water problems and energy alternatives for the Middle East. Best of all, it's been helpful in me developing a more global view of politics.

Besides the conference, it will also be fun to tour the capital and hang out with fellow delegates and good friends :))

Tonight, I am attending a dinner with some fellow UH honors students to hear the former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, speak on "The World and American Leadership".
I'm so glad to have the opportunity to hear from a potential 2012 presidential candidate. Spring break has given me some free time to do a little research on the 2012 arena for possible presidential candidates. Research is pretty much one of my favorite things to do; it's a little bit of my academic life I can do wherever and whenever!

i need a perfect day

2010-03-16T17:37:00.003-06:00

People moving all the time
Inside a perfect straight line
Don't you wanna curve away
It's such it's such a perfect day

So I have declared a need for a picnic. As soon as this drowsy, gray weather blows through, I am going to grab my siblings and some fixings and eat out in the backyard. I'm NOT an outdoorsy person at all, but I want a change of pace and something thing new. Spring Break is a time for new things, right!? I'll bring my laptop and I can play this song by Coldplay.

I honestly am ready for school to start again. I'm not being too productive at home. I enjoy my family and even the chores?? But I like living a more scheduled life :)

paperback writer

2010-03-15T14:39:00.004-06:00

Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?
-the beatles.

pen and paper. two essential communication tools that become more and more obsolete in the age of e-mail, texts, online newspapers, and Amazon's Kindle .

not too long ago a friend and i were discussing the specialness that is a handwritten letter. in a world of computers and type, no longer are our deepest thoughts and sentiments painstakingly written onto a white sheet of paper with pen.
instead, love and war are speedily sent through a facebook message or text message, often times with not much thought or deliberation.

i believe that the speediest form of communication is detrimental in how we treat and react to people and situations. when one must write their feelings on paper, they are required to spend a longer time with content and form...therefore, allowing more time to for the author to review his thoughts and delivery. this then translates into fewer misunderstanding and a stronger bond between writer and reader.

i cannot promise that i will be stamping and mailing you a letter anytime soon, but i hope that when the time comes...i would slow down and give you my best.

swallowed in the sea

2010-03-14T16:09:00.003-06:00

And I could write a song/A hundred miles long/Well, that's where I belong/And you belong with me.

So maybe I can't write you a song, a hundred miles long, as the Coldplay song says, but surely I can spend 10 minutes a day typing out an update of life!?

Spring Break seems the perfect way to get back on track.

Hello again Blog World.

college. hello!

2009-08-18T18:18:00.003-06:00

So, the day has finally arrived. Me posting? Eh, not that specifically.
No.
The day I move in!

Tomorrow morning I will be moving out of my house and on campus at the University of Houston.

A BIG change, that is slowly hitting me as I clear things out of my room.

I've always been around my family and we spend a lot of time together, so not sure what I'm going to do when they're no longer a stone throw's away.

As I think these things...and figure out things in life, in between each sentence of my thoughts I mentally have to tell myself, "The Lord is good!". And it helps. a lot!

This summer was beautiful in it's own weird way. I don't have the normal summers of many vacations, lazy days by the pool, or even devouring a long book list!

Instead I:
rediscovered my Savior, Jesus at NEXT,
grew closer in several relationships,
found friendships in people I never would have discovered on my own
spent time with people from church, especially women older than me, trying to learn and grow
saw Coldplay in concert!
rode on an helicopter
earned my associates degree
saw two friends marry
earnestly began to think of Law School
read many articles at http://www.boundless.org/
ran the preschool program at my job
struggled to trust God with my life.

It was good, I learned, grew, and am still learning and growing

Now it fall and my life is about to go into full force ahead!
I'm excited about what God is doing in my life and am grateful those events, thoughts and people He uses to do His work in me :)

Now to more things about school:
School begins August 24.
I'm still pursuing a degree in Political Science, if I can keep up my grade point, I hope to graduated with honors!
I am taking 15 hours this semester, my classes include: Spanish, Comparative Politics, Honors World Lit, and a Poly sci class about Liberalism
I am temporarily working at the UH bookstore, just a few hours a week :)
I am living on campus in the Honors housing, though I haven't meet her, my roommate seems really sweet!
One of the best things about going to school in Houston is the ability to continue to attend church with my family! So I'll be there every Sunday, but I'm going to miss caregroups.

Not sure when I'll post again, but I thought I'd put a few thoughts down :)

4th of July pictures

2009-07-05T15:16:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures from the Hern's party, last night!! Loads of fun laughing and watching the wonderful fireworks display!

Chilling out until the fireworks start! Emily, Jessica, Sarah and I:

Taylor and Michael:

Alison and her lovely flag cake!

Allyson and Alison :)

happy birthday, America

2009-07-04T15:36:00.008-06:00

Gosh! It's July 4th, already? Not too sure how I feel about this time-flying-by thing!

I hope you have a super-dee-dooper Independence Day and take a minute out of your festivities to remember totally awesome guys like :

George Washington

Thomas Jefferson

Patrick Henry:

Happy Birthday to the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave!

Now off to party at the Hern's!!

mother/daughter tea

2009-06-27T21:58:00.006-06:00

Our girl's discipleship group had a mother/daughter tea. It was neat cause not only did we partake of some delightful fellowship and goodies, but we also heard from a wonderful speaker regarding modesty and beauty. Also, we did a couple of activities where we discussed beauty and mother and daughter relationships.

My friends Michelle and Marianna came and showcased their E-Boutique, Bellissima! Everyone enjoyed shopping for beautiful new outfits! Marianna gave a wonderfully presented talk on modesty and beauty.

I personally was blessed by the time with all the mothers and daughters. Many, many thanks to Pam, Melissa, and Claire for the way they serve us in the discipleship group and for putting together the tea!

summertime, and the liven' is easy...

2009-06-27T21:17:00.008-06:00

OK, maybe the living isn't easy, but I kinda like that song....

So Orientation was a blast, and I'm all registered for the fall. I'm taking 15 hrs and two of my classes are Political Science!!! I've had to play around with my schedule since, my original class planning, but I think I'm pretty happy with what I have.

Brenda and I flashing the "Go Coogs!" sign at lunch.

Right before Check in!

mj: 1958-2009

2009-06-27T20:53:00.000-06:00

orientation

2009-06-18T19:09:00.005-06:00

UH orientation is tomorrow!

I'm going with my friend Brenda, here we are at her graduation party.

We had a lovely time celebrating her graduation from Cy-Fair . Brenda, Vanessa (check out the picture below!) and I took a biology class together last fall and we've become great friends.

next pictures!

2009-06-01T14:55:00.002-06:00

Allyson put this slideshow together for some of the picture she took at Next:

Enjoy!

where does one begin?

2009-05-29T17:49:00.007-06:00

Ok, let me apologize: I was sooo going to update for during the conference...but I accidentally deleted the number that I was suppose to send my text too. :/

So I get to give you a full "after-the-fact" update. Over several days maybe?

I was very blessed by my time at Next. God revealed things to me from messages by Josh Harris, CJ Mahaney, D.A. Carson, Kevin DeYoung, and Sinclair Ferguson. But that wasn't all, through the breakout sessions by Dave Harvey, Jared Mellinger, and Carolyn McCulley...the learning and blessing continued. As I interacted with people at the conference: God revealed my need to rest in HIS plans and revealed sins that I will be looking to be held accountable for.

God was also gracious to deepen my desire for heaven and eternity. I long for the day when Christ will call those he has saved home. I pray that this will further a passion in me for the Lost and that my boldness to declare Christ to those around me would be evident.

No words can describe the feeling that you get when you are around so many strong young brothers and sisters-in-Christ for four days. I can't help but see it as a small taste of how heaven will be.

These are just a few thoughts. I will be posting more in upcoming days. I'll leave you with a few pictures:

More coming soon!

Love, Adrienne Renea

2009-05-23T12:22:00.001-06:00

NEXT UPDATE! We just landed in Baltimore! We're riding the light rail to the hotel as I type. I almost walked into a pole and Stephanie and I ran through the airport :)

2009-05-23T12:19:00.001-06:00

NEXT UPDATE

Next Countdown: Reilly

2009-05-21T21:25:00.002-06:00

Check out this music video from one of the bands, along with Bob Kauflin, that will be leading a session of worship at Next:

Less than two days!

delightful times

2009-05-21T19:06:00.008-06:00

Allyson and I hung out this morning with one of our dear friends, Mrs. Yohe. Think Titus 2:3-5 :) She's my second mother and I'm so fortunate to fellowship with her through church and our caregroup!

The ladies hit the spa!

Thank you, Mrs. Yohe for a lovely time!!

NEXT Countdown: Sinclair Ferguson

2009-05-20T18:53:00.003-06:00

Wonderful clip from one of the speakers at Next, Sinclair Ferguson.

He relates how, " God counts to us the righteousness of Jesus Christ".

(HT: Josh Harris)

and the beat goes on

2009-05-20T17:59:00.005-06:00

I like bullet points so here it goes:

God was gracious and I finished this semester with all A's!! He is very good :)

Summer school will start in a week or so and I will be taking a computer class and world literature(yay!) class. I'm not looking forward to the computer one, but world lit should prove to be interesting :)

My little brother graduated!!! Check it out at Allyson's blog! Congratulations, Chris!

Chris and I will be going to the University of Houston this fall! He in Engineering(Chemical, I believe?) and I will be getting my Political Science degree!

I think you should go check out Allyson's blog. She has become quite the photographer!

Work is going well, I am now working with Junior Kumon, which is another department of Kumon that works with preschoolers through I love it! It's a challenge working with some of the more rambunctious ones, but one that I enjoy. I can't wait to have my own kids to teach :) I am sad that I will not be able to continue into the fall, but I've loved (almost) every moment there :)

The family has been gardening!! They've got some squash, peppers, tomatoes and a host of other yummy stuff out there!

In three days, Allyson and I are leaving for Next! I will be updating my blog from my phone :) So check back for updates! Pray that God would do a mighty work there!!

That's all for now! I'll be back soon! :)

2009-04-27T10:35:00.001-06:00

last week I'm posting again via text, again!

The last week of school has started and I can start counting down the days! I wiil have four "test" finals next week. This afternoon, I'm holing myself up in the library to finish up a paper and get some important studying done!

It's kinda bittersweet cause I'm going to miss sme of my classmates; they've made some of my tougher class pretty fun. I can't wait to meet more people this summer and at UH in the fall.

Need to finish up some reading for a paper!

Love, Adrienne Renea

NEXT!

2009-04-26T20:58:00.002-06:00

I have been super blessed with the opportunity to attend NEXT (formerly New Attitude)this summer!

Last Year, I got the opportunity to attend and God started a work in my heart to grow in me a deeper love for His Word.

I'm looking forward to how God moves as we travel to Baltimore in May!

(I'm extremely excited, Allyson is coming too!)

2009-04-25T22:37:00.001-06:00

I just set up my phone and blog so that I can blog through txts! Hmm... We'll have so see how this works :)

do you know HIM?

2009-04-09T19:47:00.002-06:00

Must watch: A creative video of a famous prayer/sermon by Dr. S.M. Lockridge.

HT:Between Two Worlds

confidence?

2009-04-05T22:19:00.004-06:00

So, my coolest birthday present so far was given to me today...on the way home from church.

My mom was feeling sleepy to I offered to drive home. Usually my mother closely watches how I drive, making sure I'm not endangering lives or other things that some one with only a few years of driving experience may be prone to do.

Well, today...(course it could have been cause she was so tired)....she fell asleep! Now, even she sorta woke up, realized and said "hey, I went to sleep with Adrienne driving". I just grinned :)

I think she may have confidence in my driving ability.

Maybe I am growing up :)

off track

2009-04-04T17:12:00.002-06:00

I hate it when I get off track.

When things get busy, some of the finer details are ignored and can build up into something well...unexpected or just plain bad.

Thank the Lord for people in my life who get me back on track. Sometimes I've just plain fallen off or maybe even, my tracks have broken up.

Either way, by God's wonderful grace, it's always possible to improve, get better, and reform.

Please pray I'll stay on track :)

Is there anything I can pray about for you?

no excuses

2009-03-31T21:24:00.003-06:00

Never heard of NEXT?

Well this is your chance:

weekend

2009-03-23T16:25:00.003-06:00

It was nice to have no where to go this past weekend. Saturday was chill and I did some studying for a test I had today. Sunday was just as chill, after church(which is always fantastic!) we came home and I studied some more while everyone else went to the park so Allyson could take some picture of Chris for graduation purposes. I'll ask her if I can post any on here :)

I may have posted this quote before, but I just like it and it's a good reminder for me :)

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.
- Charles Spurgeon

What makes you happy?

prospectus

2009-03-20T19:31:00.002-06:00

"Main Entry: pro·spec·tus
Pronunciation:
\prə-ˈspek-təs, prä-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, prospect
Date: 1765
1 : a preliminary printed statement that describes an
enterprise (as a business or publication) and that is distributed to
prospective
buyers, investors, or participants
2 : something (as a
statement or
situation) that forecasts the course or nature of
something"

In my intro to Political Science class, 50% of our grade comes from a writing assignment called a Prospectus.

In my prospectus, I will be discussing the Supreme Court, specifically about how they make decisions on particular cases.

All prospectus must have a research question and a "if-then" statement, which gives the hypothesized plan and outcome.

My Research question is: "Therefore, should the United States Supreme Court rely on past precedent when establishing jurisprudence on matters related to the Unites States Constitution?"

Exciting, right? Well, I think so!

And basically in my paper I will be discussing the prospect of the U.S. Supreme Court relying on past cases and the precedents set to rule on future cases. I haven't done much study on the Supreme Court, which is one of the reasons I chose this topic!

I also like writing about Foreign Policy..I wrote a research paper, taking the position that the United States should pull out of the UN and I also have written a "white paper" on Conservatism's role in U.S. Politics. I can't wait until I start taking more classes for my major and can write papers on other "political things".

One thing I haven't studied much is Political Thought and Theory. Fortunately, I'm getting some of that in my intro to poly sci class. I am looking forward to taking a class on Classic Political Theory which will discuss Plato, Aristotle, and great ancient empires.

how'd this happen?

2009-03-19T20:27:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow is Friday?

I'm not that old, but seriously...I'm kinda at that stage where time seems to fly by. It's nice during tough weeks, but then other times it's like 's-l-o-w down, Life and wait for me!'

A couple of nights ago during my quiet time, I read 1 Corinthians 10:31:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

and in verse 33:

...just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

I've been meditating on these couple of verse and trying to seek God on how he would use these to push a change of attitude about how I live. Sadly, 'Do all the glory of God' is not foremost in my mind during most of the day. I pray that this would change, I would pray not to "seek my own advantage" and to pray that "they[the world, people I relate to, etc.] may be saved".
I'm so excited to see how God speaks and sanctifies through His Word!!

Happy-Almost-Friday!

Love, Adrienne

My familyyy!!

2009-03-18T21:57:00.003-06:00

Check out my lovely family! I need to find a picture with my dad in it too :)

Taylor Grace!

Allyson Janell!

Mom and Mikey!

Chris :)

Pictures Courtesy of Allyson :)

...but I should be doing...

2009-03-18T21:34:00.003-06:00

I should be doing some research for my Poly Sci paper, but instead I'm tooling around checking out friend's blogs. I love how blogging helps me to keep up with everyone, get a glimpse into the life of people I can't always be actively involved with.

This evening we had bible study. I love our bible study. We hold it at our house and my Dad leads it. We have 4 families(besides us) that attend regularly. I really enjoy relating with people through the "caregroup" setting: we have a meal, worship, discuss, then eat and talk some more!

We are currently going through the book: Worldliness Edited by CJ Mahaney.

An excellent book with chapters written by leaders in Sovereign Grace Ministries.

This evening we discussed the music chapter and talked about our heart and how we respond to, prioritize, and discern the role that music plays in our lives. A very eye-opening chapter that really provoked me to question whether or not I idolize music and if I'm discerning about what I listen to and why I listen to it!

Ah, it's back to the homework, so I can go to bed at a reasonable hour! Or is it too late for that? :)

Love, Adrienne Renea

P.S. Three days of blogging and exercising! whoo-hoo!

blogging and exercising

2009-03-17T12:47:00.002-06:00

So my goals for this week:

Blog every day
Exercise every day

I did both yesterday, so I'm on track. Of course it's only Tuesday! I'm going to be leavingto work soon, so I won't have time to do the "exercise" part of my resolution this afternoon. But hopefully, I won't be too out of it this evening to do it! I may skip my scheduled watching of American Idol so I can get everything in.

School was fun today, Environmental Science wasn't too sleep inducing and I love discussing issues in my political science class. Now I'm headed off to work, which continues to be a neat challenge in my life. Working with kids from so many backgrounds can be an adventure!

Do you have any particular goals for this week? What are they?

Happy Tuesday!

Love, Adrienne Renea

spring? are you here for good?

2009-03-16T14:19:00.004-06:00

So I think Spring Break is definitely a teaser trailer for the Summer. Emphasis on "tease". Spring Break was great. :) Just not long enough.
I did get to see some of my lovely friends and spend some time with the family, but unfortunately my school decided to have SB on the opposite week of most schools in our area..therefore...most of my friends are "breakin'" this week.
So, summer is going to be grand. I can tell :)

Classes are going great. Poly Sci being my favorite, of course! I'm beginning to write a paper on judicial activism in the Supreme Court. I am super stoked! The research has begun and I'm enjoying every minute of it!
I'm already looking to the summer as I'll have 5 more hrs. to complete. I'm going to most likely be taking a literature class(yes!! and it's over ancient world lit!!) and a computer class(um, yeah not as much fun). It's only two and only for 6 weeks, the second half of the summer will be freeee! Good stuff:) I'm also pretty excited 'cause several weeks ago, Allyson and I along with some friends bought tickets to see Coldplay. They won't be here til July...can't wait!

Everything: He's got it!

2009-03-15T14:05:00.003-06:00

Lately I've been struggling with juggling.

As in juggling everything: School, Work, Family Time,Quiet Time(a biggie right there!) Free Time, Study Time, Money, Relationships.

And God has been convicting me about everything:

As in, He IS EVERYTHING!

Me trying to juggle all this stuff by myself is one big epic fail :) God has been using little things to give me a heads up to "hey, you don't have the power or energy to do all this stuff by yourself!!"

Well, it's been taking awhile for me to release these things to the Lord. It's a very s-l-o-w process as I am a slow learner when it comes to leaning on Him. Very sad. I should know how this works by now, right?

I am HIS! And He's got me! Now if I could just get that into my thick head. :)

We sang "Enough" this morning at church and God brought me back to these struggles as we was singing:
More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know
More than all I can say
You are more than enough for me

Check that out! He's my wants, needs, knowledge, words.....!!!

And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

—Psalm 9:10

My joy is found in HIM. He is Beginning and End. He is Everlasting Love. He is my Savior.

My prayer for this forthcoming week is that I would give all my joys, worries, and time to His care. Amen.

I'm still around here somewhere...

2009-03-14T21:31:00.006-06:00

Hello!

My lovely readers and fellow bloggers:

How are you? What have you been up to?

(these pictures are courtesy of my lovely sister Allyson: check out her blog on my sidebar!)

(pictures taken today at Ooh La La)

Water

2009-01-16T17:22:00.002-06:00

Hey guys!

This is an awesome game by FreePoverty that donates water as you test your geography knowledge! Check it out and donate a cup of water!

Now that's enough of that!

2009-01-07T19:11:00.005-06:00

Yeah, I have a really awesome sister, who keeps me on my toes about my blogging and has been getting on me about my extreme lack of posting...

So Allyson, this first post of 2009 goes to you!

Where to start? What about the end of this past semester?

So finals week was tough, but totally worth it as I came out with A's in all my classes! Glory to God!

Next up was Christmas Break and my Government II winter-minimester!

It was so wonderful to see friends home from college. (I will elaborate more on this on another post). Christmas was pretty fun, lots of goodies and good people!

The Winter mini-mester was pretty tough!! I found out yesterday though, I got an A in the class! I was pretty excited to say the least. Even though everything came alright in the end, I think I can truly say I'll never do that again!

New Years was great fun as we spent the Eve with Copples and the Pauls. It wonderful to ring in the New Year with them! We also had a great "pre-New Years Eve" party with some dear friends from high school, more to come in later posts!

Mom had foot surgery on December 30th, everything went well. Though her foot is pretty bandaged up, she's been getting around pretty well on her crutches.

The break seemed so short! I'm currently getting ready for the Spring Semester in which I will be taking 16 Hours. It's going to keep me busy, but I'm looking forward to the challenge and new classes! I always get excited at the beginning of the semester(of course); there's something wonderful about a fresh, new semester. Oh, and guess what?! Allyson will be joining Chris and I at Cy-Fair this semester! I'm really excited for her! She'll be taking English 1301 and I'm pretty sure I can speak for her in saying that she's really excited!
This is my last "real" semester at Cy-Fair. If all goes as planned, I will have only 5 hours left until I get my Associates of Arts. I plan on getting those last few hours done in the first summer session. So I'm on track to be at UH next fall and hopefully living on campus!

So this has been a swift and sadly needed update of my blog. More post will most certainly be coming soon with pictures and the like!

Happy New Year!!!

Love, Adrienne Renea

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

-Ephesians 2:3-5

It's time to Party!

2008-12-10T18:42:00.002-06:00

Final's are over!

And now I can get back to regular blogging!

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Live from Tennessee!

2008-11-27T11:12:00.002-06:00

Hello, I'm check my e-mail on my Aunt's computer and I decided to make a real quick post and wish you a....

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Be Blessed!

Love, Adrienne Renea

"Can I take Your Picture?"

2008-11-24T19:42:00.006-06:00

So we have a budding photographer in our house.
Allyson just got a new camera, which you can read about on her blog.

For the past couple of weeks, she's been taking pictures of everything, very good ones, I might add. I thought I'd show off some of them:

A different view of the tree in our front yard:

Some unique lighting:

Beautiful Friends:

the lovely photographer:

We're on the way..we're on the way...

2008-11-23T21:39:00.006-06:00

Ok, we're not gone yet. Actually we won't leave until early Tuesday morning, but I don't see myself having anymore time to blog before we leave.

I'm so happy that my Thanksgiving break is here! We will be leaving Tuesday to stay with my Mom's parents and while we are there we will being going back and forth to Memphis(just over the Mississippi River) to see my Dad's side of the family.

I haven't seen my grandparents in over a year, so it's going to be so great to spend time with them. I'm looking forward to cooking Thanksgiving dinner with my grandma and aunt. We will be there until Sunday. Alas, it's such a short time, but I know we're going to have a sweelll time!

I pray that everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Love, Adrienne Renea

What's Thanksgiving without Charlie Brown?

It was totally God!

2008-11-22T00:57:00.002-06:00

So I had two tests on Wednesday, one in Biology and the other in Algebra, and I was really stressed about them.

And....

I got my grades back today:

I made an A on both tests!

Praise God!

I'm so grateful to Him for getting me through those hours of studying and the tests, themselves!

Sleepy-Time!

2008-11-19T21:39:00.003-06:00

It's been a looong week and it's only Wednesday! I'm so grateful to have made it through today. I had tests in both Biology and Algebra and a paper due in British Lit. I got very little sleep last night...around two hours. I just hope the long night will pay off with good grades on these tests and paper! Only through Christ have it made it through the last 24hours. I am so grateful for His never ending strength and love. There is never a day that goes by that I am not more and more amazed at God's continual grace in my life. I mess up so much! But He loves me! And in His grace and mercy, I am content.

Goodnight!

Love, Adrienne Renea

Preparing for the Sabbath

2008-11-15T21:40:00.002-06:00

I've been reading prayers from Valley of Vision. The writings of the Puritan's are beautiful and are really an good accompaniment to Scripture during my quiet time.
Here is a puritan prayer, that I will be praying over tonight.

Resting on God

O God, most high, most glorious, the thought of Thine infinite serenity cheers me, for I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, but Thou art for ever at perfect peace. Thy designs cause thee no fear or care of unfulfilment, they stand fast as the eternal hills. Thy power knows no bond, Thy goodness no stint. Thou bringest order out of confusion, and my defeats are Thy victories: The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows, to leave every concern entirely to Thee, every sin calling for Christ's precious blood; revive deep spirituality in my heart; let me live near to the great Shepherd, hear His voice, know its tones, follow its calls. Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in the truth, from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit. Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities, burning into me by experience the things I know; Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel, that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it, see Jesus as its essence, know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill; unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget Thee. Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots; grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee, that all else is trifling. Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy. Abide in me, gracious God.

Amen!

I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

-Psalm 91:2

Love, Adrienne Renea

It's Friday!

2008-11-14T22:18:00.005-06:00

Another week practically done!

Today seemed extra long for some reason and I came home from school and took a nap!

This afternoon, I had to attend a meeting for the Honors Student Organization @ CyFair. I was elected secretary for this semester. I plan on running again next semester. We are a small organization right now, but we've got big plans on trying to get more people involved in the organization and involved in our honors classes.

This evening, I've been just chillin' and watching movies. I just finish watching Persuasion(the latest one), which is one of my favorite adaptions of a Jane Austen book. And before I drift to dreamland, I'm going to try to stay awake through War and Peace with Audrey Hepburn.

I've been on a Audrey Hepburn kick the past few weeks. She's an amazing actress, who plays some of the most interesting roles! I've watched movies like: Charade, Funny Face, Sabrina, Roman Holiday, etc. Last week I began to watch her in: A Nun's Story, but I didn't get to finish it. Friday nights are usually the only time I have a chance to watch movies, so I try to watch as many as my tired eyes will stay open for....which usually means no more than two :0)

Anyway, I'm off to watch W&P before I fall asleep!

Good-night!

Love, Adrienne Renea

Oops..

2008-11-14T00:40:00.003-06:00

I let another day go past with out posting, I guess posting everyday isn't working me.

Anyway cause it's late (well you could say early) I'm gonna post a video.

This song is kinda interesting....(not very doctrinal, to say the least!)....let's just say it's some very early CCM!

Maybe you'll have a laugh :c)

Happy Friday!

Love, Adrienne Renea

One of Those Days...

2008-11-12T19:56:00.006-06:00

"The trouble is, I've got things the matter with my conscience," sobbed
Anne. "Oh, this has been such a Jonah day, Marilla."

-From Anne of Avonlea

I love Anne of Green Gables! Unfortunately, I can relate to her "Jonah day" It seems like it's one of those days where everything is a little crazier than normal and even the littlest thing balloons to something bigger(than it really is!).

Algebra is not my cup of tea and never was it more evident than today! We were working through some problems and I got really lost and confused. That's one thing I can't stand! Most things I'm able to figure out with a sufficient amount of instruction and practice, but that wasn't happening today! I totally didn't understand these particular problems and I got really frustrated!

I am still a little uneasy about these problems, especially since I have a test coming up next week. I plan on getting with a tutor soon so I can get this taken care of. Something as little as some 'ol algebra problems got me really down this afternoon. It was so nice to come home and be with the family and not think about school or math! I know I can do it! God has carried me this far through all the rough patches my school journeys. And knowing me, there will be many more rough patches ahead!

Jonah days always work out. And in the end I have to give up everything to God and not let myself hold on to things I can’t solve!

The week is halfway over! Yay!

Love, Adrienne Renea

And my heart overflows with His Joy!

2008-11-12T00:38:00.005-06:00

I let a day go by without posting!!

tsk tsk

It's 12:30 in the morning, so maybe I have time to make up!

It's been a long day!

I have a biology test tomorrow, so my day has been full of study and writing! When I wasn't doing that, I was at work! I'm sorta tired, but I had some green tea and some chocolate, which has perked me up.

During our family devotions tonight(Tuesday!) we were reading in Hebrews and my eyes wandered over to this verse in Chapter 4:

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

- Hebrews 4:16

My heart was immediately filled with gratefulness to God. I am so undeserving of this freedom. Only through Jesus' death have I been made free. I can approach His throne with no fear, and go and receive His love and compassion.

I get so bogged down with little petty things, but then I have to take a step back to see: "Wow! I serve an amazing God!" And this amazing God has given me the freedom to take all my burdens and lay them at His feet. Praise Him for His never-ending mercy and kindness! This makes my heart overflow with happiness!

May the Joy of the Lord always be with you!

Love, Adrienne Renea

School Planning

2008-11-10T17:30:00.007-06:00

I can't believe it!

Just a month 'til school ends. I have been enjoying my time at Cy-Fair. There have been some late nights study and some bombed tests, but over all my grades are pretty good.

Today I registered for the Spring Semester. It looks like I will be taking:

Environmental Science I

Intro to Political Science (yay!)

U.S. History II

Intro to World Religions

Principles of Sociology

16 hours! I'm excited, I get to take a lot more classes I'm interested in and no more math!! woot!

Also I'm taking a Christmas mini-mester class, US Gov't II, that is 3 weeks. It'll keep me busy, but it's such a short period of time, I'm not too worried!

Chris is also doing well in his college classes. And he recently got accepted to UH where he plans to study engineering.
About a week ago, the three oldest and mom attended a preview day at UH. Chris and I put in our application for admission and later on we picked up our acceptance letters.

We got a chance to tour the campus and listen to information on our prospective majors. I attended a session about the Political Science dept. I got a list of course descriptions and learned more about some of their programs. Then, I went to a session about the Honors College and I was extremely impressed! They have some very awesome programs that you can do in conjunction with a Political Science Major. Some of the other pluses are it's small size and they have special dorms. So I'm working on applying there now. I'm really excited about going to UH and I liked the campus and really enjoyed meeting the people in the Honors college.

So my current plans are to graduate from Cy-Fair with my Associate of Arts by the end of next summer and attend UH in the fall of 2009. I'm hoping to major in Political Science and minor in Phronesis(a special Honors College minor). I'm pretty excited, but I am still praying that God would direct me on the path he would have me to go. He is an awesome God who I want to glorify no matter what path I take!

I love this verse!

For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:10-12

Love, Adrienne Renea

Piano Recital

2008-11-09T16:12:00.003-06:00

Taylor and Michael had a piano recital not too long ago.

Their musical lineup included:

Old McDonald

Sing, Bird, Sing

Jogging Dog and several other pieces.

Here are the students:

With their teacher:

Duets:

Allyson, the proud teacher applauds her students:

Time, Where Art Thou?

2008-11-09T15:56:00.002-06:00

So it's been a month since my last post. I'm sure all my faithful readers have given up on me. :c)

Alas, I am not a lost cause and I've got a renewed burst of blogging energy!!! Hopefully it'll be a long lasting burst.

My current goal? To blog everyday this week. Baby step, guys, Baby steps!
Today is a the Sabbath, my favorite day of the week :c) So what better day to restart or renew than the first day of the week!!??

So coming up: I'm going to post about Taylor and Michael's Piano Recital!

I'm baaaack!!

Love, Adrienne Renea

How Cool is This?

2008-10-09T10:44:00.003-06:00

A book lover's dream furniture:

It comes in several different colors!

(HT:Between Two Worlds)

Declare Yourself!

2008-10-04T10:53:00.003-06:00

The General election is about a month away! It's time to make sure you are registered to vote. Please don't be silent, but instead speak up for what you believe in by voting. By God's grace we live in a country where we are free to vote for more than one candidate. In this country, each adult has a right to vote and has the duty to exercise this right.

Vote!

If you are not registered to vote, do so here:

Register to Vote!

In Texas, you must register 30 days before the election, so Texans: register this weekend!

If you're wondering about your state go here:
State-by-State Voting Information

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

2008-09-19T18:09:00.002-06:00

I love Sufjan Stevens' rendition of this hymn!

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

The "Ike" Story Part V

2008-09-16T21:18:00.009-06:00

On Tuesday morning my mom took my dad's uniform to the cleaners to get it done before his next 12-hr shift.
The cleaners had electricity originally, but later that afternoon when she went to pick up his uniform, we were greeted with this:

that little orange paper said that "due to electrical shortages we are closed"

So, many businesses near our neighborhood are with out power. You will drive up on street and on one side, all the business have their "Open" signs lit up, but on the other side...a complete ghost town with lines of business with no power.

Some sights:

These cars are lined up for gas:

The policeman below is a common sight as they try to keep order as lines and lines of cars attempt to obtain gas:

The Walgreen's sign:

(all these pictures were taken through my car window, so the quality isn't that great!)

Tuesday evening, my friend Claire came over to check her e-mail and get some hot food. Claire's apartment was without power and is pretty new to town. She just moved from the UK to go to school here. So we were glad to have her come over and escape her dark apartment. I'm so grateful that God has given us our power and water to help serve others!

If you need to wash a load of clothes, check e-mail or take a shower..come on over! Give us a call, we'd be happy to see you!

Love, Adrienne Renea

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
-Zephaniah 3:17

The "Ike" Story Part IV

2008-09-16T20:33:00.004-06:00

Needless to say we were happy to come home to all our amenities. We spent the rest of the day watching the news and this.

Sunday, my Great Aunt Doris and my(actually she's my mom's first cousin) cousin Jennifer and her little girl, Jordan came over. This was their first experience of a hurricane.

Cousin Jennifer just moved here from Chicago and was now unfortunately without power. So they came and spent the night. I had never seen my little cousin, Jordan before they moved here and now I'm totally in love with the little tyke!

It was great spending time with them.

Abortion and Voting

2008-09-16T15:40:00.003-06:00

I'd like to direct you the
Covenant Life Church Blog where Josh Harris posted a great response to a question regarding abortion as a voting issue:
Correspondence on Abortion and Voting

The "Ike" Story Part III

2008-09-15T22:12:00.009-06:00

So Saturday afternoon, we arrived to our house and found no damage. We looked through our back windows and found our back fence on two sides totally blown down:

But other than that and maybe a few shingles:

I'm so grateful that God spared out house from any damage from strong winds or fallen trees! Our neighbors made out pretty well too! A few fallen trees but nothing serious:

Best of all? We had power and running water! These amenities were(and still are!) very sporadic all over the city and other surrounding areas. We had no internet and our landlines weren't working, but we could get some cell phone coverage. We came home and turned to the television on to more devastation.

It was so sad to see the complete demolition of so many homes. These weren't just buildings! They are people's homes! All their photos, furniture, and other personal items! Gone! My heart is hurting for these people. Please keep them in your prayers!

Love,

Adrienne Renea

The "Ike" Story Part II

2008-09-15T14:13:00.007-06:00

So we went to the Pauls and had a great evening hanging out with them. We watched the news as Ike crept closer and closer to the Texas coast. At dusk we observed a beautiful purple and gold sunset, I wish I had gotten a picture of it! By 10 0'clock, many of the buildings and houses on the beach were already feeling the effects of the impending storm.

We prepared for bed; we wondered how the storm would affect us.

Around 2 0'clock, I woke up and realized: Ike had arrived. Though we are a good 50+ miles from the coast the storm sent strong, whistling winds our way. The rain poured well into the late morning. After a very fitful night of sleep, we awoke to no electricity...a few minuted later though, it clicked back on! Mrs. Paul made everybody a delicious breakfast and soon after we ate, the electricity clicked off again. It went on this way throughout the morning. During this we were able to catch snatches of the news and see the devastation from the storm.

The cell phone connections were weak and I struggled to call and find out new from friends around the city. By way of text messaging, I was able to get information. I learned of the tornado at my friend's neighborhood, which badly damaged their house. I also was able to hear of changes in the status of electricity across the city.

That afternoon we returned to our house. On the way home we took in all the fallen trees and blown down fences in the areas near us:

A fallen tree seen through my rain-dropped window

A torn billboard

There was no bad damage in our neighborhood and we had high hopes for our house!

Part III coming soon!

Love, Adrienne

The "Ike" Story: Told in Parts

2008-09-15T11:03:00.005-06:00

Well, I planned on blogging all weekend!
(yeah I know you didn't believe that!)

Alas, Ike took out our internet for a good two days!
So what happened? I guess I’ll start near the beginning.

So there was this hurricane name Ike….He was headed straight to the Texas Gulf Coast.

My dad originally suggested that we head to Dallas to stay with my mom’s sister. Well, we really didn’t want to do that and the storm wasn’t expected to really affect us.

So about Thursday everything started to close, to prepare for Ike’s landfall, early Saturday morning. I didn't go to work Thursday afternoon and all schools were closed on Friday. So it kinda was like a mini-vacation. We started Friday, getting the house ready for any strong winds. We taped and covered windows with mattresses and went to the store for food.

Dad has to work twelve-hour shift through the duration of the hurricane and its aftermath, so he knew he wouldn’t be home most of the weekend. So Friday afternoon he informed us that we would be going to stay at a friends house for the duration of the actual storm. So we prepared for an overnight stay with the Paul’s and headed over there Friday evening.

More coming soon!

Love, Adrienne Renea

P.S. Please continue to pray for those who don’t have homes to return to or whose homes were badly damaged as a result of the storm. There are also many who are without electricity or clean water, pray for provision for them!

Nothing but Time!

2008-09-11T08:55:00.005-06:00

Both my job and school are closed this weekend, so I've gotta a lot of time on my hands! Because of it's proximity to the coast, church has been canceled too!

I do have some things from school to study for, but with no weekend plans, I'm going to be doing some other things around the house. One of my priorities? Updating my blog!

There are some other important things like-

Clean my closet

Do laundry

Catch up on reading

Return e-mail!

So I hope that I don't get lazy, but instead utilize this "at-home" time!

My family won't be evacuating, we're far enough from the coast and usually there is only rain and wind this far north.

Please pray for the safety for all those who are evacuating.

Tomorrow

2008-08-24T20:33:00.001-06:00

My first day is tomorrow. I guess it's official now: I'm a college student.

So yeah, I'm pretty excited!

The Last Summer Fling

2008-08-20T10:25:00.006-06:00

Last Friday we celebrated Leslie's Birthday,

which also happened to be out last party before about half of us left for school the next week.

Leslie, Emily, and Leah leave this week and Kari, leaves in September. Sarah And I will be going to school in town and Allyson, Alison, and Jessica have few more years of High school.

I will miss you girls so much and our random lunch dates and shopping trips! I can't wait 'til Thanksgiving Break! Love you!

8-8-08

2008-08-08T20:56:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting here watching the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies in Beijing. The Chinese did an amazing job; I watched in awe the opening performances. There were thousands of people working together in unison to create a beautiful thing!
Right now we are watching parade of nations. The countries are not going in order so I'm sitting here watching all the nations instead of just watching the United States walk across the screen.
I think it's pretty awesome that in all the conflict in our world and the attitudes different countries have towards each other, several hundred countries are coming together for a common purpose. The Olympics make me excited! I love cheering on the Americans from my living room.
Some sports I'm particularly looking forward to watching are swimming, gymnastics, and track and field.
Here's a story to get you into the Olympic spirit: 1,500m runners living American dream at games

Love, Adrienne Renea

Free Music Friday!

2008-08-08T00:01:00.003-06:00

Hey ya'll,

Phil Wickham has a new Live CD out today. I encourage everybody to check it out. The best part is that the whole album is free! He recorded one of my favorite hymns, "It Is Well With My Soul", on this CD, so I'm looking forward to listening!

Click here to get Phil Wickham's latest!:

Welcome to Texas, Edouard!

2008-08-05T10:59:00.001-06:00

Realities of 1905

2008-08-02T11:31:00.006-06:00

Last night, Allyson and I watched almost six straight hours of the PBS show Manor House .

We love watching shows like 1900 House and Frontier House, where 21st-Century people "travel back in time" to live, work, and play as people did years ago.

(the servants)

Manor House was set in Edwardian-era England. The targeted time was from about 1905-1911, the Turn of the Century. The house, Manderston, was in the English countryside near Edinburgh, Newcastle. The house was grand and the gardens were very nifty.

The most interesting part of the series were the people. There were the "upstairs" people or the Masters and then there were the "downstairs" people or the servants. Watching all the interaction between the social classes was very interesting as the modern people coped with their life status. It was especially hard for the servants as they had no rights at the time and the 21st-century people were very dissatisfied with their relationship with their master and the stifling life of a servant. Through many of the issues that were dealt with on the show, it is easy to see how the type of life went out of style. As the world moved into the 20Th-century, social equality became important around the world. I think it is interesting to see how different cultures and nations around the world can change with the times, while others hold on to past tradition, whether or not they benefit the society.

This show was very entertaining, but also shined a light on the importance of treating others as I would want to be treated.

Show-Time!

2008-07-30T17:12:00.001-06:00

I'm going even further back into July with this post!

A few weeks ago, We went to see my friend, Jessica in her Choir's musical, Jesus Christ Superstar.

She was fabulous and we really enjoyed watching her perform!

Later, I went home with Sarah and ate cookies, laughed at Pride and Prejudice, and made crazy videos. It was grand.
And..the next morning we went to see this little guy:

It was a sweet movie with a great ending and I'd highly recommend it!

Celebrating...

2008-07-30T17:00:00.001-06:00

Why not post this Wednesday about something that happened last Wednesday!?

To celebrate several graduations, all the girl's from
the history co-op that we attended, gathered for a little party. All but three of us, are now graduated and are already in college or will be leaving this fall.

Here we are!

We gathered at Sweet Tomatoes for lunch, then headed over to the Miller's for ice cream cake:

We had quite a time trying to cut the frozen hard cake, sooo what's a girl to do?

Why blow-dry it of course!

It was delicious, I love cake! :c)

We opened gifts and cards, talked about college stuff and watch a slideshow Emily and Jessica made for the graduates. It was lovely. Emily, Leah, and Leslie will be leaving this fall and I am sad. I'm looking forward to holiday breaks!

Love you, girls!

Coming Soon!

2008-07-23T20:14:00.002-06:00

Yes, I'm going to update soon!

Watch This: Video Recap of New Attitude

2008-07-10T21:46:00.003-06:00

My friend Shelly made this awesome video about our time at New Attitude!

For those who are considering New Attitude for next year, start praying and saving now! Listen to the messages from Na 08 and check out the Na Website! I was so blessed by the messages, worship, and fellowship. I'm excited about the work God is doing in my heart!

Love, Adrienne Renea

White Skirts

2008-07-06T21:05:00.004-06:00

Who can resist a pretty white skirt?

Con mi mama y mis hermanas

(trying to practice my spanish!)

How did you spend your Sabbath?

July Fourth Fun!

2008-07-05T21:43:00.003-06:00

So we celebrated The 4th of July at the Hern's with a bunch of dear friends:

The Hern's know how to host a swell party!

Celebrate Freedom!

2008-07-04T00:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Independence Day!

Love, Adrienne

"All to Christ the King!"

2008-07-01T18:58:00.001-06:00

O praise Him!
O praise Him!
He is Holy!
He is Holy!

Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
He is Holy!
He is Holy!

Textbooks!!!

2008-06-30T15:01:00.005-06:00

Noooooo!!!!

I do have reasons to be grateful:

1. I DO have money to buy it

2. It's not a insanely expensive math or science book!

The best reason?

3. I can sell it back!!!!

All I Have Is Christ

2008-06-23T18:52:00.002-06:00

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
-Acts 3:6-8

Whom have I in Heaven but You, O God?

Oh the Deep, Deep Love

2008-06-22T16:15:00.003-06:00

A beautiful song from the newest CD from Sovereign Grace: Come Weary Saints.
Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me
Underneath me, all around me
Is the current of Your love
Leading onward, leading homeward
To Your glorious rest above

Oh the deep, deep love
All I need and trust
Is the deep, deep love of Jesus

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Spread His praise from shore to shore
How He came to pay our ransom
Through the saving cross He bore
How He watches o’er His loved ones
Those He died to make His own
How for them He’s interceding
Pleading now before the throne

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Far surpassing all the rest
It’s an ocean full of blessing
In the midst of every test
Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Mighty Savior, precious Friend
You will bring us home to glory
Where Your love will never end

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

- 1 John 3:1

Happy Birthday, Dear Sister!

2008-06-17T11:10:00.003-06:00

Allyson is 17 today!

Happy Birthday, girlfriend! I Love you!

Happy Father's Day, Grandpa

2008-06-14T08:16:00.000-06:00

Summer Daze

2008-06-13T10:22:00.013-06:00

How's Summer treatin' ya? I love wearing shorts and summery dresses!

This summer I am taking some classes at the college. I have an 8 am speech class and a history class online. I take my class on campus four days a week for two hours. It's been pretty neat, I don't LOVE public speaking, but I find enjoyment in it sometimes :c) I'm also working which I'm really enjoying. Sadly, some of my co-workers are leaving for college and summer vacation, I'm going miss them! We've been training several new people and they're a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to working with them.

Taylor and Michael have been enjoying their summer. They love the water and despite Michael's reluctance to put his head under the water, they both try to go swimming as much as possible! They went swimming three times this week! I still think the smaller schoolwork load is their favorite part of summer :c)

Allyson and Chris have been busy this summer too! They are both volunteering at a local hospital four hours a week. They get a chance to experience and working and different parts of the hospital from the ER to the Maternity center. Allyson has really enjoyed working the the Maternity area, she's gotten the chance to hold some newborns! Chris is also taking a class at the college. He says his English 1302 class is pretty easy. Allyson has also been blogging, check her out!

I'm looking forward to this weekend. I want to catch up on some reading and I get to hang out with some friends from church on Saturday. What are you up to this weekend?

Much Love,

Adrienne Renea

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

- Psalm 52:1

Reflection

2008-06-08T16:46:00.005-06:00

If someone looked into your life, would they see Jesus' Love smiling back at them?

More New Attitude Worship: What A Savior

2008-06-01T15:25:00.004-06:00

Another rather grainy video I took during one of the sessions:

New Attitude Worship: Raw Video!

2008-05-31T22:17:00.005-06:00

Here is one of the videos I took at the conference, not very good, but you can get a glimpse of what we experienced! The singing is hard to hear, but the song is "Happy Day" by Tim Hughes. Fusion people, ya'll remember this one!

New Attitude Conference Messages!

2008-05-30T15:50:00.001-06:00

1. Ripping, Burning, Eating: A Right Response to God's Word Josh Harris • Saturday, May 24

2.The Authority of Scripture Mark Dever • Sunday, May 25

3.Bible Q&A Al Mohler • Sunday, May 25

4.The Troubled Soul: God's Word and Our FeelingsC.J. Mahaney • Sunday, May 25

5.What's the Point?: Growing in Vision for Diligent Study Eric Simmons • Monday, May 26

6.William Tyndale: A Life Transformed By God's Word John Piper • Monday, May 26

7.Fighting for Faith with God's Word John Piper • Monday, May 26

8.God as Father: Understanding the Doctrine of Adoption in God's Word C.J. Mahaney • Tuesday, May 27

Graduation and New Attitude! Recap and Photos!!

2008-05-30T08:25:00.010-06:00

What a busy couple of weeks this has been!

First off was my graduation on the 17th! It was wonderful. The ceremony was very nice and I was so blessed by all the people that came to see me "walk across" the stage and then later came and helped my celebrate at my house! I'm so grateful to all the families that came and served and made my graduation celebration a great time!

My Graduation

After graduation I had a week 'til the New Attitude Conference. So I got some time to sleep and read.
On Friday, the 23rd. We attended the graduation of my friend, Leslie. We had a great time rooting her on and the ceremony was very cool. I'd never been to a private school graduation before and I really enjoyed the speaker. And there was cake!! ( ok, I'm really loving cake these days, especially if it has lots of frosting)

Next was Saturday, the weekend I'd been looking forward to since this time last year!!! My flight left in the afternoon and I got the privilege to be on the same plane with my roommates.
It was so exciting to see downtown Louisville full of New Attitude stuff and people! Over the next four days, We got to instructed and most importantly, challenged by Josh Harris, Mark Dever, Al Mohler, CJ Mahaney, Eric Simmons, and John Piper.

One message that really impacted me was Mr. Mahaney's sermon entitled: The Troubled Soul: God's Words and Our Feelings. Mr. Mahaney made a point that many times we listen to our souls instead of talking to them. He went on to explain that we are one of our biggest influences. Instead of listening to our sinful selves, we must go to His Word and minister to our souls with the promises that He gives us in his Word. One of my favorite quotes :"When we cannot trace God's hand, we must trust God's Heart". This message also challenged me to memorize Psalms 42, this chapter ends with hope in Christ in troubles time,

Verse 11:Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him,
my salvation and my God.

The weekend was full of reconnecting several old friends and it was a pleasure to spend sometime with some people from several of the Sovereign Grace Churches in Texas. I got to see some friends, whom I had not seen since 2002 at another Sovereign Grace Conference. I was so great seeing them after so many years!

Kierstyn:

Mindy:

I also got to reconnect with people I met last year at Fusion!

The time of worship was amazing, and I was going to upload a video I took during one of the session, but it's not working! I'll try again later. I bought the new New Attitude band's new cd Looked Upon, which contained many songs that we sang at Na. The lyrics are very Gospel Centered and the sound is very keen. :c)
I was soo blessed by my time there and this is not the end of my post about my experience there. I hope to blog more soon on several points of application I was challenged on and some reviews of some books and cds I bought in the very cool New Attitude bookstore. I am eagerly looking forward to how God will continue to challenge me by what I received at the conference. I can't wait til Na 2009 in Baltimore!

Here is my Na album( warning..lots of pictures!)

Na Conference 2008

and Melissa also has one too: Melissa's Album

Na!

2008-05-22T19:41:00.003-06:00

New Attitude is in two days!!

I'm sooo excited about what God is going to do there!

I'm also pretty excited about traveling, rooming, and hanging out with her, her and her :c)

This is my first time at the New Attitude Conference. I've listen to Na messages , heard from attendees and read magazine articles for years. Now its finally my turn to go! I'm so grateful to God for allowing me the opportunity to go and experience New Attitude. I've never heard Josh Harris and John Piper and several of the other speakers live before, so I'm really stoked about hear them preach on the Word of God! I also feel so fortunate be be able to be in the company of so many like-minded young adults!

Four-Eyes!

2008-05-22T19:36:00.002-06:00

I've been wanting some new glasses, so I got these:

Pray for the Chapmans

2008-05-21T22:03:00.003-06:00

Please keep the Chapman family in your prayers as they go through this tragedy:

From The Tennessean:
One of contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman’s six children was killed this afternoon when she was struck by a car said to be driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.
The child, Maria, age 5, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
She was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.
The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see the 5-year-old in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.

God, please be with the Chapman family as they grieve and let them feel Your presence. Fill them with peace that comes only from You.

It's Here!

2008-05-15T23:28:00.001-06:00

All Because of Jesus

2008-05-14T23:10:00.001-06:00

This is my new favorite worship song:

All Because of Jesus By FEE

Class of 2008!

2008-05-13T09:46:00.003-06:00

A little over a week ago, we got to celebrate the graduation of two of my very close friends.

After partying the night before, we attended the homeschool ceremony, which was pretty neat. I'm so blessed to have Kiana and Cassia in my life, they are both dear friends who I have had the pleasure of growing with them spiritually .

Kiana and Cassia: I love you both and I pray that as we move on to bigger things that our friendship and relationship with the Lord would just grow stronger!

Allyson with Cassia:

Kamyl, Allyson, Kiana, and Me:

One Step At A Time..

2008-05-10T07:46:00.011-06:00

Ok, I think the best way to get back into this blogging thing is to take little baby "post" steps, I'm not going to post one loooog update, just a little at a time.

The place I think is best to start is: {drum rolls} Finals are over! It's been a tough last couple of weeks, especially in Honors English. I have been working this semester on a White Paper titled:"The Future of Conservative Leadership". A White Paper is a name for a paper that argues a specific position or solution to a problem. My paper explored the history of Conservatives in American politics and then provided some recommendations for improving Conservative leadership in the future. This has been one of the most challenging projects. Last Friday, I presented my paper at the Cy-Fair Student Symposium, I was extremely nervous, but I got through it. I'm just glad it's ALL over!

Graduation is just a week away and my anticipation is growing! I'm so glad, that I'm having the opportunity to participate in a ceremony with my friends and other homeschoolers. I'm so grateful to my family, especially my incredible mother, for the way they have been working to get everything ready for the celebration!

Yesterday, a few seniors from my "graduating class" decided to hang out yesterday, so we went to the lunch and the movies. I got the privilege to see Expelled. This movie provided an alternative view to the fight between Intelligent Design and Evolution. Though the movie did not take a stand on a particular view, it explored American Science and the way that views that questioned Darwin's Evolution were given no creditability. The idea that stood out most to me was the fact that many scientist that pushed evolution believed that one could believe in evolution and still believe in God, but this movie exposed the stories of many evolutionist who turned their back on the faith as a result of exploring and believing in Evolution. My little review doesn't do it justice. So get some buddies and go see it!

More blogging coming soon!

Love,

Adrienne Renea

God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.

-Martin Luther

I Love New Books!

2008-04-17T19:35:00.003-06:00

We got our copy of Do Hard Things in the mail today!

Get Yours!

Tech Alert!

2008-04-17T09:48:00.001-06:00

I'm playing around with the colors on my blog, it's time for a change! I propably won't keep it like this, but I'm having fun figuring out color schemes. Any suggestions?? If anyone knows of sites with nice blogger templates, let me know!! I'm not too good at this stuff!

Graduation Goodies!

2008-04-10T19:34:00.004-06:00

Today, we visited the Graduation Store with my graduation group to get fitted for caps and gowns. It was a long process, we have about 20 graduates and it was a small store! So I spent the time visiting with some friends from debate. I really lucked out to be able to graduate with so many of my friends from debate.

We got to choose the color of our tassels, so I started with blue and brown, but sadly, they didn't have it. Then I tried pink and brown..no...black and pink? No. Ahhh...oh well! I ended up with light blue and white...ahh...I was trying to be unique! Oh well...I'm happy with end results!

Free Jamba Juice!

2008-04-07T18:12:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow morning, April 8th,
Jamba Juice is giving away free drinks to promote their new Breakfast Meals!
The offer is only good 'til 10 A.M.!!

Hello!

2008-03-30T19:13:00.017-06:00

So I haven't done any real "updating" blogging in a while so here goes:

Graduation things are coming together: we've got invitations coming in. They look like this ---------->

This Friday, Mrs. Axelson will be taking my senior pictures along with Kiana and Cassia, who are graduating this year.
Allyson is sitting next to me brainstorming ideas for the reception after the graduation and scrapbooking. She likes planning and she comes up with some creative ideas!

March madness has been very entertaining. I was rooting for both Memphis and Texas in the Sweet Sixteen, momentaily forgetting if they both won, they would have to play each other! Happily, they both won! Unfortunantly, I had to choose between the "home team" : Texas or my Dad's favorite and my Mom's alma mater: Memphis. Well Memphis won out quite easily, I've been a fan of theirs for several years and there are personal ties. So today I proudly wore my Memphis basketball jersey as Texas was soundly beat by the Memphis Tigers!

On another note, Allyson's favorite team(I admit, I had a soft spot for them too!) and Tournament Cinderella story, Davidson, narrowly lost to Kansas. It's been a great tournament and it contunially is a testament to the fact that NCAA basketball is much more exciting than NBA!

Chris has been cooking around here. He really into finding new things to cook and bake! Last month he made a Peanut Butter Cheesecake. It was fabulous! It tasted like something from The Cheesecake Factory! For the Superbowl he made a wonderful beef stew and a couple of weeks ago, baked some pork chops. He's become quite a chef! For dinner today he made roasted chicken, mint and onion peas, and roasted potatoe wedges. Ah, it was good! Great Job, Chris!

School and work are going well. English homework is kinda heavy, but all our smaller assignments will culminate in to a big portfolio/research paper at the end of the semester. Only 5 weeks 'til Finals!!! YAAY!

I'm loving my job. It's so wonderful to work with kids. Every work day brings some interesting happenings and its so rewarding to see kids learn! My co-worker are awesome and they make any rough days, smooth. I look forward to one day having kids of my own to teach!

Well there's always some kind of homework assignment due, so I better hop to it and go find out what's coming up for the week!

Christ is the Great Light of the World! He has opened our eyes and given us new life! Hallelujah!

Love, Adrienne Renea

Texas, make us proud!

2008-03-28T13:30:00.004-06:00

It's that time of year! The Sweet Sixteen is here!

Good Luck tonight against Stanford!