Lessons From The Gym

Hello everyone! I know I have kind of left you hanging for about a week now. About my tennis tournament, last time I mentioned it, I told you that I had won the first two rounds. This last Sunday I played the Semi finals and won that match 7-5, 6-0. Then came the finals, I was playing the #1 seed, it was by far the hardest match, but some how I pulled it out of the bag, I won! On Monday I was very, very sore from the sunburn (which is fine now) and all the muscles I haven't been using lately! But I feel much worse now, I was at the gym for 2 hours yesterday, which brings me to my little article...

When I was working out at the gym by myself yesterday, I noticed, our gym has two things going all the time, they have a TV & a radio, and I heard a very interesting song over the radio. I think it was by a younger girl singer, the name of the song was, It Comes Naturally, and the lyrics were awful! The name of the song pretty much described the lyrics, the song talked about love, boyfriends and "following your heart". I thought about it, and that is pretty much was the flesh does, you don't have to work very hard to fall into sin. The unsaved person just does what feels good, you don't have to think about it too much, it just Comes Naturally. After listening for about 10 seconds I thought, wow if this doesn't describe the flesh I don't know what does! It reminded me that SIN comes naturally. As Christians, we have to fight what Comes Naturally to our carnal selves. Roman 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Let this be a reminder to all of us, when our conscience tells us we are sinning, just stop, change the channel or stop hanging out with those friends. What ever it is that causes us to fall, we should just stop the activity. If you know you are struggling with a certain sin, pray about how to get out of it. We all want to live in the Spirit, & we can't fully do so until we have defeated all of our sinful patterns. 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. So when we are battling temptation we should hold on to this precious promise. That right in the middle of a temptation we should look for an escape, God put it there so we could find it. And if we take the way of escape we will be overcomers and there are a lot of wonderful promises for the overcomer in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. The book of James also tells us we will receive a crown of life. James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. May God bless you all and may He give you grace as your strive to resist temptation and as you strive to do His will, in Jesus Name.

May God give all of you grace and peace, and may you have a wonderful weekend with your families!

Abigail Prudence

Pilgrim's Progress Journey to Heaven ~ Review

Hi Everyone! Yup, another review! This was one of the many items in that Vision Forum box I was telling you about in my last post. This is probably one of the best movies that I have ever seen! Here is how their website describes this great film. (Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven is a faithful and creative adaptation of a timeless classic. The genius lies in bringing Christian and his fellow travelers into a modern context.) One of the reasons I love this film so much is because the film makers have taken a original book and set it into a more modern theme. Christian is a normal guy, he has a normal job, lives in a suburb house, he's a regular guy, until he finds a book. One of my favorite parts in this movie is when Christian comes to The Place Of Deliverance (i.e. the cross) and his sins roll down the hill and he receives new clothes, shoes and a key he would be needing later. I was very refreshed by this movie because it is one of the few that I have seen where the writers are not afraid to address subjects like hell and the coming destruction. It is a very good reminder that we can't live on this earth forever, and WILL be in either two places, Heaven or Hell. I highly recommend this film to everyone, but maybe not to families with smaller children in the house, there are some frightening images of hell and the devil that might scare children. I am glad that the Christian film industry is getting larger, and I hope that a lot more films like this one come out!

May God Bless You All

Abigail Prudence S.

P.S. About my tennis tournament that I had today. I got past the first two rounds and am in the semi finals, please pray that I won't faint in the heat, as I already have severe sunburn. Yup, we Texans really never get a break from the hot weather, it being 85 degrees and all.

What Our Father Taught Us About Boys ~ Review

Hello everyone, exciting news! This Friday was my 15th birthday! I pray that God will give me grace as I strive to do his will this next year as I grow in Him. I will be learning how to sew, (thanks to my own sewing machine!) along with relearning how to ride horses! I'm very excited about this new year & the things I will learn. Please pray that I will do God's will this year.

~CD Review~

This CD has been wonderful insight to the knowledge that Mr. Botkin has taught his daughters. It covered all the questions that I had about how to interact around young men, Christian or not. The following excerpt is from the back cover of this wonderful CD.

"What Our Father's Taught Us About Boys"

Why is it hard for girls to find the balance between flirting and shunning? How can girls keep their hearts pure? What responsibilities do they have toward young men? Is it Possible to be "Just Friends"? Hear practical advice on navigating the tricky waters of relationships and how these relationships, properly conducted, can be edifying and strengthening.

One of the biggest things I learned from this CD was that the way that I treat my father now will almost certainly be the way I treat my husband when I marry. This was a great exhortation to re-examine the way that I am treating my father now. I could definitely be more respectful and reverent. I also liked the way they said that a girl will learn little examples from the world when she is young. Like when a young girl sees little Barbie going out with Ken, she automatically thinks, "Oh, so that's how that works, that sounds fun." I now have a new appreciation to my parents for not letting me have all the latest toys or movies. When you are little, you don't really understand why, but looking back at it now I am very grateful. Thanks mom and dad! There are a lot of little lessons like this one contained in this CD. I strongly recommend it if you are a young women living at home and wondering how you are supposed to biblically act around young men. This CD was one of the many that I received in a big box from Vision Forum for my birthday. I can't wait to hear all of them! I still have about 10 or 11 left, so you will probably be reading a lot of CD and movie reviews in the next few weeks!

May God Bless all of you,

Abigail Prudence

P.S. Big tennis tournament in Boerne next weekend, I will keep you posted on how I do.

My First Award from Princess in Disguise, Thanks!

This is the "I Love My Sister's Blog Award" that I have been awarded by, Princess in Disguise, Thank You So Much!!!

She is really neat and always has something edifying to say, you can check her blog out at www.princessonafarm9.blogspot.com.

I award the four blogs that I faithfully follow: Teenage Musings, A Daughter of the King, Girls of Grace and last but not least, Maiden Of Emmanuel. I have enjoyed reading all of your writings and think you deserve an award for all your hard work!

Here's the Rules for the Awarded:

1. Thank the person who Awarded you.
2. Have Fun!!!!
3. Award as many people as you want, just make sure you award a least 3 people!!!

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On a different topic, our dad tries to have a bible study with our family every night. Tonight we discussed and read the last two Chapters of Revelation. It is an amazing read, I will post the last 2 chapters of the bible for you all to read, let me know your thoughts. It is good to remember that what we do right now will effect the rest of eternity!

I am starting in Revelation 20:11 ~~ if you can't read all if it right now, come back later and read it for your devotions!

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:1

1 ¶ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 22:1

1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!

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May we all be exhorted to follow our Lord Jesus Christ with all of our hearts while we are on earth. We will be in either one of two places when we die, Heaven OR Hell. It's our choice, if we follow our flesh and the world we will end up in Hell, but if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. May we strive to do God's Will. Let's pray more, let's read our bibles more, let us make better choices in our reading, let us do all that we can to serve Him before Jesus Christ comes back to judge everyones works, good or evil. The magnificent beauty and joy that is in the new heaven and earth makes me want to do all that I can to make Jesus happy, so I can be there in that great city some day.

May God richly bless you and keep you, and may He give you grace and comfort as you strive to do His will.

God Bless,

Abigail Prudence

Tag Time!

Hi everybody, I don't know about some of you, but I LOVE tags! I was a little bored so I found this tag. I hope you like my answers, and I will tag 3 lucky people that I follow: Prism at A Girl of Many colors, and hummm, who else. Miss Zara at Christian Maidens throughout the World, I hope you like tags! And oh yes, Sarah Grace at Girls of Grace. Lucky you.

1. Do you like to write?
YES!! why else would I be blogging?

2. Favorite books?
KJV Bible, Do Hard Things, Raising Maidens of Virtue, Created to be His Help Meet, Before You Meet Prince Charming, What He Must Be, So Much More, Little House on the Prairie series, all things on Egyptian History, Massage and Aromatherapy Guide, Feminine by Design, Sister's in Time series, and more that I can't think of right now.

3. Do you compose music/write songs?
Ahh, no.

4. Do you like poetry?
Not epically, but it's okay.

5. Love someone so much who made you cry?
Yes

6. Broken a bone?
Thank God I haven't yet.

7. Been in a police car?
No...

8. Been on a boat?
Yes, probably about 5 or 6 times. Just for the record, I hate the ocean, which unfortunately is where some of my boating experiences took place.

9. Fallen asleep in school?
I hate to say it, but yes I have fallen asleep while reading some school books.

10. Did you sing today?
Oh Yes! I sing all the time, to the dismay of my other family members.

11. KFC, Popeyes, or Church's?
None of the above! I am not a fan of fried chicken really, just the kind my mom makes, that's the best!

12. Chick-fil-a or What-a-burger?
Definitely the first, I have always liked Chick-fil-a.

13. Starbucks or McCafe?
Starbucks. Yup, I love coffee! I Prefer iced, yummy!

14. What's your favorite time of year?
Winter Time because of the beautiful weather, and summer because I get to work more in the summer time.

15. Do you ever talk to yourself?
Yes

16. Do you have a favorite treat you like to buy on occasion?
Chocolate and Pedicures!

17. Do you believe the Bible is the literal Word of God and is infallible?
Yes!!!!

18. What's your favorite sport?
Tennis and Kayaking.

19. What color is your ipod?
Black and Silver, it's a i-pod touch!

20. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Egypt

21.If you could go to any fictional place, where would you go?
The Swiss Family Robinson's house.

22. Do you love to write or do you just like writing? Or do you write at all?
I LOVE to write!

23. What do you want to be when you’re a grown up?
A wife and mother.

24. Favorite animal?
That's a tough one, either horses or Jaguars, not the car.

25. Favorite song?
On Faith alone I Stand, OR, Three Wooden Crosses

26. Do you like school?
Yes

27. Are you a people person?
YES!!!

28. Do you like to talk?
What's the right answer to that question?

29. Favorite foods?
green bean casserole, chocolate covered pretzels, my homemade cinnamon raisin bread with butter, and last but not least, broccoli. I don't know why it get's such a bad rap, I really like it.

30. Hobbies?
Blogging, playing tennis with daddy, going to the gym, making soap with mom, reading, watching history documentaries, baking, shopping with daddy, writing in my diary, and I wish I could list horse riding, but I haven't been on a horse in 4 or 5 years. I miss it so much!

31. Favorite author?
Sarah Mally, or Elizabeth & Anna Sofia Botkin.

32. Favorite weapon?
The Word of God!

33. Is this a fun tag or are you getting bored?
No, I love tags, as I said at the top of this post.

34. Do you like Hannah Montana and all those girly people and movies like Highschool Musical?
NNOOOO!!!!! Hannah Montana is the WORST example of behavior for young girls to be watching! I haven't seen Highschool Musical, but I have heard that is just as bad or worse as the first awful TV series mentioned.

35. What are you scared of?
Great White Sharks and the UN.

36. Favorite flower?
White Rose or Hibiscus. The first probably wasn't a big shock was it?

37. What is the expression on your face right now?
Interest and relaxation

38. Color of your eyes?
blueish Green

39. Do you ever wear cowboy boots?
Yes, they are actually my favorite pair of shoes.

40. What's something that you've always wanted to do but haven't?
I have always wanted to take a tour of the world's most beautiful places. But unfortunately I am not a millionaire, so that will probably never happen.
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All right, by now you probably know too much about me, but if you ever need to send me a present you can stick with chocolate pretzels or pictures of horses or jaguars. Okay, now that I have played 40 questions I am going to post a picture and be done with the post,
God bless you, and Thanks for stoppin' by!

God bless,

Abigail Prudence

Homemade soap

This is our family's homemade soap! This is the newest idea we have come up with, chocolate peppermint soap! This is also the first double batch we have attempted, we haven't tried it out yet because it's still curing. A friend that goes to our church suggested this combination, so far it smells good! My mom and I started making soap about a year ago, and we are seriously contemplating making a business out of it. Other than our most popular chocolate scent, we have a lot of other soaps, like: spearmint herb scrub, calendula w/extra virgin olive oil, lavender herb, eucalyptus soap, no scent with oatmeal, regular peppermint, soft sandalwood, and our second most popular, wild raspberry soap. And we are trying to expand our selection all the time. Making homemade soap is a lot of fun, but it can be very dangerous if your not careful. The active ingredient in homemade soap is sodium hydroxide (lye). If this chemical comes in contact with your skin, wet or dry, it will burn a hole through your skin, I know it's not pretty stuff, but it's reality. So, before we mix the lye with the water or even open the container of lye, we put on all our protective gear. We look really silly with the gloves and masks and goggles, but it's defiantly better safe than sorry! After we mix the oils with the lye we pour it, after it has gone through the saponification process for 1 day we cut it with our wavy cutter. We wait for a full week for the bars to cure. Our soap is so soft and smooth on skin, we don't even buy soap from the stores anymore, we like it so much! If you have any questions about homemade soap making, just comment your question.

On a different note, this Sunday one of our pastors did a wonderful sermon on the cross. He got saved when he was 26 and ever since then has been traveling the US and other countries carrying a cross on a wheel and stopping and preaching when he could. The cross is such a crucial doctrine it can not be ignored. I just wanted to post a few scriptures from the bible on the cross. God Bless you all and may He give you grace, peace and joy.

Matthew 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

God Bless,

Abigail Prudence

Once every blue moon

Hi Everyone, this is a blue moon, it is very similar to your average full moon. This is the first blue moon that fell on New Years day since 1990! And it won't happen again until 2028. If you are wondering what a blue moon is, it is the second full moon that falls in your calender month. I took this photo myself out in our front yard, it was really cold outside! The temperature is finally starting to drop here in San Antonio. Luckily for us southern Texans, we only have weather like this for about 3 and a half months. This is the 2nd full day in two thousand and ten, twenty ten or 2010, however you say it, it's finally here!

Yesterday, dad and I went to a stock show for horses. It was soooo good to see a horse again! It has been 5 years since I've ridden a horse, and I've missed it so much. I will be taking lessons again probably starting after this month. I can't wait! It was a lot of fun watchin' the horses compete, but most importantly I got to spend fun time with dad. All of the competitors were under 18, and they all did an excellent job. Here is a couple of photos, and a video of a first place barrel winner.

I hope you liked the photos and video. Thanks for checking out my blog and may God give you grace and peace throughout this new year.

God Bless,

Abigail Prudence