My favorite place is in my room. Here I sit at my desk. A warm spring wind blows in through the open window, causing a vase of daisies to nod their heads merrily. A black dog is curled up underneath the windows. Now he wakes and trots over to see what I am doing. Resting his head on my lap, a fit of goofiness seems to overtake him, and he starts rolling around on the floor. I can’t help but laugh at his antics. Suddenly realizing that I am laughing, he flops over on his back, and gives me the goofy look.

Breathing in the warm spring air, I walk to the window. Just outside the window are the boughs of a Japanese maple tree. Its red leaves shade a cluster of yellow and red tulips. I turn back to my writing, fighting the urge to get lost in the pages of one of the books stacked nearby. As I sit down, a little brown dachshund trots into my room. With a gray muzzle, she is affectionately called ‘the bearded lady,’ although her real name is Chicken. Chicken settles down next to Rooster, the black dog. Rooster lazily uses his huge pink tongue to lick his companion’s head. Chicken seems to enjoy this process. Evidently she doesn’t mind getting wet.

I turn on some music and return to crafting a world made of mountains, peasants, and tyrants. With the dogs as my audience, I read out loud what I have written. They don’t seem to mind. Now I turn to my sketchbook in an effort to make the characters come alive. Arrows, cloaks, and horses dance onto the page, and I begin to feel as though I am really there, high in the mountains, on a desperate mission. In my imagination, the white lights hung above my desk transform into brilliant stars above the mountains. Before I know it, it is nearly time for supper...

One of my hobbies used to be typing fictitious newspapers. About two weeks ago, I decided to make another one. I named it "The Papillion Post". I hope you enjoy reading it!

April Fool's day is normally funny at our house, but yesterday was just plain hilarious. Even so, it seemed a little strange, because Mommy got me first. That's right, I'm admitting defeat. She managed to exchange the toilet paper in the bathroom with a roll of packing tape, and put a napkin in my shoe, so that it wouldn't fit. Up until then, I didn't have any pranks planned. However, I knew I had to get revenge. I roamed around the house with the roll of tape, looking for pranks that I could do with it. I taped her laptop shut, and used the tape to fasten her briefcase handles together. Wesley wasn't up yet, so I went into his room and taped the light switch down. After I couldn't think of any other tape pranks, I replaced the tissues with a crumpled up piece of paper.  By then, Wesley was up, and I saw what Mommy had done to his face while he was sleeping. Evidently, she had taken a marker and drawn a mustache on his upper lip. He didn't notice it until he looked in the mirror. The shocked look on his face was priceless. :-D

I did many more pranks that I can't write about yet, since they haven't been discovered. After all, those are the best kind - the pranks that no one is expecting!

Did you do any pranks? What reactions did you get? Did anyone play a prank on you? Please comment below!

Earlier this week I went to the Zoo with my family. It was very fun, and we had a great time! I really enjoyed seeing the baby giraffe. She kept sticking her long black tongue out. It was so funny, because it seemed that the tongue had a mind of its own. It would roll out, wave at everyone, and then the giraffe would manage to pull it back inside her mouth.

While watching the giraffe struggle with her unruly tongue, I was reminded of James 3:7-10.

"For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so."

Isn't that true of all of us? I pray that I might have kindness, and then I turn around and snap at my brother for interrupting me while I'm praying! The Bible gives many examples of how the tongue can be used for good or for evil.

Proverbs 12:18 says, "There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

Proverbs 15:1 makes a similar statement about the tongue. "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Wow! The tongue can wound or it can heal. I can bring healing to those who are hurting, or I can cut them down with what I say.

Ephesians 4:29 instructs us to build one another up, saying, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

I am very excited. Let's cut to the chase. The reason I am so excited is because Daddy is coming home from work! 

You might be thinking, "What's the big deal? Doesn't he come home from work every night, and on weekends?" The answer to that is yes, he does. However, what makes the coming-home that I'm talking about so special is one word. Forever. Yes, forever. On March 13th, Daddy will stop working at his current job, (where he has worked for fifteen years) and start helping in our family's financial planning business. (EstateAndWealth.com) 

He will also have more time available to help with various things in our church, where he is part of the pastoral team. (OverlandHills.org) I am looking forward to having him home more, and I know he is, too. So… though it is a little early, welcome home, Daddy!

Before life can be mentioned, I need to think about its opposite. Death. I want to skim over that word. It's cold, still, lifeless. It makes you hurt on the inside. I don't like hurting. I tend to avoid it at all costs. But if I don't realize just how dead I was, I will take for granted this new life that Christ has poured into me. Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." If I wasn't dead, then what am I being saved from? 

Your eyes do not deceive you. There really was a squirrel inside Papa's bird feeder. He had pushed off the lid, then climbed inside to get the seeds. The squirrel was none too pleased when Papa put the lid back on. While we watched, he scolded and tried to punch his way out of the bird feeder. Eventually, he figured out that he could push the lid off and escape. It was very interesting to watch him up close. It made me think about how even small animals reflect their creator, and his amazing design. 

As an early Christmas gift for Wesley and me, Mommy and Daddy surprised us with Rooster! This goofy little black lab is ten weeks old. Chicken isn't quite sure why she got stuck being his nanny, even though she seems to like having a partner in crime. If you watch Rooster enough, you seem to understand what he's thinking. As you can see in the picture, he is pretty proud of himself for discovering snow. In the almost-three weeks we have had him, he has learned and grown so much! Even though coordination isn't really his thing, he has finally mastered going up and down stairs. (To those of you who have had puppies before, you understand what an accomplishment that is.) Rooster has a wonderful temperament, and is a quick learner. I'm beginning to wonder what we did for entertainment before he came along!

This time of year, everyone's thinking about Thanksgiving. Advertisements compete with each other, trying to tell us which store has the best turkeys and pumpkin pies. It's easy to forget the purpose of  Thanksgiving while we're trying to figure out how many relatives we can cram into one house. 

Our family has a wonderful tradition where we all say things for which we are thankful. Even great things, such as family and friends, are insignificant, compared to the new life that Christ has poured into me through his death and resurrection. I don't deserve that life. I deserve eternal condemnation. Ephesians 2:4-9 explains perfectly this great gift.

  "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—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

This season, I'm going to try to keep my thoughts on the greatest blessing of all time - the perfect Son of God taking on our guilt and paying the price that we could never pay. I am… redeemed.

You may have seen my previous blog post, in which I analyzed the lyrics and meaning of the song, 'Let it go'. A Mrs. Arbogast commented and suggested that I write new lyrics for it. I tried a couple times, then gave up. However, I just couldn't get it out of my mind. Finally, I decided to give it another try. This time, I met with more success. Many thanks to my parents, and Mrs. Arbogast. Here's what I came up with:

The moon glows white in the sky tonight
Not an answer to be seen
The kingdom of my attention
I've been trying to be the queen.

Everything's in turmoil
I've got this raging war inside
Just couldn't win
Heaven knows I've tried

Don't give it up, don't ever flee.
Who am I really supposed to be?
It's such a mystery, I just don't know.
Well, now I know.

Let it go, let it go
I'm gonna do what I'm made for
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don't care what they're going to say
Let Christ rule on
He's the true king anyway.

It's funny how some distance,
makes everything seem small, 
and the sin that once controlled me,
can't rule me at all.

It's time to see how I can prove
My God is God through and through.
No bondage to sin for me!
I'm free!

Let it go, let it go,
I feel like I could fly!
Let it go, let it go, 
'Christ is the king' I cry
Here I stand and here I'll stay!
Let Christ rule on!


His power is seen from the air and to the ground!
His glory shows everywhere and all around!
His glory and my sin, what a contrast!
I'm never going back, 
This is better than my past.

Let it go, let it go,
He rose like the break of dawn!
Let it go, let it go, 
That enslaved girl is gone!
Here I stand in the light of day!
Let Christ rule on, 
He's the true king anyway.