Happy birthday to one of our writers, Amy!! She has contributed to this blog almost from the beginning and has added lots of cheer and sunshine. We love her and want her to have a wonderful birthday! God bless you dear girl. 
Happy Birthday Amy! March 30, 2010
Our Contest Winner!!! :OD March 29, 2010
And the winner of our contest is… SARAH V!!! :OD
Here is what she sent us (and she came up with some pretty good ideas I think! ).
“The verse I chose for this contest is: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12
To start applying that verse to my life, I first prayed that God would show me what I should do to apply it. Then I surprised two of my sisters (with some help from HannahBeth) with an iced-tea party and dancing. I also woke up early one day so I could do a couple of chores for some of my siblings, then I did my own without having to be reminded or complaining.”
Congratulations Sarah!!!! Your prize will be coming soon, and we hope while you use it, you will continue to think about how important it is to sow the seeds of our Lord Jesus Christ around!
God bless you!
Good friends!! :-) March 27, 2010
(From Left to right – Authors Sam, Olivia, and Amy Photo credit goes to Sam. ).
Wonder where Olivia and I were this week? 
Yes, Livy came and spent the week with me! 
We had a lot of fun, and one of the days went up to visit our other dear author Sam! (And we all can’t wait for the day when we get ALL our authors in one picture together!! <3).
Journaling… March 23, 2010
I still have my very first journal. I was 7 years old and my older sister had made it for me out of several pieces of notebook paper and a stiff paper cover with the cut out picture of strawberries on the cover. I was most enthusiastic about the journal, filling it up in only a few days time. The majority of the pages contained pictures I had drawn, illustrating the little I had written. It brings back such memories to look over those few pages, laughing over the silly drawings, and the silly things I wrote back then! It’s certainly interesting to see how I, as a 7-year-old, thought.
That was my first journal and as much as I liked it, I didn’t write another until I was about 11 or 12 inside a regular school notebook. I filled a few of those for a couple years. Full of grumblings about school, chores…happy scribbles of the book I was reading, or about the sleepovers I had with my cousin. I can see alot of my personality from those years…shows so very clearly through my words!
Years went by again and I just had no interest in keeping a journal. I was getting more and more pen-pals and since I wrote about everything to them, I just did not feel like repeating everything in my journal. It was boring to do so. It was more of a chore. But now, I regret not having kept a journal during those years. Sure I remember things from that time, but a lot of the details have disappeared.
I started a brand-new, leather-bound, gold-paged, Narnia journal that is so cute to look at, when I was 17 1/2. This journal, though not thick, lasted me from May 5th, 2007 to Aril 21st, 2009…it covered two years of my life. I went through my times of not writing for months to times of writing several times per day. It’s filled with the things I struggled with constantly, my thoughts on subjects, my rantings, my tears, my happiness, the excitement I had in meeting friends, the anger I fought…it’s all down on the paper, even if I didn’t go into details about it all. Just the few words I scratched down about each feeling bring back the memories.
Now I’m on my 5th? 6th? 7th? journal A spiral-bound, line-less notebook with Robin Hood on the cover…a gift from a dear friend. It is currently half full of my awful cursive, pictures, quotes, notecards…I even have a letter sealed up in a envelope with the words: “To Myself at Age 30″ written on the front, paperclipped to one of the pages.
Every so often I go through my journals, smiling at myself, squirming uncomfortably over the struggles and tears I had, and seeing how I’ve changed, and how I haven’t changed.
Maybe you’re like I was…liking the idea of keeping a journal, but feeling too bored to write about your daily happenings. Tired of trying to come up with something to write! Yeah, I found it boring to keep a journal, but now, I find it something I love to pieces and I can’t enough of it. And I wanted to share some of the tips I’ve gathered over the years in how to keep a fun, interesting journal!
~ Write what you REALLY feel. When I first journalled, I didn’t write much about my most secret thoughts, my feelings, etc. because I was always afraid that someone in my family would read it! Don’t be afraid to write what you feel. If you’re afraid of someone perhaps reading it, find a hiding place for it. I keep mine in my desk, which everyone knows is HIGHLY off limits, as it contains all my writings and important papers. No one goes in there without my permission! Are you struggling with a crush? Write it down. Write down your prayers! Are you struggling with school? Write about it. Are you angry and not sure why? Write it down. Are you sad? Write it down. I find my journal can take the brunt of my anger, sadness, annoyances…it’s a place for me to release all these feelings without hurting someone else. Don’t write as if you’re writing for someone else like with a letter. This journal is JUST for you. Be HONEST. If you can’t be honest with yourself, then who CAN you be honest with? It might be hard to write it all done at first…maybe it’s hard to write about your faults…however, when you’re older, you’ll appreciate it! You’ll be able to look about and see how you’ve changed or not changed! It’s just good to have a place to get everything out! So don’t be afraid to write ANYTHING.
~ Make it your own. Know how you have your own room and decorate it the way you want? Do the same with your journal! Are you an artist? Illustrate what you write! Draw pictures just to draw pictures! Maybe you’re like me and aren’t much of an artist at all…don’t let this stop you! I cut out pictures from magazines and paste them in (I even use photos I’ve taken…). Got a notecard from a friend that you want to save? Tape it in! Don’t think a journal is just for words! Remember, sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words! Let your personality shine through! Don’t restrict yourself…go all out! Stickers! Coloring! Drawings! Pictures! Notes! Cards! Recipes! Concert stubs! Pressed flowers! Quotes! Book exerts! If you look in my journals, you’ll find all sorts of things! It’s always fun to go through my journals and stumble on something I had forgotten I had put in there…it brings back memories and is always fun to look over!
~ Be different! I can’t stress enough: make your journal YOURS. Don’t feel forced to start each entry out with, “Dear Journal”, “Dear Diary”…if it makes you more comfortable to write that, then do so! But don’t feel like you HAVE to! I, personally, only jot down the date at the top of the page and then plunge right into whatever I want to say. Do you get bored of writing straight line after line? Then don’t! Write diagonally…write around your pictures! Doodle. Write all in CAPS. BE different! Come up with your own ideas!
Maybe it isn’t as important to you to keep a journal…but if it is, don’t let the boringness of every day happenings stop you from writing! If you can’t think of anything to write, then just paste in pictures. Scribble notes, quotes, a poem you like…make your journal a memory book and not just words. Happy journaling!
St. Patrick March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone!!!
For those of you who don’t know about St. Patrick (Who’s story is quite interesting) here are some things about him -
It is said that he was captured as a slave and worked that way for several years, until he had a dream where he was told it was time to leave Ireland and he saw a boat that would take him away. He escaped and went to the coast, where the boat was waiting. In later years he came back to Ireland as a missionary.
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(The following was taken from http://www.history.com/topics/who-was-saint-patrick ).
“It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family’s estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County Mayo near Killala.) During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God’s-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.
To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)”
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Some other interesting things Irish related.
1. The Irish flag symbolizes peace between Protestants and Catholics. The green symbolizes Catholics, the White Peace, and the Orange Protestants. (I am wearing orange today since I am a Protestant, but I do have a green bow in my hair since my Irish Heritage is Irish Catholic. I have some white on my shirt too, Hmmm! ).
2. I don’t know if this is a tradition, but sometimes people here eat Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day – BLECH!
3. My sister’s Irish Gaelic teacher says you may say “St. Patrick’s Day”, or “St. Patty’s Day”, but DON’T say, “St. Paddy’s Day” – In early American “Paddy” was a derogatory term for a Irish man because it was saying he was a permanent rider of the “Paddywagon” which would go around and collect all the drunks!
4. Don’t say someone has an “Irish Brogue” (or a Scottish one for that matter ). In Gaelic “Brogue” means “Shoe” so you’d be saying they sound like they have a shoe in their mouth. 
(So only say it if they really do sound like that!! Or if they have no clue about what it means, and think it only means “accent” ).
Well, I hope you enjoyed this post, and that you have a VERY HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!! :OD
(P.S. Don’t forget to check out our contest!!! http://sistertosister.wordpress.com/2010/03/07/seeds-of-life-contest/ It ends this Sunday!!).
Heroes of the Faith March 15, 2010
Like most people, I love to read! One of my favorite types of books to read are missionary biographies, and biographies of other great Christians. It’s inspiring, motivating, and also humbling to read about the saints that have gone before and served Christ with all their heart, soul, mind and strength! In Hebrews(see below), we are exhorted to not forget the faithful, but to remember their lives, and to look to them as examples for how we should follow Christ. The same Jesus that gave them strength and power hundreds of years ago is still Jesus today!
“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the Word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” ~Hebrews 13:7-8 ESV
Want to read more about great heroes of the faith? Here is a list I’ve compiled of some of my favorites who have touched my life. There are MANY more, but this can help you get started.
Amy Carmichael-missionary to India who cared for many orphans
Billy Graham-American evangelist whose preaching brought many to Christ
Brother Andrew-Bible smuggler!!
Corrie Ten Boom-lived through the Holocaust and stayed faithful to her God while many others turned away
David Livingstone-missionary and explorer in Africa
Eric Liddell-a runner whose sole devotion was not to sports, but to Christ
George Muller-ran an orphanage, and had a faith in God that is amazing!
Gladys Aylward-one of my personal favorites:a missionary to China who cared for hundreds of orphans
Hudson Taylor-early missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission
Jim Elliot/Nate Saint-missionaries to Ecuador (there were three others, but these two are the most noted, and more easy to find books about)
William and Catherine Booth-founders of the Salvation Army, with 11 children!
Frances R. Havergal-hymn writer who wrote “Take My Life and Let it Be” among many others; her life was one of sold out devotion to Christ!
Fanny Crosby-was blind, and wrote some really beautiful hymns
A few of these you may not be able to find books about, but you can certainly find plenty of information about each of them online. Also, if you have any other heroes of the faith you personally look up to, let me know and I’ll add them to the list! As much as I love reading the old stories of missionaries I’ve known about for years, I LOVE to learn about “new” ones!
As a side note: Be sure to check out the contest going on right now!
Encouragement March 11, 2010
“Remember in the dark what God has told you in the light.”
The beautiful thing about this adventure called faith is that we can count on Him never to lead us astray. — Charles (Chuck) Swindoll
When was the last time you laughed for the sheer joy of your salvation? People are not attracted to somber doctrines. There is no persuasive power in a gloomy and morbid religion. Let the world see your joy and you won’t be able to keep them away. To be filled with God is to be filled with joy.
Nobody ever got anything from God on the grounds that he deserved it. Haven fallen, man deserves only punishment and death. So if God answers prayer it’s because God is good. From His goodness, His lovingkindness, His good-natured benevolence, God does it! That’s the source of everything. — A. W. Tozer
Psalm 15 March 10, 2010
Psalm 15
1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
2 He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
3 and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,
4 who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,
5 who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.
Seeds of Life Contest March 7, 2010
It’s time for another contest!! We invite each and every one of you, readers, to participate!
The Challenge: One sign of being a true daughter of the King is by showing good fruits! But we cannot show those fruits if we first do not plant the seeds in our lives. We want to encourage each and every one of you to plant these seeds in your lives, which brings us to our challenge! We challenge each of you to find a verse on kindness or love to apply to your walk as a daughter of the King! And by applying it to your life, we challenge you to somehow show that love or kindness to someone else: a friend, neighbor, family member, stranger, co-worker…whomever you feel led to shower that love and kindness upon. Once you have picked a verse and have applied to your life and to someone in your life, we would like you to write up a short paragraph and present it to us here on SistertoSister. We will choose one winner from the submitted paragraphs!
We four authors will be participating in the challenge part, as well. Don’t worry, we won’t be competing for the prize. But we shall be participating in that we four shall be applying this challenge to our own lives, and then later, we will each write up a post talking about our own experience in this challenge!
What You Must Do:
~ Choose a verse from the Bible on love or kindness.
~ Apply that verse to your life, by performing some kind of act of love or kindness to someone else. (Ideas, as to how you can do this will be featured below…)
~ Write a short paragraph about which verse you chose and how you applied it to your life, and submit it to us at: sistertosisterblog@gmail.com.
The prize: A package of gardening supplies put together with much love by us, the authors of SistertoSister!
Items of importance:
~The contest ends on March 21st, which is exactly two weeks away…so please have your paragraphs submitted by March 21st!
~Search for verses that specifically speak about love or kindness.
~ The winner will be chosen by how diligently she has applied love or kindness to her life.
~Please submit all paragraphs with your name, age, and e-mail address to our e-mail: sistertosisterblog@gmail.com (It is important to submit your name and e-mail address, so that we have some way of contacting you in the case of our winner!)
~We will decide upon a winner within a week after the end of the contest.
~Have fun and enjoy planting “seeds” of love and kindness into your lives!
Ideas in how to plant your seeds:
If you have a hard time thinking of acts of love or kindness to perform, here are a few ideas that may just help you out!
~ Do a chore for a sibling.
~ Make a card for someone who is sick or feeling rather blue.
~ Send someone a little gift, telling them how much you love them.
~ Bake goodies for your neighbors/family/friends.
~ Call a friend who may be struggling or going through a rough time. Let her/him know that you’re praying for her/him! Be an encouragement!
~ Complete your chores AND extra with a cheerful attitude!
~ Help a neighbor with shoveling or other outdoors work!
~ Shine a bright smile on EVERYONE you meet throughout your day! You’d be surprised just how much a smile can brighten someone’s day!
~ Give someone a hug!
You don’t necessarily need to choose one of those ideas…if you can think of something on your own, great! Pray about what you should do and do what you feel God is leading you to do!
Lady-like? I don’t THINK so!!! March 3, 2010
A lot of women now-a-days pride themselves on how un-lady-like they can be. They dress a lot like men, try to do everything a man can do, and claim they are “perfectly able to open their own doors, thank you very much!!”
And honestly, sometimes I wish I wasn’t a girl, especially when boys sorta make fun of how girls are, it makes me want to be a boy, and also sometimes I feel that boys “have all the fun”. But you know what???!! God made us WOMEN! He especially chose you and me to be women! Ladies!
So, I would like you encourage you today to embrace the fact that you are a lady. And remind you that being a lady doesn’t mean you have to wear dresses everyday, or that you aren’t ABLE to open your own doors, it’s much more then that. Especially being a Christian lady. It is being gracious and kind. And besides, who doesn’t HONESTLY like it when a gentleman opens the door for us, or offers to help us carry something??? Don’t take that as them saying you aren’t ABLE to do it yourself, but rather a kind jester. And what ever you do, don’t discourage a gentleman when he offers you help! Especially young gentlemen who maybe only have moments of being one. We should encourage such gentlemanly and kind behavior, and enjoy the fact that we are ladies!!! Ladies of God!!
I read this little thing on what being a lady means, and while I don’t necessarily agree with all of it, I did enjoy it!
(Taken from “The Society for the Revival of Ladylike Behaviour” on FaceBook),
“On How to Be Lovely”
By ???
1. A Lady relies on her mind and manners to gain her respect, never her sexuality. She is comfortable enough with her femininity not to use it as a weapon nor as a form of currency.
2. A Lady is gracious. She expresses gratitude not merely because it is proper, but because she truly feels grateful. Her praise is sincere, her criticisms constructive and tactful. A lady never spreads gossip. (In cases of extreme temptation, only her closest friend or her mother may be worthy of discrete confidence).
3. A Lady has a quick, refined, and intelligent sense of humor. She simply must in this day and age. If a lady is present during an offensive joke, she does not scold or encourage shame in the parties involved. She merely directs her attention elsewhere or tactfully changes the subject.
4. A Lady is educated. Whether through academia or self-instruction, a lady cannot be content to let others think for her. She must have opinions and share them with prudence.
5. A Lady should be an accomplished Renaissance woman. She should have a sound understanding of literature, languages, the arts, the sciences, and politics. She should be able to express (at the very least, a rudimentary) knowledge of any subject. Where a lack of knowledge exists, a lively interest should fill its place.
6. A Lady is strong. She follows the dictates of her own moral code and conscience first and foremost. She practices self-control in the understanding that freedom is often hidden in restraint. She is not a slave to her passions. Because of her high standards and dedication to her path, whatever life decisions she makes should be deserving of deep respect.
7. A Lady is graceful. Not merely in her movements, but in her desire to make those around her comfortable. She remembers names, listens well, and offers tea liberally. This tendency is not submissive; it should be perfectly reciprocated by the Gentlemen.
8. A Lady dresses well out of respect for her person and not to please others. (However, if the opportunity arises to wear elbow-length satin gloves and a tiara, a true Lady will find this quite palatable. Remember, small, tasteful jewels are always preferable to larger gems of lesser worth.)
9. A Lady never patronizes others. Even though her standards may differ from those held by her company, she never allows others to feel inadequate. That would be a grave failure on her part.
10. A Lady knows how a gentleman should treat her. She accepts opened doors as an act of kindness and respect, not as a patronizing gesture. In a nod to postmodern feminism, she may offer to pay or split the bill, but does not argue when the Gentleman insists. She allows Gentlemen to behave towards her with propriety. She expects no less.
(P.S. From me – And don’t feel silly if you want to dress up, or do your hair fancy, or something!!! What is the fun of being a lady if you can’t dress up once in a while??? ).
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