Swimsuit Cover-up

Do you ever have trouble finding modest swim wear?  This year I got a one piece swimsuit and board shorts.  I also wanted a coverup for when I get out of the pool.  I was amazed at all the ugly, see-through swimsuit coverups that I could find online.

My sister found a really neat coverup at Wal-Mart, though.  So I decided to get one, too.  They come in three colors, I believe.  What I loved about them is that they reach the knee and have long ties.  These ties make the coverup versatile -- you can wear the thing about a hundred different ways:

 You can where it with cap sleeves...

(Note: the model is wearing a black swimsuit, so the ties kinda blend in)

 Around your neck...

 Sleeveless...

 And you can wear it as a skirt!

So, I thought these things were great.  They are very modest and come in beautiful colors, so I love them!

-Aylin

P.S.  Please give Lizzie a round of applause for ever-so-nicely being my model, and for barely complaining even though it was about 60 degrees outside today!  

The Word

Last year, I went through the One Year Bible program. It was great, and I got a lot closer to God...and then I stopped. January came this year, and I was lazy--I didn't do it again. In fact, I hardly picked up my Bible for months. 

My attitude started plummeting. I became depressed. I started making bad decisions. I stopped taking care of myself. 

...And I started questioning God. 

A few weeks ago, I picked up my Bible again. I started reading it, at first just reading a random chapter a day. Then I started reading whole books at a time. 

I started feeling better, and I started to feel more alive in Christ.  

The Word of God is powerful; it can, has, and will change lives. Never doubt it's power--it is as sharp as a double edged sword. 

Try different versions, see what you like. Lately, I've been reading NLT (New Living Translation). It's like I'm reading a devotion, and it makes reading the Bible more simple. 

My personal favorite versions, however, are these: 

New International Version, New King James Version, English Standard Version, New Living Translation, and the American Standard Version.  

So, as soon as you're done reading this, I encourage you to dive into your Bible--today and everyday. 

~Elizabeth

Eve's Daughters

I just finished a VERY good book by Lynn Austin.  Eve's Daughters is about four generations of women whose decisions effected each other through time.  Although the base of the book is set in 1980, the book travels back to Germany in the years before WWI.  The story chronicles the decisions of Louise as her husband decides to move to America in order to avoid being drafted into the German army.

After that, the novel bounces back to 1980, and then to the story of Louise's daughter, Emma.  Although Emma tells her story in some detail, her daughter and granddaughter are sure part of the story must be missing.  The two set out to Emma's home town to try to find out more.  Along the way, they share there own stories -- Grace's story of living through the depression in an Irish section of town, and Suzanne's story of dating and marrying a hippie.  She also explains the events that led up to her pending divorce, which is still looming in the future of 1980.

If that doesn't make much sense (which it probably doesn't), then I encourage you to read the book.  It was amazingly complex and rich in culture and language.  The book had a strong foundation in God, and how the decisions we make affect those around us.  The underlying verse in Eve's Daughters was "The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation."  (Numbers 14:18)  What one woman did changed the course of her daughter, her daughter's daughter, her granddaughter's daughter...

One quote from the book caught my attention -- "We're supposed to learn from our mother's mistakes, not react to them.  That's the pattern you have to change." (pg 112)  Instead of becoming bitter to the choices of those around us, we're supposed to see what they've done and learn not to do the same things. 

-Aylin

In Comparison

The other day I was in a store returning a tank top.  I was frustrated, because it had been a busy day and I wanted to get home -- and the "costumer service" desk was in the back of the store.  Who puts their returns desk in the back of their store???

Anyway... as I was walking out of the store, I heard a part of a song playing through the store's speakers.  It was sung by a woman, and she was singing about when things are tough, when life is hard to deal with, stifle your pain and carry on.  Suck it up and the show the world your game face.  The song didn't sound angry.  It was supposed to be, I think, an encouragement that you can make it if you force yourself on.

I'm not really sure why I even remember that song at all.  Anytime I happen to be in a store, I'm bound to hear lots of interesting ideas.  But, today, while I was listening to K-LOVE radio on my computer, I happened to hear a different song.  It was "Stronger," by Mandisa:



It made me think of the song that I heard in the store.  It made me think of how different these two philosophies were.  The one relied on shoving our emotions, our pain, deep inside.  The other said, "cry out to God.  He cares."

I don't have to deal with this chaos called "life" on my own.  He is not too magnificent, too high, to scoop me up in His arms and heal my brokenness. And when the trials are over, I will come out stronger, wiser, and more like my God.

 -Aylin

Hey, guys!  I've been really busy -- plus my laptop has something wrong with it, so I haven't been on in several days.  Right now I'm on my a different computer... so I know this post is kinda lame, but that's all I can do for now :)  Enjoy this beautiful song by the City Harmonic!

-Aylin

Retrospect

So, sometimes I like to reflect on how much things have changed in my life during a given period of time.  Like when I started high school, I thought about when I started middle school and how God changed me through those four years.

Yesterday was the homeschool curriculum sale.  It's an annual event.  I've been to 5 of the total 6 curriculum sales at this particular church/school.  I've always enjoyed it a lot.  Last year, I was there with my best friend.  My family's schedule was really busy during that time, due to plays, recitals, and the end of the yearly homeschool co-op.  I helped at my mom's table some, and wandered around with my friends some.  I remember there was this one girl there that was friends with my friend.  I thought it was kinda strange, because she was so much younger than we were.

Fast forward to 2012.  My really close friend has faded slowly from my life.  She's still there now and then, but we aren't nearly as close as we were then.  My family is not as busy this year, except for May, the baby we watch every day :)  She definitely can make life a little hectic!  The groups that I was involved in last year -- that were so important, that were my world -- are basically non-existent for me this year, which is OK , but it's something I never thought would happen.  And, oh yeah, remember the girl that, in my haughty opinion, was too young to be my friend?  She just happens to be a very close friend of mine now, and fellow writer of this blog!

It's amazing how life changes, how God molds me, modifying my perspectives and perceptions of His reality.  Sometimes I haven't been too open to His plans and changes.  I mostly got mad when the things that I thought would always be the same were gone.  Yet, in retrospect, I'm better off now.  I've got a truer perception of life.  I've found out more about myself and God in the process... and that is the point, isn't it?

-Aylin 

Not What You Think

Lately, God has really been helping me see all people as His children, and not to judge others. It's been a long, hard process... and it's something that I still struggle with.

I had this really powerful moment a few months ago. I judge a majority of the people I judge by outside appearances.... but there was one day that this really changed for me. I was at a winter weekend retreat at a local camp.

We were singing "How He Loves" by David Crowder Band. This song already stirs a lot of emotions for me in the first place... Anyway, I was standing next to a girl with bright pink hair (and, of course "I would never die MY hair pink...."), and we were singing it together.

Together.

And in that moment, with the two of us singing about the Father's amazing love, I realized that I was the one that needed to examine myself. I was being judgmental of someone, when the judging wasn't up to me. I see her as God's precious child now, the way that I should be seeing her.

Like I said, I still struggle with this a lot. But, like with everything else... I need God. And without Him, I can only go down.  Without Him, we will only go down.

Most of you have probably heard of Susan Boyle, the Britain's Got Talent sensation. I think she's an excellent example of how people are so much more than their appearances.

~Elizabeth