Rhythms of Grace

 On Hillsong United 's CD "Aftermath" they have a song called Rhythms of Grace. We play it in my church, but haven't been able to capture the awesomeness that is on the CD. This song is just great.
  I have just been thinking about the lyrics.
  "My life is a life for your cause, my will laid aside for you call." What do these words mean? When we sing these words, we are saying to God that we give up our lives to Him. That will lay aside whatever we might have planned for our lives and say that we will follow God's call.
  "And reserved are the depths of my heart, only for You." We are telling God that we have reserved the deepest, most precious part of our heart for Him. That other parts of ourselves we will give away to others as we love them, but there is a part of us that is only God's and no one elses.
  I recommend that you read the rest of the lyrics of this great song and think about what we are singing. We say we are giving our lives up to God when we sing thing song... so the real question is this: are we liars, or do we do what we say (or sing)? I put that question to you. Many people will sing about following God, but there are few whose lives reflect the songs they sing.

Here is my life mission statement

  Last night God showed me the passage of Scripture that is going to become my mission statement.
  Taken from 1 Timothy 4:12-16, and modified slightly for me:
  "I will not let anyone look down on me because I am young, but I will set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I go to Russia, I will devote myself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. I will not neglect my gift, which was given me through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on me. I will be diligent in these manners; giving myself wholly to them, so that everyone may see my progress. I will watch my life and doctrine closely. I will persevere in them, because if I do, I will save both myself and my hearers."
  And that is how it goes. I think it is good for everyone... so the thing is, how are we going to live out this statement. Give this blog a comment to let me know how you are living your life to these standards. :)

A Photo in Hotel d'Urville

Here is a photo from in the fancy restaurant we went to on Saturday.

How the dinner went

An update on how the dinner went:
It went pretty well. I am glad it is over because I was pretty nervous, but once I was at the restaurant with them it wasn't so bad, but it still was a little awkward. Not too bad. I had salmon with other stuff around it and it tasted really good. But for $36 dollars I would hope it was nice. It was quality, not quantity and it made me feel pretty full.
Church tomorrow and that is when I give B his birthday present. I do not usually buy guys birthday presents, but he did take us out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, and he is my friend (kind of) so I bent the rules this once. But buying presents for guys can get to be pretty expensive business on my budget. :)

Seeya.

A Fancy Dinner

  Tonight me, the people I work for (R & B), their young daughter (N), their father (J), and the guy who is staying with them (B) are going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant in my town called D Urville or something like that, to celebrate B's birthday. I am a little bit nervous as I do not go to fancy restaurants. The main problem is that they all speak Indonesian, but I know they will speak English since I will be there, but still. That is not the full story of why I am slightly nervous but, as it says in Philippians 4:6-7 "Be anxious over nothing..." (you can look the rest of the verse up yourself if you would like.)
  I might upload photos if someone there has a camera, because I do not intend on taking mine there. :)
  I'll give you an update maybe tomorrow or the next day.
  Ruby.

Teen Websites

  I have two websites that I have made for teenagers. One is for Christian girls, and the other is for Christian teenagers (girls and boys). If you want to look at them and fill out some forms to help me make them better (or just look at them, it's up to you) then check them out.
  The reason I have made these sites is because they are both fun to create and I would like to think I am putting some food-for-thought out there to other teenagers around my age. The time to stand up and follow God is now, not in the future. Us Christians need to rise up and follow Jesus with our actions as well as our words. I have made these sites to encourage teenagers to do just that.

Accountability

  I think it is very important to have someone who is an accountability partner. I had one for a short time, but then she moved back to England so I don't have one anymore. But I want to find another lady who I can be accountable to in keeping my standards high and living my life for God and not going off in my own selfish ways.
  So why is it important to have an accountability partner? Why is important to be held accountable to someone you trust?
  It is important and needed in every Christians life because when you are accountable to someone you are less likely to do something you will later regret because you will have to explain to someone else why you are doing what you are doing. It is needed because they can keep an eye on you and you have given them the right to say when they are thinking you are doing something that goes against you're values and what is written in the Bible.
  There are many more reasons, but these are just a few I have thought of.

Amish Grace: Movie

  I am just watching the movie, Amish Grace, now. It is very sad. I have not finished watching it yet to know if it has a good outcome.
  The saddest thing is that this movie is based on a true story. To think that someone could do that is... horrible. Unthinkable. In the movie the guy who killed those Amish girls in the schoolhouse had his own children of around the same age.
 And yet, this is not the first time that something like this has happened. The world is fallen, and yet this movie shows us that harboring hatred and bitterness will not solve any problems. Unless we forgive men, no matter how hard it may be, then how can we expect God to forgive us.
  But such a hard thing it would be to do.
  "Hate will eat up your heart and leave no room for love," one man whose daughter died said.
  I watched the end of the movie. It was a good movie, sad, and inspiring through the tears.

Hola From New Zealand

  It is an interesting experience to talk with someone that you like, and to use your influence to encourage them in the things of God instead of pursuing and romantic relationship with them.
  I won't go deeper into the subject, but I would suggest that any single women out there that are wondering how they can relate to the opposite gender while remaining respectful, and keeping their standards and morals high, and enjoying a friendship I would recommend reading P.B. Wilson's book "Your Knight in Shining Armor." My friend Sarah and I did this book as a study together and we got a lot out of it.
  I got it from the Christian Bookshop, and I don't regret buying it.
  Have not had any donations in a while, but I think that the fundraising is still coming along good. But the more money that Orphans Aid gets, the more they can give to the orphanages they have set up and the more they can do in the countries where they work. The more homes they can set up or extend. The more orphans that can be cared for. The more staff that can be hired to look after the children and love them. So do not stop donating. Continue on supporting my fundraising goal and Orphans Aid in prayer and through donations.
Thank you,
  Ruby.

PS: I did my data entry work today and that went well. Only took 4 and a half hours to do it this week. Last week it took seven hours.

BlogBuster

  I am a little bored, so I thought I would write a blog and let you know how things are going with the fundraising and events I have planned and so on.
  Before I go on to tell you whats been up, I wanted to let you know of a good, inspiring, family movie by the name of "Christmas Angel." Christmas is over now as you well know, but the movie is good for any time of the year.
  How things are going with the fundraising: Things are going well. I have raised $720 since I started, but I don't want to stop there. By the time I am seventeen I want to have reached far far above the goal I have set for three thousands dollars, because if I am going to Russia then this year may well be my last year I will be able to fundraise for them before all the money I have goes into running an orphanage. So don't think that everything is running along smoothly so you don't have to donate... because you do. God said for Christians to look after the orphans and widows. So don't back down from following what God has told us to do. Get out there and, as I like to say, "Get active about your faith!"
  How things are with the fundraising events: I have not come too far along with any of the events I am wanting to do, but I am forming an idea in my mind about speaking in my church and giving a little bit of a talk about what I am doing, why I have chosen to support Orphans Aid, and about the fundraisers I am planning. I will have to ask my pastor before I can get up and do the talk, but the ideas are still forming. I have emailed Sue van Schreven because we keep in touch and asked if there is a trailer ( short movie advertisement) for the documentary Someone, Somewhere Loves Me.
  I don't just want peoples money. I want to get them inspired, involved, and active about calling themselves Christians.

  Ruby

The Romanian Boy

  I am writing a song called "The Romanian Boy". It is about the boy in the photo that I will put on here, who is from Transylvania, Romania. (It's on the Russian page of the OAI site, but he is actually from Romania).
  This little boy is also featured in Sue van Schreven's book "Rescue," well a photo of him is.
  The story told about this little boy is that he would yell out to people passing by from the hospital window where he had been abandoned by his parents and would ask them to please take him to his home. He represents for me the orphans over in countries like Romania and Russia who have no one. Most don't even have a birth certificate. As far as the government and other people in the world are concerned they don't exist. But I know they exist, and you know they exist. And we both know that they are in horrible conditions without love, so what are we going to do about it?

Ruby.

Someone Somewhere Loves Me

I am going to be doing some fundraisers in my town sometime soon. One of them, if I get the all clear from Sue, will be screening the documentary about her work setting up Orphans Aid International and what OAI does over in Romania.
  My parents got me the documentary for my birthday (which was today) and I watched it this afternoon. A very truthful, sad, and inspiring documentary videoed by Rob Harley.
  Another two ideas I have had for fundraisers in my town will be to have a games night and also a quiz night in my church or maybe at my home, whichever works best. What would be really good is for me to find some other girls (or like minded people my age) to help me organize such events. So, please be praying for that for me, because that would be great. God answers prayers, I have seen many times.
  Also could you leave a comment if you think of something else that I could do as a fundraiser that is thinking a little outside the box. Thanks,

Ruby.

Fundraising Days

  The fundraising is going well. I have raised $410 so far, and I started on Thursday! But I cannot claim the glory for getting people to donate, only God can make someones heart generous to give to a good cause. So thank you Lord!
  Praise is an awesome thing. Not only does it glorify God and worship Him, it also lifts up our hearts and makes us joyful. In my book, praise is a good thing all around!
  Feel free to promote my cause to any of your friends and family, because my goal is to reach $3000 by January 5, 2013. And remember, a blessing comes with giving generously. I know there are four people so far who are being blessed for giving to Orphans Aid International through my fundraising site.