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I just wanted to lay out some rules and information about this blog.
1. This blog is to be safe blog that girls can read. So please keep that in mind if you are going to comment etc.
2. This blog is specifically for girls (prob. 8-15, my other blog is for 14+), but anyone is welcome to read. In fact I encourage moms especially to read if their daughters do.
3. Just so you all know, there will be other thing like pictures, links, and videos at the bottom. (all will either be informative and moving, or wholesome fun).
4. If there is anything I post that it for older girls (or older people in general) I will specify.(but this will be rare)
5. If you like what you read please pass it on.
6. Enjoy!
I wrote this a while back and I wanted to share it with you girls, because it reminded me that no matter how old you are, you can play or sing for the glory of the Lord. At church this week we had only one Grown up on the worship teem the rest were kids, not teens, but children! It was so beautiful. And after remembering this article I wrote I was reminded that you don't have to be a Beethoven, or a Mozart, to play your instrument and give God glory, you just have to play your best and give your music to Him and that is what makes true worship. So this week don't be afraid to lift your voice to Christ or play for Him. You will give Him glory and you will be learning more. So take heart as you read this and be encouraged that many people gave their music to God, and He blessed that, and so can you.

An Essay on the History of the Piano

By Joelle Lucas

Bach once said, "Music's only purpose should be for the glory of God and the recreation of the human spirit."

Music is one of God's greatest gifts to mankind. It is a way that we can express our great love and devotion to our transcendent Creator! The piano is one of many instruments used for such a purpose. So, to better understand music and the piano, let us first explore the invention of the piano.


Phillips Bitting Memorial Harpsichord: The Parish of Saint MatthewThe ancestor of the piano is the harpsichord. Since the 1400's the harpsichord was one of the most popular instruments used. Because organs (used only by the king or the church) were very expensive, the harpsichord was affordable for most well-to-do families.

Though the harpsichord looks much like the piano, there really is quite a difference. The harpsichord is similar to what it was named for… the harp. The harp is made of taut strings of different lengths. That alone is not very different from the piano. However, the way the harpsichord was strung made it so that it would only play at one volume and instead of holding the note for a time the harpsichord would just "pluck" the string giving it that very distinct sound. The word pianoforte means soft/loud because it can change its volume level. This is the accurate name for what has been shortened to piano. According to the dictionary of musical terms pianoforte means, "a keyboard stringed instrument of percussion, the tones being produced by hammers striking the keys". Much of the music played on the piano today was originally written for the harpsichord. We know this from the dates the music was composed. This helps pianists know how the piece was intended to be played.

PianoThe piano was first invented in the early 1700's, though there is some debate if there was one that was made in the late 1500's, or if it was just a type of loud/soft harpsichord. One of the additions to the pianoforte was that there are now (usually) three pedals. The one on the right is used for sustaining notes, The left for diminishing the impact of the hammers, making it softer, and lastly the middle pedal is used for either sustaining some notes or really quieting the piano for practicing (this last one is usually on uprights only). There are now three types of pianos commonly known today. They are the Grand, the Square, and the Upright.

Some of the earlier Christian composers who wrote pieces for the piano were; Handel, J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. All of these men had committed themselves to God and wanted to honour Him through their music. Whether it was through their church, through consorts or composing music their aim was achieved. Today we enjoy the fruits of their labors on pianos of all different varieties.

"God is ever before my eyes. I realize His omnipotence and I fear His anger; but I also recognize His love, His compassion, and tenderness towards His creatures." –Mozart.

ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu


So have any of you ever had friends who just did not seem to get it? Or a friend who was not there for you? Perhaps your friends turned their backs on you. Or maybe you have never had this experience. Whether or not this has happened to you, you will face "friend problems" one day, for some of us more than once. I want to address this issue today. Now the topic of friends is more than a 1 post topic, so I will not get to every aspect, just the part about when you feel somewhat friendless.
I have lots of friends, most people do from my observations. But your friends can let you down. This has happened to me more than once, and it is hard when this happens.
See, I myself feel like I am in a transitional period between friends; I have some old friends going and new friends coming, and so I have a dilemma. Friends I do not hangout with much and friends that are too new to really have good communication with. Thus I can feel friendless if I allow myself. (when the fact is I have both old friends and new friends with is lots of friends). I admit I was feeling down today, but then I God reminded me that I have a friend who will never leave me. So you know what? I put my phone away (I was going to call a friend who lives far away), and just talked to God, my never failing friend.
So just remember that when you feel down and rejected and think no one cares about how you feel; remember the one who came to earth was rejected by those who once praised Him, was beaten and killed. Remember that He is the one who counts as your forever friend. And don't forget to always be a friend. I think if we all tried to be more like Jesus we would all be better friends, and that is what brings better friendships.
"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24
We do not need a mt. high pile of friends, we only need a few good friends, and Jesus, our closest friend. We also need to remember that God is in charge of our lives and we need to trust Him. If He starts closing doors to friends ships, don't try and hold it open, and if He opens new doors walk through them because He always has our best interests at heart.

I hope some of these ramblings made sense.

Love always,
Joelle
I just wanted to tell you all about this movie, I have not watched it yet, but we finally got our copy and I hope to see it soon. Anyway this movie was made by a Home school family and just from looking at their website and listening to the soundtrack I can tell you this is professional quality! I am so exited about this movie! It is Christ-centered and well It just looks cool. There is a button to the right of the screen that will direct you to the website I would encourage you to check it out.

Joelle

I am an American and I live in a country founded by men who sought after God, and His laws and statutes. I am a descendent of this legacy and many others are or have been grafted into this country and this legacy. Now this legacy goes back even farther than our founding fathers, it goes back to those who really started this country…the puritans. I do not know what you have been taught concerning the puritans, whether they were stuck up Hippocrates, God-fearing men, or nothing at all, regardless of what you were taught the only people who can really tell you the truth about the puritans is the puritans themselves. How can we know for sure who the puritans were? The answer is simple; we read what they wrote. Baxter, Bradford, Bradstreet, and Winthrop were all puritans and they told their stories so we could know the truth. I have read these writers and let me tell you, they are men and women we are to look up to and model ourselves after if we want to be better Christians. In John Winthrop's Arrabella Covenant he claims that America is a city on a Hill ( taken from Mat 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.). Meaning this country is different and we are going to be an example to the world, the world will look to us for freedom and righteousness.

As far as I know almost every president we have had in the United States has made some kind of reference to America being "A city of a Hill" in their inaugural address, even President Obama gave mention to this in his speech. However, I would like to venture to ask the question, is America still a "City on a Hill"? We might claim to be a city on a hill in words, but are we a city on a hill in our deeds?

I believe that to some extent we still are a city on a hill, but if so we are a very dim light that is slowly flickering and fading. We could be so much more, but we choose not to. We have become like disobedient children and have turned from what we know to be right. I am not talking only about "the liberals", but to everyone! Think about it. If we have one a secularly raised child and a child raised in a Christian home, and the secular child goes off and does whatever he/she thinks is right because to them there are no consequences; and then the Christian child goes off and does whatever they like, knowing there will be consequences, which child is most at fault? Well both are at fault, but the Christian child is more so, because they knew better. We as Christians are supposed to be different from the world, not like the world. It the world goes one way and we know that way is wrong we should not just sit back and do nothing, or worse follow them.

We could have another scenario where we have the secular child, and a Christian child and they are friends. The secular child goes to do something wrong and his/her, Christian friend knows they are doing something wrong, but does and says nothing. The secular child is at fault because they did wrong, but the Christian child is also at fault because they did nothing to warn their friend.

Many of us Christians have done the same, we have allowed sin to pass by us without a word or a warning, or we joined them in sin. We are all partly responsible for our actions and we will all have to answer for them, whether we were instigators, accomplishes or bystanders.

Our country has fallen so far from where it first started. Not only have we fallen away from our original purpose and morality, but have turned upside down and backward! We save trees instead of children. We say women are better than men (opposed to equal and different), we say dogs are "children", we talk about world peace (which we know will never come to be), we want to throw out capitalism to make room for socialism!

Just the other day I went to get my license and I could not get one without a birth certificate, my friend went to get a passport and could not get one without a birth certificate, yet our president can get elected without one!

We have thrown down our laws and stomp on them, instead of up holing them. We only have the freedoms we enjoy in America because of our laws in the Constitution. If we throw out the constitution, we throw liberty away too.

President Obama asked stay at home moms to go back to work, while allowing illegal immigrants to come into the US, live on welfare, and do nothing!

People, we need to stop letting our country side down this slippery slope. We have allowed people to come into government positions who are anti- America, and Are trying to make us like everyone else, thus no longer a city on a hill.

Let us not allow this country that our founding Fathers sacrificed their lives, fortune, and sacred honor for, fall into the hands of those who do not honor it, do not have regard for the men who fought for freedom, and who do not hold God's law as Higher than their laws. It was our Founding Fathers duty to fight for their posterity's freedom. Today, as their posterity, it is our duty to fight so that our freedoms will not dwindle into oblivion, but instead that us and our posterity may come back to the cross of Christ, and our light be rekindled so that we may once again shine as a bright light in a dark world. May America forever be a city on a hill.

Two girls are walking down the street. They are having a jolly time and talking and giggling like most girls do. The sun is shining and it is the perfect day; when suddenly (you will understand this if you are from OR) the sky turns gray and the clouds roll in and it begins to rain. Both girls rummage through their bags to get out their umbrellas. One girls pulls our her pink flowery umbrella, opens it and it saved from the ferocious downpour. The other girl pulls out a seemingly fine plain black umbrella but when she opens it, nothing changes; she remains to get wet. she still gets wet because her umbrella is full of gaping holes that let the rain pour through.

Girls, your parents (or grandparents; guardians etc) are very important to who you are and who you will become. Your parents are the ones who teach and instruct you. If your parents are Christians then they are also most likely the ones who teach you about Christ and the Bible. Your parents are to be respected and honored. 1) because they gave you life, 2) because they sacrifice many things to teach and raise you; and many more reasons.

I plead with you girls to not be so hasty to leave your parents and their instruction. Your parents have been alive much longer than you and have a wealth of wisdom to share, regardless of whether or not they are saved. God knows who your parents are and He gave them to your for a reason. Your parents love you and want to have a part in your life, and if you let them things will go well with you! Don’t be embarrassed by them and don’t shun them. How would you feel if someone you love did that to you? It makes me sad when I see girls and their moms shopping together and not getting along. You don’t have to agree with your parents on everything, in fact you should research things yourself, but you still need to respect your parents and obey them when the tell you to do things.

It may surprise you, but I am 18 and I live at home with my parents and I respect them, listen to them, obey their rules, and ask their advice. Why? because I have seen that their is no need to race into the world and try to be “independent”, all of that will come with time and you can learn to be independent while living at home. My father is my protector and when I get married my husband will be my protector. I am not some "ultra-girls-do-nothing-except-knit-person" (there is nothing wrong with that by the way), but I do want to live the way Christ recommends, because His way is the best way.

Many girls try to live on their own too early and without their father’s protection, they get hurt, or misguided. Some girls can be out on their own and do fine, but why “be fine” when you can be GREAT!

Eph 6:1-3 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land’.”

Do this with me and honor your parents, so that you can live long in the land.

The girls I talked about at the beginning represent normal girls today. The one with the nice pink umbrella is the girl who listened to her parents and decided to stay under their protection. The girl with the black, broken umbrella is the one who walked away from her parents protection. The rain represents trouble. The girl who stayed under her parents protection was not hit my the “rain”, but the girl who walked away was hit by the pouring “rain”.

Personally I want to be the one who stays dry. What about you?

Today I was talking to some of my fellow apologists and I said it would be cool to have apologetics shirts. “They could say something like ‘Ask me about the verbal plenary inspiration of scripture’ on the front and ‘I *heart* apologetics’ on the back.” We laughed and thought it a funny idea. But really, what IS the verbal plenary inspiration of scripture? If you study apologetics you can learn about who God is, and how to defend your faith. I had never even heard of the verbal plenary inspiration of scripture until a few weeks ago. But I have grown so much and learned so much just in these past six months. It would take me a whole 4 cards and 6 min. to tell you about the verbal plenary inspiration of scripture, so i will save that for another time. But I just want to encourage you that Apologetics is probably the best thing since excepting Christ I have done.

In apologetics I learn who my God is (immutable, omniscient, mediator etc.) and how to defend my faith. This is so important. The world wants to tell you your faith is foolish and without proof. But that is a lie. When you spend time learning about who God is and how to defend that, you will do just that! you will stand firm and be a light.

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice." Prov. 12:15

let us not be wise in our own eyes, but listen to wise council.

Yes it maybe nerdy, but hey I think nerdy is cool! Please consider making apologetics apart of your life. You will never regret it, and you will learn so much and your faith in God will grow to be deeper and stronger that ever before.

Joelle

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If you have read my blog before you will notice that things have be change. I will be putting more purpose into my blogging and try to blog more. So if you do not see many LOTR things or such, you will know why. I hope you will still laugh and enjoy what you read, but be encouraged at the same time.

I also want to mention that if anyone wishes to add something or comment in an uplifting way please do so.

thank you all for reading my blog, and I hope you will find the change for the better.

Sincerely~

Joelle

I have written a letter to president Obama, and now I am working it into s speech. The topic is a contrast between the Civil War and the war on Abortion today. As soon as i finish them I will post them so you can read them. I hope that the President reads it, but if not, I know that by sending the letter and giving it as a speech someone will hear, and that will have been enough.
Well, It is now 2009. i am glad becasue I have been thinking it was 2009 for the last month or so. When I go to look back on a year i can only seem to go back six months becuase even though the year passes quickly, alot happens. I will see if I can go back through all 12 months and give sumary of what I thought was importent to me.

in Feb. I turned 17, and spent a nice time with my friends. I was finnishing up Classical liturature, and philosophy. Summer hit and I was very busy. We had quite the campot trip, which I wrote of earlier. I went to Luisianna, and at the end of summer our new exchange students joined us and we took them with us to gleanings for the hungery. I started new classes, my best friend started College. I took another SAT, and I began the best class I have ever done, Apologetics. I believe this class has been the highlight of the year. through this class I have been able to learn more about my wonderful savior who has touched me in so many ways. I love learning about Him in a way that will benifit me all my life, and allow me to have an answer for my faith, so I can be a better witness.

I love each year God gives us, they each have lessons to give us, and each one holds something new that the last one did not.

this year I am sure will be even more streaching than the last, though without this last year, i do not believe i would be ready for this year. I thank the Lord for His timing. He knows when we need to learn what lesson, what friends we will need, ect,.

I hope you all have a blessed new year and that you all would grow in the ways god is moving you this year.

Joelle

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