Luke 1:39-45

It didn’t take long for Mary to decide to leave. Her parents, of course, were confused at her eagerness to go visit her cousin Elizabeth, but they offered no objections. Mary hastened to the hill country, where her cousin and her husband Zechariah lived.

~

“Elizabeth?” Mary called, approaching the door and entering.

~

Inside, Elizabeth looked up. When Mary called again, Elizabeth’s baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth sat back to recover from the sudden movement, but was quickly on her feet and hugging her dear little cousin.

~

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Mary smiled, but was a little confused at her words. “For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

~

“You know, then?” Mary asked.

~

“My baby usually doesn’t leap inside me without warning for others,” Elizabeth smiled guiding Mary into the house. “And this time, I had a feeling it was a joyful leap, albeit unexpected.” Mary laughed. Although her situation was still a bit bewildering, she felt better knowing she wasn’t the only one who knew about it. Mary praised God aloud, feeling lighthearted and relieved. Elizabeth smiled.

~

“Where is Zechariah?” Mary asked.

~

“Probably at the temple,” Elizabeth replied. “I must admit, your news of your coming to us caught us off guard. You seemed very urgent.”

~

“I just needed to get away for a time,” Mary admitted. “And… to see if what the angel said to me is true. And now I see it is.” Marry nodded to Elizabeth. Her cousin smiled and laid a hand on her belly. “Elizabeth, I’m scared! I know it’s nothing to worry over, but I can’t help myself! What am I going to tell Joseph? Or my parents?”

~

“You haven’t told them?” Elizabeth looked at her.

~

“I was too scared to,” Mary replied, “What would they say? What would Joseph say? Either they wouldn’t believe me or think that I had sinned!”

~

“Calm down, cousin,” Elizabeth soothed, sitting down by the nervous girl. “God will guide things right, so you don’t need to worry about all the holes and bumps along the way. Do not worry your little soul, dear. Come, let us make some bread for Zechariah when he arrives. It will keep your mind busy.” Mary smiled gratefully at her cousin. She hugged her, relieved and not so worried anymore.

~

“You are a very blessed woman, Mary,” Elizabeth said, “More than you know.”

Luke 1:26-38

This is the first part of an eight-part series, telling the story of Jesus' birth. I'll be posting each part once a day, ending the day after Christmas. Enjoy!

~~~

Nothing is kept secret in a small town. Especially something as important as a betrothal. That is exactly what had occurred. Young Mary, a girl of about fourteen years of age, was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter in Nazareth, of the line of King David. It was exciting news, and everyone wanted to contribute to the young couple-to-be.

~

After politely accepting the umpteenth offer of help for the big event, Mary retreated to her bedroom. She closed the door and sighed with relief. Even if she was prepared for becoming a wife, nothing could prepare her for that. Mary sat down on her bed and searched around for her sewing. She suddenly realized she was not alone.

~

Looking up, Mary saw a man standing nearby. She jumped in surprise, dropping her sewing basket in alarm. The man looked as calm as could be, but perhaps a bit amused, too.

~

“Greetings, O favored one,” he spoke gently. Mary stared at him. “The Lord is with you!” Mary continued to stare. She began to wonder what was going on. No one ever greeted her like that. Especially other men. “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Mary lifted an eyebrow. This was getting a bit odd. However, the man was not finished. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” Mary’s eyes widened in shock.

~

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High,” the strange man continued. “And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary stood slowly, trying to carefully and calmly process what had been told to her. But in the end, Mary blurted out:

~

“How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Mary instantly realized that this man was an angel. She regretted saying anything at all.

~

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” Gabriel replied, “and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy¾the Son of God.” Mary opened her mouth to speak, but the angel held up his hand. “And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

~

Mary said nothing for some time, then, she looked at the angel and said softly, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” The angel nodded, then left. Mary blinked. He was gone. Mary slowly sat down.

~

She decided to leave off sewing for now.

Of Things Unmentioned

I'm back! Not that I was really anywhere in particular, but I figured that you all need something like an update. :) I don't have many pictures, but hopefully these will appease you.

~

These books have become Parker's and my best friends. We've been taking CLEP test every couple weeks,

so the subjects just keep piling up. But it has been quite fun.

~

Mom repainted the kitchen cupboards.

They look real purty now. :D

~

This keyboard has become a new friend. :P I've always used it, but currently I've been using it extensively to write essays, which are practice for the College Composition CLEP test I'll be taking this Monday.

~

In other news:

Birthdays:

Abby has turned 15 this past October. She is awesome, and is still fun and often creates lots of amusement. ;)

~

School:

Abby, Ella, and Isaac have begun school. Parker and I had started in late July. Parker is going for a Communications degree, and I for an English degree. So far, neither of us have failed a test. :)

~

Animals:

Nothing terribly exciting in this corner. We've sold our goat, because no one was drinking the milk. As far as I know there aren't any new kittens, and Hava and Hurley have failed again to give offspring. And Cornbread is... being Cornbread, I guess. She's her crazy, weird self.

~

So there's an update for you. :) Sorry for lack of photos, but that's all I took. I'll see about getting before and after pictures of our house, since we're getting new siding and everything, because of ice storms and such.

Life's Story

This a short work of fiction. I got the idea from reading a book.

I didn't really try to be quiet. My feet made contact with the stairs hard as I made my way to my room. Once I got there I slammed and door. Today hadn't been a great day. Everything seemed to have fallen apart on me without any hesitation. I had applied for a job, and expected to have to wait a few days. I had waited a week and a half before finally receiving an answer. I And all I got was a big fat rejection slip. I could almost hear the scorn in the potential employer's use of words.

And to make matters worse, I somehow managed to lose a good friend. She and I had been close, but all of a sudden we argued, we yelled, we accused, and she stormed away. After a while, I couldn't exactly remember hat we had been arguing about.

A quick look at the clock told me how late it was. I shivered as I closed my window, blocking the night breeze. After changing into my PJs and crashed in bed. Almost literally. On the way down and knocked over the lamp and shattered the bulb. Grumbling, I got up, carefully swept up glass and fixed a new bulb in place and got back in bed. I stifled a yawn. Sleep came easily. It was probably the only easy thing that whole day...

I stood in the middle of a long corridor. It was bare wall on my right, and windows every three yards on my left. But for some reason I couldn't make out the outside. I looked behind me. The hall led straight into darkness. Ahead, it was still dark, but a dim light was up ahead. I started forward. Slowly, something pulled at me. I halted and backpedalled, but whatever pulled me kept me from going anywhere very fast.

Come.

I froze. There was no one else in the room, but I couldn't deny that heard someone. I cautiously moved forward, going slow, seemingly making no sound save my breathing. The dim light got brighter as I advanced. And soon I found myself passing through a doorway. I stopped and stared. Before me stood bookshelves. Tall ones, short ones, square ones, rectangular ones. They were everywhere. I stared for a long time. I kept walking. Slowly, almost reverently. I lost count of the bookshelves as I walked.

Do you know where you are?

I froze again. I listened, trying not to panic.

"Where?"

All lives end. They are like the cast of a story, or a story all their own.

"Come again?"

Come.

This time I followed with more confidence. I was somehow led through the strange library. I entered a second room. This one was huge, not as big as the library, but still monstrous. There were millions of tables, too. One each table were open books. And in every book, words were being printed. There was no pen, no writer. Words would form themselves on the pages.

"What is this place?"

Life is a story. Each story needs to be written.

"I don't get it."

Come.

I follow again. Whoever was talking led me to a table, and on the table was a book, among perhaps fifteen others. All were being written in, but I couldn't make out any words except the one I stood in front of. My eyes widened in realization.

"This is my life..."

Yes. Your story must be written, too.

"So all these other books are the lives of other people?"

Yes.

I stare. I notice a book being laid open, its pages blank for a moment, then writing begins to appear.

"Was someone born?"

All are born.

"I mean that book."

Yes.

"Why can't I read the other books?"

They are not your story.

"Oh." I suddenly see a book close a few tables to my right. It fades away and disappears. "What happened?"

Just as life is written, so must it end.

"Someone just died?"

Yes. Come.

I follow again. But I stop short when the book I had seen open close and fade away. My heart began to pound. "What just happened?"

Not all lives reach a full chapter. All to often is it halted by man.

I swallowed. I looked away kept following. I was led back into the library, where I was taken to a shelf that had only one book. The book, instead of standing upright, lay on its side and took up the whole shelf, leaving no room for any other book, not even on top of it.

"Who lived that?"

The oldest man who had ever lived. His story carries almost a thousand chapters. Each chapter a year of life.

"Wow..." I looked at the large volume for a long time. Then I turned. I wasn't led this time. I wandered through the shelves, not desiring to return to the writing room. I stopped at a very short book.

"Is this another book with only one chapter?"

Not even half a chapter. This life was killed before birth.

"So, a life's story begins even before it's born?"

Yes.

I looked at the book. I go on until I stopped at at another book. This one wasn't short, but it wasn't long either. "What happened to this one?"

This life found its story too distressing.

"So, it just..."

Yes.

I swallowed again.

Some lives aren't meant to be lived long. Some are chosen to be short. Come.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to come. But I did. I followed until I stopped at another shelf, this one held a book that was very large, but not nearly so large as the one who had a whole shelf to itself.

This was a life well lived. It had troubles, it had trials. But it also had joy, love, and triumph. That is a life to be lived. Not wallowing in one's troubles.

I looked at the book. I felt... different. I don't know how, but I just felt different. I touched the book's binding, and I could almost feel everything the Voice described. It had been a happy life. I life that had grown full. I wanted that kind of life. I didn't want to sulk about my problems. I wanted to live.

I opened my eyes, staring out at the window which let in the early morning sun. I lay still for a moment, thinking. Finally I got out of bed, feeling lighter. I winced as my foot was stabbed by a missed shard of glass. I almost smiled. I bent down and pulled out the tiny piece of light bulb and tossed it in the trash. No more sulking. I wasn't going to let my worries bother me. I was going to live life until I was full of chapters.

Bridging the Gap.

Another gaping hole. I'll just fill ya'll in on what's going on. I would do pictures, but our computer wanted to die, and the new one has this horrible habit of crashing. So pictures aren't

extremely easy to upload at the moment.

~

New arrivals: Meat birds, kittens, and an Alpine goat. The meat birds are currently in the movable chicken tractor in the field because we can't stand the smell in the garage for very long. The kitties are getting bigger everyday, but they don't have an extreme love for us. The Alpine goat was an exciting addition (more exciting than the kittens, if that's not too hard to believe ;) She's real sweet. But she going through a grumpy stage, which we don't entirely understand. But that just makes milking her all the more exciting. (Slight sarcasm)

~

Birthdays: My wonderful, dearest mother has turned (fill in age here). She is absolutely the best mom in all creation, and I love her a whole lot. :D

~

Education: Parker and I have graduated from high school. We had a graduation party, which was a lot of fun. We will both be doing an online program called CollegePlus!, in which we study a certain topic at a time, and then test on it (without taking lessons), and earn the credits for each exam. We each are assigned to a coach, who will help us through the studying and whatever else we need. At the end of that, we'll transfer the credits (or at least some of them) to a college and finish our last year there. All this in the span of about two and half years.

~

That's about all I can think of at the moment, that's major, anyway. Hope I haven't lost you all in the crevice of nothingness. If I have, this post shall save you! :)

Homeschool Conference

Despite the deep pit the nearby homeschool conference dug for themselves when they dis-invited Ken Ham (Creation Museum, Answers in Genesis), had planned only on going on Saturday, to see the Duggars, who would be coming to the conference. But on Friday, we decided to go, and stay overnight at a hotel and then leave on Saturday after hearing the Duggars speak (a grand finale event to end the conference). So we hurriedly packed up and took off down the road. After arriving at the hotel, we headed to the place where the conference was held to catch Tim Hawkins' show (the same man who was at last year's conference) ~ To shorten the story. We had a LOT of fun. On Saturday, most of the Duggars were doing a book signing, and we were able to get our picture taken with Mr. and Mrs. Duggar (and one of the younger boys. I don't know whom, I honestly can't put names to faces very well). After that, we wandered around. We bought a few things at the vendor area (Parker and I bought a few books, and were even able to get them signed by the authors. Which was really cool). Abby, Ella, and I even got to meet three of the Duggar girls and get our pictures taken with them. Isaac really enjoyed meeting Josh Duggar, too. ~ But I'll stop talking now and show you what few photos we took. It's not much, but you're probably wanting them instead hearing me go on and on about how fun it was. ;)

~ Abby with Jessa and Jill Duggar.

~ Abby, Ella, and I with Jinger Duggar.

~ A pretty view.

~ Us with Mr and Mrs Duggar and one of their boys.

~ Hotel key card, Duggar and Tim Hawkins tickets. :)

~

The hotel room we got. It was more like an apartment/house/hotel room, kind of.

This was a bed that folded into the wall.

~ The kitchen of above mentioned room.

~

The room also had a loft.

~ The 'view' out the peek-hole in the door (the building is basically what

the building we were in looked like).

~ Waiting in line to see the Duggars and get the book they wrote signed.

We got at least fifteen of them to sign it.

When we got up there, only a few of them were there, and then quite a few more came. :)

~

So that was our awesome trip to the homeschool conference. It was our last year going, because of their poor decision in dis-inviting Ken Ham, but I think we ended very nicely. (If this post looks really weird with the paragraph/picture placement or whatever, I will try to fix it. If it doesn't, ignore this message)

A More or Less Not Very Exciting Update.

I am still here. I was just waiting for fun stuff to post about *Is completely making that up because she doesn't want to give the same excuse again*

Soooo, I have some pictures. Nothing horribly thrilling. But with the absence of them, I'm sure you're all on the edge of your seats, right? .... OK, maybe not, but here's the pictures, anyway.

Winter really gets on our nerves when it stays too long.

Our new chickens have been taking their laying job quite seriously. We've resorted to taking a boxful of eggs to youth group and handing them out to whoever wants them. And we still have plenty back home.

I would go outside and take pictures, but it's raining.

But I'm not complaining. It's better than snow.

Hava (left) is hopefully pregnant again. Hope with us that this litter is more successful,

and we have tiny, cute baby Corgis.

(Most probably whining like their father did *coughdoescough*)

(I apologize for the not-so-great picture. They were moving a lot, I didn't have flash on, they were wet, and therefore they kind of smelled bad)

Hopefully this will keep you all held over until I can find something really exciting to post. :)

Samson

This short story was an entry for a writing contest a while ago. Enjoy! :)

Grandma paused on the steps. Had the doorbell just rung? She listened. Yes, there it was. But who could be calling at this time of night? Grandma went to the door and opened it but all she found was a small basket with a Welsh Corgi puppy nestled in soft blankets. Grandma smiled as she took the puppy up in her arms. He whined softly, snuggling up against her for warmth. Grandma smiled again and took the puppy inside and up to bed with her.

~

Saturday morning found Grandma and the puppy watching the dog show. The puppy lay on Grandma’s lap, his ears pricked forward. The sound of the door opening made them turn. Grandma smiled as thirteen-year-old twins Solomon and Sophie, her grandchildren, came in the room. They would be staying with her during the summer.

~

“Oh, Grandma, a puppy!” Sophie exclaimed, “He’s so cute!”

~

“I found him on the doorstep last night,” Grandma smiled. “He still needs a name.” Grandma chuckled. “I found my comforter on the floor with him wrapped up inside it this morning.” Solomon stared at the puppy. He knew how heavy that comforter was.

~

“You’re living with a little Samson,” Sophie smiled, petting the puppy. “We can call him Samson!”

~

“Sounds like a good name to me,” Grandma approved. “You three get along now, you hear?” The twins smiled. They all jumped as Samson yipped at the television. Turning, they saw one of the dogs misbehaving. Grandma laughed and patted Samson. “He knows a naughty dog when he sees one.”

~

That summer, the twins began to train Samson. Unfortunately, Samson had no intention of being trained without difficulty. For many days the twins would be chasing after him and calling his name. Samson thought it was great fun. But over time, he learned to sit, stay, and to let someone know when he needed to go outside. However, the command to not antagonize the mailman was a concept little Samson could not be taught. He simply couldn’t resist barking at the poor mailman. The twins were at a loss.

~

The next three years saw Samson grow up to be a heavy and very bulky dog. He wasn’t overfed, he was just a very big dog. And with all his friendly bulk he became an excellent guard dog. He had scared off a few thieves one night. And he would always be waiting for the twins when they came for the summer.

~

But as Samson grew, Grandma grew ill. The twins, now eighteen, were at her house more often, even during the school season. Samson remained by Grandma’s side, always being able to help carry groceries, or pull the laundry basket into the room for Grandma to fold the clothes. But Grandma’s illness got worse very quickly, and she was taken to the hospital, leaving the twins and Samson alone at the house.

~

Samson was miserable. He had the twins, but it wasn’t the same without Grandma. He went to live with Solomon and Sophie at their house, but even their constant company didn’t help his loneliness.

~

The twins soon found out that there wasn’t enough money to pay for Grandma’s medical bills. Their parents scraped together what they could, but it wasn’t quite enough.

~

“Sol,” Sophie looked at Solomon. They were home alone. Solomon looked at her. “What would it take to enter Samson into the dog show?”

~

“A lot of time and training,” Solomon replied. “Do you remember how hard Samson was to train? He still can’t resist chasing the mailman.”

~

“I know,” Sophie sighed, “But if we could at least make it to fourth place, we’d have enough money for the medical bills.” Solomon stared at Samson, who slept in the corner. “We could train him. It wouldn’t take much work, would it? He already knows how to sit and stay.”

~

“We’ll give it a shot,” Solomon nodded at last, “Come on, let’s get to work. Samson, come on boy!”

~

The twins began training Samson once more. This time, it was easier. Solomon did most of the training, and Sophie mainly kept Samson’s fur clean. If Solomon wasn’t there, Sophie would train Samson, and vice versa. Soon, Samson was able to walk right beside Solomon, with and without a leash.

~

Finally, the day for the dog show arrived. The twins took Samson to the show area and groomed him until his goldenrod-colored fur shone. As Sophie groomed, Solomon volunteered to help set up the show ring. But as he was carrying a heavy piece of equipment, he tripped and fell backward. The equipment landed on his leg. It wasn’t too hard to free his leg, but Solomon couldn’t walk.

~

“Sophie,” Solomon looked at his sister. “The show’s about to start, get Samson and get out there.”

~

“I can’t do it, Sol,” Sophie protested, “You’re the one who trained him.”

~

“I can’t walk, sis, you’ll have to do it,” Solomon smiled at her, “You’ll do just fine. Knock ‘em dead.” Sophie bit her lip, but took Samson out to the ring, where Samson was given a show ring number. Sophie led Samson out to the ring. Samson was perfectly calm, but a few of the dogs misbehaved, and he barked at them chidingly.

~

When it was Sophie and Samson’s turn, they went through the steps to near perfection. Samson stumbled, but he was soon back on his feet. At last, all the dogs were gathered and the judges stepped forward to award the winners. They went backward, and finally came to the first place winner. Samson hadn’t been mentioned yet.

~

“First place winner is… Samson!” The judge pinned the blue ribbon on Samson’s collar. “2,000 dollars will be awarded to Samson.” Sophie’s smile grew even wider. She hugged Samson tight. Solomon clapped with the audience. Samson barked, his non-existent tail wiggled happily and his chocolate brown eyes sparkled with pleasure. Solomon whistled loudly, making Samson turn his head, ears pricked forward. Sophie laughed and hugged Samson again.