Treasure Them

As the year draws to an end, I start thinking about all that has happened and what I have learned. There have been many events, times to grow and learn. There has been times for rejoicing, times for weeping, a time to make peace and times for war, and time of death and time for life. But through it all I have learned a very big lesson- life is short, precious and very unexpected. As I reflect over the past I realize a very good lesson that has hung over me and which I have tried to contemplate over more and more. When life is so short and unexpected, we don't have time for meaningless quarrels and complications. We don't have time to take advantage of one another, or take each other for granted. We need to treasure every little thing, for we know not what is around the bend.

It's hard to write down the mistakes I have made, but one huge one is that I never try hard enough to get along with other people, I continually take them for granted and take advantage of them. Many times we have conflicts with those in the family or close friends and it's hard to forgive.Many times we just don't get along because of personality conflict or we just can't stand the way they do something. And so we go through life not treasuring the person God has created and put in your life. I know I have done this. If I don't get along with someone, I'll distant myself from them and never get too close to them.

But know, because of the past years events, I have learned that life is short so treasure them. One never knows when you may lose them, permanently or just temporarily. I have learned to stop wasting precious moments over meaningless conflicts and treasure every moment. Learn to love what you didn't like about them. It's the conflicts that you have but overcome that make life interesting.

Treasure the conflicts, treasure the hard times and the good times. Treasure the people in your life for you know not how long they will be with you. God has sovereignly placed you with the people you are with because He knows you need them, even when it's hard to get along.We should go out of our way to be with those people for then we will learn to love them or see that personality which we couldn't understand before as just a part of who they are and we still can get along with them.

Every moment spent together, every moment lived is a precious memory that we need to hold onto. Treasure them all!

Merry Christmas

May you have a Merry Christmas, and may the next year bring Him more glory!
Love ya all!!!





This is one of my favorite Christmas songs- "I Celebrate The Day" by Reliant K

Anderson Kids '09

A tragic story without an ending...

This morning, on my mad rush to get to work on time, I past a cat who met it's last days on earth. As usual I grieved a little, but then I noticed something...it moved! Immediately I pulled over to check on it...maybe it was still alive and only injured...maybe I would be able to help it, but I did not expect what I saw.

As I drew near to the poor cat I realized that it was not the dead cat that moved, but a poor helpless little kitten that was snuggled up to it. The poor dear was trying to nurse it's mother. I tried to pick it up...but it scrambled away. For the next 10 minutes if you happened to be in a car passing by, you would have seen me dashing across the street countless times, fumbling my way through bushes and falling into the ditch...but at last I caught it.

I looked at my surroundings and noticed a near by house. So I walked over there...the lady at the door informed me that the mother had been a stray cat in the area for a while and that she wanted nothing to do with the kitten. What could I do? I held the adorable little girl kitten in my arms and brought her home.

She is a small, helpless, orphan. She is so cute..she's black with a white nose and paws..and she is still very little. What is to be her fate I know not yet...can you give her a home?

It's a Grand Night

Bring the whole family for-

It's A Grand Night for Singing!!!

A musical review the whole family will enjoy!

Where: Grants Pass, 111 Evelyn Theater (New Song Church) between 6th and 7th street, across from Barnstormers

When: October-
9th: 7pm,
10th: 2pm and 7pm,
16th: 7pm,
17th: 2pm and 7pm.
Admission: Adults- $6, Children 4-12 $4, Children 3 and under are Free

Paul in Prison Pt. 2

Throughout Philippians, Paul gives us many reasons why and how we can endure trials and tribulations. Paul wishes to encourage the new Church not just by words but by example as well. While sitting in his cell, chained to the wall he says “even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial alter of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should rejoice with me.” (Phil. 2:17-18). Paul rejoices in his present situation, no matter the agony, the pain, and the unjustness of it all, he is content to endure it for the sake of his follower’s faith, for the sake of the gospel, so as to be an example.

Not only is he enduring it with the contentment and joy that comes only from Christ. But he also considers it an honor. He takes honor and pride in being in prison.In Phil. 1:29-30 he says "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have." Paul is most likely rotting away in a cell with the festering wounds of a whip still unattended upon his back, and yet he considers at an honor that he is sharing in the sufferings of Christ, suffering for the One who gave His life. It is our joy, our pleasure, and honor to suffer for Him who saved us from eternal hell.

Christ was the perfect and only Son of God, greatly cherished and loved. In contrast man was rebellious, ungrateful, and separated from God. We are alienated from the perfect judge of the world, and there is nothing we can do to reconcile ourselves to Him. Yet this perfect Judge gave His most beloved Son in our stead! Jesus Christ had to degrade Himself and take on flesh. He came to earth only to suffer unjustly at the hands of those whom He came to save. He took on all our sins, nailed then to the cross, and endured the wrath of His heavenly Father for our transgressions. Jesus Christ reconciled us back to God, payed our debt, and offers us eternal life with Him and the Father.

It is because of all of this, that Paul rejoices to be able to suffer, but a little, for his Savior. Christ payed the biggest debt we could ever owe, and we have no way of paying Him back. Sharing in His suffering is way of saying our thanks, of showing our gratitude for what Christ and the Father did for us. This is why Paul considers it an honor, and calls all of us to take joy in our suffering. The Savior gave His life, we can but live and suffer for Him!

We as the elect, chosen, and saved, should rejoice in the opportunity to suffer for the sake of Christ. No one promises it will be easy, or without pain and tears, but we are promised to be given the strength of Christ, to make us content in whatever our situation is. We should be honored to suffer for the One who gave His life for us!

Paul in Prison

Many a times the disciples of Christ and the great writers of the New Testament faced whippings, stones, chains, and prison on countless occasions, all for the advancement of the gospel. While in prison in Rome, Paul writes a letter to the believers in Philippi, which is recorded in Philippians.

I have always loved many of the key verses in Philippians, but as I read through the whole book and understood the context, it opened up a whole new meaning for many of those verses. I was able to understand the situation and attitude from which Paul was writing.

In Phil. 1:12-15, Paul writes "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me (being imprisoned) has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the Word, without fear..."

Here is a man who has been thrown in prison unjustly, and the prisons back then mostly consisted of being underground with no light, and no way of letting out the horrid smells...you shared your bed of straw with who knows how many other earthly creatures, and yet this is the situational in which he finds himself and he rejoices. Paul sees something positive about it.
He is glad because the advancement of the gospel is taking place. He is content to be there, because Christ is being shard.

Even further on in my reading, Paul confirms this when he says "I am hard pressed between the two (living or dying). My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.." (Phil. 1:23) Paul would love to be united with His Savior, but instead of choosing deliverance, he would rather endure so as to share Christ with the lost and to direct the new found sheep.

Just before saying this, Paul states, "Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If am to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell." (Phil. 1:20b-22). I have always loved this passage, but knowing it came from a man who is content in prison, gives it a whole new perspective. Paul is showing us that living for Christ can mean many hardships and trails, but it is worth it, as long as you get to share Christ with others. But once we pass from this life there is but more gain and treasure...we have a living hope.

This all also relates to Paul's earlier statement in Phil. 1:6-"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Paul is encouraging his brethren, while he is in prison! Paul knows that God has given us the treasure of a living hope, the promise of being resurrected and conformed into the perfect image of His Son.

Paul displays someone who is perfectly content in whatever situation he finds himself. But how can he? How can Paul be content and rejoicing in his present situation, sitting in a dingy, dark and smelly cell? He tells us later on in his letter...

Phil. 4:13 says "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Many times we take this passage out of context, interpreting it to mean that we can do anything with Jesus on our side...we can win any battle, or achieve a financial goal, or any goal that we have set for ourselves. But if we look at the context of the passage, it's meaning is that we can be content in whatever situation we are, because of Christ.

Going back two verses it says "For I have learned in whatever situation to be content...I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Paul is content in his cell, because Christ has given him the strength to be so.

It matters not what our situation is, as long as our eyes are fixed on Christ and our strength comes from Him, we can be perfectly content! It was when Peter looked at the waves around him that they started to consume him. But when our eyes are fixed on Christ, the waves are oblivious to us, it's not that they are gone, we just don't notice them because Christ is our all in all, and we are eventually able to conquer the waves because of Christ!

Paul is writing this to all of us while he is in prison. He is content because of Christ's strength. He is rejoicing because the gospel is being shared. No matter our situation, Christ gives us the strength to be content!

More to come....

Making Memories

Life is precious and unexpected. We never know what the future may hold. We never know what may happen to us, and to those around us. Every day is a gift, and should be a memory. Memories never leave us, they are with us for every day that we spend on this earth. Loved ones and precious tokens may perish and leave us, but the memories of those things never leave. We should always be looking for opportunities to make a memory.

Last night was a memory making moment. Karissa, Destiny and I were at Grandpa and Grandma's, sitting in their living room contentedly sipping organic hot chocolate and looking through thier wedding album, listening to all the details and the story of their lives. Grandma sure had a nice wedding and it was so much fun hearing about it. We learned stories we had never heard before, we loved learning stuff from Grandma.

It was indeed a memory making moment. Every know and again we need to remember to make a memory!

How Should We Live...

What does it mean to live like a christian? What does it mean to be set apart? So many people today bear the title "christian" but their life style says other wise. Christians, instead of standing out, try desperately to just fit in. Instead of being a city on a hill, we join the common crowd.

This past week there has been a song that is constantly playing in the house, ( I won't say who keeps playing it:)), but we all sort of like. The beat is very catchy and fun, so we sing along. But today instead of just dancing and singing to it I actually listened to the words and they set me thinking on this subject. Here is the chorus:

"Don't let your lights go down.
Don't let your fire burn out.
Somewhere somebody needs a reason to believe.
Don't be afraid to stand out...
That's how the lost get found."
-Britt Nicole

Christians today, especially the young group, have been pressured into thinking that we need to fit in. In order for us to be able to reach out, we need to be like them. I'm not saying that this is bad, God calls His people out of darkness through so many ways, what I'm trying to say, is that our life style needs to be different from the lost. We can't be afraid to be different. We can't be scared of standing out, because that's how the lost get found.

Scripture calls us the salt of the earth, the city on a hill, the light on a candle stick. As the elect chosen of God, we need to stand out, we need to be the light of a dark world, we need to show the world that we have been chosen and set apart unto holiness.

Matt. 5:16- "...let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

We don't win the world over by being like them, but rather by standing apart from them. Why would they want to come to Christianity if it looks no different than the life they already live?

The world can't see Christ in us if we're just like them. They can only see Christ if we're like Him, and He was a man who stood out and left His mark on this earth. Yes, He did mix with the commoners, but He did not try to fit in with them, by dressing like them, acting like them, doing the same things they did, He ministered to them, out of love, by being different from them.

How should we live? We can't be afraid to stand out, because that's how the lost get found.

At the County Fair!

Last Saturday, Mom, took us all to the fair, plus Destiny, so that we could see what place we got in all the different stuff that we entered. Plus we happened to be there the same time that the Emmons Sisters were playing :). Anyways we had fun walking around looking at stuff, eating samples, trying on nail polish, and buying $20 flip-flops (I really needed them :)...Good memories!

An Eight Year-Olds Perspective on Woman

The other night I was watching good old "Pride and Prejudice" with the younger siblings, while everyone else was at a lesson or some sort. My little bro, Levi, was playing a game, when he popped his head up and said "All girls ever do is laugh or cry, nothing else." Just like that he had made a very profound statement which is uncannily true. Throught out the rest of the movie he would point out "see, now they're crying" or "now they are laughing".

I thought it was pretty fun, seeing that he is growing up with five sisters and already has his take on woman.

"All girls ever do is laugh or cry."

Freinds, Music, and Ice Cream!

There are many combination's in this world...cookies and cream, peanut butter and jelly, cake and ice cream etc...but no combination compares to the combination of friends, music, and ice cream. It is because of our friends we are able to play and hear great music, and compare our ice cream flavors (like the one of fries dipped in vanilla) :)

Last night was just great! We had a fun time performing "A Night of Music" with all our friends involved and some watching...and then we had a fun time fellowshiping in the parking lot of Mickey D's!

So in conclusion nothing beats the combination of friends, music and ice cream!

The Goldman Family

You're Invited!

Me and many of my cousins shall be participating in this...mark your calendars!!

A Night of Music!

July 17th at 7pm

A Day with Esther at the Park

The other day, me and Esther went to pick up some milk, since we were a little early, we decided to walk around this little private park and I shot some pictures! I just want to say that it was a special time with a wonderful sis, and I only hope that I can enjoy and appreciate my siblings more, because they are pretty cool!

Being Pruned

Today, during my Bible reading time, I came across John 15:2 and it really kind of stuck out at me.

"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He take away; every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

At first I just passed over it, but then when I read it again I started thinking about pruning. What exactly is pruning? Well I thought back to my Uncle Hugh, and how he would come and cut back all our rose bushes saying he was pruning them, so that when Spring came they would bloom even better than they had in the past. After that, I was thinking about the plant that was being pruned and what was going through their minds. I mean, image if you were a full grown bush, you had just reached your pinnacle and all was good. You were fully grown and had just reached a nice size, and then comes along this gardener and he hacks away all your branches, everything that you had just spent all your time to grow!

Sounds pretty depressing, but that's was God does to His elect, for a reason. When we face trials and tribulations, what God is really doing is He's pruning us. He cuts us back, gets rid of everything that we had stored up and makes us start over.

But there's a reason to all this pruning. The verse goes on to say "that it may bear more fruit". God prunes us so that we can learn from our experience and grow back twice as strong and productive. So that we can become better fruit bearers for Christ, and be better witnesses for the kingdom of God.

1 Peter 1:6-8 says- "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

We go through trials, only to be strengthened. We go through hard times only to find that our faith is stronger. We're pruned because we're loved!

So as children of God, expect to be pruned, but also expected to bear more fruit, and to be strengthened by Christ.

Don't complain when God's got the scissors...He's pruning you, so that when the next season arrives (or the next trial), you'll be ready!

Tired of the same old studio look? Your kids are growing, and you just can't seem to keep up with the pictures? Can't afford the studio prices? Want those precious memories to last forever? I would love to capture those moments for you!

kailaphotography.com

Meet Zorro!

Last night, around 8:30 Mom had to make a quick trip to the grocery store...mysterious? Well not to me, I just figured she had to get something right before bed time. At around 9:30pm I was ready to go to bed, but Dad wouldn't let me...he said we were going to have a little graduation party for me...Mom had gotten a few little gifts. I was totally not expecting anything that big, as I told my parents I really didn't need anything :)

Well, in walks Karissa with a gift bag. I noticed that she was holding it a little weird, I just figured maybe it was glass or something. When I opened the gift, to my utter surprise and astonishment, there lay the cutest little Chihuahua! I had NEVER in my wildest dreams expected that! I have always loved and wanted one, but Dad has vowed that we would never get a Chihuahua, and Mom most defiantly didn't want another dog....so I never expected such a gift, though I really wanted one.

He is a smaller type of Chihuahua, and most adorable! I decided to call him Zorro, because of the dominant black on him :) He is like 10 weeks old right now and was born around Easter. He is tiny and fits right in my hand and in one of Dad's shirt pockets :)

I am forever grateful for this WONDERFUL present! Today, Zorro went with me to my guitar lesson, then we went shopping for a carrier for him! He just slept in my arms as I roomed the stores today.

When we got home, I introduced him to Phineas, who just adored Zorro! They are going to be great buds :)

On top of all this Grandma took me shopping yesterday for my birthday, so I also now have a bunch of new clothes! She is a wonderful Grandma, and is getting good at finding stuff that I like :)

My blessings are abundant!



p.s. sorry the picture is blurry...he doesn't like to stay still :)

Class of 2009!

T.E.A.C.H Graduating Class of 2009!

Moving the Tassel :)

Giving my speech

The Whole Gang!

With my wonderful family!

With Mom and Daddy

Me and Nat-Nat

I don't what it is about the guys, always having to look funny in a picture :)

Big Day, Tomorrow

Life is moving on...Tomorrow is my official graduating day, the big ceremony! My life up to this point has been one of the greatest learning adventures ever, and I hope to continue learning. God has worked in my life in so many ways through so many different means, and I hope to continue to following Him and His will.

Life is moving on....

p.s. stay tuned for my graduating "speech"

Photoshoot Time with Cousins!

Yesterday, I was able to take Destiny, David, Alex and my sis, Karissa, out for some photoshooting. I'm trying to compile some pictures for my portfolio for when I start a photography business! They were so wonderful and did a great job smiling, posing and whatever I asked them to do. These are just a few of the 600 pictures that I took. I posted some more on my facebook page, so you are more than welcome to go there and look at them...just click here

All in all we had a fun time and made some good memories!