will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfud
Living 4 Jesus 4 Life: #22 December 31, 2011
Marvellous are thy works; and that my soul kno
In this Issue....... prayer requests 365 braids
resolutions from our readers!
Special Announcement!!*************
When we sent each of you the "application" for our newsletter we said that we would be sending it out every other week this year. Well, this year is {almost} over. For 2012, we want to keep writing the newsletter, but it will be sent out on a monthly basis instead of every other week. Our next issue will go out Saturday, February 4, 2012.
{Prayer Requests}
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." - Philippians 4:6
- Pray for all the people who don't know Christ that they will come to know Him and be saved - Rachel
- Please pray for a lady in our church who has breast cancer. Erin has 3 kids: 4, 3, and 18 months. You can read about her at erinfray.blogspot.com. - Artiss
- Please continue to pray for Rebekah's cousin Karen, who has breast cancer. She has five children, and her husband is in the military! Thank you!
- Pray that God will show Himself to a girl in Elly's gym class and He will change her heart!
- Two of my friends are getting married at the beginning of the new year, and just wanted to pray for no last minute disasters, and a long and happy marriage. ~ Cora
- Please pray for a Chinese family who is under a lot of pressure. Thanks! -Loice
- Don't forget to send us your prayer requests so we can publish them, or keep them a secret!
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Mary says, "Happy New Years" in Chinese! 新年快乐！Xin Nian Kuai Le！This is the pin-yin for the characters.
And here is the best I could do at pronunciation for ya'll!
"seen knee-ann coo-aye le"
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--365 Braids--
So... I asked all of ya'll to send in some interesting New Year resolutions for this issue, and I'm also going to tell ya'll about some of mine. Actually, how we got started :) In 2009, New Year's Eve, Sarah and I were on the phone and we were running out of things to talk about, so we decided we needed to make a New Year resolution {together}. We wanted it be something fun, and something unheard of. After a lot of thinking to come up with the perfect thing, we resolved to wear at least one braid every day of the year and also some amount of visible pink! Needless to say... I did not keep my side of the deal, but it was fun while it lasted! Sarah totally kept it up all 365 days!
Last year, about this time, I was cleaning out my room after Christmas and I found some old "GRACE" newsletters and I was thinking how I used to love them, and then I was like "Me and Sarah could do this!" We really needed to have a resolution again anyway, and again, it had to be different! So, when I asked her about it she thought it was a cool idea too and by the end of January we had everything ready to go. It was a really good chance for me because at the time I was already writing most of the stuff we would be using in the first few letters, as far as articles go, for a couple of different classes I was taking. I was also already online a lot because of three online college classes and studying for my ACT test. Wasting time has always been a struggle for me, so it seemed like God had given me this opportunity to share what He's done in my life without even spending a lot of time on it - basically just making the time I already spent writing and online count for His glory! We agreed to plan on keeping it up for one year (sweet resolution - eh?) because by the end of this year I would be a senior and probably a lot busier. We would just "see what happens between now and then" and how God blessed it and maybe keep it up even longer! We started out with 11 readers. We now have almost 40! Just as I imagined, I am a LOT busier now, busier than ever. But as this year has drawn closer to a close ;) I knew I didn't want to stop just yet. I feel like this newsletter really has made an impact on some of ya'll, and it definitely has on me! It has helped me become more confident in sharing my faith both in writing and face-to-face, and it's helped me stand up for what I believe. It's held me accountable for my words, actions, and attitudes, because I don't want to preach one thing at ya'll and live something totally different. It's also made Sarah and I better friends, and obviously it's helped me draw closer to God! So, taking it one year at a time, we're gonna' keep this up! I'd love to see a lot bigger number of readers by the end of next year too, so keep sending us emails for all your friends and let's get up to 3 digits by next year! As always, the more the merrier!
Happy New Year!
keep smiling,
autumn clare
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Remember the Past, live in the Present, look to the Future
So wow! I can't believe that tomorrow is the first day of 2012. It seems like just yesterday I was bringing in 2011 with my best friend by a bonfire. This year has gone by so fast it is unbelievable. I guess its true that the older you get, the faster time flies. 2009 started mine and Autumn's New Year's resolution. The first year of resolutions(for 2010) was that we had to wear a braid in our hair and wear something pink every day. We thought it would be easy, turns out it was HARD! Towards the end of 2010 we decided we should do something more mature and something that would actually benefit us and maybe encourage others as well. Autumn told me about a newsletter that she use to get and told me about how she had loved getting it. And that is how this newsletter got started. We found it to be a lot more challenging than wearing pink and braids. But the challenge was worth it. This whole year has been so great getting to know each of ya'll a little bit better and to hear about what ya'll are going through. Ya'll have been so encouraging. The best thing i think that I have gotten out of this newsletter experience is that I am closer to God, and me and Autumn are better friends. It's been great.
Remember The Past. Sometimes it can be scary. Some people say you shouldn't look back. I say go ahead! Look back at all those fantastic memories you have made. Don't forget them. Memories, good times, laughter, crazy jokes, that's what makes our lives spectacular. Don't forget it. You don't have to look back at the hard or sad things in your past. Remember the good things. But don't ever forget the people that have helped you get to where you are. Don't forget how God has made you grow. Don't forget those that you lost. Remember, the past isn't a bad thing. But you can't linger in the regret of mistakes you've made. THAT is in the past and it can stay there. :)
Live In The Present. Crazy moments make up our lives. Don't be afraid to live, love, and dance like crazy! Go for your dreams. Shoot for the stars. It's so important to live in the moment your in because if your living in things of the past, you might miss something spectacular. Be who you really are. Don't be pushed down into a mold of the world. Be you. This time is yours, use it for the glory of God and have fun!
Look To The Future. 2012! It's almost here! That's the future. We are getting a new president in 2012. Who is it gonna be? That is a life changing thing. Hey, your birthday is in 2012 too. ;) There are so many things to look forward to in your future. Not just your birthday or Christmas. Those are annual things. You also have other things to look forward to. Maybe your first job, your first car, graduating high school, college maybe, marriage eventually. There's a lot to look forward to and I definitely look forward to all of it. Change is a big part of the future. So much is changing around us right now. Just think about how much will change by the time 2013 comes! It's gonna be great. So what do we do about the future, we look forward to it of course but we don't want to be looking forward to it SO much that we forget what time we are living in right now. Its okay to look forward to the future, just don't get caught up in it. Remember whats here right now.
Girly's I encourage each of you to set aside time each day this coming year to spend time with God. It doesn't have to be hours, it can be 5 minutes. Just set aside time every day to focus on God. Your every day life will change. Spending time with God is always a good thing! God bless you this year girly's! Love ya'll!
<3SarahElisabeth
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*Cool* Resolutions for 2012 
--To be better at answering questions (because I always answer I don't know)
--To share God's Word with more people
--Praying for family and relatives everyday
--Having a Quiet Time everyday
--Journaling everyday
--Get up early(er) in the mornings, so that I can be sure to have time to have my quiet time everyday!
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