Ornament or Idol?

A person was saying that they wanted to get a dragon figurine from Japan, because they are really kool looking. However, the person who was also involved in the convo said,

" Why would you want that in your house? It is an idol" Of course the other argued back saying ,

"How could that be an idol? If a drafon statue is an idol, then a teddy bear is one too!"

"A teddy bear is a symbol of God's creation, Japanese worship these dragon!"

"I am sure some ppl worship teddy bears also! But just because someone else worships it doesnt mean I cant have it as a decoration where I live."

So the convo kinda went out from there. But the question I have is...What do you consider Idols? If its an Idol to someone else, does it mean its your idol also? Do you have the right to judge what idols people have? And, would you consider a dragon or mystical creature some kind of god or idol if someone had one?

Just a thought...

I'm Back!

Hello All--

Well, I am back from the Valley Springs trip we went on. Alot of people have asked me, since I've been back, "Why did you guys go down there?" So, I will tell all!

We left Grass Valley sometime after 9. There was a group of 13 at the time, when we left. They were Eli, Travis, Lydia, Andrew, April, Justin, Tyson, Stephanie, Billy, Nick, Chris, Morgan, and me. We then traveled into Sacramento, where we picked up Ivan and Ashley.

We got to Valley Springs around lunch time. After we ate lunch, and met our host families, and then went to the lake. The water was nice and warm, but it was really muddy and rocky, and just gross. THen we all went to this one families house, which btw, was an awesome house, just beautiful. We hung out there until everyone went to their host families. After we ate some yummy dinner, some of us played cards.

My hostess was Kyra. She was a sweet older lady. Both Lydia and I stayed with her. The awesome thing about it, was she right next door, to Paula's house, which was the main hang-out spot. Everyone would always meet at Paula's for this or for that, so we just had to walk a minute to get there. Which, we didnt have to do much, cuz we just stayed there as long as possible, and tried to avoid going back and forth from Paula's to Kyras.

That was a basic rundown of the first day. Now the second day is a different story. We woke up at 7, got all in our work clothes, and met at thr church building at 8:30. That is when we had our morning devotional, and chose partners to work with. The first day, I was with my dearest Travis. We went around to houses, asked if they had any work that needed to be done, and we would do it for them for free. Then, we would hand out alittle invitation to the church, we were working with. So our goal was to reach out to the community, showing a good exmaple, hoping they would want more of that, and come to church.

Anywho, we would work until 12 everyday, then eat lunch, then go to Paula's and do something. One day we went to the chocolate factory, another day to the river, some days we just hung out, and took naps. It was alot of fun. Then we'd normally go back to the host familes and eat dinner. Since I was right next door to Paula's, and since Kyra was Paula's mother, we always ate together. So that was a blast. Then at night, we would go back to the church bulding, and Eli would do alittle gospel meeting. Then we'd just hang out watching movies or doing something fun until we wanted to go to bed, which for me was around like 11:30 or 12. They were late nights.

So that is what we did everyday pretty much. We helped this one guy who had cancer, and it was really encouraging. Another lady we helped had to have 3 discs operated on, and could barely walk. So I think we made an impact. Many people said they had been praying for help, and then we'd show up. Its crazy how God works with us!

The last day we were in Valley Springs, was Saturday. We all went to the lake, and had a bbq. It was fun. But, that was pretty much the run down of the trip. I will go into more detail, if any of you want it, or are just curious, but I think this is enough for now.

Have a good day everyone!

-Ambular

Great Songs Amber has Been Listening to Lately.

Okay guys, I been listening to a whole lotta good songs lately. I thought I should share some of the delight with you. In no particular order...

1. Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap

2. The World at Large - Modest Mouse

3. Just the Girl - The Click Five

4. Sometimes - James

5. Goodnight and Go - Imogen Heap

6. Talking of Michelangelo - Bayside

7. Birthday - The Sugarcubes

8. In Need a Hero - Frou Frou

9. Such Great Heights - The Postal Service

10. Suspension - Mae

11. Soundtrack for our Movie - Mae

12. One Ray of Sunlight - Phantom Planet

13. Pledge - Thirst

14. Sway - Bic Runga

15. Middle of Nowhere - Hot Hot Heat


Okay , if you dont have these songs..im making ya'll a cd. They are soo great. I have many others, and I will post those another time.

-Ambular

Highlights of Last Week!

So many of you might not have heard, but last week, I went up to Tahoe for the annual Tahoe Family Encampment. Here are the highlights of the week.

Listening to Paul Methvin- So for those of you who do not know who Paul Methvin is, you are missing out. Zach, I wish you would have heard him, because, we can make prolly the biggest dictionary of pronunciations and phrases he uses. He has this southern accent, or some kinda 'not californian' accent. And every word that comes out should be repeated throughout peoples tongues. Plus, his jokes were so funny. Oh man, do i miss Paul already...

Seeing my friends- This was exciting, because some people I hadnt seen for a couple months or so, were there. We had good bonding time for the most part. Some of my highlights from the friend aspect was hanging with Micah, and finally seeing Loran. Goodnite! Those brothers are funny!

Going to the Icecream Parlor about Everyday!- That was so much fun! I love icecream. ANd i Love Camp Richardsons Icecream even more. Nothing beats the single scoop of delicious icecream on a waffle cone, and having to wait hours to get it. Oh so good. I think my favorite time going into the parlor is whenever they were kickin out the Killers! WOO HOO! Oh, and then this one time my brother Billy was trying to see if he can get free icecream by saying some pickup lines...here is one that he said...
" If you were a flavor, what flavor would u be?....Ill have that then!" hahaha so funny, but it didnt get him anywhere.

Buying the Pink shirts for Both Trav and I- Okay, just the fact that Travis was "convinced" by Justin to get a Pink "CAMP" shirt, just blows me away. That was too much. But i guess it just must have been meant to be when after i convinced him to get a green shirt, all that was left in his size were pink...oh goodness. But we got some good pics of both of use in our pink shirts.

Eli's Lesson- I dunno, but Eli's Lesson was awesome, as it always it. But as he was up there preaching, i thought to myself, "man, we r so blessed to have him in our lives...."

Okay, well it is really hard to type this post while chatting to people. Its hard to concentrate. Also, sorry if this post doesnt make much sense, cuz I dont wanna go back and reread it.There was so much other way fun things and highlights that happened during the week, and If i think of them, Ill post more. But I am tired right now, so im gunna end this post with a final note. I finished Zach's Darth Vader pic. Whoo HOo!



Tata!