bbarden's Xanga

How does one describe a hero?

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 09:49:22 GMT

Your vote for my entry would be appreciated! I'm trying to win a scholarship. Thanks!!!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:43:16 GMT

I do not know if anyone still takes the time to look at my xanga. To be completely honest, I seldom take the time to look at it, either. So I am not blaming anyone who does not come here regularly. However, I am going to post again.

The purpose of this post is two-fold. First, to announce to the few people who occasionally come on here that I am going to Patrick Henry College tomorrow! The second reason it to detail how this came about. This is as much for my own sake as anyone else, as I seldom have time to write in my journal and logging things online is much easier.

Originally, I was not sure that it was God's will for me to attend PHC this year. I was trying to determine what course He wanted me to pursue for college. My mom finally told me I should at least apply for PHC. Now, at times I do procrastinate terribly. However, my reason for putting off applying to PHC is because I was really not planning to attend this fall. Once my mom convinced me I should apply, however, I faced many, many obstacles.

First of all, I was certain I had missed the deadline for the application. (This was the beginning of June). I called PHC and was pleasantly surprised to learn that they take applications on a rolling basis. I began working very hard to get my application in. I soon had everything in and then proceeded to leave for a two-week vacation. While gone, my dad called me and told me I had received a letter from PHC. I asked him to open it and let me know what it said. I was not very pleased to learn that I was missing three items from my application. Two of them were the recommendation forms from a teacher and a pastor and the third was a small essay I had overlooked. The letter informed me that I needed to have the information to the college no later than July 15. The problem: we were planning to arrive home only a few days before that.

Solution: I called my teacher and pastor and asked them to get the letters in ASAP. I also decided I would just right a very quick essay once I got home, but I started working through it in my mind while on the trip.

After a wonderful vacation, we arrived at home very early on a Sunday morning. Because it was after 2:00am, we skipped church that morning. I planned to call my pastor the next morning and make sure he had sent in the letter. My teacher had already done so, but I had no confirmation that my pastor had sent it in. Monday morning, before I had a chance to call the church, my mom called me from an appointment she was at. A family in our church had just experienced some very large problems that affected the existence and location of our church. As you might imagine... my pastor was now a little preoccupied. And I soon learned he had not yet sent in the letter. At this point, I was tempted to panic, but I remembered that I wasn't even planning to attend PHC this fall anyway. I had told God if He wanted me to attend, He would have to work it out. If He didn't want me to go, I didn't want to go either. So I tried my best to trust Him and did not worry about the letter. I did do everything within my power to ensure that it would be sent in, but after that, I left it to God. Friday morning about noon (the day everything was due) I received a phone call from my pastors' secretary informing me that she had faxed a copy of the letter to PHC with the hard copy to follow. Praise God!!! He always works things out for our good.

The next challenge was money. Between scholarships and some money my grandparents have set aside for college, it was not necessary that my parents or I pay anything out of pocket for the first semester. This being the case, I was determined that if I could not use that money, I most likely would not attend. I won't go through all the details, but in the end, I was able to cover every cost of attending college without paying anything out of pocket and I did it all by the deadline. :) As I said before, praise God! He is good!

I now know that this is very clearly His will for me. As such, I am excited to attend PHC and see what God has in store for me. What His plans are past this semester, I do not know, but I do know that He will lead me in everything that He has for me and that His plans are perfect and good and far beyond anything I could plan for myself. For those who read this, I would appreciate your prayers as I make the transition; that I will draw closer to God, learn much and glorify Him in everything. Thank you all and remember that God is all-powerful!

Monday, April 09, 2007

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 10:38:34 GMT

Unfortunately, I appear to be right about the fact that I will rarely have time to post. However, I hope to make up for that with really, really good posts. :)

Last week, our church held a revival. It was a wonderful time to worship God and draw close to Him again. The visiting speaker, Dr. Stan Coffey, preached five times. On Sunday evening, he read this message below. I hope you will read it and take to heart the challenge found within.

I Am A Soldier

From Dr. Stan Coffey’s Revival Message April 1, 2007

I am a soldier; I am a prayer warrior in the army of my God; the Lord Jesus is my commanding officer; the Holy Bible is my code of conduct; faith, prayer, and the Word are my weapons of warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire. I am a volunteer in this army and I enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this army, but I will not get out, sell out, or be talked out. I am faithful, capable, and dependable. If my God needs me, I am here. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. I am not a baby. I don’t need to be pampered, pepped up, primed up, pumped up, or picked up. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. I am not a wimp; I am in my place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name and building His kingdom. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. I don’t need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feeling hurt bad enough to tun me around, I can’t be discouraged enough to turn me aside, I can’t lose enough to cause me to quit. When Jesus called me into His army, I had nothing and if I end up with nothing, I will still be ahead. I will win. My God will supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror, I will always triumph, and I can do all things through Christ. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. Devils cannot defeat me, people cannot delusion me, weather cannot weary me, sickness cannot stop me, battles cannot beat me, money cannot buy me, governments cannot silence me and h*ll cannot handle me. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. Even death cannot destroy me, for when my commander calls me from this battlefield; He will promote me to a captain and then bring me back to rule this world with Him. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. I am marching, claiming victory, I will not give up, and I will not turn around. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. I am heaven bound! Will you join me in this army?

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 23:21:57 GMT

One of the greatest tragedies in our nation today is that of abortion. So many people defend the right
of the mother to "choose" without thinking of the right of the child to live. I wrote this poem several years ago and I pray that it will touch someone and make a difference for LIFE.

"Mommy... why?"

Mommy, why do they do this thing?

Mommy, please tell me why.

Why do they kill their babies?

They stand by and watch them die.

Mommy, why would they do it?

Why would they kill their little boy?

Don't they know he'd love them

And be their pride and joy?

Don't they want to watch him grow?

To sit and walk, then run.

He'd play basketball and baseball

And be so proud when he won.

Mommy, why do they do it?

Why do they kill their baby girl?

They'll never get to dress her dolls

Or fix her hair in curls.

They'll never get to see her play

Or go shopping for school.

They'll never know her favorite color.

Oh Mommy, it seems so cruel!

They will miss the simple things,

Like picking out her name.

They'll never share her hopes and dreams

Or play her favorite game.

They won't know the color of his eyes,

If he liked math or science best.

They'll never know his favorite food

Or help him study for his test.

Oh Mommy, why do they hurt them,

The sweet baby girls and boys?

They don't know how much they'll miss them,

That they'd be their pride and joy.

Oh Mommy, Daddy, listen!

Don't kill your precious child.

You'll miss her all your life

And it will never seem worthwhile.

So please spare yourself this anguish

And spare your baby the pain.

You'll long to hear her say Mamma.

You'll long to call her name.

We love you and your baby.

We'll help in anyway we can.

Let your daughter live to grow up.

Raise your son to be a man.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:10:08 GMT

Well, I never planned to have a Xanga site... or anything like it. But here I am. I'm not certain what I'll use it for. We'll just have to see. :)