To my brothers in Christ:

     Politeness and acting in a gentlemanly fashion towards a young lady is actually still appreciated in today's world. Although it seems "old fashioned" the Bible even speaks a bit on this subject. This is for the young men of the church. 1 Timothy 5:2-" The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity." Not only does that mean that you should guard their purity in conversation, but also be kind and aware of their needs. Treat them as a younger sister. If they are carrying a large load, open the door. Or better yet, offer to carry it for them. If they are being treated rudely by another young man, stand up for them. If they are without a seat or their seats have been taken, give them yours. If you have wronged them, ask their forgiveness. If they are true ladies, they will appreciate it. If not, don't take it personally and don't be discouraged! I know you are not very encouraged by the young women and media today, but don't let that stop you from being gentlemen! Everyone of you have it in you to be one, and I know you can do it. Doing the right thing may not always be rewarding, but it will be appreciated and you will be greatly respected and admired for doing so. :)
                Your sister in Christ,
                              Lauren Elisabeth

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words......

Always There

  Sometimes we, as children of God, go searching for him in all the wrong places. We long to see a glimpse of him, but where are we to find it? He seems so distant, but he is nearer than we realize.

Always There

~Lauren Elisabeth

I stretched my view to the horizon,

As far as my eye could see.

My gaze slid upward to the clouds,

But that was not far enough for me.

I wanted to see beyond the stars,

Past the universe so wide.

A glimpse of the King in his glory,

Is the view I was seeking that night.

As dusk quickly fell around me,

A cold despair settled in.

I had not seen his marvelous glory,

Or even a glimpse of him.

So consumed in my sadness,

I almost missed a small noise.

A whisper, so pure, so simple,

It was my sweet Maker's voice.

"Take up your Bible, my child.

Open it and read.

The beautiful words that are written there,

Is a letter to you from me.

In that letter you'll find me,

And we'll never be apart,

If you will take those precious words,

And hide them in your heart."

In times of joy and sadness,

Or when burdens get hard to bear,

I now search for Christ in my heart,

For I know he is always there.

The Gift of Friendship

  Way back, in the days of fourth grade, (Okay, so maybe that's not to far back.) I had my last year at the school I had been going to ALL my life! I left all the wonderful friends I had known for forever, but one in particular I missed most. Lets call her Bri. I loved Bri to death! She was one of my absolute best friends. I was going to write to her and keep in touch, at least that's what I thought. I missed her so much and thought about her often. Even after six years I still remembered her, and now that I'm older I knew I could do something about it. I had to. A feeling inside me was urging me to do something. So I did. I didn't quite know it at the time. A comment on a picture on her Mom's profile on Facebook and I received a message from her Mom saying that Bri wanted me to text her. Well, I could have flown then, but I quickly came back down. I don't have texting. Hmmmm.... "What's another form of communication that she's bound to have?" Email!!! I got a message back with her email address and immediately sent her a message. Her message back made my day! Regardless of how long it's been since I've talked to her, she's still my friend.
  Friendship is an interesting thing. On occasion it just happens, but there is always an effort that must be put forth to maintain it. My closest friends never fail to bring me joy. I may not deserve their friendship, but they lovingly give it anyway. Well, I was wanting to find a poem about friendship to go with this post, and after a bit of searching I found the perfect one.

                                                   The Miracle of Friendship
                                                       by~Anonymous
                                            There is a Miracle called Friendship
                                                That dwells within the heart
                                             And you don't know how it happens
                                                     Or when it even starts.

                                                But the happiness it brings you
                                                    Always give a special lift
                                               And you realize that friendship 
                                                   Is God's most precious gift.

Summer = busy!!!

Hello again!!! I really truly meant to update on how my summer was going, but alas I have not... I am here now going to give a little summery of my SUPER busy summer.

First week of June it was off to Fayetteville for a mission trip. My youth group helped put on a sports camp for Pathway Baptist Church.

(My youth group after a long hot day of work.)

 The next week we had a wonderful group of kids at church for Bible school. I  The third week I got to go to a family reunion and see most of my cousin that I haven't seen in what feels like forever!!

(These are only a few.)

The last week was Teen Camp at Budd Creek. Sadly there are no pictures for that... But I do have a picture of my cat Buckles who got a lovely lion hair cut for the summer. :)

What can I say, he's a cutie!!! :)

July was fairly exciting as well. I got both bottom wisdom teeth out! That went well. Thankfully I didn't get dry socket. I also had to say good bye (well, at least till Christmas) to my wonderful friend Krissy. My sister, a friend, and I went to spend the night one last time before she left. 

 Right Jessica and Karissa-  

(This was their first 

time bowling)

And on the left is

the result of following

an idea you had at 

11:30 and night. Don't worry, 

it's just cool-aid. :)

We're going to miss her!! :)

Well, here it is August and school will be starting up soon. I don't know about you, but I'm somewhat ready to start. I'm ready for a schedule. I will be able to plan my days better and hopefully spend my free time in a more productive way then I've used the bits of free time I had this summer. I'm going to see my Grandparents one last time before school starts though. My grandfather (on my Dad's side) is turning 80 next week! I am so blessed to have both sets of Grandparents still living.

Before I go, let me leave you with a verse. Philippians 4:8- "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." We get so busy going places and doing things, they may even be for God, but even then I think we still sometimes forget about God. We get so caught up in what we're doing for him we forget to have a relationship with him. Talking to him, learning about him,and meditating on him. It's so important to keep him and the things of him which are pure, lovely, and just, on our minds lest we lose sight of him. 

Congrats to two special Seniors.... :)

   I had the privilege of taking senior pictures of two very special people. My sister Lindsey and my friend Katie.  I don't really feel like they should be old enough to graduate, but they are.

                                                                     Lindsey and Katie

Even though I surpassed her in height, Lindsey is still my big sister. We don't get along all the time, but we have plenty of good times to make up for that. She can be shy and is usually labeled as such ,but I know differently. Unlike some kids who have a difficult time with their older sibling(s), I always loved mine. Lindsey came up with the best games when we were little. If she wasn't reading a book she was playing with me.                                                             Lindsey and Me :)

 One time when we were little (older than we were in the picture above) she made a club that one could only get in if they drank some tea. I do NOT like tea. I was also extremely gullible, and I think she knew it. I made my way into the kitchen and asked for a cup of tea. After one repulsive sip, I quickly made my way to our room and told Lindsey I was now in the club! I don't think there actually was one. Anyway, Lindsey and I have quite grown up and I don't think I'll ever be drinking tea for her or anyone again. :) We are the best if sisters and come up with the best things that we usually laugh about till we're doubled over or collapsed on the floor!
   Getting a bit more serious, Lindsey ,after prayer and discussion with our parents, will not be going to college. Instead she will be staying home and will be pursuing her writing and  beginning a home based business with my mother dealing with essential oils.

A few of her senior pictures and her ring.

Moving on to Katie. When I was in sixth grade we came up with the nicknames Kitty and Kitty Jr. Her being Kitty and me being Kitty Jr. That is where our friendship began.

After about four years of being friends I've really gotten to know her. She is a great friend and life is never dull when around her! She has a beautiful voice and will be singing in the ASU Beebe choir when she goes to school in the fall. She's about as gullible as I am which makes things very fun for both of us. ;) Here is a story about her from one of my facebook statuses.
So Katie Haynes was rinsing the car today and the water hose just kept messing up! Little did she know that in the background I was kinking and unkinking the hose.... And she still doesn't know that. Neither does she know what kinking the hose is!!!! lol ILY KItty!!
  Katie will be going to ASU Beebe in the fall, and has a full ride scholarship I believe.

 A few of Katie's pictures including her ring.

                      All that to say congratulations Lindsey and Katie!!! I love ya'll!! <3
The other day on the trampoline:
     Lindsey to Katie: You know, now that we're grown ups we'll have to start acting like it.
     Katie: (Stares off in space for a moment) Hahaha!!!!!

About the moon

    Here is a note that I wrote on Facebook a  few months ago.

  I stepped outside, the back porch cold under my bare feet. I didn't care; I was out there on a mission. Leaping over the single solitary step that separated the porch from the side walk, I rushed to the edge of the sidewalk. I leaned forward the slightest bit and looked up into the face of the moon. It was breathtaking. So bright and beautiful the moon spread a blue light over my yard. I smiled at the dark spots that creates the look of the man on the moon. (That has to be one of my most favorite parts about the moon.) Suddenly something I had known all my life made me realize something new.

  
  Let's take a look at the sun for a minute. (Just trust me, I'm getting somewhere.) The sun is a gigantic mass of fire. It's big and powerful. The sun shines its light for all to see!  It's pretty amazing. Without it how would we go about our day to day life? 

   
 Now for the moon.  To us it seems big, but compared to the sun (which is roughly 400 times the moons size) it's pretty small. We look at it shining against the dark night sky and call it beautiful. In reality it's not. It has scars and craters where asteroids have marred its surface . The moon is dirty and ugly. Its purpose? It reflects the radiant, beautiful light of the sun.

  
  Moving away from astronomy, let's take a look at God. He is big and beautiful. He is all-powerful. He is a bright and shining light for all to see! He's pretty amazing.

  
 What about us? We are like the moon. We are ugly,dirty creatures. We are covered and filled with sin. God made us to reflect His beauty, but we reject our calling. Something that may surprise you is that this also goes for those of us who are saved. When you are saved you don't automatically reflect Gods light. That comes from living a life sold out for Christ. It comes from letting God live in us and through us. We ,like the moon, poses no beauty of our own. Even saved people. So many people accept God into their heart and leave it at that. You look at their life and there is nothing different. God has called all of us to live our life showcasing who He is. We are supposed to reflect His love to the world. But instead we choose to live for ourselves, cushioning our guilt with the fact that "Well, I am saved. That should count for something."  Yet we could poses the beauty of God, a beauty that is never fading. We could reflect Gods light in this dark world just as the moon reflects the suns light into the dark night.

   
 The smiling man on the moon reminds me of this ever so often when he chooses to show his face. I smile back sharing the beautiful secret that was shown to me that cold autumn night.

Introductions...

       I really have no clue where to begin with this post. I suppose I should begin with telling you a bit about myself. As you can see my name is Lauren. I am 15 and an avid photographer. My middle name,Elisabeth, is spelled with and s instead of a z which is very unusual. The only other person that has the same spelling as me is Elisabeth the mother of John the Baptist. I quite like it! I LOVE cats!!! I have no idea why I like them so much. I guess it's because they are so cute!!! 

       Moving on to something a bit more serious, why I started this blog. As I said I am an avid photographer. About two years I got my first camera and rarely ever parted with it! I like to take pictures of nature (and my cats) more than anything. God's creation never ceases to amaze me! I'm thankful he gave me the gift of being able to creatively capture a very minimal portion of it. In today's world people so rarely stop to see the beautiful things that God gave us. The name of my blog ,A Life Worth Living, was what I chose because God gave me a life worth living. God has blessed me with a wonderful family and wonderful friends. He has a plan for my life ,and is slowly but surely showing his plan to me bit by bit. God gave me a life to live fully and completely for him. Any life that is lived for God's glory is certainly a life worth living.