Blogger Recognition Award

Hello everyone! I was nominated by my sweet friend, Elizabeth, at One Light in a Dark World and Clear Creations Photography for the Blogger Recognition Award. Thank you so much, Elizabeth! Sorry it's taken so long for me to get around to doing this. :)

Guidelines first or my answers? hmmm...just so anyone actually takes the time to finish this post (wink) I'm going to start with  my answers.

How did my blog get started?
Everything is Blogsome is still a pretty new blog. It will not celebrate it's 3 month "blogoversary" until February 8. However, I have been in the blogging world for about a year now. I started about two other (personal) blogs-and guess where they both ended up? Yep. With me clicking the "delete" button. Why? Because I tried too hard to stick to one subject. The first one was strictly for me posting some of the stories I had written. So, when I hit writers block with my stories, it directly affected my blog. And right now, I am still affected by the longest case of writer's block I've ever had. And have been for the past year. So, that's where my first blog went. Blog number #2 was to chronicle our family adventures. But what happened when we went through relatively calm months? The blog remained with no updates. I lost excitement and removed it. After that, I went several months with no blogs. After a while of just following my friend's blogs, seeing the various things posted on each one, I decided to give it another try. But this time, I was NOT sticking to one subject, as I wrote in my first blog post.  Thus the name "Everything is Blogsome." With a title like that, no one expects any specific subject to always be posted! YES. At last, "free to be me"! ;)
To answer question two, my advice to you bloggers is, give yourself space to breathe. Post about WHATEVER'S on your mind! Be it writing, fandoms, Bible truths, family life, photography, animals, or whatever else you enjoy. Don't suffocate yourself and your blog like I did. This time around, I have really learned to enjoy blogging and have hope that this blog will be around for a good, long time!

Now, here are the rules:

If you are nominated:
  -Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to. Do some digging if you must! Find those blog. You cannot nominate yourself or the person who has nominated you. 
  
  -Write a post to show off your award! Give a brief story of how your blog got started, and give a piece or two of advice to new bloggers. Thank whoever nominated you, and provide a link to their blog. List who you've nominated in the post. 
    
 *Make sure to attach the award itself! (You can do this by right clicking, saving, and uploading the image above)*


  -Comment on each blog and let them know you've nominated them. Provide a link to the award post you created. 


  -Provide a link to the original post on Edge Of Night. That way, anyone can find the original guidelines and post if needed, and so we can keep it from becoming confusing! 


*Note: You can decline the award if you don't feel up to doing the above, but remember; you have to earn it by doing the work.*
I nominate
I would like to nominate Elisabeth at Reflections of the Heart as well, but unfortunately she has already been nominated but is unable to expect nominations right now. But why not share the link anyway. :)
There you are! Sorry I don't quite have 15. :P
Thanks again for nominating me, Elizabeth! 

Wordless Wednesday






Letter from S.

Hey everyone! I know I have been pretty bad about posting here this past week. I totally skipped Fandom Friday. Whoops. :)
For the sake of getting something up here so I don't slip into the bad habit of barely posting, I'm going to post our last letter (the second we've received) from the sweet 7 year old Indian girl we sponsor. It's very short, but absolutely precious! It was the first letters she wrote us after hearing from us.
Here's what she said:

Dear Richard,
Praise the Lord!
How are you? I am fine here. I hope you are also fine. I am feel very happy to read your letter. Your family is very big and nice. Me and my mom-dad in my family. I always pray for you. please you also pray for me.
Yours lovingly S


 

1,400 Cards by Valentine's Day

I was scrolling through Google+ today and saw a post my friend had shared. The title, along with a picture of a sweet little Ugandan girl, instantly caught my attention. It read, "1, 400 Cards by Valentine's Day". I clicked the link and went to the Rebelution site where I read a wonderful post. I'll share what was said on it below.



He has given me an idea. I believe it is one that reflects a true heart of love. Not what the world tells us love should be, but what God says about it.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” — John 3:16
The extent to which God loves us is unfathomable. It is lasting. It does not fade away along with Valentine roses a couple weeks later. It can never be separated from a Christian in life or in death.
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?…
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?…
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 8:32, 35, 37-39
All of this truth inspired me to start a Valentine Card Challenge. The purpose is to spread the love of God to the imprisoned children of Uganda that the ministry Sixty Feet serves. Their mission is, “Bringing Hope and Restoration to the Imprisioned Children of Africa in Jesus’ Name.”
People can make a card with John 3:16 written out along with “God loves you” and their signature. Since around 200 children are in each facility and 7 known facilities exist in Uganda, we are aiming for 1,400 cards by February 14th so every child can receive one.
 

Why Uganda? Why Sixty Feet?

All I can say is that as a sixteen year old girl, I read the story of how this ministry formed to serve the vulnerable children of this country. God placed an intense irrefusable burden on my heart to help these orphans. I had to be their voice. Impressing a knowing deep within my core, the Lord clearly revealed that these children were His call on my life.
In October of 2013, I initiated a Cupcake Kids sale at my church as a way to raise support for the kids in Uganda. Graciously, the Lord gave me courage to share on several occasions about the passion I had for these orphans and how people could help them in their desperate plight by purchasing cupcakes.
With the help of countless people, whose efforts made the sale possible, hundreds of cupcakes were bought that raised enough funds for almost a month of medical care for the ones I loved so well.
Then, providing everything I needed in less than a month during early 2014, God had me on a plane destined for the Pearl of Africa so that I could go to those prisons and wrap the children in the arms of His love.
I think my heart skipped a beat when I saw Entebbe from the air. My first glimpse of Uganda. It was an inky black night with lights from the city glowing like so many fireflies. I fell in love.
Now, I find myself a year later being eighteen and homesick for this place. I remain in love with this country and the call God has put on my life to this day.
I miss it so much that I cry when I think of all the sweet young friends I made. I dream about orphans often. It is my deepest desire to go back.


At the same time, there are things I can do right here, right now to fill these kids’ lives with hope. The hope of Jesus, it gives life to the broken.
I took several brightly colored cards with me on my first trip to Africa. They were made by me, my brothers and sisters, as well as a group of kids from an Awana program at church.
Martin Luther once said, “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen.”
It’s surprising what one piece of paper can do to change the world for one person. I know how much a card can brighten up these kids’ lives, flooding their faces with smiles!!
You can be a part of that! All it takes is ordinary people willing to do what God asks of them to make an extraordinary difference in the lives around them and across the globe.
Please join this movement. For more details, visit my blog, Uniquely Fashioned for His Glory.
 

New Blogs!

Hey everyone!
I just updated the list of blogs I follow. I would love it if you would hop on over to my blog friends page and check out these beautiful blogs! Thanks so much. :)

 

Fandom Friday: Once Upon a Time & Hot Chocolate

Hello everyone! Today is my 3rd Fandom Friday and a new topic! I will be trying to keep these shorter from now on.

On our free evenings the last few months, our family, specifically my parents and the three oldest (although sometimes my younger two brothers join us) have been watching a show called Once Upon a Time. For my sister and me, this is our second time watching the episodes, but it's still very enjoyable! We are just about halfway through season 3 now, and it's one of my favorite shows!
Here's a short description of the show, although it by no means sums it up. It's mostly referring to season one; the second and third seasons are a bit different. In my opinion, season three is the best (of what I've been able to see so far).
Once Upon a Time tells the story of a new world, one in which fairy-tale legends and modern life collide. Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) is comfortable in her life as a bail bonds collector. When Henry -- the child she gave up a decade earlier -- suddenly shows up. He is convinced that she is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, who sent her away before the Evil Queen could cast a spell, freezing the fairytale world in time and bringing them to present-day Storybrooke, Maine. After taking Henry home, Emma decides to stay in the town to keep an eye on him, and she discovers he may not be wrong after all.

The other day when we watched it, we decided to make hot cocoa and drink it "Once Upon a Time style"-with cinnamon on top of the whip cream. Mmmm! It was delicious. If you haven't given it a try before, you should!
Of course, pictures are a must! Sorry the lighting isn't very good-the camera on my kindle isn't great. :P


I also wanted to share an edit for Emma Swan from the show I think is really beautiful.


and this gif, which is sad, but shows how well the makers of the show did bringing the familiar fairy tale characters to life. This is just some of them.


And I'm thinking this might make a good new profile picture! What about you?



~Christine

Christmas with Marchewitz Family

I guess I said I was going to post pictures of our Christmas celebration with my brother-in-law, Micah, and his kids...and I never did! Well, better late then never, right? Here they are!

Group pics! Top: Tim and Natalie. Bottom left to right: Noah, Kendrick (4), Levi, Me, Kyla (almost 7), and Cora (12).

Cheesy grins!
Silly faces!
Cora opening a gift.
Kenny-isn't he adorable! <3
Watching Cora open a gift.

Kenny's turn!

So excited!

Yay! a special Christmas mug and hot chocolate.
Kyla says, "Finally! It's my turn."

Let's get this thing open!

It's a jump rope! Thanks, Uncle Tim!
Cora got another gift.

A Christmas mug, chocolate, and some hot cocoa! Mmm

Playin' with my ribbon twirler from my favorite uncle!

Puppy! Please, Dad, can I take it home?

Levi getting in on some of the puppy love.
Precious!

Cinderella, dressed in yellow, went upstairs...

Dallas keeping an eye on everybody...'specially her pups!



 There you are! Finally finished up with my Christmas posts. Out with the old (2014) and in with the new!





Correspondence Sponsor with Compassion

I have wanted to sponsor a child on my own for months, to bond with this child over the miles. But, I have not had a consistent amount of money coming in, so had given up on the idea for the time being.
Then, around Thanksgiving, I read a post on Teens Interceding for Orphans about becoming a correspondence sponsor with Compassion International. Click here to read that post.
There are many children who are sponsored by businesses or charities, or even just individuals who are unable to write to them. That's where the idea of a correspondence sponsor comes in; they are the ones who actually write to this child and perhaps send them extra monetary gifts on their birthdays or Christmas.

Our family's sponsored child, Sanjana. Sorry about the picture quality-taken on my kindle.
Erik, the little boy I am so excited to write too!
Although our family already sponsors a little girl, Sanjana, who lives in India, I jumped at this opportunity to bond with a child and be able to help him/her even in some small way. So I followed the information to apply in the post, and waited. I received one email soon after saying that I would receive a packet of information soon. After that, I didn't hear anything, until today! I got a packet with information about an adorable little boy called Erik who lives in Kenya and turns 6 in two days. The cool thing is, earlier today when I was pouring myself a cup of tea, I looked at the picture hanging on the fridge of the little girl our family sponsors and wished for a letter from her. I knew that we couldn't get one yet, because she probably hasn't even received the last two letters we wrote to her yet. So it was an extra blessing to get the information about Erik today!
Anyway, just wanted to share this opportunity with you all!
Hope you enjoy your week,
Christine

"Selfie" with Erik!;)

 
 


Update: As of April 2015, I now am a correspondence sponsor to two wonderful children, with the addition of a 16 year old girl from Brazil. I highly encourage you to try the correspondence program!


Fandom Friday: LotR 30 Day Challenge Part 2

Finally time for part 2 of the LotR 30 Day Challenge! (for part 1, click here.)
Last week, my friend, Elisabeth, asked me if I knew that the challenge was supposed to be done one question a time every day! Yes, I did, lol! In fact, I did a Narnia 30 Day Challenge (which I never finished) on a fandoms blog I'm part of once. (link here.) But it would take a very long time to finish answering all the questions to answer one every Friday and I don't really want to do it every day for a month, so that is why I chose to do it this way. Next week I will try to keep Fandom Friday shorter, Speaking of which, do any of you have any ideas for it? What fandoms would you like to see me post about? I would appreciate it!
Without further ado....
 

 

 
16. Favorite female character? Now this is a question I really resent! I love the three female characters of LotR so much! For the sake of leaving you with an answer, I'll go with Eowyn. She is pretty awesome, after all!
 



 
17. Elves or Dwarves? Elves, easily! They are amazing in so many ways-their abilities with the bow and arrow, their gracefulness, their immortality, and yes-their good looks! (Though I must say, I do like the dwarves in The Hobbit a lot).


 

18. Coolest visual effect? My brain's a bit foggy right now so I can't think of one. Sorry!

19. Weirdest screencap? Not quite sure if this is the right answer, but that one scene where Legolas swang up onto the horse and you could totally tell it wasn't real was really funny!

20. Saddest character death? Makes me want to cry every time when Boromir dies...so sad! :(


21. Most inspiring moment? I mentioned both of these last time, but it would either have to be Sam's speech in the Two Towers or Aragorn's at the Black Gate. Oh, and Frodo's at the end of The Return of the King.

Sam's speech


Aragorn's speech at the Black Gate
The Grey Havens (there are a couple of things said here that stuck out to me)
 


 22. Character you pity most?This is a tough one...I pity most of the characters for what they had to go through. I really do feel especially bad for Faramir, though. Unloved by his father, his brother dead...but I am happy that in the end he found happiness with Eowyn!
 

 

23. Least favorite character? Grima Wormtongue really drives me crazy! Such an annoying character...


24. Scariest moment? I would definitely have to say the scene at Mount Doom where Frodo refuses to let go of the Ring and then Gollum shows up. I was on the edge of my seat!
 



25. Favorite quote? Seriously! Already answered this one two or three times!
 
26. Favorite larger-than-life foe? Not quite sure what the larger-than-life thing is supposed to mean, but I actually think The Eye of Sauron is kind of cool in a weird way!
 

27. Isengard or Mordor? Gonna have to go with Mordor...

28. Ents or Eagles? Eagles! They're so awesome!


My Hobbit shirt
29.Your LotR collection? Mine isn't very large yet, but I have the Hobbit and LotR books, and a Hobbit shirt. Our family also owns the Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers extended editions, as well as the regular Fellowship of the Ring.

Me on Christmas Eve with my LotR and The Hobbit books.
30. How you got into LotR? My friends, Elizabeth and Rebecca, had just watched it and loved it and were talking about it at church. Natalie (my sister) mentioned it to our Dad, who had seen it before. He said we had The Fellowship of the Ring and wanted to watch it with us, so we popped it into the DVD player one Sunday afternoon, and it began...and what a wonderful adventure it has been!


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