Part Three of Anna's Story

April 17, 1899

Dear Diary,

It's late and I'm tired, but you deserve to know what happened to us and why we are currently residing in this awful place. The truth is, in the middle of the night, our house burned to the ground along with Mother and Father...

"It's such a tragedy!" I hear our neighbor, Mrs. Bryant, cry.

"Who will take care of the children?" Another questions.

Yes, who will take care of us? I wonder. Fear knots my stomach in two but I don't cry. The tears just won't come.

I pull my shawl tighter around my shivering body. I am still in my nightdress and wish I had thought to bring my warm, winter coat instead. But I had panicked and nearly couldn't find my way out as it was dark and still is.

I had awaken to the sound of Henrietta screaming.

"Anna! Help! Fire!" was all I heard but it hit me full force. I immediately leaped out of bed and raced to her room where she huddled in a ball on her bed. I remember shaking her and shouting, "Henri, what's wrong? Where's the fire?"

But I didn't need an answer as I could smell and hear it myself. All of a sudden, James came bursting into the room, coughing hysterically.

"Anna, Henri, thank goodness you're alright! We need to get out of here now! The entire first floor is on fire!"

Without another word, I scooped up Henrietta and followed James down the old servant's staircase so as not to get trapped on the main landing. The smoke engulfed us as soon as we had stepped foot on the stairs and I nearly fainted it was so strong. But somehow, I kept sight of James and we eventually made it outside. Relieved, I set Henrietta down. There, Clark and Obadiah met us with most of our animals. The only thing missing was...

"Where's Mother and Father?" I demanded.

They looked at one another fearfully. Obadiah was the first to speak.

"Father was the one to wake me up. He told me to get everyone out of the house and if there was time, he animals as well. He said he would get Mother and be right back, but by then the fire had really spread and I had to get out before it was too late, so I did as I was told and haven't seen him since."

Realization hit us all in the face as we turned around to look at the remains of our house. There was no way they could still be alive.

"No!" I cried, falling to the ground in exhaustion.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To be continued...

Real Quick...

Entering this contest over at Claire's lovely blog.

Interview with Flower

1. My hobbies would have to be shooting guns, and bow and arrows! Blogging, sewing, crafting, designing blogs, jumping on our tramploine and playing with my sister with our AG dolls!

2. First of all I LOVE your design and I think your just a GREAT person! I like talking to you and your blog is so interesting and fun! Whispers of the Wind and your other blog (six faraway friends) are some of my favorite blogs!

3. I think if I had a superpower I'd go with flying. There is this song I heard and it said:
Why do the birds fly? Why not me? Why not? :)
There is just something enchanting about being able to float around. :)

4. I'd rather read. Reading gives me the knowledge I'd need to know to be able to write! :)Plus...... If you don't know how to read how are you to write your thoughts?

5. There are two pieces of advice I think helped me alot. The first helped me get over being bullied, :) Here it is:
Don't let life bring you down, get back up and live it to the fullest. :)
The second is one I admire. This is a quote written by Abraham Lincoln:
It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in those years. :)

6. I'm more of a dog person. They have so much personality. I saw this funny little thing on pinterest and it said:
Cat: They feed me, love me, and give me a home. I must be god.
Dog: They feed me, love me, and give me a home. They must be god. :)

7. Country!! I NEVER want to go to the city. I've actually never been. I like to live free with my bare feet in the grass. :)

8. I look forward to everyday my loving God gives me. :)

9. I love spring. Life blooms and becomes alive again.

10. I'm so sorry but I have no idea how I would spend it on. I'd probably buy a farm and Saige. :)

Thanks Flower! I loved reading your responses. Be sure to visit her blog here. If you would like to be interviewed, check out the "Interviews" page!

Have a great day! :)

Refined {A Sunday Devotional}

Is God refining you?

Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

~ Daniel 11:35 ~

As we go through life we encounter struggles, hardships, and to be honest things don't always go our way. God's word tells us that we stumble so can be refined. I don't know how much you know about the refining of gold, but it is done by putting it in a fire, by heating it up. Sometimes in life, God allows us to experience things that aren't pleasant, so that he can refine us. He uses these unpleasant experiences to teach us a little bit more about Him. I don't know what you are going through right now, or what you have been through in the past, but it's very possible that God wants to use whatever it is to teach you something.

If your parents are going through a divorce, maybe God wants you to learn how important relationships are. If you are failing a class, maybe God wants you to learn the importance of doing your best, and/or to be a good steward of your time. Maybe you have been diagnosed with cancer or some other disease, God could use this to teach you to live each moment for Him, to make each decision count. The possibilities are endless, but i guarantee that if God is allowing a struggle or trial in your life, then there is something that you can learn from it.

Reflection:
Take a moment and think about the trials in your life, both past and present. For the ones that are over, can you remember what your learned from them? For the ones that you are going through now, can you see a possible purpose?

Application Step:
Spend some time reading and thinking about the fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5:13-26). is God refining you and cultivation His fruit in your life in some way?

Have a great day! :)

It's Been One Year...

One year.

9,504 page views.

943 comments.

240 posts.

105 followers.

2 different names: Rosalyn's Blog and Whispers of the Wind.

1 author: ME!

Wow! It's been one fun, challenging, and awesome year! Thank you so much to everyone for supporting me and being wonderful friends. I love you all so much! I've come so far from my first post, as embarrassing as it is. :P

To celebrate, should I host another giveaway?

Have a great day! :)