More January Happenings

We went sledding a few times this month already which was a bit on the cold side but fun. I think kids don't think about the cold as much as adults. (I know... I'm a winter wimp!) We really have had A LOT of snow this winter and it is a beautiful scene!

We also had a pizza day at my parents' house with all the kids. Each person made their own little pizza. This was my sister Lisa's (the one laughing in this next picture)idea and everyone had a blast as you can see!

Everyone concentrating on their own pizza now.

FOCUS MARGARET FOCUS!

(You know Aaron, I wonder are you holding Carson so someone else will make your pizza!?)

The finished products!

Looks good guys! Garnet's must be really good, huh?

The End of that story

Christmas Pictures

This took a while, but as promised here are a few Christmas pics. I had a hard time getting everyone to look at the camera on the family picture and then when I did, some were not smiling at all. (Oh well) It's hard to do when you just set the timer and then run back to your spot.

Anthony's 7th Birthday!

7 years old and learning many new things each day. You are such a blessing to have in our family. God has a special purpose for your life.

Happy Birthday, Anthony!

For Alyssa

Hope you had a very special day though I didn't get to spend it with you this time! May God be your guide through all the days of your life!

Time for an Update

As you can see, I am slow with Blogging now. What might be the reason.... Maybe I have lots of secrets? Ha ha.... No, not me.

Busy... yes, and well this hasn't been a big priority. I do like to write here but there are times it is at the end of my list of things to do and I don't make it to the end of this list and then there are times I really think I should write.

Quite a bit has been going on. My mom-in-law just had heart surgery this week. It went well and I thank God for that. Thank you to those who prayed for her. I could see she was in a lot of pain yesterday. She will need prayers in the months to come. We will need to go over there and help out as much as we can.

Also, our nephew Johnny is finished chemo, for now anyway. I don't really know where things stand with his health now but he looked pretty good yesterday when I saw him. I think he is excited about the fact his hair is beginning to peek through again. He will be turning 13 next month, which will make it a year since his first seizure and then finding out he had a brain tumor.

On a different note... we started our ASL class. I am excited about it! I noticed that learning signs with song makes it easier to memorize the signs. I'm also trying to talk german to the kids more now so they will learn that as well. Who knows maybe knowing different languages will be something God will use in their life yet. I know I'm getting ahead of myself here , but next is spanish. :)

We had a good Christmas. A bit different this year but were blessed. I will post a few pictures of our events yet. Oh and then there was my birthday. I am 31 now!! (unreal) In many ways I still feel like a kid. lol. Honestly, I didn't have a very good day that day. Didn't feel very good and had a sick baby. Jamie really wanted it to be a good day for me and even baked a cake yet. That was very special and thoughtful. He even made me a card and he doesn't even like making cards.

There is my news broadcast :) If you made it to the end of it >consider yourself hugged.

What I'm up to

I am focussing on Seeking Him right now so I won't be blogging much here over the next while.http://seekingoursavior.blogspot.com/

Also busy doing other daily things like homeschooling, cooking cleaning and spending time with our kids and my hubby, making memories . So ya, now you all know I'm still hanging around and wanted to write to say hi.(smiling again) so drop by anytime!

Christmas Thoughts 2

The last post I posted because these were things I was thinking about and I want to do what is good for our own family. This year some of our own traditions had to change because our schedule changed from what we normally did as far as family gatherings go. I want to create warm memories in our own home with our childen that will last a life time as well. Now since we do have to change some of the things we normally do, I am thinking about how I want to do things now. What traditons I want to keep, what things I think are important to our own family and what things are not. Almost feels like it's a new start this year. So all these thoughts are more for us as a family and not me saying drop all your traditions. I don't think that is how God works and He also made us very colorful. I think life would be very boring if we all did everything the exact same way and I'm glad we don't! I find other people's home so neat when you go there and they are unique and have new ideas. Also it is great to walk into a home that is so warm and welcoming.(Christmas time can really bring that about) I think it's up to each individual to decide what is good for your home and a lot will depend on your own circumstances! (Does that make sense?)
I guess what I was saying is let's remember Christ not saying drop all your traditions, and the letter I got in the mail I thought was a good reminder to me. I don't think the letter means we should not have wreaths and candles.(not to me anyway) Candles are light and and light is good and a wreath is round, everlasting like God's everlasting love. I think that I would actually like to put up some things like that . The point was not about those things.

Christmas Thoughts (a letter I received and spoke to me)

" Please stop for a moment and look at this letter. Do you see the beautiful wreath at the top and the candle down at bottom? What do they symbolize to you? Are they part of the warm, inviting feel of the Christmas season? While they may be, I doubt many of us have a clear idea of what , if anything, they symbolize. They are part of the traditions we embrace without really understanding what they mean. But then it’s all about the feeling it produces not their meaning.
Christmas as an event , produces the same feeling regardless of it’s meaning. Even for those of us who understand that this is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, the celebration loses it’s meaning in the shopping, present giving and feasting. We get caught up in the warm fuzzies as well.
December 25th is a celebration of the birth of the Sacraficed Lamb of God. We don’t have a clear understanding of the date Jesus was born but the church has chosen this day to celebrate this event. It’s not the date that’s important, it’s that God has broken through; that he has put His long awaited plan of salvation in motion.
It’s important that a special baby was born, a perfect child born from above. But what’s more important is His purpose in coming. So when you’re out shopping and giving gifts and feasting don’t loose sight of the purpose of the birth we celebrate. In Revelations Jesus is worshipped, not as the perfect baby, but the Lamb of God who died for our sins and, as a result is worthy of our praise.”

I got this off of a letter I received in the mail today from Key Bible Club. It really spoke to me because I had been thinking about ways I wanted to celebrate Christmas and ways I didn’t. (or really what we were doing with “Christmas”?)
Somewhere along the line , it was the church (christians) who decided to celebrate Christ’s birth this way and I think it must have been very meaningful and I want to keep it meaningful. The nativity scene seems to be so much more comfortable to look at then the cross scene. I want to keep the whole picture in mind..

Taking it all in

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Sign Language

One of the things we have been studying for awhile but were at a stand still is American Sign Language. We did learn some basic things on our own at home, like the alphabets and words like mom, dad, sister , brother and so on. Recently I found out there is a sign language class not very far from us starting again in January. I signed myself and my oldest son up for it. I became interested in this because we have friends who's son is deaf. I have 5 cousins (all from one family) who are deaf as well. ASL is such a neat thing to learn! I guess a lot of other languages interest me too, but just can't fit it all in, lol. (my memory is getting too full as my son puts it)

Lets Begin Seeking Him

I will try to post on my Seeking Him Blog within the next few days. (If I get a chance then, I will tonight.)
If you would like to join me in this study, stop in any time and I would appreciate your comments too!
Just go to http://seekingoursavior.blogspot.com/ .

Following God's Plans

My prayer is that God will use me however, whenever and where ever he wishes. He wants to do great things through all of us. When we look to Him, He shows us what He wants us to do and when this is clear, nothing has to stand in the way, even if satan tries to discourage us.

So often God has clearly given me a vision on something He wanted me to do.... But even though He already showed me, I go asking for opinions on it from other people. Then when those opinions discourage me from what I already knew to do, I decide to forget about it. I no longer want to do that. If God says it, it's true and I need to stick with it. No opinions needed after that, Just my obedience!

In Our Storms

Sometimes life is like being on a rocky boat in a big storm. Here is an example of that.

Matthew 8:23-27

23And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
24And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
25And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
26And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

Jesus could have prevented the storm from ever coming, but He didn't . He allowed the storm to come and and it showed His disciples their need for Him.

Our rocky boats show our need for Jesus as well. Often we only call out to Him when He is the only one who can help us.

It is also a time of testing to see if we will really trust Him. Can we depend on Him even when we do not understand what He is doing?

This came to me today because, it seems like we are in the middle of a storm. God is showing me to trust Him alone in these times, to rely on Him alone above all else or anyone else. So often I relied on people instead of going straight to my savior. Though He calls us to encourage one another and weep together and laugh together, and these things are wonderful; only He is always there, always faithful, always trustworthy. Noone should come above Him. He is my best friend.

He had to take me through some aches to engrave that on my heart. I must say it is a relief to not have expectations from people anymore. (that was always very selfish of me)

I am so blessed in my relationship with Jesus. With Him being such a good friend, I also want to be a good friend to Him. ( we love Him because He first loved us) It's not all about me, it's about Him....

Romans 12
1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

In saying these things, I know I will also be tested in them yet again!

Changing Focus

The best way to encourage myself is to encourage other people. Often I am tempted to feel sorry for myself and well become ... a loner! :( Yes, have a poor me, I am all alone in this world pity party. (the only way one can have one of those is by making sure one is alone, right?) Often in the past it was not only a temptation, but that is what I have done. God convicted me of this, so I now know that is not the answer to anything , but only lies from Satan. First of all how can I say that I have noone when I have Jesus. He is a friend that is always there. So I have to say thanks be to God Himself, I no longer have reason to have this poor me attitude! I still go through times of discouragement, but God showed me a great solution to this problem! When these times come, find ways to encourage others. There is plenty of work to be done and many out there who need a friend a "cheerleader" to cheer them on as they run this race. God has a way of providing the right friend at the right time.
God blessed us this weekend with some good fellowship and great encouragement. I found a simple note in our mailbox at church, that just really lifted me up, and meant so much! It made me see again that I need to do much more to cheer others on too! It doesn't take much and I can't say that I don't have enough time for these little things.
I am sure I will go through more struggles and so will anyone who reads this, but I want to keep my eyes on Jesus, and serve Him in these times in more ways then ever!

Someone at church shared about this very same thing and it just really confirmed what God is saying!

(However, Jesus alone is our ultimate comforter!)

Seeking Him

I have had a book called Seeking Him by Nancy Leigh Demoss and Tim Grissom on my shelf for a LONG time. Looked through it a few times but never got into it. I kept waiting, thinking maybe I would find other people who were also interested and go through it as a group study.

Never really did mention it to people though. Well this last while a few people mentioned it to me, and I remembered oh ya, I too have that book. Though it is only a couple people, I think it's time to go through it.

I have a hard time getting out of the house , so getting together very often may not even work.

What I thought of doing now is making it an online study as well, so that if we don't get together with our study group much, we could share our thoughts this way too.

We could email each other and I think I will even share what I learn here on my blog as well. Who knows maybe there will be others out there who would like to join us in reading this book as we study God's word.

I welcome your thoughts.

http://www.seekinghim.com/radio/today.php

Light / Darkness

We went to the mall yesterday to buy some winter wear for our kids. On the way we saw witches hanging here and there, skeletons just sitting around, the devil peeking around many corners. We get to the mall, and wouldn't you know it the same thing was going on there. Not to mention the music playing in the background matched the scene around us. As we were in line to pay our things, I had ghost and goblins watching my every move. I began thinking about the situation around me. I thought wouldn't it be beautiful if the display of darkness could be replaced with a display of light. I could picture a display of Jesus holding young children on his lap and telling them stories of heaven. Flowers, birds and sheep in the background. Praise songs for our Lord playing throughout the store.The sad part is that a Jesus scene would be considered offensive for many and you know I think Zellers (the store) would likely receive complaints that they had such a thing in their store.

Well, The images I see at this time of year are offensive to Christ and I avoid them as much as I can. I cannot expect the world to see this or expect them to even care that I feel this way. (I myself use to not give it much thought) As Christians though we can stick together and be a light in this dark world. It is these dark places that are in need of light. It's the children that are deing dressed as the devil himself that need to hear the wonderful stories of Jesus. Light can not take part in the darkness but it can shine the way and help those who are trapped in it and can't see the way.

(We are not missing anything that is good by not taking part in these Halloween events)

A few new pictures

We went to a park last Sunday and took some pictures. These aren't as clear as I hoped they would be. My sister -in -law took some as well. Hopefully her camera did a better job. Not sure what Emily is doing on this one with her hands but thought it was sweet.

I have a new nephew

Congratulations to Garnet and Lisa on the birth of their new son, and to Nathan and Teresa on another little brother!

"Carson"

Born: Oct. 21st

A Mother's Prayer
"I washed the dirt from little feet, and as I wash I pray, "Lord, keep them pure and true, to walk in Your way!"I wash the dirt from little hands, and earnestly I ask, "Lord, may they ever willing be, to do the humblest task."I wash the dirt from little knees, and pray, "Lord, may these be the places where victories are won, and guidance sought from Thee."I scrub the clothes that soil so soon, and pray, "May they be dressed throughout eternal ages in Your robe of Righteousness."Before many hours shall pass, I know I'll wash these hands again; And there'll be dirt upon their clothes before the day shall end.But as they journey on through life and learn of want and pain, Lord, keep their precious little hearts cleansed from sin and stain!For soap and water cannot reach where You alone can see.Their hands and feet, these I can wash --- I trust their hearts to Thee."

"Yes, I get to hold him too! "

A Mother's Walk

A Mother's Walk
The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked.
And the guide said, "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning".
But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams. As the sun shone on them, and the young mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this".
Then the night came ... the storm ... the path became dark. The children shook with fear and cold. The mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle. The children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near. No harm can come to us."
Then morning came. There was a hill ahead, and the mother and her children climbed and grew weary She would frequently tell the children, "Keep your patience because we are almost there."
So the children continued to climb. When they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."
When the mother laid down at night, she looked up at the stars and thought, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today I have given them strength."
The next day, strange clouds appeared which darkened the earth ... clouds of war, hate, and evil. As the children groped and stumbled, the mother said, "Look up! Lift your eyes to the light!"
The children looked. They saw above the clouds, an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness. That night, the mother said, " This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

Not sure where or when I got this, but came across it today when I was looking for something to encourage a new mom.

Learning from families

I was at church this evening to learn from another christian family, as they share their gift in music and also share from their experiences in walking with God, marriage and raising children. This is their website if you are interested in seeing who they are and their resources. http://www.titus2.com/blog/ . I plan to go back tomorrow for a few of the studies yet.

A few weeks back we also had the Wissmann family come as well. I think we can learn a lot from big families, and they are a real blessing. Here is also the Wissmann's site. http://wissmanns.blogspot.com/ .

Here are a few verses that I think are very important to remember:

Matthew 18

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,

3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
Jesus Warns of Offenses

6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Some, I know are not able to have their own children, but I believe even if that is so, they too have children in their lives who need them.

Something to Think About

Have you ever studied the shapes of the continents? If you look at this world map you can see how some of the parts could be put together like puzzle pieces. Some believe South America and Africa were at one time a single landmass. The continents could have been divided during the days of Peleg. ( Noah's great-great-great grandson) This would explain a lot of things and I find it very interesting!

Biblical data:
Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided… (Genesis 10:25)
Scientific Data:
Land bridges covered by rising oceans ~11,000 ya

Some however believe that the scripture here is only talking about the division among the people not the earth. God at that time confused the languages and yes people split up.

Knowing exactly what happened is not that important. Only God has all the answers.

Thinking about it all really makes me think about what an awesome God we have!

* The Bible has all the answers we need.

Encouraged

I am greatly encouraged today to keep on serving God. This is not because it is easy or that I am so good at it, but because it is so wonderful to walk with Jesus. I realize that when you give your life to Him and you maybe do things that don't make any sense to the human mind, you will be persecuted. Sometimes people will try to hurt you and even falsely accuse you. That is exactly what happened to Jesus. It is hard when what God has so clearly shown you, you see how much it annoys some. And not because you have said something about it to someone but because of the choices you make in how you live it out. You might even loose close friends and family will try to avoid you. I know this last while, have noticed things in that area I wouldn't have exspected.

Today, I press on and I am so excited about having Jesus as the savior of my sinful self. There are so many areas, I have a lot to learn and need grace and strength everyday.

Jesus said, to let our lights shine before man so that they will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. There is no light within me unless Jesus lights it. I pray He will brighten the light within me a little brighter each day.

Happy Thanksgiving

I don't always realize how much I have to be thankful for everyday. God is with us and cares for us... That alone is reason to be thankful, no matter what the circumstances. As I am writing, I realize how many prayers God has answered in my life. I need to remember where I was just a few years back yet and what God has done since then. Many times I was broken and my faith seemed so weak . I believed in Him though and He heard. God answered and took over, when I let go and allowed Him do the work.

I want to continue to rely on Him for all things and serve Him. Everyday is a new day and each day I must let go and let Him.

I thank God for being so faithful and loving us.

An Update and "why blog?"

First of all, I thought I'd let you all know... I do have my licence again. It 's a relief!


I know I don't have a lot of time for blogging, and I ask myself why continue? Is there a point to it? I decided to make myself a list of reasons why blogging here has a point:


-it encourages me to learn from God's word

-it is a source of fellowship and also accountibility

-get to know other people better

-learn a lot from other friends who blog

-helps me open up and be real

-a chance to share what God is doing

-maybe when my children are older they would like to read it

-enjoy photography- a place to share photos


There are some of the things I thought of.


I couldn't really make a list of negative things. One thing I thought of though was what if something I wrote has a negative impact on someone? I definately want to be careful not to offend anyone but at the same time I want to be honest with what God is teaching me.

God cares about every area of our lives. He cares about the things we say and do. I want to bring glory to Him in what I do, including what I share here. May He be the instument in my writing.