ENGAGED ! ! !

~~ Julia and Matt are engaged ~~

They are planning a May wedding.

We are so happy for them and their desire to honor and glorify the LORD in their life together.

Lots of planning......lots of memories ! ! !

BLOG...BLOGGER....BLOGGING

Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption.

A blog ..... is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary.

Blogger - a person who keeps and updates a blog

So I have been negligent in properly keeping up my blog. And I hesitate to start again just in case it gets put on the bottom of my 'To Do' list again. Lots has happened since May!!


This little guy Nolan John, was born September 25th to Jared and Jill. He joins big sisters, Lindsey, Alyssa, Carly and little brother Eddy.





Anna Kathryn joined Andrew and JoAnna's family on October 28th. She has no lack of love and kisses from her big sister, Elealah.

Now that I am up to date....(!) I can't wait to share some of the blessings I have gleaned from the book of Hosea. A sub title for this small but mighty Old Testament book might read, "The Heart and Holiness of God". My heart has been so encouraged and so challenged these past months from this book.

God's Word ..... Eternal & Unchanging

The Anvil ... God's Word.

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime:
Then looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter all these hammers so?"
"Just one," said he, and then, with twinkling eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."

And so, thought I, the anvil of God's word,
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed . . . the hammer's gone.

Author unknown

Plenty to do ....

From Psalm 105 ..... (ESV)

"Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon His Name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
Tell of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His Holy Name;
Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that He has done,
His miracles, and the judgments He uttered."

This morning I was encouraged from this Psalm to.....

~~give thanks
~~call upon Him
~~tell what He has done
~~sing to and of Him
~~tell what He is doing
~~glory in His Holy Name
~~rejoice
~~seek Him & His strength
~~seek His presence (abide w/Him)
~~remember all He has done

Whew....... that will keep me busy all day!!!

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

Today is our nation's NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER!

James 5:16 says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective"; and in 1 Peter 3:12 it says, "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer."

Often I think of an acronym I learned when I was a child. Its the word ACTS.

A - adoration
C - confession
T - thanksgiving
S - supplication (asking)

Have you prayed for our nation yet today?

FOR: Our churches
Our Nation
Mr. Obama
Supreme Court Justices
Military people everywhere

And this song warmed my heart this morning. "All because we do not carry, EVERYTHING to God in prayer.!"

A Psalm for SERVING

PSALM 100:1

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into His presence with singing!

Know that the LORD, He is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
(from the ESV)

What a privilege it is to 'serve' our very maker! When we use our God given gifts to build up, exhort and encourage others, we are ultimately serving Him. And how precious the thought that He puts within us the very desire to serve Him by serving others. (Such thoughts are too wonderful for me to comprehend!)

Some thoughts about serving from Spurgeon.........a man of old.

"I think I know of no delight on earth that is higher than that of knowing that you really are, with all your heart, adoringly serving God. As long as there is breath in our bodies, let us serve Christ. As long as we can think, as long as we can speak, as long as we can work, let us serve Him. Let us even serve Him with our last gasp. And, if it be possible, let us try to set some work going that will glorify Him when we are dead and gone. Let us scatter some seed that may spring up when we are sleeping beneath the hillock* in the cemetery."

Tom Carter, Spurgeon at His Best (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1991), p. 189.

*A 'hillock' is a small hill. ; )

So.....who are the people in your world that you have the privilege of serving today?

Lets serve HIM with gladness TODAY!

A Psalm for Giving THANKS

PSALM 100

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into His presence with singing!

Know that the LORD, He is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courts with praise!
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

(from the ESV version)

For the LORD is good,
His steadfast love endures forever,
And His faithfulness to all generations.

Thoughtful Words to think on today....

LORD, High and Holy, meek and lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

LORD, in the daytime, stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;
Let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley.


--from The Valley of Vision:
A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Happy Bithday to the Love of my Life ! ! !

Today is the birthday of the one whom God has given to me to share all of life on this earth with.
I am so thankful for you, Myron.......

You are God's masterpiece, created in His image and by His divine design.
God said FAITH and gave you the strength to conquer mountains,
God said HOPE and shaped the desires of your heart (to love & care for me!)
God said LOVE and made you the AMAZING PERSON you are!

We have been so blessed. I could not even begin to mention to mention all the the LORD has showered upon us.

I look forward to all that the LORD has for us.....
walking the journey with YOU has been an amazing path.
I wouldn't want it any other way.

S H M I L Y ! ! ! !

I enjoyed the Easter/Resurrection weekend so much. What a precious thing it is to gather with a group of the LORD's own people and remember His work on the cross for each who has 'received' Him as their Savior. My favorite 'old' Resurrection hymn is "Low in the Grave He Lay'. I have been thinking about the Messianic Psalm - 40 this past week. And ohhhh how those words from that hymn touched my heart yesterday......"up from the grave HE arose.....with a mighty triumph o're His foes. HE arose a VICTOR from the dark domain, and HE lives FOREVER with HIS saints to reign....
He arose,
HE arose.....
Hallelujah....CHRIST AROSE!!"

I do have a 'newer' Resurrection hymn, "See, What a Morning" that is becoming a fast favorite. The words ....." See God's salvation plan, Wrought in love, borne in pain, paid in sacrifice", speak so truthfully of the Father's plan. I wish you could hear the tune. Its a lovely song by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend. Keith's wife Kristin sings it so beautifully.
You can see more of their hymns here and perhaps even download some of them to enjoy yourself.

What is your favorite Resurrection hymn or song?

"See, What a Morning" (Resurrection Hymn)
Words and Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2003 Kingsway Thankyou Music

See, what a morning, gloriously bright,
With the dawning of hope in Jerusalem;
Folded the grave-clothes, tomb filled with light,
As the angels announce, "Christ is risen!"
See God's salvation plan,
Wrought in love, borne in pain, paid in sacrifice,
Fulfilled in Christ, the Man,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

See Mary weeping, "Where is He laid?"
As in sorrow she turns from the empty tomb;
Hears a voice speaking, calling her name;
It's the Master, the Lord raised to life again!
The voice that spans the years,
Speaking life, stirring hope, bringing peace to us,
Will sound till He appears,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

One with the Father, Ancient of Days,
Through the Spirit who clothes faith with certainty.
Honor and blessing, glory and praise
To the King crowned with pow'r and authority!
And we are raised with Him,
Death is dead, love has won, Christ has conquered;
And we shall reign with Him,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

Absent from body....Present with LORD

A dear friend of ours has breathed his last on this old earth and entered his Eternal Home! Frank Brown went to be with the Savior he loved this morning. What a joy it was to be able to say good by to him last night. We sang, we prayed, we read the Word, we cried.....and looking beyond our sadness of loosing Frank, we rejoice as he is now in the presence of the One whom he loved and served so faithfully.

It is an amazingly peaceful thing to know that whatever we go through in our lives...be it flood, fire, death....our great God is there to lead us through. My husband read to Frank last night, some verses from John 10. "And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him; for they know His voice." Our LORD so gently lead Frank all of his Christian life and then through the valley of death.....and it was only a momentary shadow.....for the instant his mortal body failed he was with his Savior. I thought of the song "God Leads His Dear Children Along". And am so thankful for the Gentle Shepherd's leading, all the way to the finish, in Frank's life.

May Frank's life continue to be a challenge and encouragement to us all to press on, be faithful to the finish, and finish the race with joy......................all the way to the end!

In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet,
God leads His dear children along.

Refrain:
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.

Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.

Away from the mire, and away from the clay,
God leads His dear children along;
Away up in glory, eternity’s day,
God leads His dear children along.

Winter Wonder Land . . . in March !

This morning we woke up to this.



Out the back door.









And out the front door.




And we are expecting about 4-6 more inches of snow.













I'm not sure if you can see them or not....but in this picture there are about 5 robins sitting in the tree. They are likely thinking that either they slept through the spring/summer or they veered off course on their way North!


As our river creeps slowly up to the crest, we work and we wait.

You can see a web cam of our river and you can take a 'fly over' of the flooded areas here.

Fighing the Flood .... can be fun ! !

There are tons of things to do to be useful during the flood. Some build dikes with tractors and bobcats. Some fill sandbags, some form a chain the get the bags from the font driveway to the backyard. Some make cookies and bring them around with big jugs of Starbucks coffee. Some lay in hospital beds and pray for the rest of us. Some lovingly watch their children while husbands work their normal jobs and then volunteer to help others 'after hours'. It takes many hands and hearts...and each is a special blessing.

Whatever our part....may we do it with joy! I hope to post some pictures tomorrow....but one needs to be careful about taking pictures around here.

Purim Party

Yesterday, at our house, we had all (meaning all who are no longer in diapers) the g'kids over for a "Purim Party." I love to connect with them in a 'spiritual' way and this just does not happen without being intentional about it. We have had an "Attributes" party, "Books of the Bible" Party, and of course my all time favorite....a "Creation Party" which I am sure we will do again and again. I got the idea of the Purim Party while studying the book of Esther a couple of months ago. What a marvelous thing to be sure of.....that if the LORD God calls you to something ... anything ..... HE will also give you the strength to carry it thru.....all the way to the end. The Jews celebrate the Feast of Purim simply to remember (and be thankful) for their deliverance, thru Esther, from the plot of wicked Hamen to destroy all the Jews. Because Esther was willing to be brave, very brave, and trust in her God a whole nation was saved from annihilation.


We learned about Esther, Mordecai, King Xerxes and _ _ _ _ _. We learned that the Jews will not even pronounce his name. In fact each year at the Feast of Purim when they read thru the book of Esther.....they hiss and boo and stomp their feet and make all kinds of noise to be sure that they blot out any thing that could resemble his name. We made noise makers, and believe me the kids used them!! We made queen crowns & king crowns and scepters. We colored pictures of Esther, Mordecai, King Xerxes, and _ _ _ _ _. We watched the Veggie Tale movie about Esther and another Esther movie. We acted out the book of Esther, and we talked about how faithful the LORD God is to each one that has taken Him as their Savior. We talked about people in other places of the world who have to hide their Bibles and meet together as a church in secret. We prayed together that each one of us would be faithful and trust the LORD no matter what kind of difficulties might come into our lives. HE IS FAITHFUL and I want more than anything for each of the kids to know, trust and experience that!
Here are the Kings & Queens

Back row L to R: Briann, Samuel, Alyssa, Lindsey
Front row L to R: Cody, Chloe, Carly

Has the 'Stranger' Affected your House?

I read this today about a stranger we may have in our homes ......

...... thinking about it

...... and how the 'stranger' is/could be affecting our family.

... thankful for the challenge!


ps. the first click/article is on me.....what you read after that -- you're on your own!

Glimpses of Christ in the book of Job

Am just finishing reading/meditating in the book of Job. It has been such a blessing the past few days to think about how Job can point to and remind us of our LORD Jesus Christ. Sort of a 'type of Christ'.

In chapter 1 of Job, he is spoken of, (by God), to be "perfect & upright, one that feared God, and eschewed evil." And our LORD Jesus Christ in 1 John is spoken of as one who 'has no sin'.

Our LORD Jesus was tempted by satan in the wilderness for 40 days. Satan attempts to get Job to renounce his God. For our LORD Jesus the angels came and ministered to him......God himself came to rescue Job. Satan was defeated in both instances.

In Philippians, chapter 2, it talks about the humiliation of our LORD Jesus. In going through the book of Job I have often thought about how humiliated and down trodden Job must have felt. Even his wife advised him to "curse your God and die." But Job rose above it all even as our LORD Jesus went to the depths of woe and then was elevated to the heights of glory.

Job lost his children and he talks of his relatives and friends forgetting him....not wanting to have anything to do with him. In John 26:56 we see "all the disciples forsook him, (Jesus) and fled".

Job's physical sufferings were tremendous. Even so.....they can only 'remind' me of what the LORD Jesus went thru for me....His sufferings are unlike anything we could attribute to any of man's sufferings.... My heart was so heavy in pondering all of Job's sufferings..... and then I turn to the Savior..... and my heart wells up in worship to the One who would do such a thing for me.

Job actually thought that God had forsaken him. His "friends" (if you can really call them that!) rebuked him for his attitude. But we know the LORD Jesus cried out "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" And for my sin.....He who knew no sin was forsaken of His Father. Job could not die.....as this was God's protection on him, but he desired to die.

AND NOW.....the later end of our LORD Jesus Christ is that He is exalted above all! Seated at the right hand of His (and my) Father. Having accomplished the plan, the work is finished! Job was restored not to his former prosperity but it says, "the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning." Job 42:12.

This has encouraged my heart. I know my Savior's righteousness was far more perfect than Job's, I know His humiliation was far greater, His conflict with satan was far more intense, His sufferings far more severe, and His exaltation very much greater. But how thrilling to see that way back (somewhere between Genesis 11 and 12) the life of an ordinary man named Job would point us to a coming Savior. And more, that I, in 2009 would look back and rejoice in how the book of Job makes me love my Savior more and more.


As I think of this....I think of a song that I have come to love by the Gettys
To see and hear their other music you can go here
(They have a REALLY good kids cd too that teaches Scripture!)

The Power of the Cross

Words & Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

Chorus:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought,
Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

Final Chorus:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Job ... in Genesis?

We find the book of Job in the middle of our Bibles so we don't often think of its proper place in Biblical History. It likely took place around Genesis chapters 11-12 or so. His wealth was measured in livestock and not gold or silver, he was the priest of his family and made burnt offerings on their behalf.

In Job chapter 1 we find Job going about his business and we find satan "going to and fro in the earth." It reminds me of 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

Of special encouragement to me today is the fact that it was GOD, in verse 8, who called Job "a good and an upright man, one that feared God and avoided evil." So this was not Job's estimation of himself, or the author of the book of Job's estimation of Job....it was God's estimation of Job.

And so today, satan is still gong about seeking those who he can trip up, stumble and cause to shipwreck their lives. BUT our faithful God has provided all we need to stand in this evil day.

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the LORD ,
and in the power of HIS might.
Put on the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil." Eph 6:10-11

I am so grateful for HIS provision in my life today.

Job …. “there was a man….”

Before I get to some thoughts from the book of Job, I will tell you that I am enjoying 6 of my precious grandkids today. Lydia and Sydney are just finishing up a “gramma” lunch which consisted of frozen pizza, french fries, cheese sticks and nutritious yogurt! Samuel and Alyssa are playing a game of Battleship and Chloe and Cody are playing a game of Candy Land with Jeshanah. It is so much fun being a gramma to these kids. It keeps me on my toes……both physically and spiritually…..for these children need the prayers and influence of godly grandparents.

Which brings me to some thoughts on the book of Job from this morning.

We read, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and enschewed evil.” We can see that Job was likely ‘perfect’ because he feared God. He was likely ‘upright’ because he enschewed or avoided evil. Wow! What a challenge for me to be daily fearing God and avoiding evil. Was thinking…how do I do this from day to day?

To ‘fear God’ is to have

* the acute awareness of the presence of God & His power that produces in me a sense of awe and calls forth from me honor, respect

and reverence. I want to properly ‘fear’ God in all of my life. I need to be daily in His presence acknowledging His attributes, reveling in His majesty and trusting in His power.

Don’t Mess with God’s Chosen People

Still meditating in the book of Esther.  Thinking these past few weeks about God’s special affection and love He had toward “His Chosen People” and the very special love and affection He has toward you and me!

Exodus 19:5 says to the nation of Israel, “Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar (or special) TREASURE unto Me above all people.” and Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.”

Over and over in the Word we see the LORD God protecting His Chosen People, the Jews. Many, thru the ages, have tried to exterminate them. The Pharaoh in Moses’ time tried to get rid of them by having the midwives kill all the male babies that were born.  Of course the midwives feared God and did not obey this. (Exodus 1:15-21) Then Pharaoh tried to get rid of them by having all baby boys thrown into the river (Exodus 2:1-10) and Moses’ mother, Jochebed, built Moses a little basket and he was “drawn out” of the river by Pharaoh's own daughter and one day became a deliverer to the Israelites.  We have seen in recent history, the Holocaust, where Hitler tried to exterminate the Jewish race. Here, in the book of Esther, we find wicked Haman endeavoring to exterminate the Jewish race.  However,  Mordecai knew that the Jews were under special protection from God.  So sure was Mordecai of this fact that he said to Esther, “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, (meaning if you are not willing to risk your life and go before the king right now) then shall there enlargement (help) and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place…” (Esther 4:14) Mordecai knew that no man or no nation could lay its hand upon God's Chosen People. His faith was sure….his resolve was steadfast. 

What a thrill and a comfort it is for me today, as a blood bought believer, to enjoy that same special place of protection. To know that He valued and loved me…..me….enough to send His Beloved Son to pay the penalty for my sin.  And now, because of that work on the cross, He sees me as a special treasure!!

May our faith in His beloved Son be sure……and may our resolve be steadfast……HE LOVES US WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE!  AND NOTHING COMES INTO OUR LIVES WITHOUT FIRST BEING SIFTED THRU HIS LOVING HANDS. No one can mess with us……..that He does not see and know and care!  His love truly is amazing!

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation,

a peculiar people (special)…..which in time past were not a people,

but are now the people of God…”

1 Peter 2:9-1