A Citizen ... at last

One of our very good 

friends, Arben Bahtijar,

became an 

American citizen

for real today!

He took his oath,

signed his name,

and was welcomed 

to the rights and 

 privileges American

  citizens enjoy.

He has his very own

paper to prove

he is an

American citizen.

But what we so love

about Arben and his 

wife Sam is that their

real 'citizenship'

is firmly planted

in Heaven!!

Philippians 3:20-21

"But our citizenship is

in heaven, and from it 

we await a Savior

 the LORD Jesus Christ,

who will transform 

our lowly body

to be like 

His glorious body ... "

  

And while we wait for 

that "transformation"

we sure enjoy the

friendship and

fellowship of

Sam and Arben and

their girls, Leah and Amy.

They are growing in

their faith,

endeavoring to

honor the LORD Jesus

Christ in all they do.

Our prayer for 

Sam and Arben

is that they continue to

grow in the wonderful

grace of our LORD Jesus Christ,

that they continue to press on to know Him and His glories. 

We are thankful we can do this together ! ! !

Taco Tuesday at the Park

Still loving

Taco Tuesday!

We've been going to the park

every Tuesday .....

and we don't even eat tacos!   

HOORAY ! ! 

My sweet mom is 

NOT too old to swing.

And NOT too old

to give Anna 'pushes'

on her swing.

These early fall days

are sooo enjoyable.

And soon we will be back

to Taco Tuesday inside

where we'll have to eat

 ..... tacos. 

The bee's have come

to join us as they

usually do in August.

But Shirley has her zapper ....

and we're reducing the population.

Selah started out the summer

needing help on all

the playground equipment.

Now she is free running

and helping herself to all

the fun of the playground.

Anna B's Wedding Day

 We traveled to

Baudette, MN

 to enjoy the wedding of

Anna and Phil.

It was a beautiful, outdoor

wedding and reminded me of

"Anne of Green Gables". 

Briann did a great job 

at the 'guestbook'.

Which actually was

black rocks you

signed your name on.

Sydney passed out programs,

which could, thankfully,

be used as fans 

during the ceremony.

Cody, bravely and clearly,

read a Bible passage

during the ceremony.

If you look close you can

see him in this picture .......

After the ceremony there were

"Indian appetizers" and

were they ever tasty, 

music, lots of visiting

and a great meal!!

May their lives together bring

honor to our LORD Jesus Christ!

IncrediWorld VBS

We are enjoying the 

Answers in Genesis 

Vacation Bible School Curriculum

called .... IncrediWorld.

The kids hear a clear Gospel 

Message each night and are learning

some fun new songs.

They watch a 

dramma presentation

which is continued each night.

Tommy is leading the

kids in fun games.

Here they are playing

one of our chapel favorites ....

Octoball.

The kids are making some

nice crafts each night

and having fun snacks like

M & M popcorn,

Snow Cones, Chips and Cheese

and Cotton Candy.

They break into 

small groups where a

leader visits about the lesson

and helps them get

familiar with a memory verse.

There are prizes to win

and shirts to earn!

You can see more 

pictures here .

It is fun to see, and to be

a part of the body,

working together,

for the glory of 

our LORD Jesus Christ!!

Good - bye ....... Nookie

Hmmmm  ....

Something  is 

SERIOUSLY 

wrong with this thing ....

I wonder if it can be fixed ....

or if my

mom or dad can simply

buy me a new one .....

Maybe 

Jeshanah

can fix it ....

she's pretty smart!!

Gramma says to try

my thumb ....

It's just not the same !

They keep telling me

my nookie is broken ....

funny how it broke straight off

right at the base.

Hmmmmmm......

So it is ....

the beginning 

of the end of the nookie

for Selah!

Adorn .... or .... Defame ....

Enjoyed reading the book of Titus this morning.

So much instruction.  So many challenges.

So much conviction.

Verse 10 in chapter 2 tells us that as women 

we are to

"adorn" the doctrine of

 God our Savior.

Adorn means to lend beauty to, to enhance, to decorate.

Verse 5 in that same chapter says we are to 

'be' and 'do' certain things

that the Word of God may not be "reviled" or "dishonored".

To not make HIM or His Word look so good.

Revile or dishonor would mean to blaspheme or defame.

Paul's point here being that it is not only the evil

 that we may say or do 

but also the good things that we fail to say and do 

that can dishonor God and His Word before the church and the world.

I think it is true that unbelievers tend to judge the 'realness'

of our faith more by our life and our living than by our theology.

The world judges the Gospel by the character of

the people who believe it and claim to be

 transformed by it.  

That's me !!  How am I doing ???

"Show me your redeemed life

and I might be inclined to believe in your Redeemer."

--Heinrich Heine