Ready at any Moment

Judges 7:5
"So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon,
"Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog
laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone
who gets down on his knees to drink."

Let me explain the background of this verse. God has called Gideon to rise up against the oppression of the Midianites. Thirty-two thousand people came up along with Gideon and said we will fight with you. The Lord told Gideon he had too many people so Gideon told all those who were fearful to return home. He was then left with ten thousand -- a number which was still too great. God sent Gideon and the men down to the water and told Gideon to send home any that laid down on the ground to drink with their mouths as well as any who got down on their knees. The three hundred men who were left used their hands to bring the water to their mouths.

You may ask me "What is the significance of how they were drinking?" Well, those who drank from the stream directly with their mouth were not guarding their backs. They were so focused on meeting their physical need for drink that they failed to be aware of the danger that might overtake them. Were the enemy to come up behind them they would be caught off guard and the battle would be lost.

I believe this verse can be a great warning to us as Christians. I Peter 5:8 states, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" A lion is not going to announce his presence to you. He is going to sneak up and crouch down in the brush until the moment he catches you unawares and then he will pounce.

In today's failing economy, it is very easy to get caught up in providing and caring for your own needs. This mentality can quickly cause us to be consumed with greed and selfishness that we aren't even aware of. Like Gideon's men who drew the water to their mouths while watching and expecting the enemy to attack, we need to be watching for attack from both our flesh and Satan.

Now you are probably wondering why I say it's easy to become consumed with greed and selfishness. Greed is seeking to horde more than you need. Do you find a great deal at a store and then purchase all of them so that you stockpile and no one else is able to take advantage of the deal? There are many other ways that greed creeps up on us that we don't realize either. Selfishness is even more difficult to identify. It is very easy to look into the pantry and say, well I have enough food to feed my family, but I'm not going to be able to provide a meal for my sick neighbor this time or for the lady at church that just had a baby. I'll have to let someone else do it. Or what about cutting back on your offering for church? With prices going up and incomes remaining the same or even shrinking, one easily tries to justify restricting how much she offers back to God. These little attacks that we don't even realize our things Satan rejoices in. The more we focus on ourselves, the less we focus on serving God and others.

I am challenging myself, as well as you, as I write this. Take a few moments every day to pray and ask God to help you be aware of when you are allowing your circumstances to put blinders on you. Ask God to help you see the peripheral and be able to acknowledge the attacks and overcome them.

For as the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:26

Silence in the camp

Joshua 10:21
And all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah,
in peace. No one moved his tongue against any of the
children of Israel.

Has God ever done something in your life so miraculous that those around you could not even pretend that God was not working in your life. Looking at the background of this verse, we see Israel, under the direction of Joshua, entering and conquering the promised land. Their first battle -- Jericho was a battle that left no doubt God was giving the land to Israel. However, their second battle where they lost to the small city of Ai because of sin in the camp gave the Canaanites hope that maybe God was not fully with Israel.

This verse comes at the end of their third battle. Prior to this battle Israel learned that God would NOT tolerate the slightest disobedience. After fighting Ai for the second time, Israel learned a second important truth -- Before making a treaty go to God (they where tricked into signing a treaty with the Gibeonites). Now entering into their third battle with the five Amorite kings, Israel knew they had to place full confidence in God. This third battle ended in a great slaughter, including a great hailstorm that killed all who escaped the sword of the Israelites. The outcome of this battle was so great no one in Canaan could deny that God was working on the side of the Israelites. The people were so convinced that they could not even speak a word of negativity against Israel because they were fearful of what the outcome may be.

I have had two such experiences over the last few months that clearly said "Tracy, God is in control you do not need to try to force your will." The first situation happened about three months ago. I woke up on a Friday morning and was rushing around to get my kids ready for MOPS. I am the discussion leader for our group, so I was also responsible for making sure the video and discussion questions showed up with me. I failed to gather everything together the night before, so I did not realize that the video was not sitting on the counter in the same place it had been for the entire month (I had moved it when we had company the previous week). Running around the house like a frantic woman I could not find it. I finally packed up my kids in the car and headed to MOPS - hoping that I had left it at the church at our last meeting. Well, I got the kids placed and then proceeded to look for the video. I was wrong, it wasn't there. It was finally at this point that I realized there was no place left for me to look -- I had already spent more than an hour searching my house. I decided to head home and take one more look. It was finally at this point where I turned to God and said "Lord, I've already searched my house and I don't have any clue where it might be. You know where it is, please give me wisdom to be able to find it." I parked the van and went into the house. Literally within one minute I had the DVD and the discussion questions in my hand. Without God I would probably still be looking for them.

My more recent very clear situation was yesterday. Our little town is about an hour and a half from any major shopping area -- Those of you from NBBC (NUI) can probably relate however I am in an even more rural area as our nearest Walmart is an hour and a half away (I'm not complaining, I really don't want to live anywhere else right now). Getting back to my story. We were on the way home from shopping yesterday and probably about 15/20 minutes from home. I was asleep and JA was driving. Well, he happened to have dozed literally a quarter of a mile before we would be driving under a bridge. We hit the shoulder of the road and we were both shocked into reality. The reason I say this was a complete example of God's protection is because we drifted to the right side of the road. Had we been drifting to the left we would not have awoken until we either hit a car or went off the road. Had he dozed just a few moments later we would have ran into a cement wall. God is so good in soooo graciously protecting us.

My point in telling you these stories is that my life shows plenty of evidence that God is alive and working. Some of you may say that these are just coincidences -- Miracles don't exist. I am not sorry to say YOU ARE COMPLETELY WRONG!!! My husband is a walking miracle which I would be glad to share with you if you need the proof. Let me challenge you, even those of you who are believers may at times feel like you are all alone, or that God is not working in your life (you may feel this way when you observe God working great miracles in the lives of others), examine your life and spot one or two major milestones in your life that leave no room for mistaking God was working in your life. Maybe it's when God saved you, maybe it's when he protected you from certain death, maybe it is in the birth of your child, or how he provided for you financially in a way you can't comprehend. Maybe it's simply in the miracle of life as you observe creation coming out of its winter dormancy. Whatever it is, write down that moment and keep it someplace you can turn to when you need the simple reminder -- God is Alive and He is Working in My life.

God does not forget His people, and He will continue to work in my life and yours as long as you allow Him to.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10

Earlier this week I received a book in the mail by John MacArthur called Drawing Near. I don't know who sent me this book, but if you are reading this post, I want to say thank you.

A Clear Distinction

Exodus 11:7
But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move
its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know
that the Lord does make a difference between the
Egyptians and Israel.

A first glance at this verse would cause a person to just skip doing an in depth study because it clearly has nothing to do with a person's speech. But this verse decrees a type of peace that is uncommon. Have you ever laid in bed at night and heard dogs barking at night? Very little noise is needed to stir up a dog and get a dog barking. Yet, as the Lord explains to Moses that on the night when the Egyptians will be bewailing and mourning the death of their firstborns, not even the dogs would bark at the Israelites.

This verse is giving Israel a peace and security that God is protecting them and will keep His promise of deliverance. And yet He is also making a clear distinction between His people and the heathen Egyptians. As I read this verse and thought about the context of today, I am reminded of the many preachers and leaders in our country and around the world who are proclaiming "Believe what you want to believe, and as long as you are sincere God will bring you into heaven." How wrong and misleading these leaders are. It saddens me to think of the many people in our world who are blinded by this human idea and have been given a false view of God.

I serve a holy God.

Le 19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of
Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy:
for I the LORD your God am holy.

Because God is holy His character demands specific things. The only way God can even see me is if my sin has been covered by the blood. In the Old Testament, Israel was required to offer a perfect lamb as a blood sacrifice to cover their sins. Jesus Christ, the only man to walk this earth and NEVER commit a sin was sacrificed on the cross. His blood has covered and cleansed my sin. The book of Romans says that If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead thou shalt be saved. Clearly a person cannot be saved unless they truly believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The book of John states that Unless a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

You see, God makes a very clear distinction between those who have been born again and those who are spiritually dead.

I also must be very clear when I am speaking with others that I express the distinction God makes between believers and unbelievers. Most of the people in my small town are religious. Unfortunately, many have been raised to believe that if they attend church on Sunday, participate in church activities (as long as it doesn't interfere with their normal life), and give money to help people in need than they will have a free pass into heaven. However, God's holiness is mocked when we try to earn or work our way to heaven. If we could earn our way to heaven than what purpose did Christ's death serve? Salvation is in none other than Jesus Christ.

I urge you if you have been trying to work your way to heaven, please turn to Christ. This website will help explain better. Or you can leave a comment and I will respond to you.

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man

Christ Jesus; I Timothy 2:5

In regards to yesterday's post, I want to thank those of you who were praying for me. I went to the workshop this morning with the intent to talk with someone. However, by the time I introduced myself to the lady sitting beside me and she told me what she did, the workshop started. I ended up having to leave before the workshop was over so the opportunity to share Christ did not arise. Please continue to pray for me that I will seek out other opportunities and have the boldness to share.

Lord Grant me Boldness of Speech

Exodus 4:10 Then Moses said to the Lord, "O my Lord, I am not
eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to
Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."

How typical is it for me to offer up excuses. "Lord, I was too busy chasing my kids to notice the lady across the room." "Lord, I can't leave and go talk to her -- my kids will get wild if I'm not standing RIGHT here." If I don't want to do something, believe me I can come up with a pretty acceptable EXCUSE.

In today's verse, Moses was the same way. Whether he was speaking out of fear of returning to Egypt, or the desire to not upset his current living situation, Moses chose to use his speaking abilities as an excuse to not appear before Pharaoh. Now keep in mind, Moses had a better education than any of the other Israelites (he was raised in Pharaoh's own home). His education most likely included the ability to orate.

Moses' reason for offering the excuse could have been a feeling of inadequacy to perform the task which God was asking of him. I mean here was one person asked to go speak before the ruler of Egypt -- one who thought himself to be a god. I would certainly feel inadequate to complete that task.

Understanding this verse, I must now look at myself. I so often find myself speaking this same thing to God -- not so much in words as in my lack of action. On a weekly basis I come into contact with unbelievers. Yet, can I recall the last time I boldly confronted them with the Gospel? I love the next verse --

So the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes
the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the
Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach
you what you shall say."

God has given me a task to do. Yes, I am to care for my husband and my children, but he has also entrusted me with the precious gospel. This precious message needs to be given out to others. If you won the lottery, would you not be shouting it out to everyone around you so they could celebrate with you? With that same joy and excitement I need to share the good news of Christ with everyone I come in contact with.

It would be very easy for me to respond as Moses and beg the Lord to send someone else, but in doing that what purpose would I then have. Nor do I want the Lord's anger to be kindled against me as it did against Moses.

Now, how do I apply this to my tongue. Tomorrow morning I am attending a community meeting. Typically I attend these meetings and quietly sit by and listen and observe. Please pray for me and with me that tomorrow I will have boldness to approach someone sitting near me with the gospel. While I may not know the words to speak, God does, and He and He alone must guide my speech.

Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever. Who can utter the
mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all His praise?
Psalm 106:1-2

A Study on the Tongue

I know it has been quite a long time since I have blogged. I must admit that my time as of late has not left me any leisure for blogging. However, as I have struggled in consistency with my personal time with God, I am going to use my blog as an outlet for meditation and sharing what God is teaching me in my time with Him.

I have recently noticed how my outlook on my day and on my situation can be quickly changed by another person's words whether positive or negative. For instance, if you awaken in the morning and declare "What a glorious day today!" and every person you encounter throughout the morning says "It's dreary today", "Oh I wish it were Friday", "I hated getting up this morning", "I wish the sun would shine"; by noon you're glorious declaration will be turned to "Today is ok." Continuing through the day and still hearing only negativity about the day will continue to depress your outlook on the day to where by supper you may be saying "I can't wait to go to bed so I can wake up to a better day then today."

As women our attitudes are often too closely linked to what others say and think about us. Now I am certainly responsible for my own response to the negativity of others. Biblically I must not allow the words of others to discourage me from obeying God. Nor can I change the words of others -- only God and that person can change their thinking. However, there is another factor in this exchange of words that I can change. This factor involves my words to others. If I tell that same person seeing a dreary day about the beautiful green grass, I am adding a positive point to their day. I must guard my words so that I am edifying other believers and not causing them to sink into depression and discouragement.

Thus comes my point. I am beginning a word study on the Tongue.

Today's verse is Psalm 31:20 "You shall hide them in the secret place of your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues."

I do understand that David wrote this chapter while he was facing adversity and being hunted by men who wanted to kill him. Now I know that no one is hunting me down with the desire to physically kill me. However, Satan does desire to see my testimony destroyed. He longs to drive me into a spiritual depression and he will do so through verbal attacks from those about me -- both unsaved and saved.

The first section of the verse refers to the believer being securely hidden in the presence of God. Here I find safety and comfort knowing that by spending time in God's presence no one can harm me. The second section explicetly states why I am being hidden -- from the strife of tongues. When I hear the word strife I often think of one who is up to mischief.

Therefore, God is protecting me from the mischief other people speak. I am protected from what others are saying about me. This does not mean that I am oblivious to what is being said about me. In verse 13 the Psalmist states "For I hear the slander of many . . ." At times I will be aware of the slander and malicious statements people say about me.

By spending time in God's presence I am reminded that the only person who's thoughts I should care about are God's. It does not matter what my neighbor's think of my numerous and closely spaced children. God gave me each child, so he is glorified when I speak positively about the joy each of my children are to me. When I am in God's presence I receive fullness of joy. This joy will carry me through the negative comments and opinions I routinely face.

Verse 18 of chapter 31 states "Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous." Here in this very chapter the poet David gives me a prayer to offer up when I do hear the verbal attacks.

Rather than allowing the negativity of others drive me into the depths of despair I need to take the attack to my Heavenly Father and pray for Him to silence the attack.

I do want to add that a person does not need to speek maliciously in order to destroy a person. A simple, "you must always be tired" is enough to drive a splinter of discontentment into the heart of a person. Recently I had a splinter, the size of a pin head, stuck in the tip of my finger. For an entire day that tiny splinter caused my finger to hurt immensly every time it touched something. A person's words are like that splinter -- no matter how small they can fester and cause pain.

But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, "You are my God . . .
Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies' sake.
Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord,
for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
vv 14-17

Pumpkin Spice Latte

I found a fantastic recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  It tastes very similar to Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

1 cup half and half (I used 2% milk)

3 tbsp canned pumpkin (I used fresh pumpkin)

1/2 cup strong brewed hot coffee

3 tbsp sugar

pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg - to taste

Combine creamer and pumpkin in saucepan at meadium heat and stir constantly until boiling (but not burnt).  Remove mixture and pour into a blender.  Whip in high speed for 20 seconds.  Pour mixture in a large cup, add coffee, stir in sugar and spices.  Serves 1. Enjoy!

We cancelled our cable this month, so last night we sat down as a family to watch Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer on JA's laptop.

From the Legend to the Lord

What an exciting character is Santa Claus! This mystical man becomes so real and vivid to children. Most of us recall those early memories of how we longed for his arrival. Santa is depicted as a colorful figure, given every quality needed to make children happy. We recall how:

- He was really a stranger; yet he was so approachable.

- He was mysteriously different; but we knew we could trust him.

- He had elves working to please him; but his goal was to please us.

- He had such marvelous abilities; but he never abused his power.

- He lived way up north; but he planned his days thinking about us.

- He traveled the world's skies; but he would never miss our house!

- He was our family friend; but we were glad to share him with others.

Did you ever cry when someone told you that Santa Claus wasn't real? Deep down, perhaps the credibility of your parents took some hits that day. Following such disturbing news, struggles follow between that zone of truth and fiction. Maybe you find it hard to trust people. But please don't let doubts complicate reality as we move from the mythical man to the Mighty God. In a wonderful way, we turn from the legend to the Lord! There is One who has each of good qualities that was interwoven into Santa Claus. Friend, with Jesus Christ as your hero, the satisfaction we enjoyed trusting Santa just gets better than ever! Look briefly at the qualities of Old Saint Nick as we compare the excellence of the Savior of the World!

The Legend - Santa is GOOD! Is anyone as good as Santa Claus? Think how every good and perfect gift comes from him at Christmas time. He goes unchallenged to be the supreme giver of good things.The Lord - Jesus is GOOD! God gives "every good gift and every perfect gift" (Jam. 1:17). The Psalmist declared, "the LORD is good" (Ps. 34:8). The Lord Jesus Christ is "the good shepherd" (John 10:11).

The Legend - Santa is ETERNAL! Generations come and go but you see Santa grows no older. None of us have been around as long as Santa Claus. His white hair and weather-beaten face seem to be the very picture of eternity. He's remains the same as his life never ends.The Lord - Jesus is ETERNAL! Specifying the forever past, we see "from everlasting to everlasting, thou are God" (Psalm 90:2). Likewise, the Christ-child born in Bethlehem is "from everlasting" (Micah 5:2).

The Legend - Santa is ALMIGHTY (omnipotent)! Santa Claus is pretty powerful! No storm can stop him from his yearly miracle as he delivers tons of gifts throughout the world. He totally defies nature, flying across the skies and going down the smallest, hottest chimneys. Nothing is too hard and nothing is impossible to the one who visits the millions of homes on Christmas Eve.The Lord - Jesus is ALMIGHTY! See the power of God. "There is nothing too hard for thee" (Jer. 32:17). "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6)! Think about how much power is "all power"? Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Mat. 28:18). He says, "with God all things are possible" (Mat. 19:25-26).

The Legend - Santa is ALL-KNOWING (omniscient)! "He knows if you've been good or bad." He even knows what the children want for Christmas, even when they don't ask him in person.The Lord - Jesus is ALL-KNOWING! "God...knoweth all things!" (1 John 3:20). The disciples, then again Simon Peter responded to Jesus, "Thou knowest all things" (John 16:30; 21:17).

The Legend - Santa is EVERYWHERE (omnipresent)! Santa Claus appears at hundreds of shopping centers at the same time! Santa would have to go and be everywhere to visit all the homes in the world in one evening. Children wake up across the face of the earth to say, "Santa was here!"The Lord - Jesus is EVERYWHERE! "If I ascend up to heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there" (Ps. 139:7-10). The resurrected Jesus promises His omnipresent Spirit to His witnesses in all nations, saying, "I am with you" (Mat. 28:28-20).

The Legend - Santa is FAITHFUL! Children believe Santa to be totally dependable and faithful! He never fails or breaks his word. So they are fully persuaded that what Santa promises, he will perform.The Lord - Jesus is FAITHFUL! "The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us" (Jer. 42:5). The LORD (Jehovah) is identified as the Lord Jesus Christ, "Faithful and True" (Rev. 19:11). "He is God, the faithful God" (Deut. 7:9).

The Legend - Santa is UNCHANGING (immutable)! In a changing world, Santa never seems to change! You can count on Santa to be Santa; always happy, jolly, and kind to children. Yesterday, today, and forever Santa Claus is the same.The Lord - Jesus is UNCHANGING! "I change not" (Mal. 3:6). "God is not a man, that he should lie" (Num. 23:19) "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Heb. 13:8).

The Legend - Santa is LOVE! Santa loves all of the boys and girls in the world -- red, brown, yellow, black and white without partiality.The Lord - Jesus is LOVE! God made all people "one blood" (Acts 17:26). "God is love" (1 John 4:7-10). Jesus died for our sin because He loves us (Romans 5:8). Nothing can "separate us from the love of God" (Rom. 8:35-38). "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

The Legend - Santa is RIGHTEOUS! Santa, as a moral judge makes no mistakes! Every stocking contains just the appropriate gifts.The Lord - Jesus is RIGHTEOUS! The Lord is "the righteous judge" (2 Tim. 4:8). "God is judge himself" (Ps. 50:6). But still it is God the Son who accomplishes "all judgment" (John 5:22).

The Legend - Santa is SOVEREIGN! On Christmas Eve, Santa as if he is a King is uniquely in complete control. Nothing can stop him. The Lord - Jesus is SOVEREIGN! God works "all things after the counsel of his own will" (Eph. 1:11). Jesus Christ is coming as the "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. 19:16).

The Legend - Santa is COMING! You'd better watch out and you'd better not cry! Children want to be ready because Santa Claus is coming to town! Hundreds of thousands of towns and hundreds of millions of people wait with expectancy for the glorious return of Santa Claus. Their wish is, even so, come! This becomes their blessed hope!The Lord - Jesus is COMING! "The Lord...which is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8). "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20). "When he shall appear, we (Christians) shall be like Him" (1 John 3:2).

The Legend - Santa is WORSHIPED! He is revered by children all over the world as they seek to please him. Their little trusting hearts seem to be saying, "O come let us adore him!"The Lord - Jesus is WORSHIPED! "O come, let us worship...kneel before the LORD (God) our maker" (Ps. 95:6). "And they came and held him (Jesus) by the feet, and worshipped him" (Mat. 28:9).

The Legend - Santa receives GLORY! Clearly when the story of Santa Claus was made up, he was given the very best of all qualities as the characteristics of God. It seems as though he was made a deity.The Lord - Jesus receives GLORY! Only God is to be praised. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3). "My glory will I not give to another" (Isaiah 42:8). But Jesus Christ receives glory as "the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified." Jesus has always had God's glory: "O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:5). "To him be glory both now and for ever" (2 Pet. 3:18). All praises to God!

All who believed in a Santa Claus need never be disappointed, not if we transfer our trust to Jesus Christ. As Judge, He knows how bad we've been, yet He offers us the "forgiveness of sins" by His blood (Eph. 1:7). We can trust nothing else but turn to God from idols (1 Thes. 1:9). The best "gift" is "eternal life" (Rom. 6:23) - yours by trusting Jesus Christ!

- He may be a stranger to you; but He is approachable while inviting, "Come unto me" (Mat. 11:28).

- He as the God-Man, is mysterious (1 Tim. 3:16); but you can totally trust in Him. "God...cannot lie" (Titus 1:2).

- He was served by angels in Heaven; but He came to be a servant.

- He could have called 10,000 angels; but He chose to die for you.

- He lives up in Heaven; but He never forgets us (Luke 12:6-7).

- He is on the horizon (Is. 40:22); but He comes to us (Mat. 18:20).

- He is my dearest Friend (John 15:13), and we love to share Him.

The qualities of Santa Claus are wonderfully surpassed by the One who wants to be your Savior from sin and from outer darkness. Jesus Christ satisfies, He is real and He cares! The Babe of Bethlehem is the very Lord who died for you. Why not receive God's greatest gift today by telling Jesus Christ that you believe in Him alone to gain the Celestial Heaven! Why not make this day the very best in your whole life?

Violin Recital

Last Monday was Kara's third violin recital. I am so proud of how hard Kara has worked this past semester. We went from last year practicing maybe 2-3 times a week for 15 minutes if we were lucky, to practicing 5-7 days a week for 20-30 minutes. Kara has even quit complaining about having to practice. She gets excited about playing her violin.

For her recital she wanted me to curl her hair, so I attempted to curl it, but unfortunately the curlers did not take -- we'll have to work on that. She looked beautiful for her recital.

At the end, Miss Abigayle presented Kara with a medal for getting in all of her practice time (we did have to make up three days of practice that we neglected over Thanksgiving).

Kara played "Lightly Row" and "Jingle Bells"
Here are all of the students Miss Abigayle taught this semester. Kara is one of three violin students, and the rest of her students are piano. We have one more semester with Miss Abigayle before she leaves for college. We are certainly going to miss her next year.



This video is different from the videos on facebook -- This is Jingle Bells.

Vacatin Pictures

Okay, we are back from vacation now. We had a wonderful time traveling to Florida, Virginia, Kentucky, and home again. I have many stories to tell, but will confine myself to saying we had a fantastic time.

Right now, I will only give you the pictures of our vacation taken from the vantage point of our eldest child and her budding photography skills. To see the pictures Kara took of our vacation, click on the links below. Each link will take you to a separate album of pictures she took. She took a lot (and this is after I deleted about half of them).

Album 1

Album 2

Album 3

Enjoy her photos.

pictures

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

If you have a little girl who loves to play dress up, then you must, I repeat you must check out this giveaway. I can't even begin to imagine how much time and work went into the design and creation of this gorgeous dress. Do make sure you stop by Grosgrain and her beautiful giveaway.

Attention all Coffee Lovers

Check out this blog to enter to win some free coffee. I think they are a new company selling many different types and flavors of coffee. I checked out their store, and the variety is amazing. Hope you stop by and check out their site.

Shenandoah Costume GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Shenandoah Costume GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Lately my girls have been into playing dress up. Check out this great costume and enter to win.

Too Quick to Judge

BEWARE THIS IS LONG AND A BIT DISGUSTING

This week, the Lord has been teaching me multiple lessons. I don't think I could even begin to list the number of things I have been learning. However, I must say the biggest lesson I am learning is that sometimes even when I don't realize it I am much too quick to judge.

Those of you who are on facebook and have noticed my status this week would know we currently have an infestation of mice. Now I will be the first to say that I think mice are cute -- when they are outside and far away from destroying anything I own. However, when they appear inside the house I think they are one of the most disgusting things on earth -- even worse then a stinky diaper. Probably at the beginning of the summer I began to hear mice in the walls. I told JA, but whenever I said something -- they stopped. The result = my husband did not believe me, primarily because there were no signs of them in the house. That is until Sunday night. Sunday night I sat down to feed Ezekiel and saw one scurry under the couch. Monday morning I was sitting at the kitchen table and watch one scurry across the living room and down the stairs. Monday afternoon I was heading upstairs when one runs down the stairs and hides under the washing machine. Tuesday night Kara spots one upstairs running into her bedroom. Tuesday night I feel one brush against my back as I sat on the couch to watch a movie. Tuesday night we spot one under our bathroom sink. Do you get the picture -- We have a major infestation and the mice are not afraid of us!!!

Out come the traps in full force. Within the first twenty-four hours of the traps being out we catch six mice. I don't think I've ever even heard of catching that many in one day. Believe it or not the mice have not gotten into the kitchen or affected any of the food. In addition to the mice, the weather has been so nice that the kids have been playing outside a lot this week. The problem is they forget to close the kitchen door. Result = flies, flies, and more flies.

To top this off, yesterday afternoon I was standing in my kitchen looking at the dishes from the day that needed to be washed. I could not help but step outside of my situation and realize that if I was standing in anyone else's home seeing mice, surrounded by flies, and a pile of dishes I would consider them to be the most unsanitary and rather disgusting home. But if you looked at the rest of my house -- clean floors, laundry caught up, food put away, relatively clean bathrooms I began to realize that I cannot judge others. Anyone could walk into my home and at that moment walk out never wanting to return -- but that is not typical of our home, especially the mice :(

Next time I am tempted to judge someone by their home or appearance, I hope I will remember my experience this week and realize that sometimes people fall a little behind in cleaning and that the sneaky pests can get out of control before they even realize there is a problem.

Just to let you know, we have now put fly paper outside in our garage and the kids are not letting in nearly as many flies as they were before. We have stopped up all visible outside entrances into the house, and will hopefully be decreasing the mouse population rapidly. After the mice are gone we WILL be shampooing all carpets and deep cleaning the house.

But on a side note, I have to show you the picture of a mouse JA caught last night in our house. The poor thing didn't even get to taste his demise as he died reaching out for his cheese.

VS.

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat
our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing.
Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being
disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

Makes you stop and think 'where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!

Click here for Homeschool Update

Brotherly Love

My special Blessings before we left for church on Sunday.

One thing I have to tell you about my kids is that despite how frequently they fight, they each have a lot of love to share and give. Psalms says "Behold how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. This seems very true of my two special boys. Andy absolutely adores his little brother. Every morning, if Ezekiel is in bed with us, Andy (Andy tends to wake up before everyone) will come over and start saying baby and pointing at Ezekiel. If JA is already up and Ezekiel and I are still in bed, Andy will crawl up and lay down and JA's side of the bed. He will then commence to try and have Ezekiel hold his hand (regardless of the fact that Ezekiel is usually asleep).

When Ezekiel is laying on his activity gym, Andy loves to go over and lay beside him. He will try to entertain Ezekiel or simply smother him with kisses. I love just watching the two of them interact.
Note: I do make sure not to leave them alone because for the few moments I stepped away this morning I return to find Andy trying to wrestle his baby brother -- I am looking forward to being able to watch them play together when Ezekiel is older.

Andy was more than happy to pose for these pictures with his baby brother.

First Trip to the Dentist

Wednesday Kara and Lydia had their very first dentist appointment. I must say I was very nervous about how this trip would go. JA stayed home with both boys, and the girls and I traveled the thirty minutes to go to the dentist. I was sure that both girls would have a fit the minute the dentist told them to open their mouths. I am so thankful to report that I was completely wrong. Both girls did great, and I think that reading books to them all week about going to the dentist helped to prepare them for the experience. The book I liked most about going to the dentist was Dora the Explorer Show Me Your Smile.

First to hop into the chair was Kara. Kara chose to bring her favorite Kitty cat with her.
Dr. Potter told her that he was going to count kitty cat's teeth but since her mouth was
sewn shut he wasn't able to. So he counted Kara's teeth instead. Counting her teeth
while he was looking for cavities kept her from being afraid of the hook.
The middle picture is the Hygienist showing Kara how her special toothbrush will tickle her
teeth -- she had the toothbrush tickle Kara's finger. By the time Kara had the fluoride
treatment in the last picture she was completely at ease and letting them work with her mouth.

Lydia was very eager to hop into the chair after Kara was all done. I was able to get a picture of the dentist "counting' her teeth. You can see Lydia holding onto her puppy in the first picture.
Both girls chose the bubble gum flavor toothpaste to have their teeth cleaned with.
Lydia was proud to be able to smile during the fluoride treatment. And I was surprised neither girl balked at the vacuum thing stuck in their mouth.

Since both girls had to wait 30 minutes before eating and drinking, I drove them to the park to play for a little bit before I took them out for a special dinner. Here are my girls showing you their lovely smiles.

For dinner we stopped at the "Chubby Pickle" a little diner in Phillipsburg. I had to get their picture with the huge pickle on the front. Until Lydia saw her french fries and hamburger without pickles, she kept saying "I don't want pickles" -- I guess she thought pickles was all this diner served :)

Apples, Apples, and More Apples

Last week was a wonderful blessing for our family. On Monday, we decided to take the kids apple picking. I have to admit I was very tentative about taking them because I figured there would be no way we could keep track of them in an apple orchard. Now I am thankful we decided to take them. We picked five pecks of apples -- that comes to be 1 and 1/4 bushels of apples. And the kids each had a fabulous time.
The kids stopping to eat lunch (banana muffins)

Lydia and Andy preparing to explore the Hay Maze

Kara and Lydia in the middle of the Hay maze by the Scarecrow

Lydia on her way out of the maze

Picking apples

Kara looking for the perfect apple

Andy actually needed two hands to pick this apple

JA topping off the last bag of apples

Ezekiel slept through the entire experience until right before we left.

Ezekiel and me in the middle of the hay maze

Because the apples had been damaged by hail and
were a little wormy, we had to cut them up and turn them into
applesauce and apple butter.
We were able to get about 30 quarts of applesauce, and 24 jelly jars of
apple butter all for the grand price of $10

Andy wanted to try his hand at making applesauce.

With our trip to the Apple Orchard, we spent a lot of time in school last week talking about apples for school. Making the applesauce and apple butter was also a part of our schooling last week. Below our the pictures the kids drew of their apple orchard experience. Notice the black stroller in the bottom right hand corner of Kara's picture. She is really beginning to discover a purpose in her drawing instead of simply scribbling.

Ezekiel's Baby Shower

I feel so blessed to be a part of a wonderful church family. Not only did they bring me a couple of meals after Ezekiel's birth, but they also planned a wonderful baby shower for us. I took Kara and Ezekiel with me to the shower, and Kara became the official photographer.

We received some adorable items including three packages of diapers about six packages of baby wipes; some lotion, baby oil, and baby wash; baby socks, some bibs; an adorable photo album; some creative memories scrapbook and baby stickers; and a beautiful picture frame to hang on the boys wall.

If you would like to see more pictures from the shower click here.