The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

(as Christians, we don't struggle with believing God exists, but we sometimes live as though He doesn't....just watch and be reminded of the greatness of our God and worship Him accordingly)

Our current memory work is Psalm 19 which opens with,

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His
handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not
heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to
the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of His chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to
run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven and His circuit
unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."

Matthew Henry expounds...."From the excellency of the work, we may easily infer the infinite perfection of its great author. From the brightness of the heavens we may collect that the Creator is light; their vastness of extent bespeaks His immensity, their height His transcendency and sovereignty, their influence upon this earth His dominion, and providence, and universal beneficence: and all declare His almighty power, by which they were at first made, and continue to this day according to the ordinances that were then settled."

Everyday His greatness and majesty is right before us in His creation. If we've lost our awe of it, we need to take a second look. It should remind us of His faithful provision for all we need...no matter how big or small. I want to be like my Little Bit and my Boo and my Whistler and my Reaches Up. They stand in awe of His creation...they ooh and aah...and they know and believe that nothing is impossible with our great God.

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"Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God; which made heaven and earth, the sea, and that therein is; which keepeth truth for ever;" Psalm 146:5,6

"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Matt. 6:30

At Any Cost

I'm currently reading a book about Theodore Roosevelt called Carry A Big Stick. As I read about this great man I admire him more and more. He was the ultimate family man, outdoorsman, and husband. Here are some great quotes I've come across, and I see how even today they ring true. As you read, think on how true they are to this day.

'' The things that will destroy America are prosperity- at- any- price,

peace- at- any- price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft

living, and the get- rich- quick theory of life.''

" Peace is generally good in itself, but it is never the highest good unless it comes as the handmaiden of righteousness; and it becomes a very evil thing if it serves merely as a mask for cowardice and sloth, or as an instrument to further the ends of despotism or anarchy.''

(***the word despotism means absolute power and authority, also known as tyranny)

Servant of the King,

Little Big Man

The BEST Way to Put a Baby to Sleep

....with Daddy's kisses, of course!

~Yes, Peep truly is unique. She's the first Poff baby to be lulled to sleep by Daddy's kisses. Mountain Man can't imagine it will ever happen again, but I'm more optimistic. :) Even if it doesn't, we'll have these sweet pictures to help us remember this moment because time truly is the magic eraser of memories.

~Scribe wanted to know how many pictures I could actually take of Mountain Man kissing Peep, and I say, "Not enough..."

Life in Pictures 8/10/09

It was a great week of nature finds for the children. Look at this beautiful skink...the first we've found since we've lived here.

And, isn't this Jerusalem Cricket cool looking? Don't worry. It's a myth that they're venemous, but they can give a painful bite.

~ The moon this past week was simply breathtaking!

~Here's another shot....

~We enjoyed meeting a dear friend of mine at the park for lunch. The children LOVE going to the park. However, Reaches Up isn't as impressed with the climbing equipment as he is with the Original Jungle Gym....the tree.

~Peep couldn't have been happier.

~One of the best ways to pass time on a breezy summer evening is playing football. Little Bit was happy to be chosen for Mountain Man's team.

~Whistler and Peep were the loveliest cheerleaders.

The Snake Handlers Strike Again

********WARNING: This post contains pictures of a SNAKE, and it is quite politically incorrect! Read at your own risk.*********

What a way to start the day! Move the outside trash can. Find rattlesnake. Get big blunt instruments. Kill rattlesnake. The end. :)

Rattlesnakes are just a part of desert life, but we prefer not to let them have their freedom on our property. And, unfortunately, just "moving" them to the field next door isn't a good solution either. So, when we find one, it always means death, cause them Littles are just too precious!

Here are Scribe and Little Big Man, aka "The Snake Handlers," taking down this venemous fella. They even managed to cut off the rattler to use with their Mountain Man stuff.

Got Clean Water?

Hi! This is Whistler. I want to tell you about a fun and helpful project we're doing.

In our geography studies, we learned about the layers of the earth. Did you know that there is clean water in the Earth's Crust wherever we walk? But you do have to dig very deep to get to it.

Please count to 8.

The author shared with us that in that short amount of time, a child just like me died because of drinking dirty water. So, we decided to do a project that would help others have some clean water.

Just get a jar and start putting money in it. Any spare change will do and dollar bills, too. When you're done, you can send your money to one of these places listed below. Here's a picture of the jar that I labeled for us to use. As the author suggested, we're going to keep it by the sink to help us remember that we are blessed to have clean water and to put money in the jar to help others.

Here are the places you can send money to...

World Vision (look at their online gift catalog and select "clean water" www.worldvision.org

Operation Blessing: Living Waters Project www.ob.org/programs/living_water/index.asp

Samaritan's Purse (look online for their gift catalog to give "living water" and clean water, too! www.samaritanspurse.org

At the end of September, we'll collect our money and buy clean water for others. Please do this with us, and let us know in the comments.

Love,

Whistler

A Storm of Praise

"Some providences, like Hebrew letters, must be read backwards."~John Flavel

A few weeks ago, a severe hailstorm struck Los Alamos. The hail was the size of golf balls, and there was much damage done to the cars at the Lab where Mountain Man works. We mused at what seemed to be another link in our ever-growing chain of challenges, and then we praised God that Mountain Man didn't have a brand new BMW like one of his co-workers and that, overall, the damage done to his car wasn't obvious unless you were looking for it.

We considered making an insurance claim but were deterred by a high deductible and the fact that we hadn't been with our insurance company for even a year. So, it was interesting to receive an e-mail from them stating that a severe hailstorm had been noted in Santa Fe County and to please call in claims to the listed number. I forwarded the message to Mountain Man, and after much urging from fellow employees who had successfully filed claims for damage, he set up an appointment to have them look at his car.

Imagine our shock when the assessor informs him that they must TOTAL his car. (Remember I said that you couldn't even notice the damage unless you were looking for it?) They offered to take the car and give us a check which we would then have to put towards another vehicle (and then have more car payments), or they would pay off the car and give us a check for a lesser amount. We chose door number 2! So, now Mountain Man is driving a slightly unsightly paid off car, and we have a bit more money in the bank as well.

We know that God works all things together for good to those who love Him, and this is true even if this situation hadn't ended so beautifully. But this was a providence that God allowed us to "read backwards" and to be able to see the blessing in it right now, as He so graciously has done over and over. Our God is generous, and His mercies are humbling, and it is so exciting to see how He provides for us in the most unexpected ways. Consider...

~we received an e-mail prompting the filing of a claim...don't know why, but this was key in encouraging us to even consider making a claim

~Mountain Man's car was damaged to the point of having to be totaled, but it is still a great car, and now it's even greater because it's paid for! :)

~God even blessed us with a bit extra, which helped provide for new tires for the car just a week later (with all of his driving, Mountain Man replaces tires every 9 months...)

~the filing of the claim was impressively quick and easy...same day service!

~because this was a "natural disaster," but our premium didn't increase a bit because of filing a claim

We often think of rain storms as refreshing, but not hailstorms. Yet, God used this very thing to refresh our spirits and encourage our hearts, reminding us once again that His mercies are new every day.

"I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works." Psalm 9:1

Eagle of Flowers

"The Sunflower"

Eagle of flowers! I see the stand,

And on the sun's noon-glory gaze;

With eye like his thy lids expand

And fringe their disk with golden rays;

Though fixed on earth, in darkness rooted there,

Light is thy element, thy dwelling air,

Thy prospect heaven.

~Montgomery

One of the delights of living here is the beautiful sunflower. Our roadways are lined with them this time of year, and you can't help but smile when you see them. Henry Ward Beecher observed that flowers "have an expression of countenance...some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest, and upright, like the broad-faced Sunflower..."

"The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell within."

Psalm 24:1

~photos by Scribe

Life in Pictures 7/24/09

The Poff Girls gather for a concert by Little Big Man.

Peep's new seat (a baby gift from my very dear friend, Mrs. R.) provides the cushy comfort she needs. Aren't the feet simply sweet?Scribe enjoys keeping lunch interesting for the Littles. He even adds his own touch to pb sandwiches. Little Bit reaches high for the treat on the counter.

Ahh, yes, her favorite....poppy seed muffin batter. She's hoping her siblings aren't awake, yet.

It's hard work, but someone has to eat this.Yes, it's just as yummy as she expected!

Little Bit tries to convince Peep that milk alone is overrated.

She succeeds. Peep decides she'll skip the baby food and go straight to whole food. (yes, you know Peep is not a first-born. A first born doesn't get pacifiers that haven't been boiled and doesn't get anywhere near stuff like this unless the book on babies says it's ok. :))Peep loves to hear Little Big Man play. It soothes her and always makes her smile.

God's beauty is all around us, and Boo loves finding the lizards in His creation. Look at the delight on her face. And it's just a lizard.

Whistler loves butterflies. Here's one she rescued after a big, manly Poff Clan foot (person to remain anonymous) accidently stepped on it. Now she has big plans to buy a butterfly net.

The generosity of siblings. They don't offer Peep just one teething ring....why not give her ALL of them!

And, amazingly, she'll found the one she wanted. Yellow, of course. It seems to go best with the name "Peep."
My brother is kinda cute, isn't he?

Peep loves this seat. Now listening to Whistler read is even more fun!