Perfect for Thanksgiving

These lovely "thankful for" cards are perfect for Thanksgiving!  I'm actually going to use the flat set as cards for our Ebenezer Box.  I've been wanting to make some pre-printed cards for some time since it encourages faithfulness in recording our blessings, but these will do just great for now.

Enjoy as you make your Thanksgiving a time of praise and worship to the One Who gives us all good things!

Love,
Queen Mom

Prayer and Praises

I've added new sidebar category to share our prayer requests and praises, and here are a few quotes about prayer to add to your commonplace books. :)

"Intercessory prayer is exceedingly prevalent.  What wonders it has wrought!  The Word of God teems with its marvellous deeds.  Believer, thou hast a mighty engine in thy hand, use it well, use it constantly, use it with faith, and thou shalt surely be a benefactor to thy brethren."
~Charles Spurgeon

"Rich is the person who has a praying friend."
~Janice Hughes

"The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying.  He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion.  He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray."
~Samuel Chadwick


Love,
Queen Mom

Frozen Toes...

Sounds quite pleasant don't you think? Well, I guess that depends on whether you mean frozen toes or "Frozen Toes". Allow me to explain: 

~

The former is an extremely unpleasant condition often proceeding frostbite and the subsequent amputation of appendages.  

The latter is a rendezvous in the mountains east of Capitan and Fort Stanton. And yes, it is of this Frozen Toes that I mainly speak.

~

Nevertheless, this is not to say that when I speak of "Frozen Toes", I do not also speak of frozen toes. After all, names are usually given for a reason (at least, they should be). The rendezvous "Frozen Toes" is so called because attenders thereof inevitably experience that "extremely unpleasant condition proceeding frostbite and the subsequent amputation of appendages" - to put it more bluntly, they run the risk of having to take a hatchet and lop off frozen body parts. And toes, if not given proper protection from the elements, are often the first to go.

~

As you might well deduce after reading that bit of information, it does get rather - shall we say - frosty up at this rendezvous, especially after the sun begins to set. Warmth is highly coveted, and hard to hold on to once you've got it. At nights, if you expect to get anything like sleep, you'd better be bundled up good - real good. Even so, it is often necessary to undergo a sort of thaw in the morning after you wake up by finding a nice little patch of sunlight, claiming it, and then doing a bit of a dance until you notice your fingers begin to turn their natural color again. 

~

So, to conclude this rigmarole, I'd like to ask for prayer that (1) the weather would be obliging, and not too extreme, (2) that we would return uninjured and with all body parts working properly, and (3) that we would be worthy witnesses for Our Lord Jesus Christ to everyone we encounter.

~

Soli Deo Gloria!

* * *

Persevero,

Scribe

He Giveth More Grace

This post is dedicated to my dear cousin, Michele.  Please pray fervently for God's healing of her kidneys and for strength and peace and comfort.  We love you, Michele!


"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
~2 Cor. 12:9

He Giveth More Grace

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction he addeth His mercy;
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.
His pow'r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

~Annie Johnson Flint

Can This Really Be True?

Ok, I'm sure my Beloved will say to me, "Are you really surprised by this?"  And I would honestly answer..."Yes, I am."  Can you imagine not reading even one book all year long?  Or only visiting a bookstore only once in five years?  Can you imagine more time spent watching tv than reading books?

Of course, the bigger concern is, as Christians, are we even reading our Bibles?  We must be devoted to being in God's Word daily, and that priority should trump any other reading we find time to do.


"Recently I read some discouraging statistics. “80 percent of American families did not buy or even read a book in 2006. 70 percent of adults haven’t visited a bookstore in the last five years. 1/3 of high school grads never read another book for the rest of their lives.”


Consider that information along with the fact that “people in the United States spend an average of four hours in front of the TV each day and three hours listening to the radio.”
Now, if that isn’t an impetus to get your kids not just reading, but reading for pleasure, I don’t know what is!

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines for television viewing advocates no TV for children less than two years of age, and no more than two hours of TV viewing per day for older children. Yet 30 percent of U.S. children under age three currently have a TV in their bedroom.

Consider what you put in front of your kids. Easy access to a TV will mean more watching just as easy access to books increases academic success. In fact, a recent study found that children who come from homes that have books in them actually do better overall in school and on tests!"

~Lorrie Flem
TEACH magazine
original post found here

The Truth of Islam

"It is difficult for many to accept that such an ideology can be real and that people kill and die for it; we see the truth of Islam in word and deed but pretend that it is not so."

Read the rest of this thought-provoking article here.

Whistler's 9th Birthday Celebration

Snow and mud changed our original plans to enjoy a mountain picnic. Plan B took us to a park in Albuquerque....definitely not what Whistler really wanted to do, but we made the best of it and had a great time.

Whistler wanted cupcakes again for her birthday and had a fun time decorating them.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch, and then went right for the cupcakes.

Even Peep enjoyed the cupcakes....well, the crumbs from the wrapper.

The boys couldn't resist requesting a round of wrestling...the grass was just calling them to it.

And the Ladies,  well, they looked lovely and played in the grass, on the swings, and on the gym equipment

While Scribe and I are finishing up our lunch, I notice that he is about to give Peep some food.  I tell him not to...that she can't digest it well, yet.  Scribe then informs me that he already gave her chicken, potato chips, and a some Hawaiian sweet bread.  He's joking, right?  NO.  He really did give her tiny bits of all of that....Mountain Man thought it was just too funny. 

(these will be some of my all-time favorite pictures of my Beloved!)


We headed home to enjoy Whistler opening her presents.

The End

Recitations by Reaches Up and Whistler

Here's Reaches Up reciting this poem we posted awhile ago..."Your Duty"

Here is Whistler reciting "Pirate Story" by Robert Louis Stevenson, one of our favorite writers and poets.

Happy 9th Birthday, Whistler!

We'll be celebrating Whistler's birthday with a picnic in the mountains after church today.  We'll post pictures later.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR DAUGHTER!  WE LOVE YOU AND THANK GOD FOR YOU!