Prisoner of Love

Captured by his adoring sister and taken away in a pink stroller...

Cap'n contemplates Divine Providence

He struggles to submit

Thinking life must be greener on the other side of the stroller.

(And why would you want to be anywhere else when you have such a lovely sister right by your side. :))

Seeing Green and Other Blessings

Well, here it is August, and we're finally seeing some green! Thank you, Lord, for the rain. We jump up and down around here when it's time to pull out the mower. :)

We're thankful, too, for a host of other gifts from God's loving Hand.

~Mountain Man had a dental emergency last week and was able to get in with the dentist that morning. The pain relief has been slow, but MM is finally starting to feel better.

~Last week, my Mom was preparing herself for a tornado to sweep through their area. I'm so thankful God spared them that potential destruction.

~It's truly amazing that Mountain Man has never been in an accident in all these years of traveling so far to work and back home each day. Last week, God protected him from a three car crash that happened right behind him.

~I'm thankful for those big orange carpet cleaners available at the grocery story. Who would have thought you could rent happiness? Our carpet has seen a lot of living, and I'm thankful that big tank erased some of it.

~I'm praising God for providing my cousin, Michele, with an affordable place to stay while she's having tests done and waiting to see her cancer doctor.

~The guys love swords around here. That means there might be the sight of blood on occasion. You'd think I wouldn't freak out be unsettled at the sight of it, but I'm still a work in progress. Last week, Reaches Up walks into the house, a bit upset, with blood running down his face. Ah, those head injuries are always deceiving.....bleeding way more than you'd think for the seriousness of the injury. Praise God it was just a little wound, and Reaches Up quickly recovered after being cleaned up a bit. :)

~I'm thankful lovely Marissa came to our rescue and helped Emma finish the pants she had started last week. She even coaxed Clairesy to eat lunch. After all, OREOS were on the line!

Aren't these cool? And Reaches Up says they're the warmest pajamas ever. :)

~I'm thankful that the Photography Bug has bitten Miss Emma. She loves to grab the camera when she spies God's glorious handiwork in the evenings.

"In this life of each of the redeemed there is a world of wonders, and therefore from each there should resound a world of praises."

~C.H. Spurgeon

With love,

Who Wants to Eat Lunch

when you could sleep instead?

My Life's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

What are these things? And why do all the Big People in the house have them?

I don't think this is quite right. It's fun though!

There we go. Hey, I'm really handsome in these. I'm the Cool Cap'n.

Now if someone will just get all these fingerprints off...

Where Are You Hanging Your Faith?

"In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion."

~Psalm 71:1

Preaching from Isaiah yesterday, our Pastor (have I ever mentioned we have the BEST pastor in the ENTIRE world? Not perfect, I know, but truly the BEST. I know some church goers roast their Pastor at the Sunday meal. But, we're thankful to be given another reason each week to praise God for His provision in giving us our Pastor) reminded us there are several ways to trust in an arm of flesh instead of completely in Christ alone. We can trust in precise theology, our worldview or knowledge of Scripture, our abilities or college degrees. The list is endless.

None of those things are worthy of our trust. Only God will never fail us. I was studying through Psalm 71 this morning and found these words from Spurgeon to be timely reinforcement of our Pastor's reminder to trust in Christ alone.

"Jehovah deserves our confidence; let Him have it all. Every day we must guard against every form of reliance upon an arm of flesh, and hourly hang our faith upon the ever faithful God. Not only on God must we rest, as a man stands on a rock, but in Him must we trust, as a man hides in a cave. The more intimate we are with the Lord, the firmer will our trust be. God knows our faith, and yet He loves to hear us avow it; hence, the psalmist not only trusts in the Lord, but tells him that he is so trusting."

~Spurgeon,

Treasury of David

Vol. 3, p.294

I think it's wise to ask God to show us what we've been trusting in instead of Him. He's faithful to do that, and He's faithful to pour out His grace to help us trust in Him alone instead of any arm of flesh.

With love,

Only a Month Later....

To do.

Post Jake's birthday pictures.

Check.

Great! Now I think I only have Cap'n's birthday pics to post and the Rejoicing Feast we had a few months ago.

So, these pictures were from last month when Little Big Man, who seems to have outgrown that name now, turned 14.

Jake is our resident comedian. Always laughing and smiling and trying to make us do the same.

He's great with the Littles and can entertain them with army men and sword fighting and great books. 

He's like his Mama and loves bread. He's usually the first to sniff out the fresh loaves of french bread after they've come out of the oven and been smothered with lots o' butter.

And he's a steak and potatoes kind of guy, too. Marinated steak, that is.

Group shots are ever the adventure. The crazier the better.

Yes, Cap'n did have his moments of bliss during the celebration.

Jake loves to write and read and be in the outdoors, shooting black powder or throwing knives or riding bikes. He's compassionate and protective. He enjoys the writings of Wodehouse and John Buchan. Oh, yes, he likes to read theology books, too, and eat ice cream late at night.

His birthday wish list included books,

books (Yay...a Puritan paperback....I wonder where he heard about those),

and more books.

Of course Mountain Man had to throw a knife in for good measure, which completely surprised Jake. 

Apple Crisp is what he wanted instead of cake.

He was challenged by Reaches Up...."Think you can blow out ALL those candles?"

And, yes, he did.

We love you, Jake! Oh what joy you bring us every day. May God always be glorified in all you say and do and think, and may you love your Savior more and more with each passing day. 

After the Rains

Your Tea is Ready, Mommy

Clairesy runs to get me, telling me that my tea is ready. That's nothing unusual. I rarely finish a cup of tea without warming it in the microwave at least 100 4 times. Must be the distracted Mama in me.

I walk with her to get my tea and open the microwave to discover...

I have no clue how long she tried to warm this tea up for me. Evidently she pushed the right buttons, and we're all thankful the cup didn't explode. :)

Chuckling afterwards, I said, "Clairesy, you make me laugh. You know that?"

"Yeh maam." :) Giggle. Giggle.

And as I record this sweet example of Clairesy's helping spirit, she's busy trying to shoot flies with a leatherman.

I am one blessed Mama, and it's gonna be a beautiful day! 

Another Place You Can Find Ink

Also known as Scribe....

He's started posting book reviews at Into the Book.  Go take a look. Follow. Read. :)