Weekly Rewind 10/24-10/30/10

We thought cooler weather was here to stay, so we turned on the heater this week.  However, the past few days have been much warmer.  No complaints, though.  The men were able to enjoy tossing the football around a bit later this afternoon, and the colors of autumn are all around us.

Wednesday, Whistler and I went to town for a book study date as well as for my appointment with the dermatologist.  The doctor had to freeze three places on my face, so I appreciate your prayers that the treatment has taken care of any cancer and future cutting won't be necessary.  One of the places is at the outside corner of my eye....can't comprehend having surgery there, but the doctor did say it's not an uncommon area for skin cancer.  I'll return for a follow-up in January.

We tackled in record time changing out our spring/summer clothes for autumn/winter.  That's no small task for so many of us, and I'm thankful most of it is DONE. :)

Scribe is doing well, but I think we're learning to accept that pain will be his companion for quite some time.  His attitude is wonderful, though, and I'm so thankful for his gracious spirit, enduring this without any complaining.  And, really, I mean NO complaining.  How wonderful is the grace of God!

Jedediah is growing and starting to move (rolling over).  The bed is no longer a safe haven, and I'm determined he won't join the rest of the Poff children in falling off of our bed.:)

Our sweet Whistler turns 10 tomorrow!  We're excited about making the day special, and we're thankful we were able to celebrate last night with our dear friends and their children.

Here's a picture of Whistler's favorite way to have Cap'n near her when she's unloading the dishwasher.  He lasts here about 1 minute.

The girls are amazed at Mountain Man's fancy cooking creation.

Sweet Boo gets little sister to sleep.

Have a wonderful week full of rejoicing over God's goodness and mercy!

Love,

For Tea and Biscotti

What she does......

Little Boy Blue

My Mom's favorite color on Cap'n......

Hmmm...

Of All The Places...

Last night's dinner question:

If you could sleep in a different place each night for a week, what seven places would you select?  (Locations can be anywhere in the world.)

Mountain Man had some creative answers, being the most traveled of us all.  He was very specific...in a tent in the Redwood Forest, on a cliff in an ice cave, and so on.  He had no trouble coming up with seven different places.  Reaches Up thought sleeping in a castle in Ireland would be nice, and Little Big Man thought a hillside in VA would be great.

But the best answer of all?

Well, that came from Scribe.  You know... he's the member of our family who's been sleeping in a recliner for the past five weeks.

So was his answer Scotland?  No.  Middle Earth? Not even.

If Scribe could choose to sleep anywhere in the world, it would be...

"on the right side, the left side, and in the middle of my own bed."

And all of us were a little more grateful to be able to climb in our own beds that night.

The Power of the Word of God

My biggest concern is the way in which the post-modern mentality is seducing the church, even the Reformed church.  There seems to be a tacit assumption that...a constituent change took place in the nature of human beings, from the manner in which we were created.  Now life is no longer constructed on the basis of truth piercing the soul by way of the mind.  Since about 1970, we have adopted a "sensuous culture" that is all about feelings, about relationships, about everything subjective.  Even truth itself is regarded as subjective rather than objective.  Therefore, truth is whatever you want it to be.  This is the most narcissistic generation in the history of the human race.

Driven by these changes, churches are rushing to alter their approach to the culture, adopting the use of sound bites, entertainment, and that sort of thing.  They are forgetting that the power is in the Word of God, not in methods, and that the Word is addressed in the first instance to the mind.  The Word was intended by God to be intelligible, and only as we understand it does it get into our bloodstreams and into our hearts, and show up in changed lives.

~R.C. Sproul
The Truth of the Cross

Wonder

Why We Love Fridays

Have you heard of Ligonier's Five Dollar Fridays?  We've purchased some amazing resources in the past few weeks because of these weekly specials.

We're currently watching Knowing Scripture by Sproul, and yesterday, we received this bundle.

Amazing prices and very prompt shipping!


With love,

Hey Thar, Handsome!

Even though my posting on our family blog has slowed down a bit, life hasn't.  We're enjoying the cooler weather, the delights of autumn, and getting back into our school schedule.

Scribe is progressing each day, and he's been able to greatly reduce his pain meds.

The installation ceremony for our new Pastor was this past Sunday.

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Jedediah turns 4 months old this Saturday!  He's such a cutie.  The children had fun giving him the cowboy look the other day.

 Below:  He contemplates the life of having so many older sisters.

Yes, he rarely has a moment to himself, but overall, he seems to really love all the "sister love."

Here Elisabeth and Claire share with him hints on how to treat a sister.

"And you give her hugs everyday and tell her how lovely she is.  Open the door for her and be sure to let her pick the biggest cookie."

***

Do you know how old I am?  I thought I did, but I learned differently after hearing this conversation between Ella and Elisabeth.  

Ella:  "Yeeeeess, Elisabeth, 5 is older than 3."

Elisabeth: " Nooooooooo."

Ella: " Yes, it is!"

Elisabeth:  "No!  Mommy twee."

Ella:  "No, she's not three!  (pause, drumroll)  She's 18!

Don't you remember when Mommy and Daddy got married?  They had a party."

Elisabeth: " Ohhhhhh"

Wow.  I'm 18, and our 5th and 6th children were present at our wedding.  You really do learn something new everyday.

****

A recent British study suggests that if you're over 52, you're probably grumpy.  A poll of 2000 Britons found that those over 50 laugh much less than their younger counterparts.  Infants laugh up to 300x a day and teenagers only about 6x a day.  Those over 60 enjoy about 2 chuckles a day.  Men tended to be grumpier than women.

I'm still far off from facing such a problem, but here are a few jokes to help you increase your laugh quotient, in case you're one of those who can't seem to find much that's funny in your days.  Of course, my best tip for more laughter is to have lots of children in the house. :)

A Sunday school teacher asked her children, as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied,"Because people are
sleeping."

***

Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother Joel were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in church." "Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked.
Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, "See those two men standing by the door? They're hushers."

***

A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied. "Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

***

Lastly, no matter what you're facing, remember these encouraging words from J.C. Ryle...

What a mine of daily comfort there is in the thought—that we have an Advocate with the Father, who never slumbers or sleeps, whose eye is always upon us, who is continually pleading our cause and obtaining fresh supplies of grace for us, who watches over us in every company and place; and never forgets us, though we, in going to and fro, and doing our daily business, cannot always think of Him.

We have a great High Priest in heaven, who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and who bids us pour out our hearts before Him, and come to Him for grace to help in time of need.

Have a beautiful rest of the week!

With love,