Hot Chocolate by the Fire

Yesterday was National Chocolate Day, so we "celebrated" by having hot chocolate in front of the fire. I like these wide mugs since they comfortably hold at least 3 of Ana 's homemade marshmallows! ;-)

Sweet Faces

 Yesterday we enjoyed spending time with friends and their cute little ones!

Don't Miss the Hard Answers

It's always encouraging for me to see how the Lord answers prayer.  Sometimes the answer is not quite the way I thought it would happen, but I am thankful for it just the same.  

But what if the answer is hidden in a hard thing that brings to light feelings and attitudes in my heart that are not too pretty?  Then it's easy to just get frustrated and completely miss the fact that this hard situation could be THE ANSWER to my prayers.  

This is the kind of answer I had recently.

Lately I've been praying for humility.  A good idea, don't you think? :-)

Well, along came a situation where over the course of a few days several things happened that made me feel really left out, unimportant etc. 

It was unusual.  

Of course I assumed these things were done unintentionally, but I still struggled at times to respond graciously.  I was confused.....and getting frustrated. Then one day as I was thinking through it all and praying about it, a new thought hit me: Could this be God answering my prayer?? 


These 'happenings' showed me my selfishness and pride and gave me great opportunities to practice humility and forbearance.  They made me turn to the Lord for help.  So, yes, it does seem like an answer!  

I hasten to add that by no means is my pride and selfishness conquered, I still struggle with it. But I was really comforted and encouraged to see the Lord working in my life!!  He loves me so much that He would send hard things to show me something that was not pleasing to Him. 

For whom the Lord loves He corrects,

Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

~ Proverbs 3:12

The answers to our prayers are always good, even when they come to us in a way that is not "fun".  

And sometimes we can miss the answer. 
I almost did.

Mission Accomplished - World Record Freefall

Felix Baumgartner reached an estimated speed of 1,342.8 km/h or 834.4 mph (Mach 1.24) jumping from the stratosphere, which when certified will make him the first man to break the speed of sound in freefall and set several other records while delivering valuable data for future space exploration.

I believe in God, and I truly think there is a plan that He has for everybody. And I also think He has a plan for me; it looks like I’m becoming an Astronaut. Locking myself in a pressure capsule and going up to 130,000 feet . . . and I’m going to slide the door open, bail out, and I’m going to be the first human person, in free-fall, breaking the speed of sound. That’s His plan, and that’s probably my last goal to accomplish. —Felix Baumgartner

This week, the world stopped to watch a man fall from the sky. Exactly sixty-five years to the day after Chuck Yeager’s inspirational, record-setting flight breaking the sound barrier, Felix Baumgartner would break multiple records with his jump out of his helium-filled balloon at 128,100 feet. After his literal “leap of faith” into the unknown, the Austrian reached a speed of 833 mph through the near vacuum of the stratosphere before being slowed by the atmosphere later during his 4 minute and 20 second-long free-fall. At the age of forty-three, Baumgartner also broke the records for highest free-fall and highest manned balloon flight in history. This privately-funded experiment tested the boundaries of technology and skill, and inspired millions that there are great adventures yet to be had....

Read the rest of the article HERE  :-)

Joyful

Repentance, the Joyful Heartbeat of the Christian Life  -  An excellent sermon by Mark Suchta on repentance.  Dad, Ana, and I heard this live last Sunday, and I found it really encouraging!  It's only 35 minutes long...click on the title to go listen!

"Because we didn't earn our way into God's family, we can't sin our way out."

"How Great is the Love"

A Good Sign

I saw this on our way out of a parking lot recently, it made me smile and run for my camera!

Mercedes

Holding my friend's new little daugher! :-)

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

Psalm 139:14

"The Wednesday Morning Breakfast Club "

Watch the entire second scene from "The Wednesday Morning Breakfast Club" -- the short film our friend Stacey Bradshaw played the lead role in this summer!  (She's the waitress with flowers in her hair.)

I am really looking forward to seeing the entire film someday!! :-)

Perfect Preperation

‎{Lift bridge across the St Croix River}

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see." 

- Corrie Ten Boom

Outside my Window

The Desiring God 2012 National Conference Weekend!

The last weekend in September our family attended the Desiring God 2012 National Conference put on by John Piper's church in Minneapolis MN. It is amazing to look back and see how the Lord worked it all out. Ana first brought up the idea of going in the spring and we prayed about this for a long time.  There were many things that had to be worked out...and sometimes it seemed impossible that it could really happen.  But it did!

It worked out for our friends from Washington state and Mr. and Mrs. J., (friends who live near where the conference was held) to attend along with us!

We were all able to stay with Mr. and Mrs. J. in their lovely home - they were wonderful hosts!  

We had transportation for all of us. 

The weather was beautiful; sunny and warm.  

We all were encouraged in our faith and learned a lot. :-)

  Our home away from home for the weekend!

Amy enjoying their piano!

Friday....

Friday morning we girls went out for a walk and took pictures together. 

On the trampoline! See Dad and Mom in the background? :-)

This year's topic was Sanctification.

 "The action by which we bring our feelings and thoughts into conformity with the infinite value of God's transcendent fullness." - John Piper

The Exhibit Hall - I thought the ceiling was really neat!  There were table and tables of books in the center and around the edge were exhibits from different publishers, mission organizations, churches, etc.

The first session we ladies went to was by Carolyn McCulley.  She was excellent. :-)  I have her book "Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye?" and it is one of my favorites - in spite of the odd title!

R.W. Glenn...another one of my favorite speakers!
I encourage you to go HERE to listen/watch to his talk entitled "Work and Rest"!

Ready for more good teaching!

Supper break outside. :-)

Fernando Ortega did a session on worship, and then in the evening he and his cello player gave a concert.  It was wonderful!

Saturday....

A view of the Convention Center from the park across the street.

Panel discussion.  From left to right: John Piper, Kevin DeYoung, Ed Welch, Jarvis Williams, Russel Moore, ...and the moderator David Mathis.   This was so good as well!!

Before supper on Saturday we went out for a walk to get some exercise and sunshine.

A fun musical wall!

Beautiful architecture. :-)

Sunday...

Our friend's cute little guy up bright and early Sunday morning!  

Visiting with friends after the Sunday morning devotional by R.W. Glenn.

Mr. Piper giving the sermon...it was really good!!

A pretty tree in the city.

Sunday evening we went to a nearby town along the St. Croix River. The guys went to Mr. J's office to get the boarding passes printed off.  We ladies went down to the river and took pictures until the guys joined us again. 

Dad and Mom and Mr. and Mrs. J

After walking along the river, Mr. and Mrs. J took us all out for pizza at The Grand. Yum! 

The fall colors were very pretty - especially the yellows and golds.

It was a special weekend it was....we all learned so much...and are so thankful we were able to go! :-)

All the talks from the conference are available to listen to (for free) HERE!! 

A Carpet of Leaves