"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 3:13-14
I hope y'all had a blessed Lord's Day. It is always a blessing to us to be in the Lord's house! Pastor's message was about striving for the mastery... "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." 1 Corinthians 9:25
He related our Christian walk as that to an Olympic race. We, as believers, are in a "race" and just as someone that trains for an Olympic race lives, eats, breathes for that race, so ought we for ours. What we do, eat, say, think on, how we live, go about our day, etc... effects how we run our race. We should be striving (working hard) for the mastery! They do it for a corruptible crown, we for an incorruptible. We should be 100% for God!
We shouldn't be taking spiritual "vacations". If we aren't moving forward, we are backsliding. We ought to be running the course that the Lord has set before us! Our race is not over until we stop breathing... "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." ~ Hebrews 12:1-2
What a blessing it was! We, also, partook in the Lord's supper, which is always such a precious time and blessing. My heart was overflowing!
And if that wasn't enough, the Lord continued in the evening service. We had our "All Youth Service" where the young people led the service. The young man that did the preaching talked about how we ought not to be satisfied with what the Lord has done in the past... Meaning there is much more to be done. He talked about how he had seen people saved, lives changed, etc... as God used him but that we cannot become satisfied with that and not allow God to use us to do more. That we need to continue pressing toward the mark... "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 3:13-14
He admonished us that when we get to Heaven, enjoying its splendor and seeing our Savior's face, there will still be many others suffering an eternity in Hell. We may become self-satisfied on Earth but, in Heaven, will we be able to say, "I did ALL I could. I did my BEST for Jesus"? The Holy Spirit convicted hearts and set a challenge before us!
In addition to the great preaching, we had some wonderful special music from our youth. The children's choir sang "Joy to the World"...
It's such a blessing working with them!
Ally played an offeratory on the piano as Will took up the offering...
Also, Ally and her friend sang a song for special music... (Ally lost her guitar pick at the beginning. lol)
Afterwards, we had a fellowship! Complete with pizza and brownies! Mmmm!
It was, truly, a blessed Lord's Day!
"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD." ~ Psalm 122:1
Kelli is hosting this "New Year Fun" and I thought it would be fun to participate.
Post the first sentence of your first blog post of each month. You can also add a favorite picture from each month.
It sure was difficult to choose the photos! Here are mine:
~ January ~ Yesterday we saw my beloved off to Iraq.
(receiving Daddy Dolls from Daddy before he goes)
~ February ~ Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and to look well to thy herd."~ Proverbs 27:23 I love relating this Scripture to my role as a mother!
(photo from Daddy holding a picture that Will drew)
~ March ~ A few weeks ago we ordered a pattern from Common Sense Patterns for a new dress for Ally.
(the children and I sitting in a church pew during our trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Historic Jamestown)
~ April ~ When your child has been too weak to play much piano but she has a good day and decides to play around with a few pieces, what's a mama to do?? Record it (without her knowing, of course)!
(enjoying our visit from Gramma)
~ May ~ Okay, I guess that should be the other way around... A new hair cut and a new blog look.
(reading names on Memorial Day)
~ June ~ I am taking a somewhat unexpected bloggie break for the next day or so.
(Ally baiting her own fishing hook for the 1st time)
~ July ~ Below is the song that Ally and I sang this morning for our Independence Sunday service... Bring Back the Glory...
~ September ~ Oh, for Okri... Where I grew up, in the south and in the countryside, my grandparents had a decent size garden.
(visit to the ocean during a tropical storm)
~ October ~ I recently received an email from a mama that was distraught over difficulties she is having at home, particularly with a young, school age child.
(singing the Birthday Song to Beth with Ally's violin)
I hope y'all had a blessed Christmas. Thank you all for the Christmas wishes, kind words, and prayers. On Christmas Eve, we went caroling with friends and it was such a blessing. We were received with such excitement and they accepted Gospel tracts afterwards. We hope to go caroling every year!
On Christmas Day, we had a lovely time together at home. In the morning, we read Luke 2 together then we did our stockings and gifts. In the afternoon, we had friends visit and we enjoyed supper and fellowship together, Christmas Day Sourdough Pizza. ;o) We enjoyed talking on the phone to distant family, too, especially Daddy!
I thought I'd share a few of my "favorite faces" photos from Christmas morn...
lol ;o) I love their excitement!
Here is a tree skirt that Ally crocheted for me. I was showing it off as a shawl, however. She did such a beautiful job!
We were thrilled when we got to talk to Daddy!
We sure can't wait till he comes home! Speaking of that... this upcoming week (or two), we plan to tackle our entire house to get it ready for our Marine! ;o) Though I can't disclose exactly when he'll be coming, it's soon enough to get the house ready for him! The children and I, also, plan to start making signs soon. We are all getting very excited!
So if I am a bit quiet the next couple of weeks, it's because we're busy preparing for a long, anticipated reunion! ;o)
I hope y'all have enjoyed your Christmas week and that you enjoy your weekend!
"The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." ~ Jeremiah 31:3
I'll be taking the next few days off from blogging as the children and I spend some relaxed time together, focusing on the Reason for this season. I pray you all have a blessed and Christ-centered Christmas.
This afternoon, the children and I went for a visit and took a basket of these to an older lady from our church and her sister. Since they were cutouts, we were able to sample them! ;o) And they are a new family favorite! We cut them out in holiday shapes...
Then packaged them up to present them...
Shaped Cheese Scones
2 C unbleached flour 2 TBS sugar 3 tsp baking powder (aluminum free) 1 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp of garlic powder 1 1/2 C shredded cheddar, mozzerella, or pepper jack cheese 1 egg 1/2 C fat free sour cream 1/4 canola oil 3 TBS milk
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and garlic powder into a bowl. Stir in cheese. In a separate bowl, combine egg, sour cream, oil and milk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; stir in egg mixture just until moistened. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead gently 10-12 times. Pat out to 1/3 inch thickness. Cut with shaped cutters. Place about 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 11-15 minutes or till golden brown. Remove from pan to wire rack. Serve warm and enjoy!
It seems our happenings here at home have picked up rather than slowed down lately. I have decided to set our new schedule aside for this week and, likely, most of next week as we are celebrating the Christmas season. We have spent the week running errands, baking, visiting, and mailing packages out. It has been a good busy. Over the weekend, Ally and I were able to finish our family dvd (an annual tradition we began last year). We were glad to get it finished and send it off to family, along with some baked goods. We, also, enjoyed watching it together as a family, as we watched and reminised about this past year. I'll be a blubbering, tissue-using mess when the children are all grown and gone and I sit to watch these dvds... I already get teary eyed watching them. Family/children are so precious!
This past Sunday evening, our church had its "All Church Christmas Program". Since we are a smaller sized church, pastor decided to include all of us in a cantata-type service. It was a joy to sing together, listen to the narration, and the special music.
Beth and Carolynne watching Pastor pick at his guitar before the service.
Will and one of the pastor's sons at the piano before the service.
Ally and Pastor practicing their duet.
Here is a video of their violin/guitar duet...
It was a blessing to see Ally serving the Lord this way. I'm proud of her and how she has been practicing diligently in teaching herself how to play the past three months.
Also, on Sunday evening the children's choir sang. It is a blessing, too, to see the young children singing for the Lord...
I hope y'all are enjoying your week. I really do hope to respond to comments and emails soon. Thank you so much for understanding. ;o)
Before I go, here are a few shots of the girls being a bit silly this week...
Wow! All week and no post! We surely have been keeping busy. Following our new "sequence of events" went pretty well (for the first three days) even though we began about an hour later that I had initially intended but I was okay with that. ;o) I think the new schedule will, for the most part, work well with us. I'll just need to 'work well' with it. ;o)
Thursday was a 'hope so' baking day and a 'work on our annual photo dvd' day until we discovered that we were completely out of flour and milk and our dvd creator software was being violent by chopping off too many heads in our photos so, instead, we opted for a day out (and borrow software from a friend).
Today we had our homeschool field trip. We were all excited to visit one of our state's aquariums. (Warning: LOTS of photos ahead!)
Our trip began with a sea turtle demonstration...
Beth and Carolynne trying on 'turtle hands'.
We were all excited to see and feel the real sea turtle...
After the presentation, we explored the aquarium. Here a few photos of what we saw...
look closely for the sea horses
"lawnspur", as Beth and Carolynne say. (a.k.a. lobster)
We, also, enjoyed a presentation in the shark/fish tank. One of the divers answered questions as she stood among the sharks and fish. The children were all fascinated, as were the mamas. ;o)
One of the favorite parts for all of us were the touch tanks. Everyone loved watching and feeling the sting rays...
It was a lost cause to try to peel Ally away from her new favorite friends, the sting rays...
So the rest of us, also, enjoyed seeing and touching the horseshoe and hermit crabs...
Seeing these familiar "faces", though, did cause us to reminise about our beachschooling days that we had before we moved. So we were glad to see those familiar "faces". ;o)
Another favorite at the aquarium was watching the river otters search for and eat their food...
The lil' girls enjoyed looking at the model of how the baby sea turtles make it to the ocean...
They were, also, brave enough to get close to this fellow...
And so was Will... but he must have gotten too close...
Another favorite (I know, lots of favorites Ü) was seeing the moon jellies...
Also, the lionfish and eels (eek!)...
lol
I sure love this kind of learning together...
After we toured the aquarium, we all went for a nature walk on the provided natural trail...
It was so delightful hearing the children sing and march!
After the walk, we sat at the picnic tables for fellowship and the children got to run and play...
On the way home, the children and I stopped at a couple of antique stores (I hope to share my finds in my next post).
Lest you think the ride home was dull...
LOL...
We did have a wonderful time! I'm expecting the children will sleep well tonight after all of the excitement this day held.
Before I go, I thought I'd share a few last photos from our trip to the aquarium... Have a great weekend!
