Missionary Retreat - some renewal time on the coast

         

     

A New Song

As I was getting ready for the evening, I heard these lyrics coming from the main bathroom "I want to know you more so I can love you . . .."  But these words weren't coming from the radio or a stereo or an MP3 device.  It was our 9 year old's own song of love to his Lord.  As I picked up my Bible (on my cell phone) I began my reading for the day.  It just happened to be Psalm 98.  It begins "Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things . . .."  

How good you are, Lord, to remind us of your Word, both written and in action.

With some church friends at the zoo

Another blog site

You may have seen my previous post regarding Lent and my decision to nix the white flour and sugar.  Since this relates more to eating or "not eating", as the case may be, I think that a better place to post might be a health-related blog.  So, since I have one on the SparkPeople site, I will be posting there as my experiences relate to this season of Lent.  If there are family or spiritual issues, however, I will try to post them here.

Also, my brother-in-law has also decided to participate in his own way during the Lent season.  You may enjoy reading his post here.

New Traditions

 

What goes well with an Easter egg hunt? Why, scripture, of course!

When I was a kid the Easter bunny hid a basket for me to find, filled with yummy goodness, be it an enormous orange or a chocolate cross. I think my Mom had as much fun watching me hunt as I did searching through the house for my big basket treat. Not suprisingly, my kids enjoy the same kind of stuff. So, this year I looked for the message in the fun and found some great ideas for Resurrection eggs. I may be late in finding this gem, but better late than never. After specializing 12 of the many eggs that were hidden in the backyard, I labeled them carefully to distinguish them from the others. The kids found all the plastic eggs with goodies inside and rushed back into the house to check things out. We sat down together at the kitchen table with the eggs and our Bibles as they opened each egg from 1 to 12, discovering a tiny item representing some part of the final week of the life of our Lord with a verse to read along with it. From a miniature sponge to a die to spices from a tea bag, we recapped Jesus' amazing sacrifice on our behalf and His awesome resurrection from the grave as each, in turn, read aloud. It was fulfilling to watch their anticipation, from the oldest to the youngest, as each got their chance to link the pieces of the story together.
Jesus is alive! He arose - hallelujah!
Did you celebrate, too? What traditions does your family have? I'm always on the lookout for new ways to share God's truths from Scripture.

Settling In

So it is October now - 10 days into it in fact. I have made a few changes on the website to represent some of the changes we've gone through as a family over the past 4, yes 4, months. I went for simple (black and white) with hints of Mexico (palm trees) in the background. My kids are my focal point as we home school here in the States. The picture of them was a fun one, taken in St. Louis, MO the day after visiting a church in the area. We took in some history, too, as we traveled up The Arch in a tram and viewed a film about Lewis and Clark.

Here is a collection of some digital collages I created from our experience that day.

Underground, in addition to the IMAX theater, there is a Mercantile Store which sells items from an era gone by - the boys had fun spinning wooden tops while Bekah perused the various books of dress and recipes from the 1800s.

We have traveled past The Arch, also referred to as the Gateway to the West, several times. We have even stopped to see it, but this was the first time we ventured inside to get a bird's eye view of the city.

Stay tuned for our next great adventure!

Comfort Foods

I can understand why people (me included) are emotional eaters. So much in a family is linked to foods. Great moments together and memories of childhood days seem to always contain some element of it. When we return to my hometown for holidays or visits, my Mom always asks what she can make. My thoughts go to things that I ate growing up - pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy, city chicken, spaghetti with mushrooms, ground beef and Prego, and desserts like apple pie. Memories of my Dad and I watching a football game or western on TV included eating Doritos and bean dip. There were special moments with my Mom and Grandma, picking strawberries, making canned jams, and homemade pastries and cookies.
It is no wonder that a person feels good when eating (and remembering) these foods - they're linked to love and acceptance. Yesterday, I had a good day. The kids seemed to have a good day. My hubby had a good day. Plus, thanks to him, I had an especially clean kitchen. And do you know what happens when I have a clean kitchen? I want to bake :-) So, I did. I found a recipe for old-fashioned strawberry shortcake, made the recipe that was 8 servings and divided between the five of us! Words can't describe how delightful it was creating it and how delicious it was as we enjoyed it around the kitchen table while Dave read the first chapter in 'A Christmas Carol.' Making memories. The tradition continues - food, family and great moments together.