Where are You Looking?

post by Mommy H.


Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne (1813–1843) wrote the following:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jer. 17:9.
  Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely. Such infinite majesty, and yet such meekness and grace, and all for sinners, even the chief! Live much in the smiles of God. Bask in his beams. Feel his all-seeing eye settled on you in love, and repose in his almighty arms. . .

   Let your soul be filled with a heart-ravishing sense of the sweetness and excellency of Christ and all that is in Him. Let the Holy Spirit fill every chamber of your heart; and so there will be no room for folly, or the world, or Satan, or the flesh.

 Where are we training our eyes?  On what do we gaze?  On these things we also think.  These things we also become.  May we all look at Christ, and not only expel sin but also delight in Him.

A new blog

by Christianna


I have started a new blog. I will be posting a lot about music, hymns, and also about composers and song writers. I love the old music so you won't find much about any music newer than the nineteenth century.
Tell me what you think!

joyfullysinging.blogspot.com

Jeddie's Finds

post by Mommy H.

What better treasures are there for boys living on the edge of woods, than to find a host of creatures?

Jedidiah and Tobias have spent some of their outside time this summer hunting for and feeding spiders!

This particular one built its web by our path out back, and Jeddie was quick to recognize it as one in the field guide:  a Black and Yellow Argiope.  The boys love to catch insects and drop them in the webs and watch the spiders feed.  God's works are amazing!

Later that day, Jedidiah found a turtle in the woods.  He couldn't resist bringing it home to observe it better.
Mr. Turtle, however, had no intentions of being overly friendly.  He holed up in his shell and remained unsociable until he was returned to the woods.

What will they bring home next?
What natural treasures have you found this summer?

John Newton

post by Elliot

I am reading a book right now about John Newton.
It is quite interesting to see his whole life and how wicked he was
and how God changed him to a Christian who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace."
He was a man who went through many dangers and toils
before he was saved , and finally, after a life of dishonoring his parents,and cursing God,
he repented and became a pastor in a little town of Olney,bringing many to Christ.
Here is a great man who used to be a wicked wretch whose name is written in the Book of Life. 
His life is a testimony that God will forgive the worst of sinners.
http://www.amazon.com/Through-Many-Dangers-Story-Newton/dp/0852344902

Weekend with the Family - Part 2

Posted by Gabrielle

Friday night of our weekend with the relatives brought a much-anticipated trip to a special, local French restaurant. This wasn't just any French restaurant - It was a fancy one, and the owner, a French man too, came out and talked with us. I would have given a lot to understand what he and our other French-speaking family members said that evening. :)

 Beautiful carnations at our table

Most of the loud laughing and goofiness came from this area of the table that evening

Two family hams...

My appetizer - a delicious tomato basil salad with olives and croutons - delicious!

Benaiah was even brave enough to try escargot as part his appetizer. And for those of you not initiated into French culture, escargot are...snails!

This was so sweet to watch...the owner cut up Benaiah's dinner for him! :)

 Meme and Pepe's desserts even came on 'Happy Anniversary' (in French!) plates with a candle!

 

And the crowning glory to dessert was a miniature French wedding cake, made out of cream puffs.

And, you didn't think we'd forget a family picture, did you? Of course not! But, arranging 15 people for a group picture took some time.

 Happy 60th anniversary, Pepe and Meme!

Stay tuned for exciting Part 3 of our weekend with our relatives coming soon...

Weekend with the Family - Part 1

Posted by Gabrielle

Two weeks ago was Pepe and Meme's 60th anniversary! Of course, we had to do something special, and of course, that involved "our people" coming in from Chicago and San Francisco. This is the first post in a series about our special weekend. I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures - the lighting in the dining room was not the best, and we had a lot of people who were all moving around - all the time. :)

Mommy and her older brothers (from left to right) - Tonton Carlo and Tonton Michael

We started the weekend on Thursday evening with an informal pizza dinner. And these weren't just any pizza - they're Chicago deep dish pizza and always a much-anticipated  Hellwig delight. Thank you, Tonton Michael and Tata Becky, for sending these!

And, as usual, silliness and laughter abounded at the dinner table that evening. How can you help it, though, when you seat a bunch of comedians around a dinner table? :)

4th of July Celebration

Posted by Gabrielle

This 4th of July, we did something a little different - we went to see Uncle Sam...and we even took pictures with him!

 Uncle Sam wants your money

Benaiah wasn't so sure at first, but he quickly warmed up to Uncle Sam, especially since he was wearing sneakers and shades, just like his favorite brother Timothy ;)

What-cha know? Uncle Sam drinks Coke too!

And of course, we enjoyed a beautiful display of fireworks, right from the entrance to our street. It's a prime location!

Happy 4th of July!

Posted by Gabrielle

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

I hope y'all are enjoying a wonderful day with family! We're not doing a whole lot out of the ordinary. We do have plans, though, to go out and see the fireworks if the rain and thunder stops and the clouds lift.

Many use this day to remember our founding fathers and those who gave their lives to build this free country we now enjoy. While I heartily recommend doing so, I also want to point you to the One who came to earth and died, taking our sins upon Himself that, in Christ, we might have ultimate freedom from sin and death. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Have a wonderful day!

Memorial Day

Posted by Gabrielle

Yes, that's me! Late in posting! I'm sorry I haven't been around here much of late. Business, including my two shops, sewing machine repair, and photography have been keeping me busy. But I have a new schedule now and I'll be blogging every Thursday evening and scheduling posts during the week, so I hope I can find plenty of good things to share now that you'll be hearing from me a little more often! :)

Anyways, back to Memorial Day where I left off in picture posts.

It was a lovely day - sunny and rather warm, but we were thankful it didn't rain! There's always plenty to do:

talking with friends, 

riding high up on hayrides to get a good view of the surroundings,

(photo credit: my sweet friend Anna-Rebekah)
 helping in the lunch lines,

 listening to one of our favorite Southern Gospel/Bluegrass bands,


holding babies and talking with dear friends,

capturing videos,

enjoying ice cream on a hot day,

brothers waiting together for rides,

 and of course, lots and lots of hayrides and army truck rides!

I'm sure everyone in our family would agree that it was a wonderful day!

60 Years Ago

posted by Mama H.

  On June 29, we will be celebrating the 60th wedding anniversary of my parents.
My two brothers and a sister-in-law are flying out from the mid-west and California, and there are a few surprises planned.  (Surprises for my parents, that is!)

We're so blessed and glad to have them living right next door.
And, in this day of broken promises and selfishness, it is growing increasingly rare to find couples still married after so many years.  We praise and thank God for their relative good health, and for keeping them together all this time.

Stay tuned for more details and photos of the celebrations!
(Don't you love a good surprise?)