Courageous

We just watched Courageous last night – what a great movie! My favorite scene was at the end of the movie when the police officers were in pursuit of gang members. The producers of this film did a great job of getting their point across to fathers about their role in the family and responsibility toward God.

I highly recommend it! Click here for the Resolution the men signed in the movie.  You can buy it for $8.92 at ChristianCinema.com.

Family Christmas 2011

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Christmas in Virginia

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Mine is the Night

Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs is a story set in 18th Century Scotland patterned after the biblical story of Ruth and Naomi. The author does a good job of making her characters intriguing and believable, drawing the reader into the story.  As the story unfolds, the reader is transported to Scotland with its thick accents and family traditions.

The main character, Elisabeth Kerr, is a recently widowed young woman who traveled with her mother-in-law’s family home town of Selkirk. Broke and alone, the two women lodge with a distant cousin who is also alone and poor. The story weaves a tale of love and acceptance as it tells of two strangers who meet in an unlikely manner and discover God’s plan to draw them together. I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from this author.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated for writing this review.

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo is about a little boy who had a near death experience when he was 3 years old. His appendix had ruptured and infection had spread throughout his body. In a casual comment one day just after he had recovered from the life saving operation, he told his parents about how he met Jesus, his grandfather, and many other children who were growing up in heaven.

After he described for his father and mother what they doing in the hospital when he had this experience, his father began asking questions, wanting to find out more about what he else he had to say about his visit to heaven. For a YouTube video of Colton telling of his experience, click here. For another click here.

Most would disbelieve such an experience, yet I still enjoyed reading about what Colton said he had experienced (now 11 years old) regardless whether he actually experienced the things he described. It was a good read. Heaven is for real, believe it or not and it is refreshing to hear of children who desire to spread the good news about heaven, Jesus, and His saving power.

The post below is a picture of Christ that Todd Burpo refers to in his book – painted by a little girl who also tells of her “heavenly experience.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Akiane Kramarik’s Prince of Peace

Check out the amazing story of Akiane Kramarik and her art here.

Remember the Waltons?

Remember watching the Waltons when you were younger? Click here to watch a recent video of an interview of the cast members.

Vance Havner

“I am certain that the Bible is the Word of God. Either it is or it isn’t, and either all of it is the Word of God, or we never can be sure of any of it. It is either absolute or obsolete. If we have to start changing this verse, toning down that, apologizing for this and making allowances for that, we might as well give up, so we must take it as it is or leave it alone.” – Vance Havner

Update 2011

With Christmas quickly approaching, I often find myself in reflection of the past months since the turn of 2011 – much like I often re-run the day’s events in my mind just before falling asleep each night. It’s been happening much more often than usual because of the changes we’ve incurred this past year. With selling our house, moving to another state and leaving off the old and thoroughly enjoying the new, it’s a chapter in our life’s book that I find to be an easy read.

They say money doesn’t buy happiness, but I have found that the lack of it can bring an awful lot of pain and suffering. Being tied financially to that house back in Michigan brought with it not only financial distress, but also a long period of being in a very uncomfortable state of limbo – I hate being in limbo! Our ministries as assistant pastor and full-time teacher as well as a dozen other jobs and titles had ended 3 years prior at the church that had originally moved us to their little church in Scotts, two hours away from our hometown of Flushing. We joined a loving congregation nearby and waited for nearly 3 years for our house to sell so we could move to Wausau. Why Wausau, you ask? Let me spell it out for you…G.R.A.N.D.K.I.D.S.

And of course, in contrast to that sadness, the selling of that house brought with it great joy. We can be at the mercy of our circumstances if we let them control us. And sometimes, let’s face it, they do control us – in our decisions, peace of mind and how we live on a daily basis. Settling up with Bank of America (hallelujah!) and walking away with enough money to move was a major turning point in our life (amen!). Not much before that we experienced the Empty Nest syndrome. Ok, I have to pause here and say, “Double amen!”. I do love my kids, surely I do, but just think, after 30 years of parenting, it was time to lose all the stress and gain the freedom.

Jillian had moved back home from college in December so she moved with us to Wausau in April, lock, stock and barrel. We moved into a cute little rental just 3.5 miles from April’s house.  It sure was different! Moving from over 4,000 feet of living space with acreage out in the country to a 900 sq. ft. house in town was definitely a change, but it has been a good one.  Though moving was difficult (especially since our big strong teenage boys no longer lived with us), it was an end of a long period of limbo and sadness. Jillian and I quickly acclimated to Wausau (as did Mark and my mom) and found it to be a fun and cordial little town. I truly enjoyed having those months with Jillian as we set out to discover Wausau. We were home!

The happiness of the much desired end of a 3 year prayer (Ok, more like begging) can be tempered a bit with the adverse affects of leaving family and friends behind. I’m a people person – those of you who know me well know that I tend to collect people. My peeps are a large part of my happiness. I feel fortunate that distance doesn’t have to separate friends.

We spent the next few months finishing up on Jillian’s wedding plans and then we were off to Battle Creek for her wedding in June.  Since Taylor’s job plans at Liberty U hadn’t been finalized, Jillian and Taylor spent their first month with us in Wausau before moving to LU where Jillian planned to finish out her college degree. I considered that month to be my wedding present from them to me. They are a great blessing to their mother (I now claim Taylor as a son). During that time we worked on making our house a home, met many new and interesting people, added to our grandchild collection, and settled into our new church. It’s been a fun ride and for the first time in years I am looking forward with anticipation to what the future has for us. My next post will be about my kids, the real reason I began this long preface to the real story I’ve had rolling around in my head all day today. This was a very long rabbit trail…

11.11.11

75 Free Prints at Shutterfly

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‎75 free prints for you and 75 free prints for your friends. Offer ends November 11.

Men and Boys

The God Pocket by Bruce Wilkinson

The God Pocket is a book by Bruce Wilkinson about our ability and responsibility in showing Christ’s love through financial gifting. He gives us a formula for easy and productive witnessing through what he calls the God Pocket. I was intrigued and challenged by his God Pocket program and plan to follow his example with my own God Pocket. I have also passed the book along to a friend at church and am expecting her to also implement this plan into her daily life. It’s a simple plan that everyone should follow.

Wilkinson uses his own life as an example and tells stories to show how his program works and that it is very practical and easy to implement. He also shows how God provides for the gifting that leaves us in a position of messenger of his love. I recommend this book because the God Pocket is an excellent way to show God’s love and gets us up and out there – being productive Christians is much better than sitting around wondering how and when to witness effectively.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated for writing this review.

God’s Handiwork

Myles Haddon Jones

Our baby Myles arrived and is precious!  Myles was born at 1:50am October 22, 2011. Praise God for His gift!

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Isaac’s B’day Party

We had a birthday party for Isaac’s 6th birthday Friday and April was having contractions through it all. It was so funny. We sat down to eat dinner and all we could think was, “We need to hurry!” I was timing the contractions and they were pretty consistently 4-5 minutes apart. She called her midwife and was told to get to the hospital as soon as possible, which of course meant, AFTER Isaac’s party! We moved right on to the gifts, encouraging Isaac to rip into them quickly, which of course he LOVED! Then we did the traditional picture with the cake and then decided, “Leave the cake, let’s go!” Isaac was very sweet about it and was as anxious for his brother Myles to make an appearance as we were. So we left and Papa Mark and Meemaw Pepper took the boys home while Auntie Katie and Uncle Aaron cleaned up after the party. Below are the pictures of Isaac’s 6th b’day party.

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Isaac Turns 6!

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A.W. Tozer

“God did not write a book and send it by messenger to be read at a distance by unaided minds. He spoke a Book and lives in His spoken words, constantly speaking His words and causing the power of them to persist across the years.” – A. W. Tozer

Iowa Couple Married for 72 Years Dies Holding Hands, 1 Hour Apart – ABC News

 

By CHRISTINA NG

Oct. 19, 2011

A devoted Iowa couple married for 72 years died holding hands in the hospital last week, exactly one hour apart.

The passing reflected the nature of their marriage, where, “As a rule, everything was done together,” said the couple’s daughter Donna Sheets, 71.

Gordon Yeager, 94, and his wife Norma, 90, left their small town of State Center, Iowa, on Wednesday to go into town, but never made it. A car accident sent the couple to the emergency room and intensive care unit with broken bones and other injuries. But, even in the hospital, their concerns were each other.

“She was saying her chest hurt and what’s wrong with Dad? Even laying there like that, she was worried about Dad,” said the couple’s son, Dennis Yeager, 52. “And his back was hurting and he was asking about Mom.”

When it became clear that their conditions were not improving, the couple was moved into a room together in beds side-by-side where they could hold hands.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Scarf Tying Techniques