Phenomenal Weather!

Although it might be hard to see what is happening in this picture, we seem to be having pre-winter, something like pre-algebra, or maybe it is Wintumn (winter/autumn), or maybe there is a tug-of-war going on between the two seasons and we're on the center line. In the picture you can see the snow coming down like rain but there is also sunshine that is causing the shadows. Quite the phenomenon!

Streams In The Desert - October 9

"Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you." (Isaiah 30:18)

Where showers fall most, there the grass is greenest, I suppose the fogs and mists of Ireland make it "the Emerald Isle"; and whenever you find great fogs of trouble, and mists of sorrow, you always find emerald green hearts; full of the beautiful verdure of the comfort and love of God. O Christian, do not thou be saying, "Where are the swallows gone? They are gone; they are dead." They are not dead; they have skimmed the purple sea, and gone to a far-off land; but they will be back again by and by. Child of God, say not the flowers are dead; say not the winter has killed them and they are gone. Ah, no! though winter hath coated them with the ermine of it's snow; they will put up their heads again, and will be alive very soon. Say not, child of God, that the sun is quenched, because the cloud hath hidden it. Ah no; he is behind there, brewing summer for thee; for when he cometh out again, he will have made the clouds fit to drop in April showers, all of them mothers of the sweet May flowers. And oh! above all, when thy God hides His face, say not that He hath forgotten thee. He is but tarrying a little while to make thee love Him better; and when He cometh, thou shalt have joy in the Lord, and shalt rejoice with joy unspeakable. Waiting exersises our grace; waiting tries our faith; therefore, wait on in hope; for though the promise tarry, it can never come too late!
~ C. H. Spurgeon

Sunday Drive Home...blessings from the Lord!

For the past two and a half years, as we have traveled up north to church (the first year to Imlay City area, and then the switch to Lapeer) the majority of our Sunday morning and evening drives have consisted of traveling on major or semi busy roads. However, as the Lord has continued to bless and protect us on our long journey, He has also blessed our time together as a family by allowing us to see and enjoy some of the many different attributes of His beautiful creation!
A few weeks ago while heading home, Dad heeded the implorment of several young voices and turned faithful old Dina down an inviting dirt road called Wilder. That first exploratory drive was not forgotten and almost every Sunday since we have found ourselves traversing that same path over again! For all the country folks out there who live on such roads, you have no idea how heart warming and welcoming the scenery can be to us concrete tired-eyed city folk and the simple down to earth, God given beauty you can enjoy every day. Now thats not to say that we are jealous (at least we pray not to be) of your blessings, but only wait in anticipation and joy that perhaps some day soon God will bless us also with a place up there(maybe on a dirt road?!) and we will be able to even more fully enjoy the glory of our God in His glorious nature!

O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God! Psalm 68:35

Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation!
Psalm 68:19

“ For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
Isaiah 55:12

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
Psalm 36:7-9

The Future Glory of Zion

The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
The excellency of our God.

Isaiah 35:1-2

Trust

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding,
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your path.
Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment;...
but trust in GOD, and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity."
- Dwight L. Moody

Charity turns 24!

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Charity has been such a great blessing to us these past 24 years. Though the last 11 years have had their challenges, Charity has been a wonderful example of determination, self-discipline and godly character in bearing with the different health issues put in her path.

Last Saturday, September 30, Charity was able to enjoy a very healthy birthday! The first part of the day was spent at the Organic festival and then a healthy meal with all organic food and organic apple crisp for dessert! No, we didn't put 24 candles in it, but instead we just sang happy birthday to her with four part harmony!



We thank the Lord for our dear daughter and sister Charity Joy, and ask His blessings on yet another year of life!

Growing Connections 2006 Organic Harvest Festival

Saturday morning, through a drizzling rain accompanied by chilling winds Dad, Charity, Christianna and Grace headed over to Davisburg where an organic festival was taking place. Though the weather was not the most desirable for such an occasion, thankfully most of the exhibits were inside two enormous barns with only a few small tent covered booths outside, including the one that the following pictures show. Over all, it was a very enjoyable time, made even more pleasant by being able to see and catch up with some of our family friends! Though at times it can been hard to find organic foods and the prices are always high, being able to attend this festival was such a blessing to our family (especially Charity) and we thank God for allowing us to find out about this and for supplying our needs in this area of wholesome food!



Isn't he cute!

 

The Alpacas wool, just like sheep, can be used to make different useful pieces of clothing by spinning yarn for knitting or crocheting socks or sweaters, and it also can has been used to make stuffed animals and as you can see in this pictures, this particular farm made teddy bears!  

 

TurtleBee HoneyTree Farms! Ever since we took a class from the Bennet family on bee keeping several years ago (and found out that mom and Mrs. Bennet knew each other many years ago), we have alway enjoyed stopping by their booth and enjoying their products, at the different conferences that we have attend. Therefore, this time was no different, as we walked through one of the large barns and spotted the golden/yellow hew of the honey filled jars and piles of beautifully molded bees wax candles that covered the tables and shelves of the family's booth.

Which one should I get? Along with the purchase of a pound of bees wax, Charity also received a small bees wax candle that Mrs. Bennet gave her as a birthday gift!  

A colorful table overflowing with a variety of organically grown vegitables. 

Before we left, we stopped by the small tent designated as 'the petting farm' which housed a variety of animals consisting of rabbits, ducks, chickens, a two day old calf, two sheep and two ponies! 

The two adorable ponies enjoyed being petted and scratched and would give us 'kisses' for carrots!

...and of course Grace had to get a picture with the friendly little pony! 

"Faith is to believe what we do not see,
and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."

~Augustine

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

An Amazing Creation...The Chinchilla!

A few weeks ago I had the exciting opportunity to teach a class about one of God's amazing creations! A friend of ours asked me if I would be willing to bring my two Chinchillas to her class and show and tell the kids about these special animals, so of course I said yes! Ever since we got our first chinchilla, Sage, about 6 years ago, I have learned so much about these adorable little creatures and love to tell others the history and amazing characteristic of this animal.

Of course the very first thing that I told the children in the class was that these
little guys are classified as the softest animal in the world! Where as we only have 1 strand of hair per follicle, the Chinchilla has 80 to 100!

Even though the class was made up of about 12 1st graders, they paid attention very well and were surprisingly able to tell back almost word for word what I had told them!

"This is Sage. He is about 10 years old, is most likely totally blind, but is very friendly and loves to be scratched under his chin."





After I told a little about the history of the Chinchilla and how they came to be in America ( in 1924 a man by the name of Mathias Chapman captured 11 Chins over in the Peruvian mountain range of the Andes and brought them over to California to start a breeding farm.) I took out Sage and let the kids pet him and feel his soft coat. I then brought out my second Chinchilla, Basil, who is only 2 years old and who lives up to the true characteristics of this animal in the way of high energy and being able to jump up to 6 feet, and had him demonstrate another unique quality the Chinchilla displays. Because their fur is so dense, if they get it wet in anyway it will mat all up and look lumpy. So to stay clean and fluffy they take their baths in volcanic ash or dust.

Basil really gets into his bath time activity! He loves to roll and flip and therefore put on quite the show to the excitement of the whole class!

The little dust master!


Sooner than I expected, my time was up and the class quickly answered a few simple questions about the Chinchilla and then moved on. My enjoyment of the whole time was not however diminished and if, Lord willing, I am ever able to give another class about these unique little animals I would be delighted to, for the whole purpose of bringing glory to our Lord for His all powerful hand displayed through creation in this amazing creature, the Chinchilla!

Grace <><
(Photographs by Faith)