Josiah giving his testimony. 

Check out the heads! OUCH!!! This one would be titled Dunkin' and Clunkin'! :) 

Besides Josiah, Chase Klaty was the only other boy baptized that day. 

Here is Abby Hyslop being baptized by her father. 

The Shepherd Family. Both Nicholette and Danielle were baptized on Sunday! 

Fun With the Worden Children

We had the wonderful opportunity to have Rebekah and Luke Worden spend the day with us last Thursday while their parents went to a conference near our home. The day was filled with much laughter, (the majority coming from Josiah and Luke, who had a blast together, and tried to make us think they were twins by wearing similar shirts) and we were able to share a evening meal with the whole family when Mr. and Mrs. Worden returned. We are continually thanking God for such wonderful friends!

In the afternoon, a group of us went down to the woods near our library for a nature walk. Christianna and Rebekah had fun (?) posing for Grace on this fallen tree. Doesn't all that lush green foliage look so cool and inviting? (Just watch out for the Poison Ivy!)

Two Dozen Years of Faithfulness...

Twenty-Four years ago today, friends and family gathered to witness the marriage vows of two very special people. On September 5th, 1981, Paul Frederic Sauve and Cathleen Ann Learned pledged their love and loyalty to each other, and their solemn vows, made before God, have stood the test of time. Just over a year later, the first of their seven "blessings" arrived, and with her a new challenge, and new commitments. Paul & Cathy believed it was their duty before God to train and raise their children at home, and for the next 23 years they did just that, faithfully teaching and protecting their offspring, and learning as they went along. Looking back now, we as their children are profoundly grateful for the time and dedication that they showed in teaching us. Let's face it, we were not always model students;) and some of us are only just now starting to appreciate the perseverance and firmness of our "home-school teachers". The thing for which I am most grateful though, is my parents firm resolve to put God first in everything, even "learning time". Ever since I (Charity) was a little toddler, we have had family devotions together each evening, and when we were older, we had a morning family devotions as well, before starting any other "school" subjects, in which we studied and memorized entire passages of Scripture together. We as their children will carry the now 30+ Bible passages in our hearts forever as a legacy to their faithfulness to God and training us in the fear and admonition of Him. There are so many other things that I could say about my parents, but I will close with this. In a world where marriage seems to mean less and less, and the divorce rate is skyrocketing, even in "Christian" circles, I am so grateful that my parents have, with God's help, been faithful to each other, and I pray that God will give them many more years of happiness together as they continue to grow closer to Him!

We love you Mom & Dad!!! Happy 24th Anniversary!

A Wonderful Transformation!

The Bible tells us of the radical change of a sinner when they repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. II Corinthians 5:17 says: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." God has given us a wonderful example of this in the drastic change of the caterpillar as it changes to a chrysalis and then to a butterfly which doesn't resemble the caterpillar in any way.
On August 17, 2005, part of our family went to the pond near our library to look for monarch caterpillars. After looking for a few minutes, we spotted their yellow, white and black striped bodies on milkweed plants at the end of the pond. We placed three of them into a plastic container to take home. At home, we transferred them to an empty fish tank with a screen top.
Over the next two days the three little guys munched and munched on the milkweed leaves that we had brought back for them. One of them ate so much that he shed his skin. On Friday, they all headed up to the top of the tank and started to spin silk on the mesh top. When they completed making a sticky pad, they turned around and stuck their back end to it. Slowly letting go with their feet, they hung in a J shape.
About ten hours later the caterpillar's antennas went limp. Their skin began to split from their head all the way up to the attached end. They were now a light green color with light yellow stripes, but they slowly shrunk and hardened into all green chrysalises. Two of the caterpillars became chrysalises in the middle of the night, but we were able to watch the third one's skin split on Saturday afternoon. It was an amazing sight to watch.
After eleven days of waiting, we noticed the chrysalises had turned a very dark color. We later realized that we were actually seeing the butterfly through the clear casing. We had the joy of watching all three butterflies immerge out into the world. At first they had a very fat spotted body and small withered orange wings which grew bigger as liquid from its body filled out the veins. When their wings were fully formed, the butterflies opened and closed them to help them dry. That is when we noticed that they were all males by the dot on the lower wing. They didn't look anything like the striped caterpillars they had once been.
They rested in our butterfly tent for a day and then we took them back to the pond to let them go. They will probably start their journey to Mexico for the winter. Their children or grandchildren will return to our pond at the library and lay their eggs on the milkweed plants. When the tiny caterpillars immerge, the whole
wonderful transforming cycle will start again.

Josiah (and mom)

 

The Lapeer Civic Orchestra Concert Photos

On Thursday, August 18, 2005 The Lapeer Civic Orchestra held its last concert of the season! Our family was blessed to be able to be there and to see several friends and members of our Fellowship perform in this event! Even though the evening turned out rather overcast and drizzly, the concert still went on, and the musicians did outstanding jobs with the many pieces they played!! Following are a few of the images that I was able to capture of the event!! Enjoy!



The Conductor, Mr. DeLadurantey!

Amber the cellist. 

The wind and brass players waiting for their cue. 

The Violinists! 

Performance from a different perspective. Painted! Thanks to Photoshop! =) 

On August 6th, we attended our Harrison Family Reunion. (Mom's side of the family) We all enjoyed seeing relatives again, playing in the surrounding fields and by the river, and of course, the food was great! :-)
Here is a picture of us four sisters in front of our banner . . . .

. . .and here are another four sisters, the original Harrison Girls. (Left to right) Clarabel (Harrison) Lee (widow), Mildred (Harrison) Learned (our Grandmother), Myrtle (Harrison) Gross (she owns the BIG garden), and Elizabeth (Harrison) Rustem.  

The men and boys had a great time playing Horse-shoes. John and Josh tried out their tossing skills for the first time, and did pretty well. Here is John and the flying Horse-shoe! ;-) 

Here's the gang! Seated on the chairs are the original Harrison sisters with there respective husbands. Unfortunately, Great Uncle Ted, the only boy in the family, was ill and unable to attend.

CPC Ministry

Remember that Quilting Bee we had back in May? Well, this is where all those quilts ended up: at the Melvindale Crisis Pregnancy Center. On August 4th, our Stitch Together Group, met there to donate the quilts and spend an hour or so in volunteer work. But first, Angela, (the worker on duty at the time[third from right in the back row]) gave us a tour and briefed us on the work that is done there. They have such a wonderful ministery, helping girls and spreading the love of Christ. May God continue to bless them and those they seek to serve!

This is the clothes room. Mothers are allowed to take 6-8 outfits per child, and any shoes that are needed. There are also some maternity clothes avaliable for expectant mothers.

Here we are, helping to sort through boxes of donated baby clothes. We put them on hangers to be hung in the clothes room, or tossed them if they were soiled. There was some awefully cute little girlie dresses!

"Me First!" - The Biblical Way

(These thoughts just came to me last night, and I felt I should share them. Please understand that I am speaking to myself as much, if not more than to you. :-)

I know, most of you are probably saying right now, "There is never a time when we should put ourselves ahead of others! Doesn't the Bible say over and over to think of others first, put their interests ahead of ours, and seek to edify them?" But I would like to submit to you a time when it is not only right, but Biblical to put yourself first.

The world has so many ways of saying it – Self Esteem, Look out for Number 1, Defend your "rights". All of these sayings have a "Me First" attitude or underlying principle. People want to be first in everything, wealth, sports, fame, possessions; and yet they put everyone else ahead of them in the one thing that Jesus commanded us to be "self-seeking" about. What is that one thing? You will find it in Matthew 7: 1-6. Jesus begins by telling us to "Judge not.." This means any act of fault-finding, criticism, or condemning another person. He goes on to explain that we will be judged ourselves, with the same kind of judgement that we use on others. Then, in verse five, Jesus exclaims "Hypocrite! FIRST remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (emphasis mine) So what are we to put ourselves first in? Fault-finding! Jesus warns us against criticizing minor faults in others, when we have not searched our own hearts first and removed the grievous sins there.

The only time when we should put ourselves first is when we seek to apply a principle or lesson to others, or simply go fault-finding. Sadly, this seems to be a favorite pastime for many, and I am ashamed to admit that I have indulged in it too often myself. This is where the "Me First" principle comes in. If you think you see where a fault is, or a rebuke is needed in someone else, before you start correcting, FIRST check out your own heart, and HONESTLY seek places where YOU need to repent. Search your heart and pray that God will reveal your own faults, repent and turn from them with His help, and THEN you may be allowed to give a gentle, humble rebuke or reminder to another. First clean up your own act, and then maybe the little fault you saw in the other person won't seem as bad. At least you won't be a hypocrite by having the same sin that you correct others in, appear in your life. Sacrifice your pride, Confess your own sins, and then your rebuke, if needed, will be more readily received. If you see other's faults so much more easily than your own, just think what they must see in you! There are no good mirrors in the earthly realm of self-examination. If we just compare ourselves with others, we will usually come out looking pretty good. The only TRUTHFUL mirror is the Word of God. It all comes back to what standard we live by. Look in the Mirror of God's Word, at yourself, NOT others, and you will see how "dirty" you really are. Ask God to change your heart FIRST, and then He may be able to use you to help change the WORLD!

~Charity Joy

My Dad found this little poem from an old church bulletin that seemed to go with my article. Here it is for your perusal...

I dreamt death came the other night, and Heaven's gate swung wide.
An angel with a halo bright, ushered me inside.
And there to my astonishment stood folks I'd judged and labeled,
As quite unfit, of little worth, and spiritually disabled.
Indignant words rose to my lips, but never were set free;
For every face showed stunned surprise - not one expected ME!
-Anon

" The rose by any other name would smell as sweet".

A few weeks ago we posted a picture of mom and the rose bush that Grandpa and Grandma had given her for her birthday. Well here is the fruit of that lovely plant! Unfortunately a couple days before this bud opened, two other of its kind were decapitated off their branches by some of the thieving individuals that make their homes in the woods behind us, but that made this one even more treasured to admire as one of God's most delicately designed and deliciously fragrant creations!

Grace

Guess Who Had a Birthday? :-)

This is a picture of Dad 40-some years ago. Isn't he a cutie!?

We are so thankful to the LORD for a loving Christian father, who protects, provides and cares for us. Happy Birthday Dad!

Love from,
Your family

Happy Birthday!!

Yesterday was Grandpa Learned's birthday and today is Grandma's! What a blessing it is to have such wonderful, Godly Grandparents, who have given so much of their live's for HIS Service, in either spreading The Word as missionaries in Africa, or ministering and spending time with their church and family. May God bless you both with many more years of life as you continue to live for HIM! We love you!