GRACE IN TRIALS
from The Valley of Vision
Father of Mercies,
Hear me for Jesus’ sake.
I am sinful even in my closest walk with thee;
it is of thy mercy I died not long ago;
Thy grace has given me faith in the cross
by which thou hast reconciled thyself to me and me to thee,
drawing me by thy great love,
reckoning me as innocent in Christ though guilty in myself.
Giver of all graces,
I look to thee for strength to maintain them in me,
for it is hard to practise what I believe.
Strengthen me against temptations.
My heart is an unexhausted fountain of sin,
a river of corruption since childhood days,
flowing on in every pattern of behavior;
Thou hast disarmed me of the means in which I trusted,
and I have no strength but in thee.
Thou alone canst hold back my evil ways,
but without thy grace to sustain me I fall.
Satan’s darts quickly inflame me,
and the shield that should quench them
easily drops from my hand:
Empower me against his wiles and assaults.
Keep me sensible of my weakness,
and of my dependence upon thy strength.
Let every trial teach me more of thy peace,
more of thy love.
Thy Holy Spirit is given to increase thy graces,
and I cannot preserve or improve them
unless he works continually in me.
May he confirm my trust in thy promised help,
and let me walk humbly in dependence upon thee,
for Jesus’ sake.
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. ~Psalm 37:23-24
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Celebrating a December Birthday...or Two
The month of December is super busy for us because in addition to just coming off Thanksgiving and preparing for Christmas at the end of the month, we have two birthdays to celebrate every year.
This year Carson turned 8 and celebrated with lunch at CiCi's, a trip to the Lego store, and dessert at Graeter's Ice Cream - all with his best buddy and cousin, Caden.
Jordan celebrated the big 1 0 with a friend party at home that included 9 of her best and closest friends (for a total of 11 girls). The girls made cute little bags, played games, giggled (a lot), ate pizza, cake and ice cream, and had a blast. I cannot believe I have a 10 year old - seems like just yesterday she was learning to walk, and now she is almost as tall as I am.
And now, because no birthday post would be complete without a blast from the past, here are the faces I still see when I look at these two:
This year Carson turned 8 and celebrated with lunch at CiCi's, a trip to the Lego store, and dessert at Graeter's Ice Cream - all with his best buddy and cousin, Caden.
Jordan celebrated the big 1 0 with a friend party at home that included 9 of her best and closest friends (for a total of 11 girls). The girls made cute little bags, played games, giggled (a lot), ate pizza, cake and ice cream, and had a blast. I cannot believe I have a 10 year old - seems like just yesterday she was learning to walk, and now she is almost as tall as I am.
And now, because no birthday post would be complete without a blast from the past, here are the faces I still see when I look at these two:
August 2007
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Thoughtful Thursday
Thy Way is Perfect
by Amy Carmichael
Long is the way, and very steep the slope,
Strengthen me once again, O God of Hope.
Far, very far, the summit doth appear;
But Thou art near, my God, Thou art near.
And Thou wilt give me with my daily food,
Powers of endurance, courage, fortitude.
Thy way is perfect; only let that way
Be clear before my feet from day to day.
Thou art my Portion, saith my soul to Thee,
O what a Portion is my God to me.
by Amy Carmichael
Long is the way, and very steep the slope,
Strengthen me once again, O God of Hope.
Far, very far, the summit doth appear;
But Thou art near, my God, Thou art near.
And Thou wilt give me with my daily food,
Powers of endurance, courage, fortitude.
Thy way is perfect; only let that way
Be clear before my feet from day to day.
Thou art my Portion, saith my soul to Thee,
O what a Portion is my God to me.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
Vacation - Hilton Head Island, SC {October}
(Note: I'm still having major problems uploading pictures, but I was able to get my pics into this post by switching to the HTML composer - thanks to my computer savvy hubby!)
Back in July we decided to take an impromptu vacation to Hilton Head, SC when we heard that a wonderful couple who own a condo there offer a discount to homeschoolers during the off season. When I found out the price for a one week stay I contacted them immediately and reserved the first week of October for our 2012 vacation! We had never been to Hilton Head, and although we were really looking forward to the trip we were not looking forward to the 12+ hour drive (the longest and farthest we have ever driven with the kids).
The drive down was not great, but we made it and were happy to be there. The condo was quite spacious and was about a five minute walk from the beautiful sandy beaches of the Atlantic, and the best part was that the condo complex had a heated indoor pool which is rare. The weather was great and we had a fantastic time! Our first full day there it was sunny and 85'. We had one day where the weather was cool so that was the day we drove up to Charleston to see the air craft carrier and battleship which worked out great. The next day it rained part of the day so in the morning the kids swam in the indoor pool and by late afternoon the rain had stopped and we hit the gift shops.
Another day we went dolphin watching which we had never done before and it was one of the neatest things ever. Toward the end of our stay we rented bikes and went riding on the beach at low tide. The sidewalk riding and crossing streets were a bit nerve racking with the kids, but the beach ride was great. Another neat part of our trip was that it coincided with the annual monarch butterfly migration and each day while we were at the beach we would see lots of monarchs (15-25) flying and landing along the beach on their long journey south.
Spending hours on the beach as a family was so relaxing and fun that when our week was up I was definitely not ready to come home (especially since the temp when we rolled into Ohio was a chilly 35').
Here are some pics of the fun:
Back in July we decided to take an impromptu vacation to Hilton Head, SC when we heard that a wonderful couple who own a condo there offer a discount to homeschoolers during the off season. When I found out the price for a one week stay I contacted them immediately and reserved the first week of October for our 2012 vacation! We had never been to Hilton Head, and although we were really looking forward to the trip we were not looking forward to the 12+ hour drive (the longest and farthest we have ever driven with the kids).
The drive down was not great, but we made it and were happy to be there. The condo was quite spacious and was about a five minute walk from the beautiful sandy beaches of the Atlantic, and the best part was that the condo complex had a heated indoor pool which is rare. The weather was great and we had a fantastic time! Our first full day there it was sunny and 85'. We had one day where the weather was cool so that was the day we drove up to Charleston to see the air craft carrier and battleship which worked out great. The next day it rained part of the day so in the morning the kids swam in the indoor pool and by late afternoon the rain had stopped and we hit the gift shops.
Another day we went dolphin watching which we had never done before and it was one of the neatest things ever. Toward the end of our stay we rented bikes and went riding on the beach at low tide. The sidewalk riding and crossing streets were a bit nerve racking with the kids, but the beach ride was great. Another neat part of our trip was that it coincided with the annual monarch butterfly migration and each day while we were at the beach we would see lots of monarchs (15-25) flying and landing along the beach on their long journey south.
Spending hours on the beach as a family was so relaxing and fun that when our week was up I was definitely not ready to come home (especially since the temp when we rolled into Ohio was a chilly 35').
Here are some pics of the fun:
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Thoughtful Thursday
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
~Revelation 12:10-11
~Revelation 12:10-11
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Happy New Year, Blogging Trouble, & a Verse
Happy New Year (a week late)! I can't believe it is 2013! Praying God will richly bless each and every one of you in the coming year!
On an unrelated note, I have several draft posts almost ready to publish, but Blogger seems to be having technical difficulties and I can't upload the pictures for my posts which means I haven't been able to finish and publish the posts (any fellow bloggers having this problem?). The problem has been going on for the past several days and as of today I still can't upload photos. I am hoping they will have it fixed soon so I can catch up on my blogging, but in the meantime here is a verse that our ladies Bible study group read last night that I just absolutely loved:
These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.
~Revelation 17:14 (NKJV)
On an unrelated note, I have several draft posts almost ready to publish, but Blogger seems to be having technical difficulties and I can't upload the pictures for my posts which means I haven't been able to finish and publish the posts (any fellow bloggers having this problem?). The problem has been going on for the past several days and as of today I still can't upload photos. I am hoping they will have it fixed soon so I can catch up on my blogging, but in the meantime here is a verse that our ladies Bible study group read last night that I just absolutely loved:
These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.
~Revelation 17:14 (NKJV)
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