Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Halloween Sneak Peak

Well, we won't be home on Halloween, we are going to the church for the Fall Family Festival. We are just hoping that a nice note on the porch inviting trick-or-treaters to join us will keep them from doing anything mean (like eggs) while we're gone...

Anyway, I don't have a picture of Noah yet, but here is a sneak peak of Emma and Caleb's costumes:

Firsts...

Well, this past weekend was full of firsts. Noah had his first birthday!


We had our first fire in our fire place! And Emma read her first book! (It was only 22 pages, a beginning reader with small words...but still, she did it all by herself!)

Monday, October 22, 2007

Fire

Well, there are fires all over California. So I am trying to remember all these people, their homes, and these firemen in my prayers. I have a brother in San Diego, which may be getting the worst of it right now due to winds. And, our little cabin in Crestline is only a few miles away from the Lake Arrowhead fire. All roads up the mountain are closed, so no one is getting up there for now. The area where our cabin is located is under voluntary evacuation as of this afternoon, and last I checked all of Crestline was under voluntary evacuation. We do know many people with homes in Lake Arrowhead and the surrounding communities...please be in prayer for them, as many homes have been lost although there is no current information as to which homes have been lost and which are just in big trouble.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Just too Yummy...

Okay, I just have to gush a bit about Trader Joe-San's Lightly Salted Cruncy Green Beans. They are so tasty, you could easily eat a bag, so you have to be careful. Now, I recognize that this form of intake will not give you the optimum level of nutrients from the green beans, but, if you have had a particularly long day and are exhausted (which I am, but it was a great day!), then it is an easy way to get a veggie in with dinner, and the kids eat them up because they are so tasty...like a snack. So anyway, to all of you who are really tired and it's dinner time, make sure you grab a bag of these tasty treats!!
P.S. Becky, you should e-mail me your address again, and maybe (if I can remember!) I could send you a bag!! =) Yes, they are that good.
P.S.S. Ingredients=green beans, canola oil, dextrin (corn) and salt.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Long Time Coming...

Okay, I don't know if you remember this song, but Emma's Sunday School class was singing it a couple of weeks ago:

"My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do!"

I found it entirely appropriate. We have been very busy, but also, sometimes God does something, and you are in such awe, such amazement, that you have very few words. This has been my state. I do not know how to describe it, I do not know how to tell it in a way that will do Him justice, and give Him all the honor and praise that He deserves. My heart cannot even contain...I walk around in a daze thinking of my God, "I can't believe you did this!!" And yet I do believe it, I think it is more that I cannot believe He did this on our behalf, when we are so undeserving, and so unworthy.

I remember on several occasions saying that we would never buy a house in Ojai. Ben now tells me he has a list of things he would like me to declare that over, just in case it changes them...(like, "Ben will never become a pro surfer at age 30!") But the point is, that nothing is impossible with God. And what I thought impossible was very easy for Him. To be on the receiving end of this lavish love and grace...well, it's almost more than I can bear. And yet, His most lavish expression of love and grace came in the blood of His Son. He accomplished the impossible...sinful man able to commune with Holy God. My heart cries out, "Holy, Holy!" and yet with my hands I desire to cover my face because I am so unworthy to even look upon the holiness which I am in awe of.

I know my heart, so prone to wander. I pray that this house would serve as a reminder to me that God is faithful even when I am not. That God is truly the giver of every good and perfect gift. That I have done no good thing, I am simply on the receiving end of lavish grace. That this house does not belong to me...I am only a steward. So, with that, any of you reading this...you are welcome to this home. Come by, eat with us, and it is my prayer that all who come here will be blessed in some way by the same God who has just rocked our world with His goodness. Again.