The Awe of Christmas

The awe of Christmas! The kids had a great time and really enjoyed the gifts they got this year. The Wii was a hit.
The new cameras will no doubt keep me busy with uploading pictures from the kids. Why did I buy 4GB cards?It is great that the kids often say, "Let's remember the real meaning of Christmas." In those moments I also say, "What is that?" They respond that it is about Jesus and why he came to earth. It really is that simple.

AS people cram knowledge of science, philosophies, theologies, and begin to think they are smarter than the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth they lose site of the simple Truth of God. That He became flesh in the person of Jesus and lived a sinless life, was crushed by God for the penalty of sin in order that we might have the FREE GIFT of eternal life if we believe in Him, turn away from sin (REPENT) and obey His commands.

As John Piper often quotes; " Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last." I will end this blog with the full poem from the Author unknown.


Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life's busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last. Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last. Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God's holy will to cleave; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last. Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears; Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last. When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score; When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last. Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep; Faithful and true what e'er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last. Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn; Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne; Only one life, "twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last. Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, "Thy will be done"; And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say "twas worth it all"; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Nutcracker

Justin an I waiting for it to start.

Kaitlyn at Gymnastics

Piano Recital 2008

Justin and Kaitlyn playing at their recital. What a joy!

Oh CHRISTmas Tree

The family tradition at Indian Rock Tree Farm.

This is a cool place to get a tree. Maybe I am drawn to the fly fishing stream and seeing all the BIG trout.

Glorious Fall

I love fall.

A Thought on Trust

We are studying Proverbs and it has been great. I have been struggling with things at work and fear and anxiety have has taken root as I have come to "lean on my own understanding" in these matters. In my own study of Proverbs 3:5 I found the following commentary:


"Trust" and "lean" (v. 5) are very close in meaning. Trusting means to put oneself wholly
at the mercy of another (cf. Jer. 12:5b; Ps. 22:9b). Leaning is not just reclining against
something but relying on it totally for support.

"In the final analysis all government, all economics, all currency and
banking, all institutions and all marriages, all relationships between
people, are fundamentally governed by trust. Without trust, society
deteriorates into paranoia, the feeling that everybody is out to get you."
(Larsen, Paul E. Wise Up and Live. Bible Commentary for Laymen Series. Ventura,
Calif.: Gospel Light Publications, Regal Books, 1974.)

"There are two sides to the matter of trust. There is the decision of trust
and the habit of trust. The first is called 'commitment;' the second is called
'trust.' Trust follows commitment, not always right away, but it begins
there. In the middle of our fears we make a decision to trust. This does not
immediately bring the habit of trust, but if we will muster the courage to
commit our way to God we shall soon learn to trust."

"...deteriorates into paranoia, the feeling that everybody is out to get you." That is where I am. Trust has been lost and is it easily restored. "Once burned twice shy?"

So I am comforted from Proverbs 3:5-6 and Psalms 1. We need to put our trust in the Lord and in Him alone.

Vacation at Last!!

I have always had a "boat-load" of vacation hours on the books. Most of my vacation hours have been spent on summer projects like room additions on the house building a garage and the like. Sure I had taken week long vacations in the past, but I still had half my attention at work.
This year for our $th of July vacation we extended it from one week to two. I made a conscience effort to not let work intrude into our family vacation. A part from one issue it didn't and I had a great time.


As I reflected on the time, I realized my son half way to adulthood. I have a few important years before the hormones take over and he is faced with all kinds of life challenges. He has grown so much and I have enjoyed seeing how God is working in his life. I see so much of myself, my sinful tendencies and his desire to want to do all things well and the frustration when he struggles. Our time of playing whiffle ball or stream fishing are examples of this frustration. But I will continue praying for him and hope that as he enters the teen years that he will find refuge in the Lord.

Kaitlyn is a thrid of the way to adulthood. I an overwhelmed with her mature and sweet spirit. I have so many others comment on it, as well. Her Sunday school teacher told me that he was impressed with her very appropriate prayer request and that they are never "pray for my boo boo." I pray that her sweet and tender spirit will not be crushed by the weight of this world. I fear (in a good way) she is like her mother in that she tends to take on the worries of others. She really seemed to come out of her shell this vacation and her personality is very funny. She is learning a lot about how to fit in. Her good friend Hannah (on the right) has been a great influence. She continues her morning devotionals she has learned from being with the Anderson girls. That is awesome!

So I take away from this vacation to take the time to spend with family and friends. Life is a vapor, it is here today and gone tomorrow. My thoughts are starting to shift to what heaven will be like and what really counts here for that time. I am sure that training up your kids in the ways of the Lord and taking time for the important is some of those things.

I hope to use my vacation time more wisely in the future. It is a short time we have, so if i can encourage in any way it is to make the most of time with others. Work is work. It is necessary but it should be our life and occupy most of it.


That is it for now. Live life with passion, have fun and know that we will be judged for the choices we make.

Saving Gas at $4.50 gallon!!

this my efforts to save gas. it is my ktm mxc 450. scarey fast!

Mery CHRISTmas

T'was the Month Before Christmas

Got this in email and had to share it:



Twas the month before Christmas



When all through our land,

Not a Christian was praying

Nor taking a stand.



Why the Politically Correct Police had taken away,

The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing,

About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.



It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say

December 25th is just a "Holiday."

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit

Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!



CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod,



Something was changing, something quite odd!

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa

In hopes to sell books by Franken and Fonda.





But as Targets were hanging their trees upside down

At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears

You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.





Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty

Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen

On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!





At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter

To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith

Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded.





The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate "Winter Break" under your "Dream Tree"

Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say



Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday,



Our Countries were founded under the Christian way



To our "guests" I can say,



If You don't like it, You don't have to stay!!



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

WTC Ground Zero

Construction started on WTC at Ground Zero. Picture was taken through mess netting.

Brooklyn Bridge

Kiana and Kaitlyn Kirsten on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York!

Reunion with Friends

Getting together with friends of the faith is always fun. Part of me misses the "good old days" when we would get together on Friday nights at our little mobile home and play games and watch movies. Of course this was before we all had kids, which made it a lttle easier.
But seeing all the kids together and seeing how God has divided the roads that each of us are traveling on, the "reunions" whenever they happen are very sweet... very special.
Having families has made it harder to get together, but those times truely give testimony to the grace of God and how binds us together with His love. God is truely faithful, and truely gracious in His mercy, to make His love stand the test of time!

Grand View in Canyonland National Park

It was a wonderful view. It makes me wonder, though, when you go into the visitors center and they talk about the theory this all took millions years to form. What about the theory that the earth is young and only 6,000 years old. That the diasours died in a great flood (like discribed in Genusis 7:11). But no way, they will never give in to a theory that includes God. Funny thing is that they use fossels to date rocks, and rocks to date fossels. Wait until truth is revealed and so many see their dimise. It will be a very sad day.

Moab and the Arches National Park

Four Coners- The kids stand in four states at the same time.










Emel (good friends of my parents) could not wait to take me on Hell's Revenge. Dad got to sit in the back and the 2 hour-5 mile trail had some very fun (scary) parts.














Arches National Park- This is one of my favorite pictures.










Here Justin (the mountain goat) is the first to climb to the top of the Turret Arch.

We had a great time in the park.

Mesa Verda

We went to Texas to Jake's graduation (my nephew) and traveled home with my parents in their RV.
One of our stops was in Cortez, Colorado and we went to Mesa Verda National Park. It was a good time showing the kids the Indian cliff dwellings.
Ma (grandMA) bought the kids a CD_ROM that is interactive with photos of the cliff dwellings. It is a good thing she got that disc, because it started raining and as it got cooler we came home in the snow.
From here we are on to Moab, Utah.

A place to play

We were blessed enough to go to Disneyland. This was the first time for the kids, and it was great to have Uncle Derek and Auntie Kirsten.
We also got to spend time with some old friends.

Via Baja

When "lady luck" turned my way, I won a drawing for a trip for two to Baja 3 day ride. Riding in Baja is the greatest adventure I have had in 34 years of riding. Trail Boss Tours... check it out if you like to ride! www.trailbosstours.com

Getting Old

Well, another birthday came and went. The big 38! Twenty years at being an adult. I have so much to be thankful for in my life. This year was tough loosing two grandmothers and discovering my son has seizures. But God has been so good to my family and to me. I am thankful for my faith and the faith of my family. The season is of CHRISTmas. Thank God for that! I wouldn't have made it through this year so well without Him.

Great Website

Great site
http://www.craftdesigns4you.com/soul.htm

What do you want most in life?

A great marriage?
A successful career?
Wealth and security?
A name for yourself?
Health and prosperity?

Where the desires of your heart are, is where YOU will be - physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. These will be what you give your most time and attention to.

If you want a great career, you will spend most of your time and talent on that....

If you want material things, that make you feel like "someone" - a great house in a great neighborhood, the latest car, clothes, and vacations - you will spend most of your time and money on acquiring these.

If you prize beauty and health, you will spend most of your energy, time, and money on doing what you can to "turn back the clock", be it vigorous workouts, plastic surgery, costly cosmetics, beauty treatments, hair styles, and clothing...

But what happens when you die?

A must read!!

Be good to those who do not deserve it! Life s a fight to push on. I feel like I have hit a plato and moving on is going to be hard hard work. I know this because everything is very frustrating- friends, work, school and especially myself.
Christmas is around the corner and that probably does help. Commercialism has taken over Christmas. Everyone around me is seeking spiritual things but they do not want to hear the one thing that can satisfy that thirst- Jesus Christ. Why is that? Weird. Buda, Yoga, Islam and any of the other religions that chains people rather than freeing them.