And I Know He Watches Me

“I notice that people who have nothing to do but to sit down and stare into the black hole of their own nature, are generally very sad, and not often very virtuous; but they who, knowing how dark and sinful their nature is, trust Jesus for salvation, and then spend their lives in doing the will of the Lord, these are they who are both holy and happy.” ~ Charles Spurgeon

God did not call us to be depressed and melancholy.  We are called to be holy.  What is our chief end?  To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  There is no room for self-pity or self-loathing.  Yet so many Christians today have a “woe is me” attitude.  We sit around and fret over our circumstances not being what we wish they were, or dwell on all the negatives instead of thanking the Lord for all of our blessings!  Sure we will have times of sadness, there is a time to weep and a time to mourn, but we are not to have a spirit of fear.  Psalm 121 says “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the LORD which made heaven and earth.”  We need to take our eyes off of ourselves and look up to the One who is ready to help us.  If He cares for the sparrows, how much more does He care for those who are His children!  He knows what our next step will be and He is there to catch us if we fall.  What a grand promise that is!  If only we would believe it and not sit in our ashes of despair and despondency!  He is our King, and through Him we CAN be victorious.  John 16:33 ~ “…but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” 

Skirt Giveaway!

Wow!!  2 giveaways in 1 day!!  You can't beat that.  Unless of course, you had 3, or maybe 4....well, you get the picture!  Anyway, back to the great news!  Kim is hosting a giveaway on her blog In A Shoe.   The gift is a beautiful skirt made by The Modest Mom.   The great news is, you have several chances to win, so make sure to enter! This is the one I hope to win!!  They have several fabrics to choose from, including denim.  But hurry, the deadline is Feb. 7th!

Apron Giveaway!

Mary Jo from Covenant Homemaking is giving away a free apron, made by Marie Madeline Studio.  Be sure to enter for your chance to win one of these fabulous aprons!  I don't know about you, but these aprons put me in the mood to do some fancy cookin'!

“Be content and resigned to God's will.” - Thomas Jonathan Jackson

Today marks the 186th year that Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was born.  He was another great and admirable Confederate General.  He believed in the Sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.  He was quoted as saying, "My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave."  And then again, "Duty is ours, consequences are God's".  How many of us could truly say that we would feel as safe on the battle field as in bed?  Is our trust completely and fully in the powerful might of the King of kings?  "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust." - Psalm 91:1-2  Are we content and resigned to whatever God's will is for our lives?  To me, one of the greatest blessings is to be a wife and mother.  God has given me a great responsibility as the mother of 8 children, and yes, there are days that I wonder if God knew what He was doing!  But who am I to question the God of the Universe?  We have been placed on the earth at this very time and in varying situations because that is what God had planned....before the foundations of the earth!  Many people frown upon the teachings of the Sovereignty of God, but I love the fact that God had my life planned out for me before He even created me, before He created the universe!  Nothing takes God by surprise!  I am so glad that He knows me better than I know myself, that I am in His care and that He even thinks about me!  "But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me..." - Psalm 40:17  Are we content and resigned to what God's will is for our lives?  Remember what man's chief end is...to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.  It is all for His glory alone that we live our lives anyway, so let's purpose to be content!  
Soli Deo Gloria!

Happy Birthday, Robert E. Lee!

Many people celebrated MLK Day yesterday...unfortunately.  But people have been duped into thinking he was a good man.  If you want to know more, HERE is a good place to start. Anyway, we need to give tribute to men who deserve it, such as Robert E. Lee!  Hope you had a wonderful Robert E. Lee Day!

 

 

Looking back on 2009

Click on picture to enlarge

Do you ever have days like this?

you just feel plain exhausted?

Do we baptize babies?

Tonight during our evening devotions, my husband asked the question "Are the infants of such as are professing believers to be baptized?", which is question 77 in the Puritan Catechism compiled by Charles Spurgeon.  He asked our 7 year old son Reb, who emphatically said  "No!  They would drowned!"  Well...there you have the answer! 

Watch your step...you may be closer than you think!

GiveAway!!

Jasmine Baucham, Author of the Joyfully Home Blog, is giving away a copy of Homeschool Dropouts, a new video by the Botkin family.  You can read Jasmine's review of the video and enter her drawing here.  Don't miss this opportunity!  Homeschooling our children is a great responsibility and it is mandated by God, but it is also important that we instill this worldview into our children so that it won't stop with them, but that they will continue on with their children and they to their children, and so on!  May God receive all the glory Alone!

Rambling....something I'm good at!

2010!  Where did 2009 go?  It was here just a few minutes ago, then disappeared.  Yet so much has transpired in the last year, that I don't know if I can pen it all.  I still may do a photo post to recap 2009, we'll see.

We did enjoy a wonderful Christmas holiday!  Our good friends from Indiana stayed the week with us and we enjoyed their company along with my sister and her husband and kiddo's.  We had a total of 16 kids in the house!  Almost a Duggar Family Christmas!!  We did more baking this Christmas than we ever have before!  I think we had more desserts than we had food!  (but desserts are food, aren't they?)  I am so thankful for family and good friends!  God truly is good!

As I said earlier, so much has happened over the course of 2009, I really don't know where to begin.  So much, that it would be so easy to sit down and question God about what He is doing or going to do in our lives.  It has been a trying year in many ways, yet we can still see His hand at work and know that He has not forsaken us.  Time is nothing to God, yet to us it can seem like an eternity!  Many of you know we are trying to start a church, and it can wear down even the most committed of people, so please keep us in your prayers as we seek to follow God's will in our lives.  So many times we think that if we aren't being blessed financially then we aren't being blessed at all, yet there are so many other ways God blesses our lives, that we tend to overlook them when we are having money troubles.  But God is so good to us in spite of ourselves!  "But I am poor and needy; YET the Lord thinketh upon me..." ~ Psalm 40:17 (emphasis mine)  I am so glad that my life is in God's hands and that He knows and has planned every step that I take!  To Him be the glory!  May we strive to bring Him glory in everything we do through out this New Year!  Soli Deo Gloria!

What Child is This?

"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."         ~Luke 1:46-47

I have often sat and pondered what it must have been like to be Mary.  She was given the most awesome role that any woman could have ever had!  Yet at the same time, what was it really like, to have a perfect child, THE Son of God?  She goes on to say in verse 48 that "...all generations shall call me blessed."  She was blessed indeed!  As a mother, to have all the emotions and affections coursing through you that you have for your baby, yet at the same time be in awe that He is the King of kings and Lord of lords!  She was chosen by God to be the mother of our Saviour!  No other woman will ever be chosen for that role again.  It was for Mary and Mary alone.  But each of us mothers are given a special calling as well, and no, our children don't even get the title of "angels"...some may even be little devils!!  But we are called none the less, to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord...the King of kings and Lord of lords!  We aren't to sit on the sidelines and watch everyone and their neighbor bring up our children according to their agenda...it is our (mothers and fathers) responsibility.  How come everyone wants the responsibility to bring up the children, EXCEPT the ones that God intended to do it in the first place?  The world is indoctrinating our children with it's philosophies and religion, yet God's people still make excuses!  Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever....is that what we are seeing in our day?  Absolutely Not!  As it was in the days of Noah, and since the beginning of time, every one is doing that which is right in his own eyes, not taking heed what shall be reaped!  God's Word should be so ingrained into our children that it is what fills their thoughts when they are tempted to do wrong, it is what gives them comfort in time of sorrow, it gives them joy in the morning!  Instead of His Word being our very last resort, when all else fails, it should be our guide, our road map, our instruction manual.  Yes we have a great responsibility and we may look at Mary and think, "Wow!  To have had a perfect child, wouldn't that be grand?"  But God has given us this great responsibility and He has chosen us to bring these "depraved little devils" up for His honor and His glory!  It is ALL about Him and Him alone!  HE is the reason we exist, He has called us for such a time as this to bring Him glory!  So, this Christmas, while we sing "What Child is This", let us ask ourselves what children are these that He has given to us, are we raising them to bring HIM glory, or are we living for the moment, not caring what becomes of our children?  Do you like being embarrassed when someone asks, "Whose child is this"?  Then purpose today to bring your children up for the glory of God!