Books

Raw & real -this book is all about grace. I had to read this book twice to capture it. It is blunt and to the point, so much so that I was not sure what to think at first. It almost felt crass, but the back of the book is recommended by Paul David Tripp, Jerry Bridges, and Tim Challies. Written by two friends the theme is, "Wherever real grace flows, real brokenness was there first."

"Practicing Affirmation" by Sam Crabtree. Here is a book that I wish that I had read years ago. As CJ Mahaney writes,
"Too many of us most of our words each day for criticizing and complaining. If you find that your communication lacks encouragement, if you want to grow in affirming others, if you plan to say any words at all today- please read this book!"
This book teaches what Biblical affirmation looks like following words spoken from Jesus. Encouragement gives hope for the future, affirmation points out a Christ-like quality in a person's character.

At the young age of 2, over 80% of Joel's body was burned in a car accident. Now 30 years later, Joel writes about his child hood, the many operations that he had to endure, and the obstacles that he had to overcome. Everytime he comes out of his home he encounters people constantly staring at him. Some are so rude that they will want to touch him to see if he is wearing a mask! What I loved about this book is how he uses his story to share the Gospel with others. I especially admire his parents, who were the same age as I am now when this accident occurred. They showed much wisdom and maturity in dealing with this on- going trial.

I didn't know a thing about Gladys Aylward until I read this book. An inspiring lady who left the comforts of her home in England to become a missionary in dark China. She was a lady who was passionate about prayer and never rested for the sake of the Gospel. She didn't feel like she had any talents, but used her gifts of hospitality and engaging in conversation with complete strangers to bring the gospel to many. Gladys Aylward led 100 children over the dangerous mountains in China in order to escape war from Japan.

This book shares the brief life of Keith Green, singer and song-writer. It tells of the years of searching for peace during the hippie years and how he and his wife came to a saving faith. Gripped by convictions, they took action and became stewards of their time and resources. As the back of the book reads, "Keith challenged believers to break out of their status quo Christianity and embrace a put-it-all-on-the-line life of faith and action."

I love to read anything about Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
She was a little lady who shook the United States with her moving novel about slavery. As president Lincoln put it, " a small lady who started a big war." The Beecher family had 7 sons all who became ministers, one of them being the famous Henry Ward Beecher. This book was well done.

I have been reading this book to the boys about the pilgrims. With it's colourful illustrations, and quick walk through the pilgrims' story, it is a wonderful book.

Who can go too long without reading a Gordon Korman book?! You are never too old for a good story about Bruno and Boots! Just a warning - do not read in public because you might be seized by fits of laughter no matter how many times you have read it, and do not read it in bed when your husband is trying to sleep:} Even if you try to keep your laughter inside, little giggles burst out and they sound more like snorts - not a good thing.

God's Care for Us

"The Hand of God: Finding His Care in All Circumstances"
Right now I am reading this book by Alistair Begg and it is a wonderful book that I highly recommend. He takes the life of Joseph and applies it to our lives. This book shows that the darkest moments that we may go through are not driven by some blind and impersonal force but are filtered through God's Almighty and Caring Hands.

We have started our Ladies Bible Study again this year and it is so good to be back in fellowship with everyone and study God's Word together. During prayer time there are many requests and it reminded me of the struggles that are out there.
Perhaps you are in a situation right now where you are struggling with grief, loneliness, financial difficulties, bitterness, low energy, dealing with a non-communicative teenager, running after toddlers, infertility, or suffering with physical illnesses. Maybe you are crying out to God and you feel distant from Him. There are so many struggles and people hurting all around us. The book of the Psalms is always a huge comfort.


Alistair Begg paraphrases Psalm 139  by putting it in the Lord's voice rather than the psalmist. Put your name in the blank and read it. Meditate on it. Say it out loud and thank the Lord for His absolute unfailing love.

"N....., I have searched you and I know you. I know when you sit down and when you stand up. I know your thoughts from afar. I discern your going out and your lying down. I'm familiar with all your ways. Before you say anything, N..., I know it completely.
"N...., I have hemmed you in, behind and before. I have laid My hand upon you. Where can you go from My spirit? Where can you flee from My presence? If you go up to the heavens, N..., I am there. If you make your bed in the depths, I am there. If you rise up on the wings of the dawn, if you settle on the far side of the sea, even there My hand will guide you. My right hand will hold you fast.
"N... if you say, "Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light will become night around me,' even the darkness will not be dark to Me. The night will shine like the day.
"N... I have created you. I knit you together in your mother's womb. You have every reason to praise Me because you are fearfully and wonderfully made.
"Your frame wasn't hidden from Me when I made you in the secret place. I wove you together in the depths of the earth. My eyes saw your unformed body. All the days ordained for you were written in My book before one of them came to be.
"N..., the sum of My thoughts toward you is vast; they out number the grains of sand."

God is so gracious and good to us.

from the homefront

 

The boys were happy to start school again and we fell into routine very quickly.

This little lad has started kindergarten. How fast the time goes. On Andrew's first day of school, I was doing devotions with the boys in the morning and when I started praying especially for Andrew as he would be starting school that day - I got so choked up that I had to stop. Andrew just loves to cuddle and follow Adam around when Adam is working from home - but the good news is that Andrew is loving school - the social aspect of it!

 

 

 

 

 

On Labour day we went for a hike at Morning Star Mill with my parents. We have always lived in this area but have never visited this neat place.

Way back in July we celebrated my brother-in-law, Bret's 30th and nephew Zachary's 13th birthday.
Before they came we filled up a basket of water balloons and attacked uncle Bret when he walked into the back yard. The nephews and nieces were thrilled with this idea and I love the look of anticipation on these little boys' faces.

 

 

 

 

Here are our three nieces from Adam's side:
Eve, Michaela, and Bethany

 

 

This "no-climb" fence that we bought should of been tested on Tyler. This troublesome-two year old is something else. As someone so rightly put it "he has wickedly cute eyes." We are going to take the bottom piece of wood off of the gate and hopefully that will keep Tyler away from the pond. It will also help me from having a nervous break down:)
 

up north

While we were up north my parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary. We are all so thankful for their support, encouragement, grace, and their godly examples. We have been so blessed to have parents that speak and live according to God's Word.

The boat rides are always a big hit. This year we bought kid skis that helped big time. They were attached together so that the child couldn't do the splits and a person in the boat held onto the rope instead of tying the rope to the boat. This way if the child fell down the person in the boat would let go of the rope so that the child wouldn't drag through the water, forgetting to let go. This could of gone a long ways for me if they had this invention when I was young. I had many traumatizing and embarrassing experiences trying to get up on skis...

 

As much as these four two-year-old cousins have fun together, you have to keep on top of them (or maybe it is just me having to keep on top of Tyler). They quickly want the toy that the other one is playing with and they will fight for it!

Liam and Luke. Luke is Dave and Renee's second son and he is a sweet, sweet baby.

Dave and Renee

Candy River. We have visited candy river ever since Nate was young and it is the most amazing river. You fish and you catch candy! This requires two adults - one to distract and one to quickly stick the candy at the end of the fishing line. This year we ran into two snags. When I went shopping for the candy I had Nate with me. I said to him, "Nate you are almost nine and you will probably figure out the truth. Dad and I put the candy in the river." Nate sucked in a deep breath and almost staggered. He could hardly talk he was so astounded that this magical river was not real. When we got into the van, Nate told me in a deep and dramatic voice that this was the saddest day of his life. Poor guy.
 The second snag.  When we got out to the river Adam singled for me to had over the candy. I took a deep breath. I didn't bring the candy, I thought that he did... We burst out laughing and tried to figure out what to do. We told the kids that the weather looked bad (there were very dark clouds) and that we would visit the river the next day. We arrived back at the dock just as it began to pour.

We had a cottage that had the biggest window ever. When you first walk into the cottage it takes your breath away. It almost felt like we were living in an aquarium.

                                              

All of these boys and this one girl are from two families. They have a great time together and it is neat to watch them play. Tyler refused to sit down with them and decided to stand there and cry.

And now it is back to reality and almost time to get back to routine. Gulp.

young peoples camp

Attending young people's camp as a teenager was always a highlight of the year, but going as a camp counselor is even better! It is wonderful to be part of this energetic group of young peoples, to hear of their struggles, to encourage them, and to have the opportunity to pray with them.

Kim and Pastor Hans

This year we were spoiled by Jeff & Sandy. There was a constant supply of cold refreshing water, and delicious snacks. 

On Saturday morning, the heat was oppressive. As we played sports, the sweat was pouring down people's faces, their t-shirts were soaked, and we went through many water bottles.

 

During ultimate Frisbee, Ryan managed to admire the nature around him.

He invited others to share the wonders that he had found.

I can't say too much because I didn't do the sport thing either. Actually I hardly cheered - it was just that hot.

Toilet brush hockey was the one game that our team won!

The counselors had a run-in with each other with Ineke taking a bite out of Bill's head. She wanted to shave part of his head so she could clean it better but Bill adamantly refused saying that each hair was precious to him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although we had much fun, and moments of hysterical laughter, there was time for reading, praying, encouraging, listening to God's word, and singing.
Our speaker was Pastor Hans Overduin and our topic was on Joseph. I cannot say enough about how we all appreciated Pastor Hans. He has a true servant's heart and is a walking example of humility. He spent many hours mingling among the youth and gave speeches that we will never forget.
Friday night: Joseph's Sweat
Here we saw that Joseph was a hard worker and that he was diligent. He didn't lapse into self-pity or play the blame game for the way his life was turning out. Instead he worked hard so that ran Potipher's home despite coming to Egypt as a slave. After being thrown in prison he became in charge of the prison and later on he was given the task of planning for the famine.
Are we diligent or are we a sluggard who desires nothing? Do we leave jobs half done or are we diligent with our time? Do we read wholesome books, take time for daily devotions, fill our mind with wholesome things?
Saturday night: Joseph's Tears
We read that on seven different occasions Joseph wept. He never wept for himself but it was always for others. What you cry about or not reflects a lot about your life. Strong and mature people know how to weep - even in your heart. Joseph's tears proved that he would not hold grudges and that he had a tender heart.
Sunday morning: Joseph's Coat
The eyes are the gate to the soul. Mrs. Potipher set her eyes upon Joseph and lusted after him. Joseph was a young man, alone in a foreign land. He intensely refused her advances and that must of not been easy for him. Joseph did not want to do great evil in the eyes of God but he knew how quickly he could falter so he tried to have other people around him in the household. Mrs. Potipher took drastic measures and caught him alone. Joseph, by the grace of God fled, leaving his coat behind.
Pastor Hans pleaded with the audience to keep themselves pure. Sexual temptation is enticing, ensnaring, enslaving. It has caused huge heartbreak and words cannot express the devastation that it leaves. Pastor Hans also talked about David and how he received complete forgiveness from God when he committed adultery. Guard your eyes and pray for strength. When we met in our groups after we encouraged our group to have someone to be accountable to weekly whether or not you are dating.
Sunday evening: Joseph's Bones
Later on in life Joseph kept the faith while embedded in riches and pleasures. Life is frail and short compared to eternity. We all have to die, and some may even die young. To die in faith you need to live in faith, so Joseph requested that when he died that he not be buried in a foreign land but that he believed the promise of God - they would be brought to a promised land. Joseph's bones were a testimony that he believed God's promises.
Pastor Hans is a big fan of acrostics to help you learn. Here are the ones he shared:
Joseph by grace resisted the temptations of sin in the way of:

H - High view of God! Keeping in mind God's attributes!                                         
O- Owning sin for what it is! All sin is great wickedness!                                         
L- Little view of self! Too weak to hesitate at sin's door. RUN!                              
I - In consideration of those who respected & trusted & loved him!                        
N- Not expecting ungodly to prize God's ways; the world rejects it.                        
E - Entrusting self to God, believing God honors those who honor Him!                
  S-Saviour Seeking! Saviour-supplied!                                                                       
S- Saviour-strengthened! Saviour- sanctified! Saviour-serving! Saviour-satisfied!


HOPE - helping others persevere expectantly

B - Believe in the Lord right down to your bones       
 O - Obedience to God's law without wavering             
N- Not unequally yoked                                               
E - expectantly waiting on God & eternally minded   
S - sense of mission and spreading the gospel of hope

A big thank you to Kim and Jan for all of the preparation for camp. It must be a lot of work but it all pays off! We also appreciated Pastor Tim. He and his wife took the time to talk with the young peoples and mingle with them. Until next year...