The Great Adventure!

I just love this song! Steven Curtis Chapman looks so young in this video! Since tomorrow our family will be embarking on our own Great Adventure I thought I would show this video! I hope I'm not asking this to much, but please remember our family in prayer this next 11 days! Hey also if you wouldn't mind we have a great of I believe 20 people from our church going down to Haiti the same day! Would you please pray for them also! They are going to a place that is alot different then the place we are going! Haiti can be a very unstable place, but this group loves the people of Haiti and most of all loves the Lord! They are going on their own Great Adventure too!

I will try to blog some on our trip, but can't be sure! Be blessed and if not before, I will see you back here on July 30th!

Thankful Thursday!

Psalms 9:10

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Last Thursday came and went with out me giving thanks! There is always much to be thankful for, just not enough time to sit down and speak it! Not this week! Even with VBS going and packing for Saturday I am taking the time early to reflect on our week!

Iris' key word this week was trust! I have to admit this is one thing the Lord and i work on often together. Trust and gluttony two big issues in this child of his! I do have pretty big trust issues, I think part of it comes from control issues! You know always having to have my own way thing! Oh I just realized that is the gluttony thing too! Control! Humm...... on to thankful thoughts.....

• I am thankful that I can trust God no matter what! I am reminded of the old song "Trust and Obey" for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to "Trust and Obey"
• I am so thankful for the prayers of many that went before our Father for my son last week at camp. All in all it was a complete success! Thank you for the encouraging comments also! Jeremiah has a wonderful camp of encourager's out there!


• I thankful that VBS has gone so well this year! Today we had 184 kids!!! The leaders are all doing such a great job! It's wonderful seeing their commitment!


• I am thankful for the way God is speaking to me this week about a concern I have had! He's told me not to worry, HE is in control! Comforting, yes!!!


• I am thankful that this Saturday we will be going on an adventure as a family! Something we've never done before together, nor may do again (due to plane ticket prices!) I'll be asking this alot, but please pray for us, especially on Saturday the 19th and Wednesday the 30th. Those are travel (flying) days!

Trust in the Lord and come and join other's who are thankful this week over at Sting my Heart!

POST EDIT: I had as part of my thankful list that Jeremiah's temp had gone down. Well he woke up this morning and it's back up to 102.4. He probably has one of those strange bugs that is going around, but since we leave on Saturday I am asking for prayers that he be healed!

Thanks!!

The Spirit of the Antichrist!

1 John 4:1-3

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

These verses have been coming up alot lately around me. I've read this 1 John passage recently. Sunday or Associate Pastor read it and last night during family devotions I read a devotion on this very topic. I'm sure by know you know this is no coincidence!

Just yesterday when I was at my mothers, we were watching FoxNEWs (which is what she likes to watch). In two different segments they mentioned this statement coming from both Barak Obama and Oprah Winfrey, this is what the reporter said: "Obama is a christian but he cannot say that his way is the only way to heaven". Oprah said basically the same thing!

Now here's the thing: In John 14:6 it says: I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me." (This is Jesus speaking!)

So that being said, if you say you are a christian, a Christ follower, yet do not know definitively that Christ is the only way to heaven, I would say that your christianity is false! Strong words I know, but there is no way around it!

People of "faith" are flocking towards these people because they say they are christians, yet they clearly have the "spirit of the anitchrist" on them! "This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard is coming and even now is already in the world!"

Think about it too! If Christ isn't who he says he is, yet they all say he is a good man, a prophet, they are endorsing a fraud, a liar! He cannot be both people!!! Christ is the Word made flesh who came and dwelt among us!

When you are listening to people in the media and they say they are Christians, they better back it up with truth in words and actions. Otherwise be weary, and by all means be BOLD, and speak truth into the situation!!!

I'm reminded of a sermon Alistar Begg had a while back where he talked about people who say they have faith. It went something like this:

"So you have faith?" YES; "So you believe that Christ is the son of God?" WELL LET'S NOT GO THAT FAR. HE WAS A GOOD MAN, A PROPHET. "Okay, but you do believe he died on the Cross and rose again on the 3rd day?" WELL THAT'S A BIT MUCH, I BELIEVE THAT'S WHAT HIS DISCIPLES BELIEVED.

Do you see it?! People there is a spirit that is moving today and it is NOT the Spirit of God! Be aware; Be knowledgeable in scripture; Be prepared in season and out of season to defend the TRUE gospel!

One step towards manhood....

Showing off his Level 3 swim tag!

One more step away from Mom and Dad...

One more untying of the apron string...

How does one survive the growing up of a child????


Today my oldest baby came home from Boy Scout Camp! He made it the whole week! He passed his swim test and achieved his swim merit badge! I cannot say thank you enough for all the dear wonderful bloggy sisters who were uplifting him and Steve in prayer this week!

Having very 1st Hobo Dinner- Thumbs UP!

Alot of lessons were learned by both son and parents! Steve and I realized that we have been spending alot of time making things comfortable for him and smoothing situations. Some of the guys told Steve that Jeremiah did a whole 180 after Steve had left! It made Steve feel kind of bad, but also made him realize what both of us have tended to do through out the years! But our son is stronger then he or we give him credit for! He was able to accomplish alot this week - #1 just being at camp for a whole week! Do you know I think he's grown taller!!!

We are praising God for his goodness tonight! I know that God has a plan for Jeremiah, so I continue to give him back! We don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future!

Learning CPR - Always a good thing!

Sleeping arrangements! His bed on left!

Then Sings my Soul Saturday!

YOUR WORD IS LIFE TO ME!

Edit: I'm sorry this is only playing half the song! It is so worth hearing the whole thing!

A few years ago I heard Travis Cottrell sing this song at a Beth Moore Conference! It became my life song! I remember seeing Beth worship at the beginning! She was so passionate for her Lord! I said "God I want that!" I think it was during that conference or maybe some other time I heard Beth speak, but she said "If you don't have it pray too!" You know like if you don't have passion for Christ Pray for it! If you don't have a desire to be in the word Pray for it! and so on! God will always answer those prayers in yes, because he wants you to know him and love him, because he loves you! I pray that often! I so desire to grow closer to God! It is a journey and sometimes my selfishness gets in the way, but HE is faithful!

Lyrics:

I am a stranger in this place

this world is not my home

I want more then it can give

I am a desert needing rain

I'm thirsty for your voice

the very reason that I live!

Chorus: You are the Word, my one desire

an all-consuming holy fire

the very breath that I am longing for

my heart is desperate for your ways

refine me in Your holy blaze

if that is what it takes to know You more

Your are the truth that sets me free

YOUR WORD IS LIFE TO ME!

Only the power of your Word

can melt away these chains

that have held me for too long

so light the fire and let it burn

these shackles and restraints

and I will sing this freedom song!

Chorus

lamp unto my feet

light unto my path

shine, shine on

(repeat)

Chorus

A day at the Beach!

This week has been all girl week here at our house with the boys at Boy Scout Camp! For those of you praying, thank you! Jeremiah has lasted all week. He comes home tomorrow. There have been good moments and not so good moments, but Steve said he wouldn't have missed it for the world! Jeremiah has climb a major obstacle just being there all week! Praise God!
Now back to my post! It has just been Bekah and I all week! I wanted to keep her entertained and I also I needed places for her to go while I went to work. Her week went like this:
Monday - at the Scholten house from 9:00 until 2:00 to practice for VBS and have fun.
Her friend K. came over at 3:00 and we went to see Kitt Kitteredge. Then K spent the night.
Tuesday she went over to K's while I worked and went to see Wall-E. Then K came back over to swim for a while.
Wednesday was Bible study and then friends stayed to swim.
Thursday she went to L. house while I worked, swam and went to McDonalds.
Today after helping me with VBS stuff and piano practice we went and picked up L. and headed for a small public beach near Grand Haven.
It was beautiful! Overcast, and windy with big waves! I didn't let the girls go very far in, but they managed to have a good time! It was alot of fun! We even saw a type of rainbow in the clouds! After the beach we went to the Conference grounds for ice cream!
Not a bad week for a little girl right!!!
Here are just a couple pictures of the day!

This guy stayed real close for quite a while! He wanted some pringles!

My 8 in 2008!

MY 8 IN 2008!

1. To learn to wait on God
Through alot of circumstances God is teaching me to wait on him! I am amazed to see what he is doing and I only hope to be a better student as I grow closer to Him!

2. To practice better hospitality

If helping my daughter with her bake sale to buy Bibles for people in Haiti count, then I think I did good!

3. To speak truth in love and to stop gossip before it begins

A little bit, but I think I may have needed truth spoke in love to me a couple of times this month!

4. To pray for others more. To pray for the salvation of my family (extended)
Doing better here!

5. To take better care of God's temple
I bought a book called "Never say diet" by Chantel Hobbs. She's a women that lost over 200lbs. Also except for this week because Steve and Jeremiah are gone I have been walking every morning with the mutt, and of course riding my bike all over A-town!!!
6. To study 8 books of the Bible
Still working on Philippians and Titus
7. To memorize 8 verses
One that I have memorized this month is Philippians 1:9 - and this is my prayer: That your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight..... I have begun putting this verse in the kids birthday cards at church.
8. To organize all the closets, bookshelves and storage areas in my house.
Here I feel pretty good! Our storage room downstairs is clean. Our spare bedroom is on it's way, and if I had a camera (Steve took both for him and Jeremiah) I would show you my new spice rack idea. It came off of Mari's blog here. I couldn't afford that one, so I improvised. I take a picture later!