God alone satisfies

"Who is God, except the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?

God is my strength and power,

He makes my way perfect..."

II Samuel 22:32-33

There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of God.
-Faber

House...or Home?

Is the house that you live in a mansion of sorts,

With pillars and arches and wide open courts?

Or is it a quiet and humble abode,

That's far down the lane on an old country road?

Is the house that you live in a new modern place,

With eye pleasing furniture; curtains and lace?

Or is it quite faded and worn out with use,

With a creak on the stairs; a nail slightly loose?

Do you think that it matters to the Lord looking down,

If you live in the country or a great busy town?

He looks past the woodwork, the curtains, wall cracks,

And sees it a home: virtue learned; where it lacks!

You see there's a difference 'tween a house and a home.

Each one has its place in our heavenward roam.

A house is a shelter: four walls, a few shingles.

A home is a family where love and joy mingles.

So whatever your house, whether small, large, or wide,

Remember the true value is found deep inside.

In the Daddy, the Mommy, the young and the old,

A home contains treasures a house cannot hold!

So rather then gaze on the house - rich or poor,

Please know that the value that matters much more

Is the love and the smiles on each member's face -

"Our house is a home, because of God's grace!"

-Rachel Wissmann, 2000

We made it! Pulling in at 1 AM this morning, it is truly a delight to be home once again. There is no place, no place, like home.

Our Thanksgiving Heritage

In the year 1623, William Bradford declared the first Thanksgiving day --

To all ye Pilgrims:

In as much as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetable, and has made the fruits to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience;

now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November ye 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.

William Bradford, Ye Governor of Ye Colony.

Today is to be "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, that all the people may assemble on that day to celebrate the praises of our Divine Benefactor; to confess our unworthiness of the least of his favours, and to offer our fervent supplications to the God of all grace...to cause the knowledge of Christianity to spread over all the earth."
-Issued by the Continental Congress on October 18, 1780


And our first president, George Washington, declared:

Our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experienced."

What are YOU thankful for today?

Smile often

-- just for the fun of it!

"A merry heart makes a cheerful countanance..."
Proverbs 15:13

A living sacrifice

The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully consecrated to Him. Not a great man, or a learned man, or a rich man, simply a man. Well, I am a man. It lies with the man himself whether he will or will not make that full and entire consecration. I will try my utmost to be that man.

Dwight L. Moody

"Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God..."

which is above your call of duty?
which is an amazing sacrifice?

NO! But --
"which is your reasonable service."

Romans 12:1

Psalms 19:14

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight,

O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer."

The test of a man's religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times, when there is nothing tremendous or exciting going on. The worth of a man is revealed in his attitude to ordinary things when he is not before the footlights.

-Oswald Chambers

Sleeping cutie

Simple trust in Daddy's arms

Preparations

God is never in a hurry, but spends long years with those whom He expects to use greatly, and never thinks the days of preparation too long or too dull. When He permits delay, He is not inactive. He is getting ready His instruments, ripening their powers, and at the appointed moment they shall arise equal to their tasks.

-Phillip Brooks

"Behold, God is exalted by His power;

Who teaches like Him?"

Job 36:22

Audience of One

"Whoever offers praise

glorifies Me."

Psalms 50:23

God's glory is not dependant upon how many people are listening.

It is not dependant on others attitudes.

It is not dependant on how well I sing or play.

Rather, it is my heart attitude.

If I praise Him, then He is glorified.

I sing for an audience of One.

My infinite treasure

When we resist the idolatrous power of every craving, every desire, every pleasure that is not God, then God is exalted as the superior Treasure of our lives. Fighting against all alien joy shows that we know the infinite worth of God.

-John Piper

"We have this treasure...

that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us."

2 Corinthians 4:7

Another photo shoot

-- this time with my adorable six week old little sister.

Charissa is growing so-o-o-o fast! She was full of smiles and cooperated incredibly well with all the camera flashes. She is starting to interact with us quite a bit now, and has no lack of attention or arms to snuggle her. What a precious darling!

Look at that grin!

A prayer

My God,

make me one who cares not

what others think of me,

but what You think of me,

and what others think of You

because of me.

-Alyssa Colby

With God

Since God created you for a purpose,

it's only with God that you can become what He intended.

-John Maxwell

"Being confident of this very thing --
that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it..."

Philippians 1:6

Caption Contest

Once again, I'm calling upon ya'll to help me out -- what funny quip comes to mind when you see this picture?



(And for those of you who are wondering about the safety of flying with my brother.... Photo editing had something to do with this! Scary, scary! And to think that I've flown with him! :)