GUESS WHO?

By the way, the last guess who......was Caleb

FISHER OF MEN

by Joshua Pauls (based on Wilfred Grenfell's biography) Wilfred Grenfell was once a little English boy; He was always exploring and for some reason that gave him much joy. When he grew up he loved to work on ships; He even became a doctor and could now operate on people's hips. He decided to become a missionary, and a very strange one to; Because he would ride on ships and help people that should see a doctor with injuries overdue. Wilfred would also be a missionary in Labrador doctoring Eskimos free of charge; Handing out clothing to people who needed help from Wilfred and his barge. Once or twice he got stranded with sled dogs on the ice; He almost died out there for people who needed something to suffice. He helped many needy people who might not have made it thorught the night; He gave his life towards them and did it with all his might. He died knowing that he had helped people who might not have come to know Jesus otherwise; He reached out to any need he found, be it any size.

Train up a Child

Someone quoted the verse to me today, the one in Proverbs where it says, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Prov. 22:6 It was in reference to a guy who had became a Christian as a teen and then fell away from the Lord and now has recently come back to the Lord. I am excited for this guy. I think that is great! But my question is this: Why does everyone assume from this verse that it means the child will fall away and then come back to the Lord? It doesn't say he ever fell away, it says he will not depart from it. So to me this verse means train up a child in the way he should go and he will never depart from it. Hmmmmmmm.....................

Guess Who?

TRIBUTE TO GRANDMA

Mark's grandma Justina Zacharias (Brandt) passed away on Jan. 6th, 2006.

She would have been 93 years old today.

She was the last living grandparent on Mark's side of the family.

This has made us realize that the stories, life accounts that were never told from her will never be told again.

How important it is for us, while we are living to pass on those stories and life experiences to our children and grandchildren.

God talks a lot in the Bible about telling of His wonderous works from generation to generation.

I have been challenged once again to pass those memorials of God's goodness on to our children. Whether by word of mouth or by journaling. Because the stories of your life that you don't share while you are living will probably never be told (unless someone writes a book about you:) A few years ago we started a family diary and put in there the stories that you think you will never forget, but you do! We have a lot of fun reading over those memories.

So if you are a great-grandparent, grandparent or parent keep the memorials of God's goodness alive by writing them down so they can be passed on from generation to generation! It takes only a few minutes but the impact could be for generations to come!

InPsalm 45:17 David said " I will make Thy name to be remembered in all generations, therefore shall the people praise Thee for ever and ever.

Guess Who?

Mark & Nathan

Happy Birthday!

It was my Mark's birthday yesterday! As I was thinking about his birthday I was thinking how different my life would be if he hadn't been born! Where would I be, would I be married, would I have children? What a strange thought, yet what a thought of thankfulness in truly appreciating the day that he was born. Thank you God for my husband. We are done birthdays now until February. We've had many celebrations within the last month. Christmas, Mark's mom's birthday, Joshua's birthday, New Year's, Mark's birthday! Almost as busy as October when we have 4 birthdays. A new year for us all, a time to look forward to the growth and change in our lives. A time to grow in the wisdom of God and learn daily to live by His Spirit. Every day is special, every day counts, every day matters. And every day is one day closer to seeing our Saviour face to face! I wonder what this year will bring? What the changes in our life will be. What the events in our life will be. I do know one thing that is certain, and that is that God is in control. I can rest and have my peace in that. Hallelujah!

Joshua, Sweet at 16!

Just me and my dad!

Reading to his brothers

Can you find Zachary?

HOW TIME FLIES!

I remember when our first four children were little (ages 5 yrs. and under) and how older moms and grandmothers would come up to me and say, "Enjoy them when they are young, because they grow up real fast!" At that point I remember selfishly thinking, "When will they ever grow up and get their own drink of water, dress themselves, feed themselves and help out with house cleaning!" Well now as our oldest son Joshua just turned 16 on Jan. 1st I am realizing (and have realized over the past few years) that those ladies were very right, they do grow up real fast. You know..... when you come to the conclusion that the age you used to think was old isn't old anymore, because you are that age! Obviously when you have a 16 year old son, you are getting older. Now, moms younger than me come up to me and ask me for advice and I realize that I am becoming one of the older women that the Bible talks about in Titus 2. Which seems weird to me, because we still have young children as well, but we also have a 16 year old which puts us in the "older" category! So yes, time does fly. So to you young moms, cuddle them lots now, because they won't always fit on your lap! But on the flip side, I have enjoyed every stage of our childrens life and am now enjoying having 2 teenagers in our home. When everyone would tell us the horrible stories of having teenagers, we would go against all odds and say that we would enjoy our teenagers, that teenagers didn't have to rebel! But people would look at us with that "well you just wait and see" look! Well we have waited and seen and can now say with experience that "HAVING A TEENAGER IN OUR HOME IS GREAT!" Am I saying there are never any struggles. No, of course not, but I am saying, "we enjoy having teenagers in our home!" It is so neat to watch Joshua grow into a young man and grow in his faith, learn more and more responsibility. I love watching him with his four younger brothers and realize what an influence he has on them (and all his siblings)! They love to be around him. I think it is so neat the way God designed family. So all this to say, "teenage years are not something you need to dread!" If your children are trained up in the way they should go, their teenage years will be a great experience for you and them! To God be the glory!

AFRAID OF THE DARK?

A child's faith is so simple. Here's a story to prove it! A little boy was helping his mom clean up the supper table. When they were finished his mom asked him to get the broom out on the porch. The little boy turning to his mom said, "But mom, it's dark out there." Knowing that her son had been struggling with the fear of being afraid of the dark she turned to her son and said, "Son, you don't need to be afraid of the dark because Jesus loves you and He will take care of you." Her son replied, "So you mean Jesus is on the porch?" His mom replied with confidence, "Yes son, Jesus is everywhere." So the little boy walked to the door, opened it and reached out his arm and said, "Jesus, if you are out there could you please hand me the broom?"