Peeking at the koi
The breathtaking flower beds
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Degoede's Tulip Farm
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Happy 18th Birthday Miss Joyful!
Lord, there are no words to describe how overjoyed we are to have had this lovely young lady of yours in our home for this past 18 years. Lord, she has been such an inspiration to so many people, her family most of all. In this past year while facing the darkest days of her young life.. she remained in you and stayed faithful to you. She has grown so much in her love for you.. while you work your good will and pleasure in and through her life. Lord, we are so honored to care for your precious daughter Amanda. Lord, help us to be parents worthy of this most high call and honor.
In your word today, I read this verse in 2 Timothy and thought of her..
2 Timothy 2:19-Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from all iniquity.
I thank you that you know Amanda and that she is yours.. Thank you for the work you are doing in her life and for allowing us to watch her grow and faithfully serve you with her humble and joyful spirit.
HAPPY 18th Birthday Amanda! May you grow more and more in the knowledge of Him.. and may you continue to diligently seek His Face! Love, Mommy
(P.S check out her sweet and wonderfully written blog at http://wwwjoyfullyhislamb.blogspot.com/)
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Speaking of Humility..
Someone recently lent me a book by Andrew Murray entitled 'Humility'.. don't laugh if you read my recent post talking about being humbled! ;) Anyhow, it is SO good that I thought I would copy a portion of Chapter 2 here on our blog. I would encourage any Christian who is serious about his walk to read it. What an amazing blessing to me! Here is is: I retyped and shortened portions so please excuse any typos:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth"
'Jesus's first words of his proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven reveal the open gate through which alone we enter...The poor, who have nothing in themselves, to them the Kingdom comes. The meek, who seek nothing in themselves, theirs the earth shall be.The blessings of heaven and earth are for the lowly. '
"Learn of me , for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls." He offers us meekness and lowliness, in those we shall find perfect rest of soul. Humility is to be a salvation.
The disciples had been disputing who would be the greatest in the kingdom, and had agreed to ask the Master..(Luke 9:46, Matt 18:3) He set a child in their midst and said 'Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, shall be exalted." "He that is least among you, the same shall be great."
and later he said "Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." Even as the Son of Man came to serve" Humility, as it is the mark of Christ the heavenly, will be the one standard of glory in heaven; the lowliest is the nearest to God. The primacy in the Church is promised to the most humble.
Speaking to the multitudes and the disciples, of the Pharisees and their love of the chief seats, Christ said once again "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant." (Matt 23:11)
On another occasion, in the house of a Pharisee, He spoke the parable of the guest who would be invited to come up higher (Lk 14:1-11) and added "For Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." The demand is inexorable; there is no other way. Self-abasement will be exalted.
After the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, Christ spoke again "Everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." In the temple and presence and worship of God, everything is worthless that is not pervaded by deep, true humility toward God and men.
After washing the disciples feet, Jesus said (John 13:14) "If I then, the Lord and Master have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet" Humility seems to be the first and most essential element of discipleship.
At the Holy Supper table, the disciples still disputed who should be greatest (Luke 22:26) Jesus said 'He that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. I am among you as he that serveth."
How little these teachings of Jesus are preached and practiced! How little the world has seen it.. how little has it been seen even in the inner circle of the Church."Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." Would God that it might be given us to BELIEVE that Jesus means this! We need to learn this lesson that Jesus calls us to be servants of one another and as we joyfully accept this we will experience a fuller liberty from sin and self. It may at first appear hard.. only because of the pride which still counts itself something. But, when our hearts are set upon this, the true sanctification, we shall study each word of Jesus on self-abasement with new zest, and no place will be too low, and no stooping too deep, and no service too mean or too long continued, if we may but share and prove the fellowship with Him who spake, "I am among you as he that serveth."
Bretheren, here is the path to the higher life. Down, lower down! This was what Jesus ever said to the disciples who were thinking of being great in the kingdom, and of sitting on His right hand and His left. Seek not, ask not for exaltation; that is God's work. Look to it that you abase and humble yourselves,and take no place before God or man but that of servant; that is your work, let that be your one purpose and prayer. God is faithful. Just as water ever seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds the creature abased and empty, His glory and power flow in to exalt and bless. He that humbleth himself-that must be our one care- it is God's care and by His mighty power and in His great love, He will do it.
Jesus , the meek and lowly One, calls us to learn of Him the path to God.Let us study these words of Jesus until our heart are filled with the thought- My one need is humility. And let us believe that what He shows, He gives; what He is, He imparts. As the meek and lowly One, He will come in and dwell in the longing heart.
Condensed from Ch 2 of 'Humility' by Andrew Murray (public domain)
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth"
'Jesus's first words of his proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven reveal the open gate through which alone we enter...The poor, who have nothing in themselves, to them the Kingdom comes. The meek, who seek nothing in themselves, theirs the earth shall be.The blessings of heaven and earth are for the lowly. '
"Learn of me , for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls." He offers us meekness and lowliness, in those we shall find perfect rest of soul. Humility is to be a salvation.
The disciples had been disputing who would be the greatest in the kingdom, and had agreed to ask the Master..(Luke 9:46, Matt 18:3) He set a child in their midst and said 'Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, shall be exalted." "He that is least among you, the same shall be great."
and later he said "Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." Even as the Son of Man came to serve" Humility, as it is the mark of Christ the heavenly, will be the one standard of glory in heaven; the lowliest is the nearest to God. The primacy in the Church is promised to the most humble.
Speaking to the multitudes and the disciples, of the Pharisees and their love of the chief seats, Christ said once again "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant." (Matt 23:11)
On another occasion, in the house of a Pharisee, He spoke the parable of the guest who would be invited to come up higher (Lk 14:1-11) and added "For Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." The demand is inexorable; there is no other way. Self-abasement will be exalted.
After the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, Christ spoke again "Everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." In the temple and presence and worship of God, everything is worthless that is not pervaded by deep, true humility toward God and men.
After washing the disciples feet, Jesus said (John 13:14) "If I then, the Lord and Master have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet" Humility seems to be the first and most essential element of discipleship.
At the Holy Supper table, the disciples still disputed who should be greatest (Luke 22:26) Jesus said 'He that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. I am among you as he that serveth."
How little these teachings of Jesus are preached and practiced! How little the world has seen it.. how little has it been seen even in the inner circle of the Church."Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." Would God that it might be given us to BELIEVE that Jesus means this! We need to learn this lesson that Jesus calls us to be servants of one another and as we joyfully accept this we will experience a fuller liberty from sin and self. It may at first appear hard.. only because of the pride which still counts itself something. But, when our hearts are set upon this, the true sanctification, we shall study each word of Jesus on self-abasement with new zest, and no place will be too low, and no stooping too deep, and no service too mean or too long continued, if we may but share and prove the fellowship with Him who spake, "I am among you as he that serveth."
Bretheren, here is the path to the higher life. Down, lower down! This was what Jesus ever said to the disciples who were thinking of being great in the kingdom, and of sitting on His right hand and His left. Seek not, ask not for exaltation; that is God's work. Look to it that you abase and humble yourselves,and take no place before God or man but that of servant; that is your work, let that be your one purpose and prayer. God is faithful. Just as water ever seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds the creature abased and empty, His glory and power flow in to exalt and bless. He that humbleth himself-that must be our one care- it is God's care and by His mighty power and in His great love, He will do it.
Jesus , the meek and lowly One, calls us to learn of Him the path to God.Let us study these words of Jesus until our heart are filled with the thought- My one need is humility. And let us believe that what He shows, He gives; what He is, He imparts. As the meek and lowly One, He will come in and dwell in the longing heart.
Condensed from Ch 2 of 'Humility' by Andrew Murray (public domain)
Monday, April 30, 2012
The First Days in WA
When we arrived to the place we will be staying, we were so amazed to see what our friends had arranged for us! We have an apartment and also a trailer with an outdoor cooking area. The apartment has a bedroom with 2 bunkbeds and the trailer has ample places to sleep as well. It is great! Perfect really! So many people have donated certain things which have made it all come together. We thank you all so much. .. What a blessing to have this season in our lives!
The trailer (complete with a very nice deck to step onto!
Dad took the boys and Gracie to the hardware store~ via bike! They had a nice ride together
Gracie and Jonna
So glad to see the Sebens!
Laura fills her bowl with the rainwater
Our outdoor kitchen.. yesterday we received a large freezer for it and today we received some kitchen cabinets. It is a work in progress but coming along really nicely! Very functional and convenient!
Such a blessing to see the King and McDonald children spending some time together again!
Grant and the little girls enjoy this donated COMFY sofa! (It really beats the back seat of a Dodge Van!)
Laura watches Daddy fix the vacuume
With so much 'down time', Mandy has been having fun catching up on some sewing projects. Here she is fixing her sister's new jumper.
Poor Ryan was seriously sick for the first week we were here. His throat was so sore that he could only spit, swallowing was too excruciating. He is all better now though, praise the Lord!
Little Laura whips up a dirt dish in our outdoor kitchen!
Not only do our friends have us living here but two other relatives as well..They sure have gone out of their way to make us comfortable.. I pray that we do not overstay our welcome and that we can be more of a blessing than a burden! ;)
Travelling On~
Have you ever heard that song 'This World is Not My Home'? Here are the lyrics:
This World Is Not My Home
This world is not my home I'm just passing through
my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
They're all expecting me and that's one thing I know
my savior pardoned me and now I onward go
I know He'll take me through though I am weak and poor
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Just up in Glory Land we'll live eternally
the Saints on every hand are shouting victory
their song of sweetest praise drifts back from Heaven's shore
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
In 1 Peter, Peter talks about how we are pilgrims, sojourners and aliens in this world.. and boy, do we sure feel that as Chrisitans sometimes, right? But, that is a good thing! We are a supposed to be peculiar people also!
14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Titus 2:14 KJV
The word peculiar here is meaning that we *belong to God and are God's possesion* We are bought with a price. Is the Lord getting from our lives what He has purchased?
Now, that sums up our family very well I think.. peculiar sojurners~ lol! If you have known us for very long.. we seem to always be on the move.. Moving here.. moving there.. some think we are odd.. others*know* we are odd! ;) but as a good friend once told me, home (on earth) is where our family is. We try and make 'home' wherever we go. We just want to live for the Lord, following where he leads and obeying him through the power of his Holy Spirit. We plan on heading back to Belize in November, Lord Willing.. Some one recently asked me if I thought our coming back was to humble us. I really had to think about that....maybe we are in a humbling season right now.. I am not sure. It sure is humbling to rely on someone else for a home, transportation.. and in these first few weeks even food.. but our benefactors are so kind about it that is sure does not FEEL like that. Anyhow, for now we say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has set us up in regard to housing, household items, food, appliances, coats (brrr!) and even toys for our children! There are so many friends who have helped with this and we truly want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We love you all so much...
After our hectic all-night bus ride through Mexico, the ADO bus dropped us off at the Cancun airport. It was 6 am and pouring rain. They basically threw our 10 pieces of luggage and stroller off the bus and drove away.. An airport official came and told us that we could not stand there and that we had better go to the other terminal where we would be departing from 7 hrs later that day. They failed to tell us that there was a free shuttle to the other terminal and instead threw our things into a taxi which ended up charging us $60 US. Ok that was a bummer since we were down to our last $200 US. At least we still had some money for meals.. until we found out that MX was going to charge us $185 just to leave Mexico! Thankfully, Ryan had $60 (from the bike Sj) which we were able to borrow and a wonderful missionary friend (the one who had prayed over Amanda the morning prior) had given us $100 U.S. as a gift. We would not have been able to fly out of Cancun were it not for those two things! Praise the LORD! We arrived in Seattle with 43 cents to our name, no kidding!
Our plane finally arrives!
happy to be heading home to one of her best buddies, Jonna
This World Is Not My Home
This world is not my home I'm just passing through
my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
They're all expecting me and that's one thing I know
my savior pardoned me and now I onward go
I know He'll take me through though I am weak and poor
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Just up in Glory Land we'll live eternally
the Saints on every hand are shouting victory
their song of sweetest praise drifts back from Heaven's shore
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
In 1 Peter, Peter talks about how we are pilgrims, sojourners and aliens in this world.. and boy, do we sure feel that as Chrisitans sometimes, right? But, that is a good thing! We are a supposed to be peculiar people also!
14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Titus 2:14 KJV
The word peculiar here is meaning that we *belong to God and are God's possesion* We are bought with a price. Is the Lord getting from our lives what He has purchased?
Now, that sums up our family very well I think.. peculiar sojurners~ lol! If you have known us for very long.. we seem to always be on the move.. Moving here.. moving there.. some think we are odd.. others*know* we are odd! ;) but as a good friend once told me, home (on earth) is where our family is. We try and make 'home' wherever we go. We just want to live for the Lord, following where he leads and obeying him through the power of his Holy Spirit. We plan on heading back to Belize in November, Lord Willing.. Some one recently asked me if I thought our coming back was to humble us. I really had to think about that....maybe we are in a humbling season right now.. I am not sure. It sure is humbling to rely on someone else for a home, transportation.. and in these first few weeks even food.. but our benefactors are so kind about it that is sure does not FEEL like that. Anyhow, for now we say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has set us up in regard to housing, household items, food, appliances, coats (brrr!) and even toys for our children! There are so many friends who have helped with this and we truly want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We love you all so much...
After our hectic all-night bus ride through Mexico, the ADO bus dropped us off at the Cancun airport. It was 6 am and pouring rain. They basically threw our 10 pieces of luggage and stroller off the bus and drove away.. An airport official came and told us that we could not stand there and that we had better go to the other terminal where we would be departing from 7 hrs later that day. They failed to tell us that there was a free shuttle to the other terminal and instead threw our things into a taxi which ended up charging us $60 US. Ok that was a bummer since we were down to our last $200 US. At least we still had some money for meals.. until we found out that MX was going to charge us $185 just to leave Mexico! Thankfully, Ryan had $60 (from the bike Sj) which we were able to borrow and a wonderful missionary friend (the one who had prayed over Amanda the morning prior) had given us $100 U.S. as a gift. We would not have been able to fly out of Cancun were it not for those two things! Praise the LORD! We arrived in Seattle with 43 cents to our name, no kidding!
Spending 7 hours in the Cancun airport proved to be a nice time. Someone asked us if we had wished we would have had the money to go explore the lovely area of Cancun but truly, we were content to hang out together, anticipating the next chapter of our lives..
Of course I did scrape together enough change for an Americano.. I mean seriously.. ;) We were able to enjoy their wifi and communicate with those who were coming to pick us up etc.
The girls enjoyed walking their babies around. They also weighed them on the luggage scale to see just how much each baby weighed. I love Mexico. No one corrected them for that and actually enjoyed seeing our little ones playing and having a fun time together.
Laura already knows this is the 'fun' bag and kept looking in it for 'more funnies'
Thank you Ryan for treating us to the familiear 'Pizza Hut' pizza!
Laura, in the airport bathroom mirror.. check out her Belizean Bug Bites!
One blessing with travelling with small children is that we were able to board first on both flights. It is so nice to be able to get situated before everyone else gets on.. and yes, I was half crazy after the 7 hrs in the airport. But thankfully both little girls slept most of the way from
Cancun to Atlanta.
Gracie-Girl was so good on the airplane! Great job Grace!
Grant had a fun time watching the digital map which showed our progress while flying. He also helped a lot keeping our little girls occupied.
Goodbye gorgeous Cancun! Perhaps someday we will visit you again!
Do you ever get tired of this scene????
Here we are, after arriving in Atlanta
Ryan treats us to some burgers! Yum!?
After 2 long days, we arrived at SeaTac in one piece.. Thank you Lord!
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