Going on a trip!

We just booked a cabin for 2 nights the weekend after our anniversary (next month). We're going to Broken Bow, Oklahoma. I can't wait, it will be so much fun! Here are some pictures of the cabin ('Peace On Earth').


The best thing about the cabin: a hot tub!!! And plenty of space behind the cabin to play and ride our 3-wheeler!

Just a few more weeks and we'll be in that hot tub!!!

The Country Life with Gabriel

Here are some pictures from the past week.

Stacking trucks...

Cute tummy!

Q-tips in his ears...silly boy!
The ketchup stains on his PJs is what happens when you let Daddy watch him for 5 minutes ;-)


Chasing chickens...pay attention around 0:48 when he makes our rooster Big Red jump!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Helping Daddy in the garden

Riding his tricycle (with a dinosaur passenger)

Helping Daddy feed the baby cows.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

He was telling the hen to say 'cheese' for the camera!

Hungry for God

This morning in church we sang 'Breathe' by Michael W. Smith. Here are some of the lyrics:

This is the air I breathe
this is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

this is my daily bread
this is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm I'm lost without you

It's one of my favorite songs and I love singing it. But...it made me wonder, do I really mean the words I'm singing? Is God's holy presence like the air I breathe? Is his word my daily bread? Would I not be able to live without Him, or would I just go on with my daily life if He suddenly disappeared? Would I not really miss Him?

What about you? Would you really not be able to live without Him, would you be lost? Or would you not really miss Him and go on with life as usual? Would it make a difference? Or would you be so busy with your daily schedule of (house)work, school, family and running errands that you would not have much time to realize God wasn't there?

If you had to go a day without bread, or a day without God, which would you choose?
If you answered a day without bread, I want to challenge you to join me in a 'Hungry for God' day on April 1st. One day where we all fast together from morning until evening*. And every time we feel hungry, we will think about God and how lucky we are that we don't have to live a day without Him!

Will you join me? If so, then please leave a comment or send me an e-mail to let me know you are joining me on this day. Tell your family and friends about it. Share it on your blog. Show the world and God that you are hungry for Him!

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

*This will be a liquids-only fast for me, since I still nurse a little one, I have to have my fluids!

Spring!

Spring is officially here! I love it! I wish it would be Spring all year long! Happy Spring everyone!

Worthless?

Have you ever felt worthless? There have been times when I did. For example, for years I was bullied in school and felt worthless or inferior most of the time. It took me years to built up some confidence. I wish now that I had been stronger in my faith. Maybe I wouldn't have measured my self-worth by what other people thought of me, or how they treated me. Instead, I should have focused on what God thought of me, and what He did for me. I wanted to share a few Bible verses to hopefully make those of you who are feeling worthless, a little better about yourself.

So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5: 11-12)

For the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared. (Proverbs 3:26)

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31)

For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. (Psalm 71:5)

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. (1 Peter 3:3-4)

I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:28)

If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. (Psalm 37:23-24)

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:5b-6)

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:10-14)

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:14)

Think about that last verse. God made you, and His works are wonderful. YOU are wonderful! Don't ever forget that!

Country Alphabet - D

I skipped a couple of Show & Tell Fridays, but I'm back today with our Country Alphabet!


D is for...Dogs

Our dog Dakota passed away in June 2007. He was 17 years old. He was part heeler and part chow. Click here for some more pictures of him.
This picture was taken in 2004.

And this one in 2005.


We now have 2 puppies, both were born in July 2008 and we got them in September 2008. They were so tiny back then!
Here is Heidi, the German Shepherd.


And here is Dixie, the Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog).


Getting bigger, October 2008.

Dixie and Heidi this month. We have to keep them chained up now because they are so big and wild and will jump on Gabriel whenever they see him! And they tear everything up. But once they're trained a little better, we hope to be able to let them run around free again.

Reasons to Homeschool

(Click picture to enlarge)

I thought I'd post some of my reasons why I want to homeschool Gabriel.

1. I want Gabriel to receive an education that is founded in God, not in the world. I don't want him to learn about God in one class and have everything else be separate from that. I want God to part of everything that he learns. And I don't want him to learn things like how the world evolved millions of years ago. I want him to learn Christian morals and values. And I believe that God want us to teach our own children. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

2. Why would I send my child away to school to spend most of the day with strangers, when he can be with the people he loves most? We would miss out on precious family time. Before we know it, Gabriel will be 18 and ready to fly out! And it will be so great to actually watch him learn things.

3. I want him to have a practical education, where he learn from real life, and where he can use the things he learns from books in real life. I want to teach him things he would not learn in school, like Dutch, cooking, gardening, raising animals, helping others. And I want learning to be fun for him!

4. I don't want him to get lost in the school system. In a classroom with 25 or 30 kids it is easy for kids to get overlooked. I want him to develop to his full potential. If he struggles with things, I want to catch it early so we can spend extra time on those things. If he is especially good at things, I want him to learn as much as he can about those things.

5. I want to protect him from bad influences. Whether it's the wrong friends, drugs, sex, kids bullying him, or feeling like he has do or have certain things just to 'fit in'. I want to teach him to make the right choices, I want him to be confident by being himself.

6. A flexible schedule. Everyone has their good and bad days, and some days we will feel more like learning than other days. Also, homeschooling takes less time than regular school, so he will have more time for other things, like playing sports, playing with friends, boy scouts, fishing trips with Daddy, vacations to Holland etc.

7. Socialization. I know most people who don't know about homeschooling use this as an argument against it. But I believe that Gabriel can learn better social skills from us than from a classroom full of kids, many of which misbehave. Also, there are homeschool groups out there so we can go out and meet other homeschooled children. And then there's church, sports, boy scouts and all kinds of opportunities where he can make friends.

There are probably more reasons, but this is all I can think of right now. I just don't see how any school out there could give Gabriel what we can give him at home.

Here are a few links about reasons to homeschool:
http://www.oddparts.com/missions/homeschool.htm
http://www.homeeducator.com/FamilyTimes/articles/10-3article1.htm

http://www.homeschoolcookbook.com/article_reasons_to_homeschool.htm
http://www.heritagehomeschool.com/ten-reasons.htm
And this one is kind of funny:
http://www.justenoughblog.com/?p=95