If you've been following this blog for very long you know that these are not the first moving day photos you've seen here. I just counted and I think that this move makes the 6th one that I've documented here on the blog. That's got to be a record of some kind!
Sadly after HOURS of hard work we left our house in the hands of our renters. God provided the perfect family (at the last minute, but I'm not complaining!) to live there.
All packed up but NOT ready to go. Little did we know that we would not have room for most of what was brought! I could have had a massive yard sale in Florida. Military life has definitely taught me at least one thing: DO NOT get attached to stuff!!!
As the house was slowly being packed there began to be a shortage of places to sit. Holly's bed (all the way in the back of the house) became the gathering place for everyone. Military life has taught my girls another lesson: Sisters are there through thick and thin. Friends are great to have but sisters move when you do!
Let me see if I remember how to do this. It has been awhile!
Years ago I started blogging to keep our family on the other side of the world involved in our lives. The girls were growing and changing and doing silly things! THEN God blessed us in a big way by moving us to Jacksonville, Florida. Home! Of course blogging came to a screeching halt. Its was a short two years of family dinners, parties, trips, holidays, celebrations and Starbucks dates.
God has now moved us along to a new place and we are trying our best to see it as a blessing. My goal now is to introduce you to our new city: New Orleans and to keep you in the silly, growing, changing loop of our girls. As most of you already know, when our family moves to a new place we try our best to milk it for all that it's worth. New Orleans has A LOT to take in and we have already experienced SO much here in our first 3 months. We moved in 2 weeks before Mardi Gras!!!! In other words, I have some catching up to do to get you all caught up. Stay tuned! Take a look at our current New Orleans photos in our Picasa Web Albums linked on the right.
I recently read a great little book that has captured my attention. Food Rules: An Eaters Manual by Michael Pollan. His book is broken up into 3 categories of simple rules based on the 7 words in the title. Eat food, mostly plants, not too much. The 64 rules are super easy to understand which is a blessing to those who may feel bogged down in the world of nutritional information overload. Here are a few of my favorites.
*Don't buy your food where you buy your gas.
*Eat only the things that your great grandmother would recognize as food.
*Avoid food with words in the ingredient list that a 3rd grader could not pronounce.
*Don't eat cereal that turns your milk another color.
* Don't eat it if it has ingredients that you would not keep in your pantry.
I have found this book to be a breath of fresh air for our family. Some really good changes have been made in our kitchen. I highly recommend this easy, enjoyable book to anyone who desires to make a few healthy changes to their diet.
Mr. Pollan also wrote The Omnivores Dilemma and In Defense Of Food. These would also be great to read if you really want to know the ins and outs and whys of food. He goes in to detail about the modern food manufacturing industry and current farming practices in America. I scanned both of these books and got a few really good tidbits. In the end though, I found the Food Rules book to be very practical and helpful in making the much needed changes in the way we eat. If you get the chance to read it for yourself, let me know what you think.
Below is an excerpt from a larger blog post by Jim Eliff. This is just too good not to share. I will link the original post "Southern Baptist an Unregenerate Denomination" at the bottom if you are interested in reading the whole thing.
Though sacrosanct to Baptists, careful study should be done related to the historical use of the invitation system evangelistically. For eighteen hundred years the church did not use such a method. It was not until its principle originator, Charles Finney, a true pelagian in his theology, promoted his "new measures." Earlier preachers were content to let true conviction play a greater part in conversion. They needed no props for the gospel—no persuasive techniques to prompt people to make a "decision." Instead of relying on a method, their confidence was in the preached Word and the Holy Spirit. Baptist giant, C. H. Spurgeon, for instance, saw thousands converted without the use of an "altar call." His message was his invitation. We should always offer a verbal invitation in our gospel preaching, meaning we must invite people to repent and believe. But there is no real benefit, while there is much potential harm, in our inviting them to the front of the church and then assuring them that their short walk or tearful response proves their conversion.
We don't need better methods to get people down to the front. What we need is more biblical content and more unction in our preaching. You cannot beat sinners away from Christ when God is bringing them in (see Jn. 6:37, 44-45). When as many as 70-90% of "converts" are giving little, if any, evidence of being saved after their first weeks or months of emotional excitement, questions should be asked, both about our understanding of the gospel and about our methods. Forget the fact, if you must, that there is no clear biblical precedent for the altar call. Even considering the matter pragmatically ought to make us quit. Though prevalent in our churches for decades, it has not helped us. (See "Closing with Christ" at www.CCWtoday.org.)
The dangerous practice of receiving new members immediately after they walk the aisle must finally be abandoned. Also, more careful counsel should be taken with those entering in as members from other churches. And add to this a need for much deeper thinking concerning childhood conversion. An alarming percentage of childhood professions wash out later in the teen and college years. For unconverted yet baptized church kids, the more independence they are granted, the more they live out their true nature. (See "Childhood Conversion" atwww.CCWtoday.org.)
In our house, after we eat supper it is our tradition to sit and talk for awhile. Lee usually leads us in a time of devotion and prayer. Lately on Tuesday nights we've been taking turns researching and then teaching each other about a hymn that means something to us personally. It's been a lot of fun and very meaningful to learn the history behind many of the hymns we sing. A few weeks ago Gracie chose "Be Thou My Vision" as her hymn. She taught us that it was originally a poem inspired by St Patrick's courage for Christ in 433 AD. The poem was set to music (an old Irish folk tune) a few hundred years later. It was not translated into English until 1905. It's truly inspirational that it has withstood the test of time.
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word;
I ever with Thee, and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.
High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Son!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Give it a listen here:
"Be Thou My Vision": A Tribute and a Reminder
Inspired by an event that helped change the spiritual climate of Ireland, penned by a renowned Irish poet, and paired with the tune of an old Irish folk song, "Be Thou My Vision" stands as a link between Ireland and its Christian heritage. It is a tribute to a significant event in Ireland's history, and a reminder of the sovereignty, strength, and joy of Jesus.
It's hard to believe that exactly a year ago we were sending Caitlin and Holly off on a month long adventure to India. While they were there they were able to participate in a traditional Indian wedding. The bride is a friend of the family that hosted our girls in India.
It's tradition to sit with the bride and her family (possibly for hours) while awaiting the groom.
The beautiful bride
The bride's mother, who helped take care of our girls while they visited.
So here's the big news you've been waiting to read. The bride just had a little baby boy. He was full term and only weighed 4 pounds. That's the little guy up there with his grandma. (No name yet) Please pray for him and his mama. Neither of them are faring as well as they should be. They are from a poor family and it is likely that she had no prenatal care and very little proper food to eat. As far as we know, some of this family knows the Savior but not this little guy's parents (yet). Continually pray for the team of folks there who faithfully work to help this family and others just like them to know the love of Jesus and His healing power.
