MERRY CHRISTMAS 2009!!!

AND

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

May the Lord bless all you, our dear friends and relatives with celebrating Christmas for the real reason:

Christ's birth, death, and resurrection.

It is the beautiful truth of God loving us and reaching out to restore us to Himself.

And may the new year of 2010 find you drawing ever closer to Jesus Christ, the Saviour!

What Kind of Change? by Crystal

An interesting conversation occurred the other day in the store while talking with one of the sample ladies. Somehow this lady brought up the topic of "getting a husband". This Christian woman's advice was to quit wearing a headcovering, chop off my hair, slap on some pants, and *apply make up, then "abra-cadabra-you've got a swarm of 'would be grooms'". Mom quickly pointed out that I don't need to do those things, that the right man - the one God has me for will have the same convictions in these areas. This lady offered one of the saddest things I think I've heard in a long time. She declared that "those kind of men don't exist anymore"(see Romans 8:24 & Proverbs 13:12). It saddens me even more that if she would give this worldly advice to an acquaintance, then she would probably offer the same to her grandchildren & great-grandchildren - therefore effecting many generations. The thought troubles me that Christians would become caught up in this worldly web of lies, that you must throw out convictions God gives you in order to "get a life partner or be successful". I plead with you, that you will not listen to the world! Follow Jesus, He died for you. If He cared so much for your soul to give His life for it, then He also cares more than you do about your future life partner if marriage is God's plan for you. 1 John 2:15-17 says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

If I would have to trade God's convictions for a husband, I would not take him. It could only lead to a life of misery. It would mean a life of grueling slavery for I would then have set up a man as my idol. Marrying a man because he thought I was pretty would mean that I would always be in competition with other women, after all there will always be someone out there better looking than me. It would be better to live a life of singleness knowing I was pleasing God than to lay aside His convictions and be outside of His blessed will (see Matthew 16:24-25).

So does this mean I don't need change? No, I do need change but not in the way this lady was thinking. I need: to be more self-less, more like Christ, more forward in sharing the Gospel, more meek, more gracious, a better listener, better manager of time, dye to self more, etc.... Ultimately, I need to keep my eyes on Jesus Christ and Him alone. Even if I were to change in certain convictions, it should be God changing my convictions, not man! The underlying principle is, who determines truth: man or God? If man determines truth, then anything goes. Praise the Lord that man does not determine truth, God does. "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." Psalm 12:6-7. "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." James 4:8.


(*As a side not, I don't have a conviction against wearing make-up. It is a personal preference issue, NOT a conviction. I don't like having my face feel like it's going to crack! :-).

Update on Grandpa 5 by Crystal

Grandpa's blood is finally co-operating :-). Praise the Lord it is thinning, now like it's supposed too. From Nov. 20-24 he was on an anti-coagulant that was administered via injection. Prior to his release the nurse showed me how to administer it so I could continue it at home until his blood his began co-operating with the Cumaden.

Now, not only does he have to watch sodium, and fat intake, but also foods that promote blood clotting. Foods that contain vitamin K, like dark green leafy vegetables. He can have iceberg lettuce, but then again, it doesn't have any nutritional value worth speaking of! He was sent home with a whole list of foods that he can't have & shouldn't eat that promote blood clotting. It seems odd to me that he was not also provided with a list of helpful blood thinning foods or nutritional supplements. Someone recently sent me a short article that suggested cinnamon & honey as a possible remedy. A tiny research revealed that cinnamon is a blood thinning spice. Some other foods are garlic, onion, ginger, peppermint, feverfew, berries, fish oil & licorice. Another article included honey, too. Taken internally, so is cayenne pepper, while applied externally it can stop bleeding. The Lord knew what He was doing when He gave us so many nutritional foods.

Update on Grandpa 4

We have a surprise. Grandpa is actually coming home today!! They are releasing him at 2:00PM this afternoon.

They are still having problems adjusting his medication. His blood just won't become thinner.

Update on Grandpa 3

Grandpa spoke with the Doc today. He found out why they are keeping him in the hospital such an extended amount of time. They have been administering blood thinners since Monday and his blood is not getting any thinner at all! They began the Cumaden last night, and his blood is still not getting thinner. So please pray for the medication to begin taking effect or that they will discover what is preventing it from doing so.
At this point of time the earliest projected time he can come home is late Sunday. If anybody is inclined to visit him, I'm sure he would appreciate it. He has been sleeping well at night and has plenty of time on his hands :-). Crystal left a couple of books with him earlier today, but he is not much of a book worm.

Update on Grandpa 2

The tests thus far have revealed that his right corroded artery is completely blocked. The left one is clear. Even though he doesn't really want to, the doctors are putting him on Cumaden - a blood thinner. It will take a bit of time for his body to become adjusted to.

Unfortunately he was not able to come home today. So he had to spend his 57th. wedding anniversary in the hospital. Crystal took Grandma to see him. I'm sure it really brightened his day.

Grandpa is in good spirits - even if he is getting restless over having to stay in the hospital for such an extended period of time.

Update on Grandpa

I just finished talking with my grandpa on the phone. He was expected to come home today (Wednesday) but they are keeping him for more tests until tomorrow (Thursday). Hopefully they will let him come since it is the 19th of November - his and Grandma's 57th Wedding Anniversary!
So far they have discovered a blockage in a corroded artery on the right side.

Prayer for Grandpa

This past weekend Grandpa thought he was having symptoms of mini strokes. Finally yesterday, November 16th he went to a "doc in a box" that is just down the road from our house. They thought he needed to go to a real hospital. Since Mom & Crystal weren't home Jeremiah was the only other one who could take him.
After running all sorts of tests on Grandpa they admitted him that evening. There is no news as of yet of the results. An update will be posted when information is available.

Speech Contest, Post 2

Mom's speech went pretty well. God answered our prayer that

she would do her best and would come in under time.
She didn't place,
but that's okay because she did do her very BEST and

that's what counts. "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to

the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall

receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord

Christ." Colossians 3:23-24 Mom demonstrated diligence which

could be seen through the time she spent revising, memorizing,

and practicing her speech.



Much thanks goes to Dorene Braun, Mom's fellow Toastmaster,

who spent many hours helping her refine the speech

Dorene's valuable service was encouraging by her

self-lessness and willingness to point out many ways of

improvement. Without her aid, the

speech would not have attained the quality that it acquired.


Pictures of the Humor Contest:

Top Picture: Program

Second Picture: Mom Delivering Her Speech

Third Picture: Shelley being cute & adorable :-)

Fourth Picture: The Contestants of Speech

Contest (left to right)

Stan, John, & Kate

Bottom Right: Mom with her certificate of
participation

Speech Contest, Post 1

Mom is a member of Toastmaster's International. On October 17, 2009 she will be competing in a humor contest! So if y'all would pray for her to do her best and be able to keep from going over time that would be greatly appreciated.
We will publish a post of the results as they become available & time permits.

Toothpaste Recipe

Following is a recipe I found somewhere on the Internet for homemade toothpaste. There are certain ingredients in commercial toothpaste like fluoride that we avoid using. That leaves shopping at the health food store and paying a bit more money for clean teeth than we care to spend :-). I have made this recipe 3 times so far and have found it to be effective (at least nobody has said otherwise :-) ). Be a little forewarned that it is pretty salty & bitter at first, but it does leave a very clean feeling in your mouth.
Please note that reader assumes all risks for trying this recipe.

2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons glycerin (*or water)
1/2 teaspoon Xylitol (optional)
15 drops of favorite cleansing essential oil (peppermint, tea tree, cinnamon, cloves, etc...)

Stir all ingredients together and store in a glass jar. Apply to small amount to toothbrush and brush as usual.
*Add just enough water to attain desired consistency.

First Blog Thingy Ever!!

Hey everybody, it's finally happened! We now have a blog thingy. :-)

One of my hopes is to let our dear friends and distant family know what all is going on with my immediate family. It will also help to be an outlet for writing opportunities. I hope that whatever is posted will bring glory and honor to my Lord Jesus Christ who is the King of kings & LORD of lords!