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Friday, July 30, 2010

Bothered
I was driving home from Appleton the other day and could not help but notice this cute older man,  in his 60's, getting out of his car in the parking lot.  Going into one of these buildings(not this exact one though).
I did not have any kids with me so I decided to go and talk to this guy. I mean , it was like seeing my father going into a strip club. Cute little grandpa kind of looking guy.  This was aggravating me.   He stared at me wondering what in the world I was doing. 
I asked him why he was going in there
for just a little entertainment
Do you have a wife and family at home
yes, of course
Before I started to get angry I just started talking to him about sin and Jesus and I ended up just walking away
He just kept looking at me like I was the weirdest thing, but I really did not care.  I was just really bothered by the whole situation.
“We're in the greatest battle ever fought. It's a struggle of Life against DEATH. Satan is set to besiege us in all three realms of body, spirit, and soul. The only way we can have the victory is get into Christ.” William Branham

We live in a culture where the concept of sin has become entangled in legalistic arguments over right and wrong. When many of us consider "What is sin?" we think of violations of the Ten Commandments. Even then, we tend to think of murder and adultery as "major" sins compared with lying, cursing, or idolatry.

The truth is that sin, as defined in the original translations of the Bible, means "to miss the mark." The mark, in this case, is the standard of perfection established by God and evidenced by Jesus. Viewed in that light, it is clear that we are all sinners.

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."


In light of this, it does no good to compare ourselves to others. We cannot escape our failure to be righteous in our own strength. This is by God's design, because only when we understand our weakness will we consider relying on the  sacrifice of Jesus.


Sin is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, starting with the "original" sin when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge. Often it seems as if sin is simply the violation of any of God's laws, including the Ten Commandments.


Paul, however, puts this in perspective in Romans 3:20, when he says, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."


God wanted us to recognize our sins. Even those who have not murdered or committed adultery will find themselves convicted of lying, or of worshipping false idols like wealth or power ahead of God.

Tragically, sin in any amount will distance us from God.

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives" (1 John 1:8-10).

In light of this, it does no good to compare ourselves to others. We cannot escape our failure to be righteous in our own strength. This is by God's design, because only when we understand our weakness will we consider relying on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.

 Jesus, help me to always remember that You have forgiven me of my sins. Help me to drop the stones I so quickly pick up to cast at others and extend to them the same grace You have extended to me. Get rid of the stripclubs ,please!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010


Your the only 
I can live for!
You are the way the truth and the light
Live by faith and not by sight
For you
We live it all FOR YOU!!!!!!!!
The answer is Jesus. It doesn’t matter what the question is; the answer is Jesus! He is the answer for every problem and every need. His death on the cross bought us eternal redemption, healing, deliverance, prosperity, peace, liberty and protection. He is the one who rises up to provide for us and defend us. He is the one who calls to us when we are alone, and He fellowships with us. He is the one who never lets us down or leaves us. He is with us at every turn and His eyes are always on us. He sings over us, teaches us, nurtures us, protects us, and leads us. We are always safe in His arms and He does not disappoint. Look to Him, trust Him, wait on Him, He will come through.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Ramblings ..
Olivia comes out of the camper from a nap
Mom, somebody came in there and peed on me
What?
Now who would do that?
I donno
(We figured out she wet the bed)
Jonah
I made him a cup of hot chocolate the other day.
Really, hot chocloate on a hot summer day. 
 We make our own at home and they can have it for a treat sometimes
He stirs it on the counter
looks at the cup
looks at the floor
looks at the cup on the counter again
then looks at the floor again
What are you doing?  I said
Wondering
Wondering what?
If I pour this hot chocolate on the floor and clean it up will the floor still be hot?
Interesting thought I said. 

Odin

We stop at a gas station while driving the other day.
I took 3 kids in to go potty
2 boys go to the mens and I go by the women's with Olivia
I was waiting right outside the door(one stallers)
Looking at the movies
Odin comes out and looks confused and looks at the sign saying
MENS
He goes back in and comes out again and looks at the sign
confused
I said, What's the matter buddy?
I am just checking if I am in the mens or womens.
Ok
They come out together looking concerned
Odin says,mom there was a picture of a girl in there with her underwear and bra on(another description of a bikini in my childrens head) right by the toilet.
So I look
And sure enough it was
this with condoms and KY Jelly packets in the dispensers
Sure enough on the pictures of the product there were 2 women in their bikinis
He was at a loss for words.  Poor guy.
I could not stop laughing(secretly)
These kids crack me up!
What a pure joy they are!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Pow Wow
Pow Wow is the Native American people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships and make new ones.
While we were camping we were able to attend a pow wow right by the campground. 
 Have you ever been to one of these?  I have not and I thought this was such a cool thing and what a way to learn about their culture. 
I knew nothing about it and either did the kids.  It was very educational and we learned something new. 

This is a time to renew the culture and preserve a rich heritage of American Indians

 Great History lesson for us all!
I was not a history buff in school, but Dave is!



Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Emotions...
Loving my life so much lately..

the trees and their beauty

sweet belly laughter from the kiddos

my wonderful loving husband

waterballoons

clean and cold water to drink, whenever we want all day long
LOVE
LOVE
LOVE
Worshiping our awesome Lord at the top of our  lungs with all my kiddos

Being a 24 hour waitress

being exhausted

Sprinklers

sharing

 
Kung Fu with all the kiddos

playing with dead critter parts and keeping them in jars until who knows when

snuggling

building legos

being a 18 hour wiper(this should be a job)

wrestling matches


sand and water all over your house


jumping on the bed


one of those days where you feel like God is just got you wrapped up in is arms and life could not get any better. 
One of those perfect days with the kiddos as well.

Pray for us in the adoption world.  Dave and I are trying to make a tough decision.

Who do you live for?

Your friends

Your boss

Acceptance

Family

Money

Fame

Pride

Live to an audience of one!
I do!!
Your glory goes beyond all things!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Dossier has been recieved in Addis at 12:18 pm.  Yahoo!
My sweeeeeet Odin
I came home from a morning walk at about 5:45 am the other day and noticed that the laundry had been folded already.  I thanked my mom because I assumed she did it. 
She says"I didn't do it."
Oh?
The only other person up was Odin.
I came in the room and before I said anything, he said "I saw the dryer going so I thought I would just fold it and then it would be done."
Love love love these moments!

Friday, July 16, 2010




Bears...
So  Saturday early morning while we were sleeping,   Dave here's some noise outside.  He peeks out the window and is eye to eye with the bear.  The bear is standing on his hind legs digging in the fridge.  Dave makes a noise at him and he drops some things out of the fridge and goes to sit by a tree.  Then I got up to see all this excitement and by this time he was in the neighbors campsite.  I stood behind Dave and he just scared the bear off into the woods.  So I did not get to see him but we got these...
They were so cute we all thought.
He made a mess of the fridge so we cleaned that.
He ate 4 sticks of butter and left the box.
We decided to leave a bear trap the next night but he never came.  It was fun for the moment at least. 

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Camping


Relaxing..
What  a trip we had with our friends who are such wonderful people.  They blessed us with a gift of camping in the northwoods. They know we love it, especially the kids.  We have been saving every penny we can for this adoption so we pretty much cut out most of our camping trips this so their offer was a big surprise. We used to go a lot and had to get our priorities in line here.  
There were so many fun and funny moments with all the kids, they are all so much fun and such blessings.  
We went to Lake Chippewa Campground in the Hayward area.  This was our campsite.  God is so good.  Look at how beautiful this is.   I have never seen so much of God's creation so up close. It was breathtaking.  Eagles, cranes, herons, chipmunks, ducks, mice, woodpeckers, loons,toads. 
Catching Toads
Our friends just left.
 
God is so so big and Beautiful!  Thank You!
Thanks to my mom for cutting our lawn, getting our mail, cleaning our shower, taking care of our bunny, and making a mantel decoration for me too.
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