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Some Random Thoughts

Brianna is relishing the time with her friends this summer. In my opinion...a little too much ;) . I like for my girls to play together as much as possible and not that I don't want any outside friends, but they are slim pickin's in these here parts ;) She is only 5, and YES I believe she should be sheltered as much as is humanly possible (from the world's way) and then of course with prayer as well the Lord hedges our children about. Of course, we teach Brianna that when she is tempted, it is only her faith and belief in the Lord that will help her make obedient choices...as mommy and daddy will not always be there, but when we are present we will, with the Lord's guidance, shield her from any sinful influence we possibly can. Is she overprotected? Not over enough in my opinion...how can kids be today? Will she make wrong choices, fall into temptation, make dreadful mistakes, absolutely, but with the Lord's help, and her knowledge of scripture she will see what a loving, forgiving heavenly Father she has and will run to repentance and want to obey Him all the more. We are striving to be consistent and faithful in training our kids Biblically how to love the Lord and follow Him wherever He leads...is there ANYTHING more important than this? What a task we have laid before us...it would be impossible, even in our 110 % best efforts, to raise Godly children if we did not have the Lord's blessing in our work. Having the right motives is even a challenge that can greatly affect whether or not the Lord blesses!! How can I expect the Lord to bless an effort that is motivated by self glory? I can't...my motives must stay in check (and what a challenge this is). I find myself wishing they would obey just so they won't ANNOY me...uhhh that is definitely not a right motive *sigh* Sometimes I am so busy falling down that I hardly realize when I am standing up...God is so faithful and good to bless our efforts when they are in obedience to Him and I am so thankful for His chastisement and forgiveness upon my repentance when I do have wrong motives. Well, those are just my random thoughts today :)

Please Pray

...for a dear friend's husband. He is in the hospital right now, and I don't have details, but it could affect his career as a Marine. Please pray for them. He is one of our heroes...having served two tours in Iraq. This is a very trying time for this family . Thank you so much!

A Midsummer Night

...in the clouds. Okinawa has some beautiful sunsets.

TaDaaaa!

Before
Afta
If I had not posted my "to-do" I definitely would not have made it a priority...so thank you!! It worked!

What a NIGHT!!

Sooo Ayden actually woke up for only two feedings last night, but the girls all made up for it. Anjolie was up three times...one bad dream, one thirsty, one potty. Lily lost her "paci" and then at 3 am decided she was finished with the sleeping business...*sigh* I AM EXHAUSTED!! I am so glad that Brian graduates on TUESDAY from the Staff Acadamy ...maybe he'd like to share some of these sleep interruptions with me ;)...gonna go drudge up some coffee I guess LOL

Old Fashion Christian Radio

Thank you to Michael M. McFadden who allowed the link to the http://www.oldchristianradio.com/ that allows the music you are hearing. Thank you to Tori who helped me with the code!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

It's a HERO BAG! Ta-DAAA!;)
Today is my MIL's (mother in love) Birthday!! Happy Birthday :)
Ok, this is my version of the "Hero Bag" It is monogrammed, and the lining is made of part of Brian's cammies. Like I said before, it has many flaws as I am by no means great at sewing yet and I had to make my own pattern (excuses, excuses). I saw a lady at church that had one she bought online..I thought of my MIL instantly. One of my friends here helped me with the measurements...I wish it were better, but it is filled with love ok? :) Anyway, it is soon on its way to Brian's mom. In her honor, here are just 10 of the many things we love about her.


WE LOVE...
1. Her hugs
2. Her thoughtfulness
3. Her delicious BBQ and "Better than potato" salad
4. Her love for her grandchildren
5. The faithful prayers she lifts up for us
6. Her knack for decorating!
7. Her appreciation for beauty-such as in the Mojave Desert
8. Her love for a good card game (we love to play with them when we visit)
9. Her loyalty
10. She is a great listener
11. I love...How she raised a son that I am head over heels in love with oops that's 11- one to grow on I guess :) Happy Birthday Mom Yost, we love you very much

A Wittle Quizzle

Ok, a quizzle, (as I recently learned) is where you take a word (that I will give you) and use it in a sentence to describe or tell something about yourself.

The word is Leaves . The rule- you can't start the sentence with "I". Here's mine:

Jumping into a pile of freshly raked leaves was one of my favorite things to do as a child.

What's your quizzle? Just pick a word and some random rule that you want to use to spark some creativity.

Baby Boy

Little Ayden

4 months old *sigh* :)

Bitterness

Something I find myself struggling with today unfortunately
I read this at Mom of 9's place you can read the whole thing HERE So many encouraging things I have read today!

Deuteronomy 29: 18 "Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;"

"Gall is a bitter, greenish fluid secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. It is something that is bitter or distasteful a bitter feeling. Wormwood is a strong smelling plant that yields a bitter tasting dark green oil. It also means any bitter, unpleasant or mortifying experience. The root of bitterness and the root that beareth gall and wormwood are connected. In Acts 8:23 Peter told Simon the Sorcerer that he was in the gall of bitterness.
The problem with bitterness is that instead of hurting the one whom you are bitter against, you are the one that suffers, Bitterness will literally make you sick in body, not only in spirit. Perhaps the experience that has made us so very bitter is one that God allowed in our life to make us tender. God cannot plant in hard, dry ground. Some folks never get over a bitter experience. Lamentations 3:19 "Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall." They relive it over and over in their minds instead of letting the Lord give them peace and being broken.

If you find yourself bitter and wallowing in your misery, read Lamentations 3:19-26. Jeremiah says, " Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him."

O.S.A.S.

"Happy Mama" has an excellent post supporting our belief of once saved always saved. So many have agonized over this issue...you can read it
HERE

From "To-Do" To "Ta-Daa!"

Ok...this has been on my "to-do" list for ...an embarrassingly loooong time. So, I will use this as an accountability..*sigh*. Take a look at the awful shame ;) of what I have put off for the past 10 months we have been here in this house. On SATURDAY- it WILL be posted on my "Ta-Daa!" list :) Now don't be tooo shocked. And, of course, there are lots more things...baby steps. Do you have a To-Do list you want to post and then make it a "Ta-Daa" ? It can even be a scrap-book page or a clean sink :) We can encourage one another to accomplish our "to-do's"! BTW, I finished my MIL's gift! :) I will "Ta-Daaa" it on her birthday- (July 27th). It has many flaws and is a bit quirky (just like me)being the first one I have ever made, but it is made with lots of love.

Proverbs 24:16

"For a just [man] falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief."
The righteous man, whose ruin was expected, recovers himself. He falls seven times into trouble, but, by the blessing of God upon his wisdom and integrity, he rises again, sees through his troubles and sees better times after them. The just man falls, sometimes falls seven times perhaps, into sin, sins of infirmity, through the surprise of temptation; but he rises again by repentance, finds mercy with God, and regains his peace. (2.) The wicked man, who expected to see his ruin and to help it forward, is undone. He falls into mischief; his sins and his troubles are his utter destruction. -
BLB

What a wonderful truth to those of us who are Saved!! With the Lord, we may stumble and stumble, but He will see us through our every trouble when we CHOOSE to forsake our sin (take off the old) and put on the new...
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Col 3:10 And have put on the new [man], which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Won't it be wonderful when we get rid of this old flesh and are made COMPLETELY NEW?! That old sinful nature will be GONE!!! (like a freight train Dad ;) )Hallelujah!!! But for now, it is a moment by moment choice to choose whether we will walk the Lord's paths or the paths of our old sinful nature. Every day I must choose to be submissive.....and boy does my flesh HURT :( But, as the old hymn says...IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL WHEN WE SEE JESUS. I live for His smile on me...for that moment to hear those words
"... Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord"- Matt. 25:23
No trial will be too great, no mountain too high if we concentrate on that day...IT IS COMING!!! Love to my family and dear friends...have a blessed blessed day :)

Around the House

Just a simple lunch -Peanutbutter and Jelly never looked so good ;) The girls enjoyed some time with friends and their new puppy (the friend's puppy not ours). Brian and I enjoyed each other's company on this beautiful Saturday filled with some mandatory relaxation time :)



That is where we spent this weekend :) And, it was relaxing... Later that evening, the power went out, so we took the kids for some ice-cream since it was so hot. By the time they were finished, the power was back on...:) Hope you all had a great weekend!

*Sob*

I'm not a nerd!!! And I so wannabe ;)

What a Blessing

Our lawn...looked just awful. Because of all the rain and everything it really really needs to be mowed every week. Well, this past weekend it did not get done and I was having some friends over in the morning...and here I have this overgrown grass!! It would not have looked so bad except, everyone else mowed their lawn this week which made ours stand out.... It was really stressing me out as I am worried about our testimony and well, I was just embarrassed of it ok :)! I was going to do it myself, but Brian told me that the mower needed oil and that would mean I would have to find out what kind of oil, drag the kids in the store to get it ...blah blah..you know. Anyway, I really just quickly prayed about it...I thought well, my hands are kind of tied about it...so "Lord, please let there be a way to get this lawn mowed" Do you know that Brian called about an hour later and said he was going to come home for a few hours!! Apparently their schedule for school got glitchy today and he was all caught up on his assignments so he was going to come home...and yes, he would love to get the lawn mowed. So, I weed whacked and he mowed...and it was an enjoyable few hours...even if spent doing yard work. Amen! What a blessing and tremendous affirmation that the Lord cares about the little things that stress us :)

By The Waters of Marah

Once again I find myself with an overwhelmed feeling. At times I feel the Lord's leading...and other times just a quietness. I feel alone and isolated sometimes- like no one could possibly understand what I am going through. My comfort is truly in the Lord alone and His work in my life. He is teaching me to be faithful and content and it is very hard at times. The times we feel most discouraged and alone are the times where we need to be alert and wait for a work that is going to be done in our life. We can either embrace that work or wrestle with God over it and leave injured, as Jacob did(Gen. 32) -that we might be made to cling to our Lord. The children of Israel were, for a time encamped by the waters of Marah (bitterness)...remember how Moses was shown (Exodus 15) a tree by the Lord and he threw it in and that made it sweet? Here they were in the wilderness wandering and while in Elim, the Bible tells us there were 12 wells of water and 70 Palm trees,- a place of refreshment found...though by bitter waters. Our trials, are for a season...but even in our trials He provides a place of rest.

Another Soul Saved!

:) I love visitation...it always brightens my day. Please pray for a man named Arnold- he is catholic, and he allowed me to share the gospel with him today and he accepted Christ! The end must be near...all these hearts have been prepared, and they are just waiting for the question. Praise the Lord...all glory and honor goes to Him!! I will turn off the comments on this post because only the Lord should hear the praise.

Kid Video

The Mystery of the "nails" someone left in the yard...they were sunflower seed shells ;)
Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video SharingMommy gets a little nuts with Daddy gone
Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

ONE OF THOSE DAYS..

... where you just want to throw in the towel and call it a day. I don't even know where to begin with this day. Maybe it started in the weee hours of the morning with Lily running a fever, or perhaps it was Ayden who just needed to nurse all night...but somewhere, the evil one had a hay-day testing our family today! I went to a homeschooler's meeting this morning which was incredibly encouraging and wonderful, so the fact that today was filled with attack should not be a surprise since homeschooling is just begging for attack anyway. But, I could tell Anjolie was having more trouble than usual controlling her emotions...a storm was brewing! Then right after the homeschooling meeting, I had another appointment which I knew was going to push her overboard since it was running over her nap time, but there was no way I could break it. Anjolie behaved terribly, Lily cried the entire 2 hours...Ayden cried for some of it, and Brianna did not cry, but pouted! It looked and felt a lot worse than it sounds. I was so heartbroken...and I know that is how God must feel when we are trained and taught then tested and stumble. I am so discouraged because, the worst part was...no excuses...I ranted and raved at them once we were in the car about how awful they behaved. I was so wrapped up in my disappointment that I forgot about my whole purpose in training them. Training them up to love and serve the Lord with love and grace. I totally failed today because I was relying on myself instead of God...oh wait...I was planning on going to visitation tonight since I missed Tuesday...grr...I was blindsided (or should that be blindsighted) again!

Little Naughties

This morning, 3 little naughty girls pulled out some baby blankets (2 of them made by Gi-Gi) and were pretending to be babies in Ayden's pack-n-play :)




Sorry for the fuzzy picture, but it is sooo humid that as soon as I take my camera out...it starts to fog up!! Anyway, Anjolie went a little crazy with the sidewalk chalk in this. She had colored almost my entire front entryway and her legs were completely colored....and part of her face. She did not like the fact that I wanted a picture of the mess ;) I was not as amused then as I am now. She came in the house like nothing was wrong...sunglasses and all...COVERED in HOTPINK chalk...LOL.

Lest We Forget :)

We all need encouragement...this encouraged me today as I slept in and got a late start on my chores. The bigger picture is that I have neglected to follow my schedule...which in turn leaves me grumpy and I tend to take it out on my children.
"Remember that suffering caused by sin does not mean God has not forgiven us. Though we fall and are down for a moment, God picks us up again and prevents us from being utterly destroyed." Debi Pryde's SECRETS OF A HAPPY HEART
1John 8-9 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Are you discouraged because you have stumbled yet again today- perhaps in the very same area? Don't be resigned to just sit in it and count the day as ruined. MOVE FORWARD. He wants to fill you RIGHT NOW! :)

Oh! My TOES

I can't believe they still look good after being at the beach and everything....but here they are!

Typhoon passes

..by as a Cat 1 typhoon. Honestly, it was not at all impressive...a good thing. In the states, where the houses are not built for the strong gusts it would be a big deal, but imagine a cinder block (pretty much literally)...that is what we live in. I thought I would be able to get some interesting pictures, but they are just kind of typical looking :) Sorry. There is another typhoon in the making though. We are all on lockdown still...which means we can't leave our houses or anything. It should be over soon though!

Saved, SURE, but Did they CUT THE CORD?

... to the world that is...Ray Stedman, in his excellent study of Exodus : "Here is the reason why many professions of Christian faith never materialize into anything. There are people who are willing to sit under the Passover blood, who are willing to receive Jesus Christ as Savior, but they are not willing to walk through the waters of the Red Sea. They never take that step which burns their bridges cuts them off from the world. In their mind and thinking they are still back in Egypt. They will not move forward through the Red Sea, and until that happens they are still under the bondage and control of Egypt.

Notice, in chapter fifteen, that it was only as Israel came through the Sea that they began to sing. The first thing they did when they walked through on the other side was to break into song. There had been no songs in Egypt. That was a place of bondage, of heartache. of misery, and of unremitting toil and danger. But when they came into the wilderness and onto the far shore of the Red Sea, they broke into song. Real deliverance brings a song. Have you a song of deliverance?" What a neat picture huh?
taken from this excellent study source:

Blue Letter Bible Institute

PLEASE read this...it is excellent especially near the end...very very encouraging!

Typhoon Ewi. Pic

"The typhoon had a very distinct and clear spiral structure in this image, hinting at its intensity. Most of the islands of the area, including Yap, are hidden under the clouds, though the Philippines are visible well to the storm’s west. Sustained winds in the storm system were estimated to be around 200 kilometers per hour (125 miles per hour) around the time the image was captured, according to the University of Hawaii’s Tropical Storm Information Center. "
NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards

Little Man :)

Happy
or Sad

He looks like his Dad :) Does the outfit look familiar Karen? :)

"Trunk FOUND!"

We have seen some strange bugs and animals and things, but this would have topped it all, if it were true ;) We were walking at a local park in the woods (very jungle looking), and Brianna, who had ran ahead and around a corner suddenly came back around with wide eyes and exclaimed, "MOMMY, I found an Elephant's TRUNK!" I followed the little adventurer and saw a large,long curved branch that had fallen on the ground... that did indeed look just like an elephant's trunk. LOL Kid's lose teeth...I guess in her mind an elephant could lose its trunk :)

Typhoon Ewiniar!!

Wunderground

The typhoon is going to hit us head on - we are the little bitty island directly under the circle of the typhoon on Saturday (your Friday) :) And, Brian has duty on Friday so he won't be home to help me secure everything outside, and will probably be on lockdown for the weekend because of the storm! ...*ahem* I am having a little bit of a stinky attitude right now :)

I FORGOT

...to share what happened at my Ladies' Visitation last Tuesday! God is so amazing...how quickly I forget :) You see, usually everyone shows up for the Thursday night visitation, but I can't always make that...especially with Brian being away...and the kids already exhausted from a late Wed. night. So, I go to visitation every Tuesday to get it in. Well, alot of times there are not enough of us to be able to have one to stay behind to watch the kids and 2 to go...ok, yes only 2 of us faithfully go because the others go on Thursday. Anyway...(I am drawing this out..sorry!) a lady who had never been able to go before- had a day off work and showed up so I could go with her...and one stayed behind with our kids. We started door-knocking out in town. Most people, as usual, were either not home, or not answering, but finally someone answered. And,.....GUESS WHAT?!! I asked that hard hard question even after the young man said he had a church. I assured him I was not trying to get him to switch churches or anything like that...I just wanted to ask him one important question... "Just one last thing...if I could ask...are you sure if you died today, of where you would spend eternity?" He answered that he honestly did not know...so, he let me show him from my Bible how he could be sure! He then agreed that he needed to accept Christ as his Savior and prayed with me!! THEN!! No, it did not stop there!! We went next door...(I should say I floated -I was so elated). This lady...even with a kid tugging on her, said she wanted to know how she could be sure she would spend eternity in heaven!! SHE ACCEPTED CHRIST TOO!!! It was a simple, but direct question..."If you were to die today, are you sure of where you would spend eternity...could I take a few minutes to show you from the Bible how you can be sure.." It is all in HIS hands from there...AMAZING GRACE!! God makes it so obvious that all the heart preparation is HIM...ALL we have to do is ASK and then the LORD leads...He really does!! WOOHOO...just got excited about it all over again!!

To the dear dear friend I had the blessing of leading only 2 years ago...I pray for you often - I praise the Lord for your tender heart and the blessing you are. Love you dear sister in Christ!

Brianna's Project

Well, Brianna earned some ric-rac on her apron by learning the back-stitch and "sewing" herself a little purse. I just pre-punched some holes on some felt, and I gave her an Embroidery needle with some yarn. She did a great job!

Slip-n-Slide

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Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

Well, HOWDY!

I know, long time no post ;0 Well, let's just say I can barely catch my breath-we have been so busy! Brian had 4 whole days off for the 4th of July weekend which was such a blessing. I was incredibly worn out by the end of last week and, the help with the kids was sure appreciated.

So, let's catch up. Friday: One of my friends took me to a place called Cocok to get a pedicure. It was so wonderful! It took 2 hours, and most of that was a wonderful foot and leg massage. Then they do some beautiful artwork on your toes! Saturday: We went to a Japanese pool out in town. Sunday: Church. Monday: We played with the kids and their slip n slide and got some cleaning done. Tuesday: We went to a popular diving site called Maeda Point for a beach-side picnic with a bunch of friends from church. We had never been there before, and it is definitely hidden. We had to park down in a sugar cane paddy (???) and trek down this path...should have brought my machete (riiiight). I was so worried about a Habu snake getting us. Once we were actually on the secluded beach, it was wonderful. The ocean was like bath water! It is a beautiful snorkling spot! I can't wait to get some gear! Wednesday: Brian went back to school, and I had church Thursday: We had a sewing class all morning. I am trying to make something for my MIL (mother in love) whose birthday is on the 27th :) HOPEFULLY it will come out ok!! PHEW!!! NOW (it is still Thursday) we are preparing for a Typhoon that is due to hit this weekend. So, I had to make the dreaded trip with all the kids to the commissary (which was a MADHOUSE) to get some essentials. Apparently the base we are on loses power quite a bit, and the storm renders the water non-potable so we have to have plenty of water for everyone. And, wow, that does not "read" as hectic as it felt. I guess excluding all the packing and loading of the kids makes it sound pretty easy :) I will post again soon!!