My parents are on a really cool trip to the North and Baltic Seas with Uncle Doug and Aunt Peggy who say all is going well.

Thankful Thursday

kittens

Erik, Erik, Erik

books

travel guides

Evan, Owen, Erica

God's grace

my church family

cheap air fare

Our Weekend

Saturday the kids had a piano recital.
Here they are getting their awards, the boys have been participating in the American College of Musicians National ratings.
Liquid sunshine! We have a phenomena here where it can be completely sunny and raining at the same time-it's called liquid sunshine. I was able to get a picture of it.
The art outside the auditorium where the recital was,
my beautiful friend with 3 of her 6 gorgeous daughters, Carmellia was actually the very first person to talk to me about home schooling. She home schools 8 with such love and grace-she's amazing.
Sunday Erik took the kids for a walk, that always makes for interesting pictures,














funny gate...no fence
Erik intentionally meant to scare me with these pictures,
the bridges over our highways have no fencing-just small little railings,
he's actually not over the highway,

taking out some very angry hornets.

Noa's Awesome Potato Salad Recipe

2 large potatoes, cubed and boiled soft

1.5 cups elbow mac, cooked

4 eggs, hard boiled and chopped

1/4 cup onion, diced

1 can black olives, halved

mayo, enough to bind ingredients

garlic salt to taste

pepper to taste

couple dashes of tabasco

I grew up on country food but hated mac and/or potato salad until I had it at my neighbor's. Noa's version of this high starch dish surprisingly feels light...until you eat the whole thing and then it's not so light.

Bible Study

Saints are "set apart ones" and are not because of any merit of our own or another says we are. We are saints because we have been set apart by God's great grace to devote ourselves to a holy way of life. This is our fixed spiritual position in life.

Colossae is the Greek name for a city 12 miles north of Laodicea near the great road from Ephesus. The site is in Turkey and has never been excavated. Paul visited the city and wrote his Epistle to the Colossians, a group of believers who had a home church. Philemon (Phi-le-mon) was a resident of Colossae. Paul write him a personal letter, this is the Epistle to Philemon.

At the time of writing, Paul was in chains in a Roman prison, he opened his letter to the Colossians with pure thanksgiving, his heart was filled and overflowing with faith in Jesus Christ and a love for all the saints. The message: stop worrying about your problems and start praising God for His magnificent power and for the "hope which is laid up for you in heaven." Look for the evidence of His grace, behold what He is doing and has done around you. We can all pray to grow in greater knowledge of God, His grace, and His will. Paul sits in his prison cell praying this for others.

We often use busyness as an excuse for not praying. To paraphrase Martin Luther, "My schedule is so busy today I need to spend more time in prayer." So maybe the reason your life is so busy and often our of control is because you don't spend enough time in prayer. When you don't know how to pray for others follow the example of Paul:

• pray for spiritual wisdom
• pray to please God in all areas of life
• pray to bear fruit
• pray for growth in knowledge of God
• pray to be filled with God's strength
• pray to rejoice and always give thanks in everything
• pray to grow in grace
• pray not to be deceived by the lies of this world

Many people are searching for the meaning of life. They have a God shaped hole that longs to be filled but are searching for satisfaction in all the wrong places and drift with a sense of hopelessness. True spirituality is not achieved though religious duties, special knowledge, ceremonies, patterned prayer, etc. Christ is all you ever need. When Christ comes into your life you are filled to:

• live with more love-the love of Christ controls you (2 Corinthians 5:14)
• live with more joy-the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
• live with more generosity-give liberally (2 Corinthians 9:7)
• live with more trust-God supplies all your needs according to His riches (Philippians 4:19)
• live with more strength-I can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13)
• live with more resolve (2 Corinthians 1:20)

What does a Christlike character look like:

• it acknowledges no distinctions-rich or poor...
• it has a heart of compassion-bear with and forgive others
• it has a heart of love-love is an activity not a feeling
• it has a heart of peace and thankfulness
• it has a joyful heart
• its life has purpose
• its a life of forgiveness-forgive others as you have been forgiven

Pray often, pray with passion, pray fervently, pray with faith.

Opinion Please

Up Date: the wasps are gone, they aren't the nice little honey bees. Thanks for your input Tanya and Michelle!

Okay, this little bee hive sits up under the eave of the house on the side we come and go from and use the most-where we park our cars, by our door we go in and out, and where the kids play (not your side Aloha so don't panic). Erik wants to kill and destroy these poor little guys who just mind their own business. I say they can stay, we don't bother them then they won't bother us. Owen has even been out there power washing the drive way the past couple of days. Plus they are a great learning experience for the kids, kind of like science-although it's not caterpillars and butterflies or worms or even an ant farm there's still something interesting about them...right?

Just as a little side note, when Erik was about 4 or 5 years old, living out in the wilderness, he was stung hundreds of times by bees all over his head and body.

Assurance of Salvation

God doesn't want you to live in doubt. Colossians 2:2-3 "their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love and attaining all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

1 John 1:3-3:24

• Do you enjoy being in fellowship with God?
• Do you have sensitivity to sin?
• Are you living in obedience to God's command's?
• Do you love the world more than God?
• Do you love Jesus the Messiah and look forward to His return?
• Do you practice sin?
• Do you provoke others to love?
• Do you experience answered prayer?
• Do you have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit?
• Do you have the ability to discern between spiritual truth and spiritual error?
• Do you believe the basic doctrines of the Christian faith?
• Do you have inner peace?
• Do you love the brethren?

http://www.arielm.org/dcs/pdf/mbs103m.pdf