Baptism...Home Church...Plans

Yesterday was such a joy! We went to see Emma's friend, Ali, get baptized! She was able to share a little bit in the service about why she was taking this step...to take her relationship with the Lord more seriously and to be obedient to God. Wow! I am so excited for her. It was such an honour to be present for this important marker in her life.

It was also home church meeting night at our house, which honestly is one of my favourite things in life right now. (We missed you guys who couldn't make it!) It is amazing to meet with these brothers and sisters in Christ and hear what God is speaking to them and how He is using them to advance His Kingdom here in our part of the world. Blessed be Your Name, Father! Last night they talked through the book of Jude (and I say *they* because I was downstairs with the children during most of the sharing and prayer time and got the update from Bob later). I'm pondering the truths in Jude...contending for the faith and snatching others from the fire. More thoughts to come...

This week I'm working on getting more food in the freezer, starting to look at school plans to get some ideas down on paper and also ironing out a few details for an early birthday celebration for Emma.

Blessings!

A Productive Saturday

Some Saturdays are just relaxed and have no agenda, but today I was able to get more cooking and baking accomplished. Blueberry jam, chocolate-zucchini muffins, and lentil soup were in the production line for today.

The jam is *setting* and will go in the freezer tomorrow.

It was very tempting to have that yummy chocolate muffin smell wafting through the house, but every last one of those muffins made it into the freezer.

Tonight for supper I made lentil soup and chapati and half of the soup went into the freezer, as well.

I am feeling better about having some things ready to feed my family while I am off my feet for a few days in August.

Chocolate-Zucchini Muffins (which, I think, originally came from Ivy)

Mix well:
3 eggs
1 c. oil
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Add 2 c. shredded zucchini.

Combine and add to zucchini mixture:
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Pour into greased pans and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (for loaf bread) or 18-20 minutes (for muffins).

Curried Lentil Soup

2 cans lentils
1 can chickpeas, mash at least half
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
1 T. butter
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in large pot and simmer for one hour.

Sprinkle with fresh cilantro when serving, if desired.

Serve with chapati or naan.


And, thankfully, I wasn't in the kitchen all day. I also took the older children to an early-afternoon movie, which was a nice break and a fun time with them.

Blessings!

On This Rainy Day...

I'm thinking of my upcoming surgery and trying to get some foods prepared and in the freezer. These are ready to go into our extra freezer in the basement. I look forward to using some of the accompanying recipes on the Canadian Living website. This afternoon I'm going to bake Blueberry Cream Muffins. I have several other things on my freezer cooking list and will share them as I go. I only have a limited time today, but this is a good start.

The children have been painting t-shirts, playing Lego's and watching movies today.

Later this afternoon Bob and I will be meeting with a friend who is seeking to know the Father on a deeper level! What an honour for us to walk with her through this time.

And then we get to hang out with our good friends, David and Karen, at their new home. We are so blessed to know them and share in their newlywed lives!

What is your day like today?

Blessings!

Beach Day

My kids have been asking to go to the beach for months now. They had actually indicated a beach in Florida (where the water is WARM), but yesterday we found a great substitute! My friend, Rebecca, has been living with her parents this summer in their town near Lake Huron. She invited us to come and hang out for the day. I had no idea that Lake Huron was so incredibly beautiful! Our friend, Christine, also went with us and we had a fabulous day!

Blessings!

Soccer Night

Emma's turn...

She's the one on the far right...

In the background...

Corner kick...

Listening to her coach talk about NEXT week's opponents!

The fans...

Our wonderful friends, Mel and Jeffrey (thanks for hanging out with us tonight, guys!)...

Blessings!

God vs. Man

The children and I also spent some time reading John chapter 12 today. We especially spent a little time on verses 42, 43...Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

I love to discuss God's Word with them. They have so many great insights and questions.

Those verses reminded me of a couple of other Scriptures I have been pondering lately.

Jeremiah 17:5-8
This is what the LORD says:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in Him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

Father, may I always trust in You and put my confidence in You alone. And may my children follow my example, by Your grace.


Blessings!

Celebrating God in Nature

We spent a couple of hours at one of our favourite hiking trails today. We love going to feed the birds and chipmunks. The weather was perfect...24 degrees Celsius! Usually we get Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers to eat out of our hands, but we also get to see God's creativity in His Cardinals, Blue Jays, Eastern Bluebirds, American Goldfinches, Gray Catbirds, White-Breasted Nuthatches, Canada Geese and others, not to mention the gorgeous gardens.

Blessings!

VBS

Our children have had the privilege of joining a Vacation Bible School at another church in our neighbourhood for the past five years. They look forward to it each summer. This was Ava's first year to be *one of the big kids* and she was beyond thrilled. This was Emma's second year to be a youth volunteer.

This year's theme was a prayer safari. The children learned the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6) and all about the continent of Africa. The missions project this year was to raise money to buy goats for families in Africa. At the end of the week they had collected enough money to buy 10 goats! So cool!

Here are some photos from the last day. They had an African bazaar with games, face painting, mask making, etc. It was great fun!

Blessings!

Soccer shots

We have three children in soccer this summer and spend four nights on the soccer fields each week!

Here are some shots of Austin in action (and his assistant coach...his dad!)...

And two of his biggest fans...
More soccer photos coming soon!

Blessings!