Let Your Light Shine

My sister got these really cool oil lamps from Israel, made in Galilee.  The girls tiled them and grouted them.  We put some oil in them and watched them glow.  What a fun, messy, meaningful project.  

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

"Then Jesus again spoke to them saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life".  John 8:12

Shine your light and

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Maybe this would make a great homeschool project. Check them out at www.jerusalem-art.net

Someone Turned 70!

My father-in-law turned 70 over the weekend.  His birthday wish....he wanted a day with his whole family.  So, ONE birthday wish granted!

We even got all the grandkids to pose for a picture.  This is no small feat, mind you!

Happy 70th Birthday, We Love You!

And then he ended the day like this. LOL  Hey, it's his birthday right?!  He can do whatever he wants. 

Birthdays, cake, balloons, presents & family are so much fun!

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Lovely Lakes!

Why I love Michigan, all the lovely lakes!

My dear Aunt and Uncle took us on a fun boat ride from East Jordan to Charlevoix.  We had such a great time.  The girls drove the boat, we saw beautiful homes and just had fun floating on the blue water.  It was a perfect day!

And yes this is a house on Lake Charlevoix.  That is a garage for a yacht.  A-MAZING!

I just love being on a boat in the summer.

Spending time on the lake with dear family...Priceless!

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A Happy Harbor!

Why I love Michigan, Harbor Springs, Michigan!

I think this place is one of the best kept secrets!  It is one of the most beautiful, quaint, wonderful places to visit in Michigan. It is located on little Travers Bay.  My all time favorite cookie place is here...Tom's Mom's Cookies.  Oh my goodness, one of their cookies is like being in chocolate chip cookie heaven.  I truly believe that at God's banqueting table there will be a plate of these just for me.  Oooo and if you go to their website you can order a box of these little pieces of heaven.

We went there just a couple weeks ago.  We had a picnic lunch down by the marina. 

 It was a beautiful day.

 Here we are at Tom's Mom's. 

 Oh sooooooo good!  We try to get some at least once a year and boy are they worth every penny!

 The downtown is full of fantastic shopping and dinning!  A perfect place in Northern Michigan!

I love, love, love my home state.  

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Be looking for more post about why I love Michigan!

Learning to Let Go!

I stole a precious moment with my camera, I hope my dad can forgive me  someday for invading his privacy and putting in on my blog. But it was a very special and powerful moment for me.  He was reading his Bible and listening to this song while sitting in his wheelchair.  Let this encourage you to not let your circumstances keep you from the love of God.
 

If there is only one God, why do we serve so many?

If there is only one law, why do we live like there aren't any?

I'm not trying to get you down, I just want you to know

That if you're gonna live for God, you've got to let go

                                  Gotta let go of the little things, before they get you down

Gotta let go or they'll drag you to the bottom and hold you down

It's a war we all fight and compromise is the battleground

But if you're ever gonna grow, you've got to let go

                                               If there is only one truth, one original way

Why do we search like blind men?

Can't see the sunshine in the light of day

We've got to turn around and run the other way'

Cause if we're gonna live for God, we've got to turn away

                                   Gotta let go of the little things, before they get you down

Gotta let go or they'll drag you to the bottom and hold you down

It's a war we all fight and compromise is the battleground

But if you're ever gonna grow, you've got to let go

                                                       Turn away from the little things

Before they get you down

Turn away or they'll drag us to the bottom

And hold us down

                                                                It's a war we all fight

And compromise is the battleground

But is we're ever gonna change?

We've got to turn away

                                    Gotta let go of the little things, before they get you down

Gotta let go or they'll drag you to the bottom and hold you down

It's a war we all fight and compromise is the battleground

But if you're ever gonna grow,

you've got to let go

music and lyrics by PFR "Let Go"

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Happy 4th!

We hope you had a wondeful 4th of July!  We sure did.  My daughter was completely unhappy with the fact that she didn't have a festive outfit...so of course she got creative! 

We are blessed to live in such a great country; because of those who have fought and given their lives for our freedom.  May we always be forever thankful!

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Grandpa's Home!

It has been a long 6 weeks since my dad had a stroke on Mother's day.  He has been in the hospital since then...UCK!  He finally came home this past Friday.  We are all so glad he is out of there ...and let's just say...so is he!  One of his first things to do was to walk outside, sit in the sunshine, and watch his grandkids eat popsicles, color on the sidewalk, and swim in the kid pool.  I think that was much better than watching tv in an ugly hospital room anyday!

Now that I think about it, maybe watching kids eat popsicles when your a diabetic might have been cruel.   Ah...I am sure dad was okay with it...he didn't complain.  LOL

My dad has a very, very, very long road of recovery ahead of him.  Everything is a struggle and a challenge.  He pretty much lost half of his body.  Therapy has already made huge improvements in his mobility and speech, thank the Lord. 

Sometimes (well a lot of the time)  so many things we are faced with seem way to big and out of our control...and maybe that is just the plain truth of it.  But, God is bigger and He has everything in His control.  We are not promised an easy life; but we are promised all the good things that God gives His children to live and flourish in that life.  We will trust in those promises and rest in Christ!

Romans 8:28

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

The past weeks have been some of the hardest days of my family's life.  Daily I am reminded of God's beautiful grace and mercy.  I have never known it like I have until now.  God is always chasing after us, don't let anyone tell you different.  He loves us and cares for us so very deeply.  God's heart is so vast, we will never truly understand the depths of His great love for each and everyone of us.  In my post I wrote three days after his stroke, I shared a verse that God had shown me before our lives took a very different direction.  In fact, I had been waiting to blog about that verse many days before my dad's stroke..I just didn't know what to write with it.  I know now that the verse wasn't for my blog...it was for my life. 

Psalm 116

¹ I love the Lord because he hears my voice
and my prayer for mercy.
² Because he bends down to listen,
I will pray as long as I have breath!

Lord,  Thank you for allowing us to have our dad!  You bend down to us and hear our cry.  You have shown us all what true grace,  forgiveness, mercy, redemption, healing, and love looks like.  Please, continue to allow those same beautiful virtues flow out of us into the world we live in for as long as we live.  May we never take for granted every precious day that You alone give us... for each and every day is a gift.  Help us to not waste that gift.  You are the only one who can give us true JOY!

Today and as long as He gives me breath...

I will...

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