Lessons from Joshua

o Face reality ex. Moses is dead
o Hear and obey the call for action ex. Arise, go
o Be strong and of good courage ch. 1: 6,7,9, and 18
o You are not alone v. 5+9
o God’s Battle Plans 1:8
o Rise up early (Be prepared)
o Sanctify (set apart) yourself
o Step into the water in faith
o Remember with stones what God has done in your life
o Realize the power of your testimony ch. 4:24
o Learn from your forefathers sins
o Be lowly and humble. Put your face to the ground often.
o Obey God even when it makes no sense.
o Secret sin always causes others to innocently suffer.
o Destroy sin entirely.
o Value true confession and truth
o Don’t quit; try, try again.
o Don’t be deceived. Always check with God even if all the facts seem to line up.
o Use your Sword well.
o Remember God, not you, gives the victory.
o Have faithful friends who are mountain conquerors.
o Bless others with your words and actions.
o Be merciful.
o Honor those that serve God.
o Give Godly counsel.
o Lead by Example.
o Encourage others to love God.
o Stand strong in the Lord.
o Fear the Lord.
o Chose to serve the Lord and be faithful so your descendants serve Him too.
o Be a man who keeps his covenant.

Family Verses

After many family discussions and everyone's impute,
here is a little something we are focusing on as a family this year:

Melodious Words from Friends

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

"Praying for you!!!"

"I will pray"

"God is your strength and your deliverer. Jim is with Him....I know its hard but HE knows you and loves you, and is right there with you NOW."

"Praying for you! Hope you have a good night's rest!"

"A broken heart never heals but Jesus picks it up and holds it close and dries the tears with His faithful love. It is just "awesome". Only if you have been there (on both sides) can you possibly understand."

"Love you. "

"I will be praying for you. Have a great week and time with family....."

"Thinking of you all day-prayed lots-
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. Isaiah 53: 10"

Blessed Beyond Tears

We have a movie Jim made for Snipp when he was about 2. He jokes around on it, reads a story, prays, and says he loves him and will see him in the morning. We have watched this often, though I mute it sometimes because the younger boys at one point thought that Jim was really talking to them through the tv and I didn't want them disappointed when Daddy didn't come home in the morning.

Well, we watched that movie today and I noticed two things I haven't noticed before. And I have watched this dozens of times because I like watching Jim's mannerisms. Anyway, two things I realized for the first time. 1) He tells Buddy (aka Snipp) to give me a cuddle, lots of cuddles, because mom needs lots of cuddles. Funny thing is that when the boys all learned to read the word "hug" I told them it was one of my favorite words. Snurr was prompted to give me a hug as the movie went on.

2) At the end he says, "I love you, Buddy!" And I always felt bad that this movie seemed to leave the other boys out (they weren't born yet) BUT today I noticed that Jim didn't just say I love you, Buddy! He then points 3 times at the camera and says, "I love you, I love you, I love you!" Snapp and Snurr realized it the same time I did. Daddy loves Buddy, and the three of us too!!!!! Even though he doesn't use their names I am just so blessed to tears that my God prompted my husband to say I love you a total of 4 times so that each of us could feel that he is saying it once to us on that movie. And my Great God did this 3.5 years before Jim was called Home to Heaven. And my God knew that as we recorded it that we would crave to hear that from his sweet lips. Blessed beyond tears is how I felt. At bed time Snurr was even talking about it again:) That was sweet to me especially because the last time we watched that movie he asked me who that man was and oh, how I cried.

Sand or Stone

Recently I read a devotional to the boys about forgiveness. It spoke of two friends traveling together. When the first friend hurt the other, the second friend wrote it in the sand. The wind of time ended up erasing it. When the first friend helped and did good to the other, the second friend wrote it on stone. Wow!! There are many applications to this story. Yet what stood out to me was what do I daily write in sand or stone? Do I write a wrong my child has done on stone and only write their sweet compliment in the sand? If so, shame on me!!! How about the insensitive remark from a relative or the ungrateful action of a friend? I need to just write it in the sand. And when those same individuals do something positive and praiseworthy, I need to write it in stone. How grateful I am for individuals in my life that have not written in stone the offensive things I have done against them. Sand or Stone? A question for you, dear reader to ponder. Interestingly enough our pastor also preached recently on bitterness which is the opposite of forgiveness. I love seeing how the Lord ties truth together in our lives! It causes me to look at my heart and view what I have written on stone. Like me, some of you might need to take out the chisel and remove some things from our stones and write them in the sand instead. Then remember the next time you feel offended, think sand or stone? Where does it need to be written?

Playing Catch Up

Wow! It is August! July flew by and as I look at my calender I see why. Dentist appointments, eye appointments, chiropractor appointments, helping out extended family, family and friends helping us out, family trip, visit to a distant friend's home, Kids' camp, school prep. work and shopping along with all the daily chores and adventures of raising three boys for the Lord. No wonder time flies and I feel old:)

But oh, the blessings I see.......sermons that spoke life to me, victory in my children's lives, prayers answered, God's perfect timing revealed and just standing amazed at the glimpses I see of God at work.

There is no way I could play catch up with all the fingerprints of God on our lives these past many weeks. Just know that I feel blessed beyond measure!