Brothers. December 11, 2009

I’ve been incredibly blessed in the family I’ve been given and, you know, my soon-to-be 5 brothers are one of the best gifts God has given me. Trey, Josiah, Jake, Tyler & Ben are some of my best friends, and this post does not really nearly tell you why, but here you go anyho:

Sometimes it’s their seemingly tireless working to advance the Kingdom of God…

sometimes it’s just their little personality quirks, like walking around wrapped in a blanket (the john deere one is best, don’t you think?)…

or how happy they make my sister…

or their devotion to Christ…

or the way they’re Just So Cute….

or the way they sometimes sing on the porch with me..

or their love for the outdoors…

or their love for the family…

or the way they’ll lay on the floor & play with the little ones…

or the way they yell in the shower…

or their smile…

or their incredible wit…

or their ability to have a normal expression while wearing that…

my brother’s are just pretty much the coolest. Don’t you think?

hmmmm… October 30, 2009

So what do y’all think Mercy is talking about?

“Our brother in law is getting married.” Tyler?
“Who can I be married to?” No one yet.
“But I can be married to someone, when I’m walking down the island.” The island?

Peanut Butter Boy October 29, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“As soon as he got home, he went to the larder; and he stood on a chair, and took down a very large jar of peanut butter from the top shelf. It had PEANUT BUTTER written on it, but, just to make sure, he took off the paper cover and looked at it, and it looked just like peanut butter.”But you never can tell,” said Josiah. “I remember my uncle saying once that he had seen cheese just this colour.” So he put his tongue in, and took a large lick. Yes,” he said, “it is. No doubt about that. And peanut butter, I should say, right down to the bottom of the jar. Unless, of course,” he said, “somebody put cheese in at the bottom just for a joke. Perhaps I had better go a little further … just in case … in case Heffalumps don’t like cheese … same as me … Ah!” And he gave a deep sigh. “I was right. It is peanut butter, right the way down.”
A.A. Milne, Winnie-The-Pooh (personalisation added)

Happy People October 24, 2009

“So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.” Genesis 29:20

(hopefully Jessica will get some good pictures this weekend!)

*Some people are probably glad that daddy doesn’t have the seven year son-in-law requirement like Laban did

Where Are Your Eyes, Oh Ye Of Little Faith? July 24, 2009

In God’s amazing wisdom, after the initial burst with Personhood Mississippi, He allowed things to look uncertain for a period of time – He knows what will bring Him most glory. Now, when things are looking somewhat better, it seems  easier to believe He can “really do it”- but which way are we looking?

When we look horizontally, discouragement and encouragement switch and swap and rise and fall at a dizzying pace that will likely leave us feeling confused and anxious. When things look good, we often feel full of vigor and excitement. “Nothing,” we may say (if not in so many words) “could shake my faith.”- then things start to look less promising, and it is seen that it was never really faith at all- because faith does not alter and bend and sway with the ebbing and flowing of physical circumstances. God’s ability to do His will does not change with all the changes in appearances, and if our hope does, prehaps we should consider whether we need to shift our gaze.

When by God’s grace we look “vertically” – when we fix our gaze on God -  we see that He will accomplish His good pleasure. We can rest in the knowledge that He is in control, and whatever happens it will be for His glory and the good of His people. We can hope in the belief that He is all-wise, and He is not just standing back fretting about the way things are on earth: He is artfully weaving all things together for His glory and the good of His people. We can trust in the fact that he is all-powerful, and that when His Son died on the cross, the battle which we are fighting was won for His glory and for the good of His people. We can rest, hope and trust in our God. He willend abortion- whether He sees fit to do it through us or not. And that faith must be translated into action: if He will end abortion, why not now? Why not through us? Even if it is not His will to do it now, through us, yet He still commands us to action, whether it be petitioning or going to the mill or volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center or active prayer. And when we begin to see a glimpse of the greatness of our God, should our bones not burn with jealousy? and should we not cry “enough!”? – for His Name is at stake. As the spark in our hearts begins to ignite into a roaring – still ever growing – flame of love for Him, may that love be translated into action. Even when we are looking into the eyes of the countless host of our foes as we stand (apparently) alone in the battlefield, our trust that God will conquer must be no less than if our army were broader and deeper than the sea. Indeed, “…those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” In light of He Who is with us, those who are with them are as nothing.

Fath always believes that.

Come, let us fix our eyes on Him.

2 boys & a chicken May 25, 2009

since, of courrse, your just dying to see pictures of my adorable siblings (& friends adorable kids!)… May 19, 2009

or even if you’re not, you might look anyway…

Sweet Josiah

Mercy Kate

Isaac

Isaac & Mercy

 (((Isaac & Ellie are friends Anthony & Hannah’s children: *http://matheniafamily.blogspot.com/*))

Just some pictures for now… January 27, 2009

three guesses what this is a picture of:

1) the floor in the Den

2) Stripes

3) 2 Cows

Josiah selecting his next read

 

 The answer is, C: Two Cows.

At least, Mercy is sure convinced.

 

The Incredible Josiah January 15, 2009

 

This boy is entirely amazing. We have been discovering lately that though all people think their baby is smart, this boy really is exceptional. Really. He has incredible powers of observation. He is developmentally way beyond expectations for his age (eight months). This morning Momma was changing him after he got up and he was actually playing peek-a-boo with his blanket: he’d grab it with his two chubby fists and pull it over his head. Momma would say “Where’s Josiah?” and little giggles would be heard from under the blanket until finally he pulled it off and revealed the grinning face of a boy who perfectly understands the concept of the game. He’s also starting shaking his head no when he actually means it. He does it if you’re feeding him and he doesn’t want anymore, he does it if someone he doesn’t want reaches for him, and today, he did it when Mercy asked Momma for some of his gerber cereal snacks. As Momma said those big boy’s had beter look out, because this boy is so quick, he’ll soon have them all licked with his lego creations .  I think the main reason for him being so smart is, he is firmly persuaded that if he thinks of something, he can do it. His thoughts are quickly translated into action. For instance, at least once each day he will see Mercy or Annie run by and think he can just go right after them. So he’ll let go of whatever furniture he’s been ‘cruising’ around and try it, but he CAN’T STAND INDEPENDENT YET- and he falls down. Maybe he knows that eventually he’ll let go of the couch and run and every day he has to try it, he thinks “maybe today is the day.”

But I think it just hasn’t occured to him yet that there is anything in the world that he can’t do. 

Not Impressed January 5, 2009

Sarah, Sarah & Hannah

Maybe they were posing for the cover of their new album (on which they sing “Something Crazy” off key and very loudly while listening to the iPod).

Sarah & Mercy

Saturday, Momma & the three ‘middle’ kids (Hannah, Ben & Sarah) were gone to the movies & I was getting Mercy down for her nap. She kept getting up & I had to make her get back in bed. When she had finally settled down I thought, I went downstairs or something– and came back to hear wails and cries coming from her bed. I tried to ignore it for a while since it’s not that unusual for her to fuss a while before going to sleep, but finally (I know, bad child training) I went in there & sat on the bed beside her. It didn’t take any urging to get her to say what was wrong. Between gasps of sorrow, she confessed: “I-(pitiful whine)-got up-(sucking in of breath)-and- the guys- Trey and Emma-(whine)- told me to go lay down-(sucking in of breath)- and I- (sad whine sucking in of breath gasp noise)- was not not very impressed!!!” This was followed by a fresh round of wailing & something that sounded like a big sister trying to hide a laugh & sound sympathetic.

~Ellie