the loose tooth

The little guy FINALLY lost it -- his tooth that is! Both cousins beat him -- but he FINALLY pulled it out yesterday :) He was very excited.

The older ones shared with him that there really isn't a tooth fairy but if he puts it under his pillow mom will give him something -- bum deal being the youngest! All the surprises are so deflated. He was still excited to find a quarter when he woke up (thankfully - mom remembered!!!)



Between gymnastics, play practice and 2 basketball games we will fit our FEAST in somewhere! May you have a blessed weekend!

Isaiah 58:9-14
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Luke 5:27-32
27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
31Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Friday's Fast

These passages come from Personal Meditations on Lent a book by Fern Pruiksma. I first did this lent book 13 years ago!!! Its a blessing to read some of my previous thoughts and see how God has grown me-- and humbling to see God is patiently working on a lot of things that I STILL haven't learned.

Amidst a crazy day we were able to have a our lunch fast --(FEASTING on GOD'S WORD) So onto today passages:
True Fasting
Isaiah 58:1-8
1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Matthew 9:14-15 14Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"
15Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Fasting

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday -- know what that is? The beginning of the season of lent.

Lent is a 40-day liturgical season that begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes at the Great Vigil of Easter. Sundays are not included in the 40-day count because every Sunday is a joyful celebration of Jesus' resurrection. Though not biblical, Lent has long been a tradition in the Christian Church, and it is thought that the tradition of the 40 days recalls the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, fasting and being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). Lent is considered a time of penance and discipline.

We have fasted as a family from various things during lent over the years: sweets, t.v., computer, pop (aka soda). Taking the time we usually spent doing those things to instead spend time with God - reading His word and in prayer. Giving up something to grow closer to Him. This year we decided to try a meal fast. We are giving up lunches for lent this year. Instead of having food we will FEAST on God's word. Thought we would share today's "feast":

Our scripture was Duet. 30:15-20 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

and Luke 9:22-25 22And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

Finding time to be still and listen to the Lord is not always an easy thing to do -- ok its an extremely difficult thing in a house with 6 kids!!! But today was a blessed time for us all to be reflecting on God's word and praying for one another together during "lunch" time.

May this encourage you to seek God and flee from temptation today!

Remembering Lisa

I have been pondering life a lot these last few weeks. The suffering in Haiti, newborns whose lives are full of challenge or so very, very short, the selfishness of our American society and on and on. Our plan sometimes seems better than God's - however he has the big picture we only have one little puzzle piece.

This morning we took the long way to church and stopped at the cemetery first. It was one year ago today that Lisa Pettijohn was cured of cancer forever. God's hand interwove our families in a way that I could have never planned or imagined, but continue to thank Him for allowing us to know Him deeper through walking this valley with Lisa and her family. It was saying YES to something that I felt totally unprepared to do but trusted in God's strength that He would give us what we needed one day at at time. Schooling extra children is not something that was on my "to do" list. One of my girls commented how actually having 8 children instead of 5 was easier (I worried we REALLY needed to work on her math) her reasoning was that God provided helpers almost every day so the ratio of "teacher/student" was 2/8 instead of 1/5!!! When we thought we were blessing someone, God turned it around and humbled me -- often Lisa shared things that I had no experience in (she was our "french" expert for history reading)and had amazing insight into scriptures. People came out of the woodwork to bring meals, help with transportation, be teachers assistants, cleaners, you name it they came! I found myself being very humbled to have complete strangers in my house amidst the mess and help with meals, laundry, school and more. We felt the BODY OF CHRIST around us in a very real way last year. There were many emotionally draining days, but there were also days where peace poured over our time together - time memorizing the entire book of James -- so much to ponder, time in prayer together and keeping journals. The moments when Lisa did spelling with the kids -- she was always so much fun -- I have tried to learn to be more like her! Lunchtime conversations were always full of laughter as Lisa would throw out "discussion questions" that usually ended up in silliness. These are the memories we hold onto.

I know in my head Lisa is healed and dancing in heaven with Jesus NOW but there is still the missing place in our heart and I am sure so much more in each of her family members. Many days this year we have felt a void missing the extra students and teacher in our class. I cling to Christs great love and hold to the faith that we will be together again! I thank God for each day in a new way -- knowing that each day IS a gift not a given. I desire to see what else God wants us to say YES to in order to see Him glorified and participate in the body of Christ serving out of love.

May God shower the Pettijohn family with peace today.
Amy Q

My prayer:

As I arise today,
may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me,
the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Amen

A picture is worth a thousand words

But are a thousand pictures worth anything???
I finally finished an old post in case you follow our blog I'd hate for you to miss it! If you want to read it try this MOM READ A BOOK TO ME
enjoy!
Amy Q

Our trip to Springfield IL

On our way through Springfield, IL we stopped to see Abraham Lincolns home (this is the most famous view of his home!)
Although is was really cold it was fun! We walked down his street with wooden sidewalks and gravel roads. Us four younger kids got to be Jr rangers for the day.

We got a tour of Lincolns home and got to see his bedroom and where his boys played. This was the only house he owned.

We went in to the tomb of Abraham Lincoln where his family (3 sons and Mary his wife) are buried except for his son Robert. There were flags from all the states at the time of his presidency.

Here we are in the front of the house. Mary Todd his wife never returned to the house after he died once the funeral was done.

Lincolns home looked a LOT different then our home it had VERY BRIGHT carpet & wall paper because it was the "style"

We also went to New Salem, a small town were A.Lincoln first worked:)

Abraham Lincoln was an honest man with a very hard job to do. He did a great thing giving all people their freedom!

By Ria

Baby Pictures

Babies are so cute, just thought I would share some of our recent sightings with you. the orange boys

Looks like Gr. and Gr. have a bunch of sweet "presents" this year!

The pink girls

proud papas and their little ones :-)





Ooooh, so cute :-)