Saturday, April 30, 2011

Buddies!

Last Tuesday a group of us drove 
about an hour to a 
Chick-fil-a
in order to perform 
a BUY-cott.

Chick-fil-a 
takes a stand for Christian Values
and has recently taken some heat 
for doing so.
The American Family Association
encouraged increased business at 
their stores last week as a way of 
saying
"thank you".

So, since we don't have one in Lancaster...
at the moment....
and some of those who went are ardent
Chick-fil-a fans
(ahem, Mrs. Rabe might be one of these)
we drove to Reading.

It was so much fun.

It happened to be Kelly's birthday
and so she got a few extra birthday wishes.

The boys had such a great time
playing together.
I had fun capturing their cute, cute
faces.
Yes I did.










What sweet and well behaved boys these are.
They greet each other each week at church
with a huge smile and often a hug.

Friday, April 29, 2011

When Josh McDowell Speaks....


I have a very sincere desire to jump up and
yell my agreement!

hosted a fundraising event at Shady Maple Smorgasbord.
Josh McDowell was the speaker for this event.
I had not heard him live for many years.
I believe the last time was at a Creation Festival
in Mt. Union, Pa.

At that time I was young enough
to be in his targeted audience.
Last evening he chose to speak to 
my generation and older....
so once again he spoke directly 
to me.

His message was one of alarm
and warning.
He related many results of 
surveys taken that show the disconnect
between the generations.
Not your typical eye rolls or youthful 
indifference...no this is something 
completely different.
This is a cultural divide.
One in which most in my generation
and older do not truly grasp how 
far our teens and twenties have gone
from truth.
The acknowledgment that there is one
God and that His Word is 
authoritative and God breathed.
According to his survey results
very few teens and those in their
twenties, within the church
would state that this is truth.

He impressed upon the audience the need
to present truth to this generation in new
ways.  Using apologetics and technology.
I agree with Mr. McDowell on many points.
Given that he was there to raise money for
those working in the area of Apologetics I think
that his points were well made.

However, I am going to depart from his
premise just a bit.
I believe that since the Bible is the 
Word of God
and 
since the Holy Spirit is at work
in the hearts and lives of men,
It is still effective 
with or without the use of 
Apologetics to those whom 
the Spirit is calling.

But back to Mr. McDowell's message.
I do agree that we need to engage our 
children in their spiritual lives early.
Using apologetics is one of the best ways
I can think of to do this. 
It is interesting and compelling.
Statistics he showed last evening said 
that if we don't have the hearts of our children by the 
age of 12 
only 4% will 
come to the Lord later.  
WOW!  
That is sobering.

In a world that is so invested in distorting
the word tolerance to mean that everything
is right and good if it is so to you, 
our young people are confused when we then
say that sin is abhorrent to God.
What God might we be speaking of?
How can we know that there is a God?
If my neighbor thinks there is no God
but I want to believe in Him
how can we both be right?

But our society and even many of our 
churches teach us that love is to be 
accepting of false doctrine.
That, my dear friends,
is not love.
That is deception 
with 
sad, sad consequences.

To say that I was inspired would
be putting it lightly.
I was also encouraged because 
in our church fellowship we are seeking
always to capture the childrens hearts
while they are young.
To involve them in the church.

Pastor Mike uses Apologetics often.
He is very much in tune with 
our youth
and the culture.
I am grateful for an evening that 
confirmed many things for us 
and one that I know was uplifting
for Pastor Mike.

This message is not popular....
however, it is true.
Our access to the internet and 
all the smorgasbord of ideas and 
theologies it has to offer make it even 
harder for parents to remain the primary 
influence in the lives of their children.
We must be aware....
very aware.
We must teach our children well.
How to recognize truth.
I know of no better way than to have
them know the Word of God so that it 
can alert them if they begin to go astray.

Not a bad idea for any of us,
if you think about it.....

Have a blessed day.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

We Are in the Basement....

I canceled plans to go to Hershey this 
morning due to bad storms, flooding 
and tornado warnings.  

We just had our first serious storm of the 
morning here in our neighborhood.
Both Moms, Jonathan, Chelsea and I
are hanging out in the basement watching
the news.  We were ready to get into 
the inner bathroom and closet under the
stairs if we needed to.

Mikey and Warren are both
at their jobs.
I am sure they are taking care too.

I think we'll hang out a bit longer since
there seem to be more storms on the 
way.  

Praying for all of those whose lives
have changed forever in the last 
several days.  We are reminded that
while the human race has made a lot of 
gains and consider ourselves
fairly "self-sufficient"
we are not in control 
of everything.

That is for sure.

It is good to know 
the ONE who IS.

Be careful, friends.

Updated:  We got the "All clear".
So...on to get some things done and 
then to a banquet this evening to hear
Josh McDowell.
I am excited about that.

Praying for those who cannot
just go back to normal today.
So many......

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Monday Evening at Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Joining Outdoor Wednesday
with Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.
Thanks Susan.
I am so glad the weather is making
the outdoors inhabitable again.

Warren had the day off on Monday.
Sight and Sound celebrates Easter
by giving their employees a holiday.
We appreciate that!



Chelsea is more like her Grandmothers
than she is like Warren and I when it comes
to adventure and travel.
She ADORES it.


Its not that we don't enjoy it...
but we have a lot to do, you know?
We just don't think about it.


Well, on Monday this changed.
Chelsea was looking for a day trip.
She thought that a trip to Baltimore's Inner Harbor
sounded like the perfect thing.

We checked with the Grandma's.
Only my Mom could go on such short
notice.
We asked Mikey when he returned from work
and he was up for it.
So....around 4pm we hopped into the car
and off we went!


It was such a good idea!
The breeze off the water kept us 
comfortable on that warm day.
It was fun to watch the families all out and about.
The dragon peddle boats were so fun!!
But this ship was majestic.


We have been to The Inner Harbor before.
The kids love the Aquarium
but it has been several years since we have 
visited.  We must get back and visit the Aquarium again
since it didn't have evening hours on Monday.
That was fine.
We wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather anyway.







I love this photo of my Mom.
She truly enjoys these outings.




I will preface this next set of photos by saying that
our children are interesting.
Crazy, maybe.
But they really love each other.

Jonathan hates to smile for photos.
We were trying to convince him that he should
smile....he has a great one.
That didn't work.
So Mikey began making faces.
These photos tell that story.








You just might have noticed that
Mikey's hair is lighter than you
remembered. You are so right.
Can you believe that this was his
hair color as a little boy?
So, I guess you could say he is
"going back to his roots".
LOL

He bought the haircolor.
I applied it.
We are all getting used to it.
But I love this photo of him.
Those blue eyes!



We began looking for a place to get dinner.
I was drawn to The Cheesecake Factory.
I've never eaten there and it does have a 
great reputation.
But many others were interested in it also
and there was an hour to hour and a half wait.
We passed.

This is where we ended up.

 On a balcony overlooking the harbor.
It was perfect!!




 The baskets of pansies were full and beautiful.

 I amused myself by taking photos 
of the umbrellas "floating".

 Mom checked out the view.



By the time we finished dinner
dusk had settled in .
The lights were coming on all 
around us which totally changed the 
landscape.  Pretty in a whole new way.
We decided that it was probably time
to head on out.  After all, Tuesday meant
Warren would be headed back to work
and it would take us a while to get home.

But I have to give Chelsea a lot of credit.
She found the perfect thing for us to do.
Better than medicine.
Yep!  It was.

Have a wonderful day.
Hope you are better than we
at taking day trips.

I recommend it.
I also recommend visiting my
friend Melissa's blog so you can 
enter to win a $25 gift certificate to 
my candle shop on Etsy.
The response has been kind
of luke warm and I am getting a bit
testy.....lol.
Come on!!
If you are reading this
you qualify.
Whether you are a customer,
visitor, friend or stranger...
go, enter.
My feelings are at stake...
((wink))

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The SUN showed up at our SUNRISE service!

 As we drove in to the site of the Sunrise Service
on Sunday this was the scene 
we were met with.


 Beautiful Skies
and very 
squishy ground.
Therefore no one really
wanted to go in the grass
before it was time.



 These two cuties seemed pretty happy 
to be there.
The sun was an issue for picture
taking as you will continue to see.


These guys are all such great friends.
It makes us happy to watch
them learn together.
After all, 
we would certainly look
to them to be the next generation
of the church.


 My Jonathan is such a clown.
He was a bit disappointed it wasn't cooler
so he could really rock the coat...
but as it was he was HOT.

I linked Jonathan's name to a post
I wrote recently called Dyslexia is not a
Sentence to a Life Without Books.
It should be encouraging to those who
have children who struggle with reading.


 What sun????

 I don't see any sun.  
Why are you squinting???


 A wonderful way to start 
the day if you are a kid!
 Apparently this one was noticing
the sun too.
Well, it is a sunrise service after all.

 Molly just ran away from the rays.
But...she came back.

 As did her brother, Caleb.

 Finally, we got it together.
The group grew by one family after 
this picture was taken but I didn't 
disrupt the service to take another photo
with them in it.

 Wow!  Jonathan is a striking figure.
Especially in that coat.
He started a job on Sunday night
that requires us to go out and get him in 
the wee hours of the morning.
I think I shall be more motivated to 
work on him getting his license.
Maybe.
I am such a terrible passenger.
Uggh.
 Apparently Georgia is minding the sun too.

 This side got the best places.
Backs to the sun.



 Dave got the honors of reading the scripture.
Dave's wife Mindy blogs also.
Just click on his name to see one of her blogs.


 I love this photo.
Fathers and Daughters just melt my heart.


 The service was brief but sweet.
We ended with a song
accompanied by Pastor Mike on his
homemade accordian.
I had no idea you could make your
own...but you can!

Then is was back to the church for 
breakfast.
It was soooo good!

 Plenty of fruit....


Yogurt parfaits went quickly.


Duane made amazing cinnamon rolls.
Everyone raved!!
Duane's name links to his wife,
Kelly's blog.


The Rabes brought their scones.
Ahhh....I love these with cream and lemon.
Sigh.....
I linked to their blog because Mrs. Rabe
has a wonderful post about living
the Christian life.
It is not always easy but God is
with us...teaching, leading and guiding.


More Fruit....
so elegantly displayed.


What you are not seeing is milk, fruit juice, 
egg casseroles and meat.
It was a wonderful breakfast. 
Our people can cook!!
Or in some cases,
buy the best boxes of 
donuts!

I love how everyone works together.
It is good!

Tomorrow I will show our
spontaneous trip to 
Baltimore's Inner Harbor
last night.

It was soooo much fun!
Thanks to Chelsea for suggesting
it and encouraging us to make it happen.

If you haven't done so yet
please stop by HERE to 
enter a $25 giveaway
to my Etsy store.
You'll also find a code to 
get 20% off any purchase from 
the store.
Any help you can provide getting the word 
out would be greatly appreciated as well.
Thanks!