In Christ Alone

More than 200 churches, with 66,000 people, will stand in solidarity with the family of Tim Bosma and the Ancaster Christian Reformed Church on Sunday morning, singing "In Christ Alone." We know that no power of hell, nor scheme of man, can ever pluck Tim, or us, from His hand. -- Status on Facebook from the Banner magazine, a monthly publication from the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

In the end there were over 250 churches and more than 80,000 members who sang this song. I have always love this song, but today it holds even more meaning to me than it ever has before -- especially the fourth verse. No guilt in life, no fear in death...Till He returns, or calls me home, Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
 


In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.



We continue to lift the Bosma family and all those who are grieving up in our prayers. Our hope is found in Christ alone!

Homesick

 A lot has been going on in our part of the country. I share with you a link here. The song Homesick by Mercy Me has been running through my head all afternoon.



I don't know this family personally, but it still hurts. It hurts because this family is part of our greater community, our extended church family, and they are hurting. Crying out to God in anguish. It's always hard to lose a loved one, whether it be after a long illness, or suddenly. This situation however is simply tragic. It leaves even those of us who are firm in our faith and not easily shaken reeling in pain and anger and asking why!? I can't answer that question. I just know that I feel homesick for heaven. I repeat the words of the 23rd Psalm. 

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures, 
he leads me beside quiet waters, 
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

I encourage you to stop by Kellen's blog at Treasure in Earthen Vessels and read his post about this day. He asks us to pray, but you might be surprised at just what he asks us to pray for. I'm praying, will you too?

 

A Week in Lists

I am a list maker. I use them to remember things and to keep me on track. If I don't make a list each day, I simply don't get things done. I fritter away the time surfing the web, reading (not that that's necessarily a bad thing), wandering from one thing to the next, and never actually finishing anything. When I make a list, I get far more done in a day than when I don't. Somehow seeing what needs to be done in print keeps me far more accountable than if it's just in my head. I find great satisfaction in checking off what gets completed.

Here is an example of this past week. This is a more or less typical week. The Engineer is not out of the country. A lot of activities have finished for the year. Bub is actually not home, but volunteering at a camp for five days, so there is one less child to clean up after.

Monday

make Dora back pack
make Junnie B hairband
make Katniss arrow holder
write grocery list
check sale flyers
exercise
spring clean great room
scrub the stove top with new cleaning tool
hang out load of wash
Helping Hands mtg. 7:30 pm
plant greens, beets, and radishes
update perpetual wall calendar

Tuesday

mow lawn
do groceries
go for coffee with friend 1pm
look for sandals while out

Wednesday

finish book
blog
spring clean music room
exercise
rake grass
scrub large freezer
move stuff from small freezer to large freezer
bake
iron
proof Peach's English essay

Thursday

A. CT Scan 7:15 am
put supper in the crock pot
music lessons
spring clean the Boy's room
vacuum basement
prune roses
hang frames in dining room
paint other frames
scrub small freezer

Friday

edit photo shoot
clean bathrooms
make pizza dough

Saturday

laundry
orchestra performance night!

Even though Saturday only has laundry on it, there is still lots to do.As you can see, not everything on this list is crossed off. It doesn't always get done on the day it is marked under because life happens, and well the reality is, I can still get distracted. That's why Saturday is usually  left wide open except for laundry. Then I can work on those things that didn't get done earlier in the week.

 

We Read (Too Much Sometimes)

Our home is full of readers. Some a little more than others and some, sometimes just too much! :o) Peach declared in frustration last night, "I want to read, but I need to sleep!" Unlike Beans, she needs a lot of sleep. Beans will often be caught reading way past her bedtime. Bub has been known to be sleeping with the light still on in his room and a book on his face. Bella spends hours with her nose in a book too. Summer holidays are approaching fast and the children are all looking forward to reading and being read to.

The younger girls are looking forward to another book in the Little House on the Prairie series. With the three oldest children I'm trying to get my hands on the book, Do Hard Things. A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. by Alex Harris. I do think I have a gift certificate somewhere for one of our local bookstores, so I might have to order it.

What is on your book list for the summer?

30 Day Photography Challenge Days 17-30

Day 17 Street Lights

Our friend's street. We don't have street lights. I love the old world feel to these lights.

Day 18 Depicting Emotion

She doesn't take drama  class for no reason!

Day 19 Landscape

Day 20 Whatever You Want

Geese feeding in our puddle.

Day 21 Sunset

Day 22 Someone You Love

The Engineer packing for San Antonio, TX. A six day trip. One of his longer ones. I can manage the four day trips, but I am plumb tired when he arrives home from longer trips.

Day 23 Childhood Memory

These belonged to my brother and I as children. Classic Fisher Price. I actually don't let our children play with it anymore.

Day 24 Favorite Colour Scheme

I can't say that I have a favorite colour scheme. I simply love colour, so I decided to take a photo of some of the girls' embroidery floss.

Day 25 Whatever You Want

Day 26 Playing with Shadows

This is actually a moonrise. It was very bright and our camera has some amazing ISO capabilities.

 

Day 27 Natural Light

Day 28 Incorporate Motion

Spring is the season for cartwheels and jumping rope. Our girls are so athletic ;o)!

Day 29 Clouds

Day 30 Yourself 30 Days Later

Umm, yeah. This is the only one I haven't done. Do you really need to see me again? I haven't changed one iota since the beginning of the month -- except that maybe my bangs are cooperating lately. :o)

Bella Gets Spectacles

Really, she's had them for a couple months now. We're happy that she is taking good care of them. She's happy that she can see the board in the classroom.

One half of our girls now wear glasses. All three of them wear purple glasses.

They were all so happy to have a photo taken :o).

 



Play!

I know for many adoptive families, teaching their new son or daughter how to play is one of the big things on their list of helping their child to adjust to a new life. We were surprised to discover that with two of our girls at least, that this has not been the case. Peanut and Bright Eyes are very good at happily entertaining themselves for long periods of time. They love Duplo, their kitchen toys, books, colouring, play dough, etc. One of their favorite things is to be outside. I am thankful for our large property. It keeps them very busy. They are happy for the warm weather. No more coats, hats, and mittens!

Peanut is home three days a week yet, but most days she keeps so busy that I hardly see her. I check on her frequently. She comes up for bathroom breaks, I give her snacks and lunch and after lunch she loves to "watch a movie."

I confess, there are days where I feel guilty knowing that she plays so well, but at the same time, I am very thankful for her happy nature. With seven children who have busy lives, I need the time to get things caught up in our home. Speaking of which, I need to get some baking done. The cupboard is bare yet again, and I have a meeting tonight. There will be unhappy campers here tomorrow if they discover there are no cookies or muffins in their lunch for tomorrow.

Happy Monday!



P.S. I have not forgotten the last installment of my photo project.