On giving thanks

I probably will not be around until next week, so...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Let us remember to give thanks to God, specifically naming what we are thankful for.

On Loving God

As I was praying this morning, I thought that it would be good to be more specific than just saying, "I love you" to God. So I began to list the things I love about Him.

I love that He created everything, the time He took and the wisdom and complexity He used. I love His hatred of sin and that He is angry at the wicked every day. I love His justice and mercy when He overthrew the earth with water, yet saved Noah and family alive. I love His promises and His Law. I love His righteousness. I love that He abhors all that is evil and loves all that is good and that all that is good comes from Him. I love His beauty and I love that He loves to get glory for Himself.
I love His way of salvation and that He planned it before the world began. I love that He humbled Himself to become a man and I love that He did no sin, though He was tempted like us. I love the way He healed people and I love the parables He told. I love how He taught His disciples and I love how He prayed in the garden, "not my will, but Thine be done." I love His obedience to the Father in His death on the cross, bearing my sins. I love the Father's justice in crushing His own Son when He became sin in my place. I love that Jesus arose from the dead and showed Himself to five hundred. I love that He said, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." I love that He ascended into heaven and that He sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.
I love His Holy Spirit which He sent to teach us. I love His Word. I love His people, His church. I love the way He saves His people and that it is His work and that He uses us. I love that He convicts the heart of sin and grants repentance unto life. I love the way He changes lives and turns hearts to Himself and I love that he protects and keeps His own. I love that He calls His people to holiness when He said, "be ye Holy as I am Holy." I love the preaching of His word and the singing of His praise and I love that everything is by Him, to Him and for Him. I love His glory. I love His wrath and the fear of the Lord. I love His wisdom and His mercy and grace and His power and justice, judgment, longsuffering, His jealousy and His love. I love that He is coming again to claim His bride and to destroy the earth and to judge both small and great. I absolutely love that He is Holy, Holy, Holy!

Yes, I love God.

Then I have to stop and think, where does that love come from? Some of the things listed are not natural to love. Did I really say that I love His wrath? Yes, because I do, but why? Why would I love that He is angry with the wicked every day? I know the answer. It is because He has caused me to fall so in love with Himself that I love everything about Him. He has kindled a love in my heart that will not be quenched but will only grow brighter with the passing of time. I love His character and attributes, He is so beautiful, so good, faithful, just and right. Oh, what a great God He is, there is no one like Him! It is no wonder that one great theme of the scriptures is for us to praise Him!

Let us Praise Him!

"Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised. The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! ... Praise ye the LORD." ! (Psalms 113:1-6)

Please write what you especially love about God. I know that there are many things that I did not mention that we can love about God. Does anything come to mind? please leave a comment with it!

My sweet puppy dog

What is there to write about when one has been sitting around, sick?

Your dog of course!

So I introduce to you....

Abigail vom Heiligen Schutz

or as we call her, Abby.

She is a one year old, ddr East German Shepherd Dog, which is actually the original intent of the German Shepherd Dog breed. When Germany split in 1949, Socialist Communists took control of East Germany. They took over the GSD breeding program and bred only the dogs that were fit for work. When the wall came down, the world found a GSD stock which had been kept pure. Instead of the breeding for show which had gone on in other countries, here were dogs that could work. A few have struggled to keep the strain pure and Abby is a descendant of that line.

My brother and I own a small kennel called Fisher Creek Kennel, where we breed these dogs. We have a male named Scout and had a female named Honor, they had puppies in 2006. Today is the puppies birthday.

On January 17th, Honor was hit and killed by a truck and oh my, did that one hit our hearts. God has been so good to us and has taught me to say, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord."

Then God brought Abby into our lives and she has been a great blessing! I know that dogs are just dogs, but God does give them to us for a reason and He has taught me so much through them.

The journey we took to start our kennel may interest you, so if you would like to read about it please visit our website Fisher Creek Kennel and click on About Us. The website has not been updated since last year and has nothing about Abby on it yet, we are working on it. Also, I can not keep up with the spam on the Blog page, I don't read it and wouldn't recommend it.

A few random things:

Abby and Scout's color is called black sable.

My briliant older brother Dan made our website for us!
And one more picture:

Sickness

I have been pretty sick the last couple of days. Last year at this time I came down with pneumonia which kept me down for about eight weeks and I ended up in the hospital for a day with an iv. So when a little cold I had this week went into my chest and began acting like it was turning into pneumonia, my parents were concerned. My Mom has been so sweet taking care of me and I am feeling better now, though I am not up and around yet.

It is times like these that make you realize, once again, HOW much your family loves you.

Thank you Lord Jesus for my family!

Can you believe it?

Another baby was saved from abortion yesterday morning!

We have gone months without any baby saves that we know of and now there are four in three weeks! This seems to closely tie into the fact that three weeks ago we began to use scripture more often, when talking with the mothers... Hmmm. : )

There were thirteen that went into the abortion clinic to kill their precious children yesterday and there was some hostility as one lady, going in, took some literature from my Mom, ripped it in half and threw it in her face, then laughed with her friends.

One young lady who had escorted her friend into that place of death, came out and I was able to talk with her briefly. I asked if she realized that the baby is a person. She said "I know".

"Then if you kill that baby, you are killing a person."

"I know, I know, but Jesus died for my sins and forgives. We all sin every day."

A little bit stunned I said, "Jesus is also the Judge, He does not JUST forgive."

"Yes, Jesus will judge me, not you." She answered, then walked away.

People do not fear God, they do not fear Jesus, but they desperately need to!

We are praising God for Ashley though! She was in a hurry to leave (Yea!) and only spoke with us briefly, saying that she had one child already and when she was in the clinic to abort this baby she "just couldn't do it". Praise God!

Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.

(Psalms 54:4)

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. (Proverbs 29:2)

Last night I watched and photographed a large electrical thunderstorm. It reminded me of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, whose power far surpasses any power that any other ruler has. In fact, the power which they seem to have is only by God allowing them to have it. The very life that they and we have, is given and maintained only by the mercy of God.

The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.

He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"

The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah (Psalms 50:1-6)

Let us still Praise Him!

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!" (Psalms 50:23)

Another baby save, on Election day!

We were out at the abortion clinic this morning and there was more of a hostile atmosphere this time. First thing, a group of drunks gathered near us and began to make loud noises, laughing and talking, which is pretty distracting when you are trying to pray. One of them who called himself a "Gnostic" tried to argue with us about the gospel, calling the book of John "hogwash". We praise the Lord that Michael and Josh were able to give him good answers and questions which we pray will cause him to think.

One of the men taking his girlfriend into the building to kill their child, became very angry when told to fear God. He said "my god has horns" and many other wicked things.

Still, we were able to sing, pray and read aloud the scriptures and speak to each of the eleven mothers who carried their children in there.

I was able to walk with and talk to one young mother for the length of over a block. She listened and I pray that God used those words.

After we left, one of the Side walk Councilors, Matt, stayed for a time. A couple came out of the building and Matt asked them if they had changed their minds, they said, "Yes"!

Praise God!

We don't have any details on it yet, as to which couple they were, but we are praising the Lord. There were also a couple of other woman who came out early, but we do not know why. God does, and we leave that before Him.

Today was a beautiful day with temps rising almost to 70 degrees!
I am trying to soak up all the warmth before the cold hits.

Now, I know the elections are on all of our minds and I just want to encourage all of us to praise the Lord no matter what the outcome. He said to praise Him in all things!
Our country deserves grave judgment from the Lord and it is amazing that he has given us so much mercy. We cannot expect His mercy to continue though, just look at all the innocent blood that is being shed in our nation daily and remember what He did to Israel for doing those things. His mercy may be long, but His justice will not wait forever.
I am praying that we, His redeem, will be ready for what is coming.

God is merciful!

Last week on Tuesday we were able to help some friends move. Michael helped with the actual manual work while I was the official babysitter for their two little girls. I would ordinarily say that I had the best job of all, and don't get me wrong it was fun, but the Lord gave my Mom an incredible task as He used her to save the lives of two babies!

You see, the abortion clinic was open on Tuesday morning.

My Mom dropped me off to watch the children, then went (with Michael for a short time before he left to help with the moving,) to plead for the lives of the unborn. About fourteen mothers went into the place to destroy their child and each were asked not to do that terrible thing. God gave my Mom scripture to use and she told many of them: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. That is what God says." Also exclaiming, "Don't do this, Fear God!"

When all the mothers were in, the Sidewalk Councilors (SCs) gathered around to pray. Just then, a couple came out of the building holding hands and smiling, (this is always encouraging). They were asked, "Did you change your mind?" they answered "Yes"! They received many hugs and gifts and they gave their phone number saying that we can probably hold the baby when he or she is born. They are a married couple and already have two children. My Mom asked the man "What was it that caused you to change your mind?" He answered, "It was all that 'fear God' stuff, it really gets to you."!

Praise God!

But wait, that's not all!

After that couple had taken their leave and the SCs had given heartfelt thanks to God, my Mom began to talk to a young lady who had come out of the clinic to smoke. There is a fence in front of the court yard where we cannot go because it is privately owned, so we have to raise our voices to be heard at the door where this girl was located.
Below is a view of the Building for Woman, the side walk with us SCers standing around and the fence.


As my Mom talked, the girl was smoking up a storm and finally walked over to the fence asking, "What was that you said?" She was shown pictures of her unborn child at almost twelve weeks along and was told what abortion would do to her little one. She said that she had never seen or heard those things before. She then began to say how stressed she was because she had locked her keys in her car and didn't know what to do. Long story short, they were able to get her car unlocked and she went out to coffee with my Mom and another SC. My Mom was able to give Dana the gospel and to get her contact info. We are praying that the Lord will allow us to continue to have a part in her life.

So, we are rejoicing! Praise God for what He has done and is doing!

On our normal end of life...um what is normal anymore?

We have been preparing our yard and home for winter, which includes, cleaning up the yard, cleaning off and partially turning the garden hills, canning some more, cutting, chopping and stacking fire wood, butchering some nuisance guinea hens...

and more.

It all ends up to be more than enough to keep us very busy.

And....

My brother got his drivers license! Yikes, look out world!

For your enjoyment, here are some pictures form the past month.

These two are views from my Dad's work on the North Shore of Lake Superior

Sunset

This is The Old Fort that my brother and I made when we were little.

Now our leaves are all gone from the trees and we await the arrival of... snow?!