Playing for the Glory of the Lord!

I felt so blessed yesterday to be graduating with so much support and encouragement from family and friends. It was wonderful to give the Lord the credit for any and every accomplishment - spiritual or educational. God truly has been involved in the training of our church's 2010 graduates and I'm thankful for the willingness of each parent that made the self-sacrifice needed to school them at home!

Thanks for the picture, Hannah Hanson!

One way we wanted to give God the glory was through triumphant and God-honoring music! It's been so much fun to learn this 2 piano duet with Dad - an arrangement of, "Rejoice, the Lord is King" and "O Rejoice in the Lord" (a song Sarah and I used to sing before she had her accident in '05: "O rejoice in the Lord, He makes no mistake and He knoweth the end of each path that I take..."). I made an audio recording of one of our practice runs - let me emphasize: it was a practice run... not quite up to par, nor void of background noises, but I thought you might enjoy listening to it anyway. :)

Rejoice, the Lord is King! Your Lord and King adore;

Mortals give thanks and sing, and triumph evermore;

Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;

Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Jesus, the Savior, reigns, the God of truth and love;

When He had purged our stains He took His seat above;

Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;

Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

His kingdom cannot fail, He rules o’er earth and Heav’n,

The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus giv’n;

Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;

Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

He sits at God’s right hand till all His foes submit,

And bow to His command, and fall beneath His feet:

Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;

Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

He all His foes shall quell, shall all our sins destroy,

And every bosom swell with pure seraphic joy;

Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,

Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

-- Charles Wesley

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Luke 18:16-17

But Jesus called them unto him, and said,

Suffer little children to come unto me,

and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Verily I say unto you,

Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God

as a little child

shall in no wise enter therein.

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Upcoming Conferences

Over the past few years we've gotten much more familiar with the Bright Lights ministry, including being able to attend the Strong in the Lord and Radiant Purity conferences in Minnesota and Nebraska. We have been so encouraged by their wholesome and enthusiastic teaching and praise God for the rich fruit that is coming from their dedication to serving the Lord!

If you're near Cedar Rapids, IA, or Duluth, MN, I would heartily recommend attending these conferences and guarantee you will walk away encouraged and motivated to live a purer, more devoted life to Christ!

To Download Flyer Click HERE.




To Register Online Click HERE.




Click HERE to see a 2 minute video clip of Sarah speaking at a 2009 Radiant Purity Conference .




For more details about Bright Lights conferences, see the Bright Lights website.

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Matthew 6:28-34

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;

they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you,

That even Solomon

in all his glory was not

arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field,

and to morrow is cast into the oven,

shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Matthew 6:28b-34

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Proverbs 15:30

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SMC, V: I & II Thessalonians

I found myself thanking the Lord so many times today for these girls ~

for their diligence,

their zeal for the things of the Lord,

their purity,

their joy,

their godliness.

I count myself blessed to be able to regularly fellowship with them!

We worked together over the course of 6 weeks to memorize I & II Thessalonians in preparation for quoting to each other today.

Afterwards, we talked about the power of the tongue:

1. The Effects of the Tongue:

a. What happens when we don't use it right?

b. How does it help when we use it the way we're supposed to?

2. The Use of the Tongue:

a. What to talk about.

b. What not to talk about.

c. How to know the difference depending on who you're talking to.

3. The Training of the Tongue:

a. How to develop good conversational habits.

b. How to encourage godly conversation.

c. When to walk away.

“But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day;

lest any of you be hardened

through the deceitfulness of sin."

Hebrews 3:13

::quick candid::

Thanks, Mom and Jewel, for being willing to take pictures!

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Hebrews 10:22-24

To see more pictures of our time together, click here.

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A Rainy Day

Some people may see these kinds of days as drab and miserable, but it seems to me a deflective thing for God's creation to hide its sunny, colorful glories, and choose rather to wrap itself around a person, as if to say, "let me be the observer now". Whether it be rain or sunshine, we know it is God who sends it, and I am thankful for His hand in all things!

Matthew 5:44-45:

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

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Two Special People

Last week we got to have Stephen home again for the first time in many, many months as he's been serving as a UAV Pilot in the Army overseas! I don't think one realizes how precious family is until they get separated... as I saw Mom greet him with tears in her eyes, I was reminded of this fact, and thanked the Lord for the special bond that we all share.

Love is so much more than a feeling, it is a decision that once made, can endure through the best and hardest of times, grow larger and reach greater depths as time goes on.

I've seen Mom express this kind of love for as long as I've known her-- always loving more one year than she did the previous, no matter what has come into her path. Sometimes that love has different ways it plays out, whether it be a tangible reminder she's passed on to us, or a word of exhortation from life experience, I have never doubted that she is compelled in her heart to see that all of her children walk in the truth.

Such a woman can not be compared to anything money could buy, and I praise the Lord for blessing me with her! She is so much more than a mother to me, she is a teacher, encourager, counsellor and best friend.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

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A Powerful Prayer

"Lord, I give up all my own purposes and plans, all my own desires and hopes and ambitions, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all my friendships; all my people whom I love are to take a second place in my heart. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Work out Thy whole will in my life, at any cost, now and forever."

--Elizabeth "Betty" Stam

"Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect,

go and sell that thou hast,

and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:

and come and follow me."

Matthew 19:21

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Scripture Memory Challenge, IV: James

Just look at those bright countenances! That's what the light of Christ will do through daughters who are dedicated to serving Him.

These young ladies demonstrated their love for God's Word by working together to memorize the book of James.

Danielle and Hannah spent many hours at home with their mother making sure they had their verses down well. The teamwork between parents and daughters towards the goal of memorizing the book of James was so encouraging!

Girls and kitties... they were just meant to go together. :)

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,

and a light unto my path."

Psalm 119:105

These Words we have laid in our hearts, that we may not sin against our God, but shine as bright lights in an increasingly darkening world.

After quoting Scripture and enjoying wholesome fellowship, we learned about the power of the tongue. I didn't realize how jam packed that topic is until I began to study to share on it... with 700+ verses in the Bible containing words related to speech, we know that this is a very important principle to the Lord.

It was truly a privilege to learn together with my sisters in Christ. We started our study by having Jewel help us understand why it's so important that we speak the way God has designed for us to.

This time around, I was especially encouraged with the constant gratitude that was showed! A grateful heart is wonderfully contagious. :)

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good;

and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil:

for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

Luke 6:45

"Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,

what manner of persons ought ye to be

in all holy conversation and godliness."

II Peter 3:11

Photos without my name on them were taken by Carol Schuurmans

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