Yay!! More Good News!!

One of us received more good news yesterday! For those in our inner circle, it involves a local facility. It's a very exciting time! We are very thankful to God for all of the blessings flowing down on us right now!

Romans 12:13 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

Be Careful with Tender Hearts, Mama

"Every time I came down hard on my daughter, I justified my behavior by telling myself I was doing it to help her—help her become more responsible, capable, efficient, and prepare for the real world.

I told myself I was building her up.

But in reality, I was tearing her down.

Read the rest of "The Bully Too Close to Home" here.

Yes, yes, yes, and yes!!! These are very wise words from a mother who cared enough to make changes. If you are the hardened mother and refuse to change, do not wonder why your child prefers to be with their friends' mothers and does not want to emulate you when she is grown. There is a better way to raise a child without damaging their heart. Make changes now, or harvest the bitter tears of regret later.

Video: House Burned Down Due to 9V Battery

To watch the video of how improper storage of 9V batteries caused a house fire and how you can prevent it in your home with a simple, inexpensive precaution, click here.

Emily Lost Another Tooth!

Free 5 Weeks Reading Eggs Access

Dear Clint,

Give your family and friends 5 WEEKS FREE* access to Reading Eggs so their child can join the Reading Eggs Read-To-Cure Challenge!
Simply forward this email and the recipient can register their child for a FREE trial by signing up at www.readingeggs.com/friend before February 28, 2014.

Why should your family and friends try Reading Eggs?

•  91% of parents using Reading Eggs report a noticeable improvement in their child’s
   reading skills.

•  The comprehensive program includes 120 reading lessons, 96 spelling lessons and 20
    comprehension lessons developed by a team of experienced elementary educators.

•  They’ll also have access to 200 comprehension lessons and 100 literacy games in
   Reading Eggspress, an extension of Reading Eggs that further develops literacy skills
   from the age of 7 through to 13.
•  Over 1500 ebooks are available online – including illustrated chapter books, full color
   nonfiction books and a range of classics.

•  Learn on the go with Reading Eggs now available on iPad and Android!**

What is the Reading Eggs Read-To-Cure Challenge?

Taking place from February 3 to March 7, this FREE event aims to inspire children to read while raising funds for The National Children’s Cancer Society (NCCS).***

Children are encouraged to complete as many books and Reading Eggs lessons as they can. The more they complete, the more will be raised for the NCCS. There are also fantastic prizes to be won including iPad’s, Toys’R’Us vouchers and Reading Eggs book products!

Stay posted for more details on how to sign up to the Reading Eggs Read-To-Cure Challenge in the coming week. If you have any questions please contact us at +1 877-661-4898 or emailsupport@readingeggs.com.

Christmas Picture Outtakes

Ecclesiastes 3:4 ...and a time to laugh

Where to Get the Best Counsel

"Let us be very careful that we never exalt any minister, or sermon, or book or friend above the Word of God." J.C. Ryle

This is a topic we speak with our children about frequently:

If it doesn't line up with Scripture, its advice not worth having. Everybody wants God's blessings, but very few want to walk in obedience to His Word.

People will run around to find counsel that agrees with their way of thinking. They follow that advice (what they wanted to do all along) knowing down deep in their heart that it is not the way God wants them to handle the situation. Then, when things go wrong, they are upset. They feel justified when they say: "Well, I got godly counsel. This is what a deacon told me to do." What they really went after was someone to agree with them and found a weak Christian to do just that. Too proud to admit they sinned and to repent to God, to apologize to the people they hurt, and to make changes in their walk with the Lord, so they continue to repeat the steps wondering why they have so much trouble in their life. Why do things never go their way?

When you get advice from a friend or give it as a friend, that friend or you should be able to open a Bible and give supporting Scripture. If it does not line up with the Word of God, it is not godly counsel. Topical Bible indexes are great resources to have for the serious minded Christian.

If you really want to do what is God-pleasing, you will read what He has to say about it and follow that. That is what "following Him" is referring to...doing it His way over doing it our way. 

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Thinking About It

When you are a larger than normal family, it can be hard to find personalized items where you can include everyone on it. I am thinking about getting this cookie jar, but will have to use a different sized icons for the middles. I found this at PersonalizationMall.com. It can hold eight names, a title, and family name.

I am thinking about getting this 7 in 1 tool for the house from Amazon. I like having things handier than walking out back to Clint's shop, but don't have a lot of room in the house. Multiple functioning items are the way to go! I am waiting to see more reviews before I make a decision.

Little Joe

If you have known me for any length of time, you know I am a nurturer and thrive on having a lot of life around me. Turtles and tortoises have been in my heart since I learned of their plight to survive when I was a teen while working with a conservation group. I have kept turtles for decades, but have never had a tortoise...until Amanda encouraged me to take the leap...

I adopted my Sulcata tortoise from an airman who was suddenly deployed to the UAE. It was not only to an opportunity to get a type of tortoise I have always wanted to raise, but also an opportunity to help a military family during a stressful time. It was also a privilege to thank an airman in person for his service to our country. 

Sulcatas are the third largest tortoise in the world. They can get to be 200 lbs. Sulcatas can be trained and will follow people around like a dog. They are gentle creatures with humans, but will battle each other for territory. They like to have their heads and shell stroked too. 

I named my 3 month old baby Sulcata "Little Joe" after a war dog that lost his life alerting his platoon to the enemy waiting to ambush them. Our Little Joe will live indoors until he (or she) is about 5 years old. I am already training Little Joe to come to me when I call him.

We are calling it a "he" since it is almost impossible at this point to predict gender. After Little Joe gets too large for living indoors, we will construct an outdoor yard and heated house. Sulcatas are desert tortoises, but they do quite well all over the United States as long as they have a heated place to go in the winter. 

Little Joe is next to the log hide. The other tortoise visible is a newly acquired marginated tortoise that is about a year old. It was passed along by overwhelmed new parents who could not take care of her any longer. I named her Missy after another war dog.

Right now, Little Joe, who is very tiny and weighs around 2.5 ounces (when I made this post in Nov), lives on a "tortoise table" in our spare room. I love watching him eat. They eat mostly grasses in fresh or dried (hay) form. Since he is resistant to eating the hay, I chop it very fine and mix it with pumpkin (Vit A) and a calcium and D3 supplement. We supplement with fresh greens and a very infrequent bite of fruit. (Fruit is not very good for them.) He LOVES dandelions! I have to soak him in shallow water daily to keep him healthy. Most baby tortoises die from dehydration because people mistakenly think they need dry conditions because they are desert animals. I weigh him every couple of weeks to make sure he is heading in the right direction.

Before we took on the responsibility for Little Joe from the soldier, we spoke to our children to make sure at least one of them will step up to take care of him after I die. The tortoise will likely outlive me, and I want to make sure he is well cared for. All of them said they would step forward to claim Little Joe or one our other turtles/tortoises.

Solitude and Quietness

We Christians must simplify our lives or lose untold treasures on earth and in eternity. Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. The need for solitude and quietness was never greater than it is today. A. W. Tozer

Doors Opening and Closing

Scripture speaks of how God opens and closes doors for His children to accomplish His work. Revelation 3:8, Colossians 4:3-4, Acts 14:27  There is also a lot in Scripture about God making paths which is a similar analogy of God's guidance and provision. However, I do not believe we are to use it as an excuse to give up because of obstacles. A closed door is an ending. An obstacle is a hurdle you can get around or go over on your way to the goal. Hurdles strengthen us and prepare us for the job at the end. 

I like the metaphor of the Christian life being like running a race in Scripture because a race takes and demands so much more from us than a walk...especially at the end.

For A Friend

Ha Ha, I knew you'd like the "vendor wear" comment!!! 
Yep, that was yours! I added a note to the other post! 
The video is another reminder. (HINT!)

Link: Free Spelling List by Grade Level 3-8th

http://gradespelling.com/

I Will Tell You a Secret

Those in front of the tree Christmas pictures? Well, Hannah got her shirt dirty right before time to take the pictures. It was the only red shirt she had. So, we simply turned it around backwards and took our pictures.
Young mothers: Most mishaps aren't a bad thing unless you make it a big thing. Life is more fun when you roll with it!

Big Day Prayers Appreciated

Today is a big day for a member of our family. We'd appreciate your prayers. 

Thank you!

Update: More good news! Thank you for the prayers!! 
Now we need prayer for next week!

Cleaning It Up

We are thankful for the provision of the tree that has kept us warm this winter. We are also thankful for the fun family memories we made while cutting it down, chopping it up, and cleaning the area.

Psalm 95:1-6 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Interruptions or Opportunities

You wake up early so you can spend some time alone with the Lord, but your husband wakes up earlier than normal and asks you to do something for him. Do you get irritated, or do you put the book down and focus on helping him?

The children wake up before you have a chance to do your devotions. Do you get frustrated, or do you pleasantly take care of their needs and share something the Lord has put on your heart for them to hear?

You wait until they are busy with school and then make yourself a cup of coffee, find a quiet place, pray, and open to your bookmarked page. Then your youngest comes and wants to hang out with you. Do you gruffily send her to play, or do you pull her into your lap and shower love on her?

Do you ever have interruptions during interruptions? You know those crazy hectic moments that drive us to our breaking points? I believe God uses those to show us a couple of things: 

• what is going on inside of ourselves...areas we need to work on to be more like Him
• where our focus should be

Interruptions are often opportunities to serve the Lord. Minister to your husband, take care of your children, and tell your little one that you are reading about God and learning how to better serve Him because it is so important to you to do what is right and pleasing in His sight. Your heart is what the Lord is trying to mold more into His likeness, and your view of interruptions show the condition of your heart. 

Be wise, young wives and mamas, when the chaotic moments come, let go of your agenda and put down the checklist. Open your eyes and see what is going on. Yes, do those Bible studies when the time is right, but also make the most of interruptions to put God's love in action, exhibit self control in mind, speech, and action, and "do unto others." 

It might be God teaching you that we can't just read and listen to how God wants us to live, we have to act upon what He is teaching us.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Real Men Love Teacups

"Who's a good puppy? Who's a good puppy? 

Does that feel good? Maggie is a good girl!"

"You're going to put that on Facebook with a caption about how a big guy like me is petting a fancy little poodle, aren't you?"

Thanks for the idea, honey!

Princess of Cuteness

 Thank You Lord for leading me to where I am today where I still have little ones in my home who make me smile several times a day!

Kookaburra

One of our local pet stores had a kookaburra for sale.
It was such a treat to add another bird to our "seen" list!
I would have loved to have heard it make it's laughing call.

A Package

This is part of what Clint got me for my birthday back in November.

The package arrived in early November.
I took these pictures as I opened the box.

When I grabbed the bag on the right, I grabbed something's head!

The heat pack stayed warm for days after they arrived.

There are a couple of long stories as to why I am so fond of turtles/tortoises. Hermann's tortoises are not something I would have purchased for myself because they aren't cheap. I have really enjoyed getting to know them and learn their habits and personalities. They see me coming with their breakfast and head straight for me.

Update on J

Update from M: Today, is day 80 since J's accident on October 28th. I can hardly believe it's been that long already.

Here's the latest on his condition.

Kidney function is measured by creatinine levels. They are supposed to be around 0.6 - 1.2. At his worst J's levels were an 8. While they have gotten better, (yesterday he was at a 5, last week he was a 2-3) he's still on a three day a week dialysis regime.

He is scheduled for skin graft surgery a week from tomorrow. After the grafts heal, they will move him to the PT floor and physical therapy will be all he does day in and day out.

He's at a point now where he has to keep reminding himself that even though it feels like he's doing nothing and life has stopped, his body is actually working the hardest it has ever worked to heal itself. It's lonely being in rehab, I'm there as much as I can be but it's not near as much as he or I would want it to be and we're running out of ideas of things to keep him busy while he's by himself. 

A Daily Reminder

This double rainbow appears once a day in our home and serves to remind us of God's promise:

Genesis 9:11-13 This is my promise to you: All life on the earth was destroyed by the flood. But that will never happen again. A flood will never again destroy all life on the earth.” And God said, “I will give you something to prove that I made this promise to you. It will continue forever to show that I have made an agreement with you and every living thing on earth. I am putting a rainbow in the clouds as proof of the agreement between me and the earth. 

The Boathouse

During inclement weather, you can fish inside through the holes. :-)

Time Flies

They are growing so quickly!
It seems like just yesterday this child was smiling at me when he was only 30 minutes old! Now he is taller than I am. Enjoy your time with your children. Even the hectic moments are good moments when you look back on them.

Pro-Life Speaker Coming to Suffolk, VA 1/19/2014

Kelsey’s appearance will take place during Sunday's 10 a.m. worship service on 1/19/2014 at Cypress Chapel Christian Church, 1891 Cypress Chapel Road, Suffolk, VA. 

After leaving Suffolk, she’ll travel to Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life on Jan. 22.

Read the article here.

I have found this statement true in my own life as well:

“God takes our deepest pain, and it becomes a launching path for our greatest calling.” ~Monica Kelsey

Leaving the Ministry

Jason Savage has some wisdom to share from his experience and echoes our own hearts on the matter.

"The funny thing about the title of this post is, I’m not leaving the “ministry” at all. In fact, I believe I’m preparing to move into some of my most effective service in the kingdom of God. I know many paid leaders in churches would be liberated by not being paid by the church. The problem is they haven’t been trained to do anything else. So out of fear, they stay. I wish more would actually leave the “Ministry”."

Real Men

Real men take an interest in what interests their little girls.

That's how daddies keep their girls' hearts.

Wildlife

We love living in the country where we can observe so much nature from the osprey and eagles to the deer, foxes, racoons, skunks, opposum, and etc. We are reminded daily of the incredible beauty God gave us. These deer are the doe and doeling from last year. The little fawn has grown up so pretty! Two years ago, the doe had a buckling. He was very brazen and would walk right out into the open during daytime even when we were working in the yard. We never saw him again after hunting season. As you can see, we have a masked bandit visiting too!

USAF Heritage of America Band

Sunday, Feb 23

Langley Winds in Gloucester, VA

Free Community Concert - 4 PM George Nelson Concert Series Bethany United Methodist Church Gloucester Point, VA

Yesterday...

was yet another day of good news for an immediate family member. Tonight is an exciting night for one of us too! We are praising the Lord!

2 Corinthians 9:8-11 And God can give you more blessings than you need, and you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work. As the Scriptures say, “He gives generously to the poor; his goodness will continue forever.” God is the one who gives seed to those who plant, and he gives bread for food. And God will give you spiritual seed and make that seed grow. He will produce a great harvest from your goodness. God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will make people give thanks to God.

Bathroom Bible Verse Wall Sticker

This is the wall sticker I put in our upstairs bathroom.
I recommend the one from this seller because they already have the sticker on the transfer paper saving you one step.

I took this picture a few weeks ago. You can see the glow from the Christmas lights the children strung in the bathroom.

Tips on How to Help the Newly Widowed

The Patriotic Nurse shares with bluntness and honesty (something I greatly admire in people) how she survived widowhood. You can gain tips on how to help those going through the loss of a spouse. For those who have or are going through it, you can get tips on how to cope or find comfort and common ground.

If you have lost your spouse, I am sorry for your loss and the pain you are going through.

We Are Proud of Brandon!!

The bakery forgot the "s," but our gang is too happy over Brandon's recent success to care!

A Special Hello

A special hello to Diana of The Whining Puker :-)! She has been enjoying much milder temperatures than we have in Virginia. She has a great idea for making a holiday notebook which would make nice family keepsakes for future generations. If life is slower then, I will try this next winter.

Prayers for Today

Today is a huge day for someone in our family. Prayers appreciated!

Turtle Tank

I painted all of the wood with Rustoleum Leather Brown gloss paint to protect from water damage. I would prefer a satin finish, but I wanted long lasting protection from splashes and spills. I chose brown so it would blend in with our other furniture and make the colors in the tank really stand out. I painted the back of the tank with blue Krylon spray paint.

I removed all of the pea gravel so the 80 gallon tank will stay cleaner. Turtles are just too messy for gravel. I potted the plants using washed river rocks from Lowes and dirty filter pads for the nutrients. There are some larger river rocks on the bottom along with a few pieces of slate and had to buy the paint ($13) and plants ($15). Everything else, I had on hand to build the basking area and decorate the tank which I designed and Clint built. I am going to replace the white PVC with black to protect the heater. This is the only way I have found in nearly 30 years of keeping turtles to keep them from breaking the heater. It has worked great.

Our turtle Magalie and plecostomas Tank are happy in their new home. We have two smaller turtles named Pinecone and Fluttershy in the tank too, but they are not very visible in the picture. 

Psalm 100 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship theLord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

She Captures My Heart on How I Feel About My Pregnancy Losses

Shalom captures my heart regarding my losses when she says: "When you put something in layaway at a store, you are excited knowing it is there waiting until you can bring it home. It is yours, just in safekeeping. ... That is how I feel about my baby. He is in safekeeping. I am excited to think that he is waiting for me to come to him. I am excited to know that I have a very special gift waiting for me." Read the rest of her article here. 

"A key to strengthening spiritual muscles and enduring hardship is finding strength in the Word of God." Walter Martin 

Sewing on the Cheap

I found this Gunne Sax dress for $5 at a local thrift store. I knew I could turn it into several projects, so I bought it and took it apart. What I saved on by the yard fabric more than made my money back!

I have not decided what I am going to do with the bodice yet. With five girls in the house, we will find something to use it for.

The tulle and crinoline, I am going to use to add shape to a few dresses for the little girls and their 18" dolls.
I used the dress layer as an inside contrasting dress for Hannah and have plenty left over.

If you sew, those big dresses are great ways to get fabric for less.
The best priced thrift stores are the ones run for charities right in your community such as boys and girls clubs. I do not find the same deals in privately run or chain type charity stores like CHKD.

More Free Books by Beth Moore

14 FREE eBooks from Beth Moore are in English, and 2 are in Spanish. If you have any Spanish-speaking friends, please share the links to these resources!

These FREE resources are only available for a limited-time (through 1/10/14)

Go here.

Backwards Christians Soldiers

I saw this on my friend Lisa R.'s Facebook page and thought it was worth sharing.

Backward Christian Soldiers
Anonymous

Backward Christian soldiers, fleeing from the fight
With the cross of Jesus nearly out of sight.
Christ, our rightful master, stands against the foe
But forward into battle, we are loathe to go.

Like a mighty tortoise moves the Church of God
Brothers we are treading where we've always trod.
We are much divided, many bodies we
Having many doctrines, not much charity.

Crowns and thorns may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus hidden does remain.
Gates of hell should never ‘gainst the Church prevail
We have Christ’s own promise, but think that it will fail.

Sit here then ye people, join our useless throng
Blend with ours your voices in a feeble song.
Blessings, ease and comfort, ask from Christ the King
With our modern thinking, we don’t do a thing. 

Pearl Has Personality

Amanda asked for a spoiler for her car and requested we take her to the junkyard to get it. She removed one from a green car first and planned to paint it, but her mama found her a white one later. I didn't get a picture of that because I was helping her get it off the car and was also helping a man who asked to borrow some tools.

Clint helped her install it on Christmas Day. She was worried about drilling the holes in the wrong place. She offered to help him change his brakes later as a thank you for the help. For Clint, it's more time with his daughter and an opportunity to refine her independence in life skills.

Brandon bought her both sticker eyelashes and these plastic eyelashes for her car in case she preferred one over the other. He's a great big brother!

Pearl with her eyelashes!

"Why Don't You Grow Up?"

Enjoy your mothering days, tired young mothers, even the difficult ones. This season of life is over far too soon.

The baby is teething. The children are fighting. Your husband just called and said, “Eat dinner without me.” One of these days you’ll explode and shout to the kids, “Why don’t you grow up and act your age?” And they will.

Or, “You guys get outside and find yourselves something to do. And don’t slam the door!” And they don’t. 

You’ll straighten their bedrooms all neat and tidy, toys displayed on the shelf, hangers in the closet, animals caged. You’ll yell, “Now I want it to stay this way!” And it will.

You will prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn’t had all the olives picked out and a cake with no finger traces in the icing and you’ll say, “Now THIS is a meal for company.” And you will eat it alone.

You’ll say, “I want complete privacy on the phone. No dancing around, no pantomines, no demolition crews. Silence! Do you hear?” and you’ll have it.

No more plastic tablecloths stained with spaghetti, no more anxious nights under a vaporizer tent, no more dandelion bouquets, no more iron-on patches, wet, knotted shoestrings, tight boots, missing mittens, or ponytails falling out.

Imagine, a lipstick with a point, no babysitter, washing clothes only once a week, no parent meetings, carpools, Christmas presents out of toothpicks and paste.

No more wet oatmeal kisses.

No more toothfairy, giggles in the dark, or knees to heal.

Only a voice crying, “Why don’t you grow up?” and the silence echoing,

“I did”

~ Anonymous

January 2014 Update

I am in the middle of preparing for the delightful company of old friends and new. Please pray we are able to minister to their battered hearts while they stay. 

We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed our company and family very much. Due to time constraints, we did not get to do our annual ride through all of Hampton Roads to look at the lights, but did carve a little time out for our local displays. We had a very full and very special Christmas season!

For New Year's we had a meeting with another couple, followed by a dinner date, and then celebrated at home as a family with a Bible study and prayer. As our tradition, we prayed the New Year in as a family.

On the first, we started out by cooking a breakfast, followed by family time of praise and worship, time with each of our younger children, going with Amanda to look at something for a future goal, and then shopping with Brandon. We ended the first day of the New year with a movie for Clint and I.

There are a few situations in the works which are looking very promising. I can't share about them, but do appreciate prayer for them. Something big and good may happen for one of us on the 9th, so we ask your prayers for the success of that. No matter what happens, this month is going to be an exciting one!

Clint and I have plans to spend time in Kilmarnock to visit with family there. We have a couple of romantic weekends planned over the next few months. It's going to be fun!

This may be the last year we can sponsor Flor de Maria, so please be in prayer for her. She says she is not ready to give her life to Christ. This burdens us for us with what we know of her environment.

First Big Breakfast of the Year

We started off 2014 by cooking one of our famous Big Breakfast Buffets for our gang and woke them up to Mandisa's Good Morning! 

 

(Clint is saving a copy of the blog for our children and future grandchildren, so I try to put things we want to remember in the blog too.)

Free and 99 cent Kindle Beth Moore

I was just informed through friends that for today at least, there are four Beth Moore books available for download through Amazon. Click here and then sort by "low to high" and that will put them first in the listings. To Live Is Christ , Believing God , The Beloved Disciple , and When Godly People Do Ungodly Things: Finding Authentic Restoration in the Age of Seduction are the titles I found listed for free. Enjoy!

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

New Year

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Phllipians 4:19

Happy New Year

from

our family

to

YOU!

In 2013, we saw needs provided, relationships healed, lives changed, diseases cured, hope renewed, and love showered down on us. It is our prayer for ourselves, our family, and our friends to have an insatiable hunger for the Word of God, to draw closer to Him in 2014, and to not compromise on doing what is right and pleasing in His sight.

If we are good students in the school of life, there is much that the years have to teach us. But the Christian is more than a student, more than a philosopher. He is a believer, and the object of his faith makes the difference, the mighty difference. Of all persons the Christian should be best prepared for whatever the New Year brings. He has dealt with life at its source. In Christ he has disposed of a thousand enemies that other men must face alone and unprepared. He can face his tomorrow cheerful and unafraid because yesterday he turned his feet into the ways of peace and today he lives in God. The man who has made God his dwelling place will always have a safe habitation. ~ A.W. Tozer

We need to be like lights shining in a dark place. Which means we need to behold Jesus. We need to gaze at Christ.~ John Piper