Living for Jesus

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=919CCCNU

Have you heard the story of Ryan and Chad Arnold? The link above is the news video that tells the tragic story...of a brother (Ryan, pictured above with 2 of his 3 sons) who donated part of his liver to save his brother (Chad, who was dying of liver disease). The surgery was successful but a couple of days later Ryan unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest, and died shortly after in August of this year. He was 34.

Chad is recovering and has a blog. I was reading a post that his Mom wrote

http://cometoofar.com/#/?p=295

I pray that during this festive holiday season God will be especially near to them and continue to grant them peace and comfort. I'm sure that the message of Christmas is even more precious to them than ever...and what a miracle and wonder it is. That the Son of God came in the flesh to the world He created. He being so big that this universe, the size of which is unimaginable to us, is the work of His fingers and being held in the palm of His hand. He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain...was willing to come to this earth in the form of a weak, dependent, newborn baby and grow up here in what He knew would be a hostile environment. That the very people He created would proudly consider themselves above Him, would hate Him and seek to kill Him...even though He offered the truth, serving them with deeds of love and mercy. The whole story is unfathomable when I really ponder it!

Satan tried so hard to win against Jesus in those 33 years that Christ was here, and is still working SO hard today. I think that at Christmas time he tries so hard to make people forget about why we celebrate in the first place and dazzles us by the shopping and the gifts and the decorating and the festiveness of it all... and it might be understandable for those who don't know the glorious message of the gospel to get carried away with these things. But how it must grieve the heart of God to see Christians being distracted from the real meaning of Christmas and settling for things that don't even matter.

God help us to focus this Christmas, and every day of the new year and beyond, on the message of Christ and the Cross and the incredible, unfathomable story of salvation there.

...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28

perfect vacation spot.

notice anything different, girls? (I'm assuming you haven't been there since it was closed in October?)
your parents did a beauuuutiful job with the floors. :)

SO beautiful. Such a blessing.

these pics were taken at our YPs retreat in October. Captain & Mrs. Bluebeard were so gracious once again to host us...I can't believe we got to be there 3 times in one year. BLESSED!!

Baked Oatmeal

I first had this one crisp morning in the Highlands of Scotland, baked to perfection by our dear friend Lucy. Speaking of whom, we met up with them for dinner last week (in Cambridge, ONtario, not Scotland) and it was so wonderful to see them again, I will try to post pics of that soon. Theirs was hospitality to perfection, I think of their home and I think soooo COZY and welcoming. When we got home, I searched online for a baked oatmeal recipe and have been happy with this one (which, btw, I found off of a blog called the Nourishing Gourmet http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/

by Kimi Harris).

Baked oatmeal is SOOOO yummy. (If its done properly...unfortunately I have messed it up a few times and I am not even sure what I did wrong. I tell you this just in case yours does not turn out properly :) ). Not only does it bring back fond memories of Scotland and our friends across the ocean, it tastes amazing and is healthy to boot!! I`m sure you are all dying to try it out so here`s the recipe. :)

2 1/2 cups oats

1 3/4 cups buttermilk (I use milk and lemon juice, even rice or almond milk and lemon juice)

1/2 cup coconut oil (or OLIVE oil if you wish)

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar, maple syrup or honey (I have only used honey or rice syrup, and IMO it is sweet enough that way)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups raisins (I have never used them)

2 cups chopped apples or pears

2 cups chopped nuts (optional)

Soak oats and buttermilk covered on the kitchen counter overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat oil, sugar and eggs until glossy. Add baking powder, salt, cinnamon and vanilla, beat. Stir in oats, raisins and chopped apples. Pour into 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle nuts on top. Bake for 20 minutes (says the recipe, I always find it needs at least a half an hour but I think that might be just my oven)

YUM!

let me know if you like it. :)

remember.

We had the unique privilege of spending time in Flanders Fields this summer, in Ypres, Belgium. God help me never forget the sacrifice made by so many.

the great Tyne Cot Cemetery

these are the days (of Elijah) :)

These are the days of the harvest,
The fields are all white in Your world,
And we are the labourers in Your vineyard,
Declaring the word of the Lord!

Behold He comes riding on the clouds,
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call;
Lift your voice, it's the year of jubilee,
And out of Zion's hill salvation comes!!

There's no God like Jehovah...
great concert tonight...too bad Josh thought he was ``too noisy`` for his liking (and therefore I had to miss a good chunk of it). also too bad I forgot my camera. For all his dislike of loud noises (he folds his ears shut, its quite funny :) ) at least Josh is not shy at all about meeting people. Jade, on the other hand, our resident music-lover, did approve and loved it but was too nervous to pose for a picture with him. :)

Al Mohler on Reading

Thanksgiving in Vermont

Thanksgiving is such a great holiday, and we have so much to be thankful for!! Prosperity and freedom and fellowship on top of His incredible spiritual gifts...God's goodness inspires us to praise. On top of it all, this year we were able to go to Vermont to visit our dear friend Jeremy...we are so thankful for God's hand of blessing on our weekend. The pictures speak for themselves, but if you haven't been to Vermont yourself you can expect it to be about 100 times as beautiful as these pictures make it look. Look at Rachel's blog, linked on my blog list below, for better scenery pics.

It is a shame that Josh is missing his pants. thankfully this was because he fell in the water and nothing else. :)

Group shot. thanks to Erik & Rach for coming b/c I don't think we would have gone otherwise...although now that we know how amazing it is there, we are definitely hoping to go again.
oops, those were out of order. Here they start, with the road trip:
Horton hears a Who was good for some great laughs. :)
Our Destination: Saturday morning (we left Friday afternoon and arrived in the wee hours)
at the top of Mount Phyllo! (I think!)






It was such a pleasure to visit Jay in his church. What a great calling. We were encouraged and blessed by the worship and preaching of God's word.
These pics are still on Saturday, hiking (as much as the little ones would take, anyways...)









Sunset viewing from Jay's backyard.
We were so excited to be able to visit Dan & Sarah...we have often talked about going since Sarah has sweetly been inviting us for years. I don't know why we didn't visit sooner!! It was so special to be there on Sunday afternoon and to spend time with this beautiful family. Nate & Beth were there too and I hope they didn't resent us for storming in on their visit. Not to mention the work they must have had to do for the Thanksgiving feast we consumed that afternoon, they must have slaved for hours!
yum, yum, YUM!!
I love this picture of the farm boys. :)


ho hum, deer are running around in the field while we walk past.

beautiful, BEAUTIFUL!!
THANK YOU, DAN & SARAH!!
what a beautiful, special family. We were completely pampered by them, and blessed by their sweet hospitality and fellowship. It felt like family, and the best part is that we really are brothers and sisters in the Lord. This communion of the saints is something I am hoping I never take for granted.

Monday morning we headed out to a local park...


met up with old friends, Julia & daughter Summer. Sarah & her little ones came by too...



And then we had to head home! But who minds the drive with scenery like this!!?!?
We didn't leave until 4pm so we weren't home until about 1am...tired but very happy and thankful for God's many blessings. Wasn`t the weather perfect this Thanksgiving tooÉ (uh oh, what happened to my question mark...)

Thank you Jay, for welcoming us and for planning so many things to make our visit so wonderful. We LOVED it!!