A Season of 'going out'....

 The air went out...and boy is it hot hot hot...
 The fridge went out...but the freezer part still works! Yay! And our church is very gracious to give us ice when we need it to keep the milk cold!
  The computer went out. I am currently on a very old slow one....thank you for it though Royer family!
  Oh and we have a flat tire on each car...does that fall under the category of 'going out'?? Why not:)
  So this is our 'going out' season. We hope nothing else goes out!
  With the computer nearly too slow to do much in my already limited time, I have a lot more time during the day! How is it that I have more time with a slower computer? Lack of patience of course! I am not on here nearly at all now so I have much more time! It is amazing the things I can get through the day without looking up!
  Today was very productive. Made tooth powder, with stevia this time and we like the taste better.
  I made dish soap, which I like very much except for the lack of bubbles.
  I made laundry detergent for the first time and it cures overnite so Ive not used it yet. Ill let you know if it cleans! Im thrilled about the 'no chemicals' part of it! If I like it, it will save a bundle of money as well!
  Hope everyone is staying COOL....!

John Welch

On God's Everlasting Love
John Welch

John Welch (c.1570-1622) was the son-in-law of John Knox, the Scottish Reformer. His ministry, especially during his time in Ayr, was greatly blessed of God. His son, Josias, ministered in Templepatrick in Co. Antrim in Northern Ireland and is burried there. Josias' son, also John, was a notable minister in Irongray, Scotland, during the latter part of the Covenanting times of persecution.

First, It is a ground whereupon thou layest no less than the endless salvation of thy soul; so the believer sees a condemnation, then he sees no remedy in the law, but in the gospel he hears that the believer shall never go to condemnation; faith then takes thy soul, and says to it, Thou art undone for evermore except thou believest. The heart answers, Hereon I lay my salvation on the certainty of this promise. Then faith answers, and says, I dare pledge the glory of God that thou shalt never perish. Next, faith will take thee to hell, and make it present to thee; to heaven, and it will make it present to thee; it will take thee to the decreed counsel of God, and make it present to thee; faith never casts thee off his word; the word says, Thou, Thou wast loved before all eternity; faith says, I believe. I see that the word says, The believer is justified; and faith says, I believe the word says, There is a crown of glory laid up for the poor sinner; faith says, I see that, and I will wait patiently for it; faith will lead thee to the very incarnation of Christ, and make it present unto thee; faith will do more for thee; for it, first, will make thy ground sure; 2dly, It makes things eternal present; 3dly, It makes thee stand, and set thy foot as an armed man against all the speats [floods] of the terrors of God against thee, so it gars [makes] thee stand, for it is the buckler that quenches all the fiery darts of the devil; thou hast that jack that will bide the proof of the cannon, suppose thou shouldst say, ' The Lord has set me up as a mark to shoot at,' suppose thou shouldst say with David, Psal. xxii. 1. 'The Lord has forsaken me,' and suppose thou shouldst say with Heman the Ezrahite, Psal. lxxxviii. 15. 'I suffer the terrors of God from my very youth;' yet faith will gar thee stand against all these, for it will say to thee, That the love of God is unchangeable, 'suppose thou shouldst slay me, yet I will trust in thee;' for a man that believes may have strong battles, and he must 'fight a good fight;' for the winds will blow, and the storms will set on the house, and faith must hold it up.

Besides this, faith is called, 'The evidence of things not seen,' it is the character and evidence of our inheritance; I have that blood sealed up to me, I have the Spirit within me, therefore I know this heritage belongs to me; as for the author, it is evident it is given you freely to believe, so it is the gift of God. God opens the heart of Lydia, and she believes. Faith is the work of God, 'look up to him who is the author and finisher of your faith.' He believed, and therefore he spake. So it is the Spirit, sent from the Father and the Son, that works faith: this is the thing that makes a man to believe. Thou wilt say, if thou hadst faith thou wouldst never doubt, but when thou lookest into thyself, and missest the power of believing, thou doubtest: but thou shouldst not do so, but thou shouldst look up to heaven, for it is as impossible for thee to believe, as it is to thee to open the eyes of the blind; for this power of believing is not within the compass of nature; for it was a mystery to the very angels, till it was revealed in the gospel by faith, says the apostle, 'which is according to the operation of God that raised up Jesus from the dead to life;' so that same power must work in thee the power of believing. The law will say, 'Do, and thou shalt live;' but it will never give thee power to do: but the gospel says, 'Believe, and thou shalt live,' and with the same breath it draws down the arm of God to thy soul, and gives thee power to believe. Next, the law requires perfection; but the gospel requires no more but faith in an honest heart, believing in sincerity, suppose it be mixt with doubtings, and suppose there be a hell in the nook of thy heart, as the apostle says, Rom. vii. 24. 'Who shall deliver me from this body of sin;' this was his misery: but he had not sold himself to sin; therefore he said, he consented not to it. What more? The gospel descends to thy infirmity, that if thou hast no more but a reiking tow [smoking flax], and if thou hast no more but an earnest desire to believe, and if thou hast no more but that thou canst pray for faith, then thou hast the same consolation of the believer.

No--keep it!

(J.R. Miller, "Intimate Letters on Personal Problems" 1914)

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul tells of a wonderful experience which he had. He had some great suffering which he called "a thorn in the flesh." He does not say what it was--but evidently it was some physical pain, some think epilepsy, some think a trouble with the eyes, some think a nervous affliction. No matter what it was--it was very painful and seemed to interfere with the apostle's usefulness.

Three times, therefore, he besought the Lord that this thorn in the flesh might be taken away. But the answer was, "No--keep it! My grace is sufficient for you--for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Then Paul learned this wonderful secret--that the physical suffering which was so hard to bear--if accepted by him, brought him a corresponding measure of the strength of Christ!

As you read on, you find the apostle saying that he now rejoiced in his infirmity, because the power of Christ thus rested upon him. That is, the suffering, as keen and as terrible as it was--brought Christ nearer to him, brought more of Christ's strength into his life, and thus fitted him for larger spiritual usefulness!

You can apply this to yourself. You have asked God to remove your thorn in the flesh--and He has not done it. But let me assure you that the words which the Lord spoke to Paul--He speaks to you also. His grace is sufficient for you. His strength is made perfect in your weakness. That is, you will get more of Christ's help in your life, because of the suffering which you are enduring, than if the suffering were to be taken away--you then receiving less of Christ's help, because needing less.

Update on the syrup....

To quote the 5 year old, in regards to how he liked the syrup. He said " I love it times infinity pi!"...wow. Quite a commendation! Now where he learned about infinity and pi...Ill have to check on that!

Woops! Got distracted....

  As you know , we have been on a 'eat healthier', 'eat organic', 'eliminate sugar' diet. Oh and of course I make as many things as I can to save money and eliminate chemicals... Sooo, I told hubby "Please dont buy any syrup! Im going to make some, the kids love it!"...
  So we bought the big bag of Stevia, had the clean syrup bottles sitting on the counter for 2 days...finally today in the chaos of not big kids, only the littles at home with the blessed addition of the grandboys...I decided to make the long awaited syrup.
  I got online and typed in 'Syrup Recipe' and made up a BIG batch of the first one I saw...problem??? As I was filling up the syrup bottles I espied the big bag of Stevia setting untouched upon the shelf! AHH!! I had totally forgotten to use Stevia instead of sugar! Bummer!
  Old habits die hard I guess:(. Oh well, at least there isnt added corn syrup.
  Remember as Spurgeon says, "the old man is legally dead not actually dead"! May I have more success in my spiritual life than I had in my kitchen today!!!

A Better Birthday Poem:)

Look at this sweet poem a dear sister wrote. Maybe everyone else in the church has heard it but I hadnt. I thought it sounded so
 much better than mine!! Thanks dear Debbie!!
Happy Birthday to you.
To Jesus be true!
May God's richest blessings.....
...abide upon you!!

SAVE MONEY!! YEAH!

  Ok, I really like to save money...but more than that I like to eliminate as many chemicals from our lives as possible.
  I was researching online where I could buy 'natural soap' in bulk...well many 'bulk' soap bases are full of the same chemicals  you find in most commercial products that you buy at the store. So then I wondered...can I buy 'good' bar soap and make 'liquid hand soap' from it!
  The answer was yes!! With bar soap, water and glycerine... Glycerine? Hmm, just another thing to buy.
  So when I was online checking out a published hand soap recipe, I saw a comment with JUST the liquid hand soap recipe I was looking for;
  Here it is:
Ingredients
  1, 4 oz. bar of Kirks Castille soap
  1 gallon of water (distilled if you prefer)
  3 T salt with which you will make a salt solution
The salt solution is made by dissolving the 3T of salt in 1 cup of very hot water.

  So get your pot, and put in your gallon of water. Then pour in your bar of grated soap. Warm this until the soap is melted. Do not boil the mixture at any time during the process.
  Then, whisk in your salt solution. Remove from heat and let  your mixture cool. It will thicken upon sitting. Thats it!!
  So I spent 1.59 for the bar of soap at the store. I used distilled water that my friend made for me, and I chose to use Himalayan salt because it has no chemicals like 'regular table salt' and it does contain over 70 minerals that are good for you if they go through your skin!
  Although my motivation was to find a 'chemical free' soap, I ended up saving a LOT of money!
I got a gallon of hand soap for less than $2!!! Cant beat that!
  Also, if you care to, you can add any essential oil to your hand soap. Tea tree oil to kill germs or lavender for scent!
  As well, since I wasnt sure how long the hand soap would sit around...so for good measure I added 3 large vitamin E pills as a preservative!
  Happy clean hands and happy wallet to you!

Happy Birthday to....me!!

Happy Birthday to me,
Im now 43,
I feel like Im 70,
So dear Lord Help me!

LOL! I had a wonderful birthday, family! Thanks so much for making it special! Littles you made mommy some beautiful cards, thank you! Girls you made daddy and I a lovely dinner and bought me everything I wanted!!!  Hairbrush, candy and socks~who could ask for more? Thanks for remembering to call you 'grown' ones! I love you all! Blessings!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!

  The 4th has a duo special meaning for us! The birth of our country (so to speak) and the birth of a son! Michael turned 11 on the 4th! Happy Birthday Michael! He got a cool new bike, and as is the new custom, I write a book for the kids for their birthdays...his is nearly finished! It is about John Knox and predestination. I admit Im 'stealing' alot of the content from Douglas Bond' book 'The Mighty Weakness of John Knox!" Its ok, the book wont get published:) Just enjoyed by an 11 year old! We love you Michael, Happy Birthday son!!!!

Todd Akin for U.S Senate



Some of the Akin team.

What a great time we had at the parade in Marshfield on the 4th of July! It was such a pleasure for me to meet Mr. Akin in person! Brett and the girls had already done so of course, being on his team and having gone to the state convention earlier this year.

All of the Akin team were full of energy and passing out popsicles, gum and best of all the 'Conservative fighter jets', as Brett dubbed them! They are the coolest paper airplanes you have ever seen and I have never seen one fly better! If you would like one, leave us a comment and let us know!


This Marshfield parade was only one of several parades going on in the state. Of course this was the funnest because Todd was there! It was so exciting to see him repeatedly stop in front of  crowds and say "Hi there, my name is Todd Akin and I'm running for US Senate against Claire McCaskill"...the crowd would cheer and hoot and clap when he said that! So many people came up to him and shook his hand and said 'Thank you sir!! So I believe it is safe to say that he has a LOT of support in these here parts!

If you would like to learn more about Todd Akin, you can visit his website here; http://www.akin.org/ . Happy Independence!

The Fourth of July....

  I must say it is with a bit of heaviness that I approach this 'Independance Day' celebration. It even seems a bit hypocritical to celebrate our freedoms when we have lost so many. With Agenda 21, and the passing of the dreaded O bama Care, it seems as though we may look forward to losing even more freedoms in the days ahead.
  However, I cant help but have Hope. Hope and faith that God is Sovereign over the affairs of men, and that He has not left us to sit here and worry. As a matter of fact , repeatedly in Scripture , He tells us to fear not, be not afraid...be comforted.
  So this year, I think the greatest thing our family can do on this 4th of July, is be active in promoting the ideas of freedom and godly men and good government.
  We are going to go to a parade to campaign for TODD AKIN for US Senate. As well, everywhere we go, we promote Bob Parker for Congress, and Jack Hines for TX County Treasurer. What do all of these men have in common? They are God fearing men, so though they may not be perfect (as none of us are) they have the benefit of the Holy Spirit on their side to continually lead and direct their lives.
  I always say, the men in the govt are the men in our homes. If we dont like how things are going, it would seem appropriate to get involved and promote godly men as they attempt to get elected. After all, they will be doing all of the work and fighting for us. All we are doing it trying to get them elected so they can make the difference.
  So there is hope in this 4th of July after all! May God Bless America, my home sweet home.

Japanese Beetles

  Well we are thoroughly enjoying this time of year where the garden provides so much of our 'goods'!
  Green beans are coming on at a yield of 21/2 lbs every couple of days, the blackberries the same..squash is always a big producer!
  Has anyone had trouble with those japanese beetles? Well since we are continually doing our 'attempt at organic' (a phrase stolen from our family blog!)...we are using only natural ingredients to handle destructive bugs in our garden.
Milky spore for one, Pyrithrens which is essentially geranium liquified; and....japanese bettle traps..~
 We had learned of these a couple of years ago yet they were unpopular as they attracted beetles from other areas. Well, it took me a while to realize, we have 10 acres and the bags only attract up to a 10000 sq ft area. No poison, and resusable. I just wanted to let folks know, who may be fighting these 'wicked' varmits, that the bags work GREAT! They release pheremones on a card attatched to the top of the bag...you litterally will get hit in the face with these bugs if you stand in the way of the bag! We are so happy with it and it is non toxic to boot.
So we encourage you in your 'attmept at organic' and to save your garden! These things work really great!
Happy gardening!

What is your standard?

The world's standard of Christianity

(J.C. Ryle, "Holiness, Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots" 1879)
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." Matthew 16:24

Let me warn everyone who wants to be saved--not to be content with the world's standard of Christianity. Surely no man with his eyes open, can fail to see that the Christianity of the New Testament is something far higher and deeper than the Christianity of most professing Christians. That formal, easy-going, do-little thing, which most people call 'religion'--is evidently not the religion of the Lord Jesus. The things which He praises--are not praised by the world. The things which He blames--are not things in which the world sees any harm. Oh, if you would follow Christ--do not be content with the world's Christianity! Tremble, tremble and repent!