Thursday, 18 February 2010

Where Moth and Rust Destroy (by Jessica)

We all have different interests and treasures. Amos and Micah love trucks (or tractors). I enjoy shopping. Joseph really likes 4-wheelers. But the more we let our interests and earthly treasures consume us, the easier it is for us to get distracted from things eternal, such as God and His word, loving our brothers and sisters, seeing others as more important than ourselves etc. We must remember what our real treasures are and that we are just passing through this earth. This earth is not our home and the only thing from this earth that will be in heaven is people. Our short time on earth should not be consumed with the things of this earth. People are much more important than things. So what is our real treasure?

Isaiah 33:6~Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure.

Proverbs 3:13&15~ Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding. She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

Throughout the whole Bible, especially in the book of Proverbs, we see how godly wisdom and the fear of the Lord should be our highest treasure.

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. Phil. 3:8


Matthew 6:19-21~ Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Is Christ our greatest treasure? Do we see view our earthly treasures as undesireable(a loss) compared to knowing Christ, the greatest treasure? The things on this earth will not last forever, but God and His word will. His word is the only infallible rule of faith and practice and will never perish.


1Peter 1:24-25 "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever".


Do people know us by our earthly treasures and our earthly knowledge or do they know us by our heavenly knowledge and our relationship with a God who is; infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

Posted by: Jessica

Saturday, 6 February 2010

Being Humble (by Katrina)

Are your relationships with your siblings based upon your own selfish interests? Being humble is the number one key to all relationships. When we have conflicts with our siblings they will only stop when we cloth ourselves with humility. A readiness to admitting we are wrong and asking for forgiveness is one way humility is expressed in our relationships. This is what I have been learning from "Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends".

What if we are right? We still need the attitude of Jesus, who although a king, humbled himself even to the point of death on the cross. Jesus expressed His authority by serving others, by considering the interests of others, not only His own interests (Philippians 2:1-10). When we think only of our own interests it causes arguments and strife. Our pride can hurt our relationships.

The problem is that we can't 'make' ourselves humble for very long. It is an attitude, a condition of our hearts, rather than a feeling. It is an attitude created by seeing ourselves correctly and understanding God correctly. We must always be gratefully humble, remembering what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. We should not take praise for ourselves when praise belongs to someone else, and if we do it by ourselves, we must remember that we are nothing apart from God.

Posted by Katrina

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

Pictures of This and That (by Jessica)

Daniel was having a Ruff Day. The outfit that he's wearing is size 6-12 months and he is only 2 1/2 months. He is a very chubby baby.



We got 8-10 inches of snow Saturday night.


WWe girls baking. We have been making cookies and selling them in town.



Dad and the boys eating breakfast at 5:30 a.m. before they left Monday morning. They went to Texas to look at vans.

Our view of the Wolf mountains.


We have been doing "fun stuff" while Dad and the boys are gone. Making cards, reading, playing games and spoiling Daniel.



Friday, 22 January 2010

How are you Educating and Why? (by Jessica)

I am often asked why I am educated at home. It has nothing to do with local school quality. The 'why' question is mostly asked because homeschooling is not mainstream and is therefore a little different. Most people are not really asking for our philosophy of education. We should ask "why", but not because it is or isn't mainstream, but because we are intentionally keeping before us our purpose for doing something.

One reason to ask that question is because our children are part of the next generation and how we train them will determine whether they will be the ones who will turn their generation back to God and the Bible. Are the people whom they look up to people who are, or were, used greatly in turning people back to God and the Bible, or are our children modeling their lives after people who have little or no concern for the kingdom of God? We must constantly ask why we are doing what we do, whether attending homeschool, public school, or private school.

Regardless of the educational method we chose, as followers of Christ, our first priority must be God's Word. If God's Word is inspired and without error, then it must be sufficient for ALL of faith and practice. What does God's Word say about education? First, it commands parents to train their children, not just when it is convenient, but diligently, in everything that we do(Duet.6:4-9). Therefore, God's Word should guide in every activity we undertake, rather than be subservient and conform to our activities. Training in God's Word should be second to none on our activity list because our first priority is to love God with all of our heart. What is the greatest passion of my heart? What place does God's Word have in my education? Do I naturally default to it to guide my decisions, to instruct my path, to give counsel to others? If God's Word is important then the method of education should honor it, teach it, promote it, be guided by it.

Second, we cannot seperate knowledge and the fear(respect, awe) of God (See Prov.1:7). Another way to say this is that education is never neutral, it either honors God as creator and the source of true wisdom, or it dishonors God and exalts man. Psalm 1 says,"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night..." If we sit under wicked counsel do we expect to be godly? In Luke 6:40 Jesus says, "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher." We will become like our teacher(s). Parents(especially fathers) have the responsibility to protect and provide, but as children we have the responsibility to honor our parents. We should not give our hearts and loyalties to those outside our homes, but to our parents. This can be difficult. It will require wisdom and a strong faith, but God uses it in a mighty way in our lives, our family, our churches, and in our community and world. can make a tremendous impact on the parents and other children in the home. Another verse is Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...". Again, education is not neutral to this command as it either renews our mind, causing us to present ourselves to God, or it causes our mind to not believe God and conform to the world. Is my heart being transformed into a picture of Christ or conformed to the fleeting values and standards of the world?

We should educate to train disciple-makers and prepare citizens for the kingdom of God. Phil. 3:20 says that our "citizenship is in heaven". This world is not our home and should not be our focus. Compared to eternity, our time on earth is not measurable. How then should we educate and why? We would be wise to consider this often. 2 Tim. 2:2-4 says, "...the things you have heard from me...commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier." While parents do have an important responsibility to protect their children, sheltering should not be the primary reason for homeschooling or private school. Paul is telling Timothy to make disciples of men with proven spiritual character able to teach others. Instead of sheltering, we need to be training soldiers. When a soldier is in training they are preparing for the day they will enter the battle, how to fight the enemy, and all about the enemy. If they didn't know about the enemy, how the enemy thinks and what the enemy knows how can they successfully fight against them. It is the same with children. They need to know how our world thinks and how our "world" has been trained in order to know how to fight against it. The battle will not be easy(Eph.6:12) but it is a battle we are equipped to fight(Eph.6:14-17). Are we educating with the purpose to raise up soldiers and establish citizens of heaven or is our reason based upon some other foundation?

Our decision should be guided by what is most effective in spreading the gospel

This is one of the primary reasons why our family has chosen to homeschool. We think it is the most effective way to fulfill the great commission given in Matt.28:18-20. There are many ways that families can minister through their churches and in their communities. Some of the ministry "tools" in the New Testament were: church planting, discipleship, ministry to widows and the fatherless, hospitality and many more. Homeschooling should and does give us time to do the things mentioned. Also, living our normal lives can have an impact' if love for God in our hearts expresses itself through loving our families and neighbors. We can have an impact on people by the testimony of our lives and not even know it. Our actions really do speak louder than our words. Many think that spreading the gospel would be most effective attending public school, but our family believes differently.

Posted by~ Jessica

Friday, 15 January 2010

Wanting What Someone Else Has (by Joe)


Coveting is the desire to get or have something that does not belong to us, it is taking someting that belongs to someone else but we think we need it. God knows what we need and what we don't need. God knows what to give and what to take away. Christian people learn to be content with a little and with a lot. One of God's ten commandments is, "thou shalt not covet." God gives this commandment, not because he doesn't want us to have anything, but because coveting will keep us from possessing what we really need most- God himself. When people covet they cannot enjoy God because they are putting something before Him, they are worshipping an idol. In their mind they are pursuing what they want, and it takes priority over God. The Bible says covetousness is idolatry. It often happens gradually and unknowingly to us.

Posted by: Joseph

Tuesday, 12 January 2010

How Do You Homeschool With 8 Children? (A Mom's Perspective)

This post is in response to a question by one of our faithful (3) followers. I hope it gives encouragement and helpful ideas to those who read it.

In some ways, this is a difficult post to write, because we haven't found that perfect curriculum or schedule out there yet. We are always looking for new ideas, always trying to reform for the better. It has been our experience that it isn't necessarily the curriculum or the schedule that gauges our success, however. It is if we have reached and captured the hearts of our children. This has been a process for me, as I tend to be task oriented, thinking that if I have mastered the schedule, I have arrived.

It has been our observation that there are as many reasons to homeschool as there are homeschoolers. We are of the conviction that this world is not our home, we're just passin' through. A lot of what we do is, prayerfully, preparing our children to be strong in their faith, to be able to give reasons for their faith, to make wise decisions in life, and ultimately to be prepared to meet their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 talks about teaching God's Word to our children diligently when we sit, walk, lie down and rise up. This is what we try to do.




Most of our school is done with everyone learning together. This eliminates the problem of having individualized lessons for each child. We teach to the level of the oldest, and the younger children, amazingly, learn right along with them. This helps the younger ones to learn concepts faster, and it teaches the older children to take time for their younger siblings, helping them along the way.

"But what do you do with the toddlers?" Yes, they do present a challenge and yes, we do have interruptions. What has worked great for us is to train the twins to sit on their own blanket during our school time. They are allowed a few toys (not a lot), and are to stay on the blanket unless given permission to leave. After about an hour of this, then one of the older children will give them a little snack and send them outside to play for a little while. I have found that there is a valuable lesson in serving when the older ones help the younger ones.



There are three areas that have to be in place for me to run a meek and quiet homeschool (or any) day:
1) Organization - It is difficult for me to function effectively with a lot of clutter around the house. I am at peace in my spirit when things have a place and are in its place.

2) Chores - I cannot even begin to put everyone's stuff away. Therefore, everyone has chores they do routinely, from the oldest down to the youngest. It is a rare occassion that I do laundry or even put on a whole meal by myself. I am fortunate to have children that help in almost every area of running our home smoothly.

3) Training the children to listen and obey promptly. If I am lazy in my training of the children, our homeschooling day becomes a frustration instead of a joy.

Here is a sample of what a day might look like in the Vander Vorst home:

6:30 am - Rise and Shine.

~ The 2 little girls get the twins dressed and ready for breakfast.

~ Joe does the calf/horse/dog/cat chores.

~ The older 2 girls make breakfast (Katrina & Joe take turns, too).

~ Mom is either sleeping in a little with baby Daniel or taking care of him or getting herself ready.

7:00 am - Breakfast / Bible Study with Dad.

8:00 am - Morning Chores

9:00 am - School starts. We do singing, scripture memory, studying of Proverbs and science together.

~ Individualized lessons include math, writing, and music practice. The older children listen to their math lesson, do and correct their own lesson. I have found it helpful for them to correct their problems the same day they do the lesson (it's a teachable moment).

12:00 - noon meal / Dad teaches catechism while we eat

1:00 - 2:30pm - Nap time for little ones. The older ones are given this time to read their Bibles, read their assigned book, write a report on it which they will give orally to the family in the evening.

2:30-6:00 pm - We try to be consistant in giving each child specific jobs to be done during this time, as well as having some free time that is to be used wisely.
6:00 - Supper
7:00 - 9:00 pm - Dad either does history with the children (they are reading about the Reformation right now), reads a book outloud to them(Ballyntine books, presently), answers Bible questions the children have from their reading, listen to an educational or uplifting DVD, or the children give their oral reports on their assigned book.



There you have it.

It is our goal and prayer to take every moment captive, to make the best use of our time. There is so much to teach and learn. So little time.

Friday, 8 January 2010

A Christian Home

From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:15


O give us homes built firm upon the Savior,

where Christ is Head and Counselor and Guide;

Where every child is taught His love and favor

And gives his heart to Christ, the Crucified:

How sweet to know that, tho' his foot-steps waver,

His faithful Lord is walking by his side!




O give us homes with godly fathers, mothers,

Who always place their hope and trust in Him;

Whose tender patience, turmoil never bothers,

Whose calm and courage, trouble cannot dim;

A home where each finds joy in serving others,

And love still shines, tho' days be dark and grim.



O give us homes where Christ is Lord and Master,

The Bible read, the precious hymns still sung;

Where prayer comes first in peace or in disaster,

And praise is natural speech to every tongue;

Where mountains move before a faith that's vaster,

And Christ sufficient is for old and young.



O Lord, our God, our homes are Thine forever!

We trust to Thee their problems, toil and care;

Their bonds of love no enemy can sever,

If Thou art always Lord and Master there:

Be Thou the center of our least endeavor,

Be Thou our guest, our hearts and homes to share.



Written by: Barbara Hart(1916)

Pictures of the family


Katrina & Grace making doll dresses on their sewing machines.

The finished product

Daniel (isn't he cute)

Daniel-1 1/2 months

Everything below is from the month of November


Grace, Micah and "cat"

Joseph, Amos and Micah playing with play-dough

Jessica, Amos & Dolly

~Behold, children are a heritage from the lord~ Psalms 127:3

Monday, 28 December 2009

Journals (written by Katrina)

The Lesson
Journals are very important. In them we write about all our hopes, dreams, discouragement’s, failures and God working in our lives. Also, we can read them to our children and they will believe it because they know it actually happened and know that it is true. I would like to have a journal to tell of all my adventures and read it to my kids just like my Dad and Mom do to me.
Posted by:Katrina
photo credit

Sunday, 27 December 2009

Who do you belong to? (by Rebecca)

Take Your Partners III
There is tremendous peer pressure on young girls today. The age at which peer pressure is experienced seems to be happening earlier. It is not uncommon for young girls to have a growing resentment toward their parents if the parents continually ask their daughter to be different from their peers. This resentment manifests itself in girls who aren't permitted to enjoy, without restriction, friends and peer approval. If a young girl is different from her peers, but does not understand why, she will get confused about fitting in when she is surrounded by her peer group. This is usually when and where the real battle starts (Prov.8:1-5), a battle in our heart to see who we really do belong to. John 5:44 says, "How can you believe, when you recieve glory (honor) from one another, and you do not seek the glory (honor) that is from the one and only God?"

Discontentment is the real reason a girl might be feeling restricted. The battle that goes on in our hearts will not happen if we know who we belong to, and why, and we are convinced of both in our hearts. When a girl decides who she is going to give her heart to, she is changing her relationship with her father, either "for better or for worse". "For better or for worse"- this sounds like marriage, and it is, preparing us for our relationship with our husband some day if we marry. If she decides to follow her peer group will she be able to look her father in the eye and see the disappointment? When young girls choose the peer group she is throwing away the love, protection, and leading of her father to follow a life that is hollow and empty.

What kind of women is our future husband going to be waiting for? A true maiden of honor. So why do we want to be like those who's words and actions do not please God? The young men who are giving attention to them are only being led by their visual and temperal desires, having no wisdom, depth, or standard. Jesus knows everything that we think. He knows when we have been coveting things that are not meant for us, or for any daughter of God.

Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship (masterpiece, work of art) created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Then it is our duty to show our peers, and others, what it means to be a woman of God and a daughter of our father. We can do this by obeying our parents and by the way we present ourselves to others. As girls reject the ways of the world God will help them to live a life that is above reproach (see 1Timothy 2:9-10).

Posted by: Rebecca

photo credit:allposters.com

A Good Romance Book for Girls (by Jessica)

Before You Meet Prince Charming is a book that every girl should read. It talks about the dangers of dating, using our "waiting" years for the Lord and to grow in the Lord. It talks about keeping ourselves pure, a concept that is foreign to our culture today. It made me see the importance of purity, not just physical purity, but keeping our thoughts pure as well. Here is an analogy of keeping ourselves physically pure: you spent the whole morning making a cake for a birthday party, you frosted it, decorated it, and it looked perfect. Later someone came into the kitchen saw the cake and took a small piece. Your cake was now ruined. You could put another piece in the gap and from a distance it would look fine, but it would not be perfect, it would always have a scar. It is the same way with us. Even if we just give away a little tiny piece our rose(body) it will always have a little tear, ruining it's beauty forever.

Keeping our thoughts pure is important. It is also very hard to do. Take for example romance novels. Romance novels are traps, covered in flowers, waiting for someone to pick them up and get sucked into their world of fantasy, romance and happily ever after. Many girls fall into that trap and spend their days dreaming about romance stories that, for the most part, aren't true. Many romance novels also give the wrong impression of "prince charmings". In real life not too many princes come riding in on a white horse with shinning armor to sweep you off your feet. Movies are also very dangerous. So many girls are looking to the movies to be their guide about what is a man. So many married women are asking, "Why isn't my husband like that, why doesn't he act like the guy in the movies?" What they don't realize is that the perfect man doesn't exist. We should not invest our time watching something that is going to make us discontent and unhappy with the real world.

Another thing talked about is, desire the very best. Don't lower your standards just because you think there is no one to meet them. Our culture has the tendency to "lower the bar". But don't take the one dollar now when you could have ten thousand dollars later. It is very hard to wait. But waiting produces patience, and patience produces character, and character leads to godliness. We often have to wait because God has something better for us and we need to use our "waiting" time wisely so that when "prince charming" comes, we are ready.

Posted by: Jessica

Before You Meet Prince Charming is available here

Monday, 21 December 2009

Sisters, love your brothers and help them be men

(ad by dockers)
Written By: Jessica
Our culture is running out of men. Men who will lay down their lives for their families, men who will stand up for what is right and men who are willing to die for their faith. As sisters, we need to be encourging our brothers to be men. We need to not only encourage our brothers and build them up but we need to love them. That is sometimes a hard thing for us as sisters to do. As sisters, we shouldn't tolerate our brothers because we have to, but we should love them because we want to. Brothers are a gift from God. Our brothers have been put in our families for a reason and God has given us our brothers for a reason. If we wouldn't throw away a present that our best friend made for us then why throw away a present that is from God. As sisters we should be as concerned for our brothers and their well being as Mariam was for Moses in Exodus 2:1-10. She was willing to risk her life for her brother, are we willing to do the same?
How do we act toward our brothers? Do we continually put them down and discourage every idea that they have? How we treat our brothers now is how we will treat our husbands someday. Also, the example that we ourselves give to our brothers is what they will someday look for in a wife. Do we want our brothers to have wives who are continually putting them down, criticising them and simply making life miserable for them? We should start setting a good example of what a godly woman is now when we are young because it does not get easier as we get older.

We need to encourage our brothers and let them "be the man". If our brothers want to help us or serve us in some way we should be thankful for that and we should let them know that we appreciate what they did for us. When our brothers do things for us they are practicing being men. As girls we tend to resent "brother" help, thinking that we have to prove that we are as good or better than them. We should be glad for the time that we have with our brothers because it will not last forever. We only have one life to live and at the end of our lives do we want regrets or do we want to be glad that we used our time wisely?
Posted by: a big sister

Christmas 2009 Newsletter (written by Jessica)




To all our family and friends: Greetings.



In January we started meeting together as a family once a week to pray for people in our church and community. In March we started inviting other families to join us. We meet for supper at six and prayer meeting at seven on Wednesday nights. Also, January was mom's birthday.




In February we packed up the camper and went to the warm, sunny, state of Georgia. We spent 3 days there at a family conference where we made many new friends and learned so much. On the way back we stopped at the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio , a very worthwhile stop. We also got started on sewing. Grace and Katrina have made several doll dresses (with Mom’s help) while Rebecca and I made skirts.





March- Rebecca and I helped out with meals more since mom had morning sickness. We have learned a lot about making meals and planning ahead. Dad started preaching once a month at church. We also took a trip to SD to attend the funeral of a close friend, Grandma Martha.



In April Joseph, Amos and Micah had their birthdays. The twins turned 3 and Joe turned 10.


May - Rebecca had the opportunity to take flute lessons once a week for most of the summer. Starting in May we fed bottle calves every day twice a day for 4 months.




In June our friend Elena came for a 3-week visit, which was very fun. Rebecca, Elena and I played music several times for church, rode horse and stayed up late talking. Elena became an expert at feeding bottle calves.




July was hot, but bearable, because we often went swimming in the neighbor’s pool. For the 4th we had some friends over and shot fireworks. Grandpa and Grandma came for a visit in July bringing with them a very nice 4-wheeler. The 4-wheeler is everyone’s, but Joseph is the one who takes care of it and uses it the most. His sisters are sticking to horses for the time being, although a 4-wheeler is much easier to catch.




In August we took a trip to Paradise Valley to visit our good friends, the Riglers. We had a great time. While we were there we took a short trip through Yellowstone. We didn’t see Old Faithful because of road construction but we stopped and saw the waterfall, which was very beautiful. The scenery was also very beautiful.

In September was Dad’s birthday, which wouldn’t be complete without a chocolate cake with banana filling and peanut butter frosting.

October was spent being sick. We all got colds and the flu. That month was also spent getting ready for Daniel’s birth. We baked lots of hotdishes, banana bread, muffins and buns and put all of it in the freezer. It was nice not having to worry about what we were going to have for supper and breakfast after Daniel was born.

November - Daniel was born on the 12th weighing 11 ½ pounds. He is very chubby and is very loved by his brothers and sisters. The Grandparents came around Thanksgiving time. Grandma Polly brought her famous Graham Cracker Pie and we made a big Thanksgiving meal. Rebecca and Grace's birthdays were also during November.

In December, we have been making lots of Christmas cookies and other goodies. Last Sunday was the Christmas program at church. Joseph played his harmonica, Rebecca played the flute and Katrina, Grace and I played the piano. Also, Katrina and I had our birthdays.

We are very thankful to God for all that he has done for our family this year. A special thank you to all who pray for us.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Vander Vorsts


Sunday, 20 December 2009

Monday, 7 December 2009

The Birth of Daniel- A Father's View (for men)

We did plan on having our baby at home, just not by ourselves, but that is how it worked out. And, by God's grace, it worked out to be a good thing, for several reasons. First, it made me recognize how much I trust in man, including myself, without even realizing it. The midwife was involved in another labor and we were behind the time curve on this labor because it went so fast. Suddenly all of my 'props' were removed. When I realized I would have to deliver Daniel it caused me to pray a lot and depend upon God entirely. I know my response would have been quite different had a doctor or midwife been there. So who am I really trusting in? This is subtle and yet robs God of much glory. My hope must be in God, completely.

Another thing I learned is that there is great value in a man realizing his own weakness and God's exceeding power, in all things, but especially in his most important role, that as father and husband. My only strength is truly in my utter weakness and dependance upon Him. There is no greater application of this truth to my life than in my home. When I realized that this baby was going to be born and that I was going to deliver, I was anxious. A friend complimented me on delivering Daniel but I must say, "Be impressed by what God did, He really was working with quite a helpless attendant." As men we have reason to live in a state of utter humility and dependance upon God- God has greatly honored us by making us the head of our homes. God longs for men to come to Him as fathers and hubands in humility and dependance as we serve our families. God has not abandoned us as fathers and husbands. His power is great toward us but I am afraid that many of us men have forgotten God. We try to be strong in our own power rather than His, and it doesn't work very well.

Third, what better hands to catch a baby than the hands of the father? A father's hands are probably the strongest in the home, and yet gentle enough for the occassion. Personally, I would encourage midwives and doctors to do this when possible. It is a powerful way of "turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6-7). An elderly friend told me when his children were born the doctor chased him out of the room and down the hall. Dad couldn't get too involved or too near until it was time to pay the bill. My heart and their heart (kids) is going to turn somewhere. The less I have to do with my kids the more my heart turns elsewhere and the more their heart turns elsewhere. It is a fact of life. It reminds me of the Christmas tree Joseph brought in today. It isn't the prettiest tree we have had but it may be the best because of what it means. He went out and found it himself, cut it and hauled it home and it was twice his size. He worked hard. Our hearts are connected to that Christmas tree more than the grandest tree because we know Joseph invested hands-on sweat equity to bring it home. God has designed the family to operate with the input of a father, and no amount of toys, money, or fringe benefits can replace a godly father. There can be no substitutes!

A special thanks to all who have been praying for us. Thank you very much.

Posted by: Dad