I Know Whom I Have Believed

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. 2 Timothy 1:12 I know not why God's wondrous grace to me He hath made known,

Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love redeemed me for His own.

REFRAIN:

But "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day."

I know not how this saving faith to me He did impart,

Nor how believing in His word wrought peace within my heart.

REFRAIN

I know not how the Spirit moves, convincing men of sin,

Revealing Jesus through the Word, creating faith in him.

REFRAIN

I know not what of good or ill may be reserved for me,

Of weary ways of golden days, before His face I'll see.

REFRAIN

I know not when my Lord may come, at night or noonday fair,

Or if I'll walk the vale with Him or "meet Him in the air."

REFRAIN:

But "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day."

~Daniel W. Whittle

posted by Lydia

Thank You For Your Prayers

To all of our dear friends that have been praying for me since graduation, THANK YOU!! God is good! When we got back from our vacation I had a few days at home that were hard. Mommy and the girls were all occupied with school. I felt unfocused and unsure of what I should be doing. Those couple days I prayed a lot and wrestled with many things in my heart.





A few days later a lady in our home school group offered me a wonderful job. Her family runs a bed and breakfast twenty minutes from our home. My job would be to clean the rooms and help out at times in the kitchen. Those of you that know me well know that this is the perfect job for me. I love to clean and make things neat and pretty! I am now into my second week of the job and am loving it. It can be a tiring job (all the scrubbing and running up and down stairs) but to me it is very rewarding. And I get payed for it! God is so good to me, even when I was doubting in His timing. I needed those few days to quiet my soul and realize (again) that God has a purpose and time for everything





Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future, as he has the past.

Thy hope and confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul!


Posted by: Carissa

"Thus Saith the Lord."

So, where we last left Micaiah in An Unsung Hero, he was making the difficult choice as to what to tell King Ahab. He was being encouraged to lie for his own comfort. Are you wondering what his response was?

"As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak."(verse 14)

Was that as convicting to you as it was to me? Micaiah has made the choice to do what is right despite fear of personal well-being and peer pressure. How many of us would have caved at much lower stakes?

The battle, however, is only half won. Micaiah is ushered in to the king who says, "Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?" (verse 15).

Can you see the scene in your mind's eye? Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, breathlessly sits on the edge of his seat. Ahab, king of Israel, waits impatiently for the discouraging words he already knows is coming. After all, the prophet never has a good word to say about him, right? The prophet takes a deep breath and says,

"Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king!" (verse 15).

Can't you see the king nearly topple off his throne in amazement! He must have also been a bit suspicious, however, for he demands,

"How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?" (verse 16).

So Micaiah tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. He tells the disgruntled king that he has seen Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord has said,

"These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace." (verse 17).

A dangerous silence fills the air. Ahab says 'I told you so' to Jehoshaphat, and Micaiah continues to explain his prophesy. He says that God allowed a spirit to put a lying spirit in the mouth of all of the king's prophets in order to persuade him to go into battle. The Lord had also declared disaster against the king according to all that the prophet Elijah had foretold (see 1 Kings 21:19-26).

So now, not only does Micaiah have an enemy in the king, but also the 400 prophets! Ahab is livid, and he commands that the unpopular prophet be thrown into prison and be fed with the bread and water of affliction until the time when the king comes home in peace.
And Micaiah's response?
"If you ever return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. Take heed all you people!"

It must not be necessary for us to know what happens to Micaiah after this incident, for he is not mentioned again. We do, however, have a record of what happens to Ahab, and let me tell you, it is not pretty. He goes to battle in disguise (he must have been having some thoughts about what Micaiah said), is beaten thoroughly, and is mortally wounded when an enemy archer randomly draws his bow and shoots him between the joints of his armor. Prue luck? I think not. Only the will of an almighty God could have brought a haughty king to such a just end. The moral of this story? God can and will do all that He says He will do; truthfulness will always be rewarded, if not in this life, than in heaven; and the word of God far outweighs the word of men, even if 400 of them are telling you the same thing. Oh, and jointed armor does not make you invincible. Enough said.
posted by Lydia

Soccer Tournament

Get it in there!

Some people don't like their picture taken.

Playing around in between games.

We played four games that day, came in second place, and had way to much fun. I can't believe it's over already!

Posted by: Caroline

An Unsung Hero

I've been working on reading strait through the Bible for some time now, and I am pleased to announce that I have made it all the way to 2 Kings (bows to thunderous applause). Yes, I know, I still have a ways to go, but at least I made it through the books of the law! Anyway, no, I am not the unsung hero I mentioned in my title :-). I was referring to a prophet mentioned in the last chapter of 1 Kings. His name is Micaiah, and as far as I know, he is mentioned no where else in the Old Testament. What makes him a hero? Well, let me share with you a condensed version of his story.

This story begins when Ahab, king of Israel, suddenly realizes that Ramoth in Gilead rightfully belongs to his people, and yet they hesitate to take it. Well, this can't be right, so he calls Israel to prepare for battle. Then he asks Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, if he will back him up as well. Jehoshaphat's response is mostly favorable, but he insists that prophets be summoned to inquire of the Lord as to whether or not they will succeed. This seems fair enough, so Ahab calls on several prophets, 400 to be exact, and they all tell him to go to battle because God will deliver his enemies into his hand.
That seemed to be good enough. 400 men telling him to go for it, but King Jehoshaphat still was not satisfied.
"Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of Him?" he asks skeptically(verse 7).


The king of Israel finally admits that there is one other prophet, but, to put it in his own eloquent words, "I hate him." (verse 8).
Are you shocked that a king would say such a thing? Well, so was Jehoshaphat.
"Let not the king say such things!" he scolded, and in the end, Micaiah the prophet was sent for, despite the king's insisting that the man never had a good word to say concerning the him.

Now Micaiah is an honest man. Very honest. As he is on his way to meet with the kings, the messenger tells him that everyone else has encouraged the king to go into battle, and that he would be wise to do the same. This is where the lesson comes in. Here Micaiah is faced with two conflicting possibilities. Possibility #1 says to lie to the king and go on his merry way. Possibility #2 says to tell the truth and risk the king's sudden wrath, which has proved rather deadly in the past. Which path will he take? Which path would you take? To find the end of this story, you can either read 1 Kings 22, or you can read part 2 of this post coming soon. Why? Number 1, I like to leave people in suspense, and number 2, my typing fingers are getting really tired:-). Until then, take care!
posted by Lydia

"I'm Busy, Lord!"

I was browsing though A Woman's Walk with God by Elizabeth George several days ago, and I came across this poem. It is obviously written for mothers, but I think that all of us can relate to this sort of Martha spirit!

I'm Busy, Lord!

I'm busy, Lord. Surely You can see

The thousand things that wait for me!

The dishes still lie in the sink-

I cannot stop to pray and think.

Lord, I know You understand,

For You gave these children to my hand;

And now they cry and need me so,

Lord, you understand. I'd better go.

Now I've got them all to sleep,

I'd better dust and mop and sweep.

I must thaw out the meat for stew,

And the ironing is long overdue!

And kindly my Lord answered me,

"Why do you from My presence flee?

I have so much for you today.

My child, I want to hear you pray.

"I love you, child; I want you here

To rest and listen- to shed a tear.

What if Paul had stopped to say,

'Lord, I'm to busy to write letters today!'?

"No, my child, I'm what you need,

Through household duties you can speed,

Yet when you're through, there's emptiness

If this quiet time you miss."

Oh, thank You, Lord for showing me

How much I need to wait on Thee.

For what's an undone dish or two

Compared with sharing time with You?!

-Nancy Stitzel

I've noticed, as school starts up again, that prayer time tends to take back seat to much less important things. It is so easy to get stressed and bogged down with obligations and dutys until God gently says, "Lydia, Lydia, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed." Sound familiar? Let us all pray that we never become so worried and troubled that we forget the one thing that really bears weight in eternity.

posted by Lydia

Thank Goodness We Have A Writer In The Family.

I just want to take a moment to thank my little sister (well little sister in age, she's taller then me :-D) for the writing she's been doing. I'll bet God has big plans for you, Lydia.

posted by: Caroline

Say What?

"People may flatter themselves just as much by thinking that their faults are always present to other people's minds as if they believe that the world is always contemplating their individual charms and virtues."
Lady Cumnor in "Wives and Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell

I love this quote. You may need to read it through twice though....

Here's a snipit from the movie. I don't have a favorite scene- I just love the whole thing!

posted by Lydia

A Sister Moment

I found this sisters poem on a scrapbooking website, and thought that it was just to cute not to share!

Sisters are,

Clothes borrowers

Cover stealers

Secret keepers

An opponent,a friend,

Loyalty without end

Sassy, Bossy, Silly, Fussy

Pretty and sweet,

Tea parties with treats

An angel,a rat(she ruined my hat),

I love her, I miss her, I tease her, I kiss her,

She is my family and that means more to me,

What would I do without her???

posted by Lydia

Pictures from Maine

Sunrise over the ocean.

This was our first morning on the beach. I was a good little student and brought my school work with me.:-)

We have a favorite candy store we like to visit every year. Carissa can't wait to get in thereDad and Abby picking out salt water taffy.

Lydia in awe.

The next day we decided to be beach bums again.

Acrobats in the sand isn't easy. What are they looking at?There - no wait.

There it is!

Swimming in the waves.

Sand City

Picture time.

Portland Headlight is one of our favorite lighthouses.

Another place we love to visit is Perkin's Cove.

Perkin's Cove has a mile long walkway along the sea called the Marginal Way.

The houses on the way are so pretty.

Surfing with a paddle?

This is a fun store in Kennebunkport.

It's full of shells and other sea creatures.

Another fun store.

We always lose track of time when we're in Maine. Our trip goes sooner then it comes. Posted by: Caroline