The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!

Do you know the reference of the above verse?? Revelation 22:21...or...the last verse of the New Testament. Have you ever copied out part of a book of the Bible and gotten discouraged...or felt you could never finish what you began?? It CAN be done. Yesterday, April 7, 2009, Benjamin finished copying out the New Testament. The above photo shows how many notebooks it took for him to finish it...not too expensive a project...though it does take TIME. Still...it is time well spent. For every verse you copy out, you probably read it three or four times. First you look at it and copy the first part down...you look again, and copy more and look back and make sure you begin the second part at the right place...if it is longer, you look back a third time for the last part of the verse...you check and make sure your punctuation is correct...then you read over the verse again to make sure there are no errors or ommissions. By the time you are done, you should have a pretty good idea of what the verse is about...and just maybe, you will see something you have never noticed before. So I encourage those of you who have never tried this kind of Penmanship...it is a great option... and it can be done! Benjamin had copied some during his high school years...but had some extra time recently, and began Feb. 6th with Acts chapter 2. It took him 2 full months to finish the rest of the New Testament.

Isaiah 55 10-12 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not ruturn unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Science experiment for school.

This month the verse we have been studying is Matthew 5:13b ...But if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. The major concept is: Inefectiveness brings harsh consequences. We have been learning about the many characteristics of salt, and how it applies to our responsibility as Christians to positively affect the world around us for good. One of the things they have been learning is that there are serious consequences for being ingrown Christians. This is illustrated by the Dead Sea. The dead sea receives water but never gives any back. The salt, which is useful in so many situations has killed almost all forms of life in the Dead Sea.



One project the kids did was to see how much salt it would take to make 3 cups of water dense enough to make an egg float. The egg was almost floating at 8 teaspoons, and at 10 teaspoons, it popped right up. They found that it takes approximately 1.1 tablespoons per cup of water to make the water have the same properties as the Dead Sea.



Lets remember to be "salty" christians!

THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My loose translation of that is that the heavens scream, shout, shine forth, cry out that there is a God who exists and has created all this. May we live for His glory and shine forth for Him.

The kids and I found this picture yesterday as we were studying about telescopes. This was taken with the Hubble. Is that awesome or what. We now have this as our desktop background. Why do we ever worry about our troubles, when we serve and know this Great God who keeps all this universe in the palm of His hands.

As trouble continues to come to our nation (as it surely seems to be) may we find daily His rest that we need.

Our weekend was going to be spent at the Hansons, but due to roads being closed, and sickness, that has been postponed. Sorry Hansons, maybe in a couple of weeks .

Now, lets go out and declare His glory.

White as Snow.

Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord;

though your sins be as scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they be red like crimson

they shall be as wool.

Spring????

Isn't God creative? Snow, blizzards, rain, nice sunny days, and that is all in the same day. (God still does control all this stuff, doesn't He) March has come and gone (well, almost anyways)With March came Ben's 20th birthday, umm, I must be getting old or something. He has been such a blessing to us, and others. His application for Border Patrol is progressing, but his interview on April 1st was cancelled, due to roads being closed. They are checking out all his paperwork, then will get into the background check. His arm is healing nicely, and he is glad there will be a scar. Hockey is over for the year (hurrah, no more injuries). Reuben got a tooth knocked out the last time he played, and is getting a root canal done to get it fixed. Couldn't find a picture of him to post, but I know there was one on the Krahn's blog.

Everyone has been sick around here, including us. Jeshua is still in Fargo, but will come home sometime this week . Influenza type A was all they found so far. Isn't it great that there will be none of this in heaven...can't wait. What a hope we have. There have been alot of people dying around here as well. Jack Marvin passed away.A couple of snowmobilers fell through the ice as well as a dump truck, all resulting in deaths. Then a co worker had her mobile home burned down with her 10 year old son still trapped inside. Then a car ran into a semi around swift. I sure hope that they were all ready to meet their creator. Life is short. Eternity is long. Live for Christ each day.

Well I leave you with a few of my favourite girls.

Celebrating Marriage

Okay, so that last post was over two years old, but we weren't blogging then. We went there in 2007. We both enjoy skiing, so it was a dream come true to ski in the Rockies. Actually, my dream came true over 21 years ago when I married my best friend. We just watched Fireproof a while ago.. a great encouragement to be faithful to your vows, and to realize that only with Jesus at the center can it work the way it was meant to be. May each marriage be blessed (present and future) that happens to read this.

Celebrating 20 years of Marriage

Alert Cadet Camp pics

Alert Cadet Father Son Winter Encampment.

Hey, this is Ben signing on to tell y'all about the Mitton boys' (Dad, Reuben, Matthew, Caleb, and myself) recent trip to Wisconsin:

Last Wednesday, we left with a car full of guys and a TON of gear. Destination: Wilderness Bible Camp Wisconsin. (About 2 hours southeast of Duluth.) We have not been to an Alert Cadet Father son camp since 2001, and all of us were looking forward to spending 4 days with each other and other likeminded fathers and sons.

The camp is nestled back in the woods, and has rustic log cabins for winter trips... no electricity or running water, but we did have some propane lights and a huge wood stove. There is a pretty good sledding hill by the main lodge, and a skating rink out on the lake the camp is situated on.

Over the 4 days we were there, we learned sawyer skills, went sledding, cut wood for the camp, played foosball, visited with the 31 other fathers and sons, and spent some quality time with Dad.

Every day started with a wake up at 5:45 in the morning, followed by a morning wisdom search. Before breakfast, we had PT led by myself and another ALERT man from Unit 39, Spc. Kilpatrick. Leading PT was a new and fun experience for me. It was a little different than the PT I'm used to... the ages of the men ranged from 8 to 55! At 9:00 Thursday morning, we started the class room part of the Cadet crisis response sawyer training. The training went from 9 till 3 when we had free time to sled, hike, ect. until we were called for supper and the evening message at the main lodge.

The saw training was actually pretty good. Lots of hands on stuff for even the little guys. Everybody took apart and adjusted the bar and chain, cleaned the air filter, learned how to adjust the idle, and the ones who were strong enough practiced actually starting and using the saw. It was obviously alot of review for those of us who have used saws, but there were some guys there who had never touched one before. We cut 5 cords of wood for the camp Friday afternoon, which they said would be enough to supply one of the larger log cabins for the rest of the winter.

On Saturday morning we had a rather unique snow PT before cleaning the cabins and heading home.

It was a profitable time with a lot of good teaching and training. We praise the Lord for the safety he gave while using the saws, chipper, and splitter!

We didn't get many good pictures, especially of sledding, PT, and cutting wood, but I'll put on what we did get along with a pic of my stitches.... no it wasn't from using a saw!

Minnesota Winter Fun 2009

Buena Vista

Banff

Well, the inevitable has finally occured...you all knew that mom would need a turn blogging, and it has finally come. We have had a rather cold and snowy winter, as the photos show. At the same time, being a true northerner, I have to say, I do enjoy the winter weather.
The sky is never as bright and blue as when it is well below zero, the snow is squeaking under each step, and to take a breath is an experience hard to describe. Does anyone else out there feel 20 years younger when you breathe in the frosty air??? Ok...there are limits to that, but there is something about the cool air up north. I have no idea how many miles have been skated this year, but many times each week, some of the kids head out to the rink for some hockey. On Mondays, they are joined by a whole crew, and have a lot of fun. Bruce gets out once in awhile, too...and me, well, I have only made it out once so far this year...but loved it...somehow other things are usually priorities for me. The rink is only 1/2 mile away, so walk or drive, it is not hard to get to. It is an uninsulated shed, but it does have a warming room. We do need to do a little work on it though. Benjamin got a gash on his arm while skating yesterday that required 21 stitches. We did not post a photo, as we did not want to make Hannah faint, but if you want to see it...just ask and I'll send it to you...it is worthy of an EMT manual. He got caught on a wire that was sticking out from some mesh on the edge of the rink. It was strong enough to throw him down on his back. We are thankful that the gash was mostly between the muscles in his upper arm, and the doctor who stitched him up thinks it will heal just fine. We are also grateful that he did not sever any veins or arteries...there was very little blood. God is so very gracious.

We have had many days of beautiful snow...where the snow gently falls in huge flakes and piles up on the trees, shrubs, porch...or you, if you happen to be out in it. It has made our little sledding hill which leads down to the creek into a great little run...and the deepness of the snow makes a good track...so that you miss the trees at the bottom. Marie and JoAnna have really enjoyed our little sledding hill this year. We also were able to do a little sledding out at Bemis with the Krahns. It was a gorgeous day to be out, and the hill was alot of fun...as long as you avoided the center bumps. I did get a bruise or two...but it was worth the fresh air and fun.
I took JoAnna half way down the hill and took her down from there with me. She loved it. Her favorite time down, though was when I took her in a PURPLE sled. Purple is her favorite color!
I think Benjamin and Elizabeth must have gotten the record for going down the hill the most times. Now for the bigger hill: Bruce, Benjamin, Reuben, Elizabeth and I (along with Josh Bailey), went skiing at Buena Vista, which is near Bemidji. Most of the day was sunny and beautiful for skiing. Benjamin had not been skiing since he was 5. He was a little akward for the first 10 minutes, or so, but he soon left me in the dust. Reuben tried snowboarding. He had tried it a couple of times at Bemis Hill and decided to give it a try at a ski hill. He didn't take long to get comfortable at Buena Vista, and was soon barreling down the hill. What a great way to get exercise! Elizabeth had been skiing once before, and is a little more cautious than her brothers...but still had a great time. Oh and Bruce...well he looks like a pro to me...and he was great company on the lift. I just shut my eyes and pretended we were at Banff...but then I opened them...and although the view was really pretty, it wasn't Banff. I was so glad Bruce was able to get the day off and come with us...it just wouldn't have been the same without him. The children who did not accompany us, had a great day on the farm, and the play by play when we got home was great fun! (JoAnna tells me that milk comes from a cow! Marie was thrilled to have seen a very small calf.) Thanks Uncle Arthur, Aunt Camille, Naomi, Isaac, Miriam, Hosanna, Silas and Priscilla!

We have been reading through the Psalms lately, and I have been amazed how many references there are to creation in the Psalms. Have you ever noticed? It is not limited to Psalm 19. Next time I read through, I plan to make a list of these references. One other beautiful thing about cool Minnesota winters are the beautiful starry nights, with the Big Dipper tipping backwards and the milky way plainly seen. I can't help remembering how awesome our creative God is...how powerful, and yet he cares for us. Looking up into the starry night sky, also reminds me of the fact that He is in control...Our God not only names the stars, but keeps them where they belong...he knows each one. Problems of this earth seem to fade when I remember the awesome greatness of the One who is in control.

Winter Pics

Hello all, we hope you are all enjoying winter. Here are some pictures from January and February. Tomorrow, we will be on again, and post a little synopsis of the last few months. God bless!
Ben for the Mittons

Winter 09