Remembering our dear Victoria Faith

It is two years ago today that our little daughter entered in to LIFE...

How we miss her...she was a special part of our family each day that she lived...she was a blessing to us in so very many ways...we all miss her.  At the same time we thank God for each day she lived...we can't help remembering what we were told at the beginning...that she wouldn't live past birth...the days of suspense...the months on hospice...after that the years with us. My heart is full of gratitude to God for our little treasure.

Though we miss Victoria here, we can't help but rejoice with her  What she is experiencing even now, is beyond imagination...

"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. "

"And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him:   And they shall see His face..."   (from Revelation 21 & 22)

I heard a song recently that made me think of Victoria, that I thought I'd share on her home going day.  It has made me cry more than once...but somehow, I find myself smiling through the tears...

The sun still rises in the East,
It sets still in the West,
But, we now are bowed down in grief,
For you’ve gone on to rest.

What music from God’s Hall heard you?
What bade you leave the womb?

(We sing, "What made you leave so soon?" here)
And slip up through the starry blue,
By the path of your own tomb?

‘Twas not the reapers cruel scythe,
No claw on Death’s grim hand,
But a call to God, to peace, to life,
A voice across the strand.
Through heaven’s gate you dance with mirth,
And through a glowing hall,
On splendor never seen on earth,
You gazed in joy and awe.

Chorus:
And there you heard the Angels harps,
And there the Saints did sing,
And there above all sparkling stars,
You knelt before the King.

And there the glad hosannas rang,
Rejoicing 'round the throne,
Loud songs of praise the Cherubs sang,
For a child of God come home.

The sun still rises in the East,
It sets still in the West,
But you’ve gone on to heaven’s feast,
To live with God at rest.

A though we’re left to weep a day,
And mourn in this world of men,
Heaven rings with your shouts of play,
And we shall meet again.

Chorus:
(And there we'll hear the Angels harps,
And with the Saints we'll sing,
And there above all sparkling stars,
We'll kneel before the King.)

And there the glad hosannas ring,
Rejoicing 'round the throne,
Loud songs of praise the Cherubs sing,
For a child of God come home...

Our hearts are waiting for the day,
When we meet again at home.
© 2001-2010 Abigail Miller Ministries

The song was written for a little one who never got to meet her parents...but we thought it fit our sweet Victoria, as well.

"His work is honourable and glorious: and His righteousness endureth forever.  

He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered:

the LORD is gracious 

and full of compassion."

Psalm 111:3 & 4

The next post contains the music for the song...

What are you thankful for?

~Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Psalm 136:1~

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. There's no better time than the present to sit back and reevaluate what God had done in your life. Why are you here on this earth? 
Colossians 1:16 says "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
So, we are made for God. 

Hebrews 13:15 says By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
There are so many scriptures that talk about the importance of thankfulness. I Thessalonians 5:18, Psalm 95:2,  I Chronicles 16:34, Isaiah 12:4...you get the idea :) 
God's people need to be recognized as people that are thankful! I mean, we are children saved by grace. We have so much to be thankful for!
Think about God for a moment.
He is...
Holiness
Love
Peace
Justice
Truth
Joy
Mercy
Compassion
Strength
Trustworthy
Creative
Omniscient
Omnipresent
The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world
Counselor
Everlasting Father
Shepherd
The Door by which men enter into heaven
Divine Righteousness
All Purity
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
The list is endless!!!!!!!

So, what are you going to do the next time a situation comes up for which it would be easy to gripe or complain? I pray that you will be thankful!!
Believe me, I need to learn this better myself~ I am not just talking  to you!

I thought it would be a fun thing to go around to my different family members and take a survey of what they were thankful for. Here is what I came up with.

Daddy is thankful for:
1. Spiritual Blessing in Christ
2. A dear Wife:)
3. Children that are following the Lord
4. Basic Necessities
 5. That my name is written in the Lamb's book of life

Mommy is thankful for:
1. Our Merciful, Gracious Compassionate God
2. A wonderful Husband ( they have been married 28 years today!)
3. Children and family
4. Joy in our hearts
5. For God's provision
6. A cozy home
7. The opportunity to  work together as a family

Elizabeth(me) is thankful for:
1. All that I am in Christ
2. Christmas carols
3. Butterflies
4. Freedom to worship God
5. The body of Christ
6.  Every Breath

Rachel is thankful for:
1. The Promise of a home in heaven
2. The Bible in my own language
3. Eyes to see with
4. The Bible Bee
5. My wonderful family and extended family

Matthew is thankful for: 
1. Loving Family
2. Those who did the Bible Bee
3. The Bible

Caleb is thankful for:
1. Snow
2. The sacrifice that Jesus made on the Cross
3. Family
4. Good books to read, especially the Bible

Marie is thankful for:
1. Siblings
2. Snow
3. Trees
4. Pastors
5. A sink to wash dishes in:)

JoAnna is thankful for:
1. Food
2. A Nice Bed
3. School:)
Esther is thankful for:
1. A home
2. Grandparents
3. Love



So what are you thankful for?
We would love to hear about it!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving season.
Signing off with joy, Elizabeth

~I think that is a better thing that thanksgiving: thanks-living. How is this to be done? By a general cheerfulness of manner, by an obedience to the command of Him by whose mercy we live, by a perpetual constant delighting of ourselves in the Lord, and by a submission of our desires to His will. Charles Spurgeon.~

                                                                  

The Presence of God | Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones

   
Longing for the presence of God Himself, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

2015 Camping Trip

In the beginning of July our family had grand plans had having our family vacation in Banff...but considering all the days we would've needed, it just didn't seem like it would work with all of our schedules.So we opted for Itasca State Park instead of Banff.(putting aside the fact that a vacation to Banff would cost quite a bit, in comparison to Itasca:)  So Mom started planning meals, packing lists, and more!!( it must be said that Rachel helped quite a bit with this as well: Have I ever mentioned how nice it is to have an organizer in the house?!!:)

One thing that was quite necessary to acquire before our trip, was a new tent with good zippers!
Praise the Lord, Mom found a tent that sets up quickly, is large enough to fit our family, and has excellent zippers!! One thing that made it a little difficult in planning our trip, was the busyness  of the month of July. Helping organize food for Back Home Days, planning and organizing The Good News Cabin, Gardening, Lawn mowing business, and the fact that Rachel was going for 3 and a half weeks traveling with Bright Lights! Though Rachel missed our camping trip, she said that she wouldn't have traded her time with Bright Lights.

Though it is now over a month since we had our vacation, I hope that you still enjoy seeing and hearing about our time spent in Itasca State Park!

Our new tent. We also had a cook tent and one older tent for the older four children to sleep in.

Though not all of our meals were this elaborate, Mom did an amazing job making sure we had relatively healthy and tasty meals.

Bubble Time:)

Matthew, Caleb, Marie, JoAnna, and Esther all particpated in the Bible Bee this year. Here JoAnna is faithfully working on her study guide of John 1-6. I must include a little side note here. Matthew qualified for Nationals!!!!!!!!!!!!! Which means Matthew is studying John 7-12, and memorizing 5 verse cards every day except for Sunday. It is so motivating for me to see someone spend so much time faithfully studying God's Word!

Caleb making campfire pies.

The beach was about half a mile from our campsite...so of course we spent quite a bit of time swimming! We typically went in the evening. The beach was quite small, and if we went in the evening, we practically had the beach to ourselves.

The sunsets were so beautiful. The Lord really blessed us with great weather! It rained the first evening and morning and that was all. It didn't even get too chilly at night!

One of the main attractions at Itasca State Park is the Headwaters of the Mississippi! We were amazed with how many people come here!

A young lady from Hungary took this picture for us. This picture is somewhat significant, because of the fact that we took a picture in this exact spot back in 2003. Only then we had from Benjamin down to Marie.

Matthew standing on the rocks which comprise the starting of the Headwaters.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteous, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Esther sitting on some rocks close to the Headwaters. This was the evening that we had devotions done at the Headwaters.

¹² Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity I Timothy 4:12

Aiton Heights Fire Tower...This 100 foot tower was originally a fire lookout for the Park.

This is proof that my Mom made it to the top!! She does not do well with heights, but Daddy helped her, she faced her fear, and was rewarded with the beautiful view at the top(and the satisfaction of having faced her fear of heights:)

One thing we did a lot of, was hiking. There were so many amazing and fun trails around the Park.

Matthew and Caleb in front of a display at the Jacob Brower Visitor Center.

 This is  also a memory picture. When we camped in 2003 we camped with another family(the D Butler). Due to all the rain, we spent quite a lot of time here, and got quite a few fun pictures, posing in the now too small firefighters outfits:)

Esther, Mom, and Dad, with a man whose father was born in 1859!!

Miracle Thursday is a day where if you buy a blizzard at DQ they will donate $1 of that blizzard to Children's Hospitals. We didn't have any DQ's in our area, so we bought Blue Bunny Ice Cream in Victoria's honor.

The State Park had fun activities planned many of the days that we were there. Fishing was one of the activities! We didn't catch anything though :)

August 1st was the Bible Bee test day. So we headed to Bemidji, found a library that had enough computers so that everyone was able to take the online test at the same time. Afterward we headed to the Science Center!! Even though it looks pretty strange on the outside, on the inside it is very fun and informative! Esther, Marie and JoAnna, are watching the harmonograph, draw them a neat geometric image.

JoAnna and Mommy sitting on a bear! Our favorite gift shop was the one at Douglas Lodge. Very Rustic!

All in all we had a great time having extra family time, exploring God's Creation, and spending time with Jesus. I will leave you with this psalm. May your hearts desire be to serve our great and mighty King.
Signing off: Elizabeth Mitton

Psalm 103

103 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
³ Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
⁴ Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
⁵ Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
⁶ The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
⁷ He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
⁹ He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
¹⁰ He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
¹³ Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
¹⁴ For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
¹⁵ As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
¹⁶ For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
¹⁷ But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
¹⁸ To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
¹⁹ The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
²⁰ Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
²¹ Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
²² Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.

Don't Forget!!

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Rachel's high school graduation!

Rachel wrote most of her our graduation album...

Four other girls graduated...having five families planning a graduation can be kind of crazy, but it definitely cuts down on cost and prep work! Many hands make light work:)

Ben, did an awesome job being the Master of Ceremony for the graduation. Did I mention to you that he is also a great brother...son...husband...dad:)

Sorry about the blurry pictures, our camera is having issues: maybe we should read the instructions of how to use it?:)

Playing, "I sing the mighty power of God", on a graduation present from Mom and Dad.

Listening to Pastor English(Jessica's Pop-Pop). It was so fun for Rachel to graduate with Priscilla K, Jessica J, Rebekah D, and Sarah O, they are such good encouraging friends:) The challenge was on the life of Hannah  from the Bible. Hannah gave of her best to the Master...are we willing to do the same?

"Yes Daddy, I am listening to what you are saying."

~Lord, I give up all my own purposes and plans, all my own desires and hopes and ambitions, and accept thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all my friendships; all the people whom I love are to take a second place in my heart. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Work out thy whole will in my life, at any cost, now and forever. Elizabeth "Betty" Stam~

My best friend, encourager, listener, accountability partner, walking buddy, duet player...yea we get along really well:)

Rachel and her cousin, Priscilla K. Another good  friend.

Matthew's 17th birthday!!

Matthew, you are such a blessing to our lives!! Your servants heart, joyful spirit, and enthusiasim is catching:) Yes, maybe your craze on nutrition is rather strange...but we still love you:):)

Serving at the Ronald Mcdonald Home

Matthew's birthday meal was made all the more fun with the suprise appearance of three cousins from South Dakota, and older brother Reuben:)

Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellours there is safety.  Proverbs 11:14

Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellers there is safety. - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Advice,-Seeking-Advice/type/kjv#sthash.Ub8NexPp.dpuf

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Jim Elliot

Matt at Niagra Falls. Matthew loves to cook, read, watch airplane information dvds, talk with cousins and older men, walk, clean up at events, play cello, work parties with those his own age, and being the navigater for us when we travel.

This is such a fun picture of Matthew. So typical of him, surrounded by little ones. He was so awesome with Victoria...blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.!!

If you would like to bless Matthew, leave a comment with a word of wisdom , favorite verse, or a fun memory of Matthew!!