Part 3 of the Mitton Adventures in Canada...a little late:)

Time has been ticking by, and still these blog posts have not gotten done!!!
As I put my mind in reverse to remember those days in Canada, I feel gratitude to God for his goodness in allowing us to have such a special vacation!

Road hockey at my Dad's younger brother's house. What would we have done if it had not been for the hospitality of S. Mitton and his family!!

Pool fun at Grandma and Grandpa's apartments.

Smile:)

Center Island fun...bumper cars!!

A little tired after walking about 1 1/2 miles to try and watch an air show outside of Toronto. (We did get to see part of the air show)

Family...a blessed gift!!

Matthew's dream is to fly planes, so one of our stops had to be The Hamilton War Heritage Museum. Grandpa Mitton even had fun on these simulators!

There were many planes that you could sit in...and even play with the controls...everyone enjoyed that!

This plane actually flew on D-Day in World War II!! In just a little while this plane is going to be redone in the original camo colors. How grateful I am for those brave soldiers that gave their lives that we might be free!

Niagara Falls.

Psalm 93 The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

² Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
³ The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
⁴ The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
⁵ Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.

I could have stayed at this place for hours. What grandeur!! The power of God is truly displayed here for all to see...and feel.

"As long as I see anything to be done for God, life is worth having: but oh, how vain and unworthy it is to live for any lower end!" ~David Brainerd~

Leaving Toronto behind, we drove to our old home in Vankleek Hill!! It was here that my Dad pastored a church for nine years. We stayed with some really special people the Zihlmanns;  Matthew and Caleb with two of the Zihlmann children.  They had a few people over one night and we enjoyed catching up a bit.  We also enjoyed a special Sunday morning worship service with them.  ("It is Well with My Soul" was so beautiful and such an encouragement).  Thanks so much Martin and Andrea!

Hide n' seek. (What better place to hide than under the table:)

Cheese!

Caleb and Todd


" If Jesus Christ be God and died for me then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." ~C.T. Studd~

After Vankleek Hill, we headed for one last place; Ottawa. Here we are at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.

The toothless astronaut.  :)
.

No trip to Ottawa is complete without a visit to the Parliament Building. What an incredible experience! So sad that just yesterday this was a place of such tragedy.

The view from the Peace Tower.

Our personal favorite part of the Parliament building was Memorial Chamber and The Library of Parliament. The Memorial Chamber is dedicated to all the fallen soldiers in Canada. Handwritten books these soldiers names are in glass cases around the room. Every day at 11:00 these pages are reverently turned. Throughout the entire year every name has been displayed, and hopefully read and remembered with thankfulness. And now, one more is added to the list of brave men.

In the center of the Memorial  this book with the names of the soldiers who died in WWI sits on top of a beautiful altar:

The altar is called the altar or remembrance and is so ornate. The altar was carved from a single piece of stone from Britain, called Hoptonwood stone. The First World War Book of Remembrance rests atop the altar and pays homage to veterans by listing the names of over 66,600 Canadians who gave their lives in service to their country. 
The inscription along the circumference of the upper section of the altar is from John Bunyan's 'The Pilgrim's Progress from this World to that Which is to Come' whose character Mr. Valiant-for-Truth states:
"My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles, who now will be my Rewarder; so he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side."

In the gold around above that, we read verses from Ephesians 6 talking about the armour of God and there were little shields representing truth, faith, etc.

On the steps of the Parliament Building. Same doors I believe where the young man ran in with the rifle. Be in prayer, as we wrestle not against flesh and blood....

Games at Brian and Kim's beautiful home...a great Mitton tradition.

This fun little tractor representation gave you the option to see if you liked the feel of riding on rubber tires or metal ones...were the metal ones ever noisy and bumpy! 

It had been a long time since we had been together with all of Brian and Kim's family!  What a great time!  We thank God for you all!

Grandma's 80th birthday party-Mitton Adventure's part 2!

The next stop on our trip was Toronto. The main reason on which we took this journey was to help celebrate and honor a wonderful lady's eightieth birthday...she also happens to be our Grandma:)
Living so far away, our family did not directly help plan much of the party. A good deal of credit for the planning goes to some wonderful aunts, who really went all out to make it a memorable occasion!

The delicious cake!

Some of the treats...notice the picture of the wall? This is a picture of grandma when she was a bit younger.

Some of the decorations.(Aunt Lesley did such a good job making things look dainty and pretty, besides doing quite a few other things. The party would not have been the same without her!!)

Rachel, Sarah (a cousin), Grandma, and Aunty Kim

Uncle Larry, Grandma, and Crystal(a cousin)

Cutting the Cake:)

Grandpa and Alex,(a cousin), playing ping-pong. Grandpa won!! Grandpa has truly been a wonderful husband to Grandma: loving, kind, considerate, gentle and caring!

All the cousins but 4(not including those who have married into the family). "We are all here because of you, Grandma and Grandpa:)"

Craziness:):)

Ok: a bit more normal! We sure love you Grandma and Grandpa!!

When I think of Grandma, I think of someone who is funny, cheerful, and who loves to serve others.
This passage of Scripture comes to mind.
Romans 12:9-13
<sup>9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

 "The Virtuous Woman"

 A virtuous woman is one of a kind
The Bible says she is hard to find.
Her price is far above rubies, which are rare,
She must be handled with extreme care.

Her husband knows she’s a precious gem indeed,
He knows that she is willing to please.
Her children treat her with honor and respect,
They know that she always does her best.

A virtuous woman does all that she can,
She’s always there and stands by her man.
Though she’s humble and meek, she takes no mess,
You can count on her to pass the test.

You will know her when she passes you by,
For she always holds her head up high.
She’s courageous and strong, a dignified lady she is,
You will never know that she has shed many tears.

A lady of class and elegance too,
She will let you know what you will need to do,
To come up to her standard, which is very high.
For she is headed for her home in the sky.

So to the virtuous women of today,
Always remember the part that you play.
Just be Christ like, for He is the one,
Who gave His only begotten Son.

Bobbie J Davis

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

Stay tuned to more "Mitton Adventure Posts:)</sup>

Creation Sings!!

Thought You might enjoy hearing the song that we wrote with all the pictures on our last post.
God Bless and Enjoy:) Elizabeth Mitton.

Munising...Mitton Adventures Part 1:)

The Lord made it possible for our family to have a 17 day vacation!! What a wonderful time we had!!
We left on August 27th. Traveling for about 12 hours we arrived in Munising, set up camp, and still had time to go for a swim in the outdoor pool at the campsite and play croquet (a first for many of us:)
We spent all day Thursday hiking, exploring around waterfalls, taking pictures of God's wonderful creation, playing mini putt golf,  and picking blackberries... best of all we did this together as a family:) Going back to Munising held many bittersweet memories for us. Victoria was with us in 2010 when we broke down in Musing on our way to Toronto for Grandpa Mitton's 80th birthday. Last year, 2013, we spent a week in a campground close to Munising with one of my Dad's brother and his family. We miss you Victoria, but we are Oh so glad that you are in the presence of the King of Kings. On Friday we left for Toronto...but that is for another post:) Words and music of "Creation Sings" Keith & Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townend

Verse 1: Creation sings the Father's song; He calls the sun to wake the dawn And runs the course of day,

Till evening comes in crimson rays.

His fingerprints in flakes of snow,His breath upon this spinning globe,

He charts the eagle's flight, Commands the newborn baby's cry.

Verse 2: Creation gazed upon His face; The ageless One in time's embrace,

Unveiled the Fathers plan of reconciling God and man.

A second Adam walked the earth, Whose blameless life would break the curse,

Whose death would set us free To live with Him eternally.

Verse 3: Creation longs for His return,

When Christ shall reign upon the earth;

The bitter wars that rage are birth pains of a coming age.

When He renews the land and sky,

All heaven will sing and earth reply

With one resplendent theme:

The glory of our God and King.

Chorus: Hallelujah! Let all creation stand and sing;

"Hallelujah!"Fill the earth with songs of worship, tell the wonders of creation's King.

Keith & Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townend

Trust

In the past week, two words have been ever present in my mind: Trust and Obey.

I thought that I would do a little search on the word trust, and see what I would discover. It's been quite a find! (I am hoping to do a search on the word obey in the next couple of days)

May this search bless and encourage you in the same way that it has blessed and encouraged me!

 Definition of Trust:
 As a noun:
 firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
As a verb:
believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of.
Synonyms: rely on, depend on, confidence, faith.
Antonyms: distrust, doubt, mistrust.
My optional definition of trust:
A complete faith in someone or something: This trust will compel you, in accordance with the someone or something, to do things that seem totally crazy. Though this kind of trust opens you up and makes you vulnerable to whatever or whoever you trust, it is also very freeing. So, set your trust on the right something
or someone (God:) and start living in light of that trust.

People in the Bible that trusted God:
Abraham-trusted God would make of him a great nation. Hebrews 11:19
Shadrach Meshach and Abedego- trusted God enough to brave a firing furnace. Daniel 3:17
Joseph-trusted God to work all out for good...even in a prison. Genisis 45:7-8
David-trusted God would make him king in His own good time. I Samuel 26:8-11, 2 Samuel2:1,6,7
The woman with an issue of blood-trusted that just touching Jesus would heal her! Luke 8:43:48
There are so many other examples. So, take up your Bible and start reading :)

Bible verses on trust...I find this fascinating!
Proverbs 28:26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered .
Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Psalm 9:10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
 Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
How can we know that we can trust in God.
 Micah 7:18-19 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
 Hebrews 6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 
 Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
When we trust in ourselves, we are termed a fool. Let us trust in God, who is perfect. He will never lead us astray.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
― Corrie ten Boom

But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through.”
―Francis Chen, Crazy Love

“Wait on the Lord" is a constant refrain in the Psalms, and it is a necessary word, for God often keeps us waiting. He is not in such a hurry as we are, and it is not his way to give more light on the future than we need for action in the present, or to guide us more than one step at a time. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. When action is needed, light will come.”
-J.I Packer, Knowing God.

“God will never disappoint us… If deep in our hearts we suspect that God does not love us and cannot manage our affairs as well as we can, we certainly will not submit to His discipline. …To the unbeliever the fact of suffering only convinces him that God is not to be trusted, does not love us. To the believer, the opposite is true.”
-Elizabeth Elliot, Discipline

So there you have it...not an exhaustive study at all, I know:). I would highly encourage you to do a study of your own...Have a heart to learn, and the Lord will joyfully teach you!
If you have any thoughts are insights, please leave a comment below...we would love to hear from you!

“Behold me, here I am; thy little handmaiden Acceptance-with-Joy and all that is in my heart is thine.”
-Hannah Hurnard, Hinds Feet on High Places
 A prayer that should be in every true Christian's heart.
Signing off: Elizabeth J Mitton

-The pictures were taken around our property by Linda M, and  Marie M,