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!!

In Jesus Name!!

Recently our family have had several opportunities to minister together to some who may occasionally be overlooked...

The Saturday before Easter Sunday, we piled into our two vehicles and headed for a old folks home in Roseau. We were able to sing a variety of songs, talk with quite a few of the elderly, and (praise the Lord) Dad was able to clearly share the gospel!!

Playing Prelude.

Visiting.

A Duet..."All That I Need"

 Last weekend found us in The Cities. Our family was greatly blessed with Victoria, and due to her life we've had many avenues of service. One of these is making and serving meals at the Ronald McDonald house. It's hard to see so much suffering and heartache. It's really a blessing to serve all that come, knowing that we are helping  a physical need in these peoples lives. Hearing people share challenges they are facing makes me realize how blessed I am, and how ungrateful I am at times for so many simple things of life that God daily provides for me.
One family had an eighteen year old son that was dying. They were Christians, and their testimony was beautiful to see. Through everything they still showed gratefulness, joy, and trust in a Great God who never makes mistakes.

Pillows for the children in the hospitals. They are kind of like a stuffed animal for the kids...they are also used for repositioning and helping a child keep comfortable. We were also able to make some tied quilts for the hospital.

Amazingly, we met up with the family that we gave Victoria's stroller to last year!! We appreciate this family and this little girl is so sweet!  :)

The Three Musketeers cleaning and organizing games in the Ronald McDonald Family Room.

Caleb cleaning and organizing DVD's.

For Friday's dinner we served Mexican lasagna, cheese buns, salad, and apple crisp. There were 67 people that came...There was extra people due to an accident and an overload of family and friends that came in support of those in the accident.

Marie ready to serve drinks and apple crisp.

For Saturday Brunch, we served fruit, yogurt, scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, mini muffins, and juice.

The master chefs. The scrambled eggs were given a B+ by a young man who ate them...the eggs might have been given a higher rating if they had been better than what the young man himself could make:):)

We stayed Saturday night coming home Sunday, and had time for some swimming, Dutch Blitz, shopping, and workout fun on a couple different machines:)

  Monday, the Bright Lights group that Rachel and I are involved with, went to the Warroad Senior Living Center. My cousin did a chalk talk, while Rachel and I read from the Bible of the death and resurrection of Christ. The bright lights group sang a couple of songs and recited Psalm 1. We also made Resurrection Buns for the coffee time after the program. It was neat to serve the residents and talk with them. Thanks so much to all who made the treats,  and for Jessica J. for playing the piano!

"Blessed is the Man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful..."

"Lord I will shine your light, with joy and a smile that's bright. I will seek you all my days, Lord I want to know your ways, in this world of night Lord I will shine your light."

^"33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
³⁴ Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do..."

^{Matthew 25:40} And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me

The Power of the Cross.

²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. I Peter 2:24


¹⁸ Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
¹⁹ But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: I Peter 1:18-19


²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 
II Corinthians 5:21


 ⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7

Thank-You God for the cross!!!

The Little Joys of Life!

 We like to sometimes do things spur of the moment. March 6th was one of those days. It was just a normal Friday; school and different jobs were filling up the day, when Mom had an idea..."Lets go to Bemis Hill." A statement which put the kids into quite an excited mood :)

It did not take long to communicate to Dad who was at work, collect the necessary items, and pile into the van. All said, it was a very fun afternoon. Sledding, Family Time, Creation, Over the fire food, Singing hymns together...life can't get much better :)

Warm, crackling, smokey, bright...adjectives that all describe the fire that Daddy prepared.

Esther!!

It's a long trek up :)

Cooking your hotdogs is so much fun. And they taste so good when you've been sledding for a while:)

"What is the best route down to the bottom without spilling out?":) Thankfully we left Bemis Hill with nothing more serious than some sore muscles!

~"This is the Day that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."~

Marie loves to write. One day she wrote a fun, short mystery to preform in skit form for Mom and Dad. A valuable picture is stolen, a detective is called, a suspect is apprehended, and justice is served:)

The terrifying robber!!

The brave queen!!

The resourceful detective!!

 

A post would not be complete without a few pictures of our sweet 5 month old nephew (grandson:)!

~"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD and the fruit of the womb is his reward"~

"Joy is one of those rare treasures that is multiplied by giving it away" ~Unknown~

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Ps. 16:11                           

Happy and Godly New Year

"Great is Thy Faithfulness".  This year, as always, our Great God has remained faithful in His dealings with us. The year has come and gone, and I am just now sitting down to write, Merry Christmas, and a very happy and Godly new year.
As you can see, the addition of our little grandson Cedric Paul , born on Oct. 20th, was the big event of the year. So wonderful being called "grandpa" for the first time, and not just because I am getting old. Ben and Emily still live about 2 hrs away, so its nice to be able to see them every month. Please pray for them as they live out the faith in that area.
Reuben decided to go down to Sioux Falls S.D to work in construction this year. He actually went down to apply for a firefighting position down there, but of the 400 or so applicants,  20 were chosen, and he was not one of them. He has been busy roofing, hanging gutter, and finishing up his EMT courses, which he has done and has passed his national test successfully.  Please be in prayer for him as he seeks God's direction for his life, and that he would grow in his walk with God.
Elizabeth has been a nanny this year to two little ones, so 5 days a week finds her playing with, entertaining, working with and teaching them.
Rachel could have graduated this year, but decided that there were still some courses that she wanted to acquire, so she is still a regular at "Northern Pines Academy". She is one of the most disciplined people I know. This year, her and her sister plan on starting a discipleship group for young ladies called Bright Lights. A highlight for her was to go down to Florida for what is called "The National Bible Bee". A scripture memory competition.  Matthew (the bodyguard) and Mother travelled down with her. Needless to say, they had a great time, and even found time to swim in the ocean...for the first time.
A highlight for Matt this year was to get his permit...and to get to be taller than Dad. The other kids keep us young...at least at heart anyways. Our cup runs over.
Another highlight for our family was to travel to Toronto to join in the celebration for Bruce's mom....it was her 80th birthday. We had such a good time, and even manged to get there this time. After that, we headed back to Vankleek Hill, to where we used to live. It was so nice to connect with old friends from the Baptist church that we had pastored there. Such good memories. Another highlight was moving on to Ottawa to visit with Brian and Kim and family.  The trip to the parliment buildings was so educational, but even better was visiting with family.
This year, you would still find Bruce working at Marvin, helping to create windows, but he received a new postition, that of CNC programmer. It means he is back on day shift, working 5 days a week. So much to learn, but am enjoying it. He still fills in preaching and teaching, and still desires someday to do that fulltime again.
Linda, well, what can you say about my partner for these past 27 years.  A wonderful teacher, housewife, friend, gardner, seamstress , cook, and so much more. I think she loves being a grandma, and really enjoyed it when she went to "nurse" Emily and help look after Cedric. She finds time to volunteer as an election judge, at the second hand store, for the local cemetery, organizing a once year outing to Gilletes children's hospital to help serve at the Ronald McDonald house....in honor of Victoria, and this year we took on helping with a thanksgiving banquet for 100 plus people.
Its been a good year, but filled with tears and sorrow as well. If you can believe it, the house seemed quiet and empty after Victoria left us for heaven. It took a while to adjust, and so many things remind us of her.
As we enter the new year,  I am reminded of what Jesus said to "watch and Pray". Watch, because we don't know when our master will return. Watch how you live and what you love. Watch, for Satan as a roaring lion lurks about seeking whom he may devour. Pray, for yourself, your children (oh how strong is the appeal of this world), for your church, and for those perishing without a Saviour. Pray, because you are so in love with Jesus, that you love spending time with Him. Pray, that in our weakness, we would be made strong, so that the glory and love of Jesus would shine through your family, and our family.

                                       Blessings on your year, Bruce, Linda and family.