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!!

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