A Prayer Worth Praying...and Getting Prayed By Others For Me!

Carl was reading the beginning of Philippians for our family devotions this morning. We focused on the following passage:

Phil. 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.

What a prayer! I was meditating on the words and realized some things--love should have knowledge and insight. (Does mine? I desire that my love has knowledge and insight.)

Knowledgeable love causes the ability to discern what is "best...pure and blameless." (Do I have that discernment? I desire that I would have.)

This kind of love and discernment causes lavish fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ. (Do I have a fullness of righteous fruit? I desire it.)

I am going to start praying this prayer for the ones I pray for--and would definitely appreciate it if anyone prays for these specifics for me!

To the glory and praise of God.

Halloween Fun

Here they are--Princess Lily, Ladybug Hanna, Pippi Maggie, and Monkey Trey!

Julia was reading to Trey and Lily--Trey had borrowed Hanna's glasses so he could see the book better!

Cowboy Carl!

Maggie loves Benjamin, her bunny!

Trip to Nelson Farm..and our house is painted!

We were blessed to go out to Nelson Farm--thanks to Angie and her parents! It was fun to go on a hay ride and pick apples.











Hanna did Maggie and Lily's hair and got them all dressed up as princesses. Then she took their pictures:Our house--this is the new look! I know, I know, I should have done a before photo...
Trey is in his camo pjs--can you see him?

And here's the front--red door and all!

House Painting

Our house is getting painted! The painters are hard at work. They are painting the house "Lemongrass" (Kelly Moore Paint) with the gutters and fascia "Villita" and the window/door trim "Navajo White." Our front door will be a lovely "Bravado"--which is a dark burgundy! It is a bit harrowing wondering if it will look good or really, really bad (we also have to take the roof into account, which is a funky color). They will also paint our shed and playhouse to match--so we pulled all the ivy off. What a nightmare! The ivy roots are everywhere and my hands feel like I have arthritis from pulling and clipping all day Saturday. But hopefully it will look great when it's all done. Now I have to decide on the deck today 'cause that's getting painted too. And the color of the bench by the front entrance.

Ah, the lovely sound of the air compressor! My kids are all excited, although Lily keeps crying and saying she wants the old color. :( Change can be hard.

Good song I heard while jogging today...

Toby McKeehan -- Suddenly

She blew everything to pieces
He's there hangin' on to Jesus
She broke everything about him down
He said he never saw it coming
Until the day she dropped the bomb
And she broke everything about him down
Sometimes there's nothing left but to believe

Chorus:
And suddenly all of it's behind you
And I'm here to remind you
That yesterday is gone so say goodbye
And suddenly the skies open above you
And someone really loves you
Now everything's alive...everything's alive

She's there broken into pieces
But he swears he doesn't really see it
When she says that all of it was so unfair
Hope road is just around the corner
It's one place there's never been a foreigner
'Cause God's love makes everybody welcome there
Sometimes there nothing left but to believe

Chorus:
And suddenly all of it's behind you
And I'm here to remind you
That yesterday is gone so say goodbye
And suddenly the skies open above you
And Jesus really loves you
Now everything's alive...everything's alive

Sometimes it's in an instant
Sometimes we wait for years
But it comes down to the moment when faith eclipses fear
Your wandering is over
The other side is real
You've broken through
Your mountain moved
And mercy is revealed, His mercy is revealed, yeah
Yesterday is gone, gone...

Chorus:
And suddenly all of it's behind you
And I'm here to remind you
That yesterday is gone so wave goodbye
And finally the skies open around you
And love has truly found you
Now everything is alive...everything's alive
Everything's alive
Sometimes there's nothing left but to believe

Trip to Santa Barbara and Ventura, October 2009

It was wonderful to spend a few days in Santa Barbara with Georg, Jacqueline, and their 4 kids. The cousins had so much fun playing together.

We went to Channel Island Visitor Center in Ventura with Opa and Heidi while Carl surfed. The tide pool was fascinating with all sorts of fish and creatures inhabiting it.

Hanna and Christine

Lily and Sophia

Planning a charade

Lily and Sophia watch the charade and try to guess.

Playing "charades."

Fun in the hot tub...even in the rain.

On the beach in Santa Barbara by the Mesa steps.

Silly faces.

Cousins: Trey, Maggie, Louise, Philip, Christine, Hanna, Sophia, and Lily

We enjoyed catching up with Georg and Jacqueline, eating yummy sushi, playing with the cousins, and seeing dad and Heidi.

What I saw at the backdoor...

The kids played dress-up, and Trey was in his trusty monkey suit (he doesn't have much of a selection for dress-up, poor guy!) He doesn't know quite what to do when they are ballerinas, or princesses, or pioneer girls.

Trey and Lily were playing together yesterday and I heard them calling each other "Joseph" and "Mary." Trey said, "Mary, you a good woman!" So funny! Trey's favorite clothes are actually his pjs--the soft, cotton kind. I need to get him some new ones soon because his are so small now, and his belly shows :)