Kingdom of Heaven

This memorial weekend we went to Gull Lake Bible Conference (family camp) and we had a wonderful time. The guest speaker was Ray Vanderlaan and his ministry is 'That the World May Know' and he talked about what 'Kingdom of Heaven' means. The song I have playing is one of my favorite songs and when you hear Ray teach God's word (especially from the Old Testament) I think of this song...shout to the the Lord all the earth let us sing, power and majesty praise to our King, mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name. I sing for joy at the works of your hands...

There is so much to say about what we learned but the one thing I did walk away with is that the way we treat others is how others see our God. Do you love your neighbor as yourself, do you turn the other cheek? Do we put others before ourselves, do we give the needy our best or second best? Are we obedient to God? Do you forgive as your Heavenly Father fogives you? God is sovereign ruler of all, do we accept him ruler in our lives?

Ray taught from the 'Torah' the first 5 books of the old Testament and then showed us where in the New Testament there were similarities, it was awesome. Ray gives tours in Israel, Turkey and now there is a trip in Egypt. I have been saving some money for Chris and I to take a trip to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary and Egypt was at the top of the list. I am thinking it would be awesome to go with Ray's ministry and visit Egypt to see what the Israelites went throught when they left Egypt and wandered in the desert for 40 years because of their disobedience, forgetfullness and unfaithfullness. The Word comes alive when you understand the culture. Ponder this thought, 'We need the faith OF Jesus, not just faith IN Jesus.'
The place for me to start is with my children and how I talk to them, treat them and live my faith infront of them.
Deut 6:4-8 ' Hear O'Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.'

His eye is always watching and His hand is always leading

Wow, what a beautiful day we are having today! 80's and sunny. The girls and I have been planting flowers, riding bikes, and enjoying the outdoors. This year each girl got 6 impatients (Caroline chose red so Cathryn got white to match) and they planted them themselve and will rotate watering them each day ( they are intermixed so we don't want to fight about who gets to water.)

Have I even started on Caroline's 'new bedroom'? Of course not! I am determined to start next week by painting the furniture we bought at a garage sale and go from there. She wants to move into her new room pronto. I have been putting it off because it has been raining on and off and I want to paint the furniture outside, now that it is warming up I have no excuse.

This weekend, we are off to Gull Lake Bible Conference (Kalamazo MI area). We are very excited to be by the water, doing outdoor activities and hearing the guest speaker, Ray Vanderlaan. Do you know of him? He gives tours in Israel and speaks about the Bible from the perspective of the Jews/Christians of Israel (during the times of the Bible). I love his teaching!
We go with Chris' parents and my sister in law and her family. The girls love being with their cousins! Two more sleeps away.

I will end off on this note, we are studying the book of Esther at church now. Did you know that God isn't even mentioned in this book of the Bible BUT God has placed Esther in her position to save the Jews. Once again His eye is always watching and His hand is always leading! This is encouraging to me because even though it seems like nothing is happening with our adoption, His eye is always watching and His hand is always leading. Not my will but your will be done Lord. Give me patience and prepare us for our son as well as him for our family!

Bulgarian Recipes

After reading Mary Ellen's private blog, about her trip to Bulgaria to visit their son, I had to look up some Bulgarian recipes. She kept mentioning that the food there was excellent and that us would be travelers are in for a treat. I would have to agree with her, especially if you like Greek food such as greek salads. Take a look at this website and drool. It would also be good to collect some of these recipes to incorporate into your family. I know I will. Does anyone know of any sites where you can order special Bulgarian foods? I will have to do some research. I noticed a restaurant opened up recently that serves Turkish, Greek food. We will have to check it out sometime. I would have to say my favorite foods are French,Italian, Greek, Thai and Mexican. Actually I would eat about anything except maybe eyeballs and brains. On that note take a look at these recipes!

http://www.passionateaboutfood.net/bulgarian.php

Reply from our State Representative

I got a reply from our State Representative, thanking me for my email and informing me that he is a co-sponsor of the Adoption Tax Credit! Nice Surprise. Take time to contact your senator or state representative today and let them know that you couldn't afford to adopt if it weren't for this tax credit and that they need to vote for it.

On a lighter note, this weekend the girls and I planted some perennials in the front of our house. We can't wait until they bloom! The tulips look beautiful. We planted Black eyed Susan's, Daisies, Echinecea and Dahlia's.

Caroline (6 yr old) has been practicing her 'shoe toss', sack race and running for field day on Wednesday. She loves it! She has been asking tons of questions about why they have to run into a ribbon, and won't it break etc.

We are so blessed with this beautiful weather, employment and our children (and so much more). Happy Mother's Day for Sunday, hopefully our little ones will be home this time next year!