how firm a foundation

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

I was struck by the words of the old hymn as I was looking through the hymn book the other day. I had just received a catalog from the bookstore I ordered our homeschool materials from and noticed there are literally hundreds, even thousands, of "Christian" books on the market. Now, I'm an avid reader and have shelves full of books, but I certainly don't find life's answers in them. Certainly God has gifted authors to illustrate the truths found in His word, but not to rewrite them. This has been so heavy on my heart that I had to write something. In the midst of the world's upheaval, everyone is concerned about the economy, etc., but my great concern is for the church. So many authors and pastors embracing postmodernism and trying to be "relevant" and in the process, denying truth; claiming to follow Jesus, while not cherishing His Word. Jesus is the Word become flesh. We cannot be followers of Christ and not cling to His Word. No doubt this labels me as "narrow minded" or "in the box." This "labeling" used to bother me, but what does it matter? I suppose I am in a box-it's the box that God designed for us to live in. Will we ever understand God or His ways fully? No, but I trust that He will reveal to me all I need to know in the pages of His Word. Let us be like the Bereans and test everything by searching the Scriptures.

If we are His followers, we will not fit in with this world or feel comfortable in it. The words of the song "Heavenlies" have been in my mind a lot lately: "I'm living for the heavenlies...when all of You is all I see." It is my prayer that we not lose sight of the eternal. May we live with the purpose of pleasing Jesus. We are coming into troublesome times, so let's point others to the true Jesus who offers us refuge!

Here are the rest of the words to that great hymn:

“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

“The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

fort wilderness fun!

So after getting back late on Saturday night, we took off again the following night to spend a few days at Disney's Fort Wilderness with our friends, the Blunts. We had such a good time! Today is back to reality and an extraordinarily messy house and mounds of laundry. I guess that's life...



Kenzie collecting firewood



The Clampettmobile. Yes, that is a king size mattress on the roof. Donathan doesn't believe in air mattresses. It was pretty comfortable, I must say.

Naptime





Blackmail material in 10 years

We took the boat over to Disney's Contemporary Resort and then rode the Monorail. Cheap fun!





We are now true Floridians and can't survive 45 degree weather without a heater.



Bundled up at the campfire sing-a-long


What a crazy bunch!







The best part of Fort Wilderness is riding bikes, plus it kept Kylie happy as long as she was moving.

home again

Donathan, Kylie and I just got back last night from a week in California. We spent three days at the Worship Leader's Conference in Murrieta. The conference was wonderful. It's always good to get away and be refreshed in the Word and worship and fellowship with old friends and make new ones. We stayed two extra days to visit with friends and family and, of course, eat good food, of which there is a serious lack here in Vero Beach. Here's just a few pics from our time together.

Donathan on the Balboa Ferry, pining for the lost days of sailing in Newport Harbor


Kylie eating grass on Lookout Point. It was such a beautiful day!

We stopped in at CCCM to say hi and Kay happened to be there. So glad we got to see her.

Kylie's first ride on the carousel at Fashion Island


She likes Wahoos!

Fall Party

Here's just a few pics from last night. The kids had a blast-thanks to the Blunts for hosting!