Funeral Arrangements

Precious little Emme's funeral will be this Friday, February 27th at 11:00 am at Lakeside Baptist Church off of I-459. Graveside services will be at Elmwood Cemetary. Please continue to keep this family in prayer!

Emme Grace Forbes

Dear Friends,
The Lord has taken Emme to be with Him. She passed away about 1:45 pm today Sunday. We of course do not know any funeral details at this time. Please continue to uphold the Forbes family, Pastor Mark who has to prepare for the funeral now, and our entire church family in your prayers.
Our hearts are heavy with grief but we are so thankful to have gotten the chance to know this precious child. For those of you who do not know, Emme was adopted only a year ago from China. We do not know what higher purpose this might have held but we do know this:
Emme has had a wonderful year. She was able to experience a loving christian family which she had never known in China. She was able to have a mommy, a daddy, and two wonderful brothers. But most importantly she was able to hear the gospel. I realize her knowledge is limited at age 3; but just to be able hear the name of God spoken, to hear of our Savior Jesus Christ....all of this impossible in the orphanage in China!!! Just think of the power that is in just the name of our Sovereign Lord!!! We praise You, Lord for your work in Emme's life.
I will of course post any details when I find them out. Jenn

Prayer Needed!

This precious little girl who is pictured with Julia is her best friend and the child of one of our families at church. Her name is Emme Forbes. She is almost 4 years old. Friday night while at a debate tournament in Memphis, Tennessee she started having breathing difficulties, was taken to the ER, her heart stopped and was resusitated, and then had surgery on a hole in her stomach. As of noon today, she was on life support and unresponsive. This little girl needs a miracle! Please pray for Emme, the Forbes family, and Pastor Mark who is in Tennessee with the family at this time. 8:17 pm

Spurgeon's Jan.9th Evening

“Serve the Lord with gladness.”
Psalm 100:2
DELIGHT in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who serve God with a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving Him at all; they bring the form of homage, but the life is absent. Our God requires no slaves to grace His throne; He is the Lord of the empire of love, and would have His servants dressed in the livery of joy. The angels of God serve him with songs, not with groans; a murmur or a sigh would be a mutiny in their ranks. That obedience which is not voluntary is disobedience, for the Lord looketh at the heart, and if He seeth that we serve Him from force, and not because we love Him, He will reject our offering. Service coupled with cheerfulness is heart-service, and therefore true. Take away joyful willingness from the Christian, and you have removed the test of his sincerity. If a man be driven to battle, he is no patriot; but he who marches into the fray with flashing eye and beaming face, singing, “It is sweet for one’s country to die,” proves himself to be sincere in his patriotism. Cheerfulness is the support of our strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the remover of difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a railway carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and if there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will be clogged with weariness. The man who is cheerful in his service of God, proves that obedience is his element; he can sing,
“Make me to walk in Thy commands,
’Tis a delightful road.”
Reader, let us put this question—Do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master.

Missing Time??

Wow. What a week! I said in an earlier blog that I didn't go anywhere this week. Well, mom reminded me that I went to grandmas to clean on Monday, took grandma to the doctor on Tuesday, okay nothing Wednesday, groceries Thursday, and then a co-op board meeting on Friday! Plus, I homeschooled everyday. And Julia was sick which made her grumpy and clingy for a few days. Man, I was busier than I thought. But here is what is weird . . . I got more done this week than I have in a very long time. I am not bragging in this blog I promise! Keep reading to hear my point. Have you ever been driving and thinking about something and all of sudden realized you just drove say 15 miles and don't remember a thing about it! Honestly, here is something I don't like to share but my clothes were HORRIBLY behind. Everybody's sheets, quilts, clothes, AHHHHHH. Anyway, Wednesday I think, I noticed I had washed everything down to just a few loads! In fact it was the day I blogged and said my clothes were almost done. See? I couldn't believe it. Where did all those clothes go? Did I really wash them? Surely, I did, but I don't remember doing that many loads. PLUS, I have been back to my schedule so I have been keeping my house kept and my dishes washed immediately after each meal. So here it is. . . It feels like God has given me extra time this week or cleaned clothes for me. Really! You don't understand, my house had really gotten behind. Ask Amanda who came over on short notice and saw my house last week! I am convinced God was in this somehow. Maybe this was a blessing for me to help and encourage me to get in the bed on time everynight for my quiet time with Him! I don't know but I had to tell. Thank you Lord for your time and your mercies toward me.

A final thought... Psalm says "Serve the Lord with Gladness". When doing the "same ole' stuff" over and over (such as clothes) try to remember that as christian women we are doing this to the Glory of God. If we are moping and griping then we are not really serving Him at all! What a thought. I will put Spurgeon's afternoon devotion on the next post to help convict us a little more about serving with gladness.

Iachod Visuals

I wanted to give everyone an update with the Iachod Visuals Ministry. First of all, their website has been completely remodeled, so I urge you all to check it out at www.iachod.com .It should be free of errors and dead links, but should you run accross an error, a dead link, or you simply have a suggestion to help better our site, PLEASE do not hesitate to let them know.

They are a Christian Audio/Visuals ministry dedicated to making high quality truth filled documentaries. Presenting you with the scriptures alone is their main priority and next in line is quality. So far by God's granting alone, they have made 2 videos and are currently working on the next two. The first video is called "The Young Sun" and you can view a preview by clicking here http://www.iachod.com/theyoungsun.html, and the second video is called "The Heavens Declare: The Solar System" and again to view a preview click here http://www.iachod.com/theheavensdeclare.html

They are currently working on "The Heavens Declare: Beyond the Milky Way" and are working on a preview for that as well. This movie should be out by Summer 2009. The second movie, which also should be out by Summer 2009, is called "Of Man And Beast". We are all really excited about this one, and you can view the trailer by clicking here http://www.iachod.com/futurefilms.html

"The Young Sun" and "The Heavens Declare: The Solar System" will be tentatively airing starting on Tuesday 2/24/09. The time is still being decided, and the channel is NRB on Direct TV channel 378.

They also have free study guides for the first two videos online that would be great for all of you homeschool moms. These videos are great as family videos or church library videos even if you don't homeschool.

"Mighty to Save" by Spurgeon

"Mighty to Save" (Isaiah 63:1) BY the words “to save” we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the first holy desire onward to complete sanctification. The words are multum in parro: indeed, here is all mercy in one word. Christ is not only “mighty to save” those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him. Nay, this is not all the meaning, for the divine power is equally seen in the after-work. The life of a believer is a series of miracles wrought by “the Mighty God.” The bush burns, but is not consumed. He is mighty to keep His people holy after He has made them so, and to preserve them in His fear and love until he consummates their spiritual existence in heaven. Christ’s might doth not lie in making a believer and then leaving him to shift for himself; but He who begins the good work carries it on; He who imparts the first germ of life in the dead soul, prolongs the divine existence, and strengthens it until it bursts asunder every bond of sin, and the soul leaps from earth, perfected in glory. Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is “mighty to save.” You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm, and rouse it to put forth its strength. Does your own case trouble you? Fear not, for His strength is sufficient for you. Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is “mighty to save;” the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you. What a thousand mercies that you have not found Him mighty to destroy!

My clothes are almost caught up!

Well, my clothes are now almost caught up. This week has been great. For one thing I haven't went anywhere (that I remember) all week. Boy does that make a difference. Another thing is Michael is on first shift, so he takes Brother to karate! Another huge relief! Also no co-op this week. I love co-op but not having to prepare for Friday has been nice. And the weather . . . wonderful. I have had my doors open to let the house air out. The kids have also been able to play outside which helps alot.

I have also been back on my schedule. I don't know why I don't stick to it better. When my day is scheduled I get so much more done. For example here is my clothes schedule: Monday: Sarah/Daddy's Work Clothes Tuesday: Brothers/Mommys Clothes Wednesday: Julia/Towels
Thursday: Co-op outfits/Sheets Friday: Sunday outfits/Misc. The kids do their own clothes with the exception of Julia. As long as I stay on this schedule I usually have all my clothes done. Don't ask what happened but I got off my schedule???

Bedtime schedules are back in place now. 1st - Julia - 7:30/8:00 2nd - Brother - 8:30 3rd - Sarah/Me - 9:00 At 9:00 this means I am in pajamas with dishes done, lights out everywhere but my room and me ready for my quiet time with the Lord!! I love it. 9:00 to 10:00 I read my bible and pray. I have also started a notebook where I took a challenge to write down at least 1 verse a day. I am not journalling with it unless I want to , but just write one verse from what I have read. It kind of sticks with you that way. I love my time! At 10:00, I want to be in the dark, eyes closed trying to go to sleep. I feel like I need to be in order to get up at 4:00 am with Michael.

In case you want to try to schedule look for Terri Maxwell's book on scheduling "Managers of their Homes" at http://www.titus2.com/ > I love her stuff and the website! Gotta go! Bedtime!

My Little Helper

What a big girl nowadays! Always ready and willing to help mom. She also loves to sneak away with just mom to go shopping when she can. Sarah loves to read!!! Especially Junie B Jones and Magic Tree House. Her favorite hobby right now is collecting beanie babies and thanks to grandma...she has plenty! She is very responsible and has a new dog to show for it. The puppy's name is "Sweetie" and she is! Sweetie loves her master. When Sarah is gone...Sweetie mopes around the house or just lays somewhere waiting on her mommy!

Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary! Today 13 years ago we had just eloped. I had to work, but Michael didn't so he was running all over Ashville telling everybody. What a Day!

Genesis 2:18 "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."

Genesis 2:23 "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Mark "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

Ephesians 5:22-24 to the wives "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing"

Ephesians 5:25-29 to the husbands "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church."

I thank God for Michael and being allowed to enjoy marriage with him...one of the many blessings God has bestowed upon me while on His earth.

Julia Ruth "Princess" Lavender

I have never seen anyone like her before at this age. She is a little miss fancy pants all the time. Her favorite thing to wear would be the fanciest dress with everything else she could possibly get on! Adorable. She calls herself "Bubba's Queen".

He's a Brown Belt

Michael Jr. is now officially a Brown Belt in Tae Kwon Do. It will be one year this Friday since "Brother" started karate and now he is a brown belt. He is well on his way to Black!

Alabama Flag Cookies

This is one of my co-op Alabama History classes. Friday we made Alabama State Flag cookies. I think they all had a lot of fun. Even the high schoolers and mom helpers!!

Yes I Can!!!

Hey everyone!!

Well, I finally made it to blog world! Keep looking for posts on Michael Jr.'s karate ceremony, Alabama History class, and princess Julia!!