Quite A Week

Ever line up dominoes and watch them knock each other down? Well, our week has been sort of like tumbling dominoes. One thing has led to another which has then led to another, down a chain of events. But first, some background . . .

A few months ago, Kregg put in a sprinkler system in the back yard. The drought persists and we are trying to keep our trees alive. Anyway, a while after the installation he noticed a problem.

We have a shop in the back yard. That's where we store all kinds of stuff from the kid's baby beds to the Christmas decorations. It's also where Kregg does his woodworking. But for some unknown reason, there was no power to the shop. Weird, right? He checked all the obvious things. No luck.

The rest of this post is at the new Antbed . . .

Teaching Discernment Using Proverbs, A Link-Up In "Pages in Our Heritage of Faith"

Like all of you, we have read Bible stories to the kids from the beginning. As they grew old enough, we began talking with them about the Truths found within those stories and how we could apply those Truths to our lives. Today, our homeschoolers completed an assignment from "The Mystery of History" that required them to apply Truth to the story of Samson, judge of Israel.

After digging into the text, they were to list each of Samson's poor choices and what those choices implied about his character. That part of the assignment was great. But then we got to the really good stuff!

The rest of this post is here.

Before You Leave Home . . .

 

The day of your wedding is almost here, sweetheart. 


Between your job and your classes, we don't see much of you right now. 


And when we do see you, there are wedding plans to be discussed, logistics for your move to be arranged, family business to talk over. 


"Did you mail those Thank You notes? Have you chosen the music? Which pictures does Kris still need for his slide show? How did your presentation go in class today? How was work?" 


In the flurry of activity around here, we don't want to miss out on the "big stuff." 


We need you to remember the really important things. Yes, you've heard them all before. In the context of your last few weeks of living at home, however, we feel a sense of urgency to make sure you really hear them and that they have taken root deep within your soul. 


Off the top of my head, here are a few of them:


You can read the rest at the new Antbed . . .

The Faithfulness of My Husband: A Link-Up in "Pages in Our Heritage of Faith"

"Boom Pa and Baby Samuel"

We've come many miles over the last almost 27 years. This marriage business is serious. And glorious. And hilarious, in our case.

We've had things pretty easy, compared to many people we know.

And yet, looking back, I realize that things haven't been easy at all. Especially for Kregg. :)

Read the rest here . . .

Glimpses of Glory: A Link-Up in "Pages in Our Heritage of Faith"

Mama's hearts are so very tender.

We have such hopes for our children.

And we love them more than life, itself.

That love makes us vulnerable. It costs us everything. Over and over again.
             

Some children are even-keeled and compliant from birth. Others come forth from the womb just itchin' for a fight. I have some of each model. And mothering them well requires complete, constant, conscious dependence on our Loving Father.

The rest of this post is HERE.

This Blogspot version of the Antbed is soon to be no more. The NEW AND IMPROVED ANTBED is HERE. If you'd like to continue reading about the Ants, please change the Antbed's address. 

Zoology and Entomology, Afield

It is amazing, when we look closely, how many "critters" may be found. While in the Hill Country Friday and part of Saturday, the kids captured lots of new pets, and observed many others. Everyone of them is a miracle of Design and reveals to us the creativity of the Father. What a fascinating world He gave us!



This is a clutch of turkey eggs. Next time we visit, it will be fun to see if they have hatched.

Just wait until you see what else we found! The rest of this post is at the new blog, here. 

The Glory of His Artistry

The rest of this post is located here . . .

Another Whirlwind Trip

It was off to Bandera again for another whirlwind trip filled with cedar removal and barn planning and lots of driving. (One of these days, we might be there long enough to meet one of my sweet blogging buddies who lives near there--the wonderful Lisa of the nine children)

We had a slight problem en-route. The hydraulic jack was at home in the garage. And the crank for the jack in the truck was mysteriously missing. Kregg figured out another solution for that problem, using a flat head screwdriver, a crescent wrench, and LOTS of elbow grease. I stood beside the road praying because the section of road where this happened barely had a shoulder. To be able to get the jack under the axle, we had to be on the edge of pavement, which left us about two feet inside the lane of traffic. It was unnerving to have semi trucks pass each other while squeezing past us. Thankfully, the Lord protected everyone.

You can read the rest here . . .

Sanctification: A Link-Up in "Pages in Our Heritage of Faith"

“Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man, after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness. “

It is the process by which those indwelled by the Holy Spirit are transformed into the likeness of Christ. That transformation continues as long as we are encased in these earthly bodies. The pace of change depends greatly on our submission to the work of the Spirit in our lives. If we are stubborn and prideful, progress can be painstakingly slow. If we are yielded and pliable, the Spirit can move us more quickly down the path.

Read the rest HERE! :)

Trophies of Grace

photo credit

On the drive last week, I was listening to lots of worship music and a phrase jumped out at me that I don't recall having heard before. Dennis Jernigan called those in his audience "Trophies of Grace." I love that!

Everyone of us represents for our Father a victory won by the Gift of His Grace.

That is the exact opposite of all that we hear from the evil one and from the toxic message with which he has infused the world.

Is it hard to think of yourself as a Trophy of Grace?  Do you feel like a trophy?

The Victory Christ won for us on the cross makes it irrevocably true for all eternity!

No matter how you feel about it, it is true. Unchangeable, immovable, absolute.

Read the rest at the new Antbed,  here.

Pride: The Enemy of Our Souls

I grew up being reminded regularly of the evil of pride. In an effort to prevent pride from taking root in our souls, we were never told by our parents that they were proud of us or of anything else. They were encouraging and supportive, but they believed it was wrong to describe that as pride.

I understand what they were trying to do, but it didn’t prevent pride at all. Just avoiding the word without focusing on the replacements for it served to confuse, I think, rather than clarify and equip. That’s not intended as a criticism, just a reality check.

Pride is such an insidious, deceptive enemy of our souls.

You can read the rest here . . .