Branson MO 2015~Day 1

Our family has just returned from our summer vacation to Branson, MO. We have been going there for the past 10+ years, and it is one of my favorite spots.

Hello Missouri!

I got some new songs for my IPod for the trip, and this one was my favorite!

We started early and made good time. We arrived at our bed and breakfast at 2:30, and after quickly unloading our luggage, we headed to Silver Dollar City for the evening to check out their new area, Fireman's Landing.

Hannah on the swings

Jacob and Sam on Up the Ladder

To be continued.....

His Gaze

It was the first time that I heard His voice

Above the gentle whisper of the sea.

I felt inside that He had made His choice,

And that somehow, He had included me.

As I looked upon the open book that was His face,

I read there every comfort from above.

His compassion looked beyond all my disgrace,

And saw someone He could build a kingdom on.

His gaze was kindness, but His stare was stone.

Could break your heart, or somehow make you whole.

Cause when He looked at you, you felt you were completely known.

Because, you see, He saw you with His soul.

Our eyes met once across a barren place.
Where I denied I even knew His name.
What broke my heart was not the look upon His face, 
But knowing that He loved me still the same.
It is the very way He looks upon us all.
This moment seeing all that we might be.
No hint of condemnation can be seen within His eyes.
For He has been condemned for you and me.

Out My Window

Severe weather today. Welcome to Oklahoma in May.

Dori- "Master Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?"

Gandalf- "It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done."

Sulphur, OK

Hannah is turning 5 this month, and one of her wishes was to go camping. So we took a little weekend trip to Sulphur, OK. 

At our campground:

Hannah on the Seesaw

We went hiking at the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

"The Road goes ever on and on...."

Lake Arbuckle: For someone who doesn't have an abundance of beautiful landscape at her fingertips, Lake Arbuckle was a beauty to behold.

Joy of Easter All Year

The highest day of the year for the Christian has come and gone. There is a special joy that comes on Easter Sunday. It's an special gladness because at this time, you take time to meditate on the glorious truth that He is risen indeed.

I want this joy to last.

Feelings are fleeting and will pass away. But how do you keep the joy of the resurrection in your heart all year long?

The sad and puzzling thing about it is, keeping that joy alive will take work.

Why should it be hard to keep this joy alive? After all, we have been given the greatest gift of all. Jesus bore the Father's wrath for us, and has conquered death in His resurrection. Our sin nature has lost mastery over us. We are guaranteed life eternal.

The answer is simple. Even though our sin nature has lost its mastery over us, it is still trying its hardest to win it back. So our new nature must fight back. Fight hard. We must lead our hearts back to the cross and tomb over and over again. Sometimes your heart will struggle against your leading. 

But Christ never promised us it would be easy.

But He did promise to be there with us.

How do we know He will be there?

Because He isn't in the tomb.

He is risen!

Happy Easter!

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?  He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,  saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”~ Luke 24:1-7

He will claim His lost possession.

Repossess you, pay the cost.

He will purchase you for freedom.

He will find all that was lost.

~From 'All That Was Lost' by Michael Card

Come, Sinners View

Come, sinners, view the Lamb of God,
Wounded and dying, bathed in blood!

Behold, His side, and venture near,

The well of endless life is here.

Here I forget my cares and pains.

I drink yet still my thirst remains;

Only the fountainhead above

Can satisfy the thirst of love.

His thorns and nails pierce through my heart,

In ev'ry groan I bear a part;

I view His wounds with streaming eyes:

But see He bows His head and dies!

Oh that I thus could always feel! 

Lord, more and more your love reveal!

Then my glad tongue shall loud proclaim

The grace and glory of Your Name.



From 'Christ is our Cornerstone' 

Click here to listen