Please Pray for This Family

Developing Story: Faithful Father of Thirteen Gives His Life for His Children In Alabama Tornado Destruction.

 Here is the link to the story.

http://www.visionforum.com/news/blogs/doug/2011/04/9416/ 

 

 

Happy Resurrection Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ! HE IS ALIVE!!! HALLELUJAH TO THE LAMB OF GOD!

Psalm 18:27

For thou wilt save the afflicted people. This verse contains the correction of a mistake into which we are very ready to fall. As experience shows that the merciful are often severely afflicted, and the sincere involved in troubles of a very distressing description, to prevent any from regarding the statement as false that God deals mercifully with the merciful, David admonishes us that we must wait for the end; for although God does not immediately run to succor the good, yet, after having exercised their patience for a time. he lifts them up from the dust on which they lay prostrate, and brings effectual relief to them, even when they were in despair. Whence it follows that we ought only to judge by the issue how God shows himself merciful towards the merciful and pure towards the pure. If he did not keep his people in suspense and waiting long for deliverance from affliction, it could not be said that it is his prerogative to save the afflicted. And it is no small consolation, in the midst of our adversities, to know that God purposely delays to communicate his assistance, with which otherwise is quite prepared, that we may experience his goodness in saving us after we have been afflicted and brought low.

~Calvin

Parallel Classic Commentary on the Psalms

Love the Church

 Hello to all our Friends who have stuck with us through these past few months of technical blog problems and a general lack of motivation due to household business. Well, through indecisiveness on whether to kill it or keep it, we're not sure what we'll do with the blog but for now we've decided to keep posting. So enjoy Part 2 of the Love the Church Conference.

Thursday evening, we eagerly anticipate the first lecture.

While we were waiting, we met the delightful Mrs. Morecraft!

and took our picture with her!

I just had time to say hello to the Kuczewski's and snap a picture of Zoe and then Peter Braderick announced that it was time to welcome Mr. Scott Brown for the first lecture of the conference!

Scott Brown began the conference on Friday evening with:
Christ's Love for the Church

• Family idolatry can be a sin that leads to lack of love for the church. Jesus did not let His earthly family keep Him from His task to serve His Heavenly Father. Christ said that if we love our families more than Him, we are not worthy of Him. We must seek and pursue Him in faith, obeying Him, rather than idolizing our families.
• Christ personally identifies with the Church. When Saul persecuted the Church, Christ asked Saul why he was persecuting Him (Acts 9:1-5). In Matthew 25, Jesus says that what you do to a Christian, you are doing to Christ Himself.
• Mr. Brown finished by describing many, many of the ways Christ loves His church. Would we shed our blood for the church? Would we retrain our affections to love and prioritize her? Would we take up His cross and follow Him? Would we have the mind of Christ toward the church?

Joel Beeke

"Cherishing the Church"

Dr. Beeke’s text was the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:18, “Upon this rock I will build my church.”

• The status of the church as belonging to Christ: “My church.” Christ died for the church to purchase her, and if He was willing to die for her, shouldn’t we cherish her at least enough to live for her? We are often quick to criticize, but we should only do this like Jeremiah with tears streaming down our faces, weeping for her spiritual whoredom and adulteries. Jesus was also exalted to God’s right hand to make intercession for the church; though this doctrine is severely under-emphasized in ecclesiology, without this intercession, we would all be lost in an instant. Finally, Jesus earned the word “My,” referring to His bride the church, by the proclamation of the Gospel.

• The substance of the church as founded upon Christ: “This rock.” This is a phrase over which blood has been spilled in history. Although Rome claims these words as the basis for its authority, Protestants insist that it refers to the divine revelation from which Peter’s confession sprang. Jesus’ words refer not to the natural and unstable reasoning of Peter, but rather to the divine sonship of Jesus. The substance of the church is three-fold: 1) Christ is the undergirding cornerstone (I Cor. 3:11). 2) The apostles build their doctrine on Christ as the Chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20). 3) All the bricks form the building, the new Jerusalem, the true believers who are living stones built on the foundation of the apostles, who are in turn built on Christ the cornerstone (I Pet. 2:4-5).

• The success of the church as the workmanship of Christ: “I will build.” This shows us five guarantees: 1) wonderful indestructibility (as Puritan Flavel said, we must not to be quick to bury the church before she is dead); 2) wonderful institution (the bride of Christ has lasted 2,000 years in unmatched splendor; it is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints); 3) wonderful individuality (we complain about the church’s messy building site, but we are part of the mess — we are all a work in progress, and God deals with us individually to be the exact stones He wants in His building); 4) wonderful churchly inheritance (we cherish the church for this — this inheritance is laid away and undefiled that we will one day receive); 5) wonderful invitation (Jesus has more work to do, as the world has not yet ended — we still invite people to come repent and believe the Gospel).

Paul Washer

"The Nature of Conversion"
"Conversion is not a superficial decision. Being born again is possibly a greater manifestation of God’s power than any of His other works. Salvation is taught in the Bible as a supernatural work of God. If He starts a work, He will finish it. The world should marvel at God’s power, faithfulness, mercy, and ability to transform. Salvation is for His own glory.
The great test of conversion is not how quickly you are growing but the manifestation of God’s providence in your life, that you cannot escape Him — that He has set about to do a work and will do it and finish it. The evidence of justification is sanctification, and the hope of glorification is the sanctifying work of God right now.
Do you have a desire for holiness? Do you want to follow God’s Word and know His will? Do you mourn when you find yourself outside of the will of God? Your clothes, books, and upbringing may be right, but is your heart right? Do you know Him? Are you a new creature? Are you being transformed, unable to escape the hand of God in your life? If not, be afraid. Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith.
Do you know Christ? Does He know you?"

"As we teach our Son to serve the Lord, in every way,
Lord the most important thing is this that we now pray,
Lord, we thank you everything you give us, but most importantly,
We pray Lord Jesus, make our Son a little boy on his knees.

Lord we thank you for everything you give us, but most importantly
We pray, Lord Jesus, make our Son,
A little boy on his knees.
We pray that someday he'll become,
A young man on his knees."

Friday

Friday morning while walking back to our hotel room which was on the complete opposite side of the Grounds, this kind man stopped to pick us up. Truth be told our legs were so tired we were hoping he would offer to drive us up and were very grateful that he did!

A quick gobbled down lunch and then back to the Conference Center.

 

Where Ruthie introduced me to the Denny's! 

Friday evening the Fournier's and our family met in our hotel room for dinner and to discuss the different lectures we had been too. I believe Hannah took this picture which would explain the low angle.

Exhausted

Not Exhausted

With one last effort she smiles for her friend before drifting off into the land of dreams. :)

Saturday

Saturday during break, while Mom was shopping at the Vendor Hall, we took the little people outside so they could breathe in the fresh air and empty their system of the energy they had been storing up while sitting and listening.

Photoshoot with Stephanie

♥ The Prince and his Princess ♥

*noses*

What a cutie!

With Mom's return we head back to the hotel room for lunch!

Chariti 'Oakley'

 
Back to the center a few hours later Tabitha and Zoe pose for a picture!

"Phone? Phone?" 

Zoe thinks my iPod is an iPhone and she loves playing with it :)

She's such a beautiful little girl! 

Judah!
We loved having The Kuczewski's at the conference with us! 

Several “Love the Church” Conference speakers shared candid and personal reflections about the event and what the Lord is doing among His people and throughout the world.

Mr. Phillips and Mr. Washer had more to talk about with each other.

I love seeing Triumph up there with his Dad. It's such a beautiful picture of the Father being an example to his son, raising him by his side. I guess Mr. Phillips liked seeing it too :)

In which Sgt.Sam shows Seth the proper position to hold a gun in.

http://onthefieldofbattle.com/

Awww! Doesn't he look cute?!?!

Jillian and Zoe
~
The last night at the Love the Church Conference we enjoyed an evening of fellowship discussion, and encouragement...

Seth playing with his new gun that Mrs. Tavares convinced Mom to buy for him :)

-The Story-
Seth was in the Vendors Hall with Mom for a little while and they passed by the Vision Forum table on which Seth saw a rifle! With eyes big, he wistfully asked Mom if he could "please have it"? To which Mom replied in the negative. With a broken heart and little tears in his eyes he gently laid his head on Mom's shoulder and did his best to play the man and bear himself with dignity. Mom; however, had not noticed that this was such a disappointment for him until Mrs. Tavares came by and asked if Seth was tired, and then Mom noticed the little tears and asked what was the matter. When Mrs. Tavares discovered that Mom had denied the gun request, she replied in laughing shock, "What's a boy without his gun??? He must have a gun!" And so his request was granted and he was a happier boy for it. Now, like a man, he uses his gun for the protection of the ladies and the defense of the innocent!

Back to the fellowship, 

Sarah plays with Judah who is fascinated with the hard white substances that are in her mouth but not in his. (teeth)

Pioneer woman! 

"She rode with an infant on her lap and a 3-yr old boy behind her...Each man and boy carried his rifle and ammunition, and each woman her pistol"

~Jane Trimble of the wagon train crossing the Appalachian Mountains heading to Kentucky in the year 1760~

Judah, such an adorable boy!

Hahaha...sorry, private joke. :D

Todd, Mr. Fournier and Mr. Arnette

Some of the ladies

Should I name them all?

Alright, here goes...

Mom, Mrs. Arnette, Mrs. Tavares, Ruth, Mrs. Fournier, Lilya and Elizabeth!

Matthew

Christine and Zoe
Beautiful girls! 

Ruth and Christine

 Let those be thy choicest companions who have made Christ their chief companion.

Thomas Brooks

We had over 60 people in our tiny hotel room!

A vital Christian, radiating that hidden beauty of the heart, is more attractive to the right sort of Christian man (the only kind you want) than the raving beauty who is hollow within.  A woman who is developing her domestic abilities, who is reasonably attractive, and who is a vital Christian in her own right is an irresistible person.

Jay E. Adams

♫Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! 

Happy birthday dear Mrs. Arnette! 

Happy birthday to youuuu!♪

The beautiful Arnette family

Mother and son

MORE GIRLS!!!! :D

Jonathan, Tim and Brandon

Coffee???

Meeting new friends

One of my favorite things about conferences is how we can meet someone new that we've never met before and then we can have conversations like we've known each other forever! Tis the beauty and joy of a friendship in which the Lord is the center of it!
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