Handsome Pants

My little handsome man has been sick the past three weeks. First it was strep throat, then it was viral stomatitis with painful ulcers in his mouth, and now it is vomiting. He hasn't eaten more then a handful the past three weeks, and won't eat anything that isn't a "cracker" or a "cookie". Thank goodness he is still drinking. However, we think he might have developed an allergy to milk...which is about the only thing he will put in his mouth...NOW WHAT!?! In the meantime he is still the handsomest man I ever did see :)

A little outdoor fun...

Finally it has warmed up a little in Fairbanks (here, 8 above is warm!)...We have had 3 days of snow, and with snow comes a little warmer temperatures. Zac tells me it will be snowing for at least the next 3 days ....so we are looking at A LOT of snow. Since it has warmed up we decided to take Avery out and see how he likes playing in all this white stuff. The first time we tried this back in October he really hated it...not because of the snow but because he had to get all bundled up and he HATES that. I guess he has out grown that a little cause he had a BLAST and cried when I had to bring him in. The only part he disliked was having  gloves on. 

Winter is here

Well, it's that time of year again...It's actually kind of strange because it feels like winter never really left. Like it was always here. Even though we had those wonderful months of spring summer and fall, all of a sudden it feels like it has always been winter. Oh, I'm not complaining or anything...I love snow, it's just a weird feeling. When we first arrived here in Fairbanks all you could see was snow, it covered everything. So, when we woke up the other morning abd all you could see was snow, it was like Deja Vu. We won't see the ground again for another 6-7 months...crazy huh. Time to go purchase a sled, some cross country skies and maybe a few sled dogs.

Bathtubs

So this was a few weeks back because I am WAY behind on keeping my family updated...but they always say better late then never...right!?! 

While Avery's PawPaw and Uncle Todd were here staying at a hotel, Avery had the luxury of taking a bath in their tub. We all know he loves water and this was no exception. He splished and splashed and sprayed water all over the bathroom, but the clean up was well worth the joy he got from playing in the tub. I often contemplate staying in a hotel once a month here in Fairbanks just so the child could take a bath...is that crazy? Yes, yes I think it is. He gets showers with us now, but its just not the same as a bath. And how long before he's to old to take showers with us...yikes, we'll deal with that hurdle when we get to it. For now enjoy a few pictures of Avery having the time of his life in a hotel bath tub.

Realizing the Will of God

How many of us struggle with the issue of knowing the will of God for our lives? We struggle and stress, cry and pray, and spend a lot of time wondering if we are IN the will of God...am I right or am I the only one? Yesterday in Sunday school we watched a video by Ray Vanderlaan about the Israelites coming up out of the Red Sea, and what that must have been like. What does that have to do with knowing the will of God??? Well, as I was watching it I was just consumed and set ablaze with the thought that the same power that split the Red Sea and held back the waters while they crossed, that same power that rose Christ from the dead, LIVES inside of a believer. Nothing is impossible with God, and all the promises of God are Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus. One of the promises we have as a believer is that when we accept Christ we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, sealed with that same power. Now, the will of God is that His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I would suggest that being in His will positions you to see the impossible, to see miracles, to radically intervene and disrupt the life of someone headed to hell and show them the way to the cross. God's will is that all might be saved, healed, set free, delivered, and rescued from the curse of death. How can we be content with a nominal Christian life when the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives inside of us, when the Spirit of God inside of us knows there is so much  more for us in the Kingdom...in His will for us. Coming to the realization that as a Christian I was put here to do the will of God on earth as it is in heaven, and that in heaven there is no sickness, no disease, but complete health, joy and peace...well that is extremely exciting to me. The will of God is not unknown, if what you are asking lines up with the Kingdom of God, then go for it, if it doesn't pass it by. 

Mommy and Avery checking out the "birds"

Sweet silly boy

"Where's your tongue Avery?"

Maegan and Avery

Family Portrait

Denali!!!!!!!

Positioning

Was really encouraged by this word the other day...especially since Zac and I have moved to Alaska after we felt the Lord calling us here. Although it is EXTREMELY hard to be away from family and friends we have to stand firm on the call  and stay in position even when we can't exactly see the wave on the horizon.

"Great spiritual movements are often referred to as waves of the Holy Spirit because they move like waves of the ocean. To ride a wave requires balance and skill, but those would not matter if one did not also have the ability to discern where the wave is going to break and get into position at the right place and time. Even then, the wave rider cannot be idle but must be moving in the right direction when the wave comes.

One reason so many Christians have been repositioned in recent times is because the Holy Spirit is helping them get into position to catch the spiritual waves they are called to ride. There is a great wave of the Holy Spirit that is about to move across the entire earth, but it is still crucial for every individual to be in the place that they have been called.

The Holy Spirit is omnipresent, so we may think that it does not make a difference if we are in a specific location, but it can make all the difference in the world for us. The Lord Jesus appeared to more than five hundred people after His resurrection, and He instructed them to go and wait for the promise of the Father in Jerusalem. Three hundred and eighty did not wait long enough and missed the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Hopefully those who were of the three hundred eighty received this promise later through the Church, but we do not know for sure. Certainly the Lord is gracious, but as the Apostle Paul warned, we must behold both His kindness and His severity. God resists the proud, and it is the pride that caused the fall in the first place, which has us thinking we do not need to obey the Lord, but rather we can attain by our own means.

We are told in Hebrews 6:12 to be imitators of those who through "faith and patience inherit the promises." Waiting forty days in Jerusalem did require patience, and it sifted out those who did not have it. Impatience is not a fruit of the Spirit, and those who are led by their impatience will not be led by the Spirit. Three hundred and eighty did not fully obey the Lord, and they missed Him on the Day of Pentecost. Being in the right place is one of the telltale signs that we live our lives in obedience to the Lord. He told us not to call Him "Lord" if we do not do what He says. Only those who follow Him, obeying Him as Lord, will be in the right place at the right time to receive what is promised.

Impatience is a main reason why some never receive their promises.Another reason why opportunities, great movements, and visitations of the Lord are missed by so many is that their vision is clouded by the affairs of everyday life. Few are able to pull themselves away from the clamor of their lives to climb up to a place of vision where they can see with His eyes. This is why the Lord rebuked those who could perceive the signs of impending weather better than the signs of the times. The weather affected their everyday lives, and this is what they had most of their attention on. To discern the purposes of the Lord, they have to be our main focus. We must truly "seek first the Kingdom" in order to see its coming."- Rick Joyner

PawPaw and "Little Jack"

A few great shots of PawPaw and "Little Jack" aka Avery :)

Creation declares the Majesty of God

"Praise the Lord, my soul!

O Lord my God, you are very great.

    You are clothed with splendor and majesty. You cover yourself with light as though it were a robe.

    You stretch out the heavens as though they were curtains.You lay the beams of your home in the water.

    You use the clouds for your chariot.

    You move on the wings of the wind. You make your angels winds 

and your servants flames of fire. You set the earth on its foundations so that it can never be shaken." 

Psalm 104:1-5