Happy Spring!

We have long since been happily home from Arizona, but getting around to doing a blog post when back into the swing of normal life is sometimes challenging (don't we always have an excuse for not posting?!). We haven't completely given up on the blog, and still have things to share. Thank you to all who keep checking to see if we have added anything! :)

The LORD is always faithful, full of mercy and kindness, full of tender mercies and grace for His wayward children and He is so gentle in dealing with us as we desire to keep walking the straight and narrow way. He has been teaching me some neat (but hard) things recently I would like to share with you throughout this post (as I like to do with LOTS of pictures to sort of catch you up, so in advance I'm already apologizing for a long post, but that's just me I guess...)

Manda and I - sharing our hearts and always knits us closer together!

Have you ever sung hymns to the LORD, solo, just songs to the Creator? Although a morning voice is not always the most pleasing to the human ear, I know God doesn't care about the intonation and just desires that closeness of relationship with each of His children. One way I find my heart prepared to sit at His feet is by singing. In the Psalms, we read OVER and OVER about singing and making joyful noises to our LORD!
"I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me." ~Psalm 13:6
"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation." ~Psalm 95:1

My little flower girl! :) The one thing that made dandelions tolerable was the fact that we could pick as many as we wanted and make chains of all sizes for necklaces, crowns, bracelets and even a ring if you'll notice (creative Bekah!) since our lawn mower was not in working order. We helped clear at least ONE lawn! :)

I made a point of spending some extra time with my siblings before I left for 3 days to babysit 4 precious children as their parents left for Ukraine to adopt a little child! We made some special memories and enjoyed our walks, talks and flower-making excursions (we didn't have daisies sadly). I always love hearing what are on the hearts of my siblings and what they are thinking about and learning in life. Sometimes it just takes time to sit and listen!

I got to spend a total of 7 days with these sweet children! It was fun running the house and spending time with each child. We made some fun memories and I learned a lot about relying on the LORD in the easy and hard times. I think it's easy to just go through life and make the little decisions on our own, but really when we are seeking the LORD for every step of the way, we are blessed with His peace and wisdom which we needed all along. There were several difficult things I needed to learn to lean on the LORD for and when I was fearful or  without the help from my family, I had to turn to God - which is where I always SHOULD go anyways!

Such a special time.

One of the things I learned during this time was that even if I don't get to spend as much time in the Word as I would have liked in the mornings (these sweet children enjoyed the early hours as much as I do), I realized that God does not look at the AMOUNT that I can get read in His Word a day or even how much journaling I can do for a quiet time, but really it is about my relationship with Him, the fellowship I can have with Him THROUGHOUT the day through prayer and even if I was just able to read ONE verse and really meditate on that and allow His Word to change me, wouldn't that be just as profitable as reading 4 or 5 chapters and doing a bunch of journaling? I think I need to get out my box a little more and ask the LORD how He wants to speak to me TODAY instead of just assuming He will do it the same as He did yesterday. Have I applied what He taught me YESTERDAY? So if not, should I expect to receive a whole bunch more today? I think a lot more of my time should be spent in meditation of His Scriptures and asking the LORD how to APPLY what I have read instead of just moving on.

In the middle of my babysitting, we were able to attend our favorite conference for the year: the Christian Heritage Conference! What incredible blessings we received during that weekend of fellowship and instruction. Each of us older ones had the blessing to volunteer and enjoyed our positions greatly!

A dear friend of mine was a great instructor to prepare me for my position. I was able to be her personal assistant during the first part of the conference!

Amanda helped run the Christan Heritage booth, answer questions and keep a cheerful face to the many passers-by!

Emily LOVED helping out at the Answers in Genesis booth. She made some new friends and enjoyed helping people checkout.

We always love catching up with old friends and taking our yearly photos. Sadly Emily wasn't with us for this mini photoshoot, but our times for fellowship with sisters were encouraging.

One of the biggest things I was blessed by at the conference was the emphasis on spending time in God's Word.We may hear this a lot, but think about it: one of the BEST things we as single young ladies is to pour out ourselves to the LORD, search out His Scriptures diligently and really grow that relationship which is so crucial for our future as well. "There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband." 1 Corinthians 7:34 THIS is the time to get to know our Savior intimately while we are not having to run a home on our own! Also, using our time as daughters in our homes to be those beautiful pillars of support in our father's homes, to encourage them, serve our parents JOYFULLY and WILLINGLY. This will build up our families and help further their vision when they have the support of their daughters.

Greg helped record many sessions this year at the conference - he's so good at all that technical stuff! :) (I know it's a bad picture, but sadly I wasn't able to get any up-close photos of him at his duties)

Of course, one of our favorite parts about the whole conference is working with Mr. Craig to pull the chorale together in only 5 practice sessions! He's such an incredible director (and piano teacher)!

Chris, faithfully leading us in his wonderful piano playing each year.

In our chorale outfits!

My family dropped me off on Sunday after the conference to spend 4 more days with my 4 little charges. Such good friends!

I was glad my family didn't have to rush off before heading home. The children loved playing with my siblings too. :)

One special part about this time was that the children were able to Skype with their parents who were 10 hours ahead of them. That was always a sweet time to catch up and to be able to see each other! :)

I know John 15 is a very familiar and well-used passage, but I was excited to be there again as it always refreshes my soul and reminds me of the relationship I want to have with my Savior more and more. These are some of the thoughts I had:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." ~John 15:1-2
Any fruit-bearing tree in a well-tended vineyard will be evaluated, checked for growth, for fruit that is or isn't bearing, for the health of each branch and limb. A good husbandman will fertilize his trees, he will inspect the productivity of the tree and if a branch is dead, he will either prune it and give it more time, or chop it off because it is barren. If a tree is overcrowded, he will carefully purge out all the unnecessary twigs that will only distract and suck energy and life from the rest of fruit production. For a time, the tree may seem small and empty, but by the fall, new energy springs forth and an abundant crop of fruit and healthy branches will flourish and the husbandman will be well pleased. (We have experienced this same exact process with our apple trees!) This is a picture of the way our Father works in us, His children! If we are staying attached to the life-giving source, how can we help but bear fruit if we allow the Father to prune and trim us, address any diseased branches or over-crowded places in our hearts? But if we refuse His loving work in us, we will not bear fruit. And unfruitful and barren branches and trees are thrown into the fire. May WE continually abide in the LORD Jesus and embrace the work He wants to do in us.

One day, a friend from church came out to take a hike at a nearby park and then we stopped to see this dam. The power of the pressurized water was incredible!

We had a really special hike - a fun addition to our days at home.

When I got home, we had our monthly country night with a few families from our Bible study! It's always a fun way to learn some facts and culture of a new country, including the meals! Emily chose the recipes for us to try and we sisters sure enjoyed making the dishes together!

The lighting is bad, but we enjoyed using some more exotic fruits than we usually buy for one of the dishes. :)

This was the groundnut stew that we put together! Everyone enjoyed it.

The next series of pictures is a little taste into what our night on Turkey was like. Each country is different, if people dress accordingly or we sit on the floor according to the customary practices or whatever.

Then we have a presentation of the information each family has studied and we take turns sharing.

One of the things I was blessed by this morning was in 2 Chronicles where I've been reading recently.
"... for the battle is not yours, but God's... Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of hte LORD with you, O Judh and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you." ~2 Chronicles 20:15b, 17

Sometimes the LORD just carries us through the battles we face, other times He asks us to fight. Whatever it is, He always provides the strength we need to get through and be victorious, and sometimes it is through our WEAKNESS that He comes through strong. He's not looking for our strength, but our reliance on Him.

What a precious blessing to spend such a wonderful season of life with my dear family! (yes, I did get glasses!) I am such a blessed sister and daughter! Treasure the moments, dear sisters! This time will not last forever. Invest, encourage, and love. Be quick to make up if there is a disagreement... "let not the sun go down upon your wrath:" ~Ephesians 4:26 Make your family your closest friends - they will always be there for you.

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." ~2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Joyfully,
~Dani