One Amazing Weekend

This past week(end) we had so many amazing blessings that it's quite the challenge to put it down into words that adequately describe how wonderful it was. I'm hoping that my friend Karyn will write a post with pictures that I can share a link to:). We had such a wonderful time that I neglected to pull out the camera and take pictures. We welcomed Kary, Arnie and Bro. Ironside to Kindersley on Friday night. Bro. Ironside preached an amazing message that kept even the little ones attention. We were so blessed that it was hard to wait through the next day to hear the next one that the Lord had given him:). I took the girls into town to have a tea party with "Ms. Karyn". She surprised us by giving us the tea set, table and chairs! Our children love them and they've had a tea part 3 days in a row now:).

About an hour after our tea party we met with the menfolk at Humptys. We ate lunch with them, although some of us didn't have too much of an appetite after our "party". We really enjoyed the fellowship though and the kids did fairly well in waiting for the food to arrive. Afterwards Mr. Arnie asked the boys if they wanted to ride the mechanical bull(in town for the rodeo). The girls didn't want to be left out and asked to ride too! It' was quite amusing and they did quite well for their first time. The older 3 were determined not to get bucked off and made it through 2 rounds. Scott said that the thing was pretty slippery, so I'm thinking that it was sheer determination(stubborness) that kept them on:). They're looking forward to visiting Mr. Arnie's ranch one day soon and riding his horses!

The evening service was well worth the wait. I did have to listen from downstairs, due to the fact that Addie was on overload, hadn't had much of a nap, and was ready for bed. The Lord knew just what our family needed to hear. There are times that we start to feel a bit dry spiritually after sharing with others, but this was a time that we were just able to soak it all in. To absorb what the Lord had for us and we're so thankful that we were able to hear Bro. Ironside preach again. He went through a really bad flu this past winter and we prayed that the Lord would spare him. We expected that he would be a bit more frail after that experience, but the Lord surprised us. Bro. Ironside actually seemed stronger and more vibrant in many ways. The Lord strengthened him voice and it seemed even stronger than when he was here 2 years ago! It's hard to explain, but Bro. Ironside is a "genuine man of God" and it's felt whenever we are together. The calm, the peace, the love that comes from being close to the Lord is clearly evident in his life, preaching, ministry.

On Sunday we had another amazing service. Scott's parents were able to come that morning and Bro. Ironside did a dedication service for our three youngest. It's hard to explain to those people that think it's like a christening. It's not. We don't baptize babies and it has nothing to do with their salvation. Salvation only comes when their older, realize that they are sinners in need of a Savior and that Jesus is the only one that can save them. A dedication service is more for the parents and family of the children. It's the parents making a promise to the Lord that they will do their best to raise them for the Lord. To teach them from the Bible daily and pray for them. To let the Lord lead them and pray that He will use them mightily for his purposes and glory. We had a special song "Tell It Again" that we'd been working on and Karyn graciously agreed to accompany us. When we told her what song we had practiced she shared with us that it was one of her Dad's favorite songs and that she would keep it a surprise. It was amazing to see his look of surprise when we started singing:). We hope it was a blessing to him and the others. We know that the Lord laid it on our hearts for a reason. It's not a well known song, but our kids love it and it has a wonderful message. During the dedication Bro. Ironside shared about Hannah praying for a son and how the Lord answered that prayer in such a wonderful way. God not only gave her "Samuel", but also 5 more children after that. We kind of had ours in reverse. Samuel came after 5 other siblings, but he was desired and "asked of the Lord". My pregnancy with him was very different and I truly felt the Lord leading us to call him Samuel. It seems like his main purpose in life is to bring joy to all those around him. He has a smile for everyone and has a way of cheering us all up and helping us to stay calm through stressful situations. We thank the Lord for each little blessing though and pray that the Lord watches over them, protects them and uses them to be a blessing and encouragement to those around us.

The morning message was an encouragement for mothers and fathers to love each other and their children. The lack of love these days is destroying families, communities and countries. We all need to remember to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and then to let Him love those around us (through us)!

We enjoyed good food and fellowship together after the service before saying farewell to our beloved friends. Parting truly is such sweet sorrow. There are so many that the Lord has brought into our lives over the years that I just never want to say goodbye to. I just want us to be able to stay together and fellowship all the time:). It gives us so much more to look forward to when we get to Heaven. No more parting over there!!!

The afternoon was spent visiting with Nana and Grandad, an impromptu tea party and a bit of a nap. We headed back into town to have "hymn sing" at Caleb Village. My mother in law was gracious enough to play for our special music there. It was neat to sing for them and to see how much they enjoyed seeing the little ones singing. Even Kiersten was singing most of the words this time.

That kind of wrapped up our weekend. Nana and Grandad were able to stay the night and the kids fell asleep rather quickly. This morning Nana volunteered to keep 4 of the kids while I took Leesie and Samuel for the big grocery day. THAT was a HUGE blessing. I was rather tired and it would have taken much longer if I took all 6 with me:). We were able to get things fairly quickly and get back to enjoy a nice lunch with the others(after putting away the groceries).

This afternoon I laid down with the little ones. I came out to find that the three older ones had done extra laundry and they were folding it while they listened to a story on cd. The Lord just filled my cup to overflowing the weekend, even through the more stressful situations. He used so many people to be a blessing and I'm eternally thankful to all those that allowed themselves to be used of the Lord to be a blessing.

It's time to bring this post to a close. All is quiet in the house and I think I have a couple library books calling my name:).