Twelve Stones...

And he commanded yet them, saying take you hence out of the midst of Jorden, out of the place where the priests feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place... That they may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, what mean ye by these stones? ...aand these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. Joshua 4-3,6,7

Although I can not make out a list of all the good that has come from this trail, after I read this verse I came up with truths, principles for our own children. I desire that the older ones be affirmed with these truths and the younger ones to embrace them in their lives. So I "carry" these twelve stones over from the trial of our faith and leave them in our "lodge" to be a memorial to you and as you might ask in days to come, "what mean ye these stones, or how did you get through such trial?" I could list more for sure but these came easily to my mind....

1. All of life is precious- from conception until the Lord stops the heart from beating. Life is in the blood. Gen. 2:7, Mark 3:4
2. Children are a blessing- they are all blessings, the 1st, the 11th, to the 13th! Ps. 127.
3. That Joel being in heaven would give them a greater perspective of eternal things, the berevity of life, that heaven is a real place, that Joel would be a kind of forget-me-not to remind them that For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come
4. We were surrounded with alot of folks and prayer, We give thanks to God always for you all.I Thes. 1:2
5. God's provision daily- even our daily neccessities, meals and such, resources were distributed liberally to us.
6. Stand for the truth- for life, the Lord gave your dad the wisdom to be aware of the world's system which more than often opposes the Lord's ways and he did not allow the medical system to tell him what to do to his son. Neh. 4:14, Be not ye afraid of the: remember the Lord which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethen, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your house
7. God's ways and providences are for our good. Rom. 8:28
8. God can recieve glory in our trials
9. Our experienc grants a hope that we can give to others that might come behind us in like trials. Rom. 5: 14
10.Our hearts are made more desperate for the Lord.
11. To know this... In this world ye shall have tribulation. John 16:33
12. Whatever we face in life, he has gone before us. Is. 53:4, Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

May the Lord have mercy to engrave these things on our children's hearts, and much more. Experiences, trials, difficulties create a faith that will bear out a testimony if we are able to hold out throught the storm and so,allowing God to recieve glory.

We are soon to be heading into our "birthday blasts." Six birthdays in a 4 week time frame. In Aug., Caleb and Daniel on the 26th, Micah on the 30th, then in Sept. Joel and Josiah on the 13th, and Anna on the 24th. Dates are critical to me now especially, the memories are so special and this time in 2003, I had about 29 days until two little blessings would be arriving. I marvel that the Lord would allow us to have two sets of twins, and to have such a great preg. with them and an incredible home birth. I tell the Lord with tears often, how grateful I am for that, and because I know what a blessing children are, I continue to make my requests known, that he would again mke us fruitful if he is willing.

I tell you to have so many adults in the family is a great thing, Caleb and Daniel soon to be 21, Bethany 19, Elijah not far from 18 and Anna 16 in Sept, the family is an all encompassed cirlce to meet every need. I can have fellowship with adults or can enjoy the days of child's play. I enjoy hearing perspectives on topics we discuss from all of them, I think they too can help in making wise decisions. The reason I bring this up is I feel like I am in a new phase, with so many older ones and different endeavors they are pursuing, sometimes I find myself thinking of the days when they were all under my "wing." Sometimes I feel so scattered. Every day was so predictable, and its not terrible now but since I am an organizer, I like to know whats next. I guess for sure all you younger mommy's, enjoy this time!!!

Ok... I have a question? Bethany and Andrew are going to be showing dairy goats at the OKC State Fair and they have to wear all white. Bethany's will be easy, a white skirt and shirt, but where do I find white pants, preferably white jeans size 10 for Andrew??? Any ideas??? Let me know!!!

It almost feels like pre-fall here... makes the inside of the house more comfortable!! May the Lord bless the rest of your week!!

Cindy