Our God is Sovereign

I came across this well written summary (on one of the blogs I regularly follow) of the really scary storm that is barreling down on the eastern part of our country. I was reminded of something someone said to me last week. If people don't have faith in our sovereign God, how do they have any hope when something of this magnitude happens? The fact that it will hit some areas of our country on or within a few hours of "halloween" would be enough to put those with no faith in our God in a state of panic because they are certain they are cursed. Thankfully we as christians have hope in our ever sovereign God, and know without a doubt that everything that happens (good or bad) is within in His control and what is best for us at that particular moment. We have much to be thankful for.


Sandy is not Sovereign (but GOD is!)


With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the East coast of the United States, the powerful storm is all the rage on the Internet and TV channels. From the names ascribed to it (“Frankenstorm”, etc.) and the powers given to it (paralyze the entire Eastern U.S. and affect hundreds of millions of people), one would think Sandy is a power in and of itself. Or just “Mother Nature” and “brute power” acting up arbitrarily. But as even we too watch the progress of this massive storm and monitor its potential to cause widespread damage (affecting us even here in Michigan in the next few days), we do so remembering that Sandy is not sovereign. But our God is. Sandy is not to be feared. But our God is. For this is His sovereign hand in creation. This is His almighty power on display. And when He works, He carries out either blessing (salvation) or cursing (judgment) on mankind – blessing to those who fear and trust Him (His people) – and cursing to those who defy and disobey Him (the ungodly and unbelieving).

May we stand in awe of this God today and place our trust in Him through Jesus Christ. Sandy cannot harm us. But “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb.10:31). Only in and through His Son is there safety for body and soul, for time and for eternity.


Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalm 46:10-11

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Psalm 2:12

We call him Hobble.....

As many of you know, Russ had an unfortunate mishap at work on Thursday. I first heard about it when he called me around 2:30 in the afternoon. "Hi dear....I think I broke my ankle..." WHAT?!?!?! Anyway, his coworker very kindly brought him to urgent care, where I met him after I got the kids situated with a sitter at home. After x-rays, it was determined that there was no fracture but rather a severe sprain. They wrapped it in an ace bandage and gave him an air cast/splint to wear. He has been instructed to use his crutches through at least Sunday, and then walk as he feels he is able. He obviously didn't go to work on Friday, and will see how things are to go back to work on Monday. He was advised to do only "sit down" work...to which I asked "Do you know what a landscaper does?" :) It may be possible for him to do some driving around, delivering plants to job sites, and possibly some loader work, b/c it only requires use of his right foot. Today, he mowed the lawn and tried to clean up the rest of our leaves. Our mower only has pedals on the right side, so he did OK with that. He has been a very good patient and feels rather badly that I need to do things for him. I enjoy having him around, it's nice to have some adult companionship throughout the day. I only have one picture of him, I can't get the ones off his phone that his co-worker took of him b/c we don't have the right cord. We are thankful that his injury was not worse and hopefully he won't have to miss too much work. God is trying to tell him to slow down and rest. :)

Kids Pictures

Yesterday turned out to be a gorgeous day, so after a few haircuts, the boys and I headed out to the back yard to take some pictures, Bradyn and Austin for their yearly school pictures, and Calvin for his 2 year picture.

The older two were easy enough, and aside from trying to get them to smile more naturally, we got some decent ones of them.

However, Calvin turned out to be a rather difficult one....after all, he is two, right? What fun would it be to have a perfectly obedient two year old? :) We took about 15 total pictures of him and only 2 were what I was looking for. :)

So there you have it, another year of pictures. I can't believe how big they are getting!

Artprize 2012

Every year for the past few, the city of Grand Rapids has put on an art competition from the middle of September through the first of October. Artists from all over the world submit their works of art and all the art is set up on the streets and throughout the buildings of downtown Grand Rapids. Our boys, Bradyn especially, are always excited about it, and this year we made a trip downtown to view some of the art pieces. We picked a Saturday, I believe it was September 29. It was super busy when we got there (it took us about 30 minutes to find parking) and there were people EVERYWHERE!! After we finally found a spot, we headed off to see the art. We were not able to see nearly all of it, probably not even a quarter of what was there, but what we did see was pretty neat, and the boys enjoyed themselves. Here are a few pictures of what we saw.

Dinosaur skeleton outside the Gerald R. Ford Museum

Giant colorful fish outside the Gerald R. Ford Museum

A boy in a canoe, made out of metal in the reflecting pool in front of the museum.

Here is Calvin peeking through the hole of a fake theater.

Bradyn peeking through a hole on the same fake theater.

This isn't an art entry, but it looked cool. It's a misting pool by Rosa Parks Circle that the boys thought was pretty neat. Here are Bradyn and Austin checking it out.

We definitely saw more art than this, but didn't take pictures of nearly all we saw. When you're toting around three little kids, it's hard to keep track of them all AND get pictures of everything. Some pieces you can look at and say "hmmmm is this really art?" while others are pretty spectacular. Russ and I intended to go back just the two of us so we could manuever more easily, but we never got the chance. O well, I guess there is always next year right? :)

You Are Beautiful

I received an update from one of the blogs I follow called "Passionate Homemaking" on the subject of beauty. I thought it was very well written and thought I'd share it with you all. I think it's something that all of my dear sisters in Christ could benefit from.


You Are Beautiful

By Lindsay on October 4, 2012 in faith & womanhood

There we sat snuggled in and playing a roaring game of cards (the game Speed in fact). My husband in his sweet way looks up and says, “You’re so beautiful.” Immediately, my self conscious way pips up and points out the leftover baby flub on my tummy as I emphasize the fat by holding between my finger tips. As if he wasn’t fully aware of the way my body has changed and grown over the years and the effects of birthing three babies? In a laughing insecure way I respond, “but this isn’t very attractive.”

My husbands instant reply struck me to the quick: “The only thing I find unattractive about you is your lack of confidence in yourself.”

Wow. My heart was instantly convicted. The only thing my hubby, and I might just venture most men out there, find unattractive about us as women is when we speak negatively about ourselves. It only makes us unattractive to our men. We need to let go of the silly notions about image and appearance. Your man loves you for who you are not based upon how skinny or fit you are. He loves you with all your quirks and baby flub, just like our Heavenly Father.

I look at my numerous stretch marks and say, “yuck”, but my husband looks at them and sees beauty. These are the marks that brought his children into the world. These are the scars that brought forth precious life. I exchanged temporary physical perfection with eternal precious little souls. I imagine these stretch marks as a permanent kiss offered for my child.

When we speak negatively about ourselves, we ultimately mock our Creator. He who has fashioned and designed you unique and imprints “beautiful” all over you. When we look at ourselves in frustration and despair, we are doubting His goodness and that His ways are perfect.

Sisters, make yourself beautiful for your man and others by cutting out the critical attitude about yourself. Embrace the way God has beautifully created you to be. You are beautiful and precious in His sight. Embrace your appearance, your specific gifts, your style, and seek to use it for His glory in bringing life into your spear of influence.

And remember…the only thing unattractive about you is when you speak negatively about yourself. I’m letting go of the crap (for that is what it really is) and embracing my design.