“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God,

the Lord is one!

“And you shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart and with all your soul

and with all your might.

“And these words, which I am commanding

you today, shall be on your heart;

Photo taken by Miss Hannah Burton

“The Smith Men”

and you shall teach them diligently to your

sons and shall talk of them when you

sit in your house and when you walk

by the way and when you lie down

and when you rise up.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

~

“Go therefore and make disciples of all

The nations, baptizing them in the name

of the Father and the Son and The

Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe

all that I commanded you; and lo, I am

with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20

 

Happy Thanksgiving

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth; the peaks of the mountains are His also.

The sea is His, for it was He who made it; and His hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.

Preparing For Thanksgiving

If our lives are too stressed, it is hard to be patient, and we tend to be less peaceful.  If people have not been listened to, they will not feel patient or loved.

For The Family’s Sake

Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

When I think about preparing for Thanksgiving, what comes to mind are these questions;

With whom will we spend that special day?

The menu, planning and shopping for ingredients, table settings and table arrangements… how will that all work out?

However, one item of importance that I always forget to include in my plan is how to do this and still keep my household peaceful.  How do I not let the preparations of the day get in the way of loving my family?  Is what I am doing glorifying God? 

A stressful mother/daughter during the holidays is a recipe for …  

What do you think the answer is?

I would love to hear your comments on this subject.

~ Christa ~    

Squanto's Last Words

 American Home has a wonderful and true story of Squanto.  To add to your Thanksgiving Day, head on over to read her article.

Enjoy!

~ Christa ~

Independence Day 2009

This year we spent Independence Day at the West Ladies' homestead for the first part of the day and then headed over to the Burton's house for the second part. The earlier part was filled with a reading of the Declaration of Independence, a recitation of Patrick Henry's speech, a reading of the constitution and singing The Star-Spangled Banner. Then hamburgers, roasted potatoes, sweet tea and homemade icecream were waiting for us at the Burton's.

We ended our day at the Burton's for some great fellowship. They are one of the first families we met here in Tennessee. They welcomed us with open arms and waffles with homemade blueberry syrup. We arrived in Tennessee in our moving truck on a Friday, July 25th and the Monday after, we were picking blueberries with this precious family. I can't begin to tell you how they have been a blessing to us.

We first headed to the West Homestead

Our family in front of the West's Little Store

Watermelon staying cool in the creek

Yes, this is a baby deer!

Cassaundra and Mrs. Haverkamp having a good chat

Ana and Brittany

Cassaundra, Brittany and Luke listening to the speeches

Andrew, a young man from our church recited Patrick Henry's speech from memory!

Brittany, Vicki West and Cassaundra

Vicki was so kind and welcoming to our family when we first moved to Tennessee. She is very special to us.

~ Christa ~