“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

 

Luke's Happenings...

Luke, my son, posted this update on his blog yesterday.

I thought I would share it with you.

When we lived in California, Luke had his own lawn business.  

Moving to Middle Tennessee twenty months ago,
meant giving up that

business, having to be creative, and come up

with other ways to make a little money, especially living

out in the country where neighbors are now acres apart

instead of a couple arm lengths apart.

I am so glad to see Luke having many 

opportunities to gain experience and earn money from different 
farms in our area.  He is learning a wide variety of skills 
that he would not have learned in the suburbs 
of Southern California.

What I'm most thankful for is the Spiritual growth we see 
the Lord doing in his life and the rich friendships he has
made with others.

Visit Luke's Blog to read more...

Oh, and I didn't forget about my giveaway coming up.
It's almost ready.
Thanks for your patience.

 Blessings,


Christa

Our Snow Storm

Last week, we had an unusual snow storm come through our neck of the woods. Four to five inches of snow came in.  I know, to those of you who live in the colder climates, that's nothing, but to us Southerners, it was breaking news, and...a lot of fun!

 

 Our birdies' house

~

  

 My garden

~

  

My car is more familiar with the California sunshine than the snow.

I think it will survive.

~ 

 

 Our House

 ~

  

 My husband and son built a sled.

 

Not bad for these former Californians.

~

Now for some real action.

Take a look at these videos.

~

Luke explaining the ice on our car.

 

This is Luke sledding on the back of our property.

Finally, my knight in shining armor.

Good Day Y'all

Christa

 

My husband and son, together with other men from our church, had a chain saw party this weekend.  They worked at our friend's homestead cutting up trees that had been cut down a few weeks ago.

One of the gentlemen at our church carves wood using a chain saw.

This is the beginning of a heart shaped chair.

I know it's kind of hard to see, but if you look hard enough (click on the picture above) you can see the chain saw starting to cut the heart shape back.  For some reason, a picture of the finished chair was not taken.  

Oops!

~

I'm so thankful for these father-son gatherings.  These are great times for them to bond with each other and with the men from our church.

~ Christa ~

Father and Son Working Together

Barn Red Chicken Coop, one of Luke's projects he just finished.  Go to his blog to see more pictures.

Luke's blog, 1 Corinthians 16:13

One of the many blessings we have received since moving to Tennessee is that my husband and son have been able to work together.  Not only does Steve have more opportunities to teach him carpentry/business skills but their time together has been one of bonding and discipleship in the Lord.  This puts more meaning to Deuteronomy 6:4-7

"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; 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. 

The two of them have opportunity for deep conversation during their drive to the job site.  Luke is then able to do his school work for a few hours, and then off to work on a project with or supervised by Steve.  Of course the drive home is probably more of that rich time of discussion.

During this Thanksgiving Season, I must say I'm thankful for the time the Lord is giving Steve and Luke to have together.  My prayer is for Luke to continue this vision my husband has for the family.

Here are some resources from Vision Forum that the Lord has used to disciple our family:

The Master's Plan for Fathers

Building A Family That Will Stand

Give Me Your Heart, My Son

How To Disciple Your Family

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

~ Christa ~