StaddonFamily.com

posted by Esther on 08/30/07

Today, the 30th of August, 2007, we are celebrating one year of staddonfamily.com! We would like to take this time to express our gratefulness to Robert for designing and manintaining our site. We would also like to thank all of you who have motivated us with your comments and we praise Lord Jesus Christ for giving us a purpose worth living for and writing about!

Unknown to the contestants, a year-in-review contest was underway! We would now like to announce the winners. (Drum roll please!) We begin this celebration by giving special acknowledgement to the one who wrote the very first post ever… JAMES! Secondly, the author of the shortest post is… ROBERT! Third, our longest post was by… DONALD! Fourth, the individual we received the most comments from outside of our family was… JOSHUA WILKES! And last but not least is the post with the most comments: A Trip to Paradise.

The purpose for our family blog helps us fulfill the part of our family goal of glorifying God by working as a family to help other families, churches, cities, and nations to reestablish God’s creation-designs in their jurisdictions. Thank you all for visiting!

10 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by James on 08/28/07

We have enjoyed watching some beautiful flowers grow in our front yard. Angel trumpets, they are called. They are a welcome sight as they fill in some bare spots there. The spreading plant, exotic-looking leaves, and enormous blooms cover the area marvelously. Interestingly you can’t always tell when they will bloom; it is very dependent on humidity, temperature and amount of sunlight. They usually bloom in the late evening, stay open all night, and then wilt as soon as the morning sun touches the delicate peddles. They have been very unique to watch and a little tricky to photograph. Though the flowers only last for a short time, it is a vital part of their cycle of life. Once the temporary flower has finished it’s purpose of attracting insects to pollinate the plant, a seed pod can begin to grow. The pod itself isn’t exactly attractive, but it sure is the most important part of the plant, ultimately allowing it to continue through the winter and grow again next year.

The life cycle of our angel trumpets - how they were planted in a needy place, how they flourished and bloomed, how they wilted and fell off in the sunlight, and how they left a seed pod necessary for it’s survival - reminds me of a story from history that I was reading about the other day. Did you know that the first Christian missionaries to Japan arrived as late as the 1550s? To think that it took over 1,500 years for the seeds of the gospel to reach those needy shores should be quite disturbing. But finally a Portuguese missionary, named St. Francis Xavier, arrived and proclaimed the gospel starting the rapid spread of Christianity. For over 50 years, Christianity bloomed in Japan and many thousands were shown the way of salvation. However, the burning heat of persecution in the 1630s caused Christianity to practically disappear. Feudal lords were afraid of loosing their power and some 15,000 persons were martyred for the name of Christ. After a dormant period, the nineteenth century saw Christianity planted once more. Today, freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution and Christianity is once more able to grow.

Let us pray for those ministering in Japan that they might be strong in the Faith and be effective witnesses in the propagation of biblical Christianity!

5 Comments » | posted in Historical Glimpses, Photography

posted by Jonathan on 08/26/07

Every Friday we have pancakes. To vary the routine we have tried all sorts of different flavors and shapes for speciel occasions. This week we got a phone call from some friends that Michael works for. They told us they had some bananas for us. So we went to pick them up. They had a big box of them! We didn’t know what we would do with them all so we dicided to make banana pancakes! We really enjoyed these with butter and peanut butter and mapple syrup. This is the recipe. Enjoy!

Combine in blender:

1 1/2 c. water

7/8 c. wheat

1 teaspoon flax seed

1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon

Turn blender an high and chop in 1 banana. Allow blender to run for 2 minutes.

Add:

1 egg

2 Tablespoons oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Turn blender on for 1 minute, Add 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder while blender is on.

To make the batter thin enough to mix in the baking powder, you may need ot add a little water before hand.

For another great banana recipe click here.

5 Comments » | posted in Recipes

posted by James on 08/23/07

It’s hard to believe that almost four weeks have passed since the conclusion of Life Focus XV. But I didn’t want it to pass without commenting on how it ended. The final graduation on August 28 displayed only a small part of what the students had just accomplished. Their body, soul, and spirit had been strengthened and their faith in God greatly deepened. Neither student nor leader would return to their normal walks of life without a change in their heart for the better. For me, God changed my outlook on discipleship. Let me explain with a picture and a verse.

McCormick’s Creek State Park is truly a beautiful place; far from civilization, close to creation; calm, unsophisticated, peaceful. It was the perfect place for us leaders to spend an afternoon together after Focus was over to cool down, relax, and reflect. It was in this setting that I noticed, and absolutely had to capture, this natural composition of ambient light. The steep walls of the canyon on either side of the secluded creek channeled the afternoon light onto the comely bow of a lonely tree. All the tree was doing was sitting in the light. God changed my outlook of discipleship by showing me that success comes only by staying in the light of Christ. “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:7). There were many opportunities to disciple during the seven weeks. Sometimes I was successful; many times I wasn‘t. I found discipleship absolutely impossible when acting in my own strength and speaking from my own scope of knowledge and intellect. Success only came as I learned to “walk in the light”, drawing from God’s Word and from the promptings of the Holy Spirit to affectively act and speak. It thus became my motivation not to try to change my students, but to change myself so I can walk in the light of God more perfectly and have Him speak through me to the one I am discipling.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Yes, I will remember the rugged hiking, the caving, and the refreshing atmosphere of our leadership outing, but I will more readily remember the message behind the light shining on the lonely tree. My hope is that you also will learn to walk in the convicting light of Christ so that you can have success in discipleship as well.

5 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports, Photography

posted by Dad on 08/20/07

We have spent many delightful hours together as a family this summer playing badminton. A friend who joined us one evening made a very insightful comment: “Families who pray together and play together, stay together.” This is so true.

We have seen many benefits to setting aside one evening a week for what we call Family Night. Family Night is a top priority time where we all get together and do something fun as a family. Each week a different member gets to choose the activity. Some of our favorite choices have been croquette, target practice, card games, board games, and badminton!

This time of family unity has been worth the time invested. It has encouraged us to get on the same side of struggles, to yield our rights and be willing to participate in what others choose to do on their turn (Luke 6:31), and to deepen our love for each other. “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.” John 15:12

5 Comments » | posted in Family News