posted by Esther on 06/16/08

We are so blessed with a righteous father   who leads his family in the ways of the Lord! Thank you Dad! In so many ways you are a picture of who our Heavenly Father is to us. The following medley of revised lines from hymns and spiritual songs was compiled in his honor on Father’s Day. You should have heard us sing it to him last night! See if you can identify all 25 songs.

This is our Father’s Day

It is morning in our house today!
You will hear our father say,
“Rise up oh men of God.
You’ve been sleeping in your bedroom… long enough!”

Shall we gather in the Living room?
Oh come, oh come, and have the Wisdom Search.
And he sits with me and he talks with me,
And he tells me…
“The Bible stands like a rock undaunted
Mid the raging storms of time.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!”
He… says…
“Search me oh God, and know my heart today.”

I am so glad that our father has said:
“Come, children, join and sing,
“Sing, the wondrous love of Jesus, Sing His mercy and His grace;”
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Oh yes, he cares, I know he cares.
Blest be the tie that binds,
Our hearts in Christian love,
The fellowship of kindred minds,
Is like to that above.

Work for the night is coming!
Work thru the morning skies;
Work while the dew is sparkling,
Work for daylight flies.
Oh, happy day, oh, happy day,
Toiling on, toiling on, toiling on, toiling on,
It… will… be… worth it all
For all the saints, who from their labors rest
In darkness of night, God leads His dear children along.
There is a place of quiet rest…
(Slow) Silent night,
This is our… Father’s… Day.

4 Comments » | posted in The Bright Side

posted by Staddon Family on 06/13/08

Uncle Alan did this by turning his parent’s request for a porch roof into an item on his “to do” list. So last weekend found our family in Morgantown to help him with this project. By 7:00 am Dad, Michael, Daniel, Jonathan and David were on the roof with Uncle Alan. Their goal: A roof over Grandma and Grandpa’s back porch.

Before noon, it was 90 degrees up there in the sun. They had to get off the roof for 4 hours because of the heat. We enjoyed the time with Grandpa and Grandma as well as other friends and family who had come to enjoy a hot dog roast in the shade.

The men climbed back up that evening and the next morning to continue the work. Yes, it was hot but we were grateful for the opportunity to honor Dad’s parents. “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Ex. 20:12

5 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by David on 06/9/08

The morning of May 16th we decorated for my birthday. Michael designed a great cake for me with the picture of a lion  head on it. One of the best things about my birthday was that I got my new 4/4 violin. We ordered four violins to try out. Esther and I learned a lot about listening and discerning which one was the best. I love the one we picked from Potter’s Violin Shop! Another fun event was a big treasure hunt Jonathan made. Since we did it at night we had to find some of the clues with flashlights. It had rained earlier so some of the clues were soaked and others took 15 minutes to figure out! Instead of the darkness and the rain preventing the treasure hunt, it ended up making it even more of a challenge. In the same way God uses the spiritual darkness and rainy circumstances of our lives for good when we accept and deal with them according to His design. I certainly had a great birthday.

5 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Esther on 06/6/08

Thank you for joining us as Flash News Interviews returns with the rest of the story…

Esther: “I enjoyed discussing Bible lessons with my pre-EXCEL team of attentive 8-11 year old girls. I came away with encouraged to be a purged, clean vessel that is sanctified and ready for the Master’s use. 2 Tim. 2:21 It is through His Word I am purged and I’m looking forward to engrafting more scripture into my soul.”

James: “The inspiring and applicable messages by Tom Harmon were spoken with power because of how much he used Scripture. This encouraged me ask God for a greater love for His Word.”

Daniel has been looking into the most effective route to achieve a college-level education. At the conference the Lord arranged some divine appointments with people who had wise advice and experience in this area. It is exciting how God will bring just the right people across our path to talk to.

Jonathan: “I realized how important it is for our family to be in one accord. This means our family will be willing to share problems we see in each other so that we can overcome them and have the power of family unity.”

David: “The message by Bill Gothard clarified how we glorify God. It is by bearing fruit. This means not only making disciples but also developing Christ-like conduct and character in our lives.”

They would like to conclude by saying: “We were all encouraged by this conference! We heard good news of what God is doing in the world and were inspired to be part of the great things he has in store for the days ahead.”

4 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Donald on 06/4/08

Well, just an update here!

I continue to be amazed at the beauty and efficiency of Mandarin Chinese–Characters in the Bible continue to come alive with meaning. Recently in Genesis was the bittersweet story of Hagar. Here are several words that stood out (as best as I could decipher them):
* Maidservent = woman + to cause to happen (woman efficient in work)
* Bottle = skin + pouch (container used in the Middle East)
* Wilderness = spacious + countryside/wild (more than just countryside)
* Well = opening + water + well

And in Matthew 5:16:
* Good works (translated “behavior”) = good + conduct + attribute (To conduct oneself uprightly until it becomes an attribute)
* Heavenly Father = heaven + up + -ly + father

Thank you Dad and Mom for training on how to look for and apply principles rather than settling for surface knowledge forgotten after a test.

1 Comment » | posted in Family News