Archive by Author: Michael

Snowstorm in West Virginia!

The power has been out here for over 4 days now, longer than ever before in our family’s experience! On Friday evening, February 5, the rain turned to sleet, and then to a thick snow that stuck to everything and mounted up to twelve inches. The scenery was breathtaking, especially in the forest where even […]

The 10th Miracle

Returning home on the last leg of our Florida journey, we made one last stop at our grandparents’ house in Salem, West Virginia. After all, there’s no place like home – except Grandma’s. Robert, Esther, James, and Daniel especially relished the visit before heading off to the mid west once again. The thick blanket of […]

The Wonders of Ding Darling N.W.R.

Another unusual aspect of this vacation is the fact that watching wildlife and identifying new species was not our primary objective. But we still set aside some time for it, and the trails of the J. W. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge proved to be an excellent place to see a diversity of wildlife. As […]

Can you Bee-lieve it?

Happy Thanksgiving! I am rejoicing in the grace of God poured out on us this year in respect to our honeybees. We were able to harvest enough wildflower honey to supply our big family until next year’s harvest, and still have some to sell. The bees stayed semi-busy through the part of the summer that […]

An Amazing Blessing

This Thanksgiving one of the biggest things I am grateful for is family harmony. It is so important for members of a family to love one another. It is not only important for the well being of the family members, but for the ability of society to function as a whole. Family life shows everywhere […]

Tomatoes!

Before moving to West Virginia we had never been very successful at growing tomatoes. But in 2004 everything fell into place, and tomato growing has never been the same since. It started with some seeds my grandfather gave me, whose friend had been growing them in the area for a long time. This friend had […]

Music Standards, Part 3

Part 1: How music communicates a moral or immoral message Part 2: The importance of rejecting wrong music Part 3: Rejoice in the Lord ye righteous! I was excited to discover why I had been hindered from getting these posts posted for so long: the opportunity to experience and comment on the singing of the […]

Music Standards, Part 2

Based on the foundation explained in Part 1 we will now look at the importance of purity in music used for Christian worship. There is a raging battle in the Christian life between the Spirit and the flesh (Romans 6-8). Paul stressed that Christian liberty is no license to gratify the flesh (Gal. 5:13) and […]