Colorado

This is what we had to look at each night on the porch.

Isaac had been begging to go fishing since the first morning. I had promised to pay him $5 if he caught me a salmon. I got to keep my $5, but I also never got a salmon steak.

The view of the house from halfway up the driveway. That steep driveway puts the fear of God in me. Kyle actually made me drive the blue behemoth up it once. Isn't he mean? I can do anything now though. lol Thanks for the confidence boost, honey.

Our favorite toy- the Polaris. That little thing can drive over anything. And Kyle really likes to test that out. We were all screaming, holding on for dear life, and begging for more.

The mountains were beautiful and the weather was wonderful, but I'm grateful we won't be making that drive again any time soon.

Lookie What We Got!

We finally did it! May I introduce you to the Clarks' beloved "Blue Behemoth". We all just love it.

And wow, we thought we were riding in luxury having this roomy thing to travel to Colorado in. It was so nice compared to the minivan where the kids all sat like sardines, knee to knee.

And of course, our trademark, so we can easily spot our vehicle in a parking lot. (Not that we need the help nowadays; I just look for the van that sticks out farther than any of the other cars. lol)

Quiverful, Adoption, Judgment, Etc.

Stacy McDonald wrote a great post recently regarding how we view children: blessing or burden. This brought on, of course, by the Duggars' recent pregnancy announcement.
One commenter had this to say:

I think when I heard about the Duggars addition I was a little uncomfortable.
Not because I think that many children are not a blessing, but because I feel so
strongly that there are SO many children out there who are neglected, abused,
and suffering from poverty that could be freed from it all if adopted. My
husband and I are expecting our first child in about a month and are thrilled.
But we plan to have two of our own and then adopt from there, because we feel
God calls us to care for the orphan, the widow, the ostracized and outcast. I
have to admit it's hard for me not to judge a family who continues to have
children when there are so many children who are in such desperate need of a
loving home right here right now.

I have battled with this question myself. Why don't the Duggars adopt? But why is it so easy to judge the Duggars for not adopting? Do we judge families with three kids who never adopt?

The Government

It has recently come to my attention that not everyone has seen this. And no one should have to go without a little Tim Hawkins. (And for those who have already seen it, it's time you saw it again. You know you'll laugh again!)

Packing

So, we've been packing, buying, checking and rechecking our lists in preparation for our trip this weekend. We'll be in the car all day Saturday. I covet your prayers. lol (This is why we live in the city; I'm not a fan of long distance driving. I like everything really close by.)

We let the kids pack their bags and then we dump it all out and review to see what they're lacking. Isaac was so proud of himself. He got everything in his backpack and made it all fit. He packed 3 shirts and 8 pairs of pants. (We'll be there for a week. Apparently he'll be topless half of that time.)

This Just Makes Me Sick

As the debate about healthcare rages, religious “leaders” are weighing in. In a recent teleconference, pastors from around the country gathered to discuss the issue with the White House (and record it for later non-partisan use). The call began with a prayer led by a female pastor from Georgia (one of several female ministers, deacons and church leaders in what was an obvious nod to feminists, and the theological and political left) then descended into sob stories about the need for universal healthcare (i.e., my friend got cancer and died... therefore we need socialized medicine), platitudes about “affordable healthcare for all,” social justice, and a smattering of children’s voices offering a tug at the heartstrings.

Of course, the call was ‘ecumenical’ in nature gathering both churches, non-churches (those holding to heterodoxy), Jews, and Muslims. The theme of the call was clear: the compassionate, ‘social justice’ seeking position is government intervention, and more specifically, uncritical acceptance of president Obama’s cause. Make no mistake, this was a clear case of liberal, feminist, unbiblical, quasi-Christianity on display.

Read the rest here.

Marriage

A couple weeks ago Paul Washer came and spent several days with our church. The majority of the time he talked about marriage. It was so encouraging, I wanted to share it with you.
He said, and I wholeheartedly agree, that marriage is all about our becoming like Christ. The purpose of marriage is to teach us unconditional love.
You can not learn to love unconditionally, if your spouse meets all your conditions.
If he manages money the way you want him to, never leaves his socks and underwear on the bathroom floor, always controls his temper, never watches too much tv, and leads your family in prayer and Bible study every night faithfully-- you wouldn't need to learn how to love like Christ. If your spouse is strong in all the areas you need him to be, you wouldn't need to learn to love unconditionally.

The reason your spouse is weak in the one area you most wanted him to be strong is to teach you how to love unconditionally.

Christ loves us unconditionally. Even in our wickedness. Even with our sinful struggles. Even with all our ugly imperfections, He loves us.
We are undeserving. When we realize how truly unworthy we are of the love and grace God gives us, we can easily give grace and forgiveness to the flawed human He graciously gave us to love.