Royalty

As the Lord's chosen people we are called His children, and since He is the King of kings we are princes and princesses. Being of a royal lineage we should be different from the world, not viewing ourselves above them, for is there any reason why God should choose you to be His child over any one else? But at the same time knowing that we are not the same, for if we are the same as the world what will they see to make them realize the difference and desire it. Many seem to think that as Christians we should be like the rest of the world so that they can be "comfortable" with us and not feel condemned by any thing we do. But may I submit that as Christians God has called us to be distinctly different from the rest of the world, and show them the light of our Lord which dwells in us, and if they do feel condemned by our actions it really is a good thing, as it would show that they can realize their own lost condition, for someone who does not realize that they are lost and dying can not be saved.
Our "royalty" also calls us to treat others as such, not only are we princes and princesses but so are our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Often there is such a lack of even the slightest respect for others even in the church. But if we have the right view point of each other it should change our attitude, and it will not matter what the other person is like, whether we enjoy their company or not. We can't change the way they are, and we are not responsible for their actions but we are responsible for our own. If we consider that each christian is a child of the Kings of kings, that should lead us to show more respect, love, and grace wanting to serve them in whatever way possible, for the glory of our Father as well as theirs.

Who Are You? What Are You Doing Here?

No, I'm not trying to be rude.
My father brought up this topic the other night after listening to a sermon someone loaned him. These are questions we should be asking ourselves each day, why were we created, what is our purpose in life, in each day that we spend here on earth how are we using the time wisely and for God's glory.
We were not put here as humanists say to "enjoy and consume until we die."
Rather as it says in Scripture we were created to give glory to God. It is our highest calling, and one that when thinking of own personal life goals we often seem to ignore.
So what is your purpose in life? Are you living for own gain or to serve the King of kings?

Christian Heritage Chorale

Here's a picture from last nights performance, we had 4 rehearsals each an hour long in which to put everything together. The songs were: O Sacred Head Now Wounded, Hallelujah from Beethoven's Mount of Olives, Keep Your Lamps, and O God Our Help. See if you can find Jillian and I.

Well,we've really enjoyed day one of the conference, hearing Voddie Baucham being one of the highlights of it all, so far we've listened to him three times and look forward to several mos re tomorrow. Jillian and I have very much enjoyed being in the chorale and having about 150 people to sing with rather than our choir of 10-15 back home. It's amazing having like 50 guys to sing with.

The car ride out here was pretty good, when we weren't watching movies I curled up with my headphones and was pretty much in my own world, maybe not the best family dynamic, but we get along a little better that way.

We also had the chance to meet up with some old friends this afternoon as they took Abba to the airport.

l to r: Colin Pedersen, Jordan Pedersen, Jillian, Kelsey Pedersen, Myself, Caitlin and Hayley.

It's been about 9 years since we last saw them, so it was great to be able to visit a little.

Hope your all doing well, I'll try do more tomorrow but the pictures take a long time to load so we'll see how long my patience lasts.

TTYL

So today starts our crazy weekend, I know it's only (Wednesday, but I'm all for long weekends;-))
Basically we have to do our usual town trip, plus a Costco trip, plus packing.
In other words I have a lot to do and not much time to do it in. So I'll see all yal's later!

Homeschool Highschool Banquet

Last night my father took Jillian and I to the High school Banquet, along with Megan and her father, and Hannah and her father. Beforehand Megan, Jillian and I went and got our hair and make-up done together, not something we would normally but for this one special night it was very fun. so here's a few pictures.

Hannah, Megan and Jillian.

The fathers.

The graduating girls.

Me and Jillian.

Me and Rebecca Sullens.

Out on the balcony.

My Father

I've always been rather proud of the fact that we call our father 'Abba' rather than the usual "daddy" or "dad". Mostly just because it was different from what everybody else did, it was our special name for him, anybody could have a daddy but we had our Abba.

Now the name is not what is special so much it is who my father is that I have come to love, respect, admire, cherish, and esteem. He has truly been a wonderful priest, prophet, provider and protector. One of the things I love and respect the most about him is his pursuit of godliness and desire to lead his family in a way that honors our heavenly Father. His diligence in studying the word and seeking to live it out, his love for the church and desire to retake it for Christ. His love for his wife, in how he honors and cherishes her, his example to us of not only what our husbands should be but of our heavenly Father. His constant joy in the Lord, and love of serving others.

When we first moved to Montana going on 8 years ago, he lost his job within a few months of moving here, we had a house we were renting and our house down in California hadn't sold yet. But he trusted the Lord to provide and was my anchor in that time of uncertainty. Since then he has worked many different kinds of jobs in order to provide for his family, at one time doing pizza delivery in the evening and working at a hardware store during the day. He now back to doing what he really enjoys and was trained for, computer tech. And has had the privilege of once again being able to teach occasionally in the church and discuss things with other godly men, something that for the past few years has been extremely difficult to find. Partially because of his bluntness in speaking the truth even when it hurts(him and others).

I love you, Abba!