God All-Sufficient

from The Valley of Vision....

____________


O Lord of Grace,

The world is before me this day,
and I am weak and fearful,
but I look to thee for strength;

If I venture forth alone I stumble and fall,
but on the Beloved's arms I am firm
as the eternal hills;

If left to the treachery of my heart
I shall shame they Name,
but if enlightened, guided, upheld by thy Spirit,
I shall bring thee glory.

Be thou my arm to support,
my strength to stand,
my light to see,
my feet to run,
my shield to protect,
my sword to repel,
my sun to warm.

To enrich me will not diminish thy fullness;
All thy lovingkindness is in thy Son,
I bring him to thee in the arms of faith,
I urge his saving Name as the One who died for me.

I plead his blood to pay my debts of wrong.

Accept his worthiness for my unworthiness,
his sinlessness for my transgressions,
his purity for my uncleanness,
his sincerity for my guile,
his truth for my deceits,
his meekness for my pride,
his constancy for my backslidings,
his love for my enmity,
his fullness for my emptiness
his faithfulness for my treachery,
his obedience for my lawlessness,
his glory for my shame,
his devotedness for my waywardness,
his holy life for my unchaste ways,
his righteousness for my dead works,
his death for my life.

Sir Joost

Celebrating the completion of your 6th year is no small thing. And this past Saturday, in our house, it was a celebration fitting of a knight. Sir Joost enjoyed his birthday festivities with all his family. There were swords, castles, shields, knights and lots of happy, energetic kids. Here are a few shots from the day....

six

Yesterday, Joost celebrated his sixth birthday. This past year has been one of such growth and maturity for him. He became a boy this past year. That is a wonderful thing, but a mother still becomes a bit sentimental at times like these. Here are some pictures of years gone by--maybe you can get a little teary-eyed, too....

Jeff and Joost, 2 months old

3 1/2 months old

November 2003--Joost's first family Christmas picture

Joost's 2nd Christmas--2004 (17 months old)

Virginia Beach--June 2005 (almost 2 years old)

Celebrating Gracie's baptism--March 2006

A visit to Lake Tobias--summer 2007 (4 years old)

Joost and Grace--Summer of 2007

Summer 2008


Happy 6 years, Joost! We love you oh so much.

Pittsburgh

Jeff has been working 2 to 3 days a week in Pittsburgh since April. The kids and I decided it would be fun to join him for one of his stays. Here are a few pictures from our time there....

Upon our arrival on Sunday afternoon, we rode the the Duquesne Incline that climbs Mount Washington and had a lovely view of the city and the three rivers.

(This picture is not mine.)

.........

On Monday, once Jeff was hard at work, the kids and I went to the zoo.

The African section was a lot of fun.



And, there was a komodo dragon in the Asian section. We were a little disappointed that he didn't breath any fire for us. Dragons have become so lazy now that they don't have to slay people and hoard treasure.

The zoo also had a great aquarium. We walked through a tunnel of sharks and saw divers brave enough to clean the tanks.

We enjoyed the penguins and, apparently, the city is enjoying it's latest win.

Our other activities during our time there included a trip to Trader Joe's. Have I mentioned how much I miss that store and wish there was one in Harrisburg?