Happy Birthday, John~

All of a sudden, he's 10~

I love him more today than I loved him at birth!
I love that he loves the honorable place of being our youngest! He has a confidence in where God has placed him and uses him in our family, which thrills my heart!
He still never fusses that he doesn't get a window seat in the truck.
He's still content to sit in the middle, between us, close to our hearts!

He's God's gracious gift to us, discerning and wise, a strong ruler, the 'Home Ruler', very distinguished in many ways...He is John Todd Harris.

He is still the one who loves to snuggle up in bed w/us just before it's time to turn out the light, and he is still the one who slips into the bed beside me in the mornings after his dad rises early for work.

Yet, lately I've noticed the growing muscles of his manliness as he works, his character maturing and his thoughts expressed more confidently. His heart lingers in ways to remain a child, but I hesitate to admit, I see a young man making himself ready to appear.


John's Psalm...

"Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace." Psalm 29~



and still, a song that stirs my heart...

"Let Them Be Little"

[Originally written and sung by Billy Dean]

I can remember when you fit in the palm of my hand
Felt so good in it, no bigger than a minute
How it amazes me, you're changing with every blink
Faster than a flower blooms they grow up all too soon

So let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh just let them be little

I've never felt so much in one little tender touch
I live for those kisses, prayers and your wishes
Now that you're teaching me things only a child can see
Every night while we're on our knees all I ask is please

Let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh just let them be little

So innocent, a precious soul, you turn around
It's time to let them go

So let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh just let them be little

Let them be little


"John, I love you with all my heart, the very, very deepest part!" Mom~

Sleeping Mewty

Now I lay me down to rest
Upon this layered blanket nest.
A Purr-ty Princess I would be,
but there seems to be a missing pea.

Words: Karen C. Gray, 06/2011

The Destiny of a Soul

"A mother is a chalice, the vessel without which no human being has ever been born. She is created to be a life-bearer, cooperating with her husband and with God in the making of a child.
What a solemn responsibility. What an unspeakable privilege-a vessel divinely prepared for the Master's use."
Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family




















Today we experienced the JOY of joining a host of other family members to await the arrival of my niece's first baby! Maryella is finally here, and Casey and Riley are parents!! Woohoo!
It seems they were 'Just Married' a few months ago, but their one year anniversary was in February!

Maryella Grace made her grand entrance into the world around 12:45 this afternoon weighing 7 lbs and 7 oz and measuring 20" long. She arrived beautifully, and I must say, she demonstrated much more GRACE than most of us in the 'Family Lounge'! Imagine that! None of us liked the fact she had to linger long while waiting for the doctor to arrive. Evidently it was a busy day for delivering babies, and being that Maryella was soooo relaxed about the matter, she kept getting bumped to the bottom of the line!
But finally, with tears of JOY we could exclaim,...

"She's here!! Thank you LORD!"




















"When parents receive a child from the hand of God they receive a life to be shaped and moulded-...this small package of living flesh, with their blood coursing through its tiny veins, their features alarmingly recognizable on the wizened face; real, workable fingers, ten of them, capable of a damp, hot, strong grip on one of theirs; lungs which can produce the most heartbreakingly soft coos and unbearably harsh cries; skin so smooth, so silky, so tender you want to weep when you touch it. ...
There has been no preparation which seems nearly adequate for this cataclysmic upheaval of their lives. A boy and a girl became a husband and a wife, and suddenly they are a father and a mother, overnight as it were, without anything to ready them for the awesome task of fashioning the destiny of a soul. .. The One who fashioned the child and gave [her] to these two people is ready to give the wisdom they know they lack if only they ask."
Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family

Riley and Casey,
May the LORD bless your hearts' desire to shape and 'mould' Maryella's soul for HIM. ~

Micah- "Who is Like Our God?"

When the long awaited soul expression of God's favor is born, who can argue the miracle of birth and the stirring reality of His giving of LIFE, His likeness, His presence, His BEAUTIFUL GRACE? He formed every cell of her body and gave her living power.

Micah Elizabeth surprised everyone by arriving three weeks early, a few days after our TKD shower! Whew!~

Joshua and Maria have become like family to us. What a JOY they are!!
Spending time with them, sharing food and fellowship, has always been fun, and now we really look forward to Micah's first visit to our home in a couple of more days, followed (we hope) by many more as she grows!! I am so excited...I can hardly wait! [smile]

Maria and Joshua,
We are soooooo very excited and thankful to our LORD God for HIS timely and gracious gift of a precious daughter to you. She will surely turn your hearts toward HIM!
Enjoy these fleeting moments...she will grow sooooo quickly!~

"Here is a sweet, fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God, and the body in which it dwells is worthy all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but i have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in Christ's name, I make a willing sacrifice of what little leisure for my own recreation my other darlings had left me. yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother's heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, to her life-long prayers! Oh, how rich I am, how truly, how wondrously blest!"

Words spoken by Elizabeth Prentiss/Katherine Mortimer- 'On having a third child' in Stepping Heavenward (a book I HIGHLY recommend!)

Father's Happy Day

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Malachi 4:6.

So grateful we'll celebrate the great blessing of a Father's love for his family today, that I've never known a day when our family did not have a godly father!

Thank you, Father, for giving me an earthly father You knew would be faithful to your call to lead and guide me through life to know and love you!

I am so greatly blessed!

Under Construction

Welcome sign 'constructed' by John, 06/11 What a delight it was to be w/very DEAR Friends again recently! Isaac and Lydiana are now back in the southeast!! YEAH!!! The Coast Guard interrupted their lengthy Alaskan honeymoon to bring them back to our corner of the world! Do they look disappointed? They are TOTALLY HAPPY to be fulfilling His call of duty! If their move back to the south wasn't wonderful enough, The LORD is presently re-constructing their lives and minds to include the term...FAMILY!! They're no longer a family of 2, but of 3! Isaac and Lydiana are expecting a BOY in September, or really better stated, whenever the LORD so desires!!

Isaac and Lydiana have entered yet another new and exciting 'Construction Zone'... We were thrilled a couple of Saturdays ago to welcome friends into our very own 'Construction Site' to surround Isaac and Lydiana with LOVE and TRUTH as the LORD leads them down this newly constructed road of 'Parenthood'.

It seems Isaac and Lydiana couldn't be better prepared to become parents. They are blessed to have the loving support of God honoring families and friends who are 'set on go' to assist and encourage them along the way. Many would testify they have already witnessed the eager and loving, strong arm of Isaac who was always eager to assist parents with young children at church and in their homes, so it seems he is well prepared and perfectly suited to become the kind of father who will take to heart every duty of parenthood! In The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot, she states, "As Christ's submission to His Father meant also His submission to the needs of His disciples, so a father's submission to a Heavenly Father means submission to the needs of his children, in other words, sacrifice and humble service, always the conditions of Godlike authority. "I am among you as one who serves," Jesus said (Luke 22:27, RSV). 

 Martin Luther wrote, "Our natural reason looks at marriage and turns up its nose and says, "Alas! Must I rock the baby? wash its diapers? make its bed? smell its stench? stay at nights with it? take care of it when it cries? heal its rashes and sores? and on top of that care for my spouse, provide labor at my trade, take care of this and take care of that? do this and do that? and endure this and endure that? Why should I make such a prisoner of myself? What then does Christian faith say to this? It opens its eyes, looks upon all these insignificant, distasteful and despised duties in the spirit, and is aware that they are all adorned with divine approval as with the costliest gold and jewels. It says, "O God, I confess I am not worthy to rock that little babe or wash its diapers or to be entrusted with the care of a child and its mother. How is it that I without any merit have come to this distinction of being certain that I am serving thy creature and thy most precious will? Oh, how gladly will I do so. Though the duty should be even more insignificant and despised, neither frost nor heat, neither drudgery nor labor will distress me for I am certain that it is thus pleasing in thy sight." 

Happy Father's Day, Isaac! The Master Craftsman and Creator of ALL the Universe has gifted you with a sneak peak, the blueprint, of a very important assignment ahead... Your Family! "For Thou has possessed [his] reins: Thou has covered [him] in [his] mother's womb." Psalm 139:13 "Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him." Psalm 103:13 "Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain." Psalm 127:1 

GOD IS AT WORK! 

ENJOY! 

Photo Credits: Katherine

Grace in Abundance

I have not had much time to linger in our garden in recent weeks, but I have peaked out and walked around to see grace taking place there...in abundance.
I am always awed!!

This year we are growing tomatoes!! Yeah~!

I'm so excited to see green and red tomatoes decorating my garden.
You may remember last year our tomato plants suffered 'Blossom Drop', a result of various stressors we believe were from late planting, high temps, not enough moisture, insects and/or disease, etc...
So, this year we planted earlier, and have attempted to water more regularly. It's pure delight to reap the awesome benefits of doing what we're supposed to do...ha~.

We are growing 'Big Boy Tomatoes'...













and Cherry Tomatoes...

Last week, our tomatoes began to turn red, but I also noticed a couple of puncture marks in a couple of our cherry tomatoes. : (
I picked those and gave them to the rabbits, knowing they wouldn't care they weren't perfect!

A day or so later, when I went out in hopes of picking a couple of the bigger tomatoes, I was horrified to find this...HUGE cavities!!














Oh, my heart! What happened?



















"Something is eating our tomatoes!"
I supposed it to be squirrels or possums, but whatever, I had to come up w/a plan to preserve 'my tomatoes'. Last year it was 'Blossom Drop' and this year is 'Pestilence'!

Well, the following day, while standing at the kitchen sink, I glanced out the window and there before my eyes...I saw it!!! The LORD provided a timely, personal explanation of what was happening to my tomatoes! Of course...!!

Although I grabbed my camera, I didn't make it in time,... but at least I knew.

Then, He did it again...the following day the LORD gave me another opportunity to capture this for you.

Click the photos if you'd like a closer view!

Now the bird is watching me...


































































God's provision is ALWAYS perfect, even for 'the birds of the air'!
From where its nest hung just 30 feet or so away in our neighbor's yard, our garden was the perfect fly through 'Sweet Tomatoes' for its young family...Smart bird!

Now, I confess I'm not thrilled w/the thought of sharing ALL of our tomatoes, so I'm considering the next step to take to preserve the tomatoes we have left, but I will enjoy sharing what they've already started eating.
And no, I won't be concerned that the two tomatoes the bird ate from are now gone...BOTH, GONE!! No where to be found!!

Hmmmm..........

" Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"
Matthew 6:25-26

My Heavenly Father loves me more than the birds and makes provision for ALL of my needs.

His GRACE is Abundant!

Build Me a Son

Build me a son, O Lord,
who will be strong enough to know when he is weak,
and brave enough to face him self when he is afraid;
one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat,
and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be
where his backbone should be;
a son who will know Thee- and that
to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort,
but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.
Here, let him learn to stand up in the storm;
here, let him team compassion for those who fall.

Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goals will be high;
a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men;
one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep;
one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his,
add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor,
so that he may always be serious,
yet never take himself too seriously.

Give him humility, so that he may always remember
the simplicity of true greatness,
the open mind of true wisdom,
the meekness of true strength.

....

By: General Douglas A. MacArthur
"It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle field but in the home repeating with him our simple daily prayer,
'Our Father who art in Heaven.'"


The Master Builder is God! He is the originating source from which ALL holy and good character comes, the Chief Cornerstone on which a life is founded, secured, and made strong!

"Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."
Psalm 127