Best Friends

Ian and Seth pretending to saw a piece of wood.

These guys have so much fun together. I'm pretty sure their lives would be not nearly as exciting without each other (none of their sisters are too excited to saw a piece of wood or do many of the other things they do together!). They are so blessed to have each other and we are so blessed to have them! We love our brothers!
In Christ,
Marissa

We got our pictures back! (Petoskey part 2)

We are very happy that we got all our pictures back, so I thought I'd share some of them!!

Our family by lake Charlevoix

Chester and Pendleton kids on the cannon.

Dad and Ian on the tractor ride.

Going to fireworks!

Swimming at lake Michigan.

Mom and Dad.

Ian on the rocks....He's so cute! :)

Ian and Talitha caught some chickens.

Sunflower!

We had a great trip! Thanks for the prayers!

-Andrea

At the cottage

We got home from our friends' cottage last night. We had so much fun! Thanks for your prayers.

Well, most of our pictures got deleted unfortunately.... here are a few though.

Playing in the sandbox.
I believe this was the first day...
The pictures really aren't in any order, sorry.

On Friday we went to a farm up north. They had a squash launcher which was the biggest hit I think. :D

My Godsister Talitha and me

Campfire

Talitha turned two last week! Ian wanted to make her something. We didn't have any eggs, which made it rather difficult to find any recipes, but we did find this chocolate upside-down cake which didn't require any eggs. Yay! :D

When Ian found out last week that Talitha was turning two, he decided that he REALLY wanted to buy her a dress. He is so sweet! He and Mom picked her out one at the store before we left. It was really cute on her, but I don't think we have any pictures.

Elaina playing outside

Chester and Pendleton kids
Me, Seth, Andrea, Josh, Ian, Elaina, Talitha, Luke and Caleb

Vacation

We are going up north tomorrow, so we won't be able to post for a few days.
Hope everyone has a good rest of the week!

Blessings,
Andrea

Siblings

Most people that know me know that I LOVE my siblings! They are an amazing part of my life. I am so blessed to have such wonderful siblings. I have to say that it really frustrates me when I hear people talking about the way the world says things: "Siblings hate each other, and teenagers are brats." That doesn't have to be the way it is!
The Bible says that siblings are to love each other and it also says that people go from being children, to young adults, to adults. Their is never a 'teenage' part in it. We who live by the Bible and trust God's word should not be fooled by this foolish assumption that the world gives us!

God puts each one of our siblings into our lives for a reason. If you don't have siblings, then the friends and parents God has in your life are for a reason too. I hope everyone already knows what I wrote today, but if not, then I'm glad I wrote it.
God Bless!!!
-Andrea

Seth

Ian

Elaina

Marissa

"...But overcome evil with good."

I know everyone has a problem with temptation and Satan definitely has a way with tempting us to do evil. I get tempted often-many times a day. It's hard for me-just like everyone else- to resist this. I decided to pick a verse and meditate on it. I memorized it and made sure I would not forget it. It has helped me so much! Every time I get tempted, I can remember this verse and it is so much easier to overcome this temptation. Saying the verse that you pick out loud is a good idea too because Satan cannot stay in the presence of someone who is reciting scripture.

There are many verses that are wonderful but the one I chose is a very familiar verse:
Romans 12:21
"Do not be overcome be evil, but overcome evil with good."

I know this concept is very familiar, but I just think it's a good reminder.

Blessings,
Andrea

Someone was having fun with black and white.....

Andrea did an almost all black and white photo shoot yesterday. Although God's colors are amazing and breathtaking, it is fun to do some black and white sometimes also. :D Here are a couple pictures of Seth playing on the swing set.

Going down the slide....

"Hello down there...." :D

By day the Lord directs His love, at night His
song is with me-- a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm 42:8

Nursing home

I think Andrea took this picture of Seth yesterday.
He looks just a tad bit confused....
"Why aren't you going the way I want you to?" :D

Today Andrea and I played for the open house of a nursing home near us. We did mostly violin/cello duets, and some harp also. We had fun, but found out that playing for three hours is a really long time! I'm pretty sure our backs and necks were thinking so, too. :D
We are hoping to get a more regular ministry started at this nursing home once it gets up and running. We've done some playing at nursing homes before, but we are hoping to get more of a program this time and maybe do some things other than music. Do any of you volunteer at nursing homes ever? If so, what kind of things do you do?
God bless,
Marissa

At the Lake

Having fun on Monday at our uncle and aunt's campground.....

Trying to catch fish :D

Sisters :D

You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.
Psalm 25:5

Press On

Cowards never won heaven. Do not claim that you are begotten of God and have His royal blood running in your veins unless you can prove your lineage by this heroic spirit: to dare to be holy in spite of men and devils. ~William Gurnall

I read this yesterday in a book called The Christian in Complete Armour (by William Gurnall). I know it is easy to become discouraged. Sometimes it seems like the battle is all uphill, and there is no way to get to the top. Fortunately, although the battle is uphill, we have the ultimate guide by our side. He will help us to make it to the top if we determine not to give up. Next time you are discouraged, remember that you are a warrior for Christ and keep pressing on toward the top.
In Christ,
Marissa

God's beautiful creation

God's world is so beautiful!

I just thought this was cool

I was taking some picture's of Elaina and I saw this frog.

The end of the week! Our couins, Adam and Ally, me, Marissa, Elaina, and Ian.
Seth didn't want to get in the picture.

Blessings,
Andrea

"This sacred work demands, not lukewarm, selfish, slack souls, but hearts more finely tempered than steel, wills purer and harder than the diamond."
-Pere Henri Lousis Didon

If they're breathing, they need Jesus

Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Tonight we went with some friends to work at our local rescue mission. It was an awesome experience. We had never worked there before so we were excited to get the opportunity to help serve dinner to needy men.
Before we started, I prayed that I would be able to see through the eyes of Christ and view these men as Jesus would. I wasn't really sure what to expect. Would they be rough? Scary? Just how poor were they? I just hoped that I would be able to humbly serve as Jesus commands me to. I saw the above verse hanging on the wall a few minutes before they came in. That really helped me to get the right mindset.
From the moment they came in to the moment we left, all I saw were people who were created in the image of God and whom He loves. I am so glad that we got to serve and be the body of Christ.
Always remember that God loves EVERYONE and...
If they're breathing, they need Jesus. -Mark Cahill

God bless,
Marissa

Speak, O Lord

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You,
to receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your Truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness;
That the light of Christ might be seen today
in our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
all Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
in the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of power that can never fail;
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time,
that will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises;
And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built,
and the earth is filled with Your glory.

I LOVE this song by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. It would be great if you got a chance to hear it with the music, because it is awesome! :D

4th of July!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, EVERYONE!!!!!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
I'll post pictures soon!
Blessings,
Andrea

Alaska

Hi Everyone! I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of the cruise!
Hope you like them!

Playing hangman.

The beautiful Hubbard Glaciers!

It was really windy on the top deck,
so Uncle Paul, Marissa and I took blankets and tried to run with them in front of us.

Marissa at dinner right after we took the family picture.
Each family had a different color shirt. As you can see...ours was blue.

Me when we arrived at Sitka.

Adam and his new hat.

Looking out into the sea.

Uncle Matthew, Marissa, Me and our cousin Lydia.

Miyako and me after dinner.

Mom and Aunt Jackie.

The Stavros kids.

Mom and Dad.

Uncle Paul and Ally.

It was a great trip, but it's good to be home!
Blessings everyone!
-Andrea