Brouwer's Line

A peek at our new property on Brouwer's Line!  We have no real plan for when we will officially move here-we are still working on getting ready to sell our current home.

This is the veiw from the road.

 Standing on the hill in the back yard

 The two hills (or mountains as Jude calls them!)

 We had a fresh basket of books from the library-ready to be read after a picnic lunch but Brie decided to be grumpy so we went for a walk instead.

 Took the girls for a picnic just to get out of the house.

 Joel cutting the grass for us...not our lawn tractor.

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk!

Apparently the bottle liner was not in properly...this happened as we were getting ready to leave for a campfire-Murphy's Law   :O)

Sandwiches on the Counter-because that's just fun. :O)

Chips n' Salsa
The girls often play 'restaurant'. When I bring them the food they are usually chatting with each other about how their Mom is the 'resaurant lady'. I pretend not to hear their conversation so that they keep chatting because it is very fun to listen in!

Wacky Hair! :O)

Tim Horton's cups are favorite toy around here.

March 2011-Trip to Michigan for Kezia's Baptism

Pic 1-Ksena 2006                                                            

Pic 2- Brie 2011

 Hotel Swimming!

 Such a fabulous big sister!!!! 

 Hotel Sleeping...

 The drive up...eating Dutch candies.

 Eating Out with the Luiting Clan the night we arrived.

...and sadly I did not take pics of Kezia at her baptism!!! 

The Bahamas...March 2011

Dan and I went to the Bahamas in March. We went to the same place in the Bahama's a few years ago with Taun and Rob and our respective families. It was such a refreshing trip and I am so thankful that Dan's Mom and Dad were willing to take our crew of ladies for a week!

I started reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp the first day we arrived (or maybe even on the flight there...)  This book is amazing but every sentence is a work of art and a meal to digest so I could not finish it on a holiday. 

 The view of our island (Spanish Wells) from the ferry that we took to Harbour Island.

 We used bikes to tour Harbour Island like a good Dutch couple should!  It was a blast!!!

 Just the view from the restaurant that we ate at...:O)  Can you imagine!!!

  While we were touring a funeral procession went by-it was more like a parade with dancing and a band!  The man leading the procession held a stick and he poked people who didn't move along properly.

Dan fishing from a boat that we had access to.  There were no life jackets or a paddle on board...we mentioned this to a local and she laughed at us and said "all you need is a pair of 'flippas' " -Apparently if you have engine trouble and get stuck in the middle of now where (which we did) all you need is a pair of flippers to use while you swim and push your boat to shore...We ended up sitting in the blistering sun on the open ocean for about an hour and finally another boat came past.  Just as they were about to pull us to shore our engine decided to work again.

Golf cart to get around the island...

Morning beauty...normally I do not get up early but I was sick so instead of trying to sleep I grabbed the camera and tried to catch the sunrise...

On our last day there a fellow Canadian (from Quebec) caught a Lemon Shark...at the beach we had been swimming at...not to worry though-it was only his third shark in about four days and Lemon Sharks are harmless.  I did not know that there were 'safe' sharks out there...did you?!  I will not believe it!

Dan and Don posing with sharkie while I panicked.

Oh, yes, friendly indeed!

Now there's a happy shark face!

 The End...and Sharkie did not eat us or these pics would not be here! :O)

The Filling

Hebrews 2:17-18
17Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Calendars, schedules, lists, routine, rising early, going to bed on time, exercise, all of these goals have been weighing me down. I have been feeling the need to be more organized and run my household well. We are called to be intentional about our lives for Christ and these things fit into being intentional. So why do they not work perfectly and how is it I fail in these basic things?

I discovered today (anew) that none of these things are good by themselves. There is nothing we can do to order our lives properly aside from Christ. I have not intentionally tried new calendars or the self-discipline of rising early without my Jesus being a part of them. What I did, was slip into thinking that the goodness of these habits would bring goodness into my life-and to a degree they can be a blessing.

The theme that reoccurs in my life though, is failure. You probably all feel that at times. The new calendar is hard to stick too, and rising early is next to impossible without going to bed on time. We strive but we fall even though we expected to succeed because we had added something of value to our life.

I came to a point today where I needed Jesus SO badly. I am full of sin and failure and deep down I think that I am more forgiven when I strive to do better. Do you see how I have set myself up for failure!? I will only overcome if I live out of that forgiveness and do not think that anything I do makes me more worthy of that forgiveness. His forgiveness is complete in Himself and is not dependant on what I will do. What I will do MUST flow out of what He has done.

So I came to a place of pleading with my Savior today, and I begged for filling. I listened to the Revive our Hearts broadcast from April 28 and it was about Jesus being our High Priest. Not only has He wiped my sin away on the cross, He is TODAY, at this SECOND interceding on my behalf-that is how merciful He is and how utterly dependant I am on Him. Oh the completeness of His salvation and how lavish His love. His work of salvation was finished on the cross but He is still active for His people today!

It struck me that Jesus had been interceding on my behalf, for the spiritual battle I was fighting, and in His mercy, He filled me through the truth that was spoken on a radio broadcast. This Savior is REAL and cares about every detail of our lives. He made what was an ugly morning, into something that drove me to the cross. Thank you Lord!

I am not suggesting you throw out your Polestar Family Calendar (lol, Heather!). I am telling you that NOTHING from the simplest thing like a calendar, to the beauty of corporate worship, can be a blessing without the completeness of Christ. Does that make any sense to you? Please feel free to share how Jesus has blessed you as He actively intercedes on your behalf.

Here is a quote from Nancy Leigh DeMoss:

We know that Jesus is today head of His Body, the church. Revelation chapters 2 and 3 tells us that He is “walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands” (that is the local churches). And what is He doing?
• He’s reigning.
• He’s observing.
• He’s guiding.
• He’s supplying.
• He’s protecting.
• He’s providing.
He has this very active ministry today on behalf of His churches. He’s not just this distant, far-away ruler who just looks at things going down here on earth but has a totally different life up in heaven. He is actively engaged with us by His Spirit here on earth as the Head of His Church