Biblical Fatherhood Conference II

Today ends the conference; there was much to absorb. Some outstanding points that stick with me are the following:


The life purpose of a man of faith is contained in Genesis 18:19 "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him."


Only Christ can turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers. A gospel reformation must take place before a family reformation can take place.


Saturday's conference schedule included the following:
1. Expository Reading of the Scripture
2. Workshop in Scripture Reading
3. What Happens When Fathers Turn their Hearts to Home - Malachi 4:1-6
4. Workshop in Scripture Memory
5. How Fathers Escape Laboring in Vain - Psalms 127
6. Q&A
7. Capturing the Greatest Untapped Evangelistic Opportunity before the Modern Church


Today's schedule included the following:
1. Worship at Trinity Baptist Church
2. Fellowship Meal
3. Discussion at the Brown Farm
4. Scrambled Egg Sandwiches and Chocolate Shakes

Biblical Fatherhood Conference

Daniel and I have just finished enjoying a wonderful day at the Fatherhood Conference in Wake Forest, NC. Today's topics were:


1. Finding Yourself on the Roadmap for Biblical Fatherhood
2. Fathers Who Saturate Their Homes with Scripture
3. Breaking Free from the Patterns of our Fathers
4. Understanding and Living Your Life Purpose
5. Workshop in Scripture Reading


Lots of encouragement and conviction for us both to listen to things that directly touch our daily lives. Also good to meet more like-minded men from different parts of the country. Chuck and Thomas Deladurantey are also here.


We spent the evening strolling around the grounds of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which is in Wake Forest. We were both salivating over the architectural details and took quite a few pictures. We interrupted a choir practice in one building, and interrupted a piano recital in another, and then, in our ecstacy over the woodwork, we forgot other people were in the building and walked down in front to lay on the floor to get a shot of the ceiling.


After being escorted off the grounds we...well...okay, perhaps that is stretching it a bit, but you can imagine that we wanted might badly to go down in front and lay down to get a shot of the ceiling!


Here is Daniel in a period doorway after having very carefully looked over the plinth blocks and the jamb casing.



And of course, below is a very important window sill detail, illustrating the correct placement and proportions of stool, sill trim, and jamb casing. Isn't it just thrilling!!

And of course, here is yours truly, in wood trim heaven.

It's Over!

This year Simon and I had the opportunity of

taking a homeschool speech class! Last Monday night was our last class as well as 'Parents Night'. On Parents Night, all of us were required to give a memorized speech with visual aids, introduce a classmate, and give a memorized quote. All said with a mike, on a stage, in front of a crowd of people (The family's of about 21 classmates). This equation equals SCARY for me! Thankfully, both Simon and I got through it, and I actually enjoyed the night! :-)


As well as covering speech-giving, we were taught intelligent coversation, handling a mike, and how to lead a Bible study. This class was quite a challenge and growing experience for me personally, and one that though I'm glad is over, I'm glad that I took!

Simon's speech was titled, "Thick, Gooey, and Hard" and was about fiberglassing homemade wooden boats.


My speech was about baking bread, and was titled " Butter's Best Buddy". I was able to bring our 20 year old Bosch mixer, and our recipe, which is so used that the writing is unintelligable! That was fun to pull out of my apron pocket! :-)


This young lady in the below picture was a sweet classmate whom I enjoyed getting to know! We had many visits about many topics, and I value her friendship. I knew that even if no one else in class listened to my speech, she would (and did!) always smile up at me with a cheerful sparkle in her eyes. Thank-you Mary! :-)

Three New Additions

These past few weeks, God has graciously given us the opportunity to grow our little business , Hills Valley Labradors. Thanks to Him, and a wonderful lady named Kathleen Bailey, we now have three new additions to our family and business! Mrs. Bailey has been our breeding mentor from the start, and in these past few weeks has helped and encouraged us in many ways. Through her and her beautiful dogs, Simon and I were able to purchase two little sisters, Jada and Jewel, as well as a very sweet, almost two-year old, chocolate female! Mrs. Bailey is moving to San Deigo soon, and wanted to pare down on her large kennel, so offered us her Java. After much thought and talk, we decided to go for it. :-)





This is our sweetie Java. She loves her ball, enjoys attention, and is 'Auntie' to Jada and Jewel.




Here is Simon holding his girl Jada. Jada is a little snuggler who loves her master!







Jewel is my little girl. She has been a joy to raise so far, and I'm looking forward to start training her soon.


Blessings,

~Sally

Our little sunshine

Here are a few recent photos of our precious little girl. :-) Jaelynn is very expressive already and we oohed and ahhed over every adorable little face she gave us. She lights up our lives!

Spring . . . the season of new life!

You can see it in the budding tree's, the powdery blossoms, and the fields of vibrant orange wildflowers. You can smell it in the fresh, 'after the rain' breezes. You can feel it in the downy soft fur of little squirmy puppies, and in the warmth of the sunshine on your face. You can hear it in the jubliant tones of nature; the birds, the crickets, and the frogs in the pond across the field. You can taste it in the fresh sweetness of Spring fruit, in the feeling of anticipation and wonder . . . Spring is here, my favorite season, and we at the Parish Ranch are enjoying it to it's fullest. New life is bursting forth everywhere I look!


Spring brought 50 downy soft chicks to our home to raise up for meat in 8 weeks. However, Ranger, now fully recovered from his accident, decided that eight weeks was far too long to wait. Late one night, he snuck into the barn . . . somehow the door was left open . . . (?) and devoured all but 16 of them! It caused quite an uproar, but nothing was to be done except to be far more vigilent with keeping the door closed! We hope to order replacements soon. :-)


Spring has also brought numerous rolly polly little dumplings in the form of puppies once again to our home! We have a batch of 3 week old 'halflings' (see the post about Ranger farther down for more details) plus, two little sisters who we bought from another breeder, to add to our Lab family! Simon bought Jade, and I, Jewel. They have both delighted us with their cuteness, and earned thier place outside after Mom stepped in mess one too many times!


Spring has kept my family quite active! I am now driving *grits teeth* which brings in a whole new set of adventure and well earned grey hair. (So sorry!) Thankfully, I am surrounded by experts, (especially my two younger brothers) who are only too happy to help me master the art of the automobile. :-p
Last weekend, we had the privilage of attending the Bakersfield Youth Symphony to hear Tyler Rowland play a solo on his violin. We have really enjoyed the time we have spent with the Rowland family, who, it is evident, loves the Lord, and serves Him! Tyler's violin piece was beautiful, and we enjoyed the evening very much! It was wonderful to enjoy fellowship with our Bakersfield brethren afterwards at a resturant, and later, in the Rowland's home. Praise the Lord for fellowship with those who love Him!
When the evening was over, we headed on down to L.A. to spend the night and next day with Daniel and Kendra, and our precious little darling, Jaelynn. She is growing so fast, that every moment spent is precious! If you'd like to check out Dan and Kendra's new blog, the address is, www.laparishs.blogspot.com Our day with them was short, but very sweet . . . just wish I lived a little closer to my big brother, sis, and sweet little niece! :-)


May each enjoy the wonderful season of Spring!