Fruitbearers

1. " Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love . ♥ " ~Albert Einstein 2. " ♥ Love doesn't make the world go round,     Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.♥ "   ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning 3. "♥ Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit. " ~Peter Ustinov 4. "♥ Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle :)." ~Sam Levenson 5. " In family life, love ♥ is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony. " ~Eva Burrows 6. " The essence of love ♥ is kindness ." ~Robert Louis Stevenson 7. "♥ Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots. :)" ~A Hoosier farmer (p. 253, Everything Romance) 8. "♥ Since...

SYNOPSIS:   Thomas Kinkade presents  Christmas Lodge : a place where a heart-warming past and loving future meet for one remarkable group of people. During a weekend trip to the mountains, Mary (Erin Karpluk) finds herself at the now- dilapidated lodge where she spent the holidays with her family growing up. She becomes determined to restore the building to its former glory. Inspired by her grandfather and guided by her grandmother in heaven, Mary throws herself into the project, and during the process finds herself drawn to Jack (Michael Shanks), a handsome man who loves the lodge as much as she does. Historically unlucky in love, this chance encounter allows Mary to renew her faith in life and discover her one true love. For an uplifting story about the importance of faith, family and the true holiday spirit, go to the  Christmas Lodge . MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW: Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner :)? Christmas Lodge is a clean Christi...

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Jay Loecken grew up on an eighty-acre hobby farm in Minnesota as the youngest of three boys. His upbringing was solid with loving parents who were always encouraging him to try new things. He grew up in a Christian home, but his faith really began to develop during his sophomore year at Northwestern College while living in Dublin, Ireland for the summer and working with Greater Europe Mission. That’s when the Bible began to come to life for him and he began developing his own convictions. Beth Loecken’s upbringing could not have been any more different. She grew up in Kansas City in a Catholic home as the youngest of six children. Her mother battled depression and eventually committed suicide when Beth was only five. Beth’s father retreated into alcoholism, leaving her in a chaotic and unstable environment where she was often abused. After graduating from high school, she moved to New York where she discovered her first true love—Jesus. He offered her a love and...

This is my catch-up post :). I have been praying but have not had time to blog about it until now. We're in the middle of praying the Scriptures for our sons through the fruit of the Spirit: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, and SELF-CONTROL. As you can tell from my blog's title, we're raising our children to be fruitbearers :). Study Questions 1. There comes a time in every child's life, when the sin-nature starts to show its ugly head. For Brooke and her husband, this came accompanied by a difficult, life-altering challenge that made it difficult for them to train their son. Can you relate? Yes. One of our sons has special needs and special challenges. 2. When things don't go as you planned, and life seems to throw you a curve-ball, what is your heart's response? Do you get angry with God? Stop talking to Him? My heart's response was sorrow, grief, and disappointment. I don't get angry with God. I talk to Hi...

We are so grateful for the Lord's blessings, love, grace, mercy, and faithfulness throughout the years.  I like to take a look back each year at what He had done for us, in us, and through us.  We're especially thankful for the Lord's healing on our 12 year old son.  There's a big difference in him between 2009 and 2010. 1. Our daughter, Alyssa (16 then), gave 2 wonderful speeches at our local speech/apologetics club. 2. I was the Grand Prize Winner for Focus on the Family's Celebrating Life Contest in February. I've won a trip for two to Colorado and lunch with Jim Daly, the President of Focus on the Family, but Focus on the Family has not given me the prize yet (Update as of Feb., 2011: FOTF is arranging an all expense paid trip for our whole family of 5 to visit Colorado in July! Praise God!). I also won a Rosetta Stone Giveaway (from Rosetta Stone via a blog).  We picked Mandarin Chinese. 3. I was one of the contributors (by the name...