New Year Resolutions

Hello everybody!! :) 

....Hello, blog...it's been a long time... ;) 

(No, this blog is not going anywhere, and there's really no excuses for why we haven't gotten around to posting. But... New Year... let's hope for a better adherence to the schedule. lol!)

Pictures Post: Picnics and Fireworks

I can hardly believe how the days have slipped by since our last post on here-- and it's even more awful realizing how long it's been since the last picture post. :( 

But here is a fresh post all about picnics and fireworks and summery things, so even though it's rather short, maybe it will make it up a little. 

Taking for Granted

I am working on getting the next picture post up, but I wanted to share some thoughts I had. :) 

Last Friday, we traveled to the big city on our island, about four hours south, to enjoy exploring a famous chocolate factory. 

Week of Pictures, Five-- Us and Life

Hi! How are you all doing? Sorry it has taken so long to get another installment of these posts up!

One More Step

Yesterday I finished writing my Revolutionary War book-- that monstrous little thing tried so hard to not end,  (I have landed with 50,000 extra words than I first expected), but finally, Praise the Lord, it's done. 

Or at least, the second draft is. :P 

New Simply Sisters Photos!

 Howdy, everybody!

This post has taken us a while to write! We wanted to get new pictures for the blog since last fall, but.... let's just say it never happened. :P We finally went out and took some pictures in the woods next to our house last Sunday, ending up with both of our cameras dying on us-- (Read: we forgot to make sure the batteries were charged enough...on both!) 

Then I was having one technical difficulty after another trying to get them uploaded, and then downloaded, and then edited (Abigail's camera took them all on a blue filter, yikes! lol) ... don't ask me why I've been running into little quirks lately, because my things normally work really well. I guess it's just "When it rains, it pours" isn't it? 

Finally, I beat modern technology into submission... ha-ha! Ah, that was a good feeling when I found ways around every single one of the problems! So even though it's not like it's that important of a post, I'm thrilled to finally write this one up. :) 

Week of Pictures, 2

Well, a bit more than a week, I'm afraid, lol! So I have a bunch of pictures to show you. :)

Days of January, Abigail style :)

Konnichiwa!
I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday and beautiful one as well. :) The sun is starting to stay out a little longer now....



A couple mornings ago, it was all misty outside and looked quite cold. So, I opened up the window to snap a few pictures.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We just wanted to take a moment to wish a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of our readers! We hope you have the best of days celebrating the birth of our sweet Saviour and enjoying time with family. 

What the Moon Did the First Christmas

Hello everybody! :) 

This is a thought I got just as soon as I clicked to write a new post... so let's see how it goes!

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What the Moon Did the First Christmas

The star was so bright. If the moon could have known how many songs and poems the star would have written about its luminescence over the stable, I'm not sure what it would have thought the night that God told the universe His plan.

Increasing, Decreasing

Hello!
This is a very common verse but so powerful! I wonder if we think about what it means enough!

In the Way?

I found this picture in a little book today and thought I would share it! How true this is!



Today are we walking in the WAY or walking IN the way?

Have a lovely week!

Victoria

Choices, Goals, and Progress

Hello, my friends!

We have several posts in progress... I won't tell you what they are about, but it's taking a little longer to finish them. :)

But meanwhile, I'd like to talk about goals. I am a planner, I like to write out lengthy lists and go into details about every little thing. I like the satisfaction of checking things off my to-do's. I enjoy spending the time to think about what I need to do or want to get done.

I also get really stressed out if I didn't finish something I wanted to do. (And I know, that's not good!)

So lately I've been thinking about goals in general. Not specific goals that I may have, but what goals are in of itself.

I've decided that goals are sometimes hard to get. I'm a Hockey fan (Go Redwings!!) and it's not always easy to get the puck into the net. It takes several tries, teamwork, creativity and perseverance.

Real life goals are often just like that. We might fail to finish a project one day, but we can work on it again and try to finish it the next day. We might need encouragement from friends. And we definitely need to add a lot of hard work in there.

The real teamwork though I think in real life goals is between us and God. We're a team. He's the captain, we carry out the orders. We work together. It's not always easy, but it's the only way to accomplish things.

Too often we charge right ahead by ourselves, leaving our Captain behind. We try to do what we think is right, give it our all, struggle again and again. We feel like failures. And then we yell behind us, "hey, Captain! What have You been doing? Why aren't You helping?"

The answer is really simple, although sometimes humans fail to get it through their head (finger pointing at me... :^) well, hello! We didn't listen to the boss, we didn't let him take charge. How is he supposed to help us when we're blocking him out?

Our choices effect how our goals are accomplished, how our progress is made. If we choose to give it a go by ourselves, we're going to end up stressed and wore out, and an attitude of pride will come up about the things we did finish.

Like a three legged race, we need to stay close to God in order not to fall. If we stumble, He will be there to pick us up. He can guide us and we can win the race! And we will know without a doubt that it's through nothing of our own we can win.





Ask The Lord to help you make the right choices today so your tomorrows can bring glory to God!

Have a wonderful day,

Love in Christ,

Victoria

Compassion in Action

Compassion in action.
Recently I heard this phrase and it really impacted me. Compassion is not just feeling sorry for the unsaved, but it is seeing the sinning and dying world and pulling the lost from the fire. That is real compassion ...in action.

Webster's 1828 dictionary definition:

COMPAS'SION, noun
1. A sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity. Compassion is a mixed passion, compounded of love and sorrow; at least some portion of love generally attends the pain or regret, or is excited by it.

He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity. Psalm 78.

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 1 Peter 3:8

And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Jude 1:22-23

Do we have compassion (love for the lost and sorrow for their condition)? Are we putting it in action?
It is my prayer that God will continue to work in my heart concerning missions and that he will help me do my part. God has commanded us to reach our generation. Will there be someone from every nation and tongue around the throne someday in Heaven from our time? Or will we be ashamed because billions of souls that we should have reached are lost?



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Have a blessed day!
In Christ,
Victoria