A Trip to St. Louis

I love traveling, especially by plane. As I flew across Louisiana, Arkansas and entered Missouri, I was amazed (as I always am) by the view of both the landscape and the heavens from such an altitude.

Take off and landing are always thrilling, and soaring through the skies and looking down to pillows of clouds always puts me in awe.

As I watched a magnificent sunset from the air I found myself saying out loud "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world" from Psalm 19.

I tried for a moment to understand how anyone being surrounded by such glory could doubt the presence of a wonderful Creator. I considered the logic of thinking that all of this just evolved this way by chance.

No, I smiled, nothing but the word of God could have created such magnificence as the skies.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" Genesis 1:1 boldly states.

Nothing but these pure words of scripture is even logical.

Soon, my view was hindered as we passed through the clouds for a while.

When I touched down, I made my way to the curbside where I was reunited with some very dear friends from New Orleans. They lost practically everything they owned in the flood, have two very small children and are due for their third baby in just a few weeks. Since he is an airline pilot, he can get us free passes to various places, so we decided to take 10 days and come help them move.

Since they know very few people here, they definitely needed some help with the moving and unpacking process.

Of course, it was a great blessing for us because we love their family very much and were glad to have a great reason to see them again.

So now, taking a break from the demands of the household to make a post, I am reminded just how gracious God is. Seeing how he takes lives that were broken and making them whole is magnificent to watch.

We shall return home next Tuesday, just in time for several gigs in June.

Blessings!

~Robin <><

MHEA Conference

This past weekend was Mississippi's homeschool conference. Mr. Doug Phillips was supposed to speak, but was instead in the hospital with kidney stones. He sent Geoffrey Botkin in his place.
It was very good and we were able to make a few connections about finding a church somewhere within 100 miles! Today we'll be visiting a Reformed Baptist church in Port Gibson (about an hour north, but it's a beautiful drive up the Natchez Trace). So, we'll see! We got the names of a few other churches to try, so we'll be busy visiting churches for the next several Sundays.
Anyway, the conference wasn't very big (at least not compared to the Louisiana conference), but they had some very knowledgeable speakers who delivered some very convicting talks.
All in all, it was definitely worth the drive to Jackson.

Merisha and I are in the Sunday paper here in Natchez today, so we're excited about getting our name out and seeing what kind of response we get from it.
Many of our friends have told us "Oh, you've got to play at my wedding! Reserve a Saturday for me in about 5 years."
None of them have grooms, but hey, they've got musicians lined up :)

Anyway, I must get going...I would have posted sooner but my computer is quite fickle and likes to freeze up etc.

Blessings,
~Robin <><

Katy Run

Well, we got our first load from the storage building in Katy this past weekend.
We received help from some very kind people from our church there and were able to get over half of the stuff loaded up in just a few hours.
It was quite a treat to be able to see some friends there in Katy that we haven't seen since our initial move.

The drive was long, but had it's comic relief moments (on Hwy 84, we passed a sign on the side of a building that had a picture of a women with long dark hair and read: "Virtuous Women Fitness and Tanning." For some reason that struck us as funny and got a bit of mileage out of it. Perhaps we were just tired!)
Anyway, it rained the entire way back from Katy (very hard for the first several hours) and since I come from a family who has bad weather phobia, it was a bit tense.
We all survived, though! We'll be making another trip in the next week or two to get the rest of our stuff.
I'm definitely looking forward to having the move behind us and getting settled in!

~Robin <><

Keeping up with the times!

I AM: hid with Christ in God
I WANT: to see the world
I WILL: appear with Christ in glory
I WISH: I didn't have a headache
I HATE: stupid movies
I LOVE: playing music or singing with my sister in a room with wood floors
I MISS: lots of people
I FEAR: marrying someone who turns out to be a jerk
I HEAR: complete silence. A welcome relief after spending 5 hours listening to the Baptism Debate
I WONDER: why sincere, learned, God-fearing people come to different beliefs and convictions
I REGRET: not practicing my instruments more when I was younger
I AM NOT: hungry
I DANCE: any chance I get. In fact, I taught a historical dance today
I SING: all the time.
I CRY: on rare, heart-wrenching occasions
I AM NOT ALWAYS: patient
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: practically nothing. I'm not very handy
I WRITE: on my blog, but especially letters and e-mails.
I CONFUSE: Farmer James
I NEED: dark chocolate (my new favorite indulgence)
I SHOULD: get off the computer and get stuff packed to move
I START: tons of books
I FINISH: almost none of them
I TAG: Tiffany, Christa and Jessica (if they'd like to, of course)

And the moving date is...

Well, the very cute little house that we are renting is just about ready. Yard cleaned, lawn mowed, interior painted, floors redone. We will sign the lease probably Monday and camp out there until the May 6th, when our moving crew (aka: us, my grandparents, a few trucks and trailers with help from friends on either end) will bring all of our lovely stuff from Katy and we will officially live in Natchez.

Since Hurricane Katrina, our home has been various places. I am strange in that "home" is not a particular town or house for me. When I think "home", I think of the whole South. I think of laughter and of tears, I think of friends coming to visit and a place where family is reunited. In a sense, I have always been at home. Even when I was away from my house and family last summer for 5 weeks, I felt at home where I was. I suppose as long as you are in the place God wants you, home can be anywhere.
A wise friend stated it best. During the time when we weren't sure where we were going to live, someone asked me "Robin, where do you live?" I opened my mouth to answer, but had no idea what to say. I looked over to this wise person and gasped "Did you hear that? She just asked me where I lived!" "Ahh," was the reply as they turned towards my questioner "she lives in the Lord's hands." Then turning back to me, said "There's no better place to be".

~Robin <><

He is Risen!

Death itself has been defeated. His soul was not left in hell, neither did His flesh see corruption (Acts 2:31).

1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" 8 Then they remembered his words. Luke 24:1-8

While His body lay in the grave...

Matthew 27:62 -66
The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." 65 "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Good Friday

This post is In honor of Good Friday, a special day to remember something that we should remember every day of our lives. The sacrifice made in our place, the event that tore the vail between God in man: The sacrifice of Christ.

John 19
1 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. 3 Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands. 4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him." 5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!" 6 Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him." 7 The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God." 8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, 9 and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?" 11 Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." 12 From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, "If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar." 13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" 15 But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"
16 Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away. 17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.
19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews." ' " 22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." 23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 24 They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." Therefore the soldiers did these things. 25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" 27 Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. 28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." 37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

The Great Fall of Merisha

I had just sat down at the computer when Merisha walked in. I told her that I was going to write a post and she replied "About what, your stupid sister?" I replied no. After all, there is nothing stupid about going running in huge, baggy, ankle length koulots that you've fallen and hurt yourself badly in at least once before...right?
She is hitting me. Oh well.

After a stressful evening last night, Merisha and I slept in a bit this morning. When we woke up, we decided to go for a walk (which we do every morning). We walked down my grandparents driveway and started down the big hill just to the left of their house. I usually ran this part of the way, so I suggested that we do it this time. After all, it's a lot easier to run down a hill than to try to walk it. "You wanna run this part?" I asked. Her taking off was the only reply I needed. I was just slightly ahead when I heard something screeching behind me. I looked to see Merisha rolling like a barrel down the hill and off to the ditch in the side of the road. I screamed and instantly felt responsible for the accident. "Why did I have to suggest running? Now Merisha's hurt and we can't finish our walk!" Then I took a close look at her. Her arm was really torn up and one of her fingers was already huge with swelling. "I think it's broken" she said. Wonderful! A harpist with no left index finger! How can we gig now?

It turns out that it doesn't look broken, and she can move it fine (except for the swelling). Now it is now purple though, which is a tad disturbing, but she thinks that she can still play (just not with that finger).
So now we just have to make long sleeves for her ball gown and it everything should still work out fine. Thankfully, her face wasn't at all injured and the scrapes should be on the road to healing before our next gig.

Never a dull moment!

~Robin <><

Our First Natchez Gig

Well, yesterday we got a call from our friend at the Convention Center asking if we could play a gig that night since we'd already be in Natchez for an interview and CD recording. It was rather last minute, but we told her that we'd do it and it became our first Natchez gig. It was for some sort of RV rally or something...I'm still not quite sure what it was. A lot of older people with tons of money and motor homes all met near Natchez for a get together of some kind and they wanted some entertainment that represented the historic culture of the city. Of course, this means that we were in our Southern Belle ball gowns which is always a hit. It was fun, and all of the people were very kind.

Anyway, we're going to help some friends move today, so I must be running along...

~Robin <><

Blogging on the Road: Update 3

Yes, it is definitely time for a new update!

After searching the world over (or so it seemed sometimes) for the perfect place, we have finally found it.
That's right, a decision has been made.
For those of you who have never heard of Natchez, Mississippi, you are really missing out. A quaint town with dozens of Plantations and Antebellum homes, and with some of the kindest, most sincere people I've ever met, it will soon be the place that we call "home".

Now, I must say that at first I had not even the slightest interest in Natchez for only one reason: It is in Mississippi. I don't know about you, but when I think of Mississippi, I think of hicks traipsing through a hole in the wall grocery store with no shoes on (and yes, I saw one of those in another Mississippi town today). The stigma that Mississippi holds for me is deeply engraved in my brain. But after one afternoon in Natchez, I felt like I was stepping back in time to the old south. We will be renting a small (but not too small!) house which was built in the late 1800s and will be playing our harp and flute duet at various events in the historic town.
It has been exciting to see how God has provided us with opportunities to use the musical talents that He has given us and that we have invested so much time, energy and money into.Since Natchez has become a destination wedding spot (if you see these exquisite houses, you'll understand why), and there is not a harpist in town, the owners of these wedding spots are confident that we will be able to secure as many gigs as we can take.
This will provide us with an opportunity to work together (Merisha and I on instruments and Mom managing us), which is our hearts desire. Since the pay is very good, this will also provide us with an opportunity to be at home much more than we first anticipated. Doing just four regular gigs a week (1-2 hours each) will provide well for us, and that's not counting the weddings and other extra events (which we already have found a demand for....we have 14 gigs booked already!!). So we can work outside of the home for 4-16 hours per week (plus optional weekend gigs) and have the rest of that time to work on our homemaking skills!As you can see, I am very excited to see how God has provided for us and taken care of us! We thought that we'd have to work outside of the home for 20-40 hours a week, but He has graciously given us another way.

You want to know something else funny? We unknowingly made a very good connection at the Convention Center. She has booked us to be on two local TV programs, in the newspaper and has scheduled professional photo shoots for us on the grounds of these historic homes and halls. It turns out that the city wants to use us in their publicity. This will be good for us (free publicity for our duet) and good for them (they will be able to use the same photos for their advertisements). It's all so exciting!

So anyway, I must go practice my flute for a bit before bed!
~Robin <><

Blogging on the Road: Update 2

A quick update to let people know what's the latest scoop.
Several weeks later than first anticipated, we are now in Mississippi with my grandparents.
My grandfather's birthday was made wonderful by the addition of all of his children and all but three of his grandchildren. It was quite a surprise for him!
Unfortunately, the day after his birthday, while all of the family were still in, I came down sick with some sort of sinus infection. Not fun. The sore throat and congestion were livable, but when I woke up one morning with my eyes red and glazed, I knew something had to give. After several days of walking around looking as if I've been crying my eyes out, I was no better. So yesterday we went south to see my loved and trusted doctor from New Orleans. As expected, I was given anti-biotics and a couple of other things to clear everything up. By last night, I was feeling much better.
When we got back to Mississippi, I was on the sofa relishing how I could lay down and still actually breathe when I felt something pop in my eye. "Does this never end?" Sure enough, a blood vessel had popped in my right eye. Wonderful, just wonderful. No my eye has a huge (well, it seems huge to me), rather frightening and quite unattractive blood spot on it. I'm assured that it will eventually clear up on it's own but I (being ever so patient) am having a hard time finding this as comfort.
So here I am, perfectly useless (anti-biotics always knock the life out of me) with not much to do but think of my woes and ponder the sins of vanity and pride.

We had an insightful meeting with Angie Matherne from Destrehan Plantation yesterday and she had many wonderful ideas for us. I'll keep you posted as things start happening.

~Robin <><

Blogging on the Road: Update 1

Hello everyone! After a three day visit to our Aunt and Uncle in San Antonio (who we've been intending to go see since we moved to Texas), we came to Tyler. We got in yesterday and will continue to do some looking around for the next few days. We already have some leads that we're looking into, which is encouraging.
Next week we'll treck off to Mississippi for my grandfather's 70th birthday celebration. Our family will again be reunited, which is always a blessing. How fun to see all of my cousins and aunts and uncles again!

~Robin <><

Hitting the Trails

We have a very busy couple of weeks ahead of us!
If you don't hear from me for a while, you'll know that it's because I'm scampering about the country visiting family and friends and checking out what opportunities we might have in different places.
As I have the access and free time, I'll update everyone on where we are and what we're doing.

Ciao!
~Robin <><

The Elephant in the Room

It looks as if everyone else has a new post up, so I guess it's about that time!
The reason that I haven't posted is the fact that I haven't had a whole lot to say.
I sit down in front of the computer screen and say "What shall I post about today?" I sit for a moment thinking that I'll have a revolutionary idea to post about any minute. Nothing comes to mind. I type out a few words, move them around a bit and end up deleting them all. "Why this lack of blogging inspiration?" I wonder aloud. In the end, I close the window, and repeat the saga the next day, sure that this time something bloggable will soon pop into my head.

At one point I realized that the reason that I didn't have anything to say is because of the elephant in the room. Ah, yes...that! We've all had those experiences, right? Something happens that everyone knows about, but no one talks about because it's awkward.
It's like a huge elephant standing right in the middle of the living room that everyone avoids mentioning. "What's that elephant doing in the middle of the room?" people wonder. No one else says anything, so everyone just sits there acting like everything is perfectly normal. Funny how that happens. I think having elephants in the room, while slightly unnerving, has its humorous aspects.

Most of you know by now what the elephant in the middle of my life is. Just in case you've missed out, I shall make a statement of the obvious.
As alluded to in my last post, we have moved and are no longer working or living in Katy, TX.
Everyone has the same question: "Why?" Their concern is evident, and the question is a perfectly logical one.
However, I shall save all of you dear people the trouble by stating up front that for the sake of all of us involved, the particulars of the events surrounding our move are better left unsaid. In short, things have not worked out as we had hoped.
But just because I'm not telling you, don't imagine the worst! Be assured that I have many wonderful memories of this season and will think back on it with joy. I will remember it with joy because of what I've learned and experianced, but most of all because of the people I've grown to love.
Yes, of course, there have been trying times but I daresay the tears of sadness and anger because of them has ceased. I have been given gladness for mourning and peace for dispair.

The second most asked question is "What's next? Where do you go from here?" Hmm, another perfectly logical question. Every time I hear it I cringe before giving the true answer: "I don't know."
Your prayers are welcome during this time of transition. Just as I believe that it was the by the direction of God that we moved to Katy in the first place, I am confident that He will guide us again in our next step.

~Robin <><

Tiffany's 20th Birthday

Today I will make a belated post in honor of the twentieth birthday of my very dear friend, Tiffany.

Always up to the most difficult challenges with a smile, she is diligent, kind, loving and long-suffering. Her quest for christlikeness is apparent in how she treats others, and her strength of character shown every day.
Through these last 125 or so days, not one has ended with strife between the two of us. Quick to offer a hug during hard times, and always quick to forgive when I've failed, I am honored to call her my friend.
From the "unforgettable cranberry molds" to frolicking down Fry, it's been real!

Happy Birthday, Tiffany. It has been an honor to live, work and worship alongside you for past four months. You are, and will continue to be an inspiration to me.

I love you, my dear Tiffany. Our season of constant acquaintance may be over, but our friendship will never be.

God bless in this coming year!

~Robin <><

Eighteen Things I've Learned

For my 18th birthday, I decided that I would post 18 things that I've learned through the years. Unfortunately, I don't really have computer access on the weekends, so today (my first day back at work since my birthday) will have to be close enough to February 5th.
Of course, this list is not exhaustive nor is in any particular order :)

1 Mom really is always right
2 Attitude is everything
3 Love is a choice
4 Hard times will either make you or break you
5 If you want to make a difference in the world, don't try to be like everyone else
6 You can't change other people
7 Living your life for Christ is the most effective tract
8 Patience is a virtue. If you are patient with angry people, they change their tone like a light
9 Nothing good in life comes without risk
10 Life is fleeting
11 Sometimes you just have to say no
12 Friendships take a lot of work
13 Trust is essential in any relationship. The closer the relationship, the more trust is required
14 Memorizing a book of the Bible isn't as hard as it sounds (yes, I finally finished it!)
15 Contentment is key in every circumstance
16 Everyone sees and loathes everyone else's inconsistencies and hypocrisies, but usually fail to see their own
17 Debating and challenging ideas is helpful to define one's own beliefs
18 Living 14 people under one roof is fun

~Robin <><

I've been tagged....again.

7 Things I Would Like to do Before I Die:
1. Go sky diving (I wanted Melissa and I to go for our 18th birthday, but she wouldn't hear of it)
2. Get married
3. Travel the world
4. Learn Italian
5. Become more proficient on all of my instruments
7. Memorize more books of the bible

7 Things I cannot do very well:
1. Find 7 things I can't do well (haha, just kidding)
2. Sight read music
3. Give people the benefit of the doubt
4. Sew. I sew, people laugh
5. Appreciate fiction books. I can't stand fiction, save the 4 I listed below
6. Play any sort of sport. Basketball, baseball, volleyball, - you name it, I can't play it
7. Play violin. A horrific sound, by all accounts

7 Top favorite movies:
I don't like movies. I've seen tons, but none of them really did much for me. I mean, there might be some that were okay or even good, but every time I write them down I think "you know, that really isn't worth mentioning". So, I've decided to change mine to "7 least favorite movies" (though this is FAR from exhaustive):
1. Gladiator
2. The Quiet Man
3. The Great Escape (though I liked the story, the soundtrack atrocious. It sounded like circus music the WHOLE time.)
4. Star Wars movies
5. My Fair Lady (or any other musical for that matter)
6. Peter Pan (especially the new one)
7. Finding Neverland

7 Things that I say often:
1. Hi! My name's Robin and I'll be serving you today. Can I get you started with something to drink?
2. You shall not surely die
3. What a trip
4. There you go
5. What's THAT supposed to mean?
6. On and on and on... (but they all make fun of the way I say "on". I say it more like a combination of "on" and "juan"- owwn. Whatever. Everyone here says "ahn".
7. Hey, Chickie (my pet name for my sister)

7 things that I would like in a husband:
1. Fears God
2. A strong leader: more stubborn than I am :)
3. Has a defined vision and purpose
4. Interacts well with people
5. Not given to tantrums (yeah, screaming people really freak me out)
6. Confident without being full of himself
7. Someone who loves children

7 of my favorite books/authors:
1. The Bible
2. R. C. Sproul Sr.'s work
3. Homemaking
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. The Giver
6. The Bronze Bow
7. Madman

7 people that I tag to write their 7x7's:
1. Farmer James (payback time)
2. Leah
3. The Swamp Celt
4. Shelby welby woo
5. Jeppy
6. Emmy
7. Christa (you haven't been tagged yet, have you?)

Happy Birthday!

Today is Melissa McDonald's 18th birthday. Though we haven't had a whole lot of time to get to know each other since she is usually at home while I'm usually at the store, I have made certain observations of her.
She was the first McDonald I met on our very first visit to Katy. One of the first things I noticed about her was that she is often very quiet. I'm not, as you all well know, so to see a quiet person always intrigues me. I suppose that is because finding someone who knows when to keep their mouth shut is such a rare find. Once I got to know her a little better, I learned that though she is still one of the quietest in the family, she has quite a sense of humor about her.

Another thing that is immediately apparent is that she is amazing in caring for the children. Firm, yet kind. Loving them enough to not give into their every whim. Fair and balanced in her judgments and consistent even when it hurts. Sometimes I think that she's just about to give in to the insistence of one of her little charges, but no. I haven't seen her back down yet.

So many happy returns of the day, my dear. I feel so young now that you have abandoned me and left be as a young 17 yr old. Don't get too used to being older, though. My birthday is only a week away. We shall be the same age again soon :)

~Your Twin (well, PRACTICALLY...)

From Grief to Glory

What do you say to a mother about to bury her 5 day old son? What kind of consolation can you offer in the midst of such grief?

Yesterday we received a call from our dear friend Leah, informing us of the death of the son of a precious family we know from the New Orleans area.
Five days on this earth. Born to one of the most godly families that I know.

The only recurring coherent thought I have on the subject is Job's response when he was told of the sudden death of every one of his children:
20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 He said, " Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." 22 Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. Job 1:20-22

In His Sovereignty, the Lord gave this child. And also in His Sovereignty, the Lord has taken him away.

Please be in prayer for the parents and surviving children at this time.

~Robin

December 31, 2005: Looking back - and forward

A new year shall soon begin!

At the end of each year, Merisha and I have a tradition of looking back over the past year, seeing that it was rather uneventful and saying to each other "Well, I wonder what this year will hold?" The coming year remains much the same as the last and we repeat the saga again and again.
This year, though, has been eventful. From January to December, there have been many changes. I shan't bore you with them all...most of you are already familiar with my year and are by now bored of hearing it all :)

I have had new challenges and struggles that come with new circumstances but it is with gratefulness I say that through my weakness, I can see God's manifold and great mercy at work. His strength is made perfect in my weakness and I take heart in the promise that He who began a good work in me will carry that work on to completion until the day of Christ.

The love and grace of God never cease to amaze me. Though as I look back over the year and see the many times that I have failed Him, I am able to breathe a prayer of thanksgiving because I know that He continues to forgive and sanctify me.
Psalm 103 has always amazed me. When I reach verses 8-13, I always stop and marvel at it, trying to grasp the full implications. I can't fathom this kind of unconditional love:

"8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him."

Looking back, I remember many good times. Some of the highlights have been the visits with family, sweet fellowship with old friends, moving to Katy, joining our new church and making new friends here.

At the beginning of the year I began memorizing 1 Peter and there is a light at the end of the tunnel! I've just finished the first couple of verses of chapter four. It has been a wonderful experience, and I have been challenged and convicted by studying this incredible book.
In light of the fact that we are spending so much time interacting with people as waitresses at the tea room, Mom and I have adopted 1 Peter 4:11 as our goal: Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Happy New Year!

~Robin <><

Christmas Eve

Today is Christmas eve, though we are celebrating it as Christmas day. As I sit here typing, I hear Tiffany practicing carols for church tomorrow, smell bacon frying and sticky buns baking, and see a huge amount of gifts piled not only under the tree, but also on the counter, behind the sofa and on the piano. With fifteen of us, you can imagine that there are a lot of gifts to exchange on this day.

Unlike most households, the children do not wake up and run down the stairs to tear open gift after gift. It is 10 o'clock and the gifts remain relatively untouched.
There is a simple reason for this. Though they are a welcome addition to the day, Christmas isn't about the gifts.
First we have a huge Christmas breakfast, which every female in the house has been contributing to while singing carol after carol.
After this, we will all sit around and listen to Mr. McDonald read Luke's account of the birth of the Savior.
Finally, we will each open our gifts.
Since Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, we are also having Christmas with the with the extended family today. This evening we will be going to Mrs. McDonald's parents' house and celebrating with them.

THEN tomorrow, of course, we will go to church. After church, instead of having our fellowship meal at the church building as we usually do, the whole church is going to the home of one family to have Christmas dinner.

So, in short, we have a very busy couple of days ahead of us. On top of all of this, I am trying to overcome sickness. Usually the only way for me to get better is to spend 2 days or so doing absolutely nothing. Doesn't sound like an option this time! Oh well, I'll just play it as safe as I can.

I shall let you go now...I anticipate having lots of pictures to share in a few days.
Everyone have a wonderful Christmas!

~Robin <><

Thanksmas 2005

Our Thanksmas (Thanksgiving/Christmas combination) celebration this year was held at my Grandparents house in McComb, MS. Here are a few highlights.

Our Thanksmas tree. One of the best parts of Thanksmas...FUDGE!! Emmy enjoying a bit.

Us Girlies...Emily, Merisha, Robin and Jane. These are all of the girls in our generation except one.

Grandpa and Me

A grandkid's tradition in our family: 5,000 games of clue!

Random Pictures 2

Posting pictures is much less time consuming than posting real posts. Since I am short on both time and inspiration, this works for now.
Hopefully soon I'll be able to go back to writing real posts again.

Until then:

Merisha and her new harp. Yeah, I know this picture needs to be rotated, but you know!
Oh well...


Grace and Larry :)
William is loving Christmastime! This will be his first Christmas!

Mom with Emma and Grace on Merisha's birthday

Random Pictures

More pictures!!

The sunset on the way home from Thanksgiving. Ahh! I love sunsets almost as much as I love sunrises!

Me in my new winter garb.Abby and Me modeling our new hats.

Second Peter, the adorable of son of Peter Allison, one of the elders in our church.
Sometimes after church, the young people will gather for a Psalm singing. At the time of this picture, Mr. Allison was joining us (far right)

Mom's Birthday Pictures

The long awaited pictures! It has taken me forever, I know...but hey...better late than never!

Getting ready to cut the cake...



Emma (3) awaiting her piece.

A very rare occurance: Mom saying "Too much chocolate!"



Too much excitement for at least one member of the family.

The Completion of Merisha's Ninteenth Year

Today is the ninteenth birthday of my sister, Merisha.
To celebrate, she has started her own blog! The address is everinjoyfulsong.blogspot.com.
Isn't that lovely? She just posted her first post.
I will let you read her blog to inform you as to the special gift she received from my mother and me this birthday.

Anyway, today has been an interesting one. It ended with a bang when Merisha's birthday cake totally flopped. It looked awful and tasted even worse.
In retrospect, it was actually quite funny. Most of us were in the living room when Jessica came in offering cake. I was curious to see the different reactions of the family, so I observed from my comfy spot on the sofa. Everyone tried to be gracious, but James' reaction was quite humerous.
He took one bite, tried to keep a straight face then stood up and carried his plate into the kitchen. Now, I don't claim to be the brightest person on the planet, but I'm not that stupid. He ate another bite or two then dumped it in the trash.
Christa's reaction wasn't much different. Jessica came up with some strange description of it, which I have blocked out. The little kids licked the frosting off, but left the cake.

After all of this, what else was there to do but dump the thing in the trash? Nothing! So that is exactly what I did.
Several minutes later, Merisha goes in to get a piece of cake. Uh-oh. I had forgotten to give someone a piece. "Um, oops...you didn't get any yet?". "No, I was too full after dinner" came the reply. "Oh. Well, um, I sorta ditched it. It was gross, didn't you see it? Look, I'll make you another one tomorrow, okay?"
Merisha didn't care (and believe me, if she had tasted the thing she would have been on her knees thanking me), and was satisfied by my promise to try again tomorrow.
Everyone else gave me a horrible time about throwing it away, though. Ah well, such is life!

So at the end of this fiasco of a day, I had two choices: Cry or Laugh. I chose the latter.
The way I see it, Merisha is the best sister I could ever ask for. She is always ready to serve and sacrifice, strong in her convictions, kind, loving, and continuously striving towards Christ-likeness. With that kind of sister, how could any day be a flop?
So Merisha, I hope you enjoyed your birthday, despite your sister.
I pray God's blessing for you today and always. I wonder what this next year will hold? ;)
Ti volio bene!

~Robin <><

A Wonderful Day of Thanks!

Since it is Thanksgiving, I decided to post the 5 things that I am most thankful for and some Psalms on giving thanks.

Of course, the first on my list must be the unfathomable grace that God has extended to me. I am eternally grateful to Him for calling me out of darkness and redeeming my soul. If this were the only thing that He ever blessed me with, I would be complete and have no justification to ask for anything more. In His sovereignty, though, He has bestowed me with other wonderful gifts.

Second to my salvation, my family is the greatest blessing in my life.
My mother and sister are two of the most godly women that I know, and I am blessed every day to live in unity with them. Through the hardest of life's trials we have been brought closer, and through the fire we have together been refined.
My extended family are also very dear to me. There is a very special bond in our extended family that I have observed is absent in many others that I know. Though we vary widely on beliefs, lifestyles and ideas, there is something that holds us all together. Of course, that thing that holds us together is our shared love for Christ. Praise to God that we are unified in our faith in Him!
Commenting on my family would not be complete without mentioning my spiritual family: The church universal, as well as the new congregation that we are fellowshipping with.
From Berean, to the Home Chruch With No Name :), to Family Reformation Fellowship, I am always astounded by the love and grace of God shining through in the lives of His children.

My "new family" would have to come in next. Though they fall into the Spiritual Family category of the last paragraph, I think they deserve a number all of their own.
The McDonald family took us in when we were strangers, and with joy met all of our needs. Though times have not been perfect, and we have all seen each other at something approaching our worst's, their love has been unwavering and their commitment to our family solid.
From the sweet fellowship with the girls, to hearing Mr. McDonald say "Rejoice! The body of Christ!" as he offered me the sacrament of communion on Sunday, my soul blessed by this dear family.
May we continue steadfastly in our love for one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. (1 John 4:7)

Another thing for which I am grateful is that God saw fit for me to be born an American! I was thinking the other day about what it must be like to be born royalty. I can't imagine that being normal. Then I got to thinking....from what I understand, most foreign people can't imagine being born an American. They can't imagine what it is like to live in a place where there is freedom of speech, press and state imposed religion. It is definitely a blessing to live in this nation. It has it's faults, granted...many of them grave. But I can't think of a place I'd rather be on earth.
Though I hope to see more of the world, I think America will always be where my earthly allegiance rests!

Lastly (for this list, anyway) are the physical blessings that God has given me. Through my life, God has always provided food, clothing and shelter in abundance (i.e. more than one outfit of clothing, mere crusts of bread and a shack).
With thanks, I echo David in Psalm 37:25: "I have been young, and now am old; Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread."
Though we have had seasons of both affluence and poverty, God has always been our provider and has not abandoned us in time of need.

So, there you have my top five. It's actually more than five, now that I think about it because of all of the sub-categories. Oh well! There is no way I could narrow it down any more than what I already have.

Now for the scriptures:

Ps 7:17 - I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
Ps 9:1 - I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.
Ps 18:49 - Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O LORD, And I will sing praises to Your name.
Ps 30:4 - Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name.
Ps 33:2 - Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
Ps 57:9 - I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.
Ps 92:1 - It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
Ps 97:12 - Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones, And give thanks to His holy name.
Ps 105:1 - Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.
Ps 106:1 - Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Ps 106:47 - Save us, O LORD our God, And gather us from among the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name And glory in Your praise.
Ps 107:1 -Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Ps 107:8 -Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!

Amen and Amen!

Yes, this has turned out to be a very long post...but what else could I do? Watch Moulin Rouge with the other cousins? I don't think so...

~Robin <><

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, it's really not Thanksgiving yet, but it will be in 30 minutes. Close enough!

Tonight I arrived in Mississippi after a ten hour trip, which was supposed to be six hours. The traffic was awful.
Anyway, it has been wonderful getting re-acquainted with my darling cousins and eating fudge. I've taken lots of pictures and I'm not slowing down (much to Emily's dismay)! I know I keep promising to post pictures...BUT...I bought CD's yesterday to load the pictures onto, so I'm one step closer! Hopefully I'll get someone to show me how to post these pictures up so you can all see my wonderful family.

Tomorrow is "Thanks-mass"and we are are very excited! Thanksgiving dinner, plus Christmas gifts. How lovely!

Well, I must go now...I'm abandoning Chelsea and Emily. An awful thing to do, considering we see each other only once a year! Oh well, they're having quite the time talking about movie clips.
Hello to my Texas family...I miss you guys!

~Robin <><

Come Cool Weather, Come!

Yesterday afternoon a lovely cool front came through. It was very exciting. We all took a break from dishes and went out to feel the wind as it blew in.

I was so excited, in fact, that after we got back from the mall I put on my new black velvet skirt, my new warm fuzzy hat and my new soft scarf and sat on the back porch (Mrs. McDonald said that it was too late to go on a walk). There's something charming about being all bundled up in new stuff...especially when it was all 50% off :)...and feeling the chill in the air.
I sat alone for a few minutes until Jessica came and joined me. We spent some time visiting before we were beckoned inside.

Ahh! The feeling of cold is exhilarating! I feel so sorry for James...he is sick of the cold already and it isn't even December yet. Then again, I fear no death of my precious trees by the cold.

~Robin
<><

Random Facts About Me

I've been tagged. Yes, that is right, that random fact thread has made its way to me. For a moment I thought "This will be really boring...I don't think I even HAVE 5 random facts", then I remembered James saying that I might post it and tagging me. What could I do but agree?

Rules of the game: Post 5 Weird and Random facts about yourself, then at the end, list the names of 5 people who are next in line to do this. Also leave a post on their Xanga to let these people know:

1. I don't like history, but my favorite hobby is historical re-enacting
2. I flee fiction books like the plague
3. I make up pet names for people (for example, I call Merisha "Varishka"(va-REESH-ka with a rolled "R")
4. I think that both food and sleep are overrated
5. I don't like tea or tea parties, but I work at a Tea Room and love it.

To quote James (I couldn't say it better myself, and I find myself in the same boat, with only a few variations):
"Ok..now I'm supposed to 'tag' 5 people to carry on this...um...lovely tradition. Do I know 5 other people? Most of them wouldn't even do it. Tiffiany might do it, so might Jessica. Christa probably wouldn't. Caleb might...but I'll do them all anyway.
McDonald's, consider yourself tagged!
Caleb, Jessica, Tiffiany and Christa. I also tag Shelby (since I need 5).

~Robin <><

The First Texas Gig

Tonight we played for King Solomons Royal Tea Tasting here at the tea room. It was the first time that I Merisha and I have played together since arriving here. It was nice to have a chance to play again...I wondered if my fingers would remember the notes there for a minute!
Unfortunately, only two people showed up for the tea tasting. What a bummer. It was supposed to be a "date night" sort of thing. Though we couldn't very well call it "King Solomon's Date Night" for OBVIOUS reasons, I guess women were having a hard time getting their men to go to a tea room. Figures. Maybe next week will be better...we'll have to do some advertising for it.
It was suggested that perhaps our playing might be to blame for the lack of business. How nice.
It was still fun, though, for all that I played for three hours to practically no one. Good practice, I suppose.

Ciao!

~Robin <><

Good Intentions

I had the best of intentions to post a lovely post on my mother's birthday complete with pictures and whole lot. In fact, I still have that good intention, but I find that it takes much longer to write a post with pictures.
For starters, I have to load the pictures onto the computer. This is a feat in itself. I have no computer of my own at this moment, so I have to go buy discs from Best Buy to load the pictures on to before I can do anyting else on the matter.
After this, I must select which pictures to post. How many should one post? Two, three...them all? That is probably what I'll end up doing. If there is any doubt, post them all :)
When these two are accomplished, then I must do the actual posting and captioning.

Only time will tell when I will have this kind of time on my hands (especially when Saks fifth Ave and Koles are having such wonderful sales!).

~Robin <><

Reformation Day

Have any of you ever been to a Reformation Day party? Do you even know what Reformation Day is?
Well, I have known October 31st as Halloween for the past 17 years, but this year I was introduced to Reformation Day.
Of course, I knew that it was on October 31st that Martin Luther nailed the 95 thesis to the church door, but I never knew that anyone celebrated it as a holiday.

Complete with a historically accurate meal, historical dress (which we finished up on the way to the party!), dancing, skits, first person interpretation, it was celebrated as much like a holiday as any one I've ever been a part of.
From sitting behind the stage yelling out lines to Jessica when she forgot them, to trying to get everyone to dance on beat ("Can't anyone here count to eight!?!"), it was a blast!

My sister made me a beautiful black velvet dress with an empire waist. I shall have to post pictures of it one day so you can see it. Tiffany made herself and Jessica dresses for the event as well, both of which turned out very nicely.
Mr. McDonald was portraying Martin Luther so he and Caleb got new capes out of the deal.
When it was all said and done, all of us were in historic dress except James VI (though he did carry around Merisha's sword for a while, just for effect).

Well, as always, there is much to do, but I will post very soon (hopefully!)

~Robin <><

Birthdays!

In honor of the 21st birthday of Christa and the 15th birthday of Jessica, I write you the following post.

To my new found sisters: Two of the most woderful, godly young ladies I know.
I pray that God will bless you in this next year and that we will celebrate many more birthdays together!

Happy birthday to you both, my friends. I love you!
~Robin <><

Howdy Y'all!

Fear not, dear friends I didn't turn into salt as I left New Orleans. Of course, I didn't look back (just in case), nor have I acquired a Texas drawl.
The reason that you haven't heard from me is because I have been SOOOO busy.

Since I got here in a nutshell:
Mr McDonald, James VI, Mr. Hildebrandt, and one of the Allison sons came down and packed us up into trailers and moved us here. On the way, we had a blow out. Of course, I (who have been driving since July) was the one driving at the time. Typical, isn't it?
We were traveling with walkie talkies, so we called Mr. McDonald and James to come back and help us. It was a trip, and we didn't get home until 11:30 (and had a very late dinner).

Just a few days after we got here, the family who was running the tea room resigned. We now are at the tea room sometimes until in the wee hours of the morning getting prepared because there is just so much to do. It's getting better as we are learning the systems better etc., and we are still so grateful to be here.
The McDonald family is full of very wonderful and very distinct people and personalities. Here is my take on the oldest 5:
James VI - well, I really don't know him personally at all, but he does a great job on the magazine! :)
Christa is sweet and quiet. She's sensitive, and very loving
Tiffany is JUST like me (yeah, I know you're terrified now) but we get along great
Melissa is quiet and loves to be at home caring for the children and house
Jessica is a TRIP! Quite the Drama Queen. She's always smiling and spreading good cheer!
The younger ones are too young to really have much differentiation.

Anyway, this hasn't turned out how we expected (because of the resignation etc) but we're still thrilled to be here and settling in to our new home.

Later,
~Robin <><

PS The Astro's won and are going to some kind of big baseball thing. Everyone's thrilled. Go figure.

"Remember Lot's Wife"

Well, today is the day! The men will be here this evening to load up our stuff, and tomorrow we will head across to Texas.

As we draw so near to the day when we will be gone from New Orleans, I have really worked up an understanding for Lot's Wife. Here I am living in a city that is well known across the country for it's wickedness and perversion, but yet, there is something about it that I know will want to make me look back as we leave.

I always wondered "Why in the world did she look back? That place was so evil!"
The Bible doesn't tell us why she looked back, but if it's anything like my attachment to New Orleans, she looked back because it was home. Because the city was captivating and interesting. Because she had friends there that she was leaving behind. They were wicked, no doubt, but a certain portion of her life was spent in this place with these people.

Of course, an angel didn't come to my house and tell me to leave New Orleans and never look back, and I'll not pretend to think that it's as bad as Sodom (though some would disagree with me), but I've always known that whenever we got out of this place, it would be a deliverance.

So, we are being delivered tomorrow :)
I wonder what the next year will hold?

~Robin <><

What does the Bible have to say about us?

Matt 5:13
I am the salt of the earth
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

Matt 5:14
I am the light of the earth
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

John 1:12
I am God's child
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

John 15:1,5
I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

John 15:16
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."

1 Cor 3:16
I am God's temple
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

1 Cor 12:27
I am a member of Christ's body
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

2 Cor 5:17,18
I am a minister of reconciliation for God
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

Eph 1:1
I am a saint
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus

Eph 2:6
I have been raised up and I am seated with Christ
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus

Eph 2:10
I am God's workmanship
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Phil 3:20
I am a citizen of heaven
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ

Rom 5:1
I have been justified
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

1 Cor 6:17
I am joined to the Lord and I am one spirit with Him
But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

1 Cor 6:20
I have been bought with a price. I belong to God.
You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

1 Cor 12:27
I am a member of Christ's body
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

2 Cor 5:21
I have been made righteous
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Eph 1:5
I have been adopted as God's child
He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will

Eph 2:18
I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit
For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Eph 2:19
I am of God's household
I am a fellow citizen with the rest of the saints
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household

Eph 3:12
I may approach God with boldness and confidence
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Col 1:14
I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins
In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Col 2:10
I am complete in Christ
And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

John 1:12
I am a child of God
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

Rom 8:28
I am assured that all things work together for good
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Rom 8:35
I cannot be separated from the love of God
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

Rom 8:1
I am free forever from condemnation
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

Rom 8:33
I am free from any condemning charges against me
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

2 Cor 1:21
I have been established, annointed & sealed by God
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us

Eph 1:13,14
I have been given the Holy Spirit as a pledge, guaranteeing my inheritance to come.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

Col 1:13
I have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Christ.
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves

Col 3:3
I am hidden with Christ in God
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Phil 1:6
I am confident that the good work that God has begun in me will be perfected
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Phil 4:13
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

2 Tim 1:7
I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Heb 4:16
I can find grace and mercy in time of need
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

1 John 5:18
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me
We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.

The Sad Days of Farewell

For the last two days we have had many hard goodbyes to say. It has been quite emotionally draining. Yesterday we said goodbye to our very dear friends with whom we go back many years. Today - our church family. First at Berean, the church where I grew up, and second, our home church. I shall miss my dear brothers and sisters very much.

At the home church, we had one final theology discussion (debate?). It all started when my friend, Christian, said: "So, Leah says you're becoming a Presbyterian. How in the world could anyone be a Calvinist?" And so it began. This is the only theology discussion he and I had ever had, so I was surprised that he ever brought it up in the first place. We are usually the ones who walk out when the conversation makes the turn towards this subject. We talked for some time, he and I, then others started gathering around and adding their two cents. This was fine, but it did change the dynamic of the conversation. We ended up all agreeing to disagree and acknowledging that we're all still going to heaven, even though we disagree on the subject (which is how every theological conversation on this Calvinistic vs. Armenian theology has ended up for our church). It was a typical Sunday, an apt farewell.

When I told him "Well Christian, I shall miss arguing with you" he replied (with his usual quick wit) "Hey, there's always e-mail debates". He always makes me laugh, then wonders what I'm laughing about. Though 5 years my junior, we got along nicely. I wonder what he shall grow into?

Monday is fast approaching...and the men will be here to move us on Friday! Everything is happening so very quickly!
In the midst of it all, I was reminded today of the hurting, broken city that we live in as we drove further into the areas with the most destruction from Katrina. So much despair, darkness and hopelessness looms for most. I can't imagine going through something of this magnitude without the grace and peace of our Savior.
With this I leave you:

"O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace! Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is discord, harmony. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sorrow, joy. Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

Goodnight, dear readers!

~Robin <><

Ahh, the feeling of autumn!

Autumn is definitely in the air today, Ladies and Gentlemen!
I woke up at 3:30 this morning sneezing, sniffling and stuffed up...a sure sign of weather change. After two big glasses of water and two cups of steaming Echinacea tea, I felt infinitely better and decided to go back to sleep. When I woke up, lo and behold, it was cool outside! And not just slightly cool, mind you; it was cool enough for me to have to go inside and put on a sweater before returning back outdoors. It's quite heavenly.
God was so kind to give me some coolness during my last days in New Orleans...this shall be a wonderful way to remember my last week in Cajun Country.

Did I say one week? Ah yes, I had almost forgotten. The wonderful families from our new church in Texas are coming to move us on the fourteenth. That is very soon.
We have gotten rid of a TON of stuff, though. We're just about finished with the de-cluttering stage, which is the hardest part, so packing should be easy riding from here.

Saluti!
~Robin <><
The-cool-calm-and-collected-soon-to-be-Texan.

Sold?

On Saturday, the day after we returned home from Mississippi, before most people knew we were moving, before most people even knew we were home, and long before we had a chance to put a "For Sale" sign in our front yard: someone found out through the grapevine that our house might be getting ready to be up for sale.
That person came to look at our house as soon as we gave them the okay. Today we found out that they definitely want it.

Could it be? Before it was even on the market, the first person we've ever shown it to wants it. And they not only want it, but they have the resources (because of some newly acquired inheritance money) to pay for it cash. No going through realtors, no going through mortgage companies...

It's not definite yet, mind you, but if they back out, we've got at least 1 other person who is really interested. If they fall through as well, the realtors are calling wanting us to list with them.
When I said that the house market was really hot right now, I didn't know it was quite this hot!

So, if this one goes through, they want it at the latest by the end of the month!
The pressure is on! I think I'll get back to packing up the Library now.

~Robin <><

Back to Belle Chasse...(to pack!)

Finally - it's final! We are back in Belle Chasse to pack. As soon as I entered what is home, at least for the next few weeks, I began preparing to leave it again - this time forever.
Forever is a very long time. To think of being out of this place which has been a my home for my entire life forever seems so final, so abrupt, and yes, though exciting, still a bit scary.
Being out of the house itself isn't what I find so difficult to imagine...it's leaving New Orleans.
I can hear all of you saying "How can it be difficult to leave New Orleans?!?"
Simple: It's home. I was born here, raised here, have been through all of my major joys and struggles here, and I was beginning to think that I'd die here.
The city itself is intriguing, the history is fascinating, there is no comparison to the food anywhere else on the planet (Begniets and Cafe au Lait aren't the same anywhere but Cafe du Monde!)

The friends we have here are very dear. Our church families from Berean - the church I have attended since I was six, and from the Home church in Franklinton. Also our re-enacting and musical friends. These I shall be sad to leave.

Though in one sense it shall be hard to leave, on others it shall be quite easy.
First on my list would be the wonderful families in the Houston area who have taken us in and treated us as their own. The love that they have shown to us is incredible, and their love of Christ is contagious! They truly live out what Christ said when he told his followers: "They will know you are Christians by the love you have one for another."
I am looking forward to getting to know my newly met sisters and brothers even better in the time to come.

Besides the wonderful fellowship and fun, the opportunities for studies, working as a family and being closer to extended family are also big draws.
Yes, I hear Texas calling my name! It must be in the blood...

We'll be de-cluttering and packing for the next few weeks and the plan is to be at our new home by mid to late October. The mixed emotions run strong, but trusting that this is God's will for our lives, I begin to abstain from worry and resign myself to peace!

And now I am off to bed, dear readers...unless I can't help but pack up another box!

~Robin <><
The Louisianan for a bit longer

The Calm Before the Storm

Stocking up on water...















...and on homemade bread!















The fort in the back yard where we rode out some of Rita.





































Merisha and Grace. (above this picture: Emma at sunset)

Random Ramblings on Rita...

On the day of the storm, we swam all afternoon with the McDonald girls and Caleb (8) at their neighborhood pool. It was quite fun, especially when we started getting mellow gusts.
After dinner, the winds started getting stronger. Several of us went out to the fort to experiance the beginnings of Hurricane Rita. When the gusts strengthened more, we enjoyed the winds from the back porch.

Other than the winds and rain, the only thing remotely interesting that happened was when the lights flickered and the house alarm started howling. I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs into the living room. It wasn't until I reached the bottom that I questioned the wisdom of such a dicision. With Mr. McDonald and his 22 year old son in the house, me (of all people) going to check out why the alarm went off must have seemed strange.
How embarrising! They must have thouht that I was such an idiot...the 17 yr old guest frolicking down the stairs when the security alarm went off!

"It'll go East"

My favorite statement whenever a hurricane is coming is: "Don't worry; it'll go east...they always do." So far, this has been true. Even Hurricane Katrina did veer east, away from home, at the last moment. It wasn't far enough east to keep 80% of New Orleans from flooding, but my statement still stands true. I am now in Houston, and it looks like this one will go east from us as well.

Tonight we watched Master and Commander with the McDonald family (Mr. McDonald wanted to watch something with weird weather in it). I slept through it. Not that it wasn't a good movie, but I had seen it before and knew that I wanted to stay up and watch the hurricane come in tonight.
Now the whole house is asleep except me and Mom. There wasn't enough weather action to keep anyone awake.

We bought lots of stuff to sew while we're here, dresses, aprons for the store etc.
Perhaps I shall learn to sew. Who knows?

(30 minute interlude)

I have just returned from coaxing Emma (almost 3) back into bed. She woke up and realized that she was no longer in her mommy's bed. Poor thing, she's afraid of the hurricane.
She was quite easy to bed back down, though. All I had to say was "Would you like me to lay down with you?" Ah-ha! I have found the golden ticket. I was a bit surprised that she was so easily comforted...usually when kid's want their mommy, nothing else will appease them.

Anyway, perhaps tomorrow (er, later today might be more accurate) I will post some pictures. Won't that be exciting! Jessica has said that I can use the pictures that they have been taking of our families and that she will show me how to put them on my blog! Yay!

If this post is incoherent in places, notice the time and remember that I am not typically a night owl :)

Until next time,

~Robin <><

Blogging on the Road...

After returning home at 4:00 pm on the day of the last post, we emptied two VERY repulsive refrigerators, packed up some of our things, got a few hours of sleep and jumped in the car early the next morning to check out rather or not we should move to Houston.

We stayed with one family for about a week or so (it's hard to keep track of days at this point), then headed off to stay with the McDonald's.We have been having a great time with their wonderful family. Their daughters are quite delightful, but are also REAL PEOPLE, which I wasn't sure at first if that would be the case. I guess since they're pretty well known (at least in the Homeschool community), I figured they must be snobs who never broke a smile. Quite the opposite, I assure you! They even do historical dancing...a typical Townsend Ladies' favorite.

We've worked at their store, Books on the Path (http://www.booksonthepath.com), almost every day to try out working there. It's a very nice store, and the tea room is coming along quite nicely – it’s getting busier and busier!

Anyway, we're considering this as a possibility and continuing to pray for dierction and guidance in this very large decision.

Saluti!

~Robin <><

Home Sweet Home

Today we will return home to see what damage we might have sustained and to pack up some of our things (it's a good thing home is where the heart is...I'm never at my house!).
We are going out of town again, this time we will be searching out a job that has been offered to us in the Houston area. It looks pretty promising, but not by any means definite yet.
Your prayers for rather or not this is the direction for us to go in would be appreciated.

Hopefully I will see most of my readers in a few weeks when we return - hopefully with some answers on what our future holds.

Saluti!
~Robin <><

Katrina makes a visit to my Parish...

When I made my last post stating that I would never forget this summer, I had no idea just how true that statement would be.

Though from what I understand, our little town in the New Orleans suburbs seems to have sustained minimal damage, we are unsure how long it will be before we can reenter to gather our things (much less reenter for good).

Everyone is more than welcome to pray for us! Wisdom and guidance will be needed to determine what to do for the few months before we can go home and if we should relocate or not.

Thanks everybody!

~Robin <><

The Wonderful Summer Vacation

This summer is one that I will look back on with a smile for the rest of my life.
A strong statement, you say? Indeed, it is.
This is the summer that I spent 5 ½ weeks away from home visiting family in Texas.
Yes, you read correctly…5 ½ weeks. It seems like a long time when I see it in writing, but while there, it really seemed quite short.

One might ask what induced me to spend 5 ½ weeks away from my Dear Mother and all that is familiar and march off to Texas.
I shall tell you now what it was: A new baby in the family.
Seven days after my sister and I arrived in Texas, our Cousin’s wife gave birth to her sixth baby boy. With two mothering sisters, six curious brothers, two doting cousins and two thrilled parents in the house, you can imagine that our new bundle of joy lacked none for love and attention.
They say that it is impossible to spoil an infant, but if it is, we managed it in the weeks after his birth.

I forgot to mention a small detail. The night that we arrived, the mommy-to-be went in to false labor and decided to drive 2 hours to her hospital, just in case. Well, if you were paying attention above, you will remember that baby did not arrive until day seven of our stay. They waited near the hospital for that entire time. Therefore, my sister and I watched the other seven children while Mommy and Daddy waited for Baby to make his grand appearance. Keeping that many children who we don’t know all that well (we haven’t seen them in a year) for such a long period of time was a bit intimidating at first, but we quickly enforced a routine and settled into what would be “normal” for the next several weeks.

I learned many things while I was there, though “learned” might not be the best choice of words…perhaps “realized in a whole new light” or “learned by heart” would be more accurate.

1) A baby is always a blessing.
2) Almost everyone disagrees with the above statement.
3) Disciplined children are happy children.
4) Routines are a homemaker’s best friend.
5) You can never hug or tell a child “I Love You” too many times.
6) The mother (or the mother stand in) sets the tune of the home
7) We can do no great tasks, only small tasks with much love. (yes, I stole that)
8) Children learn by example (“Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t fly)
9) If there is unity in the marriage, the children sense it.
10) If there is tension in the marriage, the children sense it.
11) Boys play rough but naturally want to protect their sisters (and cousins!) from other boys.
12) Children ask profound questions and are often curious about God.
13) There is a special, unbreakable bond in our family.
14) Patience is a virtue.
15) The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD!

The last one might seem like a strange thing to say that I learned-by-heart while I was away.
But it’s not odd at all when you consider that we had a much unexpected death in the family on this trip.
My cousin lost his only brother and gained his eighth child on the same day.
It was hard to know how to feel at first. Elated by the birth, or grieved by the death?
It was a hard time, but number 15 - the quote by Job ­– came very alive to me.

After we returned from the funeral, we slowly trickled back into routine and normalcy. The children wanted to do a unit study on the Middle Ages. So, we went to the library and got as many children’s books on the Middle Ages as we could find. They seemed to much enjoy it.
Unfortunately, we ran out of time and weren’t able to pull off a Medieval feast before we had to go back home. Perhaps next time…

The weeks flew by and as I sit at my computer now, I miss the children that, if I were there, would be flocking around me and climbing onto my lap asking “wacha doin?, what’s it say?” And the others who would interrupt asking for a “dink a wota” (drink of water). Still more, I miss hearing the baby softly cry, and running to pick him up and comfort him. If I were there now, I’d probably be returning to the computer after picking up the baby only to find 4 or 5 children gathered around the computer, editing this post with gibberish.

But alas, I am alone in our library, wondering when I will return to the wonderful land with children…

~Robin <><

Summer Evacuations!

Well, though Dennis looks as if he'll head to Alabama we decided that it was better safe than sorry and came up to Mississippi to Grandparents' house.
I told my Mom yesterday, "We evacuate 5 times every summer and nothing EVER hits! Doesn't this seem insane to anyone else?"
I haven't been alive long enough to remember the two major hurricanes that devastated New Orleans in the 60's, so I guess in a large sense I don't take hurricanes seriously.
To me, hurricane season (known as "summer" to some people) consists of watching the weather station, seeing that New Orleans is in the "likely to hit" zone, evacuating, hurricane turning east, and coming home. Repeat this scenario 5 times. After all of those false alarms, I have stopped believing that hurricanes can really hit New Orleans. This is ridiculous, of course. Anyone who remembers hurricane Betsy can attest to that.

I made an interesting "discovery" yesterday which I have discovered and rediscovered several times in the past few years: Believing something doesn't make it true.
We all know this, but it's interesting to hear people's reasoning so foundationally based on "Well, I don't believe it, therefore it's not true."

I have a wonderful friend who was in from California. She was telling me yesterday that she doesn't believe that there is a hell. My first thought was "well, that's interesting, but that doesn't lower the tempature down there one degree!"

Instead of saying "What says the scripture on this subject?" I tend to try to find an answer that pleases me and makes me feel secure and happy and make myself believe it.
Now, this is different from misinterpreting a scripture or holding a different view on it. That is not what I'm referring to. What I mean is convincing myself of a doctrine that is unbiblical without ever really looking into it simply because it would make me uncomfortable to do so.

So anyway, though I believe that a hurricane will never hit New Orleans as long as I live there, I am still evacuated to Mississippi. ;)
Oh well, in a few days I shall be off to Texas for a month...out of any projected path of any hurricane.
Speaking of which, has anyone ever had to pack for a whole month?? Talk about scary! Anticipating what you'll be doing, who you'll be seeing for that long of a period of time can be frustrating. So, my solution was: BRING IT ALL!! haha, never know when you might need 5 thousand sermon tapes, the vision forum library, lots of arts and crafts (what I have the sudden urge to knit??? must be prepared by bringing knitting needles and extra yarn...) and a million sets of cloths (two sets for every possible scenario)!

For those that I won't see until I return: farewell, dear friends!
Be nice to my mother while I'm away and drop her a line (or drop in!)

Saluti!
~Robin <><