Germain Gang

We Sold Our House!

Why God Made Moms

I subscribe to a daily devotion at

www.godsminute.com

This is the devotion for today.  I thought it was hilarious, so I'd like to share it.


LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME, AND DO NOT
   HINDER THEM, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD BELONGS
   TO SUCH AS THESE.
                              ( MARK 10:14 *NIV )

       Since Mother's Day is tomorrow, I have decided to share a
   laugh or two with you this morning about Mom's.  The following
   message was sent to me by one of our subscriber's, and I
   hope that you will enjoy the message as much as I did.
                             _________________________ 

                              "Why God Made Moms "
   ( The following answers were given by elementary school children
   to the following questions )

   Question----"Why Did God Make Mothers?""

       The answers:
       1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is. 

       2. Mostly to clean the house. 

       3. To help us out of there when we were getting born. 
 
    Q-----"How Did God Make Mothers?" 

       1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us. 

       2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring. 
 
       3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just 
       used bigger parts. 

    Q----"What Ingredients Are Mother's Made Of ?" 
 
       1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and 
       everything nice in the world and one dab of mean. 
 
       2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they 
       He mostly used string I think. 
 
   Q----"Why Did God Give You Your Mother And not Some Other 
        Mom?"
 
       1. We're related. 
 
       2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's
        moms like me. 
 
   Q----"What Kind Of Little Girl Was Your Mom?" 
 
       1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other 
       stuff... 
 
       2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be
       pretty bossy. 
 
       3. They say she used to be nice. 

   Q----"What Did Mom Need To Know About Dad Before She 
          Married  Him?" 
 
       1. His last name. 

       2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook?  Does 
       he get drunk on beer? Does he make at least $800 a year?  Did 
       he say NO to drugs and YES to chores? 

   Q----"Why Did Your Mom Marry Your Dad ?" 
 
       1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom 
       eats a lot. 
 
       2. She got too old to do anything else with him. 
 
       3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on. 
 
   Q----"Who's The Boss At Your House?" 
 
       1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's 
       such a goofball 
 
       2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff 
       under the bed. 
 
       3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do 
       than dad. 
 
   Q----"What's The Difference Between Moms And Dads?" 
 
       1. Moms work at work & work at home, & dads just go to work
       at work. 
 
       2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them. 
 
       3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 
       'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at 
       your friend's. 
 
   Q----"What Does Your Mom Do In Her Spare Time?" 
 
       1. Mothers don't do spare time. 
 
       2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long. 
 
   Q----"What Would It Take To Make Your Mom Perfect?" 
 
       1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some 
       kind of plastic surgery. 
 
       2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue. 
 
   Q----"If You Could Change One Thing About Your Mom What 
        Would It Be?" 
 
       1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean.
       I'd get rid of that. 
 
       2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my 
       sister who did it and not me. 
                 ____________________________________

   In HIS Love & Service,
         Pastor Allen 
 L

I'm Baptised!

{ 08:53, Sunday, May 4, 2008 } { 6 comments } { Link }

I have been saved for about 10 years now, but water baptism was something that I have always been putting off.  Frankly, I am afraid of water.  I don't swim.  I don't like going to the beach.  I hold my breath in the shower.  We used to have an in-ground pool where we used to live.  In the seven years we lived there the top of my head never got wet.  So when our pastor announced a few months ago that he was planning water baptism my reaction was "No way!"  I had a whole list of "reasons" why I wasn't going to do it.

Then, about a month ago, I felt convicted that I had to do it.  God dealt with every stupid excuse that I could come up with, and in minutes I went from "No way" to "Put me on the list!".  That is when I realized that baptism had less to do with water than it did OBEDIENCE!  By refusing to do it I was being childish and disobedient. 

Baptism is something God expects of every believer.  He's not going to give me a free pass just because I am afraid of water.  But He doesn't ask anything of us that we can't handle.  He is with us every step of the way.

So, today was the big day.  He gave me two verses of scripture that made all the difference.

I can do all things through Christ who strenghtheneth me. Phillipians 4:13

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3

I focused on these a lot and it really helped.  As much as I wanted to be obedient, it wasn't easy to climb into that water.  But I did it.  I was baptised, and now I begin a new life of serving Him the way I am meant to. 

I am very sorry that I didn't take this step a long time ago.  I am so thankful that we serve a very PATIENT God!  I am also VERY thankful for the grace He has shown me over the years.  Even though I was disobedient, He has blessed me with everything I have needed, and some of what I wanted.  But He DIDN'T give me what I deserved. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

Matt and Julie's Tree Report

{ 10:18, Thursday, May 1, 2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }

We had a tree cut down in our yard. First, Greg bravely climbed up the tree. He took his hand saw and his rope. Joe stayed on the ground to help. They were wearing helmets, safety boots, safety glasses and earmuffs to keep them safe.




Greg cut branches and they fell to the ground. When he needed to cut big branches Joe used a rope to pass him the chainsaw. Greg tied the branches with rope first so he could control where they would fall. Joe moved the fallen branches out of the way. He also helped guide the rope for Greg. When the branches were all off the tree they put them in the chipper and made mulch.




Then they cut down the tree trunk. It took a long time to cut up the trunk.




Now our back yard looks different. It is not as shady as it was.

(Written by Matt and Julie)

Visit Aud The Bird Lady

{ 09:05, Thursday, April 24, 2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }

Aud The Bird Lady is having a really generous giveaway at her blog.  Be sure and check it out!

Here is the link:

http://www.homesteadblogger.com/birdlady/94706/?#c146103

The Sweetest Sign of Spring...

{ 11:56, Friday, April 18, 2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }

My favourite sign of spring has to be when the sap starts flowing in the maple trees. 

Thirty five years ago my grandparents bought 100 acres of  bush, because they really enjoyed nature and wildlife.  It's very rocky there (not good farmland) and has a swamp on it, but it does have an area where maple trees grow.  When we were kids my grandparents would tap trees and boil down the sap to make enough syrup for the family.  When they grew too old to do it anymore, we just kind of gave it up.

Last year David and I decided to give it a try again.  We tapped 15 trees.  It turned out that three of them were actually oak trees.   It's very hard to tell the difference when there's no leaves on them.  So we collected sap from twelve trees.  It was a lot of work and took a lot of time but we wound up with six litres of  syrup.  Yum.

This year we were better organized.   We went last fall and marked maple trees with yarn so we would know what to tap.  By the beginning of March we were eager to get started.  Then it snowed.  And snowed.  And snowed.

In mid-March we finally got there, but the snow was three feet deep in places.  But we did get started.



David drilled the holes, then hammered in the taps and hung the pails.  Matt and Julie helped.

We checked the pails often.  The weather has to co-operate, we need the temperature to get below freezing at night, then well above freezing during the day.  The better the conditions, the more sap will flow.



Yippee! It's full!  We collected close to 30 pails @3.5 US gallons each.  That's almost 400 litres.  We aren't sure of the exact amount, because we boiled some while we were still collecting.  That sounds like a lot, but it takes about 40 litres of sap to make just one litre of syrup, so we should wind up with about 10 litres.

So now for the boiling.  We use an outdoor fireplace with the sap in roasting pans.  My grandparents used to have a huge steel pan that would totally cover this fireplace, but it has been lost over the years.  We'd like to get another one for next year, but for now we are making do.



We also got our hands on an old wood stove, so we got a large pot going on that too.



So we boiled, and boiled, and boiled...we spent many hours sitting by the fire, adding wood or sap as needed.  We talked a lot, read our bibles a lot, and just spent good quality time with each other.  It is a lot of work, but this part of the process is fun and relaxing too. 

We've been doing the boiling on the weekends.  Most of the sap is still in the freezer, and we take it out gradually as we need it.  But we have managed to make just over three litres of syrup.  We have a long way to go!

So far, so good

{ 08:20, Thursday, February 21, 2008 } { 4 comments } { Link }

OK, I have made it to Blog Land with absolutely NO help from the kids!

My name is Andrea and I am blessed to be married to my best friend, David.  I am also Mom to Kate (20), Paul (18), Matthew (9) and Julianne (8).  Although I work full-time in a factory we also homeschool.  We started this in September 2007, and are enjoying it very much.  What a blessing it is to have our kids home with us, to share our faith with them, and to learn along with them.

We currently live in the city, but we plan to buy our homestead in the next year or so.  We would like some acreage, hopefully enough to raise chickens and goats, and to have a big garden.  Until then, we are trying to simplify our lives and to live as frugally as we can.  It is amazing how satisfying it can be to live with less.

God is great, all the time!