I Have Moved

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Raising the Roof (literally)

It was freezing cold but beautifully sunny the day the crane set our house. The kids loved it and we enjoyed all the friends who stopped by all day long. The work is coming along smoothly and we are still hoping to be in at the begining of the year. We praise God for giving us such a wonderful home and land to raise our family!!!! Who will be first for dinner?

The Empty Foundation
The first piece
Here goes the second floor















The kids found a sand pit
Raising the roof

Finally, the dormer

Josiah's Greatest Hits

Samaria at 8 months

At Kami's new house.

The first attempt of solid carrots.

We broke ground!

On October 27, 2007 we broke ground for our farm house! Here you can see the trenches being dug in order to pour the footings. The Carwile kids demonstrated to the Carne kids the proper way to get covered in red clay. Josiah especially enjoyed the "BIG TRACTOR!" Now that the foundation has been completed, the house is scheduled to arrived sometime next week. Everyone is invited to come see the big crane set the house. Bring your lawn chairs!

The Splendor of our Creator amongst the Adirondacks

Here is just a selection of what the Lord displayed to us during our recent hike in Adirondacks

Dinner Time

Sometimes daddy prays too long

Recent Trip into VA Back Country

Mount Rogers Recreational Area (July 07)
Wild Ponies meet us on Trail (Dad, Mom & Baby)














Hazy view from the bald near White Top Mountain
















Dad's futile repair job on boot's older than me














Three Ridges Wilderness Area (August 07)

That My Children May Love Our Glorious God

Insight from Tedd Tripp, Author of Shepherding a Child's Heart

Until your children have seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, until they have come to see that he is the Lily of the Valley, that he is the Bright and Morning Star, that he is the One who is altogether lovely; until they have seen andunderstood that it is worthwhile to divest of everything, that nothing in all the earth matters but knowing and loving Jesus, they will never know him and love him and serve him. They might play church. They might even be teen VBS helpers, or go on short-term mission’s trips, but until they are convinced that Christ is the treasure, they will never truly know him.

You cannot over-estimate the importance of showing your children the glory of God. If they do not know who God is, how God thinks,what God feels, and why he does what he does, they will have no grounds for finding joy in him, no reason to celebrate his abundant goodness and no basis for finding satisfaction in him. Delight in God cannot occur in an intellectual vacuum. Your careful display and demonstration of the wonders of God’s glorious being is crucial for your children. Joy in God is the fruit of what you know to be true of him. The spiritual heat of joy, delight, and wonder in the face of God cannot take place in a conceptual vacuum.

Camping at Sherando Lake June 2007

You must watch

I know I am a bit behind on this, but this is absolutely hysterical. Thanks Josh (http://dimgus.blogspot.com/)To take Josh's suggestions

Several things to watch for:

1. First Sentence by Reva
2. "Okay?"
3. Eyebrows
4. Word Recollection
5. Occasional Humming

"No book has ever seen this much ... excitement."

"No book has ever seen this much ... excitement around the world." Certainly the book in question must be the Bible? I'm afraid not. According to CNN.com, J.K. Rowling's book is more popular than God's. Well ... I think CNN may be overstating the case a bit (sorry Ted); nevertheless, the buzz around the tale of this Adolscent Wizard speaks loudly about where we are as a culture.

This is how CNN describes the hysteria, "No book has ever seen this much fever-pitch anticipation and excitement around the world. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is about to launch at 12:01am in London. I head down to Waterstone's near Piccadilly Circus -- it's one of Europe's largest bookstores and is famous for its big Harry Potter parties. Well this is more than a big party. It's a Potter Universe let loose on London's streets. There are thousands here, all joining in the fun. Some of the people I speak to have traveled from Sydney, Jerusalem and Boston just to be here for the big launch. It's Friday night and a group of fans have camped out for three days."

I can't help but see the parallels between this event Nehemiah's account of a hysteria of another kind. Nehemiah 8: 1 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. 9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

May the Lord awaken us from our slumber.

Pictures of Our Kids

Easter at Mimi and Papa's House

Some Cold days in April

Samaria at 2 & 1/2 months

Responding to VA Tech Tragedy

The following is a letter I sent to DBBC:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As I write to you this morning I, like you, am still in utter disbelief at the tragedy which occurred at Virginia Tech yesterday. Why God permits such unadulterated evil to occur remains unknown to us (Romans 11:33-37). Yet, we do affirm these two great truths:

First, we know that Jesus Christ himself tasted the hostility of man and knew what it was like to endure overwhelming loss. Moreover, we know that God, our Father, knows the deep anguish it is to loose a child. In light of this, I take great hope that all those affected have a sympathetic high-priest available to them. And if they “draw near … to the throne of grace … [they] may receive mercy and find grace in their time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Second, despite the heart-breaking we now endure, we know the Almighty God is a good and sovereign God who rules over and through sin and the plans of evil men (Lamentations 3:32, Genesis 5:20). Our affirmation of this truth must be unbreakable especially in light of such iniquity, for it is in this truth that we find our confidence that our infinitely wise and loving God knows why such things occur.

As we ponder these truths (and scores like them), as we endeavor to make our way through this tragedy and as we come to the aid of the suffering we shall gather this Wednesday evening at 7:00PM and intercede for these victims to God through prayer. After our time of prayer we will consider how, as Christians, we should talk about this tragedy and others like it.

During our Sunday service, in addition to a time of prayer, we shall consider how we are to respond to this event. I do now covet your prayers for me as I seek to determine what message the Lord would have me bring to you.

Please invite your friends and neighbors to these services that they too may be able to see our compassionate and powerful God who is worthy of our hope and trust.

Your Brother in Christ,

Steven

P.S. Praise God that Keith Trent is safe and home in Keysville.

Meet Samaria Elizabeth

God has once again mightily bestowed his grace upon us by giving us Samaria Elizabeth. Samaria was born on Tuesday, 2/6/07 at 10:33PM. She wieghed in at a hefty 9lbs 9oz and was 20 1/2 tall (or long since, she cannot really stand yet). Mommy did great, as usually, after laboring for almost 12 hours. Praise be to God for this wonderful gift.

Psa 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.