Johnny says...........

"I don't care if it does rain, I'm not wearing this!"







"Did I do something wrong?"
"This feels like punishment!"

Bountiful Harvest?

We planted several vegetables from seeds earlier this year and have waited patiently for harvest. What you see is probably all we will get except for the tomatoes which are plentiful.
We are looking forward to eating our harvest of 3 carrots, 6 green onions, 1 zucchini, and a handful of tomatoes with our Sunday dinner in a little while.

Debbie's Christmas Tree

There is a family story behind this pine tree growing in Steckel Park, outside Santa Paula. Many years ago Debbie brought home a little Christmas Tree from work, it was a few inches high, as time went on the tree got bigger and bigger and dad replanted it to an outside planter and it grew and grew. It soon was outgrowing the planter with nowhere to go. About that time there was a severe fire between Ojai and Santa Paula (about 20 years ago) and it burned out quite a bit of Steckel Park. Dad then took the pine tree to Steckel Park and planted it there. I had not been there to look at it in many years, Travis and I went there today and snapped this picture. Debbie, your little tree sure makes a big impression now!!

Below are some other pictures from today, we went on up to Rose Valley where Travis read at a a stop we made at the Sespe trail head (left) the little creek coming down at the side of the road (middle left) the falls above the Rose Valley lakes was almost dry (middle right) the big, amazing boulders in the mountains at Sespe creekhead (right).

Dad Looking Good

What else would you expect from this feisty scrapper!
After 17 days in the hospital, dad got to come home with us on Sunday. He is doing really well, almost back to normal.
I thought you all would enjoy seeing a picture of him, king of the house, perched

in the recliner, reading the paper, pretty soon he will be snoring, same ol same ol! We will all go for a walk outside pretty soon, Doctors orders.
Dad sure does cherish all the
prayers on his behalf and we are thankful for his
speedy recovery.

Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Tired and resting after our walk.

Bob's Bungalow

Bungalow Bound By Bended Borders, Bob Boldly Bounced Beside Big Bayou.
Bark and Boulders Beyond Belief, Basking Below Brilliant Beams of Brightness.
Brutish and Bold Bob Boomed his Big Bullhorn, Begging for Brunch Before the Blessing.

Well anyway, this is Bob the Frog's new habitat, courtesy of the new pet store uptown. They were getting rid of the plastic crate and thought it would be great for Bob, the price was right so we took it and some meal worms too.

Challenge yourself and find Bob in the new habitat! Yes he is visible, think small, but not minuscule! Click on the picture to get a larger view. Post a comment if you find him.

A TIME OF REFLECTION

CREATION CALLS - ARE YOU LISTENING?

Romans1:19-20

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

A Time Of Reflection
Each year as Easter draws near we prepare for the celebration of the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Sunday services in the weeks preceding Easter are usually filled with messages of the suffering Jesus endured in order to secure our salvation, culminating in an evangelistic message, lifting our spirits with faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ in his death, burial and resurrection.

This year more than any other I can remember, my thoughts turned again and again to the grueling death He suffered. With each morbid reflection I became more and more burdened. The wrenching betrayal, the hateful personal insults and ridicule, questionings beyond understanding, Pilate's "No fault in this man" verdict that incomprehensibly resulted in a death sentence, the physical torture suffered with each striking blow, the slow torment of crucifixion until death.

The evening service message was called "Learning to do what you don't want to do." It's focus was on Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Seem an unlikely message to reveal an even more tragic event?

Knowing in advance the events that are about to unfold, Jesus prayerfully asks God to "Let this cup pass from me". It was the terrible surrender of death he was asking to be released from, wasn't it?

Those final moments on the cross when Jesus cried "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME", not because he was physically suffering, but because for that moment of time when Jesus took on all our sins, securing our salvation, he experienced the wrath of God. For that moment in time Jesus was completely severed from God.

I thought my heart was about to stop! How could I have never known that before?

Jesus, completely God and completely man, experienced complete abandonment in that moment, more terrifying than death, total despair!

Fear: Separation from God!

No fear in suffering, death!

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Bob the Frog!

This is our new frog, Travis named him Bob, we found him 2 weeks ago and made him a home with rocks and bark and a pond, he really likes the pond, but I'm not sure he likes the food.
We have been feeding him some yummy canned cat food, and he seems to be growing and living, but maybe just barely. I understand that frogs eat bugs like crickets and aphids and things, but I don't think any live bugs would stay in our home made frog home. I wonder if he would like those freeze dried worms or those frozen things you feed beta fish. We will go to the pet store tomorrow and see what they think, but they will probably tell us to get a real frog aquarium and real frog food, so then we may have to let Bob go live in our garden or Susan's catfish pond, if he didn't look so much like good catfish food. The picture on the left is about the actual size of the frog, about 1 1/2", so he or she is still very young.

The Word of God, reading me as I read it!

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

On three different occasions during the past week this passage has been a topic of discussion or special interest, and each time it has touched me in a different way.

First, on Monday morning during our family devotion, we were reading Hebrews and when we finished Chapter 4 we wanted to talk about this very important verse, we talked about how could the Bible read us and thought it meant that God knew everything we would need and put it in the Bible, all the biblical principles could be applied to each and every aspect of our lives. Hmmmmm....

Secondly, during bible study on Thursday, this passage was of special interest. Our focus has been on the revival and reformation described in chapter 8 of the book of Nehemiah. Following 70 years of bondage and captivity God allows the people of Jerusalem to return. Soon after they complete the rebuilding of the city they make a return to the reading of the word of God, translating it to give sense (v8), the natural and inevitable response was a sense of remorse (v9), then a celebration (v12 .... great mirth, because they had understood), and return to the law of God (v14-17 revival of the Feast of Booths), continuing in the word of God every day (v18) . We took a look at the Hebrews passage in relation to this study in revival because we have been learning that true revival is a work of God and is firmly founded on the reading and understanding of the word of God. This passage in Hebrews sheds light on the how and why. Could you get any deeper than the soul and spirit, joints an marrow, thoughts and intentions of the heart?

Thirdly, this passage came to mind today while reading an email and thinking about the moral decay of our country, the more the word of God is removed from society the further our country falls from God's grace.........................

Below is the passage in the Greek text, I did a little word study on the important words. I know, it's all Greek to you.........(and me too). Anyway the numbers in the Greek text below correspond to the number further below giving a deeper interpretation of the text. You can also rest your courser on each word for a brief interpretation of the word
Greek NT: Byzantine / Majority Text (1995)
Hebrews 4:12
(1) ζων γαρ ο (2) λογος του (3) θεου και (4) ενεργης και(5) τομωτερος υπερ πασαν μαχαιραν διστομον και διικνουμενος αχρι μερισμου(6) ψυχης τε και(7) πνευματος αρμων τε και μυελων και(8) κριτικος(9) ενθυμησεων και(10) εννοιων(11) καρδιας

1) zao: lifetime, alive, lively; A primary verb; to live (literally or figuratively).
2) logos: the word, the Word; something said, including by thought, by implication.
3) theos: the supreme divinity, God, Godly.
4) energes: effectual, powerful.
5) tomoteros: sharper; Comparative of a derivative of the primary temno (to cut; as if by a single stroke).
6) psuche: soul, life, self; From psucho; breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely.
7) pneuma: spirit, ghost; From pneo; a current of air, i.e. Breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication).
8) kritikos: able to judge;From krites; decisive ("critical"), i.e. Discriminative -- discerner.
9) enthumesis: deliberation, thought
10) ennoia: intent, mind; From a compound of en and nous; thoughtfulness, i.e. Moral understanding.
11) kardia: the heart, thoughts, feelings; Prolonged from a primary kar (Latin cor, "heart"); the heart, i.e. (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings (mind)

This passage is so full and rich, nothing but the omnipresent spirit of God could go so deep as to know us better than we know ourselves! Can you imagine..........................one person may read a passage and receive comfort, another person may read the same passage and receive faith, another may read it and receive strength, and another be convicted, and yet another be saved, the potential is endless.

Tomorrow I hope to share something I learned from an evening service message right before Easter, so stay tuned.

Winter Snow and other things from today..........

(click on any picture to see a bigger view)

I always like it when the sky is clear and the air is cold and crisp and you look over and see the snow capped mountain. The snow on the distant mountains has been heavier and has lasted longer than I remember in recent years. Travis, mom and myself jumped in the car one day a few weeks back after the first snow and went up to Frasier Park kind of spur of the moment thing. Even though the first snow had pretty much melted, we found some nice clean powdery snow in Hungry Valley so Travis and I got out and ran up and down the road throwing snow balls at each other, then we packed some on top of the car, we were only out in it maybe 15 minutes but it sure felt invigorating. When we got back in the car we had a short devotion as we warmed up, Travis read us a chapter out of the Bible and said a few words of importance regarding that passage. After that we went to Sizzler in Gorman and had lunch/dinner. We headed home tired and content with our day out. These spur of the moment trips sometimes turn out to be more fun than the most planned event. The only thing I regret is that we left home without a camera and so no pictures to share. The picture above I took today and is the third blanket of snow we have seen in the last three or four weeks.

Since I had the camera I snapped a few pictures of the kids out playing dodge ball during King's Camp at church today. The youth leaders played against the little kids (with one youth leader), guess who won?????? The little kids!!! Well next week is another game and another challenge.

After that we had Wednesday evening prayer and service, the Pastor was out of town today so Travis brought us a special message "Are You Ready?" a reminder to us that the end could come at any time. A few of his friends came for his message, below is a picture of Karl (barely seen on the left), Travis, Micah and Brittany in the foreground relaxing at Starbuck's afterward.

Last but certainly not least, I got an email announcing this song "Every Promise of Your Word" a fresh arrangement by Stuart Townend being re-released in February by Getty Music. The words and music are by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. The title says it all, don't think I can find any better words to describe the message of the song and it is beautiful to listen to. Click here to hear the song and read the lyrics . You also won't want to miss Paul Tripp's reflections on this hymn.

Travis Baptism on Sunday

Last Sunday was a special day in the life of our church as we graciously received a tide of visitors, were providentially blessed with Pastor Sherwood’s gospel message, witnessed the evidence of God's saving grace in Travis's testimony, applauded the fulfillment of the Lord’s command of believers baptism, raised our voices with songs of praise and worship, and celebrated in loving fellowship. The joy of that day will be in our hearts for a long time to come. The Prince family extends our sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone for all their hard work and caring thoughts.