10.29.2009

Elizabeth of Brandenburg
The Elector of Brandenburg was one of the Catholic Princes of Germany who in 1502 married Elizabeth, daughter of the King of Denmark. She was only 16 years. She had 4 children. Sadly, after 10 years of happiness her husband began to wander into the arms of other women and a sad, forsaken Elizabeth retreated to her private quarters.
During the religious agitations that arose soon after, a German New Testament as translated by Luther came into Elizabeth's hands. Alone in her private room this 'wife forsaken' read comfort in the blessed words. Her heart was opened, she believed what she read and from that time she became a secret believer. The more trying her lot the more precious did the word of God become to her. She was given much prudence, and although her children were, of course, brought up under Catholic teachers she skilfully instilled the oil of the Gospel into their receptive minds.
Her husband was an enemy of the Reformation and indeed had been at the Diet of Worms advising the Emperor to have the 'heretic' ie. Luther, thrown to the flames. Unknown to her husband Elizabeth had given refuge to her brother, King Christian of Denmark after he been deposed and had fled to Berlin.
In the Elector's absence one year they had celebrated communion together and held private services, but she was betrayed to her husband by none other than her 18 year old daughter. Like her father she was an ardent romanist who regarded to Reformers as the enemies of religion.When the Elector heard what had happened he ordered Elizabeth to her room and demanded a recantation. His passion choked him and he was carried to his bed as dead! Days went by and Elizabeth held stedfastly against recantation. She decided to flee to Saxony to her Uncle John, (Frederick, John's elder brother who was Luther's patron was now dead.) The Prince was very kind to her and granted her the castle of Lichtenburg on the Elbe, near Wittenburg. She frequently sent for Luther whose instructions she greatly valued.
In her later years Elizabeth enjoyed much comfort in her children, all of whom, some earlier, some later, made an open profession of the Protestant faith. She would assemble her household daily for worship. She loved and studied Luther's translation of the Bible, 'God be forever praised above that these words are thus recorded,' she said 'for more than a thousand times I have felt in my heart that they are true.'
She lived to be 69 years old.

10.27.2009

Encouragements and the Reformation...

Hi to everyone who takes the time to read through my blog and also apologies for not being so diligent at posting articles.
Life gets too busy at times and certain areas seem to take a back seat.
I want to thank those of you who read the posts I have made in the past and pass comment on them. This is such an encouragement to my soul. Please keep them coming.
On October 30th we hold Reformation Night in our church to celebrate and remember those who took a stand for God at a time when things were very dark. Some paying the ultimate price with their lives. Over the next few weeks I am going to post some articles that pay tribute to the Ladies of that Reformation.
Each of the ladies that I will mention were born into the 'old faith' (Roman Catholicism) and each was brought out of it. It was not loyalty to a few new ideas that sustained them but the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ whom they loved and who made each a useful instrument for his work.

I trust you will enjoy these as much as I have.

9.28.2009

Our faithful pastors...

"I also saw in my dream that when the shepherds realised that the men were travellers, they questioned the pilgrims about where they were from, how they had gotten into the way, and how they had perservered this far. For only a few who begin on the Way are ever seen in these mountains. When the shepherds heard their answers they were very pleased, and they looked upon the pilgrims with love and favour, saying, 'Welcome to the Delectable Mountains.'

The Shepherds, whose names were Knowledge, Experience, Watchful and sincere, took them by the hand, led them to their tents, and served them a meal. Then they said,'We would like to stay here for a while that we might get better acquainted and also to allow you to gain more solace here on these Delectable Mountains.' So the pilgrims agreed to stay, and then they went to bed because by this time it was quite late."


These shepherd are pastors. In the New Testament, the greek word for shepherd , poimen, is used metaphorically of Christian Pastors. Like all shepherds, these four not only feed their flocks, but tend then, too. Their names - Knowledge, Experience, Watchful and Sincere - describe vital characteristicsof a spiritual pastor.

When evaluating pastoral leaders, often the tendency is to focus more on charisma, eloquence, or credentials. Though these are important assets, a pastor proves sadly deficient without knowledge, experience, watchfulness and sincerity.

Knowledge: Do our pastors know God and His Word in a way that glorifies him and saves and nurtures souls?

Experience: Have they experienced the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in their lives and applied the faithful promises of God's word to their lives?Do they demonstrate a maturity in Christ that grows out of walking closely with him over anuber of years?

Watchful: Are they diligent to caution their flock against errors and snares that might defile and deceive them?Do they keep awake spiritually to guide and guard the flock from attack when others might slumber?

Sincerity: Do they truly know that Christ has called them? Do they look out for Christs interests, not their own? Do they sincerely love the flock God has given them?Will they care for the sick and wounded sheep and seek to find and recover the lost or trapped ones? Do they 'practice what they preach' or do they simply enjoy preaching?"

- The Pilgrims Progress Devotional

I thank God that He has been gracious to us in Immanuel Baptist Church, Sacramento to give us pastors who seek to do these things by God's grace.

Thank You Pastors Ernie King, Robert Briggs and our intern - Jeremy Twombly

9.22.2009

It's official....




Fall officially begins today...

I love this season of mists and melow fruitfulness...
Pumpkin, squash, Thanksgiving, cooler weather,
piles of fallen leaves with their majestic golden colours.
Soccer games in the rain.
I love it all....
Being able to bake in my kitchen again without being cooked myself with the heat!! Enjoying all those wonderful comfort foods that make the house smell wonderful.
Visiting Apple Hill...

" To everything there is a season..."

May you enjoy this season with all that God has in it for you.

8.17.2009

First Day of School...

August 17th 2009 God has given us a restful and productive summer holiday.

The kids and I are both glad to get back to the school routine with a few games of soccer thrown in for good measure.









Today is a simple and easy day covering books, reading over handbooks, checking supplies, etc.


We are looking forward to another school year packed full of new things to learn, new challenges to overcome, faith deepening experiences and growing in love and grace, as we work together in God's goodness. We pray God will work in us all to will and to do according to His good purpose.

8.12.2009

Barcelona v LA Galaxy 2-1

On Saturday evening we had tickets to go see Barcelona FC- the European Champions, play LA Galaxy. It was held at the Rosebowl in Pasadena, CA. There were 93,000 people at the game. It was the biggest crowd at a soccer game since the World Cup in 1984
We met our friends the Granados's at the ground...

and sat by them for the game
This will give you a little of the atmosphere...
video

The end result was Barcelona 2 LA Galaxy 1

8.11.2009

Legoland!!....

The day had finally dawned....
We arrived with different emotions. Some were unenthusiastic, but there was one who couldn't believe the day had finally arrived...
The only question was what do we do first?.....
...a visit to New York perhaps?
...or Paris?
what about the Sydney Opera House?...
...or even go as far as the Taj Mahal?...
We even saw the inauguration of President Obama...
...yes all made out of Lego!!
There were a few famous people/robots we had to meet...
One of them even challenged Andrew!!
There were rides that the girls enjoyed....











This is what happens when you don't eat your dinner in Legoland!!!!
...at the end the day we left with one very happy and contented little boy...
Legoland was a great day out...

Here is my honest assessment of it...

It is definitely geared towards little boys up to 12 years of age (who are into Lego). There a few things girls will enjoy also, princesses, pink bricks etc,. I felt it was over priced for what was in there. We had some coupons which kept our prices down, buy online they are $10 cheaper than gate prices. There are a some good rides for the whole family and 1 or 2 that Andrew didn't even face. If you are wanting thrill rides don't go here. The food inside the park was like anywhere else...good but overpriced, budget for it and share a 'feast' lunch at the Castle part of the park.

On the whole our family enjoyed the day. It is not like Disneyland where you will save up and every 4-5 years perhaps return. It is definitely a 'once in a lifetime' trip, so make the most of it while you are there. My suggestion would be get together with any other family that has boys and plan have a dad and lads days out, let the mums and daughters go shopping or whatever else they fancy. It saves money and everyone is happy!!
especially those little boys!!

8.06.2009

Travelling south...

Wednesday 29th July
We started on the long haul to SoCal.
We planned to stay overnight with our good friends The Elliotts in Riverside,CA.
It is always an adventure there with all their wild life. Andrew had a great time chasing lizards, watching hummingbirds, catching june bugs, seeing wasps catch terantullas...seriously, this did happen..sorry I didn't get it on camera. So here is what I did catch on camera of our adventures there.
Chilling on the patio...
renewing fellowship with friends....Alistair and Lizette Winters... I spy with my little eyes...Lizards...this one just came out for a few seconds before retreating back under the umbrella stand...








Old Ben, he came with them from Scotland... The Hummingbirds were hard to capture on camera..they are fast

Even though it was July, Pastor Elliott was able to catch a june bug and put a string on his leg..watch the video below and you will see what happened... video

What a safari we had just in the back yard and our holiday had only begun!

I almost forgot to let you see the glorious sunsets at the Elliotts resort.Spectacular or what?You would think it was some faraway tropical paradise...well I suppose it is!!

Truly the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places...