Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!


Well, that time of year has finally rolled around... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! :) And now, a brief ode to mashed potatoes, turkey, pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving races (I'm doing it this year, unlike a few years ago.), stuffing, after-dinner walks, and Black Friday (wait... I'm kidding about the Black Friday. That has nothing to do with Thanksgiving...). But, over all those things I just mentioned, I am so thankful to God for EVERY THING He gives us. We read Psalm 104 last night, and it was so encouraging and uplifting! I can't really resist, so here it is. I'll let you guys read it too, because it's such a fabulous Psalm. :) Here it is:

Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.

They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.

They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.

By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.

He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.

Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.

Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.

Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.


-That Psalm makes me want to go out in the woods right now, and take a walk in God's glorious creation that we are so incredibly blessed with. Okay, to stick to a tradition, I will now state what I'm thankful for:

-God

-My family (things are just starting to get fun with every one getting older)

-Beautiful mountains

-Elk tags

-My puppy

-Seasons

-All the "little" things

-Life in general

-There's so many things, I can't mention them all right now, but, you can check out my Thanksgiving Post that I did a couple years ago. Have a great Thanksgiving!


Count the blessings, not the calories,

Margaret

Link

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Here are some pictures from recent events: (I promised, remember!)

Anna and her gigantic squash (gigantic for us, at least - we're terrible gardeners)

Margaret, hunting and wearing that FABULOUS hunter's orange

Goofing off...

Cuties

And, our fantastic brother turned 20! Yay! Get out the party hats! (two months ago)

~Margaret

Hunting

We went elk hunting a few weeks ago (Robin, Margaret, Maria, our brother, and our brother in Christ). It was so much fun, and, guess what? We didn't get any thing. Figures... huh? :)

The very first day, my brother and I (Margaret) were sitting in a group of trees, looking out on a BIG meadow, searching for elk. All of a sudden, I heard crackling behind us. Twenty yards away, there were seven elk. I turned, they bolted, I trained my gun on one of them (trotting away from me), took the safety off, and pulled the trigger. My gun didn't go off, because, surprise! I had the safety halfway on and halfway off. That was really really sad, because, before I could pull it off all the way, they had dashed off into the woods. I have to admit, I'm WAY too indecisive.

Of course, I still had lots of fun, but I couldn't help but be disappointed going home. Next time, I'm going to treat the first elk I see like it's the last one I see (because, this time, that was true). And, to move on to my final point: We really ought to see our lives like that. I'm not a bold person. I'm a wimp (there, I said it). I'm convicted all the time that I don't share my love for Christ enough. It is pretty hard to just start witnessing to some one about the Lord, but I feel like I just haven't done it enough. I need to be treating time I spend sitting next to some one on an airplane, standing next to some one in line, talking to some one in the library like it is the last time I can share my faith with any one. In reality, I think I need more boldness, so I'm gonna pray for that! There's no being indecisive in this life. Any ways, just some very random thoughts.

I'll post pictures someday...

~Margaret

OH, BY THE WAY: PRESS PLAY ON THE PLAYLIST! IT'S A NEW ONE, AND I LOVE ALL THE SONGS! ;)