tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69601192374615893882024-02-19T10:00:21.640-05:00The Jones ArchiveThe Jones ArchivePeter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.comBlogger709125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-26562096572063723702015-08-25T10:23:00.002-04:002015-08-25T10:23:44.862-04:00I haven't occupied this space for some time now. I am here to say what you probably guessed, which is that I don't intend to continue here. This chapter has closed. I am also here because I believe I'm ready to begin the next chapter. I plan to begin a new blog, one for writing. I will post a link here when I have the blog set up and ready to go. <br />
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In the meantime, I'm going to practice a bit here. Please offer me feedback if you are able. That would be valuable to me. I want to learn to write in a way that is as helpful as possible to my readers.Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-77366261371369886522015-03-10T07:13:00.001-04:002015-03-10T07:15:00.776-04:00Protecting Your Time<br />
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I am un-apologetically a homemaker. God structured the home to be an atmosphere where souls are nurtured. I get the wonderful job of being the one to create that atmosphere.<br />
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I have, several times, appreciated the straight-forward advice given to young homemakers by an older, experienced homemaker on a blog called <a href="http://homeliving.blogspot.nl/">Home Living</a>. One of the <a href="http://homeliving.blogspot.nl/2013/03/protecting-your-time.html">articles</a> I appreciated this year addresses the topic of <a href="http://homeliving.blogspot.nl/2013/03/protecting-your-time.html">protecting a homemaker's time</a>. There are some good thoughts here, worth the time to read them. The main thing I took away with me on my first reading was a conviction that my husband and children should be getting the very best of my mental and physical energies, not the leftovers, once I've expended them on other endeavors or concerns. This is not an excuse to flake out on people and ignore responsibilities, but rather insurance that you don't end up doing that.<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"To redeem something means to regain possession of it, or to
free it. Homemakers really do need to be
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Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-78889128874620051622015-01-31T11:21:00.002-05:002015-02-01T16:03:26.966-05:00Contagious Tranquility<div style="text-align: center;">
Mark 5:27-30</div>
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"<i>When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, 'If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.' Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, 'Who touched My clothes?'"</i></div>
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Peter used this passage this week in one of our family worship times. He made the point that while sickness is usually contagious and transferred from one person to another, wellness is not passed in the same way. In this story, Jesus does not become infected by the affliction of the sick woman. Rather, he transfers His purity or cleanness to her and she is made well. </div>
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On a separate thought, I was considering a chapter from one of Rachel Jankovic's books, <u>Loving the Little Years,</u> entitled "I Am a Racquetball Court." Rachel does a good job effectively using examples and images to illustrate her points. In this chapter she says she likes to picture herself as a racquetball court, with her small children being the the players, hurling balls at her. She uses this imagery to help her remember that she wants to "take a bad attitude with a lot of spin and turn it into a quiet little ball rolling across the floor." She says also, "...it is my job to absorb the shock." </div>
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I find a connection between Peter's point about Jesus in the passage in Mark 5 and what Rachel has written about being a racquetball court. Jesus physically healed sickness. He performed miraculous acts of healing. In that way, we don't need to strive to be like Him. But perhaps this story of the woman who touched His garment is a helpful picture of how we want to imitate His nature, transferring peace and the love of Christ to others who are stirred up and stuck in sin as opposed to to joining them in their misery. </div>
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There is only one way to be able to do this. We must keep our focus on Christ, directly in front of us. If we focus on being a good example, or on what someone will think of us, or on trying to fix someone or solve their problems we will inevitably fail to transfer the peace of Christ, which only comes from Christ. We will also fail to keep ourselves clean, which is also something that only comes from Christ.</div>
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Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-37731069403298531912015-01-28T22:58:00.001-05:002015-01-28T22:58:22.175-05:00The Road to the Next Duty is the Only Straight One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just started a new read aloud with the kids. It's a George MacDonald book that I've wanted for a while and my sister recently sent me a copy. <span style="text-align: center;">"The Princess and Curdie"</span> happens to be the sequel to the well-known story "The Princess and the Goblin," which we have read multiple times. We read the well-written, though brief, first chapter right away and I loved some of the lines at the end of it:<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
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"The king had been so pleased with the boy - then approaching thirteen years of age - that when he carried away his daughter he asked him to accompany them; but he was still better pleased with him when he found that he preferred staying with his father and mother. He was a right good king and knew that the love of a boy who would not leave his father and mother to be made a great man was worth ten thousand offers to die for his sake, and would prove so when the right time came. </div>
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As for his father and mother, they would have given him up without a grumble, for they were just as good as the king, and he and they understood each other perfectly; but in this matter, not seeing that he could do anything for the king which one of his numerous attendants could not do as well, Curdie felt that it was for him to decide...</div>
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...Peter and his wife, however, were troubled with the fancy that they had stood in the way of their boy's good fortune. It would have been such a fine thing for him and them, too, they thought, if he had ridden with the good king's train...</div>
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...The good, kind people did not reflect that the road to the next duty is the only straight one, or that, for their fancied good, we should never wish our children or friends to do what we would not do ourselves if we were in their position. We must accept righteous sacrifices as well as make them."</div>
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Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-4125523898179011362014-12-30T07:46:00.000-05:002014-12-30T13:12:25.036-05:00Slave of All?I was recently considering the phrase, <i>"Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant."</i> I just looked up the passage and Jesus goes on in His teaching to His disciples,<br />
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<i>"And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."</i> Mark 10:43b-45</div>
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Especially the idea of <i>"slave of all"</i> stands out to me. I've been mulling over it for a few days. I've been considering my life and my choices and trying to match it up. Do I serve others as a slave to them? What would that look like? Do I lay my life down for the people God has placed in my life? I think I do. I mean, many or most of the tasks I perform in a day are important services for my children and for the improvement of our home, whereby everybody benefits. It would seem that my life is devoted to serving others...but...is it? </div>
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My spouse and I have been talking through some conflict off and on this week and it was this that caused me to consider further if I am really taking a servant's mindset. I was noticing last night how much I want to lean on him and depend upon him, which affects my decision-making. If he is reading to the kids, I am just glad that he's handling it so that I can get something else done or get a minute to myself. I disappear. Then I'm nowhere around when it's time to put the kids to bed and he ends up doing it. If he regularly pitches in with the dishes, I begin to assume that he will take care of that and I can use the time to accomplish a personal task that's important to me. I had been thinking of these types of decisions more in the light of being task-oriented and dividing labor effectively. But I find I am being naive about my motives in certain regards and actually depending on him instead of being dependable <i>for him. </i> </div>
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These days I don't like to waste time. I want to get a lot done and there is A LOT to do! Sometimes other people are just too slow for me. <i> </i>Let me emphasize the last words of that last sentence, <i>for me. </i>(doesn't really sound like the slave of all, does it?) Being task-oriented can be good. But I think it can actually militate against a true servant mindset sometimes. It takes setting aside my own agenda, no matter how good it is, to just be available for others, whatever they need. <i> </i>Man, that can be hard. It isn't wasted time, but it sure can feel like it initially. When I realize that I view it that way, then I can see how it must come across to those who are depending upon me. </div>
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My pride resists this kind of self-rebuke. The things I'm doing are <i>important</i>. Really, I ought to be recognized for them. But the truth is that the people around me need to feel important. Important enough that I stop everything to be there for them (not just for emergencies). That I set aside my own goals to be actively pursuing activities that will make them feel supported and able to depend upon me. </div>
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I was considering Jesus' life as I was mulling over these thoughts. He made Himself the embodiment of other people's needs. I have begun a Bible-reading program for the new year and look forward to working my way through the gospels and focusing on looking at His life, that I might gain more insight into how to live this way.</div>
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Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-64878206900238030852014-12-10T06:40:00.000-05:002014-12-10T06:40:38.974-05:00A Central Criteria for Living Correctly<div style="text-align: center;">
Gal 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." </div>
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I have found lately that my fundamental decision-making criteria is being shaped into the simple directive above. God has made me a parent. Parenting can seem so complicated. There are so many choices. Which specifics do I make an issue over with my child/children? I guess I had better do something about the screaming tantrum, but why? How important is it whether or not I push my child to eat his green vegetables? What about sharing a cherished toy with another child? This only gets harder as the kids get bigger and there are more of them. </div>
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As the Lord has convicted me of my own blindness and sin and graciously allowed me to be refined by His revelation, these parenting questions are getting simpler for me. Parenting is essentially teaching children to live correctly. Correct living is defined by God as revealed in His Word. Only as He shows me how to live correctly myself can I exemplify it and teach my children to do it. All of God's Word is useful for learning correct living, but Galations 5:14 tells us that the whole law is fulfilled in one word. Amazing! "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."</div>
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Every moment of every day I should be asking myself, "What SHOULD I be doing right now?" The answer is based on the criteria given in the Galations directive. Taking all things into consideration, what do the people around me, that God has given me responsibilities towards, need from me right now? <br />
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When I wake in the morning, there are some basic things that usually always need doing. Most of the time the answer to the above question is going to include showing my kids consistency through: making my bed, straightening my room, putting thought and a little time into my appearance to look nice for them throughout the day, reading my Bible, greeting them each cheerfully, meeting any immediate needs such a diaper changes or help getting dressed, giving directions and getting breakfast started. Usually the most pressing need is for consistency in these things so that the children believe that they actually are important and I/we do them for a reason. All of the things that I just listed, but especially consistency in doing them, by the way, are not my strength. Victory in this has only been recent. </div>
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Sometimes the most pressing need changes and this is where my true motives can be tested. Each day when I wake up, I don't know exactly what I'm waking up to. God has it planned and He doesn't always mean for me to to get that shower I needed or the quiet time of reading I was trying to be consistent at. Should I be OK with this? How do I know when this is from God or when it's my emotions getting in the way? Loving my neighbor, doing what's best for those around me is the criteria. <br />
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For example, having a long conversation with my daughter about the meltdown she's having about her favorite shirt being in the laundry and not available to wear might be exactly what is most loving and needed and my goal of starting school at 9:00 isn't what God had in mind after all. I need to let it go. There's no failure or need for feelings of failure because I didn't keep to the schedule, if I was faithful to do what the Lord had for me. Another time, I might perceive that the need for my daughter to conform to the schedule for the sake of the whole family is just the lesson she needs taught and the long conversation isn't going to be the ticket. Either way, my heart is at peace with whatever parenting task the Lord has for me and that's the key. </div>
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Becoming flexible in this way is entirely freeing. I serve one master, Jesus Christ. I am not in bondage to a lot of rules and programs. </div>
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A big part of this process of learning for me has included becoming comfortable with "mess." How can one have victory in consistency and increase in tidy habits while becoming more comfortable with "mess," you say? Though it sounds contradictory, the first two things are only possible with the third one coming into play. Getting uptight about a disaster or sin or whatever mess there is, never helped anyone to overcome it. It's bondage to rules and programs that creates this uptight-ness and frustration when things don't go as planned or look like what I pictured. The tranquility that comes with dependence on Christ, looking at the big picture in the midst of a mess is exactly what gives me the fortitude to continue on the path and persevere with clean-up.<br />
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Functioning with a central criteria also helps me know what to "put my foot down" about when it comes to taking up issues with my kids. The main thing that I shouldn't tolerate is behavior that runs over or hurts others. Of course, I can only teach this if I, myself, am behaving this way in the lesson. I must not tolerate it while not tolerating it in a loving and kind way. I used to be so muddled in my head about where to place compassion and where to exert authority. I see now that I gave "compassion" to my children many times when their heart was wrong, they were harming others or in rebellion. That was not biblical compassion at all. I see now that that was extremely unloving behavior that enforced their sin and made it look OK. While my motive may have been somewhat sound, my actions were in reality selfish, unloving and harmful to my child. Real compassion teaches a child when his heart is selfish and does not protect him or make excuses for him in his selfishness.<br />
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Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-88516787221295781512014-11-29T03:43:00.001-05:002014-11-29T09:25:57.937-05:00Singing & Slaying: Book Review: When Helping Hurts<br />
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<a href="http://morgantownpastor.blogspot.com/2014/05/book-review-when-helping-hurts.html?spref=bl"><img alt="When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328823049m/6595233.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://morgantownpastor.blogspot.com/2014/05/book-review-when-helping-hurts.html?spref=bl">Singing & Slaying: Book Review: When Helping Hurts</a>: <span style="font-size: large;"><b>When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself </b></span>by Steve Corbett My rating: 4 of 5 stars Just a...<br />
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Peter reviewed the book <u>When Helping Hurts</u> earlier this year and you can find his worthwhile review at the link above. We read the book together and I find the concepts are applicable this time of year (think soup kitchens and other charity ministries).<br />
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I also find that the concepts illuminate a lot of trouble and mistakes I've made in the past and continue to make in personal relationships. Peter says in his review, "They [the authors] encourage Christians to never do for someone else what they can do for themselves." This is, admittedly, a tricky balance to find when we want to obey the scriptural directive to give generously. I continue to find ways that my giving isn't about giving what is truly helpful to someone else. It is actually about making myself look wise (giving random advice on the internet or elsewhere?), keeping my kids dependent on me, "fixing" someone else so that I'm not embarrassed by them or other terrible motives. Yesterday Peter said to me that he thought women, in general, were prone to wanting to be helpful. That's a nice way to say it. I think he's right, but that doesn't mean we do what is actually helpful, more like what we think is helpful. I know he gives me the benefit of the doubt a lot on this kind of thing. He's generous like that. :-)Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-88233516208616767672014-11-27T08:02:00.000-05:002014-11-27T08:15:43.576-05:00Happy ThanksgivingLast night during our family worship time, Peter asked "Directly after Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended, what happened next?" The kids answered that he went into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan for 40 days and 40 nights. Peter shared that we shouldn't be surprised that isolation and temptation were the very next things after the coming of the Holy Spirit and baptism. We, as Christians, shouldn't be surprised or disappointed when we find ourselves sent out alone to do battle, where no one else sees, either. The truth is that we're not alone, just as Jesus was not. God gives the Holy Spirit and He is fighting the battles for us.<br />
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I am thankful this Thanksgiving, that through the battle and isolation God brings about a slow transfer of our reliance on people and their affirmation to a reliance on Him as we see Him conquer the Foe for us. Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-41041958150097849582014-11-27T07:05:00.001-05:002014-11-27T07:05:56.145-05:00Bronwyn Turns 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Bronwyn is our 2nd October baby. Going back to when we had leaves on the trees, here's a few pictures of her birthday celebration.</div>
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She is picking out a pumpkin pancake from the big pile flipped by her brothers and sisters for her pancake feast.</div>
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Breakfast for dinner makes Bronwyn happy! Actually, I think we were singing the birthday song to her. She loved it.</div>
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This was her first time to open gifts when she knew what she was doing. But she still required a lot of help.</div>
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She needed some explanation and demonstration to see that this was a flashlight with several functions.</div>
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Now she understands.</div>
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Yum, yum fruit snacks.</div>
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More explanation and assistance.</div>
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Bronwyn's sisters picked out a set of plastic horses for her because she can comb their hair and take them in the bathtub.</div>
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"Here's the comb..."</div>
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Finishing with dessert, of course. We made blooming roasted apples from a recipe shared on Pinterest.</div>
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She knows how to celebrate!</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-6721573439225144652014-11-23T03:22:00.000-05:002014-11-23T03:22:19.531-05:00Writing as ObedienceI do not like writing. It does not make me happy. It is tedious and full of all kinds of detail that I hate to worry about or mess with. This probably accounts for why I've never worked on it and improved my ability to do it.<br />
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The Lord has been showing me that I have had a view of obedience to Him that could be summed up by "doing what He says when it is what I want to do or planned to do anyway." I'm slowly beginning to experience, not just mentally assent, that real submission is doing what is required of me at this time that I don't want to do. I know. It seems basic. But somehow I'm only beginning to get it and really work on it and one of the things that I'm painfully exercising this in right now is...writing.Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-88304629604578510282014-11-20T11:54:00.000-05:002014-11-20T12:04:56.698-05:00Resources, Investment & Clean Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<u><b>Some History </b></u><br />
There was a time when Peter and I wanted a big family. We were newly-weds and planning our desires for our future. We both loved children. We knew we wanted to homeschool. Peter grew up with a large family of four children. Our conclusion was that a large family of four children was our desire. Fast forward to when we had two children. Admittedly, having kids was a lot harder than we had presumed. We felt maxed out on a practical level, but our conviction about having a large family hadn't changed. We certainly had to outdo the average family out there and be a role model of amazing-ness to all of our peers. But we could also sense that God intended for our lives to be invested in more than a lot of what we were seeing in the world around us.<br />
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About that time, Peter accepted his first position as a senior pastor. This suddenly allowed him more time to read and search for answers to many of the questions he had about the dispensational theology he'd been taught in college and the practical function of the American church. Long story short, his reading led him to reformed theology and he found himself convicted of a lot of beliefs that didn't fit with our church backgrounds and that changed the whole direction of our lives. One of the convictions had to do with birth control and trusting God with the size of our family. We spent hours talking these things over as he'd share with me all that he was reading about and answer all of my questions/objections.<br />
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As I gave birth to our third child we both felt a different sort of excitement about adding another son to our family. We saw him as a gift from God in a way that we hadn't viewed our first two children. Something had shifted and we saw the whole act of procreation as more about furthering Christ's kingdom than about fulfilling our own desires.<br />
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After our fourth child and a number of difficult sacrifices made in order to live in obedience to our new convictions we began to "count the cost." How many kids would God end up giving us anyway? How would that work out financially and in terms of our time resources? We worked through many questions but ultimately believed that the Bible taught us 1)God is to be trusted with all of it 2)raising children is an eternal investment and what would we rather be doing or would God rather us be doing with our money and time than that? In theory, we prepared to give up other pursuits and comforts in order to invest all that we had into raising children. How could a large, nice house, for instance, compare to the blessing of more family and the reward of investing in Christ's kingdom? We understood we would be making a trade-off. We realized that we would watch other families around us have different lives with different flexibility and ease.<br />
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That trade-off was much harder in reality as we went on to have several more babies.<br />
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<u><b>The Present</b></u><br />
I am now pregnant with our 9th baby. I went through a number of years of horrible struggle with my life and my inability to carry out the task and responsibility involved in the choices we had made. The more I had to sacrifice, the more deep-rooted selfishness came to the surface. I am now at a different place with my perspective on this than I was a couple of years ago with my eighth child.<br />
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The truth is that resources, (i.e., my body, my time, my mental and physical energies, my belongings, my "wealth") are all given to me by God. All that I have belongs to Him. Anything He gives me, I now see, is only correctly used when seen as an opportunity to do good to others, for His sake. As God has cleaned up my heart, he has convicted me to clean up my life and get busy repairing the ruins and turning my home into a blessing to others, my family members and extending out to minister and spread the gospel to the world around us. <br />
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As I began to learn and work on this earlier this year, I found out I was pregnant and it felt a little in-congruent with God's directives. I was thrilled and truly at peace with the pregnancy, but wondered how God wanted me to keep up the "clean up" while growing this baby in my close-to-40-year-old body. Even so, I trusted Him and I knew by now that His plans were always for the best. <br />
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This growing child within me is several weeks away from being born. God has faithfully shown me how perfectly this work of growing another human life fits in with the lessons He was/is teaching me. Many aspects of "clean up" that I had been doing had to slow down or stop completely, but the Lord had other ones for me to be working on. <br />
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A few thoughts:<br />
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1)While the pregnancy consumes a lot of my resources, I find my relationships with my children and husband have every opportunity to grow. As my physical resources are being alotted out to my growing baby, I can be sitting using my mental resources to converse, listen, respond, encourage, teach and build up my other family members. As our relationships become more selfless and fulfilling, the peace and joy in our home increases and the atmosphere changes. Proverbs 17:1, "Better is a dry morsel with quiet, then a house full of feasting with strife." This is clean up.<br />
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2)My character is strengthened by persevering through fatigue and pain to accomplish the basics of meeting our large family's needs and serving others in spite of my own weakness. Seeing my ability to do much more than I have been able to in past pregnancies, when I rely on the Lord's strength, helps me realize what is possible by His power. A life of daily reliance instead of fear is such an incredible blessing and this pregnancy has been a great conduit to experiencing this. This is clean-up also.<br />
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3) As God began to teach me years ago, people are worth investing in. Even as I am working to clear away the mess that built up in the past, I must learn how to live real life, the right way. There is the present and the future to be working on too. This baby has been a constant reminder of this. People are a priority. There is nothing in-congruent about learning to expend my resources on people. This is what I was doing before, just in a different way. As I was fixing up my house physically earlier this year with the original conviction to be doing it for the people around me, in service to the Lord, it began to become an idol to me. This pregnancy has cut that off and got me back on track with the point: My resources are to be used continually, daily, in investment in people and the growth of Christ's kingdom. That can look like a lot of different things. Making this baby is certainly one of them. <br />
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I find the Lord leading me back to some more progress on the physical aspects of my home right now. Motivated by making ready for baby's arrival and having my other children settled and cared for before that time comes, as well as creating a better environment to celebrate Christmas in and have guests in, I have many ideas of improvements to do in the next few weeks. I don't know how many of my ideas the Lord intends for me to bring to reality at this time, but as long as my heart is daily receiving the resources and giving them away wherever God desires, then it shouldn't matter. I pray as I move forward that I will remember:<br />
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<i>Ecclesiastes 3:1, 9-13:</i></div>
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<i>"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven...What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor-it is the gift of God."</i></div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-28236299260790889742014-11-07T21:30:00.000-05:002014-11-08T19:23:21.492-05:00Homemaking 101<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday I posted some pictures on Facebook of doing morning school with my littlest kids. Above you can see Millie and Cecily counting out their dimes and pennies for the daily coin cup in the math meeting before their math lessons begin.</div>
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Elijah is coloring in the Bible Story Coloring Book that came in a 6 book preschool book set that I got him. </div>
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Cecily's math lesson using pattern blocks.</div>
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Millie's math lesson involved setting up a "store" where she labeled everything with a price, picked out two items at a time, wrote them on a receipt, totaled the prices and paid for them using dimes and pennies.</div>
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NOW...here is today. More math. More preschool. Can you guess what I spend hours and hours doing every single day? </div>
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The kids are great at helping each other out...</div>
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...yet, there is many hours of tutoring required of me every day without fail. Today I helped Ben and Cal look up a weather map with the high and low temperatures for the whole USA for tomorrow. We documented the projected temperatures for about half of the state capital cities so that they will be able to graph them tomorrow.</div>
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I love teaching my kids and watching them learn, but there's a duty to this task that goes beyond anything I love to do. They need my daily, consistent investment into their expanding knowledge as a big part of helping them to become strong, healthy plants in this garden of a household I am trying to manage.</div>
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I got to thinking today about how all of the many aspects of homemaking are meant to work together, like an ecosystem in a garden, to accomplish the end of strong, healthy plants that are bearing fruit. Of course, the end of that end is glorifying God and growing His kingdom. This isn't about me. I play a role that God has laid out for me and I work for His pleasure. All of the jobs I perform as a homemaker are a part of this role and they are meant to work together to produce healthy, thriving plants here in my home. You can't remove any aspect of it. They all work together: the cooking, the laundry, the shopping, the cleaning, the discipline and time for training, the spiritual nurturing, the educating, the bathing and grooming, the soul nurture through generous giving and serving and providing things that they delight in, the continual looks and touches of affirmation and affection. </div>
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I have a long ways to go when it comes to getting all of these aspects to function efficiently at once. The truth is that my garden is far from lovely. In fact, I feel a lot like Elijah, trying to learn the basics of drawing a straight line and stopping at the right spot on the bottom line(pictured above). As I was teaching him this week and marveling at how such a simple task was difficult for him to get down, I was reminding myself that it's a building block. First he's got to get the line straight. Then we work on stopping on the bottom line at the right place. When he's figured it out through repetition, we can move on to some curved lines and attempt the number 2. Even holding the pencil is so awkward for him right now, but one day, Lord willing, he'll be writing essays and who knows what else. </div>
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I recognize God doing the same kind of training with me. Is it hard to be content with this? Sadly, yes. My pride wants to be the "accomplished housewife." It's just this kind of weakness that indicates that I couldn't handle being that yet anyway. If I were, I would fall prey to so many temptations and it wouldn't be about God's glory anymore. He has me where He wants me and He's writing my story. I trust in this. And I am content. I could look around at all of the weeds left in my garden, still needing to be pulled, and become discouraged or ungrateful. Instead, I believe the Lord wants me to reflect with praise on all that He has wrought in my life with His faithfulness, look with gratitude on the progress He has allowed me to make and view the weeds with a sense of hope and ambition to get busy!</div>
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<i>Lord, I ask your forgiveness for all of the pride and self-reliance that I have brought to this task and for all of the weeds that I have subsequently sown. Thank you for the hope you have given me and the opportunity to work for your glory instead. May this garden you've given me ever glorify you.</i><br />
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Side note: Will's chopping work today.</div>
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And my 32-week pregnant self heading out the door to spend some spontaneous time with my husband. God is good.</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-33076809979889020312014-10-31T07:22:00.000-04:002014-10-31T07:22:37.726-04:00Cecily's 6th Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Birthday celebrations are one of those things that rely almost entirely on me. Other family members pitch in a lot to make it happen, but especially the cooking depends upon the head cook, as we usually try to make something special, that we wouldn't ordinarily have. This year we settled on coffee cake for breakfast, but this particular week was an especially bad one and Cecily's birthday came at the climactic end of it. When we woke up that morning, I tried several times to get going on that cake, but came to realize that I just couldn't do it, for once. Lots of times, I just need to push through and do it even though I don't feel like I can, but this wasn't one of those times. I took some time to think it over and I knew that even though I would feel disappointed, Cecily would not feel disappointed if we went and got doughnuts and yogurt and ate at the park. So we did. Does she look disappointed? I'm thankful for such options on such days. I had to remember the goal of a birthday celebration in the first place and get over my own ideals about how I wanted it to look. It's the spirit of fun, enjoyment and celebration of the individual who is being recognized and thankfulness to God that matter. That can be conveyed in so many different ways. I'm thankful this year that the Lord helped me not be selfish and feel upset about the inability to make a coffeecake and have a homemade birthday breakfast for my girl, but rather to focus on a celebratory attitude for her sake and enjoy a good thing with her instead. A slumped over, discouraged mama doesn't exactly speak, "This is about you and about thanking God for you and the good work he's doing in your life."<br />
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<i>Thank you Lord for helping me not to do that this time and for forgiving me for the many times in the past where I couldn't resist the temptation.</i></div>
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This was a beautiful morning to be outside, and a big treat and she was delighted. </div>
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We let the kids run off a little energy at the playground before we went home. (Truth be told, we didn't go directly home, we ran to Target to get a gift, because none of my plan-ahead plans had worked out, including a gift.)</div>
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Happy Birthday girl.</div>
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Also thankfully, we had planned an easy dinner of turkey burgers and frozen fries. Amelia and I did manage to get a birthday cake made in the afternoon, which you will see shortly.</div>
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Time for gifts. Lousy picture quality is due to being in the basement at night, with inadequate light.</div>
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Nail polish!</div>
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The bag had some snacks in it that the boys picked out for her. She is holding some bunny cookies that they found.</div>
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Her own wallet, from Grammy and Papa.</div>
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Millie helped her check out all of the compartments and tell her what they were for. ("This one's for your debit card....")</div>
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We bought Cecily Spirograph (last minute) and she also got a Make A Plate from my parents. Both of those gave her some new artistic things to work on.</div>
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Amelia wrapped her stick horse up in a blanket and gave it to Cecily. I let her because it was generous of her and I knew Cecily would love it.</div>
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The Oreo Cake.</div>
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Something worthwhile to celebrate: God's gift of life to this girl. She's really so easy to please and such a treasure to me. Thank you Lord!</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-62241326297363564872014-10-17T22:24:00.002-04:002014-10-17T22:24:47.426-04:00JoAnn's Halloween Utility ApronMy sister started a little crafting blog not too long ago to share projects that she is working on, mainly with crochet. Tonight I saw that she posted some new pictures of a utility apron that she made to wear to work at the craft store she works at. Everything she makes, she pretty well designs herself and I'm always so impressed. I thought I'd put a link here so that you could check it out, if you want to see her handiwork. Her birthday is October 30th, so she's always been a little attached to Halloween, which is part of the explanation for the effort she put into this themed apron.<br />
Click the link below to see her post: <br />
<a href="http://craftingcornerwithjoann.blogspot.com/2014/10/crocheted-halloween-utility-apron.html">JoAnn's Halloween Utility Apron For Work</a><br />
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Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-16850676195844734882014-10-11T20:54:00.001-04:002014-10-11T20:54:21.244-04:00Baby Jones #9<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I got a sweet surprise yesterday when the ultrasound technician gave me this picture of our new baby boy, kicking around inside of me. I thought some of you might like to "see" him too. I am in my 28th week, by the way. That leaves less than 12 weeks until my due date.</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-13803191829225973582014-10-10T20:40:00.000-04:002014-10-10T20:40:27.668-04:00Summer Evening Walk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You will know who took these pictures if you pay attention to who is <i>not</i> in them. I picked out my favorites. </div>
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There were many deer and fawns lying in the long grass in the meadow to the left in the picture above. Some of them roused while we walked by.</div>
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A rare picture of myself. I thought of you, JoAnn, when I posted this. </div>
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One of the last summer outings of the year.</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-21487925316175342772014-10-07T13:07:00.001-04:002014-10-07T13:11:43.987-04:00"Hi Grammie!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's time for cozy jammies again. Elijah and I took this picture just to say a big hello to Grammie and to show her his new cozy jammies. Love you, Grammie!</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-79026524725493860262014-10-05T15:46:00.000-04:002014-10-05T15:51:13.832-04:00Samuel's 15th Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sam's 15th birthday was at the end of July. Here's a few photos to catch you up.</div>
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Sam just wanted roast and potatoes for his dinner. Oh, and homemade bread. Homemade bread only makes it's appearance around here every so often, so it was a treat.</div>
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Peter picked up a couple of books for Sam. If you haven't heard of this one, <u>October Sky</u>, you might have heard of the movie. Sam really liked the film because it was about a West Virginia boy, Homer Hickam, from a small coal mining town who became a famous author as well as a NASA engineer and helped put West Virginia on the map. </div>
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The second book, below, is hunting and fishing tales by famous outdoorsman, Zane Grey.</div>
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Sam's gift from us was a recurve bow, for hunting, that he has been wanting.</div>
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He was <i>very</i> pleased with it.</div>
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He's been practicing with it and he's hoping to at least shoot <i>at</i> a deer or turkey this fall.<br />
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Sure was fun to celebrate our oldest. He's such a contributer and a blessing to our home.</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-61924014941935968312014-08-19T14:05:00.001-04:002014-08-19T14:05:18.653-04:00Late night August catfishing<div style="text-align: center;">
We recently went on a late night cat-fishing excursion and did pretty well. Mom (Julie Jones/ typical Jones archive blogger) wanted me (Samuel Jones/ unlikely Jones archive blogger) to put a post on the blog about the adventure. I had a birthday recently and I am sure Mom will be blogging about that whenever she gets the time. Dad wanted to do something special for the occasion and we decided on the annual night fishing trip. We set a date around the fullest moon in August and I prepared our tackle to deal with it. To catch fish that in the Monongahela river can run up to fifty pounds or larger you need to have suitable rods, reels,and line. Bait is essential as well, because the catfish is a nocturnal predator that lies on the bottom while waiting to ambush potential prey. Chicken livers, hotdogs, soap, and night crawlers are all excellent options. To take into account the catfishes bottom feeding nature it is necessary to use weights and fairly large hooks to get the bait to the bottom. We used something similar to the rig below.</div>
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Line should be heavy enough to cope with a good sized catfish but light enough to cast well. We were intent on catching two of the three major North American, the channel catfish and the flathead catfish. The former is a widespread resident of most of the united states from Oregon to Maine, and from Minnesota to Texas. Channel catfish average about 1-5 pounds depending on location and anything over 10 pounds is a good fish. They can however reach weights of over fifty pounds. The flathead catfish is also an indigenous North American species and though slightly less widespread than it's cousin the channel it can reach gigantic sizes. Like it's name suggests it has a flattened head designed by God to easily ambush sunfish,suckers, and other prey fish from the bottom. Here is a photo of the world record flathead catfish caught in Kansas.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjVOYrOacq3KfK6pyPLibiHburCWnIJip6hde72vfaj8bxE4dD5EOyy8TR_hU0iNobJU3Ih2VG6X4fU9OeyJnIOBcaFY5HTu5AvqF4HwOfh-PfHd0avYbXdq3-9Oml9-dV3zkLifp5NII/s1600/Record+catfish..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjVOYrOacq3KfK6pyPLibiHburCWnIJip6hde72vfaj8bxE4dD5EOyy8TR_hU0iNobJU3Ih2VG6X4fU9OeyJnIOBcaFY5HTu5AvqF4HwOfh-PfHd0avYbXdq3-9Oml9-dV3zkLifp5NII/s1600/Record+catfish..jpg" /></a></div>
This particular fish weighed about 123 pounds, although flatheads as large as 139 pounds have been taken illegally. This species is partial to live fish, while the channel is a more eclectic feeder, eating whatever is available. This meant that we needed to collect live bluegills, from a nearby pond for bait. We began the trip with a bit of a fiasco. Dad was fishing for bass with a lure and william was fishing beside him. Dad made a cast and apparently hooked william in the side of his head, just above his ear. The treble hook went in past the barb, making it's removal tricky. We fiddled with it for a few minutes and then decided to drive down to the river and deal with it there. In the end dad cut the hook off of the lure and then cut the other points of the hook off. Then I was able to wiggle it loose and free my afflicted brother. :)<br />
We then proceeded to set up camp on the dock. There are a variety of things that are not necessarily related to catching the fish that are essential when night fishing. I will give you five of the most important. 1. Flashlight. 2. folding chair. 3. paper towels. 4. five gallon bucket. 5. An assortment of good snacks (We bought candy bars, chips, and root beer.) We were beginning to settle in when dad saw a rod tip moving. I picked it up, set the hook and felt a considerable weight on the end. It fought for about 2 or 3 minutes before we could get it close enough to see what it was. We were more than a little surprised to see a decent sized Eastern soft-shell turtle come thrashing to the surface. He had swallowed the hook and was meaner than a rhino with a splinter up his eye. Roughly a foot wide and with very sharp claws, he was more than happy to go back to the river. We were sort of annoyed that our first catch hadn't been a fish but we were encouraged just the same. About an hour later I was changing a weight on one of the rods when a muffled clatter aroused our attention. We turned around just in time to see a rod to flying into the river. That got us a little mad. Here we had sat for over an hour and half and now the first fish had taken the rod with it! But there was nothing to do but fume and move on. We were still berating our ill fortune, when I reeled in another rod to check the bait. Nothing on the home rod but it had hooked the line from the one we had lost. Once berated now elated we hauled in on the line and found the rod first. Then we reeled in the errant fish. It was fat 21 inch channel catfish an a welcome addition to our empty bucket. Much more cheerful we continued our vigil with renewed confidence. Another uneventful 45 minutes had slackened our senses once again when I checked our flathead rod rigged with a bluegill. As I started to reel in I felt the presence of a powerful fish that was not what I had expected. It made a very strong run towards the middle of the river but after about five minutes I was able to get it in to where we could land it. I soon saw that it was a flathead catfish and it felt pretty good to hoist the thrashing six pounds of fish over the edge of the dock. He looked a lot bigger than he was but it was a sweet fish to land.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXsiRlbmPK0iKUMPEGvxDo-DxC-fRoPw231cVxJqEDf3qyvRJlK1bAGRqkXVZhWfDwsmViCrkn1DOpPuO7pywYSgrQaNDlQ3MJTYqOWVZI-88M70Ff3Eg-iBg-1OoT3bWGFKVddhvNIO1/s1600/DSCN8578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXsiRlbmPK0iKUMPEGvxDo-DxC-fRoPw231cVxJqEDf3qyvRJlK1bAGRqkXVZhWfDwsmViCrkn1DOpPuO7pywYSgrQaNDlQ3MJTYqOWVZI-88M70Ff3Eg-iBg-1OoT3bWGFKVddhvNIO1/s1600/DSCN8578.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
He was an official 24 inches long though with a 14 inch girth. His rough tooth pads tore up my fingers a little bit and so I would advise you never to believe the average guy when he says that catfish do not have teeth.<br />
We finished out the night with one more channel catfish caught by William and we were tired but happy campers when we got home at 2:00 A. M. Here are some photos of the other fish we caught.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdxi0I3l6HywNwSob7jQMTwPb5bnJywA5zQKKrUgm2Uq7YnwjcqCunJB1D5X927LQRBGKG2_oaby2cTRwZU4Ghz0hw6ZRzlTFe8_F74gZw26sZEaPcVtnt11DxuoP5CAlkUrBy1fwJ-7o/s1600/DSCN8580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdxi0I3l6HywNwSob7jQMTwPb5bnJywA5zQKKrUgm2Uq7YnwjcqCunJB1D5X927LQRBGKG2_oaby2cTRwZU4Ghz0hw6ZRzlTFe8_F74gZw26sZEaPcVtnt11DxuoP5CAlkUrBy1fwJ-7o/s1600/DSCN8580.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
This is the fish that pulled the rod into the water. We called it unanimous and had dad hold it for the picture.<br />
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Wills fish was wriggly and it has some mulch on it due to a slight accident as he was holding it for the camera. Not quite as large as the other one but a good deal better looking.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here they are just minutes from the fillet knife.<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></td></tr>
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To end the night we found a beautiful Luna moth fluttering around in the pantry. It was a male, (evidenced by the large, feathery antennae used for finding females.) roughly five inches across and a light shade of mint green. Very pretty and a highly satisfying way to end a successful catfishing trip. We hit the beds at about 2:45 A. M. and slept in the next morning. Thank the Lord for such a wonderful trip. </div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-68387289713617588142014-08-14T22:49:00.002-04:002014-08-15T21:57:09.297-04:00New Bed!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtc4SRZumW6H0MzbK-P9v_cNc25YAMd7LBH5CQwxySx9YPIB8hbdol4qKwnMR4ARlL-Gw8mGCnFyD7Tbg4zLpwJZOZwOEKOGL1Ty-Y0ZJRkdGEQwJofCTExeJc7eJB-SJ2uNuuGWYOZCZ-/s1600/DSCN8641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtc4SRZumW6H0MzbK-P9v_cNc25YAMd7LBH5CQwxySx9YPIB8hbdol4qKwnMR4ARlL-Gw8mGCnFyD7Tbg4zLpwJZOZwOEKOGL1Ty-Y0ZJRkdGEQwJofCTExeJc7eJB-SJ2uNuuGWYOZCZ-/s1600/DSCN8641.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Lord provided a really great bed for the boys' room and we're all really excited about it. We weren't looking for a change yet, but the Lord answered the need before it became urgent and saved us from having to make a quick purchase out of necessity. Right now Elijah is sleeping in the toddler bed that is on the right of the new bunks + trundle. Once we buy a mattress for the top bunk, he will probably start sleeping up there. We hadn't planned on that, but once we set up the beds, the top seemed most suitable for someone small. There is a ladder on the left end of the bed and it's not made to bear the weight of a bigger boy. Also, the top is completely caged in, making it difficult to climb over for a bigger boy and safe enough for a little one. </div>
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This is what it looks like with the trundle bed pulled out. Adding this third bed in the set instead of the standard two-person bunk bed leaves the space where Elijah currently sleeps open for our newest boy that we are expecting! There's so many things we love about this bed too. Hurray for this wonderful provision for our family! We have craigslist and a sweet friend who found the ad for us to thank also.</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-69170541321464137562014-08-13T11:17:00.001-04:002014-08-13T11:17:45.552-04:00Basketball Camp<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Benjamin and Calvin recently got the opportunity to attend a 4-session basketball camp for free down the road at our local park. We were surprisingly pleased with how organized it was and how much the boys gained from it. (Ben is in the center with blue shorts/white shirt)</div>
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The teacher was a grad student at West Virginia University who was trying to fill community service hours for his degree. He spent time with the kids individually showing them what to do.</div>
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The boys' skills definitely improved.</div>
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Here is Calvin, also in blue shorts/white shirt, in the middle of a game.</div>
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The last day of the camp I got a few more pictures of them playing a casual game with one of the instructors.</div>
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This was the one picture I got of Calvin making a shot. They each made several baskets while I was watching this game. I was so glad to see them figuring it out!</div>
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Everyone benefited from this and the boys brought home a new basketball for each of them. We're grateful that we got to take advantage of the opportunity.</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-4199164671067981152014-08-06T21:51:00.001-04:002014-08-06T21:51:32.735-04:00Some More Towels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqytVlvvUQtDZCdOKq9vqTR5YsVWdvcSL87sRReLfcFWtuaQ_hYUJn9YvCNS2s7-Z5Ekt2hvEQ7HdTGiR6frc8edjY4YC0kFgoX62SROdthBaQ_HBX4V8r_a4zbgpp0CovbTbK13AGrrt2/s1600/DSCN8539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqytVlvvUQtDZCdOKq9vqTR5YsVWdvcSL87sRReLfcFWtuaQ_hYUJn9YvCNS2s7-Z5Ekt2hvEQ7HdTGiR6frc8edjY4YC0kFgoX62SROdthBaQ_HBX4V8r_a4zbgpp0CovbTbK13AGrrt2/s1600/DSCN8539.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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Here are the two requested pictures that I didn't include. We went to the pool yesterday so I was sure to get a couple quick shots. Bron loves, loves her towel. She knows it's hers. :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsDZslxxazaj4NRp-VO2N7YiY4RQ42dqeGqcmEEKSblCvM2kUckyNgRT7R4kgGGgiy0gButmDYAbIOc_c3tkMnEvKcQR8Arx8MR-pLjS7aEKk-rDdT70QS-7BxmvGHishfNvrcrlBGP5z/s1600/DSCN8537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsDZslxxazaj4NRp-VO2N7YiY4RQ42dqeGqcmEEKSblCvM2kUckyNgRT7R4kgGGgiy0gButmDYAbIOc_c3tkMnEvKcQR8Arx8MR-pLjS7aEKk-rDdT70QS-7BxmvGHishfNvrcrlBGP5z/s1600/DSCN8537.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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Elijah spent about half of the time at the pool wrapped up in his towel because he got himself nice and cold during the first half of our time there. Sorry, Mom, that you can't see the diver because he's standing in front of it. But isn't that towel just the right size for him?</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-81789189500303275962014-08-03T19:33:00.001-04:002014-08-03T19:33:27.965-04:00Early Morning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVbUm0Au-ggl-yCX7H65X_aatCDX6XGZQ_1brMjTar2sirzyqknSMqONiFeJQ4QzSU4xuV51ImPSZx2J_sZU7c8HKoiFUrJVCSRkc9I1fcZZs4yOQoNqYl_VFcDqDBIFl-nX2sZ9UVGC-/s1600/DSCN8446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVbUm0Au-ggl-yCX7H65X_aatCDX6XGZQ_1brMjTar2sirzyqknSMqONiFeJQ4QzSU4xuV51ImPSZx2J_sZU7c8HKoiFUrJVCSRkc9I1fcZZs4yOQoNqYl_VFcDqDBIFl-nX2sZ9UVGC-/s1600/DSCN8446.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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This is just a picture I happened to take and Amelia happened to yawn in the middle of it. :) Obviously she wasn't fully awake yet, but Bronwyn is enjoying the book nonetheless and taking bites of banana while waiting for yawns. Good morning! Start of a new day!</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-37934293243949350562014-07-30T06:20:00.000-04:002014-07-30T06:20:57.042-04:00Beach Towels!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOu9qhgC3wKT-nc__PAZV2hEiCjHcFoLdEnSiMq2mz12hzj0yKQ2N79R4mU9251jKoLu0RH-3KrzpTYWeqhEUeKE1qkvoyhSEan_Ax2bUkVUmWNKLwcdk78LhJV4y2uEIMHVQ4fS1c9cOQ/s1600/DSCN8315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOu9qhgC3wKT-nc__PAZV2hEiCjHcFoLdEnSiMq2mz12hzj0yKQ2N79R4mU9251jKoLu0RH-3KrzpTYWeqhEUeKE1qkvoyhSEan_Ax2bUkVUmWNKLwcdk78LhJV4y2uEIMHVQ4fS1c9cOQ/s1600/DSCN8315.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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We had a really fun package arrive in the mail last week. My mom ordered all of the children beach towels! They're so beautiful and fun! We had to take some pictures to show you how great they are, Grammy. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LzyZtTWC8mzuy0vhFfFw607UyeESQ543W3YhhqVXCdC8ZrR1XRbh94N9fT0aZX84fiklJ_IWe3jbiROSrxYXk8asEAdMwoYkMJlvHxMdzyiHDnq1AN-jkYjBwb6s4VhclrhbRLb0tQ_H/s1600/DSCN8317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LzyZtTWC8mzuy0vhFfFw607UyeESQ543W3YhhqVXCdC8ZrR1XRbh94N9fT0aZX84fiklJ_IWe3jbiROSrxYXk8asEAdMwoYkMJlvHxMdzyiHDnq1AN-jkYjBwb6s4VhclrhbRLb0tQ_H/s1600/DSCN8317.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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You can't really see her name, but I love this towel. Amelia adores it. :)</div>
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Sting Rays for Calvin!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin54Qjo_mjDNNVNm6LBhu18v1y-VoEIZg8PmGpaNWUtUEg9MtTeomQJq41UbiAG8kQjvRT1ehcXPfXkj1u2pkxiU7aA2K3tpYc68oIimvSbGmMUPEZNo0x9dIdcApchGbo-SpfkpQkJx54/s1600/DSCN8320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin54Qjo_mjDNNVNm6LBhu18v1y-VoEIZg8PmGpaNWUtUEg9MtTeomQJq41UbiAG8kQjvRT1ehcXPfXkj1u2pkxiU7aA2K3tpYc68oIimvSbGmMUPEZNo0x9dIdcApchGbo-SpfkpQkJx54/s1600/DSCN8320.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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The towel holder decided he was missing out by not being included in these pictures.</div>
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Not that we're going to the beach. But we've been visiting the local pool once a week and they will be so helpful. Thanks so much, Mom!</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6960119237461589388.post-84538744320667914992014-07-26T04:56:00.003-04:002014-07-26T04:58:27.775-04:00Pictures from Peter's Birthday (finally)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehLcOs_rF5PRKboLWIp1uyFvHqrdtlhWunamiktJ8Wlym1b7f_Qk8-N1Qq5SU99qxRmO2zI6PhS2ADrcHkhv4f410XCVjYKq5qEUOwEQukPD6H320b_IqGVlpFydinmV_mHQNFovKWeFp/s1600/DSCN8149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehLcOs_rF5PRKboLWIp1uyFvHqrdtlhWunamiktJ8Wlym1b7f_Qk8-N1Qq5SU99qxRmO2zI6PhS2ADrcHkhv4f410XCVjYKq5qEUOwEQukPD6H320b_IqGVlpFydinmV_mHQNFovKWeFp/s1600/DSCN8149.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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A favorite thing that he looks forward to is his birthday beer. I got him something extra special to go with his birthday dinner. (It was an organic chocolate stout)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5T5aGt9ywpntYHw49LPnr9Bz0UmobPaKvtTNrDaLegL_N3crXlW0lmN8DyMk5luEnrGDGP1LAjLGl5LVY0ddNaMG65YR_dFxfzutdrzd2kvyptTN32gcs44p-1BQ_Y-lC3AuxZv9WZrx/s1600/DSCN8128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5T5aGt9ywpntYHw49LPnr9Bz0UmobPaKvtTNrDaLegL_N3crXlW0lmN8DyMk5luEnrGDGP1LAjLGl5LVY0ddNaMG65YR_dFxfzutdrzd2kvyptTN32gcs44p-1BQ_Y-lC3AuxZv9WZrx/s1600/DSCN8128.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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We kept our tradition of doing a hunt with clues for Peter to find his birthday gifts (before dinner). The kids have so much fun with this. William always creates the clues.</div>
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Here he is finding a gift in the bottom of the chimney.</div>
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He found the one in the office, now he is reading the clue to take him to the next gift...</div>
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...which is in the dining room which is appropriately the last location so we can begin dinner.</div>
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But first we took a couple of birthday photos with the kids out on the deck.</div>
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Dinner was: BBQ spare ribs, corn on the cob and cheddar biscuits.</div>
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Ben had fun printing off these photos for Peter, who is pictured in number one. I'm not sure where he got the idea, but this was his contribution for his dad and it was pretty creative. </div>
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Time to open gifts, starting with little ones from the little people.</div>
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I enjoy watching him interact with each of them and how he appreciates the things they give him.</div>
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Our older sons found a set of cigars and an airtight case to keep them in for a really good price and knew that their dad would enjoy that. </div>
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Next is a gift from his in-laws. </div>
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A big smile for the commentary that they got for him! Thank you!</div>
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From all of us: a football...</div>
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...and a book stand for his desk.</div>
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He found this book stand on Amazon and had it in his wish list. I ordered it and he just loves it. I think you can tell a lot about Peter by the gifts he got this year. They sum up his interests pretty well.</div>
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We made brownie ice cream sundaes for dessert, to finish the evening.</div>
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No celebration is perfect, but in all it was a lovely time to celebrate the years that the Lord has given to Peter and has given to us with him. What a blessing he is to his family.</div>
Peter Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169921605180545217noreply@blogger.com2