A Child is Born

Kindness

 

Kindness

— • —

I am stuck on a conundrum, and it’s making me reflect,
About a troubling weakness, and a character defect.
It’s one that often plagues me, and it plagues some friends of mine,
I’m speaking of the painful message sent when we’re not kind.

The greatest act of kindness in all of history
Was modeled by the Savior while hanging from a tree:
“Forgive them Father,” was His cry, “they know not what they do.”
In those few words He demonstrated kindness pure and true.

He could have said, “Forgive them,” and then let the matter stand.
He could have just ignored them, as He hung there by His hands.
But instead He showed them kindness, by taking up the case
Of wretched hypocrites and fools who merited disgrace.

It’s easy to show kindness when there’s nothing on the line.
It’s easy to be generous to those who treat you kind.
It’s easy to be kindly to the beautiful and handsome;
It’s easy to think kind thoughts when invited to a mansion.

But when you can show kindness to those who want your hide,
Or those have betrayed you to save themselves, then lied,
Or if your act of kindness gets you nothing but a loss,
Then you’ve an inclination of Christ’s wording on the Cross.

Kindness is how and why you love your drooling little brother.
Kindness is the way you sit beside your aged mother.
Kindness is showing mercy on a loved one in despair.
Kindness is forgetting your own hurts, to show them that you care.

There are some folks who act kindly, when they have something to gain.
There are others who feign kindness, when hiding their own blame.
There are some who are selective in the kindness that they show.
And others who are only kind to certain folks that they know.

There’s something very ugly when a good man acts unkind;
But before you judge him harshly, keep this one thing in mind:
You too have been quite unloving, unthoughtful, maybe cruel,
And if you hope for mercy, don’t forget the golden rule.

Yes, there’s been enough unkindness on everybody’s part,
That now would be the perfect time to call for a fresh start.
It’s time to think right kindly of the loved ones you call friend,
The way you hope they think of you when you’re feeling at the end.

‘Cause the precious few who treasure kindness deep within their heart.
And even when they are hurt by others, always play the part
Of being so truly, deeply wholly, passionately kind,
Are the folks that touch your heartstrings and are always in your mind.

You will meet with many prophets, and with mercies not a few,
You will walk with those hospitable, and charitable too.
You will learn from the diligent, and from some humility,
But to meet a truly kind man, is to glimpse eternity.

— • —

By Douglas Winston Phillips

 

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;  forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”

Colossians 3:12-13

Snow play at 8,000 feet

We have had a wonderful time enjoying the snow and prolonged stay at Tahoe.  Though the snow is not 8 feet deep like it was three years ago, there is still plenty to enjoy.

Philip learned to ski and by the end of the day he was skiing straight down one of the steepest slopes!

 

The rides up the hill were peaceful but also quite warm.  Most of us were down to one layer pretty quickly with temperatures in the 60s.

 

We visited our all time favorite, private, sledding hill which we are guessing to be at 8,500 feet.  The view was gorgeous.

 

Preparing the jumps.

 

Getting ready to hit it…

 

she made it!

 

The sled stuck to the jump while Davis continued on.

 

The sled obviously won the height contest.

 

Airborne above the sled.

 

No hands!

 

Beat you to the bottom!!!

 

God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.  For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength.

Job 37:5-6

 

Finally the snow fights began.  Luke, Kyle, and Momma were the main players.

 

I think this one was aimed at Luke.

 

Daddy and Davis worked on this huge snowman for quite a while.  He was finally complete with a handlebar mustache:)

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11

Welcome to California

After meeting Grandpa and Grandma at the airport, we headed to our favorite ice cream parlor;  Leatherby’s!

The birthday boy’s dessert.  Yes, he ate it all!!

 

Grandpa’s treat.

 

Demolishing the mountain, one spoonful at a time.

 

Yep, Daddy ate most of that too.

 

Two days later, we headed up to Yosemite for the weekend.  We were greeted by some friendly deer.

 

The sunset from our front window.

 

The morning view of Half-Dome and El Capitan from the cabin we stayed in.

 

Spectacular!

 

 

Bridalveil Falls below.

 

The white mound at the bottom of the waterfall is a mound of snow made by the spray of the water.

 

More beautiful waterfalls.

 

Snow capped Half-Dome on a clear day!

 

Getting ready to cross the river!

 

Mr. Luke.

 

Hello up there!

 

Kyle enjoyed climbing the rocks.

 

We took a 6 mile hike which led us to the peaceful Mirror Lake.  We were blessed with great weather as we enjoyed the beauty of God’s creation.  From our Answers in Genesis calendar, we learned that the Yosemite Valley was formed by a huge glacier during the ice age.  God can use simple H2O in such powerful ways!

 

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”

~ Psalm 19:1 ~

Friends and Harps

Our family went on a road trip early February and arrived at some dear friend’s house in Kentucky.  The next day, Daddy and I (Emilee) headed up to Chicago to visit the Lyon and Healy harp factory.  We were blessed with great driving weather and only encountered rain and snow in the last half hour.

The snow was quite wet and beautiful the next morning.

We found a lovely used 85E harp online and reserved it for our visit.

I tried a total of five other harps and…

…the 85E was our favorite!  The Lord definitely answered our prayers and allowed the decision to be quite easy.  This harp has a full and rich tone.

The showroom was full of harps with the majority being pre-ordered.

The antique harps had quite elaborate stenciling and gold overlay.

Back at our friends house, we had a wonderful time of fellowship and music.

Philip: “watch out big brother!”

Luke: “Now don’t you try that again:)”

On Saturday, we took a hike along a nearby creek.

Two peas in a pod.

Family shot.

Rock walls are a signature part of the area.

Jump Kyle!

Hanging in there:)

Watch out Philip!

We ended Saturday night with a fun game of empire.  Everybody secretly picked a name for themself and everyone tried to guess the other’s name.  When you match a name to the person, they become part of your empire.  Pictured is a whole empire trying to guess my name (which they couldn’t get)!  It was Jimmy Bob:)  Some other names used that evening were Scrooge, Abigail Huffington, Ashley (one of the Dad’s), Pansy (a boy’s pick). William Coffin, and Chester Gerald B.

I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.
My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.

Psalms 71:22-23