Have you ever noticed in your Bible reading how that God is very interested in first things? Look in a Bible Concordance, and see how many times first, firstborn and firstfruit(s) are mentioned.

In Old Testament law, the firstborn child is God's, as well as the firstborn of certain animals. The firstfruits of the land were to be offered to Lord. The tithe is the firstfruits of all increase, and belonged to God. In the Psalms, how many times did the writer approach his God early in the morning? He gave the first part of the day to the Lord!

As we are beginning a new year, I've pondered what first things I can give to the Lord, to honor Him. First part of each day? Yes. First day of each week? It's His. First part of our increase? Definitely.

A friend of mine is writing out her experiences with fasting, and it was in my communications with her that I first heard about fasting the first day of each month. What a great way to prepare for a new month, setting a regular time to "reboot" our perspective, refresh our bodies, and reset our feet to walk in His ways! An excellent idea.

It is God who has given us all things richly to enjoy. I want to honor Him with everything I have (time, talents & abilities, money & worldly goods, children), but especially with the first things. He is Worthy!

What first things do you honor the Lord with?

I woke up eearrrly this morning to my husband singing to me. (He gets up a little after 5 a.m.)

Later, Jessica and Jillian made me breakfast. French toast with peaches, Yum!

Why all the special treatment? Today's my birthday! (You'll have to guess how old I am, though.)

Let me share with you some of the delights of my day...


Lucious strawberries from the market!




My son Joseph's ingenuity in school this morning. Why perform the mundane task of writing his name on every page, when he can stamp it on instead? I told him after this, he has to write his name. But it made me smile!




My little boy splashing in the bathtub...




Beautiful, fragrant roses...




My godly, hard-working, (not to mention handsome!) husband...




Puppy madness in my back yard...




A beautiful, healthy baby to care for...




Discovering some wonderful truth in God's Word that I've never seen before! (And goofing around with my son, the photographer :o)




Finding this little cutie napping on my bed...




...and raising girls who are eighteen months apart, and best buds! (Coco and Loco :o)

I thank God for every year, every day, every moment of my life. I am blessed!

I hope you all have had a blessed weekend! Ours was...interesting. We were planning to have company over for lunch on Sunday, but the power went off on Saturday! It was raining and lightning outside when we heard a loud POP, and the lights went out.

When the power goes off, so does the electric pump that draws water from our well, so we were also without running water. We had to cancel our plans to entertain, call the power company, pray, and hope for the best.

A cool, dark house on a rainy weekend can definitely get dreary! But we are getting good at making do. We were definitely thanking the Lord that our stove is gas, not electric! So there was no trouble making hot meals. The older girls love to light candles all over the house (they are very careful), and Daniel fires up a Coleman lantern, and it's like camping out, only more comfortable :o)

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5

Sometimes in the evenings we roast marshmallows, or play Bible charades by lantern light. Once Daniel even hooked up the computer to the power inverter in the car, and I was able to check email while the car ran outside! Not a necessity, but it was nice. :o)

All that to say this: Even when things get difficult and don't go as we plan, we are blessed if we can be content. There are many blessings to enjoy along the way if we'll just look for them! Each week our family learns about a good character trait, and guess which one it was this past week? Contentment! Looks like the Lord wanted to give us a good lesson in contentment, and it really was a blessing. Thank You, Lord!

"...For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Philippians 4:11

When we moved out here to San Juan, the cost of electricity for us tripled! So we replaced our electrical appliances with gas... except we didn't find a clothes dryer right away. We have some very nice clotheslines in the back yard, and took advantage of the free "dryer" :o)



Hanging laundry has become my favorite chore; it's peaceful, the clean laundry smells so nice out in the sunshine, and I get to warm up a bit outdoors. (A cinderblock house is pretty cold in the morning!) But the hours of sunshine we get per day are getting fewer all the time, and it's becoming a challenge, getting all the clothes dry by the time the sky clouds up or the sun sinks too low.

Sooo, Daniel has set me all up for the rainy season. This is the dryer the Lord has blessed us with! It runs on LP (liquid petroleum) gas and very little electricity.



While I still hang most of the laundry out on the clothesline, it's so nice to have something to fall back on during these rainy days. Thank You, Lord! And thank you, Sweetie, for finding it, hauling it home, and setting it up!

I spoke with Daniel on the phone this afternoon. He met several others at the TX-MX border who are on their way to Guatemala, too, so they are travelling together. Safety in numbers! While in the States, he was given a gas clothes dryer, which he is bringing down with him. (Woo-hoo!)


It was strapped onto the back of our little car, and weighed it down quite a bit, making it difficult to drive over speed-bumps and potholes. A couple with whom he is travelling noticed the problem, and said they needed some weight on their pick-up to stabilize it, so they put the dryer on the pick-up, and the car is handling much better on the road.

The Lord has really blessed Daniel on this trip, and I'm so thankful he's not travelling all alone!

The children and I are at the end of Matthew in our nightly Bible reading, which corresponds nicely with Resurrection Sunday! Last night and the night before, the Lord was teaching his disciples about the end times, and it is so exciting to think about! Tonight, however, He communed with His disciples, partaking of the Passover, and revealing to them the whole meaning of it. Then He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, groaning beneath the burden of the knowledge of what He must endure in order to be my Saviour. Nevertheless...Thy will be done.

It was God's will that you and I be saved, and so the most horrible injustice in history was done to the only One who could possibly redeem us from death, sin, hell and the devil. His body was to be broken, like the bread. His blood was to be spilled out, like the wine.

Tonight we only read the beginnings of how He suffered. So far, I have never been betrayed by anyone in my closest circle of friends, then forsaken by all. I have never been taken before a judge and had false witnesses accuse me. I have never yet had anyone spit in my face or beat me up, or make public shame and mockery of me. But Jesus endured all this, and much more, for my sake. I weep my gratitude, bow before Him, and whisper Thank You, Lord.