Shut the Door

Getting away, just me and the Word of God, and spending time alone with God...that is something that I have struggled with. The busy-ness of life is such an enemy to our souls. I was looking in an old hymn book today and was challenged by this old song written in 1923 by William M. Runyan.

Lord, I Have Shut the Door

Lord, I have shut the door, Speak now the word,

Which in the din and throng could not be heard;

Hushed now my inner heart, whisper Thy will,

While I have come apart, while all is still.

In this blest quietness clamorings cease;

Here in Thy presence dwells infinite peace;

Yonder, the strife and cry, yonder the sin:

Lord, I have shut the door, Thou art within.

Lord, I have shut the door, strengthen my heart;

Yonder awaits the task--I share a part.

Only through grace bestowed may I be true;

Here, while alone with Thee, my strength renew.

In the Studio with Freedom's Call

Freedom's Call is a group of four girls (two sisters and two cousins) that sing and play gospel bluegrass together. They are such a delight to watch and listen to. My sister and I have the wonderful blessing of coaching them once a week on new songs and various musical projects.

Their newest project is making a CD. We went with them to the recording studio in Wisconsin last week and found the sweetest little place nestled in the woods near the banks of the St. Croix River. This is the cute little cabin that we were set up in, just a few yards from the studio...

So, keep your eyes open for their new CD which will be coming out sometime this summer. Sweet voices in four-part harmonies blending with beautiful stringed instruments all agreeing in one voice with praise to our Lord! What a great experience it was!

"...Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

~Colosians 3:16~

The Sahlstrom Farm

Spending time on the Sahlstrom farm is always great fun. There is so much activity there on a daily basis, what an adventure! In the short amount of time that we were there we experienced the birth of baby goats (triplets!), making homemade maple-nut ice cream, several ping-pong tournaments in the garage, homeschooling 7 different grades at the same time (I am amazed at my sister Melissa! She is incredible.), and lots and lots of sweet hugs. I couldn't get enough of it! Here are some more pictures of our stay...

Amelia feeding the goats

(Just a note: she is not wearing shorts in the middle of the winter, she just didn't want the bottoms of her pants to get muddy.)

Five of my sweet neices (L to R: Amelia, Charisma, Annika, Erina, and Becca)

I'm Back!

Auntie Missy and Elianna

I am very sorry that I have been such a poor blogger as of late. I have not been home for a few weeks so that is my excuse. I am actually still not home but I am able to use my sister's computer. Mindy and I decided to come down to Tracy and surprise my older sister Melissa and her family. It was so much fun to see the expression on her face. She cried and the kids were all yelling, it was great.

The girls were finally able to try on the salvar kamis' that I brought back from my trip.

A little south Asian beauty!

Special Visitor...

What a blessing it was to have my sister Mindy and little Elianna visit us at Kinder Kids this last week. Mindy played the guitar and we all sang some of our favorite songs. It was so much fun to have her there. The children LOVED having such special visitors!

Thanks Mindy! We love you!