Celebrating Jordan's Faithful Sonship and Manhood! (Part 2)

Here is the beginning portion of the letter that I (David) wrote on that very special occasion where we celebrated Jordan's faithful sonship and entrance into manhood.

Jordan,

This letter is being written out of a heart of love for you on a special celebration of commissioning you into manhood! You have a very exciting future ahead of you and as your parents, we look forward to helping you grow and develop into the man that God wants you to be. We are very honored and privileged to be serving as your guides and we pray that you will always be able to look back on your years of growing up in this family with great fondness and affection. We pray that the foundation that is being laid now will provide a firm base that is centered on living a life honoring to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is our sincere hope that you will be taking dominion for the glory of God in whatever specific areas that He will call you and that there will be many future generations that will continue to build on and further your dominion work.

Birthday Blessings, My Beloved Bride!

Birthdays are a special time to remember and honor the one that is celebrating another year of God's faithfulness, grace, and mercy!

This year I (David) am providing this birthday post to my dearly beloved bride by petitioning the Lord for His blessings on her behalf. God is love and the giver of good gifts to His children.

Jill,

Happy Birthday, my dear and precious help meet! I love you, sweetheart! Here are the specific requests for which I am asking of our gracious and loving Heavenly Father for you!

Fruitfulness - O Lord, please provide to my dear sweetheart a life that is characterized by great fruitfulness. May You grant to Jill a fruitful womb that will continue to bear children for your honor and glory. Give to Jill fruitful hands that will be effective in her service to You as we seek as a family to take dominion for Your Name!

Joy - Heavenly Father, graciously provide my Jill with a joyful, fulfilled heart that will be delighting in her role as my wife and mother to the children with which Your hand has blessed our family.

Contentment - Dear God, please grant my dear bride a contented life that will accept and welcome every situation in which you place her. Lord, give her this blessing and enable her to be able to say “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11, KJV).

Wisdom - Lord, please give Jill Your wisdom and allow her to speak this wisdom wherever she is, whomever she is around, and whatever the circumstance. Give Jill a growing desire to pursue wisdom with great fervor. Allow Jill to be filled with this wisdom and may she influence others with it for Your honor and glory.

Peace - Heavenly Father, please provide to Jill the peace that passes all understanding based on Your perfect character. Enable her to be able to show this peace as a means of testifying of You and the difference that You make.

Hope - Our gracious Lord, please give Jill great hope for each tomorrow knowing that You have an important work for her to do in the ministry of this family and her role in the body of Christ. Help Jill to be spurred on by the plans that You have for her and enable her to share this hope with those around her.

Jill, you are so precious and dear to me and I am grateful to be your husband and your earthly head. I pray that I will be able to bless you with godly leadership and provide you with a love that will be a good model of Christ’s love for the Church. I love you, Jill! Happy Birthday, my beloved!

Celebrating Jordan's Faithful Sonship and Manhood! (Part 1)

The beginning of manhood is one that is marked by becoming a faithful son. It includes a willingness to take responsibility, to be consistent and diligent in work, and to demonstrate mature decision-making. While there is not an absolute transition point whereby one day a boy suddenly becomes a man, the start of manhood is an occasion worthy of celebration. I submit that you will bless and inspire your son by having a time set aside to rejoice and celebrate his manhood at whatever stage you see the characteristics of manliness as outlined in God's Word developing in him by the grace of God.

In February 2009, we celebrated Jordan Jachim's entrance into manhood at age 14 by going out for a celebration dinner at Jordan's favorite restaurant (Macaroni Grill), followed by a very special time of showering him with significant and meaningful gifts starting with a beautiful and very well constructed captain's trunk made from rich walnut wood.

(This trunk was ordered from www.woodnu.com, where you will find a very fine selection of trunks, hope chests, and more.)

Inside the trunk was a very striking brass plaque, which was inscribed with Proverbs 24:3-4:

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

Strange Food!

I've been collecting these photos of interesting food we have had. It is amazing how strangely things can grow sometimes!

EGGS

We have all probably seen double yolk eggs, as I have, but I had two of them in one carton! They looked so cool while they were cooking! Of course, I HAD to break the yolks on the other two eggs. :-p Bummer!

BANANA

This banana was really fat before opening it. I did not give it much thought other than "it's such a fat banana". However, when I peeled it, lo and behold, it was a double banana in one peel! I have NEVER seen or heard of this!

Do you know the trick to separate a banana into 3 equal strips by squeezing it gently? Squeeze it all around, and the three sections will naturally come apart! I did that with this double banana, and it separated into 6 sections! (The photo shows only 5 because I actually had 2 of them stuck together; when I pressed it further, that one separated into 2 for a total of 6 sections).

CUCUMBER

Here's another one: a double cucumber!! This one is from David's mom and dad's garden!

Pretty fun, is it not? Okay, so we are easily amused around here! God's creation is amazing--whether from its complexities or even its eccentricities!

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Liberty Day History Display from 2011--pt. 23

For our history display, we created a flat board with paper soldiers to represent Pickett's Charge on Day 3 of the battle of Gettysburg. However, even Pickett's Charge would be too large, so we focused on General Armistead's division breaching Union lines and being forced back by General Webb and his division. 10 different regiments (5 Union and 5 Confederate) were represented on the board, each reduced by a factor of 10; thus, the 69th had 320 men at Gettysburg, etc.:

• 69th Pennsylvania: Strength: 32, Regiment Type: Irish. The 69th held the Confederates at bay in its sector of the line
• 71st Pennsylvania: Strength: 33, Regiment Type: Regular. Most of the 71st ran for it when the Confederates arrived
• 72nd Pennsylvania: Strength: 45, Regiment Type: Zouave. The 72nd held the line until New York reinforcements came up
• 106th Pennsylvania: Strength: 33, Regiment Type: Regular. "You can withdraw your batteries when that regiment [106th] runs away" General Howard to Major Osborn
• 4th U.S. Artillery, Battery A: Strength: 8, Regiment Type: Artillery. Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing commanded Battery A. He was killed during Pickett's Charge.

• 9th Virginia: Strength: 32, Regiment Type: Regular. Only two officers and 37 men of the 9th surrendered at Appomattox
• 14th Virginia: Strength: 42, Regiment Type: Regular. The 14th was recruited in May 1861, making it the oldest regiment in Armistead's Brigade
• 38th Virginia: Strength: 40, Regiment Type: Regular. The 38th's colonel was named Powhatan Whittle
• 53rd Virginia: Strength: 44, Regiment Type: Regular. The 53rd was formed in December 1861, making it the newest regiment in Armistead's Brigade
• 57th Virginia: Strength: 48, Regiment Type: Regular. The 57th was General Armistead's own regiment

Happy 10th Birthday, Amara!!

Today, Amara Grace Jachim turns 10 years old! What a blessing it is to be able to celebrate the birthday of this dear daughter and to think back on the birth of this precious girl. She was born at 1:08 A.M. and from the time that she was born (her birth weight was 9 lb and 9 oz) she has seemed older than her age. It is our desire that she will be mature in godliness and holiness beyond her years all through her life!

Amara, we are so grateful to the Lord for His creation of your life and we are very blessed to have you as a part of this family! As you continue to grow, our prayer for you is that you will become more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ - putting on His character by seeking to live in a manner consistent with His nature as revealed in His Word! We humbly ask our loving Heavenly Father that He will give to you great wisdom and a very joyful future that will include becoming a help-meet to a godly husband, as well as a mother to many faithful, covenant-keeping children.

We are committed to training you for the honor and glory of God! Toward that end, we will be diligently providing you with instruction from God's Word and giving you resources that will be an aid to you in growing in knowledge of Holy Scripture. It is with this in mind that included in your presents this year, we are gladly granting your request for a new Bible and special marking pencil. You can use these new tools to gain understanding of what God teaches in His Word, as well as how you can apply what you learn in your life now and in the future. Remember that it is only through the discipline of studying Scripture that you can know all that you are to do in order to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord!

Happy Birthday, my dear daughter! May you have many special memories of this birthday and each of your birthdays as a part of this household! You are very special and we love you very much!

Happy Second Birthday, Tirzah!!

Today, Tirzah Mercy Jachim turns two years old! It has been a great joy and delight to see her grow, learn, and develop over these past two years. She has a very determined and exuberant personality that has added so much to our whole family! We praise the Lord for her life and we look forward to the future with great hope knowing that God has a plan and a purpose for this precious little girl!

Tirzah, I am so blessed to have you as my daughter and I count it a great privilege to be raising you for the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ! My prayer for you is that you will be a daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords - not only saved from your sin, but living day by day for the purpose of furthering His kingdom! I am committed to training you in the ways that are outlined in Scripture and also to give you a personal example of what it means to live a godly, upright, righteous, and holy life!

Happy Birthday, Tirzah! You are a very special reminder to our whole family of the mercy of God as He gave us you as an answer to our crying out to Him for the blessing of more children! The Bible teaches us that "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward." (Psalm 127:3, KJV) What a treasure you are to us and what a joy it is to have you as a part of this household! We have many special memories of your life already and look to the days to come with excitement and anticipation as you grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus!

We love you, dearly, Tirzah! Happy birthday, our precious and special gift from a loving Heavenly Father!