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!

Happy 17th Birthday, Jordan!!

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. (Proverbs 1:8-9, KJV)

Happy Birthday, Jordan!

It was 17 years ago today that the Lord blessed us with the birth of our first child, Jordan Christopher Jachim! What a tremendous privilege and responsibility God has given us in training Jordan according to God's Holy Word! The journey thus far has been a road filled with many precious memories as we have seen Jordan grow from the precious and highly dependent stage of infancy to the strength of godly manhood.

Reflecting back on the day of Jordan's birth, our hearts are filled with joy! Contemplating the last 17 years along with the physical, intellectual, and spiritual growth that we have seen in this young man, our hearts are filled with gratitude! As we look to the future for the Lord's direction for Jordan's dominion work, our hearts are filled with excitement and hope!

Jordan, I am so grateful to be your father and I pray that I will effectively lead you according to the perfect law of God! My prayer for you is that you will be a man of holiness, righteousness, and godliness! As you seek to live according to the way that the Lord has ordained for you, may you be diligent in fulfilling the good works that God has prepared for you, joyful as you live a life that is dedicated to the King of kings, and fruitful in impacting this world for the advancement of Christ's kingdom!

Happy 17th Birthday, my son!

Liberty Day History Display from 2011--pt. 22

The Paper Soldiers

What’s the display? On Day 3 of Gettysburg, General Lee ordered General Pickett’s division to charge the Union lines. One of Pickett’s subordinates, General Armistead and his men broke through, but they were overwhelmed and wiped out by Colonel Webb’s Philadelphia Brigade. The board depicts Armistead at the farthest point through the Union lines, known as the “High-water mark of the Confederacy”.

• How many paper soldiers are there? 361 men

Union: “Webb’s Philadelphia Brigade”--Total: 153

Confederate: “Armistead’s Brigade”--Total: 208

• Who’s in charge on the board? General Lewis A. Armistead and Colonel Alexander S. Webb
• What’s that clump of trees? Historians call it the “Clump of Trees”. General Lee used that to direct Pickett’s division to the charge.

• Why is only one cannon firing? Lieutenant Cushing was out of ammunition.

The soldiers on the display are reduced 1/10 from their strength at Gettysburg; hence the 69^th Pennsylvania had 324 men, and so on.

Credits:

Paper soldiers found on www.juniorgeneral.org

Designers: Nicolas Schneier, Ungern, Daniel Harper, Clive, Old Tyke, Jarrett Voight, John Gypson, Russell McCreight, and Michael Krein.

Numbers at Gettysburg: Jenny Goellnitz at www.drawthesword.goellnitz.org

General Armistead led his brigade at Gettysburg with his hat on his sword

(soldier by W. Britains www.wbritains.com)

Liberty Day History Display from 2011--pt. 21

Battle of Gettysburg Fast Facts

• General in Charge: Union--George C. Meade (left); Confederate--Robert E. Lee (right).
  
  
• How many soldiers were at Gettysburg? 88,000 Union, 73,000 Confederate (rough numbers)
• Where was it fought? Near the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
• How long did the battle last? 3 days, July 1, 2, and 3, 1863.
• Who won? Day 1--draw: Day 2--Confederate: Day 3--Union, and Lee falls back to Virginia
• Why is it important? Gettysburg was General Lee’s last invasion of the North. From then on, all battles were fought on Confederate soil.

Soldiers by W. Britains (www.wbritain.com)

Liberty Day History Display from 2011--pt. 20

This is a short chronology of battles, events, etc. of the American Civil War.

Confederate victories denoted by gray; Union victories by blue. Draws are orange.

1860 December 20 South Carolina secedes from United States

1861 April 12-13 Fort Sumter, SC (begins Civil War)

1861 July 26 First Bull Run, VA (First major battle, Federals crushed)

1862 March 9 Hampton Roads VA, Draw (U.S.S. Monitor vs. C.S.S Virginia)

1862 June 25-July 1 Seven Days’ Battles, VA (McClellan retreats north, abandons campaign to capture Richmond)

1862 April 6-7 Shiloh, TN, (Confederates fail to block union of two Federal armies)

1862 August 28-30 Second Bull Run, VA (Lee crushes Pope’s army, rolls McClellan toward Washington D.C.)

1862 September 17 Antietam MD, Draw (McClellan defeated, but stops Lee’s invasion of North)

1862 December 11-15 Fredericksburg, VA (Burnside’s rush on Richmond halted)

1863 May 3 Chancellorsville, VA (Lee crushes Hooker, but Stonewall Jackson killed)

1863 May 14-July 4 Vicksburg, MS (Confederate fortress on Mississippi River captured)

1863 July 1-3 Gettysburg, PA (Lee’s second invasion of North stopped)

1863 September 19-20 Chickamauga, TN (Confederate victory, but Chattanooga still in Union hands)

1864 May 5-7 Wilderness, VA, Draw (Grant’s invasion of Virginia continues)

1864 May 8-21 Spotsylvania Court House, VA, Draw (Grant’s invasion of Virginia continues)

1864 November 15-December 21, Sherman’s March to the Sea, GA (Sherman fights and burns from Atlanta to Savannah)

1865 March 29-April 9, Appomattox Campaign, VA (Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia surrenders to General U.S. Grant)

1865 April 26 Johnston surrenders, NC (Confederate General Johnston of the Army of Tennessee surrenders to General Grant and Sherman)

1865 May 5 Confederate Government dissolved, VA (President Davis declares government dissolved and flees)

1865 May 10 Jefferson Davis captured, VA (4th Michigan Cavalry captures Confederate President)

1865 May 26 Kirby Smith surrenders, LA (General Smith surrenders last major Confederate army)

1865 June 23 Stand Watie surrenders, OK (General Watie surrenders last Confederate force under arms)

Liberty Day History Display from 2011--pt. 19

Heroes in Blue

When General Lee surrendered at Appomattox, General Ulysses S. Grant allowed the Confederates to keep their horses for spring plowing. He also sent rations to feed Lee’s army.

Brigadier General Joshua Chamberlain accepted the surrender of General John B. Gordon’s troops at Appomattox. As the former enemy soldiers came to surrender, Chamberlain ordered his men to salute. Gordon returned the salute. Gordon later called Chamberlain, “one of the knightliest soldiers in the Federal Army.”