Durham Book Sale

Last week we went to the Durham library book sale. This is the second one we have gone to. The first one was in the spring. It is one of the best book sales around. All the hardbacks are $1 and paperbacks are 50 cents, except for some old books. One of the books I got was The Officer's Guide, A ready Reference on Customs and Correct Procedures Which Pertain to Commissioned Officers of the Army of the United States.

Some more books I bought

Here are the titles of the ones I got:

• The Gulag Archipelago
• The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
• A Tale of Two Cities
• Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  
• The Gallant Hood (a biography of the Confederate General John Bell Hood)
• Espionage and Counterespionage

We enjoy Charles Dickens books very much. We listen to them in the car when we go on long trips. My favorite so far is the Pickwick Papers.

Washington Day 2

We slept in the boy's room at the Bradrick's house. Daddy got up at 4:40 am to work on his talk and I got up at 6:00 am. We got showered, ate breakfast and left at 6:55 am for the conference which was an hour away. The Browns, also, were staying at the Bradrick's house and went to the conference with the Bradrick's. We had to set up the building for the conference and then Scott Brown did the first talk at 9:00 am on Acts 20 about Paul's ministry and what we should learn from it. Then, after a ten minute break, Daddy did his talk on Samuel Rutherford which I had helped him prepare while traveling on both days. Then we had lunch which was sandwiches, tortilla chips, celery, carrots, and brownies. Then Scott Brown did a talk on Church Killers from James 3. Thirty minutes after it ended we had to get out of the building because the building needed to be cleaned up, so the men kept talking outside. Some people were offended by Daddy when he said that Arminianism was a heresy. Now we are on our way to the Bradricks to spend the night and get up early in the morning to drive to Seattle for a 7:00 am flight which will put us back at our house about 7:30 pm. Click here to see NCFIC's homepage and here for the upcoming events. To buy CD sets by Scott Brown click here

Washington Day 1

Yesterday Daddy and I flew to Washington for a Men's Leadership Conference. We got up at 5:00 am to drive to Charlotte to get on the 1st leg of the flight at 9:40 am to San Francisco. The drive and the 1st leg of the flight were uneventful. The flight was very full and we were at the back so we were the last one's to get off the flight. We only had 22 min to get to the connecting gate which was in a different terminal on the other side of security so we ran through the airport, went through security again, ran through the rest of the airport and got to the gate seven minutes before the plane was supposed to leave but they close the gates ten minutes before the plane leaves so we did not get on. The person at the counter by the gate said that the plane had left when it was still sitting there! One good thing about that was that we got to have lunch and Daddy got to work more on his talk during the three hour wait for the next flight to Seattle. The flight to Seattle was uneventful but since we were late for the rental car we got a eight seater instead of a two seater. We were staying at the Bradricks which was a two hour drive from Seattle. On the way we stopped at an Arby's to get dinner. We arrived at their house about 9:00 pm their time and we stayed up about an hour talking.

20 Years of Marriage

And the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." Genesis 2:18






On October 9 our family celebrated the beginning of our family, the wedding of Dan and Kendra on October 8, 1988. This was our 20th anniversary, a very significant milestone in our family. If you have been following our blog, you will remember Dan and I celebrated on our own with a trip to Bermuda in January of this year, so we wanted to include the children in the celebration when the actual day arrived.

We chose the 9th to celebrate because the 8th fell on a Wednesday, which is when our local church body gathers for prayer. It was very sweet to have our brothers and sisters in Christ pray for our marriage and blessings on our family on the actual anniversary. Then on Thursday evening, we took the family to the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, for a 4 course dinner. We started with cheese fondue for vegetables, apples, and bread; then salad; followed by chicken, beef, fish, and shrimp cooked in oil or broth; and finished with a white chocolate and dark chocolate fondue with rice crispy treats, strawberries, bananas, fudge brownies, and cheesecake. I can safely say nobody left hungry!

I am so thankful for the wonderful husband my Father in heaven provided for me. I do not deserve the way he washes me and the rest of the family in the word twice each day and prays for our family and patiently teaches many things to the children. I am so thankful for how he leads us in righteousness and his zeal for the Lord far surpasses mine. I am excited to see what the next 20 years has in store for our family.

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Genesis 2:24

Trip to Pennsylvania

A couple days ago Daddy went on a business trip to Washington, DC and Pennsylvania. This weekend he is going to Washington state for an NCFIC regional men's leadership meeting. He is doing a sermon on the ministry of Samuel Rutherford. Rachel and I went along to read a book he bought in Scotland, Letters of Samuel Rutherford to him. We stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and we went to the National Civil War museum with Grandma while Daddy went to a meeting. Here are some pictures:

Rachel reading the Letters of Samuel Rutherford


Pennsylvania Scenery

The Effects of Sin

Last Friday we had something unusual happen to our car at Daddy's office building. Joshua had been sent down to get something out of the car and when he was looking at the ground he saw glass. He thought that someone had broken a bottle, but when he looked up it was our car window! It was the front passenger window on the Volvo. They used a tool that made a scratch in the paint that went down to the metal. The glass was all over the car when we saw it. They had broken in to look for a laptop in Stephen's briefcase, but there was not one so they stole our radio. Too bad they didn't take Stephen's school books (ha! ha!)

The window cost $77 but the radio cost $99! The worst part of it all was that they did not eject the CD (ha! ha! ha!) The CD was the easiest to replace because we just had to burn a new CD from Audible (it was The Civil War: A Narrative (3 Vol. Set) by Shelby Foote). It was very providential that there was not a laptop in the bag or we wouldn't just be spending $176! We did not even bother calling the police because they would of just done a report and nothing else. And guess who gets to pay for replacing the window, but not the radio? You guessed it - the one who left his briefcase in the car.

These are some pictures we took:

This is where the radio used to be

This is where we put plastic over the window

This is the glass on the floor and the book that they left

Father Son Retreat messages and a NCIFC conference

Mr. Scott Brown, an elder at our church along with my father and two others, just put the sermons from the father son retreat in MP3 on his website. You can buy them here.


Our church does a lot of NCFIC (National Center for Family Integrated Churches) conferences. My father has spoken at many of them. We are doing one the first week in December. Kevin Swanson, Scott Brown and the other elders of our church including my father are speaking. To sign up, click here.

My father preaches a lot at our church. You can listen to his sermons here.

Charlie Zahm singing at Bannockburn

We decided to put up another video clip we took of Charlie Zahm singing in Scotland. This clip is at Bannockburn, where Robert the Bruce defeated the English. First there are a few speeches, and then Mr. Zahm sings "Flower of Scotland", "Johnny Cope", "Scots Wha Hae", and "Remember the Alamo."



The video is pretty long, if you want to go directly to Charlie Zahm, drag the slider so that it says about 21:00 min on the right.

If you want to see another video from our trip, please click here. To see Mr. Zahm's website, go to charliezahm.com.

Flower of Scotland

O Flower of Scotland,
When will we see,
Your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him,
King Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

The hills are bare now,
And autumn leaves lie thick and still,
O'er land that is lost now,
Which those so dearly held,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

Those days are past now,
And in the past
They must remain,
But we can still rise now,
And be the nation again,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

Johnny Cope

Cope sent a challenge frae Dunbar,
Sayin "Charlie meet me an' ye daur;
An' I'll learn ye the airt o' war,
If ye'll meet me in the morning."

Chorus
O Hey! Johnnie Cope are ye waukin' yet?
Or are your drums a-beating yet?
If ye were waukin' I wad wait,
Tae gang tae the coals in the morning. *

When Charlie looked the letter upon,
He drew his sword and scabbard from,
Come, follow me, my merry men,
And we'll meet Johnnie Cope in the morning.

Chorus

Now Johnnie, be as good as your word,
Come, let us try baith fire and sword,
And dinna flee like a frichted bird,
That's chased frae its nest i' the morning.

Chorus

When Johnnie Cope he heard o' this,
He thocht it wouldna be amiss,
Tae hae a horse in readiness,
Tae flee awa in the morning.

Chorus

Fye now, Johnnie, get up an' rin,
The Highland bagpipes mak' a din,
It's better tae sleep in a hale skin,
For it will be a bluidie morning.

Chorus

When Johnnie Cope tae Dunbar cam,
They speired at him, "Where's a' your men"
"The de'il confound me gin I ken,
For I left them a' in the morning."

Chorus



Scots Wae Hae

'Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled,

Scots, wham Bruce has aften led,

Welcome tae your gory bed,

Or tae Victorie!

'Now's the day, and now's the hour:

See the front o' battle lour,

See approach proud Edward's power -

Chains and Slaverie!

'Wha will be a traitor knave?

Wha will fill a coward's grave?

Wha sae base as be a slave?

Let him turn and flee!

'Wha, for Scotland's king and law,

Freedom's sword will strongly draw,

Freeman stand, or Freeman fa',

Let him on wi' me!

'By Oppression's woes and pains!

By your sons in servile chains!

We will drain our dearest veins,

But they shall be free!

'Lay the proud usurpers low!

Tyrants fall in every foe!

Liberty's in every blow! -

Let us do or dee!'

Remember the Alamo
A hundred and eighty were challenged by Travis to die
By the line that he drew with his sword when the battle was high
Any man that will fight to the death cross over
But if you want to live you'd better fly
And over the line went a hundred and seventy nine

Chorus: Hey Santa Anna we're killing your soldiers below
So the rest of Texas will know, and remember the Alamo

Ol' Bowie lay dying his powder was ready and dry
Flat on his back Bowie killed them a few in reply
And young Davy Crockett was laughing and singing with a gallant look in his eyes
For God and for freedom a man more than willing to die

Chorus: Hey Santa Anna we're killing your soldiers below
So the rest of Texas will know, and remember the Alamo

Well a courier was sent from the battlements bloody and loud
With the words of farewell from the men so gallant and proud
Grieve not little darling my dying if Texas is sovereign and free
We'll never surrender and ever with liberty be

Chorus: Hey Santa Anna we're killing your soldiers below
So the rest of Texas will know, and remember the Alamo

If you want to see another video from our trip, please click here. Here is Charlie Zahm's Website.