The Perfect Father

 I was reading with a friend where God says that He is our Father and she had a really hard time with that concept.  She said it seemed so human.  And so I told her that for me, my dad has been a great example to me of the characteristics of a good father.  And that is what God is trying to tell us in His Word: He has the characteristics of a perfect Father.  My dad helps me understand how God can be a father to us.  I know that not everyone has a good example of a father figure in their life, especially in this country, and I see how that makes it very hard for people to understand why God would say something like that.

My dad has always been there with me, showed me love, spent time with me, and encouraged me.  I wanted to share with you guys some of the things he wrote to me recently.

"I love you because you are you and I love you even more because of who you have become. Things like honesty, your dedication to his service and the sacrifices that are a part of this. I am a very proud parent and I know that we as parents have been blessed more than we could have imagined. You are special and you make this world a better place for us all. It humbles us to want to do more and that is a good thing. Having you as my child has shone me that if nothing else that raising a child is an investment and this work provides rewards that sometimes amazes us. Please keep up the good work and stay strong and you will continue to be an inspiration to many."

I thought of this verse: Galatians 4:6-7 "Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”  So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. "  I am so thankful to be God's child.  I am so thankful that we can have such a close relationship with our Father God.  My friend doesn't understand this yet, but I hope that someday she will.

Children's Day

 We were so happy to have our friends come with us to attend a Children's Day celebration.  There were hamburgers for the kids, songs, stories, and dancing.

 You can see just how much our little friend enjoyed it all!

Our Duck

We had a beautiful, sweet, but very noisy duck for the last year and a half.  We bought her a place to swim and tried to look after her, but she was just too noisy after her mate died.

 So we took her to a new home.  We had driven past a place with a yard and seen another duck there eating grass decided to see if they would like our duck.  The man said he was actually thinking of buying another duck.

 When we let her out, she immediately started exploring and eating bugs and dirt. 

She is going to be very happy to live with two chickens, another duck, a cat, and a dog on this lot.  The man assured us that he would take good care of her.  Our balcony is significantly quieter now and we miss her but we are so glad that she has a good home.

A Great Celebration!

We even had an egg hunt for the kids which they really enjoyed.  We hid plastic eggs filled with candy and also gave away some of the real eggs that we had colored.

Our friend bravely led everyone in a celebration of a Jewish Seder Meal.  

Egg Decorating Party

Our dear friend made this sweet little donkey for us to hang up in our house. 
She also brought some fancy yarn and knitted us a beautiful white scarf.

Kids came too and had a great time coloring eggs for the first time.

This little guy is the nephew of one of our friends.  He was especially into the egg coloring business. 

And everyone just loved his cuteness!

And the eggs turned out quite cute as well.

Here's a few of our eggs and cards from my mom and dad.  We gave everyone baskets to take their decorated eggs home in.

It was a wonderful time of conversation and eternal blessings too!

We found a drive through in Turkey!

Oh yes, milkshakes in March, without getting out of the car!

Happy Women's Day!

We had a great time celebrating Women's Day and my friend's mother's birthday!  She is such a great lady and we are so blessed to have her in our lives with all her experience and love for others!