Our Future Hope

I've recently been pondering this Truth ~

Our future hope is Austin's present joy.

What an amazing thought ~
How much we have to look forward to!
May we have the grace to patiently persevere.

God is always Good.

His ways are always best.

He is sufficient in all things.

It is a precious blessing to belong to Him!

With Love,
Camille

**Image courtesy of my little 'Em ~ 
Thank you my love!  XO

How Do We Prepare?

Trials.  How are we to prepare for them?

It's not *if* the trials come ~ it's *when*.

We are not promised a pathway of ease and comfort.
On the contrary.  If we belong to the Lord,
we will face difficulties.  Troubles.  Trials.

It's what we are often called to.
For His glory.  For our good.

Difficulties help to wean us from this world and prepare us for the next.
Trials and troubles refine and sanctify our hearts that we
might be more useful in our Lord's Kingdom here and for all eternity.
All these things are applied to our hearts lovingly
by our gracious Heavenly Father.  He does all things well.  All the time.

So, how do we prepare?  
Is it possible to be prepared?

This question has been posed to us in recent days.
There actually is an answer.  And, it's yes.
Yes, we can prepare.  Yes, we ought to prepare.
Yes, there is something that can be done.



Begin by searching out Who our Great God is.
Study His character.  Dig into His Word.
Equip yourself with Truth so that in the evil day 
you will be able to stand.

Great resources for learning more about the 
attributes of the God of Heaven are readily available.
The London Baptist Confession of Faith ~ 1689
is a wonderful document full of doctrine.  Doctrine = Truth.

It was compiled by a number of godly men
in the 1600's in England who purposed to chisel out
the great doctrines of our faith, and write them down in a concise
manner, so that they could refer their congregations to it.
It was a point of reference to which they could all return
again and again to fortify themselves in what is true.
It would be used to keep error from creeping in.

It is not meant to replace the Bible.
In fact, it is full of God's Word as proof texts for the statements
that they made.  It's a wonderful supplement to the Bible.
It sums up the fundamentals of our faith.  It is deep and it is rich. 



Daily devotional times in God's Word and prayer is important.
If we want to grow and learn, we must have these times of quiet.
Our all-time favourite devotional book is Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening".
Time and time again it has been a great blessing full of wise words
and deep encouragement for our troubled hearts.

I prefer the original KJV rendition as it has Spurgeon's
words unaltered contained within its pages.  He was a master with words.
He is commonly referred to as the Prince of Preachers.
That's my little endorsement of the original work.  :)

Filling our minds with Truth in the form of godly preaching is imperative.
Attending a church where God's Word is faithfully preached is necessary.
Surrounding ourselves with godly friends is wise.
Memorising Scripture is such a precious blessing to 
the heart of the Christian.  Those words hidden in the heart
will return in times of deepest distress to comfort the soul.

My recent favourite verses are these ~

"Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name;
thou art mine.  When thou passest through the waters,
I will be with thee: and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:
when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour."
~ Isaiah 43:1b-3a ~



Another wonderful book full of faith-building and
encouraging words is "Trusting God" by Jerry Bridges.
This book has been such a blessing to our hearts.  
It's so full of wisdom and truth.  
It's not a quick read.  There is so much to digest.
But, it is so worth the effort in order to glean from Mr. Bridges' insights.

So, yes.  The answer is a resounding yes!

We can prepare for trials.  We do not have to fear them.
We have been given precious promises by our Great God
that He will never leave nor forsake His own.
He is Faithful.  He will never give more than we can bear.
Of course, at times we will feel like it is much more than we are able to bear!  
But, in the spiritual sense it never will be.  It's His promise.
We move forward following the Lord as our Shepherd.

In His strength.  By His grace.  With His peace and comfort.

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, 
in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake:
for when I am weak, then am I strong."
~ II Corinthians 12:9-10 ~

Only with Him.  Only in Him.  Only Him in us.

Many Blessings,
Camille

What About Socialization?

What about socialization?

All those who have been home educating their children
for any length of time, know that this is 
THE all-time most popular, always-asked question.

I cannot tell you how many times it's been posed to us.

Many.  Over and over.  Again.
And Again!  :)

~ Emma (centre) with two friends at 
our weekly skating outing ~

Rather than re-invent the wheel,

I am going to share with you a well-rounded,

thorough, and well-thought-through answer via a link.

My friend Heather, who blogs at Cultivated Lives, nailed it.  

Find her wonderful post by clicking here.

I am sure you will be encouraged by her words.
Just as I have been.

~ Fraser and Emma playing Skip-Bo ~

Thank you, Heather, for writing such a
well rounded, well thought through article on this
topic that we all must wrestle with.
Not just those of us who home educate.
All of us.

Many Blessings,
Camille

Time Stands Still

Our Austin is outside of time.

For now, we live within it.

That means that Calvin, Fraser and Emma

will catch up to their big brother in age.

If the Lord allows, they will pass him.

In this way ~ Time stands still.

It's a strange thing, really.
I never thought I would live longer than any of our children.
I thought they would all outlive me.
However, that was not to be.

Our desire for each of our children is that they
would love and serve and follow the Lord all their days.
And that they would go to live with Him in Heaven for all eternity.
I never expected that any would be called Home first.

But, one has.
Our Austin has gone before us.

~ Calvin, Fraser, Austin, and Emma in 2004 ~

Our destiny is the same.
Not for anything good in us.
But, because of the goodness of our Saviour.
He is perfect.  He lived perfectly.
He died to pay the penalty for the sins of His people.
That each one might be made acceptable with God.
So that one day we might go live with Him for all eternity.

What an incredible thought!

May the peace that comes from these truths be yours.
May you know without any doubt where you will spend eternity.
If you are not sure where that will be,
Please seek the Lord while He may be found.

"...behold, now is the day of salvation." 
~ I Corinthians 6:2b ~

"...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved..." 
~ Acts 16:31 ~

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
~ John 6:37 ~

Many Blessings,
Camille

The Harried Here and Now

It's easy to do.  I admit it.

Easy to get caught up in the here and now.

Easy to forget that this is not our Home.

The Lord is gracious to send us trials to wean us 

little by little from this world.
To cause us to cling to Him more closely.
And rely on Him more deeply.

To make us long for Heaven more.

"...having lost sight of the "sweet by and by", too many Christians

busy themselves with the harried here and now,

and they themselves are consumed by consumable things."

"Because the church doesn't really have heaven on its mind,

Christians tend to be self-indulgent, self-centered, weak and materialistic.

Our present comforts consume too much of our thoughts, and it we're not careful, 

we end up entertaining wrong fantasies about heaven --

or thinking very little of heaven at all.

No Christian should ever fall into that trap."

Quoted from "The Glory of Heaven" by John MacArthur, page 65.

We are reading as much as we can on Heaven these days.
Since our precious Austin was called Home ~
 we find ourselves wanting to know more about where he is.
We are seeking to be careful to choose books from reliable sources, of course.
There has been much written on Heaven that is not Biblical at all.
The Bible must be our basis for formulating ideas about the eternal.

This book, among others, has been a great encouragement to our hearts.
Truly, if we are the Lord's, then Heaven is our Home.  
We are just sojourning here as long as our Lord deems best.
For as long as He desires to use us here.

Until He calls us there.

How precious it is to rest in His perfect plan.
How precious to know that our times really are in His hands.
May we live for His glory each and every day.
May we be used to promote His Kingdom and serve Him.

By His grace and in His strength.
Moment by moment.  Day by day.
As long as He gives us breath.

With love,
Camille

**Photo in this post courtesy of our Calvin ~
Thank you my love!  XO

Seeking to See

It's a good thing to notice the seemingly little and insignificant

things in day to day life and living.

The little things really can be the most precious of all.
It is too easy to take so many things for granted.  So often.

When we overlook the little, we miss out on so much.  Too much.

Much of life is little.  Insignificant.  Routine.

But, these things are not little at all ~ they're big.

All added up and rolled into life ~ these moments are significant.
Very significant.  Very precious.  Anything but routine.

We often don't realise this until we look back.

On this day, I am starting up again.  Beginning afresh.

Seeking to see the tracings of His Hand in the everyday things of life.

They are there and they are precious.
 If only we will stop to consider.

If only we will slow down to take it all in.

These moments?  They are all precious gifts from His Hand.
By God's Great Grace, I am seeking to slow down to see.
These are the moments to cherish.

I am thankful for the ability to teach my girl to sew.
She is learning on the very same machine I learned on.
Isn't that something?  I *love* it.  :)

I am also thankful that she wants to learn!

Thankful, too, that our little project (a joint effort) turned out.
It was a skirt for Emily ~ Emma's doll.  :)
See the little purse?  It was a gift from a precious little friend.
Thank you Miss R...it's perfect!

I am thankful for my young men who work diligently at their studies.

And, I'm thankful for moments like these (above) when we catch
our Fraser doing what he loves best ~ studying about other lands and cultures.

This young man is able to work in the office
while Howie works in the background ~ it's a gift.

We are finally able to tackle the boys' room and fill 
all.those.holes. ~ Can you tell I'm excited about it? 

Yes, Calvin and Fraser both contributed to the state of the walls.
I was sad that I neglected to get a before photo for memories' sake.
They had posters of airplanes and countries and hockey plastered everywhere.
It was a sight to behold.  Maybe it's a good thing I forgot to take a picture.

Yes, a very good thing.  Smile.

I am thankful for this little rose tree and that we were able to plant it in this spot.
It was a gift in memory of our Austin.  Gorgeous blooms were produced all summer long.
Every day, as I come and go from our home, I pass by it.

Our precious Austin's entire memorial service has been 
preserved for us on DVD ~ thank you so very much Jonathan!  
We are very pleased with how well it turned out ~ what a gift of love.

I enjoy seeing the boys' hockey gear drying on the rack in the great outdoors.
It's been such a blessing to have hockey in our lives for all these years.
When the boys were little, I didn't like the idea of them playing hockey.
However, I now see that it's been a blessing, and I am thankful.

Our street is street-hockey-friendly.
As the streets all around us have become busier, 
ours has remained very much the same as it always has been.
It's another gift.

Emma was sick last week ~ it was a precious thing to see her tucked in on the couch.
It's even more precious that she is almost all better now.  
God is always so Good.  No matter what.

Still in her housecoat, she blew some bubbles on the back deck.
Thankful that she is still little girl enough to enjoy these sorts of things!
The laughter we shared as the bubbles blew away is a memory to cherish.

Isn't the bubble in this photo a powerful visual 
of how fleeting these moments really are?

May the Lord help us to enter into the moments He gives.
All the moments string together to make a life.
By God's grace, and in His strength, may we live them all for Him.

He alone is worthy of all our praise.
May we be found praising Him with our lives.
With all our hearts.  For all eternity.

Many Blessings,
Camille

It's Time

Dear friends ~ it's time.

Time for some time away from this space.
Sometimes it's necessary.

Lord-willing, I will return to blogging after a few weeks.

Please understand that this means I will

not be publishing comments until I'm back in the saddle.

However, I do *love* to hear from you ~ 

it would be lovely if you would let me know you were here.

Your comments will appear upon my return.  :)

I will also have to forgo the pleasure of visiting with you 

at your place for the next little while.

It is my plan to catch up with y'all in October.

Those are my plans, the Lord's may be different.
What a blessing it is to rest in Him.

Thank you for extending grace to me over

and over and over again.

Each one of you is a precious gift.

I am thankful to the Lord for your kind friendship ~

It truly is a blessing to my heart.

"The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

The LORD make his face shine upon thee,

and be gracious unto thee:

The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee,

and give thee peace."

~ Numbers 6:24-26 ~

 With Love,

Camille

Comforting the Grieving

**Please know that this post is not a plea for further kindness to be
shown to us ~ We have been abundantly loved through this journey!
We are not lacking in anything.  Nothing at all.

A friend of a friend shared another grieving Mom's

blog with me ~ as you might imagine, I visited.

Many of the things she has written have blessed my heart.
I only visited briefly, however, and do not personally know this lady.
As with anything I share, please read with discernment.

Having said that, I'd like to share the links 
to two of her posts here today.  Perhaps they will bless your heart as well.

The first ~ 10 Things Bereaved Parents Wish You Knew ~

is a practical list of how those grieving may be feeling.
Each individual grieves differently, but,

I do believe that we all desire to be loved through the process.

This list may help define the ways in which 

we might come along side a grieving friend or loved one.

~ Austin at about age seven ~

The Wrong Thing to Say is the second post that spoke to my heart.

In it, an idea was shared that puts legs to

the ways in which we may comfort those dealing with great loss.

I found it to be a thought-provoking measure

by which I can temper my words when seeking to be an encouragement

to others who are going through a distressingly difficult time.

Loss takes many shapes and forms.

We will each deal with some sort of loss at 

one point or another in our lives.  Perhaps multiple times.

I found these two articles to be very helpful

in formulating my own ideas on how to be a blessing to others.

Again, please let me state that this post is in no way meant

to draw attention to any deficit we are experiencing in our own grief journey.
We have not been neglected.  Quite the contrary, actually.

We continue to be blessed by loving people who are

seeking to uphold us through this deep valley.

We have been blessed beyond measure with the love and kindness

of those the Lord has put into our lives.

Thank you to each of you who is walking this path with us ~
We praise the Lord for you.

Many Blessings,
Camille

Forever Altered

The new me is here to stay.

The new me is living without part of the old me.

Part of me died when Austin did.

I will never again be who I was before Austin

went Home to Heaven.  Never again.

I'm forever altered.

It's not a bad thing, though.
This new me is more weaned from this world.
My eternal perspective has been sharpened.
I long for Heaven more.  I love the Lord more.

I'm dead to me more.

Austin is not the same, either.
He is perfect and free from his body of death.
One day, I will be too.  One day.

Until then, I must live and follow and serve.
I must put aside the things that weigh me down.
I must abandon all my hopes and dreams to my Saviour.
His ways.  His purposes.  His plans.

All for Him.  Surrendered.
By His grace.  For His glory.  Alone.

With Love,
Camille

**Photo courtesy of our friend Rick ~
Thank you so very much!  

Comforting Words

Our precious Auntie Mary gave me a lovely little book

on one of her recent visits to Canada.

I put it into my purse thinking I would read 
snippets of it here and there.

It's full of short quotes from letters which 
Samuel Rutherford wrote nearly 400 years ago.

Recently, I took it out of my purse so I could take it along
on a day trip to visit my friend on the Island.
The trip required over three hours on the ferry ~ lots of time for reading.

I found it to be full of rich nuggets

that ministered to my grieving Mama heart.

Such encouragement, comfort and truth

can be discovered within its pages.  It's precious.

I am sharing a few lines from this little book here today.

May these words be used to encourage your heart as they have mine.

"They are not lost to you that are laid up in Christ's treasury in Heaven.
At the resurrection ye shall meet with them: 
there they are, sent before, but not sent away.
Your Lord loveth you, who is homely to take and give,
borrow and lend."

~ Calvin, Austin and Fraser Circa 2002 ~

"She is not sent away, but only sent before,
like unto a star, which going out of your sight, doth not die and vanish,
but shineth in another hemisphere:
ye see her not, yet she doth shine in another country."

"The child hath but changed a bed in the garden,
and is planted up higher, nearer the sun,
where he shall thrive better than in this out-field moor-ground."

Comforting words?  Absolutely.

Many Blessings,
Camille

**All quotes in this post are taken from Samuel Rutherford's

"The Loveliness of Christ" ~ a rare gem of a book!

Only a Moment

A few Sundays ago, after the service, a precious friend

took time to talk and listen and encourage.

She said something that has been such a blessing to my heart.

"The days are long, but, the years are short."

It will only seem a moment before we are ushered into glory.
Life here is temporary.  Life there is permanent.

Helpful words?  Yes.  Comforting?  Absolutely.

Every elderly person I have ever spoken to

says the same thing ~ life flies by!

And, in the twinkling of an eye ~ eternity begins.
It happens this way for all of us.
The big questions, in light of this, are these ~

Where will we spend it?  Where will we go?  Are we ready?

It is not on our own merit that we are welcomed into Heaven.

It is all the Lord's.  All of it.  We depend on His works.  Not ours.
The Lord Jesus Christ's perfect life lived on our behalf.  
The complete and perfect payment of the penalty 
for the sin of His people.  He took our sins upon Himself,
in order that He could bestow His perfection on us.

The Lamb of God.  We must look to Him.  Trust in Him.

Surrender to Him ~ completely and utterly.

In His work alone is Salvation to be found.
It's the only way.  He is the only way.

What is He to you?  Is your peace found in Him?
Is He your all in all?  Do you trust Him with your never dying soul?
 Settle with Him before the time He has granted you is gone.
Before we know it, it will be!
We all face the same reality.  Time is short.
We only have this moment ~ none other is guaranteed.

Flee to Christ while He may be found!

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
~ John 6:37 ~

The best way to be found of Him is to read His Word.
Begin by reading Genesis, and then read the book of John.
His Word, the Bible, is True.  It's Powerful.
The words can only change us if the words are read.
We can only be changed by the power of the Living God.  By His Grace.
In light of this, please ask the Lord to open your eyes to see and
enlighten your heart to understand.  He is able.  He is merciful.
And, He graciously answers prayers like those.

The greatest thing in all of life is to belong to Him.
Be sure you are His and He is yours ~ nothing is more important.  
Nothing.

Many Blessings,
Camille

**Photo in this post courtesy of Calvin ~
Thank you my love!  XO

The Only Way Forward ~ Ten Weeks

There are times when my breath catches in my throat ~
 it seems as though I may suffocate with the reality we are facing.

When I try to comprehend what it is that we've been called to,
 a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach rises up and threatens to overtake.
When the tears come, as they often do ~
it feels as though they might overwhelm me.
It's a difficult road we have been called to.  Almost crushing.

Austin's absence is felt.  
Keenly.  Everywhere. In everything.
We miss him so very, very much!  

Everything we do is shaded by the grief we are dealing with.
In the midst of this sorrow, however, there are happy times.  
It's the nature of life this side of eternity.
There is conflict in my soul over the reality of it.

How is it possible to be both happy and sad at 
almost precisely the same moment?
It does seem to be contradictory.  But, it isn't.
It is who we are.  Who we are becoming. 
This journey is being used to shape us.  
We are among those who have tasted bitter sorrow and continue to live.
To experience both sadness and happiness 
in this way is not unusual.  We are not unique.

To accurately put it all into words, 
however, is impossible.

~ Calvin, Fraser and Austin circa 2003 ~

Tomorrow marks ten weeks since the LORD called our
precious Austin Home to Heaven.  
Ten Weeks.  Such a long time.  Such a short time.
There is still more to come.  Much more.
It can be crushing to think this through to its end.
Life without our Austin here can be unbearable to imagine.

But, then we remember.  
We reign ourselves in.  We must!

We remind ourselves of the LORD's promises.  
We remember that He is Faithful.  And, that He is Sovereign.
We remember that He is Good and Perfect.
And, that His ways are always best.

 He will never leave nor forsake His own.
His ways are right.  He carries His people through.
Moment by moment.  Day by day.  One step at a time.
He truly does all things well.

It is not blind faith to live like this.
Rather, it is the only way forward through this maze of grief.
We cannot comprehend walking this path without our Lord.
By God's great grace, we do not have to!
He is with us each step of the way.

And the waters will not overflow ~
It's one of His promises to His people.

 ~ Emma and Austin circa 2003 ~

Throughout these days, we seek to remind ourselves of Austin's gain.

His gain, rather than our loss.  Our loss is great.  But, his gain is greater.
He is experiencing many, many blessings ~ we try to keep our thoughts fixed there.
We focus on what is True.  We focus on Heaven and its reality.
We focus on the Lord and His Word.
We point one another continually to these precious things.

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."
~ I Corinthians 2:9 ~

It's then that the comfort comes.  Only then.

It's then that the breathing becomes easier.  Only then.
It's then that my mind is calmed.  Only then.

Only when my eyes are focused on the Truth.

The reality that Austin continues to live ~ in Heaven rather than here.
The reality that Heaven really is our Home.
The reality that we will soon be there as well.

While I ponder these things, I am able to rejoice.

I can rejoice in the fact that Austin is now free.

Free from sin and death and suffering.

Free from this world and all its vices.

Free to worship unhindered.

Truly free!

One day, we will be set free as well.

This is not our home.  Heaven is.
May we live like it.  May we be patient for it.
May the Lord enable us to be useful while we remain here.
For HIS Glory.  By HIS Grace.  In HIS Strength.

With Love,
Camille

How is it Possible?

Joy in sorrow.  Sustained through intense grief.
Walking the path the LORD calls His people to with
grace and strength and courage.

How is it possible?  

How many times have we wondered at this?

When we think of the martyrs who were tied to the stake

and burned there for their faith, we wonder ~ How?

How could they do it?  How was it that they did not crumble?

Where did their courage and strength come from?
How were they able to sing in the midst of the flames?

The answer?  Supernatural Power.

Given by the God of Heaven and Earth.

From the One who created all things from nothing.
From the One who gives life and sustains it.

He is the One from whom their strength came.
He is the One who gave the grace.

They were bolstered up from within.

By God's Grace.  For His glory.

They were carried.  Met in their need.  

They were given all they required in that moment of time.

And for all the events that followed.
They were sustained by Him ~ just as He promised.

Remember what Stephen saw when he was taken to be stoned?

The LORD allowed him a glimpse into Heaven.

He declared it and boldly proclaimed what he saw. 
How powerful his testimony was ~ how precious!
(See Acts 7:54-60)

I cannot compare the bravery of these ones

with our recent experience of burying our precious son, Austin.
But, I can say that throughout these days and weeks
the LORD has not forsaken us ~ He has carried us.
He has provided much grace and strength and peace in the midst of it all.
There is nothing to compare with the comfort He gives.

It is with bold confidence that I can say ~
He will be Faithful to give grace for the journey.
Whatever it is that He calls His people to ~
 He will meet them in it with all that they will need.

It's only possible with Him.
Anything is possible with Him.

We must not rely on ourselves.
We draw strength from His Word and prayer.
We must continually redirect our attention to His Truth.
We comfort ourselves with the doctrine of His Sovereignty.
And, we look to Him each step of the journey He calls us to.
It really is the only way.  HE is the only Way.

May He grant to you His grace and strength and peace
in whatever He calls you to ~ He is Faithful.

Much Love,
Camille

**Photo in this post courtesy of Emma ~
Thank you my love.  XO