Skiing

The Collins' Kids love snow! We traveled to Sierra Summit and hit the slopes. Timmy and Amy tried snowboarding for their first time. It was a little trying at first, but by the end of the day they were both enjoying it. (They were a little sore the next day......but thought it was still worth it.) Andrew, Sarah, and Bob stayed on the slopes with their skies and enjoyed the downhill adventures. Snow....yes, there was snow! It snowed all morning and throughout the day on and off. Bob even survived the tense drive down the mountain on the snow covered roads. The Lord was with us keeping us safe once again.

Valentines

Love is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, It is not proud, it is not rude, It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. Loves keeps no record of wrongs. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

We shared our love with others by hosting a Valentines Party and sharing our cookies with some elderly neighbors. The girls made Valentines Baskets, played games, exchanged Valentines, and decorated cookies. During the games I was amazed at the love these little ones showed to one another and the kindness in exchanging gifts and prizes. They were so helpful and thoughtful thinking of others before themselves! What a blessing it was to have them in our home.





Build-A-Bears Enjoy Valentines Day too!

Spurgeon Spurs Thoughts

"He who grows in grace remember that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more. He overlooks ten thousand of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. He does not expect perfection in the creature, and therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it."

Why do I expect perfection from my family? I shouldn't. I must remember I am but dust, I am chief of sinners, filled with my own faults. God overlooks all my mistakes....I must overlook the mistakes of others.

"Man may talk of self-control, as if the reins were in his own hands. But he who has been "born of the Spirit," and taught "to know the plague of his own heart," is made to feel that effective self-control is divine grace, not his own native power...Have not repeated defeats taught us the need of calling in better strength than our own?"

Why do I continue to struggle with self-control? Because so often I try to control my thoughts and emotions on my own, without reaching out to the one who created me for help. I have no power on my own....but must rely on the strength of His Spirit to change.