What Does Your Face Show?

Maddie Napoletano

The word countenance comes from the Latin word continentia, which means, literally, "the way one contains oneself." The way we compose ourselves- the way we think in our hearts -- shows up on our faces. William Stidger says " A person's face is the signature of his soul."

The Bible has a remarkable number of both good and bad reflections of this truth. When Cain grew jealous of his brother Abel, the Bible says his face was downcast. (Gen 4:5) But in Psalm 43:5, the psalmist wrote, "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God."

Proverbs 15:13 says, " A joyful heart makes a cheerful face" and Eccles 8:1 says, "wisdom lights up a person's face, softening its harshness".

Hayden Holman

As we are preparing our children for their musical this Friday, that's something we talk about with them when they are singing. Are they really thinking about the words they are singing, do the truths come from their heart and show on their face? That is the way to really 'minister' with our musical. To make it real!

Please come this Friday to the high school room at Scottsdale Bible Church at 7pm to participate in our children's ministry. The musical is Rock Solid and is lots of fun. Even a stomp band element! See you then!

Great Britain's "Idol" show.

You have to watch this video. You will cry, cheer and love Simon all over again. Or maybe for the first time!

See more funny videos and Entertainment Videos at Today's Big Thing.

You're 16, You're beautiful(leading singing on Easter)

Flash back to 1990...Ectopic pregnancy, married 3 years, I'm 29 and considered infertile, "I'm sorry, you aren't going to be able to have children." God proved the establishment wrong once again! Psalm 127:3 "Children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward." Psalm 128 has been called the Builder's Psalm because to the Israelites, the home was an opportunity to pursue the holy task of "building" sons and daughters. In Hebrew the word "banah" is to build: "ben" is son and "bat" is daughter. We as parents were meant to "build" our sons and daughters. Think of Deut 6:6 where we are to teach them diligently, talking of His commands when we sit in our house, walk by the way, when we lie down and when we rise up. Every part of my day is teaching and training these Gifts from God. Building them up for eternity with Him.
Flash forward to April 13, 2009...and 5 children later. I don't want to waste one moment with them. I want to make each moment count. To reach their heart, to love them as Christ would, to show them Christ in everyday living. But it's a reassurance that He is near, with me each step of the way and He has the best plan. Because I fail. A lot! Without His grace, I would have given up long ago!
So Alexandra Joy came into our lives 16 years ago today. And her parents had a special glimpse of God's grace, that He would prove wrong the wisdom of the world and bless them with this daughter of Joy!
May we give her back, fit for His purposes, a little every day.

IT'S FRIDAY,
BUT SUNDAY'S COMIN'

My family is in town. It's hard to plan our day for me. I am grateful for this time with them but my spirit is also tugging me to reflect, ponder, glory in what Christ did for me on this day.

Suffering I will never know because of Christ.
Love I can never fully comprehend, because of Christ.
Eternity with Him because of Christ.
Power available to me through the Holy Spirit, because of Christ.
An advocate for me before the Father, because of Christ.
Peace available to me, when the world is in chaos, because of Christ.
Love for my husband and children, even when they're unlovable, because of Christ.
A passion to tell the world, because He died.....

but the best part...... all of this is mine...........because HE LIVES!!!!!!!!

Bathroom Remodel

The ugly "BEFORE". Wallpaper removed, oak sink cabinet torn out, lights taken down, mirror and cabinet removed, exhaust fan moved and replaced, water pipes moved up to fit back of new sink. Tile under old sink put in.

My Handy Man is amazing! But he's all mine.

Happy Birthday to my Life Partner!!
"Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.
The last of life for which the first was made"
Robert Browning

Happy Birthday to my amazing man. We're in this together!!

You keep our home so beautiful. Yes, I do love green grass. You're amazing!

Emeril aka Derrick, even cooks on vacation. Our Kauai cottage.

You're a loving dad.

I know we're only promised today, but I pray for many more tomorrows with you.

Lifting up the Mohlers, with HOPE.

Our friends since before we were married.
Had our children around the same time.
Led camps together, singing and teaching.
Sat under Jim's preaching AND Miriam's preaching.
Got our first American Girl in Chicago with them.
Celebrated their 25th with them in 2005.
So glad they moved back to CA last year.
We all got annual Disney passes. They're Disney experts.
So happy our kids connected!
Most importantly, they love Jesus, learn about Jesus, teach about Jesus, serve Jesus, praise Jesus and trust Him with their future.

We are lifting up the Mohlers during this hard storm of their lives. Jim was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, brain cancer, stage 4, on March 11. Almost exactly a month after some symptoms started showing. He already started chemo and will start radiation next week i think. They are amazing to watch through this. If you know them and want to read their story or write a note of hope and encouragement, you can go to caringbridge.org and put in Jim Mohler.

Here's her post in the journal today.

Happy Spring! The season of renewal and hope! Today Jim had several visitors and worked hard on his Physical therapy in the morning. After lunch we drove to LA for his planning session with the radiology department, where he had a mask of his head made. He starts 6 weeks of radiation next week in Ontario.

Tomorrow he heads back to LA for an MRI.

Everyday, in the midst of visits, new routines, upheaval and uncertainty, we cling to hope. One of my favorite lines in one of my favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption, is: "Never Forget. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies".

Emily Dickinson, a favorite poet, wrote:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,...

Someone once said that a person can live 3 days without water, 3 minutes withour air, but only 3 seconds without hope. (Perhaps 3 hours without a computer/phone - or is that pushing it!?) Biblical hope as opposed to optimism or wishful thinking is an amazing thing because it is certainty, a confident expectation, rooted in promise and a trustworthy God! So, we are full of hope and we are ready to give an account to anyone who asks of the hope that lies within us. We are singing about the best of things: HOPE!

We long to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer (Rom 12:12). Amen.

Annie Moses Band

Annie Moses Band

Our family and several friends too, went to see Annie Moses Band tonight! What a great time that was. I wanted to dance and play with them. It's a family with 6 kids, age 25 (Annie) down to 11 I think. And the father is the arranger, composer, pianist. They play violins, viola, cello, harp, keyboards, mandolin and sing. Their style is really undefined because they play all types of music. They are classically trained but play jazz, country, swing, gospel, quite an eclectic mix, but most important of all is their message to the next generation and beyond. That you are a child of God and He loves you and has called you according to His purpose. They are encouraging parents to instill a love of music in their children which is being lost in this generation.

Here's a link to their Fine Arts Summer Academy

And here's their YouTube Channel

P.E. home school style.

Guaranteed no weeds for 30 years. Kids are clearing the rocks, laying the sheet, replacing the rocks. Et voila! No weeds, no more spraying.

Emma, still smiling! But it's only about 75 out.

Scrap Boxes

My cousin's wife Pam always has something for the kids to do when she visits. She came down to get out of the -20 North Dakota weather while Todd was on a mission in Nicaragua. Can you tell she loves the sun?
They made scrap boxes, which will eventually be filled with pictures. I'll post them when they do that. They are beautiful.