יאשיה

Jo·si·ah

1. whom Yahweh heals.


"Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images.

Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles, the idols and the images. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the LORD his God. . . While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD that had been given through Moses. . . Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king. . . When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. . .

Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. . . He went up to the temple of the LORD with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites--all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the LORD.

The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD--to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.

Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the LORD their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the LORD, the God of their fathers."

Josiah my son,

It is our prayer that the meaning of your name will be true in your life. We ask that God will heal your sinful heart, making you a new creation through His grace given because of your faith in Jesus Christ. We pray that you, like your namesake, will be used by the LORD in this perverse nation to lead those in your sphere of influence back to Him. We love you and can't wait to meet you! See you in a few short weeks.

Love, Dad

Maddie and Mommy go to Texas

Madeline and I had the opportunity to spend a week in TX recently and had a wonderful time with my brothers families and my mother.

My sweet sister in law carted Maddie and I to my dear friend Jenn's house where we had some quality time... it only happens once every year or two but I treasure our time together.



After leaving Jenn's house we took Maddie to the mall in Frisco where she went on her first carousel ride, thank you Aunt Emily!





Saturday was the day that both my brother's families and my Mom spent together. We started by watching my nephew Seth play flag football (for some reason my camera did not come out for this) and then proceeded to spend the rest of the day relaxing at Randy's house. It was wonderful to have a laid back day hanging out with my family and letting all the cousins get some quality time together. As you will see in these pictures, Grandma was a favorite of the day for all the grandkids!






That evening Mom, Maddie and I left Randy's house and spent the rest of the trip at Jon's. Our girls had some great time together, we ate delicious TexMex (thanks Mom!) and, once again, spend some great quality time together. Uncle Jon even taught Maddie how to ride the four wheeler, next time maybe she will learn how to steer too! We are expecting our little boy in June and Jon and Emily are expecting a little boy in August so we had to get a picture of the boys :)

Maddie Goes to the Zoo

Because Maddie has been around animals since conception, it comes as no surprise that she really loves them. LeeAnn and I have been anxiously awaiting the day that Maddie could appreciate the Zoo. That day was last Thursday during our visit to Boise. It's still early Spring in the Northwest so a lot of the animals were still indoors for winter. However, the great thing about taking an 18 month old to the zoo, is that a squirrel in the vacant giraffe exhibit is just as exciting as seeing the giraffes themselves. Maddie had a blast looking at the animals but what she really loved was walking all by herself on the paths and of course the giant giraffe slide. We had a great time too. Having a kid is a great excuse to be a bit of a kid and experience the wonder of the world all over again. Here are some pics.

Idaho is Calling Me Home

Watch the full episode. See more Outdoor Idaho.

Recipe 11 Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

It has been a while since I have posted a recipe (there are a few I should put on here) but this is a new family favorite and needs to be done first. Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad was featured on The Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen blog a while back. We love quinoa and the flavors looked good to us so we made it that night... Jeff has requested it every time I have been planning meals since that night. Let me just say that if you have tried quinoa because it is so healthy and not enjoyed it, you should try it again with this recipe. More than anything else the quinoa gives the salad texture, it is the other flavors that make it so good. This is a great recipe if you have time to make dinner in the morning but not that night. The longer the flavors combine the better it tastes.

My alterations to this recipe:

- Red or original quinoa are both fine, not really a flavor difference so do not worry about finding red quinoa unless you really want the salad to be extra pretty
- I do not cook the quinoa the way the recipe tells me to, to much work. I buy mine prewashed. Add your quinoa to a pot, add in 1 and a quarter times liquid to quinoa (I use chicken stock but water would be just fine), add a little salt. Bring this to a simmer at medium heat, turn down to low heat, put a lid on the pot and let it cook on low for 30 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it sit for an additional 5 minutes, fluff with a fork and then let it cool before combining with the rest of the salad.
- I have not had access to fresh corn since using this recipe, using a drained 15 oz can of kernel corn has worked for us for now.

As you can see below, Madeline likes it as well :)


(photos taken by my very talented husband!)

Dizzy Maddie.

One of Maddie's favorite new activities.

Fetch

Maddie loves her dogs and they are pretty fond of her too.