Poem by Amy Carmichael

This is a poem by Amy Carmichael, that I have often read and love.
Gabrielle

Lord of the Lilies

God, whose glory fills the sky,
God, whose glory fills the sea,
God, whose name is very high,
Lifted up in majesty.

Here among the hills afar,
By Thee planted, by Thee fed,
Lonely under moon and star
Lo, a shinning lily bed.

How didst Thou take thought to plant
Such a garden in the wild?
Say to it, "Thou shalt not want,
Just as to a human child?

Dressed like queens in white and gold,
Through all weather here they be,
Singing, singing as of old,
Lord of the lilies, unto thee.

January Birthdays!

Last month we had two birthdays, Anna-Kate turned 7 and Nathaniel turned 1. Below are some pictures we took on their birthdays.

Anna-Kate at the park on her birthday
Anna-Kate wearing her new cape!
Nathaniel was not really sure what to do with his present

Nathaniel is starting to figure out how to open presents
Nathaniel is suspicious of his candle

Passing the Test

Here is a daily devotional that I found to be very interesting and informative.

Enjoy!

Passing The Test
by Os Hillman
Thursday, January 26 2012

"The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors - to David. - 1 Samuel 28:17b

When God anoints a person, a pattern of testing appears to take place at specific times in the leader's life. God often takes each leader through four major tests to determine if that person will achieve God's ultimate call on his or her life. The person's response to these tests is the deciding factor in whether they can advance to the next level of responsibility in God's Kingdom.

Control - Control is one of the first tests. Saul spent most of his time as king trying to prevent others from getting what he had. Saul never got to the place with God in which he was a grateful recipient of God's goodness to him. Saul was a religious controller. This control led to disobedience and ultimately being rejected by God because Saul no longer was a vessel God could use.

Bitterness - Every major character in the Bible was hurt by another person at one time or another. Jesus was hurt deeply when Judas, a trusted follower, betrayed Him. Despite knowing this was going to happen, Jesus responded by washing Judas' feet. Every anointed leader will have a Judas experience at one time or another. God watches us to see how we will respond to this test. Will we take up an offense? Will we retaliate? It is one of the most difficult tests to pass.

Power - Power is the opposite of servanthood. Jesus had all authority in Heaven and earth, so satan tempted Jesus at the top of the mountain to use His power to remove Himself from a difficult circumstance. How will we use the power and influence God has entrusted to us? Do we seek to gain more power? There is a common phrase in the investment community, "He who has the gold rules." Jesus modeled the opposite. He was the ultimate servant leader.

Greed - This is a difficult one. Money has the ability to have great influence for either good or bad. When it is a focus in our life, it becomes a tool of destruction. When it is a by-product, it can become a great blessing. Many leaders started out well - only to be derailed once prosperity became a part of their life. There are thousands who can blossom spiritually in adversity; only a few can thrive spiritually under prosperity.

As leaders, we must be aware when we are being tested. You can be confident that each one of these tests will be thrown your way if God calls you for His purposes. Will you pass these tests? Ask for God's grace today to walk through these tests victoriously."

Seven Lies Debunked

Here is a great home video for all of us homeschoolers who experienced people raising their eyebrows every time we said we were "homeschooled".

Enjoy!

An Astounding Statement!

A friend e-mailed me this excerpt from a speech that the Prime Minister of Great Britain gave at a public event which blew me away. If nothing else, this highlight's our country's shame for abandoning it's Christian foundation.

Will we be bold enough to proclaim what the Prime Minister of Great Britain was unashamed to admit?


Great Britain’s Prime Minister has declared of his country what President Obama has notably denied of his own. Speaking to an audience of Church of England clergy at Christ Church, Oxford during one of the many official events celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of Scripture, Prime Minister David Cameron (left) unashamedly declared of Britain: “ … we are a Christian country,” adding that “we should not be afraid to say so.”

While he quickly emphasized that he was “not in any way saying that to have another faith — or no faith — is somehow wrong,” Cameron nonetheless acknowledged that “the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today".

"He challenged his audience that biblical morals and values were something “we should actively stand up and defend,” warning that the “alternative of moral neutrality should not be an option. You can’t fight something with nothing — because if we don’t stand for something, we can’t stand against anything.”


Challenging the moral neutrality that has infected British — as well as American — society over the past few decades, Cameron declared that “for too long we have been unwilling to distinguish right from wrong. ‘Live and let live’ has too often become ‘do what you please.’ Bad choices have too often been defended as just different lifestyles.” But, he added, “To be confident in saying something is wrong is not a sign of weakness; it’s a strength.”


Cameron challenged that it is time for Britain to return to the Christian values which made it a strong nation in the first place, to “have the confidence to say to people — this is what defines us as a society, and that to belong here is to believe in these things.”

Stanton Newsletter

Hi Everybody!

The word which would best describe 2011 is “Transition”. This year the Stanton Family wants to give our extended family and friends a glimpse of our busy and sometimes hectic life. We have been very blessed this year and we are most grateful for Nathaniel who was born in January; if any of you have lost count, he is child number 9 and increases the boys in the family to a total of 5. The following is a condensed version of the highlights of the year.

January

Anna-Kate turned 7 and child number 9 Nathaniel Lee joined the family on the 29^th. Joel began a car washing business while taking tests to earn college credit. He passed every test he took.

February

Gerald, Joel, Samuel, Gabrielle, and Benjamin went to their first defensive handgun class in Nevada. Gabrielle also turned 15. Samuel created and began posting on our family blog. You can visit us at: http://theisleofstantons.blogspot.com/. Joel applied for an internship with the National Center for Family Integrated Churches (NCFIC) in North Carolina.

March

Gerald, Joel, and Sam went to a family economics conference on North Carolina and Joel was interviewed for the NCFIC internship. They had a great time and came back with all sorts of new ideas. David turned 3. Sarah and Danielle participated in a 4-H food presentation event. They worked hard to plan a meal, create a place setting, and prepare a dessert. Nathaniel was not gaining weight well so Heather began pumping to increase her milk supply. This is significant because the next several months became focused on Nathaniel gaining weight, going to the doctor, and trying to determine why he was not thriving.

April

Joel was accepted as an intern in North Carolina. Joel and Gabrielle also participated the Certificate of Merit piano evaluation for levels 7 (Gabrielle) and 10 (Joel). They both passed the levels and received the honors award for their performances and received an invitation to a special recital. Joel qualified for a California-wide piano convention for one piano piece he presented. Sarah, Samuel and Gerald all had birthdays with Sarah turning 12 and Samuel turning 17. Nathaniel improves but was not “on track” with the growth charts. He was perfectly “on track” developmentally so we were happy we were only dealing with a weight issue.

May

Gerald and Heather celebrated 20 years of marriage. J The impact of Joel’s absence had on the household was extensive. Everyone felt the change, even Nathaniel!

June

Samuel graduated from High School and gave a speech at the graduation ceremony. Gerald began an 8 week family leave during which he, Samuel, Gabrielle and Benjamin went on another firearms training trip. Samuel applied to an emergency response training academy based in Big Sandy, TX called ALERT. (Air Land Emergency Resource Team).

July

We took a short family trip to Big Sur CA; we had a lot of fun. The campsite was just beautiful, and we enjoyed hiking around the surrounding area. Nathaniel, it was discovered was a very good camper who loves to be outside. Gerald, Samuel, and Benjamin went on a two day backpacking trip at the end of the month. Samuel was accepted by ALERT and left on the 25^th to start the basic training.

August

With both Joel and Samuel gone we spent the first part of the month adjusting to the change. Gerald’s family leave also ended so he was back at work. Gabrielle started a soap business called, “Song of the Suds” with Psalm 28:7 as her business verse. Benjamin turned 14 at the end of the month. Anna-Kate and Benjamin were baptized on Aug. 28^th for which we heartily rejoiced! What a delight to see God work in their lives!

September

We started school at the end of August and by September were in full swing. Joel celebrated his 19^th birthday, his first birthday away from the home and the family. Samuel completed the basic training phase of the ALERT academy which was the hardest endeavor he had attempted in his life. Gerald, Sarah, Danielle and Anna-Kate flew out to Texas to see him graduate. Both of Samuel’s grandparents from Texas came to the ceremony which provided a great chance to catch up with Gerald’s family in Texas. Samuel stayed at the academy for the second phase of the training during which he learned several useful skills, specifically, underwater rescue, diving, wildfire training, firefighting, basic tree removal, rope repelling and professional CPR certifications.

October

At our local church, Reformed Heritage Church, we celebrated Reformation Night on Oct. 31^st instead of Halloween. The night was a time of fun and reflection starting with games, performing a play and ending with dessert. Benjamin collaborated with a couple of other amateur writers in the church and scripted the play on a lesser known Protestant Reformer named George Wishart. Danielle turned 10. Nathaniel weighed in at 17lbs 12oz which was an encouraging milestone as it was twice his birth weight. He had improved measurably in all areas and we delighted in his cheery and responsive personality.

November

We all took a deep breath as we headed into the final stretch of the year. We had multiple responsibilities at church each Sunday and began preparing for Joel’s return. He arrived home on Nov. 21^st with much joy and many experiences to share. This month also marked Gerald’s 8^th year with his company. In 2003 he began working for Atheros but the company is now a part of Qualcomm; Atheros was bought in May of 2011 and retained the name Qualcomm- Atheros only in the wireless group. We had a relaxed Thanksgiving and spent the next week anticipating Samuel’s return.

December

On Dec. 3^rd, Samuel returned from the training academy with a vast amount of skills mentioned above and is hoping the Lord will use them either in work or ministry. In the interim he will be studying computer networking as part of his higher education and vocational training. Joel started working at Target. Christmas is just a few days away and we wonder where the month, let alone the year, has gone.

Our year passed full of blessings and new challenges. We all learned many things about ourselves, each other and most importantly about the grace of God. He carried us through some trying times and gave us joy and victory in untried areas. We can honestly say with David in Psalm 34, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear it and rejoice! “

The Stanton Family, Gerald, Heather, Joel, Samuel, Gabrielle, Benjamin, Sarah, Danielle, Anna-Kate, David and Nathaniel Lee