Picture Update =)

It seems that as time passes, the days go by faster and faster... anyway, I've decided to make time for a long over-do update, well, picture update! I thought I'd share some pictures of all our travels and trips - hope you enjoy!

Piano recital that we had this week :)

::Matthew and I playing a duet::

::I actually had fun!::

:: We are so blessed to have one of the best, and sweetest teachers::

::Time with Family::

::Serving at the Toronto Japanese Church::

(Abigail and Nathaniel, my cousin had fun playing the violin together =)

::My adorable 3 year-old cousin, Michaela::

::Fun with Fabulous Friends::

We were blessed to be able to spend a revitalizing, fun, and memorable weekend with the Steffens and Ketts families

::Having a grand time playing music together - what a blessing!::

All too soon the weekend was over, but oh what happy memories we now have!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."

Psalms 68:19

Time...

Time... our lives are made up of time, and often we speed busily through life, not stopping to enjoy the moment, or to soak in the beauty in nature around us, or to give thanks to our Father in Heaven, to give thanks in everything, even in the little things of life that so often go unnoticed. Time is made up of what we put into it -- so lets put forth the effort to put into our time thankfulness, smiles, and appreciation for those around us. The clock is always running; lets make the most of today and live it wholeheartedly for Christ.

Indiana Family Campmeeting

We were blessed to be privileged to attend IN FCM this year. It was a wonderful time, with friends and family, and an inspiring time listening to all the encouraging and power-packed messages. Each of us came away with a deeper desire to develop a closer walk with God, and to live our lives fully surrendered to His will.

Here are a few pictures of our time there for you to enjoy... =)

Enjoying time with the Family =)

Many of the children and youth loved to go up and help lead song service.

High octane games of tag was a favorite of everyone - and something we wouldn't want to miss! ;-)

Food, fun, and fellowship - wonderful times! (And the food was fabulous too!)

We enjoyed playing music with wonderful friends - what a blessing!

Canning...

This year, I along with my family have been having fun... canning! There's nothing like seeing all those sparkling cans lined up after all that work... and then best of all, you get to eat it!!! YUM...

My Bible First Promo

Camping Adventure!

This past weekend we were able to take a camping trip down to Tennessee and Virginia - it was such fun! We packed up, and took off for Daniel Boone National Forest. We went on many hikes, and enjoyed the beauties of nature.

One hike in particular stands out as the more adventuresome. It was Sabbath afternoon, and we thought we'd take a quick hike before lunch. Nicole wasn't feeling too well, so she stayed behind. We thought we'd only be gone an hour or so, then be back in good time to have lunch. Well we decided to take this one hike that said it was only 2.2 miles, although marked as strenuous. It was right then 12:00. So we started merrily on our way, enjoying good family time. Well the trail wasn't very well marked at all, and the park didn't have any map for this particular hike. So we did our best to figure our way through the woods, and find the trails that looked right, and made good use of Daddy's compass. Well, we kept walking.... and walking... and still more walking... now we had been hiking for 5 hours. (which was quite unplanned, and everyone was getting extremely hungry at this late hour) Well back at the camp, needless to say Nicole was getting worried, and she said that if we weren't back within the hour she was going to go and find a place with cell service to call the park rangers to find us. =) Well soon the rest of the Kanomata clan was getting somewhat discombobulated, and would go down what looked like a trail, only to find it was a dead end. Then we went down what was supposed to be the right trail, but to all appearances it was a dead end as well. So we stopped, and prayed that Jesus would help us to find our way back. Well about 10 minutes after we had prayed, a lady came walking down the trail towards us. Now this was the first person we had seen all afternoon - we hadn't seen a soul before that. We asked the lady if she knew the way back, and she said she surely did. Well she took us back to what was supposed to be (and really was) the right way, but she stopped as well, and looked about for the trail, but she couldn't find it either. Well after she searched a bit, she remembered where it was. It turns out that the trail led up this trench, and then was camouflaged with the hill and underbrush. Well 6 hours after we begun the hike, we found ourselves back at the camp, tired, extraordinarily hungry, but unspeakably grateful that Jesus had helped us to get back home. It showed us that no matter now small a matter may seem, Jesus always hears the prayers of His children, and sends help in the time of need.

So now, here are a few pictures that I took from our trip for you to enjoy...

Its been awhile...

Well its been several months since I've posted an update on here! Time really does fly... its not that I've forgot about our blog, or that we've had a lack of escapades at all. So here are several updates to make up for my lack of posting =)

*ASI*

Last month we were very privileged to work with an amazing team in the youth meetings. Our family was teaching in the Junior department, and we had an incredible group of kids. We went to bless, and in giving, we ourselves were filled with many blessings. It was an inspiring week, and one we won't soon forget!

Our theme in the Junior Class was, "Living for Jesus, Mind, Body, and Spirit" and we strove to encourage the children to surrender everything to Jesus, and to live entirely for Him.

There was a health expo that we had put together for children. There were 8 stations, one on each of the 8 laws of health, and at each station someone would talk a little on the particular law of heath, and then there were fun activities for the children to participate in.

Our mission project was knitting hats for children in Mongolia. The temperatures there often go town to -30, and the Juniors at ASI were thrilled to make hats to help the kids in Mongolia. We had thought that perhaps the boys in our class wouldn't really enjoy kitting, but everyone, including the boys simply loved it!

Many many inspiring speakers came to speak to the Juniors, including Abraham Lincoln. Opps, I mean Uncle Dan from Your Story Hour. His inspiring and character building stories captivated the childrens attention and encouraged them to wholeheartedly Live For Jesus.

On Friday the Juniors all took a trip to the Orlando Zoo, where a treasure hunt ensued. We had a fantastic group of kids, and we thoroughly enjoyed working with them!

This year, we were also working with a fabulous group in the Youth Department. God richly blessed!!

Friends...

We had loads of fun while we were down at our friends the Steffens house, and here are a couple portraits that Daddy shot on the set...

::Shayla and I::

::Robby, Randy, Matthew, Richard, and Caleb::

"The warmth of true friendship is a foretaste of the joys of heaven" ML 204

My Bible First

We were blessed to be able to make a impromtu trip down to Tennessee to the Steffens house to do some filming for a My Bible First Promotional. The full promo is still in post production, but for now, check out: http://vimeo.com/12238005 to enjoy a Behind the Scenes... :)

Mother's Day...

This Mother's Day is a day we'll remember for a long time. This year we were blessed to have our dear friends the Steffens at our house on Mother's day! Well, together we worked on and had fun making a video for 2 of the most special mother's in the world, a video about why we love our Mother's. So, I'm posting it for you all to enjoy...

Some Photos...

Spring time is my absolute favorite season, for many reasons, and one of them being that its the perfect time to take pictures! Here's just a few of my latest for you to enjoy...

Joy's of Spring

Springtime... the word brings a flood of thoughts... but the connection that most have is the connotation of Spring with New Life. Its a perfect reminder of what God wants to do in our hearts and lives. He longs to renew a right spirit within us and give us a new heart, if we will only let Him.

This year I've been having the most Amazing time gardening. But gardening this year isn't at all the same old, same old. Its a revolutionary gardening method called Square Foot Gardening. The difference between Square Foot Gardening and the traditional gardening method is like the difference between night and day! (for more info check out: squarefootgardening.com) Gardening the square foot way will forever change your perspective on working in the garden. =)

Filled with His Joy...

"Bring Christ into all that you do. Then your lives will be filled with brightness and thanksgiving. . . . Let us do our best, moving forward cheerfully in the service of the Lord, with our hearts filled with His joy."

Promise...

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." ~Psalms 32:8

"Whatever path God chooses for us, whatever way He ordains for our feet, that is the only path of safety. . . . With the eye of faith, with childlike submission as obedient children, we must look to God, to follow His guidance, and difficulties will clear away. The promise is, "I will instruct thee and teach thee."

Music Festival Video Link

Well, its been many a day since I've posted on my blog, and an update is called for! Many things have been going on in the Kanomata life, and included was an amazing trip down to Portland Tennessee! I've recently made a video of our time at Music Festival, but for some reason Blogger is having trouble uploading videos... I may try switching to something besides Blogspot when I get the time, but for those of you who have been looking forward to this video, I've uploaded it to Vimeo for the present, and you can check it out here: http://vimeo.com/10744673

Snowflakes...

Snowflakes... each one unique, each different from the other. There is not one that is identical to another. The next time you see a snowflake, think of the vastness of God’s marvelous creation and of our Creator. The delicate, intricate, and unique snowflakes are often taken for granted. Next time you see a snowflake, remember that it was especially made by out Loving Heavenly Father.

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Matthew's Escapade...

~A couple weeks ago, we had just gotten home from a trip to town, and were busily unloading the car. Matthew had just taken some things inside, and was coming back out to the garage, when he decided to jump over the step landing, over Mommy's big bag, and through the work shop door. Well, he was taller than he thought, and Mommy's bag was bigger than it looked, and as he took a flying leap, he hit his head full force on the top, sharp corner of the doorpost. We were all in the garage, and Caleb & I had just walked in the workshop to find Matthew bend over with blood dripping from a gash his head! Well, to make a long story short, Daddy got home shortly after that, and once he looked at it, he thought it could probably use a few stitches. So Mommy and Daddy took Matthew to Daddy's office and Daddy stitched him up with 11 stitches. Ouch!! Matthew was so amazing, and said everything was justt fine - but that the worst part of the experience was getting the lidocaine injection. Matthew healed up very well, and the recovery went very smoothly - Praise the Lord!

Here are now a couple pictures of the gash; it was 2 inches long, and about 1/8th of an inch deep. It was actually much worse than we originally thought.

Daddy inspecting Matthew's cut with Mommy assisting as nurse =)

Daddy concentrating on sewing Matthew up

Matthew's cut.

Brave Matthew

UNASHAMED...

...of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth."

We were blessed beyond words to be privileged to attend the Generation of Youth for Christ Conference in December of 2009. This year's GYC was one of the very best I've ever attended - The Holy Spirit truly blessed this year's conference, and we were inspired, and encouraged to live for, and share Christ like never before.

Attendance on Sabbath was was a staggering number of around 4,700 people. There were so many inspiring, powerful, and touching sermons! A few of the speakers were, David Asscherick, Sebastian Braxton, Mark Finley, Justin Kim, Nathan Renner, just to name a few!! There were a plethora of seminar sessions to choose from, and it was a difficult decision indeed to just pick one to attend. After much thought and prayer I decided to attend the seminar on The Holy Spirit. And it was a wonderful seminar - I learned so much and gained a clearer view of the work of the Holy Spirit. I just pray that I will be able to implement the things I learned at GYC '09....

Words, or pictures... they are wonderful, but neither suffice to describe the utter amazingness of GYC this year. But, here are a few pictures anyway for you to enjoy.... ;-)

Thrilled to have finally arrived at GYC!

Enjoying attending amazing seminars with friends...

Somehow we were able to always find time to add Fun, food and fellowship to the busy schedule :)

Spending time with friends is always such a blessing!

*Friends*

Every night we were privileged to hear power-packed sermons by David Asscherick. Truly inspiring...

The GYC choir is always a real favorite part of GYC, and once again we were blessed to be able to be a part of that amazing phenomenon.

On New Year's day 2,228 young people went out in the streets of Lousville to share the Good News of Jesus... 975 Bible Studies were requested, and 34,000 pieces of literature was passed out. Praise the Lord!!!!

Matthew, Daddy, Nicole and I went out together door to door...

What a thrilling experience!!

There's absolutely no greater joy in the whole world than working for Jesus...

~Let us be the Generation that lives for Christ in our daily personal lives, and not just once a year at a Youth conference. May we all continue on through this new year of 2010 entirely, UNASHAMED!