Monday, March 24, 2008

Happy 1st Anniversary, Daniel & Candice


What a wonderful day it was one year ago when Candice became a part of our Lanning family. Candice is just the perfect wife for Daniel! We just praise the Lord for such a great year for Daniel and Candice. Have a happy, happy anniversary! We love you both so much

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter Sunrise Breakfast....
















What a great Easter breakfast we had at church today. There were around 200 enjoying a delicious meal and lots of wonderful felllowship. Rich Edwards and Bob Stauffer are the main cooks, with many others helping out. There were several kinds of eggs, sausage, pancakes, french toast, gravy and biscuits, juice and coffee!
Our Sunday Morning Service was just overflowing, and what a day to rejoice that we serve a RISEN Savior! Our band played, the choir sang, and the message was on the "Resurreection Appearances of Christ in the book of Acts." "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the House of the Lord!" Psalm 122:1

Easter Sunrise Breakfast....

Friday, March 21, 2008

PRAISE THE LORD FOR GOOD FRIDAY!

Good Friday.

Have you ever thought about the irony of that name? We call it, “Good” Friday, even though it commemorates the darkest day in history. In fact, the Bible records that when Jesus died, “darkness came over the whole land”. (Luke 23:44)

Jesus hung on that Cross for you and me because as Paul said, “God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them”. (2 Corinthians 5:19) God’s redemptive plan was at work that day. Jesus offered His righteousness to us in exchange for our sins.

There are a lot of lessons taught in the Good Friday account, but it has only one message: Jesus died on the Cross to save us from ALL sin. “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29).
That’s why we call it Good Friday!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Brock is 18 months old today!


These past 18 months have gone by so quickly...and how big Brock has grown! Here are some of the newest pictures

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Just a few more......

















Here are just a few more pictures
from our time in South Carolina!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

It's Happy Birthday Time again!!!







Today Beckie, Deb, Sharon and I all met at Applebees in Big Rapids for our monthly luncheon celebrating the March birthdays of Beckie and Sharon. It's always so good to get together and just "talk, laugh, and share" with one another for awhile. Deb and Sharon live in the Grand Rapids area, and Beckie and I live in Manton....so Big Rapids is just about half way for all of us. How blessed I am to have these 3 wonderful friends! Happy birthday, Beckie and Sharon.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

SPRING CLEANING

Spring is coming.....at least that is what the calendar says! We still have a lot of snow on the ground, and it was -4 this morning, but we know that spring will get here one of these days.....and that usually means spring cleaning time!Here is a great "spring cleaning" devotional I read this morning...

SPRING CLEANING FOR THE HEART AND SOUL by Julia Bettencourt

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; andrenew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10As spring approaches we develop that urge to make everything in our house clean and in order. The winter months have been long and we begin itching to revive our houses and acquire that freshness that we want to invade us as the first signs of spring arrive. Everything outside is singing with new life. The buds are coming out on the trees, birds are chirping, and the daffodils are beginning to bloom. We long to bring that newness into our homes so we begin, most of us by turning our homes upside down as we clean out closets, take things apart, clean and scour. We reach into every dark corner of our homes in order to make itpresentable, fresh, and new.

Sometimes we need to do the same thing with our spiritual houses. We need to take stock and clean up and give them a good strong scrubbing. All of us grow stale sometimes and need a spiritual freshening up. Things always get tucked back in the recesses of our spiritual closets that aren't needed. We accumulategrime and dirt on our spiritual floors and walls. From time to time we need to turn our spiritual homes upside down and clean them inside and out.

                                Get rid of junk.
Are there things in your life that are just junk and cluttering up your life? Are there things getting in your way of serving Christ to your greatest potential? Are things like worry, anger, gossip, and bad habits cluttering up your life?  Then…..

                              Gather cleaning tools.
When you clean your house you gather together your cleaning tools, such as scrub brushes, mops, and brooms. All you need to clean your spiritual house is one thing - the Word of God. It is your all-purpose cleaning tool and contains everything you'll need.
  
                           Determine to keep it clean.
Usually when we finish cleaning our own homes, we look around and say that we'll never let the clutter pile up that high again and we determine not to let it. We should do the same for our spiritual house. Determine not to let it get dirty again. The only way to accomplish this is to keep it up daily by feasting on God's Word and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.

Are you caught up on your spring cleaning?

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Ambassadors and a great turkey dinner











At noon today, our Ambassadors (those 50+) at church had their monthly luncheon. What a great time of fellowship with one another, food that was so delicious, and devotions that David Browne shared with us. Here are just a few pictures of our group. We have a wonderful number of active Ambassadors at church - and EXCELLENT cooks! Joann Harrison is the coordinator of our group and does a great job!

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Happy 1st Birthday, Micah!!!


March 6th is Micah's first birthday! What a joy he has added to our family..and how we love him! Happy, happy birthday! Papa and Nanny love you soooooo much!

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Happy, Happy Birthday, Rebekah!




Happy 28th birthday to you! Have a wonderful day...we love you soooo much
XXX

Saturday, March 01, 2008

March..a month for celebrating....


February is over, and March has arrived! What a month of celebrating this is for the Lanning family.
Rebekah's birthday is March 2nd, Micah's first birthday is March 6th, Daniel and Candice celebrate their first anniversary on March 24th, and Ben's birthday is March 31st.
Squeezed in between these celebrations, we celebrate EASTER on Sunday, March 23rd. What a joy for us that we serve a LIVING SAVIOR- Christ defeated death, declaring the power of God to give us new life. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:3
Happy March! Let's celebrate!