The Wilkes Team

“We, greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their desires for the furtherance of so noble a work, which may, by the providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the glory of His Divine Majesty, in propagating of the Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God, and may in time bring the infidels and savages living in those parts to human civility and to a settled and quiet government, do, by these our letters patent, graciously accept of, and agree to, their humble and well-intended desires.” (Quote located in CLA’s article on Jamestown)

King James I (the same King James to authorize the translation of what we now know as the King James Bible) issued a charter for the colonization of Virginia in 1606. The above paragraph is an excerpt from his royal decree. While many have touted the evil of America’s early beginnings, a closer look manifests the original intent. The honorable Rev. Robert Hunt was one of 100+ members on board the 3 ships (the Godspeed, Mary Constant, and Discovery) in 1607 that arrived at Cape Henry.

April 26th was the date of arrival. When the party of men landed on the beach, Rev. Hunt gathered them around and quoted Habakkuk 2:20, “The Lord is in His Holy Temple; Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” For the next 3 days the men were lead in a time of prayer and fasting as a means of dedicating this new land to the Lord. Every morning and evening Rev. Hunt said this solemn prayer unto the Lord, “

Almighty God, … we beseech Thee to bless us and this plantation which we and our nation have begun in Thy fear and for Thy glory … and seeing, Lord, the highest end of our plantation here is to set up the standard and display the banner of Jesus Christ, even here where Satan’s throne is, Lord, let our labour be blessed in labouring for the conversion of the heathen. … Lord, sanctify our spirits and give us holy hearts, that so we may be Thy instruments in this most glorious work.”

The United States of America had been birthed in prayer, fasting, and a multi-generational vision. Were there problems? Did Satan seek to contort what God had meant for good? Of course, and this should not be a surpise that our culture would only remember the evil. Nevertheless, America was founded unto the furtherance of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Former President John Tyler, his grandson, Booker T. Washington, William Jennings Bryan, and more saw the importance of Jamestown’s establishment to the greatness of America. May we remember, amidst our media’s erroneous dogma, that this nation was conceived in prayer for Christ unto greater works. Click here for President Bush’s official Jamestown proclamation. Vision Forum will be commemorating this event June 11-16. Start your own factual historical journey on Jamestown by visiting www.jamestown400th.org.

3 Comments » | posted in HIS-story

One cold, rainy afternoon last week, Daddy and Mommy took Sarah, Adam, Hannah, Markie and I to Frying Pan Park in Reston, VA. It is a historic farm from the early 1900s. We all got out of the van while the wind and rain hit against us. Because of the bad weather, we were the only ones there, but this made it extra special. We quickly ran to the animal barn where it was warm and dry. While there, we saw goats, lambs, piglets and calves which were just 5 to 10 days old. A farmer came in who was the manager there. He fed the animals and cleaned the hoofs of two horses. After awhile they brought in two milking cows which we helped milk. This adventure inspired us for the day we may be able take care of farm animals!

3 Comments » | posted in Family News, Farming 101

What a blessing it is to be a Daughter of a Father who invests into my life. One of the ways he shows his love to me is by spending time with me. A couple weeks ago, he did just that by taking Jennifer, Hannah and myself away to a Father and Daughter Retreat with Vision Forum in the Callaway Gardens of Georgia. It was an exciting weekend for us just being with our Daddy. When I realized what a sacrifice my Dad made to go there, I knew that he loved us far more than anything else.

The Retreat started off with an afternoon full of Father and Daughter Unity Games on one of the large Callaway Garden lawns, which overlooked just one of the many beautiful lakes. The Game that I recieved the most enjoyment from was the three legged race.  The goal of this game was to encourage fathers and daughters to working together side by side, in both enjoyable activies and life decisions. The afternoon ended with a wonderful picnic basket lunch on the Callaway Lawn! 

The Lord spoke to me in a real special way that weekend and opened my eyes and heart to the fact that I will be a mother of thousands!! The Lord showed me that I need to begin living my life with the realization that my life will effect those around me and those that will come after me. I am excited about what the future will hold for me as I continue to be under authority and serve my family! Thank you Daddy.

6 Comments » | posted in Family News

Kenan and I recently came upon an innovative discovery through the wonderful world of art. Drawing has always been a joy of ours irregardless of talent. There is something awe-inspiring which results from creating scenes, creatures, designs, and illusions on paper.

This past week Kenan initiated a wood carving project that required a sketch of a small barn. I eagerly set myself to team up with him on a seeminly simple project. Little did we realize the technique, calculations, and forethough required! Armed with a picture, pencils, plenty of paper, and Kenan’s eager support, we dove into the project. Here is what resulted:

….Try, try, try, try, try, try again! Whoopee – we made it! A couple discoveries we made along the way included proper shading, creating a front face on the roof support beam, keeping the beams in proportion to the roof, and finally, taking care to have roof line and support beams at the same angle. Jennifer and Daniel were big helps along the way. Here’s the finished product (below):

“…the firmament showeth his handiwork. Psalms 19:1b”

2 Comments » | posted in Outside the Box

A couple weeks ago, Daddy, Jennifer, Sarah, and I went to the Butterfly house in the Callaway Gardens in Georgia. Daddy bought a lady bug house for me. Its a special gift for Mommy. I mailed a certificate to receive my lady bugs in the mail.

The young lady bugs arrived today, April 17, 2007. There are 3 lady bugs that survived the trip from California. When they grow up like the lady bugs that we usually see then we can put them in the garden. I have a special keeper that I can put the young lady bugs in and there’s a pipette to put a few drops of water on a felt sponge in the middle of a small crater.

I am excited about watching the lady bugs grow up.

5 Comments » | posted in Family News

Our family would like to publicly thank Robert Staddon for the time and effort he so eagerly put in to designing theWilkesteam.com. A long time family dream for us was the creation of a website where we could keep in touch with others and give testimony of how God is working. This seemed rather distant due to a lack of knowledge. 

Robert, however, made our dream a reality when he came along side us and helped create what we had in mind. Robert runs a web design company called Abundant Designs. He designs, re-designs, and maintains websites across the United States. His creativity and ability to picture on the web what his clients have in mind is an amazing gift. We appreciate all your effort Robert. May the Lord continue to bless you as you have richly blessed us!

3 Comments » | posted in Family News, Tid Bits

Any ideas as to what you are looking at in this picture? This is the inside of our dishwasher. Yesterday our family learned a valuable lesson on orderliness. We had begun to wonder why it was that the dishwasher was failing to clean the dishes….and it was not because they were not getting washed. Hmmmm……

The mystery was solved yesterday afternoon when the dishwasher was taken apart and a whole bunch of food, small pieces of garbage, and more were found to be blocking the filter – not a pleasant sight! Tools are a wonderful asset, but they must be maintained. So if you have not checked your dishwasher filter lately, take this as a timely reminder!

Let all things be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40

Leave a Comment » | posted in Home maintenance