15 Days!

 You all know it too - there are only 15 days left until Christmas.  

     As part of our holiday season, today we start reading our little holiday book - A BETTER December by Steven Estes. We picked this little gem up a few years ago and shared it with our small group and our family.

  These thoughts from the book of Proverbs have calmed me down the last few years - helped me to put this whole busy season into perspective, helped as Mr. Estes says "give an arresting twist on our modern Decembers gone crazy".

  The perspective that - YES, it is important to celebrate the arrival of Jesus on the planet earth. But NO, I will not be caught up in all of the hype and hoopla to the detriment of my health and sanity.

  That being the hope again this year, I am setting a goal of sharing a thought each day from what we read in our little book with you. As we move through these last two weeks before the 25th, enjoy some thoughts and photos to lighten your load.






  Solomon was the writer of Proverbs, and Steven proposes that he wrote about Christmas 1000 years before the first one occurred.

   "The coolness of snow...refreshes the spirit"    Proverbs 25:13 
 

    Well, not maybe when it's snow and below zero temps - way below - like, get up early and start the car 20 minutes before you can go to the YMCA each morning cold.



   But, as I told Howard the other day - the snow is still beautiful - every time, even when you have to drive in it, and even when the cold causes the windows on the inside of the new church building to ice over while the heat is trying to keep the building above freezing.

 












 
"an ornament of fine gold" 

                  Proverbs 25:12 

 I still love putting up a tree and hanging our memories on the branches - the little reminders of times past and homemade gifts. The sparkle and lights brighten up the short days during winter

  


 "perfume and incense bring joy to the heart"                                                  Proverbs 27:9 

  And then there are the candles and cookies!  All those great smells that fill the house. Good smells bring joy to my heart every day.  Whether it is the vanilla and cinnamon candle or the smell of the pot roast cooking in the oven.


   Slow down this year - stop and look at the snow, the lights, and enjoy the smells of the season. God's gifts are all around us.

Two Words

 

  This past Monday evening Howard and I ventured out of our normal world of existence - we attended a High School CRU - CityWide event in Chattanooga.  We spent the evening praising God with 75+ high-schoolers.

 
           What is Cru? - It is the high school and junior high ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.

CRU-High School has the goal of:

  WINNING students to Christ

  BUILDING them up in their faith

  SENDING them out to reach others for Christ

       We reached out to Jill Finley who attends our church and who we had met last year when our church had its Missions Conference. She is a Missionary with Cru at Brainerd High School in Chattanooga and encouraged us to join her as she helps grow the Gospel in these students lives.    

   
   While Howard and I are in our Support Raising portion of Ministry we want to involve ourselves in others lives, we want to learn and absorb as much as we can that will help us when we arrive in Lethbridge.  Spending time with High School youth is a way we can minister to others, share our testimony and SHOW THEM JESUS, right here in Chattanooga.  We hope to spend Mondays nights for the next few months with Jill and the students from Brainerd High School.

       In addition to Praising God through song, enjoying a bit of YouTube fun and prayers, we heard about the recent event that many of them had attended.  The event they attended was called FAST BREAK. It was a 3 day event for youth that have been attending CRU meetings, it is a time of fun, training, and worship for the kids who attend.

       One of the young men who attended shared something really great that I wanted to share with you  - something I have been thinking about and want you to think about.

      The high school seniors who attended where challenged to come up with their TWO WORDS.

 Two words that would describe their before Christ and after Christ lives.

   

 Two words that they could share when they left high school and would lead into their testimony.  

 Two words that no one could dispute because the words belong to them and are true for them.

      I didn't have a paper to write down his TWO WORDS, and I don't remember all of his testimony to share with you, but it was good, really good. 

  So, the challenge was there for me, what would be my two words?  I have been thinking about how I would get two words. I mean, I was raised in a Christian home and it seems as if I have had Jesus in my heart from my earliest memories.  How could I have a before and an after when I was never "away" from Jesus.  I happened to be reading John chapter 3 today and read about Nicodemus' question to Jesus about being born again. Nicodemus had "always" followed God and obeyed the commands, sounded just like me. Jesus's answer is the key: "being born of the water and the Spirit" (vs. 5).
I had been baptized and educated in the church, prayed to Jesus as a child and learned all the stories about Him.  But then I recalled the time when I was 12 years old and was attending catechism classes.  Through what we were learning I was convicted that I needed to make my relationship with Jesus more than just head knowledge and my parents faith.  I was convicted to move from being Happy in my home, church and belief in Jesus, to being Content in Jesus no matter what was going to happen in my life in the future.  A maturity process was begin, one that is still being worked out day to day as I remind myself I can be Content in all things because I have a relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ.


So here are my two words:

   Happy - Content

  And you can see where my testimony started and where it is going.  After all, isn't a testimony all about what you have seen happen?  And I have seen Jesus moving me from being Happy to being Content, my TWO WORDS that I can share with others whether they are family, friends, students, adults, little children, believers and unbelievers.

   Challenge - What are your TWO WORDS?

*All photos THROW-BACK-THURSDAY proof that Howard and I were high-schooler's a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
           


 

Blown Away!!

  The last week before December 25th! The busy-ness can be overwhelming but we have it mostly under control.

  Sandy got the yearly traditional cookies done yesterday just in time to take out for Caroling at church last night.

We picked up our grand-daughter Mary Kate and joined a few dozen other people at our church to visit members of the church family who don't get out of their homes often.

It was a blessing to the Carolers and the Carolees - we asked the people we went to visit what their favorite carol was so that we could sing that for them and the answer was always:

"I love them all!"

(although one gentleman at a retirement home really wanted us to sing "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer")

What a great answer, 

we love all of the songs that celebrate our Saviors birth.

- - - - - - - 

As we were reading our Christmas devotional this morning we came across this quote:

"The reason we celebrate Christmas is that 

we are still blown away

by the incredible news that 

God became a baby that night in Bethlehem."

In the midst of cookies, shopping, wrapping, caroling, we read a message like that and we stop and think and the wonder of it all 

BLOWS

US

AWAY!

"When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love. 

I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. 

Yes, your joy will overflow!"

John 15:10-11

God, who said, "let there be light in the darkness," 

has made this light shine in our hearts 

so we could know the glory of God 

that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:6

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING

AND TAKE A MOMENT

TO BE 

BLOWN AWAY!

God is with us as we travel - through life and on the road.

We have returned home to Tennessee after our most recent trip to raise prayer and financial partners.  It was a great time to be in Florida - October is always beautiful.

It is also a great time to be in Chattanooga - the end of fall and looking ahead to winter.

We had good times of fellowship with friends and family while in Florida - who do you recognize

We also had our first bit of car trouble - thankful that only a nail in the tire was the problem.  Even though we had to get a new tire instead of just a patch we were reminded of God's care and provision for us.

This support raising trip was a bit of a challenge for us and as we struggle with the work of asking for partners in our mission and at the same time dealing with living life in a fallen world. I was encouraged and challenged today by a good read that I found on Facebook post by a fellow church choir member.

A pastor from a church in Jacksonville challenged the saying

                   God won’t give you more than you can handle

 Howard and I would like to amend what he wrote. We agree with this pastor when he said the passage was about temptation not troubles.

  “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humankind.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

 But we should amend the popular saying to what is really going on in our minds:

                  God won’t give me anymore than I think I can handle. 

 That changes the dynamics a bit and really makes the statement false. Then I moved on to the verse used by the pastor that really brings it home. Paul was speaking to his fellow Christians:

   For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 2 Cor 1:8,9

  The hard things that I don't think I can handle (afflictions) are the things that God is using to draw me closer to Himself (relying on God not myself).  He doesn't tempt us but He does grow us - with His goal for my life in mind, not what I have in mind. 

  So we will continue to move forward in our work of raising support, living life, and becoming more like His Son - Jesus. 

 All with the work of sharing the gospel in mind and the promise of eternal restoration with Him! 

  The Spring that will come after the long Winter.

Timeline Tuesday!! Selling another Home (subtitle: Where is My Home?)

(Timeline Tuesday – some of the back-story leading up to our moving back into missions)

Summer 2013 - As we prepared for our next adventure of moving into missions we put up another FOR SALE sign on our home and small farm in Tennessee. Over the years we have bought and sold several homes. Here is just a quick overview for those who are new to our family.

 We purchased our first home in 1989 – Machesney Park, Illinois.  We lived there for 7 years as our children moved through elementary school and did lots of remodeling and upgrades. 

In 1996 (the year the pipes froze in some apartments we owned in Illinois) we moved back “home” to Florida and purchased a home in Lakeland.  We lived there and upgraded it also.

*disclaimer: some of these photos are scanned photos of non-digital film pictures

In 2001 we had the opportunity to live in a fly-in community (Howard's 1st through 5th careers being in aviation) – where there is an airfield adjacent to many of the homes and everyone had an aircraft hangar bigger than their house. We actually built this home ourselves - and while we were building we lived for about 5 months in a trailer - 5 people and 2 cats in a 13 x 65 single-wide that leaked when it rained. 

 It was an experience. 

We lived in the Southwind neighborhood for 3 years.  Becky graduated from High School while we were there, and as the college years began we realized the need for less mortgage and more college cash.

We sold that home in 2003 and moved to Whispering Pines – my favorite street name – and lived there for 2 years – Mike graduated from High-school and Becky got married. We remodeled of course and built a large detached garage.

We then had an opportunity to downsize and we moved back into the Southwind fly-in community where we had purchased an investment lot and built our “hangar-home”.

While living in the hangar-home everyone graduated: Becky from college, Mike from trade school, and Julie from High school.  In 2006 we went on a 25^th anniversary vacation and stayed at our good friend’s cabin in eastern Tennessee – it was beautiful – and we were ready for a change.  An opportunity came for us to purchase some land in the area and Howard and Mike took a couple of trips to look at different acreages.  We purchased our Athens, Tennessee 18 acres in 2007 and Howard built us our “barn home”. 

While in Tennessee, Howard went back to school for his Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling -  he had been discussing going back to school for over a decade – at Lee University. He graduated in 2011 and began working at a crisis stabilization hospital. Mike gets married to his beautiful wife at the barn.

  

Which brings us to the summer of 2013, getting ready to go into missions again, and putting another home up for sale. 

The home sold in a month which we had not thought about so we moved into an apartment - as we discussed this move later, we realized that in our married life we had never lived in an apartment complex.  It was an interesting 4 months.  

We only lived there for a short while. The process of getting to the mission field takes longer than we had anticipated and we realized it was more expensive to live in an apartment than to just purchase another small home. We decided to move to Chattanooga and be closer to our children for the year or so that it would take us to raise our support. That takes us to our little bungalow on Julian Drive.  We are, of course, fixing it up and Julie will live in it when we head to Lethbridge.

What will our home in Lethbridge look like?  

Stay tuned...

And while you are waiting...
Where is our home truly at?

                                 ...not on this earth!

Hebrews 13: 14 - For here we do not have an enduring city but we are looking for the city that is to come.

What comfort in knowing that no matter where I may hang my hat here on earth - I have a forever hat-rack in heaven!

Road Trip Review

   We recently had the great opportunity to spend 15 days and 1600+ miles traveling to visit friends and family. This post will share some of the photos we collected and a few notes about highlights - it is long, but I invite you to read all the way to the end -  there is a bit of thoughtfulness about what can be learned on a road trip. One that revisits places and people you have known and loved for many years and created life-long memories with.

Our trip began with the drive to Brevard, North Carolina,

   Back and forth, up and down, back and forth, up and down - through many beautiful hills and valleys...we were a bit sick after traveling on the mostly 2 lane road for 4.5 hours.
 

   We arrived at our first destination, Ridge Haven conference center and camp - it was beautiful and we had a great time meeting new friends who are also going into missions with Mission to the World.

   
   After a week of digging deep into what God's word has to say about Grace, we headed north to Indiana to celebrate with our niece at her wedding celebration.

  We had a great time visiting with family and seeing Howard's brother Ron's cool get-a-way-to-the-lake home.

  After a couple of nights in South Bend, Indiana, we drove up to Zeeland, Hudsonville, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Our eldest daughter Becky was born there - we showed her photos, but she doesn't remember.  We took a great photo in front of the house we lived in for the 4 years we were there and photos of friends, college room-mates and neighbors (sorry Tom and Laurie for forgetting to take a photo!)

 

  Leaving Grand Rapids in the rain (it always was rainy and cloudy when we lived there too) we drove to Hammond, Indiana and visited with Howard's sister Arla and family - it was a good down time between driving - thanks Angela for letting us crash your room!

   We moved on to Illinois in the middle of our 2nd week on the road - I'm sure many of you saw our miles and miles of corn photos and cool windmills - but just in case...

 
   We stayed with long time friend Deb Van Dyke at her home right next to more corn fields in Stillman Valley, IL - it was so quiet and peaceful.  We spent a day driving around to see the house we lived while in Machesney Park, Il. and the places we spent time at when our kids were in elementary school.

  We visited with some great friends for meals while we were there (once again I don't have photos of some people - but that doesn't mean we don't have great memories of good fellowship)

       and enjoyed a wonderful reunion dinner at the church we were members of when we lived there - Hope Reformed Church.

  We were able to share our mission calling with many of our friends and family and we are very thankful for the support many of you have pledged to us.  We also shared at Kishwaukee Community Church while we were there on Sunday, it was a great day of worship.

 Sunday found us on the road again driving back through Indiana to visit Mark and Kristen Elliott, our Favorite Youth Pastor and his family - why didn't I take a picture of their kids - who knows... But thanks for having us overnight - it was so good to share memories and see where you live and work now.

 
 And then it was home again - to do laundry, make my own dinners, take out the garbage...reality check-but with beautiful mountains to enjoy.

   When we returned home we reviewed the materials that we had studied at our Living in Grace conference.  One of the questions we were asked to review and "muse" on was "What do you rely on or comfort yourself with when things go bad or get difficult?"  I immediately thought of all the memories that had come flooding back to me as we had visited places we had lived over 30 years ago.  There were many, many good memories, but also memories of struggles and challenges our family and we each personally had dealt with. What was the constant as I looked back?

God and his faithfulness and grace to us!  

  God has been with our family in all 17 of our different homes, 2 different continents, and 5 different states. I am amazed, awed, humbled and grateful for all God has taught us.
  Your challenge - take out those photo albums if you can't do a physical road trip, and see where God has taken you and how He has upheld you and yours through your life so far.
 
  Howard and I know we can rely on God to continue to show His grace on us as we continue to follow Him where he leads us.