Monday, February 17, 2014

Singing for our supper




We'll, not literally....  we were invited by one of our supporting churches to do all the special singing for their missions emphasis Sunday.  What an honor!!  There were two preachers preaching in the morning and evening services.  One brother from the Rock of Ages prison ministry, preached on not being a respecter of persons.  That was something the Lord has really impacted on my heart in the last year or so.  He was preaching primarily on race, but in my heart, I was thinking more along the lines of social standing inside and outside of the church.  Just like in the book of James, how he spoke of a man in rich apparel and one not dress so nice, and the rich sticking their noses up at he poor fellow.  I hate to say it, but that still happens a lot.  If your not part of the preacher's family or the deacons family, or have some "position of honor", your not worth socializing with.  That is so sad.  God is not respecter of persons and we should not be either!  The bible calls it sin!  James 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.  Jesus said, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35  That's how lost people know that we are one of Christ's', is because we love the brethren, not respect the brethren because their not exactly like them.  God made us all different for HIS glory!!! 

Now, I will step down from off of my soap box.....lol.....

The day did not go off without a hitch though.  Nothing really bad, pretty humorous I think.  In the evening service, we were going to sing 2 songs before each preacher.  The pastors wife played the piano for the choir.  Now this piano is a fancy electric one.  It looks like a baby grand, but has all the fancy do dads that can make it do all kinds of things.  We'll anyway....she had transposed it 3 keys higher for the choir, and forgot to change it back.  So the first set of songs we sang was 3 keys higher than we were used to singing them.  Needless to say, Corey had a very hard time hitting those high tenor notes.  It took me till the second song before I really noticed there was something wrong (even though I did think the first song was little high).  I think the Lord was keeping us humble.... we all just laughed about it.... no reason for us to start throwing chickens :)


We did eat lunch in high style.  A precious couple from the church took the preachers and missionaries to the county country club for a buffet lunch.  The food was awesome!!! We had prime rib and sea bass with delicious cheesecake and ice cream for dessert!  We ate in the Heritage Room, which reminded me a lot of a old classic ball room with 3 large chandlers.

 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Snow Storm of 2014

NEXT DAY: We got another inch or two....so the boys are back outside and at it again.  This time they built a ramp.....

brrrr....it's cold....
Zach and Corey Sledding together...
 



UPDDATE (A day later.....):  As predicted, we did get 10 inches...and more children outside to sled...



Weather men have predicted that we should get 10+ inches of snow over the next couple of days.  I just praise the Lord that we are not traveling until Saturday!!  I'm glad that we were home and able to enjoy the snow!!!  I have included a video of Zach supper sledding down our driveway... he looked like he was having fun!!  He tried to get me to do it... he hasn't succeeded.... yet?!?


Zach sledding.... 


Corey Sledding....


Briana Sledding....




Crossroads

 
I do not even know how to start.  My heart is so overwhelmed, every time I think about our current situation, I break out in tears.  Sometimes I wonder, why is everything so hard for us.  It seems like our deputation was harder for us than for others.  Situations always seem more dramatic and harder than it is for others.  I know the Lord has a plan, but it seems like he is taking us the long way around to get to our destination.  There are so many things we need to pray for.  The most important is direction from the Lord, so we know which way to go.  Right now, we are at a crossroad, and have no idea which road to take.  So many things have changed over the last couple of weeks, and I personally do not know how to react to it all.  All I know to do is to walk by faith!  Wait on the Lord. Psalm 37:7a Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:


♪♫ Stand still and let God move,
Standing still is hard to do
When you f eel you have reached the end,
He'll make a way for you
Stand still and let God move ♪♫

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Happy 13th Birthday Orion

Orion is now a teenager...imagine that!!!  Orion was 7 years old when he came to live with us...he has grown so much over the last 6 years!!!  I'm very proud of him!!!  I know the Lord will use him, he has such a heart for people!!  My prayer to God is that he would mold my son into what he would have him to be, to be a great man of God that would be a great witness for him!!

Orion and Bri in Charleston, SC
 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Briana's 20 ~ Oh MY

Wow...my precious little girl is 20.  Where have the years gone?  She is now out of teendom....and heading full speed in to adulthood.  But to her own admittance, she would love to turn back time and stay a child!  The fears and anxiety of leaving mom and dad and going out on her own is something that frightens her to the core.  We have told her to pray and seek God's will, then pray for peace in what he would have her to do and have her to go, or even just to stay still until further notice. 

With that off of my chest, I want to wish my daughter Briana, a very Happy 20th Birthday!!!


Thursday, January 30, 2014

Ukraine ~ EuroMaidan

 
For those not keeping up with current foreign affairs...here is a link to the Kiev Post.  A great source for information on what's going on in Ukraine!

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

So Close...Yet so Far Away

In the beginning of 2013, it was a struggle.  I struggled with whether God's was really calling us to Ukraine, struggling with the seemingly empty deputation schedule, struggling with the fact that no one seemed to care, so I started not to.  The support was not coming in and we didn't have as many meetings as I thought we ought to. But you know, the Lord has helped me grow through all that.  Strengthen my faith through those struggles.  Building my "faith" muscles!  I have heard over and over that your time on deputation helps you with the situations you will face on the mission field.  And I do believe that now.  I am defiantly more dependent on God now than I was 2 1/2 years ago!  I started to pray more, and trust God to work.  Yes, my husband stands before and church and shares our burden, but that is just information.  Behind the scenes, we prayed and put the raising of our support in the hands of the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. The one who can turn the heart of man like water.

The last part of 2013 was the opposite of the beginning. We have seen the Lord work and move in the hearts of Pastors and people in support, prayer, and giving.  I think the Lord has rewarded our complete trust in Him as Provider!  And now, we are only 12% away from stepping foot on Ukrainian soil, to begin our training... I am so humbled by my Lords kindness to me and my family!  I am no stranger to GRACE... and never get tired of experiencing kindness that we do not deserve!