No more cancer

A beautiful lady from church passed away yesterday. Lynne has battled cancer for many years now. The road was so rough for her, Dave and the family. It seemed like it was years of remissions and then relapses. Lynne was always smiling and never complaining or talking about herself. She was always asking how the kids were or what we were up to. I am reminded of her water walking at Flora pool in the summers. I would walk with her for a time and then I would get tired out but she would walk for hours! She was battling cancer but had more endurance than my so called healthy body. It showed me how much I take for granted my health. How hard she worked at keeping her physical body going and how much I neglect mine.
What about our spiritual bodies? Do we neglect them till some evil infiltrates and demands we take better care of ourselves? Am I willing to fight long and hard...maybe years...to maintain a healthy spiritual life or am one to give up easy and just let it deteriorate. I sometimes just pray that Jesus would comeback and end all the struggles here in earth but I also wonder if that is a cowardly prayer. Just wanting the easy way out.
We will miss you Lynne, but we will see ya later...and for eternity. :-)

Beautiful Banquet

Last night was the Clarity Clinic/Pregnancy Center's annual banquet. Jerry has recently joined the board and this was our first year to go. It was wonderful. They had over 300 people this year and it was awesome to see so many people who were devoted to saving the lives of unborn babies. The speaker was Luana Stoltenberg and her story was amazing. I'm anxious to hear how the fund raising went. Planned Parenthood just opened in Dubuque and we need to be able to offer the truth to scared and confused women and girls.

Not so new pictures

I just finally figured out how to get these pictures onto my computer. They were taken in Aug. HA! I'm a little slow!

Are you on the offense or defense?

It's been very interesting this week in studying 2Tim chapter 2. We were focusing on verses 1-4. Paul tells Timothy to "suffer hardship" with him as a good soldier of Christ. First this struck me as so against our society's thinking of "no one should ever have to suffer". We avoid hard time or suffering at all cost. If trials come, we do all we can to avoid them or flee from them. Scripture does not tell us to flee or hide, it tells us to act as a soldier of Christ. What kind of soldier would I be if I was only concerned with my safety and well being all the time. Now I am not talking about going out and looking for trouble or looking for a chance to be a "martyr". But then, when did the term martyr become a bad thing?? In times past it was a honorable thing to be a martyr for the cause of Christ. I think the problem has been that the focus of the martyrdom has been transferred from Christ to us. Sometimes people want to be know for what THEY have suffered. The attention is not on Christ but on what they have done. We are so me, me, me in mentality sometimes.

As a soldier I am to expect trials and suffering and I am to still be on the offense for Christ. Attacking the enemy and not hiding in a bunker somewhere hoping to avoid hardships. I wonder about people who want to be missionaries but who also are concerned with going to places that are "safe". Paul went straight into the places he knew would be dangerous and would likely be imprisoned...even killed. I must admit, this is all very hard for me. I am a creature of comfort and like to share my faith when the "occasion so arises" out of convenience.

The world is changing and next months election could bring huge changes for our country. Severe persecution of Christians was something I only thought of in relation to other countries. My world view and home country view are starting to intertwine. I may not always feel safe in my environment but I know I am safe in the hand of my redeemer. :-)

2 Timothy

Well my new precepts Bible study is on 2 Timothy. I did Philippians last winter and loved it. It was just what I needed for the time... "Joy in all things." Now on to 2 Timothy..."Do not be ashamed"! OK....God is out to work on every poor character trait I have and He is doing it one precepts class at a time. I feel for the other women taking the classes and wonder if they are curious at to what my other flaws are and what our next study will be on! ;-) I do thank God for His convicting power that reminds me He has not given up on me yet.

Another School year

Wow! I haven't posted in a long time. Seems like there is either nothing to write about or too much to write about so I just don't. :-) Summer is over and we are all back in the swing here. Jerry started work officially on Sept 1st. He passed all his tests this summer with no problems. It was nice having him home for the summer but it was really time for him to get back to an office somewhere and have a little less "together" time. He is now getting all our insurance switched over, finishing his training and trying to find new clients. Lots of pressure for the poor guy. He also is joining the board of directors for the Clarity Clinic. (formerly Crisis pregnancy center) there is some fund raiser coming up soon.

The kids are back at school now in our sun room. It's a great set up, we don't have to haul stuff out to the kitchen table anymore. I'll get curtains made for the French doors and then you won't see the mess out here at all this winter. Molly and Abby are busy in band. Molly was asked by her band director to start tenor sax and by 1/2 way through the year he wants her on baritone sax. He needs a baritone sax player for the jazz band and that suits Molly just fine. Abby has been asked by Molly's director to join the 6th grade band as they are short on alto sax players. She will practice 2 times a week with her 5th grade band and 3 times a week with the 6th grade. Just some of the privileges these home schooled kids have with flexible schedules. Jared will be starting trumpet soon with the beginner 4th grade band.

I am running lots now with school, work, Bible studies, and being puppeteer mom. Since school started I haven't been walking with my neighbor and friend Marianne. As much as I disliked getting up early this summer I really miss our walks.

Maybe now that we are out here in the sun room for school every day I'll be better at posting....we'll see!

The Green Room

Does it make you stomach churn??? The girls have been wanting to paint their room since we moved and Saturday I finally got to it. They picked the color. I thought it would be ok but after getting it on I hate it. They like it, so I guess it stays for now. I'm just glad I don't sleep in there. I've got two more rooms to paint before school starts but I'll wait for some cooler days.

All Dried up

Well, we have had a wonderful full week of no rain. The yard is dried up in all areas and the basement is half put back together. We went and bought the cheap carpet with padding attached and Jerry and I laid it in the bigger family room area. We are NOT carpet people and it is not "well done" but it is "done". From a distance it look fine. We have another piece to put in the L shaped area but have not gotten to it yet. The old carpet stunk sooooo bad we had to get rid of it.

This week is VBS at our church. The theme is Galilee-by-the-Sea. The gym is set up with tent areas fro the "shop keepers" and we all dress in robe type clothing. There are dramas through out the day and it is supposed to be like living in Galilee in Jesus' time. There are 12 groups of kids named after the 12 tribes. They tour around each day learning how to make sandals, bread, carving stone, fishing, ect... They also go to synagogue and hear the Rabbi teach each day. They play games at the sea side playground and have a snack of bread (my job) every day with a different toping. My friend Leeann and I have been baking about 162 yeast rolls every morning. We get up and let them rise at home then bring them in and bake them at the church. It has been so much fun! This is the best VBS program we have ever done. The kids LOVE it. I'm am glad tomorrow is Friday though as I am TIRED!

Jerry is home now (as of Tuesday)from work. He gave House Hold a months notice last Monday. They didn't say anything all last week and then this Monday his boss showed up and said they would pay a few weeks pay and to get his things and leave. No "thank-you for 12 1/2 years of service" or anything. So we are on to the next new chapter in our lives. Trusting God to provide as we know He will. He is studying for all the insurance tests and should start taking a few of them in a couple weeks.

Tomorrow I am off to Chicago for the weekend with my good friend Cristi. She is moving to China in 2 weeks and I am gona miss her so very much! We are getting in our last hurrah before she leaves. Can't wait!

Rain, Rain GO AWAY!!!

Well, It was beautiful on our camping weekend and not a bit of rain. NOT so lucky on the home front. We got home Sunday afternoon and could tell they had gotten a lot of rain while we were gone. The puddle in the back yard had turned into a lake and the yard was very squishy again. we were already 7-8 inches over normal for this point of the year. (after a record snow fall) I checked the basement in all the corners Sunday evening and all was dry. About 7pm a big thunderstorm came through dumping almost 3 inches on us and when we got up Monday morning the basement was under water. YUCK!!!!!! The sump pump quit working in the night and we had/have a mess. All the unopened boxes and such were soggy and falling apart. We hauled everything into the garage and pulled up the carpet and ripped out the padding. All the carpet is up on saw horses and 2x4's stretched across chairs with about 6 fans running non stop. We were running the AC to try and help the stuff to dry out but the garage drain is clogged(AC water can't drain there now) so we had to call the plumber. He is supposed to be here this morning but it is now almost 11am and no sign of him. GRRRR I have to go clean house for someone at 1 pm so I may have to call and reschedule. It's just not been a lovely start to a new week.
Forecast says thunderstorms today, tomorrow and Thursday. Lord help us!

Book Review

Well, here is my opinion of the book"The Shack". I did not like it and I am amazed at how many people did like it. I honestly though it could have been written by Oprah. I looked at the cover several times to check that it was written by a man because it seemed like a woman libber wrote it. Every character and personality (other than Jesus) was portrayed as a female. I have a very hard time with God the Father being portrayed by a robust Aunt Jamima figure. Some of the theology seemed off too. I know it is fiction but it seems very deceptive of God and his holiness and character. Read it if you would like...you can have my copy as I don't want it.

The house is coming along good. I got lots of painting done last week and just have two bedrooms and the bathroom to do now. I'll try and stick a couple picture in with this post.

All three of the kids have Bible study this afternoon and Jerry's mens study is here tonight so I have some snacks to get making!!

We Are Moved!

The move went very well. We had about 20-25 people show up Sat with pick-ups, trailers and vans. They also brought food!(lots of food!!) I was at the new place and Jerry was loading at the old place and it was all done by about 1pm. The women at the Cedar Ridge house had it all cleaned by the time we were done moving stuff. THEY ARE AWESOME!! Let me tell you, if you need something done there is nothing like good Christian friends. :) :) The weather was awesome, it was like a big party. God just has been working out details for us that I could never imagine on my own. Saturday in the midst of moving Dean asks me if we by chance need a dresser.( We have been looking for a dresser for Jared for months!) We don't want to spend much but don't want a cheap one that falls apart like his old one. So about 15min later Dean and Dianne show up with a good used dresser for Jared. Dianne was also one of the sweethearts scrubbing my floors at the other house.
Then...the guy who said he wanted Patch never came and never came so Saturday afternoon Jerry had to bring Patch into town. I was very concerned because I thought he would cause a big ruckus. They plugged in his boundary collar and let him loose. He searched the yard found his boundary and was as happy as a clam. The neighbor dogs were barking up a storm and he never barked back. By golly, Patch seems to be adjusting to being a town dog. We have a nice sized yard and he is doing well so we shouldn't have to put up a fence. You must know this is a God thing because I was convinced he would not work out in town. If that guy had not told us, several times, that he wanted Patch I would have taken him to the Humane society last week. Just so many reminders of how God's will happens despite us. My kids are thrilled(especially Molly) and I am too!!
I love the new house(even when I gripe about the yucky faucet) and the neighborhood is great. The streets a quiet enough I can let the kids ride their bikes up and down the street.
God is good!

Crazy week

This is the week I will either go crazy or drive someone else crazy. I don't enjoy moving but I have to say things are going surprisingly well. Just a good reminder that God is always in control. Friday evening we should get the keys and Saturday morning at 9am starts the move. It looks like we have lots of help coming to move us. PTL!! I will need all the help to get the stuff moved and the house cleaned all on Sat. Sunday I have to work from 4-10pm and closing on the Cedar Ridge house is Monday morning and closing on the Maplewood house is Monday afternoon. Tuesday I will be in a coma. New address is 2473 Maplewood Dubuque, IA 52002. Same phone number.

Oh, I got my copy of the book" The Shack" yesterday. I have heard a lot about it so I'm eager to read it. I am reading it out loud at night to Jerry so I won't be able to fly through it.

I'm off to the boxes, I'll blog after the move.

SHE Event

This is a bit late but I just wanted to post a little blurp about last Fridays She Event at our church. Rebecca St.James and Evie performed. It was so neat to have a big name Christian singer at our church in little ole Dubuque. The concert, SHE (Safe-Healthy-Empowered) event, was for women.In particular for mother daughters or young women. Rebecca talked to the girls about purity and modesty. I have to say I was very impressed with her and her genuineness. She is the real deal. I took Molly, Abby and one of their friends and they had a great time. I of course loved getting to meet and talk to Evie as she was the cool singer when I was in high school. Evie is a mentor for Rebecca and they tour around doing these concerts. It was fun!

I downloaded some pictures off my camera today. I had taken these last month just up the road from here. Seems like March is the month for getting eagle pictures around here. The last ones I took were last march. They are so cool to watch. There was a young one in this group of three. He/she still has a lot of brown on their head.

So Much to Do!

Wow, I have not posted in awhile but things have been so busy. The mens CRW weekend went great and Jerry basically was in charge of the Chapel. He did and awesome job and really enjoyed it. The Monday after we had a couple walk through the house and make an offer that night. We came to an agreement by Tuesday night. PTL He sold the house!!!! They are from CA, no house to sell of their own, they just want to move in. We are to close the 23rd of May so we have been on a frantic search for a house to buy that we can move into quickly. After two offers and turn downs we found one. They will let us move in May16th. We have just been in awe watching God work all this out for us. Jerry was commenting last night how "you just want to not worry about anything ever again knowing God will take care of us." It does seem so wrong how we waste time and energy worrying about things when He tells us to cast our burdens on Him. Why do we hold on to them so tight for so long? We are such a self-centered creature to think we can fix it or handle it ourselves.

This last Sunday we met with the team of directors for the CRW weekends and they asked Jerry and I to be the assistant to the assistant directors this next year. They have a team of three all the time so two teams are being trained. What that means is that in 3 years Jerry and I will be directors for the womans and mens weekends. That is a bit scary but we get two years training for it. Jerry is excited. We love this ministry and we love that it is something we can do together. I cant imagine being the director and it all scares me spitless but I am clinging to the fact that He qualifies the called and not calls the qualified!

So that is our current life in a nut shell. God is taking care of us in huge ways and we are learning to take our hands off the wheel and let him drive. It's a beautiful ride that way and much more enjoyable :)

How Great is our God

It's late and I am tired but I just had to post something. Tonight is the start of our mens CRW weekend. Some of the women met at a house to pray for the men and then about 9:15 pm we went up to the Shalom Center for the first chapel. The first speaker was at 9:30. we pray with him and worship in song and then he goes up to the room to speak and we all stay in the chapel and pray and worship. It is just an awesome thing to experience. Just to be surrounded by Gods people and to hear them pray and sing and give glory to our amazing God. Jerry is on the chapel team this year and to be there and hear him pray over those men each by name just was over whelming. Nothing better than to hear your man prayin!! :) I am so excited for this weekend and can't wait to see God work in the lives of these men. We have 40 candidates (and about 40-50 team members) so it's a full house. PTL Right at the end of chapel tonight we sang How Great is our God, and it was just a humbling feeling to think of how how great a God we serve, and even in His greatness He cares about little ole me. Cool huh?

Awesome weekend

Well, I haven't blogged in a while but I have been so over loaded. The kids left last Wed to go on vacation with all my family to Hilton Head ,SC. Thursday night was set up for our womens CRW (Christian retreat weekend) I was co-leading the kitchen this year. My friend Marrianne was our fearless leader. She is the compulsive organizer-planner and I am the executor of the plan. We worked well together. Lots of chopping, dicing, and baking ahead of time saved our sanity. We had 41 candidates and about 50-60 team members. We were cooking and providing snacks and drinks for about 100 women from 5pm Friday till 5pm Sunday. It was the most exhausting 3 days of my life but I know of at least 3 women who professed to accepting Christ over the weekend and so it was soooooooooooooo worth every ache and sore muscle. At the closing on Sunday afternoon all the women have a chance to give a testimony and almost all of them did. Some spoke of meeting Christ for the first time and other talked of reconnecting to Him and desiring to study more. It was just an awesome weekend . I did not get out of bed till 10am Monday.
Today I am cleaning for a house showing tonight. Hope it goes well. We are having an open house this next Sunday. It should be easy to keep the house clean since the kids are gone. :)
So far I have been so busy I have not missed the kids too much. We will see what the next few days bring. I does seem like I am supposed to be picking them up, like I need to watch the time so I don't for get to go get them on and hour or so. Odd!

Something to think about

http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/

I came upon this photographers website today. It sure gives you something to think about. Sometimes I'm guilty of forgetting about all the sadness and evil in the world. Truly puts my problems into perspective.

Nothing much

I have nothing much to talk about but thought I'd ramble a bit. Tuesday the girls had a band concert at one of the High schools. They were combining with all the Elementary bands in Dubuque so they had to go in at 2pm to practice all after noon and the concert was at 7pm. I haven't volunteered yet for one of these things so I felt it was my turn. I sat all afternoon with about 120 4th and 5th grade band brats. The percussionist are the worst, climbing stacked bleachers, playing in announcers booth...you name it they tried it. Anyhow, They fed them pizza about 6pm in the cafeteria. Molly sat with the few kids she knows and Abby just kinda sat in the middle of the room with nobody she knew, as she is quieter and doesn't know the kids that well. I kinda watched her from across the room and felt a little bad but thought she was fine. After she got her pizza and pop and sat down she folded her hands, bowed her head and prayed over her lunch. I have to say as a mom my heart melted. As a kid I would never have had the nerve to do that in public school. I have to remember that on days she is challenging my every word that if her determination is directed the right way God can do great things with her. Parenting is so hard sometimes and I thank God he gives us little encouragements now and then.

The attractiveness of the Gospel

For my Bible study this last week we have been studying Philippians 2:5-11. We are looking at what Christ was like before he was man and how and why he humbled Himself when He came to earth. Today I was reading Isaiah 53 and looking at how He humbled Himself. I had never really thought of Jesus being unattractive before. You see the artist rendition of Jesus all the time and he is a good looking man. Verse 2&3 give us a very different picture. It doesn't say he was "ugly" but it does say would not be attracted to Him and was "one from whom men would hide their face." Being unattractive was one way Jesus humbled Himself. The gospel was unattractive. What do we do with the gospel these days? Seems like we try every thing we can to make it attractive to the world. The scripture says that Jesus was no Joel Osteen. PTL! He was not charismatic and appealing to the world. When we try and make the gospel appealing are we going against the nature of Jesus? It's the Holy Spirit that makes the gospel attractive, not our efforts.
Just something that really made me stop and think today.

Puppet Festival

This last weekend Molly and I attended a puppet festival in Chicago with her puppet team No Strings Attached. NSAPuppets.org .It was lots of fun and we learned a lot. Friday night we performed(at about 10:30 pm) and Saturday we watched other teams and went to work shops. I love this ministry Molly is in because Rex (the guy who runs it) is all about teaching the kids about hard work and outreach to the unsaved world around us. They are a small and young group right now so the parents are part of the team as much as the kids. We did a song routine to black light and the team got a silver award from the judges. I was surprised at all the different things they did there. They had stick skits that was a lot of choreography, mimes, ventriloquists and my VERY favorite was Blacklight Human Video. The human video was to the song East to West by Casting Crowns and it was awesome. Lots of fun and very little sleep!

Cold and Snowy

This is the burning barrel in the back yard. The drifts are high enough that only the top of the barrel is sticking out. I'm rather tired of all the snow this year. I think we have had such mild winters the past several years that we have been spoiled. Then again, maybe I'm just getting old. It seems hard this year because it has also been so very cold and the snow never gets a chance to melt before we get another round. Having the house on the market stinks too. Nobody want to travel out on our country roads to look at a house.
Even though it is cold and a pain to shovel, it is so very beautiful at the same time. The drive into town looks like a winter wonderland. :)

A rotten week

The first part was a ROTTEN week. I spent Mon and Tues having a big pity party for myself. Not much of a party though when nobody else want to join you. :( Anyhow...I am so thankful that my God loves me enough to not let me continue on in my selfishness. I just got to feeling very overwhelmed with my circumstances and began to tell God and myself that I just couldn't handle it," He must have made a mistake in giving me so much to deal with!" You know, the old "God won't give you more than you can handle" bit. I always assumed God understood that I COULDN'T handle much and that is why my life has been pretty smooth. Monday I was convinced He had me confused with someone else. As the week has progressed He was continuing to bring to my attention that this life I live is not about me. It doesn't help I'm studying Philippians and Paul was rejoicing ALL the time, even in prison! (he sure made it hard for me to feel my problems are tough)
So last night I starting to repent of my self-centeredness and today God brings me to Matt. and the story of Peter walking on the water. I have always thought of his having "little faith" was talking about his faith in Christ. I have been challenged to see it as Peter having little in himself or a better way of putting it is to say he had little faith in what Christ could do with and through him. I believe Peter had faith in Christ because he called out for Christ to save him, he didn't believe that he had the ability to walk on water. He didn't of course but Jesus had the ability to make Peter walk on water. I'm not sure this is making sense. The thought just occurs to me that I am so worried that I can't handle the stresses in my life, but I don't have to Jesus is right there in the center of the whole mess stretching out his hand to me. I know my God can do anything and now I need to live out the fact I can do anything through Him.

My favorite quote lately- "Quit telling God how big your problems are and start telling your problems how big your God is!"

Rejoice

I've started a new Precept upon Precept Bible study on Philippians recently. If you have never done a precepts Bible study I can't recommended it enough. I love digging in and studying using only scripture as the source. Studying Philippians means studying Paul first to understand the author. Its been awesome getting the big picture and getting a small glimpse into Paul's mind. I love how he had true joy in every circumstance,and he had many an opportunity to be miserable. "Rejoice in the Lord".

Another thing I found interesting was how in Acts you learn how Paul wanted to go into Asia to spread the gospel but the Spirit said no several times. It took Paul a while to figure out what Gods will was for him. Jerry and I have really struggled lately with what Gods will is for us. It seems we pray but God is not giving obvious answers. We are having to learn to rejoice in our circumstance...lot easier said than done. :)

Laugh for the Day

It seems as though it has been very serious around here for quite a while so when a friend sent me this web site I about busted a gut. Check it out if you need to lighten up a bit. I found the article on the Proverbs 32 women a riot! I do believe I am a Proverbs 32 gal myself!!



http://www.larknews.com/

Accept One another

Why is it that as "Soldiers of the Cross" we are the one army who wound their own? Why are we not focused on battling Satan and the evil powers of this world and so wrapped up in spewing hurt and cutting remarks at each other? It's no wonder the world sees Christians as hypocrites. We are commanded to "accept one another,just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God." Last I remember, when Christ accepted me I was full of ugly sin,imperfection and in need of His mercy and grace. Why do we not then accept others who are in the same condition? It breaks my heart to see "Christians" cutting each other apart over personal opinions. Pride seems to come into play a lot. I know personally I am very self centered. I am constantly fighting self absorbed thoughts and self righteousness. Hold my tongue Lord!!

Hurrah for Iowa caucus!

Ok. Here is my two cents worth of political talk. Anyone who watches the news knows Iowa has been front and center for the presidential run lately. We have little that puts us on the map so I am excited about this one claim to fame that we have. I got to participate in my first caucus last night. Jerry had been to one before but someone had to stay home with the kids, plus I wasn't as interested in the past. So...we get to our voting place, a local middle school, and the place is PACKED! No parking and Republicans shoulder to shoulder. First I must tell you that Iowa is predominately a Democratic state and Dubuque is VERY Democratic. We had over 1,000 Republicans just at our voting site and there were two other Republican voting places in town. Every seat in the auditorium was filled and people were lined up along the walls. I was excited! I was glad to see people taking an interest in the system and having a say. I am also glad its over as the constant phone calls(sometimes up to 10 a day) were getting on my last nerve.

Happy Sorrow

I was reading something this morning about the New Year and what God may have in store for us. The author was talking about difficult times that may come and how the world would like us to believe that we are never to blame. It's always somebody else's fault and when we take on that opinion we miss the opportunity for repentance. It struck me because in my Bible reading this morning I was reading 2 Corinthians chapter 7. At the time verses 9-11 really stood out to me. 2 Cor 7:10. "For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret..." So is this happy sorrow? I experienced a lot of sorrow in 2007 and praise God, He was patient and waited for me to come to repentance. Those were some of my most joyous times with the Lord. I'm learning now that when hard times come I need to start looking for what God wants to teach ME through it all. So often we think of repentance as being a time when we feel guilt and sadness but God desires it to be a time of renewing and fellowship. So Happy Re-New Year.