Birthday Season 2013

We went out for sushi at Fusion.


  Birthday season kicked off this year on the day Abbie and I returned from Haiti. Although I had already purchased Will's gifts and we had come up with a birthday plan, cameras were not ready. Unfortunately, with Mollie's birthday 4 days later.....the camera situation had still not been resolved. Bummer.

Despite our best efforts to convince them to skip their birthdays this year.......they have in fact moved up. Will is now our strong and yet sweet 11 year old and Mollie has moved from being the quintessential 8 year old to a quintessential 9 year old.

Abbie had a big celebration (later post) turning 13. We have high expectations for what the Lord will do in her life throughout these teenage years. EmmaLee stuck with tradition and had her ears pierced for her 7th birthday. She did great, a few tears. Dad barely held himself together as he comfoted his youngest daughter through this final milestone of ear piercing.



The girls picked up Arbys.......

Mollie wanted to go to Cheesecake Factory!!

This is her birthday outfit she and her Daddy picked out.

Abbie wanted "better than take out chicken fried rice" and a home made cake



Noodles Restaurant for dinner and G G's cupcakes

Teavanna tea cup from Mom

Iain was the day before EmmaLee.  We had a yummy dinner at home.  The kids worked hard taking pictures of each other and framing them for him.  They did a great job, with Abbie's artistic direction. After dinner we headed to Wednesday night church and then back to Cheesecake Factory for dessert. 

And now, with birthday season behind us......I will start my "birthday season cleanse" and prepare for my own birthday, in 5 months.

Haiti Testimony- Favorite Bible Character

Before we arrived in Haiti, Eric had us prepare 3 testimonies to share while we were out there.  We had to be ready to talk about our favorite 1) Bible character 2) Bible verse and 3) Bible miracle.  In Haiti we visited with school groups and leaders in the community and Eric would pick one of these testimonies for us to share with the group, which he would translate for us.

I enjoyed the exercise of thinking through these testimonies and wanted to record them for my own memory.

My favorite Bible character is Boaz.  Ruth 2:13 "Then she said, "I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants."

There are 2 main reasons why I love Boaz.  The first reason is because he is a practical example of a godly man.  He is an example for men to strive to be like and an example for what a woman should be looking for in a husband.  He was kind, caring, thoughtful and wise.  He was a leader in his community, who understood how to restrain himself because he was a lover of God and His laws.

My Boaz---a few years ago

The second reason I love Boaz is because he points us to Christ.  As wonderful as Boaz was, we can look beyond him and see how much more Christ cares and sacrifices for those He loves.  Boaz loved Ruth when she didn't deserve it because she was not one of his servants.  How much more did Christ show  His undeserved love to me.

Haiti Testimony- Favorite Verse

Luke 1:38 "And Mary said, " Behold I am the servant of the Lord: let it be to me according to your word."

Many times as the Lord reveals His plan to me, Its only a little at a times.  Often I cannot see the end result, or there are many details I am not sure how they will come together, or His plan seems not to make any sense to me at all. 

Sometimes His plans scare me, sometimes they are exciting to me and sometimes they are confusing to me.  But, they are HIS plans.  I love these words from Mary because they are a reminder to me of who I am, His Servant; and who HE is, my Great Plan Maker.

Haiti Testimony- Favorite Miracle

Ex. 13: 21-22 "The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night."

This is one of my favorite miracles because it is a display of God's care for His people as He provides both guidance and protection.  It also displays God's authority.  He determines when to move, where to move to and how long to stay in one place.

This miracle also reminds us of what God expects  and requires of us: to keep our eyes focused on Him and to follow where He leads. 

Haiti Reflections Part 1

Many tasks that are simple in America are very difficult in Haiti.  The daily routines of brushing your teeth or getting a clean drink of clean water are not easy to accomplish.  Simple chores like laundry and dishes are not as simple to do in Haiti.  There are no faucets to provide clean water, no switches to flip, no buttons to push, and no machines to do the work.  There is little medicine for the sick. There is little food for the hungry.    Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere, making tribulations a normal reality.  As I spent my first couple of days absorbing the Haitian way of like, the word “blessed” did not come to my mind.  Then I realized, tribulations don’t have the power to block God’s blessings.  In fact, it is through them that He works to bring about His greatest blessings.

Even though the material blessings of Haiti are very, very few, it was clear to me that our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ are, in fact, blessed.  Romans 5:3-5 says, “We also glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulations produce perseverance, and perseverance, character and character hope.  Now hope does not disappoint because the Love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”  I saw this hope whenever I was greeted with a big, broad Haitian smile.  I heard this hope in their bold and vibrant songs of praise and worship.  I was blessed by this hope when I joined with them in prayer as part of the body of Christ.  God’s blessings are so closely tied to trials and tribulations. 1 Peter says that we are refined and tested by various trials to work out the genuineness of our faith, which is far greater than material blessing, even gold!  The Christians in Haiti certainly know trial and tribulation, but it is through those trials and tribulations that the Lord blesses them and draws them closer to Himself. 

EPIC Move 2012 (to soon be followed by EPIC move 2013)

Just a "few" of the kids in the hood

In May of 2012 we packed up our RV, loaded up the Ford and headed East to Dayton, OH.  After small town life at Edwards AFB for nearly 5 years, we found it heart wrenching to say good bye to all the memories and friends made there.  Many tears were shed. 



Taking 2 weeks to drive across county was cathartic.  As we physically drove away from Edwards, towards Ohio our minds slowly began to make the transition as well.  As we drove along long empty stretches of highway, we grieved the end of a precious chapter in our lives.  But we also remembered God's amazing blessings to us while we were there and reminded each other to look expectally to the Lord to do the same in Ohio.

Edwards is a socially charged neighborhood with lots of wonderful distractions.  While it was hard for the kids at first, we drank in solitude and reconnected as a family:

The middle of nowhere in Idaho, letting Rab do his brid dog thing 'til his heart's content.

You're never too big for a round of "My God is so Big" by the campfire.

Mollie sketching in her book while at Lake Tahoe

6 + dog= close quarters in the 350

RV life.  Simple.

We hunted butterflies, kayaked lakes and dodged wildlife:

 

We saw amazing creation, both Divine and man made.

 

 

By the end of the trip, we still felt displaced and unsetteled, but we were ready to start our new chapter.

 

Setteled and ready for our first day at Dominion Academy.

 

 

Favorites Quotes

This is a list of my favorite quotes and verses, which I don't intend to publish. Not for a while anyway.

"Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But, he's good. He's the King, I tell you." (Mr. Beaver in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe")

" Without himself suspecting the fact, Javert in his formidable happiness was to be pitied, as is every ignorant man who triumphs. Nothing could be so poignant and so terrible as this face, wherein was displayed all that may be designated as the evil of good." (Vicotor Hugo, Les Miserables)

"And Mary said, "I am the servant of the LORD; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)

 

"The devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise,hurry, crowds....Satan is quite aware of the power of silence." Jim Elliott


"We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence and private." CS Lewis


"We stand at a crossroads, and we will either rediscover the lost virtues of listening, meditating, and thinking, or we will amuse ourselves to death." Burk Parsons Tabletalk Jan 2013