Works of God Monday

What a big day today was for us! We took our "baby" and dropped her off in the middle of the Mojave desert for summer camp. I know Emma is not a baby anymore, but it is hard to believe that she is now the age of a junior camper. I am so glad that she has this opportunity. God provided through a couple of different ways for her to be able to go to camp this year. We praise Him for working out all the details. I know that this will be a fun week for Emma, and I pray a time for spiritual growth in her life. We were excited to get to meet the speaker, counselor, and several other staff members at camp today. It was nice that we didn't have to drop her and rush off. The workers were so welcoming and kind. They drove us down to the cabin area where we were greeted with lots of excitement. We were able to get Emma settled in her cabin. She was the first camper in that cabin to arrive, so she was able to pick out her bunk bed (top, of course) and then unpack a few things out of her suitcase. I hid a card in her sleeping bag after she got it set up on the mattress and was looking around at things with Olivia. :-) Speaking of Olivia, she is definitely missing her big sister already! Our girls' lives changed so much this year, and they have grown so close to one another. It's been a wonderful blessing. They always have been sweet to each other and played well even in MI. Now they are homeschooled and in a very small church with no kids their ages yet, so it's created a deeper bond between them. It will be interesting to see how things are around here this week, but I have some plans with Olivia. I'm going to enjoy some special time with her that we don't often get to have by ourselves.

I had our camera with me today, so I snapped some pictures before we left:


A true Western experience!


Excitement and nervousness all running through her. . .


The cabin she'll "call home" this week.


Posing with Miss Elizabeth, her counselor


Setting up the bunk bed she chose


Beautiful scenery around the camp!


Kris and Olivia stopping to pose during our exploration of the camp.


This is part of the room where Emma will be for services.


Here is where the kids eat their meals.


Emma can hardly wait to ride a horse! I tried to snap a quick pic on our bumpy jeep ride back to the parking lot and got a bit of the seat in there.

A Year of Change

Aaaah! How did almost a whole week go by? I told you last Monday that I was hoping to do more posting about this last year. Well, tomorrow we send Emma off to summer camp for the first time, so that kind of consumed me all week. I can't believe she is already old enough to be a junior camper! She and I had a very special day yesterday. We went to lunch at Panera Bread and then had frozen yogurt at Cherry on Top, one of our new favorite places. There were a few more things we needed for camp, so we went over to Target. I bought her a pack of disposable cameras to use this next week, so we can see all the fun of camp. BTW, Olivia looked at one of the cameras and said to me, "Did you show Emma how to delete the ones she doesn't want off of this kind?" hee hee I told her that it was not a digital camera but one with film. She looked at me like I was nuts, so I tried to explain film to her. She then wanted to know where you see the picture. I guess I really am getting old and kids are just so used to the technologies of today.

So back to the memories. . .It is exactly one year ago today that we pulled into CA to call it HOME! I can remember crossing the border and talking with Kris and the girls about being in our new state and how weird that sounded. We were finishing our cross-country drive and about to stop. . . and stay. . .not head back this time. There was a lot of excitement, nervousness, and heaviness in our hearts all at once. My own thoughts--I was so far away from everyone, besides my immediate family, that I knew and loved and was now in the most different of places I had ever lived. I had never been to CA before in my life until just several months before, and now it would be my home. There was no question in my mind that this was right, as different or weird things may be, and that God had clearly led us to CA. What a calm that brings to the nerves and comfort to the heavy heart--saddened to have left good friends and family on the other side of the US! The excitement and desires only grow when the thought comes back that this is about God and His glory, and what a wonderful opportunity to be part of His kingdom work in this part of our country! Well we got to our hotel, thanking the Lord for giving us safety across thousands of miles and asking Him for grace and strength, as Kris would start his first Sunday as pastor of Heritage Bible Church the next morning.

So much has happened since that first Sunday in our new church here. I will try in the days ahead to hit the highlights of things God has done and what He is teaching us. I have spent some time this week going through pics and even some short videos I found on my phone of our trip across the country. First though, I will go back to the final service and farewell given to us in MI. Here are the memories of saying goodbye at Calvary that the Dumonts so sweetly captured for us:


Sunday evening--our last choir number (I choked through it!) Wow--after further review, it looks like the picture was shot either right after we stood to begin, or during an interlude. Those faces were not typical of our expressions during singing. ha ha


Kris leading the congregation (background shows proof of my "choking")


We sang "Jesus Paid it All" and this time KRIS choked! Oh, and what is the dead give away that we were living in MI and NOT the CA sun yet? Yikes!


Kris got to play one last time on the borrowed euphonium.


My dear friend, Deb, presented me with gorgeous roses from the church.


Pastor Dan and Pastor Mike presented a beautiful, etched glass plaque to us.

Works of God Monday

Today has been a good day of reflection for me. It was a year ago today that we had our final service at Calvary Baptist Church in Midland, MI. God allowed us to serve four years at Calvary and then made it very clear to us that He wanted us to move to CA. I am thankful for those years in MI. Personally, MI holds a special place in my heart, since that is where I was born and raised. We lived two hours North of where I grew up, and I still have extended family members in the Detroit area that I was able to see at times. We enjoyed Thanksgivings and other fun times with aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was so nice for my parents and sister's family to come up to MI from SC. We were a day's drive away then, and of all places for us to have moved to, my family was glad it was MI. They could come see us AND visit with their siblings and friends that they have there. Well, that has all changed and we struggle with that emotionally at times, but Kris and I would not want to be anywhere that God doesn't want us. I know my sister and my parents feel the same way. God makes no mistakes. His ways are perfect. We know life is about Him and His glory, and we want to live out that truth! We are humbled to be part of His work here in SoCal.

It is really neat to look back at what God did in our hearts while serving at Calvary. He taught us many things about Himself in new ways, things about ourselves, and much about ministry in new ways as well. We thank Him for the variety of experiences He gave us both in SC for 8 yrs. at Grace Bible Church and for the 4 yrs. in MI. The ministries and responsibilities/positions at those churches were quite different, and we pray that God will use those experiences to help us here in CA.

The friendships we made in Midland are very special to us. I have missed those people a lot! Today especially brought out emotional times for me, as I thought about how God brought different people into our lives and allowed us to minister to them and alongside them. In so many ways, they ministered to us too. I'm thankful for the way that those relationships continue today.

I think that I will try to post more often in the next two weeks and share somewhat of "a year in review" broken up into several posts. You wouldn't want me to do it in one. Ha ha I will add some pictures of the last year in there as well. As my friend, Jenny, said today, "A picture is worth a thousand words!" and that should cover some of it. :-) I guess the posts I've done in the last year really tell a lot of the story too. There is much to praise the Lord for! A passage of Scripture that our family has memorized this year is this:

Psalm 34:1-3

1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh,magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

God has truly done great things! Thank you for your prayers for us over this year. I can't tell you how much they are still appreciated.

My Baby is Growing Up!

Last Thursday morning, I was the last one to wake up. My family all came into the bedroom and were being very sweet in waking me. I hadn't really opened my eyes much, but Kris knew I was coherent enough, and I heard him say, "OK, go ahead and show her." As I opened my eyes, I saw a shocking sight! Olivia's sweet face was right in mine, but she had a whole NEW look. I gasped, and everyone started laughing. I knew her front teeth were wiggly some, one more so than the other, but I thought it would still be a little while before one came out. Not so! Olivia had asked Kris to try to pull it a bit earlier that morning, but he couldn't get it. She went ahead and worked on it, and she pulled it out herself! I don't think I was ready for HER to change like this. It seems Emma just had all this happening, but I guess that was three years ago already. . .I'm cherishing the moments, 'cause they are flying by!

A few more pics

We drove to a ridge where we could park and look down over the lake community that was doing the fireworks display. The sky was changing so fast, but you can get a little bit of an idea of the mountains all around and the lake down below.


Enjoying the beautiful evening--landscape and weather were amazing. No jackets needed on this 4th of July!


The kids had fun playing Uno while we waited for the fireworks to start.


Eric and Alicia True


I couldn't get very many good pics, but this one turned out pretty well of one of the cool shapes the fireworks exploded into that night.

Pics from the 4th

Well, I know it's been a week or so since I wrote about our fun time with the Trues on the 4th. I mentioned I would post pics from our time together. Here they finally are:


Alicia and me


Eric and Kris getting ready for a game on their Wii


The kids loved playing the Wii too.


I found Olivia out in the backyard playing by herself. She is content to go do things alone.


Our two with their two. Here is where you start to see Olivia coming out of her shell.


We couldn't do any kind of fireworks here because of the fire hazard, but we could do those pop-its, so the kids had fun throwing them.


Ready? One, two, three!


Kris came out and had to get in on the action too. :-)


My sweet girls!

Works of God Monday

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend celebrating Independence Day. Kris started the day off around the breakfast table with the girls, asking them what they could be thankful for that day. Emma said, "That's Thanksgiving, Dad. This is the 4th of July!" Ha ha We are still working as parents and hope our kids will live in daily thanksgiving for so many things. Kris shared with the girls about the Declaration of Independence, and Olivia informed me later, when being quizzed about her morning "lesson" that the "Decoration of Pendence" was signed over 200 yrs. ago. Hee hee She still says those cute little things that make us crack up. She is growing up though, so her words and phrases are right most of the time now. That makes me sad sometimes.

Well, I am so thankful that I live in America. As crazy as things are in this country, and as concerned about several things as I am, I love my country. Peace comes to my heart when I remember that God is sovereign over what is going on around us. It is a privilege to stand for Truth and make our voices still heard as Christians in this land, but I know in the frustrations of things that ultimately God is in control, and I trust Him (Prov. 21:1). He is so loving and merciful. It is an awesome privilege to be free! For the past year I have been reading a devotional book by Beth Moore that is basically a compilation of missionaries all over the world sharing testimonies after each Scripture reading for the day. What a great reminder of all we have to be thankful for in America, specifically the freedom to own Bibles and worship when, where, and how we believe!

We have never had a 4th of July in CA, so we weren't sure what we were going to do. We did find out it would be very different in that it is illegal to do any kind of fireworks, even sparklers because of the fire danger here. That was a real bummer. We always do fireworks for the kids. There aren't big shows like we've been used to either. Oh well! It's still a great place to live. :-) Anyway, the few families in our church all had plans to be out of town on the 4th. We ended up going to Menifee and having a wonderful dinner with the Trues. They are going to plant a church in Rancho next fall. They are currently working with the Lovegroves. The Trues live just barely over a half an hr. from us, so it was great to enjoy fellowship with them and have fun together. We are allowed to do those "pop its" that the kids can throw, and my girls brought some bubbles in Patriotic containers that someone gave them, so they and the Trues' boys had fun with that outside. They enjoyed playing with the Wii for quite a while too. I will try to get my pics off the camera and on the computer soon. Anyway, they knew of some fireworks not too far away from them, so we went up on a ridge and looked across the valley at the fireworks from there. The mtns. were so clear that day, and before the sun went down, the views were just gorgeous. Kris and I laughed on the way home that the fireworks were done before 9:30 PM. They don't even start until 10 PM in MI, and they last a pretty long time. We still really enjoyed seeing them here, and overall it was just great to get together with new friends and have a fun evening.

Well, a new week has begun. I hope you have a great one! I am looking forward to having another post-op this Wed. Please pray it goes well for me. I have a couple of minor concerns, but mostly I am doing very well. Praise the Lord!

Works of God Monday

There are many things for which I would like to praise the Lord today:

1. Last Monday Kris and I celebrated our anniversary--13 yrs! We had a wonderful time up in the mtns. We went to Lake Arrowhead for dinner. We enjoyed walking around the village afterward, taking in the beauty there. Our girls had a fun time at the Fox's house with Sue. We are so thankful for her willingness to watch them. She had them the last part of the week before while we were at a wonderful church planting conference in OH.

2. We went to Disneyland last week for our last day until August. Our annual passes are blocked out until mid-August now. It was my first big, full, LONG day since surgery doing something like that, and I made it fine. Praise the Lord! I sure did feel it on Wed. though and was reminded that I have some more to go in my getting back to normal. What a special family day we had though, and we met a sweet Christian couple at the end of the day that we enjoyed fellowship with while waiting for the parade.

3. The girls and I worked last week on completing our required school days for the year. Friday night was a time for celebration with a meal at a new favorite restaurant, Islands, and then home for ice cream. We are done! It was a great first year of homeschooling. Both girls did so well, and by God's grace, we completed Kindergarten and 3rd grade together.

4. On Friday afternoon I went to a BJU press solutions meeting and was able to order things for both girls that we will use next year. I know it will be a lot better going into the school year with curriculum purchased well in advance and having an understanding of what we will be doing. Last summer was crazy! We moved the end of July, decided on what we were going to purchase for each girl in Aug., and we started school on Sept. 2. It was a whirlwind!

5. I went to the pool for the first time with the girls in months on Thurs. I wasn't allowed to be in the pool for quite some time after surgery. We all went as a family on Sat. and then again on Sunday night. Refreshing--especially when it was over 100 degrees on Sunday! Kris was ready to jump in the water after doing over an hour of door hangers in that heat. Anyway, it has been really nice to get out and do things as a family and to get myself moving again. I was able to get on the elliptical machine this morning too, and tonight we went on a family bike ride after dinner. Woohoo! I hope this can continue on a regular basis and that I see the results I NEED from exercising!

6. God has been bringing new people across our path in recent weeks who we can minister to, and we are very excited about the opportunities. Kris has had lunch with two different guys who are looking for a church. One of those men has come the last two Sundays and brought a friend with him. This past Sunday his wife came as well. She is an unbeliever, and we are praying for God to do a work in her heart. We would love to see her saved and have opportunity for discipleship with her.

I know I could go on in thanking the Lord for how He is working in my life, our family's life, and in the ministry here. He is always good! I will end for now though. I pray that you are seeing God at work in your life. Have a wonderful week of loving Him and loving others! Matt. 22:36-40

Happy Father's Day

Well, I see that the last post I did was on Mother's Day. How funny! I've not spent a lot of time in the blog world as of late. The times this computer has been on has been mostly for homeschooling, email, facebook, and Webkinz. :o) I have sort of "come alive" the last couple of weeks though and am trying to be pretty much back to normal. Thankfully, that is going well!

Today was indeed a special Father's Day. I have the most wonderful husband in the world, and my girls are so privileged to have him as their father! We enjoyed going to church together today and praising our Heavenly Father with fellow believers. After church we went to Kris's favorite place for food--Buffalo Wild Wings. On the way there, I called my dad and wished him a happy day, wishing I could share it with him. We came home after lunch and gave Kris his present, which Emma did a great job picking out with me last weekend. He has a new outfit made up of choc. brown cargo shorts and a cool new plaid shirt to match--very CA! I haven't put the pics on the computer today though. We've been relaxing. I'm on the upstairs computer anyway, and we can only put the memory card in Kris's laptop downstairs. He's using that right now. I broke the spot on the camera that our cord connects to when I dropped the camera at Disneyland a while back. :-( Moving on. . . .

We are starting a new book in Sunday school next week. We are in between studies, so I was thankful for the "stand alone" lesson that Kris decided to do today. It was titled, "God, Our Father." He asked us to think about 3 things:

1. What Our Father is Like
2. What Our Father Does
3. How We should Act Toward Our Father

Under each point he listed Bible verse after Bible verse that we all took turns reading and then discussing. I was overwhelmed at the goodness of God to call me to be His child and give me a Heavenly inheritance. I was humbled to see His love in showing compassion, mercy, grace, discipline, hope, strength, and much more to and for me. I was convicted to love Him and pray to him more, honor and respect Him rightly, and by His grace to know and obey His precious word. My earthly father lives farther away from me than ever before. My husband's father chose to take himself from us. Kris and I are thankful for both of these men. God blessed us with loving, caring fathers. Though we may not be able to be near our dads for different reasons, we rejoice that God, our Father is never far way and will never leave us. He is the God of all comfort, and the source of our peace. We trust Him and His sovereign will for our lives. What a wonderful Heavenly Father we serve!

A Happy Mother's Day

I hope all you moms have had a very Happy Mother's Day! Mine was special even though it was different than in years past. I was hoping this would be my first Sunday back at church since surgery, but with my little setback in recovery and Olivia having croup, I had to adjust my plans. Praise the Lord--I'm doing much better now, and Olivia is too. She and I enjoyed our morning together at home. Kris and Emma picked up Applebees after church, and we had an awesome dinner together here! The girls made me precious cards, Kris gave me a sweet card, and they gave me a new Willow Tree figurine. I have 15 now! We watched a movie together and enjoyed the rest of the day relaxing.

I am thankful for my mom and love her very much. She and my grandma are still both living, and that is a blessing. Kris has lost both of his parents and all of his grandparents now. He has a godly heritage to remember and to share with our girls. I miss my mother-in-law. I wish I had had the chance to know her better. God has blessed both Kris and me, and we are both grateful for what we have learned from our mothers.

My mom posted on her blog some of the pics from the trip she and my dad took out here recently. They were such a help to us, and the girls loved being able to spend time doing fun things with their grandparents.

It is a privilege to be a mom. I love my girls more than words can say! God has blessed me greatly. I'm glad that we've been able to be home together this year more than ever. It's been a wonderful time of learning each of my girls better and growing more and more in my love for them. I love my "job!"

Awake

Well, I guess I shouldn't have taken that nap today that lasted until 5:30 PM. It sure felt good though! I just don't have the desire to go to bed for the night yet. My post may read Sat., but I would consider this late Fri. night. :-) I've been "stuck" doing nothing but resting these last two days, and tomorrow will be the same, so I guess I don't need to worry about going to bed at a certain time.

A lot has happened around here these last few days. On Wed. morning we received a call from Kris's Uncle Dave that Aunt Carol had gone home to be with Jesus in those early morning hours. Tears were shed, but we rejoiced that she no longer had to suffer and is now whole in the presence of her Savior. Kris had the opportunity to spend the day with Uncle Dave and was so thankful that he could. He was with Dave when the funeral home came to get Aunt Carol and was also able to go with Dave to talk through everything with the funeral director. One of Dave and Carol's sons is out of the country teaching a class that doesn't end until the beginning of this next week. Dave told him to finish that, get back home to Atlanta, and then fly out with his family to CA. There was thought that the funeral could be Friday of next week, but that won't work. A little background. . .Aunt Carol was the principal of San Bernardino Christian School for many years. They are a church school, and the plan has been to use their facilities for the funeral. There is a conflict though for next Fri. because of a yearly event that they have going on that day. A Sat. funeral would be $1,200 more, so the only other option was to have it on Mon., May 18. The funeral director does not believe it is a problem to wait that long. Please pray for Kris as he prepares to preach the funeral.

I didn't feel like I needed Kris home in order for the girls to get some school done, feed them lunch, etc. on Wed. They are not so dependent anymore. Besides, I was really looking forward to being up and around more anyway this week, since I've been feeling better and was close to the 1/2 way mark of recovery at that point. Well, after lunch I was surprised at some spotting that I all of a sudden had. I called the surgeon's office and left a voice mail with the nurse. She finally called a while later, told me my surgeon is out of town, and went over things with me that she could discuss with the other surgeon. I told her that it wasn't anything major, just very apparent and nothing I had seen before. They never called back that day. I figured that if they were concerned, they would have let me know. I went to bed without worrying too much about it. Well, first thing Thurs. morning, I get a call from the nurse, telling me that I need to go on bedrest for two days and that this is a setback in my recovery. The surgeon says that I probably am having stitches dissolve, and I am not quite healed, so I need to be still to let things heal better. Aaaaah--not the news I was wanting to hear, but ok, I certainly don't want to compromise my healing. I never want to have any of this done ever again, quite frankly!

I was a good patient yesterday, keeping my feet up and only getting up when necessary. :-) My husband is the most amazing man and has kept things running without complaint. I feel he has a lot on him right now, and I wish I could do more, but I know God has a reason for everything, including timing, so I trust Him. I figured since the spotting was all but gone by last night, I would do my one more day of resting and be good as new. This morning I realized I needed to adjust my plans. Things were actually worse when I first got up today, and they have continued to be a problem as the day has gone on. My plans for this week got shot, and I'm not sure that this Mother's Day will actually be spent with my kids the way I was intending, but again, I need to rest in God's sovereignty in this and get BETTER! I do appreciate your prayers for us.

Good things happening through this--I've been reading through Proverbs this week and have been greatly moved. I also am continuing to enjoy a good devotional book with current day missionary testimonies that my sister got me for my b-day last year. I've received uplifting cards from family and friends over the last couple of weeks. I've been on facebook tons and talked with so many people through chat or notes on each others walls. It's also allowed me to be more aware of how people are doing and if they've requested prayer for something. God has provided meals through the homeschool group all this week, even when one got canceled. Another mom saw the cancellation on the caringmeals site, called me that afternoon, and said that she wanted to bring us something. What a blessing! It was a wonderful meal too that we all enjoyed very much. It's been quite a week. We've cried, had our disappointments, etc., but we don't lose hope, because our God is bigger than all the tough things going on, He has a purpose for it, and He brings joy and laughter in the midst of it too. My fun kids and silly husband put a smile on my face many times a day too! I have much to be thankful for!!!

Works of God Monday

Hello again! I am feeling like I might be able to sit here for a few minutes and update my blog. As I write this, my heart is full as I think about all that God has done in the last several weeks. I'm not sure I'll be able to communicate all that I would like, but I'll try. :-)

Two and a half weeks ago I had my surgery. So many of you were and still are praying for me, and I can't tell you how much that has meant. I must admit, I was nervous about having another surgery and all that had to be done for this one. There was also concern, more on my part than probably Kris's, about how we would keep up homeschooling, work for him, the house, meals etc. I knew God would provide our needs and only give us what we could handle by His grace. I struggled applying that knowledge at times though. Well, it was amazing to see things come together even before the surgery. We realize how spoiled we have been being in big churches where so many people have volunteered in the past to help with the girls and meals. We did not take that for granted and were so appreciative, but being in those situations, you can more easily forget to depend on God and depend on people instead. It's been a whole new learning of dependence on God alone as the situation is very different now, and there is not a wealth of people around. It's always so good to be placed in situations where we are shown our continual need to trust and depend on God!

We were so blessed to have one of the families from our church take our girls from Wed. through Sun. the week of my surgery. The girls were able to do school there and had a very fun time too. It was a wonderful thing for Kris and me not to have to worry about what was going to happen with the girls and have peace of mind, knowing they were well cared for and having a wonderful time.

The day of my surgery, my parents called to say that they had plane tickets to come out and help us! We couldn't believe it. With my dad's heart surgery in the fall and his not being able to go back to work yet, we knew that money was tight for them, and coming out here was not a possibility. Well, someone from their church provided the financial means for them BOTH to come and stay with us for 10 days! We were blessed more than words can say to have them help the girls with school and do all the things around the house like laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. They also spent some very special times taking the girls out to do fun things. God truly did above all we could ask or think!

Another way that God has met our needs is through the homeschooling moms group that I have been a part of this school year. I never mentioned our need of meals or anything. I just gave a prayer request at one of our meetings about my needing surgery in a couple of months. Afterward one of the moms said something about meals we might need. Someone else mentioned it at park day and then someone organized getting a few together. Well that has turned into more than we could have ever dreamed! TEN LADIES signed up to bring meals! Some of these ladies have met me only once or twice this year at things, yet so many volunteered to help us! We had meals for the first several days of my coming home from the hospital. Then I told the lady who spearheaded it all that my parents were coming. She came up with a plan to suspend the meals for the time my parents were here and then resume them for this week. I never expected that, but I tell you, what a blessing it has been even today! I figured we would be okay by now, but I'm not were I can do very much still, so I'm thankful that Kris doesn't have the extra pressure of cooking (or going out for) meals. By the way, if you need to set up meals for someone, a great site to help with that is this site. It's been a great tool!

So much of me did NOT want to have this surgery done, but the surgeon told me that there were multiple things that needed to be taken care of. I knew that I had endometriosis from having the last surgery, but when I found out about my diseased uterus (adenomyosis) after surgery, it was a confirmation that this needed to be done. I had bladder surgery and a couple of other repair and reconstruction things done as well. I am already noticing some good results. The doctor says that after the 6 weeks of recovery, I will be a new woman. I can't wait! I guess "no pain, no gain" is applicable here. I really do look forward to seeing how much better I will feel, be able to move, etc.

God has been our Jehovah-Jirah, the Lord will provide, each step of the way! We give Him praise for the great things He has done. While I cannot do a lot right now, and I go a little stir crazy, I am thankful for more time to be still and know my God. I'm able to catch up on reading a book for church planters' wives, some homeschooling books a dear friend gave me, and most importantly, dig deeper into my Bible reading. I have an amazing husband who does so much for our family. My kids are such a blessing too. They are the best! I pray we all know our God better through this time and grow closer together as a family too. There are other things I would share, but I can't stay in a normal sitting position for very long, so I best be closing now. :-) I was able to write more than I thought though. I'm thankful for daily progress! Thanks again for your prayers. God is so good!

Works of God Monday

I don't have much time at all, but I thank God that He is good all the time! I really need to get to bed, but I realized that I had not updated today. We've had a rough several days with Emma's being quite sick. She has bronchitis and an ear infection as well as asthma and allergy symptoms. We've not had a good night's sleep since last Thurs. Even in this, God is good and has given the grace and strength needed.

We have dear friends flying in tomorrow from MI, and we are so excited! A fun-filled week is planned for all. Our money is tight with medical bills piling up for me with the upcoming surgery and appts./labs for that and now with Emma's urgent care visit and prescriptions. We wondered what and how much we could do with our friends this week. Well, God provided in a surprising and awesome way today. I found out that our church family here is paying for us to upgrade our Disney passes and take our friends to Disneyland. We had said we would not be able to go because these two weeks of April we have blockout dates on our passes. Wow! What a gift and blessing! This was not a need by any means, but our God even delights in giving us desires that are just for fun. How humbling! We prayed with the girls and thanked God for this special treat that He is allowing for us this week. We also reminded the girls that even though we tend to say, "Wow! Isn't God so good?" when we get news like we did today, He is still just as good to us when we go through sickness and other trials in life. We can and should praise Him just as easily. These are the things I wanted to share before bed tonight. I hope you too are seeing God's goodness in your life today, whether it is a hard day or one filled with fun and excitement. Rom. 8:28

Fun Day in LA

Whew-What a day yesterday was! It was so fun and encouraging to see Kurt and LaDean, even if it was for less than 24 hrs. You wouldn't believe all we packed in during that time. Sorry I didn't make it back to do a "Works of God Monday." I can certainly say that God is working EVERY day though, and I thank Him for allowing us to share time with family yesterday.

Well, we picked up Kurt and LaDean at LAX on Sunday night. Because traffic wasn't bad, we got there between an hour to hour and a half. That was nice! Our drive home was full of talking about how everyone is doing, and we continued that for a while when we came home, but our poor guests needed some sleep. Neither one of them had slept much the night before, and with our 3 hr. time difference, it was 3 AM in their bodies when they got to bed. We didn't stress on getting up early on Mon. A simple breakfast, and then we were off for the day.

LaDean had never been to CA before this trip, and Kurt hadn't been here in years. We started the adventure by driving around our neighborhood and then taking them over to our church. The drive there was an eye-opener for them--seeing some SoCal landscape (although smog clouded the mtns. a good bit), the vast differences of beautiful new to rundown old neighborhoods so close together, diverse cultural influences in just a few miles, etc. After showing them our meeting location, and sharing what God is doing here, we headed towards LA.

Kris and I had not yet been to LA, except to go to LAX. I got some tourist info., and we decided to see Chinatown first. It was definitely like being in the Orient!









After Chinatown we headed up to Santa Monica to the pier. We had lunch at a good Mexican restaurant that sits at the end of the pier, overlooking the Pacific. Because Kurt was on a time schedule, we didn't do any rides. Spending money there was probably a factor too! :-) Here are some pics of what it looks like along the pier and beach there:




We left Santa Monica and headed up to the 405 to drop Kurt and LaDean off to meet their friends who were driving them up to their conference. If I didn't mention it before, that is how/why they were able to be in CA. Kurt is the manager for Soundforth, a division of BJU Press, and there is a Christian music publisher's conference north of LA this week. We won't get to see them again before they fly back to SC. Back to the driving. . .the 405 was "bumper to bumper" traffic, so we looked at the map and saw that Sunset Blvd. could take us to where we needed to go. Again, not having been to LA before, I didn't even realize that the exit we took was taking us right through Bel Air and Beverly Hills. We didn't have time to explore, but we certainly did see some unbelievable homes, at least glimpses. Most homes are not visible due to gates, shrubs, etc. The drive also took us right into Hollywood. We were going to drive by some of the sites there, but we really needed to get to our destination. We met up with the other couple and said goodbye to Kurt and LaDean. All of us wished we had had more time together, but we were so thankful that we got to see each other at all. We didn't even know until the week before that they were coming. It was a blessing!

Kris and I talked about not wanting to fight LA rush hour traffic to get back home, so we drove back into Hollywood and walked along Hollywood Blvd. where we saw Grauman's Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater, the Walk of Fame, and finished with a quick bite to eat at Johnny Rocket's in the Hollywood and Highland outdoor mall. We got a picture of the Hollywood sign from one of the mall balconies. It's not the most clear, but we weren't going to go drive to find a better picture spot with the sun going down and our needing to head home. Honestly we thought a lot of things were interesting, but I was thinking while we were there of the sinful influence and shaping of our current culture that Hollywood has had part of over the years. I wondered, "Why do people idolize, follow, get consumed with these 'stars'--people that they have no relationship with, yet treat like they are so important." The answer came as I remembered that we are all made to worship. The question is, "What or who will we worship?" I'll admit, I get curious, and I'll read headlines on the stupid magazines in the check out line at the grocery store or listen to news that comes across on TV about actors/actresses. But, I pray that I'll much rather be consumed with God and knowing what truths He has graciously given me in His written Word, the book that's WORTH reading!

Long post, I know. Hope you enjoyed seeing our LA adventure and hearing about the last couple days of our having the blessing of family to come visit. Hope your week is going well. God bless!