Mighty to Save....

The day ended well yesterday after a rough start. Matt and I even got out after dinner to do a little hunting for Christmas. I am in bed early and missing my late night energy, but none the less thankful for the energy to get through the day! So many of you have been on your knees for me, knowing well, how difficult my pregnancies are, and that has blessed us so deeply!! We appreciate each of you more than we could express!

1 Thes 5:16-18

Rejoice always;

pray without ceasing;

in everything give thanks;for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

A friend of mine sent an email yesterday to show me a beautiful design graphic she had created for her desk with our picture on it as a reminder to pray for us. The Lord truly blessed us with the gift of prayer, didn't He? He made Himself available to hear all of our requests for our loved ones, ourselves, strangers to us, our children, our parents, and it all matters deeply to Him! What better way to express our love for one another, than to bring them to the foot of Jesus!?

This morning when I woke, I was able to eat some breakfast and dash out for walk( love that the kiddos are so willing to get the little ones breakfast so I can do this), time to bring the day before the Lord, to thank Him, and to ask for his strength for the tasks ahead. "He is mighty to save" was one of the songs I was blessed with, and it fit so perfectly into what friends and family are praying for right now in our lives-For Mountains to Move! Nicole, you will especially appreciate this and I thought it so appropriate to share.

Our good friends, Jay and Nicole, hiked the Appalachian Trail this past year and blessed us with an almost daily account of how the Lord "Moved Mountains" for them and provided all that they needed, be it food, lodging, a friend, a doctor, safe passage through bad weather, new gear, or encouragement from home. So it is still very fresh on their hearts and minds as to how the Lord can do mighty things impossible to us!! I am grateful to have prayer warriors such as this traveling right alongside us on this journey.

Yesterday I distinctly felt like the cowardly lion form the Wizard of Oz-especially in the scene when they are about to meet the Wizard-the tunnel looked sooo long and sooo dark, soo unknown-and he gets quite scared and begins to turn around in an attempt to run away, deciding he really doesn't need courage all that bad, but his friends grab ahold of him and hold him up, and walk with him, being his courage and strength for that long walk down a dark tunnel. Thank you for being my friends, for being my courage and my strength and for bringing my family to the feet of Jesus.

MIGHTY TO SAVE

Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,
The kindness of a Saviour;
The Hope of nations.

Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.

I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in,
Now I surrender.

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus (x2)

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

My Saviour, you can move the mountains,
You are mighty to save,
You are mighty to save.
Forever, Author of Salvation,
You rose and conquered the grave,
Yes you conquered the grave

Christian lyrics - MIGHTY TO SAVE LYRICS - HILLSONG AUSTRALIA

May the Lord bless your day!!!

Here's the Scoop...

This week started out with joy....

I was able to sit through the service again this week at church. It has been difficult being anywhere that I needed to keep quiet. The fall allergies seem to go straight to my chest and I end up with this nagging and irritating cough that can be quite disturbing. But it has been a blessing to have an evening service, since mornings seem to be my worst time. Our Pastor preached from Romans 12 on forgiveness and shared about my ultimate hero Corrie ten Boom who was a survivor of the Holocaust. It was neat to hear again of one of her amazing stories of how the Lord had given her the strength to forgive those who had hurt her and her family so deeply. She always says that when the Lord asks her to do something really hard, He is also the one who supplies whatever she needs to do it. She is just the vessel that has to be willing to allow Him to work through. Well, I have been pondering this for awhile now and it seems like the sermon Sunday confirmed I should do this. I have wanted to start doing a post at least once a week called Coffee with Corrie. Her books have become so precious to me because her love for the Lord was so genuine. I just have not found to right words to express to impact she has had on my own faith in Jesus. So I thought, little bits may be a good way to start. So, hopefully next week when I am back from a trip to MN, I will begin my posts of Coffee with Corrie.

Then Monday morning I was blessed to start the day having coffee and going thrifting with a precious friend who has brought such healing to my own life, someone who has brought closure to a very lonely period in my life. A friend who has made me finally feel like I am home after having lived here for 8 years. Only the Lord could have orchestrated this friendship, and He has used it to awaken areas in my life that I had forgotten about and had almost begun to believe were unnecessary. It has been a friendship that has had the depth of a kindred faith in Jesus, but the laughter of just being girls, we have been able to share and be challenged as moms, and confide and relate as youth pastor's wives. It is a timely and precious gift from the Lord.

Monday evening brought more joy as Matt and I took Joslyn on a date. With having five kiddos-I have shared before, that we enjoy taking time out of the normal routines and" seventh heaven" to have the one on one time with each of our kids. We used to do dates that was just Matt and one of the kids or me and one of the kids because hiring a babysitter was just not something we could afford very often. But now with a child old enough to babysit, we have been able to begin taking each of the kids with both of us and that has been very fun! So Matt and i took Joslyn to see The Legend of the Guardians. We took her last night and I think there were maybe 5 cars in the parking lot-it was awesome! We told her we rented out the entire theater just for her(she knew we were kidding) But it felt pretty special to have the whole place to ourselves. Just the 3 of us in a mega 3D theater. the movie was magical and beautifully made and it fit Joslyn's personality.

After tucking her in and the other kiddos who were still awake when we returned home, I sat down to check a few things. And the week turned to sadness. The last day and a half I have spent much of my time reconnecting with old friends from college and sharing any updates I had received. A friend of Matt and I's from college was in a devastating accident with an over sized semi yesterday afternoon. The accident had shut down the highway in MN where it had taken place, for many hours. Kris had been airlifted to Mayo even though it was only 20 miles from where it had happened due to how critical time was for the injuries she had sustained. She was in surgery for over 8 hours before she was stable. Her injuries from what I have been told will require multiple reconstructive surgeries. Her sister Beth told me she is very broken and will have a long road to recovery. Kris and James have 5 young children the ages of our kiddos, I am sure this is very hard on them as well. But one thing that has just stirred my soul has been the countless amounts of old friends, family, and even more that do not even know them that have risen up in prayer for them.

BUT! She is alive,

it is a miracle,

and all of us are so very grateful that she is still here!

Praise the Lord!

And

the

week

turned

to

REJOICING again!

I am hoping I will be able to see her this weekend while at a conference in MN.

On a creative note, I have been working on some new designs for my mittens. I have a special order I am putting together. Sunday night after everyone was tucked in bed, I spent some time playing with colors and designs and here are some that I have come up with. I have only gotten the front panels finished thus far.

Now to bring them to life with picking out the contrasting colors for the palm and thumb and maybe some fun little surprises for the linings. My beloved linens are now going to have to share my attention with this crazy fascination with felted wool. No worries, my cutting mat with still have lines worn at the precious measurements of 18 and 22 inches for my bed linen fat quarter followers. I will remain loyal to the saving of as many reclaimed bed linens as possible-But I am also going to rescue wool sweaters too-I MUST! Haha.

Blessings to all of you this week-may the Lord bless each day and may you see His gifts and thank Him, He loves you enough to have died for YOU!

Will the Darkness Ever Lift?

Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature's night.
Thine eyes diffused a quickening ray.
I woke; the dungeon flamed with light.
My chains fell off; my heart was free.
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
~Charles Wesley


This quote captures the essence of depression. It is a dungeon. Something that seems to be growing around us. Many of us have experienced some sort of depression at some point in our lives. Maybe it has come from a deep loss, or maybe from a hardship, or maybe it just seems to have showed up with no reason at all. Maybe it stayed for a short season, or maybe it has been your enemy for a very long time. Or maybe you have not experienced it personally, but it has affected a loved one and you have had to endure watching them feel trapped by this. It is a devastating thing to watch swallow up a loved one and rob them of who they are, robbing them of joy. It makes you feel very helpless. I have only experienced it very briefly during my pregnancies after being bed ridden and sick for months unable to care for my family, but even then,I knew it would eventually lift and there was a hope that lessened the sorrow. But I have been witness to the effects of depression in family members, the closest being my own dad. My dad has struggled with depression off and on for most of my life. And almost three years ago, only 3 weeks after my little Noah was born, I received that phone call that I never wanted to get and in many ways never expected to get. My Dad had attempted to take his own life.

Now, I have to pause after saying that. There are so many sentences that could follow that one, so many. It would probably take a couple weeks of long talks over coffee to express all that this season in my life has brought following that day. Life changed forever, but much of life continued on the same. I have never kept that circumstance quiet, but just saying it doesn't uncover all of the struggle attached to it. But this is very important for me to say. Never should there be a time that my thoughts and feelings are not weighed against what the Lord says. He is always at the end of any sentence, emotion, any weeping, any fit of anger, any feeling of deep loss or question of what to do. We aren't meant to live seperately from Him. How good it is to fall into His soothing arms and be able to trust He is working. And all those feeling of how can I help , what can I do, come down to, I just need to get on my knees and ask.

He says...

Peace I leave with you...
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled
and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

But the Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge. Psalm 94:22

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And He was...asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was great calm. Mark 4:37-39

The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord:
he is their strength in the time of trouble. Psalm 37:39

Wait on the Lord: be of courage,
and He shall strengthen thy heart:
wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 27:14

Many are the afflictions of the righteous:
but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Psalm 34:19

The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9

We went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me! Psalm 66:12. 20

For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
neither has He hid his face from him,
but when he cried unto him, he heard. Psalm 22:24

There are two things that I especially see from these verses.
One is that it is very obvious that we are all going to struggle, let's face it, we live in a fallen world-God intended it to be eden, but all of us fall short. None of us can escape from hardship completely. From the beginning of mankind, people have been faced with depression, with sorrow, and the like.

And the second thing I see in these verses is that the Lord promises to be there with us. He is merciful and says He will be there with us through hardship, pain, even consequences we must face. He says he will hear our cry.

So, this is what I am praying for. I am praying for healing for my dad, and I am praying that my dad will wait on the Lord and wait for the morning. And this is what I remember of the Lord's faithfulness. When my Dad was missing, in those few short hours, family and friends were called to pray. The Lord heard those prayers and spoke very clearly to my dad, and said, this is not what I have for you. My Dad called in time for paramedics to get to him. The Lord saved his life and answered all of our prayers. There was a battle waging for my dad's life that day, one we cannot see with human eyes and that battle is ongoing. Today I am choosing to join that battle and to put on God's armor and fight for my dad when He is weak. Remember to pray for those in your life that are weary from the battle of depression. Remember to ask the Lord for His healing. It is the best way to show your love for them.

They are OFF!

Today begins the adventure for our Ecuador missions team from Harvest. My husband, Matt and five other awesome parents are leading a group of 20 students on a missions trip to Ecuador. This trip has been planned and prayed over for almost a year. So the excitement is quite contageous! The team will be meeting up with missionaries, David and Sonia Murray who are ministering through Baptist Mid-Missions. The team will be running a Vacation Bible School program in the mornings, and will be doing construction at the mission and camp where they are staying. In the evening they will be doing music in the park, youth rallies, prayer walks, and some nights just for fun and sightseeing.

Last night the group met to pack supplies for the trip, weigh luggage, and pray. Now, on a more personal side, it is not always easy to be married to a youth pastor, there are alot of nights apart and alot of trips he is gone on throughout the year. I am at home with our 5 kids. But !! being a part of the team last night and praying for them for all this time makes it absolutely worth it! I cannot wait to see what the Lord does in each of their lives and those they reach! It is exciting to know that the Lord has laid these plans out ahead of them and is with them through this whole adventure.



This morning, the team made it through check in at the airport and were waiting to board at their gate the last time I spoke to my husband. It all went off without a hitch. AND THAT IS A MIRACLE IN ITSELF! They will arrive in Ecuador tonight.

Remember to be praying for the team! And moms and dads, feel free to give me a call if you have any questions about your kiddo! I will be in touch with matt regularly. I know this is tough and I will be praying for each of you as well!

Prayer

Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee; Thou only knowest what I need; Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself. O Father! give to Thee child that which he himself knows not how to ask. I dare not ask either for crosses or consolations; I simply present myself before Thee. Thee, I open my heart to Thee. Behold my needs which I know not myself; see, and do according to Thy tender mercy. Smite, or heal; depress me, or raise me up; I adore all Thy purposes without knowing them; I am silent; I offer myself a sacrafice; I yeild myself to Thee! Iwould have no other desire than to accomplish Thy will. Teach me to pray; pray Thyself in me. -unknown

Romans 8:26-27

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Lessons From My Son

My son Cole has gone to bed for as long as I could remember, listening to books on CD. The all time favorite is of course all of the Narnia stories, I think he could quote them word for word now! But among some of the other favorites were star wars. Around the time he began listening to them, he also was getting out of bed really late at night in tears and completely worried, but he could not tell us why, he didn't know himself. We would pray with him and talk with him, listen, and just sit rubbing his back trying to help him fall asleep. It went on for quite awhile and one of the things he decided to do was to quit listening to the star wars, not that he didn't enjoy it, but it wasn't something that was helpful to his mind while he was falling asleep. But even after that, the worry still persisted and made it difficult to fall asleep. I just kept praying for him asking that the Lord would show Cole what he needed to do or what it was bothering him. I was stumped and needed the Lord to take care of Cole in a way that I could not. One night, Cole came out and told us that he was going to begin reading his Bible at night before he fell asleep. He was going to start at the beginning and just read it all the way through. Cole even wrote out the date he began and put it above his bed as a reminder. Cole replaced everything that was not beneficial for that, that was. I have looked back on that decision of my young son, and I have seen that the Lord had given him wisdom beyond his years, the Lord answered my hearts prayer and healed Cole's mind through his Word, which He has promised to do! Cole has gobbled up the Bible and has an amazing memory for what he has read. I will never tire of having Cole tell me about the passages he read the night before, picking out details that I did not remember. My own son has made scripture come alive for me! I have told some of my friends that I never thought I would hear myself saying to my child, "Stop reading your Bible and go to bed"-although I can't really bring myself to doing that very often! And when he gets out of bed at 11pm just dying to share something, I am trying to remember to listen instead of shooing him off to bed again. I will continue to pray that Cole hides God's word in his heart, never to depart form it. My long haired baby boy of 11 years old blesses my heart everyday with the reminder of God's great love for us! All of our cares really do belong to the Lord, trying to solve them any other way is just pointless, what an awesome way to learn-by being a MOM! Cole has continued his journey through the Bible faithfully almost every night and fear has been a distant issue from the past. I love picking up that well worn, binding torn book of his that seems to follow him throughout the house everywhere. It is a tough bedtime if that Bible is nowhere to be found! Sleep will not come! May I live my life the same way!


Phillipians 4:6-9

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.