Pray for China

That was our theme during our Voice of the Martyr's (VOM) trip. You can find out more about the theme here. I don't even know how to begin to tell you about all that God did during those few short days. God started on me several weeks before the trip. He began dealing with me about complacency and how I as a "good Christian girl" I seem to be too afraid or lazy to fulfill the Great Commission. The list of excuses is a mile high and oh how it must reek in His presence. He also began to remind me that we fight a spiritual fight with a very real and powerful Satan. Fortunately, He is much more powerful than Satan, but we have to tap into His power through the Holy Spirit. I was also struggling with the fact that I have my kids in public school when most of my friends have theirs in either private school or home school them.

Well, fast forward to our trip. We leave the church around 1:30 after a quick prayer. We travel and visit getting to know each other better. When we go through the toll booths, we have exact change, but we decide to actually go through the booth with an attendant and tell them to "Pray for China"! We stop to eat and tell our waiter a little about our trip, I give him my prayer bracelet and we find out he is in college to be a missionary! His friend comes and asks for a bracelet too!

I get up early the next morning to read my bible (really trying to read everyday!). I get ready and also take a walk. I am so excited I can't see straight. I have wanted to make this trip for about 10 years! I walk and pray and sing and just enjoy God's presence, His sunrise and the exercise.

First we go to the main office for a tour. It is so fascinating to see. An Eagle Scout made a room into a replica of an underground church meeting room. There are pictures of persecuted Christians and their stories everywhere. We receive a lot of material and ask question and buy material in the book store. Then we arrive go to the warehouse and find out that we will be working on prayer bands for China. We begin taping the little grey bracelets to cards to be stuffed in envelopes and labeled and mailed. We tape and tape and tape then we stuff and stuff and stuff....! We lose a lot of steam after lunch. There are 9 of us and about 4 other volunteers that we are getting to know. We break for dinner and decide to come back to the warehouse and work late. When we return the room is full of local volunteers! This is so exciting it re energized us and we worked quickly again. We talk to so many new people and start meeting staff that work in the main office. We soon realize that we have come at a very unique time. There is such a demand for the 750,00 bracelets that it is taking all hands on deck to get them out before the Olympics. Staff is pouring in to help. We are able to sit and talk to these incredible people for hours. And talk we do. They are probably so glad we are gone!

I can't post everything we talked about because so much of it is sensitive! But I will say that God put each of us at strategic places. He seemed to meet our needs so specifically and individually. I was blessed to sit by some incredible people. God really opened my eyes to how complacent we really are. Here I sit so comfortable and happy. I have no threat to my Christianity except my own mind. There is no danger in me telling other people about my God or what He has done for me and I shy away so many many times! We begin hearing story after story of people that risk everything to go to a church meeting or endure more torture to tell the persecutor that God loves them too! That evening I walk and cry as I pray.

The next morning I miss the sunrise but walk and pray and praise God. We then go to devotion with the VOM staff. It is incredible. I read the poem I posted last week. Then we pray for several highlighted persecuted Christians. I want to get on the floor and lay prone and wail and pray! The presence of the Lord is so strong it is palpable! Then we listen to Tom White, the President of VOM, talk about evil, and modern day safe houses and numerous other things. I feel so humbled, guilty and motivated! Then we go tape, stuff, and label. And we get another glorious day with the staff. We again work late.

The last morning I walk and pray. We work and dread leaving that afternoon. We had a great ride home though. We handed out more prayer bands and told everyone we saw to "PRAY FOR CHINA". (We fully expect there to be revival among OK toll booth workers!) We laughed and talked about all God had done and sang praise songs. Our favorite song came off a DVD we watched featuring 8 kids that smuggled bibles into Vietnam. When they went to deliver the bibles to a very remote village, the people were gathered together praising God at the top of their voices singing, "Alleluia Amen! Alleluia Amen! Alleluia Amen! Alleluia Amen!" It was the most incredible worship service I have ever seen and I long to be a part of that kind of worship! You can check out the video here.

Keep praying because God is not done yet!!!!

God knows EVERYTHING!!!!

This adorable face is the one God blessed us with one year ago on the 8th. If I had had my way, I would have been sucessful in talking God out of this great blessing. I am ashamed now that I ever thought I couldn't handle such a priveledge as raising a third child. Oh, I had my reasons and I lined them all up before God. But you know, God looked beyond my immediate crisis and smiled knowingly and sent this little guy into our lives. Now, we all smile when this little one looks at us. It is so great that God knows more than us! If only we could get our little ideas out of the way and trust God! (I am working on this with great determination!) So,Thank you God, for sending such a wonderful blessing our way. I praise you for the joy you have added to our lives in such abundance. I pray we will be faithful to raise him for your service. Grant us wisdom for his sake. Watch over him and keep him close to you and your protection. Give him a deep desire and longing for you all his life. Guide his steps and guard his heart. Forgive me for my doubt. Amen.

Wow and Wow!!!

I am currently in OK serving at the Voice of the Martyrs! I am exhausted and my spirit is so full I can't even begin to tell you! I won't post much tonight, but have a poem that I read in devotion today. God has so been dealing with my heart on this subject and I was really struck today as I read. Maybe it will speak to you as well.

I Stand by the Door
by: Samuel Shoemaker

I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world-
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it...
So I stand by the door.

Lazy Day

Today we are staying home. It is a rare occassion that we stay home all day long! But today is that day. We have watched way too much TV (all animal rescues by the way for our little animal lover). Some of us are still in PJs (not me:-) ) I am actually hanging laundry out to dry today and we have scavanged our lunch. The kids are in heaven and I am relaxed. I am considering slipping over to the pool with the kids when the baby wakes up for a quick swim. (Our neighbors have a pool we get to use!!!) But other than that there are no plans! It feels great! I think Sarah needs this day more than anybody. We have limited her activity, but she has still been out everyday for a few hours with me. We have made a point to come home an rest everyday, but she needs a little more down time still. She is wanting to return to the farm, so I figure resting more is the way to regain her strength quicker.

I am planning a quick trip to OK in a couple of weeks. I have been a huge fan of Voice of the Martyrs for many years now. I read their magazine from cover to cover as soon as I get it. I wear their T-shirts, have organized few action packs with a previous church group and talk about them all the time! Well, a group of ladies from my church are going to their headquarters in OK in August to volunteer for 3 days and I get to go! I am so excited. I will be working in the warehouse and could not be happier! I can't wait to meet the staff and see their place. I feel like I am going to work at the White House or something! But I believe their work is far more important than most things that happen just about anywhere else. I am grateful for our government and our freedom in religion. We take for granted the protection we have. I tell you all about it when I get back.

Thankful!

I knew when I called Sarah and told her I thought I should come and get her early from the farm and horse riding and she said okay that she was pretty sick, I just did not know how sick! She had left on Wednesday and had complained of a tummy ache for a couple of days. I just thought it was excitement. She loves the farm and the horses. She lives, breathes and dreams of horses and has since she could talk. She likes riding them and caring for them including mucking the stalls! So when her aunt called and said she was not so thrilled to be cleaning the stalls I assumed it was the heat. They were getting up at 5:30 AM (that time does not happen at our house!) and working cows until late at night. They would rest in the heat of the day. But still it is pretty hot even at 10:00AM here. Then she was not responding to instruction, sitting in the truck instead of helping and then she told me she threw up. So on Sunday when her aunt called concerned that she was not eating well, I thought it was best to bring her home. They had work to do and Sarah would most likely slow them down like this. Within 30 minutes of telling Sarah we were coming to get her, another call came that she had a temp of 103. So we stopped to get more Motrin on the way.
She was burning up when we got there. We visited briefly and came home. She did not complain on time about leaving early. Once home she told me she had vomited several times. I was not sure I believed this since her aunt had not mentioned but once and it was more like she drank too much water too fast in the heat. So I asked her to tell me where she threw up and she proceeded to tell me exactly where and how many times. She said she did not tell anyone she threw up!!! She also complained of a sore throat. So, Monday morning I took her to the office and did a strep screen. It was negative, her exam was normal except the fever throat and tummy/headache. I did not even have the doc I work with look at her. I figured we would do some penicillin to cover for undetected strep, but assume it was viral. As we were leaving the doc came out. We briefly discussed her and she said check for mono. Well, the best way to do this way by lab draw. I was not going to test her myself. I don't like my kid stuck any more than any other mom. But the doc spoke, so I dutifully held her as she cried while having blood drawn. Thinking all the time, there is no treatment for mono. I'll know if she gets a rash on penicillin or if it does not get better and she sleeps a lot. We left and as we were driving to Sonic for a much needed treat, I began going over everything in my head again.
Suddenly, I remember the ticks! Seven as a matter of fact. All in the same day. Sarah had gone to the Adventure Camp at the local state park and came home with seven ticks one day. I call the office and ask if they have enough blood to run the titers. Not enough to run them all. So what is most important and will we have to do it all over again because I did not think of this before? (Why you should not treat your own kids!) So I tell the nurse to ask the doc and she starts her on antibiotics and picks two tests. Bingo! Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever was the word on Thursday! Praise God for good antibiotics and great docs! This is such a scary disease and my little girl was working cattle and not complaining on bit! This has made her daddy more determined than ever to try the horse thing here. This fall we will probably build a barn. In the meantime, Sarah is getting better by the day. She still is not eating really well, but asks for food several times a day now. She has not had fever since Wednesday and takes her medicine very reluctantly but obediently. She still tires very easy and we are keeping her in for the most part. She did go swimming tonight and will go to a birthday party tomorrow. Her little friend is spending the night and they have played with makeup and the Wii all afternoon. It is so good to see her laughing and talking and batting her eyelashes at her daddy with makeup smeared everywhere! Several years ago we might not have been so fortunate!

Wedding Bliss

WARNING: This post is extremely long!!!

Okay, I think I have rested up from the wedding and the holiday weekend that followed. I didn't know I could get so tired just planning and hosting a rehearsal dinner! I don't know if it was the stress of hosting the bride's family and wanting to make a good impression, or the stress of wanting to make this a special event for both bride and groom, or just planning a dinner party for 50 people in a place I had never laid eyes on in a town 1 hour away from home. But boy was I tired! But of course we had a fabulous time. We got to see so many friends and family members from out of town. The problem is that there is never enough time to visit with everyone!

So, let me run down all the activities as briefly as I can. All week before I organized, planned and double checked supplies, lists, etc. etc. The Friday morning was crunch time. I loaded the kids and luggage. First we dropped Sarah off for her last day of Adventure Camp. Where she has learned about animals, edible plants and bugs! Yes, she ate them! Friday was the big day to hike the mountain and have a picnic. She went with two of her cousins so we had them to drop off as well. The Hogan, Josiah and I began the errands. We drove to pick up tons of table linens, last minute items at the grocery store, last minute clothing details etc. Then we raced to the church (remember 1 hour away!) My poor van was so stuffed the kids were all but hanging out the windows! Now don't overlook the fact that I had not ordered flowers for the center pieces because #1 I am cheap, #2 I thought flowers from grandma's plants would be so touching and #3 I just don't know what I was thinking! Anyway, you can guess, all the beautiful flowers on the plants at home were gone! So all the way to the next town, I am scoping out flowers. Anna even ran across the street and made a dear neighbor stop cutting another neighbors flowers so we could have them! She was yelling, running and waving her arms! (Desperate times call for desperate measures.) I swiped some from work and we even picked some from the side of the road! All in all it was Anna's mother-in-law who saved the day by bringing in the perfect colored crepe myrtle blooms!

At the church a friend meet me and we began moving tables setting them and putting together center pieces. The caterer arrived and brought the most delicious food ever! And Pam brought not one but two cakes for dessert. One was Josh's favorite, fresh apple cake and the other was Italian cream cake. They were both 3 layers tall and decorated like wedding cakes! Beautiful and delicious also. Then another friend arrived and helped me pull it all together and serve. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL, if I do say so myself. And do I have a picture, no! :-( Maybe someone else will.

Finally back at the hotel, the 3 sisters take all the kids swimming while the brothers-in-law take Josh out for a bachelors night out. (They are so wild, they went to Starbucks!!!) Anyway we let the kids swim until about 11pm, big mistake. My precious little girl came undone! She cried from the time I got her out of the pool, through the shower and until she fell asleep! Anyway, we all had a blast so I guess it was worth it. Next morning we get up and Steve has errands to run for Josh and himself so I get all the kids ready and myself and head to the reception hall to check on the groom's cake and punch. Pam brought the cake and had it set up before I got there. It had a De Loren model on top. Now I tell you that because for some odd reason (uh, I mean good reason) Josh sent the gold model. Now everyone knows De Loren are stainless steel which means silver. Well, gold is the color he sent. So in order to match the car to the cake stand, I had to get an enormous size stand. So we have a nice size cake on an enormous stand. But it matches. So we do like any normal person and fill in the space with grapes, strawberries, and chocolate covered strawberries, and of course dollies. All in all it was really nice. Then we help the bride's team do a few things before racing to the church, just in time for the wedding.

The flower girls, are Sarah and Brianna, and Makalya and Emily. They are so cute. Sarah takes Brianna by the hand and they take about 5 steps when Brianna decides she does not want to leave the flower pedals on the ground. So she whips around and begins to pick them up. Sarah of course removes them from her hands and throws them back down. So now Brianna thinks this is a game and gathers more petals from the basket, throws them down takes a few steps then returns to pick them up. By this time Sarah is tugging on Brianna's hand trying to still smile. So Brianna sits down (I assume so she has more leverage to keep from being drug down the isle) and dumps all the petals out and carefully begins to put the back in the basket. By now, I am involved trying to negotiate and do so discretely. We do manage to come to some agreement and they slowly make it down the isle. Well!!!, Emily has been watching this whole thing and begins her own throw and pick up routine. Fortunately, she is easier to convince to go on down that isle!

The wedding was beautiful. The church was beautiful and of course Monica was beautiful. Then to the reception which was over the top! More wonderful homemade food than you can shake a stick at, a live DJ and dance floor and lots of friends and family. Monica danced with her dad to a sweet tear- jerker. Then it is Josh's turn to have a dance. So I go to the floor with Josh and he thinks we are going to dance to a nice slow song as a replacement for the mother/son dance. Well, no way! I am not dancing and having everyone think it is sad mom is not there. So Monica and I had been talking (maybe more her idea than mine!) And as we get to the floor "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Madonna begins to blare. Now my sisters are behind me and we all make absolute fools of ourselves. (None of us are good dancers!) Josh was reported to have called us evil at this time, but it was light hearted, cute and so about us girls!

The reception lasted a long time and finally they couple decides to leave, or at least go stand outside by the car. In most weddings, the couple runs out as you pelt them with bird seed, the groom opens the door, shoves his cute bride inside and races around the car to book it to the hotel. Not this couple! They race past all the bird friendly rice only to stand around and talk to every one for at least 15 - 20 minutes. We are all finally saying "his is when you leave, good bye!" So they do leave and we clean up and go swimming!

I just may eat fleas!

Surely they can't taste that bad. They are so tiny. But do know what they might contain? Tapeworm eggs! Do you know what tapeworms do? That's right - cause you to lose weight! I am so sick of being hungry. At least with a tapeworm I would be eating everything in sight and still losing weight, although I think you would most likely be hungry still. Did you know they used to sell diet pills with the eggs inside them? I don't guess the FDA liked that very much. But honestly that sounds better than eating fleas! And you know they make medicine to get rid of them, so what is there to lose? Mom was on a diet as long as I can remember. I guess I was lucky enough to inherit those genes! She joined Weight Watchers years ago and now I am following in those footsteps. I am slowly getting used to the hunger and it is actually working. So I really don't have too much to complain about, but I think worms would be easier.

Summer at last!

We are officially on summer break and boy are we glad! I got to sleep in just a bit this morning and it was wonderful! It is so irronic that the kids will continue to awaken fairly early like they are used to while I beg for them to roll over and go back to sleep. Then the week or two before going back to school in the fall guess what! They finally get the whole idea and begin to sleep in! I am just hoping that they will learn the lesson earlier this year!

So what is on tap for summer? Extra work for me:-( at least for this month. One of the offices I work in is closing. The owner is retiring and we are closing our doors. Lots of people are really sad about that and I am too. The other office will pick up the slack for me though. I am glad I have backup!

We are planning a weekend trip to Branson with some friends. I hope to get the kids in a VBS program since our church is not doing one this year. Sarah will probably attend a day camp or two and visit her aunt with horses. Hogan gets to go to grandmothers all by himself for a few days for the first time! Steve and I have a trip to Vegas later in the summer with his work.:-) Looking for sitters! Hint Hint! And I may (hopefully) am going to OK to volunteer for a few days at Voice of the Martyr!!!! This is really exciting for me since I have wanted to do this for years. A group of ladies from our church are planning a trip. It will be nice to meet these other ladies as well.

And the big one, Josh will marry at the end of this month! It is hard to believe it is just a few weeks away. The problem with being so much older than your sibling is you feel they are just a baby, when in fact he is older than I was when I got married! (I must have been so much more mature haha!) Anyway, we are very excited to welcome his fiancee into our family! She is so sweet and puts up with Josh! (Gotta love that huh!) They are already getting their apartment ready. I remember how exciting and scary that first house is. And they are in an apartment, so they will have neighbors to listen to all their first year "discussions"! Don't we know how those go! Even mild mannered Josh can get his dander up occassionally!

Well, that's all for now! The shower is calling!