Chloe Elizabeth

This little girl is Lo-Lo. She is goofy, energetic, funny and fun, testing (not in a rebellious way but in a curious way), and joyful. She enjoys the thought of one day being a mommy, just like her mommy. She is a sponge, absorbs everything that overflows from her mommy and daddy's cup. When we get excited about something so does she, when we get worried about something so does she. All children absorb what their parents give them, even though we don't notice it sometimes, but this little girl has no governor for her absorber. That's not always bad and it's not always good. May the LORD use her open heart and enthusiastic spirit to the working of his glory!

Cracked Jar of Honey!

Our church recently had evangelist John Bishop preach a youth conference and a 3 day revival meeting. We weren't able to make but one full day of it due to my work schedule but the day we did make was very refreshing. Bro. Bishop suffered from meningitis years ago that took out all of his memory, he pastored a church for 15 years and can only remember the 2 years following his illness. I don't know his complete life history, but I do know that he had to relearn everything, how to talk walk eat. He didn't even know who his wife was anymore. When we met him two years ago he couldn't speak very well due to the illness, suffered seizures, suffered from random cluster migraines that are so painful that doctors have to ask you by law whether or not you have thought about suicide. Well about a year ago those migraines took his site from him, he can now only see outta one eye with the aid of something that resembles a jewelers monocular. The first testimony we got to hear from him about the blindness is that now he speaks clearly, and he does. He says that God took his sight so that he wouldn't sound like a dumby anymore. He gave testimony after testimony of how the LORD has used his blindness to witness to others, he says that people are more receptive to him now because he's blind. He made one comment that I love, and that I think ties into an early post I made and one that a friend of mine made on his blog.

Bro. Bishop's comment went something like this, when my sight went out my ears stepped up and said hey the body is in need, now I can hear better than I ever could, my nose stepped up and now it's more sensitive than ever I can smell things better, I taste better and my touch is more sensitive. One member was in need and the rest of the body stepped up."

What a great picture of what the church should be and what a great picture of a humble heart. Gracious in trials to still praise God through it all. A friend of mine from Church said this about him, "he is like a broken jar of honey" once the vessel was broken the sweet goodness of Christ in him just flowed out. AMEN!

Field trip to get school supplies.

Today we took a 2 hour trip to the local Amish and Mennonite community. It was fun, I like seeing everyone working so hard on my day off plus, honestly, they live an intriguing lifestyle. A couple years back I took my wife to Lancaster Pa. for our anniversary, we spent a weekend there just site seeing and shopping around. The reason we drove 2 hours wasn't just to drive around and watch men harvest their corn, this particular community has a little book store about 2 or 3 miles outta town. It's run out of a large machine shed at an Amish families homestead. They carry a huge variety of home school curriculum and christian literature that sadly you can't find in any mainstream christian bookstore. After driving for 2 hours, stopping to eat lunch at Yoder's, we headed out to the book shop.... the entire road, for at least a mile including a bridge right before their house, was closed. We drove all through the country looking for a way around the construction. Finally we stopped at one of the road blocks and I walked about a hundred yards and stopped a guy on a steam roller to see how to get to that shop. He said as long as we stayed on the shoulder and didn't touch the new asphalt they were laying we could drive on down there..... I should have taken a picture of that shoulder. Huge ditch, steep, with a 6 foot shoulder and we're in a 15 passenger. ::sigh:: Praise God that he made us men so stubburn. I figured if I drove 2 hours just for this book store we'd drive through the corn field to get there if we had to. Well it didn't come to that but that would have been fun, instead we drove past the baracades on one end of the construction (the end where they were building the bridge) and parked our big ol' van behind their earth movers. We had to walk quite a ways and cross a plywood bridge down in a gully but it was worth it. I won!

Another Year Older!

Both of my boys will be turning a year older this weekend. Well Gage is 8 today and Hunter will be 3 Monday, so for me that is my weekend. It was a busy day, I was able to have today off work, I usually work Tuesday thru Saturday. We got up went to a soccer game, came home split a ton of wood. (I'll take this time for a little aside, Chloe did an amazing job helping split wood today, she emptied an entire trailer load of unsplit wood by her self! Mamma in training nothing she's gonna make a fine wife too!) Gage got a B-B gun from grandpa, his first, and spent every bit of free time he could come up with shooting at soda cans and pinned up papers. We had a cook out with grandma and grandpa too, bratwarst mmmm..... I got Gage a head lamp, I have one and he just loved it plus I figure it'll help him getting wood for mommy on cold nights, chasing cats from the chicken pin with his B-B gun after sunset, and finding his way to the bathroom down dark hallways! All Hunter can think of these days are dirt bikes, he loves em', you give him some toy trucks, tractors, and a toy dirt bike and his imagination runs away with him. We ended the night with ice cream cake.
They had fun today, and so did I but wow, really Gage is 8 today.... and Hunter is going to be 3. How precious and fleeting the time is. I still feel so young but my kids are getting so big. Train up a child while his is young sounded challenging when they were babes and it seemed like they would be young forever, now it seems like I may wake up and find that they are all grown up. LORD I pray for wisdom for these days are short and few.

Mamma in training.....

Well, it took a few days but they finally got me sick too. My kids spread their stomach flu all around the family, they got grandma & grandpa, they got mommy, I thought I was going to make it through but it's not looking good. I wouldn't say I'm full blown sick right now but I feel it coming. I got home from work and had to lay down, I couldn't help with anything. Everytime I move I feel like I may hurl. Oh yeah, I'm getting graphic. Anyway, Jamie had to take Gage to soccer practice and that left me with Chloe Clarissa and Hunter. Chloe was in fine form I might say, she cooked supper, cleaned up, brought me the baby, and tried to keep things organized. She's five by the way. I loved it. I gotta go now though, sitting up typing is making me feel sick.

Arrows in the hands of a mighty man....

Ok so he's not quite mighty, and he's just a man in training right now, but this is a picture of my oldest son, Gage. I see so much good in this boy, so much hope. He is my strong brave child, he's always in thought, serious, and full of joy. Obviously I didn't view my own childhood with the eyes I have now, but looking back I don't remember any of the things I see in him in my life as a boy. I give God all the praise for that. Jamie and I are first generation Christians, for the most part, and if you spent a day with us you would know that easy. We've made a lot of mistakes and a lot of them may hinder us the rest of our lives. A man that has never tasted alcohol will not have the same temptations as a former drunk, a man who has remained pure from his youth, saving himself for his wife, will not have the same scars as an impure man. We have set in our hearts to raise up a generation that loves the LORD. Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. We are claiming that promise for our kids, we may make mistakes along the way but vision is there. I read Gods word and see all of his promises for my children and I want them all, then I look at my life and my experience and wonder how. With man it's impossible, but with God... Psa 127:1 "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." I can't do anything to deserve GOD's favour on my children, I can't twist his arm and say there LORD, I trained my children out of your word, now they better not wonder... No, if the LORD is not in it then it's my strength trying to do GOD's work. Here's a picture for you, my father in-law works for the railroad. He's works with those iron rails and those great big wooden railroad ties, he does real heavy labour. His strength has been built by the work he does, if I were to try and use my strength to do that I would fail.. and have. Have you ever lifted one of those railroad ties. They are heavy. I had a couple here in my yard, I had to cut one in half with a chainsaw just to move it, my father in law carries them on his shoulder...
Psa 127:2 "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep." It is vain for me to worry and struggle to try and get GOD's work done, if I am faithful and ask he will give. Boy that's a tough one for me though, I like to get things done, and I don't like the thought of not knowing what the out come will be.
Psa 127:3 "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."
But my children are an inheritance from GOD, something that he has left for me. That means that they are precious to him and worthy to given. GOD wouldn't pass on no cheap dollar store nic nac for an inheritance to his children, no, children are priceless to GOD. Remember what Christ said about offending them, Mar 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. I'm not sure what the offence would be but if he's talking about just letting them come sit around him in this passage as the offence.... how worse are we. That's a pretty heavy punishment for offending a little one. They are indeed precious to GOD and he has intrusted them to us, he will show himself strong through our weakness.
Psa 127:4 "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth." Gage, and all my children will be able to go farther than I ever will, they will have a headstart on there mom and dad, by 20 odd years. Like an arrow shot from a bow, it travel beyound the archer. My children will be able to go beyound my reach and accomplish what I couldn't, and what I didn't even dream of.
Psa 127:5 "Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." Even in the few short years we've been living for the LORD, we've seen his mighty hand at work in our lives and in our childrens lives. I don't take that lightly. When my oldest son will go up to a young boy and boldly ask "do you know JESUS?" and my daughter ask her grandpa, "are you saved?" When they hear people speak lies or misunderstandings about what they know to be true of GOD and his word, and come to me and say "daddy, that's wicked", sure they're young yet and may not know all the right ways and words, but they have a heart for truth. 3Jo 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." I believe with all my heart that when the day comes, and the LORD puts a HOLY SPIRIT conviction on my children, that it will be so simple for them. The desire for truth is already there, and no truth is greater that Jesus' love for them.

They're all sick!

I've been working doubles every Tuesday and Thursday now for about a month and I'm scheduled for another month of it. When I work a double I get home about midnight or a little after. Well with all this work I've been getting kinda haughty, thinking wow that's alot of work that I'm doing, I'm really pushing my self. Well, Last night I got home, Jamie (my wife) was up waiting for me. We talked about our day, I got on the web to check some blogs and my emails, she made me a snack, then about 12:45 my oldest daughter woke up and threw up.... on her bed.... then on the floor.... As Jamie was working with her my youngest daughter wakes up and vomits in her crib... so I pick her up and clean her up.... Ughh. Anyway I had to be into work early this morning and it was already past 1a.m. I had to be up at 6a.m. so my gracious wife allowed me to go to sleep as she bravely took on my two sick baby girls. Well I guess sometime in the middle of the night my oldest son woke up and started in, Jamie didn't get to sleep until 4:30, was up with me at 6, laid back down at 7 and napped till 9 then has been running every since. She had three sick kids all day, canned apples, made apple butter, and kept house while still having energy to greet me with a sweet spirit when I got home. I tell you what I could work a double every day of the week and still not put as much energy into a day as her. When people ask what my wife does for a living I say "well she's a stay at home wife" they always say "oh well that would be nice", you know kind of in a condesending way. But then I just tell them, well we have four kids and one on the way, she homeschools them, cooks three meals a day, keeps a clean house, takes care of our chickens, and on and on and on.... She works harder than anyone that I've ever worked with. To the world that may not seem worth it, you know, what does she get in return, well she is a mamma, a keeper at home, more valueable than rubies, a gift from God to her household, and in a God ordained position as the woman of our home. Her treasures are laid up in heaven, and no salary of man could touch her reward. I praise God for my wife! :)

Sowing Seed!

I had the heaven sent privilege of witnessing to a young man today who was hungery for truth. This young man was open to the word and even asked for more. It was encouraging for me to be honest, it's been a while since I've had a willing recipient of the Gospel and about as long since I've been able to present it without carnal strength. You know what I mean by that? I may be alone in this but there are times when I get to share Christ with someone and I've been caught off guard. You know, I was ready in season but outta season I was a little rusty. Anyway that has happened to me, and I know the verses to share and I know the path to lead them down so I kinda struggle through and present God's Salvation. Needless to say I don't feel victorious after an occurrence like that, it was in my strength and for what ever reason I wasn't in complete fellowship with my LORD at that moment, it coulda been a bad day, I may have been bitter or tired... whatever it was my mind and energy wasn't in it, my spirit wasn't in it. But not today, today I couldn't have not testified to that young man, the hope of Glory Christ in me wouldn't have it any other way. God opened the door walked me in and sat me down! The young man probed in for more without prompting, ( I could make a whole nother post just on that prompting stuff). It started with God's conviction on his heart and ended with Christ been presented. I see this young man weekly, sometimes daily, and I will be following up with him, encouraging him not to silence that still small voice that is calling him to the cross. I just praise God for that opportunity to share my saviour!

Without hope in this world....

I don't think I've ever really posted about my main job. I work at a drug and alcohol rehab center that provides residential care. For the most part the people we get are there to escape a criminal charge or at least lesson a sentence. Up until this past month we provided care to adults and youth 13 and up. We stopped serving adults do to budget cuts and have taken on about thirty more youth clients. This kids are from inner cities, sub-burbs, little towns, and farms. (But mostly inner city). At first I my heart went out to them because I have a similar youth experience as they do and I wanted to see real change in them. Hope. For me nothing changed in my life until I trusted Christ as my saviour. I would try every now and then to make a change but it was all superficial, you know like turning over a new leaf or starting a new chapter or whatever. But I noticed that these kids didn't really change, they would have all the right things to say and be able to convince any one that they wouldn't use again, but in my short time there I have seen some kids three times. That's alot, they stay on average for 90 days but some stay upwards of 120 to 160. I've seen one stay 182. They keep coming and they keep pumping them full of this worlds philosophies and those kids go back out into the world with a new vocabulary but nothing has changed... nothing... even if they never use another drug again. They are still raging heathens, without hope in this world. Now I don't so much care about where they have been compared to where I came from, my heart hurts for where they are going compared to where I am going. This is the best this world has to offer these kids, a bunch of huministic knowledge that at best will help them get rid of an addiction they developed while trying to mask their lonelyness and pain they feel because of seperation. Seperation from the Father. They lack peace, and we teach them how to be content with what this life has to offer.

I work as the maintenance man, so I don't have a lot of personal interaction with the clients, but here in the past few weeks I've been working with them as part of some overtime I have been getting. The LORD has opened my eyes and given me a compassion for them that wasn't as strong before.

The bigger they are the harder they fall...

Elijah at Mount Carmel

One of the biggest dangers for a new Christian, or a Christian who is weak in the truth, is falling. Not tripping over something but falling into sin, and not so much falling as jumping but without forethought. A good friend of mine and my former pastor told me once that to be on guard all the time, and pray for a hedge of protection everyday, but especially after a spiritual victory. It's after a great victory, or even a not so great victory, that we are tempted or tried the hardest. We get proud or we maybe think that it was in our strength, or sometimes the victories God performs through us so scare the powers of darkness that they scramble to get us discouraged. I have experienced these sudden intense temptations and sometimes trials sent by God to show me that it was not in my strength that some great victory came to pass. I've had times when I felt so close to my LORD, serving him with love, delighting in his word and his presence in prayer, and then temptation comes and I forfeit it all for carnality's sake. At first I felt as though I was unique in this, but then I read a passage of scripture..... The Old Testament. And then there was Peter. Praise God he knows my soul in adversity. Ours is not a spirit of fear.
2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Our natural response to sin after being saved is to first hide our failures, cover them with works. When sin goes unconfessed it breeds guilt, and guilt brings shame, and the end result is spiritual death. I don't mean a loss of salvation, I mean self made coffin we put ourselves in that keeps us from claiming the promises of God. We bury ourselves in self pity and regret and never think to simply CRY OUT.
Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Mercy.... That sounds about like what I long for, what I desire, when I do something that I know my Father would not be pleased with, when I fail to do something that I know he wanted me to do. Mercy. We are not like the heathen who are without hope in this world, we are sons of adoption with access to the throne of GOD, and more than that we are his beloved children. I struggle with guilt and regret and up until recently I would go through weeks or months of ACTS of penance to try to restore my relationship with my Father, when all I needed to do was confess repent and move on. The trappings of religiousness, not so much religion, tell us that we must do, in order to receive. We receive mercy and grace because of who we are. Remember as a child of GOD you are holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight. AMEN! Elijah Under the Juniper Tree, after running from Jezebel.

A family that works together....

Today was a great day! Amazing, and fun. I went to my normal Men's Meeting this morning, it is a discipleship meeting that I've been going to for a few months now, I had a few errands to run while in town, got home around 10, and then my family got to work. I loved it. First, my three oldest children changed the brakes on my van (with a little help from me). A 10 minute job, with the proper tools, took about an hour and a half, it was well worth the extra time. My kids were excited about helping, and had fun doing it. I wanted this to not only be a time of training for my children, not to be mechanics but for team work, following directions, hard work, organization, and joyfulness.

After we got done with the van, we went straight to work on our garage.... I haven't seen the floor in there since my father in-law passed on the ownership of it to me. We worked on it all the way up until 7:00 p.m. My kids worked soo hard and diligently. It brought joy to my heart to see them work together with mommy and daddy without complaint, without asking to stop and go play, and with such sweet spirits. This did more for me than it did for them I'm sure. The LORD helped me humbly guide my children throughout these labors instead of barking orders at them. I love a good days hard work, but this was different, this was with a purpose, we were able to show our children love and guidence with joy, it didn't even seem like work.... until we sat down.... now mommy and daddy are feeling the effects of all the hard work. Maybe I can get a back rub outta this too! Click here for more photos

My Testimony

I've been a born again Christian now for almost 6 years. I was saved August 14 2002 in a little white church in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. I was a drug user, drunk, and a criminal. I lived alone in a trailer down by the river, party's every night and no restraints. I met a girl named Jamie who I started dating. She talked me into going to church to impress her dad. I started going every now and then, I didn't want to but I really liked her, and a lost boy will do just about anything for a girl. Then she got me to go every Sunday with her... This really cut into my Saturday party time but I did it begrudgingly. Then one Wednesday afternoon Jamie asked me to go to hear a guest preacher who was applying to fill the pulpit. I was mad, I really didn't want to go this was too much. Every Sunday wasn't enough. I really had to think if she was worth all this. I ended up going but I had made up my mind that I wasn't going to go back to any more services, this was it for me, either she took me for who I was or she didn't take me at all. That night the preacher preached a fiery message. He did great, but best of all it was what he did afterwards. This man was there for a chance to be the pastor of the Church, he could have decided that after he was done preaching he would go butter up the members so they vote for him, or he could have sat around and talked but instead he walked straight up to me and asked, "has anyone every told you what Jesus Christ did for you". I had no idea what he was asking, I said " I dunno". He told me of Jesus' love, that he looked down through time and saw me, saw my sin (which was a lot of sin he didn't have to sell me on that) and made the choice to take the penalty for my sin, to pay the price for my wicked life. I couldn't imagine a love like that. I thought love was physical, or if between guys then I thought it meant that I'd be willing to kill for one of them, never thought of dieing for one of them, or taking a fall and doing jail time for one. Sacrificial love... I was broken. He told me how to ask Christ to save me, I prayed, but I believe it was that night, kneeling beside my couch crying out to God to forgive me and thanking him for his sacrifice. After I got saved things started to change in my life. I didn't have a desire to do the things that I used to enjoy, and I got a hunger for things I knew nothing about. I started reading my bible and praying, no one was there to show me how so I kinda just started in Mathew and when I prayed, I talked to God like he was right there next to me (Restore the joy of my salvation). After my salvation, I married a beautiful young lady, Jamie, and we started raising our family to follow after Christ. I haven't had much discipleship up until the past year, when a group of Godly men came beside me and took the challenge of sharing what God has taught them over the years. My desire is to grow closer to Christ, and be a Light for my wife and children.
I love to hear testimonies of people's salvation. Feel free to share.