I need my armor today!!

As God opens many doors in our support-raising, He is also closing many as well and it is hard to rest and wait on Him for His timing. We feel attacks from Satan and we want to withstand - withstand against the discouragement that can sink in and from the negative thoughts and realize we are truly in a spiritual battle. I definitely need my armor today AND everyday!!!
Ephesians 6:10-18 -- Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Jars of Clay at GFA...

Tuesday night is truly one of our favorite nights of the week. That is the night GFA has prayer night for 2 hours and we get to be a part of it by being able to stream it from the computer to the TV. We so enjoy our time to just "be together" with our GFA family and I cannot begin to tell you how many times we have been encouraged by the message and just the ultimate focus on prayer that is the center of Gospel for Asia. Well, this past Tuesday night was absolutely no exception (and funny that many of our friends at GFA have posted this on their blogs too - guess it made an impact on a lot of us!).
John Beers, one of the leaders and main speakers at GFA shared this week. One of the things that made such an awesome impression on Dave and I when we were there for our interview week was how "open and real" the leaders at GFA are and it is very apparent whenever we have the privilege of hearing any of them speak. I just wanted to take the time and share a little of his message.
All day long I’ve been thinking this thing: “John, remember who you are.” Your stories are all different. Whoever you are, maybe the most highly skilled person in the world – but you were lost and headed to Hell, and Jesus saved you. We are all lost, we are clay pots that’s all we are. And you know, clay isn’t a very precious metal – it’s dirt. We are dirt and water. The only good thing is that the Lord fills us. None of it is us. If He gives us good things – that’s His. That’s what this is all about. I just want to encourage you. Tonight when you go home, ask the Lord to show you who you are. Who you are is a great thing, praise God, but never forget the work in your life. And when you are tempted, remember what you were. Let these be your stones of remembrance. Sometimes I think the longer we have been a Christian, we sometimes tend to forget who we really are without Christ. I am nothing without Jesus! He is my reason for living and my Savior! It is my prayer that we all keep this attitude of humility, knowing that whatever good thing we receive is simply given to us by an awesome God who loves us and knows each and every detail of our very being and wants to bless us (I am not speaking of temporary blessings in this world that have no meaning but of eternal things that will last forever). He chooses to give these things to us just because He loves us but yet He desires for us to know Him so intimately and completely that we realize that we can do nothing apart from Him and ultimately will rely on Him for ALL things.
I pray this encourages you as it did me and that it would move us to a closer and deeper relationship with our creator - that is my prayer.
John 15:5 -- I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

The best breakfast ever...

For our anniversary Andrew and Kira woke up early and decided to make breakfast for us. It could not have been any better. They made a menu, (oh and just so you know, the stuff on the side of the fridge was raspberry green tea)

cooked, (which means putting waffles in the toaster and cutting an apple ;) ), and served it beautifully. (Beautiful presentation of the waffle and apples in the shape of a flower)

Truly, I think this made our day. Here are the pictures. What I think is most funny is that I snapped a photo of our kids but not of us that day :) Enjoy - we sure did!

13 years and counting...

As some of you know, Dave and I celebrated our 13th anniversary on September 6th. 13 years - wow!! It seems like yesterday that I met this really tall handsome man with such a heart for God by one of the teens at church introducing us. It seems like yesterday that he told me he could not remember my name but remembered me as "the girl in the brown courdoroy overalls crawling across the pew to say Hi to someone at church during the fellowship hymn". It seems like yesterday when we became engaged only 2-1/2 months after "dating". It seems like yesterday that I walked down the aisle committing myself to this man for life before God. It seems like yesterday that we bought our first home together. It seems like yesterday that I told him we were going to have a baby... and then another one just 22 months separation from each other. It seems like yesterday that we put him through college. It seems like yesterday that we moved to South Carolina, away from friends, family, and all we knew to follow our hearts and ultimately for God to lead us to the plan the He now has for us in full-time missions/ministry with Gospel for Asia. Through all these times and so many more, God has blessed Dave and I tremendously. Don't get me wrong, it is not always easy! You have 2 very different people with 2 very different backgrounds, thoughts, and emotions coming together to live as one! No it wasn't always easy but I cannot begin to think what would have become of us without the faith we have in Jesus Christ. It is something that binds us together so strongly that even during those difficult times, we remain strong in Him. Truly to God be the glory for the things He has done!!!!! It is by Him and Him alone that we can stand together now more in love than when we first met, and truly each be others best friend! I love you David and am so excited to continue this journey with you and continue to grow and love you more and more each day as Jesus shows me how by His example. Thank you for being my teacher, our spiritual leader, an awesome father, and the very best friend I could have ever asked for!
Ecclesiastes 9:9 -- Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

A slice of wonder....

Since being in South Carolina for the past 4 years now, we have totally fallen in love with the food here. Things like shrimp and grits, low-country boil, and some of the yummiest BBQ you could ever taste but I must say we have utterly and completely missed some of our favorites from back home. Cheese steaks, soft pretzels, and good pizza are just hard to find down here.
WooHoo - the search is over for one of the items as we found a new pizza place owned and operated by transplants from the north like us. It was the best Sicilian pizza that we have had in a long time. So yummy - sometimes it's the small things :)

Getting Easier...

WOW, I have so much to post which will not all be in this specific post but keep following :). The transition to the new school is going so much easier. God has blessed us with 2 very adaptable kids and I am so grateful for that even though change is not always easy. Andrew is doing amazing - his grades are incredible and he absolutely adores all the science experiments he's getting to do! Kira is doing very well - her grades are wonderful as well and she told me yesterday a number of teachers have affectionately started calling her "sweetheart" (which we have known for a long time ;) ). Thank you all for your prayers during this time.
Please also continue to pray for us as we move forward and continue to prepare to leave for Texas when God says "Go". We still need support so keep us in your prayers that many more would jump on board to support, not us, but the work God is doing!! God has been doing some awesome things and we will continue to give Him the glory and wait for Him!!
More fun posts and updates to come... ;)

Transition...

Everyone has times of transition. Well, these past 2 weeks have been our time! We returned from our time up north and started school 2 days later which was a transition in itself since the kids are now going to public school. So far it has been a good transition - I actually have been very impressed with the work that Andrew has gotten in the gifted program (which has been a lot). He has been doing some really neat science experiments in class which he is absolutely loving. He also has had 2 projects and a 5 paragraph paper that were due already. It is good but has definitely been challenging to get back into school mode - this week has been much better since the kids are realizing that homework is not an option but a necessity :) Kira is doing very well at her school and I just received an e-mail from her teacher stating that it is a joy to have Kira in her class. She has reading and math homework every night with some other subjects thrown in at various times during the week.
The bus ride has been a transition as well. We are learning that the same rules apply to the bus as they do in school. They have assigned seats (one thing they have not really liked that much) and since the bus is full, they have to sit 3 to a seat - certainly does not leave for much room. Up until this week they have had a bus without air conditioning as well which is definitely not fun in 95+ degree South Carolina weather. Thankfully, they now have switched buses and I think it has helped a lot to have some cool air as they ride.
Another transition that occurred for us is that Dave had to travel for work this week and left the Saturday (early morning) after school started. I must admit I have always thought I have got it together - I can handle Dave being away. Well, maybe most days, but other days, I just fell apart. Things would come up and I just wanted my husband to be here to give me a hug or just talk to. The kids missed him immensely too - they would pray that he would come home early and would ask God to help them not to miss him so much. Thankfully he is home now and we are a happy family together once again.
I know transition is good but I just think all these things at once have been a little overwhelming for all of us. We would continue to appreciate your prayers as we move forward during this time. We have learned that Dave may be traveling more often so that may be hard to get used to especially since we don't have family around and a lot of our friends that would help us out with the kids still attend Northwood and it makes it impossible for them to take our kids to a separate school.
God is good and so faithful to us and we will continue to rely on Him for the strength He promises to give His children.