Stirring Hearts

We've felt within the last couple of weeks this feeling of being stirred. Now, it started off slow... but has continued to increase intensity as the week progressed. I am feeling more and more that God is reminding us of how He stirred our hearts and called us to missions. I am thankful for the whirl of God's hand as he is shaping us.

It's been a good week of gathering with people and talking about life and missions and our call to Italy. I have felt incredibly encouraged by the amount of support and willingness of others to hear us and then faithfully step along side us. We have a good amount of people right now who are praying about how much they are going to give in their partnership with us. I ask that you pray for our supporters, for those considering and those who are already giving! We are blessed to have so many faithful givers and seekers in our life! I am awed at God's provision and grace! He is so faithful!! Also pray that the stirring of hearts that we see would continue and that we would be fully funded soon! Pray that as we look at the next 55 weeks before Italy we would see an amazing opportunity and not a mountain of impossibility... knowing that our faithfulness to ask and God's faithfulness to provide will lead to 100%!! We look forward to seeing those percentages rise!!

Passport & Possibilities

Today we went to the USPS and Michael and I got our paperwork turned in and pictures taken for our passports! They said it should only be 2-3 weeks before they arrive! Steps like this make it seem more real, knowing that the days are going quickly and before we know it, we'll be in Italy!

Lots to think about in regards to the details of life. We have been thinking a lot about what the next few months will look like and how much we have to do! We are planning on getting some of our furniture on Craig's List this summer and I am actually thinking seriously about selling most everything at a mission garage sale this July. I will need to talk to my sister in law Natalie and get something going with some church ladies and organize this soon!

Michael has had some sleepless nights thinking about all that needs to be done and the details of what it means to get it done... We are thankful for friends and family who have taken time to hear our hearts and prayed over us about some big decisions that we will need to make within the next few months. We are trusting God! Seeking His face and turning our ears to hear Him and trusting that He is faithful! This may seem a bit vague, but it's not really... it's all about trust and taking a leap of faith. We are excited about what the next few months hold and what God has already done in order for us to be where we are! We are about 40% pledged! Thankful for faithful givers, thankful for praying friends and family, thankful that we are exactly where God wants us; trusting Him!

Please continue to pray for us, that we will clearly hear God and be faithful to follow! We are so grateful for your prayers!

Words of the day....

Happy Easter!

Praising God for the gift of Jesus! Celebrating the joy and blessing of the cross! He is Risen!! Looking forward to getting together with my family and having a wonderful meal tomorrow. Michael is making lamb, ham, potatoes and squash soup. Yummy!!

I feel so incredibly blessed. I get to wake up tomorrow morning and go to church and then celebrate the day with wonderful people. How great it is to have children, dye eggs, stuff eggs with lots and lots of candy, fill baskets and hide and watch children hunt for eggs.... I am blessed!

Thank you Jesus for the cross, thank you for dying once for all! Enjoy your day celebrating Christ's resurrection!! He is Risen indeed Hallelujah!!

Thankful Maundy Thursday

Reflecting on what this time in Lent is all about today as we celebrate Maundy Thursday. Picturing a day of Jesus eating the Passover meal with his disciples and washing their feet... how I love this image...

Before the Passover meal, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. By performing this lowly act of service, the Bible says in John 13:1 that Jesus "showed them the full extent of his love." By his example, Jesus demonstrated how Christians are to love one another through humble service.

During the Passover meal, Jesus took bread and wine and asked his Father to bless it. He broke the bread into pieces, giving it to his disciples and said, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Then he took the cup of wine, shared it with his disciples and said, "This wine is the token of God's new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you." These events recorded in Luke 22:19-20 describe the Last Supper and form the biblical basis for the practice of Communion.

What Does "Maundy" Mean?

Derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning "commandment," Maundy refers to the commands Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: to love with humility by serving one another and to remember his sacrifice.

Today is a day of remembering what sacrificial love looks like. Remembering that Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed with such earnestness that he sweat blood...


Last night at Oasis Youth Group we did the stations of the cross and walked through that eighteen hours that Jesus was arrested, beaten, crucified and buried... knowing that Sunday is coming!! I love Lent and Holy week is such a great time of preparation and studying the Word. How amazing it is to know we have a Risen Savior!! So may this Maundy Thursday be a vivid reminder of all that Jesus has done and may our hearts feel that anticipation for Easter morning!!

Sharing our story...

We had an opportunity last night to share our journey with a wonderful life group. It is always awesome to me to share our story about what God has done in our life! Giving Him all the Glory for where we are now and looking back at where we came from. Our story is one of redemption... as is every one's... but it made me want to dig out some old pictures from some fourteen years ago and look at where our love story began...

I graduated in May of 1996 and met Michael in June of 1996

Traveled together to Tempe Arizona in early September for a Husker game


Before the Husker Game

My Wedding Shower November 1996


Our Wedding November 30,1996

(only 5 months since we met/three months pregnant with Caleb)

Our First Christmas Together December 1996

Our First Easter Together March 3, 1997 and very pregnant!

A week after Caleb was born

Caleb's First Christmas (my Grandma, Mom, and I) December 1997

Summer 1998

It was so fun looking back at our early days together.. seeing how young we were, just a couple of kids really. I was eighteen when we got married and Michael was nineteen... and now we are going to celebrate fifteen years of marriage this November! I can't wait to see what the next fifteen years hold... he is my forever, and I praise God for all the blessings and hardships.. I wouldn't change a thing.

Thankful Thursday reflecting on the Women's Retreat

Quiet time with the Lord, nothing beats it! Today I am reflecting on my time away at this years women's retreat at Platte River State Park. It was such a joy to see women from my old church and women from my new church gathered together to learn about Finding Sanctuary and seeking the heart the God. How I need to know more about what finding sanctuary means and seek that in my Savior Jesus each day. I am so thankful for the time away last weekend. It was nice to stay up late talking with women each night, enjoying the fellowship that occurs when ladies get together!

I hope that each woman there found the same kind of rejuvenating experience as I did. I hope that it gave them time to stop the busyness of life and just be with the Lord. It was great to hear about authentic relationship not only with each other, but how important it is to have that with God. We had a chance on Sunday to hear some women share their testimonies and it was powerful to see what God has done in their lives! I wanted to share a few pics I had taken from the retreat. We had free time on Saturday and a lot of women went into Louisville to do some shopping or to Art Chicks. I went to Art Chicks and had a ball! Dress up and dessert, who wouldn't love that?! We had a Chico's fashion show that evening and our worship leader Lori Fuchs did makeovers and Angie did our hair. However, my camera died during the show.. so I don't have any pictures of myself modeling.. it was such a blast! :) All the planning was worth it, what a great weekend it was! Enjoy!

getting checked in

Our speaker Julie Sibert and friends

My sister Natalie and I

Friday evening group

Our worship leader Lori and accompanist Cathy






dessert and dress up

dress up time

the ladies :)


make up


hair time

fashion show time!

fashion runway

Sunday Morning

worship


my friend and teammate Nicole sharing her testimony

unexpected

I love the unexpected, the adventure, spur of the moment decisions which create moments of complete fanciful joy.

Today was a day like that. Michael had the day off, a change from his usual Wednesday. This morning I made the decision to allow my kiddos to sleep in, they had been so run down from staying up late and all the play performances over the weekend, so I figured an extra hour or so sleep would help. What I failed to remember was that today was standardized testing at school this morning, oops. So they missed a good hour of those... ugh.. but no worries, they will make them up at some point. And they loved the extra time this morning!

This afternoon Michael and I went out to lunch and had a great date. We caught up with each other and shared some good laughs! He's such a great man!

Then I headed to school around 3:15 to get the kids and ended up parking by my friend Teresa and we chatted until the kids came out. Our girls decided we should all go on a walk tonight and I was up for it, so we planned a walk after dinner. What I had failed to remember was the we had a team skype meeting planned for the same time we had thought to walk. So, I called her and we brainstormed to have dinner together at 5:00. We headed to their house and my wonderful honey made a pasta dinner for both families and Teresa did salad and bread. While he was cooking and chatting with Ken, us girls went on a walk and our boys played basketball. Then came home to eat dinner. It was the most enjoyable evening!!

We headed home and had our team skype meeting, which went great. Now I am vegging and relaxing. Getting ready to get the kids to bed. It was a fantastically unplanned day filled with surprises and great friends!

100th Post

This post marks my 100th blog. Wow, one hundred. This journey is going quickly and slowly all at the same time. Some days it feels painfully long until we get to Italy and other days it seems as though there aren't enough days left here in the States. It's a weird combo, but never the less it's how it feels.

I have settled into this wonderful place of anticipation for the journey ahead. I know that God is doing some amazing things and I can't wait to see what He has in store!! My heart is full, I am really very happy and can honestly say I have this peace about whatever lies ahead. Everything that is happening right now in our life has been so encouraging. Even the tough stuff like cars breaking down and stress of life can't seem to put out this feeling of how everything is falling together. So for that we are praising the Lord! God is so Big! I wish I could bottle up this feeling and keep it with me and drink it up when the days of frustration come... cuz trust me there will be those days too! However, right now, everything is good.. and I am enjoying deputation! Having friends & family who are walking this walk with us, encouraging and cheering us on has made this journey so much sweeter! Life is Good!

Moments of Ministry

Ministry: the service, functions, or profession of a minister of religion

The definition is clear, but what is service? functions? How do you flesh out that definition? My desire I say is to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but am I willing to do what it takes to be that?

My journey these past couple of weeks has been marked with a lot of ministry. I have been involved with the planning of women's ministry retreat this upcoming weekend and have been busy doing a lot. The joy of the work will be seen in just a few short days, seeing women from different congregations gathered together for the sole purpose of taking time away from life's demands to sit at the feet of Jesus and grow in their relationship with Him. I am beyond excited to see what the Lord has in store!!

Also, last week I was able to open up my home to a teenager who was going through a tough time and was able to just listen and encourage. I was blessed to have this moment of time to minister and share my heart and allow Jesus to use my home as a sanctuary for this teen for a few days. What a blessing it is to open up your life and live it with others!

We attended a skating party last Sunday for church and we able to take a car load of middle schoolers to the event, it was a fun drive! Shortly after we got the the Skating rink, a lady in her 50's fell and broke her wrist, it was a gross sight... well, she was in need of someone to take her to the ER and my sister Natalie and I offered to take her. As we were driving I had a chance to pray and ask God to work in my heart... because honestly I was really looking forward to just being at the rink, and I was in some ways begrudgingly taking this poor lady to the ER... but God is so gracious and I was able to work through my selfish heart and minister where I was needed. Sometimes ministry requires more patience then I think I possess... but God's grace is sufficient! :)

Function of ministry is hard work, it requires time, patience, selflessness, and emptying yourself for the sake of Jesus... the joy that comes from knowing that your doing what Christ has called you to do is enough!

Tonight is Oasis (youth group) at church. I am looking forward to gathering with my group of girls and spending time learning more about them and more about Jesus. I love this night of the week!! I can't wait to see what their weeks have been like and what cool things that God is doing in each of their lives!! They stretch me in my walk, they love me, encourage me, and I am excited to go before the throne of God in prayer with them!! Ministry is life and what a life it is!