In about three weeks we are taking our children on an exploratory trip to Honduras.
Thanks to Dale who was able to find tickets for a great price. He is a great deal finder!
It is important to us that you know this is not coming out of our missions budget or from the pockets of those who are supporting us in actually moving to the field.
We paid for it ourselves.
We want the kids to experience life in Honduras before we go to the field; meet the children in the schools we will be working in and ministering to, visit potential schools that they themselves will attend and just see a bit of the country where they will be living. All three of them are pumped about this upcoming trip and are counting down the days.
During the Christmas break we met up with the Lundrigan's at a Tim Horton's in St. Catherines. Most of you know this, but they are the couple with whom we will be working in Honduras. They were home over Christmas and we wanted to get together to visit and catch up. It was so great to see them again and re connect.
Since we had people asking us what they can donate for us to bring down, we asked Randy and Judy and Judy's reply surprised me. "Underwear"
Many of the children there do not wear underwear under their clothes simply because they do not have them.
Can you imagine? A child eight or nine or even older never owning a pair of underwear, something here in Canada that is a basic need. That would be unheard of here.
Since finding out about this need for underwear, my mother in law started a project with her church's woman's group. They are collecting new underwear and we in turn will take it down with us when we go in Feb. They are collecting for little girls, but it is also the school boys that need underwear as well.
Also, there is a Zehrs in Kitchener that found out about this project and they have donated between 25-30 packages! Wow!
The ladies in her church are so excited about the great response. It's funny to see them oohing and awing over underwear!
It's something so simple and basic but it will be huge blessing to those kids!
If you are interested in helping with the "underwear project" and you live in the Stratford or Kitchener area, donations can be dropped off at Kitchener Gospel Temple with a note that it's for the Ladies Ministry or if in Stratford you can drop them off at our house or Bethel Church.
Right now I would suggest checking out the sales at Zellers since they are closing their doors for good in a few days..it would be a good time to stock up and donate to the children of Honduras!
I am not entirely sure how we will go about handing them out to the kids, but I am looking forward to seeing the beautiful smiles on their faces!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
He hears..He answers!
I just want to share something really neat that happened to Dale this past week. It really was an answer to prayer before it was even uttered.
Dale was working at his desk when a call came in for him. As per usual when he talks on the phone, he removed his hearing aid and set it on the desk. When the call was finished he put it back in his ear. There was a problem however. It didn't work.
He shut it off and on...nothing but silence.
A call was made to one of the hearing aid places in town, and he took it in to them. They thought perhaps moisture had got into them so they put it in a dryer ( for hearing aids) overnight.
The following afternoon after not hearing from them, he called to see what was up and was informed that the dryer did not work. He scheduled an appointment for later in the day. They told him the problem was not moisture but something was digitally wrong with it.
He was given two options. He could send it in for repair for about $500 or replace his hearing aids for around $2500.00 Neither was a great choice. Dale told him why: that we were leaving for Honduras for missions. The man at the hearing aid place remembered hearing about that and understood his plight...the need to hear but also not being able to afford it at this time.
Then it was like a light came on. Just the previous week a lady came in and brought in brand new hearing aids that had never been worn. They had been her husband's and he refused to wear them because they frustrated him. Rather than him not wearing them she thought someone else might make better use of them. The set was identical to the ones Dale had before...just a different colour and there they were...just sitting in a desk drawer.
They were set for volume but not quite loud enough for Dale so the volume was adjusted. When put in the ears there was a lot of feedback and it was discovered that the feedback had never been set in the first place! No wonder the older gentleman had been so annoyed with them!
The problem was no one remembered who had returned them....Dale was blessed with them at no cost..absolutely free! Remember...these are BRAND NEW hearing aids! Amazing!
God knew Dale would be needing a new hearing aid. He provided a way for him to have it before we even asked . That would have been a huge cost and would have cost a fair amount of stress as it would have been unavoidable. I mean one has to hear, right..? To come up with the money for it though would have been a stretch as it was not budgeted for.
God knows what we have need of and before we even pray..He knows! He knows what is on our heart and He cares..even about hearing aids. He is so faithful!
Dale was working at his desk when a call came in for him. As per usual when he talks on the phone, he removed his hearing aid and set it on the desk. When the call was finished he put it back in his ear. There was a problem however. It didn't work.
He shut it off and on...nothing but silence.
A call was made to one of the hearing aid places in town, and he took it in to them. They thought perhaps moisture had got into them so they put it in a dryer ( for hearing aids) overnight.
The following afternoon after not hearing from them, he called to see what was up and was informed that the dryer did not work. He scheduled an appointment for later in the day. They told him the problem was not moisture but something was digitally wrong with it.
He was given two options. He could send it in for repair for about $500 or replace his hearing aids for around $2500.00 Neither was a great choice. Dale told him why: that we were leaving for Honduras for missions. The man at the hearing aid place remembered hearing about that and understood his plight...the need to hear but also not being able to afford it at this time.
Then it was like a light came on. Just the previous week a lady came in and brought in brand new hearing aids that had never been worn. They had been her husband's and he refused to wear them because they frustrated him. Rather than him not wearing them she thought someone else might make better use of them. The set was identical to the ones Dale had before...just a different colour and there they were...just sitting in a desk drawer.
They were set for volume but not quite loud enough for Dale so the volume was adjusted. When put in the ears there was a lot of feedback and it was discovered that the feedback had never been set in the first place! No wonder the older gentleman had been so annoyed with them!
The problem was no one remembered who had returned them....Dale was blessed with them at no cost..absolutely free! Remember...these are BRAND NEW hearing aids! Amazing!
God knew Dale would be needing a new hearing aid. He provided a way for him to have it before we even asked . That would have been a huge cost and would have cost a fair amount of stress as it would have been unavoidable. I mean one has to hear, right..? To come up with the money for it though would have been a stretch as it was not budgeted for.
God knows what we have need of and before we even pray..He knows! He knows what is on our heart and He cares..even about hearing aids. He is so faithful!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
The Perfect Gift
For three of them, it seemed I did. One little girl said "It's just what I've always wanted!" Her older sister seemed in awe..."How did you know I LOVE horses?", while the youngest girl, not even two, clutched her new doll to her chest and her whole face lit up..."Mine!"
It made me happy inside to see their excitement and smiles.
Then came the fourth child. He tore open his gift, the one so thoughtfully wrapped with him in mind...but instead of a smile he angrily tossed the gift aside and said with a whine..."Awww...it's not lego starwars!" He crossed his arms and a scowl marked his young eight year old face. He sat there pouting and I sat there, jaw dropped!
I have to admit it made me angry. To think the gift I had so carefully chosen for him, thinking he would love it; that it would be so carelessly tossed aside like a piece of garbage..that hurt!
It reminded me of something else. Christmas is but a few days away and if it were not for Jesus, there would be no Christmas. He is the "reason for the season"
God sent his only son to be born in Bethlehem.
The Perfect Gift, wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger...in what would normally be used for the animals feeding trough. Humble beginings for a King.
God knew that one day the baby Jesus would grow to be a man, and that one day that man would give his life for us all. He would die a brutal death on a cross, so that we; each and every one would in turn have eternal life...His gift to us...His perfect gift if we accept it.
Yet so often we go through the Christmas season losing our focus. We are busy and stressed, trying to get it all done, house cleaned and decorated, baking done, meal planned while we try to find that perfect gift for our loved ones. We can so easily forget the reason that we even have Christmas and it's Jesus.
What will we do this Christmas with the most Perfect Gift? It's up to us.
We can cast it aside; rejected or we can embrace Him...God's perfect gift to us..Jesus! The reason for the season.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
His timing!
Initially when we first knew we would be going to Honduras, our plan was to move in February. We had been told though by more than one source that it was unrealistic; that it takes most missionaries up to eighteen months to raise their support to the place were they could purchase their plane tickets to go.
I guess in hind site maybe we were too confident it couldn't possible take that long! That seemed like forever! A lot of it was that we just wanted to go, get to Tegucigalpa and get to work on all that He has for us to do there. We are still pumped to go and want to get there as soon as possible...but maybe now are a little more realistic about how long it really does take.
First of all our funds are not where they need to be for us to go in February. The other thing is, it would mean pulling the kids from their schools here in Canada and risk losing their school year. Then we would be immersing them right away in a new country, new school, new house, totally different culture, new everything! Overwhelming to say the least. Not too mention the emotions they will be dealing with. I know kids are resilient and our kids have had several moves in their lives and they always seem to adjust well..but this is going to be a huge change; the biggest one yet in their lives. The change with the most goodbyes.
That being said; we are planning an exploratory trip to Honduras at the end of February. Dale was able to find cheap tickets for us to go. The kids will see the Schools of Hope that we will be working in, mingle with the children there as well as visit potential schools that they themselves could be attending, tour the city and hopefully take them to Valle de Angeles, the market and maybe even the mall. They will have a few days to experience life in Honduras! Now, hopefully they don't change their mind about going..lol
Now the plan is to go sometime later on in the summer, Lord willing if the funds are there for us to actually go then! I believe that we will be there when HE wants us to be, as it is His timing, not ours even if we want to rush ahead of things. There are reasons we are still here, and not headed there in February. He sees the big picture. His timing is ALWAYS perfect and ALWAYS on time!
All that being said, we are looking for people who could partner with us monthly. The fact is that we do have a budget to raise in order to live there and do the work that is waiting for us. If the budget isn't raised, we can't go.
If anyone would consider partnering with us monthly, your support would be greatly appreciated and will help us bring Jesus to these kids!
Thank you and God Bless!
Here is a link if you wish to donate to Ruttans in Honduras! Hopefully this link will take you to our page
http://paoc.org/donate?mID=488
Sunday, October 28, 2012
What do our kids think of all this?
Many people have asked us how are kids are feeling about moving to Honduras.
Below are their initial reactions.
Jacob:
Before the words were even out of our mouths, Jake, our oldest son said. "Please tell me that we are going to move to Honduras!"
Our jaws dropped because out of all three of our children, we assumed Jake would be the one to give us the most grief.
That was not the reaction we were expecting. He totally shocked us by being a hundred percent on board with us. He wanted a change in scenery, to experience a new culture, a new beginning and a chance to start over.
A few people know how over the years we have struggled with him from day one. One issue after another. We would overcome one obstacle only to be thrown something else, something worse than before. At times things looked hopeless and the feelings of despair were overwhelming at times. We were at our wits end spent allot of time crying out to God to get through to him. Nothing seemed to help. Not art therapy when he was young, not counselling, not a trip to the police station, not the intervention weekend with his older biological sisters...
But then this summer something happened.
We allowed him to help at a christian camp. At first we were not going to allow him to go, but we really felt like God was saying "let him go"
I spoke about this in another entry so I guess I am repeating myself here...but he came back from that camp a changed young man.
I can say with confidence that he is not the same guy he was before the summer. His demeanor, his attitudes, the way he spends his spare time, what he watches on TV, the music he listens too....
He gave his life to God, totally, one hundred percent....and He changed him from the inside out.
Where counselling and therapy failed...God prevailed, and it's beautiful!
I am so proud of him.
Jake is a very gifted guitar player and artist.
Favorite colour.... lime green.
Favorite music ...Hillsongs United
Favorite movie...Avatar
Benjamin
Our middle child Ben is a blond haired, blue eyed sports enthusiast. He has always been very good any sport he sets his hand to try, very good natured, with a sunny personality. He is a thoughtful kid, always asking if there is anything he can do to help. Ben is full of energy and fun. He was NOT so keen on going to Honduras in the beginning.
He loves his sports especially snowboarding and how would he do that in Honduras? And friends...he has a couple really close friends. It would be HARD to say goodbye to them. In his words, we were forcing him to go, not giving him a choice or a say in the decision. He was very adamant about how he felt.
However in August he met other MK's ( missionary kids) who were in the same boat as him. Some of them had spent most of their life outside of Canada. One had never lived here but had spent his whole life in Senegal and much preferred it there to here. Between the friendships he made with the other MK's, and the influence and leadership of Matt Janes, the MK's youth pastor, and God speaking to his young heart...Ben's heart was changed.
I will never forget when Ben stood in front of everyone at Segue; adults, youth and children. Dale and I looked at each other, not knowing he was going to do this and not knowing what was going to come out of his mouth when he said.."When my parents first told me we were going to Honduras, I did not want to go, but now I am looking forward to it."
It was all I could do to keep the tears from flowing.
Out of all the kids, Ben is giving up the most because of his love of winter and all things to do with winter. He for one is praying for a ton of snow before we go!
Favorite Colour ... Blue
Favorite Movie....Hunger games
Favorite Sports...Snowboarding, Basketball, Skateboarding.
Elisa is our youngest child. She is a happy 11 year old who loves to sing, dance and shop.
She is our drama queen. She is very outgoing and loves to talk...though she does have her shy moments.
Her first reaction was to be excited...over the top as Elisa can often be.
Then reality sunk into her heart. While she was excited and happy to go, she thought of all the goodbyes, all the things familiar she would be leaving behind and it made her sad.
Going to the mall and hanging out with her friends, walking around the avon river, playing at upper queens park, her grandparents, her pets....
If you asked her today how she was feeling she would tell you.
Happy. Sad.
Favorite Colour....Purple
Favorite Music....Yancy, Deana Hoyles
Favorite Movie....Soul Surfer
Below are their initial reactions.
Jacob:
Before the words were even out of our mouths, Jake, our oldest son said. "Please tell me that we are going to move to Honduras!"
Our jaws dropped because out of all three of our children, we assumed Jake would be the one to give us the most grief.
That was not the reaction we were expecting. He totally shocked us by being a hundred percent on board with us. He wanted a change in scenery, to experience a new culture, a new beginning and a chance to start over.
A few people know how over the years we have struggled with him from day one. One issue after another. We would overcome one obstacle only to be thrown something else, something worse than before. At times things looked hopeless and the feelings of despair were overwhelming at times. We were at our wits end spent allot of time crying out to God to get through to him. Nothing seemed to help. Not art therapy when he was young, not counselling, not a trip to the police station, not the intervention weekend with his older biological sisters...
But then this summer something happened.
We allowed him to help at a christian camp. At first we were not going to allow him to go, but we really felt like God was saying "let him go"
I spoke about this in another entry so I guess I am repeating myself here...but he came back from that camp a changed young man.
I can say with confidence that he is not the same guy he was before the summer. His demeanor, his attitudes, the way he spends his spare time, what he watches on TV, the music he listens too....
He gave his life to God, totally, one hundred percent....and He changed him from the inside out.
Where counselling and therapy failed...God prevailed, and it's beautiful!
I am so proud of him.
Jake is a very gifted guitar player and artist.
Favorite colour.... lime green.
Favorite music ...Hillsongs United
Favorite movie...Avatar
Benjamin
Our middle child Ben is a blond haired, blue eyed sports enthusiast. He has always been very good any sport he sets his hand to try, very good natured, with a sunny personality. He is a thoughtful kid, always asking if there is anything he can do to help. Ben is full of energy and fun. He was NOT so keen on going to Honduras in the beginning.
He loves his sports especially snowboarding and how would he do that in Honduras? And friends...he has a couple really close friends. It would be HARD to say goodbye to them. In his words, we were forcing him to go, not giving him a choice or a say in the decision. He was very adamant about how he felt.
However in August he met other MK's ( missionary kids) who were in the same boat as him. Some of them had spent most of their life outside of Canada. One had never lived here but had spent his whole life in Senegal and much preferred it there to here. Between the friendships he made with the other MK's, and the influence and leadership of Matt Janes, the MK's youth pastor, and God speaking to his young heart...Ben's heart was changed.
I will never forget when Ben stood in front of everyone at Segue; adults, youth and children. Dale and I looked at each other, not knowing he was going to do this and not knowing what was going to come out of his mouth when he said.."When my parents first told me we were going to Honduras, I did not want to go, but now I am looking forward to it."
It was all I could do to keep the tears from flowing.
Out of all the kids, Ben is giving up the most because of his love of winter and all things to do with winter. He for one is praying for a ton of snow before we go!
Favorite Colour ... Blue
Favorite Movie....Hunger games
Favorite Sports...Snowboarding, Basketball, Skateboarding.
Elisa is our youngest child. She is a happy 11 year old who loves to sing, dance and shop.
She is our drama queen. She is very outgoing and loves to talk...though she does have her shy moments.
Her first reaction was to be excited...over the top as Elisa can often be.
Then reality sunk into her heart. While she was excited and happy to go, she thought of all the goodbyes, all the things familiar she would be leaving behind and it made her sad.
Going to the mall and hanging out with her friends, walking around the avon river, playing at upper queens park, her grandparents, her pets....
If you asked her today how she was feeling she would tell you.
Happy. Sad.
Favorite Colour....Purple
Favorite Music....Yancy, Deana Hoyles
Favorite Movie....Soul Surfer
Friday, October 5, 2012
"Forever family" How our story began...
This Thanksgiving there are so many things I am thankful for but today I wanted to focus on one thing...my family.
I had always wanted three or four children for as long as I could remember. But after 8 years of marriage it was a dream that I had long given up on; although I felt the pain of being childless all the time.
Dale and I were living just outside of Essex in the country. He was children's pastor at the church and I offered child care in our home. I was caring for one family that had a little boy and two foster children. After chatting with the mom about the need for foster parents in the area an idea was born in my heart that this was something we could do! We had a ton of space in that home, and I thought we could make a difference in a child's life. I believed it was something we should pursue.
We made the call to CAS and then began the invasive home study and a ten week long fostering course with other prospective foster parents.
It was during the home study we were informed that they would never place children in our home under the age of 6. They felt that us not being able to have our own children we would not want to give the children up when it was time for them to go home with their parents.
That was so disappointing! I felt like I was a better fit with younger children as I had been "babysitting" younger kids for years and really loved that age. I knew that older children came with more baggage and would be more of a challenge and I honestly didn't think I could handle an older school aged child; not with the attitudes and acting out. I felt defeated before we even began.
We were not even finished with our course when the call came from CAS. They were in desperate need for a home for a brother and sister. Could we take them right away?
Their ages were eighteen months and two years old!
I don't have to tell you how excited and happy I was. It was a dream come true!
They came for a visit one evening to meet us first before they made the move to our home.
Blue eyed, curly blond haired Benny and his brown eyed little sister. Both of them were so cute.
Dale had set me down before we met them and said " We cannot get attached to these kids" He had a plan to just hold them at arms length and not get his heart involved.
After meeting them that line of thinking went out the window because it was love at first sight!
Benny was hyper, always on the go and very clumsy; accident prone. I remember one time he walked right into a glass door at church, rubbed his head and asked " How did that get there?"
That has been a saying that we now use all the time!
Elisa was always cute and just an all around happy child. Just learning to walk, she was a bit wobbly on her feet.
Every week they had visits with their mom, older sisters and brother. We would get them ready, a driver would come and pick them up and then drop them back off again when the visit was over.
Four months in we received a call asking us if we had room for the brother Jake. He; like Ben and Elisa was being made "crown ward no access" At the time he was still living with his older sisters who still had visits with mom. In order to make things easier they wanted to move him in with us. It would have been devastating to have to tell him that his sisters could go see mom but he had to stay behind. Can you imagine having to explain that to a four year old?
Anyway, we definitely had the space, so the last day of school that summer, Jake came to live with us. He was exactly like his worker described ....a little pistol! Cute as a button though...but my goodness what a handful. His first night in our home he peed on the carpet in his room!
It is a long story but eventually mom signed off on the kids. We didn't even have to go to court to sing the affidavit.
We had a lawyer tell us, "look, if you want to adopt these kids...speak up!"
Of course we did. We wanted to keep them together as a family..not have each of them end up in separate foster homes never again to see each other.
And so the adoption process began. We had another home study and an adoption course to complete. It took what seemed like forever.
By the time everything was final, Elisa was already four years old.
There was a lot of red tape. The courts had to sign off on the dad because he was no where to be found, there were spelling mistakes between the health card and the birth certificate, one thing after another , another hoop to jump through, the glitches kept coming.
My greatest fear in it all was that we would lose the kids. It was taking so very long. I was afraid that mom would change her mind and want the kids back, and that would be it, they would be gone, lost to us forever, our dreams of being a forever family destroyed.
Thankfully, that didn't happen and when everything was final we had them dedicated to the glory of God in our church in Essex. Family was there along with our kids siblings ( who by the way we still maintain relationships with) and all of the workers who had worked along side from the beginning.
Afterwards one of the workers commented on what a miracle it was and it was obvious who we worked for.
Indeed it was a miracle. It was a dream realized. Not just one child, but three....instant family!
It has been several years since that journey began as our children are now 11, 12 and 14. In some ways it seems like they have always been with us. It has been an adventure since the day they walked through the door and stepped into our hearts.
It hasn't always been easy. There have been a lot of challenges and things to work through. We aren't perfect parents, we have made our share of mistakes, but we are there for each other, we love each other through it all. Today and always I am thankful for them!
I had always wanted three or four children for as long as I could remember. But after 8 years of marriage it was a dream that I had long given up on; although I felt the pain of being childless all the time.
Dale and I were living just outside of Essex in the country. He was children's pastor at the church and I offered child care in our home. I was caring for one family that had a little boy and two foster children. After chatting with the mom about the need for foster parents in the area an idea was born in my heart that this was something we could do! We had a ton of space in that home, and I thought we could make a difference in a child's life. I believed it was something we should pursue.
We made the call to CAS and then began the invasive home study and a ten week long fostering course with other prospective foster parents.
It was during the home study we were informed that they would never place children in our home under the age of 6. They felt that us not being able to have our own children we would not want to give the children up when it was time for them to go home with their parents.
That was so disappointing! I felt like I was a better fit with younger children as I had been "babysitting" younger kids for years and really loved that age. I knew that older children came with more baggage and would be more of a challenge and I honestly didn't think I could handle an older school aged child; not with the attitudes and acting out. I felt defeated before we even began.
We were not even finished with our course when the call came from CAS. They were in desperate need for a home for a brother and sister. Could we take them right away?
Their ages were eighteen months and two years old!
I don't have to tell you how excited and happy I was. It was a dream come true!
They came for a visit one evening to meet us first before they made the move to our home.
Blue eyed, curly blond haired Benny and his brown eyed little sister. Both of them were so cute.
Dale had set me down before we met them and said " We cannot get attached to these kids" He had a plan to just hold them at arms length and not get his heart involved.
After meeting them that line of thinking went out the window because it was love at first sight!
Benny was hyper, always on the go and very clumsy; accident prone. I remember one time he walked right into a glass door at church, rubbed his head and asked " How did that get there?"
That has been a saying that we now use all the time!
Elisa was always cute and just an all around happy child. Just learning to walk, she was a bit wobbly on her feet.
Every week they had visits with their mom, older sisters and brother. We would get them ready, a driver would come and pick them up and then drop them back off again when the visit was over.
Four months in we received a call asking us if we had room for the brother Jake. He; like Ben and Elisa was being made "crown ward no access" At the time he was still living with his older sisters who still had visits with mom. In order to make things easier they wanted to move him in with us. It would have been devastating to have to tell him that his sisters could go see mom but he had to stay behind. Can you imagine having to explain that to a four year old?
Anyway, we definitely had the space, so the last day of school that summer, Jake came to live with us. He was exactly like his worker described ....a little pistol! Cute as a button though...but my goodness what a handful. His first night in our home he peed on the carpet in his room!
It is a long story but eventually mom signed off on the kids. We didn't even have to go to court to sing the affidavit.
We had a lawyer tell us, "look, if you want to adopt these kids...speak up!"
Of course we did. We wanted to keep them together as a family..not have each of them end up in separate foster homes never again to see each other.
And so the adoption process began. We had another home study and an adoption course to complete. It took what seemed like forever.
By the time everything was final, Elisa was already four years old.
There was a lot of red tape. The courts had to sign off on the dad because he was no where to be found, there were spelling mistakes between the health card and the birth certificate, one thing after another , another hoop to jump through, the glitches kept coming.
My greatest fear in it all was that we would lose the kids. It was taking so very long. I was afraid that mom would change her mind and want the kids back, and that would be it, they would be gone, lost to us forever, our dreams of being a forever family destroyed.
Thankfully, that didn't happen and when everything was final we had them dedicated to the glory of God in our church in Essex. Family was there along with our kids siblings ( who by the way we still maintain relationships with) and all of the workers who had worked along side from the beginning.
Afterwards one of the workers commented on what a miracle it was and it was obvious who we worked for.
Indeed it was a miracle. It was a dream realized. Not just one child, but three....instant family!
It has been several years since that journey began as our children are now 11, 12 and 14. In some ways it seems like they have always been with us. It has been an adventure since the day they walked through the door and stepped into our hearts.
It hasn't always been easy. There have been a lot of challenges and things to work through. We aren't perfect parents, we have made our share of mistakes, but we are there for each other, we love each other through it all. Today and always I am thankful for them!
Here is a photo of the kids with their older sisters Maria and Anna.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
One Wednesday in October..
It has been a rough day or so. A discovery was made that made my heart stop and left me reeling inside with a gnawing sense of worry.
With the simple click of the mouse...mystery solved. What was hidden was made known, the truth glaring at me from the screen of the laptop.
My husband would say I am worrying over nothing and perhaps I am....but isn't that my job as a mom?
I love how God does that. He puts something on our heart to clue us in to what is going on with our children. It's like a nudge or a whisper in the ear. It's that sense of knowing not all is as it appears. Something is up..and then He shows us.
Jer. 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
But Satan has other plans and they are the opposite of God's plans. Plans to steal, kill and destroy.
He doesn't want us to have that future or a hope God has for us so he weaves his deception, his lies into our hearts and minds so we think something is ok..or harmless when it is far from it.
We can't serve two masters.
We can't be a part time christian- only at church ....but at school, work or wherever we may be live like the devil. The things that we do, the places we go, the things we watch on tv or the internet..etc
Either we are serving Him or we are not.
Rev 3:15, 16
I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot or cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither not or cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!
We need to stop and think would we want our christian friends, or our pastor knowing what we are up to when no one else is around? If Jesus were standing beside us in the flesh would we still do it?
Satan is the father of lies. His goal is to destroy us.
Sometimes it's subtle. He may use "stuff" to distract us. Stuff that isn't necessarily bad in itself, but maybe it replaces the time that we once spent in the word, praying or talking to God.
The descent may be slow, where we don't even notice how far we've slipped and fallen, until we find ourselves doing things or thinking things we know would break the heart of God.
A song that comes to mind is that old Steve Camp song "the fire that once burned bright, we've let it grow dim. And the very Word we said that we would die for, all has been forgotten as the world's become our friend"
I don't want to see my child struggle. I know high school is a tough place to be a christian; even more so than when I was there many years ago. I know his desire to serve Jesus. The change in him this past summer was nothing short of miraculous. I believe with all my heart is was all part of the preparation he is in for when we go to Honduras. God did an amazing work in him!
But, I also know his desire to fit in with his peers. The desire to be liked and accepted. There is also that teenage arrogance there thinking he is on top of the world and can handle anything that is thrown at him.
I know it is spiritual warfare and the battle for his soul is on. The battle for all our souls really. Whether we are going on the mission field or not. Whether we are rich or poor, young or old...
Eph. 6:12
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies., but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Heb 12:1,2a
Therefore since we are surrounded by such a large crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
That is the prayer for my family...that we would constantly keep our eyes on Him..that we would not look to the left or right or get side tracked by things in this life..that we would continue to pursue Him as we walk this journey, the road to Hope.
With the simple click of the mouse...mystery solved. What was hidden was made known, the truth glaring at me from the screen of the laptop.
My husband would say I am worrying over nothing and perhaps I am....but isn't that my job as a mom?
I love how God does that. He puts something on our heart to clue us in to what is going on with our children. It's like a nudge or a whisper in the ear. It's that sense of knowing not all is as it appears. Something is up..and then He shows us.
Jer. 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
But Satan has other plans and they are the opposite of God's plans. Plans to steal, kill and destroy.
He doesn't want us to have that future or a hope God has for us so he weaves his deception, his lies into our hearts and minds so we think something is ok..or harmless when it is far from it.
We can't serve two masters.
We can't be a part time christian- only at church ....but at school, work or wherever we may be live like the devil. The things that we do, the places we go, the things we watch on tv or the internet..etc
Either we are serving Him or we are not.
Rev 3:15, 16
I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot or cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither not or cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!
We need to stop and think would we want our christian friends, or our pastor knowing what we are up to when no one else is around? If Jesus were standing beside us in the flesh would we still do it?
Satan is the father of lies. His goal is to destroy us.
Sometimes it's subtle. He may use "stuff" to distract us. Stuff that isn't necessarily bad in itself, but maybe it replaces the time that we once spent in the word, praying or talking to God.
The descent may be slow, where we don't even notice how far we've slipped and fallen, until we find ourselves doing things or thinking things we know would break the heart of God.
A song that comes to mind is that old Steve Camp song "the fire that once burned bright, we've let it grow dim. And the very Word we said that we would die for, all has been forgotten as the world's become our friend"
I don't want to see my child struggle. I know high school is a tough place to be a christian; even more so than when I was there many years ago. I know his desire to serve Jesus. The change in him this past summer was nothing short of miraculous. I believe with all my heart is was all part of the preparation he is in for when we go to Honduras. God did an amazing work in him!
But, I also know his desire to fit in with his peers. The desire to be liked and accepted. There is also that teenage arrogance there thinking he is on top of the world and can handle anything that is thrown at him.
I know it is spiritual warfare and the battle for his soul is on. The battle for all our souls really. Whether we are going on the mission field or not. Whether we are rich or poor, young or old...
Eph. 6:12
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies., but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Heb 12:1,2a
Therefore since we are surrounded by such a large crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
That is the prayer for my family...that we would constantly keep our eyes on Him..that we would not look to the left or right or get side tracked by things in this life..that we would continue to pursue Him as we walk this journey, the road to Hope.
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