Celebrating Tyler and Raegan!

    Why is it we always want events in our life to hurry up and get here?  We can't wait until our babies are potty-trained, able to walk,  can clean up their rooms themselves, and are able to drive themselves to all their activities.  Then all of a sudden we ask, "Where did the time go?"  My babies are all grown up! 

     Right now I want to make time stand still yet I'm excited to move on to the next adventure in our life!  Why can't I have it both??? 

     What God is telling me right now is to embrace, trust, cherish and love.   He is telling me to enjoy every moment, listen to every word, learn from every mistake and laugh at every opportunity. 

     I have two daughters graduating this weekend.  Tyler from Dental Hygiene Program and Raegan from High School.

     I want to tell you what I love about both of these girls. 

     Tyler is one of the hardest working young ladies I have ever met.  She worked constantly while she put herself through college.  She knows how to manage her time and money and takes NOTHING for granted.  She has the most infectious laugh on this planet!  She loves her siblings with her whole heart and is the best role model for them.  She is seeking out what God has in store for her life.  She is the bravest, most compassionate, loving person.  I made her promise me when she was 1 day old that she would be my best friend and she has never failed me.  I know that "distance" is going to be a new factor in our relationship but I know that "closeness" will NEVER be an issue.  My prayer for Tyler is that God puts all the right people in her life, that she stays true to herself and God and that she uses her amazing personality to shine God's light on everyone she meets.

 

 

 

    Raegan is absolutely the most artistic minded person I think I know.  She sees this world differently than most.  I see things simply and she sees the detail and beauty in it.  Raegan has always been the quietest child I have but believe me....she hasn't missed out on anything!  She sits back and enjoys each moment of watching this families chaotic dinner conversations!  She is the calming force in crazy times.  She's MY rock in stressful times.  She's our teacher for all music and crafts.  She is our sweet beautiful light!  My prayer for Raegan is that she embraces ministering to the women and children in the DR before she heads out into the world to pursue her career in art.  I pray that she grows in her relationship with God and that she looks to Him before making all life decisions.

Affirmation with Bigfoot.......Who's crazy now?

     Yep....I was told I was a little bit crazy again today!  (Man I wish I had a sponsor for every time I heard that!  haha.....sorry....had to throw in a little missionary humor there!)  I totally take it as a compliment though.  Anything you do in life that requires faith, usually looks a little unusual to people ....so Praise the Lord for crazy people!

     One of the big things that people think I'm crazy about is taking my kids to serve.....I just have to say.....Are ya SERIOUS??????  I'm thinking this is about the greatest gift I could give them.  Have you hung around many kids these days????   Do you watch TV?    Now....I work at the school and I have to say....I love all those children so much!  SERIOUSLY!  They are sweet, kind, considerate, they have HUGE hearts and they TRULY want to do nice things.  And they usually do!!!  So please don't think I'm slamming any body's children.    But if we had the chance to show them that the world is not revolving around them, their looks, their talents, their popularity.....DO IT.  Looks fade, talents only go so far and being popular is fun...but if we can show our kids how to make a huge impact in this world by feeding the hungry and loving the broken....THAT is something that they can truly feel good about.

     What sparked this randomness of thoughts was my son.... Mario.  Now....I'm not trying to pick on him....I could find a similar story with all of my kids like this.  He's tough and can take it though.  Ok....so he lost a library book probably in the beginning of the school year.  I found out in December and confronted him.  He was pretty much like, "Oh well....I looked and can't find it."  So I told him he had to pay for it.  He asked the librarian how much the book would be.  He came home proudly and said with a smirk, "It's only 3.25."  So when I confirmed that price with Mrs. Swigart she said it was only that much because they stopped publishing it in 1974!  So...it was basically irreplaceable.  And in case you were wondering it was "Track of Bigfoot" haha...of course it was...he's an 8th grade boy.  So Mrs. Swigart and I came up with a plan....quite a genius one I may add.... since we can't buy a new one then Mario should just rewrite it!!!  And only in Mrs. Swigart fashion....she thought if he could get a few snap shots that would awesome too!!!! 
So here we are.....it's May. He lost the book in the Fall!  He was told to write the book in December.  He began writing it and with his good fortune, I forgot about it for awhile.  But....as us good Mommas usually do....I finally remembered to ask if he finished it and turned it in.....to which he replied...."no"  (head hung).   So the last few weeks I have been hounding the boy just a little to get it done before the end of school.  He finished today!  

      What does this story have to do with my previous rant about taking my kids to serve others????    I'm glad you asked.....you see when Mario was done writing the book after losing the book and being hounded by his Mother to write the book for 5 months.  He actually asked me to write a "forward" in it like they do for "famous authors"................................. He wanted praise. 
 (Now my head is hung.)

    So as we live in a society of entitlement......where we all think we deserve praise even for correcting our own mistakes.........I'm going to teach my children to give and expect nothing in return except God's unending love. 

   Yep......crazy.

"This will be easy!".......Said nobody ever!

     "Nobody ever said it would be easy!"  Do you know how many times I have heard this? 

     Today we had an amazing outpouring of love and support from our community at our Walking Taco sale.  The generosity of people and kind words carry us through and keep us lifted in this journey.  Nobody will ever understand how much that means because this is such an emotional roller coaster.  You see we honestly feel like this is not a "choice" for us to move and serve.  Because if it was a choice.....we would probably have changed our minds a hundred times by now. 

     Brian and I both have been blessed with amazing families that we are going to miss SO much.  Our daughters Tyler and Sydney are staying in the U.S.  We are leaving jobs that are literally a part of who we are.  We have so many people telling us we are great at what we do and are going to be missed.  Do you know how hard it is to walk away from family and that kind of love, praise, security and appreciation???  

     After we came home today and relaxed for awhile.  My nephew Keegan began to say his goodbyes to me since he is flying to Guatemala tomorrow to spend the summer with is family that is serving there.  He started to walk away and said, "Aunt Jenny....When am I going to see you again?"
I stood dumbfounded.  I've been so busy with all the plans I hadn't even thought that it may be a long long time.  My other nephew (Keegan's brother) Travis is getting married near Seattle, Washington this fall.  I am praying that I can afford to at least have me fly out to attend his wedding. 

                So you are right "Nobody" THIS ISN'T EASY!"

But again.....Brian and I both know this is not a choice for us.  We firmly believe that we were not put on this Earth to live for our own comfort.  We were made to live our lives for Jesus.  Not to acquire more and more but to GIVE more and HELP more. 

If this was a choice ....trust me I would choose to stay right where I am ....close to my adult children that I could see whenever I want, work at the school where I am "Nurse Jenny" and have people boost my ego about how nice I am, we could see our families all the time and especially for holidays and weddings, we could control how much money we make and spend on any given day, we could hang out with our friends.......I could go on and on.

So we choose the HARD path....but the right path for us.  Because easy isn't always right, living for our own comfort isn't what God had planned.  He designed us to be His hands and feet. 

How can I worry about my comfort when there are so many who live like this?  And as a funny side note....I googled,  "Bible verses about living comfortably" You want to know what it said????  No bible verse exists on this subject.  No surprise there....but yep.....confirmation. 

 

James 2:14-17                    

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

So once again.....we still need monthly support.  You see our effort, sacrifices and willingness.  You see our desire to show God's love and bring hope for the hopeless.  We need from you prayers, encouraging words and monthly support.  We have a long way to go.  We literally raise 100% of our living expenses.  We have been blessed with lots of donors but still need monthly commitments so we have that security to rely on while we serve.  We understand that giving $25, $50, $75, etc monthly is a sacrifice.  We will continue to pray for God to give us all the strength. He will take care of us when we take care of all of His treasures.

If you feel you can make this sacrifice to help us further God's kingdom please click on link on upper right hand side of this page under the yellow Go MAD Ministry sign and follow instructions.  Thank you....and God bless you for blessing others.

Philippians 4:19                    

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.