Hello Dear Friends and Family!
It has been about 1 year since I have posted on our blog! Apologies to those of you who enjoy our updates and are not on Facebook to see us. I will be taking another facebook break at the start of summer, so I will update our blog more often.
Here are some highlights in our family this past year:
* New addition to the family, our dog Sam!!
Sam is a havanese/poodle mix. We have had him since November 2012 , he will be 1 on July 25. My Mom bought his brother, Murphy! So they get to see each other every so often which is nice.
* Logan finished out the 4th grade very well with honors! He enjoyed his summer break and started 5th grade at PALCS (cyber school) . This year was a little tougher for him academically but overall he did great , receiving honors each marking period! We are so proud to watch him grow, mature, and blossom into such a wonderful young man. He is becoming more of the unique and wonderful young man God created him to be and we enjoy watching that unfold! He has shown immense growth in maturity and responsibility this year in school and in other areas. Hard to believe (as it is every year) that he will be 11 soon! And yes, he is inching closer to Mom's height every day!
*Isaac turned 4 on May 4th! Where does the time go ?! He is also growing up to be quite the amusing, interesting, unique and special little boy! Starting to be more of a "little boy" then a baby/toddler these days. He loves learning and is doing very well with his numbers, colors, letters...he can spell his name and Logan's name! His days are full of playing with brother, Sam and Tiger and even taking some time out to do his version of "school" :o) He will be entering pre-school this fall , we are looking at and praying about the best place for him now. We feel it will be healthy for him to be out of the house, and away from Mom, for a few days a week. Being around other children more often, making friends, and learning with other teacher/mentors will be a positive experience for Isaac.
*Matt is still at the same employer and has received a promotion! He is doing very well there and enjoys his job very much. We continue to feel blessed that God led us out here and to this job where there is stability for our family, a chance for Matt to advance in his position, and a place that is a healthy environment to work in. There are always stresses when it comes to the work place but the good outweigh the bad and we are thankful!
*We still live in Denver (Lancaster county) and we truly love living out here. It is a beautiful area to live. The only downside of course is being approx. 1 hour or so away from our families. We make it work though and visit as often as we can. We are getting to know our neighbors more and will be having a block party in June. We are looking forward to that...a way to get to know them even better! It has bee neat to discover that many of them attend LCBC (our church). They are talking about forming a possible life group right here, with neighbors. We have been in a life group since we moved here and after 3 years feel very close to them. They are our spiritual family and we feel it is such a gift to know them and grow with them. Before we moved out here I prayed specifically that God would bring into my life a christian woman/friend and also a couple...and lead us to a church family. He did just that...one of my closest friends is a woman named Karan and we met her and her husband when we were house hunting! So even before we moved here we met them. It was instant friendship and I knew she was the one I prayed about. I love seeing how He answers prayers!!
*We have been attending LCBC for approx. 2 1/2 years now. We have been more involved in our campus in Ephrata that opened up in September of last year. This campus coming to our area has been yet another gift to our family and many others. The reason for the campus (and all of their campuses) shows the mission/ heart of the church and how much the leaders love others! They open the campuses so that those who may not be able to travel to one of the other campuses have an opportunity to experience church. We have heard so many stories of people, couples, families.. that had not been to a church for years, for one reason or another. They decided to try out LCBC and they now can say they have a church family! They are growing and changing..their lives are being changed by Christ (which is what LCBC means). This fills up my heart so much to here these stories. Or other stories of people that always wanted to go to another campus but didn't have a car to take them there, or the money for gas to get there, now they can ride their bike, or walk , or drive a short distance , or catch a ride with a friend. One couple had never been to church before...and they can now walk to this campus , it is that close! Praise God!
There is a lady I pick up for cleaning nights on Tuesday. She doesn't have a car or a way to get to church. She didn't attend a church before LCBC Ephrata. Now she is growing and changing and excited about her walk with God. She is able to serve by cleaning the campus and she can get there by others who are willing to drive her. This is why One Church -Multiple Locations is so important. Many may mistaken it as a way for the church to get more money, or it's all about the church growing. But once you attend, you listen to the leaders, the volunteers, and you cannot believe that anymore. You see and hear and feel the true heart of this community, God's heart, for others. To reach those that need to be reached. So many times we think of missions as being in other countries or poor communities in our own country. But we have a mission right where we live. In our towns and communities. This is the heart and mission of LCBC. They understand that while we must care for the orphans, widows, and the poor and needy around the world (they encourage and support world missions)...we must not overlook the same in our own backyards. Bringing the church to the people changes lives! And we are seeing that happen in our community and through our church. We have been welcomed by other churches a in this community. And we join together and pray along with them for the communities we are reaching. It is not a prideful thing...it is not "our church is better then yours"....it is bringing another church option for those that perhaps have been hurt by other churches in the area....or whatever their reasoning may be ...it's another house of God to worship in. It's about that individual child of God , connecting with God , and forming a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ. It is about their salvation and discovering their purpose while here on Earth.
Matt is on the worship team and enjoying that very much.He has grown as a musician while serving and has formed very meaningful relationships with the other men and leaders on the team. I serve in a classroom called The Pier. K-4th grade kids are in the Pier and I am a Life Group leader with 4th grade girls. I absolutely love serving with them. They are precious and dearly loved! I look forward to seeing them each week. Logan serves in a classroom called Treasure Cove. 3-5 year olds. He is enjoying that very much! Sometimes he helps the little kids...other times he serves in the Tech Booth where he gets to work with lighting, music, video and sound. He is making many friends at church and when he isn't serving, he is growing and learning in his class Jcrew! He loves church so much that if we cannot go, he is not happy about that. And has only missed 1 weekend the entire year! When I have been sick and cannot go, I still take Logan to church because he cannot stand to miss it. I am thankful for a church he can call home , be a part of serving , and growing in his relationship with Jesus. As a family, we serve together one night a week cleaning the campus. Matt and I lead one of the cleaning teams. We rotate months with the other team which is nice , good to have a break every other month.
*Matt and I are just as good , if not better then ever and will soon be celebrating our 6th anniversary! Marriage is a beautiful thing God has designed, with its ups and downs, great moments and challenging moments that grow us personally and as a couple, make us stronger, and constantly force us to seek God and put him at the center of our marriage...because it just doesn't work very well if we try do do and solve everything on our own. It's an incredible gift to be married to your best friend and I pray this for every couple and those seeking a partner or about to be married..my advice is marry your best friend! Because problems that come up...well you just work them out in love and care because you have your best friend by your side through it all.
*We are thankful that this year everyone in our family has been healthy overall! My Mom has been through a rough time with her health, but the good Lord has guided her and led her, hand in hand, to the right doctors to figure out what is going on..and praise God she knows what it is now and is on the road to healing and recovery. There were some dark, scary moments during the time we were waiting to get answers and her health was going downhill every day. The boys and I were spending weeks with her to take care of her as she could not even lift a cup on her own anymore. I probably prayed harder and longer during that time then any other time in my life yet. It was not easy to watch her so sick and not know why. And of course, fear the worst.It was a time of drawing so close to God...and yet at the same time, feeling confusion, anger, frustration, and questioning a lot of things. God wants us to come to him with these feelings and he already knows our every thought and our heart. I learned in that time that it's ok to do that...it's ok to feel and think those things. Above all, never give up on God. Talk to him, cry to him, let Him know how you honestly feel....but never ever leave Him. Hang on to Him tightly. Let the issue draw you closer to Him then you have ever been. There were moments when I didn't know if I could hang on anymore...but I never let go. Even if I was only hanging on to hope by a tiny hair or thread...I hung on. Mom hung on. And God answered! He blessed us for hanging in there. God carried us through that time. Being there for one another, being so close to her, helping her and sharing our fears and worries with each other , showed me that God surely loves us so very much. He places people in our lives to help through tough times and share concerns with. And in His Word he tells us to carry one another's burdens. To be there for one another in tough times. To laugh when others laugh, to cry when they cry, rejoice when they rejoice, mourn when they mourn...to help when they need help. That is the heart of our FATHER! I am so thankful for a God who has such a special, loving, and caring heart.
So Mom is on steroids (PMR) and changing her diet (celiacs' disease) and improving each day! God is an awesome God...all I can do is thank Him and praise Him. All I can do is ask Him to forgive me if I ever doubted that He had our backs. All I can do is think to myself...He knew all along what was wrong with her, He knew we would have answers...He was working "behind the scenes" the entire time. Sometimes, we pray and pray and pray...and we feel we don't have any answer at all..or it's taking so long...or we pray and see the person we love get worse...and we feel as if God isn't listening to us. This experience with Mom...showed me for sure that even if we feel it's taking so long and the person is getting worse, even if we "feel" he isn't listening or doesn't care....those are just our feelings and we cannot always trust our feelings. He WAS there, He DID hear our prayers...and He was faithful to answer. He did NOT abandon us or let us suffer.
I will post a few photo's for you to enjoy in another post! I'll be back soon for another update so don't go too far away :O)
We pray that each of you is healthy, happy and doing well. That God blesses you with His peace that surpasses all understanding. That He would give you His strength when you are weak, His hope when you feel hopeless, His calm assurance in the midst of trial and storms, His love when it is hard to love, His mercy to bestow up on others, and answer all your deepest needs and prayers.
Love and Blessings,
~Meghan~
No comments:
Post a Comment