What are you waiting for?

We have to "wait" our turn or "wait" for vacation. We are "waiting" for God's clear direction, while others "wait" for financial breakthrough. Some are "waiting" for a promotion or job change, while others "wait" for retirement to come. Some "wait" for relationships to be mended, while others "wait" for friendships to be made. "Waiting" seems to always include trials & struggle in some form. . .

What is it that you are "waiting" for? What is your Storm?

This very question was posed to me in a book I'm reading called Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler. She goes on to write "Ask yourself that question, because whatever you are waiting for is what you are living for." WOW . . . what truth she speaks in that statement. Stop & ponder that for yourself & what God may be saying to you. No wonder the "wait" turns into a storm. We become consumed with the "waiting" & our eyes turn from trusting & worshiping our Lord! She continues "At the deepest level, we need to remember that we are waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ." How easily we confuse what we should be waiting for.

God continued to solidify His point as I listened to Focus on the Family with James Dobson last week. He was interviewing Steven Curtis Chapman about the recent loss of his 5 yr. old daughter Maria in a tragic accident. Steven described how they see daily things in a different perspective since the accident. They know that Maria is whole & happy with Jesus & they will get to see her again. What a promise & what Joy! The two men went on to comment that today's culture, in secular & religious circles alike, we are told to that we can have the best life now . . . What a lie! Our Best Life is on the horizon. We are to live in light of eternity. This life is a training ground for what is coming & we MUST remember that.

God used a third approach to clearly solidify His point this morning at church. Our sermon was entitled "Life's Storms aren't the End". Our pastor used many biblical stories to illustrate that life is full of storms for us all - look at Joseph, Job, Esther, Daniel, David, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo - just to name a few. They all had circumstances that could have caused them to question God, give up, throw in the towel, or to draw false conclusions about how God was working. Yet they all stayed positive. . . because they BELIEVED in God. They believed that God was GREATER than their storms. They chose to see their "waiting" or their trials as
places to grow, as places of blessing. They lived in light of eternity. They knew that this life was NOT what they were living for, that they were being trained & shaped for eternity.

Consider the words of Job after losing all his family, his possessions, and his health - His eyes were on His redeemer. : Job 19:25 - 27 "I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes - I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" Job wasn't giving up!
John 16:33 "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have OVERCOME the world." John 14:1 "Do NOT let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me." God prepares us throughout His word with examples just like Job & truth that troubles, trials & waiting come - it's normal, but it's for a purpose. TRUST HIM!! He is the VICTORY!

Our pastor left us with this challenge that I pass on to you . . . "Be slow to draw conclusions on your life circumstances (ie. "this must be a blessing or this must be a curse") We only have a fragment of the picture God is creating. We can't make judgements about fragments, we must allow Him to create in us character NOT comfort through all of our circumstances. Choose to believe God. Choose to trust Him & have Joy in the wait." We do know 1 thing - the end of the Story & it is VICTORY!!! Praise be to God the Father & our Lord Jesus Christ!

What are you waiting for today? Where is the Storm in your life? Will you choose to follow the footsteps of those before us believing God! Allow Him to transform you!

New Chicks

Yes we did it - 8 more chicks! They are SO cute & we love them. According to Isabelle, we cannot name them until they get bigger because we don't know what they are going to be like yet. The yellow ones are Buff Orphington & the black ones are Plymouth Rock. We hope to have LOTS more eggs come January.

J.M. Loves School

Today's Pre-K was good. I am learning very quickly the difference in teaching boys & girls! John Michael & I are having fun - I'm having to be lots more creative & go with the flow. Today he practiced his name - he did it all by himself, without me looking. It is a great improvement since the beginning of summer. Then I let him practice letters & shapes in a pan of sugar. He thought that was great. He LOVES dot-to-dot, so we had to do about 10 of those before we finished our morning session! I'll keep you posted on how Pre-K progresses throughout the year.

A Great Grand Visit

This past weekend, Kevin's grandparents came in town for a visit on Saturday. Kevin's parents drove them up so they could see us, but they were pumped to see our chickens & garden! They had many chickens & a huge garden in their younger years! We were so thankful for all their gardening advice - we tried to learn as much as we could. Here's some photos.

Kevin's brother & his family from Concordia, MO came over in the afternoon to visit as well. It didn't take long for a game of touch football to begin . . .

Look at Tyler off the ground. Just chillin'

The princess played with a tree frog b/c she didn't want to play football - HUH??? That didn't last too long though. . .

Our 1st Grader

"OUR BUTTERFLY PRINCESS"

Is she really old enough to be in 1st grade? That question has been rolling in my head over & over & over again the past few days. She is having "adult" conversations with us, she desires for all children in the world to be safe & have homes, she can't wait to tell people about Jesus. She is one unique creation that we feel blessed to call daughter. We have spent the last few days having our very own BACK TO SCHOOL BASH! Here's a sampling of our fun:

SUNDAY: ROCKVILLE ELEMENTARY SHCOOL - Louisburg built a new K-2 elementary school so we went to an open house & saw where her desk will be. Her teacher, Mrs. Lemke already had books on the kids desks. She was so excited!MONDAY: BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY - We had fun. . . . the day started with chicken fun & our 3rd egg! We were outside most of the morning - one week ago it was sizzling, this week it is gorgeous. Then we came inside for "Shaker People" craft time & to make our traditional back to school cake.

Our tame chicken - Isabelle's favorite - named "butterfly"

She can catch butterflies & they will hang out with her - it is amazing.

Our Shaker People!
Big helpers in the kitchen. I have to toot my own horn & say that I made the cake & icing ALL from scratch. It was fun & the kids loved the way it tasted, so fresh! Last year I made a pencil, but this year it seemed easier to do a small cake & cupcakes because everyone wanted to help! You can't tell, but I wrote Pre-K at the top for J.M. & 1st at the bottom for Isabelle. The blue thing on the left does say "08" though it looks like "AS"

TUESDAY: Our back to school dinner was chosen by Isabelle - TACOS!! (I know that is no big surprise for those of you who know her well - it was our back to school meal last year & our Christmas dinner) Then we celebrated with my homemade cake.

More fun phtotos!

WEDNESDAY - 1st day of school: We just dropped off our little princess at 1st grade. As I left, I was struck by how confident she is. She was so excited to go. She woke up with a gigantic smile & began talking immediately - she told me that she knew Mrs. Lemke was the "perfect teacher for her because God gave her to me." She asked me a few months ago if we could pray together every morning before school - so she remembered this morning & prayed that she would be a blessing to her teacher & that she would be like Jesus at school. We are so thankful that she has God's heart & sees every opportunity as an opportunity to be salt & light for Him. Family photo taken by J.M.

Before school out front - 60 degrees & gorgeous!

Outside of Rockville Elementary School

Isabelle was blessed to find 4 friends she knew already in her class - this is August who she met playing t-ball!

At her desk . . . she was so confident & ready for us to go!

WE LOVE YOU SWEET GIRL & ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!

Getting Close with Lee & Tiffany

We were priveleged to meet Lee & Tiffany from "Gettin' Close" one of our favorite shows on the outdoor channel. We found out they were going to be at Bass Pro about 15 minutes from our house & the kids went crazy! They were so excited to meet them. Isabelle picked her outfit out a week ago & created a letter & picture of them shooting deer. It was really cute. They are so nice & very down to earth, just like they are on TV. Isabelle asked "When can we go to Iowa and visit them?" They have a huge farm in Iowa where they live & hunt.

Production Has Begun

LOOK what John Michael found in the chicken run (the yard they play in) . . .

Yes, our chickens are producing eggs - well at least one.
We'll be taking orders soon for farm fresh eggs!


Our production of SWEET DILL PICKLES is under way. Kevin's grandma Stucky has made these yummy pickles for years. Kevin remembers eating them on jelly sandwiches - yes pickles & jelly on bread. For those of you who think Kevin is just meat & potatoes this might be a shock. He had one of these delicious sandwiches for lunch today to prove to the kids that he actually likes it - they were grossed out!

The tomatoes you see here are just a SMALL sample of our production. We are going to be freezing most of our tomatoes for my homemade salsa! YUM!

Our butterfly bushes are producing amazing butterflies for us to see. Isabelle & I loved this one & were lucky enough to get close enough to get a snapshot.

It's Hot!

Well it's August & with a heat index of 109 today - we haven't been outside much. The kids don't even want to play in the sprinkler, it's that hot. Since we've been home from Branson, we have been busy getting ready for our August shows with Emergency Infomation Systems & the start of school - 1st grade for Isabelle & Pre-Kindergarten for J.M.

Our first show is Wed & Thursday of this week with a group of Educators. Our other show is near the end of the month at a Children's Fair in Overland Park, KS - last year this show had over 5,000 attendees so we are hoping for that & more. (You can click on the link to the left for more info)

Isabelle starts school on Aug 13th - only 10 days! WOW - time flies. I can't believe she is going to be in the first grade. This summer she has seemed to grow up before our eyes. She wants to have "alone time" to be in her room to play without interruptions from little bro. But then there are times like right now, where football/WWF are happening between the 2 of them right here in the family room. She loves to watch hunting with her dad - can't wait for the start of deer season & has requested her very own bow for her 10th b-day! :)

J.M. & I will be starting pre-k here at home the week of August 18th. He is SO excited! This summer he has successfully learned how to write his own name without any help - and that is a feat when you have 2 names & it is 11 letters long. We will be attending BSF together & doing some different community service projects together. He loves to ask questions & understand how & why. Everything is "why?" Tonight's question was "why isn't Peyton Manning not playing in the game?" (For non-football players - Peyton is the quaterback for the Indianapolis Colts & a regular household name around here. The Colts are playing right now in the Hall of Fame game.) We tried to explain he was injured - "why? Why can't he play? Why isn't he at the game? Why don't they want him there?" And it just kept going.

In the coming days, we are looking forward to hanging out with my niece Olivia as my sister & her husband have a shoe show to run at the MO State Fair. The kids are very excited - Olivia gets way more attention than I think she wants at times. They are always in her face!

We pray you have a blessed week & would love to hear from you - so leave us a message!