No Trouble Free Existence - This Side of heaven!

I have heard a repeated theme as reflected in the title of this blog - in 3 different ways - a church sermon, my BSF study, & listening to one of my favorite Christian women on the radio - Nancy Leigh DeMoss. When God repeats, I KNOW I should listen. I'll begin with this:

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Jesus prayed this as He knelt prior to being arrested in the garden. The very next verse says "An angel appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." (Luke 22:42-44)

Jesus prayed in agony in the Garden of Gethsamene, which translates to "Olive Press". In this place, Jesus was pressed on every side & it produced peace, strength, and resolve for God's will. He wasn't forced to do anything - scripture tells us He has the right to lay His life down & take it up again. He was in agony for the suffering, for the loss, for the betrayals, for the lost souls who would not repent. This was agony in it's greatest form. Jesus prayed 3 times for God to allow something else to happen, but there was nothing else that could make payment for sin, but shed blood. Jesus was our Passover Lamb. His blood saved us from the wrath we deserve and He willing laid down his life. In His time of trouble/wilderness - God met Him, God revealed the purposes, and God strengthened Him for hard road ahead.

I have learned alot from this . . . . thinking of an olive press - great pressure is necessary to produce a new thing - the oil we want to use. I recognize that if He allows pressure, it's because He wants to bring something new. So, yes, there is no trouble free existence this side of heaven because each "trouble" is for a purpose in my life. He desires to grow me into the likeness of His Son. I am conformed as I submit to the circumstance He allows in my life & triumph through them with His strength because I love Him & want to be changed.

Sometimes these "troubles" are short, other are long, some are so complicated & multi-layered. At times, it feels God isn't there & that we are walking in a wilderness, not knowing where to turn or what to think. Israel walked in the wilderness for 40 years & 1 Cor 10:1-13 explains what we can learn from what they experienced so we don't remain stuck in the wilderness. (I would encourage you to read that passage - it is eye opening!)

What I have learned is that though I HATE the wilderness, there are certain things that happen spiritually in those times that don't happen in normal life. I want to learn to embrace those times of trouble/wilderness where life is hard - and look for the blessings because He is there! Praise God! I also desire to have a humble, teachable, God-centered spirit during those hard times to ALLOW Him to refine my character.

Questions I am pondering:
In my trouble, how is God asking me to rise to the occasion? Am I being lazy/weary & just settling in, or am I seeking Him to change me?

Do I embrace the trouble or RUN?

God is faithful in the trouble, am I faithful?

In seasons of wilderness, will I lift my eyes to the heavens where my help comes from & praise Him?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me . . . I pray you are stirred in your spirit to respond to God & allow Him to change you in whatever circumstances you find yourself in today. His return is sure & coming soon . . . will you fully surrender to ALL that He has for you?

The Chicks New Home

WELCOME TO THE COOP!

Isabelle petting Butterfly - who does love Isabelle & is very relaxed with people.

The chickens are, from left, Hawk, Night, Stripes, Brownie, Butterfly (white one) & Spotty, on the far right.

Today the chickens moved to their new home. They quickly outgrew the small cage they started in & were ready to spread their wings! They are loving their new surroundings. Daddy still has to build the nesting boxes, so we can have eggs & he is putting up the chicken wire for their little chicken run area! They LOVE their new water & food feeders - so do mom & dad, these hungry guys were eating so much we had to fill their food 4 times a day - it was like having a new born in the house. This will last MUCH longer! Isabelle could spend her day with the chicks - she loves them. JM is sad to be missing moving day - he's in bed with a fever. We spent the morning at the urgent care, poor guy doesn't feel good at all! He's anxious to get out there soon!

Deanna Rose Farmstead

Yesterday, we met our friends the Cushenbery's at Deanna Rose - one of our favorite places to visit in K.C. The kids think it is GREAT! They have animals to pet & feed, playgrounds to play in, a fishing pond, and tractors to ride on. Here are a few photos from our adventure.

"Cutie Spring Flowers"

Vail & John Michael

Vail & John Michael love to see each other, but both have strong personalities so besides having a blast, they argued over who got to push little Miss Ruby! They keep their mommies on our toes! Who knew from this photo that they would have a love/hate relationship.

Strong man showing off & gettin' dirty

Ruby watches J.M. dig in the dirt with great adoration - actually I think she was thinking, "when can we move on from here, that doesn't look a bit fun!"

Haiti Trip Postponed

Trusting God's goodness & His sovereignty always means "our" plans are subject to change. That has occured this week - Kevin had been scheduled to travel with 17 guys through C3 Missions, International to Haiti on Thursday of this week. Because of some increasing tensions & violence in certain areas, there are definite safety risks as well as the risk of the local airlines ceasing flights. Because of these risks, they are unable to take the trip at this time. Kevin is rescheduled to go on June 5th assuming all is well then. The words below are from the email we received regarding the postponment. Kevin is bummed to not be going this weekend, but knows that God's ways are much higher than ours. And the reality of the words below blows any kind of disappointment out of the water. Please pray with us for Haitians - and recognize this is just one of many places where these kind of deplorable conditions exist.

"Please pray for the people of Haiti. These are not wild animals. They're moms and dads and even fatherless children who were already poor, barely able to buy any food, and now the cost of food has doubled and they're starving. It's hard for us to understand this kind of pain, which is typical in countries all around the world, like Haiti, and punctuates why there are so many orphaned and abandoned children. The children in our homes are fine. They'll survive this spell and will eat just fine through it. But there are so many in waiting. They're suffering. I respectfully ask that we all stop what we're doing, and take some time to pray that God will intervene, and this uncertainty and frustrated reliance on people and things of this world will turn countless many to the One True Hope - Christ Jesus. Pray that God will intervene through human hands, and that relief will come. Pray for the continued protection of the children in our care in Haiti."

S'mores & More

If you checked our blog last week, you saw that Kevin built us a patio & fire pit last Saturday. Today, he put on the finishing touches & we couldn't wait to make s'mores! Isabelle & John Michael set up the chairs & got out blankets as it was in the upper 50's, so a little chilly. The fire & yummy treats warmed us up quick. Kevin likes to have Peanut Butter Cups on his s'mores & he likes to put the whole s'more over the fire to melt the Cup. So, he pulled out the "fish" cooker (I think it's for the grill? - we've never used it). It worked very well - we can get 6 s'mores in there at a time! Our time together ended with campfire stories - Isabelle's request! Kevin told us a sweet story about Turkey Hunting! :) Isabelle followed with a story about chicks!

The fish grill cooker - works great!

Story Time!

God's Goodness

I have much to praise God for, but most immediate is the complete healing of my vocal nodules. I had a horribly painful ENT appointment yesterday where they did a nose scope to get a good view of my vocal chords - trust me, not something you want to request! As the ENT & my speech therapist are saying "wow, there is NOTHING there, do you see that?" I'm sitting in a straight chair with my head facing the ceiling, tears burning at my eyes & a TUBE up my nose and down my throat - I wanted to jump for joy, but decided that would not be the best idea! :) All that to say - when it was all over they both said I had done a great job, but that I need not be too anxious to talk. I have to be disciplined to continue my therapy at home & be disciplined to remain quiet & give my vocal chords rest. So I will press on & continue to enjoy & be thankful for silence, but I feel such thankfulness for God's goodness in healing me COMPLETELY!!! YEAH GOD!!!

Weekend Project

This weekend, ONE of us was working really HARD. As Kevin said, he's done landscaping for 10 years - and never done anything for his own house. So, finally after 10 years - we have a patio & fire pit. It is AWESOME!! Kevin did a GREAT job & I wanted to brag on him a little! We are going to bring in dirt & build garden beds & landscaping around the patio as well as a path out to the yard. So here's initial photos from this weekend. Will keep you posted.

JM helping dad dig the area for the patio.

JM is the project manager - getting a birds eye view!

Isabelle getting her turn on the Bobcat!

JM getting a closer look at the dig-out!

The finished product - well almost, there is dirt to bring in, a fire pit to finish - Kevin is putting a capstone on it, and a garden to plant. The fun begins! Sorry for the dark photo - it is cloudy & gloomy here today - and it was too dark when Kevin finished last night. I'll add better photos with the sunshine as we fully finish the product.