Congratulations to our four-year-old!  We love you, Jaime.  Life has been full of spice since our little butterfly came into the world … meaning a lot of beauty, activity, and surprises.  :)  There is always a certain kind of bittersweetness that comes to me when the little ones have birthdays.  It’s so exciting to them to be growing up, and we share that excitement, yet there is the startling realization that Jaime will never again be 3 years old.  How can time fly so fast and the babies in our arms just grow up like that?  It makes you just want to stop time, but since that is impossible, then we realize we simply have to treasure every moment with our children.  Today is a day that we will never spend with them again. 

 

Jaime’s first Bible

 

Jaime with Grandma and Aunt Amy, who share here birthday month.

People ask us if Jaime is for sure ours when they see her with Amy!

Daddy with two of his grandgirlies, June 2007

Altho’ it takes a little longer for us to experience the deep blue of October days and the colorful leaves, I get so excited when the air becomes clear and beautiful in the evenings and the mornings.  It is so fun to open windows and feel that fresh breeze that only can mean one thing.  Autumn Has Arrived!

Here it is, nearing the end of September already.  PD and I agreed that we barely noticed August … we were so busy getting ready to leave for Indiana initially, and then our time out there was VERY busy, working at the press and visiting friends.  PD really enjoyed getting to help finish up the New Testaments for Iraq.  We also had a great time catching up with many friends and cruising the familiar roads out there.  We stayed in a small, two-bedroom apartment, perfect for the short stay there.  The girls spent hours playing legos (yes, girls can be creative, too, especially when they are PD’s girls).   More pictures of our trip are coming soon.  We came home and plunged back into work and church life.  Last week, we took a quick trip to PA to see my Dad, whose health is not very good right now.  We had a profitable time and returned to preparations for a yard sale, and now this week, Camp Wesley!  God’s blessings to all of our readers.   

PD spent many hours in this location. Hundreds of miles of paper traveled through the press during that time.

This is where PD worked during our last trip. They produced over 50,000 Arabic New Testaments here.

The girls loved the pony cart ride they got in OH on our way home.

My handsome hubby relaxing with a book, a rare occasion he really deserves. 

Our Megan JOY, living up to her name!

Jaime, enjoying the horses at the youth fair in MI.

Some of you may know that we had planned a trip to Honduras this fall as a family. Life was pretty much centered on that thought for me, and I was busily cleaning and getting ready for a yard sale this month. Then, on PD’s birthday, we were all out on Lake Norman, having a much-needed and special day of relaxation when a call came from World Missionary Press. That is the printing press PD worked at for over a year in Indiana. They called to see if he could come out for a few weeks to help with a very important container of scripture booklets for Iraq that was pre-funded by some very generous hearts. He immediately felt that perhaps this was a word from the Lord. We felt keen disappointment initially, knowing we could not do both that and go to Honduras within two months. But that only lasted briefly, and then gave way to a perfect, settled peace. We feel so blessed to be led of the Lord in this way. We are very excited to go and take part in spreading the Gospel . It has taken a few days to adjust our brains to this. We feel some warfare involved, but we are so grateful to be on God’s side, knowing that He has won the victory already! The girls are very excited to go back to our old stomping grounds and see many dear friends that we hardly ever get to see. Hasta Luego!

Hello and love to everyone far and near who reads our post. By now, I’m sure you’ve given up on us ever being updated. It seems life as a family doesn’t slow down, and the church grows rapidly, too, so that we have to stop and revise our priorities again and again. Today was a blessed Sunday … a wonderful message on the Father’s love … and then the day spent with beloved friends and brethren in the Lord at different homes. It was a treat to be invited out for both lunch and dinner, and just catch up and be encouraged in the Lord.

I have had plenty of insecurities and fears in my walk with God, but today it was joyous to realize that God has indeed been hearing and answering my pleas and is giving me complete freedom in my heart to love Him and walk with Him and be loved by Him!! I only want to become more like Him to all the souls around me and love Him more. I pray that the busyness of life will shift in the background as I learn to spend much time in His Word and in prayer, not even stopping to waste time hashing through things in my mind. I want to be faith-filled and Christ-filled in every situation I ever find myself in. That may sound idealistic, but it is really what I want and I know that God will delight to answer that cry, for His own Glory. There are needy people everywhere, both in the church and in our neighborhoods, and He has called us to be His hands and feet and heart to all we come in contact with. I love you, Lord!!!

“Bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.”

I’m just sitting here, with thankful thoughts to the Lord, for how He gives us opportunities to serve Him right where we are. I have prayed that God would give me opportunities to minister to others and share Him and His love. I’ve wondered how He would work it out, and even begged Him to bring them to my door. I’m so thankful He does that over and over again. Whether it’s to take a meal to someone who really needs a blessing, or drop a flower off on a grieving friend’s doorstep, or an encouraging note in someone’s mailbox, online or off, or encourage and pray for someone who needs to spill their heart, every little opportunity is such a blessing from the Lord! An extra special blessing last month was to have a very dear friend right here in our home for a week during her recovery from a motorcycle accident. We surely do miss her … if you’re reading this, Grace, I love you and miss you so much. I pray God’s blessings on your life today. Please take care of yourself, and may you find healing in every way. You are precious in God’s eyes, and mine, too!!