Great Quote!

In the craziness of the past couple of years we have left many WONDERFUL things behind. (In many ways I am still grieving those losses.)  I cling to the hope that there are fantastic things ahead.

Have a great day!

Angel Tree

Tonight I had the privilege to call a few families to confirm that they wanted to participate in the Angel Tree program.  One woman in particular sounded so "down" when she answered.  By the end of the conversation I could hear some life in her voice.

If you have the chance to buy some gifts for an Angel Tree child, take it.  Know that you are not only blessing the child, but encouraging a single mother as well.

Love Until It Hurts

Profound  and something I'm experiencing right now. It is human to draw away from hurt.  Only God loves the broken, hurtful person.  My prayer today..."Enable me to love in spite of the pain."

Appreciate your continued prayers!

This Week...

 We bought a new (old) chair and fabric to recover it.  It's got beautiful wood and fits perfectly into our small space.  (Thanks Grandpa for going to pick it up.)

 We had nice weather outdoors.  Our beautiful, backyard tree started to change.

 The Gospel Choir from Olivet Nazarene University came to church today.  They were fantastic!  It was fun to see white, black, hispanic, and even one asian singing in this style.

We got to see one of our students from Singapore--Austin Flemming--who was there to see his girlfriend sing in the choir.  It's been such a blessing to see friends from Singapore come through Indy.  Of course we have more chances to see Nazarenes since Shepherd is such a hub for mission activities!

I'm super excited that our church will be taking a missions trip to Appalachia this Spring Break--and I get to help set it up.  Although we are in ministry every day, I've always felt that going somewhere new allows God to teach you different things.

We had a tough start to our week.  As I looked at the beautiful leaves on the ground, I realized many of them are brown.  A few keep their colors and brighten things up.  There are a lot of "brown" leaves around us.  It's our job to let God's love keep us bright so that we stand out for Him.  Trials will come--it's how you go through them that counts. 

The Fall Foliage Festival Parade

 We found great seats right where we walked up.  Since we were early we sat down to wait.  Motorcycles went by and provided some entertainment.  

 Ana must have perfected her princess wave in Disney World.  It was so funny to watch her wave to the "princesses" in the cars!

 We liked this horse because they had painted fall leaves on it.

 This pony was so CUTE in her tutu!

 We picked this as our favorite corvette.

 These little ponies were super strong!

 The best part?  The pounds of candy that they got--too bad mom only allows one piece a day!

Count Your Blessings

We went out shopping today--something we rarely do--Matt needed a new pair of shoes.  Sadly the Sears in the mall closest to us is closing.  They advertised things as being thirty percent off.  As athletic shoes can be pricey we went to see what they had.  He found a pair of New Balance tennis shoes that weren't gaudy colors and fit well.  They were listed at 60 dollars.  When the lady rang them up the total was just over 15 dollars!  Hooray!

Pumpkin waffles- seriously the perfect fall food!  I made them and they disappeared quickly!

It was 73 degrees today!  The kids wanted to put on their shorts :)

We found a deal at Menards the other day where are their boxed handles were buy one get one free.  So, we got 60 handles/knobs for just over 50 dollars.  That's cheap!!  Our cabinets have been updated from the seventies!

It's only the first day of my break.  I've been sleeping nine hours a night!  At this rate I will be recharged and ready to go when school starts back up.

Great News!

Matt saw the neurologist on Wednesday and has been cleared to drive.  He already has times next week to take a few classes and after those are completed the car can be modified.  This will mean he can take kids places and take himself to therapy!  It will also give a lot more freedom with his days.

Still need a lot of wisdom in deciding what is best for Mitike.  Appreciate your prayers!

Flying In Style...

I came across this article written by a Singaporean flying Singapore Air in the "suites."  Basically, you have a whole cabin to yourself.  Check it out and drool--the food looks amazing!

Check it out!

Lamplighters

Matt is at a lamplighter conference at Shepherd this weekend.  Pray with me that he has a GREAT time and is encouraged in his spirit.  I'm excited that he is able to start going off and doing things by himself.