women of four13: God is good....

Hello Princesses!
(I am posting the memory verse in a separate post because this one will be long, but read on if you are interested!...photos at the end!)

So, first of all I want to thank each and every one of you for each being so gracious as not to point out that we had 2 "week # 9" Scripture memory verses! Because I know that many of you are "marthas," I am certain that you have your weeks all labeled and counted out...but, you KNEW that I was doing the very best I could in my Mary/Martha-ness, and you decided to let it go. Thank you. You would be amused to know that as I typed "# 9" last week, I thought to myself, "Is it number 9, or number 10?" but, I allowed my "Mary-ness" to rule then and decided not to take the extra moment to check and see. I'm sure our Father was smiling then, and smiled as those of you that recognized it decided not to correct me! :) It's all good there, on a number of levels...isn't it???

This has been a week of prayer, conversation, reflection, and deep breaths in the midst of extreme busyness at work for me. I hope that you will keep all of this on your prayer list for me because I seem to be caught up in the perfect storm of busier than ever at work, with a lot of varying demands for my time and attention, as well as a time when God is speaking loudly and clearly to my heart and soul about His calling for me in ministry. And frankly, right now they both seem to be more than full time jobs in terms of the hours and attention they require.

Put all that together with running a home, preparing meals and planning for a college graduation in 3 weeks (Kait), with a move out of state for her in less than 3 months, another child coming home from college in 2 weeks, )Stephani), but preparing her for a summer ministry job that will take her around the country, and leaving in a month for that...another college child that is preparing to be the caretaker of our home this summer while the rest of us are gone, (Adrianne), as well as preparing for her own ministry in Haiti for weeks at a time, oh, and the high school graduation of another child (Benjamin)...and then Tom and I leave for Haiti for the summer! WOW! And every bit of it is good, isn't it? We are so blessed! It's just that I shake my head at the logistics required, and wonder if I am up for the task. At the very moment that I type those words out loud, our Scripture memory verses come flooding into my mind. Hmmm...what a great God we have, indeed!

But again, if you would join me in prayer for discernment, clear direction, and eyes to see the doors that He is opening and closing, as well as eyes of faith to step through those doors without seeing what is on the other side. I covet those prayers!

Today Tom and I are preparing our home for our next visit from our Haiti family...Leonie returns at the end of this week and will be with us for a little while longer, her son Ezechias will be arriving on Friday (Rachelle's husband), and Leonie's brother, Pastor Marky Kessa, the President of the Lutheran Church of Haiti will also be staying with us for several days! What a huge blessing all of that will be! On Friday evening and Saturday we will be gathering with other folks from parts of Michigan, Ohio and New York (and maybe more...I'm not sure) to discuss what's been happening in Haiti and to plan for the future. It's going to be great! Please keep all of those traveling in your prayers, along with those involved in the planning and logistics for the conference itself.

God seems to be moving quickly and decisively in our lives, and for that we are so excited. I will be honest, though, my eyes of sight, and quite frankly, my weakness, becomes so apparent at moments like these.

This morning I had a few moments of hyperventilating about our 6-8 weeks in Haiti this summer. Nope. I wasn't losing it over how many souls will be saved...or will I be an adequate vessel for all God wants to accomplish through me there...Nope. What were these stressful thoughts? How will I do my hair in that humidity? What about the laundry? What shoes do I wear? How will I work out? How (gasp!) will I shave my legs? I know...it about brings you to your knees with concern, doesn't it???

I'm happy to report that my ever-kind husband talked me off the ceiling a little bit...Adrianne helped in two ways, by informing Tom that a shaving and hair plan IS important, and then helped me develop such a plan...I'm feeling a little better now, thanks. On to bigger and better questions...like ministry...sigh. I have so far to GROW in this walk...

Anyways, my report here is again, that God is so good. He is faithful. He will accomplish all that He intends to accomplish, even through someone like me. That, my sisters, is good news.

And, now, some photos from some moments over the past several weeks:

Barb, in her birthday apron! She was eager to point out that her two girlfriends, Cheryl and I, who share the same birthday, each got her an apron for her birthday...weird...