We'll Talk It Over

Tho’ shadows deepen, and my heart bleeds,
I will not question the way He leads;
This side of Heaven we know in part,
I will not question a broken heart.

We’ll talk it over in the bye and bye.
We’ll talk it over, my Lord and I.
I’ll ask the reasons – He’ll tell me why,
When we talk it over in the bye and bye.

I’ll trust His leading, He’ll never fail,
Thru darkest tunnels or misty vales.
Obey his bidding and faithful be,
Tho’ only one step ahead I see.

We’ll talk it over in the bye and bye.
We’ll talk it over, my Lord and I.
I’ll ask the reasons – He’ll tell me why,
When we talk it over in the bye and bye.

I’ll hide my heartache behind a smile
And wait for reasons ’til after while.
And tho’ He try me, I know I’ll find
That all my burdens are silver lined.

We’ll talk it over in the bye and bye.
We’ll talk it over, my Lord and I.
I’ll ask the reasons – He’ll tell me why,
When we talk it over in the bye and bye.

We don't know why things happen the way they do, or what God is trying to do with us.  But trust His leading.  Have the faith to believe that God will work everything out and that everything, even the smallest thing, has a purpose and is part of God's plan.

Weekend with mom!

My mom came down on Thursday afternoon and surprised me!! She was suppose to get here Friday night, but came early!! I was very excited to be able to spend more time with her!! She left Monday at noon...(right after she met me for lunch :-)) Thursday night we celebrated my birthday at Chuck & Lois'.  Uncle Hartz came over too! After supper we went to strings for the evening.  Friday I had work...unfortunately... and my mom & Lois went shopping. Just hung out & played games that night. Saturday we went down & set up for the parent's supper, ate lunch at Olde World, then just relaxed, played guitar & sang together! We went to Sarducci's for supper and afterwards went to Burlington church for Memorandum.  Sunday I went straight to the fellowship hall to start getting all the food & everything ready for the supper. Everything went pretty smooth, and I was VERY impressed by our estimates on the food!! Great job to Stephanie, Corin, Hannah, and I(:-o)!!  I was in charge of the centerpieces...so here are a few pictures of them...

Psalm 61

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.  From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.  I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.  For though, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear they name.  Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations. He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.  So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

Hold Fast To The Right!

Come and sit by the side of your mother my boy,
You have only a moment, I know.
But please wait til' I give you this parting advice,
It is all that I have to bestow.

Hold fast to the right, hold fast to the right!
Where ever your footsteps may roam,
Oh forsake not the way of salvation, my boy,
That you learned from your mother at home.

I gave you to God in the cradle, my boy.
And have taught you the best that I knew,
And as long as God's mercy permits me to live,
I will never cease praying for you!

You will find in your satchel a Bible, my boy
The book of all others, the best!
It will teach you to live, and prepare you to die.
And will lead to the gates of the blessed.

When you leave me to seek you employment my boy,
By the world you have yet to be tried.
May you in all temptations and trials, my boy
Look to the Lord to confide!

1 John 5

I opened to this while I was taking a lunch break today.  I encourage you to read the entire chapter, I will not quote the entire thing because of length and time. But here are a few things that stuck out to me.

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."v3

If we really love God (a passion), we will do whatever He asks of us.  And what He does ask of us, will not be grievous, because we are doing it out of our great love for Him! Everything we do should be driven out of our love for Him and not just because He said, because that is when it becomes grievous.

"Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"v5
"He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself:"v10

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." v14-15

Isn't it such a comfort to know that He hears us?  Also, having that confidence that when we ask Him something, if it is according to His will, he hears us!  I think that is something that so often times I lack.  If He doesn't answer my prayers right away, I can sometimes stop praying about it, or still pray for it, but in my heart believe that it won't happen.  But have CONFIDENCE in Him! He can see the entire picture!!!! He knows that sometimes if we get our answer to our prayer immediately, we won't appreciate it as much, or it will effect us in a negative way.  See that is what is so awesome about Him!! He can see that and He spares us from it!!! Even though we don't understand and it may hurt for a short period of time.

Reflection

Today is a special day of reflection for me.  One to look back at the past year, but also, my entire life.  It is truly amazing how God knew right from the beginning my entire life's story before I had even started to write on the pages! He placed me in my parent's arms (the perfect parents for me), a christian home, and gave me more than the necessities needed! It is amazing where He has brought me and everything He has taught me!! It makes me all the more excited to serve Him and spend the rest of my life with/fore Him....wherever He may lead me!!! Our God is an AWESOME God!!!!

Passion for Christ

Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?" The first two times Christ asked, he was referring to more of a fondness.  The third time was the kind of love that is a passion.  Is our love for Christ a passion, where everything we do reflects our love for Him? Or is it just a fondness? We need to have that passion for Him, and be willing to do whatever He asks because of our love for Him. 

Definition of Passion: Strong and barely controllable emotion.

Life is Fragile

Thinking about the many things
That often cross our paths
The trials and the triumphs, the joys, the pains.
The ups and the downs of life that often come our way
He has promised He'll be only a prayer away!

Yes, Life is fragile!
We must handle it with prayer,
Place our trust in God, He hears our every prayer!
Broken lives can be mended,
Find the hope that God's intended.
For life is fragile, we must handle it with prayer!

The uncertainty of life you see,
Is just a state of mind.
For God knows the future, He holds the key!
As long as we live for Him and strive to do His will,
He has promised He'll be only a prayer away!

~B. Kay

My Bucket List

Swim with dolphins
Ride in a hot air balloon
Skydive(not sure if I will ever get the full amount of courage to do this)
Para sail
Visit every Apostolic Christian Church
Visit every state in America
Own a home
Buy a horse
Visit Germany, Paris, Austrailia, Switzerland
Spend an extended amount of time in the mission field
Adopt a child (from another country)
Foster
Own & know how to play six different instruments
Run through a field of wild flowers
Go dog sledding
Go to Boundary Waters
Go on a Houseboat
Go on a Sister's Trip
Have a lot of nieces & nephews (I might still have to wait awhile though...)
Make a CD with my mom
Find a faster way to get home....(ha)
Cook/bake everything in the Morris cookbook (yes I realize its massive size)
Run a horse on the wide open prairie
Live in three different states
Learn to yodel
Learn how to fiddle

Weekend with the Zehr's

I was able to spend this past weekend with the Zehr family in Fairbury(Nelson, Amy, Laura, Micah, & Abe).  It was a very fun weekend, although it was short.  I went out with the Massner's and we got there at 7:30 Saturday night.  We ate supper (which was pretty uneventful considering there was nothing like an ice cube shooting across the floor, or pizza falling in a cup, or stories about Reggie, or Ag, or anything of the sorts.) Then the kids went out to the barn and played a fun game of basketball....which oddly enough turned very competitive about the time we decided to keep score... Fortunately I opted out and decided to become the score keeper since I was tired...because pretty sure I would have been VERY sore if perhaps I would have been one of the many falling, tripping, rolling around the floor....umm..well you get the point. I proved myself to be a very good announcer and scorekeeper! Everyone knew who had the ball, and what they were doing! :-) We sang a little bit, had a snack, visited, and went to bed VERY early....because you know me...;-) Then I decided to get up and help with chores in the morning!! It was awesome!! I got up at 5:30 and was out helping them at 6. Nelson showed me what they do to the milk before they feed it.  Then I went around with Amy as she filled the calves' water.  Some got all water and some half water half milk. Then after the boys got out there(which they were late, because their phones didn't change times..) I drove the kabota around while Abe filled the calves' bowls with grain.  It was a lot of fun!! It was awesome to be able to watch the sunrise!! It was gorgeous! It made me think though in the bible how Jesus says "Ye can discern the signs of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the time. The sky is red in the morning and you say that it will can and it comes to pass..." Obviously that is not word for word, but it is so true.  The sunrise was red that morning, and true to form, the rains came that night. Anyway, we ate breakfast, went to church, came back home and sang some more (I did learn a valuable lesson though...do not just open up to a song and announce the number before at least looking at the song!) You see, we were singing out of the Heartland books, and we were in the mood for learning a new song or two.  So Laura had this great idea that she would just announce whatever she opened up to. Well she opened up to a song we knew really well, so I had this great idea that I would try it....well I just opened up and announced it. After which I read a subheading which stated "(Wedding Song)" Let me remind you that it was all single people singing...needless to say I got enough harassment on that one! Then we decided which we would just try it anyway. Well we got about 2 lines into the song and couldn't finish because of laughter.... That night there was a supper and singing at the fellowship hall.  Chuck decided we would stay for only half the singing, so we made our GRAND exit scene right in the middle(embarrassing), right after I had announced a hymn...which I never got to sing.:-( Anyway, I really enjoyed the weekend and being able to spend some more time with the Zehr's and one of the "we all" group.

When I Pray

We heard him call you out
And by faith we had no doubt
We knew that you must follow and obey
Though your answering a call
I can't help but think of all
The times when you weren't so far away.

But when I pray for you,
The way I often do,
As I think of you each and everyday!
Though it seems we're far apart,
I know deep in my heart,
We'll be together when I pray!

I know you'll feel alone,
And oh, so far from home!
And the missing you grows harder every day,
But hold onto the promise,
That he will never leave us,
And know that your name's mentioned when I pray!

And when I pray for you,
The way I often do.
As I think of you each and every day!
Though it seems we're far apart,
I know deep in my heart,
We'll be together when I pray!

God will work all things for our good!
He gives me strength just like He said He would!
On my knees, your not so far away,
And I'm closest to you when I start to pray!

And when I pray for you,
The way I often do,
As I think of you each and every day!
Though it seems we're far apart,
I know deep in my heart,
We'll be together when I pray!

I'm A Winner Either Way

I just finished reading this book (I'm A Winner Either Way) the other day. It is a very thought provoking book and a very good read.  In one of the last chapters it talks about having a destination, but there are different ways to get there.  You can take the freeway, which is the easiest, fastest, most direct route. You don't have a lot of time to think and it doesn't require your full attention. Or you can take the back roads, which are more scenic, they take longer, it isn't the most direct route, and it is tougher. You have to spend time thinking which way you are going and where you need to turn, etc.  I guess for me it just hit me.  Right now I am on the freeway and I have been on it for awhile.  But it is time for me to get off, to take the back roads.  It will be a lot more difficult, and I will need to put a lot more faith and trust in God, but He won't lead me astray.  And even though it will be a lot tougher, I will also be able to sights, experience things, and learn things that I would never have even thought about had I stayed on the freeway.  The back roads are where you see God's beauty best.

45 Life Lessons

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of 'The Plain Dealer', Cleveland , Ohio 

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the  45 lessons  life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
 

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time some time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
 44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.



Remember that I will always share my spoon with you!
Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves!

What is Peace?

Peace is sitting in the silky sand at the beginning of the ocean with the soft, warm wind caressing your hair and watching God paint another masterpiece. One that is wild with fire, streaked with red and pink and as it fades into blackness, the calming reassurance of the waves continually washing up and kissing your toes before it recedes.

Peace is standing next to a waterfall. As the river once a calm flow, drops into the air, and comes crashing down unto the rocks and the water below. The mist spraying you, the water below is erupted into waves and circles, but as you look down stream a little ways, it is once again a calmly flowing river. Knowing that sometimes God lets you drop off a cliff, but after a short while you will be okay, because you are still on the way and God could see the whole picture, just as you can standing and watching the waterfall.

Peace is after a blizzard. The fields all around you are oceans of white, covered with sastrugi that God has created. Each one so meticulously carved. The branches of trees covered with snow that glisten in the morning sunlight. The cold, crisp, clean air. So fresh it almost takes your breath away, but is so refreshing to the body and soul.

Peace is seeing the effects of the gentle breeze waving the golden grains of wheat in the prairie.  The sky a brilliant shade of blue, with speckles of white clouds. The warmth of the sun beating into your skin, the wind carrying the blue jay's whistle. The smell of rippened crops filling your nose.

Peace is gazing upon those little faces who have a smile spread across their face.  Their shrill laugh and a quiet giggle making their eyes sparkle, letting their insocents break through humanity's sufficating burdens. Their complete reliance upon their parents, but yet the freedom they exhibit as the run after a butterfly without having to worry about what people might think.

Peace is becoming just like that child. Relying completely upon God, but yet the freedom we receive from Him to be able to view His awesome sense of wonder, to chase our dreams, to run and dance in a field of wild flowers, throwing our head back in laughter, with love for Him coursing our veins.

~A. Mae

I Love My Single Life

I love my single life
It's better than being a wife
The freedom from marriage
Keeps me from the carriage
I love my single life!

I love my single days
It's better than married ways
This freedom from hubby
Keeps me from gettin' chubby
I love my single days!

I love my single state
It's better than being a mate
This freedom from honey
Saves me lots of money
I love my single state!

I love my single group
It's better than making soup
This freedom from hitchin'
Keeps me from the kitchen
I love my single group!

I love our evening walks
We have lots of wonderful talks
Our evenings of hashing
With cameras a flashing
I love our evening walks!

I love my sister trips
It's better than mending rips
We don't have to sew
Instead we just go
I love my sister trips!

We love to travel the land
Without the escort of a man
The memories we share
They cannot compare
We love to travel the land

I love my single sisters
We certainly need no misters
I don't need a brother
I'll look for no other
I love my single sisters!

I love my single friends
They're with me to the end
Our friendship has spoken
It shall not be broken
I love my single friends!!

**Copyright by the single sisters of the Apostolic Christian Church. No additions or corrections or copying allowed unless directed by a single sister of the Apostolic Christian Church. :-)

Haiti - Feb. 2012

Here are a few pictures from Haiti.  I didn't take very many, and really the pictures don't really do much justice.  To really know what it is like you need to experience it for yourself.  Which I would encourage everyone to do if they ever get the opportunity!

We flew into the big airport in Port Au Prince from Miami.  Then we took a taxi to the smaller one, there we flew to Les Cayes.  It was smallest airplane I have ever ridden in!!

Franz & Doris Clotaire, Daniel, & Manuel

Franz is the one who started and runs S.E.E.D Ministries.

Here are a few pics from the tour we took of the hospital in Bon Fine

One of the doctors

One of the operating rooms.

Part of the hospital that has been redone by some of our workteams.  It looked very nice!!

The Domestic Center:

This is run by Germans.  It has the same concept of S.E.E.D, it teaches the women to sew, take care of the household, etc.

We had to cross this river to get there. :-)

Nursing Home

On Saturday we went and sang a few songs at this nursing home. They also sang a couple songs to us and read scripture.  It was really neat!

S.E.E.D Ministries

One of their rice patties

The road that separates the "campus" from the gardens.

Work projects:

Our main one was to pour a cement pad for a bin.  The next team going down will be putting up the bin.

We mixed the cement the the loader buckets instead of on the ground(which is the way they normally do it!!)

We also worked on the corn sheller... we had quite the contraption going!

Rod & I worked on fixing some water pipe that runs along the the gardens, where the students get their water for the plants from. We also fixed a leak in one of the water tanks....Rod tried to get me to go in and fix it....haha...I told him that is the assistants job (I was the manager & he my assistant).  I might have considered it had the water bottom of the tank not been green and the amphibians not been living in there...

Oh yes...and they let me drive the tractor!! ;-)

On Sunday we went to a church where one of the 3rd year students at S.E.E.D was doing his internship.  We got to look at a couple of his gardens.  The church was up in the mountains and it was quite the road there!! Another thing you can't explain and pictures don't even do justice to are the roads!

Silverton, OR

I went to Joel & Abi Steiner's wedding the middle of January in Silverton.  I went out on Thursday and came back Monday.  I stayed with Brooke Luthi and Rebekah Jones! We walked around Silverton on Friday & ate lunch there. Most just relaxed.  Then on Saturday we went to the coast...which really didn't last very long since it was cold and rainy. :-( But we still went to the beach...we ran out there, had some random guy take our picture...and run back to the warmth of the van. :-) Then for lunch we went to Moe's, which was really good! Then the rest of the weekend was just your normal wedding weekend...supper, singing, church, wedding, and reception.  There was a singing Friday night at Kristin Sinn's and a short singing on Sunday night at Jordan Sinn's. Then Monday we left.

Jamaica

I decided that before I add anything about Haiti, I should first add some pictures from Jamaica since that was first... So here are just a few pictures.  My favorite ones are the sunsets. The sunsets are beautiful! God so amazing!!

Peace....is seeing a sunset and knowing who to thank.