Eve is five years old today!! What a gem of a child. We had a birthday party for her at Mom and Dad’s yesterday. Grace invited the little girl that lives next door (Monica), who Eve absolutely adores. They also invited various other friends from our old neighborhood. We had a great time, a pool party!
It was such fun!
Then today we celebrate her birthday with the family. She is so excited.
Whew! We just returned to my Mom’s from the Calvary Chapel Senior Pastor’s Conference in Murrieta Hot Springs, California. We were invited to have a ministry table in the resource hall. It was awesome to see all the Pastor’s we have worked with over the last year… it was a good time and Jeff and I were grateful for the opportunity to share our ministry vision with so many Pastors.
The Girls and I were given tickets to LegoLand. We had a BLAST!!! It was so much fun, just the three of us, bumming around LegoLand… Lots of Pictures of my beautiful girls!
We plan on leaving for Oregon on Monday or Tuesday.
Oh… one more item.
Grace is going to stay with the Rachman family for three weeks prior to going to summer camp with the kids from Calvary Chapel Tucson. The summer camp is in Southern California and Jennifer Rachman offered to take her up to the camp if only Gracie would spend some time with them! Grace was thrilled at the offer. I have been praying about it… I will miss my little girl… four weeks away from her is a long time. We will drop her off at the Rachmans on Tuesday before taking off to Oregon.
We didn’t make it to Oregon. We have been called down to Vista to help out at the Calvary there. I did drop Grace off… it was hard. But I am glad I will not be so far gone while she gets used to being away from us.
Grace is looking at this as a mission trip. She has big plans to share about the Lord, about secular music and purity with Brooke (the little girl she is visiting). She has been stockpiling music to share with her.
When we were at LegoLand, I was talking to a woman in line ahead of us, a believer. I shared what Grace was up to… her mission trip and her desire to share Christian music with her friends from our old neighborhood.
Anyway, as we exited the ride, this same woman ran up to us and handed Grace ten dollars. She asked Grace to purchase some more music to share with Brooke. Grace was thrilled and said she would us the money to purchase a Christian CD to give to Brooke.
I pray it goes well for Grace at the Rachman’s home.
Well these last few days, although filled with much work at the fellowship, have been very difficult for Grace. I have received many calls from her in tears, wanting to come home. She is bored during the day - while Brooke is at school - and misses us terribly at night. Also, apparently Brooke gets angry at Grace now and then… something new for Grace.
So, Grace and I have spent much time on the phone praying and talking. It has been difficult.
We will pick her up when we leave Vista on Sunday, and make a decision whether or not she will stay at the Rachman’s until she goes to camp.
In the meantime, Jeff and Rob (at Calvary Vista) work with enthusiasm until late into the night fixing the sound system.
It occurs to me that I have been despising a gift from the Lord.
Last night Jeff and I went to a bible study at the home of Rob Nash. He is a marvelous teacher! The study was in Numbers 14, where the Israelites rebel (again!) against the Lord, by refusing to go into the land He has prepared for them.
Rather than trusting in Him, they send spies into the land to check it out. Ten of the spies say the land is no good…they fear the people living there. Two of the spies report that the land is good and that the people there will be like “bread to the Israelites.”
Thus, the Lord punishes the people by sentencing them to forty years of wandering in the desert. The punishment (wandering) fits the crime (disobedience). The people have despised a gift (the land) from the Lord and are sentenced accordingly.
The peoples allegiance was not to the Lord. They proved this over and over again through their complaints and rebellions, ten in all, during their forty days of travel from Egypt to the border of the Promised Land. Their allegiance was to themselves, to the world, to their flesh.
Walking in the flesh leads to destruction, while walking in the Spirit leads to life.
The Lord tells his people in Numbers 14, verses 31 through 35, that He would punish them because they had rejected Him, been unfaithful to Him and banded together against Him.
And over silly things… like they were bored of the food He provided, the people complained, they were grumblers…
This leads me to my grumbling.
I have continually despised the gifts of the Lord. Specifically that of our location. When we were in Oregon… it was to wet, when in Arizona… it was too hot, too brown. It occurs to me that this is grumbling not unlike that of the Israelites. So…
I seek forgiveness Lord. I have despised the gift of our location, not seeing it’s beauty - only the inconvenience it presents to me. Forgive me my Lord. I have sinned against you. I have forgotten that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
We spent Sunday (Father’s Day) at my Mother’s after picking up Grace in Mission Viejo. We spent a great day with her and this morning dropped her back at the Rachmans. Grace has decide that God’s will for her right now is to tough it out at the Rachmans. The last couple of days were better than the first couple for her… she’s not so homesick.
Grace feels that her mission field right now is in our old neighborhood and she’s up to the call.
I will miss her.
“RV livin’ is the life I lead….” (sung to Green Acres Theme Song)
It’s been an “RV” kinda week! We left Orange County on Monday afternoon, zooming our way to Oregon. (Have to be in Monmouth, OR last week!!) So, we’re drivin’ along… making great time and BOOM… one of our tires blows out!
Well, we limp off Interstate 5 and find a nice little repair guy who puts our spare on for $25 bucks. We continue along on our merry way and end up in Redding, CA for the night.
Fortunately there is a Calvary Chapel there, so we get the opportunity to serve the Lord in the midst of our zooming to Oregon! Jeff had great fun tuning the E-Drum kit until the wee hours of the morning! Then today we worked most of the day on the PA system before taking off on our northward journey.
So… we’re driving along and we realize…no water… that means no toilet flushing. Hmmmmmm. Doesn’t sound good. We pull off at a funky little market and they tell us to fill up at the spigot in the back alley… And off we go again.
We’re zooming along and I spy tons of beautiful little blue flowers along the side of the highway. Jeff is a dear and stops… yes… he stops on the side of the freeway for me to pick flowers. Now that is one amazing and crazy husband!!! Love that man!
So, we landed in Grant’s Pass tonight and we have the “smell fest” going on. Jeff siliconed the shower door and the smell is terrible, the potty is smelly and our gray water is disgusting. Not to mention the lovely smell of the chicken cage.
I just love livin’ in an RV!!!
<grin>
I am sitting in the RV, looking out the window on a damp and gray morning here in Monmouth, Oregon. We are parked under a beautiful old tree in the field next to Pastor Rick’s house. It is idyllic.
We are glad to be here in Oregon. So much has happened in the last week.
We arrived in Monmouth after a quick overnight in Grants Pass. While in Grants Pass we had the opportunity to visit with many wonderful friends for the morning. It was great fun catching up on the lives of others in ministry and seeing what the Lord has been doing in their lives.
We are very near Salem, so on Wednesday night we made our excuses to the church family in Monmouth and went to worship the Lord and fellowship with our family in Salem, at Steve Hopkins church. It was a marvelous and sweet time.
Of course, we have been busy these last few days working our ministry. We are installing a new system in Monmouth, traveled to Newberg to help the fellowship there, as well as the fellowship in Woodburn. It has been very busy.
Other interesting items: We were offered a staff position at Gospel For Asia (praying on that one!), a Calvary in Hawaii has asked us to come visit (just send the tickets!!!), AND… we may have found a piece of property to rent (PRAY HARD!!).
So, there is much to pray about, much to discuss and much to be glad over!!
The Lord is presenting many paths, it is our task to seek His will and then, once again, step out in faith.
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