Happenings

While so much has been going on, I can honestly say that we are still taking baby steps most of the time. God is showing us only small bits at a time. He has been opening some doors for us and we are being faithful to walk through those open doors. So much is also still unclear. I believe God is doing that so we can show Him we trust Him and believe that He will bring about the purpose and direction in our lives in due time.

Our personal lives and those of our children seem to go from good to bad and back again on a minute by minute basis. While so many things seem to be falling apart we can't help but look on it as a possible "fresh start" and a time to begin again with a clean slate. John called a "family meeting" two weeks ago so we could sit down and share with each other where we were in life. It was mostly for the four adults in the family (did I say 4? Wow, when did that happen? In a blink of an eye, we have two grown children in our family. Time passes so quickly. Enjoy each precious moment of your children's childhood. Then have a blast with them as adults.) because the two younger kids just kind of listened and Star Princess feel asleep in my lap. "Dad" shared the things going on in our life with the mission stuff and with his work. Our older two are going through some hard times, major growing pains. But we took each one and tried to find some positive things that could be done and to look at it as an adventure. Also, some things we needed to pray about as a family for each other. He wanted them to know that we are a family, always will be a family AND will always be there for each other, no matter where we live. It is my hope that we will continue these and even when we are overseas, maybe we can S*kype our family meetings.

While we wait upon the Lord to open more doors and make more things clear on the mission side of our life, there are things that I know I must get done. We are always working on school for the kids. Plus, I have many things around the house that must be done. Part of my downsizing is to get the extra scrapbook supplies and fabric cleared out. But not in the way you might think. I am not just getting rid of it. I am using it. I have many pictures that need in books to prepare for storage. I have much fabric that needs to be made into things instead of stored. I have promised quilts to each of my children. Those MUST be made before we go overseas. I have set that as a goal. I can't wait to work on them and post pictures of each.

My writing has been non-existent with the exception of my blogs. That is my own fault. I just have not taken the time to sit down and work. It is work. Anyone who believes writing is easy is in for a shock. But it is still something that is inside me trying to get out. I must obey that command at some point and let the voice inside me speak. I pray I can overcome the barriers that hold me back and that the voice will be free to venture forth to share with all of us what messages God has given it.

Our "next step" is a training class coming up in March for a week. It is for water well drilling. I may or may not get to go. I have to find "childcare" for the two younger kids and so far, I haven't. Then I need to raise money somehow (be it donations, garage sales, etc...) for a mission trip for all four of us, which can be pretty pricey. We would need about $1,500, which would include the trip, passports, visas, shots, etc...  That is something we are required to do before we are commissioned by our church to go out. If you have any fund raising ideas for me, feel free to email me the details. We need all the help we can get. Of course, once we do that, it will be time to start raising the money for long term. God is good and will provide, I have no doubt.

Until next time...blessings to you. 

Our Daniel Boone Unit

This school year we have been using a wonderful program, Trail Guide To Learning: Paths of Exploration. We have fallen in love with this program. It is great for me, the teacher, because everything is laid out so clearly. Everything comes in your "backpack" of supplies with very few exceptions, like colored pencils and the like. For the kids it is great because it is fun and interesting. It includes all the subjects but math. We are able to do so many extra things with each unit. There are six units that take six weeks each. This year we are learning all about exploration of the United States, starting with Christopher Columbus. Next year we will be doing Paths of Settlement. They are supposed to keep making more to this series that will continue all the way through high school. I think that is awesome!

We are having such a great time with our Daniel Boone unit. We have been doing lots of reading about him and I purchased a DVD with some of the Disney TV shows from long ago. We watched one of them last night. It was different from the true story in a lot of ways but truth was mixed into the story line. I could tell where they changed it but still kept truth in it as well. For instance, he had a new child almost every couple of years, but on the show he only had two kids.

We have learned how Daniel Boone lived and explored many different places in the United States. We also learned a great deal about how the battle for independence impacted the settlers in ways we never knew. The British paid the Native American's to kill the settlers because they were trying to gain that independence from them.

We are also learning a lot about honey bees. Did you know that they are disappearing? And if we can't find a way to get them back and keep them we will lose a lot of our favorite fruits and veggies? I am not sure what we can do about it. We found the information by looking up Colony Collapse Disorder, which was first realized in the U.S. in 2006. If you and your kids are studying bees, this would be an awesome subject to check out. The reason we are learning about bees is because when the settlers got to America there weren't any honey bees. I didn't know that.

Most people had a snow day today because the weather is so odd for Texas. It has been below freezing and snowing lightly all day. The kids have gone out twice although I don't see how they can stand it. I stand at the door to check on them and freeze within seconds. Kids are so funny that they can stand things we can't. I am glad they are having a good time but hoping they don't lose any fingers while they are having fun. I'm telling you...it's cold! We did have our school time today. They got their math done before they went out the first time. Then they came in for lunch and our Unit Study time. Now they are back out there freezing. I took these pictures of them when I braved the cold for the few minutes it took me to get them to come off the playground to pose for it.

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

Doors of Opportunity

The beginning of a new year holds so many adventures. Of course there will be hardships and downs to go along with the ups in our lives. But I choose to see the glass half full. I choose to see the positive things that come along and not dwell on the negative. So what positive things are presenting themselves as possibilities for 2011? I can't wait to tell you.

We are finishing up our Intro to Panorama this month. The holiday busyness got in the way of our finishing in December. We are meeting with the Direct Mission Sending Council in a couple of weeks to make the transition from the inquirer stage to candidate stage. We start the Advanced Panorama in February and should be finishing it up in June or early July.  We will be working on building our advocacy teams and prayer support teams. We will also need to begin working on financial support during the next several months and beyond.

We will be going to San Angelo, Texas in March for a week long training with Water for All International. At first we thought John was going alone but they asked me to go as well. I am really excited to be included. It makes sense that we get to know each other because it will be a team effort for our family, not just John.

John has been searching the Internet for sources on making parts of the well on his own, like the pump. He is learning the many different ways you can make them. He has made a few different models in the garage. Jonathan has been quick to volunteer to try them out and pump the water out of buckets.

The Water for Christ team has a couple of people going to Niger this month to do some ground work in that area. They want to see what they are dealing with and how they need to go about gathering the resources needed for the wells there. Then they will make plans to go back over there in teams to drill some wells.

We may have the opportunity to go with Water for All International to Bolivia for part of the summer to work with them drilling wells there. They have asked us to be a part of that if we are able. Right now I don't see the provision for our bills and the trip. But we trust that if God wants us to do this, HE will keep the doors open and provide the provisions we need to do it. We would be thrilled to have the chance to go for whatever length of time provision is provided for. They will be there from June through August.

A few months ago we started a monthly prayer meeting in our home for The Water for Christ ministry. We hold that every third Thursday of the month. Anyone is welcome to join us that wants to be a part of praying for this water drilling ministry.

John and I are working on building prayer teams. That is going to be one of our main goals in the months to follow. Those teams are something we will continue to build all throughout our ministry. If you would like to be a part of that, please join us. There is nothing like prayer. We will keep in contact with the lead person of each team and allow them to share the information with the others. We would like for those teams to share their prayer concerns with us so that we can pray for them, too. At the bottom of this post, on our newsletters and on our Partner With Us page you will find a list of updated prayer needs. Please continue to lift those up. --Terri

     Just for fun: Jonathan staged this pose the day they were out drilling.

Specific Prayer Request

• Pray a hedge of protection around each of us. Spiritual warfare is very real.
• Pray for financial provision on upcoming training and mission trips throughout the year.
• Pray that all debt (car debt, student loans & medical bills) are able to be paid off quickly. The sell of the land would take care of a great deal.
• Pray for provisions for downsizing our income again as John plans to move into a day position that is a lot less pay.
• Pray for our 23 year old daughter as she continues to seek God's direction for her life.
• Pray for our 18 year old son that he will find a way to be self sufficient.
• Pray for our younger two children, ages 11 and 9, as they also prepare to serve with us.

Goals of Transformation in 2011

The theme for our church for 2011 is Transformed Along The Way. As followers of The Jesus Way, we are in a process of being spiritually formed, or more accurately described as transformation. Throughout the year Dr. Wiles will teach on six areas in our lives. Trust, Learn, Share, Love, Obey and Worship. I am so looking forward to seeing God move me closer to Him in these areas and how He does it.

My husband and I have been talking about this and personal goals for our family. We have discussed how we feel God calling us to be better stewards of our money and our possessions. I mentioned that we should take it a step further and include our time. This past year has been filled with many things that have shaped our desires for the coming year and beyond. While we haven't made huge strides in all directions, we have made some and at the same time seen where we need to make others.

We have learned to live on half the income we were making when the year started. It was a long hard struggle. But we came to realize possessions didn't make us happy or give us fulfillment in our lives. We had learned to live within the means we were accustomed to by the amount of money brought in. It seems like the more money a person makes the more they spend. We were not the exception to that rule. Soon we will have to get used to making even less when he changes positions at work to a lower paying one. He will have more time to live his life instead of it being all about work. So we are gaining more even though we will be making less. Today's world may find that hard to believe. We would rather him be a part of our lives and have less money than have more money and never see him.

The main thing that God is speaking to me about is my personal walk with Him. I want to grow closer to Him each day by making sure I start my day with Him. That I earnestly seek Him throughout my day. That I am sensitive to the Spirit's leading to pray, for my family and others that He lays on my heart at any given moment. I want to hear that still small voice ever so clearly and have Him stir my heart to action. I want to mirror that for my children and give them that example early in their lives so that they might have that closer walk with Him now and not wait till they are 45 years old.

We are beginning a new phase in our mission training. We will be starting the Advanced Panorama in February. We are so excited. This month we will meet with the Direct Mission Sending Council to talk about our next steps of being qualified to be sent. My hubby will be going on a week long water drilling training in March with Water for All International. The process of training is still very involved and we have no way of knowing how long it will take to get to the point God would have us be before we are sent. But God knows and we will be faithful to keep moving forward in whatever training He places before us. We feel one of the things we must focus on is gathering Prayer Teams across the globe to pray for our ministry. We feel that above all, prayer is key.

Another goal I have is my writing. I want to set aside time each day to do some kind of writing, be it on here or in a journal or working on a novel. I also want to set aside time to do writing exercises and read some of the great books on the craft of writing. I know God didn't give me the desire to write without a purpose. He has a purpose for my writing even if it isn't to be published. I am also getting more into doing reviews for some wonderful writers. God is speaking to me through those novels. It gives me an opportunity to recommend some great works to others so that His message through them can be heard.

I take my responsibility as wife and mother seriously. Not as seriously as I should, at times. I have let life drag me down and that is no excuse whatsoever. I am ashamed of how I have failed my family. But God gives us second chances and I am so grateful for that. Since it seems that I am not supposed to work outside the home at this time (when he goes back to days) then HE must want me to put more focus on the things in my home. I want to do a better job with my household responsibilities, with homeschooling, with teaching my children how to live The Jesus Way and being a better example of the fruit of the Spirit in my everyday life. Those are some challenging things but I know He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. The one that wants me to stumble cannot have victory over me because I have victory in Christ Jesus.

My weight is a huge issue, no pun intended. OK. Maybe it was. I am very upset with myself right now because I have let myself gain 35 pounds in almost 3 years. I had lost 26 pounds 3 years ago. And now I weigh even more than before. My highest non-pregnant weight. As we look towards and train for overseas cross-cultural work we have talked about "getting in shape". And I just keep getting more OUT OF SHAPE! I know part of the problem is my thyroid but mostly it is my eating habits. So that is another way I want to be transformed this year, eating smaller portions, eating healthier, exercising, and dropping this weight once and for all. I know I will be happier. I just have to do it.

I hope that you will seek His transformations in your life in 2011. Please keep us in your prayers as we seek that in our lives. 

Until next time...blessings to you.

Low Cost Water Well Drilling

God has placed this water well drilling ministry on John's heart with such a passion. He started doing this local training before he was able to go and train with the Water for All International ministry. And after that time he has continued to take groups out to this local area and practice drilling more wells to get the technique down better. 

Let me share a few pictures of the test water well drilling that John and our son Jonathan have been a part of. In these pictures the guys from Water for All International were there working with them and showing them how to do it.

Until next time...blessings to you. 

Goodbye 2010

There is so much we can say about a year that has just past. Not all will be good, but not all will be bad. It's a good thing to look back and see the good and bad. Would you put the ordinary in the good or bad category? I suppose it would depend on your outlook on life. For some, the ordinary would be good because it would certainly be better than the bad things they have had to deal with. But some might look on the ordinary things in their lives as bad simply because they held no excitement or adventure. As you look back on your 2010, think about it.

In 2010 we have had our ups and downs. Some of the ups weren't so good! I have gained back my weight that I lost for my 25th wedding anniversary vow renewal two years before PLUS about 10 pounds more. That is depressing in and of itself. Maybe in 2011 I can lose it again. I feel like a yo-yo!

January-May:

• I began closing my very successful home daycare. That cut our yearly income in half. Our monthly bills began to get behind while I tried to find ways to make extra money to pay the bills. I went through the house and sold as much as I could, including many of my daycare things. The money went towards car repairs for hubby's car instead of paying off bills. But at least we had it. I tried to do a weekly parents night out that would bring in enough to pay the bills but people are just too busy to take that time to go out these days.
• JC did FBCA basketball and Bible Drill during those months so we spend many hours going back and forth to the church for those activities plus the regular ones.
• Hubby and I began a wonderful mission study called Perspectives. It opened up a whole new world for us and literally changed many of our perspectives on how missions are and should be done. At the end of that time we publicly announced God's call on our lives to do full time missions overseas. We began talking with our missions minister about what our next steps would be. We started blogging to keep people updated. 
• In May I joined two writer's groups, the national one, American Christian Fiction Writers and a wonderful local one, DFW Ready Writers. I have learned so much from the local group because of the wonderful guest speakers we have each month at our meetings. I also started a writer's blog. I am doing book reviews on there and someday hope to have things that I have published on there, as well. If you are a published writer and would like me to review your book, just let me know. I love to read!
• Sami turned 23, She started working for Lifetouch again through JCPenney's taking wonderful pictures.
• JC turned 11, is in the 6th grade and has this one last year in the children's department.

Summer:

• The two younger kids and I spent the summer doing all the wonderful FBCA children's activities. We went to summer camp (that was a blast!) at Riverbend. We did VBS and VBSX (the after care program), Summer Fest (the musical), and WOW Camp. I had one of the best summers ever.
• All the while I was putting in applications for jobs. I applied everywhere. In August I finally got a job but it was short lived.

Fall:

• My van got repossessed and I could no longer get to work. The kids and I walked many places, including church on Wednesday nights. As the weather got colder we stopped walking and started asking for rides.
• I started subbing at the local schools that I could walk to. That was a lot of fun. I love working with the kids especially the younger ones. Fourth graders are a bit wild though. Hubby worked days for five weeks in November so I had to stop subbing.
• Nick turned 18, got his GED.
• Jenni turned 9 and is in the 4th grade. They are all growing up so quickly. We now have two grown children and two that are pre-teens. Life is full of adventures.
• We started our new homeschool year with new curriculum. It is amazing! We are having so much fun with it. We are a part of a wonderful homeschool group that meets at our church every other Thursday. We also go on field trips together. As I said to them at our Christmas party, it is like these kids are all a huge group of cousins! They have become so close it is wonderful!
• We started some NEW mission training called Panorama. That has been awesome! The kids have been doing a children's version of that program. Until now they hadn't done one for kids but it was something we felt so strongly about. We want them to be prepared and not just us for the adventures God has for us in the future.
• We have also gotten involved with a mission ministry called Water for Christ. JC has actually gone out with his dad and worked on site to help drill practice wells. We hold monthly prayer meetings in our home for this group. We feel God is going to use us in this ministry to reach the unreached people groups of the world with the gospel of Christ. What an adventure!

December

• Hubby went back on nights but still working seven days a week. The stress of that made our home life a bit difficult. He has put in for a day position that isn't management but we haven't heard anything yet. It would mean less hours for him working but it would also mean less money, a lot less money. But we know God will provide if that happens. We would rather him be home.
• My 14 year old niece was killed in a car accident. It really makes you appreciate what you have and who you have. You need to make sure you tell those you love that you love them. Never let the sun go down on your anger. Go a step farther, never get into a big enough fight with someone that you would regret it if there was never a time to right things with them. It is OK to disagree with someone, just not to the point of anger. You also need to make a difference in others lives that you come in contact with because you just never know how much time you have on this earth to make a difference. 

While I am sure there are other things that have happened during the year, I have been working on this post for too long. There are things I wish I could undo in 2010 but I am hoping that I can use what I have learned from the good and the bad to make 2011 a better year. My next post will be my goals, short term and long term for 2011. 

Until next time...blessings to you. 

School Pictures 2010

My oldest daughter took these pictures of her siblings. She is an awesome photographer!

11 1/2 years old, 6th grade

9 years old, 4th grade

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by.