Taking in some Tunes

Last week, we were blessed by our friends, Stef & Sandi, when they invited us to The United Tour...Steven Curtis Chapman & Michael W. Smith on stage together sharing their music! They have never performed together on tour, so that was pretty cool to be there on the opening night.

Being long time fans of both artists, Brent & I agreed that Steven Curtis Chapman still has the most impact on us. This is partly because of his family's amazing story of hope and how they are boldly choosing faith in God during a tragic event in their lives. He shared why he believes that God is still calling him to sing and tour...he wasn't sure he'd be able to continue that career after the loss of his youngest daughter. We and countless others are so thankful that Steven and his family are still sensing God's plan in their lives. They have been a HUGE blessing to so many already!

The 2 artists are also bringing their older sons on tour with them to play back up guitar & keyboard. It was neat to see the duos displaying their musical ability!

It was a blessing to hang out with Stef & Sandi, especially in the midst of his fierce battle with cancer. Please keep praying for Stef, as he's in the middle of radiation treatments and much pain right now. Thanks Stef & Sandi, for making it a fun night and blessing us, even in the midst of your trials right now!

Free Download!

So there's finally a new song on the playlist over there. Thanks to this site, I got a free download and I'm liking it! I've heard a lot of Lincoln Brewster, mostly on our local radio station, but I haven't "picked up" on him yet. But I am liking this song...Today is the Day. Get this song free (and a new one every week) when you have an account with them.

Taken straight from Psalm 118:24 -
"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Learned this one young, but it's so true that no matter what our day holds, we can trust that God made it for a reason and we can be glad! What a great song to hear each morning...especially the ones when we're dragging. I probably won't be doing any jumping around to it as I get ready though...can you envision that with my growing belly?

"And I won't worry about tomorrow, I'm trusting in what you say...today is the day."

New clothes for new life

Just wanted to post an opportunity to share some spare change and buy some new uniforms for some precious children in the Dominican Republic.

Several months ago I posted about God opening doors for us to come alongside Makarios International by sponsoring a child. We have been blessed to support & pray for "our girl" and hear updates, not only about what she's learning and how she's excelling in school, but also about how the other children are being impacted by God's work at Makarios.

At the beginning of this school year, just like we do here in the States, Makarios has costs for new uniforms for those growing kiddos, among other starting expenses. Consider whether you could help any of these kids through this ministry.

Don't quote me on this, but I believe that $10 will help to cover the costs of a new uniform for each child.

You can simply send a donation to the address listed on the bottom of their homepage. If you have any more questions about sponsoring a child or about the ministry, their people are so caring and helpful...I'll send you one of their email addresses. And while you're checking out their homepage, dive a little deeper to learn more about their passion to reach the Haitians & Dominicans there! It's pretty amazing...God is doing a great work!

Creation Education

We're going to rewind a couple of weeks back to our VBS week...

Operation Space: A Close Encounter with God's Word

...an excellent week and one of the most memorable each year for our family. Each year the curriculum is written around the truths of Creation Science and how God & His word relate to and fuel our lives today.

This year we focused on....SPACE (you guessed it) and the amazing way that God created our planet to be the perfect & only known place to display His glory in His own image - humans!

Our boys LOVED it and were so thrilled to start a new day & arrive at VBS each morning. We usually struggle during our busy weeks. So it was "somethin" that they didn't whine & throw fits when we had to get out the door in the am. Clearly the hand of God helping out in our daily lives and drawing our boys to love what they were learning about Him!

During the week, our good friend mentioned her son has been listening to a set of CD's called "The Jonathan Park Series." I wondered if they would be more appropriate for older kids, but we picked up a set at the VBS bookstore anyhow. Well...BOTH boys are HOOKED on them!

They ask to hear them in the van, no matter the length of the trip & as they go to bed at night. This 4-CD set is packed full of 12 episodes of adventure. While these made-for-radio dramas are classified as fiction, they are based on actual places & scientific discoveries. Brent and I have really enjoyed listening along and have learned a lot ourselves!

If you're looking for come good ear-candy for a road trip, we suggest Jonathan Park to keep the whole family in tune & learning more about defending our faith in God & His creation!

(Note some new sites that "grow me" in the sidebar!)

New to the Family

On Saturday, during dinner, Big brudder and I are having a conversation that I don't even remember starting. He opened up and said, "When my friends die, I am going to be really sad." We said, "Why will you be so sad?" And he said, "Because I'll miss them."

Rewind about 2 years...we have been praying about, reading about, talking about how Jesus died on the cross to save all people from their sins. By choosing to trust Him to forgive those sins, we will be in heaven with Jesus when we die. Braden has a full understanding of the story of Jesus death and resurrection and why Jesus chose to do that for us.

Back to our conversation...We reminded him that he doesn't have to miss his friends, if he and his friends are sure they have asked Jesus to forgive them, so they can all live in heaven one day. It was an awesome chance to remind him that he has to make that decision for himself...not Daddy, not Mommy, not Grandparents, not friends...He was in charge of that choice. What a big one for a young guy!

The wheels must have been turning for him, because he soon held up a finger and said, "Mommy, don't listen to this..." He turned away from me, folded his hands and whispered a prayer...."Dear Jesus, please come into my heart and forgive my sins."

Wooohooo! We were excited...almost shocked...but we know that he understands and firmly believe that He became a new addition to God's family at that moment. Brent told him that he had just made the most important choice of his life. The angels were celebrating for him...so we had to also. It was great for little bro to hear the entire conversation and hear the excitement too.

So what better way for us to celebrate than to have a Blue Moon party...Don't they look happy? It got a little crazy, but what's a celebration without some craziness?

Thank you Lord for making your way clear for our boy...we can only trust your perfect timing for your plan to sink in to the heart of one who needs you. It's all You Jesus...you made it click for him!

The boys celebrating New Life!