The things that are on my mind

1.  My husband was ordained this weekend!
What a joy!  To finally come to this point after years of preparing.  I still remember the years when my husband was a full-time student and a full-time employee.  That meant that every bit of time we had with him was precious.  We were both stretched and brought to the end of ourselves.  There were tears of exhaustion and questioning whether or not we could go on living like that!  Other people thought we were crazy...WE thought we were crazy!  But we learned so much about turning to God for strength and not giving up when it's hard.

The service will always be something that I treasure in my heart.  All of those years of hard work and preparation seemed to culminate at that point.  Javier shared his testimony of salvation and call to the ministry and our pastor's message from the book of 1 Timothy 4:11-16 was encouraging and edifying.  It was wonderful to share in the moment with Javier's parents who have always supported us over the years and have been a source of encouragement and love.  As well as our pastor from Missouri that showed us the way to find forgiveness in Christ and took the time to disciple us.  We can't thank him enough!  We were also blessed to have a couple there that has worked with Javier in the hospital over the years and has had the opportunity to see his ministry firsthand as he has faithfully pointed them to Christ and the salvation he freely offers.  We praise God that they have come to know Christ!  And lastly, another couple that came all the way from Yuba City, CA!  Their support meant so much to us.  What a blessing to have them all there along with our church family.  Believe me, I could hardly stop smiling.

2.  We know where we are going!
It seems so hard to believe that we are actually going to move to Yuba City, CA.  No longer is it "maybe" or "we'll see what God has" or "if we go, then..."  We have direction.  We can plan!  We can get really excited! It almost makes me feel like Jell-O inside.

We thank God for a vote of 93% from the church.

We thank God for the assurance that he is with us and will continue to be no matter what.

We thank God for the understanding that this is first and foremost HIS church and HIS people and we are merely HIS servants who hope and pray to bring him honor and glory in Yuba City.  He has the power to change lives and heal all the broken places as people turn to him.

3.  Packing and fixing up
Isn't it sad that our homes undergo so much improvement just as we are preparing to leave them?!  :)
We are busy about getting our house ready to sell and last week that meant building a closet with the help of our friends.  My house has been a construction zone lately!  And since I had to move stuff around for the project and things were already out of place, I decided that I may as well start packing.  Amera and I have been quite a team!  Actually she has probably done most of it, especially since I had to keep so many other balls rolling.

This week we are preparing to do some painting.  Our walls are looking so lovely with the blue stripe effect of the paint tape Amera put up yesterday!  There is much to accomplish and I am doing my best to do what I can in the hours that God gives me.  I admit, I wish I had more!

Please join us in praying that our house sells quickly.  We know that nothing is too hard for our God and he knows that our desire is to begin serving in Yuba City as quickly as possible.  All the details are in his hands...right where they need to be.

4.  Baby number eight!
God has blessed us with a little one that we will be so excited to meet at the end of November.  It's too early to know if it is a boy or a girl but at this point we're not too concerned about it!  God fits families together perfectly and he knows exactly what he is doing.  We have no control over it and God has already decided it.  Boys and girls are both blessings and gifts from God.  We have had the joy of experiencing that over and over again.

5.  To read or not to read, that is the question!
I confess, lately it's hard not to feel like I should be doing a million others things when I sit down to read.  The laundry never seems to end and there always seems to be something that needs to be done.  But I am squeezing in a chapter here and there.  I tell myself "Just one chapter and then I'll _______."  It works fairly well and it gives me something to ponder while I do the task.  Lately I am still working through the books I have already started as well as some others that I probably shouldn't be adding to my reading list yet....but I was too interested in the topic to resist.  What's that topic you ask?  Music.  I found a few books that I just couldn't wait to dig into.  As a family, it has been a topic that we have had many discussions over and many questions in our minds as well.  I believe it is an area that each of us should be thoughtful and careful about, recognizing that our choices matter a great deal to God for the sake of his honor and glory.  What a blessing to benefit from the careful thought and study of others as they have sought to base their convictions on the Word of God.

Maybe I'll write more on that later but for now, I have some work to do!