Notes of Encouragment

Wanted to share these two meaningful encouragements with you...


"Hi friend! Just wanted you to know that you are still very near in my prayers. I'm sure these times getting close to the holidays are bittersweet. What a joy to know your little man is having the best holiday of his life!"


So true!!! Thanks Jonalee!

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" I was thinking about Micah this week and praying for you. This morning, I was thinking about the verse/song, "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere." Then I thought of Micah being in heaven for three months and calculated it up: that's 90 days in His courts, which is better than 90,000 days on earth, which is 246 1/2 years' worth of earthly joys and memories. Wow! Just three months in heaven FAR OUTWEIGHS two and a half LIFETIMES here. God is so good and kind. Thanks for teaching us to long for heaven, friend. Praying for God's peace, comfort, and healing love to surround you. He will quiet you with His love and rejoice over YOU with singing, too. :)
Love, Mieke


Thanks Mieke for this reminder. Doing the math really puts in in perspective!!

3 Months in Heaven

The 25th was Micah's three Month Ann in his new home, Heaven. I had hoped to write a post, but it just didn't materialize. But here it is...

The last few weeks have been very hard. The finality of death, at least for now is deep and so very sorrowful for us. Yet God is meeting us and the other morning I had a dream (on the 25th- Micah's 3 month ann. in Heaven). Little did I know that Luke had been praying for God to comfort me. That morning Luke tenderly woke me up like he usually does but instead of starting my morning I crawled back in bed, I had been having a dream about Heaven and I hoped to continue it. However when I fell back to asleep I had a dream about our Micah. I know he isn't with us anymore yet in my dream as I looked around I saw him sitting on a bike and I went over to pick him up. I then remembered in my dream that he is in heaven and I was just picking up his body (dreams are kinda crazy sometimes). So I scooped his little body up in my arms and all of a sudden he started to giggle and said, "Hi Momma". I called to Luke- "Get in here your not going to believe this". He rushed over and we held him long and tight. Kisses, tickles, loving on him....
My dream was so refreshing. A wonderful reminder that even though he isn't here with us, Micah is more alive and well than ever. Waiting for us, playing with our Savior, praying for his family...


It was beautiful, sweet rain for our hearts.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction." 2 Cor 1:3

I love the rain on my face
It reminds me of His great grace
Pouring down on my parched dry heart
Oh precious sweet rain on my face

Light Up Pacifier

Light Up Pacifier

Hi Friends! I wanted to pass this on... A friend of our has entered a sort of new inventions competition and his idea has made it to the final round! A Light Up Pacifier! Personally, I think it is a great idea. And for any of you who have young children or a little one who loved their pacifiers I'm sure you agree. How wonderful would that have been to have as your search aimless at 2 in the morning! For those of you smiling now or thinking of just last night you know what I mean! Anyway if you'd like to vote for Kerrin's Light Up Pacifier please go to Vote here: http://ideablob.com/ideas/518-Light-up-Pacifier-Lights-up-wh and remember voting ends on Oct 30


From Kerrin & Megan
Thanks so much to all of you who voted! Kerrin made it to the finals...
Voting has restarted for the last round.

Well, it looks like my crazy idea made it to the final round. All the voting starts over. If I get the most votes this week (ends 10/30) I will win $10K to develop my Light-up Pacifier idea ( http://ideablob.com/ideas/518-Light-up-Pacifier-Lights-up-wh )

Also thanks to those of you who left comments and ideas to improve my idea during the first round!

Vote here: http://ideablob.com/ideas/518-Light-up-Pacifier-Lights-up-wh

kerrin

House on the Market

Who knew that it would actually happen... our home is officially on the market now...

http://www.homesdatabase.com/MC6567555

We would so appreciate your prayers for direction and wisdom, for a home at the right price- at the right time. And for our hearts that we would hold this desire loosely, that we would be trusting in the Lord.

Prov 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

Hey Friends

Hey Friends
Last Sunday was a very special time for us. It was wonderful to share Luke’s baptism with family, friends and the church. Also our pastor Erik Sheffer was the one to baptize Luke. Our pastors, particularly Joe Lee & Erik have walked with us since the very beginning, so it was so meaningful to have Erik baptize and Joe pray for Luke afterward. Luke also shared his testimony on Sunday, it was so moving- many teary eyes. So very special!

Life has been especially busy here. Our home is going on the market tomorrow. So we are trying to pack up and do all the touch ups that go along with it. We’re hoping to find land and build or to find a home that will serve both families well. Love your prayers in this transitional season. We are open to many options just unsure what direction to go. So we’ll see what happens...

Home schooling is going well. I love being able to have Braet home this year. He is really grasping the concepts we are working on and is starting to learn to put words together. CC loves being in the middle of it all, coloring at the table, looking at the pics in Braet’s books and jabbering with us. She’s our “sweet” (most of the time) distraction! Braet has group classes on Tuesday, Art & P.E., he really enjoys it. B somehow manages to work Star Wars into each pic he makes. Last week however he made a number 9 out of clay and painted it Orange (Micah’s fav # & color). He’s so sweet; it brought tears to my eyes. Wednesday is soccer with Aubreigh, David & Jack- so fun! They are growing so fast.

This Sat we headed out to Butler’s Orchard. Humm… it was a special time, each year we took the kids there. Braet & Micah enjoyed it so, the hay rides, slides, picking pumpkins and I love snapping pics of them, it has become a family tradition over the last few years. I didn’t realize how much just being there would affect me. It was so bittersweet. Great to be there together. Later this week we hope to go back and shoot some pics at the little store there. We love the fall!

So many have communicated that we are in their thoughts and prayers…Thank You! We appreciate it very much! Happy Harvest!

Luke's Testimony

Luke's Testimony

I was raised in a Christian Home and attended church every Sunday, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. I would have considered myself generally a "good boy" and a Christian. I went through all the outward motions of being a Christian, but never really turned from my sins and toward God, never placed my trust in Christ as my Savior. As I got older it became more and more evident that I was not living to please God but to please myself, my relationship with God was non-existent. In my first year of college I began experimenting with drugs and getting drunk with my friends. Eventually I was doing drugs at least every weekend and showed little restraint in denying myself whatever I wanted. I dropped out of college after my second year and was not sure what I wanted to do with my life. I was lost, alone, and often times depressed.
But thank God for his incredible mercy. It was at this low point that I believe God started drawing me to himself. One nightI had a dream where I saw myself hammering nails into the wrists of Jesus on the cross. I remember the dread of what I was doing, all the time trying to stop hammering but unable to. That dream never left my mind – it was firmly imprinted. I was so afraid that I dug out the Bible my mom had given me years ago and began reading in Romans. As I read I was convicted of my sin and the wrath that I deserved– Romans 1:18-20 says:
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

As I continued to read the Savior and his sacrifice for my sin were revealed. Romans 3:24-25 says:
“[All] are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

Over the next several weeks I would cry out to God for mercy and forgiveness. I repented of my many sins and turned away from my sinful lifestyle and began trusting in Christ as the sacrifice for my sins. That was nearly 8 years ago, since then God has graciously blessed me with a beautiful and loving wife who was so instrumental in helping to build my faith immediately following my conversion. Kriscinda and I have been blessed with three wonderful children, one of whom awaits us in Heaven. How grateful I am for eternal life found in Him.

As a recipient of amazing grace, I am grateful now for the opportunity to be baptized and publicly proclaim Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

Being Baptised

Luke is being baptised this Sunday (the second service 11:30) and possibly sharing his testimony =). He was baptised as a child but believes he wasn't saved until later. So Sunday he will be making a public profession of his faith before the church, friends, fam and community. So this week he'll be sharing his testimony with you! More to come....