A Reason to Grow & a Reason to Rest

"We are always in the forge, or on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things."
by: Henry Ward

GROWTH

Communicating has become the backburner to life over the last few months. Brenton and I have been in a definite refining period. What we have learned; to persevere, to always hold integrity, that God is our Rock, to pray that the "... joy of the Lord would be our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10b). What we are processing; what is the purpose, is there more to be learned, are we living grace-filled lives as we are being refined, is there something greater going on. Have we been perfect in the journey, no; have we grown and been grace-filled, I believe yes.

What has been encouraging, is to see how past experiences have prepared us for this year and how we have become stronger. Never, the less, it has been a rough few months. It has been beautiful to see the Lord at work in us and refining us. I will have to admit that I never think the process is fun at the time, but there is no better place to be. That may come back as a gentle little kick in the bottom at some point, knowing the Lord uses stretching times to mold us and answers our prayers, often not in the way we expect. Always be prepared; He will answer us in the way He sees best, not as we see best.

To shed a little light, Brenton and his team have dealt with a number of disappointments. For weeks, it was about every other day. The season is under way and hope has come in glimpses. If you are reading this, just pray that the boys would be encouraged and able to finish strong, as their performance is obviously affected by all these outside circumstances. As a proud wife, I must say that my lover has been a man of integrity and has taken on the semester with grace.

REST

Aside from the immediate, our project and release has been working on our new home. It is ready for the most part, just pending a few projects. The only pictures I have are of the main floor as the other rooms still need a few cosmetic touches. Enjoy, as we definitely are.

Bentley's Newest Hiding Place...

Our little critter is getting big. The two pups have adjusted to dorm life pretty well... Lexi is getting a belly, and NO she is not pregnant. I have no doubts they are missing the yard, but the students love them! They all want to watch the pups and take them on walks, which they desperately need as their pent up energy is about to burst at the seams. Every once in a while we take them out back and they have what we call "Redbull" moments, zipping back and forth like the true maniacs that they are.

The best entertainment was coming home a few days ago. As a side note, we've begun to let Bentley out of the kennel unsupervised. Yep, he is getting full on big boy privileges now. (The worst that's happened is that he got into his food bag and didn't want dinner after stuffing his belly while we were out.) But again, the sweetest surprise was coming home and trying to find the critter. As you've now discovered, I searched around to find him in the tub... when I pulled the shower curtain back, he sat down as good as ever knowing he'd been caught red-handed. He thought I'd pop his nose and send him to the kennel, as goes our current routine, but instead I patted his head and walked away to get the camera. So he moved on over to the faucet, the root cause of his newest play space. The boy loves water as much as peeing. I try to limit his water since he's still learning to hold his bladder and squatting whenever he's punished. I figured a few leaking faucets won't make the problem any worse than it is! He's a handful but turning into a sweet little pup.

Ottawa School of Evangelism

For the last number of months, I have been working two positions at The Cove. The second position, as mentioned in a previous post, was to hope with the programmatical elements of the Schools of Evangelism (SOE). We headed to Ottawa two weeks ago for an intensive school! Unfortunately, my supervisor found that she had appendicitis the day before the SOE began and was in the hospital for surgery as the school was starting. She is still out on recovery.

The participants seemed to be oblivious the fact that we were a little out of sorts; I only heard positive words. All I can say is that BGEA is very thorough in preparations. A huge ministry to me was the BGEA Canada staff; very impressive. They were very effective in tasks, but mostly ministry driven. True servant hearts.

Between Parliament and the Fairmont


Parliament (Right across the street from the Fairmont Chateau Laurier)


We stayed at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, Canada; I'm told this is where my father's parents had their wedding reception or honeymoon. I also was able to me Bev and Karlene Shea, who knew my father-in-law's parents...wonderful people as Bev recalled. I also recently discovered that my (Kelly's) father's great-grandmother knew Bev Shea, crazy connections!

Fairmont Chateau Laurier


After mornings starting around 6:30am and days ending around 9:30pm; it was interesting to arrive home right in the middle of moving! Brenton may take the prize for beating me with a hectic schedule as he was working on his masters, prep for soccer, moving out of the rental home, and closing on a home (Yes, we bought a home! I'll have to give an update on this in a few weeks...). We are tired; the soccer guys come tomorrow and the RAs have started to come in, as I will also be an RD at Montreat while continuing at The Cove. Pray for stamina and encouragement. B's had some crazy scenarios with students trying to come in and also needing housing; at this point the Lord is going to have to work. Please pray and now, as deadlines for the team are right now!!!

Round Two:

F~ Family pictures again!!!
A~ Atlantic ocean; what else do you go to the beach for?!
M~ Mini golf
I~ Ice cream and brownies
L~ Little guys; nephews Jaylon & Kylan
Y~ "Yippee! Sleep!"

V~ Vast blue sea; aka "Big Water" by Jaylon
A~ Adventure; watching the guys parasail
C~ Christmas shop; the longest I've ever seen
A~ An air conditioning gone bad
T~ Twizzlers and treats...Mmmm!
I~ It's true; the vacations are now over and prep for the school year begins
O~ Optional... surfing, swimming, laying out
N~ North Myrtle beach with B for a night
S~ Sand and shells

An Afternoon to Forget, Or Not...

After an eleven hour work day, Friday, I came home to a voicemail that my eldery neighbor had been taken to the hospital. Her daughter had called to let me know that she was having surgery on her heart this coming Monday. The mother and daughter have been so kind to us and made reference about my touching base when I had time.

So I made it my goal for today, after sleeping in, to pick some flowers and put a goodie basket together to run by the hospital. After a number of odds and ins, I drove off to the hospital. To start out on a poor note, my heart was not into going to the hospital mostly since the visit kept getting pushed back later, later, and later.

I pulled off to the side of the road after taking the exit specified to me, realizing I was not in the right spot. When turning into a nearby parking lot, my secured vase toppled over onto my work notebook spilling water all over the floor of the passenger side... the cute flower arrangement, smashed; the notebook, smeared; and the floor, sopping wet. I dialed Brenton's number, "Is 25A, the Sweeten Creek exit, the right exit headed toward Biltmore?"

"That would be the following exit..." So I headed to the following exit and turned between Mac Donald's and the Grand Bohemian hotel, following Sweeten Creek road that led me straight back to the first exit. I called B again, "Could you please mapquest Mission Hospital?"

I hopped back onto the freeway and found Mission without a problem, but the building where my neighbor was; a completely different story. I drove one way and turned around after seeing the emergency helicopters, parking in a structure on the opposite side of the hospital. I went inside where they told me my neighbor was not staying at the hospital. They finally found her and said she was on the other side and to drive passed the helicopter pad. I found the parking structure and notice only one spot on the upper level. I should have realized there was a reason no one was parked there, near the cement wall. I was sure I could fit but rather scraped our nice Honda on the cement wall; the parking spot was obviously too tight. I called B again, sniffling, "I just scratched the front right side of our car..." It was not the whole side but there is a good scratch.

The last thing I wanted to do was visit in the hospital while crying about the car. I dried my face off, and took in the crooked flowers and goodie basket. I didn't stay long, but both of my neighbor's daughters looked at me with teary eyes and said, "This means so much that you came to see mom."

I wondered why the Lord would let me scratch the car, when I was just trying to help my neighbor out. And I prayed that when I woke up it would be a dream, but I think the lesson I'm to remember is what things hold most value in life.

ROAD TRIP!!!

Road trip to the Benwares and vacation with friends...

F~ Family Pictures... NOT complete without them
A~ All the food you could imagine
M~ Mosquito bites galore
I~ Ice cream after every meal, late night snack runs...
L~ Little flick in theaters with the Benware crew, "UP"
Y~ Yahoo, game nights

V~ Visit's with B's family, grandparents and friends
A~ And NAPS!!!
C~ Cardinal's Game
A~ And a stop in Nashville, TN
T~ Traffic for 2 hours after the Cardinal's game
I~ Inside for the 4th... rain in Nashville
O~ Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plains...
N~ Nieces and Nephews