A monthly update

Will helped a friend put some can lights in around the house. The difference is amazing.
Let there be LIGHT!

February 14, 2017...we had a little Valentine's day party for Ethan and for all of us...cards were exchanged, candy was bought and tacos were eaten with gusto...

super cute Daughter in law.

super cute partyers

super cute 21 year old birthday boy.
Twenty one??? what in the world???

Molly is the Dabbing queen apparently.
Downtown Indy canal, here, she's at the NCAA 

Canal with our MI cousins, Dawn, Laynee and Taylor, Becky, Piper, Nora, Moo, Tom (not pictured) and I. The weather was unseasonably amazingly warm.

Our weekly Sunday night Starbucks hang time.

Molly and Mel at the Josh Garrels/John Mark McMillan concert 2.24.17
Lovely girls, inside and out

This is our tiny grandson....yep, GRANDSON!
Will and Joy found out on 1.24.17 that they would welcome a little hobo boy come June.
His name will be Oliver.

Will he have Joy's dark hair and eyes? Will's cow-lick and green eyes? I am so excited...both of them were simply adorable so baby Oliver can't help but be the same....
can't wait to meet you, little fella

Joy has been blogging over at theyoungband.com so go check that out. I am so thankful for so much but right this minute, I'm specifically grateful for a godly daughter in law..who has heavenward eyes....all of the years of prayer and wonder have come to beautiful fruition and we praise the Lord for how Will and Joy's first months of marriage have proceeded. They are loving examples of seeking the Lord, waiting on Him and putting purity, Godliness and maturity first.

Currently, I'm sitting in our living area, listening to Molly read about the Mauryan Empire to Levi...not our favorite part of history but history all the same. and nothing against Buddhists or Indians etc.

To say that the last 3 months have not been utterly the most challenging of my life would be a lie. One would think that once you reach a certain age or place in life, things would get "easier" or whatever...that just couldn't be a bigger lie.

It seems that when a person puts themselves at the feet of the Lord, seeking Him, praying, and most importantly, reading His word daily, (and I'm not just talking about a verse or two), trials come and the move toward Christ seems even harder than before...and that's true. But there is something so sweet about trusting Jesus...just like the old hymn says...'tis so sweet to TRUST in Jesus....that song says nothing about things getting EASIER because they won't....but once trust comes into play...well, the things of this earth, the scuffles and confrontations, the accountability and growth, desires, wants, flesh, customers not paying, people doing things that you just don't understand...all seem secondary. Not to downplay the hardness because honestly, most days, I don't want to get the heck outta bed. I am not sleeping super great...I have very vivid nightmares and wake myself up panicking, and some days, the challenges are just too great to bear...

In light of community, accountability and all that fun stuff...we take it very seriously....and with that seriousness comes an openness of ourselves...we are also open to it ourselves...

but here are a few verses that have helped me and in turn, I pray that they encourage you and also, let me encourage you to dive into His word...we read a Psalm a day, a Proverb a day and book in the New Testament (this is the kids program)...

Psalm 27:10...this one has gotten me through some of the darkest days of my life. I am haunted.

The book of Job...so good. My new favorite verse from that book (and there are so many good ones, so poetic) is Job 21:1-3

....But Job answered (to Zophar) and said, hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations, suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on. KJV

I do believe that Job coined the phrase mock on here. wow.

Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. (I have this one posted up...I need to read this daily)

Psalm 92:1,2

Psalm 94:12, 13

John 20:29, 31

Psalm 104: 33

Proverbs 6:23: For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is a light; and reproofs of instruction are THE WAY OF LIFE.

I could keep going. Let me just encourage you to get into God's Word...it is a living book (that isn't supposed to sound creepy) but it's true. That is the Bread of Life.

And I must add, that for every challenging situation we find ourselves in, there are 4 or 5 amazing, promising ones...not that the un-fun ones aren't going to someday be amazing...but they aren't currently. and they hurt, and cause great pain.

I so appreciate your prayers. so. appreciative.....my entire family and I.

"That's what makes the sparkle in your eyes - you're always on the verge of tears."
Melanie Young, in reference to talking about people living with broken hearts.

thankful for our broken hearts.

The wound is where the LIGHT shines through.

for clarity, I must add that all is well with David, Will, Joy, the grandbabester, Ethan, Melanie, Levi and Molly...we are all thriving in ways that constantly amaze me. We are in a growth period, that is all.