Our Family Happenings

Sometimes I forget to post on here and upload pictures because I upload them to my Facebook page. So many things have been going since school started. The children started school in August and have been doing really well. They are off today and Monday because public school is taking the days off. We are seeing how we like going with the local school schedule. Except we will end in early May instead of early June.

We made a wonderful family trip to Colorado in September. When I say family trip, this time I am happy to say that Baby Girl went with us!!!! We were so happy words can't even tell how much! We left on Wednesday. That just happened to be Star Princess' 8th birthday, September 16! So we were in the car the whole day! She got to open some gifts before we set off on our journey, movies and a new game for her DS. She was ok with spending the day in the car because we were driving to her favorite place to be and going to spend a few days with one of her favorite people in the world, Caroline Hillman! The girls didn't know we had special plans for them for their birthdays. Caroline turned 7 a few days after we left. They got to celebrate together! Plus, I got to see one of my favorite people! Michelle! But we all have become very good friends over the years with every member of this family! They are like family to us!

On Friday we took the girls to have manicures and pedicures (real ones where they sit in a massage chair and soak your feet in the water, etc.). I think they had more fun playing with the controls on the chairs than anything! It was so fun. Us "big girls" (Baby Girl included) had pedicures while they got their feet and hands done. Then we took the girls to Chili's for a birthday lunch! Fun! We stopped and got the girls a big cake to share for their birthday party that night. Then she slept over that night. We were staying at the hotel right next door to their restaurant, Wildfire. (It is the most amazing place to eat! WE LOVE IT!!!) We love that because we just walk over there at all hours of the day or night. The hotel isn't the greatest but we don't spend a lot of time in the room.

We went to Red Rocks with them on Saturday and then left for Westcliffe from there. We got to do a little shopping in Westcliffe and bought Baby Girl a black hoodie that has Westcliffe, Colorado on it. I have one that is like it but blue. Then we ate at our favorite pizza place, Pizza Madness! It was delicious! Of course, our trip would not be complete without a trip to the bowling alley. We bowled two games and then went back to the room for the night. The next day we took Baby Girl to the land for a short one hour hike. We took her to the top and took some pics up there. We showed her the pit and the cave. Then we headed home, way long drive! Got home about 3:30 a.m. Monday morning. But it was so good to see friends and get away for just a little while.

Game Champ turned 17 on the 29th. We got him a wonderful left handed electric acoustic guitar. He loves it! He took it with him on the trip. He plays in the band at church. He has actually started writing some songs and I think they are pretty good. I would like to see him get published. Not sure how to do that, but maybe some doors will open there, too!

Since we have been back so many things have gone through my mind and heart. The urgency has returned to knock on doors to see what will open for us. We love it there and it is where we are happiest. Baby Girl loved the weather and the beauty. We enjoyed having her with us so much. We have been putting out resumes and checking the job sites for jobs for Fourstringpop. I have checked on some things for me. I found out I can sub in Westcliffe, possibly in Colorado period. He said because of the college credits I could qualify for a 3 year license. That would be good part time income to help pay for clothes for the kids or something like that.

I found out that certain fruit trees will grow in that area and I am so excited to plant them on our land. Green apples are one of the trees that will grow, as well as Jonathan apples! Way fun! We love apples. I am thinking of all the things I can make ourselves and possibly have some left over to sell. Also found that I can grow berries and such. That sounds so wonderful. I would also like to try my hand at some other gardening. I don't know if I would be very good at it but I want to try. I think I could grow tomatoes and possibly some simple veggies. I am going to work on my baking. Baking bread and other things to help stretch our food dollar and our health.

We are in the process of getting the land financed with a bank in Colorado. As far as I know, that is going to go through. They haven't said no, so I am assuming it is yes. We have been working with them for about a month. That will at least give us some time to get it paid off. But the really neat thing is I believe we have found a way to build on the land! I found Homestead Homes! It is really neat because it is very little down, instead of the 30% most places want down to build a house. The way it works is you act as the contractor. You set up who does the work on the house. The more you can do yourself the less it costs you and the more equity that is built up at the time of completion. So my thoughts: see if I can get the people that care about us, our friends and family, to help us out a few days here or there with getting it done. The more people willing to help out the faster it will get done and the more affordable it will be for us to do it. So that is one of my missions, to find those willing to help with certain parts of the building process, like wiring, putting up windows, cabinets, flooring, bathroom fixtures, etc... I don't know when we will do this yet. I would think it would be easier to work on it for ourselves if we lived near there. So possibly, we will wait until the Lord moves us that direction. Please be praying about this and also, praying about how you might be able to donate a little time to help. All of the supplies are included in the cost of the home, but the labor is what we would save money on. Any amount of help would be so greatly appreciated! We would be thrilled if this took place next summer, as always, it is in God's hands, not ours.

So the saga continues...we do not know what the Lord has in store for us but we are open to whatever that may be. We are interested in getting back to a simpler way of living and away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. God knows our hearts and desires. We will keep you posted. It has been a long six years already. We don't know how many more years God will have us wait.

Blessings!

New Homeschool Post

New homeschool blog post on my other blog...check it out!

Star Princess' Room: before and after

I finally got around to working on Star Princess' room! Here are the before pictures! They are terrible. For one thing, she had too much furniture in one room. Plus, she had stuff all shoved in every corner and piled on every surface. We only use the porta-crib once a month, if that, so it needed to be put away. The closet had stuff just shoved into the cubbies. And the top shelf was not used to it's full potential.

There was a large 9 drawer dresser that didn't go with the bedroom set in there that was full of toys and other things, like winter clothes. Pirate Lad was using the tall chest of drawers in the corner for his clothes. That didn't work too well since he had to go into his sisters room to get his stuff. I put the 9 drawer chest under his bunk bed and he uses that now. There were extra car seats stored in her room and the night stand was under the desk. The TV was being used in the other room when this picture was taken but it was on top of the desk.

I moved the tall chest of drawers by the door and instead of putting tons of stuffed animals on it I put her Hannah*Montana night light and her princess b.dolls. Right now that chest of drawers is empty. I think I will leave it that way for now.

I moved all of our games from the hall cabinet (so I could use it for stockpiling bathroom items) and put them in the top of her closet. I took everything out of the closet and off the floor. She doesn't have a lot of hanging clothes so they took up little room. The cubbies in the middle hold her books, her Bitty*Baby box of clothes, some boxes of small toys and her shoes. The large white and clear containers have only a few of the drawers with things in them. The bottom drawer has all b.doll clothes and shoes. The second one has a long plastic container full of tiny (and I do mean tiny!) b.doll accessories! It is ridiculous if you ask me. That was ALL over the room! Under the dresser, bed, in the closet and all over the floor! This is her last chance to keep those things put up. If she can't then I will get rid of them. On top of that container are all her blankets. She has some that were hers when she was little that she still loves to use. Plus some others that it is just too hot for right now. There is a stack of empty containers under her hanging clothes. The porta-crib is in the corner of the closet next to her doll stroller.

She cleaned up the doll house. Each room got a "make over". She has her mini Pony stuff on the top shelf, her HSM dolls and b.doll furniture in three of them, her Holly Hobbie big and little stuff in a couple of them, her kelly dolls in one and some horses in one. I decided to put her stuffed animals on the top of her doll house. It wasn't easy considering it is slanted! I stuck her big Pony behind her headboard to stop things from sliding off towards her bed and the wall stopped it on the other end. We will see how long that lasts. I just didn't know what else to do at the time.

I left her BuildaBear animals on her bed plus the ones she got from Sea World (3 of them!) from our last trip in March. I put her Holly Hobbie blanket on her bed because it is thin. She doesn't sleep under the covers so the bed stays made up most of the time. I got her ceramic crafts hung up on the wall finally, from four birthday parties from Creative Hands, three butterflies and a horse head. The butterfly in the top corner of the room is a blow up from GA camp that I used to tell a camper each day that their bed was the neatest. The two shelves on each side of her mirror came from Target when I worked there. I found them on clearance for $3 a piece and just never put them up. They are great for holding her small snow globes and little nick-knacks. Her Nicki American Girl doll (she is from Colorado!) is standing on her dresser next to her jewelery box and picture frames. She has a small pink plastic three drawer container beside the dresser that holds her brush and comb and book light. The rest is empty for now. The dresser holds all of her clothes plus the top drawer is what we put the DS games in that belong to both of them. It helps to have a place to keep them so they don't get lost, if they put things up! I found lots of the games under the bed and scattered all over the room!

Her desk can now be used for a desk! We don't have a chair in there but have one we can move when she needs it. It has her CD/radio and her lamp on it. Next to it is a three drawer container. The top drawer has crayons, pencils and such. The second drawer is full of her spirals, notebooks and other note pads because she loves to write and draw. The bottom has some drawing things in it, as well. On top of it is an American Girl doll bed, belongs to the doll Samantha. She has her Bitty Baby, and her Samantha and Molly dolls sitting on it. I moved her TV to the night stand that was once under the desk. The top drawer has her CD's, CD player and headphones in it. The bottom drawer is full of her purses (yes, she has that many!)

I got rid of a lot of things. I had large kitchen trash bags full of things. One overflowing bag of trash and two bags for Mission Arlington (one with clothes and one with toys and backpacks). I am sure that even though I got rid of so much, I should and could have gotten rid of a lot of those small things and she would never have missed them. But like I said, I will get rid of them if she can't keep the room looking this way and the small stuff put away. I am happy with the way it turned out.

I did the rest of the house including the garage but don't have pics to post yet. I will get them taken and post them as soon as I find the time.

Star Princess's Profession of Faith

Of all the things that have happened this summer, this is by far the most important thing that has happened in our family. It was something that we knew was close because we have been there for her the last 7 + years (she will be 8 in mid September) teaching her and guiding her in her closeness and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The thing that worried her was having to walk up there in front of everyone and getting baptized. She knew and understood the other things that were important to know in your heart. She knew that Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died for our sins, was raised again on the third day and was seen by many before He ascended into Heaven to one day return for us. But for a young shy girl like her, it was going to take a lot. I told her often as we would talk about it that one day Jesus would give her the strength and courage to walk that "road" to the front and to be baptized.

During our second week of VBS for the summer, the one at MRBC, it was the second night of invitation. The teachers were asked to go up front in case any of our group wanted to talk or make a decision. As soon as I stepped out to go she grabbed my arm and said "Can I come with you?" I asked her what she meant to make sure I understood. She wanted to come up front to ask Jesus into her heart. I told her "of course!". So as we stood there and the pastor led a prayer tears rolled down my face. Because I knew in my heart I didn't have to wonder if it was real or just a child wanting to do it because everyone else did. This was a huge step of faith for her and even though I would spend time before bedtime talking to her about it, I knew it was genuine.

The next night during the family night of VBS she went up to the pastor to ask him if he would baptize her. I wanted her to ask because it was another step of courage that I needed to see she could make. They set the date for the Sunday after that one, July 12! What a glorious Sunday morning that was, I have to tell you! As I stood there watching her my heart was so full of joy. She will be with us in Heaven forever! (She tried to find her daddy in the worship center as she looked out but he was in the back of the room ready to leave afterwards. We went right to the apartments to lead Bible study afterwards).

Star Princess: "raised to walk in newness of life!"

The Reason I Am Here

As I sit here looking at the beautiful day the Lord has provided a smile crosses my face. God's creations are so beautiful. The cool breeze that blows across my face...so soothing. I wish I could find a spot to sit outside where I could only see God’s creations instead of so many things man has put together. Of course, those who know me understand what I am talking about. I would love to be sitting in the cool Colorado breeze looking out at some of God’s wonderful mountain peaks. I am missing my Colorado trip for 2009. There won’t be one this year. That is the reason I am here, to enjoy all that God created and appreciate the love He has for me.

My body is so used to waking up in the middle of the night from kids coming and going all night long that I no longer sleep straight through the night. Often times I don't fall asleep at all. I no longer have kids, at the moment, that come and go during those early morning hours but my body doesn’t know the difference any more. Something that I have always done for as long as I can remember is pray in those hours that I lay in bed unable to sleep. There are so many needs right now of others that keep me praying for many hours. I have dear friends battling cancer. Some victorious through God’s healing. Some who are close to Heaven’s door getting ready to meet our Lord face to face. The teens in today’s world are under tremendous pressure from peers to do drugs, have sex outside of marriage and many other things that may seem small in comparison. Many marriages that have been strong for years are breaking up and torn apart. That is the reason I am here, to lift those up that need prayer.

I believe Satan is running ramped trying to destroy as much as he can before God removes him from this earth. Prayer is a powerful thing and we all need to join together and lift these needs up to combat Satan’s plans to destroy our children and our families. That is the reason I am here, to join with other believers and fight against all Satan wishes to destroy!

Those things are so heavy on my heart but something closer to home is even heavier. I have so much to be thankful for, so much! God has been so good. My husband and I celebrated 26 years of marriage this past April. Praise God! We have four healthy, happy children. He is so good! And those who know some things that have been going on since March know that I have been weighted down with some struggles that I believe Satan has masterminded in the hearts of some of the people in our midst. But God has reigned supreme in that matter! He has led us to a wonderful church with a heart for missions and open arms for all of our family. What a blessing! Now that isn't to say that there aren't those that I love dearly and honestly love and care about us at the other one. There are many, many that I will make sure I stay in contact with for I know their hearts have that genuine love for us. That is the reason I am here, to be the wife and mom to the family God has given me and serve with a body of believers who has a passion to reach others for Christ.

We have felt the call to missions for some time. The Lord has made that call even stronger in my heart than He has in the past. My husband has had that strong desire for the past 10 years. As we made that commitment to Him we have sought to do His will in those areas to make the path clear. His job is taking all the energy and life out of him to do anything else, with family or otherwise. My income has dropped greatly. I am enjoying the break for a time and trying to get the things done around the house that I have neglected to do in the past because I was watching children all hours of the day and night every day and night of the week.

As much as we don’t want to sell the land in CO, we don’t know what else to do. We have NO WAY of paying for it. And it is due by November 3. We pay a lot each month on interest alone. We have tried to sell the land for the last few months with no offers. We are willing to accept any reasonable offer. But there have been none. What is God doing? I am not sure. The money I was making was paying off the extra debt we had and would have almost been paid off by now had it not dropped in the last couple of months and keeps dropping. The issue that really consumes my thoughts is the look on my husbands face when he comes home from work and gets ready to leave for work. He is so tired and so drained. He is going to work at 9:45 each night and doesn’t get home until after 9 in the morning. He tries to sleep during the day but it is very hard. On the weekends he gets up while we are still asleep (because he is used to being awake at night) and then by 2 in the afternoon he is ready to go to bed. So our time with him is so short. His life is just made up of going to work and trying to sleep. He desires to have a life lived for Christ reaching those that are lost. But until we sell this land or somehow find a way to pay for it, this is the life he must live. It breaks my heart! But I feel so helpless to do anything. I am trying to get the word out about the land to all I can in hopes that God will bring it to the attention of the one who is to buy it. But….

I see him looking at the local paper online of the small town that our land is in. He still longs for that little town, as we all do. But where would the money come from to pay for it? It would be nice to be able to go there between mission trips (or on the sabbaticals) . But I have sought answers to these questions and I really don’t have any answers. We honestly can’t go on this way. John has never been this unhappy in a job, ever. If he finds another job, which he is looking, then the pay will be a LOT less. Which that is fine, but we still have so much to pay on. My heart breaks to see how worn out and miserable he is right now. I would do anything I could to “fix” it. But I don’t see anything that I can do. I have thought about selling everything including the house, only that would not get us much and we wouldn’t have a place to live while we still need one here.

I have been working on our food bill and doing really good. I am trying to make our house a nicer place to be in. I am trying to get the bills paid off as quickly as possible, but the land isn’t something I can pay off. Please lift these things up and if God lays it on your heart to share an idea with me, please do. We have less than 5 months to pay off the land or sell it. We have one year to get other things in order so that at the end of that 42 week training we are ready to go if God is ready to send us. We need this done so we can get out there and share the Gospel to those who do not know Him. Time is short and we must reach as many as we can. Please help us do that by praying that answers will come.

Thanks everyone! You know my heart, please pray for direction and answers. And funds to either pay it off or from selling it. Because the reason I am here are many but the most important is to serve a wonderful, powerful God. To do His will in and through my life, thoughts and actions. My reason for living is to reach others for Christ while there is still time. Christ will return like a thief in the night, in a blink of an eye. I want to be ready when I face my Lord and know that I gave it my all and didn't just go through the motions. Please help us move forward so that our desire to serve the Lord in a powerful way will be realized.

What is the reason you are here? I hope it is the same. May God bless you all in your quest to do that.

Spring Cleaning For Those Who Stack & Pile

I have been looking at blogs and websites for good ideas on how to spring clean, de-clutter and organize all at the same time. I thought I had found the "right" one for me. But on the very first day of this supposed to be 10 day journey, I knew it was not going to happen the way they had said it would. What makes it impossible for it to work for someone like me? Very simple...I stack and pile everything everywhere! Terrible, I know! I can't seem to follow that very simple rule of "only touch it once". Where you put something in its place when you put it down instead of having to go back later and move it to where it belongs, be it a drawer or trash can. I just haven't gotten that habit drummed into my thick head yet. Not sure I ever will. But it is worth a try. I had to come up with my own plan that would not make me feel like a failure from the starting point. So I took the basic principles and rearranged them a bit.

There are four basis steps you must do in each room and in this order.

1. CLEAN SWEEP
2. DE-CLUTTER
3. CLEAN
4. ORGANIZE

FIRST THINGS FIRST: There are a few guidelines that you must know before you begin. You will need several items no matter what room you are doing.

• A BASKET FOR THINGS THAT DON'T BELONG IN THAT ROOM (to be put away later)
• A BOX FOR THINGS TO GET RID OF (either in a sale or send to the mission)
• A BAG FOR TRASH

Those thing need to be with you throughout the process. The basket for things to be put away in other rooms is to be done AFTER you finish in that room. Don't stop and go put things away in the middle. That is a good way to get distracted from your mission. You can even get your kids to help with the basket of goodies when the job is done. Set the timer and say to your family "Let's see if we can get everything in this basket put up in 5 minutes." Adjust it according to how many are in your family and how much is in the basket! The box is for things you know you don't want or need anymore. If you know you are going to have a garage sale you can put prices on the items after you finish each room. That way it doesn't become a huge pile of things to go through. Take it one room at a time. If you are going to donate whatever items you find then make sure you box them up neatly so you can put them right in your car to take over there when you are done. That will get them out of the house. Remember, you can always donate whatever doesn't sell if you have a garage sale first. The bag for trash is just that, a trash bag. I don't think you need any explanations on that.

STEP ONE: CLEAN SWEEP

Clean Sweep is very simple. You pick your room. You can clean in any order you want. Some suggest doing the Clean Sweep for the whole house in one day. Nice idea! I tired it. Too many piles to go through. So, here is my suggestion for those of you like me, with too much stuff where it shouldn't be. Take a few days and clean sweep your home. Get the kids to clean sweep their rooms. Give them a list if you need to of what that means...take the things off the floor and put them away...take the things off the bed and dresser and put them away...and so on. They can also help you in other rooms of the house. We have collections of DVD's that get piled near our TV's since we don't have cable or local TV stations. While I would love to say we always put them away after we watch them, that is not the case. So putting up movies is one of my kids jobs in the clean sweep.

Another idea for Clean Sweep would be to do that step on the day you plan to complete the rest of the steps for a specific room. If you are going to start with the Living Room then on that day do a Clean Sweep on the Living Room and then follow the next steps for our spring cleaning. Whatever works best for you.

I am personally taking the time to Clean Sweep each room before I start the rest of my spring cleaning. I have enlisted the aid of my children for the task. I have not set a day to have it done. I don't want to stress out again like I did yesterday and feel as if I have no chance of getting it done "on time". So throughout the day I tackle another pile one at a time. I gave my kids a list of things to do in their rooms when they got up this morning. So far about half is done. Pretty good considering how messy their rooms actually are. They have too much stuff. The "fun" part will be when we do the de-cluttering. That is when we will make choices of what is going and what is staying! We might have a few battles but we will get past them. I am determined to win this war against clutter and mess! It is my goal that we finish the Clean Sweep by this weekend and I can start on the other three steps on Monday morning. If I should get it done sooner, great! I will take the rest of the weekend to catch up on the laundry!

In case you are wondering what order I plan on cleaning my house and how many days I plan on spending for each room here is a list. It could change or it could take me a longer or shorter amount of time to complete each one. Determine your list by how big your house is and how much work you feel you have to do.

• LIVING ROOM (Den & Dinning Room) 1-2 days
• KITCHEN 1-2 days
• BATHROOMS (two bathrooms, linen closet and hall) 1 day
• KIDS ROOMS (Girls room, Boys room, Playroom) 1-3 days (1 day for each)
• MASTER BEDROOM 1 day
• GARAGE (Laundry Room, Exercise Room, Library) 1-3 days (1 day for each)
• HALL CRAFT CLOSET 1-3 days (it is a huge mess of stuff!)

Now remember, it isn't just cleaning or organizing. This is a major cleaning where we are getting rid of things, doing a major cleaning of each room and organizing the things we keep. If there are pictures you have needed to hang on the walls for years, now is the time. If there are towel racks that need to be replace and fixed, do it now. This is the perfect time to get it done. At the end of this SPRING CLEANING you will not only have a clean house but will have a lot less things to keep up with and you will have a home that you can feel good about. Sit down and make out a plan for yourself based on what I put down but work it to fit your home and your family.

Happy cleaning!

My Grocery Adventure!

I don't know how many of you know about GroceryGame.com but it is really something when you do it right. If you decide to join it, please tell them that terri@mtckc.com is the one that referred you. Thanks!

I had to do something to cut my grocery bill but also have food at home so I would not go out to eat out of convenience. That is where so much of our money goes. But my income has gone down and we still have to get our bills paid off so we can be free to go when God calls us to go. So I decided to try the Game again. I did it several years ago but there were some key things that I didn't do right. And I think I didn't stick with it long enough to see it work properly.

She has a book out now with all sorts of little hints and suggestions. It is called Shop Smart, Save More. It is great! I am about half way through it. But I have learned some important things. Like don't meal plan and then shop. Shop and then pick from what you have on hand to meal plan. It works great! With the stockpiling method you have such a variety of things to choose from especially when you have been doing it for awhile. I am STILL looking for an upright freezer! But maybe somehow I will get one. I need it badly!

I actually come away from the stores paying nothing for some items and very little for others. I got three bottles of BBQ sauce and two bottle of salad dressing for free today! I won't open any of them until what I already have is gone. I won't have to buy it later for full price because I have it on hand in my "store" at home. It is a 12 week cycle that at the end of that 12 weeks you should have a stockpile of all major things. I can't wait to see how it is working in another 9 weeks. This is the first week that I really felt like I saved a lot and got a lot for my money. It is getting easier to look for those deals and make wise choices as I do it more.

Another thing I will be doing is No Spend Months. We will take $500 a month and put it in envelopes for each week. I will use it for gas, groceries and any other expense like that. It will not count the bills that I have to pay. We will be on a cash basis for a while, maybe permanently. We are hoping to get the bills paid off quicker and really learn how to manage our money the right way. Then maybe we will be able to teach our younger children how to do the same as they grow up. That would be an awesome thing!

So this is our adventure with grocery shopping! If you have any money saving tips, share them! I would love to hear what you do to save money!

Homeschool Post

I posted a new blog on my homeschool blog. I found some really neat things at the book fair and the Lord is really working on some things in my life concerning my responsibilities as a mom. Not that I didn't take them seriously before but God has just laid it on my heart that above all other things I need to put my children's focus on HIM above all else. That is a huge task but with His help, I know I can do it. It is going to take some work to change some habits around here but we are going to take it step by step, one day at a time.

One of the things I have to get back on track on is our eating habits. I need to get back to cooking wholesome foods for every meal and stop the eating out just because I am too lazy to cook and clean up after myself. I don't want to be that kind of wife. I want to strive towards the Proverbs 31 woman, even though I know I can't attain it 100%. I want to be the wife and mother that I am supposed to be. I love my husband and kids too much to give them less than what they deserve.

Mother's Day was good. We went to church and then met our oldest for lunch at Blackeyed Pea. She brought me flowers! I had a wonderful salmon and the chocolate cake! YUMMMMY! Then I went home and took a nap. It was a good day!

Are You Just Going Through The Motions? or Are You Giving It Your All?

Please turn off my player on the side and listen carefully to the words of this song. It is easy to get caught up in life and just go through the motions. But we are called to give it ALL to the Lord! So are you? I am trying to make that my focus in all I do and in all I say. I still fall but I get back up and try again. I hope you will too!

Land for Sale: Laying it all down

If you read the post below you will understand this post. If you haven't gotten a chance to read it, when you have time I hope you will.

As difficult as this is for us, we do it in obedience and with total faith that God’s Will, not ours, will be done. We are placing the land we purchased in Westcliffe, CO up for sale. We owe most of what we purchased it for. The main reason we are putting it up for sale is our call to full time service through Mission Arlington and where ever the Lord may lead us to go after that. John cannot quit his job with debt hanging over our heads. We want to surrender it all to Him. There is a link I at the bottom of this that has two web pages full of wonderful photo’s of the land. You will see in those photos how much we love it there. The children were a bit upset when we told them what we were doing. But they would rather their dad be home and healthy instead of at work all the time with failing health. And they have grown up with us serving a wonderful and faithful God and understand that He knows what is best for us. The money we are asking will go towards paying off the debt on the land, paying off the rest of our debt with the exception of the house and any extra will go towards any needs we might have that we won’t be able to afford to pay for once John turns in his resignation. Please keep us in your prayers as we step out in faith and trust that God is going to take care of our needs, including medical needs since we will not have insurance after that point. The sooner we sell the land the sooner he can resign. Our goal is mid summer but if it was now that would be even better! He is so tired and ill from his stressful night position. And he has so many wonderful visions of the service that he will lead us in once his time is freed to do so. It is exciting to hear him talk about it. And at the same time he wonders how quickly it will actually happen.

If you will please pass on this information about the land for sale to anyone you might know and even church groups. This is being done out of a willingness to lay it all down for the Lord and His work. Not for selfish gain. As full time missionaries we ask for your support and prayers.

In His Love and Service,
John and Terri Harr

http://www.mtckc.com/ColoradoLand.html
35 acres for sale in Westcliffe, CO
Many building sites to choose from
Westcliffe is a beautiful little town with lots of charm
Less than 2 hours from Colorado Springs
Price negotiable
email John at fourstringpop@yahoo.com
put Westcliffe Land in the subject line

I'm Letting Go and Taking a Giant Leap of Faith

As a Christian we should be as close to a mirror image as these mountains are in the water. That is what we are to strive for. It takes work and time. It is not an easy task and it does not come without some pain and sorrow. But it also comes with great joy and blessings.

I find it hard sometimes to not place importance on the things that “I want”. As a follower of Christ that should not be of any importance at all…unless what “I want” is to please Him and serve Him fully with and through my life. If our wants are not to please and serve Him then we have built up idols that we must tear down in order to be in His will.

I find it hard to learn the lessons I must learn and not fall back into my human nature way of doing it. Some lessons I have had to be corrected many times for. When that happens I “look at myself” and think “Why did you have to do this again? I thought you learned the last time you messed up in this area?” And I really did but….. Down I fall again into the same traps of self desires and wants. That is basically all sin is. Doing what “I” want instead of what God is directing you to do because He knows what is the very best for you and wants to see you happy. As Paul says “I want to do the things I should do but I find myself doing the things I shouldn’t.” I suppose if a man like Paul can fall into those traps then I shouldn’t be as hard on myself as I am. I just have to get back on track when I see myself going off course even a little. I have learned over the years to accept the past as just that, the past. I cannot change it but I can learn from it and move forward from that point. I spent way too many years beating myself up over every mistake and downfall. God didn’t condemn me for the mistakes. He forgave me and picked me up to try again. That is something that I am trying hard to teach my children. It is ok that we made a mistake if we will learn from it and move forward. Don’t keep making it.

God has been talking to me lately through songs. I know He does that for many people. I have a post below that has one of the songs that spoke to me greatly: While I’m Waiting. It is a very powerful song and very fitting for the powerful movie that it was in. I learned from that song that while I am waiting on the Lord to show me what He needs me to do or where to go next I am to be serving Him and praising Him. No matter what, that is to be a major part of our lives.

A new artist, Francesca Battistelli has a song called “I’m Letting Go”. God has spoken to me through that song “after” my darling husband and I came to the same realization of some things the Lord has been trying to show us.

That is what I am doing, finally, letting go of the dreams I planned for me and REALLY seeking HIS plan for my life. Catching hold of HIS dreams and trusting that He will bless me more than I could ever imagine. It is bitter sweet and those who know me understand exactly what this means to me and what I am giving up.

For the last five years my family has had the desire and thought “call” to move to Colorado. Before that we felt the call to ministry. We answered that call but not really as fully as we were supposed to and we know it. It became clear almost three years ago that my husband was to surrender to full time ministry. That meant no insurance and very little income. He was to serve in our city at a local mission that reaches many for Christ. We started working with them ten years ago. But instead of surrendering to that ministry we allowed ourselves to believe that God was going to give us Colorado. Now, I am not saying that somewhere down the line in our lives God isn’t going to allow our dream of Colorado to come true. But it HAS to be in HIS timing! So I have to let it go. I have been going back and forth over that for months now. I just wasn’t sure what God was trying to show me through those words going around in my head over and over.

We found land in Colorado that captured our heart, along with a sweet little town. We tried every way to come up with money to buy it. Finally, someone loaned us the money at a very high interest only-three year loan. We wanted to believe it was the right thing so badly. And that we could pay it off in that three years time. But when you are paying such a high payment each month and it is only interest, you don’t get very far. Many things have come up over those two and a half years. We started feeling that call even stronger to surrender to full time ministry in November of last year so the question of debt and the land have come up. We started praying about what we needed to do. I contacted several banks and tried to get refinancing. No one wants to loan money on land only. Plus things just aren’t good in the economy right now.

In order for my husband to quit his corporate job we have to get rid of all debt. The land, as it is right now, is holding us back from that. We have until November of this year to pay it off. We have paid very little on the principle. Even though we know God is able to do great things we do not know He will provide for this land to be ours. We want to lay down all wants and desires, other than the one to serve Him. And we have to have that land either sold or paid off before he can quit his job. Our goal for him to quit his corporate job is mid July, if not sooner.

We are placing our land up for sale this week. Yes, you read that correctly. We will trust Him to sell it if that is His will and trust Him with a provision if He wants us to keep it. Either way, we are letting go of the dreams we have for ourselves and grabbing on to the dreams He has for us serving here in Arlington, Texas and where ever else in the world He would have us go. We will try to make back the money we put into it to pay off the other debts we need to get rid of, like the van, my student loans and furniture payments. We need to only have our basic bills to survive.

In this process of letting go there are many things we have to do to get ready for this new adventure. The debt has to go. Most of the debt we have is small compared to the land. We will need to get some things fixed in the house, like a new hot water heater, which I was informed this weekend “might be going out”. Great! We will not have insurance so check ups are in order again. And our son is on some expensive meds and we must figure out the best thing to do for that area of his life. We are continuing to clean out the house of things we don't need to have less clutter in our lives. Emotional clutter is something most of us don’t think about, but it’s there at every turn. I have to clean that out before I can embark on this journey. This is probably an area that we all sometimes forget about.

Will this be hard? You bet. Those who know me know just how much we desired that dream in Colorado. And as much as we love the Lord we were not really waiting on His timing and weren’t stepping out on faith as we should have to follow Him. When there are children to provide for things become a little more complicated. My husband takes providing for his family very seriously. So before quitting his job he needs to know that everything will be ok. I have tried to tell him so many times that God will provide I have no doubt, for our needs. I really do not doubt it. And it isn’t that I have more faith than my husband. It is that as the head of our household he knows God has placed this responsibility to provide on him. He will do nothing until he is sure that our family will be provided for. I am proud of him and love him dearly because of that. Some men couldn’t care less about their families when making decisions. I was blessed with a godly man who takes his responsibilities seriously.

So how do we know NOW that God is calling us to do this if we got the other stuff wrong? Good question. It lines up with His Word. When we bought the land we went into serious debt. That is not what His Word tells us to do. What we are doing now is getting out of debt and surrendering our lives to follow Him. That does line up with His Word. My husband is so tired and ill from this high stress night job. It is time for him to come home. Our older son needs his attention with school and learning how to be a godly man for Christ as he nears adulthood. Our younger children need him around because they adore him! Our older daughter is always complaining that she never gets to see her dad. She needs him to be there for her. Yes, I need him home, too. But I have spent so many of our married years (26 this coming Thursday!) with him working nights that you would think I would be used to it. Not really. I want him home!

I am letting go of my dreams for Colorado and grabbing on to the dreams He has for me to work alongside my husband and children with Mission Arlington. I am open to whatever mission field He chooses to send us to where ever in the world. If God sends us to Colorado someday, wonderful! If He never does, ok. I will love the Lord, My God with all I am and serve Him all the days of my life.

The love for my Lord is my motivation in life. If I lose that then I lose all the blessings He has for me in this life and the next. Plus my children will not have that example to follow in their own lives. The world today is a hard place to live in and it makes it very hard to know right from wrong. The world tells us a different story. (Another one of my favorite songs right now! Voice of Truth!) I have to keep my eyes on Him so that my children and others around me can hear the Voice of Truth through my example. Wow! What a heavy responsibility. But that is parenthood, a job I take very seriously. A few weeks ago I was really struggling with something that concerned my son and others. I had some faulty information so many things went through my head. God spoke to me through that song. I had to sift through all the things the world tried to tell me and find what the truth was. God’s truth is forgiveness. It changed how I looked at a lot of things. It has helped me to forgive where it has been hard for me to forgive. Sometimes we have a hard time forgiving when the pain is so deep. But Christ forgives us all sin if we ask. So in turn, we should forgive those. We have to let the past go and move forward. Giving others a second chance is the right thing to do, as many second chances as they need.

Please keep us in your prayers and put us on your churches prayer list as missionaries in Arlington, Texas. We covet your support in any way. We know that God will provide for all of our needs. What we need most is your prayers. Specifics, pray for our ability to sell the land and pay off debt. If it is God’s will, then a way to keep the land. I almost feel as if I can’t pray that for us. If He chooses to do something else, then so be it. Also pray for provision with what insurance normally covers. Pray for our desire to reach the lost in our area and any area God leads us to. Pray for our children who will not like little-to-no eating out or will be upset because they won’t get the latest “great” movie out on video or a new video game. (Mom might have a problem with that, too, so pray for me! I love old movies and new ones.) Pray that they will appreciate the fact that God will provide the clothes, food, and shelter we need to survive. Pray that they will see what a gift they will have in their dad being home to serve the Lord full time and be there for them daily. Money will be very tight but God’s blessings will abound. That I know!

The three songs I have mentioned are in the playlist on the sidebar. They are really powerful to me. When you listen to them the next time listen carefully for what God told me through them.

Thank you all so much for your love and support. I know God placed you all in my life to give us that which we need so much. I know I can count on each of you to lift us up in prayer to the Mighty God we serve. As you do that, I pray that HE will send showers of blessings upon your lives! We love you all so much!

Wait for it.....

I have a post coming up. Wait for it.... It is long and I want to make sure I have things the way I want them. I will post pics of spring break vacation later if I have time. My time is short lately. So much going on. Will explain that later, too.

Prayers are needed for my daughter, Samantha. She is going to have to have another surgery on her eys sometime during the summer.

Fireproof

I cannot tell you how powerful this movie is. You will have to watch it yourself to know. This is an awesome song! I would love to be a part of helping more movies like this one and the others that these people have made. Spread the word.

It's Been Too Long....

My days are filled with many things. Just like most moms, I have my hands full with my children. But unlike most moms, I have my hands full with other peoples children, too. I also have my responsibilities to my husband, at our church, in our mission work and the list goes on. I find it hard at times to just fill a page with interesting reading but miss posting at the same time. So many things have been going on and I will try to share some with you.

As my last post stated, I am in search of my purpose in this life. A great deal has changed in the way I live each day since the reality of what my purpose should be is. I no longer sit around day dreaming about when we can move to Colorado. I still would love for that dream to come true but if the Lord never moves us there I will be able to say that I made the most of each day here and now, where He has planted us. And I know we will visit that place we love so much. We are working hard to find a way to pay off the land and build something small on it to enjoy from time to time.

I have a new excitement for my daycare. I am in the process of getting licensed instead of registered so I can be more of a preschool. I am not watching very young children on a regular basis because I am trying to gear my program towards preschoolers. I purchased a very simple but nice computer for the kid care room. I was able to borrow a computer desk for it and I love it! I worked today on redoing my setup page on my business website with new pictures. I am very pleased at how it turned out. I am looking into ordering new t-shirts for our preschool so that when we go on field trips we will all be in the same shirt. I am also going to order some shirts for me to wear during the day when I am open. I am trying to get my preschool hours to only be on the weekdays and normal hours as much as possible. I do have a few that aren't but not the majority. I think that will help a great deal.

A friend of ours knows a friend who is redoing her kitchen so she is giving away counter tops! If you go to my link for the set up it has a picture of our LOVELY YELLOW counter tops that we have now. YULK! So we feel so blessed to have this happen. We just need to go pick them up...and...figure out when we will put them on! But what a blessing! Thank You, Lord, for the provision that we so needed to fix up our kitchen.

I finally got my bedroom furniture rearranged and LOVE it even more than I did before! We got it in August. But I didn't realize it was such HUGE furniture. I had only seen it online and when I found out it was being discontinued I called to find out if I could still somehow get it. So I went to the store and bought it early in the summer but had them wait until the end of August to deliver it. I got everything it came with! This is the first bedroom set we have ever purchased and it is awesome! (I am on the wrong computer to upload a picture so I will do that later! I have them posted on my Facebook if you want to check that out.)

Our oldest daughter, Samantha, just became a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant and we are so proud of her. She will be 22 this month. I was a consultant for 14 years but my calling has always been with children. But I also love to do office work. So I am her "official" secretary and am loving it! When she becomes a director she can pay me! For now, free make up here and there is awesome! She is tired of the retail world and is ready to make it happen. I got her lots of cute and helpful office stuff to get her excited about her new career. I used the excuse of her birthday coming up but I have always gone over board where my girls are concerned! I just can't seem to help it.

I got a new color laser printer! I have wanted one of those forever because the ink jet goes through ink so fast and because my daycare paperwork is in color and I need to make new copies for things a lot. Also, I use lots of things with the daycare that need printing. This one is an all in one! I was so excited. It came in on Tuesday. We got it out of the box (which was almost as tall as me!), set it up, turned it on....and it didn't work! We tried a few things and decided that we would have to wait until morning to call them to see what was wrong. On Wednesday morning after a few short minutes on the phone with the support person, he tells me it was dead on arrival and they were shipping me out a new one! It arrived today, Thursday. So I now have two boxes in my house that are almost as tall as me and two large printers. We will pack up the "old" new one and ship it back tomorrow. I am thrilled to say that the newest new one is working great!

That is about all I can think of that we have been doing. Just working around the house to clean it out and make it better. I will try to post more as we get more done. I hope to have some new pictures to post of our "new" kitchen soon!

Purpose In This Life

Do you know your purpose in this life? Do you know why I say this life? It isn't because I believe we have other lives, like some who think we have many other lives and are different people and/or animals. I am talking about life here on earth and the afterlife. You either spend that eternally in Heaven with Christ or in eternal damnation. Since I know my future is secure in Christ I don't have to wonder about that part of my life. But we all have some huge choices to make about this life here on Earth. My husband and I have been doing some major seeking of His will for our lives in the desire to live for His glory while here. That is easier said that done sometimes. For one, life on a sinful earth can really get to you and Satan can use everyday life to drag you down. He works very hard to distract you from your purpose.

We have felt drawn to Colorado for the last five years (as if by the name of my blog isn't a dead giveaway to that). And while we still feel that it is drawing closer to becoming a reality, we still have time to wait upon the Lord. It felt like it was going to be sooner than later for a little while but the Lord was silent so it is not time. I am afraid I felt like a disgruntled teenager over it. I wanted to know everything right now and wanted it to happen NOW!

My sweet husband has been telling me that we have to be faithful in the ministries He has given us before He will in trust us with more. While I understood that to be true and wanted to put that belief into action, my focus was not on the here and now and all that He has in trusted in me. It was on what I saw as a future in Colorado. On what ministries He could have for us there. And deep down I knew that for a long time and fought it. I missed out of the full measure of His joy as I served Him by not doing it with all of my heart.

As I spent time with the Lord last night, He brought me to the realization of what I had been doing. He has been trying to tell me for some time and I would push it aside. Last night, I fell down before Him and cried for forgiveness of that great sin in my heart. I went to bed last night with renewed joy of service for Him! As we went to the apartments this afternoon I saw it with new eyes and a joy filled my heart that only He can give.

Do I still long for Colorado? Yes and no. Yes, I love going there and I would love to move there. But if God never moves us there will I still love and serve the Lord where ever He calls me? I sure will! No, I am not dwelling on moving anymore. I am not going to live my life for tomorrow. I am going to live each day serving the Lord to the best of my ability and planning great things for the ministries He has given me here. Will I still make ready for a call from the Lord? Yes! I will continue to clean out our home of clutter and things we do not need. I will continue to prepare my heart to hear the Lord's call to go and serve, either here, there or where ever God calls us to go. Yes, anywhere! Where He leads, I will go.

God has blessed our family so much. He gave us a relationship that is strong in Him. Yes, we have our ups and downs. But our love for the Lord binds us together. He has blessed us with four wonderful kids who are unique in their own ways. Yes, we have problems like other families and some issues that other families probably don't have. But God sees us through those, as well. He has blessed us with a nice house and nice things. All of our needs are met and many of our wants are, too. We are trying to remind our teenager to be grateful for the things we have instead of wanting more all the time. It is a lesson that the Lord has taught me through that. I was wanting more by being focused on Colorado and when we would move. I am now focused on what God has given me here and now....so much, He has given me so much. Thank You, Lord!