A Time For Every Season....

Christmas 2008 is fast approaching! What will be under your tree this year? A pig, a goat, a cow, medical supplies, vaccines, blankets, wheel chairs? Go here to pick out your families Birthday offering for Jesus. We will be celebrating Christmas with a Water Buffalo under our tree. Since they are too large to fit through the front door, I thought it would be a great Christmas tradition to make a book with what we are giving Jesus. Then, take the book and get it laminated (thanks Kari!) and then put it under the tree for Jesus. It will be a reminder to all of us that Jesus should be the center of Christmas. It will also be a practical and real way for the kids to see that giving to the needy and poor is just something we do as a family - it is in our DNA. I pray that giving to the Lord will be like breathing for our boys - natural and necessary to sustain life. I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering ...

We've had a whole week to reflect on Home Makeover. Its been a quiet week, often John and I find ourselves thinking, "I wonder what the __ family is up to in their home?" "Is God answering our prayer of Faith for them and their neighbors?" "Has the neighborhood changed, have any seeds started to sprout?" We are so blessed to have a God that wants us to participate in Kingdom work! What a privilege to emulate the King of Kings! We serve such a big God, the weekend probably changed our hearts more than those we served! I've noticed such a peace in John since last weekend, he loves to serve and has always felt his gift of carpentry and tools was hard to fit into Kingdom work. This past weekend he was able to serve unbelievers and believers alike by doing what he loves, teaching! He spent most of the week prior building the front railings and a bookshelf just so he would have time during the Makeover Weekend to teach. It was a privilege to watch him in...

Northwood Home Makeover '08 (If you want to listen to music, go to the bottom of the website and click the play button. I muted the songs so you could enjoy the video.)

Before the Makeover! After! We're home catching up on housework and accounting stuff, we were gone much of the weekend, John was busy most of the week, working on making over 1 of 4 Haltom City homes. Here are some pictures from the weekend, I'll write more later! Just know it was a huge success, despite an electrician falling through the ceiling, the new A/C leaking all over the freshly painted ceiling, and a hard to install bathroom sink! We had a blast serving the King - I was even able to help with some landscaping!

John is such a servant, he just called to tell me he would be late because he stopped to help change the flat tire of an elderly couple. I am a fortunate woman to be married to a man like that!

Today's List looks like this: Laundry Dishes Vacuum floors Make beds Prepare Breakfast, lunch, & dinner Clean linen closet Finish Bible Posts The important things aren't on the list: Cuddle with little boys Play flubber with Drew Read kids tons of books, ask probing question, remember funny answers Work on a few lines from the Catechism's Sing songs with Drew, dance & be silly Relax & pray while watering the garden Pray for my husband as he takes a long exam and then works till 11:00pm Encourage Gabe at his crawling endeavors Take the neighbors cookies Blessed each person who I come into contact with I tend to finish my to do list before remembering the important things aren't listed. Life has a way of always providing ample things to keep me occupied .... Lord may I choose to do those things which are far more important and kingdom focused that those that serve myself and my agenda.

Do you have a Bible reading plan for 2008? If not click on the link to the right titled "Interactive Bible Reading," My church, in 2007, finished diving into the New Testament. For 2008 we are reading most of the Old Testament - I will be contributing one week a month - providing insightful questions about the text as well as a short summary of the chapter. It should be a great 2008 - glued to God's Word!

Northwood Blog - for more comments and info on the Makeover I just wanted to take a few seconds to brag on my wonderful husband! I have never been so proud as I was on Friday and Saturday watching him serve people. John spent Wednesday through Saturday building and prepping for the Makeover that was sponsored by our church and implemented by the congregation. Everyone involved was a hero! The body of Christ, came together with a vision to change the community in Haltom City. This week was the culmination of all that prep work! Read the previous post in the Star Telegram for the summary of what went on. I have heard that over 120,000 was spent to remodel 4 homes and that over 30% of our congregation participated. That is huge! All the families loved their new homes and this project has opened many doors for talking about the love of Christ and being the hands and feet of Jesus. Since I am too pregnant to help remodel a house, I brought over sugar to the 100 person crew on Friday night...

Press release: As part of their ongoing partnership with The Academy at West Birdville, NorthWood Church in Keller will be transforming the homes of four Haltom City families October 12 and 13. Nearly 700 members of NorthWood Church will be sprucing up the homes of four families whose children attend The Academy at West Birdville in Haltom City. According to the Texas Education Agency, ninety percent of the school’s children come from economically disadvantaged families. Last spring, children submitted essays to the school’s faculty on why their home needed a home make over. Recipient families were selected by The Academy’s faculty for next Friday and Saturday’s 24 hour make over. NorthWood members will be landscaping, painting, installing new appliances, carpet, bath fixtures, repairing roofs and providing other various minor repairs. The selected families will enjoy an evening at a local hotel and Saturday at Six Flags while NorthWood is transforming their homes. Thursday, October 11...

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. By Nicole Johnson It started to happen gradually … One day I was walking my son Jake to school. I was holding his hand and we were about to cross the street when the crossing guard said to him, "Who is that with you, young fella?" "Nobody," he shrugged. Nobody? The crossing guard and I laughed. My son is only 5, but as we crossed the street I thought, "Oh my goodness, nobody?" I would walk into a room and no one would notice. I would say something to my family - like "Turn the TV down, please" - and nothing would happen. Nobody would get up, or even make a move for the remote. I would stand there for a minute, and then I would say again, a little louder, "Would someone turn the TV down?" Nothing. Just the other night my husband and I were out at a party. We'd been there for about three hours and I was ready to leave. I noticed he was talking...

There are 5 things that every one of us can do to help the 50 million people in our world suffering from HIV/AIDS. Here's how it works: Give 5 minutes a day to pray for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. Give 5 hours a week to fast for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. Give 5 dollars a month to the Five for 50 Fund and support worthy causes. Give 5 days a year to travel overseas and help alleviate poverty and suffering. Give 5 people an opportunity to join you on your journey. More details are given in the book. But this is a way everyone can participate and be part of the solution to a world-crisis. All proceeds will go directly to HIV/AIDS projects around the world. The children are worth it! It is amazing how so little can do so much. We have checked out this organization and they are ligitimate, the statement is below. To read Tom Davis' blog click the link . I challenge you to read his new book "Red Letter - Living a Faith That Bleeds." His blog has an intro video to hi...

September 17, 2006 Things are back to normal ... well almost normal! Drew has finally worked his way back into the ordinary swing of things and his temper tantrums have subsided. All the company from the wedding have left and the garage has finally been cleared of all the wedding paraphernalia. Grandma Patti blessed us with her love and generosity for about three weeks and has sadly departed back to Oregon . I am so sad: no more cooked meals, magically clean laundry, and full fridges of food for me. Life is back to order, self discipline & habit. My normal isn't bad just routine and simple. We all had so much fun with Patti, I miss the "girly" company. We even made it to Frisco for a women's day out! Now that was fun, we ate Mediterranean food and then spent hours in Ikea. How fun! Drew's vocabulary is starting to grow, he is jabbering about everything, I just wish I understood what he is saying. He has been a little sick this week and has not been sleeping a...

August 27, 2006 The chaos from the wedding has ended, but our lives are still too fast for my liking. John just had bunion surgery on his left foot, he is feeling horrible and is really considering not returning to work this Wednesday. His doctor's appointment is this coming Monday so hopefully John can get onto some new pain medications that are less "mind numbing." I feel so bad for John, he is in such pain and hates being cooped up in bed all day. Thank goodness for Mothers! John's mother has been here helping out this week; I don't know how I would have managed without her! I have been trying to pass the time for John by reading to him. We are reading a great book called Facing Terror, written by Carrie McDonnall. The book describes the lives of missionaries serving the Arab Muslim's in Iraq . It is an awesome book that goes into great detail about the culture and history of Iraq and other countries such as Sudan , Israel , Palestine , and Jordan . Drew h...

I read this on another site, I can't wait for John to come home tonight so we can discuss whether or not we should do this as a family. I thought I would post it incase anyone else wanted to participate. Melissa 30 Days of Nothing http://intent.squarespace.com/journal/2006/8/20/30-days-of-nothing.html We're out of touch. Let's just be honest about that right up front. Today, across the world, 1.3 billion people live on less than one dollar a day; 3 billion live on under two dollars a day; 1.3 billion have no access to clean water; 3 billion have no access to sanitation; 2 billion have no access to electricity. 1 Think about your children; about the hard work you put into raising them. Now imagine doing it with no electricity. No bathroom. No garbage service. No clean water. On $2 a day. Is it any wonder that 30,000 children under the age of 5 die every day from poverty-related issues? That's 210,000 a week or over 10 million a year, if you're counting. 2 I hav...