Of Trees and Birthdays

I know this is a rather odd title for a post, but it was what consumed my time last Saturday as I was with my friends and family.  And I have to say, it was a very fun day!

Mid-morning, I went over to a friend's apartment to help her decorate for the holiday season. We planned to go to a local tree farm and choose the perfect Christmas tree to grace her living room.

While waiting on another friend to join us, I finally voiced what I had been wondering all that morning:  "How are you going to get this tree home???"  "Oh, we'll just put it in the car.  The back seats can fold down," was the reply.   "Sounds easy enough," I thought.  "With three grown adults, we should be able to handle it with no problem."

Before heading out the door, my friend decided at the last minute to bring along some kite string in case we had to tie the tree on the car roof rather than stuff it inside her SUV.  We would later discover that was a very smart move.

And so the adventure began!

We arrived at the tree farm to be greeted with these words on the sign:  Christmas Trees, Cut Your Own.  Oh dear!  We hadn't come prepared at all.  Cut our own tree!?  All three of us immediately reasoned that surely there would be some man on this farm who would be willing to cut our tree for us.  I mean, if you saw three ladies walking around looking at trees with no ax in hand, wouldn't you offer to help them out???  So we pressed forward in our resolve to buy a tree!

Between dodging rain showers and walking through rows and rows of what we didn't know were pre-cut trees before finally being informed, we settled on a beautifully-shaped, 7-ft. Christmas tree.  And we didn't even have to cut it!  The farmhand wrapped it in netting and placed it on top of the car for us.  Boy, weren't we glad we had that string!!!  It may have only been kite string, but it was still string!

Katie and Rachel did a masterful job tying down the tree.  They threw the string back and forth from one side of the car to the other until we thought it was secure enough for the drive home.  We could only imagine what the farmhands were thinking of us...

And what do you know, we made it back to the apartment accident free!  Here we are with success written all over our faces:

Carrying the tree up two flights of stairs and into the apartment proved to be easier than the first leg of the adventure.  We were so pleased with ourselves!

The rest of the afternoon was spent decorating the tree and enjoying rich fellowship with sisters in Christ.  It was truly a delightful way to mark the beginning of the holiday season!

After arriving home from this activity, we all piled into the car to head to Laura's house for Sarah's and Hannah's birthday party.  They were both SO excited about the celebration!

Sarah turned 5:

Hannah turned 3:

And we can't forget Grace!

I loved watching their faces while we sang "Happy Birthday"

While we waited to open presents, we read some stories.

I gave the two girls their own purses with little surprises inside.  

It proved to be a very fun evening celebrating the lives of two precious girls!  And little did we realize that another birthday was around the corner. :)

Samuel Turner

Well, the long-awaited photos of the cutest baby boy are now here! :)  It has been a whirlwind of a week meeting this new little life and taking care of his five siblings for three days.  But what special  memories have been built and precious relationships strengthened.  Family is indeed a gift from the Lord!

Little Samuel is truly our "Thanksgiving baby."  His birth around this national holiday was no coincidence.   This afternoon, as I considered all the answered prayer surrounding Samuel's arrival into the world, I was both humbled and overwhelmed by the realization that God Almighty does indeed care about the concerns of his people and works out all the details in their lives for their good. Gratitude is the only fitting response to the goodness of our God.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1

And now for those pictures...

Before we took all the kids to the hospital to meet their new brother, some of them drew pictures to give to Mommy and Daddy.  Here we are at the "crayon station":

I love what Sarah wrote:  Sarah Baby Samuel Sweet

We also made a quick stop at Walmart on the way to find the perfect gift for Samuel.  With five exuberant children all looking at the toys, we had to settle on two gifts - and buy a third since Grace was immediately attached to one of the items we had chosen. :)

Here we are at the hospital waiting to go to Mommy and Samuel's room.  Don't they look a little excited?

The children were delighted to see Mommy and meet Samuel!!!

Besides the siblings, there was also a delighted grandma and some aunts. 

How we thank the Lord for little Samuel!  It has certainly been a most wonderful Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

"I. . appoint . . . a day of public thanksgiving and praise . . . to render to God the tribute of praise for His unmerited goodness towards us . . . [by giving to] us . . . the Holy Scriptures which are able to enlighten and make us wise to eternal salvation. And [to] present our supplications...that He would forgive our manifold sins and . . . cause the benign religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to be known, understood, and practiced among all the inhabitants of the earth."     

 -- Governor John Hancock, 1790 --

Wisdom's Words

Give up your life for His.

Surrender your purpose for His call.

Rev. Ken Smith

It's a Boy!!!

Samuel Edward Turner

6 lb. 7.5 oz | 19 in

Born 11.24.14

We are grateful for the safe and healthy arrival of Samuel Turner on Monday night, November 24 at 8:08 pm!  He is a cute little guy. :)  Look for more pictures in the coming days.

Divine Direction

For the last three months, I have worked as a volunteer in our church ESL program.  It has been a wonderful opportunity of growth for me!  Most are unaware of all that was going on inside of me as I made the decision to help this semester.  What follows below is a brief chronicle of God's work - as well as a bit of his humor!

I am a quiet, reserved individual - quite unlike my two sisters who are confident and more out-going. When Kathy was helping with ESL last semester, she continued to drop hints here and there that I should do it, too.  My immediate response to her was, "No!  I don't have time."  And really, I did already have a lot going on.  But deep down inside, I knew I was using lack of time as an excuse to hide behind fear, that fear being how could I communicate with someone who couldn't understand me or I them???  I really didn't see this ministry as a fit for me.

Well, last summer when I was driving to work, I was expressing to the Lord my concern that I was never in a context to rub shoulders with unbelievers.  He had me involved in very good things, but they didn't lend themselves to conversing with people outside my circle of Christian friends.  And I knew I wasn't cut out for the Broadripple evangelism.  As I was telling the Lord these things, the thought came to me, "Why don't you help with ESL?"  

Around this time I was aware that there was a need for volunteers the coming semester.  But it was as if the appeal went in one ear and out the other - there was absolutely no interest on my part.  So when this bazaar thought came to me that morning I was shocked - and immediately began arguing. "Help with ESL???  I don't have time!  Here I have a ton of  things going on at church plus statehouse ministry, and I'm thinking about doing one more thing?  No way.  It just can't happen."  But even as I argued the thought wouldn't leave me.  So I eventually concluded that perhaps I should prayerfully consider whether this was something of the Lord.

So the next week I prayed about it and talked (albeit sheepishly) with my family.  And I eventually concluded that for me it would actually be disobedience if I did not participate.  So I decided to step out in faith and at least investigate the possibility.

I knew that there was a need for someone to help with registration, so I decided to immediately grab at that.  After all, the administrative nitty grittys are my strength - and I could "hide" behind the paper and not have to have too much interaction with the people but still say I volunteered.  It was also the most flexible position if I didn't have time stay the full class period.  So my conscience was appeased - I'd do the registration and say I helped with ESL.

The first day of classes came.  I had decided it made no sense to make the 45 minute drive home only to have to immediately turn around and come back for the 7 pm classes.  So I stayed at the church after work.  I was very surprised when the doorbell rang at 5:30 pm.  I answered the phone to hear an international-sounding voice say something about ESL.  I immediately concluded, "Oh, this is one of those students I spoke with on the phone who couldn't quite understand that classes begin at 7 rather than 6.  I'll have to go and straighten it out."  

Well, come to find out, this particular student had to be dropped off at 5:30 every week because she couldn't drive and her husband had class at IUPUI at 6 pm on Wednesdays.

Reality began to sink in.

So much for "hiding behind the paper…”  

As the car drove off that night, I was left face to face with a muslim woman.  God had literally dropped a person right at my doorstep, and I had no choice but to jump right in and begin to interact with her.

And thus began a beautiful journey of learning how to cultivate a relationship with a complete stranger with a language barrier - the very things that were keeping me from helping with this ministry and that I thought I had creatively arranged to avoid.  It is amazing to see how God works.  

I am so thankful that God literally pushed me to become involved.  It has truly served to help me achieve growth in an area I knew was lacking in my life.  From spending one-on-one time with a dear woman, to helping a child with their homework, to assisting with one of the classes, I have never regretted anything I've experienced the last months.  At this time last year I would have never dreamed of doing these things.  But like I said, God works in mysterious ways - and with a little humor!

God will always give us what we need as we respond in obedience to his call.  Don't hide behind fear.  Step out in faith, and watch God work!

Statehouse Prayer Service - Save the Date!

Wisdom's Words

Waiting on God is a regular refrain in the life of faith...The unwelcome intrusions of waiting into our lives, whether weight or seemingly trite, are powerful opportunities

 to welcome God into every moment and keep our hearts renewed in him.

-David Mathis-

Wisdom's Words

Faith alone justifies; but the faith that justifies is never alone.

-John Calvin-

Hannah Turns Three!!!

Today is the happy day!  Our little blue-eyed precious girl turned three years old today!  Her sister Sarah's birthday is this coming Thursday, so we're planning a joint birthday party for both of them next Saturday.  But we couldn't let the special day go by without hopping over to the Turner home late this morning with a few surprises.  And to our delight, they saved the present opening until we arrived!  I wished I had more than my smart phone with me to snap a few pictures, but at least I had something to document the occasion.

The happy campers...

Hannah had great help in opening her gifts.

The special gift from Daddy and Mommy was a new doll.  And how pleased she was!!!

What happy times.  Stay tuned for another birthday post in the coming weeks!

Wisdom's Words

God is very good to those who trust in him and often surprises them with unexpected blessings.  Little do we know what may happen to us tomorrow, but this sweet fact may cheer us - that no good thing will be withheld.  Chance is banished from the faith of Christians, for they see the hand of God in everything.

-Charles Spurgeon-

The Last Weekend...

It seems like the flurry of activity has ceased - at least for a time.  The late summer and fall has held one big event after the next and, although I'm grateful for all that God brought into our lives, I am more than ready to have things calm down a bit.

The last event for this fall of which we were integrally involved was our church's annual RSI Conference this past weekend.  Kathy and I always look forward to running the registration table for this every year.  Last Thursday night, we spent a good three hours at church setting up and assembling all 220+ name tags.

The entire conference went so smoothly with around 250 attending!  It was so fulfilling working together with other brothers and sisters in Christ to help make the weekend a success.  

Since the conference theme was mercy ministry, we had representatives from local ministries come and share about the particular work they are doing in the city of Indianapolis.  We also had our bookstore that featured books written by our speakers, Drs. Philip Ryken and David Apple.  

And one cannot forget the refreshments so beautifully and tastefully done!  

At the conclusion of the conference Saturday afternoon and after helping with clean up, Kathy and I arrived home early that evening to the makings of a grand party.  Ben's birthday was the next day, and his adorable children were doing all the decorating in honor of the occassion.  The color scheme they chose?  Pink and purple.  Yes, pink and purple - but we also managed to get a little blue and white in there, too!

To defy all tradition, the birthday boy made his own birthday cake. :)  Essie was very pleased to serve it to everyone once the candles were all blown out.

And it was a "bonfire"!  Just look at the glow...

Ah, what a wonderfully packed weekend!  How grateful we were that evening to set our clocks BACK on hour due to Daylight Savings Time ending.  Only the Lord knew we would need extra rest this particular weekend.

And now we are entering the holiday season with all the extra cooking and shopping and events.  But most excitedly, we are looking forward to the birth of baby Samuel around December 15!  So now for a little reprieve before another wave of blessed busyness is upon us.

Wisdom's Words

"I urge you, do not give up seeking or trusting my Master because you have not yet obtained the conscious joy that you long for.  Cast yourself on Him, perseveringly depend even when you cannot rejoicingly hope."

-Charles Spurgeon-