Melicharek Moments

A little bit about our life in Germany.....so far :-)

2012-01-28T12:20:00.000-08:00

Hi All!

Sorry for the long time between updates. There hasn't been a ton to report on except the daily details of life. Everything has been a learning experience. Where to get food, what food to buy, what the ingredients say, where to do laundry, how to get there with our family without a car (which includes traveling with 4 car seats), learning the protocol for going outside (which includes putting on hats, coats, socks, and layers - we're used to warm California where flip-flops and shorts are the norm), then going shopping, and figuring out how to manage all the winter clothes, the stroller, the baby, etc. in the stores with the kids....and not loosing anything (or anyone), how to provide healthy-ish food for the kids, how to cook in our hotel kitchen-ettes (emphasis on the 'ette'), having a fridge that is shorter than Essie, getting a rental car that fits us all and is available when we need it, finding a house to live in, reading the German newspapers and on-line adds to figure out what they say about the houses, and coming to the realization that there are more people looking for houses than there are houses available and that we have a larger than usual family to rent to.....being the only family I know who is planning on homeschooling, and having lots of people stare at us when I take the kids shopping during the day because most people have their kids in the 'kindergartens' which are preschools. And going to the playgrounds and having the kids not be able to talk to the other kids, and the local kids not being all than inviting :-), figuring out the Army protocols, getting military ID's for everyone for the first time, going to briefings, going on base, using the commissary, learning what a PX is (it's a place where you can buy American stuff for ok prices), I think that's it......just a lot of learning going on by all of us on many fronts.....oh, and learning that really, the only church that we can go to that seems to be preaching the true Word of God is an hour away.....and so we're rented a car so that we can go there tomorrow.

On other fronts, the Lord has provided some neat opportunities for us to minister to others that have been neat examples of God's perfect timing and divine orchestration of peoples lives. Today I had a lady walk straight up to me and start up a conversation, and then start talking to me about Islam and the Lord provided a great opportunity for me to explain to her that forgiveness is free and that we cannot work for it, and that indeed, trying to work for salvation is an abomination to a holy God. She heard the true Gospel of Jesus, and why we need a Savior -- But she just walked straight up to me and started talking....at the church we went to last Sunday the secretary confided in me that she had big doubts about eternity and didn't understand salvation, and had never read what Jesus said about these topics from the Word of God.....THE CHURCH SECRETARY! Though we were very thankful to the Lord for giving her the opportunity to hear the Gospel and to be encouraged to go to the Word of God for these answers, we were so grieved to know that she was not getting these answers from her pastor. There have been other neat ways to minister to others, so we are thankful that the Lord is already putting us to a little bit of use here.

I think that's about all I have time to write. Sorry for the long, rambling update, but I hope it gives you a little glimpse into how things are going here.....we are thankful for being here, just adjusting and at the bottom of a learning curve in many areas.....but all is well. It's been nice to get to spend lots of time together as a family, experience Germany and all the new sights, sounds, food, people, etc., and just to be here where we feel the Lord has put us for the time being.....we are very content.

Please pray for us, especially the kiddos, that the Lord would provide them with a good friend that will provide mutually beneficial influence, that we would continue to remain faithful to worship the Lord together as a family daily and to teach the children from God's Word, that we would love each other and consider one another as more important than ourselves, and that we would be faithful to live out the Gospel in our daily lives with those we live with (each other) and with those the Lord brings our way. Also, that the Lord would provide a house for us to live in and a car to drive that fits us all.

Love,
Erica

We're here!

2012-01-16T08:46:00.000-08:00

We made it. We're here in the hotel where we'll stay while we look for a house. Soon we'll be settled in - hopefully by tomorrow. The trip went well all things considered. We have a considerable amount of luggage that we brought with us since it's all we'll have for the first month or three, and we home-school kindergarten and preschool (which makes for lots of bulky materials). The kids enjoyed the trip and are excited to be here, I think I enjoyed the trip also, but it was definitely an 18 hour whirlwind of activity from door to door. The Lord was gracious to provide people all along the way who went out of their way to help us out. Without their help, we would have had a much more difficult time. A couple of times people literally came out of no-where, at the last second, to answer a question for us or provide a needed piece of information, that we hadn't even asked for that greatly helped out. The Lord definitely graced out trip, so thank you for praying to those of you who did.

There is so much more to say, but I'm afraid that I'm so tired that I'm not sure I'm making sense. Both Anthony and I are having strange equilibrium issues, in that we keep feeling like the ground is moving or that we're going to fall over. We're thinking it's due to fatigue. Hopefully tonight everyone will sleep and not wake up in the middle of the night thinking it's morning. We've tried to keep everyone awake throughout the day, though everyone but Malachi has taken a nap of some sort.

Anyway, lots of love and just wanted to let you know we've arrived.

Love,
Erica

And we're off!

2012-01-13T15:55:00.000-08:00

We have one more full day left in sunny San Diego and then we're off to a European winter. The last few couple of months have gone by so quickly with the long 'to-d0' lists in preparation for a speedy international move, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spending a little extra time here with our friends and family knowing that it may be quite a while until we can see each other face to face again (though Skype does provide a nice way of talking almost face to face :-)

If you have been praying for us in regards to the things I mentioned in a previous post, then I want to thank you and also let you know that the Lord has been abundantly gracious to us during this transition. He has poured out his grace in amazing measure and we are thankfully able to say at the end of this busy time that we were able to be kind, patient and loving with each other throughout all the planning, changed plans, no schedule, many social events, coming and going, etc. That was my main concern when this all started, because it is so easy to get impatient when the pressure is on to get things done, especially with little children like we have who don't quite understand it all and who just want to play and read books with mommy and daddy. But they have been wonderful! Kids really are a blessing from the Lord! My kids are such a blessing to me!

So thank you for praying, we so appreciate you.

Well, speaking of kids, mine all just woke up so I better sign off. Our next post will be from Germany!

Love,
Erica

Free Stuff (for those in SD :-)

2011-12-19T16:01:00.000-08:00

As we're packing up, we're also weeding out :-) In talking things over with Anthony we've decided that instead of selling off unwanted items we'll give them away and then whoever gets stuff can make a donation to the Benevolence fund at Pacific Hope Church in order to help those who are in need during this Christmas season.

So we're making this post because it's the easiest way to keep the list updated for folks who might want some things. So here's a list of things we have at this point, I'll try to keep it updated as we add more to the pile or as things get designated to their new homes :-)

If you'd like something, please email me at: anthony.erica@gmail.com or call me at (858) 349-5127 (don't text- I can't receive it :-)

at&t microcell tower and router

lamps tall and small - (taken - kg)

Apple desktop that needs to be repaired before it will work, or can be used for parts?

coffee percolator

bunch of tiles (the same ones that were put in the church)

helium balloon filler

toaster

other electrical items

women's clothes (Erica's size)
vacuum cleaner- (taken - kg)

2 epoxy surfboards-great for learning

Hello Germany!

2011-12-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

There are big changes in the air for The Melichareks in 2011! The Lord has seen fit to provide a job for Anthony in Germany! I didn't mention anything on the blog for sometime because I wasn't convinced that the move would actually take place, but now, it seems quite certain that we will be re-locating to Germany on Jan. 15th, 2012.

We are excited about what the Lord may have for us there yet are sad to say 'see you later' to the friends and family that we love in San Diego (and the greater United States). But this does seem as though it has been a move ordained by the Lord and so we are following His lead and heading to Europe. Anthony will be working for the Army Corps of Engineers, and we will be located in Weisbaden, just 20 minutes from Frankfurt (where there is a major airport, making us very easy to visit - hint, hint). It is a 3 year commitment and we shall see after that what the Lord has in store.

There is a church that we are planning on visiting right off the bat. They speak English and we've been listening to sermons on-line and have been very encouraged by the preaching. We are excited to meet the body of believers there. The Lord has provided us a home-schooling community to join through Classical Conversations. We started with them here in San Diego, and love it. The group in Germany is two weeks behind us, so we might not miss a beat in that regard. It is not legal to home-school in Germany but because we are working for the US government, we are allowed to. I am thankful for that, because we are loving schooling at home.

We've also been beginning to learn German now, and the kids are picking up on it quickly. I think they may be translating for me very soon :-) By moving to Germany, Anthony and I are on a little bit more of a level playing field in terms of learning the language. He is not fluent in German and only took one year of it in school. I have no German. We'll be learning together which will be a fun experience. I asked him how it would work if I just spoke English with a thick German accent....but he didn't think that would work. He's probably right :-) It will be winter there when we arrive, so my Southern California family is in for a chilly surprise.

If you think of us, please pray that:
1. We will honor the Lord in our actions, attitudes, thoughts and speech as we rapidly pack up and prepare to do our first international move in about a month.
2. That we would be obedient to the Lord in any ministry he has for us to do en-route or there.
3. That the Lord would provide housing for our larger than average in Germany family quickly, so we can minimize our time in temporary housing

Oh, and yes! We have a new mailing address for you to add to the list:

Anthony R. Melicharek
CENAU-CT
CMR 410, BOX 54
APO AE 09049-0054

Thank you and 'see ya later'!

Photos and saying, "I'm Sorry"

2011-11-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

It's been a little while, so I thought I'd post a few photos and some captions to try to keep up to date about what we've been up to...or some of it anyway....and a few thoughts on having kids say, "I'm sorry" that have been on my mind....

We have a yard now! Yay!!! I looked out the window one day to see Essie 'gardening'....she values safety as you can see from the protective eye wear....we're still working on the use of various tools....she's cutting the grass with a pair of plyers..... I thought it was cute :-)

Friends!....This little guy is crawling now, a family record, crawling before 6 months.

Family trip to the Birch Aquarium

Hannah as Tinkerbell

Essie as 'The Little Monster', definitely the cutest little 'monster' I've ever seen!

The beginnings of what became a pretty cool Davy Crockett costume

We're still working on our bread baking skills....this could have been morning pancakes, but the girls love to cook with me.

Our 4 blessings from the Lord.

Malachi and his pet slug, 'slimy' - a fitting name, I thought.

Us on a little getaway....

Apple picking in Julian

Sweet Hannah

There's been quite a lot going on that I'll update on later, but for now these photos are just a glimpse of how we're doing. We've been battling various colds and things for a while (5-6 weeks or so), and so I've made an investment in some organic loose-leaf herbs and have been trying to strengthen our imunities and health using them to cook and make teas. We've also been switching to more organic foods as much as is reasonable right now, and boosting the nutritional value of our food as much as possible....it's a fun hobby for me, nonetheless....and good for the family (I hope).

So, here are my thoughts on having children say, "I'm sorry". This has come up a lot lately, so hopefully these thoughts are helpful. Basically, in a nut-shell, I'm not so sure that this is a good idea. Here's one reason why: Let's say a child takes a toy from another child. The parent steps in, takes the toy from the one who stole it, and tells the child, 'Go say I'm sorry' to your friend for taking the toy. The child is now in a predicament. What if they are not sorry for doing it? They did want the toy after all, and likely still do. They know that they are supposed to obey their parents. They also (hopefully) know that it's wrong to lie. So what do they do? Do they lie to their friend and say they're sorry when they are not? Or do they dis-obey their parent? I don't think this is fair to the child.

Personally, I think the best thing to teach them to confess their sins to others and to ask for forgiveness. This way, they are stating the truth whether or not their feelings are on board or not. In the case above, I think it's better to have the child go to the other child and say, "I stole your toy and I was un-kind. Please forgive me." This way, they are only stating what happened, and acknowledging that they are in need of forgiveness. They are not making any statements about how they feel about the situation. Having kids confess their sin to the one they've offended specifically, makes them take responsibility for their actions. Having them ask for forgiveness causes them to feel the sting of their actions a little bit as they must humble themselves before their friend and as they realize that they have hurt their friend and their friendship. In taking this approach to resolving issues that come up between kids and others, children can obey their parents instruction to address the issue, while maintaining their integrity by not potentially lying about their feelings.

Anyway, these are my thoughts on the subject.....just thought I'd share :-) food for thought I suppose as we endeavor to sew seeds of righteousness in the hearts of the young ones the Lord has entrusted to us (if you're in that boat).

Hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving and are looking forward to celebrating the birth of the Savior.

Your help needed....

2011-10-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Parents!

Friends of ours are desiring to put together some seminars and possibly write a book for parents and I offered to help them because I can't wait to read it! I volunteered to take a poll of some of my mommy (and daddy) friends to find out what are the main questions that moms and dads have for various ages. The couple that is hoping to minister to parents more effectively has plenty of experience in that they've home-schooled 2 kids all the way to college and have 7 more in the wings. They have 9 kids total ranging from 4-21. We have spent quite a bit of time with them and the fruit of their labors is evident in that their teens and older kids still love to be home, are still very much valuing their parents advice and wisdom, and are still very active in serving their family. The younger kids are servant hearted, respectful and quite able to do many tasks....so I am definitely excited to read what they have to say about raising kiddos.....I know it takes time to do something like this, but if you'd like to help out, then just send me an email ( anthony.erica@gmail.com ) or comment here with your top 5 questions for the following age ranges:

1440

2011-10-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a little while since I've posted (once again :-) but I thought I'd share this quickly. I've been working on making visual aides for our home to help things run smoother. So far it's really helping. At the same time, I thought I'd make some for myself to remind me of my priorities. As I've been adjusting to having 4 kiddos as well as to home-schooling during the day, I've been thinking about how we all have one life to live, and that it's a life that's been given to us to use or to invest in something. My conviction has been growing stronger and stronger that the best way for me to invest my life is in my family - for the glory of God. They are the people God has given me to minister to. It's been a joy to have my passion for devoting myself to the well-being of my family grow and grow. People in stores often tell me that once the kids go off to school it will be great because then I can have time for myself again :-) I just tell them that I'm happy with my kids, that they are a joy and a blessing from God, and that there's nothing more important that I can see myself investing my time in. What kind of investment is it to invest all my time in myself? What good does that do? It might feel good in the moment but in the end, what kind of return will it yield? And how is God glorified if I spend the time he's given me on myself? Anyway, I wrote the following to put on my wall in my kitchen as a reminder of this conviction so that in the moments when I don't quite feel this way, I can be reminded of what is true :-) Hope it's encouraging to you....

1440

God has given me 1,440 minutes to invest in the next 24 hours. How does He want me to invest them for His Glory?

~ Invest them in time with Him in prayer and study of His Word

~ Invest them in the husband He’s given me by praying for him, helping him with his daily needs, helping him achieve his goals, providing food to nourish him, clean clothes for him to wear, an orderly home to live in, and in training the children to love and respect him

~ Invest them in the children by praying for them. Train them in their devotion to God through teaching them Scripture, the truths found there and how to apply these truths in their lives, the discipline of prayer and the heritage of hymns. Share the Gospel with each one each day. Seek to Train their hearts towards a life of service, of denying themselves for the sake of sacrificing for others, in the use of self-control in all areas, and in their admiration and appreciation of God and His people. Educate their minds and encourage them to learn to think critically, to yearn for truth and to be interested in the world around them that God has created. Provide nourishing food for their bodies and help them develop healthy eating habits. Give them life-skills by providing training and experience in the various aspects of home-life for their well-being in the future and the well-being of our home now.

~ Invest them in the well-being of our family by devoting time towards cleaning, organizing, cooking, laundry and our finances

~ Invest them in the health of my own body so that I can remain strong for the service of my family now and in the future as well as provide a good model for my children to follow after. Do this by exercising, drinking water, eating healthily and getting adequate rest.

~Invest them in those God brings into my life to serve either through meeting needs, providing counsel/discipleship, comforting, or sharing the hope of Christ, hospitality, and whatever else God has for me to do.

These are all beneficial ways that God has ordained for me to invest the 1,440 minutes of each day for Him and His kingdom, as His blood-bought daughter. He will provide the grace needed to do these things effectively and with the right heart attitude. His Grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect in my weakness.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." ~ Romans 12:1-2

That's My King!, S. M. Lockridge

2011-08-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

This is a powerful reminder of who Jesus really is.... I hope you are blessed....

That's my King!

It's definitely worth watching.

Have a wonderful Lord's Day tomorrow,
Erica

Funny Things Kids say....

2011-08-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

The other night our power went out. Since we'd recently been changing some things around in the house, we couldn't locate the 'emergency flashlight'. Thankfully we found a back-up, but it made us realize that in the event of an emergency, we are not prepared.

We do have a few supplies in place, including a box of Cliff Bars and bottled water in each room in the event that an earthquake happens and we are trapped in that room. The kids are aware of where the supplies are and understand that they are for emergencies only.

The next morning, I searched Amazon and bought some supplies, including some fire-escape ladders for the upstairs bedrooms. They arrived today and Malachi asked what they are. I told him they are ladders that we can use to get out of the upstairs rooms in case there is a fire, thinking that I was doing a great job explaining this to him so that in the event of an emergency he would know exactly what to do :-)

He responded, as sincere as can be, with: "Right mom, so if there's a fire we go up in our room and eat Cliff Bars, right?" hmmmm......

Needless to say, we have some practicing to do when it comes to figuring out which measures match which emergencies....there seems to be some confusion :-)

We got a chuckle out of it though :-)

What we've been up to.....

2011-07-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures of what we've been up to since I last posted some pictures....I promised a couple of folks far away I'd do this...I'm sorry it's taken me so long....things are a little busy around here, seemingly around the clock at the moment....

Here's maybe my favorite picture of little Simeon so far.....taken by my Dad....Simeon is 7 weeks old now.

My parents came for a quick weekend trip and the weather was perfect, so we spent a whole lot of time at the beach! Summer has arrived in San Diego! This was taken during a picnic at the beach at La Jolla Shores...

One of my new favorite pictures of Malachi....what a happy boy!

Miss. Hannah who loves the sand....

Essie put on these glasses and hat to go to the beach, I asked her to smile for the camera and this is the pose she took....Hannah said the picture made her look like a 'rock-star'.....pretty funny, I thought....Essie loves to wear accessories...not sure where she got that from! (not me, that's for sure, I'm not one to dress up much-though I am working on it :-)

We purchased a 'Play-shack' from Craigslist for very inexpensive.....it's in our car-port....my mom sewed some curtains for it, and I'm collecting cans of free colored paint so we can decorate it later...it's providing some constructive entertainment for the kids. Here's Malachi going to 'work on the house'...:-)

When Simeon was born, I gave the kids aprons and Bibles as their gift from him...every time one of our kids have been born they've given their siblings gifts at the hospital....as a way to help build the relationship between them all right from the start of their arrival....Here's Essie and I in our aprons, getting ready to make home-made hamburger buns (which I did with all the kids in our galley kitchen), I was wiped out by the end, but I think it was successful....though we still need to work on our bread making abilities....

Here's Simeon on his inaugural trip to the beach....I think he enjoyed himself...can you tell?

Hannah and Simeon having a deep conversation.....Essie tells me every day that, "He (meaning Simeon) can talk, in his own way".....She's right I suppose :-)

Malachi received a special treat last week and was able to attend the UCSD tennis camp all week! It's really a camp for 7 year old kids and up, and it's a great camp. Anthony is good friends with the coach there and he offered an opportunity for Malachi to attend. We thought for sure that he'd be able to go for a day and then they would tell us that he's just too young....but instead he was able to attend the entire camp! So from 9-4 every day he played tennis! He had a blast and was far from being wiped out at the end of the day....he's got a lot of energy! Here are a couple of his coaches.... Thanks Eric!

Another friend of Anthony's is a scientist. He was over one morning for a waffle breakfast and mentioned that he was making ice cream later at work....he invited the kids to come and take part....apparently if you mix ice cream ingredients and then add liquid nitrogen to it, it becomes ice cream in about 30 seconds! How cool is that? And it's not poisonous either! (I checked). So they got a little science lesson and got to have some instant ice-cream that tasted pretty good.....Thanks Steve!

Simeon started to smile a little, which is a fun and exciting milestone....last night from 3am until 6 am he was sure showing a whole lot of bright eyed smiles! it's cute....but much more cute during the day time. we'll get there....we have other nights where he goes to sleep at 10:00 and sleeps until 6:00....we're working towards more of those nights :-) I am really looking forward to when he starts giggling and the kids can make him laugh....they'll love that!

Here's a group picture of us, my parents and Anthony's brother and our sister-in-law at the beach picnic at the shores the other day....all the little kids belong to us..... :-)

Thanks for reading and checking in on us....hope to hear from you!

A few more pictures....

2011-06-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

There aren't many photos of just Simeon....he's getting a lot of attention around here! One week old yesterday, and doing much, much better at night....yippee for Mommy!!! Thanks for all your emails and prayers, they are much appreciated.

He's Here!!!

2011-06-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

Simeon Anthony Melicharek

born June 1, 2011, 2:15 pm

8 lbs. 11 oz.

He's being welcomed by his adoring and eagerly awaiting brother and sisters.....who are spending lots of time holding their new 'baby broder' (as Essie and Hannah both say), rocking his little cradle, helping mommy care for him, and generally hugging, kissing and admiring this little guy.....

And we're all doing well, thankful to be all together.....spending time at home adjusting to life as a family of 6.

We're thankful to the Lord for the gift of our new son. His creative powers are great, and once again, we are awed by the miracle of life.

Celebrating God's Faithfulness

2011-05-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a special one for us. We traveled to LA in order to celebrate God's abundant faithfulness to us in every way during the past 4 years while Anthony completed the Master's of Divinity degree at the Master's Seminary. It was a blessed time. We were able to spend time with good friends, attend a banquet with some of the people who've become dear to us in LA, watch Anthony receive his degree and just reminice about all the Lord has done over the past 4 years in our lives and in our hearts. Here's a few pictures.....

From left to right are Victor and Marianne who've become dear friends and mentors, us, Pastor and Mrs. Dokko of La Canada Korean Church where Anthony ministered during seminary as a youth pastor, Bruno Anthony's dad who came with us for the weekend, and Rufus and Sherli Harvey who've ministered to us faithfully since we arrived at Grace Church. It was a blessing to sit around a table with these dear friends and remember all the ways God demonstrated His grace, wisdom and love through each of them.

Pastor John MacArthur and Mrs. MacArthur and us at the banquet.....I just had to ask for at least one photo with them! Actually the weekend before, I was blessed to be able to attend a brunch at their home hosted by Mrs. MacArthur.....I walked away with lots of photos and a couple pages of notes - gleaning from her years of service to her Lord by serving her husband, family and church body --those will hopefully go into another post, but I feel like I say that a lot and don't get to it.....

The graduate and his fans....

The Bruce family, us and Bruno.....this is a sweet family!

A few folks from La Canada Korean Church who came out to celebrate with us. What a blessing they have been over the past few years.

I think that's it. The ceremony was very worshipful and centered on Christ, as it should be. It wasn't focused on the men's achievements but rather on the Lord's work and also on His commission to them to now minister faithfully to the church, the bride of Christ......no small task when taken as it should be....

Thanks for reading and thanks for all who prayed for us, helped us, counseled us, and encouraged us over the past 4 years since Anthony began the seminary adventure. We so appreciate each of you.....and only hope that by God's abundant grace we can prove faithful to the end, as He has.....again, by His grace alone!

previous and upcoming events....

2011-04-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well, as I seem to be slacking a little in the blogging department, I seem to be only able to post photos and descriptions of what we've been up to....and am thankful to be able to do that! My energy level and 'ability to think' level have both decreased dramatically over the past couple of weeks.....only 4 1/2 weeks left until Baby Simeon's expected arrival (though I'm really hoping for an early arrival this time :-)

Here's a few pictures of what we've been up to since I last posted.....Hope this finds you well.....

We had friends from long ago visit us for a few days....It was a short but very nice trip, we sure would have liked for them to stay longer....This group of kids belong to 3 different families, it seems that this group grows every year by one or two kids....and is about to grow even more soon :-)

We had to take a few head shots of Anthony all dressed up because he's going to be officially graduating on May 15th from The Master's Seminary! This picture was needed for their graduation booklet.....we praise God for how He displayed His faithfulness to us during our time in Seminary, wouldn't trade that time for anything!

All of our kids have taken bottles up until they are 2 (and maybe a little bit later than that)....this is one of Essie's last days of having her much loved bottle of milk.....she's now a big girl, no more bottles, pacifiers or day-time diapers :-( thankfully, there's another one on the way to take over the role of 'Baby' in the house....

We visited my parents in Colorado for a week or so.....and the kids got to experience some snow! They were so very excited about seeing snow, and pitiful as it was, they were very enthusiastic about the tiny patch of ice they found on my mom's driveway...they shoveled it, turned it into snowballs best they could, and just played in it a ton....we're talking a 2' x3' square of ice....so we finally took them to the mountains where they could put on their snow clothes and sled....though they were not too keen on the snow-clothes at first, they sure enjoyed the sledding....well, Malachi and Hannah did....Essie "No like-it sled" and preferred to stay with me....the picture above is me literally baby-sitting....ie....sitting with THREE babies, Essie (2), Sydney (1) and Simeon (soon to arrive)......

What a cool Grandma to get in on the sledding action!!!

This was a real dream come true for Malachi....he's been talking about going sledding for months and months....

Hannah also had a good time....though I think her favorite part was eating the snow!
We mostly made sure it was clean snow....

So this may look like an ordinary egg....but don't be fooled! The kids actually watched a chicken lay this egg at a place called 'Urban Farms' where most of my sister's horses are now kept...it's a farm in the city (hence the name) that reaches out to city kids who are a little troubled....they have a great success rate, too! The kids found a chicken in one of the playhouses, laying an egg in a kids play dish....my mom retrieved the egg (poor little chicken), and the kids enjoyed celebrating and eating their discovery....

Sisters at the zoo while Malachi went off to a full day of behind the scenes camp at the zoo....payed for with funds from his home-school charter -- Thank you San Diego Unified!

Evidence that Essie actually did ride on a sled....maybe a couple of times....not much more :-)

Everyone on their Colorado bikes, with Grandma Ellie.

Malachi and Hannah, with Grandma Ellie at the top of the hill.....me still sitting with the babies....

Essie turned 2 and as usual we celebrated for a week or so....it seems like we always have multiple birthday celebrations for our kiddos...this one was with our family here in San Diego....she enjoyed it and was ecstatic about finally getting the long awaited Birthday Cake.....for over a month every day, she would tell us, "Birthday coming up, almost two, CAKE!"....she ended up with two birthday cakes (one in Colorado, one in San Diego), a birthday pan-cake the morning of her actual birthday and birthday Costco Ice-cream the evening of her birthday with just our family....

Here's a recent picture of me...now at 35 weeks....in the canyon by our house....we weren't planning on taking pictures of me, just going on a walk, but these flowers were just so pretty....it looks like we live in the country (something I would surely not be opposed to)....

A picture of the kids loving on their new baby brother.....they are SOOO excited for him to arrive.....Essie thinks that my belly button is Baby Simeon, so whenever she goes to kiss him she insists on kissing my belly button, she also rubs my BB saying "awww.....so cuuute!", whenever we've had a new baby in the house the older one has always fed their 'babies' from their belly buttons when I've fed the real baby (not from my belly button)....kids and belly buttons are pretty funny together!

Family picture.....notice that Hannah is in boy clothes....that's because Malachi took it upon himself to choose her clothes for her that afternoon....sweet brother!

Alrighty, so how's that for catching up??? thanks for hanging in there if you've made it to the end here.....today is Good Friday, the day we remember our Saviour's crucifixion in order to become the one true sacrificial lamb of God on our behalf. All month we've been studying what's known as 'Passion Week' or the week before Jesus' death and resurrection....We have some helpful resources for this that I hope to share in another post....but for now, please honor and remember why this holiday exists....it is so not about eggs and bunnies (I really don't find any sense in the bunny-factor of easter)..... but it's all about God who became a man so that he could die as a sacrifice and a ransom for the many who would believe in Him as the Messiah.....He came to die for us! Just so that we could be redeemed from the clutches of sin and death....mind-boggling!

Please worship Him this season, and appreciate His sacrifice like never before....He alone is worthy of our praise and worship....

He is Risen!

lasagne recipe

2011-03-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

I've been asked for this recipe and since there really isn't one, I thought I'd write down how I make lasagne....if you have suggestions or improvements, please post them....I'm always looking for improvements!!!

Meat Sauce:
2 cans tomato paste
4 cans diced tomatoes
2 lbs hamburger meat
red wine
onion
garlic (real garlic)
dried basil/oregano/salt/pepper and/or other italian spices
fennel if you want

Browning the meat:
saute onion and garlic in a little oil, add meat and spice with all spices to flavor the meat
in another pot, heat up some oil with fennel seeds and more garlic....add tomato paste and wisk in. Keep stirring until the tomato paste begins to darken but don't let it burn.

Add 1 cup or so of cheap red wine and wisk in until smooth....then add diced tomatoes, and all spices to taste....I also add a little sugar but be careful not to add too much!

When meat is browned fully, drain fat and discard, add meat to sauce....let simmer for as long as possible, the longer the better....even better is to simmer it the day before and make the lasagne the next day.....it's best if the sauce is more wattery if you're making lasagne, because the noodles will soak up the juices....

White Sauce:
2 TBL. butter melted in pan
Flour
Milk
Cottage cheese
mozzerella
egg
diced garlic
spices (as above)

melt butter into pan and saute garlic in butter, pour in some milk (maybe 1-2 cups), disolve 2-3 TBLS flour into a little bit of milk until creamy, then add to milk in pan and whisk in until mixed and not lumpy....continue stirring as milk heats up, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan clean so nothing burns, sticks or clumps....add cottage cheese and spices and let melt/mix in (while stirring the whole time)...don't let the milk boil rapidly or burn....when melted take off stove and let cool....when cooled add a couple of eggs and whisk in.

Once sauces are made, you can layer the lasagne....
put one layer of red-sauce with as few chunks in it as possible at the bottom of the pan. Then add a layer of un-cooked lasagne noodles (don't have to be the no-boil kind, just any noodles work fine). Add more red sauce to cover, then add a layer of white sauce, then noodles, etc....end with a layer of red-sauce....if you want you can also add a layer of shredded mozzerella cheese on top of each white sauce layer....

cover and bake at 350 for an hour or so, until noodles are soft.....then uncover and add top layer of shredded mozzerella, put back in oven to melt and brown the cheese on top....take out of oven and let set for 20 minutes or so....eat and enjoy!

I know this is a little vague as far as amounts go, but I honestly would have to make this to know how much goes in....this is my best attempt at this point....hope it's helpful!

E.

Parenting.....

2011-03-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

We were blessed last week to take a trip up to LA where we stayed with our parenting mentors and friends. It's a little painful to subject ourselves to discipleship in our parenting, because our failures and shortcomings quickly come into the light, but afterwards, it's such a blessing because we walk away with a renewed vision of God's plan for parents and children, with more motivation to carry on being diligent in what we know to be true, and also have a clearer vision of what we want our family to look like and what we need to work on.....so I thought I'd put up some of the things that I learned from our time so I can go back to them later as a reminder and so that someone else can benefit from our taste of humble-pie :-)

On Respecting Parents and others:
I think this has come up before, but basically kids should always treat their parents with respect and honor. This sounds obvious, but if you watch kids you'll see that it isn't obvious to them. What does it look like for kids to honor and respect their parents? First, kids should not tell their parents 'no'. There is no where in Scripture where a child tells their parent 'no'. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his promised son Isaac, there is no record of Isaac resisting his dad's attempt at sacrificing him on an alter to God! By the time God provided the replacement sacrifice in the form of the ram in the bush, Isaac was already bound up and lying on the alter with his dad poised to kill him....There is a record of Isaac asking his dad a question about where the sacrificial animal was, so it's clear that he was curious about what was going on, but he never resisted his father even unto death!

The same is true of Jesus....in the Garden of Gethsemane, he asked that another plan other than his crucifixion and bearing of all our sin could take place, but at the end of it all, he submitted to his Father and said, 'not my will but your will be done'....again, submission unto death......

So none of us are going to sacrifice our kids and clearly I'm not advocating that (in case anyone is confused on that point :-). however, the principal still stands.....kids are to submit to their parents in everything....It's their job as children, of course, if a parent is telling a child to do something that's sinful then they should obey the word of God over their parents, but that's a whole different point entirely. The point here is that kids should never tell their parents 'no'.....they can ask humbly by saying 'no thank-you' if they really don't want to do or eat something, but when they ask this they should be prepared in their hearts to obey without complaint if the instruction doesn't change...

Another point that we realized we were neglecting is to have our kids look us in the eyes when we talk to them. This is such an important thing to do! By looking in our kids eyes, we can see a little bit of what's going on in their hearts....are they angry about what we're saying? Are they listening intently because they value our instruction? Are they ignoring us completely and waiting for us to finish talking? their eyes tell the story of their attitudes.....do they refuse to make eye contact? Are they even able to make eye contact? These things are important....the thing that I realize in this is that it means then that I must slow down and look in their eyes when I talk to them and when they talk to me. It's good modeling for them, good practice for me, and just plain shows that I care enough about them to look at them when we talk.

If it looks like they are angry or inattentive when they are listening then address it. Ask them to look at you with soft eyes, tell them not to forsake their parents teaching and that you are seeking to do the job God has given you, which is (in part) to impart wisdom to them. If they don't listen, they are being foolish. It's best to be wise.

On being servant-hearted vs. self-absorbed:
This is a biggie! (for adults as well). We are all born as completely self-absorbed people. A newborn infant is surely not thinking of their mothers need for sleep when they scream for milk throughout the night. We come into the world only able to be concerned about our own needs. Without training and instruction many folks never actually grow out of this self-absorption. We may learn to do nice things for people, but if the motivation is to get something out of it, then it's still ultimately self-absorption. The goal then, is to teach kids from an early age to be genuinely concerned with the needs and desires of others and to care for them.

To do this, practice is the best teacher. Instead of getting to choose the activity, kids can ask others what they would like to do, let them make the choice and then enjoy playing that activity with them. Older kids can ask the younger ones what they would like to do, and even if it seems 'babyish' they can seek to enjoy doing that thing with their younger friend/sibling. Chores are also a good training ground for this, in that a child should ultimately do any task their parents ask them to do (within their ability range), with a joyful attitude because they want to serve their family....even if it's not their favorite thing to do.

Older kids can also be asked to care for younger kids....this is a great way to teach servant-heartedness....and it helps with building the relationship between the kids and with making the household run more smoothly....

Children can also be talked to about what it means to serve others, what it looks like to be selfish, given examples and reasons etc....using Scripture is the best (I have a draft of a Bible study on this topic written on the blog, maybe I'll post it someday :-). There are countless opportunities to teach selflessness each day, in Scripture there are tons of examples for kids to learn from, and there are so many scenarios throughout the day for them to practice, if our antennas are up searching for them....

On interrupting:
This goes along with the respect section, probably, but I'm putting it here....basically, kids shouldn't interrupt. If they have something to say, they can walk up and stand and wait until the grownups are done talking before they say what they'd like to say. We've let this get a little out of hand....and we can definitely see the benefit of having kids assess a situation before they just walk up and say what's on their mind....it's also training in selflessness for them to look at a person and think, "Is she listening to someone else?" " Is she on the phone?" "Is she talking to someone?" before they speak....it helps them to think of others before themselves and put their needs/wants after others.....so I guess this also goes with servant-heartedness as well...

On Sitting quietly:
Our friends suggest having kids sit and read books for at least an hour a day without talking. This teaches them the self-control of sitting, being quiet and also of respecting their parents wishes for them to sit quietly....it also helps with their ability to sit in other settings (doctor's offices, planes, meals, resteraunts, church, etc).....sitting is just an important skill as is being quiet....and it's not one that comes naturally (at least not to our kids), it has to be taught and learned....

Anyway, I know there's more that we learned, but this is already a super long post....so maybe I'll write more another time... Here's a couple of pictures....thanks for reading! Be blessed and encouraged!

Erica

Add caption

It's been a looong time!

2011-03-02T20:37:00.000-08:00

I see that my last post was Jan.24th, and now it's Mar.2nd.....I guess that's not THAT long, but it feels like it as it seems like a lot has happened in the past month plus a little bit. I don't even really know what to write about - I could write about how I've been pretty obsessed with getting organized around here lately, and that it occurred to me sometime in the middle of the month how thankful I am that while I feel like our home is not nearly as organized as I'd like it to be and sometimes feels a little chaotic to me (though I think it's not as bad as it feels to me), I'm thankful that my mind, heart and soul are so uncluttered. When I think back on my life, I realize that I used to have so much clutter and distress inside of me and now it's gone....The Lord has wiped that all away and given me such peace and contentment....it was a blessed realization for me to see what He's done in my heart....that's not to say that I don't have my moments of being upset or a little frazzled, but I'm talking about what's deep down in my soul, at the core....it's not un-rest, restlessness, worry, fear or whatever else tends to plague people's souls....it's peace and contentment and joy! So praise God for that....only He can do that kind of work in a person's heart!

I could write about a whole bunch of other things as well.....but I think that instead I'm just going to write a list of all the things that have happened in the past month or so, and post a couple of pictures....hoping to write more in the future....

1. Though we have all stayed out of the hospital this past month, we've had at least one sick person in our home for the entire time since the last post...last week it was all 5 of us at once....but we seem to be on the mend....and I may quarantine my entire family to prevent any further illness for the time being (just kidding)....

2. Malachi turned 5!!!That's a big deal for me. He had a great party, that ended up being a gymnastics party at the YMCA - a last minute change due to the rains that hit us that weekend, despite 6 weeks of summer like weather prior....and the fact that our house can definitely not accommodate 25 children and their parents!

3. Grandma Ellie came for a visit, to celebrate Malachi's party....the kids and I were planning on returning to Colorado with her, but at the very last hour, I found out that both the girls had pretty severe ear infections and could not fly....trip postponed, but thankfully Southwest Airlines lets you change your flight with no penalty...so we are headed there at the end of this month, Lord willing...

4. I turned 34! And had a great birthday weekend complete with a Pacific Hope Church traditional breakfast kidnapping by friends who took me out for breakfast (and woke me up by singing Happy Birthday outside my bedroom door).....thankfully they spared me the tiarra and princess crown that used to accompany these events....

5. I got new dishes, which may not sound like a big deal but we were running out of dishes every day in our house and I'm not one to like to spend money on things....but I found a great set of 8 place-settings for a great price that are a style that I've been wanting for a long time...anyway, they've made serving food a lot more fun for me this month.....silly but hey, big in my life :-)

6. Essie got potty trained! We are now diaper free during the days for the first time in 5 years! In 3 months or less we will be re-introduced to diapering during the days once again, but hey, we'll have only 1 child in diapers....When Essie was born we had 3 kids in diapers...big change!

7. We currently have 3 Czech Pastors staying with us for a couple of days. They are here to attend the Shepherd's Conference at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, but they arrived here by train today to spend a couple of days with us....

8. I've bought and sold much furniture this past month....Craigslist is my friend!

9. The kids have memorized Psalm 23 and even Essie can fill in some blanks.....we also learned the hymn 'Immortal, Invisible' as a family.....

10. Malachi is quickly progressing in his school-work and can almost read, is starting to sound out words when he writes, and is learning to do some addition equations....this is a big deal for me too!

11. Hannah has just become sweeter and sweeter, no major advancements, but just a lot of fun to have around (as long as she's not in a devious sort of mood :-)

12. Today is officially the first day of the third tri-mester for baby Simeon.....I'm really looking forward to his arrival! Can't wait to meet this little guy!

I think that about covers it for the big-stuff to me.....we have lots more coming up this month so I won't be back on to blog until later one.....until then I hope your time is blessed and that you find and know the Lord who can grant you true peace in your inner parts.....Jesus!

now for some pictures....

Oh yes, for Malachi's birthday we got him a digital camera....he took this one of Essie! Not bad for a five year old.....I like seeing what he sees through the lens of a camera, gives me a good idea of what's important to him :-)

At the 100 year anniversary of Naval Aviation.....

Super-Essie in one of her outfits....

Again, Malachi took this one all on his own :-) He's just a little goofy!

Malachi and I trying out different setting on his camera....

And Miss-Hannah....Argh-maity :-)

Bye for now!

Erica

Malachi's doing better.....

2011-01-24T21:13:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been one month today, since Anthony first headed to the ER on Christmas Eve morning. Today, Malachi was discharged from the hospital and Anthony got the clear from his doctors that he is now all better! Malachi was admitted on Saturday evening with a fast-moving case of Walking Pnemonia.

The day before he'd been diagnosed with bronchitis but by Saturday he looked pretty ghostly, and could hardly walk 1/2 block just to get to the truck. He got great care, had a good time overall and is now getting better.....some of his perks were: getting his own personal 'tour' of the ambulance (while being transported from urgent care to the hospital), getting pudding or ice-cream along with every meal (just so I could get him to eat something), having a little red button that he could push that would call the nurses to his bedside to do anything he needed him to do....some of his 'needs' included changing his movie, getting him toys, or asking for treats....and the best of all (according to me) was getting to have undivided attention from his mommy!

For me, it was a good time overall (aside from having my little boy be so sick)....It was a treasured time to get to spend with him. I got to play games with him, pray with him, and just sit and watch movies with him without having to get up and do something for someone else, which often happens at home....what a blessing for me. Since I've had babies and toddlers since he was 21 months old, I am so thankful to have gotten to have this undivided time with him just before his 5th birthday.

He was a trooper too, he learned to do just about every thing with his left hand since the IV was in his right hand and it was mobilized, he even figured out how to get his nasal candula on and off by himself using his left hand. He never complained about being in bed for over 48 hours straight (which might be a sign of how sick he was at first), and just went along with the program with very little fussing.....so I'm proud of him...at one point, he was eating one of his chocolate puddings and he stopped and said, "I wish Hannah was here, so I could give her some of my pudding". He made them cards and when they were re-united he emptied his backpack of all his toys and treasures and gave them to his sisters....

Essie and Hannah surely missed their big brother too.....when Essie saw him she was so giddy, gave him many, many big hugs and talked about him being back for the rest of the night.....it's so sweet to see the love of one another that the Lord puts in their hearts.....it brings me much joy!

For the next couple of days, we'll lay low and try to get re-established in our routine at home....his medicines all make him jittery, hyper and emotional and he has to stay very calm and still for the next day or so.... I'm ready for that challenge but will need much prayer as far as being patient and gentle with everyone as I recover from the stress and sleepless nights as well.....the Lord will provide the needed grace.

well, I hope this finds you well and worshipping the Savior of the world....and also thankful for the health and life that you've been given....this month I have been very much reminded that good health is a blessing from the Lord that I so easily take for granted....I've been reminded often of a sermon preached by Jonathon Edwards called 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' that can be found on line....it's worth a listen, as it is one of the most famous sermons ever preached.

Erica

update....

2011-01-13T11:45:00.000-08:00

Since I started writing on this blog about Anthony and his ailments...I figured I'd put up the new-news.....we have other news in our family -- like Malachi beginning Early Enrollment Kindergarten!, etc...but for now, I'll just write this....

I don't remember if I wrote that Anthony was allergic to the final antibiotic they gave him, but he was....so they took him off all medicine....since then, his elbow continues to remain swollen (slightly) and warm and he started loosing some weight though he was eating well...so he finally saw an infectious disease doctor. They ran further tests to discover that Anthony has an infection internally, caused by all the anti-biotics (I guess this happens some times), so now he's on an antibiotic to fight that infection as well as another one to fight the infection in his arm that seems to be smoldering....they're concerned that it will get into his bone if it doesn't get killed completely....so I think this is diagnosis #6: here's the list.... bursitis, cellulitus, staff and/or strep infection, allergic reaction to meds, medication induced fever/flu, infection from antibiotics (that has a name but I don't know what it is)....anyway, all from an un-known cause....weird huh? Well, it's all in the Lord's hands but has sure brought our mortality and fragility to mind as of late even more than it was before! I'm just thankful that he knows the Lord because no matter what happens.... heaven is his eternal home and not eternal punishment for his sins and that brings so much peace and comfort.....for us as Christians, death is a wonderful thing for the one who passes on because it brings us into the eternal presence of our Saviour and relieves us of all pain, hurt, illness, suffering and anything icky that we face during this life... and that is a huge blessing! Do YOU know Him? The only one who can forgive you of your sins and pay the debt that you owe to God because of those sins?

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord"~ Romans 6:23

When each of us dies....we either receive the just wages for our sin against the Holy God of all creation...death. Or we receive the free gift of God which is eternal life....which comes only through Jesus Christ and His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead....what a person does with Jesus Christ determines their eternal dwelling....eternity is a very long time!

Jesus tells us to repent and believe in Him as OUR Lord and Savior, and we would all do well to head His words in this.....

Erica

continued....

2011-01-04T19:52:00.000-08:00

Anthony's been home and doing well....the infected arm seems to be getting better and only the elbow and parts around it are still swollen, which is great progress....the picc-line just had to be removed tonight because we discovered last night that he is allergic to the medication that he was given (which is rare I guess, but he is). He now has a rash all over his torso, neck and arms that is a little itchy...(but thankfully didn't have some of the other symptoms, like trouble breathing, etc.)....so he's back on a less strong medicine that we think he's not allergic to....

so overall, he's doing better, with this little hiccup of medicine allergy, but doing well and will hopefully be fully recovered soon...the kids are looking forward to wrestling with him.... :-)

thank you for your prayers, they are much appreciated....

oh -- and for all who are interested in my handling of the IV medication....by God's grace I didn't faint while doing it :-) and actually ended up liking the whole procedure....I like having to think of lots of things and making sure that you do them right....so it was kind-of fun actually. We even got so comfortable with doing the whole procedure that we took his medicine with us to a New Years Party and also I was able to un-hook the medicine in the car right before we went to the park....he also learned how to hook up the medicine himself...so thanks for your prayers in that too....

At one point I thought, 'oh--now maybe I can learn to be a nurse later on in life', but then when some other (more bloody) things happened or he would talk about some-thing a little more gruesome, I'd cringe and get light-headed....so I think I'll stay away from nursing or any other blood/needle related professions and let other people be the experts :-)

Anthony's home...

2010-12-30T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Anthony came home last night and is doing ok. The nurse came this morning to give him his antibiotics. Yesterday I'd made a joke that they should teach me how to administer his medicine via the pic-line...well, as it turns out that is actually the plan!

For her birthday, Hannah received the movie, Tinkerbell. Since then, she's picked up one of the lines in the movie and has been saying, "Ha ha, real funny" when things don't go the way she planned (something we're trying to undo).....well, last night, all I could think was, "Ha ha, real funny" after I found out that they actually did think that I was going to administer antibiotics through my husband's IV!

It is 'funny' because I am a habitual fainter when it comes to blood and needles. My sister is a Physician's Assistant and deals with blood and needles and things all the time....I pass out. God makes us all unique!

So after finding this out last night, I had horrible and strange dreams about pic-lines for most of the night, apparently very nervous about this whole thing.....then the nurse came, and I had to learn how to do this.....which actually went ok, but afterwards I was a little queezy and light-headed, but didn't pass out--yippee! Since there are 17 more treatments to go, I think and hope that this will get better and maybe I'll even get over my needle/blood sensitivity.

So, now we just have to ward off infection of the pic-line, hope that the infection in the other arm gets progressively better, keep the kids out of Anthony's arms since he can't use either to lift more than 15 lbs., and protect the pic-line from getting snagged by one of the kids....especially during the 4 hours a day that he's taking the medicine....so all in all, things are going well....and he's on the mend....

thanks for checking in with us and thanks for praying.

Erica

Anthony update.

2010-12-29T15:20:00.000-08:00

Well, Anthony continues to maintain his status....the doctors feel that he's better enough to come home but needs to continue receiving IV antibiotics. So he's going to have a pic-line put in, in a little while, and then a nurse will come home to give him his medicine 2 x per day (I think)....I was wondering if they could just teach me how to hook him up to the medicine machine, so they don't have to send a nurse, but I don't think they thought that was a good idea :-)

He's not very excited about the prospect of the pic-line, but will be happier and more comfortable at home. The kids will likely miss visiting him at the hospital as there is a TV there that carries PBS (and Sesame Street), but they'll be glad that he's home....last night on the way home they ran through the various games that they play with daddy (wrestling, park ranger, crazy horse ride, etc.) to find out if they could do them without hurting his arm....they've concluded that Park Ranger is ok, wrestling is definitely out and the crazy horse ride game is a maybe since he doesn't use his arms, but his legs but he does have to lie on the ground and often the kids land on top of him....(I have a video of this game with all three kids holding on to his legs while he kicks up and down....the winner is the one who stays on the longest)....so we'll see what he can do when he gets here....

The doctors have made some funny/not-so-funny comments while he's been in hospital like, 'well, if we don't give you antibiotics there's a 60% chance you'll get better on your own, but we're not allowed to withhold treatment to see if you'll heal yourself or not--we're not allowed to do those kind of experiments' and 'if we don't give you medicine you probably won't die but it's probably better for you to take them' and the one from the ER the night before he was admitted 'Well, you won't loose your arm in the next 12 hours if we send you home so just arrive here when we open if the redness spreads', then upon arriving in the morning after, a nurse said, " I can't believe it's gotten this far....you could loose your arm!"....and finally, a nurse just told him, "wow! you have celulitus? People die from that!"...... so, some notable quoteables from the hospital....

We're thankful for your prayers, for the care that he has received, for the fact that he's getting better, and for the grace and mercy that's been shown to us during this time..... We have much to be thankful for.....

Erica

Doing Better

2010-12-28T20:01:00.000-08:00

Anthony's beginning to do better now, though this evening the infection started to make a little more headway again. But overall I think he's on the mend. He's still in the hospital and may stay there until Thursday or so. The kids and I are being so well cared for by our Church family, with lots of offers to bring meals and/or to watch the kids....someone even offered to watch my friends kids so that she could come over to help me! :-) It's a blessing to see the love of Christ radiate from His people in such practical and sacrificial ways.

Anthony's been given a few opportunities to minister to people at the hospital which has been a blessing and was something we have been praying for all along.

thanks for your prayers on his behalf....he's not home yet, but at least seems to be doing much better.

Erica

Anthony Update..please pray

2010-12-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

Hi,

Anthony has been admitted to hospital today. A nurse that saw him when he first came in Christmas Eve, was alarmed when she saw how bad the infection was and how far it had spread. She recommended (in no uncertain terms) that he request to be seen by an infectious disease doctor. She said that if it doesn't get taken care of quickly, that there is a good possibility that he could loose his arm. Please pray that the doctors use wisdom, caution and correct medicine as they care for him and that the Lord would see fit to allow his arm to heal completely. We trust that all things are under the care of our Lord and Savior.

Erica

Update

2010-12-26T19:59:00.000-08:00

Anthony's hospital visits have continued. He's just returned from another ER visit, where they treated him for two types of infections. Thankfully he was able this morning to preach at a church south of us, but by the time he got home, he needed to go back to the ER. They told him that if it has not dramatically improved by the morning, after these treatments, that he needs to go back first thing in the morning and they will have to admit him into the hospital to figure out what he has and to treat him more aggressively. We are praying that the Lord will see fit to allow his arm to heal over night, and that the doctors have given him the right medication to fight the infection that he has. So, basically more of the same. Please pray that he will heal over night and not need to be admitted into the hospital. Thanks a bunch! Erica

Anthony Update....

2010-12-25T21:16:00.000-08:00

Well, our 'different than expected' kind of Christmas has continued :-)

Anthony got home last night around 1:00 with a new diagnosis. By the morning, the infection continued to spread, justifying another trip to the ER. He was treated again, with another round of IV antibiotics and was home at 2:00 with a new diagnosis and a doubled dose of the oral antibiotic.

We ended up cancelling our plans with the people who were to be coming over because we thought initially that he may have a contagious infection of some kind.

Since our guests weren't coming, and the kids and I had been in all day, we went to the park.....by the time we got home, Anthony's arm was again swollen and the infection was spreading past the lines the doctors had drawn to keep track of the swelling....so back to the ER he went for his 4th visit in less than 48 hours.....they treated him for a different kind of infection, again with IV antibiotics and gave him another type of prescription.

He's home now, feeling better (the flu-like symptoms are gone), and so far, the swelling has not spread.....tomorrow morning, he's preaching at a church south of us and after that, has to go back to the doctor for a check up....they'd like him to come back each day for the next 3-4 days.

So, pretty weird huh? The doctors don't know what he has, why he has it, how to treat it, or where it came from.....but there is one Divine Physician who does know and He is in control of all of this.....

As Anthony was leaving this morning, we prayed that he would have an opportunity to share the Gospel with someone....well, sure enough, there is a security guard at this hospital that Anthony had the opportunity to share with once before when Malachi had to go to this same ER. Anthony's been able to share the Gospel with him and follow up with him most of the times he's been back there for this strange event....so we will be praying for this man's soul....

God has His purposes for all things.....for His glory and for the good of His people...so we trust that this 'not so normal Christmas' and this very strange ailment, has been ordained for us for our good and for His glory.

Merry Christmas to all!

Erica

Christmas and Expectations.....

2010-12-24T22:51:00.000-08:00

Hi,

It's almost 11:00 on Christmas Eve....and I hope you are all having a very merry Christmas this year. It is the time of year when we remember that God--the Creator of all that exists, and of each one of us--gave up all that He had in order to become a man. Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, by whom all things have their being, sacrificed so much in order to humble Himself so that we could be reconciled to Him.

We had an ultrasound yesterday of our little new addition....and I couldn't help but be reminded that God became a little 18 week baby like the one I saw on the screen yesterday! It's just mind-boggling if you think of it for only a little while....hopefully it is also soul-boggling (if that is a word), unto repentance and gratefulness for His love....no greater love has one than that he lay down his life for a friend.....and He lay down everything over and over again, for us!

But that's not what I was going to write about.....I was going to write about how Christmas is such a time of expectations. We want things to go a certain way, the food to taste just right, the people to arrive as scheduled, the kids to be thankful for their gifts and to be especially good, the house to stay clean, the family/relatives to get along....etc....whatever the expectations, I think we mostly all have plenty of them around this time of year....at least I know I do.

Well, this Christmas has not gone according to plan so far. We begin celebrating on Christmas Eve morning, which was this morning....when Anthony woke up with a swollen elbow that required him to head to the Emergency Room....instead of help me with the kids while I cooked as planned.
Problem #1 - strangely swollen elbow and a trip to the ER.
Problem #2 - A lot of cooking to do, and only one grown up in the house

Well, thankfully, as I was waking up this morning I prayed, "Lord, please just give me the grace that you know I'll need for whatever happens today--and please help me to have the heart of Mary while I know there's a lot of Martha's work to do." (if you know the story of Mary and Martha you'll know what this prayer meant).

The rest of the day was just a series of things that didn't go quite the way we expected. Anthony came home from the ER with a diagnosis of Bursitis....more to come on that....

While pouring the cupcake batter into the papers for Jesus' Birthday celebration, One of the kids accidently kicked over the whole pan onto the floor. So we started over.....

Essie got a fat lip because she tripped and hit her face on a corner.....

The 3 batches worth of dough for the bread dumplings didn't rise...and they ended up pretty hard.....requiring that we make more batches....

Our guests had a similar type day and ended up arriving quite a bit late.....which cancelled one of my favorite Christmas traditions of decorating cupcakes and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus...(though I hope to do it tomorrow).....and meant there was just enough time for us all to quickly feed dinner to all 7 kids, eat our own dinners and get everyone dressed for church.....talk about a whirlwind....

The cookies for the neighbors flopped completely.....

The bike we'd gotten for Malachi didn't work out so well.....and we likely need to get a different one....

The cake I made for the church Christmas Eve service got stepped on by one of the kids while getting out of the car.....smashing the icing decorations that I'd done.....

I finally managed to send out our Christmas newsletter and immediately after sending it realized that I'd put all the email addresses in the 'To" box instead of the 'BCC' box, meaning that I sent out everyone's email addresses....please forgive me if you were one of those people!....

And Anthony is now back at the Emergency Room with what seems to be an infection somewhere....he headed there as soon as we returned from church. He's getting some antibiotics right now, and hopefully will call (or be home) soon.....

So, this is not the way that Christmas was supposed to go by my standards....but all through the day, I've been thinking (as each new mishap has occurred)....this is EXACTLY how the Lord has wanted this day to go! This day is NOT about perfect food, guests arriving on time, traditions getting done, a clean house, gifts working out as planned, etc....This day IS about Jesus and that fact that HE came, HE gave, HE came to save, HE came to serve, HE came to die, HE came to save us from the punishment of our sins, HE-the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came to earth, lived a completely sinless life and died willingly on a cross for our sakes....and more than that....it was while we were sinners and not appreciating His sacrifice that He did this....it was out of Love, Grace and Mercy that HE chose to come to earth to live like one of us and to live among us.

Can you imagine having lived with God the Father in perfect unity for all of eternity and then coming to this earth to live among us? What a contrast! Yet He did it and He never sinned....not as a baby, as a toddler, a child, a teen, never!!!!

Anyway, not completely sure what my point is except that Christmas is often about expectations not being met...and mine sure weren't met this time around...but that's ok with me....there are other expectations that I have that have been exceeded beyond what I could ever imagine.....I never expected to be loved by God, yet He died for me. I never knew I even needed a Savior, yet He showed me that I did and that He had already saved me and redeemed me. I never expected to receive a gift of eternal life with God, yet He gave it willingly.

My unmet expectations of today are far out-shadowed and paled by the exceedingly great way that He has met needs that I didn't know I had until He'd already met them....all by His glorious grace.

I hope this post makes sense as it's now 11:30...and it's been a long day....but I just felt like writing this little bit....and again, if you received our newsletter with all the emails....I'm sorry, I feel pretty silly and bad about it....sure wish there was an 'unsend' button on those emails sometimes!

Hopefully I'll have an update on Anthony soon and will remember to post it here....

Merry Christmas to you! May you come to worship Jesus -- the Lord and Savior of mankind--all the more this year!

Erica

Hannah's Birthday

2010-12-04T15:28:00.001-08:00

Hannah is turning three this coming Tuesday but we celebrated this morning. I thought I'd put a couple of pictures up here of her.....she's grown so much these days. Here she is with one of her little friends, Ella. Notice that she's wearing a bike helmet :-) For her birthday Grandma Ellie and Grandpa Hans gave her a bike, we gave her this helmet....she wore it the entire party and only took it off an hour ago because it was time for her to nap (and napping in a bike helmet just doesn't seem very comfortable)....

Here's the bike, which she rode around the park for over an hour doing lap after lap. Many of her friends brought their bikes to her party, so they all got to ride around together.....oh, yeah, does she look different to you? Notice the fat lip? Last night there was a little collision between her two front teeth and the bathtub. The two front teeth are slightly loose, her lip is blue and swollen....perfect for pictures on a birthday! (I think the teeth will remain in her mouth, they're not too loose....we'll find out soon enough though)

Here's just a couple of pictures of little Hannah....she's such a sweet girl...very nurturing, caring and sweet. She loves to take care of others, including me and is usually watching out for other people. She loves learning how to do work around the house, and just finds much joy in helping. The Lord blessed us greatly with her.....

I love her bright smile....her whole face lights up. Well, Happy Birthday Hannah! You are a true joy, and surely are a 'BIG blessing in a little-bitty body'.

Cute Comments to Remember....

2010-11-23T18:53:00.001-08:00

So, have you ever had a confusing conversation with a preschooler??? Well, I had a cute one today that I want to remember....and Grandma might think it's cute too :-)

While driving in the car today Malachi starts talking about how he is so excited to go to Arizona to see her because we're going to "go to Arizona, to Washington D.C. and we're going to see all the cows." ???

Me: "Well, Malachi, you've never been to Washington D.C. but we are going to see some cows"

Malachi: "Mom, you remember! We're going to go to Arizona to see Grandma and Grandpa, and we're going to go to Washington D.C. to see all the cows."

And on and on it went.....until finally I realized and said, "Malachi, are you talking about the Wash? The river bed where the cows walk?"

Malachi: "YES MOM! Washington D.C. where all the wild cows walk around! You remember, right?"

I tried to explain, but he still insists that we're going to Washington D.C. to see the wild cows walking around!

Well, glad we got that figured out.....sort of.

There's another one to remember too:

Ever heard the expression: "Many hands makes light work"?

Well I started using this expression with the kids while we were all cleaning up together, as an encouragement to them. When I would say it Malachi seemed to work so much harder and faster --much to my delight as I thought, "wow this is really working, he really gets it! yay!"

That's what I thought until one day while we were picking up, he looks at me and as sincerely as can be says, "Mom, we really have to work hard because otherwise it will get really dark!" what???

After further investigation, he explains, "yeah mom, if we don't clean the lights won't work!"

it took me a while to get this, but when I thought about it....I can see how he thought this....poor little guy, he thought he was working so he wouldn't have to live in the dark! cute huh? (and I did clear up the mis-interpretation for him....and now my little saying has much less effect than it did before :-).

Thanks for reading! Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Erica

Thankful Hearts.

2010-11-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

On Monday, I'm going to fill in for a friend who teaches a class of almost 2 year olds at the Home-school co-op that has recently started at our church. She wanted to focus the lesson around 'thankfulness' since Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I went ahead and tried to come up with a lesson that would somehow peak the interest of the little 'almost two year olds' and hopefully teach them something about thankfulness.....though when I think of trying to keep our little Essie seated for a lesson, it's a little daunting as all she wants to do right now is basically whatever she wants, which is NOT sit and listen to someone teach her something....but maybe, by God's grace, they will learn a little something :-)

I thought I'd put a few pictures up here of what I came up with, and add a few notes....mainly so I can remember this for later, as another version of it has proved an effective tool for teaching my older two the gospel....and also, since I spent the time putting it together, I might as well share it and hopefully get a little more leg-work out of it....maybe it will spark an idea in your mind to do something similar for your kiddos....

So here's a couple of photos, with what I'm hoping to teach them.....Let me preface this with the fact that anytime I teach my kids anything about God and especially Godly living, I seek to share the Gospel either with the Gospel as the base for the other teaching, or with the teaching leading into the Gospel...because if they haven't responded to the Gospel with saving faith then 'Godly living' is really just 'doing good works' which is not what Jesus came to get us to do...he came so that we could be saved by believing in him by faith and grace alone, not by our good works (that would be self-righteousness...which God does not approve of).....ok, that said...

In our class, we'll start off with some dancing to a couple of Scripture songs about Thankfulness....then I'll go into the lesson....

Then I'll show them the following picture, and tell them this is not a thankful heart.....this is a complaining heart.....and that yucky things come out of complaining hearts.....

Then I'll have them repeat the word, "Yuck" for this heart.....since they're really just learning how to talk anyway :-)

Next I'll tell them that there's a solution to having a 'yucky' heart. Since we all have yucky hearts, our hearts all need help. There is someone who wants to help our hearts. Jesus wants to help our hearts. He can clean up the yucky-ness and make it all better. Then I'll show them the following picture and how it can cover our 'yucky' heart with a clean, white heart. I'll also remind them of how Jesus died on the cross for us so that he could forgive us of our sins, to cover our sin.

The word I'll have them say for this one is: "Jesus"

Then I'll show them the following heart and tell them that when Jesus cleans our hearts, he can give us Thankful and Happy hearts. The only way for us to have really, truly thankful hearts is for Jesus to help our hearts. We need to ask Him to do that for us. He wants us to tell him that we have a yuck heart, and he wants us to ask him to clean our hearts and to give us a new, happy heart.

The word for this heart will be, "Yay!" or "Happy"

Then we'll color a little happy heart with our verse in it and dance again to our little songs....I may try to read them a story I have about being thankful together, that is really cute, but we'll see how things are going at that point....we may just play :-)

Anyway, here's what I have so far....this isn't a word for word script but I think you get the point....I'll use even more simple language with them.....

I was going to write more about being Thankful here, and put up a couple of Bible study notes, but my time is running out so I don't think I'll be able to do that this time. May you have an abundantly thankful and joyful heart this Thanksgiving, as you praise God for who He is....As Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18..."Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." So don't just praise Him for the good things in your life this Thanksgiving season. Praise Him for who He is and even praise Him for your trials because in all likelihood, they too are from Him, and are for your good :-) (Romans 8:28-29)

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been a while....and we have news!

2010-11-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I know it's been a while since I wrote a little something here. There are a few reasons for this. Mainly, I just haven't had time or energy to do much of anything except the basics for a month or so....why? Well, that's because we've found out that the Lord has decided to bless our family with another addition!

So we have baby Melicharek #4 due to arrive at the end of May sometime. We're excited about this, and looking forward to meeting him or her. Malachi is sure hoping for a little boy and his response to the news was, "Well, if it's a boy I can wrestle with him when he gets older!".... Only the Lord knows at this point whether we'll introduce pink or blue, but we do know that, unless something changes, we will be meeting a new little baby in the spring.

On other fronts, we've made a decision to begin the process of heading to the Czech Republic sometime in the future. We don't have an agency yet, but are in the process of applying to one. When we have more concrete news I'll be sure to write it here. We're excited about the prospect of going, and can see the Lord's clear leading in this direction over the past year and a half or so. If you feel so led, please join us in praying for wisdom as far as the planning goes (signing up with an agency, raising support, preparations, etc.).... right now, our plans are still formulating as far as when and how we will be getting there. As for the ministry there, we have some more concrete visions and plans with those who are already ministering in the Czech as well as in other parts of Europe.

I hope this finds you as it does us, just trying to remain faithful to the Lord in our every day lives. Ministering and evangelizing as the Lord gives opportunity, either in our own homes to our children or guests, or out and about in every day life. Our faithfulness could never come close to matching our Saviors, but He is worth all the effort and sacrifice we could ever lay down for Him.

We'll be sending out a newsletter sometime soon regarding our plans for going to the CZ. If you are interested in receiving it, please send me your contact information to: anthony.erica@gmail.com.

Have a Blessed Day!!!

ps. Sorry no pictures, our computer has broken a couple of times recently and so we had to wipe the hard drive. Hopefully we can solve this problem soon and we'll be able to put some up :-)

pictures....

2010-10-06T14:16:00.001-07:00

Hi all! I just wanted to share a few pictures from the past couple of weeks. We've been laying low, relatively speaking :-), but here's a little bit of what we've been up to. Miss Essie's little personality has blossomed over the past couple of months. She's turning into quite the little jokester (as much as an 18 month old can be anyway). Below is her new camera face. Every time I take the camera out, she looks at me and says a looooong, "cheeeeessssse", and this is the face that comes with it.

The weather has been interesting for San Diego. Early last week we had a heat-wave. At our house, which is fairly close to the coast, I got in the car to head to the beach and it was over 100 by 10:00 in the morning....then a couple of days later, the rain began. Last night it rained a lot (for here anyway), we even had a lightning and 'funder' storm (as Hannah called it)...Malachi, Hannah and I went outside to watch the storm at night and Hannah would NOT look at the sky. She said she was scared of the 'funder'.....too cute.

Needless to say, our little garden of flowers is flourishing with all the rain. Malachi heads outside to cut the dead flowers every other day, and new ones are blooming every day....we've spotted some pretty amazing bugs and butterflies on our flowers too....

My little monkey is getting so big.....he'll be 5 in February, I can't believe it....I know he's still small but Anthony and I were talking the other day about how in just 10 more years he'll be a teenager. In just 14 more years he'll be headed off to college somewhere.....makes me want to cherish each sweet moment I have with these little people....

My kitchen helper, making some breakfast for us all....at our old house we had a bar type counter, so the kids could stand on chairs on the other side of the counter top and help me....in this kitchen, the solution seems to have become that they just sit straight on the counter....with me watching very closely! Most often I have three little helpers sitting on the counter cooking along side me.....just think, one day they'll be preparing meals for our family, then after that, Lord willing, for their own families! Crazy to think about.....but it will happen before we know it! (can you tell that Malachi turning 5 in another 4 months is having an effect on me?)

This is just so sweet.....

Here's proof that you can have fun anywhere if you have an open mind about it....We all decided one day to take a walk to the grocery store....while Hannah and I waited for Anthony and Malachi to get something from an isle, we spent some time with Mrs. M & M....
We live in a condo and there is not a yard for the kids to play in....but there is a park within walking distance so don't feel sorry for us or anything :-)..... but for safety, privacy and space issues we decided to enclose the driveway. This has been a real blessing as the kids can ride bikes, play a bit outside without the danger of heading into the street, etc....anyway, we painted the gate one Saturday and Malachi was a big help. It's been so neat to have him become a child who is a real help in many ways (as opposed to a helper in training as Essie is still). Hannah is also becoming pretty proficient at quite a few tasks, and it's a joy to see them find so much joy in helping around the house, helping to care for their siblings, etc.... We still don't have assigned chores for anyone. I think we'll start that at age 5 for everyone. For now, they just help where needed, usually so willingly and joyfully.

So that's all for now..... we're just plugging along here in our little home. Anthony is continuing to drive to LA each Thursday for his final class at The Master's Seminary. He leaves at 3 am in the morning, goes to class, then drives back to work in San Diego for the remainder of the day. My goal during the week is to allow him to get the sleep that he needs so that he is well rested for his drive.

Each Wednesday night, and all day Thursday, I find myself having to intentionally remind myself that he is in the Lord's hands. That nothing will happen to Anthony that the Lord doesn't allow and that all that the Lord does allow has been deemed good by our loving and gracious Father. It's a good exercise of faith for me to not fear Anthony getting into an accident during his long commute, but rather to trust in the care and provision of our Sovereign Lord.

He gives us each and every breath that we take. All of creation is in His hands. Whether we trust Him or not, He is in control. It is to our benefit and to His glory to trust Him who made us and who sustains us. He is the Ancient of Days, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, He knows EVERY thing, there is nothing hidden from his sight, even the thoughts of our minds.....He is the only One who is worthy of our trust because there is no evil in Him.....I hope this finds you resting in the Sovereign care of your creator, no matter what circumstances you are in....He knows and understands. Trust Him and lean on Him....His yolk is easy and His burden is light.....

Bye for now!!!!!

My Favorite Preacher....

2010-09-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

Anthony was blessed to preach at Pacific Hope this past Sunday. I'm attaching the link in case anyone wants to listen. I was blessed by the message, hope you are as well if you listen to it.

http://pacifichope.com/

We're doing fine around here. Just plugging away. The kids are all growing quickly and now that Essie is walking better, it's really fun to see them all play together. You can really see the chain of command as Hannah follows in Malachi's footsteps and Essie keeps her eyes on Hannah to find out what her next move should be. Cute to watch.

This past month has been full month even though we've been home a lot more. I finally am feeling like our home is 'coming together' and as of this week I have some more pictures on the walls....yes, we've lived here since the beginning of July....at least they're up before we move again :-)

We've joined the YMCA and the kids are taking swim lessons, gymnastics and in October will start a sports class. We've spent a couple of days at the beach enjoying the warm weather. We also hatched a moth this past week....we found a caterpillar in a plant and watched it transform into a moth! God's creation is just amazing! How much more amazing is our God who created it all!! More amazing than I can fathom.

I hope this finds you blessed and also in amazement of the God who created everything that exists, the universe, our earth and everything in it, each and every person that's ever lived, including you!

Bye for now,
Erica

http://pacifichope.com/

Jaynee is ok!

2010-09-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

Thanks for praying for Jaynee Lockwood. She's posted some very encouraging stories of God's faithfulness, specific answers to prayers, and her 'heart' on all that happened. If you have a moment, I think you will be very, very blessed to read their last few posts....I was...

Here's the blog again, just in case you need it....

http://www.lockwoodfamilytomexico.com/

Please pray for Jaynee...

2010-09-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

There's a lady who's blog I follow and I've been greatly encouraged and helped by her since learning of her. Her name is Jaynee, she and her husband are missionaries to Mexico and they have 12 kids under 14. Two days ago, she was hospitalized and was near death. Please pray for her recovery, for her kids and for her husband as she rests.

You can read more on their blog: http://www.lockwoodfamilytomexico.com/

Thanks,

Erica

Obedience

2010-09-03T15:51:00.001-07:00

Anthony and I have been talking much lately about many things, as usual. But one thing that keeps popping up is how the Christian life is just so much about plain old obedience to the Lord. I don't mean this in a legalistic way, because no amount of effort can earn us any favor with God. I mean it in a way that is out of love and gratitude to Him. We obey Him because we love Him (John 14:15). We love Him because He first loved us and sent His Son for us (1 John 4:19).

Basically, we've been talking of how it's so easy to over-spiritualize spirituality. In our culture, there is much talk of 'spirituality' and it's so often very mystical and etheral. If you try to pin some people down on what they really mean by 'spiritual' or what they believe, sometimes it's like trying to nail jello to the wall, and you end up going around in circles. I think this is because many folks based their spirituality on their emotions. They believe what makes them feel good, regardless of whether it's true or not.

But for the Christian, true spirituality is not such a mystery. The truth is clear. The Christian whose been faithful to study the Word of God, whose subjected themselves to the authority of God and forsaken personal opinion and feeling when they collide with the Word, whose sacrificed personal desires for the sake of the Gospel when God calls them to do so.....to these, spirituality is clear and the will of God is clear. The 'great men and women of God' did not aspire to greatness, they simply obeyed their Lord and were faithful to serve Him daily and the Lord used them greatly to advance His kingdom, for His glory. (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Joseph, Mary, Paul and the Apostles, Esther, Hannah, and the rest....even Spurgeon, Wesley, Luther.....and Jesus did not aspire to greatness. (Mark 10:45, John 3:30, Matthew 20:16, Philippians 2:5-11)) They all were called by God, were faithful to their Lord and sacrificed much (some sacrificed all) to serve their Lord and God. (Romans 12:1-2), They considered eternal riches as more important than temporal (Phillipians 3:8, 1 John 2:17). They knew that God is real, His promises are real and faithful (Deuteronomy 32:4), and they trusted Him. They were not aspiring to greatness....but in their cases, they were used for great things by God.

Each of God's people is called by Him (Romans 8:29). And each of God's people has a ministry designed for them (Ephesians 2:10). Some are called to be behind the scenes in prayer or practical service. Some are called to be in the forefront teaching and leading. (Ephesians 4:11) Some are called to bloom right where they are planted and others are called to move to foreign lands. Each one is called to a ministry of some sort. Each is called to minister to those around them (Matthew 6:1-4) either through the serving and building up of the saints or to evangelize the lost (Matthew 28:19). Each is called to hospitality (1 Peter 4:8-10), each is called to serve sacrificially and joyfully (Romans 12:1-2), each is called to do everything in love (1 Corinthians 16:14), each is called to do everything with thanksgiving (1 Thessalonians 5:18), each is called to submit joyfully to the authority over them (Romans 13:1-5) and to pray for those who lead them (in family, church and government), each is called to be forgiven and to forgive and love those who persecute them, etc.....

Success in the Christian life is all about obedience, especially obedience to the Word of God in our private moments. The times when we are alone, when no one is watching. When we think we're surrounded by strangers who will never see us again, when we're with our small children who cannot say what we do, when we're with our spouses, when we're driving, when we're traveling -- all the time. We are never alone, the Lord is always watching, always listening, always taking note....He died for us, He loves us and He wants to make us like Him. He wants to fill us with His Spirit, He wants us to love one another and to trust Him. We must submit to Him and obey Him in all things. When we seek the things of the Lord then He will give us the desires of our hearts and fill us with great joy!

To the one who has not submitted their life to Christ. It is also true that He is always watching and listening (even to your thoughts), He is taking account. Each person will stand face to face with Him one day. He will ask you to give an account for every word you've spoken and He will judge you for them. He will ask you what you did with His Son's death on the cross for you, and He will judge you for your choice. He stands ready to forgive....He is faithful to forgive all the sins of the one who will confess their sin to Him and ask for the forgiveness. But to the one who refuses to confess, He must judge. His judgement must be death and eternal torment. But the one who repents and confesses, He will forgive and offer eternal life with Him complete with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

So life with God is about obedience. Obedience to His command to all people to repent and believe. After that, obedience to the rest of His commands...mainly to abide in Him as He abides in you and to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind strength and soul and to Love your neighbor (even those in your own household) as you love yourself.

All of this is from Scripture and I hope to go back and add the verses when I have a chance....but for now, please be blessed and encouraged to do what the Lord your God is calling you to do today -- without delay...... trust Him who is faithful and serve the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep.

let me see if I have time to add a couple of pictures.....

We've been doing some gardening around here....which has been part of why I'm thinking so much of daily obedience and it's importance in life....flowers need regular watering, pruning and care....if they don't get that, they shrivel up and die....much like the Christian without the Word of God working in their heart.....though they may not die, they may shrivel up and not be very pretty to look at....and they sure won't be bringing anyone joy, as they should....

The picture at the top of this post is the end result of our work. We also have some hanging baskets in the patio that are attracting butterflies and hummingbirds....flowers make me very happy! I like them.

more summer activities and thoughts.....

2010-08-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

So I'm not sure what to write about, but I thought I'd put up some pictures of some of our recent activities. The picture above is my newest creation at home. It's going up on the wall as soon as I actually put pictures on the wall. Something that I'm hoping to do very soon. I got a great deal on this frame and since it had 6 places for pictures, I thought it would be perfect for the kids hand and feet prints....it looks a little goofy, but I'm so happy to have their prints in an easy to pack, move and display format...since pretty much all of our things (including all furniture and beds) are now easy to pack and move. This is because we've moved homes every 6-18 months over the last 6 years. Our average stay in a home is about one year....I told Anthony that I feel a little bit like a nomadic family, picking up and moving each year, but in reality we just have a very tangible reminder that we are sojourners here and that our true home is in heaven. It's a good lesson for the kids to learn as well. This last move, especially provided many opportunities for me to teach Malachi about heaven and our eternal home....that is a priceless blessing!

This past Friday we had a 'Family Fun Day' which included: The kids going to our friends preschool in the morning so Anthony and I could go on a morning surf date!, the 5 of us heading down-town for lunch at a local and super authentic Mexican food place where you can watch them make the tortillas right in front of you!, visiting Anthony's work (because he had a few things to do) and figuring out where he works, riding the trolley to Old Town and touring a bunch of free museums that told us about San Diego long ago and then riding the trolley home...the little kids liked it and I think Karoline did too....although she didn't clap when the trolley arrived like me and the kids did....that's ok though, in her heart I knew she was excited :-)
This morning I gave Malachi some popcicle sticks to play with....45 minutes later he called me to examine his creation....he made a plane! I was so proud of him....the funny thing is that my dad, his grandpa Hans was and is a pilot. Malachi seems to have inherited the flying gene. He talks much of wanting to fly. Hannah has my water-bug, and would live in the water if she could. I think if Malachi could, he would live in the air.....all I know is that is one expensive habit! But we'll see what the Lord has in store for him.....

If anyone needs some counsel from the Word we have a budding Biblical Counselor in our midst...and her cute smile could also cheer you up as well. Notice the title of the book she's carrying....I just thought this was really cute...on a more serious note, it looks like Anthony is going to continue on with getting his NANC certification. So pretty soon, he'll begin supervised hours of counseling others using the Word of God. We're excited to watch God use His powerful Word to transform lives and to be able to be a part of that.

We've been spending time each week with a friend and sort-of family member, Marketa and her kids. We headed to the Wild Animal Park one week and I think this is a cute picture. She has two boys, Jakob and Jan (Yan). Marketa is Czech so she's been helping me talk with Karoline which has been a huge help.

And here's Hannah and her little buddy, Caden. We've had some very nice evenings at the beach lately. I've gotten to surf a couple of times and this has been really fun....it's been about 5 years since I've surfed so it's nice to get back in the water again....though I'd gladly give up surfing again for the 3 little kiddos I gave it up for!

Miss. Karoline has also taken to surfing. She's so tenacious, even on the coldest day she spent three hours in the water with the surf-board, in shorts and a rash-guard (no wetsuit to keep her warm)....without a complaint of the cold at all - she's tough!

And here's a picture of my view this morning at the other end of the couch as I read the word and journaled out my prayers. These little early risers read their Bibles with me while I finished up reading mine.
When this happens, (early morning company), I've been using it as a time to teach the kids the word. (I used to give in to the temptation to get angry and let it ruin my day.) Now, whoever is up gets to join me in my devotions. I'll read a passage to them and explain it so they can understand it. This usually instructs me too, and ministers to my heart....Then we'll pray.

Sometimes I tell them they need to be quite so I can pray on my own to the Lord because I need help from Jesus to be a good mommy (which is true)....and since they want to have a good mommy, they are usually quiet for a while.....

I'm learning more and more that I have to practice focusing my heart on the Lord all through the day, not just during those moments when I'm alone with Him but all the time. If I miss that time in the morning with Him then I just need to work harder on meditating on His Word during the day. The Lord is listening to my thoughts and the meditations of my heart all the time, not just when I'm talking to Him.He knows everything. Though it's nice and good to have time with him, alone in the morning (or anytime), all is not lost if I don't. He can still minister to my soul in the midst of a busy day if I stay my soul on Him.

One of my prayers often is that He will give me Mary's heart in the midst of my Martha life. And of course, He is faithful to answer prayers like that.....my cooperation isn't always there 100% but He is always 100% faithful. We can count on that....

Thanks for reading. I wanted to write something while I put Hannah and Essie to sleep since they were excited to be in the same room and needed some extra help in going to sleep. Now they're quiet, so off I go....Have a blessed day!

Summer Fun

2010-08-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

There is so much to write about! We've had such a full summer so far. At this point we're beginning to become settled into our new home and city. We've re-connected with many friends and have made many new ones too. The Lord has opened up some interesting avenues of ministry that were not expected but have been a blessing to be a part of nonetheless. Karoline has been here with us for about a month now and her presence in our home has been a joy. The kids love her so much and despite the huge language barrier between she and the kids and I, we've been able to have many good times together. Our church family here has lovingly reached out to her and she's made many good friends there, again, despite the language barrier. Thankfully, she is very outgoing and friendly and we love her very much-languages that transcend culture.

I'll write a little bit quickly and then post pictures....The main thing on my heart, though there have been many, many things on my heart lately, has been a proverb that the Lord showed me during my morning time with Him the first morning that Karoline was here. This was a proverb that I hadn't paid much attention to in the past, but it sure has had an impact on me over the past month. It's Proverbs 14:4 that says, "Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox."

Though I haven't studied this proverb in depth, I think the principle is clear.... (lets see if I can state it clearly here :-).... basically, that in order to reap a harvest in life, you will likely have to forfeit the desire to have your life being perfectly orderly, neat, pristine and under your control. I hope that this makes sense to you. For me, this proverb has come up many times in my days because I definitely tend to have that desire for order, control, organization and good planning. I like to know what is going to happen, be prepared for it, and be able to have a say in how it's going to go. I also like the atmosphere in our home to be worshipful and focused on the Lord.

Add three small children to the mix and this becomes a little more challenging, add a 13 year old girl from another family and country, who knows nothing of God and of a life of serving Him, who doesn't speak your language and the challenge grows. But again, to reap a harvest, the barn has to get a little dirty. So I have been stretched in many ways during this time, and have had to let go of many of my own desires but have been blessed in so many more ways by seeing the Lord work in Karoline's life to provide for her, to woo her, to care for her and to show His love to her.

Sacrificing my own desires, my own needs, my time, my privacy, my you name it, is so worth it when I am sacrificing for the sake of my Savior. When I begin complaining and grumbling over my lack of sleep, lack of time alone, lack of whatever (which happens all too frequently unfortunately), He finds ways (through faithful friends, my husband, memorized verses, various messages, or whatever He chooses) to remind me of His Word and His love for me. I'm convicted and repentant because He has given me life....and my life cost Him everything. When I hated Him, He died for me. When I mocked Him, He died for me. How could I not live and breath for Him? And when I don't, He still loves me and patiently corrects me and cleanses me from all my sin.

Romans 12:1 was for a long time, during seminary, a life verse for me.... "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." And I have to say, that it still is although I don't meditate on it as much as I did then, (there are others that I meditate on now), but it is still so applicable.... we who are His are called-and it should be our joy- to consider ourselves a living sacrifice for Him, this is our reasonable service to the One who bore our sins at Calvary and lives now, praying continually on our behalf......Let me encourage you to seek opportunities to sacrifice yourself for His sake if you are His....it is so worth it, more than that HE is so worth it!!!

(If you are not His, then I hope that you will consider these words and ask Him to make you His own, and then will live for Him alone).

well, that's a little more than what I was planning on writing :-) I'll get to the pictures and give a little bit of an explanation, so you can see some of what we've been up to around here.... Here's a few pictures of our time so far this summer....

We've been able to spend some more time with Gabe and Brandi since moving back which has been fun. Gabe is Anthony's brother and Brandi is our sister-in-law. They are so sweet and we look forward to seeing them more...Happy Birthday week Gabe!!!

During Karoline's second week here, and our third, we all went to Pacific Hope's VBS. I took care of the toddlers of some of the mom's who were serving with the older kids...but it turned into a week long mommies group and I was so thankful to get to know some of the mommies better...Karoline helped with the older kids and despite the language barrier was a great help and had a wonderful time....Malachi especially got a lot out of the camp, coming home explaining the gospel clearly to me most days, and Hannah enjoyed herself as well (though she was still adjusting to all the changes in her little life).
Our house is very close to a canyon where we can go hiking, this has been fun and we've gone on several hikes together as a family.

One of my prayers for Karoline was that she would meet someone her age who she would click with. Well, not long after arriving, Karoline met Abby. These two are almost exactly the same age and they hit it off right away. What a blessing for her and also for us to have our specific prayers answered so directly!

Karoline and baby Josh.

Karoline and our friend Sarah Dennis, otherwise known to Karoline as 'My Kungfu'...there's a story behind that name :-) They've also hit it off....

Anthony and some of the boys having their lunch. Yes, that's baby food they're eating and yes, those are baby food spoons they're eating with.....there's also a story behind this picture :-)

Here's our kids slack-lining for the first time! These young guys were practicing their hobby during one of our family walks. Anthony started talking with them and it was such a blessing what happened. We were there for quite a while, but in the end, after talking with them, Anthony began to explain the Gospel to them.... they really listened and ended up all sitting down while he talked, so he just kept talking....anyway, as the Lord would have it, Anthony ended up preaching a little sermon to them as they sat and listened. They were so thankful for his time and explanation, have his number and he's offered to meet them anytime to talk further....we pray that they will come to know the Lord of all as their Savior and their Lord.

Karoline and Hannah on Karoline's first week here.

Beach party! We had a great time with the Allens (missionaries to Honduras), the Lawes (Seminary/Pacific Hope friends), Gabe & Brandi, and many more at a potluck at the beach. It was cold but very nice.....
Just a really great picture of an evening at the beach.....this one might go on our wall some day....

Bye for now from sunny San Diego!

If you would, please pray for us as we minister to Karoline as well as to our own children. Also, this weekend, our elders are meeting with Lance Roberts (missionary to CZ) and Christian Andresan (EBTC Zurich) to get to know one another and to investigate further the possibility of us heading to the CZ sometime in the future......

Yours in Christ,
Erica

Anthony's preaching....

2010-07-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to one of Anthony's messages on line this morning, and I thought it would be a good idea to put links here to them. There's only a couple that are on-line, but I've been blessed by listening to them. One message is on doubt and the other is the one that he preached in the Czech Republic on salvation.

Here's the link to the message on doubt: http://pacifichope.com/index.php?option=com_sermonspeaker&view=sermon&id=10164

Here's the message on salvation, he spoke in English and it was translated into Czech by Pastor Lojza:

http://www.kromeriz.bjb.cz/index.php?page=kazani

I hope these links work, I'm not the most savy person when it comes to posting links....

Have a blessed day and remember to be thankful at all times!!!!

We're back in San Diego!

2010-07-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a time of transition for us over the past couple of months, but now we're all together again, back in San Diego. We're beginning to get settled into our home, once again. Mostly everything is unpacked and we are up and running! We were blessed to have my mom stay with us a couple of days here in California to help out with things. I was so glad that she came with me to help, and also to ease the goodbye for the kids....they so enjoyed their grandma, and it was nice for them to get reacquainted with Anthony before saying goodbye to Grandma (not that I would have her fly here on account of that, but it was a nice perk).

We've managed, by God's grace and with the help of Craigslist to re-furnish our home. I'ts pretty comfy in here.....maybe I'll give a photo tour once it's all put together (my friend Jody did that once her house was all done, and it was a blessing for me to see her new home in Illinois, and to picture their family in it, so maybe I'll do that too).

This week will be a busy week, and an international one for us, too! Tomorrow morning, some long time friends of ours, the Allen's ( http://web.me.com/mtnbikesd/adventuras2/Welcome.html ) who have been missionaries in South America and who are leaving soon to return to the field are coming on Monday (well, Jen and her boys are anyway) with another long time friend Rachel. Tuesday night we're having our new neighbors over who are from India. http://wesleyjacob.blogspot.com/ He is a missionary to America, planting a church in the Indian community here. And Wednesday night, Karoline is arriving at our house from the Czech Republic. She'll be here for 6 weeks to stay with us. So I'm sure I'll have more to write about Karoline's visit once she arrives.

The Lord has been impressing on my heart recently, though it's a recurrent theme, that we are to be content in ALL circumstances. In Philippians Paul says that he has learned to be content in all circumstances, both times when he's had plenty and times when he had very little. I think that it's noticeable that Paul mentions that he had to learn to be content in seasons when he had abundance. We must learn to be content at all times, and in times of abundance it is very easy and tempting to begin to feel as though we deserve what we have and to loose sight of who is the provider of all that we have. Paul tells us to be thankful in everything, and just as it's hard to be thankful when you have very little, it is equally as difficult to remember our dependence on Him when we have plenty......it's easy to forget that he controls every breath we take and provided every bite we take, sip we drink, etc......we have so much to be thankful for and we don't deserve any of it. He graciously chooses to bestow blessing upon blessing on us out of His kindness and mercy!

Anyway, in this new season of comfort for us I very much am reminded that I am still wholly dependent on Him for every single thing and that everything is a gift from Him. I hope that in this season I will learn, as Paul said, to be thankful in times of plenty. It may prove to be more challenging than learning to be content during times of want......we shall see.....but I know that this is also a season, that may (and likely will) come to an end. I just pray that I will bring glory to His name during this time as well as in the times to come.

Please comment and let me know how you are doing, if you read this. We love to hear from friends around the globe!

No pictures for today -- maybe later :-)

More from Colorado

2010-06-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

We've been here in Colorado for about 3 1/2 weeks now and we're just starting to get into a routine and feel more settled. In about 1 1/2 weeks we'll head back to San Diego and reunite with Anthony, and begin the process of getting settled in our home there. Life is always changing in some way, and for us these days it seems like change is the only constant :-)

We've been doing quite a lot of activities around here. Wildlife classes at the local nature center, lots of horse back riding and swimming and just being outside. Malachi began a week of sports camp this week and has enjoyed it very much, Hannah and Essie have been in mommy/grandma and me swimming classes as well and that has been fun too.

Hannah is a little fish in the water, including not being able to keep her head above water. Last year she ran and jumped into the deep end of the pool on her own (at 1 1/2 years old). I had to run after here and reach under water to get her out....therefore, it is a big priority for me that she learn to swim on her own early....at least enough to get to the side of the pool safely....here are Malachi and Hannah looking for wildlife....

Do you see any????

I wonder what Essie is thinking in this picture.......

We've also been doing some riding.....

And lots of horsing around...... as a child I rode horses a lot (that's a big understatement). I worked at a barn cleaning stalls and tacking up my friends horses for their lessons so that I could get training. It's fun to get to be around these lovely animals for a little while. Here and there I think to myself that if the Lord would allow it, when the kids are older that I'd like to get back into it.....if I could, I would do 3-day eventing....that's where you do one day of dressage, one day stadium jumping and one day of cross-country jumping....anyway, maybe one day -- we'll see won't we...

If you ride, you have to work too....feeding....

grooming.....

and we always wear our helmets.....

That's what's going on with us. The Lord has been very gracious to answer many prayers during our time here, and really was preparing my heart for this season long before we entered it. As this time has gone by, I've been reminded of little things the Lord was impressing on my heart before we came to Colorado and now I realize the purpose and need for those little things. He has been faithful to give me a little bit of time alone, with Him each day and to allow Anthony and I to pray together on the phone (almost) each night. A month apart can be trying, but the Lord has been faithful to help us so much during this time. Please keep us in your prayers as you feel led.....

Our Colorado Adventure....so far...

2010-06-16T14:47:00.001-07:00

We've been here in Colorado for just over 3 weeks now and it sure has been a full time. We've been doing so many fun things around here, many hikes, bike riding, horse back riding, museums, classes for the kids at the local rec. centers and the nature center up here on the mountain where my parents live. At my mom's house, there is one dog, two cats as well as lots of wild life to look at around the house. So here's a few pictures of our time here, in no particular order...

The kids have enjoyed riding along in a car that has windows that go down. In our van, they don't, so this has been lots of fun for them....here's Hannah enjoying the wind....I took this picture while driving back from dropping my dad off at the airport.....I love this picture of her because ever since she was just a little baby she has clearly loved wind on her face and this is wonderful evidence of that....

Once a year, the local fire station on the mountain holds a pancake breakfast. The first weekend of ours here, happened to be that weekend. The kids go to ride in two fire trucks around the mountain. Malachi enjoyed this thoroughly, they also met Smokey. This was not the highlight of Hannah and Essie's time at the pancake breakfast, as you'll see below.

On one of the really hot days here, we took a trip up to Nederlands, a little town in the mountains. We got to ride on a carosel that a man spent the past 10 years hand carving and painting the animals to ride on, he did a lot of work! We had a picnic by the overflowing river, took a walk by the pond and lake, crossed the overflowing river on a little bridge, watched some teens at a skate-park and had ice-cream and coffee inside a restaraunt that is made out of renovated old train cars turned into a coffee shop. It was pretty cool....here's just a picture of us by the lake.

We've made smores by the fire pit at my parents house....

We've ridden bikes a bunch. Just before we came my sister found this little pink bike with training wheels at a garage sale for super cheap. She's very excited about it and love to ride it. We also have gotten to meet little baby Sydney, my sister Carol's baby. She's one pretty baby and very good. She's only 2 months old, so it's so neat to have gotten to meet her when she's so small.

When Anthony was here, he and Malachi rode all the way around the 'block' as we call it. This is a one mile circle of roads that goes around the neighborhood. It's got hills, cars going by, and plenty of blind turns....I prayed for them the whole time he was gone, because I'm a mom, but he (Malachi) made it back safe and sound....having had a lot of fun and with a new sense of accomplishment...

There's a ton more stuff to write about but this is all there's time for now....hopefully I can get some more pictures up soon.

Saying our 'See ya' laters'...

2010-06-13T14:10:00.001-07:00

It's been about two weeks since we packed up our things and moved from Los Angeles. Right now, the kids and I are in Colorado visiting my family for the month while Anthony has begun work back at the Navy in San Diego (as a civilian btw). I thought I'd put up a few pictures from our last couple of days in LA. Soon I hope to put some up of our time here in Colorado which has been filled with many fun activities.

It was a whirlwind time, leaving LA. The emotions of saying 'see ya' later' aside, the work and planning took quite a bit out of me as I ended up mentally planning the move 3 times as we had some last minute changes of plans regarding our furniture. In the end we were able to give our furniture to two different international seminary families and a few odds and ends to other friends. It was a blessing to us to see God providing for these families with the things they will need while studying at TMS, and hopefully to be a part of making their transition a little smoother.

The picture above is of Noel, the daughter of my friend Marianne (with 9 kids who gives me so much help with parenting and life in general) They came to help me pack up part of our house during the week before the move. I look forward to their visit in July to our new home in San Diego.

Here's a picture of some of our things going off to their new home....

On Friday night, I had my last visit with some great friends and fellow 'Sem. Wives' as we were known as for the past 3 years. Amber, Becca and Sarah came over that night, and we spent a few hours fellowshipping in my barren living room, using a box as our table :-) The picture below was taken just after midnight, so technically it was Saturday morning (packing day for me). What a blessing to spend these hours with these dear friends. Becca, Sarah and I all moved here with our husbands from San Diego together. It's been a joy to go through TMS with them and I'm very excited to find out where the Lord will take them next.

Saturday was 'pack up our remaining things into a U-Haul trailer and the truck' day. We've moved so many times in the past 5 years, (6 to be exact but whose counting?), and I'm always surprised by 1. how much stuff we have and 2.how long the last parts of packing and moving take.....anyway, Drew, Tommy and Marco helped a bunch that morning with packing and moving things....Drew knows how to take apart and put together our things better than we do as I think he may have helped with almost all of our moves in the past 5 years....thanks Drew!

Here's the kids in their cozy seats in our van...again, I'm always surprised by how much stuff we have.....

After cleaning the house.....

Camping out in their room....minus the furniture...

We headed off to church with our truck, van and trailer all packed and ready for the drive to San Diego.... The picture below is of our final Sunday at Grace Community Church as Los Angeles residents.

We ran into Ingrid, whose spent quite a few hours at our home with friends, babysitting for us so that Anthony and I could go out on some needed and appreciated dates....

And we also said our 'See ya' later's' to the folks at La Canada Korean Church.... we very much look forward to them visiting us in San Diego very soon....

Once we made it to San Diego we stayed two nights at Domenic and Tasha's home. On Monday our things were unloaded into storage with help from Gabe, Emil and Ryan from Pacific Hope. The truck actually stayed loaded and is now parked in Bruno's garage :-). We flew out of San Diego on Tuesday morning, very early (6:30 am) and arrived, very tired, in Denver on Tuesday. Anthony stayed here for a couple of days and now there are about 3 more weeks left until we are re-united in San Diego. I have to say that it took about a week for me to recover from the work, planning, moving and traveling but now I'm back up and running and we're enjoying our time here....it's like an extended vacation with Grandma.

Today, Sunday, we visited a church here in Denver that I think we'll go back to for the next couple of weeks. They seem to be a Bible believing and preaching body of believers and they are only 20 minutes from my mom's house. I found them on the 9marks website http://www.9marks.org/ from Mark Dever's church. That is a great website for anyone looking for a solid church. Here's the website to the church http://www.sovereigngracebc.org/ They have a seminary and you can actually listen to Biblical Counseling classes on line for free.

So this is a long post, and I will sign off. The Lord is so gracious to His people and I am very thankful to him for His protection and provision during this time, especially for the prayers of His people on our behalf while Anthony is separated from the rest of us.

Some great messages for women.

2010-05-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

The audio from the Grace Community Church spring women's event is up. Mrs. Mohler was the main speaker and the breakout sessions were taught by a variety of women from GCC. Very worthwhile the listen, I went to the seminar on motherhood and I definitely recommend it....

http://www.gracechurch.org/ministries/

Go to the Women's ministry site, or just the media site and you can find them. There is also wonderful and rich Bible teaching by women at the Every Women's Grace part of the site (EWG), you can download the weekly homework too, which gives you homework for each day of the week and coincides with the teachings of a series....this is a fantastic resource for any lady wanting to really learn the word, in depth.

also, you can get all of the sermons preached at GCC online for free from their website. There are many, many messages preached at that church each Sunday from the main sanctuary as well as from the fellowship groups. We've been a part of Joint Heirs, and the teaching there often has a Biblical Counseling focus, since it's pastors also head up the counseling department at Grace.

Enjoy!

Things they are a'changin.....

2010-05-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

So many changes in such a short time! The past month and a half has been so full of transition. In our home, Malachi began riding a bike without training wheels, Hannah basically potty trained herself and her biggest accomplishment (according to her) is that she began going down the big slide at the park by herself, and Essie began walking.

On the seminary side of things, Anthony finished up his last 'real' semester at school and tomorrow will be finished with the NTI classes (though it won't be until next week that the work is done). I say 'real' semester because he only has one class to finish until he will graduate from The Master's Seminary! On May 8th, we got to celebrate Drew and Larrry's graduation and it was such a blessing to remember all the our Lord has done since we came up here almost three years ago. In the picture below, keep in mind that when we all six moved up here (the Bouligny's, Lawes and us) there was only one child among us, Malachi. I was about 7 months with Hannah and that was it.....count the kids in the picture below! A lot can happen in a few years.....

One day soon, I would really love to write a post about God's faithfulness to us over the past seminary years, and all that He's brought us through and taught us. But the task is a little daunting as I fear getting caught up in the details and really, the story of God's faithfulness to us in these 3 short years could be a little book all it's own. This was the theme verse for EWG this past year, and how true it is! (as is the rest of God's Word)

Around the end of April, we determined that we would be leaving lovely Los Angeles and returning to San Diego. So in less than 10 days, we will be packing up and heading back to where we came from - sunny San Diego.

A lot can change in just a few weeks. From small to big milestones and transitions -- we've got them all going on right now in our little family. So as I pack up our home memories keep coming back to me of the little things that the Lord has done to draw us near, help us trust Him, display His glory, use His people to minister to us, teach us His word so that we could know Him better, and just to love us - His children- because of His grace poured out on us.

On the practical side of things, the plan is that we will move from Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, May 30th, after church (the cars will be packed on Saturday). We'll fly from San Diego to Denver on June 1st to visit my family. Anthony will return to San Diego June 5th to begin work June 7th and the kids, Grandma Ellie and I will return to San Diego July 3rd - when we'll be able to move into our new home (it's full until then with other people :-). These are our plans, and Lord willing this is what happen.

Until then, we're trying to see as many people as we can up here in Los Angeles, show our gratitude to those who've blessed us so over the past 3 years, and distribute many of the items the Lord has blessed our home with among those who can use them now. I haven't cried too much yet, but I'm sure the next two Sundays will be emotional ones for me as I prepare to say a temporary 'good-bye' to many people that I've grown to love so much.

But there's a wonderful place waiting for us in San Diego as we head home to our home church, Pacific Hope, www.pacifichope.com ,return to old friends and being able to see them more frequently, and live a little closer once again to Anthony's side of our family. We are in the wonderful position, by the Lord's grace, to be leaving one wonderful place for another -- and even better, we have the confidence that we will one day be in glory with our Lord fellow-shipping with our friends and family who are His for all of eternity, which is why in the life of Christians 'good-bye' is never forever but only temporary as we know that we will someday see one another again.

Hasta Luego for now mis amigos!

What makes a good day?

2010-05-08T11:46:00.001-07:00

The other evening, Anthony and I were sitting on our porch together after the kids had gone to sleep and I told him how it had been a good day because I'd been able to get a lot done that needed to be done and the kids had been pretty good throughout the day. Very quickly he responded, "Is that how you measure your day - by what you're able to accomplish? Well if it is, that might be a big source of your problems!" WHAT???? "Of course" I thought to myself, "How else would I measure my day?". So I asked him, "Well, how do you measure your day?" He answered easily, "By whether I've been abiding in the Lord throughout the day, praying to Him, acting and speaking in the Spirit." "Oh" I said as conviction set into my heart.....thinking to myself, that is the way that I should be measuring the 'goodness' of my day, I know that, but I'm not doing it.....

He's totally right (of course, he usually is about these things).

1 Corinthians 13 tells us that without love, everything we do counts as nothing. 1 Samuel 16:1-13 tells us that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at our hearts, he sees the motives of our hearts. Psalm 127 tells us that unless God is building the house the laborer labors in vain (that we can accomplish nothing apart from God's grace). Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be filled with the Spirit and 1 Thessalonians 5 tells us to pray without ceasing....I could go on and on with passage after passage about how God expects us to go about our day.....though I know these things, I'd once again gotten caught up in the demands of the day, measuring my success by how many items were checked off of my to-do list. I'd become 100% Martha, forgetting to have the heart of Mary while I went about my work (Luke 10)....again.

There are so many problems with this way of measuring my day. Of course, the greatest problem is that it's not God's way of measuring my day - it's mine, and we know that when my way is different than God's way, His way wins (right?). One of the other problems with this way of looking at the success of the day is the result of a day that isn't what I would call 'productive'. Every day there are interruptions, delays, unexpected crisis that demand attention, discipline issues that also demand attention, etc, etc, etc. If my focus is on getting everything done so that I can have a 'good' day, well, when that doesn't happen I'm not in a 'good' mood. And sin begets sin....so things begin to compound on themselves...with my sour attitude, self-pity, frustration, and general not honoring or trusting my Lord with my thoughts and therefore my words.

Spurgeon is quoted somewhere as saying something like, 'Interruptions are not hindrances to my day, they are the very day that the Lord has for me', when he would get irritated with all the students who wanted to talk with him while he was trying to write. He adopted this attitude. So will I, once again, adopt this attitude....remembering that every detail of my day is ordained by God and that He is good, there is nothing bad in Him. He cares for me and is working all things out for my good (Romans 8:28-29). He is truly, truly in control and He knows every single thing. If it doesn't get done, it didn't need to get done but what is important at the end of the day is, "Did I honor you, my Lord, my Savior, today in all that I did, said and thought?" If so, then I can count the day a success no matter what transpired.....

Praise God for my husband who is so good at shooting me straight and pointing me towards our Savior. I love him.

Essie.....Korean????

2010-05-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of years, Anthony has been pastoring a group of youth at La Canada Korean Church. We've been so blessed by our time with them, getting to know them and learning a little bit about the Korean culture. Our kids beg me to take them to 'Korean Church' every Sunday, and they're so sad if we aren't able to go when of of them is sick (which happens from time to time).

One part of Korean culture is that when a baby turns one year old there is a special outfit for them to wear. Mrs. Seo was very kind and let me bring the outfit home with me for Essie so we could have our photo shoot. This is the same outfit that Jennifer (now entering University) and Catherine (aka Kaf-win to Hannah) wore when they turned 1!

...here's the result....

This is my personal favorite because Essie decided to do her 'Buddha' impersonation just for the camera....she does it well, don't you think?

We also have pictures of Hannah in this outfit when she turned 1. Looking at Hannah's pictures made me realize that I had Essie's hat on the wrong way....oops...guess I still have a whole lot to learn! In the pictures of Hannah, Essie was just about 4 months away from being born. Essie is the first child we've had who has turned one without having a baby brother or sister on the way.

In some ways Hannah and Essie look a lot alike and in others they are very different. I think that's true of all kids, though, isn't it? Thanks for looking, Erica.

We like, "In n' Out"

2010-04-24T22:18:00.001-07:00

These are just some funny pictures of our 'sweet' little Essie.... She is sweet but not when you take away her sweets....

Essie with her In n' Out milkshake....

Essie after passing her In n' Out Milkshake on to her sister.....

Essie's turn again....

Grandma, Malachi learned to ride a bike!

2010-04-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

While visiting some friends on Thursday who had a couple of little bikes without training wheels on them. At some point during our visit, one of my friends little boys came in to report that Malachi had ridden around the yard on his own! Their son had been helping Malachi and ended up teaching him how to ride, how sweet huh? I didn't think much of it, but the next day we took his training wheels off to test out his skills and sure enough, he can ride. After riding around the yard for a while, running into a couple of walls, a swing set and taking a couple of falls he decided that it was time to do some tricks. I looked around the yard to find him and discovered that he'd positioned the bike on top of a concrete platform, and was preparing to ride down it....anyway, I sense dirt-bikes in our future... but first, we'll work on steering away from walls and small children....

On Parenting....

2010-04-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was blessed once more to visit our new friends who are helping us to become more godly parents. When I leave their home my head is always spinning a little bit from all the learning that takes place, and it takes me a night and a bit to sort out all I've learned so that I can share with Anthony what I've learned and we can begin to put that learning into practice in our own family (in whatever form that takes).

After 'chewing' on our visit yesterday, the principle that I learned yesterday is a valuable one. It's something the Lord's been teaching me over the past months through a variety of sources. Simply put, discipline is a loving thing and to not discipline is a hateful thing. This is what the Bible teaches on discipline. This truth needs to be taught to children (as well as learned by parents).

The dad yesterday said to me, "People often comment to us that our children are very disciplined and they are surprised that they are also joyful. I tell them, discipline is their joy." So the concept is that there is joy in being a self-controlled, disciplined person. What I'm seeing from the way this family interacts with each other is that they always uphold the virtues of honor for authority, respect for authority, and love for one's parents. Their interactions with their kids often have these virtues laced in them.

They've been able to raise their kids level of thinking about their role in the family from merely doing the right behaviors in order to get a reward or avoid punishment to having kids who understand the underlying motivations of doing the right thing because it's honoring, respecting, loving and kind to do so -- not only to each other but also towards the Lord.

So, for an example, our baby Essie was sitting at a booster seat at their table. She was looking at me, screaming. The dad looked straight at her and said, "Don't scream at your mother, be kind to her, use kind words with her." Another time, their 10 yr. old daughter was holding Essie who shook her head 'no' to me. Their daughter immediately looked at her and said, "Essie don't say 'no' to your mommy, that's not honoring to your mommy. Say 'yes' to your mommy". There have been many, many other examples of how they've interacted with our kids teaching them the virtue and desired heart attitude behind the action that they're expected to do.

I guess in short, they're constantly, from a young age teaching them the 'why' behind the 'what' and the reason isn't usually 'because I said so' or 'because I'm your mother' but rather: 'You obey your mom and dad because you love them', 'you have a responsibility to God to be a joy to your parents', 'It's a joy to honor and obey your parents'....this may all be old news to you who are reading but for me, it's a concept that I've never much considered....that obedience is a joy and not a burden.

This is a scriptural (and therefore true) concept. 1 John 5:3 says, "This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome...". We show God that we love Him by our obedience to Him. And His commands are NOT burdensome.

(Just a side note here to say that we are not saved because of our obedience to him, nor do we find any additional favor in His eyes by doing the things He says. We are saved ONLY by repenting of our self-righteousness and putting all of our trust in Jesus for eternal salvation from the wrath of God to come.)

Finally, Romans 2:4b says that, "God's kindness leads you toward repentance". So it is an important thing for me to note that discipline is necessary and good. That the motivation for discipline should always be that the one disciplined is led to Christ and the mercy and grace found in Him. That my discipline should always be done in kindness, it must be tough enough to be effective, but should be done with a kind, gentle and loving spirit. This is no easy task! It sounds so simple but in the ebb and flow of the day to day happenings of life, with emotions that flare up, it can become a challenge. (maybe you can relate?)

But I do know that, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13) and that "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6). So I can rest assured that if He has called me to it, He will make it possible to attain....If He would not, He would be a cruel and unkind master -- which He most certainly is not.

"But he (God) said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.", 2 Corinthians 12:9

Camping

2010-04-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

This past month, since returning from the trip to the Czech Republic has been a full one. We came home to many various things going on in the lives of those we care about. There were extra phone calls, extra prayers being lifted up and various serving to do for those in need. We made two trips to San Diego and went camping with the Seminary. It seems like for most of the month either one or more of the kids have been sick. Anthony got caught up on his studies and also attended the Ligoneer conference. We hosted quite a few folks in our home. And we all adjusted to being back together as a family while continuing to pray about and consider what the near and distant future may hold for us. So, for me, it has been trying but sanctifying as the Lord has been gracious to reveal to me some areas that I need to be transformed in (Romans 12:1-2). At the beginning of the month, I asked the Lord to show me areas in my life that needed His transforming work, and true to His faithfulness, He used the past month to answer that prayer. Thankfully, His mercies are new every morning and for the believer, "nothing is impossible with God" so I trust that whatever type of life (either internal or external) that He calls me to, He will faithfully provide for. "His grace is sufficient for me".

So that said, here are a few pictures from our camping trip which was such a blessing and a joy! I would return every year if I could. That said.....

This picture above seems weird, but it's pretty much how we saw Malachi throughout the trip...he's hidden in the bushes in a light blue sweatshirt, just above the tent. He spent almost the entire time playing with the older boys, in the bushes -- particularly in the fort they made. One morning he got up, got himself dressed and went out to find them....I came back to an empty tent. We heard one report that he arrived at the 'kitchen camp' announcing, "ok, I'm here, where's my friends? I'm ready to play." I think if he could live on a commune with other people around 100% of the time, he would gladly do it. Thankfully, he came home without any ticks on him....trust me, I checked!

The last night was smores night....Hannah enjoyed her smores but did not enjoy ending up with marshmallows in her hair....for Malachi this was a dream come true as he got to actually roast marshmallows on the fire, something he pretends to do quite regularly at home on his 'fires'...he calls is 'marshmallowing'....we go with it....this night was a victorious one for Anthony and I as the kids both fell asleep before we put them to bed. They fell asleep around the fire. This is the second time in over 4 years this has happened, so we were proud. It took going to the beach, going hiking, no nap, a sleepless night before and playing almost all day, but we did wear them out!

Essie turned 1 year old on the trip. This was where she spent much of her time....either here, in the back pack, the booster seat or someone's arms....she's still not walking and I just couldn't bring myself to let her crawl around in the dirt (mostly because I didn't want to clean up the mess) so she was content to be contained....she's pretty much always content.....

Our friend's son, Ethan did some face painting for kids. He was very diligent and seems to have been practicing. He's pretty good at it (I think he's only 8). Here's Malachi and Carter with their new faces... cute, huh?

Here's Anthony with his girls. Just before taking Essie and Hannah for a walk to the beach, notice the beach behind us....we could hear the waves from the tent at night! Wow, beachfront camping! We are blessed!

This is Hannah and her 'birthday buddy', Aaron....this is the youngest boy of 4. His brother was doing the face-painting....His family began seminary at the same time as we did, so Amber, his mom, and I arrived at TMS pregnant and went through the remaining months of pregnancy together. We've become good friends and we will miss them when we go....

Face-painting... with Hanah watching, which is as close as she got to face painting...she did NOT want that paint on her face! (can't blame her, actually) But Malachi loved it! (amazing how kids from one family can be so different)

Here's Essie on her one year birthday! Graduating to sippy cups and booster chairs! Isn't she so cute?

Hannah giving Essie her snack. Little mommy in training....

Beach day, with Levi Lawes! His baby brother was in the NICU at this time, being born prematurely, but Drew and Sarah just kept on with life....trusting the Lord. Their visit to the beach was scheduled around baby-Cole's feedings in the NICU! I admire their ability to take all the Lord hands them in stride....

Sarah....enjoying her day at the beach!

All of these people in this picture were camping with us...I think there were 80 people in total, 40 grown ups and 40 kids...give or take a few....

This is just a really cute picture! Someday, this one is going into a frame :-)

We visited the tide-pools and we even saw....
....a sea-slug!!!! These guys are just so cool! God is amazing in His creativity, as displayed in all creatures great and small.

Below, Hannah will let you know just how close we were to the beach....above, is the lower campground with tents. There was also an upper campground with as many tents!

But as Hannah is showing us, there's more to this campground....

"See? It's the beach! Pretty cool, huh?"

How to feed a baby while camping....stroller propped up on diaper box, bottle in hand....

This is the most bundled this little one has been....she wasn't too keen but endured peacefully.

And little Hannah.....so sweet!

At night, we gathered together with the Boeker's leading us in song, graduating seniors preaching the Word of God and some fellowship.... It was a real blessing to hear worshipful songs being sung by such a large group of God's people in His creation, around the fire....enjoy a glimpse of this experience....

Malachi can swim!

2010-03-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

For a summer gift last summer my mom, Grandma L'ellie, gave the kids swimming lessons at a pool in Golden, Co. This past Saturday we were able to go to the beach and also to a pool to do some playing in the water....this is what happened! We were very excited for our little guy to be able to swim so far, he was pretty happy too. Thanks Grandma!

Back from the Czech and a few thoughts from my heart.....

2010-03-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

We're back from a very blessed trip to the Czech Republic. The kids did great, the Lord opened many doors for us to share with others about His word, grace and mercy and He allowed us to be a part of pretty much every aspect of the ministry going on at the local church in Kromeriz. We also found out about some additional ministry opportunities that exist in the country and made some additional contacts. We couldn't have asked for a better trip and we were very thankful for the grace that our Lord poured out on us as we traveled.

Now we're home and back in the swing of things practically speaking. I'm still adjusting to being home and feel like I'm running behind just trying to keep up with my life. The coming of Spring may have something to do with my current state: of wanting just to play with the kids, be outside, go to the beach, plant flowers and spend time talking with Anthony and other friends rather than do the laundry, clean the floors, do the dishes, disciple the kids, etc....the tasks continue while I have Spring fever :-) But I am thankful for the birds chirping outside, the two that are building a nest and starting a family on our porch, my flowering bulbs and the smells that waft into our (not so clean at the moment) house while I work.

On the 'disciple the kids' note, there have been some thoughts bouncing around in my mind over the past months regarding this. Today, it came to a head for me, so I thought I'd write them here in hopes that one day I'll return to this post and remind myself of what the Lord is impressing on my heart....as I'm sure I'll need to be reminded of these truths sometime in the near future (maybe tomorrow)...maybe they'll minister to you too. It's the Word of God so since He promises that His Word never returns to Him void, then I pray that He'll use His Words to bless you as you read...

So here goes... The quandry for me has been this: How do I discipline in love? God's Word states, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." (Galatians 6:1) So, lately my children have been caught in transgressions almost every 5 minutes! My challenge is to restore them with a spirit of gentleness....my temptation is to get angry with them for transgressing over and over and over and over and....you get the point!

It is important for us to teach them how God views sin. God denied Moses the privilege of entering the promised land after ONE transgression! And in my eyes it really wasn't that bad of a transgression; he hit a rock instead of speaking to a rock to get water to come out of it. That was it! (Numbers 20:8-13) Because he didn't uphold God's holiness before the people.

God also dealt with the sin of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 by striking them dead on the spot! What did they do? They held back some of the money they'd dedicated to the Lord and said that they were giving everything. They told what the world would call a 'white lie' and God struck them dead.

How did God deal with King Herod in Acts 12:20 when he accepted praise of men and did not give glory to God? God made him be immediately eaten by worms and he died! Just for taking the praise of people that was due to God.

There are so many more examples to look at from Scripture about how God has dealt severely with sins of the heart that seem so trivial to us but that God takes very seriously. I know there are also many, many cases where God deals patiently and merciful with sinners. In those cases, the sinner is repentant, soft-hearted towards God and knows they need forgiveness. With people like this, God deals graciously and mercifully.

So back to parenting. One of our jobs as parents is to show them how seriously God takes sin. This is not limited to external sins but more involves the sins of the heart that come from pride. Things like selfishness, discontentment, feeling a sense of satisfaction when another is punished, desiring to hurt others when you are hurt, etc....We must deal with the sin in ourselves and in our children - it's our responsibility. So my struggle is two-fold, how do I effectively reach our children's hearts as I deal with the sins that come out of their hearts? And two, how do I deal with my own sinfulness while dealing with theirs?

I could sit around an rack my own brain for the answer, but that really won't get me anywhere good...rather, it's best to rack the mind of God by searching His Word in order to find the answer.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:3-5, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." This applies to parenting as well. How can I deal with the sin of my children if I'm sinning in the process? That makes me a hypocrite, the very thing I must not be! I've heard it taught that the sin Jesus is speaking of is both any sin in one's heart and specifically could be addressing the sin of having a critical and not loving spirit towards someone you are seeking to 'help' deal with their sin.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:15 to, "speak the truth in love" and in 1 Corinthians 13 he tells us that if we don't have love in what we do, everything we do will amount to absolutely nothing! And in Proverbs 15:1 God uses Solomon to tell us that, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." James 1:20 tells us that, "For human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires."

So I know that I must restore them gently, speak the truth in love, not discipline them in anger, do everything in love and repent of my own sin before I deal with theirs. This is no easy task!

I also know that I must deal with their sin as well as my own. Proverbs 13:24 tells us that, "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." Proverbs 19:18 says, "Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death." Revelations 3:19 says, "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent."

Apparently, God equates discipline with love and lack of discipline with hate for ones children. There are so many more verses on this topic that express the same sentiment. To discipline someone is to love them to leave them to their own devises and let them do whatever they want is to demonstrate hate towards them.

From just this little study here, I can conclude that it is right and expected for me to discipline my children in ways and degrees that will effectively drive the foolishness from their hearts (Provers 22:15). This is a command that cannot be denied. What this looks like might be different for each child, but their sin must be dealt with because, "The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother." Proverbs 29:15. But on the flip-side I have a strong responsibility to execute their discipline with a loving and gentle spirit that is truly seeking their good.

Romans 12:1-2 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

My mind needs to be renewed in this area. I think that in my mind I naturally seem to think that discipline equates to anger and hate and that giving liberty and overlooking offenses so that I don't cause temporary discomfort for my kids equates to love. But God says that the truth is the very opposite of my tendency (surprise, surprise)...God says that the loving thing to do is to teach the children through discipline aka discipling them, the ways of the Lord that will lead to life for them. Left to themselves they will go the way of death! So when they sin, I must be diligent to restore them gently, even if it's uncomfortable for them in the moment, because I want to show them the way of Life and Truth -- not because I want to punish them for getting in my way or making my life harder and more inconvenient.

How is it possible to do this? Only with the constant help of my Savior! Parenting shows me my complete dependence of Jesus more than any other area of my life. That is one of the reasons that 'Children are a blessing from the Lord', Psalm 127:3. The Lord uses them daily in my life to draw me to Himself for help, wisdom, grace, mercy and forgiveness.

Thankfully, I know that He has chosen me to be the mom to these three children. He created them and put them in our care even though He knows every single weakness, area of sin, and failing in me and in my husband. How wonderful that I can trust Him in His decision. He never makes mistakes and He always does what is good and right....This gives me great hope as I struggle through these most recent days....but I know there is a light at the end of this temporary tunnel waiting for me...Oh that I will be faithful and true to the One who is always faithful and always true!

thanks for reading...

Off We Go

2010-02-23T13:17:00.000-08:00

Well, we're off in a couple of days to the Czech Republic. I hear the snow is melting there which means it's getting a little bit warmer (above 32 degrees for longer times). The kids are all prepared for their stays with their respective families, we're all ready to go (or will be once everything is in the suitcases :-), and the house will be ready for the 5 or so men who will be staying at our house for Sheppard's Conference in our absence. Malachi turned 4 this week and is now Mr. Responsible. He keeps doing very mature things and then saying, "I can do this now because I'm four." I hope and pray that this new found maturity will last throughout our trip and that he will be a big help to the McElwee's and Lawson's who will be caring for him and Essie.

'See' you when we get back, but until then, you can 'Czech' us out (how many times do you think that jokes been used around the world?) at the trip website....and if you stop by there, please leave a comment! We love hearing from you!

New Czech Website, and parenting info.

2010-02-11T15:40:00.000-08:00

Ok, After putting on here that I was going to use the blog to give updates about the trip, I discovered that you can make free sites through Shutterfly.com and that prints can be ordered from Shutterfly directly from the site. So to 'kill two birds with one stone' I decided to make a separate site for the trip. The website is: http://czcehrepublicmarch2010.shutterfly.com Hopefully it will be a blessing to you, if you check it out.

On another note, I just returned from the family's home who is helping me with being a mommy. They are a real blessing from the Lord and a long awaited answer to prayer.

I've been asked to try to pass along what I learn from them on here, so that others can benefit. This is hard to do because I was there from 9:30-2:00 talking with the husband and the wife, so how can I summarize all that we talked about in 4 hours and have it get across the way it was intended? So I'll try....it helps me to write it, so I can remember and also go back later to see what I learned...since I can easily forget....Here goes,

The main point they tried to get across was that children are to respect their parents. We are to respect God and they are to respect us. Can you imagine Moses questioning God when given the 10 commandments or any other command? No, God told Moses what to do and Moses did it. Actually, the one time that Moses didn't do what God said exactly the way he was told, God punished him severely by not allowing him to enter into the promised land. God takes sin seriously, and as parents (and children of the Living God), so should we.

Practically this means that children should obey the first time they are told something, all the way, right away and the right way. If they don't the should be disciplined. At the end of the discipline they should demonstrate that they have a sadness over their sin against God. (It is as sin against God to disobey your parents). They shouldn't have any little sign of being angry at their parents for disciplining them and they should have a desire to want to make it better. Then they should go off and do the right thing afterward, not repeat the same behavior.

It's not good for the child to just 'go through the motions' and not have a heart change. This means that they are still rebelling in their heart. This is really bad because then they are like little Pharisees who do the right thing on the outside but are still rebellious/prideful on the inside. So it's about submission: knowing that the parents are in charge and being ok with that.

They recommended working most with the oldest and then helping the oldest to help the younger ones to fall in line. The premise is that children need to know that they are to respect God, their parents and also anyone else who is older than them. They should never question anyone who is correcting them or giving them direction (unless of course the person is telling them to sin). So when children are told what to do they should say 'ok mommy/daddy/uncle, etc' and then do it.

Also they re-iterated that the husband must back the wife up and must be the leader in the home and in parenting. This is a very important thing that cannot be overlooked.

They also said that once the children respect their parents and that line of command is in place then the family can have a ton of fun together. They will enjoy each other, have rich conversation, and will benefit from each others company throughout their lives.

Children have a responsibility to love their parents back. Parents are not just to love their kids, but kids are to love back. Children are to be a joy to raise, not a burden. Even though it's hard sometimes, if one is diligent in parenting according to the Word of God then the sacrifices made toward this goal will pay off in huge dividends later. You reap what you sow either positively or negatively. Diligence and sacrifice in parenting will pay off with great blessing in the end, while neglect of ones duties, putting other things like friends, ministry, work, interests, etc. before raising children will pay off with suffering in the end.

Children thrive when they know that there are boundaries that are firm. They feel secure and loved when they know that their parents are going to enforce the structure and limits that they set up. Kids need boundaries. And just to put this in here, this family has 9 kids from 2 1/2 to 18 years old, and I can see the fruit of the parents labors. Their kids are respectful, helpful, humble, obedient, joyful and loving. Their kids were helping my kids to learn how to obey today, and Malachi came home and started to help Hannah to obey just by being around this families kids. This makes me want to take their advice because what they are doing is working for their 9 kids, it can also work for us. They are relying on the Word of God and on Biblical prayer to raise their kids, so those things are universally trustworthy resources.

Oh, and also, they also said again that it's better to have a structured morning for the kids. So they don't have any toys in the morning but they are homeschooling the older kids. I think the idea is that there is structure in the home and the kids are told what they are going to do in the mornings so that they can make sure that their hearts are submissive and obedient to the ways of God and not rebellious. Then in the afternoon, they can play freely outside or inside (still making sure that they are obedient all the time).

So that's some of what I learned today....Anthony and I will talk and pray over how to best implement these things in our home. Already, though I can see a big difference in our home as a result of the help I am getting from this couple. Praise God for His faithfulness to answer prayer.

Our Czech trip

2010-02-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

So we're going to use this blog as the update blog for the trip that Anthony and I are taking in a few weeks to the Czech Republic. I wanted to post something now to get the ball rolling and also to put a few specific prayer requests out there, to the few who follow this blog, of things that are going on in the preparations of the trip.

There was a little mis-communication in the planning of the trip, which can happen from time to time. We were under the impression that we would be taking our youngest daughter, Essie, with us to the Czech Republic and leaving Malachi and Hannah with a trusted family. This seemed like a good idea as I (Erica) will be spending most of my time with other mommies, and will be living at the church where the pastor's wife has a baby, (named Esther too), who is the same age as our little Esther. I thought that it would be a good way to bond with the mommies, to have one of our little ones with us. Also, she is young, under a year, so we think it's good to take her.

Well, there is a rule that we weren't familiar with that the IRS has that says that if I go as a team-member, supported by donations that are tax-deductible that Essie cannot go. I cannot be a mommy and a team-member at the same time. We looked into the option of having Anthony's cousin be Essie's care-giver while we are there, but that would not satisfy the IRS's rule. So now, the only way for us to take Essie with us is if we pay for my part of the trip and for hers out of pocket. Which at this point, we are not in a position to do. We can also accept non-tax deductible donations given straight to us, toward this end.

So at this point, we are prayerfully waiting to see what the Lord will do and asking Him to lead us in our decision making from here on out. There is a family who would like to care for her here, and we feel very confident leaving her with them, but we also know that she will be separated from her whole family for almost 2 weeks - which is not ideal. We are praying that the Lord will make a way for her to go, and also seeking to be open-handed with all that He has afforded us. We are watching and praying as the Lord leads us through the next 3 weeks, confident that He will direct our steps (prov. 16:9). So if you read this and are compelled to pray along with us, please do.

Also, as I said earlier we will be using this blog to update about our trip. My hope and plan is to put up frequent updates so that all who have generously supported this ministry can take part in praying for and rejoicing in all the Lord does through it.

On that note, Dr. Shannon, a counseling pastor from Grace Community Church just arrived back from the Czech Republic where he taught for 4 straight days to a group of 20 people on Biblical Counseling. One participant was the president of the Baptist Union there, and he was blown away by the teaching as were most of the participants. The whole thing was recorded for the purpose of eventually publishing the DVD's that can be used to train pastors and lay-people throughout the Czech Republic. Pray for great fruit from that resource.

Thanks!
Erica

Happy Birthday Grandma Ellie!

2010-02-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

The kids made some cards and then sang their own 'special' version of 'Happy Birthday' to their Grandma Lellie - as your name seems to have morphed into :-) We hope it brightens your special day!

Advice to me on parenting....shared with you....

2010-01-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

I just returned from my new friend's home. Her name is Marianne Bruce and she has 9 kids and home-schools them. She is helping me to learn more about being a wife and a mommy (Titus 2:4-6). Some folks have asked that I 'spread the wealth' by sharing what she teaches me with them, so I thought I'd write it here for anyone who is interested. Writing it down also helps me to remember and to go back to it. She is a wealth of information. There's so much that it's a little tough to organize in my mind, but I will try to get it down here:

If one child needs to let you know what another child has done that is wrong, they should discretely come to you and let you know. Then the offender should confess their sin to the offended and ask for forgiveness, the offended must forgive. The whole thing should be handled discretely, so that no one is delighting in the demise of the other.

Children should obey the first time even if they are tired or hungry. Self control can and should be exercisized all the time, and if it's not, the kids should be disciplined. This can be as simple as having the child sit next to you quietly with their hands folded.

If two kids are arguing or not being kind to each other, they must sit together and tell each other things that they like about each other for an extended amount of time. Eventually they will run out of nice things to say and might just start talking with each other and enjoying each other. This is to build the relationships between the kids because they will be each other's best friends.

With babies, like Essie who is 9 months old, if they fuss and throw their head back the best way to discipline them is to hold them tightly until they surrender to you. This could take a while and could happen a couple of times but the parent shouldn't give in. Also, babies can sit quietly and listen to someone read or whatever. They can learn to fold their hands and sit quietly. Again, the best way to do this is to hold them tightly and help them to fold their hands together, to whisper to them to explain what you are doing together and that they must be quiet.

If a child will not sit quietly, take them to another (more boring) place and sit with them until the time is up. It should be more appealing to them to sit where you want them to sit than where the alternative is.

Encourage friends to hold your children accountable to the standards you set for them. If your kids know that you and your friends/family are on the same page they will not try to 'milk' social situations in order to bend rules and do what they want.

When dad leaves in the morning, he can tell the kids to obey and respect mom. Then during the day, mom can keep track of how many times she had to discipline the kids. When he gets home and asks the kids if they obeyed and respected their mom they should report to him about their day. If they have not done so, they get disciplined by him as well as he gave them the initial instruction to obey mom, so when they didn't, they ultimately disobeyed their dad. This builds unity between the parents and lets the kids know that mom and dad are a united front. Also he can say to the kids that he loves their mommy and that it offends him when someone is disrespectful to the woman he loves. Kids who know their parents love each other have no reason to fear.

One idea is to have a rule in the house that no-one plays with toys in the morning. This is so that they can focus on other things and not get sucked into their own worlds. It also reduces chaos in the home.

Take care of the very first sign of disobedience in the morning. This will change the whole day.

January, 2010

2010-01-26T19:37:00.000-08:00

January has been a full month for us. We've gone to San Diego to visit friends and family, celebrate the new year with the annual sushi party at the Callero's home, and Anthony was able to preach at our home church. Here's a few pictures of that trip.

Of course, a trip to the beach was in order on New Year's day. Caden joined us this time so we had extra fun taking pictures. We went fairly early that morning , so we had the beach largely to ourselves. Just a few surfer's and strollers were out. The waves were looking very nice that morning so anyone who pulled themselves out of bed to catch some waves must have had a very nice time...I had a better time playing with the kiddos on the beach :-)

We were able to stay one night at the Ryan and Sophia's house. As you can see, Ella and Hannah had a great time together, as did the rest of us. Sophia was very gracious to host us at her home that night as she delivered her third child shortly after we left! Thanks Sophia!

Then we came home where we began our cooking and hosting...which has been a real treat. Malachi has recently begun to help me a little in the kitchen, so now we all hang out in the kitchen and cook, meaning that I can get a lot more cooking done at once...I'm up to cooking 3 different dishes at once...which is great because it cuts down on the number of nights I have to actually cook!

Most recently, the rains have hit which I've enjoyed thoroughly. The storms are a gift from God (as is everything else). The kids have loved playing in the puddles (or small ponds) in our yard, and one set of the bulbs that we planted a month ago or so sprouted during the rains. I'm excited to see them bloom...they are the first bulbs I've planted...hopefully not the last.

Here's Hannah and Essie, sweet sisters. Looking at this picture, it looks like Essie's head is as big as Hannah's. I'm going to check them out tomorrow and see if their heads really are the same size. Is this possible? Can a 9month old's head be as big as a 2 year old's? anyway, I thought it was a cute picture....notice the gate....little Noah who's been visiting us recently asked his mommy, 'Why is Malachi's baby in jail'? very sincerely...I hope Essie doesn't feel this way! The gates sure help me out a bunch though, not sure why I didn't use them earlier!

Sweet little Essie!

Our most recent guests were Marketa, Jakob and Jan....Anthony's 'cousin' and her kiddos. We had a really great time and are looking forward to their next visit...we took a trip to the Descanso Garden's between storms, it was empty and lots of fun...notice the snow on the mountains...

So that brings us up to today. Might sound a little boring, but it sure feels like life has been pretty full of activity as well as joy!

Oh, and it's official, Anthony and I are headed to the Czech Republic at the end of February for 12 days! More to come on that.....

Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

We had a very blessed Christmas this year! There are a few things that I did this year with the kids to help it to be a Christ-centered Christmas. I want to list them here, so I can go back to it next year....the computer seems to be a good place to store lists! So here goes...

1. When December began, we broke out my kids hymnal book by Joni that includes Christmas hymns along with the stories that originated them. These are the songs that we sang at our before nap and bed-time times. This way, the kids are beginning to get a sense of the 'why' behind the songs that we sing for Christmas. We also listened mostly to this CD in the car so that the kids learned the songs by repetition. http://www.crossway.org/sites/hymns.for.kids

2. We talked a lot about the original st. Nicholas and that he was a man who'd been given much who wanted to share with others. We also looked for people who had less than us and sought opportunities to give to them. This year that included taking a woman and her two children grocery shopping as well as ministering to a couple down the street from us who just had a new born baby....this couple continues to be on our 'giving list' and likely will for as long as we live here.

3. We made a paper wreath (it was supposed to be a chain but I made the paper's too short, note to self to make them longer :-) for the number of days left until Christmas, each one had a portion of the Christmas Story http://www.titus2.com/christmas-program.htm the point of this is to take off one link each day and read the scripture or sing the song written on the inside of the link.... next year I hope to be more consistent with this.

4. We made cookies and wrote a letter explaining the true meaning of Christmas (in the form of the Gospel) for all of our neighbors. The kids helped make the cookies and deliver them. We talked about the fact that Jesus came to give us the best gift of all: Salvation from having to pay for the punishment of our own sins, as He came so that He could take that punishment for us!

5. We talked about how we get gifts even though it's Jesus' birthday, because that's just the kind of God He is.... He takes the bad stuff, and we get the good stuff.... we related this to our hearts and to sin, that Jesus wants to take our icky-dirty hearts and then give us new, clean hearts, and that Jesus wants to take our sin from us and give us His clean righteousness instead! We started thinking and talking about what we could give Jesus for His birthday ie. some part of our heart that is not pleasing to Him so that He can help us to change that into something that Jesus likes...for instance, giving Jesus our complaining and then becoming more thankful....

6. We made snowflakes out of paper, and talked about how each snowflake is created by God and is completely unique. We also talked about how each person is also created by God and is special and unique to Him. We also talked about how God makes us white as snow when we ask him to forgive us of our sinfulness and we trust Him with our whole hearts and our lives (committing to obey Him forever).

7. On Christmas eve and Christmas day we made cupcakes from scratch and the children helped. We hosted families with small children for both occasions so at some point through the night, the children decorated a cup-cake each - we put candles in each one and then put them on the table so everyone could sing 'Happy Birthday Jesus' together.

8. As far as actual presents go...we decided on the day of Christmas Eve to allow the kids to open presents casually throughout the day so that it wouldn't be such a big deal in their hearts. They were excited but more excited about it being Jesus' birthday, which is what we wanted. All day Christmas Eve Hannah was singing Happy Birthday to Jesus.... it was really sweet!

9. During our family Bible reading times we focused all of our reading on the Christmas story from the Gospels. We also read other story books on the theme of Christmas - mainly Jesus Birthday.

10. We also did a couple of other Christmas related crafts but next year I'd like to do more Gospel centered crafts with them.

Next year, I'd like to also go through the whole Christmas Story (from Titus 2) with our guests before eating dinner on Christmas day or eve.

One thing that also made this Christmas so nice for me was that I had determined and prayed before hand that I wanted to have the heart of 'Mary while my body was doing the work of Martha' from the story of Mary and Martha in the Gospels....Mary sat at Jesus' feet to listen to His teaching, making eternal life her priority while Martha was busy with all the work that needed to be done in order to serve the 40-100 people in her home. Jesus told Martha that she was being 'dragged about' by many things and had neglected the most important thing. So I determined that although I had lots and lots of work to do, I would focus my heart and attention on the Lord and not fret about the tasks at hand.... and the Lord faithfully answered my prayer!

Thanksgiving in Arizona.

2009-12-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

We were with my parents again, in Tuscon Arizona, for Thanksgiving this year. One thing that we decided to do was take a family photo....I figured my parents would be willing to oblige and spend the time taking hundreds of pictures until we got one or two with everyone at least looking at the camera.... which we were able to do - hooray! This one above is the picture of us posing at a '5-headed monster'.....like it? You could also say that we're working together to do an impersonation of one of the saguaro cactus' in the background.

On the last day, there was finally a bit of wind, so my dad took the kids out one-by-one for some kite flying, which they thoroughly enjoyed.

Here's one of us...
This is the 'backyard' of my parents house where we stayed. We all went for a walk to the wash, to play in the sand.
But before you can play in the sand you must rid it of all the pricklys from the cactus'

I just like this picture of little Malachi....so friendly!
It seems like we can't visit Grandma and Grandpa without a trip to some horses somewhere.... this family invited my kids to come down and give their horses some treats. Not a night goes by when Hannah doesn't talk about horses and how she was able to ride 'Chippy' (actually it was Spencer) when we visited my family in Colorado last summer....she definitely has the 'horsey bug'.
Grandma 'lellie' (as Hannah calls her) with baby Essie.

So that was our trip in a nutshell. The kids did great on both drives to and from Tuscon despite starting the trip off with a dead car battery and a sick little Hannah (with the stomach flu)...we had yummy food and a really nice time visiting with my parents.

Chelsea Cameron on how Jesus changes our lives!

2009-12-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

This is Chelsea Cameron's (wife of Kirk Cameron and mom to 6 kids) teaching at the Grace Community Church's fall event for the women. It's a powerful teaching on how God can and does transform us from the inside out. It provides hope and instruction no matter how bleak or desperate one's situation can be -- relationally with others, that is.

http://www.gracechurch.org/media/details/?mediaID=4989
http://www.gracechurch.org/media/details/?mediaID=4990

The download is free. Enjoy and be blessed!

The Wilson's were here!

2009-11-19T15:57:00.000-08:00

What is going on here??? Either really incredible domino building skills or a very well-timed photo....you decide.

Yay! Another family photo...4 out of 5 people looking at the camera....2 out of 5 smiling a 'picture sort of smile'...working on it :-)

How cute is this?
So, we've known the Wilson's for a long time. Anthony went to UCSD with them, and then I first met them when I was still single. They had only one little child (Maddie) when I met them. Now cumulatively, we have 6 and one on the way....from the Wilson's side, not ours! How fun to see our children enjoy one another and love one another....what a blessing it is to have long-standing friends!

Pictures from today....

2009-11-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a daily happening at our home - The ice cream truck! We don't buy ice cream every time (and only have twice actually) but we do drop everything and run to the front when we hear the little song playing in the neighborhood so we can run to wave hello to the ice-cream couple. I thought I'd capture it on film, especially since Hannah was sporting the size 11 boots with her pj's.

Sisters.
Big Brother
At least two are smiling and all three are looking at the camera.... Most of Malachi's childhood will be captured on film with him making some sort of strange face....what a goof-ball!
Essie's sitting almost all on her own now, today she sat for quite a while before toppling over.

Fire Season's on it's way? we have nothing to fear....

2009-10-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

Fire Chief Malachi is on the scene!

Maybe he has a little growing to do yet to fit into these clothes but he's enjoying his new-to-us treasures from our thrift store journey yesterday.

Sarah Edwards Biography

2009-10-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

After listening to Anthony's audio biography on Jonathon Edwards it seemed good to also do some research on Sarah Edwards. These two teachings on this remarkable lady were a big blessing to me, so here are the links to the audio biographies that I found. Inspiring!

http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/productinfo.aspx?QuickAddProductID=A2097-01-51

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/MediaPlayer/1656/Audio/

Some thoughts...

2009-10-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

So many things have been going on in my mind recently, I think I will write them down and share them with whoever may be interested. As I go through daily life, I am tempted often to rely on myself to produce the fruit of the Spirit in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). I also put forth effort in order to live out Colossians 3:12-17, which states:
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

However, I often fail at these attempts. The reason I fail is because I am trying to do these things on my own. These are not natural traits that come out of me when a challenging circumstance presents itself. Though I pray and ask God to bear this fruit in my life-seeking to abide in Him (John 15:4), still often, these are not the traits that are displayed in me when 'squeezed' by life.

Recently, a wise woman pointed out a profound-to-me truth to me from the Scriptures. She said that before Jesus can bear His fruit in me something must occur. First I must be cleansed of all unrighteousness. How does this happen? I must confess my sin to the Lord Jesus and He is faithful to forgive my sin and cleanse me of all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). And how do I find out what my sin might be at that moment? (This was the 'ah-ha- moment' for me)... I can discover my specific sinful trait by identifying with the verses in Galatians and Colossians that describe the works of the flesh. "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." (Galatians 5:17).

So what are these specific traits that manifest themselves in my heart?

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21) and "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all." (Colossians 3:5-11)

Obviously, not all of these areas of sin apply to me at this point in my life. However, there are definitely some that present an ongoing temptation for me to give in to. When I do give in to these temptations, I must remember to be quick to confess these sins against my Creator, my Holy Savior. Then I can rest assured that He is faithful to cleanse me of all unrighteousness and then, and only then, will I be truly available for Him to bear the fruit of His Spirit in my life.

Ask yourself this: How can I be simultaneously 'filled with the Spirit' (Ephesians 5:18) and have un-confessed sin in my heart? It is not possible as the un-confessed sin is polluting my heart, taking up room, and preventing me from being FILLED with the Spirit.

Of course, one must know the Savior in order for any of this to apply. First one must be set free from the bondage of sin (Romans7). The only way to be set free is to know Christ. He has said, "I am the way, the truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6).

The way to know Jesus, the Truth, is to study the Word of God because He is the Word, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:1-5)

Through the study of His word God must grant one repentance of and forgiveness of sin and must cause one to be Spiritually born. This is something that only He can do. Ephesians 2:8 states that, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." However, all who seek Him with a sincere heart will find Him (Mathew 7:7-8). Only after receiving the gift if God, which is eternal life (Romans 6:22-23) can one be free to live a righteous life for Christ. "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).

Recent kids pictures

2009-10-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

This was one of our last trips to the beach for the summer, with Gabe and Brandi this time. This is one of my favorite beach pictures of the summer, it has 4 of my most favorite people in it -- at my favorite part of God's great creation....the beach!

Little miss mommy. Hannah's such a sweet 'big-sister' (as big as you can be at 22 months, anyway)
A recent visit from the Sauder kiddos, Andrew and Abby. We will sure miss them when they move away this Christmas....

If you ever need to know where the candy is stored in our home, you will know who to ask!

The newest pirate of the family....argh....

So I decided to get the kids dressed in matching-ish clothes and attempt to have a photo shoot in our yard....lesson learned, next time back-up will be required.... but a few cute pictures came out of it -- any tips on getting everyone to look at the camera at the moment that you actually want to take the picture?

Our hike from today and Essie's first time in the back-pack. I think she liked it!

Ok, Hannah didn't hike, she rode in the chariot with her stylie sunglasses for most of it....

Picnic under the oak tree.

I like this one, little Hannah follows Malachi everywhere....

A very serious hiker with a very serious (Nemo) backpack!

Dad.

just a few Czech Republic Pictures

2009-10-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

The team. Lance and Sandy Roberts and their four kids are pictured on the right. They are the missionaries serving in the Czech Republic. They've been there for eight years.

This is Anthony with 5 of his relatives who attended the ESL camp. It has been many years since he's seen them, for some this was the first time he'd been able to meet them. Caroline is not in this picture.

Anthony returned home from the trip to the Czech Republic mid August. The picture above is taken from above Prague. Below are pictures from Bethlehem Chapel where Jan Hus (John Huss) preached and pastored. The painting is a depiction of his execution and the statue that Anthony is standing next to is a statue of Jan Hus. The moto for the Czech Republic is still, 'Truth Will Prevail'. We pray that this will indeed be the case for this country. Ultimately, we have confidence that it will as Jesus himself is 'Truth' (John 13:6) and we know that He will prevail as He has already conquered sin and death (Romans 6:8).

Anthony's trip.....

2009-07-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

Anthony is off on Tuesday, July 28th, to the Czech Republic for a mission's trip. He'll be teaching English in the mornings at a camp and helping to share the Gospel and minister to those at the camp in the afternoon. Then he'll spend a day or two visiting his family in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Some of them may also be attending the camp.

Here are some specific ways that you can be praying for team and for him:
1. That many will register and attend the ESL camp
2. That some of his relatives will attend the ESL camp
3. That the team will have many opportunities to preach Christ in word and deed
4. That the Lord will save some of the campers
5. That the Lord will bless his preaching from Ecclesiastes 2:12-26 on the futility of knowledge apart from God (Tues & Wed Evening)
6. That the Lord will bless his time with relatives during and after the camp
7. That our team will act in love and humility throughout the trip
8. That Lance & Sandy Roberts and their church in Kromeriz will be blessed by our presence

You can also follow us on the web at http://crstm2009.blogspot.com.

Growing Kiddos!

2009-05-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

Essie is just over a month old now, so I thought I'd finally get some pictures posted. My mom came to visit for about 10 days which was a huge help! Malachi thought he'd dress Essie up for the occasion in some Hollywood style glasses....we are in LA now, so it's fitting :-)

We also went to the beach a couple of times. Essie was not impressed, but the rest of us had a great time. It was such a joy to take our whole family out and about for a morning.

Here's me and Essie....just to prove that the kids do have a mother :-)

Essie during tummy time at 3 weeks old.

Hannah and her little sister. It's hard to believe that our little Hannah is now a Big Sister! She's been so great with the baby. She's loving and acts like a little mommy. She's even learned to say 'Essie' in her cute little voice.

I think this was Essie's first attempt at a smile--I was happy to catch it on camera.
A loving trio.
We were able to go hiking this past weekend and everyone had a great time. I never thought there would be such beautiful places by us when we moved to LA.

See? They have a dad too!
So, though it's been a busy first month as a family of five, we've managed through God's strength and grace to do a few trips to the outdoors, Anthony has officially finished his second year of Seminary. We're headed now into summer with many plans including three summer classes for Anthony and some ministry trips including Resolved and a short term missions trip to the Czech Republic for Anthony.

Please keep in touch with us, as we would love to know how we can be praying for our friends and family afar.

Welcome Essie!

2009-04-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

On April 6, 2009 at 11:45 in the morning, weighing 7 lbs. 10 oz the Lord graced us with the arrival of our second daughter, Esther Juliet Melicharek, aka Essie. Her entry into the world was easy and quick, and everyone is healthy.

She is already loved by both Hannah and Malachi. Hannah seems to be adjusting to being a big sister very well. She just wants to rub Essie's head, give her hugs and wants to help care for her.

When they came to visit in hospital, Hannah wanted to share her cookie with Essie. When I told her that Essie only drinks milk, Malachi immediately brought over his carton of milk for her to drink. Both were very confused when I wouldn't give her their treats. So sweet!

Moments after her entry into the world.

First good look at mommy.

Proud daddy.
Happy mommy.
Teeny toes...
Finally home and united with family. 2 days old already!

Malachi wanted to share his toys with her and brought her his football to play with :-)

More to come as we are able! Thank you everyone who has been and are praying for us. The Lord has been extremely gracious to answer your prayers favorably and we are extremely grateful to Him and to you.

Malachi Turned 3!

2009-03-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it was a month ago, but at least it's getting up. Malachi had his 3rd birthday on February 22. This was our first birthday that we had a child who was very (very, very, very) excited about the event and consequently I got caught up in the excitement. He ended up having three days of celebrating and was a little 'birthday'ed out' by the end. We started the festivities with a visit from Grandma Ellie, then a trip to California Adventure. The next day he got to go to the toy store to buy a toy with the gift money that Grandma gave him....a Mac Truck that you can store little cars in....Then that evening a birthday party that ended up including quite a few unexpected but welcomed young visitors....and the following day (which was actually his birthday) the people of La Canada Korean Church sang him Happy Birthday, gave him more presents and he was provided with a Spider Man birthday cake. Needless to say, for the years to come we have decided to limit our celebrating to one day. But it was fun this time around.... here are a few pictures of our times together.... His photo with Lightning McQueen is one of my favorites.

Eliam

2009-01-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

On April 7, 2009 at 8:45 pm The Lord took Eliam to be with Him in glory. Please keep his family in your prayers as they grieve this great loss.

This is the Mihet family, Emil (hidden), Mari and Eliam. This picture was taken a couple of weeks before Eliam's trial began. Just a week after Mari gave birth to Naomi, Eliam was taken to the ER because he was having trouble keeping food down and was looking very ill. By the next day, he was transferred to UCLA hospital, underwent 2 heart-surgeries and his parents learned that he'd need a heart transplant in order to survive.

That was 2 weeks ago at the time of this post. To date, Eliam is in hospital, heavily sedated and is fighting for his life. The doctors don't know what has caused all of this but the Divine Physician knows every detail. Many have been praying for this little guy and his family, but they could use continued prayer for healing, for wisdom and for comfort. We'll add more info. as we have it.