A short stop in Laurel, MS

Laurel, MS December 15-16th:

Sleep Hollow RV "Resort", site #12

We had a good time in Laurel, if not at the RV park :)  (Sometimes you should just go with your gut, as I had a feeling about this place from their website... often much is revealed in the RV park's name!  hee hee  It was little creepy.)  

This was basically just a rest stop on our way to New Orleans.  However, we did discover a great gem in Laurel, called Landrum's Homestead and Village http://www.landrumscountry.com/.  It is a "living history museum" that is a mock up of a turn of the 20th century town.  They have barns of old farm equipment, gristmill, an old school house, animals, a chapel, a forestry exhibit and fire tower, and other unique activities...like gem mining, a shooting gallery, a mystery house, and more!

I'm so glad I don't have to do laundry this way :)

This shooting gallery was so fun!!  When you hit the target, the item would do something.  The piano was my favorite, as when you hit the target it would play a tune.  The frog was cute, too....

Ye olde school bus :)
Our school bus now is our RV!

There were so many old tools...

This peacock was gorgeous... and totally showing off!  He was right under the fire tower.

The Mystery House!
It was very challenging walking through it... we practically fell over.  We were even able to walk on a wall.
BTW~  I took this picture standing perfectly upright.

Horseshoes, always fun!

More old tools and equipment...
I'm glad that Jon is with us.  He's a farm boy, so he was able to tell us what these tools did.

We had a great time at Landrum's!
We all learned how very hard people had to work just 100 years ago to survive and chores took all day to complete!

We're looking forward to our journey to Canjun Country!  NOLA: New Orleans, LA... here we come!

Where are we now???

Howdy ho!

We have finally left the great state of Texas!  We enjoyed our 3 weeks there very much and we'll be posting pictures of all the fun, but not tonight.  Tonight, we are cheering Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos on to
v-i-c-t-o-r-y!!!!!!

We arrived in Tucson, AZ last night and we'll be staying in the area for the next 2 weeks.  It is beautiful here and I can't believe how much there is to do!

For the first time since we left Panama City, FL and Tyndall AFB in September.... we found our way back to an Air Force base fam camp.  Davis-Monthan AFB is a gorgeous base with so much available and we're so very happy to be back with the Air Force!  They are our peeps, after all :)

Our time in Tuscaloosa, AL...

Well... I'm once again almost a month behind in posting.  Please accept my apologies for those of you that are following our journey.  I'm shocked at the difficultly I have in keeping this up.  The two main obstacles are internet service and time.  The first obstacle I can't do much about.  It is what it is.  However the second... time, is really puzzling.  Even though we should have plenty of time, we are actually very busy!  It seems like the days we are the busiest are the days when we have good internet service, but no time.  Then when we have time to blog, but we have no or limited internet service.  Thanks for your understanding and patience when the time between posts is long.

Dec. 5th-14th:

This was home while Jon was serving with Samaritan's Purse Tuscaloosa Rebuild Project:

Site #24, Lake Lurleen State Park, AL

Lake Lurleen is a gorgeous State Park and we had the place to ourselves!  It was so quiet and peaceful.  Unfortunately, we had NO internet or cell service while we were tucked in the sate park.  However, we enjoyed the gorgeous lakeside views and the hiking trails.

That's Lake Lurleen off to the left.  We had a gorgeous view from our picture window.

Our campsite is up the hill on the left.

Hiking the dam trail along the lake.
Everyone is acting so silly for the camera :)

The kids had fun making the hillside into a garden.  From the garden, they prepared Jon and I a "meal."  :)  It was yummy!

They are "growing" pine needles.

Caramelized Acorns, Pinecone Stew with "Rabbit", Popcorn on the top right, the 2 pinecones on the plate were "buffalo", middle of the plate was snake, along the bottom was prickly possum, and the sand glops are rolls..... everything was seasoned with wild chives.
YUM-O!

The kids built their first fire from scratch!

They built their first fire from scratch...thanks to a great book called "Campout" that our dear friends the Jacksons gave us when we hit the road.

Since our time in Tuscaloosa was to focus on Jon's service project, we did not do much sightseeing.  It was also raining and cold for the first few days we were there.  We concentrated on the kids' studies, playing around the state park, and we took care of an oil change for Brutus.

DT working hard in Math-u-see Zeta....

I LOVE reading time!
DT:  Noah Webster, A Man Who Loved Words
Jolie:  Betsy-Tacy and Tib
Faith: Pollyanna

After picking up Jon from his last day at "work" on Saturday, we drove through The University of Alabama....It's a very pretty campus.

ROLLLLLL TIDE!  Congratulations on your National Title!

Saturday was a big day for our family as.... it was Faith's 13th birthday!  We're so excited to finally have a teenager!  Faith is an amazing young woman.  We're looking forward to watching her become all that God planned for her to be.  Here she is as she opens her eyes to her birthday gift, an electric piano!  She is very gifted musically and has been missing her piano.  We've also missed hearing her play.

She was overwhelmed with joy and excitement :)  We were, too!  

My heart rejoices to see her playing again!

We hung around Tuscaloosa for a few days after Jon's time with SP was over because we had to be back in Knoxville, TN for one last doctor appointment before we could start heading west.  During this time, we were able to do a few wish list things.  We got to attend a church that we've wanted to visit and we were able to visit Jon's brother and his family.

Sunday we attended a church that has been integral in helping us go deeper with God the last year and a half.  We were so excited to attend The Church at Brook Hills pastored by David Platt in Birmingham, AL!!!  Check them out here:  http://www.brookhills.org/   We love the way David Platt preaches/teaches.  He always brings to the forefront the awesomeness of God.  We are so thankful that God is using him in mighty ways and that God brought him into our life.

You can listen to his weekly messages here  http://www.brookhills.org/media.

Or check out Secret Church here http://www.disciplemakingintl.org/secretchurch/.  He holds "Secret Church" twice a year.  It's a DEEP study of the word.  The meeting lasts about 5 hours... until midnight!  It is a time that the Word is given the place of honor that it deserves.  It's not a time for frills and entertainment, but study.  It is set in a manner that is to remind us how we have many persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world that must meet in secret.

Radical....where it all started :)

After service in Birmingham, we ran into our niece...from Montgomery, AL in the parking lot.  It was truly amazing to run into her in a town that neither of us live in and that we had no idea we were in at the same time, much less at the same church!  There were a thousand or more people there at that service.  We're so amazed at how God orchestrated our meeting!

Sweet Annie is the beautiful redhead in the middle :)

Tuesday was our trip to Knoxville, TN.  We drove there and back in one day!  It was a long day, but we're so grateful to be free now to head west!

All schooling was done in the back seat this day!

Wednesday we spent getting ready for moving day on Thursday and we made another quick trip.  This time we headed to Montgomery, AL to spend the evening with Jon's brother Jeff, and his family.  It was so nice to see the Montgomery family in Montgomery!  God is using our nieces and nephew in mighty ways.  It's so fun watching them grow into lovely adults.

Cousin time!
Faith, Annie, Matthew, Daniel, Jolie, and Sarah

Thursday was moving day!!!  On our way to Laurel, MS.  We planned a short travel day for this one :)

  

Our Unintended Arrogance

       A few weeks ago, the kids started doing something that was interesting and concerning.  It passed, but the Lord used it to teach me something.  Here’s what happened:  Several times in a period of a few days (and this applies to all of them) they were faced with situations SIMILAR to ones they’d faced previously.  Basically they found themselves in positions to theorize about the potential outcomes of the situations.  (For example, the last time they went through that issue it worked out that A + B = C.  I’d happily tell you the exact examples—but it’s been too long for me to remember them!).  Do you want to know how they handled it?  With complete confidence and boldness, they stated:  “A + B = C!!”  The only problem was they failed to realize there were several different factors in the problem—factors of which they HAD NO KNOWLEDGE.  There were many things at work beneath the surface of the situation, which would absolutely impact the outcome.  But because of the ONE TIME EXPERIENCE they were now ASSUMING every experience would be identical.  From my perspective, it was clear there was no way “C” was going to be the answer.  In other words, they thought that one narrow truth would be the same in a wide variety of situations.  I don’t think they were even dealing with “A” or “B,” but yet different factors which remained unrecognizable.  What struck me so plainly in this was their complete confidence in their wide-reaching faulty assumptions.  During one of these moments it hit me—how arrogant!  How arrogant do we (all of us) have to be to make broad sweeping statements about situations when we honestly know so little about them?

            The Lord whispered in the ear of my heart:  “It’s the same thing when you hold on to beliefs or fears which are contrary to my Word.”  OUCH!  You see, on this trip I’ve had ample opportunity to worry about future income, etc.  I believe the Holy Spirit was urging me to stay obedient in my thought life.  

            

           Go with me on this.  

          Whenever we come across a situation in life, if we choose to begin thinking the worst about the potential outcome—we had better be very careful.  As we all know there are not many life situations, which are not addressed in His Holy Word.  Our Creator always cuts to the chase does He not?  When we get into a situation in which He has pre-declared the steadfastness of His love, or His protection, or His provision, or His peace and we choose to focus on and anticipate something that’s contrary to His Word, we are in arrogance territory.  How can I, a mere man, allow my feelings or fears to drive me to the point of disagreeing with the Master of the Universe about His operations?  How can I for a moment allow myself to say in my heart, “Well God what you said, that may be true for my friends, but it WON’T WORK FOR ME!  What in the world is that kind of thinking?

True humility says “Lord, You said You’d never leave me or forsake me” (Heb 13:5) or, “Lord, You said You’d provide—pressed down, shaken together and running over.” (Luke 6:38)   True humility says:  “Lord, I may not understand what’s going on here, but You said…”  Then humility BELIEVES!  It doesn’t matter what my experience tells me, it doesn’t matter what my FEARS tell me, or my feelings tell me, or my FLESH tells me.  Humility says: “Lord, be it unto me as has been spoken.”  (Luke 1:38)  That’s exactly how Mary responded to the angel of the Lord when he reported her pregnancy.  We must be confident that whatever it was He said is already true.  If for no other reason—it’s true because He said it.  He cannot lie.  His Words over us are invaluable.  Those Words He framed our existence.  In those Words He set in motion the universe’s physics--the laws of nature.  Those Words shaped our world.  That is the reality.  His Word is the reality.  Even when I don’t feel it—especially then—His Word is ever true.  What He stated will come to pass.  How awesome are the words He spoke to us (mankind) and how much more awesome is it when He speaks to us directly?!!?  

 

  Ultimately, I believe this is a foundational thought to understanding the importance of renewing my mind.  My thoughts (opinions and feelings) must be in line with His Word and thus—His thoughts.  I can never have His thoughts, but I can line my thoughts up with His previously stated thoughts—His Word. 

We see this played out when God appeared to Moses in the burning bush.  (Exodus 3)  The Lord tells Moses how things will go, and Moses actually ARGUES with the Lord, causing His Holy anger to kindle.  The Word is full of people who had to make the choice to believe in the face of everything else telling them His Word was false.  Gideon was a man who must have certainly had the opportunity to doubt about the report of the Lord for his specific situation.  (Judges 6)  Think about this:  The Lord greeted Gideon by calling him a “Mighty Man of Valor!”  At THAT MOMENT—Gideon’s destiny was established by the declaration/salutation of the Lord!  The situation was that Gideon was HIDING.  But God gave him the ultimate gift—He put the power of His Word to work for Gideon.  Once the Lord uttered that salutation—it was true.  If He says it, it’s true.  This is how our universe operates…by the Word of God. 

           So, who am I to disagree with His Word?  I’m an arrogant fool to do so.  The Lord was showing me that I need to be mindful of His greatness and of the power of His Word and most importantly, stay humble by keeping my beliefs, thoughts and statements about situations in line with His pre-declared thoughts on the topic.   I should always expect with great confidence—His Word will come to pass.    


  Help us Lord to simply believe in humility.  
Godspeed--Jon

A time to serve... Tuscaloosa, AL

Samaritan's Purse, aka: The Calvary

One part of our vision for this journey around the USA, is to be the hands and feet of Jesus in areas and ministries with which we've never served before.  We want to be fully available for the Lord to use us as He needs us.  I haven't posted all that we've done so far because some are just for the Lord to know about :)  However, we really wanted to share our experience this week to bring awareness to Samaritan's Purse.  Most people know of this organization as the shoebox ministry, otherwise known as Operation Christmas Child.

But Samaritan's Purse http://www.samaritanspurse.org/  is so much more!  Check out their website and the "What We Do" link on the top right of the home page.  They are also US and International Disaster Relief and Recovery, medical missions, Turn on Tap Water, Haiti rebuilding, and Sudan church rebuilding to name a few of the other projects.  They do all this to reach the world with the gospel and God's love.

We've long had a heart for Samaritan's Purse.  Jon especially has a heart for disaster relief.  He has worked on many projects via his time in the Air Force and as a defense contractor... Hurricane Katrina, Haiti earthquake, and posturing for many other hurricanes that hit the US.  When he found out that Samaritan's Purse was still serving Tuscaloosa, AL by rebuilding the community, he eagerly volunteered for a week.

Some history of the deep need in Tuscaloosa:

The aftermath in Tuscaloosa, AL on May 2, 2011

 In Pictures from Samaritan's Purse

Samaritan's Purse coming in...  The clean-up begins...

SP goal:  20 houses rebuilt for FREE within the next 2 years.

You can follow Samaritan's Purse US Disaster Relief on Facebook HERE.  On this page are pictures of the house that Jon worked on... check out the picture album under Tuscaloosa Rebuild (it's the green one, with the brick front steps and porch).  They were working hard to put the final touches on it in time for the lady to get back into her home for Christmas!

Jon will post about his time serving with Samaritan's Purse soon.  Until then, here is my perspective:

DAY ONE:

Jon was exhausted and filthy!
(I was able to take only one photo before he hit the shower and bed.)

We got to visit the worksite on Friday, Day Four:

Current state of the neighborhood that Jon served in.  There is still MUCH work to be done!

The house the team was working on this week.

Still smiling at the end of day 4!  He's much happier though, since he's working above the bathroom floor rather than under it, like in day 1 :)
And the funny thing about Jon laying tile.... it's one of the few projects we had hired to be done for us when we were getting our house ready to sell!  I guess God wanted him to learn how to install tile after all :)

A hard working team!!!!
Shannon, Monty, and Tom

Volunteer and staff crew week of: Dec 6-10, 2011

We knew that Samaritan's Purse was an excellent ministry.  But after serving with them, we are even more in awe of all that they do and the way in which they accomplish the mission.  They do all things with excellence for His glory.  

This particular Rebuild is headquartered at First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa.  When volunteers come in, they stay at the church (Jon however, stayed at the RV with us).  There are separate men and women's quarters.  Samaritan's Purse also feeds them 3 meals a day.  The morning starts off at 6:30 with breakfast and devotions.  Then they drive out to the worksite with a sack lunch.  They return to the church for dinner and a sharing time.

Not only did the staff and crew welcome Jon wholeheartedly on the team, they welcomed US---the whole family!  They invited us to join them for dinner on Wednesday.  They also had us to join them for dinner on Friday and for breakfast and devotions on Saturday.  It was so nice to meet the amazing people God brought together this week!

After dinner on Friday, one more time... the quality of the people overwhelmed us.  The Samaritan's Purse cook brought out a surprise!  Happy 13th Birthday treats for Faith!  Jon and I were totally surprised, too.  We didn't know they even knew it was Faith's birthday the next day!  The entire crew sang, "Happy Birthday" to her.  :)  Thank-you to the Samaritan's Purse staff and crew for making her birthday so special.

TWO cakes???  YUM!!!!!!

We are so thankful God opened an opportunity for us to co-labor with Samaritan's Purse this week.  We will try to serve with them again soon.

If you have time to serve, please check out:  http://spvolunteernetwork.org/  There are many ways to serve...and here is where you can apply to serve at a rebuild project.  :)

Because this is what it's all about:  A testimony of meeting Christ through this storm....