Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!!!

Today is my Paul's birthday! Happy Birthday, my love! What a privilege it is to be your wife and to get walk beside you as you fulfill God's call on your life.
Paul and I met in college, UMass, Amherst, where he was a hard working Christian engineering student and I was lost and anything but hard working! The Lord saved me and brought me into fellowship with the Navigators where I met Paul. Right away, I was struck by how incredibly handsome and, more importantly, godly Paul was. He was always about serving the Lord and never about flirting or squandering his time. His passion for the Lord was contagious. I respected and admired him so much..and prayed God would bless me with him as my hubby. (My best friend was praying the same for herself!!) Well, the story is long and fun, and I'll share that another time, but God was so good to turn Paul's heart toward me and bring us together years later. (The Navigators were jokingly termed 'never-daters', so we were just friends through most of our college years).
We married soon after my graduation and Paul enjoyed a successful career as an engineer for 14 1/2 years. During this time we were blessed with four healthy children who have brought us so much joy! Paul is such a godly dad and hubby, always investing time in creating family memories and instilling the Word so diligently in our kids.
Back in 1999, God began stirring up our very cozy nest with a call for Paul to leave his lucrative career behind and become a pastor. Paul really liked what he was doing, serving as a care group leader in our wonderful church while working as an engineer and pursuing his PhD, fully funded by Uncle Sam, at Johns Hopkins University. The road to success and prosperity could not have seemed brighter!
Paul wrestled with God and found his desire and calling for ministry was God-given and confirmed by the pastors around him.
Paul left his job to attend the Pastors College in 2000, where he was equipped for serving as a pastor. We then spent a year in Philly for his internship where he was further prepared and evaluated for church planting. Talk about being out of our comfort zone! Yet, God gave much comfort and provided our every need!
The church plant was launched in Sept. 2002. Paul has had so many responibilites since then and has truly laid down his life for the church here. I've watched him 'die every day' gladly for the Lord's work. God's grace is truly amazing, and I marvel at the things He has done. No, it's not been a smooth ride, but what the Lord has worked in our lives is priceless. And, by His grace, He's building a precious local church, a Sovereign Grace Church, here in New England.
Thank you honey, for laying down your life for the Lord. For receiving many blows and blessings in His Name. For being so unwavering in your faith through the trials here and for leading us, your family, so tenderly and skillfully. Your reward is great in heaven, my love!
Happy Birthday to You!!!

a feast for the soul

I'm listening to CJ's sermon from this past Sunday at Covenant life Church and am reminded of why we're doing what we're doing, and exactly what it is we're doing here in New England! You see, we were sent from this family-this spiritually rich family. And CJ's the leader, the wonderfully humble leader of this family of churches. His gift for preaching is anointed by God's Holy Spirit. His gift for living out the gospel of grace is filled with humility and wisdom.
We're not planting this church to reinvent the wheel..no, we've found the wheel that works so well..a local church, built upon the gospel, lived out in humility and led by pastors who are submitted to other pastors who are committed to caring for their souls. What an unbelievable blessing and privilege this is! My hubby and my family are so well cared for by this family. Thank You, Jesus, for our extended family of faith!!
Take a listen and be blessed:
Wisdom From the Spirit
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
http://www.covlife.org/sermons/

interesting thought

I'm reading through Mark and was struck this morning by an account in chapter 7. Jesus healed a deaf man and then charged the people "to tell no one, But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it."
This reminds me of the inherent sinful nature in all of us--just say 'don't eat the last cookie' and everyone in the kitchen wants it!!
I wonder if the great commission had gone like this, 'DON'T go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to ANYONE..' if then I wouldn't be able to keep myself from declaring the wonders of my Lord? (Shame on me for my timidness and laziness in this regard).
For the record, the great commission is perfectly stated in Mark 16:15-16~
"And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Send us forth, Lord, into the harvest field!!

Mountaintop Magnificence

We're incredibly blessed to have a 'family chalet' in the White Mountains. This time of year it looks like God's watercolored canvas. Can't wait to go up for our annual family golf tournament Columbus Day weekend!

Fall and Glory

It's fall in New England and it's gorgeous! The weather is crisp and clear, the leaves are showing off their beautiful display of death. Yeah, strange as it is, their beauty is a result of their dying. Same for us as Christians..the only true beauty we have is a result of our dying to sin and receiving new life by the Spirit of God, bearing fruit for his glory! 1Peter2:24 "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness." What a miracle this is! I'm thankful for the reminder the beautiful, falling leaves give me of the ONE who died on a tree and rose again!

One thing that WON'T be in Heaven

Micah 7:19 "He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

I love the ESV note on this: 'As God began Israel's journey by casting the Egyptians into the Red Sea, He will conclude her history by casting His people's iniquities into the depths.'

What a glorious Day that will be! A Forever Day! And we'll enjoy "the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.." (Rev. 22)

I Hope There's a Beach in Heaven

I love the beach. I grew up enjoying it with my family. We'd spend three weeks every summer there. I'm so thankful to be back home and only 20 minutes away from the beach. Paul & love to walk the shore and fellowship there. My parents lived right on the coast for 11 years before my dad got sick. We enjoyed many weeks visiting them there and have great home videos of our kids enjoying their earliest years there. My dad was a lifeguard at the beach when he was a very young man. He loved to walk the beach too. I remember him pointing out the creative lines in the sand after the tide had receded, saying it looked like a piece of art. His last years of health were spent enjoying God's glorious creation at the shore.
So many memories! No wonder I love the beach so much! I might just write a few posts on it..and post some pictures from our days there this summer.
Psalm 93:4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea-
the Lord on high is mighty."

resting in grace, working in grace

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."(Eph. 2:10)

WOW! God has preplanned wonderful (and sometimes seemingly boring) good works for me to do! Lord, fill me with joy as I rest in your grace and fulfill the purposes you have for me this day. Thank you that you walk beside me and give me the power to do what You've called me to!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man." (Col.3:23)

Thanks for being such a Great Boss, Lord! That you love to hang out with me and help me constantly. Please help me teach my kids today!

Gotta go get to work!

incredible trial and testimony

this is a wonderful family and friends of ours from PA. please read this http://girltalk.blogs.com/
and pray for them. thanks

i must be getting old

Well, I enjoy checking out blogs and decided to give this a shot. I mean what I said in the title of this blog though-I doubt I'll have time to write. Life is crazy with home schooling and church planting..even though the latter is not my job, I still am busy seeking to serve my hubby and those God has blessed us with in our church. Never mind, keeping up with my wonderful extended family and reachinig out to my great neighbors.
About getting old.. I just turned 29 again!! And my oldest son, Daniel turned 18! Go figure!!!
He's off to college and nothing, nothing can prepare you for that transition!! Thank God for IM and MA Bell! I just sent him a care package and can't wait to see him soon. Thank God he's only 45 min. from home!!! He's an incredible young man and a smart, ambitious student! He couldn't get into Greek so he chose Hebrew instead!!! He had to memorize the Hebrew alphabet for the 2nd class! GO Daniel!!!! (guess who he gets his brains from?!)
Another sign of oldness, besides an adult child in my possession, is the fact that I need to wear my reading glasses almost continually!! And when I go upstairs to look for them I forget what I was looking for! Grr. I picked up a glasses-holder-string-thingy that is going to prove very helpful for my absentminded blindness.
So, there's my first post. not very deep..maybe that will come with time!