Friends & "Sharing"

  We had a little piece of Lancaster Co. here over the weekend & it was very enjoyable!!! When friends travel several hrs. to spend the weekend with you, it makes you value & cherish their friendship. So tonight a special "thank-you" goes out to you folks who came out here & made our weekend special. We enjoyed opening our home away from home, & "sharing THE STUFF" with you. Thanks for sharing with us, because in all reality, it's like Pastor Scott said today- "the STUFF that we have is really God's, not ours". We can't keep our earthly possessions or "stuff", but it's in giving that we store up treasure in Heaven. And when we give to people materially, eventually we might get the chance to give to them spiritually as well. So in sharing our possessions with people in need, we may possibly get the chance to "share" Jesus with them too. It was a simple message, but it spoke to me because like I always tell Dutch, "I don't like to share". I am the baby of the family you know... I never had to share a whole lot:):):) But you know I've come to realize we have a lot of "stuff", especially since we live in a furnished house here & we go home to a furnished house in Lancaster, and we lack nothing in either house... We have been given much, much is required!!
  Well I meant to post a simple "thank you" to our friends, but I got a little carried away with Pastor Scot's message- from now on I'll try to leave the preaching to Dutch;)!! In the mean time I'm gonna work on sharing....
  ....heeeeeeeeeyyyyyy, that's MY coffee, hands off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A New Beginning

  She came to the Haft because of some things that took place while she was on short term missions in Mexico. Things that she didn't intend to get involved with, but it happened, & she had to leave Mexico. However, the mission group she was working with didn't want to just send her home with shame, & not give her a second chance. They contacted the Haft, wondering if they would be interested in working with her for a short time. The on-site team (that includes us), discussed the matter- was this the kind of person that the Haft was for?? We could offer her some one on one prayer, & love from caring people, but would that be enough?? So without knowing a whole lot about the situation, we as a team agreed to tell the mission director that "yes" we would allow her to come here. We could only have her be here for 3 weeks due to Bruce & Joan and the Brauns having plans to be off-site for several weeks (Joan & Betsy are the Haft counselors).
  Well she arrived around midnight, & the following day was rainy- I commented to Dutch that it was a dreary day for her to arrive. But God did a work in those few short weeks & I'm amazed. So to make a long story short- and I will summarize what she said as best I can "When I came here things seemed hopeless, my plans for the future looked messed up. When I came it was raining, but now the sun is shining. Just being here, & seeing you all love on your kids, & the sun shine, & even the barn being refreshed- brought hope."
She still needs prayer as she goes from here, but her outlook when she left was certainly different than it was when she came. It reminds me of a song I've been hearing on the radio, "That's What Faith Can Do." If you have a moment, check out the song, I posted it on here.

Kutless - What Faith Can Do

Snow Much For Spring

  Ok, so much for Spring!! Yesterday morning we woke up to 8" of snow- & Madison was disgusted. He said, & I quote, "This snow messed up my WHOLE day!!". As though he had something really big planned, & the snow really threw him a curve!! Well he & Jonathon Coleman were planning to continue their recent project- "Operation Fix the Holes in the Driveway". The job is quite muddy, but has provided hrs. of entertainment. Guess operations will resume when the snow disappears!!! I gotta say, Madison's reaction to the snow did provide some food for thought for me though- am I willing to have my day rearranged sometimes, or do I have "my" plans made to the point that if God changes my day I get all bent out of shape about it. It's a great reminder that God sees the whole picture & I don't, so things that seem inconvenient sometimes might just be God at work.
  And speakin' of projects- "Operation Fix Up the Barn" is going smoothly thus far. Dutch's brother Lee cruised up here last night to help Dutch frame for a couple days. I'm always amazed at what a couple of guys, who know what they're doing, can accomplish in several days. I tell them, "I'm glad you guys know what you're doing, cuz I certainly wouldn't have a clue." I can't even cut straight with a scissors, let alone build a room that's square! Ha. I'll stick with cooking & cleaning, and leave the remodeling projects to the guys.

Under Construction

  When the shower head skims the top of your head, & you can barely move around in the shower because it’s so tiny, & the pipes are exposed- it’s a sure sign that the bathroom needs some remodeling. That’s Dutchs next project, starting as of this week, he will be remodeling areas of the 1^st & 2^nd floor in the Barn (main guest building). This includes demolishing & revising several guest bedrooms& bathrooms. He has a 5 week time frame to complete this project since the goal is to have this completed before the Pastor Couples Retreat the 3^rd weekend in April. This area that he’s remodeling is where we stayed in the Barn for the first 5 weeks that we were here. I made a comment about the shower that if Dutch or I were taller, there is no way we would have been able to put up with it that long. And to demonstrate that, I had Matt Lapp, being 6 ft. & all, stand in the shower (fully clothed, thank you very much), and the shower head came to his mouth. He could have brushed his teeth in there, but beyond that…well…
  All jokes aside- this project will probably take every bit of 5 weeks to complete, so we ask that you pray for Dutch as he heads this up. Pray for things to go smoothly from start to finish. And as always, pray that we can be a blessing to every person that helps with this project., whether it’s a hired sub-contractor or someone that volunteers their time. Every encounter with people is an opportunity to be a blessing!!

Being Intentional

I love the two-fold purpose for our being here at The Haft. While we essentially came here for Dutch & I to “give” a year of service, specifically to the refreshing & rebuilding of this place structurally; we are also here to “be” refreshed & retooled ourselves. Sometimes leaving the comforts of home is the first step you need to take to get a fresh look at life, & God, & everyone & every thing going on around you. We’ve had the privilege, over the past few months, of meeting new people, & Dutch and I both agree that the world is BIG & we KNOW VERY LITTLE. So our horizons have been broadened. We have also become aware that things do not “just happen” & we should not live our lives believing that they do. We need a plan of action, a purpose, & we must be intentional in every area of our lives. Being intentional means that you can’t just sit around & wait for opportunities to serve, reach out & minister; but instead you need to seize those opportunities. Every person (garage repair man, waitress, cashier, neighbor), whoever it may be, IS AN OPPURTUNITY- don’t miss it!! And we didn’t have to come to The Haft to learn this, but sometimes we have to get off the “fast track” & refocus where we’re heading because we get busy with “Life” & we quickly forget the great commission & purpose of our being on this earth. Pastor Scot said in his message today that what we “focus” on is where we’re going to head. I agree completely!!

Deer at the Birdfeeder

 So we wanted to feed the deer- but eating bird food from our birdfeeder, 5 yds. from our bow window??? I'm beginning to think the deer here are tame. No seriously, Dutch being the outdoorsman that he is, was naturally inclined to put some corn out for these beautiful creatures of nature. And he & I are rather competitive, so we watched closely to see who would be the first to spy deer from our house. I looked out the windows often, hoping to be able to say "There's a deer", but no such luck. Of course he was the first to spy them, and the first few times we saw them they didn't stick around very long. We ate dinner with the lights dimmed several evenings, so as not to scare them. It didn't, however, take long for them to show appreciation for Dutch's efforts with the corn, and as of late they have been making regular visits to the shelled corn that he has on the ground for them. And their latest venture has been to come up to our birdfeeder about 5 yards from our bow window, & help themselves to our bird food. So much for "tip-toeing" around the deer, looks like we'll be feeding them from the palms of our hand shortly. Oh & I wonder if gardening is an option here, it may be the first time we view deer as a nuisance. I guess that's when our "beautiful creatures of nature" become prey, and we shoot them for "crop damage".

Pancakes & "Homemade" Syrup

  Okay so we're havin' pancakes for breakfast. ShaLyn & Madison inform me that they're workin' the kitchen this morning. So while they pull down the large bag of pancake batter (Costco specialty) & begin dumping & mixing, I searched the fridge for the syrup. Uh-oh, no syrup!! This is the mts., town is 10 minutes one way... either we're having cereal, pancakes w/o syrup or I need to "make" syrup. So I "make" syrup, actually I've done it before, it's quite simple & alot healthier than the store bought kind, it tastes awesome, & can be made in a snap. So problem solved, we have warm "homemade" syrup. Now back to the young chefs in the kitchen... they did quite well actually!! They measured, mixed, stirred, poured, & flipped them themselves, & I was told, "Mom, we got it". So I take a deep breath & remind myself, this is "homeschooling"- we're at home & they're learning. Can't argue w/ that!! Oh & did I mention, I did the clean-up.