The Move

  On your mark, get set, start packing... Yes, that's what we're up to this week. We are packing up, & in a way we are closing this chapter of our lives. Not closing it completely because a part of our hearts will stay here, & we WILL be back to visit from time to time, but we are moving back to our "other" life. We usually joke about the two lives that we have lived between this past year. We'd go home to Lancaster to our friends & belongings there, & then we'd leave & come here to the "other" life. We totally loved & enjoyed this life, but we are preparing to adjust to our old life. The actual "move back" date is January 31st.
  Was our year sucessful in terms of all the projects we had planned to do?? Yes! Dutch feels good about all that he has accomplished on the remodeling end of things. He just completed a project in the barn last week, where he framed, dryed walled, & painted one more area in the barn kitchen. It was an area where alot of cold air came in through an unused door. He closed off that area completely, thus taking away the last of the "drafts" in the kitchen. He has a few "small" projects today & tomorrow, & then by Wed. or Thurs. we hope to get serious about packing our belongings!! Wish we could push a button & have that all finished!!
  How can you help?? First of all by praying that everything goes smoothly, & pray for safe travels! We have a trailer & some guys from Lanc. coming on Mon. to help load up. We could possibly use a hand or two on Tues. in Lanc. to unload- if you're interested, give us a call 570.363.2405. Also there are some ladies in Lanc. that are planning to go in our Lanc. house on the 25th & give it a good cleaning, if you're interested in helping with that, contact my mom at 717.394.6062.
    Folks are asking- What's going to happen at the Haft after you leave, will Bruce & Joan be alone?? Actually in the beginning of Feb. there are two families moving on-site. The one family has applied to be part of the on-site team, the other family is coming here for a 9 month sabbatical & to lay out a vision for the next chapter of their lives. Sooo that is truly an answer to prayer!! We are thankful that Bruce & Joan will not be here alone after we leave!!
  Again we want to thank everyone for your prayers & support throughout this year. We've had alot of visitors who made the trip up here to check out what we're doing! We loved having each of you! Even those of you (you know who you are!!) that came in the 11th hr. :))  What I mean by the 11th hr. is that they almost waited till it was too late!!
  As for my blog in the future- I don't know if I will continue to blog after we return to Lanc. I'm thinking that I probably won't continue w/ it, but have not made a final decision about it. I figure that in Lanc. everybody knows everything about everybody anyway, what's the point of writing about it ;) JK. Seriously tho- I will have to make a decision about that, but in the mean time, thanks to all of you that faithfully followed our lives over this past year, it was a pleasure to have you on the journey with us!!!

D*a*n*g*e*r*o*u*s* WOMEN

  I love when people come up here to the Haft & feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in this place. I love when I go on Facebook after friends have left here & I find a status from one of them that says something like- "was blessed at the Haft" or "had a an awesome weekend at the Haft", because to me that is what this place is all about. It's a place to experience the "Father's love", a place to feel God's presence by being in His awesome creation.
 This weekend was another one of those "God" weekends where He showed up & we were filled with His presence. The ladies retreat was wonderful!! Thanks to all who were praying!! One of the things that always amazes me when I facilitate an event like this- I expect to be giving & serving, & I think that the event isn't as much for me as it is for the people I want to be a blessing to, AND then God turns around & does a work in my own heart- & I end up blessed as much as the group I'm serving.
 Ruthie Lengeman's topic this weekend was about the "spirit of okayness" & she shared her personal testimony of how God delivered her from that. The "spirit of okayness" are lies that women believe that keep them from all that the Father has for them. She also talked about the "Jezebel spirit". And as opposite as these two seem, they both actually stem back to the same root. The information I received this weekend was not new to me, but the revelation I had was. As much as I'd like to think that I've addressed these issues in my life, the reality is that God is never finished with us. There are always areas that He wants to bring into the light if we're willing to go there. I shared with he ladies on Sunday morning how it was revealed to me that I don't like to be vulnerable. I have always told Dutch that I don't need people, & what I mean by that is I don't have a need to have close friends, I'm independent. Which may be true to some degree, but He suggests that I may be like that "to self protect" & "control" my circumstances. (By the way, I'm making myself VERY vulnerable by sharing this!!) And I realize that deep down inside it's possible that I have told myself that if I keep people at arms length, I won't ever get let down or hurt. And I do not write these things on my blog so that people comment & say "no your not like that", I write these things to challenge others to look as things in their own heart, & become transparent. When we are willing to look at these areas in our lives, we can find great freedom & go to new heights with the Father.
 Thank you ladies who made the trip up here for this retreat!! I was thrilled to have you, enjoyed hearing what God is doing in your lives, & I pray your "journey" will continue. You will all become dangerous women for God as you continue to identify & demolish the lies of the enemy, & come to the realization that your true identity is in Christ!!

Qualified for the Job??

  Ever been given a job that you do not feel qualified for? Or maybe you thought you were qualified for the job, but after you took the position you realized you had no idea what it entailed? Well I have found myself in that position. I am the mother of four children, & honestly I had no idea what all was involved with being a mom when I got promoted to the position. Don't get me wrong, I WANTED the position- & even after having several children I thought I had it figured out. My first two kids weren't that hard to train in any area, & so yes, I felt I had mastered this thing called "mothering". But these days I find myself shaking my head more often than not, & I say to myself, "What ever made me think I had the credentials I need to do this job & what made me think I had this figured out"? And to top it off, lately my oldest child reminds me of my inconsistencies with the younger ones ("Mom are you going to let her get away with that"?), & that makes me wonder if I have become lax as a parent, & am I just too easy on the younger two kids- OR are my younger two kids more energetic, & more outgoing, & more demanding then what my older ones were? Even if my younger ones are more high maintenance, should I not still be using the same training techniques that I used with the first two?? Let me paint a scenario for you- Shay & Matt are doing school, one of them as a question & right at this particular moment Gabby chooses to want to be held, I pick her up. MaKayla sees that she is not getting attention at this moment, she seizes her oppurtunity. Suddenly she has one of her many sweet cravings (she has eaten more sweets already in 3 yrs. then the two older ones put together!! ok, that's stretching it). So she whines for a piece of candy, (now remember I'm holding a fussing 1 yr. old, & trying to answer a math question) & MaKayla can be relentless, & persistant. I say "no" to MaKayla, she doesn't take that for an answer, now Gabby sees the candy & wants one too, & the poor child with the math question is rather disturbed by the disturbance. Guess who gets her way? MaKayla. And probably Gabby too. The child with the math question shakes her head!!
   OK, OK so this is just an illustration, but in reality I do have days where I know I'm not consistent, & I wonder about the outcome of my career. But then I remember that, whether qualified or not, being a mother is a HIGH calling. And I have a Father in Heaven that I can call on!! He is proud of us mama's, & He will help us if we just ask Him to. He gave me this job position, & I wouldn't trade it for any other. So since mothering was His idea, I know He has a plan to help me reach my full potential-- by relying on HIM!!!