In Memory of Daniel Beiler

I wrote this poem for Dutch to read to Daniel's family before the funeral yesterday~

It's a new day for Daniel

The breaking of a new dawn

The sun is brightly shining

The clouds are now all gone

He has seen the face of Jesus

His Savior and his King

He is walking on the streets of gold

He can hear the angels sing

His little legs now take big strides

Bet he's grown a foot or two

And since his life on earth is over

He's a step ahead of you

Though Danny's earthly stature

Wasn't far from the ground

Today instead of looking up at you

Danny's looking down

He sees each and every one of you

Celebrating his life here today

If Danny could have some time to share

I think that he would say:

Don't mourn for me, don't cry

Life is too short to be down and out

Focus on the finish line

And what this life is really about

We have eternity to be together

Heavens splendor,words could never tell

Run the race set before you

Be strong, and finish well

My life on earth was short

But yours won't be much longer

Remember joy comes after mourning

And weakness makes you stronger.

So don't mourn for me, don't cry

There is much work to do

Take time to live, to laugh, to love

Forgive those have mistreated you.

Make the most of every day

Walk through the open door

And when you cross the river

I'll be waiting on the shore. RFF/11



Three Generations of...

...duck hunters!! Like father, like son!! The smiles on their faces as they were heading out the door in the early morning, the excitement Madison had the night before & the satified look on the their faces as they docked the canoe after the hunt~ priceless. Three generations of hunters- what can I say?? There are times when I wish Dutch wouldn't like to hunt, & I wonder why he gets excited about spending time in the woods, BUT when I watched Madison get excited about going out with his dad and grandpa, I thought to myself "there really is something that comes to life in a boy when he is pursuing something". Men were made to pursue, to go after. Not every man hunts, but I think every man pursues something~ dreams, business, a wife, just to name a few. They are warriors, made to conquer. They are so very different from us women, but different is good. And I am realizing how this nature is in them from birth, because Madison spends a lot of time with his sisters, but he is naturally very different from them. I didn't raise him different, he's just geared that way. So I decided it's no use I try to change Dutch & Madison, I'm going to try to ENJOY it with them.

So I will listen to their stories, I will show interest, I might even get up close & touch the dead animal, BUT I will not cook all their wild game that they bag. I just can't seem to get that wild stuff to cook up nice and soft. Now venison I can handle, but goose, duck & turkey, cooking that stuff is for the birds. Pun intended!! So you can see I have my boundaries, my limits!!

But seriously, it was a pleasure to watch Madison hang out with his dad, grandpa & his dog. Three generations sharing a common thread, there's just something special about that! 



Embracing the Father's Love

  The facilities here at the Haft serve for different purposes. Sometimes the people that come here are here for a refresher, a break, a time of refocusing. Sometimes the individuals or couples that come need some counseling. Sometimes (like the pastor coming next week) they want to come to write & just want a quiet place to do that. But sometimes they come as a group, like last weekend, for a retreat. Now the group that came last weekend was special because it was five couples who are near & dear to our hearts. So it was so fun to be a part of the retreat that we entitled the "Embracing the Father's Love Retreat". We watched a video series by Jack Frost, teaching about his experience of the Father's Love, & though I had watched these before, I seemed to have gotten more out of them the 2nd time around. Two key phrases that he used, stuck w/ me. The first one was, "The Father loves us the way we ARE, not the way we SHOULD be". Wow!! The 2nd one was this, "Love is a gift, not a reward for service". And of course there were many other things that spoke to me throughout the weekend, but the thought of God loving me in my imperfection is amazing to me. I cannot "do" something to cause him to love me more, & I cannot "not do" something that would cause him to love me less!!! And then the 2nd thought that I mentioned that stood out to me, caused me to think of my children. Do I love them based on performance or do I love no matter what?? Do I withhold love when I'm displeased with them?? See, the way we view the Father's love to us is the way we will react to others. If I think that the Heavenly Father's love is performance based, then there's a good chance that I myself live with a performance based mindset toward other people!!!
  The series was alot to take in in a short amount of time, & I'm still processing it. But I have a deeper revelation of the Father's love for me & a deeper understanding of the importance of loving without conditions. And I was reminded that anything done without love, is nothing! I reminded myself often this week, "If I homeschool my kids, & have not love, I have NOTHING. If I serve, live, give or anything else & have not love, I have NOTHING." You can fit all types of service in that sentence (feed the poor, have a knowledge, raise children etc.)- if you do it without love you have NOTHING!!!
   So like I said in the beginning of this post- there are many different uses for the Haft, they are of course always focused around refreshing, rebuilding, & retooling. And this past weekend was a great time of refreshing & retooling. Learning more, identifying things in our lives, walking thru areas, identifying strong holds & wrong mindsets, so we can have a deeper relationship with the Father. And then taking what we learned & appling it, acting on it. And as we change ourselves & our families, then ultimately we can make a difference in our world.

What's Your Life Purpose

  Ever wonder why on earth you were created? Ever stop to think that maybe, just MAYBE there was a plan for your being here? What specific plan did God have in mind for you before the foundations of the world were made?? Well I can't tell YOU what God's special plan is for your life, but I can certainly search & find what I'm here for. This has been some of the things we've been talkin' about in our weekly coaching sessions. And let me clarify one thing- when I say what have we been called to, I'm not necessarily talkin' about Dutch being called to the ministry & preaching. I'm talking about a "life mission". What are we as a couple & indiviually designed to do to serve God's purpose here on earth. For instance, Dutch is a one-on-one kind of guy. He loves to encourage people. He loves to help people, & if that means getting up in the middle of the night to pick you up somewhere, he will most likely do it. These things come natural for Dutch & when he operates in these things, He feels the pleasure of God. He feels fulfilled. Now me, I'm not geared in that same area, but I'm willing to support him in his calling. Sometimes that means giving up an evening with the family to allow Dutch to meet with someone that wants to share with him. On more than one occassion it meant allowing him to go pick up family or friends at midnight because their vehicle broke down or because they needed a ride. If he can help & encourage people in practical ways, he is in his element. Like I said, this is not my strong area. And sometimes it's easy to just sit back & allow him to excel in his gift & not pursue what God's "life mission" is for me. BUT I think EACH person has a gift & we're all supposed to use it. I like to write, I'm also a promoter, if I believe in something I will be verbal & tell you about it (not sure that that is always such a gift :)). I don't mind public speaking (most of the time) & Dutch says I could sell ice to an Eskimo... well we won't go there- BUT I write all this to say, God had somethng special in mind for every one of us. We were not meant to just "live" our lives for ourselves, but for a greater purpose. You are geared the way you are for a reason, now some of who we've become has been affected by pain in our lives & those are things we need to deal with in order to reach our full potential. But I'm realizing the importance of seeing what you're good at, & what is that makes you feel like you're being useful and then "Live that out everyday". We think admitting that we're good at something or that we enjoy doing something is bragging but that isn't necessarily true. If you're gifted in a certain area- then be all you can be in that. Don't hide who you are & what you're called to be- "find out what you're called to, & live it"!!!

We're still here

  Yes, yes, I know it has been a while since I last blogged- I do try to update once a week, but this time it has been more like 2 or 3 weeks. We are still here, still serving, living, & enjoying it. It looks like we'll stay put for the next month since we made 2 trips to Lanc. in Aug. The first trip was our usual once a month visit, the 2nd was for the baptism service. One can only travel back & forth so often until you say "That's it, I'm staying put for a while". So for Sept.- no planned trip to Lanc.
  What have we been up to?? I have got the kids back in school- so that's my morning. From 8 or 8:30 to 12:30 I try to juggle- teaching Shay & Matt, doing laundry, checkin emails etc., & keeping my 1 yr. old and 3 yr. old happy. When I do get time for myself, there's household chores to do & Haft responsibilities- so really there is no "me" time. Oh well- I love my job & my family,  so it's a win win.
  Dutch has been busy skidding, cutting, & stacking logs. He has been doing some small repair jobs on the Shepherd's Cottage (one of the houses here), as well as helping Gregg with the grounds keeping (mostly weed-eating).
  Dutch & I have been meeting weekly w/ Bruce & Joan for "coaching sessions". Trying to find our "life purpose", what we were really created to do/be for God. We have to set goals & all that good stuff. It's been exciting & difficult. We are not the "planning" kind of people, so putting plans on paper & then acting on them is not easy for us. Ideas & talking are one thing, "doing" & carrying them out is another.
  On the fun side- we went to Willaimsport w/ my sister Sue & her family on the 22nd. It just happened that the Little League World Series was taking place that week, so we watched a couple games while we were there!! And this week is the Sullivan Co. fair- so I guess we'll go do what everyone else in Sullivan Co. is doing, we'll hang out at the fair one evening or maybe two.

We kNEED Jesus

  OK I think the Lord is speaking!! My last blog tells the details of how I ended up with a knee/leg injury that now causes me to hobble around. As of yesterday Dutch was also injured in his left knee & now he too hobbles. So the misspelled "kNEED" in the title was intentional. I told Dutch that the Lord is speaking to us, reminding us how much we NEED Him, He's also reminding us how important it is to pray & ask for protection every day. So while we're being convicted of the fact we need to be on our knees more, we are acutely aware of how painful that is since neither one of us can kneel too well!!
  Perhaps I should explain his injury- in short it goes something like this: He cut his knee with the chain saw while cutting some branches off of the tops of trees that he was cleaning up to be used for firewood. Praise the Lord it was not very deep, but it's located right on his knee cap which makes walking & bending it a bit of a problem. While Dutch puts rubbing alcohol & cleansing agents on his knee, I sit there bending mine doing "therapy". Our kids are a little "put off" by our injuries- Madison commented that he thought this year was a "faith journey", and I suppose to him that meant nothing like this would happen. I tried to explain that a "faith journey" does NOT mean that everything goes exactly as we plan, but that we choose to trust God through whatever we face. So once again we use life experiences to teach our children about God & what we believe about His Sovereignty!! And once we again we as adults learn the importance of putting our trust in someone other than ourselves. God is GOOD & we NEED Him!!!

Crazy Dog

  So far my week in Lancaster has NOT gone as planned, and it has to do with our our choc. Lab Snickers. I never dreamt she was capable of doing physical harm to me. Here's the story: on Mon. evening when Dutch was ready to put Snickers back in her dog shed, he whistled & she came running full speed toward him. Dutch & the dog have a playful thing between them where Dutch acts like he's going to get Snickers & she runs away from him. Well in one quick, playful second Snickers swerved away from Dutch & plowed right into me from the front & jams my knee back. I crumbled down in pain, feeling certain that if I would try to lift my leg it would flop, I thought for sure something "popped". I lay there for a bit catching my breath & then Dutch helped me to sit up. I sat there & looked at Dutch, then said "I'm gonna pass out". The next thing I remember is the cold water they splashed on my face to wake me from my stupor. They helped me get inside where it was nice & cool, & I laid down on the couch.
  I don't think there are any broken bones, BUT ever since Mon. nite- my knee area is very sore, I hobble around, my whole lower left leg is swollen... & doing the things I had planned to do here this week is no easy task. BUT praise the Lord it feels better everyday, I can put weight on the leg w/o pain & God is healing all the things that were stretched, pulled or maybe even torn. My chiropractor suggested that I have it checked out at the orthopedics, which I had scheduled an appt. with, but I cancelled the appt. for now, praying that God will heal it & I won't need to have it x-rayed & I won't need any type of surgery. Let's just say spending time or money in a Drs office is NOT what I like to do, (though I realize that is necessary at times). Dutch & I agreed to cancel the appt., so I feel good about the decision. And I'm asking everyone who reads this blog to PRAY for complete healing for my knee.