Cow Tongue??

Yes, that nasty looking thing that David is holding is a cow's tongue. And yes, there is blindfolded volunteer who is about to hold it and try to guess what it is. This is what happens when Sarah goes to Florida and David is left alone for a couple days...he tries to come up with the most memorable illustration he can to bring home the point that teachers need to watch the words they use. I think they got the point. Nobody threw-up either.

Prayer Requets

• Easter Party Clubs in Orillia Public Schools: March 30, 31; April 6, 7
• Our Good News Club in Utterson is restarting
• Contacting Churches for Summer Ministry Opportunities- we need 13 more partnerships

Good News Club Rally

We have come to realize that while March Break provides a break for all the school kids and a great opportunity for ministry! We invited the four Good News Clubs that are in our area and kids from three were able to come. We knew 22 kids were coming by Sunday but on Monday 32 kids showed up!!! We had a blast snowtubing, making snowmen, learning about the Lord and seeing the kids click together with each other so quickly.

Florida with Mom and Dad

When mom and Dad found out that David wasn't able to take his Instructor of Teachers Level 1 course in Ottawa or Winnipeg...but in Warrenton, Missouri, they offered for me to join them for a few days of their vacation in Florida! Although it was very sad to go without David as he was stuck in class, it was great to spend 2 1/2 days with mom and dad.

They decided to go on the "Backstage Disney" tour and I got to go too!

We also got to go to the beach!

Mom and I climbed all 203 steps to the top of the 175 ft lighthouse. It was beautiful but I realized again how much I don't like heights. Yikes it was windy on top!

We even got to eat Key Lime pie...YUM!!

God throughout the Bible

I've been doing a Bible study called "Discerning the Voice of God" by Priscilla Shirer for the last few months... Ok, so it's only supposed to be a 6 week study but I've somehow stretched it out since September because the first time I didn't have the DVD teaching portion. It was actually really amazing to go back through it, the same things I'd read just a few months before and see God at work and how much more work He has to do in my life. There's an incredible quote that she shares in the teaching portion that I finally found today and thought I'd share with you, a reminder of how amazing our God!

In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our high priest
In Numbers, the fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Israel's Guide
Joshua, He's salvation's choice
Judges, He's Israel's Guard
In Ruth, the kinsmen's redeemer
1st and 2nd Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles He is Sovereign
In Ezra, He's the true and faithful scribe
In Nehemiah, the re-builder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms He is our morning song
In Proverbs, He is our wisdom
Ecclesiastes, He's the time and season
In Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream
In Isaiah He is Prince of Peace
In Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, the call from sin
Daniel, the stranger in the fire
Hosea, the forever faithful
Joel, the spirit's power
Amos, the strong-arms that carry
Obadiah, the Lord our Savior
Jonah, the great missionary
Micah, the promise of peace
Nahum, our strength and shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's brings revival
In Haggai He restores that which was lost
In Zachariah, He's our fountain
And in Malachi, He's the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings
AND THAT'S JUST THE OLD TESTAMENT

In Matthew Mark Luke and John, He is God and Messiah
In the spirit filled book of Acts, He is the reigning fire from Heaven
In Romans, He is the grace of God
Corinthians, the power of love
Galatians, freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servant's heart
Colossians, He's God and the trinity
Thessalonians, our calling King
In Timothy, Titus and Philemon, He's our mediator and our faithful pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting courage
In James, the one who heals the sick
In 1st and 2nd Peter, our faithful shepherd
In John and Jude, He's the lover coming for His bride

AND in the Revelation, in the very end, when it's all over, said and done, when time is NO MORE. He is and will always be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, son of Man, Lamb of God, The Great I am, Alpha and Omega, God and Savior He is Jesus Christ the Lord HE IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED!

New Property

One small part of our land (what will probably end up as our driveway).

The triangle shows the shape of our 9.43 acres.

The first tree that was uprooted from the land with David's brute force.

The lumberjack that has been hiding for the last 2 years has come out! After deciding that his teeth wouldn't quite cut it, he resigned himself back to his favourite tool- his chainsaw.

Yes, this is me with a tree over my head and Yes mom and dad, I really am still your daughter.

The Countdown

After a year of looking at houses and finding nothing, it seemed that the Lord was leading us build a house instead. Build?! I protested! That's too much time, too much energy, too much trust, too many decisions for my undecisive brain...yet after months of working in my heart I'm realizing this is the very stretching that the Lord knows I need to trust Him more.

Yesterday we went and signed the papers for the land and gave them the big check...gulp! Tomorrow the deal will be finalized and it will be officially "ours"! I use quotations because I'm realizing more and more how it is only entrusted to us, but really belongs to the Lord! When we met with the lawyer yesterday, she showed us a map with the property and how in her title search and research she discovered that the city never intended for that piece to be sold seperately from the rest. However, because a road goes through, a clause was made in 1990 that accidently allowed it to be seperated and sold. We feel that even when we were 2 and 4 years old, the Lord was preparing a special place for us!

Tomorrow after we get the official word, we plan to make snow angels on the land to celebrate!

True Love

The past few weeks have been a bit of a struggle for me in a lot of different ways. However one message has been repeated from several different places and people that has opened my eyes and heart in a new way.
In summary...
"It is very easy to mistake our love for ministry with our love for God."

This is a deeply troubling thought, but a very true and necessary one. It's so easy to get caught up in "ministry" things and feel that by increasing those things, I am closer to the Lord. Yet, this is not necessarily true. The last few weeks have brought a whole new passion to know the Lord deeper when I changed my focus. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"  (1John 3:1a)


How amazing that our Father would want to lavishly display His love to us, in the greatest way in the cleansing sacrifice of Jesus, but yet it doesn't stop there! When I forget to look for those demonstrations of His love, I don't see them, yet His love remains...may you and I seek to only be satisfied in the lavish love of our great Saviour!

Canadian Transitions

Before ever coming to visit David in Ontario I heard about this "great Canadian restaurant" called Swiss Chalet. I imagined a cute Chalet looking building that served things with Swiss cheese. Eventually after arriving in Ontario my mental picture was corrected with reality. Not only did it not look like a chalet, I was informed that their specialty was chicken! The first few times we went to Swiss Chalet and I had their chicken with their "famous sauce" I did NOT like it! It was not the taste I was expecting!

So now, after a half dozen Swiss Chalet experiences and trying dipping sauce that you can buy and make at home...I realized this week that I really like Swiss Chalet sauce! I feel like I can now claim to be part Canadian.

Do the dishes or else...

Ok...so I didn't actually tie David up until he did the dishes, it just happened to be where he was practicing a rope trick that might possibly be used in the summer curriculum. He had to explain how to do it (on paper) for the students and had me take pictures of each step...but it sure does make me look like mean wife, eh? (Thankfully David is great at washing dishes, even when not threatened. =])