Abide in Me

Abide. That's the word I've sensed the Lord laying on my heart for me personally for this coming year. In the past two years it's been Hope (hence Lillian's middle name). There are some things I need to relearn over and over again...abiding is one of them! The past few weeks have been a huge refreshing time of sitting quietly with Jesus and in His Word for long periods of time. Lot's of thinking, lot's of praying, lot's of processing, some tears, mixed with laughter (as Lillian always tries to sit on my lap while I'm journaling!).

It's harder to abide "on the go" though I believe the Lord wants us to learn to abide no matter what the circumstances. So I'm thinking through what the next few months need to look like.  Some things I've

considered as important may need to go. I don't like that. But good things will always need to make room for what is best. I also often find that what is urgent needs to make room for what is most important.  Those are always tough decisions!

This coming week life as usual resumes, with school for the kids, Classical Conversations, staff meetings in preparation for the students returning the following week (along with All Community Worship and Family Group Breakfast), working for Jordan Ministries, construction on our kitchen, Celebrate Recovery (Reid and the CR team are launching the county-wide outreach this month so we're excited to see how the Lord is going to use this!) and leading worship for our Saturday service. Thank you for your prayers for our family in the midst of it! 

Ian returns tomorrow and we are very, very excited to see him!! For those of you on his prayer letter list, we'll send out one more update in the next few weeks with his thoughts and impressions from his trip.  Thank you for your prayers for him as well family he got to spend time with and travel with! We look forward to seeing how the Lord uses this trip in his heart and life in the years to come. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you and your loved ones as you begin 2015 - may it be a year in which you abide more closely with your Savior! 

Impressions Here and Impressions There - The Dales in December

Impressions, Memories and Experiences of December so far:

- Christmas Tree, candles and the Vienna Boys Choir Holiday Pandora Channel

- Tea, tea, and more tea....and Zopfbrot...or  chai, chai and more chai ... and tea cookies for Ian! :)

- Pitter patter of little feet and an 18 month old learning to climb all over our couch and up and down the stairs, who loves to kiss and hug those she loves and could spend all day reading books in your lap! And her precious older sisters who happily read the same books to her over, and over, and over and over...so that Mommy can get other things done.

- A temporary hiatus on renovations until after Christmas which means we are really enjoying our living area right now! (After Christmas the kitchen gets torn out - we hope it can be finished before the baby comes in April!)

- Early morning hours in the quiet, working on booking and preparing concerts for Dawn during her busy Christmas Concert Season.

- Cold mornings driving Julie-Joy to school while Reid is in New York

- Oh yes, Reid is in New York! :) The Timberline students left on their annual urban missions trip
yesterday and have already had a full day of travel and subway evangelism and a trip to Staten Island on the ferry.

- evening Skype conversations with Ian, Omi, Opa as well as Melanie, Eljiah, and Jesse (Ryan is usually at work I believe and Thomas is at school).

- the wonderful hum-drum and routine of school work, house work and laundry

- running to and fro for school pick ups and meetings and Christmas parties and last minute "I forgot I need such-and-such for school tomorrow" errands!

- learning and deciding what to-and-fro runnings to say "no" to - good boundaries provide the gift of rest and quiet, so that we CAN say yes to other things!

- restless/sleepless nights filled with sick little ones that just want to be rocked and held in the dark, they also give lot's of time for prayer for family and friends; early morning hours on the couch watching the sun rise over the continental divide, (unless a big blanket of fog has settled in, which always means it will be a beautiful day after it has burned off!).

- Bibleschool students excited to go home for Christmas, some worried about going home for Christmas ... and our hearts and prayers that go with them

- Fridays filled with trips to the Denver Rescue Mission and Celebrate Recovery, Saturdays filled with worship music preparation, PBS cooking shows while the house gets cleaned, church in the evenings, sweet time with His Body at WPCC, Reid still leading AWANAS and the kids diligently helping him with Cubbies and Sparks.

- quiet times on the couch in the books of Joshua and Judges, my grandmother's old copy of FB Meyer's Our Daily Homily (that is literally falling apart), and Ann Voskamp's advent devotional
(which still smells new!). The reminder that it is not selfish to come to Him for healing - for when He heals, He always gives Himself. And He is Who we want anyway!

Those are some impressions that fill our hearts and minds this December. We're thankful for the
times the Lord gives to slow down, thankful for the friendships in the middle of it all. And always, always, always for the gift of His Grace,.... when we fail, when we judge others more harshly than we judge ourselves, when we're fearful, when we think we've succeeded and are prideful, when we're tired, when we make mistakes, and when all goes well....wave upon wave of grace...no matter what!

Sights and Sounds from a Different sort of Thanksgiving

In all about 70+ people came to the Thanksgiving Feast at the Community Center yesterday ... many
of them helped with set up, cooking, serving, greeting, and clean up. Here are a few sights and sounds we took in yesterday:

 - a single mom sitting at a table with her kids, discouraged, a slump in her shoulders ... and one of our church members with her, and arm around her, encouraging her not to give up. I didn't hear in any way what was said but I saw Jesus loving that dear Mom.

- families and couples that came because they (like us!) don't have extended family in the area and didn't want to spend Thanksgiving just by themselves but wanted to spend time with others, open to whatever the Lord wanted to do that day

- a person new to the area, just moved up the day before, still staying in a hotel. He saw the flyer and didn't want to spend Thanksgiving alone, so he came - and he made some friends.

- a person who shared with me that they had spent the last Thanksgiving (and countless Thanksgivings before) on their couch yelling at their family for doing drugs, while high themselves. This person has been sober for over a month now and just destroyed their marijuana pipe. They came because they wanted to get rid of the bad stuff in life and wanted to replace the bad with good things. "I have never volunteered for a single thing in my life! But I wanted to volunteer today. I felt it was the right thing to do."

- a gentleman who shared that he was a recovering addict and didn't want to be alone on Thanksgiving because loneliness is his biggest trigger.

There were many more stories I am unaware of. Those are just the ones I was privileged to observe or enter into.  Afterwards our family loaded up the leftover food and embarked on the 2 hour trek to Denver. Reid didn't want a single food item to go to waste, so we dropped it off downtown at the Denver Rescue Mission. It was dusk and as we drove down Lawrence Street, I heard the girls in the back of the truck saying; "I'm feeling afraid....please lock the doors, I don't like it here...it's dark and there is graffiti everywhere." Men were lining up on all sides of the street - some to get into the rescue mission for the night, others (I can only assume) hoping for something to eat and getting ready to sleep....who knows where. At least it was a fairly warm evening for this time of year.

After that we headed to the mall to stretch our feet before the two hour drive back. People lined up everywhere for the 6:00pm Black Friday sales openings (I didn't realize they were starting on Thanksgiving already... apparently we live pretty isolated up in the mountains! :). We people-watched...and wondered.  The irony. The eyes of the men lined up at the rescue mission looked no less forlorn and empty than the eyes of the ladies lined up outside Coach or the people outside H&M etc..... and I wonder how happy they are this morning with the bargains they found and how long it will last. Happiness really isn't found in stuff and great sales, is it - no more than in drugs and alcohol and paid sex. Happiness is found with Jesus and the life He has prepared for us to live - His Life in us. And He wants to offer His life and love to each and every person we saw yesterday...

Timberline had 120 people for Thanksgiving this year! I think it was helpful that the Lord gave our family other plans this time around! Mrs. Thomas (Major's wife) as well has Chris Thomas (our international director) and his wife Bonnie, are sharing during evening fireside chats about the history of Torchbearers and what the Lord is currently doing all over the world. It's a busy season for everyone. Please pray for our students as they prepare to go to New York for their urban missions trip. It is always a stretching time for them.

Ian is doing well on his trip. We Skype with him regularly. He leaves tomorrow for northern India (the Torchbearer Center up there) and we're not sure what the internet situation will be like. He'll have a week there before heading to my brother's and his family's place for the rest of December.

We're thankful for all he is seeing, experiencing and taking part in. If you didn't receive his update and would like for me to forward it to you, let me know.

For now a blessed Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Off He goes!

With a smile and a wave he was off through security with his Dad who took him to the gate and sent him on his way. We miss him already but are excited for him all at the same time. It will be the first time our family will not be together for the holidays as he will return to CO January 1st!  Tomorrow Ian, my Dad and Mom, get on an airplane from Columbia to Atlanta and then a 15 hour flight to Dubai where they'll have a bit of a layover before they travel on to India. We're looking forward to updates and will pass them on as they come in.

Reid and I discussed Ian being gone for so long at a young age....and we both agreed, that we would be fearful to have it any other way and would always regret holding him back. The Lord made it clear to us both that He had provided for him to go on this trip (there was no way this was humanly possible). I have had a few well meaning parents voice their concerns to us about the wisdom of allowing Ian to go on the trip. I've tried to explain that the Lord made it clear to us that our children were not ours to hold on to, but gifts He was entrusting to us for a time....and when He calls (like He called Hannah to surrender Samuel), then we would be more than foolish to stand in His way.  But I usually get blank stares, looks of pity. I can't say that I've easily gotten to a point of surrender (nor have I arrived there!), but I have learned (from personal experience!) that not trusting the Lord when He calls to full surrender causes a tremendous amount of heartache and pain ... and it's just not worth it.

In the mean time we certainly won't be sitting around the house! :) Reid is in full swing getting the community Thanksgiving Dinner advertised and organized, and then he heads to New York for a week to take our students on the urban mission trip. It's a highlight of his year! They volunteer with several ministries to the homeless and learn a lot about ministry opportunities in urban centers! It's always a great experience for the students.

Here at the house we hope to have the living room renovated and in a week or two and may take a break and start back up on the kitchen in the New Year to enjoy the holiday season.  We'll have to see. And in less than two weeks we find out if the ratio in our family will be 4:3 or 5:2! :) And of course everything else continues as well with life at Timberline, Celebrate Recovery, Classical Conversations and you name it! :)

Well I have a pot of potato soup on the stove for this cold and snowy CO day...it's been snowing all day long and is just beautiful outside. Driving in it is not so much fun however! I hope all of you are having a great week!

Spinning Plates

I have often visualized myself in life as the plate spinner. And there are weeks when it really gets to me....I vigorously spin the "homeschool plate" and the "housekeeping plate" is on the other side wobbling precariously, so I run to spin it and the "caring for (insert name of kiddo)" wobbles ... and so on...you get the picture. And you understand I'm sure. It's nerve wracking. Add to it that you feel (whether accurate or not) the expectations of others around you who only seem to see the plates that are wobbling, not the ones you've just spun, and it can become a situation riddling with people-pleasing fear and paralyzing anxiety.

So the other day this conversation ensued:
Me: "Jesus, I'm exhausted and weary! Please be my plate spinner - I am worn out!"

Him: "What if I have no intentions of spinning your plates? What if I have something completely different in mind? What if I want to take your plates down completely, set them on a great big banquet table and serve a filling, nourishing banquet to those around you - using each one of your plates?"

Me: "How is that even possible - I have absolutely no food to give, nothing to provide!"

Him: "I'm the Bread of Life. I am the Living Water. I am abundant life."

Enough said! :) I'm still not quite sure what all of that is supposed to look like, and I'm still not quite sure how NOT to spin my plates, how to rest and let Him take them down without breaking them, how to let Him prepare the banquet....but I can tell you, the idea of not being a plate spinner anymore sure fills me with a tremendous amount of hope!

The Ministry Plate

With the students being back from Moab, our regular schedule is under way.  That means all day Monday and Wednesday afternoons are spent at Timberline (I bring a huge basket of homework with me for Jenna) for Family Group Breakfast, All-Community Worship, and Covenant Group. The students have already heard some great teachers (both from Timberline as well as guest speakers). Our prayer is that God's Word would take deep root in their hearts!

The Home Plate
- Tuesdays are our weekdays at home and Thursdays for us are filled with Classical Conversations, both the morning program (Memory Work, science and art/music projects etc.), and the afternoon Grammar and Writing program that I'm tutoring. Jenna loves CC - it's the highlight of her homeschool day. (on the picture above - the kids' favorite thing to do after school is to play together out in the yard, and they include their baby sister for which Mom is very thankful as that enables me to cook dinner in peace and quiet- and we're also glad that the snow has held off so far!)

- we now officially have a toddler....she's been able to walk for quite some time but didn't care to do

so for a long time! :) (here are the girls studying their geography together! :)

- Thursday evenings are Celebrate Recovery nights right now and the training is well under way - there are already 20 people attending this leadership training and the hope is to open CR to the community in January.

- Reid has also felt impressed by the Lord to provide a Thanksgiving meal to needy families in the community and is in the midst of putting that together. The local community center is offering it's facility for free and he's working with some local food banks and rescue missions to see if the food can be provided also.

- Renovation on the living-room is well under way and the anticipation of what everything will look like when it's finished is worth living in a construction zone in the mean time.

- We praise the Lord that Ian's 2nd visa came in.  He is still in need of raising some support and we trust the Lord will confirm and provide the rest. His departure date is scheduled for November 11th and he's been working diligently to get ahead in his school work. You may have heard that a hurricane hit the orphanage - so their visit could look very differently from what they originally anticipated.

Well that's the news here! We'd love to hear from you and how the Lord has taught you to put your spinning plates down!

Hearts set on pilgrimage...or marathons! :)

It was a challenging day yesterday, but was winding down with an emotional teen and a tired and hungry 15 month old who has 4 molars coming in all at once. When Reid walked in the door I handed him the spatula and asked him to finish the beans and rice so I could just walk outside for a few minutes. He smiled understandingly! I was disappointed when I realized the sun had already set - sunsets these days have been breathtaking - but as I came around the corner I saw a huge, full, white moon rising over the continental divide, leaving a long glimmering reflection in the lake in front of me....and I took my first deep breath for the day I think! :)

I stood there a little bit, soaked in the view, talked with Jesus for a while about it all and headed back to the house. I thought wistfully how I wished I could live in peace and quiet like that all the time....and the Lord reminded me that was not His desire for me! :) The walk with Him was a drink of cold water in the midst of a marathon.  It doesn't enable me to run as though the marathon were a mere walk in the park, but it does enable me to keep running the marathon with Him. (Psalm 84:5 says it this way: - Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage).

Today's challenge from His Word came to me from Deut 13:3 - "for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." It's not one of those verses you want to post on Facebook to "encourage" everyone! :) Funny how we avoid those verses/passages....But the words that FB Meyer wrote in commentary encouraged me nonetheless - I'll post them at the bottom of this blog post.

At Timberline: All is quiet this week as the students and many of the staff have left for the annual trip

to Moab, UT.  It's kind of the trip that defines Bibleschool, in the sense that afterwards, we as a staff tend to have a good idea of what the year ahead will look like, which students are struggling perhaps more than others etc.

Please pray for the staff - many have yet to recover from the busy summer schedule and have jumped head long into Bibleschool in need of rest and encouragement from Jesus! Next week we will jump head-long into our regular weekly schedule of all-community worship, family group breakfast etc. (here are some pictures from our staff retreat this summer - our "normal" pose and our "crazy" pose. I always smile when I see our staff pictures - they are such dear and precious friends!)

At Home: Renovations on our living room and kitchen start tomorrow or Friday. Please pray that our landlord will still like our family when he is done! :) He has been very patient with some of the requests for changes we've asked for, in spite of His well thought-out plans etc.

We're still asking the Lord to provide about $1000 for Ian's upcoming trip in November.  We've already talked with the teachers and feel like we have some good plans in place to help him make the most out of his trip while also completing his schoolwork while he is traveling. My parents also still need to raise support for this trip.

Celebrate Recovery is well under way with the 4th meeting at Granby Assemblies of God Church and we're so thankful for the many people who have joined the leadership team and are going through the 12-Step process in preparation for launching the ministry in January. Reid is enjoying it tremendously (and also loving his weekly trips to the Denver Rescue Mission with the students from Timberline!). We've asked the Lord to use it in the way that most glorifies and honors Him and hope that it will be an encouragement and powerful outreach tool to many who are hurting and struggling in our community - those who know Jesus well and those who still need to know Him.

That's the latest here!

Here are a few thoughts from FB Meyer on Deut 13:3

How much of this happens to us for this reason! (Testing). God proves us - not that He may learn aught of us which He did not know before, but that He may reveal us to ourselves. We need to know ourselves, that we may be prompted to know and use His infinite resources and that we may be led to avail ourselves of His grace.

Let's avail ourselves of His boundless grace!!!

Love to all!
J

The right size?

Four kids.  That was always the perfect sized family to me.  After all that was how I grew up. A good even number. Four is what I had always hoped for. We were happy and content with three children and, after some loss, we were VERY surprised when Lillian made her appearance in 2013. 

And four was enough - any bigger than that was too big for our family....so I thought.  But in the back of my mind was always that nagging question "Will Lillian struggle being so much younger than her siblings? Will it be hard for her that Reid and I are older parents, not having any siblings her age to share that struggle?"  Still the thought of having more was daunting....and then the Lord surprised us by answering that question Himself.  So here we are....just got home from an ultrasound and heard the heartbeat loud and clear. April 13th is the due date (on a side note, that's a big snow month for us normally and we're a good 2 hours away from the hospital now that we've moved out to Grand Lake).

It seems that for our family, God thinks five kids is the perfect size. And we're ok with that! :)

Ian's Trip

In today's blog I'm going to post Ian's recent letter about his vision trip to India. If you have any questions, leave a comment below or send us an email or Facebook message and we'll get back with you.  Thanks so much for taking some time to learn about this opportunity that Ian has. We're excited for him and trust the Lord will provide if this is what He has for Ian!

 

Dear Family and Friends,

    This is Ian and I wanted to let you know that I have a big opportunity to go on a vision trip to India. Why is that so important? Here is an explanation of what I  am going to do there:

Well, for one thing, my parents brought our whole family into a missions ministry just about four years ago when we came out here to Colorado and joined the staff of Timberline. Timberline is a Bible school and outreach center that belongs to a network called Torchbearers International. And Torchbearers also has a center in the north of India that is also about evangelizing, discipling, and teaching people (of all ages), including, in this case, new converts from Hinduism -www.htbindia.org (for those of you at Winter Park Christian Church, the director of this center, Satish John, will be speaking at all three services next weekend! You won't want to miss it!).

My grandparents also worked with Torchbearers in Germany in the past, but the past several years, my grandfather has been the U.S. Director for another mission agency. ReachAcross, as it’s called, aims to bring the Gospel to unreached Muslims, and so last year my grandparents visited a mission* group in South India (Mercy Mission) in order to get to know some Muslim-background believers in Christ. Now they’ve been asked to go back and teach the Bible in both the North (Torchbearers) and the South (Mercy Mission). And there are other kinds of things that Indian believers are doing in both of these places. (www.mercymissionvzm.in/welcome.htm). Here is a video about Mercy Missions - even the first 4 min give you a good idea of the work they are doing.

I have the opportunity to travel with my grandparents and see what missions looks like in both of these places. There is an orphanage with kids my age at Mercy Mission where I can help, too. I might be able to speak in some of their English classes.  In fact my grandparents tell me that one never knows what they will end up asking me to do!  Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be challenging and stretching!   My grandparents tell me that most missionaries were challenged about their commitment to serve Jesus long before they finished high school, so I want to give God a chance to speak to me about that, too!   

I need to raise around $4,500 to cover plane tickets, train tickets, accommodations etc.  (update on 10/29/2014 - Ian still has about $350 left to raise at this time before he leaves on November 11th. Additionally, a typhoon hit the area where the orphanage is and has caused tremendous devastation. Any additional support given to help with relief work at Mercy Missions would be a tremendous blessing to this wonderful ministry!). If you feel led to support this trip, you can send gifts to Reach Across, PO Box 2047 Lexington S.C 29071-2047. You can include a separate note that the gift is for this upcoming trip.

I also am in great need of prayer support.  I need at least 20 regular prayer people who will pray for me and my parents as I will be gone for a while and they will be sad. Please pray that God will provide the funds and the visas and make it clear if He wants me to go on this trip . Please pray that I would have a safe trip and that I would learn a lot.  

Sincerly,

Ian

Relentless

Life at Timberline

Life here is in full swing. It's funny to write life at Timberline - because as I type this I'm 35 min away. But there are two loaves of banana cocoa bread baking in the oven in anticipation of Steph, Olivia, JP, and Dene arriving shortly for our first official covenant time together.  What a blessing that Steph offered to drive out here today (she didn't even know how much that would be an encouragement to me!).

On Monday the students had their mountain biking OESF (outdoor education and spiritual formation), and then got woken up at 2:00am for the surprise hike up Mt. Ida in the Rocky Mountain National Park.....one day I'd like to go with them.  But so far it hasn't been the season to do so.

We're looking forward to getting to know this group of students!

On a personal note:

Today's word ... Relentless. Today God has been relentless - yes, in His love....but also in His discipline and admonishment.  I'll be honest....it's not so much fun! :)

When is the last time you and I truly received, with gratitude, the discipline the Lord gives? The funny thing is...when we receive it - it gives life. His admonishment to me came today from Deuteronomy 3 - "Do not speak to me of this matter again, " and  2. Cor 12:9 --My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness..... "

and FB Meyer's devotional from Our Daily Homily on Deut 3:

"But have you not realized at times that God has said about some earthly boon you were craving?-'' Child, do not ask Me more, leave it with Me. I know what you want, and what is best for you. Seek first My kingdom, and all these things, literally or in their equivalent, shall be added." It is well when we have been praying eagerly, to allow God's winnowing-fan to pass over our petitions, to winnow away all that is not in His mind to give; so that only those desires may remain which His Spirit has indicted, and which He is therefore pledged to bestow. If He does not give the exact thing you ask, He will give the Pisgah view and more grace. He will say to you, as to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

Start of the Bibleschool Year

There are a bunch of excited and nervous students running around Fraser and Timberline as I type this. The kids and I will be heading over to TL after school and then the parents will be asked to be off campus as we have our first supper together with family introductions etc. and then first student/staff gathering this evening.  This week and next week is filled with activities as the students learn to adjust to Timberline, it's schedule and it's culture.  And of course, as a group, they will form their own culture as well.

As a staff we met yesterday and prayed for the school year, for all the activities and trips and outreaches, for staff and student relationships and most of all - that every student that comes would grow in their personal relationship with Jesus!

At Home:
We're adjusting to a new normal and with that come stressors that we have to work through. We're thankful to finally only be in one place - but it is still filled with boxes that we have not had time to unpack.  There are two items in particular that we are missing (one of our kids school binders and a bank card that came in the mail) that I've had to battle over not worrying about! In the mean time there are also a bunch of additional errands to run and trying to fit in Jenna's homeschool day in the midst of it all while coordinating Lillian's nap time with meetings and errands and school pick up times has sent me over the edge more often than I'd care to admit.  But I hope that we can figure out this new routine before too long and am thankful for the quiet hours that the Lord provides. (As I type this Jenna is quietly playing a little game with Lillian - so precious watching the two of them laugh and enjoy each other!). Since the older two are in school I don't have any fresh pictures of them as these were taken yesterday during our homeschool hours.

Alrighty - off to the next thing! :)

Conversations with Jesus

The conversation went something like this....

Me (to myself, worrying at night in the dark): "I really don't know how best to spend my time these next few days....do I drive to TL and clean the house, do I stay here and focus on unpacking, homeschooling, preparing CC etc. etc." and worry, worry, worry...more and more anxious thoughts crashing over me.

In the middle of all this, clear words enter my mind: "Why don't you ask Me what you should do tomorrow? And the next day. And the day after that. Don't you think I know best what I want to accomplish through you?"

And all of a sudden everything shifts into perspective and all the anxiety and all my worries completely dissipate. "Lord, what do you want me to do tomorrow?"

And with a few simple sentences back and forth, He clarified what the next few days needed to look like, ..... and that was it.

He is real, He is in communication with us, He knows our concerns, worries and anxieties - and He also has the answers. Why not just take it to Him in prayer?

Timberline:
These last few days have been crazy - we're so thankful for the many friends who stepped in and have helped pack and move heavy furniture or cooked a meal or prepared lunch! What a blessing you all have been! We CANNOT say Thank-You enough! 

One of the reasons we wanted to get moved this past weekend (finishing up this week with cleaning etc.) is because Bibleschool starts next Wednesday! And those first few weeks are crazy! Pray for the students as they prepare to leave their homes and all that's familiar - and also for parents as many of them say good-bye for the first time to their young adults. We're looking forward to building the relationships the Lord gives this year and we want to ask Him "Lord what do you want this day to look like? What do you want to accomplish today through me? That's what I want to be busy about today!"

Moving Day Approaches

In two weeks the halls of Timberline will once again be filled with the voices and laughter of students from all over the country, some even as far as England, Germany, Austria and Japan. And everything at Timberline is in high-gear for last minute preparations and everything that it takes to get ready for the new school year. We're excited about this year's yearunteers (volunteers for a year) as well as new staff members joining us. Will you join us in prayer for this coming school year!

Our family is in the process of moving and we would covet your prayers for this weekend as well.  We're all battling a cold that has been hanging on since staff retreat and are feeling weary and worn out. Just as the Lord usually acts, He came at the midnight hour, so-to-say, when some dear friends of ours from church made a home they are currently renovating available to us. It overlooks Lake Granby and has breathtaking views, especially at night, of the town of Grand Lake.

The down side is that it is 30-35 minutes from Timberline and that it will be in the renovation process
for quite some time. But when it is finished it will be a beautiful home - four bedrooms with a big kitchen/living/dining room all in one. We're so thankful for our friends, Dan and Renita McGrail, who have been a blessing to us countless times already. Our plan is that we would be at Timberline on Mondays and Wednesdays after I pick the kids up from school and through supper. So we may end up spending more time at Timberline than we did this past year. As you remember our family we would love your prayers, especially for the moving process, and also for stamina and to handle the school year and the traveling back and forth to Timberline well.  

So you see - moving day is fast approaching for a lot of people - for us, for the students, and many staff members have already moved and relocated to their new homes for this season as well. We trust that the Lord will bring forth His fruit out of all the changes He has orchestrated.

(Over the next few posts, I'll include some more pictures that our friends Michael and Meriah Mozingo took - Mozingo Photography - what a treat to catch up with them while they were here!! And so amazing to watch all that the Lord has done in their lives since we first new Meriah 15-20 years ago now!).

There's No Place Like Home

Ever notice how we seem to have to learn the same lessons over and over and over again? I have friends who have been through multiple job losses, others who have lost several loved ones, and still others who deal with several difficult close relationships.  The Lord repeats certain lessons in our life as well - one of them is the uncertainty of our home life. This seems to be a Timberline theme as staff housing has been an issue since it's conception back in 1995.

So here we are again! :) We have to move out fairly quickly, and to put it frankly, affordable housing in Grand County is very difficult to find. Would you join us in this urgent prayer? We're looking for a home for the family that would provide space to host our Family Group of students, covenant group, staff etc, out of town guests, is close enough to Timberline to allow us to be able to continue to serve the students and staff, and would also provide some stability if possible. The kids are entering their teenage years now and have not experienced much stability when it comes to our living accommodations. My Mom's heart longs for a place where we can stay a while, space for the kids to explore/run/be outside, room for a little self-expression (pictures etc.) in their little spaces etc.). But I also know that sometimes the Lord calls us to live more transient lives here on earth and not dig down our roots too deeply. So really, we just want what He wants for us.

Please also pray for our current landlords, the Mohrmann family (the picture above was taking from our drive way by our friends and Asheville, NC - based professional photographers - Meriah and Michael Mozingo!). The Mohrmann's really need to sell this house. We're all seeking the Lord together on direction and housing etc.

Celebrate Recovery

A brief note about Celebrate Recovery - we attended the Summit in California last week and left with information overload - as is often the case at these meetings. A few thoughts that have stuck with me....there are two kinds of people, those in recovery and those in denial.....therefore we should be mindful of thinking of people with addictions as "Those" people. I was struck by the attendees and the variety of walks of life and backgrounds. The Lord uses all kinds of people in His kingdom, rich, poor, those who seem to have it "together" (whatever that means) and those who absolutely don't! I was struck by the honesty that those in the recovery process live with. No hiding the ugly, no pretending, just "this is who I am apart from Jesus - and this is how Jesus has saved me." What freedom!

Anniversary

Reid and I celebrated our 16th anniversary while in CA. We spontaneously booked an Ueber car to Laguna Beach and enjoyed seeing the Pacific Ocean for a change! What an unexpected treat!

Staff Retreat

Our flight home was delayed and we had to catch another plane the next day. This meant we didn't get to say good-bye to my sister Julie who left early that morning.  We're super thankful for our friend Christine and the Hammond Family for keeping the kids after Julie had to head to the airport. Our late return  gave us only a few hours to pack and head back out to Mt. Elim Bible camp for our annual Timberline staff retreat.  The kids especially LOVE this retreat. Ian's favorite are all the games we play as a staff (Kubb tournaments, Settlers, Dominion  etc.), the girls love playing with the other staff kids. As a staff we get to reconnect on Walk-N-Talks, be encouraged in The Word (Dan shared on discipleship this time), and we find out who our covenant partners/students will be for the coming year and pray for all the students arriving in just a few weeks.

Well - signing off on this week's update. Thank you for your prayers!! Praying for our friends and family all around the globe as the sun sets this evening in CO. We love you!

Rain, Rain....don't go away (too soon)

We've had some unusually beautiful rainy days here - you know... the kind of rain that just falls, gently, all day long, and really soaks the ground. The kind of rain that quenches your dry and thirsty soul and makes you just want to curl up on your bed with a good book, a cup of tea, and an open window - before you take a long nap! :) With four little ones (well...some of them aren't so little anymore :) that nap doesn't happen - but it's nice to at least be able to imagine it! :)

As I type this, Lillian is surfing around the chair I'm sitting in, babbling "Mamamamama" over and over again, laughing and slapping the window excitedly every time she hears a magpie or sees a chipmunk run by .... Jenna is running some bathtub water ... Ian is sleeping away (or, reading his assigned summer reading for his upcoming high school year- hopefully the latter! :) ... and Julie-Joy should be on her way home from swim practice with a friend. Life kind of hums a long, gently, and the comfort and routine of it all is as nurturing and soothing as the gently falling rain outside the window.

It seems all the more important as I know that routines are about to change - and new routines will start up. It always takes a while to adjust to new routines doesn't it! :) 

My sister Julie arrives on Saturday and we're all so excited to see her.  Then Tuesday late morning Reid, Lillian and I will head to the airport and fly out to California for Celebrate Recovery's training program at Saddleback church. We're looking forward to spending some time with the other members of our church who are going as well and covet your prayers for the days ahead and for the kids while we are gone (Ian will be on a high school back-packing trip for part of that time). We get in late

Saturday and take Julie to the airport the next morning. Then Monday we leave for Mt. Elim Bible Camp for the annual three day Timberline staff retreat.  And as soon as we return life explodes with school meetings and Classical Conversations preparation meetings and Bible school prep etc.  In the middle of it all we have some other decisions we need to make prayerfully as well e.g. about housing etc.

That's life in a nut shell. I hope to post a brief update from the conference next week and will close with this thought - in just a few weeks, a new group of students will be coming to Timberline to study His Word and grow in their relationship with Jesus. It's a good reminder to me of what Isaiah 55 says:

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my Word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall break forth into singing,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

 

On that note, may we all find time to sit and soak in His Word today - may it succeed in the thing for which He sends it and produce much fruit in our lives!

Little Things

These have been challenging days with lot's of wrestling and struggling and hard heart-work and many hurting loved ones on our minds and in our prayers. In the midst of everything, the little things take on tremendous meaning...

... bright petunias and humming birds outside our apartment door

...quiet cups of tea with Jesus and the times when the Lord makes scripture passages come alive in our hearts

... daisies and purple lupines popping up everywhere around the house

...tea and heart-to-hearts with friends

... Lillian drinking two Capri Suns at supper time (we have struggled to get her to drink even a drop
of liquid for two months now and it appears she has developed a huge aversion for milk, so you know that's a big deal!)

....hearing Jenna laughing really hard

...watching Julie-Joy sew up a storm on my sewing machine (a friend once described her as Pigpen from Peanuts - she really does seem to have a cloud of dust - or a trail of STUFF - following her as she runs everywhere she goes! :) She is definitely our fun-loving, creative one! :)

... watching Ian's face light up when Lillian tries to get his attention

... seeing a beaver, a huge porcupine, deer, and a moose on one of our evening walks

...those fleeting moments when the house is clean :)

...eating fresh corn - and enjoying the fruits of our "putting-corn-up-labor"

... short notes from former students and their parents, that remind us that their encounters with Jesus here have eternal impacts.

And little things add up, like raindrops forming into a pool of water...and the more we remember how much there is to be grateful for, the more grumbling or anxious spirits dissipate and are replaced by rejoicing and praise. "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." A double commandment. And if we love Him we will keep His commandments.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu....

Being in full-time ministry requires sacrifice. And the most difficult part is often our family. We had a great visit with Mom and Dad and our friend Anne - and last night after they said good-bye to the kids (Dad already left for England, Mom and Anne are off to Ravencrest for a few days), Jenna sobbed and sobbed for about an hour. It reminded me of many tears of my own as a kid/teenager, sitting in an airplane, leaving the Chicago airport and knowing I probably wouldn't see grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins again for 3-4 years.

Dawn asked me this morning if I was doing ok with saying good-bye - I told her that after 41 years of many, many hard and difficult good-byes, I suppose your heart becomes a little calloused.  I remember my Grandma Stone saying that when we would leave, after visiting 3 weeks every 3-4 years, she would mop the floor or vacuum, just keeping her hands busy so that her heart would be distracted for a while.

There will probably be many, many more difficult good-byes to come as the kids are getting older

and more independent. I was thinking last night about how wonderful it will be, one day, to never have to say good-bye again! But until then we keep our hearts and hands busy with what the Lord has given us to do. In our case it's back to work at Timberline, doctor's appointments for the kids, swim meets and sports camp at church.

Prayer requests:

- Please continue to pray for our staff and that all of us would have the time to truly prepare our hearts for a new Bible School year after a busy summer guest season.  My prayer has been that the Lord would give each of us a clear vision for this coming year and would refresh our hearts and minds for service!

- We are preparing for a trip at the beginning of August to Saddleback Church in California where six of us from Winter Park Christian Church will be attending a Celebrate Recovery Training seminar.  Reid will be a part of spear-heading Celebrate Recovery in Grand County (I will be helping out as I can) and is really thankful for this opportunity to become more involved in addiction recovery ministry.
My sister Julie is flying out to stay with our kids (minus Lillian who is coming with us) during this time. Please pray for her sanity! :) It's also a busy time of preparing for a new school year for the kids as well as a new Bible School year at Timberline. The other day I felt a little overwhelmed at all that needs to be done in the next few weeks. So I want to keep first things first, eyes on Jesus and resting in Him.

- We need wisdom for one of our kiddos in particular for this upcoming school year as there are certain classes that are going to be very difficult for them. Both of our older two are entering a challenging transitional year into High School and Middle School (in the classical model these are also transitional in how they will be learning and the amount of responsibility they carry). We're praying they (and we as parents) can be patient during this adjustment!

- For hurting little hearts today in our family, saying good-bye to loved ones!

Memories

I think I did....ok, yupp, I did get slightly teary-eyed when Anne walked through the door yesterday. You see when you grow up overseas, away from family, especially in Torchbearers, and you don't get to see your extended family very often, the staff becomes an extension of your family - your aunts, uncles and cousins.

Anne and her family (two her daughters are a year older and a year younger than me) lived right next door for some of the most formative years of my life and we spent many afternoons running back forth (along with other friends from other families at the center as well!), drinking endless cups of tea with each other and getting into trouble...and wrestling through the difficult emotions of teenagers...learning what it means to grow up in a ministry environment, working out our faith (at public German schools).  And doing all kinds of creative projects.  (in the picture above - left to write, the McCalls, Anne and my parents at a visit to His Hill, the Torchbearer center in Texas)

Even I was surprised at the memories that flooded my mind when Anne walked through the door yesterday - so many childhood memories of what seems like an eternity ago. And in the evening our kids sat wide-eyed listening to Mom and Anne tell stories and laughing, laughing, laughing.....I know life was not always easy growing up - but quite frankly the hard times are an even further distant memory. And I pray that our kids memories of their time here at Timberline will be the same!!

This will be short - but here are a few urgent prayer requests:

Please pray for our staff - they are worn out and are in much need of this break right now! Please pray that these next few days will be truly and deeply refreshing for them!

Please pray for staff housing - the Thomas family has moved off-campus to Tabernash and it looks like more moving for other families could be underway in the next month or two. Affordable and live-able housing in Grand County is so difficult to find since this is a resort area.

We're so glad that my parents and Anne are visiting. Dad leaves tomorrow for England but Mom and Anne will be here for a week - what a treat to laugh and talk and catch up and remember! Tonight we're having a staff women gathering here at the house and a time for Anne to share her faith story. Would you join us in prayer that this would be a refreshing time for us as permanent staff ladies to reconnect with each other and if the need is there to have some honest question and answer time, that the Lord would open the door for this?

July at the Dale Home! :)

Summer wild flower season is under way and lupines are beginning to pop up everywhere! This picture was taken on a much needed alone-time-with-Jesus walk the other day - what a Creator we serve!!

This week we were able to reconnect with some friends from NC. They have a little one of their own and my friend was talking about how challenging it can be to entertain a one-and-a-half year old. I laughed, remembering all too well those first few years home alone with first Ian and then also Julie-Joy.  There were days I thought I would lose my mind from sheer boredom.  There are only so many times you can read "Go Dogs Go!" and there were days the kids had at least two baths just to keep them busy!

Life right now is anything but boring as it seems to be rushing down the road at break-neck

speed.....and we're so thankful for Lillian (here's a picture of the birthday girl!) who calls all of us to slow down regularly and enjoy that season of life when kids are little. It hit me the other day that this year we have one in high school, one in middle school, one in elementary school and a baby! This coming week we're meeting with a school administrator to make a plan of action for Ian's high school years!! In the mean time, the kids are busy with summer sports activities (the girls are swimming, Ian just started practicing with the high school cross country team). The times of the day when we can sit down and fully reconnect as a family are becoming more and more precious as I realize they will pass all too quickly.

Yesterday evening our family drove down to the Fraser Fields, parked the van and sat together in the back "oo-ing and ah-ing" at the fireworks. Sweet memories!!

We have several prayer requests for this season so I'll list them in bullet point:

- Lillian's health (she is having some testing done as she has dropped significantly on the growth chart) - mostly that she would take in fluids - she has refused to nurse all week and refuses all forms of fluids in any shape or form (straw, sippy cup, bottle, spoon, regular cup...you name it we've tried it!), so we're getting really creative with liquidy foods! Our prayer is that she would start drinking milk very soon as it has a lot of calories that she really needs right now.

- preparations for this coming school year and good conversations with teachers for Ian and Julie-Joy.

- staff housing at Timberline continues to be a need and a challenge

- the third guest group of the season is now here (we're SO thankful for a full summer season - it's also a lot of hard work). The staff has had very little down time. Thankfully Reid was able to take yesterday and today off. Please pray that the staff would be refreshed and ready/able to serve with joy!

- the continued ability to find creative ways to reconnect: e.g. Reid took Ian with him for a Denver Sam's Club and Restaurant Depot run for Timberline and that provided some good conversation time in the car; Reid and I try to reconnect in the evenings by going on a walk, playing tennis (I am not very good and he is very patient with me! :), or going to the store together.

- our family is excited because this coming week my Mom and her/our friend Anne arrive for a ten day visit (my Dad will be here two nights before he goes to England for the annual directors conference). Anne's daughters were some of my dearest friends growing up (fellow Torchbearer kiddos!) as well as our next door neighbors in Germany (and the reason I drink tea today! :) - I haven't seen her in 14 years so it'll be especially fun to reconnect!!

Dankeschoen!

We're half way to Christmas already folks!! :) Which reminds me of Thanksgiving! And how much there is to be thankful for here and now. On that note I'll list six things we're thankful for here at Timberline and as a family:

1. The staff made it through (and thrived through!) the first two weeks of summer guest group season! Praise the Lord for Wooddale - what a wonderful group of 9th graders from Minneapolis, MN! They are always a blessing to the staff as well - this time they washed our cars and baby sat our kids again etc!

2.  Thanks to her little friend Niah, Jenna learned to ride a bike this week! ("and it only took Niah ten minutes Mom!!") I'm also deeply thankful for fellow staff members and staff moms and friends who

are just as excited as I am about Jenna learning to ride a bike! You, dear friends, are such a blessing to me! You know who you are!

3. Vacation Bible School at Winter Park Christian Church - the kids LOVE it. Ian really got to help out this year and was a part of the play (he is a robot and loving every minute of his time on stage and with the kids!).

4. Affordable summer sports activities! Julie-Joy has joined the swim team for the summer, Jenna is taking swimming lessons to improve and Ian is taking some golfing lessons.

5. Lillian's first birthday is this Saturday! What a joy she is to our family! Someone recently told me I must be completely stressed out adding a little one to our family after these years.  They could not have been more wrong! She has fit in to the family so easily and given all of us so much joy and laughter! One concern we have had is her growth. Unlike the other three Dale kiddos, she is on the smaller side (5th % for weight, can you even believe that? Unheard of for a Dale! :). It seems though that she is starting to pick up weight again and we'll know for sure at her check-up next week.

6. A friend who gave countless hours of his time and helped us fix the dent in our truck (and taught Ian some body-shop lessons in the process!). Something we were not planning to be able to fix! That


same friend got us set up with another friend who tuned our piano for free! And that same friend is giving our kids free guitar lessons! I don't know that I've encountered many people as generous with their time as this friend and his wife! What a blessing! I have been praying for that piano to get tuned for several years now! Thankful that the Lord cares about the "little" things!!

Life in full-time ministry can get really discouraging. Ask any pastor or missionary or even anyone volunteering at church in any capacity. It's good to remind ourselves of the MANY reasons we have to be grateful and to thank the Lord! Our cup truly does overflow!

(the snow pictures were taken in January - didn't want to confuse anyone! :) I need to make a mental note to take some more recent pictures of Reid! :) We do still have some snow left on the mountain peaks but spring has definitely arrived in Colorado! Thankful for the beautiful weather!!)

Where to live....that is the question

I (Jen) am heading to Denver this Thursday for the annual Classical Conversations Tutor training so this week's update will be short - a prayer request for Timberline!

We are once again in a staff housing dilemma.  Rent in this area is, to put it quite frankly, atrocious. And at this point there are two families who are looking for housing by the end of July. Would you pray with us that the Lord would provide a good, affordable solution that is close to Timberline? Where we as staff live determines the amount of ministry and involvement at Timberline that we can have - the further away we are, the fewer opportunities for discipleship and hospitality etc.

Thank you for joining us in prayer over this as it, once again, weighs heavily on all of our hearts!

TL Kids

TL kids - That's what we call the staff children around here. Life is not always easy for them ... sometimes it feels like they have to share their parents 24/7 with the community and for those who live on campus it's not always easy, not having a quiet place to call your home. Doors slam during nap time, doorbells may ring during a family movie night, and anyone can knock on your door at any time to want to talk with your Dad, or your Mom. Visitors don't necessarily know it's a family birthday celebration or that you're wrestling with something you really need your parent's full attention.

On the other hand, there are some pretty neat things about growing up in community. Most days, you have a group of friends within walking distance (and that's a great opportunity at a young age to learn to communicate well and work out your differences).  And the staff and students are a blessing to the children! E.g. a few weeks ago we had a talent show evening. Ian made the comment to our friends and fellow staff members, Pete and Beth, on the ride to school, that he had no "talientos" and the only

thing he could do was memorize license plates (it's just something he does for fun). They all got excited and thought that was a wonderful idea! So Pete and Beth took the time to put together a slide show with photographs of all the license plates in the parking lot - Ian stood with his back to the slide show and Pete would ask him what "so-and-so's" license plate number was - he had almost all of them down perfectly!!  Reid and I were floored - and so blessed by Pete and Beth's creativity and encouragement for Ian (he does have many other "talientos" but in the teenage years it can be hard for kids to see them on their own).

We've had staff friends like Steph or Kim and others invite the girls over to paint their nails, make Christmas cards, or do an arts/crafts project (something I'm particularly thankful for as that's not so much my gifting! :)

Students are a blessing also - Julie-Joy and Jenna will come home excited to tell me that they "saw Julia and gave her a hug" - and during the school year they would get so excited when students like Lena and Sarah would stay with them and play a game for an hour while I ran into town for an errand.

Ian has been mowing the yard at Timberline and he gets to interact with Rob and the other maintenance staff as he learns about the practical side of running a ministry (skills for life!).

I have a sweet memory of our staff friend Christine sitting at the morning campfire at the sand dunes last year, sharing  and discussing with Jenna what the Lord had shown her in her
devotions that morning.

What a blessing for the kids to get to observe others walking with the Lord! It just reinforces what Reid and I are trying to show and teach them at home.


Prayer Requests:
- please pray for the TL kids (their names are Jeremiah, Kayla, Emily, Gretchen, Nathan, Elizabeth, David, Noelle, Claire, Keelan, Niah, Judah, William (still to be born), Elle-Jay (and a sibling still to be born), as well as our four kids) - most of all that each one of them would have a personal relationship with Jesus

- Wooddale, the largest group of the year, arrives this Sunday and stays for 2 weeks - please pray for our staff and our volunteers as they prepare for the guest group season that starts this weekend