33- Crossing an Ocean and a Lake

33- Crossing an Ocean and a Lake

One steady discipline throughout my married Christian life has been journaling.

On the shelves behind me in our office, I have 42 three-ring binders with hundreds of pages in each of them, as well as 30+ journals, steno tablets, and diaries.

Writing my thoughts and feelings and God’s interventions, our God stories, has been healthy and rewarding.

God knew that Dan and I would have a sold-out life and much to share, and gave me a gift of grace that enabled me to stay faithful, and I have found myself writing almost daily for over 40 years. (There are some lapses, especially during the fostering years.) In the early journals I was reading the King James Version of the Bible and that’s sort of what I sound like! Here’s what I wrote on the brink of our European departure:

Sept 21, 1978  Thank You that we are with child and that You have added adventure to this pregnancy to keep us close to You, depending, trusting, clinging. Thank You that we fly away tomorrow morning from the place of my degradation and my redemption; from friends, security, status, complacency; from the known to the unknown; from possessions and language familiarity, mother, and apple pie. Thank You that You are bonding us closer to You and to each other. We trust You in us by faith. Continue reading “33- Crossing an Ocean and a Lake”

32- Stay Home and Be Safe or Forge Ahead

32- Stay Home and Be Safe or Forge Ahead

After a short and sweet honeymoon in Santa Barbara, and time with my family, we returned to the little brick house in Reno. We continued attending our church, and Dottie organized a wonderful wedding reception for us in a park. Dan worked at his construction job, and we prepared for our adventure. After a few weeks, I began to feel symptoms of pregnancy! When I went to see my MD, he calculated that I had become pregnant on the third day of the honeymoon. We were ecstatic. We had given our family planning to the Lord, and His grace flowed to us to celebrate.

My mother, Grayce, felt we should change our plans and not go overseas. She was concerned that since I was 33, I might have a high-risk pregnancy and might not be able to find a doctor I could communicate with. Being a worrier myself, I took her seriously. Continue reading “32- Stay Home and Be Safe or Forge Ahead”

30- Navigating Gullies and Gulches

30- Navigating Gullies and Gulches

As I consider these events of my life and all of the God stories I have told so far, I am not doing justice to 

the process…

the-processLife has problems continuously. They are called trials, tests, and challenges and they end up as GOD STORIES as I stop and cry out to the Lord and bring Him into the situation. He then has an opportunity to answer me, deliver me, change my heart, hold me tight…whatever I happen to need. Continue reading “30- Navigating Gullies and Gulches”