Praising God from Whom all blessings flow

Josh and Suzi

Stef and Suzi...

With Savannah and Becky

Uncle and nephew--Shiloh and Ben

Happy smiles!

We Gather Together

So very much has taken place over the past month at the ITC--I hardly know where to begin writing... Conferences and banquets, decorating for Christmas, preparing my family's li'l apartment for their upcoming arrival, daily chores and housekeeping, Bible studies, quilting classes, and the list goes on and on! It's so much fun to serve here, but sometimes I get so caught up in the daily routine of work that I lose focus of the service that is most important of all... So I've been trying to take time each day to do something special for others--such as spending time making paper snowflakes with a delightful roommate, encouraging someone with a verse of Scripture, organizing everything in the Resource Center, or replacing lights on Christmas trees =)...

I hadn't anticipated spending yet another Thanksgiving away from my family (I had really looked forward to all being together this year...), but even though we were many miles from each other, the Lord graciously gave both my family and myself a wonderfully refreshing, delightful Thanksgiving Day with friends and family. The Lord has surely given me so much to be grateful for... But He's been challenging me to not look upon this day simply as a day set apart to give thanks for His unmerited goodness, because He wants me to be doing this every day--rather, to look on this day as a day of remembrance for His unmerited goodness in my life, the lives of others, and His wonderful works in times past.

"O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face forevermore. Remember his marvelous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth..." [Psalm 105:1-5]

An experiment with hats...

A Vote Not Lost

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." -- John Quincy Adams

In light of yesterday’s Democratic win for office, I’m so thankful that my family did not shrink to compromise and vote the Republican ticket this election. We didn’t want to see either Obama or McCain in office, so we’re grateful that we had a better choice…those in my family who were eligible to vote all cast our votes for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitutionalist party--the only Biblically qualified candidate for office. In supporting Baldwin, many have told us that we were wasting our vote, but that is not at all so… With the understanding that we will be held accountable for every vote we cast, we voted in obedience to the Lord, knowing that our pronouncement revealed the essence of our faith in Him. We are called to live out the principles of God’s law--yes, even in the area of politics--so we shouldn’t be afraid of voting on principle…we should be afraid to vote any other way.

We do not fear the future. We firmly believe that even when Obama is President, that God will still be on the throne, He will still be the one who sets up and brings down our authorities, the principles of Scripture will still be our standard of action, and God will still work everything together for the good of His people. As Americans we are not in need of a "perfect" leader...what we need is to realize our absolute dependance upon God, kneel in brokenness before Him, cry out to Him and seek His face with all of our hearts. May the name of the Lord be recognized and blessed!

Embracing a New Moment

As of tomorrow we will all be here at the Indy Training Center. The entire family (11 of us anyway)...for a time at least! And why will we be here? We'll be here, simply, to serve. And not so simply, "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." Ephesians 4:12. We'll be here to pursue with a passion the advancement of the kingdom of Christ. Of course, that was our purpose back in our lil' home in Pennsylvania too, but the Lord has directed us elsewhere...for a time at least!

I asked the Lord for a rhema to hold to as my family prepared their hearts for the new challenges and excitement of living and serving at the ITC, and He gave me Jeremiah 32:37-41,

Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them...and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

Of course, this was intended as a promise of the Lord for the children of Israel, but I know that the Lord is going to gather my family together, give us one heart and vision, do us good, and plant us in this land with all of the love and passion of His heart and His soul. That is so beautiful to meditate on--when the Lord does something with ALL of His heart we can be absolutely certain that it will be incredible and beyond anything that we can imagine!

And so we're embracing a new moment and living to the hilt this situation that we believe to be the will of God for our family...

Here are a few pictures of Shiloh... yep, he looks like the rest of us! =)

The Heagy children. Adorable!

Rebecca Joy...she looks so big now compared to her lil' brother!

Benjamin Joshua-- 2 months old already!

Anna Elizabeth

O Sing a Sweet Song of Coffee

Lately the debate over coffee and everything that word implies has sprung up again at the ITC... Only this time the discussion has been somewhat more, well, poetical than in times past! For your amusement, here's a slice of what's been penned thus far:

"The Coffee Song That Never Ends"
You are the song we love to sing!
Coffee your are our EVERYTHING!
Though Matt will try to wizen us,
We know it will not do--
Because you are the one we love,
To you we will be true... Repeat forever!

"I Must Have Coffee" (Written by FDiP, to the tune of "I Must Have Jesus)
Oh how my brain is starting to wander;
See how my eyes are starting to close!
I hear the sand-man coming to claim me;
I need some caffeine before I am gone!
Chorus:
I need some coffee, I need some coffee!
Can't you see my eyes starting to close?
I must have coffee, I must have coffee!
Caffeine can help me, Caffeine alone!

Mr. Stewart's response--In memoriam of coffee's many casualties
"The Fix" (to the tune of "Higher Ground")
My alarm clock rings, it's time to rise,
I open my bleary, crusty eyes;
But still I struggle to get out of bed,
Legally I could be called dead.

Chorus:
Coffee, lift me up to face these days,,
And I will ever sing your praise.
No matter what Matt may inflict,
I blissfully choose to be an addict.

There's only one reason to get myself up,
And that's for a steaming, stinking cup.
My vision is blurry, I'm starting to shake,
It's time for my ritual intake.
(Chorus)
So I rise up, against all odds,
Drawn to this sweet nectar of the gods;
At the first sip, my taste buds sing,
Coffee, you are my EVERYTHING.
(Chorus)
After the first cup, the world slows down,
At troubles I'll laugh, my sorrows I'll drown;;
I now rejoice in every deed,
My system just hit hyper-speed.
(Chorus)
In a short time, the buzz is gone,
This drug had used me as its pawn;
I gnash my teeth, mourn, wail, and weep,
It's 3 a.m. and I can't sleep.
(Chorus)