Jesus, the One and Only Starts September 9th.

He walked on earth two thousand years ago and changed the world for all time to come. Now comes a remarkable study on the most remarkable person to ever walk on this earth.

Come along with Beth Moore on a life-changing journey which will lead you through the hills of Galilee with the Teacher, across the lake with the Master, and finally, on the road toward the cross with the Savior. Get to know Jesus intimately ... as though you had walked with Him during His days of earthly ministry.

This 10-week, in-depth Bible study includes weekly personal assignments and 11 video sessions taped on location in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.

Dee Dee is a mother of three, two daughters in college and a son in high school. She teaches middle school Math and Bible at Heritage Christian School. She loves Jesus and can't wait to grow closer to Him through our next Beth Moore study, Jesus, the One and Only. Join her Wednesday, September 9th as the journey begins.

Positive Adoption Starting September 9th.

If you are thinking about adopting, this class is for you.

If you are fostering children, this class is for you.

If you have adopted children, this class is for you.

If you work with special needs children, this is for you.

If you have a special needs or a foster/adopted child and need some support and encouragement, this class is for you!

Positive Adoption meets on Wednesday evenings from 7pm-8:30 at Trinity Assembly of God. We are discussing The Connected Child and supplemental videos covering Trust Based Relational Intervention.

It is family based intervention that is designed for children who have experienced relationship based traumas.

This material is great for foster/adoptive parents, those seeking to adopt, teachers and professionals who work with children on a daily basis

Hi, I’m Kathleen.
I wish we could sit out on my back deck and have a cup of coffee. I’d tell you my story and you could tell me yours. I do not do well with surface chit chat, so I’d get down to the deep stuff right away. I’d tell you about my heart for orphans.
Almost thirty years ago, I married my soul mate, Jerry.
God planted a dream to one day adopt in both of our hearts. Fourteen years and three biological children later, the adoption dream sprouted into reality.
We traveled to Poland to adopt a sibling group. After spending five weeks in Poland, four of them living in the orphanage, we flew back to the United States. After a second trip the four new Guires came home.  We were suddenly a large family.
My feet hit the ground running every morning trying to keep up with everything and everyone.  I amassed a library full of material on hurt children, attachment issues, fetal alcohol syndrome, family and adoption. The children grew and so did I. See that posed photo at the top of the page?  Looks like we have it all together, doesn’t it?  What it really says is, by the grace of God, I lived it. I learned.  I am right there with you.  Adoption is a struggle.  Building a family is backbreaking, brick upon brick work. I love what Nehemiah says- 14 I looked [them over] and rose up and said to the nobles and officials and the other people, Do not be afraid of the enemy; [earnestly] remember the Lord and imprint Him [on your minds], great and terrible, and [take from Him courage to] fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes. Nehemiah 4:15  It’s a good work. A positive work. Let’s work on it together. Let’s grow our family tree.  Kathleen blogs at Positive Adoption and is the author of the book Positive Adoption: A Memoir.

Sowing into it.

Last night we put the last round of carrots in this year's garden.  This section of garden you're looking at has about 1200 carrots planted.  So yes, you'll be seeing carrots at this year's potlucks - don't complain, it will give you a break from all the green bean dishes I usually bring. 

The boys and I like to work barefoot, feeling that soft, freshly tilled soil under our feet.  They've helped us in the garden for years.  When they were younger, we'd put them in charge of simple tasks like making the holes with a stick or just pushing dirt over the seeds.  Now that they're older, they actually help us work together by pairing up with Mom or Dad and having a race to see who can plant their row the fastest (John & I are the current team to beat). 

Each year, we plant the seeds.  We make sure the ground is tilled and fertilized.  We put up the electric fence to protect those delicate plants from deer and rabbits.  We pull the weeds that threaten to choke out the good plants that we want to grow.  We prune the suckers off that are diverting the nutrients from making good strong plants.  And we pray for a good harvest. 

You see, plants aren't the only thing in this picture that we're growing. 

Every day, I'm planting seeds in my boy's hearts.  And as the electric fence keeps out the garden's predators, it's mine and Ronnie's job to protect them from predators - not only people, but things they shouldn't be listening or watching.  It's our job to recognize those weeds of anger or to prune off those suckers like selfishness so that their hearts can remain a fertile ground for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. 

But mostly, we pray.   And just like we've prayed for these seeds to become plants that produce vegetables that we can use, we pray that these boys will become Godly men that will be used by the Lord for His purpose.

Gardening isn't necessarily a lot of skill.  It's diligence.  It's patience.  It's hard work.  It's staying the course and doing your part, knowing that the seeds are doing theirs.

Parenting is diligence.  It's truckloads of patience.  It's definitely hard work.  It's staying the course and doing your part, knowing that God is doing His.

 

 

       Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

                                                                                                                       Galations 6:9               

 

                                                                                          

Whatcha Reading?

Is there anything better than lounging in the sun on a hot day with a good book? 

OK, maybe curled up in front of the fireplace on a cold day is pretty great too.

The point I'm trying to make is that I love a good book!

Fiction, non-fiction, something to help me grow, something that's total fluff - I just love a good book.

Here's my Summer reading list:

Nobody's Cuter than You: A Memoir about the Beauty of Friendship by Melanie Shankle
You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity by Francis & Lisa Chan
Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Parenting the Wholehearted Child: Captivating Your Child's Heart with God's Extravagant Grace by Jeannie Cunnion

So what are you reading this Summer?