So we knew that we were being prepared to move but where and what would we be doing there? Where seemed to be the easier decision, Rick accepted a new job in September 2010. The company headquarters are in Glen Allen, VIrginia which is outside of Richmond. They were not requiring him to be there but they were encouraging him to seriously think about it. Well we did and we also thought about other places that we always said we could retire to. We are praying that this move would be the last one for a VERY long time. We want to build a ranch house that we can stay in, even late into our retirement years! So we thought about Tennessee and Arizona. We thought about lifestyle choices in each place. We thought about the weather. We thought about where Sean might eventually settle. We had to take where Sean may live out of the equation because he will probably be moving around as a pastor and as a Navy chaplain.

The more we talked and prayed about our future the more apparent it became that we were to head to Virginia! So in December we began to shop around for land to build on. Now the next question is what does God have in mind for us in Virginia. I know that we can’t answer that question completely but we think we can see the tip of the iceberg. We want to be able to run the marriage retreat weekends that we have facilitated here. We have had to rely on the generosity of others to open their homes for the weekend retreats. We want to be able to host them in our own home so… We will be building a home that can hold 3-4 extra couples in their own rooms. So the design is going to be a modified one. The main living space will be a ranch home that is accessible to someone in a wheelchair or walker. No steps to get into the house from outside or from the garage. There will be our master suite on the main floor with a guest suite with a handicapped accessible bathroom attached. We will also have a family room with a fireplace and the eating area of the house. The kitchen will have a pass through into the great room where we can watch movies with a group of friends.

The 2nd floor will have 2 guest bedrooms with a bathroom and we will also have a walkout basement with 2 more guest bedrooms and a bathroom. Rick’s workshop will also be in the basement. The basement will be accessible by a long ramp from the driveway for entertaining purposes also.

But ……… we have to find the perfect piece of land where we can build our home. We are looking west of Richmond in Powhatan and Midlothian Virginia. We know that God will show us the perfect place. In the meantime we are preparing our home to put it on the market. We have been putting “lipstick on the pig” as Rick says! We are painting the entire house inside off white. We have had new Pergo floors installed in the kitchen, dining room and foyer. New carpeting will be coming next month. Our target goal date to have the house on the market is March 20! Lots to do! My last day of work is March 15. We decided that with 2 dogs and 2 cats I needed to be here when the house is being shown. We are packing up all of the stuff that we have accumulated over the years. It is going into storage starting this week.

Photos of current home:

I am excited over the new season that we are starting and I am overwhelmed by the ideas of moving and starting over. My verse for this time is: The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. (Genesis 12:1 NIV).  God is sending, we are going, He is in control!

In the meantime I am cherishing the time I have here with my church family. Every conversation is precious. Every hug is given and received with a little more tenderness! I am blessed!

Well I will keep you up to date on our big Adventure!

Right now I want to invite you to join Rick and I on December 17 at 2:30 in the afternoon at Chippewa E. Free Church. Our Adult Sunday school class has been reading the book Radical by David Platt! We have been very convicted and together we have decided to pray over and try to figure out what it looks like to live out Isaiah 58. Compassion International has just released a film called Live 58. It is about the needs around the world and how people have figured out a way to fulfill the needs in very unique ways.

We have a copy of the film and we will be showing it on December 17! People in our class and in the church have stepped up and they have chosen to represent various ministries for the afternoon. We will have information available for Aliquippa Impact, a local soup kitchen, Samaritan’s Purse, Gospel for Asia and a few others.

We are very excited about where this film may lead us all! It has sparked discussions and some soul-searching among our class and within our marriage. If you want to be involved please join us or drop me an email with questions!

God Bless and Have a Grateful Thanksgiving!

Why should you attend? Hmmmm. Maybe a better question would be why wouldn’t you attend? I am so in love with my husband, even after 25 years! We still have so much growing to do. I know that I am not perfect and I know that he is not perfect so together we are really messed up! LOL. Our goal has always been to continue to grow closer to God and closer to each other. We can’t do it alone. We need God to provide the guidance and the strength. We need other Godly couples to provide the examples and to hold us accountable. We need resources to help us navigate the waters of the secular world that invades our home.

That is why we attend seminars and retreats about family and marriages. We want to grow together! United in Christ. One body.

So on November 11 & 12 we want to encourage other couples to come and enjoy some GREAT fellowship with others and gather up some tips and tools to help your marriage thrive. The cost is $45.00 per couple. This includes your books, a continental breakfast on Saturday morning, lunch on Saturday afternoon and child care (must register by November 5 so we can have enough workers).

Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Christian marriage is the union of one man and one women with God as the center. Too many marriages in the church and outside the church are hurting. Couples are becoming separate beings instead of a team. The world is pulling them a part. Communication becomes strained or even becomes yelling and arguing. At some point a decision is made either you need to do something different or the marriage crumbles.

The definition of insanity is to do the she thing over and over but expect different results!

I know that Rick & I have had our share of struggles. When I continue to focus on my needs instead of our needs we fight more and I get more frustrated. I want to win the argument. I want to be told that I am right, even when I’m not! I want… I want…. I want…… Talk about selfish and self focused!

Instead when we together focus on the needs of our family and the needs of each other, it becomes unifying. How can I be a part of the team? How can the gifts and talents that God gave to me be used to enhance us as a couple. Rick is the level-headed one, I am the fly off the handle, impulsive one. He balances my thoughts, but I also give him a different point of view. My passion for a subject gives him a new perspective. His calmness allows me to step back and put it into perspective. We complement each other.

I want to continue to grow and help other couples grow….together. So come and join us on November 11 & 12. I will even give you at least one hug!!

There was a father who had 2 sons. One son was never happy. His outlook in life was always bleak. The other son was the opposite, everything in life was great. The father wanted to understand his sons better so he decided to test their attitudes. The bleak child was put into a room full of brand new toys. At the end of the hour the father went into the room and found the boy crying. He was surrounded by toys but he was still unhappy. the 2nd son was put into a room full of manure. At the end of the hour the father went into the room and found the boy digging through the manure and laughing joyously. The father was confused so he asked his son what he was doing. The son replied “With all of this poop in the room, there must be a pony in here somewhere and I am going to find it!”

I was talking to me friend and she is going through a situation that is very tough. Her family is in the midst of a pile of poop but I reminded her that there are blessings that are happening. God is always in the midst of our troubles but He promises that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us. He is the pony in the middle of our poop! But we have to look for Him.

Rick and I are in the middle of a situation in our life. We have been restless and God has been prodding us in some new directions. Sometimes I haven’t wanted to change course and other times I want to do it now just to get it over with but God keeps telling us to wait on Him. Prepare our hearts and lean on God. It doesn’t FEEL good. Frustration and tears have been coming in waves. So yesterday as I heard myself telling my friend that she needs to allow God to be her pony in the poop I heard God asking me if I am looking for Him in the midst of the struggle! Ouch!

So I need to focus on finding God in the midst of the confusion. I need to see the blessings of waiting. The very first one is that I can take the time to let people know how important they are to me.  I also have time to hear from God and truly know where He is sending us.

So today I will look for God to be my pony in the poop!

On our last day there I was asked if I wanted to go out in the kayak. I didn’t want to get wet but Rick convinced me to go. It was my first time in a Kayak. What a blast!! We were skimming across the water and flying across the lake. We headed out to visit the birds in the middle of the lake. They were Loons and their cries sound like dogs barking (kind of)! I had to learn several things. I had to learn how to get into the Kayak while keeping my balance. I had to learn how to hold the paddle evenly so that it was in the middle of my body in the boat. I had to learn to extend my arms and use my upper body to paddle the boat. I also learned how to turn by putting the opposite paddle in the water and allowing the drag to turn the boat. It was so much fun. I want to go kayaking again! I can’t believe that I never knew how much fun it could be.

It reminded me of my life before God came into my heart. I never knew how much fun life could be! In my Christian walk I have had to learn many things. I have learned how to get into the boat by accepting Jesus as my Savior, he then provided the balance for my life. With Him I know that my boat will never capsize and that the waves may be rough but He is in the boat with me! I have tried to learn how to balance my life. How to live in the world without being a part of the world. At times I have gone in circles as the world has had more influence than my spiritual walk. I have had to learn that balance is critical to my walk. I have also learned that at times I have had to allow Jesus to turn my life around when he changes my direction by putting up road blocks that slow me down. But my favorite thing I have learned is that I love to fly across this life with Jesus as my navigator. Life becomes fun! Life is like a kayak flying across a lake with the sun shining and the loons crying out a welcome. Fabulous!

I can’t wait to go out in a kayak again!

We were able to take three teenage girls to Sandcastle water Park last Monday. Water, water and more water! It was so much fun and I loved remembering the times when I wasn’t able to do any of these rides before I had my eye surgery. After having Lasix surgery to correct my vision in 2001 I have been able to enjoy life more than I ever have before. We rode every ride several times and by the end of the evening we were all tired.

One of the greatest blessings has been a new ministry that is just starting in our church. Debby, Tamara and I have started a new ministry to make Dignity Robes for women having radiation therapy for breast cancer. God’s hand has been so evident in the blessing of this project. Back in late April I was at work and talking to my boss in his office. One of the other nurses came in. He explained that we had a new breast cancer patient and that she was asking about Dignity Robes. My boss stated that we didn’t have access to any at our facility. I didn’t have a clue to what a Dignity Robe was. Well I had other things on my mind so I filed the conversation away in my “something to look at later” box. God had other plans!  Just a few weeks later Rick and I threw a party for Sean’s college graduation. My mom came out from Indiana for the party. She contacted a high school friend who had moved into the area about five years ago and invited Bonnie to come to our house for the party. When Bonnie came over I asked her what she was busy doing as I knew she couldn’t sit still! Bonnie explained that she was involved in cutting out Dignity Robes for a sewing group at a local church! Ok, God had my attention! She explained the program to me and gave me the lady’s name who coordinated the program.

As soon as the party was over I did a Google search. I was hooked. I spoke to Karen Radu who has coordinated the efforts for the Pittsburgh area. She gave me enough information to take to our church. Over the last several months the plans have all come together. The church family at Chippewa E. Free Church have embraced the idea. So this past week Tamara, Debby and I have met to get everything ready to kick off this new ministry. We have gathered material, copied patterns that Karen Radu brought to us. We have made a dozen “kits” to have available for anyone who is ready to start sewing! On Wednesday morning at 9:00 we officially launch the Chippewa Dignity Robe ministry! I am so excited. We will be supplying robes to the Heritage Valley Beaver Hospital and the Cancer Center st UPMC West in Moon Township. I work at both of these facilities so they are near and dear to my heart.

What is a dignity robe? When a woman has to undergo radiation treatments for breast cancer, she has to have treatments every day for weeks and months. So 5 days a week she comes into the Radiation Oncology Center. She changes out of her own top and into a “lovely” hospital gown. She then sits in the waiting room until her appointment time. At that time she walks into the radiation treatment room and then onto the radiation table. Because she has a hospital gown on it needs to be pushed out-of-the-way. She then has her treatment, gets covered back up, walks down the hall to the changing area and changes back into her street clothes. Every day this process is repeated. A dignity robe looks like a nurses scrub top with modifications! The side seams are closed with velcro. The front seam is closed with velcro. There are two pockets for tissues, keys or anything else she may need. They are pretty, soft, comfortable and easy to open up in just the area that needs to be exposed! They provide a touch of femininity and dignity to a situation that is so out of control!

The dignity robes are completely free to the women. The money and/ or material is donated to the various groups. Karen Radu has been wonderful in getting grants and donation to cover 6-7 different sites around Pittsburgh. Now we want to expand that number!

We will be meeting the third week of every month on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 to 3:00. I will be there on the Wednesdays. We need people to iron material, cut out material, package the material into kits ready to sew and then people who will actually do the sewing. We will be cutting and sewing at the church. But we will also have kits ready to be picked up and taken home to be sewn by anyone who can’t attend any of these sessions. The kits have the material pieces and the velcro pieces already cut out and ready. You will need to provide the thread, your time and your love! Our goal is to create enough Dignity Robes to fulfill the needs of the women at the two local centers. The need changes every month so we want to have enough Dignity robes on hand to provide them. We will eventually branch out into fundraising and other sewing projects such as bandanas and blankets.

I am so very blessed and excited about this project! My Aunt Marcy passed away from a very aggressive form of breast cancer so this touches my heart and helps it heal even more. My prayer is that we are all blessed by the fellowship and the compassion for our sisters who are battling this disease!

God is truly amazing! Thank you to Karen Radu, Debby Puth and Tamara Price for being a part of my life and a willing partner in God’s plan! I love you all!

This will not be a bible study but biblical principles will be discussed! This will not have a formal structure but instead friends sitting down over coffee to chat.

I would love to hear any thoughts about this idea. Have you every been a part of a Sister Chick circle before? I am looking forward to sharing with my friends! I will keep you posted!

With many Hugs!

But the second half of the day is the true reason that I love this day. Brothers and sisters in Christ publicly share their testimonies. They talk about what Christ means to them. As I listen I am reminded about what God has done in my life. As fellow believer’s we all draw closer together. Hearts and lives come together. Then Pastor Jeff wades into Darlington Lake . He invites the first person to join him in the lake. He then asks them if they are a believer in Jesus Christ and if they accept the charge to commit themselves to Christ and to the church. Upon their verbal agreement he then lowers them into the lake and then quickly brings them back out of the lake. What a great symbolism of going into the lake as a sinful being and then being washed clean and made new in Christ.

As the person is lifted from the lake their faces radiate a joy. The act of being baptized is a public declaration that I am a follower of Christ and I am willing to declare it to the world. What a great act of submission! What a beautiful statement to make. I BELIEVE… IN CHRIST…. I WANT TO TELL THE WORLD!

Rick & I were baptized in 2002. Together we decided that God was speaking to both of us individually. But we shared the experience together. After we were both baptized we met in the lake and embraced! What a wonderful, joyful experience. Yesterday brought back those memories.

Baptism: an ordinance from God to declare our belief and submission to God. Amazing grace, amazing mercy; what a beautiful day!

Thanks for stopping by, I will be posting pictures and other items soon!