Super Quick

So... I've been sitting in front of the computer for about 20 minutes thinking of what to post and reading other blogs for "inspiration". heheehehe :) I decided that I'm going to update you on life.

My Honduras dream is becoming more of a reality as I'm faced with an opportunity to travel to Honduras to meet my sponsor child. This is a big step for me but I'm reasonably certain this is where Jesus wants me. Which brings me to my next topic. I, along with a few other girls, meet weekly at a cute little cafe in town for tea, cupcakes, and bible study. Backstory a little bit, my mom received a book in the mail, sent to us by the homeschool company we use, the book is a new book from an aspiring author. I instantly grabbed it up and loved it. It's called "The Ten Second Rule" (seen below).

Now, this book won't have deep theological wording or a special formula to help you become obedient. This book simply tells you to do the next thing you're reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do. I would greatly recommend this book and would also recommend checking out the website; http://www.claredegraaf.com/10-second-rule/. They have a video of Clare, the author, describing the book, and many other great resources!

Moving on, a week or two after I started reading this book I had the impression of going to Honduras, and who am I to deny the requests of Jesus? So anyway, I start working toward this idea of Honduras, planning on taking a few short mission trips during college and ultimately moving down there. Well, a few weeks after that I get a flyer from Compassion International about this sponsor tour. The first date on the flyer, you ask? Honduras.

            ~ Jessica

Friday's Favorite Five #2

Friday's Favorite Five

Hey gatherers, My mother (Lorraine) and I have decided that every Friday we are going to post a favorite five recap of our week. This will allow us to consistently have something up on our blog for you guys to check out. The categories are as follows:

1. Craft

This "craft" (A.K.A. smashbook) is a favorite of both my mother and I's. While we don't own a smashbook the idea is really cool and easy to do without purchasing all of the actual products. Find the company HERE.

2. Music

This is a farely popular song and one that took me a little bit of time to warm up to. But I really like the tune and 'soulfulness' that Adele sings with.

3. Blog

This is a blog that I (Jessica) have been following for a little while and love to check up on. My friend, Kristen, first introduced me to A Beautiful Mess. Elsie, the blogger, updates on anything from crafts to clothes, sewing to photography, and much more. Although she wears some things I wouldn't even consider, I love to get inspiration and ideas from her. Check her out!

4. Scripture

For Valentine's Day. :) The simplest of truths is sometimes all we need to motivate and inspire us.

5. Quote

Just something we can reflect on when God calls us to leave our comfort zone and follow him.

Thanks for joining us and looking at our favorites for the week! 

~Lorraine and Jessica

Happy Birthday Joe!!

Twelve years ago, today we welcome our son, Joseph Michael into our family.  He is a pensive boy; quiet, thoughtful and caring.  Joe has never been one for traditional toys, matchbox, action figures, etc.  He likes to be in the kitchen, in the garden, behind a camera, with a drawing pad and pencil in hand, typically wherever and whatever his father and I are doing, you'll find him there.  Joe has three nicknames; JoeBean, Hands and Stuff Boy!!  Hands because his hands are always into whatever we are doing....whether it's cooking, gardening or crafting, he's all in!!  Stuff boy because he's always carried alot of "stuff" with him.  When he was little, it was his blankie, a few stuffed animals and a pillow.  Now it has turned into a camera, his DS, pokemon cards, a drawing pad and bunch of colored pencils. 

He has many interests and many talents and has brought such joy to our family over the past twelve years.  We know that God has great plans for this young man and we are anxious to see what He has in store for Joes' future.  We thank God for blessing our family with him.

Happy Birthday Joe!!!!

We Love you!!!

Mom, Dad, Jon, Jessica, Jaysen and Julia

The Ultimate Valentine

I thought I'd offer a break from the traditional Valentine's Day hoopla and give you a sweet reminder of where the original "love gift" came from.

This goes wayyyyy beyond the traditional box of chocolates and card, my friends.  God sent his Son as the ultimate valentine, the sacrificial love offering for you and me. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 8:5

 Put that in a greeting card and pay five bucks for it!!!  If you ask forgiveness for your sins, admit that you need a savior and give your heart to Him, He will never fail to deliver.  You won't sit around waiting for Him to show you his love, no missed birthdays, anniversaries, etc.  His love is there 24/7, friends!!

 If you need a singable reminder of His unfailing love for you check out Kim Walker with Jesus Culture.  This is by far my most favorite version of this song!!! 

And if you'd like to pass this message on to someone that you love or just need a visual reminder, go see Megan Richards Modderman and her awesome blog Contented Sparrow for a precious little printable that she created!!

~ Lorraine







Fridays Favorite Five

Friday's Favorite Five

Hey gatherers, My mother (Lorraine) and I have decided that every Friday we are going to post a favorite five recap of our week. This will allow us to consistently have something up on our blog for you guys to check out. The categories are as follows:

1. Craft

This one came from my mom (as she is far more crafty than I). It's a really nice and simple heart garland in honor of Valentine's day. Check out the link HERE!

 2. Music

I don't know how many people know this, but iTunes puts out somewhere around 4 free songs per week (you can find them on the main itunes screen). This song, I believe, was the indie download from a week or two ago. I really love the melodies and chill vibe that you get from their voices.

3. Blog

Again, another one from my mother. I know that this is one of the blogs that she reads consistently and loves. But, she especially loved the last part of this particular post. Flower Patch Farm Girl along with a couple of other bloggers put together this ezine which consists of letters to people that might otherwise go unloved. Check it out HERE!

4. Scripture

There isn't much more to say about this scripture, other than it is a fantastic guideline to life and how to live like Jesus. This picture is courtesy of http://familybees.blogspot.com/ .

5. Quote

Again, this is a great way to live and it is very simply stated!

Thanks for joining with us for the first of many Friday's Favorite Five!

~Lorraine and Jessica

Movin' on......

I want to start by saying that I'm getting a new computer (YIPPEE)!!!  You don't know how badly I need this!!!  My dinosaur, I mean computer hasn't worked properly for I don't know how long.  I can't open most of the programs, it's super duper slow and very frustrating.  In fact I've wasted about 20 minutes just now in waiting for the proper screens to open.  Jumping between screens?  FOR.GET.IT!!!  It's like asking your child in preparing for bed to 1. brush their teeth 2. put on pj's 3. get into bed!!  It's command overload and they either end up staring at you blankly or they make their way to the bath or bedroom and then get sidetracked on something that you did NOT ask them to do!  Anyway, my parents are very generously helping a girl out in this area and I am forever grateful <3  Much love to you Mom and Dad!!!

Last weekend was spent with about 35 junior and senior highers at our Youth Group Winter Retreat.  It used to be called "Snow Camp" but for a few reasons we moved it out of the Poconos and down to the beach.....no snow.  Just sand.  It was incredible none-the-less!!  This was my first full out youth retreat experience.  Last summer I joined the girls from youth group on their retreat (at the beach) and it was nice.....calm, sweet, easy.  I liked it.  Let me tell you, adding the boys is a totally different story altogether!!  It was hyped up, crazy, active, and amazing!!!  From our praise and worship (here's a shout out to The World Outside for doing an amazing job, also check out this article) to our lesson on Joseph, every part of the weekend was God ordained.  Okay maybe the midnight bowling wasn't, but it was still fun!!

I'm still not quite recovered but the week is moving along regardless!!!  God is moving in some big ways over here and I am in awe!!  You know Jessica's post from last week, Beautiful?  She hit it right on the head with that one.  God has truly taken this past year and is ever so gently turning it into something beautiful and useful for His glory and our good.  The hubs had a difficult decision to make this week, but standing on the facts and God's grace was all that he needed to move forward.  There has been some interest swirling around him again and even if it doesn't turn into anything at this point, it's good for the soul.  To know that you have potential, something that catches someones attention, is sometimes all we need to renew our confidence.  God is faithful to provide those little love notes when He sees fit (which is always when we are in need of receiving)!

One of the things that we pulled from our lesson on Joseph was learning to use your current situation for Kingdom work.  God has equipped each of us with certain tools to be used no matter where we find ourselves.  Like Joseph, we often find ourselves in less than glamorous situations and unlike Joseph we end up sitting in a corner sulking, asking God "Why are you doing this to me?".  We can't even see the answer, because we are so inward focused.  God has truly used this year to turn our attention outward and upward.  It was so neat to notice how many times the bible tells us that "God was with him (Joseph), in the cistern; God was there, in prison; God was there, in false accusations; God was with him.  He has been with us all along, He promises to never leave us or forsake us.....so why do we think He's out to get us when things aren't going "our" way.  Quite honestly, I don't think I want things going "my way" anymore.  It's time to move over and let things go His way <3

Well I pray that you continue to focus on the One who loves you in such grand ways that we can't even begin to fathom!!  Be blessed friends!!

It's Beautiful

It's been awhile, dear gatherers! I know that you guys know that our life, as well as our blog, has been a little bit heavy, lately. Despite this, I feel like I know that, we need to focus on the beauty of God that is constant. Even throughout our hardships and struggles, through the midst of our cries, God is good.

 God turns mistakes to miracles. God can will take this job loss and turn it into something beautiful. This past summer my dad and I had the opportunity to go to NYC with my youth group for a missions trip. While there, my dad shared his testimony at a soup kitchen. I will admit, nobody seemed very receptive (well, one guy did, but he also looked a little crazy ). Afterwards, while helping to cook the meal, a man that had listened came up to my dad and asked to talk to him.  Through this job loss, my dad got to inspire and share his testimony with a homeless man in New York. CRAZY!!

It's so easy to get caught up in the worries of money, but God specifically commands us to do the opposite! "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes." (Luke 12:22-23) Don't worry about material possesions or where the necessities will come from. The birds are fed, the lilies grow, surely God will take care of us.

I've been doing this bible study in school called "Live Abundantly: A Study in the Book of Ephesians" (By Lenya Heitzig & Penny Rose). Here is an excerpt from today's study: " Pearls are the product of pain; an oyster that hasn't been hurt does not grow a pearl. When the shell of an oyster is pierced, a foreign substance-usually sand-gets inside. When this happens, the oyster's cells cover the grain of sand with layer after layer of nacre in order to protect the soft body of the oyster. The result is a beautiful pearl." Jesus is a treasure-maker. He makes us and our lives into treasures. One of the biggest mistakes of a Christian's mind-set is believing that this process can happen either without Jesus or without pain. Both of which, is false.

We will endure hardship. We will suffer and cry out to God in our breaking-point. But, we cannot forget that he has a plan. We can't forget that his love endures forever and he won't abandon us. The coolest part is, this pain is a part of his plan. He'll use it to strengthen us and use it to bring Him glory!

~Jessica 

In my weakness, He is strong, and I'm feeling pretty weak right about now

I feel like things have been very doom and gloom around here lately.  It's making me quite weary to be honest.  Life has been off kilter for over a month now and I'm ready for some semblance of balance and normalcy.  There are so many things hanging out on the horizon, things full of uncertainty...sometimes I think they are mocking me.

I want so badly to orchestrate my own life, all the while wanting to give it fully to Christ, knowing that He is the Master Composer.  But it's so.stinking.hard.  It's funny that when we are up we are undoubtedly up, not much can touch us, we are full of truth and light and hope.  But when we find ourselves off balance and unsteadied, we are so easily moved.  I am tired, I am feeling thin skinned and I know that God is peeling back the layers....like an onion.  And onions stink.   A friend once told me that the work that God does in us is much like raking wet leaves....there are layers upon layers in that pile of wet leaves, and they are not easily raked, sometimes the further down you get in the pile, the harder they are to move.

I made this comment to friends last night, "Christianity was pretty easy up until a few years ago".  It has to cost us something, our walls must crumble, we must bleed and sweat, we have to lean heavily on God.  Christianity isn't merely a label, it doesn't just tell someone what group of believers that we belong to.  Christianity, to be authentic must be a verb, something that you do.  It requires ACTIVE PARTICIPATION.  If we are just sitting still, feeling no cost at all, then we must check ourselves.  But sometimes after we begin the checking and start to feel some of the cost, we want to run and hide, to stay hidden under the pile of wet leaves, surely He won't find me under here.  And you know what?  As long as we are unwilling to move, maybe He won't "find" us, but make no mistake, He knows where we are and He knows we are hiding.

Like Adam and Eve, in the garden, He knew where they were, He knew they were hiding....He could have pretended to not find them and leave them to their own devices, which they had already proven wasn't a smart move.  But He actively sought  them out and gently nudged them out from behind their hiding place.  He of course was just and had to give them their consequences but God doesn't stop there.  He loves us through the consequences, He gives us a way out. He continues to work out the plans that He has for us until the day of completion.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm hurting.  I'm weary.  I'm tired.  I want to run and hide.  Most of the time, I have the energy to lean hard into Him.  I'm not feeling that right now.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up, I just need to rest.  I need to be carried a little of the way until I'm feeling ready again.  Would you pray for me, please? I'm going to share a list of the things that I could use prayer for, if you would be so kind as to just lift these things up to Jesus, I would greatly appreciate it.

*Job
*Finances
*Our near future (should we stay or should we go; how any of that is going to work)
*Ministry - we are moving into youth ministry, guidance and leading
*My son; Jon (salvation, relationships, his future)
*My daughter; Jessica -her future plans, GED, College, Mission work
*Health (we've applied for our states health care plan; pray that we can find good doctors to use)
*My husband; Bill - that he would be strengthened, that he would resist the evil lies of the enemy, that God would bless him
*Me - dying to self...this one is really tough, trusting in God's goodness (all the time), loving my husband the way that he needs me to, living fully right where I am, patience...I'm running a little short on that

I realize that some of these are pretty vauge...isn't it cool that Jesus already knows the ins and outs of these situations <3  Thank you for praying, I truly appreciate it <3

God Bless - Lorraine

A Legacy of Love

My apologies for not getting right back.  I know I promised some pictures of our favorite holiday moments. I know that you'll understand <3

Last Friday, January 6th, I received a phone call that my grandmother was preparing to meet Jesus.  She was 93 years old and was dealing with the later stages of Alzheimers, Dimensia and Parkinsons'.  Lately she had been rapidly decreasing in her abilities to eat or drink, get out of bed, etc.  So since that call, my regular life has been put on hold.

On Monday, January 9th, my Grandmother, Connie,  took her last breath here on earth and went to be with her Heavenly Father.  Her four daughters were with her at that time and it was a peaceful transition.  Over the weekend we were blessed to have caught some special moments with her. 

She was telling me that she wanted us to be happy and asked me if she'd be happy.  "Oh yes, you'll be very happy" I replied.  I got to talk to her about the peace that Jesus leaves with us, the streets of gold, her new body and how there will be no more suffering.  I know that there are many more stories like that to be told.  It surely was a gift from God.

My grandmother lived a full life.  She was all about family, in fact, her daughters each lived less than 3 miles away from her.  She was at every family function and spent a lot of regular days with all of us as well.  Our family has always maintained close ties and I believe that is due to the love and examples set from my grandmother. 

She was a very sweet and very loved lady and she never met a stranger.  She had four daughters (which I mentioned above) their wonderful husbands, 10 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.  We all adored her and will miss her very much. 

This has a been a rough week for us all, but I know that we are so thankful that she is in Heaven and is now finally living.  We look forward to the day that we will be reunited with her and my grandpop.

Tomorrow is her funeral service.  I know that the only way that we will get through the day is by the grace and strength that God will give us.  We have to remember that while we miss her here with us, she is in a much better place <3  And we will see her again, someday.

Florence (Connie) Elizabeth Bischoff

November 23, 1918 - January 9, 2012

She lived the dash fully <3



The Holidaze

Today is our first day back to our regular routine, kinda.  We've had a quite a break from school and normal life and it's been great!!!  Christmas found us fairly prepared.....gifts were bought and wrapped, there wasn't much to do to prepare for our family gathering on the afternoon of Christmas and so we were able to slide into the  holiday with little to no stress.

Christmas morning was very nice.  It's funny how it all changes as the kids get a little older.  There's more sentiment and less chaos, everything seems to have more meaning compared to when they are little and it's a full out frenzy.  There wasn't a whole lot under the tree (which doesn't look true, because let's face it, when you have five children to buy for, unless you go to one gift each, it's always going to look fairly large). 

At 3:00 the rest of the family came and it brought our total of people up to 35!!!!  It was insane, but the good Brady Bunch Reunion kind of insane.  Being an only child, I knew I'd never have those reunion moments with siblings, but I did grow up close to my cousins and having the majority of them home with their families was good enough for me.  There was way too much food, it was all way too tastey and it was way too hard not to completely overload ourselves!!  The party lasted through out the evening and we were all exhausted when the goodbyes came.

The second generation cousins got to spend alot great time together throughout the week, with lots of nerf wars, sleepovers and general chaotic fun.  It was precious to see them together.  Since they live far away from here, it's a treat that doesn't occur too often.  We spent New Years Eve with two of my girl cousins and their families and we had a blast.  We played "Loaded Questions" and after the ball dropped we all gathered in a circle and prayed for each other and our upcoming year, also giving thanks for the trials that God had brought each of our families through in 2011.  It's amazing to be apart of a family of believers, to share in the trials and the triumphs, to take it all to the throne of Jesus and simply give thanks.

Now the families are all gone, the trees and lights are packed up and it's time to get back to business.  Today was rough....we had some leftover school work from two weeks ago, and I found myself forgetting how we got through our days!  I'm thankful that I don't have a rigid time schedule to adhere to and that we can take our time getting back into the swing of things.  We have truly been in a "holidaze" for the past two weeks!!!

I pray that each of you had a blessed holiday season and that you are looking forward to what God has in store for 2012!!!  I know that I am!!

*Love and God's blessings
              Lorraine

P.S. I think I'll share some pictures tomorrow highlighting the favorite moments of the past two weeks.  It's gonna be hard to pick just a few so I'll apologize now for overloading you!!