Wordless Wednesday

Jude's on a diet! NO not really...one day while I was finishing getting dinner on the table he saw this sack of veggies sitting on the table and he was fussing and whinning for it and so I said...ok...here. To my dismay and shock he just dug right in! WOW! Of course, about five minutes later he started spitting every bite back out...guess his taste buds caught up with him.


I also wanted to tell you guys that over at 5 minutes for mom they are giving away a free portable hard drive! So come on over and check it out if you wanna put your name in for a shot at winning it.

Video of Josiah and Jude

Josiah and Jude practicing their Thai.

Josiah and Jude speaking Thai

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Pics from our trip to Baan Nam Khem

Josiah and I before we left for Baan Nam Khem

Daddy saying a hard goodbye...

Goodbye's from the bus station...

The view out the front of Amy's house...

Home from Baan Nam Khem. The boys went straight to play.

They were so happy to see each other. I didn't hear a peep from them for hours!

Yes...Josiah concocted that little setup for Jude.

Back and READY to BLOG!

I know it's been a long time since I've posted and that's been because I've been away!!!

Josiah and I went away to visit a friend of mine up in Baan Nam Khem while John and Jude held down the fort. I had it in my head that I just wanted to get to know this fellow missionary and see how she does what she does where she is and hopefully answer some of my questions about the average 5 year old (because I don't have access to any! In English of course!). She has 3 children...all pretty close in age...2 twin boys and a beautiful girl. I also really wanted Josiah to be able to play with her children. He's been going through some stuff since the Stubenrauch's went away on furlough taking Josiah's only english speaking friends with them (Asia and Mercy). I was desperate to know and see how her life was lived out on the mission field (homeschool, ministry, managing her home) and really wanted to get to know her.

She's a gorgeous girl (don't blush if you're reading Amy!) with a tenasity for our Lord and an awesome sense of humor. It was such a HUGE blessing on so many levels to be able to visit there in Baan Nam Khem. The main thing was that it turned out that it wasn't just my idea to go visit her (which I've never done before) God had planned it! I was completely shocked and in awe of what God had in store.

I came back completely refreshed and restored!! I didn't even know that I needed refreshing!!!! God, through her husband, spoke things and about things that I had been feeling and going through that only God knew and said things that only John and I had talked about and no one could have known. God spoke and reminded us of the fact that HE ALONE has called us here and HE has plans for us and is continually working them toward his will.

So! Anyway, I will be writing again tomorrow. I just wanted to give you a quick update and let you know I'm back and ready to BLOG! :) Thanks for reading as always and thank you for your prayers!!! Don't forget to check out the video below.

A must watch...

Ok...so I know this one takes a long time to load and the beginning is really slow but MAN! I was so inspired after watching this and I just had to share it with everyone! Please take the time and let it load. (Don't forget to pause the music player on the right side of our blog before viewing the video)

1 Peter 5
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Update...New Look...Ticker at the top...

Hello everyone!

Time has been flying by each day. No matter how hard I try to hang on to each hour they seem to slip by with ease. Nevertheless, God is moving and we are staying on track...with home school, language study, ministry and just life in general. It's definiately not easy at times but God always gives the grace that we need to continue on.

Our church is doing very well and our teams disciples are really following hard after God and his will for their lives. We are about to jump into a month long evangelistic out reach that will keep us very busy in October.

I have mentioned it before - Bless Hat Yai. We are very excited about this next month - we could very possibly be showing the Jesus Film every night of the week and passing out tracts during the day...well, after language of course. By next month I would be willing to bet that 95% of Hat Yai will either know the story of Jesus or have heard his name for the first time.

I know...that's a big claim but that is our hope. We are working with almost all the churches in Hat Yai and this month they are ALL dedicated to reaching out and making the name of Jesus known!!

I can't believe it but it's almost time to have to renew our visas! We have to renew our visas before January 2008 or else we are booted from the country! Thailand changed it's visa laws last year and foreigners can no longer live in their country for extended periods of time without leaving the country to renew their visas.

So...that means that in December we MUST once again defeat the odds and prove that our God makes the "impossible" possible. We do not receive enough money each month to save anything...we always have what we need but hardly ever over and if it is over we usually find that the following month is lower than normal and the excess is used appropriatly.

There is no possible way for us to come up with this money on our own...so, join with us as we watch God work yet another financial miracle. Everyday is a financial miracle in our lives. I never really share specific financial information but for the glory of our God...we some how managed to live off of $286 dollars last month when we normally need at least $800!!! Is that not amazing? I was shocked when I realized it myself!

We ate everyday...bought groceries...we bought diapers as normal...paid our bills...even had some good ice cream...and never noticed that it was less than we normally need! Praise God!

Please keep an eye on our new ticker at the top of our blog and be praying for us at December draws near. The "Make a Donation" button at the bottom of that ticker is set so that if you click on it to make a donation it will be marked for our "Visa Trip" only. If you wish to make a general donation then use the donation button on the right side bar. Thank you for reading as always and please feel free to email or leave a comment! We LOVE hearing from you!

Jude Dancing - The Original

Hey guys...

This is the first video we made of Jude dancing. He just loves to dance. I hope you enjoy! This was his last spirt before realizing it was WAY past bedtime and you can see it hit him like a brick. :) Remember to hit pause on the music player on the right of this page before attempting to view the video.

Jude Dancing Original

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Jude dancing...

If you want to view this video I recommend scrolling down a little bit and hitting pause on the music player on the right. Then you can view the video - but don't forget to turn it back on because the "martyr's prayer" will rock your world.

Jude gettin down...

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Song by Grits a Christian Rap group.

Wordless Wednesday - Jesus Film...

We had a HUGE response after the Jesus film was shown!! LOOK!

This is NOT common with the Thai people! Praise God!

Praying

People gathering to watch the Jesus Film

Chase snapped this shot of my handsome husband with the screen glowing on him...

What do you burn for?

Hi everyone...

I have a new widget...it plays music on my blog and I love it. It's distorted my blog a bit but I'm going to work on it.

Until then...please take some time and just listen to the first song that loads. It's a compilation and it's well worth your time.

As always, thank you for stopping in and leave a comment if you have the time. We love you guys and miss you all! Please be praying for us...

Beginning of the compilation:
As Joan of Arc was dying at the stake she said this quote - "Every man gives his life for what he believes and every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in little to nothing and yet they give their lives to that little or nothing. One life is all we have...we live it and it's gone...but to live without belief is more terrible than dying...even more terrible than dying young."

What do you burn for?

Jim Elliot said the famous words years before his martyrdom "He is no food who gives what he can not keep to gain what he cannot loose. He prayed as a young man... "I pray lite these idol sticks of my life and may I burn up for thee. Consume my life my God for it is yours...I seek not a long life but a full one..."

"People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world do we waste our lives as missionaries? They forget they too are expending their lives and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal signifigance to show for the years they have lived." Nate Saint, martyer

Hope

God moved so mightily this morning in church. God shared with us through Clinton about hope this morning. I am going to share the scriptures with you in hope that it will bless you as much as it did our body of believers this morning:

1 Cor. 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What are you putting your hope in? Faith and love are things that most Christians attempt to walk in daily but hope seems to be left behind many times. Hope for the future...hope that our loved ones would be saved...hope for our children...hope for God to move mightily in the body of Christ...Hope that a nation can be rocked and shaken to it's core in such a way that it would be won for Christ...Hope to see the day of our Lord and too look upon his face...

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a hope (longing) fulfilled is a tree of life

If you have no hope then the promises that God has given you can not come forth.

Psalms 42:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God...

Please notice...put your hope in God...not in yourself...your pastor...your church...do not put your hope in man. Man will fail you...only in God can your hope be fulfilled.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, " declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

1 Tim. 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope...

Jesus is our hope...and the only way to hang onto hope is as follows:

1. Remain in hope by remaining in the spirit (Rom 15:13)

2. Remain in hope if you stand on God's Word (Psalm 119:49)

3. Remain in hope if you praise the Lord (Psalm 42:5)

4. Remain in hope if you rejoice in Christ and what he has done (Rom 12: 12)

I pray that you, reader, have not lost hope. Remember the promises of the Lord and cling to them with all of your might. Ask God to renew your hope for tomorrow...Hope always brings joy...Do NOT get weighed down with the cares of this world. Lift your eyes up to Him and allow him to make your path clear and straight. Do not lose hope...pray now.

Filled with Hope for the NATION of Thailand and for all of my loved ones to live radically for Him,

Steph

Martin Luther

On our second day of homeschooling Josiah learned about Martin Luther and how he confronted the religious leadership of that day to speak the truth of the word of God and he was so inspired he said..."MOMMY...Stop...I have to draw something...I just have to..." I am a very on task kind of mommy so I had to resist from stopping him and staying "on track" and realize this was his personal expression of what he was learning...his way of communication and this wonderful little picture is what resulted.

YES that IS the German flag! We saw that when we researched where Martin Luther was from online and it ended up in the picture! It's amazing what children can learn! I originally thought this would be way over his head and he wouldn't be interested but boy was I wrong! He LOVED that Martin Luther fought for the truth and that he spoke out for the Lord. Thank you God!

(So what you see above is a church with the religious leaders listening to Martin Luther (on the far left) telling the truth of the Word of God...the words at the bottom were dictated by Josiah.

Box Day! Wordless Wednesday!

Our new Sonlight curriculum arrived!! AHH!

WOW!! hehehe...cheesy I know...but it captured the moment...because Josiah was so excited about each book we pulled out of that box...and there were ALOT of books...

My sweet hearted...handsome Josiah...
My tough cookie and heart stealer...Jude.
AH! He's so adorable!

Mommy...

My boys...