Where has summer gone?

Wow, it has been a really long time since I updated our blog, but I really need to get better at remembering to do it. Where has the summer gone? It is almost time to go back to school and it seems like the summer just started. I know, I know, it always happens that way, but this is the first time we have gotten to spend a summer together as a family. I sure do thank God that I got to spend the entire summer with family and we also enjoyed some relaxing times with friends.

We've had friends in to visit and have enjoyed those visits immensely. We wish we had more time to spend with friends as well. The month of July seemed to speed right past as we celebrated the 4th and just enjoyed the Florida warm-up. Alyssa came in for a visit and we loved her having her down here. We sure do miss the Barth family! While Alyssa was here the boys just bounced off the walls because they love her so much. Jackson was her little buddy while she was here and was always asking to hold her hand and walk with her or have her push him in the stroller. It always Alyssa this or Alyssa that which is a change from Daddy this and Daddy that. Mommy just seems to be chopped liver in his life right now.

After Alyssa finally got to go home (flight cancellation and delays on the new flight), it was time for Don to concentrate on preparing for his trip to Honduras. He left on July 24th. Our church sent 22 people to Honduras to build a church as well as to run VBS in some of the small communities. We will have a separate posting to tell how the trip went. God has surely blessed us this summer as we have enjoyed being refreshed and renewed. As school gets ready to start, I pray that I will have an impact on at least one life this school year. The kids are searching for something to make their lives meaningful and they often turn to sex, alcohol, smoking or gangs just so they can feel like they belong. Pray that I can show them through my life and my words that the only way to be accepted and fulfilled is through the blood and Lordship of Jesus Christ. Math is a wonderful way to see how God has put things together in an orderly fashion and it is hard to not see that there is a creator when things work together so well. There is no way that things "just happen that way".

Even though it involves working every day, we are looking forward to working with the students again. Tara will be starting her new job at our church's private school and I will return to Ridge. Please keep us in your prayers and pray that we will be good role models for the students and that our lives will point them to Jesus Christ.

Take care and enjoy yourself wherever God has put you!