Homesteading in our Motel

First of all, I need to make a disclaimer when I wrote a post on homesteading.  I did not mean to insinuate that homesteaders were dirty.  The homestead we were touring was filthy dirty and looked like it could take five years to restore.  Tons of potential for a beautiful house but a depressing amount of work to restore.

We stopped for a motel tonight...prayed for a reasonable price in this tourist season.  We were favored by God with a Days Inn Suite for the same price as a regular room!  Erica is quite delighted to have her own room and her own TV. 

For dinner we brought in our suitcase of food, an electric pan and we had a delicious meal of Bacon Bean Soup with crackers, fruit, popcorn.  Mmmm....we have it made tonight!

On a sadder note.....my dad is in the hospital tonight.

Mom and my brothers took him to the hospital in Grayling Mi. to see what was going on with his heart. 

He wasn't getting worse but neither was he getting better so they took him in. 

They admitted him right away and soon diagnosed atrial fibrillation (sp?).

Saturday they said only 27% of his heart was pumping correctly so they would need to transfer him to a larger heart center in Traverse City to see if he has a blockage or if something else is wrong.  He doesn't feel real bad but can't breathe as good when he lays down so has had some problems sleeping.  He was taken to Traverse City this afternoon and they have scheduled a heart cath for tomorrow.  Mom is staying at a hospitality house there.  If all goes well they are hoping he will be home in a few days.

My four awesome brothers are taking good care of them but I wish I could also be there during this time. If all goes well, we plan to be there by next Monday.

Your prayers for my dad and our family would be appreciated very much.

Just talked to Joyce and got an update:

Dad and Mom are settled in their rooms in Traverse City.

The doctor met with them and would like to do some more tests

before ordering a heart cath.  He wants to check for blood clots (prob. in the lungs)

tomorrow and do some more tests.  He thinks it may not be as bad

as they thought in Grayling Hospital.

Thank you, Jesus!  Our Creator, Designer, and Healer!

Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Conneticut

After a delightful finish in Ohio, we headed East this morning.  Our Anniversary Celebration is begun!  :)

We are staying in Conneticut tonight and checking out how much it will cost us to see Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and/or Cape Cod tomorrow.

Welcome to New York



Scenic Overlook in New Jersey



Pocono Mts.

Sorry these pictures are not in order of our travel.  I have not mastered this thing of loading pics and having them cooperate.  Isn't this just too cool that we went to the Pocono Mts. on our honeymoon and without knowing this was on our route we see the Pocono Mts.?!

He's back!



View from the air





Our Lodging





Firewall



Dear hubby is home from Oshkosh!  We were so happy to see him again.  They had a pretty uneventful trip home except the generator stopped working so they had to limit their radio use etc.  I think the pictures will tell the story....

Delay

I only have 6 minutes left on my computer here at the public library so I will add a quick post.

JR called this morning and said they have been delayed at least a day in Wisconsin due to weather in Chicago.  He didn't seem real sad to be "forced" to spend another day at the air show!   They are having a great time and are running on "Walter Beachy" time....little sleep.

Today my sister and I did some visiting to some friends of hers who are 'homesteading' on the hills (small mountains) of Ohio.  It was very interesting and would be an appealing lifestyle...until it got dark!  I would probably be intrigued with it until I became too uncomfortable from the heat, cold, or dirt.  We are a pretty spoiled, pampered generation.

Today, 23 years ago JR and I were ecstatic with the birth of our first daughter!!  Wow, how time has flown and how BLESSED I feel to call her my daughter.  She is definitely all I would dream of in a daughter, is one of my closest friends, is just as beautiful inside as she is on the outside, and loves the Lord with all her heart......Thank you, God.  Wish I would be with her to celebrate this day with her.  I love you so much, KaShondra, and am so proud to call you 'daughter'!!

Holmes County, Ohio

We do not have internet service where we are staying so I am at the local library to check emails, post an update, etc.

JR has made it safely to Wisconsin although it was quite an adventure to get there.  They had to be grounded several times due to cloud coverage and also had to turn back several times.  He admitted he was glad to be on the ground.  He texted me from the air (4000 ft.).  He does not have electricty to recharge his phone so I am limited to a few precious texts every once in awhile.  After finally arriving in Oshkosh and were ready to set up camp (they are camping under the plane), they discovered they had forgotten their tent!

Erica and I are enjoying our week with my sister and cousins.  Brenda and I have been shopping at these little Amish stores...yes, acting like tourists!  Erica has been running around with her cousins.  Yesterday we helped peel peaches to freeze.  We could all see that Erica has been raised a "city girl"!  ha!  She enjoyed it!
Today Brenda and I are trying to find some more Amish stores.  They have some really neat things that you cannot find around home.  I like to stock up on some of their things whenever we visit here.

My dad is still not feeling real good and the doctor said his blood tests did indicate something going on with his heart so they are planning to see a cardiologist soon.  Keep them in your prayers.

Convention

 BMA's 13th Annual Convention is officially over.  How do I sum up what Convention is like?  You have to experience it to really know what it's like.  The focus this weekend was 'Truth'.  What is Truth?  We heard some really challenging messages, enjoyed some incredible music, and visited and visited and visited some more!  Convention usually means late nights, early breakfasts, workshops, and exhaustion by the end of the weekend.  We were so delighted to see Henry & Susan, TJ & Caryn, Ernie, Mary, & Adam this year.  Saturday we had a "Palm Grove" table and had some good chats over lunch.

The children's choir (under age 11) consisted of approx. 100 children, junior choir of probably 65, mass choir of ?, EBI chorus of ? and then all the EBI alumni's joining in.  Our home EBI kids and Alumni's were missed alot and would have enjoyed the weekend to the max but I know you can only go to so many things.  United Bethel did an excellent job of hosting all of us and served some wonderful meals. This morning there were at least 800 people in attendance.  The last song we sang was the "Mennonite Anthem", of course (Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow", directed by choir director Lyle Stutzman, and on the final 'Amen' when everyone gave it all they had, I looked at the gym roof to see if it actually might have lifted just a little!  Heavenly!
We almost missed lunch as we visited so long afterwards and said 'good-bye's' to friends who were leaving.

We finally got out ourselves around 2:30 and went over to Walter Beachy's to have all of JR's luggage weighed and loaded for their early morning departure to Oshkosh, WI.  Now who can understand the mind of a man?! JR is so excited about this adventure he can hardly wait.  Mary Jane, Erica, and I just had to laugh to see these men get so excited about flying in this plane.  Another guy from MS. is flying out with them.  Everything has to be carefully weighed so the plane is not overloaded.  The airstrip is at one of Walter's son's houses but JR will have to meet him at an airport because the airstrip is not long enough to get all three of them in the air.  Now no offense to Walter, but that plane looks dangerous to me and the controls look scary.  About as far as I would dare to go in it would be the length of the runway.  It is a 1956 Cessna that's been updated, of course.  It is a 4 passenger (small passengers) plane, goes 120 mph, and they will fly at about 5000 feet.  They plan to stop twice to fuel up.

















Sod Runway

I had to make these pictures nice and large because I have some sons at home who will be checking these pics out pretty closely and wishing really, really bad that they were going along with their dad!!
Erica and I plan to head from Holmes County tomorrow morning to spend some time there with my sister and family while JR is in Wisconsin.
Temps have cooled down a little bit around here since some rains moved through.  Plain City is a beautiful farming area.  We have enjoyed seeing fields and fields of corn, beans, big tractors, lots of silos and large farm houses.















































How to make your own Prayer Journal



Erica's Journal



 Quite a few years ago Sara Coblentz shared in our church on Prayer Journals.  I started doing it then and have off and on over the years.  Whenever I find my prayer life struggling I try to do it this way again and it brings new life to my prayer time.  Another good thing is that I can go back through old journals and see the miraculous ways that God answered prayers and how senseless some of my worries were.

If you look in Scripture you can find alot of verses that speak of these different ways to pray.  So often I get right into the 'Request' time and forget to thank God for all He has done for me and to Praise Him for who He is and what He does.  Confession time is a time when I ask God to search my heart and reveal to me what He sees.  I was sharing with JR this morning that He always speaks life to me.  Even when He corrects me, He does it a way that bring life to me.  I know that's God because normally I don't enjoy correction.  Sometimes my "Intercession, Request" list seems so long but by the time I spend time in Praise/Thanksgiving and have allowed God to cleanse my heart, I am ready to intercede for others and to bring my requests to Him.  



MaryAnn's Journal



 These journals are very easy to make.  We just purchased these tablets from Walmart along with some tabs.  We divided our tablets into four parts and labeled each one.  We tried to choose fun colors that represent us.  Is this a must for everyone?  Absolutely not and it is not some legalistic way that you must pray in order to be saved.  It is just a creative way to spend time in prayer that has really helped us stay focused and to remind us to remember to pray for more than just our requests.





JR's Journal



 And the "Listening" tab.  "Be still and know that I am God".  This is the most moving part of the journal.  Ask God to sit beside you and speak to you.  We tend to be pretty hard on ourselves alot of times and we focus on our faults and weaknesses.  How about experiencing God's love in a new way, to feel it completely envelop you!  God speaks to my sin, my faults, and my weaknesses but at the same time He tells me how precious I am to Him and how much He values me and cherishes me.  He's gives me so much grace....He's God.

I hope you enjoy our tour of Prayer Journaling and if you are experiencing a dry time in your prayer time.....try journaling!













Day 2



Storm in Tennessee



For real!

Day Two:  We each have a prayer journal that we want to work in on this trip.  Each journal is divided into four sections and we spend some time in each section every day.  The first section is for a time of praise and thanksgiving.  Second, a time of confession and cleansing our hearts, Third, a time for intercession and requests and Fourth, a time to be silent before God and listen to what He has to say to us.  It was a very special time this morning although we didn't get all the way through so we want to finish tonight.



Entering Cincinatti, Ohio



This forenoon we drove through a pretty bad storm on one of the mountains in Tennessee.  Alot of vehicles were pulled over on the side of the road waiting for the storm to pass.  We felt sorry for those who were riding motorcycles.  On to Kentucky where we loved seeing the horse farms.  Erica is ready to bring all her friends and move up here!  We haven't traveled I-75 for quite awhile so it was fun to see Cincinatti again although the temps here are incredible.  Our car thermometer said 103 degrees!  These Floridians aren't used to this!  Even the air/breeze is hot!  There is an excessive heat warning out here so we will use that as an excuse to stay in air controlled places.



Bridge over Ohio River



We arrived at our motel (Red Roof Inn) and are stretched out relaxing. We found out that our room is right next to Pete & Wilma's and it will be fun to see who else will be staying here that we know.  I saw some of our dear friends from Pa. in a vehicle here.  They are friends that we always have a good time with at Ministers' Enrichment.  The men usually stay up late discussing things that pastors talk about and us women have alot of fun playing "Take One".

We were glad to hear the kids at home enjoyed a good meal with Marv K's last night.  You know how good Sharon and her girls can cook!  I am confident they will not lack for pampering while we are gone!

Tomorrow morning Erica and I get to sleep in and/or go shopping for awhile while JR goes to the business session.  Sessions that include us won't start until 2:00 so we are looking forward to some girl time.

Answer to prayer today:  My dad (in Michigan) has been having some shortness of breath several times and we were all getting a little concerned about it.  He will turn 85 in August and is in good health as far as we know so we were really praying for him.  He had got too hot several times with this heat wave they've been having and he thought that was what was causing his problem.  He went to the doctor today and had an EKG done to see if anything is going on with his heart and Praise God that everything showed as normal.  His lungs sounded good and the doctor seems to think it is probably heat related.  We would invite you to join us in praying that he would have a complete recovery from this.







On Our Way!

We are on our way!  It's amazing how long and how much work it takes to get a family on the road!  ....and how full our trunk is!  This is the first time we have traveled as only 'half a family'.  We all have to admit, it was rather difficult for us to leave and for those who have to stay at home, to watch us leave.  I wanted to tell them all to quit their jobs, grab some clothes, and come along!  Erica has settled into the back seat quite well though and seems quite happy to have it all to herself.  This is the first time she has ever traveled without any siblings along. 

Crazy enough, we left Florida to head into the heat!  Today we saw temps up to 99 degrees.  When we left Florida we had the same temp as Plain City, Ohio, and we saw there are excessive heat warnings ahead for us.  Ugh!

We traveled through Florida, Georgia, and into Tennessee today.  We made good time and are looking forward to getting to Ohio tomorrow.

Tennessee Sunset

The Lord's Day

I feel so blessed to have a good church family.  This week we had Vacation Bible School on "BodyParts".  It was so exciting to see the Body working together, even more exciting to be several Bodies working together for one cause.  It was an outstanding year this year (okay, so I say that almost every year!), but it really was!  As a grand finale, a large amount of kids all stood up front and sang "We are the Body of Christ" in different parts, I got goosebumps and felt my emotions soaring through the roof!  Praise God!

This morning's service was great, too.  Had a special SS time, great prayer and praise time, and a challenging message from none other than dear hubby.  You would think a pastor's wife wouldn't be convicted by her own husband's message, but not this woman.  Powerful message on some of the things God hates.  I was really struck on the 'sowing discord' one.  If we are involved in that we can repent, of course, and be forgiven, but sometimes we can sow bitterness and a critical spirit in others of which they may never recover.  Sobering.  Our tongues carry the power of life and death.

The kids wanted me to go to the beach with them this afternoon, so I did.  Whenever we go up north someone usually remarks that we are quite pale for being from Florida, so Erica and I decided this time we will go with some color!

Evening service:  message from TH on the importance of spiritual gifts.  No gift is more important than the other.  It's easy for us as Anabaptists to show compassion to those who come from different back grounds but how do we treat each other?  Ouch! compassion sometimes comes a little harder. People will know we are Christ's disciples by our love for EACH OTHER.

Tonight KaShondra and Kyle were supposed to come home from Jamaica where they were visiting Kyle's sister, Sarah.  KaSh just called abit ago and said they left two hours late over there, couldn't land in Ft. Lauderdale because of bad storms, were low in fuel so they went to W. Palm Beach to refuel.  W. Palm Beach is not an international airport so they are not allowed off the plane.  They are still there as I write, waiting for the storms to clear over Ft. Lauderdale and then will be rerouted home. 

One more day closer to vacation.  Hopefully tomorrow packing will begin.  As I said 'good-bye' to good friends tonight and was blessed with many good wishes and congratulations on our annivesary, I suddenly realized that I am already looking forward to coming home!  I guess that's the way it should be.

Blessings, Mary Ann

Marriage

We are about to embark on a journey with several purposes. 

First of all, we are excited about going to the BMA Convention in Ohio. 

Convention is always an enjoyable time for us.  It is so good to reunite with friends and to meet new ones.

After convenion we plan to go to Holmes Co. Ohio to visit my (Mary Ann) sister and family. 

From there we are off....to celebrate our 25th anniversary!  I struggle with the whole "25" thing because it sounds so old, when we still feel like young marrieds!  JR has been planning for this trip for quite awhile already and viciously saving for this 'unknown destination' to me.  Last Friday night he took me out for dinner, carried in this 'AAA' bag and after dinner unfolded a map and ask me if I would like to travel the northeast coast/the New England States with him! 

Would I?!  Absolutely! 

Wow, far beyond anything I expected for our anniversary!

We've wanted to make this trip for a long time already but figured we would be much older and grayer before we were priviliged to go.  We are sad that the three oldest children will not be able to go with us as they all have jobs that can't release them for an extended travel.  We are happy that Erica can accompany us but it will be very different for her to travel without any siblings along to make the trip more exciting.  If you know our kids at all, when they travel for hours and hours together...things tend to get a little on the crazy side! The three oldest plan to fly to Michigan and join us at my neice's wedding in August.  

So... we haven't started packing yet because we've been too busy getting other things done but very soon we hope to start filling our suitcases.

We are looking forward to spending all this time together...

              we love to travel together.

We are hoping to keep in touch with our church family, friends, and family through this blog, let you all in on our travels and make you wish you were celebrating your 25th, too!

Bon Voyage, JR & Mary Ann