Passing on a Legacy

I know for some people it can be hard on a day like Father's Day, if they did not have a good father in their life. However, I have been blessed with an amazing father, hero, and friend.  My father has raised 15 children and has had children in his house for over 60 years. When I was a kid my dad was out of the house early in the morning and he worked two jobs to support his large family.  All of our vacations were "staycations".  My dad has not enjoyed great luxuries of any kind.  His retirement years are full of longer days and less sleep than ever before.  My dad has taught me many things and he is still teaching me so much on how to live sacrificially and how to serve others.  However, I think my dad is one of the richest men on earth.  He has raised 15 children who know and love the Lord and who love him greatly.  How could you want anything else in life?

This is my father-in-laws third Father's Day in heaven.  Although he was not here for us to call or drop in he is not forgotten.  He was a man of God.  He never got tired of reading the Word and was always so excited about something new he was learning.  He left a legacy for his children and grandchildren to follow.

I thank the Lord for my hubby and the great dad he is to our children.  Life was pretty busy raising our children but it was always a priority for him to father his children well.  He has taught our children so many things in life the greatest is the importance of a deep and meaningful relationship with the Lord.  And now it is a great thrill for us to see the great dads that our sons Caleb and Seth are to their children.   The greatest joy is knowing they are teaching them about the Lord. 

To all you dads out there, keep investing in your children.  The days are long and tiring but keep pressing on.  You are having a lasting impact on your children.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Jungle Camp They Go!

For our Emanate students, the final push was on to get as much done on their jungle camp houses as possible, as today was "Move Up Day".  It was all hands on deck as we as a staff tried to help out as much as possible to see our students move into livable houses.   Everything our students would need for their month in the bush had to be hiked up.   At midnight the first group of students started making trips up to jungle camp with their supplies.  And a few of them made trips until 4:00 a.m.  And at the crack of dawn many of our students were out once again hauling their things up to jungle camp.  Vern worked this morning and afternoon helping the students hike their things up to their houses.  Most of us Emanate staff ladies were busy cooking supper as we always provide the first meal for the students so they don't have to worry about what to feed their families for supper.  I was busy baking buns and preparing a pot of chili.  As of 5:30 all of our students were up in the bush to start their month long jungle camp experience.  It has been a very long and tiring two weeks for them.  If you think of them during this month please pray for them and all that they will be going through as they live in the bush.  Pray that it would be a time for them to grow deeper in their relationship with the Lord and that it would be a special and meaningful time building lots of great memories together as a class and as families.  

Adorned - "Living out the Beauty of the Gospel Together"

In September a group of us from the Emanate staff started a book study together on the book : "Adorned" by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.  The book goes through Titus 2:1-5,10.  Through the scripture passages it gives instructions and a roadmap of how woman can encourage and influence each other to live out our lives in a Godly way in order to shine a spotlight on Jesus.  Are our lives making the gospel desirable to those who rub shoulders with us every day?  This study was a challenge to me personally as I continue to grow and pursue a deeper relationship with the Lord.  God desires for Christian woman to be reaching out to other woman, to do life together, and to spur each other on in our walk with the Lord.  If you have an opportunity to read the book, or better yet, get together with a group of woman and go through the book together you will not be disappointed.

Last night we finished up with the final chapters of the book so we ended the book study by having supper together.  I am thankful for the time we spent together through this past year encouraging each other and sharing our stories of the journey we are on with the Lord. 

"Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him."

It has been such a joy to be parents and for 9 1/2 years God has bestowed upon us the amazing privilege of also being grandparents.  Each of our six grandchildren has greatly enriched our lives and has brought so much joy and happiness into our family.  God is blessing Seth and Camille with their 4th child who will arrive in December.  We are very excited for them and we will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of this new little treasure to love on! This Grandma is ready to "Rock Out" in her rocking chair with another grandbaby.

Pizza Party

All of the student men are away on a three day hike.  So that has made it more challenging for the ladies and especially for the moms to work on their jungle camp houses while taking care of their children, cooking meals, doing wash, and keeping their houses running.  So tonight Vern and I hosted a pizza  party for the ladies and all the children.  We were 31 people  and I made eight different pizzas for the gang.  It was so fun to enjoy some pizza together and to hear the stories of the joys and challenging of their time building their "dream houses", oh, I mean "Jungle Camp" houses.  There are three days left of building.   On Saturday our students work all day on hiking their things up to the bush.  At 5:00 p.m. they will then officially start living in their jungle camp houses and be "Off the Grid" for a month.  Please pray for health and strength for our students as they keeps pressing on!  Thanks!

To Have and To Hold

Today Vern and I celebrated our 35th Anniversary.  As we reflect of our 35 years together as husband and wife we have walked through so many things together.  How do two very imperfect people live together and still love each other and enjoy spending time with each other after 35 years?  It is only through God's love, grace, and faithfulness to us.  We haven't done everything right.  But we have a GREAT BIG God!  We have learned time and time again to run to HIM and  put our full weight on his promises to carry us through.  We have moved many times and lived in different countries, we have gone through losing everything we owned, raised five children, struggled through many health and financial challenges and have seen God carry us through it all.  God isn't finished with us yet and we know there will be many hard and challenging things we will continue to face in life.  How thankful I am that God will continue to walk with us each step of the way. Here's to many more days and years ahead of "Loving for a Lifetime".

Celebrating the Day Together!

Dyck House of Pancakes

(I have had a few people tell me they are not on Facebook and instagram and they would like me to restart up my blog again.  So I will attempt to try to keep  this updated.)

Our students are putting in long days building their jungle camp houses.  As we were looking for a way to encourage them on, we decided to invite the class over for breakfast.  We got up at the crack of dawn and the Dyck House of Pancakes was open from 6:00-9:00 as we served several different breakfast options. We are proud of our students and how hard they are working.  The beginning of the week was rainy and pretty chilly.  There have been a few accidents and a bit of sickness.  The men will be leaving for a three day hike on Monday morning.  The ladies will keep working on their houses.  Next Saturday is the big move up day.  Please pray for the Emanate class for their health, safety, and encouragement during these challenging days.