Two years in Kansas!

Time – they say – passes quickly when you’re having fun.

We must be having fun! It’s hard to believe it’s been over two years since we packed up and left Texas, but that is the case. This second year has been good. Interesting. Fun. And yes, hard at times.

Our family is healthy and happy and we’re enjoying each day of this season in our children’s lives. God gave us our Mary this past year and we will always be grateful that we didn’t stop God’s blessings at four.

Community Bible Church is doing well. In all those tangible, measurable ways (e.g., new members, finances, guests, etc.) we had a little better year than the year before and the year before (2006) was a lot better than the years before that, so we are encouraged. We have lots of new people with a fresh outlook on things. We started a friendship with a black church in Topeka recently and everyone is really enjoying that. We invited their pastor and praise team to participate in our Worship Conference at the end of October. Not sure where it’s going, but right now it’s just fun being friends with them. We did our first Passover last year and it was a huge success. We’re seeing the lights come on for some new believers who are faithful to Bible study. We’re seeing individuals practicing the one-anothers in ways that are uncomfortable at times, but very rewarding for all involved. We’re also seeing new friendships replacing lost ones (churches in transition tend to see that sort of thing).

But, like any church, we have our share of problems and issues that need to be resolved and these can be very exhausting. God is good, though, and continues to put encouragers into our lives precisely when we need them. There are many intangible things that happen which reveal true, spiritual growth. If we’re too focused on numbers, finances and guests and such things, we may miss the intangibles.

In our own personal lives we see these intangibles most clearly. God is making us stronger and wiser and more determined than ever. We are closer than ever and that’s saying a lot. We’ve always been very happy and close. We’ve both (especially Beth) had to step up and lead in ways that are out of our comfort zones. It is in those times that God seems to make His presence felt in special ways.

We get discouraged at times. Frustrated. Disappointed. But we think this means we’re really doing something important. Exactly what God wants us to do. We just want to be faithful. To someday hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master.”

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.”

Mary Hope LePage

Mary Hope LePage was born early this morning (4:51 a.m.), February 15, 2007. She and Beth are doing very well despite the fact that they had to endure an emergency C-section. The umbilical cord was wrapped around Mary’s head and every contraction was cutting off her blood and oxygen. Her heartbeat kept dropping dangerously low, so we ended up in OR instead of L&D.

Mary weighs 9 lbs, 2 oz. and is 21 inches long. She is very strong, healthy and alert. She is also very pink and her lungs are clear. We are praising God for watching over these two ladies and for having mercy on us. After the doctor told me what she needed to do, I asked if I could pray for her. She said, “Please”. After I prayed for her — and Beth and Mary, of course — the doctor looked up and said, “I prayed too on my way here this morning.” Somehow I knew things were going to be okay.

Homeschool Field Trip – Kansas Day

One of the great things about homeschool is that the whole family can go along on field trips. We all went to Topeka for Kansas Day on this beautiful day in January. We started out in our covered wagon and then spent the night around a camp fire (actually just the Kansas Museum of History). The kids got to do lots of hands-on things including walking through a real train, going into an authentic Indian tee-pee and getting to dress up in pioneer clothes (is that Laura Ingalls or our Abigail?).

After the Kansas Museum of History, we stopped by the Capitol Building where we got a photo-op with Abraham Lincoln and the two big girls ran up the capitol steps.

A day in the snow

The kids have seen snow before, but rarely (before we moved to Kansas) did they get a chance to play in several inches of it. So, we got all bundled up, built a snow man, threw some snowballs, created some snow angels and just had a great time together.

One year in Kansas!

It’s been quite a year! It was a difficult year, but I can honestly say it was a good one.

Family. Our one-year anniversary in Kansas was October 1. We can’t believe it’s already been 15 months! We are adjusting well and really enjoy our new (old) home. We love autumn in Kansas and especially enjoyed our first fall in our new home. The picture here of our big oak tree with our house behind it, gives an indication of how much color exploded all around us. It was beautiful and lasted more like three months (instead of three days which is the average length of fall in Texas ).

Another Baby!

God is blessing us with another child! We are expecting our fifth child in February of 2007! When we told the big three (Lydia is oblivious) they literally jumped up and down screaming with excitement. Beth and I are enjoying the fact that – more than ever – our whole family is expecting this child. When we were expecting Abigal (#2), Hannah was oblivous to what was going on. When we were expecting Josiah, Hannah was aware enough to make it fun (in fact, she had actually prayed for a baby brother). When we were expecting Lydia, Shaun drew a picture of a family with four children and showed it to Hannah, Abigail and Josiah. Hannah and Abigial cheered. Josiah was oblivious. This time, though the big three are very much involved. They’re making name suggestions and talking about how life will work with another kid in the mix. It’s exciting to share the experience so much.

 

CBC – Almost a year!

Community Bible Church is plugging right along. We’ve seen lots of encouraging signs that we’re getting healthy and moving in the right direction. One thing is for sure, we’ve gained a new appreciation for what God did in Coppell while we were there. We often compare and contrast and sometimes feel we’ve jumped back in time to where Coppell Bible was about 10 years ago. God really prepared us then to minister to CBC now. It’s great working for Someone who can see the future and knows exactly what we need. Oh that we would trust Him! Since coming here (almost a year ago now!) one verse has been like a motto – a theme verse for us: John 15:5. Jesus said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” That’s exactly right and never has that made more sense than now. Church renewal is hard, emotionally exhausting work, but by His grace and strength we are having a great adventure. Especially in regard to prayer. We’re not great prayer warriors or anything like that, but we’ve seen some very specific answers to prayer. God has encouraged us and reminded us that He desires to answer our prayer (Matthew 7:7-12). The more specific we get, the more obvious it is when He answers. One of the perks of the “job” here in Lawrence is that we are less than an hour from Shaun’s sister’s family in Missouri. This has made it possible for Shaun to get over to his nephew Gabriel’s football games. Gabe is the starting quarterback for a 5A high school. The games are very exciting and we’re expecting great things from Gabe – both on the field and off the field. Great kid. His big sister Sharla and her husband Chris recently had their first baby – Tori! Sharla and Chris are students at a college in Springfield, Missouri.

The move to Kansas

After 14 years in Texas, we loaded everything up and moved to Kansas. Thankfully, Coppell Bible Fellowship didn’t want us to leave. But, Shaun has been preparing to become a senior pastor and God finally opened the door for that to happen. He is now the pastor of Community Bible Church (CBC) in Lawrence, Kansas. It was very, very difficult and painful to leave our beloved, sweet, precious (sorry, none of these words seem to communicate the idea enough), dear, brothers and sisters in Christ in Coppell, Texas.

Goodbye to Texas!

It’s a very bittersweet time. We’re saying goodbye to some wonderful friends–our Texas family, really (that’s the bitter part). It could be worse, though. I could have been fired and everyone could have been saying “good riddance!” But we’ve been told a thousand times, “We’re so happy for you, but sad for us.” It has been very satisfying to be in one