Hurricane windstorm in Indiana

Gracious! Who would have thought that southern Indiana would have winds up to 82 m.p.h. from Hurricane Ike. Last Sunday that is exactly what was happening. I felt like a 4-wheeling momma on Sunday. We were on our way home from church and I was driving my nephew's truck (he has such a pretty new red Avalanche- way to go Christopher) and the path home was quite windy but nothing prepared me for the journey off of our exit.

We live in the country and the road to get to our house is lined with trees on both sides. We went about a mile down the road and got roadblocked, a huge tree had taken down the pole and power line, so we turned around (mind you I'm only 5 miles to my house when I get on this road). We went around another way only to find a couple of more trees in the road, I was able to drive under one tree, go into ditch/field on another, only to be 2 miles from my house and be stopped again. I'm stopped by a friendly but concerned lady, who states, there is a couple of trees down up the road, I'm not sure how far you are driving and there is a power line across the road. I asked this nice lady, how did you get passed the power line? She replies, well my car fit under the line but the truck behind me drove over it. I'm just a bit nervous because I don't want to tear up my nephew's truck and I have 3 passengers and I certainly don't want to endanger anyone's life. I thank the lady and then proceed to speak with the driver of the truck, he tells me that it is not a power line it is a telephone wire but there are several trees down in the road. By this time, I'm not sure if we will ever get home and I'm supposed to be having about 25 people over to my house for dinner. I then proceed to call my husband and find out where he is to see if he could rescue me out of this scary situation. The four guys, (Wayne, brother-in-law, nephew and son) all decide to pave the way home. We went under a tree, drove through a neighbor's yard (with permission) and proceeded to arrive at home only to find the electric out. Little did we know that our electric would be out for 3 1/2 days.

Our sump pump overflowed in the basement because the electric was out and we had to run the sweeper off the generator by flashlight to suck up the water but other than that we had no damage. We were able to use a generator starting Sunday evening and it ran until Tuesday then it chose to stop cooperating. We had wonderful neighbors who allowed us to run an extension cord from their generator to our house so that the fridge, freezer and even a lamp would work. We were truly blessed compared to others.

The comforts and luxuries of home were not there as we had become accustomed to but conditions were livable. We still had a houseful of company who were going through this trial with us but we managed and all survived. We will never forget the windstorm of 2008, we ate by candlelight, had long conversations over flashlights and tiki torches. It is amazing how much I take for granted the hot showers and electricity. Our next purchase will be a new generator. I sure am enjoying the hot water now.

A few weeks ago Wayne was driving down the interstate towards Missouri. He was kinda bummed because he was going to be at this job for a couple of weeks and he was already missing home. A truck pulled him beside him along the interstate and honked and the people started waving, Wayne got so excited because it was a friend of his that he had really bonded with a few months ago on a bike ride. It was none other than Mike Mercer, they were only together for a short time along the interstate but those moments meant alot. The entire encounter was orchestrated by God because only He works in perfect timing. I as a human being try to keep everything together and running smoothly but I fail so miserably at times. I have to remember that if I keep my hand in God's hand and let Him guide me that everything will always work out so much better than my plans. My favorite scripture is "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord..." Jeremiah 29:11

I had the wonderful privilege of spending last evening with my cousin Danny. He was working in a nearby town and we arranged to meet and have dinner together. We are only 1 day apart in age. It was fun hanging out with him, he was showing Caleb some neat pool tricks so that when Wayne gets back in town Caleb will be able to show off to his dad.

Interview with Rick Warren

Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE 'PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE')

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales.

This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,'which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.Third , we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD.Every moment, THANK GOD.

Summer Day at the Lake

Caleb and Bethany & Caitlin Myers enjoying their ride on the lake. We had a beautiful and fun day.
My dear friend Tracy, she actually was relaxed on this trip. She has overcome alot with her fear of water. Way to go!
This is Wayne being pulled by the boat on a tube, he absolutely loved the thrill of skipping across the water. I haven't learned to drive the boat yet so his best friend was driving and having a great time making Wayne hang on for dear life.

Caitlin and Caleb were going to try and ride the tube together as we drove over to the cove so the kids could go swimming but they only made it a few feet before they both fell off the tube. They shared lots of laughter.

Bethany was such a trooper about tubing. She initially didn't want to get into the water, as she had never been on a lake before but she finally built up her courage and started loving it. Her dad was driving the boat and started out really slow and she kept giving the signal to go faster. She never did fall off the tube.


We had such a fun day on the lake with friends and shared lots of laughter and memories. There is nothing quite like a picnic lunch on the boat, we made ham sandwiches while the boat rocked and munched on oreos & grapes and enjoyed God's wonderful creation. Caleb is already asking when we are going to take the boat out again.

Busy Weekend!

My two brothers and I posed for this picture after being at our school reunion yesterday afternoon. I used to call them my two little brothers but they are both taller than me and I'm the short one.

My brother, Jonathan and his wife Aytha getting ready to hit the road back home to northern Indiana.

My brother, Nathan and his wife Telesa posing for a picture.

Nathan was talking to his daughter Savannah about this play gun and his other little monkey, Spencer is in the back ground. Spencer loves to climb and was having a great time.

Caleb took this picture of the hot air balloon as we were driving back home. This picture doesn't show it very well but the blue sky line was so pretty against this hot air balloon.

This is Stephanie Clemens Brugger and myself at our school reunion yesterday. The school has been in existence for 30 years and this is the first time a reunion had ever been done.
This is Elizabeth Harris and I, we graduated together back in 1990. Pilgrim Holiness Academy had only 4 seniors that year but we were considered a large class. It is so funny to look back on but we had always gone to very small private school and the graduating class was always small.

This is a former teacher of mine, Mrs. Toni Coleman. She was my teacher for so many years, we had a great time.

Stephanie was sharing a moment with the former Sharra Riggs.

Joe & LaDonna Covert and Wayne and I posing for a picture. Joe and I were some of the first students for Pilgrim Academy in Muncie, IN. He had a great time looking at the school photos and remembering who some of the people were, kudos for your memory Joe.

We had a great time this weekend, had a wedding to attend on Friday evening and then the school reunion on Saturday. Lots of memories were shared this weekend.

Camp Time

This summer has gone by so quickly for me. It started with baseball and that ended the 4th of July weekend. We had a houseful of company then, the next couple of weeks were Vacation Bible School and this week Caleb is at camp. Caleb went to his first church camp where he was going to stay for the entire week. It has been harder for me than for him, because I can't call and check on him. I had to call and ask my mom how it felt when I first went to church camp for the entire week and I was just a couple of months younger than Caleb. I hope he is sleeping well at night, being a team player, exhibiting a good attitude, all the things that mom's wish for. We are excited for him, he is staying in a cabin with 18 other boys, their counselor is having loads of fun I'm sure.

Next week starts the first day of school, I can't hardly believe it. It also brings a new school, new friends, new schedule and another adjustment to our daily lives. The good news is that Caleb will know alot of the kids that are at his new school, and he has already met his home room teacher and seems to like him alot.

This past weekend we were able to see an eagle. We had taken the boat out on the Ohio River with some friends and were crusin the Ohio, when we spotted the eagle. The kids all enjoyed seeing the eagle sitting up in the tree. The crows were all circling around it above the trees and Mr. Eagle just sat so patiently just watching and waiting. It was very relaxing enjoying the nature that God created along the river banks, the river itself is not so pretty but I'm amazed that as the boat cruises through the river it leaves this pure white path that comes from ugly brown water. It is kinda like God, he takes the all the ugliness that is in our lives and makes it so pure and white when we turn our life over to Him.

This is just a really cute & helpful e-mail I received from a dear friend of mine so I'm sharing it with you. Enjoy!

Weekly Schedule:

Monday WashDay

Lord, help me wash away all my selfishness and vanity, so I may serve you with perfect humility through the week ahead.

Tuesday Ironing Day
Dear Lord, help me iron out all the wrinkles
of prejudice I have collected through the years so that I may see the beauty in others.

Wednesday Mending Day
O God, help me mend my ways so I will not
set a bad example for others.

Thursday Cleaning Day
Lord Jesus, help me to dust out all the many faults I have been hiding in the secret corners of my heart.

Friday Shopping Day
O God, give me the grace to shop wisely so I may purchase eternal happiness for myself and all others in need of love.

Saturday Cooking Day
Help me, my Savior, to brew a big kettle of brotherly love and serve it with clean, sweet bread of human kindness.

Sunday The Lord's Day
O God, I have prepared my house for you. Please help me so I may spend the day and the rest of my life in your presence.