Divine Appointments

Ok....as promised

What happened with Jon!

So the first time Jon went out, during IKE he was able to minister to people left and right. Almost every insured he saw he either had a word of knowledge for them and was able to pray for them or was able to minster in some other way. New York was hard. The only word of knowledge he got was for the policeman who pulled him over. Kentucky out right sucked. He wasn't able to minister to anyone. So this time around he was praying for the opportunity to do God's work. Well.....God's favor seems to be on roofers this time. If a roofer shows up to an appointment Jon almost always gets a word of knowledge for them and is able to minister in some way. But Jon had been hanging out with a new friend, a fellow adjuster, and wanted to be able to speak into his life. He could feel that God had something for him but wasn't quite sure how to go about it. The opportunity came when they decided to have dinner together. Now if you've ever gone out to eat with Jon, you know that he is going to start witnessing to the waitress....I guess you could call it a special gift....I call it it "time to go to the bathroom"...but I'm getting much better at not being embarrassed! Anyway, the waitress asks if they need anything else and Jon says "Actually yes, do you work in Hospice?" She told him no. So Jon says "Well, the reason I ask is because I'm a Christian, and God loves to talk to his kids. I feel like God is speaking to me about you and I see this picture of you by a hospital bed caring for a man who is very ill or dying. Does that mean anything to you?" This touches the woman deeply and through her tears she is able to tell Jon that her husband has just died of brain cancer and she had been caring for him in his illness for three years. She was very curious about what God had to say about that. It was definitely God's timing because this conversation could have gone either way. But Jon was able to speak into her life about the love of God and how God never wanted sickness and death in the world, and that God hurt when she hurt, and cried when she cried and that he loves her and wants to know her more. He was also able to explain The Comforter...ie...the Holy Spirit.

Needless to say this opened a door for God to speak into Jon's friends life as well.

It never ceases to amaze me, just by being available, what God will and can do!

God Rocks!!!

Emily

Where to begin

There is so much I'd like to share with you I'm afraid that one post would be overwhelming. So I'm going to start with our pane trip. I'll save the conference and the awesome works God is doing for Jon for another time!

Well, traveling in an air plane with three kids, one of them two years old, went about as well as could be expected. We got to the air port early in case it took me a while to get all four of us through security. It actually went pretty smoothly until we had all gone through and a man says "We're going to have to check one of your bags." Having nothing to hide, I went to where they directed me and a woman appeared. "Is there anything sharp that could poke me before I open this?" "I couldn't guarantee it, it's our school bag. I checked it for scissors before we left, but I'm not entirely positive." She dug around for a minute and then pulled out a zip lock baggie. It was then that I remembered the clay tablet project I had done a couple months ago with my sisters kids. I had wondered what happened to all that clay! Well apparently it's not a preferred substance to have in a carry on, especially in a wade, in a zip lock baggie, along with the chargers for your computer and cell phone! I told them they could trash it, but they said they couldn't and had to do some testing on it. So I stood there for a while while they rubbed this on it and sampled that. Eventually they gave it back and said they were sorry to have detained me. I completely understood.

So after killing an hour at the gate we get all lined up to board and then they tell us we're delayed another 20 minutes. Once we get on the plane, and I'm trying to get the kids settled in their seats, a man gets on board and decides to sit at the emergency exit. The problem is.....he only has one hand! Ok....I'm all for equal opportunity, and not discriminating....But seriously....you need two hands to open the emergency exit. So he gets all offended and won't change seats. They have to bring in two big wig guys to talk him down and I'm not sure how they finally resolved it but I think the words "free" and "sue" were tossed around a bit. Ok, now that we've sat on the plane an extra twenty minutes for that little outburst we finally get in the air. It was a little rough with turbulence, but not too scary and Caedon had a blast, along with Eythan and Charis. The poor people in front of us hated us though. All Caedon wanted to do was put the tray down, put the tray up, put the tray down, put the tray up.....ahhhh! He had finally had enough by our decent and pretty much screamed for the last 20 minutes.

It was sooooo good to see Jon and the kids flipped when they saw him.. It's awesome to be together as a family again. No matter how small our house, or how crazy our life. We're a family and just being together is the thing that makes it all worth it.

We love you all and we'll keep you updated on our progressing adventure. Jon just got some more claims here in Georgia, so we may be here for a while, but we would also like to be sent to Oklahoma city area.

I'll check in tomorrow and let you know the awesome God stuff happening with Jon!!!

Blessings!

Emily

Georgia's on My Mind

Well, Jon made it safe to Georgia. He hates the RV park he is in but it's the only one that has sewer hook up for miles around. ( I just realized our situation makes us very aware of our crap. Maybe there is a spiritual parallel? hehehe...)

We miss him very much but he is very busy and financially it looks like this is going to be good for us. He is very lonely though and working very very hard which is starting to wear on him already. Please pray for his continued strength and protection for his mind and spirit while being alone.

I'm heading off to a woman's conference this weekend and I'm really excited about what God is going to do. If you think about it, please pray for the women who are attending and that God would do a mighty work there! Also for me as I don't think I've left Caedon anywhere for more than one night before, and you mom's know how that goes.

I really appreciate all of you being a sounding board for me and helping me keep connected even when I'm a thousand miles away. We're going to miss our church family for a few weeks while were gone, but don't forget about us!! We love you all!!

Blessings,

Emily

Why?....Oh why doest Thou taunt me so?

So....the family went to 50 cent movies today. On the way (stressing over spending the $2 for a family outing....geesh!)...I'm thinking......

God? I know you always wait until the last minute to come through. You wait until, there is absolutely no way but Your way, and then you swoop in with answers and save the day. Well God....zero hour has come and gone...it's a quarter past the last minute, where are you?

Then on the way home, Jon and I are hashing out the "what to do next" ideas, and praying for direction. So...with nothing else to do but wait, we play outside with the kids riding bikes and blowing bubbles. Jon is on the phone chasing down leads on one of the plans we thought of, and just as the plan comes together he gets a call on the other line.

We're going to Georgia! This is awesome for several reasons. We have some great friends there and they pastor an awesome church which I have wanted to visit for some time now. Also, it's only a hop, skip, and jump from Disney world! ;).

The only issue we have is that I've agreed to lead worship for a woman's conference in Oklahoma next weekend, so Jon will be making the trip by himself today and tomorrow. Please pray for his safety.

I'll keep you updated on our next adventure!!

Blessings,

Emily

Frustrations

Hey Folks,

I just wanted to send a quick note and say that we are still in Dallas. As of this morning, Jon is still on standby, but there is no prospect for him going out right this minute. Before it could have been any second, now they are saying any day. Obviously this is a bit stressful and we could use some prayers, that we get called out soon!

Also, I'd like to thank you for those who prayed for us the last time I sent an email. God has started working on both Jon and my heart...it's been great!

Blessings,

Emily