In between . . . Evee time!

After our time out west, we had two days turn around time in Spring Lake before we headed to Indy to see family and Evee.

It's always great to see our kids, but miss Josh and Kari, Mike and Joni. It's been a fun weekend hanging out with Clint, Jamie and Evee and Julie.

Tomorrow we fly out to begin the Europe piece of the sabbatical - Slovakia, Bosnia, and Croatia.

Can't send this post without a few pictures of Evee who is now 2 months old. She is such a sweetie! We love her so.

I have one more Israel blog to post in the next few days. Even though it seems a bit after the fact, this one's gripped my heart in such a way that I can't let it go.

Squeaky Clean!

Can't get enough of Evee.

My Papa!

Joining Dennis on his Sabbatical Journey

Dennis and I are just completing the first leg of his sabbatical. I wrote in my journal on my flight out to join Dennis in Salt Lake City the following: Trusting that these next ten days will be a delightful time for Dennis and I - light, fun, easy, comfortable, intimate, laughter, spiritual, with a oneness that only God could bless us with. And it has been just that. We thoroughly enjoyed this time and look forward to the next leg.

Our first day in Glacier National Park while picking up some hiking maps in the visitor center I read with interest the following quote from John Muir: Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, overcivilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.

Glacier is truly a place of indescribable beauty and a place where in the "wildness" of nature we found great peace and rest. So good! To see some pictures of our time, click on The Sabbatical Journey to your right under links.

Israel.part4 - Brought to Life

I chose to follow Christ as a young girl at the age of ten. I'll never forget that day - it will always be a sweet reminder of the day that God's Spirit made me spiritually alive, the day eternal life began for me, the day I was made new. I remember the faith that rose within me, empowering me to believe that what Jesus did on the cross was really true for me. I remember my Dad being very instrumental in my life that day as he walked with me, hand in hand, to an altar where I asked Jesus to come and live in me. I'll never forget how clean I felt inside - something that to this day I can't adequately explain.

And that's exactly what baptism is all about. An ancient ritual that began in the Jordan River, symbolizing the cleansing of sin and the new life that Jesus gives to those who choose to follow him.


I guess (so my mom says) I didn't want to be put under water after my conversion and so on a Sunday morning I was sprinkled with water as a sign of baptism. In my heart I knew what it meant and so it was a meaningful experience for me. But while we were in Israel we went to the Jordan River where we could be baptized if we so desired. Since I was never immersed, it seemed an appropriate time and place for me to be baptized as Jesus and the early disciples were. And so it was after 41 years of walking with Christ that I was again baptized remembering the new life I began as a young girl. It was even more special to be baptized by Dennis and Pastor Pete.


Brought to life . . . then, now and tomorrow . . . God's work of grace still renewing me day by day.

Israel.part3 - Disrupted Faith . . .

The shore of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee held significance for the three years of Jesus’ ministry life. The city of Capernaum, where Jesus would have preached more sermons and performed more miracles than any other place, sat on its northern shores. Jesus walked on its waters, subdued the stormy sea when the disciples were afraid, and often crossed it to find a place of solitude for prayer with His Father. It was from the shores of Galilee that Jesus called several of his disciples from their fishing livelihood to follow him and be “fishers of men” - one of them Simon Peter.

I stood on its shores where tradition says that Jesus called Peter a second time from his fishing endeavors. The same Peter who Jesus declared was the rock upon which he would build his church. The same Peter who invited Jesus to be a guest in his home in Capernaum. The same Peter who swore he would never disown or deny Jesus. The same Peter who tried to defend Jesus at his arrest. The same Peter while Jesus stood trial, claimed three times that he wasn’t involved with Jesus, that he never knew him. All that he thought Jesus was and all that he hoped for in Jesus was dashed in a moment. Just like that, Peter gave up on Jesus. He wasn’t who he thought he was.

But the thing that gets me most is that Jesus never gave up on Peter. Jesus calls Peter from the shores of Galilee not to reprimand him for his doubts, but to reinstate his love for him. And more than that, he still believed in this “rock” who would help to form the early church. I am always amazed at this story – the incredible unconditional love of Jesus. Peter, do you love me more than these? Do you truly love me? Do you love me? Jesus loved Peter. Now he was giving Peter a chance to renew his love and faith for him – three times to be exact.

When Jesus called Peter the first time, he didn’t fully comprehend the magnitude of Jesus’ life and death. Now the second time, Peter realizes more than ever the glory of Jesus’ life, death and now resurrection. He later writes to encourage the believers undergoing persecution during Nero’s reign, “we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” He remembers the upheaval brought to his faith even after he walked and talked with Jesus for three years and writes to the new believers, “though you have not seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy . . .”

Disrupted faith . . . how often I am like Peter, doubting who Jesus really is, wondering if he is who he says he is. When my faith is shattered, thrown into disarray and confusion, Jesus calls me from the shore, "Friends, have you caught any fish?" And there he provides me with sustenance and restores my faith by his overwhelming love.