Vacation with G-Pa and G-Ma

We had a blessed time with Grandpa and Grandma Kaeb this past week.  They came up to Knockpatrick a few days and then we went to a resort for a few days.  The kids had a great time.  The boys got lots of practice swimming and they loved hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma.  We had some good fellowship and are so thankful for the love of our parents.  You can check out a few pics by clicking here.

"Love Does" - a book review

Wow! Great Book!  Love Does by Bob Goff is a testimony of God’s goodness “leaking” from a life committed to trying to figure out what it means to be the hands and feet of God.  This book profoundly encouraged me.  It is largely a book of stories.  Actually, not just stories, but stories that act more like parables.  Parables, not in any profoundly theological way, but in an inspirational way that will be a game changer in my life.  Love Does brought clarity to a thread God has been weaving through my life regarding the abundant life.  The stories put flesh to a perspective of life that believes that the abundant life is an everyday reality.  Bringing to life ideas of “whimsy” and “capers” and being “secretly incredible,” this book shines a light on ways to “leak” Jesus everywhere we go and in everything we do.  And, leaking Jesus in a way that creates thirst in a parched world and dispels darkness in a world that is blind.  This salt and light is spread by the “doing” of love because love does.  The quote that I will take away as the thesis of the book is, “I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.”  This is the heartbeat of this book, living the secretly incredible life on behalf of the Kingdom with incredible love.  Because, Love Does!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Family coming to town!

Keri's parents flew to Jamaica on Tuesday. They took a couple of days for themselves and then we will meet them tomorrow. We are all very excited. The kids have been talking about all that they will do with Grandpa and Grandma. We will spend a few days with them at our home and then do a mini-vacation with them for a few days this coming week. We are looking forward to the fellowship and catching up!

A couple of more Leo team blessings

There are many more blessings from the Leo team for which to give thanks. Here are two more.

Every time our friend Janice comes, we are blessed. She is a favorite of our kids and we dont think she is half bad either. This trip, besides her joy and jokes, she joined in with the kids to dye Easter eggs. As the pictures so clearly explain, this was a highlight for the kids.

Also, one of the team's projects for the week was to pour a concrete patio for the male residents. The new patio will allow for a place for the more mobile residents to get outside under a shade tree for recreation. It will then allow the bed ridden residents to be able to be pushed out on their current porch for fresh air. We finished pouring the patio on Thursday. Then, after dropping off the team at the airport on Saturday, I drove back up to the infirmary to make sure all was good with how we left the project. When I drove up to the male ward, I was blessed to see a couple of men outside under the shade tree enjoying our Father's creation. Praise the Lord!

Farewell Hubers

Today, our teammates, the Hubers are flying back to the states to begin a transition to a different station of ministry. Please join us in praying for their travels and their transition. We have done a lot life together with this family and they will be profoundly missed. We are experiencing with them the unique paradox of emotions. We rejoice in God's plan in their life and mourn the changing of our relationship. To God be the Glory!

Then came the morning

Glorious Easter morning! This song was always a bit of an Easter morning tradition around our house. May it bless you this morning as we remember the stone rolled away!

Then came the morning
They all walked away, with nothing to say,
They'd just lost their dearest friend.
All that He said, now He was dead,
So this was the way it would end.
The dreams they had dreamed were not what they'd seemed,
Now that He was dead and gone.
The garden, the jail, the hammer, the nail,
How could a night be so long.

Then came the morning, night turned into day;
The stone was rolled away, hope rose with the dawn.
Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun,
Death had lost and life had won, for morning had come.

The angel, the star, the kings from afar,
The wedding, the water, the wine.
Now it was done, they'd taken her son,
Wasted before his time.
She knew it was true, she'd watched him die too,
She'd heard them call Him just a man,
But deep in her heart, she knew from the start,
Somehow her Son would live again.

Then came the morning, night turned into day;
The stone was rolled away, hope rose with the dawn.
Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun,
Death had lost and life had won, for morning had come.

Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun,
Death had lost and life had won, for morning had come.

Morning had come.

by Bill and Gloria Gaither

Leo Team 2012

Judy teaching Vacation Bible School!
The team with the kids from the community!

The team at Deaf Bible Church in St. Elizabeth!

Wow! What a week! Hosting this team from our home church has been fantastic. The fellowship has been sweet and the ministry completed has been great. The team had a big task. They were doing some hard concrete work, they were ministering to the residents, they were teaching the children in the community, and also doing some fix-it jobs for the infirmary. So, everyday, 5 major tasks were running simultaneously and they met every challenge. On Tuesday, the kids worked like dogs and did a great job pouring cement. We then mapped out our next two days and had the finish line in sight. But, we got to the infirmary on Wednesday and they asked if we could make the patio bigger. This was no small task, but the met the challenge and completed the task as requested. Anyways, there are many stories but the pictures will tell the better tale. Please click here to see some pictures of the week.

Simply Grilling - a book review

I love grilling. The confluence of smell, anticipation, and aura are the perfect blend. Therefore, I also love learning about grilling as well. That is why I am reviewing, “Simply Grilling” by Jennifer Chandler. As is similar to other grilling books, “Simply Grilling,” starts with general information about grilling, Charcoal vs. Gas, Direct vs. Indirect, and more general theory. This was good stuff, not necessarily unique, but just good information. Then, the recipes, wow. The recipes section is very nicely formatted. The recipes are “tabbed.” The tabs are for whether the recipe can be easily varied, marinated, done ahead, grilled inside, etc. The recipes look good and I love the simple approach. I have gone through the book and “dog-eared” about half of the recipes. I am excited to use both the recipes as well as the ideas on our grill. Whether its taste combinations, methods for grilling, or ways to make grilling simpler, sometimes a book like this is needed to spur the mind to think outside the box. “Simply grilling” is a nice combination of all of the above and it is packaged in a beautiful book with stunning pictures. We look forward to putting these ideas into practice and expanding our grilling repertoire in a simple but delicious way.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Leo Team

A quick update on the Leo team.

We have had a great couple of days. The team arrived Saturday afternoon. They were welcomed to Jamaica by an especially long line at immigration. But, after a couple of hours, they made it through and the rest of the day was spent getting to CCCD and getting oriented. Sunday morning, the group was up early and headed off to Church in St. Elizabeth. The team visited Deaf Bible Church. So, a 3 hour drive across the countryside was enjoyed by all. The church service was great. After church, the team enjoyed fellowship for a while, the church served them a lunch, and then we were back on the road to Montego Bay. Monday morning, up again and off to the St. James Infirmary for work. The team dove right into the work and with the residents. Serving in unity is a profound joy!