God's Endless Faithfulness......

I realized I am behind on updating on what has been happening in our lives since the last time I posted.
Ally turned 10 on the 15th and I am still having trouble believing she is already 10. Double digits now....wow...time sure has flown by. She wanted to ride a horse for her birthday so we were able to get her an hour lesson in High Point this past Saturday. She loved it! By the end of the lesson she was riding the horse all by herself and even trotting with it. I think this has sparked an even greater interest in horses. She is having better days at school and for that we are very thankful. God is teaching her alot and really growing her faith and dependence on Him. It is so neat as her mom and dad to see her reading the Bible on her own and really developing her relationship with the Lord on her own. She is learning and growing and we are very proud of her.
Ally started doing gymnastics on Saturdays and is loving it. She is in a great gymnastics academy that is very well organized and has taught her alot already.

Caleb is doing well, although he is really missing not being involved in some kind of sport this fall. We are hoping to find something for him to get involved with. He really misses being able to go outside and run and play for periods of time. He misses our neighborhood in NY and his best friend Fuller. He talks about him ALL the time. We are all looking forward to Fuller and his family coming for a visit in February. He talks often of missing his old school, but is really thankful to be in the same class with his friend John. I am sure he would be doing much worse had John not been with him. That has been a huge blessing to have him here during this transition. God really did know what He was doing when he called us all down here together. God is SO good!!

Anna Kate is doing great. She loves her school and her class. She has adjusted better then any of us have. She will say every now and then how she misses NY and that when she gets married one day she will move back there.... ha....too cute...but for the most part she is our ray of sunshine that is just happy most of the time in whatever situation she is in.... :) She is in a dance class on Saturdays that she loves being in so that gives her something to look forward to every week.

Chris, is plugging right along with plans for the Crosswinds Church. He is flying to NY this Thursday to update Victory on where we are as a church and also to meet with our supporters. He is SO looking forward to seeing everyone again. He seemed to time this trip just perfectly so he could attend the East/West football game on Friday night... :) The kids and I are so wishing we could be going too......
We went to Thomasville, NC this past Sunday and Chris spoke at Mt. Zion Wesleyan Church and shared the vision for Crosswinds with them and asked people for their support prayerfully and financially. We are very blessed that Mt. Zion has signed on to partner with us and we are SO very thankful for that. We are in need of more finances for Crosswinds to take shape and kickoff in Feb and we are believing that God has BIG things in store and that He WILL PROVIDE all that we need at just the right time. Please pray for us that God will place on the hearts of His people to help us with this financial need. Things are happening and we are seeing God's faithfulness every day. We have several events planned the end of Oct and into November and we are getting excited as we are seeing things taking shape. God is SO good!

As for me....I am enjoying my job and loving the people I work with. This job has been a huge blessing for us and I am SO thankful for it. I see this job as a ministry opportunity for me as well. Just to be able to share God's love to people I encounter everyday whether it be through a smile, a word of encouragement, a listening ear......He is using me and I am humbled! As a team we are all reading Bill Hybles book entitled Just Walk Across the Room and I have been challenged by it. The book says that if taking ten steps across a room could point someone toward faith it might just change the way you walk.....It has challenged me in my everyday encounters with people. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about reaching out to others for Christ.

As a family we are growing and learning together on this journey and we are closer together as a unit as a result of this move. We treasure our times together and I am learning to let things go that used to drive me crazy.... valuing our time and not taking even one minute for granted.....we only have this one life and we can't go back and change things but we can treasure every minute and make the best of what the Lord has blessed us with and that is each other.

God is so faithful and I am truly humbled and honored to be on this journey He has called us to. There have been days I have wanted to pack up and go back to NY because this just wasn't what I signed on for....but in the midst of the hardships and emotions, my God has proved to be faithful and He has lifted me out of the miry pit and set my feet on a ROCK.....My dad said through his fight with cancer that it was in the hard times that we truly experience who God is and we truly KNOW HIM....I experienced that to be true during my grief in losing my dad to cancer and I am experiencing it now in this move to Wilmington. I think of dad everyday and his words of wisdom and oh how I wish he were here to give me more advice now.... it is now that I run to my Heavenly Father for His words of encouragement, wisdom, love, mercy..... He is FOREVER FAITHFUL.....my Abba Father......

It has been since July that we have truly experienced God's incredible faithfulness to us and it is endless......we are eternally grateful.....