by God's grace

Alright, I still have tons of random photos to share...

A group of women meet (well, TRY to meet) once a month for breakfast to talk, pray, study and work through Voscamp's 1000 Gifts.  This time IS a gift, and though we are all different and doing lots of different things here in Haiti, having a group of women who uniquely understand baking 6 loaves of bread every week with 3 people at your door and a Haitian stomach bug?   Priceless.

This past week we challenged each other to recognize each element of our days, jobs, families, health, ALL of it, positive or negative, as God's GRACE.  It's by His grace we live and breathe, because of His grace that we are able to suffer at times, able to celebrate, at others.  As we shared stories of times that what seemed like trial and burden later were realized to be God's grace, even the tragedies, we recommitted to trust that it's ALL His grace in our lives.  

This "new" perspective has truly changed my last four days.  As soon as I redefine each difficulty, out loud, "by your Grace, Lord!"...an overwhelm of thankfulness seems to take over.

Thankful for these women and that time!

Thankful for these goofs, too...the Heckman's next door always make us laugh!  His grace!  After running a bunch of errands and between an airport drop-off and pick up, we grabbed lunch and some ice cream, which made everyone smile...even Phil, who couldn't stop eating it for even 1 second :)

 The Weavers, who move down in less than a week (by His grace!) are moving into an apartment on the second story of the men's dorm.  Turning four rooms into an apartment has been no easy task, and Sam and Phil have been diligently working on this for a while now!  We praise the Lord for the additions of Rod C., Uncle Don, Erick R., and many others who have worked hard to turn this "project" into a home!  

As of yesterday...the bedroom

kitchen and will-be porch

Kitchen to the left, dining rom to the right, bathroom straight ahead, and bedroom to the right and another to the left.  Thank you North Ridge and many others for all your help, and for all the talented wives and kiddos at home hanging strong so their talented husbands can be here!

Lily is so thankful to have her beloved Uncle Don back, by God's grace...she finally announced yesterday that everything would be a LOT better if Uncle Don didn't have to WORK!

Aunt Brenda sent this adorable quilt for baby Christie.  Sofie was KEEN on stealing it, but finally forked it over yesterday :)

We're up to 7 baby goats, and last week the girls and I were at the right place at the right time and got to experience Mama Noel deliver her two kids (by God's grace)!  The girls were mesmerized by the miracle and talked of little else that day.  This is Flutter-Shy and the brother is Butter-Fly.  Yes, the girls have names for ALL the goats.

Also, by God's grace, Matt spent days with my laptop, finally wiped the entire hard-drive of EVERYTHING (painful) and then reinstalled it all from a backup we had made a few weeks earlier.  While this means I lost anything I did the past 2 weeks...I thought I had lost everything I did the past 2 YEARS.  Now, I'm up and running again!  By God's Grace!

SO, give it a try.  Not just saying it...believing it.

So many have never had the chance to live TODAY that we have.  Our sin and brokenness merit death and separation.  

And yet here we are, today, able to live in the fullness of His presence and in the joy of the LORD.  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord, and recognize that every peal of laughter and every tear, every trial and every blessing, every mountain top and every daily mole hill is a sign of HIS grace in our lives.