Reflections

Today marks the end of a year. It is amazing to me how quickly the years pass. I think about life ten years ago and it seems like only yesterday. I was a sophomore at Crown College. I was "on my own" and trying to figure out where I fit into this world. Hmmm, ten years later I am still trying to figure out where I fit into this world - go figure!

Ten years ago I was experimenting with life on my own. What did that look like for me? It meant experimenting with the same things most college girls experiment with...hair and make up of course (what did you think I was going to say?!) Yes, I was quite the rebel as I highlighted my hair blond and caked the make-up on. I was really living on the edge! Oh dear. Looking back I can see that it was pretty silly, but it's where I was ten years ago. I would post a picture...but I didn't have a digital camera back then and I don't have access to a scanner at the moment (whew, good thing too)! My life ten years ago also included a trip to the Middle East which changed my life dramatically. Suddenly I was a world traveler and I was hooked. Not just on the traveling part (which don't get me wrong, I loved) but even more than that I was hooked on telling people about Jesus who had never heard of Him before.

Ten years later I feel slightly more mature (just slightly) and a lot more confident in the woman God is molding me into. In the last ten years I have gone through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I have known joy unspeakable as well as pain that goes so deep you don't know how you will ever get through it. One thing that I have learned is that I can get through anything with the help of the Lord and people who love me.

Looking toward the next year(s), there are so many things that I could be anxious about. There are so many unanswered questions. There are so many hopes and dreams yet to be fulfilled. There are so many risks to take and limbs to go out on. So this New Years Eve I am spending some time with the Lord. I am asking Him to help me to not be anxious about anything, but in everything, with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, I am presenting my requests to God. As I do that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.

It is with great joy and anticipation that I welcome the new year. I look forward to the ways the Lord will work. I look forward to the adventures I will have, the friendships I will make, and the joys that are to come. I look forward to being further refined and transformed into the likeness of Christ in the months and years ahead.

So as I sit here in my pajamas with my little bottle of sparkling pear juice listening to Switchfoot and trying to stay awake until the new year arrives, I will reflect on the past and dream about the future. Many blessings to you who have had such an impact in my life over the years and hopefully for many years to come!

'Tis the Season!

Hello dear friends,

I hope that you have had a marvelous Thanksgiving with family and friends and are eagerly anticipating the celebration of the birth of our Savior - JESUS! My friend Linda came to visit me over Thanksgiving and it was great to see her! Unfortunately I got sick for most of her visit and completely lost my voice for her last day here...but when you're such good friends who needs to use words anyway?!

These past several weeks since I last wrote to you have been busy, laid back and lots of fun. Let me explain... I was able be at 2 more craft fairs with my photography business Glory Displayed. I have a love/hate relationship with craft fairs which you understand if you have ever tried selling something at one! I have also been busy trying to learn more about photography and Photoshop and running a business. I attended a Dave Ramsey EntreLeadership simulcast that was amazing. I am reading blogs, articles and books and having fun putting into practice what I am learning. I am grateful to have a friend who is very good at giving me the kick in the butt that I need to keep learning and making my photography the best it can be! I have so much to learn that it can be overwhelming sometimes, but I get really excited when I learn something new...I have been getting really excited a lot lately :-)

Work at the church is going well. I love this time of year and it is great to be able to focus on the real reason for Christmas and to give to those in need instead of focusing on what we want! Our church is doing the Advent Conspiracy again this year and we are trying to raise enough money to drill a well in a community in Liberia so that the people there can have clean, safe water.

I have also had some laid back weeks. I have been fighting that nasty cold that has been going around since the first part of October. Just when I think I am getting better, I re-catch it from someone or maybe it just never went away in the first place. So the last couple of weeks have been full of doctors visits and antibiotics. I would appreciate your prayers that I would be able to get and stay healthy...I really don't want to go back to wearing the dreaded mask every time I go into public like I had to do a couple winters ago. I have also been losing a significant amount of weight and might have to do some more testing to figure out why that is happening. Please pray for that too! So yes, there have been some laid back weeks as I was housebound and coughing up a lung. Let's just say I get a little nutty when I'm stuck in our little apartment for days on end!

Let's end with the FUN! I already mentioned that my friend Linda came to visit me and that was lots of fun! My roommates and I went to the International Dinner at UW-Stout and that was a ton of fun! We got to eat yummy food from all over the world and watch a cultural show. It was great and made me think how boring we are in America sometimes! The other amazing thing I got to do since I last wrote . . . I got to go to the Packer/Viking game! That's right, I was in Viking Land to watch them get beat by the Packers and it was a blast :-)

It is hard to believe that Christmas is just a couple of weeks away. I haven't even been able to put any of my Christmas decorations up yet. So these next couple weeks I am looking forward to making giant snowflakes, decorating and listening to Christmas music! I love this time of the year...even if it is cold here! I pray that you have a wonderful Christmas with those you love and that you remember the reason we celebrate. God bless you friend!

When we are weak, He is strong!

There was a rose garden at retreat that was so beautiful!

Hello friends!

I'm a little late in my update this month. I don't know where October has gone, it has flown by so quickly!

The first part of October was our Alliance District Women's Retreat in Green Lake, WI. It was an absolutely beautiful weekend. It was warm and the fall colors were gorgeous - great for a little photography! I want to thank those of you who were praying for me that weekend. I had some bad issues with asthma throughout the weekend. The building where our main sessions were held was moldy and it was very hard to breathe. I had an asthma attack and had to leave the first session Friday night. Saturday morning I was still having breathing issues so I skipped the first session. I was leading a workshop at 10:30 and wanted to be able to get through it!

It worked out great because I was able to get into the room, get things set up, practice and spend some time in prayer for the women who would be there. I was also concerned that people wouldn't be able to hear me as it was a long room and I didn't have a microphone. Those of you who have heard me speak know that my voice does not carry very well and with all the breathing issues I was having I didn't know if I would have the voice. I had lots of people praying for me and it went so well!

The title of my workshop was "God's Will and Your Life." I shared where God has taken me on my journey with Him and what He has taught me along the way. I also shared what the Bible has to say about God's will and shared some from a book by Kevin DeYoung called "Just Do Something." People always ask me how it went and I say, I don't know, ask someone who listened to it! I received very positive feedback and I felt like it went really well. There were not too many dry eyes in the room by the time I was done! It's moments like that where I am so grateful for everything God has allowed me to go through. If I can encourage even one other person and help them keep hanging on to God when life gets tough and when we don't understand what is going on or why, it brings me great joy. I felt God working through me and speaking through me and for that all I can say is Praise the Lord! All glory goes to Him because in my own strength I am shy and a terrible speaker (just ask my high school speech teacher)!

God sure has brought me a long way over the years and I'm amazed at how He can work in me and through me! I even had someone in complete sincerity ask me for my autograph at the end of the weekend. So I signed my name next to Linda Dillow and tried not to show how shocked and amused I was that someone would want my autograph! Linda Dillow was our speaker at retreat and it was such a blessing to hear what God laid on her heart for us. I feel like there was a lot of spiritual warfare going on during retreat. The enemy did not like what we were up to and it was great to see how God worked in all of the attacks, things going wrong and health issues to bring glory to Himself. I really think it was one of the best retreats I've been to!

When I got back from retreat I got that nasty cold that has been going around. I am still trying to get over it. I have been to the doctor twice and will go again on Thursday for a follow up appointment. I've had blood work done, x-rays taken and a full round of antibiotics. It's a pattern I'm getting used to every time I get a cold. When I am sick or on antibiotics I can't take the medicine that helps me to not be sore from the auto-immune disease. In other words, I have been quite sore the last couple weeks. Weather also affects how I feel and today with all this rain and wind and ickyness I am really sore. I feel like I have been sick or sore most of this month. As much as I hate the cold I am ready for winter to settle in and my body to be able to adjust and hopefully feel better. I would appreciate your prayers on Thursday as I go back to the doctor to follow up on this cough and address something else that has come up that I really hope isn't a big deal.

In the midst of this crazy month of not feeling well, I have had my moments of feeling good and being able to hang out with friends and work on my photography. I had a craft fair at the mall in Menomonie this month. I did not sell a whole lot, but it was a fun day and I was able to pass out my business card. Hopefully people will purchase things later on my website! I was also able to take advantage of the last nice day we've had and take my roommates Christmas card pictures. I need more practice taking people pictures so we had a fun day of driving around taking pictures. They turned out pretty well and I am gaining more confidence in another realm of photography. Oh, and one of the best things this month...watching the Packers beat the Vikings! Go Pack Go!!!

In a lot of ways it has been a hard month, but it has been a good month as well. I have been tired and sore and sick a lot, but I have also felt God's presence and have been learning a lot. It is nice to know that God takes care of me and that I don't have to feel guilty when I just don't have the energy to spend as much time with Him as I would like. He still loves me and He is okay with me just resting in His arms when I need to.

I have two craft fairs coming up in November and I am hoping people will be in a Christmas present buying mood! As I look forward to the busy holiday season, I remind myself to keep my focus on Jesus. He is what it is all about. I want to be the kind of person that serves the Lord out of my love for Him. I don't want to get so busy doing things FOR God that I forget to do things WITH God. I want to spend time with Him first and do things for Him second. I want to be the kind of person that people look at and see Jesus in me. I want to reach out to others and point them towards my heavenly Father. I can't do that if I get too busy and neglect our time together. So my prayer for myself and for you this month is that you would find the time in the midst of a very busy life to hang out with God and have a special time with Him each day. Whatever that looks like for you, may you find strength and energy from the Lord and be filled with joy and love and peace in the midst of a crazy busy life!

Jehovah Jireh - My Provider

Hello Friends,

I can't wait to tell you what God has done! I know I have a lot to update you on, so I will try to make this as brief as I can while still telling you the amazing story of how God is truly my Jehovah Jireh - my Provider.

Many of you have been asking how my last appointment at Mayo went on Friday. Crazy, it seems like Friday was months ago! Anyway, I had the lung function test and met with the lung specialist who confirmed that I have asthma. He gave me two new medications to keep that under control. I then met with my other doctor who wants me to start physical therapy again in October. So that's the boring update...on to the good stuff!

On Saturday I started feeling sick. I had this cough that was getting worse and I felt icky. I asked my parents to go pick up my medications at WalMart for me because I wasn't feeling well, but wanted to get started on these new meds. My mom told me she almost passed out when she went to pick up my meds and they told her they cost $1,2000! Turns out that was for 3 months so she just took the one month supply for $400. We knew I had to do something because there is no way I can afford $400 a month for pills. I can't even afford the ones I'm already on!

On Sunday I went to church and talked to my friend Beth who knows someone at the pharmacy at Luther that can help me get some medications at a discounted rate. She said that she would talk to her and see what they could do. I went home Sunday afternoon and proceeded to feel miserable the rest of the day, and Monday, and Tuesday. On Tuesday Beth called me and told me about a website where I can put in my medications and a company will come up for each one. I can print an application to send to that company to get my meds cheaper. So I looked up all my meds and downloaded the applications. However, I didn't know what to do next because I needed a doctor to fill out part of each of these applications and my meds are from three different doctors in two different states! I felt slightly overwhelmed.

By Tuesday evening my fever went up and I was coughing more. I remembered that in my town there is a free clinic on Tuesday nights. I decided to go because I felt miserable and it was free. By the time I got there, filled out the paperwork and got in to see the doctor my fever was gone. The doctor told me to try my rescue inhaler for the cough and what do you know, it worked marvelously. Of course I have had an inhaler for a cough before, but the thought never crossed my mind to try it again!

So here I am sitting in the clinic feeling pretty good and wondering why I came in at all when the doctor asked me if I needed any help paying for my medications. I said yes and he sent me to another lady who I am pretty sure went on the same website I was on earlier and printed off a bunch of applications for me. All I had to do was sign them. She is going to have the doctor at the free clinic fill out all the doctor parts of the app and send them in for me. We talked about one of the medicines I will have to pay $20 for a 180 day supply. Right now I'm paying about $50 a month. When I asked her how much the rest of them were she told me they are all free. FREE! God just provided about $600/month in medications for free! I almost started crying, but I refrained (pretty much) and just gave her a great big hug and told her what blessing this is. She laughed at me and sent me on my way.

Now mind you, this is about 15 days after I received a letter in the mail saying that $845 of clinic bills and $443 in hospital bills are being covered by an assistance program. All I owe is $90 for my pneumonia shot!

Okay, so I know that was a lot of numbers and kind of a long story, but you see, it's all in the details. All of this has come together in God's perfect timing. It's not just a matter of Him providing for me - which He is SO good at, it's confirmation and a reminder to me just how much He loves me. He not only cares for me, He cares about me.

You see, I know these things in my head, but sometimes it doesn't sink deep enough into my heart. I have really been struggling lately with my health issues. There are so many things that I want to do, but physically cannot do. I have such an adventurous spirit and sometimes it is hard to be that sick girl sitting over there in the corner watching instead of participating. I know God has a plan for my life and I know that I am where He wants me right now, but I can't help but question Him sometimes. Why? Why all this? Why now? Why am I not overseas where I thought I would be, where I thought God wanted me to be? But then He goes and does something like this and it reminds me that He's got it all under control. He cares about every aspect of my life and the fact that I have a strange thing called undifferentiated connective tissue disease is not a surprise to Him. As I sit and listen to the lovely rain and thunder I am reminded yet again that He is in control and I will praise Him in this storm and in any storm He decides I need to go through. Because in the end it's all about Him and our relationship. All of this is teaching me things about God and things about myself and it's causing me to throw myself at His feet. Isn't that what He wants from us? So yes, I praise Him for all of this because it is helping me to become more like Jesus and since that's the goal of my life I guess I'm where I need to be!

So let me encourage you. No matter what storm you are going through God is right there with you. Reach out to Him, He is waiting with open arms!

Here We Go Again

Hello friends!

It has been another busy month. Thank you all for your prayers as I went to Mayo last month. You are such a blessing to me! So it's August 18th and I feel like my summer is officially over. The summer softball games are over, our summer Bible study is over, the temperatures are getting cooler and we are planning like crazy for the fall activities at church. I had a moment of mourning as I realized my summer is pretty much over...but then I remembered that the end of summer means the start of football season! That cheered me up wonderfully :-)

Since I last wrote I have been keeping myself quite busy. I have celebrated many birthdays, took pictures of my brother driving the Vette at the drag strip, attended a farewell celebration for our pastor and his wife who served at our church almost 18 years, retreated with a bunch of amazing women to plan the women's ministries for the year, had game days and movie days, went to the county fair - twice, watched a friend compete in a rodeo and had a blast bowling with a bunch of ladies from church!

So here we go again into the fall. As I mentioned earlier, we have been hard at work planning things for this fall. I am so excited about the direction we are going and the things God has in store for us! As details fall into place, I'll let you know what my role will be in all of this.

This Sunday we have Celebrate Menomonie. At the end of summer our church puts on a big party for our neighbors. Free food, games, music, car show, all sorts of cool stuff. I will be having a ball serving cotton candy. I'll try to serve more than I eat!!

On Saturday, August 28th is Discover Downsville Day. I will be having a table in the town hall for my photography business Glory Displayed. If you're around that day, come see me...10-4!

This year I will be going to Labor Day Family Camp at Big Sandy Camp. I am SO excited! A bunch of single friends and I got a room to share and will spend four days hanging out around the campfire! Just what I need before the jubilant insanity called Fall begins!

Another opportunity I am quite excited about is for the whole month of September I will be the Featured Artist at Menomonie Market. I will have prints on the wall for sale as well as some cards. Stop by Menomonie Market any time in September and check it out!

This last one I need some major prayer for. October 8-10 is our District Women's Retreat. I love retreat and am so excited about this! But I need some prayer this year. I will be one of the workshop speakers and will be sharing about "God's Will and Your Life." I will be sharing my story and how I have seen God's will in my own life. I will also be taking the women to scripture to see what it has to say about what God's will is. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about God's will and I would really like to encourage these women and show them the great freedom and joy that is found in God's will for their lives. Please pray for me as I prepare for this. I have lots of ideas, I just need the time to sit down and put them all together!

I pray this finds you well and enjoying the last little bit of summer you have left!

"To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun?"

-Katharine Graham (1917-2001) U.S. publisher of the Washington Post

In the Blink of an Eye

Here we are in the midst of summer and I am already asking myself where has summer gone?! What happened to those lazy days of past summers that seemed to stretch on forever? I guess it is true that the older you get, the faster time goes. However, I do think that part of our problem today is that we're just too busy. There are so many activities going on that we don't get the rest that summer is supposed to give us. But they are lovely things, pleasant things, good things even. I need to keep reminding myself to take time to enjoy a good sunset...and take pictures of it!

I am trying to remember what I did this past month and a half and I honestly don't remember too much right now! It could have something to do with the fact the I was up late last night hanging out at church with our neighbors because there was yet another tornado warning. We have had our share of nasty weather the last few weeks and though it is exciting at times, it can make a person tired out! Since we live on the second floor of an apartment building we go over to the church during bad storms. We have our routine down and know what things we will grab and bring with us. Those things that are most important to us. I bring my Bible with all my notes and underlining, my purse, my nice camera and my laptop that has all my pictures on it. Now you know what's important to me in life...but even if those things were all lost that would be okay - these are earthly things and in the grand scheme of eternity, don't really matter! What matters is my relationship with the Lord and that I am being transformed into His likeness each day.

Alright, it's coming back to me! The end of last month one of my college roommates and her family came to visit. It was so much fun to catch up with them and be Aunt Josie for a couple of days! Their two boys have grown so much since I saw them last year! We had a fun day climbing Hoffman Hills and avoiding the vultures that were waiting for us to die in the heat!

I have felt bad a lot lately. I have been pretty sore and I seemed to have developed some breathing problems. There was a night and a day several weeks ago where I was having such a hard time breathing. After a long trip to urgent care I got an inhaler to use and that seems to be helping some. I pray this is just a weather issue and that when the humidity leaves the breathing problems will go away too!

My big prayer request this month is for tomorrow. I go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and see the specialist that I saw about a year and a half ago. When I was there last time, it was right after God blessed me with a great degree of healing and I was feeling pretty good. My doctor and I are hoping that now that I am feeling worse if he sees me again, he will be able to figure out more! Please pray with me that God would grant me favor and give wisdom and discernment to the doctor I will see. What I am really praying for is a diagnosis. That would be helpful in several ways. If I had a diagnosis I would know what I am dealing with and how to treat it better because what I am doing is helping, but it's not fixing it.

So I thank you in advance for your prayers and support. I pray you are having a wonderful summer and that you find time to rest, relax and get refreshed and rejuvenated for the fall!

Life is Golden

Hello Friends!

Last months blog was more serious, this one is probably going to be a little more fun than that! Life has been pretty good lately. Oh sure, it has its challenges, but all in all it's been pretty great. Here are some of the highlights...

A couple of weeks ago we closed the office down and took a staff development day. We went to the Science Museum of Minnesota and saw the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. That was pretty amazing! Part of me has wanted to be an archaeologist (ah yes, there are many things I have wanted to do in life!) so it was really fun to see so many artifacts from from a place that has always fascinated me. The Dead Sea Scrolls were AMAZING! It was so exciting to be able to see them. Some were just little scraps it seemed like, but others were bigger and looked almost as if they had been written yesterday. It was a great day with people I love. I am so blessed to be working where I am with some wonderful people!

My roommates and I were able to go and visit our former pastor and his wife at Big Sandy Camp last week and that was a blast! We had a great time with Tom and Lois and even though it was a short trip, it was much needed. I even milked a goat, my mommy was so proud of me (she used to raise goats before I came along and was an "unpredictable" baby)!

This month we also got a sofa, TV stand, curtains and another bookshelf! Our apartment is coming along quite nicely. I love my roommates and we haven't beat each other up yet (if you don't count the batteries that fell on my head one night)! It is great to live so close to work and to be on my own again.

Saturday I celebrated my Golden Birthday. I have been looking forward to this day for 29 years and it finally came! On Thursday my parents were quite sneaky...they filled my office with 29 ginormous golden balloons when I was at staff lunch. When we came back I could hardly get in my office! They even brought a cake - a happy little golden piggy and cheery golden sunflowers. It was a very fun surprise!

So it's been a good month. There were some discouraging days in there where I did not feel well at all and had to miss out on something that I had really been looking forward to. But God always pulls me through and I really am content and happy where I am and with what I'm doing. If He decides to heal me and move me along someday I will be happy to go, but for now I really am happy to stay. That's a big deal for me and I praise the Lord that He has brought me to this point in my journey with Him.

I pray you have all had a wonderful Memorial Day remembering those who have served and currently serve our country and remembering those loved ones that are no longer with us. Today I am especially remembering my grandpa and my aunt. They are loved and missed very much.

To Change Or Not To Change

That really is the question my friends. There has been a lot of change going on in my life these last several weeks. There will be more.

One big change is that I have moved. I am now living in Menomonie close to work. That is so very nice! I am slowly but surely getting moved in. My roommates and I made a lot of progress tonight. I got a bunch of pictures hung in my room and that always makes a place feel like home to me :-)

There are more changes going on in our church family. They are good changes, but difficult changes. No one ever said that change was easy, but it is necessary. When God tells a person to do something, they must do it. It's a matter of obedience. God has the best for us. We must give our best to Him. Some of you will know what I'm talking about, but many of you are probably confused. That's okay because the details don't really matter. What does matter is that this life is all about obedience and following God, wherever He takes you, or leaves you.

Monday through Thursday of this week I attended our C&MA District Conference in Green Bay, WI. It was excellent. We had a speaker from the National Office who talked about change. If we don't change and keep up with the times and reach out beyond our walls we will cease to exist. We are here to shine God's light into the darkest of places. It was a very challenging and encouraging conference. God really spoke to my heart. He had been the week before as well. I could feel things building up and I knew they had to come out soon or I would explode. You see, we just got done with missions conference the week before. It was excellent. We had wonderful people here to share about how God is using them and their teammates to push back the darkness in one of the darkest corners of our world. They challenged people to take the next step in obedience to God. Where would He have them go? What would He have them do? I wanted to jump up and down and say "I'll go, I'll go! Send me!" But I can't go. Not now. Maybe not ever.

You see friends, this is what I've been struggling with. What is always in the back of my mind and heart. I want to go to the ends of the earth. It is what I've always dreamed of. I want to go where no one has gone before and meet people that no one has met before and tell them that they are loved by their Creator and can have a personal relationship with Him. But for some reason God wants me here. I don't understand it, but I accept it. You see, what I have been learning is that it isn't all about missions. It's about obedience. I've shared with you before that most people need to come to the point where they are willing to sacrifice everything and go. I had to come to the point where I was willing to sacrifice my hopes and my dreams and stay. Do you know that there is not a hierarchy of spiritual actions? A person called overseas is not more spiritual than a person that God has called to a ministry in the US. I know that if I went overseas right now it would be a disaster because that is not where God wants me. He wants me right here. So here I am, walking in obedience even though I don't understand.

I know all this in my head, but every now and then it sinks a little deeper into my heart. That's when it gets hard. That's when I grieve and feel a deep sense of loss. I sing a song like "I Surrender All" and I bawl my head off. Then I seek the face of my Father in Heaven and I am content. I feel peace and joy because I know that I'm in the center of His will for my life. I also feel hope because I know that His ways are not my ways and that He has a perfect plan for my life. I hope because I know that this is what is best for me and that He is using it as a beautiful part of His plan for my life and this world.

So this is what I am learning. Sometimes the hardest change is not being able to change at all, but in obedience staying right where God has planted you! What is God calling you to?

Glory Displayed - Show Me The Way

Check out my video on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-VvGoyWi9U

Glory Displayed Photography by Josie Siler.
Featuring "Show Me The Way" by Abe Lamberts.
Copyright 2010.

Is It Really Spring?!

Here in Wisconsin the snow has been melting like crazy. I can see green grass, moss and beautiful ground I haven't seen in months! A couple days ago I even heard it thunder as the rain came pouring down washing all of the snow away. Could Spring really be here? I am keeping my jumping up and down to a minimum because I do live in Wisconsin and it is only March. We could very easily get another pile of snow dumped on us. But I hold out hope that spring is on its way. It must be, the Robins are here!

I love Spring. It's a time when the old is taken away and the new comes. The grass starts to appear, little flowers start to brave their way into a bright new world and there's mud! Not always the most pleasant thing in the world...unless you have a truck or a jeep and then there is much fun to be had! Even though I love the spring, my body does not. This past week has been a rough one. The fog and the rain and the melting are all quite lovely, but they also make my body ache and feel like someone is squeezing every part of me and won't let go. But, praise the Lord, I have been able to keep up with work and other necessary things. God is good all the time. This too will pass and the sun will come out and I'll feel alive once again!

I love the fact that Easter is in the Spring. Just like Spring, Easter is a time to celebrate new life. Life restored. Oh sure, Christmas is great. We get to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But without Easter, Christmas means nothing. Easter is when we remember the ultimate price that Jesus paid...for us. He died for our sins and three days later HE ROSE AGAIN! He is alive and well and if we believe in Him, we get to spend all of eternity with Him. Now that's something to celebrate!

I have to tell you, God has me on a ride. I feel like I am holding on for dear life and I can't wait to see where this ride ends takes me! If you have been reading this blog recently, you know that I have started a business called Glory Displayed. Things are going really well. There is opportunity after opportunity and with each opportunity comes the blessing of sharing God's glory with others. My cards and three large prints are now on display and for sale at the Golden Leaf Cafe' in Menomonie, WI. I will be selling items at the Stillson Spring Expo in Chippewa Falls, WI on March 27th. In April, I will have three items in the Chippewa Valley Spring Art Show that runs for a week. Things have started selling off of my website and I have over 100 fans on Facebook. A little over a week ago I took the cover photograph for the April edition of Queen of the Castle Magazine. All of these things are so exciting and stretching me out of my comfort zone! If you had asked me a couple of months ago what I would be doing today, not one of these things would have even crossed my mind.

It's not just the excitement of starting a new business and having people like and buy something that I did. Oh sure, that's exciting, but even more than that it's the opportunity to display God's glory. I have worked in ministry for years and I absolutely love it. I am still working part time at my church and that is such a blessing. However, one thing that I have always struggled with is that when you work in ministry, it is very difficult to meet people that do not know Jesus yet. You have to be very intentional about it and I have never been very good at getting out there and meeting people. I'm the type of person that likes relationships to develop naturally. Glory Displayed provides the perfect opportunity for this. It has gotten me out in the community meeting with other businesses and all types of people. It is so exciting to have a perfectly natural reason for telling them how awesome God is and showing them pictures of beautiful things He has created. I feel like God started this business for me for this very reason!

One other thing that I have been able to do through Glory Displayed is to help raise awareness of human trafficking. I have been learning about this horrific crime through a variety of ways and I know that God wants me to do something about it. One of the ways that I can help is to help raise awareness. Most people do not know that it exists, let alone that it is the second fastest growing black market trade in the world, second only to drug trafficking. I had no idea, until recently. A portion of all of my proceeds from Glory Displayed is given to organizations that help rescue people from this modern day slavery. Please go to my website http://www.glorydisplayed.com/ to learn more about human trafficking and how you can help.

So that's my life right now. As I always say, life with God is always an adventure! Thank you so much for your prayers and your support. I pray that you have a wonderful Spring and Easter season as you see the glory of God displayed all around you!

Affliction, Prayer and Hope

Hello Dear Friends,

I know it has been too long since I have last written. I apologize. I again turn to Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Wednesday, February 3 at 6:15pm my Aunt Steph lost her battle with cancer. She will be missed greatly. My family was able to spend quite a bit of time with her in the days and weeks leading up to her death and that was a blessing. My dad's whole side of the family, all 10 of us, were there to spend Steph's last day on earth with her. Many of us where there when my grandpa passed away in November and didn't know if we were ready to watch yet another loved one leave this world and pass into the next.

There were so many ways that I saw God work, but I will just share one story with you here. The last day my aunt never woke up. She was moved and repositioned and we were all there talking and never once did she move on her own. At one point her husband and sons (my uncle and cousins) left the room to get something to eat quick. The rest of us were still in the room and could see her breathing become even more difficult. As we heard the guys coming back down the hall Steph turned her head all by herself toward the door. Her eyes were still pretty much closed, but she was looking for her boys. Not even two minutes later she was gone. It was amazing. We all cried and said our goodbyes and left the hospital in somewhat of a daze. It had been a very long week and now it was suddenly all over.

I cried. I cried for me and for my uncle and cousins. I did not cry for Steph. Like grandpa, my aunt loved Jesus. She was ready to go to heaven, home, and spend eternity with her Lord. Steph is in a much better place and I rejoice for her. It's those of us who are left behind that I cry for. I long for the day when “He [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:4).” Steph is there! She is no longer suffering and that is a great joy. When we are right with God, when we have given our life to Him and love Him and obey Him and worship Him, death is not something to be feared, it is something to look forward to. We have hope, the hope of a new life, a better life, life everlasting with our Lord and Maker. WOW!

During the week we were in the hospital and went through the visitation and funeral I could feel myself getting sick. If my doctor knew how much time I spent in a hospital I think she would have my head! But some things are more important. So yes, I did get sick. I got that nasty cold that is going around. I have been on antibiotics for a week and a half and am finally getting better. The cough is still sticking around some, but I am so grateful that it didn't turn into pneumonia this time! I spent a week in my house and was starting to go a little nuts (no comments please)! So it has been great to get out of the house this week, go back to work and make some progress on my photography business.

I will be selling my cards and some prints at the Golden Leaf Cafe' (a local coffee shop/cafe') and I am very excited about that! I am now waiting to hear back from a printer so that I can get some cards made up locally. In other business news I will be doing a Spring Expo at an elementary school in March which I am also very excited about! I have made good progress in posting items on my website. If you haven't checked it out for a while take a look at http://www.glorydisplayed.com/ for all the latest. In fact, I added four new cards today and made some major changes to my website earlier this week so check it out!

So my friends, that is what has been going on in my life lately. Thank you so much for your prayers and your support. Please pray for my health. I had increased the dosage of my one medication before I got sick and it seemed to be helping me not be as sore. The problem is I cannot take this medicine when I'm sick or on an antibiotic. I have missed my dosage the past two weeks and will not be able to take it next week either. Three weeks without my medication that makes me not sore...yikes! I have been starting to notice the absence of it, so please pray that I would feel good and be able to accomplish everything that God has for me to accomplish each day. Pray that I would rejoice in the things I am able to do and not get frustrated with the things that I am not able to do. THANK YOU!

Glory Displayed

Glory Displayed is here!

Some of you know that I have been working on developing a website to sell my photography prints and cards. Well, after many hours of work I am ready to reveal my creation...which is actually pictures of God's beautiful creation!

Go to http://www.glorydisplayed.com/ to check out my very own website. There are many more things to be added and I'll get to it slowly but surely. In the meantime, take a look around and see if anything tickles your fancy!