Catching my breath

I have been absolutely & unbelievably busy! So much to share!

Timmy & Sierra went to camp with church the morning after we got back from our mission trip to Appalachia. Garrett went to Grandma's for a few days. You would THINK I'd get some serious tv & bon-bon time in, but nooooooooooooo........

We went to see Jeff in the hospital to visit him & his new liver Monday night.
The next day I went to visit another friend in the hospital who the doctors didn't know what was wrong. They were concerned about liver failure, but later found out it was a bad case of mono. (That was my second adult friend to get mono this summer!)
Wednesday is bible study
Thursday we went to pick up Garrett from Grandma's out in Vermilion and to visit Timmy & Sierra at camp. Luckily, I knew about this "hair thing" ahead of time:

Timmy & Sierra at Frontlines Camp
Friday we sat for hours at Garrett's orthopedist. He'll be getting orthodics for his shoes....hopefully soon.
Friday night I had a karate demo in Northfield Village.
About midnight Friday night we picked the kids up from camp.

The following week was insane, but AWESOME! It was SPORTS CAMP week!!!!

Our church has a very cool version of vacation bible school. We offer sports for the kids! They can chose from soccer, basketball, cheerleading, and now this year karate & flag football! We have camp from 9-12 in the morning, and from 6-9 at night. I taught karate at both sessions all week. (Sierra & Timmy helped, too.)

We had about 160 kids in karate. I had the3rd & 4th graders, and I had about 50+ kids between both classes. I was exhausted, but there wasn't anywhere else I would have wanted to be.

We had 629 kids at Sports Camp this year with over 200 volunteers. It is an amazing outreach. On Sunday we have our CELEBRATION! There are blow up, music, food galore, and demonstrations from different groups. And everything is F-R-E-E!!!!!!!!!

Our karate demo team performed and then we promoted all the kids who were in our karate class that week to their first belt: orange! They were so excited, and my class rocked!!!! The parents were taking pictures and were so proud of their kids.. and they had every reason to be. Those kids worked HARD that week.... I really miss them!


After that, we had two weeks off to relax and try to recover. Yesterday, we started school. Yes, it seems early to me too. But I use an e-school and Timmy is now in high school. His classes are very different now, and he needs to start when they start. Sierra is also taking high school English, even though she is still in 8th grade!

Maybe my biggest news: I am going back to school! Yup! I start classes on Sept 8th. I'm going full time. Right now I plan on going to become a surgery tech. Who would have thought, huh?

And last, but definitely not least-
A friends son put together this video about our Appalachia trip. Enjoy!!!!!

Appalachia Mission Trip: The Movie from Spencer Tuckerman on Vimeo.

2 Timothy 4:7- I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith

We head to West Virginia tomorrow! YEAH! The kids are so excited they can barely sit still. Tim, Timmy, and some others from church will load the box truck tonight, and Tim will drive it down there tomorrow. Sierra, Garrett and I will follow in our car.

Last night was our karate Christmas party. It is always a nice time. Last night it was even more special because MANY families brought in food & supplies for us to bring with to Appalachia. Many of these families are feeling the budget crunch themselves, but are still willing to reach out to others.

I was asked to lead the blessing last night. My amazing pastor, Rick Duncan, helped me with part of it. Thanks, Rick! I know you are incredibly busy, but you still took the time to get back to me. You are such a blessing to me and many, many others!
It was NOT a "bless this food, keep us safe" type of blessing. My intention was not to offend, but I refuse to be so concerned about NOT offending, that I do not reach out.

This is what I used:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing us together safely tonight. We thank you for all you have given us, and ask that you always keep us humble, remembering that to much of the world we are rich beyond imagination- we have a safe place to live, clean water to drink, clothes to keep us warm, and enough food to eat. I thank you for those who thought of others that do not have these things, and brought food and items to help those families in Appalachia.

We ask that you keep us safe in our travels home this evening. We ask you to bless this food- that it nourishes our bodies and keeps us healthy. We ask for your blessings on all our karate families. Especially for J's grandmother, for M's father, and for K's father. Lord, you know what they are going through. We ask for healing, but mostly for the love and comfort only You can give them.

2 Timothy 4:7- I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Dear Lord, You are the Creator God. You made our bodies to be used for Your glory. Thank You for giving us the privilege of using these bodies to learn karate. Help us to always use our skill for Your purposes. There is evil in this fallen world, and one day You will make all things right. But meanwhile, help us to fight- body, mind, and soul- against anything contrary to Your wise and good purposes. Help us to help the helpless and to defend the defenseless. Use the disciplines and skills we have learned to equip us to fight the good fight of faith. May we finish well. May we keep the faith. And may we honor Jesus, the only One who perfectly fought the good fight of faith, who dies and who rose again to save all who believe. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

****

I'm sure this didn't go over well with everyone there, but I pray that it worked on thier hearts. One of the people there is staunchly anti-religion. This person was included in the prayers for healing. I pray that this didn't anger that person, but instead helped them to experience the love that ONLY comes from a relationship with Christ.