Changepoint

 It has been a long time since we wrote anything on this blog.  It's time to say something though.  God is working!  God is always working.  Sometimes in ways unimaginable.  Ways unpredictable.  Higher ways.  Isaiah 55:8-9 says:

 ⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
    declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts."

God has been working in our family.  And He is calling us to a new ministry adventure here in Alaska.  A few months ago, we were invited to explore a new worship ministry opportunity.  We were not really looking to make any kind of ministry move, but we did decide we should pray about this.  Meetings and vision-sharing and prayer and prayer and prayer and more prayer all led to...a call to a new ministry adventure.  This Tuesday, January 21, Greg will begin ministry at Changepoint Church as Worship Pastor.  Our family is excited about what God has for us to do together in ministry at Changepoint - a local church in Anchorage with a giant ministry goal: "Life in Christ for every Alaskan and the world beyond."  Exciting vision!  Will you pray for us as we make this transition?

Not only is there excitement for our family, there is sadness too.  We are leaving a wonderful church family at TheCrossing.  Words can't begin to describe how thankful we are for the family of believers that is TheCrossing - a church that is absolutely committed to loving people who need Jesus by giving them the Gospel.  Especially thankful to God for the privilege of working with an amazing staff of creative, fun, Jesus-loving people, and a worship team committed to nothing less than fully pursuing God in worship.  We will never forget how Brad begins every message: "This is my Bible.  It is the Word of God.  In this book are the keys to an abundant life, a joy-filled life, and eternal life.  I will take God at His word.  Amen."  A constant reminder for all of us to keep God's Word central and to build our lives on it.  That is rock-solid.  Literally.  Thank you, Crossing Family!  We love you.

Ephesians 3:20-21 perfectly captures what we are convinced our family exists to pursue...

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Caroline's birthday

Caroline celebrated her 10th birthday on Wednesday, November 17.

She was hoping for snow on her birthday, and when we woke up that morning there were a couple of fresh inches on the ground!  So happy!!

Caroline helped me make her heart cake to take to school to celebrate with her friends.  Lime green and pink - two of her favorite colors!

Caroline got to pick where we ate supper for her birthday - McDonalds, as usual!

Present time!

Love her expressions!

Caroline had two of her friends, Morgan and Jada, spend the night with her on Friday night.

 Thankful for great friends!

Before Greg took the girls home Saturday they went sledding at a local park.  They had the most fun! 

A great ending to a fun week!

Moose Encounters

We have had a couple of close encounters with moose in the past few weeks.  It is an amazing thing to look out the window and see these huge animals walking through the neighborhood!  

These pictures - of a momma and her two babies - were taken one night after supper...the sun was going down, so the lighting wasn't very good, but you can still get a good feel for the size of these creatures. 

On this night we learned about the different techniques for getting moose to leave your yard.  The most effective seems to be beating a frying pan with a wooden spoon.  Yelling at them didn't work very well.  And sending the dogs out to chase them is supposed to work well too.  It was quite funny hearing all the pans clanging around the neighborhood.

Then, about a month later - when I was home alone, of course! - the dogs started barking like crazy.  I ran to the window and saw a small moose hanging out in the back yard eating cranberries.  He wandered around a little and then left the yard. 

Maggie and Molly glued to the window...they were dying to get outside after that moose!

Later in the day I returned to the house from running errands, and look who was there to greet me:

My moose friend had returned with his momma and sister...and they were feasting on the bushes!  So, being a good house guest, I knew what my job was: to keep that moose from stripping the leaves off of the trees and bushes.  So, I headed outside - with the iPad (so I could take some pictures) and a pan and wooden spoon.

Let's just say that the momma moose was NOT impressed with my pan-beating skills!

But thankfully, they finally wandered away without doing too much damage to the plants.

More Winter Pictures

Last Tuesday we woke up to a winter wonderland like we've never seen before.  During the night fog had come through the area, and the next morning all of the trees were covered in ice.  Greg and I both stopped on the side of the road to take pictures.  It was absolutely the most beautiful winter scene ever.