Dear brothers and sisters, the past two weeks here have been crazy. You read about the storm that hit us. An insurance agent called the damage here “catastrophic,” so we have a long recovery ahead. At the same time, I began inexplicably losing hearing in my left ear, I need a tooth pulled, and our family vehicle just had a major breakdown this past weekend costing thousands. Pretty crazy, eh? But through it all, this writing has been on my heart. The more we suffer, the more we need to surrender; the more we enter darkness, the more we must walk by faith; the more uncertain things become, the more we must turn to the Great Certainty: God the Father, who loves us unconditionally, and who allows suffering in order to purify and discipline us. That purification, in turn, empties us more and more so that we can be filled with Him that much more. 

This week, our third daughter is getting married, which then brings us into hay season. So if my writings are sparse over the next few weeks, that is why. Also, thank you so much to everyone who donated this past week to our family to help with all that’s happened here. It’s hard for me at times, as “the provider” in my home, to rely on Divine Providence (ie. to be a “beggar”), but at the same time, it has helped me see just how much we are in God’s loving hands. Bless you and thank you…. and together, in your trials and mine, let us cultivate an Invincible Faith in Jesus. 

First published May 31st, 2017.Continue reading →