Waiting for his return

I find myself waiting again today. Waiting for an e-mail or a call or something saying 'I'm on my way back to America and back to you'. I don't like to wait, I've always struggled with waiting, as I've gotten older though, I have learned to turn those thoughts into prayers lifted up for my loved ones so waiting has become a little easier when I give everything over to the Lord whom I trust.

There are people I need to thank for their help while my beloved has been away and that got me to thinking about what I have learned while he has been gone. Here is a little list of which I am sure I could continue to add to:

The things I learned while Keith was away:

-Trust the Lord in everything and I will be filled with peace

-The two of us are stronger together than when we are separate

-God uses people to bless others, and He did that for us

-Life is a hard journey

-Being a single parent is a difficult, lonely task

-Never again make assumptions about someone until I’ve walked in that person’s shoes

-Even though I have no business having a computer, I’m thankful for technology that allowed me to get an e-mail almost every day from my husband

-Waiting is hard

-When I follow what God says in the Bible, it doesn’t mean that everything will turn out well

-Moles digging up my flower beds are a pain in my…

-Taking care and maintaining a house by yourself is a lot of hard work

-Paying the bills is a time consuming task and when you pay them late, you have to pay late fees

-Waking up early to spend time reading God’s Word is worth it, even if I have to get in my pajamas by 8p.m. 

-Being woken up every night in the middle of the night just means that I am still needed 

-People will let me down, God will not

-I need to fear God more and man less

-Remembering that even when I messed up as a parent that God will use everything for my kids good and His glory

-That it is okay to ask for help when you have no one else to turn to

-That IN Air Guard families who do not live near a military base do not get any support and that if I ever meet another family in that situation, I know how to help them now

-Every day is a new chance to start over

-Now believes the statement that Christians are the only group who will "shoot their own" and I want to make sure that I do not fall into that category because of the testimony it leaves to the young people in the world

-If my spouse would leave this earth before me, I could go on without him, I wouldn’t want to, but I could

-I still dislike exercise. Even though we were blessed with a free membership to the YMCA while Keith was deployed, I found it hard to find the time to get over there for the minimum two times a week that I needed to go in order to keep the membership. I did manage to do it and always felt much better after the workout. I did have less back pain issues. So, I've learned that even though I dislike exercise, I need to do it and make it a priority in my life.

-Paid for cars that break down is stressful, when your husband isn't here, even so, I would not take on another car payment to have a nicer car to drive

-That life without a daddy around for your kids is hard for them, no matter what their age

-Americans put way to much emphasis on food including me, I need to help my family realize that food is just to get us the energy we need to keep serving the Lord and therefore it's okay if we eat peanut butter & jelly on rice cakes several nights a week, if I don't have the time to cook a meal. 

-That sisters in Christ are a precious gift from the Lord and I'm so thankful for the sisters God has sent to me from all the places that I've lived, you are all dear blessings to me

-I love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind and soul and He is my first love and if I love God more than I love my spouse, I will be a better wife to my husband

As you think of our family over the next few days, please pray for my husband who, Lord willing will be back on his way to America soon. When you think about us over the next few weeks or months, please pray for us as things will be stressful.

An update from our oldest son Josh

We are rejoicing that our oldest son Josh has chosen to serve the Lord full-time at this time in his life. Read his letter and the letter from the ministry that he serves at. Please consider how you might be able to partner with Josh and Tri-Grace ministry through prayer, encouragement and financial gifts. (Please note, I am NOT tech savvy and so as I was trying to figure out how to load the letter from the ministry, this is what came out, it's small, so I copied the letter and it's below for you to read and after the first letter, Josh's letter is after.)

 Dear Friends of Tri-Grace Ministries,
 August is our one time of year when we seek to raise the missions support for the TGM Assistant Staff. The GOOD NEWS is we have sooo many FPW’s (Faithful Prayer Warriors) that no one needs to give a lot to make this work, but we do need a lot of you to give a little. Would you consider a one time donation to help us with this yearly financial need?
 This year we are raising support for a single Christian guy by the name of Joshua White. Josh first came to TGM as an Intern and in the fall of 2012 began serving as part-time staff. His primary job last fall was to assist Shane and Kim in the Solid Rock College Ministry and with the Solid Rock Internet Café. Josh has shown himself to be faithful and competent in all he has done and is a great blessing to us all.
 Just so you understand, Josh has joined us in full-time ministry, and the salary we offer him is a mere $100 per week, so he is not doing this to get rich—if you know what I mean. Josh is a college grad and could no doubt find a job where he would make a lot more than $100/wk, but he wants to serve the Lord and feels this is the place where God would have him serve for now.
 Chip & Jamie Thompson and Shane & Kim Jones wholeheartedly endorse Josh for this position. We want you to know we NEED this kind of steady help in our ministry. TGM is a thriving and growing ministry. Our sphere of influence and ministry is ever expanding, so we need faithful, godly assistants like Josh. We praise the Lord for the team He has put together for this year and are excited to see what God will do as we move into 2013.
Your Missionaries to the Mormons of Utah,

Hello, friends!

My name is Joshua White, and I am the new Assistant Staff member with

Tri-Grace Ministries for the 2012-2013 year. This past year I was an

intern, and I am excited for the new responsibilities and

opportunities I will have as full-time staff!

How I was used as an Intern

One of my favorite aspects of this ministry is the café, and I was

able to help Shane in the management of it. I have a strong passion

for coffee, and the Solid Rock Café is a great tool for our ministry

here. Through the café I have been able to meet many different people,

and build relationships with them. We of course have plenty of LDS

students that come through, but we also attract students who aren’t

LDS or Christian. In the past few months I’ve gotten to know a number

of agnostics, and rebelling LDS young people. Three of them are named

Justin, Kelsey, and Katie, and while none of them has understood the truth yet,

 I have seen changes in their thought process from when I first met

them. Katie specifically has undergone the most change, as she does

not identify herself as Mormon anymore and drinks coffee like us

heathens. She’s at a point of identity crisis, and she has basically

taken the view of an agnostic. I look forward to continuing talks

about Jesus with them and other new friends in this coming year. I

also began Open Mic Nites at the café on Thursday nights. It grew

exponentially! So much so that the whole café was filled with people

on the final night! Many students had their first experience with us

through Open Mic– it has become an invaluable tool for outreach.

Another role I took as an intern was leading the college Bible study

during the second semester. We studied Ephesians inductively, and

honestly, I’m thankful I was a part of that simply because I learned so much myself!

Why am I here?

Last year, while finishing college, I was trying to figure out what

was next for me. I decided the best use of my time would be to take a

break from school and spend some time with a ministry. Through a short

term mission trip to Philadelphia in July, I got to know Keegan, Shane

and Kim’s son. He told me about what was going on in Ephraim, so I

applied for the fall term internship, and was accepted, and moved to

Ephraim just a few weeks later. I didn’t expect to be in Utah longer

than the four month internship, as I was excited to start post-grad

work. My whole focus was working in the academic field, because I felt

I was meant to work in the “secular” world.  Because the work in the

ministry was fulfilling I decided to stay in Ephraim through the Manti

Pageant, but was still planning to return to school after that. As I

was reaching the end of my internship, God began gradually changing my

focus, and caused me to realize that full-time ministry was definitely

an option, and something that could suit me well. I knew I was meant

to stay in Utah, but I was tired of living in Ephraim. I love living

in an urban setting, so I began making plans to move to Salt Lake

City(SLC). My goal was to work my way into the coffee industry. Almost

immediately, I received a job offer at a coffeehouse in the city, so I

took that as affirmation. Before I left, I was offered the open

Assistant Staff position with Tri-Grace, but because I was focused on

my own goals, I didn’t even consider the offer. After a month of

living in SLC, and through the counsel of wiser Christians, I realized

that despite following God and staying in Utah, I made a selfish

decision and did not consider that he might be more specific about

where in Utah he wanted me. Now I am in Ephraim again, with Tri-Grace ministries, where I know God wants me.

Manti Pageant!

Manti Pageant was something else! I’ve never experienced anything like

it. For two weeks a few hundred Christians descended on Manti for

street evangelism. While street-work is definitely not my forte, it

was a great experience and an amazing time of learning. There were two

specific guys I had good talks with, Trevor, an LDS high-school

student from Ephraim, and Travis, an agnostic from Fountain Green, UT.

Both were annoyed by the treatment one street preacher was getting

from other Mormons, and pleasantly candid about their beliefs. Talking

to the younger people of Utah gives me hope for their future. This is

not an impossible mission field, no matter what some people may think.

Many people have laid a great foundation for reaching the people of

Utah, now we just need the Christians to come and build upon that foundation.

What are my responsibilities?

During my time here as an assistant staff member, I will have a wide

range of responsibilities. As often as I can, I hope to help Brody and

Liz Olson, former interns of Tri-Grace, with their outreach to the

polygamist community in Colorado City, whether that is with mission

teams or individually. As a staff member, I will have a bigger role in

training visiting mission groups and possibly other church bodies.

Additionally, I will be overseeing the development of our Bible

museum, as well as assisting Shane in the management of the café.

Much of my time will be spent in discipleship to our male interns and

students, as well as the ever-important campus outreach. I am very

excited for this coming year, as I get to continue working with a

great ministry team, and meet new people for the cause of Jesus!  I am

currently looking for a part time job, hopefully as a tutor or a

teacher’s assistant at Snow College, but at the same time I want to

focus as much of my energy as possible towards full-time ministry with

Tri-Grace. I humbly ask that you consider supporting me, whether

through prayer and/or finances.

-Joshua White

 

What am I asking you to do with this? I am asking that you would pray about how God would have you particpate in encouraging Josh. Will it be with prayer, or letters and notes of encouragement over the next year or will it be through financial giving? All of these things are important. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I hope that it has encouraged you as much as it has encouraged me to read about what Josh is doing these days. 

To give a gift by mail for the Assistant Staff, make checks payable to Solid Rock Foundation. Mail to: 96 E Center St, Ephraim, UT  84627.
To let Josh know you are praying for him or to send him snail mail with words of encouragement, send your letters to Josh White 96 E. Center St. Ephraim UT 84627

Our Elijah turns eight today!

Today we are blessed to celebrate the eighth birthday of our son Elijah. I'm amazed once again how fast the years are flying by. I remember those first eight days as he fought for his life like they were yesterday. Looking back over the eight years, it certainly has come with many challenging days, however, there have been more days filled with joy and blessings than with trials and pain.

Today, Elijah celebrates his birthday without his daddy. The days have become harder for this little boy. He misses his daddy. He misses wrestling and throwing the football with him. He misses just following him around, learning how to be a man. He's mentioned several times, "I'm the daddy around her now", especially when he wants us to do what he says. :) We've had some emotional days lately, and instead of saying to him, "stop your crying, be a man", I say, "it's okay to cry, Elijah, go ahead and cry, it hurts to have your daddy away". Will this make him soft and not allow him to be masculine? I don't know, what I do know is that I want this little boy to be free to express his pain share that with us if he wants to.

Today is a school day and I had to explain that if he had been attending a government school, he'd still have to go to school on his birthday. So, after school today, even though the daddy isn't here, we will be going out to eat to celebrate. 96th Street burgers has gluten free hamburger buns! Then we will come home and if timing turns out to be right, we will skype with Keith so that we can all sing to him together.

Oh, thank you Father God for sending Elijah to our family. What a joy and blessing and privilege it is for our family to raise this little boy for just a short time while he is here on earth. Please give us wisdom and direction as we guide him and teach him your Word. Please save this little boy and let his heart be for you and to serve you in all he does.

Our baby girl is 19 today!

Where did the time go? I love it when someone at the grocery store says, "you don't have a college age kid" I have to say, "yes, I actually have a 20 year old and a 19 year old". Yes, I was very young when I was married and God allowed us to start our family. No regrets here!

Having a daughter has been a great blessing to us. It's much different from having sons. A daughter needs protection in a different way that our sons have needed. With Keith and Josh both away right now, and they aren't here to watch out for potential suitors, I find myself asking, "What would Keith or Josh say or do in the situation".

Michaela is a strong, independent, energetic, hard-working young woman. She knows what she likes and what she doesn't like and she's not afraid to verbalize that. (Jesus was like that. There were times that he was quiet and there were times that he needed to be bold.) Well, I should clarify, sometimes she speaks her mind, other times she is quiet, very quiet. She is quiet until she knows she can trust you. Can she trust you?

If you are her friend, you are her friend for life. She is loyal and expects you to be loyal too. You will know that she has your back, if you are her friend. If you are family and if you are hurting or attacking her family, she will stand up and "fight" to protect them.

She is at that stage where she wants TOTAL independence, but still lives at home and needs to follow the family house rules. It's a hard time for her and a hard time for me. I hope she knows that her TOTAL independence will come and not to rush it too quickly because it will come before she knows it. I also pray that she will be TOTALLY dependent on Jesus Christ alone and not on anything this world has to offer.

She is looking forward to going back to Moody Bible Institute again this fall. I can't wait to see how God continues to work in her life while she is there. She has a desire to help others know the truth of God's Word and how it can help them with any situation in life. I love that about her.

Dearest Michaela,
You are an answered prayer from God to us. We love you and joyfully celebrate your 19th year with us. May you continue to follow God faithfully, all the days of your life.

Love,
Mom

Happy Father's Day to my husband

The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.

~ Henry Ward Beecher

And that is just what Keith has done. 

He has loved me. 

He has unconditionally loved me. 

He has loved me when I have been ugly with my attitude. 

He has loved me when I have been unlovable.

He has loved me when I’ve been in pain.

He has loved me when I’ve had to walk through trials.

He has loved me when I’m tired. 

He has loved me when I’ve been afraid.

He loves me when I fail. 

He has loved me when my hair started turning gray. 

He loved me through tears. 

He loved me when I found joy.

He has loved me through laughter.

He loves me and continues to love me. 

Keith has set an example to our boys how a man should love a woman and he has set an example for our daughter how a man should love her. I thank God my Father for bringing Keith and I together in marriage. I thank God my Father for the father Keith is to our children. Happy Father’s day, my dearest husband; you are loved, you are missed and you are prayed for daily. May the days go by quickly until we are all together again. I love you!

 

Memorial Day-A day to remember or the start of summer?

As Memorial Day was approaching this year, my thoughts went to deciding whether or not I would take our youngest to a ceremony. It's a tradition in our family that goes back to before our kids even were in our lives. This holiday was important to my husband. He had a father that had served in the Navy and then served many years in the local legion club. His father taught him all about being a patriot and being respectful and thankful to military members. He taught him how to carry and fly a flag properly. It was part of who my husband became. It was the reason why he tried to get into the military when we were first married. When the Navy said no to him, because he had too many dependents; he thought his chance of serving in the military was over. Then the Air Force Reserves came in to the picture and my husband found out that he wasn't  too old to serve. We prayed about it. We knew that the time away from each other was going to be hard. I knew it was something that my husband had always wanted to do. How could I say no to him? So, in August 1996 he took the oath and he has been serving ever since. He's had to maintain a full-time job as well as train for his job in the military. There have been many times that he had to study and do work for the military at night after working a long day at his full-time job. There have been short deployments, two weeks at a time. There have been long deployments, from 6 weeks to 9 months long. And since 1996, one weekend a month, he has been away from our family. I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but when your weekends are the time that you finally get to relax and be together, it's a sacrifice that is hard on the family. Then there was the change from Air Force Reserves to Indiana Air National Guard. Both are under the Air Force.

Going to a ceremony this year without my husband will be hard. Memorial day is not for the living veterans, it's for the veterans who gave their lives while serving with the military. As far as I know or remember, I don't have any relatives that died while serving. I have lots of relatives who did serve and I am thankful for their service. However, today is about remembering those who have died.

It seems like most people these days look at Memorial day as  the beginning of summer, time to open the pool or a time to go shopping for furniture or to do home improvement projects or to have a party with barbeque. There's nothing wrong with those things, but can't we all take a moment and remember why we have the freedoms that we have in America? We have the freedoms in this country that we do, because people were willing to lay down their lives for the future generations of this country. I'm afraid that the younger generations of kids won't know that. They won't remember that. We need to teach our children what happened.

Will I take our son to a ceremony today? Yes, it was important to my husband and so it is important to me. Please take a moment today and tell your children, show your children what the true meaning of Memorial Day is.

Joshua is 20 today

Where did the years go? I know that's a cliche that we all use and today as our son turns 20, I find myself saying that. This is his first birthday away from us. I wasn't able to make him his favorite breakfast and we weren't able to take him out for a special dinner, just him and his parents. The usual question always asked, "what are your goals for the next year?" Then we would talk about the past year and encourage him on how we saw our son growing into a man.

We had the pleasure of raising him for just a short time. Now he is making his own path, wanting his independence. I understand, I wanted my independence at his age. It doesn't make it any easier to let him go though. At the same time that he is experiencing a different adventure, I too am going through a new season of life. The time that I just have to let my son go and let him make his own path in this world.

It's time to let him know that he is loved, he is prayed for and if he needs us, we will be here, waiting to help him through whatever might come his way.

Joshua, your dad and I love you and are blessed to call you our son. We look forward with you to see what God has in store for you in the next few months. Happy Birthday, son.