Hills & Valleys: Our Faith Journey

Bethany (Stace) Larissa and Joyelle! Congrats girls! :) I will send you the information necessary to make your jewelry in the next day or two. For everyone else, thanks for participating! I just might have to do this again sometime.

Yesterday we received some exciting news! USCIS (U.S. Citizen & Immigration Service) has accepted our application for me to get permanent residency. This does not mean I have been granted permanent residency or a green card at this stage, but simply that they have accepted the paperwork and payments to begin this process. Having already received the paperwork back once to fix a payment problem, it was a great relief to know that they had accepted it the second time around. This means we should not have to lug that pile of papers to the post office to mail ever again. :D That makes me immensely happy. So where to next in this process? Well, next step is getting fingerprinted, which I think will be in KC. They have to contact me (probably via mail) to inform me of the date and time on which the fingerprinting will occur. From there, I believe the next and final step is just waiting to receive the green card. We are praying and trusting that God will bring our paperwork through this p...

To be like You, Lord, this is my plea Walking ever closer to Thee In the light of Thy righteous way By Your side I desire to stay. Let them gaze into my eyes And see not I, but Jesus Christ Let them not see any beauty But a faith above mere duty. Let them look at my heart Seeing the love Christ did impart When on earth so long ago As to the cross He did willingly go. Let them hear my voice, yet Heaven's song That rings out from the Heavenly throng Let them hear only Christ, speaking through me Showing He really is living in me. Let them not see a youthful face But a child saved by God's grace Let me point them up, away from me To the One who deserves all glory. RKM May '06

How to enter: Comment on the comment left by the person above you on this specific blogpost. If you are the first person to post, follow this prompt: "It was a cold, blustery morning, and all was still." Your comment should be a complete sentence and should continue the story. How long will the competition last? Right now, entries/comments will be taken until January the 15th. However, if there is not enough participation, I will extend the date. How will the winners be selected? I will be using random.org to select the winners. Notice I did say "winners" not "winner." There will be three winners of this competition, with each one receiving an item of jewelry. :) What kind of jewelry will be made? That's up to you! I will let you pick the type of jewelry (necklace, bracelet, earings), as well as the beads and design. :) More details will be issued to the winners. Is it limited to the US? No! Anyone can participate. :) If you have any questions, please ...

Well...I'm getting better! At least this blog post didn't take months to eventuate. :P The following is something that came from my quiet time just a few days ago. "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped." (Job 1:20) How Satan must have been holding his breath this whole time! He was just waiting for Job to curse God so he (Satan) could say "I told you so" to God. Furthermore, true to his nature, he was probably whispering in Job's ears all the time, trying to get him to falter. Interestingly, this verse spans minutes, not seconds as I had initailly supposed. Shaving one's head takes time, and Satan undoubtedly tempted Job the whole time to give up on God. Yet, Job's heart was firmly directed toward one goal: worship. He fulfilled traditional expressions of sorrow and mourning, but nowhere did he cry against God. Instead, he worshipped. I have to wonder: if God took everything from ...