As believers, we don’t want to be legalistic, passive or permissive. My tendency with most debatable topics is to say, “It’s not a big deal,” or “I’ll let people deal with this before God, and I’ll stay out of it.” I have recently realized that this only works if I don’t care about the impact my life has on others. When a controversial topic comes up, I have a choice. I can be permissive, passive or judgmental, or I can…
At first glance, you might think Caleb is cleaning this toilet. If you look closer, you will see that he is actually sprawled on top of the toilet because he fell asleep here, and we had just woken him. Throwing up every 15-20 minutes ALL NIGHT LONG when you should be sound asleep will do that to you. He was one of the first. Here, Jeff is camped out in front of the bathroom right after he was struck. What…
Solomon asked for wisdom, and God gave it to him. The book of Proverbs is full of the wisdom that God gave to him. In James 1:5, it tells us that God will give generously to all who ask for wisdom without finding fault. God desires that his children have wisdom. Today, when people think of wisdom, I think it often gets intermingled with other things. People are considered wise if.. Every field has its sought after skills and traits…
When we first did our DTS in 2019, a staff member named Richard took Jeff surfing several mornings a week. They’d get up when it was still very dark, drive to Pine Trees to catch some waves, skip breakfast and get back while others were still wiping sleep from their eyes. Jeff has been returning the favor to our current students. Last Friday, our friend David stayed out while the rest of the gang went to shower and rinse off…
A Dream I have noticed that I am vulnerable to insecurity and discouragement when I move locations and have experienced a lot of change in a short amount of time. I have an unrest in me that stirs up parts of me that have been still for a long time. Moving to Kona has definitely been showing evidence of this. Within the first couple of days of being at the YWAM base, I had a dream of a wall that…
In the process of getting ready to move to Hawaii to become full-time missionaries with YWAM, insecurity began to creep in again. I was about to leave our home, our family, our friends, our community, our church, our income and everything that had come to represent security and comfort for me. Once again, I was being called upon to rely on God. The last time we went to YWAM, I was bombarded with irrational thoughts about myself and believed terrible…
I get irritable. I get grumpy. I sometimes wake up with aches and pains that set me on edge. I have moments when I am not presentable to the outside world. I sometimes don’t smile because I have crooked teeth on one side. I wear out easily. Since adopting our four kids, I have found HUGE holes in my love. I have to lean heavily on the Lord’s love to not give up because adoption is hard. My husband and…
Jeff’s mom Becky found a bookshelf at the thrift store and brought it to us, knowing we needed something to house my teaching book collection. I decided that while Jeff was on a mission trip to Montana, I would refurbish it. I am not a painter, but I cleaned and spray-painted the shelves, and they turned out great, or at least I thought so until Eleah and I banged up our shins carrying the thing inside. What I couldn’t see…
This was actually our original letter to friends and family telling about our new journey. I decided to add it to my blog so that others could have some background. Enjoy! Our family seems to have big news regularly, so I am thankful that we have very loving people in our corner. It’s a joy to share and trust that you will see that our desire is to include you in what God is doing with us. Thank you for…
The ever-impressive, ski-bum Jeff managed to convince responsible “Teacher Tori” (who was always going to be single and never have kids) to marry him at Squaw Valley on June 19, 2004. Ever since then, they’ve been on a wild adventure with each other and with God. The kid journey began with two precious little gals named Eleah and Natalie. These girls brought so much joy and pizzazz to the world. Eleah’s intellectual, artistic and musical pursuits balanced Natalie’s tameless energy,…