Family in One Location - Priceless

The "boys" got in tonight - and are a balm for a weary and emotional heart.....It is an unbelievable joy to have the whole family together in one location.  We have some errands to run tomorrow and then will head out to the coast where we've rented a house for the remainder of our time in the states. 

 Stacia passes out her prized love hugs

Jared's love hugs don't seem to be quite as prized

We had a great day. We went to the first service at Calvary Temple, our home church. It is always fun to reconnect with those who invested in my early years and our early marriage.

Nolan, Zander and Stacia stayed with Bre for Children's Church during 2nd service.  The rest of us went over to Lively Stone - the Church of God fellowship which Krista has made home.

We also heard from a few more folks and I think Krista has met her fundraising goal. This is good.


We brought food in to eat at Mom and Dads. Amy (niece) and her family, Will and Sherri (Brother and Sister in Law), along with Mike's sister, Rebecca and her dogs.....all spent the afternoon visiting.  It was another great day. 


Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

A Fully Packed Day

It has to happen - all ends lead to new beginnings....and so it was time for the girls to begin packing up their campus apartment...which for some reason made ME very emotional. I may be allergic to packing boxes....

Arielle helped make a display board for tonight's fundraiser for Krista. 

Michael went to visit his sister. We kept packing and preparing for the fundraiser.....then went on over to Lively Stone Church. This was our Niece Amy's idea. She pulled her parents and husband in on the plan. She did a great job. There was a display on Turkey. Krista talked about what she will be doing and fielded questions.   Below is the only photo I got of Amy (left) and Sherri (right) - appropriate they are praying.

Bre, Jared and Arielle preformed a skit on the need for the church to equip fishermen. It was cute and had a point. 

Grandpa then prayed for and blessed Krista....and others prayed with her as well. Cathy, shown here, was one of my earliest children's church teachers. 

I'm standing between my mother and a newly found 2nd cousin, Sarah. How funny! Krista and Sarah have been attending the same church and discovered at last weekend's ladies retreat Sarah's maiden name was the same as Krista's Great Grandmothers. It turns out that my mom is Sarah's Dads cousin...and she remembers our last visit up there when Bre and Krista were BABIES. Too funny! My brother, Will and nephew, Andrew are in the back. Amy, fund raiser extraordinaire is on the right.

 Ms. Trudy Kutz was  one of Michael and my professors. Her writing and speech tips have been invaluable. This would be a good time to mention my blog is written on the fly and for fun...not with an eye to grammar and such. ::snort::  Trudy was Krista's academic counselor and a great mentor. She is the one who connected Krista with TEAM. She was also a great encouragement to Krista in her academic pursuits. Bre also loved Ms Kutz. I told them this was a "3 Generation photo". LOL 

We packed this day full. I suspect tomorrow will be packed as well. 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Vacation Racing By

We spent Friday here (Sat in Japan) running errands. Michael began to track down solutions for the blown tires and damaged undercarriage of the trailer. 


I did all our laundry at the girls'. The girls had lunch with a friend who was here for graduation and then ran errands. 


Michael and Jared had a run in the afternoon. I watched the younger two at the pool. The middle two opted for mindless television viewing - which is not an option at home where we don't have television. These trips always strengthen our resolve to keep it that way. LOL 


We met at Marie Calendars in the evening with family and friends of the girls to celebrate their graduation. All in all a full and busy day. 


Today (Sat or Sunday) everyone seems to be sleeping in. Michael and I are having lunch with John and Nadine - our endorsers. Tonight is a fund raiser our Sister-in-Law and Niece are hosting for Krista's trip to Turkey. 


Tomorrow we will visit our home church and then the church that Krista attends. The boys will arrive Sunday night.  We leave for our rented home on the coast Monday. 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Graduation Thoughts

{I will include photos but due to the "no flash" rule and my cameras limitations many are fuzzy. We're hoping for copies of the professional photos they were taking throughout the evening.}


It was a historic night for many reasons. Many are aware that Pastor Wayne Corderio from Hawaii has moved to Eugene, OR and is the President/Chancellor of New Hope Christian College...which was Eugene Bible College until this fall. This was the first graduating class since  the change....that is historic. 


Attending were two friends of my parents: Walt and Jim. Both of these men had gone to Eugene Bible College with my folks - when I was the campus baby.  ::snort:: They drove down from Portland, OR and it truly was a special time, lending generational legacy to the event.....beyond Michael and I watching our first two children graduate from our alma mater. Both of these men had been in Portland when Michael was in seminary and Bre and Krista were toddlers. 


It was surreal to sit in the auditorium next to Michael and watch the baby I held in my lap 25 years ago as he graduated - walk across the stage.  Mike and I took some time before the ceremony remembering....and thanking God for all He has done in our lives in the past 25 years. Good times and bad times but always HIS time! Our little family of 3 has grown to 11. We're nearing the end of a career in the military, amazed at the ministry He has entrusted to us, looking forward to a few more decades of ministry as He leads.

We are proud of the work God has done in our family and in these two girls.  Many of you have followed Krista's (left) battle with dyslexia. God has built great character and strength in her through that struggle. I watched and cheered  with tears as her latest "unrealistic goal" was realized. She graduated Summa Cum Laude.....one of three. Who would have guessed but God - and of course her Mom and Dad knew she could do it....but you know....

Bre (right) is that baby from 25 years ago. She's always been methodical and organized and has left her Mom wondering at God's grace and wishing to live up to the admiration of such a gal.   Bre not only graduated Suma Cum Laude, but class valedictorian. She did not have a cum GPA of  4.0 and learned over her college career her worth is in GOD and not in her performance. She learned to strive for excellence rather than perfection. We all think 3.98 is close enough to perfection....and she took 26 credit hours one term in order to finish this spring. Wow.

Grades and diplomas are nice validation, but more than anything I'm in awe at the work of Grace in the lives of these two. They love God wholeheartedly. They seek intimacy with Him above all else. We are excited to see where God will lead them in the next 25 years. As some have asked:

Krista graduated with a degree in Intercultural Ministries. She's been fixed on missions for quite some years, it has to be all the great Sonlight Missionary Biographies. She will leave on May 16th to spend 3 months in Turkey. This will allow her to live alone in a foreign country and test her passions. You can note info about her summer at the top of the blog.   She is contemplating taking further studies in midwifery to open doors of service in closed countries.

Bre (here receiving her double braids for GPA by Dr. Larry Burke one of OUR professors 25 years ago) graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Counseling. She tells us this will not get her anywhere and she needs at least a masters to get a job in the field of counseling and social work. She plans to take a year and get her finances in order, serve at her local church and pray about starting that next step.....


We aren't quite sure how God is going to orchestrate the details of either of our daughters...but we've taught them as they follow Him wholeheartedly day by day they can be sure they'll be just where He plans them to be. We look forward to watching their adventures, as we live our own faith adventure. 

In the above photo President Jeff Farmer (of Open Bible Churches) and Pastor Gary Emery (MY youth pastor and currently the Pacific Regional Executive Director of Open Bible churches) award and introduce the newest three licensed ministers from the 2011 graduating class of New Hope Christian College. (There were more in the class). 


Pastor Wayne awards diplomas, poses for photos, and accepts rubber gloves from each student - because "Ministry is messy".

  I had to share it - though it's blurry - like I said we'll get clear, professional shots from the school - I hope. 

How did we not notice Stacia and Zander were missing?

Our family (minus the youngest 2), my parents and our niece Nadia and nephew Mikhail

Walt (Uncle Olie) graduate from the first EBC class (after it changed from BSC), knew me when I was the campus baby and knew us when Bre and Krista were babies in Portland. 

Zander liked playing on the court opposite the receiving line....and made it into one photo. We should have taken a sister photo - ah well. 

As I was in a "remember when" mood, I had to snatch this photo of this years campus baby and the campus baby 25 years ago....and the 3 Summa Cum Laude graduates. 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

I Made it to OR

Yes, I made it. I arrived in Eugene, OR the day before the girls' graduation and have been running since touching down.  The extra time in Tokyo was simply a bit of extra solitude...it worked. Above is me about to leave to try the International connections again - and they worked. 


I'm currently doing laundry, while they lunch with an out of town friend and Michael checks on replacing blown tires and fixing the undercarriage of our trailer. 


And here's a quick shot of Cherry Blossoms in Misawa....sad to be missing them but happy to be here! LOL 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Where is God in all THIS?

There are many areas of our faith life where we live with tension. Through the years theologians have wrestled, debated, and argued as to where the balance is between God’s sovereign justice and His merciful compassion.

What exactly is an “Act of God”? Are all natural disasters acts of God? There are certainly verses in Job, Proverbs, Isaiah and elsewhere which would lead us to believe God is actively involved in weather patterns. We are also told the “rain falls on the just and the unjust” and that “all of creation is groaning.” Does God actively cause these disasters, or do we live in a fallen world which groans for a redeemer? Does He simply remove His protective hedge in these situations, as He did in Job? This is an issue where I’ve experienced tension in my faith life for years. I’m content not to be dogmatic as I see Scriptures support a view much bigger than I can wrap my mind around or ANY one perspective on the issue.

I am blessed to be surrounded by some AMAZING and Godly chaplains in Misawa. I (and many others through the past weeks – remember to pray for our chaplains) sat down and discussed this with three of them shortly after the quake/ tsunami in Japan. Where is God?  Yes, he created the tectonic plates and how they move.  But did God reach down and create the pain and suffering Japan is currently enduring? I’m not sure. I don’t see Scripture giving the cut and dried answer I would like.  I CAN rest in His character. I CAN rest in His ability to bring great good from great chaos. I can trust that He has led me to this situation which wasn’t of my choosing. I can look for ways to glorify Him in the midst of the suffering.

Are there acts of God when a disaster like this occurs? Absolutely. We see acts of God when someone shelters a child who has suddenly become a homeless orphan, when food is shared, when people donate money or goods from around the world, when neighbors and Americans use their bare hands to dig through rubble in search of the living or the dead, when military spouses shop for hours and assemble home transition kits for those who have lost everything, when prayers are lifted around the world on behalf of revival in Japan.

Yes, God is here. We’ve seen His acts. We rest in His character.  My prayer for each woman in Asia region is she learns to rest in His merciful embrace, in the midst of a dance she may not have chosen.  Ah…dancing with God is a topic for another month. 

*First shared at pwoc.org on Asia Region's page 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Seasoned Traveler

Hmmm....God has been up to something. I, who have serious motion sickness issues, who used to be afraid of her shadow has become a seasoned traveler.  I have joked with some that the last few years have been all about me facing each one of my fears.....passport stolen, traveling alone in a foreign country, speaking in public, children in danger I am aware of but can't intervene, on top of a bridge in an earthquake..... Every one of them - and it's incredibly freeing. 


I felt no anxiety when the planes were cancelled and delayed yesterday. I figured I had 3 days to figure out how to get to Graduation in Eugene. I saw God's hand at work in Renee taking me to the airport. That gals a WHIZ on the computer...she had alternate airlines, routes, hotels etc all printed for me in the time it took me to alert family I would not be arriving in Eugene as planned and to discuss (the first time) my desire NOT to go to Bejing with Delta.  I landed in Tokyo (a place that overwhelmed me 1 1 /2 years ago) and took in stride the news that I couldn't fly out that night, that they really thought I should go to Bejing, that Osama Bin Laden was dead.....hopped on a hotel shuttle and booked a room. 


Salad, soup and tomato pasta seemed like normal breakfast fare this a.m. and it hit me....I'm a SEASONED TRAVELER....and I enjoy it. I've also not thrown up on a plane, train or car for over a year. Go God!!!

I've used these extra 8 hours of solitude to meet a PWOCI writing deadline, plan a local PWOC board planning retreat and work on some upcoming changes for PWOC Region. All good....and I slept...in a big comfy bed at the Radisson.  My only disappointment with this hotel is they don't have an onsen. They seemed surprised I asked about it - guess it's not so common down here as up North for every hotel to have yukatas and onsens.

In a few short hours I'll take a shuttle back to the airport and try to get out again. LOL


Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...