Hearing Heart Blog

Dear friends, I’ve been wanting to write to you for some time, so now I’m finally doing it! My main reason is just to re-connect, and explain to you why we needed to stop sponsoring Mayon (orphan) in India. I’m sure you probably struggle sometimes with the “wonderings” about old friendships, so I hope to clarify where we stand. We’re basically still just as madly in love with you as we always were! I would love to hear more reports about your work in India, and about what your family is doing. When I hear that you’re planning another trip, I always feel that “tug” – and wish I was joining you! If you would have it in your heart to publish a newsletter, well, that would just be awesome! (put us on your mailing list?) I still wish we could have seen Pastor Tony the evening that he was with you – thank you so much for the invitation! J and C are expecting their second child in the spring, making this new little boy our fourth grandchild. They continue to be a joyful, awesome couple,

He can't come right out and tell us exactly where he's going, but we know. My son has left for war today. This is his third deployment. He kissed his wife one last time, lingering over the deep blue of her eyes. He played with his son's Christmas presents. He tried to reassure and explain to a four-year old why Daddy has to go. With his last deployment his little boy would grieve that his daddy didn't love him anymore, and that's why he didn't come home. Then his beloved would grieve that she couldn't help him understand... I know he tried not to choke up. I wasn't there, so I don't know if he was successful. My son is a soldier. He called us so early this morning that we struggled to crawl out of bed to get to the phone. For my own reassurance, I asked him again, "Are you sure this is what God wants you to do?" He's still sure. What does a soldier do when he's sitting in the plane, alone with his thoughts? Can he hide the tear in h

I'm sorry I've taken so long a break from blogging. I have actually been re-assessing my commitment. Because I want to maintain a level of privacy, I don't reveal everything that happens in my life. And then, what really is the purpose of my blog, anyway? Shall I just stumble along, and see what develops? Am I wasting my time? A local lady, Dorcas Smucker (Life in the Shoe), tells about family trips, health issues, her children, and discloses far more than I would feel comfortable doing. Maybe I'm more suspicious. Maybe she's more SECURE! I don't know. All I know is that I want to be real, and I want to share the love of God that I discover daily. I want to encourage others. I'm the "older woman" now, and the Scriptures tell me that I have something to teach younger women. ON THE OTHER HAND - I don't want to expose myself unnecessarily. All that I would say may not be beneficial. Show me your ways, O Lord! OH! We just learned that my fourth gra

It was announced in our church service this morning that the Denver, Colorado YWAM base has suffered the loss of two of its youth because of an attack from a gunman. Two others were injured. The young people were cleaning up after a banquet and the gunman came in, asking for a place to stay the night. When he was told he couldn’t stay there, he pulled out his gun and shot, and then left on foot. My son was based there a few years ago. How hard it would be to receive news like this about my own son! Even though I would constantly comfort myself with the memory of giving him back to the Lord just moments after he was born… I know I’d be racking my brain to understand this. I’m not going to pretend that I could, in any way, predict how I would respond! So, let’s just pray. The “YWAMmers”, as we’ve called them in the past, are preparing to forgive the shooter. Let’s pray that their families and friends would be comforted by the Holy Spirit, and that the gunman would be caught. I also pray

It's kinda late, but one thing comes to mind that still makes us smile: a call we received when your daughter had only been back home with you for a few weeks. Apparently she thought she should be making summer vacation plans, because she asked, "I was wondering if I could come and stay the night for a few months ." (That's a long night!) It was hard to explain to her that we'd love to have her, but I was working outside the home now and I couldn't leave her here alone! I think she presumed that time stood still when she left us; and that we were just sitting here on the couch, bored and sad, because there were no children to play with! You've been blessed with some awesome kids, Helen; but, you already know that! ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^