A quick update on things here at Eagle Ranch: Holly Tucker is here with us this week. She has spent her Spring Break with us. She wanted to come on a mission trip, and she has been the biggest blessing. While she and I haven’t been doing construction work, she has helped me tremendously with getting organized with homeschool. She has helped the kids get adjusted to working online, and has been the biggest help to me. I’m so thankful to have her here. It has been so good to spend some time with her. She even got the good news of being accepted as Snowbird staff yesterday while she was here, so that was exciting for all of us.
The bunk house is almost complete. We are just days away from finishing it. We have a team of our favorite people from Sardis coming up next week to help us get it finished up. We are so excited to see them, and for them to be a part of this ministry here.
Construction on our commercial kitchen began this morning. We are so excited to be able to have a space to cook for all of our visitors. I will post updates as we move along with that project.
Life in WV is very different than that in Florida. Everything is much slower here, and that has been a breath of fresh air. We are so used to living life at 90 mph, that is has been nice to just take a deep breath and focus on what God wants us to do. Please continue to pray for our family, for this ministry, and for this community. We have a lot of work to do!
I joked that I was going to do a post on “10 things I have learned since being in WV.” I’ve done a lot of changing :)
- For instance, we eat almost all meals at home, which means I do a lot of cooking. It also means we eat a lot of leftovers. This is new for me. We were not raised eating leftovers, but now I rejoice if there is leftovers because it means I don’t have to cook.
- I have also learned that eating sandwiches will not kill me. If you have ever spent any amount of time with me, you will know I despise a cold sandwich. These past few weeks I have learned to embrace the cold sandwich and realize it really isn’t the end of the world.
- Not only have I learned to eat sandwiches, I have learned to LOVE hotdogs. They have this hotdog sauce here that makes everything taste amazing! I can’t wait to make some for our friends. It is incredible!
- People here are so trusting. Did you know that they don’t pay at the gas pump in our neck of the woods? You pump your gas, THEN go inside and pay. That would never happen in FL.
- They ONLY sing out of the hymn book here. While I love some hymns, I love great music even better, so this has been a HUGE adjustment for me. But I am learning to embrace it, too.
- Finding a new church is HARD. Don’t ever take your home church for
granted. If you belong to a good church, thank God daily for allowing you to be
a part of it. We miss our church family so much. But after much prayer, we
have found a church that we really like….A LOT! It is a little bit of a drive
(45 minutes) but hey…so is everything else.
- Speaking of driving, I have learned to drive like a local in these mountains. My kids may get car sick every time I drive, but I’m really proud of myself. I have learned to have more confidence in myself when it comes to going places by myself. I had to drive to the big city of Charleston by myself Saturday to pick up Holly. I only made one wrong turn, and we both returned back to the Ranch in one piece.
- I have learned to LOVE family time at home. We have always been goers, and
were always looking for somewhere to go. Here, it is not easy to go anywhere
because it is a long drive to just about everywhere we go. We have enjoyed
being together and refocusing on what God wants from us as a family.
- This is a BIG one. I am a pretty independent person, and can usually do things if I put my mind to it. Homeschool has changed all of that! I am not personally cut out to do this. Holy cow. It tests me daily! But I am learning that if I keep my eyes on Jesus, and lean on His strength, I can do all things through Him. This has been a hard lesson to learn. But it has been a daily reminder to trust in Him, and allow Him to direct my paths.
- The most important thing I have learned since being here is that there is NOTHING more important than a relationship with Jesus Christ. Being who He wants me to be, being where He wants me to be, doing what He wants me to do (even when it is the hardest thing you have ever done) brings a renewed joy and peace in your life that overwhelms the hard days. I don’t worry like I used to. I’m not anxious like I used to be. I don’t stress like I used to. It’s not because I don’t have things to worry about or be stressed about. The change has come from trusting the Lord with my whole heart and my whole life.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and
lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge
him, and he shall direct thy paths.” This has proven true these past few weeks.
As I was reading Proverbs 16 this morning, this verse is one I have committed to
memory. Proverbs 16:9 “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth
his steps.” I am so guilty of making my own plans, but I continually learn that
the Father’s plans are so much better than anything I could ever imagine.
Who are you trusting in today? Are you depending on your own
strength to do what is before you today? Or are you trusting fully in Jesus? I
pray that you all will know the PEACE that passes all understanding, no matter
what your circumstances may be.
