Day# Rain, Projects, and Rashes!

Fun at the Kalers

Fun swing!

Emma was sad to leave and her friend was itchy from the caterpillars! 

Brown Tail Moth Rash

We will be using a lot of these things over the next few days to keep the itchiness down! 

Wyatt’s night to make supper- tacos! 

                                                 Emma went out in the rain to check on her toad

Rain today! While I felt like the house was a little on the wild and crazy side today with the kids inside a bit more, we certainly do need the rain. It was a blessing to get some rain, and it helped me find the motivation to work on some inside projects!

Roger has had off the last two days, so we have enjoyed having him at home. Yesterday we had lunch at the home of some friends. We enjoyed our time at their house, and the boys and Emma enjoyed time on the swings and riding bikes outside. It was a good time of fellowship and fun. They do have a lot of these brown caterpillars at their house, so three of our children have a rash over most of their bodies. Emma and Garett were also outside and playing, but somehow they are both rash free! For the other three though, I needed to go to Wal-mart to get some stuff for their itchiness! When I asked the pharmacist about what I should use, she directed me to an end cap that had all the right ingredients to make a rash cream. She said that there has been a terrible problem with the caterpillars this year, so they’ve made a special area with all the supplies! Travis and Chandler went with me to Wal-mart, and the wait wasn’t too bad today. We waited in line for about 10 minutes, so the line went fairly quickly. 

We were supposed to have the elementary year-end school celebration today, but due to the rain it is moved to tomorrow. We do not have a whole lot of children signed up to come tomorrow, but we will have a good time with whomever does come. We are planning on crafts, games, water balloons, a chapel time, and lunch -sounds fun, right?!  Our children are excited about it, and I’m excited as it will officially mark the end of the school year. We’ve already started thinking, preparing and planning for next fall, and I am continuing to pray that God will do a mighty work and allow our students to return to school. Please pray  with me for a few more families, the right staff, and financial provisions for next year. We serve a mighty God! I am so thankful that He is faithful, true and mighty! 

I worked on creating summer school packets for our children today- they are not overly excited! But anyways with missing out on some actual classroom time and trying to prevent summer slide, I decided that summer work would be necessary this summer. It’s not a lot of work each day, but hopefully enough to keep what they know fresh. When I took Wyatt on a walk earlier this week, I asked him what was bothering him. He erupted into tears and said that he didn’t think he was ready for the next grade. I asked him, “Why ever not?” He said that he remembered multiplication, but he was having a hard time remembering how to do long division. Well, my son, you will probably be just fine! I told him that his teacher would help him as well as his parents. We prayed over it, and I’m hoping that he will have some relief from that concern. I dug through all our totes of remaining homeschool stuff from before we moved to Maine- it was a big job! There was material that I want to keep, material I need to donate, material to pass on to others, and stuff that needed to be tossed. It’s not completely done, but I am closer than I was before I started! 

Our governor issued another “emergency proclamation” yesterday...another thirty days and for the third time! It’s for the federal funds, and not because we have an “emergency” (that’s my opinion). We have friends that have been unable to collect rent from their tenants or evict them because that is not allowed during a “state of emergency”. It means continued restrictions on masks, limited number of people in establishments, and unnecessary power. The ramifications of these continued emergency orders will have long-reaching tentacles. Businesses are closing every day, and with the restrictions on summer tourism that will also continue to affect Maine negatively. I am ALL about protecting the vulnerable...I am not about governors that are over-stepping their powers, and restricting the movements of healthy and strong Americans! 

Maine has continued to see a decline in the seven day average of Coronavirus cases. The number of recoveries continues to outgrow the new cases. We have 505 active cases as of today. I have read that several states are seeing spikes in some areas. I think that’s to be expected, and is not a cause for alarm (again, just my opinion.) People are going to continue to get sick from Coronavirus, and it probably won’t ever be completely eradicated. However, that’s not to say that the American people should not be allowed to continue with their lives. I’d rather have liberty than the “safety” that the government wants to push on me. 

In the midst of continued uncertainty, I can rejoice in knowing that God is still on the throne. I sometimes become worried for the future and the uncertainty of it all, but God constantly brings me back to the fact that He is in control. 

Day# God at Work!! Blessings

Making supper 

Cutting up cucumbers and eating them!

This is the lady that God allowed me to meet yesterday. He is using the church property for His honor and Glory! 

Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes its hard to see God working. Oh, I know that He still is, and that He doesn’t abide by my timetable. But still, sometimes it’s hard to see tangible facts that God is working. I am thankful that He gives us reminders that He is still working in and through us.

Yesterday evening, Roger and I had a school board meeting. Roger is on the school board, and the staff/teachers were invited to come and give some input on a few things. It meant leaving our kids alone for a few hours, but I am thankful that they are old enough to  manage on their own for a bit. I left early for the school board meeting, and Roger was going to meet me there after work. I wanted to get some more work done on our preschool room, and I had some things to do to get ready for a preschool celebration that happened today. Anyways, as I drove into the church parking lot, I noticed a lady drive in behind me. We often have people drive through the church property as it is a beautiful spot right on the ocean bay. Last week when we had prayer outside, we prayed over the church property and the cross that sits on our church property. I made several trips in and out of the church building carrying things, and I noticed that the lady had gotten out of her car and was kneeling in front of the cross. It looked like she was praying. I didn’t want to interrupt her private moment, but I did want to see if I could help her with anything. After I put away the things in the church, I started walking towards her and she came towards me. She was probably about 45ish, and I could tell that she had been crying. I mentioned that the cross was a beautiful spot to come and reflect, and she started crying. She just looked like she needed a hug so badly that I could not help myself. I know all the social distancing rules (they’ve been shoved in my face the last few months!) but this lady needed a hug. I gave her a hug, and she broke down crying. She said that on Saturday her son would have turned 25 years old. She was really struggling with his death this week, and she had spotted the cross on the property. She apologized for trespassing, but said that she found comfort in praying. I asked her a few questions about her faith, and she opened up about how she had trusted in the Lord and that she was looking forward to Heaven. Apparently her son had died when he was sixteen years old. She had come up to Maine to help with her in-law, and this week had been rough. I really didn’t have any great words of comfort, but I can be a good listener and I can give a hug. When we finished our short chat, she mentioned that her name was Jennifer   (I have a sister named Jennifer), and she replied that she had named one of her three daughters Sarah -coincidence? I don’t think so! As I hugged her good-by, she mentioned that it was so good to have physical contact. She had come up to help her in-laws and her husband had stayed behind in the state they came from to help their daughters finish school. She hadn’t been hugged or even had a friendly touch in over three months! Just throwing in my two sense here, but that is not a world I want to live in! We need physical contact with people! Anyways, it was truly a God-ordained moment. I don’t know that I made her pain any easier, but she has certainly been on my mind and I’ve prayed for her often today. God brought her across my path, and He directly answered our prayers from last weeks prayer meeting that God would use our property for His glory!

Today we had our school-end celebration for our preschoolers. This event was optional as not everyone feels safe and comfortable being around people. We had six preschoolers and their families show up. While it was a smaller group than I had been hoping for, it was a great morning. I brought my three younger kids. (After not getting back from last nights meeting until 8:30ish, and then knowing I’d be gone again this morning, I wanted to bring the younger three with me.) They were happy to come and play with the preschoolers, and as a few other families had brought siblings with them, it was a fun morning. It was very good to interact with the parents and children that came. These parents that came this morning are very concerned about school in the fall- aren’t we all?! While we really don’t have a lot of information right now, it was good to hear the concerns of some of our families. The more we know our families, the better we can serve them. I am thankful for our small Christian school, and we continue to pray that God will work out all the details for the fall. (As with any small Christian school, the needs are great. And the money is lacking! If you know of anyone that would like to be a benefactor to an amazing Christian school, just let me know!) I am thankful that I have the opportunity to see God at work in an amazing way every school year, but sometimes it’s a challenge to wait while He works out all the details. Thankful that God is faithful!

The boys are each taking a night to cook the supper meal over the summer. Chandler cooked supper tonight, and he made bacon, lettuce and cheese sandwiches with cucumbers on the side. He did a great job cooking, and all the kids said it was good food! (They are easy to please.) On Monday, before I went grocery shopping, I sat down with the boys and they picked out their menu. I steered them mostly towards the ingredients we already had in the pantry or freezer, but they did their own final choosing. Garett is making spaghetti tomorrow with peas and garlic bread on the side. Wyatt is making tacos. Travis hasn’t come up with a plan yet, but he said he might make leftovers...um, that plan only works IF we have any leftovers! I’m happy to help the boys learn to cook, but along with that comes the clean-up process!

Today we reached our 100th death from Coronavirus in Maine. We have 18 new cases but 101 new recoveries! That’s right! 101 new recoveries! Our governor has come up with a plan that she says will help people coming from out-of-state avoid the 14 day quarantine. If a person who wants to visit Maine can prove that they’ve had a negative COVID-19 test in the past three days they can avoid the 14 day self-quarantine. It sounds better than it is, in my opinion. Now all the hotels that were hoping, preparing and planning that she would relieve the 14 day quarantine by July, still have to deal with that all summer long. Many hotels have stated that people are just cancelling reservations right and left as getting a COVID-19 test is just another reason not to visit Maine. They might as well go somewhere else for vacation...and that is bad for Maine- for all of us!

In a world that is full of darkness, fear, paranoia, chaos, and confusion - take hope! The God of the universe is watching over us. We need not fear the darkness when we know the LIGHT!

CHURCH (and in the church building!)

Church! I very much wanted to write on the blog yesterday to tell everyone how wonderful it was to be back in church yesterday, but by the end of the day I was too tired!

Yesterday was a full and glorious day of being the CHURCH in the church building! It was like an emotional mountain top experience as we sang and worshipped together. I had the rare opportunity to be able to help with the music on Sunday, so that was just an added treat to being in the church building. While many of the older people did not come, we still did have some of the older folks come out. One older gentleman, who is a WWII veteran came and sat in on the service. I had the opportunity to speak to him, and he told me how incredibly lonely he’s been these last few weeks. These weeks have take a toll on our older people due to the isolation and loneliness that happens when life is “normal” much less when life is turned upside down as it has been in the last few weeks.

We had communion at church yesterday, which of course looked different than before COVID. All the bread was in little individual baggies, and the ushers wore masks and gloves, and handed the juice to us. However, you know you have a big family, when it’s time for communion, and they hand you a baggie that has a lot of pieces of bread in it! I was reminded that it’s going to take a bit for our children to readjust to church routines. We had a bit of discussion over whether its more important to remember our Bibles or our bikes. We had a discussion about proper protocol during communion. We had a discussion about leaving on our shoes and socks during the service. And we had a discussion about what church means to them. All that makes it sound like we had really big issues at church...we did not. However, I firmly believe in addressing a problem before the molehill becomes a mountain!

Roger was working, but we stuck around for a picnic on the back lawn of the church. Again, it was different as we all brought our own lunches, but the fellowship was surely sweet! It was lovely to hear children’s voices on the playground, kids riding bikes, some playing soccer and signs of rejoicing all around us. It made for a short afternoon, but it was worth it all!

We had youth group last night. We did not have a whole lot of teens come out, but as we have more and more of our own children approaching the teen years, I am thankful for our church teens. God has been so good to us in allowing us to raise these children for His honor and glory. While the decision ultimately lies in the hearts of each of our children, we cannot shirk our responsibility in investing in their lives and pointing them to Jesus. I don’t know about you, but the recent events in our nation have again reminded me the importance of raising the next generation for Christ. May we raise up a generation that will stand fast, be strong, be courageous, love others, serve, and be on fire for God.

This morning I got in an argument with two of our sons. I know you’re thinking, how?! Well, I am very imperfect and raising imperfect children -that’s how! I said some angry words as did they. These arguments usually happen because someone thinks that they were wronged, and they want justice. I become angry because they’re being selfish and unreasonable in thinking that they were wronged.  Feelings get hurt, tempers become hot, and words can fly. It was an emotional morning that resulted in me going on a long walk with two of our sons...separately. At the end of it all, we asked for forgiveness, admitted failures and moved on. I told my sons that I don’t think it the mistakes that are remembered, but more often the response to the mistakes. We will mess up. We will fail people. We will be unkind. We will be hurt. But at the end of the day, what is our response? We are imperfect people serving a perfect God! We serve a God who never, ever fails us. I pray that some day the boys will become best friends with each other and their parents! I told one of my sons that I wanted to be his best friend in life. He replied, “I don’t think today is that day, Mom.” He was not disrespectful about it, but he was just telling me his thoughts. I’ve got plenty of room for improvement over here!

Coronavirus news: 18 new cases today. No new deaths today. 27 new recoveries today. And our governor has revealed another step in her ‘re-open” Maine plan. You can read about it Here

I have a lot I could say on recent events in our nation, but I’ll save it for another time. I will say this: If America is going to survive as a nation build on capitalism, then we must start thinking for ourselves. The media has no checks and balances, and all it takes is a little research to figure out there is more than just one side. We’ve got to start reading and educating ourselves! Are there problems in our nation? Yes! Mankind was born a sinner! We love darkness rather than Light! However, that does not mean we wallow in self-pity that our nation is falling apart! Get up! Be the Light! (That was a long statement for telling you I’d save it for another day!)

Emma was enjoying the swings yesterday 

This one doesn’t often take pictures with me...love him!

Loved seeing the kids and adults playing after church. 

Day# Regrets & Rejoice Moments

Blessed!

Three reading?!

Growing up my dad used to sing this song that went something like this: “Don’t quit. There’s a race to run. Don’t quit. There’s a job to be done, don’t quit. There’s a crown to be won, don’t quit. Weary Christian, don’t quit.” Every feel like that?! My heart and mind have been very full over the past few days.

Regret moment: Yesterday the President of the United States came to Maine. He was touring a swab manufacturing plant in a community about three hours from here. I had a hard time finding details about his arrival or what that would look like, and Roger was working. Due to uncertainty about whether or not there would be protesters there, taking five kids, etc., I decided not to go. Know what? I regret that decision! I wish I would have just figured it out as I went and gone anyways. We were able to watch Air Force One land at the airport and we saw Marine One via the internet also, but it would have been a great moment for my kids. Next time, I’m just going to do it, and figure it out as I go. I have to say that I was appalled by our Governor’s treatment of POTUS. She did not even come to greet him while he was in Maine! I get that they disagree about many things, and I can understand disagreement...it’s a part of life! However, I firmly believe that she should’ve shown more respect to the President of the United States. Governor Mills has been a bit of a difficulty for me as I disagree with many of her political stands. When all this started about Coronavirus way back in March, you might have been able to convince me that she cared for the people of Maine. But now, with the state still mostly closed, masks required, restrictions on how many people for businesses and churches, and over 52 million received in funds for the “emergency”, I just do not buy it. I try to be respectful of her position as she is the governor, but that does not mean that I just give up. There are literally 1000s of businesses that will be forced to close if we, the people of Maine, do not see some real change soon. Yes, I am passionate about that! My husband works for a small business, and many of our church and school families are employed or employers of small businesses!


Rejoice moment: We had a Sunday School event today! What a blessing to gather together our children from our church fellowship. These children have missed out on the gathering of believers  the past eleven weeks! That’s a long time! However, today we were able to have a special event for them. It was kinda like a mini VBS. We had singing, Bible lesson, Bible games, outside games, crafts, and of course, food! What a blessing to hear the children singing! I felt tears prick my eyes as I listened to them sing. I have missed them all very much. I would love to see a few more mini VBS days scheduled for these children over the course of the summer. We will not be able to have a church VBS this year, but we still have a bunch of children that also need to grow in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord”.

Chandler was eager to help Easton ride a bike! 

The weather was actually beautiful this morning! God held off the rain until after the event! 

Rejoice moment: We, the people of the CHURCH, will be worshipping together in the church building! Oh, what a day! I told Roger that I would sleep on a pew in the church if needed to be sure I have a spot for tomorrow!  We are all looking forward to the opportunity to worship together. Unfortunately, Roger has to work tomorrow, but the rest of us will be there. Roger is a hard worker, and he would do about anything to provide for his family. He enjoys his job, and we are blessed that he has the privilege of working there. There are some sacrifices that every employer and employee sometimes has to make these days for the good of the company. While we will miss having Roger with us, we are so blessed. Tomorrow evening we will re-convene with our teen group. Looking forward to that also! We are planning a time of s’mores, time of prayer and Bible time around the fire pit, and worshipping with our teen group. We’ve missed them also! So, it’s going to be one exciting day tomorrow- can’t wait1


Rejoice moment: One thing that I have enjoyed this week is my daily prayer time with one of the ladies in our church. We have prayed by phone almost every day this week, and that has been a real blessing. Now that school is out, I’ve been missing praying with the staff ladies. I know that Barbara prays for me and our family, and I have been so blessed through the ministry of prayer this week.

Rejoice moment: Today is D-Day! Did you know that? It’s hard to fathom the sacrifices that those men gave on the shores of Normandy 75 years ago. I am so thankful for those men that fought so bravely for our freedoms. You do realize that we are in dire danger of losing those freedoms, right? It’s so important that we teach history to our young people. Our children are learning history in our local Christian school, but I feel that this is a special time to teach them even more this summer. I have started a book with our children to read over the summer. We will be reading about people in our American Heritage.

Started reading through this with the kids for the summer. 

Rejoice moment: We have 42 new cases of Coronavirus today, but 48 more have recovered! We have a total of 98 people that have died, and those in the hospital with coronavirus remains at 35.

Prayer Requests: I don’t know about you, but I often feel like I’m praying for the same thing over and over these days! Of course, our family is at the top of the list. I am praying for our children’s faith to grow through this. That they will become rooted and grounded in God’s Word.

Also, our nation is continually heavy on my mind. At every turn evil seems to run rampant, wild, and unrestricted! We are truly in a battle against evil, and we must be fervent in prayer. I know that, if God gives us the opportunity, I want to do a better job of raising our kids on the importance of being involved in government. I want them to understand how important it is to have Godly men and women in leadership. I want them to know how they begin to get involved in government on a state level if God should lead them to that.

Our church and school: I’d ask prayer for our church services tomorrow. I’d ask that God bring us a sweet savor of fellowship and unity. As for the school, I ask that you continue to pray with us that school will re-convene in the fall, with the students in their desks in their classrooms! I’d ask you to pray that God will give us growth, and that He will provide in a mighty way for those that have financial needs.

In closing, we serve an amazing God! I’m so thankful that we serve the God WHO knows it all! He’s not wondering what He is going to do, or how He is going to solve a problem. He’s got it all!

Day# No Idea!

Garett and Emma 

Half-way through Travis’s haircut

Definitely time for a haircut! I don’t have an “after” picture as he was eager to get in the shower! 

Am I the only one that goes to bed these days thinking, “Surely tomorrow there will be better news in our nation?!” Lately it seems like there is bad news at every turn and corner. I’m thankful that I know the end of the story...Jesus Reigns!

We’ve been enjoying our first week of summer break! It was so, so nice to be done with school by June 1st this year, so that was one blessing that came as a result of Coronavirus. We could use some rain here, but the weather has been beautiful. Last night we attended prayer group at our church, and it was so nice to all meet together! There were only about 20 of us, but it was so nice to pray and to study God’s Word together. I am very much looking forward to Sunday when we have the opportunity to again worship together. I know that there will be many people that we will still be missing, but I’m looking forward to fellowship with those who come as well as singing and worshipping together. In the midst of all the darkness in this world, it’s a real comfort to know that God is still at work.

Today I had a staff meeting to discuss a few plans for next fall. It’s not possible to out everything in place as we are waiting for the Maine Department of Education to release its guidelines. I’m certainly  praying that they have more reasonable expectations than what the CDC put out! Yes, next year will look different, and unfortunately there is no way around that. However, I am praying passionately and fervently that school will be able to resume in a somewhat “normal” fashion next fall. I would certainly appreciate your prayers for that as well as for growth in our student body. Yes, it would be a bizarre year to see growth, but that’s why we serve the God of the impossible!

We are gearing up for a Sunday school event for our church kids on Saturday. I am so excited to have an opportunity to interact with our Sunday school kids. I’ve missed them so very much! It’ll be a blessing to see them all again.

Tomorrow, our President is coming to Maine! I was thinking about trying to take my children to where he will be, but it’s about a three hour drive from our house, and I heard that the streets will be blocked off early. So we will see. I’d probably be more up for the challenge if I had a bit more direction or if Roger was off of work. We will see.


Yeah, the world’s gone crazy, hasn’t it? Riots, destruction, and sin are running rampant. Governors are shirking from their duties, and people are quick to point fingers at who’s fault it is. Know the real problem? It’s sin. We are sinful creatures, and people seem to not even have a moral conscience anymore. I don’t know how much time I have left on this earth, and I certainly hope that Americans do not lose this battle against socialism and globalism. However, as long as I have breath, I plan to be a Christian, an upstanding American, and to endeavor to raise my children for God’s glory. Yes, I recognize that my children following Christ is their own decision, but that’s not to say that I stand by and do nothing! Stand strong, my friends! Fight against evil and division. God is faithful.

Oh, yes. I almost forgot the Coronavirus update in Maine. Well, in spite of our TRIPLED testing, we still really do not have an emergency, in my opinion. 35 people out of 1.3 million people in Maine are in the hospital! Thousands of people are still out of work. Masks are mandatory. Many businesses are still closed including fitness centers, nail salons, and several other kinds of businesses. It’s really quite disheartening to me, but guess what?! No one asked my opinion!

The Maine CDC reported 0 additional deaths of people who tested positive for COVID-19, meaning the state death total remains at 95.

Of the 2,446 COVID-19 cases in Maine, 2,181 are confirmed by test and 265 are probable (meaning someone who has not tested positive but has been in close contact with someone who has).

1,739 Mainers have recovered from COVID-19.

291 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point during their COVID-19 illness. 35 Mainers are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 14 being treated in intensive care units and 7 on ventilators.

Moments and Musings

I love baby Ruth too! 

Sea glass treasures 

Boys and a mucky frog pond! 

The world seems “normal” at the ocean 

Wyatt loves this baby too

Emma would gladly bring baby Ruth home with her!

Summer!

This swing is a favorite

These are hard days for our land and our people. My heart hurts for all the violence, destruction, cruelty and hate that seems to be spreading like a wildfire across the great land of America. Our rights to worship as we please were changed forever today in the Supreme Court case which gave the state of California the right to restrict church gatherings. How saddening! As a Christians we  should be fervent in prayer, loving our neighbor (regardless of skin color!), and steadfast in the Word. As Americans, we should be good citizens of this land. Are we teaching history to our Children? Are we upholding the Constitution? Are we supporting the candidates that we feel will make the right difference in our land? Do you vote?

 Both as Christians and as Americans, we have responsibilities. It’s easy to become discouraged in both my life as a Christian and as an American. As a Christian, I want God to work faster, show His power mightier, heal our land, and send revival. As an American, I gape at the destruction that can be done in a few short days. Lawlessness runs rampant and suddenly it’s okay to destroy someone else’s property and livelihood?! However, being discouraged does not mean that I quit in my perseverant prayers! We press on. We are called to “run the race, and to finish the course”. I don’t know about you, but I still see plenty of work that needs doing both in my life and the lives of those around me!

Today was another beautiful day albeit a bit windy. We really could use some rain here in our state, but since God’s given us days of sunshine, we will use it to it’s fullest! We spent the afternoon at a friends house. Our children were delighted to have the opportunity to visit with some classmates, Abel and Lucy. I was happy to visit with Claire and baby Ruth! The boys spent the afternoon swamping around in a frog pond, playing soccer with some of Abel’s cousins, eating ice cream at Grammie’s house, and enjoy a summer day! Lucy and Emma rode bikes, played with dolls, and swung on the swings. Claire and I enjoyed a walk down to the beach and long conversations that we’ve been missing the past ten weeks. It was a very enjoyable afternoon for all of us.

I was very thankful for the opportunity to pray with my friend, Barbara, today. It helps to know that there are other Christians praying for many of the same things that I am. So many things seem abnormal, unrestful, and off-kilter, but I can rest in knowing that God is in control. That doesn’t mean I always feel restful and peaceful! But I can be reminded to the promises in God’s Word that He is unchanging. My journal is filling up quickly these days with prayer requests, and petitions that are constantly brought before my Heavenly Father. How very thankful I am that He does not weary of me asking/pleading/begging for His mercy and grace. We serve an amazing God! Regardless of how crazy the world may become, I want the world to see there’s nobody like Jesus.

Day# Summer Break and Friendships!

Friendships

Thankful for friends

Prayers and Picnics! (Don’t mind my face- I was not frowning!) 

Last drive-in Service! 

I love this country that is represented by this flag. I pray for our nation often. 

Summer Break is officially here! Hooray!


Yesterday was a wonderful day at church too, even though we did not officially have “in-person” services just yet. With all of our governor’s mandates, it really is very difficult to keep up. There was some confusion concerning whether or not churches could meet in-person on May 31 or not, so we attended the drive-in service. However...after church we had a picnic on the back lawn with a few families! It was so great to sit out on the lawn in the breezy sunshine, and talk with a few other families. We have very much missed our church families, and we are all looking forward to being back to in-person services tomorrow. We were definitely hoping that our governor would allow us to operate at 25% of our building capacity instead of the 50 people because we have a large church building! But that is not the case, and religious gathering are limited to 50 people or less. Our family brings that number down to 43 so it’s going to be really easy to get to 50 people!


Yesterday afternoon, we had one of our church families over for supper together. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship, sharing of burdens, laughter, and of course, food! I am delighted to have the opportunity to have people over in our home again as that is something that we have dearly missed.  We treasure the opportunity to have people in our home and to have fellowship with them. Emma enjoyed the evening playing with one of her classmates. A good time was had by all!

Today we welcomed our first day of summer break by visiting a friends house. The boys were so excited to ride bikes, play outside and enjoy the company of friends. Bethany enjoyed cups of coffee, lots of talk about the craziness in our lives, and the treasure of friendship.

Later this afternoon, I had prayer with another friend from church. While I do wish sometimes that my prayers would be answered a bit faster, I recognize that God is still at work. Our world seems to go crazier every passing day. Between the Coronavirus and now all the burning and looting happening in multiple cities, it’s all very overwhelming! I’m thankful that God is in control, and He loves each one of us. He hates the sin, but loves the sinners- Praise God for that!

The weather today was a bit on the cool side, and we could actually do with some rain here in Maine! I am so excited about summer break. We do not have very many plans as everything is cancelled here, but I am still rejoicing to be on summer break!