Happy Birthday Mom..

A MOTHER'S LOVE

A Mother's love is something

that no on can explain,

It is made of deep devotion

and of sacrifice and pain,

It is endless and unselfish

and enduring come what may

For nothing can destroy it

or take that love away . . .

It is patient and forgiving

when all others are forsaking,

And it never fails or falters

even though the heart is breaking . . .

It believes beyond believing

when the world around condemns,

And it glows with all the beauty

of the rarest, brightest gems . . .

It is far beyond defining,

it defies all explanation,

And it still remains a secret

like the mysteries of creation . . .

A many splendoured miracle

man cannot understand

And another wondrous evidence

of God's tender guiding hand.

~Helen Steiner Rice~

Now this is Sacrifice...

Recently my sister went to the hair salon before moving on to a different state. Instead of her coming out of the Salon feeling like million dollars she left in tears feeling her hair had actually been ruined, rambling rubbish in the car all the way home about how she had wasted a good amount of money.

Upon arriving home and working to pack the car with a tear stained face, her children saw a teary eyed Mom wondering how they could make it better?

My 8 year old niece, who like her brothers loves and looks up to their mother in every way, came up to be me before leaving, leaving a book on my chair. In tears she told me "Aunty Marianne, this is my favorite book but i want you to sell it and give the money to my Mom for her hair". Wow! that melted me into so many little pieces. She had felt so bad she gave what she thought to be her "best book" to rectify the problem.

I look at this book now as i'm posting up an add on criagslist and feel convicted about how much more i can do for others. She gave the book that she had planned on reading on her 20 hr drive after she had already given away most of her other books.

Will i sell this book? No. I want to mail this back to her and let her know that everything done in love always comes back to you.

Here is a thought Mom shared with me today...so true! A friend recently told me I was like an abalone. “I admire you because no matter what happens, you still hang on to your faith and to the Lord,” he said. It was a compliment and I was touched, but it also aroused my interest. Maybe I should try to learn more about abalones. Perhaps I could learn to be a better abalone. Here’s what I found. An abalone is a shellfish that sticks to rocks in coastal waters. It is a gastropod, which means that its stomach is its foot; it walks on its stomach. Its stomach-foot, which is like a living suction cup, is also its means of clinging to rocks. Apart from its shell, an abalone is practically all stomach. It sticks to a rock and then raises its shell off the rock about half an inch. As water sweeps past the portion of the stomach that is exposed between the shell and the rock, the abalone catches and consumes microscopic particles of vegetation that are in the water. The abalone’s shell is not only its house, but also its armor. When threatened, the abalone can instantly clamp itself to the rock it’s on as tight as a vise. That big stomach can create a tremendous suction. In a flash that great big shell can adhere to the rock so tight that it takes a crowbar to pry it off. So when people stick like abalones they really stick. Perhaps sticking like that is learned with time. The first waves of trouble usually throw me off for a moment as I see everything turn topsy-turvy around me, things swirling in the surf, and my world turned upside down. But then I find my rock and cling to it like everything depends on it. Such turbulent times used to be frightening, but I eventually learned that that’s just the way it is, that that’s the natural order of things, and then it became easier. As the waves come and go, I understand and know what to do. I know the waves and the rock, I know that I have a suction device that helps me stick, and I’ve learned that it gets easier the more I do it. Sticking has made my suction stronger. I’ve also learned to relax when the ocean is calm, but to always be ready at a moment’s notice to hold on tight to the rock. I never want to repeat that awful feeling of being tossed and turned about in the ocean of woes. I’ve also learned to never stray far from the rock, because that it is the one thing I can depend on. My rock is Jesus, of course. He and His Word are my strength and salvation in time of trouble. I’m just a simple, vulnerable creature, but I know who to turn to and hold on to. And believe it or not, I have actually come to love the tumultuous seas. I am, after all, an abalone. The stronger the waves, the tighter I cling.

Austin...

Saints of Valery performed in Austin, it was great fun-- good music!

Jono and Cecy's closing home party...

Jono, Johnathan, Sharif and Danny



Steph and Danny


Mitzi and Marianne

Cancun & Playa del Carmen

Chris chilling with a BEER in Cancun...





Steph and Marianne, along with the boys getting ready to kayak.







poor Jason had so much sun...
















oooo...that water was cold against our burnt skin.....





Que nice...:)



My darling niece was out snorkeling for hrs collecting shells..

















This is Chris and Steph stuffed in the back with the all the kids...:)






























A sprouting coconut tree..















On the way down we stopped on the the side of road so the kids could collect coconuts.

updates...

Sweet Mel with Chris....we'll be seeing you in 3 yrs heh...


Performing...


David's band playing...
(well the band that was put together for Cervantino)


Witnessing to some people that were waiting to go into the prophecy tent.


This man helped coordinate aspects of Cervantino...very sweet


Advertising the Concert...


Chris playing with his second band...



So we've been unfaithful with our blog, i know.....
There has been a lot to happening on our end, for the month of Oct we were in Houston, sold the car, celebrated Chris's birthday and I cut my hair.
We then flew down to Mex city spent a few days at the CTC, which was an experience in itself that place is HUGE! Chris teamed up with Tony, John, David and Johnathan to put some of David's songs together for the Cervantino (we miss you guys by the way). We then spent almost a week in Guanjuato, sleeping in tents and then witnessing late into the cold nights. It was great Chris had so much fun helping out with the music.

After that we came home started planing the Christmas push....We have a Christmas singing team, we'll be hosting a dinner for 200 people, we'll be visiting 3 hospitals with the Dr. Payaso program, sent some friends to a benefit dinner in Mex City and of course we'll be doing all the other regular things that Christmas involves...so that is where our time has been spent.
Last night we got together with our volunteers talked about our projects and also got to explain in greater depth who we are etc...at the closing of our meeting everyone prayed to receive the Lord. It was so inspiring!

I'm posting a few pic's of the Cervantino, i don't have very many pictures at the Moment...but i'm sure by the end of the yr we'll have a few more to post...Love to you all and Merry Christmas...

PS: we continue to pray for dear Owen & Becca..
and David congrats on your woman (joy and I figured it out) and baby of course...we are praying for a smooth pg and delivery.