tornado in town

On Friday our town was hit with an F1 tornado with winds topping at 125 mph. Holly witnessed the event as rain whipped horizontally and then the sky opened up with apocalyptical size hailstones! Thank the Lord there was very little damage to the storm. Even our tomato plants were spared. Apparently storms of this magnitude are rare in Central Virginia though it's not unusual for one to experience a heavy thunderstorm. One woman who lives in Tornado Alley states that observant people can tell when a tornado is imminent. If the wind is whipping in one direction and abruptly reverses direction, followed by hail, then head for the basement.

Jesus encourages us all to be weather watchers: to observe and discern the signs of the times. Only then can a Christian truly be ready for whatever is coming.

Anniversary approaching

We are soon reaching a milestone in our family - and a rarity these days: twenty-five years of marriage. Just this morning we were talking about life's changes. When we were planning our honeymoon, we thought about going to the Pocono's like other newlyweds. Instead we traveled to Nova Scotia, rented a cabin and visited family. August was a very beautiful time to experience the beauty of Canada's ocean playground. Two years ago we thought we were going to have a big celebration, invite all of our friends to a catered, sit down dinner with music. Now we are a family of six (one in Philly), living in the heart of Virginia, going back to school and not having full-time employment.

Please don't misunderstand us; we're not complaining. As we review our life's journey, taking the narrow road (the road less traveled), there are unexpected twists and turns, switchbacks and obstacles along the way. Life is a series of adjustments - dare we say disappointments? If one adjusts to God's directives disappointments become Hisapointments. Certainly we never expected this path to lead us to China - not one but twice! On the first trip we had our annivesary there! We would have missed the adventure if we were not keeping our face forward.

So, where do we travel for our anniversary? This debate continues. We'll let you know how things turn out . But one thing is certain: we don't want to miss what is just around the corner. It's sure to be an adventure.

Happy Fourth of July

On this glorious independence day celebration, we remember the framers of our constitution who dared to stand against tyranny and injustice in order to secure for us the liberties which we now enjoy. Our freedom was won at great cost. Let's use that freedom to bring truth and integrity to America.

Today our family traveled to Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest - his summer retreat home from Montecello where we enjoyed a festive celebration that included a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence. This is Steven's first July 4th as an American Citizen. Those who travel outside our country truly realize that we live in a very special country.

Last week we spent a long weekend at Myrtle Beach. with Holly's parents and her brother's family from Germany. This was the first time the boys actually played at the ocean. They enjoyed searching for seashells, surfing the waves and building sand castles. They even had a chance to fly kites!

Amy is now experiencing freedom as she completed her courses at Liberty for the year. She signs up for new courses at the end of August (with Dad). Roger still has one course to complete in July before he can relax for the remainder of the summer.

Holly's garden is a virtual jungle. We have all enjoyed the fresh garden beans, lettuce, squash, cucumbers and even our first tomato! There's much more to come!

We wish you all God's peace on this special day.