Audra and Justin

Ok--I realize that I am WAYYY behind in my blog but I will attempt to do a little catching up here.

The buzz around here for the past while has been the exciting upcoming marriage of my sweet cousin Audra to Justin Kastner. We are all greatly rejoicing in the news. They are two quality young people who love God and serve Him greatly through the quiet obedience of their life. I have been so impressed with the way they have carried out their courtship and the high standard that they have set for themselves.

We celebrated the occation with a bridal shower at my aunt and uncle's house.

Erica, Mindy, and Karen: dipping strawberries in chocolate!

Krista Fafach: Using her culinary magic and creating a masterpiece!

Congratulations Audra and Justin!

The greatest gift!

What thou, my Lord, has suffered was all for sinners' gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! 'Tis I deserve thy place;
Look on me with thy favor, vouch safe to me thy grace.

What language shall I borrow to thank thee, dearest friend,
For this thy dying sorrow, thy pity without end?
O make me thine forever; and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for thee.

(O Sacred Head Now Wounded)

Shut the Door

Getting away, just me and the Word of God, and spending time alone with God...that is something that I have struggled with. The busy-ness of life is such an enemy to our souls. I was looking in an old hymn book today and was challenged by this old song written in 1923 by William M. Runyan.

Lord, I Have Shut the Door

Lord, I have shut the door, Speak now the word,

Which in the din and throng could not be heard;

Hushed now my inner heart, whisper Thy will,

While I have come apart, while all is still.

In this blest quietness clamorings cease;

Here in Thy presence dwells infinite peace;

Yonder, the strife and cry, yonder the sin:

Lord, I have shut the door, Thou art within.

Lord, I have shut the door, strengthen my heart;

Yonder awaits the task--I share a part.

Only through grace bestowed may I be true;

Here, while alone with Thee, my strength renew.

In the Studio with Freedom's Call

Freedom's Call is a group of four girls (two sisters and two cousins) that sing and play gospel bluegrass together. They are such a delight to watch and listen to. My sister and I have the wonderful blessing of coaching them once a week on new songs and various musical projects.

Their newest project is making a CD. We went with them to the recording studio in Wisconsin last week and found the sweetest little place nestled in the woods near the banks of the St. Croix River. This is the cute little cabin that we were set up in, just a few yards from the studio...

So, keep your eyes open for their new CD which will be coming out sometime this summer. Sweet voices in four-part harmonies blending with beautiful stringed instruments all agreeing in one voice with praise to our Lord! What a great experience it was!

"...Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

~Colosians 3:16~

The Sahlstrom Farm

Spending time on the Sahlstrom farm is always great fun. There is so much activity there on a daily basis, what an adventure! In the short amount of time that we were there we experienced the birth of baby goats (triplets!), making homemade maple-nut ice cream, several ping-pong tournaments in the garage, homeschooling 7 different grades at the same time (I am amazed at my sister Melissa! She is incredible.), and lots and lots of sweet hugs. I couldn't get enough of it! Here are some more pictures of our stay...

Amelia feeding the goats

(Just a note: she is not wearing shorts in the middle of the winter, she just didn't want the bottoms of her pants to get muddy.)

Five of my sweet neices (L to R: Amelia, Charisma, Annika, Erina, and Becca)

I'm Back!

Auntie Missy and Elianna

I am very sorry that I have been such a poor blogger as of late. I have not been home for a few weeks so that is my excuse. I am actually still not home but I am able to use my sister's computer. Mindy and I decided to come down to Tracy and surprise my older sister Melissa and her family. It was so much fun to see the expression on her face. She cried and the kids were all yelling, it was great.

The girls were finally able to try on the salvar kamis' that I brought back from my trip.

A little south Asian beauty!

Special Visitor...

What a blessing it was to have my sister Mindy and little Elianna visit us at Kinder Kids this last week. Mindy played the guitar and we all sang some of our favorite songs. It was so much fun to have her there. The children LOVED having such special visitors!

Thanks Mindy! We love you!

Courtship Workshop

Notice!!!
The Courtship Weekend was canceled due to bad weather and has been moved to March 31st instead. Please pass the word and invite anyone you think might be interested!

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If anyone is free this weekend, come see us in Tracy MN! My sister's family (the Sahlstrom family!) is hosting a courtship weekend and it sounds like it will be really interesting. I will be sharing during the "Just for Girls" session so pray for me that I would know exactly what the Lord would want me to say. It has been really good for me to be forced to look back on my life and experiences and remember what the Lord has done and how faithful He has been to me! What a wonderful God He is!

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When?:

Saturday, March 31, 2007

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Where?:

Tracy Alliance Church, Tracy, MN

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1:30 - Welcome and Introduction

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Sessions will include:
Panel Forum
Knights, Maidens & Dragons

True Love Stories

Just for Guys

Just for Girls

Goals for Success

Question and Answer Time

Supper Break

Concert by the Berge Family

7:00 - open to all

President's Day

With all of the political and governmental problems that we seem to have an abundance of lately, it is easy to become discouraged and disgruntled with our government. I tend to be a finger pointer and think that if they would just do "this or that" than everything would be better! I was doing a little research on WallBuilders.com recently and realized a great truth--it isn't "them" but "me" that I should be focusing on. I have just as much of a duty and responsibility toward promoting the moral excellence of our nation as our president does. I know that I have not prayed as diligently for our leaders as I should have and I have not been as involved as I know I could be. Here are a few quotes from the Father of our nation, General George Washington that helped put things into perspective for me:

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[T]he [federal] government . . . can never be in danger of degenerating into a monarchy, and oligarchy, an aristocracy, or any other despotic or oppressive form so long as there shall remain any virtue in the body of the people.

~George Washington, February 7, 1788~

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"The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country."

~George Washington, July 9, 1776~

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"Deeds, not Words"

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"For God and my Country."

(George Washington's Mottos)

My kiddos...

My job teaching at Kinder Kids Preschool provides me with many lessons for life. I was helping two children solve a little conflict the other day and I asked them what happened. They both honestly told me what they had each done to make the other mad. I was impressed with that and thought that I probably wouldn't be as quick to "incriminate" myself in a similar situation. I would probably try to justify myself and explain my weakness away somehow. I think that is one of my biggest challenges--reponding with humility and grace in situations that reveal my weaknesses.

"Whoever then humbles himself as this child,

he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:4

What a blessing to have a character building training program built right into my job! And I get paid for it to boot!

My little character builders

The other side of the world

What a blessing it was to be amongst the people of south Asia for the past few weeks.

I was confronted with the stark reality of Muslim lifestyles and how they look at us as Americans. Although our team was treated very well and welcomed wholeheartedly, the general belief there is that Americans (whom they believe to be Christians) are people with very loose morals and no modesty. It is no wonder that they believe this with the television and Hollywood movies that they are exposed to from the West. It makes me sad to think that our once Godly nation now has such a terrible reputation.

I felt a very grave responsibility to represent Christ in an honorable way so as to bring Him glory in every thing I said and did. What a good reminder it was to be constantly watchful and careful of every word I say and thing I do because I am always representing Christ no matter where I am.

Here are a few pictures...

A neighbor sweeping her floor

We experienced many new fruits and vegetables that were delightful!

The mosques and temples stood as silent witness to the bondage in people's hearts.

We're on our way!

Tomorrow morning at 6 am our team will be heading out on a trip to south Asia to minister in a predominately Muslim country. Please pray for us. Pray for wisdom whenever we open our mouths, boldness in our faith, safety, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and team unity.

I am so excited to see what the Lord is going to do!

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them

is that they may be saved. Rom. 10:1

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16

Thank you for praying for me!

New Website!

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him...

Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

(Psalm 28:7; 33:3)

My talented sister, Mindy, has done a beautiful job updating our family website...hop on over and check out her great work!

A new year

"Following Christ"...what does that mean exactly? I am a follower of Christ, but I do not think that I completely comprehend what that means. I am ashamed to say that I often find myself following my own wishes and desires rather than Christ's. A new year is upon me now and it is that time of year for reflection on what has passed and what is to come. Looking back I see many failings and blunders--praise God for all of them. I want to learn from them and endeavor to live this year seeking His face more earnestly and living closer to Him than before. I feel like a little child sometimes, trying to walk in her daddy's big steps, stumbling along in a clumsy way. I am so thankful for my Father's strong hand that is mighty to save--keeping me.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,

whose mind is stayed on thee:

because he trusteth in thee." Isaiah 26:3

Christmas highlights continued...

Every Christmas Eve we have the wonderful blessing of gathering at my Grandma Berge's house and celebrating our Savior's birth all together with all the cousins, aunts, and uncles. We have a tradition of taking a "grandkids" picture in front of the tree each year. It is so fun to look back and watch as new members are added to the picture each year through birth or marriage. The group just keeps on getting bigger and bigger each year. I remember when you could actually still see the Christmas tree behind us! Here is this year's photo:



Grandma Berge gave all the little girls new markers and coloring books. However, Erina found a more interesting use for them!

Christmas highlights...

Here are some more of my favorites from this month.


Carolers:
What a sweet suprise it was to open our front door and find a group of christmas carolers gracing our front step. They sang to us in amazing four-part harmony. It was so beautiful.

The Kastner and Berge crew singing in the snow

Thank you Kastners and Berge girls for that sweet music!

Merry Christmas!

I took a bit of a break from blogging over the Christmas season here because, Wow!--it has been crazy. But now that it has quieted down and I have some time, I thought I would highlight a few of my favorite Christmas moments...

Here are 5 Christmas blessings that I LOVED having here over Christmas. Becca, Katrina, Charisma, Amelia, and Annika--my sweet neices. It seemed like I just couldn't get enough hugs in before they had to leave yesterday. It sure was nice while it lasted though!

A frozen expedition

My Berge cousins and the Kastner family invited me to go skating out on their lake. I had a few foreboding thoughts of cracking through the ice and getting trapped underneath, but despite that horrifying notion I went anyway. I am so glad I did…the ice was beautiful, smooth and so clear. We even saw a fat snapping turtle under the ice on the bottom of the lake. It was pretty amazing.

Me, Amanda B., Erica, Janna, Elizabeth, Lilia, Amanda K., and Katelyn

I am so thankful for these girls (in the picture) and their sweet spirits. I felt blessed just being around them. They exemplified to me the verse found in 1 Peter 3:4...

"but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart

with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,

which in God's sight is very precious."

Happy Birthday to my dear sister!

I have been so extremely blessed with such a wonderful sister. I wish you all knew her as I do, she is so selfless and giving and so fun to be with. I've watched her as she has encouraged others, given of herself selflessly, supported her husband, and tirelessly served others--all with a cheerful smile and sweet spirit. She is my inspiration and encourages me to be more like Jesus everyday.


I love you Mindy!

Gone Huntin'

We had a beautiful weekend for hunting. Our hunting party consisted of my Uncle Albert and his daughter Audra, my dad, me, Ben and Mindy, and Ben's dad Dennis. Between us we got seven deer and had a big packaging party last night at Grandma Berge's. Even though it isn't the most pleasant job butchering deer, the atmosphere is always fun and full of dramatic hunting stories. It is always good to be together. Plus, every few hours Grandma appears in the shop bearing delicious baked goods and refreshing drinks. She is so wonderful.

Here is the deer stand that my dad built for me out behind our house...



It is a wonderful stand and yielded two deer this year! I also saw a porcupine meandering through the woods--he was kind of cute but I was hoping he wouldn't start coming my way. Thankfully he didn't.

Here is the eight-point that came by on Monday morning. He is now in our freezer--poor guy. Someone asked me if I felt bad shooting those cute little deer and I said that after having your garden ransacked beyond recognition and having one run into your car you begin to lose a little of that compassion.

I guess I never realized what a huge thing deer hunting was around here until I started teaching. The little boys in my preschool play "hunting" almost all day and even pretend to track their "elk" and "deer" after they shoot them. I was amazed at how much they learn from just being around all of the hunting talk at home.

Here they are with their Lego guns and blaze orange hats. They are so cute and have such amazing imaginations. I love it!

Love that lutefisk!

Lutefisk is a big tradition in the Berge family. For decades it has been a staple at our Christmas Eve celebration at Grandma Berge's. Some people say it smells bad but don't believe it! To me it smells like Christmas and all the wonderful feelings that come with it.

Every year in October there is a big lutefisk supper at a local Lutheran church and of course we couldn't miss it. This annual supper is actually one of the first places that we ever performed as a family band so it is always wonderful to go back again.

Here is a picture of my plate

(the white glowing mass is the lutefusk is case you weren't sure).

A little history on lutefisk: literally translated, lutefisk means lyefish, which refers to the early process of soaking where a lye solution made of birch ashes was used in the luting process. Lutefisk is actually dried cod, or stockfish and is probebly one of Norway's oldest trading commodities. It has been used for trading with foreign countries for centuries, along with skins and furs. In Viking times, stockfish was both a main part of the diet, and a trading commodity on long voyages.

Here is a Norwegian now, drowning his lutefisk in drawn butter! I guess that Viking blood just can't resist a little "lute-ing" every once in a while.

(Ha Ha--ok, I know that was a really bad attempt at humor, but that's what happens when your main social interaction all day is with 3-5 year olds.)

Blog brain

Have you ever had that overwhelming problem of having too many things to blog that you can't even start. Well, that has sort of been my problem the last while--that and my very busy schedule. Just wanted to pop back in and let you know that I am still breathing and I will post some stuff soon.

To tide us all over, here is yet another sweet picture of my dear little neice, Elianna Grace.

She is a sweetie!

Elianna faces

The Briggs Boys...

We have a delightful little family in our church who asked if I would take their twin boys' 1 year pictures. They have a 2 year old little girl, 1 year old twins, and another one on the way this winter. It is a busy houshold but their parents are joyful and amazing. They delight in their children and by the pictures, you can see why--they are precious.

In His presence

"...the times of refreshing

shall come from

the presence of the Lord."

Acts 3:19

l
This verse is so true. We came back yesterday from travelling for the weekend and I was exhausted. Shortly after we got home I realized I had to go to a meeting at church that night and I really didn't feel like it. But as I arrived and we were praying and worshiping the Lord, my spirit became so completely refreshed and revived--it was like a drink of cool water on a hot day. What a blessing to be with others who are in God's presence and carry His presence with them wherever they go.

Colorado wedding...

Last weekend we had the blessing of travelling out to Colorado to witness the marriage covenant of my cousin Krista Schmidt (Dad's sister's daughter) to Delchi Fafach. It was a beautiful day. Krista and Delchi's commitment to the Lord was such a testimony to all who were present there. Here are a few highlights from the weekend...

Here is the crew of us that flew down a little early to help out. We were able to visit the famous Pearl Street, downtown Boulder and eat at the Cheesecake Factory.

Danny (Delchi's brother) and I played "Canon in D" as Krista walked down the aisle.

Mindy and I singing "How Deep the Father's Love for Us"

Mindy and Kaye, caught red-handed decorating the get-away car