It's Back!!

There was much joy and celebration when a big brown box came in the mail the other day baring precious cargo...my restored camera! YAY! It is wonderful to have it back and it works great. They replaced a broken shutter, an interior chip, and cleaned the sensors--all at no cost to me outside of shipping! I guess sometimes an extended warranty pays off.

So I am trying to remember how to take pictures again. It has been about two months so I am a little out of practice. Just for fun, here is a "before" picture taken when my camera was broken...

(I know, pretty bad huh?)

And an "after" picture...

(Ahhh, much better!)

I am grateful for the way God works to teach us how to appreciate things that we take for granted sometimes. So I am back and have a bunch of pictures to show you! See you more often hopefully!

Ya'll Come!

WWW.FAMILYBLUEGRASS.COM

Just want to remind everybody that greatest gospel bluegrass festival ever is fast approaching! Mark your calenders for the first weekend in August (3-5) and come visit the beautiful northwoods of Minnesota. Feast your ears to some beautiful music and enjoy this great event with your whole family. You will LOVE it! Check out the line-up at http://www.familybluegrass.com/ .

Hope to see you there!

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I am going to IRELAND!!!

The last few years our family has participated in a prison crusade down in Alabama singing and playing music and met a lot of amazing people. A group of those people are planning a ministry trip to Ireland this coming August and asked me if I would come along and play my fiddle with them! Here is the poster that they are using in Ireland...

I will be there for two weeks and then on to London for a few days before heading home. I am excited about it and ask that you pray for me while I am there. There is a strong Catholic influence in Ireland and many closed minds. Pray that the music would open doors and hearts to the gospel and the miracle of Jesus.

The Camera Saga Continues...

Well, it is official...I am cameraless. It is like having my arm cut off! I didn't realize how much I used it until it was gone. So here is the story...

It was a dark and stormy night...maybe that is too dramatic. Ok, it wasn't but my heart was after it all was said and done! (I gotta keep up the drama here to keep this interesting without any pictures and all to spice it up). Anyhow, all of a sudden the auto focus went out on my wonderful Canon Rebel Digital SLR camera. Thankfully it still worked on manual so I wasn't in panic mode yet. However, my cousin Audra's wedding was fast approaching and she had asked me to be one of the photographers so something had to be done. I decided to take it into a trusty photography shop in town and have the guy look at it. He cleaned it and fiddled around with it but when I left things had not improved at all, in fact, it no longer worked on any setting now! It now took completely black pictures on all settings except for a very small sliver at the the very top. AHHH! Now was the cue for me to panic! No camera, a wedding, and a very large repair bill--it didn't look good at all.

You know...I love how God works thing out for good. He is a wonderful Father! I don't know if you have ever heard the fist saga of this camera but in a nutshell, a couple years ago it was stolen in Florida and God brought it back unharmed. So here it was, experiencing yet another adventure and I remember that this camera really belonged to God because He gave it back to me after it was gone. So, I was looking into sending it in for repair and lo and behold!!...what to my wondering eyes should appear? But a wonderful paper that said..."extended 4 year warranty"! I had forgotten that I had made that investment 3 years ago when I bought my camera new. Praise the Lord!

So now it is travelling through the world of mail into the hands of a caring techie somewhere who will treat my camera with the utmost respect and care...almost as if he had spent $1000 on it himself, right? Thankfully God takes good care of His stuff so I don't have to worry about it. (I have to keep reminding my self about that though!)

So anyhow....this saga will be continued....

More Blessing

My brother Matt and his family have moved back to Minnesota! It is so wonderful having them so much closer. I love it! They are in the midst of building their house so each day is filled with loads of activity and progress. Here is a little glimpse of all the activity...

Thomas...our little musician!
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Matt and Katey at the job site
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Feeding the workers during set day.

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Balancing on the rafters...Yikes!

Ben and Mindy + 2!

I was just thinking how fast time goes by...and how important it is to really enjoy each and every day that the Lord blesses me with.

For instance...just yesterday I was 7 years old and out in the woods with my little sister Mindy building a fort. Now, she is married and they are expecting their second child! Wow--that went really fast.
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So here is today's blessing...my sister Mindy and brother-in-law Ben and their sweet growing family...

Elianna is learning how to give "kisses"!

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I love you Mindy! Thanks for being such a blessing!

The Cabin

My sister Mindy posted some pictures from our trip up north but I couldn't resist a few more! We had a wonderful time and made some great memories. I came away so thankful for my family. What a beautiful gift I have been given. Thank You Lord!

canoeing...

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Mindy enjoying a nice ripe watermelon!

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Both of my sisters are pregnant and Sam (my brother-in-law) is expecting a watermelon any day now.

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Elianna loved fishing...a little girl after her daddy's heart!

Shannon and Nathan's Wedding

Our family played music at the wedding of our good friend, Shannon Maul. It was a beautiful event full of joy and fun. May God bless this couple as they embark on the adventure of marriage together.

Sweet Gwen, the sister of the bride and maid of honor.

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Shannon made all of the dresses including her own! She is amazing!

Garage Sale!

Mindy and Ben decided to have a garage sale last weekend so Mom and I joined in with some "junk" of our own. It was a freezing cold day but we still had a wonderful day and lots of people showed up.

Mindy and Ben are in the process of cleaning out their house and fixing it up so they can sell it and move to a smaller place. Here is a picture of Elianna "helping" Mindy plant some flowers.

The Love Birds!

Since Audra (my engaged cousin) lives right next door to us I have been able to sneak in a few pictures of her and Justin here and there along the way. Here are two of my favorites from the other night when they and all their siblings came over during an evening stroll.

"Delight thyself also in the Lord;

and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Psalm 37:4

Matt is here!!

My brother Matt arrived from Texas and has officially started the building process out on his land. Today he is heading back down to Texas to move the rest of the family back. I am so excited to have them here!

Staking out the land

Sweet Elianna

Being an aunt is a wonderful thing!

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