Year 2012

Year 2012

We are still here!  The world hasn't ended, as predicted, but many things have changed!  How comforting to know that God is changeless and his faithfulness is great. 

Russell will be changing jobs.  Since finding out that his position as Stewardship Coordinator was being eliminated, he made the difficult decision to resign also from his position as Area Director for Africa/Europe with ACGC.  For many reasons he has decided to try to find work in this area, and didn't feel he would be able to find a job that would allow for the kind of dedication that position requires.  He also has been working with his brother, Ernest, to plant a new church in Big Lake Township and committed to be involved with that just before we learned of his job loss. So he's been back to school at Northeast Technical Institute and is waiting to take his final test to get his commercial driver's license.  He's had many opportunities to share his faith with his classmates and has found this to be a great blessing.  He did travel to Africa in May and had his best trip in seven years; productive, inspiring and instructive. 

I published a new book in October called Light Over Water.  My sister Sandy helped me with the cover design and it's available in both paperback and electronic form.  I have previous blogs with links for both.  About a year ago I finished writing my third book which was finalist in the Women of God Novel contest.  I'm not sure how this book will be published but I'm hoping for a new venue in the new year.  I've continued to work at Faith Family Health Care.  The majority of my work there involves insurance and billing and I love my co-workers and my job.  Since Barbie, my cohort, has semi-retired, I'm actually working four days per week now and have taken on some of her responsibilities too.

Peter has had a tough year with disappointments at two schools he tried to transfer too.  You may recall that just before Christmas last year he was moving to Michigan to go to school at University of Michigan.  They have a renowned business school.  His understanding when he went was that by going for a semester in the regular classes he stood a better chance of being accepted into the business school.  They decided to wait until he had transferred and was registering for classes to inform him that NO transfer student had ever been accepted into the business school.  Probably they were hoping he'd decide since he was there to enroll anyway.  But he didn't. We're thankful for two kind uncles in the area who helped him through Christmas and get back home! Then he was accepted at New York University provisional to passing one class he needed.  He went to New York City in the summer to take that class and didn't pass it.  So he's taking a break from school.  Actually he went to Northeast Technical School with Russell and is also working on getting his CDL.  His plan is to work for a couple of years to pay off his accumulated school debts, then resume his education. 

Emily and Chris lived with us for awhile this year while they were trying to find more permanent housing.  Several leads fell through, which was the Lord's protection - we know now!  They are renting the home right next to Emily's new place of work and continue to enjoy their life together.  She began working at Murray LaPlant & Sons, a trucking and logging company,in July and enjoys her position there.  They just learned that Chris needs some dental work done that will be pretty costly, so they're thankful that they're not trying to pay a mortgage and other housing expenses right now!

Ryan and their family visited in September and we had a lovely long visit with them.  We enjoyed the lake together with fishing, canoeing and campfires.  We played a lot of badminton and the girls and I worked on their sewing projects when I could get them to sit still long enough.  They are all doing well in home school.   Ryan has a permanent shift at his armed security job.  He and Crystal are both going to school; Ryan is working on a master's of divinity and Crystal continuing her EMT training.


Russell's mother, Joyce, also lived with us for some time in the spring after she broke her foot in a fall at her home in Florida.  We learned a month later that she also suffered a subdural hematoma in that fall.  She was hospitalized a couple of times but has fully recovered and is back in Florida.

Campmeeting this year was busy and happy with twenty-nine campers and more than twenty-two members of a work team that came from Stroudwater Christian Church to accomplish a work project in conjunction with campmeeting.  With the staff included, my sister Lois, brother Tim and I fed over eighty people each meal.  The work was finished, the campers enjoyed a great week and in November the tabernacle got a new roof - so great work was accomplished by the Lord's mercy!

As we look forward to new things in the new year, our prayer is that you will see the hand of God in your life: his faithfulness, his mercy and grace.  We're so grateful for where we are and what he allows us to do here.
Love from Noelle and Russell

Yippee! Here's the link to my new book, Light Over Water,
in electronic form:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NJ7692#_
Please pass it on...thanks!

For those who want "a page turning real life book in my hands" (as my Mom says), here's the link to 
Light Over Water in softcover:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3609364. 

Year 2011

Our new screen door

Next year's wood

 Russell traveled around the US but didn't have to take a trip overseas this year.  He was scheduled to go to Eastern Europe but that trip was cancelled because of some difficulties in our churches there.  He's enjoyed some new power tools and tried his hand at some woodworking.  Our new screen door is one of the results.  In the summer he enjoyed snorkeling, presided over Big Lake Campmeeting, and we were able to enjoy some fishing and canoeing.  Recently he finished cutting and hauling all our wood for next winter.

Mud Room Floor

Living Room

Together we've continued renovations on our house.  We found out that our furnace was not going to last, so we made the switch from oil heat to electric in the spring.  With our wood stove this is a very economical and comfortable improvement.  We got our living room finished and painted the floor of the mud room.

I started working three days a week at Faith Family Health Care in March and having been pretty well trained in the billing and insurance end of the practice.  I enjoy my work there, but also have time to work on writing because of my schedule.  This year I worked with another author doing some editing work, and have also just finished my third book! I'm working with Sandy to publish my second one through Blurb.com, and am going to be looking for an agent for this third book. I had a great time cooking with my sister Lois and brother Tim at campmeeting.

Gracen, Naomi, Zoe 

We vacationed in Texas in November.  Our granddaughters continue to thrive and grow, and are the smartest and prettiest girls ever!  Ryan and Crystal and all suffered through a terribly hot and uncomfortable summer, but November was pretty nice!  Crystal finished her EMT course and is going on to finish Paramedic training.  Ryan is going to be starting school again also, working on his masters of divinity.  Gracen had her first piano recital while we were there.  Zoe has lost her barn doors, and Naomi had some minor surgery on her mouth but has recovered well.

Gracen's First Piano Recital

   Emily and Chris just celebrated their first wedding anniversary.  We love living so close to them!  Chris is a clever mechanic and helped us buy and fix up a Ford Explorer.  Emily started a new job in the summer at Calais Regional Hospital where she works in registration, on the switchboard and sometimes in the radiology department.  They love her sense of humor and her friendly manner.  Bear (our grandcat) is thriving.  He comes to visit us once in awhile!

Peter finished his first year at UMO with high marks.  He made it into the National Collegiate Honor Society and also received a nice scholarship from a business foundation in Texas.  He's doing well so far this fall.  He has transferred to the University of Michigan in hopes of ramping up his business academic record.  We miss him here!

Last canoe ride in October

12-22-11

The lake is frozen now and the campgrounds are quiet.  We feel privileged to be witness to this time of year that boasts its own unique enchantment and wonder.  We're thankful for the blessings of each day and pray you are seeing the hand of God in your own life.

Go Now (A Poem for Autumn)

Go now.  You
say there's nothing for you here -
but look - the black vault of sky,
the still earth preparing,
to hold for awhile,
its breath.

Go now.  You
see - it's only a slow fall,
revealing and baring
their stark and lovely forms,
to stand for a time,
unveiled.

Go now.  You
miss the iron rising,
bracing and shrouding over -
moon spilling to earth,
alike for these days,
in white.

Go now.  We
are swaddled, protected,
safe - and in wonder, sparing
no thought for the day,
we must, no doubt,
go too.

New on Kindle

Now my book, Some Smaller Grace, is available as an e-book on Amazon.  Just follow this link:
 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004V5I4MG

Baby Step Prayers

Now that Peter has almost finished his first year of college (a year of much prayer and intercession!), I found this piece I wrote back when he was in tenth grade getting his license.  And I ask myself again, why am I so surprised when God answers those prayers!!


Baby Step Prayers

                Peter is taking another step into adulthood today.  He’s driving himself to school.  He has strict instructions to call me when he gets there so I can relax.  In the meantime, I wait.

                As soon as I watch him pull away from the curb, tears come to my eyes. He’s only had his license a week.  He’s a little hesitant, yet said he had the courage to do it.  What if I pushed him off to his death?  What if I never see him again and the rest of my life I wonder why I didn’t let him practice one more time?  But no…I have entrusted his life to God’s care, since before he was even born.  The question is, do I trust God?

                The prayers stream out of me like breathing.  Oh Lord, help him to focus.  Help him to see, help him to be careful on that left hand turn, and Lord, at that place where he has to switch lanes, help him to get in the proper one.  Keep him safe; keep other drivers safe…oh God.

                I put in a game of Scrabble to help pass the time until he calls.  One of the first words Maven plays is TENSIONS.  Sigh!

                I remember other firsts.  Ryan’s first day of school; his first day in every new school.  His first time out driving; his first day on his first job; Emily’s first day at a new school in a new country, her first date; her first job.  When Ryan left us at eighteen to go back to the United States from New Zealand I cried so hard it felt like something was broken.  I had never experienced such a severance and I never prayed so much in my life as during that year we were ten thousand miles apart.  When Emily got married and moved out, that pain again, like an amputation.  And her only eighteen miles away.

                These steps are not nearly so nerve wracking for the kids, in the long run.  I don’t remember my first drive alone.  That may have more to do with how long ago it was than how memorable it was!  And now I don’t worry a bit about Ryan or Emily driving.  I’m sure I did have this same feeling of fire running through my veins for awhile when they both got their licenses.  I’m wondering how long before it goes away this time.

                My three children have faced the challenges of life with dignity that makes me proud.  It’s so hard to be on the parent end and do the nudging.  It’s so easy to second guess our decisions and try to make things easier for them.  But the brutal fact is that life is tough.  It’s full of challenges; it’s full of “firsts” that must be gotten through.  So I make my voice positive and nonchalant as I send them off to face these steps, and only cry and pray when they can’t see me.  And I wonder if that’s okay.  I remember being afraid, and praying for help.  Now I’m “afraid for” and it’s a much worse feeling.  It makes me pray more diligently for them; it makes me rely on the Helper when I am helpless.  It makes me ask God to help me with yet another “first”.  And I’m starting to learn that the ongoing prayer that God wants us to experience is quite often a direct result of a new step my babies take.

                Peter should be there by now.  I need to be calm and get to work.  Dear Lord…oh, thank you, Lord.  There’s the phone.  Thank you, thank you, and thank you!  Hey, he did have the courage, and hey, You took care of him.  Now, what time does school get out?

Living in the Present*

One of the problems inherent in young motherhood is the constant anticipation of baby milestones. When we cradle our newborn in our arms we are already thinking about him thriving and growing. Each new step encourages us to anticipate the next. The first smile, first tooth, grasping, holding, feeding themselves, walking, talking, running, driving. We develop a mindset that is futuristic and forward looking.


The downside is that we miss out on the present. And this is exactly what Jesus was talking about when he said, “Don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” This is obviously true, and we’ve all experienced the trouble in each day. But I believe his point was also this: life is so full…be careful, you might miss something. We’re so forward looking that we fail to see the blessings of the present.


Jesus also asks the question: what is important? The worries that steal our peace and eat up our time are things that God knows all about. He knows what our needs are. He cares about our fears; but he has made provision for all these things.


We put off living until a better time; when we’re out of debt; when we have a better job, education, home, etc., then we will begin to pray, witness, share, tithe...live. But we fail in the present to deliberately go about all these things.


Daniel is our example of living in the present. He made the most of his circumstances. How he must have anticipated his release the whole time he was a captive. But he didn’t use his circumstances for an excuse to put off living. He didn’t change his diet; he didn’t neglect his prayers; he didn’t stop worshipping and he connected with God in such an intimate way that God gifted him with special insight that helped save his skin and pointed to our own future. Daniel lived in the present in a way that most of us cannot grasp.


It’s not wrong to anticipate positive events or change. But if everything is put on hold until that change, then something is wrong. Whether we are concerned about tomorrow because we’re anxious or anticipating, we lose today.


There are some many things that I missed about my children’s growth because I was looking for the next skill, or birthday or milestone. There are big gaps that are just a blur because I failed to pay attention. I wish I’d been different. I wish I’d been present each day and understood the importance of the moment.


Jesus was cautioning us to be present in the present – our humanity guarantees that we might miss something.

*Follow this link to see this blog on The Upper Room website: November 11, 2012
http://devotional.upperroom.org/blog/2012/11/present-in-the-present