.

Common Sense

2011-05-31T14:58:00.002-06:00

Remember our blog I was supposed to be updating? Sheesh!! I'm SO very sorry to not have written more before now. I have much guilt in that department. So, as I stand in line at the tax office...(ick!!), here's a quick update. We leave for training in NC TOMORROW MORNING! Please pray God's hand remains on our family. He's been unbelievably gracious this last month! We prayed and prayed that the Holy Spirit would continue to speak truth and love into our kiddos hearts. That they would have the peace that passes all understanding. They've had to give up so much lately, things that bring both joy and security. There've been tears, but that's not been the driving emotion. Each goodbye has either brought joy in seeing someone else enjoy something that was once theirs, or sadness swiftly followed by that peace I previously spoke of. That could ONLY be a God thing! Hallelujah!
We're grieving the reality of saying goodbye to those we love and life as we've known it. Physically, we're exhausted BUT the Lord continues to give us strength, confidence and peace! There are days when Satan gets the best of us. Fear bubbles up inside; but every time we've had the strength to take those thoughts captive and lay them before the One who knows all & whose plan is SO much bigger than our fears!! A few mornings ago I was in that place between wake & sleep where the irrational can run rampant. Satan really began to attack my thoughts. It wasn't a good way to start the day :-( I grabbed My Utmost for His Highest, and wouldn't you know, God met me right there in that moment. This is a bit of what I read: "Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back? If you get into the habit of doing something physically, you will do it every time you're tested until you break the habit through sheer determination. And the same is true spiritually. Again and again you will come right up to what Jesus wants, but every time you'll turn back at the true point of testing, until you are determined to abandoned yourself to God in total surrender......If anyone is ever to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he/she must risk everything by his/her leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold onto or believe through common sense. Once you obey, you'll immediately find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense....We act like pagans in a crisis-only one out of a crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God."
Our common sense has shrieked with protest, but God's still, small voice is the one we choose to tune our ears to.
We're so honored to have the opportunity to serve Him in this capacity! May He be glorified beyond all comprehension!!!

Autumn

Sent from my iPhone

Wilkins in 4:24

2011-04-21T10:02:00.020-06:00

Our family has had the PRIVILEGE of visiting with some really neat people these last few years as we've pursued overseas ministry. Over and over, we've been asked to share our journey.

The Lord did some hardcore work in our lives to refine and prepare us for this new season of life, and we'll most definitely take the time to write it all down. Today, however, isn't that day! We're running around like crazy people as we near the time to leave for pre-field training. 5 weeks...YIKES & YIPPEE!!

Here are a few pictures to tell a bit of the story and get you caught up to where we are today.

Sort of like "All You Need To Know About LOST in 4:24" (Shout out to the Flos!)

September 2009

The 6 of us go to China to see first hand a ministry that was going to be replicated in Central America.

The Lord, who is ever faithful, confirmed in us His desire to use our family in full-time ministry. We thought He was directing us to Costa Rica to work alongside precious friends of ours. As the days went by, God clearly closed the door to work in Central America. Our hearts were sad for a day or two but we KNEW our prayers were being answered. Throughout this journey, we've BEGGED the Lord to make it crystal clear where He wants us to be. WE WANT TO BE IN LINE WITH HIS PLAN...NOT OURS!!!! As dreams of working beside dear friends faded we began our prayers anew. "If not Costa Rica, Lord, then where?"

Within days, we received a phone call. There was an opportunity with United World Mission in Budapest, Hungary. First things first...."I needs me a map so I can find where on earth Budapest IS!!!!

Ok, check. Eastern Europe.

For the record, Philip knew where it was...smarty pants!

The next few months we had meetings, Skype calls, and countless e-mails.

All lights were green.

Enter a peek at the absolute AWESOMENESS of the God we serve.

The guy on the other end of the line the day we got the call regarding Budapest was none other than our close family friend, Keith Keller. Not only was Budapest an option for our family but for his as well!

SERIOUSLY?!?!

"Lord, do we even DARE to hope that you just might have us serve alongside friends after all?"

April 2010

Keith and Rachel (Keller) and Philip and I head to Budapest.

PSYCH!!!

Mt. Eyjafjallajokull erupts in Iceland. Mass chaos.

Our flights get pushed back a week.

In the end, we made it to Hungary in one piece. I'll admit, there were a few times when we hit turbulence that my sweat glands (and my imagination) kicked into overdrive. " Was volcanic ash clogging the engines as we sat helpless over the open sea?? Would we crash on an island inhabited by polar bears and 'the others'???"

Obviously, none of that occurred, and we found ourselves flying over the red rooftops of Budapest. I've never flown into a city before with the knowledge that it could soon become my home. It was very bizarre.

The need for Christ, for love, for hope, for joy, for SALVATION was so evident. What was just as clear was that the majority of people in Europe don't even know what they're missing. They're sad, lonely, angry, and hopeless. Which, in truth, describes everyone who hasn't experienced the transforming power of the love of God. What's heartbreaking is that, even if they had the desire to seek out answers to spiritual questions, they most likely would have NO ONE who could help them find the TRUE answers.

We left with a burden for the people of Europe.

We left with a fire in our bellies (that could have been the goulash as well!) and a vision bigger than the four of us dared to dream.

Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees;

then I will keep them to the end.

Give me understanding, and I will keep your law

and obey it with all my heart.

Direct me in the path of your commands,

for there I find delight.

Turn my heart towards your statutes

and not towards selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;

preserve my life according to

your Word.

Psalm 119:33-37

The vision had been cast.

The net captured far more than just Hungary.

Europe is in desperate need of the gospel.

"Europe? The place that has SENT countless numbers of missionaries to OTHER countries?"

YES!!! THAT Europe!!!!

We were given the challenge to find what country (in Europe) would be the most strategic place for ministry. Budapest was still on the table.

However, five months of prayer, meetings, research, e-mails, Skype calls and phone calls found Philip and Keith on a plane to Prague, Czech Republic. They would spend half of their trip in Prague and the other half in Dublin, Ireland. The last two countries standing at the end of those 5 months.

September 2010

Philip leaves for Prague.

Prague, CZ

Philip and Keith's soon to be released album cover.

Just kidding! This is what two grown men do while they wait for the train in an almost deserted village on their way back into city centre.

Keith, Kevin Mason (UWM Area Director), Chad Hollowell (UWM Area Director & Philip's long lost twin brother), and Philip.

We LOVE these next two pictures.

The Old.

The Young.

They all need the opportunity to hear about the life changing reality of Jesus Christ.

During the guy's time in Prague, the Lord confirmed over and over the need for ministry. The Czech Republic is a dark, dark place.

As the day neared for them to leave the CZ for Ireland, Philip and Keith sent word home asking for prayer. They were scheduled to visit Dublin as well, but the more time they spent in Prague the more their Spirits felt confident Prague was where the Lord was leading. They decided to cancel their trip to Ireland.

The guys returned home and shared with UWM what they'd learned and experienced.

Long story short, WE'RE GOING TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC!

May God be glorified beyond all comprehension!!

October 2010

Philip and I travel to South Carolina for orientation and to be affirmed by UWM.

This time, no volcanoes.

Instead, Philip passed out on the plane.

After being met on the tarmac by a variety of emergency vehicles, and escorted off the plane first (that was our angle all along!), we enjoyed our first view of Charlotte through the windows of an ambulance.

Philip checked out fine.

Turns out you shouldn't travel without a neck pillow.

If ya fall asleep just so, you can cut off the circulation to your brain.

After that excitement, the rest of the week was a piece of cake.

UWM determined we weren't crazy, and we have the paperwork to prove it!

Philip & I were invited to join their organization

We signed on the dotted line......deep breaths!!!

Look who just 'happened" to be there the same time as us!!

SURPRISE!!!!

This is Clay and Megan Sandoz.

They also grew up at TBC (Tomball Bible Church).

And, wait for it.......

They're going with us to Prague!!

Is God good or WHAT?!?!

I told you!! His plan is WAY bigger than we EVER would have dreamed!!!!

Oh how I love Him!!!!

So let's tally up.

Our team consists of Keith & Rachel Keller along with their 3 boys: Eli, Zeke & Luke,

Clay and Megan Sandoz,

and Philip & I and our 4 kiddos: Ethan Peyton, Morgan & Owen.

Here we are.

TEAM PRAGUE!!!!!

I literally timed myself as I read through this post.

I'm at 5min 7sec.

So, I'm already over my time limit by about 30sec.

Plus, I'm ready for bed!!

Tomorrow, I'll write about where we stand today and what the next few months entail.

Goodnight all!

By Faith

2011-04-12T08:30:00.005-06:00

I've sat at my computer, staring at this same blank blog screen, more times than I'd like to admit.

The blinking cursor just daring me to type something.

Each time, in defeat, I've walked away.

The screen still empty.

It hit me this morning what was truly happening. Why I was paralyzed.

I mean COME ON! It's a blog......NOT the Declaration of Independence!!

Isn't it just like Satan to make you feel like whatever you do, you won't be good enough?

THAT is what was truly going on.

It's an age old trap that I've succumbed to plenty of times in my life.

Every time I've bought into that lie, I've stolen God's opportunity to use me.

The past few months, when I dive into the Word, I find myself reading about Abraham or Moses.

That's NO coincidence!

Me and Moses....well, we're tight.

I feel his pain.

"God, I'm NOT well spoken enough to go and speak to Pharaoh. Can't you just use Aaron instead?"

Yep, been there. Done that.

God still commanded Moses (and Aaron) to go. We know how that story ended. In His weakness, God showed up BIG TIME & Moses was used mightily by God!

Abraham, on the other hand, reminds me of Philip.

God told Abraham to pack up his family and his belongings and go.

That's it.

No "googling" his new country. No Skype calls with those already there. WOW!

BY FAITH, he obeyed.

Like Moses, we sometimes speak with "faltering lips"

BUT....

Our family has a special story to tell.

We want to share our journey with others so that the Lord is GLORIFIED!

BY FAITH, we will sell our home.

BY FAITH, we will move to the Czech Republic

BY FAITH, God will use us in our weakness to draw his children to HIM.

I'm glad you all are along for this journey!

PS I dedicate this entry to my sweet sis Amy who basically said, "Just write something already!"

I love you :-)

Oh man! Now I'm crying!

Happy Birthday Peyton!

2008-03-09T11:46:00.004-06:00

For Peyton's birthday I took her on a Daddy/Daughter date to the ballet. We had a wonderful time and hopefully made a memory for her that she'll never forget. The pictures aren't great due to the fact I took them with my phone. The two people she's with were Cinderella and her boyfriend (a little different version of Cinderella). We were able to meet most of the cast afterwards, Peyton was shocked and a little confused as to why the Stepmother was a man. I really didn't think explaining why a man would dress like a women would be one of the topics we would cover that night, I guess it just adds to the memory!

Western Days at TBC!

2008-03-05T15:27:00.008-06:00

Time with Family

2008-02-06T15:33:00.000-06:00

The kids had a chance to have some cousins stay for a week before school got started again. All were sad when Matthew and Megan had to leave, but plans are already in the works for the summer!

Morgan, Matthew, Ethan, Megan, Owen and Peyton relaxing on the trampoline.

Peyton, Megan and Morgan striking a pose. Looks like a shot from a Hollywood party from the 50's.

The girls having fun with sidewalk chalk.

Peyti Mac

2008-02-06T15:28:00.000-06:00

No story... just love the pic

Owen, Owen, Owen.....

2008-02-06T15:19:00.000-06:00

I guess it's only fitting that our fourth child goes to the emergency room twice in his first eighteen months due to injury since non of the other three have ever been (due to injury). This time Owen was at the wrong place at the wrong time when a neighbors bike fell and hit him on the head, so he is the now the only person I know to have their head supper glued shut. He didn't miss a step when he got home and all that's left now is a small scar... which can be cool depending on how the stories told.

Christmas Pictures

2008-02-06T15:13:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of the kids at my parents house on Christmas day.

Sorry for the delay in getting new pics up.

Thankgiving

2007-11-26T13:04:00.000-06:00

We spent last week up at our deer lease and had a great time. There is a grove of trees where the kids love to go to climb. I'll put more pics up from the week later.

Pic of the Week (It's a new pic!)

2007-11-06T17:04:00.000-06:00

Peyton had her first gymnastics meet this weekend, she had a blast and even brought home some hardware. The kids do four events and are graded on how they do on each. They are then given a medal for their overall performance, she recieved gold!

Kids Crazy in Love!

2007-10-23T10:07:00.001-06:00

AAHHH....Time flies when you're having fun! We are coming up on 12 years in early December. (Is it me or do we look really young?)

Pic of the Week

2007-10-15T13:00:00.001-06:00

This is a photo of Ethan and Eli Keller when Keith and I took them to an Astros game. Keith got in contact with the Astros marketing department because he thought they could use the pic and they ended up putting it in their summer program!

Happy Birthday!

2007-10-08T13:56:00.001-06:00

Happy 32nd...Am I a lucky guy or what? (not really a question)

Pic of the Week

2007-09-24T10:09:00.000-06:00

Oh Yea.......I know what you're thinking, where can I get a sweet suit like that?

BTW: that's me in the blue suit with my brother and sister. I think that I'm three or four at the time.

Pic of the Week

2007-09-18T08:26:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture that just makes me smile when I see it.....

New Pic

2007-09-05T08:30:00.000-06:00

Here is Morgan in the spring of 05 taking a drink while playing on the "slip n slide".

Pic of the Week

2007-08-29T08:23:00.000-06:00

Owen learned his first lesson with hot objects......they burn. The little guy is so fast, he grabbed a curling iron before anyone could get to him. He sustained 2nd degree burns on his hand but everything should heal back to normal. Keep him in your prayers.

Joel and Jenny need to visit!!!

2007-08-21T21:01:00.000-06:00

I'm telling you.....I just finished catching up with Joel and Jenny via their blog and they have some SERIOUS organization going on. To be as sleep deprived as I'm assuming they are with newborn twins and still stay current on their blog, have guests over, run Joel to the prison, go to the library, listen to a dishwasher running (which means her dishes are actually clean) and still have the energy to watch a movie at the end of the day is absolutely AMAZING!! Way to go you guys!! The Wilkins are beginning to see the light at the end of the remodeling tunnel! The tile man will begin in the bathroom soon and then I think all the major projects will be complete. I am so ready to do the fun stuff like new furniture, curtains, etc. Next week we will start another year of school. Ethan and Peyton will be with me and Morgan will go to the pre-K class at TBC. I'm excited that she gets to do something all by herself...something special that big brother or sister isn't doing. Today was Ethan's first day in Junior Engineering (a class offered through a home school CO-OP). He loved it! The two older ones will also be taking an art class and playing baseball (Ethan) and gymnastics (Peyton). Owen will do what he does best....toddle around looking as cute as always! Busy year ahead and I'm so glad we get to do most of it together.
PS It's really not as crazy hectic as I sometimes make it seem. Come and visit some time! We should have a new bathroom by the time you get here!

Pic of the Week

2007-08-07T14:07:00.000-06:00

Here is a pic from 05 when Ethan and I spent about one and a half years racing go-carts.

Pic of the Week - Daddy's Girls!

2007-07-30T10:01:00.000-06:00

Here are my two beautiful girls. One of my favorite things in this world is to hear either of them say "I love you Daddy".

Pic of the Week - Autumn in Paris

2007-07-23T12:36:00.000-06:00

Here is Autumn in front of Notre Dame in Paris. There was a man out front handing out bird seed, I love this picture as it reminds me of the special time that Autumn and I had in France.

Pic of the Week

2007-07-18T12:53:00.000-06:00

I think that I am going to start putting up one pic a week from my files to keep this blog thing interesting. I'm not the greatest writer nor storyteller, but I can sure post pics. PW

This is a picture of Autumn and Ethan in Oct of 2000 at the Harvest Festival at our church. Ethan was either a pirate or an elf???? You decide. BTW...doesn't Owen (below) look like Ethan?

Got To Love Them!!

2007-07-13T10:18:00.000-06:00

2007-06-30T20:42:00.000-06:00

SNAKE! I was bathing Owen the other night when Peyton let out a scream that I had never heard before. Just a little history on Peyton before I continue. There really is no middle ground when it comes to emotions. She steps on a flower and it's big alligator tears or we can run over the family dog and it's about the same. I was joking with Philip 2 days prior to the "incident" that if she ever really gets hurt I'll be so insensitive, "C'mon Peyti Mac, shake it off." Two days later we'll take her to the E.R. and find out she has a broken femur. Anyway, so I hear this scream that sends me running, dripping baby in hand, to the backdoor. By that time Ethan is freaking out too. It was storming outside and they wanted to go out on the back porch and feel the rain. When they opened the door there was this huge (about 4 ft long) snake on our threshold. So of course the first thing I asked was, "Is it inside or did you shut the door!!!? (I DO NOT do reptiles or amphibians) Praise God they had shut the door because I did not want to deal with two hysterical kids, a dripping wet and at this point crying baby AND a big ol' snake. GROSS!!! We looked out the window and there it was laying right by the door and it looked like a copperhead. Well, close your eyes animal lovers, I think the only good snake is a dead snake. Philip was at a meeting so I called the two neighbor boys and asked them if they wanted to kill a snake. They were all for it and came over with machetes, a snake hook, a shovel, an ax and their snake boots. Their daddy has taught them right. After some time of highly increased adrenaline they "harvested" the snake. We noticed that it's belly was really fat in one section so we opened it up and found an entire bird!! Great science lesson. Travis and Clayton Bice are now our local heroes. Thanks Guys!!!

2007-05-04T20:22:00.000-06:00

This week has flown by!! Ethan celebrated his 8th birthday recently and wanted to take a friend to an Astros' game for his gift. Philip, Ethan, Gage and I all went on Sunday to, I think, the most boring Astros' game EVER!!! That takes a lot for me to say because we are HUGE baseball fans but it just was not fun. Happy Birthday Ethan (poor guy). Philip and I were lucky enough to go to two other Astros' games this week as well and they were much better. Our investment banker had suite tickets right behind home plate and the Astros' played a good game. It was a BLAST!! It will be hard to sit back in the regular seats after that game. Oh well, it was fun to experience the high side of life for a night. We were able to celebrate a baby shower with Abbe White this week (Yikes, I don't even know her married name! Sorry Abbe!). I CAN'T BELIEVE she's going to have a baby. We are so excited for her and Casey! I can totally go back to that night (and day, 20 hours, seemed like forever) when we had Ethan! You can never forget that feeling of holding your first born. There is NOTHING like it!
OK, change of subject, We are in the process of remodeling our house. OH WOW!! It is definitely an experience!! Can't say that it's all that enjoyable. I just keep my mind focused on the end result. It's actually kind of funny. You know some people already think our house is craziness just because we have four kids and home school. Whatever! Now lets add on home remodeling as well. Ethan is actually sleeping in the game room right now because we're working on his room. OK, maybe they're right, maybe we are crazy. Oh well, that's just who we are! We have fun together and God really has blessed us in uncountable ways!

2007-04-25T15:59:00.000-06:00

Some friends of our told us about a photographer who is town from Manhattan who usually only does fashion and entertainment shoots but is wanting to addfamily photography to his business. We hadn't taken any formal pictures since the birth of Owen so we asked if he would take some pictures for us. The pictures are so great!

This first one is Philip and Ethan (8). Ethan is ALL boy. He loves baseball, basketball, fishing, NASCAR and four-wheelers. He does, like his Dad, have a sensitive side as well. God has given him a servant's heart and a very intelligent mind.

Peyton (6) is our model in training. Seriously, the photographer

submitted her picture to modeling agencies because he said she has "the look". We'll see what happens. That whole industry is really scary and if we proceed it will only be after much prayer. Peyton loves dressing up, make-up and high heels. That, however, does not keep her from getting down and dirty with the best of them. She is our natural athlete. We have yet to find anything physical she is not excellent at. The Lord has given Peyton a very sensitive heart; wanting to pray for the injured every time we pass an accident or hear a siren. Maybe she'll be a nurse one day.

Morgan (4) likes to live in her own world and tends to be a bit rebellious as well.
During the photo shoot she wanted to run around barefoot catching minnows instead of sitting still for a picture. The photographer said, "no offense but she should have been a boy." That's our Morgan and we love her! Over Easter weekend she asked the Lord to "take my dirty sins away". The faith of a child is AWESOME!!! If Morgan has to choose between playing with animals and playing with other kiddos she'll choose the animal every time. Snuggling up with Mommy or Daddy and reading a book is a great treat for her (as long as the book is fast paced). We often have to remind ourselves that she is only three because she is so active and verbal. Gotta love it!!

This is our baby, Owen. He was 9 months on the 11th and is just great!

He did not, however, start out so great. When Owen was 2 weeks old we were told he had some medical issues that needed further testing. For about a month we weren't sure if our life was drastically going to change. On top of that, Owen was not a happy baby. After a total of about 6 weeks we got the good news that he was perfectly fine. The tests had been false positives. Praise the Lord!!!! We still, however had to deal with the issue of him being "high-maintenance". Whoever has had a colicky baby can I get an Amen! Around 3 months he just became a different child. Happy, content to be put down, etc. We held our breaths for a couple of weeks but he hasn't looked back. He is a total joy! His life is full of firsts right now. Sitting, crawling, pulling up on things, giggling, waving, babbling, etc. What a fun age!!!

Latest pic of the family

2007-04-25T14:52:00.000-06:00

Baseball

2007-04-24T20:54:00.000-06:00

This is our first season in Tomball little league. It's quite a family commitment and we love it! Ethan is the only one playing this season but Peyton is begging to play in the fall. She can already outrun most of the boys on Ethan's team (definitly takes after her Daddy in the athletic department). Luckily for me all of my kiddos enjoy reading and being read to so I at least past on one worthy quality. I started tonights entry regarding baseball because Ethan was 4 for 4 tonight and received the game ball! It is his second time to be honored in this way and he has worked VERY hard for it! Way to go Bud!!
School is winding down. We will however continue math, reading and history over the summer. We enjoy all of those though so it will be fun. Our new subdivision also has a rockin' swimming pool so I'm sure we'll be down there almost every day with some of our friends.
I need to go tuck little ones in. Goodnight!

2007-04-22T20:12:00.000-06:00

Decided about 15 minutes ago that our family should have a blog. Is that the right way to use that term? I am so not tech suave but I'll try my best. Philip rode in the MS-150 from Houston to Austin yesterday and today. He did really well other than the collision he had with a confused cyclist. The ever so agile athlete was able to click out of his pedals while airborne thus avoiding sure entanglement. He has a sore knee from hitting the handlebars he flew over the front but is no worse for wear. The kids and I got up this morning and made it out the door by about 8:30am(a miracle in itself with 4 kiddos) for our road trip to Austin. Philip made such good time that we got to the finish line only about 5 minutes before he road through! Little side note for any of you "Amazing Race" watchers. Uchenna and Joyce were racing and we were able to visit with them afterwards. Cool! The kids had a blast giving high fives to the racers as they rode by and we had fun people watching.
Autumn