“That men may know that thou, whose name is Jehovah,
art the most high over all the earth.”
Psalm 83:18

The Lord opened a door for Tabitha, Thomas, and myself (Chad…=) to embark on an adventure to the country of Peru. We went with the mindset of serving the leaders of Peru, namely an area called Calloa.The Lord was lifted up and glorified in and through our time. Through the team, we were able to see people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in addition to around 3,000 tracks being handed out! We all are walking away from this trip with a new perspective on relationships, people, and life in general. I walk away with a new sense of gratefulness for what I have and an unworthiness of all that Jesus has done for me. A gratefulness for my family, for friends, for His Word and His placing me where I am now. My heart truly went out to all those I came in contact with.

One of the things that I had asked the Lord to do in my heart was to open my eyes and help me see people as He saw them. He truly did answer this prayer. Our trip was marked by Divine encounters. The Lord guided each step that we took. Things did not go according to everything we had hoped or expected, but God’s will was accomplished and the doors that remained closed we chose to trust Him for opening those doors in His time.

I am so grateful for the opportunity that God had given in and through this time. It has and will forever be a wonderful memory. Our team was perfect in my opinion, and truly hand-picked by the Lord. I am and will be forever grateful for this opportunity.

We look forward with anticipation to what God will do in the future because of this trip!

The Lord truly did compass our family about with a shield these past two week.  Last week, Thomas and myself (Chad), left for Big Sandy tx to help with the first ATI regional conference of the year. The Lord blessed the group with safety, speedy travel, and a blessed week! During that time, the remainder of the family (excluding Abigail who remains in Oklahoma City and Nathaniel who resides at IMI) had the opportunity to move our Great Grandmother from Indianapolis, IN to southern Florida. The fam decided to make a slight vacation out of it and really had quite the adventure.

God blessed them with protection and everyone arrived in Florida safely. Once they moved our Grandmother in, they were able to visit our Grandparents on Dad’s side who live in Brooksville, FL. They really enjoyed their time and Thomas and I both wish we could have been there (as well as Nate and Abby I’m sure =). As you can tell from the pictures, they had a blast.

To make things all the more memorable, the family stopped by the Bates Family homestead in the mountains of Tennessee…and the fun was on!

The Bates were so hospitable and went out of their way to make them feel welcome. Thanks again Bates for such a wonderful time!

We all are back together once again…except for Nate and Abby  who we are anticipating seeing within the next couple of weeks! God has been so good. He has faithfully protected us through the many, many miles that we all have travelled.

Praise Him for His care. May the Lord richly bless your weekend with His protection!

~ Chad

We are very excited as a family to see her reaching out in this way as well as recieve the training. Not only has the Lord miraculously provided the finances for Abigail to do this, but He has affirmed this opportunity time and time again. We are look forward with anticipation as to what the Lord will be doing.

With Nate and the three girls gone…the house seems to be growing empty. Tomorrow, Dad will join the “departed” group (=), but instead of heading South…he is heading North. The first Father’s Journey has officially begun here in Oakbrook, Illinois. Tomorrow he will be heading up to the Northwoods with a team of men to lead them in a Journey to the Heart. Dad is excited about this opportunity to not only minister to others, but also to spend some quality alone time with the Lord free from the business of everyday life in here in Chi town (and believe me…it is busy =).

As a family remnant (=), we ask that you keep those that have these amazing ministry opportunities before them. Pray that God will bless Abby as she is trained and then minsters to these children. Pray that God would bless Dad with wisdom, a hearing heart, and an extra measure of God’s grace to serve these fathers who have come from all across America for these ten days. Pray for Nate that God will continue to bless him in his studies.

Last but not least, please pray for us at home. Life is good at home but it can be busy and hectic. Pray that we will not miss the day to day opportunities to bless others.

God bless you and have a great week! I look forward to filling you on how God is glorified in these opportunities!

Thinking back upon this past year, God did so may many things, we went to so many places, worked with so many people, and learned so many things.

The beginning of 2010, found is here in Oakbrook, Illinois, embarking on an adventure and challenge to do an inventory count on a warehouse that we had just recently become familiar with. With God’s help and the help of many great friends, we accomplished this task.

February was a quiet month of doing school, serving, working, and ice skating. We also had the privilege of taking part in the annual Headquarters Valentines Banquet. It was quite the memory.

March found us in beloved Oklahoma at the Eagle Springs Training Center. We really enjoyed that time together. It was a time of rest, work, family fun and memory making. Once we returned to Chicago as a family, I (Chad) would leave for the Northwoods conference center for the rest of the summer.

April through June were busy months for the family. The younger children were busy with school, music lessons, and enjoying summer. Thomas had a huge responsibility in working with book sales for everyone of the regional conferences. Dad, Nathaniel, and Tabitha “held the fort” in the shipping department during these months. I remained very busy with maintenance, mowing, and conference support up at the conference center in the UP of Michigan. I was able to see the family several times through these months. “Busy” sums up April, May, and June.

July was exciting. We all rejoined as a family in Indianapolis to help serve at the ATI regional conference. It was a full week. We love to serve together and it was a blessing to do just that even though it was rather hectic. It was good to be back in Indiana. The picture of Tabitha, Thomas, and myself was taken in front of our very first house in Indianapolis, IN. There the three of us spent the first few years of our lives. We thought it was pretty neat to come back some twenty years later. =)

The remainder of the summer proved to be similar to the beginning of summer. I went back to Northwoods and the remainder of the family remained in Chicago. During these months, both Tabitha and Thomas had a wonderful opportunity to go to Peru and serve in an exciting way with the IBLP team. They both came back with an amazing testimony of what God had done during that time. Lives had been touched and hearts had been changed! God did an amazing work there.

Thomas and Nathaniel were able to come up to the Northwoods in October for a time of rest, fishing, and to visit me. We enjoyed our time together and were blessed by it. There is just something about being out in the middle of a wilderness, enjoying God’s creation and each other’s company. We had a blast even though we didn’t catch much. LOL

November found me finishing things up at Northwoods and closing down the conference center. It was good to come home to Chicago. I wasn’t home long before we left once again for Oklahoma  two spend Thanksgiving there. Our time was sweet and restful.

The last month of 2010 was filled with business in the shipping department. We spent Christmas together in Chicago as a family. Things slowed down and we were able to “catch our breath.” The paths that we took this past year were full of adventure, excitement, stress, character building opportunities (), and will be remembered. So much took place and sometimes, it’s good to just to reflect and remember the goodness of God. So that’s what this post is about…and I can’t wait to see what 2011 is going to hold…so far…it’s been exciting.

God bless!

Nathaniel arrived in Florida yesterday and is now preparing for a week of sharing truth with the prison inmates. He will be teaching the Basic Seminar to groups of men that may have never heard the truths shared in this seminar before. Please pray for Nathaniel this week, that God will give Him wisdom and the words to say when he is given opportunity to share. You can follow him more closely on his own blog.

God bless !!