Packing, Life, and Travel Prep

Right now our suitcases are 90% packed for the Czech Republic, our curriculum is close to being finished for the English camp, and my to-do list of things I need to finish before we head out is getting smaller.

I just had to tell you about one of the cool things we did before our trip ... we actually installed a new lock on our front door! Exciting, I know!

Actually, we are very excited about it, and we've been showing it off to friends. Is a combination lock, and it was VERY important to install it for my grandma. You see, my 78-year-old grandmother lives with us, and even though we have many people checking up on her, she'll be spending more time alone during our trip than she's used to. She'll also be letting herself in and out of her house when we're gone.

For as long as she'd lived with us, grandma has had trouble with the deadbolt lock. You had to get the key in just right for it to work. Bothersome even for me!

Grandma's also one of those people who changes her purse with her outfit, so there's been time she's left the house and as forgotten her key in "the other purse." This hasn't been too much of a problem when we're around to let her in ... but we'll be in Europe! So ... we found this awesome Schlage lock that has a keypad. You just punch in the right code and the lock opens with a simple twist of the knob.

We were able to give Grandma a code (one she'll remember) and with a push of a few buttons she's inside. It's also awesome because we can give separate codes to all those people that we've asked to check in on Grandma. In fact, we can program 19 different codes if we want to. (And my husband thinks it's great. He's a gizmo person so this was right up his alley. And it was easy to install, too!)

The kids love the new lock, too ... and we've been showing it off to all our friends who've been over. You can find out more information here.

Okay, so that's taken care of. It's marked off my to-do list ... and I have a whole lot more piece of mind for the trip! Now ... if I can just figure out a code to water all my plants ...

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Thoughts on Home, Family, and God from the middle of Suburbia!

Before 1999, I didn’t think much about heaven. It was out there somewhere, beautiful and wonderful I was sure.

Thinking of it, reminded me of food. (Like everything else reminds me of food, too.) Although meat always smells good when you pass a barbecue, grilling up dinner, if you’re not hungry, has no draw. But the hungrier you are, the more interest you have in what’s under the cover of that grill. And it wasn’t until death met our home that I became hungry for heaven.

It all started when my husband and I moved 1,000 miles from California to Montana. I had one main concern, and that was leaving my aging grandparents behind. A few years after we’d moved, the news I’d dreaded came. My grandfather was dying of cancer and he didn’t have long to live.

The thing that surprised my extended family the most was his desire to spend his last days in Montana. So over Christmas break, my husband and I drove through a blizzard, packed my grandparents up, and moved them to our home.

My grandpa seemed fine at first. Sure, he was a little slower than normal but that was to be expected. Then the weeks and months passed, and the weaker he became the more I started thinking about our eternal home.

I had listened to songs about heaven and read about it in the Bible, and while it was interesting, when you’re in that situation it’s about as filling to your soul as reading a cookbook or watching to a cooking show when your hungry.

Never having lost a close family member before, I had a hundred ideas of how I thought I’d deal with things, but none of them were right.

After four months living with us, my grandfather was bedridden. My grandmother and I would spend time in his room reading Scripture verses and praying with him.

Then, one day the idea of heaven heightened. I was reading aloud to my kids when my grandmother called me into the room. My grandpa was praying with hands lifted. Later he described smelling beautiful scents and seeing white birds and a gentle lion. More than that, he saw his Savior with arms stretched wide.

The next day, my grandfather went into a coma, and while I should have been terribly sad instead my heart nearly burst with joy. Every time I walked into the room it was as if heaven had touched the room with blue electricity. It seemed brighter and filled with the sensations of the brush of angel wings.

I have two final memories of my grandpa’s last waking moments. One was the peace in his eyes, and the other was the kiss he blew my direction. Though unable to speak, he was giving me a final farewell. Or a “see you later” to be exact.

So while I’m not ready for my life to be over today, heaven has great appeal. The small taste of it was enough to last a lifetime, and the reality of it will be a feast that I’m eager to enjoy . . . forever.

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My family and a group from our church are missioning off to the Czech republic this summer!

We'll be teaching English and sharing the good news of Jesus. Please pray for our group, our trip, and for the hearts of the Czech people to be open to the message of God. I'm super excited to see what God does in our own hearts and for the people we get to minister to.

If you would like to be added to our prayer team or would like to make a donation for our trip, please email triciagoyer@yahoo.com. We will be gone July 24th-August 11th, and the cost is $3000 per person. We're having an auction fundraiser in two weeks, if any of you have anything (books, services, gift cards) you'd like to donate to our silent auction, that would be rad! Shoot me an email.

Also pray for my two oldest kids. They will fly from The Czech Republic to San Diego to meet up with their youth group going to Mexico to build two homes for families. Pray for the added funds (and strength!) needed for Cory (19) and Leslie (16)!




Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends.

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I love when my kids go to summer camp. Yes, they have fun. Yes, they get a little break from me for a while, but mostly because they come back so spiritually charged up.

I youngest son go back from camp yesterday, this morning when I got up at 6:30 a.m. he was already up and reading his Bible! Nathan also asked if I could help him find him something for his quiet time. We looked at a few Bible Studies I have around her, but nothing seemed to fit what he was looking for. So then I started searching on-online. We found the perfect quiet-time studies for him at:

http://cbh.gospelcom.net/kfk/home.php

He was SO excited. We printed out the month of August for him, and he’s put together a quiet time binder as I write this.

Years ago, I did Keys for Kids with my older children, I’d forgotten about it until today. If you’re looking for a great devotional and/or quiet time study for your kids, I highly recommend it!

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(Marjie--one of the moms I mentor--and Destiny)

I have friends who DREAD summer. Personally, I think it’s because they feel they have to entertain their kids all day. (Often because the kids insist!) The kids are so used to being shuttled and scheduled they don't know how to entertain themselves.

That's another way I think my writing as REALLY benefited my family. Every afternoon, mommy would have "writing time." And the kids played. They colored, drew, played with Legos, dressed Barbies (or at least my daughter did), read books, etc. They were NEVER bored during their summers, they knew how to have fun. Of course, since they were homeschooled, for us this wasn’t just a summer thing.

Today my kids have GREAT imaginations. My oldest son is writing a novel. My youngest son gets about two requests a day for playdates. His friends' parents love having him over because he "entertains" their kids with his great imagination.

This week, my daughter is volunteering at VBS. Her job was to come up with snacks for the 6th grade. Do you think she went to the store and bought chips and cookies? No? She had these wonderful, creative snacks ... ideas that she found on-line.

In fact yesterday she made cupcakes, frosted them, and covered them with mini-marshmallows to look like popcorn. Then she wrapped them with red and white striped paper to look like popcorn bags. Man ... I should have taken a photo!

Anyway ... just a note to say don’t feel bad if you need time to follow your dreams. That solo play time WILL benefit your kids in the long wrong!

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