Sunday

This is the final post on our first week in Minnesota. As with all of these, it is one week behind reality...

Sunday was a slow-moving day. We spent a good part of the day with Joel, Renee and the kids. We rearranged some stuff in storage, organized and found room for other stuff. We were moving slow, but enjoying it.

We got over to the cabins late afternoon, intending to move in right away. We saw Dave as we pulled up and began talking. He pulled up a chair and we had a good time of fellowship. Again, if I'm learning anything, it is that people trump plans.

I hadn't checked e-mail since Wednesday, so in the afternoon, I checked it for the first time. Wow! Friday around 3:00 PM, a terrific storm had gone through Warsaw/Winona Lake. There were winds over 60 MPH. One of the casualties was a tree right in front of where we had been living. It hit the neighbor's shed, knocked out the power, and blocked our old driveway. Good thing we were gone! It didn't get cleared out until Sunday afternoon. We'd still be there!

Another victim of the storm was Andy's, Eisenbrauns webmaster, house. One of the huge trees on the island where they live had fallen—right on their master bedroom! No one was hurt, thankfully! Quite the storm. But, it was all wind and little rain. That part of Indiana is about 9 inches short for the year—quite dry. The storm only dropped about ¼ of an inch.

And that brings us up to date...

Friday--arrival!

The events in this post happened one week ago...

As I said, I pulled in to Grand Marais around 10:00 AM. Debbie and the grandkids greeted me. We had a good time talking and enjoying each others presence. In the afternoon we walked over to Sawtooth Cabins to see Dave and Geneva. They greeted us with open arms, showed us the cabin we would be living in and told us to take our time getting settled in. We went back to Joel and Renee's and began to unpack the truck. Because the cabin is a small one bedroom that is fully furnished, most stuff was going to be stored in their basement.

So, as we unloaded the truck; we had to sort into 3 sections: One section for storage, one section for Joel and Renee (we gave them some stuff we didn't need any longer—families with growing kids always need more shelves!), one to take over to the cabins.

Once that was done, we had to organize the storage and make it all fit! You don't realize how much stuff you have until you have to move it and store it! We got rid of a lot before we moved, but we still have a lot! It all fit, and is accessible, if necessary. But, Joel and Renee don't have much space left in that ¼ of their basement!

By the time we got all that done, it was too late to take the stuff over to the cabin. Instead, we went over to the cabin with some little stuff and did some analysis...

Where do we go from here?

Simple: Grand Marais Minnesota. When? End of June. Why? Because we will be assisting the fine folks at Sawtooth Cabins.

All good things come to an end this side of eternity, and it is time. I love my job here at Eisenbrauns, but it is time to move on. This has nothing to do with Eisenbrauns; don't go looking for hidden things that aren't there! It is just that God is leading us on.

Eisenbrauns will do fine without me and I will always look back with good memories of my time here. And, I hope to maintain my friendships with the people here. They are some of the greatest. You would have a hard time finding a better boss than Jim.

We are excited for multiple reasons—one of which is that our daughter and 5 of the grandkids are in Grand Marais. We are looking forward to being 13 hours closer to them—and only about 5 hours from our son and 2 more grandkids.

We sold our house, closing on it about 2 weeks ago. In a miraculous move of God, it was only on the market 9 days and we didn't take a loss on it. This in a housing market where most houses are on the market for 6+ months and people take 10-20% losses.

So, where are we living right now? Well, that's another God thing. The place we used to live opened up for 3 months: April-June. Just exactly the time we needed.

The only down side is that the move is timed so I won't have a garden this summer...

Look to Job

“Job is a book not so much about God’s justice as about the transformation of a man whose piety and view of the world were formed in a setting of wealth and happiness and into whose life burst calamities that put an end to both. How can piety nurtured in prosperity prove to be truly deep-rooted and disinterested and not merely a spiritual adjunct of good fortune (“God has been good to me so I am faithful to Him”)? Can a man pious in prosperity remain pious when he is cut down by anarchical events that belie his orderly view of the world? The book of Job tells how one man suddenly awakened to the anarchy rampant in the world, yet his attachment to God outlived the ruin of his tidy system.”—Jewish Bible Theology, page 223

<idle musing>
I'm in the midst of reading Job right now. A relevant post to these thoughts was posted by Renee very early this AM...
</idle musing>

Vacation

I bet some of you (all two of you!) are wondering about the lack posting here this week. Well, I'm on vacation! Right now, we're in Grand Marais, Minnesota where it is about 18 degrees F and it's been snowing lightly. We look out the south window of Joel and Renee's place and see Lake Superior! What could be better than that?

Oh, and we are getting to play with 4 of our grand kids. And, great times with Joel and Renee, too :)

I may or may not post again, but regularly scheduled programming will resume on Monday, January 30...

Just a few numbers

Yesterday, July 27, our daughter turned 30; on Saturday, the 30, our son turns 27. I don't know, just struck me as funny.

Hey Renee! Congratulations on surviving the first third of your life :)

Yippee!

The tree house, again

Renee posted a nice picture tour of the tree house here. I didn't take many shots of the inside, but she does a good job. If you want to see all the pictures, you will have to go to my Facebook page

For Renee

This is for the poor pining mother who left her daughter behind in the care of two grandparents :) These were taken Wednesday evening, right after she ate. I wish I had the camera with me last night; I put her in the swing and she started squealing with delight...

Last week

OK, I've been wanting to post this since last week and can't wait any longer, even though it isn't painted yet...

As usual, I jump in medias res...Last week Joel, Renee, and their kids came to see us. Part of the visit was having Joel and I build a new tree house. Truth be told, Joel did most all of it, I just tagged along and was the gopher. Anyway, I was supposed to wait until it was painted to post the pictures, but I couldn't wait. I managed to get the shingles on last night, does that count?

Before we started, the old tree house:


The materials:



The new framework:


The satisfied customers:




I'll post more of the pictures on my Facebook profile, and don't be surprised to see a few of them show up here over the next few days, as well. Joel did a great job and we're thankful to him. Makes me wish I were a kid again :)

Vacation

As you probably noticed, I'm back from 2 weeks of wandering the world. OK, actually, I'm back from 2 weeks of spoiling the grandchildren :)

We had an enjoyable time—and an interesting time. While visiting Joel and Renee, I went on a day hike/canoe with Joel and Ryan (our son). Along the way up the Gunflint Trail, your tax dollars were at work; they had torn up 5 miles and it was some of the worst road I have ever driven on. For part of it, you couldn't exceed 10 miles per hour, and even then it was horrendous.

We made it to our put-in point and canoed to the bluffs we wanted to climb. You can see some nice pictures of them and from them here. After an enjoyable morning and afternoon, we headed back—over the same bad road. At the end of the washboarding, I shifted into second, accelerated...and heard a whine and clunk. Uh-oh. As I pulled over to the side of the road, transmission fluid spilled out onto the road. A short hike to the nearest phone (cell phone reception? are you kidding!) to call the tow truck and Renee and all was in control. Well, maybe.

The tow truck driver said he could repair it by Friday, if he could find the parts, which seemed likely. Once Renee came, we headed in to town to see him at the shop. His first words were, "We've got problems." He led me to the car and pointed to a nice separation of the axle from the frame. Literally shaken loose by the washboarding. Since a Metro is a unibody, there was nothing to do except bury it.

No problem; we can rent a car and drive it back, or so we thought. God had other ideas. Who would think that there wouldn't be a single car available for rental in Duluth and Minneapolis-St. Paul on a Tuesday! Guess we need another option.

We headed to the shop to see if he had any junkers we could buy cheaply. He had just gone to lunch! Hmmm...How about the local car dealer? Ryan and I walked in and I told him my car had jut died. He asked what I was looking for. I told him I was used to getting 50 miles per gallon. Rather than the expected look of terror, he said he had a used 2006 Prius. Ouch. I haven't had car payments for 14 years. But, that seemed to be what the Lord was directing. So, we are now the owners of a Toyota Prius with 50,000 miles.

By the way, it gets 57 miles to the gallon :)

New baby!

Yep, a week early, too. Madelynn Louise joined the world on Friday night at 8:11 CDT.



Cute, isn't she?

You can see more pictures here. Joel's parents are there and Steve has posted several times, see here and here and here

Prayer request

Joel & Renee just found out late last week that Rachel has Celiac Disease.

Huh? That's what I said, too. Here's Renee's explanation:

That sounds terrible and awful, but really, it's just an allergy to gluten. We are relieved that it's nothing terminal, cancerous, or some unknown disease. This is fixable and doesn't involve medications. It does, however, require a major adjustment in diet. Gluten is in just about everything except rice, corn, potato, fruit, veggies, meat, dairy and eggs.

Please pray for them as they adjust their diets accordingly.

News

Since Joel and Renee have announced it on their blog, I guess it is OK to publish it here, too: Debbie and I are going to be grandparents again! And, not just once, but twice. Ryan and Emily are also expecting a baby, although theirs it due in May.

Guess where Debbie and I will be next Spring?

It's Monday

Haven't had access to the Internet since Thursday, so perhaps a bit of an update would be nice...

Ryan and Emily's wedding was Saturday, and it was wonderful. Their prayer was that God would be glorified and people would see Jesus in everything that happened. Their prayers were answered. We saw people we hadn't seen since the last wedding (Renee's four years ago); others we hadn't seen since we left Minneapolis over 4.5 years ago. After the reception we helped Ryan and Emily take their gifts to their new apartment and left them in peace :) They flew out Monday AM at 6:00 for Florida. Ryan's work has paid for their airfare and lodging for 8 days at Fort Lauderdale! Emily had never flown before, or seen the ocean, so this is quite the treat for her. I just hope they don't get sunburn.

Saturday evening we went to "The House" which is an emerging-type church in Burnsville on the charismatic side of things. This is Ryan and Emily's home church, so we saw quite a few people that we had met at the wedding that morning. Afterwards, several of us joined together in prayer for baby Emily Grace (Junebug).

Sunday we went to see some friends in Chaska (where we used to live in the Minneapolis area). We had a good time catching up and praying with people from our bible study there. After that, we headed over to another set of friends and prayed with them for healing of their marriage. God broke through, and there was a great time of forgiveness and healing. They had been separated, but after last night, they are back together. We praise God for the restoration and pray that they would continue to walk in forgiveness with one another. By the time that was over, it was a bit late to take the kids back to Clyde and Pat's—we had laid them down to sleep at the last place—so we stayed the rest of the night.

Today, we returned to Clyde and Pat's to the news that Renee had gone into labor on her own late Sunday night. They admitted her Monday morning and broke her water around 10:30 Central time. And that brings us up to date. We don't know anything more yet, but they are expecting a baby girl before evening...

More when I have it.

So, what is happening?

Basically, nothing. We arrived in Minneapolis Monday morning after driving through the night. That same afternoon, Joel and I went up to Grand Marais (about a 5 hour drive) to get the kids and their clothes. Debbie stayed with Renee. Tuesday morning Joel and I did some things that they hadn't been able to do before leaving Friday night—they weren't expecting to leave for another 6 days—and packed up the kids' clothes and grabbed the kids. Then, off we went for another 5 hour drive back to Minneapolis. Along the way, we stopped outside of Duluth for a nice cold picnic. The wind was off the lake, which always makes it cold, but it had been 35 F the night before, and was only about 50 degrees at noon. But the lake is still beautiful and we threw our share of rocks into it :) We arrived back in Minneapolis around 5 that night. So, in about 36 hours, I had spent around 20 of them in a car :(

We have the kids and are staying with Ryan's future in-laws, Clyde and Pat. They have a large enough house and a 3 acre yard, so we aren't cramped. They have been great, and the kids are doing well. Joel and Renee come every day to see them after their morning doctor's appointment. Renee has been having contractions off and on, but nothing to really get things moving. Right now, as I write this, they are having an ultrasound, which may tell more, but I doubt it.

Yesterday afternoon, Joel, Clyde, and I went for a nice hike in the nature preserve near their house. They have about 7-8 miles of trails and we did about 5 miles of them. Saw 3-4 deer, 1 wild turkey, and numerous birds.

Last night I helped Ryan pick up their new bed and put it together. They got a nice one bedroom apartment in Bloomington (a near 'burb of Minneapolis) with a nice big yard. Very quiet and peaceful. Ryan has been living there for about a week; Emily is still living at Bethany. They believe in sexual abstinence until marriage—would that others would also!

The only drawback about staying where we are is that they have no high speed Internet and no network for me to attach my computer to even for dial-up. Right now I am sitting in a Panera Bread and typing this, trying to get caught up on e-mails, and do some other stuff.

We left in such a hurry, that I copied the wrong files to my computer, so I am going to try and get those so I can get the Biblical Studies catalog done while I am here.

And they're off!

Wow, what a weekend, and its only Sunday afternoon. We were at some friends Friday night and returned to no less than 5 messages on the answering machine. Emily Grace (June bug) decided to upset everybody's schedule and sent Renee into labor. You can read all the details on Joel and Renee's blog.

They stopped the labor in Duluth while they airlifted her to Minneapolis and decided not to restart it. But, they won't let them leave Minneapolis. So, Joel and Renee are in a hotel about 2 blocks from the hospital, and Joshua and Rachel are still in Grand Marais. So, we are off to Minneapolis to take care of Joshua and Rachel.

I will post as I can, but please pray!

Thanks to all who have been praying; God is in control and will get glory for himself.

Update on Junebug

Joel has posted an update on Junebug; here is a portion of it:

Junebug has been diagnosed with Ebstein's Anomaly. The tricuspid valve through which blood flows from the right atrium to the right ventricle is displaced, lower than it should be. Thus the valve is not functioning as it should, and is allowing blood to flow back into the right atrium. The stress on the heart could quite likely cause failure, even in utero. But this hasn't happened yet.

Please pray for them and for Junebug.

Update on "June-bug"

I just received an e-mail from Renee about their unborn baby, which they are calling "June-bug."

The genetic counselor from St. Mary's called today (Monday the 28th) saying that the amniocentesis results were available: There is NO genetic defect in this baby's body. There is also NO spina bifida. So praise God! Keep on praying for a healthy baby!

Joel and I still go to St. Mary's hospital on Tuesday the 29th to have an ultrasound and to meet with the Pediatric Cardiologist. We are believing God has already healed this baby.

Praise God! and thank you to all who are praying. Joel & Renee's blog can be found here

Family update

We have some good news, and some concerns on the family front. Some of you know that Debbie and I have two grown children, both living in Minnesota. First the good news:

Ryan is getting married! Yep. He is getting married to Emily, a woman who loves the Lord and whom he has known for a couple of years now. The wedding will be in the Minneapolis area on May 31, 2008.

And, Renee and Joel are expecting another child. The baby is due sometime in the middle of June (they have been given two different dates, the 12th and the 17th). They just started a blog with some good pictures and a nice summary of their Christmas. I hope you enjoy it :)

Now the concern:
The pregnancy is a high risk one, since their first child was delivered via a C-section. So, on Tuesday, Renee went in for a routine ultrasound. The results were not clear, but seemed to indicate a problem with the baby's heart. So, they scheduled an ultrasound at a better hospital in Duluth (2.5 hours away) on Thursday.

Last night Joel called with the results. His first words were, "This is not a healthy baby." Yikes! Words that no parent/grandparent ever wants to hear. Apparently, there is an enlarged aorta, which could indicate a bad or small valve in the heart. They took an amniocentesis and will have those results on Tuesday when they meet with the specialist. There is a 5% possibility that it is genetic, which could mean Downs Syndrome or death shortly after birth.

At this point it looks like they will do surgery immediately after birth, but that means Joel and Renee will have to stay in Minneapolis when the birth gets close.

More details as I find them out.

Please pray for Joel, Renee, their kids, and the baby. I believe God still does miracles, but I also know that His ways can be a good bit different than ours. I know what I want, but I need to let God tell me what He wants. I don't mean that to sound wishy-washy because it is not. I have seen God do physical healings—on myself and others. But, I have also had my prayers go unanswered.

When Renee had Rachel after having Joshua via C-section, they told her she might be able to deliver naturally. So, she tried. After several hours of labor, it looked like things weren't going well so they transfered her to Duluth. They told her that she had a 10% chance of delivering naturally. The prayer chain started, and that 10% became 100% as God intervened and allowed a natural childbirth.

When I got hit by the truck on my bicycle, the entire medical staff told me my knee would need surgery based on the X-rays. They also told me I would have arthritis at the joint the rest of my life. The prayer chain started, and I didn't need surgery and I don't have arthritis, either.

Update: I fixed the link on Joel and Renee's blog. They now have a note at the bottom entitled Prayer.