Mother's Dayish Thoughts...

I really do think that Mother's Day is all that and a bag of chips (make mine jalapeno!) especially when 4 little men with the help of one big Daddy man try to make it so very special!  And they made it special not just for me but for Meme (my Mom) too!  Can we just say Jenny and Karen is "spoilt" by the Stewart boys?!  If it sounds like I'm bragging it's because I am; in a very thankful for what I've been given kind of way!

 

We were spoiled with good picture taking.

We were spoiled with going to McAlister's Deli for lunch (one of our favorite places, and not just because we love the name).

We were spoiled with our all time favorite: a trip to Target and then to 

Old Navy all just for the fun of it!

It was a wonderful day complete with seeing our van, Bessie, hit a fun milestone of 202020 on her odometer (I mean really, how often does that happen?)

So, this random post if from me to you to say I am thankful for my lovely Mother's Day and I just wanted you to know it!

Your Love Never Fails...

So, there's this song.  The kind of song you hear and realize that if you were clever enough you would have written it because it's what your heart, soul, mind is aching to sing.  You want to know what that song is for me these days?  Okay here it is...

Just in case you don't want to listen to the whole 5 minutes here are the words...


"One Thing Remains" by Jesus Culture

Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant in the trial and the change
One thing... Remains (repeat)

On and on and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never, ever, have to be afraid
One thing remains

Your love never fails, never gives up
Never runs out on me (3x)

In death, In life, I'm confident and
covered by the power of Your great love
My debt is paid, there's nothing that can
separate my heart from Your great love


This time last year I felt like I was facing a mountain as we had just finished packing our van and the U-haul said good bye one more time to friends we loved and the house we called "home" for 4 years.  Of course, while it felt life threatening at the time, it wasn't and while the constant trial of change has followed us (but let's be real when doesn't it?) "one thing remains"!  God's love has not failed us, given up or run out and it's by His grace we have survived this far and are able to face the next mountain.

THE U-haul...

"home"

"Bessie" the van with bikes on top!

There is still a lot of change ahead for our family.  We start packing, start facing all the "see you soons" we need to say before we go for awhile, start planning for the ministry God has called us to be a part of at Tyndale.  I'm a mix of emotions but I know one thing remains!  His love NEVER fails, gives up or runs out!

Taken just a day or two before we moved.  We kept our tradition of sitting in the yard and reading books until Daddy got home from work!  We also waved at the school buses that went by (waiting for Mrs. Pat's bus even when she wasn't driving one anymore), talking to the neighbors (Jordan family and Anna we miss you!) and hoping the mailman was going to bring a package!

Our April Newsletter

April Stewart Chronicles

Joy in the Journey

I want to share some comments by Chris Bower, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Tallassee, Alabama. Chris was Jenny's youth pastor when she was a teenager. When Jenny and I started dating I met with Chris for several long theological conversations. I didn't know much about Presbyterians at the time and I was making sure he was biblical just as he was checking me out to make sure I was orthodox enough to date Jenny :-) I guess we both passed the test because I eventually married Jenny and Chris and I have been good friends over the years. He recently wrote:

"So much of our lives are lived from one goal to the next. When I was in high school I couldn't wait to get out of high school. When I was in college I couldn't wait to graduate. When I graduated from college I couldn't wait to get a job. Once I got a job I couldn't wait to get married. And so on and so forth. C.S. Lewis discovered that the only real destination is not a goal or a place or a dream. It's a person. In his book "Surprised by Joy" he explains that we all seek joy (or happiness). However, once the thing we thought would bring it to us is finally in our grasp the joy is gone. He finally realized that he could not find joy or happiness by seeking it. But in seeking God through Christ, he found the very thing he had been seeking all along... joy. Joy is not a goal. It is a by-product. Life is for journeys... journeys that continually lead us to our Lord. And the destination is far beyond this life. It is the hope of heaven. "Instead, they (people of faith) were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:16)"

Jenny and I really resonate with these comments. We have been on the move from one goal and degree to another since we were married over 10 years ago. The fulfillment of each stage of the journey brings a sense of accomplishment, but not joy. Joy is found in and through Christ each step along the road. May you find joy in Christ and his presence this week!

The "Aha" moment

Leave it to good ol' Mater to inspire a blog post!  Mater who you say?  Well, let me tell you he's the tow truck from the CARS movie.  Yeah, I know of all things to inspire a moment of "aha".  The line I was thinking of is when he talks about his rear view mirrors and how "I don't need to know where I'm going, I just need to know where I been". 


So where "you been" this time last year?  I know where I was!  I was 2 days into a ten day stay at the Wake Medical Children's Hospital with a very sick 12 day old baby Micah.

I remember standing in the Emergency Room and thinking how I wanted to go home, I wanted a healthy baby, I wanted to enjoy my little family all together and I really wanted some sleep!  Obviously the key word in the above sentence is "I" and God had other plans.  One of those plans where you know there is a lesson in it you just can not (at the time) figure it out or even have the energy to think about it.  Enter the statement from good ol' Mater: "don't need to know where I'm going, just need to know where I been."  God is always faithful!

It was during this time that we were reminded of how very blessed we are.  Our family was amazing!  My Mom drove down to stay with Micah and I at the hospital.  Alex's Mom and a very dear friend "Aunt" Linda came down from CT to help with the boys at home while Alex was working and going to school and driving to and from the hospital when he could.  Our Church family was awesome!  They were faithful prayer warriors, brought meals, came to visit, called, gave us gas money (the hospital was a 2 hour round trip from our home) and loved us!

I was so weary through all of this, we all were.  At the same time I remember feeling sad and almost angry that I was missing out on time at home.  We were set to move in a matter of weeks; the adventure of where God was calling us next was soon upon us!  While I knew (and know) beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Netherlands is where God wants our family to be I loved, loved, loved where He had us.  I loved our home in the soy bean field (or maybe they had planted tobacco that year I can't remember) I loved our Church family, neighbors, friends, kids friends and the list could go on...and I did not want to miss a moment of it.  Now for the "aha" (you've been holding out for the point of this right? Me too).  The good that came from the hard times of Micah being sick was that we got a mega sized dose of the love of those around us, of God's love for us and how He is with us even when we are feeling like slipping into the depths of despair. 

I guess you could kinda' say we sorta know where we are going...we are going to the Netherlands.  As for what the future holds we have no idea (hey, and guess what!?  Neither do you!)  We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or next week or next year or if we will even make it until then!  But the good news is we don't need to know the future, the Bible says so!  We need to know where we have been, remember how faithful God has been in the past and rest in the fact that He is unchanging, all powerful, all knowing and doesn't need rear view mirrors!

Our February Newsletter

Feb. Stewart Chronicles 2013 by

Missions and the Timing of Christ's Return

I have read a good deal about the end times and am convinced that the clearest statement about the timing of  Jesus' return to set things right in his world comes in Matthew 24:14. "And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." The end will come when the Gospel has been proclaimed throughout the world. We should look less for the beginning of the so-called Great Tribulation and appearance of the Anti-Christ and look more to global missions!

Dr. Black, my major professor at Southeastern, recently alerted me to a brief but relevant discussion about unreached people groups by John Piper entitled "How Much Is Left to Do in the Great Commission?" Definitely check it out. More than at any other point in history the job is doable in our lifetimes! It will of course require intense sacrifice since many of the remaining unreached people groups are located in places where there is direct and violent opposition to the Gospel. Man's opposition, however, has never been able to stop the advance of God's kingdom and Jesus made it quite clear that sacrifice will accompany discipleship.

                             Dr. Black and I during a recent visit. Who is taller? :-)