Is there anybody out there?

Hey Folks! 

I am back!  I am sorry for the long delay and gap in posting here!  This may be short as I only have 7 minutes!  But I wanted to at least send out a little update.

So, the past two months have been very full!  We finished the first two training courses, had a baby, my parents were here to visit and help has, we had Justin and Emily out here to pray and encourage those out here, got to visit with Mike and Ghissela,  started 3 new training courses,  had leadership training with Jeremy and April and Jerry and Janet here, we had Jerry and Janet here for 3 wonderful weeks where they were  able to encourage those out here and support and encourage us!  What a huge blessing that was!  We have been supporting and participating in the gathering that is happening in the Westford/Chelmsford area and we have also started doing family teams training with them.  All of this amidst pipes bursting, health issues and adjusting to being a family of 5

Whew!  So a busy couple of months!  Most weeks you will find us busy nearly every night, if we are not training, we are trying to connect and build relationships with those going through the courses.  During the day, Stephen works and I am homeschooling the kids.  He sometimes has lunch meetings with people and I try to have coffee and playdates with other ladies whenever I can.  

There are 3 courses taking place right now, one in Marblehead, a totally new group that we are actually hosting together w/ our host family.  Stephen is leading that course, and another gentleman Jon is also beginning to co- lead that course.  I help out wherever I can.

There is another course going on in Chelmsford that is being lead by two gentlemen who took the course last time.  We usually attend and support them.  Stephen spends time during the week helping them prepare and supporting them however he can.

The third course is going on in Providence. We do not attend that course, but Stephen has meetings via the phone weekly to help those guys prepare and recap etc.  Those leaders have sometimes come out our way to meet and this next week we will be heading down to Providence to meet w/ a family there to love on them and encourage them.

So that’s the short version!  I am going to try and keep you all posted more regularly.  We miss you all and appreciate your prayers so much!  

Right now our ETA back in Fort Thomas is the first part of April. 

Tiffany

The First Lost TOOTH!

Well it finally happened!  After two years of waiting for a loose tooth and now weeks of actually having one, wiggling it and anticipating it’s departure…tonight it came out!  WOO HOO!  Angus lost his first tooth.

 

 

Me at 39 weeks.

So from time to time people ask for pics of me pregnant.  So here is one of me that Stephen took yesterday.  It actually wasn’t posed, I just turned at the right time!  I am 39 weeks pregnant here.  This is 3 days before my scheduled c-section.

Anticipating.

There has been so much to anticipate in our life lately.  Angus has had his first loose tooth, and has been eagerly anticipating the loss of that tooth.  He has been waiting for a loose tooth for two years now, so this season of loose toothness has been very exciting, and we get updates, sometimes daily but at least every few days on the status of the looseness of the tooth.

Christmas is coming.  There has been tons of anticipation around that!  And the anticipation builds!  We got a tree a couple of weeks ago, then stockings came in the mail from Grandpa and Grandma, then a few gifts showed up under the tree, we started doing daily advent activities – going through the story of God’s progress of redemption, this past week we did some christmas baking and yesterday we had our extended Mowry family christmas get together.  Lot’s of anticipation, lot’s of things we did and are doing to remind us of the season and help build that anticipation.

We have a baby, a new family member getting ready to arrive in the world very soon.  This has been a greatly anticipated for 9 months now, and that anticipation is building.  My belly is getting bigger, we can not only feel, but also see the baby moving around under my skin, baby items are slowly accumulating, a place for the baby to sleep, things for the baby to wear, items we will need to help care for the baby.  Every day we talk about the baby, the count down until it’s arrival, what do we think it’s going to be, a boy or a girl, name ideas, and how each of us (especially the kids) are going to help care for the baby and what we are looking forward to.  Lot’s of anticipation.  Lot’s of excitement.

Grandpa and Grandma McDonnold are coming!  They are coming to help with the baby and to celebrate Christmas together with us.  We have seen packages arrive in the mail from them….not to be opened until after they arrive, phone calls talking about that time together and making plans, for our family talking about and planning where everyone will sleep, and what we will do etc.  Lot’s of anticipation and preparation.   Very exciting.

This are the big things, although there are other things we are anticipating.  Other friends coming to visit, the next season of SFL and being on mission out here in New England, our return to Fort Thomas, my sisters baby, etc.

So I have been enjoying, contemplating and pondering all this anticipation. A season of anticipation.  I have been thinking about these things in light of Christmas, in light of God’s story and His progress of redeeming and restoring that which was lost through the Fall.  For generations, people were waiting, anticipating the Messiah!  And when He came, it wasn’t what people expected, and many people missed it.  Many people still miss it.  Each year when we celebrate this amazing gift, the answer to our Fall, our suffering, our sin.  The celebration of the beginning of the fulfillment of a promise and many prophecies…how much time do we actually focus on building the anticipation of that?  Of thankfulness for what was done and has been and will be restored to us?  Even though we don’t deserve it.  And what about what that means for our future?  Most of the focus is on all the wrong things.  I want to change that, I want our focus to be on all the right things and I am trying to take steps to do that.

It was interesting to finish up the two SFL courses right before Christmas, in the midst of my ponderings about anticipation and Christ’s story.  The last two weeks of the course are about God’s Kingdom and about the Re-creation.  How the birth of the savior, Jesus Christ, was the beginning of God’s Kingdom coming.  He has a Kingdom that is not of this world, but He came to this world, the one He created humbly and humbled Himself to teach us how to live here and how to find and experience His Kingdom, and then He gave His life, in order to rescue us from ourselves, from the Fall and the destruction we have brought upon ourselves.  To give us the opportunity to not only experience His Kingdom now, here on earth, but then fully, in the future in Zion, the city of our God!  

Which leads to re-creation.  Now that’s something we can anticipate!  Can you imagine living in the city of our God?  Can you imagine no more suffering, no more tears?  No more sin?  The tree of life with it’s 12 fruits that provide eternal life and it’s leaves that provide healing?  Where those who love, serve and gave their lives to Christ in this life with rule with GOD there?  It’s too awesome for words or for our minds to comprehend.  But we can try to imagine.  We can read in God’s word what He does tell us.   We can anticipate it.  We can prepare. 

I wonder what that looks like.  

As I have prepared and anticipated this baby, I have had a pretty clear picture of about how much time I had.  We don’t know how much time we have before the recreation, but we know that it could come at anytime, that we are told to be ready, and that we can begin to experience God’s Kingdom even now.

With the baby there were physical preparations, things to be done, things to purchase or get, doctors appointments to be made and attended, plans for it’s birth and the weeks of recovery after the birth.  I have found myself making lists and prioritizing, these are the things that HAVE to get done before the baby is born, these are the things that really should get done, this is how I can accomplish these things if I am running out of time, these are the things I would like, but don’t have to happen or can happen after the baby is born. There is a sense of urgency.  There is much anticipation and much excitement.

So, if we look around us, if we study scripture, if we believe that we are to be ready, that there will be a judgement day for all of us, that Zion is real and is going to be SO good, how should we be preparing.  What would be on your list?  How would you prioritize?  

How do we live daily anticipating the return of the King and our home in His city?  I feel like anticipation does happen to some extent based on how much we believe, but many of the things we do build and grow that anticipation and strengthen our belief, so how can we structure our lives to build that anticipation, to have a culture of preparing and readiness as well as excitement and longing for this promised blessing?  How do we remember that THIS is not our HOME.  This is temporary.

I’m longing for Zion and anticipating the Return of the King, but wanting to anticipate and long for it, for Him, more. 

These are my thoughts of late.  I’d love to hear your ideas.

Final SFL night in Marblehead

Wednesday we had our final SFL night in Marblehead.  We midrashed the Kingdom.  It was really good.  

We had a smaller group due to people already traveling and preparing for the holidays. But those who were there were engaged.  As the night ended people were excited about the next chapter and helping make another course happen.

They talked about 2 things.  1. Having a Saturday afternoon training where we could midrash the disciplined life, which we missed in this course, and also discuss rhythms etc.  2. A “what’s the next step” or interest meeting for another SFL and exploring body life together.  I believe both of those things will happen early in the new year.  

God is so good!  He has such a heart for Marblehead and the believers in this area.  Please continue to pray for the people here, for the soil of their hearts, pray against the attacks of the enemy and pray for more faith.  God is at work here!  May His Kingdom come and His will be done!

Final Night of SFL take 1 in Westford

Tonight we had our final night of this run of the SFL course in Westford.  We mid rashed the re-creation and talked about the next season.  It is SO exciting and encouraging to me to see how God has worked and the fruit in these people’s lives.  They are full of faith, eager to learn and test everything.  It is wonderful.   In our training group we had good sharing and a great time of prayer together.  Before the night was over Wally, who is from Rhode Island but who has been attending the group, shared that they plan  to do the SFL there in Providence, and asked people to pray, come to the kick off dinner and possibly help and support in other ways too.  

I feel like I am literally see the Kingdom erupt and explode before my eyes.  A couple from Marblehead may be coming to Westford to discuss and train on being Spirit lead and how to do a body gathering, the people from Westford maybe attending, encouraging, or supporting in other ways what is happening in Rhode Island, the people in Rhode Island want to reach out and give back however they can and they are very excited for the training.  

Do we serve an AWESOME GOD, or what?!  He is TOO amazing for words!  

Stephen and I were talking on the way home.  It’s hard to believe it’s already been 10 weeks, on the other hand….look what mind blowing, life altering things our God can do in just 10 weeks.

Praise the Lord!

So what about me.

So there have been people asking how I am doing, being 38 or so weeks pregnant, plans for having the baby here, what about my grandmother, are my parents able to come, do I have everything I need, etc.

So, in response to those questions.

I am well.  God has been amazingly gracious to me in the final season of this pregnancy.  Although I have felt more aches and pains as I have gotten bigger and a little more fatigue, over all I have been great.  Although I feel huge, I have gained the least amount of weight in the pregnancy of the 3 full term pregnancies I have experienced.  I have had energy and been able to stay active.  I wonder if that is in part due to the fact that I am an extravert and there has been non-stop people interaction while we have been out here!   

Plans for having the baby here have come together really well and incredibly smoothly. The practice I have been seeing for care and regular check ups had no problem delivering the baby and scheduling a c-section.  I hadn’t met many of the doctors, so I when given two choices of doctors or times, I chose based on the times.  I have since found out from others who have used this practice that the doctor performing the surgery comes highly recommended and is thought of by many as the best in the practice.  Even the nurse at the hospital mentioned this particular doctor as her favorite.  So I feel really blessed and well cared for by our Lord as He worked this all out for us.

Everything I need is coming together.  Last week I received 2 gifts, one for me after the baby is born, and a gift bag full of goodies for the baby.  Over the weekend I received two more packages of baby things, one from my parents and one from someone I don’t even know, but who knows my parents and felt lead to give to us for our baby.  

Tonight,  one woman from the Westford group brought me two big bags of clothes and misc. items that I can use while we are here for the baby.  The group also went in on some gifts for the baby  that they presented to us tonight.  

My friend Jill from Marblehead asked if she could host a little get together for me and the baby this weekend, so that will be taking place on Sunday I think.  So God has been totally blessing us and taking care of all of our needs for this next season and this new little family member.

My parents are able to come down and be with us.  Although my mom wasn’t able to get the time off before Christmas that she had hoped for, she was able to get off for Christmas and some extra time after the holidays.  The time she took off while traveling to see my grandmother did not affect her time off for the baby, Praise the Lord!  So my parents fly in to NH late on the 24th and will be here with us until January 5th.  We are so excited for their time here, for their help and support and just having them here for the birth of this new family member!

On a sadder note, my grandmother did pass away.  My parents went to Winnipeg for just under a week mid November where they were able to spend time with her and the family one last time.  They had one afternoon in particular where they had some really meaningful time with her as a family.  Then travelled back to Omaha the weekend before Thanksgiving.  Then Wednesday before Thanksgiving my grandmother passed away.  My parents were actually on their way back to Winnipeg when she died.  So they arrived in Winnipeg Thursday morning and were able to participate with the family in planning the funeral and wrapping things up for my grandma.  

I knew in advance that I would not be able to attend due to the fact that I don’t have my passport or the things needed to get one out here, not to mention I was beyond the point where it was safe to travel long distances safely.  So that wasn’t a shock for me and so it was not too difficult since I knew that in advance and could prepare mentally, as much as I would have liked to have been there for my family.  

So the details of our birth are as follows (as long as everything goes as planned!)

We are scheduled for a c-section at 8:30am on Tuesday December 23rd at Salem Hospital.  Dr. Coffee will be performing the surgery.  So yes, we will be in the hospital for Christmas.

The boys will spend the night on the 22nd and the 23rd with Stephen’s sister Deb and her family.  Sometime on the 24th they will come back to us, that night Stephen and the boys will drive to Manchester NH (about an hour or so away) to pick up my parents, who will then help care for the boys while we are in the hospital.

So that is the scoop!  God is taking care of us, and of every detail for the birth of the baby!  Please pray for a smooth delivery and recovery and a healthy baby!

Entering the final week.

So we are entering our final week in both SFL courses.  This is also our final week before we have the baby.  We are scheduled to have a c-section on Tuesday December 23^rd at 8:30am.  So this week will be a week of wrapping things up, and getting ready for the baby and Christmas.

 

Right now this is what it appears the week will look like.

 

Monday: School and errands and then Westford SFL where we will be doing our final midrash in the course, Re-creation.

 

Tuesday: School. Then in the afternoon I am meeting with Jill and her children.  Tuesday night we are having Mark, Rachel and possibly Tom for dinner. (also Stephen has a lunch meeting with someone from the Marblehead course)

 

Wednesday: School. I have my final doctors appointment. In the evening we have our final midrash, the Re-creation with the Marblehead SFL.

 

Thursday: School.  I hope to meet with a friend that afternoon.  The evening is currently open. 

 

Friday: currently open, although that is likely to change! 

Saturday: All of Stephen’s sister and their families are coming to Marblehead in the afternoon for the Mowry family Christmas gathering, which will be hosted at our place.

 

Sunday: It sounds as if there will be a get together to celebrate and prepare for the baby that afternoon.

 

Monday: I have to go to the hospital for all my pre-op procedures.  At some point we will be bringing the kids to Stephen’s sister Deb’s.  We may be meeting with another group of people (an intentional community) that night to share our testimonies and a little about SFL. 

 

Tuesday: 7am we need to be at the hospital, and 8:30 I am scheduled for surgery!

Those are the things I know of, and then there will be other getting together the final details for the baby, the arrival of my parents and Christmas.  So please pray for energy, wisdom and blessing over the next 8 or 9 days for us!

So what about the past two weeks…

Once again I am well over due for an update.  I believe the last schedule update was the weekend or week before Thanksgiving. 

 

Everything went pretty close to the plan we had laid out. 

God blessed us and amazingly provided a place to stay that provides for all the needs of our family during this next season as we have decided to stay on another 3 month and will be having our baby out here. 

 

So the week before Thanksgiving, we moved into our new temporary home.  :) We also spent time that week visiting with Stephen’s parents and family.

 

That Monday we midrashed the church with the Westford group.  It went amazingly well and they set up a meeting for the following Saturday to talk about the logistics and moving forward in this next season.  They plan to start meeting as a body, are working to start living more interdependent lives and plan to facilitate another story formed life course.  Amazing!  So we attended that meeting and were able to worship w/ them and also sit in on some of the planning and brainstorming for this next season.

 

That Sunday, which was last Sunday, November 30^th, we spent the afternoon with our friends and leaders here in Marblehead, Jon and Jennie; we had dinner that night with other friends and leaders here in Marblehead Lou and Linda. 

 

Monday, December 1, the Pryors pulled into town!  WOO HOO!  It was so great to see them and be with them and have their support.  They came with us to the Westford SFL where we midrashed the disciplined life.  It was a great evening.

 

Tuesday the kids and I got to spend time with April and the kids over lunch and for the early part of the afternoon.  That evening we (the Mowry’s and the Pryors) went out to dinner together.

 

We had the privilege of having Jackson stay the night with us that night and had a fun morning of play on Wednesday morning.  We went to a great ocean front park with fantastic rocks for kids to climb on and play in.  So we had a great time playing and had a cold weather picnic!

 

Wednesday night we all attended the Marblehead SFL where we did part 2 of the church.  It went amazingly well and people seemed able to really here this time, and left with much to wrestle with. 

 

Thursday morning April watched my kids – while I went and ran some errands and took care of some baby things I needed to take care of! 

 

Thursday night we had a man from the Marblehead SFL over for dinner and were able to spend time w/ he and another woman involved in the course.

 

Friday, I had an early morning doctors appointment and in the afternoon April and I were able to visit with our friend Jennie and we stayed into the evening and were able to have dinner with the Putnam family.  We had 11 kids around the table that night!

Stephen and Jeremy had a busy day that day, it started with a morning meeting with two elders at one of the local church who are also involved in the Marblehead SFL.  Then in the afternoon they headed down to Providence RI where they met with various leaders in the area.  It was an amazing and Holy Spirit lead time.  The whole week was actually busy for them between work and ministry meetings.

 

So Stephen got home shortly after I did that night, and we were able to spend some time hanging out with our new hosts/neighbors Mark and Rachel and another guy Tom who Stephen has been really getting to know.  They had a jam session I was able to sit in on. (Mark, Rachel, Tom and Stephen are all gifted musicians.)

 

Saturday we had breakfast with our new hosts/neighbors and then Mark and Stephen walked down to the landing to watch Santa come in on a lobster boat.  From there we headed to a birthday party for our friend Hudson who turned 4.  The group from the party headed down into Marblehead’s 5 corners to watch a Christmas Parade and then went for face painting.  The Pryors met us for the Parade and face painting. We hung out at Starbucks for a while and then headed to Atomic Café for lunch w/ some families. 

Saturday night Stephen and I had a night out with his sister and her husband, Deb and Bruce.  We met for dinner and then attended a choral concert at Gordon College.

 

Sunday, we slept in!  We woke up to our first snow here in Marblehead, it was beautiful.  That afternoon and evening I watched our friend’s son Sam, who is 3, at their house and the kids got to hang out and play in that beautiful snow!  Jeremy and April and their kids came and hung out with us for a while there too. 

 

Monday, we were back to our more normal rhythm with school and grocery shopping etc.  That evening we had our Westford SFL where we midrashed the Kingdom. 

 

Tuesday we had dinner with Jon and Jennie and Jeremy and April.

 

Wednesday, April and I got to spend sometime catching up in the afternoon, and then that evening we midrashed the Kingdom at the Marblehead SFL.

 

Thursday we spent working and just as a family that evening.  At night Stephen spent some time with Tom.

 

Friday, I tried to knock out most of our Christmas shopping. In the evening we met with Chris and Jill for dinner and then Stephen was able to attend a show where our hosts/neighbors were performing. 

 

Saturday, we prepared for Shabbat and stayed around here.  Then our friends Wally and Jane and their family drove up from Providence RI to have our Shabbat meal together with us.  It was great to have them and get to know them as a family, and here more about how God called them to Rhode Island.

 

Today, Sunday, we attended the service at GCC, the local institutional church here.  Tom, Mark and Rachel lead worship, so that was a treat.  This afternoon I got to spend some time with a new friend Erica.  She is a photographer building her portfolio and needed a pregnant model. So the boys and I got to “model” for her.  Then she and I hung out and got to know each other a little better.  Then we went down hung out w/ Stephen, Mark, Adam and the kids who were watching football and cooking tacos.  Later another couple Paul and Betsy also joined the group and we watched the Patriots take the victory! 

 

So, wow!  That’s a lot.  That is the past 2 weeks in a nutshell.

Thanks so much for your prayers.  We have seen God work in amazing ways the past two weeks.  I am so encouraged by what He is doing and by the response we are seeing, and beginning to see more of in the believers in these areas.  I feel like there have been some big heart changes and shifts over the past two weeks.  There have also been some major battles.  As believers have been responding they are encountering persecution, health issues, home issues, car accidents, sickness and even death in family members.  Please pray for these believers as they proceed by faith in these acts of obedience.  

Shout Triumphantly to the Lord!

Today as I was hanging out with God, He lead me to and stopped me at Psalm 100.  This passage starts out, Shout Triumphantly to the Lord!  So I spent some time meditating on that.  How would I do this, what does it look like, to shout triumphantly to the Lord?  Perhaps I was trying to make the issue more complicated than it needed to be, because the Lord answered me through my younger son Desmond.

As I was meditating on this passage, Desmond comes marching in, raising, no punching, his lightsaber over his head chanting, nearly shouting, “Bless the Lord!  Bless the Lord!”  And so demonstrated for me how to shout triumphantly to the Lord.  

Thank you God for that.