Here we are in the middle of May, moving quickly into Summer Mode!  Josh’s ministry schedule is very full for the summer and the boys and I are looking forward to joining him on a couple of his trips. 
Mostly though, we’re excited to cultivate relationships that God has begun here in our area, while cultivating the ground in our backyard. :) That’s right, my garden last year was a complete and utter failure, but I am optimistic (perhaps delusional) about more success this year.   Of course, in my defense, I'm working in a garden plot that was incredibly overgrown and FULL OF ROCKS when we moved in.  AND I have to combat every garden "dilemma" known to man (think slugs, aphids, ear wigs, paper mildew, birds, and perhaps a sneaky rabbit or two!) I have kale, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, carrots and onion seedlings all poking out of the ground currently, and have only lost 6 or 7 seedlings to vicious slug predators so far! Victory! ;) ​

Here are a few more pictures from the past few months!  

We all know I’m a lousy “blogger”.  I put "blogger" in quotes because I really can only claim that title because I have a website where I occasionally write or post pictures.  There is no consistency or predictability to how often I will post or what the content of my post will be.  When it comes right down to it, I didn’t actually intend to be a “blogger”.  I started this blog in 2013, when our family went into full time ministry on the road.  I wanted a way to share about what God was doing in and through our family, with those at home.  I wanted my friends and family to share in our adventures and we desperately needed their prayers.  This began as a private blogspot page, but eventually we saw the need for something public.  We met so many wonderful people at the churches and concerts, who wanted to be a part of this journey with us, we needed a way to share stories, pictures, and prayer requests with them.  So in 2014, I launched stilllearningtofollow.com, where this blog has been posted since then. ​

As our ministry continually changes, so does my activity on this site.  There have been periods where I have been able to and/or inspired to write very frequently.  Then there have been many times where months pass between posts.  Of course, that is NOT because nothing is happening in our family and ministry! HA!  Usually, it is quite the contrary. As a homeschooling mama and a wife to a hubby in full-time touring ministry, my life is full and I am always prayerfully (and yet so imperfectly) trying to balance my moments.  Balancing priorities is one of the greatest challenges for any believer (in my humble opinion) and this is certainly true for me.  I cannot tell you the number of times over the past couple of years, when I have seriously considered blogging my “thank you and goodbye” post, admitting that I  am just not able to blog the way I used to.  However, the Lord always whispers to my heart that He is not done with this blog yet….Honestly, I really don’t know why.  I often have no idea what my Amazing God is doing, but He’s always doing something and it’s ALWAYS GOOD! :)​

So, I’ll keep this site up and I’ll post as often as I can.  I am grateful to know that there are still those of you out there reading and praying.  We need you just as much today as we did 5 years ago, when we embarked on this adventure!  One Hope One Truth has changed and the boys and I are not participating the way we used to.  But rest assured, we are still a family on mission!  We are still seeking to use the gifts God has given us to share the hope of Jesus to a lost and dying world, and to brothers and sisters in Christ who need reminded that Jesus is ENOUGH!  He is our hope, our peace, our comfort and our joy!  Even when life leaves us gasping for breath or weeping in sorrow, Jesus remains our source of Life!​

"As if somehow, some issue is more important than love!"

This morning as I drove home from running errands, I turned on Moody Bible Radio for my short ten minute drive.  
I only caught a few minutes, but sometimes it only takes a few minutes to have a huge impact!

​That's how it was today.

I honestly didn't catch much of the context and sadly I cannot even tell you who was speaking.

​What I can tell you, is that one particular phrase was so impactful I found myself saying it out loud in the car. Speaking it as the statement that it is, but hearing it as a question in my own ears.

. . . But, what is love?  What is this, that is more important than EVERY OTHER thing!?

As if somehow, some issue is more important than love!

I have no profound commentary.  God's Word is more than enough.  Now I will pray, asking the Spirit to reveal to me where I am lacking in love...because surely I am lacking. . . 

​and surely there is no issue that is more important than love!

Perpetual
     Adjective
​     "occurring repeatedly; so frequent as to seem endless and uninterrupted"
​       (Oxford Dictionaries : Oxford University Press)

Transition
     Noun
​     "the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another"
​       (Oxford Dictionaries : Oxford University Press)

I've decided that this is a perfect description of our life! :)  It doesn't seem reasonable anymore to refer to being in a "period of transition"!  We just seem to live in perpetual transition.  Maybe someday we won't? I think we're all pretty well adjusted, considering! (Ha!)

Hahaha, don't worry about us.  We've always been nuts!
​
We are beginning this new year with a new plan and fresh hope!  So while we may look a little crazy and worse for the wear, we are moving forward with a renewed sense of direction.  

​After much prayer, we are taking yet another step of faith.  Josh is decreasing the number of Sundays that he travels.  This will allow him to be home with the family more.  He'll be able to get involved in church with the boys and I, and begin to develop a community with us.  He will also be able to spend time working on several ministry projects that have been "sitting on the shelf" because he has not had the time to work on them.  We consider all of this an investment in our family and the ministry, for the sake of the Kingdom.  Josh will continue to travel, just not every weekend as he has in the past.  You can read more about his ministry and see his schedule at www.joshsnodgrass.com

In the meantime, the boys and I continue to strive to get to know other families in our area.  I am still homeschooling and we participate in a co-op on Mondays.  T-1 attends a middle school youth group and we attend some homeschool field trips and library workshops.  We have begun to develop relationships with some of our neighbors, and I am praying about how to increase my influence here in our own backyard.

Personally, I have some ministry projects/goals that I'm working on, but I'm holding them loosely as I work to manage my time well, prioritizing Josh and the boys first and foremost.  I have high hopes for God's work through this blog in the upcoming year as well as growth in my musical gifting...but we'll see what God does.  I certainly welcome your prayers for God's direction!

​I make no promises about the frequency of blog posts or even the direction of those posts, but there are plans and ideas always churning in my head.  Please pray that they will be in submission to the Lord's will - that He will use me however He sees fit.

​Until then... I am always 
​                still learning to follow.