"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.

A surprise visit from an auntie and cousins made for a VERY happy birthday for Thing 2!

The boys attended a Farm Camp nearby where they learned about farm chores and practiced horseback riding and roping! 
They had sooo much fun!

Eclipse Viewing

Well, summer seems to be fading away and we're looking forward to our first fall in our new home.  This year we took a "real" summer break from homeschooling (we typically school year round) but we're back in the swing of things again.  This week is our second week of easing into homeschooling.  Next Monday we have our first day at our new homeschool co-op.  A good portion of the boys' academic studies will be coming from that co-op, so the last week and a half has been a lighter work load.  It's been nice to gradually adjust to our school routine and the discipline required.  We're also hoping to start BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) Monday evening.  I've never done BSF, but have heard only wonderful things about it.  There is a group that meets out our new church, so we're going to go try it out.  They also have a school age program at the same time which is exciting!

That brings me to a huge praise!  We have a new home church!   After months of visiting many, MANY churches and lots and lots of prayer, we finally feel like we have found the church body that God has called us to.  We are so grateful and relieved!  Thank you for those of you who have been praying for us about this for the past several months!
One of the things that is most exciting to me about our new church is their strong emphasis and commitment to reaching out to the community!  From the moment that we made the decision to have the boys and I stop traveling with Josh, I have been praying for and thinking about how we can still maintain a strong missional attitude and lifestyle. Josh and I believe we are called to be domestic missionaries and despite the fact that the boys and I are no longer traveling, we still believe that is our call!  I look forward to being actively involved in the outreach opportunities with our church and I'll be sure to keep you posted about those.  In the meantime, please pray specifically for four neighbors that I have begun to build relationships with and am praying for opportunities to tell about Jesus!

While the boys and I go to our new church each weekend, Josh continues to travel all over sharing the Gospel and encouraging believers through music and the word.  I don't usually have pictures of him, because I'm not there to take them, but rest assured he's as busy as ever.  He's made several trips to Montana this summer and will be headed back to California in the fall.  If you want specifics on his schedule, go to www.joshsnodgrass.com.  Also, keep praying for the work on his book.  We are confident God has a plan for additional ministry through the book he is writing, but the process is slow as he seeks God's direction while he writes in between traveling, practicing and booking.

That's the most recent Snodgrass Family news. :)  I'll leave you with a few more fun pictures from our summer!  Please continue to pray for our family to have listening ears and obedient lives as we seek to follow our Master!

My first attempt at canning! :)

Epic Fort Building

Fun in the river with visiting Montana friends!

Sitting in my drafts folder are several attempted blog posts from the past few months.  I have been absent from this blog because I have been unsure of what to say.  This transition has been far more difficult than I anticipated.  I have spent the last few months feeling like I'm stumbling trying, to find my way.  While we have experienced countless blessings in this time of settling into our new home and way of ministry, we've also struggled through some significant challenges, set-backs, and heartaches.

Josh and I are very emotional people, and we are used to deeply felt ups and downs in life.  This year though, has felt like an emotional roller coaster of epic proportions!  It has left us exhausted from the adrenaline rush and a bit shaken up and queasy . . . but with trembling legs, we keep getting back in line for more! ;)

This week my baby celebrated his ninth birthday.  His older brother was kind enough to remind me, that means his little brother is only one year away from double digits!  If you knew me a year and a half ago when T-1 turned 10, you will remember it was very hard for me.  So thinking about T-2 turning 10 was not a welcomed thought. However, as I sat reflecting on how quickly time passes, I opened up my laptop and found an encouraging email from our home pastor in Renton.  While we haven't regularly attended that church for a few years, they are our family and I am grateful to be included in church body emails!  This one was particularly meaningful.  Pastor Dan shared encouragement about the growth of their church then he referenced and included an email from my husband sharing the story of a "prodigal son" who came to Christ at one of Josh's ministry events a couple weeks ago.  Of course, Josh had shared that story with me when it happened, but reading about it again was a striking reminder of the significance of it!

"Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost, but now am found!  Was blind!  But now I see!"  Praise Jesus for a young man turning from addiction and running to the arms of the Savior.  As the angels rejoiced, so do I!  This is why we do, what we do.  There is nothing more important.

And so, as we continue to try to find our way in this new life, please continue to pray for us.  Pray for souls to be saved and hearts to be encouraged as Josh travels all over the western U.S. continuing the work of One Hope One Truth Ministries.  Pray that the boys and I will be a light in our new neighborhood, that we might also share Jesus with this lost and hurting world. And pray for direction in our day to day life, as we miss Josh when he's away, find our place in the homeschooling community here, and try to find a church home where we can grow and serve.