It's been a long time since I've wanted to sit down and blog. So much has been going on that sometimes it's just been to overwhelming to decide what to write about. So, here's a bullet point list of some of the highlights...

• After a lot of preparation and fundraising, my middle child will leave for Thailand this coming Sunday. She will be working with SIM and will help out some other missionaries in their school. She will be gone for 6 months. I am humbled to see God working through our daughter in this way and am so excited for her to experience a different culture and that she will have the opportunity to simply focus on doing God's Work without distractions from daily life and the political challenges of our own country. We commissioned her at church yesterday and it was a comforting and powerful time as we prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill her and use her.
• A young woman that I adore and have mentored and her family have also taken the missionary plunge, although they have only gone to Colorado (that's far enough!). They left this past Saturday. I miss them all so much. Her husband has been a joy to watch grow and mature and it is so awesome to see what God has done in and through him. We are looking forward to our summer vacation out to visit them and sit under his preaching at their tiny Colorado church. I know that the Lord will do mighty things through both of them and that my friend will become a wonderful mentor to the women in her new community.
• A young couple that I introduced were married this past Saturday. It was a great wedding, filled with meaning and humor. Light-hearted, yet full of commitment. So much joy!!
• My best friend told me a couple of weeks ago that she was expecting, unfortunately, she lost the little one on Saturday (that was a big day--the wedding, friends leaving, my daughter seeing some people for the last time for 3 months, and losing a baby). She is doing well, but tired.
  
• My son started a new job last week. This one is a big boy job. He's preparing to take some serious steps in his life.
• Our state Supreme Court legalized gay "marriage". I have done a lot of weeping, praying, and even protesting about this subject. Not only that, but our state legislature has run amok, refusing to deal with the people, even shutting them out of a "public" hearing. They are borrowing and spending beyond anything they've ever done before and they are proud of it! I continue to praise God, knowing that He is on His throne and that, despite the fools beliefs, He is in control.

Despite all the craziness, God continues to cling to me and He is holding me through all the ups and downs.