Handfuls of Blessings

The night before one of my children prepare to take flight out of the family nest, I don't sleep well.  Last night was no exception.   During the moments of prayer and contemplation, the thought came to me that children are a lot like violins. God is the master Craftsman lovingly creating each unique instrument, but then He places each unpolished gift into a parent's hands.  The violin spends time aging and maturing, sometimes being exposed to sunlight to darken its beautiful grain and expose its hidden beauty.   Layers of varnish are added through years in training and teaching.  Sadly, some parents don't take the time to brush the varnish on evenly with smooth strokes, and their work is evident in the appearance and behavior of their children.  Some parents push the children out into the world without adding a protectant coat, and the instrument is quickly damaged.  But those parents who realize the value of the gift God has entrusted to them, loving...

In case you haven't heard - our family is increasing! We are so excited to be able to add another girl to our family,  but we are grateful that she has already been raised by fine Christian parents. Although Shane (our oldest) has been living and working in Ohio and Rachel was going to college in California, Dad Stensaas took the opportunity to introduce them to each other via FaceTime.    Long distance dating isn't easy, but they have made it work.    Rachel "just happened" to be visiting Shane in Ohio last week during our surprise visit there,  so we were thrilled to be able to spend time with her. We love you, Shane and Rachel. (Shae-Lynn did a great job taking pictures of them together during our quick visit.)

Bryan and Cheri Stensaas This past week we really put the miles in.  We are on the east coast for the next month, visiting churches in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.  Last week, my in-laws Bryan and Cheri Stensaas celebrated 50 years of marriage.  A party was planned for them,  and we decided to surprise them by attending, although we were 7+  hours away.   The Cake Was a Replica of the Original Andrew and Jacky (Andrew is the 3rd Stensaas kid) invited Mom and Dad and our son Shane to their house for lunch on Thursday.  We had arrived just minutes before them and hid in a bedroom.  Before praying for the meal, we walked out and surprised them.    Keith Captured His Mom in a Hug as I Hugged Shane Stensaas Cousins (and Aunt) - Blessed with Great Family It was so much fun being with family.   Many years ago, all of the Stensaas families served in Uganda, so we greatly miss that connection. Andrew & Jacky's...

Despite the restrictions many states have had on travel and meetings, the Lord has been so good to us in opening the paths before us.  In the 4-1/2 months since we have been back, we have been in 24 States.   The variety of beautiful landscape God has created has given us many opportunities to say, "What a great Creator we serve!"  While in California, we were able to enjoy walking and wading in the Pacific Ocean.  I love to feel the warm sand beneath my feet as I walk the beach and watch the power of the waves.  One of our friends was stung by a stingray the week after we were with them at the very same place we had been to.  One of my favorite things to do is to pet stingrays at the aquarium, but I do not want to experience their sting! Pacific Ocean Poppy Flowers In Bloom In Northern California we enjoyed forests, lakes, and hiking trails.   Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park Glacier Point Idaho surprised us with a beautiful canyon right ...

Part of furlough for a missionary is living out of a suitcase and sleeping in several different places each week.  Sometimes the church has a mission's apartment.  Sometimes we stay with a family.   Sometimes we stay in motels.  Even though so many businesses closed during the COVID restrictions, motels were considered essential and have remained opened.  However, their service has greatly changed.   One of the things our children look forward to while traveling is the motel breakfasts.   Our first meeting, which was a mission's conference, they thoroughly enjoyed the pancakes, eggs, biscuits and gravy,  yogurt, cereal, bagels, juice and coffee.  But then....COVID happened, and all changed.    So what does a motel breakfast on COVID restriction look like?  We have noticed a trend - if it is a nicer motel then there will be no breakfast of any kind served.  The middle class motels will serve a sack breakfast with water, gra...

Our Engagement - New Year's Eve at Midnight 1992 One of the things Keith and I pray daily for is godly mates for our children.  Our prayer and desire is to see our children continue to grow in their Christian life after they leave our home and to marry someone who will help them accomplish more for God. Rachel - A Beautiful Lady Inside and Out With help from his Grandpa, our son Shane was introduced to Rachel in 2018.  She took several of Dad's classes at West Coast Baptist College and became better acquainted with Shane through FaceTime, texting, and phone calls.  (Shane lives in Ohio, and Rachel was in California.)  After graduating from college, Rachel accepted a position at Hope Children's Home in New Mexico. Rachel said, "YES!" Their relationship blossomed into an engagement on Christmas Day 2019.  On our way from Texas to California, we were blessed with a couple of extra days to meet the lady who stole our son's heart. We are exci...

MONTH 2 What a change the COVID-19 restrictions have made to our furlough.  This has to be a record for the amount of time we have spent at our home church.  But God is taking such good care of us.  We have a great place to stay, friends to be with (at a distance), and great online devotionals and messages to listen to from our home church.  A great blessing to me has been to hear our pastor's wife teach the Ladies Bible Study each week.  Normally, these aren't put on our livestream, so Shae-Lynn and I have really been enjoying hearing Mrs. Kim. I made this to keep in our Bibles to remember one of my favourite lessons Kim taught. Yes, we have had cancellations even though we are in Texas where churches are exempt from restrictions.  Pastors are still being very careful and moving with wisdom to avoid the preaching of the Gospel being blamed for any outbreaks.  Several of the churches that cancelled have still sent a love offering, and we tha...

It's Furlough Time! 2020 COVID-19 FURLOUGH! That means I might be able to start blogging again - fast wifi and extra time with everything shut down.    Since it has been a long time since I have been on the blog,  I will be doing some flashbacks just to keep a record of events.   I print my blog into books, as my kids love to look through them and reminisce. But before a flashback...let's look at the current month - March 2020. On March 2, we left Uganda -- which was a big deal for Shae-Lynn and Shiloh as they will not be returning with us in 2021.   Siblings waiting for the first flight As we had our last Cafe Java's meal (our favourite restaurant in Uganda), the manager, who knows us so very well, brought out a going-away dessert for us to enjoy.   Manager's gift to us What a great start for our journey - a sweet blessing for us.  We are very thankful that we got through airports before all the panic...