Resurrecting the blog

Hello friends, If we're facebook friends, you may have seen that I recently posted the following verses from 2 Corinthians 4... Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. These verses were such a great reminder to me on having proper perspective. It is all too easy to be self-absorbed and feel consumed by our troubles. Althoug,h we can easily look around and see people who have much more difficult troubles than we do. We can also think that there are some who seem to have no trouble at all! The point is, what we see with our physical eyes and even what we often experience with our emotions is temporary and fleeting. There's a whole other world around us that we cannot see physically, but that is even more real and much more important in the grand scheme of things! Overall, our family is doing well. Lizzy recently returned from 9 weeks in the wilderness! She attended the Alaska Crossings program and really thrived there. Being home, surrounded by old stressors and triggers is tough, but we trust that He who began a good work in her will be faithful to complete it. Please pray for Lizzy to not feel overwhelmed and to be able to get caught up with the month of schoolwork she missed while she was gone. Especially, we ask that you would pray that when she does feel overwhelmed, she would turn her eyes toward Jesus and let Him carry her through. Heaviest on my heart right now, is our Rylea girl. It sometimes feels like this one has had more than her fair share of things to deal with but again, we trust that God is using these difficult things in her life to achieve for her an eternal glory that far outweighs all of her troubles. Most of you probably remember when Rylea was losing hearing rapidly and without any medical explanation. The drs were never able to find a cause for her hearing loss, but it does seem that for the time, her hearing has stabilized and she can cope quite well with her hearing aids and other accommodations. Well, now Rylea is losing her eyesight. It's not something that a stronger glasses prescription can help. I really don't understand it AT ALL but even though Rylea has a very low glasses prescription, she just can't focus or see well and it seems to be getting worse and worse. The drs have done all kinds of tests, but are just at a loss as to what is going on. I feel like both the hearing loss and now the loss of vision have strong spiritual ties, which again, I really don't understand but I would like to ask you to intercede for Rylea in prayer. I just have a picture in my mind of all of us coming from places all around the globe and meeting at the foot of God's Throne, and as one mighty voice, crying out for healing and restoration!!! Other than that, we're just working on getting our in-floor heating system installed before winter really hits (it was 26 degrees F here this morning!). School is in full-swing with volleyball season just starting up and kids growing like weeds and eating like horses :) We've got 5 teenagers in the house now and our "baby" turns 5 years old in just a few weeks. God is Good, all the time. Much love, Leo, Menda and Crew