Our red-head goes to the Philippines

So after months of preparation, prayers, and philanthropic enterprises, the day finally arrived.

{You can read the first post about her adventures here.}

It was Thursday morning, April 30, 2015. 

The day Lexi's mission team was heading to the Philippines on an 18-hour journey.

Her dad and I had been planning this day for several weeks now.

Her flight was scheduled to leave from Dallas heading to Hong Kong at noon.
I mentioned this to her dad and asked if there was any way he could break away from work for a couple hours, or go in late, or trade with someone so he could go with us to say goodbye.
He asked around and figured out a way to work from 5 am to 9 am thus enabling him to get home

in time for us to get her there a couple hours before departure time. 

We would even have time to pick up Grandma Brough too!

Perfect.

The only possible hitch was if someone called in that morning thus requiring my husband to make up the difference in staffing.

But the chances were slim.

We were very excited when we went to bed Wednesday evening.

She was completely packed, ready to go.

Imagine our utter dismay when we were jolted out of bed by the phone ringing at 2 am.

Immediately, we thought my husband was being called into work, or worse yet, being alerted that indeed someone HAD called in, and he wasn't going to be able to go to the airport with us.

Instead, it was the mission team leader.

He was calling us because he had just spent hours on the phone with the airlines re-booking their flight.
As he was double-checking everything before going to bed Wednesday evening, he noticed that their flight from Hong-Kong to Manila had been changed to an earlier arrival time meaning they would have missed that flight.
There were no other flights out the day they were arriving which meant a 24-hour or more layover in Hong-Kong.  No one from the airlines had bothered letting him know of that change, so it was absolutely God's providence that he noticed it when he did.
He was able to book a new departing flight, but it was much earlier on Thursday morning.
Instead of leaving around 12 pm, they were now departing at 9:30 am!!!!!
As I lay there in the bed at 2 am trying to process this, it hit me.
Oh man, we're going to have to leave the house by 7:00 am.  And hit the highway at rush hour.
And get up by 6 am.....and my husband will be working.
He won't be able to go now.

After things settled down a bit, I was reminded of this scripture verse:

"People make plans in their minds 

{human hearts plan their path},

but the Lord decides what they will do

 {establishes their step.}"

Proverbs 16:9

Everything worked out.
We got her to the airport on time.
Not with the Brough Family Entourage we had originally planned, but that's ok.
Instead of a straight-through flight from Dallas to Hong-Kong, they would now have a lay-over in Los Angeles.  I really liked that idea!!
We saw how the Lord knew this was going to happen and had it all worked out for us before we even knew there needed to be a change.
It gave us even more peace that He was watching over her, He was going with Her, and that she would be safe.

To be continued.......

A tale of two birthdays

Once upon a time........

Two brothers celebrated the completion of yet another voyage around the sun.

The oldest brother was celebrating his 13th trip.

 He was not a very materialistic chap, and could only think of one thing that he reeeeeeally

wanted for this momentous birthday.

The other brother was celebrating his 9th trip around the sun.
By the time his birthday rolled around in late May,

the rain had been coming,
in record amounts.

This guy didn't have a lot of requests either, but he DID ask specifically for a special lunch.

We ran through raindrops.

These were the last two birthdays of our family's spring "birthday season,"

and though we couldn't go swimming in May on Garrett's birthday as in other years

because of the massive rain and flooding all month, we were excited for the things

to come for these boys in the upcoming summer!!!!

What our high schooler is up to

Some 17-year olds like to participate in band at school because they are passionate about the instrument they play.
Others love the exhilaration of athletic competition.
So they compete in high school soccer, or baseball, or softball, or football.
They start driving........

some get a job......

others help out at community volunteer organizations.

Two  years ago, as our oldest started up her freshman year of high school, she was presented with an amazing opportunity.
The youth group at our church took a mission trip to Ghana, West Africa.
She wanted to go.
We swallowed down our fears and hesitations and let her go.

You can read about her journey there here.


Last summer another opportunity opened up for her to go to the mountains of Mexico.
She went with a veteran missionary who grew up on the mission field there and who took his daughter with him, our daughter's friend.

Lexi loves to study language and cultures.
Next year, her senior year, she will be taking her 4th year of Spanish.
She couldn't wait to try to use some of that on the field in Mexico.

These have been life-changing events for her.
They are shaping her future.

They are shaping ours.

This year, right now, as I'm writing this, our girl is in on the Philippine Islands in Manila.
Our church now takes two short-term missions trips every year.
When she heard the trips in 2015 would be to the Philippines and to Guatamala,  she immediately asked if we would allow her to do both.

Both?!

Another deep breath.
We trusted the Lord who put this in her heart, and He has supplied in the most miraculous of ways.

She sold some art and wrote some letters and God supplied!!

Both trips paid for by April 1!!!
Pure miracles.

More to come.......

When you think you really don't have anything to give

She said she didn't have anybody.

Nobody??

How could a young lady, 10 days overdue, have nobody to go with her during her labor and delivery?

Tomorrow.

In my mind, I looked around facetiously, and thought, 

"There are seriously no other takers here?  I could go?"

When I got home from the safehouse that afternoon, I mentioned this to my police-officer

husband.  He said casually,

"Well, are you going to go with her?"

Maybe this was an opportunity.

It had been several weeks since I was needed to teach the parenting class

at the safehouse, and I was feeling a bit apprehensive.

The last group of girls there had been, let's say, less than enthusiastic about parenting class.

Sometimes, they aren't very open to new ideas, God's thoughts about children.

I could see them snicker together and roll their eyes.

I prayed for grace that afternoon as I returned, to keep my heart open.

When I volunteered at the safehouse for pregnant, homeless women a couple years ago,

I was stepping into unchartered waters.....for me anyway.

This wasn't like anything I had ever done before.

But I had been reading Ann Voskamp's book, 

One Thousand Gifts.

It absolutely changed my life.

I was struck with this:

"Christian hands never clasp,

and He doesn't give gifts for gain,

because a gift can never stop being a gift -
a gift is always meant to be given..."

~One Thousand Gifts

When I started looking, really looking, and counting  how much God gives

me so lavishly every day, I realized that I must have something to be able

to share with these women.  It may not be monetary, I didn't have a lot of leftover time,

but I have been loved so much by Him.

I could at least share that.

In opening my hands to receive what He gives me every day,

 I realized I had morethan enough, spilling over in fact, to share!!

So I went.

Just to see where I could meet a need.

I started as the craft lady.

Within a year, they needed a parenting class teacher more than they needed

a craft class teacher, and I guess they thought I might fit the bill.

It's always amazing how much more I receive from those girls than I could ever give them.

I always left more blessed.

That evening, after speaking about this situation with my husband, I called my Mom

who lives about 5 states away.

To my surprise, she asked the very same question,

"Well, are you going to go with her? 

 You've certainly been down that road before."

I told her I was willing, but thought I might wait for another sign.

I don't know what I was imagining that "sign" might be, but I called the safehouse the next morning

to see if anyone else had stepped up, and that if no one else would go with her, 

I would volunteer.

They all were delighted.

There was my sign.

I was in.

Deep breath!

"Lord, I'm not sure this is what I had in mind when I started at the safehouse so long ago!!"

She was to be induced that evening at 8 pm.

When I got there, she was all set up, and comfortable.

The gel had been applied and now all we could do was wait.

She told she was running from an abusive relationship.

Her family was fractured hundreds of miles away.

Now, she had no one.

When I was confident the baby was not arriving that night,

and she was trying to sleep,

 I went back to my home

to rest up for what I knew was coming the next day.

She texted me at 5 am,

"I am in labor."

We went the whole day without much progress.

By 9 pm that evening, I looked like this.

Talk about unchartered waters.

Having an amazing opportunity just drop into your lap.

Watching God do something amazing with your 2 little fish and 5 measly loaves?

I held my breath with her as I held her hand.

And then this: 

......a gorgeous little boy.

I held out my hands, opened,

and I was allowed to be among the very first to hold him.

To introduce him to his Mama.

Whoever imagines that?

That opening your hands to God you get to participate in a moment like this?!

We went back to check up on them just as soon as we could!

 Oh, the joy, the wonder of His gifts that just keep on coming....

when we open our hands and say, "Yes, Lord!"

Celebrating 19 years

My delightful, teddy-bear-of-a-husband decided to surprise me for 

our anniversary this year.

I was right smack in the middle of teaching a drama class at our children's

homeschool program (co-op) when he showed up with these!!!

We really didn't make huge exotic plans for celebrating this year, 

so the flowers were such a lovely surprise.

And my favorite color!!

We did take the time to enjoy an evening out sans children.

Dinner and a movie might seem too overused for an anniversary celebration

for some couples, but we NEVER get to do this.

We had been wanting to try this amazing restaurant just around the corner

from us, and we were not disappointed!!

Yummo!!

It's hard to believe that it has been 19 years since our wedding day.

But I am truly blessed to get to do life with this sweet man!!

A new 15-year old

April, historically, keeps us busy.

We celebrate no less than 3 birthdays in our immediate family,

2 birthdays in our extended family, 

 and our wedding anniversary in a 12-day span of time.

Toss in Resurrection Sunday some years during that two weeks

and it seems we're celebrating a different event every day!!

We sort of think of it as our 2nd "Christmas season."

Our second daughter celebrates her birthday first.

This year she turned 15.

Not unlike any other family in the world, it is very obvious to us how

much each of our children are unique and different from each other.

They all have the same parents, the same set of genes to pull from,

yet none of them are alike or even close in personality to the others.

"There is one glory of the sun,

and another glory of the moon,

and another glory of the stars:

for one star differs from another star in glory."

~ I Corinthians 15:41

When I stand and gaze up at the black sky, full of stars,

and take in the wonder of the galaxy as a whole,

it initially looks like a great swath of identical creations.

Each very similar to it's neighboring, shimmering, celestial body.

But even our Intelligent Designer's diary, His guide book reveals to us

that each star is uniquely different from the other.

They each have a different purpose, a different design.

Each is a glorious, breathtaking star, yes.

But each has it's own characteristics that make it irreplaceable in the picture as a whole.

Our second daughter has a charm and sweetness that is all her own.

She has a curiosity about the world around her that none of her other siblings have.

Her calm and gentle nature attracts those who are not because it has a soothing

effect on them.

She enjoys working with small children. 

She has the patience for that.

She has endured no less than 3 extended hospital stays in her short life

for completely different, random issues,

but she has always handled those times with grace and perseverance.

We can't wait to see what God is going to do with this young lady's life.

He clearly has a design and purpose for it, and is preparing her

to do mighty things for Him!

We have been so blessed to have her as a part of our family for the last

15 years!!

Happy birthday, Ashlyn!!