wowzerssss

WELL, i have been more than neglectful with my blog... yikes... BUT, to be fair we have had a whole, life turned upside down, last few kind of months! Moving half way around the world, starting a new job, starting rent and all those good things again, AND having our 3rd beautiful baby boy... 5wks early! AH! So, that has been my MIA excuse.... haha, for sure. With all the *new beginnings and new life, we are truly excited, and feel soooo blessed! We LOVE the church we are working with, doing Young Adults ministry, we LOVE this area, Lancaster, PA, and LOVE being near our family once again, we also LOVE our new little son, Ezra. Soooo, WHAT a blessed life we have! YES, i wont lie, it has, and can be very stressful at times... but once i have my "oh yeahhh" moment, and give all my worries and cares to Jesus, i remember, in a much clearer mind set, that God is STILL, and has been, in control. My life is not "me" centered, its all about bringing glory to His name, and to His fame. MAN, what a constant mind redirect we need to conduct to have this be the daily goal...

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need i say more??

Isaiah 49:1-4

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor." But I said, "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God."

Need i say more???

Read this last night, as was like, whoa.... for real....

I mean, dosent this just describe our "little adventure?"

This verse read me like a book....

.need i say more.

yummmmm, peace......

peace... i cant WAIT for peace..... moving half way around the world once in a lifetime is ONCE enough, but, twice, in a short amount of time should be illegal... ha, to say the least. Can i just say, that when i start up home, again, i am buying BIG, HEAVY, things, and i WONT be thinking "Who could i pass this on to..." or "Will this fit in a suitcase?" NO WAY, i am done, completed, stick a fork in me, COOKED, lol.... I have also found that being supported financially by ways of a missionary title is great, but it can have some fall backs. I think it gives people the idea that they have a certain amount of control on your families decisions. OK, i can see if we were buying big and extravagant, YES, the spending should be questioned, haha, BUT, making decisions about your family, is the families decision, ESPECIALLY when the family is a family that would not make hasty decisions, or make a decision without prayer... am i right? We have been blessed with a great church that has supported us in this ministry and in our family.
Sometimes i feel like i am stuck in a sticky web, and either way i move multiply parts of the web move, and pull and twist. 3 wks is all we have left here in New Zealand... and I WISH this part of the web didnt leave so much rip and tear, on our family, on me, and on Bryce... there are no regrets about us coming here, i just just wish it would have ended with a better taste on our tongue. so peace is what i am craving at the moment.... yummmmy yummmmy peace :)

the short and sweet

SO, how to begin...

As ya'll know we have been living in New Zealand since December 10th, when we chose as a family to fly over, selling house and home and leaving everything to serve at a camp along a beautiful beach. Its been fun, its been HARD, its been up and its been down. With many circumstances playing into our family decision, we are coming home to the States the beginning of August this year. YES, next month. I know many of our friends and family have ideas, and agendas of what we should be doing, but we know this is the right move for our family. We are very grateful for SOO many of you pouring support into our family, through prayer, support and finances. We would NOT have made it without the support from our home church, Community Christian Fellowship, and the help from Warrenton Bible Fellowship, month by faithful month. We know without a shadow of a doubt that moving here was the right decision, and we are so glad that we listened and followed. We have no regrets. This was an important season of our life, another chapter added to the Taylor Family Adventures. We are not "giving up" we are not running from hard circumstances, we are simply doing what is best for our family, our family of 4 and growing. THANK you all for the love and support you have shown, I pray that none of you will take personal offence to our decision. We would NOT have made this decision without a lot of prayer. SO, for the next adventure, right around the corner, we would LOVE it if you still poured out prayer for our family. We have a lot of loose ends to close, and many decisions to be made. Till we meet again!! The Taylor Family :)

there is only 1

One year ago today, July 1st 2009, Miles at just 3yrs old, our baby, our first born, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

I thought he might have a UTI, so i scheduled a Dr's appointment, to test for a UTI, and a blood sugar test for the RARE chance it could be anything different. Our schedule that day meant that i had to go by myself, Levi was just a few days away from turning 1, Bryce stayed home with him, and Miles and I shot out at 8am to the Dr.'s. "We'll be right back!" I said as I jetted out the door, to a "routine" visit... or so i thought.

I shared with the Dr. my concerns that had alerted me for the last 2 weeks. Miles was extremely thirsty all the time, and went to the bathroom more than normal. The Dr. got the little blood sugar checker, picked his finger, and dipped the little stick in his blood. Then we waited... I remember asking: "Soooo, is this the test? Will i know now??? Do we send anything off to a lab?" And she said, "No, we will know now." The number read 207. I asked, "Is that ok??" "No, she said, thats high..." "Soooo, thats it??" I kept asking. Realising that our life as we knew it just changed... in about 5 seconds.... The Dr. started crying, in sympathy for us, as i just sat there staring off, as she was telling me to take him to the Hospital, they have will have a bed ready for him. I remember calling Bryce on the way home, telling him to call someone to babysit Levi, because it sounded like we would be in the hospital for a few days. The rest was a blur, i quickly packed a little over night bag for Miles, gathered a few toys, and gave him some breakfast not knowing what to do food wise. The hospital, that we had never been to, was over an hour away. It was a horrible drive, not knowing what had just happened. We called my parents, and they were on their way from PA, a 4 hr trip, to take care of Levi. We got to the hospital, and went in the emergency section. Miles had an IV put in, and numerous amounts of blood taken. We did a urine test, that showed his sugar levels were in the 700's. The numerous Dr's we saw kept asking us in amazement, "how did we know to get his sugar checked??" They were shocked that we caught it so early, and that Miles was still in good health. ((Most parents will find their child in a coma, and thats when they will find out they had diabetes...)) All i could really say was.. "My mom spotted it." She somehow knew that frequent urination and extreme thirst was a sign. If it wasn't for my mom, i am sure that we would never had caught it that early... The next day and a half in the hospital was lived in pure shock... as we learned that our son could never eat again without us checking his sugar and injecting insulin in his body. I felt angry. I felt like I had no control. I felt like it was a cruel joke. "Can someone please wake me up? This is not whats suppost to happen." I was heartbroken knowing that everyday I would have to cause my son pain. My baby now had a "chronic disease." I have never cried as much, or prayed as much, as i did that first night in the hospital, sleeping in a chair next to my baby boy. I cried out during that night: "LORD, wake up his pancreas! I DONT except this!!! Heal him!!"

I was crushed.

BUT, here we are, 1 year later. And we have survived. We have conquered. We have triumphed. We have won. No, the Lord hasn't woken up his pancreas, yet, but i know one day He will. Maybe not in the way i am picturing, or imagining, but one day, either here on earth or in Heaven, Miles will be healed. THAT, my friend, is a 100% guarantee.

Miles has numerous finger pricks a day to check his sugar levels. These readings are displayed by numbers. First we had to learn the American number system, then the New Zealand. And trust me, they are very very different. He has 4 insulin shots a day, 1 for every meal, and 1 at nighttime. Numbers are a big part of our day. The time of day, counting carbs, the amount of insulin to inject, the readings on his sugar checker.... numbers, numbers, numbers!! Ironically, i HATE math, so this is just plain funny. But, the only number i need to keep remembering, is 1. Just, one.

There is only 1 true God, and HE is in control. He has the answers. He is our hope. He is our strength. I dont know what the future holds with Miles and his diabetes, but what i do know, is that my ONE true God will never change, never let me down, never look at Miles diabetes as "too much." He is the constant. There is only 1, only 1 true God. And, I am so glad to give him this burden, and turn it into an amazing testimony of our 1 true God's faithfulness.

Our MAY Newsletter!

"So much has happened since January when our last news letter was written that a starting point is hard to pinpoint! Has it really been 6 months since we got on that plane destined for New Zealand?! Did we really sell off our possessions, and just ‘go?’ It’s hard to believe, but yes, it has been 6 months, and we did get rid of EVERYTHING!! But what we have gained has been so much more.
January started out with a surprise, as we found out that we were going to have another child!! As the months have rolled on, we now know that we will be welcoming our 3rd son into our lives, and we couldn’t be any happier! February Bryce celebrated his 28th birthday, and March followed with Miles starting preschool. April was filled with BUNNIES, as we welcomed 2 little rabbits into our adventure. May is still blossoming, with the highlight on the 10th where Miles turned 4!! Now, in between those gaps of birthdays, bunnies and baby to come, CAMP has taken over our lives!! Ha-ha, I say this with humor, because humor can lighten many loads.
Camp life has been “full on,” taking every spare moment and consuming. Bryce works approximately 60hrs a week. 6 to 7 hrs of a DAY is filled with dishes, dishes and more dishes. ((needless to say I am in charge of dishes on the home front)) If you were to ask us if this is what we had envisioned or expected, we would be honest and say “No.” We are lonely, without a church, friendless, and over worked. And did I mention all this in a foreign country?! There are days we want to throw in the towel and head back to cozy VA… to once again feel surrounded by family and friends. We have been stretched and pulled to points of breaking, but we know God has us here for a reason. And until that reason is fulfilled this is where we will be. Since we have been here, our view has changed on why we are here, specifically at this camp. We both came into this ministry thinking camp life would be IT for us, and it IS to an extent. We are seeing how Bryce’s gifts in marketing and his great connection with people “in charge” will put this camp in the position it NEEDS to keep it going for years to come. This is our new vision. Maybe not to be the “leaders” of this awesome camp, but to inspire, push and challenge the camp to go from good to GREAT! To go from being unknown in its own community, to becoming a vital outreach point and refuge for ministries throughout Auckland, New Zealand, and the South Pacific!!
Please continue to keep us in your prayers for many decisions that need to be made. We have felt so blessed by all of our family back home, and saying we miss ya’ll is an understatement. Your prayers are felt, and the miracles we see, and the daily provision, is more than reassuring to us that we are indeed in the right place for the right time. Whether great or small, our time here in New Zealand, know that we will take, by his grace, every opportunity to be used by Him to be an impact! Thank you all for getting, and keeping us here. We love every one of you. Till we meet again!! All our love."

(There are also Printed copies of this newsletter with some other pictures,

in the foyer at CCF!!)

Easter

Many, almost ALL my friends and family that i grew up with celebrated Easter in SOME way. The Easter bunny, church with white gloves and new shoes, an egg shaped kegger, picnics, cooked ham, and of course CHOCOLATE... lots n lots of chocolate... I think i can even remember selling Niagara chocolate as a fund raiser around Easter every year as a kid in elementary school! ..weird... But, in all those Easter Tradition memories i dont reallllly remember anything that stands out.. nothing that shaped my life into what it is now... Of course growing up in a believing Christian home we talked about what Easter truly means, and we knew even as little kids it was NOT about a big dumb bunny.. but... there was never really a STAND OUT, miracle took place, SHOUT IT TO THE WORLD, kind-of Easter Sunday... And ya know.. i dont even think i know how to make it that for my family today! And as hard as i could try, i cant make it "special." Nothing i do can make it more 'stand out' more amazing, or more true than it already is. And maybe it just takes that ONE time, when we become a believer, for that awe struck experience of what our Lord did for us! After that revelation, i guess it doesn't need to be over the top, we just have to accept that love, that truth and believe.

And when you know of what belief and believing is, its ALL or NOTHING. right?

Soo, isnt that (believing) all out already?? isnt your belief already an action??

...maybe it is... maybe it is... got ya thinking.. right?? :) ...jjjjust what i wanted...