Father's Day

Last Father’s Day, I started a new tradition for the boys that I hope to continue each year. In light of the fact that Alex and Jensen will one day be fathers (Lord willing), I get them a gift for Father’s Day. Some years they will get the traditional fatherly gift i.e. last year they each got their first watch. This year, I decided to get them something a little different.

I was thinking about what a great dad Erik was. He was such a “hands on” dad. Some of you know this, but when Alex was born I think an entire week went by before I actually changed his diaper for the first time. Erik also LOVED playing with the boys. He loved having fun and was so fantastic with children in general.

So this year, I got the boys a gift they could have fun with to remember that their father loved to have fun with them. They were absolutely thrilled when they opened their double barrel water guns. What fun they have had with them! Oh, how Erik would have loved getting to blast them with water guns!

I also spent some time talking to the boys about how their dad loved Jesus more than anything. Although he was fun, it was his love for Jesus that made Him a good dad.

I know Father’s Day is over, but to all the dads out there………Go have fun with you kids because you can and because life is a gift!

Old King Cole

Last Friday, Alex’s school had their annual spring parade. Each class creatively displayed some portion of their curriculum as they marched in the parade. Alex’s grade learned nursery rhymes this year, and each child dressed up as their chosen rhyme. Alex picked Old King Cole. Not surprising. He does love to be a king. He also loves an audience, so marching in a parade while wearing a king costume was quite a thrill for him.

As you know, the rhyme begins with, “Old King Cole was a merry old soul and a merry old soul was he.” As Alex was walking in the parade and waving to the crowds, he had such a look of delight on his face. The rhyme he chose was very appropriate. He was merry indeed.

It struck me how much the Lord has worked in his heart. Two years ago he was a very angry, sad little boy. By God’s grace he is flourishing and full of zeal. He certainly has his sad days where he misses his dad. Unfortunately, the pain will always be there. He will always miss his dad, BUT God has brought healing where there is hurt and laughter where there is pain.

Thanking God for his power to bring comfort and care to those who ache, especially my sweet children.



Alex painted this in Kindergarten. It's Georgia O'Keeffe's, Poppy

Saying goodbye

The boys and I have officially moved out of our house. It was an emotional week leading up to the big move. My boys had a very difficult time seeing everything packed up. There were lots of tears shed, my own included.

It’s the first house Erik and I ever owned. We bought it together when Alex was about 6 months. I remember the first time we painted the house with its tall cathedral ceilings. We had most of it painted when I decided that the color was a little too dark. You should have seen the look on Erik’s face when I asked him to repaint it all a shade lighter. He reluctantly consented.

So many wonderful memories of love, laughter and life keep flooding my mind. That home truly was a provision from the Lord. There have been many, MANY loving hands serving our family over the years since Erik’s death. Whether it was making a meal, cleaning, watching the boys, repairing something that was broken, or countless other ways people have served us. And did I forget to mention the extreme home makeover!

I wonder if Abraham felt like I do when God called him to pick up and leave everything. Scared, anxious, hopeful? I believe the Lord has directed us to move, but we still have not found a home close to campus.

In the meantime, we are staying with my mom. I am thankful to have a place to live while we wait. Now that we are out of the house, everyone is doing really well. The boy’s love being at Grandma’s, and it feels like a relief to have moved. So for now, we continue to wait and trust the Lord.

Zambia and Moffat

This is Moffat and he is an orphan living in Zambia. A friend of mine named Larry and his family traveled to Zambia last summer with Campus Crusade. They became connected with the orphanage that Moffat lives in and started a partnership with them to help assist their needs. The children of this orphanage are so precious and have captured my heart.

Here is a bit of Moffat's story (written by Larry).

Moffat was born in slums of Lusaka. When he was one week old, a film developed over his right eye and without access to proper medical care, the eye became blind. When he was 8 years old, his father left the family and abandoned him. His mother is ill. I have never met her, and I’m not sure what her illness is, but everyone has described her to me as “sickly”. Moffat’s mother was unable to care for him and he was brought to the orphanage last year. In recent months, it has become evident that Moffat is rapidly losing vision in his left eye. He can barely see, and it is to the point where he cannot read.

In this society, if Moffat goes completely blind, he will have no future. He will have no hope of employment, and will not be able to do anything by himself. The dirt roads in his neighborhood are uneven and full of holes. He won’t be able to walk anywhere and won’t have a seeing eye dog. His education will be over. This may not be avoidable, and this may be God’s plan for Moffat, however, if there is any chance that we can help him, I want to try. We are hoping to bring Moffat to the U.S. for possible eye surgery.

One of the hurdles with this is getting a clear diagnosis to even understand if surgery can possibly correct his problem. Another hurdle is getting the Zambian government’s permission to bring Moffat here. This week has been full for Elina (the director of the orphanage) as she has tried to move the process along. She has taken Moffat to several doctor appointments and tried to get doctors to sign letters giving their approval. Approval must also be received from the Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner of Oaths, and the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs (and probably others). Each of these have been met with various roadblocks and fees (bribes).
If all of this could be worked out, we would like to consider having Moffat return with us at the end of this summer.

Please pray for Moffat!

Egg stand

Last weekend, the boys and I were painting Easter eggs and Alex came up with a unique idea. He enthusiastically said, “Mom I’m going to have an egg stand and sell all these eggs!”. My immediate response, which I kept to myself was, “No one is going to buy those eggs”. I mean, to me they were beautiful because Alex and Jensen painted them, but the average person probably wouldn’t think they were all that special (let alone pay money for them). I’m glad I kept my thoughts to myself.

There was something inside of me that said, DO NOT squelch his ideas. Encourage him and let him do this. So, we made a sign saying, Easter eggs .25 cents. (Alex wanted to sell each egg for $10, but I convinced him to drop the price significantly.)

As soon as we were all set up, someone immediately drove by and stopped. I couldn’t believe it. We had been outside for a mere 30 seconds. He took two eggs and gave the boys a dollar. You should have seen the look on Alex and Jensen’s faces. Absolute delight!

One woman who drove by bought two of the eggs that were cracked and broken. Unbelievable! It made her day to buy two cracked eggs made by a six and four year old. I foresee many an egg stand in our future.

When all was said and done, they sold every single egg and made $6.50. What a precious memory to make! What a reminder to me that God loves us even if we feel like there’s nothing special about us. It is the ordinary, the messy, and the broken to whom He pours out His love!

Homeless?

It looks like the Steffens could possibly be moving by the end of April. I received a really good offer on our house last week. I know it’s not official until closing, but if everything goes as planned, we could be moving soon. That said, we might be homeless for a little while. We still haven’t found a house for us to move into. I have looked at what seems like a million homes, but for one reason or another they haven’t been the right fit for us. Will you pray that the Lord will give wisdom regarding a house for us close to Butler and that He will make it clear?

Speaking of Butler, how about those Dawgs!

Broken

The boys and I just returned from Panama City, Florida. It was Butler’s spring break, and we took a group of CRU students to a conference in Florida. We had a great week with the students!

All three Steffens love the beach for different reasons. I love walking on the beach, watching sunsets, listening to the sound of waves crashing. Jensen loves digging in the sand. Alex loves being under the water any chance he gets. He also loves looking for seashells.

Throughout the week, Alex would grab his bucket and walk up and down the beach looking for treasures. Mind you, Panama City isn’t known for its seashells. That didn’t bother him. He filled his bucket with anything that looked remotely like a seashell. It didn’t even matter if it was broken. I tried to encourage him to look for shells that weren’t broken, but he didn’t listen. I asked him why he liked the broken pieces and his response was, “Mom, they are beautiful, and I like them.”

I’m glad that God doesn’t respond to our brokenness like I did to Alex’s shells. In Romans 5:8, Paul says, “Even while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” God sees the broken pieces in all of us and says I love you and I will make you whole! I’m thankful that He doesn’t just toss me aside like the broken seashells that I wanted to throw away. He makes something beautiful out my mess!