Hello, my friends! This year, I’m attempting (not promising, but attempting!) to give a family/ministry update every few months, instead of just at Christmas. One thing I realized when I started blogging is that my readers very quickly went from being friends to family. You pray for me, my boys, and my writing ministry like we are your own, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your prayers!

In light of that, I’ll try to keep you updated on our happenings. I’ll also share what God has been teaching me as of late.

We’ll start with Kristoffer. (Because he’s the oldest, and that’s logical.) 🙂 As I mentioned on Facebook, Kris suffered a major setback this semester. His ear condition worsened, with his headaches and ear pain skyrocketing. As a result, he has not been able to complete his sophomore year at Pensacola Christian College. He’s been home for a couple weeks now.

Even with this setback, Kris has a great attitude. We are hoping and praying to find a solution so he can return to PCC this Fall. Thank you to all who have been praying for Kris. He sees an ear specialist near the end of March, and we are praying for a breakthrough. (And although it’s sad he had to leave college, we are enjoying this extra time with him!)

One big plus is that Kris will be able to assist with our school’s drama program in May. This is a huge amount of work for our drama teacher, and Kris is eager to help. Although he had to forego his part in Pensacola’s Fine Arts production this semester, Kris’ expertise will really help lift the load here. (There’s our first devotional thought for this post. God may call you away from something you really want to do, to have you do something that’s “smaller” but just as needed!) 🙂

On to Kyle! I may get a bit teary here. Last week he played his final basketball game on his home court. As we travel through the last months of his senior year, I feel a mixture of both nostalgia (where did the time go?) and excitement for the future as Kyle seeks God’s will for his life.

I still remember Kyle’s first basketball game when we arrived in America five years ago. He had absolutely no clue what he was doing…lol! 🙂 Our basketball coach asked if Kyle could play that first week, since he was short on players. I agreed, but warned him Kyle didn’t even know the rules.

During that first game, Coach called instructions from the sidelines. Through hard work and a lot of hustling, Kyle went from a beginner at age 13, to breaking records at 18. But Kyle is quick to tell you it’s just a game, and his testimony on the court is more important than his skill. (And there’s our second lesson. Don’t let inexperience keep you from trying something new. You never know the things God will do through you when you dedicate your skills and talents to Him.)

And that brings us to Kaden, who turns 16 in a few weeks. As I told you in our Christmas update, he planned to start a Christian comedy channel on YouTube. He did that, and wow—it’s been quite the adventure! I also told you I’d post the link to his channel, and since I promised, I will deliver. 🙂

We all agree his funniest video so far is CPR Catastrophe. I had the honor of acting as a paramedic in this sketch, and I’ll have to say, it’s been the highlight of my acting career. Lol! You can watch it here. (The bloopers are the best part!)

There is one downside to your son starting a comedy channel/vlog—you just never know when you’ll walk into a room and—Bam! You’re on camera! However, he does run all the footage by me before he posts it. 🙂 (Okay, I’m struggling to come up with a devotional thought for Kaden’s part of this update. Hmmmmm…..oh wait! Live authentically, because you never know who might be watching. Or when your life might be caught on camera!)

It’s been a busy couple of months for me. I wrapped up the Home Economics class I taught to the high school boys in our Christian school. I’m happy to report there were no injuries or fires during class, and the food they cooked was excellent! 🙂

I’ve also enjoyed being “Mum” to our basketball team. (You haven’t really lived until you’ve been stuck in a van with a bunch of noisy guys on the back roads of Arkansas with a malfunctioning GPS. Good times!)

Here’s a few more fun photos from the past couple months:

A huge THANK YOU to all of you who prayed for me through the completion and launch of my first devotional book, Tales From Toddlers. (If you haven’t seen the book yet, you can take a peek here.) These past couple months, I’ve been learning (maybe I should say attempting to learn) the ins and outs of online marketing. I’m going to be perfectly honest with you here:

It’s been hard. Really hard. I’m so far out of my comfort zone I’m having trouble remembering what comfortable feels like.

But I’m going to keep on going, because I know—with absolute certainty—that God has called me to write. Not all the aspects of the writer’s life are coming easy for me. (Oh how I wish I could just WRITE, and get someone else to do all the “techy” stuff some days!)

And that brings us to our last devotional thought for today:

Some of the things within God’s will for you will come easy, and some will be hard. The difficult things will require perseverance, stamina, and the faith to keep going when it gets hard.

I don’t know what God has called you to do, or where you are in that journey today. But I want to encourage you to keep going, keep getting up when you fall, and keep trusting God.

It’s going to be worth it in the end!

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” {Galatians 6:9}

If you would like to pray for our family, here’s our latest prayer requests:

Kristoffer—for his specialist appointment in March to bring some answers and solutions for his ear condition.

Kyle—for God’s guidance as he completes his senior year of high school.

Kaden—for strength to finish this school year well.

Kim—wisdom in learning online marketing and growth of writing ministry. (If you’d like to help in this area, there’s a really simple way you can do that. If you’ve read my book and would like to leave a review on Amazon, I would really appreciate it! This will help get my book in front of more readers. Thank you! Just click here and scroll down to leave a review.)

Once again, thank you for your prayers, your kind encouragement through emails and comments, and your support of this ministry. YOU are the reason I do what I do! 🙂