The Armstrong 5

Here I am! I made it this far!! And I'm not throwing up, whew!

I'm actually really excited to go. I was too sick yesterday & last night to feel excited, but after deciding not to take the Malaria pills, I am feeling on the upswing & ready to enjoy this time. I feel so honored to get to do this - I certainly don't deserve it, but I'm going to make sure & really enjoy it!

Pray for continued health, travel safety & great bonding time with my team. Stay tuned tomorrow!

As my trip to Thailand fast approaches, it has been very difficult to gather my thoughts. Several people have asked me if I am excited... and I've said "Eh, not yet." Not because I am not actually excited, but I am not currently "feeling" excited. I think if you are a woman, you probably understand the frequency of emotions you feel not being reality :)

I have many things to set in order before I go. I still have many activities to attend & serve at, or be served to - including: speaking at a prayer summit, having a prayer time with our church's women's leadership, date night with Mark, date (and shopping) night with Kristi, meal preparation for while I am gone, having guests over for dinner, photo day with Dar, finishing organizing my babysitting help list, possible photo shoot for a wonderful family - yeah, it's a little crazy. But, one by one, things are getting knocked off the list.

I have almost everything I need. Well, I say that and am reminded that as long as I have Jesus, I have everything I need. It will be very humbling to try and tell desperately poor people that Jesus is all they need, when I often complain at home about not having what I need. But, in all honesty, I complain because things are not how I would prefer them, not because things don't work according to God's plan. So, on my trip, I will often be attempting to remind myself that I have Jesus and God's plan is being played out in my life, therefore, NO REASON TO FRET! I desperately want to trust Him more. And not just say that I trust, but feel that relaxed feeling of truly knowing He is in control for His good purposes to come about.

I was so blessed to hear the Word preached at our church this week. It was from Titus. God really encouraged me that I am on His path and to not let my desire to do more for Him get me discouraged, but to trust that it means I am following Him. I really felt humbled and blessed that He would encourage me in this way - it's a daily struggle for me to combat being drawn into the world and desiring earthly treasures. I just need to keep taking deep breaths and praying for His goodness to sink down into my heart.

I am excited to go. I'm nervous about the heat (I'm such a wimp, but I get so sweaty!!) even though it is really only going to be around 80 degrees and 80% humidity. :) Told you, wimp! I know that once I can see what it's like, it will be easier for me. I don't like to go into things without knowing what it will be like - this is the same reason why I generally despise buffets... too much unknown without instruction. But, this is not a buffet, and God knows everything and He will tell me what I need to know exactly when I need to know it.

You can pray that I can get everything lined up for my husband and children smoothly. I don't want to be a basket-case the week before I leave! Pray that the people in Thailand would see God clearly and see their need for Him. Pray that as people turn to Jesus, He would truly transform them and give them a desire to serve and grow in faith. I will have my cell phone with me, so I will try to post pictures and write about how the trip is going... no promises tho, you know me! Thanks for all your prayers so far - I'll be writing again soon!!

Summer what not what I expected. In fact, I'm having trouble recalling what I even did all summer!! I know I was tired for a lot of it. I suppose I could look back at my calendar and try to piece together the weeks. My back problem was definitely flaring up and I think that causes a lot of the fatigue. Mark's work has been busy, unable to predict, made us a little on-edge a good part of the summer and so that combination, with having 2 young boys, I didn't do much of what I hoped. I had planned on painting a bathroom, stripping and painting a wooden chest I have, putting up coat-racks and shelves... yeah, none of that happened. I had also really hoped to get to the track at least twice a week and put in some good workouts, play tennis or go jogging in the evenings with Mark once a week... yeah, neither of those things happened either. I found that it is very difficult to spend time exerting yourself when you are exhausted at least 5 days of the week.

So, I don't have a ton of fond memories of what I did for myself this summer. However, I did read some great books, knit a few blankets (including one that I had been working on FOREVER!), went to my HS 10yr reunion (part of it), went to the Zoo with the family, went to the beach with the family, went to Saturday Market a few times with the family... we did lots of little things. Overall, I'm a bit disappointed in myself, but I hope to learn from it. I can't let my lack of motivation turn into lack of doing. I have to trust that if I keep at something it will be easier to continue and grow in it.

I want to make some goals for the last bit of the year, and since Mark and I are heading out of town without the boys this weekend I should get to do it! We're going to Hood River to enjoy some quiet time, sleep, pizza, beer, maybe some yummy baked goods - it's long overdue! And I really look forward to being able to share with my husband the things we've learned this year and kind of come to a consensus on where we want to go and start a plan (written in pencil since things change so fast) on how to accomplish those things. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted on anything major :)

My trip to Thailand is coming up, less than 3 weeks out! I'm mostly ready I think. I have a few more packing details to take care of, get some meals planned out, get some daycare lined up and finish some studying. I think it's going to be amazing! More details on that next week - I think I'll try and promise that one, k? Thanks for keeping up with me despite my lack of keeping you up to date! Happy weekend everyone!!

I love these two boys and can't imagine how boring my life would be without them :)

I read this great article today. I found it off of femina.com, a Christian woman's blog. She writes a lot of great stuff, but this article is actually by Joshua Harris. Anyway, if you are a Christian parent, or if you plan on homeschooling, it's a must-read! So much great encouragement about what God desires us to be for our kids and do for them. It's mainly about the idea of not sheltering, but building up in preparation for the attack from the world. Yes, there are times and seasons of sheltering, but not complete holing-up without explaining any rhyme or reason, and certainly not at the expense of your children knowing that you not only love them, but like them.

Anyway, take a look! You won't regret it.

http://www.joshharris.com/2011/09/homeschool_blindspots.php

I cannot escape all the pains of people I know who are suffering right now. In fact, as I go to pray for these individuals, I can barely concentrate on words to say because I recognize that I only feel an ounce of their pain. I have 4 individuals/families on my mind most recently, all enduring extremely difficult circumstances. I am going to keep them anonymous on here, though many of you may know them well.

Family/Single Mother#1 - Has 4 children. 3 of her children were adopted from a relative and she doesn't not know the scope to which abuse may have occurred. Neglect was certainly prevalent. Child #3 is a boy (about age 10) and is experiencing major challenges in obedience, self-control, using hurtful words - in all of this I mean that he is freaking out over doing simple chores or tasks, throwing objects while kicking & screaming in "time-out" in his bedroom and saying mean things to his mother. His father (this woman's husband) left the family about 3 years ago and you can see that this young boy is really struggling. He is very sweet but also has some issues with appropriate attachment. He behaves SUPREMELY in front of most male adults, but has a different spirit when alone with his family. Pray that he will see the love of God and desire to be loved and love others too.

Family #2 - Young married couple with 2 children found their youngest (a boy) growing sick last week. Long story short, after super scary side affects and a risky surgery, they found that he has a form of Leukemia. It is a very treatable form, but still, for a 6 week old baby to undergo chemo and dialysis... well, they needs lots of prayer. Their oldest is just over 2 and is well taken care of by her grandparents during this time, along with visits to mommy & daddy. The parents love the Lord and are encouraged to have an answer for his illness. However, they have a long road ahead of them as their boy will have quite the physical trial to overcome.

Family #3 - These parents lost their firstborn baby at full-term with no real explanation. Their child was born and was unable to breath on her own but no tests ever came back conclusive as to why. This couple also loves the Lord and trusts in His strength and they will soon be welcoming a baby boy! Pray for them to have peace, that their little boy would be born with full health and plenty of crying & vigor! Pray for the mama to really have God's inexplainable peace enter her heart so she can relax and be joyful in the expectation of their son.

Family #4 - I do not actually know this family at all. They are known by a good friend of mine. This family had a young daughter who was found to have a rare kind of bone cancer. During her process of chemo and surgeries, the young boy in the adjoining room was pressed upon the family's heart. It turned out, he was almost the same age and had the same exact type of cancer. The family noticed that the boy rarely had visitors and came to find that he was in foster care, but that his foster parents could not care for him much longer. The family adopted the young boy and both children grew healthily - for a while. (This family does have several other healthy children as well.) Several years passed and the young brother fit in perfectly with this family. He also came to know Christ as his savior. However, in the last year his bone pains came back and the cancer had been found to spread throughout his body, into his lungs and he passed away this morning. Pray for this family, that they would be blessed to have brought this child into their home and been people who lead him to the Lord. Ask God to ease their pain and bring them peace, being joyful knowing that their son is no longer suffering.


This week, I have a much better perspective on the world we live in and the God I serve. I am seeing that God's range of emotions are so much wider than mine and it brings me to tears to even fathom the depth of pain He feels for people who are hurting. It has also made me recognize that His emotions regarding my sin and disobedience are probably more painful than I recognize too. It has made me see that there is not much greater joy than to assist in relieving the hurts of those I know. I see that only God can truly wipe away tears and I am moved beyond words to think about how amazing it will be when He does that permanently. I truly cannot comprehend what that will be like! I see too, that there are people EVERYWHERE hurting, all hours of the day around the world. I am frightened a bit thinking that I will likely witness much of this while in Thailand. I'm not sure how I will keep myself from bringing hurting children home with me on that airplane or from crying during most of my trip.

All this to say, please pray for these families. And please, recognize the hurt around you and know that God will bless your efforts to help those people. He desires His love to be known, and He can do that through us! I desperately want to be a part of that because then, I will really see God in motion and there's nothing else that is better in life than that.

Fun fun fun! There is simply too much to tell! Here are some pics from one of our days in Minnesota - unfortunately, I did a terrible job at taking pics! It can be kind of exhausting to try and take pictures all day while trying to take care of your little one :) Still, I got these pics from a park in Minneapolis. They had this awesome water feature plus a playground - the slides at that playground were like rockets! I literally had to catch Cole flying through the air too b/c the slides ended about 2 feet above the ground... it was fun tho :) Here are some of the water pics...








Next up, Cole's Birthday party! We held it at a newer park in town & it was a blast. We brought Gma & Gpa's basketball hoop to let the kids make hoops and gave them some candy for participating. Cole just loves basketball so we did a whole sports theme! He was the most cheerful kid ever! Especially while opening gifts - he looked completely overjoyed with each present he got. He sure is adorable! Here are some pics from that!

This is Asher this morning at our front door. He was rather disappointed to find that after chewing on his Lightning for about 15 min that it was all messed up. He did the same thing yesterday with a popsicle stick... hopefully that lesson will sink in :) Good morning from us!

Okay, I know I just posted on my bible blog, but as I was weeding through computer files I came upon these from Cole's first birthday... so sweet, I had to share :)

I've never really refinished any old furniture... but I have 2 items I want to work on this summer (better hurry I guess before it's gone) and I often check out Julia at 551 East Design. Her blog is super cute, her furniture is amazing and she is giving away a sander!! Take a look, enter to win and become addicted ;)

I'm not likely to get too specific, some of you know the intricate details of my life, and so you'll know what I'm talking about. But for some of you, you'll just have to hang in there and pray, trusting that God knows what you're asking for.

I've been so stressed lately! It's been unbearable. There are so many swimming thoughts in my head about finances, business, travel, children, food, health, diet, pain, Dr bills... looking at all of this written out wants to make me cry. Mark and I have always had a lot going on and we've certainly had our share of financial crises. Lately though, I feel like no matter what happens, no matter what great things come along, we just keep getting further and further behind. I'm super frustrated with paying for insurance! Why is it that when I don't have insurance, I end up paying the same about of money to my Dr as when I do? Really, why bother paying for insurance then? Oh yeah, just IN CASE someone in our family has cancer or gets in a terrible accident or becomes near deathly ill - that just cheers me right up!!

Anyway, lately, I've had lots of things to pray for. Friends, my best friend, her baby, friends facing difficulty, my own mental state, our finances, my sister's job, my children and husband, etc. And it's easy for me to go to God with confidence that He will take care of them. But I don't have that same confidence when I go to Him with my own requests. Why is that? How is that? I guess b/c I know my own human-ness, how I mess things up and how I am so selfish and discontent. A very possibly, really fantastic opportunity has come up for Mark, but it's not super long term, and b/c of some secret details, we just don't know how it will change life in general, what will happen once everything is settled and what that company will be doing 5 years down the road - it's complicated and I'm not worried about Mark being able to get a solid IOS programmer job - he totally could. I just can't share all the details, sorry. But, I'm just really having trouble praying about all this. I wish I could go to God, say "Hey, this seems good to me, make it happen if it is, let if pass if it's not" and be content. But I'm just afraid that we will be forever in this perpetual cycle of life, trying to get ahead/not get any further behind. Then, I think of my mission trip coming and think "maybe it was a bad call financially." And many people in the world probably think so, many Christians probably think so, but does God?

I desire to trust God far more than I do. But I cannot get there on my own. Will you pray for me? Even if you think my trip to Thailand is a bad idea (cost of passport, shots & leaving my family for a small time), will you pray that God will use it for His glory and be pleased with it? I know I struggle with inadequacy  in my spiritual life and in most realms of life, but I cannot overcome it unless God does it for me. I'm feeling so emotional and girly today, ugh! But really, I don't want to live in fear b/c I know in my head that it doesn't matter if I'm poor or starving, I know that what counts is what Christ did on the cross and I'm grateful beyond words to be a child of God... but I see that I am not really willing to be poor, needy, hungry and at a constant loss for His sake and I know as a Christian, I should be. So please, just pray. I hope that this encourages at least someone that these struggles are not for the select few, but that many of us face these daily. But God can overcome, I know it.

I haven't blogged much about this subject yet... I'm sure there will be more posts soon to follow tho! So yes, I am going on an "expedition" (as e3 calls them) to Thailand from October 12th-24th, 2011 with e3 Partners Ministry. And yes, we will be recruiting help for Mark :) It's weird to think I will be gone from my family for that long... I wonder what that will feel like. Will I miss them terribly? Will I be so engulfed in the new place, the work at hand, that I don't have an extra few minutes to think about them? Will the foreign land make me miss them more? I have so many questions, I cannot even keep them straight in my mind.

If you want to be on my prayer team, please let me know! I'm planning on sending prayer updates every other week or every week... we'll see how time goes :) I need people to pray for me now! I already know that Satan will try to undermine God's work, starting with the common ways He debilitates me at home. I need people who are with me in doing God's work and stopping Satan from hindering me while I am gone, and I need to make sure that starts at home. You can start by praying that the planning part of me would rest easy in God's purpose. I begin to think about how less than 1% of people in Thailand call themselves Christians... I cannot fathom how this came to be! How are there countries that are free religiously and yet still completely without the knowledge of Jesus life, death and resurrection? Anyway, this gets overwhelming to me fast and I need to remember that God's purpose is so far beyond my ability to understand. I keep trying, but I cannot, and I need to not let that send me in a whirlwind of questioning God's purposes and not be overwhelmed at the enormous task of God bringing people to Himself - He's got it! I want to trust that 100% and I am not close to that now. Don't get me wrong, I know it is true, I just need to let go of my pride and my own idea of what's best and recognize that God is so far  beyond the best plan I could ever come up with.

So, that's just a small peek into what's been weighing on me lately. Please, if you want to commit to praying for me every week until my trip, and then every day during my trip, let me know! Give me your email! Don't let the thought of it intimidate you... if you miss a day, God can still take care of me. But I know how rewarding it is to pray for someone overseas and then later learn of the amazing ways God revealed Himself to people in a far distant land... you don't want to miss out! Keep checking my blog for updates on trip information, fundraising info (you can donate online at www.e3partners.org/joellenarmstrong) and general updates on how I'm feeling and what I'm learning. I'm sure God is going to use this time in my life to prepare me for other events in my life. Exciting, scary, weighty, intimidating - lots of things, but definitely all good! Thanks all, you'll be hearing from me.