Vacation Pictures

We enjoyed being on the water all week. We enjoyed having the speed boats and the double decker pontoon. Each provided alot of fun. The water temperature was perfect and so just floating was a great way to hang out with family and friends.

Emma practiced her driving skills on the pontoon and around the campground. It's definitely a good thing that she has a few years to practice. She is a little distracted.

Alex tried a ski board and if we had been able to have him try beginners ski's he probably would have mastered those as well. The slide on the boat was a lot of fun as well.


Jackson also enjoyed the slide and on the last day was able to make it all the way up on the ski board as well. He was so proud of himself.


Stephen tried tubing with Daddy. Though he wasn't into the slide or other water sports this year he definitely made a lot of progress in just hanging out in the water. (Last year it took him all week to get comfortable in the water to swim with just his life jacket.) He was a little water baby this year though!


Even the big kids got in on the pontoon fun. There were quite a lot of "cannon balls". I think just about everyone jumped off the top of the pontoon this year, adults included.


Emma did not spend much time in the water. Next year we figure she will be a little braver. However she must have been busy doing something, cause she fell asleep a couple of days on the boat.

Vacation is such a blast. It is always a great time to be with family and friends. We anticipate it from the end of one summer until it's time to do it again.

We are ALIVE!

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. I finished up my job at WCC on Friday, July 16th. We had a garage sale on the 17th. Then on the 18th we headed off for a week of vacation. We spent the week in KY on Lake Cumberland. It was relaxing and fun.

This week we are back in IN, for me it is just until Friday. On Friday I will head off for the next adventure in our lives. I will head to PA to begin my job as Director of Children's Ministry at Grace Church in Lititz. Aaron still has a few weeks of work remaining and then he and the kids will come out as well. Emotionally I am going between flat out denial and being an emotional wreck. It is hard to picture what the next few weeks will look like. I do know that where I am going I will be welcomed and loved on and cared for. I also know that my kids and my hubby will be taken care of in IN while they finish up whatever God has for them here. AHHH yes the emotional roller coaster that is my life.

God and I have been having some long conversations lately. I really expected this to play out so differently. But God has seen fit to do things a bit differently and I honestly don't understand it, but I am learning to accept it.

A few weeks ago, I got a new phone. Each morning I get a "verse for the day" sent to me. Today it was Isaiah 43:2 " When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." For me this verse spoke such comfort to me. God reminded me once again that He "has my back." He has it all under control and He is taking care of everything. He is with me! What joy and comfort there is in that knowledge!

P.S. I will plan to post some pictures of our vacation before I leave for Pennsylvania. :-)

Desperate

What are you desperate for?

I posted this morning on Facebook that I was "desperate for coffee." Almost immediately, I was convicted about the fact that to start my day I depend on coffee and not my God and time with Him alone. Yes, some days I feel desperate for quiet time and alone time, but again it strikes me as a HUGE problem in my personal life that I am not seeking the One who can fill me up and sustain me.

I am still wrestling with this issue personally today and I hope for quite some time. I want to know God in ways that can only be known when I am desperate for Him and Him alone. When we are desperate for something we will try to get it by whatever means are necessary. It becomes our priority. We surrender to the desperation. This is how I want my personal relationship with God to look. I know that surrender and desperation don't sound ideal or comfortable, but the reality is that in those moments there is amazing freedom and peace.

So, what are you desperate for today?

By the way-the coffee was really good this morning. :-)

Eleven Years!!!! (Tomorrow)

Eleven years ago today I was decorating and doing last minute details for my wedding day (or at least watching my mother take care of those details). The dress had been picked up on Thursday, my nails had been done, it was down to decorating the church and the place of the reception and preparing for the rehearsal.

The details all seem a bit blurry today as I try to remember back to that day. But what is not blurry is the excitement I felt in the days and hours leading up to July 10, 1999. I was in love and was getting ready to marry my best friend, life doesn't get much better than that. Or so I thought...

We have lived in 1 apartment, 2 houses we have built or had built for us, and 1 very tiny rental house. We have 4 beautiful children. We have had many different jobs (too many to count). We have had losses and victories. And we are getting ready for the biggest adventure yet with our move to PA.

It is amazing that in some ways it seems like yesterday we were saying "I do" and yet at the same time it is hard to remember life without each other. We have been richly blessed. In a world where divorce is so common and marriage is often not held in very high regards, we know that hard work is necessary to making our relationship strong. We also work hard to cultivate our relationship with dates and getaways. Our marriage is typical though. We have our days where we can still say "I love you" but it's a bit harder to say "I like you." Communication is vital and while we don't always do it perfectly, it is something we committed ourselves to value early on. But the truth of the matter is that without God at the center of our marriage we would not have success. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says "A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." God is that third strand in our marriage. Even on bad days we know we will get through the issues because God is binding us together.

In the past 11 years I have never once questioned our marriage and our future. What a blessing that is. I know that no matter what the future holds, my marriage is secure and we will walk those paths together.

I am still excited and in love with my best friend. It really doesn't get much better than that!

Happy Anniversary Baby! I love you and I am forever yours!

Trust

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

This is probably one of the first verses I ever learned as a child. But the truth of it is something I am finding myself clinging to today. You see, God clearly told Aaron and I that we were to move to PA. We firmly believe that God has big plans for our family and we are excited to see what those are.

For me, I personally was expecting God to continue the CLEAR and DIRECT path for us to take. That He would sell our house in a matter of days, that he would provide Aaron a great job, that we would all be able to move together, that we would be able to find a house to purchase, etc... God is reminding me though that His ways are not my ways. And that my "understanding" of the situation is just that, MINE.

I have been reminded quite a bit in the last week that I need to be focused on HIM and the fact that at every turn He has proven Himself to be faithful. I need to TRUST Him with my whole heart and ACKNOWLEDGE Him. He has a divine plan and it will be carried out by Him and Him alone.

He does not change. Our circumstances may change but He does not! He can be trusted.

Annual Christner Family Picture

A few years ago my mother-in-law started a family tradition of doing a family picture at our 4th of July celebration. I love this tradition as it makes for great wall art in my home (well actually at the moment all my pictures are packed for the move) as well as a great marker of the kids growth.

2010

2009

2008

It's so fun to watch the kids change and grow from year to year.

And to hope that we adults don't change much from year to year. Though I did notice that my hairstyle changes quite a bit.