The ChroniCOLE

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9

Therefore we DO NOT LOSE HEART, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of GOOD COURAGE, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are of GOOD COURAGE, I say and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

The Brevity of Life

Lately I have been reminded on how brief our time on this earth will be and for some shorter than what we think is fair. A few young families come to mind - I think of Eric and Kelly Steffen and their two boys. Eric went home to be with the Lord last month, June 3rd - ( http://erikandkelly.ministryhome.org/) he was in his early 30's and he had a severe battle with cancer. And then there is Ed and Kelley Horn and their little boy and girl. Ed went home to see his Savior just this monday, July 24th. ( http://www.edhorn.info/ ) He had turned 30 earlier this year and also lost his life to cancer. I think of good friends that have lost loved ones so unexpectantly and my heart just yearns for the answer to this confusion. And we know what it is - for this is not our home we are just passing through. Our purpose on this earth is to Glorify and Praise God and sometimes He is finished with us on this earth sooner than we all thought. What should we learn from all of this? I know I have been reminded that today could be our last day and to make it count. What is truly important? Is it the clothes we wear? The house we own? The perfect size (what is that anyways?:) All those are important to a certain degree but when they consume our lives and become the most important thing - obviously then they have become an idol of our hearts. I try and worry less and pray about things more - keep everything in the perspective of eternity. I hold unto my husband a little bit tighter! Girls - we need to do a better job of focusing on ALL that we have and less on what we think we deserve or need or want. I remember when I was single and being so excited for the day that I would marry my best friend and how he would be in my life forever. My goal is to never lose that love and excitement - to not get caught up in the busyness of life and the trials and the struggles but to rejoice and learn through those together. Drawing closer to our Savior and each other because we have the same goal. To please Christ - to let our pride and selfishness die on the alter and to enjoy life and smile more often. If you have a hard time with your thinking or doing any of this - think of Kelly and Kelley - Two very young women who are now widows and they WISH they had their husbands for just one more minute. Let's enjoy every minute and don't take life for granted.
Thanks for letting me share what has been on my heart lately and be upholding the Steffens and the Horns in prayer as the pain and grief they feel is overwhelming to me but God is good and His Grace is perfect.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

FRIENDS


Troy and I are thankful for friends. We were able to go to a Luau at Kelly and Les Howards this past friday. It was nice to be able to see them and enjoy their hospitality. They have been wonderful friends to us. I have known Kelly for about 8 years now and they have welcomed Troy into their lives with open arms. They also are our realtors and helped us find and buy our house. Here is a picture of us enjoying the weather and my (christian version of a:) strawberry daiquiri.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Painting is done :)

And, once again, another week has flown by. Praise the Lord, the painting is finished. Sherry tackled the bedroom ceiling, and I the sanctuary ceiling. By Saturday evening we were all done. There’s a bit of touching up to do here and there, but we’re now into the “what’s next” stage again.

Some other praise items…it looks like we’ve preliminary approval on refinancing with an actual mortgage. Getting refinanced is one of the huge steps we need towards getting moved in, and it’s one less thing to worry about. Also, as “dub” as it sounds, we strapped a pew to the back of my bright orange, 1979 Mazda pick-up and parked it by the highway over the weekend with a “For Sale” sign on it (Sherry says buy the pew, you can have the truck). Strictly for advertising purposes (ok…amusement too), I tried to get her to hop on and go for a ride, but to no avail. Anyway, the bottom line was that we generated a lot of interest and sold several of the pews as a result. Not only did we raise a few $$$, but it also helps to clear some of the area we need to start working in.

Speaking of raising a few $$$, Sherry and I decided to call it quits early Saturday and go out to eat at a decent restaurant. We rarely go out anyplace nice, but since one guy paid in cash we decided…what the heck!!! Since Sherry was craving Texas Roadhouse on Friday night, I decided we’d go there. Long story short…we get seated right away, start in on some rolls and a salad. We’re all romantic, sitting on the same side of the table, snuggling up to one another when some oddballs with two kids get sat at the ONE table that we’re facing. We go about our business despite the distracting tire rim sized, hole-punch looking things the guy has in his ears and ponytail that’s creeping towards our rolls. Our meal comes, and we start in on the chicken critters and Awesome Blossom or whatever they call that gigantic, overgrown deep fried onion thing. The next thing we know, the 5+ year old kid at table across from our romantic adventure begins regurgitating the glass of milk he just chugged along with his last six full meals. I’m no puking-in-a-public-place expert, but I think my initial reaction would be to take the kid to the bathroom. Mind you, we’re not talking about an infant or even a toddler…this is a school aged child. You’ve probably guessed by now that mom didn’t take puking child to bathroom…no, no, no…she thrusts the galvanized peanut bucket under his mouth to catch the puke as it spews. As an initial reaction, I guess I can’t blame her…but this kid sat there puking for a good 3-4 minutes while the other three at the table sat completely entranced. All the while, the smell of puke in the air begins to permeate my breathing space…not a semi-unpleasant “Oh, the baby spit up” kind of smell. We’re talking the smell like back in elementary school where the janitor was called in with a respirator and a bag of sawdust. As much I hate to cause a scene, I had to get up and get out before my bucket-o-peanuts began swimming too. My incredible wife was a trooper, though. She stayed put until the waitress got us a new table, and called me on the cell phone.

So much for romantic night out…And as for my incredible wife, she brags about me…but God has provided a perfect and fitting helper, and she is more than I could have ever asked for or even imagined.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Bragging Rights


I think I have the best husband in the world..........
Not sure I want to fight about it but all the arm muscles I have built from painting - scraping up tile - pulling up carpet and mowing. I may win an arm wrestle or two. :)
We just had our 6 month wedding anniversary - and my husband gave me 25 gorgeous red roses. It amazed me that we have been married that long and I can say that I love him so much more today than when we took our vows. I am excited to see how God will continue to use us in many different ways.
I think I am learning to appreciate Troy more and more every day because he is so awesome. I mean the man is amazing - for starters he is the hardest worker I know. Every project that we have started on the house - he works so hard - and never complains. Not me - I can go on and on and on. And then I am ready to go home. Another thing - is that he can do anything - he amazes me with his wisdom and quick thinking. Anyways, enough bragging for today ( I will do it again I promise) but I just wanted to share with you that I am thankful for my Wonderful, Godly Husband whom I am madly in love with.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

More Pictures!

This is our great room of sorts - it will be our living room - dining room - tons of room :)


Here is Amanda painting it and making it look so much prettier.


This picture is our bedroom - I LOVE THE COLOR!

These entries are taken out of a journal that Troy is keeping on the renovation of the house. Note that Troy is in charge of that - seeing as if I (Sherry) was it would be a great idea but....not kept up at all. Other than the house - we have been keeping busy with church and spending time with friends and Troy is playing softball. There team is 8-2 and the 2 loses is from me inviting people to come watch - so I think I done inviting. :)
Enjoy the pictures and come visit us soon.

Weary Arms and Bodies!




We spent most of last week as planned…we got of the major cracks patched and the entire upstairs prepared for paint. By the end of the week, we had several people signed up to volunteer to help paint on Saturday. So Friday night we went to Menard’s and purchased nearly 30 gallons of paint in six different colors and bought enough food for a couple of meals.

Despite running a beam through one of the front windows and dropping a pint of paint from 18’ high in the kitchen/living area, Saturday was relatively productive. We had three coats of paint in the bedroom, two coats on the kitchen walls, and one coat on the side walls of the sanctuary by the end of the day. Due to a knee injury (not by playing football or falling out of a tree, but by the rough and tumble chore of outfitting a table with a table cloth), we took Sunday off. But, with a little more help, by last night we had everything done except the ceiling in the bedroom and the main living area.

A huge thanks goes out to our friends that helped us paint 3,200 square feet in a matter of a couple of days…THANK YOU Joe and Kelly, Amanda, Lee, Jared, Steve and Rachel, Peggy, Jeannie, and Ariel. Take a look at the “after” pictures at photos.yahoo.com/tscole1231.