Life in a Nutshell

Skies are blue, and road is gray,
God is worthy
Every day!

God's Will - Nothing more.

          God's Will - Nothing less.

                   God's Will - Nothing else!

Keep Rolling on, dear ones!

Rolling on...

Looking into the sunshine!

It's been a long and busy week, full of good fellowship and many opportunities.  And since I'm standing on the eve of another busy week, I'm going to fill you in on things and move on.

The weekend before last we were at Mountain Home, Idaho, home of the Mountain Home Air Force Base.  We were able to make some good contacts, some folks who would like us to come back to help them reach onto the base.  We also handed out some Military Editions of John/Romans at a huge fair!

During that weekend, I was also able to get another survey for my upcoming book, for which I am very thankful!

Last week, we stopped by The Dalles, Oregon, and had a meeting at a church there, and I picked up a few more surveys.  The Lord has blessed, and I have about 52 in all now.

I also had a wonderful opportunity to speak to a Ladies' Group on Thursday night, as well as to another ladies' group just this past Sunday morning!  For both, I spoke on the same topic, one of the patterns I see emerging as a result of my survey.  It is a blessing to me to see God working, and I think it was a blessing to the ladies, as well.

Soon the Rolling Raub Ranch will be moving on, headed toward a military project in Canada!  Please pray for continued safety, and especially that we will be used of the Lord to accomplish His purpose.

A cute little friend came to visit us!

Stopping for a little break

Yikes!

We stopped to fuel up on our way out to the west coast.  Ouch!  But God always provides.  We had a church take us on for support on Sunday!!

But God Meant it For Good

One of the girls had just washed the bus before this picture, hence the puddle and cleaner.

We should have known we were in for it right from the beginning.

When we tried to pull out of the pastor’s yard with our 38,000 pound bus, the huge rear tires dug huge pits into the mud, and the bus sank deeper and deeper into the holes.

We were stuck.

No problem, we thought.  We’ll get a tractor to pull us out.  It wasn’t until 5:30 that the tractor showed up, but thankfully the fella had no trouble at all getting us out, and soon we were on the road again. 

We drove for several uneventful hours through Nebraska , finally stopping at a Walmart.  My husband and I got out and instantly heard a piercing sssssssssss coming from the drive axles.  It was a huge air leak in our brakes and suspension system.  A quick glance at the bus told us that the vehicle was listing terribly to the right.

 

My husband decided that he could see the situation better by day, so we boondocked in the parking lot for the night, running our generator for power and relying on the 100 gallon water tank, which was probably only 50 gallons by now.

It’s times like these that I go to bed feeling so spoiled, since even a breakdown in the bus, unless it’s the generator, hardly makes a difference in my life processes.

So this morning, my husband declared that the bus could not be driven to our next destination, that we were going to need to have someone fix it.  Now, normally he does his own mechanic-ing, but the space he needed to get into was too small, and the bus needed to be put up on some sort of lift.  That’s not something we carry around with us.

Amazingly, the Lord directed my husband to call someone from his database that lives in this city to ask for a mechanic, and we were put in touch with the pastor of a church here.  I was doing my usual tasks when, before I knew it, My Beloved told me that the Lord had worked out a solution to our problem, and we were able to limp the bus over to a shop where it would be fixed.  Praise the Lord!

And if that wasn’t enough, the church very kindly put us up in a motel during the repair.  And if THAT wasn’t enough, the pastor asked us to sing, and gave my husband the opportunity to present our ministry and preach!! 

As we entered the church, My Beloved introduced us and told someone, “we’re really not supposed to be here.”

The lady replied, “Oh yes, you are!”  God knows why and how to direct His people. 

I’m just so glad to be in His service, so that then my troubles can be put to good use!

The devil meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.  Praise His Name!

Day 3 At Kathy's!

This was my third day at Kathy's, Monday.  It was a busy day, but I think my most favorite time was the time I "had" to keep an eye on the baby for awhile.  I and my camera had a lot of fun!

I started out this morning with a 2 1/2 mile run past the cemetery, then down a new path to the right, rather than to the left.  I was very disappointed that I didn't hear my favorite bird this time, the one with the piercing call, but I heard another bird caw-ing very loudly.  Can you guess what it was?

I decided that the path I've been running on is probably actually a motocross or 4-wheeler path, based on the way it was made.  This particular leg of the journey was built with medium sized rocks at the bottom, smaller rocks poured in between, a generous layer of dirt, and some drainage pipes.  Any rock which was outstanding (get it??) had a coating of bright orange paint, so no one would kill themselves on it.  And in some places, there were markings similar to a paved road: an orange stripe down the middle and two white stripes on either side.

Anyway, I got a little further back than I intended, so my 23 minute run turned into a 33 minute run.  Not bad, though, since the weather was nicely cool.  

By the time I got to Kathy's after my shower with my wet hair, hot tea, and sausage on a small plate, the kids were eating their breakfast.  Would you believe I actually found people who eat slower than me??  I know it's really hard to believe, but it's true nonetheless.  I showed up after they started, and they were still stirring their soggy cereal around when I was done.  

After breakfast, I hit the dishes again, making a further dent in the pile.  I also put on some laundry, folded, and put away some clothes, too.  If I keep folding and putting away 2 loads for every one load I put on, and if I put on about 4 loads a day, I can catch up by tomorrow afternoon.  *whew*

Today is Kathy's errand day, so we loaded up all the humans and went to McD's, but not before Emmy reached over, got ahold of a tear in Matthew's pants, and widened it way beyond belief.  Needless to say, we had to stop by Goodwill and pick up another pair of pants for him, so he wouldn't be a prince dressed in rags!

Anyway, we went to McD's, ate, and Kathy & I set up Command Central while the kids played in the play place.  We both had our Kindles & computers, and when one program was coming up, we used the Kindle; while the Kindle was downloading stuff, we used the computers.  Busy, busy!  Lots of fun talking about different books, like the one she got, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and the one I got, Holy Bible KJV optimized for Kindle.  I was so thrilled that it actually goes to chapter and verse if I want it to, rather than searching by some obscure location number.

After our electronics session, she dropped me off to get my hair done, while she fed the baby and went to Walmart.  At the Cost Cutters, I had an eyebrow waxing (she did an ok job, but there are strays I'll need to get when I get home) and a cut.  She did a very thorough job...perhaps a bit too thorough.  At least I know it will grow out.  ;)

I walked to Walmart and got some birthday presents for Emmy, came home, did more dishes and laundry, and started preparing dinner.  The kids and I went out to the garden, and I picked beans while they trampled them.  It was quite harrowing for some of the plants.  I didn't stay long, just long enough to get the beans we needed for dinner, then we went back up and I fried chicken breasts, and cooked green beans while Kathy made some noodles disguised as rice.  It was really good, though.

My evening was spent doing more dishes and more laundry, and I took the kids out to the playground and pushed them on swings (they were jets taking off from aircraft carriers, etc.).  I chased them around for awhile, and ended up in the sandbox with them.  Lots of fun!

I was also able to spend some time holding Luke while he was awake.  He has no control over his eyes yet, so when he accidentally finds my face, he looks at me like I came from some other galaxy and then looks away.  Really cute, though.

Then I helped the kids put all the toys away, did more laundry, and kissed them all good night.  All of which brings me to now.  *whew*  I'm about ready for bed!

Kathy keeps saying over and over how much she appreciates all the help, and having me here.  I can see that having three small children is quite a daunting prospect, and I'm sure it's a relief to have an extra hand around for a few days.  It's been my pleasure to help her out.  I can't help but think of all the many times she helped me after I had each of my own babies.

Day 2 at Kathy's...Sunday!

My second day at Kathy's was Sunday.  She's the pastor's wife of Northwoods Baptist Church in Escanaba, and her husband, Matt, is the pastor.  He is an excellent preacher, and they have a wonderful, growing church!  But for my part, I was glad to be with the kids and help out.  This is an adaptation of the letter I sent to my family.

I sure did enjoy a wonderful day in the Lord’s House.  Matt's an excellent preacher, and I got a lot out of both of his messages.

This morning I got up, dressed and went to Kathy's house to get my shower and have breakfast. Little Matt, who rides the bus with his dad, the driver, was already dressed and Matt was out the door.  For breakfast, I had a sausage, a Fiber One Bar, and a banana.  Yum!

I really want to help Kathy by cleaning up a lot, so after I ate, I did up a dishpan of that mound of dishes and put on a load of laundry, then did my hair.  Really, I didn't do much with the kids to help Kathy, but I did clean up a bit.  I had forgotten that they always have food at Sunday school, so I had a second breakfast of half a spicy breakfast burrito (and a cup of coffee!  No Stevia...) there.  Bro Christianson taught an excellent lesson on a brief overview of doctrines taught in the first 10 chapters of Genesis.  Did you know that virtually every Bible doctrine and every principle for living is laid down in the first ten chapters of Genesis?  Amazing!  I also thought how amazing it was that Adam was willing to leave fellowship with God for companionship with Eve.  It really goes to show how relationships can affect us - for good, and bad.  (Of course, in Adam's case, it was bad.)

Matthew preached on friendship, being a friend of God.  It was very good.  I got a double blessing of being able to watch the little buddy while Kathy played piano.  He is so adorable!!

While we waited for the bus to come back, I did another huge stack of dishes (I'm slowly whittling that pile down), and put on another load of laundry, folding and putting away a bunch, too.  Most of the laundry is clean, but needs folded and put away, so I'm working on that pile, too.  

Then it was Pizza Hut for lunch, but we didn't get there till 2, and there was only one waitress, so we didn't get our food till almost 3!!!  My sausage was looooong gone by that time.  I had one piece of pizza, and took Emmy to the bathroom, so by the time I got back, the pizza was gone.  There were bread sticks, but I didn't want to load up on carbs.  

I came home, took a nap, and called my family (hooray!!!), then went to Kathy's, did another stack of dishes and load of laundry.  Emmy contributed to the mess by wetting herself, so I took care of that, too.  Busy, busy!!

Two peanut butter sandwiches later, we went to church.  We celebrated the Lord's Supper - how precious it is to remember the death of our Lord Jesus!  What an incredible picture we have in the bread and juice being broken, crushed, and becoming part of our very being through its sacrifice!  I hope I never get over the wonder of it all - and then we went to preachin'!  This time, it was an excellent message on walking in the Spirit.  How essential it is to walk in the Spirit, and how I long to be right in step with God.

We talked for a long time afterwards, and most of my time was trying to make sense out of the political smorgasbord one of the brothers was laying out.  I got lost about 1/12 of the way into his talk, but what I did understand was very interesting. 

We went to Culver's for "snack," with most folks (Matt, David, Kathy & the kids) getting ice cream while I got a salad and cheese curds...and a hot tea!  Lots of cream!  It was really good.

Now I'm ready for bed.  There's a cool breeze blowing, so I think it will be great weather for a run tomorrow morning.  I'm really looking forward to it, since I'm all cramped up from sitting for a week.  I've got a terrible headache right now, so I took ibuprofen, which I hope takes effect soon, and I'm going to bed.

The Saga Continues

It's been a long and trying two weeks since our incident, and the bus is still in the shop. My husband says they will work on it when they get all the parts together, which should take a few more weeks. Unfortunately, they are unable to speed up their processes. I understand it is a very reputable company, and one that does excellent work, but they work at their own speed and on their own timetable.

I guess maybe they don't realize that it is someone's home they have parked out in their lot, all taped up and just sitting there. Or, if they do, it simply doesn't really matter. I can tell you, it couldn't be soon enough for me.

We've been staying in various places while the bus is in the parking lot. First, we spent a week at a motel, then a church kindly allowed us to use their "prophet's chamber," an accomodation for preachers passing through. Michigan is not like the south, where there are prophet's chambers in abundance; it seems to me to be somewhat like California, with few, if any, places to stay in existence, let alone available.

So, this week, we've accepted an invitation to be back with our daughter and her family. They live in a school building, which is also the church, as well as Matthew's parents' residence. My husband and I have a room on one end, across the hall from Kathy and Matthew, while the kids are in a large room on the far side of the building. I'm not real wild about them being so far away, but they don't seem to mind. Of course, my husband is enjoying our little space, too.

Whether or not the bus is done, we will leave here on Tuesday, and go to a meeting in lower Michigan. Then, we need to be in Maryland not long after that meeting, so it will be a a long drive.

So, as you pray for us, pray that the bus will be done sooner than later, and that the Lord will help us during this difficult period of homelessness. Also, pray that the Lord will give us wisdom on how to pick up the bus when it's done (especially if we're on the east coast), and that the insurance company will not drop us like they say they will.

In case you're wondering, I can say from experience that the aftermath is worse than the incident itself.

A verse for today: "He knoweth the way that I take, and when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." AMEN! Lord, be it unto Thine handmaid according to Thy Will.

More photos...

Sharon was sitting right in front, holding this laptop. This gives you a bit of an idea of how much glass she was showered by! It has to be a miracle that she did not get one cut!

Here's a look from the inside out. The right windshield got caught against that mirror in the middle, and didn't collapse until we were stopped and everyone was out of the way. The right windshield was stopped by the curtain rod (that thin line going across the top of the window).

The outside - sign and all!

This is the part that took the brunt of the hit - the passenger side middle. Simply amazing that no one was seriously hurt.

I told a friend today that it's hard to get a Christian down. When something happens, they just pop back up and say, "It could've been a lot worse!" "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:38-39)

AMEN!

By the way, the shop says it will take 3 weeks to fix it. Pray for proper accomodations and guidance as to what to do about our scheduled meetings during this time. Thank you!

Bus "Accident"

While driving on a two-lane stretch of lonely road in northeastern Michigan on Tuesday, we had our first "accident." My husband is an excellent driver, and both of us have been driving without any accident whatsoever for the past twenty0six years. So it's no surprise to me that the "accident" we have is one that actually has to have something come and hit US.

My husband was driving, of course, and "all us kids" were doing our normal thing on a school-day: school! Some were already done, of course, namely Sharon and Lydia, who were both sitting right up front. Sharon was actually right beside the driver on the computer, and Lydia was right behind him, reading a book. Jason was done with his schoolwork as well, and was by Sharon, in the "passenger seat," or the window seat, as we call it - the seat with the best view. (It's also the seat that everyone fights over:) )

Only my husband and Lydia saw the tree. Later, Kev said, "I saw a tree leaning out, but then I realized it was actually falling! It was within a split second that I realized there was no way I could avoid the tree."

"Look OUT!" he yelled.

I looked up just in time to see - and hear - something really, really big slam into the windshield. Suddenlyit turned into a shattered gray puzzle, and we couldn't see a thing out of it. Glass pieces flew everywhere, and kids began to scream. For just a brief second, I saw the passenger windshield bow in and a tree branch - leaves and all - came through, paused right in front of Sharon (who had convered her head with her arms), and then slid back out and disappeared along the right side of the bus.

"It's OK, it's OK," my husband hollered. I knew what he meant, and I was releived to know that, though we were still going about 40 mph, he was able to control the bus and bring it to a stop. My job was to try to assess the extent of injuries.

Sharon, who was right in front of the windshield, had been showered with glass, but apparently was otherwise unharmed, because she was right with me, trying to comfort the young ones who were crying, screaming, and trying to run. (Running through glass in bare feet is NOT a good idea, in case you were wondering...)

I carried Jason back toward the back of the bus, trying to avoid glass, but it was impossible, as there was glass EVERYWHERE. Finally I took him into the shower room, and checked him over, looking for the origin of his drops of blood. I gave him a paper towel and went out to check everyone else.

Johanna was oozing blood from a dozen places, but thankfully had no glass lodged in her anywhere. My husband, praise the Lord, only had a few scratches, and Lydia only had a few also. Sharon miraculously escaped with no cuts whatsoever, and only one time got glass in her finger, and that was while she was getting glass out of Johanna's hair!

Not surprisingly, we've been finding glass pieces in strange places for the past few days. Even this morning, I found a small piece of glass in my mouth! The toothbrush? The toothpaste? Who knows?

We did end up taking Jason to the ER, where a doctor pulled a piece of glass out of his toe which was over half an inch long. I didn't think his toe was that big, but the doctor said it went all the way through his toe. He's doing a lot better now, thank the Lord.

Later I will tell about the current condition of the bus and our schedule. For now, we are staying in a motel in Gaylord awaiting insurance to do whatever it is they need to do.

Thank you all so much for praying for us! I know this could have been LOTS worse, and God knew exactly what He was doing.

More later!

We're Back!

Yes, folks, I am back, but, I must admit, I am terribly spoiled. My Beloved took such good care of me, opening the door for me all the time, keeping me well supplied with good food, and letting me get lots of rest. I’m having a bit of trouble readjusting from being Princess to being Queen!

We had a GREAT time! On Friday, went to the beach at Corpus Christi, collecting shells and watching the different kinds of wildlife. Then on Saturday, we toured the USS Lexington. The Floating Museum was very well done, and we enjoyed exploring all by ourselves. Sunday found us at church, of course, but we also added a game of bowling! Amazingly enough, we both got the same score: 106!

We are very thankful for our safety, as well as the safety of the children back home. I hear nothing but rave reviews from all quarters as to how well Sharon took care of the house and the little ones. It’s quite a job for me, let alone for a 14-year old! I was afraid that maybe I would find the kids duck-taped to the wall or something, but they were happy, well, fed, and clean when I got home! Hat’s off to Sharon, for a job well done!