together, at home and abroad...

It's been 3 months since I last blogged...and the past few weeks have been a blur.

We just got back (a week ago) from a mission trip to Thailand and I'm still finding myself trying to re-adjust. Going to the other side of the world causes one to stop and think about life the way it is. Why do we do what we do. What is important. Shouldn't we stop our busyness and spend time doing what is truly important?

While in Thailand, we spent a lot of time with family and with friends...fellowshipping and not worrying about work, not worrying about housework, not worrying about laundry, not worrying about meals.... We ate together 3 times a day and laughed a lot with one another. We taught others what we know. We were busy. John worked hard, but still seemed to be resting. We prayed for each other day in and day out. We basked in His love shared freely among His people...even though we didn't speak the same language. We enjoyed our children, each other. There wasn't a lot of time spent on the road. We stayed only a few miles from the church so most of our time was "together".

One day, when we are in our glorified bodies, we will be able to spend more quality time together like this... or, if we want to, we can listen carefully, and God will show us how to have more glorious times together on this earth in these earthen bodies. Bodies of dust.

Lord, take my earthen vessel - my jar of clay
Make me a minister in Your house
Your house in my house
Your house in my neighborhood
Your house in my town
Lord, somehow take what we have learned as we spent time in Thailand
and turn it around so that You will be glorified here in our town, in our church, in our home.

Your children on missions at home.

A missionary - one who is on a mission.

Lord, I am listening for the next assignment.

Open my ears with your gentle anointed swabs.

I will listen. I will obey.

Thank You Father, for what you will accomplish with the seeds we sowed in Thailand.
We have nothing except that it comes from Your Hand.
Blow the breath of Life on those seeds...
Blow the breath of Life on me

In this dry time
I call to You
and I know that You will answer

Touch my tears
Embrace my fears
Hold my heart
And never let me go

Take my jar
My empty bottle
My earthen vase
And fill me up and spill over onto those around me

My Guys

I love my two men...

They sit right now at the kitchen table, eating bean soup and cornbread...and talk and laugh. This brings such joy to my heart.

I love it when my people are happy...

Christmas Banquet 2006

Mama PC Well, another year has rolled around and another Christmas program is under our belts...

We've probably done greater than 20 Christmas Musicals together, John and I...

I look a little worse for wear... he always looks great! I think my man gets better lookin' every year!

We've done big huge musicals - with as many as 50 singers...with huge lofts, real live animals, billowing clouds, full-sized manger scenes, dry-ice smoke...to these more recent, much simpler mini-musicals with ensembles...

All I can say is that as we mature and learn to work together, and learn to not sweat the small stuff nor try to do the "other person's job" the work becomes more enjoyable... maybe not as "perfect" or "wowwing" as other productions, but just as effective spiritually for the participants, audience, as well as us...

John used to do things that I now do... and I used to try to do what he does better... we were both frustrated... Now, I do more administration...and he does more of designing and sculpturing what I dream of and produce...

The Lord is perfecting us in love...

Our first Christmas together (before we were married) John and I played "Topper and Ruth" in A Christmas Carol... the Scrooge story done at our church. We spent time together in rehearsal and grew to love each other more as we rehearsed our lines, and waltzed out onto the stage together as a couple... That was in 1980... I wish I had a picture of us back then...

But, now... 26 years later... we are still arm-in-arm and still waltzing through life...rehearsing lines, smiling face to face...working out plans and facing the world together...

Me and My Man

Nannaw and The Gingerbread House

Mama PC

Nannaw is 86 years old and had never built a house out of gingerbread before. Her eyes lit up when we talked about building them...and she seemed to enjoy it more than the younger adults.

When Christmas gets near, I have a game I play with my Nannaw where I'll sneak out at night and put some little trinket or toy on a fence post by her chicken pen....so that, early the next morning, as she comes out to let the chickens out, she'll find it. Once, I put a toy mouse. Another time, a plastic frog.. I haven't done any surprises like that for a while, so I'd better go find something soon... It's fun to hear her reply the next afternoon when we talk...

It's fun to bring excitement into a lonely lady's heart. You should try it sometime!

We never know how much time we have left with our loved ones... Spend as much time enjoying each other as you can... Even a cup of hot cocoa with a widow, or a small box of cookies brings smiles to those who are lonely. Take a little time today to send a note in the mail to someone who's "shut in"... or to email someone that rarely hears from you.... or drive by and drop a surprise gift on their front porch...

Little things are big things to people in need.

HANNAH'S GINGERBREAD CHURCH

Mama PC

Hannah and Meme made the Gingerbread Church. It was the biggest of the houses we made. They put the walls together and started to put the roof on, but then realized that they needed to put people in FIRST or it just wouldn't be right.

So, they put some gingerbread men inside. The preacher kept falling down... being slain in the spirit... They made "pews" out of graham crackers...

Churches... they are not buildings but groups of people... so that, even if there were not a building, there would still be the Church.... we are the Church... we are the Body of Christ.... we are the Bride... fitly joined together.....

Here's Hannah's gingerbread house church...

GINGERBREAD HOUSES

Mama PC

Lindsey's Birthday (24) and Gingerbread

Mama PC

Lindsey and Hannah and Meme have been wanting to make gingerbread houses this year.... so, for Lindsey's bday, we got together and made a few! It took hours of prep time for Meme, but when it was all said and done, we all had a great time. Lindsey's friend Caren came and made the most perfect little house. Brian and Lindsey both made houses...but, Lindsey's beautiful, colorful, entertaining house fell flat with all the weight of the icing and candies... so, she ended up transferring her porch over to Brian's stable house. Hannah and Meme made the church, complete with windows, steeple and manger scene in the front. Janice made a house that would not fall, and Nannaw and I joined together to make the most colorful one. Oh, and Jeremiah and Aubri put together a very nice house, but because they added so many decorations, cookies and candies too quickly, the whole thing fell within minutes... there must be a lesson here...

It's good to have family close-by. None of us had ever made gingerbread houses before... and none of us think we will do it again...

But, at least if one day my grandkids ask me to make them with them, I'll know a bit more about the sacrifice.

Building a house and a home take time, wisdom and Godly endurance. Start with a good foundation, and it won't fall. Make sure the glue that keeps the house together is given enough time to solidify. Add love and it will keep the house secure. Place candies and gumdrops and licorice sticks that will keep the place exciting. Build your house with someone you love and that loves you. Sprinkle with smiles and dust with love and your house will last a lifetime.

My Man and Me

Mama PC

Well. What can I say. I love this man. More and more each day.

Yes, at times I get frustrated with him, or impatient with his ways... but, when I settle down and take a deeper look, the problem is most-times with me.

He is always kind toward me. Always tender. Always sweet. He's never made fun of me nor spoken disrespectfully to me. Yes, he's been angry with me before, but most times the anger was provoked. Once riled up, it takes him a while to simmer down, but even in his anger, he's careful how he treats me.

My heart knew that he was a man that could be trusted. I had seen him for many years before we married...watched him in the ways he handled himself, others, and situations. He was a constant type of guy. He was kind. He was gentle. He was a true friend. And he always strived to do the best he could with what he had. He wanted to make sure everything made sense and lined up with God's word. These things were what drew me to him.

I knew I'd be safe with John. My heart would be safe. And it has been. And it is. And it will be.

LINDEN TREE BY FLOWING BROOK

Mama PC

Lindsey is a blessing to me... she's my sweetest eldest dott...

intimacy with God

Mama PC

What is God doing?

If when we're walking in intimacy with God, we go through PAIN.. Luis Janeiro states that this, the time when we feel so much pain, is when God is sharing His heart with his friend.

God HURTS for his children, for the loss of his friends and his children. He longs for them to be reconciled to himself - to be raised up - to live!

New Pics

Mama PC

FEAST OF TABERNACLES CELEBRATED WITH MY TRIBE 10/07/06

Mama PC

Some of my favorite people...

OLD FRIENDS IS BEST

Mama PC

The Bellons knew us before we were married. And we've known them since they were very young indeed. So we've seen a lot of water go under the bridge. Sometimes we've seen water go OVER the bridge... yet we are still friends...and try to see each other at least every other year or so.

It's good to have people in your life who knew you back when...

CLOUDCROFT NEW MEXICO TRIP

Mama PC

Well, we just got back from our trip as a family to New Mexico! We stopped on the first night at a KOA Kampground in Abilene and stayed in a two-bedroom cabin. The first pics are at that Kabin. Then, we drove on Thursday, Aug 31, to Cloudcroft. We had a lot of fun there and spent some good times together as a Crouse Family of Five. We liked that cabin so much, we're talking about going back some day - but next time, taking more people with us and staying longer!

Wanna go?

We have some old friends that met us in Cloudcroft on Friday, Sept 01. We've known them since the mid-seventies when we were all young! We met in Wichita Falls, Texas. Now, their kids are grown up and two of them married! We've had lots of fun with them over the years in Ruidoso, New Mexico, where they live.

First Year of Marriage

Mama PC

The first year we were married went very quickly. We stayed very busy working our jobs and at the church doing music. I was a secretary and co-director of a large child care center there at the church. John taught junior high classes at the private school. We both made approximately $1000 month - together... and were able to pay the rent and utilities along with buying approximately $50 worth of groceries for two weeks' time. Rent at that time for a 2 bedroom apartment was about $450/month. My car payment was $177/month for a '79 Honda Civic. This was in 1981.

We had a few more bills, but only a few. I do remember one of the first times we went shopping on a Saturday morning, that I wanted to stop at the Dairy Queen and get a coke...but John questioned me about it...saying we couldn't expect to stop and get a coke every time we went to the store... well, this was a tradition my mom and I had...so, we ended up a bit at odds about it. I think it was a bigger thing to me than to him. So, early on, I learned or chose to worry about spending too much...cause I was sensitive to John's tight-wadded-tendencies... We had enough money to pay our bills... but not much more... we never could save anything... so, he felt stressed that some day we may need more. Plus, it's wise to have an emergency fund. We did not have insurance at the time, but thankfully, after a few months, were able to get health insurance, but, of course, that added to the expenses. I'm babbling on...

Over the years, we had silent struggles about finances. I would want to spend. He would not want to spend... even though if I told him we needed something, he would go right out and buy the best! It was like HE was battling about it inside his own mind. He grew up in poverty. I grew up with everything I ever needed...just not extravagant. He grew up eating only popcorn for supper because that's all they had..and his family had to move because the bills weren't paid and they were evicted. He took on a great deal of responsibility as a young child, knowing that there was not enough in the home... and carried the worry with him into adult life. Thankfully he is now free of it... and walks in liberty!

I was thinking today of little Johnny Crouse, 5th grader, who had a PAPER ROUTE in Lubbock, Texas - back in 1960!!! He got up each morning early and rolled and wrapped papers and delivered them from a bicycle!!! He got the award of Paper Boy of the Year for that Newspaper, he said. So cute. You shouldda seen him. I'll have to find a pic of him... He was tiny! Short, little, black thick glasses. Blonde hair, parted on the side. High-waisted pants, not jeans. (He never wore a pair of jeans til after we were married and he was 30 years old in 1981!)

Anyway, today I started to review his past, and our past in regard to financial matters, and realized that it's a miracle we have come to the place of healing that we're in now as a couple. And as individuals.

This topic could go on and on... but, just know, that God is big enough to take care of the financial issues...as you give them to Him... and as you surrender your expectations (positive or negative) to Him... and allow Him to guide and provide.

Ok - more another time... and forgive the haphazardness of this post...

MY TRIBE FAMILY

Mama PC

Some Tribe Pics

Mama PC

my TRIBE

Mama PC

MY TRIBE