Moving Day

Okay so it seems like more people read this than I thought and it was suggested we put our new information on to get the word out so here it is........

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 24th, at 8 am we will assemble to get most of our stuff out of the house. We have some friends and trucks and will have donuts and coffee (from Cafe Du Monde no less) and will be storing our things in a storage unit off of 25 and mound for the time being until we can have occupancy of our New House located in Bruce Meadows......Yes! for the first time in our lives we will be proud owners of our very own home.

WE COULD STILL USE MORE HELP, after 12 years in this location and 15 1/2 years of marriage we have a lot of stuff!!!!!! We did manage to sell or give away quite a bit when we were not sure what our living arrangements were going to be but still manage to have a LOT OF STUFF.

Joelle and the younger three boys (one of which is bigger than she is now:)) will take off to PA for a few weeks beginning Sunday morning, (it is a 10 hour drive and we can do it in one day if we leave early enough), Zach and Matt will stay back in order for Zach to go to My Brothers Keeper Mission in Detroit this week and for Matt to be able to finish up some last minute things here . They will join us next weekend.

We may be out of reach by e-mail and internet service for a while(I son't think Bethlehem has a Caribou) but should be back in town by the 10th of July for the boys to begin their summer camping routines.

Our cell phone numbers will remain the same and we will have them handy so please don't hesitate to call.

We love you all......

Psalms 27:14

When we have no idea what to do next then we must be still, ask for wisdom, and wait for the answer. He will indeed direct our steps and guide us on our path, so we must not give in to a spirit of fear, says the Lord.

Be patient, and put your trust in Him Refuse the temptation to jump ahead without the witness of His Spirit. Be strong and stay steady, and our answers will come in due time.

Psalms 27:14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Numbers 23:19

In light of the last couple of weeks I am not surprised this is what I heard today:

Don't, for one minute, think that your faithfulness goes unnoticed or unrewarded.

For, certainly, I value your faith and faithfulness above all things. When you truly believe Me and trust in Me, I answer speedily. Purify your heart, beloved, and make a clean sweep to destroy and wipe out all fear, doubt and unbelief. Be decisive and deliberate in pinning your faith and hopes on Me, says the Lord, for I am trustworthy.

Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"

1 Corinthians 10:13

Beloved, I come to you softly to woo you to Myself.

We have been harassed by powers of darkness beyond measure. The enemy has done his utmost to cause us to betray the Lord, but He has set us aside for His purposes alone.

We are a citizens of His kingdom, and as such we have rights of protection.

He has set a hedge of protection around us so that we will not be tempted above our ability to overcome and gain the victory.

Come now, and yield to His wooing. Let us take sweet communion together, says the Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:13 - No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Daddy got an armband
for is Ipod nano, for when
he takes his walks, he does
not have to keep it in his hat
anymore.

He also got earphones for his
cell phone for all those calls he
has been getting lately, and a
Caribou travel mug for all that
coffee he has been drinking at his
"office."

1 Peter 5:6-7

Come to Me, Beloved says the Lord

Come and cast your cares on Me. With you these things are not possible, but all things are possible with Me, says the Lord.

Remember that worry gets you nowhere. I will accomplish what you cannot. Trust Me. You will be surprised at how quickly you obtain a breakthrough in issues that have plagued you in recent weeks.

1 Peter 5:6-7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

The last day of school

For the last day of school we
usually go for ice cream.

Today was no different.
It was the perfect ending to
the school year.

The boys are now officially
rising 9th, 7th, 5th and 2nd
graders. Where has the
time gone?








Micah made this pillow case
as a reminder of his year
and all his classmates signed
it. I thought it was a great
idea and wanted to pass it
on.

6th Grade Graduation

The Gang is all here















Aaron and his buddy Ben















Mom and Dad with the graduate,
Yes! Aaron is taller than me, I think he
is about 5'7 now.




















Mr Ellis was our intern assistant
Principal but at the end of the year
we found out he got the permanent
job. Way to go Mr. Ellis, you will be
a great asset to the team.




















Miss Essian is the principal at Duncan
but she got married over the last
school break and is now known as
Mrs. Coil , she made our transition to
public school and easy one, and due to
the success we had at Duncan we know
we will do well wherever we go.
Thank You.




















Our STAR teacher Ms. Pryzbala
or affectionately called Ms. Pryz.
Aaron had a fantastic year much in
part to this teacher.....She took a bunch
of ragtag students and turned them
into a compassionate, caring group of
rising 7th graders. Thanks for always
expecting our best and never letting us
settle for less.
We will miss you Ms. Pryz















If you look closely Aaron received the Honor
roll sticker for making honors this year,
all A's and B's s well as receiving all 1's in
citizenship for following the lifelong guidelines
as a Duncan Explorer.
We are very proud.

6th grade track meet

End of the year party for 1st & 4th Grade

getting ready to throw those water balloons















more water fun















Miss Rubinos first grade class















Doing the limbo???? Go Micah





















Pistons Tattoo on the arm.

It was a Great Year!

Isaiah 30:21

We are going to encounter unusual challenges, but remember that He is with us to lead, guide, direct and protect us.

His grace is sufficient to get us through all that is before us. Take your time in dealing with the issues at hand; be thorough and methodical in this process as we listen carefully for His still, small voice when He says, "This is the way, walk in it."

The breakthrough that follows will be worth the effort to press through, says the Lord.

Isaiah 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.

For our friends who are Pastors and their wives.....

Death by Ministry

At our recent Reform & Resurge Conference in Seattle, Pastor Darrin Patrick from The Journey in Saint Louis spoke frankly of the burden that pastoral ministry is.

I have pushed myself to the edge and over the edge of burnout throughout my nearly ten years in vocational ministry. Subsequently, I have been doing a great deal of research that I am compiling in hopes of not only improving my own life but also the lives of the leaders at Mars Hill Church and the churches in our Acts 29 Network. As a leader I commonly set the pace of ministry for those under me, which can lead to wholesale burnout of others if I don’t learn this lesson and teach it to others. The following points that I pray are helpful are some brief thoughts from what God has been teaching me as of late. Lastly, the fact that at least twenty-two separate organizations exist in the U.S. solely to deal with pre- and post-pastoral burnout indicate that this is a widespread problem that has only been identified and researched since the 1950s.

Part 1 —

Some StatisticsThe following statistics were presented by Pastor Darrin Patrick from research he has gathered from such organizations as Barna and Focus on the Family.

Pastors

Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.
Fifty percent of pastors' marriages will end in divorce.
Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.
Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.
Almost forty percent polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry.
Seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.

Pastors' Wives

Eighty percent of pastors' spouses feel their spouse is overworked.
Eighty percent of pastors' spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.
The majority of pastor's wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry.

Part 2 —

Some SignsThe following are indicators that ministry leaders are heading toward burnout, if not already there. Sadly, we too often become so focused on our tasks and responsibilities that we fail to see these warning signs until it is too late.

Unusual mood swings that may include weeping without just cause, anger, or depression
Exhaustion
Paranoia and suspicion
Weight change, including gain or loss
Moments of panic and feeling totally overwhelmed
Fantasizing about dying or running away to get away from the pressure
Fight-or-flight cycles where you rise up to intimidate and conquer others or run away from difficulties just to avoid them
Insomnia, including difficulty falling asleep or remaining asleep, which can lead to a reliance on sleeping pills
Too frequent use of alcohol or tobacco
High blood pressure
Comforting yourself with unhealthy foods packed with fat, sugar, and simple carbohydrates
General irritability
Reckless driving
Change in sexual desire of either noticeable increase or decrease
Notable ongoing sexual temptation
Health-related issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, heart trouble, chronic sickness, and stomach problems including ulcers
A victim mentality that sees the world as against you and everyone as an enemy to varying degrees
Shopping sprees and unnecessary financial spending
Reliance on caffeine to self-medicate
Children, friends, and loved ones begin to feel like yet another burden

WOW

High Honor for Noah

Noah JUST received word that he has been invited
to participate in the Utica Community Schools
Academically Talented Program for the upcoming
school year

Way to Go Noah!

Band Concert

Look out Uncle Craig, there is a new band director in town.
The 5th and 6th grade band performed there annual
Spring Concert and as a highlight several teachers were singled
out for a special performance, directed by non other
than our very own, Aaron Mabey , you will have to ask him
about the unique instruments they were playing:)


















we show him here on his instrument, but he only did it for mom, he prefers the whole drum set to the bass or snare and over all is looking forward to his Guitar.
Mom and Dad are just happy he is playing music we don't really care what instrument he chooses.

Everybody Loves a Good Sale

It is yard sale day at the Mabey's in preparation
of our "Big Move" and there are some people
who just can't stay away from a great sale.

It was good to see many of our friends, some
we have not seen in a few months and some
who we see regularly who just stopped by to
help make our day go by a little faster while
staying to have coffee and a donut or even some
Strawberries fresh from the farm , thanks Mary!

All in all we did not do to bad. We did not set out
to make a lot of money just to get rid of a lot of stuff.

You never know how much "Stuff" you have until
you put it all in one place......so we say we were
successful but now what am I going to do about a sofa?

Duncan Field Day 2006

the pictures speak for themselves.

Soccer trophy's

As another soccer season comes to and end, the highlight is the TROPHY'S. Now I am not sure about your kids but mine will come home, but the trophy on the shelf, stand back and look at it for a few minutes, begin to count the trophy's combined, feel pretty proud of themselves for a time being and then just like that the moment is gone. I am sure today will be no exception. Well maybe Micah will feel a little different this year.

He received 2 trophy's. You see he played for his team here in the green, name: green thunder, his team did very well they were 1-10-1 < href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4828/2127/1600/end%20of%20year%20soccer%20tropheys%202006%20007.jpg">
loss, 10 wins and 1 tie, it should be anyway, then he played on Noahs team and was coached by his dad. See in the fall Noahs team was a little short on the players and by Spring, baseball season hit and they were down even more players. Micah being the athlete that he is jumped right in to help rescue the team. So come the end of the season he received a trophy for the gray team as well. Not bad for a days worth of soccer.

Psalm 119:105

He has to bring us this way and by this path to prepare us for destiny.

If we could see the final outcome we would rejoice in these trials.

He is purifying us. He wants each of His people to have the same zeal, consecration and dedication as we would if we were His principal agent in the work of His church.

Only He knows the end from the beginning, and He does indeed work all things for good to those who love Him and have answered His call to serve.

Respond to my wooing, for certainly I am wooing My Beloved, says the Lord.

Psalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

6th Grade Camp Tamarack

Every year at Duncan the 6th grade class takes some time to stop and smell the OUTDOORS!


There is fun for every one from learning how to use the compass, to using a bow and arrow and even some canoeing.

It was a great day, the weather was perfect the friends were fabulous, and Adam was the only one to hit the water, you'll have to ask Aaron about that one!

What is it about boys and the water?

I love you Aaron and can't believe you are graduating from 6th grade. It's off to Jr Hi for you next year and mom and dad are so proud of you. Keep doing your best and let God do the rest as you have done so far. We know God is going to use you.
By the way, "Have I told you lately that I love you?"