Closing Another Chapter

The time is drawing near again for us to close our chapter here in Michigan.  These chapter endings in our journey come with mixed emotion.  They bring great excitement as we look forward to the next chapter, but along with the excitement also comes the always difficult good-byes.  One thing that I have noticed with myself now that I have completed most of the testing for my course, the motivation to stay engaged at school has become increasingly difficult.  Lord help me remain disciplined these last couple weeks.  The kids are starting to sense the on coming change which has brought with it some unwanted behavior.  Mom and dad need to be vigilant that we don't ignore the kids during this time and they seem to weather the change better.  As we pack we are also winding down the ministries that we've had the privilege of sharing in this past year.  The year has gone by very quickly as I look back at a few highlights.


Family highlights:  
- Found a good Church to fellowship with early after moving here.
- Moved close to Julie's family
- Isaac & Jaclynn had the privilege of attending a nice small community school which was a great experience for both.
- Spent Christmas & New Years with Julie's family.
- We are able to take in a few museums as a family this year.
- Wonderful mini get away with the family in Detroit over the Memorial Day weekend.
- Countless other memories and blessings


Ministry highlights:
- We've had a few opportunities to speak at a couple different Churches, (Which I'm starting to enjoy when I get the opportunity).
- Julie enjoyed getting to know the ladies in the ladies Bible study.
- I was stretched in leading adult Sunday school through a study on the book of Esther.
- I also had the honor of being apart of a small discipleship group Thursday mornings and a Bible study Tuesday morning.
- Julie did an excellent job co-leading the VBS that our Church here put on a couple weeks ago.  We saw some new decisions for the Lord and some re-commitments.


Learning highlights:
- I've learned a lot about aircraft maintenance which was one of the main goals this year.
- However I think more importantly I've been learning a lot about being a sheep and having Jesus Christ as my Sheppard and what that looks like.  I pray that this will continue to be my main focus of learning as we continue to move forward as Christ leads us.


Blessings


Dole Clan

Sharing God's Promise's

VBS is a time of laughter, fun, food, and a time of sharing God's word with the children.  During the last week of June I had the privilege of leading/directing VBS with another lady from our Church. We had a great time on  Promise Island teaching the children five promises from God. Through out the week we challenged the children (average was around 52 children) to raise money through a penny war between the girls and boys.  The money raised was going to be used to fill shoes boxes for Samaritan's Purse at Christmas time. At the end of the week between the boys, girls, and some parents we raised a little over $1,000 to help fill our shoe boxes. On Wednesday evening we held a invitation for the children and ten children come forward and ask Jesus into their hearts. I felt God stretching me and asking me to really let Him do the leading as the teacher and I was just presenting His words to the children. It is truly an amazing thing to watch children when their eyes light up as truly realize God's love for them.

Counting the Cost of Discipleship

               As I had mentioned at the end of a recent post my plans of sharing some thoughts on the following passage.  Sense then I had the privilege of sharing these thoughts with our local Church so I have taken those and summarized them for our blog.  I hope that in my chopping and reworking my notes that it is readable without to many grammar and spelling errors.  

Luke 9:57-62 (NKJV)

57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."
58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
59 Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."
61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."
62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

                This passages has been challenging me personally these past couple weeks.  And where this all stemmed from was we have the privilege of reading a portion of scripture before our afternoon class each day and we have been reading through the book of Luke.  And as we read Luke chapter 9 a couple weeks ago I was struck with some pretty strong conviction as I realized that I have looked back as it talks about in verse 61 and 62

⁶¹ And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."
⁶² But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

                A physical example of why one must keep their focus in the right spot is a pilot that is landing and taking off from these runways that MAF utilizes to serve remote people around the world.  If those pilots look away from that runway at any time during a critical point during his approach to land, guaranty bad things will happen.  And the take offs from these runways as well demand that once the pilot pours on the coals and the airplane is accelerating down the runway there is no turning back.  It's all or nothing, somewhere in between that, and these take offs will end in disaster.  Here is an example of what happens when you let your eyes wonder off the marker or enter in half hearted. 

               So what was it about these verses that brought conviction.  Well being missionaries we find ourselves moving and traveling meeting people then moving on to the next place and again only there for a short time.  And through this I start to long for days of old as it were.  Even as I look ahead to our next move it won't be any easier than our previous moves as we leave behind our new family here in Michigan.  Christ is not saying here that we can't or shouldn't have fond memories of the past but we are not to live in the past.  I also believe we are not to live in the future either, but rather live in the present.  As a favorite saying of mine goes, "yesterday is history, tomorrow's a mystery, but today is a present which is why it's called the present."  It seems that I can never remind myself of this enough.

               
                 Getting back to this passage in Luke.  In this passage we see three different dialogues here.  This is also the second time in this chapter that the cost of discipleship is brought up.  Back in verse 23 we see Christ lay out the cost as well in slightly different context.  But for sake of length I want to just focus on the dialogue we find here at the end of this chapter.  In each of these dialogues we see a few differences that indicate to me, that being a disciple is not a singular task.  It involves more than just following him.  Lets first look at Verses 57,58

⁵⁷ Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."
⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

                This first conversation we see the inquirer initiate the conversation which Jesus replies with a statement that says to me "looks maybe deceiving".  And what I mean by that is to follow a rabbi during Christ's time was relatively a simple task in a way.  And so Jesus wants to clear the air that following Him is not like following the common rabbi but rather more like following a prophet that lives an uncertain existence. Christ is placing the reality before His disciples of what it is going to be like.  And by doing so He wants those that are considering following Him, to know what is ahead so that we are not ill-fitted and likely to fail.  As they would surely do if they were to jump head long in ignorance of the hardships ahead.   How can this be applied to us?  Well it seems as this idea really hasn't changed and can be applied in our day and age as is.  The NA Church seems to all too often to look at, and promote the warm and fuzzy or cushy side of being a Christian but we tend to over look or forget about being a disciple and the hardships one will face as a disciple.  I don't what to think about hardship and I'm sure I'm not the only one.  We are however promised in a number of different places that we will suffer and we are to count it joy to suffer as a disciple for Christ. This is part of counting the cost of discipleship and that is what I believe Christ is referring to that we need consider when counting the cost as to whether we are willing to suffer before we commit.  Let's take a look now at the second dialogue.  verse 59,60

⁵⁹ Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."

                This request seems reasonable for their culture as well for ours.  In fact Jesus' replay here would have turned heads, as this was totally against the Jewish custom.  Funeral rites had a very high priority in Jewish culture of the day.  Even for us this would seem harsh and I'm sure some would say what Jesus said was harsh and insensitive.  But on the contrary, he again is making a point.  And placing another block in the road to becoming a disciple.  Because what He is saying, is that discipleship needs to have a higher priority than family.  Another place we see a similar idea is in Luke 14:26 this passage is about hating you're father and mother. Now we are not to laterally hate our parents or our families here but what He is saying in Luke 14:26 and here again in Luke 9 is our love for Him must be so great it makes our love for our family look like hatred in comparison.  Christ is also making a statement that offering life giving Good News to the living is more valuable than taking care of the dead.  It's also a statement of moving forward and not memorializing the past.  Which ties well into the next two verses.  Let's take a look at them verses 61,62. 

⁶¹ And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." 
⁶² But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

                Here again we see what seems to be a uncalled for response from Christ.  Saying farewell again was an important part of their culture.  While I was looking over different reference source I stumble upon a connection to a similar story in the OT 1 Kings 19:19-21 (NASB).  Before I go on with the discussion on Luke let's take a quick look at these few verses in 1 Kings.

 19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him.
20 He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, "Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?"
21 So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

                In this passage it seems okay to return and say goodbye so why is it not okay for this disciple in Luke?  Well let's first look at Elisha for a moment.  Where was his heart?  One could probably say that he was distracted at first.  But we see an act through his farewell that speaks of a commitment that will last.  Elisha essentially burns his past as he sacrifices his oxen.  Which became the main course of his farewell meal and not only that, he uses his plowing equipment for the fire's fuel.  There is no turning back for Elisha he has burn his bridge as we would say today.  This is in contrast to Jesus' response in verse 62 which tends to carry a similar precedence as with Lot's wife in the Old Testament.  We also get to see what looking back did for the Israelites.  As they looked back to Egypt it seems that they fell into all sorts of sin when they took their eyes off of God's deliverance.  So again Jesus is illustrating here for us, that a disciple cannot hang onto the old life and expect to be able to handle the challenges of discipleship.  Jesus is making it clear from the start that discipleship is difficult and it takes focus and determination to finish the task.  So how do these two conversations transit the gap of the past 2000 years?  Really as in the first discussion things haven't changed too much.  Christ is still calling for His disciples, to place our walk with Him first, above all else.  Above our family, yes that means our wife or husband, our children, parents.  Discipleship is not a hobby or even a part-time job.  It's even more than a fulltime job for that matter.  It is to encompass our lives completely.  Being a disciple means that you are still a disciple when you go off to work in the morning or prepare dinner in the evening  it should be a part of who you are continually. 

                I've kind of deviated from my original thoughts here in that as we move forward as disciples we need to keep our eyes a head on the mark.  As I look ahead I see change for the Dole family as we continue to move forward.  It is okay for us to miss our family and friends but let us not long for what has been.  I also mentioned earlier that one must not live in the future as well. This is something that I need to be a bit careful with.  It is good and even necessarily to have an aiming point or goal to point your plow or airplane towards.  As that will keep you moving forward on the path Christ has laid out for you.  But don't let the future overshadow the present, when I start living for the future I forget to live for today.  I know I have done this particularly during hard times.  Rather than looking to Christ to sustain and strength me I look to the future and just grin and bare it hoping the future will come quickly. 

                So what do we do with this it seems so simple and easy to say that being a disciple of Christ must be of our utmost importance?  What does this look like in reality?  As I look at these questions I think why did I put these here now I need to answer them and what is the answer?  Well I going to answer these questions with more questions sorry?

1. Will I (you) still follow Christ if he takes my health?

2. Will I still follow Christ if I have to sell my prize possession?

3. Will I still love and follow Christ if my neighbor rejects me? or closer to home what about if my family rejects me?

4. Will I still love, adore and follow Christ if I lose a loved one to cancer?

5. Will I still love, adore and follow Christ if I lose my parents when I'm are overseas and can't return home for the funeral?

6. Will I still count it joy and continue to love Christ if I'm forced to deny Christ or watch my son die?

                I can go on and on with question of this sort.  If we honestly answer these question we can get a glimpse into our heart.  And see where being a disciple of Christ falls in line with our other treasures.  In life discipleship needs to come first.
 

                I'm sorry if I got to heavy on this blog but I really wanted to grab on to the magnitude of what being a disciple of Christ looks like as I see it in this passage.  As well we need to know what we are up against as we choose to become a disciple of Christ first and foremost in our lives.  As many are saying and the signs of the times seem to indicate trying times are ahead for us.  And satan has done a good job at putting Christ's Church to sleep here in NA making most of us ineffective.  There are a lot of Christians around us but how many are disciples?  As we go forward let me challenge you to go forth as disciples in the business of making more disciples.
 

                I should also mention that keeping our eyes on the marker as we develop into Christ's disciples is a learning process.  As a pilot I had to learn where the focus my eyes need to be during those critical phases of flight and it didn't come naturally.  And nor will keeping our focus where it needs to remain as we grow as disciples come naturally.  It will be a learning process as well.  After all discipleship is not a causal affair, it takes focused commitment and is a life time calling with no retirement, just a crown of glory that we get to offer our Redeemer at the end of time.

Summer Time

Well, school ended for our children on June 1st so that means that summer has arrived at our house.  All three children did wonderful throughout the school year and we are very proud of all their hard work.  Isaac was so excited about finally being done that he could not even stand still that last morning as he waited for his last bus ride.   For most families summer is a time of fun, relaxation, finding things that will keep you cool like a beach, and just a slower pace of life with not having to worry about all the usual school activities.  And of course most summers the mothers main job is trying to keep the children from boredom and driving her crazy.  I will admit that our first week off was pretty hard and I got to polish up on my refereeing skills through that week but thankfully everyone has settled into a new routine.  Hopefully, I didn't completely blow this new routine as we started with the pulling out all our bins for packing from the shed this morning.  Our family has just past the two month mark on our remaining time here in Michigan which means that it is time to start to sort and pack again.  Thankfully, I only have to sort through clothes and toys that the children have out grown before I pack this time around.  Our last two months here our becoming extremely busy with having to pack, doing VBS at the end of June, speaking at a few churches, visiting family and friends, and most importantly Greg will be finishing his course at SMAT.  Along with finishing his course Greg is also planning a trip back to Steinbach, MB the first week of July to take a couple of aviation exams to upgrade his pilot license and to do some visiting.  Please remember to pray for our family as we go through these last two months as we finish our time here in Michigan and for our safety as we are going to be doing a lot of travelling as well.

Isaac and Jaclynn standing in front of their school sign on dismissal day on the last day!

Franklin finally talked dad into letting him drive the riding lawn mower!

Isaac a gun hoe mower, just gotta get him to keep his head up to keep his lines straight and to keep out of the hay field! 

Our family after completing a 8 mile bike ride with friends from church.
Only one crash that day as Franklin met the pavement at the bottom of  a steep hill.
Thank goodness for band aids,  polysporin and laughter to make one feel better!

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, our family has had a wonderful break from the normal routine as we had a fun time in Detroit.   Staying a couple nights in a hotel with a pool is always a huge hit with our children.  Then add onto that a visit to the Henry Ford museum along with a tour of the Ford Rouge Factory and you have a great weekend.  As you can imagine we saw a lot of cool things!  The factory is where they assembled the F150 and it was in full swing operation when we were there.  In the factory  we weren't allowed to take any pictures, however we did get a few from the entrance where they had a few examples of Ford vehicles over the course of time.  The museum was fascinating as we saw a range from old household items to huge industrial machines.  And of course there were amazing cars, huge trains, and famous planes rounded out our time.  The pictures to follow are just a few from our mini family vacation, as I got a little trigger happy and ended up taking probably way to many pictures.

The name "Our Pink Hotel" appropriately chosen by Jaclynn 

The boys found there long lost uncle Muggly.  Pretty close resemblance ;-) if I may say so myself.

These next few pictures are with the kids in front of a few of the cars in the foyer of the Ford Rouge Factory.

Not everyday does one get to stand in the shadow of Henry Ford.  But better yet is that we can stand in Christ's shadow everyday.

Lunch on wheels, it seemed that all weekend the kids either chose hot dogs or pizza to eat go figure.

"Where to Mama?"

Julie standing beside a crankshaft and connecting rod for a generator that was used to power part of the Ford factory many years ago.

Building an old tin Lizzie on an assembly line.

Someday I should get brave and ask someone else to take the picture so I can join this good looking family in a photo or two.

The kids favorite activity!  I think the kids could have spent the whole time at the pool and it still would  have considered it a great weekend.

It was a great weekend of family time and a time of refreshment from what has seemed at times as a very long winter.  We are now starting the home stretch here in Michigan as we are coming up to the last 12 weeks before our next big move west.  A verse (Luke 9:62) has been weighing heavy (in a good way) on my mind these past couple days and as I think and study on it I hope to share some in the next couple days in a post to come.

Blessings
The Dole Clan

Horse Power!

           Well as you probably already know by now we have moved on to the power-plant portion of my course here at SMAT.  We have been and will be studying through different course topics relating to aircraft engines.  One of the larger sub courses is reciprocating engines which powers most of the general aviation fleet.  In teams of 2 and 3 we are "carefully disassembling" various common aircraft power-plants (Lycoming & Continental).  My group has been corrected a couple times by our instructor that we are not tearing apart our engine but rather "carefully dissembling" :-).  My group has been given an IO-470 Continental engine to work on.  This engine is very similar to the IO-520's and IO-550's which are found in the Cessna 206's which makes up a large part of the MAF fleet.  Working with my teammates has been a lot of fun as well.  My teammates introduced me to the "Just look at it" video's online the other day as this has become our group's catch phrase.  Our engine is missing quite a few pieces even before we started.  We have since learned that this engine has been put together from a hodgepodge of parts which will add some challenge to the project as we will need to continue to search for more parts or steal them from our neighbor's table ;-).  This aspect of the project is not real life in engine repair and overhaul but it will give us good experience researching parts and checking their compatibly which I anticipate being the hard part of the project anyway.  The pulling wrenches part will be the easy part on this project I think.  The following are a few snapshots of our progress so far with our engine.

"For such a time as this"

For the last nine weeks I (Julie) have lead a wonderful group of ladies through the book of Ester as part of the bible study done by Beth Moore.  It was a wonderful time of learning, stretching, and great times of growth as we journeyed through the study.  I took great encouragement from how God could take a woman and her faith in her God and allow her the strength to save her people the Jews.  Beth Moore talked about how we all as believers have a "such a time as this" moment like Ester that God is preparing us for.  And that God has put us in that moment "for such a time as this" to do His will and bring Him glory.  As I am traveling through this journey with my savior it brings me great comfort that He is leading me and preparing me for what He has head of me to accomplish.

Another thing that God has really been teaching me during our time here in Michigan is to truly take the time to see the blessings that He has given me (especially through out those busy days). And over the past two weeks we have really seen some amazing blessings among some very busy times.  A huge blessing is that Greg PASTED his airframe exam and now holds a airframe licence!!!!  The kids and I are so proud of all his hard work and I am thankful that I didn't mess him up at all since I was his study partner most nights (most nights that I helped him I really had no clue what I was asking him or how to say half the words).  Now the rest of his course is focused on the different types of engines.  The very next day after Greg passed his exam we had a house full of people as my younger brother had his college graduation ceremony and my parents and grandmother came for the weekend.  I think that all we did that weekend was eat and celebrate!  And then a day after my brothers ceremony he moved in with us and will probably be with us the rest of our time her in Michigan.  Know my question is what am I going to do with a 22 year old in my house??  Actually, I feel truly blessed to have this time with my brother before I head overseas and he moves on with his life.  It truly feels like a very precious moment in time!  And then this coming weekend we are preparing to have the chance to connect with a couple who we met during our travels last year.  I feel completely overwhelmed (in a good way) of the blessing that God has given me in the last two weeks!  All I can think how to end this blog is WHAT A AWESOME GOD WE SERVE!