August 21 seemed like a normal day, but God had other plans. Mike was home in the morning, like on some Fridays, before going to work at noon. The boys and Mike hung out at home while Amy ran to church (again, normal).
What changed was what happened that afternoon. After running a quick errand Malachi started asking a few questions about what happens when you die, why Jesus died on the cross, etc. It was during this conversation Amy explained that after she leaves her earthly life that she'll be with Jesus in Heaven, that she had accepted Him (and Daddy had too) as her Lord and Savior. That Jesus made it possible to have a relationship with God, because when we do bad things God cannot be near sin (or bad things) so He sent Jesus to be our mediator, or someone who walks alongside us and takes our place of judgement. Malachi asked how he would be able to be in Heaven, and how he would be able to know God the way that Mommy and Daddy do. Amy offered to pray with Malachi when they got home.
When getting home, Malachi and Mommy went upstairs to Malachi's room. They prayed, Mommy first prayed asking for wisdom, then she and Malachi prayed together and Malachi invited Jesus into his heart! Praise the Lord!
Now the work begins, showing Malachi what it means to be a disciple to Jesus. His name means "messenger of God" and we intend to show him how to live up to his name, the best we can! Will you pray for us??
Thanks, Following HIM,
Mike and Amy
Monday, August 31, 2015
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Wedding Season is upon us
Most people have already started their wedding season. We have had one invite to a wedding in July, unfortunately we were unable to attend, but otherwise no weddings until this past weekend.
This past weekend (8.9.15) Amy's really great friend, Kali, was married to Brandon. Amy was honored and humbled to stand up beside Kali as her Matron of Honor. It was so cool to see how Kali and Brandon incorporated different members of their families into this wonderful, God-honoring event.
First of all, all their brothers were groomsmen. Brandon's son Jackson as the coolest ring bearer around, he did so well! Kali's youngest brother helped create a vase for them. They used it as a unity vase for a flower display. Each of them, Kali Brandon and Jackson, took a rose and placed it in the vase. Then the families came up and put Baby's breath into the vase. The vase symbolized how we are the clay and God is the potter, the roses of the display were the roses representing each member of this new family, the baby's breath was the support around the roses (symbolizing the support their families have been thus far and will continue to be in the future). It was such a powerful moment, and then the family circled up and prayed.
The whole day was wrapped in prayer and encouragement. If you can, please pray for this new family as the navigate what life will look like as a married couple. The first year is so special but can also hold its own special challenges as they learn about each other and how they tick on a day to day, hour by hour basis.
Following HIM,
The DuFrenes
This past weekend (8.9.15) Amy's really great friend, Kali, was married to Brandon. Amy was honored and humbled to stand up beside Kali as her Matron of Honor. It was so cool to see how Kali and Brandon incorporated different members of their families into this wonderful, God-honoring event.
First of all, all their brothers were groomsmen. Brandon's son Jackson as the coolest ring bearer around, he did so well! Kali's youngest brother helped create a vase for them. They used it as a unity vase for a flower display. Each of them, Kali Brandon and Jackson, took a rose and placed it in the vase. Then the families came up and put Baby's breath into the vase. The vase symbolized how we are the clay and God is the potter, the roses of the display were the roses representing each member of this new family, the baby's breath was the support around the roses (symbolizing the support their families have been thus far and will continue to be in the future). It was such a powerful moment, and then the family circled up and prayed.
The whole day was wrapped in prayer and encouragement. If you can, please pray for this new family as the navigate what life will look like as a married couple. The first year is so special but can also hold its own special challenges as they learn about each other and how they tick on a day to day, hour by hour basis.
Following HIM,
The DuFrenes
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Spring and CHiC
Well I have apparently been a terrible at keeping everyone informed. It has been a busy end of winter, spring, and first half of the summer. The end of the winter really was busy but overall uneventful. In early spring, however, April 15 our family had a very sad day. Thiessen, the dog that Mike and Amy had since August of 2009 was put down.
In late August of 2014 Thiessen had been playing fetch with Amy
and come around the house limping. We talked to a few dog-rescuers to see what to do, they thought it was a torn muscle and to just watch it. We did watch it and it seemed to improve, at his November vet appointment she didn't say anything about it. Well, April 15 came. Mike and Thiessen were playing a bit in the backyard before Amy and the boys left for the day of work and play. Mike came around the house with Thiessen following limping on his "good" leg. We thought it was the same, a torn muscle, so Mike helped him in the house and we got him settled and all heading towards work/daycare. Mike arrived home about noon that day to find Thiessen shaking in pain, and not able to walk. Amy took him to the vet, it was a super crazy day at church so she dropped him off with our friend (the receptionist) Calli. Calli watched him and told her she'd have the vet call as soon as they know something. We received a call a few hours later learning that Thiessen had arthritis in his hips, that both hind legs had been destroyed in his games of fetch and that, if we wanted to do surgery, the chances of him surviving are very slim. We made the very difficult decision to say, "good-bye" to our friend. It was a sad day and the boys still ask where Thiessen went. We answer, "Jesus wanted to play fetch with him, he is in heaven." It is the best we can do for their young minds.
So, not to be a debby-downer right away. We had a wonderful few weeks as Amy dove into homework for a class she would take in June. A lot of reading a few tests all done before the end of May. As we neared the end of May, we welcomed Jackson-a new puppy from the rescue down in Fairmont. And Malachi celebrated his 4th birthday! Hard to believe that kiddo is already 4 years old, signed up for preschool this fall at a local preschool (he is super excited and eager to find out who his teacher is).
June held the class for Amy, a bachelorette party for her friend, Kali, and VBS! Amy's class was a Covenant Class so she can move closer to her ministry license, it was a week long class and she was able to stay with Kali. Kali's wedding is coming up here in August and so back in June, Amy and the other bridesmaids celebrated with a wedding shower and a bachelorette party. It was such a fun time! June was rounded out nicely as Amy, Malachi, and Nanyel hiked up Everest in our Everest themed VBS! The boys were both in preschool crews (we snuck Nanyel in a year early since he would have to be there most of the week). Amy was the main actor in the welcome section of the night-she also filled in as needed-including serving the snacks. It was so fun to see Malachi grow, he even stood in front of the kids for the snack time prayer.
July was swimming lessons month for Malachi. He was putting his head in the water and splashing and loved every minute of it! Now if we could get him to sit still while the instructions happened :) Amy took 5 youth down to Knoxville, Tennessee to the Covenant youth convention called, "CHiC." This year's theme was Shift, shifting our gaze to Christ and what He has done for us. She had a blast, she started, upon arriving there, having bouts of dizziness. If you could please pray for her, she is still suffering from them 4 weeks after they started. The end of July was fairly uneventful.
Now in August we are excited to finish the softball year off with our OHCC softball team. We are eager for a letter in the mail from Malachi's preschool, he will be done at his daycare when he starts-it'll be a whole new adventure for us! And Amy's getting things ready for the school year at the church. Mike has been an outstanding dad (not that he wasn't already-he just stepped up even more this summer) all summer long, really filling in where Amy was falling behind. He is still at Menards in the flooring section, please pray that he continues to glorify God through his work there.
We are so grateful for you, we pray for you as we ask you to pray for us too. From H-town to your town!
The DuFrenes.
In late August of 2014 Thiessen had been playing fetch with Amy
and come around the house limping. We talked to a few dog-rescuers to see what to do, they thought it was a torn muscle and to just watch it. We did watch it and it seemed to improve, at his November vet appointment she didn't say anything about it. Well, April 15 came. Mike and Thiessen were playing a bit in the backyard before Amy and the boys left for the day of work and play. Mike came around the house with Thiessen following limping on his "good" leg. We thought it was the same, a torn muscle, so Mike helped him in the house and we got him settled and all heading towards work/daycare. Mike arrived home about noon that day to find Thiessen shaking in pain, and not able to walk. Amy took him to the vet, it was a super crazy day at church so she dropped him off with our friend (the receptionist) Calli. Calli watched him and told her she'd have the vet call as soon as they know something. We received a call a few hours later learning that Thiessen had arthritis in his hips, that both hind legs had been destroyed in his games of fetch and that, if we wanted to do surgery, the chances of him surviving are very slim. We made the very difficult decision to say, "good-bye" to our friend. It was a sad day and the boys still ask where Thiessen went. We answer, "Jesus wanted to play fetch with him, he is in heaven." It is the best we can do for their young minds.So, not to be a debby-downer right away. We had a wonderful few weeks as Amy dove into homework for a class she would take in June. A lot of reading a few tests all done before the end of May. As we neared the end of May, we welcomed Jackson-a new puppy from the rescue down in Fairmont. And Malachi celebrated his 4th birthday! Hard to believe that kiddo is already 4 years old, signed up for preschool this fall at a local preschool (he is super excited and eager to find out who his teacher is).
July was swimming lessons month for Malachi. He was putting his head in the water and splashing and loved every minute of it! Now if we could get him to sit still while the instructions happened :) Amy took 5 youth down to Knoxville, Tennessee to the Covenant youth convention called, "CHiC." This year's theme was Shift, shifting our gaze to Christ and what He has done for us. She had a blast, she started, upon arriving there, having bouts of dizziness. If you could please pray for her, she is still suffering from them 4 weeks after they started. The end of July was fairly uneventful.Now in August we are excited to finish the softball year off with our OHCC softball team. We are eager for a letter in the mail from Malachi's preschool, he will be done at his daycare when he starts-it'll be a whole new adventure for us! And Amy's getting things ready for the school year at the church. Mike has been an outstanding dad (not that he wasn't already-he just stepped up even more this summer) all summer long, really filling in where Amy was falling behind. He is still at Menards in the flooring section, please pray that he continues to glorify God through his work there.
We are so grateful for you, we pray for you as we ask you to pray for us too. From H-town to your town!
The DuFrenes.
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