He pulled a fast one!!!

Hey, Joel Here---


Just when I thought that I had it all planned out, He pulls a fast one.

I have been anticipating the switch to our "Private" format to coincide with the switch to Digital TV and low and behold the Obama administration listened to all the dear folks who waited until the last minute to realized that they did not have the little box.

I have two feelings on this:

1. If you are not ready for this yet (over a year and a half of preparation.) Will you ever be ready?

2. Why does the Government have to spend my money to pay for others negligence? Let alone a voucher for the little box!!!

This really impacts my life very little, but alas! Another illustration of the state of our citizens.

Now that the transition won't be until summer, it steals a little of my drama, however- WE will still be going to a private format! READY OR NOT!!

If you would like to continue to read our blog- which we hope you do- please let us know by email. Slots are filling up quickly!!

joelanddeena@att.net (sorry, this is not a link. just cut and paste it)

FEBRUARY 17, HERE WE COME!!

Our Love Story

I thought this was as good a time as any to jot down how "Joel and Deena" came to be. I preface by stating that I am not out to make any more enemies, ( I think my old piano teacher is at the back door..) but our story has a rather strange beginning and I have to include the details....sorry to those who now are embarrassed of how they behaved. My sister Dawn and I used to say growing up, "I just love to love love, don't you?" to make ourselves laugh, and truthfully we do love love. I LOVE Valentine's Day. (sorry singles!) I LOVE heart shaped boxes of candy, flowers, red everything which is my favorite color....I love LOVE! I love the emphasis on couple's, dates, and telling your spouse that they mean the world to you.

I like being romantic even though I am a bit corny with it. In college (and here the stories begin..) traveling in a singing ensemble we had some time to kill and were at Wal-mart over Valentine's week. A friend and I were in the Valentine's isle for two reasons, 1) It seemed like a great place to hide while my two friends attempted to get the wad of gum that I had somehow gotten stuck in my hair out. and 2) We wanted to "OOO" and "AAAHH" over the heart-shaped boxes. I vaguely remember the guys trying to give suggestions on how to get the gum out......"Peanut butter," "No, use baby oil..." and then "Y-A-N-K!" My so called "friend" just yanked it out AND a clump of hair. And yes those who knew my group, I will let YOU try to guess whom left me a bald patch .... We finally made our way back to the van where our Chaperon was waiting taking a snooze, which he usually did while we went shopping. :-) As we filled in the van he asked us how it went. I tried to be funny (mistake number one) and also tried to wax eloquent with a phrase I had heard somewhere else. (mistake number two. ) I told him we were "Mooning in the candy isle over the heart-shaped boxes of candy." I have never seen him sit up so fast and spin around to look me in the eye to make sure he heard me right. Unfortunately he did. And so did everyone else in the van. Never did understand that "swooning" and surely never got the "pinching and mooning." Seems to me like you should switch the order...."mooning and then pinching?" Listen I am no Anne of Green Gables and I learned that right.there.

So fast forward a few days and my sweet thoughtful Chaperon decides that he would make a plea for me, during chapel, to get my very own first heart-shaped box of candy. I still could crawl off the blue chair and slink away thinking of it...... Can.you.imagine???? Well funny as it is, it worked! I had a box on my desk from a kind gentleman just in time for Valentines. Mint meltaways...... what a memory. So see I am enthralled with Valentines and decided to spend this one remembering how Joel and I became life-long partners in this wonderful adventure on Haywood.

My friend Heather and I were serving for yet another banquet and after cleaning and setting up we headed out of the kitchen greasy, smelly, and hair everywhere. We ran out knowing we only had a little over an hour to shower, bum a dress off of Marcy and make our hair look somewhat 80's. Then we saw him. Standing by the trophy case with his suit and overcoat, holding his Bible with a beautiful corsage in a clear case on top of it. We just melted. "Who is that?" I asked like some red-neck with front teeth protruding.... "That's Joel Royalty, " Heather replied. "Wow," replied both of us.

I knew of Joel, and knew he was a Pastor's son and smart and a real gentleman. He dated some friends of mine and one of them had a roommate whom I was close with and when she was gone, we would read all the cards he gave her!! Yes it still is funny! I remember when I tried out for ensemble Joel kept asking me if I made it. Everyday he met me at chapel asking me if I knew if I made the group. At the time I thought for sure I hadn't. I was failing Math at the time, and at the time it seemed as if Mrs. Wright's Math class was the center of the Universe to me. I did make it and Joel and I became good friends. I didn't realize that he grew up only an hour from me and knew the Barth's, who I had gotten to know very closely only the year or two before college. We talked and talked and each had gotten out of a serious relationship in the not too distant past so we were just good friends. And then it happened. One ensemble trip the "girls" cornered me in a hotel room just before we were to meet the rest of the crew for dinner. One of them made me "promise" I would "never like Joel." At the time I didn't "like" him and wondered why she was so strong about it. She went on to tell me all of the things she found frustrating in him, (wasn't she a piece?) I guess in hopes I would not even speak to him anymore! Long story short, he had hurt a friend of theirs and they were like bees swarming to get some much sought after vengeance.

As the weeks and months passed I DID like Joel. And that just infuriated not only the girls, but some of the guys and even some of the Chaperons. In the year we travelled, they did all they could to make our lives miserable. One time we were playing ping pong and the girls got the guys to agree to empty the room so that we were in their alone and they could get us in trouble. (sad, seriously sad but that is the tip of the ice berg) Joel was in charge of giving the Pastor's a gift from the College on one particular trip and to spite him one of the guys placed the gift behind the back tire of the van, so that when Joel moved the van it would be crushed......and it was. One Chaperon thought he was particularly cute and when a sweet church found out it was my birthday and got me a cake, this Chaperon decided to make everyone sing to me calling me Joel's old girlfriend's name instead of my own. The Pastor eventually stopped him because HE felt bad! On and on it went. We would write letters and put them in our pillow cases and switch them when we got to the place we were staying for the night. One Lady Chaperon just about caught on, but I think we fooled her. Shame that we had to actually. For some odd reason, no one wanted to cut us a brake and Joel was the picture of togetherness. I remember one morning he told me, "Deena, everything will come out in the wash." Meaning, these petty people will see that this is for real and realize that they are making memories that they will be ashamed of looking back. He always told me that "God vindicates people." And he was right. He and I wanted nothing more than to be "above board" and do things the right way. We had been in failed relationships that we had made work. We knew God was doing something, and we hung in there amidst cruel jokes and teasing from even respected adults I am ashamed to say. It got to where we had to ask the Chaperones to sit in the same seat and even though Joel asked, they declined.

I traveled a year with out Joel, he had graduated and begun working with his Dad here in Ohio. We wrote letters while we were away and read I Corinthians 13 every day we were apart. Did the cruelty stop??? Sorry to say it did not. Remember the "singing Chaperon?" Well he would hold my letters from Joel and when he finally did give them to me they were written on with red pen all over them. My name was crossed out and replaced with, you guessed it, the old girlfriends, along with sweet phrases like, "I don't love you." Grown men. Yes, there must have been some deep anger issues???? Of course when Joel and his parents met us for a meeting, everyone was "peaches and cream," smiling and being nothing but cordial. One of those meetings as I said "Goodbye," to Joel to not see him for many months, a Chaperon made fun of me waving to him as we drove down the interstate, telling me that I would "never see him again." I know you are probably wondering how these sweeties ever did get their sweeties? Well God is still in the miracle working business I guess!

We struggled the first few months and years of our courtship. I say "courtship" because in looking back at old scars we have, we no longer advocate the "date everyone you see and try them on to see who fits," philosophy. We were learning that we had to be "above reproach' with people and learn to wait on God to right our wrongs. It was not right what was done to us in that year, but it was not for us to fix. That is for God to take care of. And in case you are wondering He has in many ways. As a quick side note, when I was compiling that scrapbook for Mrs. Leslie, college memories came flooding back......especially hurtful ones, and I had to forgive those girls again that had hurt me more than anyone. I wrote to them telling them and one of them wrote me telling me that "they" were wrong, and that the thought of what they had done to us brought her to tears. That apology meant a lot and was a long time coming. Another one of the guys several years ago invited us to his house, and when we were there, apologized sincerely and still does not like to share ensemble stories because he is ashamed of how he acted. Both are good friends of ours.

When God vindicates you, it is sweeter than any revenge you can think to muster.

And this was our beginning. :-) fun, huh? Our environment did not particularly lend it self towards anything romantic, and we joke that you had to be a second-year student to figure out who was indeed married to whom. It was a "we are in this together to work hard as business partners" type of atmosphere. I don't even remember one couple in 4 years walking anywhere holding hands.

Joel and I corresponded during the longest year of our lives, but it grew us and stretched us and gave us a sweet companionship with one another and with the Lord first and foremost. I love going through those letters and knowing that God was beginning something so sweet that we would spend the next 10 years wanting that for everyone else. We were engaged on Christmas Eve and married June 18th, 1999. 10 years already this June.

And now back to the tall, light-haired gentleman waiting at the display case.... My last year at college, I was dreading the Christmas banquet. Joel was surely too busy to come up and I had opted to serve with an old friend. I had to work late in the library and slowly made my way to the servers meeting. My friend kept telling me that he would bring me dinner in the library since I had to close up and to make SURE to be back to meet him to serve in a certain place at a certain time. Ok, Ok, no problem. I went to the dorm, him-hawed around and s-l-o-w-l-y made my way to the other building. I got inside, began to walk to the kitchen when there.he.was. Yep. It was him. MY him. Waiting with his suit and overcoat and corsage resting on his Bible........and this time it was for me.


PS Joel's two cents--

I am truly thankful for the experience that God brought us through. God did use some difficult situations to grow us.

It was when we both decided that we would give up the "seek and find" and "try them all out" method, that God finally showed us the perfect choice for our lives. I am so thankful for the preservation that the Lord showed to Deena and I through the years. We could truly say that we were saved for each other. Unfortunately, we both carry emotional scars from all the times we gave parts of our heart away. The lack of knowledge in this matter has certainly been motivation for training our children in the right way. I am so thankful that we enjoy a full relationship. Full of joy, full of peace, full of trust, full of fun (hey, I'm married to Deena!!)
and full of love.

We are not perfect. (Ask our kids) But I know that they see a mom and a dad that LOVE each other.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Ministering through Grace

Hello all, I am coming to you from the blue chair (still in my nightgown for those of you Domestic Engineers who need a breath of fresh air.. smile...) and am enjoying my three munchkins napping in their warm beds, two slightly bigger munchkins out riding their bikes in 20 MPH winds.....this should be interesting, and even have my sweet Hubby tucked in his bed who came home from work sick. The chicken tortellini stew is in the crock pot and I am listening to Cary Schmidt playing "It is Well," beautifully on CD. And for right now, all IS well.

This week has been so full and my thoughts are this way and that, so I apologize ahead of time.... Sunday morning we had a sweet Missionary woman in who gave her testimony of struggling with Ovarian cancer in stage 2. She was just the funniest sweetest thing. She looked the picture of "togetherness" reading her notes, smiling and speaking to each and every heart. Almost every single verse she read I had memorized (as the woman sitting next to me who heard me recite them with her out loud can attest..) because they all dealt with fear, anxiety, or trust. Yep got them all filled away for daily reference. The woman sitting next to me probably thought that I was a walking (or sitting) Bible Concordance, but trust me, those are the only ones I know by heart!!!

Then Sunday evening I received a copy of Caleb Thompson's book "The Embrace of Grace," and cannot put it down. In fact it is so deep, so heartfelt, I KNOW I will have to read it again to soak all of it in. I even took it to Macy's Tuesday when I got my hair done to read while I waited to look like Shirley Temple. Well I got to telling my stylist about the book, and Caleb's testimony. (BTW if you need an update on Joshua and Caleb go to www.remembermybonds2.com) She was just awestruck what had happened to him and his brother, and that he would write such a book 5 years into a cruel Prison sentence. It was a wonderful witnessing tool, and even the stylist next to her heard and asked me to come talk to her. She is the girl who normally cuts my hair and I have been reaching out to her each visit. She is recently struggling with ovarian issues and now some Colon problems. She is younger than I, would love to have children and the sweetest girl. She has had one ovary removed and now risks losing the other. As she congratulated me on our upcoming 6th blessing, my heart was pricked with pain for her. She went on to tell me that she thinks "God is doing this to me to get back at me for the way I have been." she faintly smiled trying to make light of the whole thing. So here I am, smelling like a skunk, wrapped like an old lady with this plastic bag on my head to boot, and I reach out and tell her, "Surely you know God loves you more than that?" She nodded. We had a small conversation lasting a few seconds with our eyes each telling the other that there was more to this life that this. She knowing and me confirming.

This Missionary wife, this book, my hair stylist and the, sweet but sad, passing into heaven of a 14 year old girl Josie after a long struggle with Cystic Fibrosis has sobered me and made me look at how I view God.

I make no bones about the fact that I was raised with a wrong view of who God really is. And frankly, unless you are in a balanced Christian environment I fear you also might have the same struggles I have from time to time.

We say that God is loving, forgiving, generous with mercy........we say that but we act a very different way. We almost fear telling God how we really feel. When I first happened on the blog Bring the Rain I was amazed, literally stunned at the relationship between Angie Smith and the Lord. She spoke of car rides where she angrily cried out to God asking Him why He had taken her daughter away from her, and such. I at first was offended truthfully, but was so curious I just kept reading, and I am glad I did. And I am also glad that she didn't care what anyone thought about her either!

Psalm 77 is the chapter that I have claimed regarding our need for a house. It says "Waiting on God for a House, December 6, 2007" above it. I have read it and re-read it and re-read it. I have read it sad, mad, frustrated, impatient and the like! And inevitably I read it thankful for David's transparency. Read verse 2, he says or rather admits, that "my soul refused to be comforted." Have you been there? I have. How about verse 3, "I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah." This verse has brought me so much comfort. Not only does David say that he "remembered God" and still "was troubled," but he goes on to say that he complained, was totally overwhelmed and THEN has the audacity to leave a great big SELAH at the end! So he says, "Stop and think about what was just written....ponder this fact.....I.AM.FRUSTRATED!!!" Yes there is humor everywhere, folks.

In verse 4 he is so troubled that he cannot speak, which has happened to me on occasion. For me not to speak you know that I am feelin some serious trouble. Verse 7 David, the MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART, asks if God will cast him off forever, and never treat him favorably again! We continue with verse 8, "Is his mercy clean gone for ever? Doth his promise fail for evermore?" Then in verse 10 he begins to exercise his will. "This is my infirmity (FYI that word means "anguish"): but I WILL remember......." In the midst of the unknown, David girds up his mind and makes himself remember all that the Lord has done and taught him.

He proceeds (go and glean from it yourself..) to remind HIMSELF of all the Lord's great works to him and the Children of Israel. He redeemed them. He created the earth and made bounds for the seas. He led His people as a Shepherd.

My point in all of this (yes there is one I think if I can find it in my jumbled mess here...) is that David was not afraid to tell the Lord how he felt. Are you? Why do we hide how we feel from Him as if He doesn't know? Friends David was a man "after God's own heart." And I think the depth of his relationship with God came from his transparency and humility. In "The Embrace of Grace," Caleb writes, "How foolish to let our pride refuse to admit weakness, wearing a pasteboard smile and displaying counterfeit strength, when an honest admission of weakness would qualify us for divine power and place us in the position to fulfill God's will." Wow. Because David was willing to admit his weakness he now ministers to you and I. How many times have we neglected to admit our weaknesses and in doing so missed our opportunity to minister grace to someone else?

I long for a relationship like David had with the Lord himself. For a relationship like Caleb Thompson has with Him. For a relationship like that Missionary wife has. And all three were honest with the Lord in their times of trial. They emptied themselves out in front of not only the Lord, but were transparent with those around them so that they could minister to them, with the grace that God gave them through their trial.

My Girlies

Abbs is such a help to me around the house, especially with Anna-B

Today I especially enjoyed watching them play...

And I thought of how the Lord gave me one girl with curly, curly hair and dark brown eyes, and one with straight, straight hair and blue eyes! I am so thankful for my two girlies!!! They are a joy to Joel and I!

They enjoyed eating pizza together and watching a documentary on "Birds." We have been fascinated with them lately and trying to learn all we can about their different species, habitats, habits and nesting grounds. This family is for the birds!

The Royalty Players Present - "Esau and Jacob"

After listening to the story of Esau and Jacob one recent afternoon, we decided to give acting a "go" and seriously had a blast doing it! As soon as we get some funding we are hoping to add many more plays to our family's repertoire.

Here Jacob is preparing a hearty stew awaiting his brother's arrival....

And "lickety-sizzle" he hands over the birthright!

Isaac (ahem) doing a pretty believable "dying" performance

Rebekah (notice the flour in her hair.....she insisted it made her look old, you be the judge!) divulging her master plan to Jacob....

Isaac feeling Jacob to see if he is indeed Esau. (Knew those coon-skin caps would come in handy)

And finally Esau's stew is done and presented to his father. (again gotta love those coon-skin caps. The props make the play folks.)

Good ole' Isaac revives upon discovering he had been had, and informs Esau most dramatically I might add, "I ALREADY ATE SOME SOUP!!!"

And then the chase scene! Esau determined to get back at Jacob chases him into the kitchen while Rebekah in the foreground awaits to see whom will slip and wipe-out on the kitchen floor first!

And a good time was had by all......well except maybe Isaac and Esau who were literally "had."

ONLY 12 MORE DAYS TILL THE GREAT TRANSITION!!

Thank you all for the tremendous response to our upcoming transition! We really have been overwhelmed by the notes of encouragement. It is really neat to find out who has been keeping up.

If there are any others out there that want to join up, please send us your email.

joelanddeena@att.net


By the way- There will be no voucher to offset the cost of transition!!


Deena is on the mend. She is still in the big blue chair, just not feeling up to doing much yet.
Praise the Lord for his healing!

A Sign of the TImes....

I am wishing you all well because this household sure isn't!! We will be back as soon as the Vick's, Halls, and Sudafed kick in............... until then be warmed (but hopefully not from fever), and filled (with other things besides Saltines and Chicken Soup).