Creation Museum

The consequence of our sin is a blood sacrifice. It must have been very convicting and humbling to realize the weight of sin in such a hands-on and graphic manner.

We will share more pictures of our trip to the Creation Museum,
the Ark Experience, and the Red River Gorge Geological Area in the Daniel Boone National Forest soon.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

"There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 14:12

"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." Isaiah 59:2

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." 1 Peter 3:18

"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

Pretty Penny the Foot Warmer

While I still miss my dear Maggie, I am becoming quite fond of my Penny.
When Penny rests when I am standing still or sitting, she makes sure she is touching me so she will wake up when I leave.

She is a bit warm for summertime, but I am of the thought this will be very nice in the winter.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Celebrating what God has done through Us!

 It's been 37 years since we started dating in high school.

My beloved and I have been married for 35 years today!!

Our love continues to grow deeper with each passing year.

Any good you see in our marriage and in our lives is due to the Lord's work.

We are two very flawed humans in a very flawed marriage who imperfectly submitted to a perfect and loving God who works to keep us together.
To Him belongs all of the glory and honor.

Thank you, Lord, for the perfect gift of each other. You knew exactly what we needed in a mate and gave it to us.

Psalms 115:1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Reward Time!

Since we have completed another significant life goal, Clint and I are rewarding ourselves (and Emily and Hannah) with a trip to see something extraordinary. This is something Clint and I have long wanted to do. The first half of the trip is planned. The last half is a "play it by ear" exploration. 

We have pushed our anniversary celebration back to October or early November, and we have lodging loosely booked for that.

We also have some huge decisions facing us in the very near future. 

We covet your prayers for travel mercies, wisdom, and clear direction from the Lord. Thank you!

Sleeping Beauties

I saw this coming...

because their float choices were drastically different.

Hannah took it good-naturedly. She even asked for it to cool off.

These two have such a beautiful and tender relationship that I would never have imagined possible if I had not witnessed it.

While all of my children are close to each other and love each other's company (something homeschooling fosters), this one supersedes those.
These two can barely stand to be away from each other. I have not heard them argue since they were toddlers/preschoolers..and that was rare. I do not believe there is a such thing as a perfect relationship between two humans on this earth, but this relationship is about as close as it can be. I am thankful I have been able to watch a relationship this close between siblings. Their deep love for each other covers all offenses. I pray the Lord will protect and nurture this as they grow older.

Hannah is teaching herself to knit.

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,

Psalm 139:13-14

This is her face when...

I let her know I saw her looking at the young man who was looking at her.

LOL! :-D

My days are filled with joy! I tend to lose sight of it from time to time amidst the work and busy schedule, but it's an abundance of joy. I am truly thankful to God for answering those heartbroken prayers of a 15-year-old Wendy and bringing me to this place.

There is a trouble on the horizon!

Hannah picked out the comfy relaxing pool recliner.

Emily picked out the tank with the spraying water cannon.

Emily has a fun-loving sense of adventure.
I see a conflict in their ideas of how to use the pool. :-)

This is going to be fun!

Emily Driving

Dynamic RV

Dynamic RV <-- Click

Yorktown, VA · Richmond, VA · Hampton, VA · Gloucester, VA · Williamsburg, VA · Chesapeake, VA · Norfolk, VA · Kilmarnock, VA · Virginia Beach, VA · Mathews, VA

All your service needs, including:

Bearing repacks, skylights & vent covers, electrical wiring & diagnostics, slide-outs, toppers & awnings, and so much more!

Hampton Roads 

Caleb is doing exceptionally well at it and already has several repeat customers. We are very proud of him!

Thank you, Lord!

8/21: PTL! We saw our goal met!

8/15:

Clint and I are soon to complete another large life goal within the next few to several days. (Leaving some room because LIFE HAPPENS.) There are 11 tiny steps between today and the finish line. Hopefully, with the Lord's leading and provision, another goal will be reached shortly after. 

We already have our next project lined up. It will be completed at a much slower pace. We will also be able to catch up on things around the farm which should go quickly once we get to it.

Thank you to the few who know and have been praying for and cheering us onward!

Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,

    and the pleasantness of a friend

    springs from their heartfelt advice.

Proverbs 27:9

Please pray for Scott

8/15: Scott is home from the hospital and is doing well. :-)

8/7: Scott was unable to meet with us while we were in New Jersey. We had the pleasure of meeting his wife and oldest son. Scott is still in the hospital. He had his third surgery. The first surgery was to do repairs to his back. The second and third have been due to the infections. When they performed the surgery this time, they found an infected muscle and bone degradation. The muscle can not be treated directly because of the blood vessels surrounding it.

The infection he has is not responding to the antibiotics they have used over the last several days. Doctors are trying to find one that will work. Scott is very discouraged that he has to go through the healing process a third time. He is a retired NYPD. Because of that, he is in a hospital in Manhattan which is a two-hour drive from where he lives in NJ. That distance is making it hard on him and his family. He thanks everyone for praying for him.

8/2: Please pray for Scott. He had back surgery, and it became dangerously infected. He was treated and declared cured of that. Sadly, he was just put back into the hospital today because it has come back.

This is the man we were supposed to meet with this weekend, so now we are waiting to hear if his son can meet us. He looked stiff, sore, and very tired when we met with him. Please pray for his healing. Scott was already very frustrated about the first infection which required a hospital stay with strong antibiotics followed by PICC line antibiotics at home. 

*****

8/3: One of his sons is going to meet us. I do not know if we will see the nurse or the teacher, but we will have the pleasure of meeting one of them. We will send Scott a can of local peanuts and a card to his hospital bed through his son. Thank you to all who are praying for Scott's health.

Parenting Can Be Challenging

I was told this was very helpful and encouraging. I removed everything that could be used to identify the situation for my friend's comfort and privacy. I share here in case someone else needs the encouragement that holding to boundaries is important and healthy for all involved. What encourages me is that this friend is old enough to be my parent and comforted and taught me when I was a child through my teen years. Now, I am able to comfort and pray for them. Christian relationships are so very beautiful and precious. I thank the Lord for these people and their influence on my life. If you feel led, please pray for this man and his parents. 

"I am praying with you for XXXXXX. You should not feel horrible for having boundaries and limits to protect your physical and mental health. When you stand your ground, not only are you protecting your own health, but you are protecting the health of your spouse. XXXXXXX's expectations of you (his parents) are too high and unhealthy. His expectations of himself are too low which is also unhealthy. 

I think one of the hardest parts of being a Christian parent is the be still and know that God is in control part. We do so much to raise our children that when it is time to sit back and let God work in their lives that it seems unnatural or wrong. Our hands do so much for our children that when it is time to place them in God's hands, we struggle so hard. I have that tendency to jump in and "fix" things which really messes things up. I have become better about waiting on the Lord but still have a long way to go. You do not need to feel horrible for placing Him in the Lord's hands. 

God is more than capable of helping XXXXXXX. God truly knows XXXXXXX's heart and knows if he is sincere about changing or not. God will parent XXXXXXX based on the truth of XXXXXXX's heart condition. That is one way God is the better parent for our adult children. I know you know these things, but it is so good to have them reinforced when we are struggling. 

You are doing the right thing. Boundaries are healthy and necessary. If you do not stick to what you say, the boundaries become very shaky and ill-defined which leads to more issues down the road. Parents having boundaries helps adult children to mature. You and XXXXXX gave him a Christian upbringing. He knows to turn to the Lord for his help. 

I am praying God takes any evil influences, people, places, or things out of XXXXXX's life and replaces them with 10x the godly influences, people, places, and things. I am praying XXXXXX hears the Lord's call on his life and desires God more than anything and anyone else. I am praying he quickly develops a strong and insatiable hunger for God's Word that lasts the rest of his life. These are the same things I pray over my children. I have a reminder in my phone to pray for XXXXXXX every day at 10:45 a.m. 

I love you both. You are my friends, mentors, and my brother and sister in Christ. I am thankful for your testimony in my life. -Wendy"

Bethany at the Morton Arboretum

Bethany enjoyed her trip to the Morton Arboretum. She went with her friends from work.

https://mortonarb.org/

to all who have loved His appearing

in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. 

2 Timothy 4:8

Chicken Rico's Peruvian Charbroiled Chicken

Nom Nom!

We stopped in Waldorf, MD to try Chicken Rico's Peruvian Charbroiled Chicken on a whim. I saw the sign as we drove past and told Clint I'd like to try it. Our pick-up order was ready in no time. We ordered the chicken and ribs family meal with double green beans, yucca fries, and steak fries. They were out of ribs, so we asked them to substitute steak. Everything together was $60 and fed Clint and me for three meals with a few leftovers. Delicious! The chicken is so good! Highly recommended!

NY Cousin

 We found another NY cousin, or rather he found me!
Now he has a whole family of Asbell cousins!

Timmy!

Emily and Hannah with our good friend, Timmy.

His mama wanted a boy named Timmy.

His daddy said his name was James. His mama said she didn't care, she was going to call him Timmy. Before long, even his daddy was calling him Timmy. LOL!
So on official documents, he is James. To everyone he loves, he is Timmy.

Off-roading in New Jersey

Even with our tight timeline, we got in a little off-roading in New Jersey. We found two or three places that look very interesting, so we are hoping we can go back and explore. 

Crash Not

New Driver's Guide to Things to NOT Crash Into: A Funny Gag Driving Education Book for New and Bad Drivers

Safely Home from NJ and a Prayer Request for Mary Anne

We are safely home. Thank you to all who were praying for us as we traveled. We could tell prayers were being lifted on our behalf. The work and heavy long haul went very smoothly. Unbelievably smoothly!

We arrived home around 3 a.m. on the 6th. Yesterday saw us moving the largest load home. We had to leave that in a commuter lot overnight because it was too dark to navigate through the narrow opening of our driveway. We did that move on Sunday. Caleb did it effortlessly! His experience with heavy and wide loads was such a tremendous blessing to us.

Today, we are unpacking and preparing for me to leave for the next few nights so I can do some painting on a project I am finishing up for someone. We have the next project planned, but it will not take us from home so much.

While I am painting, I will start working out in my head an order of operations for that one. Clint has told me some of what he has to do, so I just need to figure out how and when we can get it done. When I get that loosely planned, I'll take it to Clint and then we will refine it together. Team Asbell continues to roll along on this wonderful journey called life. 

Please keep praying for our friend Mary Anne who has a very aggressive form of stomach cancer. She is having a hard time nourishing herself today. She is experiencing also some depression. She loved the gifts and card our family sent to her. We received a picture as a thank you which really made our day. 

Amanda likes to show off her baby.

Amanda worked hard for her "new baby" (a hybrid) and loves showing us how pretty it is.

I joked with her about putting her "electric" car in the salt water.

She replied. "It will float."

pause

"for a little while."

LOL!

Clint has nicknamed this the "Ghost Car" because of the sound it makes.

does not use the world's opinion

 A man who is born again 

does not use the world's opinion 

as his standard of right and wrong.

- J. C. Ryle

Certificate of Debt PAID IN FULL

having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Colossians 2:14

Pears

We have been blessed with an abundance of pears. Three of us worked seven hours on pears just in one day. We are dehydrating them this year. My Kitchenaid does not cut them thin enough, so I use my mandolin slicer. My arms are getting a workout! 

Dehydrated pears are wonderful to sweeten tea or oatmeal. Everyone here loves cinnamon pear bread too. I am going to make vinegar from the scraps. Then the fruit scraps from the vinegar will go to the chickens. Every little bit gets used. Waste not, want not.

Bethany @ Six Flags

Bethany's boyfriend, Jeremy, took her to Six Flags Great America.
Bethany liked this ride. It has seats that spin forwards and backward.

There are YouTube videos showing how it works.
Wowzers, what a ride that must have been!

Tennessee Mountains Colors in the Rock

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

Deuteronomy 32:4

Hope

 The prophecies of old that were fulfilled

 should give us confidence that 

the prophecies of the future will be also.

-Mama Asbell

Prayer Please: Travel Mercies

Our family has a big undertaking ahead of us from Thursday to Sunday. It is so far out of my wheelhouse that it makes me nervous. It is a "tear down" (more like a take apart) and two very heavy and long loads traveling from NJ to VA. 

If you will, please pray for everything to go very smoothly and for safe travels.

Thank you so much!

Always makes me happy...

...when Brandon shares his location!

It means he is on his way home from his last job!

He usually completes his jobs early which his nice. 

It's also why he is doing so well in the company.

He is working now to move into cybersecurity which will allow him to be home more.

Hope Deferred

A lot of people are discouraged that the Lord has not returned yet. Many of us who were brought up in prophecy-educated homes have been expecting the Lord's return for our entire lives. I think it is normal to get a bit discouraged from time to time as we wait because the wait has been so long--from our perspective. In fact, the Bible addresses being discouraged as we hope in Proverbs.

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12 The word deferred here is the Hebrew word mashak (maw*shak) which means prolonged or drawn out.

Once we are on the other side of the Rapture, our perspective will very likely change. I love the last half of the verse because once our hope is fulfilled we will be renewed.

Dear Reader, Many, many years ago, I used that verse to encourage myself when my husband and I were looking for a house. Now, I use it to encourage myself as I wait on our Lord. I believe we will see Him soon. When? I can't say, but I do see all of the signs mentioned in the Bible converging very quickly which leads me to one thought...SOON!