taste & see

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!" -Psalm 34:8

Experiencing the goodness of God has been the theme of my life the past 6 months or so. He has been continually revealing His goodness to both Richard and me in so many different ways. His love, his forgiveness, his comfort, his abundant provision, his perfect plan, his kindness, his faithfulness, his grace, his perfect understanding of our needs...I could literally go on and on.

Richard and I have experienced a lot of ups and downs over these past 6 months but the Lord keeps reminding us through His Scriptures to "meditate on his works". So we are continuously reminded of how good and faithful God has been to us; how He is completely trustworthy and we can always depend on Him.

Yesterday was a perfect example of how good our God is. Through the kindness & generosity of my family, God provided a way for me to go to Fort Worth to be with my sister and her new baby, Kynlee, for 2 weeks! My heart has truly been longing to be with them, so I am completely grateful for this unexpected gift. I am so excited to get to serve my sister by helping her during this huge transition in her life.

Another extremely unexpected gift we received yesterday was a check from one of Richard's coaches. He knew that Richard being on the practice roster had made our finances a little tight and that we had a few needs and he wanted to help. He told Richard that some of the money HAS to go toward a date night, so we are going to definitely take advantage of that! :) We are so grateful for the way the Lord uses His people to provide. We are humbled by the generosity we've seen from so many people in our lives. We are so blessed.

Yesterday as I was reading Psalm 30, I came across this verse:

"I am counting on the Lord;

yes, I am counting on him.
I have put my hope in his word." vs.5 (NLT)

It spoke sweetly to me, because I AM counting on the Lord and I HAVE put my hope in his word b/c He is always good, always faithful, always true to His Word. What a mighty God we serve! :)

Also, yesterday Richard was able to have a spiritual conversation with one of his teammates! Richard is highly respected by his teammates and the Lord is really using that to build relationships. Continue to pray for him as God uses him to minister into the lives of his teammates! He is truly a light in a dark place!

Kynlee Adele

Today I get to welcome Kynlee Adele into the family. She was born August 26th at 12:32 am, weighing 8 lbs 14 ounces and 20 1/2 inches.

Erin went into the hospital this morning to be induced at 7am. Kynlee was initially due the first week of September but she kept getting bigger and bigger so they thought the time had come to bring her into the world. When Erin went in this morning, she was anticipating delivering Kynlee by early evening. My guess was 6:15pm (August 25th). Goodness were we all wrong. She wasn't dilating as quickly as she hoped, therefore the process was taking much longer than she wanted. Around 10:30pm she was only at an 8. The doctor said to wait another hour and then they might consider a c-section. After about 30 minutes, she started pushing. But after an hour of no progress, they decided to do a c-section. Kynlee was just too big. I was sad for my sister to have to have a c-section especially after having to push first but she was so ready for Kynlee to just be here.

(my details are probably a little sketchy considering they were being relayed to me from Texas to Canada, but you get the idea :) )

It's 2:18 am in Texas and 12:18 am here in Canada and I'm just waiting for a Skype call to see my little niece. I hear they are both doing well and that Kynlee is beautiful.

I can't even describe how happy I am for Erin and Albert. I know Kynlee will bring them so much joy. Praise God for his "little" blessings! The only thing that would make this day better is if I could be right there with them for this special moment. But I'll get there soon. God will make a way.

Congratulations Erin & Albert! I love y'all more than you know! :)

week of new things

This past Sunday we tried out church #4. One of our friends from Lubbock knew about this church here, so we looked it up and read about and were really excited to check it out. We've continued to pray that God would give us an open mind as we are seeking out a church home. Church #4 was different that what we expected. The worship was good and the message was good but the head pastor was preaching at a different church so an associate pastor spoke. When we left I think we both knew that it wasn't the place for us. I think we are going to try out church #3 again. :)

Yesterday, our friends Caryn and JR invited us to take a day trip with them to Whistler, BC. It's about 2 hours north of Surrey. It's actually the town that where the Winter Olympics were hosted. It's a really scenic town with lots of walking, biking, and hiking trails. We ended up going to this area called "Lost Lake". It was so pretty. We walked through this wooded area and then out pops this lake with lots of grassy area and all these people swimming and laying out. When we headed to Whistler, we didn't know exactly what we were going to do when we got there, so we didn't have bathing suites or towels or anything. Little Alozie (their son) wanted to get in the water, so he hopped in and started playing around. JR had shorts on so he got in a little ways to play with Alozie. Richard doesn't like lakes and wouldn't even walk around in the water with his shorts on. JR kept telling Richard that he could tackle Richard into the water, so of course boys being boys, they started wrestling around and they both ended up in the lake fully clothed! I wish I would have gotten a picture of that but I didn't have my camera so I don't have any pictures of Whistler, either. The drive home was rough, though. The first hour is so full of twists and turns that I felt like I was on a roller coaster. (it doesn't help that JR speeds and is a little bit of an obnoxious driver....haha!)

For the past couple of weeks I've been wanting to go check out this coffee shop just down the block from us, so today was the day. I packed up my computer, my bible and journal, and my book I've been reading and walked to the coffee shop. It is so cute. One area of the coffee shop has a cushioned bench with pillows lining one wall with a few tables in front of the bench. So I set up shop in the corner on this little bench and hung out there for a few hours. I think this may become a new little hang out spot for me.

After Richard finished working out today, we headed to Blaine, WA to fill up our gas tank and get some groceries. There was quite a bit of traffic today to cross the border, so we waited in line almost an hour before we actually crossed the border. But we made it. It's almost $30 cheaper to fill up our gas tank in Blaine than it is in Surrey and the gas station in Blaine is only about 10 miles from our house. We stocked up on groceries and the amount we spent in Blaine bought us a lot more than that amount does here in Surrey. So it was a successful trip.

Good news! Yesterday I spoke with a customer service rep at ATT and we now have a phone plan where we can call the states and within Canada without roaming fees. And anyone from the states or in Canada can call us! I was a little frustrated that no one told me about this plan when I asked multiple times before I left Texas, b/c we could have avoided some serious roaming fees. But I am very grateful that we have it now and the customer rep I spoke to is making a case to dispute the roaming fees we were charged, since their company failed to tell us about this plan in the first place. But all is well...so feel free to call us! :)

Random: Last night I had a dream that I won $109,000 on Wheel of Fortune. HAHA! I should try to make that dream become a reality! Wheel of Fortune, here I come! :)

Pray for Richard this next week. The head coach told Richard that this next week is his opportunity to fight for his place on the team. Pray that he has strength and confidence and that the Lord would protect him from injury. And pray that the coaches would show him favor! We are hopeful! :)

And I'm out!

much love :)

the value of wisdom

Proverbs 3:13-18

¹³ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,

¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.

¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

Since I've been an independent adult I have spent a lot of time praying for provision, praying that I would be a good steward of what I have, and praying that I would honor the Lord with my finances. It seems that over these past 6 years I haven't been able to hide from financial difficulties. But in these past 6 years, I have never once been without. The Lord has ALWAYS provided, whether through family or friends or unexpected blessings. He is Good. He is Faithful.

When the Lord called Richard and I to Canada, we willingly followed. Richard signed a contract for an amount of money that was plenty for the two of us to live on, pay some debt, and put some into savings. But a few days before I left for Canada we received the news that Richard had been selected to be on the practice roster. We knew this was always a possibility, but we never expected it to happen. My first reaction was panic. Being on practice roster meant a HUGE pay cut. Something I didn't think we would be able to live off of. But the Lord kept gently nudging me to "go" and to trust Him.

Since we've been here we've been managing our finances pretty well. It's definitely an adjustment b/c the cost of living here is considerably higher. Grocery shopping is outrageous, gas is double what it is in Texas, eating out is almost out of the question, and tax here is just over 12%! Crazy! Over the past few weeks we became aware of some large bills that were due in Texas. We also just discovered that this next week we won't receive a paycheck b/c it is a bye week for the players, which leaves us unsure of how we will pay some of our upcoming bills. I became really anxious and honestly just afraid of the situation we are in. So I've been spending a lot of time talking to the Lord about all of this. Reading Scripture. Praying. Asking for Provision. Begging God to move Richard up to the active roster THIS WEEK. Well Richard did NOT get moved up this week to my extreme disappointment, but the Lord is good and has provided in other ways.

But something that I've realized during all of this is that through all my prayers for provision I've neglected to ask God for wisdom. Like the passage of Scripture says, "nothing you desire can compare with her". The value of wisdom is infinitely more than the value of any provision. If I'm lacking wisdom, how can the Lord trust me to be a good steward of His provision. I need wisdom & understanding to know how to effectively manage what the Lord gives me. I want to desire wisdom more than I desire financial provision. "Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace." I desire to walk her pleasant ways and her paths of peace. If I'm walking in wisdom, then the choices I make financially will be be honoring the Lord and will lead me to "paths of peace". Even if I'm still needing provision, I won't have to live in anxiety and fear b/c I'll know that I've done what the Lord has asked of me and the rest is up to Him.

So as I continue to pray for provision, I pray more that I would "embrace" wisdom so that I can honor the Lord as He provides. We trust God and we believe that he will give us the wisdom & provision to move through this phase in our life. I confess that I struggle with wondering how God will pull this off, but I know He will. He always does. Through a sermon I watched online the other day, I was reminded to not allow "toxic" thoughts to enter my mind. I must meditate on the faithfulness of God and his abundant provision in my life. He is compassionate. He hears & answers our prayers.

Be encouraged by God today. He is our Comforter. Our Provider. The Prince of Peace.

Seek His wisdom.

back from Texas

Sorry for the delay in my blogging. I've been in Texas for the past 12 days visiting family and friends for my sister's baby shower in Fort Worth and then for Kim and Brett's wedding in Lubbock.

My sister's baby shower was so good. She was blessed with so many wonderful gifts and the presence of lots of family and friends. I was really glad I was able to be there. I loved getting to spend time with my sisters and the rest of my family. It was hard to go, though. Being unsure if I'll make it back for when miss kynlee comes made saying bye really hard. But I have faith that I'll make it back somehow. It may not be exactly when I hope for, but it will happen. :)

After the baby shower weekend, I headed back to Lubbock for the wedding week. I has such a good time with Kim and her bridesmaids. We spent a lot of time together laughing, giving wedding/marriage advice, being emotional (well at least me & dana (:), and getting ready for the big day. Kim's lingerie/bachelorette part night was a lot of fun; great gifts, wonderful food, good wine and yummy desserts. Their rehearsal dinner was absolutely wonderful. It was at the 50 Yard Line, so the food was DE-LISH! There was so much love for them in that room. It was so neat to hear all the sweet things they had to say to Kim and Brett. They definitely have everyone's blessing! :) And the wedding...OH...the wedding! It was perfect. beautiful. emotional. fun. Everything about it was so suited for the 2 of them. I am so grateful they included me on such an important day in their life. I can't wait to see what the Lord does in and through their marriage!


After the wedding, I was exhausted! I was ready to get back to Canada to see my hubs, but I was glad for a couple of days to rest and recoup before having a long day of travel. During those couple of days I was able to spend time with my mom, brother, g-ma, cousins, and aunt & uncle. I was even able to go to Experience Life on Sunday. It was really nice to be back at the church that i love and miss!

My flight back to Canada was Tuesday afternoon. So that morning, I ran some errands with my mom, hung out w/ Kelli at starbucks, and then Katie dropped me off at the airport. I had a little bit of a panic attack about an hour and a half before my flight b/c I didn't know if the check in cut off in Lubbock was 30 minutes or 1 hour for international flights and I did NOT want to miss my flight again. But I made it. :) I had a 2 hour layover in Dallas that turned into 3 and 1/2 hour layover...not fun. I felt bad b/c Richard had this whole anniversary date planned for us and now it would be pushed back 2 hours. But I finally got on the plane. The flight seemed a lot longer than it did on the way to Texas. I was so restless and uncomfortable and had no concept of time, so I had no idea how much longer I would be on the plane. We arrived at the Vancouver airport and when I went through customs I'm almost 100% positive that I had the SAME guy who let me through when I drove into Canada. kinda weird. :)

I was so excited to see Richard when he came to pick me up! When I opened the car door, there was a rose and an anniversary card waiting for me. When we got to the house he told me wait in the car while he finished preparing for our at home date. After he set everything up, I headed to our basement suit to find candles and rose pedals lining the stairs to our front door and candles in a heart shape at the end of the stairs. I was very impressed by his effort! :) I came inside to a candle light dinner, roses, and champagne. He was really thoughtful and I was so grateful for his creativity. Mrs. Dolly even left an anniversary gift basket for us. It had a sweet little card, 2 champagne glasses, a bottle of wine, cupcakes, chocolates, and cookies. It was so thoughtful. I never would have expected that. :) So even though we didn't actually celebrate on our anniversary, it was well worth the wait.

So now I'm back here in Canada trying to figuring out how to spend my days. I'm glad to be back though. The pups were super excited to see me. I seriously think they thought I wasn't coming back. :)

I'll try to update often. And for those who are still wondering how to contact me, e-mail is the best way (lbkeeling@gmail.com). If you need to call us, our numbers are still the same. We just may answer and tell you that we'll call you back on our itouch. OR skype us! My skype name is loribeth421 and Richard's is Richard Jones and both or locations are still Lubbock.

So glad I got to see lots of you while I was in Texas!

much love-

loribeth for the jones'