Today (July 4th, 2011) marks fifteen years since our little girl, Elisabeth, went to be with the Lord. She had anencephaly which means “born without a brain.” The top of the skull fails to close and therefore the top of the brain does not develop. When the baby is born, the brain tissue is exposed often causing the baby to be still born. If these babies are born alive they usually only live for moments or hours. They usually thrive in the womb and go full term.

 It seems like yesterday I was laying on the table having an ultra-sound and seeing that her head was not right. The doctor was silent for a long time, just moving the sound head around. I was just about to break the ice by telling him “It’s OK, I see that her head is not right,” when he finally said, “I’m afraid we have an anencephalic baby here.” I replied, “I know, I see it.” I asked to be alone for a minute. He and the nurse left the room. God reminded me that the name we had chosen for a girl was Elisabeth and that it means “One set apart for God.” I said out loud to myself and to God, “LORD, I guess this one is especially for you!” Dave was far away across the country and not due back until 4 days later. None of my relatives or friends were in town except my father- in- law. The amazing thing is that God had prepared me 2 weeks earlier as I was driving down a road near my house. Anencephaly is something I had feared since I saw it in my human development text book in college. It is a gruesome deformity.  From time to time it would come to mind and terror would come over me. That is what happened while I was driving down that road. I began a conversation with God that went like this: “God, I know you don’t want me to live in fear of this and I want to lay this to rest right now. So instead of worrying about having a child with this some day, I want to ask you, If you ever did give me a child like this, how would you want me to respond?” Immediately scriptures came into my mind and I began rehearsing in my mind how I thought He would want me to respond, (what to say to the doctor, how to be a testimony, what to think upon, etc.) So there I was 2 weeks later living out that “rehearsal” I had in the car. When the doctor came back in to the room, I asked him, “Have you ever read the Bible, and specifically the book of Job?” He said he had. Then I said, “Job says, ‘The LORD giveth and the LORD taketh away,’ but he does not stop there, he goes on to say, ‘Blessed be the name of the LORD!’ “ Then I added, “God gave us this child and in His time He will take her to be with Him. Please do not ever say the word abortion or termination of the pregnancy, and please stick with me through this!” He said he would.

I went home, the prayer chain was activated, and I had a little family meeting with my 3 small children. Hannah was almost 4, Sarah was 2 and David was less than a year old. We all sat together on the couch with our pastor and I explained to them that God was going to take this baby to heaven to be with him, but that it was OK because she would never feel pain, or get a spanking she did not deserve, or ever be sick, etc. Our church flocked around me while Dave was away. This began a journey in which I truly experienced “the peace that passes all understanding.” I experienced the grace of God in a indescribable way. All I could say was, “I feel like I am soaring on the wings of the prayers of the saints!”  The following hymn of surrender became mine for life.

Elisabeth was still-born – she died just hours before she was born.  We never got to meet her, but someday we will have the privilege of meeting her face to face, for the first time (along with 5 other blessings we never met due to miscarriage.) Truly, she was set apart for God from the beginning of time, and we are grateful that she is in Heaven with her Abba Father, at peace!

On Tuesday morning March 15th, I left in the early morning for Asheville, NC (2.5 hours away,) for a doctor’s appointment having been assured by my Dad’s hospice nurse that things were stable. At 3:00 PM, my brother called saying, “You’d better get up here… now.” We were on our way home, approaching Gastonia which is 45 minutes from our house. My brother put the hospice nurse on the phone, and she said to drive through the night. I called home and made an action plan with the children. Thankfully, we had gotten a lot of the necessary things together already and they were on a big pile on the bonus room floor, and all our clothes were picked out and set aside in a section of our closets. All we had to do was throw everything in suitcases and get together the “last minute” things, of which there are a lot with a family of our size. My friend Dominica offered to drive up with us to keep us awake during the night. When we pulled in the driveway, my amazing children (trained by my amazing organizer husband,) had most of our luggage, sleeping bags, etc. already on a pile in the kitchen, and were well underway getting other things together. We were out the door by 6:30, and after getting gas, picking up Dominica, and stopping by Taco Bell drive through, were on the road to PA by 7:15 – Whew. Things went well through the night driving, and we rolled into my parent’s driveway about 6:45 AM Wednesday March 16th (Dave’s birthday – he was in Michigan at the Dad’s Journey to the Heart.) When we arrived, Dad was awake and interactive, and said he was glad we were there. He had rallied. We made our greetings, and collapsed all over the living room for a few hours. This was the beginning of my  Dad’s final stage of his journey from life to eternal life.

In the coming weeks, it became apparent that dad was on a 3 part cycle. He would be disoriented, talking about things that were not really happening and sometimes talking to people who were not there. Then he would become emotional, crying, asking for people, apologizing for things, tormented over past regrets and feeling unworthy and undeserving of heaven. The only word to describe it is torment, and it was heartbreaking. Then he would pass into a more normal stage with alternating sleep and alert times with conversation and humor. Every time around the cycle we would think, “This is it, it’s over,” but then he would rally. After a couple weeks, I began to have some really confusing feelings. I was glad to be there with my parents, did not want my Dad to die, but knew it was inevitable… time was marching on, I was cancelling more and more appointments at home, the girls were getting ready to leave for Journey to the Heart and I wanted them to be there for the funeral, the situation was stressful (really stressful dynamics there,) and I wanted it to be over – his suffering, the stress… but I didn’t want it to be over !?!?!?!?!?!? One moment I felt guilty that I wanted it to be over, the next It felt right for it to need to be over. This was a really hard time for me.

My biggest burden was the torment my Dad felt about his past. He was a man with a lot of regrets about his life. I was not fully sure he was truly saved. One minute I told myself, “If he were not saved, he would not mourn so over his sin.” The next minute I would be thinking, “He believes in works righteousness, and nobody can be saved through that.” I cried out to God for assurance of his salvation.  Each time he went through the tormented part of the cycle, I would try talk to him, telling him about Jesus and the love of God for him. About the end of the third week, he had one of those times. I reminded him of his favorite hymn, “Just As I Am,” and went through it with him phrase by phrase. I told him it is a gift, not to be earned, but simply accepted. I explained what it means to be robed in Christ’s righteousness. I told him that none of us is worthy apart from the death of Christ. He cried out, “Jesus, Jesus, can you forgive ME?” Then he got quiet and slept for awhile. He moved on to the awake alert part of the cycle, and nothing was said. Hannah and Sarah left for Journey on the 9th. The next time he went into the emotional part of the cycle, he said, “My cup runneth over, I don’t deserve it, but my cup runneth over.” His torment had been replaced by basking in the goodness of God to an undeserving sinner.

During that last week, he slept a lot. During his awake times he seemed pretty peaceful. At one point he told me he had asked God to take care of his soul a few months earlier, so I did not need to worry about that. The rest of that week, there were no more tormented episodes. The night before he passed, unknown to me, my brother had a feeling it would be that night and he put a tiny picture on my Dad’s pillow above his head. I did not know it, but it was a picture my Dad had carried in his wallet. My brother had found it and thought is must have been special to my father. It was a picture of Jesus on the cross with a cherub hovering over each hand that was bound to the cross. It was a really old picture. That morning, (the 15th of April,) my bother woke me at 5:30 AM and motioned for me to come. The fastest way to my Dad’s room was through his bathroom, and when I got there my Mom and Brother were standing in the bathroom and my brother said, “Check him out.” I went into the room and it seemed he was not breathing. I called my Mom and told her to talk to him and to say goodbye and give him a kiss. Using a stethascope, I confirmed that there was no heartbeat, and his eyes were not responsive to light. He was still warm. We all said goodbye and took off the oxygen tube that he had been imprisoned to for so many years and turned off the noisy oxygen machine. The silence was deafening! His eyes were closed and a peaceful expression was on his face. The nurse later told us that meant he had passed peacefully while sleeping. She said if he had been gasping for breath or fearful, his eyes would most likely have been open and there would have been a strained expression on his face. This was further assurance, an answer to my specific prayers.

During all the time of vigil and waiting, all the up and down, I often asked myself, “Why is it happening like this? Why is it taking so long? Why does he have to suffer so? How many more cycles? Now, in reflection I know why! During those weeks, he went from torment to peace. Somewhere in there he came to experience the goodness and love of God. I don’t know if he was not saved and became saved, or if he was saved and was just full of regret and fear, or what. What I do know is that me and my children witnessed an amazing transformation. It is an amazing thing to see a man go from tormented to basking in the goodness of God. I thank God that He allowed me and my children to be a part of it all. As daunting as it was, I will always look back on that time with fondness and gratitude. It was a precious time.

Friday evening Dave arrived. We were all glad to be reunited after more than 4 weeks of being apart. Sunday was the viewing and memorial service. I had an opportunity to share about my Dad. I explained that he was a generous man, giving away any extra even though he was never a man of means, often struggling to make ends meet. I shared that I’ve often told my children, “If we were Amish, Grand-pop would be the first one to  sign up for a barn raising!”  I explained that he was a simple man who did not fret and worry, always saying, “Just take one day at a time, tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.” He did not tend to hold grudges or be bitter. I shared the words to a hymn that reminded me of him. Then I went through his favorite hymn (“Just As I Am”) phrase by phrase, explaining what it really meant and why I thought it was so meaningful to my Dad. I never realized until that day how clearly the gospel is presented in that hymn. It is amazing how often you can sing a hymn and understand it and yet not realize the depths of its meaning. Things like this really get you thinking.

On Monday, we took Mom to Lancaster County (Amish country,) for a day out, (something she had not had “worry free” in at least 2 years.) First we went to a Mennonite run Smorgasbord for breakfast, then we visited their HUGE gift shop, went to several other sites and headed home. On Tuesday there was a graveside service only for family. It was very short, and it rained. We then all went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. When we got back to the house my family began to round up our belongings and clean up for our departure the next morning. On Wednesday morning the 20th, (five weeks after leaving for PA,) we set out for home. I was weary and everything seemed a blur. It felt like any minute I would wake up from a dream and none of this would have been real. We missed spring this year. We left Charlotte with the red-buds blooming and leaves about to burst and we left PA with exactly the same conditions only to arrive in Charlotte at 7:00 PM and a steamy 80 degrees. As we drove home that day, I saw spring in “fast forward.” Early spring in PA to mid spring in VA, to virtual summer in Charlotte. That is how my life has felt this last 5 weeks. A fast forward blur.

Now it is time to reflect and recover. In the grand scheme of things I know some of what this was all about. It was about serving my family. It was about doing my small part in helping my father obtain a peaceful end. It was about being a living testimony of how a true servant of God should live. It was about making sure the gospel was shared at his memorial service. It was about my children learning to die to themselves and serve their elders and help each other. It was about realizing how good God has been to us and to my Dad. It was about answers to prayer. It was about building extended family relationships. It was about experiencing the body of Christ holding each other up, (many thanks to all of you who prayed, called, and took up the slack on the home front for us,) most of all, it was about experiencing the mighty hand of God. For all of this, I am grateful!

Baby Harold

6 years old

Teen Hunter

Soldier during WWII

Soldier during WWII

Groom

4 Generations

Mom, Dad and Karl

Holiday gathering

Walking me down the aisle

Dad and Dave

Grand-pop with Hannah, her thumb and her blanket

Grand-pop and Hannah giving us "thumbs" up

Dad in hospital - Elisabeth's passing

Dad and David after Elisabeth's funeral

Dad and David after Elisabeth's funeral

Dad, Mom and Bethany

Bethany with Grand-pop - wearing his hat

Dad, Mom, Hannah, Sarah, David, and Bethany

Mom and Dad

Dad and his generations before Timmy was born

Our family with Mom and Dad (before Timmy)

Mom and Dad's 50th Anniversary-renewing vows

Mom and Dad's 50th Anniversary

Dad's 86th B-day bedside

Dad's 86th B-day

Dad's 86th Birthday bedside

Dad's 86th Birthday bedside

Dad's 86th B-day July 2010

We will miss you Dad! We Love You!

While at the ATI Nashville training conference, we heard Steve Dulin speak about taking sabbaticals 3 times each year. We were so inspired by what he said, we purposed to begin this ASAP. I took mine for 4 days at the end of June. I had a list of things I wanted to seek the LORD about, and my biggest desire was to experience the love of God in the way described in Ephesians 3. Just before leaving town, I had a physical therapy appointment and was telling my therapist (also a friend,) all about the journey I was about to embark on. She wisely said something like, “It sounds like you have your agenda all figured out.” I am a detail person, and I wanted to really  experience God and get some leading. I realized I needed to lay down my expectations and wait on the LORD.

When I arrived, I purposed to begin with a time of confession and repentance. It seems when life is moving so fast, my quiet time consists of reading the Word, bringing my grocery list of requests to God and confessing those glaring sins one can’t forget, (yelling at the kids, harsh discipline, disagreements with my spouse, etc.) Often the rush of the schedule and the demands of a large family make it difficult to allow the Spirit of God to quietly show me the attitudes behind the glaring sins and the real root causes of those sins. The first thing I learned on my Sabbatical was that confession and repentance are the key to drawing near to God, and that with unlimited time and quiet, He will show me things about myself that can’t be explored in a 1 hour quiet time. Unfortunately these things are painful, ugly, uncomfortable, and sometimes even surprising. As I spent that time, I began to see attitudes I was having that promoted the sins in my life. Things like presumption, a sense of God owing me something because of the promises in His Word, attitudes of unfairness and comparison, etc. We all need this time to let God  plumb the depths of our heart and reveal these things to us.

Several weeks before leaving for my sabbatical, I was reading in Luke 22:31-32 where Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted (means returned,) strengthen thy brethren.” Those words leaped off the page for me. It might as well have said “Tina, Tina…,” the words were so strong to me. I pondered what it meant. Was some great test coming? I confess I felt a bit afraid, but then had a sense that God would soon reveal what it meant for me. This came together for me on my sabbatical.

A bit of history is needed here. My life has been one of many sore and fiery trials. Satan was at work  very early in my life arranging many painful events even before turning 3 years old, with many more to follow. One of the most painful memories was my great grandfather dying on my 3rd birthday. He was the one person who really wanted to spend time with me and whose eyes lit up when I came in the room. When he died, the enemy of my soul seized the opportunity to plant the thought, “That is the kind of gift God gives to you on your special day!” All through my life I have questioned God’s love for me, and often with all the trials I have been through, my circumstances seemed to scream “He does not love you!” As I have tried so hard to serve God and kept trying to get the knowledge that he loved me into my  heart, I could not break out of listening to my circumstances. On my sabbatical, I cried out to God to understand why He didn’t rescue that little 3 year old from such fiery trials at such a young age. Where was His Father’s heart? Any earthly father would move in and rescue, or at the very least comfort and explain. This was the root of my questioning His love. Then He gave me a picture of Him sitting on His throne praying for me, and the words came back, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. OK, so these were tests of my faith. ” A sense of unfairness rose up in me and I cried out to God, “But Peter was a grown man, Job had walked with God all his life, why a little 3 year old???” It was as if in the silence of the next few minutes He said to me, “I have a special plan for you that requires fiery trials and coming forth triumphantly.” Something in me seemed to quiet down, or come to rest that had been squirming and wrestling for a long time. I realized that those events from 0 to 3 years old were the beginning of sifting and all the trials between then and a huge trial that took place in 1999-2000 were all sifting with that huge trial being the culmination of the sifting. I realized that from 2000 until now I have been like Peter when he returned to his fishing, just doing what he knew, and what felt secure and solid. Then on my sabbatical it was like when Jesus came to Peter and said 3 times, “Peter, do you love me?” Jesus ended each time with, “feed my sheep.” Back in Luke He had said, “when thou are converted strengthen thy brethren.”  After surrendering and coming forth triumphantly, He wants us to strengthen others who are still squirming and wrestling. He wants us to beckon to them to keep believing, surrender and rest in Him. This is what Peter did, his hope was rekindled, his faith was rejuvenated, his passion blazed forth again, and he burst forth with a mission and a purpose. Are you going through a fiery trial that seems too much to bear? Or, has your life been a long string of fiery trials? Picture Him in prayer for you saying, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.”

Several months ago we were asked to write a paragraph about what ATI (the homeschooling ministry we are a part of,) has done for us. The thought of summarizing that in 1 paragraph was so daunting, I could not figure out how to do it. While on this sabbatical, God gave me an analogy that enabled me to express this. Now if you are not in ATI, this will still apply to you, so keep reading   I had read the familiar Psalm 23 and had not gotten any new revelations about it. The next morning as I was waking up, the words, “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me,” came back to me. I began to ponder, “Why is the shepherd’s rod and staff described as a comfort?” I began to think about the purpose and use of the rod and staff in the shepherds hand. He uses it to ward off enemies, to count the sheep so none is lost, to retrieve sheep who have wandered, to pull them out of thorny places, to guide them away from poisonous plants and to lead them to safe, green pastures. I realized that this is what ATI has done for us. It has clarified our vision, kept us from straying, pulled us back when we have begun to wander, protected us from and warned us of the lush looking, poisonous  plants of the world’s ways, and kept before our eyes the green pastures of God’s Word and principles. Each one of us needs a rod and staff in the hand of our Great Shepherd to do this for us. It may not be ATI for you, but you need to know what it is. What will keep your eyes on Him and His ways and keep reminding you, keep prodding you, keep retrieving you, and be a comfort to you? Make sure you know what your rod and staff is in your Great Shepherds hand, that when you think on it keeps you on the proper path and comforts you. It may be a variety of things, but know what they are, and keep them in sight.

What is a sabbatical? A sabbatical comes from the word sabbath. A sabbatical is an extended sabbath. It is a time to rest and reflect and seek God’s face. To enter into His presence, confession and repentance is the key. Begin with that. I remember thinking, how will I know what to do? How will I know where to read? How will I know He is speaking to me? Begin with confession and repentance and He will weave your path the rest of the way. How long should it be? Ask God. I went for 4 days, and each day built upon the last. It was just the right amount of time for what God had for me. Get alone with no distractions. Try not to have an agenda, His agenda will be different that yours For all you mothers: there is a special opportunity I want to make you aware of. ATI is hosting a Journey to the Heart retreat for mothers from September 22nd to October 2nd. This is a time to get away from the motherly routine and get quiet before the Lord, examine ourselves, and seek His face. You do not have to be a member of ATI to go. For more information go to www.ati.iblp.org.  Scroll down and click on Mother’s Journey 2010 under recent updates in the right hand column. I went to one last year and it was a tremendous blessing! I look forward to going again this year. Maybe I will see you there May The LORD Bless you as you seek His sabbath rest and revelations

I don’t know why I call it that, I really hate getting shots of any kind! Going to the Nashville  ATI training conference is like getting infused with something… WONDERFUL! It is inspiring, motivating, convicting, thought provoking, revealing, awe generating, exhilarating and….. exhausting! But it is a good kind of exhausting. It is the kind of exhausting that comes after searching and searching for a treasure and actually finding it; or like you feel after completing a mammoth project and you stand back and look at it with great satisfaction! Between the wonderful fellowship with new and old friends, inspiring and informative speakers, and seeing the excitement in our children as they lead or participate in various aspects of the ministry, it is completely rejuvenating. It is just what I need before beginning another year of school. It sets the vision, renews the pace, reminds me of why it is I do what I do, and why I do it the way I do it. It keeps God’s principles before my eyes. It reminds me of the blessings that come from keeping on the narrow path and the risks of straying from it.

We were able to head out on Sunday to have an extra day and a half to rest and mentally prepare for the conference. Tuesday was quite an experience as David had to report to be an Alert Cadet Squad Leader by 10AM with a sack lunch, then we went to registration and lunch, followed by dropping Hannah and Sarah off for Commit leadership training. Just when I got back to the hotel and Dave took the younger children to the pool for a short swim, we realized that He and Jonathan had to be at the church in 30 minutes for flag ceremony practice, (oops… we were late!) After dropping them off I had to go back and register Jonathan for alert cadets, because they did not know earlier what team David would be leading. Finally I flopped down in the lobby of the training center to take a deep breath and rest until supper! Timmy immediately noticed his dear friend Robert Staddon in Mr. Gothard’s office (it has glass walls), and began calling, “I want to see Robby!” How do you tell a 2 year old who has been asking for “Robby” for weeks, and has been told for weeks, “We will see Robby soon,” that ,”You have to wait a little while longer sweetie!”??? Well, after a little while, “Robby” appeared, to Timmy’s great delight! He picked him up, and Timmy immediately laid his head down on Robert’s shoulder snuggling in for a cuddle from the person he had been asking for since we left the Staddons at Easter time. After a short visit with Robert it was time to go to dinner. At dinner, David told me that he had gotten sick after eating his lunch. He was not able to eat any dinner, (OH NO!) During the flag ceremony, I saw Dave and Jonathan make a Quick exit from the stage before it was time to come off the stage.  As it turned out, Jonathan and David were coming down with a stomach bug that Bethany had the week before. I whined inside saying, “Oh, why does this kind of thing always have to happen? We anticipate this conference all year, and then someone gets sick!” I immediately began feeling sorry for myself and mentally preparing myself to spend the week in the hotel room while everyone else enjoyed the conference. That night as I got into bed, I asked God to forgive me and make me willing to serve my family, even if it meant missing the conference. Suddenly a great feeling of anger at the enemy rose up in me. I began to bind the enemy and ask God not to allow the enemy to keep my family from being able to serve or from getting whatever He had for them our of this conference. I prayed that He would heal David so he could lead in Alert Cadets, (they were very short of leaders,) and that He would heal Jonathan so he could learn and experience what God had for him. I felt more at peace and was able to go to sleep. What a day!

The next morning, to my surprise, David felt good. Jonathan still felt kind of puny, but he thought he would be able to sit in the auditorium with us. By the time it was time to drop students off for their various activities, Jonathan felt up to going to alert cadets! That was the last I heard all week of tummy aches, in spite of being outside in 90+ degrees and  running around. God had answered my prayer and healed them. The other thing I had anticipated was a noisy and fidgety Timmy, and that Josiah would complain and whine about sitting quietly for 3 1/2 full days. To our great surprise and amazement, both of them sat quietly and did not complain at all. Timmy only had to be taken out for correction one time the first day. After that it was smooth sailing all the way. Timmy even took naps on the chairs with his pillow and blanket every morning and afternoon. I know that is normal for a lot of toddlers, but Stelzl toddlers have never successfully napped anywhere but in cribs or car seats, and forget about moving a sleeping Stelzl baby. As soon as the engine is turned off they are wide awake. Our babies wake at the drop of a pin in spite of having them sleep with lots of noise at home from the time they are born. So this was a real miracle for us!

Once the conference gets started, it is kind of like a snowball picking up momentum the rest of the week until the final crescendo on Friday with the choir singing “It Will Be Worth It All.” We heard great sessions that gave us a lot to think about. We learned about the difference between dedicating our business to God and giving our business to God from Steve Dulin. It was a highlight for us both as we heard how this man has applied God’s ways to his business. Steve also spoke about taking three sabbaticals each year to hear the LORD’s direction. Dave and I are both looking for our first available opportunity to take one.

Another highlight was hearing Gil Bates tell “How to Support a Family of 19 Without a Salary.” What an inspiring message about letting God develop stories in your life while you pray and trust Him for answers! Often, when we felt God wanted us to get a certain thing, we would not feel right about praying for God to supply it if we already had the money to buy it. We assumed He had already provided by allowing us to have the money for it. Even when Gil had enough money to get whatever it was he needed, he would wait and pray and often see God provide a better item than he could have bought with the money he had for it. This gave us something to think about. Perhaps when the money is there it is for something else, (a widow, a needy family, the church, a ministry, or even some other needed item?) In any case, waiting and seeing God provide, gave Gil many stories to impact others in their walk with the LORD. He constantly reminded us that it is all about impacting people. We are praying about what is in this message for us.

We also heard a pastor of a Hispanic church talk about the experience of a group of girls in his chruch at Journey to the Heart. They came back in such one accord power that they are seeing answers to prayer everywhere they go. They went on a missions trip with their church and the leaders of that country asked for them to go to many cities and pray for the people. Everywhere they went people were healed and delivered. The country has asked them to return regularly. Dave asked them to pray for my health. It was an amazing time. That group of people truly had one accord and tremendous faith. I can’t explain it, but you could feel the difference! I pray I will have that kind of faith one day!

Well, as we were approaching Charlotte, I began to feel that old familiar discomfort of a sore throat. By the next morning I was sick, and Jonathan was once again feeling “puny” on his tummy. By Sunday afternoon Dave was feeling a sore throat coming on. When the adrenaline comes down, so does the immune system Getting back on track this week has been a little slow because we have needed lots of rest and “remedies.” The blessing in it, is that I have had some down time to reflect on everything I have heard, and have sarted reading some of the new stash of books we bought. It has been like having a pre-sabbatical while I am waiting for the real thing.

The conference was amazing. God was so good to me and our family. We are refreshed and inspired. I am excited about what God is showing Dave and I for our family, our ministry, our business, and our personal lives. I am filled with excited anticipation of what God has for us in the coming year. I am so grateful for God’s servant, Mr. Gothard and the ministry he started years ago. God uses different things in different peoples lives, but for us, it has been IBLP and ATI that have kept our biblical priorities before our eyes and kept us going on the right path. Now it is time to come back to earth, roll up our sleeves, and get busy doing what He has shown us. I am already looking forward to next year!

Today my feet hit the ground running as the old saying goes! Everybody scattered to do their part as we got ready to have a couple over at 9:30 AM to begin viewing the basic seminar. These were two “new” friends. We were meeting the wife for the first time. Bethany and I headed for the bonus room with Timmy in tow to clean and iron. David put away the mini trampoline in the bonus room and then headed for his cleaning assignment in the girl’s room and the boy’s bathroom. Sarah went off to clean the girl’s bathroom. Hannah began Josiah’s phonics lesson. By 9:30 we were ready with a clean bonus room, snacks, beverages, registration form and workbooks and a comfortable atmosphere. Our new friends arrived and were ushered upstairs to see the first two sessions.

Meanwhile…the weekly cleaning and schooling continued while I put the finishing touches on my outline for this afternoon when I would be speaking to a class of girls about hospitality. I finished 2 minutes before our friends finished watching the seminar tapes and came down for lunch with us. We had a nice lunch as we got to know them better and talked about the seminar contents.

At 1:00 David’s friends were arriving for a birthday play day while Sarah and I dashed off to my speaking engagement. When we got there, things were getting started a little late, and there was some concern about finishing the class on time. There was going to be a meal, so I offered to speak while they all ate instead of eating and then speaking (since I had just eaten with our new friends I wasn’t hungry anyway!) I really enjoyed sharing with the girls about hospitality!

We returned home at about 3:00 to see the boys all playing football in the backyard. I came in and checked on the status of the home bacause you see, our dear friends the Neely’s are coming tonight to spend the next two nights with us. They are a precious family of 12 who are coming for the Charlotte NRA conference. We can’t wait to see them! I found that Hannah and Bethany had done a great job setting up the bonus room with an air mattress, a twin mattress,  several sleeping bags and pads, towels, porta crib, etc. Whew, what a relief! Soon it was time to cut the birthday cake and open presents with the boys. I had a brief visit with my dear friend Sonja while the boys ate their cake. We said goodbye to all the boys and were on to the next phase of our day.

Back in the kitchen, Sarah and I made a giant fruit salad for tomorrows breakfast for 21 Hannah and David ran to the store for more fruit (didn’t you know Hannah is driving now?  ) After the fruit salad was complete, I sat down (for the first time today?) to write this post.

So why did I plan all of this into one day? Well, it’s because I enjoy hospitality so much! Today most people think hospitality is having friends over and “hanging out.” The word hospitality actually means “stranger, hostile stranger, loving strangers.” God showed us hospitality when he died for us in our state of hostility toward Him. He wants us to follow His example. According to this root word meaning, hospitality is reaching out, meeting needs, putting others before yourself, and not only toward our closest friends, but toward hostile strangers. Did you know that hospitality is not a gift or a talent, but it is a command! If a widow has not shown hospitality she can not be considered a “widow indeed,” and is not qualified to be cared for by the church. The Proverbs 31 woman is characterized by this kind of hospitality. A man cannot qualify for the position of elder if he is not “given to hospitality.” And finally, Paul says to “the brethren” (that is ALL Believers,) be given to hospitality! To be given to something is to be characterized by it, to be known for it, to be consumed with it. There is no person excluded from this command, not men, not elderly, not children, not any believer. This is not a “female” thing. It is a believer’s duty, to be joyfully carried out so we can be examples of the love and hospitality of God toward us.

I personally love hospitality because I am an exhorter and I love to see people grow in their walk with the LORD. I also love meeting needs and just being able to host people making them comfortable and doing special things for them. Was today busy? Was today a little crazy? Was I out of my mind to do all of this in one day? Perhaps, but it has been fun and oh so gratifying knowing my efforts have made a difference in the lives of people.

I have to thank my family for the privilege of showing hospitality, because without my family members working as a team, I would be in a puddle of tears on the floor somewhere trying to get it all done. If it were not for them, I could only dream of having the kind of hospitality ministry we have. There was a time I used to cry, because Dave did not want to have people over. (I have permission to share this ) He would say, “A man’s home is his castle, and I want to enjoy mine in peace and solitude.” God transformed him, and today he is soooo hospitable. He loves it almost as much as I do. What is the key to this kind of hospitality? It all begins with our attitudes. Do we have a selfish attitude, only thinking of our personal comfort and convenience? Or do we love our neighbor and desire to impact the lives of others by serving and sacrifice? Dave did not know the satisfaction and wonderful feeling of accomplishment he was missing as he was “enjoying” his peace and solitude. As God changed his attitude, he began to see the magnitude of what he was missing out on. I am so thankful those years of selfish solitude are over, my tears are dried, and I can spend a wonderful day like today!

Today was a very busy day! Today was one of the most wonderful, gratifying, satisfying days! And it is not over. Our friends are on their way, and today will end with smiles of welcome and warm fellowship. What could be better? Thanks to Dave, Hannah, Sarah, David, Bethany, Jonathan, Josiah, and yes, even not-so-tiny-Timmy for enabling me as the lady of the house to be hospitable!

We were visiting with our good friends the Staddons at their West Virginia home over the Easter holiday, when the subject of family blogs came up. I mentioned that we would like to have one, but Sarah and I had been unsuccessful at trying to set one up. Robert Staddon, in his usual enthusiastic way said, “You want to have a blog? Let’s set one up! We can do it today!”  So here it is; The Stelzl Family Blog! We hope you enjoy getting to know us better through our blog.

I want to thank Robert  for his skill and patience in working with me to get the colors, fading, arrangement ……..JUST RIGHT. My children will tell you that I am a real detail person, and getting it just right takes me lots of time We also want to thank James Staddon for allowing us to use his picture of our house taken during their visit to our home, just before this past Christmas. He skillfully captured the late afternoon sun glowing on one of the windows, and the color and clarity are amazing! We chose a picture of our home because we love to show hospitality and we have a discipleship ministry that takes place mostly through our home at present.

May God bless you through the messages found here!