Beauty in the Darkness

A country night is very dark.  Driving on a dark country road, with trees on both sides, can get a little lonely, even a little spooky sometimes.  There's so many shadows moving away from the car headlights.  Today I was coming home from our Christmas program practice.  There was no moon or stars showing.  When I got to a certain point, I could see two eyes looking at me.  I slowed down and saw a beautiful buck walk across the road and stare at me as I drove carefully past. 

That deer turned the dark night into something beautiful.  I wonder who around me is in a dark time in her life.  Am I being an encouragement to her?  Sometimes we don't realize how we affect the people around us.  Am I a beautiful part of someone's life, or am I just blending into the darkness?  Am I reaching out to help someone, or am I just hiding in the shadows?

Hannah Mix

One of the weird things about blogging is that my day is not very different from anyone else's.  Yet, for some reason, you still want to read about it.  Sometimes I ask myself, "Would anyone really want to know about that?"  Would you, for instance, like to know that a certain somebody woke up really early one morning?  I didn't know her diaper was messy until about 2 hours later when I found "diaper prints" all over both girls' beds.  Or would you like to hear that somebody threw up tonight in our local diner?  It's not like it was in a restaurant in the city, with people we'll never see again.  Everybody knows everybody here.  The whole town has probably heard the story by now.  Oh well, most days are not that exciting. 

Jonathan is crawling all over the house. He loves his sisters and bounces up and down like he is going to jump up and run after them.  He will be 10 months old in a couple days. 

Abbey is really trying to help out around the house.  She loves to experiment.  For example, she knows I use soap and water to clean certain things, like the floor, dishes, etc.  So she decided to pour a cup of water into the DVD player to clean it, too.

Yes, the past few days have been eventful, but I love my life.  I have the privilege of taking care of my family all the time.  I don't have to pay someone else to do it part of the time.  I am thankful for this blessing.

Hannah Mix

seventeen years ago...

Seventeen years ago today, a young family was huddled together at the small airport in Anchorage, Alaska.  They had already left their home in Ohio and were now finally ready to fly to their new home in Magadan, Russia.  They were allowed two suitcases plus two carry-ons per person, so with seven people, they had twenty-eight bags.  It may have looked like a huge mound of bags, but this was just about everything they owned.  So many things had been given away or left behind.


The church in Anchorage had gathered to send them off.  Without a doubt, this family felt loved.  They knew these friends would pray for them and keep them in their hearts.

There was a little confusion at one point when they found out their carry-ons were too big.  Carefully packed bags were opened up.  "Kids, go put these clothes on over what you're wearing."  "Here, put these books in your pockets."  "Tie these extra sweatshirts around your waist."  "You need to carry your toys in your hands."  Things that could not fit anywhere were given away.  "Does anybody want this sweater?"

Finally, it was time to leave.  Father, mother, and five little children walked onto the plane that took them to the mission field for the first time.  Seventeen years later, we are still walking in the footsteps that our God would have us to walk.  Thank you, Mom and Dad, for following the Lord.  Thank you for teaching us kids the joys of following God's plan.

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way."

Psalm 37:23
Hannah Mix