Estes Editorial

An Incomplete Work

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:17:00 GMT

I’m pretty convinced the business cycle exists. Historical evidence seems to support it and it fits with God’s design for most of creation. We have the cycle of seasons, day/night, lifecycle, predictable tide changes, etc. What causes the business cycle is a bit harder to define? Is it a change in productivity, aggregate demand, adoption of technology…? The list of possibilities put forth by economists is rather lengthy. The reality is probably all of the above.

I struggle to want to accept the “spiritual” cycles we experience in our relationships with Jesus. There are times when God seems so close, we want to pray, and the relationship is a joy. Then there are times when God seems far away and prayer is almost a chore. The latter has been my experience the last few months. I have battled frustration, discontentment, feelings of failure, and probably a few things that I have left out. Why do spiritual cycles exist? It’s easy to identify some things – our own complacency, busyness of life, distractions, and sin can all cause separation from God. But what about those times when it just seems to come out of nowhere? I read an excerpt from a John Ortberg book last night where he quotes C.S. Lewis.

“C.S. Lewis noted that at times God will send us a strong sense of his presence, a desire to be with him, the ability to withstand temptations with ease.

‘But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs—to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be.’”

Does God sometimes “cause” the spiritual cycle for our own good? Yes, I think he does. I can attest that during the last few months I’ve been growing and learning how to trust God with things that are hard for me to release to Him.

He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it…Philippians 1:6

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Merry Christmas

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:04:00 GMT

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Joel

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:28:54 GMT

Lauren loves this video of Joel so we thought we would share it with everyone else. To watch it, right click on the video and click play.

Our 4 year old

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:54:06 GMT

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Look Who's 1

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:16:15 GMT

Happy Birthday Joel

Vacation

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:23:18 GMT

Aaahhh....vacation! Although rather short, it was a wonderful and relaxing time. We went to a wedding on Saturday (Greg's cousin) and then went through South Bend, IN to St. Joseph, MI on Sunday. We stayed there a few days before stopping at the Indiana Dunes on Tuesday and Wednesday. The kids had a blast at the beach - Lauren in the water and Joel in the sand. Think sand in hair, sand in clothes...enough said! Lauren also enjoyed watching the boats, the bridges, and many other "firsts" for her. We are home for a few busy days of laundry, gardening, and packing before going to church camp. Check out our vacation photos here.

Where has time gone??

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:08:32 GMT

Things have been busy around the Estes household this spring and summer!! Here are some of the things we've been up to.

Field Trips
We've been able to take field trips to the Children's Museum in Bloomington and the St. Louis Zoo.

Finishing the Basement, again!!
After a short 10 months, we decided to refinish our basement. The water all over the floor might have had something to do with it . We decided to have it water proofed so we wouldn't have to ever deal with water again. You can see more pictures from the process here. Shortly after we got it finished, it decided to rain a lot (6 inches in 12 hours) and we had a little water again. What fun!! We're putting in a second sump pump and hopefully this will stop the extra water. So far so good. We finally have it finished and dry. Yeah!!

New Play Area

Bountiful Harvest

We don't have any pictures of this, but we have been blessed to already have a very full freezer of "fresh" produce. It all started with asparagus (lots and lots and lots.....just ask Greg about that). After eating it at least 3 or 4 times a week and freezing several gallons.....we moved on to rhubarb, zucchini, cherries, green onions. Soon the tomatoes will arrive. We just have to fight off the deer and the Japanese Beetles!

Reading

Lauren participated in the Pleasant Plains library program and won a new lap art kit today. She was quite excited, and we are thrilled that she loves to be read to and is learning to read herself.

Blessings to each of you! We will be "on the road" soon for a few weeks.

Free Heat!!!

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:48:07 GMT

I was going to pick up the kids at the baby sitters(I normally don't do) and took a wrong street only to find lots and lots of wood. Kathy stopped by on her way home to see if they were looking to get rid of it and to our benefit, they were. This should heat our house for about a month or so.

Enjoying First Days for Spring

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:42:26 GMT

We have enjoyed being able to go outside and play.

And we're off!

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:57:04 GMT

At least Joel is. He finally managed to go forwards and not backwards. Oh, how life will change for all of us (especially Mommy) now!