January Newsletter

35.

.

i turned 35 last week. It wasn't as painful as i thought it would be. It does feel monumental. Like time to cut the crap. A friend gave me a card on my birthday. At the bottom she wrote-" Zep. 3:17". It didn't ring a bell really. When we got home and unpacked from our roadtrip i got out my trusty study Bible and looked it up...

For the LORD yur God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song.

Zephaniah 3:17

WooHOO!!! (THANK YOU, Jude!) She had no knowledge of what i've been going through...and i just thought this is so like my God- the way He works, the way He speaks through people to me. This is my verse for the year. i will roll it around and meditate on it and gain deeper understanding from it.

i can't put words to all that is growing in me now but these two words have sprung up for my 35th year... LOVE SIMPLE.

i am cleaning out. Letting go. Giving things away right and left- and already i feel lighter...

everything the eight of us have will fit in the back of a truck. WEEeee!

As some of you know- Matt's Mom has been fighting cancer. She is really sick. She told us she wants everyone to pray that her doctors can find a drug that will slow down the progression of her cancer as there doesn't seem to be any cure at this point. Will you pray for her? - and Matt's Dad too, who is working hard taking such good care of her.

i have almost given up on blogging as you have seen- but i do update our Facebook page almost daily. Check it out.

So there it is~ the year of letting go, LOVE SIMPLE, givin' it all away, and Zephaniah 3:17...

XOTiff

Find Us On Facebook!



Hello Friends! In an effort to streamline my life i have decided to try something different... The Croslands are now on Facebook! So many people have told me that they find it difficult to check in on blogs regularly but almost everybody checks facebook right?? i hope this is an easier way to stay connected and more interactive~ which is what i LOVE!

We are notoriously hard to keep up with...and putting together a whole blog post has become almost too much right now. But i'm pretty sure i can handle a 2 sentence update or picture upload every day or so... just click the like button on our new Facebook page to get more regular family and ministry updates. i'm SUPER excited and i hope some of you shy little beans will pop over too!

Come visit: The Croslands In PNG

LOVE, Tiff

Go Read This Now

[my friend Judi with baby Miani, Evie with her buddy Clive, and our tiny tree :) ]



If you haven't been inspired yet this Christmas, you must go read Ann Voskamp's post on Christmas giving ! Go check it out and tell me what you think...
XOtiffany

{P.S. you may have heard by now of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake we had yesterday...we lost a few dishes but we are fine. it was a big one.}

December Newsletter

no news is good news…

     Sorry, we haven’t posted anything in a while. It has been very crazy around our house, packing up, flying back, and then unpacking.

      Our new house was finished when we got back, that was quite a relief. I will share some pictures of it later. For now these pictures are of the bilas, or decorations, the workmen put on our house to celebrate our return.

     We appreciate all of your prayers during this time.

A Train Ride

We finally got to go on a train ride! We rode up the mountain into the Australian rainforest on this historic train. We heard all about how the tracks were carved out by hand and what life was like working on the railroad. We always have to hold our breath through all the tunnels. We rode all the way up to a town on top of the mountain and had a yummy lunch and did some window shopping. We came down the mountain on the skyrail! It was a blast!! I'll post pics of the skyrail next time...

xotiff