Hello friends- welcome to my blog!
Ted and I decided to add this
page to our website for two reasons:
1. I wanted the opportunity to share my personal testimony 2. I wanted to keep friends updated on my life
Nov. 17, 2009
We are in central Illinois this week. It is cold, rainy, and pretty much just miserable. The great thing about that is that it is nice and toasty warm in our bus. We are drinking lots of hot tea and hot chocolate. I just love this weather!!! I am going to sneak out later today and grab some refrigerated chocolate chip cookies to make. With the excuse of "cold weather" I can get away with all kinds of junk food. Yippee!! So, as the weather gets cold and icky--remember, it makes a great excuse to relax a little more with a good book, a hot drink, and some warm chocolate chip cookies!!!!!!!! (My personal favorite)
~jodi
Nov. 10, 2009
My hubby said that my last entry was a little depressing, so here is my attempt at humor. As we were driving down the road today, Ted showed me the new picture on the wallpaper of his phone. It was of his nine-pt. buck from two years ago with Ted sitting next to it. Across the picture is a banner that reads, "Pray without ceasing." My question to Ted was, who is to pray--the deer or the hunter?
Nov. 7, 2009
Life in the ministry can be pretty discouraging at times. Throughout our thirteen-plus years in full time ministry, we have made quite a few friends. We have spent many hours developing these friendships and have prayed for these people. Yet, Satan's attack on spiritual leaders is strong. Since my last posting, two of our preacher friends have been disqualified from the ministry. It is mind boggling. I do believe these men were true servants of the Lord; they were just overtaken in a fault. My mind cannot help but think of the passage where the Lord says, "...when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)
As the time of Christ's coming draws nigh, it seems more and more families (especially preacher's families) are destroyed by sin. What it comes down to is that people are losing their faith in the Lord. This faith reminds us that we are called of God for His work. This faith stirs us up by way of remembrance as to what the Lord has previously done in our lives. This faith encourages us to hang on because His return is imminent. Yet, He asks if He will find faith. Let me encourage you---hold the fort and the faith!!! Many may be falling, but you don't have to join them. God is "able to succor them that are tempted" (Heb. 2:18). All we need is to have the faith that God will do what He says He will do and depend on Him.
If you are struggling with trusting the Lord, maybe you should sit down and count your blessings. Write them down on a piece of paper, and you will see that the Lord has kept His promises and has blessed you more than you deserve. This will get your mind stayed on Him and will increase your faith in Who He is! ~jodi
Oct. 29, 2009
For now the deer season is over. We were not able to harvest any more deer-I think we scared them all and they went nocturnal. We are so thankful for the three we were able to put up though. God is good and we are enjoying deer jerky, summer sausage, breakfast sausage, deer steaks, and burger! Yummy!!
We are now gearing up for the holidays. The girls have already started their Christmas shopping. They are so cute as they pick out what present would be great for whom. We are going to have another fun Christmas. Before that, we will be spending Thanksgiving with my family in Illinois. It is going to be a big occasion as my mom's whole family is trying to come. (We wanted another family reunion as my Grandma Bartz is getting older--86 yrs.)
Ted is busy planning a Baptist Heritage Revival Tour in North Carolina for February. Today he is meeting with a few pastors to go over the itinerary. Then, later today, the whole family gets to join Ted as he surveys some of the sites. We will be running through the tour over the next three days. Then it is back-to-back revivals through mid-December. Praise the Lord for keeping us busy!! The time is sure fleeting fast!
Oh, one last thought----Luke dressed himself for the first time today, from the top all the way down. He is getting so big so fast! I am really going to miss his dependency on me. But, you cannot keep them little forever!!!
Oct. 24, 2009
Victory is sweet when it comes in the form of deer meat!!! Bethany was able to harvest her first deer in her first hour of hunting. She got a little buck (Joelle calls it a "3" because it was a fork horn until one antler was broken off). We are very proud of Bethany. She put a great shot on the deer and it only ran about 35 yards before it dropped. That same morning, I was able to harvest a doe. Then, the next day I took down a button buck. He was so little that it was almost laughable. Still, it is meat in the freezer.
Ted is having a harder time this year. He hasn't been able to harvest one yet. He is going to try again early next week. Everyone has been razzing him big time about us girls being better hunters. It is good for him, but everyone knows he is a great hunter. I know he will take one yet---and probably a big one!!!
If I can stay on line long enough, I will post some pictures of the kills in our family photo album. Ted may rearrange them later, so if they are not there check out the Alexander Outdoor section.
Oct. 7, 2009
Sunset, SC. is a beautiful place to be in October! We are at the Victorious Valley Baptist Church and Girls/Boys Homes. It is out in the middle of nowhere, and we are thoroughly enjoying our time here. The kids play at the playground and come home dirty and tired. I don't much mind because then they are pretty mellow for the rest of the day. Today we took a hike around the lake. We couldn't find the bear track that the pastor saw, but we had a good time looking for it. We think we found bear scat, but with five girls out looking, who knows what we were really looking at. 
~jodi
Sept. 22, 2009
Oh, how I love fall!!! We are in the upper part of PA and the colors are starting to change. The smell of fall is in the air and I am thoroughly enjoying the warm days and cool nights. The girls are working hard in school and are finishing each day early. They want to spend as much time outside as possible before they are confined to the indoors during winter.
This week we will be getting the guns out in order to practice for the deer season. Only four more weeks until we can replenish our deer supply! We started school early so the girls can take the week of hunting off. I can assure you that they will be quite busy processing deer that week.
I wish all of you could observe little Luke in his play. He likes to borrow Glory's black cowgirl boots and her black hat. He wants to wear a specific pair of jeans every day to match his cowboy outfit. (Of course, he doesn't get to wear the jeans every day, but I try to have them ready often. I know he will grow up too fast!) So, he dons on his "Roy Rogers" outfit and off to the range he goes. He hides behind the chairs or behind a door and shoots at us. He is one bad cowboy!!! All of us enjoy our little boy. Glory especially enjoys training Luke in the finer areas of cowboys.
I would like to encourage each of you to get outside for some fresh air while it is still available! Take the kids to the park, practice up on your hunting skills, or just take a brisk walk. Life will seem sweeter and the day will end happier! ~jodi
Sept. 15, 2009
It has been a fun and crazy schedule for us lately. I am not sure why I even wrote that because it always seems to be the case. Yesterday we were with our friends the Pantanos at their pizza shop. It is a fun place to visit. The pizza shop is where they make cheese pizzas for public schools and prisons (yes, I feel there is a relationship there). All the kids and dad were able to make their own pizzas. We devoured some of them, along with yummy stromboli and a delicious salad. Photos will be posted soon of the activities.
School has been settling down into a routine and we are doing great with our schedule. We should be finished again this year by the first week of May. I think I am already looking forward to May 
!!!! Hunting season is fast approaching and the hunting videos have been broken out. We even had a crazy friend call us yesterday and fake Ted out about his getting a big deer. This will be Bethany's first year to hunt and we are excited for her. We will keep you all updated about who gets the bigger deer! Go girls!!!! ~jodi
Sept. 2, 2009
I just wanted to say "thank you" to all of you who participated in sending cards to Ted for his 40th birthday. The surprise party was a great success as he was totally shocked! He loved all of the cards and gifts sent. Thank you! We will be living this memory in the years to come. It is such a blessing to know how many friends we have across the country, and we count it a privilege to know each of you. Thank you again on behalf of Ted and I. ~jodi
August 27, 2009
My how time flies! It is the end of August, school has started and life is crazy once again! We have had such a fun and busy summer. We went camping with a pastor and his family in Indiana. We were able to fish and go boating while there as well as spend time relaxing and fellowshipping. We held Funfest at our home church and had a great time serving the Lord with our church family. Next, we spent a week at a horse farm in Wisconsin with Pastor Stiller. The girls worked hard to be a blessing while there and had lots of fun riding the horses. I even got on one! That is a big feat for me since I have had one too many bad experiences on horses. All of these activities are pictured on our family photo album. Check them out!
We are in PA right now finishing up an 8-day revival. Ted's 40th b-day is on Saturday. Then we head out to Knoebel's Amusement Park for a day of fun with the kids. We are all looking forward to the day off of school (yes, we need a break already!).
Glory will be turning 11 years old next week (on the 7th). It is amazing how fast time goes and how quickly these kids are growing.
Hope your school year is starting well. ~jodi
July 21, 2009
Since I haven't blogged in a little while, I thought that I would take a few moments to update you all on our life. We just finished our Funfest (VBS) at our home church. It was a great time!! We had a high night of 80 kids (with about 20 of our adults helping, equaling about 100!). On Friday night we had parents' night, where the parents were invited to play the games and attend the service. We had maybe 8 parents come from the non-churched kids. Two of the moms made professions of faith and I was able to talk to another mom about salvation and getting back in church. God only knows the lasting results. I do know that one of the newly saved moms did come on Sunday to services. Praise the Lord!
Last Sunday was also my big boy's 3rd birthday. He hit the big time, receiving a remote controlled four-wheeler and an Hot Wheels loopy race track. Now I just have to find the space for all these big toys!!
Until next time! ~jodi
July 6, 2009
Change has surely come to our motorhome! As many of you know, my hubby's and my dream is to have a cabin somewhere in no man's land surrounded by woods and deer. Well, that is not the Lord's desire for us (at least not right now). Yet, God in His goodness has given us the desires of our hearts. Our RV now looks like a mini cabin! Let me explain. Our floor was getting very worn through, both the carpet and the linoleum. We had asked a few people if it would be possible to replace both of them with linoleum and the answer was pretty much no. You see, we can't put in laminate flooring because of the varience of the slideout and the floor. Replacing the carpet would also mess up the varience needed.
Well, God knows best. He set us up with a professional floorer (if that is a word) who is also a Christian. He told us about vinyl flooring and encouraged us to put it throughout the whole RV. Long story short--we now have a wood looking floor throughout the motorhome! It looks great! We also turned our kitchen table sideways and had benches made for both sides, enabling us to seat all of us with less space. This kitchen change also doubles for a bed for Luke now, which helped us with our other problem of finding Luke his own bed space. Now Luke sleeps on a padded bench instead of with Bethany. (No, he is not totally thrilled with the idea, but he will get used to it.)
We are so excited about what the Lord has allowed us to do to make our motorhome feel like the cabin we have always dreamed of owning. He is so good to us, caring about the little, insignificant desires we have. Praise the Lord for Who He is!!! Signing off! ~jodi
June 28, 2009
Wow, has life been busy lately!! We have ordered some of our homeschool curriculum and have started doing school here and there. The girls really like it (except maybe Glory--if it it history, no, but if it is literature, she loves it). We are hoping to knock out one subject before the school year officially starts. That will allow us extra time off when we need it.
Our next venture was to record a new singing CD. It is finally finished and we all survived!! Yippee!!! It had been maybe four or five years ago since we had recorded one.
Luke just achieved manhood (sort of). He was able to go with Ted to his first men's campout. Two churches combine in the effort and fun is had by all. There was swimming, paddle boating, shooting off guns and fireworks, and much eating going on. Luke had the time of his life! He was even able to buy his first pocketknife (Daddy's idea, of course). I am not really sure who had more fun though, proud Daddy or big boy Luke.
Perhaps my biggest news is that Ted and I had a huge battle recently. It was about who could say the Books of the Bible the fastest. Ted's best time was 20 seconds, and I came in at a whopping 18 seconds. Now I know all of you are going to try and get in on this battle. If you beat me---let me know. But as for now, just call me Queenie!!
Until later, or until He comes! ~"Queenie" (or jodi will do)
Howdy, June 9, 2009
Wash, wash, and more wash!! I am just loving using my new washer/dryer! My hubby teases me when there is a little dirty wash left in the laundry basket. He says I am just not keeping up with the wash like I used to. 
He is soooo funny! I will admit that I am a fanatic about wash. I enjoy holding hot clothing against my arms and soaking in all that heat. Yes, I am party crazy but I am also freezing cold these days. We are in Port Huron, MI. right now, and yes, it is cold. The girls and I have been wearing sweaters and jackets all day long. The nights are even colder. So much for summer. The girls are hoping it warms up next week, because they were invited to swim at a friend's pool while we are in town.
It is almost quiet in the house right now. Ted is gone soulwinning. All the kids except Glory are outside playing at the playground. Buster is the only one making noise---he misses the girls- oh, and my washer- it is running of course. How I enjoy my few and too far between quiet times. ~jodi
P.S. If you know my dad, you may be interested in knowing that yesterday was his 68th birthday! Congrats, dad!!
Hello All, May 25, 2009
I just had a HUGE blessing come my way! We have been on the road full time for 12 years. For only about 2 1/2 of those years I have had a washer/dryer. We had one in this unit, but it broke about a year ago and just have not been able to replace it. Well, my blessing is that the Lord replaced it for us! A church that monthly supports us decided they were going to buy me a washer/dryer just because. I am so excited! This one is vented, which means that the clothes will actually dry (I had to hang dry everything before and then fluff it in the "dryer"). I will get the washer/dryer tomorrow and then the preacher will help Ted install it in the RV. I can't wait!!! I seriously enjoy doing wash. When I am able, I do at least one if not two loads a day!
God is so good to me. It just baffles me everyday! A greater blessing is that this last week we were holding a missions conference and were able to see nine souls trust Christ as their Saviour! I was able to lead two of those to Christ. What was really great was that this family had been visiting for the first time that week. The Grandma, daughter, son-in-law and son all trusted Christ. The Grandma started it out, accepting Christ by herself that night. The next evening the other three came forward separately. These people really got in. We are looking forward to returning later to see how each has grown in the Lord.
Continue to pray for us as we endeavor to serve Him. I will be speaking at another ladies banquet this coming Saturday. Then Ted starts the revival on Sunday until Wednesday. We are looking forward to watching what the Lord does this next week in the lives of this young church.
Well, I need to go. My eyes are telling me it is time to close them for the night.
~jodi
Dear friends, May 21, 2009
Hear ye! hear ye!! Emma has some important news for everyone! She can now say her "R" sounds correctly! 
She was so excited that we even called my mom so she could hear all the words Emma could now say. For those who don't understand the big deal---Emma would say purse and skirt and many other words with much difficulty. I have been working on her during phonics time, but it seemed like she would never get it right. Anyway, Emma is growing up and thinks she is big time now. Another bit of info. is that once again, I was right. I had prophesied that whoever fished with me would catch the most fish. Glory caught 3 (with me), Emma caught 2 (with me), and I caught 2 (yes, with me). Ted had Joelle (who caught two) and Luke (who caught one). Bethany had many bites but couldn't quite get one. She spent most of her time doing surgery to remove fish from the others' lines. It was quite funny, actually. Please check out our family photos to see the fishing pictures. Ted is so ashamed that he hid them in the middle of the photos. You will have to look hard to find them! 
All is well on the homefront. The girls have been keeping me busy with piano lessons. Luke is keeping me busy with sewing buttons on his shirts. He thinks he is macho man and tries to rip off his dress shirt each night. If he wasn't so cute, it wouldn't be so funny.
Keep us in your prayers and we will do the same for you. Take care. ~jodi
Dear friends, May 12, 2009
Things have finally settled down (for me at least). Today I was able to spend some time giving the three oldest girls piano lessons. For Joelle, this was her first lesson and she did a great job! My goal for the summer is to have each girl complete at least one piano book.
Luke is doing well too. His potty training is almost complete. It is a happy and sad moment as I am about to lose my baby. He loves me most though (inside joke with Ted)!!!
Speaking of Ted....I am proud to announce that he is now a published writer!!! He has finished his Sunday school curriculum on Baptist heritage and now has the books published. I am so proud of him!
We are at our home church until tomorrow when we head out to Illinois (please do not pronounce it with an "s" sound at the end, we Illinois folks don't like that). We are hoping to take the kids fishing for a day. This should prove to be a challenge since I know we will be spending most of the day putting worms on the lines!! We don't mind though, the kids are just growing up too fast. Oh, by the way, whoever fishes with me ALWAYS catches the biggest fish!
Trust all of you are enjoying your summer. Take time to spend some of it with your children....they won't be children much longer. ~jodi