In His Image

Due to us trying desperately to save money for our sons eye surgery, I am stooping to advertising on my blog for work. Here's the scoop Quilters love these very sharp rotary cutters and use them all the time. However the blades go dull, or get little nicks in them and need to be replaced. The standard size ones (45mm) cost about $6.50 or if you buy them in a ten-pack, about $5.00 apiece. I have built a machine that I can sharpen these blades now. Even take out the small nicks! It is not one of these little blue plastic sandpaper jobs, it involves a bench grinder, two machinist spin jigs, two clamps that I turn out myself on my dad's lathe, and special wheels for the grinder. I have been working with the local quilt shop to perfect the technique and am ready for all takers. I charge $2.50 per blade for the 45mm blade and $3.00 per blade for the 60mm blades. Since these blades are so thin and easy to mail, people can mail them to me and combine shipping with their friends....

In this day of self-indulgence, may we remember the magnitude of the gift given us, and respond with equal generosity back to Him who we love. It is our greatest gift, it is our greatest debt! Thank you Jesus! Quote of the day: His diaper is fine but his head needs changing! -my brother, who is going to become a father this spring, commenting on my youngest sons peculiar odour and found it was not his diaper, but his sweaty head.

I have a creep in bed with me!! Before you think I am calling my wife names, I will explain. When we got married, some well-meaning individual, knowing that we would have snow for at least six months out of the year, got us a king size, vellux blanket. This thing is the creepiest thing I have ever seen! It has hundreds of thousands of little feet that never stay still but spend the whole night walking across the bed. I am convinced that if we died and have lain perfectly still all night, the blanket would still be on the floor at one side by morning!! It gets worse! When you flip the blanket over, it, like a lot of ladies I know and love dearly, changes it’s mind! It then decides that it likes the other side of the bed and proceeds to carry all the blankets above it off the other side of the bed till morning! Finally I thought I had figured it out. I would turn it so that it would walk towards the head of the bed so that all the covers would stay tucked up around our chins. No...

Yesterday we got up early to see our Malaysian students off to their homes for a visit.  The one group left at 7:00 in the morning, and the other group didn’t leave until 10:45.  We hadn’t told any of them that we would be there and they even told us that they didn’t expect us to be there since it was so far to drive in their opinions.  We were able to see them surprise them and express our love for them as they left. There where several things that stood out to me through the morning.  The one girl was leaving and would not see the others again, maybe ever.  She was very tearful and it tore my heart to realize that she has no hope of seeing them someday in heaven as we would with our loved ones.  Another girl, who has been more quiet and withdrawn, was doing her best to keep back the tears as she eagerly kept pressing her hand against the glass that separated the passengers from the visitors.  You could see the quest...

Our son just warmed our hearts again this evening with his smiles and laughing at the smallest things. I am so thankful that they don't remember all our mistakes as parents!!! Read the post below if you wonder what I mean :-)

Well I know I should write but what?  I could write about the 2x4 that God used to get thru to me about how much of Japheth was still in control of Japheth.  Or I could tell about how finally I obeyed that weird prompting in my spirit and went to see a guy for no real reason, only to find that he was at the end of the rope, so to speak, and even that was beginning to fray.  Or I could tell how that God protected my son during his roller coaster ride down our basement stairs.  He rolled more than he coasted and praise God, except for a few bruises and an hour of heart wrenching sobs; he’s none worse for wear. In all of this the thing that gets to me more than anything is that in spite of ourselves, God is still in control.  We can blow it big time, like I did when I forgot the gate at the top of the stairs for only a few seconds, and God is still in control.  Sure, bad things can happen, but Gods hand is in them just as much as ...

May your stuffing be tasty; May your turkey be plump, May your taters 'n gravy have nary a lump, May your yams be delicious, May your pies take the prize, May your Thanksgiving dinner Stay off of your thighs!

Something really stood out to me this past week of revivals and youth rally.  When we get thoughts into our minds that are diametrically opposed to Christ and His principles, we know they are from Satan.  Does that mean we have sinned and Satan has put these thoughts there?  No!  We cannot keep these thoughts from coming into our minds, but what we do with them while they are there, is another story!      The Bible says that Jesus was “tempted in all points as we were, yet without sin.”  Look at the temptations in the wilderness.  Satan came and “talked” to Jesus in each of the temptations.  Yet He did not sin!  Jesus was still sinless because he chose not to dwell on that which He knew to be wrong, but instead responded from scripture and rebuked Satan and made him flee.      Many times I have been fearful of my salvation because of reoccurring evil thoughts...

The past two weeks, Aimee and I have been trying to get our daughter to eat by herself.  She knows how to do it and has done so quite often, but lately she has just decided that if it was something she was not all that cracked up about, she wouldn’t feed herself.  She will let you spoon it in if you want, but she makes no effort to do it.  What do you do?  Let her go hungry till the next meal?  Or maybe tape the spoon in her hand and let her sit in the high-chair till she has eaten a decent portion?  How do you deal with it?      Today is the beginning of our meetings with Collier Berkshire.(sp?)  We were asked this morning if we have time for revival?  Do we make or take the time to spend earnestly in prayer for our own regeneration?  I was struck with the analogy of my daughter.  I have so often been doing my own thing that I don’t want to spend the time or take...

Quote of the day! “When your mom first got married, she had no problem staying warm at night because she had an “Armstrong Heater.” Now all she has is a potbellied stove!” -for the sake of this mans safety, he shall go unnamed!

The other night at the quilt club meeting I go to, I heard quite a few of the ladies bemoaning that fact that you cannot sharpen rotary cutter blades.  These blades can cost between $5-15 a piece and you might go thru several in a year’s time.  I looked online and found two sharpeners.  One that was mass marketed and all but worthless, and another that cost $895.  I made a simple decision, I can buy a lot of blades for that price!! One thing I am so grateful for, is that my grandfather took the time to teach his boys to think outside the box.  To work with their hands and figure a way around problems.  Many businesses have brought problems to my father and grandfather, asking them to figure out how to fix them.  This is everything from a commercial machine to cut the corn off the ear, to a huge press at Caterpillar® that needed a moving table to transport parts away from the press after they were molded.  I ...

Well, it’s been two months now and the business seems to be taking off.  I have been kept busy enough that I sometimes don’t have time to get all the things done that I need too and that is kinda nice!  I have been averaging about 10 sewing machines a week and while that is the minimum that I feel I must maintain to keep all the bases covered, it is likely to increase as times go on.  Besides the sewing machine repair, I have been doing some computer repair, professional photography, and I just got two web sites to build!!   In all of this, I love being home with my family!!  What a blessed time it has been to fix machines on my bench while coaching my boys in taking an old one apart on the floor.  They loved it and I enjoyed the times watching them interact and asking for directions.  My oldest son has taken it upon himself that HE is Papa’s helper and chief media personnel.  When we go in a store, he runs ...

Well, Do you Like it? I just tried myhand at this and it was quite the ordeal!! I still am working on a few bugs such as the double date beside the comments. Oh well, I guess it's life. I got the other main problem fixed with the font though so now it at least is readable. Have a great Sunday folks! If I look uglier this week it's because my "beauty rest" went into this while everyone else slept!

Congratulations! To my wife who has today put up with this character for 5 years! Her patience knows no limits, and her love in unwavering in spite of her better instinct! Yea, her children rise up and call her blessed for they see their father and are so thankful that God sent her to their rescue lest they become like him! And while her beauty growth more and more, the light of it doeth reveal such spots of tarnish on her husband that he clings to her so that she cannot see them so much. I love you sweetheart and I want the world to know that it’s you and only you that still have my heart. Thanks for the wonderful times we’ve had the last five years and as I have been married to you, we have both found out why God uses marriage as the analogy for the union with Christ. The times of joy that we have had, give us strength for the times of trial and if I can quote you, “It’s worth the pain It’s worth the Joy!” Happy Anniversary Love!

This is the first time that I have posted something I have not written and trust me, it won’t become the norm! But this is a great story that has touched my heart in a very special way and I trust that in this time of thanksgiving and harvest, may we remember the thorns. “THANK YOU, LORD, FOR THE THORNS.” Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease. During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As it weren’t enough, her husband’s company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What’s worse, Sandra’s friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. “Has she lost a child? No, ...

What a reddening moment!!  We had church this afternoon and my family was supposed to have an inspirational skit.  We wanted something that would involve our children (who are 4 & under) and that kinda limits your choices.  Never the less, we did one where I pretended to be explaining what we are going to be doing, and my wife and children all of a sudden start squawking and flapping their arms like chickens Me- “What are you doing?” My son – “We’re Chickens!” “Do you have feathers?” “No.” “Do you eat chicken feed and scratch in the dirt?” “No.” “You’re not chickens!  Now come on, be real!” I then turned back to the crowed and apologized for their behavior and went on with my “explanation.”   My wife and boys, did that again as dogs, and the as Christians, shouting “Halleluiah,” “Praise the Lord.” GLORY,” and passing the hat for the offering.  I turned again to ask what they are doing. “We’re Christians!” “That’s great! ...

Now that I’ve told our story, I’d like to bring up some questions for your thoughts.  We all have ideas about what dating or courtship should look like.  What I am about to share I do not claim to be the final “truth” on the issue but I would like to state that I think that we have a lot to grow in when it comes to our transition from single hood to marriage process. First, is casual dating ok?  Is it ok to go out with several different people to “get the feeling” for what’s out there?  I don’t know about all you folks but I cannot spend special time with any person without getting either closer to them in spirit, or withdrawing from them.  It rarely is an “emotionally free” time.  Thus we get slightly attached to someone and then cut it off, wad up the hurt inside and try it again with someone else.  When the right person finally comes along, we do not open up like we did with the first because we are worried about g...

Taken in our Backyard last night despite two very grumpy and tired little ones. Also our new dog, Bently's first time in the frame.

If you are just entering this story, you may find it beneficial for your comprehension to read the first 3 parts. I will try to finish this for all you who just can’t wait for the end of the story when you already know the outcome!  :-) I warn you it’s long! I broke out in a cold sweat!! “Ah, this is Japheth Stauffer from Blackduck MN, and I would like to talk to you about what has been happening this past week.  You see, ………” (laughing) ”I told Aimee that she should give me a list of those guys that are acceptable and who isn’t before she leaves.  That’s why I almost said, ‘Let me see if your on the list!’” (I had known prior to the call that I was not the first to ask for Aimee’s friendship!) We talked for about 15 minutes and I shared my heart and its desire to be a support to Aimee and the love that I had for her.  I also shared that if he gave his blessing and I won her heart, I would marry her and not defraud her by leading her on and then d...

Most of you folks remember the school shootings at Red Lake High School here in Minnesota. That is only about 45 minutes away from where we live and I had been in that school several times before the shooting. One of the boys that was seriously wounded in that shooting had to go through a bunch of serious surgeries. All the time his mother was at his side. Then about a month after the shootings, she had a stroke and has been and invalid ever since. She is currently staying in a Rehab place and is very lonely. A Native Christian who has befriended her, asked for some people to sing for her. She is not a Christian but has been very open to the things of the Lord every since her stroke. Please pray for us as we try to share some light and His love with her this afternoon.

If you are just joining in the story, please read Parts 1 & 2 first for the context. Over these last few days, I had been talking with my parents about Aimee and what I was feeling in my heart for her. They also thought that she was a Godly young lady and a very eligible candidate for marriage. In fact, Wednesday evening, Aimee wore a white dress with a small white print on it and after she headed downstairs for bed that night, Daddy turns to me and says “She sure looks good in white, eh?” ARGHHHH!! “Yes.” I think it was about Thursday morning that I asked my parents if I could ask her out, after her father of course! My parents felt that maybe she was too worn out right now and that might affect my chances and make her worse with the added strain of no sleep. Yet at the same time, they like I saw that Aimee communicated with her eyes as much as with her words and understood that I wanted to be able to “see” what she was saying. My sisters also had to put their two cents wo...

If you are just checking in, please read Part 1 first to get the context. I turned and started walking back the path to my house and I prayed “Lord, What is this? Some kind of practical joke?!” I went to prayer meeting that night very much confused and nervous about what the next few days might bring. July 6, 2000 I arrived home from work to find that “she” would not be arriving until after supper time. I was as nervous as a June bug on a hot skillet! My sisters went downstairs to sew while I prepared for our young men’s accountability meeting that night. About 7:00 I heard the dogs putting up an awful ruckus and since the girls were downstairs sewing, I figured I would be the gentleman and “call them off.” I went outside about the same time as Aimee got out of the car. I know that this sounds like fiction but something flipped inside!! I quick went back in the house just as my sisters came barreling out the door, squealing and hugging as only girls do. I was so shook up that I stood i...

Well I’ve decided to take the time to put our love story into words. WRITTEN! A friend, Glen, over at Random Pitches, told me to that I am allowed to do it in installments and since I have his permission, and not 2-3 hours to type it out in one shot, you get the first one now and the next, well… when it’s published! J To start with, I am one of those weird guys that thinks it is right and proper to ask a girls father first before making any intentions known to her. After all, he is her protector and God ordained, legal guardian. I believe very much in being under your God given authority so if in this story you wonder why I do some of these things, this is the reason. June, Second Week, 2000 For the last two years I had been building my house as the funds came in and as it neared completion, I began to get antsy about who was to live in it with me. Living in a small church with a youth group you could count on one hand, minus a few fingers, the number of gals close to my age, I di...

This morning we had a sermon by my best friend, Keith, who’s also the husband of Destination Glory land . Once again I am impressed that you need not be ordained to hear God’s voice and then share a sermon. What he spoke on was TIME. (Not the magazine either!) We all are different in so many ways. Some are wealthy, some are not, some have had tough childhoods, and others have had glorious ones. We cannot choose what nation we were born in, who are parents are, how we look, what we inherit, the times we live in, all of these were chosen by God for us. The only thing that we ALL have in common is this; we all have the same amount of time in a day. What am I going to do with it? Do I spend my time pursuing those things and really matter? Or do I more often, get so caught up in the “cares of life,” that I forget whose time I’m using. We so often think that if we do a few “big things” for God, we are the same as those doing a lot of little things. I don’t know. God wants us to be op...

We just got word from our son’s eye surgeon that after conferring with his college, he thinks it is ok for us to wait for six months or so to do the surgery.  Praise the Lord!!  This has been an answer to prayer because I hope in that amount of time to be able to pay for it! I know it was something little but to me, it was a “God” thing!!

Ok, so I told you I wouldn’t be here for a while! Now I have returned but don’t know what to say or more like it, where to start. Last month we went to a family camp for a week and what a blessing it was to not have to think about anything other than being together as a family and listening to some very inspired speakers, giving insight in how better to train our children and work together as husband and wife. Sadly, I realized that I have woefully failed at both many times. But it was good to here from God in that quiet setting and start to make some of the changes that were long overdue. We arrived home to a mess of sewing parts in the basement, between 150-200 ears of sweet corn waiting for the freezer, and about 10 sewing machines waiting to be picked up. My new business venture has started out well though it has had its bumps that I still ponder at. But God has been gracious!! I was granted the contract to service two schools sewing machines but they both needed to be done ...

"I have no greater joy than to know that my children walk in truth!" Amen! This afternoon I had something happen during Singspiration at our church. We have been working with our 18 month old daughter to fold her hands together when we pray. This afternoon, being somewhat tired and wanting to figit all the time, we gave her a carrot to naw on for a while. She was busy at it when the leader ask people to bow their heads to pray. To the best of my knowledge, she had not been paying attention at all to the song leader, but she quickly dropped her carrot and folder her hands to pray! I forget what the prayer was about! All I know was that my heart just about burst to see her taking the effort to prepare for prayer! Oh how I long for her to continue to have that same attitude to her heavenly Father. It is my greatest joy and my deepest desire! Yet I feel so inadequate to the task of training my children to walk like Christ when I struggle so often with it myself!! Makes me wish t...

For those of you who have wondered if I have dropped off the face of the earth, I assure you that I am alive and kicking and never been so busy in my life!! Where do I start? A little over a month ago, I gave my bosses my letter of resignation effective August 31. I had decided with the advise of my father and wife to end my 8 year career as a sewing machine salesman and technician at the store in Bemidji. I was undecided as to what to pursue but felt led to wait on the Lord to make His path plain. After much discussion over possible careers and job opportunities, my father advised me to look at starting my own business and working from my home. I prayed about it with my wife and she heartily agreed that she would love to have me home more often and felt that this was the best thing we could do. Thus I have started my own company called, A Stitch In Time, Sewing Machine Repair. I will be working at home but since we live in the sticks and to far away for most people to drive, I have be...

My mother often told me, "Never go grocery shopping when your hungry, everything will look good to you and you'll end up with a lot that you don't need or is good for you!" I must admit that she is right! At my job, I get a hour long lunch break and that is often when I do the grocery shopping for us since we live 30 miles from town. Some days I have been in to much of a hurry to eat my lunch first and get to the store still hungry. Bad move!! I end up spending about twice what I would have needed to! (but the Cheetos's, pop, chips, and chicken wings were very good! :-) On Sunday we had all the youth at our house due to us having A/C and the youth leaders did not. It was 95+ and quite sticky so they were all glad to come over. We had supper and then a time of sharing. It was during this time that God used something that Dawson said to really stir me, it's not what you don't eat that makes the difference, but what your filled with that counts! I ...

Just a thought; When a husband and wife have a close, intimate relationship, children are one of the natural outcomes of it. We as Christians, are the bride of Christ. If we are in close communion and fellowship with Him, will not new babes in Christ be one of the natural outcomes of our walk with God? Secondly, we would never say that we do not want another convert so soon after the "first" one, yet we do that with our children. Marriage was not created just for our enjoyment, but as a reflection on what our relationship with God should be like. Thus, is it an error on our part to try to limit God's hand in either area, because we don't know if we can handle it, or whatever excuse we so often come up with?

Are you a “horse” Christian or a “mule” Christian? What’s the difference you may ask? Your right, they both eat the same food, they both do the same kind of work, the both live in the same kind of place, they look very similar, they even sound somewhat alike. What is the difference? The horse can reproduce, the mule cannot! Jesus said that every branch that beareth not fruit will be cut down and throne into the fire and burned. What kind of Christian are we? So often I can get caught up in “my” life that I forget I gave it away to Christ. What does He want me to do with it. One thing that He has made abundantly clear is that I am to tell others about His love and coming judgment. I am to bear fruit!! But do I?! Am I willing to sacrifice my time, my reputation to my customers, my easy life to tell others of the right way to walk? Many times I have to answer “No.” When we looked at going to Thailand in mission work, a great Brother, Luke Kuepfer, talked about a paradigm for church planti...

Though relatively new to the world of blogging, I see a pattern and it is often mirrored in our lives. If I were to sum it up it would be this, "Talk, rarely turns into, Walk." We can spend so much time talking about issues, analyzing them, defending them, justifying them, rationalizing them, and yes, attacking them that we never step back, look introspect, and ask, "Does this need to change in my life?" If we never ask this question, or worse yet, if we ask it and never are willing to deal with it, we are only filled with so much hot air and will never amount to much. Let me back up a bit and ask is discussion and debate even necessary in the church? I will answer with an unmitigated "Yes!" We are told by Paul to "...contend for the faith," by Solomon, "as iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of a friend." What happens when you sharpen something, there is friction, there is heat, and yes there is pain when sp...

The last three days I have had the privalige of working with my two sons at home. We did all sorts of things, from cutting dead limbs out of trees, to weeding the garden, (your welcome honey! ;-) to helping grandpa in his shop, to fishing, camping out, roasting hot dogs, playing in the sand, cutting wood, making dinner, and a host more. I found out what my father had told me numorous times as I was growing up was true, he really enjoyed doing things with his boys. I had so much fun that I didn't care how tired I was. I didn't mind so much that it took twice as long for them to set the table as for me too. I loved being with them, teaching them and watching the fruit come forth in their lives. Today was Father's day. My wife called bright and early, before we even got in from the tent, to wish me a happy fathers day! I thought about that a lot today. As much as I love to be with my children and to see them grow, it doesn't even come close to what God must feel ...

My wife left me. Well, only for a week, but that's pretty close to desertion, don't you think?! In all seriousness, I am glad she got the oppurtunity to go east to see her family and witness the wedding of her first cousin. She took the two youngest with her so it's just me and the boys at home. We are coping well, however the first evening, Jeremiah, our second born, leaned over to Japheth and whispered something and then started trotting in to the house. I asked him where he was going. He responded with "I need to talk to Mama." I picked him up and had to fight back tears myself as I told him that we needed to be brave cause Mama wasn't coming back for a long time. (Try to be two and a half and see how long a week without your mother is!!!) We have been having a good time though. I have off of work from Thursday thru Sunday so I could spend time with them and maybe lessen the pain a bit. We are camping out this evening in a tent in our back yard, something t...

This last week has been a blur. Having a Track and Field day at our church for all the homeschoolers in the area last Friday, having company both Saturday and Sunday, starting Vacation Bible School on Monday and I'm supposed to be the superintendent. Lately I've felt the load heavier and it has cost me some of my peace, trying to be all things to all people. A few postings ago I alluded to a area of shortcoming in my life. That area is the pride of my heart. I do almost everything to be seen of and well thought of by men. It has gotten to the point that I spend more time considering how to say something in a interesting or clever way, without even asking God if He wants me to say it in the first place. I finally came to a brokenness about three weeks ago one Friday night. I realize that I have nothing worth giving in and of myself. I am worthless without Gods direct intervention. I had to ask for forgiveness from my church, for while I did not come across arrogantly all the tim...

Me and our youngest, Wayne, taken at 11:30pm because he wasn't sleepy. He had to share the joy!! 

As I entered my 20's, I started to see two different approaches to married life. One side seemed to focus more on their children and the other still went on dates and kept wooing each other. I watched my father start to date my Mom again and thought at the time that she acted rather giddy, like a teenager on a date, and during the day of, or after, her eyes had an extra sparkle in them. Thus when I got married, I didn't want to loose that fondness of pursuing each other. As a guy, I new that it would be very easy to start to see her as my Mom, there to do the laundry, cook the meals, wash the dishes, keep the house, and forget that she is the woman I wooed, the woman whose heart I had so diligently sought! Now it was mine, how would I treat it? So thus we try to go out on a date every two weeks. We often go to a little nicer restaurant and eat a leisurely meal and then go shopping if there is anything we need. Do we do anything glamorous? Not hardly! Unless you consi...