Safe & Sound.

NOW, NOW, THE STORM WILL ALWAYS PASS, MY DEAR

There will always be a storm,
But to those who choose to look away, there will be a calm breeze and some fallen leaves
Look not at what damage has been done, but instead on what rain has come
The rain will carry healing and nourishment to those in need
Keep focused on the rain, not the storm


We have come to the conclusion that Isaac was more of a blessing than a curse. Truthfully, we have received so much joy and hope- All thanks to the storm that came! Praise the Lord, our God, for providing for us; He has proven Himself to be rich in love through this storm. Thankfully, the weather is back to beautiful. Honestly, nothing bad happened where we are. Really, we were able to do a lot more than we were able to do before the weather got "bad". For instance, we were able to dip our feet in the bay. Every day we go down to the pier to pray, dance, dangle our feet from the pier and play hide-and-go-seek. During our days off, the water had risen so much that we were able to sit at the end of the pier and our feet were soaked! How awesome? To us, it was precious. The only thing that we were not able to do because of the storm was play hide-and-go-seek, because Rusty moved the boat ;) But, honestly, we have been fine!!! :)

There have been more blessings than we can count! Many of the blessings that we have received, we will not mention but rather thank the Lord. In time, we will tell how we have been richly blessed and provided for. Ah, our God is good.

You know, God IS GOD! My spiritual mother always used to say that to me, "God is God" over and over again- she would repeatedly remind me that God is really who He says He is. I will never be able to explain how important that phrase has been in my life. It is the most truthful thing that has ever been said to me and the most truthful thing that I have ever said. See, God is God. No matter who thinks He is, He is who He is. There is nothing more true than that. We, as humans, do not have the power to make God who we want Him to be- yesterday, today and forever more He will be the SAME! Praise the Lord! Wow! With that said, when we go to God (in prayer, in listening) believing in Him for who He is, we receive so many blessings. In just believing, we receive the fullness of His blessing. Many times we will labor with tears, groans, prayers and requests that seem to be much bigger than our little minds can handle- BUT- the moment we surrender and recognize that God is still God and He can handle anything, in that moment, we are setting ourselves up to receive blessing. Think about it, the last time you prayed, did you get what you asked God for? If so, did you really trust that God was God? If not, did you really trust that God was God? Your answer to that question may answer a lot-- think about it. If you have trouble trusting that God is God, then start reading the Bible. People may say the Bible is just mans word, or mans opinion of God, but after studying the Scripture for three years as a Theology student, I have come to the understanding that there is NO WAY that man wrote those books without God. Each word is ALIVE AND ACTIVE! If you do not agree, I am confident enough in His word to say that you must not have read it enough-- either that, or you have not asked the Spirit of God to reveal Himself to you-- because His Word is TOO powerful not to convince you of His character and truth!!! Truth is convincing. God is convincing.

So, if you wonder why we pray & believe in God, our answer is that we have found Him to be true in all things. People fail us, yes. Possessions fail us, yes. Jobs fail us, yes. Money fails us, yes. God NEVER ever fails us. We are so convinced that God is true, because He has shown us His love our entire lives. There are times when our closest friends really let us down & God remained with us. There have been times when our family disappointed us and treated us unkind, but God showed up and reminded us of His love. In the quiet times, we have seen God. In the lonely places, we have found God to be the one that sticks closer than a brother! Hopefully if you are reading this, you know that GOD IS GOD.

We have said it before & will say it again; we are blessed.

Just so you all know, married life has been fantastic. It has been amazing. We are so thankful to get along so well, communicate so thoroughly and love so deeply. Some days I wonder, "wait, isn't this supposed to be harder than it looks?". Then I remember, "our God is protecting us because we trust Him to protect this marriage!". At the church we have been visiting one of the worship leaders came by us and said, "you two are newly weds and I can tell by the way you act!"... when she said this my response was, "I hope we always appear as newly weds!"... our love is so strong! Thankfully, we really really love each other.

Our days are filled with laughter, singing, dancing, and smiles! Really, we daily laugh and laugh hard! We daily sing and sing loud! We daily dance and dance wild! We daily smile and smile big! Our love keeps us joyful! Our fellowship keeps us glad! God is good to provide us with such loving helpmates. Wow, God is good.

When times are painful, it is never the other... but, rather, circumstance... and thankfully, we have each other. We constantly remind each other that God is good & that He will provide. As we remain faithful to God, He remains faithful to us!! Yes, He is faithful. Wow, we are blessed!!

We hope you enjoy our pictures & our love!!!

Sitting Down By The Pier During Hurricane Isaac

Driving To Work At LMT During The Storm

Us, Hanging Out "Like A Pair Of Pearls"

The Best Of Times

Silly Times During The Storm

The Cutest Man

Always.


Thank you to all who have encouraged us, blessed us, given to us, helped us and prayed for us!! We thank God for you all!

Keep seeking truth!!

We'll be back,

<3 The Reece family

Hurricane Isaac

HURRICANE ISAAC IS COMING OUR WAY!

For all of those keeping up with us, you might have noticed that there IS a storm coming our way! If you are unfamiliar with Alabama weather, this is common. Although the last time that we had to board up the windows, move the beds to the middle of the house and stock up on yummy goods was a while ago, we still consider the possibility of a hurricane hitting our land every year. Thankfully, we have not had a serious storm since Hurricane Ivan (year 2005).

To be honest, Callum and I have been extremely relaxed with the idea of a storm hitting us. Yesterday, I went to work at Little Monkey Toes (Callum came with me). While we were in the store, many of the customers mentioned the seriousness of the storm that was hitting. Even with the mention of it, we did not worry.

Something really awesome happened yesterday. While we were at Little Monkey Toes, Callum mentioned cleaning up the back of the store (to help out and make sure that the stock room was a safe place). With permission from the owner, we started cleaning up around 2 p.m. At five, when the store was to close, we were not any where near finished. So, we continued working in the back room until 7 p.m. When we got home around 7:30, we rested until we received a message from Mrs. Susan. She said that there had been an emergency evacuation and that the store needed to be prepared for the hurricane. We both jumped up, put on our shoes, and headed out the door (this was a little better 10 p.m.). From 10 p.m. until 2:30 in the morning, we worked hard & fast. Together we secured all of the clothes & shoes. The entire store is safe and ready for Hurricane Isaac. All to say, if we had not felt the need to clean the back room earlier that day, there is no way we could have finished the task that Susan set before us that night. It would have seemed impossible. Thankfully, God put in both of us the desire to work hard during the day and help out as best we could! Amazing. We are so blessed to serve such an awesome God. For those of you who have not understood God as the God of order, please know that our God IS orderly! He is so cool to put a desire in our heart, and strength in our arms, so that we could be prepared for whatever storm hits (literally). Our God is good to look out for His children!

Today, after getting in around three a.m. and falling asleep around four a.m., we started work at Camp Baldwin around ten. When the managers found out we had only gotten a few hours of sleep, they said to go back to our room and sleep. There were ten rooms that needed to be cleaned and mattresses & box springs that needed to be unloaded off of a truck. Although we were weak, God provided energy and joy for us to work! We worked very hard. Billy noticed around one that Callum & I were very tired, so he let us off early.

We have spent the rest of the day preparing for the hurricane. As we mentioned in earlier posts, we live right on the bay. Being so, when we walk out of our room we see many boats that have been anchored in. It is neat to be here at the camp during hurricane season. Although many would see being by the water a little more dangerous than other situations, we feel so safe and ready. Something that Brother Mitch, a camp director, said is that we are all in this together. It's always good to hear that others are in the storms with you. Not that you wish any one else would have to go through a storm, but just to know that we all have each other no matter what comes our way!

Life is good.

There's a big chance that this storm could be a little bit of wind, some rain and a fallen tree... but, regardless of what happens... I am glad to be married, safe and in love. God is so good to us. Thank you all who are praying! We are joyful and dependent on God. He is providing all that we need! Even the things that are unseen, He has them taken care of. There are no worries here! Only joy!

Being young and married is precious! It is sweet to see how God connects all of the little things in our lives. You see, two years ago, when I first came to Camp Baldwin, God showed me that I would have many children. As time when on, He made it clear that my first son was to be called Isaac Samuel (because of the laughter he would bring and because of the longing I have for a son; Isaac means he laughs & Samuel means "God hears"). Now, being married and more than ready for anything God brings us (even children), I am thrilled with the Hurricane being titled "Isaac". Little things are keeping me joyful lately. It will be such a sweet moment when I am able to tell my son Isaac Samuel about Hurricane Isaac that came through Alabama the year that his daddy and I got married. God is funny :) He knows just how to make us aware of Him!!! God is good.

Life is good. Love is good. Being in love is good.

Callum & I are having fun! We are enjoying the days and making them count! Many memories are being made.

Hope you all are doing well. Hopefully this mini update comforts and blesses you all.

<3 The Reece family

Truthfully, Loving Our Lives.

How could we be so blessed?

We wake up every morning between five and six a.m., at that time we get ready for the day. Following showers and breakfast, we pray and read the Word. All throughout the morning we exchange hugs, kisses and sweet words. The mornings are sweet. As eight thirty rolls in, we make our way to the office for coffee. Callum makes sure to get a nice big cup of the strongest coffee available & depending on how I am feeling, I get the same as him. Once coffee is in the system, we head out to find Billy. Billy is the housekeeping director here at Camp Baldwin; something that you all should know about Billy is that he is not only in charge of housekeeping duties, but he manages and serves in every way that the camp needs him. On any given day he could be cleaning out the dorm rooms, setting up motel rooms, cleaning sheets, lifting heavy furniture, finding a way to carry loads of camp tools back and forth on the camp, or even managing a team to make camp life happen; Billy is a good guy, we are glad to be friends with him. Billy usually assigns us to a pretty intense assignment. From eight thirty until twelve, we work out in the heat doing anything/everything that needs to be done. We take a lunch break from twelve to one. For lunch, Callum & I go to the old dining hall (a small kitchen that was previously used a lot more at the camp, but here lately just Callum and I use). Our appetite is satisfied with rice & beans or pasta & marinara, and sometimes quesadillas. If you do not already know this, we are REALLY simple eaters. Thankfully, Callum is super easy to please when it comes to lunch. Goodness, we are blessed. After lunch, we go back to work. From one to five, sometimes we get off earlier, we are hard at work. The work here is hard, but rewarding. Some days are much harder than other days, and for that I am thankful. Having hard days makes the rest days so much more enjoyable. When work is over, dinner follows shortly after. Our dinners are pretty simple for the most part, unless we go out (even then, we are simple eaters). Being down here is such a blessing. We work hard, yeah. But, we are finally able to be alone and out of the way. Every day when work is over, we are not expected to do anything... all we are required to do is love God and rest! Wow, how could we be so blessed? Thankfully, we are even able to go down and enjoy the pier right outside our room. The sunsets are beautiful and the Bay is a kind reflection of God. Our experience here is outstanding; we are so blessed to be here.

We are enjoying volunteering at Camp Baldwin. Honestly, it is the best decision we could have made and God is blessing us for following Him (even though others were telling us to do otherwise). There is something really peaceful and special about giving our time and energy to the people here. They never take from us, but instead do the opposite. Instead of expecting us to do everything for them, they realize we are to work as a team. This place is very special; the team here is more than we could have ever asked for. Thank You, God.

Recently, I have been training at Little Monkey Toes in Gulf Shores. Last year, I was working at the Bell Air store; now, I am going to be spending some time working at the boutique down here. It has been a learning experience. The days that I have off at the camp will be spent at the store, for the most part. God is good to provide for us while we are here. It is more obvious every day that I am alive that God has plans to provide for my needs. There is never a time when it seems God is not providing; God always proves Himself to be the great provider. We trust God to provide for us, especially when people tell us not to. God is good and He NEVER FAILS! God's Word promises that God will provide for those who diligently seek Him, so we keep diligently seeking Him & He keeps providing. Hallelujah! We love our God.

We have been going through a lot these past few weeks. Nothing has been too hard for us to handle, really. God has given us the strength each day to press in and pray. As we pray, our trust in God grows. Our trust in people decreases. There are many people who do not understand the decisions that we have made these last couple of weeks. Many people have said hurtful things and even dishonored Callum & I. They say and do things that they have no idea are corrupt and untrue. Fortunately, God continues to remind us not to take too many things too seriously. When others throw hurtful words and sayings around, we know to look to the kind and steadfast voice of God. Goodness, our God is good. The voice of Jesus is so peaceful and true. As children of God, we are learning to daily test the voices around us and trust only the voice of God. He is so good to allow us to discern what comments are from Him and what are not. Pray that we would rely on the voice of God and brush off our feet every time that others try and guilt us into trusting their lies.


On Wednesday we were able to visit a church down here called Abiding Love Fellowship. Our dear friend, Rusty Davidson, mentioned that we needed to come to his church and receive healing from any hurts that we had picked up over the last year. You see, Rusty has known me since summer 2010 when I worked at the camp; he knows that Holy Spirit is my best friend and that my faith is rooted in the truth of God. Seeing me desperate for God's touch, he was thrilled to invite us to join his congregation. Finally, we made it Wednesday. When we first got there, the church opened up in worship. Before they ever started singing, they had a slide show going. Everyone was standing. The slide show contained words that reminded the church of the God that we serve; the words were humbling and truthful. All of the people cheered, clapped and called out to God with a voice of thanksgiving. It was beautiful. Then we sang a few songs, including Happy Day. It was amazing. Worship was free!!! Everyone was free. There was not a single person in the building standing still reading words off a screen, but instead there was freedom and true worship. The people sang with joyful hearts. Hallelujah. When the preacher spoke, he delivered a message about sowing and reaping the Word of God. His words were simple, but true. God is good; God has blessed us so much. The service was exactly what we needed. God is good to remind his people of His truth. Rusty was right to invite us to his church. We are so thankful and will worship with them again.

Everything is awesome around here! Thank you to all who pray for us! We have recently sent out personal prayer letters. If you feel led to pray for us and would like a letter, please send us your mailing address and we will get a letter in the mail asap! We love you all and pray that you are drawn closer to God's heart.

<3 The Reece family


Being With My Man Fills Me With Joy


This Was Supposed To Be Of Us


More Successful Picture Of Us


Callum Man Being A Cutie As Always, Yeah He's Mine