August 2011
1 post
March 2011
6 posts
Good End to A Great Week in Honduras
Time just seems to fly. It feels like it was just yesterday Gissela was welcoming me to Honduras, but I now sit in the Houston airport awaiting my flight back to Lexington. It was wonderful six days of ministry and God continues to use the people of Honduras to teach me.
Yesterday was just a perfect day of ministry to finish my time. We had spent quite a bit of the week planning and preparing...
God's Providential Hand & Baleadas
“Commit your activities to the Lord, and your plans will be achieved.”
Proverbs 16:3
God is good. All the time. Being back in Honduras has been amazing. Justin and I have finished to first two days, which have been filled with ministry and opportunities to share the gospel.
Wednesday after landing, we immediately headed over to a all girls orphanage called Las Casitas. ...
Entering the Season of Lent
So the Cracraft’s have been pretty poor about this whole blog thing. It’s not like we don’t have enough things going on to talk about. Every night leads us on new adventures. The problem is those adventures generally don’t occur at HOME….
But excuses are just that. So here I am and I got to say it is good to sit down, even if for only a few minutes, to just “defrag” my brain at little. It...
WatchJohn 3:16
Procrastination...
So Bo is out of the house until late tonight and I am supposed to be working on our budget. This means one thing. I m doing anything to keep from working on the budget. In my search for other computer related things to occupy my time, I accidentally hit the “iphoto” button. Our photos are sorted by month and year, so I decided to go back and see how Colby looked when he was the age...
February 2011
2 posts
Stepping out of Fear on NEVERday!
What is it about fear of something new or unknown? I mean, why did I get so anxious when asked to teach for the first time? What is it that causes me to get fearful when I think about the real possibility that God is calling me to change occupations? Or better yet maybe move my family? As a follower of Christ, I know that being fearful is not the design of God for my life;
For God gave us not...
Cause I Didn't Get it the First Time
I got to admit it. I must be having a hard time totally grasping a hold of what God is trying to convey to me. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am totally trying to listen, read, and spend time with my creator, but it seems like the more time I spend, the more He just continues to bring me back to Matthew 25. Whether reading a book, grabbing an online devotional, or listening to a sermon I keep...
January 2011
3 posts
Pray for them...
Kids say the craziest things. Yesterday Kallee was watching “Dora the Explorer” whose mission for the day was to rescue “Backpack and Map” from the junk pile. She looked up at me and said “can we pray for dem?” Later in the day, after we’d picked up Colby from school and checked out 13 books and 5 movies from the library to prepare for the snow, she was...
Getting Back Into a Routine....
So, I will admit it. I have been pretty lazy about blogging. Heck, I have been pretty busy about doing anything. It seemed like Christmas and New Years flew by and then this weather stuff has had our family all out of our normal routine!
BUT, we (I am speaking for Tara) are back and ready to rock! A couple of random thoughts to start:
Colby has had a great past couple of weeks at school! ...
Interrupted...
As a mother of two small children, I am very familiar with being interrupted. Whether my plans for the day change because of a snow day or a sick kid, or I just have to put a conversation on hold until I can make a ruling on the current sibling conflict, interruptions happen daily in my life.
I just finished reading “Choosing to SEE” by Mary Beth Chapman. This amazing woman...
December 2010
4 posts
Grafted in Among - Pastor Rafeal
On Sunday evening, I returned home from a short, but fruitful, trip back to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Since returning from my initial visit in July, I have worked towards returning, even if only for a few days. My life and my dreams are changing and Central America is part of those future hopes and dreams. It was a pretty whirlwind trip, but very rewarding. Meeting Pastor Rafeal (pictured...
Connecting for a Bigger (and Better) Purpose
So, I’m back. After what seems like forever, I give my faithful readers (all three of you) a new post! Now, I could say life has been ultra busy and we have been running around with our heads cut off, but the truth is that I have been a bit lazy. (No need to go and tell Tara. She already knows!). But while I might have been a bit slow to update...
November 2010
2 posts
Christmas Cards!!!
Where has 2010 gone? We’ve got a 2 year old and 5 year old/Kindergartener now. Bo’s been to Honduras on a mission trip. God blessed us with a new house. I ran a mini-marathon and turned 30! And it all seemed to go by so fast! That being the case, I’m trying to get started on Christmas stuff way before Thanksgiving to streamline the celebration of the season! I love this...
Thankful for....
This week, there have been a number of people, my wife included, who have been updating their facebook status each day to inclulde a message of what they are thankful for. It might be a friend, family member, job, or home. It has been nice to hear people express thanks and it got me thinking….
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever....
October 2010
4 posts
The Hunger of a 5-Year old!
Watching my 5-year old son Colby grow up is such a blast! Becoming a dad and trying to lead my family is overwhelming at times, but seeing your kids literally grow and develop into “little” people right before your eyes is such a blessing from God. Colby is learning so much right now, but watching him learn is also teaching me a lot.
Colby is so hungry to read right now. He is learning new...
glorify...grow...give
Long time, no type my friends! Things have been pretty busy in the Cracraft family. We had a tremendous time on fall break and thoroughly enjoyed our time as a family. I must say, the kids are growing up so fast, but watching it happen is such a blessing from God!
One of the nice surprises this week was a letter from some of our dear friends, Steve and Alissa Rose. The Roses have moved...
September 2010
6 posts
Headed into a Fall Daze!
The Cracrafts are headed to the Beach! Myrtle Beach that is. In what has become sort of a family tradition, our family will be spending Fall Break relaxing and resting up while enjoying God’s beautiful creation. I have always looked forward to this time because I get away from the work, email, stresses of a normal day, and I get to just be with my wife and kids. It is also a cool time...
The Death of Crabby Bo.....
Last night, Tara and I were sitting in bed reflecting on our evenings, when Tara started to tell me a story. She had talked to one of her best friends, Carrie Beth, and they had chatted about Carrie Beth’s recent trip to Chicago. Carrie Beth and her husband had joined a handful of friends who traveled to Chicago to compete in a mini-marathon (I know, I know….who would want to run...
Ruby McCarty Boyd Obituary: View Ruby Boyd's... →
A Virtuous Woman!
Over the course of the past few weeks, I have asked many of you to lift my grandmother, Ruby Boyd, up in prayer. She is suffering from multiple mylenoma and the disease has spent the better part of the past three weeks attacking her kidneys. Late last week she had gotten news that her kidneys weren’t reacting to the dialysis and that her outlook was not positive. After a pretty...
Four Day Weekend NOTES!
Thanks to the great budget shortfall of Kentucky and state furlough, the Cracraft’s will be getting to enjoy a FOUR-DAY weekend with no real plans! For the past several years we have traveled during the weekend for soccer, but this year we will be home, spending time as a family! I got to say that I am pumped about the down time and have been looking forward to loving on my family for...
August 2010
7 posts
One Month Later....
Its hard to believe, but just one month ago today I was stepping off a plane in San Pedro Sula eager and ready to see how the Lord was going to work in and through my life and our group. The month since my return has literally flown by and life has seemed to be non-stop. I have entered back into a daily routine of work, tackled soccer, and completed many of the home improvement projects that...
Moving Day! And a Few Prayer Requests
TODAY, the Cracraft family is set to move in to the house known affectionately as PRADERO!! After a couple months of hard work and dear friends, we hope to spend our first night as a family in the new house. The kids are excited. The wife is excited. And I’m just ready to watch my new HDTV!!!
I can’t go forward without giving a shout out to all the folks who have taken time to...
Changed Lives
As I write this I am laughing hysterically. Friends and family, I sit here before you tonight, a member of the Early Learning Center PTO, who drives a minivan WITH a soccer ball on the back. NO…I am not kidding you! I had to turn down the PTO president tonight when she wanted me to put an “Early Learning Village” decal next to the soccer ball. I felt bad and bought a t-shirt...
Exhausted! But Blessed!
If I could describe our family right now, it would be exhausted! Colby is still adjusting to full day school, Tara and I are trying to get into the new house, and Kallee is unfortunately been along for the ride! We might be tired, but we know we are BLESSED! God is Good, All the time God is Good!
A few notes for a sleepy Tuesday!
Please pray a good friend of mine whose mother is fighting...
Random Monday Thoughts -
So it is Monday again! Our weekend was packed and sure didn’t seem long enough. On to some random thoughts:
It was sure good to be back at Hope Community Church this week. I had missed the last three Sundays and it was a blessing to hear Jeffro teach.
I love Qdoba. I am addicted. Sunday afternoons aren’t complete without a trip.
Pradero is moving along. We got the new windows...
The Next Step in Our Journey Begins.......
Last night marked the beginning of a new step in the Cracraft family. As I have mentioned over the past couple of weeks, the Lord has been working on our family a great deal, and in ME in particular. He has been calling us to make some changes in the way we live, where we go, and what we do. Last night was the start of one such change.
Over the course of the past several months, Tara and I...
On the Seventh Day He Rested
I can’t believe that at this time tomorrow I will be stepping back into the state of Kentucky. I will have my two precious children waiting on me and my beautiful wife welcoming me home. Don’t get me wrong, I wish that moment was now, but I also can’t help but wish I was welcoming them into Honduras instead. I look forward to the day that my entire family gets to experience a week like this. I...
July 2010
18 posts
Day 6 - Our Final Day of Ministry
I know that I have began to sound like a broken record, but this week has been unexplainable. Just when I think I have experienced all that I can handle, God puts me in a new situation. He continues to push my mental envelope and the emotions that I have felt. I have struggled with the level of injustice, my heart has broke with the amount of poverty, and I have broken down at the sight of...
Day 5 - Serving at Manos Unidas
Today our team got the opportunity to spend the entire day at a “Soup Kitchen” called Manos Unidas. It is run by a couple who are originally from Michigan, but accepted the call to Honduras four years ago. Terry and Shari were a sweet couple who have a heart for the “lepers” of San Pedro Sula. They open up their facility twice a week, offering the homeless a opporunity...
Hand me downs...and an imagination
So I decided we need to stay home today. Having an extra boy and girl around this week, along with a serious lack of naps/timely bed times, has proven tough for Colby and Kallee. That being said, there was no lack of entertainment from the kiddos. Kallee wore her “princess dress” (a hand me down dance costume from Delaney) and “princess shoes” (hand me downs from Kenzie)...
El cuarto día en Honduras
Day 4 was one of our longest days of ministry, but filled with blessings. We spent some time visiting schools, the local city square, along with conducting a VBS afternoon at Los Bordos. It has been busy, but very rewarding!
We started our day at a school of elementary aged kids. Here we had the opportunity to sing, sign and share testimony. There were kids everywhere and willing to talk. We got...
Day 3 in San Pedro Sula
We are finishing up our third day, which included a return trip to Las Casitas, the all girls orphanage, as well as a trip to Nueva Esperanza, which is another orphanage off younger age kids. It was a blazing HOT day and one that had me both physically and mentally exhausted.
Our morning at Las Casitas was very productive. We were able to fellowship with the girls through futbol, manicures, and...
Day 2 in Honduras
After a great night of rest (thank you Lord for AC units), Day Two in San Pedro Sula got started with breakfast. And what I mean is eggs, bread, ham, and refried beans in the morning! Yes, beans for breakfast! Talk about hitting the jackpot!
After breakfast we headed out to a local retirement community! There we got to meet probably around 40-50 elderly Hondurans. I got the priviledge of...
The Soccer Game
While Bo is gone to Honduras, I planned to stay busy to pass the time quickly. The main part of the plan was to have 2 additional kiddos around this week. Mason and Raegan always add to our fun!
The kids decided to have a “soccer game” this morning. Colby found a jersey for everyone (good thing Kallee can’t read that hers said “HOOPS”.) Mason was the referee,...
Honduras - Day 1
Wow, what a day. It has been a fast paced and long day, but one that included traveling to Honduras and our first opporunity for mission.
First off, Praise God for what I would call a perfect set of circumstances for our travel this morning. While I wasn’t all that excited about a 4am wake up call, our flight to Houston and then San Pedro Sula both were on time and with NO complications. ...
Random Monday Thoughts (on a Tuesday)!
So where did Monday go? It’s only Tuesday but this week appears to be moving at warp speed! So it appears that my post last week got a little response. I have enjoyed hearing the positive feedback and encourage words. Sometimes I let Satan convince me that my path through life really can’t or won’t be interesting to others, but a few weeks ago I heard a friend share...
So this week many Kentucky state employees learned of the Governors plan to furlough all state employees for a total of 6 days over the course of the following fiscal year. Like many other states, Kentucky is facing severe budget issues which are requiring difficult decisions to be made. One thing you will learn from reading this blog is that I am NOT very political, nor do I...
My Post Premiere
As a Cracraft, blogging has become an added duty to my day. Actually, I love reading other blogs…checking out the deals…seeing what’s going on with friends…so I’ll try to make my posts as interesting as possible. (Please remember that I stay at home with my kids each day!!!)
There were 2 highlights to today.
#1-Colby and Kallee playing “Bible Heroes”...
Random Thoughts on a Monday
Life has been crazy busy. It seems like we have just been bouncing from one place to the other and there are so many things to do. Mondays always come to fast, but it also gets us back into our weekly routine. Its hard to believe we are already in the midst of mid-July. The summer is going to past before we know it! Off to random thoughts….
The weekend was crazy. Three swimming events...