Abbie in the Car

A few weeks back, I had the privilege of going somewhere with Abbie. It was just me and her -- no Mommy (sniff, sniff). As we were driving, she kept making noises and playing peek-a-boo with me. Of course it is hard to drive and look at your beautiful bundle of joy flirting with her Daddy from the back seat, but I managed to pull it off without killing anyone.

I was able to snap a photo with my camera phone (I am grateful for technology!). Here is the photo I took for your viewing pleasure.

--Stephen

Thought for today: God told Moses that "Certainly I will be with thee". The same God that was with Moses and with his forefathers is the same God Who has saved me by His marvelous grace and is divinely directing each day and each moment. He knows right where I am -- why, then do I fret?

The Excitement Continues

As many of you know, moving is always an adventure. Last night, we made another momorable evening together as a family.

We have rented a storage unit in our town. It is about 2.5 miles from the house. We are putting all our things in the storage unit until we can move it all to New York on the 14th of August.

Last night, I had a load ready to go to storage and realized that we only had about 15 minutes to get in before the nightly cutoff to enter the "compound". I drove like a madman to get there with my load. Of course, I got there in the nick of time with a few minutes to spare. As I got out of the borrowed truck and trailer to unload into the unit, I realized that I had run off without my key.

I called my faithful wife who rousted Abbie out of bed and brought me the key. She too, was able to enter the "compound". Being the wonderful wife that she is, she volunteered to stay and help me unload the trailer. As we neared the end, I sent her home to get Abbie back in bed. Seconds later, I received a phone call from her that the code to exit was not working.

"Oh, great!" thought I. When I attempted to enter the "correct" code, it dawned on us that the cutoff time to enter or exit the property had been exceeded -- we were stuck!

After much deliberation, and exhausting every option, we decided to phone 911. Thirty minutes later, Sheriff's Deputy Babaoglu rolled up in his patrol car.

In vain, he tried to reach the alarm company and the owner. After nearly two hours of being caged inside the "compound", the officer volunteered to help pry us out through a hole in the fence.

Officer Babaoglu gave this tired family a whirlwind ride home to the comfort of our home. Being in the back of that patrol car brought back many memories (remember that, Dad!). He was a very kind officer and we are grateful for his assistance last night!

Anyway, that is the short version of a long tiring story. Thanks for reading! The photo is of our caravan after we realized that we were stuck. Sorry, no photos of the frazzled Troell family. I think God has blessed me with the most patient wife in all the world... she just said "Let the adventure continue." She knows me too well!

--Stephen

Hijacking Blog

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Shoooo, anonymous blogger who leaves useless posts!!!!!! Go away!!!!

Thank you!

--Stephen

The Other Family Member

Here is a snapshot of the other family member-Madison. Often she gets left out, because Abbie has most of the spotlight, but we love her too!

Update on Move

An update on the progress of our move:

Friday, we found out that our closing date is being pushed back one business day until Monday, the 31st. We were disappointed at first, but are actually quite relieved now as we assess all that has to be done in order to move out.

Yesterday, I lost all my keys! I placed them on the bumper of a borrowed truck and realized about three hours later that I was missing them. We are praying that they will turn up somewhere. That means that tomorrow about 10:00 a.m., a locksmith is meeting us at the storage yard to drill out our old lock and replace it with a new one. Another $50 down the tubes!

This week will be a busy one as we are trying to get our things out in an orderly fashion and stored. God has been so good to us and has provided for us each step of the way.

Please keep praying for us as we follow Him!

--Stephen

More of Our Little One

Our beautiful gift from the Lord! She is a joy -- we love being parents!

-- Stephen

Moving

It is the plan of God that all those who know Him take an active part in fulfilling the Great Commission. This begins by being a faithful witness "unto the Lord" and to others whom the Lord directs into our path on a daily basis. As we spend time with the Lord Jesus Christ and allow Him to reveal Himself to us, we will begin to develop the heart of God for others around us. Out of our love for Him and our relationship with Him, we tell others of what Christ has done for us. It is not our job to save the lost, it is our job to obey the Lord Jesus Christ by witnessing to the lost. He gives the fruit.

Beyond this, the Bible clearly teaches that all members of the first-century church were actively engaged in the starting of New Testament churches. We desire to obey the Lord in this matter.

As most of you know, the Lord has led Jocelyn, Abbie, Maddie and I to move to Buffalo, New York for a time. Our purpose is three-fold. While there, we plan to get our home-based graphic design and photography business off the ground. We feel that if we are both self-supporting and mobile we will be able to travel to other parts of the US and the world to help "strengthen" and "start New Testament churches". The primary purpose for our move is to complete the necessary paperwork and interviews to enter the country of Canada as a self-employed family to help a college friend start a church in Alberta, Canada. We will be working to get things clear so we may join them for 6 months to get this new work off the ground. We are going to do whatever needs to be done -- anything we would do at any church (soulwinning and visitation, etc...).

The third purpose is probably the most exciting. The Lord has led us to help Pastor Jack Britt at the Cornerstone Bible Baptist Church. Pastor Britt is the Jocelyn's father. He has been pastoring for nearly four years. We are looking forward with great anticipation at what God will do there.

It is as we obey Him, that He will lead us. We must battle our flesh and not settle into the routine of life. It is our desire to break out of the mundane and see what the Lord will do with our lives.

We need much prayer as we close on our house (July 28), move to New York (August 14), and continue to follow the Lord. There is a good family at Temple who has agreed to let us live in their fully-furnished 2,000 sq. ft basement. God has provided for us each step of the way!

Please pray that the Lord Jesus will receive glory as we live for Him. He is going to prove Himself to us!

Our God is good!

--Stephen

More Abbie Bathtime

I am not sure why, but our little one is at some of her cutest moments during bathtime. She just loves to splash and play! She talks to us and we cherish each moment we are gifted to spend with our precious little Nookie Monster (Daddy's nickname for the little bundle of joy). God has been so good to us.

Tonight, we took some more photos and thought we would share them with you. We hope you enjoy these as much as we have.

--Stephen

My Favorite Photo

As many of you know, I have taken up the hobby-turned-semi-profession of photography. My favorite photography subject is Little Abbie. I have taken countless photos of her, but none move me like this one.

When I look at this photo, I am reminded of how quickly our lives are spent. The Bible tells us in Psalm 90, "we spend our years as a tale that is told...so teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." How swiftly our lives pass us by!

Jocelyn and I have made a concerted effort to remind one another and ourselves that, before we know it, we will be turning around and she will be all grown up. May the Lord help us to put into her life the things she needs to live for the Lord!

Enjoy this one!

--Stephen

Pictures of the Little One

Many have not had the chance to see these photos we took of Abigail in an outfit that her Aunt Christina gave her. She is so cute!

She is crawling and "walking" all over and she loves to make messes!

We are closing on the house Friday, July 28. We will be staying with the Cureton family for two weeks. They have a 2,000 sq. ft. basement that is finished. Praise the Lord!

God is so good to us.

-- Stephen

Bathtime for Abigail

Here's our little sweetie having fun in the water. As you can see, she loves to hold her hand under the running water and play with her green frog.

Jocelyn

The First Troell Family Site

Well, here it is... the first posting on the new blog for the Troell family. This is going to be the place for all things Troell. Any news or other important things will be able to be found here -- if everyone cooperates.

Until the next post...

Stephen