Suvar Christmas Letter 2019

For the last 8 years we have taken the money that we would have used to pay for Christmas cards, pictures, and postage and put that money towards supporting a mission organization. We've given to a few different places: 

• World Vision to buy a goat and a few chickens, and even a cow for a family in poverty, 
• Lifesong for Orphans to help buy tin roofs for single mothers' homes in Zambia, and 
• Voice of the Martyrs to send Christmas gifts and bring encouragement to our fellow Christian brothers and sisters who live under persecution in the 10/40 window.
  

We aren't telling you all this so that the light can shine on us. Rather, we share this with you so that others may see the Light that inspires us to give of ourselves. We can only give because He first gave to us.

"Let your light shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify YOUR FATHER in heaven." Summary of Matthew 5:16   

As my friend Carey says, "Our arrow points UP."

So instead of a picture in the mail with a happy holiday greeting, you get this update. And a few pictures taken over this past year.

Owen is 13 (!!!) and in 7th grade.  He is moving into the teen years and we saw a huge growth spurt over this past year. He enjoys perfecting his performance on the the French Horn, building new levels in his video game world, and fluctuates between wanting to be a surgeon and a coder. He is certainly the first-born of the bunch. Bent toward the Type-A rule following and constantly "directing" his sisters on what they should do. He has a knack for memorization and numbers, is self-teaching himself piano, and any and all sports. He ran Cross Country this Fall and made us so proud taking a sport that comes difficult to him, and pushing hard to improve himself each time.

Hannah is 11 and is in 6th grade this year.  Hannah is our in-house creative, singer, and dancer.  We have noticed lately that, although she is incredibly shy and has a hard time around big groups of people, if you put her on a stage it's a whole different story. This girl loves to perform. I think I see musicals and drama club in our future. Daily she is writing stories, drawing pictures, and learning new art forms by self-teaching through tutorial videos. Hannah participated in her second season of Cross Country this Fall and we are continued to be astounded with her natural talent. She was invited to be a part of a team that competed at the Nation level. She placed 29th in her age group and her team took home the 3rd place trophy. It was a cold, chilly 22 degrees in Madison, WI for race but it didn't seem to slow her down at all (she got her personal best time!) She's already planning on how she can get the money to pay for her plane ticket for next year's race in Sacramento, CA.
 

Madeline is nearly 10, in 4th grade, and has quite the personality.  She is the most independent, most extroverted, and most headstrong of the three.  She seems to have a mature sense of humor that does not match her age and makes us laugh daily with things she says. She also loves to make little people out of simple ordinary objects (erasers, corks, clothespins), cuddle on the couch, and has a soft heart that is quick to ask and receive forgiveness. With her outgoing nature she rarely is in a crowd where she doesn't make a new friend. Madeline sometimes bemoans the fact that she is the youngest, but she does an excellent job as our caboose, cheering on her siblings in their sports and always ready to lend a helping hand to her mom and dad.

This July, Paul and I were able to get away, just the two of us. A lot of people would choose a beach to relax on, we chose the Grand Canyon to hike. We did our research and even a bit of training and hiked from the top of the Grand Canyon, down to the Colorado River, and back up to the top all in one day (often referred to as a Rim to Rim hike). A total of 10,000 feet of elevation and 16 miles of trails were hiked. Despite temps over 100 degrees and our sore feet afterwards, we had a blast and want to do it again - with the kids!
 

 

In June, Paul finished up his 5th year of teaching with much singing and rejoicing from me.  Having put in more hours in 8 months than a full time job does in 12, I was so very thankful to have him around for the summer.  But between VBS, road trips, honey-do lists, volunteer jobs, lesson planning for new classes, and family trips, there wasn't much sitting down! Paul had to pass on his beloved class of Math to another colleague, but continued with his teaching of Earth/Space Science and Bible. He gets the pleasure this year of actually having one of his own children in his class as Owen moved up to 7th grade in Junior High. It's clear that Paul is gifted in the art of teaching, but coupled with his introvert nature, it does take a lot out of him! But, if you know Paul, he won't say a word about it and finds a way to continue to give his very best to his students every day.  

As far as myself, I continue to work for Gateway Woods as the Systems Coordinator in the Foster Care Department, hitting the 10 year mark with the Non-Profit last January. I love being the support and organization guru behind the department as we license foster parents and assist them as they take care of hurting children.

This past year, there hasn't been a lot of activity on this blog, but the writing has been happening. I set a goal for myself to publish a post focused on Intentional Living each week this year. Subscribers received these posts via email each week. I'm going to continue this in 2020 with similar content, just freshened up. If you would like to join us on this life of intention, you can sign up here at The Intentional Life.

Along with working at Gateway, being a wife, mom, taxi driver, and all around supporter of everyone's lives, I am also balancing that along with the time I put into my side business. Four years ago I took a leap and joined as a Consultant of a skincare company, Rodan+Fields. For quite some time, Paul and I have desired to live off as little as possible and give most of our income away. We felt like we were about to the point of squeezing blood from a turnip, when God brought along this out-of-the-box way of funding His Great Commission. These past four years have been a lesson in trust, waiting on God's timing, getting a better understanding of what giving really looks like, and changing our question from "How much should we give?" to "How much should we keep?" A friend of mine approached me this year and proposed recording my testimony of how God has used skincare to fund the Great Commission. Her work is beautiful and you can watch the 6 minute video she completed HERE.


Each of us is called to serve the Kingdom in different ways, and different capacities. I pray that each person who reads this will realize they have a part in furthering the Kingdom, and that 2020 will bring it into clearer focus just what that may be.


We thank you for your prayers and want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.  We are so thankful that so many years ago Jesus was willing to come to earth and live a human life, devoid of sin, and die on the cross for each of our sins.  We don’t deserve His sacrifice on our behalf, but we are SO very thankful for it!