So much has happened!

 Look I know it's my fault for waiting so long to post a blog... but seriously you know what it is like... you think to yourself...

"I'll post something after vacation....no, after the wedding...no, after MK Camp...no, after the next wedding...no, after the next wedding...no, after the birthday...no, after Halloween...no, after the next wedding" 

I know very relatable... and here we are after the next wedding and just like I was thinking "I'm going to post something". Lots of pictures and silly overviews but if you want specifics... we will need to get coffee... for you to stay awake while I share it all :). I will endeavor to limit myself to just a few pictures per event.... okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.... deeeeeeeeeep breath..... here we go! 

Vacation of course has too many stories and pictures to actually be able to fit in this over sized blog... we went to Washington and Montana and had a blast seeing family and friends, we toured Seattle, went to Glacier National park (saw a bear up close and personal) and got to see Diane's sister Lisa and her family! It was rejuvenating and bonding for our family and left us in a really good place. We packed it full! First 2 week vacation we have ever taken, it was so good to travel again. 

I finally had my dreams come true and thanks to COVID relief money was able to get my garage climate-controlled! It's a den now more than a garage... but really it's a fortress of solitude :). One that is always full of people :). 

Here are some of the fun things we did with the MKs. Senior camping trip! So fun! I had a fan on me the whole time... summer is hot! Party at the Humistons pool! Coffee at Black and Bitter every Friday! It's so good to rebuild community after the isolation we have had due to COVID. 

It was such a great honor to walk Abby down the aisle and to have the father daughter dance with her. Her relationship with her dad has been stressed and I'm so grateful for the relationship that I have been able to build with her. I'll never forget it, it was so incredible and yes I wept like a baby! 

It was amazing to have a day of camp this year... the motto this year is to be just a little better than the last year where we couldn't do camp at all. 

The day after camp I had the honor of officiating the wedding of these awesome people! Anna and Andrew Isenberg!!!! 

We now have two puppies! Due to an unfortunate incident we got Bowser a little earlier than expected. We have had our growing pains, but it is really fun to have two big dogs around, it definitely keeps me from ever really feeling lonely :). 

We were able to kick our year off with Skate night! We welcome in the new MKs and farewell the Seniors, it was a wonderful night! 

I went to a MK conference where one of my favorite MKs led worship! It was a really great time to learn new things to help me be a better care giver! The speaker was really good and so was the networking. 

Then I had the joy of seeing my brother in law get married! Go David and Annabelle! It was near Houston and a fun time away with the kids! Diane celebrated her birthday on their wedding day,then later some of her friends threw her a surprise party just before we went on a mini vacation! Anyway, it was great to see so much family at the wedding and celebrate! 

Diane and I got away to Palm Desert, a vacation we had bought for a steal during the prime COVID time and now finally had a chance to use. It was nice to just rest and strengthen our marriage through quality time together. A highlight was getting to go to Joshua Tree National park! What a great day we had there! 

More fun with the MKs, building community and making memories! 

We took Asher to his first concert! Switchfoot and NEEDTOBREATHE! A night to remember! 

Liam is officially 10! I love you Liam! You are so kind and considerate and have a keen sense of humor! So grateful for the joy you bring to our lives! 

It was great visiting my friend JT and getting donuts with him! Such big donuts! He is almost graduated and I'm so proud of his journey! Its so fun to watch the MK relationships forged in high school grow even more through college! Friends for life! 

Diane won for her Trunk or Treat Pokémon creation! It was great having the MKs come out and help my church again with Fall Festival! So grateful for the things we are able to start doing again! 

There is a close up picture of me and my costume... really I think I nailed it :). 

Montana is ok I guess :). We had a lovely long weekend there and I officiated the last wedding of the season for me! Michael and Tiana are such incredible people with such an incredible story and I'm so honored for the role I was able to have in their wedding. I unfortunately don't have any pictures of the wedding, but if Diane does while she is editing this, she might add one for you and you can see it below. 

God is doing great work in the MK world! I love working with these amazing kids and it is so fun to be doing things again! However, I have accumulated a lot of grief these last years. This has been a hard time for a lot of my friends and while many marriages are being born, others are coming to an end. Being a care giver has its challenges and I had a breaking point a couple weeks ago when I realized I was done being angry and was just sad about a lot of the things. I have been faithful since then to grieve and I continue to grieve, hopeful for what is to come. The most recent grief is the death of my Uncle who finished his battle with cancer. I rejoice that he is in eternity with Jesus, probably making something epic right now - they are both carpenters! But while I rejoice and have hope for many things I have to also allow myself to be sad, and through all of this God is teaching me a great deal about comfort. I want to be a person who is open to receiving comfort and I want to grow in my ability to comfort others as well! 

Thank you for being used by God to bring so much comfort to me and my family. I feel you fulfilling that role in my life! I can't do this ministry alone and certainly not without you! Thanks for supporting this ministry with your resources, both physical and spiritual! I'm so grateful for you! 

Love you all so much! 

Blessings, 

Caleb 

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or with recurring gifts, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and sign up for Chase Quickpay. You can then send your donation to HCLC - Caleb Robbins Ministry using my e-mail address caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like further instructions on setting that up, please click on the link at the top right of the page called How to give. Or feel free to contact me directly! 214 558 8431.

Another way to donate to the ministry is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line, it will get deposited into my ministry account.

The address is:

Holy Cross Lutheran Church 

4400 W Arkansas Ln

Arlington, TX 76016

Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 14, Asher 11, Liam 10, Echo already in heaven, Bella 6, and Serenity 5 years old.

Spring Baby!!!

We did it!!!! We took a stay-cation family vacation over spring break and it was awesome! We took hikes and watched movies and played games and enjoyed a slower pace that involved just us... and we gardened our hearts out. 😊

I have had some sweet strawberries from this garden and made some fun drinks with that mint! I was worried that much had been lost in the deep freeze, but I'm enjoying seeing some things that I thought were dead now coming back to life and I'm loving adding some new stuff as well. 

And of course we had to celebrate Pi day (March 14). 😋 I'm so grateful for the community God has blessed our family with! 

Then Easter visited us and boy, was it a fantastic visit! I love celebrating my Lord crushing death! I also enjoy hiding eggs and watching my kids' delight in finding them. We did two egg hunts with the same eggs because the kids had so many! We don't dye eggs in this family... just hair. 😂 Diane had a fun party with her sisters! 

Speaking of parties... we have lots to celebrate in April in our family since both Creed and Serenity were born this month! 

Creed turned 14 and had a bunch of friends over to watch the Rocky movies!!!! So proud, he has such great taste. It was the first time I felt like an old dad who needed to give his son space to hang with his friends. Oh well... I'm so grateful for the friends he has and so proud of his generous and kind heart! He's almost as tall as I am now! 

Then Serenity turned 5 and that was a blast! She has had such a tough year without school to give her constant friends but she has been so great with Apex, our ever-growing puppy. I'm so thankful for all the extra time I get with her and so proud of my sweet, sassy, and lovely 5 year old. She says the funniest things and keeps me laughing and smiling! 

Apparently lots of people are born in April! My friend Rick was born on tax day and I loved going out and seeing him with his kids. They all caught about 3 fish. Rick lives on this cool boat out at Joe Pool lake. Although it rained the whole time, the fish were still biting and it was a great memory! I'm excited to be back in his life and looking forward to what God wants to do next. 

This picture warms my heart so much! Last year we missed this event - the MK Senior dinner...COVID-19 was so new and no one was able to meet during that time and I didn't know what we could even try to do for our senior dinner. I feel badly that last year's seniors missed out on this time with us, but I'm so grateful that we are beginning to find ways to make these events happen again! 

Life is busy and you have to be intentional to do the things that God is leading you to do...the little things like seeing your family and not letting daily moments of connection slip by. God is filling my heart with hope and joy for this season as I anticipate all that is coming next! Something awesome is afoot! I'm learning to be more intentional with my family and more careful with my ministry and I'm seeing things that I thought were dead come back to life and I'm so excited for what may be next. 

Odds and ends... we got some new doors in our garage! I'm excited to show you pictures when the project is finished. It's so cool to have that space more climate controlled and mosquito free! My summer workouts are going to rock! 

I had an intern for the first time ever! It was so fun to meet with Aidan and share the work with him! God led me each day and it was a great time for me to reflect on all that God is doing in this ministry. 

During the senior dinner it was great to be reminded what an impact this group has had on the lives of these kids. A few of them commented that they loved this group the most out of all of the many youth groups they attend. To God be the glory! 

Thanks for partnering with me and may you share in the glory that comes from the fruit of obediently serving in this role! I couldn't do this job without your prayers and financial support. Know that your faithful partnering is producing good fruit that will last! 

Love you all so much!😁😁😁

Blessings,

Caleb 

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or with recurring gifts, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and sign up for Chase Quickpay. You can then send your donation to HCLC - Caleb Robbins Ministry using my e-mail address caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like further instructions on setting that up, please click on the link at the top right of the page called How to give. Or feel free to contact me directly! 214 558 8431.

Another way to donate to the ministry is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line, it will get deposited into my ministry account.

The address is:

Holy Cross Lutheran Church 

4400 W Arkansas Ln

Arlington, TX 76016

Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 14, Asher 11, Liam 9, Echo already in heaven, Bella 6, and Serenity 5 years old.

Blog 127... 8 years in the making :)

Wow! I can't believe I have been doing this for 8 years. My prayer request in my first Blog was that God would support this ministry and keep me at full support...My goodness - has that been answered with a resounding YES!

Here is a look at that first blog 8 years ago... feel free to read or skip onto the pictures and the current blog :). 

This is my first Blog post and it will be very candid :). I want this to be a place where you can come and get a real look into what is going on in my life. I like my newsletters to look good and sound good and I have my wife the master editor help me with that. Here is a place where you may have to struggle through some of my more common mistakes with grammar but in exchange you will get a real look into what I am thinking (if you can decipher it, says Diane). Thanks for taking the time to check it out!

The background picture is me and my good friend Nathan T. blowing kerosene on a flaming stick. Yes this was incredibly fun and we did it twice and then probably blew up some mini propane tanks in the fire sending flaming logs of death everywhere.

As an MK in Cameroun this place which I called NKobesan (yeah misspelled for sure) was a sanctuary where all my pyrotechnic desires could be released. I went up this little mountain several times a year with good friends to camp over night. The view from the top over looks the city and is cool and comfortable until about 7 or 8 in the morning when the bugs and sun drive you back down the mountain to showers and other silly things.

I remember early in the morning looking down and worshiping God and thanking him for this place to get away. The cool breeze was rare in Yaoundé and this was a great place, although somewhat hard to get to, to find it in great abundance.

God was working in my heart then stirring me to be more then I could ever hope and dream to be. I was 17 in that picture and I'm 30 now and that great, awful, wonderful, mighty, Holy Spirit that danced played and drew me into worship then is still working hard to do the same with me now!

My heart is bursting with joy because I'm staring my dream (full time youth ministry) right in the face and it looks way more beautiful then any of the views from the top of Nkobesan. Like that mountain God created and formed this dream for me so that I can live it with him and for him.

Dallas MKs here I come arms wide open to embrace the joy the Lord has set before me. I marvel at how our wonderful God uses the weak things and the foolish things of this world the things that don't make sense in our lives and in our past to make our future exactly what it should be and really if we are lucky to see it and grasp it, make our present a truly divine gift!

Thank you Lord for the 18 years you gave me living in Africa as an MK. Thank you for the times on the mountain top and the times in the valley I know they have all served your purpose. Thank you for leading me here and for helping me get ready to stand in the place you have prepared. I love you with all my heart!

March 4th the adventure begins! The last ten years have been awesome working at the Courtyard and I will deeply miss my friends there. I know that some of them will be life long friends and others will be like the hundreds of friends I had growing up in a world that was constantly moving, friends that I am so grateful to have known for a time and hope to see again in an eternal future. One thing I am sure of, our lives are meant to be shared, relationship is essential and at the end of the day I'm not sure what is more eternal than the love shared with our Lord and with those he has put in our path.

Thank you all for being a part of my adventure, for your support that keeps me going for your prayers that sustain me, for your love that enriches my life. Let us keep on loving and serving each other as we look to the Father.

I'm sitting in my office enjoying the sun and pondering a line from a poem by J.R.R. Tolkien..."The old that is strong does not wither." It reminds me of Moses who went to his grave full of life - the life that comes from being close to Jesus, whose Spirit also gives life to our mortal body... 

Okay enough of that... let's get onto the puppies!!!! Our family has decided that we want to adopt one and maybe even two puppies. Here you see them and I know that you want to adopt them too because they are so cute... if all goes well, we will have one or both of them today!

We endured the snowmaggedon that was a couple weeks ago here in Dallas. Records were broken, and it was very costly and very cold and kinda magical and felt a little like I went on vacation somewhere. The internet was the only thing that was in and out for us thankfully and that made for some fun family times, no internet and no working, so we played... as you can see! God favored us with power and heat and kept our house safe from any damage. One day I crawled under the house to unfreeze some pipes and that was actually a great adventure, and the only real drama we endured. Our hearts went out to our neighbors who were without power and gas and water during the week. Thanks for your prayers for us during that time! One other casualty was that the school that my middle 3 children attend had a pipe burst and this is Week Two of remote learning for them. I have taken them into work with me to give my wife some sanity and the amazing grandparents are helping with the task. It truly does take a village and I'm grateful to have a very large one!

Tired and cold kids got pulled by Diane the amazing!

A mile a day even when it's in the teens! I had good company!

The snow was pretty but not great for making a snowman... as you can see!

How many robins do you see? Must have been at least a 100!

We walked to the most dramatic hill we could find and went sledding on the lid to our kids play chest! 

MK is going so well these days! On my 8-year anniversary, it just so happened to be a Monday and the first Monday that we were able to meet in person again! I always forget these things but my hero Bob Alber sent me a congratulatory text and brought back the feels. God knew and I felt very celebrated. It went really well! We had 27 kids in person and 15 on Zoom! It was amazing! I'm hopeful that we can do this more often but we will be back on Zoom only again next week.   

The first and maybe now the last kid we will visit now that we are back person! Getting face time in person has been so meaningful during this long season of Covid-19. 

My neighbor needed their tree cut down and I knew just the person for the job! My friend Joel Satre also helped quite a bit! It's nice to be able to still do some service projects during this time and to have some help was really awesome. Also as a bonus, I got to replenish my depleted firewood stack. People who didn't have any power or gas came and asked if they could have some of my wood and I was grateful to oblige. When it was all said and done, I had one lonely row of wood left, but God was smiling because He knew that the blessing of service and wood was right around the corner! 

This is long and needs to come to a close! Thanks for being with me on this 8 year journey. I'm hopeful for many more years to come! I'm trusting God and grateful that He has kept me from withering! I feel stronger now and more hopeful than I ever have and I know that is because I have partners like you praying for me and my family and giving faithfully to see His Kingdom come! You are my heroes, my friends and my family and I'm so so grateful for you! 

"Deep roots are not reached by the frost" - Tolkien

                           

Please praise God with us for His goodness and all that He is doing! 

Please pray for us as we adopt puppies and wisdom in leading this youth group during a pandemic. May the pandemic come to a swift end and please keep Diane in your prayers with her panic and anxiety attacks! 

Love you all so much!😁😁😁

Blessings,

Caleb 

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or with recurring gifts, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and sign up for Chase Quickpay. You can then send your donation to HCLC - Caleb Robbins Ministry using my e-mail address caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like further instructions on setting that up, please click on the link at the top right of the page called How to give. Or feel free to contact me directly! 214 558 8431.

Another way to donate to the ministry is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line, it will get deposited into my ministry account.

The address is:

Holy Cross Lutheran Church 

4400 W Arkansas Ln

Arlington, TX 76016

Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 13, Asher 11, Liam 9, Echo already in heaven, Bella 6, and Serenity 4 years old.

Living in Hope!

To the untrained eye, this is a picture of kids playing video games! But that is 315lbs folks! I can bench 3 plates now! I'm crushing it :) One of the more fun presents I got for Christmas was two 45lb plates. Here is to the year where we all crush it!

It is magnificent having so many good looking people in my life :). What a great picture of two people I love so much! Those faces reflect my own as I sit here and write about the last month or so of life. I'm in a season of hope, and I'm eagerly anticipating all the things that God is going to do this year! 

God has asked me to run a mile a day to start this year. Below is a picture of me running and winning a race that I competed in earlier this month after just a little training. I know it's cheesy looking back at the people I'm obviously faster than... but God gets all the glory for how fast I am. When I run, I feel his Glory :). 

You might be one of those... "my new years resolution is to not make resolutions" people, but just look at what a resolution can do!!! I actually hate running and that is not really a picture of me - I know you are shocked. But obedience in doing hard things is very important and running is helping me in so many ways, like in having the ease of conscience to eat more and drink more. Here is my actual running outfit. It's pretty comfortable and very warm. 

The other resolution was to have daily devotions with my family and that has been incredible. I don't have a picture of that, but I can tell you it is growing and bonding us in amazing ways and was something that needed to be more regular! 

Here are just a bunch of pictures of family and fun that has happened recently. The amazing cousins visiting and the joy of seeing Diane's sister Lisa here in our home; visiting my Cone cousins in Longview (I went to school with Jordan "Blood"); the very rare snow sighting in Dallas; onesies and puppies (two of the cutest things ever!); and my amazing son Creed and daughter Bella in their cool new Dallas Cowboys hats!   

Sharing old stories... making sure my kids know that all the stories I've told them are corroborated finally :) 

My girls have never met these lovely children of my cousins... 2nd cousins? I think that's right. 

My inlaws are fostering the puppies and feeding them is nearly a full time job, but it's paid off. They are healthy and huge! Also, we aren't getting one... 

This last Sunday I had the joy of preaching at my church! Check out the link if you want to hear it! You can watch the whole service or skip ahead to about the half way point when I get up there. 

Caleb's Sermon @Holy Cross

Speaking of epic sermons!!!! This sermon really inspired me and encouraged me... I encourage you if you haven't already listened to it to listen to mine first and then take this one for a spin.

I'm sure you just listened to both and your heart is soft and you are teary eyed! Incredible, right? 

God is so good and I know that because he has surrounded me with an incredible community like you! Thank you for standing with me in prayer, love, hope, financially, through thick and thin and for spurring me on! I feel your prayers guiding and protecting and inspiring and you need to know how grateful I am for you! I could not walk this walk alone and I feel like we stand together as a light in a dark place as we advance the kingdom of God... and no weapon forged against us will prevail, the gates of Hell cannot overcome. Rather we take thoughts captive and we demolish strongholds and we take more and more ground! 

MK is off to a strong start this year. We just completed our Unresolved Grief lessons and are ready for beloved guest speaker, Pete Isenberg, to join us next week. One of our amazing leaders stepped down, and that could really have dealt a blow but for the Lord filling my heart with hope! His absence means that I'm joining the weekly guys small group and that has been a great new connection for me. 

I just completed another Trauma Healing Equipping and am now doing a healing group with some gentlemen who live in Pakistan and China. It requires some early mornings for me but is a great opportunity! 

I'm looking forward to starting up again with my Thailand youth group! That will be a once a month commitment this semester and I'm looking forward to seeing those amazing youth again. 

My pastor took a call to another church and that leaves the door open for me to preach more regularly, at least for a season. Please pray for our church as we seek to find another pastor! 

I'm so busy these days, I'm grateful for the green pastures as God brings them. Life is full of wonder and hope and I feel renewed! Thanks for your prayers and support. My Dad's surgery was a success and he is recovered now! Please continue to pray for the couple who's marriage is struggling. It is a dark situation and I need your prayers as I seek to help. 

I've been enjoying taking a Healing Prayer class with my wife. Please keep Diane and I in your prayers as she is going through a very busy season with work and her anxiety seems to really increase this time of year. She is so strong but none of us stand alone and if we do, it's not for long! So grateful for such an amazing wife! 

I will leave you with these verses that have inspired and encouraged me! 

May we be ever believing and may we see His promises fulfilled and may our hope ever be in our amazing God! 

Love you all so much!

Blessings,

Caleb 

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or with recurring gifts, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and sign up for Chase Quickpay. You can then send your donation to HCLC - Caleb Robbins Ministry using my e-mail address caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like further instructions on setting that up, please click on the link at the top right of the page called How to give. Or feel free to contact me directly! 214 558 8431.

Another way to donate to the ministry is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line, it will get deposited into my ministry account.

The address is:

Holy Cross Lutheran Church 

4400 W Arkansas Ln

Arlington, TX 76016

Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 13, Asher 11, Liam 9, Echo already in heaven, Bella 6, and Serenity 4 years old.