2024 Easter Update

As we set aside some time this spring to reflect on the resurrection, I’m in awe of all that it means to our family. We are able to experience peace with God and others because of Jesus’ work on the cross! Peace for eternity and peace in our uncertainty here on earth. And there are some uncertainties for all of us! This year has found us leaning hard on the grace God has promised!! 

Michael & I opened our AirBnB in May of 2023 and it has been a huge blessing for our family. God’s orchestration of all the details to purchase, renovate, and host a variety of guests has been really fantastic to see. Our kids helped tremendously along the way with the project, which took about 18 months of nights, weekends, and every spare minute. Come see us - we’d love to host friends and family! Last summer we were very busy, and most weekends through the “off” season.

We celebrated 20 *very happy* years of marriage this past December and can hardly believe how the time is flying by. We enjoy being involved at church, working with the junior high youth group, our deacon flock, and various other opportunities God has given us. Michael continues to work for Bright Construction, and the two of us also have recently been doing some side work, remodeling and furnishing/staging a home, and it’s been very rewarding and fun to be working together - hopefully more of that in the future! 

Aaron, 17, is a junior this year and got his driver’s license, worked all summer, had a great soccer season, and a new to him camera allowed him to immerse himself in photography in a bigger way. He enjoys it and is very gifted! He’s also playing in band and was able to participate in choir tour with his school as well. It’s so fun watching him grow into the man God created him to be! He’s still considering what God might have for him post high school; prayer would be appreciated! 

Evan, 15, is a freshman this year and has been challenged with a few twists and turns in his epilepsy journey. He’s doing his best to trust God with some disappointments, and we can see his faith growing. He’s enjoying taking some elective classes at school this year and is home schooled for the others. Evan is very creative in many ways from art to Minecraft and with his school writing assignments. He’s also been working on creating some poetry!  He also enjoys making people laugh. He likes to think outside the box and we are excited to watch God’s plan for him unfold. He’s really hoping to be able to take driver’s ed later this year!

Cadence, 12, is finishing up sixth grade and anxious to join the youth group soon - this summer! It’s hard to believe we will soon have three teenagers in the family! Cadey still loves building with Lego, spending time with her friends, creating art, and playing the ukulele. She picks up skills quickly and it’s super fun to watch her excitement! She is also very gifted with organization and is a hard worker. I love her tender heart for others and am so glad she’s part of our team!

Amos is 8 and eight is great! We are working on second grade with him; he’s a whiz at math and a super fast runner. He likes playing with Lego, being outside and hanging out with his siblings. He is always up for an adventure! This summer, his swimming skills took off like crazy and it was so fun to see him gain confidence and enjoy the freedom that brings. Michael has also been impressed with Amos’ abilities as a plumbing assistant for various projects like changing out faucets and a dishwasher! He is focused and determined and seems to catch on quickly! 

There have been many times this past year when we looked at each other and wondered what we were going to do, what choices we needed to make, or how we would make it to the next thing, but God’s faithfulness has remained our steadfast anchor and hope, even in the middle of our mess. It has felt like life has been speeding by and we are just hanging on - so if you pray for us, please pray that we will be able to be intentional with our choices, slow down, focus on the things God has called us to do, and rely on God’s wisdom over our own. We are confident in God’s character and promises and covet your prayers for us! 

When we count our blessings, you are on the list. SO grateful for each one of you and pray you all have a very blessed Easter and experience God’s peace through Jesus’ death and resurrection! 

Much Love,

The Muths

Michael, Jenny, Aaron, Evan, Cadence & Amos

Easter Update 2022

 Happy Easter! He is Risen! April 2022

It’s Spring again - tulips and daffodils poking up through the soil here in Michigan, although at the time I’m writing, we only have one tiny yellow crocus showing it’s face - the rest of the bunch are a bit behind! The rhythm of the seasons is a continual reminder that God is constantly at work, continually faithful. He has been faithful to our family in many ways this year! 

He is faithful to provide - Michael continues in his employment with Bright Construction - he is in his 19th year! We are thankful for this blessing and for the skills Michael continues to develop. I continue to homeschool and chauffeur and attempt to hold the fort together - but it’s definitely a team effort. We have several projects going, as usual, which keep us busy along with church involvement. Michael is a deacon this year; I have stepped into a leadership role with a women’s service/missions group, both of us continue to work with the junior high youth group and we oversee one of the church’s missionary homes. We are grateful to be able to serve God with the skills and opportunities He’s given. 

God has been faithful to support us and teach us as we parent our awesome kids! Aaron is a freshman this year and is taking some classes at Calvary Baptist Academy and some at home. He has enjoyed playing soccer and basketball and will play spring soccer with some friends from school through the Midland Soccer Club. He has started playing his trumpet in the church orchestra in addition to playing in band at school. He’s completed Segment 1 of driver’s ed and will be 16 in August. Watch out, world! It’s been fun to watch him grow and mature this year! He’s a hard worker and a great guy, and we love him so much.

Evan is 13 and in seventh grade. He’s been taking his “extra” classes at CBA and doing academics at home. He was able to participate in robotics this year, and enjoys art and using his imagination and creativity in a variety of ways. He’s getting into coding, which is pretty interesting! He has joined our junior high youth group which is definitely making us feel older! Evan has a heart for others, and is often ready to help. He also makes us laugh A LOT.

Cadence is 10 and in 4th grade at home. She is a motivated learner - usually focused and working hard to complete her school early in the day so she has plenty of free time. She enjoyed participating in triple C volleyball camp this year and CANNOT WAIT to be old enough to play on a team. She loves to build with LEGO and is super creative and crafty. She’s a wonderful helper and enjoys cooking and baking when we have the extra time. She’s really growing - I think she’s going to be tall!!

Amos is 6 and also homeschooled. We are in between Kindergarten and first grade at the moment, working hard on reviewing skills and toward reading fluency! Amos loves to run fast, and he is a pro on his bike. He has a mischievous smile and seemingly boundless energy. He also loves to snuggle and makes us all smile as he learns and discovers more about the world around him. He’s curious and loves to learn - as long as we don’t call it “school” - ha!!

God has also been faithful to protect and heal! My mom, Cheryl, is doing very well and recently celebrated a year of being cancer free. We are so grateful and love living nearby to make lots of memories together. She is a blessing! Michael’s mom, Esther, recently had major surgery which had her in the hospital for 9 weeks. We are so thankful to report that she is home now and we pray on the road to recovery! We are thankful that we were able to take a quick visit to Colorado this December - God’s perfect timing.

Despite the uncertainty in the world, we know we can trust the faithful God who has kept His promises from the Creation of the world. We are so thankful to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, which brings hope and purpose to all who trust Him. We pray that YOU will trust His plan for your life and for your eternity. We would love to talk with you about Jesus, anytime! 

Happy Easter to you and yours! 

Jenny & Michael, Aaron, Evan, Cadence & Amos Muth

2021 Easter Update

Dear Family and friends,

One year ago, our letter was written from lockdown, and I was hopeful that our church family would be able to meet together for Easter, and that we could soon stop isolating from our nearby family, but that was not to be. We didn’t know that the 12 months between Easters would bring so many challenges, blessings, and so much renewed confidence in the faithfulness of God. We have shed many tears this year, felt many emotions, but have come to the writing of this annual letter knowing, without a doubt, that God is so very good to us.

In May, pandemic-isolation from my parents came to a glorious screeching halt. They came to stay with us! The reason? Two dams in our county gave way and the flood waters poured out their powerful force. My childhood home, where my parents still lived, is located 2 blocks from the second dam in the line. They also own the home next door for rental income in their retirement. Both basements were filled with flood waters, and there were at least 4 feet of lake mud and water in the main living areas, but the houses stood firm. Messy, but firm. It was overwhelming devastation for the community, with many people displaced and without help from their insurance companies, but the beauty that came from the disaster was absolutely dazzling. People from church, in our community, other communities in our state and volunteers from many relief organizations showed up. God provided in amazing ways for the people who lost so much, including my parents. Their former students and our church family were the first to arrive. We spent the spring and summer rebuilding their home, and one hundred and two days later, mom and dad were able to move back into their home. TRULY miraculous.

At the end of July, my mom’s brother, my uncle Gary, was called home to Heaven after fighting cancer for a long time. In early August, my dad was diagnosed with stage 3 esophageal cancer. His battle was so well fought. So courageous. God mercifully allowed his suffering to be brief, and called him Home on November 5. We ache and we miss him deeply every day, but are able also to see how many details were and are being fit together by the faithful hand of God. We cannot even count the ways people were His hands and feet to help us. Dad’s example of godliness will continue through the lives he impacted. God’s promises become more dear as we long for the day we can worship Him alongside our loved ones.

Just last month, mom was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Her prognosis is excellent, and we rejoice so much that God’s faithful hand saw fit to allow a doctor to order a test that wouldn’t ordinarily have been ordered and the cancer to be discovered before it spread. We are so grateful to also know that no other cancer is present in her body! Surgery will be soon! A week after mom’s cancer was discovered, I went in for a routine kidney scan so that I could be seen by a urologist, and discovered an enormous kidney stone. By the time you receive this letter, my second surgery will be complete and hopefully will have been a success! Mom’s surgery is scheduled for April 7th. We are grateful that these surgeries are anticipated to be relatively minor and are praying to that end! 

I would be lying if I said it’s been an easy year - it has been quite a lot. BUT - every overwhelming challenge has been met with God’s overwhelming provision. We have INDEED tasted that the Lord is GOOD. 

**I feel the urge to interrupt myself at this juncture. Usually, I re-write and edit carefully to ensure that our update letter is one page. But as we near the bottom of page one, I’m thinking that an unusual year warrants a second page! Here are some of the more traditionally appearing updates on our kids and family!**

Aaron, 14, will be finishing 8th grade and his last year at Zion Lutheran School. Thankfully, his classes have been in person since August, although sports have not been possible. We are so grateful for this blessing of in-person learning, and for the staff at his school who do so much to make everything as normal as possible. We are still praying about what to do for high school for Aaron. I know he’d love to play sports again! He has noticed his stiff muscles from a lack of constant exercise! He has been so helpful during this year of many renovation projects. 

Evan, 12, is working through 6th grade with a mostly online curriculum, and is more than ready to get back to our normal routines of 2019! He misses the library and our favorite museum (still closed due to the flood) and is hoping for some extracurriculars to begin again soon. He is taking piano lessons from one of my friends who is more like family, is an avid reader, and really enjoys making us all laugh.

Cadence, 9, is in the 3rd grade and also is using videos for school. She absolutely loves her reading teacher and is super speedy at her math! She’s learning that if she begins early with her lessons, she ends early in the day and enjoys filling the rest of her time building LEGO, creating and imagining, and reading books. That last one is a special joy to her mother’s heart and an answer to prayer. She REALLY misses playing with friends and is excited about warmer weather and summer vacation. 

Amos, 5, is in “young 5’s” kindergarten this year - we hadn’t decided whether to begin, but we ended up deciding on video school for him too - and it’s been an amazing blessing! He’s about halfway through the curriculum but is a quick study and we aren’t in a rush for him to finish. I’m so pleased with his progress and it is so fun to watch him grow. He keeps us laughing!

Michael and I celebrated 17 years of happily married life in December. I’m not joking either! We are super sappy. Every day with Michael is a joy and a gift. God has blessed us so much. Michael continues to work with Bright Construction, and keeps busy with home renovations on our house “in his free time” - actually, this year, we had 5 weeks of FORCED free time and he renovated our staircase and front entrance. It’s beautiful. Come visit! 

Our church ministry has looked different this year, but we are able to meet with the teens for Bible study in small groups, once a week for a modified youth group time, and our church has been meeting in person on Sunday mornings for awhile too. Michael is a deacon, I’m able to serve in the music ministry, and am also able to be involved with women’s groups. I’m very excited to see what God does in our church’s women’s ministries this year. 

Will you pray for us as we continue on? We are so filled with hope and assurance that God will continue to be faithful, continue to keep His promises, but we need the wisdom that only God can give as we continue to figure out what God has for us on this journey! 

As you look forward to Easter, and celebrate the Hope we have because of Jesus’ resurrection, would you also make a list of all the ways that God has been faithful to YOU? This letter really only touches on the “highlight reel” for us - I could write a book and it still would not contain all of what we have seen this year. I sat at our kitchen table, writing and weeping as I remembered how many times God has shown us that He is right here with the grace we need to face every trial. Even when I hesitate, stumble, falter - He is there. My mom says often to look for God using your “God Glasses” and she’s right. He’s there! We have been blessed to see Him at work in these 12 months since last Easter, and you’ll be blessed as you look FOR Him at work in your life. We are praying for you as you also look TO Him to be your hope, your expectation, and your strength. 

Love,

Jenny (for the family) Michael, Aaron, Evan, Cadey & Amos

Mom & Dad with all their grandkids 

**photos by Annie Gustafson 

 

2020 Easter Update

Dear friends,

This is the fourth year we have sent our family update letters at Easter. Usually, this time of year naturally evokes a sense of joy, wonder, and hope as we celebrate spring and everything still feels fresh and new. This year, the world is still reeling from a lot of things that make it easy to feel hopeless. But in some ways, this hopelessness and at the very least, uncertainty, is exactly what we need to feel to appreciate and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the birth of our HOPE.

Imagine the disciples - everything they had given up everything for had crumbled around them. The man they had loved and followed and even prosthelytized for had not met their expectations for a better kingdom and overthrow of Rome - He was, in fact, dead. The shock must have been paralyzing. And then, three days later, Jesus was there in the flesh, alive when they had seen Him die with their own eyes. Suddenly, there was hope again. And expectations once again shifted as they began to understand that Jesus was not there to make their lives on earth easier and better, but to make it possible for them to have eternal life forever with God in Heaven. It is our prayer that each of you would also have that hope in Jesus, and that He would be your refuge during these very uncertain times.

Now, for family updates!

Michael continues into his 17th year with Bright Construction. It is so hard to believe we are old enough to have these kinds of stats attached to us, ha ha!! But Michael turns 40 in June! We work together in the Junior High ministry at church and are amazed that they will still have us! Michael is also a deacon and keeps busy with a ton of little projects that never seem to end in our construction zone. This year he finally found a chiropractor who has been able to help him get ahead of some things. We are SO thankful.

I turned 40 in August and had a fantastic day of celebrating. Every birthday is a blessing to count! This year, I’m homeschooling Evan & Cadey, and doing some preschool with Amos - and of course Aaron is temporarily at home also. Honestly, some days are amazing and wonderful and some are days I’m not sad are over! HA. Some of our favorite activities are library day, field trips to the local interactive museum, nature class at the nature center, art class at a friend’s house and various other supplementary activities. We are finding new favorites as we stay home! I’m trying to find creative ways to recharge and renew.

Aaron is in 7th grade and in our youth group class at church. He’s growing so quickly and has surpassed his mother by at least ¼ of an inch. He enjoys his school, his friends, and playing sports of any and all varieties. His soccer and basketball teams both took first in their league and won the tournament championships. Volleyball was underway also, but has been cancelled for this year. Aaron is creative and enjoys making just about anything. It is exciting to watch him grow in maturity and responsibility and I’m enjoying seeing more of him in this season.

Evan is in 5th grade and loves to learn about a variety of topics...he’s just not that fond of school papers. This year he has continued to take piano lessons, and enjoys reading and writing stories. He’s created a comic strip with multiple installments and loves to make stop motion videos with his siblings. He was also able to join a LEGO robotics team this year through our church’s Christian school. He LOVED it. We are currently praying about the next steps for his absence epilepsy. Evan is a hilarious and compassionate member of our family and we love to watch him grow and learn.

Cadence is in second grade and loves to draw, paint, and create anything artistic! She’s been a speedy learner this year so that she will have extra time to play with her brothers, create, and read. Her love for anything LEGO and the Adventures in Odyssey series mean that she’s often found building and creating while listening to CD’s in her room. She sometimes laments the lack of a sister, but still manages to have fun with her brothers as well. She growing SO quickly and full of enthusiasm and energy. We love our Cadey-girl.

Amos turns 5 this July, much to our disbelief. How could the time with our kids be flying by so quickly? Amos is starting a few things for school, but mostly plays a LOT.  He enjoys watching his favorite TV shows, learning magic tricks from his big brother, telling jokes, listening to books, pretending with his toys, running, dancing, singing, and building just about anything out of cardboard. (rocket ship, jet pack, dump truck - we’ve seen it all!) He is also the best little snuggler in the house! Our lives would be short a BUNCH of laughter without the spark that is Amos.

Would you keep our family in your prayers? We need wisdom in parenting, growth in our personal and spiritual lives, and physical energy and strength. We are learning more every day but desperately need to depend on God for every daily challenge and need. We will pray for you as we prepare each of these letters to be sent. You are all loved so much by us and forever loved by God.  

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

Grocery Budget Tip: Meat

I’ve had a few people message me about how our family is able to stick to such a frugal grocery budget. I can hear the skepticism in their emails. So I thought I’d type out some specifics as I think of them. Tonight, I went to our local meat market to stock our freezer. The quality of the meat there is far above what I have been able to find at the local big name grocery store, although not as awesome as buying it from my farmer friend. However, the prices are amazing.

Tonight, I paid $14.90 for 10 lbs of chicken, $12.16 for a whole pork loin, which they cut and wrapped for me into 4 2lb roasts. I also purchased some lean ground beef for $2.89/lb. I came home and cut and packaged the chicken and beef and labeled the pork roasts and froze it all in quart size bags. All said and done, we have enough meat in the freezer for 14 Muth sized (6 people) meals for under $40. This will easily last us more than 2 weeks as we try to do at least one meatless meal per week and we also do “leftover night” and breakfast for dinner at least every 2 weeks.

This is just one of the ways we stick to our budget! No, we aren’t eating a lot of steak and tenderloin but that is just fine. We are grateful for our little meat market!

Some things I  make with these purchases:

BBQ pork
Pork Carnitas
Shredded “like Qdoba” pork
(Any of these can be made into tacos, burritos, or burrito bowls)

Homemade low carb/gf  chicken nuggets
Chicken Tikka masala
Shredded chicken tacos
One of 3 types of chicken soup
Salsa Chicken
Chicken enchiladas

Tacos/taco salad
Spaghetti sauce (over green beans for low carb)
Low carb lasagna

TA DA!!!

A Major Fixer Upper

There are a couple of ways to handle a fixer upper. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a contractor just put some cosmetic work into the project, or if he dove deep and checked out all the priors. This is why "we opened up your wall to create the open concept you asked for, and found something that's going to put a serious dent your overall budget" is so common on the (un)reality shows. 

I believe that the Gospel has the power to change people. That real, genuine change can happen when the ownership of one's life is turned over to God. I also believe that there is a very strong tendency to simply put great efforts to appearing that there has been a change. 

This might seem like a more attractive and less messy way to do things, just paint and spackle the outside and make it look shiny. I mean sure, the sanding makes a little dust, but nothing *too* serious. There's satisfaction in the DIY - "look at what I've done!" The creative control can be a pretty heady thing. I like to choose the colors, the fixtures, the overall direction of my project. The speed is an issue too - hurry up, look good, everything's fine, let's get this on the market. 

In His mercy, in His grace, God has called me to follow after Him. And through His Word, He is making me realize that I don't *really* need a quick, cosmetic-only fix. I need to be made new. I need GOD to make me new.  I need Him to tear off the poorly hung drywall and reroute the plumbing and electrical so that everything is up to code, and shore up the foundation, cut out the rotten parts, replace the termite eaten boards. I need His expert, artisan trim work and harmonious, peaceful colors. I need Him to transform every closet, every corner of the basement and the secret shed out back. I need more of Him. 

I believe God can do that for me, a major fixer upper. He can take this wreck and change me into a masterpiece, so that His master craftsmanship is what people notice.

Along the way, everything is exposed and visible to the whole wide world. People talk. People stare. People wonder if the work will *EVER* get done. *I* wonder if the work will ever get done. And the answer is - not for awhile. 

So...sometimes I get impatient, living in a construction zone. 

I also see that there are some onlookers. Observers. My kids. Yours. They can see that it is painful, embarrassing. That it is messy. They can see the details and the truth of the rotten and the shoddy work that was done before and needs fixing. They can see other fixer uppers too. Some are hasty (and beautiful!) DIY's and they may wonder if that's a better way to go - should I try to look good, be habitable so I can be immediately noticed, admired, and used?  Should I fix what people see so I can be Insta-ready? Or am I going to sign up for the long fix? 

I can tell you, as much as I want my kids to appreciate master craftsmanship in actual houses, even more than that, I want them to see, know, and follow hard after God. I want them to be genuine from the foundation up. And there are no quick fixes for that kind of result. God has to do the work. And they have to let Him. I want to be - and need to be - the kind of parent that shares my struggles - and the goodness of God to fix me. 

It is a flawed illustration. But it made me think today. We are works in progress, Christians. We are hot messes from the foundation up. Let's let God use His truth to take us down to the bones and make us new. Better than new - His master creations. 

Operation Grocery Budget 2019 Update

You know that thing where I said, "I'm going to do this until it isn't working for me anymore"? Yeah, well, that happened.

May was my last regular post. In June, we overspent. In July, we overspent. In August, we upped the food budget to $650 and did much better. In September, we lost the vast majority of the contents of our big freezer, which was a huge blow to the menu, (but a huge bonus to have a clean freezer) and in October, we pretty much missed entering receipts for several categories because we were so, SO discouraged by unexpected expense after unexpected expense that trashed our overall budget plans and caused us to wrongfully default to our "just don't spend money" plan...

...which is always super ineffective, since knowing is half the battle.

In November, we are fighting to be vigilant. We are 10 days from the end of the month. We are on track. We are looking forward to the end of 2019. And, we are still at a target of $650/month for our grocery budget. I feel this is much more reasonable, considering our dietary restrictions and our growing kids whose appetites have me wondering if they will be hibernating this winter instead of doing all the things kids do.

I have learned much in this almost-completed year of experiments. About my own sense of entitlement, about my gratitude and lack thereof, about my selfishness, about how tightly I hold things, not necessarily food, but that too. More than food - my ideas and really, idols - of self sufficiency and pride in my accomplishments, even if they are silly like staying under budget...and I have learned to contrast what seems to be my pity party of fewer choices, but what is really my abundance, with the world's needs. I am learning to share without apologizing for perceived  shortcomings. That's going to still be a struggle until the day I die.

I pray we can be better and better at managing the resources God has given us. Thank you for coming along with us on our journey!