We’ve Moved!

No, not literally . . . just our blog. Blogger is seeming to be more user friendly with multiple programs we like to use, so we are moving there. Here is a link to our new family BLOG: St. Clair Scenes. Click on the follow option to stay up-to-date with us!

Family Update & HONK!

I can’t believe it’s February already! And the birth of our new little one is literally just around the corner, with Sarah’s due date set for March 3. We are all so excited for her arrival! The St. Clair family just continues to grow!

Live has been pretty busy with all that is going on. Sarah is in full on “nesting” mode working on cleaning and organizing the house to get everything just right for the baby. Rennah and Nessa talk to her belly every day to check up on her. It’s so cute. Oh, and by the way, in case you haven’t heard the name of our new little girl, we are naming her Aislynn Hope. We are a fan of different names and ones with special meaning for us. Aislynn means “dream”, so combined with her middle name, she is our “Dream of Hope”. In memory of all God has done in our lives the last couple of years, we have a new hope for our future and are so thankful for the new lives we now live.

God has also blessed by opening up many great opportunities for me in both music and drama teaching! I am so excited to be helping to choreograph a production of Annie coming up here in March! I have been working with HPA (Homeschool Performing Arts) on their production and have had a blast doing it! Also, God has allowed me to teach with an organization called VSA which teaches the fine arts to students with special needs. I have been teaching their theater and drama classes.

The most recent (and REALLY exciting) opportunity that has opened up is a chance for me to put on my directors hat once again for a full blown musical production! I have just recently started rehearsals with another homeschool group (Living Books Homeschool Theater) for the production of Honk!: a musical tale of the Ugly Duckling. I am having so much fun with this new group of kids, none of whom have ever performed in a musical. So this is a first for them. I am excited to see all that God teaches them through this as they discover gifts and learn new talents. You can pray that God will unify us as a cast.

I am also still working full-time at Panera, so we are juggling a lot, but happier than ever! And so thankful for the church He has place us in and all the love and support we receive from them. Hope everyone is doing well! Stay in touch!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I am sitting here on Christmas Day with all the main activities completed and just relaxing, enjoying a day off with my family! We actually had our main Christmas time on December 21st since that was really the only day we had with EVERYONE in town. Great times and memories together. Now, my eyes turn toward the future, with a lot of things on the horizon. Most importantly, another year growing in my relationship with Christ. I am thankful more and more every day for my salvation and all that God has been doing in my life since then.

January starts and new phase in our lives. A lot of things coming up (including our new baby girl due in March)! For me, I will continue full time at Panera Bread, since no other full-time job has presented itself. But I do have some new part-time jobs that I am super excited about. I will be teaching another theater class with VSA arts of Michigan. VSA is a program that teaches the arts to students with special needs. I taught a six week class with them in October/November and really enjoyed it. They have asked me to come and teach another eight week class starting in January with some other possible workshops as well. I enjoy working with those students and teaching them theater arts.

Also, starting in January, I will be directing a musical with the Muskegon Homeschool theater group. Our performance will be in April and we are still finalizing the details and trying to pick what show we will be doing. Both of these jobs present the opportunity for me to use my gifts and do what I LOVE but also get paid for it. SO I am excited.

We are also planning to start an outreach program at our church (Harvest Bible Chapel West Olive) that will teach kids theater arts and even put on a show where we can bring in their families and reach out to them as well.

The family is doing well. Sarah is getting anxious for this new baby to come . . . which, by the way, we finally told our family her name so I can announce it to the rest of you! Her name will be Aislynn Hope. She is due March 3rd and we are excited to have another little one running around. Sarah teaches Rennah school at home and also has a little ballet class out of our house, plus a couple of piano students. All of which keep her busy.

Rennah is growing up way too fast. She loves school, music, singing, dancing, and wrestling with Daddy. Nessa is one of the funniest kids I have ever met and is always entertaining us! She is talking so much these days and keeps us on our toes.

We trust that you are all well. Hope you had a great Christmas with your loved ones and friends! Looking forward to a great 2010! God Bless

Back to the Blogging world?

Really? It has been ages really since I have blogged here. We were out of Cybor land for a while with no internet and then got sucked back into the crazy world of Facebook (which are still actively apart of), but there is something uniquely special about a blog. And since I just randomly had the urge tonight, I decided to write here once again.

So since we have been gone and not updating for so long no one may ever read this and that is fine . . . but maybe I will start back into writing updates every so often again and we can get this back up and running.

Quick family update . . . since lots has happened since our last posting:

I am still working as a manager at Panera Bread. Though my hearts desire is still to start a Christian Theater Company (namely, NarrowWay Productions) and I am working as hard as I can on that!

Sarah is pregnant with our third child, due March 3rd. And she is as sick as ever. NOT FUN! But we are praying that we will be moving out of this stage soon. Rennah says she is praying for twin boys so that she AND Nessa can each have a brother! We are working on the concept of sharing! HAHA!

Rennah is five and full of energy and song! She totally lives up to her name! She will be starting Kindergarten in the fall at home with Sarah.

Nessa is one of the funniest kids I have ever known! You never know what she is going to come up with! She is our little scavenger. If she wants something (especially food or drink) she will find it and get it any way that she can!

We are going to a “new” church, Harvest Bible Chapel of West Olive, MI (formerly Grace Church) and absolutely LOVE it there! We have been attending since September of last year.

I was baptized on August 2nd and we became members of the church. Not sure what God has for our future . . . lots of things up in the air. It’s kind of a waiting and praying game. But life is good and God is SO faithful!

Sarah’s New Business

I have started on a new and exciting journey! I just had to let you know about it. You might just be able to join me on this journey in some way! Read on and see how.

Tim and I have been living paycheck to paycheck ever since we started getting one. Last year Tim and I really started considering me getting a job, but we really didn’t want me away from the house and our two girls too much. Not to mention the complications of child care and transportation. I also had many fears about learning to manage my time differently, as I have never worked out-side the home before, as well as how I would afford to be trained in any specific field of work. We were both discouraged and at a loss as to what the next step should be. I wanted to help the family some financially and find “my nitch”, but what was that supposed to be?
During this time, I was also having issues with my face. Stay with me, it all fits together!=) For the last 10 years or so I have had very irritated skin on my face, showing up in redness, pimples….more like sores….and lots of itching. After trying many different skin care products over the years and visiting the dermatologist twice with no lasting results, I just excepted the fact that my face would forever be a mess! I tried to cover it as best I could, using concealer, liquid foundation, and then powder. It still itched but at least it wasn’t glaring people in the face.

Well, then a friend of mine called on a day this past August, when our water had been turned off, because we hadn’t the money to pay our bill that month. This friend was an Independent Consultant with Arbonne International, stay at home Mom of three, and very upset about our situation. The Lord used her and another dear friend to help us get our water back on that day, and helped me open up to someone about how bad off our financial situation really was at the time.
As I shared about my trials and burdens with Jodi, she listened and also talked about her home business with Arbonne and how it was working for her and her family. I ended up telling her how much my face was still bugging me. She said…”I CAN HELP!” I wasn’t too sure, but since she was , I gave the Arbonne skin care set she recommended a try. Much to my surprise and delight, in a week I started to see good changes in my face, and in two weeks even my husband, who had seen me try everything under the sun with no results, even noticed that my face was clearing up!! Every month it just kept getting better and better!

So, I ended up going to a little Arbonne coffee time, to hear more information about the business. As I listened to the ladies share how Arbonne fit into their lives and helped their family reach their financial goals, I felt hope begin to stir inside me. I had a feeling I had found what I was supposed to do to help my family financially while at the same time helping other people find help for their different skin care needs. Another thing that really put me at ease was the way Arbonne gives you as many tools and help as possible for their consultants to be a success. They even have a free Arbonne University, where you can learn all about how to have a successful business right on your computer on your own time! They offer great commission and bonuses! But it’s so much more than about the money! It’s about having time and finances to dream and become who God wants you to be and to be more free to bless those around you. And then giving that same gift and opportunity to others.

On November 1st I became an Independent Consultant with Arbonne! Tim and I are both so excited for the endless opportunity that this business offers our family. I must say, I am being stretched in many ways, with time management, self confidence, and discipline, but these are things I know God has wanted to grow in me for a long time.

You might be asking…what’s Arbonne? Why did their skin care work for you when nothing else would? Why would you ever want to “sell” skin care? Let me answer these great questions.

Arbonne is all about developing the highest quality products with the best results out there. They formulate their products in Switzerland, and base their formulas on herbal and botanical principles. That means that they are made from berries, plants, fruits and all things natural! Yummy! Their line has grown over the past thirty years to include, personal care, color nutrition and weight loss. They have one of the top anti-aging lines on the market today! The majority of USA products are formulated with chemicals and fillers….such as Mineral Oil(VERY bad for the skin!) and Animal product. The goal of most company’s is to either cover the issue or topically kill it so it won’t ” brake-out” on top. Arbonne on the other hand wants to target the deeper levels of the skin cells not just treat the top. They are very careful about what they put in their products, because they want to keep it as pure and natural as possible, but they do use science…so as to be assured of consistent results. So, then every time you use a product it continues to heal, and renew your skin more and more. Their key words are pure. safe. and beneficial. They have things to help people with any number of skin issues. As you read over this list think of your self and those you know and love. Perhaps I could help you find something naturally based that could help you!

Arbonne can help…
*Chronic Dry Skin, *Dry, cracked Feet and Heels, *Psoriasis, *Eczema, *Facial Fine Lines and Wrinkles, *Acne-Adult or Teen, *Age Spots-Skin Sun Damage, *Scares, *Oily/Shiny Face, *Rosacea (that’s what I had!), *Fibromyalgia, *PMS, *Infertility( I have a testimony on this too!! On My website), *Hair Loss, *Insomnia, *Uterine Cancer/Fibroids, *Night Sweats/ Hot Flashes, *Low Energy, *Frequent sickness, *Anxiety, Cold Sores, *Varicose Veins, *Obesity/Overweight, *Cellulite,*Constipation, *Irritable Bowel Syndrome, *Arthritis, *Achy, Painful joints and muscles, *Cardiovascular Problems, *Low Immune Function

Exciting New FC5 Products

All formulas are: –Botanically-based,–pH-correct, –Hypoallergenic, –Dermatologist-tested, –Vegan Approved, –Never tested on animals, –Formulated without animal products or by-products, –Formulated without mineral oil or petroleum, –Formulated without dyes or chemical fragrances.

Now you can see why I would be excited to help people with their skin needs. Arbonne has so much to offer, and it REALLY WORKS!! I’ll be posting up things about my business and testimonies from our family and friends who are finding great results with Arbonne.

If you would like to see all their great stuff you can look around at my website! sarahstclair.myarbonne.com If you have any questions about products or the business opportunity, please send me an email Sarahdawn79@gmail.com. I look forward to helping you look and feel your best and if you are interested, find the time and money freedom you are looking for through the Arbonne opportunity! Keep Dreaming!

Sarah Dawn~

My Testimony!

Greetings to all our friends! I realize that it has been a while since we have been in communication with some of you to the point that you may have thought we “fell off the face of the earth.” Well, it’s not true, we are still here, alive and well, but have been going through a lot in the last year. So much in fact, that we decided the best way to update you on all that God has been doing in our lives was through a letter. As I (Tim) sit down to write this I have many mixed emotions that flood into my mind as I think back over this past year. God has certainly taken me on quite the journey!! Most of this story is my personal one, as most of what has been going on involves me specifically. But, since I now have a family, it has impacted and affected them as well. Although we are currently in a place of much joy and excitement for what God has for us in the future, most of what I am going to share with you involves a lot of hurt, sorrow, heartache, and sin. Again, it’s hard for me to recount all of this and work through all the feelings that come with it, but it is necessary to tell my story and for you, our loved and cherished friends, to understand.

Before you read this, I want to say that all of the glory MUST go to God! Clear out of your mind any previous notions of who Tim St. Clair II was and whatever view you had on my life and know that from my heart, this is my story. While some of this may come as a shock to you, I want you to know the depths of what has happened in my life so that we can all rejoice together in the work of Christ.

This then, is my story:

Most of you know my background and upbringing. My parents were part of Life Action Ministries and I grew up, as the oldest of six children, on the road ten months out of every year traveling across the country and ministering in thousands of churches. Through high school I worked in the children’s clubs, teaching stories, leading songs, and sharing Christ with them. After high school, I raised support and traveled as a singer on the team for two years. After that I headed off to Bible college where I studied music and Bible and participated in numerous student activities and was a part of a traveling singing/drama team each year. Between my Junior and Senior year, I interned at a church in Holland, MI as a music “pastor” and led in worship, preached a couple times, and helped out in the ministry there. After graduating from college, I married my one and only girlfriend Sarah Dawn Toledo, and we started out on this journey of life. We moved to Holland, MI where I took a job teaching at a small Christian school connected to our home church. I taught music classes (K-12th grade) led the many choirs, taught Bible classes, directed several musicals, pretty much oversaw the whole Fine Arts Program, and even did some janitorial work the first year and a half! During those four and half years, Sarah gave birth to Rennah Grace (born April 4, 2004) and then Nessa Faith (born September 28, 2007). I write all of this because at this point in my life, I look back at all the ministry that I was doing and involved in and I am struck with awe that through all of that I could have still missed something. From what God has revealed to me in recent months, I was able to go through all of that and still not “get it!”

The bottom line of all of this is that for years, I have struggled (sometimes off and on) with sexual sin. I became involved in internet pornography to the point that I could easily deceive myself into thinking that it was just something I would “struggle” with and would remain in private. Something to deal with on the side. After all, look at all that “I” was able to accomplish in ministry. I can’t say that my sin was such a driving force in my younger years, but the visual struggle was there at times, lingering in the back of my brain. But after I got married, and especially during Sarah’s first pregnancy, when she was extremely sick, those temptations began to creep back up and take control. And I yielded to them. It was this particular area of sin that eventually cost me my teaching job and the real reason why I had to resign back in January of 2007. My sin had been discovered and although I was “repentant” at the time, everyone felt like it was the best option for me and my family. I had hurt them and needed to step out of the ministry spotlight (which I craved) and focus on what was most important: my walk with Christ and my family.

The true reason for my resigning wasn’t really shared with anyone publicly, since my sin did not directly involve anyone but me. In fact, only the few people that we felt closest to knew because we would share with them in hopes of accountability and help through the process. And for several months, things seemed to be getting better. Sarah and I were communicating better, and although the job I had now taken (working for Panera Bread) caused finances to become very tight, we seemed to be working through things and starting to sort life out. But the truth was I was still holding on to sin issues and trying to “fight” it on my own without my wife knowing what was going on. I had deceived myself into thinking that it would all eventually pass, when in actuality, I was in bondage and needed help. We attended a “Basics of Marriage” counseling class together along with some friends in order to focus on our relationship and work through some healing and other issues that we both wanted to grow in. That time proved to be amazing and a very exciting time for us as we focused attention on our relationship and really felt God working and changing some things. Still, through all of this, I didn’t tell Sarah about my struggles and how I was still battling the fleshly desires that waged inside of me.

All this continued until one day in late November of last year (2008) when a good friend asked if he could come over and talk with us. Little did I know that he was coming over to confront me on my sin and some things that he had observed. So there, in front of my poor wife, who had no idea that I was still struggling and yielding to the lust of my eyes, he confronted me over my sin. I sat there and tried to deny and justify and defend. My wife was in shock and even tried to defend me until she realized that I had not been honest with her about my struggle. After a very long period of sitting there stubbornly resisting the Holy Spirit trying to break through in my heart, my friend finally asked a question that got to the heart of my issue. “When would you say was the high point in your walk with Christ? When would you say you were closest to Him and walking in obedience and close fellowship with Him?”

It was something I had asked myself before and sometimes struggled with, but never wanted to spend much time on or even go there. After all, look at “all that I had done” and all that I had been involved in throughout my life? But I honestly couldn’t come up with an answer so I made something up about that time being when I was in college or something lame like that. “That seems like a long time ago . . .” he said in a thoughtful way. And then it came, I knew what the problem was and fear rushed into my heart instantly followed by a million reasons and arguments as to why it couldn’t be true. But I knew the issue was a matter of my heart. I finally broke down and confessed to my friend and to my wife that it was all true. I sat and sobbed like a baby and just couldn’t stop. I felt completely ashamed, alone, and so much grief over my sin. I named my sins by name. My friend left, telling us that he would be praying for us.

I had been sitting on the floor during the whole ordeal and had been so tense that my back was killing me. I had to lay down. Amazingly enough, our girls were quiet and playing in their room which gave Sarah and I time to talk. I told her that I knew what I needed to do, but I was scared. To think that 29 years of my life had passed without me truly knowing Christ as my Savior! But when I looked back at years of ministry life and “serving” God, I realized that it was all motivated by my exterior surroundings and a desire to receive the applause of men! It wasn’t done out of a heart that truly followed Christ and had a vibrant relationship with Him. In fact, when all those external things were stripped away from me, the place I would run for “comfort” and “fulfillment” was my sin!

So I told Sarah what I needed . . . I needed Christ! We went back to our room and I cried out to God and asked Him to forgive me of my sins and to truly save me and become Lord and Master of my life! Our oldest daughter, Rennah, came back into the room saw me crying and praying. She began crying too, and I told God “before my wife and my precious daughter here, I ask You to save me and change me and take control of my life!” What a powerful moment that was for me! I will never forget that evening! And after I prayed, I was able to explain to Rennah what Daddy was crying about and what had just happened!

Later that night, I pulled out a new journal that my dad had given me just a few weeks earlier as we were talking with them and wrote in the front of it, “My Spiritual Journey Finally begins, November 19, 2008 PRAISE THE LORD!”

Since that day, I can tell you that I have never experienced the joy that I have now and the freedom that continues to come every time I have been able to share my story with friends and family. That, of course, was the hardest and scariest moments for me . . . When I had the opportunity to share my testimony with our family. I was completely overwhelmed by the love and support that they offered and the sweet fellowship that came when I was able to openly share all that God had been doing the past year. This Christmas was absolutely AMAZING and a wonderful time of renewal and rejoicing in the precious gift of God’s Son! My first Christmas as a true child of God!

I know that all of this news may come as a shock to many of you who never saw the battle. Those whom I was able to deceive as I was “doing” the Christian life. And I have to ask your forgiveness for being so deceitful to everyone that thought I had it “all together” and was a great spiritual guy. I have learned so much from all of this. I know now that following Christ is a daily, moment by moment, conscious decision for those of us that claim His salvation. I am learning that I need to be “ravenous for the Word” and desire to read, meditate, and apply it to EVERY area of my life!

God has directed me in several steps of obedience as I begin this genuine walk with Him to put up safeguards for my life. I continue to work on surrendering the things of this world that I once loved and give everything up for Him. I am so thankful right now for my wonderful and forgiving wife who has gone with me on this journey and has been so supportive and encouraging. God has so grown our relationship by leaps and bounds through all of this.

We are extremely thankful for the church we are currently a part of and active in. They have been incredibly supportive and encouraging to us through this whole process. We are excited to grow closer together and closer to Christ. It’s truly the dawning of a new year in the St. Clair household!

Although ministry has always been such a huge part of my life and something that I used to try to find security and confidence in, I can truly say now, for the first time ever, that if the only ministry I have in life from this point forward is the ministry to my wife and children, that is enough! And all I need for fulfillment. They are my ministry and the most important people in my life.

We have no idea what God has for our future, but for now, we are simply rejoicing in God’s work of salvation! Extremely thankful for the power of the cross and for finally breaking through my stubborn heart. I have to remind myself over and over that God’s timing is always perfect. And although this is not the way either of us ever pictured our lives being, we are so glad that God has finally stripped away all the exterior walls around my life and shown me my true self. I am so thankful for love, forgiveness, and blood of Jesus Christ.

Please forgive my hypocrisy over the years and for not being the true example of Christ that I should have been to you. I have many regrets from my past, but God continually shows me the need to press forward and live day by day now and be the light of Christ to everyone around me. This letter of testimony is my attempt to get my story out there to people I have known and it is my desire for everyone to know what God has done in my life so you can rejoice and continue to pray for us.

We love you all and would love any feedback you want to give after having read this letter. The best way to get in touch with us would be my e-mail address: timo.stclair@gmail.com

Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy story. I hope that it was an encouragement to you and a testimony of God’s goodness! We truly serve an awesome and Almighty God! We love you all! Keep us in your prayers!

For His Service Alone,

Tim & Sarah St. Clair, Rennah, & Nessa

Beauty and the Beast~ Video Diary #1

Hey guys! I just wanted to update everyone our our current production of Beauty and the Beast. We are in the middle of rehearsals and having an absolute blast with the show! Here are some video clips of our cast in their first couple of dance rehearsals. Keep in mind that none of these kids have taken dance lessons before and are learning everything from scratch! Enjoy!

Our show is coming in March 2008! If you are in the Michigan area at that time, you should make it a point to come and see us! We would love to have you there!!!

Thanksgiving!

Hey Everyone! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope everyone has a great time with your friends and family over this holiday season!

This will be a sad thanksgiving for us as both of our families will not be around our area for the Thanksgiving holiday. So we have decided to spend the day with a family from the school who are dear friends of ours. That will be nice, but it would have been better to see our families. Either way, we should be able to see my family in a couple of weeks as they will be back in their home in Buchanan until after Christmas.

Today is our last half day before break starts and I am SOOOOO ready some time off! Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Where’s the snow?

Hey everyone! I am really enjoying having this laptop and being able to remain comfortable in my recliner and still do the work I need to do online. It’s so nice.

So we returned safe and sound from our high school choir retreat and things went really well. I feel like we were able to accomplish what we needed to and learned all of the rest of the music for our Christmas concert. We even got a head start on a couple of songs that the kids will be performing in our Spring concert. God even started a work in several students hearts. I had the opportunity to share a few things I had on my heart and try to challenge the kids in their walk with Christ. God even opened up a door for me to be able to talk with several students. I have such a burden for my students and pray that God will do a deep work in their lives.

WE ARE SO READY FOR THANKSGIVING BREAK!! It’s only about a week away now and we are so ready for the holiday and even more for CHRISTMAS! It is crazy that we haven’t had any nasty weather yet here . . . hopefully we will have snow for Christmas this year. Rennah, however, thinks that as soon as we get snow on the ground, we get to go to Papa’s house and have Christmas. So maybe it’s a good thing we don’t have any snow yet.

Nessa is doing so well with her schedule. She has started sleeping very well at night, usually 5-6 hours before waking up . . . even a couple of nights where she slept 7 hours or more! So life is starting to settle in for the St. Clair family! More later!

Choir Retreat

Well, I am sitting on the couch finishing up my preparation for our annual choir retreat that starts tomorrow. I am especially excited about this trip because it’s always great to get the kids out of their normal routine of school and get to know them in a more personal atmosphere and really focus on our relationship with each other and with Christ. This year, I am going to share some of my burdens for the students as I have watched them over the past four years. This year’s senior class was my first 8th grade Bible class! Please pray for me and my wife as we go with the kids and seek to invest in their lives!