New Mini Album for the Grandies

Well it's still in progress, but we've put up a mini album called "Songs for the Grandies" on BandCamp. We are hoping to have 12 songs and have a story page with illustrations and coloring pages for each. These are scripture teaching songs for young ones, though not word for word. We trust these will be tools for parents and grandparents with the coming generations and generate some support for missions in the Middle East.

Click on "Songs for the Grandies" to go to the site.

If you enjoy these please tell a friend!

Thanksgiving in Progress

Artists at Work

Cranberry Bread

Famous Cranberry Sauce

Turkey in Progress

The temperature has dropped about 40 degrees since yesterday but we are warm and snug in Bryan and Michelle's new home cooking Turkey and listening to a message from the Lutheran Hour on gratitude. The girls have everything in hand with preparations finished last night and now doing everything at the proper moment. The ham is coming with J.C. and Teresa; David and Lily are bringing Cassava Cake; the pumpkin pie is finished. The men are waiting in excitement as the ladies are in control of the situation. Even the cat is excited!

What is happening in the Sticks?

Driving to Denton to visit Bryan and Michelle we took this picture of these mini burros about a mile from our house. We've been testing a 3G network for our home and I wanted to see what the signal strengths were like along the highway. So we are able to post this as we are moving. That's pretty good for the "sticks".

Let theThanks begin

This begins the week of Thanksgiving and we are determined not to let it slip by in the Christmas shopping frenzy. What better holiday do we have than Thanksgiving? Instituted by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, he called the nation to pause and give thanks and praise to God for His mercies, and ask for forgiveness for presumptuous (look that one up in the dictionary) sins. Click on Lincoln for the text. Click the side bar player for an original tune.

Barb says she is thankful for the deer we see almost daily, for the pansies on our deck, for the colors of Autumn that continue to surround us, for our children and grandchildren. Larry is thankful that all healing comes from Jesus (he has a very bad cold right now), for his faithful wife, for the amazing richness of friends we have in the East Texas area, and for his bike rides with Jesus. What are you thankful for?

In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you

Colors of Fall

We have been chasing Fall colors since our trip to Seattle in October. We didn't realize how long Fall would last here in the South and the Midwest. Recently we visited Larry's parents in Illinois with a trip through the Arkansas Ozarks on the way. Everywhere we traveled Fall continued to shine, even our own back yard when we returned to Texas


Red tree in Decatur

Barb near her mom's home

Colors among the pines

The view from our deck



Disappointment

After long months of waiting we have heard finally that our visa applications for Lebanon have been rejected. We don't know all of the details but it radically changes our future plans. We are disappointed, we are confused, and stunned at the news. So many things will have to be addressed and changed. We may never see all of the new friends we made. We left a lot of personal things in Lebanon that we will have to sell or dispose of. Most of all we are wondering were we on the wrong track? We continue to trust in the goodness of God but now have less confidence in our ability to discern His direction. We need to remain humble and expectant and faithful to seek the Lord. We need time to process. Help us Lord.

Lessons from the Pear Tree

This pear tree reminds us of faithful fruit bearing. With no care or special treatment it continues to bear these large pears that are so sweet and juicy. The soil is hard clay, the conditions are drought with sparse showers through the long hot summer. Animals break the branches trying to get some early fruit, and with no spraying or fertilizer the fruit comes on large and plentiful. This is truly amazing and gives us encouragement that the Lords character, reflected in this tree, is to be abundantly fruitful. Efficiency is not the lesson here but rather abundant goodness and generosity. How great is the Lord's goodness toward us!