Thursday, November 13, 2014

Slow and steady in the midst of crazy busy...

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This beautiful lady had a birthday last month!

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

October was an exciting month for our family. Meredith turned 31, and Hosea celebrated his first birthday.  We had visits from both sets of grandparents, and we made a mad dash to North Carolina one weekend so I could hunt and fill the freezer. (Praise the Lord for his provision!)

Ministry at the Storehouse has been steady, but I'll share just one quick story.  Last week, a friend called and asked if we would take a futon bed.  He said it was very nice, but they no longer needed it. Last Friday I took some U-Turn guys with me to collect donations and this futon bed.  It was a beautiful futon.  On Tuesday, we called a Hispanic lady who had been waiting for a twin bed since March and asked her if she could use the futon.  She said yes, of course.  She called her husband at work and they promptly came to pick it up. You see, they have a severely disabled son who lives in a group home during the week. They are able to bring him home on the weekends, but he has not had his own bed to sleep on.  Now, he has a beautiful bed on which to sleep!  She was so thankful.  Praise the Lord for his provision for this sweet family.

We wrapped up JobsforLife with Jeremiah two weeks ago.  He's doing well, but I'm sure he appreciates your prayers going forward as he labors to implement the things he's learned, as well as to walk with the Lord. By God's grace we will launch JobsforLife round two in February after our return from the missions conference in Texas.

Last week I started teaching my fall seminary extension class at the Holston Baptist Association.  I'm teaching an exposition of the book of James, and it's been incredibly challenging personally.  James is in-your-face practical.  There are 12 students in the class, and the first two sessions have been fantastic.  Class picture to come in a future post.

This weekend is the first ever Missions Conference at Grace Church in Greenville, NC.  Grace is my home church, and I'm thrilled to see where the Lord has brought them over the last 15 years.  It will be my privilege to participate in the conference this weekend.  Please  pray for Meredith and the kids while I make another mad dash east this weekend.  My plan is to drive over on Saturday evening and back on Monday morning.

Thanksgiving is almost here!  Next week I'll be picking up turkeys at Second Harvest that we'll distribute the week of Thanksgiving.  Please be praying that the Lord would guide us to the families that need a special word of encouragement this holiday season.

Things you can be praying for this week...
1. Pray for Jeremiah as he walks with the Lord, that the Lord would give him wisdom and courage to endure the trials he is presently facing.
2. Pray for the seminary extension class, that the Lord would use our time learning from James to transform our lives and our communities.
3.  Please pray for Meredith and the kids as I go to the Grace Church missions conference this weekend, that the Lord would protect them while I'm gone.
4. Please pray for discernment as we seek families to especially bless over Thanksgiving.

Thank you for your prayers!  They keep us going!
Charlie with Herb, our landlord at the Storehouse.  He's been a huge blessing to our ministry!

We had a great group of clients for first Thursday!
We are blessed with a great group of volunteers who serve faithfully every month setting up, carrying baskets laden with food, and cleaning up. 
This big fella turned 1!

He's a neat eater, so he tried to find a small piece of cake.

So serious...but I think he liked it.
Hosea took mommy out to dinner to celebrate their birthdays!

And Lily wanted in the picture :)
We fed Hosea a lemon. Yes, we did.
He liked it so much he ate the whole thing!
This sweet girl is a ham, or perhaps, a "cheese"!
Homeschooling is going well.  Lily here is hard at work tracing her letters!

Lest you think she's all work and no play...growing up in East Tennessee, when she hears the bluegrass playing, she has to go dance!
One of our family's favorite fall traditions is going to pick pumpkins.  Hosea is ready!
"So Cute It's Scary"!

Yay for the hayride to the pumpkin patch!

I love my sweet girl!
The big cheese!

I did not steal the pumpkin!


I even got to pick some fresh Pink Lady apples! Our favorite!
Everybody look at the camera and smile!  Or not...
Closer...but it probably still won't make the Christmas card!