Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve. We went to a Christmas Eve service and when we came home we let the kids each open a Christmas gift. PJs! (Thanks Great Grammy!)
No time to be blogging now. There is egg nog, fudge, cookies, brownies, hot chocolate, pizza and lots of other good treats! :) To say that God has been over abundantly good to us would be an understatement. God IS good all the time!

Angel Tree

Yesterday we had the opportunity to deliver Christmas gifts to children who have a parent in prison. It was an amazing experience for our family! You may have received Matt's e-mail about it, but if not- here it is:


Today my family and I had the privilege of teaming up with Angel Tree ministries to deliver Christmas presents to several families here in the Richmond, VA area. These are children of incarcerated parents who are desperately searching for hope. Today, my family and I were able to bring that message of hope to a few of these little ones...I may not be able to reach them all, but I'll do all I can to reach as many as I can!

I was able to present the Gospel using the Wordless Book to two of the three families we delivered gifts to today. One of the families was an African American family, where as soon as I looked into the eyes of the mother, I could see that she was open and searching for help. As I was explaining to the family why we were there, more and more children began to come to the door of their home. The small apartment was cramped for space as all 8 of my family members and 4 of hers filled the room. Everyone listened to every word I said, and when the opportunity presented itself for me to share the message of salvation, using the wordless book, I was able to lead this mother and her three children to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!

The second family was a Christian family who already professed Christ as savior, and so I gave them information about CEF's "What Went Wrong" program and explained the mailbox club program to them, which is a fantastic discipleship program for children. The kids were so excited and kept on thanking us. As we left their home and the mother closed the door, I could hear her saying to her children just how happy she was that we came. My family and I were very excited.

The third family we visited today nearly broke my heart. The 10 year old daughter had not seen her daddy in 3 years and you could tell that she was sad over it. She is in foster care, and her birth mother, whom I met, is in the process of getting full custody of her. As I gave her the gifts in honor of her incarcerated father, I nearly burst into tears as I looked into her eyes. Despite all of the hurt and sorrow that this little girl had gone through, having moved so often from foster home to foster home, and now not knowing if she'd be able to stay with her birth mom and not having a dad in her life for the past 3 years, I saw a sparkle in her eyes. She had hope that it was all going to be OK. I took that moment to open up the wordless book and share with that little girl, her two neighborhood friends, and her birth mother, the hope that was awaiting them in Christ. Although there were many distractions and no clear profession of faith in Christ, the message of hope was presented and CEF literature was left. I would like to return with my family, perhaps in Feb or March, and put on a party club there.

As we visited for a while with this last family, the children really opened up, and through our conversations, revealed just how messed up and hurting their family life is. I told the care givers that there were several churches in Richmond that would be happy to reach out to them, and I intend to forward the pastors of these churches their information. I know they will be glad to help because I had already spoken with them beforehand. I am determined now, more than ever, to make a difference in the lives of children here in Virginia!

Let's remember to leave the cell phones, laptops and facebook accounts behind this Christmas, and let's spoil everyone in our family with our time and attention!


Merry Christmas - I'll see you on the other side of the New Year!

Matt

christmas visit

We were invited to some friends' house for dinner tonight. This couple has been so sweet to us- our whole family loves Mike and Pam! After a delicious dinner, a guest arrived. It was Santa Claus! Mike had arranged this visit just for our kids. We've never done Santa so I was curious how the kids would respond. They thought he was great and had a ton of fun. (with the exception of Leah who was not in the least bit impressed!)
Besides the dinner and Santa, we enjoyed dessert, singing carols around the piano, treats for the kiddos and lots of good fellowship. We were all truly blessed tonight!

final scripture memory of the year

"One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek; That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple."
Psalm 27:4



In January of this year, I took Beth Moore up on her Scripture Memory Challenge. I chose 2 verses (or passages) per month and memorized them. I wrote the verses on spiral bound 3x5 cards. Keeping them all together like that I have been able to review them and keep them all fresh in my mind. I committed to memorize a new verse on the first and fifteenth of each month.
It was such a good experience. Looking back at the verses is almost like reading a journal for me. I remember what was going on when I chose each verse. Verses earlier in the year that reminded me that "the Lord gives wisdom and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding". Verses that reminded me that God would "go ahead of me and make the rough places smooth", that God would "make my steps firm", verses reminding me not "to fear or be dismayed". When I felt like everything around me was changing I found a verse that said that "Even to your old age I WILL BE THE SAME" and when I felt things were in a whirlwind I was encouraged by the verse that told me that God would be "the stability of our times". One time I just needed the verse that said "You made me bold". Some were verses of conviction reminding me of what I need to do "in order to be sincere and blameless" or how I need to behave as a wife. There were times when I was in absolute awe of God's provision and had to memorize verses like the one that says, "I still declare Your wondrous deeds!" and "I will sing praise to my God while I have my being". During some difficult times of sickness I needed to remember that "My God will hear me".
It's hard to believe that now it's over! I'm working on my last verse of the year. And it's one that speaks of a desire that I truly want to be my own desire. Although I am memorizing it from the NAS, I love the way the Amplified Bible says it:
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.

...the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness of the Lord... I want to know that and I want to become sweet, attractive and lovely myself because of all the time I have spent in His presence.

I love Jesus and I love His Word!

snow!

I can't even tell you how much I LOVE SNOW!!!!!

who knew?

Who knew how much we'd love WHOONU? Bethany knew, that's who!
What a fun surprise to get a package in the mail from our awesome NH friend. The kids could hardly wait until dad was done working for the day so we could all play together. We all love it!
Thank you Bethany!





Guess who won :)

Leah likes grapefruit

We just found out that Leah loves grapefruit!
It started like this:


More please!

Guess I'll sit down now.Why don't you just give it to me?

Who needs hands?