Sunday, January 1
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
After a very quiet New Year's Eve, we woke up to a cold, rainy morning in Rockwall. We took our time getting around and, after getting dressed for the day, took our first selfie of 2017...
After packing the car, we went to the Hampton breakfast room for a nice meal, and then headed up I-30 through Greenville and Sulphur Springs before turning south on Texas 154 to Yantis for a brief praise band rehearsal before the morning service.
The complexion of our praise band is in a state of flux following the resignation of the Lovelady family (Danette - music director and vocalist, Aaron - bass and vocalist, and Nate, percussion) and a leave of absence for our pianist, Lisa.
But, after a strong rehearsal Thursday night with our remaining members plus Matt Vaden, our new youth pastor/pianist, and Stacy Vance, bass, we were ready to greet the new year with a new blend of sounds and a desire to make 2017 the best year ever for Yantis First Baptist Church.
Following church, we drove home, had lunch, and then crashed We were weary with well-doing, a big Christmas celebration, and lots of driving.
Later this evening, Mike and Kelly called from Virginia for a FaceTime Christmas with Ava, Jack, and Benjamin, who were anxious to open the Christmas stockings we had sent and share their joy with us.
The calendar date for Christmas may have passed, but with our kids and grandkids scattered all over the country, Christmas is whenever we have a chance to celebrate.
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Monday, January 2I spent the morning at Beaty Funeral Home with 20 East Texas Patriot Guard Riders as we provided honors for Senior Master Sergeant William Rudolph Steinert (USAF Ret.), who passed away this week at the age of 81.
Even though the weather was horrible at the beginning of the mission, riders came in from as far as 50 miles away to pay their respects to the family.
One of the riders came in on this Stallion. When we weren't standing in the flag line, several of us were admiring this fine ride.
Meanwhile, Barbara was at the house trying to make sense of the extra bedroom, which has been the catch-all room since the beginning of December. By the time I got back to the house, she had the room all straightened up, extra Christmas stuff packed away, and everything we will need for our last Christmas of the season next weekend in the dining room, ready to be packed.
After lunch, we turned to getting gifts sorted out and stuffing stockings to take to Waco for Christmas with John, Carol, Rhett, Bowman, Randi, Nick, Leah, Ryan, and Kaiden.
After a short rest break, we ran some errands, had a short visit with TJ, and made it an official day by going to Walmart for a few things before stopping to visit with Angela and then heading home, where we started work on a new project, fashioning a Money Pizza for a wedding shower at the church Wednesday evening.
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Tuesday, January 3I got up early this morning and drove to Yantis for prayer meeting. After a brief stop at Big V to get it ready for an overnight stay Wednesday evening, I returned to the house to join Barbara in planning a series of kitchen activities for the day.
While Barbara started working on our lunch, I went outside to clean the rain gutters (which were filled to the brim with the last of the falling) oak leaves). When that was done and the ladder was put away, we ate lunch and then cranked up to prepare goodies to take to Waco this weekend. By the end of the day, we had turned out cinnamon candy, root beer candy, homemade applesauce, tortilla roll-ups,and jalapeno bread, resulting in filling the dishwasher three times.
We broke out the Foreman grill to make some burgers, had a quiet, but very satisfying supper, and then settled in for a quiet evening of working on the blog.
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Wednesday, January 4Barbara was the head chef yesterday, but she handed over the apron and cap to me this morning as we took advantage of bad weather outdoors to play in the kitchen.
Selections for today included 4 dozen sausage/cheese balls, Several loaves of jalapeno bread, and a pot of homemade chili. Boy, did the kitchen ever stink purty!!!
We drove out to Yantis this evening to join church members in a shower for Pastor Craig and Stacy's son Justin, and his bride-elect, Shyanne. A good time was had by all and, like nearly all things Baptist, there was food and lots of visiting.
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Thursday, January 5We spent the day cleaning house, doing laundry, and packing for a trip to Waco for our fifth and final Christmas celebration of the current season. When the family is scattered across the country in San Antonio, Dallas, Kansas City, and Richmond, it takes a while to get Christmas done as properly as possible!
Tonight was our first Lake Country Symphonic Band rehearsal of 2017. Our March concert will be a salute to John Phillip Sousa, and we got a good look at what's ahead of us for the next couple of months.
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Friday, January 6As we were packing for our trip to Waco this morning, we got a call from our friends Gene and Michelle letting us know they were back in Wood County, and asking about getting together for lunch. We made a quick compromise and met them for breakfast at Whataburger before we left town and they went about their business of the day.
By evening, we had the gang all there...John, Carol, Randi, Nick, Rhett, and Bowman drove in from San Antonio, and Leah, Ryan, and Kaiden surprised us by coming down from Burleson much earlier than they had originally planned.
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Saturday, December 7Today was loaded with family fun. First, a trip to the Magnolia District to look at outrageously high-priced stuff for the house, followed by a visit to the Dr. Pepper Museum, and then lunch.
After taking time for some rest and relaxation, we hooked up again in one of the meeting rooms for our family Christmas party.
By the time all was said and done, it was time to do some preliminary packing for tomorrow's return trip and then head for bed for some much-needed sleep. It's been a wonderful Christmas season, but it is definitely time to move on to 2017!
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Sunday, January 8Happy 1st Birthday to grandson Benjamin Kuper Little!!!!!
Then...
And now...
We all had breakfast together at the hotel, and then each family headed out on the roads to their respective homes. Ours was a full day of driving, but we made it home with plenty of time to unpack, put things away, and settle down for an evening of relaxation. What does it say for the day when the high point was me trying on a new pair of jammies from John and Carol? Oh well, we take our humor where we can find it.
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Monday, January 9 - Thursday, January 12Believe it or don't, many of are days aren't particularly noteworthy, and certainly not photo-worthy. And these four days fit in both. Housework, cooking, doing laundry, going to praise band and symphonic band rehearsals, and preparing a children's sermon for Sunday morning were the norms.
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Friday, January 13We broke out of our self-imposed exile from society this evening to join a group of church friends for dinner at the Red Dome in Quitman. As usual, a good time was had by all!
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Saturday, January 14A full day (as in more than 8 hours) of dealing with a family situation...exhausted by evening and both of us ready to run away from home.
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Sunday, January 15Before leaving for church this morning, we tried on our new kitchen apparel that we just received from Carrie and Norm Foote in South Carolina...aren't we just stylin"?!!!
Then we drove to Yantis for praise band rehearsal, Sunday school, and the morning service including the praise band and a children's sermon to go along with Pastor Craig's sermon for the morning.
Our children's sermon this morning came from Joshua 11:15, and followed the theme of Trust and Obey. It had a very personal touch, and we share it here with you...
JIM: When we read Joshua 11, we see that Joshua
carefully followed all the instructions that God had given to Moses, who passed
them on to Joshua before Joshua and the Israelites entered the Promised Land
and claimed it for Israel. Joshua had so
much faith and trust in God’s words and instructions that he didn’t have to get
someone else’s ideas or opinions. He
just did what God told him to do.
Obeying
God is something that is mentioned many times in the book of Joshua. One of the reasons for that is that obeying
God is something that Christian believers can control. It might not be easy, but when we know what
God wants from us, even if we don’t know the reason for it, we can control our
choice to obey God.
Most
of the folks in church this morning probably know a song called 'Tis So Sweet To
Trust In Jesus. When we listen to it and
repeat the words, we can grow stronger in our belief that whatever God wants
for us will be good for us. We just have to listen to Him and trust and obey
his commands.
Barbara: I remember when I adopted my daughter Leah when
she was 4. I met her grandparents in Snyder and though she had never met me,
she hopped in my car as her grandfather packed her small suitcase, a paper
sack, and trike in the back of the car. As we headed back to Lubbock, I was
continually amazed that Leah didn’t cry, ask how long she’d live with us…nothing.
All she said about the situation was, “My Nona said I could call you, Mom.” I
asked her how she felt about that. Her answer again surprised me as she
empathically said, “I’ll think about it and see if I can trust you.” Eventually, I did win her trust and I became
her, “Mom.”
I think each of us have to find that same relationship with
Christ. We must reach out that first time to trust and then find that life
without that trust is empty. Sometimes, when things don’t go the way we thought
they should, we might wonder why; but all we have to do is to remember who we
have put our trust in. He will never forsake us.
To remind you that it’s always Sweet to Trust in Jesus, we
have made these cards for you. We hope you will tuck it away (after you’ve enjoyed
the treats) in your sock drawer or some other drawer so that as you search for
the right item each morning, you’ll see this reminder that you can always trust
in the Lord.
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Monday, January 16
Remembering brother Jerry Little on his birthday. Jerry passed away November 11, 2015.
We invited Aunt TJ over for lunch today, so we spent the morning getting everything ready. Barbara set a very informal table for the occasion.
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Tuesday, January 17This turned out to be a pretty busy day. I went to prayer meeting at Yantis FBC early this morning and then returned to the house for breakfast. Later, we drove out to the Lake Fork Marina where Barbara had lunch at Tiffani's Restaurant with church friends Diane and Mary. While they were sharing girl-time, I drove back to Our Little Lot at Holiday Villlages of Lake Fork to begin clearing vines and fallen branches.
When the ladies were finished with their time together, I drove back to the church, picked up Barbara, and we returned to Mineola and did a little shopping at Walmart before going back to the house and beginning work on a special birthday gift for a very special lady in our church who will be celebrating her 90th birthday this weekend. Maylene loves root beer and Snickers bars, so we came up with what we thought was the perfect combination.
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Wednesday, January 18This evening we drove back to Our Little Lot, where Barbara had a fun time playing in Big V while I was at praise band practice. Barbara tried out her night photography skills as I was backing out of the driveway.
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Friday, January 20I took Aunt TJ to the hairdresser this morning and then Barbara and I took her to Jalapeno Tree for lunch and some crazy good Mexican food.
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Saturday, January 21
We spent the morning doing the usual household chores, and then this afternoon drove up to Yantis to help celebrate Maylene Johnson's 90th birthday, where we met up with friends Jerry and Diane Nickerson to give Maylene her special birthday gift from the four of us.
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Sunday, January 22Happy 35th Birthday to daughter Leah McQuitty!!!!!
Happy Birthday to daughter-in-law Kelly Little!!!!!
This morning found us back at Yantis for the morning service at First Baptist Church.
Our children's sermon this morning was about God's promises:
JIM: Chapters 12 and 13 of
Joshua tell about the promises that God made to the children of Israel and how
He was faithful to keep his promises, as long as they did what He told them to
do. God’s promises throughout the Bible
are like contracts with his people.
Those promises, or contracts, are also called covenants. In the Old Testament, God’s people were the
children of Israel. He promised that He
would guide and protect them and give them the land He had promised them if
they did what He told them to do. But,
if they didn’t follow His directions and tried to do things their own way, the
contract was broken, and the people would suffer and not be as successful as
they could have been.
Beginning
with the New Testament, when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to live on
earth as man, God’s children are those who repent of their sins, accept Jesus
as their personal savior, and who follow His word. To them, God promises our eternal rewards in
Heaven.
God never
breaks a promise to us. Just as He was
faithful to His word to the children of Israel, God will also be faithful to
His word with each of us. God says, “If
you do this, then this will happen,” and His promises are as solid as rocks.
BARBARA: This is an ordinary
letter like the ones we receive in our mailbox every day. Right in the middle is the name and address
of the person to whom it is intended.
What do you see here in the corner of the envelope? Right, it’s a stamp. When the postal service sells you this stamp
and you put it on a letter, it represents a promise to deliver it to the person
to whom it is addressed. It doesn’t
matter if it is cloudy or sunny, raining or snowing, hot or cold, the mail gets
delivered. That is the promise that this
stamp represents.
You are
too young to have a credit card, but one day you probably will. Most adults have a credit card that they use
to buy things. When you buy something
using a credit card, you have to sign a ticket.
When you sign the ticket, you are promising that you will pay for the
items you purchased using the credit card.
Your signature is your promise.
People
make promises every day. Do they always
keep their promises? Unfortunately, some
people don’t.
God makes
promises, too. The Bible is full of
God’s promises. Does God always keep His
promises? Yes, He does! One of my favorite songs, “My Hope is Built”,
contains the line ”On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is
sinking sand”. That’s why today we made
you these “Promise Rocks” to remind you that in Christ you are always on solid
ground and can trust His promises.
JIM: God, our Father in Heaven, thank
you for your faithfulness in keeping your promises. Help us to be faithful in keeping our promises
to you. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Following the service, most of the congregation adjourned to the annex to enjoy a delicious fundraiser dinner for our youth group.
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Tuesday, January 24We made a Sonic run this afternoon and then decided that since we were downtown anyway, we might as well park the car and walk around for a bit to enjoy the sights and do some browsing in a couple of the shops.
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Thursday, January 26Happy Birthday to son-in-law Jim Farnham!!!!!
Prior to going to band rehearsal this evening we drove over to Lindale for the monthly Meet and Eat session with a group of East Texas Patriot Guard Riders. What we didn't know until we got there was that Buck Kern, Executive Director of Snowball Express, was going to be there to present some awards for ETPGR's participation in the Vest Project at Snowball Express.
Not only did we get to spend time with special friends and enjoy a great meal at Cracker Barrel, each of us received a personalized letter and certificate, as well as a Snowball Express challenge coin.
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Friday, January 27It's always a good day when we receive a photo of a grandchild, and today's day was made doubly great when we got this picture of Ava and Jack from Mike and Kelly.
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Sunday, January 29Our children's sermon at Yantis FBC this morning was about standing against the pressure to not follow and obey God. The scriptures were from Joshua 14 and Numbers 13 and 14.
JIM: For the past few weeks,
we’ve been studying about God’s faithfulness in leading Joshua and the children
of Israel into Canaan, The Promised Land.
We’ve learned that when God makes a promise, He always keeps it.
The
lesson this morning is about how the Children of Israel gained their
inheritance that God promised. But do
you know that they could have gotten their inheritance 40 year earlier if they
had trusted God then?
God had
told Moses to choose 12 men to go scout the land of Canaan and bring back a
report about what they saw. He also
promised that he would lead the Children into that land and protect them while
they destroyed their enemies. The ten
men traveled through the land for 40 days, and even though God promised the
land to them, when they returned to Moses, 10 of the 12 said that the land
flowed with milk and honey, but there were great armies and giants that would
kill them if they tried to take over the land.
Only Joshua and Caleb reported to Moses that they should enter the land
and claim it for themselves. The other
10 men stirred up the rest of the people and convinced them to turn against
Moses and God’s promise, even though Joshua and Caleb said that God would give
them the land. Because the Children of
Israel went against God and the leaders He had appointed, they had to wander in
the desert for 40 years…one year for each day the spies had spent in the
promised land, before God used Joshua to guide them into Canaan and earn their
inheritance.
When we
go against what we know is right or what God wants us to do, the results will
never be as good as what God planned for us.
BARBARA: Have you ever
done something that your Mom or Dad told you not to do? Well, when I was 8 and
my older sister 10, my Mom left us at home while she went to get Daddy from
work. Now, before she left, she looked right at me and said, Barbara Ann, stay
out of the refrigerator…we have to go to the church dinner in an hour and you
are not to eat anything! Yep…that’s what she said, so as soon as she closed the
door, I immediately went to the refrigerator to see what I could sneak that she
wouldn’t notice. Well, while I looked, I started swinging on the refrigerator
door. Then my bossy, skinny, older sister came in and said scoot over, I want
to swing, too. Well…think about this…if you put the most weight on the outside
of something, what’s going to happen…Right! It’s going to tip over and that’s
exactly what the refrigerator did…It came tumbling towards us, we jumped off
and the refrigerator rocked back into place; but as it did, all the milk, eggs,
casserole Mother had fixed for the church supper…everything came crushing to
the floor. Boy! Were we scared…I cried while Carol told me to hush up and go
get the cards and sit at the dining room table! Then, she called Daddy and said
that we were playing cards when all of a sudden, the refrigerator started to
fall over and all of the food fell out on the floor. Not a cool story, since
Mom & Dad didn’t believe a word of it! We were punished not only for
getting into the refrigerator after Mother told us not to; but even more
because we lied to them. I know I shouldn’t have listened to my sister!
Today’s lesson reminds us that just like we
should obey our parents & teachers, we should also obey God & listen to
what He says. We shouldn’t let the opinions of others interfere with the
directions given to us by God.
JIM: Since our scripture this morning is about how God led the Children of
Israel to their new home, the land of milk and honey, our special gift to you
this morning is this carton of milk and some pieces of Bit-O-Honey to remind
you of God’s love and His rewards for following His directions. Remember, “We
shouldn’t let the opinions of others interfere with the directions given to us
by God.”
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for your love for us, your promise to lead
us, and for giving us leaders to show us the way to walk with you. Please give us the wisdom, strength, and
courage to follow you, even when our friends and others try to lead us in a different
direction. We pray this in the name of
Jesus, Amen.
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Enjoying life in Mineola, Wood County, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
