ARCHIVE GALLERY
January 2008
January 21, 2008
Now that we have made it through the hectic holiday season, we have a moment to catch our breath and bring you up to date on our whereabouts!
We left Michigan on December 17th after a blizzard hit the area and rearranged most everyone’s plans. We were supposed to minister at our home church on December 16th….which would have been the last time we were to be with our precious church family for about 5 months, but we awoke to a winter storm. Deciding it was too risky to make the hour trip, Pastor Dave told us lovingly not to come. We had been staying in the missionary quarters of a church in Fenton where we have ministered several times. The kids were invited to participate in their children’s Christmas play and both of them were so excited. It was bittersweet because Randy and I were going to miss the actual Sunday morning performance on the 16th of December. We planned to leave the kids with family so they could be in the play while Randy and I sang at SoulQuest (our home church) about an hour away. Due to the weather, our concert was canceled but the kids play was not. So, we were able to attend the play but did not get to say goodbye to our church family. The Lord works in such wonderful ways. As much as we wanted to be with our church family, we will never regret being able to see the kids in the Christmas play. Kennedie had an accapella solo that we didn’t even know about and Kadison delivered his line to King Herod confidently and perfectly. It was my favorite Christmas moment this year.
We left for the West Coast on the 18th of December and high tailed it out to San Diego. We had a great trip and arrived to my sister’s apartment on Thursday night getting there a day ahead of schedule.
Christmas Sunday we had a concert at Cornerstone Community Church in Lemon Grove, California and were able to love on the precious people there. Pastor Mark and Anne Stapleton have become dear friends of ours, so it was great to be with special friends for the Christmas service.
After church, we headed to Palmdale, north of Los Angeles to a house where we stayed for the next two weeks. This house was such an answer to prayer…and we thank Fred and Belle Tanis from the bottom of our hearts! We had never met the Tanis’ but a mutual friend knew that we were looking for a house to spend the holidays in and she knew the Tanis’ were going away for a few weeks. So, the Lord worked it out for our entire family (Marli’s side) to spend a couple of weeks together in a home whose owner’s we had never met. How trusting is that? How good is our God who cares enough to let us celebrate Christmas with family? My parents flew in from Michigan and it was the first time in ten years that our whole family was together…not just for Christmas…but together! It was fantastic and I don’t think we will ever forget the Christmas of 2007. Yes, we finally got to meet Fred and Belle Tanis and thank them personally for their generosity. What kind and generous people with a gorgeous house! You can see pictures of their pool and backyard on our photo page.
The next couple of weeks were filled with concerts, a wedding in Pasadena, speaking engagements, booking and starting the new semester of homeschooling. It has been busy, wonderful, tiring and fulfilling all at the same time.
From Pasadena, we made our way out to the middle of the desert; Borrego Springs, California to be exact. Randy’s cousin, Jim and his family live there and he passed our name along to his pastor and we worked in a Wednesday evening concert. We had a great time meeting new friends as well as catching up with family we don’t get to see very often.
From there we followed signs east to Phoenix and parked for the night Thursday before making our way to Family Life Church in Glendale, where we will park for the next five weeks or so.
We returned for a third visit in four years to Palm West Community Church in Sun City West, Arizona where we had a wonderful time reuniting with folks there. The Sunday evening concert was well attended, despite the two NFL playoff games being televised.
At the moment, Randy and I are flying to Washington DC to sing at a Faith and Action hosted annual memorial service for the pre-born. It is the only pro-life service allowed in the Capitol building (the Senate side) and will be held on Tuesday, January 22nd. The kids are with family in San Diego enjoying their cousins for another week. Again the Lord worked out our schedule to provide a way for us to be exactly where He wants us. So, in the meantime, we will enjoy a few days without the kids…but we miss them!
Please pray for us as we lift up the name of the Lord in our nation’s capitol and for safe travel.
Thank you for praying for us and supporting our ministry…what an honor to have you as friends and family.
Oh...the new CD should be available within the next couple of weeks.
Watch for it on the website!