Rogers Family Christmas Newsletter, 2009

Christmas greetings to our dear family and friends! We do hope you are well and growing in the Lord. For those of you who are visiting my blog for the first time: Welcome!

Can you believe that it's almost the end of the year? Am I the only one who is asking myself where it went? Perhaps it's part of the aging process and the more frequent and sometimes annoying senior moments I have, but, time just seems to go by faster with each passing year.

This photo was taken yesterday when Michael's parents, Harry and Friedel, were visiting us from North Carolina. We were heading off to dinner at The Farmhouse, when we decided to commemorate our time together and I thought I'd post it for you to see.

As I contemplate back, 2009 has been a good year; full of family fun, busyness and challenges that produce growth. But, isn't that what life is all about afterall? We can't imagine life any differently! I often find my biggest trials in life are the things that bring me closest to God's grace and the fullness of His peace, and this year has been no different in that regard.

It's funny, isn't it, the memories that Christmas brings? As we got out the boxes of Christmas decorations and began to decorate the tree, each ornament brought with it so much. One of us old fogeys would look at the other, ornament in hand and say"do you remember when we got this one?" or comment on how long ago it seemed when Jon and Tim were that little and made the various ornaments we have during those times when life was so much more simple. There are times, I must admit, when I do long for those bygone days; times I wish I could go back and do things differently. However, when those thoughts hit me I realize that in Jesus, I have no shame or condemnation and that is so freeing!

Since I know you're interested in how we are all doing, I'll start with Jon and his family. We took this photo last weekend when we went to North Carolina to cut our Christmas trees. It was a beautiful day, and we had a lot of fun. Asher is now 4 1/2 and Sadie is now 2 1/2. Jon is working hard and doing well in the practice and enjoying dentistry. His patients love him and we are so glad he's with us. He plays lead guitar and sometimes drums in the Praise band at church, plays soccer almost year round, and is involved in our church hiking group. He manages to stay pretty busy, but still finds time to be a Dad.

Kara has gotten involved in the local MOPS group, and has made some good friends with other moms closer to her age and interests. She has a home-based business, Sew.Hip.Baby, and makes slings, felt toys and foods and several other things which she sells. She puts her artisitic nature to use and really makes some cute things. This year she branched out and had a booth at our local Junior Women's Bazaar with several of her friends and did very well. She manages to do all this with balancing life on the homefront and two small children. Quite a task! I see her growing so much and it's such a blessing.

It sometimes seems like Asher and Sadie are growing every day! Asher seems to have inherited some of Kara's artistic ability and interest. When we went to look for trees, he brought along a drawing he had made of the tree he wanted. The entire time we were there, he held up his picture and compared it to every tree he saw. When they finally found the 'perfect' tree, it really did look quite like the drawing and he was happy as a clam.

Asher is quite a literal thinker, bright and precocious. I enjoy our time together and we have many discussions about a variety of topics. He played kiddie soccer for the first time this summer. It was cute seeing all the little guys and girls running around on the field. But, having fun was the most important thing, and that he did! He goes to pre-school two days a week, has several good friends and will start kindergarten next year.


Sadie is a darling and is her own little person. Of course, she imitates everything Asher does, but, still has her own personality which is quite different from her brother's. She loves playing with her dolls and kitchen toys. Her speech has blossomed in the past few months and she really communicates well. She is still a little shy, but, even that has noticeably changed and she'll be much more talkative now with people she doesn't know well. I think she wants to be a ballerina as much as Asher, who still loves all things space, wants to be an Astronaut. They are both such joys in our lives!


Tim has had an overall good year. He now lives in a very nice apartment in town and plans to go back to school in the Spring. He seems to be gravitating back to the restaurant industry and wants to get a degree in Business and/or culinary arts and is thinking about opening up his own restaurant some day. It will be interesting to see where things take Tim. Life has opened up many opportunities to him recently and he just needs to decide what he wants to do. He has worked for us a lot this year and has been a tremendous help.


Michael's year has been a good one as well, and God has kept our business stable through these uncertain economic times and for that we are very grateful. There is still a lot to be done, even in a still almost new office building, and Michael finds himself extremely busy both large and small things related to that. But, he still loves practicing dentistry, and I don't know if he'll ever fully retire. He still hikes, helps me keep the yard and garden under control and has a lot of fun with our dog, Polly, who loves to play and especially to swim.


I've enjoyed this year. I've had a small group of ladies who have been diligent and faithful in our women's Bible Study. We're attending a Baptist church in town and I'm enjoying it. There are a lot of wonderful people there who love the Lord and it's a praying church. The Worship Minister is a Spirit-filled, gifted man who is leading the church into an understanding of true worship. I've been in the choir now since Spring, and will be participating in our Christmas programs. I also have had a few opportunities to teach which have been a true joy.

I've tried my best to find time to sew and quilt with the beautiful machine Michael got me last Christmas. It's so much fun to be able to do any size and type of embroidery I want as well as the number of other things it does. If I could change one thing in my time of things, it would be to have more time to spend at that.


I've continued to remain involved in the practice and have taken on the responsibility of ordering all the clinical supplies which is a HUGE job! However, it will cut down our overall costs which makes any time I spend worthwhile. Thanks to modern-day technology which enables me to connect remotely to the office computer, I'm able to do much of my office work from home. There are far less distractions that way, but, the time required is close to the same and I often find my whole day spent with office tasks.

We had a few wonderful visits with friends this year which was such a blessing. We enjoyed having our friends, Randy and Gloria McCracken who now live in York, England and teach at the Calvary Chapel Bible College there stay with us in January, and our very dear friends, Layne and Kristy Livingston come for a visit a few weeks ago. We haven't been able to see them for years and we had the greatest time. Even took them up to hike briefly on the Appalachian Trail. God has blessed us with some friendships that are so close that no matter how long or how far away we are, we can be together as though we were never apart. Next year, we're expecting another visit from all of these dear friends as well as a visit in February from our dear friends, Dan and Susie Tuttle. We are hoping to do some traveling of our own next year, but, haven't made final plans yet.

I had a good garden this year which was fun. With Tim's help with the heavy digging of 4 ft. deep trenches, I planted a good-sized asparagus bed and am looking forward to future harvests. Asparagus takes a few years to mature enough to be fully harvested, but, we'll have a few dinners- worth next year and then lots to eat and share the following year. We had a great crop of berries and cherries this year, but, the apples and peaches were in their rest year and produced little to nothing. We have high hopes that next year will be better. We've had a lot of rain this year, back to our normal amount and the drought here officially ended months ago which was so wonderful. We had a beautiful Fall because of it and we'll see what winter will bring. Right now we have snow on the ground which started falling early this morning. I can't decide which is prettier: the new green growth of Spring, the brilliant colors of Autumn, or the stillness of the sparkling white blanket cast by Winter snow. All remind me that God is the most incredible artist.


And, just as God orchestrates the beauty that surrounds us here, He orchestrates our lives. I've learned a lot about God's sovereignty in recent years. The Bible tells us He is immutable and unchangeable. We can't understand His ways, nor can we search His heart or see what He sees for all of time eternal. There is much to be heartbroken for in our news; senseless violence against children and innocent people; the violence of war and of the brokenness of life. The wounding of people; the devastations of nature. We could look around and feel hopeless, helpless and lost in despair. Or, instead of merely looking around, we could look up and reach up to the God who knows all, sees all, and even in the midst of the most seemingly dark circumstances still has a plan. Hebrews 4: 16 tells us "therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need". God knows our needs, dear ones. He will never leave us or forsake us. People will disappoint. The economy may fail. Jobs may be lost. Money may be scarce. The leadership of the country may seem questionable. But, God knows all that. He sees all with a higher purpose than we ever can. We MUST trust Him! We must trust that He can see what we cannot, and that He will bring all things to the conclusion He has planned, and Scripture also tells us that when He has a plan no man can change it.

So, no matter what is happening in your life, be encouraged dear friend. God loves you with an everlasting love and is working out His plan for your life. It may not be easy. There may be the pain of growth involved, but, when you are on the other side, wherever that side may be whether in this life or in the life eternal, you will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness that the author of Hebrews promises us we will have.


In the meantime, we wish you a full and blessed Christmas and the Lord's best for you in the year to come. As always, you are in our hearts, ever near and ever dear.


Love,
Michael and Jan

I received an encouraging email today and checked with Snopes.com to make sure that it was correctly attributed and a valid column which it is. The column was written by Regina Brett a long time columnist for Ohio newspapers and a Pulitzer Prize finalist for 2009. She wrote it in 2006 when she turned 50, not 90 as the internet version states. To read more about what Snopes has to say, you can go to this link: http://www.snopes.com/glurge/lifelessons.asp

I thought it had enough merit to share here today:

" I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.It is the most-requested column I've ever written."My odometer rolled over to 50 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.5. Pay off your credit cards every month.6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.11.. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.24. The most important sex organ is the brain.25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'27. Always choose life.28. Forgive everyone everything.29. What other people think of you is none of your business.30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.33. Believe in miracles.34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.37. Your children get only one childhood.38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.42. The best is yet to come.43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.44. Yield.45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

I hope this gives you some encouragement in today's challenging times.

Blessings,
Jan

This morning as we were eating breakfast, we had a visitor. He sat on the window ledge right outside the window above our stairwell, pecking the window incessantly. The sunlight must have been hitting the window just right so that he could see his own reflection and thought it was another male cardinal threatening his territory.

For quite some time now I've heard both male and female cardinals pecking at our window. I sneak up the stairs and watch to see which ones are there. No other birds do this; just the cardinals.

As I was thinking about this, I was struck by the futility of this beautiful little bird's efforts. He must have sat there for over an hour pecking valiantly away. It reminded me of what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes about the vanities of life.

It also made me consider what things in my own life have been futile attempts to protect a 'territory'. We all have them, don't we? These are the things that are we often hold onto that we shouldn't; those things that we think we own when we don't. I've struggled in this area of my life, but, God has used many circumstances to teach me that all I have belongs to Him and if I can just remember to see my life as purposed by Him rather than in my own control, I won't keep pecking away at things I can't change.

I've had a lot of time to learn this principle in the past 5 years; and the learning was tough. God uprooted us from a church we helped to plant. It was a very painful process because those roots ran deep. But through it all I can look back and see that God was teaching me much-needed lessons about ownership.

What things do we sometimes try to hold onto? I love the way Paul puts it in Philippians:

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Phil 3:2-11 (NASB)

In other words, what we learn from Paul is that there is nothing of any value outside of Jesus Christ! Anything else falls into Solomon's 'vanity' category.

So, dear one...where is your confidence? What are you pecking away at today? Whatever it is, do you think you can let go of it for "the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ"? I know it sometimes seems like there's so much to lose, but, from an eternal perspective, there's so much more to gain!

Loving you in Jesus,

Jan

Does God ordain war?

Recently, in an email exchange with my son, Jon, a statement was made which raised the question : Does God ordain war? While not directly asked, it was raised nonetheless, and it intrigued me enough to spend some time considering this especially in light of what is happening in Afghanistan and other places throughout the world. And, of course, as with any question pertaining to God, rather than consult with man's opinion, I start with what the Bible itself says.

First, how does the Bible in its original language define war? Here's a basic word study from Strongs Concordance and Vines' Expository Dictionary on the word WAR:


Cross Reference: TWOT - 1104c
Part of Speech: n f
Vine's Words: Fight (To), War


Usage Notes:

English Words used in KJV:
war 158 battle 151 fight 5 warriors + 2 fighting + 1 war + 1 wars + 1 [Total Count: 319]

from (lacham) (in the sense of fighting); a battle (i.e. the engagement); generally war (i.e. warfare) :- battle, fight, (-ing), war ([-rior]).

—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

WAR Usage Number: 1
Part Of Speech: Noun
Strong's Number:
Original Word: ‏מִלְחָמָה‎, milḥāmâ
Usage Notes: "war; battle; skirmish; combat." This word has a cognate only in Ugaritic. Biblical Hebrew attests it 315 times and in all periods.
This word means "war," the over-all confrontation of two forces (Gen. 14:2). It can refer to the engagement in hostilities considered as a whole, the "battle": "…And they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim" (Gen. 14:8). This word is used not only of what is intended but of the hand-to-hand fighting which takes place: "And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp" (Exod. 32:17). Milḥāmâ sometimes represents the art of soldiering, or "combat": "The Lord is a man of war…" (Exod. 15:3).
There are several principles which were supposed to govern "war" in the Old Testament. Unjust violence was prohibited, but "war" as a part of ancient life was led (Judg. 4:13) and used by God (Num. 21:14). If it was preceded by sacrifices recognizing His leadership and sovereignty (1 Sam. 7:9) and if He was consulted and obeyed (Judg. 20:23), Israel was promised divine protection (Deut. 20:1-4). Not one life would be lost (Josh. 10:11). God's presence in "battle" was symbolized by the ark of the covenant (1 Sam. 4:3-11). His presence necessitated spiritual and ritualistic cleanliness (Deut. 23:9-14). Before and during "battle," trumpets were blown placing the cause before God in anticipation of the victory and gratitude for it (Num. 10:9-10), as well as to relay the orders of the commanders. A war cry accompanied the initiation of "battle" (Josh. 6:5). At the beginning Israel's army consisted of every man over twenty and under fifty (Num. 1:2-3). Sometimes only certain segments of this potential citizens' army were summoned (Num. 31:3-6).
There were several circumstances which could exempt one from "war" (Num. 1:48-49; Deut. 20:5-8). Under David and Solomon there grew a professional army. It was especially prominent under Solomon, whose army was renowned for its chariotry. Cities outside Palestine were to be offered terms of surrender before being attacked. Compliance meant subjugation to slavery (Deut. 20:10-11). Cities and peoples within the Promised Land were to be utterly wiped out. They were under the ban (Deut. 2:34; Deut. 3:6; Deut. 20:16-18). This made these battles uniquely holy battles (a holy war) where everything was especially devoted and sacrificed to God. Israel's kings were admonished to trust in God as their strength rather than in a great many horses and chariots (Deut. 17:16). Her armies were forbidden to cut down fruit trees in order to build siege equipment (Deut. 20:19-20). Soldiers were paid by keeping booty won in "battle" (Num. 31:21-31). The entire army divided the spoil, even those in the rear guard (Num. 31:26-47; Judg. 5:30). God, too, was appointed a share (Num. 31:28-30).
—Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words


So, as we see, God did not allow unjust violence, but He did lead and use war. That begs the question, what is 'unjust violence'? War as it occurred in the Bible seems so violent to us in our civilized view of life today. However, I supposed that 'unjust' might include things like the rape of women or children, which has occurred in war in more modern times, and may have occurred then as well. God did indeed instruct Israel to destroy entire nations and all they contained. This seems so cruel to us today. But, in Biblical times it was necessary to accomplish God's plan. And, when the battle followed the guidelines laid out by God, it was He who blessed the effort and rewarded Israel's faithfulness. But is war the same today as it was then? War has been used over time to expand empires, establish rulers, and governments. A healthy view of war, which seems like an oxymoron, was necessary, sometimes even for the survival of a people. But, over time as technology increased and the ravages of war broadened and the techniques of war began to be defined as an 'art', somehow, the view of war changed.

I wonder if some of that began with my generation? During the 60's and early 70's, we wanted to see our government revolutionized. With drugs came the euphoric sense that achieiving world peace was possible by a movement of idealistic, innocent young people who believed that love was the antidote for war and that love the entire world over at one time would establish the Utopian society we dreamt of. We were the 'hip' generation, consequently the label 'hippies'. We lived in communes with like-minded, ideological people, travelled to Woodstock; staged Viet Nam war protests and 'sit-ins' under banners of Love not War, and burned our bras. The Viet Nam 'conflict' maimed and killed our friends, sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally. It wasn't a declared war, so, why were we there? We couldn't make sense of it all and it caused us to mistrust our goverment.

Sometime, somehow during this period, sex and love became the same thing, and changed our views of tradional marriage and made the legalization of abortion possible. We became the 'me' generation and the generation that 'let it all hang out'. We didn't know; we didn't understand the basic sin nature of man. Our views were skewed by liberalism and psychedelic experiences, the embracing of other world religions and teachings of gurus like Timothy Leary that went on to spawn the New Age movement. They were fueled by the heartwrenching songs of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary and others, much of which had their roots in popularization of contemporary American folk music and people like Pete Seeger and Woodie Guthrie and others who were blacklisted during the paranoia of the McCarthy era. We thought that love would make us free, and put an end to all war. War became synonomous with evil. We viewed it as no longer necessary or able to protect our freedoms. People like Jane Fonda inspired us to be ashamed of our country instead of proud of it. The generations before us didn't know how to handle us. We were sure we had the answers, just like every generation before and after us, and we were certain that only if what we called 'The Establishment ' or 'the norm' was destroyed and replaced with our concept of the Utopian society would we as individuals and our country as a whole finally be able to live in absolute peace resulting in the end of all war. But, we were wrong. And, we didn't see that we were involved in a war of our own with invisible enemies in the form of traditions and the very principles this country was founded on. And, for most of us, God was just simply not part of that equation or our view of Him part the 'smorgasboard religion' we had adopted.

Somehow, through all of that, there was a noticeable change in our country's worldview on a number of issues. However, through the extremes of that movement, there were some positive changes. But, our country's view of war was changed. Rather than war being perceived as something necessary to protect our freedoms, it began to be perceived as evil, and the perception that our government couldn't be trusted grew along with it. And the feeling that world peace could be achieved by inner peace remained intertwined.

It is absolutely true that there is nothing fair about war. Death and destruction are the terrible and inevitable consequences of war. Man's inhumanity to man cannot be justified or reconciled by the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the bombing of Hiroshima. It can't be justified or reconciled by the death of Jews in gas chambers and the resulting physical and emotional destruction of Germany under Hitler. It can't be solved by Socialism or Marxism or Communism and I'm not thoroughly convinced it can be solved by Democracy. It isn't Democrat or Republican, Libertarian or Independent; liberal or conservative. God's Scriptural guidelines of government are successful only when a nation of people is obedient to God and we haven't seen that for a very long time.

War has changed. What could once be clearly defined is now cloudy and confusing. War isn't war any more. It's become a dirty word. We'd rather use terms like 'conflict' in an effort to make more palatable. And, Jon did have one good point: we sometimes become so excited about the victories of our troops that we forget to mourn for all those whose lives were lost, especially those who died outside of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior, no matter if they were 'one of ours' or 'one of theirs'. Hopefully, we can remember this when we pray for our troops.

So, does God ordain war? I believe He does WHEN it falls within the appropriate guidelines. History records the terrible atrocities committed when governments decided they could make that decision for God. So, when is that when? When our leaders pray for His direction and go forward feeling that they have received it. When they commit it to Him and to His leadership. When it seems evident that it is God's will to accomplish His higher purpose. But, the question remains...how often does this really happen? And the bigger question: have we gone so far from God in our nation that it is no longer possible that our leaders would truly seek and hear from Him? However, as we see by the Word Study definition, ordained by God or not, He can still use it. It's hard to imagine that God can be revealed to mankind through the seeming senselessness of war. However, I have to trust in God's total sovereignty and in the knowledge that His ways are not my own, even when I don't understand them.

The Bible does make it clear in Ezekiel and in Revelation that two very terrible wars are coming. There is no question that these wars will be ordained by God. It does not appear that they will happen on US soil. Will there be a war that will before those two? Only God knows. 911 exposed the fact that we are vulnerable. With the perceptions of so many about war, and the slant of our current government, I shudder to think what might happen if it did and pray for our leaders and especially for my grandchildren who may yet be faced with the darkest of times.

That's my take on it. What do you think?

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAMSE HIS COUNSELOR? OR WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:33-36

How magnificent are those words of Paul! As Charles Spurgeon says in Morning and Evening about the last sentence in this passage: "this should be the single desire of the Christian." Is it?

As I look at the beautiful clouds blowing over my mountains this morning the colors are more the clearer because of the overcast sky. Even in November, our grass is as green as during the Spring because of the abundance of rain we've had. How can anyone doubt the existence of God? I would challenge them to stand on my back porch at just about any time of the year with the magnificence of the mountains against the clear NE Tennessee sky and the rolling hills and tell me that this 'evolved'. Is it not daily evidence for me that to God be the glory forever?

But, what about those things which are not so evident? Yes, Paul tells us in Romans 1 that in the face of overwhelming evidence about God man is without excuse for not believing. But, what about those 'other things'? Can I give God the glory when I hear the tragic story of a 5 year old girl who was recently sold into sexual slavery by her mother and found dead, her body abandoned by a roadside? Can I give God the glory when I see the moral decay eating away at the fibers of what once made this country great? Can I give God the glory when I see things close to home; even in my own family which grieve my heart? Can I give God the glory when I feel overwhelmed with the busyness of my life?

The answer to all these things must be yes. Yes, because I am not in control, but, because I know the One who is. Yes, because I know He grieves and I can never understand the depth of a grief that is based on seeing and knowing so much more than I could ever fathom. Yes, because I know that God is unchangeable and immutable; absolutely sovereign and just. Yes, because He remains on the throne; my Savior, Jesus, sits at His right hand, and I, according to Ephesians 1 and 2, even though once dead in my sins, have been raised up to sit at the right hand of God in Christ and through Christ. Because of all that, I can indeed give God the glory and join with Paul and say Amen and Amen!

Today...as you pause and reflect...can you? If not, please tell me. We can pray together that God will reach out and touch your heart; for salvation if you have never taken that step, or for healing and peace if you have.

May your day be blessed in the Lord.

Jan

Some of our dearest friends, Layne and Kristy were here visiting us a couple of weeks ago . We took them to the top of Viking Mountain and walked down to and then for a brief stint on the Appalachian Trail with Grandson, Asher and younger son, Tim. They snapped a photo of us two old fogies with Tim, Asher and our dog Polly, at the top of Viking Mountain. In the distance behind us is the town of Greeneville. It was a beautiful day and we had a nice walk. The A.T. goes right through the mountains behind us. Notice Asher is the youngest one in the group and the ONLY ONE with a trekking pole! Polly loves to go walking with us in the mountains...especially if there's any water. Being mostly Chocolate Lab and part Boykin Spaniel, she loves water. She's a strong swimmer and will hunt and chase sticks until she could drop! She's a fun dog.

Getting started

Well, I guess I need to start somewhere! Kara got me interested in doing a blog as a (hopefully) easier site to maintain than a webpage. I have to admit that I'm not very faithful at keeping up with these things, but, this may be easier. I wanted to have somewhere to post our Christmas newsletter and other fun updates about what's going on with us as well as hear from friends. So, I'm giving this a reply. If you read this, please take the time to comment so I know it's actually being visited!

Blessings,
Jan