How Deep The Father's Love For Me

It will be Valentine's Day tomorrow and as I am making chocolate covered strawberries for the college/singles who will be over later... I am reminded of how much God loves me (us). He is the type of Father who would definitely be doing something "special" for us to show His love - wait - HE already did.

"How deep the Father's love for us,

How vast beyond all measure

That He should give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,

The Father turns His face away

As wounds which mar the chosen One,

Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,

My sin upon His shoulders

Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,

Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there

Until it was accomplished

His dying breath has brought me life

I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything

No gifts, no power, no wisdom

But I will boast in Jesus Christ

His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom."

Remember, no matter, what your circumstances are this Valentine's Day in the year 2011, GOD LOVES YOU. And speaking of circumstances - one of my readings for this morning was as follows: "Cast all your anxiety on Me. Unless you deal with it properly, anxiety can be toxic - both to you and to others. Simply releasing it is not sufficient. You need to project it vigorously away from yourself, toward Me. Consider the following illustration: If you accidentally pulled the pin out of a hand grenade, you would not hold onto the grenade or drop it near your feet. Nor would you pitch it to another person. You would throw it as far away as possible from yourself and others. When you cast your anxiety on Me, I remove it so far away that it cannot harm anyone. In fact, I delight in doing this very thing, because I care for you so compassionately.

EVER since the Fall, human emotions have been out of kilter. People ofter "act out" painful feelings without even realizing what is bothering them. Or they may bottle up their emotions and pretend everything is all right. I urge you to be self-controlled and alert so you can identify hurtful feelings and confess them to Me. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you with this. As you yield to His work within you, your anxious feelings will subside. My Spirit can accomplish holy changes in you--producing Love, Joy, Peace...and self-control."

See I Peter 5:7-8; Isaiah 49:13; Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:22-23.
(taken from 'Jesus Lives' by Sarah Young)

Ray and I had the opportunity to ride around and enjoy the country yesterday - it was warm and beautiful. We stopped in at the Hoover home and I just sat and watched all the birds at her feeder. I am putting a couple of the pictures from her home (birds and horses) on the blog for you to enjoy also.

God bless each of you as you live the life you have been given with great JOY on this fun day. Hope

February - the month for love to bloom

View of our sidewalk with minimal snow this year.....

OK - Valentine's Day is what everyone thinks of when they see February on the calendar - right? But there are other important things in February.

5th - Hope's birthday..... ugh!

7th - Ed Peterson's birthday

9th - Luke will turn 13 - woohoo

23rd - Niece, Ariel will turn 17

28th - Caleb will turn 15

Looks like we are all getting older - now what would the alternative be?

I just looked back in January and did not show birthdays and important dates!

I mentioned that grandson COLE turned 11 on the 1st and sent pictures of his paintball party; friend Janice had a birthday on the 7th, nephew Aaron turned 11 on the 8th (only 1 week younger than Cole). Sister-in-law Darlene had a birthday on the 20th, Ray's brother Bob had a birthday on the 22nd, and my kidney-in-love Liz had a birthday on the 28th. (I will try to do a better job of mentioning special dates.)

On the 20th of January Ray and I rode to Cochrane, AB with Dick & Shirlee Hale. The Midwest Baptist Association was hosting pastors and their wives at a retreat. The roads were not easy to travel (10 hour drive) but the company was great. The planners had thought of everything - we enjoyed our time away. Then the long drive home. Did I tell you that living in the Peace Country means you spend a lot of time ON THE ROAD?

I am continuing to care for preschoolers on Wednesday mornings as the young moms continue their Bible study time. Carole and Patty are sure a blessing to help out during these times. Thanks to Mona for leading the ladies and for Ranea for assisting.

Ray has been asked by Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church in Carrollton, Georgia to preach a revival in April. We are so excited to visit a lot of our friends who for three years have traveled north to help us with our Vacation Bible School. Such faithful folks - can't wait to spend some time on their turf. Thank you pastor Danny for the invitation.

Since the church is only a couple hours from our family in Chattanooga, TN - we are planning on seeing brothers, sisters and aunts while we are there in the neighborhood.

I just talked to Laura in Arlington and emailed Matt in Corinth and it seems the entire Metroplex is iced in. Everyone be careful!

On February 14th when hearts indeed think of love - remember that the Lord Jesus loved us so much that He gave up His life on earth to make a way for us to experience freedom from sin...... oh what love the Father has lavished on us.

Praise Him!! Love you all, Hope

Papa and Peyton

Here is a picture of Ray removing snow from our driveway (he also did all the sidewalks) that fell all night and is still coming down.

I forgot to share one of the joys from our trip (I am sure I forgot more than one)! Peyton got a bicycle for Christmas and we went to the church parking lot in Corinth and he was riding in about 15 minutes..... Matt was very innovative in his teaching technique.

2011 CONTINUED

OK - I guess I pushed the wrong button!!!! I did not have my pictures on the blog or finish with a song of the month.

PICTURES - top left - da girls at lunch - we did not consume any of the stuff in bottles!!

next right - Luke in his paintball attire

center - Cole and his great cake

next left - Matt, Heather, Cole & Peyton at the 3D Narnia

left - family photo at Paul & Laura's home

center - da boys

right - driving to Calgary - sunset with a cross

Ray just went up to the church and our total Lottie Moon Offering was $13, 710 - what a faithful group of folks.

SONG FOR JANUARY - Press On sung by Selah

When the valley is deep

when the mountain is steep

when the body is weary

when we stumble and fall

when the choices are hard

when we're battered and scarred

when we've spent our resources

when we've given our all

In Jesus' name, we press on

In Jesus' name, we press on

Dear Lord, with the prize

clear before our eyes

We find the strength to press on

In Jesus' name, we press on

In Jesus' name, we press on

Dear Lord, with the prize

Clear before our eyes

We find the strength to press on

To press on

As most of you know we are waiting on God as he orders our steps into the future. The church has had to "advertise" for a pastor and see if there is a "Canadian" pastor - if not we will then be able to apply for an extension. Please pray for us as we wait on the Lord to enlighten us as to His perfect plan for our lives. Blessings on each of you in 2011

Hope

2 0 1 1

We have zipped through another year. I have no idea what happened to 2010. Does it seem that way to you? Back in November our church surprised us with the annoucement that they were sending us "home for Christmas". What a wonderful shock. It did not take us long to book those tickets. We decided to fly out of Calgary and prayed for good weather for the drive. Before we took that drive we had to drive to Edmonton on the 15th for an early morning appointment with the dermatologist for Ray to have a basal cell carcinoma removed from his nose. Now that drive was another matter. We heard that the 15th would produce a snow storm so we opted to drive to Edmonton on the 14th. As our 44th wedding anniversary was the 18th we thought we would use this time for a celebration of that event. The drive on the 14th was full of snow and slush being thrown onto your windshield preventing you from seeing the road. God as usual provided us safety and we arrived at our hotel. We opted to stay on the south side close to the doctors office. The wind and snow HOWLED all night Tuesday and all day Wednesday. We ate a lovely breakfast at the hotel while looking at a great fireplace. COZY. We decided to "venture" out that afternoon and went to a movie theater. That was quite the adventure. The snow was piled up on the roads and parking lots. But it was an adventure. Then we got to eat at the Olive Garden. Yummy!

The next morning we got to Ray's appointment and he actually went in a little early. He got 10 stitches and I was given instructions on how to remove them. Oh fun. Ray insisted on driving home as the roads were not that great. I honestly do not know how he could see with that big bandage on his nose. But again our God was most mericful.

After arriving home we unpacked and packed for our drive to Calgary after church on Sunday. We had decided to stay at the Delta Hotel which is at the airport... nice call. We used Park N Jet and I would sure recommend it for your parking needs. We dropped the car off and they delivered us to the hotel. I was almost too excited to sleep and we had to be up at 4:00am to checkin at 5:00am. All went without a hitch even with our "body scans".

Upon our arrival in Texas Paul picked us up and we went to the bank and took care of some business and then picked up Ron & Carol Hey's extra car. WHAT A BLESSING. We used it the full 2-1/2 weeks. We drove to Matt and Heather's home in Corinth and got to love and hug on Cole and Peyton.

Christmas Eve morning we drove to Paul & Laura's home in Arlington where the entire family spent the day. Everyone was playing games, cards, phones, Ipads and went easy and grilled hamburgers!! Good call on the easy meal. We also did our usual family pictures (thanks MATT). It is his least favorite thing to do but since we were not opening presents (except for Ray and I getting a Kindle from the kids) he could have our attention.

Matt and Heather spent Christmas day with her family in Azle and Laura's family got together at Lesly's (Laura's sister) home in Arlington. Ray and I were invited but I had bronchitis and the general feeling bad delayed our visit by a couple of hours. We enjoyed that morning with Larry & Linda Carter who provided Motel 6 (and literally did keep the light on for us) while we were in Arlington.

We enjoyed attending a basketball tournament that Caleb (14 and 6'3") was involved in. It was a kick to see Jacob (16) driving - our firstborn grandson - how is that possible?
We drove back north to Corinth the 30th and got to see the 3D Narnia. Good movie. I have a picture of Matt's family in their glasses. Our Cole (#4 grandson) turned 11 on the 1st - our millennium baby. Heather had made the best cake (see picture) for his paintball party. What a blast - I would have loved to get out there... I can do a lot "in my mind" but the reality is a little different. Paul brought Luke up to get some shooting in and he and his brothers AND MOM had been at an all night lockin at their church. He was moving a little slow.
We had theopportunity to attend services both Sundays at LABC and see so many of our friends. Matt and Heather drove down to Arlington to spend Sunday with us and we enjoyed our time as the entire family was under one roof. It was very hard to tell our youngest grandsons goodbye.
We had a small friends get together at Linda and Larry's home Sunday night the 2nd and it was a fun time to hear how everyone was doing. I actually got to go to lunch with all of these girlfriends too (see picture). It was good to see that Janice & Max are getting their home built back after the flood in September.
We flew home on the 5th and got out of the airport heading north around 3:00pm. After 7-1/2 hours we stopped for the night in Valleyview. It was too dark and the slush that was being thrown on the windows prevented us from seeing the road - let alone watch for the animals on the road. Thursday morning we started the last trek home and found that from Peace River to Fairview the roads were not that great. God in His mightly plan for us kept us safe on two occasions that we know of and we are as ever THANKFUL to Him.
On arriving home we went straight to the carwash, then at the house we went through mail - washed clothes (Thanks Mert & Ivan for the new washer and dryer), cleaned out the freezer (I told Ray the first pretty day we needed to do that and he said - it is about as pretty as it is going to get), put stuff away and rejoiced in being home.
Thank you to our church family in Canada for the opportunity to be with our family for the first time since 2005. You blessed us more than you can ever know.

Christmas Concert 12-12-2010

This is my Sunday School class on the left singing Away in a Manger. They are singing the "lay down His sweet head" - precious. See I have all those little girls and 1 boy! The picture on the right is our other children's classes - they sang amazaing well! I was so proud of "Katie" who directed the entire presentation. It was snowing the entire time like in a movie. I pray that each of these children will grow up to look like our Jesus and please our heavenly Father.

Only 6 more SLEEPS and I hope to see some of you in Texas! Thank you Fairview Cornerstone Baptist Church for this wonderful surprise trip.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AMERICA

No, this is NOT my Thanksgiving table! (left picture) This is the table that I hostessed for the Ladies Tea and Silent Auction that we have in November each year. Our ladies donate items new or homemade that we sell to attendees to raise monies for our mission projects. Our theme (in case you did not notice) was A Winter Wonderland. It is so much fun to work with several of our young ladies - boy do they have creative minds. It was such a lovely evening with our chai latte, cider, flavored teas, assortment of cakes, (picture on right - this picture was taken before all the cakes arrived), door prizes, skits, candy cane devotion, singing and wonderful conversations. It was a very cold evening but we had no snow. BUT, I might add that we do now. I guess it is here until May.

Mona is leading a Mom to Mom study on Wednesday mornings and I help round up their kids while they study. Patty Hale & Carole Seghers are there to help and we can have up to 16 kids. Now if that will not keep you young.....I don't know what will!

The church surprised us on the first Sunday of November by asking us to leave right before Ray preached. Then when they brought us back into the worship center and they informed us that the church had given us a trip home for Christmas. We were so shocked but elated at the same time. This will be our 5th Christmas up here and the first time we have gone to Texas to be with family. It did not take me long to purchase our tickets. We decided to fly out of Calgary as it is less money but also gets us home with less flying hassles. We will drive to Calgary after church on the 19th and stay at the airport. We fly out early on the 20th of December and arrive before noon at DFW. Paul will pick us up and take us to his place to pick up a car and we will then head north to Matt and Heather's. Christmas Eve we will all drive to Paul & Laura's to spend our family time together. I AM SO EXCITED. The rest of the time will be spent with family/friends. We do not fly home to Fairview until the 5th of January. Sure hope Arlington does not have a white Christmas (sorry kids).

Jake had surgery for a deviated septum on Friday the 19th and I was so thankful that Matt could be with Laura (Paul had to be in Tampa for work). Laura's dad, Mike, stayed at the house and got Caleb & Luke to all their appointed places. Laura parents are great!!

It has been in the -20's for almost 2 weeks now and I think my body is FINALLY getting used to it. It was sooooo mild up until then. It is "very" hard to go to the pool at 10:00am when it is this cold - why would anyone be in a bathing suit when it is that cold. But I certainly feel better doing the water aerobics. Burr

My main reason for writing this particular blog is to say that I pray all of you who will celebrate Thanksgiving this week will be mindful of the goodness of the Lord. "Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ our Lord, and now let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am rich because of what the Lord has done for us.....give thanks"! Great and mighty is HE. Love to all our family and friends,

Hope

December birthdays and anniversaries

6 Carrie & Mike Hodges

10 Bob & Sharon Shannon

11 Max Ray Graber

( Hopefully Master Eli Shannon will be here on the 15th)

18 Ray & Hope Shannon (44)

21 Marylyn Smith

25 Linda Shannon

31 Tate Davis