A lot has happened since we last made a blog post.  I guess I shall start where we left off, but I will not write everything we have done since then, because I don't have time and neither do you.  Instead, I will just pull the highlights of the past couple of weeks and leave the rest for other to write.  (Or perhaps for me to write on a later date.)  A few days after the events of the last post, we were invited to lunch and to spend some time in fellowship with a godly family.  After lunch, we all got our instruments out and played some hymns.

It seems inevitable that where there is music being played by a group like this, there will also be an audience.

After playing, we went outside to the barn.  Most of us had as yet not seen either their new robotic milker nor their new brown cows.  Certain people were more keen on watching the machine, while others were more interested in the animals.  I will let my readers guess which gender generally prefered which.

After visiting the cows, several people went to visit the horses.  Elizabeth even got to go bareback riding for a little while.

One thing I like about winter is the combination of snow, ice, and moonlight.  Here are a few pictures we have taken of this kind of combination.  The road in the picture is not our road, but a road not far from ours.  I love the way the moon's light is reflected on the icy road.

On Friday the 10th we had several people over for a Valentines Day supper. Evelyn worked very hard to make lots of little gum-drop roses.

We had several birthdays to celebrate as well, so when dessert was about to be served we brought each of the birthday people a dessert with a candle on top.  After supper, the men had a men's meeting and the ladies and children talked upstairs - and washed dishes.  I am very grateful for those who do those tasks that are rarely noticed.  It is always good to get together and share with godly people.

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant." - 1 Corinthians 13:4

We have a tradition at our home of making gingerbread houses around Christmas time.  We mass-produce the main shapes so that all that has to be done is the decorating part.

Everyone likes to decorate their houses in their own way - some put on lots of candy, while others would rather put on less; some like to make their houses fancy, while other prefer to keep their houses simple.  There seem to be two antithetical philosophies in decorating these houses: the goal is either aesthetic or palatableness.  Well, there are some in-between houses, too.

Elizabeth made this neat-looking gingerbread house.

Another tradition we have at our home is the making and distributing of cookie plates.  The recipients of these plates vary from year to year, but generally include friends, pastors, widows, people in need in various ways, and people or organizations that are helpful to the community.

This year we brought cookie plates and thank-you notes to the fire stations, the ambulance station, and the police stations.  The ambulance station was closed (because it was Christmas eve), but we happened to catch an ambulance pulling out, about to start their shift.  The police seemed the most surprised of them all.  I suppose most people don't think to thank the police.

I Peter 2:13-14 "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well."

We are mailing all our family newsletters in the next few weeks, but we realize that not everyone that visits our blog necessarily receives our newletter. So, if you are interested in receiving an FFF&F (or if you do receive one and really don't want to), just use this form to contact us. If you received one last year, there is a good chance you are already on our mailing list, but you never know...

This past week we have had the opportunity of ministering through music and chalk talks in a few different places.  On Tuesday the 6th, we were at Grace Christian Home for a chalk talk.  The unsaved residents need to hear the Gospel message preached and those who know the Lord appreciate hearing it again.  So, the staff of the home decided to schedule the chalk talk during the normal supper time, when almost everyone would be able to be there.  This chalk talk is called "The Shepherds' Story."

This past weekend we had more of an adventure.  I would like to thank all those who were praying for us on this trip - we really needed it!  We were scheduled to go to Beachburg, ON, for two events: one Saturday evening in a retirement home and the other Sunday afternoon at the local community centre.  However by the time we got to Montreal, our trailer was making funny sounds.  We investigated the problem and found that the axle had somehow slid forward a few inches and was now eating the wheel well.  We didn't have any tools to fix the problem, and weren't sure whether we could fix the problem even if we did have the tools.

We finally decided we had better locate a u-haul dealer.  Thanks to some mobile technology, we found that there was one only a few minutes out of our way.  We were very grateful that we didn't have to go far to find one.  When we got there we found that they had exacty two trailers, only one of which was large enough.  We had lost some time already by starting on our way a little later than expected and trying to fix our trailer without tools and having to drive smoothly (those who know Montreal roads know that is not easy...)  So, we unloaded quickly and loaded it all into the rented u-haul.

After this adventure, we were running rather later than we had hoped, knowing that retirement home residents do not normally arrive late for special events.  Amazingly we arrived in plenty of time to set up.  Praise the Lord!  Very few of the residents were Christians, as far as I know, so I am glad that every chalk talk we do is carefully planned to contain a clear salvation message.  Hopefully, some will be receptive to the message that God has for them and respond accordingly.

After this presentation, we went to the community centre to set up for the next day.  We were quite surprised to see this glowing sign (thank you Matthew!):

There were a lot more people than I had expected to come who once again heard the good news of Jesus Christ clearly presented.  May the seed that was planted in their hearts that day sprout up and bring forth fruit.

We did have time in between to fellowship with our host family.  Thank you for your warm hospitality!  Oh, and since the chalk talk we were doing was "The Shepherds' Story", I thought it might be appropriate to add a picture of one of their sheep.

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." - Isaiah 53:6-7

Yesterday afternoon we had the opportunity of visiting the Wales Home for a time of music and a chalk talk.  The residents apparently enjoyed it very much, and I rejoice that so many heard the gospel preached clearly.

I would like to thank those who are so faithful in praying for us as we minister through music and chalk talks.  The Devil does not want people to hear the truth of God's Word and will make every effort to twart reception of the Gospel by the hearts of those that hear.  "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." - Romans 10:17.

We have a few more events coming up, so don't forget to check our events page.  Please pray that the Lord would grant that we speak and share only what He wants us to speak and share, as it says in Ephesians 4:29, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."

This on is an adaptation of Matthew Bowman's "Born to Die."  Although evangelicals rarely forget that Christmas is about Christ's birth, we often forget at Christmas time why Jesus was born.  It was fortold by the prophets and declared by Jesus before He died, but not even his disciples really understood it until Jesus himself explained it to the men on the road to Emmaus.  Jesus Christ was born to die.