Baskets, Baskets and More Baskets!

Baskets, boxes of stuffing, breads and chocolates, spice nuts, teas and cocoa...Our library was invaded last week as we were given the opportunity to make 18 (plus 4 for this week) gift baskets for a friend of ours who is a therapist and wanted to give something in thanks to all the doctors that refer people to his clinic. We had a most enjoyable time baking tea breads (Cinnamon Raisin, Cranberry Orange, Banana Nut, and Zucchini), finding stuff to put in them and putting together these baskets full of goodies!

Grace and a finished basket.

We delivered all 18 in small batches, mainly because it was impossible to bake all 54 breads in one day and because we were not able to obtain all the supplies at the beginning. We hope that these were a blessing to those who received them and above all that God was glorified!

Concert Results

The benefit concert for Mariah Kirby went well on Friday night. Though the disappointment that not many people showed up was felt, we quickly tried to over look all the empty pews and went on with the performance for the praise and glory of our Lord!

Please see Mariah's blog for more information and pictures of this event and please continue to lift her and the family up in your prayers that our Great and Almighty Lord would bless them with His strength through these trying times and to touch and heal this little girl for His glory! Also as God leads you, please give to the medical fund set up for Mariah as the expenses for her treatment are anything but small! Thank you.


Due to the assumed mass of people that would come to this event and the thought amount of desserts needed, Faith and I (Grace) and some of the other ladies in our Church were baking like crazy on Thursday making well over 1000 cookies and 'Dulce' delights! Needless to say we had over and above all we could ever need on Friday evening and were practically forcing the goodies on our few guest, taking some to compliment our Sunday meal and either freezing the rest or giving the remaining abundance of our stash to friends!

Cookies, Cookies and more Cookies!

The Choir singing selections from Handel's Messiah. Glory to God! 

Mrs. Wagner and Lindy 

Eunice Van Bergen - Our Pianist and Organist 

The Cookie girls! Danielle and Nicholette Shepherd.

Theresa and Faith. 

Mr. Shepherd and Mariah.

Please join us this Friday, December 22 in Port Huron to help support Mariah Kirby and her family as she battles with cancer! We are praying for a great turnout not only to financially help this family but to also to be a testimony and light to the community as the family of Christ comes together to minister to those in need! May God be glorified!

A bit of winter weather

Many of the Sauve house occupants were celebrating yesterday when we woke up to 1 1/2 inches of snow covering our surroundings. Thoughts of snowballs, snowman, sledding and snowboarding filled our minds as we looked out over the whitened ground. However, after these quick few snapshots and breakfast was had, it was quite evident that this thin layer of crystallized water fluff was not to stay for long as the sun was quickly melting it away!
Such a simile that has to our redemption in Christ who washed away our sins by His blood and has then made us whiter than this unique form of precipitation! A humbling and beautiful thought portrayed in the dazzling appearance of snow!




Baby has appeared to enjoy the snow in winters past but seemed to be a little hesitant in getting reacquainted this year as she tiptoed around the back yard.


Displaying his joy in finally being able to go 'sledding' again, Josiah throws up a hand full of the dusty snow covering our yard.



Maybe they knew about the short lived stay of this new weather deposit or their time of retirement had not yet arrived, but either way the clumps of alyssum lining our sidewalk were reaching for the sun from under their frosty blanket, still freshly green with their small colorful wings of flower petals.

God thunders marvelously with His voice;

He does great things which we cannot comprehend.
For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’;

Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength.
He seals the hand of every man,

That all men may know His work.

Job 37:5-7

The Weekends Happenings...

Wow! What a weekend!

• Headed up north Saturday morning to the Wagners.
  
• The men folk and a few young ladies participated in a deer drive (came back empty handed) and we all enjoyed a walk (mine at a photographer pace) through the beautiful God glorifying woods and marsh land that cover our friends 120 acre homestead!
  
• Lunch was scrumptious! (venison sloppy joes)
  
• Late to the Messiah performance but all went well, Josh did fabulous and we pray that God was glorified!
  
• Afterwards we had a very enjoyable time of fellowship with church and other friends at the Wagner's therapy clinic just down the way from the church.
  
• Back at the Wagner's home most of the young people played a game outside in the dark and later in the evening we all gathered around the piano and sang a couple hymns in preparation for the next days worship service.
  
• Sunday we woke to see snowflakes drifting down to the cold ground. Bitter cold (in the 20's) we headed off to Church. Dad gave a very good sermon from II Timothy 2:13-3:13 which finishes off with the last of the five 'Faithful Saying' that Paul gives us in His letters to Timothy and Titus:
  

This is a faithful saying:

For if we die with Him

We shall also live with Him.

If we endure.

We shall also reign with Him.

If we deny Him.

He also will deny us.

If we are faithless,

He remains faithful;

He cannot deny Himself.

II Timothy 3:13

It is said that perhaps this verse was part of an early Christian hymn and that this part would have been the chorus.

Sunday afternoon/evening we are back (this time early) at the Marlette United Methodist Church for our second performance of Handel's Messiah. For this second night the church was not just packed it was overflowing!

We did get a video of it all and the church gave us an audio recording of Sunday night (though we can't quite recomend it for quality sake) and unfortunately Josiah (the designated photographer) was not able to get very many pictures from where he was sitting because of the lighting. However there is not much disapointment because the enjoyment of just being able to perform in this magnificient scriptural oratorio has as I've said before uplifted, strengthened and blessed our family in so many ways and has left us all with memories to pass down to our children!

Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth! The kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever. King of kings and Lord of lords!

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.

Isaiah 40:1-4

"Come on Eppie... I know you really want this frosted cereal treat."

The young doe followed me along the trails though her slight bashfulness kept her as a distance most of the time.

The Hunters returning!

Mothers on a walk

As Faith, Christianna, Lindy and I walked through the woods we stopped many times to inspect the different beauties of nature that, though the winter weather is upon us they were still hanging on and drinking up what little sunlight they could. Here, a small cluster of miniature pine cones (We're not quite sure what these really are) are the only things left to represent life among the cluster of bushes and brambles along side the marsh.

And the glory fo the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 40:5

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountains! O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength lift it up, be not afraid! Say unto the cities of Judah behold your God! Arise, shine for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee! Isaiah 40:9, 60:1

Proclaiming His Glory!

Once again our family (and several members of our Church) will be participating in a performance of selections from Handel's Messiah!

This year, to try to accommodate for such a large crowd that came last year and also because the building we are using is considerably smaller then the last one, it was decided upon to have two performance dates, Saturday and Sunday!

To be able to sing the praises of our Great Savior and spread the wonderful news of His redeeming grace was and has been such a blessing to our family and this years event has been made even more special as Joshua was given the awesome privilege to sing the Tenor's solo!

I know it will most likely be impossible for any of our Downriver friends to come to this special event, but we still would like to invite you all to come and join us in worshipping our LORD as we sing His Holy Scripture that was put to music by George Frederick Handel.