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.

Give Thanks!

For this years Thanksgiving celebrations we once again traveled up to Uncle Tim and Aunt Carmen's house for our annual family gathering. This year though, the weather arrangements were quite different. Where as last November there was snow on the ground, this year the forcast was predicting high 50's. Heading up north on our hour and fifteen minute drive this picture shows what Joshua, our driver, had to deal with! Praise God we were able to get through the worst part safely and sooner than later we broke into a sunny patch of sky and it was clear sailing the rest of the way!

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7

That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all Your wondrous works.
Psalm 26:7

What a feast there was to have as we filled our plates with the many scrumptious dishes brought.

Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!
Psalm 68:19

A delicious and delicately designed pumpkin pie with cinnamon swirls on top! Christianna and our friend Theresa were the chefs who created this traditional dish for our thanksgiving feast! 

The breaking of the "Wish Bone". Can you guess who won? 

Because we had not been able to get a family picture with us all dressed up at our Church's Harvest Festival, we therefore took the opportunity at hand and celebrated our national holiday in tradition garb and captured this photo at the end of the day of us all together!

It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.

We know that by His divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people.
I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

Abraham Lincoln 1863

Celebration of commitment and love...

More Surprises!

These past few weeks -or was it months?- have been filled with planning, suspense, disasters, and secrets as we were helping prepare for yet another surprise 25th wedding anniversary party, this time for our dear friends Stuart and Michele Eddy!
As the day arrived, our nerves a-quaking the Sauve clan traveled up North and joined the Shepherds and Theresa (Shawn was helping his dad gut a deer) in preparing for this very exciting event! After a few almost disastrous and hair-pulling circumstances ( it's a looonnnngggg story!) we started decorating the hall.



The beautiful cake made by Mrs. Crane





The official ribbon bow creators


As the guests arrived...

...friendly greetings given...

...introductions made...

... the suspense was building till...


SURPRISE!!!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!


(( Hugs all around ))


Then dinner began with the helpful assistance of...


The Kitchen Crew!








Visiting with friends










After most everyone had satisfied themselves fully, dad had every household leader get up and tell about their acquaintance with the Eddys.




Laughter filled the room as stories were told and old times remembered.




Following the friendly reminiscences we presented to Mr. and Mrs. Eddy a gift certificate for a nights stay at a special bed and breakfast down in Shipshawana...



... and then the 'bride and groom' cut the cake!

To our dear friends and brother and sister in Christ, we pray for the Lord's continuous blessings on you and your family, and praise the Lord with you for His faithfulness, love and watchful care over you these past 25 years!

May you be blessed by the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 115:15