Exciting

Psalm 143:8

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, 

For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, 

For I lift up my soul to You.

Lord help me read your Word each day,

And learn Your will for me.

And make my life so full of you,

So others my Savior will see. (RP)

It is exciting to see how quickly things are going together now for the book.  Laurel has been a tremendous help to us which we appreciate greatly.  I talked to Xulon press today. After doing some adjustments and a quick read-through, I will probably send the manuscript off before the end of this week. Thanks so much for prayer.  We deeply appreciate it.  

Fifty-nine years ago

Ps 34:3 

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.

Fifty-nine years ago, we made our vows for life,

And what a joy to have Margie, my dear and loving wife.

As we are now older and reflect on all these years,

Our Lord has led us, and brought us so many cheers.

We look forward to days ahead as He would have them be,

Joy will be complete some day, when His dear face we see.(RP)

Here in Ferndale, at First Baptist Church, we were wed, 59 years ago.  As we used to say " A lot of water has gone down the Amazon river" since that day.  We rejoice in the measure of health given us and we look forward to whatever He has for us in the days ahead. Thank each of you for praying for us.  Your faithfulness has been an encouragement.

Keep at it

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.Galatians 6:7

Remember self deception plays awful tricks on us 

Because we think we are alone but really God sees all,

And what we do is seen by Him and what we say He hears.

Sowing and reaping go hand in hand, and soon the verdict will fall.(RP)

We always have plenty to do.  The senior years are interesting. We who are there, know it takes longer to get things done, and it takes longer time in-between those things we are suppose to do.  But it is challenging.  We had hoped to get a garage sale in while the weather is good, but that may not be possible.  Our editor told us yesterday that it would be wise to have the publishing company also look at the manuscript before it is published.  We hope this does not delay it to the point of not being ready for a Christmas promotion.  We will leave this in the Lord's hands and see what develops.  Thanks for your prayers during these final moments of our book deal.  

Encouragement

  I no longer call you servants, because a servant

does not know his master's business.

Instead, I have called you friends,

for everything that I learned from my Father

I have made known to you.

John 15:15

Our relationship with Jesus is a special one indeed,

if we claim Him as our Savior and live each day for Him.

He does not call us servants even though we are that too,

but He considers us His friend,

and that hope will not grow dim.

(RP)

It appears we may be getting close to the finishing line for the book.  I know there are things to do, but the way it is progressing brings hope the end is in sight.  Thanks to Laurel, our kind editor, who is doing the readings necessary for publication.  It is all very encouraging.  Margie had a good night for which we are grateful.  Our grandson cooked our supper last night.  He is good at that.  Later Rawlie came up so they are here for a few hours.  We, Lord willing, will be going down to Sunday School and church this morning.
Thanks for praying. 

Miracle Gro

Malachi 3:8-9

Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings.You are cursed with a curse, 

A cheerful giver is God's delight, He instructs us to practice this gift,

But some have wandered away from this path, and now have gone adrift.

They've forsaken the tithes and offerings, and are out of touch with things,

And for all who rob God there's sorrow ahead, and a lot of anguish it brings.

What a shame to be cursed by a loving God, when it could be so much better,

Admit your guilt of this shameful path and no longer to God be a debtor.(RP)

Normally each Friday I put Miracle-Gro on the rosebush and other plants.  Last night darkness took over and I didn't get it done.  So early this morning I got that chore taken care of.  The flowers cheer the spot in front of our house well.  Margie slept well last night.  We are going to stuff green peppers today.  It's fun.  Gina, Ben, and Monique dropped by for a visit yesterday before going to the Lynden Fair.  I am now working on what may be the last revision of the book readings.  If so, soon we will send the manuscript off to the publisher.  At that point our work is still not done. As soon as they format the book, they send it back to us in digital format, and we place all the proper page numbers for each chapter.  Sounds like fun, doesn't it?.  Well it really is.  We enjoy every minute of it.  Thanks so much for praying. 

Siblings

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.

Ps 111:10

Some talk of being smart; Our God sees things in a different way,

Fearing Him is priority if wisdom we desire,

And he who wants good understanding must do things as He says,

And if you follow them from the heart, all these things you will acquire.(RP)

It has been a long time since Margie and I have together with her siblings, Barb and Spud.  Her allergies prevented her from joining them at the restaurant from time to time.  She braved the storm and yesterday we were able to meet and had such a nice time. Laurel also finished the main part of reading the book manuscript.  I will do my best to put in a lot of time and get that done so we can send it off to the publisher.  Thanks so much for praying about this and Margie's health.  We appreciate it greatly.

Cooler

Matthew 5:43-44 

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. 

It's so easy to get mixed up in relationships here below,

The normal way of things is the opposite of what we know.

To love our neighbors is a given, but God expects more than this,

He demands we love all men, and those who hate us,we must not miss.

We are treated unkindly by so many today, but God's command stands strong,

He ordains we heap love upon them, and pray for those who have done us wrong.(RP)

Cooler weather is here, and it even rained yesterday. We are going into town today to meet Margie's siblings.  They haven't been together in a long time, mostly because of Margie's condition. Please pray for Laurel as she reads and makes corrections to many more pages in the Brazil book manuscript.  Thanks so much for praying.