It is All About HIM...

He has made everything
beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity
in the hearts of men;
yet they cannot fathom
what God has done
from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

It was GREAT!!!

The Thanksgiving Concert was so wonderful!

The children and young people were awesome!

If you have been reading here since the concert
last year you may remember that I was much less
confident in the days and hours leading up to it
but that went well too.

I remembered that any time I started to get
jittery. I also decided that we had put our
work into it and by the time last night rolled
around whatever the students did with it was
up to them.

There were "things", of course, that were a little
uncertain, at times. Like one dear choir director who
had an emergency and then walked in to her seat at the
very last minute, literally, before her choir was up to sing.

I was soooooo thankful that she got there in time.

I had prepared the next director to take her class
out of line, but that would have made it look like
we were forgetting the other class and messed up the
lady doing PowerPoint and all of that. But, thanks
be to God, my friend was able to make it in time.

By the way...her choir was great!!!
They are just too cute!

Here are some pictures...

Our fearless leader and her husband welcomed
everyone.


That would be Mr. and Mrs. Rabe.
They looked great and had a wonderful
introduction.

That is the fireplace set that the teens
made sitting behind them.

It was a huge hit!

It is made completely from huge sheets of cardboard
that Mikey brought home from work. We then hauled
them into the church where we have co-op.

Pieces were formed each week to build it
and then last week we took it all over to
our church to paint. Emily Rabe and Josh S.
came and helped my guys get that done.

Jonathan designed the stone and I think it
looks great! My artist!


Warren and Mikey made the fire.
It was so cool!


A very young choir.
They were so sweet.
I love those little fluffy dresses.
Chelsea just won't wear them anymore...pout!



Second and third graders as directed by my dear friend, Tamara.
She is the Professional music teacher.
She would intimidate me if she weren't so nice.

My high school girl's ensemble.
Ask anyone...they Rocked!



Their rendition of In Christ Alone was such
a blessing. There were many tears shed...at
least that is what I hear....

I love these girls...so much!

Then about these monkeys.
The fourth to 6th graders.
Who sang loudest and strongest?
Those boys who "hate to sing!"
Check out those suits!
Brings tears to my eyes just to think
about it. They are such a blessing.


Some of these boys told their parents that they like
thier music class!

Who knew????

I hoped!

I even took up the offer of another Mom who was willing
to join us each week on her free period to be the
"enforcer" so that I could spend my time teaching all
of the students instead of just correcting the resistant ones.
Must have worked. These guys did great!!!!!

It really is a team effort every time there is something
of a success. Never, in a million years, could one person
make something like this happen.

Our family is so blessed to be involved with a group such as
this one.

We are there... because eight years ago I went to a different grocery store,
a half hour from our home, on a day that Robin was there too.
In the line directly in front of us...she gave the invitation
to check it out. What a lovely stroke of.....Providence!!!!

"Come Ye Thankful People Come...
Raise the song of Harvest Home!"

I am ready for Thanksgiving now!!!

Oh Yes!!!

Have a great day.

The Moms and I are headed to a Greater Vision concert tonight
after I get some cleaning done around here, the bulletin made,
candles boxed and ready to go be displayed on our way, practice
music with Pastor Mike and anything else that "pops up"!

Becky K.

Providence

Did you ever just shake your head
after something that seemed out of
place in your life suddenly came to
seem useful or purposeful?

Often times God's Providential
working in our lives looks,
on the surface, to be cruel or
disorderly.

It never is!

That perception comes from our
finite minds only grasping at
what we can see and understand.

Often times the Providence of God
is enjoyable and obvious. But
very often it is better viewed through
the rear view mirror.

There are many examples of this.
One that I was reminded of this morning
as I was working on the Thanksgiving Program was
this. It is the story of "Squanto". That is
our name for him, his full name was Tisquantum.

This man was an Indian on the East Coast
of what we now call America. He, through
no fault of his own is reported to have been
captured and taken to Europe three times to
serve as a slave. It was there that he learned
our language. Somehow he made his way back to
his native land.

It was in time to be one of the people getting
credit for helping the "Pilgims" survive.
Teaching them how to fish and hunt. To grow their
needed crops in this strange land.

To all of us, his time in slavery seems harsh and
cruel...definitely horrible!
But in time of need and in order to establish
this Country his knowledge and experience were vital.

I see God's hand of Providence in bringing
Squanto front and center.

In my own life I have experienced God's Providence in a
way I did not enjoy...

When we found out we were expecting our first born we were
so excited.
Just thrilled.
Soon after Warren got a new job...in a new city.
We had to move.
We put our little home up for sale and moved in with
family...Warren's Grandmother.

This was rough...but we were sure things would go quickly and
we would be in our new home in plenty of time for the birth of
this child.

Things did not go smoothly.

Warren's Grandmother and I did not live well together.

I was hormonal.
Warren was conflicted.

Warren's parents invited us to move in with them.

We made the change.

Months went by and our home did not sell.
Thanksgiving, Christmas...no house to decorate...
just boxes where all the beauty should have been.

Finally we came to March. The anticipated time
of Baby's arrival. I was devastated. I wanted so
much to be bringing my baby home to a perfect nursery
and all of those things.

It was not to be.

Jonathan was born with a tragic birth defect and nearly
did not live. After major surgery and a miraculously quick
healing time we brought Jonathan back to my in-laws home.

Where I can see God's hand in all of this?

The new job...we were now living in a city with a NICU...the new insurance covered everything, the old would not have....

Staying with family...Every day for the two weeks Jonathan was in the hospital I left in the morning and stayed with him all day...the house never got dirty...the meals were always prepared...Georgia took me back and forth. Georgia is an RN and was a comfort to me after Jonathan came home. Knowing that she would help me watch for complications was great!

As Jonathan healed our home sold. We moved into a great place when he was about 3 or 4 months old.

That period in our lives was tough!!!

But, if I knew then what I know now...I would not have
fought it so hard.

God knew what I did not know.

He acted on the knowledge He had. Not on my whining and
complaining.

I am so thankful!

The Providence of God is a very, very good thing!

It was good for the Pilgrims and it is good for us today!
Watch for God's working in your life.
You'll be blessed!

Becky K.