The families and people here in Tennessee have welcomed us with open arms. For that, we all are very grateful to God, our Father in Heaven!
Even the folks who do not truly 'know' The Lord Yeshua have been very gracious and friendly to us, as we share with them how they can know for sure that, when they die, they will go to Heaven, to be with God, with Yeshua the Messiah and with The Holy Spirit of God, the Ruach ha Chodesh. I have been amazed at how willing to listen most people here are, when we tell them of our Lord and Redeemer, Yeshua!
It can only be that God is making more folks 'more open' to spiritual topics, because they do continue to 'appear' in the newspapers and through other media sources. We get our "news" only from the internet and through emails others write or send to us. So, since we are not hearing all of what those folks (the lost souls, who are not aware of how much God has done for them and how much He dearly Loves them) are hearing or seeing, in what they call 'the news,' we can only figure that God may be using all the disasters in weather, all the war stories, the horrible failure of our government, of companies, of banking systems and of the government educational system in the USA ... to cause them to realize that, if God exists (and He does!), maybe they 'should' begin to be 'willing' to listen to what He wants them to hear.
We miss our beloved, long-time friends we had to move away from, in Texas, and elsewhere!
However ...
The home educating families we have met in person, since we moved, have also welcomed us with open arms!
Just this week, we have counted 5 other families who use the same home education curriculum / program we use! For us, that is a very encouraging answer to prayer! When we first moved here, we were only aware of two families. Then, when we first visited the Bible-believing, soul-winning, prayerful, faith-filled congregation where we are now members, we met one more family.
The lady through whom we met the folks we now rent this property from ... has a son whose family also use the same materials we use, to educate "their" children! We knew of her several months ago. But we only learned a few days ago, that her grown son and his wife educate their children with the same materials we are glad to be using.
And we owe our learning about those materials to some very dear friends whom God let us meet, over 16 years ago, when they invited us to attend our first Basic Seminar (formerly the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts), in Dallas, TX -- the DelMuls! Thank you, Mary Lou and Daniel! You all have been such a blessing to us, to know!
And now, the Lord has let us learn, through another kind mom who contacted me, who also home educates her children, in a city not far from us, about two more families, who use the same materials we use! wow!
And a group of home-educating families, who meet in the city where we live (just outside of), also care enough to be using some booklets to teach and encourage their young people and children with ... which are part of a program called the Keepers of the Faith. It is a bit like a Biblical alternative to Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Many home-educating families like this program!
So, once again, God has blessed us with one more thing that I had prayed God might, if He wanted us to, allow our younger children to use, to learn some good and fun skills through using the booklets of the Keepers of the Faith, Keepers at Home and the Contenders for the Faith 'clubs.' The link for this ministry is at: http://www.keepersofthefaith.com/
Besides all that, one group of home-educating families allowed several of us to go along, on a field trip, not long after we moved here, to a waterfall, ... actually we saw two waterfalls. They were not far from the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. Nestled in among the mountains, they were just there, flowing down from high hills, and then continuing to flow on and on, over larger and smaller rocks ... on down, following gravity's path to the lowest point, a river in the area.
Mini-Geography Lesson:
Am learning more and more about the rivers in this area, since we moved here. They all, on this west side of the Appalachian Mountains, flow into the Tennessee River, at some point. And that flows into the Mississippi River. It surprises me the path that the Tennessee River follows. Would have thought that the creeks, streams, small rivers and larger rivers, would flow south into the Gulf of Mexico. But there are hills far too high, south of this area, to allow for that. So, to the west, the further the Tennessee River carries water and its supply of fish and all else, the elevation continues to go down, until the water reaches the Ohio River, at Paducah, Kentucky, before the Ohio flows further west, for a short distance, and dumps its contents into the wide, old Mississippi! We sure have a lot to learn! Geography is so fun to look at, and think about. God has made this world so very interesting to study about. And He keeps us asking questions, doesn't He?!
Isaiah 57: 15 reminds us
"For thus saith The High and Lofty One (Who) inhabiteth eternity, Whose Name is Holy; I dwell in the High and Holy Place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." !!
God is so generous!
He has used other folks He already knew before we came to this place, to live, to want, freely, to share with us their abundance of vegetables, as well as their time!
He has moved the hearts of folks who live in this area, and love The Lord, to gather food and other material things we can use, and pass those things on to us, to use as we are able.
Hallelujah!!!
And The Good Lord Who rules over all has seen fit to allow us, as a family, soon to share about the new ministry called the Life in the Bible Institute!
Please pray that The Almighty, Who orchestrates all the good that goes on, and allows the evil for His good purposes He can bring about, after it occurs, to use our family to do the good, in teaching, and in passing on to others the Knowledge of him and of His Word, that He has been teaching us, to turn the hearts of men ... to their Maker, Redeemer and best Friend!
The Lord YHWH bless you in all you do, as you seek His Face and as you will to do His Will, for His glory, praise and honor!
... more later ....
-- keep in touch!
