In the US for a bit...

Well, it's been a while since I have posted.  But a lot has happened in that time, too.  I am going to post the email I sent out yesterday, but after that, I will post some photos and more news.  Please, if you have already read this, go to the later part and see some photos.

 Greetings from Wisconsin... mostly chilly and at times COLD!  I guess I just am not used to anything below 70 degrees.  But we are adapting.

We were scheduled to come stateside today (the 20th), but things changed.  I had mentioned before that I had not felt real well.  Dr. Steve decided that he wanted me to come out and get checked out sooner than we had planned.  So, we left on the 6th of May.  Had some major problems with airline flights, so ended up driving again.  This was not in the plans.  But it gave us a chance to touch base with our son in Tennessee anyway.  AND we were able to make our grandson's wedding here in Wisconsin, too.  More on that later.

Our daughter did great on getting not only our appointments set up with doctors, but contacted Bud and Sharon and we were able to stay here at the lake house again.  This is such an awesome place and such a blessing for us.  We know without a doubt that they will receive some extra blessings from the Lord for their service to others.  And they are a great couple, to boot.

We had both decided to do a major overhaul with doctors this time.  Haven't done that in a long while.  So, right now we are in the midst of a TON of tests and will find the results the first part of June.  Isn't it fantastic how God works things out?  AGAIN, He has put Christians in our path and we are happy that our doctors are Christians. 

I will be going in for my eye doctor appointment next week, and setting up for the cataract surgery.  So I was right in saying it is a complete overhaul. 

We have been pretty much "running in circles" since we got here.  Not only with doc appointments, but we went with a good friend, our son and his son, our daughter and her three sons to help at a food pantry.  The US Postal workers in the area did a food drive for the pantry.  We went the day they were delivering the food.  Helped unpack, sort and restock things.  It ended up being an all day thing, but we had a great time.  Met some really nice people and not only worked, but enjoyed our time there.  I will probably post some photos on the blog soon about that. 

Then came our grandson's wedding this last weekend.  My daughter and I did a couple of cakes for the rehearsal dinner.  (More pics on the blog).  And then the big day came.  Mike and Sarah had a very simple but very beautiful wedding and reception.  We really enjoyed the simplicity and beauty of it all.  Now they are off to Oshkosh to live, go to college and work.  Mike is in the National Guard.  Their wedding was supposed to be in June, but the Guard changed their two week of service to the time of that wedding date, so it was moved to May.  We thought we would miss it, but thankfully we were able to go.  A great couple, but we'll miss seeing them as much as we did last year. 

Our daughter's twins had a birthday this week, so it was off to another celebration with them.  We had a great time there, too.  All of this mixed in with doctor appointments has kept us really busy.

But, we are missing our "family" in Haiti, too.  We ended up "dumping" the care of Savanah on Vero again.  She has become quite the little "spitfire" and Vero has her hands full.  And of course, while we are gone, things there seem to keep falling apart.  Vero tries not to let us know when things go wrong, so as not to upset us.  But it all comes out.  Not much we can do from this end, but we can pray and try to find someone there to help her out. 

We had heard that the adoption process would probably finish up quickly while we were here, but haven't heard anything on that front.  It may require us to fly back to Haiti to sign papers since we are her official "parents" now.  But until we hear more news, that is on the back burner.  We have talked to Vero, Abbie and Savanah since we've been out, at least a couple of times.  It helps ease the "missing you" part of being here.  First question from Abbie, as always, is "WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME?"  She is a sweetie for sure.  And Savanah, just keeps yelling, "Granma, Granpa" when we talk to her. 

So, I guess I should close with some prayer requests.  First on the list is prayers for Vero as she has to deal with all of our situations on top of hers, and then with Savanah.  Next would be for a positive outcome on all of our tests.  And last, but very definitely NOT least, is for the Lord to continue to work in us and in Haiti.  We have seen some great things happening and we praise God for them.  Pray that His Spirit will be poured out in a huge and miraculous way in Haiti, AND in the US, too.

So, for now, we'll close and send our love and blessings on to everyone.  Remember to keep your eyes on Him and all He has done and will do in your lives.   BLESSING BEYOND MEASURE!!!!

 Okay, now on to some things I wanted to add.....
First, because we miss them, Savanah in her bed.  We took one side off, since she climbed over and out anyway.  But she still has her own bed. (But she can still reach out and find grandma when she wants.)

And then Abbie (with one of our other kiddo's babies).  We miss our little ones a lot.  We were supposed to be with Abbie for her 9th birthday on May 20th.  We haven't been there for her birthday since she was born.  But she had a good time and was happy.... just missing us, as we miss her.

 Next is a couple of pics of some of our oldest son's grandkids, our great grandkids..Three little angel boys... well, at least for the picture.

And then his latest addition, little Faith... isn't she precious?  Have yet to see them since they are on the other side of the state, but he keeps us posted with pics.

 Our son in Tennessee's twin  grandsons.  His daughter had twins.  Daddy is in service and mom is a cowgirl (of sorts)... LOVED this photo of them, even if it was a few months ago.  Our family keeps growing and growing... by leaps and bounds it seems.

 This was our trip to help the food pantry.   There is Dale and his son, Gregory (two outside guys standing up), and Christine and her 3 boys, ready to go to work.  They even gave Donny a job bagging 3 packaged milk sacks in zip lock bags. Being in a wheel chair doesn't stop a heart for helping others.  He sure enjoyed helping out, too.  The other pictures are of everyone working, sorting, stacking and boxing the items brought in.

 

 

 

 On to the cakes Christine and I made for the rehearsal dinner.  Mike is getting his pilots license and we had to put a plane on one of the cakes.

 Then came the wedding.  It was so nice.  And Sarah looked so lovely.  Instead of using unity candles, they used the combining of sands to represent their combined life together.

 

 And we had to get a photo of us with them, too.  

This last one is one item we hadn't mentioned in the email...guess so much going on that was forgotten.  Actually Peter (who came with us last year when we returned) is graduating the first part of June, but the church had their recognition day for grads and we didn't want to miss out on that.  He has a great future ahead of him, serving the Lord.  

 Well, that is our update for now, hopefully I'll be able to add more as our time here continues for a bit yet.  We just want you to remember to keep the Lord at the front and center of all  you do.  He IS our rock and our salvation and we need to cling to Him in all way and in all things.   Blessings!!!!!

Easter and Rains

Greetings, and we pray your Easter was a fantastic time of remembering not only what the Lord Jesus Christ did for YOU, but what He has given to us, through His suffering, death and resurrection!!!  He has passed on to us the power over satan and the right to claim victory is all of our circumstances.  That does not mean we will not have problems or trials.  It means we have the Lord standing with us through each and every one of them and He will help and guide us if we only ask Him. 

We had a great Sunrise (SONrise) service.  I had spent a couple of days really not doing well, and I prayed the Lord would touch me so I could go to the service, for a couple of reasons.  I enjoy those services, but I was also supposed to LEAD the service this year.  And, an added blessing, we were to have the mime presented.  But let me back up here a moment.

Our American doctor here feels I have a pinched nerve in the lower back.  (This added to the pinched nerves in C2 and C5).  The fun never ceases.  But again, the Lord is in control.  The C2 and C5 problem was taken care of by a physical therapist who had been here.  He gave me exercises to alleviate the problem when it erupts, and they work wonderful.  Then this problem arose and I have been given some advice from the doc on helping that.  God sent the right people at the right time.  Well, almost.  I had not called the doc here when I felt so bad.  I hated to call when he is so ultra busy with some real situations here.  But the Lord worked it out first.... I felt better by Saturday evening, and by Sunday morning at 5 AM, I felt I could go.  

Don had to take all the benches we have plus a lot of the chairs over to the school next door.  He did that, with a little help.  We were finally set up and ready to go.  I do have to back up once again.  On Saturday, our good friend, Belle, came to visit.  She stepped in and was willing to take my place leading if I couldn't make it.  But she also came and was willing to make the food I had planned to prepare.  We have a breakfast right after service, and everyone is to bring a dish to share.  Those of us on the committee for English Bible Fellowship (EBF) always end up making a lot of things, since some of the Haitians who come don't have the ability to bring anything.  Belle was a real blessing to us with her willingness to step in and help out.

I didn't use most of the traditional Easter songs, but used some of the contemporary ones.  And we had two soloists who also helped out.  Now on to the mime.... One of our former puppeteers (Daniel) had decided to revive the mime they had done.  He recruited 5 young adults from the orphanage to do it.  They had come here to the house to do it for us the week before.  We were very impressed.  And they asked us to help them get it right and work with them on it.  Well, they did it Easter morning for EBF.  They did an awesome job and many were impressed.  (I had 2 people come and tell me they had tears by the time it was finished).  That was such a blessing for us to see it again.  Once service was over, I realized I had expended much more energy than I thought.  I had a glass of juice, then looked for Don to head home.  Doc came over after the breakfast and gave me some pointers on how to overcome that pain.  See, the Lord puts those we need right where we need them, doesn't He??  

I am now up and back to work...well, going a little slower, but still getting things done. I really praise the Lord for being what I need, when I need it.  

Again, I want to back up and fill in some gaps I left.  The day I got sick, Don had to stop working on Vero's house to watch Savanah.  Then he discovered a huge puddle in the yard... and knew we had a water problem.  Come to find out, our water line had broken between our house and the dorm. (A huge tree root was the culprit).  Two of the fellows Don used to hire to work for him came seeing if he could help them with some food.  So (again the Lord sent help) Don hired them to help fix that problem.  It not only saved Don all the work, it saved the pride of those men, since they could work and provide for their families.  

Since Sunday, Don has started working on Vero's place again.  He now has all the electrical outlets and switches in, and once Cequer (one of our helpers) finishes the cupboards, they can do the tile and Vero and Abbie will be able to move into their home.  Yesterday I helped Don get the last of the screening up on the windows out there.  Abbie is so excited to be able to see the progress.  She wants to move in NOW.  Vero doesn't say much but when she found out the screens were all up and the electric about done, she was happy.  It's been a long time coming.  

We have had a lot of rain lately.  We praise God it has overcome the drought we had.  Things are looking so nice and green.  Now we are praying it levels out and doesn't over do.  Like I mentioned before, it's either feast or famine.  But we are very happy with the rains, as the wells all over are now back to normal.  

So, I close with some prayer requests.  First and foremost on our list is Savanah's adoption.  Pastor Cebien is working so hard to get it done.  Pray for him as he puts his time and energy into getting it all accomplished.  And pray for his ministry as well.  He has over 200 churches now, and he helps them all in any way the Lord provides.  He is not a preacher only, he works with the men when they build buildings and schools.  He does not hold with the feelings, that many Haitian pastors have, that once you are a preacher, you don't do any physical work.  He works as hard, and sometimes harder, then the men laying cement and blocks.  

Next pray for the country of Haiti, that the Lord will move mightily in a very obvious way to bring unbelievers to Him.  Pray that he opens the minds and hearts of some of the "pastors" who are only in it for the money.  Pray that His word will go out and lives will be changed.  I guess we need to pray the same way for America.  When we pray with pastor Cebien, he ALWAYS prays for America and the pastors there, along with Haiti.  

Pray for Don and I to accomplish what the Lord sets before us.  Pray that we will have open hearts and minds to do what He wills.  

We will be praying for all of you, too.  We pray the Lord will walk before you and guide and direct you in ways you don't expect.  We pray He will be all that you need in every situation.  We pray God's abundant blessings on you as you walk with Him and do His work.  

We have missed spring

Greetings again from Haiti!

I think we have missed spring and gone totally into summer.  We have lots of HEAT and HUMIDITY right now.  But we are also into praising God for the rains He has sent. We are excited that the heavy drought has ended and things are now growing again!

I decided to send out some pictures again, since the Lord has arranged for our internet to work.  I was shocked when I tried, once again, to get on with my laptop... and it worked!!!!  I have not gotten on the internet with this computer since last September.  God is working wonders and it's all in answer to prayers!  Thank you so much for those prayers!

So, as the photos come up, I'll describe them to you all!!  First of all, one of our former puppet team members was married this last weekend.  Our good friend, Carolyn, from Florida, came and did the flowers.  We had a great week with her.  She also brought along some dresses which were donated from a gal in West Palm Beach.  Savanah received one of them and it was so pretty.  Abbie was the flower girl and got to dress up and be a "princess" for a day.

 

 This is Belfort after the wedding, along with the Maren (Godmother), his new wife, and Stan, the Paren (Godfather).  Loved the very vivid colors!!

 The cake was also awesome... made by another orphan from the same orphanage Belfort had been in.  She did such a great job and is so talented!!!

Belfort was the director of the church choir.  They sang at the wedding and he directed them.  Then he grabbed his saxophone and joined the band he is in (who play for funerals and other events).  We were amazed at the fantastic music they created.  The whole wedding was really wonderful, and we so enjoyed it.


Savanah decided to help grandpa do some work.  He had an extra set of glasses to help with close work.  She simply put them on, so she would work with him.

 Don has been working on Vero's house, hauling sand a gravel, and working at the airport, so he has been extra busy these last weeks.  

I've been busy keeping track of this very, very active 2 year old.  Each day she seems to find more and more things to get into.  She is doing so many things our twins did when they were her size... not a fun time for me!!  I'm using a lot of Greased Lightening now, to get rid of all the pen drawings she has created all over the house.  Including my good chair, the walls, books and her belly!!  Maybe she'll be an artist?  Who knows.  An added note... please keep praying for the adoption process to be finalized.  Pastor Cebien said he had to have 4 meetings, and has already completed 3 of those.  Need some heavy prayers to get this completed.

I have also started working with another group from the orphanage who are resurrecting the mime our former puppet team did.  It is awesome and has touched so many people.  Now we pray these young adults will have the same impact when they do it for others.  

I will close for now and try to get some work done while I have internet.  We have so much to be thankful for and we continue to praise the Lord for all He is doing.  We also pray you are walking with Him and doing what He directs you to do.  May your walk with Him be fulfilling and fantastic!!  And may you always keep your hand in His in all things you do!

Some photos, praises and prayer requests

Hello again,

Well the Lord has allowed me to get on here for a bit, so wanted to share some of the good time we had in Alabama with you.

These photos won't be in order, but I'll explain as they come up, and praise God if they load!!

This is just two pictures from inside the great farm house we stayed in.  Seven bedrooms, a lot of bathrooms, two dining rooms, kitchen, music room, 2 great rooms, a library and screened in porch... 

 

 

 This is OUTSIDE the farmhouse.  Way in the back is a great building, with a chapel and professional kitchen on the ground floor and 2 dorm rooms/bathrooms able to sleep 20 each on the upper level.  You can see the wonderful area around the pond, too.  Our "house" was off the the left of this first picture.  Then there were also 3 "cabins" (more like homes) there too.  Oh, it's called "The Wilderness". 

 

 This is the only picture we have of the house.  It's the back screened in porch.  Awesome place!!

 These are our totally fantastic hosts, Ray and Bobbie.  They were superb people!!

 The ones above and below are of a unique thrift store.  The gal above started it in a garage, moved to this place and the day after we left had to move to a larger place.  Forgive me for forgetting her name (those who know me know names simply don't stick in my brain.)  She attends Wills Valley Community Church and all her proceeds from this enterprise go to them for the mission fund.  Her and her volunteers are really super special people!!!  You are looking at only some of the clothing they GAVE to Vero for her orphanage. TOTALLY AWESOME!!

 The first picture below is our display at the church, for the conference.  They had set up a display already for us (we didn't know), so they told us to add what we had brought.  The second picture is Vero at her display. 

 

 Well, I was able to download pictures, now I pray I can upload it to the web.  I just wanted to share with you just a few of God's blessings to us that week in Fort Payne, Alabama.  The people, the church, the pastors, all of it, made up for the 28 degree weather.  They are such a great church.  It's an Acts 8: 1 church, and they are totally following God's leading in what they do.

Till the next time I'm able to get on the internet, God's blessings!  Keep your eyes on Him in everything you do!!

On our way home from the conference

I just sent out an email, and I'll share what I wrote, here.  Then I'll try and add some photos at the end.  
 ===============================
 Well, here we are in Georgia again.  On our way back to Fort Pierce and then home on Thursday!

To say this conference was AWESOME is way short of how it effected us.  God blessed us SO much this week.

We were hosted by a great couple, Ray and Bobbie Zakary.  They have a fantastic retreat place and we were so blessed by their friendship.  Our son Tim and his wife came for 2 days.   I think the Lord sent them to meet Ray and Bobbie, not necessarily to be with us.  But it was good to be with them anyway.  We had a good time.  And Tim and Amy were also impressed with Wills Valley Community Church, just as we have been.  God has a super great group of people there.  They treated us as royalty.  And we were able to spend some time with other missionaries too. What a great time of fellowship and also to hear some over the top teaching. 

It is REALLY hard to put into words how much we were effected by it all.  Our hearts and lives have been changed and we praise God for giving us the opportunity to go.

What a great time we had.  The fellowship, teaching and sharing were such an insight into so many lives.  The neat thing is we were able to spend time not only with new friends, but with those from years gone by.  The reunion was great.  We really praise God for all the effort that was put into the conference.  And the people who organized and made things happen was something beyond our imagination.  The fellowship was great, the food was fantastic, the teaching superior...well, it just goes on and on. 

Having Vero there was such a neat thing, too.  She touched so many hearts.  And won over some neat kids in the process.  She has made some wonderful friends once again.   She did such a great job of sharing.  I think she was overwhelmed by all that went on.  It may take us a few weeks to get our minds back on track again.

So, pray with us that the Lord will not only use this to help us in serving HIM but that all that was said and done there will have an impact in the hearts of those who attended and also will have an impact around the world in missions.

Thank you so much for praying for us, and for keeping your focus on the Lord and all He is doing everywhere! 
=============================
This is our display....

 And Vero's display....

 And we were blessed to have Pastor Saint Ange there, too....

 Our FANTASTIC hosts, Ray and Bobbie....

 Vero and some of her friends....

 This great place was started by an awesome woman in church... ALL proceeds go to missions.  They do a phenomenal job and blessed us by letting us choose things to take back.  God REALLY uses this ministry!

 This was just a quick overview of some of our friends and fun!

Blessings to all and keep Jesus at the front and center of all you do!!  And keep praying, not only for us, but for all missionaries...INCLUDING YOU!!!  Sharing the love of the Lord is ALL OF OUR ministry!!!

Smile Jesus Loves you!!
 

A quick update from Georgia

This was what I had typed on March 8th, while we had no internet.  More after it.
 

Greetings,

Just a quick update to let you know what is happening in our lives.  We were invited to a missions conference in northern Alabama.  So the couple of weeks prior to it, I spent trying to get ready… well in a lot of ways.

Vero is going with us, so we got pictures of all her orphans, the IDADEE orphanage and all it’s projects.  Then made a display board for it all.  The first set of photos of the kids were not great, by any means.  I asked Vero if she could do them for me (someone else had done them).  She did a fantastic job with them.  And we found a lot of our photos and made another board for ourselves.  But since then have found out we probably won’t need it since the ones in charge of the conference are REALLY organized and have things ready for us.  But it is done anyway.  

We were not sure what we were going to do with Savanah and Abbie while we were gone.  When I had mentioned it to Savanah adoptive mom, she made arrangements to come and stay.  She, Guerline, and her youngest daughter Lexi (8 months younger than Savanah) flew down from Canada to be in Haiti.  When they arrived, Savanah and Lexi (her new sister) hugged and held hands and were great.  Savanah wasn’t sure about Guerline, but she warmed up to her after a bit.  This will be a great bonding time for them in the 2 weeks we are away. 

 

So, we flew out on Thursday the 6^th.  Poor Abbie was convinced that Vero would not come back to her.  So we will be trying to call and assure her we will be back.  Our flight was pretty uneventful until we found out a bad storm was headed toward our flight path, just as we were to be landing.  We had a little turbulence, but nothing bad at all.  And we didn’t get the storm.  

We were able to spend a day and part of an evening with Carolyn and Rodney, our good friends in West Palm Beach.  We went to a resale place and Vero was able to get a lot of needed clothing items for the orphanage.  Not all she needed, but lots at a good price.  Today Vero and I went searching for places to get some inexpensive items to try and get close to what she needs.  She is definitely NOT used to shopping in the states.  But she’ll get used to it soon.  Just trying to find inexpensive things is a real challenge.  But we had fun trying to find things anyway.

But the one thing that is a bit hard is the weather here.  We sure aren’t used to the cold.  It was down in the low 50’s.  Now I know for a LOT of you, that would be nice and warm, but to us “Haitians”, this is REALLY cold.  And we’ve seen the Floridians here all wrapped up and trying to keep warm.  Had Dick, from MFI stop this morning (when on the way to see his brand new granddaughter), to see if he could get the heater working.   But no idea why it’s not working.  So, we’ll just put on more and more layers to keep warm tonight.  Just a small thing to deal with.  Actually sort of funny, too.  We heard we will be heading into cold weather for the conference, so this is just a “get used to cold” time.  Yes, we will do fine, it’s just an added thing to the trip. 

That was our time two days ago....

We left Fort Pierce this morning (the 10th) and headed north.  We are now about 20 miles south of Macon, GA.  A little chilly, but not bad yet.  We left a lot behind, that we decided we didn't need.  Good thing we did, the car is FULL!  Been having a great time though.  Vero rides in front with me and Don is in back, studying.  So our 8 hours today was not bad at all.  We stopped at a rest area and there were two police vehicles with lights going, and they had a fellow sitting on the curb.  When we came back out they were trying to get him to walk a straight line...he just had a dazed look on his face.  Guess he was a bit out of it all.  Had to go around the police car to get out of the rest area.  Other than that, we've been doing good.  Prayerfully we'll be in Fort Payne, Alabama tomorrow afternoon, or evening some time.  Looking forward to see some friends who had been to Haiti several times.  

So, until we find internet again, keep praying for us.  God's been good and He keeps His hands on us all the time.  Keep smiling and keep trusting the Lord in all you do!!

Blessings to you all! 

We have weathered the storm.

 Seems we have "weathered the storm" that we faced two weeks ago.  Oh we still have our "situations", but nothing in comparison to the trials of that one week.   

Yet, when I look at what the Haitian people face daily, in comparison to what we face daily, we do have a life of a lot more ease than they do.  It all comes down to who we are, where we are and how we respond, doesn't it?  I've seen Haitians who  have a walk each and every day in great need... need of food, a place to live, a way to care for their family.... but they have a peace, a joy that many who "have" don't show.  It all comes down to GRACE.... God's grace.  God's peace. And totally God's presence in their lives.   

We have a woman and her daughter who help us out at different times.  They have nothing.  Fight to simply survive.  They never ask us for anything, but check on us to make sure we don't need anything.  The momma comes and irons clothes when I call her.  They both come and clean the dorm when we have teams coming.  And this is pretty much all they have.  Yes, Don pays them well when we call them to help us, but that isn't the total picture.  They will stop in and offer to wash floors or do dishes, whatever.  If I say sorry, but we have no money... they laugh and say, "no, you didn't call us to work, we just want to help you, no pay."  And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, they are smiling and happy.  They praise God they are alive and have each other.  I have heard they help some "poor" Haitian families who are suffering.  They will sit with someone who is sick and help out.  They will watch a child when needed... all without pay.  But then people they are not involved with see this, and find a way to help them out, too.  They show God's gift of giving to others, and God finds ways to help them through people who SEE what they do.

This is only one example.  But I often wonder how people see US.  Are they seeing a loving, giving God in how we live and how we react to things?  I pray they are.  But I also know we are mortal creatures and have many faults.  I pray they see God in us in what we do, and that they not center on our faults.   

At the airport, I have tried to be the type of person God would expect me to be.  I try to treat all there as equals and smile and great everyone.  And I enjoy the fact that it seems everyone knows my name and smiles at me.  The head of security and one of the top officials in the office were talking to me yesterday.  One of them said, we (the airport) need to give you a plaque.  I asked why, because I'm the oldest person here?  He said no, because you always make everyone happy.  I don't do that for praise at all.  I simply know most of these people have nothing to be happy about, and I want to see them smile.  The same at the store here, or wherever I go.  I know they all have so many problems, you can see it in their eyes.  Yet a smile brightens their day.  Yes, maybe only for a few minutes, but it is something to make them smile.  I know when I'm having a rough time and someone makes me smile, it brightens my day.   

I think it's like that...statement, or movie, or wherever I've heard it.... "PLAY IT FORWARD!"  Share with others...no matter what it is, a smile, a dollar, a bit of bread, or more importantly, God's Love and Grace.  God gave me a lift through someone else, the least I can do is to share with someone else that same way.  I really like the idea of "playing it forward" and creating a giving society.  Giving and sharing God's love with others in whatever way He would have us do it.

That is a challenge for you today.  Can YOU play it forward?  Can you share with others as others have shared with you?  Be it a smile to someone who looks down, a tip for your waitress that she doesn't expect, a pat on the back for someone who has done a good job, a hug for someone hurting.... you look and think how God would have YOU play it forward.  But do it in God's love and grace.

Are you up for that challenge?  When you do it, God also gives you something, you know.  He gives you the knowledge that you have lifted up someone in need, no matter what the need.  I know a few people back home who do that a lot.  And I praise God that they are the example of what He does in them for others.   

I know this was a bit disjointed, but I am praising God for an event-less week as far as circumstances go.  And I want to praise Him for all He has done for us.  HE is our reason for being here.  He is our reason for having joy beyond compare.  HE is simply our all in all, and we can praise Him all the time.