Mercy Ships!

Chuck and I had the opportunity to tour Mercy Ships. They are docked here through November. The hospital is amazing! It takes an entire deck of the enormous ship. We met with several people, and Chuck is going to volunteer 2 days a week as a nurse.

Seed Sowers Prison Ministry: Mural Day!

Another Busy Week!

Neat things have been going on around here...

***~***

Friends Steve and Cathy came for a visit.

They are in from the

United Arab Emirates.

While they furlough they'll be staff missionaries at

Union College in Tennessee.

It was great the see them.

***~***

We celebrated birthdays for 2 of the

granddaughters - Hunter, 10 and Harley, 4.

***~***

Eleven more volunteers were trained last Saturday

for prison ministry.

God just keeps on blessin.'

***~***

Our choir has started working on music

for Christmas.

I love the holidays!

I usually load Christmas CDs in the car

in October, and no,

I don't get tired of them.

***~***

We had great services at the

county jail last night.

A full house!

***~***

I had the opportunity to speak to the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes

on our campus this morning about

prison ministry.

I'd say there were close to

50 faculty and students.

They plan to be involved in a couple of our

Seed Sowers projects this fall.

A real blessing!

***~***

Our pastor

is doing a book signing tomorrow

morning

for

Live Forgiven.

Soon there will be nearly

200 small groups

from our church

doing the 6 week study simultaneously.

Be sure to click on

Pastor Jeff Warren

under my favorites for details.

***~***

Things are in the works for

Sierra Leone 2009.

We can't wait!

Our newest niece!

Tia (Christiana Grace)

has now been in our

family since May of 2007.

She is such a doll (20 months old)!

Totally adjusted and just having a blast

with her older sister (16) and brother (11).

Her mommy and daddy are praying about

a younger brother or sister

for her from Ethiopia.

How fun!!

~***~

It seems like Christmas was ages ago.

I hit the ground running on January 2nd

when I went back to work.

We have continued to see friends,

old and new, and have had some great times.

I love you Faye & Kat, and Kent & Claudia!

This week Jeff and Shelly were in town.

We filled up the evenings visiting

and catching up on everyone's news.

~***~

On Monday evening I, along with

Sandy of "Set Them Free Ministries,"

met with the chaplain of the

Grayson County Jail.

God is opening the door for her study

"Untying the Lies That Bind Us"

to be taught there.

We use it as our introductory course

for inmates (7 weeks)

with Seed Sowers and we have seen

wonderful results.

It sets the stage for further courses with

EvanTell and Evangelism Explosion.

We are blessed to be partnered with

Prison Fellowship,

EvanTell and Set Them Free.

Our joint efforts are giving God the

opportunity to accomplish

far more than each could do alone.

Praise Him!!

~***~

The weekend of January 25-26 will be huge.

Several supporters of

Seed Sowers along with the

Board of Directors will spend Friday evening

in Dawson State Jail (downtown Dallas)

followed by strategic planning meetings

later that night and all day Saturday.

We will be privileged to interview

inmates, correctional officers,

victims of crime,

a parent of a child that is incarcerated,

and a caregiver of children whose

parent is incarcerated.

Our goals for future ministry are four-fold.

Victim Outreach,

Offender Outreach,

Offender Family Outreach, and

Officer Outreach.

All of this will be combined with the

opening of the Monarch House,

a transitional housing facility

for female inmates.

Elaine (our founder) has updated her journal,

so you might want to

click on "Monarch House" under

"some of my favorite things" for

the latest news.

~***~

This coming Monday evening our

ladies small group (Grayson Girls)

will meet for the first time in 2008.

Our number has grown to 14

as we have reached out to other

gals who are hungry for

fellowship with sisters in Christ.

The amazing thing is that the ages of the

ladies range from 28 to 70+,

and we are having a ball together!

We look forward to ministry projects for '08,

as well as continued

outreach and Bible study.

~***~

God is so good!

Grayson Girls

Our ladies small group had a

wonderful time at our

Christmas Dinner recently.

We feel so comfortable together

even though we have only met 4 times.

Some could not attend,

others came for the first time.

I believe we have

13 all together.

~***~

Yesterday was my

last day to work till

January 2nd.

It will come all too soon!

~***~

Tomorrow morning early

I will be in Plano

with Elaine

(prison ministry)

as she shares the vision of the

Monarch House with

a company that is interested in

providing financial support

for the house and

supplying volunteer

manpower for vital roles.

~***~

Sunday we have our meal

with my kids,

my parents and Tom's mother.

Jenn will host the occasion.

~***~

Julie and Rob will arrive

late that evening.

An Evening With Michael W Smith

What a privilege it was to hear

"my American idol"

Melinda Doolittle

Wednesday at the Meyerson

(Dallas Symphony Orchestra)!

Michael W was great, as well as the Katinas,

but hearing Melinda was the fulfillment of

one of the "desires of my heart!!"

Her humility is so refreshing!!

And what talent!!

Thank you, Lord!

~***~

We have experienced such

Christmas excitement

the last 3 Sundays at church.

"Deck the Halls" was so fun, then last Sunday

the choir had the chance to sing

at one of our

satellite locations.

Today the theme was "swing."

So neat!!

We still have a

gospel theme and a more

traditional service to look forward to plus 6

Christmas Eve services

to choose from.

~***~

Tom nor I participated in

THE CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

(17 outdoor scenes dramatized with full sets, etc...),

but 700 of our church family did.

10,000+ people witnesses the event this week

on one of the 4 nights.

~***~

I completed training yesterday

at the Bonham jail

with the

Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

I am now able to enter

any state prison to minister.

I will also make contact this week

with the chaplain

for the Grayson County Jail.

Each county has its

own training

and/or requirements.

~***~

Our GRAYSON GIRLS

(ladies small group)

meet tomorrow night for

Christmas dinner.

And Tuesday evening I'm having dinner

with 4 of my dearest,

longtime friends. I have been

truly blessed in my life to know some of the

greatest women on the planet.

God is good!!

Ladies Small Group

How fun!!

Our small

group met

at the

Boiler Room

last night

for dinner and

a visit.

Great

atmosphere,

great food

and

great

company!!

We will

definitely go

there again!

~***~

Stel, the next time our gang gets together this

would be a neat place to meet up,

so pass the word.

~***~

Commitments for the Monarch House

continue to rise. Praise the Lord!

The overwhelming outpouring to fill various

volunteer positions is incredible!

Ministry News!

When I learned that Yahoo 360 was going down I was quite sad.
So many of my memories will be lost forever. Sigh…
I had decided I was finished with blogs, but thanks to

my dear friend, “a cottage rose,”

I have been inspired. Love you, girl!
http://www.acottagerose.blogspot.com/

~***~

This week proved to be on the quieter side.
It started with a 4 ½ hour nap Sunday afternoon

(I never do that!).
Although, Monday was wild with excitement!
I was among a group of 7 that spent the day at

Dawson State Jail near downtown Dallas.

We were there to participate in the graduation of nearly
50 female inmates
who had completed an intensive 7 week course called
“Untying the Lies that Bind Us.”
We worshiped through music, the Word, tears and laughter.
Each lady shared an oral, memorized presentation

and took a written exam.
WOW!!
They put me to shame.
I was so proud of them all!
http://www.seedsowersministry.org/

~***~

Tomorrow evening our team from the Ireland mission

trip this summer will have the opportunity to

visit with missionaries
Alan and Rosemary Armstrong.
They are in the states for a few weeks.
We consider it a privilege for them to take

time out of their busy schedule.

(photo above: Donegal County, NW Ireland)
http://www.donegal111.com/

~***~

In closing:
“Proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch.
Challenge, warn, and urge your people.

Don't ever quit. Just keep it simple.”
2 Timothy 4:2 Msg