Merry Christmas

It seems like this season of Christmas has come so quickly. It also seems that I have had the time to re-connect with its true significance this year. I attended the school Christmas program as a member of the audience for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. I attended two different living Christmas tree programs at different churches and we also held our own children's program "Christmas in Egypt" and our adult choir presentation "2000 Decembers Ago." As much as I have seen the world pushing presents and Santa and holiday shopping, I have, for the first time in a long time, had the chance to slow down and focus repeatedly on the birth of Christ and how it is the true reason to celebrate.
I keep hearing phrases from commercials and people who are trying to have a holiday where the "Peace, Love and Joy" come from all of us giving to each other and being kind to each other and helping those less fortunate. That is not where the Peace, Love and Joy originate. It is impossible for humans to be "good for goodness sake." We are selfish and prideful at heart. That is why Christmas is so special. The birth of Christ brought the hope that we do not have to surrender to our sinful nature. We can surrender to the nature of God...a nature of peace, love, and joy. So many are copying the traditions of people in the past who did those things because they already had the Peace that passes all understanding, the Love of the Savior and the Joy of eternal salvation. The traditions are just the results of celebrating the love of God. It is not the Christmas Spirit that leads people to do these things, but the Holy Spirit residing in the hearts of Christians that was recognized for leading us to help the poor and love one another. I hope we can focus on the "true Christmas" and not the "Happy Holidays" that fade away when the wrapping paper is taken to the curb and the lights are put in the garage. I encourage everyone to celebrate the night when eternal love, peace, and joy were sent as a gift to all mankind, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.

Read the account again in Luke chapter 2. Remember the reason we celebrate!
A Peaceful, Loving, and Joyful Christmas to all!

To see some pictures from our church programs, click the link below
http://picasaweb.google.com/fbcmaysvillemo/ChurchMusicals2008?authkey=XGB2JeMq2Gg#

Halloween Alternative

Halloween is a time kids look forward to like I did as a child. I know that I never got caught up in the dark side of halloween, but just looked forward to the candy and dressing up. There is a darker element, however, and our church wanted to take the opportunity of our community out walking the streets to invite them into the church building for a "Shine the light of Jesus" halloween. Trick or treaters stopped by to see a couple of great skits and get candy, win a drawing and just get to meet us. It was a very exciting evening with over a hundred people coming in and visiting with us. Here are a couple of pics. That is "Attica Allie Bridgman" as a long lost Blues Brother. "She's on a mission from God!"

Elsie Bridgman Proudfoot, missionary

One of the most amazing lives I know of has come to an end.  My aunt, Elsie Bridgman Proudfoot, went to her heavenly home last Monday.  She was one of my dad's older sisters and someone whom I have grown to see as a spiritual giant in my family and an encouraging presence to all who knew her.  She did not ever just let life go by her, she was always affecting her surroundings for the spiritual good.  She announced at 9 years old that she was going to be a missionary.  And she was for the rest of her life, overseas, at home, in her family, in her church, and in her community.  A brief obituary of her selfless and loving life is presented below.  We'll see you soon, Aunt Elsie

Elsie Marie Bridgman Proudfoot of Midway, TX, closed her earthly Book of Life and opened a heavenly Book of Life on Monday, September 22, 2008.  She was born January 31, 2008 to Stoddard Franklin Bridgman and Rosa Mabel Zuspann near Ewing, Lewis County, MO.
She attended Gilead Elementary school east of Ewing and Graduated from North Central Bible College in 1943 and Central Bible College in 1946 majoring in Child Psychology.
She was the second born child of what became a family of twelve.  The oldest, a son, died at birth.  She saw 6 more brothers and 4 sisters grace the family and assisted in washing the last born, Lena.
As a young lady in 1946, she embarked by ship to what was then India, which became East Pakistan and is today Bangladesh, as a missionary to children from the Assembly of God Church in Palmyra, Marion Co., MO. She spend 1946-1961 in that foreign country coming home to visit and go back to her calling.  In 1948, she received news that her father had passed away.
She was married in England on October 14, 1961 to James Proudfoot who preceded her in death in November 1989.  She and her husband came to USA and they were ministers in various areas in Missouri as well.  Her mother, Mabel, passed away in May 1979 at which time they moved to Pennsylvania. The couple had no children but were houseparents for Bear Foundation for Troubled Youth.
In 1995, she moved to Conroe, TX to live with her youngest sister, Lena, and be close to her other sister, Nadine, there.  Over the years she often told stories of her childhood and with the encouragement and help of Lena, she wrote three books, “Deep in the Heart of Potatoes, Deep in the Heart of Them Thar Hills, and Deep in the Heart of Bangladesh.”  Neighborhood children and her nieces and nephews near Conroe gathered often to hear her stories. The first two books were of her childhood and her religious upbringing and the third of her experiences in preparing to go to India and her experiences there. She sold her books at grocery stores, book stores, schools or any place that would let her sit all day and sell her books, all the while ministering to those who cared to listen.
In January 2000, she and one of her nieces, Carol Tatman, returned to Bangladesh for a visit.  She was excited to see the results of her labors there. She had started a Bible School there and many of the natives remembered her.
In 2001, she moved with Lena and her husband, Bill, to Midway, TX. In May 2008, she suffered from bad circulation in her legs and got staph infection and spent 3-1/2 months in the St. Joseph Hospital in Madisonville before being moved to Madisonville Care Center, Madisonville, TX in August.  On September 22, she had a massive stroke from which she could not recover. Sharing her last moments on earth were four generations: her sister, Lena; niece, Rose Ann Dickey; grand niece, Bethany Greening; and great grand niece, Izabella Rose Greening.
She attended Elwood Baptist Church for a number of years close to her home. She was everyone’s rock and stabilizer and those who knew her will miss her.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, 6 brothers, Raymond, Joe, Robert, Glenn, Benjamin and Enoch; 3 sisters, Wanda McKinney, Emma Paugh and Nadine Schriener. She is survived by Joshua Bridgman of Palmyra, MO and Lena Truster of Midway, TX (Elwood community). Her many nieces and nephews will miss her greatly as well.

Her remains were cremated to be send back to Jonestown, PA to be scattered on her husband’s resting place.

Memorial services with a potluck dinner will be conducted at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 4, 2008 at Elwood Baptist Church Fellowship near the junction of  OSR and FM 2346 with Rev. Glenn Conner in charge of services. Those who knew her will share their marvelous experiences of having known her.  The public is invited to attend.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your church missionary group or your favorite charity.

Country Harvest Festival 2008

Country Harvest Festival in Maysville.Our church entered a float in the parade and also hosted a free petting zoo. It was a great event and we were able to meet over 200 people in our community and hand out free bottled water and sno-cones as well as reminders to them that God loves them. 

More pictures are available at http://picasaweb.google.com/fbcmaysvillemo/CountryHarvest2008#. This picture is of the Noah's Ark float and that is Allie as "water." It was a long day, but a great one.

Bought Valve Oil Today

This does not seem like an exciting blog entry. However, it is. I bought valve oil today, not for myself, but for my daughter Allie. she started playing the trumpet in beginning band this week. I remembered when I started playing trumpet and looking back, it started me off on a course that would impact the rest of my life. Hardly anything I do today does not revolve around music. The study of music has taken me across the state and the country, introduced me to most of my friends and my wife, and has helped to fulfill a part of myself that nothing else could. Both of my daughters are learning instruments and they both have a lot of natural musical ability which I cannot take all the credit for since their mother is also an amazing musician. We are now officially a "band geek family" and proud of it!!

Revival in Whitesville

I am getting ready for our 5th and final revival service in Whitesville, a small community near King City, (another small community), near the small community (Maysville) where I live. It is a beautiful little country church on a hill overlooking a valley. The services have been a great experience with God as we heard him speak through Pastor Allan Lane from Calvary Baptist Church of St. Joseph. The people have been warm and welcoming and I hope they have enjoyed the services as much as I have. Our quartet "True Light" sang last night (minus Jeff Noland who was out of town for work.) (http://www.truelightquartet.com/) and we are having a small service at the nursing home in King City this afternoon. God is leading and guiding us and that makes everything easier. There has been a public decision to accept Jesus as Lord and a lot of contacting, visiting, and seed sowing. Here is one of the beautiful windows in the little country church.

Teen College Week

Teen College was the final big event of the summer. Our youth minister and his wife to an outstanding job every year with our teens and this event lets me combine their know-how with our Vacation Bible School. We have a lot of crazy events to attract the teens, then we share Jesus with them through Bible Study and Quizzing, Worship Music, and a guest speaker each night. The crazy events included sledge-o-matic (hit things with a sledge hammer), water balloon battle (complete with slingshots), dunk tank, digital camera scavenger hunt, and a pool party and the country club pool. We had more teens than I can remember ever coming to this event and they kept returning each night. God really blessed the efforts of those participating to reach the teens in our community. We had 45 kids and 21 workers throughout the week and averaged 47 people each night. There were 7 decisions for salvation and we are in the midst of following up with those teens whose lives were changed. God is Great.

Children's Camp

Children's Camp was amazing as usual. The Theme was :FAITH WORKS . We adopted a construction themed approach to the verse James 1:22. "Do not merely hear the word and so deceive yourselves, Do what it says!." As usual for children's camp I was honored to be the worship leader and to write and original song for the week's theme. I will try to link it to this blog entry for you to hear. Also, for the first time, Allie got to go to camp with me. She had a really good time and did great as a first-time camper. There were many decisions made and God really worked among the campers. It was especially noticable on Thursday evening worship time when many children chose to ask Jesus to be their Savior.
I have uploaded a couple of pictures of the coolest camper of all, Allie. What an amazing week.

Ministry Orientation

After Youth Camp, I began a time of orientation to full time ministry at FBC. I am fortunate to have been taken under wing by our pastor and introduced to many aspects of this position that I had not fully considered before. Much of it was just operational procedures related to the "education" element of the ministry, but some was about being a minister and all that it entails. I am blessed to have such and experienced friend helping me. I got settled in to a new office complete with a door plate that reads, "Minister of Education and Music." I still have a lot of things to move out and a lot of things to move in, but it is functional which is good because I have hit the ground running. Children's Camp was just around the corner as well as summer Teen College. I am most enjoying the fact that I can regularly spend time in the Bible without having to squeeze it into a lunch break or hectic workday. I took a cue from the pastor and come to church a half hour early to have my "quiet time." The thing that I have been most surprised with is the incredible amount of activity that goes on around a small town church during the day.
There is always something to take care of and I am enjoying the opportunity.

Youth Camp

Well here goes my attempt to get back on the blogging horse. :) Laura and I both attended Youth camp June 3-7. I went as a coach which meant I no longer enjoyed the luxury of the staff cabins but was at the top of the hill with 12 seventh through ninth graders and my co-coach John. We had an amazing week. John did a phenomenal job of interacting with the boys to ensure they had fun as well as got to know Jesus in new ways. There was one young man that accepted Christ in my cabin at bedtime devotionals and another that was introduced to a life in Christ through his "family leader." John was a great source of information and tireless communicator to our cabin and we have been attempting to keep in touch with the boys throughout the summer. God is GREAT! It was my first full week in full time ministry and I couldn't think of a more worthwhile event to get me started. It was great having Laura there also. I am going to try to upload her singing to youtube so everyone can see the song she sang at the talent show . It is a little too large to upload to this blog.

It was a great week! I will post the link to youtube as soon as I have Laura do it for me. Here is a picture of her at the talent show praise night.

Catching up soon.

Sorry I haven't blogged for over a month. Since the last entry, I have participated in Directed Vacation Bible School, Coached at a week of Youth Camp and led music at Children's Camp both at Grand Oaks. We have taken a mini vacation to Omaha while Sue attended a calculator conference and I began full time ministry at FBC Maysville. Very exciting, very busy. I am loving it. I will try to get online and fill in the details of these events over the next few days. I have lots of pictures also. Hope everyone is doing well.

Vacation Bible School Starts Tonight

Our annual VBS begins tonight and runs all week. I am the director again and we have an excellent team assembled. The theme is Outrigger Island and we have been decorating to make the church look like a Hawaiian paradise. Sue and Laura are leading and helping in the music waterfall area and everything is gearing up for a great kickoff. I just got back from Cameron radio station KMRN where Bro. Dorr and I did a live discussion about Bible School on the air during their "breakfast club" segment. It was a new experience for me and it went just fine. It was about 20 minutes of an interview style program. I am planning to go the church building later today and get the final preparations underway. Pray for a great week. We hope to have 80-100 kids enrolled.

Ben's Graduation

I went to my nephew Ben Tatman's graduation last night. It was exciting to see the ceremony and celebrate his accomplishments and bright future. I had forgotten the atmosphere of a large school since I have been teaching in small schools for so long. The principal was Darrin Powell who was actually a couple of years ahead of me in school when I went there. Some of the teacher's names in the program were still the same after 20 years. The band played the fight song and I was sure I could still play it from memory on my trumpet. I also got to visit a little with Marge Coleman who was the flag instructor when I was in marching band. I believe she had a granddaughter graduating. I hope that when Ben goes back to school after 20 years, he has the same good memories to look back on. What a great school and a great night. Good luck Ben

Busy Break

I have been looking forward to this two week break between school and VBS starting. I now realize it is only a one week break. oops I got a late start getting checked out of my classroom and since I am not returning, I am packing all of the little things that I have "squirrelled away" over the past 8 years. Therefore, I am still checking out and it is Tuesday of my "break week." I am planning to go to Mom's and help with her new room construction on Thursday so I had better get things moving here. We start VBS on Tuesday after Memorial Day. We still need to decorate the church and we have a final worker's meeting on Wednesday. There are so many exciting things going on, I hope I don't get caught off guard. Less than 24 hours after VBS is over, Laura and I are off to a week of Youth camp. This break is actually quite a bit less busy than the last month of school. Anyway, God has it under control and I am still getting some family time in. Things will start winding into a more regular routing over the next month. Pray for me as I begin my new position at church. I am itching to get started! :)

Graduation class of 2008

My final Osborn music performance was last night. Our band played for the OHS graduation. The band did great. I am really going to miss the kids every day. I was especially honored to be asked to give the commencement address to the class and was a little nervous. I spoke to them about the fact that until now, their experiences have been planned for them by teachers, parents, and others and now they would need to plan their own experiences wisely. I challenged them to follow their passion and seek the purpose that God had prepared them for. I really enjoyed the opportunity to share my heart with them and wish them the best for the future. If you want to read my commencement address, you can keep reading. I will paste it below.
Congratulations, class of 2008!

Osborn Graduation 2008

I want to thank you for inviting me to speak today, I am honored.

This is a special group for me as a music teacher and band director. When I started working here, these students were in the 5th grade beginning band during my first year at Osborn School. As I leave, they are my graduating seniors. That is a goal for most band directors, to see a group of kids from beginning band through graduation. I believe Sammy, Hannah, and Brett were here in 5th grade and Alex and Daniel were adopted along the way. Here are a few pictures that I have taken of them from the past few years.

(Picture Slideshow)

It has been a pleasure to be a part of their lives and I am overwhelmed to be here today speaking at their graduation.

I have probably attended more graduations than most people in the room. As a band student and band director, I have attended at least one graduation and sometimes two per year since 1984. Many times I have thought about what I would say if I were given the opportunity to speak, but as I prepared for tonight, I couldn't remember any of them. I also don't think I can even remember who spoke at my high school graduation, let alone what they said. I hope that for these graduates, some of the things that I have said to them countless times in class will be what they remember. Things like: "Why do something poorly, when you can do it well",or "If you know the right thing to do, don't do something else.", or "Don't drop your marching band shoes out of the bus window." I hope that I will be able to keep updated on your lives and rejoice with all of the accomplishments that lie ahead of you. I can't wait to hear about them.

Teaching grades K-12 have given me a little better understanding of how children grow. The perspectives a kindergarten student has on life is different than a 5th grader or a freshman or a senior in high school. They all see things according to their understanding of the world. My first week teaching at Osborn was the first time I taught a kindergarten class. Suddenly, these children who had spent their entire lives safe at home were sent to music class with a very large scary looking man who was trying to sing to them. I know that when Mrs. Beers left them alone with me at least one of them cried and others weren't too far behind. I quickly understood that this was all new to them. They had never had a experience like this before and it was frightening. This was something totally foreign to them. I might as well have been a Martian. Soon, however, they gained experience and realized that I was not all that scary and that I was actually teaching them something fun. .... Many of you will have new experiences soon. You may enter a job or a college class and see a very large scary person trying to teach you something. Don't cry! It's just something new. Learn all you can and you may find out that it is actually fun. Hang in there and you will gain valuable experience.

Our experiences in life shape who we are. What I would like to challenge you with today is how you build your experiences after graduation. Until now, many of your experiences have been planned out for you. Your parents, teachers, coaches and others have spent time with you in activities that gave you experiences. Those were called LESSONS. Learning experiences, (like classes and homework) emotional experiences (like basketball games) and social experiences, (like school dances), cultural experiences (like music classes), and spiritual experiences (like church and prayer times)... in the hopes that at some point in your life, you would be able to draw on those experiences and make good decisions about the future. Well, the future is here........ and you now get to begin to make some of your own choices. Remember that we, your teachers, parents, and friends will never stop helping you, but you are now going to start taking over some of the decisions about what experiences you will experience. You will decide what kind of view of the world you will have.

I went to my 20th class reunion this past summer. Can you guess what your classmates will be doing in 20 years? What they will look like? Just to give you and idea of what changes may lie ahead for some of you, Here was my senior picture. (show picture) I especially wanted you to notice the black socks with white tennis shoes. At the reunion, some of my classmates looked like they stepped right out of their yearbook picture. Some on them looked just like their parents looked. One of my classmates was an elected Missouri state representative in Jefferson City. One of my classmates has spent most of those 20 years in jail and is still there. Their choices helped create their lives. When you have your 20 year reunion, what kind of life will your choices have created for you? Will you be able to look back and say "What a great life?" or will you say, "I wish I would have...." or "I wish I wouldn't have..." One day you will be older and you will look back on your life. Make the choices that will give you things to be proud of. Plan your own experiences well.

The choice to better yourself by continuing your education is a good way to plan your experiences. Choosing to join a church will lead you to a good type of experience. The friends you choose to spend time with will have a lot of bearing on the experiences you have. Sometimes we forget that we have to be careful what experiences we allow ourselves to have. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. You will have a lot of chances to do things that you know are dangerous or stupid. Choose the kinds of situations that will lead to good experiences. Use the lessons that your family and teachers have given you to help you to steer clear of negative, destructive, and hurtful future events. If you decide to ignore your past experiences and just "take your chances" with everything as it comes, you could be burdened with some negative experiences that you may never be able to fully get rid of. Protect yourselves by making good choices.

I don't believe that I have said anything here tonight that your parents, teachers, and loved ones have not told you over and over again. The only thing that will make it new is when you decide to apply it to your life. Trust people that have been there before. Learn from the mistakes of others and you won't have to learn by making your own mistakes.

The other thing I want to challenge you to do is to follow the passion that is in your heart. The question that I asked myself my senior year was "If I have to get up every morning and do something, what would I want to do?" My thoughts quickly settled on music. My dad very politely asked if I was going to be taking any other classes in college besides music in case I needed anything to "fall back on." I don't think he saw a music degree as a real money-maker. But he did encourage me. I told him that I did have to take other classes. Mom encouraged me to follow what I enjoyed doing. That is what I would encourage you to do. If you do what you have a passion for, you will still have to work hard, but the result will thrill you. You will run into obstacles, but you will enjoy the challenge of overcoming them. You will work along-side people who share the same joy and talents that you have. Follow your passion.

Lastly, stay true to your beliefs. I am so fortunate that I have had a set of experiences that good parents and teachers had given me. I remember my sixth grade teacher telling me things like "people will believe what you say until you give them a reason not to.".. My dad taught me not to leave a project for someone else to, everyone involved helps until the project is done. My church experiences taught me how good it feels to do what God has for me to do.

Many of my students have asked me why I am leaving teaching and pursuing a call of ministry. It is because of a path I started on the summer after I graduated high school. I decided at age 12 to dedicated my life to following what God wanted me to do. The summer before college, I was baptised at my church as a sign that I wanted to seek God and that I wanted others to know about it so they could help me stay on track. I pursued my passion of music and let God open and close doors in my life to guide me where He wanted me to be. The reason that I did these things was because I wanted to be able to look back at my life and say, "I tried to become everything I was created to be. I followed the creator's guidance for my life and He gave me a life more abundant and more joyful than I could ever imagine." I have not always been happy every minute of the day, but I have been at peace with my life. I have felt fulfilled and useful and quite a bit of the time... very happy. So far, this plan has worked very well. I cannot imagine a life that could be more rewarding than what I have. Another one of my high school classmates is a band director in the Kansas City area and has hundreds of students, marched in the Macy's parade in New York, and makes a lot more money than I do. He has asked me many times about applying for a job in his district and I have always quickly turned him down. I am living right where I am designed to live and doing exactly what I was created to do. There is no way to improve on this situation. Now God will use my experiences here at Osborn to more fully realize His fulfilling purpose for the next chapter of my life. I challenge you to approach the next chapter of your lives the same way.

Some of you have been created to change the hearts and minds of America. Some of you have been created to change the hearts and minds of the people in Osborn. Some of you may be created to be an American hero. Some of you may be created to be a hero to your family and friends. God knows what your purpose is. Seek your purpose. You already have the clues you need to find it. It is in your passion, it is in your personality, it is in the experiences He has given you. Use all of them to find out how you have been designed to impact your world. Thank you.

On The Road Again

Sue and I have been van shopping since our last vehicle bit the dust in late March. After much searching and many test drives, we found a 2002 Ford Windstar in Kansas City the should fit the bill nicely. It has less than half the miles of our last vehicle and is ten years newer. We are very excited and will pick up the van on Tuesday when we can get back to the dealership on a weekday. We did test drive it and believe it will be good on mileage and last quite a long time.

In case you were wondering, our red van was salvaged by the tow-truck man who rescued us from being stranded on the highway in Macon and "old blue" was donated to charity for a tax deduction and a free hotel stay coupon. We feel like Elvis giving away cars like this. Except that these cars don't run.....

Laura back at State

On the way home from the movie that Allie and I went to today, Laura called from her state business contest. She was competing in the catagory of typing. Laura got 1st place in accuracy (She was the only one to get 100% accuracy) and 3rd place in speed. I am IN AWE. They called the school and announced it to the student body at the end of the day. Sue and I are so thankful for her business teacher Mrs. Burns (who is also our next door neighbor.) Since Laura was the only Osborn student that qualified for state, they traveled to Sedalia together to the contest, then did a little sightseeing before returning home. Wow!!!!! What an amazing spring for her. State music and business. 1st place in state. We are very excited. GREAT JOB LAURA!

Allie's Day off

Today, Allie got a day off of school because of her high performance on the MAP tests from last spring. She also got a 10 dollar gift card from WalMart. I stayed home with her today and we went to see the movie "Nim's Island." It was very good. Then we walked around the Zona Rosa Shopping Area and looked at the Disney store and Build a Bear Workshop. (looking only today)
Then we ate at Ryans restaurant before returning home. We had a lot of fun. I am very proud of her efforts and results on the test.

Music, Music, Music

Well, we are all still in the thick of end of the year music activities. Laura's solo at state earned her a rating of "Good" which is a state III, a good showing for her first time. Ann was able to come from St. Louis and watch and treated us to a great lunch. We had our HS concert on Tuesday night. Laura played her solo, sang in a group and played with the band. Allie's concert will be next Monday. They are doing a k-6 musical called "A Whale of a Tale." I will put pictures on my picture album. Go there now and see the end of the year Luau that Sue's student council kids put on. Things are busy, but they will be winding down in about a week hopefully.

Picture album link is http://picasaweb.google.com/music.kb

Charles "Pint" Clouser

We have shared wonderful times with Joanie and Pint Clouser since we have lived here in Maysville. They have been extended family members and church family members. They have always been ready to help, support and love us. Here is a picture of Allie riding one of the mules that they have always loved to keep, train, and show.

This week Pint was thrown from his mule and cart and died. He will be very much missed by the entire town as was evident at the overflow of people at his celebration of life service on Friday. Please keep Joanie and the many, many family members who loved him in your prayers. Pint was involved in many areas of our church from van ministry to greeting people as they came to worship. We had the entire church out to their farm this summer for a hayride. I can't remember seeing Pint happier than when he had the chance to have all of those people at his house, around a fire, singing and praising God. He will be missed, but we'll see him again. I won't be surprised if he is on the "greeter" team when we finally get to heaven ourselves.

Laura to State Contest

CONGRATULATIONS to Laura. She was the only OHS student to advance to state music contest. She was also the only student to advance to state business contest. She will go to both events within the next couple of weeks. Send her an email of congratulations if you like or leave a comment and I will forward it to her.

Ministry

The past month has been a very exciting one for me. After many years of waiting and praying, I have been given a great opportunity to serve God in my church as Minister of Education and Music. This will be a full-time ministry position. (previously I was bi-vocaitonal.) I am so thankful for everyone who has said they will pray for me as I go through this major change in my life. I have resigned from my teaching position and have already begun an interim period of transitioning into new responsibilities and opportunities. I officially begin on June 1st. Please pray, pray, pray.

Grandma Lee

It has been a while since my last entry. I want to thank everyone who has been praying for our family as we traveled to Hannibal for my Grandma's funeral. She was one of the biggest parts of my childhood and I have so many memories attached to her and the family gatherings we had every Sunday and holidays at her house. She passed peacefully and was remembered at a beautiful service in Hannibal. Continue to pray for Mom, Shirley, Butch, Jim, and Bob as they go on without their mother. They are such a close group and did so much to take care of Grandma. We couldn't have had a better example of what a grandma should be.

In like a Lion!

March is here and we had nearly 70 degree weather for about 8 hours yesterday. Then it dropped to 45 and rained in about 2 hours, then 1/2 inch of snow overnight. That's Missouri for ya. I realized that I never put the snow pictures link on this blog so here it is. This is from mid February. We just got it all melted about 2 days ago and now we have more. Hurry up Springtime!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/home

Kyle

Leap Day

Well it is Feb. 29th and since it only comes around once every 4 years, I thought I had better make note of it in my blog. I have a colleague who is celebrating her 13th birthday today. She only gets a birthday every 4 years so it is special. I remember meeting an older couple who were celebrating her 16th birthday once on Feb 29th. Imagine being 64 and finally being able to get your driver's license. (just kidding)

We are all fine. Trying to figure out taxes, music contest and other spring dilemnas. Hope all of you are doing fine also. Keep leaping ahead today.
Kyle

Science Fair

The science fair is tonight at school and that means a lot of kids have spent the past few days scrambling to finish. Laura was no exception. Here are a couple of pictures of her doing experiments to test the electrical conductivity of sports drinks. She is finding out if sodium content of the drinks is related to its conductivity and whether those that claim to have more "electrolytes" (which sodium is) have better conductivity. Sue is running the fair again this year. She is such a good teacher. :)

Sherry

Thanks you all for your love and support of our family when my sister Sherry passed away last week. She was one of the greatest blessings of our lives and will be missed deeply. We are relieved that her suffering is over and look forward to the day we will see her again in heaven. Thank you for the cards, flowers and monetary gifts that allowed us to provide for her funeral.

There is no way to describe the impact she had on our lives except to say that we loved her with all of our hearts.

White February!!!

Snow, Snow, Snow----- We got about 11 inches of snow on Tuesday and a little more today including about 1/2 inch of ice. This is our 7th snow day of the school year. WOW! Allie loves it and has been outside every day. The rest of us are content to stay in the cabin. :) Wed. church was cancelled last night and school again today. I am going to try to shovel out sometime today.

I have a link to a picture album for pictures of Laura and Allie. Laura's are homecoming pics and Allie is dressed as sacajawea in the last few pictures for a school project. Have a warm day!!

Here are the pics
http://picasaweb.google.com/music.kb/LauraAndAllie2008

Catching Up

I haven't posted in a while because I wanted to put up some pictures of Laura's homecoming ceremony. They are on another computer and I am still trying. Laura will be 16 in a couple of days and she is very excited. She went with Allie and a couple of friends to see a 3D movie of "Hannah Montana" in KC and they had a good girls night out. The next night they stayed with the same girls at their house. It was a fun weekend for them.
Sue has been recovering from Pneumonia and is back at work today. She is still pretty tired by the end of the day. I am in prayer about new responsibilities in ministry and would welcome any prayers for guidance and direction. I want to serve exactly where God wants me and want to avoid the temptation to take my own path. I will get pictures and or videos posted as soon as I can. Hope everyone is staying warm. We are in for a couple more days of ice and snow.
See ya soon,
Kyle

Off and running

The new year is up and going full throttle. School is back in session and I am in the heat of music contest preparation. We also had our fundraising kickoff today. Laura is a part of the homecoming court in a few weeks and I am going to have to miss it. I am planning to have about 5 people videotape it for me. Sue is as busy as ever with her teaching. She is planning the spelling bee and science fair for school this Spring. We have to force ourselves to remember to schedule time for our family to be together. Otherwise, the time slips away. Laura will be 16 in less than a month and Allie is 10. The time is flying. I hope to find more interesting posts, but at least this will keep you up to date on our lives.

Happy New Year

We celebrated the new year quietly at home and spent the day together in our warm house while the snow and cold blew around outside. Laura spent the new year bowling with the youth group and spent the night with her good friend. We had a surprise tonight and found out that school is cancelled tomorrow due to the snow blowing over the roads. I want to wish everyone a great 2008!