MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to all of our wonderful friends. Glenda and I have had a wonderful day with our family today. We were able to talk with Jimmy in IRAQ. The Lord has been so good to us. This past week end, the vehicle behind Jimmy's hit an IED. Forturnately no one was seriously injured. We were so mindful that God is faithful to give His angels charge over us!

The day was awesome with our grandkids surrounding us with their laughter and their limitless joy. What an inspiration they are! My mother was able to spend the day with us as well. We were so excited to all be together for this day.

To our friends in Virginia, please know that we missed you during this season. We do appreciate all the cards that we received from those who expressed their love to us. This transition has left us somewhat at a loss, but God continues to show Himself faithful to us. We appreciate your prayers and some of you have blessed us with expressions of your friendship. I received a call last night from our dear friend, Carl Osborne and his wife, Anna. The doctor had only given Anna a few hours to live this past fall, but our Lord reached out with His tender hand and she is walking and enjoying this holiday season. We are so grateful for the grace of the Lord to this family. Our dear friends, the Salas' called today to share with us a Christmas greeting. They just received a bundle of joy from heaven in the form of David Samuel, a new grandson. We celebrate their joy! We received a package from some other friends that had special pictures made just before we left Virginia! And a dear friend sent us a care package filled with precious thoughts, and a large tin full of sugar cookies which are my favorite cookie! A card came with an love gift of money that was so timely! God is faithful. I could write on and on, but I think you can understand that we feel blessed at this season.

I look forward to a greater opportunity during this coming year. Eight is the number of new beginnings. Glenda and I are looking forward with great anticipation move into this new year!
We want to ask that you continue to pray for us and know that we are here for you if you need us.

Merry Christmas!

Carry On!

Traveling...

This has been a very busy week. I left the house at 2:30 am on Tuesday and returned about midnight last night. It was a the first full week of my new enterprise. I left Troy, IL at 9:30 am on Tuesday, spent the night in Little Rock, AR, then on to Texarkana, TX. When I finished that load, I received a call to go to Fort Smith, AR and met a load to Kansas City. While that seemed to be a simple drive, we were mapped into Kansas, driving about 140 miles out of the way. It was a total drive of about 1800 miles in three days!

We are doing well, getting adjusted to our new environment somewhat. The family is gathering for Christmas and we are getting the plans made for a great time with them on Christmas day!

I hope that all is well with you and that you are going to have a great Christmas with all of those who are dear to you. Glenda and I want to let you know that all of you are in our prayers.

Merry Christmas!

Thank God, no snow!

There is snow to the north and ice to the southwest according to the news! But it was 65 degrees here today!!!!!! No sun to speak of, but at least it was warm. We are such a blessed people!

I want to encourage you to celebrate the blessing of the season with a special time of remembering the goodness of our great Lord.

Today, I had the joy of meeting a man that has had a tremendous encounter with the Lord. He didn't simply make a decision; he had an encounter with the Lord. His life has totally been changed. Sometime soon I will share more about him with you, but I just wanted to let you know that God wants to have an encounter with you. Not just a drive-by kinda thing, but a real encounter with the Lord. Did you know that He thinks good thoughts about you? Are you aware that you are the center of His desire? Are you aware that there is never a time when you are totally alone?

That is why God in His infinite wisdom, sent His only begotten Son into this world to take upon Himself the form of a man, and to give Himself for your ransom! WOW! What a thought! This season is all about what is nearest to the heart of God: That men would be brought back to Himself!

JOY TO THE WORLD THE LORD IS COME!!!!

By the way, all of our grandkids will be with us this year for the holidays. We are so excited. We will miss having Jimmy with us this year for Christmas. But we will be praying for him about noon on Christmas day. Could I ask you to join with us as we pray for him on Christmas Day? And know this, we will also be praying for the peace of the Lord to be manifest in all of the lives those we have come to love throughout the years. We look forward to spending this time with our children!

We do not have internet service at our home. There is no provider in that area since we live in a very rural area. But we do get to check the emails from time to time. It is always so good to hear from you. Hopefully soon we will be able to get service.

So.......

Carry On!

Tis the season...

Every year about this time, everyone gets focused on the secular approach to the Christmas season. The hustle bustle of shopping, the planning of social events, etc. It would be easy to forget the real meaning of the Christmas Season: "For unto you is born a savior..."

Glenda and I have spent so much time working through this transition, that we have suddenly realized that Christmas is around the next corner! Our Christmas cards are still packed away in a box that is elusive at this point. But we do want to say, Merry Christmas to everyone!

We are near two of our children, and the other is serving in Iraq. Five of our grandchildren are here in the area, and the other three are in Texas. We hope to spend Christmas with all of them, except Jimmy, who is unable to come having just been deployed. We will sing the songs, share the joy, exchange the gifts, eat the candy(!). But I just don't want to forget to celebrate the joy of sins forgiven, healing purchased, peace granted, and love manifested all because of the coming of Jesus Christ!

Keep your focus on Jesus! Let this be the best of the Christmas season in your family.

Please remember us as you pray that the effective door of ministry will be open to us as we navigate into the promising new year.

Blessings to you!

Carry On!

Some have inquired...

Jimmy, our son, is in IRAQ serving our nation. We appreciate your prayers of support for him and his family. I want to place his address here for those who have inquired about sending him a Christmas greeting. I am sure that he would appreciate hearing from the states. His address is as follows:

SSG Whetstone, Jimmy R

L Troop 3/3 ACR

FOB Marez

APO AE 09334

Lindsey and the youngun's are staying by the stuff! If you want to send them a greeting, you can send it to the following address:

Lindsey Whetstone

902 Lynn Lane

Copperas Cove, TX 76522

Thanks for all you do for them and for our family.

Glenda and I are doing well. These past few weeks have been difficult as we have transitioned out of the pastorate in Virginia. But we are getting settled here and yesterday was a great day for us as for the first time in some time, we were able to effectively be used of the Lord in the manifestation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is such liberty here at the church to flow with the Word of Knowledge, Word of Wisdom, and the Gift of Prophecy.

God especially touched Glenda as she ministered on Saturday evening. AS she prayed for the sick and infirmed, she indicated that she felt as if a hot rod of fire ran from her neck to the sole of her feet. She immediately felt the release of pain from her back, and is walking in that manifestation of healing yet today! It was awesome to see God using her in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit throughout this week end.

We appreciate the prayers of our friends during this time of our lives. We are anticipating the blessing of the Lord in our ventures of faith that lie ahead!

Blessings to you!

Carry On!

A long journey home...

I just returned from western Florida where I attended a training class on Friday. This has been a very busy week and it seems that I have been in the car for the entire week! Come to think of it, I have been. I have driven or ridden over 2300 miles this week since Tuesday.

I want to ask that you pray for our friends, David and Bernadette. Bernadette gave birth to a new baby son on Monday evening. She is doing wonderful and so is the baby, However, David's father passed away this week. Keep David and his family in prayer as they plan for the memorial services this next week.

We are doing well, and are still trying to get settled. We appreciate your concern and prayers for us. Glenda still needs your prayers for the issue with her back.

Keep the faith and ....

Carry On!

BRRRRRRRRRR, it's cold!

The winter has arrived here in the region! It was about 30 last night and today it is rainy here on the farm! But the Lord is good! We are still working on getting it all put away. Will there ever be an end to the boxes?

Glenda and I have had both our mothers present for the Thanksgiving celebration, It was a great day with our family. And today we were able to go to service at Jacob's Well for a great time of refreshing and impartation. We miss our friends in Virginia, but pray for them daily that the Lord will refresh them during this time of transition. We have even prayed for those who apparently were not our friends after all, that the Lord would bless them and cause His face to shine upon them!

Hopefully, after the first of the year, I will be announcing our future plans. Right now this is just a time of settling in and working through some of the ordeal that we have faced. Please remember us in your prayers during this season of time.

I am limited on time at the computer for the first time in many years due to a lack of an internet provider at the location where we live, but we are working on getting that changed soon. Until then, I will do my best to stay in touch.

The Lord reminded me that He is with me during the service this morning. Man, was I ever glad to hear that from Him. If I listened to the naysayers and those who devised their actions to discourage me, i would have given up long ago! But God is so faithful to remain near! Whatever you are facing today, remember that God is just waiting to reach out and touch you. We love you!

CARRY ON!