A Prince Has Fallen!

We got some sad news that a "Prince has fallen." Dean Curtis is one of this worlds true princes and was finally taken home on Christmas Day. Fenella's heart has been breaking for Glenave and the family. Dean and Glenave have always occupied a special place in our families heart. They were our spiritual parents while we stayed in Searcy, AR. Dean was a man of faith and a genuine servant. We feel the distance at this time and Fenella especially misses being able to be a support in person for Glenave.

We had JR and Daisha Sheets stay the weekend just before Christmas and it was an absolute joy! They are a beautiful couple and although we didn't have the privilege of meeting Naomi and Gideon I can tell as a family they are precious. We know Daisha really well, but had never met JR. I must say that his heart and desire for the kingdom is infectious. It is always a joy to be around someone who has obviously been "called" to ministry. We had a few talks and even managed to squeeze in a game of table tennis, and I must say he was a very worthy opponent. Their time with us just went so fast though. We saw enough of them together to know that our families will be friends for life and where ever God wills for their family to minister they will for sure be a source of blessing.

It has been so fine just unwinding and enjoying being at home with my girls. I'm sure there are lots of things I should probably be telling you all about, but the truth is I can't remember the half of them. We had a fantastic Christmas day and rather than the usual rush, rush, rush things were remarkably calm and even paced. The girls got up at 8.30 to see if Santa had been and as ever there was a moment of pure priceless joy when they opened the living room door and saw their gifts. We now have a Wii. We have had so much fun these past days and everyone is setting records for the other to try and beat with the "Fit" game. I am the skiing slalom and jumping champ! Anyway it is good fun.

We received the news that Alex Swango will definitely be with us to help in ministering with the church here in Peterhead! We are looking forward to his arrival in February and can't wait to see the direction God will take his abilities and gifts. Alex has been over on numerous campaigns with the Harding University and has always proved to be an asset to the work of the church. We ask for your prayers that the changes Alex will experience coming to stay in Peterhead will go smoothly and that all of us have the wisdom and insight to put Alex to good use. With this in mind 2009 looks like it will get of to a flyer!

God bless!

Thick and Fast!

The past week has been magic! I can hardly remember what all I have done and been involved with, but I know it is all good. I can start back on Sunday for our Sunday School prize giving. I taught a lesson especially for the little ones and after we present the children who have been coming on Sunday's with a book. It is always a joy to teach the little ones and we had them sit on the front row so that I could focus on them and interact some with them - they were precious! Nina Cowie teaches the little ones on Sunday's and had chosen the books they received and I chose to give the older girls in my class journals and made the point that our walk with Christ is a daily one and their journal's had daily thoughts and inspiring words to help them focus each day.


On Monday night was our Primary school age Party! What a blast that was. The time came and went in no time at all. We played some cool games and had so much fun together, the kids favorite game this time was a re-vamped "Chocolate Game" where the kids have to roll a six and in pairs come and tear into a huge bar of chocolate with a fork and knife, but this time one had to stand at the front while their partner had to be their arms standing behind them - what a laugh! We did the awards from class and handed out the MVP's and we got special chocolate Santa's, reindeer and snowmen with their names piped on. That was a big hit and something neat to put under the Christmas tree. It was the perfect end to the year for the younger ones and everyone left with happy faces!

On the Tuesday night Angie and I took a group of our teens out for the night into Aberdeen. It was a great night and had the right balance of activity, social and chill time. We started out at Laser Tag and had fun running around trying to disable as many of us as we could. The printout revealed that Jessica was the top gun! This made everyone a bit suspicious since Jessica is not the most "Gung Ho" kind of girl. Anyway, it gave us guys plenty to talk about as we tried to reason what could have gone wrong and why we were beaten by a girl. We had a great time in Pizza Hut and enjoyed talking and enjoying the company. After pizza we went to the movies and got home around 10.30 that evening. I was so delighted with the group there was never a time when I was stressed or needed to be the "Big Bad Wolf." In fact there was nothing but good time and I dot a massive sense that this group are well gelled together and do really enjoy each others company! It made me think of Church and helped me realise again that relationships are the fundamental key to a healthy church. I got home late, but very at peace knowing that some things are coming together well.

Last night I made a change to our normal class schedule in favour of going to hear Amy and Beth at their Christmas concert. I am sooo glad I did. The performances were great and especially the ones my girls had a part in. Beth was hardly off the stage with her role in the various choirs and orchestra groups. It is a joy to see Beth play he oboe and sing so beautifully! Amy kinda stole the show and in spite of having a sore throat went on to give an amazing solo piece from Handel's Messiah, this is posted on my previous blog. It is hard to put into words the pride Fenella and I feel when we hear Amy perform. We are always surrounded by people after the concerts telling us how much they enjoyed Amy's voice. One lady talked to Fenella and was in tears, having been touched by Amy's singing. We are glad that Amy can rest a bit now since the past weeks have pretty much brought her to her knees.

Today (Friday) I had the best morning in a long time and one I will remember always. I was asked to speak at the Central school Christmas Service. I had been looking forward to this morning for a wee while now and was excited about the message and the gift I had put together for the children. I talked about the "Candy Cane" and the way it represents the Christmas message of Jesus. The response was great and I know the message will be remembered. I asked the head teacher if I could give the kids a bookmark with the story and a candy cane stuck to it to remind them about the message - he said that would be lovely! After the service I felt like Santa going from class to class giving the children their gift. They were so excited and thankful. The teachers were delighted too, I made sure they got one too! In all I think this has been one of the most powerful planting sessions I have been blessed with.

Tonight I will have the last teen class for the year and this will be the last class of the year for the young people. I must confess that I am ready to have a rest from the constant preparation and thought process that goes into trying to be consistent and relevant to this younger generation. It is a joy, but I am ready for some rest.


Take care and God bless!

Heart Warmer

We have not long came home from being at Amy and Beth's school Christmas Concert. It was amazing and has put us all right into the Christmas spirit. Fenella and I are so proud of our girls and their musical ability. The video I have uploaded is Amy singing a peice from Handel's Messiah, "He shall feed His flock." Hope you enjoy it. Amy was feeling poorly with a sore throat and flu, but was still magic.

Take care and God bless!

Don't you just love December!

The title is kind of a love/hate thing. December is a fantastic time of year, but at the same time we tend to be a little more tightly wound and stressed out. I have a few things to cram into this blog and I have to admit that I am a lot less stressed than I imagined I would be at this stage. After the pain and elation with Connor last weekend, this week has flown in. I think last weekend made many of us stop and put things into perspective. I know that I have been a lot more focused on God and His power this week as a result. I have been able to express my joy in the Lord on many occasions and tell of God's power in the life of Connor. One encouraging time was when Fenella and I were in Simpson's having our Wednesday morning "Date" over a cup of tea. We got talking to Carrol, the owner, and it wasn't long before we were sharing experiences about how we have seen God's power at work in peoples lives. We came away from Simpson's encouraged and blessed. I have to say that Carrol is a gem!

I have commented these past few blogs on the overall health in our youth group and I can only express more of the same. Last week we had a magic bunch of classes. Monday night with the younger kids was a blessing! When I was getting all the register and points tables up to date I couldn't help but notice the faithfulness of the children. This term I have seen more consistency over the past 10 weeks than at any other time. I am delighted that the kids are faithfully coming. We took the group to the panto last night to see "Snow White." It was amazing! The kids were great and had a blast. You have to experience panto over here! Amy was Snow White which added a whole new dimension to our involvement. There was no doubt that we took the performers by storm. We were by far the most expressive bunch there and the kids were on top form. Just to let you know, panto is all about getting the audience behind the actors. When the villain enters - everyone boos, but when the princess enters - everyone cheers. There is a lot of interaction between cast and audience. Fenella pretty much lost her voice from shouting and screaming for Amy. No better cause for a sore throat! Amy was brilliant, by the way! I was totally proud and a little protective, especially when she was dancing across the stage with Prince Charming. I called out just before "The Kiss" for the Prince to "Ca Canny" (be careful). MAGIC!! We had a group of 32 there, 22 kids, 4 teen helpers and 6 adult supervisors.

On Saturday night we put on a meal for the over 60's in church. The night was frantic, but fantastic! The frantic part was of course the preparation and the getting everything out at the right time. The fantastic was the contentment felt by all after the night was over. The meal was a full 5 course deal! Fenella contributed an amazing "Sticky Toffee Pudding" and I made a pot of Cream of Chicken soup. I was responsible for the entertainment and this year we enlisted the help of some Highland Dancers, some musicians and a game from the past. The dancers were great and being my cousins girls meant we had a bit of fun in between. C.J. and Megan played "Silent Night" on the flute and Holly, Hannah and Beth played "Jingle Bells" on the fiddles. All this certainly got a warm reception from the audience. We played a Scottish version of "Call My Bluff" to wind things up. I enlisted the help of Ali, Donald and Shonie to be the panel of experts. What a laugh! They each gave a definition of a Scots word and everyone had to guess what one was correct. The three men were brilliant and made the night! There were happy faces all round and the following morning at worship the conversation was all about the night before.

It was Holly and Hannah's birthday on Thursday - they are now 8 years old! Can't believe it! They each had a cake and we celebrated round the table for a while. It was at the weekend though, that we spent the day doing what they had chosen. We went through to Aberdeen to "Build a Bear." Holly was desperate to go there and the two of them had fun choosing their toys to be stuffed and dressed as they desired. Holly chose a white teddy bear and Hannah chose a Zebra. After building their bears we went for supper and then to a movie, "Madagascar 2." It was a great family day and certainly a memorable day for the birthday girls.

Amy and Beth were playing a concert on the Friday night through in Fraserburgh. As always the standard was excellent and they sounded amazing. Fenella and I often comment on how fortunate we are that Amy and Beth are a part of something that bring the best out of them and listening to them perform with the concert band is brilliant! We were back in Fraserburgh on the Saturday morning again to hear Beth play in the Junior concert band. She was great and the whole concert was a big hit.

We continue to be thankful for Connor's healing! The news from George and Donna continues to be be great and gives us reason for Thanksgiving! We certainly have reason to be Strong, after a while of being weak! God is Great! My mum and dad have been enjoying a time with George and Donna and will return home on Wednesday, so we are excited for them to get back home to find all the latest news and share in the joy.

I have not even mentioned Thursday night or Wednesday night or my school ministries this time, but God is good and things continue to inspire hope that God's Spirit is active here and that His Word is living and active. I ask for your continued prayers as we continue to plant the precious seeds in the hearts of many.

God bless!

Rejoice x 2!!

When God is involved there is no limits!

This has been one of the hardest weeks and one of the most joyous weeks ever for our family. From getting the devastating news about Connor early on Friday morning, which had all of us on our knees continually before God, to getting the miraculous news of Connors recovery on Sunday afternoon.

What a day Sunday was! I had to preach Sunday morning and told the congregation that the lesson I had began preparing earlier in the week was put on hold, but that I simply wanted to speak from the heart about the events of the weekend. It was hard, but I was able to encourage everyone by showing them how amazing God has been as we struggled along with George and Donna. I shared about the comfort we got from knowing that George and Donna were surrounded by church family and overwhelmed with care and love. I was able to share our weakness and total dependence on God, knowing He was EVERYTHING. It was a very emotional morning, but in everything it was obvious that God was working, not only in the life of Connor, but on the heart of Elaine, my niece. Just after church I had been taking communion to a couple of dear ladies who can't get out much and upon returning home was met with the amazing news that Elaine wanted to commit her life to Christ. WOW! We have been praying for this time to come for quite a while now and if ever there was an unexpected joy - this was it. However, reflecting on the time we had been going through as a family it makes perfect sense. I ran up to the building to fill the baptistery and met my dad there. We were both speechless, but our faces told the same story of joy! That night Elaine was baptized into Christ and is now enjoying the peace and joy that comes as a child of God's.

Amidst all this I needed to get through to George, so that we could share the good news about Elaine's decision, but couldn't get through to him. I spent a while being passed from floor to floor at the hospital until I finally heard the familiar sound of George's, just woken up, voice! My first question was how the night had gone, because we were still grieved thinking Connor was still struggling, but to my shock George went on to tell me about Connor being up and walking around and talking as normal! I had to catch my breath as George was talking, because this was huge! I didn't think my heart could contain so much joy at one time - having the news about Elaine to share and now being met with this amazing news from George! To say he was happy at Elaine's decision is an understatement.

I left the house to check the baptistery and handed the phone to Fenella. Fenella told me later about her conversation with Donna and I feel I must share some of this with you all, because it is simply beautiful. When they had been talking about Elaine, Donna made the statement that she would go through the agony of the past days again knowing that a life had been saved as a result! She also shared with Fenella that when things were at their most trying and Connor was really struggling, she told Satan that even if she lost her beautiful son, she would not loose her faith in God. This is FAITH of the most excellent sort!!! I am blessed and inspired to have this "Tree of Life."

This morning I drove my mum and dad through to the airport. They will be with George and Donna later today - God willing. I know this will be a meeting of great joy!

God IS!