Tuesday, December 6, 2011

News from My Part of the World in Early December


God blessed us at Good News Baptist Church last Friday evening, when we enjoyed a ladies' Christmas dessert. Several ladies from the church served as hostesses. Each of them decorated a table with a Christmas motif and were responsible for preparing a dessert. I was invited to sit at Dawn Anderson's table. She had fixed a yummy chocolate cake with peppermint pieces and a topping made of whipped cream. (We won't think about the number of calories that were in it, will we?) It was delicious!

As the program began, we sang a Christmas carol and then Dan and Lori Karel sang a duet, reminding us that wise men (and women, or course) still seek Him. Afterward, Dr. Jan Bentley spoke to us about being a child of the King. As she shared with us the sorrows she and her husband have experienced in life, I could not help but think again, as I have so many times before, that the Lord has to break us before He can really use us. She was certainly used that evening to touch the hearts of many of the ladies who were there.

There is exciting news from Bibles International. Text Editor Don Block has completed the final formatting of the Bualkhaw and Zotung New Testaments, both for a country in Southeast Asia. The manuscripts have both been sent back there for final approval. Once they have been approved, they will be sent to the printer. Rejoice with us that next year at Christmas time, these people will be able to open their New Testaments and read for themselves about the wonder of the incarnation--that God became man. How exciting that will be for them!

Please pray with me for a friend who had a tonsil removed this morning due to cancer. She already knows she will have to have both chemo and radiation. Pray for her as she recovers from the surgery and then begins the treatment. Ask the Lord to make the treatment effective in her life, if it would please Him.

Lord willing, I'll be making my (almost) annual pilgrimage to southwestern Indiana in a few weeks. Please pray with me that the roads will be clear, permitting safe travel. I have encountered slicker roads in the flat lands of northern Indiana than any place I've ever driven. I pray I will not encounter them this year. After all, I'm 11 years older now than I was when I moved up here in 2000.

God bless you as you make preparations for Christmas. Let's not forget what it is we are really celebrating, the birth of a baby who came to save the world. He was the only one ever born for the express purpose of dying. And He did it for you and me. How amazing!

2 comments:

Susan said...

Your month is off to a good start! I will pray for your prayer requests. I wish I had a piece of that cake!!

Elaine said...

Susan, thanks for praying for my requests. I wish I had the recipe of the cake because you would have loved it!