A Delightful Time

This was posted on February 5, 2021 by Teri Maxwell.

If you have read our blog long, you might remember that three years ago, Steve and I began gifting our granddaughters, Abigail (12), Bethany (10), and Christina (8), with Hobby Lobby gift cards for Christmas. As part of the gift, we provide the trip to Hobby Lobby (about 35 minutes away) and a light meal after shopping. That gift proved so successful for two years that we continued it for Christmas 2020, and it now feels like a tradition.

This year, we scheduled our trip for the Monday after Christmas, but Grandpa had a cold so that date didn’t work out. Then we postponed it until February because the girls’ family was on an elimination diet for the month of January to experiment with some health issues.

Monday, February 1st at 2:30, we picked up the girls for our shopping trip. This year the girls were all interested in card making supplies with Christina also wanting some modeling clay. In addition to cards, envelopes, and stickers, each girl bought a package of multicolored pens.

We tried something different this year—eating at our house rather than out. Lots of eat-in fast food places aren’t open for dining in so we did take out and ate at home. That allowed Steve and me to eat with the girls. Last year, we sat with them while they ate, took them home, and then Steve and I ate back at our house because of Steve’s restricted heart-healthy diet.

With our new plan, we had enough time in the late afternoon and evening, after the shopping trip, to not only eat together but also to play games and have Bible time. The girls are doing the chronological read-through of the Bible that our church has a schedule and reading plan for and has encouraged people to do this year. We are also doing that during our family Bible time so it worked out well.

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having
this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And,
Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity”
(2 Timothy 2:19).

Those Little Glimpses of Warmer Days Ahead

This was posted on February 4, 2021 by Sarah Maxwell.

For part of the week, we had sunshine and warmer temperatures. Spring promises to come, but today, we have snow and cold. The changing of seasons is another reminder of our amazing God!

Debi with Ellie on Tuesday. I love photos with little kids and Ellie.

“He appointed the moon for seasons:
the sun knoweth his going down” (Psalm 104:19).

“…Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever:
for wisdom and might are his:
And he changeth the times and the seasons:
he removeth kings, and setteth up kings:
he giveth wisdom unto the wise,
and knowledge to them that know understanding” (Daniel 2:20-21).

Surprises, When Was the Last Time You Pulled One Off?

This was posted on February 1, 2021 by Sarah Maxwell.

Surprises. Aren’t they great? At least good surprises are great. I will add the disclaimer that not everyone likes surprises. But most folks do love to feel loved. Could it be what makes a good surprise great is the love and care shown into pulling off a surprise?

One such surprise happened for us right before Christmas. We sat in our living room, having just begun family Bible time. I heard a strange noise, almost as if someone had entered the house. Since we have many relatives living around, you might think that’s normal, but one thing we’ve done through the years is we’ll call out, “Hello, it’s Sarah,” (or insert the name) if we’re dropping in. With this instance, no noise followed that initial door creak. I half wanted to get up and check it out, but that seemed silly because of course, no one was visiting us at this moment.

So back to Bible we went, and suddenly, I gasped as I saw Jesse standing nearby with Anna close behind. They had come to spend two nights with us before Christmas Eve. There was laughter, happiness, and exclaiming over what a wonderful surprise it was! Come to find out, Dad and Mom planned the surprise, knowing we girls would be excited with the extra time with Jesse and Anna.

What surprise could you plan for someone in your life to show them extra love this month?

Love,
Sarah

These four did our traditional 12 Days of Christmas WOD, such a small group, but they had a blast!

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither
in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

Kids Make an Anniversary Date for their Parents

This was posted on January 29, 2021 by Teri Maxwell.

Years ago in Spring with the Moodys, Book 4 in the Moody Family Series, the Moody children plan and execute an anniversary dinner for their parents. We regularly hear from parents who share sweet stories of their children learning from the Moody children and doing an anniversary dinner for them.

Nathan and Melanie’s children have adopted that same model for their parent’s anniversary a couple of times in the past few years when it worked. Tuesday evening, the children prepared a special dinner and served it to their parents.

As a grandparent, it blesses my heart to see my grandchildren love their parents so much that they want to make their anniversary special and do something that involves planning, time, and effort and is just for their parents to enjoy together.

If you’d like to read an excerpt from Spring with the Moodys about the anniversary dinner, Sarah pulled it together below. (If you’re on a smartphone reading this or Feedly, you’ll need to go to this link to read the excerpt.)

“And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called
unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me,
These are the true sayings of God” (Revelation 19:9).

Happy 19th Anniversary, Nathan and Melanie!

This was posted on January 26, 2021 by Sarah Maxwell.

Wow, what an exciting day! Nathan and Melanie are celebrating their 19th anniversary. This incredible couple loves the Lord, each other, their family, and those God has placed in their lives. They’ve been through so much together: 4+ years of infertility, losing their first daughter at 3 days old, the roller coaster of high-risk pregnancies and births, and miscarriages. Their steadfast trust and faith in God have been a testimony.

We love you all and look forward to seeing God continue to use your family!

Happy Anniversary!

“And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold
I and the children which God hath given me” (Hebrews 2:13).

More Special Memories

This was posted on January 25, 2021 by Sarah Maxwell.

Happy Monday! I know we’re a month past Christmas, but we still have some Christmas memories to share of the day itself. Christmas Day tends to be quieter since we do our big extended family Christmas on the 24th.

We enjoyed a relaxing morning with leftovers from the day before and then exchanged some gifts.

We moved on to making cookies for our police force, which is a yearly tradition, and a friend from church joined us. We also played games and went on a walk. Gigi came over for a mid-afternoon “big” meal, and we had such a sweet time.