Back in the Saddle

In August, I was given the opportunity to return to the classroom.

I am now teaching the 3-5 year olds at church.

For months, it has been a group of  5 year olds,

but we have 2 joining us this month from the nursery.

I always enjoy the challenge of teaching and classroom control.

I love to see little people learn new things and assimilate facts.

I love to see how many different aspects of learning I can fit into the brief 30 minutes.

They are a great bunch and I am enjoying the class immensely.

I tried a new classroom trick with this bunch at the beginning to help with sitting nicely in class.

I gave each child one or two plastic coins.

I told them that they had to hide them under their feet.

If I saw them, I would take them.

Guess what?

Far less wiggles!

The idea was an adaptation of a trick that another teacher used for teaching girls to sit modestly.

She gave each girl a quarter to hold between their knees.

If the quarter did not fall,

the students could keep the quarter.

It worked for her girls,

and it worked for my wiggle worms! 

Where have you been? Part VIII

Something for the little ones

and a way to show love.

Early in the quarantine,

one of hubby's coworkers had a baby - 2 months premature.

We decided to reach out with a gift and the gospel.

A blanket, some wipes, some baby lotion

and a tract and letter with the gospel.
I had many of the blocks completed,
but hurried to finish the rest and put the border on.

And then I got to thinking that I should always have a little blanket on hand to give.

If there is one thing I have learned in life its this:

if you love on someone's child(ren), you automatically show love to the parent.

And so, I crochet to and from church.
I can get one block done per trip (which makes 3 a week)!

I crochet on quiet evenings at home.

I am well on my way to having another completed.

(they are anywhere from 5 blocks x 5 blocks to 7 blocks x 7 blocks - depending on the pattern)

I think that this one is set to be 7x5.

Giving Fun III

So far, the gifts mentioned on the blog have been for people that we know.

We also have had fun giving gifts to strangers this month.

We made some cute bags that have a tract, a candy cane, 

and one other gift (gum, chapstick, or trail mix).

Since we walk a lot in town,

we give to people that we pass,

we give to folks waiting for buses,

we give to the staff at restaurants and stores who serve us,

we give to bell ringers,

sometimes we even leave them where they may be found later.

True story:

Last Saturday,

we passed a woman on our local bike path.

I handed her a bag that had a chapstick in it.

She first seemed incredulous that I had handed her anything,

then she flipped it over and saw the gift.

Then she teared up and explained that she was going through a hard time.

She had just used the last of her chapstick and here I was giving her a new one.

Then she saw the tract title (True Peace) and explained that she needed that.

She asked for a hug (which we gave her),

we told her that Jesus had led us to her and that He loved her,

and we told her to give her problems to Him.

We don't know if anything will come of it,

but hubby commented that the bag was an example of meeting a physical need

 in order to address a spiritual one.

The gift bags have helped me to be bolder,

and so we are going to change the tract in the new year and hand them out around town all the time!

Giving Fun II

After being in the south for over 10 years,

it has been a shock to be in a more "guarded" area again.

It is very hard to connect with folks.

So we were looking for another opportunity to make connections with our neighbors.

So we thought Christmas was a great opportunity.

Bath and Body Works has had some great sales.

$3 soap combined with a 20% off coupon sure helped.

We "wash" you a Merry Christmas!

Get it?  Huh?

Hubby and his mom helped put the gifts together on the weekend after Christmas.

...and I got to deliver them today.

I am having a really good time.

Giving Fun I

It truly is more blessed to give than to receive ...

and more fun too.

I spent a good chunk of yesterday preparing treats for hubby's coworkers.

Enter 40 pumpkin muffin.

A yummy vegan pumpkin muffin - mostly tastes like gingerbread!

Since he would deliver them first thing in the morning,

he chose a breakfast treat ... one of our favorites.

I found a cute set of cupcake papers with a snowflake pick to add a little festivity.

We included a gospel tract that we wrote a number of years ago

along with the recipe in case someone had questions about ingredients.

Outreach

I would ask for prayers today as we try to reach out to coworkers.

Many people will at least give a thought to religious things during the Easter season.

This morning, a variation of "Hot Cross Buns" went to work along with a tract.

The gluten-free "hot cross buns" were yummy, but a little on the dry side.

So we went for carrot cake with the cross on top.

The "cross" was, of course, a remembrance of Christ's death on a cross for all.

Sunday, we have extended invitations to church along 

with the promise of Easter dinner for any who will come.

(We were told this is an incentive - not a bribe😊)

Will you pray with us?

Still Writing

I was recently asked to help with another gospel tract.

This tract was very specific in its audience.

The tract was written to be shared upon the death of a loved one.

Our pastor is working at a funeral home and has the opportunity to share freely

with family and friends there.

The finished product encourages the reader to grieve over sin

as they grieve over the death of a loved one.

A Godly Sorrow That Worketh Repentance

I have an editing project to work on throughout the summer - 

a Bible study book based on Malachi!

Hope to share it with you by the end of the summer.

Published

Yearly we distribute tracts at an Apple Festival just north of us.

We also have a booth at the County Fair.

This tract was specifically written for those two occasions.

French Tract

Practicing your french?  View the text here. 

Number 6 out of 10 foreign language tracts are completed. 

This could be helpful to some of you who live on the Canadian border!

Arabic Tract

The Arabic tract was published to the internet yesterday.

Unfortunately it is hard to read the text here,

but if you would like a copy of the text just contact me.

Russian Tract

The Russian tract was finally published today. 

I am excited because about one third or more of my daily readers are from Russia.

I hope that all my Russian friends will take a minute to go here to read this tract.

If the material is useful to you, please know that it is not copyrighted and can be used freely.

Hopefully the Arabic tract will also be finished this week. 

A Message for the Nation of Israel

Another tract completed today.  This one in Hebrew!



Published

I had to laugh at the girls in my Sunday School class after services on Sunday.  I asked them about their schooling and one of the girls complained about rough drafts and editing.  The age old question arose:  "What is the purpose?"  "When will I ever write and rewrite numerous times outside of school?"  I am sure that I asked the same questions while in school.  Today, I value all of the training that I received in English and in Composition.  With tract publication on my mind, I promptly explained that when we work on gospel literature, we do not publish the first thing that we put on paper.  It is worked and reworked to make it concise and direct.  There is value to learning to be clear and to writing properly.

Yesterday, the shipment of Spanish tracts arrived.  I always love to see the UPS driver pull up with another big box of literature.  Yesterday, the Afrikaans tract was made available for purchase.  I believe that the Russian version is well on its way and we are praying for a German, a Chinese, and a French translation soon.  I think that our friend has 10 languages planned in all!

Pleasant Upturn

The week had not started particularly well.  Oh, the moodiness was running rampant in me.  I was looking at circumstances and situations around me and allowing them to set the mood for my day.  But oh, the mercy of God to turn things around in unusual ways.

Sunday I tried to make rolls for our Sunday dinner.  While they were edible, they were not the roll that I imagined, but were more like a popover.  I decided to try a different recipe last night ... I am so glad that I did.  While I used the all-purpose gluten free flour that smells of garbanzo beans ... the rolls did not have the strange bean taste or the typical gluten free sponginess.  We sat down to dinner and as hubby started eating, he remarked - you could have just made the rolls!  Oh, does that thrill this wife's heart.  He returned to the rolls this morning and will also have a sandwich for lunch on homemade rolls.

Then this morning, we received feedback from 3 Spanish speaking Christians (from Spain, Peru, and Chile) about the Spanish translation of our friend's tract.  How thankful we are for those who use their abilities in God's service.  It was nice to be able to send off corrections to the translation and to feel more confident in the publication of the translation.

In the process of the Spanish translation, I was reminded of how God gives us tools along the way to help us in our service.  While I am far from fluent in Spanish, I could understand what our proofreaders were commenting on and once again I could thank God for the three years of Spanish class that he afforded at a small Christian School. 

Thankful in Fours

This morning had a very chilly start.  It is 9:30 and the house is finally up to 55*.  BBRRRRR!  It was a wonderful night  for sleeping (not so easy to get up) and I am thankful for a full night of good sleep.  I am thankful for the very long season  of moderate weather when we have not had to use the heat or the a/c.

I am thankful for the prospect of a get-away to Atlanta in May.  Hubby's new job requires training occasionally and in May he is going to Atlanta to learn how to deal with warranty claims.  His boss was supposed to go as well, but did not want to leave.  The boss asked if I worked and when hubby said "no," he said he could take me along!  Gas, lodging, and food paid for ... and this city-girl will be back in the city!  I love adventures.

My third thanks this morning is that the Spanish version of the "Two Appointments" tract arrived this morning in my email box.  I am thankful that all of the funds have come in to purchase this for our friend and for the new doors that this opens with the Spanish community.  Hopefully, we can find a proofer here and get this new tract published! 

Lastly, I am thankful for improved health.  It seems that I spent the first 2 months of this year in tears 50% or more of the time.  I literally thought that I was going CRAZY!  Since ditching the wheat, I have not had a day of tears unless to weep over sin or the heartbreaking situations of those around me.

Another Day

I am almost to my running, or what I call wogging (walk/jog) goal.  My first goal is an 11 minute mile.  I am about 30 seconds from it.  Actually, if I did not include my warmup walk in my 3 miles, I am sure that I could meet my goal.  I will have to set a new goal next week - I hope.

Today, I cleared out the piles of boxes in the trailer.  I was very glad for the ease of loading a pickup truck rather than wrestling with a compact car.  Off went the boxes to the yard sale.  My friend's sister's house is stacked with all the goods for the yard sale.  It will be a 4 day sale, so hopefully it will ALL go.  She is using the proceeds to help our friend purchase and mail gospel literature.  I am so excited!

Next, I went grocery shopping.  This is still a different phenomenon for me these days.  Avoiding wheat and typical flours is a chore and a half.  I must say, if it were not for hubby encouraging me and pointing out improvements we have already seen - I would definitely give up!  One of the store's I shop at labels all of their gluten free products.  I had to smile to discover that my childhood favorite cereals are gluten free.  I left them on the shelf because of the sugar content, but Cocoa Pebbles and Fruity Pebbles are gluten free.  Oh = the memories!

Now it is time to look toward dinner.  Not sure what tasty experiment I will try tonight, but hopefully it will fare better than last night's :)

Sorry, I was so late getting the pictures fixed on the blog so that you could vote for a tract cover.  The overwhelming winner appears here.  While I like the picture, it was not my favorite ... but it was hubby's favorite, and a sister-in-law's, and an aunt's, and a brother's ... .  I am not really all that picky and am excited that it is published and will soon be used to share the gospel with people here in Cleveland County and around the nation.

Opinions Requested

 We are currently working on a non-Christmas version of the "True Peace" tract.  Do you have an opinion?  Do any of these pictures portray peace to you?  Leave me a comment.  I am sending off the request in the morning :)  I have a definite opinion, but haven't received hubby's opinion yet.  Maybe you can sway me!

Another New Tract

Here is the latest tract.

It is the idea of a dear friend who enabled us to work with him on it.

It is hard to think that this small sheet of paper may be the means of leading someone to Christ.

They are HERE!

We are so thankful that our order of Christmas tracts arrived yesterday. 

***

It only took 2 WEEKS! 

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Did you order yours? 

Good News for Christmas

Our church recently found another opportunity for tract distribution in our area.  Our local fair grounds conducts a "Christmas at the Fair" in early December.  The fair is 3 days and we will hand out tracts from a booth as we did in early October.  Because of the seasonal aspect of this event, the church decided to have a Christmas tract published.  It just finished publication this morning and is available for purchase at printmytract.com.  Many thanks to all those who worked on this tract and gave much valuable feedback.

Please let your pastors know about this tract.  The smallest order is 1000, but if 10 families in a church gave out 25 tracts a week in the month of December, they would be gone in no time.  Think of all the opportunities for distribution to shopping clerks, in Christmas cards to unsaved loved ones, and on your church visitation.  The website says that printing and shipping take 2-3 weeks, so don't dawdle too long!