It's Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Christmas

The Armstrong Concert Band performed wonderfully at their annual Christmas concert today at West Kittanning Fire Hall.

Beautiful daughter.

Beautiful daughter and several lovely friends.

Merry CHRISTmas!

November Saturday @ Rehoboth Farm

Heading down to the woods on a husband project.

(I'm on the back of the ATV).

A roof for the tree stand!

Now the hard part . . .

"Please, God, don't let him fall out of the tree!"

This is me amusing myself while he's up the tree.

Cute little animal tracks.

Cute little stumps.

All done--scoping out the woods.

Gracie's Saturday Helping Mommy/Mindy

I was running, 

and running . . . . , and

oooooops!

I'm sorry, Mommy! 

(Mwahahahahahahah!!!)

Happy Thanksgiving

I am SO thankful for my family.

Bobby, Morgan, Burger (and Cameron) watching football.

My next kitty (shhhh! Don't tell Burger . . . )

Over the river and through the woods . . .

Scenes from West Franklin Township.

Light Up Night

The Armstrong County Community Foundation participated in Light Up Night in Kittanning,

and in Ford City.

The Kittanning Senior High School Band always ushers Santa into town,

and Frosty rode the fire truck.

We gave away notepads, piggy banks, and Mama Dunn cookies!

Merry Christmas!

No Matter What

"So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" [Matthew 7:12].

Some yukky stuff has been happening, but believing that "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good" [Romans 8:28a], I have been asking Him what I am supposed to learn from this.  Mike's teaching tonight at Bible study answered at least part of that question for me.  (I believe God is probably doing far more in my life than I will ever understand, but in His mercy, He lets me in on some of it!)

Because God has loved me so much, and has forgiven me so much, I must love NO MATTER WHAT.  I must treat others as I would like to be treated NO MATTER WHAT.  How could I have considered doing differently?  

"And one of them, a lawyer, asked him (Jesus) a question to test him.  'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?'  And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets'" [Matthew 22:35-40].

"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law" [Romans 13:3].

"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" [1 John 4:7-11].

As Mike taught us tonight, the whole Bible is summed up in the command to love.

"See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone" [1 Thessalonians 5:15].

This is so exciting!  "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" [1 Thessalonians 5:18].  Thank you, Lord, for this test.  Dear friends, please pray that I will have the grace to love NO MATTER WHAT.

November Sunset

Oram's and BFCAT

I was in Beaver Falls today with my daughter, who was taking another Praxis exam at Geneva.

While she was taking her test, I visited two places you MUST go if you pass through Beaver Falls . . .

BFCAT, or Beaver Falls Coffee & Tea Company, has the best coffee ever--even better than Starbucks (and I like Starbucks a lot.)  BFCAT has a shelf of games, musical entertainment, poetry readings, and features a local artist on their walls.  It's the perfect coffee house.

BFCAT was started by two Geneva grads in this wonderful house across from the campus.  They take mission trips to Guatemala to help the farmers they buy their coffee from.

The other place is Oram's Donut Shop, which has the very best (and biggest) cinnamon rolls.

This is the box for Morgan's boyfriend's family.  Just look at the size of those cinnamon rolls, would you?

No, I didn't bring you any.  Sorry :)

Choose Life!

The Life Choices banquet was--as always--a wonderful evening.

Good job!

Beautiful friends Joanne & Stacy.

I'm so proud of young people choosing purity until marriage.

Christine has the BEST bunny ears.  

(You had to be there.)

Thank you, Lance & Christine,

 for inviting us again this year.

Read John Piper here for how Christians should confront abortion.

A leaf on the Allegheny River

I voted today --

Did you?

Will you still love me if

I tell you that I am a single-issue voter?

Sunrise this morning at my house.

It's not that I want to be, nor is it that I don't understand that other issues are important.  It's just that this one matter is SO essential that it truly doesn't matter what position a candidate holds on any other issue.

Fortunately, there are others far more articulate on this subject than I.  Please take the time to read John Piper and Randy Alcorn.