Re-organization of Ministry

We had an interesting administrators meeting on October 22. I know God is doing something different; yet I had no idea what. Today I discovered His plan! We are re-organizing the ministry, what a shock! I believe this will raise the level of our college; improving our productivity and communication.

The legal administrator will quit as of December 31. We need to draw up a new contract with a new legal address. One of the administrators is a business man and has reviewed the tax papers for the past five years and found many errors.

With the government inspecting religious institutions more closely, our administrator wants out. She realizes she made errors and does not want to be held accountable. Please pray that God gives me wisdom on who to place as Director and accountant. Both of these positions will dictate everything the college will do in the future. Also, she wants to be paid $1000 for her services. The college does not have this kind of money and God will have to supply for us.

I have been traveling four or five days a week. This week I am home for four days. What a treat. Even though I am home, I preached in church yesterday and there is a Master and Doctorate class in the office this week.

Nine graduation services have been completed and we have two services remaining in Kyiv.

Many schools have quit this year because of cost. I believe we get what we pay for. Students are charged 30 hrv (Ukrainian money) which is equal to about $3.80 per month for an undergraduate degree for nine months of $34 per year.

Please pray that our students realize what they are receiving. American programs of facts and figures have presented along with other Ukrainian educational programs. Yet, they believe because it is a Christian program, that it should be free. They only shake their heads and do not realize how much it costs to keep the office open.

I am very concerned about the Jerusalem Church. Their pastor is Korean and has brought in some false teachings of his culture. I have been praying for this church for six years. Please join me in prayer for them as they have discontinued the college this year.
My prayer has been that the truth would set them free. Our college material is Biblically based and overall good material. I hope and pray that some fruit will come forth from the college and the theology is corrected in their church.

Thank you for your prayers and support.
May God shine His face upon you today
Kathy

More Travels

I hope and pray you read the last blog again I still need your prayers. I am home long enough to wash clothes and try to catch up on email. If I have forgotten someone, please forgive me. I do not have internet access when I travel. It will cost an addition 500 hrv or about $60 initially and then about $15 per month. I am already paying $15 per month for unlimited in Cherkassy.

I arrived home last Sunday and Julia’s husband was such a dear to pick us up and he drove me home. I was totally exhausted and crashed on Sunday. We had ‘harvest festival’ in church, so it was great to visit and see everyone. By some strange coincidence, if you believe in such things I was asked to dance in front of the church. This was a first and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Worship dance is what originally brought me to Ukraine but not a priority for me at this time.

Pastor Vadim who opened a new college in Nikolaev is one of our first students who attended the college in Nikolaev. He has his bachelor degree and will be attending some of the master classes! God is so good and keeps bringing back people for healing and restoration.

I am so excited in renewing broken relationships due to political or personnel issues. There are so many questions about the past that are uncomfortable to answer. Yet as I obey God, He keeps growing and changing the college.

Graduation at Nikolaev New Generation Church last week was wonderful. I had an opportunity to encourage the congregation in going deeper in the Word and a relationship with God. The best part of graduation is encouraging the students to continue their education. Afterward, Pastor and his wife took us out for lunch and we had a wonderful time, but it was too short. I will be going back and staying with them to visit, not minister. This month I am in Nikolaev four weekends out of the five!

Julia and I taught three days at the new college in Nikolaev and then we were literally whisked off to Odessa to teach in their college two nights. Then we took an early bus to Kherson Saturday morning to teach a nine hour day in the Master program. Afterward, I was so tired because I only had 2 hours sleep that night that I needed quiet. I begged off of being entertained for the evening and asked to go to a quiet restaurant with wifi! I wanted to play a bit. However, I ended up working.

We were schedule to take a platzcar wagon (train) home. Now have you ever been in one of these cars? Let me explain it. You have about 60 people crammed into one wagon and the top bunks are very small, you cannot even sit up in them! Ok – so I prayed, talked to Julia and we decided to see if we could exchange our tickets for a koopae, (sorry I don’t know how to translate the Russian into English!) This is a small room with 4 beds, of course they are bunks. We were able to get upper beds. The young man who had one of the lower bunks gave it up for me! I was truly blessed.

A new adventure is beginning, while I wait for two hours in McDonalds for my friends to pick me up. They live on the edge of Kyiv, which at this time is about 5 million folks! I teach a new Master class tomorrow and Friday and then I travel to Dnepropetrovsk for our first Doctorate program and graduation on Sunday.

Thank you for your continued prayer support.
May God shine His face upon you today
Kathy

Keeping the Pace!

Greetings!

I hope and pray you read the last blog; I need your prayers.

We are in Nikolaev and had a great service on Sunday in New Generation Church. Last night we opened a new school in the Fire of Revival, there are 15 students. It is exciting to participate in a new work, both the college and the church. We are staying in the pastors home and we are being treated like royalty. This is something I am very uncomfortable with. The food is out of this world even for Ukraine. It is beyond the normal great food!

Today, Pastor and I sat for a time and asked questions on a one to one basis. We both felt very safe to ask the type of questions one does not normally ask. This really was the first ‘safe’ conversation I have had with a pastor that I could truly ask and not be intimidated, and Pastor felt the same way. It is good to begin a new relationship with trust.

I did not realize until this moment how past hurts have affected my trust level. I am thankful God is healing these deep hurts. I was confronted with many of the past issues of the college this weekend and many tears fell; remembering the difficult times yet it feels good that I can move forward in God’s strength.

Tonight and tomorrow we teach here in Nikolaev. By the way, there four colleges here, so if you get confused . . . I am baffled at times also! Thursday night we are preaching in Odessa and teaching on Friday. Saturday we teach 9 hours in Kherson for the Master class. Hopefully our Saturday night we will return to Odessa again. By Monday morning we need to be in Cherkassy.

Tuesday, next week we have a Master class in Cherkassy. I have to be in Kyiv for graduation and to begin a new Master class on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Friday evening I leave for Dnepropetrovsk for graduation and a doctorate class. Please pray God provides human strength and fortitude for me. I also need God’s wisdom and for the Holy Spirit to prepare the way.

Thank you for your continued prayer support.
May God shine His face upon you today
Kathy

Prayer Request

I am attaching my schedule for October. As you can see it is full. Please pray that I receive God’s wisdom, strength, and stamina.

Nikolaev: graduation and open new college
10/2 through 10/6
Odessa: teach in the new college
10/7 through 10/8
Kherson: 9 hours of master class
10/9
Odessa: mid-week service and Sunday service
10/10 through 10/11 or 10/12
Cherkassy: Master class
10/12
Kyiv: Master class (2 days)and graduation
10/13 through 10/15
Dnepropetrovsk: Master class and graduation
10/15 through 10/18
Cherkassy: Doctorate class
10/20
Kyiv admin meeting
10/22
Kyiv: overnight and travel to Nikolaev
10/22
Nikolaev: Graduation
10/23 through 10/25
Cherkassy: Master class
10/26
Cherkassy: Doctorate class
10/27
Nikolaev: Master class
10/29 through 10/31
Cherkassy: preach in home church
11/7

We started a new college last month in Odessa, in Southern Ukraine and on Monday we will be opening another college in Nikolaev. I have been asked to teach the first subject which consists of 12 hours of teaching. I will also be teaching a Master class, which is 9 hours and then I have been asked to preach two Sundays, plus the mid-week service.


Thank you for your continued prayer support.
May God shine His face upon you today.
Kathy

Catching Up . . .

So much has happened in the last couple of months. I am not sure where to start. Ministry and life are always changing. Scripture verifies that we move from glory to glory.

We, Julie and I, returned from a 10 day trip to southern Ukraine this week. We conducted our first Master class of the season and graduation ceremony. We traveled unto Odessa and started a new college. It was so much fun to experience their hunger for the Word of God. Many students are in class only because they want the degree, learning is not their priority. But this school is much different. It was very pleasant to teach these new students.

The students provided an excursion of the city of Odessa. It is a beautiful city and very clean. The architect is absolutely unbelievable. A French man founded Odessa. He was an engineer and brought engineers from all over the world to design the city and buildings. I would highly recommend a visit to Odessa. Also, it is on the Black Sea, if you like the water and boats.

Today, I leave for Dnepropetrovsk for their graduation tomorrow. Monday we will begin the first Doctorate class. I am excited. God has given me some awesome material to teach regarding the ‘Real Jesus and the Original Church.’ I have learned so much from studying and writing this course. The Doctorate level will focus on Revelation and how the other 65 books point to it and how they are prophetic of the Book of Revelation. For example: the sacrifice in the Garden of Eden; and the lamb sacrifice in Exodus and Leviticus points to the ‘Lamb Who had been slain.’

When God is going to move in a great way, we experience opposition. Please pray that we are over-comers of the opposition thrown our way. The college hired Julie. So far she is doing a great job and providing great encouragement for me. Please pray for her. Our first class was full of confrontation and disbelief; we have one school who desires the paper degree and have an attitude of ‘we know it all.’ It is a difficult situation and they treated Julie very poorly. We prayed afterward and God rewarded us with the desire for knowledge in Odessa. Praise God.

Thank you for your continued prayer support.
May God shine His face upon you today.
Kathy

Rosh Hashanah - 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

Yesterday began the Jewish New Year, which is followed by the 10 days of Awe. I have posted CBN’s celebration to the blog. Please enjoy the video. It is one of the seven Feast the Lord instituted in the Old Testament and is not fulfilled in the New Testament. I hope and pray each of you will receive a new revelation and that you are written in the Book of Life!

To view, please click on the link below.

May He shine His face upon you and give you peace.
In His Service,
Kathy

Rosh Hashanah - 2010

Rosh Hashanah - 2010

Life Happens

Dear friends I have been meaning to write for such a long time and have not done so. I tend to let the college business over run my time. So much has happened since my last communication; however we will catch up with that later. I want to share my morning with you!

This morning I was preparing rice in the microwave, with 102’ weather, I did not want to turn on more than one gas burner. As the rice was cooking, I was preoccupied with my sweet and sour chicken preparation. I cut the meat up and while it was marinating; I prepared the veggies.

I checked the rice and it was not quite done so I turned the microwave on for an additional five minutes. Great! I was eager to complete my preparations and get back to studying. Church meets at 3:00 and I am attending an engagement party tonight.

Guess all my preparations got me into trouble. Ok – you electricians will love this. My microwave is from America and uses 110 volts and we have 220 here. Therefore I have a transformer for the microwave. I have never had a problem with it. I have used the microwave for five minutes at a time and then another five and so on. Well today, I put my rice into cook for ten minutes and then another ten and so on.

As I was stir frying my chicken, smoke began to fill the room and I grabbed a towel to cover my mouth and nose. I could not see where it was coming from and the microwave was still running. I had enough sense to turn it off. The smoke was so thick, I could not see the fridge or the transformer. I grabbed my fan and set it up to blow the smoke out the window. This was great I can see the transformer is on fire. Paranoid about electrical fires I panicked. I had no idea of what to do. I ran into the big room, furthest from the kitchen and asked the Lord to send me someone to help.

I heard a banging on my door. It was my neighbor from upstairs. He came to investigate what I was doing and saw the smell. He stayed and helped me clean up the mess and get the power turned back on because half the apartment was without power. I had no idea they had circuit breakers. Now, I know!!!

Oh, by the way when I fled the fire, I also burned my chicken! Life is the same no matter where you live – it just happens.


By the way, here is a photo of my burned sweet and sour chicken and my scented candle. The burning smell is horrible!

Be blessed and may the Lord shine His face upon you.

Busy Times these Days

Busy, Busy and Busy

Hi dear loved ones and friends. It has been a challenging year for me spiritually, physically, and emotionally. I knew I was not functioning at my best, but ignored what was happening. Finally, I admitted my problem and asked dear friends to pray for me. We had an awesome time in prayer and worship. Now, the depression is gone and I am moving forward again.

Classes are beginning to wind down and we are preparing for graduation. Sunday will be our first graduation this year and it is here in Cherkasy. This is a special time for the students and I love to speak with them about continuing their education.

I am still collecting information from colleges regarding graduates, though I believe there are about 200. This makes for quite a bit of work for the office. We changed a few of our methods this year to ensure that names are printed correctly and legally on the degrees. In the past there were a lot of errors and errors cost money and time. The students are providing a copy of their passport, and international passport, if they have one. The international passport has their legal English translation.

Some colleges postponed classes during the year and will now be meeting throughout the summer. I will have two weeks off in August. Classes begin again the third week of August. There will be two new master class locations, Cherkasy and Marganetz. I am looking forward to these new classes and challenging the students on a higher level of thinking and learning.

Be blessed and may the Lord shine His face upon you.

Classes Progressing

This month old ministry connections have been rejuvenated and every week we traveled somewhere to teach. It is beginning to feel like the busses and the trains are my home!

Because of previous scheduling conflicts, the fourth year class in Kyiv studied every week this month. We examined Old Testament study section 4; the Major Prophets. We discovered many fun facts about Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel; their personalities and their ministries. Also students realized when the time of the Gentiles is complete; Christ will complete his work with His chosen people, Israel! Hallelujah!

In Dnipropetrovs’k we continued our study with the Book of Joshua. We also researched meteors and such phenomenon. Studying the day the sun stood still and the battle that God won with hail (meteors) slaying only the enemy, we dug deeper into the scientific aspect. However, we discovered that God answered Joshua’s prayer in advance of the battle.

Yesterday, March 29 was the Jewish Passover. My friends in Cherkasy invited me to the synagogue to experience an ‘Orthodox’ Seder. I was truly blessed to make new acquaintances and participate in the observance of delivery from Egypt. I enjoyed all the symbolism. The Seder begins with lighting the candles, done by the woman of the home. However, the women performed this task at this Seder. The light of the candles represents the Light of the Messiah. The Jewish nation was called to be God’s light to the world and in Jesus Christ we are called to be the light of the world.

Passover is when we celebrate the ‘Passover Lamb’. Without the sacrificial Lamb, we would not have salvation. As Christians, we can benefit from learning and experiencing the feasts the Lord has instituted as a learning tool. It was at Passover the Lord instituted ‘The Last Supper’ which actually took place during the Passover Seder.

I truly love spring. New life is popping its head out of the brown earth and bringing wonderful colors to observe. With the snow melting or melted everything looks dirty and ugly. The green or yellow green of the new sprouts is beauty to the eye! It is great to see warmer weather approaching and the beauty of God’s handiwork about to praise the Creator once again.

Spring brings graduation and graduation brings summer break. Please pray God opens my heart and spirit to what He wants for this summer and how all of His plans will be achieved.

Thank you for your faithful support.

Your Servant,
Kathy

Back to Business

Traveling Again

The colleges continue with their programs. This past weekend we had a Master class in Dnipropetrovs’k. The students remembered my birthday and blessed me abundantly. I returned home with many packages of wonderful gifts. God has provided many wonderful friends for me.

Our course this month is the ‘Book of Joshua’. We compared Joshua to the book of Ephesians and discovered that Joshua teaches practical warfare and Ephesians is our warfare doctrines. We also discovered a number of amazing similarities between Joshua and Revelation. For example, Joshua sent two messengers, into Jericho. The battle of Jericho climaxed with the blowing of trumpets. Another Yeshua will send two messengers, and this period will also culminate with the seven trumpets of judgment. Check out more similarities for yourself!

This week brought good news. Marganetz, a smaller college of four students, will begin the Master program in the Fall. Cherkasy will also begin the Master curriculum with ten students. Dnipropetrovs’k will begin the Doctorate program this Fall. With these new classes my calendar is full every weekend beginning in September; traveling and teaching.

Back in Cherkasy, I am preparing teaching material for a Kyiv class this weekend and material for our next Master classes. It appears I will be doing an enormous amount of studying to write courses for the Doctorate classes. I believe it is my job to provide a higher level of education. Only with God’s help can I do this. Please keep me in your prayers for this situation.

Your continued support gives us the ability to keep with the busyness of the ministry.

May God richly bless you for your faithfulness.

Back on Track

Last Friday we had our second administrators meeting of the year. The College experienced many changes in the Fall and Winter, so our regular administrator meetings were canceled. In December, I left Ukraine to visit my family in the US for the Holidays. My visit to America was extended for six weeks which also held off our administrators meetings. It was good to get back to College business in our February meeting.

In August, we had twenty colleges. It was discouraging to see that less than half of the administrators attended this meeting. We met at a pastor’s home outside of Kyiv. In the past, we met at the office/apartment and I provided the meal. Now and in the future, we will meet at a different college location on a bimonthly basis. It will be fun to travel a little more and meet more students.

We started with prayer and scripture from Psalm 28:7 and Luke 5:1-11. We discussed partnership and how it is advantageous for us to be partners with our spouse, children, children’s schools, our church leaders, and etc. Then we analyzed the importance of ministry or college partnership. Discussion followed regarding our new affiliation for accreditation. Everyone is delighted to have this new affiliation.

We discussed two prophecies given to me and the ministry which were received last August. God has done a great work since then. Many positive changes have and will continue to affect the ministry.

I shared a testimony of the great miracles God performed for my family during my stay in the U.S. I testified of a choice for salvation by one of my grandchildren on Christmas day and the reconciliation of a husband and wife who were scheduled to attend their last child custody hearing. Now they are in Christian counseling. I praise God everyday for His grace and goodness! I was truly blessed while visiting America.

To assure the administrators that I am not leaving Ukraine or the ministry, I informed them of my church membership in Cherkasy. I think this brought a sigh of relief to all. In their minds it means more permanence for me in Ukraine.

We discussed a business plan and our vision for the ministry. It is time to write our vision in detail with an emphasis on the future. The need for both a spiritual and business advisory council was mentioned. However, this will be discussed more in-depth at our next meeting.

Several tuition payments were received before our meeting. I am sad to say that administrators are not paying the required fees. Less than half the tuition fee was paid. A tuition fee of 50 hrv or $6.25 is charged per student per month. The office should receive twenty-five percent of this which equals 12.50 hrv or $1.56 per month for an Associate or Bachelors degree. I am saddened that ministries have not fulfilled their financial obligations. More finances are needed to keep the office and the colleges running smoothly. The office must have the ability to pay its own obligations. Please pray for the students’ revelation and ability to fulfill their commitments in these areas.

In order to keep the colleges from becoming an offering to the students, new contracts are being drawn up. The colleges will receive a form to report student payments on a monthly basis. I pray this will help those who are not fulfilling their obligations to begin to see what is needed for the ministry to continue.

Before we dismissed the meeting, I received some disheartening news. One of the current administrators volunteered information that my former interpreter called him last fall. The interpreter tried to ruin my reputation and begin her own ministry. It appears that she has attempted to split the ministry. Those who attended our meeting and remained faithful admitted that each of them received a call from my interpreter, but they have chosen to support the college and me. I never thought such garbage happened in ministry. Please pray for protection for the ministry and myself.

I am waiting on God to bring a new administrator/secretary/interpreter to the office. During this process, I am in prayer and watching for the people that God is bringing into my life.

We closed our meeting with prayer and lunch.

The Rest of the Story . . .

What an experience returning to Ukraine. I hope each of you had time to read the last blog. I arrived in Cherkasy late Friday evening and was glad to be home. I carried my suitcases through eighteen inches of snow for two blocks! What a homecoming.

I spent my first week recuperating from a fall from Saturday morning then I fell again Friday night on the ice and snow. On Monday, I visited the hospital to make sure everything was ok. I feel fine, however every muscle in my body hurts. Then on Friday night, a week later I fell again. I think this fall put everything back in place, if that is possible.

It was an adventure at the hospital. Someday I will have to tell you about it, they gave me tons of pills and herbs to take. I also visited the chiropractor last week and he confirmed that it was ligaments and muscles, nothing very serious, just down time from exercising to heal! Now for me that is tough. I like my daily exercising.

This past week I celebrated my 55th birthday. Thank you for all your greetings and best wishes on Facebook. Also Pastor Matt sent me an email with the significance of the number 55 plus ‘Happy Birthday’ translated in many different languages; it was fun to read, after my guests left.

I invited numerous friends for dinner to fellowship and get to know each other better. I invited the senior pastor, his wife and the acting pastor and her husband; along with girlfriends, interpreters and other very dear friends. We met on Saturday, which is Shabbat. After our meal and wonderful cake we participated in a biblical discussion.

Shabbat consists of time spent with family and God. We gave God glory and thanksgiving for His work in our lives. This was a very special day for me to spend in this manner with friends. Our discussion included a few controversial topics. However, we were able to converse and pray together even though we do not agree theologically. God is good in giving us grace for each other.



God bless each of you.
Your humble servant,
Kathy

Last Day in America and Return Trip to Ukraine

What an Experience!

My trip was extended by an additional two weeks. I spent this time helping family. My last day in America was going to be spent sorting and distributing weight between my checked luggage, the carry-on and my computer case. I try to bring back essentials for the office such as Reese’s Pieces! The airlines permit fifty pounds for overseas, I traveled to America with twenty pounds and returned with a considerable amount more. There are a few food and office items that I cannot purchase in Ukraine and I bring back as much as possible.

My last day in America . . . I was scheduled to walk my grandson to the bus at 7:00 AM. During the packing process, I took the house key from my coat pocket and set it on the counter so I would not accidently take it with me. I forgot my warning not to go out of the house without it! Wanting to return with clean laundry, I was still in my pajamas when I walked Micah to his bus. Fortunately I put on my winter coat, scarf and gloves. As we left the house, the door closed, OH NO . . . we were locked out of the house. I did not have makeup on and had not combed my hair. What a mess.

Now what? One of the bus drivers allowed me to use her mobile phone. I called my daughter in order to make arrangements to get back in the house. Fortunately my father was in town and he came to get me. The next forty-five minutes were soooooo . . . cold. I did not have socks on and my legs were bare. When dad showed up, I was so relieved; it took me all day to warm up.

Later that day, we had to pick up my mother from the airport who had spent two weeks in Florida with family. What a day! I planned an orderly and quiet day. These crazy things happen and we can either laugh or cry, it is our choice.

I arrived home on Friday after traveling for twenty six hours. What an experience! At the Minneapolis airport the agents unpacked my carry-on because something showed up as potentially dangerous. I had purchased Celtic Sea Salt on the advice of a doctor. I never realized that it would cause so much trouble. This slowed me up enough that I did not have time to call anyone from the airport.

I flew from Minneapolis to Chicago and then flew to Frankfurt, Germany then onto my final destination; Kiev. In Frankfurt I had to go through two scans, the first one was not a problem. The second one was absolutely humiliating. The wand went off because of a button, hooks, and the buckle on my boots! I tell you, this was the craziest trip of all. However, I was blessed with empty seats next to me the last two planes. The extra seat was wonderful from Chicago to Frankfurt, I was able to stretch out a bit.

Arriving in Kiev, everything was beautifully white and clean. Annessa and Victor, friends from church met me and brought lunch and hot tea, it was a wonderful greeting. They told me it had been snowing for three days in Cherkasy, I was excited to see the snow. The trip from Kiev to Cherkasy is normally about two and a half hours but this trip lasted four hour and a half hours. The roads had not been plowed and were in poor condition with lots of ice and snow on the road.

Arriving in Cherkasy, I was in a state of shock! The snow banks are at least 9 feet high. The buses were not running and the roads are horrible. Victor tried to drive me home, but could not. He had to let me out a block from home and I carried a forty-nine pound suitcase and my twenty pound computer bag through eighteen inches of snow and Annessa carried my carry-on for me. Then we carried the suitcase up three flights of steps. I was exhausted and could hardly find my breath. I had not eaten all day, so I sat down with a cup of coffee and a yogurt. I was glad that my traveling was over for this trip.

Now, the fun begins . . . back to work on Monday. This weekend will be spent organizing everything I brought back with me and I need to shop for groceries. Then when I figure out my problem with the internet, I will notify family and friends that I have arrived!

God bless each of you.
Your humble servant,
Kathy

Time is Short

Where has the time gone? It has been two weeks and there are only two weeks left before I leave. Now it is time to concentrate on business, what a task! There is so much to do.

My stay has been wonderful, spending time with family and friends. I have met new friends who have blessed me spiritually. I am being rejuvenated and believe I can return to work with new hope and vision. The ministry has to provide several new legal documents for the changing Ukrainian law. I am hoping this will be easy; it is a matter of signatures with notarization.

There was a concert in Zimmerman last weekend with Ryan Daniel and Sheila Raye Charles, who is Ray Charles daughter. If you ever have a chance to hear either of their testimonies and music, I know you will enjoy it. Ryan is called to minister to the younger generation he has a humble spirit. Sheila has a tremendous testimony and can sing as well, if not better than her father!

I spent Christmas at my youngest daughter’s and everyone joined us for dinner. It was great to have everyone together. Mama cooked and the food was out of this world! We had the traditional lutefisk and Swedish meatballs for Christmas Eve and ham for Christmas Day and of course all the fattening but great Christmas cookies! Now I have to go home and workout to eliminate all the yummy food I ate. Has anyone else overeaten this season?

It snowed in Minnesota Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I enjoyed getting out and shoveling. The snow was wet and heavy, great for a snowball fight and snowmen. However, I could not interest anyone in playing outside with me.

Sunday, I attended a home church and had a wonderful time. They asked me to pick a topic for the group. Since it is Christmas, I selected the topic of ‘gift’. The definition of gift is: property voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation! This is a great topic at Christmas; when we celebrate Christ’s birthday. Although we know this was not the time of year He was born, but we honor His birth. We know Jesus is God’s gift to us. He has been given to us without expecting anything in return. However to make that gift active or useable, we have to receive the gift.

For example; if a friend gives me a check for $100, it is not good until I go to the bank and claim it as mine by cashing it. It is the same way with Jesus.

On Christmas Eve, I told the Christmas story, it was a first for my family and a challenge for me. I teach the graduate level, not 3 and 5 year old children! I heard chuckles from the adults when I stumbled over words trying to use age appropriate words for the younger generation who has never heard the Christmas story.

The question was raised “Why did Jesus come to earth?” Wow, what an invitation to share the Gospel. I tried my best to keep the story on the children’s level. Then I gave an invitation for salvation and one of my grandsons gave his heart to Jesus! Once again, the Lord can use me in my humbleness. I praise God for His faithfulness and love for my family.

Today is the first day of the New Year. I pray everyone enjoyed bringing in the New Year with joy and jubilation. There were several events I wanted to attend, but I have been sick for a couple of days and chose to make pizza for my grandkids and stay home with the family. We used root beer floats to toast the New Year.

My oldest grandson proposed and gave his girlfriend an engagement ring! Oh dear, they sure are growing up quickly. Now mind you, it is the grandchildren growing older, not me!

Today, I plan on relaxing and enjoying the grandkids.

God bless each of you.
Your humble servant,
Kathy