Hello!

       So, I have decided to break the silence on this blog!  Thank-you so much to all of you who have been praying for us; we are having a great trip, and we have really seen God move in great ways!  One of the memories I will never forget was our hike at Jasper Park in Alberta.  The hike was about five miles one way, and since we don't like doing things the normal way, my brothers and I got off the trail and did the most grueling leg-muscle workout I have ever done, climbing the last part of the mountain on a slope of loose rock!  It was really awesome, especially because I was with all of my brothers!  However, after watching Hudson complete that climb, I couldn't help but think back to the time when my dad took me to a football game (I was maybe seven at the time)- and I was asking him to carry me on the walk from the vehicle to the stadium!  (I would guess it was a mile at the MOST!) Simply put, growing up with big brothers has made Hudson the toughest nine-year old I know!  Anyway, that is just a bit of what I have been doing with my family this summer (really, we have been doing a lot of singing and that was the only hike); I will try to post again before we get home!

Six Month Recap

   Well, it's been awhile since I've posted, so here is a recap of what I've been doing since a made my last appearance here.

1.  Construction.  In August and September, I worked for a friend who is a carpenter.  We were building a new house for someone, so I got to learn about quite a few from different aspects of construction!  I'm thankful for what I was able to learn, and also for being able to work with a Godly friend, but I still like farming better!

2.  Manure Hauling.  (WARNING- If you get grossed out easily, you may not want to  read the following section- at least not during dinner!)  I know this sounds gross to a lot of people, but be thankful someone does the dirty jobs, or else you wouldn't be eating bacon and ham and sausage!  Basically, for about two months I spent nearly ever day (as long as the fields weren't too wet) in a tractor, injecting hog manure in the fertile fields of Iowa.  In case you are interested (and even if you aren't), here is the rundown of a typical autumn week for me-

   I would awake between 1 and 5 Monday morning, get in our farm truck with my brother Carson, and head to the job.  Some of our jobs were within fifteen or twenty minutes of our house; others were much farther away, in which case we would just pack a bunch of food and get a motel for the week.  (Actually, it would be more accurate to say that our dear mother and sisters packed most of the food!)  Cutting to the chase, a good week was 90 to 95 hours, but that was only if we didn't get rain and the equipment didn't break down!  Simply put, I love this job- that is, until I roll out of bed at five o-clock on Saturday morning after getting about five and a half hours of sleep for the sixth night in a row, eating a hurried breakfast, and arriving on the job site to set up in the dark, with the temperature below freezing and the wind howling..... then after getting everything set up, climbing in the tractor cab, only to realize, about the time the cab is actually warm and cozy, that something on the tank has broken, or that one of the lines that the manure flows through is plugged!  Working with cold metal in  cold temperatures (while exposed to the wind), is not my first love!  Neither is unplugging manure hoses!  (Sigh)  Anyone want to trade jobs?!

3.  Christmas play.  Our church puts on a Live Animal Christmas Play every December.  There are six showings over a three day period, but many, many hours of rehearsels, set-building, and preperation leading up to the weekend of the play.  But it was definitely worth every minute and every dollar, as many souls were saved, and many lives were blessed!

4.  Family life.  Our family made many great memories together over the past six months, capped off with the Christmas season.  I love Christmas, and I love spending time with family and friends!

       So there is a recap of the last while!  And here are some pictures to go along with it-

Monopoly and home-made donuts!

Take-one

We had the privilege of baby-sitting for thirteen children one day!  It was great!

Christmas Eve

Nothing like driving tractor at night!  I mean, what's better than driving a tractor with really, really powerful lights, eating snacks (technically to stay awake, but also because I love eating!), listening to music or radio, and getting paid to do it!  Well, it's fun until the clock strikes one, then two, then three, then four...  anyway, it makes for good memories!

Manure hauling

Christmas Play

    "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."  John 4:35

Spring 2014 in Photos

       Here are some of the highlights of my spring-

The Our Time youth conference that our church hosts each year is always a highlight.  This year, Carson, Joshua, and I got to help with the games.  Here we are with the rest of the game crew.

 Here is a picture from our joint concert with the Wilsons at the ATI conference in Big Sandy, TX.  We had a blast; my favorite part was making jokes about Levi Wilson!

My highlight of the conference was being a teacher in the Children's Institute.  

 My assistant (Hope Baker) and I had twelve children on our team- eleven girls and one boy!  Needless to say, me and little Daniel Swanson became pretty good buddies by the time the week was over!

 The week before I left for Arkansas, our whole family went to our local coffee-shop for an evening.  We had a blast playing take-one and rook.

I never have liked coffee, so I generally get ice-cream at the coffee-shop!

Brotherly love (At least, in between rounds.  During the game, it's business!)

Me and Hudson are big buds; I considered putting him in my suitcase and bringing him to AR with me, but I decided not to.  (JK:)  I miss you, Hudson!

2013 In Review (Goals)

       Now that 2013 is in the books, I am going to do a recap of my goals for 2013.  I missed quite a few of them, but I know that the goals I set did help me to serve God better than I would have done otherwise.  So here is how it went......

1.  Read the Bible through in eight months.  (I actually started on this goal on December 1, so my goal is to finish before August 1).  

Result- I did manage to accomplish this one, and God taught me a lot in the process! 

2.  Finish memorizing the book of I Corinthians.  (I am working on chapter five right now, since I did the first four chapters last year.)

Result- I made it to chapter nine, verse ten.  Not as good as I should have done; I'm going to try to be more consistent this year.

3.  Lead ten people to the Lord.  (This looks pretty daunting for me, but with God, all things are possible!  And if I miss the mark on this goal and only see 5 people saved, that would still be more than last year!)  

Result-  God gave me the privilege of leading two people to Him this year; let me tell you, there is no better feeling!  But at the end of the day, may we all remember to simply be obedient to God's call to share to Gospel; we can't save anybody, but we definitely have a God that can!

4.  Share the gospel or give a tract to an average of two people per week.

Result- I finished this goal on December 31.  (I need to work on not procrastinating this year!)

5.  Start a blog (check!) and post at least once per week.

Result- I started the blog, but only did about half as many posts as I wanted to do!

6.  Spend quality time with siblings.  Young people looking for opportunities to serve should begin with their own families.  

Result- I had the opportunity to make some amazing memories with my siblings; they are the best in the world.  However, I think that a lot of time young people (myself included) take their siblings for granted.  May we never forget to cherish the moments that we have with our loved ones, for they could be gone tomorrow.

7.  Read the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.  It is important that we understand how and why America was founded, and these two documents are a good place to start.

Result- Yikes!  I missed this one, which is really pathetic, because it's not very hard!  I am definitely going to make this a goal for this year.

8.  Read "Her Knight in Shining Armor," by a friend of mine, evangelist Caleb Garraway.  This book is a call to young men to rise up and be the man that God wants them to be, as they prepare for marriage.

Result- My dad went through this book with me and several of my brothers, and we had a great time.  I have an awesome dad!

9.  Smile and laugh more!  I sincerely believe that we as Christians need to loosen up and enjoy life more.  Why do we (including myself) go around with such long faces, when we have been given so much?

Result- It's kind of tough to measure this one, but I'm fairly certain that I did not improve in this area!  Praise God, I can work on it again this year!

10.  Do push-ups every day.  This one may not be as "Spiritual" as some of my other goals; however, I do want my body to last as long as possible in order to serve God as long as possible.

Result- My pushups went well until about March.......

11. Be consistent in my prayer life.  I find that sometimes it is easy to pray, and sometimes it isn't; however, it is important to talk to God regularly, even when we don't feel like it.

Result- This went well at times, and not so well at other times.  I definitely need to improve in this area.

12. Improve on the banjo and guitar.  I play music for the honor and glory of God, so I want to do my best for Him.

Result- I think I got a little better, maybe?

13. Preach the Gospel every opportunity I have.  I feel very strongly that God wants me to be a preacher, so I want to take every chance I get to proclaim the Gospel, and the incredible truths found in His Word.

Result- God gave me multiple opportunities to preach this year, and these times were some of my highlights!

14. Have a more grateful heart.  Ungratefulness comes from pride.  When someone is ungrateful, it is either because they didn't get what they thought they deserved, or because they don't realize that the blessings they have received are given to them by God.  God loves to hear His children express their gratefulness for what He has done in their lives!

Result- I think I've been struggling in this area recently; I definitely need to work on this!

15. Encourage others to serve God whole-heartedly.  It burdens me greatly when I see others (especially young people) wasting their lives on trivial things, while millions of people are lost and on their way to hell.  Hebrews 10:24 says, "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:"  This week, encourage someone to serve God!

Result- This one is a little hard to measure; I know I can always improve in this area!

       Next week, I will be posting some goals I have for this year.  If any of ya'll have a goal for 2014, just leave a comment; I would love to hear about it!  "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.  Amen."  2 Corinthians 13:14

More Goals For 2013

Continuing on with some of my goals for this year-

6.  Spend quality time with siblings.  Young people looking for opportunities to serve should begin with their own families.

7.  Read the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.  It is important that we understand how and why America was founded, and these two documents are a good place to start.

8.  Read "Her Knight in Shining Armor," by a friend of mine, evangelist Caleb Garraway.  This book is a call to young men to rise up and be the man that God wants them to be, as they prepare for marriage.

9.  Smile and laugh more!  I sincerely believe that we as Christians need to loosen up and enjoy life more.  Why do we (including myself) go around with such long faces, when we have been given so much?

10.  Do push-ups every day.  This one may not be as "Spiritual" as some of my other goals; however, I do want my body to last as long as possible in order to serve God as long as possible.

Dueling Banjos; Or is it Dueling Brothers?

     So what did happen to the banjo?

     The dispute of two brothers...

     The demise of the banjo...

     The discipline of the "guilty" brother...

     So what really happened?  Well, someone (I won't say who) stepped on the banjo on Sunday and broke it.  So, we made a trip to Wal-Mart to get some wood glue, and the repaired banjo will be in concert (hopefully) on Thursday night!