In secular news today - the Shore family is getting a puppy on 16 December. :) Obviously there is a bit of excitement in our home. We've been talking about getting a dog for over a year as we sought to purchase a home. The kids didn't really believe we would until three days ago when I bought some puppy supplies. Then they said, "Oh, we really are getting a dog because dad is buying a dog toy!" (The dog toy is going to be my "earnest of our inheritance" illustration for preaching I think.)

The other even more important news (sacred) is that God gave me a great divine appointment this morning despite the freezing temperatures outside. Please pray for this man's eyes to be opened and for a future chance to continue our conversation. I'm very thankful that God gave me a witnessing opportunity. Thank you for praying for divine appointments!

It was good to get out with Don Dillman today and do flyers in our area. We were able to get the flyer out to several hundred houses. It's a difficult time of year to have conversations with people outside as it is very cold. Please pray for divine appointments.

Now we are getting ready to head out to visit some missionary friends (Arvin and Marcia Devers) on the other side of the country (sounds a long ways away but it isn't too far - just about 2 hours). Marcia had a knee replacement surgery and it has been a difficult recovery. Please pray for God's great grace for them and for her new knee to heel up. It will be fun to catch up with them.

We're also going to see a possible new member of our family. We've been praying about getting a dog and are going to see a goldendoodle puppy. I'm sure we'll let you know if we end up getting her. She won't be ready to leave her mum for another few weeks. If you are wondering what breed is a golden doodle - the mother is a golden retriever and the dad is a standard poodle. We need extra wisdom in chosing a dog as we often have guests in our home and will need a dog who is managable for our furlough replacement. These seem to fit the bill. 

We got some of our Christmas decorations up yesterday. Please continue to pray for the ladies Christmas meeting on Monday. Thank you for your prayers.

The Lord gave us a good day yesterday. We had a first time adult visitor who attended with the lady who has been coming. It was great to have them there. Please pray for her health as it has been poor the last couple of weeks. I preached a message which I had preached before on being a doorkeeper in the house of God. 

Katie would appreciate your prayers for her Christmas ladies' meeting next Monday. It is always a fun event but there is much to do. Thanks for praying.

I am full and enjoying left over bbq turkey. We've had a fun Thanksgiving time. Amanda Baker and Beth Farrell arrived on Thanksgiving Day from England and are staying with us through the beginning of next week. So, we had our Thanksgiving dinner on Friday and it is still benefitting us. We also enjoyed having a special Thanksgiving service during our normal Thursday night midweek service.

I appreciate your prayers for the funeral this morning. The Lord gave me the opportunity to minister to the family of a lady who attended our assisted living facility services. Her family are from Loanhead and I enjoyed getting to know them. The service was very sweet and God blessed.

Last night we celebrated Amanda's Birthday and went into Edinburgh and toured the ice scultpure tent at the Edinburgh Winter Carnival. It was a really beautiful cold night and the sculptures were amazing. I'll put some pics below. Thank you for your prayers.

It was a joy to be in church this morning. God gave us good attendance of our faithful folks. Our visitor and her daughter were not there. However, the mother let us know by text that the daughter was ill. The mum has expressed great delight in attending and we anticipate that they will keep coming.

I preached this morning a continuation of my message from last Sunday morning on Supporting the King's Work from I Chronicles 29:1-14. Last week we had looked at supporting His work with all our might, heart, soul and spirit. Today we answered the "why?" question as I preached on supporting the King's work with all your mind. Supporting the king's work is very reasonable and David shared those truths towards the end of this passage.

God was gracious after a busy week to give me good study time. Thank you for praying for us. Please pray expecially for a funeral this coming Saturday for a lady from the Trust. I've met with the family and will be preaching her funeral. We appreciate your prayers.

(Below are more photo's of the progress on the house. We painted the hall way and downstairs water closet. We also put in the floor trim.)

The last few days all run together. Josh and his son were a tremendous blessing. I'll try to list the projects that Josh and I (helping him - mostly handing him tools) did while he was here. Installed lights in boys room, school room, bathroom, outdoor motion scensor, 2 in living room, repaired two toilets which meant removing them completely, put down a vinyl laminate flooring, assembled one bathroom vanity and installed it, installed another vanity, Installed a couple electrical outlets,.... 

God was very good to us and Josh was very kind to take his time, effort, etc. We were also able to get in a couple small outings in Edinburgh making it a great short trip for he and his son. Thank you for your prayers. God's hand was evident every day as He helped us with some things that could have really slowed down the work that was accomplished.

(Below is a picture of the new flooring in our entry hallway (not trimmed in yet) and proof from outside our house that we were working.)

The Lord encouraged us this morning with visiting friends (the Dillmans) and a returning visitor (the mother and young daughter.) There was a good spirit this morning and we are looking forward what God is going to do at the Trust (assisted living facility) this afternoon.

We also have a father and 10 year old son arriving right now from the USA. They would have made it to church this morning but there flight was delayed by three hours. Please pray for the Rowleys as help us with some house projects before returning to the States on Wednesday.

I enjoyed preaching this morning from I Chronicles 29:1-14 on Supporting the King's Work. God challenged my heart to give with all my might, all my heart, all my soul (will) and all my spirit (joy.) Please pray for God to bless His Word to our hearts and that we could give to God's church as David and his men gave to God's temple.

It was another cold and frosty morning (sounds like poetry) this morning. It was fun to get back out with Missionary Don Dillman this morning over in his area on the South West Side of Edinburgh. We didn't have any good conversations with people but enjoyed fellowhsip while we put out Gospel flyers. Please pray for God to water the seed that was sown in Don's area this morning. Don did get a phone call from a believer regarding the flyer. It's encouraging just to know that the flyers aren't going unnoticed.

We are getting more settled. Yesterday afternoon I put together a bathroom cabinet, hung a heavy mirror and assembled a wooden blind for the master bedroom. Katie was able to get much put away yesterday as well. Thanks for your prayers as we continue to get settled. A friend of mine with his young son is coming this Sunday - Wednesday on a short trip to help with some projects. Please pray for them to have grace for jet lag and to be able to accomplish all that God wants us to while they are here. Thank you for your prayers!

We have a somewhat normal week ahead of us and it feels good to be getting back into the routine. The kids are in school and mom is back. I was able to get out and do some evangelism this morning in the frosty cold weather. I didn't speak with anyone but enjoyed getting the Gospel out into our local community. 

It was a special blessing and answer to prayer to have a mother and her young daughter visit today. We were having our prayer time and Katie was praying for visitors for other churches in Scotland when God gave us one. She hopes to come back tonight but definitely indicated that she will be coming. So, we shall see. Please pray for God to help us to be a blessing to this mother and daughter.

The ladies made it safely back from Ireland and had a wonderful time. Thank you for praying for their travels and for the ladies' retreat. We are thankful to have Katie back but are glad she was able to get away.

I preached this morning on being "More Like the Master" from 2 Kings 2:1-15. Elisha yearned to be like his master Elijah. God gave him the blessing He desired. It was a refreshing time around the Word of God.

Thanks for praying for our morning. God encouraged our hearts in Him.