Gaither Lovin' Life Concert

Bill Gaither & the Homecoming Friends Lovin' Life Tour Concert

Last night, on Mitch's birthday, we were scheduled to help as volunteers at the Gaither concert in Anaheim. We had done this last year when the Gaither group were here in San Diego and Anaheim. It was a lot of fun last year, as we worked in Jeff and Sheri Easter's booth, and we hadn't met them before. Such sweet folks! Anyway, as it turned out, they had enough help after all, so we were able to stay and watch the concert instead!! What a treat!!

The other fun thing was that we got to meet a few new people that we hadn't already met before. This year's roster included Jeff and Sheri Easter and family, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, Lynda Randle, Janet Paschal, Gordon Mote, Kevin Williams, Lisa Daggs, Gaither Vocal Band (minus Guy Penrod, who is on break for a while) so Jason Crabb is sitting in for him, Russ Taff, and Bill and Gloria, of course!

Below are some pictures of the concert and our family:

Jason Crabb with his cute dimples(which I'm sure he'd love to hear that!)LOL!

We hadn't met him before.

First time we'd seen him LIVE, for one, and in a suit, for another!!


Lynda Randle- We hadn't met her before either, but enjoyed chatting with her for a time. She was here last year, too, but we missed seeing her at her booth . She's a Charming gal with a friendly BIG Smile!

TJ talking with Jeff Easter.

Below Jeff and Sheri with daughter Morgan singing in the final showcase


Below, we were so glad to finally meet Kevin Williams. He was here last year, but we didn't get to meet him then. He is the guitar player on most all of the Gaither Homecoming videos, and Amy really enjoys his sense of humor! TJ and him talked "shop" about guitars, of course!

Kevin on stage and on the big screen, all at the same time!

TJ and Mikki enjoyed some friendly banter with Marshall and Wes from GVBAmy and Janet Paschal

The lovely Janet Paschal sings next to Ernie at the finale.

Amy really enjoyed chatting with Janet. She has a warm and endearing personality!

Ernie Haase and Signature Sound on stageBill leading the performers during the second half of the night The audience holding up their little battery-operated lights that you get when you enter the door. The lights are for you to express your enjoyment or agreement with the song or performance. There were a lot of lights flashing throughout the night!
So nice to see when Gloria joins Bill on stage. She's still got it!!

Gordon Mote next to Gloria

Another great evening with these folks!

As a side note, please pray along with the Easter family for Sheri, who is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. She has one more treatment yet to do, but bravely continues to still perform. She wasn't able to come out to meet the public afterwards, which we missed seeing her again, but certainly understand the circumstances. She did a great job singing on the stage though!!
Blessings to you Sheri!

.

Mitch

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!! We love you!

King for the Day!



One of Mitch's favorite Bible verses: Hosea 6:6
"For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings"

One of Mitch's favorite foods: Chili Relleno Burritos

One of Mitch's Favorite activities: Hanging out with friends and family and talking and singing about God

Little know fact about Mitch: He nearly died in a motorcycle accident-

Thank God for His mercy, 'cause we wouldn't be here without you!

We hope you have a BLESSED day, Mitch!

(And we hope you enjoy the concert tonight!!)

Have you noticed?

Have you noticed the beauty of God's creation all around you today?

God is such an AWESOME CREATOR, and He puts an incredible amount of details into even the smallest of His creations. Just check out the pictures below! Most people don't even notice the minute details of something as small as a "bug".

From the daily beauty of a crisp morning sunrise to the fantastic hues in the evening sunset, and all the variations of sky in between- He NEVER stops showing off His handiwork! Genesis 1:31 says "Then God saw everything that He made, and indeed it was VERY GOOD..."

The next time you step outside your door, I challenge you to look around you and find something wonderful God has made, be it large or small, and THANK HIM for it!

AMAZING!

Time for God

Take time for God in your day...

An old song from the (60's or 70's?)goes like this:

"Love Him on the morning when you see the sun arisin'

Love Him in the evening 'cause He took you through the day

And in the in-between time, when you feel the pressure comin'

remember that He loves you and He promises to stay.

So, if you think you've got to worry

'cause it seems the thing to do

remember He ain't in a hurry

He's always got the time for you"

A job Well Done!!

To continue our last post (and by request-Hello MR B.!), here are a few more pictures of the flooring job we recently finished.

This is the stairs with two coats of finish on, sanded between each coat,

and ready for yet another coat.

Now, the railings have been re-installed and all of the finish coats applied and dried!

So there you have it! A job Well Done!

Now we're on to our next project, which is also not typical of our usual work-Corbels!

Keep checking back- maybe I'll get some pictures of that too!

Blessings to you from sunny southern California!

Odd Jobs

Not typical of our normal work, lately we have been installing hardwood flooring-solid jatoba to be exact. It has been quite a painstaking adventure. We had to prepare the subfloor which took a while, then install the flooring, then sanding, then finishing. More involved than we had originally planned. Six full rooms plus a hallway and the stairs. Below are a few pictures of the process. We still have a few more things to do to finish up, but we expect to be done this week.

YEAH!
Unfinished

Finally, some finish is applied and the beauty of the wood shows through

California Fires

In our recent posts we have mentioned about the local fires near us. I have finally uploaded only a few pictures for those of you who have never seen our California fires. We get fires most every year, but some are worse than others.

I took the first picture only a few miles from where the fires were located. The flames were pretty tall- taller than the trees in some areas. With so much dry brush as fuel, it didn't take long for a small fire to become a BIG fire! We were also fortunate that no homes were burned this time around. Last year's San Diego county fires were very destructive, with 2000+ homes damaged! We were fortunate to have not only ground coverage by the fire departments, but also air coverage from planes like the one below. I think I heard it takes only 12 seconds for some of these planes to refuel by scooping in the nearby ocean or local lakes. Amazing! We watched these planes flying nearly all day.

Great job, pilots!! And thanks for your hard work!
A smoke-filled skyline for an otherwise beautiful sunset.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;"
Psalm 46: 1-2