2019 Arrives

Welcome to 2019!

Another Year Dawns. . .

THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT

The apostle Paul was almost overcome with a sense of the profound greatness of God’s gift—the gift of a Person, the Savior. In fact, he had to cobble together a word in the Greek language (in which he wrote his letter, 2 Corinthians) to express the fullness and wonder of what that gift was really like. Indescribably wonderful, ineffable, unable to be fully valued and appreciated—these are some of the meanings of this hard-to-translate adjective.

Who is the gift? None other than God the Son, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. One fully equal with the Father and the Spirit, co-existent, co-eternal, without beginning and without end.

Why the gift? To secure the redemption of sinners. That’s ordinary people like you and me—folks ruined by the fall, born in a state of enmity with the one true and living God, and needing to be reconciled in a way that only God Himself could determine.

In our family we always enjoy giving and receiving gifts. But what a small thing this is in comparison with God’s gift to humanity in the Person of Jesus—and in the wondrous work He would do in reconciling us to God. As the saying goes, Bethlehem is really to establish the setting for Calvary. That’s where redemption was accomplished for all who would turn away from sin and trust in Jesus the Savior. Have you done that?

General Reflections from 2018

Pictures tell the story better than words…well, sometimes, that is. So, we thought that for 2018, we would let you have a glimpse into several aspects of the last twelve or so months. View the link below this text to see them!

In January, I made a very brief visit to the UK to visit my mother to be with her at her 91st birthday. It was also opportune to visit with my siblings, Janet and Markie, as well as a close friend, Raymond Zulu.

It was a busy year for Matthew with school (transitioning from being a freshman to a sophomore at Bob Jones Academy) and doing various musical and speech events.

Sue has continued to work at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary as administrative assistant to Dr. Joseph Pipa.

Our travels as a family have not been extensive but have taken in a little of Tennessee. I had a brief visit to California to meet with work-related (Shepherd Press) clients, including Joni and Friends. We were delighted to have cousins, James and Frith Robb, visit with us from Scotland in March.

View a full report of our year with some additional pictures HERE or click on the image below.

Enjoy listening to Matthew’s rendering of Good Christian Men Rejoice from a recital at Bob Jones University late in 2018.

Posted by Jim Holmes

1 comment

Thanks, Jim, for the update.
You all look so serious in the photo!
Ann and I approach our last few months of full time work as teacher and physio respectively. Plans beyond that are still being thought through, as we want to spend more time on other pursuits, visiting family scattered across two other continents, including a first grandson in South Africa. Trips this last 12 month period took us to Germany and Switzerland for Christmas last year (to spend it with family), Southern California, UK and SA for Ann to see the new grandson, and the Canadian Arctic by car in August, as we drove north through BC, Yukon and on to Tuktoyaktuk in the NW Territories. A fragile but beautiful part of the world, all of it.
Blessings to you all.
Juergen

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