This Sunday there will be an "Erin Rogers' Benefit Concert" at The Brown Grand Theatre here in Concordia...featuring Scenic Roots! The concert begins at 2:00pm. Admission is by donation. Come one, come all!!
The Brown Grand Theatre
310 W. 6th Street
Concordia, Kansas
Erin is doing quite well, and is recovering quickly from chemo this week! Remember the jam at the Rogers' house on Saturday night! Hope to see you all there!!
Secondary Secretary,
~Kimberly
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( 3.1 / 61 )Merry Christmas everyone!
"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)
Last night, we had a birthday party for Jesus with our friends, the Ruble's. We had a pot of chili and Amber's homemade cinnamon rolls (YUM!), then chocolate cherry birthday cake. Our family also had the priviledge of doing the Advent moment at our church's Christmas Eve service. The reading was from Luke 2, which has always been the passage our family reads on Christmas Eve. After birthday cake, we decorated sugar cookies and played some music, before retiring to wait for Santa Claus.
We awoke this morning to full stockings and packages under the tree. There is less excitement here on Christmas morning than when Amber and I were younger, but we all still enjoy giving and receiving gifts. We love to see the smiles on each others' faces when the packages are opened.
Dad's family, except his brother, all came here for Christmas dinner. Dad smoked a turkey and Amber made all the fixin's (with a little help from Mom and me). It was a delicious meal, complete with my favorite homemade chocolate pie for dessert! As if that wasn't enough food, Amber made several different hors d'œuvres for this afternoon. I chipped in by washing dishes. It was fun to have a house full of people and enjoy good food and fellowship together. They all left about an hour ago.
I have chemo again tomorrow, so the rest of this evening I'll spend preparing for that. I'm thankful that I got through Christmas feeling good before having to go back for another treatment.
We truly have much to be greatful for this Christmas, for the Lord has done great things! On Christmas especially, I am reminded of the incredible sacrifice God made for us to have fellowship with Him. I am so greatful for The Gift of Jesus Christ, for I simply cannot imagine going through the things I have gone through this past year without Him.
"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:14)
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( 3.1 / 62 )...whether we're ready for it or not! Guess what? We're not. Things have been a little stressful around here as Christmas approaches and we still have a million things to do to get ready. Here's an idea of what's been going on:
*Wednesday, Dad was offered a hog if he would come butcher it. Of course, he went out and skinned/quartered it. Now it's sitting in our garage waiting to be packaged and put into the freezer. We consider it a blessing, knowing we'll have meat in our freezer for another year, but I'm wondering why God had to send this little blessing RIGHT NOW!
*Also on Wednesday, we had a scare with Mom's dad. He was taken to the hospital because he was slurring his speech. Mom and Amber spent the afternoon in Salina/on the phone with family. They think he may have had a small stroke, but he is back home and seems to be doing fine now.
*We finally got our out-door decorations hung last night. Usually we have them up right after Thanksgiving, but then this hasn't quite been a usual year!
*I finished my Christmas shopping yesterday-- what a relief! Amber and I are making a lot of gifts this year, so we're madly working on all of them to get them finished in time.
*The living room is still not put back together. Dad finished grouting the ceramic tiles last night. We have to stay off them for a couple more days and then we can finally move all the furniture in. It might be finished by Christmas.
*We're cleaning house and cooking like crazy. We're having Christmas dinner with Dad's family here this year. Amber has the gift of hospitality, so she absolutely loves to have people over to the house for meals, but there is a lot of work to be done. And she and I are both a little perfectionistic about it all.
Even in the midst of the million things to get done, I am constantly reminded of God's faithfulness to us and the gift of Jesus Come to Earth that is the reason we're celebrating to begin with. When life seems to be spinning out of control all around me, sometimes I just have to stop and take a moment to praise God and re-focus on HIM. He is the reason for the season, and we do Him no justice when we become so stressed out that we forget about Him. Don't miss Jesus this year because of everything you "have" to get done. Let some things go if you have to in order to really focus on Him during this time. (preaching to myself here too!) Please also remember to pray for those who are hurting right now, especially Austin and his family. Christmas is a wonderful, joyful time of year. Don't let things rob you of that joy.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
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( 2.9 / 59 )You can view the Salina Journal article about me online HERE. Be sure to check out the video at the bottom of the page too.
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( 2.9 / 71 )I know it has been a while since I have posted anything. I apologize. I had chemo on Wednesday... more about that in a minute. Then I had my normal sick for several days afterwards. This weekend was really good. We got to spend some time with Nashville musician Kyle Cooper, who was in town for the Teens for Christ Rally. We got to do some jamming and Amber & I played with him on a few songs during his concert. God gave me abundant strength to be able to do so much the weekend after chemo.
Several weeks ago, my pastor preached about our commission as Christians to share the Gospel. It got me thinking about effective ways to do that. God quickly began to show me that my testimony-- my story of doing life with Him-- is my most powerful tool for witnessing. Conviction began to grow that I need to share my story, openly and honestly, and allow God to use that. But, as is often the case, I didn't really know how to go about doing that.
Sometimes though, when God asks you to do something, He starts opening doors and pushing you through. Last Sunday (Dec. 8), my church asked me if I would share a bit of my testimony, after we found out that my cancer was gone. I gladly accepted and willingly shared about my recent struggles as I've gone through cancer treatment and how God has been faithful through everything. I thought, "ok, there I did it... I shared my story". God wasn't done though...
I got a phone call early last week from the Salina Journal newspaper, wondering if they could interview me about my playing music during chemo treatments. (I found out later that Dad had clued them in about that.) Anyway, last Wednesday a reporter, photographer, and videographer came to the Cancer Center to do a story on me and my music. The article is in this morning's Salina Journal. (I'm working on getting links posted on here, so keep checking back for that) I couldn't have asked for a better article. What an opportunity to share my story!
Then, this morning we got a phone call from the Brown Grand Theatre here in town. They want to do a benefit concert for/with us. We've set the date for December 30th-- right after our Cancer party! The theater is going to set up all the details and do the advertising/promoting and we're going to play. I don't have any details at this point, but mark your calendars!
I guess God was serious when He told me I have a story to tell! My story is one of His faithfulness even in the midst of pain and trials. I'm convinced, however, that I'm not the only one with a story to tell. This Christmas season, I encourage you to tell the story of Jesus through your life. What has God done for you this year and are you sharing your story?
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