"Blessing and Glory, and wisdom,and
Thanksgiving,and honor and power, and Might be unto our God for ever and ever,
Amen." Rev 7:12 KJV
"There is none like thee among the
gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like thine. All the nations thou
hast made shall come and bow down before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy
name. For thou art great and doest wondrous things, thou alone art
God." Psalm 86:8-10
"I will sing of the mercies of the
Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all
generations." Psalm 89:1
Our Lord God
almighty and merciful makes all things beautiful, He makes all this glorious,
and makes all crooked places plain. He blessed us with an amazing and
spectacular weekend. Many of you have been praying for the weekend of the
celebration of my wife Alice's retirement this past Saturday, July 1.
The Lord of all feasting and celebrations blessed us with His presence
and the rich blessing from His heart. The weather channels were
forecasting severe thunderstorms, flooding, and very serious inclement weather,
but although there was threatening weather in other places round about,
(tornados in Vernon and near Binghamton), in Marathon it was mostly sunny
and serenely gorgeous. As one of my friend says, "I like the weather
report of my Lord, 'He reigns'". The Lord blessed our day with
a pillar of clouds, mostly abundant sunshine, and a
mild and refreshing drenching of friendly rains. Our friends and family,
faithful and caring, labored with much love and hilarity in cooking , roasting
, bbq-ing, baking, setting tables,and decorating the hall that turned our
be our great banqueting hall. They all served with jubilant feet
and caring and generous hands. People started gathering well before 4:00
PM, while the chefs were busy at the Pig Roast station (the Lord provided for
an amazing contraption for roasting the pig- and wonderful skilled people to
run it) and, Chicken BBQ pit. There was a sweet aroma wafting through the
village. People were stopping to buy the Pork and chicken . . .
asking the price. The chefs said, "It is free" . . . Join us for
the banquet at hall. The workers and Grill masters were having fun though
they were sweating profusely in the heat and humidity of the day. I
pronounced it to be a "Holy Sweat". We started with music,
hors d'oeuvres, lots of greetings and many hugs all around. The
banquet started at 5:00 PM. It was a "Full House"
gathering. Young and old, children and youth came. So many of you
came with much love and generous gifts from your hearts. It was
like an old-time family gathering. People spent time greeting, sharing,
catching up with news, sharing in family conversations. Soon after dinner
we had special music (live) including Gospel and some Rodgers
and Hammerstein specials. Following the heart warming music some
of Alice's friends shared and gave testimonies. One of our
daughters spoke and shared on behalf of her sisters. The sharing of
testimonies were refreshing and provoking.
The Lord always prepares for a banquet.
His character is to provide and leave "twelve baskets
full". He is the Host at every meal. We are His honored
guests. The food was plentiful and diverse. The Lord always
performs a miracle. He fills our cups to the brim.
My wife and are so grateful to each and
every one of you for making and taking time to be with us to celebrate on this
very special occasion. Thank you for your kindness and your gifts
of love. We thank the Lord for each one who worked so hard with unselfish
hands and willing hearts. You are the "salt of the
earth". You go the extra mile day after day, above and beyond
anything we could ask or hope for. In the words of Jim Elliot, "He
is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
Alice and I will be spending time with
some of our grandchildren over the next several days, so I will not be posting
a blog for a few days. Thank you for your fervent prayers and
love. May the Lord bless us with a super, safe, and sweet summer.
Alice and Brown
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