Christmas Time

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. December 8, 2007.}


Many years ago when I had a lil 5 year old boy, we got kicked out of our apartment just before Christmas. . A church moved us to another apartment, thank the Lord. . And when we got there, we had no food.  It was a sad time. 


I remember my lil boy telling the landlady, that threw us out, . . "It's almost my Birthday."  I sat at the window in my new apartment and looked out . . I spoke to Jim out there somewhere in that snowy world. . . "Where are you, Jim? It's almost Christmas."  


I just thought, "Why Lord ..why haven't you answered my prayers?" God knew ahead of time what my life would be like. . I was so devastated, but the Lord knew my future. . He had it in His hands. . The Lord couldn't even tell me the glorious answers to prayer that I was about to see in the years ahead. . .


Had an angel come to see me and told me my future, I wouldn't have believed it.  But I was to go on and see 26 more years of a healed marriage. . I was to spend 26 of the most glorious Christmases I could ever imagine.


I was to see my beloved husband give his heart and life to Christ. . I was to have 5 more children. . I didn't know how good God was. .  . I was to give my story of a healed marriage, not just to my state of Iowa, but around the world. . I didn't know the goodness of God or his power. . I wasn't even a writer then. . I was young, just 25 years old. . The world just looked at me and Jim as 2 accidents going some place. . 


Years later, after the Lord gave us a miracle, a lady who was a politician's wife came to me for counseling. . She paid me to counsel her. . She was a dear saint. . That was mind boggling to me. 


 Now at this Christmas time, in the natural, looks so bleak to me.  I think back to that snowy Christmas years ago when all seemed lost. . . . And I think of how God made it all up to me and gave me double blessings. . He gives us exceeding and abundantly more then we can think or ask. . 


 As you follow Christ you will see His glory.  . Decide that you will not be defeated and that you will not quit. .


love Connie

 

 

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony!* 

Walking by Faith - Remembering son David

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. June 2015.}


Ya know in my testimony "Bring Him Home"... I explain that when Jim came home and had given his heart to the Lord, he had asked me to have another child. . We had 3 children already ...Well I didn't want to have anymore children at the time. . Jim never stayed home over 3 months.  . and when he asked me to have another child he was due to leave me again. . He had been home about 2 and a half months. . I was trying to keep a cap on my fears. .

Yes I believed he was truly a Christian now. . But even Christians make mistakes. . I was wanting him to prove himself and be home maybe a year? at least? before we took on another baby..? 

But the Lord spoke to my heart that I needed to continue to walk  by faith. . . So I said "Yes" to Jim's desire to have another child. .  I wanted another child too. . .but I was just wanting to wait a while. .

Anyway our dear David was due on Jim's birthday, Oct 27th. . Jim got to see him being born. . Jim  hadn't been with me for the first 3 children. . Jim had been healed and was to be home with us until he died, 27 years later...

Our David was always so quiet .. A  peace maker.....He was deeply spiritual. . When I homeschooled the children, we started every day with devotions. .The children had to answer questions about the Bible. . David always knew the answers. . And when most of the kids moved away after Jim died, and they were grown. . . David never moved away. . His wife, the other day, told me that David stayed close to watch over his mother. . me. . He refused to leave.

David is our son who died a year ago on June 16th .  . He died at age 33 . . His wife had their children pick out bushes and plant them in their yard as a remembrance of  the first year after David's death. . The plants were called David. . . and they were white. . I had often written about the pure white rose with the crimson stain. . .

About a month ago, David's wife brot a pic over that she framed. . David was an artist. . Anyway, it was a pic of a Locked heart with a ribbon flowing through it that says Mom and Dad on it. . Now Jim and David are in Heaven together.

 

And I don't mean to say David was perfect. . But there seems to be a reason for his birth. . probably more than what I know. . And a reason for his death. .

 

After we had his memorial and we were all out visiting on my front  porch, carloads of  kids rolled in and came up on the porch. . I heard over and over . . . as they shook hands with me and introduced themselves. . "David was our best friend"... I fought back the tears then as I do now. . I trust in God to heal my broken heart. . . .Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. . Love Connie

 

 

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony!* 

Menus for the Week

 {From the Archives of Connie's Letters. May 2012.}


Dear Home Keepers,

On our response group Canaan suggested that we all make out menus for the week.  . I think it is a good idea. . . I used to do this when the family was home. . Anyway hopefully we can all get some good ideas from each other for meals. .

This is how I used to do it . . . On one piece of paper I would write out my menus.. Then on the other paper I would write down the grocery items I would need to make the family meals. .

If Jim was working and got off work in the evening, then I would have the family meal around 5:00. . And if he was working a 2nd shift, I would have a family meal before he went to work in the afternoon. . .

Then we just had simple breakfasts, they varied.  I made barrels of pancakes. . and fried eggs. . Sometimes we had oatmeal or just toast and a glass of milk . . The meals we had when Jim was at work were just leftovers or sandwiches. . . Or just popcorn with a vegetable salad. 

I make the regular popcorn in a skillet on the stove. . Not microwave. To make real popcorn, just put about a fourth cup of oil in a skillet on the stove. . Then pour in about a half cup of popcorn. . Put a lid on it and shake it up a little bit to redistribute the popcorn so it won't burn. . Turn the heat on high ...then turn it down a bit when it starts to pop good  . . . it only takes about 10 minutes to make fresh popcorn.  And oh it is so good .  .We liked to eat apples with our popcorn. . and Kool-Aid to drink. I would eat my popcorn with cheese and dill pickles. . Well it is fun to have popcorn for supper. . I usually drank ice tea with my popcorn. 

The popcorn is done when it stops popping in the skillet . . Be sure to have a big bowl handy to put your popcorn in when it is done popping.  . After it is all done just melt some butter and put it on the popcorn and stir it up with salt sprinkled on it. . Sometimes we would put Parmesan cheese on it..  plus the butter. 

You can even buy bulk popcorn at the Dollar Store now. . And to some of you older ladies - Many younger ladies in this generation don't really even know about cooking popcorn on the stove. That's why I am explaining it. . I am not trying to insult anyone's intelligence.


Love Connie

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony!* 

The Message of the Hour for the Family

 {From the Archives of Connie's Letters. December 2012.}

I never learned one spiritual thing from folks feelin' sorry for me, or on a bed of ease.  I think I learned most of what I know from the hard times.

When I would go up for a prison visit, I would ask Jim how he was doing? He would say "Just doin' time. . . Hard time.." And it was hard...but in those times we learned how to follow Jesus. . . I did go through the fire. . and it was hot with many trials . . But I feel that the Lord rewarded me and gave me more peace then what a lot of folks have.

I am very peaceful here at home. . . I just feel the angels around me. I feel God's love surrounding me. . . If I do get down or depressed, I just read my Bible until I feel better.

But it is the truth that will set us free and nothing else. . . And if a true believer tells us something to help us, we should listen. . . I have been praying so hard lately.  I can see that I have gotten so generic lately.

Ya know I like Benny Hinn, the TV evangelist? I don't get him on my TV lately as I don't have cable. . . But I used to have cable and I would watch him here and there . . . And as I was watching him one day I said out loud, "Ya know if the preacher would ask the audience, 'How many here need healing of the body?' I bet it would be about a fourth, maybe, of the people need healing of the body. . . But then if Pastor Hinn asked, 'How many folks need a healing for their broken families?' I would imagine about the whole audience would need a healing for the family. . . Because the TRUTH is not told."

Christians are running around marrying and divorcing like crazy. And then after a divorce, Mother has to go work and the children's lives are turned upside down. . . And ya know Benny and his wife separated . . . then in 2010 they divorced. .  . But just lately they went back together.  I think the Lord allowed this to happen to the Hinn family because it won't be long and he and his family will be preaching about the restoration of the family.  Now we will get somewhere in the body of believers.

This is why I feel so thankful that Mrs. Nancy Campbell put my testimony on her Facebook again and I was able to update it.  Because, to me, the message on the healing of the marriage has got to be the message of the hour. . .

Love Connie

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony!*