Happy New Year!

 

I hope you enjoyed that slide show! I got to play it at the talent show fundraiser that the MK just hosted and when I spoke at church to let my congregation know what we have been up to! I'm so grateful that we are finally able to meet regularly in person in our normal venue again and I'm pumped for all the things that God is bringing back this year as we get more and more used to COVID-19 and learn how to live through and around it. I have a mission trip, a camping trip, and Camp on the books already this year and it feels so so good... please pray for God's favor in all of these endeavors. 

The picture just below shows how powerful it is to have Nick lead us in worship and to feel the Spirit moving! We haven't had a regular worship time and leader for awhile and I'm so grateful for Nick stepping in to help. Maybe one day we will have an MK team from the group leading us again. Worship is so powerful! 

I got to help lead another Trauma Healing Equipping. It was great to be a part of the weekend training! I loved the other leaders and was grateful to be able to move them along in their training. The group was so fun and full of spiritually rich people. It was fun to be used by God in this way. 

We just MLK day off from school and work (mostly) and filled it to brimming with family activities! Diane got the kids to write down all the things they wanted to do and they did almost all of them. Here was the hike we went on at the end of the day just before I had to go to the Talent Show, which was amazing! We have an MK who is a concert-level Pianist...it was truly awesome! We have so many cool talents in our midst. 

Diane and I take turns planning a date for each other each week. She took me to a great Ethiopian restaurant where I got to meet Dak Prescott. It was so special, what a great wife!  

One of the highlights of the new year was getting to go on the college retreat. They planned it and pulled it off and I just got to go and enjoy it. During one of our sharing times, Andrew washed all of our feet. It's awesome seeing true servant leadership in this group. It really meant a lot to me to share this time with these amazing young adults. I left feeling very encouraged.  

We recently went on an adventure to IKEA to get some big boxes for the kids to play in. Since we didn't get them any interesting Christmas presents we thought we owed them something. They begged to sleep in them over night... but they don't insulate too well when it is 20 outside... and the security locks are dubious. We also thought it was cool that some furniture came with the boxes. 

One of the coolest family traditions that I married into was this candle light ceremony! We all talked about our year and our hopes for the next year to come. It was so special hearing my family share about their love for God and desire to keep following him more in the new year! 

Other Christmas fun! We slept in the garage, we had a great time with my parents and Diane's and we ate and drank and celebrated an amazing birthday! 

I wanted to see if I could spend an hour with my family just reading and enjoying some quiet fun together without the TV or games or anything. I've heard about this and that introverts kind of like it but I had never thought that the 7 of us could do it. We did enjoy some great times in the morning being together in body and giving our attention to the Lord. It was nice to feel together while doing devotions and I was so impressed with my girls for being able to enjoy the time so much! 

One of the coolest events we did as a family was  drive through of the zoo lights. An hour of fun, seeing some amazing combinations of lights and video, so awesome! 

And then of course we did our annual Hobbit/Lord of the Rings party. It was good for my heart (as it always is) to be around so many awesome friends for this beloved event! What great movies and fellowship! 

We threw a great Christmas party for the MKs this year! We had a picture station and here you can see the cool people I get to serve with. I got a gnome in the White Elephant gift exchange...I've found that I really like decorating with gnomes. 

My girls got to meet Buddy the Elf from the play "Elf-The Musical" that Village Tech did. It was such a cool show and so much fun! 

I loved getting to hang out with the amazing MJ when she came back for Christmas break! We could have talked for hours! She is so cool. 

The classic Christmas parade is back! Yay! 

Finally a picture of the MK family hanging out at a coffee shop on the first Friday of the month. I'm so grateful for this ministry and that you make it possible! God is working and doing amazing things in and through this group and you are a part of that! So thankful for you! 

This verse really inspired me recently, I've never considered how gentle it isn't. A spur isn't a gentle tool, but it does give a great image of how important it is that we live in community and care about the people around us. I hope you take the time to watch the clip that I've included after the picture, it creates a cool image of what it can be like for us to live in community, really caring about moving forward together! Those who go together go far and the race is long! Thank you for all the ways you have spurred me on and continue to spur me on! The walk is important and sometimes I need a really good spur to the side to encourage me to be what I need to be! Grateful for you!  

Love you all so much! 

Blessings, 

Caleb 

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or with recurring gifts, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and sign up for Chase Quickpay. You can then send your donation to HCLC - Caleb Robbins Ministry using my e-mail address caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like further instructions on setting that up, please click on the link at the top right of the page called How to give. Or feel free to contact me directly! 214 558 8431.

Another way to donate to the ministry is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line, it will get deposited into my ministry account.

The address is:

Holy Cross Lutheran Church 

4400 W Arkansas Ln

Arlington, TX 76016

Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 14, Asher 11, Liam 10, Echo already in heaven, Bella 6, and Serenity 5 years old.