What a great looking family! We did many Christmas things together, like this very fun Tree lighting for Harwood with our friend Jordan! They really do it right! And Christmas parades.
We also really enjoyed going to a Friendsgiving due to a special invite from our neighbor. We really love Miss Janice!
And you can't have Christmas without ugly sweater parties!
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the F.O.R.T. talent show and silent auction. God provided abundantly through this fundraiser and gave us a great night of entertainment and fellowship.
And of course, our own kids are very talented, and we enjoyed seeing them perform in their school programs. Actually, a cool story from this one was that I forgot my water bottle at the church. I only noticed when I got home and then rushed back to get it only to find the church locked up... except for one door (I tried ALL the doors after knocking very sweetly and gently). Lo and behold, there was my water bottle put perfectly for me on the table near the doorway. Yay!
We took some time to celebrate our amazing Young Adults and enjoyed a night at Red Robin and then afterwards at Nad's house. This is only evidence that I have though. I promise more than one person showed up :).
We also took the family to Jurassic Park. It was great, and we made it out alive.
I was strangely inspired to start smoking meat. Maybe not really all that strange since it's very awesome and delicious. But, right after I decided this would be a new passion of mine, I got a smoker for my Birthday. It was meant to be. Really, I think we can all see that. Anyway, I smoked my first ever turkey for Christmas and got the bird out of the smoker just before it rained like crazy. That was God for sure! This was a great Christmas but really opened my eyes to see how much my Dad has been struggling with his health lately. Please be praying for him. When you identify him to God you can call him Larry if you like... unless you are reading this right now, Cara... then you can call him Dad. He has been experiencing pain and weakness, but the neuropathy is much much better. We are hopeful that in the next few months he will be completely better. He couldn't ready his annual story of Holly & Ivy to the family and it was really sad to see him go home so early. We love you Dad... and Larry!
It was so great seeing Diane's Aunt Yvonne. She visited for quite a while over the holidays and it was so special seeing her! Really, she came to hear me preach on Mercy. I'll share a link to the sermon later in the Blog so you can check it out if you like. I got to do the whole service and the preaching starts about minute 14. It was a fun experience!
Another thing that says Christmas to us is our annual Middle-earth Marathon two day journey! Hobbit day 1 and LOTR day 2. So many happy faces and old friends show up. This year I had a wedding in the middle of the Return of the King. I was back before the first of 7 endings though :).
Check out me and my hair stylist. I grew my hair and beard out just for this event and Serenity was great at braiding them for me.
Nadia (my colleague) likes spending her time styling hair during these events... they get really long!
Sean has been doing this event with me since the beginning! Here we are again!
We added trivia this year thanks to having someone join our staff who is a huge LOTR nerd! He's on the left and the winner is on the right. Christina crushed the very hard trivia and will be the one creating it for us next year.
One of the great joys this season was getting to hold Aria! She is the precious baby born at 24 weeks to my amazing friends Bri and Micah. She is finally home and able to travel some. It was such a highlight getting to hold her and have her around!
Another famous and wonderful event is Broomball! This year there were no real injuries, just your appropriate bruised shin etc. By the great generosity of some alumni, this event will continue. We were almost priced out and thought about making this the finale. But, the people have spoken and we will continue on!
After the new year we went on a fun get away with our friends Sean and Jordan to go and see some people we all dearly love, Bob and Barb Alber. Barb has breast cancer and we wanted to get over to them in Orlando and show some love. We were so thankful to get to see them and spend an afternoon visiting and playing cards. Bob brought me into this amazing job and has been a friend and mentor for a long time!
Here is a scary painting to remind you how much we all need Jesus. Also to give you a little bit of adrenaline. I know this post is getting long. But since I got to see it... so should you.
We had some extra vacation with our family once we got back from Orlando thanks to some snow days. We taught the kids a family favorite called Hand and Foot.
I would say... it's snowing outside wanna come see? Then I would throw a snowball at all the people who came out.
Asher finished his Basketball season last night and crushed it. He really improved over the season and last night got to play on the Varsity team! Amazing. Also I tied up Serenity for fun, doesn't she look so happy?
We went to Dallas Life with the youth group as our first service project of the year. We loved serving the homeless together. It's so cold! Please remember to pray with us for the homeless!
MLK day we decided to have a special lunch with the MKs and went to CiCi's pizza for lunch, we also celebrated my sister in law Claire's birthday that day. It was great!
Oh where did this come from? A treasure from my past I found in my parents' living room and took a picture of. Little Caleb holding a stick as he drifts away. Simpler times for sure.
Last week was very nostalgic for me. Nadia and I finally moved offices over to the Pioneer Bible Translator side of the street. They have offices for us both and a great lounge for us to hang out with youth in. We finally are out of SIL for meeting and more. We left the Key Building and the Activity Center for the Denny Building and now meet in the Vision Building. This is a big change that I hope will be great step in giving even better care for these amazing MKs God has entrusted to us.
God made it very clear to me that I need to learn what it means to Taste. To taste and see that the Lord is good, to stop and be grateful for all that He has given. To learn to wait on Him. Essentially to slow down and be about quality and not quantity. I like to do things fast - eat fast, move fast and keep going. More and more all the time. I'm slowly trying to eat slower and wait for God to move first before I jump ahead. To pursue the life He brings to things and dive deeper into meditation. So, this year I'm reading the Bible with my eyeballs and a physical Bible just one time through and taking more time to stop and listen to the Lord and praise him for things. Not trying to get through it 6 times like last year. I'm eating slowly and trying to lose 34 pounds by October. I'm paying attention to what I eat and appreciating it more. I'm really trying to give the gift of patience to those around me as I learn to receive it from the Lord. Moderation is leading me to gratitude!
Diane is sick with the flu... please be praying for her! I have gained some new support, now I'm only $250 under what I need a month. That is so amazing! Thanks to so many of you for jumping on to help and others for increasing what you already give. I feel God's love just overwhelming me through you and encouraging me to go on! I feel his energy and encouragement through you and I'm confident all of it will come in! Thanks for giving and praying and encouraging and being a part of this journey with me and my family! May God bless you richly as you richly bless those around you! He truly provides and gives us all that we need and He Himself is the GREAT prize!
Caleb
If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or with recurring gifts, the easiest was is to use Zelle. You can follow this link zellepay or scan the code below. That will start the process of getting you set up to use Zelle with your bank or If you already use Zelle it will direct you to the banking app you use and give you instructions from there. To send me money use my email caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like any help setting that up feel free to contact me directly! 214 558 8431.
Another way to donate to the ministry if Zelle isn't an option 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. If you would rather set up a bill pay or have any other questions you can call the Church at 817-451-7561. Let them know you want to Support Caleb Robbins and his ministry serving Missionary Kids.
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 17, Asher 15, Liam 13, Echo already in heaven, Bella 10, and Serenity 8 years old.
