Classic Caleb... I have taken way too long to get this edition out and it was the "I'll wait until this thing is over" syndrome... that invariable collected many other things to wait for... like... the wedding, Oct 31, Thanksgiving... and so on... it's kinda like waiting for COVID-19 to be over... ha! Too soon ;).
Well let's start this adventure off with an amazing song that two of our amazing MKs put together... so proud to know these kids and to get to share a youth group with them.
We are continuing to visit our amazing MKs in COVID friendly ways. It's been so good to see the kids off of a screen and in 3-D. They are just as good looking as ever!
I got to host guys group in my backyard while it was still warm and dry and that was a real treat. Some MKs only come to the in-person stuff and it's really good to stay connected with them still!
Here we all are at the great wedding of Micah and Briana Boerger! The sadness of cutting my hair quickly left as I saw how amazing I looked in my suit officiating the real stars featured in the picture below. I was nervous but ended up having a great time! I hope to have better photos and a video in the future! I had a great witnessing opportunity during the after-party which put a great bow on the day! I'm so proud of my amazing friends who really know how to throw an incredible wedding! Congratulations Bri and Micah, may the Lord continue to bless you and fill your house with many children!
As COVID continues, so does the creativity in finding some normal in an abnormal world. I'm so grateful for good friends to share the holidays with! This year since we couldn't do a Fall Festival at church we threw our own, with games and pumpkin carving and candy and all. I got to scare some more trick-or-treaters this year and really enjoyed celebrating with my friends and family!
Just before my birthday, Diane got to take her birthday trip from like a decade ago ;)... and go visit her sister Lisa in Montana! It was kinda miraculous, needless to say since she got the tickets the day before she left and had a marvelous week! What a hero Diane and the Winters are!
After working hard on those benches for most of the summer it was really nice to get to use them with friends and family as I celebrated my birthday! 38.. what a great adventure! It was so nice to worship the Lord and hang out around the fire and eat good food and fellowship. We ended up talking around the fire until the wee hours of the morning. It was so good for my heart! My wife knows how to throw a party! For the first time since I can remember the weather was very warm for this event... that was just an adding blessing from the Lord!
We really enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving and one of the things we were especially thankful for was Erich and Stacy being able to visit. Erich is Diane's oldest brother and a dear friend. Later on, her mom and dad and other siblings joined us around the fire for a lovely time of fellowship. We hung out by the fire and talked until it was dark, rain or no rain, while the kids and dog ran around the yard.
We continued our tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving on Friday and enjoying all the Thursday goings on without the pressure to cook and eat in between football and parade and what not. This gave us the chance to visit a good friend who had to work on Thanksgiving. It was a fun time getting out with the kids and going on an adventure!
This year has been so strange. It didn't feel like it was flying by until all of a sudden my birthday and the rest of the holidays were suddenly upon us. It will be a different kind of busy but I'm pumped for Christmas and ready to get the house decorated! The ministry continues to be blessed and I'm very hopeful for the future as we progress hopefully into a world where we can meet together again and enjoy a post-COVID world. I will miss hosting my massive Lord of the Rings party and the MK talent show is a hard loss, but in the midst of all of this I can see so much good that God is doing!
Please pray for my Dad as he gets surgery for a hernia and for the recovery!
Pray for me as I continue to seek God's wisdom for our group moving forward! I want to live a life above reproach and this is an especially tricky time to do that in! I also found out that some friends of mine are struggling in their marriage and my heart is breaking for them. Pray that I will know how to show them God's love!
I'm so completely blown away and thankful for you and your love and support during this time. My support ebbs and flows and somehow God continues to use you to take care of my family and help this ministry thrive. I couldn't do this without you and your encouragement. You really do spur me on toward love and good deeds! We are the body and I definitely see how much I need you and want you to know that I'm so so grateful!
I have been feeling some discouragement recently, but God is so faithful and has encouraged me with these two verses!
This verse really griped my heart the other day while I was meditating and watching a beautiful video on YouTube. As the scene changed to a river flowing between two snowy banks in the woods, I felt the Lord calling me to actually send my cares to him down the river. It was so healing to not just say the verse and smile but to try and do the hard work of actually casting my cares, one by one on him. It has left me feeling much lighter and is a good reminder that I'm not supposed to carry these things alone - he wants my burdens!
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 13, Asher 11, Liam 9, Echo already in heaven, Bella 6, and Serenity 4 years old.
