This week we were blessed with a visit from the Bringe family from Missouri.  Once again we were blessed by fellowship with a solidly Christian family who loves our precious Lord and lives their lives for His glory.  The Bringes were so kind as to host James and Matthew in their home last year during the Men’s Advance Conference in Missouri and I heard rave reviews from my guys at that time.  The Bringes are a multi-talented family.  Mr. Bringe is a food scientist and researches the effects of various foods on the human body.  He has been researching soy but will soon be moving on to new projects.  Mrs. Bringe is a musician and excellent home schooling mother.  Each of their five children brightened our home for the evening.  We are still talking about them and all that we learned from them!  I truly hope that in the future we will get to be with them again. 

I can’t say that we profited them any, particularly as we introduced them to the nose flute, which here Matthew is giving some tips to Peter, John, and Thomas.

We had family worship together.  Here we are reading from Genesis, each reader taking a verse as we went around the room.

This is our third year to read through the Bible with a plan that our church does together.  The first year we read each day and answered Mr. Wenneker’s (alias The Professor) questions on each passage.  The second year we tried to find Christ in each passage.  This year James has chosen a different perspective.  We try to find a key verse in each chapter.  I thought this would be an easy task, but it has sparked discussions up to 45 minutes in length.  Here the girls are hunting for the key verse with Gloria Bringe in the middle helping.

Mrs. Bringe was an encouragement to me in many ways.  She has paid particular attention to the development of her children and adds many enriching activities to their lives that have benefited them in numerous ways.  It is a beautiful thing to see the devoted heart of a mother.  The Lord has given her a specific project for her life in that their youngest child is a special needs child both physically and mentally.  As I thought of her situation and her devotion and her focus on the days to come, I thought of Isaiah 30:20,21.   And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:  And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.   I would not call this beautiful child an affliction, but this child presents a path that few mothers who educate their children at home will travel.  (In fact, many have refused such a journey.)  I know that God will not leave this mother stranded in the raising of this precious child and that He will show her daily what path to take and whether to go to the right or to the left.  And God is going to bless this little boy because he is being raised by a family, not a school, not a government, and not a village.  He could not be in a better place.  God’s grace is abundant.

I’ll end this post with a video of Peter playing his fife.   He is a Fife Sergeant with the Lewis & Clark Fife and Drum Corps.  If I remember correctly, he can produce 120 tunes on his fife without a piece of music in front of him.   He recently acquired bagpipes and perhaps we will be blessed in the future to hear them.  Click below.  By the way, Peter produced this music without warming up and after a long day in the car driving from Missouri to Texas.  He’s quite talented.

Peter’s Fife

The highlight of my Advent Season was a visit from the Harrells who sadly moved to Austin two years ago.  That was a sad event in the life of the Spanglers because the Spanglers love the Harrells.  (Love is an understatement.)  Last week we were delighted to have them in our home for an afternoon and an evening.  It was quite a bittersweet moment for me because I knew upon their arrival that in a few short hours I would have to give them up again to Austin.  There are many, many things we love and admire about the Harrells which I will mention throughout this post, but I’ll start with their fervent love for the Lord and their great measure of faithfulness to Him.  It was apparent in every conversational topic that they consider God’s ways in what they are doing in their lives.  Upon their move to Austin, they immediately attended a biblical church and covenanted with this body of believers.  They are one of those few people who have a grasp on commitment to a local church.  They have been in integral part of their church and they serve there regularly.  The Harrells are a definite asset wherever they go because of their joyful spirit, their attention to people’s needs, and their commitment to the Scriptures.  They also are committed to biblical family living and have applied it throughout their home so they are a gospel witness in their community.

There was an awful lot of hugging going on.  When Hannah (on the right) was born, the Spangler girls went crazy over her.  The last we saw of her she was a baby.  Now, at age three, she is an absolute delight.  Abigail has named her dolls Hannah after her sweet friend so she was thrilled to have Hannah at our house for real!  It took only moments for them to warm up to each other.  Hannah reminds me of her mother Deanna. Very warm and loving.

Everyone got in on the hugging.

And some more people too.  It seems that Hannah stole everyone’s hearts.  Kimberly does not remember Hannah as a baby, but she remembers her now.  She’s talked about her all week.  “When is Hannah coming back to play, Mommy?”

The boys, naturally, went into the construction business.

And here is Josiah, Nate, and Zach with Matthew.  You ought to hear Zach play the piano.  If the Harrells ever move back to Dallas, I get first dibs on teaching him piano if I get any say in the matter.  Matthew has appreciated his friendships with The Three Harrell-teers and James and I appreciate the fine character these boys have. 

Emily said later that she just lovesssssssss Hannah.  Say that with some passion and you get the idea of what Em was saying.

The Harrells have a common interest with us and that is the canine world.  They presently have a beagle and a golden retriever puppy.  Here the girls are hugging our boxer.  Hugs, hugs, hugs.

Probably my favorite picture of the evening is the guys comparing these funny little what-cha-ma-ca-lits that have the word berry in them but I don’t see any berries there.  I have dearly missed the wonderful conversations between Roger and James.  Roger is a godly man who is leading his family well, committed to his church, an excellent employee in his computer job and has continually increased his skill level.  He’s the kind of guy who is so easy to talk to.  When you need someone in your living room to set a warm, friendly, and constant tone, well Roger’s the one.

Here Deanna and I talking through piano curriculum, home schooling, domestic items, and what-not.  There are so many things I love about Deanna that I could not possibly list them here.  She is bright, interested in whatever crosses her path , and ever ready to learn.  She consistently challenges my thinking in home schooling.  She has the ability to set people at ease and when she is at my house, she acts as if she is at home, so she makes me feel at home.  She’s easy going at my house and is not picky about a thing… as you see half-way through the night she sat on the floor. To someone like me who struggles being comfortable in hospitality, this is quite an asset to have in a friend.  Her commitment to her children is unwavering.  Her submission to her husband is a constant focus in her life.  When it comes to church life, she can whip out a scrumptious meal and deliver it hot in a jiffy, and if she comes to your house she will come loaded down with baskets of neat beverages, fruit, dips, and whatever has struck her fancy.  She loves the outdoors and arranges the best camping trips for her family.  Her commitment to her extended family on her side and Roger’s side has beautifully unfolded before me as I have watched her over the years take tragedies and sorrows and turn them into gold.  But, the most unusual of any friend I have ever had, is that she has the ability to forgive others for everything and anything.  I have never seen a person be able to disagree with another and yet turn and love them just as if the disagreement were not there.   I have never seen anyone who could be hurt and have the crushed scent of forgiveness immediately arise in aroma from the very place she was crushed.  To my shame, I have been the object of her forgiveness.  I have a lot to learn from her.

I’ll stop there since I’m bawling.  I will never forgive Austin for taking them away from us.  See, I already forgot.  We are supposed to forgive.