Dear Family and Friends,
We are excited to share this update with you. For the past five years, since our daughter, Stacie moved to Heaven, we have been seeking the Lord for His next assignment for us. The search led us to several states, on many church visits, contemplating different ministry possibilities, and looking at hundreds of physical houses and acreage to call home. God's plan has been revealed and we are thrilled to announce that after the 2017-2018 school year is over, Dennis will retire from teaching, and Franklin, NC, and Cherokee Bible Church, will be our new home. This is where we will establish Macs MountainView Ministries, our next assignment. We won't share details now, but will keep you updated as we get closer to the vision becoming a reality. Hint: As our "tag" line for the ministry says, it will be "A Resting Place Where Books and Songs are Born and Shared." Please pray for us as we prepare to make this transition. In August, Dennis will begin his last year at Challenger Early College High School in Hickory, NC, as counselor, basketball coach, and director of the Firebird Chorale. Though he is looking forward to retirement and our move to Franklin, being a music teacher, counselor, and coach has been his calling. He has enjoyed every minute, well, almost every minute, of his almost 40-year career with the school systems in Kansas and NC. But he is looking toward a new venture that will center around writing and recording his own work, and others. As often as he can spare time, Dennis is in his home recording studio working on his new songs. Or he takes the time whenever the Holy Spirit gives him a song. Writing songs and recording will be the focus of his part of Macs MountainView Ministries. Jeannie's writing has kept her busy for many years and it will continue to be her focus for Macs MountainView Ministries. Though her library job was her calling for a season, being a writer is clearly her assignment now. She recently released Book II in her Trinity Tales of Tresia series, her fourth published book. Her summer project is a short story ebook that will be available this fall as a free download on her website and Amazon, based on the Tresia series. With the help of Carol Nelson, one of Stacie's dear friends from Kansas, and a technology guru for the McPherson, KS, school district, this website has been revamped and updated. Check out all the pages for lots more information (and photos!) on J.A.'s books and more. Updates on the progress of Macs MountainView Ministries will be posted on the "Ministry" page. For those who are already on the email list and received this newsletter in your inbox, we hope you will stay in contact and let us know what God is doing in your life! If you are reading this through a link on Facebook, then please go to the website and subscribe to the newsletter so you won't miss out on any future news from the Macs and all the arms of our new ministry. God has been so good to us over the past five years. We miss Stacie more than we can say, but God gives us His unexplainable joy and peace that passes understanding. They have sustained us, and now given us this new vision for the future. We can't wait to share more about Dennis, Jeannie, and Macs MountainView Ministries! Still, Heaven's Sounding Sweeter All the Time. Be Blessed. Dennis and J.A. McPhail The blog is changing to a newsletter! If you would like to have the newsletter delivered to your email, subscribe!
May and June are my least favorite months of the year, especially for the last five. Mother's Day, my daughter's Birthday on June 2, her Moving to Heaven day on June 17, and Father's Day, all bring reminders of how much I miss that face, and how much I'm looking forward to Heaven. Several of our friends know exactly what it means to miss a child. I've always said it's not a club you want to belong to, but it's nice to know someone else truly understands. Dennis and I decided early on that we were not going to let grief get down inside and keep us from experiencing the joy of what God has for us now. After almost five years, I can say GOD IS SO GOOD. Many amazing things are happening in our life, and we are excited for the future and the assignments God has for us while we are still here on earth. I will be sharing more about that next month. In fact, this will be my last "Blog" entry. I'm moving to a quarterly newsletter on my website page instead. I'll still have some ThirdThursday Thoughts on Facebook, but they'll be shorter. (I hear your sighs of relief...) Today, I want to share that I am so thankful for all the kids in my life. Book II in my Tresia series is dedicated to them. I have a super Youth Advisory Board, three of the sweetest and smartest gals ever. We have many "adopted" kids, grandkids, even great-grandkids, kids of special friends, and those who were Stacie's friends and former students. I have nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews, that I adore. This photo frame of those kids sits on a shelf in my Kingdom Corner and I pray for them every day. It is my reminder of God's amazing provision even in the face of having to miss Stacie for a little while. I know she loves sharing me with the people who were so special to her. And Dennis and I love that they all share their lives with us.
Today, be thankful for the people who bring you joy. Even if you're missing someone else. |
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