We Are Grateful to be on the Receiving End of God Working in so Many of You
But God. Just two words, but two of the most powerful words in the whole Bible. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 “But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved…” Ephesians 2:4-5. The greatest demonstration of love began with those two words. We are utterly helpless and hopefulness left to ourselves. But God! Not only has Christ saved us but He is making us new. It is this very love of Christ that compels us to act – to reach out to others, to serve others, to love others, to lead them to Christ, and to walk alongside them as Christ begins to make them new as well.
This love of Christ is expressed in so many ways. We are grateful to be on the receiving end of God working in so many of you to shower us with love our first year at Shiloh. Our first Christmas at Shiloh was full of creating special memories with our kiddos. Because of your generosity, we were able to have several fun evenings of opening gifts, enjoying a night out at the movies, warming up with hot cocoa after numerous times of playing in the snow, and having Christmas themed dinner and movie nights at home. Our December devotions centered on advent and the themes of hope, joy, peace, love, and fulfilled promises with the incarnation of Christ.
We all enjoyed Christmas break, especially the visits from family, but are happy to be back in the normal routine of school. January also brought the end of deer season, and we are grateful for several months of quality time spent bonding and creating unforgettable moments with the kids. Brian and the girls worked on turning one deer into some amazing summer sausage to share with all the families.
Reese, Ronnie, and Paxton’s newest excitement has been participating in Nerf wars. Reese also loves playing basketball at the court when the weather isn’t too cold. Paxton and Kendall (from the Kolars’ house) still enjoy playing Hot Wheels and setting up all kinds of tracks inside. Ronnie was enthusiastic to add a new critter to the boys’ side of the house – a bearded dragon named Catfish. Hunter has been busy working at Prenger’s Grocery, recording music, and working with Ethan (from the Kolars’ house) on maintaining the Shiloh vehicles with oil changes as well as working on some welding projects. I have been teaching Emmalee and Evie how to sew. Both have completed a pillowcase project, and Emmalee has continued on with sewing bookmarks and a blanket. Evie has turned into our resident newscaster and weatherwoman after receiving a radio for Christmas. She likes to keep us updated with all the things going on in the world. Hope received her driver’s permit in November after turning 15. She has been looking forward to getting more time behind the wheel. She also loves practicing piano every day. We received an upright piano in December and it has been greatly appreciated by so many of the kids. Hope, Riley, and Emmalee also like to take walks together to see the goats and look forward to any and all animal additions at the Ranch. Riley has a great friendship with Tassanie from the Fitz’ house and they treasure up anytime they get to spend with each other. Riley also purchased a pet hamster after Christmas that she named Donut. Xavier loves learning at school and playing card games. He has been having a lot of fun crafting with air dry clay and building Legos as well.
As the new year takes off, we see Christ’s love in action when work groups begin to show up – especially in the freezing cold and snow. We always look forward to meeting so many of you and sharing a meal around our table.
One of the most meaningful ways we have been loved is through your prayers. The cold, winter days can seem more challenging after being cooped up inside and missing the warmth of the sun and fresh air from outside. We will never be able to express our gratitude for your petitions to God to give us more patience and wisdom as we parent each of these kiddos. The long winter months are an especially good time to reflect on the faithful love of God and praise Him for not leaving us as He found us but making us new and enabling His children to go out and share His love.
For His glory, The Ellermets