Prayer Requests from Mary Erickson

Thanks for keeping these prayers in mind as well.

From Mary:

First we have a praise that Malia will turn 3 on Tuesday - Groundhog day!!!

Please pray for Vince to have safe travels next Saturday as he comes home for the first time since moving to the RGV!!!

Thanks - hopefully we will all be well next week and will see everyone then!!

Mary

February Tomorrow?.....This Week's Update, News, Prayers.........

Friends:

Good evening, all! Hope you've enjoyed your Sunday. It's been a full afternoon of fish tank cleaning at the Null home. Too bad the Lady Bears couldn't pull it off! Oh well, one victory over the Longhorns this weekend isn't bad (I know, Brian, I know.......only when it's Baylor!).

Let's start off today by saying a big welcome to Ginny and John Donaldson. They visited our class this morning. Great to have you with us, Ginny and John! Some of you will remember Ginny when she was Ginny Doggett. She was a regular attender of our class about five years ago. Well, Ginny has shown back up, this time with a husband and a baby-on-the-way. She is due in July. Congratulations, Ginny D! (she's still Ginny D., you'll see...). We hope to see you guys again next Sunday, Ginny and John!

Next, we need to thank the Hudsons for bringing our snacks. Girl Scout Cookies, no less! Great stuff, Hudsons. We appreciate you. Next Sunday, us Nulls are in charge.

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We have a number of prayers and praises this Sunday. For starters, it looks as though the chances are good that Beth Ramsdell will have little Levi this week. Please keep both of them in your prayers. Here is the latest update I received from Matt today:

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Wes,

We found out this week that Beth's blood pressure is elevated. As a result of this increased blood pressure she will not go back to work.

She will go have it checked again tomorrow, and if it is at the same level, it appears they will induce labor by the end of the week. If it has risen, they might entertain the notion of inducing earlier. If it is lower tomorrow she will ride out the rest of the pregnancy.

I'm not sure when Beth will be back at church, but we will keep you informed on what is happening.

Matt

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As you can see, Beth is now at home until the birth. Thank you for praying for them. We are here for you, Beth and Matt!

Leah Magid's father passed away last week. Please pray for Leah and everyone who is mourning his death. We are praying for you, Leah!

Next, I want to say a big praise for Jill VanZee for opening her home for the ladies last Friday night. Even without lil' smokies from me, I think they had a great time! There's even a rumor that another such event will be taking place in about a month. Fellas, we need to get something planned. Thank you so much for your leadership, Jill!!

Bernie Hookham would like for us to pray for the Michaelis family. Beverly Michaelis passed away on Thursday. Please pray for everyone who is mourning her death.

Also on the Hookham front, Jeff leaves this week for a ski trip with the folks from Bernie's work (I still don't know how he manages this . . . . ). Let's pray for safe travel and safe skiing for Jeff. This morning, Jeff promised to text me if he gets caught in an avalanche. Jeff, I will come find you! I promise!

Jill V-Zee would like for us to keep praying for her friend Terah (sp?) Habral. She has great news that it looks as though she is done with all of her treatments for breast cancer. Let's continue to pray that the outlook is good for Terah.

Things look pretty good for Reese Nicholson this week. She only has to have blood drawn this week, which can be done in Waco. So, no trip to Temple for the Nicholsons! Woohoo!! Let's keep praying for strength and positive steps forward for Reese. You will make it, Amy!

Miss Paris Hookham turns 8 tomorrow! Hard to believe. When we started this class on April 14, 2002, Paris was 2 months old (and Raegan still had one month left in Dana's stomach!). Crazy. Get this . . . . I remember what Jeff looked like as a 32 year old! Let's pray that Paris will have a great birthday!

Carey P. leaves on Friday for a week or so in Haiti. Pray for her safe travel and for the entire team she is with while they help the people of Haiti.

Jennifer May would like for us to pray for Ben. His best friend Garrett will be moving to Georgia this week. Ben and Garrett will of course miss each other. Pray for Garrett and his family as they meet new friends and settle into a new town.

Last but certainly not least, Steve R. will begin his treatments in Houston soon. Let's continue to pray for his safe travel and that the treatments will do exactly what they are designed to do.

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I believe that covers our news, prayers, and praises for this Sunday. Please keep reading "Better Together" as you can. We will plan to discuss chapters 32-38 next Sunday. I can't believe tomorrow is February. Before long, it will be April and Easter!!!

Have a great week, everyone! See you next Sunday.

Wes

Directions to the VanZee Home

Ladies:

Here are directions to the VanZee home. I know Jill and the other women will be excited to see you on Friday night!

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From Hewitt area:
Take Sun Valley across the interstate and onto Greig Drive (runs past
the Robinson watertower). Continue to Hoffmeyer Lane and turn right
(only runs one direction). Continue down Hoffmeyer through S curve and
making a left of Pompano Park Drive (first road you will come upon after
S curve). House is 447 Pompano Park Drive. Brown brick with black
shutters and large metal shop beside it.

From Hwy 6:
Turn onto Hwy 77 and continue through Robinson until Lyndale Street (3rd
stop light). Turn right on Lyndale to stop sign, turn left at stop sign
and then an immediate right on Tate. Tate will take you past the High
School and football field. Continue down Tate to Pompano Park Drive.
Turn right on Pompano Park (no left turn). House is 447 Pompano Park
Drive. Brown brick with black shutters and large metal shop beside it.

Cell number is 495-8342 if needed. Can wait to see you all there.

Don't forget to bring a finger food/appetizer.

Jill VanZee

jill.vanzee@hotrmhmr.org

Prayer Request from Leah Magid

Thank you for keeping Leah's father in your prayers:

Hi, Wes.

If you would - please add my dad to the prayer requests. He is in ICU in Bryan/College Station. I'll keep you posted on how he does. Right now, we just ask God to guide us and be with us- whatever happens.

We will be out of town again this weekend, but will back in Feb!. :) Thanks so much!

-Leah Magid

This Week's Bidness . . and Ladies Night Out!

Friends:

Good afternoon, all! I hope this message finds all of you doing well. I've just come in from a full afternoon raking leaves and trimming bushes. Before dying, I think everyone should have the experience of attempting to rake leaves in the wind with a 3 year old boy. "Corbin, the goal, son, is to get the leaves in the big black bag. You see, the longer we run through them and throw them and kick them, the longer we have to be out here in this wind. Daddy would like to go back inside at least an hour or two before midnight. I have work to do inside, also.". But, I must say that Mr. Corbin was quite the cute helper, if I do say so myself!

Let's get down to bidness. Thanks to Matt and Beth Ramsdell! They managed to get donuts to us today without even being able to attend in person! Beth is at home not feeling well. She has three weeks to go. Thanks so much, Matt and Beth! We appreciate you guys very much. Next week, Greg and Courtney Hudson are in charge. Thanks, Hudsons!

LADIES NIGHT OUT THIS FRIDAY AT 7:00 P.M.!

Don't forget, ladies. The big event is this Friday at 7:00 at the home of Brian and Jill VanZee. Jill will be sending me directions within the next day or so. I will send them along. I hope all of you ladies can make it. I have agreed to chaperone (for a nominal fee), but I promise to sit in the corner and make myself invisible. : )

Seriously, us men will be taking the chilluns to the Hookham home. Jeff and I will go get pizza or something. Come join us, fellas!

PRAYERS AND PRAISES

As usual, we have quite a few prayers this week. Let's start out with Beth Ramsdell. Let's pray that her final three weeks of pregnancy will be as comfortable as possible and that little Levi will arrive completely healthy. We are praying for you, Beth! Call me, email me, text me, yell out the window, send me a smoke signal, or do whatever you can as soon as something starts to happen!

Also on the Ramsdell front, let's keep praying for Steve R. I believe he goes in tomorrow to find out more about the treatments he will undergo during the next several weeks. Pray for safe travel for Steve and for strength for he and Susan as they tackle the weeks ahead.

We need to keep up our prayers for little Reese. She even got to go to Sunday School this morning! What great news. That even means we got to see Brian and Amy! (Well, we really only ever want to see Amy, but we have to deal with Brian, too. They are a package deal of sorts). Reese goes back in for two more drugs tomorrow. These drugs tend to make her sick, so the next three days will probably be difficult for her. Pray that she is in as little discomfort as possible. Pray, also, that the treatments will continue to do what they are supposed to do. Finally, let's keep praying for strength and understanding for Brian and Amy as they work toward the light at the end of the tunnel in April. Hang in there, guys! We are praying for you!

Bernie Hookham has asked that we pray for the Dennis Michaelis family. Dr. Michaelis's wife has been very ill. Pray that things will get better for her soon.

Steven Owens has asked that we pray for Jennifer and the little Owenses while Steven is out of town this week. He will be in Dallas for a few days for work. Please call if you need anything, Jennifer!

Pam Ramsey would like us to pray for one of her students who had to testify this week in a murder trial. This was a very difficult week for him.

Little Raelynn VanZee has not been feeling well. Pray that her fever will go away and that she will feel better soon.

READING FOR NEXT WEEK

For those of you who have the "Better Together" book, we will read through Day 31 for next Sunday, which is page 135. Read the pages and keep up with us if you can!!

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I think that takes care of everything for this week. May all of you have a blessed week. Rumor has it that this beautiful weather we've been having is going to disappear about Thursday night. So enjoy it!

See you next Sunday,

Wes

Prayer Request from Mary Erickson

From Mary:

Could you add my friend Amie to the prayer list? She is 32 and having some
severe complications with MS. Just pray that the medications work to alleviate
this latest flare up.

Mary.

Is Summer Here?, Prayers, and Other Stuff

Friends:

What a beautiful afternoon of weather! For those of you locked inside watching the depressing Cowboys game, I say take a break and go outside for a bit. It doesn't get much better!

Let's start off today by welcoming two new couples to our class. We were pleased to have Chris and Leah Magid and Jim and Diane Hughes as guests this morning. We enjoyed having you guys very much! I hope you will come back and see us again next Sunday. We will be looking for you!

Next, let's all say a big thank you to Kirsten Escobar! She brought some delicious muffins to class this morning (banana nut and cinnamon swirl to be exact). Thanks very much, Kirsten! Great stuff. Next week, Matt and Beth Ramsdell are signed up. Thanks, Ramsdells! There's only one problem. Beth, if you go into labor, it's okay. You can skip the donuts. Just call me and we'll take care of it!

DON'T FORGET LADIES NIGHT OUT AT THE VANZEE HOME!

As I announced last week, Jill VanZee has invited all of the ladies to their home on January 29th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. We want all of the ladies to be there! Even if you haven't been to class in a long time, Jill and the other ladies want you there! As an incentive, I even agreed this morning to cook up some of my world famous lil' smokies and have them available for the ladies to eat. You don't want to miss that!!! Okay, okay, that's a joke, but the serious part is we want all of you ladies to be at Jill's house on the 29th!

We will send details about where (including directions) when the date gets a bit closer. For now, ladies, just be sure and put the date on your calendars!

PRAYERS AND PRAISES

We have quite a few prayers and praises today. First off, Brian VanZee would like for us to keep praying for his friend John Tibbs and John's sister Heather. Heather is fighting brain and breast cancer. She has had a difficult week. She is 38 and has 2 young children. Please pray for strength and comfort for everyone in this family, especially the kids.

Jim and Diane Hughes have asked us to pray for their grandson Christopher Pohl. He is currently deployed in Afghanistan. Please pray for his strength and safety.

On that note, Pam Ramsey would like for us to pray for her cousin Jay Riles. Jay will soon be deployed overseas as well.

We need to keep praying for Steve Ramsdell and the Ramsdell family. It looks as though Steve will begin his proton treatments in early February, and they will continue for approximately 8 weeks. He will be in Houston at MD Anderson during the week. Please pray for Steve's health, strength, and patience during this eight week period. Let's pray for understanding and comfort for the entire Ramsdell family during this stressful time. We are praying, Steve!

We also need to keep praying for Reese Nicholson. I believe she goes back for treatments again tomorrow. Pray that Amy and Brian will continue to get nothing but positive news. Pray that the end of this part of Reese's life will come very soon.

Beth Ramsdell has asked that we pray for her sister-in-law Brittany. She is nine weeks along in her pregnancy and has been having some difficulties with high blood pressure. Pray that Brittany will feel better and that the baby she's carrying will grow stronger every day.

Also on the baby front, we need to keep praying for our expectant Mommies: Beth Ramsdell, Liz Workman, and Erica Sullivan. Pray for good days for them and strong development for the little ones.

We need to keep praying for Shannon Smith as she grieves the loss of her brother. Pray for good days for Shannon and the entire Smith family. We are praying, Shannon.

Christina G. has a number of prayers for us to keep in mind this week. She would like for us to pray for her friend Kara who is sick and her friend M.J. who lost his Godmother this past week. She also will leave for Denton on Thursday for class and would like for us to pray for safe travel. Finally, she will be searching for a new job after January 31st since her Baylor job is only temporary. Pray that something good will come up for Christina.

Last but not least, we need to pray for everyone who has been affected by the very sad situation in Haiti. Pray for our church and for our nation as so many people work to help the people of Haiti.

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READING FOR NEXT WEEK

Next Sunday, we will plan to discuss Better Together through Day 24, which is page 106. Keep up with the reading if you can!

Have a great week, everyone. We're doing quite well with the competition for class attendance, so let's keep it up. We want some of you long lost folks to come back and see us! We will look for you next Sunday.

See you then!

Wes

This Sunday's News, Ladies Night!, and the Competition . .

Friends:

Good evening, all! I hope you've enjoyed the weekend. Cowboys fans of course should be happy. As for us Texas fans, well . . . . not so much. Brian, the sadness will end. I promise. Give it one more day. Everything gets better after three days.

Thanks, VanZees! Would you believe they showed up with Panera Bread bagels this morning? For those of you who weren't there, you missed out! Thanks, guys. We appreciate you. Next week, the Escobar-Jensen couple is in charge. Thanks very much, Kirsten and Shane!

PRAYERS AND PRAISES

Let's jump right to our prayers and praises.

Beth Ramsdell is getting close! Let's keep praying every day for little Levi. Pray for Beth as the finish line gets closer and closer! Rumor has it that Matt has been painting the nursery . . . . Do it now, Matt, while you're operating on at least two hours of sleep!

We need to keep up our prayers for Reese Nicholson. She had great news last week with the latest round of test results. Let's keep praying for safe travel and effective treatments for Reese.

Jenny LaSeur is having a baby! That's right. Matt and Jenny are expecting. Congratulations, LaSeurs! Let's pray for health for Jenny and the little one.

Jennifer May would like for us to pray for an aide at her school named Donna. She had quadruple by-pass surgery last week. Please pray for Donna as she recovers.

Brian VanZee would like for us to pray for a friend named Heather Seabaugh and her family. In recent months, Heather has battled both brain cancer and breast cancer. She has been through many difficult surgeries. Please pray for strength for Heather and her entire family as they battle the cancer.

Ben Sullivan would like for us to pray for a friend who is currently in the hospital with abdominal pains. She will have surgery tomorrow. Pray that everything will go smoothly and the pain will subside soon.

Also on the Ben front, he had Lasik surgery this past week. Let's pray that everything will heal as it should.

We need to keep up our prayers for Shannon Smith as she deals with the loss of her brother. Pray that Shannon will get stronger each and every day. We are praying for you, Shannon!

Last but certainly not least, we need to pray for Steve Ramsdell. As many of you know, Steve is battling prostate cancer. The good news is that it looks as though the cancer has not spread. My understanding is that Steve will undergo 8 weeks of treatments (five days per week) at MD Anderson in Houston. I'm not sure when the treatments will begin, but maybe within the next couple of months. He will be doing proton treatments. Please pray that everything will go according to plan for Steve. Pray, also, for strength for Susan and the entire Ramsdell family during this difficult time. Steve and Susan, we are here for you. You have an entire church that is here for you. We love you and what you have done for our church, and we are here to help you battle this.

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READING FOR NEXT WEEK

Things seem to be moving along just fine with our "Better Together" book. We didn't get all of the way through Day Ten today, but that's okay. For those of you who have the book, please read through Day 17 for next Sunday. We will plan to discuss, roughly, Days 8 through 17 at that time (or as much as we can get to!).

LADIES NIGHT OUT AT THE VANZEE HOME!

Get this, ladies. Jill VanZee has come up with a terrific idea! She will be hosting a Ladies Night Out. This is the perfect opportunity for you ladies to get a break from the chilluns (and other stuff) and spend some time with a group of ladies from our class. The event will take place on Friday, January 29th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. We will send details about where (including directions) when the date gets a bit closer. For now, ladies, just be sure and put January 29th on your calendars! We want all of the ladies from our class to be there!

Thank you so much, Jill, for hosting this event for the ladies in our class. I know it will be a great opportunity for fellowship. Am I invited?! Kidding!

As for us fellas, we plan to hire a few sitters and hit the bar. Kidding! How about a Wii bowling tournament at the Null home? Not kidding!

CLASS ATTENDANCE COMPETITION!

Okay, folks, here's the deal. Without going into lots of details, we are in competition with the other Sunday School classes for the next five weeks. Whichever class increases attendance the most during the next five weeks will get prizes like breakfast in class, dinner one evening, or free Starbuck's for a month. The Starbuck's prize is actually third place, but that's what everyone wants to win (which of course is a sacrifice for yours truly since I don't drink coffee--but that's okay!--Just sayin'!). So, we are officially aiming for third place. Go team! We want the bronze! But, even though we have bronze desires, that doesn't mean we should not try to get first place and then choose the third place prize!

So, the bottom line with all of this competition information is that we need everyone in class next Sunday! Get there, baby! I promise to work extra hard on the jokes . . . . . They have really been good lately, by the way!

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I think that takes care of matters for this Sunday. May all of you have a successful, blessed week.

See you next Sunday morning! We need everyone there!

Wes

Da Scoop on the First Sunday of 2010

Friends:

Good evening, all! Hope you've enjoyed your weekend. Let the world start turning hard and heavy again tomorrow morning ..........

Thanks, Mays! They brought our snacks this morning. Next week, Brian and Jill VanZee are in charge. Thanks everyone! This reminds me of a story. Once upon a time, the VanZees brought bagels from Panera Bread . . . . . . . . that's not a hint, folks. Just sayin' they were good way back when!!!! : )

PRAYERS AND PRAISES

Let's jump to our prayers and praises. Miss Reese Nicholson will have a big day tomorrow. She is receiving two types of chemo drugs and undergoing some additional tests to find out how the chemo is working. Pray for strength, good news, and safe travel for the Nicholsons tomorrow. We're praying, Amy!

How about this. Liz Workman is having a baby! Yep, that's right. She is about 9 weeks along. This news should get us well into August 2010 as far as class pregnancy is concerned. Woohoo! Congratulations Matt and Liz! We are very happy for you guys. I thin this will be baby #37 for our class. Must be in the donuts. Let's pray for continued growth and strength for the little Workman on the way.

Christina G. has a few prayers today. She would like for us to pray for her Aunt and Uncle who are driving. She also asked us to pray for her other Uncle, Larry, who is having surgery this week. Pray that everything will go well. Also on the Christina front, she goes in for a check-up this week following her surgery from a few weeks ago. Pray that she will only receive good news.

Happy 16th Anniversary to Jennifer and Steve May! That's right. They were married 16 years ago on January 1st. Let's pray for continued great years for this wonderful family.

Jennifer Fadal wants us to keep praying for her nephew Easton. He changed his medication last week, and everyone is waiting to see how things go. Pray for continued good health for Easton.

Vince E. has officially made the transition to the Rio Grande Valley. Pray that his first week on the air will go well. We're praying for you, Vince! I will be watching your broadcasts online, by the way. : )

We also need to pray for Mary and Malia while they settle in back here in Waco. Mary, please call if you need anything. Please don't be afraid to ask for help.

Happy birthday Matt Ramsdell! Yep, that's right. Matt turns the big 30 today. Let's pray that Matt will enjoy the rest of his special day.

Also on the Ramsdells, we need to keep up our prayers for little Levi. You're almost there, Beth! Pray for a strong final few weeks of pregnancy for Beth.

Kirsten E. has asked that we keep praying for her nephew Jack. He is battling Leukemia (see previous posts). Pray for continued successful treatments and good news as far as Jack's blood counts are concerned. Good counts allow for him to get out of his house and see other people more often.

Last but not least, let's pray for everyone as we begin school again. Pray for safe travel for all of the Baylor students as they make their way back to Waco.

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Reading for Next Sunday

That covers our prayers and praises for this Sunday. I hope everyone has had a chance to get your copy of Better Together. I thought we made a good start with the book this morning. Let's do this. If you have the book, please plan to read through Day 10 (page 51) by next Sunday. We will plan to discuss Days 1-10 in class.

I think that's all for today. Have a great week, everyone!

See you next Sunday morning,

Wes

Happy 2010!, Day One of Better Together

Dear Friends:

Happy 2010! I hope the year is off to a great start for everyone. I am writing to let you know that we will begin the "Better Together" book tomorrow. We will start, obviously, with Day One. If you have picked up your copy of the book, try to find some time to read pages 12-14 by tomorrow morning. We will build our lesson off of that.

See you tomorrow!

Wes