Praises – Ongoing healing from whatever bug got us again this year; learning to slow down and let go of ‘our’ plans; doing all things for God’s glory alone.
Prayers – building up our strength; finish the house remodel; renters for the house; travel to our Florida volunteer project by end of month.
People may plan all kinds of things, but the Lord’s will is going to be done. Proverbs 19:21 Good News Translation (People can make all kinds of plans, but only the Lord’s plan will happen. New Century Version)
Hello to our family, followers, and friends:
What a month! All our plans and striving to meet timelines kept getting shuffled around and changed, how rude!! Looking back, we did accomplish a lot and learned to lean on God and others rather than ourselves.
Our contractor was back for a few days adding insulation and repairing the mobile home skirting for winter temperatures. He also plugged a few holes and sealed up the crawl space in the house so we’re overnight-freeze temperature ready. We worked together getting the repurposed flooring in the utility room and new flooring in the bathroom (had to stop that day because it was too dark to keep sawing outside). One milestone – a shopping trip without a stop for supplies at Lowes!
Winter is here, we always know because we manage to run out of propane once, always in the wee early morning hours, and wake to a chilly home. November 3 was the date this year, 62 downstairs and 66 upstairs, so winter propane protocol is now in place. And there is the winter water protocol as well, we have had to shut off the water once; another reason our ‘schedule’ called for getting to Florida this month.
We always appreciate our health so much more after we’ve been through the worst of an unknown illness. This Thanksgiving we spent in bed, John on the couch, Connie upstairs. John started on Monday with a chest cold, by Tuesday the severe headache, chills, heavy chest and coughing settled in. Connie pushed through until Wednesday night (after appliances were delivered) when it all caught up with her. One nap a day is highly unusual, but there were several days when she had 3 long naps during the day plus 10–12-hour nights. After a few days food started sounding good and a big pot of rice turned out to be our first good tasting meal. We leaned on each other as much as possible, and finally turned to friends to get two propane tanks filled and some groceries. Homemade Wassel the next day (along with Thera-Flu) helped greatly in our still slow recovery.
We’ve seen our share of TV and took special notice of a new insurance commercial – ‘Mayhem’ is sharing the market with ‘Ludacris’. We have had plenty from these two this month! We made a good choice when we remodeled our microwave shelf so it was an easy fix when the microwave died mid-month. A few days without one and off to Walmart we went to get a new, cheap one – hot food again with the touch of a button. Then, the call from our renter with a dead refrigerator. Connie checked it out, definitely not cooling, and with a few phone calls and a trip to the bank, everything fell in place with used appliances being purchased, delivered, and the old refrigerator hauled off. It was a blessing to meet our renter’s father and friend who did the leg work to find the refrigerator, electric dryer, and washer all in one trip plus the muscle to get everything in place and move our stack washer/dryer downstairs to our multi-purpose space. Of course, remodeling is still providing plenty of rabbit trails as well.
Our house remodel is still progressing – we had leaky plumbing that is resolved; drywall mudding has led to smooth, primed walls; and ceilings have all been sprayed. Ceiling fans have been cleaned and put back, room by room; old 2” sturdy plastic window blinds are down awaiting cleaning/shortening and new blinds have been ordered for other windows. John got the new electric panel connected and the dryer wire in place for our area; replaced paneling and repurposed baseboard in the utility room; and is repairing and modifying three doors for cold air vents. Connie found cardboard egg cartons work well for drying and lubricating the ~40 hinges from the cabinets; put up two LED lights under kitchen cabinets; and spent lots of time cleaning, sanding, wiping down, and painting.
With the strict work schedule this month Connie squeezed in a good batch of split pea soup (with cornbread, chocolate pudding, and cool whip) as well as combined a couple of home-made recipes for an excellent chocolate pudding microwave-baked cake. We stopped at White Trolley twice for a double slug burger, BLT and spicy fries’ lunch, and Captain D’s after church before a shopping run. We did go twice on date night – of the three couples it seems one of us will have a problem with their order. It was our turn the night after we went shopping. John ordered a BLT and spicy fries, the fries came very well done; and Connie ordered a small pizza, that came very burnt and crispy. The gal doing the cooking came to the table and apologized for the pizza, cooked a second one, and got John some good fries. It was great to see a young person taking responsibility and making a tough decision to make things right.
Salty Strings Music Ministry presented a morning concert and testimony time at Macedonia Freewill Baptist church one Sunday morning. We all had a great time and they enjoyed our songs, scriptures, and stories. We tend to forget (especially when we get over-extended) how God can use even the smallest things to be a blessing to others. Connie spent some time during Journey Church Men’s Fellowship playing their piano, realizing how rusty her fingers and brain are, but enjoying this long overdue treat. There were a couple of songs for the November 1 SALT Seniors group and we helped with the worship music one Sunday. Our “scheduled final Sunday” at Cross Point Church in Iuka was spent quarantined in the trailer (we actually missed two Sunday’s not feeling well or wanting to share our illness with others).
Connie kept trying to get rid of excess items, along with the frustration of listing items and keeping up with the replies from Marketplace – when it works it is wonderful, but we seem to get all the glitches. We succeeded with a propane heater (from the mobile home last winter) and the barn door is out of the shed.
November weather has had lots of warm beautiful breezy days, leaves falling, and the changing of the seasons. There have been some beautiful sunsets and a few foggy nights coming home from shopping and date nights. The magnolia trees (Connie had given up on) became one more thing to do but we got them planted in the very hard clay dirt along with a cedar tree one morning before a nice soaking rain. We definitely know when changing weather is coming; achy shoulders, knees, and stiff joints along with some cold, misty, damp, days that leave us chilled (we’ve definitely acclimated to warmer weather, it’s still in the 40-50’s here!). John still likes to take a walk through the woods almost every day. He has found all our property boundaries and is making plans for a bridge over our (usually dry) creek and for more cleared areas.
From a recent devotion: Corrie Ten Boom once said, “There is no panic in Heaven! God has no problems, only plans.” What a wonderful message for us this month!
The Lord who rules over all has made a promise. He has said, “You can be sure that what I have planned will happen. What I have decided will take place.” Isaiah 14:24 New International Readers Version
May each of you and your families have a blessed and wonderful Christmas/New Year!
Our prayer for you during this busy season is to remember:
There is no panic in Heaven, God has no problems, only plans for each of us.
May our eyes and ears be open to those plans!
John and Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
Contact Information:
Mail: John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
3916 N. Potsdam Ave. #3962
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Phone – John 909-336-8910 or Connie 909-336-8912
Email – SaltyStrings@hotmail.com
Facebook – Salty Strings Music Ministry
Web site – SaltyStrings.com
ONLINE DONATIONS via PayPal through our web site
TRAVEL PLANS AND UPCOMING LOCATIONS
- Still here ?!! – Our property, Jacinto, MS – house repairs/rental
- December ??-February 2024 – SOWER Project, Bonifay, FL