Author: Salty Strings Music Ministry

Praises – Safe travels; the many friends we were able to visit; arriving home safely, no truck issues; those who pray for us!

Prayers – 25-year anniversary of 9/11, that history is truthfully taught and we learn from our past; possible tenant application being reviewed; John healing from itchiness; exercise and weight loss for healthy bodies

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”  But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth . . .   Deuteronomy 8:17-18 NIV

Hello to our followers, family, and friends:

Labor Day Weekend is Family Camp II time at Little Galilee (Clinton, IL) and we registered again to participate in the weekend activities.  Bike tires were checked and we started a few days before to get in shape.  The three morning devotions were from Philippians 1, 3, and 4.  The morning and evening sessions were from Philippians 2.  Excellent meals and material to study.

With all our eating out and meeting with friends we made use of opportunities to walk, bike around camp, and hoped our loading and unloading burned some calories as well.  Connie used the treadmill and stair stepper at one of the hotels, reading on her Kindle but likely not compensating for the waffles and cream cheese at breakfast.  We turned up both spa temperatures and were back to our swimming routine once we were home. 

We asked for your prayers and know they were ongoing!  On the 3^rd we started with one low power message.  More messages appeared, the check engine light remained on, and a dealer in Lincoln, IL pulled the codes concluding further diagnostics were needed.  By the 10^th the messages came on every time it was started so we decided to rent a van (Chrysler Pacifica, we loved it) for our trip to Wisconsin (also saved $$ for gas).  The truck was left at a dealer in Clinton, IL where they were unable to diagnose anything further.  They cleared the codes and we had no further messages getting back or since, praise the Lord!

John spent a few days helping out at camp, painting as usual.  The camp offers a ‘Trades Camp’ in the summer and youth built a second shelter/bench area at the pool so the old shelter needed a paint upgrade along with finishing up the new part.  He then moved on to the outside bathroom doors at the big ‘Self Control’ dining hall and ended with priming a picnic shelter near the ‘Goodness’ cabin.  Lots of ladder steps, reaching, standing on picnic tables, and stretching on tippy toes for the peak.  Connie mustered the energy to conquer the early morning heat and removed all the RV lot signs and staples from Family Camp weekend.  Not as many hours as previous visits, but appreciated all the same.  The 1^st found John on our RV roof clearing the a/c drains so the bedroom unit could be used, and the 28^th after getting home he finally got the RV and truck washed and cleaned up, something he’d been wanting to do for over a month.   

To add to the rigors of travel and music preparation we had our share of health problems as well.  The second bike ride Connie stepped a bit crooked on her right pedal causing an old knee injury to act up.  Lots of ice, learning how to start/stop from the other side, and the usual butt muscles conforming to the seat pains made riding a lot more challenging!  John had just finished up having a head cold and by the 8^th Connie had a very sore throat followed with sinus dripping, tickly coughs, and stuffy head.  Two mornings she woke with a very deep voice, and of course conversation is not the best remedy.  The end of the month she had a coughing fit during the worship songs (unexpected and embarrassing) and then there were a few mornings with swirly eyes and headaches.  Typical Connie, she plugged along like nothing was wrong only to have her back tweaked while making the bed on the 29^th.  Overall, not a good month for her.  After getting back John got into something while cleaning up the front of the rental trailer (the same thing as before) bringing back the bumps and itching, and he’s still dealing with that.

September weather, from five different locations, typically hotter and more humid than normal!  Notes from Clinton, IL: super-hot, 78 at 7:30 am.  Notes from Beloit, WI: upper 60’s with jackets today.  Notes from Litchfield, IL: hot, 90’s, thanks for a slight breeze.  Notes from Miner, IL: breezy warm walk, thunderstorm overnight.  Notes from back home in Mississippi: sunny skies, nice breeze, seven days of ‘beautiful day again’ in the low 70’s.  It was great to be able to sleep with no fan, no a/c, and start the electric fireplace for an hour a few mornings for the chill.

We decided to title our September ministry “demanding” with all the logistics, music, visits, and troubles.  Plenty of decisions, song sets to arrange and practice, and traveling.  Family Camp Sunday (Labor Day Weekend) we were scheduled for the message time at Lane Christian Church (Lane, IL).  What a blessing to be with so many old friends from our home church and we were able to meet with the new pastor before he left town for a revival.  God always is on time!  We used two scriptures from the Sunday School class, continued the Pastor’s previous message on sanctification, and were encouraged with comments on how we’ve grown (spiritually).

Salty Strings headed north to Wisconsin for the next round of adventures.  We requested a first-floor room but were given a second floor and they had no elevator for the numerous trips with luggage and instruments.  We met a friend, came back to the room and found there was slightly warm water at the sink and the shower wouldn’t work at all.  At 4:45 am the fire alarm went off, we stayed in bed and got back to sleep around 5:15.  After breakfast the manager got us into a first-floor room, we checked out the room and shower, moved everything in, then found the microwave door was ajar with the inside of the door hanging loose!  Thankfully they had coffee 24/7.  Sunday morning, we packed up some instruments and attended Rock Valley Chapel (Beloit, WI) providing two special songs.  Their fairly new pastor invited us to lunch with his family where we enjoyed some home-made bread and soup.  We then followed him to his weekly service at Beloit Senior Living where we shared several songs with mountain dulcimers for the resident’s enjoyment.  Busy day but again we were blessed.

Before leaving Beloit, we prepared an hour program for residents at Rock Bay Harbor, where a classmate of Connie’s has lived the last 12 years.  Again, we were so blessed to be there and they enjoyed our songs, testimonies, and stories as well.  The next day Connie’s high school best friend treated us to lunch and fellowship before we hit the road (after getting the rental car tires pumped up) and got back to our RV around 5:30 very worn out! 

John really wanted to keep the rental mini-van, but alas its return time arrived followed by packing up the RV to drive a couple of hours south to a RV camp outside of Litchfield, IL.  After deciding how to park for our cords to reach, we realized we were inches away from the telephone pole with our bedroom slide!  Thankfully we didn’t have to repark.  We planned a few days here to unwind and meet with friends from what we call our second home church.  We attended the Macoupin County Historical Society Fall Festival, walked around the grounds, enjoyed the Civil War Band, saw freshly buffed apples ready for sale, and participated in apple cider making (the apples were donated windfalls so they couldn’t be sold or sampled).  We were treated to pork tenderloin sandwiches at the festival and a Colombian favorite meal (potato chicken soup with cream, avocados, capers, rolls, and apple crisp with ice cream) that evening with our retired Colombia Bible translator friends.  On Sunday we had an interesting Sunday School time with two homeless guys stopping in, shared two special music songs with some testimony, and enjoyed visiting (and another great meal) with our retired pastor’s family.  

Our final travels in September were the two days getting home to Mississippi.  Sometimes we back up, the hitch goes in smoothly, and the hitch pin connects with very little effort.  Not so on the 21^st!  After finally getting connected, Connie started driving across the Mississippi River heading west, changing drivers with about 100 miles to go.  In west St. Louis John saw a bill board sign with a plumber holding a wrench reading “Not all heroes wear capes” – we both agreed that maybe some should.  John got us parked, slides out, and leveled for the night at Lambert’s RV Park.  We took a walk around the old downtown Miner and watched TV the rest of the evening.  After the rain had passed the next morning, we left around 10:15 am for the remaining drive home, arriving around 3 pm.  Our first Sunday back home we were asked to do the worship music the service (pastor and family were out of town) and again God helped us with songs and Scriptures that the guest preacher used.  That evening Connie tried to keep up with the pianist for a song sing with some horrible key signatures for sight reading.  We did go with another couple for Chinese lunch after church making it a wonderful day.

Once we arrived home, our focus (after resting a couple of days) was finishing up the rental trailer and tidying up the yard.  Due to the heat and rains it had been a couple of weeks without mowing so John took a couple of days to catch up.  Connie tackled the baseboard trim touch ups, taking a lot longer than she thought it would, and moved on to another ceiling fan.  John trimmed and painted up the small bedroom, Connie did the closet and touched up a few thin spots.  A kitchen light was flickering a lot so we ordered some large diameter low profile LED lights; both kitchen lights were replaced and an extra was ordered for the bedroom (we took down the new ceiling fan that was making noise and wobbling a bit).  Connie added another new blind, shortened two blinds, wiped down the old blinds, and cleaned the windows inside.  Meanwhile, John rebuilt a section of the deck, replaced some weak boards, and cleaned the gutter.  All done, just need renters!  

Overall, our month of travel (8/23-9/23) was very successful.  We had 4 church programs, 2 senior programs, 1 senior church service; reconnected with all John’s family, 3 meals out with home church friends, 4 meals out with Wisconsin friends, 3 meals with our second home church friends and multiple conversations with other church folk and pastors.  Sadly, we didn’t connect with our son’s family or daughter in Wisconsin, and another good friend in Weldon, IL.  Visiting other areas gives us access to different TV channels and restaurants – John enjoyed the Three Stooges and Svengoolie one evening; we ate at Popeyes, Noodles, Culvers, and Steak N Shake (with half-price shakes each); got to see our friends piano tuning workshop and new top-of-the-line electronic piano with headphones, met and experienced a mini-Yorkie terrier (definitely don’t want one), and brought Bagels and More bagels home.

DEVOTION THOUGHTS THIS MONTH:

** Hardships and difficulties continue to be part of life for everyone, and Christians should not expect to be trouble-free because they belong to the Lord. Calm waters and smooth sailing are temporary states of being in this life.
** An old country preacher once pessimistically said, “When you become a Christian you are at the end of your problems… the front end.”
** There are three main qualities necessary for powerful prayer: unwavering faith in God, confidence in God’s ability to answer, and forgiveness toward anyone who has wronged you.

“Now may the God of peace . . . make you full of every good work and ready to do all his desires, working in us whatever is pleasing in his eyes through Jesus Christ; and may the glory be given to him for ever and ever.  So be it.”  Hebrews 13:20-21 BEB

THANKS for catching up with our adventures and keeping us in your prayers!

John and Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry

Purchase our songs:  SaltyStrings.com/shop

Contact Information:
Mail:  John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
30A Hwy 367
Burnsville, MS  38833

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

• September 23–November 27/28 – Home, Burnsville, MS
• November 28-December 28? – French Camp, Mississippi volunteer project
• January, February, March – DeFuniak Springs, FL volunteer work and music
• Contact us if you’re interested in a music program

Praises – Almost a new bathroom, mower repairs, truck repairs scheduled, good medical reports

Prayers – July 21-26 travel, time with two children/grandchildren, safety and no issues with RV while we’re away; mower keeps working;

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  2 Corinthians 13:14  NIV

Hello to our followers, family, and friends:

We attended First Methodist in Booneville again on the first Sunday in June, enjoyed communion, no organ this time, and the message “Get Empty” (so the Holy Spirit has room).  The remaining Sundays were with our Journey Church family helping with worship.  A lot of people were ‘missing’ due to church camp attendance and helpers the first three weeks, so our Wednesday and Sunday night studies were quite sparse and John was able to join the Men’s Fellowship this month.

John takes care of the yard work and this month involved some serious mowing and continued downed branch moving.  Connie was the spotter as John used the bed of our pickup truck to trim a large branch and several smaller ones from our renter’s parking space.  We hauled the downed branches to the burn pile one mid-afternoon; after about 30 minutes we were both drenched from the heat and humidity.  Our mower has quit several times, mostly starting issues.  John tried a few home fixes and managed to keep things presentable until the end of the month when it had to go to our local lawn mower repair man after hitting a bump and knocking one of the steering handles out.  Repairs done, John mowed the back yard after adding more branches to our growing burn pile.  The next day he tightened the other handle, got it started, and it stopped dead a few feet into mowing.  We waited to get it back to the repair man who replaced a fuse link, and it is home working again.  We are hoping to keep it going this season but John has started looking at zero turn 52” deck new and used mowers, on the wish list for next year. 

It took us half the month to finish up our berm area.  Brick planting was finished, dirt leveled out a bit, old seed and chaff mixed with top soil was scattered around, new clover seeds added to the front, and some water.  After a week the hope of seeing new seedlings was shattered, and even with plenty of rain, sun, and humidity there are only a few signs of some clover growing.  Hot and sweaty work, perhaps in the fall we’ll find some discounted plants to add. 

John continued working on the multi-purpose room; window and door frames, corner trim, organizing and cleaning up, multiple coats of paint everywhere, sanding edges and painting ceiling beams, more wainscot and chair rail, all before the 10^th.  Connie helped by moving all the collector plates to the far corner, replacing some electric outlets complete with spacers so they fit, and emptying the little bath closet as we started demo for our contractor.  Paneling down, nails pulled, electric wires freed up, studs removed, scrap piled in the middle of the floor, toilet and vanity removed, water turned off, and the contractor started June 12. 

Our swallow nest in the RV hitch hatched out with lots of swooping feedings for a few days and the mourning dove nest also hatched one baby (typically they have two ‘squabs’ per brood); neither nest was revisited thankfully.  We had ongoing dealings throughout the month with two female puppies that ‘showed up’ on the property.  John chased them away a few times, and a renter contacted the local no kill shelter, promising they would be gone in two weeks.  By the end of the month we still had puppies, our other renter walked her dog carrying a broom to chase them away, and John was tired of mowing through their messes.  We visited the shelter, came back with two slip leashes, and Connie had a week of ‘dog whispering’ managing to catch them both (hamburger grease and peanut butter helped), work with them a bit, and finally got them into the shelter this week.  It was bitter sweet, you get attached very quickly even with only a few hours total contact!

Along with working on projects “at home” John helped getting the steeple back on the church and crawled under a friend’s house to take photos of soft spots.  Of course, both days were very hot!  The steeple involved several church people plus the four hired crew.  The video and photos under the house were not very helpful, there wasn’t enough height to get to the soft spot areas, so another attempt will be made with a small shovel in hand to dig out a path. 

Salty Strings had a busy month!  We helped provide music for Sunday worship services at Journey Church, gradually streamlining sound issues so we can hear each other.  The Booneville Dulcimer Club had two practice evenings, the visitor center, and three care facility programs (complete with several fellowship meals).  We provided music for the monthly SALT senior group, and prepared six songs for Journey Church Homecoming, an afternoon annual gathering in celebration of the founding of this church with a guest speaker and others attending.  We started the celebration with three double dulcimer old hymns, and ended the event with three accordion songs.  Connie pulled out the accordion for practice at 7pm the night before – it was pretty rough sounding but went smoothly the next day.  We also prepared six songs for the 2^nd Saturday gathering and shared three that evening.

Connie has had a few frustrations this month and a ‘prayed over’ batch of chocolate chip cookies (mostly for our contract workers) that turned out great.  We received a notice from the IRS (of course audit is the first thing that comes to mind) but it was good; they needed a routing number to direct deposit a refund.  It took a few phone calls and trying to get online accounts set up before that was resolved.  She dealt with a credit card fraud alert and getting new cards, easier this time than it was two years ago.  It seems holidays are the days she chooses to leave her phone at church – it happened last month on Mother’s Day and again this month on Father’s Day!  John also did a lot of branch and demo material stacking and has had one burn day so far.  Some days are more taxing on the body than others, earning him a shoulder-neck rub before bed one evening! 

Connie spent several days working on Christmas songs for the dulcimer group; fixing wrong notes, timing, and adding chords.  Early in the month she worked on some of our recordings briefly, was quite discouraged and is thinking it may be easier to start over!  John got a new (used) band saw to help with his music stands and appeared to enjoy using it.  He eventually got the shop smith set up to drill long straight holes.  His first redesign this month was a bit heavy and bulky, then he streamlined it some and had a nice finished product mid-month!

Towards the end of the month John started his ‘weight’ exercise routine.  Connie has a hard time doing her morning exercises consistently, and we’ve only had a couple of walks this month in the early morning.  We still swim typically three times a week but have had a few times where one or the other swim alone (we can do that now with the cover lifters) as the day’s activities have drained us of our energy.  The best time is before breakfast but then we don’t want to do anything that will get us dirty and sweaty!

Hot and humid definitely sums up our June north Mississippi weather and our electric bill will confirm.  We can tell by the sky what to expect, and there were only a few days with clear deep blue skies and occasional puffy white clouds.  We had several thunder storms, usually later afternoon after the heat and humidity build up, and a few power outages as more branches came down from the wind.  We returned home one day and the power was out for about 1.5 hours causing concern since our refrigerator display didn’t seem to be working.  We were both up really early one morning after a power glitch reset our clock!  Most days were a heat index of upper 90’s up to 105 – when our heat index is >8 degrees above the temperature that means Connie stays inside as much as possible!  We tried leaving our ceiling vents open and no air conditioning when we were gone most of a day, never again – it was 93-95 inside and took quite a while to cool down.  Instruments were slightly warm in their cases but no damage was done. 

Our contractor found additional work was needed to clean up some mold and re-insulate the wall we had hoped to save, the door frame had to be removed to get the shower into the room, and the building began.  The old platform was removed, new platform built, plumbing re-routed with inside shut offs, shower installed, walls framed with a pocket door, electric, drywall, and finally mudding and sanding!  We installed the vinyl floor, and Connie had some very sore muscles the next few days.  John remodeled the old platform into a nice decking addition for our swim spa.  We pulled up more carpet and tack strips and did some occasional sweeping and vacuuming, mostly just stayed out of their way.  

For most of the month Connie dealt with various dermatitis issues, likely from the heat (and/or stress), different than ant bites or poison ivy, but still very annoying and unsightly.  She researched rashes, eczema, and heat blisters seeming to have a bit of each, refrained from scratching, used calamine lotion (even more unsightly) and eventually the areas healed with occasional burn-type scars that are still fading.  John followed up from last August, finally getting an endocrinologist appointment an hour away in Tupelo.  More specific blood tests were ordered along with a MRI, and we received a lot of information on various types of pituitary gland growths.  There was a mix-up in the lab work that sent us to the lab at the hospital where we had to reschedule for earlier in the morning after fasting.  The MRI was done July 2, and the results from all tests appear to be within normal limits, perhaps the growth is smaller.  

There were many long shopping days, mostly involving our large Lowe’s order with several items arriving on various days.  We found and scheduled our truck at a diesel shop (with a German shepherd guard dog named Diesel) for the end of July, checked on repairing the chip in our windshield (they were too busy that day), and dropped things off at Goodwill, along with several breakfast and lunches out.  When we discussed details with our contractor the plumber suggested checking at a discount store in Golden, MS (very near the Alabama border) so we made two trips there, purchased our new shower after a credit union cash stop, and brought it home the long way through Booneville to hear a presentation on the Chickasaw museum being built (we shared a dulcimer song as well).   We know the presenter from the dulcimer club gatherings at the Natchez Trace visitor center; he sings some of the hymns in Chickasaw/Choctaw that he learned from his grandmother.  

We’ve discussed future plans before and always default to ‘in a few years’ answer, but we’re realizing that it is likely next year.  So, this is a time for letting go, admitting we’re not able to do all we used to, and planning the next step to live comfortably year-round on this property.  The result – lively discussions/disagreements and visits to shed/manufactured/mobile home sites.  We planned a day out to drive to Tupelo for a supposed open house with hot dogs followed by treating ourselves to DQ blizzards – no hot dogs, no homes small enough for our site, and blizzards are expensive but still very good!  We did stop on the way home and got a wonderful thick crust garlic chicken pizza with plenty of leftovers.  Our date nights were limited this month, but there were two lunches out with other church friends.  We had a movie night at home, complete with microwave popcorn, and enjoyed “Remarkably Bright Creatures.”

DEVOTION THOUGHTS THIS MONTH:
** The nation whose people submit to God will be blessed. The Lord longs for relationship and continually reaches out to humanity to restore it.
** We are stewards and caretakers of all that God has entrusted to us.
** The only thing you can change about the past is your orientation to it!
** Give me eyes that look to you for help in every need. Give me ears to hear the promises found in your Word. Give me a heart to trust that you are all I need and that I need never worry.

. . . so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God . . .”  Colossians 1:10  NKJV

Until next month – thanks for traveling with us and being part of our family ~

John and Connie Nicholas ~ Salty Strings Music Ministry

Contact Information:
Mail:  John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
30A Hwy 367
Burnsville, MS  38833

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
PURCHASE our SONGS:  SaltyStrings.com/shop

TRAVEL PLANS AND UPCOMING LOCATIONS

> July 20-27 – With two of our children at Dollywood and visiting TN waterfalls
>August 26 – Jolly Seniors, Lincoln Christian Church, Lincoln, IL
>August 24*-September 9* – Clinton, IL – Little Galilee, Family Camp, family visits
>September 10*-16* – South Beloit, IL – Wisconsin friends and family visits
>September 16*-24* – Carlinville, IL – Memorial Christian Church friends
>>Contact us if you’re interested in some music programs<<

Praises – Enjoying God’s creation all around us; Faithful people and answered prayers; Abilities we have to serve others physically and musically to God’s glory

Prayers – Hiring of the right contractor; Two guitars to be sold; Continued diligence with eating and exercise; Healthy backs and knees; Music and message May 24 church service

O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!  Psalm 39:4  ESV

Hello to our friends, followers, and family:

For about a week we had our nursing home music ministry friend here and Connie was inspired to try several new things for meals.  There were sour milk pancakes with cinnamon and nutmeg that turned out very fluffy, ham and mixed beans with cornbread, customized crispy tortilla omelets, and fresh grated hash browns with eggs as well as sending him off with extra pancakes and hard-boiled eggs.  It is wonderful to have “company” and discussions of our remodeling ideas and spiritual journeys.  John recruited help from a men’s breakfast outing to unload two sheets of drywall and we had good fellowship on our date nights as well.  We were quite busy one week and skipped date night but did go to town mid-week for our 42^nd anniversary lunch!

God has led us into a new ‘widows and orphans’ ministry using the SOWER skills we have developed.  Just as we have had trouble finding reliable, honest contractors, we have heard of several widows who have paid for work and had it not finished or been unable to find anyone to do smaller jobs.  We are almost finished with our first assignment, bracing/replacing a bathroom floor.  Lots of crawling around and under the area, adding joist support, replacing plywood, filling seams, and installing vinyl.  We were able to save money using leftovers and it is good and sturdy now.  During this time God put us in touch with a mother and son who were checking into a pool for therapy.  Our swim spa would work but is not accessible without a lift to get in.  As we visited their home to check possibilities God showed us our second assignment, finish painting and trim work in a remodeled handicap bathroom.  We are realizing our bodies are getting older (at least Connie is, vinyl install at 71 is not as easy as it used to be) and we can work at our own pace, taking days off as needed for recovery.  Ice packs and a hot tub are wonderful blessings.

Tax relief came a day early with our taxes in the mail.  Several orders for parts were made and tracked down as our USPS delivery usually ended on renter’s porches; the post office rural route carrier finally knows where we are.  Connie continued tracking down a ‘delivered’ package, finally calling our credit card company and receiving a refund from them, a simple process that she dreaded for days.  April was the month to make more powdered laundry soap, not near as tasty as her homemade chicken and noodles, pancakes by request for supper, chocolate pudding/Oreo cookie desert, and flatbread pizza cooked outside on a hot day.

Outside activities for John in April were yard focused.  More tree trimming, branches dragged to the ditches, mowing, and getting the already tall weeds cut down to size with the hedge cutter and weed wacker.  As with all things you own, there are always problems:  the pole saw kept slipping the chain, and getting a small tree growing through a hole in a brick made a trip to the hardware store necessary to get the chain sharpened!  Our front yard looks much better after trimming, and all the bricks have been moved to Connie’s border pile. 

April church services included Easter Sunday at Journey Community Church with Connie playing the keyboard, and Maundy Thursday evening service at First Methodist in Booneville with communion and an organ.  The literal translation of maundy is mandate.  This remembrance is the mandate of the greatest commandment: to love God and love others as yourself and includes the servant attitude of Jesus as he washed the feet of his disciples.  We went to Crosspoint Church in Iuka on the 19^th and heard testimony of God’s direction, healing, and provision from a missionary from India then led the worship with dulcimer hymns at Journey on the 26^th.  Our Wednesday night studies continued in Romans, and Sunday nights were times for fellowship and study on prayer.

Two problems were remedied this month, both with their share of frustration.  Our hot tub has always been a bit hard to start the jets and finally the jet control quit on the 4^th.  There were several hot water soaks (still relaxing with circulating water when the heater was on) as we researched, ordered a new control, had shipping delays, and watched DIY videos.  The time came and we dug in (literally) not finding the “tube” the wire went through, making our own with a piece of PEX Connie managed to shove through, and getting the control replaced on the 27^th.  We replaced the old filter and have a sparkling clean therapeutic hot tub again.

Our second accomplishment was finally ordering cover lifts for the swim spa – two roughly 8’ wide by 7.5’ bifold thick panels.  The lifts arrived on the 11^th, John added wood bracing to the frame where they attached, got one side installed, and had to stop until we devised a way to compress the hydraulic piston to get it attached.  That hurdle passed and we found as we installed the second side that we had to dismantle everything to get the bifold rod in the correct position; very depressing!  All was fixed and tested on the 15^th, used for our swim the next day, and Connie can do it alone now!!  All filters were replaced on the swim spa as well, and our water is a clean, clear, 90 degrees. 

We are very blessed to live where we do.  April brought many beautiful days with sunshine and breezes.  It was very dry until the end of the month with some rain and a few severe storms that went right around us.  Typical spring weather, air conditioning some days and nights and heaters some mornings and nights!

John finished caulking the new ceiling and the final paint is done, the trim looks great, and we are ready for the drywall patching to begin.  We are waiting for quotes from two contractors for remodeling the bathroom.  When we added the spa cover lifters John’s well-designed decks were too wide so they were ‘trimmed’ down, the scaffold was reconfigured for second tier storage, a few things were moved to the attic, an electric plug was moved, and the room looks huge now!  Every so often we see glimpses of the finished project and are encouraged!  While we were at French Camp in December, we inherited a small miter saw and planer, both in need of some work.  The saw parts came and John got that running for a friend but the planer was declared beyond help and hope after trying to free up rusted moving parts. 

Later in the month Connie started laying out and ‘planting’ bricks for our berm border.  With help from John the extra top soil from the sod was moved and the border was drawn in place.  The north part of the berm is full of poison ivy this year and with strict orders from John, all poison ivy was to be avoided by her.  However, about a week later the blisters started appearing (oil transfer from clothing) and she spent 4-5 days with an itchy eye that remained slightly swollen with dark bags from brushing hair away from her face.  Hot and cold packs were used, and lots of Benadryl on legs and arms.

Just a few other comments from Mississippi RV living – our roadside ditches filled with January ice storm limbs and branches by our property were cleared out mid-month, creating a more tranquil hopeful atmosphere not having that reminder on our drives.  We have lots of squirrels and various birds, swallows tried nesting in our RV hitch dive bombing us as we walked near, but they gave up.  There were also some unusual rustling noises outside our office/recording window; Connie found a beautiful pair of cardinals dancing around in the branches outside the window and diving into the window to chase away their reflection.  Of a slightly humorous note: we were almost late for a dulcimer program after both inadvertently sleeping in.  John was up in the night, having a hard time getting comfortable from his back, and came back to bed around 5.  Meanwhile Connie was awake around 5:30, put a pillow over her head as the birds were starting their morning chirping, and neither of us woke until 8:45 – we had to leave at 9:15!!  Guess we should use our alarms.

We left early one Saturday morning and enjoyed a community breakfast at First Methodist in Booneville, walked around the craft fair with lots of bubbles in the air, 3-4 woodworking booths, and made three of multiple furniture store stops that day.  Our hide-a-bed sofa is shedding and looks horrible, so we’re trying to replace it with something more comfortable for us short people and we’ll lose a lot of weight as well.  In our over-stuffed luxurious world, we haven’t found anything that will fit into our limited space with removable back cushions for sleeping when needed and fit through narrow doors.  We also checked into wood chippers to help our clean up, on our need to buy wish list for now. 

We continue to practice and play with the Booneville Dulcimer Club, very enjoyable and relaxing for us.  There were two practices this month, four care facility programs, the Natchez Trace visitor center program, and one home practice for a special song.  Other music ministry was the senior SALT meeting and sharing some songs at a community Gospel Sing.  The harp came out of its corner and had some practice, amazingly in tune with itself.  Connie has been working on Christian words for a traditional Scottish love song, prompting the setup of our “recording studio” and getting keyboard/rhythm tracks recorded for us to add folk instruments and vocals – “For All Eternity” is the official name (at this time at least).  John has been working on another dulcimer music holder, his original clothespins to a stick design needs an upgrade.   

Please continue to keep ‘Salty Strings’ in prayer as we haven’t stepped out in faith to find ministry opportunities.  John loves his new guitar and needs to sell two others on marketplace.  His great sounding little amp went into the shop about an hour away and again worked fine for the three weeks it was there and thankfully is still working.  (Back in August we had the same experience in Wisconsin!)  We used this trip as a mini-break, visiting the TVA dam in Florence, AL and did some walking to find the elusive waterfall, which was never heard or seen.

Why do we know what to do and not do it?  Exercise should be the ‘norm’ for both of us as we get older, but it is hard to make it a priority!  Our walks have been shorter and less frequent.  One of our routes has a guard turkey this month:  there are several chickens inside wire fencing and a big tom turkey has taken to defending his flock, full fan tail as we approach, and follows us as we pass; Connie takes to the center of the road and John laughs!  We tried to make swimming a habit on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday but keep getting off as our evening comments to each other are “I’m too tired to swim, what about you?”  John has taken a few walks in the woods, a bit depressing with all the limbs that still need to be cleaned up.  He is still doing some strength exercises as well, just not as frequently.  Losing more weight is still a focus, Connie has lost 20# in 8 months, John almost the same and we will reach our goals eventually. 

DEVOTION THOUGHTS THIS MONTH:
** When faith feels fragile, God doesn’t demand that we get stronger. He points us to his promises.  
** God is the God of peace and order. If you find yourself in a frazzled place, turn to Him. Allow the Lord to work in the step-by-step process to accomplish the good plans He has put on your heart.
** Warren Wiersbe: We can decide to endure life and make it a burden, escape life as though we were running from a battle, or enjoy life because we know God is in control.

This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them – for this is their lot.  Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil – this is a gift of God.  They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.  Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 NIV

Tune in again next month for our progress, ministry updates, and travel plans!

John and Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry

Purchase our Songs: SaltyStrings.com/shop

Contact Information:
Mail:  John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
30A Hwy 367
Burnsville, MS  38833

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

• August 26 – Jolly Seniors, Lincoln Christian Church, Lincoln, IL
• August 24*-September 9* – Clinton, IL – Little Galilee, Family Camp, family visits
• September 10*-16* – South Beloit, IL – Wisconsin friends and family visits
• September 16*-22* – Carlinville, IL – Memorial Christian Church friends
• Contact us if you’re interested in some music programs

Praises –Safe travels home 3/6-7; constant reminders, God is SO GOOD to us; abilities we have to serve others

Prayers – Contractor contacts, pricing, hiring of the right one(s); one guitar left to sell on consignment; diligence with eating and exercise; music ministry contacts

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.  Psalm 1:1-3 NKJV

Hello to our followers, family, and friends:

March brought an end to our Florida snow-bird adventures.  We started packing up and making final travel plans on the 5^th, trying to avoid bad weather on each end.  Day 1 was 275 miles with great weather for driving, a few construction slowdowns, Connie driving through Montgomery and Birmingham, and John finding a newly opened camp ground to stay overnight, 4-5 miles off I65.  John’s eyes did fairly well, a bit tired after 2 hours, and they were strained with the prism glasses the last 45 minutes (he hadn’t used those glasses lately).  Day 2 was only 120 miles, mostly off the interstate (but on 4-lane, 65 mph roads), arriving home around 11.  Friends had cleared the driveway of limbs and branches but John had to trim some low hanging pine tree branches before we could back into our parking spot.  He charged up his little pole saw battery and succeeded, from the top of a ladder.  We knew storms were predicted and even with the delay in parking, our set up was done about an hour before the rain and storms started.

We were back to our home exercise swims three days after our arrival, it takes a couple of days to get the water warmed up again, and it was great!  We’ve tried to alternate swim days with walk days, continuing the Florida habit we developed.  Connie has a phone app to map routes, distance, and save routes – we have options now depending on how tired we are and what direction we head.  We can do laps around the double driveways (0.25 mile), head north or north west (1.5 mile), or south east (1.3 mile)!  John has biked around the driveway a few times but not yet tackled the highway ride.  Our health has been good this month, other than some stuffiness and joint pain (perhaps from pollen allergies).  Connie lost a pound this month, but John remains the same – we need to remain quite diligent in our indulgences!  One very ambitious day Connie dug up, loaded, moved (uphill of course), and stacked 3-wheel barrow loads (24 bricks each) from the front yard to the berm area, moving ~25 tulip-type plants that were replanted along the edge of our storm shelter.  She felt really good getting this done, got tired, sweaty, sun baked, and a bit of a stiff back.  Hopefully they will bloom for identification and she’ll get the bricks ‘planted’ into a border soon.

March weather included Florida for the first few days with the first azalea blooms sighted in DeFuniak Springs.  On our way north to home-base in Mississippi we sighted low shrub-type bushes with yellow flowers (also climbing up some trees) and south of Montgomery Alabama redbuds and white cherry blossoms were beginning to open.  Then there was home – thunderstorms right after we were set up, overcast days, more thunderstorms with winds and a tornado watch, and snow flurries on the 16^th!  Snow of course means cold and we had to turn off our water two nights, had a high of 38 one day, and needed the a/c on the 20^th!  Seems a lot like our old Wisconsin springs.  The month ended with a few small rain showers, more cold nights, and lots of wind.

Our volunteer work was wrapped up, 6.5 hours, finishing a few tasks, tools were picked up and stored, and we packed our bags for a couple of real vacation days (Connie says it was our 40^th anniversary celebration from 2 years ago!).  We checked into a beautiful hotel room with a balcony and ocean view of Fort Walton Beach on Monday afternoon, leaving Wednesday morning.  We enjoyed their hot tub both nights with a full moon, 2 bright planets in line, and Orion’s belt followed by sitting on our 5^th floor balcony listening to the very loud surf. 

We took several walks up and down the beach, much harder with the sand; great free breakfast buffets (very sweet pineapple and granola and waffles) and enjoyed pizza and salad with leftovers Tuesday night.  We didn’t know or understand until our arrival that we had a meal allowance on sight that covered most of our food expenses, what a blessing, and we didn’t have to go anywhere.  Connie enjoyed the balcony several times and we had our morning devotion time there as well.  On our Tuesday morning beach walk there were several jelly-like blobs of different shapes and colors.  Of course they had to be researched, salps (tunicates) are translucent blobs washed ashore after windy high tides, not related to jellyfish or poisonous, 1-3” perhaps in size.  Most surprising was the loudness of the surf and she decided no more beach/balcony hotels.  Our son has provided Google-TV for our use and there is one unpaid commercial spot with beach surf, brings back reminders and then muted!  Connie also did a double take a few days ago, hearing ‘surf’ that was created by wind in the pine trees – what an amazing God we have!  Before leaving we paid to walk out on the pier to hopefully spot some dolphins, none in sight our whole stay.

Before leaving Florida, we were surprised with a farewell cake after our last Wednesday study.   The rest of the month was great worshiping and fellowshipping with our home church families again.  Our first Sunday back we were with Cross Point Church in Iuka without our instruments, we just needed to sit back and enjoy the message.  We were at Journey Church for their Sunday evening and Wednesday night studies as they finished up Revelation.  Journey provides candy filled plastic eggs for the local Easter Egg Hunt and one evening the group ‘stuffed’ 3500 eggs!  They had a Pastor’s Wife appreciation evening with Bunco and food (even John played).  John was able to join the Men’s Fellowship this month and we were here for their Sunday evening foot washing.  Connie played the keyboard and John added guitar and vocals on Palm Sunday.  One Sunday we visited the Booneville Methodist Church, enjoying the organ, choir, liturgy, and message – very friendly people with traditional conservative Methodist views.  We want to go back again for their earlier contemporary service.

‘Conductivity’ was shared as special music our final Sunday in Florida and brought lots of smiles and laughs.  We so enjoy being able to be a blessing through our music.  Once back home we joined the dulcimer club for 4 programs and 2 practices, so great to meet lots of new people to the group and get back into fun dulcimer playing.  We do need to make the time to make local contacts to be able to share our ministry a few times a month.

Back to our old routines – shopping trips with multiple stops!  On the way back from our vacation we picked up Captain D’s Wednesday special meals, stopped for carbide tipped multi-tool blades at 2 Harbor Freight locations (finally getting some at Lowes), and Aldi’s for our travel groceries.  The property tax for our rental trailer took us to Corinth, followed by Lowes for a pole saw extension (no more standing at the top of the ladder), Goodwill, and groceries.  We connected with a financial planner (starting to get our affairs in order finally) making two more shopping trips, and stopped at Jack’s for supper once on the way home; we needed a financial planning brain break!

Now that we’re home, we’re focused on finishing up our MP (Multi-Purpose) area.  John started right in with the ceiling and getting Connie’s ‘tiles’ up.  The existing drywall came down and was broken up and bagged for the trash.  (John was afraid the bags would tear open but Connie saw the garbage truck pull up across the road and bags were thrown, landing on the pavement near the truck – not one of them exploded thankfully!)  Joists were rebuilt, beams leveled and scabbed, insulation and plywood added with a bit of frustration and finger banging, and the counter light was wired up.  Half the tiles were put up in one day, the rest followed including fabrication of an attic door.  Each edge tile (24) was custom cut to fit the slight taper in the beams.  Since our scaffold was put away, Connie added a few hooks to the post in the addition and we now have places to hang towels after our swims. John decided to hire out adding 38’ of gutter over our entrances (Connie is tired of getting dripped on) and for a major bathroom overhaul that is much needed.  Connie then approached a contractor in the checkout line and another in the parking lot at Lowes – we’re still awaiting quotes for the work.

Throughout the month Connie worked diligently on our taxes; now only a final ‘final figures’ check is needed.  It always helps to double and triple check – she found two forms were missed the first time through and saved $400!  She helped unload plywood, cleaned out the dryer outside vent, and cleaned the swim spa and hot tub covers one day, ending up with a very stiff/sore back again.   A few hours here and there and John made a big dent clearing and cutting up a lot of the branches in the yard.  There is still plenty to do in the woods to clear the paths.  Connie helped a little bit dragging some larger branches to the piles in the Highway ditches.  John called the music store to check on the 3 consignment items we left there – two had sold and he renewed the contract on the remaining guitar.  We were told to be sure and keep the contract and we’ve been searching for the ‘safe place’ we put it for over a month.  It gave us a chance to sort through some things, take the unwanted items to Goodwill, and (while looking for something else) the contract was finally found.  It is now in a ‘safer’ place until it is needed in May!

While in Florida we met a camp volunteer who has taken a vow of poverty.  He has no car or home and is quite content with life as it happens.  We took him for lunch and talked about his life, living on the streets, conversion and service in a homeless shelter, and future plans.  Back in Mississippi we joined back with the Friday date night group (a bit different since the loss of one of the members), went to the 2^nd Sunday Gospel sing/supper at a local church just to relax, John went for breakfast with the guys, and we went to a free lunch seminar gathering information about uncovered ambulance costs and who makes the decisions.

DEVOTION THOUGHTS THIS MONTH:
** A.W. Tozer wrote in one of his journals, “There is Master Planning, and there is the Master’s Planning.  May we not confuse the two.  To know His plan requires waiting before Him, then we can be strong and take heart.”
** An old Portuguese proverb states, “God writes straight with crooked lines.” The Lord will direct your way, not by the easiest path, but by the one that fulfills His plan.
** What desires has the Lord put in your heart? What are you passionate about? What are your talents? What have you received from God? How can you use those things to love the Lord and others? God calls you to be about those things, putting aside distractions and bad habits.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” . . .“If you can?” said Jesus.  “Everything is possible for one who believes.” . . . This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  Mark 10:27, 9:23, I John 5:14  NIV

Thanks for traveling with us and being part of our family!

John and Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry

Purchase our songs:  SaltyStrings.com/shop

Contact Information:
Mail:  John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
30A Hwy 367, Burnsville, MS  38833

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
>> End of August – Lincoln, IL – Jolly Seniors Program
>> Family visits south-central Wisconsin, central Illinois
Contact us if you’re interested in some music programs, we may come your way!

Praises – Newfound church family in Florida; a place to park and work for next winter; safe travels home (3/6-7)

Prayers – Bedroom a/c; tree and brush cleanup after storms; music ministry; John’s eyesight still improving but problematic on longer drives/bike rides

When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”  Matthew 17:6-7 AMP

Hello to our family, friends, and followers:

Connie made sure our visiting guest left on the 3^rd with his small refrigerator full – waffles, hard-boiled eggs, fresh eggs, and cooked hamburgers (he has no stove).  We stayed in for Valentine’s Day but did have a special meal of pork chops, sweet potato, veggies, and a very relaxing day.  John’s Birthday we enjoyed lunch out followed by shopping for camp materials.  The church carry-in Italian themed lunch was the 22^nd and Connie made some homemade garlic knot rolls.  A couple from church treated us to a Chinese Buffet meal, followed by a nap that afternoon.  Then there was a lunch buffet at Pizza Hut (hard to find anymore) that was excellent pizza with several church members followed by game night (Bingo with a Twist) and another meal!  As usual at the end of a volunteer project, there were goodbyes, celebrated with a surprise cake after our Wednesday night study. 

We continued to go to the “church on the corner” (First Christian Church) and did walk there a few times this month.  We arrived early to practice with the praise team, went to Sunday School with lessons on “Enduring Beliefs of the Church” and the sermon series “Healing for Mental Health.”  Our Wednesday night “Daniel/Revelation for Beginners” started online videos, discussions, and a quiz.  (Excellent materials found at bibletalk.tv).  The worship leader was unexpectedly gone one Sunday and Connie stepped up becoming the backup singer, and actually enjoyed herself.  Every week we were challenged to grow spiritually with these wonderful church people! 

 Our walking continued, averaging 5 days a week, and Connie found a phone app to get our distance.  Once around the loop was 0.9 miles so we made a figure 8 route that was 1.3 miles.  Our biggest decision was which route, where to start, and once or twice!  It was refreshing and enjoyable most of the time!!  We are both maintaining our weight loss, but finding it harder to lose more (of course eating out and bored snacking doesn’t help).  John did a couple of bike rides, walking to the pavement then working hard for some fast rides.

Volunteer work continued with a total of 101 hours this month, mostly in the hotel rooms.  We decided in January that we would donate the materials we purchased to the camp so we made our shopping lists, did the work, and started a new list.  Our tasks included:  One mini-blind repaired and another replaced; cleaned and replaced hotel porch jelly jar globes; made and put up some custom trim base boards; caulked carpet strips over bare floor joints, and kept trying various scenarios to fix the ceiling fan light before declaring it “dead” and replacing it.  We broke a key off in a lock and made some trips to the local Ace Hardware to have it removed, rekeyed (twice, didn’t have the master key the first trip), leading us to lube all the locks and suggest it be a scheduled maintenance item due to corrosion tendencies.  There was lots of patching and touching up walls and ceilings including some major work from leaks in a bathroom and bedroom.  As we went through the rooms the exhaust fans and ceiling fans were cleaned, and baseboard trim was touched up as needed.  We were creative using up old paint, mixing, straining, and making new colors for one large bedroom makeover.  John cleaned all the a/c unit filters and Connie made some labels for confusing light switches and the hotel laundry area.  

Perhaps from allergies, John had the “crud” settle in starting on the 8^th with chills, sinus, and sore throat.  By the 22^nd he was moving to the couch in the middle of the night to be more upright and to not keep Connie awake with his sniffles and coughing.  Even at the worst he was able to keep working, although not much for strength and stamina.  He missed church one morning, not wanting to pass it along to anyone else, but was able to muster the voice and energy for special music our last two Sundays.

Our grocery shopping (Aldi’s) took us to Niceville usually, Walmart was close by in DeFuniak Springs, and most trips included lunch out.  Only one propane tank fill early in the month, but several trips for materials for camp repairs.  We finally made it to Blue Mountain Beach on the 3^rd.  It was wonderful, chilly and breezy, and easy parking with a short walk to the clear multi-color blue water and white sand followed by a bistro-type lunch and movie after returning home.  We walked the 1-mile sidewalk around Lake DeFuniak spotting turtles, lots of ducks, and lots of sunshine. This lake is one of only two almost perfectly circular spring-fed lakes in the world (the other one, Kingsley Lake near Starke, FL)!  Another trip to town included leisurely strolls through some antique shops.  Connie had a few “down” days and was surprised when John took her out for pizza (that she had been craving for a while) in Crestview – it was excellent pizza and there were two oriental food shops that John stopped in for some Nori Maki seaweed rice cracker snacks. 

From the January storms in Mississippi, we learned there were no physical structure damages but lots of limbs down, including one that fell on a power line and broke the pole to our trailer rental.  We received some pictures once the property was accessible, and it is not pretty.  Both of our tenants moved out until power was restored, our property manager lined up the electrician and pole repair, a church friend made several trips to clear limbs from the driveway so we could return and park, and there appears to be no damage to the water lines.  Meanwhile, in Florida we had one night that we didn’t get our water line thawed until noon the next day before turning it off again that night.  Connie made a note that it was warmer in Burnsville, MS than in Florida one day!  It was quite depressing to hear there would be 6 more weeks of winter, but by the 5^th we were up to 52 and on the 9^th we were at 72 – Connie finally was in capris, sandals, and a t-shirt!  There were several windy and rainy days with some thunder storms towards the end of the month, not bad back in the trees, just a bit depressing with no sunshine.  

For us, as for you, everyday life just happens!  We woke early one morning to the chirping of something; not our smoke detector, not a noisy bird outside, finally found it was our hard-wired propane/CO2 sensor way down by the floor in a corner of the living room!  We opened our vent fans (stove fan recirculates air back into the room) and it would quit for a while.  Although we couldn’t smell propane around the stove it continued to beep from time to time for a couple of days.  Mid-month we needed air conditioning and found our bedroom unit is not working.  Connie figured out a knit scrunchie pattern and has finished one and started a second one.  John spent some time on the phone trying to get answers to our health card purchase problems with no resolution.  We finally decided on a mini-vacation (in the works since our 40^th wedding anniversary almost 2 years ago) and booked the hotel, more about that next month.  Of course, our God is always good and we received an early Easter ham from the pastor, which we thawed, cut up, and refroze some for many more meals.  This was smoked by the high school as a fundraiser, and was huge!  Didn’t know you can air fry the skin for smokey flavored pork rinds, not bad for our first attempt.

DEVOTION THOUGHTS THIS MONTH:
** Billy Graham once said, “God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.”  Poet Maya Angelou stated, “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”  Remember to give and do not be too proud to receive.  God designed people to support each other.
** The Lord apportions spiritual gifts to His children to build up His church.  They flow from the Holy Spirit, not from the individual.  Use your gifts as an act of worship to the Lord and an act of service to His church.
** Are you prepared for Jesus’ return?  Will your reaction be panic or joy?  The truth that He is coming again is a reassurance to the one who believes.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Psalm 138:23-24 NIV

Please keep us in your prayers . . . and THANKS for traveling with us!

John and Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry

Purchase our songs:  SaltyStrings.com/shop

Contact Information:
Mail:  John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
30A Hwy 367
Burnsville, MS  38833

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
>> March 7–June ? – Home, property repairs, music ministry
>> Future plans – Dates pending; Fredericksburg, VA, IL/WI summer trip

Praises – Guitar finally arrived, prayers answered; hearing aid repairs done at very little cost; friends and family safe from storms

Prayers – Computer upgrade; those still without power and shelter, cleanup and property repairs across the US; continue healthy eating and exercise; focus on music ministry

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.  2 Peter 3:9 ESV

Hello to our friends, followers, and family:

January 2026 – the new year has come!  We continued wrapping up a few volunteer projects before leaving for our next stop in Florida.  John did some final painting at the staff house and Connie added a butterfly stencil preparing for hand quilting and started pulling out seams in a huge donated quilt top that was in need of redesign.  She also pulled out a lot of waffle stitch crocheting, redoing it to correct some mistakes for the hot pads/wash clothes/doilies she donated to the gift shop.  

January brought challenges to our exercise and routines.  There is a nice 1-mile loop we can walk, half sand and half really rough blacktop, which we do almost every day if it warmed up a bit.  We tried riding our bicycles, Connie faired a bit better in the sand but it is an abrupt stop when the front wheel gets too deep – once was enough.  John was a bit braver, had a second longer bike ride (after walking to the road) and a few cold brisk walks.  Even with the exercises both of us had extra aches and pains, perhaps from the weather and cold.  Connie had a blader infection early in the month and really needs to do her stretching exercises every morning to get the body ready for the day.  John finally made the connections for his hearing aid; although it was a long drive the gentleman replaced the receiver (under warranty thankfully) and only charged a small service charge

John found and purchased our newest instrument ‘family’ member, causing a bit of stress before we left.  It was expected to arrive the 2^nd, the weather turned cold, camp staff were on holiday vacation, it had to be signed for, UPS lost the package, expected delivery was to be after we left, but John was able to meet the driver and get it on the 6^th in great condition!  We filled up with diesel, packed up, and travelled 429 miles on Thursday, January 8.  As we headed south on Highway 35 there was a Veterinary Clinic sign “dogs can’t run a MRI but catscan,” we crossed a bridge and coined the phrase jerk-o-matic bridge, and there was a yellow diamond road sign “chicken trucks entering road.”  We came through Mobile, AL from the north and arrived around 4:20pm just a bit weary eyed – John did a lot of driving but after an 8 hour trip he had a strong headache and we decided no more long day trips. 

Well, we always think the trip is the worst part of traveling, but again were proved wrong.  We checked the parking sites, John tried backing into two spots, and a guy from the camp offered to give it a try.  He didn’t make it either, soft sand and not much space to maneuver, and after getting the truck unstuck, we spent the night hooked up to electricity but in the road.  Then, we found neither of our a/c units would work, it was still 77 in the RV the next morning!  Again this year, for all our Ford friends, our neighbor with a Ford 4WD hooked up to our RV and finally got it into our site after 3 attempts.  We completed our set up, and praise the Lord, both a/c units worked! 

Our first Sunday we attended First Christian Church (west of DeFuniak Springs, FL) and loved the preaching (a series, Healing for Mental Health), worship, and people.  It is only a half-mile round trip but the weather has not been good for walking this month.  They have Sunday School and Worship Service on Sunday and a great Bible study on Wednesday night.  The Wednesday study just completed reading/studying ‘The Normal Christian Life’ by Watchman Nee (pretty intense reading) and are now starting a Daniel/Revelation you-tube study.  We have been invited to share special music each Sunday and have joined the praise team.

Salty Strings had one of our best experiences ever as we shared with God’s House of Hope staff and residents on January 5.  Their enthusiasm, participation, joy, and desire to be in God’s Word was a real blessing to us.  After our program we toured the facility and enjoyed lunch with them.  We have tried to get back to recording and editing some of our songs in progress, but didn’t make any headway this month.  Our computer is running out of storage, leading us on a rabbit trail looking at online and local options and determining what the next step will be.  Connie has practiced her harp several times and John has worked on mandolin and enjoying his new guitar that plays and sounds beautiful. 

A frustration this month was trying to use our OTC health card.  Although they increased our benefits, things we used to get (and they say are covered) are not paid for.  There have been several trips to the customer service counter to return these expensive health supplements.  We have taken multiple shopping trips, heading various directions to see some different cities.  We have a Walmart about 5 miles away, but Aldi’s is at least 30 minutes, taking longer with traffic.  John’s hearing aid repair was a long trip to Milton, FL and we made our grocery stops as well as stopping in at A Joyful Noise, where we purchased two dulcimers several years ago.  On the way home we made an impulse stop (very hungry) at Captain D’s where we enjoyed great service and a short wait for our Wednesday Senior specials.  Twice while out and about we encountered accidents.  A semi-truck was stuck turning off a highway onto the I-10 on ramp; we had to go up the ramp and U-turn back down.  The other was a recent two-car collision with several road pull-offs for emergency vehicles to pass by, there appeared to be no injuries as we passed.

Our volunteer work at this camp started on the 12^th with the primary focus to clean and organize the maintenance shed(s).  The cold mornings did not help and Connie spent many hours sorting hardware at home.  John organized 7 areas while Connie only did 1 with help from John!  After it warmed up a bit, Connie tackled the refrigerator where pop had exploded making a huge mess.  Our secondary focus was deep cleaning the camp kitchen, inside work!  Stove ovens, burners, and grill; big refrigerator and 2 others; cabinets inside and out; rolling serving counter door inside and out; ceiling fan; convection oven; and camp pantry shelves and organize contents were completed.  Along the way John patched an open area in the wall, changed electric covers, patched and repainted areas of the walls and ceilings, and installed a new light over the serving counter.  He also worked with another volunteer with a few electric items and added a new plug for the saw in the maintenance area. 

Connie’s nemesis this month were lady bugs (the bad kind).  Seems we have been infested with the little critters and they, being drawn to the light, hover and attack her quiet time before going to bed.  Of course, google AI and others have all kinds of “helpful” advice; vacuum them up, empty outside (and watch them fly right back to the RV).  She had the bright idea one morning to get our lint roller and flush them down the toilet.  Works fairly well, doesn’t kill them and they will come back to life and fly away unless timely flushed.  She had several days of 30-50 executions but we’re down to 10-15 every few days now.

The first warm Friday we drove to Niceville, FL and enjoyed the Turkey Creek Nature Hike, 1 mile of boardwalks along Turkey Creek before turning around and heading back.  We started out slowly, enjoying the fresh air and views of the creek’s fast current, sandy bottom and deep areas.  In the summer this is the spot to be for tubing, canoeing, and swimming.  There wasn’t much to see this time of year, we only encountered two turtles and a deranged squirrel coming down a skinny tree, headed right for us.  (It didn’t help when John started narrating the approach of the killer squirrel.)  There were a few F18’s flying overhead with their loud rumbles.  As usual, this trip was with lunch out (DQ) and grocery shopping. 

Fellowship was a bit thin this month.  Before leaving French Camp (MS) we attended another Masonic breakfast and enjoyed some ice cream goodies with our fellow SOWERs.  As soon as we were parked, we headed out to find an Aldi’s and get restocked, followed by our traditional arrival meal, this time lunch at the “Plateful Chinese Buffet” in town.  The fourth Sunday is the “carry in” church meal with a soup theme this month and lots of fellowship, and our nursing home music ministry friend Larry joined us for a few days at the end of the month.  Our date nights remain lunches out, sometimes more than one a week!

Crazy weather, all throughout the US!  We are first thankful that we didn’t have any issues here in the Florida panhandle, and second that our Mississippi property escaped severe damage.  Our overnight high was lower 50’s with several nights below freezing (as low as 23) but it did warm up above freezing every day.  Our surge protecter kicked off multiple times in the early morning hours several days; thankfully it automatically turns back on.  We still have our water jugs out for those nights when we turn off the water (a few days it took until noon before the spigot unfroze).  Of course, there is always that one the propane runs out and reminds us to plan ahead for really cold nights!  We did have a bit of snow/ice on the ground one morning and a tornado watch.  Both of our rental tenants had to find other housing due to power loss; our trailer lost the electric pole as well, putting downed lines across the house porch.  Water service lines were also out with boil orders just lifted today. 

DEVOTION THOUGHTS THIS MONTH:
>> Both the good and the bad you see in the world have a specific place in God’s plan, and every book of the Bible affirms the purpose of God’s work: to reveal Himself to all living creatures as the Author of life, light, and love.  
>> Genuine happiness and satisfaction in life are dependent upon attitude and character, not accomplishment and circumstances. 
>> Rocky paths serve to steady your feet the more you hike them.  If you watch a baby learning to walk, they stumble and fall frequently.  They do not require instruction, because God-given instructions were born into them.  While you may occasionally stumble or fall, your loving Father God is always there to pick you up and set you on the right path again.

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh.  Is anything too hard for me?”  Jeremiah 32:27 ESV
I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.  Isaiah 45:7 NIV

Until next month – THANKS for traveling with us!

John and Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry

Purchase our songs:  SaltyStrings.com/shop

Contact Information:
Mail:  John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
30A Hwy 367
Burnsville, MS  38833

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

** January 8-March 6 – SOWER Project DeFuniak Springs, FL
** Return home – Travel days undecided

Praises – Wonderful music opportunities, new friends, free lunches, great surroundings for walking and biking

Prayers – Discipline to continue healthy habits; God to watch over our property and tenants while we’re away; consignment items to sell and their new owners to be blessed; continued music ministry invitations; right hearing aid not working

Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God.  In the same manner Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many.  He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him. 
Hebrews 9:27-28 Good News Translation

Hello to our followers, family, and friends:

The Advent season has passed, Christmas is over, and a new year has started.  The message remains the same:  Fear not, God is with us, and Jesus will return again!  There were lots of holiday activities available; we missed a few but did attend the Community Christmas program, the school choral concert, and the Christmas Dinner (fancy dresses and suits for the students, kind of like prom with dinner, photo booth, and entertainment, followed by activities in the gym).  We walked to church for the Christmas Eve service, continued around “Old French Camp” for the lights, and back home, perhaps 1.5 miles total.  Christmas Day, we had a great lunch of fried pork chops and rice (mild to Cajun according to preference) and opened a present this year!

Lots of fellowship this month as well.  On the 3^rd we drove to have dinner followed by a game of Mexican Train at the home of a fellow SOWER in the area.  The full moon helped with our drive home.  There were two Sunday meals at the Carmack Fish House with our fellow SOWERs and new Pastor friend; the first week we cleaned up the buffet as they closed.  We also had a pre-Christmas lunch with this Pastor and his wife, Christ-centered conversation and fantastic food!  There was breakfast one Saturday at the French Camp Masonic Lodge, the guys got together one morning for coffee, we toured the finished counseling building where John worked 3 years ago, and we watched a video of the live performance of Jonah for an entertainment night.  The 31^st we drove to Houston (MS) meeting our northern friends at a small Chinese Buffet for lots of hugs, conversation, and passing some free shop equipment along (a saw for a woodworking friend and an old planer for John to tinker with).

Opportunities for exercise were plentiful here, along with a bit of guilt since the track is across the parking lot.  We walked everywhere when the weather permitted along with intentional walks up the big hill, past the stable, around the camp cabins, and a bit through the woods OR up the other hill, around the campus and downtown.  Either way was about 1-1.5 miles.  John added bicycle riding (Connie couldn’t handle the many hills) and a workout routine along with extra really fast walks.  Connie did her 10-minute videos almost every morning.  Some days were hard to get started; some walks were really cold and windy.  On the 28^th we ambled up the big hill, stopping at the lodge where we sat on the porch and watched the sun set over the lake.

We attended Sunday School and church services most Sundays at French Camp Presbyterian Church.  Our first Sunday was the first Sunday service for their new pastor.  There was one unexpected meal after a service which we enjoyed.  We were able to visit the Baptist Church the last Sunday in December.  This is where we went when we were here 3 years ago.  

The ladies were a part of 5 bread mailings (sticking lots of shipping labels on their respective envelopes and taping them to boxes of frozen bread for USPS pickup) interspersed with splitting donated hotel queen into small twin-size blankets for the dorms.  The bread mailing was completed (didn’t get a final count, 4000+) in the first 2 weeks, the blankets were finished up before Christmas with some extra hours during our break period.  We also had two days painting the bookshelf wall cabinets (lots of window panes included) where the men were working.

Connie’s ‘extra’ time included the newsletter, some tax preparation work, harp music transposition and practice, and lots of crocheting.  The academy provided some interesting yarn she used to make 4 nylon scrubbies, and she started 2 waffle stitch doilies/wash cloths; all will be sold at the gift shop.  Connie redid the elastic in John’s pajamas, a positive side effect of losing some weight.  We purchased a second streaming device so we could watch something on the bedroom TV; a programming adventure for Connie.  There is poor reception in this area, but it has improved a bit since we were here 3 years ago.

By December 5 we had emptied one propane tank and planned a ‘shopping day’ to Louisville.  That didn’t turn out so well – Tractor Supply wasn’t filling tanks and Murphy diesel was roped off!  We managed to get groceries and headed back, getting the propane tank filled in Ackerman right before they closed, and diesel was across the street.  After putting groceries away, the TV went on and we relaxed with a movie.  There were two other shopping trips, propane again on the 22^nd and two stops at Walmart.

Our volunteer work started on December 1 and we accomplished a lot in the allotted 3 weeks.  The men worked on a staff house, repairing walls (lots of sanding); preparing the old oak floors in the living room, hallway, closets, and dining room (pulling up tack strips, removing tile glue); sanding and finishing these floors with stain and 4 coats of poly; 2 bathrooms were spackled, sanded, and caulked; multiple walls were trimmed and painted and just a few aches either from going up and down ladders or being on knees.  John fixed a broken chair and finished up painting, caulking, and adding the final poly coats at the house during our 3-week break.

We have been very blessed sharing our music again this month, your prayers have been answered.  It was a God-incidence when a Pastor stopped at the Welcome Center as the guys were enjoying morning break (ladies were shipping bread).  As conversation continued, we were invited to visit his church and share our ministries with slides and music.  We visited and enjoyed lunch with him on the 7^th and shared the following Sunday at Shiloh Independent Methodist Church.  It was a great blessing to all and we continued, without slides, the last 15 minutes after the power went out.  Our 2^nd blessing was being invited to share in a memorial service for a gentleman who played dulcimer and hosted jam gatherings at his log cabin home.  The former pastor returned for the service singing and playing guitar, Connie played dulcimer, John played mandolin, the bread maker (with a wonderful voice) joined in with harmony, and they had an empty chair holding his dulcimer in tribute.  Our 3^rd blessing was scheduling music at God’s House of Hope, a local rehabilitation center, more about that next month!

Our weather wasn’t very pleasant this month.  Around Christmas we had 4 days in the low 70’s and there were 3 days in the 60’s.  We turned off our water 4 nights where it was in the 20’s or below freezing for the whole night.  We have to use our propane furnace when it is below 45, which was many nights.  We woke on the 20^th to a heavy frost and stayed in until it melted off (we don’t have ice scrapers any more).  Lots of drizzly days and some foggy mornings. Connie started crocheting some slipper socks (her ankles were getting cold) on the 1^st and had them finished the next day, nice and toasty tootsies now.  Only one stormy night, the 29^th, with cold temperatures, 40+ mph wind gusts starting around 11 pm, and Connie eventually slept backwards to help some with the sound of the slide awnings flapping around.  Even though we have cause to complain and do so at times, we cannot begin to count all the ways God provides and cares for us!

DEVOTION THOUGHTS THIS MONTH:
>> ‘Someone else needs to be fixed.  Someone else needs to turn things around.’  It might be helpful if we first look in the mirror and see if there are things about ourselves that need to be changed.  Repentance has two parts: 1) to acknowledge shortcomings, failures, and guilt, and 2) turn to Jesus and find forgiveness. Recognize your guilt, then turn to Jesus and find the peace of forgiveness!
>> Waiting requires patience. You can stand firm and eagerly wait for the blessings Jesus has in store for you when he comes back to take you home to heaven.  Patience isn’t a natural virtue in any of us, especially when life isn’t going right, but that’s how God wants you to handle your frustrations and challenges in life. ‘I can’t wait!’ can be your motto for the return of Jesus.    

 . . . as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight . . . . two men stood by them in white robes,and said, “. . . why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”  From Acts 1:9-11  English Standard Bible

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!

John and Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry

Purchase our songs:  SaltyStrings.com/shop

Contact Information:
Mail:  John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
30A Hwy 367
Burnsville, MS  38833

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
** January 8, 2026 – Long travel day
** January 8-March 6 – SOWER Project DeFuniak Springs, FL
** Return home – One or two days of travel