The Wilkes Team

The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein. ~ Psalms24:1

Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent… ~Psalms 148:13

Sing unto the Lord: for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. ~Isaiah 12:5

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. ~ Isaiah 6:3

The flowers appear on the earth: the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. ~ Song of Solomon 2:12

10 Comments » | posted in Photography

John Smith of the 1600s is known by many as an explorer and resident of the original Jamestown settlement. Through his leadership and dedication, Jamestown continued amidst great suffering, contentions, and indian attacks. While many have been seeking to discredit this imperfect founding father of America, there was one thing John Smith understood: ‘the Providence of God.’

John Smith saw the value of journaling and did so extensively. In one entry, Smith recounts how appalled he was by his fellow shipmates’ overlooking of God’s Providence. A seemingly basic truth was being neglected and Smith could not understand why. May I submit that the Church in America is forgetting the Providence of God.

A couple days ago, Sarah and I entered our local Home Depot to return an unneeded chemical. A bit of disappointment arose as I saw a very long line in front of me. The gentleman behind me shared the same feelings . We decided that to avoid returning items on Thursday afternoons may not be a bad idea in the future. The two of us struck up a conversation.

He was returning a dysfunctional water heater. This sparked a lively discussion on the woes and pending dooms of water heaters. The young man went on to explain that prior to discovering the malfunctioning heater, he had been at work one day and was planning on visiting a friend that evening. A strange prompting urged him to choose rather to go home and check his water heater. Following the leading, the young man discovered a deadly leak. Quick action was taken and devastating destruction averted. My natural response was, how fortunate you were. Whoa! I quickly caught myself and said, “I call that divine intervention.” Our conversation soon ended and I walked away with a divine impact!

Do we view life as God’s divine intervention in the creation of a beautiful tapestry called His Providence? Sufferings, successes, failures, humiliations, joys, promotions, education, and more are all key parts in the formation of God’s unique purpose for our life!

“…All things work together for good…(Rom. 8:28).”

4 Comments » | posted in HIS-story, Ministry Reports

Sunday was Daddy’s birthday. Grandpa, Grandma, and the Campbells came to our house. We had church at our house that morning and afterwards celebrated Daddy’s birthday. Grandma brought a peach cobbler & angel food cake. Mrs. Campbell made two coconut pies. And then our family made ice cream cake and a home made cake with chocolate frosting. It was one of the sweetest birthdays I’ve ever been to .

We set up a special arrow display to tell Daddy that we are glad to be his arrows. Daddy is following the Lord and carefully shaping and sharpening each one of us children so we will hit the mark of God’s special plan one day. Daddy is the archer for our family. Psalms 127: 4-5 say, “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” I am very grateful that Daddy has a full quiver!

6 Comments » | posted in Family News

Around this time of year as summer is coming quickly to a close and fall is approaching quite rapidly, canning seems to come to the forefronts of the Wilkes Team minds. Seeing peaches, apples, green beans, tomatoes, grapes etc. just seems to get us all excited about gathering and canning!

Before she passed away, Mommom ( mom’s mom) was always canning somthing and getting us to help her in the process when we were little. Grandpa and Grandma have told such fascinating stories about their growing up years living on farms and how they would provide just about all their food from off the land they tilled. We don’t want these next generations to lose these basic skills that our great grandparents and grandparents knew. We need to take action and ask them questions and seek them out and learn from them. 

Each and everyone of us are blessed with ones that have gone before us yet we seem to take them for granted. It is not until they are gone that we realize we did not take the time to glean from their wealth of knowledge. So lets take the time and learn from those who have gone before us! And if you have never learned to can fruits, meats and veggies here’s a great opportunity for you to ask your great grandma, grandma, or mom how they did it! I’m sure you will have a blast doing it, and maybe this could be your first recipie??

Peach Butter

18 medium peachers

4 cups of sugar

Wash and blanch peaches. Peel, pit, and slice in peaches in half. Put them in blender until  it reaches the consistence you want (Chunky to very smooth).

Put blended peaches in a large pot. Add the sugar. Cook until thick enough to round up on a spoon. As mixture thickens, stir frequentily to prevent sticking. Ladle hot peach butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch. headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 min. in a boiling-water canner. It yields about 4 pints. 

5 Comments » | posted in Family News, Recipes

Last night Mommy read us a book from the Lamp Lighter Company called Jessica’s First Prayer. It was about a little ragged beggar girl who was inspired by a cold hearted, but gentle man named Mr. Daniel. He owned a small coffee shop in London where he sold hot buns and coffee every morning for 1 pence each. Through a series of scary, sad, and sometimes funny events, Jessica warmed Mr. Daniel’s heart and not only received physical nourishment but also spiritual nourishment. You will enjoy hearing of her desire to understand three spritual things. What I was encouraged about was her faithfulness in not focusing on personal needs, but in praying for others.

4 Comments » | posted in Book Reports

Music is rightfully called an international language. While words and expressions between two different cultures may be difficult to perceive, music communicates on a level that goes beyond our 5 senses and allows a unique understanding regardless of one’s background. By no means, is music (the culmination of individual tones into a phrase) neutral or amoral. It is a reflection of the composer’s intent and often his spiritual condition. Furthermore, music has a way of both drawing people together and establishing relationships. It is indeed a divine gift, and when used properly, music brings beautiful results.

Recently, an opportunity arose to interact with pianist, music teacher, and hymn arranger Leonard (Lenny) Seidel. Mr. Seidel has had much experience in arranging hymns (you can actually download his most widely distributed arrangement here) and teaching piano. A number of years ago he served as the Music Pastor for Pastor John MacArthur’s Church and wrote several documents (1 and 2) on the changing music of our day.

On this particular occasion, he was an honored attendee at a local family hymn sing that we attend periodically. Amidst many beautiful performances that night, Mr. Seidel surprised us by playing several inspiring hymn arrangements. The joy and inner harmony he had when putting his arrangements together was clearly evident. The additions and modifications to the hymns enhance and compliment the message. I couldn’t help but ask how he was able to arrange the music (hoping for a timely tip or two). His first response was that it is a gift from God. This encouraged me once again to always remember and prayerfully consider the message I am conveying with the music I perform.

I can’t help but think that when we play music, the resulting sound and subsequent message often reveals our inner attitudes and thoughts – anger, bitterness, worry, fear, lust, foolishness, joy, peace, hope, etc. May our hearts be one with Christ and may our music provoke many to love and good works (Heb. 10:24). Thank you Mr. Seidel for your musical testimony.

4 Comments » | posted in Family News