How I rejoice over the faithful prayers of parents for their children. Oh the precious thoughts of a father and mother towards their newly born baby. The vision and desires they hold for this new life. Such love for the dear little one turns their hearts to fervent prayer – prayers for salvation, a tender heart, a love for God’s Word. These prayers continue as the baby grows. They realize the day will come when their precious son or daughter follows the leading of the Lord unto the establishment of the next generation. The day seems so distant, but the loving father & mother lift their hearts in prayer for the future spouse and children of this little one who now sits upon their lap.

The Scriptures say that, ‘Except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it (Ps. 127:1).’ ‘For he established a testimony……that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them…. (Ps. 78:5-6).’

Several months ago, I had the joy of approaching a father and sharing with him my heart and how I believed it was the Lord’s will for me to marry his daughter. This began a season of waiting on the Lord’s direction and His perfect timing. His daughter – she had desires but rather than leaning upon her own understanding, she purposed to rest in the loving arms of her Savior. She was at peace with how the Lord would guide and direct.

In God’s timing, He makes everything beautiful. We rejoice to say that through the leading of the Lord and our precious parents, the Lord has confirmed that it is His will for Lisa Butler and I to be united together in marriage.

We are grateful for the way our parents fervently seek the will of the Lord and for the way they have faithfully prayed for their children and the generations to come.

Thank you for the legacy you are laying for the future generations.

One of the purposes behind the Family Encouragement Weekend is to encourage families to work together, impact their local communities for Christ, and to leave a Godly legacy for the generations to come. Each FEW Conference contains rich seasons of prayer, exhortation, and fellowship with families whose desire is to live according to the Word of God.

What a blessed weekend this was! We walked away from this conference so encouraged, inspired, uplifted, and ready to continue on in the small corner of the world that God has placed us!

There are several other meaningful reports on this past weekend:

- From the Neely Team – From the Girotti Family

- From the Hynes Family

We also look forward to having a copy of the messages uploaded to: www.FEWconference.com. This will be provided shortly.

During a recent dinner hour and while Kenan was walking into the kitchen, he suddenly exclaimed with joy and wonder, the spectacular setting sun. Amidst the shades of vivid pink, red, and orange, we marveled over the bold rays of sunlight emitting from behind the mountains. The wonder was magnificent to behold and a timely reminder to take the time to notice the hand of our loving Creator throughout His creation.

When a recent opportunity arose for Mom, Jennifer, and Sarah to attend a special course that amounted to 9 days of travel, Hannah was placed in the position of ‘lady of the Wilkes Team house.’ This came as a new experience to her but one for which she had been prepared by the loving and caring direction of our wonderful mother.

Through her faithfulness, joy, and submission, Hannah graciously stepped into the new role. All 7 young men in our home were blessed immensely by her diligence, organization, and scrum-dilly-licious meals. She was a true support and blessing to all seven of us! Thank you Mom, Jennifer, and Sarah for your beautiful examples and excellent job training Hannah. We were 7 blessed young men.

The Lord had lead us thus far – He was trustworthy.

"And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you…(Is. 30:18)." "Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee… (Ps. 31:19)." His goodness and graciousness towards us is so undeserved.

His goodness and graciousness may involve more waiting or circumstances contrary to our desires but oh the joy of knowing we are in the center of His will though our emotions be unsettled.

Just in God’s time, He directed our steps and guided us to call a local church. Our phone call was answered by the man who we later discovered was the Pastor of the church. When he heard the vision behind the conference and of our pressing need, he graciously offered us the use of the faciliy, even before we had met face to face. This clear testimony of God’s direct action further confirmed the hand of the Lord upon the conference. In His perfect timing, he opened the doors of this precious church and so provided an avenue unto the needful encouragement of families.

He is trustworthy – praise be to God!

We arrived to a bustling team of workers preparing for a  productive day. After some hardy greetings we helped move some 100 chicks or so from the coop to a mobile chicken shelter.

Next we moved to the butchering station. Here the Matich family had set up a very efficient system for butchering their  chickens. First they were placed into cones, and the main arteries along their neck were cut. After the blood had drained the chickens were placed into boiling water to prepare for the plucking machine. After a minutes or so in the steamer the plucker was turned on and four chickens quickly became featherless.

Taken from the plucker, Mr. Matich gave clear instruction on how the dressing of them should be performed. Carefully following his lead we dressed the first batch of chicken and prepared them for the “quality control” station. At this station, the chickens were meticulously studied for any possible parts which needed cleaning.

It was a wonderful process to take part in. By noon we had taken care of 50 or so chickens all ready for freezing and then selling. Liberty Hills Farm has a growing reputation for very clean and nicely butchered chickens. They clearly deserved this reputation based on their butchering of the chickens in a very meticulous manner.

At the end of the day, the Matich family graciously gave us three of their chickens. Since then I believe we’ve enjoyed at least one of them. Therefore I can honestly recommend that all those who enjoy the meat of a chicken if you can possibly fit it into your schedule please go to the Liberty hills farm website. There you’ll find the means of contacting the Matich family and possible reap the benefit of meat that is grass-fed, healthy, and wonderfully delicious.

Whether we were working together, ministering with each other, or planning for the upcoming FEW Conference, wholesome conversations, memorable moments, and joyous sounds abounded.

An unexpected blessing was the opportunity to meet and fellowship with the Fleshman family from southern West Virginia. Hearing the testimony of Christ at work in their family was of great encouragement.

What a joy it is to hear of every day families who take joy in following the leading of the Lord to be salt and light in the communities they have been called to live in.

The constellation of fifty stars, the thirteen strips, a cloth of red white and blue, rippling from wind’s touch, flying high to be seen of all, is the flag of the United States of America. Signifying a patriotism that has passed from generation to generation for 234 years. Causing remembrance of a momentous occasion when 50 or so stalwart patriots gathered together to bring a group of people into the sphere of nations. Henceforth, establishing themselves to operate according to certain Biblical principles without arrogant tyranny halting their steps. The flag, the occasion, the patriots, all made possible by Divine Providence are the reasons the fourth of July is a holiday. Let them never be forgotten!

Therefore, so as not to forget, the Wilkes Team piled into the van for a quick trip to the city of Culpeper. Being our first fourth of July in both county and city of Culpeper we decided to discover and explore. Joshua did some quick research on the internet, found some interesting events to go to, we looked them over and decided our destination.

Our destination turned out to be right next to the Culpeper courthouse. The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) were there, the city mayor, and the vice chairman of the city board. The centerpiece of the event was the reading of the Declaration of the Independence.

  Dad had the opportunity of speaking with the gentlemen who helped coordinate the event. The gentlemen actually was from Africa and had only been living in the United States for nine years. When he began figuring out how this nation was started he was inspired and became deeply motivated to remind Americans of their heritage. This was one of the reasons for coordinating the reading of the Declaration of Independence on the court house lawn. From the conversation we were encouraged by a man, not even born in America, holding up those principles and ideals so integral to the founding of America.

The same call is upon the rest of Americans but even more so upon Christian patriots. For too long the principles of God’s word which established this country have been hid behind the curtain and thrown under the rug. The confusing political drama of the last few years has effectively shown the result of such a seeming minor cover up.

Let us do our part so that the joy of seeing the US flag fly, the excitement of celebrating the fourth of July, and the effort of our forefathers won’t be lost to the preceding generations. 

Grandpa and Grandma have long been an example of loyalty and faithfulness. They have helped to impart to their children the building blocks of strong, Biblical families.

We always enjoy the opportunity to be together with our extended family. Dad’s siblings have younger families. Watching them grow up and seeing their love for God grow is a blessing and truly a testimony to the grace of God and the faithful prayers of Grandma.

For the June birthdays, we had one large celebration here at the farmhouse. Two of Dad’s siblings with their families and Grandpa and Grandma made it out.

Our time together was truly precious. Just before opening gifts, there was a meaningful time of remembering God’s grace upon the Wilkes family in preserving Grandma from cancer. Through a series of miraculous events in 1991, the Lord halted the inevitable death that stage four cancer would have resulted. Now almost 20 years later (next year), the cancer has not returned. Grandma has lived a vibrant life these past 19 years, has had the joy of seeing the birth of her 20th grandchild, and abundantly blessed the lives of untold hundreds through her loving and servant’s heart.

As we counted our many blessings this year and celebrated the births of Grandma, Aunt Summer, Sarah, Kenan, and Joshua, there was also much joy over the preservation of Grandma’s life.

Following a scrum-dilly-licious breakfast Saturday morning, vacuums roared to life, spray bottles began to discharge, paper towels scrubbed, and dust began to disappear. Dirty nooks and crannies from top to bottom were identified, attacked, and eliminated. Windows began to sparkle, trim to glisten, and bathrooms to squeak. A task of ponderous proportions was promptly performed with an overflowing abundance of joy, laughter, and fellowship.

After much diligence, the two teams rallied to the vans for a trip to Culpeper and a tour of the construction sight and our temporary housing.

Grandpa and Grandma along with a couple cousins, blessed us with their presence later on that evening when we had a birthday celebration for Kathryn, Jessica, Grandma, Joshua, Kenan, and Sarah.

The day came to a fitting close as everyone sang and praised our Lord and Savior around the pianos.

Thank you Neely Team for blessing our home!

Click here for the Neely Team’s report & more pictures