The Circus is Coming to Town

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To Red Deer, actually.

The Royal Canadian Circus came to RD and we surprised the kids with tickets. They had never been to one before, and this was a great first circus. It was the traditional kind of circus, elephants, high wire (with one of the famous Wallenda family members), clowns, flying trapeze and other performers. We all really enjoyed it and when walking back to the car, Ellie summed it up with “This was the most funnest day of my life!”

Under the Big Top
bike on a wire
Uncle Drew joined us.

Kid’s Art

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Our kid’s school had a Jr. Convention where kids could compete in sports, performances, art, and science. Ellie submitted a photo, and Adelaine put in a colouring page. Adelaine’s colouring won first prize!

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Ellie won third place for this photo:

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A week later we had a fund raiser for the school and she sold this photo for $65 in a silent auction, almost as much as one of mine sold for!

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Here are a couple of other photos she took:

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Grotto Canyon Hike

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A nice spring hike turned very cold in Grotto Canyon.

The weather was great as we started our hike and were making our way to see some ancient rock paintings. People were taking their sweaters off enjoying the sun. But then, we went around a corner and out of a narrow part of the canyon and were hit by a wintery blast of wind. We didn’t know it, but we had gone right past the paintings without noticing the faint markings on the rock, so we pressed on to find them. It was getting really cold with a strong wind chill in the canyon, and many of us were not really dressed for it, so we had to turn around. Ethan was a trooper, hiking hard. He is perhaps a bit more resilient in the cold than our slight girls. On the return I had to carry the girls at various stages just to keep moving! We found the paintings on the way back, and then went for a BBQ of burgers by the river in Canmore.

On a cold day, our family now talks about if it is Grotto cold or not.

 

New Bikes

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Our family loves going on bike rides, and each year it gets better as the kids get faster. Last summer, we finally got Ethan off his training wheels (terrible invention – strider bikes would have been so much better), and he was waaaay to big for his bike, his legs barely moved up and down, and he could never go very fast on it.

Here they are earlier in the Spring on their old bikes:

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This spring we went hunting for new bikes for all three of the kids. It took two trips to Calgary, and many stops, but we finally found what we were looking for. We asked to kids to pay for the bikes with as much of their birthday money as they had, and my family kicked in some to help us out. Ethor went from 12 inch wheels to 20. Adelaine also is on a 20 inch wheeled bike, and Ellie is on a 24, so her bike is the same size as her mom’s. According to the charts in the stores, these bikes are too big for them, but they fit and we really wanted to get bikes that had multiple gears, and these bikes will last them for many years. This has been a huge improvement and we are really able to cruise around town on the trails and roads now. Ethan is so thrilled and went from being the slowest to the fastest of the kids.

New Bikes!

Naomi even talked me into getting a new bike for my birthday – the first new one since I was probably in my teens. The one I was using was given to me and had a bent front wheel (which rubbed against the brakes), very squeaky brakes, and a few other quirks.

The kids are proud as punch of their new bikes, and we are looking forward to many family bike rides this year.

New Bikes!

New Bikes!   New Bikes! New Bikes!

 

 

Ministry Update :: November17, 2014

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tnj_mic_b

A few days ago we were informed that the first shipment of 400,000 French  translations of a booklet titled The Story that Matters, are on their way to France and French Africa, with the majority of the materials heading into the troubled region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We’ve already heard reports of the impact our materials are having in other parts of Africa, so we are excited to hear how this recent shipment helps the church in the DRC. What a blessing to know that our efforts here in Canada are impacting dear ones all over the world. You too share in the blessing by your partnership with us! Thank you for helping make all this possible!

Here at home, I have added audiobook narration to my list of undertakings. I would appreciate prayer as I will be narrating one of our main evangelism books, By This Name as an audiobook. This is a large book and will involve probably 30+ hours in the studio over a couple weeks. Please pray for good health during the the start of winter here so that I will not get one of my infamous sinus infections as that will make for some strange listening. Also, poor Allan who has to edit the audio and listen to me over and over and over…DSC_1513-2

Today, Naomi is home looking after sick children. She is thankful she can be available to them as needs be, but also has the flexibility to help out in the office, proofreading, writing for the GoodSeed website and pitching in wherever needed. We are thankful we can serve the Lord in these ways.

Facebook :: www.facebook.com/gstroynaomi

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FOR CANADIANS ONLY — PS: It is not very often that a we can give something back to our supporters as a “thank you” for praying and supporting us, however if you were to go out and hire someone to do what we are about to mention, it would cost between $1,500 and $2,000 to gain this level of advice. Here is what it is.

A short time ago GoodSeed partnered with ADVISORS with Purpose, a service that helps donors integrate biblical stewardship into their Wills and Estates.
As part of our partnership, ADVISORS with Purpose is offering Canadian supporters of GoodSeed a confidential Estate plan. Here is the good news:
This service can be personalized for each supporter; this plan will help supporters align their Will with their faith, values and desires.
This service is entirely free.
ADVISORS with Purpose does not sell anything.
None of your personal financial information is shared with us or anyone else.
Why is this needful? Well, if you are like me, you have probably thought that:
I’m not wealthy; only the wealthy need to have an Estate plan
I won’t pay taxes after death
My Will is up-to-date, so I don’t need a plan
If I give to charity, I won’t have anything to leave to my family.
Rather awkwardly, I’ve learned all of these are misconceptions. Perhaps you share my thinking.

Tax laws are complicated, and to clear any confusion, you are invited to a 45-minute phone seminar. In this “conference” call, you will receive Estate and Will planning information. This phone seminar will help you understand how to provide for your family in your Will, how to reduce or remove the taxes you will pay on an Estate, and how you can continue supporting ministries of your choice.  This is not a fundraising call and no appeal will be made. Should you like further help after the call, an Estate-planning specialist will be available to talk with you privately. Once again, ADVISORS with Purpose does not sell products; they only provide information so you can make wise choices regarding your Will and Estate.

Phone Seminar
Date:   November 27, 2014
Time:  12:00 pm Pacific Time
1:00 pm Mountain Time
3:00 pm Eastern Time
Duration: 45 minutes

If you would like to participate in this call, please RSVP to ADVISORS with Purpose: email: register@advisorswithpurpose.ca or phone: 1-866-336-3315.

To know more about ADVISORS with Purpose here is a 3-minute video clip http://www.goodseed.com/planned-giving-canada.html.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.