Another Tinkel Prayer Letter has Been Published Mood: a-ok Topic: Ministry
Sarah, my hard working wife, has just sent out another prayer letter about our ministry here in Tennessee. In the past, I have published our prayer letters on our prayer letter blog and just mentioned that there was a new one on this blog. Well, I've decided that I'm going to publish them on both blogs. Since most of my readers read this blog, then this is the most logical place to publish it. I'm going to continue putting it on the prayer letter blog so that anyone that wants to read all of our past prayer letters can do so without having to sort through all of my blog postings to find them. You can find my prayer letter blog link in the left column of this blog. Thanks and here's the new letter.
"The king will answer them, 'I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant [they seemed], you did for me.'
Matthew 25:40 (God’s Word Translation)(1995)
Greetings in Jesus,
Praying that this finds you being blessed and having a great day!! The Tinkels have been doing pretty good. It is hard to believe that another year is almost gone. When I think back over this past year I am amazed at all God has done for us and how big He has shown himself. It has been a great year of ministry. Our numbers have increased with new families and the spiritual growth of my ladies has blessed me in their understanding of who God is in their lives. This past weekend we had our Holiday Meal in which we served 210-230 individuals! When we delivered food to the shut ins the look on their faces made our day. We were so blessed to be able to be Jesus’ hands, feet and words. One of my ladies, who helped deliver the food, kept saying what a good time she was having and how she loved seeing the look on the people’s faces. We want to say a special thank you to all of those who helped, donated, gave, etc. toward our Holiday Meal. God blessed it and He especially blessed Tim, me and my ladies. Thank you for co laboring with us in this endeavor. You reap the blessings as much as we do.
We have had a lot of health issues with Jacob over the last few months. We found out that he has a type of bone degeneration on the bone that fits into his hip socket and that one leg is longer than other (come to find out all three boys have one leg that is longer than the other). This is what is causing him to be in so much pain, especially at night.We were supposed to go to Vanderbilt to see the orthopedic on the 14th but a major snow storm came and we had to cancel. Our new appointment is 1/25/11. Please be in prayer with us that we can find out what needs to be done with Jacob to alleviate the pain that he is in. Pray that we can get in sooner to see the doctor and get something done quickly. John Allen and Joshua are getting excited about the new year of competitive BB gun shooting that will start in January. Tim and I are busy home schooling, Bible studies, running the Mission and taking kids to therapies. God is so good and faithful and we praise Him for allowing us to serve Him where He has placed us. We are greatly and richly blessed at what God is doing in our lives and the part you have in it.
Please be in prayer for our extended families. Tim’s mom has had some major health issues and at one point we thought we were going to have to take an emergency trip to New Jersey. She is doing better now and we pray that within the next month or two we will be able to go and visit with her. My mom has been in the hospital twice in the last month due to heart issues. I have had to make trips to Oak Ridge, TN in order to help her and my grandmother, who she takes care of. My sister and niece in the last year have gone through some major life changes that have been very difficult for both of them. With Tim and I being the “spiritual leaders” in our families, when things fall apart or go wrong, we are the ones that everyone calls. Not only do we have our ministries here in Livingston but our families are our ministries as well. We at times get overwhelmed and tired with so many pulling us in different directions but God has blessed our obedience and our faithfulness.
Please be in prayer for our support. Over the last year we have lost some supporters. We have also gained a few, but not enough to fill in the gap. Pray that God would raise up a remnant of faithful financial and prayer supporters in addition to the ones that He has already provided. We are in need of an extra $400+ a month. Any money that is sent in to BCM Intl. for us is tax deductible. If you would like to know more information about our ministries please contact us. We would love to share our hearts with you at what God is doing in our lives and different ministries. If you would like to know how you can become a prayer or financial supporter we would love to share that as well.
Thank you for your prayers, giving, encouragement etc. We are blessed and greatly appreciate what you do on our behalf. May God richly bless you this Christmas and in the New Year.
Give a Friend a Goat for Christmas! Mood: a-ok Topic: Compassion International
Not a real goat...well, someone will get a real goat but not your friend...let me explain.
You know that I've been promoting Compassion International on my blog for some time now. I know that many of you would love to be involved, but just aren't able to financially support a child monthly. Well, here's a way that you can still help no matter what your budget is.
Compassion International has put out a catalog called the "Gifts of Compassion Catalog" where you can send a one time physical gift to a needy child or their family. They have items ranging from $10 to $5000. Like I said - they'll fit anyone's budget.
What did I mean about your friend getting a goat? Here's how it works. What you do is look through the Gifts of Compassion catalog by clicking here or on any one of the hi-lighted links. Then you pick the item(s) that you would like to purchase. In return, Compassion will send you a gift card along with information on how your gift will be used. You give this card to your friend explaining what you did in their honor. What's really neat is that the Gifts of Compassion catalog has suggested gifts to give to your friend along with the card. For the goat, you might give your friend (or family member) some goat cheese, a cheese cutting knife and the card that explains that you've purchased a goat to give to a needy Compassion International child's family. Isn't that a neat idea?! Of course, you don't have to give the extra gift, but it is a cool thought.
Like I said, they have all kinds of gifts for any budget. You can buy mosquito netting for $10 to help a child in a malaria plagued country. You can give $150 to help a child's father open up a car mechanic business. You can spend $500 to give a computer to one of Compassion's child development centers. You can even donate $5000 to help cover the costs of major surgery that some of the Compassion kids need.
There are loads of other things that you can purchase as well from soccer balls to farm equipment. After your money has been spent, you will get a report explaining how your money was used. Just click here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above to get to the Gifts of Compassion catalog. Thanks for caring and giving a Gift of Compassion this year.
This is One Fantastic Game! And I'm not Playing Games Here! Mood: a-ok Topic: Homeschool Product Review
Occasionally the members of the TOS Homeschool Crew receive a product that is not exclusively an educational item. When that happens the kids are always excited. So far, each one of these items has been a hit with the family and this one is no different.
When I found out that I was going to be sent Wits & Wagers, a game by Dominic Crapuchettes and distributed by North Star Games, I wasn't sure what to think. You see, when I checked out the website, the only thing I could find was the Wits & Wagers Party Edition and I wondered how I was going to review a party game.
Well, God has a sense of humor. We weren't given the party edition, we were sent the new Wits & Wagers Family game! But, since an upcoming game night had been scheduled at the mission that we direct, we decided to use it with the folks that come to the mission. So, we received a family game that we decided to use at a party! Boy was it a hit!
It's hard to describe Wits & Wagers. It's kind of a trivia game, but you don't really have to know any trivia. The game begins by someone asking a question that has a number answer. For example: "What's the world record number o tennis balls a dog has held in its mouth?" The individual players or teams then write down there guesses on a wipe erase board, put them in order in the middle of the table. They then take their game pieces, called "Meeples" (one large and one small) and place them on the answers that they think are closest to the correct answer (without going over). The pieces don't have to be both put on the same answer, and they don't have to be put on their own answer. After that, the correct answer is read. The answer closest to the correct answer gets a point, if you put your large "Meeple" on the closest answer, you get two points, and if you put your small "Meeple" on the closest answer you get one point. That's it!
I know my brief explanation doesn't give it justice, but it really is simple and a lot of fun. We had folks of all ages playing and everyone thought it was great. How many times have you tried playing a game with a large group and everyone loved it? Well, in this case they did! Every single person gave it "two thumbs up". It is truly a game that the whole family can play and like. The rules are very easy (ignore my babble above), you don't have to know correct answer (just be a good guesser) and everything you need is included in the game (even the wipe erase marker and the reusable scoreboard). What more could you ask for?
So, how can you get this fantastic game? Most online game sites sell North Star Games. After doing an online search the lowest prices I could find were for around $16. You can also go to the North Star Games website by clicking here or on any of the hi-lighted links above. They are working on a feature where you can find a store near you that sells their products.
If you want to know what the other TOS Homeschool Crew families thought about the Wits & Wagers Family game, click here.
Have fun!
As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was sent a free Wits & Wagers Family game in order to try out and review on my blog.
And Now Presenting - Cooking With Tim! Mood: a-ok Topic: General
I'm going to let you in on another one of the Tinkel family secrets. This one is a Holiday tidbit. Here it is...are you ready...it has been a family tradition ever since I can remember to make Chex Party Mix every year for the holidays. Some of my earlies memories are of making Chex Mix in our small kitchen in Pennsylvania. What good memories!
That's why I was so excited when I was asked by Pssst! to do a Chex Mix Party and try out some new recipes with my friends. The folks at Pssst! sent me a serving bowl and serving spoon to help with the party and also a nice canvas bag to give away to one blessed party guest. They also sent a box of Rice Chex to use along with a $10 Visa gift card to buy extra ingredients. Also included were coupons and recipes for three different Chex recipes.
Now let me tell you, these aren't the Chex recipes that we made when we were younger. These are totally different! The one that they really wanted us to try was "Chex Lemon Buddies". Other recipes included "Chex Apple Pie Snack Mix" and "Tex Chex Party Mix"! We were to make them up ahead of time and have a Chex tasting party for our guests.
Well, rebellious me decided to do things differently. I'm liable to be kicked off of the Pssst! team for this one. Most of you all know that my wife and I direct a ministry to the low income housing folks in the town where we live. Part of our ministry includes once a month cooking classes for the people that come to the mission. Well, I decided to have a "Chex Mix Cooking Class" and attempt to make three...yes I said three...Chex recipes in one hour or less...yes I said one hour! I decided to teach the folks how to make the "Lemon Buddies Mix", the "Tex Chex Mix" and the "Traditional Chex Mix".
I gathered all of my ingredients, bowls and utensils. Had my recipes and coupons waiting and was ready for action. Nearly 20 people showed up and we got started. As usual, I had a lot of audience participation. I never do things all myself. I had people involved with stirring and shaking and measuring.
We began with the Lemon Buddies. What a great mix! It was very easy to make and was delicious. This was probably the favorite of the folks.
Next we attempted the Tex Chex Mix. It is similar to the traditional chex mix but you add a lot of hot spices and a few more tasty ingredients like corn nuts and taco chips. This one was popular with those of us who liked spicy things, but many said that it was too hot. It was hot, but I loved it!
Finally we made the Traditional Chex Mix. As usual, it was a hit. After all, anything that continues to be a success after 55 years (it came out in 1955) of being around must be good.
So did we make the hour deadline? Let me first tell you that we made all of these in the microwave which cut down on the time. But, let me also tell you that we made huge batches. We made enough of every mix to feed at least 24 people if not more. Well, each recipe took about 15 minutes to make. That, along with tasting and passing around, took almost exactly 1 hour! At the end, I showed the people how they could make up a batch of their choice of Chex Mix, put it in a decorated zip-lock bag or canning jar and give to friends as inexpensive but delicious gifts.
The party was a hit. Everyone enjoyed it and took some good ideas home with them. They were even talking about other ingredients that could be added to make different flavors and custom mixes. I loved it. Pictures are posted below. To get the recipes for the above mentioned mixes, visit your local Wal-Mart for recipe cards. They're delicious.
Good Morning, God. Mood: a-ok Topic: Homeschool Product Review
For years I have prayed for my three sons. I've prayed that they would grow up to be Godly young men and adults. I've prayed that they would love the Lord with all of the hearts, souls, and minds. I've prayed that they would look to the Lord for answers and as an example of how to live. Those are not just prayers, I feel that they are God given goals that I have for my children. I am constantly looking for good Christian material that will help me accomplish those goals. That's why, when I received and read through Good Morning, God, a new children's book from Apologia Press, I was very excited.
Good Morning, God is a beautifully illustrated book geared toward children ages one through eight written by Davis Carmen and Illustrated by Alice Ratterree. The book itself is hard covered with a wonderful assortment of black and white and colored illustrations scattered throughout. The pages are not only beautiful but are made of very high quality paper. The book itself looks like the type of book that would be treasured for a lifetime. However, that is not the real reason why I like this book so much.
The real reason is that it simply states the exact goals that I have for my children - to love the Lord God with all of their hearts, souls and minds! The author takes us through the typical week of a young energetic boy. Each day teaches how we can worship God, love God, learn from God and pray to God in a different creative way. Your child will learn that he can worship God in ways such as what we think about and how we play. The book even teaches how we can worship God in our prayers. It is subtle but straight forward at the same time.
But that's not all! At the end of the book there are questions and suggestions regarding the days reading. Of course, you don't have to break it up into days, this short book can be read all in one day. In fact, the introduction gives several ways that you can use this book with your children. This book really is fantastic!
So, how much is this wonderful book? Only $14.00. You can find this book by clicking here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above. There's even an accompanying coloring book that you can purchase for $4.00. As you can see, I am a new fan of this book and would recommend it to anyone but, if you don't want to take my word for it , you can read what the other crew members had to say about Good Morning, God by clicking here. And, since this book can be used by homeschooling and non-homeschooling families, I'll close by saying "Happy Home Educating"!
As a member of the TOS Homeshool Crew, Apologia Press sent me a free copy of "Good Morning God" in order to use and review on my blog.
.gif)
a-ok
!
