Fireworks in Heaven :)

We have had many fun 4th of July weekends, but I think this past time will prove to be the most memorable for the Bridges family!

As a tradition, we always go to a certain fireworks display on the 4th of July in Addison TX. People line the street for miles to see the fireworks. But everyone gets there around 5:00 or 6:00, because an an airshow complete with World War II airplanes always happens first.


This year, for the first time, we put 2 and 2 together: lots of people together in one place...sitting around with little else to do for several hours...probably lots of non Christians present...are you catching our drift?? A perfect place to go witnessing!

The idea kept growing bigger. Why not give a class on evangelism one Sunday before the 4th of July, mobilize our whole church to come with us, then have these families join us in this outreach? We would ask the people there at the park to take surveys with us, leading into the Gospel, and then share Christ with the crowds at Addison Park.


We expected a couple families to show up to join us. But when the evening came, there were more than 40 people there! We were thrilled. Witnessing is not an easy thing to do. Were we nervous? Is the pope Catholic?? :) Was it easy? Definitely not! But worth it? Absolutely!



What a joy to see young children and experienced adults alike engaging in conversations to share the Gospel! We were so encouraged by the conversations we were able to have. We know that whether every person we talked to spit in our faces and told us to get lost (thankfully that never happened!! :)) or whether we led 10 people to Christ, we laid up treasure in heaven, planted seeds, and pleased our Lord. All we can do is to be faithful to plant the seed, and leave the results entirely up to Him!

After an hour and a half of witnessing, we joined back together at a designated place and had a time of sharing and praising the Lord together for what He had done that night.


Thankful for friends who encourage us in the Lord!


May this night be the turning point for each of us to develop a lifestyle of sharing Christ with the lost! We are excited to see His work!

First Piano Recital

A time of memories...


A time of laughter...

A time of nervousness :)


And a time of victory!


Several weeks ago, Christa and I had our first piano recital for our students, and ended up making memories that I think will last for years! :) We are so thankful to our Father for bringing these students into our lives and blessing us with the opportunity to make music together that honors Him!

All our students and their families gathered in our living room to hear the songs that the children have been working so hard on. Doubtless, the parents have the songs memorized themselves and could have played them in their sleep, but no matter! :) They were all on the edges of their seats, eyes riveted to the piano bench. :) It was quite a fun evening, informal and laid back, with great presentations by the students, and complete with all the usual "bloopers" that we'll laugh about for a long time afterward! :)

This is the beautiful verse we put on the front of the program for the recital:

“I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music.”
~ Psalm 101:1

"Let's get started..."
Welcoming the students and families

Duets were in order...



Solos too...


Lots of beautiful music!

Preview

Preview

Do you see the look of relief on all our faces?? :) These are all our sweet students (minus one.) :)

Great job everybody!! Can't wait till next time! :)

Who Will Call Him King of Kings

Two zealous apostles...


An enraged slave master and an imperious magistrate...


A cynical prisoner...


A hardened jailer...


A broken-hearted slave girl...


And a passionate choir...


All joined together this past Sunday to tell a story and bring a message of God's incredible, never ending love towards a lost and dying world.

Our wonderful little homeschool Baptist church recently undertook the huge endeavor of putting on a musical called "Who Will Call Him King of Kings?" It followed the true Biblical story of Paul and Silas after they cast a demon out of a fortune telling slave girl in Philippi...being tried and thrown in prison, and eventually leading the jailer (along with the slave girl and 3 fellow prisoners) to Christ.

With Christa in the choir, and me participating in the drama, we certainly put in many hours of practicing along with everybody else involved!!

I definitely felt out of my league with all the acting :) and this whole experience certainly stretched me!... :) but Christa and I both were grateful to play a small part in presenting the Gospel so clearly. We were especially thrilled to hear that there were several non-Christians present during the actual presentation!!




Towards the end of the presentation, Marcus, a sarcastic, completely hardened prisoner (who later accepts Christ as his savior) sings a beautiful song called "How Can It Be?" Truly this song echoes the awe in my heart when I think about Christ's sacrifice, and it brought tears to my eyes almost every time I heard it sung! I would like to leave you all with the words to the song below. May we all be reminded of Christ's incredible love, even towards those who rejected and despised Him!

"He might have died for causes, for kingdoms or for thrones
For noble men, and women, or orphans all alone.
He might have died for heroes, who deserved His charity.
But how can I believe it: that Jesus died for me?

How can it be, for love of me, a Man would choose to die?
How can it be, for love of me, a Man was crucified?
How can I understand such love from One I've never seen?
How could I dare to hope one Man would choose to die for me?"

All photos courtesy of Haven Giglotti

We love Mondays! :)

We'd like to introduce you to some dear friends - the Browns - a homeschool family of 9 that we have been working for weekly for the past few months! Their warm and gracious spirits have been such a great encouragement to us!

This picture is about 2 yrs old, but I wanted you to be able to see Mr. and Mrs. Brown also! :)

Every Monday morning finds us at their door around 9:00 to spend the day with them. Mainly we are there to help around the house - whether it's watching and playing with little ones, cooking, cleaning, laundry, helping with school work, doing sewing projects for them, etc. We also help some each week with data entry for their home business. (www.yourhealthsource.org)

Every Monday is filled to the brim with activity and fun little surprises as we work with their sweet children! :)

Little Alonna makes up for her small size with lots of personality!! :)

This is sweet Victoria (2 yrs)

Always time for playing in the sand box! The twins, Christianna and Elaina, are 4 now and growing fast!

I think one of the most wonderful things for us is that we are seeing firsthand what it takes to successfully raise a family with many children. And not just care for physical needs in that family, but also their spiritual and emotional needs. And then to see those children thrive as they grow and mature! What invaluable experience and training for Christa and me!!

A walk every time with the children is absolutely a non-negotiable! :)

Joseph and Timothy, their 2 younger sons, are 5 and 10, and I love watching them play fight with swords and guns together! Weston, their oldest (not pictured) is 17.

I had so much fun making these nightgowns and robes for each of the 3 older girls!
Kind of like making doll clothes...only even cuter! :)


We love you Brown family and are so thankful for your friendship!