Life in the Big Potato

Yes we have snow. 5-6 inches of it. I have already shoveled the driveway twice now. It's not very fun but a good morning workout. I may get to go snowboarding this weekend.

For as long as I can remember, I have spent Thanksgiving with my dad, his brothers, my cousins, and my aunts. We always eat a large turkey dinner, take a 30 minute food-settling break, and then hit the football field for the annual Fenton Family Football Game. Everyone plays! This year things were different. Bennett and I decided going home for Christmas and Thanksgiving was a little too much last year. We decided to stay in Idaho for the big Turkey Day. After Dad found out we would be here alone, he quickly hopped on his plane (with my sister and bro-in-law) so we wouldn't celebrate without family. We had a great weekend full for Heavenly Ham (from Hattiesburg), turkey, broccoli and cheese casserole, pecan pie, and football. Oh writing about it is making me feel full again and reminds me to thank all of those wonderful women who have cooked for me on Thanksgiving Day for the last 27 years! It is not an easy task. Friday night we watched the Holiday Fireworks show over Lake Coeur d...

---A message from the pastor of NorthStar Church. "NORTHSTAR NEXT... In April of 2003, God stirred our hearts regarding our place in ministry. That stirring led to a clear call from the Lord to relocate our family to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to plant NorthStar Church. Under God’s gracious hand, and with the help of the North American Mission Board and faithful partners just like you, NorthStar stands today as a vibrant community of faith! Strong leaders are in place, a growing ministry of small groups exists, building plans are coming into clear focus. Over the past four and a half years, NorthStar has experienced miracle after miracle as God has expanded His Kingdom through this young congregation. Lives have been changed, eternity impacted, and many new believers are becoming devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Now, The Hanberrys are embarking on another chapter in our lives and ministry. I have accepted a call to become the Associate Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Olive...

I got the call this morning. My sister had her baby around 3am Central time. David Brand Garner 6 pounds 7 ounces. 19 inches. Mom and baby are doing well.

Check out more of our Fall pictures

Please follow this link to hear the latest about my sister. She is having a baby. Maybe today maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Also, please be praying for our church. There are many many needs going on. We have members facing serious illness, huge decisions, calls to missions, recovery from a broken leg, family troubles, financial difficulty and many other things that I'm sure I don't even know about. Those are different needs from different people by the way. Not just one person. So, I guess it could be worse. Anyway, I probably am not going to fly home for my sister's delivery. Which means by the time I get home the child will already be a month old! We were planning on getting there a day before the delivery. The good thing is the doctors think that the danger is mostly over and she's made it past the 34 week mark. That means that little David or Maggie is basically ready to come out of the oven even if it is several weeks early. That also means that I mi...

Let me tell you how you can certainly be a part of something special this Christmas. There is a need in our convention that I think everyone reading this would love to see met. The Utah/Idaho convention passed a resolution to raise money to provide one of our missionary families a new home. All it will take is about $35,000! Here is an article with more information: ______________________________________________________________ Carpentry for Christ - Hardens Serve the Lord by Serving His Churches By Michael Liner, associate pastor Salmon Valley Baptist Church , Salmon, Idaho “I had to get a map out to find Idaho !” remarks Nathan Harden regarding his first mission trip to the west. Harden’s initial mission trip to Idaho in 1999 was not to be his last. It proved to be just the beginning of his call to serve the Lord as a faith missionary by utilizing his construction skills to bless the Lord’s churches all over the intermountain west. ...

My high school mascot was the Hilltopper. The mascot pictures looked more or less like the big horn sheep pictured above. We saw these last April on our way to Chalis, Idaho. I don't think they have these in Mississippi

I have found the blog of a friend (the kind of friend that you've only had a few conversations with, but know that if you ever really got to hang out that you could still be friends) who is also a pastor of a church in Idaho. His blog has an interesting mix of reaction to culture, interesting trends, spiritual insight, and contemplations of the human experience. It is called Bridge Bloggin' Check it out.

So here's some great news. At a meeting with the zoning commission our church got approved for a special use permit. That means we get to build a church in a R-1 zone. There were actually some neighbors who complained about the placement of the building so we are repositioning it. I think they may wish it had been left the other way but whatever. What all that means is, the city government has given the nod for us to move ahead with the basic plans we have submitted. I'm not sure what the next step is other than raise about $500,000 more dollars! Please be praying that each move our church decides to make is strictly according to God's plan. Also, please be praying for a group of high school students I've started meeting with. One of our students has orchestrated a group of teens that are interested in learning all about the Bible, but might not be comfortable going to a "church group". Pray that there will be continued interest and that our conversat...