Holiday Season, Two Birthday's Later and Jobless!

A couple months have passed, another Thanksgiving has passed, Advent is here and two of us are a year older! It's actually a blessing to have a daughter born just a few days after your own birthday. You still get to party but kids' style which in turn masks the fact that you are growing older and. . . all those things that come with getting old-er!

Natalie is now 4 years old and I'm well... older. She had a great birthday party with her cousins and family at our local roller skating rink and some incredibly delicious Pizza at one of the best local dives around (or maybe the Pizza part was for me?). In any case, thanks to the cousins, Aunt Christina, Uncle Jeff and Mimi and Papa for making it a great day! Despite the intense family struggles that day, I believe the Lord prevailed and provided us a most memorable day of fun!

Not only have we had a few blessed celebrations, including one glorious Thanksgiving weekend with family (which has not happened for long time), but we've been able to reconnect with a number of friends over the past couple months. We spent 16 days in LA (Lower Alabama) and shared many memorable moments in the deep south where our baby girl was born as we traveled the state sharing and speaking about Singapore and what now for the Whetstones.

You can check out some of these pics here on Timmy's FB page. Thank you AlaSouth District for all your amazing love, support and continued showers of blessings. We love you all and look forward to the next chance we can all be together again. After nearly finishing our speaking schedule it's been once again amazing to see how the Lord continues to provide our every need. "The Lord is my (our) shepherd and I have no wants." Our many friends at: Rockville, MD Nazarene, Smyrna Faith DE, AlaSouth Nazarene District - Mobile First, Mobile Riverside, East Brewton, and most recently, Shippensburg Nazarene have graced us beyond belief. Through your faithful servanthood he has used you to provide for many needs! Thank you kindly and our prayers are with you all. It was incredibly beautiful to be with you all and reconnect after several years of God working in and through us all in different avenues of His work throughout the globe!

Before I sign off with two last update announcements, I'd like to share one quick Advent thought. As my family and I journey through this what seems to be a never-ending transition back to the states and looking for a job, I'm plagued by constant questions that seem to creep in almost daily. Questions like; "what now?", "how will we...?", "when will we...?" etc. And nearly every time I catch myself questioning the future and how God will provide and/or take care of me, He sends me yet another promise of His faithfulness.

Henri J.M. Nouwen once wrote, "The resurrection does not solve our problems about dying and death. . . The resurrection is the expression of God's faithfulness to Jesus and to all God's children. . . [It] is God's way of revealing to us that nothing that belongs to God will ever go to waste. What belongs to God will never get lost - not even our mortal bodies. . . [The resurrection] Does reveal to us that, indeed, love is stronger than death. After that revelation, we must remain silent, leave the whys, wheres, hows and whens behind, and simply trust."

You see that's where I find myself. . . Asking. And during this advent season I am once again reminded from the God who came that blessed night, is the God who still comes daily, and will one day come again in His full redemptive power because the resurrection has happened. The baby Jesus in diapers came for us, grew, died and rose again. Therefore, I need to leave the questions behind and "simply trust". Oh, that's not to say that these questions won't creep in once again, but then, I will "simply trust" once more! Thank you for Christmas and the resurrection and remind me that love is stronger than death and I am not lost even in the midst of one crazy transition where I, my wife and our three kids get to live with my folks! Blessed Advent to you all.

Quick Update: - We are still speaking throughout the country. Here is our current remaining schedule and if you are interested in having both Danielle and Tim and/or just Tim come and speak/preach don't hesitate to contact us here on our blog site or on our Facebook pages (Timmy Whetstone).
Dec 26 - Denton, MD Church of the Nazarene
Jan 9 - Mosaic Nazarene (Washington, DC)

-We are still helping out with a new church plant in Felton, DE called Life Now. We've been doing a little music, some web development, photography, and kids care. You can find us on Facebook and/or write us at lifenownaz@gmail.com. Check out the pics here. And if you are interested in supporting this endeavor in any way please don't hesitate to contact us. If you're interested in making a donation it's tax deductible too and who doesn't need a to get rid of a little cash at the end of the year?! :-)