Yes, you are correct. A view of the Bar? Bar means BAR! – as in beer, drunk, Asheville, NC. Our beautiful Asheville, NC, set in the Great Smoky Mountains has been quite overtaken by the liberal left and become the prime spot for Craft Beer and Breweries. “Oh be careful little eyes what you see?” song ditty has turned into “Oh be careful better close your eyes for sure” every time we venture downtown for a mail run. On this day in point, we rounded the corner from the Post Office and stopped at a traffic light. Right outside AbiNoelle’s window was a old mechanic shop turned beer joint and with a quick gasp she looked and said, “Look at those women…look at what they’re wearing!” The attire was, what we might say, befitting the beer culture. The whole picture simply stank and was polluting our view of the mountains. Yet, as you visualize the emphatic and dramatic turned-up nose of our little six-year-old as she caught wind of the whole affair, also take a moment to realize that those women (and men) hanging out at the bar were simply doing what can be expected from the beer crowd – living a life without a Saviour. When your heart is sensitive to the Lord it is easy to see that people need the Lord, which makes it simple to explain the situation to AbiNoelle. Now, fast forward a few miles and take a look out our window again as we pull into the church yard for service. Now, THAT is a sight to behold! All the folks headed inside the Lord’s House look like…well, they look like they were just coming from the gathering around the beer table! Ooops!…now, what do we say? Well, those people don’t know the Lord. OR They mustn’t have read that verse in the Bible. OR They surely have not had the opportunity to hear good preaching and teaching on that subject. OR They must be newly saved or just visiting. YET, none of the “Smooth-it-over” tactics really work when you’re looking at scores of people who represent the overwhelming majority of this church – teachers, workers, etc. YIKES! In this ole world, the view, many times (sadly, even at church), is just not something that supports the Biblical principles that you try diligently to teach.
Just recently, a Christian commented that they were shocked to be meant by an invitation to a gay pride event as they did business at their local Wells Fargo Bank. Having had personal, upfront insider access, we know that this has been a mantra for the company for years. When this Christian confronted their local bank manager about the invitation, the manager quickly squelched the conversation by saying, “This is who we are,” and that they certainly were not about to change the policy in order to not offend a customer. No doubt the view was stinky to that Christian!
Thankfully, our view, has not been all SHOCKING and STINKY!
We had a lovely view of the end of First Grade for AbiNoelle. She completed a “Glorious” study on butterflies, their transformation, and how God desires to transform our lives. Her presentation for the homeschool group was filled with “Glorious” moments and we are truly thankful for the spiritual impact it had on many. Thanks to Sound Solutions, you can watch it here (fast forward to minute 50). It was a great tag team presentation by Daddy and AbiNoelle.
AbiNoelle’s view broadened as she took her first solo missions trip with MeMe and PopPop to the mid-west. While on preaching and campmeeting tour, she assisted by representing The Voice in the Wilderness at churches and by presenting her Scripture recitation of the Life of Christ which includes over 80 verses. Watch here.
Next, our ministry took us all up toward the D.C. area where we are working on a “Top-Secret” Project. LOTS of time, diligent effort, cameras, touring, video, learning, memorizing, writing, and computers are involved and we can’t wait to share it all as more is completed!
We even took a day to enjoy AbiNoelle’s first fishing trip, AND we might add that she was the only one to make a catch! Go rookie!
All the while, Abeka Academy was busy processing AbiNoelle’s First Grade paperwork and Oral Reading grades. The mailbox finally contained the much awaited envelope – her final grades. We are so thankful for all that she learned this school year and the effort that was applied to complete 170 lessons.
As the summer progresses, we continue along the daily routines and Praise the Lord as He allows for many wonderful moments – from the simple – a new tooth for AmiJoy, a lost tooth for Big Sis, squeeze pouches full of homemade goodness for a road traveling AmiJoy, to 45 years of wedding bliss for MeMe and PopPop, Sister Swing time, going to the wedding of a special friend (So proud of you, Olivia, for graduating Christian School, PCC, teaching at PCA, and marry a fine man), attending the graduation of our nephew (Proud of you, Michael), and the completion of the editing and reformatting of the Book of Revelation by Dr. J. Royce Thomason for our ministry. The view – Looking Up – sure is good!
Homeschooling with a MISSION 
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