Merry Christmas!
Well, it has been another adventurous and blessed year for the Binghams. Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights….
Our big trip for the year was to Israel. What an amazing,
unforgettable adventure! We were so blessed to go and serve as the music leaders for our church group. Thanks, Pastor Brian, for taking us along. It was a tour, not a mission trip, so the time doubled as a beautiful vacation. We sailed on the Sea of Galilee, floated in the Dead Sea, saw the Dead Sea Scrolls, sung in the Garden of Gethsemane, and walked inside the empty garden tomb. Amazing!
We bought a house!!! Update your addresses, everybody, we now live at 509 Plover Ct., Bakersfield, CA 93309. We started our search in April and found our dream house in the Quailwood neighborhood. We entered a bidding war with 11 other families and won, but alas, the banks that were selling the house decided to let it go to foreclosure. That poor, beaut
iful house is still sitting empty just around the corner from where we now live….in a better house. As usual, God knows what is best for us. We were so discouraged to lose that first house and thought nothing would ever compare. We had almost given up hope when one morning, we woke up early for work (pretty unusual) and checked our email together (very unusual) only to find a house listing more perfect than the first. We went to see it that afternoon, put in a bid, and closed at the beginning of October. (Thanks, Mr. Gonzalves for being such a excellent, patient realtor.) We love the 3 bed
rooms, 2 bathrooms, and converted garage (lovingly referred to as the STUDIO)! With the conversion, the house is a little more than 3 times the size of our last apartment. Phew! It feels good to say LAST apartment! We have a pool that we can hardly wait to use and so much space that we have been very grateful for all the hand-me-down furniture from folks. We are slowly working through the minor repairs- special thank you to Dale and Char for all the help- and soon, we’ll start painting to make it a little more “our house.”
Now, if you spend much time with us, you know that we are crazy U2 fans. And, if you know much about U2, you know that their new album “No Line on the Horizon” came out this year and they kicked off their stadium tour. Well, we couldn’t help ourselves. We became groupies for one weekend in October, seeing them at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas and following them to see their Rose Bowl show in Pasadena two days later. This exhausting, exhilarating weekend led to a couple discoveries- 1. U2 is the best, but then we already knew that. 2. We are too old to do GA tickets. Waiting in line for 11 hours only to get trampled by 10,000 people and wedged next to the pot-head who clearly hasn’t gotten the gospel-centered message of most U2 songs who’s blowing smoke in your face? Yikes! We’re glad for the experience, but next time, we’ll get seats in the stands.
The first big gathering at our new digs came in early November with a baby shower for Dan’s sister, Dallas. I know what you’re thinking. Last year, Dallas was in the hospital battling Burkitt’s Lymphoma, having b
een told that there was no chance her little body would be able to maintain the ability to conceive post-chemo. But, once again, the Lord has shown himself more mighty and surprising than anyone could have dreamed. Dallas is cancer free and expecting her miraculous baby boy in February! The shower was themed “Dallas in Wonderland”- a little nod to how dumbfounded we all are. Britt’s project blog at www.dahoneydesigns.blogspot.com will have more shower pictures and details soon.
We’ve also been enjoying a little high school football. Dan’s little brother, Dillon, is a senior and the quarterback for Liberty High School here in Bakersfield. So, every Friday night, we've been in the stands cheering….and yelling at the refs. Hehe. I wish we had a sound bite to demonstrate all the funny taunts Dan comes up with. We get pretty into it because as Dan screamed a couple weeks ago when Dil ran the ball in 25 yards for the winning touchdown in double overtime, “That’s my baby!!!”
We continue to lead a Community Group Bible study which thrives despite our erratic lives and resulting inconsistencies. This year, our group had the privilege to help out with a yard sale benefiting Beth
any Ministries as well as hosting a booth at the Niles New Life Harvest Festival benefiting some of the lower-income families of our city. The Harvest Festival was especially entertaining as we did a Planko Board (a pirate-themed version of the Price is Right Game, Plinko). We all dressed up as characters from Peter Pan. Britt was Tiger Lilly (not Pocahontas people, look at the costume in context!) And, Dan donned a giant blue onesie to be Michael, the youngest brother in the Peter Pan story. Yes, he wore a onesie. No one has ever loved their community group more; I think the onesie proves that.
We found out the morning of that Harvest Festival that we were expecting a baby. Unfortunately, before we even finished telling people, Britt began having complications and eventually suffered a miscarriage. Thank you to everyone who has been praying and sending cards and flowers, they are very much appreciated. And we especially appreciate how well everyone has respected our privacy. We’ve been working through the grief together and drawing close to the Lord. We know that baby is in Heaven and that means our mansion will be that much fuller when we get there. Perhaps this next year the Lord will see fit to give us a healthy pregnancy. All we can do is trust His timing.
In the meantime, we are enjoying having the holidays in our new home, spending time with our niece and nephews (more to be added soon from Heather and Dallas), and immersing ourselves in ministry. Dan continues to work as a Business Consultant for the Marwaha Group, evaluating Subway restaurants. He’s recently gotten to take on some outlying stores like Bishop which makes for a
fun getaway for the two of us. He has also been taking on a lot of guitar students- 13 in total, and he’s playing with the worship team and church nearly every week. He’s recently wrapped recording on the new Boasting Weak Worship CD. If you don’t already have it, order it from www.theboastingweak.com. Dan even laid down some bass tracks! Brittney continues to serve as the Assistant Director of Service Ministries at RiverLakes Community Church. Get paid to pick out tablecloths, make coffee, and decorate? Yes, please.
So, what’s in store for 2010 in the Bingham family? Well, what fun would it be to know now? Africa again? That would be nice. Baby? That would be nice. We could make a list a mile long of things we’d like to do, but clearly, God has his own plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), and we are happy to wait and hear from Him. Subscribe to our blog and you’ll get an email if we put a new post up. And, yes, we plan to be much more faithful about blogposts this year. Don’t forget to follow Brittney’s blog at www.dahoneydesigns.blogspot.com as well.
In closing, we’d like to wish all of you, our loved ones, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Keep Christ as your focus, and all else will fall into place.
“And Mary said:
My soul praises the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
For he has been mindful
Of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
For the Mighty One has done great things for me-
Holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
From generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
But has lifted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
Remembering to be merciful
To Abraham and his descendants forever,
Even as he said to our fathers.” Luke 1:46-55
Well, it has been another adventurous and blessed year for the Binghams. Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights….
Our big trip for the year was to Israel. What an amazing,
unforgettable adventure! We were so blessed to go and serve as the music leaders for our church group. Thanks, Pastor Brian, for taking us along. It was a tour, not a mission trip, so the time doubled as a beautiful vacation. We sailed on the Sea of Galilee, floated in the Dead Sea, saw the Dead Sea Scrolls, sung in the Garden of Gethsemane, and walked inside the empty garden tomb. Amazing!We bought a house!!! Update your addresses, everybody, we now live at 509 Plover Ct., Bakersfield, CA 93309. We started our search in April and found our dream house in the Quailwood neighborhood. We entered a bidding war with 11 other families and won, but alas, the banks that were selling the house decided to let it go to foreclosure. That poor, beaut
iful house is still sitting empty just around the corner from where we now live….in a better house. As usual, God knows what is best for us. We were so discouraged to lose that first house and thought nothing would ever compare. We had almost given up hope when one morning, we woke up early for work (pretty unusual) and checked our email together (very unusual) only to find a house listing more perfect than the first. We went to see it that afternoon, put in a bid, and closed at the beginning of October. (Thanks, Mr. Gonzalves for being such a excellent, patient realtor.) We love the 3 bed
rooms, 2 bathrooms, and converted garage (lovingly referred to as the STUDIO)! With the conversion, the house is a little more than 3 times the size of our last apartment. Phew! It feels good to say LAST apartment! We have a pool that we can hardly wait to use and so much space that we have been very grateful for all the hand-me-down furniture from folks. We are slowly working through the minor repairs- special thank you to Dale and Char for all the help- and soon, we’ll start painting to make it a little more “our house.”
Now, if you spend much time with us, you know that we are crazy U2 fans. And, if you know much about U2, you know that their new album “No Line on the Horizon” came out this year and they kicked off their stadium tour. Well, we couldn’t help ourselves. We became groupies for one weekend in October, seeing them at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas and following them to see their Rose Bowl show in Pasadena two days later. This exhausting, exhilarating weekend led to a couple discoveries- 1. U2 is the best, but then we already knew that. 2. We are too old to do GA tickets. Waiting in line for 11 hours only to get trampled by 10,000 people and wedged next to the pot-head who clearly hasn’t gotten the gospel-centered message of most U2 songs who’s blowing smoke in your face? Yikes! We’re glad for the experience, but next time, we’ll get seats in the stands.
The first big gathering at our new digs came in early November with a baby shower for Dan’s sister, Dallas. I know what you’re thinking. Last year, Dallas was in the hospital battling Burkitt’s Lymphoma, having b
een told that there was no chance her little body would be able to maintain the ability to conceive post-chemo. But, once again, the Lord has shown himself more mighty and surprising than anyone could have dreamed. Dallas is cancer free and expecting her miraculous baby boy in February! The shower was themed “Dallas in Wonderland”- a little nod to how dumbfounded we all are. Britt’s project blog at www.dahoneydesigns.blogspot.com will have more shower pictures and details soon.
We’ve also been enjoying a little high school football. Dan’s little brother, Dillon, is a senior and the quarterback for Liberty High School here in Bakersfield. So, every Friday night, we've been in the stands cheering….and yelling at the refs. Hehe. I wish we had a sound bite to demonstrate all the funny taunts Dan comes up with. We get pretty into it because as Dan screamed a couple weeks ago when Dil ran the ball in 25 yards for the winning touchdown in double overtime, “That’s my baby!!!”
We continue to lead a Community Group Bible study which thrives despite our erratic lives and resulting inconsistencies. This year, our group had the privilege to help out with a yard sale benefiting Beth
any Ministries as well as hosting a booth at the Niles New Life Harvest Festival benefiting some of the lower-income families of our city. The Harvest Festival was especially entertaining as we did a Planko Board (a pirate-themed version of the Price is Right Game, Plinko). We all dressed up as characters from Peter Pan. Britt was Tiger Lilly (not Pocahontas people, look at the costume in context!) And, Dan donned a giant blue onesie to be Michael, the youngest brother in the Peter Pan story. Yes, he wore a onesie. No one has ever loved their community group more; I think the onesie proves that.We found out the morning of that Harvest Festival that we were expecting a baby. Unfortunately, before we even finished telling people, Britt began having complications and eventually suffered a miscarriage. Thank you to everyone who has been praying and sending cards and flowers, they are very much appreciated. And we especially appreciate how well everyone has respected our privacy. We’ve been working through the grief together and drawing close to the Lord. We know that baby is in Heaven and that means our mansion will be that much fuller when we get there. Perhaps this next year the Lord will see fit to give us a healthy pregnancy. All we can do is trust His timing.
In the meantime, we are enjoying having the holidays in our new home, spending time with our niece and nephews (more to be added soon from Heather and Dallas), and immersing ourselves in ministry. Dan continues to work as a Business Consultant for the Marwaha Group, evaluating Subway restaurants. He’s recently gotten to take on some outlying stores like Bishop which makes for a
fun getaway for the two of us. He has also been taking on a lot of guitar students- 13 in total, and he’s playing with the worship team and church nearly every week. He’s recently wrapped recording on the new Boasting Weak Worship CD. If you don’t already have it, order it from www.theboastingweak.com. Dan even laid down some bass tracks! Brittney continues to serve as the Assistant Director of Service Ministries at RiverLakes Community Church. Get paid to pick out tablecloths, make coffee, and decorate? Yes, please.So, what’s in store for 2010 in the Bingham family? Well, what fun would it be to know now? Africa again? That would be nice. Baby? That would be nice. We could make a list a mile long of things we’d like to do, but clearly, God has his own plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), and we are happy to wait and hear from Him. Subscribe to our blog and you’ll get an email if we put a new post up. And, yes, we plan to be much more faithful about blogposts this year. Don’t forget to follow Brittney’s blog at www.dahoneydesigns.blogspot.com as well.
In closing, we’d like to wish all of you, our loved ones, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Keep Christ as your focus, and all else will fall into place.
“And Mary said:
My soul praises the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
For he has been mindful
Of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
For the Mighty One has done great things for me-
Holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
From generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
But has lifted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
Remembering to be merciful
To Abraham and his descendants forever,
Even as he said to our fathers.” Luke 1:46-55
We were welcomed by Napoleon to the old city of Jaffa. He captured the town in 1799...be careful small men with big ideas.
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