A Christmas Surprise Just for You!

written by

Edwin Shank

posted on

December 25, 2022

click for full size picture

Good morning Family Cow friends,

Top of this Christmas Sunday to you!

Guess what...

We have a surprise! A Christmas surprise.

Just close your eyes and listen... Imagine the whole Family Cow Team is on your doorstep this morning to sing a few carols for you!

That could be sort of neat, right?

"Yeah, but it's not going to happen."

Exactly. It's not going to happen. But, we did do the next best thing!

Last week one evening our team got together for our annual Family Cow Christmas supper. But first, before we ate, we sang and recorded a few Christmas songs just for you!

So here they are, as sung by The Family Cow farm team.

Silent Night

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!

God Sent His Son

Note: Sometimes these Google Drive audio files take a minute to open for some reason. It may help to download the files.

I'm just warning... It was very, very impromptu. We had no formal practice, the children were making background noise and we recorded it with a couple of our phones. It's far from professional... but maybe that's what makes it real. It sounds like real, impromptu, stand-on-your-porch, totally acapella, four part harmony, traditional Christmas caroling.

I hope you enjoy it. We sang three songs. Two of them being actual Christmas songs and the last one about the real reason Jesus came to this earth. We posted the lyrics below since with the makeshift recording equipment etc. the words may not come through totally clear.

So, find a comfortable spot, shut your eyes and listen. We hope our small efforts can be at least a small meditation inspiration for your Christmas morning.

And if you do not know the grown-up Jesus... maybe these songs can stir a small longing somewhere deep down inside to learn to know Him. He's worth knowing. He's a friend like none other.

He's a healer, a mender, a repairer of broken things, a rescuer. Lives, dreams, relationships, characters, communities, families, marriages and even reputations... all of that and more!

In fact, here is Jesus' own Mission Statement at the beginning of His ministry:

Jesus' Mission Statement

drawn from ~ Luke 4:18-19

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because

He hath Anointed Me:

To Preach the Gospel to the Poor;

To Heal the Brokenhearted,

To Preach Deliverance to the Captives,

To Recover Sight to the Blind,

To Set at Liberty them that are Bruised,

To Preach the Acceptable Year of the Lord.

With Love from:

Your farmers and friends,

Edwin and Dawn Shank and family and team

Silent Night

written by Fr. Joseph Mohr

Silent night, holy night!

All is calm, all is bright.

Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child,

Holy infant so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight.

Glories stream from heaven afar,

Heavenly hosts sing alleluia,

Christ, the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night!

Son of God, love's pure light,

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace-

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth,

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

written by Charles Wesley

Hark! the herald angels sing,

"Glory to the newborn King:

peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled!"

Joyful, all ye nations, rise,

join the triumph of the skies;

with the angelic hosts proclaim,

"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,

Glory to the newborn king.

Christ, by highest heaven adored;

Christ, the everlasting Lord,

Late in time behold him come,

Offspring of the Virgin’s womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;

Hail the incarnate Deity;

Pleased as Man with men to dwell.

Jesus, our Emmanuel!

Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,

Glory to the newborn king.

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!

Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all he brings,

Risen with healing in his wings.

Mild he lays his glory by,

Born that man no more may die,

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth.

Hark, the Herald Angels sing,

Glory to the newborn king!

Because He Lives

written by Bill & Gloria Gaither

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus;

He came to love, heal and forgive;

He lived and died to buy my pardon,

An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living,

Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,

And feel the pride and joy he gives;

But greater still the calm assurance:

This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living,

Just because He lives!

And then one day, I'll cross the river,

I'll fight life's final war with pain;

And then, as death gives way to victory,

I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living,

Just because He lives!

Rodrick & Jeanette are moving to Colombia, South America

Good morning Family Cow friends, Today I have some news that's a bit personal, but it only seems right that you should know. Our oldest son, Rodrick, with his wife, Jeanette, and family are planning to move to Colombia, South America next month. Yes, you heard right. Colombia South America. Just above the equator. We still can hardly believe it either :) Our church conference is starting a new congregation there at the request of local Colombians asking for a Biblical church and faith community. But it's also located on the border with Venezuela, so a big part of their work will be to help relieve the ongoing Venezuelan refugees crisis. This new congregation, "Amigos del Prójimo" (Friends of the Neighbor), is located near the border town of Cúcuta, Colombia. Jeanette grew up in Guatemala, and Rodrick has spent time there so both of them are fluent in Spanish and understand the Latin American culture. For this reason, Dawn and I were really not totally surprised that the mission board thought of them when looking for families to establish the new church plant. Their combination of skills and cross cultural experiences made them seem a natural fit. But that did not exactly make giving them up any easier! We are still working on that process! Here are a few pictures from the area near Cúcuta. Distributing meals to the homeless... Música, anyone? 😉 I'm not sure what the point of this car was, but Rodrick said they heard it coming from several blocks away... Checking out the countryside... Sofia with a new little friend Exploring a mountain road (part of the Andes mountain range) After months of prayer and consideration and several visits to Colombia, Rodrick and Jeanette made the tough decision to answer the call to move there for an indefinite length of time. Though it is hard for us to let them go, we do give them our blessing.One comfort is that Rodrick is not abandoning The Family Cow. With today's technology, he'll still be able to do much of the management work and accounting work that he has done before... so this change shouldn't necessarily impact you, but it will represent some definite changes for our family and team.Rodrick plans to work remotely, doing many of the same business administration duties, but he will turn over the General Manager role to his younger brother Wesley. Rodrick also plans to continue giving management support to the Olde Tyme Meats butcher shop team.The other four brothers tell Dawn and I not to worry about the farm and business management, but I know there will be changes. We'll just need to find our way one step at a time.Dawn and I are not sure who's making the greatest sacrifice—the ones staying or the ones moving. :) I guess it is all of us. And that's ok.As far as Rodrick and Jeanette's Amen Acres farm, if all goes as planned, we'll have one of the other brothers live on that farm to manage the care of the grass-fed beef and pastured pork.There is no doubt about it... we will greatly miss having Rodrick and Jeanette, Andre, Clara, Sofia and Leo nearby. But they remind us that airplanes fly both ways, that they will return a few times a year for visits, and that we of course can come down to visit them too.Who knows—maybe someday Rodrick and Jeanette can grow cacao beans and make single origin organic specialty chocolate for our Family Cow tribe. How neat would that be? Don't think it's impossible. Just last week we introduced single origin organic coffee straight from Jeanette's family in Guatemala. :)In spite of unknowns, some things never change. We do know that "all things work together for good to those who love God." (Romans 8:28) So... we'll just focus on loving God and we'll trust Him to work out the good that only He knows! Faith, Hope and Love,Your farmer - Edwin for Dawn too

A Christmas Surprise Just for You!

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