Hi everybody, I'm writing this, now that I've got some time on my hands - I recently got back from hospital after a fall down a bank, resulting in a bad knee injury - now I'm forced to stop the urgent scurrying around on the wild block of land we are trying to tame. Quite a challenge for me to remember that this is somehow working out for good... (Rom 8:28) To those who have left encouraging notes for me here about my songs, thank you so much - you help keep me motivated to continue making and recording music. We are currently living in portacoms and caravans in a fairly primitive situation, planning (by faith) to be building a house to live in, so my recording studio is packed up in a 20 foot container until i can find somewhere to set it up again. My family and I believe in miracles. A few years ago we experienced one - My Swiss wife, Sue and I had made a point to visit her family in Switzerland every couple of years after getting married - but things changed once children began to come along. After our 3rd child we were financially unable to afford it, so we gave up the idea of ever returning there. 13 years after our last visit, and with 7 children, we were in the middle of the lowest financial ebb of my home business, also we had a $26,000 dental bill to pay, and we were living off my visa card as we struggled to pay the rent each week. One morning I had been praying in our room while the family was having breakfast, and the thought hit me that a small miracle and a big one were both just as easy for God. As I approached the breakfast table I said something I'd been afraid to say for 13 years - "Wouldn't it be great to all go back to Switzerland again?" Sue looked up at me as if I'd lost my mind, but later when we worked out the cost of the airfares, rent, etc, we decided that 50 thousand dollars would cover it. Now that sort of figure at that time was way out in the "impossible, unlikely, outrageous" space. Yet after I'd explained some of the previous miracles I'd experienced, the kids were all on-board for beginning to pray for this one. Every day, for 6 months, we prayed for this as a family. It seemed that the youngest ones had the most faith - this "fifty grand piece" couldn't have been much bigger than a fifty cent piece, in their imaginations - but eventually I got frustrated at the apparent lack of answers. I remember praying, "If You fed Elijah with unclean birds (Ravens) then I'll accept provision from left field" - somewhere I wouldn't normally appreciate help from. Not long after that, we got a call from Swiss TV, who wanted to fly us all over to Switzerland, to surprise Sue's sister live on the Happy Day show. If you've heard my TV Land song, you'll get the raven connection. Anyway, they flew all 9 of us to Switzerland, staying several nights in 5-star hotels, and we were able to stay a month there, making up for lost time with Sue's family. During our last trip there, I was invited to sing and speak at a church near Thun, and people gave me 100 franc notes for most of the CDs in the box my Father-in-Law had thought to bring along. The box was empty in a few minutes, and still orders were coming in. When we got back, I was able to settle all our debts, and we were left with a level account. The next morning, as we sat around the breakfast table again, we thanked the Lord for His answer. Afterwards, I asked the family, "Well, let's not stop there. What thall we ask for next?" The answer came unanimously and instantly - "Land!" A year later, after loans and finances from various sources, we were able to purchase the block of land we are now on. There are still plenty of challenges, but we are able to remember God's faithfulness in the past, and believe He's still very able to care for us today and in the future. Now I'm not exactly sure why I felt to share all this - but maybe there are a few of you that are wondering how to get through the next day / week / month with all the crazy things going on around us. I'd like to point you to a verse that has been so tangible and real to me, many times. "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7) I reckon God's "care" here is an action. As in the practical care I'm currently experiencing from my very patient wife and family, being unable to do much at all. Perhaps this verse is saying that we all need to cast our cares / worries / needs / burdens onto His BIG shoulders, to enable Him to begin practically CARING for us. Best regards, Rick Stokes.