Bearing Fruit

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”-  John 12:24

As a homeschooling mother of three, most of my energy over the past twenty-five years has been focused on the health and education of my family. I so enjoyed those years, and at times, I wished that my homeschooling world with three young children would go on forever. But, with the marriage of my eldest daughter last month, the “Newby Family of Five” is no more. Yet, instead of being sad at the lost, I am excited and delighted to see the new life that has sprung up in its place. There is a new family now, made up of a wonderful young man and my beautiful daughter, who will in many ways over the years, bear much fruit.

Because some old things must go to make room for the new, this will be my last regular post on my blog. Now, instead of homeschooling just three children, my tutoring “family” has grown to fifteen students from around the county who come to my home regularly to be taught and mentored. I need to focus more time on them, and I want to run with endurance the race that God has marked out for me so that I have a life that bears much fruit.

With heart-felt appreciation for those of you who have read my blog,

Debra Newby

The Perfect Wedding

After months of preparation, “The Day” finally arrived. Glue, thread and scissors had been put away. Tables and lights were set up. Food was made. Friends and family from around the country had arrived. And two young people stood before God and their community and made a covenant of marriage. Their parents stood near as the couple wove together three ropes representing the strength of their individual Christian upbringings binding together with the third cord of Christ. Their siblings stood at the side welcoming a new brother and a new sister into their families. It was a day of celebration as Jono and Melissa began their new life together as husband and wife.

Getting Ready for a Wedding

I sometimes ask my tutoring students if they want to have a wedding someday. Most answer with a shy smile and a “yes.” Then I tell them that planning a wedding is a lot like doing an algebra problem. (This usually surprises and alarms them!) I tell them that you have to take the “math problem,” break it into many smaller, more manageable parts, work on each part separately, and then put it all back together into one successful solution.

Our family and friends, a wonderful community of amazing people, have been working on the “parts” of my eldest daughter’s wedding for the past four months. There has been crafting, cooking, sewing, rehearsals and showers as we work toward the goal of uniting two young people in the covenant of marriage.

Enjoy some of the photo memories of the preparation and look for some photos of the wedding next month!