HISTORY-WISE - As with many places around the country, the snow and ice affected many people in many ways during the month of January. Our situation was no different. We had to cancel the whole weekend of three concerts for January 20 and 21 that were to have been in northcentral and northern Kansas. We did however, reschedule those three concerts for March 10 and 11.

February has been an interesting month, also, to say the least. Frankie and I were both dogged with sinus infection and other maladies. Two days before we were to leave on what we thought was going to be a 10-concert tour to Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Iowa, he couldn’t speak. We sent out some urgent prayer requests because God was going to have to work some miracles if we were to go on that tour. We have often said that God equips us to do what he commissions us to do. And this time was no different. Two days later we left on that tour, and although my (Phyllis’s) voice was what I called "cracky," someone told Frankie that his voice was better than the last time he had heard him! Go, God!

We did the four Kansas and Oklahoma concerts for that tour, then Monday the 12^th we headed up to northern Missouri. We always touch base with the pastors the day of the concert, and when we did that, the pastor told us they were expecting a snow storm of about 6 inches or so, and he said that whereas we might could make it up there, we might not get out. That would have been somewhat counter-productive! Then we called one of the pastors in Iowa where we were to have been for the latter part of the week, and their prognosis was even worse. So we prayed and felt the Lord telling us to go back home. One of the Iowa pastors said, "You shouldn’t have to risk your lives to come up here!" And we were thankful she understood.

It’s not easy canceling six concerts, and actually in the nearly seventeen years of our ministry we’ve never had to cancel that many at one time - Praise the Lord - because we don’t like leaving folks "in the lurch", but in this case we felt it became necessary for our own safety. So we made a U-turn and came back home. We left that morning in the rain, and it rained the whole 7½ hours we were on the road that day. Just part of the many weather situations we encounter.

We praise God we did arrive home safely, and having both been quite ill before we left on that tour, we spent the whole week following just recuperating. We were especially thankful to our prayer partners, and if you would like to be a prayer partner with us and for us, we’ll gladly add you to our list. Just let us know.

BLESSINGS-WISE - One man recently told us after a concert: "This world is in such a mess. You are few and far between. One of a kind, actually." And another wrote: "You two were a real blessing to us. Thanks for coming and sharing. May God bless you and yours." And one other told us, "I’m a Christian, but you said some things tonight I’ve never heard, and you helped me."

And from a pastor: "Thank you so much for your heartfelt and Spirit-led ministry. You have both been a wonderful encouragement to our entire church fellowship...May God richly bless you as you continue to serve our Lord." Another pastor wrote: "Thanks so very much for the wonderful gift you gave us in word, song, and drama last Sunday evening. L. And I really enjoyed ‘receiving’ for a change. We do a lot of feeding, but seldom get the food ourselves, unless we leave and go somewhere for a few days. May God bless you richly more and more as you do his will." All glory to God our Heavenly Father!

DID-YOU-KNOW-WISE - In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence, the phrase "goodnight, sleep tight."

- It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month or what we know today as the honeymoon.

- In Scotland, a new game was invented. It was entitled Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

- In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It’s where we get the phrase, "Mind your P’s and Q’s."

HEALTH-WISE - "Cancer and most other infections or disease cannot live in an oxygen-rich environment. Dr. Otto Warburg, two-time Nobel Laureate for cancer research, stated: ‘Cancer has only one prime cause. It is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of the body’s cells by an anaerobic (i.e., oxygen deficient) cell respiration.’ ... A diet high in processed foods and ‘junk foods’ requires tremendous amounts of oxygen in order to be metabolized. A deficiency in the oxidation process of our body leads to an accumulation of toxins that would ordinarily be burned (oxidized) in normal metabolic functioning. Our body has to use precious oxygen needed for other essential metabolic functions in order to process oxygen-deficient food...The more excess fat we carry, the more oxygen deficient we become...All forms of stress, whether from chemical toxins or from physical or emotional sources, deplete our body of precious oxygen...An oxygen-starved body is susceptible to premature aging, chronic illness, and life-threatening disease. Fortunately, when oxygen levels are increased, our blood picks up the extra oxygen, our cells become energized, and our health can be restored. Researchers reported that many patients who were in advanced stages of illness fully recovered with increased oxygen saturation."  (from The Oxygen Answer for Health and Healing by Tonita d’Raye)  Do a Google search on Stabilized Oxygen, "a dietary supplement that could change your life!"

And according to our friend, Dr. Sabrina Ostrander, "Shark is the only animal on the planet that can’t get cancer nor can you give it cancer."

FOOD FOR THOUGHT-WISE - BENEFITS OF STRUGGLING (from the internet; source unknown)

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, and he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.

But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened!

In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening was God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.

And we could never fly.

MUSIC-WISE -In the forward of a book, [Martin] Luther once wrote: "Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits . . . A person who ...does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God...does not deserve to be called a human being: he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs." (from Then Sings My Soul by Robert J. Morgan)

And from another master, Johann Sebastian Bach: "The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul."

FRANKIE-WISE - It’s tough REALLY being Frankie Valens! Our chiropractor commented that Frankie "had the same name as a famous person!" And a pastor deleted Frankie’s introductory e-mail as SPAM!

At one church, when some men heard Frankie Valens was coming, they just thought the pastor was going to impersonate Frankie. But when a flyer came out and it really was him, one man canceled his reservation at another banquet to come to this banquet.

A young boy came up to me (Phyllis) after a concert, and said he wanted an autograph. When I asked him if he wanted the picture of just Frankie or of both of us, he said, "Who’s Frankie?"

LAUGH-WISE - At a church where we presented a concert, the pastor, a former Marine, wanted to honor former servicemen, so during a 4^th of July celebration, the pastor asked that all who had served in the war, please stand. Several did, including Norm, to whom the pastor stated, "Norm, you didn’t fight in any war!" "Pastor," Norm replied, "I’ve been married for 32 years, and if that isn’t war, I don’t know what is!"

SIGN-WISE - For Hephner TV: "We’ve got our roots in Wichita, not just our branches."

For Great Harvest Bread Company: "Help kneaded."

KID-WISE - (from the internet-errors are intact!) DEAR GOD:

* Instead of letting people die and haveing to make new ones why don’t you just keep the ones you got now? Jane

* I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that OK? Neil

* I think the stapler is one of your greatest inventions. Ruth M.

* In bible times did they really talk that fancy? Jennifer

* I think about you sometimes even when I’m not praying. Elliott

* I am Amearican. What are you? Robert

* Thank you for the baby brother but what I prayed for was a puppy. Joyce

* I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. Thee are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. Nan

* Please put another holiday between Christmas and Easter. There is nothing good in there now. Ginny

* If you watch in church on Sunday I will show you my new shoes. Mickey D.

* If we come back as something please don’t let me be Jennifer Horton because I hate her. Denise

* I would like to live 900 years like the guy in the Bible. Love, Chris

* If you give me a genie lamp like Alladin I will give you anything you want except my money or my chess set. Raphael

* We read Thos. Edison made light. But in Sun. School they said you did it. So I bet he stoled your idea. Sincerly, Donna

* If you let the dinasor not exctinct we would not have a country. You did the right thing. Jonathan

* Please send Dennis Clark to a different camp this year. Peter

* Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother. Larry

SCHEDULE-WISE -

We’ll include our Itinerary for the present month and the upcoming month in each newsletter, so you can not only keep track of us, but also pray for us. God (and our mechanic) keep our 249,000-mile van working well, and we thank Him/them.

Sun, Feb. 4 - 6:00 p.m. Plains United Methodist Church - Plains, KS - 620-563-7263

Thu, Feb. 8 - noon Valens-tine Banquet/Central Community Church - Wichita, KS - 316-943-1800

Fri, Feb. 9 - 7:30 p.m. Valens-tine Banquet/City Heights Baptist Church (R) - 580-252-7185

Sat, Feb. 10 - 6:30 p.m. Valens-tine Banquet/Lamplight Dinner Theater - Holdenville, OK - 405-379-9977

Sun, Feb. 11 - 5:00 p.m. Valens-tine Banquet/Heritage United Methodist Ch. - Broken Arrow, OK-918-357-2211

Mon, Feb. 12 - 6:00 p.m. Valens-tine Banquet/Unionville United Methodist Ch. - Unionville, MO- 660-9477-2270

Tues, Feb. 13 - 6:30 p.m. Valens-tine Banquet/Mt. Hermon United Methodist Church - Mt. Herman, MO

Wed, Feb. 14 - 6:30 p.m. Valens-tine Banquet/Maryville Church of the Nazarene - Maryville, MO - 660-562-2420

Thu, Feb. 15 - 6:00 p.m. Valens-tine Banquet/Lovilia United Methodist Church - Lovilia, IA - 641-932-5243

Fri, Feb. 16 - 7:00 p.m. Valens-tine Banquet/Iconium United Methodist Church - Moravia, IA - 641-660-0173

Sun, Feb. 18 - 1:00 p.m. Valens-tine Banquet/Trinity United Methodist Church - Albia, IA - 641-830-5003

Sun, Feb. 25 - 10:00 a.m. Vintage Place Nursing Home - Derby, KS - 316-788-9600

Sat, Mar. 10 - 6:00 p.m. First United Methodist Church - Pastor Steve Thaden - Great Bend, KS - 620-793-3102

Sun, Mar. 11 - 2:00 p.m. United Methodist Church - Phillipsburg, KS - Pastor Kent M. Scott - 785-543-2454

Sun, Mar. 11 - 7:00 p.m. First United Methodist Church of Norton - Norton, KS - 785-877-2196

Sun, Mar. 25 - 10:00 a.m. Fairview First United Methodist Church - Fairview, OK - 580-227-4759

Fri, Mar. 30 - 7:00 p.m. Ordination of Pastor William McCary/The Church of the Shepherd EMC - Grove, OK - 918-786-5113

Sat, Mar. 31 - 6:00 p.m. Power House/Noel United Methodist Church - Noel, MO - 417-475-3814

LAST BLAST-WISE - If you must curse, use your own name. God

FINAL ADMONITION-WISE - "But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another." (Psalm 75:7 KJV)

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