A Big Update

I'm back. At least I am trying to be. I have good days and bad days, but they seem to be evening out. Five months of feeling bad is enough for me. I want to get back to work.

So, an update. I cannot tell you how thankful we are for all of the people that came out to our house for our annual fundraiser. Like I told you, the kindness of friends and the outpouring of support overwhelms my heart. The encouragement to press on through another year is much needed. It's hard work and we are incredibly thankful for the love.

Our initial project for the fundraiser this year was heat and a/c for the downstairs, but then the unit went out on the second floor so we decided to switch gears toward that. Before the day even arrived, a donor stepped up and said they would foot the bill for the...ENTIRE house. Now, in a normal house, that would be several thousand dollars. In our house, the estimate came in for $28,000 for all three floors. I cannot even wrap my mind around that. They began on Monday and will finish our second floor on Wednesday. Then they will come back soon to begin the first floor. To God be the glory because I could have never come up with this on my own.

Back to our fundraiser. It rained and for a few minutes I thought no one would show. Of course there are people who rsvp and don't show, but we just absorb the cost of their food. God generally provides over and beyond anyway. We had about 120 people in the chilly weather. It turned out to be a perfect day to play outside and listen to music with friends. John made divine fish and sang. Our beloved adopted son Cat Clemons wowed the crowd with his amazing music as always. We raised about $2,500 on the actual day of the fundraiser. With mail in donations, our total became $11,000. With our heat and a/c taken care of, we can now tackle another major project...and pay for the huge food budget we use to love on people who come here. We are so humbled and thankful. It's nice to be reminded that God sees us and wants to help us on our journey. Thank you, Jesus.

The night before the day of the fish fry, we had a full house. We had a full upstairs and a family of six sleeping on our floor downstairs (with no a/c!). It was so fun to have them around while we cooked and made pies until two in the morning. If you could have been a fly on the wall, y'all! We love the La family.

Thank you to everyone who helped us make this day such an extraordinary event. There is no possible way that we could ever convey what your kindness has meant to us and the encouragement that is has brought our weary spirits. Bless you. Bless the Lord.

If you would like to help us with food costs or project costs, you can give a one time donation or a monthly gift. Thank you for loving people with us.

Give to Gomer's House.

Love y'all.

Here are some pictures from the day:

Post by Gomer's House.

New Items in the Store

Hello fine people, I just wanted to remind you that I have an Etsy store that supports Gomer's House. All of the proceeds help restore and provide a warm meal for people. Of course, those are just side dishes to getting to love them with the love of Christ. I'll be posting more about our weekend and updates about heat in the next few days. Thank you all for supporting us and helping us provide a place of warmth for weary souls. It truly does take a village.

I put the coffee cups and a few new items in the store. If you would like a t-shirt, please let me know. I am ordering up a new batch and need sizes. Cards coming soon also. Thank you so much.

Moses Leads the People

We received this book on Saturday and my girls took off with it several times before I could read it. I had to track it down in their room. We know by this that the cover is attractive enough to make them sneak it out of my room. I thought the illustrations were good as well. It can be a bit of an intense story to tell to a young reader with all the blood and death of the first born. I thought they did a good job of tackling the subject. They stayed on par with the scripture. We can all appreciate that. I read through it with my three year old and she gives her approval. There are great sight reading words as well as a few more challenging words to stretch the reader. 

This book was graciously provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Be Our HGTV

It's that time of year when I cry. Sometimes accepting love can be painful because you expect the bottom to drop out of things or you have not been conditioned to receive it. When people show up at our house and give so much of their time and their resources to help us, it gets me. It really gets me. I might be tearing up now. It is completely overwhelming to me. It's a powerful redemption story that plays out in all of our lives. Jesus is beautiful. 

We have had some miraculous things happen here. Of course, you can remember earlier in the year when we "somehow" had the thirty thousand dollars we needed for our house. I still cannot even wrap my mind around that. The beauty in the history of this house is truly something special. We have not had some grand benefactor swoop in to help us pay for the repairs. Gomer's story is one of literally hundreds of people showing up with small amounts of money, time, and other resources to bring restoration. 

I think it's great when things happen and HGTV shows up to make your home dreams come true. That has not been our journey however. I realized that, you, dear friends, are our HGTV. You show up in my yard to eat fish, buy art, and listen to my husband do some picking and grinning. You show up here to paint, build, sweep, and pray. You are the most important part of our journey. Thank you.

Come share in the beauty of what God is doing here this Saturday. 11-4

There will be fish frying, the sounds of the South in the air, sweet tea on the table, and grace abounding. Thank you for helping us to get heat and a/c for our home. 

Come sit a spell.

Give to Gomer's House.

Hey, love y'all.

This post needs no pictures, y'all. On our way home from church Sunday, our two-year-old starts vomitting. It was coming out of her nose. Then, the other end. Everyone has felt bad and I have one still in bed a little shaky and complaining that her tummy hurts. I mean, who needs photos of this stuff. I have been trying to get ready for our fundraiser next week, but well, its a slow go. Last night, Chacha falls and hurts her face. What's a mama to do? Sit down and hold a Hello Kitty ice pack on her baby until the swelling goes down. Same with today. I just love the tiny people and rest when I can. Someday I am going to get some awesome stuff done. It just won't be today. That's okay by me.

Let me tell you some fun things. On Friday, I spoke at MOPS in Brownwood and took a bunch of art with me. That same day, in Burnet, Hill Country Church took a bunch of my art to their ladies retreat. Both were huge sellers. Around $1,200. I was also commissioned to do a piece for a new OB/GYN clinic in New Braunfels. It amazes me as I pray over pictures how far they  have gone out and how many thousands of people have come to see them. God has allowed me to put scripture in a hospital, a midwife practice, and OB/Gyn practice and countless other places where people need to be reminded of a God who loves them. It never cease to amaze me. Thanks, God.

A guy at our church has a new outside a/c unit he purchased and is unable to use. He said we could have it if it will work for us. We might have bought air again! Pray for that, y'all. We have had some good donations coming in the last few weeks and are anticipating a good turnout for our Southern Fish Fry. Please come if you are around. Let me know if you would like to come.

Last week, my Lulu wanted to go take a picture to a neighbor we had not seen in a few weeks. So, we walked over and delivered the drawing. When we arrive, I found out that her husband had been in the hospital to have part of his stomach and bladder removed because they had found cancer. I told Lulu I thought that the Holy Spirit had prompted her to make that picture so we could go love on our friends. That same day some friends from another state wanted to buy some tickets for anyone who might need them. I'll be delivering some fish to our neighbors next Saturday from a couple of people who want to share the love of Christ in Texas all the way from Virginia! 

Please keep praying for me too as I heal. Love y'all.

You can donate by visiting gomershouse.org.