BJ and Derek (cousins) kayaking in Texas.

This weekend will be a very special one in the lives of the Higgins' family. Beginning Wednesday, and lasting for nearly a week, we will be receiving family and friends into our home (and area hotels and churches). Saturday afternoon, we are celebrating 25 years of marriage combined with our Book Release party.

Deanna, Lauren and many friends are busy making preparations for the event. Preparing food, cleaning house, borrowing serving plates, sharing recipes, and trying to keep the lines of communication open so that we have an idea of how many will be here.

It is a come and go type of event, but many are coming from so far away that it will be mostly a come and stay for 3 hours, event.

A disaster relief team has been organized from Indiana, through a ministry called Leavener (see leavener.com). They are coming to help clean up the mounds of tree debris I spoke of yesterday. This is a skilled group of volunteers who have assembled on many other occasions. My family worked with them over Thanksgiving in 2005, down in the New Orleans area. Within this group are many of BJ's friends and mentors. They will take a break on Saturday afternoon to come and fellowship with us.

We also have family flying and driving in from around the country. Friends are doing likewise. To have people in your life who consider this a worthwhile expenditure of their money is pretty amazing. We pray their investment is a blessing in their lives.

Normally, I would say this a once in a lifetime event. But we have already been blessed by many of these people over and over again. Most of them were present together at Beej's Memorial Celebration. Many of them have visited with us on our return trips to Indy or their journeys here.

God has truly invested deeply into our hearts through the lives of these, His faithful servants. I can honestly tell you that we do not know how to thank them. We will try, but we must trust the Lord to bless their lives for their outpouring of love.

Many of you who are reading are planning to be here. We are excited to see you!

Our special weekend coincides with a special event at our church. We are having an Equipping Conference. Walker Moore is preaching at each of our morning services. We will be sharing a brief testimony about our book, and then we receive the honor of being prayed over. Then, in the afternoon, I will speak at one of the equipping breakout sessions.

What an incredible weekend is coming. What incredible blessing to be able to share it with so many family and friends! There are many who wanted to come, planned to come, but it is not going to work out for them. We are disappointed, but at the same time, thankful that they were interested in coming to begin with!

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."

We have much to be thankful for. We are significantly blessed by our Father in Heaven. His provision for us in the wake of our grief is more than we deserve. We are most encouraged by the breadth of our Father's blessing!

dad

RITALEE, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT BRENT.HIGGINS@AWESTAR.ORG. I WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT MISSIONS.