Thanks-Mas

What a wonderful time of the year! For many years now we (children of Louis Brannen) have gotten together with our siblings and their families on Thanksgiving Day. We met again this year at Bonita's (Landrums) home. All of the families cook and take food - and there is always more than a generous amount of food to satisfy everyone. This year, baby sister Donice Brannen Brown conducted the devotional. Stephen Lowell, (Brother Lowell's son) who plays professionally in the Air Force band was there to help entertain us. I video-taped much of it - with the Brannen Family singing old songs like "Everywhere He Went He Was Doing Good"; "Old Camp-Meeting Days"; etc. and have posted them to you-tube. When you get to the youtube site, type in "FredAltonBrannen" and there you will find many that I have posted.



Last Sunday, December 13, 2009, we had a great time at the Tellico Plains Church of God! First it was teaching the book of Job in Sunday School...then the S.S. Class Christmas party in the afternoon... then an old fashioned Gospel singing with Dr. Edward L. Williams and his wife Irma being our main musical guests. I've also posted to youtube some videos of those songs. Driving home that night it occurred to me that I felt better physically and emotionally and spiritually than I have felt in a very long time. I'm a blessed man!



This coming Thursday we will be taking Frances to the hospital for a CT Scan. The doctor told her this past Friday that her heart is NOT functioning like it should be after having had the major surgery last March. We keep believing God for the breakthrough miracle of healing for her at any time. Meanwhile we quietly trust in the Lord.



Mom is "preaching" in one of the Wednesday night classes at North Cleveland Church of God tonight. I plan to go and hear her. She is such a special lady. I took her with me to Tellico Plains recently and she preached the fire down!!! She was exhausted afterwards - but it seems she is ready again in just a few hours to give the best of her strength to the ministry of preaching again. I'm so proud to live close to her and be able to be in church with her frequently.



Baby daughter, Tabitha and her husband (Philip Jaycox) were appointed to pastor the Church of God in Watertown, NY just about three weeks ago. That is, they have taken our wonderful grand-babies a looooonng way from home. I miss them terrible - but I do want the children to be obedient to the Lord above everything else.



May the Lord make each of you aware of the Good News! Jesus was born of a virgin, lived and died to purchase our salvation, rose to life on the third day, ascended into heaven and today sits at the right hand of God the father, interceding for us. Wonderful News! Great joy unto all people! Jesus is coming again soon.

Here's a video of me singing "I Need Not Leave With The Burden", a song about missions during our church's "Gospel Singing" on Sunday night, December 13th, 2009. Oh how blessed we are to have received the knowledge of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I've observed other religious followers who live in foreign lands. Some of them I call by their names because they are friends. Their religion is complicated - the Muslim friends expect 72 virgins in eternity, the Hindu friends have over a thousand gods in their lives and the Sikh friends combine elements of three major religions. I pray that our witness to them will make a difference here and in eternity!