Thank you, dear and faithful friends

Words cannot express how comforting and uplifting it is to know that so many of the household of faith are holding our family up in prayer right now. Thank you so much for your sweet comments and remembrances. The Lord's people are so precious and special to one another. Thank you.

Please pray with us that Daddy's service will be one of victory and honor to our heavenly Father. Thank you again, dear friends.

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

My dear daddy, Kye Harris, left this earth yesterday and went to the arms of Jesus. The cause of death was pneumonia, which he had struggled so valiantly with many times over the last few years. Thank God, He answered our prayers and Daddy went home peacefully, without struggle.

Daddy was the 10th of 12 children, born in south Georgia in the midst of the Great Depression. Stories of his childhood always fascinated us children growing up. As an adult, we loved to sit and listen to him and his siblings tell those stories and laugh at themselves, each time revealing little secrets about one another.

When the Second World War began, he was 14 and tried to join the Navy. They (wisely) sent him home. When he was 15, he succeeded in joining the U.S. Marines and was sent to the Pacific theater. There he engaged in combat in four major battles including the Marshall Islands, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima and received the Purple Heart for numerous wounds.

Although Daddy grew up in a Christian home, he went to war lost. The Lord graciously used that war to draw him to Himself, and he was saved in a foxhole, a true foxhole conversion. When he returned home at 18, he and my mother, who was 17 at the time, were married shortly after. They prayed and told the Lord, “If there is a job You need done and you can’t get anyone else to do it, we’ll do it. If there is a place you need someone, and you can’t get anyone else to go, Lord, we’ll go there.” And they did.

We were really, really poor in my early years, but Daddy made life fun (though he also trained us to be good Marines!). We traveled the United States (frugally) and spent years and miles meeting God’s people (friendships which endure to this day) and speaking in Bible conferences. We thought we had moved up in the world when he took a pastorate in New Mexico and had a regular paycheck.

When I was a teen, we moved back to North Carolina, and Daddy never failed to have a Bible conference or teaching series going on, sometimes for weeks. Along the way, the Lord convicted him that God’s children did not belong in state schools, and he began a ministry of pioneering Christian schools and colleges, eventually numbering more than 70 all across the U.S.

The last time I saw Daddy, on Tuesday, I held his hand and told him how eternally thankful I am that he poured himself into his relationship with his children. He saturated our every day with the Word of God. We learned the Word, memorizing lengthy passages as well as learning deep principles, from a very early age. Of course, I thought it was punishment to sit through all those hours and hours of Bible teaching, in conferences as well as at home, but how I bless my father for his wisdom! What a strong foundation he gave us! And it is our privilege to pass that on to our children and grandchildren.

Yes, a weary warrior has gone home. His suffering is over. Of course, we mourn, and Mother is lost without him, but we are so thankful the Lord has him in His care now. He is with my little sister Ginger and his parents and dear friends who went before. He is waiting for us, and it is our honor to carry the torch and pass it to the next generation.

I want to thank all of our dear friends who faithfully lifted him up. Please continue to pray for the family, especially Mother. She is a strong woman, but of course this is hard for her. The funeral is November 3 in Winter Haven FL, and his earthly temple will be committed to the ground on Monday, November 5, at the National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL. Thank you for reading this lengthy tribute. May the Lord receive glory and honor in this time of grief – that would be Daddy’s highest desire.

Performin' in Pickle Town!

The Country Cousins at the Pavillion in Wauchula FL on Saturday. It earned the nickname "Pickle Town" because of the large cucumber facility there. The town was celebrating its 100th anniversary, and the children decided to dress as pioneers for the occasion. This part of Florida is still very rural, with ranches and groves everywhere. The children performed well and blessed the crowd. It was a very pleasant day.
From left: Daniel, dobro-learner; Callie, dobro; in back, Matthew, guitar; Gracie, mandolin; Mary, fiddle; Sarah Beth, fiddle. Callie and Gracie also play fiddle, and Sarah also plays about anything she wants to, as well as writes some very precious songs. Callie, Gracie, and Sarah have done vocals in the past and are working on more confidence in that area.
Peter, banjo man; Kitty, lead guitar; RG, bass fiddle. Peter is also teaching himself guitar and plays the fiddle (when forced to!). Kitty plays the violin for church and is teaching herself piano. RG, like Sarah, plays about anything he wants to. He is a great "scrub" fiddler (think "Orange Blossom Special") while Sarah is our "finesse" fiddler (think "Ashoken Farewell") RG has also become pretty proficient on guitar.
Little Cousins Margaret Anne, Rosie, and Rachel wait patiently to sing their cowboy songs.
Little Cousins Benny, Markie, Abby, Margaret Anne, Rosie, and Rachel love to sing "Happy Trails" and "Faith, Hope, and Charity". Markie does some yodeling in "Cowboy Sweetheart" and Abby does a beautiful solo of "You're the Only Star in My Blue Heaven". Saturday was Margaret Anne's debut as a soloist on "Oh, Susannah!"

Florida Fall Foliage!

Of course, the lovely bougainvillea and other lovely flowers are still blooming! (Molly, what is the name of that blue one??)
The various crotons provide stunning fall colors.
This golden rain tree, in daughter Katie's yard, has dropped most of its golden rain and is in its red stage. These flower (or whatever they are) look like little Chinese lanterns in their final stage. I love them.

This golden rain tree is still mostly "golden", and has not rained down its gold yet.

It is a little cooler here for the next couple of days – mid-80s highs and upper-60s lows. That should be refreshing for a little while, and hopefully the children’s performance on Saturday will not be too muggy. It is supposed to go up again next week, but that is normal for here. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to share some of our fall colors – we do have some, you know!

Our colors are a little different from the beautiful leaves changing up north (which I still miss after 33 years in FL), but hey, I will take fall color wherever I can! And, of course, the flowers are still blooming everywhere, so that is definitely a plus! (BTW, I took these pictures on my Blackjack cell phone -- I thought they weren't too bad, for a cell phone camera!)

Busy Season!

Diligent Sarah mixing the latest "in the rough" CD. (The picture does not do Sarah's sweet countenance justice -- my camera is taking very dark pictures, and Adobe "fixed" it for me.)

The "busy season" has begun in earnest for us. Of course, each family is in full swing with school (actually, most of the children did some school work, off and on, during the summer -- especially those nearing graduation). But we have come to see that fall is the "busy season" for the Country Cousins, too. Here in Florida, all the "snowbirds" are returning, and every community is having some sort of "fall festival". The older folks love to hear them play and for the Little Cousins to come sing old Roy Rogers/Gene Autry/folk and gospel songs.

So we will be off to Wauchula's 100th anniversary celebration this Saturday, and Historic Kathleen's fall festival the next, and Lake Buffum Baptist Church's the next . . . It is a busy time, but how it hones their gifts and talents for the Lord! It is always a challenge to keep unity and sweet spirits, but the Lord is faithful to keep us focused when we gather to pray and lift our burdens to Him.

We have been working on our "in the rough" CD -- samples of the children's music -- since everywhere folks ask if they have one. Sarah has such a desire to see things done well that she has taken on the learning of the sound system (until Uncle Robert is able to be home on a regular basis). She has a great musical ear, so she keeps us sounding good. RG has pitched in there, too, especially when setting up the live system.

So it begins. An exhausting, but exciting time! Hopefully, we will be able to post some good pictures of the performances. Hopefully, the real, authentic, professionally-done CD will be completed soon!

Apples!!

Margaret Anne, Grandmother, CJ, and Abigail working on those apples!

A friend was able to get crates of apples for all of us "autumn-deprived" folks here in central FL, and I ordered 2 crates. Yes, there are only two of us, but I had a couple reasons for ordering 2 crates. Well, first, grandchildren are always asking, "Grandmama, may I have an apple?" So, I figure they will know the answer before they ask (at least for a week or two!) And since they are here often, they will also share in the bounty (see next paragraph!)

Second, I love to put up the bounty!! We have lived in Florida for 33 years, but I never cease to miss a specific time of year to put up the harvest before the cold sets in. Here, we are blessed to be able to get fresh produce year-round at good prices (even some good local produce), so the need to preserve isn't as obvious. But I still rather like the feeling of putting by for a different season, and I enjoy the process, so I do it!

And I believe it is important to teach the children to do the same. I am not a hoarder, but a storer (just ask anyone who has seen "Grandmother's store"!) Yesterday, Molly and her younger ones came by to help me for a while, and we did applesauce! I am freezing it, so I am doing up just a large stockpot at a time, rather than a huge canner-full at once.

Margaret Anne, CJ, and Abby loved the old-time apple corer-peeler-slicer, and each took turns cranking, removing the cores, cutting the slices into half-moons, and taking the remains to the chickens. I usually do make juice from the cores, but the chickens needed a treat. Then today, Katie's little ones Rachel and Joey were over when I was working, and they repeated yesterday's routine.

I cannot tell you how precious it is to watch another generation learn old, worthwhile skills. When I was a child, we lived in Washington state, and friends who owned an orchard generously included our family in the canning time, at an actual community cannery. What an experience! And of course, my grandmothers always put up quite a bit.

My children used to help me in Indiana when we were blessed with bounty from my inlaws' acre-sized garden, and we also hunted down abandoned pear and apple trees on local farms. The basement shelves were filled with glowing jewel-colored jars.

Now their children are learning that food doesn't come from some magic tin-can machine in the back of a mega-store. One year, we made pear preserves together, just as my grandmother had done with me. My husband and I believe these lessons will not be lost on the grandchildren if (and we are afraid "when") hard times may come to America, and our descendants will be glad they learned the value of "go to the ant, learn her ways and be wise".

Thank you, Tracy, for thinking of us and doing the run-around work on this good produce! And thank You, Lord, for Your mercy to America and for Your hand of bountiful blessing!