Goodbye, Shane

You were loved so very, very much. And you are already missed.

Happy 75th Birthday, Dad

My dad is 75 years old today. It's pretty hard for me to believe.

On January 1st he traveled with a team from his church to China to carry Study Bibles to the Chinese believers that are crying out for God's Word. He had never done anything like that before, and I doubt if he will do it again. (He fell in the snow and rocks at the Great Wall of China, hit his head, landed in the Chinese hospital, and came home in a lot of pain.) But he did it! That showed a lot of courage for a man who likes structure and predictability.

He is a self-described "supervisor" yet works as hard as everyone else. Probably harder. I wished he lived closer to me, not just because I like to be with him, but he would probably really enjoy doing a few of the things that need to be done around the house.

My dad is wise and gives good counsel, especially in the area of finances. He is wise with his money and desires his kids, grandkids and greatgrandkids to learn how to be wise with their money too. But most of all, he wants us to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. There were plenty of years that Duane and I lived without the predictability of a set income as we traveled and ministered in music. That was tough on my dad as he watched us struggle financially, and I think it stretched his faith as well as our own. I think my family has increased his prayer life over the years! But that can't be a bad thing, can it?

Every morning he and Pat pray for one of their kids and their families. I am thankful. Every evening before bed they play marbles with my sister, Cyndi, if she comes by.

Ps. 128:1 says "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways." This scripture always makes me think of my dad.

Happy Birthday, Dad. I love you!

Praying for Ronda

Is. 41:10 "Do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

This is the scripture that Nici texted to me when Duane and I went to the McPeeks early Thursday morning after finding out their son, Shane Byrd, had been killed in a car accident. I am praying for Ronda and Dennis ~ that God will strengthen them and uphold them when they feel they just can't go on.



"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort." 2 Cor. 1:3

Lord, please comfort the McPeek family.

My Dad

Charles Thomas Gwin, Jr.

Happy Father's Day, dad. (A day late.)


Grandpa and Jason.

Grandpa and Nici

Father's Day

A few of my favorite photos from the archives... My children have the best Father ever!




Father's Day was a glorious day, not just for Duane, but also for me. I think I am addicted to the wonderful art of scanning old pictures. Whitney's simple request of wanting to see some older photos reminded me of the treasures I have hidden in boxes or photo albums. Scanning old photos makes me happy!

Mary Bartlett graduates High School

Mary graduated Desert Christian Home Education Program (DCHEP) this morning at 10 a.m. We are so proud of her. She presented an incredible speech and I wish the lighting in the room were better so I could've taken a decent picture of it! Love you, Mary!

Jeremy & Noel Hartley

Jeremy Hartley and Noel Lund were married on June 1. It was a very fun wedding and reception. I know many have already blogged and posted great pictures of the special day. Here's a few of my favorites.

Anna and Alan Berthiaume were so happy. They celebrated their first wedding anniversary on June 3.



My kids were the cutest, of course.



Whitney and Jason



The Groomsmen and Waseem. Sounds like a good name for a rock band, maybe...Or maybe it should be Waseem and the Groomsmen :)


Me, Najwa (Waseem's mom), Nici and Mary



Joey Sonner and Braden Magnusson

Fun Day at the Huntington

So glad the Greens came to town! Bridget, Nici and I went to the Huntington on Friday ~ Just the three of us! What a day! The new Chinese Garden is incredible. We had so much to catch up on, it was fun to sit, relax and chat and chat. The drive home was not as much fun. Duane's car died on us in the fast lane of the 210 freeway. God's arms were big enough to protect us and slide us over to the center divider while the world rushed by! Very nice tow drivers came and rescued us. We told them that God took care of us. Thank you, Lord!





The Huntington House is finally open after a year or more. Bridget is sitting on the outside terrace. I can imagine the romantic dances that the Huntingtons must've hosted years ago. You can still see the hooks in the outside edges of the ceiling where they hung wicker swings for the guests to sit if they were tired of dancing. Sigh...

Gavin Ryan McDonald

Gavin Ryan McDonald was born on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 in Texas to my nephew and his wife, Adam and Ruthann McDonald. We are so happy for them to be parents. These are a couple of the pictures my sister, Carolyn, sent to me.



Proud cousin, Avery Cox.


Proud papa. Gotta tell everyone the news!

The Clarks

Here's proof that we finally managed to get together with Terry and Nancy in Thousand Oaks on May 17. Terry was recording a live worship CD and asked Duane to play bass guitar. It was a really cool evening of worshiping the Lord together.



Jason and Nici had just finished school. I think the pressure of finals must've taken its toll on Jason.

Mother's Day

I am trying to catch up on all the events of the last few months. Mother's Day was awesome. I got a lot of beautiful flowers but sadly, didn't take pictures of them. I enjoyed them for a long time though! Nana enjoyed her new 'duster' and coffee mug!

Spring Tea

Grace Chapel Women's Ministries hosted a Spring Tea on May 3, 2008. It was a wonderful time of refreshment - physically and spiritually. Here's a couple of photos. The theme was "Growing Deep and Branching Out." The decorations included many of the ministries and missionaries from the church. It was an encouragement to all of us to be growing in the Lord and yet reaching out and serving the Lord by loving others.

Nana's Birthday

Nana (Mom) turned 81 on April 25. We celebrated by taking her to Texas Cattle Company. She was tickled when the servers brought her a huge piece of ice cream cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Whitney's parents, Jeri and Lynn Krauss, were visiting from Texas. It was a fun time.

Driving in Wales

Duane has done all the driving for us in Wales. Flying in to London and driving on the 'wrong' side of the road through rush-hour traffic, darkness and rain...in the first few hours! He has done great! This is what it looks like.

Hay on Wye, Wales

In the heart of Wales is a little town with 36 used book stores. That is what it is known for - used book stores. In fact, many of the bookcases sit outside. Take a look at the pictures above. Clive was so happy that we were interested in going. I told him if he needed an excuse to go, I'd be happy to be his excuse! It was cold and drizzly, but boy did we have fun! I found a few treasures - small ones, of course.

When God picks you up and sets you down in a place you could not have even dreamed up - that's what I call God knowing your heart's desires. Even though you never thought to ask! How good God is to me!



We crossed this one-lane bridge on the hour drive to and from Hay on Wye. A river rushes under it, and sheep graze on a green meadow next to it. The sheep came running to me when I took this picture. They were hoping I was there to feed them.

A Day in Oxford

A dream come true for me. A bonus prayer answered. A day in Oxford with our new Welsh friends, Clive and Pat, who navigated and enjoyed the day as much as we did! Thank you, Lord! Here's just a couple of the photos.

The Eagle and Child - the pub where C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein and their comrades would get together, have a drink and discuss the manuscripts they were writing.


Clive, Pat, Duane and Me in Blackwell's Bookstore in Oxford.


Christ's Church College. Oxford has 39 Colleges of which this is biggest. We toured the cathedral so I will post pictures of that soon.



More to come...

Tredegar, Wales

Above is the Tredegar clocktower in towncentre. Below is the coffee shop called "Stepping Stones", a place for people to be refreshed and hear about the gospel. The church owns and runs the shop. That's me and Jeff Williams. Duane and I are staying with him and his wife, Diane. They are awesome hosts.



Alan, Duane and Anna in the park. The weather was so unpredictable. It could be sunny, windy, drizzly or raining in the same hour!

Birthday girls

Happy Birthday to Mary Bartlett! She turned 17 on March 18.



Marianne Frevert turned 22 on March 19. Here she is between her sister, Marcy and their mom. The roses were from Nici.