Birthday Princess

We had the joy of celebrating the birthday of our littlest princess yesterday (and the day before!)! Maya is our sunshine girl and such a delight! We showered her with pink and princess-y presents, which made her smile even more than usual.

Maya, what a precious gift you are to our family and everyone who knows you. You bring so much love and joy and delight to our lives! We love you and are so thankful for beautiful you!

And thanks to the wonderful LaRock family for celebrating with us!

Hiking

Those of you who knew us in Canada know that one of our favourite things to do is hiking! And believe it or not, we had not hiked at all since moving until yesterday. I was beginning to wonder if anyone here hikes or if there were any places to do so, but we have met one family who loves to hike and have told us of several trails.

The one we went to yesterday is called Red Rocks and it was lovely! It was amazing to get out in God's creation again. Ahhh!

There were even a few signs of autumn!

Many blessings!

September Prayer Update

Somehow, I forgot to post this here last week. Some of you may have already seen it in an email or on Facebook. Thanks for your prayer support!

Hi Friends,

Thanks for continuing to track with us on the Royce adventure in Virginia. Here are several prayer points since our last update in August:

1. We accepted a bid on our Hamilton, Ontario, house on 22 August and we closed on 31 August...only 10 days later! We praise God for the amazing speed with which things moved. Thanks for praying!
2. A house church has started in the Tigges home where we are staying for now. In light of the earthquake which damaged the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral, here in the DC area on 23 August, we talked about personal and national repentance and prayed for our nation during our home church meeting on 28 August,...then a BALD EAGLE flew right outside our window at the Tigges home and circled around the property for a bit. WOW!
3. Bob and Scarlett joined in on the Journey to Transformation Conference at the Intercessors for America office in Purcellville, VA at the end of August. What a special time of great affirmation and confirmation about our role here in the area to see community wide awakening, revival and transformation.
4. We are very thankful for Kingdom connections and new friends. We know some of you have prayed very specifically for new friends for our children and He has answered those prayers already! We miss our Canadian friends so much but are overwhelmed with His goodness in providing for us already.
5. Please pray with us about a business opportunity that is developing for us. More to share next time as doors continue to open.
6. Continue to pray for us for the timing and open doors for our permanent home here. We are eager to set down roots, but thankful at the same time for being able to do life with the Tigges crew right now!

Thank you for your continued financial investment with us. Continue to make checks payable to:
Ridgecrest Baptist Church
Attn/Memo: Royce Ministries
6801 Wesley St
Greenville, TX 75402
903.455.0020

Thankful to be connected to Jesus and the growth of the Kingdom during these days. Thanks for walking with us!

Bob and Scarlett Royce
Hamilton, Virginia
703-835-7959 - Bob
703-859-1777 - Scarlett
PO Box 26
Hamilton, Virginia 20159

Israel

I have been trying to keep up with the conflict going on at the United Nations, over the Palestinian Authority making proposal to become a recognized state. If you do not know the details of this battle against Israel, here are a few places to start...

Christians United for Israel

International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Jerusalem Prayer Team

The Jerusalem Post




And in case you missed this on my Facebook page...



I am standing with Israel and praying for the peace of Jerusalem! [Psalm 122:6]

A Special Treat

We have met some very fun and interesting people as a result of hanging out at Zion Springs for a couple of months. And the latest guests, Marvin and Susan Olasky, are the reason I was able to meet this beautiful lady...


Yes, it's Ann Voskamp of A Holy Experience and One Thousand Gifts! Mr. Olasky, editor of World Magazine, was interviewing Ann at Patrick Henry College yesterday and Mrs. Olasky let Chris and I know that it was open to the public. What a special treat! Ann talked about her life in Ontario, her writing and the way God is working in her life. It was a delight to hear her soft voice and deep thoughts and to get a quick photo before she was whisked off to lunch.

Also with Ann was the delightful Lisa Jo from The Gypsy Mama blog! I actually had a longer conversation with Lisa Jo than with Ann and I enjoyed every minute of getting to her just a bit. Her little Zoe was with her and what a charmer she was! Lisa Jo, I'm so sorry I didn't think to get a photo with you as well. Next time!

I am so blessed and so grateful!

Ben

Today was Celebrate Benjamin Day! He is now a nine year old, and the happiest, most smiley, joyful nine year old we know!

We are amazed today and every day that the Father brought us to this exact spot and home in Virginia, not only to connect with the Tigges family, but also to connect with two of the next door neighbour families and another family that is only a few minutes away!!! We are so very blessed. It is overwhelming.

Thank you to those sweet friends who have prayed for our children to have friends in Virginia. These do not replace the old friends, but we are thankful that the Father has already graciously answered all of those beautiful prayers.

We love you, Benji-man and are so proud of the bright, talented, creative, thoughtful, caring young man you are. We are blessed by you every single day!

Gettysburg

One of the amazing things about living in this area of the country is that we are right in the heart of so much American history! We recently took a day to go to Gettysburg and had a fascinating time. The visitor's centre is a beautiful place and we enjoyed both the movie and the cyclorama. The gift shop and bookstore had so much to peruse. The museum also had many treasures. We also took a drive through the battlefields with an audio tour. The only thing we did not have time for was to take a tour of the cemetery. We will go again, though, and make that a priority. A friend told me that the tour guides do a great job of telling some of the more personal stories of the Civil War.

I did not teach American history in great depth while living in Canada, so we are looking forward to great history learning this year, along with some unique field trips.

Home school moms: What is your favourite American history curriculum?

Blessings!

All My Fountains

This is one of my new favourite songs! I love this video. It is overflowing with the the joy of Jesus!!!

Psalm 87:7 As they make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in you.”

For further study...

Blue Letter Bible

Spurgeon's Treasury of David

Blessings of joy today!!!

Seven Layer Bars

We are having rain and more rain in Virginia right now, but thankfully, no flooding in our area. I am praying for all those in the flood areas and am continuing to pray for those in the drought areas, as well.

I am making this recipe for Seven Layer Bars for small group tonight. It is a family favourite and it makes me think of my sweet friend and Canadian neighbour, Pip, who loves them as much as we do. Fond memories!

I have photos to share from our recent family time in Gettysburg, as well as a really great music video of a song that has ministered to me so much lately.

Back soon!
Blessings on your day!

Praises!!!

Well, I realize that I am late on shouting this from the rooftops, but...

OUR HOUSE IS SOLD!!!!!!!!!

It was, in my opinion, quite a miracle. We had an offer on a Monday and closed ten days later. Who ever heard of something selling that quickly!?! We are excited for the young family that bought the house. We pray blessings over them and all of our beloved neighbours back in Canada!

So we have been giving praise and glory to our generous, miracle-working Father!!!! We love to be amazed by Him, over and over again.

And now we are praying even more for a new home! Please join us. We know that He has brought us to Virginia to settle, strengthen and establish us here. We declare that to be true and are just waiting on His timing.

Blessings!