October 30, 2009, Nashville, TN., 11:52 a.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Journal~

Hey!  It's your lucky day, 'coz you get to put up with me!! Aren't you special??  LOL

It's your friendly spider-girl, Ronee' Reaux, writing.  Yeah, I'm going as a spider again this year for the Harvest Festival, which starts tonight and goes through Sunday afternoon (early) at my church.  It's gonna be a blast!  I canNOT wait!!!!

Hope this finds y'all well.  I am doing GREAT!!  Life is indeed a sweet treat for me:  no nasty tricks to trip me up (already have more than enough "trips" when I walk; just call me "Miss Twinkletoes"!  LOL).  Hope it continues:  the treats, not the tricks!

Well, for choir practice at church, we have already started practicing for the upcoming Christmas Cantata.  We are working on songs.  I have already been asked by the music pastor/choir director to do a solo of "O, Holy Night".  Some of the songs we'll be singing include the old standards "Silent Night", "Silver Bells", "Joy To The World!", "Hark!  The Herald Angels Sing!", "The Hallelujah Chorus", and "I'll Be Home For Christmas". 

There'll also be songs we've never heard before:  "The Lion And The Lamb" and "Fear Not" are just two of them.  "Fear Not" is really pretty.  The director is also thinking I should do the solo for "The Lion And The Lamb"; I told him I'm already singing "O, Holy Night"; let someone else do the other song; I shouldn't get all the glory!  :)  LOL  Oh, well, still, I am honored that he asked me!  :)

As you know, for our Harvest Festival, we have the McKameys from here in Tennessee and the MacGruders from Missouri, two of southern gospel's premier acts, headlining our festival.  We will also have local entertainment by members of our church (myself and my family, Trevor Coles, Tirpe' Bilkey, Trevi Ortiz, Valeri Gomez, Brenda Hall, Greg G. Wilson, and others) participating, entertaining the crowds that come. 

The festival organizers are expecting something like 10,000 or more people to attend this year's event.  It's really grown in the last few years since our church started having it.

There'll also be a car smash for the kids and teens, games/contests galore, food out the wazoo, a raffle with door prizes (donations go to the children's ministry as well as to our missions team), rides for the kids/young at heart, face painting, family-friendly "holiday" tales, as well as storytelling about Christ and His message of truth and hope, and arts/crafts for sale.  There'll be a lot going on to keep festival attendees busy for the next three days.

The weather was going to be nice; however, it seems that the season has thrown a "trick" into the works:  a chance of rain (50% tomorrow), but clearing by the time the festival really gets cranking on Saturday (the main day).  Then Sunday it's supposed to be nice.  Today, partly cloudy, with rain arriving about the time the MacGruders take to the main stage at 8 p.m.  (Sure hope the MacGruders brought their rain gear!  LOL) 

Oh, well, it could be worse:  the National Weather Service could have called for rain all weekend, but even they had a heart!  LOL  At least they gave us some chance of fairly decent weather!  :)

Well, I am going to go:  get ready to eat lunch (I'm at school as I write this), then go home, get ready, and vamanos a la festival!  :)  I will write in here again, probably sometime next week; if I don't give y'all a full report of how our Harvest Festival went, then one of my family members surely will!  Either way, you'll hear something from somebody!  Pray it goes well, and pray we reach our community with the love of Christ; pray that some people come to know Him as their Lord and Saviour!  Then it will truly BE a Harvest Festival, something worth celebrating!

Take care, and may God bless you mightily!  Love you tons!

~As always, your friend in Tennessee, Ronee' Le-Anne Reaux.  :D