HEINEN HAPPENINGS – November 2025

“I thank my God every time I remember you.”

It’s now the season to be thankful, unless your household is one who shops for Christmas in July and completely skips Thanksgiving to start listening to Mariah Carey sing about what (or whom) she wants for Christmas. Hopefully in this busy holiday season, you find a little time to slow down long enough to be thankful.

As I get older, I am so much more aware yearlong just how much I have to be grateful for as I see God at work all around me. I am so thankful to my Creator for making me, loving me, saving me, and keeping me. I am so thankful for Jesus, my Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. In Him we find all spiritual blessings. No wonder we are told to remember who He is and what He did for us when we regularly meet at the Table, where we share in the celebration of the eucharist, which literally means “thanksgiving.”

And I am so thankful to God for all He has blessed me with in the here and now as I await my being promoted to glory. At the top of the list is that He blessed me with an incredible family.

Maria is a wonderful teacher who is making a real impact in the life of her students and their families. Victoria is now having a blast staying at home with a not-so-little Ezra, for whom we are bursting with thanksgiving. We certainly love our kids dearly, but there is a special love one has for grandchildren! Rebekah is now back in Arkansas, and it is a joy seeing this gifted social worker love her hospice clients as they wander into the last chapter of their mortal lives. We are so thankful for our sons-in-law, Tim and Noah, as they love those we hold most dearly in our hearts. And of course, I cannot begin to say how thankful I am for my best friend, Leah, with whom I had the chance to celebrate 39 years of wedded bliss just a few days ago. God is so good! Please pray for us all, and please be in prayer for my parents as they, now in their 90’s, face many health challenges.

And how we are thankful for you, our dear family and friends! In the passage quoted above, the Apostle Paul relates His thanksgiving for His friends in Philippi. Even though they were far from him as he lay in a damp prison cell, he actually was able to pray for them “with joy,” because they were such partners with him in his life of gospel proclamation. They were miles away, but were still his partners through their generous giving to support him, through their faithful prayers on his behalf, and because of their constant encouragement which strengthened his soul in even the darkest of nights.

Can I say that this is exactly how we feel about you? We know you are praying for us. God blesses us richly as you lift us before His heavenly throne. We are deeply strengthened and filled with renewed courage as we read the notes and messages you send us. And we literally could not survive on our small monthly one-person disability check if it were not for the unexpected love gifts we receive from some of you. How we give joyful thanks to God for you!

Dear partners, may you experience God in a life-transforming way this holiday season. May His arms of love hold you fast. May His grace sustain you through the good times and the bad. And may His dear presence fill you with His peace. We love you and pray for you. Please message us with specific ways we can intercede on your behalf. And if my writing about having a relationship with God seems foreign to you, check out this webpage on how you can truly know Him, too – https://twowaystolive.com/.

Grace and peace,

Brian Heinen, brheinen1@gmail.com