Don grieves about the winter ice storm (see the Farm & Garden Report below) every time he walks outside or comes home from work and sees the tree damage. He'll be comforted somewhat when the song sparrows, phoebes, and rufous-sided towhees begin singing in the broken branches soon, and if the raspberries, blackberries, and especially the blueberries sprout well.

Did you know that Southern Seminary—where Don teaches Biblical Spirituality—now offers both a Ph.D. and a Doctor of Ministry degree in Biblical Spirituality? The Ph.D. is the first in the nation in spirituality in a non-Catholic school. The D.Min. program is the first in the SBC. For more information on the Ph.D., phone the Doctoral Studies office at 800-626-5525 x4119 or by email thmphd@sbts.edu. Contact the D.Min. office at 800-626-5525 x4113 or by email at dmin@sbts.edu.

Caffy's website has recently been updated. If you'd like to see some samples of the artwork and faux-finishing she's done (including the life-size oil portrait of Jonathan Edwards) go to www.CaffyWhitney.com and click on the "galleries" link. In addition to doing a lot of mural and faux-finishing work in a new home in our area recently, Caffy is preparing to teach a class this spring to wives of Southern Seminary students on Don's Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health.

Laurelen's days are filled with church, school, and music (and Facebook and Skype and email). The sounds of her piano or singing reverberate throughout the house several times each day.

She has entered a national contest in which participants submit a Youtube video of themselves singing the National Anthem. Every viewing of the video and 4 or 5-star rating increases the participant's chance of getting into the semifinals. The winner goes to Washington DC to sing at the National Mall on Flag Day, and also at a Baltimore Orioles' game. If you'd like to watch/listen to her sing—or for those of you who know her, if you'd just like to see what the now fifteen-year-old Laurelen looks like—go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYD-bf7PHEg. If the link doesn't work, go to www.youtube.com and search for "National Anthem-Laurelen Whitney."

Farm & Garden Report

The Whitneys spent eight days without electricity in late January and early February after the big ice storm you heard about. The worst natural disaster in Kentucky history killed more than thirty people and left some people in the cold and dark for a month. A week after power was restored, a storm that killed several in Oklahoma swept through Kentucky with 70 mph winds and knocked the power out again for another full day. The resulting damage to the trees from these two events makes even a grown man want to cry. A month after the storm there are still fallen trees and major branches on the ground everywhere, including many at the Whitney home. Only after the trees begin to leaf out later this month will we be able to go to the next level of assessment and see how many of the damaged trees are still alive. At that point more trees will have to be cut down.

Caffy's bees apparently fared well through it all. She checked them out last week and was surprised to see that both colonies were gathering pollen (from where?), indicating that the queens in each were laying eggs. She hopes to add two more hives in a few weeks. That means that soon, whether delivered by mail or acquired in person, we'll again have the strange hum of thousands of bees in a box coming from the garage for a couple of days.

Please ask the Lord for His blessing on our family's growth together in grace. Ask His blessing upon our reading of Scripture, praying, and singing each day in family worship.

Second, continue to pray for the major writing project about which I have often requested prayer, but hope to complete later this year. I need to make good progress during spring break (i.e., during the week that overlaps March and April).

And as always, please ask the Lord for His blessing upon my teaching at Southern and upon the ministry I discharge in my travels.

And as always, please ask the Lord for His blessing upon my teaching at Southern and upon the ministry I discharge in my travels.