I have so much to be thankful for…I have a great, Christian husband who loves me, 3 terrific boys, a very special mom and dad, a wonderful sister and her husband, and two terrific twin brothers and their wives, I have 2 beautiful nieces, and 3 cool nephews, on top of my family I have some super cool terrific friends. I am double blessed that I get to hang out with all of these people for Thanksgiving. I have already celebrated with my family last Sunday night, and tomorrow I leave for Indiana to hang out with the bestest friend in the world Wander.
Thanks Wander for letting us come and hang out at your house. Thank you for all the hard work you put into having us come. I can’t wait to celebrate Thanksgiving together. This will definetly not be the first time we have been together for Thanksgiving. We started having Thanksgiving together about 10 years ago. We met and became friends when our husbands were in Bible College together at Florida Baptist Theological College in Graceville Florida. We went to the same church. My husband was their Sunday School teacher for a while. Me and Wanda were in the Young Women for Christ group together. We were not a likely pair to become best friends. She was from Florida and I was from Tennessee. She called me a Tennesse Bumpkin, or a Tennessee Hillbilly. I just thought she was a snob. She was one of the “pretty people”. We won’t talk about the bleach blonde hair. Boy was I wrong about her. She is not a snob she is a very loving and giving person once I got to know her more. We taught school at the same school “Washington Co. Christian School” and there we became best friends. Her husband would pick my kids up from school and take them to his house until I got home from work. This was over 10 years ago. Our kids were little then and now they are all teenagers. I live in Tennessee and she now lives in Indiana. We have many miles between us, but when we are together it is like we were never apart.
We have had some great times together. When we go to their home the party is on. We just enjoying each others company. We eat, talk and chill, and eat some more. We do some shopping, may go to a movie, and maybe out to eat. Whatever we do it is just great spending time together. Wanda is a gracious host and makes us feel right at home. Her home is warm and cozy. She is also a terrific cook. We do not go hungry while we’re there. She may even cook us up some good ole Turnip Green Soup. It sound gross but it is good stuff. She will not divulge her recipe, she is afraid I will sell it to Cracker Barrel for a $1,000,000.
We have also had several vacations together. We have gone camping at Panama City Beach a couple of times. We went to Cincinnati, Ohio to Kings Island. That was an adventure….that is all I got to say about that. I will not tell you that I threw up in the van. No I won’t. We have gone to Light Up Louisville a few times. Me and Wanda have gone to Women’s Conferences and Southern Baptist Pastor’s Wives Luncheons together. It is great to have a friend that enjoys the same things in life that I do. I friend who shares my passion for family and ministry. I friend that challenges in my walk with the Lord. I love you Wanda and your precious family.
A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. Prov. 17:17
Sunday night my niece Mikayla was baptised. She is 7 years old and was brought up hearing about the Lord in church and has asked questions for a while now. She talked to me on several occassions and wanted to know how she could be saved. She knew she wanted to go to heaven when she died. When I talked to her about the ABC’s of salvation she already knew about them from VBS, however she still hesitated in surrendering to Christ. She would get nervous and change the subject. I told her that she needed to Admit to God that she was a sinner, Believe in her heart that Jesus is the son of God who died for our sins and rose again the 3rd day, and Confess that He is Lord and without Him there is NO OTHER WAY to heaven. She understood but just wouldn’t yield. She was afraid of going before the church and have people looking at her. Well, one night her brother, Matthew, who is 12 years old began to talk to her about her need for salvation. This time she said Yes to Jesus and Matthew lead her in a prayer of repentance. I am so proud of Matthew for having a burden for his sisters soul. I am proud that he has a desire for Christ and wanted to share Christ with Mikayla. It is such a precious gift to give someone, the most precious gift of all, eternal life with Christ. I am so proud of you Mikayla for being brave enough to show what Jesus did for you by being baptised.
I am so proud of my family. We are a very close family. We actually enjoy spending time together. We may have our little disagreements with one another, but we do not let them come between us. We have always been there for each other no matter what. When Mikayla was baptised ALL of our family was there. I am talking ALL not one was absent. That is a treasure to have a family that is there for each other during the celebrations in life as well as the hard times. I know that I can count on my family to always be there for me no matter what.
After Mikayla’s baptism we all went to eat to celebrate with her and to celebrate family. I cherish each one of them so much and I am thankful that All of my family has accepted Christ as their personal Savior. That means we can all still hang out in heaven. I hope my family knows how much I love them. I am proud to have each of them as a special part of my life. I pray for them daily. I pray that God would continue to grow them in their walk with Him. That he would bless them, prosper them and use them in a special way for His Kingdom and His Glory.
Meet My Family! What a Bunch!
What about you are you sharing the love of Christ with anyone? Remember the best gift you can offer someone is a relationship with Jesus. If a twelve year old can do it so can you. What are you waiting for.
As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”* Rom 10:15
Tonight a friend invited me to go with her to Yada Sisterhood. You may ask what is that. I did too.
“Yada” is a Hebrew word meaning “to know” as in having intimate, experiential knowledge. “Sisterhood” is a group of women assembled for a common purpose.
Yada is hosted by a Methodist Church here in town each month on the 3rd Thursday. It is a time for women of all ages, denominations, and backgrounds to come together and celebrate women hood and to praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Each women brings a dish and all the food is put together for a feast. There was food covering 4 rolls of tables. We ate and fellowshipped and of course there was door prizes. I just happened to win one….yippee. It was a cute stain glassed church. We then played a game for a prize. I however did not win that one. After a time of praise and worship we had a guest speaker. She challenged us to let the light of Christ shine through us. It was a fun night to be a woman. If you want to know more check out their website http://yadasisterhood.com
Letyourlight so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16
I have tried to find time to blog the last several days and I just have not found the time. When I am at work I think of things to write about, but when I get home I have to cook supper, do laundry, dishes, you know the drill. So I never find time to blog.
I am now home alone for a little while so I decided to catch you guys up in one post…I hope it will not be too long that you won’t want to read it all. This past week I was unusually busy. It seems that everything came at the same time.
MondayIt was a typical day I worked 9-5 and did normal household chores.
Tuesday I went to Birth Choice where I volunteer counsel from
1-5. I had a 15 year old girl that was pregnant. I don’t
Know why this upsets me, but it does when a young
girl comes in and is happy about having a baby at 15.
I then taught a parenting class and by the time I left it
Was 6:30. I then had to rush home and take Tanner to
Physical therapy. I had put a roast on before I went to
B.C. so at least we had supper. We head back out the
door to go to Dustin’s “Fall Concert”. It was AWESOME
the music was just unbelievable. Dustin is in all the choirs at Union and they all performed. Can you believe I forgot my camera? He looked so handsome in his tuxedo. They did some very hard pieces and they nailed everyone of them. It was such and incredible night. There was only one damper on the concert and that was because “Soul Force” was outside protesting Union because of there stand on Homosexuals. They were holding candles and singing outside the church. That really upset me. The police were there to keep them in line. What is the world coming to? After the concert Dustin had to change from his tux to shorts and t-shirt and play in his volleyball game. So we head over to Union to watch him play 3 games of Volleyball. His team won!! We get home about 11:30
Wed.I worked from 9-5 came home picked up my husband
We went to grab a quick bite to eat before church at
6:00. We usually go to the Mexican restaurant on Wed.
because Tanner eats at the church with the youth and
we can spend this time together. After that I went to my Bible Study it was the last night for a great study by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore and Kay Arthur the study was “Anointed, Transformer, Redeemed”. The last night was hilarious. If you went to the “Deeper Still Conference” it was the last night when they all 3 got and stage and had a panel. I laughed so hard. Kay was so funny talking about the “S” word. You know what I mean. I am like Beth I was blushing. As soon as my class was over I go help get ready for a big women’s event we are having the next night. I help by stirring chocolate for hours. I just stirred and stirred. The chocolate was used for icing on the brownies that had a candy cane stuck in them and sprinkled with peppermint pieces. They were like suckers. They were delish. I got home about 11:30. I was so tired I fell right to sleep.
ThursdayThis is usually my day off, but not today. I have a hectic day ahead. I get up and cook breakfast. Get dressed and head to the hospital because one of my girls from my parenting class had her baby. I went to the wrong hospital. I then go to shop for an outfit for the Women’s event. I finally go to the right hospital and visit with M for a while and hold that sweet newborn baby boy. I run from there to the church to help with last minute preparations for the event. I help put a cookbook together for 500 women. I run pick up Tanner from Physical Therapy. Run home and change for the event. I had invited a friend to go with me so I wait on her at the front. We go in and there is close to 500 women trying to balance a plate and drink and mingle to eat. It was quite a challenge for me. There were cute little shops set up that you could browse around. The theme was Christmas it was called “the Gathering”. The place was decorated beautifully. The food was wonderful. The event was kind of like a cross between Oprah and HGTV. They had little decorating tips, stocking stuffer tips, cooking tips, and party hosting tips. This was all done like you were watching a show. After each little show “Jingle Bell Rock” would play and the men dressed as elves came out and gave us a gift. It was lots of fun.
FridayI worked from 9-5. My husband had to work until 9:00 so I decided to take Tanner to the movies to see “Madagascar 2”.We go to the 6:00 show and we just ate at the movie theatre. We got hotdogs and popcorn. I know very nutritious. It was a lot of fun. When we start to leave the theatre it is raining and I did not have a jacket or umbrella with me. I was thinking “I wish Randy was here so he could go get the vehicle for me”. It made me appreciate my husband a little more. He does usually get the vehicle so I don’t have to get out in the rain. He does a lot of nice things for me like that. He usually gets my gas for me just because I hate to get it. He cranks my Suburban in the mornings when the frost is on the window so I don’t have to. I just really take him for granted sometimes and don’t realize all the little things he does for me, until I have to do it myself. It taught me a lesson in appreciating my husband.
SaturdayI had to get up and be at Birth Choice by 10:00 for a Celebration on Life party. This was our 1st one.The ladies that had their babies who had been a part of our classes were invited to participate. We had refreshments and presented each lady with a gift bag for her and a diaper bag full of stuff for the baby. It was a great time to love all over those babies. One lady said that she was planning to have an abortion but because of Birth Choice she decided to keep her baby and she was so proud to have that baby. It was a great Celebration of Life. When I left there I picked up Tanner and we went to Wal-Mart to get groceries. I come home and put away groceries and clean house the rest of the day. I cooked a big pot of chili for supper. Our Sunday school class was supposed to have a bonfire and chili fellowship, but the weather was nasty so it was cancelled.
SundayGot up went to church. It was AWESOME as always. I love our church. I love everything about it. The music is wonderful, the preaching is inspiring and we have a great time in Sunday school. Randy my husband teaches our class. We have a great group of people. After church we warm up a bowl of chili. I take a quick nap and it’s off the “Mission Jackson” by 3:00. We had a big BLOCK PARTY for the kids. We had the big blow up slide, piñatas, cake walk, pizza, candy, Bible story and craft. I just love the kids that come. They make my day with their smiles and hugs. Since we were just having business meeting I decided to go home and get some rest before Monday comes back around.
Stay Tuned for next week…Dustin has a big debut in Chapel on Wednesday. He was asked by his professor to compose the music for the whole band to play in chapel.He composed the music to “Our Church Is One Foundation”. He did a fabulous job. I can’t wait to here the band perform his piece in front of thousands.
I’m tired of paying mortgage bills, utility bills,
property taxes, (rent!).
I want to live more simply, pack up the
dog and move into a travel-trailer.
I don’t mind being called ‘trailer trash’,
but I want to get your opinion.
What do you think about my decision?
Igot this email and just had to share it with my bloggy friends. I don’t know about you, but I think I wouldn’t mind being trailer trash if that was my trailer. Do you think you could handle it?
I blogged about the homeless man that came to our church Sunday night. I told you that Tanner my son had given him the Zaxby’s card that he had gotten earlier that night. Well, I got a call from the lady that gave it to Tanner and she said….I hope you haven’t used that Zaxby card yet… I need it back…I gave Tanner the wrong one… the one I gave him had $100.00 on it. WHAT!!! I said…I am so sorry…we gave it to the homeless man Sunday night. We thought it just had enough for a meal on it…so Tanner wanted to treat the homeless man to a meal. OH NO! She said that she had accidently picked up the wrong card and that one was for the church.
Wouldn’t you like to see the face of the homeless man when he goes to get his meal and finds out he has $100.00 on the card. I bet he thinks we were real nice people. He called Tanner “Tree Top” I bet he was jumping up and down and saying “Thanks Tree Top”. Now he can eat for a while.
Sunday, was a great day. What is it about giving to others that makes you feel good inside. As I blogged about before I help with a Backyard Bible Club at the project housing behind our church on Sunday afternoons. I look forward to seeing the kids each week they are so precious. I love to hold the little ones in my arms and run and play with the older kids. Sometimes even the mom’s come to watch and I get a chance to talk to them too. This is the highlight of my week. It also makes me appreciate the family and home I have when I see how little these families have and the lifestyles that some of them live.
Sunday night Randy, my husband, was going on church visitation and he saw a homeless man wondering around the church. He went up to the man to see if he could help him. The man said he was there for service. He was about an hour and half early. Randy told him where he could go to wait until service started. During worship Randy saw the man sitting across from us. Randy was so burdened for the man. He was an older man probably in his 60’s. We watched him as the ushers passed the plate. It broke my heart to see what he did. He pulled out his billfold and showed the guy next to him that it was empty. After the service Randy went over to talk to him, I followed. The man was really friendly. He told us he just found himself in circumstances that caused him to be homeless in the past few years. Randy asked him about his salvation and he said he definetly knew the Lord. He said he even felt called by God to write music and sing. He showed Randy some of his work and Randy said it was pretty good. We wanted to see if we could help the guy out. Tanner my son had gotten a gift card to Zaxby’s for a free meal so Tanner gave that to him. I found the outreach director and asked if there was any food left from our meal, from Olive Garden. She went to check and found enough to make him a to go sackful of food. I asked another minister if he would go talk to him and see what the church could do. The church put him up for a night at a hotel. Randy drove him over to the hotel. We put him in touch with all of the area relief ministries that could help him more. Our church helps area relief during the winter months by sponsoring a “Room at the Inn’. We take in the homeless and let them sleep in the church and feed them. Several churches participate to help them have a place each night.
I believe God wants us to do our part in helping the least of these. It is an honor for me to serve the ones in need. Who knows that we could find ourselves in similar situations and we would want someone to be kind to us.
Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31
Today is election day and I have done my part by casting my ballot.
Have you done your part?
Another important thing to remember is to pray. That is what the word of God tells us to do. I will trust the Lord at all times. I will not put my trust in man. If God be for me who can be against me.
Remember that God is in control no matter who wins the election.!!
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
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