WHEW!

What a weekend! We were busy, busy, busy! Just a quick rundown of what all we had to do.

Friday-make a modest swimsuit for Gabby before camp. spend the day doing laundry. get the girls clothes ready to pack for church camp on Monday. Family fun night at church from 6-midnight. Our theme verse for the year is "As Newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby." My preacher is helping us all to focus on growing in every aspect of the word; grow in grace, grow in knowledge, grow in numbers, and grow as a (church) family. One way we grow together as a family is to spend time together, laugh together, get to know each other, work together and play together. Every other month we have a family fun night at church where we get to do all of those things. We have food, devotions, games and movies. The movie we had this month was "As with Roses The true untold story of Obadiah Holmes". Unfortunately I was trapped in a Monopoly tournament (that I did NOT win but I DID beat D.J. in one round so my goal was accomplished!!)and missed the movie so I will definitely have to borrow it from the church library.

Saturday-got up early to sell candy bars for the last camp fundraiser. Kenyon had a birthday party for a fellow scout right after the fund raiser. Monty took the kids out to sell a few more candy bars that we have left, continue laundry, finalize my children's church lesson and pack the girls suitcase.

Sunday-teach children's church, come home, cook lunch and take a nap, go back to church, birthday supper fellowship after service. Only I did not get to enjoy the fellowship.

Right at the end of the service our cell phone went off 3 times(it was on vibrate in Monty's pocket). Since someone was calling non-stop, Monty checked and it was Greg. Greg is Mamie's husband and Mamie is my good friend with a baby due in a few weeks. I slipped out and called him back (Mamie had not been feeling well so they stayed home from church). I called him back and he told me that Mamie's water had just broke. We made plans for them to come by the church and drop their other 3 kids off and pick me up. Monty agreed to take her kids home and Jacinta went to babysit. It took about 25 minutes for them to get to the church and then we had about 30 minute drive to the hospital. Mamie's contractions were coming about every 3 minutes so I was able to help "coach" her through them as Greg drove (80 mph down the turnpike!) When we got there they checked her and she was already dilated to a 7 so they moved her directly to her own room and started the IV. As soon as that was finished the nurse checked her again and she was fully dilated. They did all they could to get her not to push since the doctor was not there but the baby was not waiting. She was crowning without any pushes.

One push later Shaelynne Grace was born-less than 2 hours after labor started, less than 30 minutes after we got to the hospital with no doctor present. It was the first time I have personally witnessed a birth and it was AMAZING! I stayed with them until around 12:30am and drove their vehicle home to throw the rest of the girl's stuff in their suitcase.

Monday morning I finished the paper route and then woke the girls up about 7:30am so I could fix their hair. I like to put Keslee's hair in lots of braids so she wont have to worry about it at camp. With hair as thick and as curly as hers you either know how to fix it or you don't so it is best if I just make sure nobody has to worry about it. We then loaded the car, went and picked up Mamie's 3 kids and headed to the hospital. They all got to meet their new baby sister. We passed the baby around for a little while then loaded back up and headed to the church. Keslee, Kalysa and Gabby (Mamie's daughter) and the rest of the group headed out for Church camp. When Kenyon and I got home around 3pm, it was definitely nap time!!!

3 men

3 men on 3 crosses on 1 hill

1 man cursed, 1 man prayed, one Man promised

1 died condemned, 1 died forgiven, 1 died Innocent

1 died in sin, 1 died to sin, 1 died FOR sin

1 was held by death,1 released from death, 1 Conquered death

1 lost life, 1 gained life, 1 WAS life!

Happy Easter Everyone and praise God for the One that Conquered death!!!

Only question that matters at all

Nothing good about Friday

I never really understood all the hoopla about "Good Friday". It just never made much sense to me. Why do people call it "Good"? When reading the Bible we see that there is no possible way Jesus could have died on Friday or rose on Friday so why is it celebrated? Matthew 12:40 tells us "For as Jonas was 3 days and 3 nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 28:1 tells us "In the end of the sabbath(Saturday), as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week(Sunday), came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the Sepulchre." When thy arrived at the tomb-IT WAS EMPTY! There is NO possible way to count 3 days and nights between Friday evening and Sunday morning. That means Jesus was already in the tomb before Friday. Friday would have been the worst possible time for all believers on earth. Jesus had died, was buried and had not yet risen. It was a time of loss, fear, confusion, doubt; in other words anything BUT a good day! Apparently "good Friday" is nothing more than tradition created by men for men. I guess if you get a day off from work it could be considered a good Friday but then only as good as any other day you are off.

Making a habit of desiring the sincere Milk

We are working on making new habits in our house. One area that we have been seriously lacking in is reading our Bibles daily. Now don't get me wrong, our days are filled with God and the Bible. We often have Godly music playing in the background and at anytime a passerby may hear us singing a hymn as we go about our daily chores. We read at least 1/2-1 chapter of the Bible together everyday in our school work. Every subject we study is focused on God and His plan(except maybe math). We memorize Bible verses in school and in church. We constantly are faced with decisions and we teach our children to search God's will and God's word in making them. We have standards that differ from the world and we often discuss them and the reasons we hold so strongly to them. We often search the Bible for clarification of a scripture during our talks. All of these things have become the norm in our household and I had gotten comfortable with that. I was overlooking the fact that our growth depends on really getting into the Word of God. Each of us individually! It can not just be part of our day or part of our family life. It has to be part of our own personal walk with the Lord. Each of us as individuals! I can't just take my children on a walk with Jesus-they have to walk with him. Not only should our family walk with the Lord-each person has to have their own personal walk. Thankfully we have an awesome preacher who loves us all very much. He is concerned about our individual growth in grace and knowledge. Each year he picks a theme for the year. This year just happens to be 1Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby. Following the leading of our preacher, we have adopted that verse as our own family theme. We are working on making it a habit for each person individually to spend time in the Word of God.

(not sure why this picture is sideways-it is not like that in my photos ???)

The first thing we needed was a reminder. It is easy to start a new habit but the busyness of our daily lives often cloud our minds and new habits are easily forgotten. I picked up 5 small poster boards with graph squares on them. I marked out squares for every day left in the year starting on April 1.

I also added our theme verse after each person's name. We have a family goal of 25,000 verses read by the end of the year. Each of us spend time alone reading God's word. Everyone is responsible for their own reading. It is done at different times depending on the person and we each record the number of verses we read on our chart. Everyone has started reading in different areas of the Bible. Monty decided to start in Genesis. He is really going for it and if he keeps going at the rate he did the first week, he very well could finish the entire Bible by the end of the year. Kenyon started in (and finished) the book of Proverbs. Keslee started in Matthew but has now jumped back to Genesis. Kalysa kinda jumps around and reads several verses from different books each day. I started in Genesis (mainly because I was preparing for a children's church lesson from there at the time) then decided to read Lamentations and am now reading through Acts.

The first week has been a success with almost 5000 verses read. Our goal may be way too low but we will just leave it at that for now. Even my 8 year olds are able to read, understand and learn from their daily reading. That kinda kills that excuse that so many grown ups use-"Oh the King James Bible is just so hard to understand so I read from a different perversionI mean version." We are all enjoying our personal time alone with the Lord and I know that growth is inevitable!

Best compliment ever

On our way to church yesterday I was listening to an old cd of the men's group from our church for about the 1000th time. Keslee said "Mom, do we HAVE to hear this song AGAIN??" Why yes we do!! It got quiet for a moment as we all enjoyed the music until Keslee interupted again with this....

Kes: Mom, I just told God that if I had one wish I would wish that my mom liked some other things like maybe Justin Beiber but then I waited for just a minute and then I told God, NO I DON'T! I DON'T want that! I take that wish back! I want to be raised just exactly the way you are raising me and the way God wants me to be raised!

Praise the Lord!
Just like we all have our struggles with the world, my 8 year old has them too. The thoughts of why do we have to do things differently from so many others? What is so bad with it? An internal struggle and a conversation that she was having with God, just the two of them. A conversation that I knew nothing about until it was over. A thought that I would have never known she had if she had not told me herself. And an outcome that I did not prompt but was prompted only by the Holy Spirit speaking directly to her 8 year old little heart and reminding her of the whys. And then thankfulness from her tiny heart back to the Lord that she loves.
WOW!
all I can say is
God is Good-All the time!!

God and Country

1 Timothy 2 says 1.I exhort therefore, that first of all,supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. 2.For kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3.For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4.Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
This verse tells us that we need to pray for, intercede for and be thankful for all men-EVEN the kings and others that are in authority. How far could our country go if these same people in authority were to find the saving power of Jesus Christ?!?! How can they know if they aren't told? Since it is our ob to tell them, our preacher planned a God and Country Sunday last week. He sent invitations to all of our local and state government officials and military personal. Our church prepared for months to make everything just perfect.

Every part of our building was decorated. The Lord worked out all the details. Hot dogs, apple pie, baseball and Chevrolet are all associated with "all American" so that was the theme. It was amazing to watch as the Lord provided everything from all the food to all the drinks and even the huge tent and chairs to set up outside.

Everyone in the church had a part in it, including the kids. Before the service the kids waved American flags and waved at the arriving and passing cars.

Monty was on parking lot duty.

Members of the Navy were there to present the colors as we opened with the Pledge to the flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible. We then had a moment of silence to reflect on the all the men that have fought and died for the freedoms that we enjoy today (like being able to assemble in church every week without persecution!)

During the silence, the Navy stepped outside and did a 21 gun salute.

And then played taps. It was very powerful!

Afterwards, they looked for and picked up every shell from the shots they fired. I thought maybe I could keep one shell for Kenyon as a reminder, but they have to collect and keep everyone of them.

Our preacher had invited Brother Chuck Harding to bring the message. Brother Harding has held some very prominent positions that has given him a special incite on government workings and employees. He made sure every person (from a mayor, the D.A., an Oklahoma supreme court justice, veterans, active duty military, and local police and fire department members) got a clear presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He preached on liberty. What it is and what it is not. (It is not the freedom to do whatever you want whenever you want.) He challenged everyone to stand for and protect our God given liberties. He also taught about our country's history that seems to have been forgotten like the fact that Paul Revere was on his way to the Preacher's house when he was warning that the British are coming. He wanted to be sure the preacher's men-not the army but the MEN of the church- were ready and the preacher assured him that HE-not the government but from the pulpit-had been preparing God's people all along and they were ready! How many public schooled children will learn that?! Kinda throws that separation of church and state myth out the window, huh. It was a very powerful and informative message. At least 3 of the attendees, raised their hands for salvation and extra prayer.

After the service, everyone moved outside for food and fun. The Starks family provided Christian music. We had tons of hot dogs and apple pie.

Rowdy the redhawk stopped by.

?

He is the mascot for Oklahoma's baseball team.

Kenyon even got his autograph.

Their were some brand new Chevy's on display. This pretty green camaro was my absolute favorite!!

Monty really liked this pick up truck but I think he and Kenyon (and every other man in attendance) agreed that the.....

the little red Corvette was the best. Of course, afterwards, everyone needed to hear some real hard preaching on thou shall not covet!
It was really a great day and God was glorified in everything that took place. We now must continue to pray for our civil servants that had the gospel seed planted.
Hope you all have a GREAT 4th of July!

Homeless

I found this guy on the side of the road this morning while I was doing my paper route. This is the after math of our floods. A poor homeless river turtle washed to land. I have seen several turtles on the roads in the last few days but this guy is the largest. Luckily he was only about 10 feet from the bridge that flows over a little creek. I am sure it will not take him to long to find his way home. Of course he could be miles from his original home, but he will find a home none the less. It just makes me think of how so many times life has a way of picking us up from where we are comfortable and happy at a time we were not planning on moving and then dropping us off in a new place that we had never intended to go. Lucky for us, the Lord knows the plan. He knows where we should be and when. He knows that sometimes it takes a storm to get us there. We just have to trust Him, toughen up our shell and seek His guidance on where to go from there.

WOW! We could learn a lot from a turtle.

Who's the boss?

One thing I have learned from homeschooling my kids is that they have at least as much to teach me as I have to teach them. I may know more about math and grammar than my kids do but when it come to spiritual things they are always teaching me. The faith of a child is truly a miraculous thing to witness. They have not yet had the worldly experiences that taint their views and replace their faith with doubt and fear. They hear the word of God and they just BELIEVE IT! Imagine that! How much better off would we all be if we believed the truth as soon as it was presented to us. The complications of the world lead us to incorporate complications into our spiritual lives that were never meant to be there. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is quite simple. He is God and we are to serve Him. He died for us so we should live for Him. He owes us nothing but we owe Him everything! He created us, He knows best so we should trust him. It is just that simple and the kids don't have to struggle to remember that. I thought I would share with you what Keslee reminded me of...

"Mom, when some men pray at our church I think they do it wrong because they say 'Lord help someone' but they should say 'Lord PLEASE help' because we are not the boss of God. We should be asking for His help and not telling him what to do!"

I know right!!???!!! She is 8! Why do we have to be reminded that we are not the boss of God? That is about the most simple concept there could be. God is God and by definition we could not possibly be His boss but we grow up and automatically try to take over.

Why do we do that?

When does that start?

How do we prevent our children from doing the same thing?

I don't have those answers but I know someone that does. I also know that I do not have the power to prevent my children from doing the same as they grow older but once again, I know someone that does. One more thing I do know is that I will be doing a lot more asking and even some Begging for guidance and direction in that area.

Protecting our kids from what?

This week our church and this world lost someone great but heaven has gotten so much sweeter. Brother Gayle Burroughs has met Jesus face to face. It is oh so wonderful to know where he is but it is still so very painful for him not to be here with us. I am sure his wife, Ms. Aneada, would appreciate your prayers.
Dealing with the death of a man that meant so much to every person that knew him, including my own children, has brought up a question we have dealt with before.
Do you let your children go to a funeral?
Kenyon is now 12 years old so it is not quite as "controversial" for him but some people still question if we should let a 7 and 8 year old go to a funeral. We were questioned more when Grammy died and the kids were about 2, 3, and 7 or even when we lost Uncle Boy(who was actually a step great grandpa, Leroy, but the kids always called him Uncle Boy. Cute story but not the point here.) and the kids were 5, 6, and 10.
The answer is yes we do take the kids to the funeral. I have never understood when people do not take their children to a funeral because they want to protect them. I just have to ask "protect them from what?" In today's world it seems to me there is a lot of protecting the kids from the things of God and exposing them to all the things of the world without a second thought. The penalty of sin is death. Because we are all sinners, there will be a time that we all must die. Death is part of it. How do we expect our children to understand their need for a savior if we "protect" them from the consequence of sin. It amazes me that so many parents want their children to stay pure until marriage but expose them to all the s*x on tv, movies and in today's music with little or no parental control. Parents expect their children not to use bad language but expose them to that same language in the music playing on the car stereo or maybe even use that language themselves. Kids are expected to control their growing and raging hormones but are allowed and even encouraged to have girlfriend/boyfriend relationships even in elementary school. They are allowed to put themselves in intimate situations while the adults in their lives wave good-by with no more than a time limit on when to be finished doing whatever they want in the form of a curfew. So many parents will agree that there are so many dangers in the public school system; whether it is bully's, crime, violence, immoral teachers that may prey on them, or any number of other dangers, but still put their children on that bus everyday. Parents that check on their children playing in the back yard every few minutes to be sure they are ok but send them to strangers at school or day care for 6-10 hours a day with no real way of ever knowing what may be happening to them. Now I don't claim to know all the answers, or even a large part of the answers, when it comes to raising kids but it seems pretty obvious to me that a lot of people are really doing things backwards. When I don't want my children to do something-those are the things I need to shield and protect them from. Because I do want my children to love the Lord, it is apparent that the only way for that to happen is to expose my children to things of the Lord. That means ALL things of the Lord. Even the unpleasant or painful details.
So yes, we will ALL be attending a funeral in the next few days. My children will cry with me and other members of our church family. They will remember all of the great things about Brother Burroughs. They will talk about all the fun things we did at the annual cook out at his house. They will hug Mrs. Burroughs and feel her pain. They will pray for her for months just as they have prayed for her husband for the last year. They will understand why we must all go through the pain we feel now and then they will rejoice for Brother Burroughs as he walks the streets of Gold and talks with Matthew, Peter, Luke and Jesus Himself. By allowing my children to attend the funeral of people they knew and loved, I am protecting them. I am protecting their hearts and their souls by not hiding the Lord from them.

More reasons to go to church

I just checked my site meter. I like to check it periodically just to be sure that the rise in my total number of hits is not just the times I come to my own blog to check updates on the other blogs I like to read. I learned that the main reason people have found my blog is by googling "reasons to go to church." They are then led to this old post. I really hope that post has helped someone make the decision to become an active member of a local church. I reread my old post today and was reminded that I wrote it based on notes I had taken during a sermon of the same title. It contains several Scriptural reasons that we believers are supposed to be faithful to their church. I decided to elaborate on that and give some more personal/practical reasons why we go to church.

First of all, I believe it is imperative to give my children a SOLID foundation. I have heard many parents claim that they will wait until their children are older and let them make their own decisions about religion. I am sorry, but that is about the stupidest thing I have ever heard. When our children are 16 years old, we do not hand them a few thousand dollars and send them off alone to a car lot to purchase their first car with no more than a "Good Luck Son!". Of course a teen with a freshly printed drivers license and a wad of cash in their pocket does not have the life skills needed to handle a shifty car salesman and make the best decision without any input from a parent that loves them and wants them to be safe and have a reliable vehicle. If you would not expect a teen to make a decision about a car without parental guidance, why would we ever expect them to be able to make such life changing decisions like serving God, choosing friends or choosing their spouse without parental guidance? Their eternal future is a stake when it comes to religious decisions. When we allow them to make that decision without ever having taught them anything about it we have set them up for disaster. The fact that my children are at church 3 times a week (along with several other times the church doors are open), are homeschooled with a Bible based curriculum, are taught to pray, and are reminded to have Godly characters most definitely does not take away their own free will to decide for themselves. There will come a time that my children are grown and on their own and will have to decide for themselves whether or not to continue in the ways that they were taught. My job, as their mother, is to be sure that they have the information they need to make the best decision.
Another reason we go to church has to do with family. Not necessarily just our biological family but our church family. We do not call each other "Brothers and Sisters in Christ" for nothing. Our church family is there to be a help and an encouragement to us and we are there to do the same for them. We can not do that if we do not know each other and we can not know each other if we never spend time together. Often times, our fellow believers come from homes that were not filled with believers. Without a strong and healthy church family, they are then left with nobody to turn to when in need of spiritual uplifting. It is important for us to be there for our brothers and sisters. There will inevitably be a time in our life that we are the one in need of this spiritual uplifting. If we have failed to build relationships within our church, our church family will not know when we need help and will not know us well enough to know how to help us. A strong and healthy church family is only the result of church members that GO to church faithfully and know and love each other.
When I ask my kids why they like to go to church, " to have fun" is always part of one of the answers. When you have a relationship with other members and their children are your children's friends, fun is always included. We all love to reunite with friends. We need the fellowship, the companionship that comes with a church family. Anyone that claims that church is boring has obviously never been in the church kitchen full of ladies preparing for a dinner after the sermon, or ridden a church bus full of other members on the way to anywhere, or had a church wide cookout complete with ultimate Frisbee games played with people you normally see in suits and ties. I have been in no other situation in my entire life that you would find more fun, joy, silliness, jokes, singing, giggles, goofiness, games or laughter than at church. Definitely NOT a boring place!
Now,of course, our main reason and purpose to be in church is to worship our Lord, learn from the Word of God and thank and praise our Savior but I wanted to address some of the excuses I have heard from people on why they do not go to church. I love my church, I love my preacher, and I love my church family but most of all, I LOVE my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and that is reason enough for me.

Couples retreat

Last weekend Monty and I were able to go on a couples retreat with our church. This is the second year we have been able to go and it is so beneficial. This retreat was started by our preacher before he was our preacher and started with just a handful of couples. Last year there were almost 400 people (200 couples) and this year there were about 750 people (almost 400 couples!). The retreat is held in Branson Missouri and we stayed at the Chateau on the lake. (Because of the number of people this year, several churches had to stay at another hotel)


Our room was BEAUTIFUL! It came complete with a balcony with a view of the lake, bottled water (that cost $4 if you opened it) and...

quite comfortable DOUBLE beds. This is the second year that we have gone to the retreat and the second year that we have gotten a room with double beds. I guess that just encourages closeness but after being used to sleeping in a queen bed at home it is kinda hard to adjust to 2 people in a double bed.

The lobby of the hotel was just gorgeous with several water falls and live birds singing away.

The preaching sessions were awesome and so beneficial! The first session we heard was "the old fashioned flame." It was a little tense at first with a whole room full of fundamental Baptist sitting around listening to a preacher talk about s*x but we were all married and that is a big part of marriage. As a matter of fact, we learned that when you are married your s*xual relationship is you WHOLE relationship. That is not to say that s*x is all there is to your relationship but that part of it does reflect the rest of your relationship. That statement is something that really made me look at myself and my actions/reactions to my husband. The session was all very tasteful, very informative and very needed! (FYI-I don't have a problem with the word s*x but I do not want my blog to come up on a search because someone is searching THAT word so I am not spelling it out for that reason).
We also had a session on "old fashioned purity". Often times we think of staying pure as something that we should do (or should have done or want our children to do) UNTIL marriage. What we learned was the importance of staying pure DURING your marriage. It is just as important to stay pure after marriage by carefully choosing the movies you watch, books you read, music you listen to, websites you look at, etc. The one statement that really hit me during this session was "when you are betrothed to the Lord(which every person that is saved is) and you are flirting with the world you are committing spiritual adultery!" WOW! Really makes ya look a little harder at what parts of the world you may be flirting with. When I hear the commandment "thou shall not commit adultery" I never considered the fact that I could commit adultery against my Lord Jesus!

We also got to attend a session on "the old fashioned money". Most of the things that were discussed were things Monty and I have heard before and agree with but we still have some problems with. Luckily, we were given a handout for budget planning that I think just may work for us. I have seen other examples of budget plans but have never really been able to implement them into our life very easily. This one is really doable-not easy, because planning a budget and sticking to it is never going to be easy but it is one that we both understand and will (with the Lord's help) be able to do.

We also had a session called "the old fashioned home". This was a 2 part session (1/2 on Friday and 1/2 of Saturday) and was really about the man and the women each keeping their verse. The man's verse is Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;" and the wife's verse is Ephesians 5:22 "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." If we would each just keep our own verse than our marriages would be so much better. We talked about how God's plan for marriage is not the problem it is the people's execution of that plan that causes the problems. I have often thought that I have to SUBMIT to Monty and that is a REALLY hard thing for me to do. All he has to do is LOVE me and we all know that I am totally lovable so he has the easy part. Upon further study of each scripture we learn that actually both verses leave the same expectation for each spouse...put the other person before yourself. When I submit to Monty, I will think of him and his needs before myself and when he loves me, he will put me and my needs before himself. Sounds pretty simple and pretty impossible and it is impossible without the Lord!

All of the messages that we got to hear about God's plan for our marriage are truly priceless but one other aspect of the retreat that is such a blessing is getting to spend 5 hours on a church bus with other members of our church family. It is so much fun to get to know each other better and to talk and laugh like a bunch of teenagers out on a school trip. Of course since it was revealed on last years retreat that I am uncontrollable-that became a dominant theme of the conversations on the bus, enhanced by the fact that Monty and I were once again sitting in the back of the bus. The fact that 2 days of "couple" talk, and "couple" time and talk of romance and purity has the same effect on a bunch of married people as it would on a bunch of hormonal teenager was proven by one Innocent little conversation overheard from the back of a dark church bus after we had stopped at Wendy's for a burger...

(innocent part)

Me:I forgot that they put mayo on the burgers. Did you get some napkins?
Monty: No, I didn't think about getting any napkins.

Me:WHAT? No napkins! You know I always need napkins. I want to wipe this mayo off.

(overheard part)

Monty:Just lick it.

Me:If I WANTED to lick it I would not need a napkin!

followed by hysterical laughter throughout the bus!! AAAWWWW....good times!

Aha moment

As a Christian parent, our main purpose is to raise our children in the love and admonition of the Lord and pray they will grow up and continue to walk in the truth. One day we all hope to hear our children proclaim their faith and stick to their convictions because they are THEIRS not because they are/were their parents. I have often said (and truly believe) my biggest challenge in life is being the mother of a boy. I can relate to my girls. I know how they think and when they are scheming. I understand their moods and their attitudes. I know what they are going to go through when they start to change from a girl to a women. I don't have a CLUE about any of that where my son is concerned. Having a son that is about a year from being a teenager, I really struggle with the job I have and am doing in raising him. I know that I am not equipped to raise a boy into a man. I mean, I have never been a man before. I don't have the slightest idea how to make him into a man. To raise him to be a Godly man that is the leader of his home and provider for his family with morals and character-that is one tall order that I feel COMPLETELY unable to fill!! Luckily I am not fully responsible for that. Kenyon has a dad that was once a boy and somehow became a man even though he did not have a dad around to help him along the way so surely he knows a little bit about the process and will be able to help his own son. More importantly, He has a Heavenly Father that does not want to see anyone perish but offers us all the opportunity for eternal life. A Heavenly Father that hears and answers our prayers. A Heavenly Father that will not fail us or forsake us. I have done (and will continue to do) everything I can to be sure my son knows this Father. I have introduced them and they have started to form their own relationship. I will do all I can to nurture their relationship and watch it grow. And I will pray and pray and pray to this same Heavenly Father for my son as we do start seeing him grow up into the man he will someday be. Regardless of all my efforts, I still spend most of my time wondering if I am even on the right track. I can't read Kenyon like my girls. Most often I don't know exactly what he is thinking. I can't tell exactly how he feels. I just don't always know if he really "gets it." Those feelings are what make the Aha moments that we get to witness even more sweet and special- like a little pat on the back saying "keep it up! He is getting it. way to go mom."
A few weeks ago on a Sunday evening the preacher was preaching about how we all have to have our OWN faith. We all must follow the Lord on our own because We believe. If your parents stop following God, you must continue yourself. If your youth pastor is called to another church, you must continue to follow the Lord. If your preacher goes off the deep end and just stopped serving the Lord, your own faith should be strong enough that you continue serving Him. All through the sermon, Kenyon was listening and asking me questions. He was relating things the preacher was saying to things we often say around the house about not worrying about what others are doing you do what you know is right(we use that a lot in regards to tattling). When the sermon was over and the invitation was starting, Kenyon looked shocked. .......the moment......
Kenyon:Whoa! That didn't seem like hours like it usually does. It only seems like we have been here like 33 minutes or something.
Me: See! When you really listen to the sermon and let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart so that you learn what the Lord wants you to learn, it never seems like hours. That is when you think "wait! it can't be over! I want to learn MORE!"
Kenyon: AHA MOMENT! Oh! so that is why you love it so much!

Does this ever happen to you?

Ever have one of those nights when you wonder if the preacher is EVER gonna finish the sermon and your eyes are getting heavier and heavier and your head keeps bobbing to the side and it is taking everything you have to keep your focus on the preacher and concentrate on the verse he is preaching about until you just can't hang on any longer........

If so, Keslee and Kalysa know just how ya feel!!!

When I say I'm a Christian

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

I got this email from my sister this morning. I have no idea who wrote the poem but it so beautifully explains some of the misconceptions people have when we say we are Christians. I just had to share it here!


When I say that 'I am a Christian,' I am not shouting that 'I am clean living.'
I'm whispering 'I was lost, but now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say 'I am a Christian,' I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say 'I am a Christian,' I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say 'I am a Christian,' I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say 'I am a Christian,' I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say 'I am a Christian,' I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say 'I am a Christian,' I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!


Update: I have found out that Maya Angelou is the author of this beautiful poem

Top 10 reasons to go to church

Sunday we had a lesson about the top 10 reasons to be a faithful member of a Bible believing, Bible preaching, Independent, Fundamental Baptist church. People often say "I don't have to GO to church to know and love the Lord" and that is partially true-God will meet with and be there for all of His children whether they are in church or not but going to church or not is not really an option that God gives us. Of course we all have free will and therefore can choose not to be faithful and active members of our local church but to be in God's will, His word makes it clear we are expected to be in church. Here is the top 10 list...

Top 10 reasons to be a faithful church member (taken from my notes as presented by Pastor Brad Lowrie)

• 1.As we see in Hebrew 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is: but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Going to church(assembling together) is not an option but a command to be obeyed. You can't be obedient while sitting at home during church.
• 2. Faithful attendance ensures a good testimony and unfaithful attendance affects others negatively. Your life speaks louder than words. Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Don't pray that your kids will live for God and be faithful adults if you choose other things over church-why would our kids do something different?
• 3. The Lord promised to be with us when we assemble. When you are not in church you miss out on the Lord's special presence. We know He has promised to be there so why would we not choose to meet Him there?
• 4.You can not be submitted to the Lord's will and fully obedient to Him if you are not a faithful member of a Bible believing church.
• 5.Ephesians 5:25 Husbands. love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; Jesus LOVES the church. He loves it so much that He gave Himself for the church. If Jesus loves the church that much, there should be no reason for us not to want to be there. Through the church, Christ acts and without it He can not.
• 6.Church is God's center for discipline and direction. We all need direction in our lives from the Lord and church is the place that God has set up for us to receive it.
• 7.Your church NEEDS you. We (local members) are a part of each other and we love each other and need each other. 1Corinthians 12:26 says And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. When you miss church you discourage other members. It only took 10 men to discourage the entire population and prevent them from entering into the promised land. Just like our own body-every member has a purpose even if we are not sure of what it is. There are many parts of our body that we can live without but anytime something is removed or not functioning, our live is not as good. As a member of our local church, we are a member of that body of believers and when one member suffers the whole body suffers.
• 8.Church is the safest place you can be. When you are not in church it is very easy to be deceived. The Bible believing church is the pillar and ground of the truth.
• 9.Church is God's designated vehicle of service. Romans 12:4-8 For as we have many member in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another, Differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching: Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
• 10. JESUS IS COMING BACK!! Imagine sitting in a boat out on a peaceful lake with your fishing pole in hand just relaxing and enjoying the cool breeze and the fresh Sunday morning air when He arrives. How will you explain THEN why you are not in church. When you consistently choose to do another thing instead of being in church you are bowing down to another God. You may still be able to say that Jesus Christ is your saviour but you can not say that He is the Lord of your life.

This message just really made a lot of things clear for me and I thought I would share it with you. I pray that you also have a loving and faithful church family that is as much a blessing to you as my wonderful church family is to my family; and an awesome preacher -like my own-that is not afraid or ashamed to preach the true Word of God straight from the Bible without apology and without watering it down a bit before the service. Have a blessed weekend and be sure to be in church!

What would you have?

This week we had revival meetings at church. It started on Sunday morning and was completed last night. On Monday night and Tuesday morning we also had a preachers meeting thrown into the mix so there were about 40-60 preachers and their families there for special preaching and we provided meals for them as well. And of course there is still the paper route that I do every night/morning from about 4 am to 6 am. Last week, the kids and I spent almost every day/evening helping a friend and her 3 children move into their new apartment-in the rain! Needless to say, I haven't had much extra time to check in here on blog land and I am EXHAUSTED! I have to spend today and tomorrow (and probably part of the weekend and -who knows-maybe the rest of the year cause it is really bad) getting my home back in order after so many days of running like crazy folks and feeling as if we have just been stopping in on our own house for a few minutes here and there. I just thought I would stop in and challenge you all with the challenge Brother Barber gave us all last night. He preached to the preacher about his responsibilities to the church and then preached to us members about our responsibilities to the preacher. Then he preached to us all about our responsibilities as Christians and members of our church.

So are you doing everything you should be and could be doing for the Lord in your local church?

If everyone in your church was just like you, what kind of church would you have?

I KNOW!!! NOT A FAIR QUESTION AND VERY CONVICTING, HUH?

That's the value of one

Go sound the horn
Strike up the choir
A sinner was saved
Saved from the fire.......


This past weekend, our church had a free kids carnival in an effort to grow the bus ministry. We have several kids that ride the bus to and from Sunday service and the bus ministry has resulted in several families that now attend our church regularly and parents that have gotten saved as a result. Our preacher knows another preacher that has a ministry of providing the games for a carnival. It started out inside the church and the children all sang a few songs and then were presented with a clear presentation of the Gospel message. We had almost all of the children that normally come to church and lots of visitors from around the area. There were probably about 200 people in attendance. After the carnival, one little girl, that has been coming to our church with her mother and siblings for quite some time, told her mom that she knew she needed to get saved but was scared to say anything during the presentation. Her mom took her to talk to Ms. Connie, our preacher's wife, and she showed her in the Bible what Jesus did for her on the cross and how she could accept His gift of salvation. ADDY GOT SAVED! She came forward on Sunday morning to share her news with the rest of the church and now our preacher is talking to and teaching her about baptism being the next step in obedience to the Lord. Hallelujah!! The value of ONE soul saved from hell is so great "All Heaven's Rejoicing!" The carnival was a great success and the seeds were planted in many others.


Here are some photos of some of the fun!!!

Austin sitting in the flush tank. This was sooo fun. The kids had to throw a ball at a target and when it was hit, water dumped out onto the person sitting on the potty chair. Our preacher took the seat for a while and the line was quite long while he was there. He did not escape dry! :)

Here is Keslee standing behind the screen. Kids threw soaked spongy balls at the screen, splattering her with water. She was pretty drenched by the end of things.

On this one, kids had to throw a bean bag frog onto the lilly pads.

This is like the Price is Right game- Plinko.

The games were set up in a big circle in the front lawn of our church.

Our preacher also had a local fire department stop by with a few trucks and they were a BIG hit. The kids all got a color book about fire safety and got to play in, on and around the truck. They also got to see all the equipment like the firefighters uniforms, hats, oxygen tanks, and the jaws of life.


Kenyon spent most of his time in the driver's seat. He wanted his sisters to see what it was like so he invited them to sit with him but he sure wasn't getting out for them. :)

All the kids had a great time and most ended up with a sack full of candy and prizes. I spent my day painting faces and Monty was at the put-put golf game so our kids were able to play the games on their own. When it was over, I noticed that the girls did not have a bag of candy and asked if they had played many games. Keslee said, "No mom, we did not come to play the games. This is our church and our carnival and we were here to help." It really warmed my heart to see that my girls had so much fun giving to others. The day was not all about them and what they could get but what they were able to give to others. They did not feel cheated for not getting a bag full of goodies. They did play in the fire truck and jump on the big jumpy thingy and Keslee got her face painted so it wasn't all work. :)

Order returns

I am finally feeling like myself again and am really starting to accomplish some things. I just wonder where all this energy has been hiding?!? Just goes to show how bad things can get when you ignore the gifts God gives and try to go it alone! I am still amazed when I realize how denying one little God given gift completely threw off every other aspect of my life. It is one of those hindsight is 20/20 things. I could not see how far from my normal self I really was until I finally returned. The entire atmosphere of this house is different. God gave me the task of being the keeper of a home and the helpmeet to my husband and the mother to my children and he gave me specific tools to use to accomplish each of these things. By setting one of those tools down, I had been able to accomplish none of them; but now, in the past week I have accomplished more than I can even express (if you have no idea what I am talking about, please read previous post). Here is a partial list of some of our biggest accomplishments....

1.the girls bedroom cleaned top to bottom-clean closet, clean under the bed, cleaned out the toy box and given everything a place

2.consistently having them re-clean-up every night so they go to bed with a clean room

3.all of the clean laundry folded and put away(I still have hang up clothes waiting in a basket)

4.got the living room clean-dusted-dvds organized-under couch and chairs clean-behind entertainment center clean

5.consistently having all 3 kids re-clean-up living room every night

6.filled 1 trash bag with clothes to donate-I imagine about 5 or 6 bags will follow.

7.helped Kenyon learn what really clean means in regaurds to his room-it took a few days and some kicking and screaming but he finally understood and got it done and he is so much happier in his freshly clean room.

8.made homemade laundry soap-it doesn't seem to be thickining like it should so I may have to work with it some more.

9. lots more that I can't really think of specifically right now!!

10.growing more and more in the Lord daily and becoming more and more thankful for His will and His perfect plan and the fact that He does reveal it to us when we are ready to accept it.

It has been sooooo nice to feel order back in our home. The only thing better than goint to bed knowing that the house is all clean is waking up to a clean house. I still have lots of laundry to do but a large part of it is going to be leaving our home. We have way too much!! I also still have the bathrooms to deep clean.

Kalysa and I will be leaving for her tests with the shriners so I am spending today making sure Monty and the other 2 will have everything they need while I am gone. I have cinnamon rolls rising (for their breakfast) and chicken boiling (for a big pot of chicken and noodles). I figure if I make sure there is plenty of homemade goodness here while I am gone they won't miss me as bad but will want me to hurry back:) I also have pull apart garlic bread cooking for supper tonight. links provided for each recipe


Boy, it is so good to be back!!

I LOVE a rainy night

I love a rainy night
I love to hear the thunder, watch the lightning as it lights up the sky!
Ya know it makes me feel good.

And it also makes me sing a little song. :) I have always loved rainy stormy thunderry nights-or days. I even like the tornadoy stormy days(those I do prefer in the day so we can see and keep track of them.). They just fill me with energy and excitement and I love to see God's power on full display for all to witness. This is one area that my husband and I could not be farther apart on. HE HATES THEM! He hates lightning so bad that he cringes with each flash and jumps with each thunder crash. There was a time that storms would almost render him useless when it came to driving. He would try to hang around where ever he was and wait for the storm to pass to avoid driving in rain or lightning. If we were together he would pull his hat over his eyes while I drove and object to every "WOW! Look at how beautiful that one was!" comment that I made along the way. He does much better now but he still doesn't like them. I can't really blame him for his dislike of storms, his mom is the same way and she is the one that raised him. She will not go anywhere if the weather is very bad and never would ever dream of driving when there is snow or ice on the ground. Monty never had the chance to learn to drive in bad weather because it was not allowed. She passed her fears onto her son. Now that he is the leader and sole provider for our family and it is not really possible for him to stay home during every storm, he has really taken his fear by the horns and conquered it. He still doesn't LIKE them but he can handle them. I am really very proud of the way he handles them now. To see him go from being almost crippled by a fear when we first met to driving to work and home during rain, sleet, snow, or even some ice is amazing. It really shows how much he loves his family and puts us ahead of the fears he has had since he was a child. I never wanted my son to be afraid of storms. To ensure he did not inherit this fear, when Kenyon was little I would hold him and stand at the door during storms and watch them with him. I would point out the beauty of it all. Kenyon would watch and listen but he never really gained the love of the storm that I had. He did not have a problem watching them when he was in mama's arms but any other time he would run for cover at the first hint of bad weather. Over the past few years Kenyon has really developed a respect for God's stormy nights. He is usually glued to the weather reports on tv and keeps everyone else updated with each new development. He is my most cautious one, so at the first weather alert he is gathering pillows in the hall way, making sure everyone has their shoes on and equips himself and his sisters with bicycle helmets BEFORE he plants himself in front of the meteorologists weather maps on screen. He loves to watch the storm chaser team's live videos and has even made a comment or two about maybe wanting to do that someday. He has a certain type of love for the storm but it is still wrapped in a certain amount of fear of it. Last night he had the breakthrough that I always hoped for. When we were leaving church the sky was very dark and cloudy. That is, all but one patch to the northeast (the direction we would be traveling home). That one patch was filled with very light, white clouds and the most spectacular lightning show was going on. The flashes were so constant that it looked like God must have hooked up a strobe light right there. It was mostly cloud to cloud flashes with just the occasional huge bolt breaking free and heading for the ground. When I came out of the church to head to the car I found my son in the parking lot just staring and watching the power of God unfold before his eyes. He said "MOM! LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL THAT IS!" We all watched for a moment and then loaded up knowing we would be able to enjoy the show for the next 20 minutes on the ride home. As we were driving down the road with trees lining each side, the flashes would light up between the branches and the trees would seem to glow for an instant. It was really an amazing sight. Kenyon said "Mom, I was always kinda scared of storms and I could never see the beauty in it you always talked about-UNTIL NOW!" That sentence uttered from my little boys mouth probably made me prouder than just about any other sentence he has ever said. Not just because of the kindred spirit he and I can now share. Not even because his love of the storm just bypassed his fear of them. It made me proud because of what he finally saw in the storm. God's majesty is revealed through His creation and I believe seeing the beauty and majesty in creation....I mean REALLY seeing it....not just appreciating it... but SEEING it all the way to your soul is the closest we can ever come this side of Heaven to seeing God's face. My son just saw GOD with his own eyes! It was an amazing experience to see as this revelation showed across the face of an eleven year old boy while the reflection of lightning flashes danced in his eyes. I am so thankful I was able to witness it.