It's Not Mine!

Bruce and I will be going with our youth group to Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a youth conference this weekend. We are very excited about it. This is a great trip and we are going looking for blessings to fill us up!

I believe it's going to be VERY good and the Devil must know it. Because he's fighting tooth and nail to bring me down.

I had such a bad day yesterday. Nothing really major, it just seemed like everything I tried to do was a failure or there were road blocks that kept getting in my way. Which can be really frustrating! Not to mention that I've come down with a KILLER cold. UGH!

But Sunday while Pastor was preaching he read a portion out of Psalm 73 concerning the prosperity of the wicked. I had never read Psalm 73 before. At least I don't remember reading it. So I marked it and read it again yesterday. But instead of stopping where Pastor stopped during his sermon, I read on through to the end of the chapter. The last verse (28) really jumped out at me.

"But it is good for me to draw to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works."

As I thought about this verse and how my day was going and being sick and finding out that the bus we're taking to Tennessee had to be put in the shop for a new starter yesterday *sigh* it suddenly dawned on me that all of this was the doing of the Devil to get my mind off the trip and maybe get me so frustrated I wouldn't want to pray or wouldn't think to pray so much about it and other things we're praying about.

But it is good for me to draw to God...I have put my trust in the Lord God...that I may declare all thy works.

But it is good for me to draw to God. God allows days like yesterday, being sick, buses needing to be unexpectantly fixed, because we need to realize that nothing is in our control. So when these things happen, what should we do?

I have put my trust in the Lord GOD. That's when you let go of the problem, throw your hands up in the air and say, "Here ya go, Lord. I can't." I thought about little David and how he said, "The battle is not mine." Even this young shepherd boy knew that he was nothing and God was going to have to fight the battle. How will God do anything in your life if you hold on to the problem? He won't. And why should he? If you don't trust Him enough to let it go, He'll allow you to hold on to it! But when you let it go and give it to Him there is something better that awaits.

That I may declare all thy works. When it is all said and done, we are given an opportunity to declare what He has done for us. To tell others. To be a witness of His goodness. Because He ALWAYS wins.

Stop whining and complaining about things you can't do anything about. Give them over into the hands of an Almighty God. Then sit back and watch Him work!

"The battle's not mine," said Little David,

"Lord, it's Thine, I'm in Your favor.

I'm giving it all to You, I knew not what to do.

I'm so glad You let me see, You're really all that I need.

For the battle's not mine, I give it to You, Lord, it's Thine."

Sunday Savings

Sorry, no pic. My camera batteries are charging! BUT! Here are my coupon savings today!

French's Yellow Mustard......$1.89
French's Honey Mustard.......$2.99
French's Worcestershire Sauce.....$1.79
Colgate Toothpaste...........$2.76
Steam Fresh Frozen Broccoli Cuts.....$2.19

Total before coupons.......$12.47
Total after coupons............$2.09

Tex-Mex at Greg and Janet's

Last night we went to Greg and Janet's for Janet's version of Tex-Mex. Oh boy, it was good!


Bless her heart, she cooked for 22 people!!!



Mander sure was happy with her plate!


Bro Chris was REALLY happy with his.

Rice, with steak, chicken, peppers, onions, tomatoes, jalapeno, and Mexican cheese. And you could have corn chips if you didn't want the rice.

Hannah, Nicole, and Bruce

The children were all over the house playing and having a marvelous time!

Caleb and Nicole were playing the Wii. Not sure which game, but her arm was flapping wildly.

We played Prison Rummy last night. Chris and Mander waited patiently on their cards to be dealt.

Joel and Pam deciding which cards they wanted to keep.

Bruce's cup..."Bald is Beautiful"

Justin was goofing off...he's so weird. LOL

Justin and Caleb playing Wii.

Pam was our score keeper, although our final scores were quite questionable. HA HAAAA (inside joke there)

The kiddos made chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies. Mrs. Janet ended up being covered in sugar cookie dough while she supervised.

And of course Celine stopped playing long enough to smile for the camera.

When the Prison Rummy was finished we played Mexican Train Dominoes.

I think we were home a little after midnight. We had great food, great fellowship, and a LOT of fun and laughter. I love my friends.

Coupon Deals!

OK, I have absolutely NO idea why my picture came out like this. Very odd, but OK? LOL

2 lbs Ground Beef........$8.93

2 lbs Ground Chuck....$8.93

1 lb Ground Pork.........$3.28

1 lb Ground Pork..........$3.28
1 Pack Chicken Breast & Leg Quarter.....$4.48

1 Pack Chicken Breast & Leg Quarter.....$4. 47

1 Pack Chicken Legs......$3.12

1 Pack Chicken Legs.....$3.12

Total Before Deal.....$39.24

Total After Deals....$24.13

Not too bad for meat, I think.

3 Betty Crocker Warm Delights......$6.57

1 Box Chex Mix Bars......$3.39

1 bag Betty Crocker Cookie Mix....$2.25

1, 3 bar pack Dial soap......$2.59

Viva Paper Towels......$2.69

2 cans Carnation Evaporated Milk....$2.11

1 Zone bar.....$1.29

1 Box Uncrustables......$3.19

1, 6pack Danimals.....$2.50

Bob Evans Sausage Roll.....$2.99

Aleve Liquid Gel Capsuals.....$5.69

Total Before coupons.....$36.29

Total After coupons.....$12.95

Sons of Faith

The Ground is Level at the Cross

This song has a great message and is so true!

Video from Revival

He's the Best Thing That's Ever Happened To Me....

We started revival with Brother Arthur on Thursday. I was so ready for these services!!


Thursday night, Brother Archie Watkins from the Inspirations was there and sang a few songs for us. He is recently retired and when he heard that Brother Arthur was going to be at our church he called Pastor and wanted to know if it would be all right if he came. Of course Pastor said yes! We enjoyed having him with us.


Of course the Front Porch Boys were in regular attendance. lol


Friday night after revival, Michelle E had a special time of fellowship for her husband, Jeff, who had just returned home from Army boot camp.

Everyone was ready for the party! Especially the little ones!

Sweetheart, Meghan! She's been a Pastor's wife here lately, as her husband fills in for a church in a nearby town. We sure do miss their family at Faith. It's just not the same without them there.

Mrs. Pam...she's been under the weather this week, with that terrible cold virus going around.

I love Katrina's smile in this pic. She totally cracks me up sometimes.

Justin C

My buddy, Dana.

Jeff, our Army boy. He wasn't feeling well and eventually ended up in the hospital Sunday morning. Come to find out, he had Strep. Hopefully he'll be all right soon.

LeAnna and her little brother.

LeAnna's little sister, Mashaela

Saturday night, we had our youth choir sing, but also invited the youth from other church's to come up and sing if they wanted to. They sang, I Remember the Day.

Sons of Faith sang too.

After the special youth service we welcomed all the visitors down for pizza and snacks.

Chris and Dana...I have no idea what Chris is doing. lol

Bruce enjoying his pizza.

And here comes the crowd!

Brother Arthur preached a sermon Saturday night called "Do Not Disturb." He was preaching on being satisfied where you're at in your Spiritual walk with the Lord and how we've put out the Do Not Disturb sign to the Holy Spirit, instead of allowing Him to grow us more in our daily walk with Him. Also placing the Do Not Disturb out to Him during worship. A lot of us, including myself, need to flip that sign!

Good stuff!!

Revival

We had a GREAT revival meeting through this long weekend. And it was a looooooooooong weekend! But to reinforce what I said...it was a GREAT revival! lol

Brother Joe Arthur was with us and we had the best time. He is truly a man of God and we just love him so much at our church.

I have a few pictures and some videos from the song service I'll be posting soon. I just don't have time right now. So, check back later!

:)

Got BBQ?

Daddy picked me up yesterday and took me to lunch.

We stopped at the bank for some money and he wanted his picture taken by the growth chart. I think he's shrinking...seriously.

He took me to a Kyle Fletcher's Barbecue and Catering in Gastonia. When we pulled in the smoke was pouring from the back of the restaurant and the smell of beef and pork permeated the air.

And just who would be behind the glorious smell in the air, drawing people from far and near, but Kyle himself! A nice man with a welcoming smile and a friendly word.

When we walked in the building I was amazed at all the UNC memorabilia. I thought to myself, "If these people like BBQ the way they like the tar heels, we're in for some good eatin'!

The Tar Heels weren't the only sports team promoted, however they certainly did dominate!

I got a little tickled at this wall ornament. Check out his blue horns.

Even the ceilings were decorated with pictures and jerseys.

I thought this collection of helmets was interesting. I liked how they were mounted.

And let's not forget the display case full of UNC figurines, snow globes, soda bottles, and footballs.

And only in the south can you find a roll of paper towels on your table. Another sign you're about to get some good eatin'!

I ordered the pork and daddy ordered the beef. Under those fries was another portion of pork! That's a lot of food.

Daddy put their BBQ sauce on his beef, which is on my list of new favorite sauces by the way, along with their hot sauce. Which was beginning to make him sweat. No kidding.

The atmosphere was great and the customers were your typical southern patrons. Friendly and hungry. While we were eating, Bruce's Aunt Marie and cousin Ray came in. In honor of yesterday's game she was wearing her UNC sweater. She blended in quite well with the decor.

They do good business there. Sure signs of that were the numerous take-out orders from people on their lunch breaks and the phone ringing off the hook for orders.

The servers had that southern hospitality touch and kept the sweet tea comin'.

By the time I finished my lunch, I was full as a tick and ready for a nap!

I'm glad dad and I were able to eat lunch together and I'm glad I know about this new restaurant. We'll be back, for sure.

On the way home from lunch, we stopped at a local convenient store in town where daddy bought John a Root Beer to go with his BBQ lunch and a cow tail. He was so full, he was having trouble getting out of the truck.

John was one happy camper when we handed him his lunch!

He works for Lithium Corporation and just as I took this picture the guard yelled at me for taking pictures. It's not like I was wearing a turban!