Wonderful Weekend

This was a very good weekend.  We had much to celebrate and much to thank the Lord for.

Besides seeing two people saved in the services Sunday, we had a great blessing Sunday night when this dear family followed the Lord into baptism.  They have been coming for quite some time.

The mother was saved several months ago, followed by her two sons, her daughter, and then her husband.

This is the daughter.  She is a sweet girl.  

This mom has prayed many prayers and has seen God save her entire household.  I can't even begin to tell you how it felt to see them all baptized at one time.

Eager to see what the Lord does in their lives.  They have been a blessing to watch as they grow in the Lord.

Sunday night, Mrs. Anna had a celebration with our Sunday School class for her husband, Brother Dusty.  He received his Masters of Science in Theology.  Loved his cake.

Congratulations, Brother Dusty.  I didn't know you could do it. LOL

We had another blessing last night seeing Brother Clint and Mrs. Donna Kerns.  Always a joy to see them and hear them sing.  Love these two blessings!  And my Pastor, of course.  :)

Friday was Hannah's 17th birthday.  We celebrated by having her best friend over Friday and then Saturday we met the grandmothers at Sweet Frog in Gastonia.  If you've never heard of Sweet Frog, it is a yogurt bar and it is GOOD!

Big Daddy, Little Hannah...

My yogurt was yummy!  It was made to perfection. ;)

You grab the size bowl you want, fill it up with all the yogurt flavors you want...

Pile on the toppings you want...

and create a yogurt masterpiece.  Good stuff.  If you haven't tried it, swing by there.  I know you'll love it.

For her birthday, Justin bought Hannah this shirt from Sweet Frog.  We thought it was cute.

Fully Rely On God.  Now every time I see a frog, that's what I'll think of.

Hannah and her buddy, Taylor. :)  What a crazy pair these two are!

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Taylor made Hannah this beautiful picture keeper to hang on her wall.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  Hannah loved it and has it hanging on her bedroom wall with lots of fun photos on it.

She had a great birthday and I am so proud of her and the girl she is...the woman she is becoming.

Another milestone in her life this week, was when we went to order her class ring, as she'll be a senior next year.  Can't wait for it to arrive.

Friday night we attended a graduation service for some pretty cool kindergartners.  They attend a Christian school in the area and we actually knew several of them.  So it was fun to see them "in action" as they received their diplomas.

Aren't they cute?

And Saturday night we had our Patch/Sigma Bowl.  In the past it has been the Patch class that goes against the parents at the end of the year on Bible trivia.  But this year, Brother Johnathan and Mrs. Jennifer combined Patch and Sigma lessons.  The topic during this year was Old Testament Survey.  At the end of the year, the Patch team would go against the Sigma youth on their knowledge of Old Testament Survey.  I just knew the patch kids were going to stomp Sigma.  But nope, Sigma pulled it through and there you have it. This was the first time in nine years, I think, that Patch did not win the Patch Bowl.  And being on the losing end of that bowl for eight years, I must say it felt good to see Sigma take it.  :)  This was the best Patch Bowl we've ever had.  Brother Johnathan and Mrs. Jennifer did a spectacular job!

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Top Ten: Kayson (not pictured), Gracie, Mary Elizabeth, Haili, Hannah, Robin, Dylan, Mason, Matt, and Harrison.

Hannah and Harry took top scorer for the boys and girls.

And Harrison's team won for team points. 

Hannah brought home the Esther Award.

And top scorer for the girls in Sigma.  I don't know what she said to Pastor but it cracked him up.  LOL

Top scorer, of course, placed her in the top ten.

Besides Top scorer, Harrison also took the trophe for saying the most verses this year. Proud of him for that.  I wanted this picture with Mrs. Kim.  After the banquet, I no longer have any children in the Patch the Pirate program.  I was very sad about that.  Mrs. Kim has helped in this particular class since Justin's time in that class and I appreciate her so much.  She is faithful and a godly testimony to the children in her class.  I will be so sad not to have children under her leadership.  But I know that every child passing through her class will be a special child in her eyes and they will benefit, just by having her in the class room. 

Thank you, Mrs. Kim, for everything you have done for all three of my children.  You are truly a blessing to this family!

Although I am sad that Harrison will be losing Brother Johnathan and Mrs. Jennifer as his Patch teachers, I am thrilled beyond words that he will be gaining them as his Sigma youth leaders.  These two have taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, and have run the race well being over the fourth, fifth, and six grader Patch class, and also Sigma. 

They have done a FANTASTIC job and I appreciate every minute and sacrifice they have made for these classes.  I love you both...and your little boys too!

: o)

Wonderful weekend!

When Life Becomes a Washed Up Tie

Bruce's truck had a gas leak the other day so he was catching the gas in a container until he had time to work on it.  Well, Sunday, when he went to check on things before the evening service he got gas all over his beautiful tie.  It stunk so bad.  I took the kids on to church and he showed up later, after having changed his shirt and tie.  I really loved that tie, too.  It goes so well with the shirt he had on, which goes so well with his eyes.  In my opinion, anyway.  :)

When I was doing the wash last night, there it was.  Hanging on the back of a chair.  I knew better than to throw it in the wash.  I knew if I did, something good was not going to come of it. 

I did it anyway.

What was I thinking?  His tie is a mess.  It looks like a limp tube, the stitching has come undone around the bottom and there's white lining falling out of it.  Oh dear.  I just don't know what I can do for it.  And it wasn't a Wal Mart tie either.  It was a really nice one!  No doubt, bought by my mother at some point... (because I buy Wal Mart ties.)

Isn't life like that sometimes, though? 

There are things we know we shouldn't do because the Bible warns us not to do them.  And yet, we do them anyway.  And then our life begins to stink with the smell of sin.  So we try to clean it up ourselves, and just make a bigger mess of things, when really, we just needed to turn everything over into the Lord's hands and make it right with Him first.  He always knows how to clean us up, even when we think we aren't worth cleaning.

We stand back, looking at our mangled and torn up lives, wondering how God is going to fix us and make our life beautiful again. 

But it's not up to us to wonder that.  All we have to do is trust Him.  He is God and He can take those things that have crushed our spirits, those things that have hurt us and brought us so much shame, and He can use them to build us up to bring Him glory and honor.

I thought of this song as I pondered over these things this morning:

Something beautiful
Something good
All my confusion
He understood
All I had to offer Him
was brokenness and strife
But He made something
beautiful
of my life

My hands, I don't believe, can do anything for this poor tie, but God...  He can take our broken and torn life and make it into a masterpiece, if we will just place ourselves in His hands.

The Bible says in Hebrews 5 that there are pleasures in sin for a season.  Seasons change from one to another, over and over.  They do not last.

BUT!

Psalm 16:11 says "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is FULLNESS OF JOY; at thy right hand there are PLEASURES FOR EVERMORE."



     

Mother's Day, 2012

Mother's Day celebration started off on Friday for me.  Bruce gave me an appointment to get my hair done, my secret pal gave me a gift certificate a while back for a pedicure, and then I spent a few hours shopping.  So it was a day of pampering and malls!

Although I do believe in pretty toes, especially this time of year, it was my first pedi and I can assure you it will not be my last.  I enjoyed it very much.  I went ahead and upgraded my gift certificate to a deluxe and got the works.  WOW!  I totally enjoyed it. 

Saturday morning we had our moms over for a Mother's Day brunch.  I fixed bacon and eggs, biscuits and gravy, livermush, grits, and two flavors of muffins with milk and orange juice.  It was delicious, if I do say so myself.

For their gifts, we bought them each a beautiful burgundy pocketbook and a black, beaded, glass necklace.  They loved both of them.

Justin has been house sitting for someone for the last few weeks so it was nice to have him come by for the brunch.  He bought me a beautiful ice cream cake from Dairy Queen that we were all able to enjoy later.  AND it was oreo.  He knows me well, that son of mine.

When it was time to cut into the cake, I couldn't do it.  I had let it set out for at least twenty minutes, but it was still really hard.  So Bruce tried and it was very hard for him also.  At one point he pretended to cry because he wanted a piece of it so badly.  LOL

We had a good time with our moms and it was an honor to honor them in our home.

Before we left for church Sunday morning, Hannah and Harrison gave me an artsy gift they had worked on from the three of them.  I thought it was really cute.  Hannah got the idea from a friend on facebook and did one for me.  It was crayons they hotglued along the top of a white cardboard and then blowdried so it would melt down the board.  At the bottom they wrote, "Like a rainbow, you brighten our sky."  I have it standing on the bookshelf Bruce made me and I love it.

Bruce asked if I wanted to go out to eat for Mother's Day after church.  No way!  I don't like eating out on Sunday.  But definitely not for Mother's Day.  We stay so busy on Sunday, I just wanted to eat Pizza Hut take out and get a long nap.  I got it!  Bruce called from church to order the pizzas and after lunch I had a three hour nap!  THREE HOURS!  It was great.

Before we laid down for a nap, though, they had a few gifts for me.  Hannah and Harrison gave me a gift bag with two pretty headbands, a bag of LINDOR white chocolates, and a beautiful necklace in it.

Bruce gave me a gift bag with some zebra print flip flops and a cheetah print carrying case for my kindle fire.

And then when I got to church for the evening service, Justin showed up with a big basket full of all of these goodies.  It was great!

Sweet Pea scented candle, the Japanese Cherry Blossom collection from Bath and Body Works, a set of foot scrub and softening treatments, pumice stone, things to do French manis and pedis, Calgon bath pearls, a "mom" coffee mug, scrubbie, and teddy bear.  

GREAT basket. 

We had two terrific services at church and a blessed day and weekend all around.  I feel blessed because I AM blessed!  I have been given a thoughtful husband, a loving mother, and three beautiful, precious children.

God is good to me.

Marriage Defined

So how 'bout that NC vote FOR Amendment One? 

Actually, how about all the hubbub surrounding it?  I haven't watched the news once about it yet.  But I sure have seen a lot of smack talk and jeering on facebook.  It's really been something to watch...and participate in.  I would expect the smack talk and jeering from the world, but I've been most disheartened by those professing Christianity.  Apparently, "the church" is divided on the issue as well.

Say Whaaa???

Who would have thought we would see the day when the church was divided on the definition of marriage?  All because we don't want to offend the sodomite. 

In a recent discussion with someone claiming Christianity, they proudly admitted they were against Amendment One and found me using the word "sodomite" to be offensive.  Well, yes, I must agree that I am sure it was very offensive to her.  God's Word is always offensive to those who do not wish to live by it.  And the word "sodomite" is God's word, not mine.  If you look up the word in the dictionary, it plainly tells who and what they are.  Look up "gay" and it waters it down to keep the sodomite comfortable in their sin.  The biggest mistake the church has made, thus far, is trying to appease the pew sitter. 

Jesus never said anything to help the sinner be comfortable.  He never made them feel they were loved by Him, therefore, it was ok to stay in their sin.  No, when Jesus came on the scene, there was always a change in lives.  It was never "come as you are, leave how you were" with Him.  It was "come as you are, leave your sin behind forever."

Somewhere along the way, the pulpits across this nation have become nothing more than a drive thru of fast food TEACHING.  Because, obviously, the PREACHING of God's Word is no more.  If it were, the church would not be divided on the issue of Amendment One. 

You know, Bruce and I have sodomites in our family.  We have couples in our families living in adultery and fornication.  But we still love them.  We want and desire God's best for them.  But does our love exceed God's will?  A better question to ask the church is, does CHRIST'S love EXCUSE His will?

No, I do not believe it does.

God is against homosexuality.  As a matter of fact, there are many sins mentioned in the Bible, only a few say they are an abomination.  Homosexuality is one of them (Lev 20:13).  Abomination means that God DESPISES them.  Does that mean God measures our sin on a scale of one to ten?  No.  But it does mean there are some sins that He absolutely despises.  And if God DESPISES it, should the church not despise it also? 

Does this mean we should hate the homosexual?  No, of course not.  God loves them and so should we.  But we should also despise the sin, as our Heavenly Father despises the sin also.

Many Christians who voted against the Amendment said they were doing so because they wanted to protect the rights and freedoms of those who do not believe the way Christians do.  On the surface, I suppose that sounds good.  I mean, shouldn't all good Americans want to protect rights and freedoms?  I know I do.  But if going against God and Christ's teachings means I can't vote according to Scripture and my conscience... well, let's just say I'd rather cast my vote as a citizen of Heaven than one of America.  

I don't care what other people say, this country was founded by men and women who wanted the freedom to worship as they chose and they did not want anyone telling them how to worship.  BUT!  Those men and women also founded this country on the Word of God.  You don't have to be a Christian to live here.  You don't have to believe everything we believe.  But we were...ARE...a Christian nation.  

Christians in NC did not make a law banning same sex marriage.  Law makers did.  Christians did not help write Amendment One.  But we sure did help it into our state constitution.  And I am proud to be a North Carolina girl because of it.

North Carolina is the thirty-first state to pass this Amendment to our state's constitution.  Which leaves nineteen states open to anyone wishing for a homosexual union.  'Nuff said.

It is my right, as an American citizen to cast my vote.  Even if the Amendment had not passed, I would have been thankful for the opportunity to live in a democracy, where the people have the say.  

And the people have spoken.  

Not as many Christians as I would have hoped and thought.  As a matter of fact, I can't even imagine the margin of percent had Christians voted God's mind instead going AWOL on Him and voting their own

(Prov 3:5-6) 

But the people have spoken, none the less, and so God has blessed. 

If God can use Gideon and only 300 men to win a war against thousands, well, obviously He can do the same today. 

And There Ya Have It

Far as I know there were nine or eleven of us that got baptized.  I was a nervous wreck.  You wouldn't believe some of the things the devil put in my mind about what could happen.  Thinking on them now I laugh at myself, but at the time, I wasn't laughing.  I have also been sick with a head cold.  My ears are stopped up and I told Pastor I thought I'd just wait until next month and if I did, it wasn't because I was ingoring his counsel.  He said he understood, and then JOKINGLY remarked that I had been in rebellion this long, one more month wouldn't matter.  LOL  But during the service, Pastor wanted Brother Mark Leonard to preach.  He preached on the "The Other Side" and said that when God wants us on the other side, He will get us there, no matter what.  I knew God wanted me to be baptized and that sick or not, He would take care of it.  So at the close of the service when Pastor called for those getting baptized, I stepped out and went.  I'm glad I did.  The devil can never bother me about it again!   

 Not my favorite picture, but hey, I'm alive.

 It was a blessing watching Harrison get baptized also.  It thrilled my heart to see my youngest follow Christ into baptism.  Praying for him that he will continue following Christ's footsteps in everything he says and does. 

Thankful for friends that prayed for me and my silly insecurities.  Thankful for Brother Tony Hutson for preaching the way he did on baptism.  Thankful for the Holy Spirit's conviction in my heart to make that step, left behind years ago. 

God is good!

To Be or Not To Be.....Baptized?

While we were in Murfreesboro, Tennessee with the youth group, Brother Tony Hutson shucked some corn on being baptized.  I have a confession.  I have not been baptized since I was saved at the age of fourteen.

I've thought about it over the years, but never talked with anyone about it.  In my heart, I knew that I should have been baptized, but I just figured so many years had passed it just didn't matter any more. 

I do not believe that you MUST be baptized to enter into Heaven, I Peter 3:21.  I do believe that baptism by submersion is a sign to others that you are following Jesus Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection.

To make a long story short, after hearing Brother Hutson's sermon on baptism, the Lord has been dealing with me about it.

This past Sunday morning, my Pastor made mention that he was baptising this coming Sunday night.  Well, this week, Harrison told me he heard Pastor say that and he was ready to get baptized.  So we talked about it and he answered the questions I asked him and I felt confident that he was, indeed, ready to get baptized.  Spoke to Pastor about it Wednesday and Harrison is all set for baptism Sunday night.

I also talked to Pastor about myself.  I was baptized at age five, but never felt conviction to salvation until I was fourteen years old.  That was when I gave my heart to Christ.  So when I was baptized at five, I really just got wet.  After talking to Pastor, I will also be getting baptized Sunday night.

Another confession is that I am afraid of water.  I can swim, but I never do.  The devil is really using the thought of someone putting me under water to scare me.  But, thankfully, Pastor assured me he hasn't lost one yet.  LOL

Yes, to be baptized.  My son and I will be taking the plunge together...no pun intended.
:)

Romans 6:4 "Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." 

Is That Wedding Music I Hear?

Eleven years ago we walked into Faith Baptist Church for the first time and that night a friendship was kindled between Justin, Jeremy, and Even.  It's been a good friendship.  One that this mama is proud of her son for having and one that has been iron sharpening iron.  They are all a blessing and I am thrilled to have known them and their families. 

Jeremy took the plunge and married his little sweetheart, Ashley.  Their wedding was the most God-honoring wedding I have been to in a very long time!  Everything from the songs of prayer and submission to their wedding vows was all based on the Word of God.  It was beautiful!   

Hannah and I were honored to sing a song in the wedding while Bruce played the guitar for us.  We sang How Beautiful (the body of Christ) while the wedding party entered the sanctuary.  It was so different and so sweet.  

But I was able to have my camera ready and snagged a few shots.  :0)

My handsome son ready to stand up for his buddy. 

Me with the groom...Can you tell I'd been crying?  I was a blubbering mess.  It hit me that Friday night and I didn't stop crying until Sunday.  I'll be a wreck, should Justin ever tie the knot. 

I think this is the FUNNIEST picture.  The look of gloom on Justin and Evan's face was priceless.  They were genuinely happy for Jeremy, but they looked as happy as two goats stuck in a mud pit.  LOL

 The wedding was lovely and everything went off without a hitch.  Well, actually, there was a hitch...Ashley to Jeremy, that is.  :)  She was a beautiful bride and her smile, that day, could have outshined the sun!  When they turned to be pronounced as Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy H, she flung her hankee in the air and said, "Whooo!"  :)

 The small wedding party.  haha

 Pastor Goodman with the newlyweds.

 They had the reception at the Western Sizzlin'.  Which was totally awesome.  Full entree, salad, and dessert bar.  Of course, they had the cake set up in one of the banquet rooms they had reserved.  After all was said and done, it was time to say goodbye and wish them well on their honeymoon. 
Once again, Justin caught the garter.  I got tickled at that, because the last several weddings he's been to, he catches the garter. 

 They decorated the truck with powders, silly string, toilet paper, and other crazy stuff.  It was cute when they were finished.

They had a great time on their honeymoon and showed up for jubilee Wednesday night.  We were all happy to see them there.

I pray they have many happy and blessed years together from now until forever. 

You can click here to watch a video of Justin's speech to Jeremy and Ashley.  

   

Murfreesboro, 2012

We arrived at the hotel that afternoon and rested in our rooms for a while before heading down stairs for devotions.  Which, by the way, is one of my most favorite times of this trip.  I enjoy the personal time with our youth group and hearing from some of our young preacher boys.
Mrs. Janet ordered pizza and had it delivered, so we ate before devotions and also celebrated Maddie's birthday with a giant cookie, ordered for her that morning.  I'm glad she had a birthday, because it was yummy.  LOL

After supper and celebrations, we heard from four of our boys.  Brother Troy...

Justin....

Brother Jeremy....

And our youth Pastor, Brother Johnathan.

Each of them spoke on standing for the Word of God and not giving into things the world has to offer.  After devotions and prayer, we broke up for some free time and some of the kids gathered and sang songs for quite a while.  It was a blessing to hear them singing songs about their Heavenly Father and Heaven, all while being looked upon by people coming in and out of the hotel or watching and listening from their balconies.

Normally, we head to Middle Tennessee Baptist that Friday morning, but Brother Hutson had cancelled that meeting time this year.  We did not find that out until later Thursday night.  The kids were disappointed so we asked the hotel staff if we could reserve a meeting room for the Friday morning and we had our own meeting.  I think I enjoyed that better than anything that weekend.  It was wonderful!  God really touched some hearts.  Pastor preached to us, the kids and adults gave testimonies, we sang...  it was wonderful! 

Friday afternoon, after our own little meeting, we took the kids to a mall area where they were able to eat lunch and do a little shopping before the evening service.  We returned to the hotel and got ready for that.  Couldn't wait to get there!  I must admit that I was a little on edge and praying the Lord would intervene and put to rest some things I was worried about.  It is no secret that I am quite protective of my church, my Pastor, and our youth.  I'm not going to spout how spiritual and perfect they are, because they're not.  They're all flesh and bone, just like the rest of us.  But they do try.  And the Lord does work in their lives and I've seen first hand what He has done in some of their hearts I never dreamed He could or would do.  By the time meeting started, He had let me know that everything would be fine and I knew the Lord had answered that prayer before we had ever gotten out of Shelby!  He is good!!

When we got there, we took our seats and our youth gathered around the alter to pray.  What a blessing! 

We heard from Middle Tennessee Adult Choir.  I LOVE their choir!  They sing the old time way with the power of God on them!

 We also heard from Brother Tony Hutson's daughters.  I like to hear them sing too.  Their voices are so close together it's unreal.  I can never make out who is singing what.  LOL  Doesn't matter though, because they're just really good.

 Brother Hutson had all the Pastors and preachers to come sit in the choir.  It was different and it was a blessing to see those men of God sitting up there, enjoying and getting in on the services.

Brother Mark Stroud was there.  One of mine and Bruce's all time favorites!  That man can lay it down, I'm tellin' ya!  LOL

Heard some good singin'....

And some good testimony too!  Brother Hutson asked Brother Philbeck (Pastor of a local church here in Kings Mountain) to testify on old time religion.  It was very good.

And then we heard some preachin'!  I had never heard from Brother Broughton before, but I think he was a favorite among our youth and me too.  He was very good. 

 And then we heard from our Pastor.  He preached a sermon we've heard before, but I got some new things out of it this time, and it was things that I have been able to apply to my life.  Did I mention what a blessing this meeting was?

We had Saturday morning meeting and then made our way back down the mountains of Tennessee to home.  I enjoyed every moment of the trip. 

Had a great time and already looking forward to next year!  The good news is...  Pastor Goodman and Brother Hutson have been working on a meeting just like this one, right here at our church, in August!  I am so excited about this!!  It's been in the works for about a year and a half now.  Lord willing, we have some GREAT preachers lined up and looking forward to some AWESOME meetings!