Lots and Lots of Pictures!

Today is Mother's Day. I hope all of you wonderful mothers had a good day with your children. I know I did. We had a cookout yesterday with our moms and honored them. And then today we went out to eat with my mom after church. Two souls were saved in church this morning and we're baptizing some tonight. I'm looking forward to that!!

Just wanted to share some pictures of the last couple of weeks. There's a good many of them.
The next couple of weeks I'll be busy taking pictures of two seniors, planning Hannah's Sweet Sixteen party, which is this coming Saturday, and several others things on my agenda. Everything is pretty well set for Hannah's party, I just need to get busy on the food end of things. Speaking of food...the pictures begin with my devil's food chocolate cupcakes and malted eggs. I love malted candies. These looked "sweet" nested a-top the cupcakes too.

My mother-in-law enjoyed one.

This was Easter weekend. We had dinner at mom's house. It was fantastic!!

My sister-in-law Jenny and my beautiful niece, Jessica. I love them.

Jessica graduates from the police academy this week. My brother, John and Bruce, were playing with her fake gun.

This was the combined choir at the Zion Hill youth revival. They sounded spectacular!

Daughters of Faith sang that night. I love to hear them sing, There is a Remedy. Beautiful words to that song, if you've never heard it.

Some shoutin'!

The Simpson family....I loooooOOOOOooooove them!

Brother and Sister Spears. They sang a song I have never heard before and I would really love to hear it again and find out where it came from. They were such a sweet couple.

Preacher #1 that night was a young man that started in fourth gear and finished in fourth gear. He was something! His sister got saved after LeAnna gave a testimony about her salvation. You never know when someone is going through the same thing you struggled with that led up to your salvation.

The second preacher up was Brother Spears. He was fantastic! Would love to hear more from him. I hope we see him often in some different meetings.

Here are some pics from the Crossroad's Rescue Mission Jubilee. When all else fails...when you've been let down...JESUS IS ENOUGH! And He sure was the week of Jubilee!

Gotta have KFC buckets for the offering under an old fashioned tent!

Some silly people I saw at the meeting....

Lots of fellowshipping and playing with babies.

And let's not forget the Sun Drop. MMmmm!

Precious times....

A shoutin' time!!

A humble time....

A testimony time.

We heard some great singing that week from the Rochester Family....

The Crossroad's Rescue Mission men choir...

Vintage Faith Bulegrass....

Faith Baptist Youth Choir...

Daughter's of Faith....

Missy and Amanda...

Brother Compton....

And others, but I can't remember their names. LOL

The singing was really good. But the best part of the meeting was the preaching. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God! Several precious souls were saved during the week of jubilee. I thank God for that!

My favorite preacher of the week was my very own Pastor.

Brother Williamson lets. it. fly, boy! I'm tellin' ya!! He's really good.

My niece took this pic of our family Easter Sunday. Harrison dislocated his knee the week before, hence his leg being bent.

My mom loves her hats and doesn't she look precious in this one? If you'll look at the pictures above her, that's my daddy on the top right. This was his first Easter in Heaven. We missed him, but praise God we know we'll see him again.

I Like Him!

I never heard of Herman Cain until tonight. Watching him on the Republican Presidential Debate, on FOX News, I really liked his answers. He seems to be very smart in business, a solid family man, and genuinely concerned about this country. He had some great ideas concerning taxes, gas, and the general direction of our country. I have to agree with another voter that said he did not sound like a politician. I think that's a good thing. I'm sick of hearing from politicians. Can I get a witness?

There were about thirty GOP voters in a room that watched the debate together. After the debate, they were asked to raise their hands if they walked in with Herman Cain as their choice of candidates BEFORE the debate. Only one person raised their hand. Then they were asked to raise their hands if Herman Cain was their choice of candidates AFTER the debate. All, but about five people raised their hands. So I think he made a pretty big impression. It will be interesting to see how he does in the polls.

I'm putting his picture in my sidebar for now because I really like him so far. No one has my vote yet, but he sure is at the top of my list!

Calvinism Is Not the True Gospel

I've "bumped" into a few people that believe in predestination and election recently. One is a blog I've been reading for a while. I don't usually "blog surf" without referrals, but when I ran across this blog I liked what I read...at first. We held the same ideas on wifely submission, home schooling, how we dress, etc. But then one day she quoted a verse from the ESV, which I knew was a preferred version of the Calvinist. Since it "just so happens" we had been discussing Calvinism in SS and the dangers of its doctrine, my antennas went straight up. Remember the old episodes of Lost in Space when we were kids? I was suddenly hearing the voice of the robot shouting, "Danger Will Robinson! Danger!!"

By the way, The King James Bible is not a "version." Something that is a version of something else is not the same. Things that are different, are not the same. Keep that in mind when you claim you're KJ"B" only. :)

Anyway, we've actually gone over the whole Calvinist thing in SS recently, and Brother Ken RIGHTLY divided the Word of God and broke it down as to why it is wrong to believe in predestination and election.

God is an all-knowing God. Of course He knew when He created man that sin would enter into the world. This did not take Him by surprise. But He wanted love and obedience to be our choice. He did not want us to be puppets on His puppeteer stage. He wanted us to love and obey and accept Him from our hearts. He knew that there would be those that would accept Him and, sadly, those that would deny Him. We are predestined to love and obey and accept Him, because that's how He made us and what He desires from us. But it is up to us whether or not we choose to love and obey and accept Him.

He also knew that the blood shed of animals would not forever atone for man's sin so He sent His Son, the spotless Lamb of God, His only BEGOTTEN Son, for a final sacrifice.

If we were already predestined and elected the way Calvinists believe, what would be the point of Christ leaving the splendor and glory of Heaven to die on the cross for ALL men? By the way, "ALL" means "all." And what would be the purpose of the Holy Ghost convicting the heart of man to salvation?

When He died, rose again, and ascended into Heaven, He left with us, His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God moves with compassion on the lost. Anyone who has ever been born into this world enters into a state of eternal death. They are lost and on their way to Hell. This is why it is so important to train our children and to lead them in righteousness. But it is also just as important to tell others, as we are commanded to do so.

Luke 14:23 says to "...GO out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be full." Do you know what the world "compel" means? It doesn't mean to "ask nicely." It means to "force." In other words, GO out into the highways and hedges and FORCE them to come in, that my house may be full. Now, if you believe the Lord will just fall on someone and that's how it happens you've been deceived. We have to tell others about Him. They must hear the Word.
Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by HEARING and hearing by the WORD OF GOD."
We must also have a vision for the lost soul. Proverbs 29:18a, "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Matthew 28:19 "GO ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." To teach is to impart knowledge, to instruct by precept, example, or experience. If it's just all up to God, why does He tell us to GO and to TEACH others?

Why are we to compel (force) them and why are we to teach (impart knowledge to) them?
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness: but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance. Again, "any" means "any" and "all" means "all."
"Repentance", meaning a turning away from their sin. When we are walking in darkness and turn away from the darkness to the Light, we walk straight into the arms of the Savior.

The Calvinist doctrine, in my opinion, is a very egotistical and arrogant doctrine, and one that is sending many people to Hell.

A clear presentation of the gospel is simply to follow the Roman's Road to salvation.

Romans 3:23 "For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God." None of us are better than anyone else. Even if we have lived a "good life" according to man's standards, we are still under the bondage of sin and fall short of God's glory.

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Sin entered the world in the garden, and for that sin, man was sentence to an eternal death. But a gift from God was given to us when Jesus Christ died on the cross. He was HOLY and SINLESS and shed His blood as a sacrifice for our sin, taking upon Himself the sin of the world so that we could escape eternal death and enter into eternal life, upon accepting Him as our Savior and King.

Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." When Christ died on the cross, He paid for ALL sin. When He paid for that sin, He made a way for us to be free from the bondage of sin and death.

Romans 10:13 "For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord, SHALL BE SAVED." There is not one person on the face of this earth that is worthy of salvation. However, God made us worthy and no matter who we are or where we are, if we will call upon Him, He will save us.

Romans 10:9&10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made known unto salvation." The first step is to admit you're a sinner. The second step is to know in your heart and believe that Christ is the only way to Heaven and the third step is to simply confess to Him that you believe that He is the only Christ and the only way to Heaven and ask Him to save you.

Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If ANY man hear my voice, AND OPEN THE DOOR, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." The Holy Spirit will knock on the door of our hearts. It is up to us whether or not we will open that door for Him. If we choose to keep the door shut, we will spend eternity in Hell. If we choose to open the door and allow Him entrance, we will spend time with Him in fellowship and eternity with Him in Heaven.

1. Believe in Him






2. Ask Him to come into your heart, by faith






3. Read the gospel of John and what God says about Jesus, about you, and about being born again.






4. Look for a local church where God's WORD is preached. When we get saved, we are like newborn babies desiring the milk of its mother. And the only way we will grow is by being fed the Word of God.






5. Be baptized. Baptism does not determine salvation, but it is a public profession of your decision to follow Christ. It is an act of obedience and a symbol of commitment.

John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.

A Family Update

WOW! I can't believe this home school year is coming to an end. This is blowing my mind. It has been ONE year, I'm tellin' ya. I just realized it is already the month of May and I haven't even ordered my kid's end of grade testing. I need to do that this week. Fortunately, the company I use will have it to me next week, then we test a week, and then they'll have the scores to me by the end of the third week. I like how fast they work and get your results to you.

Harrison's reading lesson today came from an old book that belonged to my dad when he was a child. There was a little Sunday School story card on the inside that was dated January 13, 1952. Daddy would have been six years old then. The back was yellowed and there was a smudge mark on it. I don't know if he put that mark there or not, but it's a sweet thought to think of him doing that. LOL And there are pages where you fill in the blanks after reading the chapters. His handwriting didn't change much over the years. Just got a little smaller and a little neater. But it's definitely his handwriting.

Hannah will be a junior next year. AHHHHHHH! I can't believe my baby is getting that old. She'll be sixteen in a couple of weeks. We're in the process of planning her sweet sixteen party. She wanted things very simple. Just different shades of purple and silver. So the decorations will be easy. We just haven't decided on the food yet.

Here's a picture of her invitations I did on a program Bruce bought me several years ago. I thought it turned out nice. Obviously I blacked out our phone number and where it will be held. Wouldn't want strangers showing up. That would be awkward. lol

Justin is working for a company here in our home town, still hoping to get on at a fire department soon. It's a little discouraging for him, but he was able to help with a lady at work the other night when she was about to pass out. So he got to put a smidgen of his training to use. Then someone where he worked called the employer and told them about Justin. They sent him a message about how good it was to have him working for them. That meant a lot to him.

Bruce has been working six days a week. I've missed his mug around here. Praise the Lord he has a job!! So many in these parts do not. He was going to take a second shift position, but the Lord just wouldn't give him peace about it so he's staying on third. He's been sick lately but seems to be on the mend.

I've been sick too. I don't necessarily "feel" sick, but my allergies have overtaken my vocal chords and I can't get anything out!! It's ok, though, my God still hears me when I pray and that's what matters. I did find a store today that sales bee honey just up the road from here. I'm hoping I can get Bruce to take me up there later to see if it is localized honey. That would be great. If it is, I should be talking again by tomorrow. It's been difficult trying to teach school lessons, but at least I can type or write down what I want them to do or what I want them to know. So it's all good. Just a little frustrating.

We have a LOT going on this month and next month. It is going to be SUPER BUSY!! A good busy...but super busy, none the less. Thank you again, for understanding about the comments being turned off. I just don't have time to mess with my emails and comment moderation at this time. When things slow down a bit around here I'll turn them back on. :)

Just for Laughs and a Little Thought Too

I must admit that I was not as fascinated with the Royal Wedding as others have been seen to be and had no intention of posting anything about it, but then I saw this and got a little tickled. Thought y'all might like it too.

I'm part of a Royal Family. I'm the daughter of a King and I'm married to a prince. One of my friends said that the other day and I just had to use it for myself. Because it's true!!

Another friend, Mrs. Reva T, said this: The Real Royal Wedding, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteous of saints" Revelation 19:7-8

We may not have been invited to the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, but there is another Royal Wedding we are invited to attend. Upon accepting this invitation, we are changed from our unworthy attire that is dirty and stained from sin, into fine linen and washed clean and white by the precious blood of the spotless Lamb.

I'll not only be invited to attend, but I will be part of the bride!

Weekend Blessings

Before we left for the youth meeting at Zion Hill this past Friday night I was praying for that meeting, but also for the meeting going on with Crossroad's Rescue Mission and that the Lord would certainly show Himself there as well as Zion Hill.

We had such a good time going up to Zion Hill. The kids talked about all the youth meetings they've been submerged in, their favorite preachers, and they sang all the way up. Sang while we were at the youth meeting, testified, glorified, and praised the Lord. They enjoyed a time of fellowship after the meeting and then it was an even better ride home. They were still singing, they were still praising the Lord, and they were still talking about their favorite preachers. Only this time, they had added one to the list, which was Brother Spears that preached that night. He certainly made an impact on them. Another blessing I got was, we have spent a LOT of time in youth meetings and revivals lately. We haven't done a lot of "fun" things with the youth this year. But Pastor Goodman asked them if they had anything fun they wanted to do and their answer was to go back to the cabins and have our own little camp meetings. Last year it was unbelievable the things that happened at the cabins. And it blessed my heart to hear them say they wanted to do that again. They could have said putt putt, bowling, hiking, anything...but they want to have camp meeting time at the cabins. Now that's a blessing!

When we were at the Mother Daughter banquet last night I found out just how good the meeting at Crossroad's Jubilee went too. It was one of those things you hear and wish you could have been in both places at one time. The preacher that was preaching that night preached on servitude. Then brought Brother Rocky up, had him sit down, and washed his feet. Next thing you knew there were other preachers standing in line to do the same. They said Brother Rocky cried like a baby and they were shoutin' the tent down! What a way to end this year's jubilee!! When others turned their backs on him and the mission based on their opinion and not the WORD OF GOD, God turned it around and told Brother Rocky, "I'm not finished with you yet!" Praise the LORD!

Someone had quoted a verse the other day and it's kind of been the theme verse in my head for the mission all week. Acts 5:38-39 "And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."

I have never heard or seen of God losing any fight. And He is certainly not losing this one. Praise the LORD!

Youth Meeting

We took our youth choir to Zion Hill Baptist Church in Marion tonight and the only word I can say to describe it is "good."

They had a combined youth choir with all of the churches that came for the meeting and then our youth choir sang, followed by the Daughters of Faith, the Simpson family, and Brother Spears and his wife. LeAnna was able to give her testimony of salvation and it pricked the heart of another girl in the congregation and she came forward and got saved.

Her brother, an eighteen year old preacher boy, was about to shout the roof off. He was actually the first one to get up and preach. He did a good job and Harrison liked him a lot. Brother Spears was the second preacher that preached tonight. He was a member of the Hell's Angels when God got a hold of him. I could have listened to him preach and sing all night. The whole time he was preaching I was wishing a young man our family knows could hear what this man had to say. It was amazing! He was really good. He and his wife both had a really sweet spirit about them.

The church fed us a hot dog supper and then we traveled on back down the mountain. We had a great time. My heart is full from this week and I can't wait to hear what happened at the jubilee tonight.

We have our Mother-Daughter banquet tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to taking my girl and my mama. I know we'll have a good time. It's been a long week, but, boy, has it been refreshing!

Thursday Night Jubilee

We had another great night at jubilee. With all of these storms that have been taking place, God has allowed each night to pass with no storms around us. We've had gentle winds keeping us cool. It's been wonderful.

We heard music from Brother Zorn's family tonight. They use to be a trio, but then one got married. :) I knew I had heard Brother Zorn before and then when I saw his family with him tonight I realized I had heard him at a camp meeting a few years ago. We heard from the Phillips family and the Price family also. I've never heard the Price family. They were a blessing. They seemed to have a sweet spirit.

Brother Bob Cato preached first. I always like to hear him. He preached from Revelation 22. And Brother Williamson preached from all over the Bible. I always like hearing him too and tonight was no exception. He preached on everything. Mainly to teenagers and parents. I wish every teenager and every parent could have been there to hear it. The good news from tonight? One young man accepted Christ. Praise the Lord!!

Before we knew about the jubilee meetings, we were already scheduled to take our youth choir to sing at a revival. So tomorrow night we'll be in another meeting. I'm looking forward to it. I don't know who's preaching, but I know it will be good. I always enjoy going to this church. They have some good services too.

But if you're in town and can make it, stop by the Crossroad's Rescue Mission Jubilee and on hwy 18. I know they'd love to have ya. Services start in the morning at 9:00 at the Faith Baptist Church on South Post Road and the evening service is at 7:00 under the Crossroad's tent on hwy 18. Dinner on the grounds before that if you're interested.

I received an email wanting to know why I had turned off my comments. I decided to do that for a while. I've been so busy I haven't had a whole lot of time for blogging, facebook, or any other playtime on the Internet. So it's just easier to blog and not worry about comment moderation. I'll open it back up once everything settles down around here. In the meantime, you'll just have to enjoy reading. :)

Third Night of Jubilee...Only Two More Left

We had another great night at jubilee tonight. Last night we heard from Vintage Faith, and Missy and Amanda. Then we heard the Word from Kody Zorn. We knew it was going to be good when he broke out his harmonica and started playing and singing. He preached like a ball of fire and we really enjoyed him. I believe two people were saved last night.

Tonight our youth choir, Daughters of Faith, Missy and Amanda, and a man by the name of Chuck Compton sang. He sang one of my favorite songs, Did I Mention that I Love Him.

Several area churches had their Wednesday night meeting under the Crossroad's tent tonight. It was wonderful seeing a dozen or more pastors stand in support of the mission. Then Pastor Goodman preached on "Whatcha Givin' 'Em?" with his text from Acts 3. It was really good!! Love my Pastor. And the best part? Three more souls accepted Christ. That's a total of eight so far this week. Praise the Lord!

Jubilee will be going on Thursday and Friday morning at Faith Baptist Church on South Post Road and then again Thursday and Friday night under the Crossroad's tent on Hwy 18. Hope to see you there.

It's Jubilee Time!

We had the first night of the Crossroad's Rescue Mission Jubilee Monday night. Our choir sang, the Rochester family was there, and we heard some great preaching.

The rescue mission has been hit with some hurt recently. Hurt that has been based on man's opinion instead of the Word of God. I believe tonight was an encouragement to Brother Rocky. He needed it.

The message was "It Ain't Over Until God Says It's Over." His text was from Rev 21:1-6. And the best part of the night was a young man in the youth group accepted Christ. He's coming to church with his uncle. And then there were others saved after the service. Not sure how many so I can't really give an accurate count. I know there was definitely one lady. And then two others raised their hands, but I'm not sure if they went forward. I would hope they didn't deny the Holy Spirit. How sad for them if they did!

I'm already looking forward to tomorrow night. Vintage will be there singing and then the preacher coming is a young fireball. It'll be good!!

Best quote from tonight:
"When you fall in love with Jesus, you'll stop your criticizing the work of the Lord."

A Beautiful Resurrection Day!

We had a beautiful Resurrection Day. My niece came over before Sunday school. She's been attending our church and it's been a blessing. She's going through the police academy right now and will graduate in May. We're very proud of her.

Anyway, our day started out nice. The morning service was wonderful. Pastor Goodman preached a great message. The church building was so packed we were in "over flow" mode. Which is always a good thing, right? We had a couple join our church this morning and we are so blessed to have them as part of our congregation. Then tonight we had lots of singing and some popcorn preaching from the preachers in our church. It was phenomenal! Alters were full both services with hearts touched and changed for the better. I know mine was.

We've had seven saved this month at church, plus a couple saved at home. Resurrection Day was a new day for them this year!! Amen.

Although we have a wonderful man of God behind the pulpit at Faith that we love and trust, I don't want to give him glory for what's been going on at our church. He wouldn't want that either. I am convinced that without his humbleness and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit it would be different circumstances. But I do want to give GOD the glory for what we are seeing at our church. He is good. He is worthy of the praise.

This week our church will be supporting the Crossroad's Rescue Mission Jubilee. They've faced difficult times recently, but we are amazed at God's blessings He has poured out on the mission and the staff through it all. We are excited to take part and you are welcome to join us every night this week on Hwy 18 in Shelby. Just look for the Crossroad's Rescue Mission camp meeting tent! You can't miss it. There is some good music lined up and best of all, some terrific preachers!! Hope to see you there.

Good Friday

KLM Contest Winner

KLM had a contest back in March and Jessiee was the winner of that contest. We had her photo shoot yesterday and got some great shots. Jessiee goes to our church, she's a beautiful girl and Hannah and I had fun with her and her friend, Dustin.
I haven't edited or loaded all of her pictures yet, but here are a few and there are more loaded to KLM's facebook fan page.

Thanks for entering the contest, Jessiee. You were a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy your pictures.

Baby Love

I took pictures of my great nephew Monday. I enjoyed it so much! He is such a little darling! How can you not love sweet little faces like this one? And those precious little toes, too?

*sigh* I love babies.

Harrison's Birthday

Harrison turned eleven this past Monday. He was on pins and needles all day long. He wanted me to make tacos so I did that with all the fixin's and Spanish rice. His Maw Maw and Grandmother came over to help celebrate. He was excited because he knew he would be getting some birthday money to go with what he has been saving for his iPod Touch. He also wanted me to make his cake so I did. It was a double decker chocolate devil's food cake with chocolate icing, chocolate dollops, and chocolate sprinkles. That's what he wanted so that's what he got. He had his Maw Maw bring chocolate mint ice cream and banana split ice cream. He definitely has a sweet tooth. He inherited that from his dad, for sure! lol Anyway, when he gathered all his birthday money plus what he had been saving he had enough for his iPod. So Tuesday when I finished the house I clean I took him to pick it out. His daddy loaded it for him with some fun apps and videos and he's been having a ball with it ever since. As a matter of fact, his brother and sister have been having fun with it too. I'm glad you got the iPod you wanted, Harry. I'm proud of you for being so good at saving your money. You're awesome!! :)

Murfreesboro Trip, 2011

For the past several years we have taken our youth to the camp meeting held at Middle Tennessee Baptist Church, where Brother Tony Hutson is the Pastor. Every year it is always a blessing and our youth group comes home fired up. This year was no different. They brought back a sweet spirit and four people were saved in our Sunday morning service with one saved in our evening service. Praise the Lord! We left our church around 9:00 am Thursday morning and headed up the mountain. It took about all day in the bus. Around thirty-five of us were able to go with around ten coming up Friday on a van. We had a great group. The bus did not get there in time for the Thursday service so we checked into our hotel, had some free time, ate pizza for supper, and had devotions. Three of our preacher boys took turns bringing the devotions and did an excellent job.

After devotions, the kids gathered around for prayer, asking God to open their hearts and fill them up during the meetings.

We celebrated Caleb's birthday. He and his family just moved back here from Alabama just in time to go to the meeting. His birthday was Thursday, so his mom had a giant birthday cookie to enjoy.

After the birthday celebration they were given free time again. A couple of the kids sat at a table testifying to one another. Then a few more came around and joined in. And then a few more, until almost all of them were crying and testifying. It was a beautiful time and I was so proud of them. Dana and I were watching from a distance and had some private, one on one chats later with a couple of them. It was such a blessing.

The Friday morning service went until around 11:45 and we were dismissed. We had lunch at a mall where the kids could choose what they wanted, then back to the hotel for free time and naps, and back to evening services which let out around midnight. We were EXHAUSTED Saturday morning. But they were all up, packed, and had the bus loaded by 8:30 am. Services started at 10:00 and we left after lunch on the grounds to come back home. We had a scary moment on the bus when we found out there were storms ahead of us. We did go through hail, but the Lord helped Brother Chris get us through it! We heard Eleven preachers in that short amount of time we were there and it was worth every single minute! We heard some of the best sermons up there! So here's some pics from the services.

People praying before services began....

Brother Spears, Brother Thomas, and Brother Hutson laughing at Pastor Goodman while he was preaching on being "cool." It was hilarious.

There was a lot of praising the Lord!!

We also heard some fantastic singing while we were there, from the choir and other groups.

I was thrilled to find out the Simpson family was going to be there. We heard preaching from Brother Simpson and got to hear their family sing several songs.

The music was really good, but the preaching was the best part! I didn't get all the preacher's pictures, but here are a few of the ones we heard. And did I mention the sermons were really good!??!

Of IFB Churches and Birthdays

I only saw a portion of ABC's 20/20 episode on IFB churches. The portion I saw was about one church and a girl that had a pitiful story to tell. Not sure what the rest of the episode was about. But I found stupidity in the episode that they would link all IFB churches together with this one church, as some tyrannical cult. Can you say liberal media? IFB churches claim fundamentalism, meaning we stand on the fundamentals of the Bible. The "I" in IFB simply put is for Independent. Basically, that means we are not governed under sects, conventions, or committees. We are each our own. Just because a church claims to be IFB, doesn't mean we are all alike or do things like that one church. If the story I saw on 20/20's Saturday episode is true, they should have featured that church and that pastor all on their own instead of linking all IFB churches together like that. It was ridiculous. What a crock! And that's all I have to say about that. Except this...Someone had mentioned in Sunday School that a portion of the episode criticized us for believing the entirety of the Bible. I sure do believe that. But not because I am IFB. It is because I am a CHRISTIAN and believe the HOLY BIBLE is God's WORD! The Bible is true from beginning to end. Some will accept portions of it and some will accept all of it. That's up to the reader. There will come a day when everyone will realize that the King James Bible is the Holy, WORD of God. It is not man written. It is God-breathed, AMEN! And for those of us who are living right, doing right, and trying to live for the Lord, we don't have to like what is being said or done against us, but we can rejoice in knowing that God is on our side. Matthew 5: 10-13 "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On a more pleasant note, it is Harrison's birthday today. YAY! He is now eleven. Harrison is a great kid with a hilarious sense of humor. He keeps us in stitches sometimes. He is growing in the Lord and I am amazed at some of the things he says and some of the discernment he has in certain areas of right and wrong. I'm proud of him and the young man he has become so far. We will celebrate tonight by having the grandmothers over. He wanted tacos, Spanish rice, and chocolate cake. So I have to get busy on all of that soon. Happy Birthday, Harrison! I sure do love you a whole lot. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We had a great time in Murfreesboro, Tennessee this past weekend at Brother Tony Hutson's church. I'll have a blog post and some pictures to share with you about that trip soon.

Of Revivals and French Press On Nails

We took the teen choir to Brother Boone's church Tuesday night. Man, was it good! First of all, the kids did a fantastic job singing. It was like 200 kids were in the choir. I was so proud of all of them. The visiting evangelist was Brother Sam Delaney. He's preaches in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but he's originally from Ireland. Loved his accent! He preached on the three little pigs of Christianity. The Phifer Pig, the Fiddler Pig, and the Practical Pig. It was something else. I'd love to have that on DVD or CD. I got some pictures of the kids singing and I might post those when I have more time. After the service, Pastor had us drive the kids to Dairy Queen for some ice cream and fellowship. It was fun. Brother Mark had us rolling with some of his jokes and "Su Wong" was requested. So I did "Su" for some of the employees at DQ who got a crack up out of her. I have never gone to have my nails done. Can you believe that? I think I'm probably the only woman I know that hasn't. LOL But Mander bought some press on French nails and I thought they looked great so I decided to get me some too. I put them on last night and I have to say I don't like how they feel. It's so unnatural. They're pretty. They just don't feel right. I guess it'll take some getting use to because they're not popping off anytime soon, I'm afraid. I did exactly what the directions said to do and these things are GLUED ON! So like 'em or not, they're there. 'Bout the time I get use to them they'll start cracking and popping off. lol It's about 6:30am right now. The birds are just-a-singing outside. So sweet. Can you imagine how God would feel if we all woke up like that each morning? Psalm 98:1 "O sing unto the LORD, a new song, for he hath done marvellous things: His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him the victory." I'm excited about this weekend. I'll fill you in more on that later. But yay, yay, yay!! It's gonna be a great weekend!!!

Staying Public

We've had some steller services at Faith. Another person was saved in the morning service Sunday and it was wonderful. If it makes us this happy when someone gets saved, can you imagine what goes on in Heaven? The response to my April Fool's post was great. Y'all are good sports. I did have someone at church tell me they were near tears and when they got to the bottom they wanted to kill me. I'm sorry, Mrs. Carolyn. You know I love you. :) If I EVER have a bad day like the one in that post, I doubt I'll blog about it. Just sayin'.... I've also received some very kind comments and responses to Thimble Thoughts going private. After some pretty good reasons as to why I shouldn't go private I've decided to keep it public. To be honest, there are people in my personal life I really do not wish having access to my blog. Not to mention annonymous comments that are either, not very nice, or people trying to cause trouble. And then there are websites that like to critique blogs like mine. Blogs where people like to talk about all the "wacky" things IFB people do and say and how they live. And their response to *us* becoming upset over that fact is that, what we're putting on the Internet is out there for anyone to read so we shouldn't get upset when they talk about *us.* And you know what? They're right. We shouldn't. I mean...we're out there. It's up to us how much people know about us, our families, and our beliefs. So if we put it out there, why should we be upset when people talk about *us.* People will always find something to talk about. And if you hand it to them, you can't very well get upset. If you don't like it you have to take steps to change what information you give them or just learn to ignore it. When you're living for the Lord there will always be *that* crowd out there that doesn't understand. That's Bible for ya. There are Pharisees that will claim Christianity and yet they will do everything BUT live for Christ or they'll strive to do things to impress the people that do everything BUT live for Christ. It is easier to go with the flow of the world than it is to die to self and live for Christ. See, that's Bible too. The spirit is willing...but the flesh is weak. I recently found out about this site and while I was reading, I literally became obsessed with what was being said. I found what was being said about me. It wasn't too, too bad. Much nicer, I suppose, than what was being said about my other IFB bloggy friends. One person really surprised me, though. They claimed they knew me and said some very untrue things. And I have to admit that the people that brought Thimble Thoughts to *said site* in the first place started taking up for me. I mean one guy nailed it to the wall with something they said and that person, as far as I know, never came back to rebuttle. It was great. I'm sorry, that's my flesh speaking. Several things I read made me want to join and *GIVE THEM A PIECE OF MY MIND* for some of the things they were saying about my friends. Friends I know in real life and friends I know through blogging. But then I got to thinking...what good would it do? They feed their need to talk about *us* through angry fundamentalists. I was sharing something the Lord showed me to some of these bloggy friends that have been "eaten" up on this site and had read these things already themselves. For one thing I hoped to encourage them. And for another, the Lord showed me that *we* don't have to worry about them. HE will worry about them for *us.* Here's what I shared with my friends:

"2 John 1:8 says, "Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward." When you're dealing with the Internet, it is very easy to lose sight of those things we, as Christians, believe in and stand for. Not that it makes us weak, but some of the things out there don't exactly give us spiritual strength. *said site* being one of those places. If anything, I find my flesh becoming quite weak there. So it was good I disconnected myself from their site and plunged further into the Word and Christian blogs that uplifted, encouraged, and fed my spiritual needs. And I know that we are to be in the world and not of the world, but there's no reason for me to be on *said site*. I don't have to be there and I don't believe God wants me there either. It's kind of like walking into a bar to witness to the patrons, if that makes sense. Then reading over more of 2 John, verse ten popped out and reaffirmed that *said site* and all those other places like that aren't just bad, but they are a SIN to go to as well. LOL I know what you're thinking. A sin? Really? Yeah, a sin. Verse 10 says, "If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him NOT into your house, neither bid him God speed." Now, on that particular site you have Mormons, JWs, Catholics, athiests, agnostics, people that claim Christianity and just want to sow discord and such. And everytime I go to that site, I'm inviting them into my house!! And it is clear we are not to do that. But that's what I've been doing. And I had to ask forgiveness and ask the Lord to help my nosy-self stay off that stupid site."

If they come here to Thimble Thoughts, they are inviting me into their home, or wherever it is they may be at the time. If they want to read what I have to say, so be it. But just like I don't have to go to their website, they don't have to come to my blog. And they don't have to like what is said on my blog, just like I don't have to like what is said on their website. :) Now, do I have something against Mormons, JWs, Catholics, athiests, agnostics, people that claim Christianity and just want to sow discord and such? Not personally, no. How can I? I once walked in the same darkness they walk in today. I Corinthians 6:9a, 6:11 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?.... And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Hey, these people need prayer. These people truly need Jesus. I certainly can not speak for all of them, but I can tell you now, that *said site* has some bitter Christians and professed unbelievers on it that *we* are not to have fellowship with. The Bible does warn us of having fellowship with those that are not like minded and preach not the gospel *we* preach. I can be friendly to them. I just can't be FRIENDS with them. To you that have come here and are members of *said site* you are always welcome to be here, where the cause of Christ, the name of Christ, and the love of Christ will be high and lifted up and you will always be treated with mutual respect. To Sisters that have been mocked, abused, cursed, and hated by *said site* I want to encourage you to stay away from *said site*. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 says, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

May I PLEASE Start This Day Over????

I sure wish I could turn the clock back a few hours and start this whole day over!!! It's only a little after 1:00 and I'm really wishing the day was completely over. It started with me waking up to Bruce coming in from work. In the wee hours of the morning Wednesday, he was at work when he gashed his arm open needing ten stitches. He's fine. But let me tell ya, it's gross. I couldn't be a nurse to save my life. Anyway, he comes in this morning from work and told me he had pulled his stitches out. Apparently his work glove was the culprit and his supervisor ended up taking him back to the hospital for restitching. Nice, huh? I got up shortly after making sure he was all right. He was. So I went to check on Harrison. Harrison was running a fever last night with sore throat, coughing, and sinus congestion. He was not feeling well at all. And this morning his fever had spiked to 103.5 and climbing. So of course I gave him Tylenol, along with his Robitussin medicine. After he takes it he tells me Bruce had already given him a dose of each before he went to bed. So within a matter of an hour he had two Tylenol and four tsps of Robitussin. Next thing I know he's sleeping heavily on the couch. I was a little worried about him, but he seems to be doing all right. Just sleeping it off, I guess. Hannah told mom she'd clean her house today so I took her over there. Mom's been out of town so needless to say I was shocked to find her door wide open and alarm going off. I called the police and they were on their way. Apparently I got there just when it happened. I saw someone running across her back yard and jump in a truck on the side road. They sped out of there but I called the police again to tell them know what happened. One police went their direction and another stopped in to check things out and take a report. I was afraid to leave Hannah there by herself but figured if the cops were hot on their trail, she should be all right. Plus she knows how to use mom's gun if she needs to and the officer said he would come by a few times today. I called to check on Harry. He was fine. Justin said he was still sleeping but ok. I told Justin not to leave him alone and to check on him periodically to make sure he was all right. Then I just sat in the car trying to regroup my thoughts. When I was finally ready to move on with the day I started backing out of the driveway. I saw Hannah waving to me on the front porch and I waved back. Next thing I know I've hit something. What was it you ask? Remember that police car that was hot on the thief's trail? Yeah....he stopped at mom's to let me know they caught the guy. I didn't see him pulling in the drive when I was backing up. I HIT THE COP CAR! I thought for sure I was going to jail. He was really nice about everything, but of course had to fill out ANOTHER report. By now I'm in tears. I just wanted to crawl in a hole and give up. And what was my husband going to say about the tail light on our car? Oh, and Hannah wasn't waving goodbye. She was trying to tell me about the cop car. Now that all of this was over I wasn't sure if I wanted to go grocery shopping or just go home and crawl back in bed. But onward and forward I went. As I'm on one side of the highway I see, on the other side of the highway, a truck pulled to the side of the road that looks just like Justin's truck. But no, I told him not to leave Harrison so that couldn't be him. I decided to stop at the house and check on Harry and sure enough....Justin's truck is gone. There was a note on the table saying Harrison was fine and that he had some errands to run before work. Harrison WAS fine, but now what about Justin. So I hop back into the car and head up the highway again. There was his truck, but he was no where in sight. I traveled on up to the next exit and found him walking toward the gas station. He had run out of gas. So we ended up having to buy a gas can and gas to fill his truck enough to get it to the gas station. Everything was fine. So after we were finished with his truck and he was on his way I went to the store. Now, this is where I'm near a total breakdown. Everything is going great in the store...that is until I pick up a jar of salsa and knock another jar off with my arm. It shatters and splatters all over the place. And now I have salsa all over my canvas tennis shoes. LOVELY! I get someone to help me and they insist on cleaning it up but I can tell they're a little miffed. Wouldn't you be? I finish my grocery shopping and head to the register. I pull out my coupons and don't you know that eleven out of seventeen coupons had expired??? *blush* I just know she thought I was trying to pull one over on her. After hearing my total I go to write a check and guess what? The checkbook is in Bruce's bill drawer at home. Are you kidding me????? Oh yeah. So I decide to put it on the credit card. Uhhhh....that ain't happenin' either. I used the credit card yesterday online and left it sitting on my table next to the computer. So I threw my hands up in the air and walked out of the store, crying all the way to the car. I sat in the parking lot for about twenty minutes sobbing. And this is where it gets comical. Everything, except Bruce getting stitches Monday and Harrison being sick last night has been a total fabrication in honor of April Fool's Day. I've actually had a great day and you've just been had! :)