Blessed

Helllloooooo!!

2009-08-24T12:01:00.003-05:00

It has been so long since I have posted or even read much on here. Oh how I have missed my daily encouragement. This past month there have been many things that have happened in the Blessed household! Lots of beginnings, lots of ends, and many tears both of joy and sadness. I will as the days go by fill in all of the blanks. There have been times that I have been so overwhelmed that I didn't even know where to start...so I just didn't. I have realized that God places everything in my life for a reason...whether it good or bad HE is here for me and my family and we are stronger because of HIM!

Today I just really wanted to say Hi! I am back and looking so forward to once again blogging of daily life in the Blessed household!

I spent a lot of time this morning catching up...Oh what a BLESSING you all are!!!

(Right here I had a little music to help you start your Monday! His Grace is Enough!!!! Praise God! ) Well I could not get it to show up. (If you know song...sing to self!! lol!) If you look at the rest of the blog...all of my music is gone...not sure why. If you know leave me a note! Have a blessed day!

HIS GRACE IS ENOUGH!

God is so Good!

In God We Still Trust!

2009-07-03T11:21:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend filled with good family time, a time of praising God thanking Him for our wonderful country, and last but definitely not least thank a military man or woman today for keeping us free!

God is so Good!

It Felt Like Mothers Day!

2009-06-23T15:41:00.005-05:00

Well this past week was busy and as you can see from the previous post a little stressful. I was so looking forward to the weekend and some good ole' family time. It was Fathers Day weekend and that day is always special at our house but this year it felt almost like Mothers Day. Kenny, Alycia and Kacey were asked to sing on Sunday. They got to pick their song and I was so pleased when they picked a hymn that has always been one of my favorites. I don't know about you all but I really like praise music but sometimes a old timey hymn just hits the spot.

The picture is fuzzy because I took it with my phone. Kacey didn't want me to make a big deal about it. Well I cried...it was a big deal to me...my babies with their daddy singing in church. Best gift I ever got for fathers day! LOL!!!! I think Kenny felt the same way! Oh! I forgot to tell you what they sang...Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.

O soul, are you weary and troubled?

No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free!

Refrain:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting He passed,

and we follow Him there;

O’er us sin no more hath dominion—

For more than conquerors we are!

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;

Believe Him, and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying,

His perfect salvation to tell!

I had said that I had a pretty stressful week last week...Well...these words just made me feel so much better. Turn your eyes upon Jesus...Look full in His wonderful face! Have a wonderful week!

God is so Good!!!!! All the time!!!!

His Arms are Around Us!

2009-06-17T08:45:00.002-05:00

Have you ever felt like this????? Well if you have...this morning I read some verses that have helped me...and maybe it will help you also.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." - Zephaniah 3:17

I can just picture the Lord rocking me in his arms and comforting me. He is telling me don't be scared or stressed because He is here. Just like when our children are young and we sing to them for comfort or to calm them after a long day. We can climb into His wonderful big lap and he will comfort us. He sings over us!

God is so Good!

Love

2009-06-16T09:44:00.005-05:00

It all boils down to LOVE! I have said and have heard people say "I don't understand why they don't believe in God?" Sometimes we get a little to big for our britches...we expect for others just to do it and we don't take the time to love them to the Lord. I see a generation of young people coming up that feel that they are not loved. They know the facts but they are not feeling the love from us. They see us teaching one thing and doing another thing. We are so consumed with getting them saved that we forget the love that God has given us and how we are suppose to show that same love to others around us.

I know what I am talking about... So!

I have been to church since I was born so I know... So!

I have read the Bible more than once... So!

I teach Bible School every year... So!

I went to school for 4 years for this... So!

I am a Sunday School teacher... So!

All these things sound good but what I know and what you know is not going to help without us showing how God has changed our hearts. Sometimes I feel we are a little arrogant with what we know and folks just don't want to be like us...this is sad and a little scary.

Mowing a yard, washing a car, taking someone groceries, sweeping a sidewalk, helping someone carry their groceries out, calling a neighbor that lives alone, holding a door, giving a stranger a dollar without question and smiling at some one just because. That is planting a seed that you may never see grow but somewhere down the line that seed that you and others have planted with flourish. Do something kind today...make someone think, "What is different about that person?" make someone think, "Why is that person so happy?"

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Go out today and let GODS LOVE shine through you!!!

God is so Good!

Praising Jesus in my PJ's

2009-06-05T07:15:00.001-05:00

Well it has been a while since I have been on here and I have truly missed it. It has been a busy couple of weeks. This morning I was relaxing, doing bible study and listening to music. I was praising Jesus in my pj's and this video came up on my computer. Oh, how I needed this song this morning. I love to see youth singing and praising Jesus! If you have ever been to a youth camp you know this feeling! Take a moment to play this, raise your hands and praise God this morning!

God is so Good!

God Bless You...

2009-05-24T23:56:00.003-05:00

Today I want to say "Thank you" to all of the Veterans that have given selflessly so that we can live in a free country.

So today before you go out to the family reunion, neighborhood bar-b-ques or pool party say a special "Prayer and Thank You" to those that have lost a family member protecting our nation and another "Prayer and Thank You" for the military that are out there this very minute protecting us and keeping us free. God Bless all of the men and women that are serving this great country.

I would also like to say a special "Thank You" to my dad. He served in the Army for 22 years.

God is so Good!

Forgiveness

2009-05-19T00:01:00.004-05:00

Forgiveness...A big word that is sometimes difficult to swallow. It is a word that you have to take yourSELF out of and look at what God would want you to do in the situation. I, I, I, ME, ME, ME! I and me...I have found are two words that get in the way of us giving forgiveness. I find myself saying, "I will forgive them if..." if what? If I feel the person worthy of my forgiveness.... In Matthew 18:21-22, it says, Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No!” Jesus replied, “seventy times seven!”

One of the benefits of forgiveness is that it restores Christian fellowship. In 2 Corinthians 2:7-8 it says, "Now it is time to forgive him and comfort him. Otherwise he may become so discouraged that he won’t be able to recover. Now show him that you still love him."

It is also a spiritual cleansing in James 5:13-16 it says, "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

Until we forgive or ask for forgiveness, we are the prisoner of the person who has offended us or the person we have offended. We tend to put a price on forgiveness and "Who am I?" to put a price on forgiveness when Jesus paid it all and all to Him I owe!

God is so Good!

Pa John

2009-05-18T21:20:00.005-05:00

Eight years ago today Kenny's dad passed away. When I came across this song tonight I could hear Pa John singing. I could hear the way he would sing, "dew on the roses." He used to sing this in church. Praise God Pa John is walking with Jesus as we speak. Pause my music and listen to this beautiful song.

God is so Good!

2009-05-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

My motivation this morning is fueled by some selfishness. It seems like the older I get the quicker the years go by and the closer my children come to becoming adults. This time of year is always hard...not hard for the seniors but hard for the parents that are seeing their babies move on to the next stage of their life. I have also realized through the years that it is not the little things that I need to stress about...I need to keep the main things "The Main Things" here also.

Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6

We have realized that we must be diligent in the training of our children. We must prepare and equip them with the knowledge that they will need to face this world on their own. They must feel comfortable going into the next stage of their lives knowing that what they have been taught is "Truth" not just history. They are equipped with their sword (the Bible) and it can guide them through anything.

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word,” - Psalm 119:9

“Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but the woman who fears the Lord shall be praised” Proverbs - 31:30

Have a blessed week!

God is so Good!

Quick Update

2009-05-17T01:04:00.002-05:00

Granny Jan got her test results for the arteriogram and they were wonderful...NO BLOCKAGES!! Woo Hoo Praise God! She went back to her regular doctor Friday and they now know what is causing her shortness of breath. She was diagnosed with C.O.P.D.. It is at a stage that is manageable so this is a blessing.

My dad had to put off his test until this coming Wednesday. I want to thank you all for praying. I have felt God through all of this. Have a great rest of your weekend!

God is so Good!

Amazing How God Works

2009-05-13T02:10:00.000-05:00

God knew that I needed to be kept busy last night and boy was I ever busy and very occupied. The white screen is due to me getting the wild idea to change my lay out when I was tired and stressed. Note to self...don't try this again. lol! During this process at one time I had lost my whole blog...couldn't find any of it...needless to say I was upset. Not that I think my writings are so great but because this blog has been my diary over the past year and I knew that I could never replace all that was here. I also could not replace the bible verses that went along with my posts. The bible verses really broke my heart. They tell a story also of where I was when I started and where I am now.

I guess it was about two hours into this nightmare when all of a sudden I found my bible verses. There they were...I started trying to print them but for some reason I could not get them to print. I grabbed a pen and some typing paper and started writing. I wrote the date and the verse next to it. As I was jotting this down I would read the whole verse on my computer and before long I was calm. God had taken something that I was so upset about and calmed my storm. I had been really stressed about Jan and her arteriogram and also my dad. He is going tomorrow for some test on some places that they think is skin cancer. By the time I had wrote the last verse God had told me no matter what He is here to see us through. Wow!

Not long after I finished writing I found the rest of my blog. All of a sudden it was just there!
Remember the Doctors today as they are doing there procedures not only on Jan and dad but every one that is going through a scary time.

God is so Good all the time!

Prayer Request

2009-05-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

Calling all of you wonderful Prayer Warriors. I would like to ask for you to pray for Kenny's mom Jan. She is going to be having an arteriogram tomorrow morning at 6:30. She has been having a few problems (that we just found out about) that concerns her and her Doctor. She didn't want to tell us about anything that was going on because Kenny's dad died of a heart attack in 2001. She didn't want to worry us...Please pray for Granny Jan and her doctors tomorrow during this procedure.

Alycia, Granny Jan, Shelby and Kacey at Thanksgiving.

God is so Good!

Churchgoer vs. Christian

2009-05-12T00:01:00.006-05:00

This at first seemed very funny to me but at one point in my life I was one of those folks that liked my pew. One Sunday I went up to Kenny and said, "We are going to sit somewhere new every Sunday." My kids thought I was crazy and they were a little uncomfortable at first but you would be surprised at the new people you talk to every week. We have got to get out of that cookie cutter christian look and look like our community. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

God is so Good!

2009-05-11T18:08:00.000-05:00

The past two Sunday's have been amazing. Bro. Joe has been leading us in a study through the book of Acts. I have found that I love studying line by line through the books of the Bible. The title of this study is "ORGANIC CHURCH A Study Though Acts." Bro. Joe has given us a list of non-negotiables and I thought I would share them with you. If you get a chance go by and listen at Providence Baptist Fellowship.

Non-Negotiables of an Organic Church

Trust God's Plan for the Church

Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

Have God's Heart for the Nations

Point People to Jesus

Preach the Word

Evangelize Neighbors and Nations

Be Devoted to Teaching

Live in True Fellowship

Be Marked by Joy

Be a Worshipping Church

The Fellowship of the Believers (the first Church) 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. - Acts 2:42-47

Wow! What a powerful group of verses.

God is so Good!

National Day of Prayer

2009-05-07T00:01:00.009-05:00

Lord Hear Our Cry...

Heal Our Land

Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. - Psalm 54:2

"One of the great strengths of the United States is...We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or Jewish nation, or Muslim nation, we consider ourselves a nation of citizens" - Barack Obama

The Continental Congress issued a day of prayer in 1775 to designate "a time for prayer in forming a new nation"

There had been several national days of prayer in the U.S. before the day was made official in 1952. On April 17, 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed a bill proclaiming a National Day of Prayer must be declared by each following president at an appropriate date of his choice. In 1982 a National Prayer Committee formed to coordinate and implement a fixed commemorated day of prayer. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan amended the law decreeing that the National Day of Prayer should be held on the first Thursday of May. Since 1952 there has been a public proclamation signed at the White House until today. President Obama has decided to sign the proclamation but in a private.

Yes, of course this is disappointing to me but...and this is a big but...Do we actually need the President to declare a day of prayer for us to pray? No! I can pray anywhere I want anytime I want. God is here with us all the time. From praying in school to praying in my car going down the road doing 70. No one especially the President can take that away from me.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. - Psalm 28:7

God Bless America, Land that I love. Stand beside her and guide her, thru the night with a light from above - God Bless America

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. - James 5:16

That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. - Gettysburg Address

"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14

"It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,'but you are making it a 'den of robbers.' " - Matthew 21:13

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." (In 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God,")

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." - Matthew 21:22

"Let our hearts be stout, to wait out the travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be. And Oh Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee;" - President Franklin Roosevelt asked the nation to unite in prayer as we stormed the shores of Normandy.

"In God We Trust" - on our currency

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. - Colossians 4:2

pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

Join me and many others today in prayer for our country.

If you are in the Nolensville, TN area come by our church office at noon for prayer. After today remember that you do not need a proclamation to talk to the Lord. He is where you are at and ready to listen.

God is so good and HE IS STILL IN CONTROL!

God is so Good!

Church or Club?

2009-05-06T00:52:00.002-05:00

Real short and worth the viewing.
Have a BLESSED day!

God is so Good!

Armor of God

2009-05-05T00:01:00.002-05:00

I have been trying to figure out how to say this for about a month now...I have struggled, typed, pondered, struggled, then typed some more...I could never get the words to come out the way I wanted them to be heard. I have become afraid to state my true feelings. The feelings that I have felt so free to express since the beginning of this blog. This blog has been a blessing from God to me. I have found some of the most amazing Godly women here in blogging world. I have gotten to know them through daily bible verses, family pictures, church stories, stories of sadness, church pictures, stories of joy, daily bible studies and just plain ole' stories of life. I have also come face to face with some criticism that has made me look at myself. I am thanking God for this also.

As you know I have had PBF and THBC on my heart and in my prayers a lot here lately. I was reminded by anonymous that I was obsessed...and maybe I am. I feel a unbelievable desire for healing. Healing of families, healing of friends, healing of feelings and healing of a church family that has now become two but is still on the same side. I love all of these people, they have been my family for a big part of my life.

I listened to Bro. Johns sermon twice today and I want to leave you with something that he said that all of us need to remember, "Our battle is not against flesh and blood it is against the devil."

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. - Ephesians 6:10-18

We need to put on our armor of God and stop fighting amongst each other. Who do you think wins when we are fighting? We are all on the same side and both churches can do amazing things in our community if we will focus on "Keeping the Main Thing, THE MAIN THING!"

God is so Good!

The stone in my pocket...

2009-04-29T19:52:00.001-05:00

Today I would like to share John 8:1-11. I am sure you have all heard this story before. I had heard it many times but until Beth Moore handed out stones to all of the women in the video we were watching did I really feel the emotions in this passage. As you read these verses today imagine Jesus handing you a rock...

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11 "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." - John 8:1-11

This was the last day of our bible study. We have been studying "When Godly People Do Ungodly Things." A very powerful and eye opening study. One of those studies that you think will have nothing to do with you...and then all of a sudden you realize it is all about you.

Before we cast stones make sure we are without sin. If we would do this there would be a lot less stones thrown. I think that we all need a rock to carry with us daily to help remind us to think before we open our mouths.

God is so Good!

Praising Jesus in my PJ's

2009-04-28T08:02:00.003-05:00

Can you imagine the first time we see Jesus...Some times I think about this and it is about all I can do to keep from crying. Sunday at lunch we were talking and Jan, Kenny's mom, told something that touched me and I wanted to share. Sunday was a special day for one man in our church. He was commissioned into the mission field. This man is an amazing christian. You can see the Lord bubbling out of him. He has a passion to get Gods word out there not only for me and you but for people that are blind. Bro. Charles is blind himself. In Sunday Morning Bible Study he said, "The first thing I will ever see is Jesus!" Wow! One day we will all see His Glory!

**Go to the bottom and turn off my music.** Enjoy!

God is so Good!

Keep the Main Thing, The Main Thing

2009-04-26T00:01:00.002-05:00

My motivation this week came from Bro. Joe's message Sunday morning. Wow, wow, triple wow...I at one point let out a wooo hooo! and Kacey gave me the look and an elbow...from now on I will use just a hearty Amen! lol!!! Kinda forgot where I was at...Bro. Joe was on fire! I love that feeling! When I am taking notes and just soaking in every single word and I am in my own little world with the Lord!!! Wooo Hooo! Oh sorry...Amen!

We started our series today on Acts. The verses we covered were Acts 1:1-11. Bro. Joe stressed for us to "Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing!"

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” - Acts 1:8

We should be a witness for Jesus everywhere and in everything that we do. This includes everything that comes out of our mouth. What we love and value we talk about. We talk about our kids, our husbands, our jobs, sports, fashion,food....Would your friends, family and co-workers know how much you love the Lord by what comes out of your mouth? I will be honest this is something that I have to work on...my mouth can get me in trouble.

Another thing that keeps coming up is how we want to be out in the community. Bro. Joe said something that is catchy and I have wrote this just about everywhere so it will stay on my mind. He said, "Come and see...NO! Go and BE!"

Have a great week! Go and BE a witness for the Lord this week!

God is so Good!

Peace Signs & BBQ

2009-04-25T00:02:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago I posted about our day at the Buttercup Festival. I couldn't figure out where some of my pictures were and low and behold today I found them on my phone. I don't remember taking them with my phone but I'm glad I found them.

I took a picture of Kacey's dream car. A yellow VW Bug...not sure why yellow but whatever floats her boat. She is just 12 so she will probably grow out of this. While we were car watching by our booth she said, "hey mom...look at that peace sign on that car...I want one of those on my bug." I turned to look at the peace sign and it was connected to a Mercedes...we laughed! Maybe I will bling her bug out for her and add a Mercedes emblem to it.

We had planned on eating BBQ at the festival but they sold out. I really wanted BBQ...and it hit me...a couple days before I had been told about a BBQ joint up the road. When I say joint you have to take into consideration that at this place you can get some wonderful BBQ and also get your oil changed at the same time. I am not kidding...the garage is around back underneath the restaurant. I want you to know I think it was some of the best food I have ever eaten. Kenny had a fried bologna sandwich and I had the famous Redneck Taco. I made the joke that it was so good that I slapped Kenny...I didn't but it was that good.

Martin's BBQ

This fried bologna sandwich was more like a burger.

The Red Neck Taco has pork BBQ, sauce, coleslaw on top of a cornmeal pancake. Mmmm, Mmmm Good!

God is so Good!

We all have a gift...

2009-04-24T11:01:00.003-05:00

7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have - 1Corinthians 12:7-11 (NLT)

We all are given a spiritual gift. It may not just appear to us out of the blue. My husband said something in Sunday Morning Bible Study this past week that just slapped me in the face. (Not really but sometimes I have to have cold water thrown on me to get it) He said, "If you are not sure what your gift is...Ask?" Talk to God and find out what it is...It is so easy and we make it so hard.

Have a great weekend!

God is so Good!

Sara Mae's Story...

2009-04-23T07:11:00.000-05:00

I have been reading a series of blogs over on Like a warm cup of coffee...and yesterday Sara Mae told her story...my, oh my, did my heart break for her but I also rejoiced in our Lord during her story. He can clean you and make you whole and new again!! Amen! What a testimony! She is finishing up today so stop by...

We (my church family) are working with a Pregnancy Center in our community. We hear stories of young girls every week that are pregnant and have no where to turn. We are praying specifically right now for a young girl that has no family support and no where to turn. She feels unloved and ashamed but has decided to keep her baby. Please join me in prayer for her and many more that are struggling with the decision of keeping a child today.

God is so Good!

Blessed to get the question...

2009-04-22T13:59:00.001-05:00

I am sure by now you have heard the story about Miss California and her statement about gay marriage. Carrie Prejean stated in the question and answer part of the pageant that she did not believe in gay marriage. This was a statement that I did not expect from Miss California but the statements that surprised me even more were the statements she made yesterday on the Neil Cavuto show on Fox. Wow! What a grounded young lady.

God is so Good!

You never know what you have planted...

2009-04-22T06:53:00.001-05:00

We watched a video a couple of weeks ago in Youth and then this video was brought up again in Sunday Morning Bible Study. I thought I would share it with all of you. At first I was uncomfortable watching Penn...but then I realized that Penn was not sure about his beliefs. He didn't say it out loud but the seeds were planted in his thoughts.

Seeds planted...questions planted...beliefs questioned...

God is so Good!

The Church Has Left the Building

2009-04-21T00:20:00.003-05:00

I know this is a weird title for a blog but when I saw these words on a t-shirt yesterday it made me smile. This is what we have been talking about at PBF. We don't want to be an "IN" church we want to be "OUT" in the community. We don't want to go in and shut the doors to the outside world...We want to look like and be in the world. I don't think I have ever been so excited. We don't want for everyone to have to come into our four walls, we want to have services in the park, volunteer for community activities and be out there meeting our church family where their needs are. This is a new concept for me. It is not about me and what I can get or do at the church it is about what me and you can do for the community. Love, love, love it!

Make a Smilebox postcard

God is so Good!

Proverbs 31:10

2009-04-20T07:36:00.006-05:00

This past Saturday I was motivated to be a godly woman at our Biblical Womanhood Seminar. I am sure that most of the stuff discussed I had heard before but I don't think it ever touched me like it did on Saturday. Both of my daughters were there and I think it impacted them also. Another thing that touched my heart Saturday was the fact that Amanda, Sara and Raluca (Our Pastors wives) want to help us bring up godly women.

10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. - Proverbs 31:10-12

One of the things we learned was that our marriage reflects the relationship of Christ and the Church. Our Husbands should be top priority. The best way to be an excellent mom is to be an excellent wife. The way we show love and respect for our husbands will make the greatest impact on our children.

You can teach your children many things but how you live your life will make the greatest impact.

Sara, Raluca, and Amanda

God is so Good!

2009-04-18T06:01:00.000-05:00

This is a little long but well worth the message. If you don't have time today go sometime this week to godtube and check it out. Have a blessed Saturday!

God is so Good!

If your nose is froze say Amen. AMEN!

2009-04-17T07:26:00.000-05:00

Say the title with a rapper beat! lol! It was so cold Wednesday night! We came prepared with sweat shirts, jackets, ear muffs, gloves and blankets. The only thing we were missing was some hot chocolate. Some of Granny Jan's hot chocolate would of hit the spot. Jan you better take note of that because if it is this cold next week I will be expecting it. haha! Yes I'm laughing...but I'm not kidding!

The cold weather didn't keep us from having a wonderful fellowship and then Bible study led by Brother John. Park Time with PBF whether it is freezing cold or warm as toast is a blessing to me each week.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." - Matthew 18:20

A special Welcome Home to Eric! Alycia's smile

says it all.

God is so Good!

Our First Easter!

2009-04-16T07:08:00.009-05:00

This past Sunday was our first Easter at Providence Baptist Fellowship. Oh, how special this day was and yes...I did cry. We started the morning with a fellowship with our family. A lot of good food, conversation, smiles, laughs and warm hugs.

Our Easter Service started with the Choir singing "Were You There" It was beautiful. Wow! did God Bless Us! They showed a video by Sara Evans and Brad Paisley titled "New Again" if you have not seen this check it out on You Tube or you can see it here on my blog. I don't think there was a dry eye in the sanctuary. Our hearts were being prepared for the message Brother John was fixing to bring. His message was wonderful. It was out of 1 Timothy.

14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:

He appeared in a body,

was vindicated by the Spirit,

was seen by angels,

was preached among the nations,

was believed on in the world,

was taken up in glory.
1 Timothy 3:14-16

Make a Smilebox slideshow

God is so Good!

My Girls

2009-04-14T06:01:00.001-05:00

Sunday was such a blessing. We had good food, good fellowship, amazing worship and some good pictures. I thought I would share a picture of my girls this morning. We are heading out so I will come back later this afternoon and share some more pictures of our first Easter at PBF. Alycia and Kacey both approved of this picture. That never happens. You know girls they never think they look good.

Have a blessed day!

God is so Good!

Make Disciples

2009-04-13T09:58:00.000-05:00

Our Easter celebration is over...Well...not over in our hearts but the week we celebrate is over. We should all be rejoicing daily that He Is Risen! Jesus died on the cross to cover our sins so that we may spend eternity in Heaven with Him. Sounds good but if we don't go out and tell everyone we come in contact with about Him so they may also spend eternity with Him we are being selfish. That is were my motivation comes today. Matthew 28:19-20 lays it out plain and simple. Go! I am with you!

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20

We have been commanded to GO and MAKE and how can this happen if we are not out there in our communities. I know that it is hard to bring God into the conversation but sometimes a smile is enough for someone to see God in you. Let's GO and MAKE!

15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” - Romans 10:15

God is so Good!

Easter

2009-04-12T00:01:00.003-05:00

He's Alive!

Matthew 28:1-7 & 16-20

1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Praise God He is Alive!

If you are in the Nashville area and don't have a home church we would love for you to join us this morning for our Easter Service.

Providence Baptist Fellowship

God is so Good!

PBF in the Park!

2009-04-10T22:58:00.007-05:00

God blessed us with an amazing day to kick off Providence Baptist Fellowship in the park. Monday and Tuesday of this week the temperatures were in the 30's and on Thursday it rained but Wednesday it was sunny and in the mid 60's.

Joe and Tom drenched the coals with lighter fluid...

and woosh let there be fire...I don't know it Tom has any hair left on his arms...

Then the guys started cooking.

Brother John seasoning and flipping the burgers.

Patty and Fay did a wonderful job of setting up and keeping the lines moving.

Finishing up and getting ready for Bible Study.

Brother Joe leading us in our Bible Study. It was Great!

I told this crew they were our nursery workers. Pretty cool nursery!

This is where we will be meeting for the rest of the Summer on Wednesday nights. Come by and fellowship with us and take in some Wonderful Bible Study. I promise you, if you come, you will leave feeling blessed.

God is so Good!

"Truly this was the Son of God"

2009-04-10T17:36:00.002-05:00

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" - Matthew 27:50-54

It was probably 12 yrs ago during a passion play that our church was presenting that I became very interested in the centurion that was keeping watch over Jesus as he hung on the cross. I tried to put myself in his shoes and understand his feelings. I am sure he had seen many crucifixions but had he ever seen a man crucified that up until his death was ministering to those who cried out to him. Maybe it was during this time that the centurion began to notice that there was something different about Jesus. Most men cursed and swore but Jesus cried out for God to forgive those who were causing His suffering. Or maybe He noticed the sweet mercy in Jesus’ voice when He spoke to the thief beside Him and promised him he would be in Paradise with him that day. Maybe it was as Jesus said, "It is Finished!"

I will probably never know the answer to my question but I do know that Jesus died on the cross to cover our sins so that we can spend eternity with Him. I feel very humbled to think that God cared enough about us to give His son for you and me.

I hope today you have a "Centurion Moment" and the light bulb comes on and you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

God is so Good!

PRAISE ALERT!!

2009-04-09T08:27:00.000-05:00

I spent yesterday with Tracey Koby's granny. She showed me a bunch of great pictures of him so I thought I would share one with you.

As you can see there is no feeding tube. Praise the Lord! Koby is doing wonderful and everyday he is getting better. Keep praying for Courtney, Koby and the rest of the family. When I look at this little guy I can see God and all of his glory! AMEN!!

God is so Good!

Cleaning and Cooking Out!

2009-04-08T07:06:00.003-05:00

Today is going to be a busy day but I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. First this is the week before Easter. Everyday we have been watching Who was Jesus? A documentary about the early years of Jesus and his parents. I keep thinking about Mary and how broken her heart must of been...Can you imagine your child being on that cross...Thank you God for giving your son for us!

This morning we are going to go and clean the school where we meet for our church services. We will clean everything from the floors to the chairs. This week everything will be set up when we get there. Praise God for spring break and not having to break down last week. Sunday should be a wonderful morning of fellowship. Breakfast at 9 a.m and then praising our living Savior at 10:15 a.m.

After cleaning we will be doing some grocery shopping for our first Wednesday night in the park tonight. We are cooking out and I have been looking forward to this day since last September. Nothing like wonderful Bible study outside. Thank you God for all of the beauty you have given us.

Gotta go...Pictures of our first Owl Creek Park cook out coming soon! Have a great day and if you are not a member of a local church come by and see us tonight.

Providence Baptist Fellowship

God is so Good!

Tuesday Morning Bible Study

2009-04-07T08:27:00.004-05:00

I have been attending a bible study with some ladies from my church on Tuesday mornings. We are doing 'When Godly People Do Ungodly Things.' I have had a hard time motivating myself to do my daily lessons. Life has been getting in the way. I got up early this morning and got caught up for this week. Wow! Is all I can say. We are seduce proofing our lives.

16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. 25 Brothers, pray for us. - 1Thessalonians 5:16-25

We went over the first 5 this week and they all spoke to me.

Be happy in your faith! We should be praising Jesus daily. We have been given the most amazing gift. He gave it all for us!!
Stay away from evil! God has given us the power to stay away from evil by being happy in our faith.
Constant prayer! A constant conversation with God. Always praising His name in everything we see and do. Wow!!!
Give thanks! Give thanks in all situations. Be thankful with whatever God gives us. He provides all our need.
Don't quench the spirit! Don't put out His fire in us or we will be looking elsewhere for help.

These will help us to keep the cracks sealed and seduction from the world out. The verses to me are like a cake recipe. If you leave one of the ingredients out the cake is going to fall. We must be constant in all of them.

God is so Good!

Buttercup Festival

2009-04-07T00:01:00.005-05:00

On Saturday, April 4th, Our Sunday School Class gave out ice cream at the Buttercup Festival in Nolensville. The ice cream was donated to us from Blue Bell Ice Cream and we gave it out for free. I don't think there is anything better than free ice cream. lol! Any donations that we received were donated to the Historic Society in Nolensville. The money will be used to purchase signs for the historic buildings. We worked from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. We passed out an invitation to our Easter Service with each scoop we served. The kids really got into inviting the community to our church. We had so much fun meeting the community. Mine and Kenny's shift was from 11-12 p.m. but we got there early and stayed until it closed. We had the best time going through all of the historic buildings and just enjoying the sunshine. I also got to take some pictures for a new hobby I have taken up. See if you can find the hobby in the collage below. I am not to good at it yet but hope to get more practice on the pretty days to come.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Providence Baptist Fellowship

God is so Good!

New Again...

2009-04-06T09:55:00.001-05:00

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." - John 3:16-21

God is so Good!

Are you a WORRIER?

2009-04-04T08:29:00.004-05:00

This morning I logged into my blog and went to reading some of my favorite blogs. The first one I came to and the last one I read was Walking on Sunshine. Lois puts a scripture up every Saturday. Today verses Matthew 6:25-33 comforted me because I am a worrier. Are you a worrier? This verse lays it out as clear as a freshly cleaned glass table.

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:25-33

Every time I have read this it gives me a since of peace. Why worry... So many times I want to take things into my own hands. I worry that things won't get done the way I feel they need to be taken care of but then I read verses like this and I just want to praise Jesus for providing. I don't need to worry I just need to lay my worries at His feet. God always provides what we need. Amen!!

God is so Good!

Praising Jesus in my PJ's

2009-04-02T08:14:00.000-05:00

This morning I needed something and I was not sure what...did I need praise music or maybe just a hymn. I went through many, many songs. I just couldn't get my fix. I finally landed on some good old country gospel. I listened to Alan Jackson sing Amazing Grace, Standing on the Promises, and one of my favorites that my father in law used to sing In the Garden. I listened to Martina McBride belt out How Great Thou Art and Wow! what a blessing that was this morning. I found some songs by Randy Travis. I listened to Softly and Tenderly, Baptism and Three Wooden Crosses. Then all of a sudden I came across one of my all time favorites. This is not a christian song but it always brings a smile to my face. Kenny sang this song to me on the way to Gatlinburg for our honeymoon. Crazy choice of songs to sing to your new bride. We have laughed about this for years.

This morning I am praising Jesus in my PJ's for giving me an AMAZING husband! This is what I needed this morning, laughter from a song that brought back so many wonderful memories.
Thanks God!!! You are awesome!!!

Have a BLESSED day!

God is so Good!

Spiritual Warfare

2009-04-01T06:26:00.000-05:00

**First posted 3/30/09. Took off due to comment but I feel like this comment was just part of warfare and my struggle.**
OK, the first thing I am going to say is I may get too personal but I just have to lay this out not really for you but for myself and maybe so that satan knows that I have his number. I know what he is doing and I will not give up or step back from what I believe in and what I love..."GOD"

As most of you know I am part of a church that split from a church I had been to for ten years. Most of our members had been to the previous church for 15 or more years. We have started a new church Providence Baptist Fellowship and I feel like we have been put in the cross hairs of "satan". Satan would like nothing better than for us to fold and go away. If we would just say we can't do it. But guess what my GOD is not the author of confusion, but of peace. Satan wants us to be confused to take our focus off of what is important GOD!

I started this post on the 10th of March. I had been struggling and kept telling satan to step back. Stay away from my church, my friends, my family, my community. The harder I try to put "God" FIRST the harder things seem to become. SPIRITUAL WARFARE is real and I can feel GOD wrapping his arms around me and saying, "be strong I AM WITH YOU!"

Through all of the struggles the past several months and especially this past week I will still give all of the Praise to God! I know that everything that has happened as hard as it has been to understand is all for HIS GLORY! AMEN!! I will not let satan steal that from me and most of all steal the GLORY from our Almighty Father.

God is so Good!

2009-03-31T06:53:00.002-05:00

Well I finally plugged myself back in last night and boy oh boy did I get zapped. I posted about "Spiritual Warfare" and once again I got an anonymous response. (Thought I had that blocked...Oh well) The response I got was very personal and explains SPIRITUAL WARFARE to a tee. Satan is trying to do everything he can to take my eyes off GOD.

At first I had let Satan win this morning. I was angry and very sad. Kenny told me to let it go and pray for anonymous. Then all of a sudden I received an amazing comment from Happily Ever After. Gigi said, "There is nothing satan wants to do more than to tear up a God believing church. If satan is working that hard, then something must be going right in the church. God is good and he will always prevail. May God put a hedge around your church, you and all those that are working to lift up the name of Jesus. Blessings." Wow! God is so Good!
He brought Gigi to me this morning to knock down those bad remarks that had been left for me.

My God is not the author of confusion, but of peace...

God is so Good!

~~ I'M UNPLUGGED!! ~~

2009-03-27T08:56:00.005-05:00

I was reading blogs this morning catching up with some reading that I missed this past week and I clicked on A Warm Cup of Coffee and there was my reminder. I am not suppose to be on here. I had made a promise to UNPLUG today. So I am starting a little late but I will do it for twenty four hours from now. If you are giving up other technology things (phones, blackberry's, games, tv,...) today good luck! One of the special things that I would like to do today is spend some extra time in my Bible and with my Lord. Have a BLESSED day!

God is so Good!

Do you know Jesus?

2009-03-26T09:04:00.003-05:00

As I have been reminded this week that life sometimes ends way to short I have also been reminded that our work here is not done. I am praying today that you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. God is so Good and He is just waiting for you to make him first in your life.

God is so Good!

Face to Face with Jesus!

2009-03-25T09:31:00.001-05:00

John 11:25-26
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Thanksgiving 2008

This is last Noland family picture that was taken Thanksgiving 2008. Always a lot of fun and way to much eating. Today is going to be another hard day but with all of the prayers that are being lifted for the family we can feel the arms of God around us. PRAISE THE LORD!!! I do not know what we would do without all of you wonderful PRAYER WARRIORS.

I would also like to tell you that as hard as this is on all of us here we are rejoicing that Jeremy is in Heaven with Jesus. He is there with Pa John (Kenny's dad). Pa John led Jeremy to the Lord when he was 11. It makes me smile to think that they are together praising Jesus. Amen!!

God is so Good!

Joy to Sadness

2009-03-24T04:19:00.000-05:00

Last night I sat down and wrote a blog about Koby and how he was going to be coming home today. I had received a text from his mommy. Courtney was so excited. Little did we know that less than twelve hours later we would be mourning the loss of Koby's daddy. Jeremy died last night in an accident. On a day that was to bring such joy we are struggling. Please pray!

Shelby(Jeremy's sister) Courtney and Jeremy

Courtney and Jeremy

David(Dad), Tracy(Mom), Jeremy and Courtney(Wife)

2009-03-23T20:59:00.001-05:00

Today I have two things that have motivated me. One of them was in Sunday Morning Bible Study. We are studying in Romans 14. Do Not Pass Judgement on One Another. The verse that stuck with me was Romans 14:4-Who are you to pass judgement on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

This should take us all out of out comfort zones! Jesus talked to everyone from the very well to do all the way down to the beggar so why do we think we are any better. I sat in class and cried at all of my missed opportunities over the past years and yes, yes there have been many. But we must remember God forgives...Amen! He is willing to give us another chance and I am going to do my best for Him.

Another thing that motivated me was someone in my youth group. I had not been in youth Sunday morning so as I entered the youth area Sunday evening I noticed three groups of paper on the lockers. One of them really caught my attention. The closer I got to the locker I realized that they were prayer request. There was one for my daughter and her friend for safe travel, one for a lawn business, one for a sick child and the one that made me smile and cry was the one that said "Tusculum Hills" Wow! How touched I was that one of our kids was praying for the church that we had split from last year. My heart nearly busted open. Really shouldn't be proud but sorry I AM!!! God is at work and He is so Good!!!!

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. - Leviticus 19:18

God is so Good!

Praising Jesus in my PJ's and a Koby Update!

2009-03-20T06:15:00.001-05:00

The first day of spring! I looked out my door this morning as Wags was playing I saw so much new life peeping through the ground. I love spring. All of the trees blooming and flowers coming to life. This song was a wonderful way for me to start the new season. As I was standing there looking at everything in my yard Gods presence and handy work was so beautiful. Join me this morning as I praise Jesus in my PJ's.

Many PRAISES to God about Koby this week! Yesterday Granny Jan (my mother-in-law) got to hold Koby for the first time since his surgery. Wow! God is so Good! Keep praying!

God is so Good!

Apple of His Eye

2009-03-18T07:18:00.005-05:00

Our ladies group started a new Bible Study yesterday. When Godly People Do Ungodly Things by Beth Moore. I am very excited not only for the study but for the fellowship. Every time I go to one of these studies I get to know the ladies better and they bless my heart. There is nothing like fellowship with Godly Christian Women.

There is just one thing that I want to say about yesterday's study. I am the apple of His eye! What an amazing statement. No wonder we struggle with the world. The devil is always trying to get in the way of the ones he loves the most. His children.

For this is what the LORD Almighty says: "After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye - Zechariah 2:8

Have a BLESSED day!

God is so Good!

*PRAISE ALERT!

2009-03-17T22:38:00.006-05:00

Attention All Prayer Warriors

We went to visit Koby today and let me tell you everyone around that little angel was smiling. Just the mere fact that there was two empty 4 oz. bottles on his bed says it all. When I walked in his mommy was rocking him with a huge smile on her face. When I took these pictures he still had his feeding tube, oxygen in his nose, one medication in his IV and the pace maker.

As of around 4 pm today he was in a regular room with only his pace maker and an IV line in case they need to give him something. The only medications he is taking right now are vitamins to replenish his little body. When they weighed him tonight he weighed 8 lbs.- 8 ozs. The doctors and nurses can't believe that he is doing so well.

We know that it is the Great Physician "GOD" that has done this for Koby. All of the PRAISE and GLORY go to HIM!

How could you not smile when you see those bright eyes. I want to thank everyone for their prayers and for continued prayer for Koby. Wow what an amazing day for God!

God is so Good!

Your Grace is Enough!

2009-03-16T00:34:00.004-05:00

Your grace is enough...now really think about that statement. Is it? Are we willing to give up parts of our everyday life that make us happy to do what HE asks us to do? This is kind of a follow up on my "Be Still" challenge to myself. I love that song "Your Grace is Enough" but the more I listened the more I said to myself, "I am not living this way." Your (Jesus') grace is enough! He died on the cross to appease all of the sin in the world and I have a problem with turning over the problems that I face daily. I think that most of us have this problem sometimes due to us thinking that whatever is going on is not big enough to bother God with. Well if we could just get that out of our minds and realize that if we will just build a relationship with God we can tell Him about everything. Good days, So-so days, Bad days, Spectacular days...He wants to be a part of all of them. He is that best friend that we have longed for, the friend that listens even when we ramble on and on, the friend that is there in the middle of the night, the friend that is there when there is sickness and best of all he is here when we have something good to share with Him.

And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. - II Corinthians 12:9

Grace enables me to make it, no matter what. No matter who turns against me, no matter what obstacles I face, no matter how many times I fail. God's amazing grace is there to pick me up. It is never not enough and it never runs out. It never goes bad. So the question is "How am I going to make God's grace real in my life? First and foremost I need to trust Him to work things out. I need to stop working my self silly trying to fix things myself. I also need to be aware of His Spirit and where He is leading.

I must "Be Still" and realize that "HIS grace is sufficient."

God is so Good!

2009-03-15T00:05:00.003-05:00

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,

My God is Mighty to save, He is Mighty to Save.

Forever, Author of salvation,

He rose and conquered the grave,

Jesus conquered the grave.

Yesterday I kept singing this song and one of my friends had part of this song on her facebook status. I could not get it out of my mind so I thought I would share it along with the song as my background music today. Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I look so forward to spending time with my wonderful church family and most importantly I look forward to what the Lord has put on our preachers hearts to preach to and teach us.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus

http://www.providencebaptistfellowship.com/

God is so Good!

Our Journey

2009-03-14T17:26:00.008-05:00

As a child and as an adult I have always been intrigued by the story of Moses. I have always wondered how their shoes lasted so long, how they could just keep walking for all of those years and not find where they were going. Did he loose folks that just got tired of the meandering around in the dessert? How about clothes...in a 40 yr period I am sure I still wouldn't be the same size. A lot of questions that always come back to our Amazing God! He always gives us just what we need. NEED! Yes, I said need.

Can you imagine your husband coming home tonight and telling you and your family, "We are going to follow our next door neighbor George and he is going to take us to the promise land." I can hear the screams now. Alycia would be saying, "I have plans with my friends I can't be following George!" "Where is this promise land and can I take some of my friends?" Kacey would be wanting to wait until cheer leading competition was over and wanting to know if we could take Wags. I would be wanting to know how long we would be gone and what kind of temperatures would I need to be packing for? I have been reminded this past week that the journey we have been on this past 8 months or so is like our own journey to the promise land. There has been many struggles and difficulties but there has never been anything that we needed that God did not supply. Everything that has happened during our journey has happened for a reason. The good, the bad, the happy and the sad has all been part of our journey.

This past Sunday our journey led us to a church down the road that was nice enough to let us use their baptistry. This was our third baptism service since we started Providence. The first two baptismal services were outside during the summer so getting to do it inside in a real baptistry was a treat.

I want you to know that this was the most touching service for me. I know, I know I cry over everything but something about being in a Sanctuary and using a real baptistry opened my flood gates. As I sat, cried and watched eight people be baptised I could picture where we would be in the next few years.

I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us and the community. Pray for GOD to be GLORIFIED in everything we do and say and that we will be a beacon in the community.

Make a Smilebox postcard

God is so Good!

Praising Jesus in my PJ's

2009-03-13T07:59:00.000-05:00

This is 9 minutes long but it gave me a great start to the day! Turn off the music below and take a few minutes to Praise Jesus in your PJ's with me.

God is so Good!

Koby UPDATE

2009-03-13T07:36:00.001-05:00

God is so Good!

Yesterday Kacey and I went by to visit Koby. After a few tears from just the utter shock that a baby could have that many things connected to him I felt a feeling come over me that had to be God. As Courtney (Koby's mom) and the nurse talked about what everything was and how all that stuff worked I stood there and thought about how AWESOME GOD is and if it wasn't for him none of this would be possible.

Koby is doing wonderful considering all that he has been through. Over the next couple of days they are going to be trying to get the ventilator tube out and get him breathing on his own. They feel like this is going to go well. He will probably still be on oxygen but it will be through his nose. There are a few more things that he has to get rid of before he can be moved to a room but right now things are moving in the right direction. Praise God!

I appreciate all of the prayers and nice notes. Please keep praying for Koby, Courtney and Jeremy. So many hurdles cleared but many more long days to come.

Courtney and Koby

God is so Good!

Multi Tasking?

2009-03-11T08:17:00.002-05:00

This is something that I heard about on the news last week and today I would like to touch on the subject. First I want to say that I have a problem in this area but since the first of January I have really been trying to work on it. Well...with that said did any of you see the story about the mom that was driving down the road, talking on the phone and breastfeeding her baby? Yea, that's what I said breastfeeding her baby! Now I believe in making every moment worth while and I love to multi-task but I think this is just a little overkill not to mention illegal. This is not to say that I haven't done some pretty stupid things. Usually during these crazy multi-tasking days I am always trying to fit a prayer or a word in with God. How sad is that? I can't believe I wrote it but its true.

The American way. Work, work, work until you get it done even if it is not all done very well at least it all got done.

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" - Psalm 46:10

It says be still...not be busy, work, work and work, or do everything at once and know that I am God. The American way tells us that if we have a spare moment we are lazy but our God wants for us to be still and spend time with Him. I have been thinking about ways to free up more time in my day to be with Him. This is my list...you can make your own or use some of my ideas.

Not spend so much time on my computer. This one is HARD! So many blogs to read so little time. See I told you this one was going to be hard.

Put down my cell phone. Sometimes the convenience of having a phone is an inconvenience and now I get e-mails on it so I am really connected.

Turn off the TV. I am not going to watch as much news. FOX News Addict! Addiction a whole new blog!

Put the word NO in my vocabulary. This one is the hardest! I love to do for others.

??? I am sure there are many more and over the next little bit I am going to add them.

Join me in this "Be Still" challenge to myself. I think we will be amazed at what we accomplish with Him by our sides!

God is so Good

*** I borrowed the picture from Kelley one of my good friends.

Koby's Surgery

2009-03-10T21:37:00.006-05:00

All Praises Go To God!

What an amazing day. I never thought I would say that about this particular day. Koby went into to surgery early. There were three major surgeries that were to be done. All of them had been done many times but all three of them at the same time was very unusual. The surgery started about 8 am and ended around 6 pm. Every couple of hours there would be a phone call to let the family know how things were going. Every time a call came it got a little better. Each procedure was being accomplished and they were moving on to the next. When we got the final word that all of the procedures had been done and Koby was doing well you physically felt a sigh of relief all over the room. There were tears...but praise God they were tears of relief and joy. This is the first huge hurdle. Keep praying for Koby he has many days, weeks and months ahead of him that will be difficult but after the miracles that I saw performed today I know that God is in control and He has not let this little one go through all of this for nothing.

This morning I put the verse 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 in my post. Verse 18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." When I put this verse in this morning I was not so sure how I felt about it. I knew that praying without ceasing was good but this give thanks for everything?? After today I know why we are to give thanks for all circumstances. Everything that is put in our path and we go through is for His GLORY. Even in the difficult times God will bless us. Amen!!

God is so Good!

Calling All Prayer Warriors!!!

2009-03-10T08:40:00.003-05:00

I just received this e-mail from Jan. Please stop and pray for the Doctors and little Koby.

The Dr's came in last night and said that Koby’s aorta is too small to carry his blood and has to be reconstructed, his coronary arteries are each going to the wrong side of the heart and have to be switched and reconstructed, there are 2 vessels from these arteries (coronary) that have to be switched and they will repair the hole, which is the least of all of it. He will have to go to the cardiologist for the rest of his life and his learning will be slow. She said he does not have brain damage but will be slower to learn than normal. The Dr. said he had never seen all three of these things on one child. He said he had done each of these surgeries but on different people. The surgery will last 9 to 12 hours.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. - Romans 8:26

Today is the day...

2009-03-10T07:22:00.002-05:00

PRAY!

Today at 6 they came to get Koby to do surgery on his heart. Probably around 8 am they will begin surgery. The surgery could last possibly 5 hours if everything goes well.

Koby in the hospital and Jeremy and Courtney his parents.

I want to ask for prayer for Koby. Pray for Jeremy and Courtney the proud loving parents of this beautiful baby boy. Also remember David, Tracey, Shelby, Jan, Courtney's mom and dad, and Courtney's aunt and uncle.

Pray for the team of Doctors that will be doing the surgery. Pray for them to be prepared and ready to face whatever they find and be able to repair this little one so that his heart will be like new.

17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

God is so Good!

2009-03-09T11:31:00.002-05:00

My motivation for me this week came from the sermon that Brother John laid out before us this past Sunday morning. We have been going through a 13 week series on Providence Values. This has been a great series and very informative as well. This weeks service was titled "Missional Living."

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:16-20

We are commanded to "Go and make disciples of all nations" It is hard to go and make if we are not out there with the lost. Bro. John made a statement that really stuck with me. He said, " We need some heathen friends!" Yes having christian friends around you is wonderful but once their saved their saved. If we are to go and "MAKE" disciples we have to be around the lost. Wow! This is part of my mission to "BE" the church not just sit inside the four walls and be poured into. This is another lesson in "BE THE FUNNEL!!!!"

Go check out the sermons in this series they are great! Providence Baptist Fellowship

Have a blessed week!

God is so Good!

Please Pray!

2009-03-06T21:42:00.005-06:00

Koby Powers

Here is a picture of little Koby. This is a picture of a picture on a camera of him. His grandma Tracey (my sister -in-law) had taken this of him while she was with him. I didn't get to go in tonight because while I was there they were putting in a PIC line. This way they won't be having to stick him all the time and maybe some of the other IV's can be removed. He is going to be having surgery for his heart defect on Tuesday 3/10/09. He will be in the hospital for between 2 and 4 weeks after surgery. Please keep Koby, Jeremy his daddy and Courtney his mommy in your prayers.

And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. - Mark 10:16

God is so Good!

2009-03-05T21:06:00.004-06:00

Please Pray for Koby

I would like to ask for special prayer for Kenny's brothers grandson. Koby is 2 months old and has been admitted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. Today during a visit to the doctor he was sent on to the hospital. They were not sure what the problem was but they knew that something wasn't right with his heart. Tonight they have found that there is a problem with the valves on the top of his heart. One is suppose to be on the left and one on the right. Both valves are on the left side. It is causing a problem called blue blood. He also has a hole in the middle of where the valves are suppose to be. At first the Doctors were planning on doing surgery tomorrow but they now have decided to put off surgery until he is stronger. Please keep Koby, Jeremy(Dad), Courtney(Mom), David(grandpa), Tracy(grandma) and the rest of the family in your prayers. Also pray for the Doctors and nurses that are taking care of Koby.

13 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Matthew 19:13-14

God is so Good,

Coffeeeeee!

2009-03-05T06:01:00.001-06:00

Just a short story this morning to give anyone that is a coffee lover a smile. I guess I should say an addicted coffee lover a smile. As the alarm was going off this morning Kenny says to me did you get coffee yesterday. Ahhhhh No I didn't know that we were out. Well...don't know how it is in your house but we don't do so well without coffee in the morning. (Understatement!!!)

I jumped up and put my clothes on, brushed my teeth and headed out the door. Right behind us is two gas stations that open up early so maybe I won't have to go to the grocery store. First station is not open yet so I go across the street where I see lights. I fly through the door and go to searching. I must of looked panicked because when I finally asked where the coffee was the young man behind the counter come out to show me. As we went down the isle and he realized what I had already knew he got a funny look on his face. I must of looked wild. He took me around the corner where they have their coffee pots to see if they had any on that side...NOTHING. By this time my heart is pounding. I have decided that I am going to buy one of those huge insulated mugs and that should get us through until we can make it some where to get some this morning. The nice young man turns and says to me "How about if I just give you some of ours to get you through until you get to the store?" Wow! I couldn't hardly believe how nice he was. As I left there with my little baggy of coffee and a smile on my face a lady that was dressed very nicely kinda looked me up and down. I thought to myself ,"I know I look terrible."
Little did I know...as I was getting into the car I saw something in the rear view mirror...MY HAIR!!!! I hadn't brushed my HAIR!!!! All I can say is thank God I put my clothes on or this could of been an incident you heard about on the evening news.

Have a great Day!

God is so Good!

2009-03-04T06:11:00.000-06:00

This morning as I am on my way out the door I was needing a little pick me up. It has been a long week so far and there is still a lot more to come. I know that I posted this song sometime in January but this morning I needed it and I thought it might lift your spirits also.

Have a blessed day! And remember to be the funnel!!! You can't be stagnant listening to this song.

GOD IS SO GOOD!

Romans

2009-03-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

Once again Sunday was a WOW!! Day! God spoke LOUD and CLEAR! HE has been using my Sunday Morning Bible Study teacher (Jeff) to beat me to death here lately. We were in Romans Sunday morning and I can hardly explain the red flag that was waving at me.

Let me start in December with this story. I started looking for a verse or group of verses to challenge myself with this year. I say challenge because I wanted to do something that I had never done before. I wanted to take a verse or group of verses and really try to apply them to my life. Romans 12 was the chapter I decided to work on this year. Well you know "they" say be careful what you ask for because God will give it to you. He has put this on my heart and this has been a struggle for me daily. It seems like everything we have been studying lately has come back to these verses. Even our DOXA weekend made me step back and look at how I do things. Well...Sunday morning I was a little late to Bible Study and as I was sitting down Jeff said we were going to be in Romans. I can't get away from it! God has got my number and He is going to keep on me until I do the things that I am needing to do. Obviously you don't know what I am struggling with but let me tell you this struggle is going to come to an end. I only have to be told once (ha ha!)...more like twenty times what to do! Right now I feel like one of my kids after I have told them a dozen times to pick up their dirty clothes or take out the trash. It would of been so much easier if I had just done it the first time.

We are all like our kids. We are a work in progress and we are all still learning. I guess until the day that the Lord takes me home I will be a work in progress. I am just so thankful that he does not give up on his children.

God is so Good!

Romans 12
A Living Sacrifice

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Gifts of Grace

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Marks of the True Christian 9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Eggs, Gambrel and Rocks????

2009-02-28T08:41:00.005-06:00

As you can tell I like to change my blog to fit my mood or the season. Well today LeeLou blogs put up their new free 3 column templates and of course I had to change. I look like a Easter egg. Not liking it...at all! I am going to leave it for a day or two but don't be surprised if "bam" its gone.

Moving on...This past week has been a tough one for me. I started out the week floating but very exhausted. He knew that this week was going to be a challenge. As always God provides what we need when we need it. There is always a phone call, an email a blog response or a face book funny that comes from one of my buds that keeps me going. I can't help but know that this is God!

On top of everything else going on in our lives Brent Gambrel challenged me over the weekend. Like I needed anything else to stress about. I am one of those folks he talked about. You know the ones that have been in church most of my life. One of those people that have had the word of God poured into me every Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening. I am one of those people that is so full that I am about to bust at the seems. I guess I am afraid to share any of my good news. I have all of this good stuff inside me and for some reason I don't want to share. I have never really been selfish or at least I didn't think I was selfish...but giving money, food, clothes or my time will never make up for the times that I have missed in the past 25 years to tell others about God. Brent told us to be a funnel. Take in and then pour out to all of those around us. If not we become stagnant.

57As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
58Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." - Luke 9:57-62

Once again God has revealed to me that the decisions I have made over the past year have all been for him. I have thought many times why fool with this...And always God shows me why. Thank God for in our times of weakness He is always there to get us through.

One last thing today...this past week my status on facebook was "God always provides. It may not be what we want but it is always what we need. Amen!" Teri, a friend of mine from church commented, "Does this mean you got a rock instead of a diamond?" I laughed so hard I am glad no one was around they would of thought I was crazy. When God gives me rocks...I should know what to do with them...Kenny is the Rock Man!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday. Be the funnel!!!

God is so Good!

DoXa SuNdAY!!

2009-02-27T23:27:00.006-06:00

I know, I know, by now you are in picture overload but I just need to share a few more. This is our Sunday Service. All of the kids that went to the DOXA weekend wore their sweat shirts to church even Bro. Joe preached in his sweat shirt.

God is so Good!

How do we say Thank You???

2009-02-27T22:58:00.004-06:00

Post It/Wrap It Baby!!!

One of the rules this past weekend was that we were not to be out rolling yards. Of course Staci and I had already decided to do some rolling. We thought that it was best not to since it had been mentioned from the stage in the sanctuary. On Saturday night Tom our youth pastor put a few more rules out there for us...no rolling, no wrapping, no egging, no oreo cookie's on anything basically we were to go home and do nothing. So...Staci and I decided after our small group that night that we should saran wrap Toms car on Sunday after Sunday School and before Church service. I have always said that the yards you roll and cars you wrap belong to people that you really like because you wouldn't go to that much trouble for someone you didn't like. It's almost an honor...right??? We also figured that we couldn't get in trouble after the fact. It wasn't actually DOXA weekend anymore and what a wonderful way to say "thank you!"

Thanks Bro. Tom for the wonderful weekend!

God is so Good!

Glory, Glory and More GLORY!

2009-02-26T18:51:00.012-06:00

Wow, today is Friday...I don't know where this week went. I haven't posted since last Friday. Saturday and Sunday's post were done on Friday because I knew that I would not have time.
I spent Monday recuperating and catching up on sleep. Tuesday and Wednesday were used to just plain ole' catch up on everything else.

This weekend was amazing. If it was up to me I would do this all the time. I would just go from one youth weekend to the next. I think (no I know) this weekend did our adults as much good as it did the kids. So put your seat belts on and hang on tight because I am fixin' to give you the whirlwind tour of our GLORY-ious weekend.

Friday we met at the host church at 7:00 p.m. for sign-ups and some fellowship before the services started at 8:00. There were so many faces I knew and a bunch that I didn't know. There were three different youth groups coming to this Disciple Now Weekend. You could feel the excitement in the room. Little did we know how amazing this weekend was going to be. The band was Making Mallory and the speaker for the weekend was Brent Gambrell. Wow!!!

Brent Gambrell China loving the band!

Making Mallory

Saturday started off early. Which anything would of felt early being as we didn't get in the bed until after 3:30 a.m. There was 12 girls at the host home where I stayed. Twelve girls in one house...AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! The thought was scary at first but these girls were wonderful. Saturday they were up and all ready an hour before we had to be there. Amazing!!

We had a great breakfast consisting of pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, bacon egg and cheese casserole, fruit, orange juice, milk and a whole lot of COFFEE!!

This mornings music and study was even better than the night before. I thought that the kids might have a hard time staying awake but once again Brent Gambrell and the band Making Mallory were too good to miss. Not a shut eye or bobbing head in the house. After our morning session we had a pizza lunch at the host church. Once we finished lunch we were off to Laser Quest.

After Laser Quest we went to our host homes for a taco dinner and to get ready for the evening session. As tired as the girls were they were ready to go when the cars rolled. That told me a whole lot about how much they were enjoying Brent Gambrell and Making Mallory.

Saturday evening was amazing! There were several teenagers saved and a whole bunch of them that realized that their lives were not going in the right direction. I am so proud when teenagers have the foresight to see that they may be heading down the wrong road. God is working in their lives and it is an amazing work to watch. Saturday night we met once again back at our host house for the evening and discussed our thoughts about the message. You could not keep our girls quiet. Amen!!!!!!

One of the themes that has stuck with our kids is that we need to be a funnel. We can keep pouring and pouring the word of God into our kids but if they don't use what has been poured in it will become stagnant. We must have the word of God poured into us and it must flow out of us into our lives, schools, friendships, families and communities. We must be the funnel not the stagnant pool of water.

God is so Good!

Continue to PRAY!!!

2009-02-22T00:01:00.004-06:00

Today is Sunday and the last morning of our Doxa weekend. Today I want to ask for special prayer for the kids that have been here all weekend. I want you to pray for them to be able to take what they have heard here this weekend and go out and meet the world with a whole new perspective. Being a teenager is tough these days and I hope as they go to school, ballgames, parties and to friends houses others will be able to see "DOXA" the glory of God shining in them.

God is so Good!

Pray

2009-02-21T00:05:00.002-06:00

Pray for lives to be changed!!!!

God is so Good!

DOXA Weekend!!!

2009-02-20T00:25:00.001-06:00

It is finally here our DOXA weekend. At first I was not sure how this would go...look at the name Doxa. I didn't know what it meant...or even how to say it. How could it be any fun...when you have to look up the word to know what it is? Well...Tom our Youth Minister has done it!!! He pulled it off. He has gotten our church and two more fired up for an amazing weekend that will be spent praising God!!!!

We are meeting Friday night to kick off the weekend. Brent Gambrell will be our preacher and the band "24" will be there for us to praise Jesus in song. Friday night we will be staying in houses that have been provided by some wonderful folks. Saturday morning we will be getting up and eating breakfast and going back to the central location and having a morning service. After lunch on Saturday we are going to Laser Quest for an afternoon of fun and fellowship. Saturday evening after we eat dinner at our host homes we will be meeting back for another service with Brent and some great music. Saturday night we will go back to the host homes to discuss the weekend with our small groups. Sunday morning we will be going to Providence for our regular morning service. The music on Sunday will be led by Dallas, Daniel, Andrew and Nick. By Sunday morning we should be floating into the sanctuary. Can't wait!!!!!

I am so excited about this weekend and what it can mean for the lives of our youth. Be in prayer that if there is anyone that does not know the Lord as his/her personal savior that they will come to know Him this weekend. Be in prayer for all of the leaders to have the right words to answer the questions that teenagers ask. Pray for there to be many come and many hear the word of God and everything that is done this weekend be done for HIS glory!!!!

The Greek word doxa in the Greek translations of the Old Testament and of the New Testament is usually rendered "glory" in the English versions, a translation of the Latin gloria. The Hebrew word kabod is usually rendered "honour" when applied to man, but rendered "glory" when applied to our Heavenly Father.

DOXA=GLORY

God is so Good!

DOXA

2009-02-20T00:02:00.000-06:00

This is our speaker for DOXA weekend. I am looking forward to this weekend!!!

Brent's 700 Club Testimony

God is so Good!

2009-02-19T07:12:00.000-06:00

One day and counting til our Doxa weekend. This morning as I praised Jesus in my PJ's I got excited about the youth that will come this weekend to hear about God. This song got my heart going. I love this song but I love it even more when I hear youth singing it in the back round. It brings back memories of youth camps and mission trips. It is wonderful to see a group of young people GET IT! How Great is Our God!!!

God is so Good!

Stack of Books

2009-02-19T02:57:00.000-06:00

I received this from a couple that I was at World Changers (youth mission trip) with this past summer. Greg and Angela both work with their youth group in East Tennessee. It is a reminder that sometimes the smallest thing you do for somebody makes the biggest differences. A little long but worth the read.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books.
I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.'
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.' He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!'
There was a big smile on his face.
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
He said he had gone to private school before now.
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes.
We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!' He just laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends..
When we were seniors we began to think about college.Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.

I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship..Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great.
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous!
Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. 'Thanks,' he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began 'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends.....I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.' I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
'Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable..'
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions..
With one small gesture you can change a person's life....For better or for worse.

God is so Good!

God Speaks...

2009-02-18T06:32:00.002-06:00

God speaks to me in many different ways. Usually it is through His word...The Bible. Several years ago I had a friend say to me, "Has God ever spoke to you?" And of course my answer was yes. God speaks to me through His word, daily situations,preaching,prayer, music...there are so many ways. I am always inquiring and God is always speaking. Sometimes I am not listening! You can read, read, and read some more...pray, pray and pray some more...sing, sing, and sing some more and if your ears and heart are not open and ready to hear you won't. God sometimes does not answer...Well he does but the His answer is no, not now, not a good idea, not in my plans and you need to rethink your priorities.

The older I get the more I realize that I have to be patient and wait. Things are not always on my schedule they are on His schedule and in His time. In our fast paced microwaveable society we have everything going in fast forward and we must, must, must slow down and listen. I know there have been times when I just sped through, didn't listen, took on the job myself and then in the end paid the stupid tax. Daily I am saying to my girls, "Did you listen?" and they usually answer "well I thought that is what you said." They didn't slow down enough to get the details. God wants us to slow down and listen for His details. He is our Father and we need to slow down and let the details soak into us.

All of this to get to a request that I have been praying about for what seems now like an eternity.
Many stressed days and sleepless nights. Many days wrenching my hands and wondering why God is not answering. Me, me, me why can't or will you answer me. Well yesterday after many hours, days, weeks and months I was in the shower praying (sorry if tmi) and a peace came over me that was amazing. God spoke!!!! It wasn't about me it was about Him and His perfect timing. Wow!

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. - Psalm 46:1

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" - Psalm 46:10

Slow down, listen and soak up His powerful, wonderful, loving words today.

God is so Good!

Amazing Sunday!!!

2009-02-17T06:38:00.005-06:00

My Sunday was amazing...set up, donuts, coffee, fellowship, Sunday Morning Bible Study, Church Service, lunch w/family, short nap, small groups w/youth, break down and home by 7:30!!!! A very full but very spiritually fulfilling day. We showed up with our eyes, ears and hearts open and God was ready to bless.

Everything yesterday was so overwhelming to me. From the set up to the break down there was something that brought tears to my eyes. God tugged at my heart all day. I do want to talk about one specific thing that really tugged at my heart. Sunday Morning Bible Study!

Sunday Morning Bible Study a.k.a. Sunday School has been a highlight of my week here lately. I had not been to Sunday School for several years. I have spent the past several years teaching in the Children's Department or in the Youth Department. We now have small groups on Sunday night so that gives all of the teachers a chance to enjoy a class themselves and also be fed the word of God. I had not been fed in a class in a long time. As much as a teacher studies their lesson there is still something about coming into class and sitting down and being taught. Jeff is our teacher. Wow!!! Double Wow!!! I could sit and listen to his God infused lessons all day long. God is using Jeff as a mighty vessel for his word to be taught.

This weeks lesson was a continuation of the previous weeks. It bounced around in my head LOUD AND CLEAR!!! GO!!! Out and don't be afraid. Well its easy to Go...but the do not be afraid part I have always had to work on. I am good with people once I know them but just walking up to someone and telling them about my faith that is a whole different story. Well I was informed this week that it is not about ME!!!

Here are some excuses that were called out Sunday-

I fear the rejection of my friends and family
It is not the right time for me to tell them about Jesus.
I am not prepared to tell my testimony.
What if the person I am talking to asks me a question I can't answer.
What if???....you fill in the blank.

A lot of me's, my's, and I's in the reasoning behind why we don't GO and tell others about Jesus. I am guilty of this. :( Has anyone ever asked you about Jesus or what you believe and you answered the questions like you were walking on egg shells. You were afraid to get to deep because you didn't want to step on any ones toes or offend someone you are close to. Honestly I have and now that I look back I could kick myself. I missed an opportunity that I will probably never get back. We are here to plant seeds and we should never let an opportunity pass by that gives us the chance to plant them. Planting seeds can be as easy as letting others see Jesus in you. This is a way we can shine for Jesus without having to directly talk to anyone. You don't have to be a student of the Bible to be able to answer questions. The statement "They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." fits this situation. Sometimes just showing that you care tells the whole story. It hit me while I was sitting in class that I don't have to know all of the answers. If someone asks a question I don't know the answer to I will find the answer for them. It is not about ME and what I know it is all about HIM!!!

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:16-20

Join me this week in stepping outside of our comfort zone. Let's GO out! Let's plant some seeds!!

God is so Good!

Movin' On!!!

2009-02-16T21:09:00.003-06:00

Well it has been 24 hours since I received an anonymous comment and after my response to it there has been nothing from the upset person. There have been many comments from friends that I am sooooo grateful for. I am moving on. I don't think that this bump in the road was put here by God but by someone that wanted to rattle me a little...Well my God is strong and He has been here for me and I feel good so as I said earlier "I'm moving on!!!!"

God is So Good!

P.S. No more anonymous comments!!!! Anyone that has anything important to say should be big enough to put their name on it.

Ruffled Feathers

2009-02-16T10:27:00.001-06:00

One of my greatest concerns when I started this blog was that I did not want to offend anyone. I knew that there were going to be some issues that I would talk about that might be uncomfortable but not really offend. Well...yesterday on my way home my phone beeped. I looked over at it and it was an e-mail. An e-mail from a response to my blog. That is usually something I enjoy reading. It is like getting a nice pick me up from a family member. Nothing like an encouraging word or just a hello...but last night it was different. I had offended someone. I had offended someone that was anonymous. I had no way to say I was sorry personally. The only way I could respond was to respond to Anonymous' comment on my blog page where he/she had responded. As of now I have left the response on my blog because I wanted to be able to respond to it. I am sorry if you have come up on this response and it has offended you. It will be gone in a day or two and then from that point on I will no longer take anonymous comments.

The comment that was made to me really hurt. I don't know if you can understand how much I love the kids I work with now and have worked with in the past. When I see kids excited about the Lord I see our future and their futures being bright. I will not be taking these pictures off my blog. I feel like all of the pictures that are on here are part of my life.

If you are the one that I offended and would like to contact me please do.

God is so Good!

Love!!

2009-02-14T09:58:00.003-06:00

Visited L. S. Fisher this morning and found another favorite Bible verse about love. I don't know how I missed this one in my post because it is hanging on my wall. Jan and John (Kenny's parents) gave me this Bible verse framed when we first got married 22 years ago. What a great reminder for marriage.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

God is so Good!

He Loves Us!

2009-02-14T00:13:00.002-06:00

Today is Valentines! The day that we are suppose to show love to the ones we love. Today I want to say I LOVE JESUS! I am so humbled to think that Jesus loves me and shows me love daily even though daily I let him down. Wow! God is so Good!

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. - 1 John 4:9-10

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16

We love because He first loved us. - 1 John 4:19

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

God is so Good!

Lovin' My Church

2009-02-13T08:52:00.005-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Well...this may go without saying. If you know me you know I am lovin' my church. I am lovin' the people inside the walls. I am lovin' the friends that make up the great congregation. I am lovin' the the vision that God has put into our hearts. I am lovin' the idea of loving our friends, our youth, our community, our co-workers and anybody else we come in contact with to the Lord. I am loving that we are a body of believers that want to be OUT in the community and are concerned with what and who is out there not just what and who is INside our four walls.

Someone this past week said "They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." What an amazingly true statement. I know that we can't actually love folks to the Lord but if we share our love for the Lord and we plant the seeds the Lord will take over. Amen!!!

God is so Good!

My Heart is Here!

2009-02-12T08:09:00.002-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

This slide show tells you where my heart is. I truely love working with the youth. They are our future and I am so proud of all of these wonderful kids. I can't watch this without crying. So many good times and wonderful memories. Loving our kids to the Lord!

God is so Good!

Love My Parents!!

2009-02-11T09:37:00.004-06:00

Dad, Kacey, Alycia and Mom. We were fixing to play Rook. A game I loved to play as a kid and a game my kids have grown to love. Dad and Alycia are always partners. They never let Kacey, Mom and I win. They are just to good but we still try to beat them. This year on my birthday we won a game. Dad and Alycia said it was a birthday present. lol!!!!

I love Mom, Dad and Kenny's Mom. We have wonderful parents. They are always here for us.

Mom and Dad live in Crossville Tennessee. This is the town that I went to High School and the town where I met my husband. My dad grew up in Crossville. This is the town he retired to after over 20 years in the Army. My dad turned 70 in January and my mom turned 72 this past September. They are the most active 70 year olds I know. My dad golfs regularly and my mom takes care of the elderly. That makes me laugh...she takes care of the elderly and she is 72. I have a hard time getting out of bed some mornings and they are both still working. My parents are amazing! They are loving and caring. They are what I hope to become one day. Over my lifetime they have instilled many good traits in me and I am thankful.

Kenny's mom is amazing. Most days I talk to her 2 or 3 times. Not short talks either. She is one of my best friends. What?? You are friends with your mother-in-law? You bet and I wouldn't take anything for her friendship. We have been through so much over the years. She has made life so much more bearable at times and a lot more fun too. One day I will just tell stories of crazy things we have done.

Alycia, Jan(Kenny's mom), Shelby and Kacey at Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It's all about food and family. How great is that!

I thank God daily for blessing me with wonderful parents.

God is so Good!

Tithe Rap!

2009-02-10T09:28:00.003-06:00

I found this video this morning and thought it might bring a smile to your face. It also has a great message. Yo! Word!!!! lol!!!

There are a few guys at my church that I think could pull this off. Jeff, Russel and of course my husband Kenny. Could y'all work this up for high attendance Sunday? Word, YO, YO!!!

God is sooooo Good!

I Love My Kids!

2009-02-10T06:00:00.002-06:00

Day two on the things I love. I love my girls sooooooo much. Alycia is 17 and Kacey is 12. They are the light of my life. They both have traits from me and their father. Right now they probably don't like to hear that maybe later on it will be ok. I know the older I get the prouder I am to be like my parents.

Both of the girls are wild about God which makes me smile all by its self. Alycia has an amazing gift with kids. She has worked at a day care for nearly 3 years. She always comes home with a funny or sometimes not so funny story about a little person. Kacey has a gift with older people. She has always loved helping. They both always surprise me with how big their hearts are.

Alycia in blue w/her besties and Kacey in the hat w/her besties.

God is so Good!

Things I Love <3

2009-02-09T14:53:00.000-06:00

Being the week before Valentines Day I thought I would tell everyone about some things that I love. I am going to tell one thing a day until the 14th.

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. - Ephesians 5:22-33

Kenny and I have always had a wonderful relationship. We did a study on marriage yesterday at church and how the women should submit to their husbands and the husbands should love their wives like Christ loved the church. As our relationship keeps growing in the Lord our marriage keeps getting stronger. What a blessing.

Today's thing that I love is my Godly Husband!!!! What an amazing gift from God.

God is so Good!

I have issues!!!!!

2009-02-09T14:03:00.002-06:00

70%

Hi! My name is Debbie and I am a blogger and I think I need help. lol!!! I know that this is not a real disease but it does take up a lot of my life. I find myself blogging in the middle of the night and just about every free moment that I have. Life around the Noland house is pretty busy but instead of this being a chore blogging to me is more like therapy. I love, love, love keeping up with friends, seeing friends kids pics, doing Bible Studies, showing pictures of my family, showing pictures of my church family, discussing growing pains of a new church, getting feedback, and just meeting new people. Check out and see how addicted you are you might be surprised.

God is so Good!

What a wonderful friend...

2009-02-08T22:24:00.004-06:00

This evening as I was setting up for our Youth Small Groups a really wonderful lady that I love came in to see me. I have three of her kids in youth and all three of them are as sweet as the day is long. Melissa is talented at crocheting. She is always crocheting somebody a baby blanket or Christmas present. Tonight she brought in a beautiful blanket. I thought she was going to show it to me but guess what?!?!? It was for me!!!! She had no idea how much I love crocheted blankets. My grandmother used to always make them for my family. I am so touched that she took the time to make me a blanket. She told me she knew how much I loved to take my Sunday afternoon nap...so now I would have a blanket that is just mine to wrap up in. The first thing I did when I got home tonight was put my pj's on and wrapped up in my blanket!!!!!

Thank you Melissa!! You are a blessing to me.

God is so Good!

Awards!

2009-02-08T22:18:00.000-06:00

Walking on Sunshine gave me the following...“These blogs are exceedingly charming" award.

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

Thank you Lois! I am passing this award on to the following seven blogging friends...Kelly, Niki,
Liz, L.S. Fisher, Sara, Kendra and Lois

I read these Ladies blogs daily. Go by and check them out. I feel like I could sit down and have a cup of coffee with any of them.

God is so Good!

2009-02-06T00:53:00.000-06:00

I LOVE JESUS!

God is so Good!

Can you read this?

2009-02-06T00:49:00.005-06:00

I read this on Walking on Sunshine's blog and I thought it was so cool I would share it.

Only great minds can read this. This is weird, but interesting!

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed i t whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Do you have a great mind?

I am real scatter brained so it doesn't surprise me that I can read this. Hit spell check. lol!!!

God is so Good!

BE

2009-02-04T07:07:00.001-06:00

I have been wanting to BE the church and this morning I read a blog by http://www.kendragrubinski.blogspot.com/ that just said it all. If you have a chance go by and read it. It made me think how sad our churches can become if we get in our minds "We got our ticket to walk through the pearly gates and walk on the golden streets so why bother with those out there that need God and our help."

On a lighter note I would like to share a picture today to of three guys I just love. One of them is my husband(green shirt). This was taken at our Super Bowl Fellowship! They are proud of their teef's! lol :)

Today try to think of a way to reach outside your comfort zone and tell about the God that you love.

Have a BLESSED day!

God is so Good!

Tears of Joy!

2009-02-02T07:13:00.001-06:00

Saturday evening a bunch of us from my previous church gathered together to honor Brother Mark Caruth and his wonderful wife Dena. Mark had been the youth minister and church administrator at Tusculum. Brother Mark and Dena have been such a blessing to me over the years. He has touched so many of our lives but most importantly our kids lives. The evening was filled with love, joy and yes many, many funny stories. The stories of Mark and his eating habits were hilarious. The amazing way God has been working to get him back to his home town was an amazing testimony. God is so Good!!

Brother Mark we were so blessed to have you all of these years. Thank you for always giving us a hug and a smile. Thank you for loving our kids like they were your own. You were a blessing to us and your new church is going to be blessed with you.

God is so Good!

Please Pray for My Dear Friends

2009-02-02T06:37:00.001-06:00

Last week I had asked for prayer for my friend Niki and her baby. They were doing test for Down Syndrome. We had received wonderful news last week that everything was going well and that there was probably only a 10% chance of the baby girl having any problems. Niki had lost a baby last year and this was such good news to her. Niki and Bryan's joy was taken away Saturday. By the time they got to the emergency room Saturday the Lord had already took Niki's sweet girl to be with Him. Please keep this family in your prayers I know they are struggling with understanding "Why?"

http://www.nikiandbryanary.blogspot.com/

God is so Good!

You Are Holy

2009-01-31T08:08:00.001-06:00

This is a song that Brother John introduced to our congregation a couple weeks ago and everytime I hear it or sing it I feel like I have been to revival. Love it!

God is so Good!

Check out my wonderful Church!

www.providencebaptistfellowship.com

Who are these people?

2009-01-31T07:24:00.003-06:00

Now that's a crazy title. I know you are thinking where is she going with this. Bear with me here for just a moment. At first this is going to sound like I was a self-centered person. Yes, probably self-centered but it wasn't because I wanted to be but because I had become so comfortable in my surroundings. Believe it or not I am not very outgoing until you get to know me...then you can't shut me up.

If you have read here long you know about this past year and all of the struggles that me, my family and my church has gone through. If not here is the short of it...member for 10 yrs, new pastor, a lot of turmoil, big vote, split of church I love, new beginning, new church that I love, pastor leaves, another new beginning. A whole lot of life over the past six months. A whole lot of tears, joy, pain, more tears, more pain and more joy.

Now to my title "Who are these people?" I am embarrassed to write this but I think that it is a great lesson for all of us. I had gone to the same church for 10 years. I was one of those folks that every time the church doors opened I was there. I loved my church. Now here comes the part I hate to admit. I thought I knew everyone. When the church split in July there was around 260 people that went to PBF. This is an amazing start to a new church. As I sat in the service the first Sunday I realized that the group that I normally ran with was not there. Yes there was a lot of friends but not many that I knew very well. Me, being me, kinda panicked. God had put me in a place that was way outside my comfort zone.

As I look back with a smile on my face I now know that this is where I am suppose to be. My new church is amazing and the people are so loving and kind. I am so ashamed that I never realized this before. This has been a good lesson for me. Never assume and never take others words for truth. Get out of your comfort zone and find out for yourself. You will probably be pleasantly surprised and disappointed that you didn't do it earlier. (I was) I am so thankful for the friendships I have at Providence. They are what has kept me sane through all of this.

Who are these people? They are my shoulder to cry on, my smile as I come through the door, they are the ones that help me teach, the ones that help me sweep, the ones that write a sweet note to cheer me up, the ones we gather with for fellowship, the ones that I pray for and pray for me, the ones I can't wait to see on Sunday, the ones I laugh with and the ones that look out for my kids. Who are these people? They are my FRIENDS. My friends who have come together in Christian love and made this year a year I will never forget. Not because it was a bad year but because of all of the BLESSINGS!

God is so Good!

Blessed

Helllloooooo!!

In God We Still Trust!

It Felt Like Mothers Day!

His Arms are Around Us!

Love

Praising Jesus in my PJ's

God Bless You...

Forgiveness

Pa John

Quick Update

Amazing How God Works

Prayer Request

Churchgoer vs. Christian

National Day of Prayer

Church or Club?

Armor of God

The stone in my pocket...

Praising Jesus in my PJ's

Keep the Main Thing, The Main Thing

Peace Signs & BBQ

We all have a gift...

Sara Mae's Story...

Blessed to get the question...

You never know what you have planted...

The Church Has Left the Building

Proverbs 31:10

If your nose is froze say Amen. AMEN!

Our First Easter!

My Girls

Make Disciples

Easter

PBF in the Park!

"Truly this was the Son of God"

***PRAISE ALERT!!***

Cleaning and Cooking Out!

Tuesday Morning Bible Study

Buttercup Festival

New Again...

Are you a WORRIER?

Praising Jesus in my PJ's

Spiritual Warfare

~*~ I'M UNPLUGGED!! ~*~

Do you know Jesus?

Face to Face with Jesus!

Joy to Sadness

Praising Jesus in my PJ's and a Koby Update!

Apple of His Eye

***PRAISE ALERT!**

Your Grace is Enough!

Our Journey

Praising Jesus in my PJ's

Koby **UPDATE**

Multi Tasking?

Koby's Surgery

Calling All Prayer Warriors!!!

Today is the day...

Please Pray!

Coffeeeeee!

Romans

Eggs, Gambrel and Rocks????

DoXa SuNdAY!!

How do we say Thank You???

Glory, Glory and More GLORY!

Continue to PRAY!!!

Pray

DOXA Weekend!!!

DOXA

Stack of Books

God Speaks...

Amazing Sunday!!!

Movin' On!!!

Ruffled Feathers

Love!!

He Loves Us!

Lovin' My Church

My Heart is Here!

Love My Parents!!

Tithe Rap!

I Love My Kids!

PRAISE ALERT!!

~~ I'M UNPLUGGED!! ~~

*PRAISE ALERT!

Koby UPDATE