Monday, November 10, 2008

Where did September and October Go?

Soccer - that's where! The soccer season is over and the fall leaves are turning and they are beautiful again this year. Katie played her last year at U12 and Ashlie played her 2nd year at U10. Both girls had lots of fun and Katie stopped many goals and Ashlie scored many goals. Hopefully life can slow down a bit before the holiday season gets into full swing and we can enjoy a few Saturdays at home!

Our church is in revival this week and we have really enjoyed listening to Ronnie Hill and his AMAZING story. I know that I am here for a reason and at least one reason is to make sure I tell people about the love of Jesus Christ.

In October, I had an opportunity to talk with a painter about Jesus and he had so many questions that I couldn't answer. I realize now that I did all I could to let him know about the love of Jesus - it is up to him to accept or reject it. I am thankful for Ronnie's message and his encouragement to believers to keep telling the story of the love of Jesus and lives will be changed.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

A New Chapter or Two

Mamaw is visiting around to all the children and appears to be doing well even though she still misses Papaw. Last week she stayed with us and it was a good visit. We were able to take her to visit her half-sister one day. And she helped watch Miss Sydney while I worked in the yard several days. And this weekend, she was able to go home for a few days and Mike was able to work in the yard at the farm (a bit more yard than at home)! So for Mamaw ~ life is moving on and the sadness is getting better each day.

The big girls are back at school. A 3rd grader and a 6th grader. Wow! Soccer started last week and the weather was mostly pleasant - a rainy Thursday cancelled one practice, but it also helped bring some milder weather for the rest of the week and weekend! Girl Scouts will start next week and dance the next (so we are slowly getting back into the full fall schedule).

Church will begin a new chapter today ~ Pastor Brandon will lead us in worship beginning today. The girls and I had were able to help out at church over the weekend and Katie saw Pastor Brandon out the window and she was so excited that she was going to get to meet him and know him better. And I know we all will experience worship at church in a whole new way thanks to his preparation and prayer.

This week AWANA begins at church and little Miss Sydney will begin Cubbies and the big girls will be in their first and last years of T&T. I will be moving from Sparks to T&T to be with Katie in her last year. May the Lord continue to bless this ministry at Capshaw and all who attend.

Next Sunday our church will vote to make a very Godly lady a full-time director of preschool and children. I thank God for her and for her willingness to let others come along side her and help as the Lord leads. I will be praying for her and the vote this week.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Really ~ a little bit of everything

The days have passed and during this time we've had ups and downs and are beginning a new phase of life. The month of May found us getting ready for Vacation Bible School at church. The team came together and all the leader slots were filled and in June the week was here and it was great. Our new pastor used one of his many talents by leading the children in worship each day - it was awesome. Our new youth pastor led the 5th and 6th graders and they had a great week. And missions came back in full force and the children responded well. The whole team worked together to make for a great week. I can't wait until next year. As the VBS week came to an end so did the life of a family member ~ he fought a good fight and died a peaceful death. His family was with him and soon the whole family would be together to celebrate the end of a life here on earth and the beginning of a new life in heaven with Jesus. The big girls were very sad and cried many tears and the little girl kept praying for her Papaw to get better and come back. In July, Mamaw came and visited with us for a week and she will be able to do that again soon. The girls really enjoyed having Mamaw to play with whenever they wanted ~ especially the little girl. She wanted her all to herself whenever possible. Later in July, our big girl went to church camp with her very dear friend and they had a great time and we will never ask her to call home again! And our middle girl went to back handspring class for 3 days and is flipping forward and backward now! The trampoline is her practice field. And our church has filled another slot - a great young man and his lovely family led us in worship yesterday and it was awesome. I look so forward to August 10 when he begins his new journey at Capshaw.

Monday, May 19, 2008

An Awesome Sunday in May

Everything was normal about yesterday, get up, hurry up, get ready for church, and make it there just in time. The weather was great, well except for a little rain. And our pastor shared an awesome message. The message was R U Sure ~ with two questions, am I unchanged? am I unchallenged? At the end of the message he asked for anyone who needed to know Jesus and be changed and/or be challenged to come forward and talk with a pastor ~ and many did! Some of our old friends were re-visiting our church and both of their teenage children came forward to make public decisions for Jesus and to learn more about baptism. I don't think when they were getting ready for church yesterday that their morning was much different from ours, but it turned out to be a "God was there" day for them and for all of us. Another lady who came forward had met a church member the day before at her yard sale. She is new to the area and had simply been invited to come to our church and she too had a "God was there" day. There were couples and a senior lady who joined our church yesterday. Husbands, wives, teenagers and one sweet little girl who made decisions. I know "God was there" with us yesterday at Capshaw and I look forward to getting back next week to see what else he has in store for our church.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Time Goes By So Fast

It seems like just yesterday I was writing about a birthday and that was more than a month ago! Yesterday marked the end of a year with an interim pastor at our church. The last sermon was "Giving Your Best to the Master". Wow - do I give my best in anything or do I simply do most things just to get them done? I am really going to remember this final message and work harder at doing my best in all things.

Our new pastor starts this Sunday and I am so excited. A new chapter begins for Capshaw Baptist Church and I am truly blessed to be a part of such a great church. I look forward to learning more and more each week and making sure that I make the best use of my time here on earth by serving the Lord and giving Him my best.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

The ups and downs of February

Growing up! That's what's happening at our house. Our girl number three is 3! Right before our very eyes she has grown up - she walks, she talks, she runs, she even talks back (sad face)! We're working on that with all the girls ... oh where, oh where have the good manners gone!

A day later I am in Bible study learning about encouraging each other. Wow, that really hit home - am I an encourager of others or not?

The next day a phone call about a decision that was made. I don't agree with the decision and am truly disappointed by the reasoning behind the final decision. Something that started out as a way to show respect to a much deserved group of people has turned into something that will not allow me to think of this group of people in the same way again. But was it the group or few individuals that made the decisions based on their wants/reasons?

And now back to encouraging, my husband and I received a note thanking us for teaching Sunday School. One of our students, a second grade boy (and his Mom) have done exactly what we all need to be doing ... encouraging one another!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Serving the Lord while you clean?

I send an e-mail asking for help at 7:00. I get a few responses. I have a plan.
I will get there at 6:30, determine the needs, get started sweeping and direct the help as it arrives.

6:15 the phone rings, "We're here, what do you want us to do?" My first thought is ... I want you to leave and come back at 7:00 ... but wait someone is there to help so I tell them to start cleaning and I quickly drive over. I see lots of cars already in the parking lot. I am so excited about all the help that is there and early! I enter the building and only a few people are there. Tuesday, 6:30, and I remember DT and Precept classes - that explains all the cars.

Okay, back to reality, and remember it is only 6:30. So we start cleaning and more people arrive. The evening is unusually warm for February and tornados are already to the west and headed our way before morning. But even more and more people join the work. Over 25 people helped clean our former sanctuary turned youth building that night. It was clean and ready for carpet installation the next day ~ mission accomplished.

It was a great evening of serving the Lord together with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and knowing everyone probably could have been somewhere else doing something else. The Lord truly blessed our evening and our area was spared from the tornadoes. So thank you Lord for watching over us and keeping us safe! And thank you friends for serving the Lord while you clean.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Two decades later...

Two decades later, a dear friend sends an e-mail apologizing for something that happened that changed her life forever and she is worried about the hurt it may have caused her friends - wow! Friends are so special and sometimes we forget how important true friendships really are and how much we really need them. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with really good friends. And as for my friend who sent the e-mail apologizing for the past and in the same paragraph telling me how the Lord has blessed her even when she didn't deserve it - apology accepted!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Weathering the storms


We were spared any winter storm damage yesterday - thankfully and answered prayers! When it is your only day out without children, you don't necessarily think about the weather, you simply make your to do list and hit the road. So I am thankful for a very special friend who is always prepared and helps me in times of need. At this very moment my dear husband is preparing to weather a dental storm of his own. I am praying for him to have a pleasant and productive visit and a speedy recovery over the next few months! Oh about the picture - it's from our family vacation in the Wild and Wonderful state of West Virginia. We didn't get the snow storm we wanted (or we thought we wanted...how do you drive around on those curvy hills in the snow anyway)? But the girls did get to build their very first real snowman. This is a picture that will be cherished for a lifetime as it will remind us of our dear friends who own a wonderful cabin in the middle of a beautiful valley. These friends are very special to us and we can never say thank you enough for all they do for our entire family.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Sparks for Jesus

Today I was able to start my new duty as Interim-Sparks Director for our church. I wanted to try and come up with a fresh idea for the new year. Then I remembered the song we sing each week - We are Sparks for Jesus, Sparks to light the world, we will shine for Jesus as we tell each boy and girl... The song is simple and it has a basic message and we need to cover the basics and make sure the children understand - What is Sparks? Why are we here? So for the next 6 weeks we will be reinforcing the S.P.A.R.K.S. acronym and the verse that goes along with each letter. So I now have a coloring sheet for each letter, copies made and in each room just waiting for the children to arrive this evening. I am very thankful for a sweet young lady who had already prepped all the classrooms with all the other necessary leader information. Because of her work, I had time to look through all of our supplies and become familiar with the behind the scenes stuff. I found great things made by other leaders that I was able to re-use. Lastly, I thought we needed a rolling cart to hold some of the items we use each week. But it was Wednesday morning and I didn't have time to shop (or PO approval to spend) - but the Lord is gracious and He did provide. I walked down the hall to the resource room and what did I find - A ROLLING CART - it may seem insignificant to you, but it was the Lord blessing me for serving him in this role. So thanks to all the Sparks leaders - I look forward to serving the Lord with you for the next 5 months.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

AL-TN-KY-WV-VA-TN-AL

Happy New Year and the Vols win! What a trip ~ we saw family and friends and traveled many miles through several states. The girls were real troopers and the van is a complete mess. Aren't family vacations fun? A big thanks to our friends for the use of their little cabin in the Canaan Valley that is filled deer (we counted over 200 during our stay). We arrived Christmas Eve evening and the girls found the loft immediately and started playing with all the stuff. They quickly decided who would be sleeping where - even the little girl slept upstairs. Christmas morning the girls opened presents, presents and more presents. The next day we went snow skiing and the big girls started out in ski school and never looked back - they both can ski better than Mom and Dad. All week we waited and waited for snow - none came. But thanks to a snow fence in the field right near the cabin there was a patch of snow that remained and the girls played on it and even managed to build a snowman. Our friends joined us in their cabin for our last night. They took us to a great place for dinner and one last movie in the cabin before we had to start home. Back at home the football games are on, the big girls are visiting friends and the little girl is taking a nap. So I want to wish you all peace, joy, and love for this new year!