Vacation Bible School

Personalize a free slideshow

We just completed our first VBS at Northwest Baptist last week and thought I'd share a few pics from our facebook page. We had such a great week getting to know everyone while serving the Lord together! What could be better? I'll tell ya- 2 kids getting saved!! PTL!

Move to Gainesville

What can I say? We have moved to Gainesville Fl and a new adventure has begun! We started our new church on Sunday, and had a glorious beginning! I will post new pics of our home as soon as I get them so everyone can share in our new home!

Does God have a Waiting Room?

You have definitely been there before. Usually in the dead of winter, on an overcast day, you find yourself among the half living in that place called the "waiting room" of your local Dr.'s office. Growing up I HATED going to the Doctor. Not the appointment, but all the time wasted sitting there waiting for my turn. Sure, they try to make the place inviting, but in reality, no one wants to be there. We are geared up for the main event- finding out what is going on, and looking for a solution, or rather a prescription for the problem we are facing.

Well, here I am in the middle of my spiritual winter. I sit, waiting. Waiting to see what God has in store for me. Waiting to see what the next step is in my journey. Waiting for details!! Don't we all want details about what's next?!

This poses the question for the day? "Does God have a waiting room?"

This may seem like a obvious question for some, but I've really been pondering reasons for waiting on God. I do wait, but usually its with a bad attitude, and I felt like God wanted to change my heart on the subject of waiting. So here goes...

I decided to look up the verb, "wait" in the dictionary and I got this definition: - to remain or rest in expectation.

Immediately I felt like the Lord gave me a picture of what this looks like. I thought back on Biblical characters who sat at the feet of Jesus and remained with Him and rested with Him. First of all, I was reminded of Mary, the sister of Lazarus who remained with Jesus while here sister Martha worked. She sat at the feet of Jesus and interacted with Him through worship and fellowship. Also, I was reminded of the disciples who served alongside Jesus. They reamined with Him as He ministered and looked forward with expectation at He would do next.

The Key here is fellowship with the Living God as we wait!

The Lord reminded me of a verse in John 15:4 which promises Remain in me and I will Remain in you.

Our perspective changes when we see this verse in context with the real meaning of waiting or remaining b/c if we WAIT on the Lord, we are really waitng WITH the Lord. How Awesome is that? Have you ever heard of a waiting room where the doctor stays with you and interacts with you while you wait on results? Isaiah 40:31 encourages us as well: "But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. they will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint"
How amazing! When we wait (remain) with the Lord he willrenew us, and help us not to grow weary!

To close my thoughts for today, I wanted to share the lyrics of a song that is my theme song right now. Its called, "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller. It has really captured my attention and encouraged me thoroughly.

I’m waiting
I’m waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I’m waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience

While I’m waiting
I will serve You
While I’m waiting
I will worship
While I’m waiting
I will not faint
I’ll be running the race
Even while I wait

I’m waiting
I’m waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I’m waiting on You, Lord
Though it’s not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait

I will serve You while I’m waiting
I will worship while I’m waiting

I'm ba-ack! New Posts to Come!

I have been away forever it seems, but I have a renewed vigor for blogging after I recently watched "Julie and Julia", a movie about a woman who promises herself to blog daily for a year about cooking recipes from Julia Child's french cookbook masterpiece. I can't promise to write daily, but hopefully I can get after it on a regular basis!!

Many of my written thoughts tend to be devotional in nature so join me as I try to unveil the mysteries of the Christian walk!

Opeartion Christmas Child

Christmas is starting early this year, and the best way to get in the Christmas Spirit is to give something to someone who may not get Christmas presents. Enter Operation Christmas Child. Make a Child's Christmas by packing a Shoebox full of little goodies and trinkets and send them to Samaratians Purse, an organization that will ship them virtually across the globe to children in need. Here are some simple instructions if you are interested in this project:

1. SHOE BOX-PRINT THESE INSTRUCTIONS AND LABELS
Click to download.Use an empty shoe box (standard size, please) or a small plastic container. You can wrap the box (lid separately), but wrapping is not required. Most importantly, pray for the child who will receive your gift.

2. BOY OR GIRL?
Determine whether your gift will be for a boy or a girl, and the child’s age category: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Mark the correct age category on the label, and tape the label to the top of your box.

3. FILL WITH GIFTS-Fill the box with a variety of gifts that will bring delight to a child. Use the gift ideas provided on the bottom of this page.

4. INCLUDE YOUR DONATION Please donate $7 or more for each shoe box you prepare to help cover shipping and other project costs. You can give online by using our EZGIVE option, or you can write a check to Samaritan’s Purse (note “OCC” on memo line) and place it in an envelope on top of the gift items inside your box. If you or your family are preparing more than one shoe box, please make one combined donation.

5. DROP OFF Place a rubber band around each closed shoe box and drop off at the Collection Center nearest you during our collection week November 16 - 23.

For locations and hours of collection visit our Drop-Off Locations page where you can find the nearest place to take your shoe box by entering your ZIP Code or you can call 1-800-353-5949.

You can also send your shoe box gift to:
Samaritan’s Purse
Operation Christmas Child
801 Bamboo Road
Boone, NC 28607

GIFT IDEAS
TOYS
small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch®, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky®, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES
pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring and picture books, etc.

HYGIENE ITEMS
toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth, etc.

OTHER
Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all candy), mints, gum, T-shirts, socks, ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries)

A PERSONAL NOTE
In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. (If you include your name and address, the child may write back.)

DO NOT INCLUDE:
Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snowglobes or glass containers; aerosol cans.

Fall Fest

On Halloween Night, our church hosted its annual Fall Fest, this year for the first time in our new Family Life Center. We saw SO many cute kiddos dressed up as clowns, old men, construction workers, lots of Batmen and my two paticular faves:


Craig was George W. Bush and Cam was a bag of popcorn! Craig and I decorated or table with an American theme and "Re-Elect George in 2012!" We also had a game of rocket darts at our table. it was really fun, even though I was a humbug and didn't dress up this year! Katie opted out of Fall fest for a costume par-tay where she dressed up as a cowgirl.



As you can see, Cam had a ball with all her buddies and got loaded up on candy and goodies. We had a really great crowd and served tons of hot dogs and chips to all our guests for the evening.

After the Fall Fest, We hit Boo on Main, which islocated in downtown Westminster. The Local Vendors and Buisnesses close down Main Street Wesetminster and line up and give candy away to all the town's kids. Its really a fun way to see everyone, but this year there were LOTS of Scary Costumes and Cam got a bit spooked, so we headed across town to another Fall Par-tay and loaded up on Cotton Candy!! We also went trick or treating and can you believe it- Cam got NO Peanut candy! That was a first!

After the Sugar buzz wore off, we headed home and made caramel apples while Cam counted all the goods! Overall We had a great time!! Now we'll be eating this candy till Christmas!

Make a Smilebox slideshow