Monday, May 21, 2012

Memeories

Memories are so special to me and I am so blessed that I have racked up over the years so many special church related memories. You can add the Saturday night Baron's game to that list. You know I am not a baseball fan but I really enjoyed Saturday night. I enjoyed getting to know the adults in the van better and the atmosphere at the ballpark and of course the funnel cake & pizza. Unfortunately, I will probably never forget that I went all the way into the mens bathroom right up to the urinals without paying any attention until I got to close!! I LOVED the fireworks and the ooh and ahhs of the kids watching those fireworks will be in my memory forever. I know the kids will file those memories away for safe keeping too. I think when they are older they will remember riding that old church van, loaded up w/ sugar snacks, praying as a group outside the ballpark, eating all that food & let me tell ya , we have some skinny kids that can put some food away, getting autographs & of course I don't think they will forget those fireworks! I hope when they are older they can say I went here and there with my church and had a blast. I hope they tell their children all about it and have a desire to make sure their kids are in church & know about Jesus. I hope we have kids who become adults who are not afraid to stand in public somewhere like a ballpark & say ok now lets pray before we go in. The events & fun activites are important but how they see us add Jesus to the mix is the most important! I will be out of church on VACATION Sunday & Wednesday but wonderful adults are covering the classes! Shay Layton will teach Sunday school next week, John & Bridget Sims has children's church & Allison will teach Wednesday night. Here is a huge list of everything for the month of June!! Oh and I almost forgot..next time we have pickle palooza I'll limit the kids pickle intake since we had one vomit pickles the next day!! haha lol!! Hopefully nobody will vomit ice cream this week!

May 23   Ice cream party

From now until June 6th "Operation Ben Clough"  boys summer clothing drive sizes 6 - 14. Anytype  new summer clothing, socks, underwear & shoes will be donated to the Etowah Mission Center in memory of Ben Clough. There is a box for donations on the table in the hall close to the office.

June 13th wed. night kids Katie Smith & Mollie Williams will teach on missions and the 5th grade boys will take the van to Sonic for ice cream. Send money with your child. Leave church @5:45 be back by 7:00.

June 15th Trussville Playstation. I think we will leave the church at 6:00 but I will let you know forsure by Wed. night. This is for all kids. I was also hoping to get us a ticket price around 15.00 but it is looking like 20.00 per child is the best I can do. There are restrictions on height for the go karts so check out trussville playstations website to make sure you child can ride. Just put this date down as a definate activity & I'll have more info coming soon.

June 17th  Doughnuts With Dad. In celebration of Father's Day the kids and their Father's & Grandfathers will have doughnuts before Sunday school as a  time just to sit & relax together. 8:45 til 9:15 

June 22nd Community wide movie night in the gym. Featuring " Yogi Bear". Free concessions & I will need some volunteers to help w/ that.

Each Wed. we will still have a lesson or devotion but we try to mix even more fun into the mix since it is summer. Still hoping to have a pool party! VBS is scheduled for July 23-27 and I know Allison will be looking for lots of volunteers. Would love any cheap ideas for trips. Have a great week & I'll see you all Wed. night!

Monday, May 14, 2012

When God called me, He equipped me with Women of GREAT INFLUENCE!

Big thank you to all the church parents who wrote such sweet notes in my card & for the Red Lobster gc. I appreciate you all acknowledging me! I love you all and your kids and I am so blessed to get to work w/ each of them!
Yesterday in church you heard some comments about mother's and their influence on their children. I wanted to take a minute and talk about women in general & their influence on others. When we 1st started going to WBBC I really did not want to be there. I fought God, HARD!! You have heard me say this many times.. it was all old people.  I finally gave into God's will and in me His work began. I can look back now and see why God place me at a church w/ so many old people. I needed to learn & receive encouragement from them. Once I decided to try and start a kids program they were right behind me. Mrs. Carr would call me and say have you tried this or looked here for that & then lifted me up w/ words of encouragement. If I needed help trying to find a Bible verse, I would call Mrs. Johnson. Never once did she act like I was a bother. She always new exactly what I was looking for. I also learned about being dedicated and faithful to the church by watching Mrs. Carr & Mrs. Broom. Both were sick and longed to be at church. I would watch Audrey Broom on Sundays, wearing a scarf on her head (she was battling cancer) go up to visitors and welcome them. I struggle w/ being shy but I told myself, if Audrey can do this so can I. I started praying that God would help me overcome my shyness. I would go into the bathroom and pray before I came into the sanctuary & over time God has slowly taken my shyness away. Sometimes, I still have to go pray about it but for the most part I can say it doesn't bother me to walk up to a visitor & welcome them into the church. I also find myself thinking of them when I am not in the mood to go to church or if I am just not feeling well that those ladies were heartbroken when they could not be in church. Cancer and bad lungs tried to keep them from the church but any chance they had they were there being dedicated & faithful.  If Audrey Broom can shake hands while fighting cancer my tiredness is not a reason to stay home. Those women probably had no idea they were influencing anyone. So I wonder if us younger women have thought about who we might be influencing. Not just our own children but think of the child who sits on the pew with you or the young mother struggling to get all her kids to church. Are we influencing them the right way? Do we lift them up w/ words of encouragement. I hope to do better at this. I want to be a woman of Godly influence on others. I know I still have a long way to go as a Sunday school teacher and still alot to learn but I still receive so much encouragement from my church family. God called me to work w/ kids ( I don't know why but I am glad He did) but He also equipped me w/ Godly women at WBBC that I was able to learn from and continue to learn from. I am so thankful for that!

Don't forget Pickle Palooza Wed. night 6 om
Barons game Sat. night. Meet at the church at 4
Wed. night May 23 Ice cream party 6 pm

Monday, May 7, 2012

Ramblings

WOW! Church was so emotional for me. God just always delivers and I felt his presence so strongly this weekend. Arlo had asked me previously in the week to be a driver for the scavenger hunt. My twins had spend the night plans & I lined up my mother in law to keep Jack for me. Jami had worked Sat. so I really wasn't into driving. Nothing against the youth but rarely are all our kids gone & I really thought if I didn't need to drive Jami & I would go out to eat that night. I went on to the church & surprisingly met Jami there early (rarely does he get off on time if he works a Sat.) Kids & parents started coming in & Arlo asked me to drive. Looked like a good dinner was out of the question. But God knows what we need, when we need it! I ended up w/ 3 great girls. Katelyn, Maggie, Joy & we picked up an extra while out... Madison. Those girls were such a pleasure to hunt with! I am always with boys so it was so refreshing to have girls with me, to hear their giggles & see excitement. That better be the only time I ever see those girls in a police car again! lol We didn't win but I truly felt like a winner just because of the experience. Arlo had a speaker lined up. He talked about as young people we went to church & knew who God was, but as youth sometimes do, got into some wrong things. One thing turns into another then you have done something else wrong. Boy, have I been there. Then he spoke about as an adult he finally found God for real. He said to us," I know you know who God is or you wouldn't been here in this church tonight, but does God know you?" WOW..I hope God knows you!

Then came the relay for life video at church. Cancer has definitely hurt so many of us. It was great to see a picture of Ben. I loved the Clough's shirts they wore yesterday.  They said,  IN LIKE BEN & had heaven on there. What a family! Then Katelyn & Arlo speaks. God made a beautiful young lady when He made Katelyn, so honest & so loving! She puts it all out there & that is how us adults should do it too! God is doing a great work thru Arlo right now. Well I have rambled enough. Here is what is going on this month for the kids.

This Wed. night will be missions w/ Katie Smith & Mollie Williams
Saturday May 12  Kids meet at church 5:00-6:30 for Mother's Day dress rehearsal & pizza supper.
Wed. May 16 PICKLEPALOOZA
Sat. May 19 Barons game
Wed. May 23 ICE CREAM PARTY

Children's Church schedule
May 20th Allison Williams
May 27th John & Bridget Sims

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

YEAH It's May

Yeah! It's May is what is being said at my house today. The boys are so excited that they only have  a few weeks of school left. They graduate May 23 from the 5th grade and move to the middle school for the new school year. It still seems like yesterday when Jami & I took the boys in for kindergarten registration. As they have grown in size & intelligence, I have also seen a real growth in their spiritual life. The boys have done really well in school, made lots of friends, been student of the month several times but the thing I am most excited about & remember more than any other time was the day they were both saved! This year in our children's dept is bitter sweet for me. I have taught my own boys at church on Wed. nights now for 7 years. Of the original 1st group of kids I worked with they are the last to leave me. They will be considered youth this fall and will not be in my Sunday school class or Wed. night kids. Besides my own boys, there is several other boys who have been with me for several years now and they will move up to youth too! I really can't imagine going into Sunday school or Wed. nights and not having them there with me. At times I thought they would drive me crazy but the truth is I love them and will really miss them. I have seen most of them saved and baptised and that has been an awesome privilege and blessing for me. I know God has plans to use each of them as they move on up in school and I am excited to see God work in their lives!

Remember the kids have practice for the Mother's Day program This Wed & Sunday,  & then a dress rehersal Sat. May 12, 5:00-6:30.  I'll feed them pizza that night.

May 9th  Wednesday night kids: Katie Smith & Mollie Williams teach missions
May 16th Wednesday night kids: PICKLE PALOOZA PARTY
May 19th is the Barron's game ( I do not have leaving time yet)
May 23rd Wednesday night kids: ICE CREAM PARTY to celebrate end of school yr!! WOO HOO

I am still working on some ideas for the summer. Tentative plans are for all the kids & parents to go to the Trussville Playstation Friday night , June 15th. I am still working on the best ticket deal for that, but for the moment if you are budgeting it in plan on 15.00 per child. I am hoping we will schedule in a pool party so if anyone wants to volunteer their pool I'll gladly accept! lol Looking for some cheap ideas so if you have some please share! Have a great week!