Focus on the Family

I said I was going to address praying for our children this week. I think God purposely ment for Jami to buy me that book because as this week has gone on I have felt more & more the need to address our children. Remember as I say this I am not parenting pro, I make mistakes all the time, I just hope something I say can be used as encouragement for parents.  In the Bible there is many verses on children. This tells me that Jesus valued children. If we are Christians then we should value them too. As a parent, we should be praying for our children. My prayers in the past have been kind of generic... Lord let the boys have a good day at school or let them do well on a test. Again, I have been praying wrong but again God showed me the way. I finished " The Praying Parent" portion of the book last week and began praying for specific items. I never thought to pray specifically for Godly adults or friends to be in my boys lives & if there is those who are not Christian ask God to remove them until their hearts are changed, I never thought to pray for God's purpose in their lives, the urge to resist evil, success at school, to develop a heart for God, a right attitude, sexual temptation and their future spouse with a successful marriage. I know you are thinking I am crazy but why not pray for their future spouse. I want them to find the right woman the 1st time not the 3rd or 4th marriage on down the road. Outside of God, isn't the spouse the most important person in an adults life? So I began praying specifically for these things & I have seen change happening. I really believe being a praying parent is going to help my children with their futures. We say we love our children & we want to give them the best of everything but are we doing that? If God is not the head of your house, if God is not the head of your marriage then your children are getting short changed. Lead by example. Show them what a family looks like with God in control of ever aspect, marriage, finances, child rearing, problem solving.  So what example are you setting? I saw this somewhere over the week so I am borrowing it...  You make places in your schedule every week for sports, music, dance, gymnastics,gym so why should church be any different. What about praying? There is time in the schedule for putting on makeup every morning, coffee, maybe some news or Facebook ( my struggle) but what about time to pray? Maybe it needs to be scheduled in. I don't want any of this to come across like I am the perfect parent, the perfect wife, the perfect anything because God knows I am not & bless my family but they know I am not. I fail many times a day. I just want to give us something to think about. I love my church children & I want them to have the best home lives, the best relationships with Godly parents, the best Christian friends and role models. I want them to have the best chance at a Christian life and I want them to have people in their lives that lead by setting the right example. Are we doing that? 

Big City Studio this Wed. Night. Don't forget if you or your child is going on the Spring Break trip nonrefundable $10.00 dep is due by Sunday. Thanks for all who supported our lunch yesterday. Thank you to all the ladies who got everything ready in the kitchen while I was in Sunday school. Yall did a great job!I also wanted to think some youth parents who offered to cook something to help us out, Shay, Amy & Wendy. That was very generous of y'all! Have a great week & start praying for your spouse & children today. You'll see the difference because God is faithful!

The Power of Prayer

I wanted to share a book with you that has made a huge difference in my prayer life and hope it will offer some encouragement if you don't think prayer works.  I have always been a prayer, even when I was straying from God but this book has been a huge help in my prayer life pertaining to my family. It is called "The Power of a Praying Mom" 3 in  1 collection. It starts out teaching  the wife to pray for her husband. When I first received the book, which was a gift from Jami,  it made me step back and think. This is going to sound bad, but Jami was probably the last person I prayed for daily. He seems like he always has it together, things are good between us , his job is good so why would he need daily prayer? If he had a specific problem come up, sure I would pray but if he didn't then he went on my prayer back burner. I know I sound like a crappy wife, but other prayers for people just came first.  Then I started reading. Some examples of things I learned to pray about are his purpose( that is not just providing a paycheck or changing light bulbs), his health, his priorities, protection, his mind, his attitude, his relationships, fatherhood & his marriage. Sure I have prayed for God to watch over him & bring him home safely if he was out late at night on a call out but pray for his mind, his attitude or his purpose.... Nope never! So I started being very purposeful & praying specifically for Jami& the situations he was faced with this past week. I had 3 very specific prayers for him & those prayers were answered. Let me share one of those. Jami worked yesterday, then came home and started working on people's tithing reports for the end of the year tax records. He normally does the bulletin on Sat. night but never got to it last night. I knew his morning at church would be very hectic trying to do the bulletin, the words for the screen plus he left the house late. So I prayed everything at church  he needed to do would move quickly & efficiently with no problems. We both got to sit down earlier & chat about church & I asked him how the morning went. He had no idea I had prayed for him. He said it was unbelievable smooth this morning. I had to tell him what I had done & that I had 2 other times this past week where my prayers for him were answered almost immediately. I figure there is other wives like me who put friends, others' circumstances before their husbands or who just offers up a general prayer for your husband. Get this book and learn to concentrate your prayers in specific areas of your husbands life. I can't believe how ignorant I have been for 18 yrs.  All these years I have wasted when I could have been praying about his fatherhood. Why would I not want him to be the best father that God intended him to be or for his purpose? Maybe he should have been playing his drums for Christian music years ago.  What about praying for his attitude? I am sure there has been many times he could have used God's help with that! Haha  Relationships!!! I want him to have the best Christian male friends he can have or praying he makes the most out of every family situation he gets to take part in. What about finances? Maybe if I had been praying about that he wouldn't have enough fishing lures to open his own store. I know I am making fun of some things but seriously ladies, the devil is on the prowl, looking for a way to get into your husbands mind & heart. If he can tear him down, put him in a bad situation then the results of that affects you and your children.... Not just your husband. Why would you not want o use the power of prayer for you husband? I'll probably talk about The Power of a Praying Mother next week. I hope this helps somebody!

Big City Wed. night & remember soup lunch Sunday for donations. Trying to raise money for our kids aquarium trip. Have a blessed week!!

YOUTH SUNDAY

When I left church today Arlo said, "I can't wait to see what the blog says tomorrow." I really don't know what to say...I know that is hard to believe but seriously, wasn't it all said today? How Great is Our God summed it up! He took this old church with very few people, but they were dedicated & faithful people, placed a very young, inexperienced youth minister there, placed new people there, took the older minister away, used the young inexperienced youth minister to become the very good but still young minister, grew the church with people who had willing hearts, grew the church some more, grew enough to hire a youth minister, took the youth minister & his family to an out of the country missionary path, took a dedicated church member & his wife to help out while we searched for a youth minister, grew the church but there was broken hearts over the previous youth minister being gone, added a huge group of boys to the youth dept. which caused feelings of division among the group, hired the church member to be the youth minister & and they go to Winter Extreme and we wake up today to a Youth Service. The youth service was about a coming together, supporting each other, showing the church the excitement they shared together and praising God together. To get to today there was lots of prayer, lots of conversation, lots of patience, lots of let's just wait and see, more prayer & still even more prayer and today just shows us again, if we follow God's direction, come to Him in prayer & just be patient, He answers everything in His own time. Not Arlo's time, not Joey's time, not the youth search committee's time & not the youth's time. He answers it on His time & that time is always right & sooo worth the wait. As a parent of youth and a WBBC church member I was so proud of our youth group today. They worshipped their way! They did such a good job with the skit, the music & speaking. I love that our church is a place where people can just stand up and say what is on there heart. I love that our church welcomes children and youth and really shows up and supports them when they have an event. Hearts were changed over this. Adults and youth bonded over Winter Extreme. How Great is our God , sing with me how great is our God and all will say how great, how great is our God!

On a funnier note, Jami has been to Gadsden music many times this week adding to the drum collection. He was also given some monetary Christmas gifts from his family for each of us this past week. So last night, as he was heading out to Ignite w/ the youth, he asked me if I had any cash. I replied," no, but if you have our Christmas money go ahead and use that. " He replied," I used your money this week and I didn't think you would care since it was going to further God's work!' Don't even tell him I posted this because he would probably be so embarrassed. I really didn't care either...he was right it was used for God' s work and I guess my heart was changed since I am ok with all the drum stuff!

"Big City Studio" this Wed. night. I hope to see all the kids. We have a new set so I am looking forward to using it. please get out an invite someone. The children will have a soup lunch Jan. 27 with donations going towards the Chattanooga trip. I can't wait to see what does at WBBC this year. He has already done so much for us but I know He has even more in store. How Great is our God, sing with me How great is our God and all will sing how great, how great is our God.

Spirit Filled Church for the New Year

WOW is all I could say! The choir, Randy & Jenny & then Kendra & the choir. There is no words for the blessings those voices took part in today. Thank you Lord for giving them their talents! I know if people read this who do not go to WBBC, they have to think how can she be so excited about her church all the time.... because this church is filled up & busting at the seems with God. You just come in, find a pew, let everything weighing on your mind go & you will feel God swoop in and cover you with His spirit. I sit there some Sundays in awe knowing what God has done & busting on the inside with excitement because I know He has so much more in store for us at WBBC.

I am also excited that the youth have the service next Sunday. I have heard so many wonderful stories about their Winter Extreme trip from adults but I look forward to the kids perspective & hopefully some will testify on how the trip worked in their lives. I know my own boys enjoyed it & when I say boys that includes Jami too. I have joked with some about the drums Jami bought & how I have tried to keep drums away from my home for 17 yrs now. Jami's relatives would say I found your old drum or some sticks & I would hush them or tell them not to tell Jami.  To be honest, my heart has changed & if Jami chooses to set them up in the middle of the living room floor, practice while I am trying to watch General Hospital and he is doing it for God, then I am good with it. Thankfully, he didn't set them up at home! WHEW!! Yes I know Joey likes to joke at mine & Jami's expense but he did tell me about the purchase of the drums Wed. night so no I didn't just find out in preaching this morning! So bring on the guitars, drums, keyboard.....whatever they decide to use & lets rock out with the youth Sunday! I CAN"T WAIT!!

This Wed. night the kids will need to be upstairs in the green room for a smaller version of  "Big City". The youth will be in the gym. No children's church Sunday either. The following Wed. we will be back in the gym w/ the full blown version of "Big City". I have mentioned to some of you about a Spring break trip March 25 & 26 to Chattanooga to sleep at the aquarium. Plans are still in the works but I need to know who plans on going & how many from each family so I can determine if we have enough to reserve our spot. The aquarium limits this sleepover to kids 6 yrs & up. Please let me know by the end of this week who plans on going so I can get this reservation in. I plan on a soup lunch for Jan. 27. Hang on to anything you would want to get rid of for a yard sale in Feb. to benefit the trip. Hope to see all the kiddos Wed. night!

Congratulations to the Ayres family on the newest members of their family! Elizabeth is a beautiful  young girl & Davidson has an adorable face you just want to eat up!!! I can only imagine the love & joy they will all bring into each others lives. Though I have the gift of prophesy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but I have not love, then I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2