Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Easter Week Activities

This will be short and sweet. I'll cover the trip later but I wanted to just say it was a great trip. with some well needed time to just enjoy the kids because sometimes church is just rushed. I love it when I get to love on them, talk to them & just see what is going on in their lives & yesterday provided that. I also wanted to make sure everyone knew what to expect for this week. The power situation threw us off w/ last weeks Wed. night plans. Tomorrow night the kids will learn everything about Easter, the days preceding Easter, the Crucifixion & the Resurrection!!! Thank you Lord! They will cook the "Empty Tomb" pastry so it will be a busy hour. I know our weather has been crazy & I have not had a chance to see what the forecast is for Saturday but we will have the Easter egg hunt rain or shine. 4 pm meet at the church. If it is raining or freezing, we will hunt inside the church & the gym, if good weather we will walk to the McGlaughns. We will serve snacks before we hunt. I am looking for a few adults to make cupcakes, so if anyone would like to offer up a dozen or two that would be great! I would also appreciate it if  some youth would volunteer to help hide the eggs. This is for babies - 5th grade.  please reach out to your neighbors, family and friends and invite them to this event. You never know, an egg hunt might be the only time someone has invited them to church & that one asking might be what gets them into church, helps them learn about Jesus and then God gets a hold of them and their life is changed forever. How awesome that would be to know that God used you to bring someone to Him. I hope to see all the kids tomorrow night. I can't wait to share the Easter Story with them. I hope you have a very blessed Easter Week and remember the focus is Jesus!

Monday, March 18, 2013

More Stuff

Wasn't this past weekend beautiful? The change in the weather got me thinking. Spring time is like a renewal. In the winter the weather is dreary, the trees are leafless & most of us seem like we are barely ticking along but then all of a sudden the sun is out, it warms us inside & out, the trees start to bloom, we have a little hop in our step & it seems a little excitement too. Makes me think of God. We are in the dark, lonely, no fruit, just barely making it but then God knocks on a sinners heart and a change begins... it is a fresh new start, just like spring.

I wonder how many of y'all are watching the Bible? My family is really enjoying it. We rarely watch tv as a family because the twins live in their room and are addicted to video games but the Bible series brings us all together. The boys enjoy it & so do Jami & I. I love the conversation that it sparks. Like I said before, I do not know if all parts of all the stories are exact but I do know that it is sparking conversation & that is a great thing! Last night was amazing! I can't wait for the next 2 Sundays. I think it will end with the cruxifiction & Resurrection of Jesus Easter night. I am so excited for that! I would love to hear others view points on the Bible series.

I love Easter! It is such an exciting time in the life of a Christian. I  really want our church kids to understand that Easter is much more than eggs & bunnies, so this Wed. night the children will be learning all they can about Easter & all the important days that go with it like, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday & Good Friday. The children will also be doing a little cooking that night. They will be making a delicious treat called  "Empty Tomb" marshmallow delights. I know that night is the revival at Riverbend & our regular Wed. night service will be held at Riverbend, but the kids & nursery will still be at the church, 6-7 or whenever y'all make it back from the revival to pick up your children. Next Wed. night will be during spring break week so we will just play some games. The Easter egg hunt will be March 30 @ 4pm ( please notice the time change, not 2 pm). For babies - 5th grade. We will meet at the church for lite snacks, meet the Easter Bunny & take some photos, then head down the road to the McGlaughns for the hunt. PLEASE invite kids!! I have goody bags with the Easter Story theme and I would love for us to have the chance to share that wonderful story with some children who do not know about Jesus!! Just invite them...God always handles the rest! Also, some of our church member's, Jami, Scott & Dan,  are performing with Southside Baptist this Friday, Saturday & Sunday night in the "Battle". If you get a chance to go see it, you should hop on it! It is fabulous! A great way to kick off spring break with your family & get ready for the big Easter week! Alright, I know I will have a few upset kiddies but the Lock In is post poned until summer, probably June. I had less than 10 kids who could come this Friday night & only 3 parents who could help so I am going to wait until I can find a better day for the most kids. I reassured some of our 5th grade girls yesterday in SS that we will definitely have it. They were afraid they would move up to youth & not get their lock in! lol I love those girls! Remember for those of you who ordered T shirts I need your money by Wed. night. I think they might be at church to pass out that night too. Chattanooga trip heads out at 7 am March 25 and will arrive back by noon on March 26. You need to bring lunch money, sleeping bag & pillow & a change of clothing. Please keep our safety in your prayers & mom goes to the cancer dr Wed. so please pray for good report of no cancer spotted!!! Thank you!!!Whew..I think that is it! I hope y'all have the best week, get your mind & heart focused on Easter and what it really means to us Christians! Spread the word & invite someone to church!

Monday, March 11, 2013

March Maddness

I woke up yesterday morning to the realization I had set the clocks backwards instead of forwards. I was like a crazy woman trying to get everyone up & ready. Jami was originally suppose to get up extra early so he could go to church earlier than normal to do the bulletin & the words for the screen. He was called out to work before he ever made it from the bed to the shower. Now he would be even further behind. I was moaning, groaning & complaining about my back as I was still runny around frantically( I think you can envision 5 of us going crazy & what the house must have looked like), then my phone rang. It was Joey with the very sad news about the death of a sweet young lady. She was someone who grew up just down the road from me. Visited my house as a child & her cousin was one of my best friends as a teenager. The call just put everything else into perspective. All my family was home safe, my Sunday morning troubles were nothing compared to what others were dealing with. I can't imagine the pain her family is feeling right now & in the days to come. I think Joey said it all yesterday. You better know Christ & I mean really know him....have a personal relationship with Him because we never know what tomorrow will hold. I hope you & those important to you have that relationship!

God definitely blessed us Saturday at the yard sale. Is still can't believe we raised $1620.00. It was amazing! I am so thankful for those who worked & donated to make it all possible. Besides making a huge amount of money, I enjoyed the day being around the parents, talking & getting to know each other better. We also had the nicest shoppers. I even had a elderly lady come in, prob in her 80's, that said she attended the church when she was a child. The day was truly a blessing for me!

March is a busy month so let's get to it. this Wed. night Katie Smith will teach upstairs in the green SS room on missions.  Sunday I need to meet with all of the parents who are going on the trip or who have children going to fill out some paper work & go over behaviour requirements from the aquarium. (Sounds like we are planning on going to boot camp or something) Wed. night March 20, we will be learning the Easter story & cooking an Easter dessert. It will be a pastry that resembles the tomb being empty after Jesus arose. We did it last year during Sunday school & the kids enjoyed it so this yr I thought we would do it on Wed. night where more kids would get to take part. They actually do the work themselves so it is hands on. March 22 will be the lock in. 7-7. I will still need parents to help so please let me know if you are free. I can not do it with just 2 or 3 moms. March 25 will be the Chattanooga trip. I'll have all the information on that during our meeting Sunday. I am planning on ordering tshirts for the trip. As soon as I know a price I'll let you know, should be today or tomorrow.  I do have room for a few more children for the Chatt. trip. It would be about $70.00 a person if someone is interested in going. Must be at least 6 yrs. old per the aquarium. If there is any coupon book money out I need to get that asap. Wed. March 27 falls on spring break so we will play games & hopefully enjoy some nice outside weather. The Easter egg hunt will be March 30 @ 2 pm. Rain or shine. There will be no children's church Easter Sunday, March 31.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Bunch of Stuff

Did you wake up exhausted this morning like me? Seems like there is never enough time to do all we need to do. Never enough time for rest. Thankfully, one day, when we get to heaven, we will not have to worry about getting everything done or how tired we are. For now we just have to keep on keeping on! I hope you had a great weekend. My family was very busy but we got to sit down together last night & watch "The Bible", a new series on the History Channel. Factually, I don't know if everything is correct. I do know it brought us all to the living room, piled up on the couch together, boys off videos games & Jami & I off the computers. We discussed different events & how if we thought things happened close to what the show was revealing. It was 2 hours long & neither teen moved off the couch. It was a great end to a Sunday. I hope you and your family will try & watch it next Sunday night. I think you will enjoy it.

Big thank you to the WBBC family for the spaghetti lunch donations. Thank you to those parents who worked so hard in the kitchen & Amy Martin for her noodle expertise. One more week of hard work & we should be finished raising money for the Chattanooga trip. Parents please remember to get with Ashley Fortenberry to let her know how you can help with the yard sale. It is this Saturday from 7-12. Please spread the word because we need to clear the gym out! Post on facebook & tell your co workers! I need to get all coupon money in by Sunday  if you have any extra books, please let me know. I have people who are wanting some. Reminders for the kids. Wed. night they will spend their Big City bucks in the store so make sure they bring them. This is a one night event so if they child can't make it make sure they save their bucks until the next lesson series (3 months) is over & we will have the store again. This is a busy month for the kids. Lock In March 22, Chattanooga trip  and March 25 & 26 then the Easter Egg hunt on March 30. Pray that these events lead us to unchurched families. We had several families visit yesterday & that just gets me so excited. I am thankful that after all these years God continues to renew that excitement! Y'all have a great week & keep God the focus!