Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Vacation

I am home from my vacation and boy did it ever go by too fast.  I think this will be one of my more memorable vacations because I was able to see a real change in my boys from the past year.  Sometimes as parents we get so busy doing the day to day stuff we don’t see our kids grow or mature until you realize they are in blue jeans a mile too short. I had a friend a few weeks ago say she was definitely vacationing this year because she was afraid it might be the last time her teenage son wanted to go on a family trip. I didn’t put too much thought into that until the 1st day of our vacation. 6 am I am awaken by one of the twins asking if they could go to the pool by themselves. I said no it was too early, went back to sleep without thinking of what I had even been asked. 8 am rolls around & again can we go to the pool now by ourselves. I said yes, still not thinking too much about the question.  Jami, Jack and I went to the beach & eventually the twins came down. They stayed in the ocean but to themselves. Then it hit me….. this is what most teenagers do. They start to separate themselves from their parents. The only real time we spent with them the whole week was when we went to eat. They stayed at the pool, the beach, their room or the deck of the house keeping to themselves. If adults went on the deck they moved inside. If they were outside they were in their own conversation. The twins always like to go to the Track & ride go karts. When they were younger they needed Jami, Daddy or Joey to ride with them, as they grew they wanted to drive against them. This time I loaded their Track card and they were off. They didn’t need us, just our money. Lol The last night we were watching the boys do a ropes course and Mom was just a hollering at Joshua telling him he could do it, he was almost there & he stopped, looked down at her & asked her to stop yelling please! Lol I know he was so embarrassed at his nana cheering him on.  So my boys started to act like teenagers with a blink of an eye. I am sure this will lead to more “teenager” stuff this summer and the following school year. I imagine they’ll be lots of conversations about can we go to the movies on our own or can you drop me off here. I don’t know how I’ll handle each of those situations yet. We have already had request to skip church or to miss a Sunday morning because they were sleeping over at a friend’s house. The boys do know that that is not allowed. If they spend the night off on Sat. night then I pick them up at 9 am on Sunday morning & they can get dressed at church. There is no skipping church just for the sake of not wanting to go. We have already had the complaints on that because others get too. We have a very open dialogue in our home. They boys ask me lots of questions and I answer every one of them honestly. Some make me blush or cringe but I rather just tell the truth & explain why or why not what they heard at school is correct and let me tell you the stuff they hear at school is unbelievable!!!! I can’t use enough exclamation points to emphasis that!! So I don’t know what the teenage years will hold for us but I do know that I look forward to them. I hope the boys have wonderful times as teenagers, make new friends & new experiences. I know that I am already in a lot of prayer. I pray for evilness and temptation to be removed from the twin’s path & I pray for Christian teens & adults to be in their lives. I trust in God who tells me in my favorite parenting bible verse, Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it Proverbs 22:6. I have to do my part, which is lead by example, raise them up in a Godly home, teach about God and raise them up in church. If they stray I know I did what I was supposed to do & they know God. They’ll eventually find their way back to God! To me that is what that verse means. I saw a big growth in Jack this vacation too. From last yr. to now, he left being a toddler behind and is full blown boyhood! Time sure does fly! I hope you get a chance to spend some down time with your family…even if it is only when your child is hungry and you can pin them down long enough to eat a meal with you or squeeze them tight when they come asking for money. Children are such blessings!
Tomorrow night the kids will have SCHOOLS OUT ice cream party. Remember that the 6th day Creations is coming to church Saturday night June 8. Hot dog supper at 5, then show will start at 6. Invite, invite, invite!! I need church folks & anyone else coming to make reservations by Thursday June 6 so I know how much food to buy. Just call 256-442-0120 & leave a count of how many people. I’ll have some details Sunday on how others can help!
Keep Ben Benefield in your prayers. His Mother passed, Amy Martin & the family at Realty Plus in your prayers & Brenda Jones.  I hope you all have a blessed week!

Monday, May 20, 2013

WBBC CHILDREN’S SUMMER SCHEDULE
Wed. May 29 Schools Out Ice Cream Party & devotional
Wed. June 5  Trip to RBC park & devotional. Leave church @ 5:45 & be back by 7:30. Will need a few parents on standby with hopes of too many kids for van & need cars for transportation
Sat. June 8  6th Day Creation Animal Show. 5 pm hot dog supper, 6 pm show in the gym. Let’s get out and invite folks to this. For anyone, but I do need reservations made by June 6 so I know how much food to prepare for. I will also need volunteers to cook, clean up & serve families.
Wed. June 12 Katie Smith will teach on missions & 5th grade girls will go to Sonic. Bring enough money for whatever you chose to eat. 5th grade girls will leave church at 5:45 arrive back at 7:00.
Wed. June 19  Not for sure yet
Wed. June 26 Practice for 4th of July song
Sun. June 30 kids will perform during the church service a few “special” patriotic songs
Wed. July 3 Not sure yet
Wed. July 10 Missions night. We plan on taking the kids to  Woodland assisted living home to sing & visit with one of our church members. We will also be taking individual fruit baskets to those living there. We arrive to sing @6. I know there will be a need for volunteers that night!
VBS July 15-19. I know Allison will be asking for volunteers soon for this great week so go ahead and start praying on how you can serve.
Wed. July 24 Wacky Water Wildness & devotion
Fri. July 26 I can’t put this one off any longer……The LOCK IN
Wed. July 31  Putt Putt & snow cones. I’ll announce time & price as the date gets closer.



This is all tentative but I plan on sticking to this schedule as much as possible. I had mentioned a Baron’s game earlier this year but right now 1st Priority has no dates planned with the new field. As summer goes on they said they might add a date, so I’ll keep a watch out for us a good opportunity to go to a game. I might also add a small day trip. Right now I wanted to go ahead and get you something to plan with because I know everyone stays so busy. I have also sent a request to Starshine faces to join us for Bible stories & face painting. We have not been able to confirm a date yet but it will prob be a Saturday event.  For those of you who do not know, I try to keep summer fun & light. Instead of sitting in the gym or class having a lesson, I like to get them outside and moving. We can still worship God outside! We will do devotion each Wed. instead of a full lesson. I was going to schedule parents to do children’s church on Sunday’s for the summer, but I think I will just ask when the help is needed. I plan on doing it from the end of May thru the end of June so we can work on Patriotic music. I’ll be looking for relief come July! Lol Just so you know, I will be out of town starting tomorrow, so Allison Williams will have the kids Wed. night, Teresa Coley will be teaching my Sunday school class this upcoming Sunday & Lauren McVeigh will teach children’s church Sunday.  If anything looks wrong or crazy with this message let me know. It is possible that I have dates wrong or doubled booked & don’t even realize it……..thankful for a vacation so I can unwind!! Congrats to our 5th grade girls this week who are graduating! Yall are wonderful girls & I am excited to see how God continues to work in your lives! Have a terrific week! Kristi

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Asking for Prayers

I don't know where to begin but I do know I want to share this and I will not be using the names of the people involved except for mine. I hope it is ok to tell this story. A few wks ago, I got a text from a friend. She has been a friend for many, many  years now. She is also one of our church members. In the text she asked me if I was free to keep a brand new baby. She is a school teacher and needed me for just a few wks. Her & her husband are registered to be foster parents w/ the hope of adoption. Well every excuse you can imagine came up in my mind. I am already home w/ my Jack, who is 3, another Jack who is 2 and I knew with it being the end of the school year the boys would want to check out alot & stay home some when nothing much was going on.  I had Mother's Day practice, the program on Sunday & the Mother's day breakfast I had to shop and prepare for and we were finishing a soccer tournament. That is just the stuff I can remember. So my 1st reaction was I am entirely too busy. But then God began to work & move the devil's plans out of my mind. Within a few minutes my heart was like how can I not do this. Thank God for the way He works. She came home to my friend on Friday at 2 days old. I am not going to get into the reasons why she couldn't be with her parents but let's just say they are unfit right now. On Monday this beautiful 5 day old baby girl arrived at my house. She was tiny, a little more than 5 lbs. It brought back a flood of memories of my boys being so tiny. I just held her and prayed for her. I prayed for her protection, many blessings in her life and for her to grow up knowing God. My heart was a mess. We live in a society were children have become dispensable.  A society where carrying a child is not considered a miracle from God but a choice or a nuisance for some. Where women aren't concerned with trying to take care of themselves to have a healthy baby but do what feels good no matter how it may affect the unborn. A society where you can chose to have a baby or you can chose to kill the unborn. I know that might sound harsh but in my mind..... if it has a heart beat and you willingly stop that then you killed it. This was the week when the crazy abortion doctor stuff was going on. This baby girl only stayed with me during school hours but as the week went on I became more and more attached to her. Friday came & she left, came back on Monday & I could already see a difference in her growth. She stayed this past week and I treasured the moments I got to hold her, nuzzle her rub her sweet cheek. All the boys loved seeing her. Both Jacks would ooh and aww over her and my Jack would sing Jesus Loves Me to her. So yesterday was my last day with her. My mind was full of thoughts. My friend would be the perfect lifelong Mommy for this sweet girl, but this world is crazy and I know if the biological mom makes an effort DHR will give her back. I know how attached I had grown to this angel in 2 wks so I can only imagine the attachment my friend is feeling. Every moment of her day is consumed with the child. She wakes at night to feed her, she bathes her, provides for her and has worried about leaving her just like a new mother would. She checks in during the day just like so many of us have done when we work and have to leave our babies in the care of others, she has taken the baby to her first Dr. visit, a visit to the health dept., called the Dr. when she had questions, went to court & basically turned her life upside down to welcome and love this baby. The birth mom has seen her one time and that was court ordered, supervised visitation. I always want God's will done so I a writing this today to ask for your prayers. I ask you pray for this baby girl that first of all she gets to grow up in a home where she learns to know God, a home where she is safe and protected, a home where she is fed and provided for, a home that shows love to her. I ask for prayers for her birth mom and father that they turn their lives around. I ask for prayers for my friend. I know that she is and will be a wonderful mother to this baby but if it doesn't work out and the baby has to go back to the birth mom, she'll be devastated. Pray that whatever the happens, she'll realize God has a plan for her, that God will comfort her and show her how important she has been in providing something for this baby that others couldn't do. I am worried about her heart being broke. Mother's who chose to love are so special.  Pray for the women in this country of child bearing age. Pray that they realize that motherhood is so important and a true blessing from God. I know I have rambled. Thank you for the prayers. I know they will make a difference in the lives of all involved.

Monday, May 13, 2013

My Thoughts

Let me start by saying thank you to our WBBC parents. Thank you for being so faithful about bringing your kids to church & church activities! Teaching them about God is the most important thing you can do for your child. One night last week, we were having a teenage crisis w/ the boys, not going into the details here but w/ 2 teenagers things get tough sometimes, but Jami calmly & loving told one of my boys, "The day you were saved was the most important day I have had in your life. There is nothing you can do the rest of your life to make me any prouder. Everything else is just gravy on top." I hadn't really thought of it like that until that moment. My boys are going to heaven one day & everything else here on earth is just that.... stuff on earth. I look forward to the day when Jack makes that life changing decision!!

If you saw my face yesterday when the power went out I was in shock! Seems like the devil is trying to mess w/ us at church after last week w/ the computer not working & then yesterdays power outage. The kids persevered on & I hope the Mother's were able to hear their babies sing! I hope all you Mom's had a great day! We still have one more song to sing & I'll get w/ Randy and work that time out. I had said last week that I would have a summer schedule done to post today. I am sorry but I don't. I am still trying to work out a date w/ a special guest so I will try to have that posted next Monday. I can tell you that this Wed. the kids will be receiving a frozen treat from "Frios". Frios is the new gourment popsicle stand on Broad st. They are made from local produce like fresh Norris Farm berries & Wright's Dairy milk. We will have a devotional & then play. The kids deserve a break & a treat after being so faithful w/ practice. I will be out of town the following week but Allison will teach on Wed. Go ahead and jot down Saturday, June 8. 5 pm we will have a hot dog supper & at 6 we will have 6th Day Creatures perform in the gym. This is going to be a community event so I will need help with cooking & serving. I am also going to ask that reservations be made so I know how much to buy & cook. This will be a great night for family fun that doesn't cost the family a dime! Reservations need to be made by June 6. Spread the word!!

I want to thank all the parents & kids who brought me gifts & cards yesterday. Your sweet notes were so thoughtful & mean so much to me. Of course I love the gifts too! I love the hugs I got from the kids & getting to meet new parents & grandparents too. The Muffins for Mom breakfast had a great crowd. Thank you to Tyla and Danny at Deorios for delivering our pizza to practice Friday night. Thank you to Ashley Fortenberry. I am very thankful that she knows something about music & can sing. She is so encouraging & helps keep me focused. Big thanks to Amanda for practicing & playing w/ us and to Jami for the sound & words. I kept him very busy Fri. & Sat. working on that stuff. God has truely blessed me with really good people in my life! I hope y'all have a beautiful sunny week! I look forward to seeing the kiddos Wed. night!!!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Prayer Requests

I have lots of thought this morning but instead I am just going to ask for prayers. Our children's dept. Mother's Day program is this coming Sunday. I ask that you remember the children in your prayers. They want to perform well for their mom's but they do get nervous on the stage so pray that those nerves are calmed and that those mom's receive a real blessing by knowing their babies are in church worshipping our Lord. Pray for those kids who don't have mom's or mom's that participate in their lives. I can't imagine the pain those children feel at times but I do know that God can help them deal with those hard times. Pray for those children who are with adopted moms, those who open their hearts an choose to love. How blessed those children are! Prayers for Relay for Life and those involved in making sure everything runs right, from the top to the bottom,  those who are raising money & tirelessly giving of themselves to support this great cause. Prayers for those who have cancer, those who are  the survivors, those that are the caregivers and those who have lost loved ones to this terrible disease.

The kids will be in the sanctuary Wed. night & Tom will teach his Bible study in the gym. Friday night, 6 pm kids will meet at church for Mother's Day practice. We will eat pizza at 6 then from 6:30 - 8:00 we will practice. Sunday morning the children's dept would like to invite the children, Moms & Grandmoms to the gym for Muffins with Mom. It will be a lite breakfast of muffins, doughnuts & fruit. Please make an effort to join us. The children will perform the music for the Sunday service. This is a great opportunity to invite visitors to the church. I plan on having a full summer schedule next week so you will know what is going on & when. I do believe Allison has set the VBS week for July 15-19. Be in prayer for her as she decides on a theme. Pray about how you can help with VBS. One more thing... there is a calendar that belongs in the office , hangs besides Jami's chair, it is missing and it is where people write down if they need to reserve the church or the gym. Right now we have no idea if anyone has anything reserved. If you do have one reserved please let Amy Martin or June White know. I hope you all have the best week & really feel God working in your lives!!