Following What They Learn

Good morning! Wasn’t church just wonderful yesterday? Everyone seemed so upbeat and excited to be in God’s house. God blessed us with more new visitors and that is always exciting to me! My Sunday school class was packed to the rim and that pumps me up before I ever make it to preaching. I just love a classroom full of kids!

In children’s church I talked about evil leaders of Israel from the past and how they lead the Israelites down an evil path & how God dealt with those leaders. (I know that sounds boring but there was more to it than just evil leaders) We talked about how a good leader acts and how a bad leader acts. The reason I mention that now is because the Israelites followed their evil leader & did evil things. So this morning in my house (I know the twins would die if they knew I used them for my blog, but we have to use what we have to use when it comes to making a point for God! Lol) I get hit right in the face with the fact that my boys have been following THIS leader. I am a procrastinator, so they have learned to be procrastinators. Judson had a huge book he was supposed to read. We have known about it for a month. We bought it 2 weeks ago. I reminded him over & over to start reading. I assumed he had started. We were busy Friday night, He was at a quiz bowl Saturday, went to a friend’s house Sat. night, church Sunday morning & boom we get home yesterday afternoon & he says I have to read my book today, it is due tomorrow. He is a fast reader so I really thought he could do it. He did. The point is that he shouldn’t have waited until the night before to do his work. He learned that from me. I will put off anything I can, esp. house work, which is piled to the rim & overflowing right now. So he learned from his leader. So now you’re probably saying what does this have to do with God. Our children learn by what they see us doing or not doing. If your child sees you handling a tough situation with prayer, calmness & reliance upon God then they will prob learn to do the same. They might see you handle it with anger, arguing, fit pitching & so they will learn to do the same. If you place value on being at church most Sundays, chances are they will too. If you pick up your bible and read in front of your children or too your children, they will be more likely to read theirs too. I have blogged on this several times before… kids learn by example. So what kind of leader are you being to your children? Think on it. I am this morning. Are we acting & leading the way we want our children to act & lead?

Last week I mentioned children’s church and that we have so many kids we will probably need some volunteers. I know we have had parents volunteer to teach but I like consistency & I like for the kids to know who is going to be with them, plus if we have a child visit & I am not in their teaching I might never get a chance to meet them or their parent which is why I teach it most Sundays. WE DO NOT HAVE CHILDEN”S CHURCH this coming Sunday because the youth are giving testimonies from Winter Extreme but starting Jan. 26 I am going to need 1 volunteer each week. I still plan on doing the teaching but I would like another adult to help with behavior issues, bathroom visits for the littler ones & just general helping watch over so many children. Some of you might want to teach, if that is the case I’ll do the watching the children for you. So I am going to start out with just from Jan 26 – the end of March for the 1^st schedule. Please let me know if you would be willing to go to CC with me and watch over the kids. I would like a couple to teach CC Feb. 9 so I can have a Sunday in preaching. Does this make sense? I need a volunteer, woman or man every Sunday for CC & on Feb 9 two people, one willing to teach so I can stay in preaching & get recharged.  If I confused anyone let me know.

Last Wed. night, we had a child saved!!! Isn’t that awesome???? This Wed. night we will be back to Big City Studio unless God moves me again to go in a different direction like last week. The young children, 4s & 5s, will be back into their own class too. We will meet in the gym and then let their leaders; Ashley, Courtney & Donna take them to their class. I am going to mention to the older children about starting a bible drill group. I think it will benefit them when it comes to being more aware & knowledgeable about where verses are located in the bible. I’ll let you know more when we have a definite plan. I wanted to pass on a few ideas for the future. For the past 2 years the youngest children have had a day just for themselves, having pizza & inflatables on a Saturday. I am thinking on doing that again but maybe adding more to it. Let me know what you think if you have a child younger than 5. I had also mentioned when we 1^st started discussing a Disney trip that we would do no Spring Break trip this year. I am leaning towards a one day trip, something inexpensive but fun. I like it when we travel together because it gives parents a chance to get to know each other better & the children a chance to bond even more. I am, still interested in the animal safari place so I’ll get some info & let you all know ASAP. If any of you have suggestions please let me know. Also, as we grow it is very hard to keep up with visitors. If you invite someone with children & they come to church, if you don’t mind, send me a text or message with a reminder of their names & maybe a contact number or you could even send me that in advance so I can try to start remembering the name. I try to reach back to those who visit & Facebook seems to be a great tool to locate them, but sometimes they do not do fb. A few last things. Bible Trivia is missing from my room. I actually had 2 & can’t find either. If anyone has seen them please let me know.

Reminder the about the soup lunch for raising money for the mission portion of the Disney trip will be Feb. 2. Be thinking about what soup, stew or chili you would like to make. I’ll be getting up a list the week before. If you have questions about the Disney mission trip please read last weeks blog post.

Thank you so much for the calls, texts & messages pertaining to Mom last week. You have all been so encouraging & we are thankful for each of you. Continue to keep the Mayos in your prayers as they began this new chapter of their lives. I know they are going to touch many lives for God! I hope you have a blessed week! Feel free to call me, text me or email me if you have any questions or if you would like to help in the children’s ministry!

Expectations for the New Year & Disney Info

Good afternoon! I thought I better go ahead and blog today because if we are lucky & get snow I’ll be outside playing tomorrow.  I was so glad to get back to church today! Since we were in Gatlinburg last week, it has been 2 weeks since I have been at church & that is a long time! I was so glad to see my kids in Sunday school & children’s church. We are still missing some but I know we have some still sick & some still traveling. Hopefully, everyone will be well & back at church soon.  The kids will be back to regular Wednesday nights this week. I don’t know if we will do Big City or something else.  With it being the 1^st week back in school & it being hard to get in the groove….I might just break out and do something different. I’ll decide by Wednesday! Lol

When it is a new year I try to sit down, think about the coming year and think on what works, what doesn’t & what I would like to do different in the children’s dept. I feel like Wednesday night’s work well & I know that is because of the great group of volunteers we have in there. I feel like most children are able to understand the lesson, the Bible verse & get an understanding of Jesus.  Children’s church on Sunday is a different story. Many Sundays we have a huge group of kids in CC. That is a wonderful problem. The problem part is a lot of Sundays it is just me and I feel like that I am not getting the point of the lesson across because my eyes are wondering in too many places. If the kids are coming to church, I want them to leave learning something. Yes I know I was having parents volunteer & I still plan on doing that some, but I also like for the kids to have the same person with them for the majority of the time. I just feel like it gives them a dependable and a steady environment & I think it helps them to know who & what to expect. That probably sounds crazy but as a parent I know my children do better when we have the same routine. They get use to seeing the same face & knowing what that person expects of them. So I am going to see how this month goes but I might plan on doing CC every Sunday & then asking for a volunteer or 2 to help out with crowd control! Lol Then I might ask for a set of people to volunteer every once in a while to give me a break. Just some thoughts! I also try to think of events for the year. Yes I know we have the traditional egg hunt, fall fest & Santa breakfast but I would like to spice it up. Let’s think out of the box and see how we can make a traditional egg hunt more focused on Jesus.  I am thinking of maybe a live nativity at the Santa breakfast. Just thinking out loud! You might have a particular talent or background that I know nothing about that would be good to share with the children. I struggle doing crafts; you might love to so crafts. Let me know what you need and I would be glad to set it up one Wed. night or Sunday during CC. Local childhood hunger has been weighing on my mind lately too. There is just no excuse for children in our area to go hungry but they do. So I am thinking the children’s dept. might be able to help with that.  I want us to be the hands & feet of Jesus. Children learn what they see so let’s come up w/ some mission projects were they can be included. Send me some feedback folks! Don’t be shy!

I do need to let you know that Sunday, January 19, the youth will be speaking on Winter Extreme and we will not have CC that day.

Ok on to the Disney Mission trip. Let me cover the general idea for those who are new. It is spring break 2015. Can’t tell you the date until the school boards make the decision in May. My plan is for us to go to Disney but also do a mission project since the area around Disney is so poor. I am leaning towards backpacks of food for hungry children. So we would need to fundraise for that.  Plans are to collect deposits along the way so when we do know date of spring break we can go ahead & make our reservations & pay down the initial deposit. So starting March 1^st and each month after they’ll be a dep due of $100. That will go into a church act set up just for us. I know everyone might not be able to make that, things come up & you might need to skip a month & double up on another month… no biggie. We will collect that until we have our rooms paid for which run $150.00 a night. Once I pay the deposit the money will be nonrefundable, up until that point I can give you your money paid into the church act back.  We can do other fundraisers too but we don’t need to rely on the church because we will want to ask them for donations for the mission projects and youth trips.  We will do a 31 order around Mother’s Day & make 25% off of that.  I need some people to say I’ll head this or that fundraiser up, tell me what & when it is & get it going. I would like to get a mission fundraiser done 1^st so we can set that money aside. I had mentioned today a soup lunch Jan. 26 but there is a women’s conference that night so let’s push it to Feb. 2. Basically, I will ask all who plan on going to Disney to make a soup, chili or stew, a dessert & a drink. We will serve the congregation after church & ask for donations. We normally do really well on these lunches, esp. on a cold day! Everyone will be needed to help clean up. I had a gun offered for a raffle, which I think would be awesome, but I just want to make sure ok w/ the church. I think that was done one time before but I’ll feel better if I double check.  I also forgot to mention that in Disney we will have a devotional time each day. We will not be required to hang out together but I can tell you the kids & adults who did last time had a great time together. I’ll never forget all those kids in the log going down a hill together & Judson being so scared he bit Jami or watching Fantasmic & having to keep Morgan Martin under control before she let the drinker & cusser in front of us have it or praying together in the Animal Kingdom for Mrs. Carr. This is a trip you don’t want to miss. If you have questions message me!!! There is just something about being in a group!  Don’t sit there and think you can’t handle that much of a trip. I was pregnant with Jack & managed just fine… except for the ride I didn’t realize was a shake me up ride & momma & Alicia Garmon’s Mom held me in my seat praying Jack wouldn’t be shook too bad. Lucky, he didn’t come on after that ride! So just let me know what yall think?

Please remember the Mayos as they travel this week. Please remember Mom as she has the heart cath Friday. Pray that we hear God’s call and that we listen and follow His plans for our church & our own lives in 2014.

New Year

Good morning! Seems like forever since I have been at church. I miss my church kids!! Remember we do not meet this Wednesday, Jan. 1. I look forward to seeing all my kids in Sunday school next Sunday & we will be back to our old schedule of children’s church right after the singing is over. Thank you Lauren Ayres for teaching for me yesterday!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and that you have a safe and blessed New Year. We had a great Christmas. I guess like many of you, I look at January as a new fresh start. I challenged those of you not in Sunday school to get into a Sunday school class back in September. I said give it 3 weeks of getting up early, not missing and it would be a habit. I know one family that took that challenge and I think if you asked them they would say they are glad they started Sunday school.  If you want to be involved in church, Sunday school is where to start. SS allows you a time to build relationships with others in the church. You learn their needs & situations, they learn yours. Your relationship grows as you learn about Jesus together. You can pray for each other. Even in a child’s SS class, the same is true. Children get to know each other better. The teacher gets to know the child better & pray for specific things that a child might need or be concern or afraid of. Sunday school is where the basic Bible stories are taught & where the foundation is laid. So I am going to send out the challenge again. Start the New Year in Sunday school. You will not regret the decision.

I am also going to challenge you to invite people to church. I was blessed to watch the fruits of a child being invited to VBS this summer. One of our church kids invited a friend to VBS. The girls moved up to youth this school yr. so the original church girl & her friend went to Winter Extreme. The “friends” parents went to Gburg to so they could be in the same town while their daughter was on the trip. So while we were at Ober the parents came up there too. Joey was there and spent almost the entire time while we were at Ober talking to the parents. Not preaching, just talking and getting to know the family. Yall know I am the quiet one so I chimed in just a little bit. When Joey walked off to go do something, the man asked me who he was & how we were related. I explained he was our churches preacher & my brother. He said, “Wow, he just seemed like a regular, old, laid back guy.” I said he is & that is how he preaches. He was very inquisitive about church & so was the wife. I later got to sit at lunch w/ the mans’ daughter and ask her if they go to church somewhere regularly. She said no. The only time she goes to church is at ours w her friend or with a grandmother. Arlo said the parents were so nice & offered to help w/ the next thing the youth does.  Now I know none of this is the person actually walking into our church & turning their life over to Jesus but…. I do know that family left knowing the preacher at WBBC and they had a good, growing relationship w/ Arlo and that is a huge start in getting someone to come to visit your church. So what started out as a 5^th grade girl inviting a friend to VBS ended up w/ the friend & her sister participating in youth events at Winter Extreme and the girl’s parents developing relationships w our church family.  I am not a gambler but I am going to bet that family ends up at WBBC! We have to step out, open our mouths and invite people to church.  In most cases they will not just drive down the road and say,”Hey, let’s visit that church.” In most cases they have to know someone at the church before they are going to walk thru the doors. I know it is hard to just cold invite someone to church… believe me I know because being shy it is hard for me. I would struggle just inviting a stranger but if I can find something in common with a person, make some small talk & get to know them better then it is easier for me to invite someone. So I am challenging you to get out & invite those you already have relationships with.  You might be the person God uses to lead them to Him.

Most of you know Winter Extreme was this past Fri, Sat. & Sun. I believe Arlo hauled 56 people up there plus there were several other church families up there to hang out with the students during the free time.  I know the stress involved in planning church trips and you worry the whole time you are gone if you are going to lose a child or if something is going to happen while you are on the trip, if you are over budget or you worry for your own children who you left at home. Arlo and Jeannie did a great job on this trip. My boys talked nonstop last night about the fun, about the music and about the conference speakers. Thank you to the chaperones who went & to the church family who supports our youth. Without your tithes, fundraiser support & prayers, trips for the youth and children’s groups would not be possible. I am sure the youth will have a Sunday soon to share their stories. Thank you again Arlo & Jeannie! My boys have been blessed to have you as their youth leaders!

I am almost done! I wanted to just ask yall to pray for mom as she has her heart cath Jan. 10 at St.Vincents East. The Gburg trip was a huge struggle for her. Her breathing is so bad. She only left the house to go eat & that was with us letting her out at the front door & her walking w/ her oxygen attached. She is miserable. Keep the Mayos in your prayers to as they depart for Africa in about 9 days. Pray for travel safety and that God places Christians in their path.  I hope you have a very blessed New Years and I look forward to a great New Year full of blessings, new faces, hearts saved, baptisms & new members at Whorton Bend Baptist Church!

Let's meet right after church Sunday about the Disney World trip... be thingkning of fundraisers!!

Merry Christmas

Good morning! I am up early, probably like most of you, with a list of things to do & places to be. It was so nice to come into church last night, relax and enjoy the show. I told Jami when we got home last night I thought the choir sounded better than ever.(I think I say that every time we have something special but I mean it) Their voices just made the sweetest sounds. Then there was Macy! I was so glad to hear her sing yesterday morning & last night. My momma has been asking all season, “When is that little blonde headed girl going to sing?” My momma was happy yesterday! Macy did such a great job singing Happy Birthday Jesus in the morning service. Even Jack yelled out from the back when she finished,”great job girl!” She did a great job last night singing Mary Did You Know. Mary Did You Know is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I guess as a mother that song hits home because many times I have thought how emotional it must have been during those days for Mary. It is emotional, stressful and scary just having a baby but can you imagine the excitement and the fear Mary experienced. She had to be scared not knowing what the world would hold for the ‘Savior”. I can only imagine the fear she experienced knowing King Herrod wanted her baby boy dead and then having to go on the run with a baby. I can’t imagine the pain, heartache and disbelief she experienced as she watched Jesus be beaten and crucified. God knew he was picking a special woman to be Jesus’s mother. I thought Leslie did a great job singing to baby Jesus. As I watched Macy & Leslie all I could think of is this is what Christmas is about. Coming together & praising Jesus. I would rather be in church with my family listening to a wonderful choir & hearing the Christmas story than unwrapping gifts any day. Don’t get me wrong, I love gifts & I will not turn one down but they so pale in comparison to the gift I have already been given! Jesus is amazing & I am so thankful & blessed He lives in my heart & in the heart of my husband & children. I pray you have received the gift of Jesus! Wayne Fotenberry… you did a great job pulling last night together. It has been a blessing to get to know you over the last few years and we are very blessed to have you step in for Randy.  The Lord’s Supper was great too. It is always special, but I could hear Jami quietly telling Jack what each thing was and why we do this and that. Jami must have asked Jack a question and I could hear him say Jesus. There is just something so special hearing a child say Jesus. My heart was so full! It was a perfect night!

I wanted to make sure everyone knew that we do not have Wednesday night services for Dec. 25 & Jan. 1. Wednesday night children’s church will resume Jan. 8 at 6 pm. I will not be at church Dec. 29 but Lauren Ayres will be teaching my Sunday school class. There will be no children’s church. That will resume Jan. 5. Please be in prayer for the youth & chaperones as they travel this week. They leave out Friday morning & will come home Sunday night. Be in prayer for any heart that might be lost. We also have a lot of church folks sick. Please be in prayer for them. Be in prayer for those who ring the Salvation Army bell today. We want the love of Jesus to shine thru us and people really see something different when they look at us! I also wanted to thank who ever got the youth mission center service project together. My boys came home with great stories. Judson said he walked into a room nervous because he was supposed to serve drinks to the “less fortunate” and he was scared because they looked rough & some looked mean. I know God took control of that situation & gave him the courage to do what he was there for & he said when he asked the people if they would like a drink that the faces changed & the people were so nice & humble. I am so thankful my boys got to experience helping others. Thank you to Arlo for doing all the butts & ribs. You work hard for our students and I am so thankful for your dedication and commitment!

As a final thought, I am so blessed to call you all my church family. Many of you have become close friends. Each of you are special to me. I love my church kids & their families and I am so blessed to know each of you. I look forward to a new year, getting to know some of you more and watching to see how God moves in your family’s lives. I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Week Before Christmas Message

Good morning! Let me start out by apologizing for not blogging last week. It was a crazy week. I was so proud of the job out angels did performing Hark the Herald Angel. I know they made their families proud. I didn’t get to thank those who helped me with the play last week so I am going to do that now. Ashley Fortenberry did a great job directing & teaching the kids the music. She is so talented. My aunt Debbie said she got a kick out of watching Ashley move those hands & arms directing. We need to get her up to sing in the adult choir! She has a great voice! When we discussed costumes I said I would like some sashes. Catherine McBurnett & Candace Harwood shocked me with the most beautiful sashes. They were handmade & perfect!! They made the costume. Thank you to Bruce & Wendy Benefield for making our painting our sign & Tom Coley for building it. Thank you to Tyla, Courtney & Teresa for whatever I needed. They helped watch kids, change costumes, build a manger & serve supper. Thank you to Arlo for recording the program and providing us with copies. If you still need one there are a few on the table in the hall. (WE NEED TO DISCUSS YOU HAVING ME ON IN THE BEGINNING…THE KIDS MADE FUN OF MY HAND MOVEMENTS & CONSTANT FEET SHUFFLING…NEXT TIME LEAVE ME OFF PLEASE!)Thank you to those who supplied snacks for practice, brought in decorations & those who handled getting the desserts set up. I am so thankful to God for each individual who took part in helping making “Hark” a successful night. I pray that someone who saw it got a little bit of Jesus that night & the seed has begun to grow!

I forgot to mention the Santa Breakfast when I did announcements yesterday. Thank you to Catherine & Candace for the decorating! They did a fabulous job! Santa did a great job too. He is such a special man & has a huge heart for children! Thank you to the cooks… Bruce Free, Wayne Fortenberry & Wayne Patterson. They were up early & they worked hard! Thank you to Josh, Glenda, Lindsey, Teresa, Debbie & our youth for helping too! For a rainy cold morning, we had a great turn out. Some people did not show up but we had 80+ there with many visitors. It was a great morning.

The children will have a Christmas party this Wed. night 6-7 in the gym. I’ll pick up the cupcakes & I’ll message everyone else & see if they can bring something. It will be a fun night; we’ll eat, play a few reindeer games & sing a few “fun carols”.

During Sunday school, this coming Sunday we will learn the story of the “Birth of Jesus.” This is a very special lesson so please have your children in SS. There will be no children’s church that Sunday, Dec. 22 or the Sunday after, Dec. 29.

We have one more night to sing. This coming Sunday night, December 22, we will have a special evening service at 6:00. The adult choir will sing, Joey will read the Christmas story, we will partake in the Lord’s Supper & the children will sing one song. We practiced Away in a Manger yesterday during children’s church. Again, this is another great night to invite visitors to church.

I think this is the last thing. Dec. 23, we are down to ring the Salvation Army bell at the Gadsden Mall fountain. This has turned into a wonderful tradition for the WBBC children & youth. Our hours are 10-8 and right now 10, 11 & 4 are taken. Please let me know what hour your family would like to sign up for. Most of the time the kids just jingle the bucket & parents watch from a bench. I have so many wonderful memories of children caroling while they collected money, I have seen a child show up dressed as Mickey Mouse, I have seen families share hours and bond together & I have had so many strangers walk up and complement our children for serving. Please don’t miss out on this…. You will be so blessed by participating. Let me know what hour you can fill!

I hope as you run from party to party this week, hit the stores for last minute gifts or for those who are just starting to shop that you’ll take time to remember that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas. If you haven’t incorporated Jesus into your Christmas festivities at home, step out this year and start adding Him. Tell your kids this year on Christmas Eve we are going to sit around the tree and read the story of Jesus’s birth, ask the kids why Jesus is important to them, explain that the gifts are nice but the greatest gift was born to a virgin in a manger with animals, or be the one that speaks up before the Christmas meal and offers to bless the food. I think you’ll find as you add more Jesus year after year that the other things will fade in importance. I hope this is the most wonderful Christmas for the WBBC families!

Christmas Info

I am in Jack's preschool car line trying to type while I have few minutes. This will prob have all kind of errors but I wanted to get the next weeks plan out to y'all. I am pretty sure Leslie's ssclass will he in my room Sunday due to her dad's sickness. During preaching we will stay until choir finishes like we normly do. The children have been asked to sing 1 song Dec 22 at the evening candle light service, so we need to practice 1 song Sunday during Children's Church. I have no idea what song yet   . I had told the kids we would have a Christmas party this Sunday. I am moving that to next Wed night dec 18, 6-7. I'll send out a text & maybe some parents can send a treat. So I guess that a it. Let me know if your child will not be at church dec 22(evening) to sing. We will have no children's church Dec 22 morning.  Forgot also Salvation Army bell ringing dec 23 Gadsden Mall. Let me know to your family would like to sign up for 1 - hour shift. In need someone to teach my SS class Dec 29. They'll be no children's church that say either. Thanks!!!!

Super Quick Note

This is going tone super quick & if the week calms down I'll post on the play. Mom is in the hospital & my internet had been out so not a great Monday. Just wanted you to know that Katie will be teaching Wednesday night. Remember Santa Breakfast Saturday @ 9. If you haven't gotten tickets... wed is the last day. Y'all have a great week!