Good morning! I had a great time at The Factory last night. It is always great watching the kids have fun, seeing parents get to talk and bond & have visitors join us! I had next Wednesday night open as far as my activity & devotion so I think I have decided on tye dying t shirts. The kids did this about 2 summers ago and we had a huge time being creative. I already have several devotions in my mind that  could be used in relation to banding up shirts & changing the color. Isn't sin kind of like those rubber bands. It ties us up, binds us, holds us down and the the color is the sin just saturating us. Anyway... Lots of thoughts running thru my head for a devotion. Bleach could be used as Jesus washing us white as snow! So what I'll do is go buy packs of T-shirts & since it is the July 4th week I am thinking we could do red, white & blue tye dye & let the kids wear them to church Friday night. How about everyone who knows their child will be at church Wednesday night send me a message or text with your child's shirt size. Mom's... With so many kids I know I'll need some help & we will need to be outside due to the mess. We will also need lots of plastic bags, like Walmart bags. 

VBS will be here before we know it and this year we will be having preregistration at the 4th of July Celebration. Please go ahead & sign your child up & any others that you know will be participating this year. Our theme is Willie's Redneck Rodeo which is different than any other church in our area! There will be a meeting July 6 immediately following preaching for those interested in helping. We have always been blessed with tons of adults & youth workers so please be in prayer about how you can help! The time is normally 5:30-5:55 supper( and I mean a full meal.. Our kitchen workers seriously work & no child leaves hungry)  & then 6-8:30 is VBS. Be in prayer for Allison as she continues to prepare. 

Be in prayer for Randy & Joan, Candace Harwood as she recovers from surgery and of course VBS. We have many folks traveling this week so keep them in your prayers. I hope you have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you and your family at WBBC Sunday!

Good morning! There have been some rumors that we had a food fight upstairs last Wednesday night. Let me clear that up. I have been known to have a food fight at church 1 time only in the parking lot and to take a pie to the face in the sanctuary and the gym but… we did not have a food fight upstairs in our new area! I did plastic the floors because we had yuck food games. There was no throwing of food except bologna! Lol I have to steal Paula Hopper’s theme for that night “Doesn’t matter how messy life gets..God is bigger than any mess we make”. We had a great time and I was excited to have some parents visit with us that normally don’t get to. I was also pleasantly surprised at the willingness of parents to eat Cheetos from dirty feet. Anyway, we had a great messy night!

Thank you to all who came out to Joey’s to fish. It was hot and I think the fish were few but we had a great time together.

Tomorrow night the children will leave the church at 5:45 to go to Moragne Park. We will be passing out popsicles to other children and letting ours play. My hope is to strike up conversations with other parents as we pass out popsicles at the park. We will arrive back at WBBC at 7:15. I plan on taking the van but I will need other parents to help transport and watch the children. Please let me know ASAP if you can drive.

Next Wednesday, June 25 will be the children’s outing to The Factory! The children and adults who plan on jumping need to bring in $7.00 in an envelope with their name on it and YOU MUST go online to www.TheFactoryGadsden.com and fill out a waiver. They will not let anyone jump without the waiver. You will receive a confirmation email back from them after you complete the process. I would like to get the money collected by this Sunday that way I have it all together when we go in plus I need to confirm the number of children and adults jumping. We will meet at The Factory at 5:45 and jump from 6-7. Due to the high number of injuries and the need of a waiver I have to ask that you be present for your child to attend this event.

The church will be celebrating July 4^th with hot dogs, ice cream & fireworks for the whole community. We had a blast (seriously) last year. I am not for sure on the time but I heard 7pm. I am sure someone will be letting us know what we need to bring. Allison and I had mentioned preregistration for VBS because it is difficult to estimate how many children we need to prepare for as far as food, t-shirts & crafts, so this year we will have a table for VBS preregistration at the July 4^th Celebration. If you are there please take a moment and sign up any children you know may be coming to VBS. VBS is July 21-25.

Please be in prayer about serving in the church nursery during Sunday school & preaching. Brandie and I wanted to do a 6-8 week rotation and we only have about 5 people signed up so far so if you feel God calling you to pray and love on the babies please let one of us know. Thank you to those who have responded!

Men’s church softball starts tonight with games at 7:15 & 8:15. I can’t even remember how many years this has been going on but I always look forward to it. Come out tonight & support the men.

I wanted to welcome Sean & Pam Stimpson to the WBBC family. They joined in membership Sunday. Please continue to remember Ryan, the Edwards grandson in your prayers and Donna Harmon and her family. Her mother in law is on the verge of passing. As our church grows it becomes increasingly harder to keep up with who is and who isn’t at church. I am going to suggest that this week we think hard about those we haven’t seen at church and reach out to them. They might just need a word of encouragement or a prayer. I am praying that you all have a wonderful week!

Good morning! I hope you all are enjoying summer. I am refreshed from our vacation and I am looking forward to an exciting summer at WBBC. I wanted to give a BIG THANK YOU to the moms who served on Wednesday’s & Sunday while I was on vacation. It is a blessing to know that these women are faithful, dedicated and follow thru when they agree to do something!

I also wanted to thank Brandie Johnson for working so hard making the nursery & toddler rooms so beautiful. They are so clean and inviting! We are in need of servants who would be willing to go on a 6-8 week rotation to volunteer most weeks for the baby room. Some weeks we might need a volunteer for the toddler room. This would be during Sunday school and preaching. Pray on this and if you feel lead to serve please let me or Brandie know.

The children’s/toddler’s dept. is planning to fish and cook out at Joey’s Saturday from 4pm - dark. I am going to ask that you text me(256-393-1063) by Thursday night to let me know if your family plans on attending so I’ll know how much food to prepare. The forecast is showing rain for Saturday so I’ll decide Friday morning on if we need to reschedule. I don’t want to buy food and then have to freeze it or store all the stuff. If we do get to fish you need to bring your own fishing poles, bait, chairs, bug repellant & enough drinks for your family. We will supply the hot dogs, hamburgers & chips. I want to stress this is a super deep pond. It was cut to go straight down so there is very little shore. I stay nervous with Jack around it since he cannot swim so that night he will be reluctantly wearing a life jacket. *****PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO YOUR CHILDREN FISHING***** feel free to bring your bikes & any outdoor games your family likes to play. This is going to be a laid back, fun evening. Just a time to hang out & get to know each other better. This would be a great event to invite another family too.

Now let’s get to tomorrow night! Tomorrow night is “Yuck Night” in the Kidz Zone from 6-7. We will have devotion and then play some yuck, gross games. **have your child wear old clothes, they might get a little stained** & bring a towel lol. Next Wednesday night is “Mission Wednesday” and again depending on the weather, I plan on the kids going to Moragne Park and passing out popsicles to other children. If you can, please donate a box of pops by Sunday. Just the kind you freeze that is in the plastic sleeves that have to be cut open. Also, remember we are still collecting food for the RMS Mission project so anytime you are able pick up an item and drop it off in the red bucket in the Kidz Zone. This will continue to be an ongoing project for us!

Please remember Dick & Charlene Edwards grandson Ryan in your prayers. He is still having some health issues. Pray for VBS. Allison is trying to decide on a theme & I know whatever she chooses will be God directed & perfect for our church. Let’s began to pray for the children who will come thru the church doors, some the 1^st time thru any church doors, that the seed gets planted and that they leave our church with memories of love, kindness, generosity, full bellies, fun activities, friendships and most importantly, knowing about Jesus and that He loves them. I hope you have a blessed week and I hope to see your child tomorrow night!

Good morning! Today is the last Monday of the school year! That is so exciting to me! Thank you to Ashley Fortenberry & Chris & Katie Smith for leading the children yesterday. This will be very brief with a few reminders. 

The children will meet Wednesday night for our last "Big City Studio" session. This will also be the last night to bring in donations for the RMS food project. Make sure you pick up a copy of our summer schedule or you can look at the last blog post. The children's dept & their families will be fishing at Joey's Saturday, June 14 so save the 
date!!We will start at 4 and go until dark. Please 

bring chairs, your own bait and drinks. We'll provide hot dogs, hamburgers & chips. Oh, you should probably bring bug spray too!

Reminder that another $100 Disney deposit will be due in July.  Reservations  will be made in 

August. 

Be in prayer today for Hunter & Heather as they go to court with their foster children. Continue to pray for Tina Patterson's mom & Tina herself. Thank you for the prayers for Jami & Arlo yesterday. They did great & the whole band,"In Like Ben", is playing another youth rally this Wednesday night. They"ll be at Mercy Hill. Continue to pray for them as they follow God 's call. Pray for the youth, Jamey & the other chaperones as they are preparing for youth camp. I look forward to seeing all my kids Wednesday night!! I hope you have a week full of blessings and moments where you really feel God leading your life! 

Tentative Kidz Zone Schedule

During the summer the Kidz Zone takes things at a slower pace. Instead of an hour lesson the kids hear a devotion, have a prayer time & then we let loose. You might see us playing wacky, crazy games; you might find us in a pool or at a local park handing out treats to children. The Wacky Wednesday events are a great opportunity for your child to invite another child to church. I know, I know… you see all this fun and think but where is Jesus! Jesus isn’t left out! He is right there, in the middle of the children! We take Him wherever we go!

Wednesday, May 21 Big City Studio

Wednesday, May 28 Ice cream party

Wednesday, June 4 Pizza & a movie

Wednesday, June 11 Wacky Wednesday Water Games

Saturday, June 14 Fishing & a cook out at Joey’s. 4 pm until dark. This is for all parents & their children in the children’s dept. & the toddlers too. Bring a cooler of water or sodas & your own bait. We’ll provide the hot dogs, hamburgers & chips.

Wednesday, June 18 Wacky Wednesday Missions

Wednesday, June 25 Wacky Wednesday Possible “Factory” outing if they ever answer the phone.

Wednesday, July 2 Wacky Wednesday Blank in case we need to shift an activity around

Wednesday, July 9 Wacky Wednesday OMC (Organized Mass Chaos)

Wednesday, July 16 Wacky Wednesday Missions (going to Morange Park, giving out free popsicles and inviting children to VBS)

Monday – Friday July 21-25 VBS

Sunday, July 26 Cookout after church celebrating VBS

Wednesday, July 30 Swim party

Friday, August 1 LOCK IN!  Date not set in stone yet!!

Wednesday, August 6 Back to school party ;((

Wednesday, August 13 Supper with 5^th graders moving up to youth ;((

Well somehow my whole page was lost after I typed it so here is the condensed version since I am typing again. Yesterday was great at WBBC! You could really feel God’s presence. I rarely experience the whole service but over the years some of my favorites have been when the people shared.  I think we are blessed to be a in a church that isn’t so rigid and structured that the congregation has the opportunity to say what’s on their hearts.

This Wednesday night the in the “Kidz Zone” we will began wrapping up our lessons from the Big City Studio. School is winding down & June is right around the corner which means “Wacky Wednesdays” are almost here. “Wacky Wednesdays” are more laid back. Instead of a full blown hour lesson we lead short devotions, prayer time and get out of the classroom. I’ll have a schedule of events ready to send home Wednesday night with your child & they’ll be a copy on the bulletin board right outside the Kidz Zone.  Be looking for mission projects, swimming parties, water games. VBS, a lock in (at some point I am going to be too old to do the lock in. Kids are going to hear my knees and back pop & creek if I keep doing these much longer) & just general wackiness. There will be NO FOOD FIGHT. Do not even ask!!!! I’ll never dig tomato seeds out of my ears again! UGH!

I want to remind the parents and children that we are still raising money & food donations for the RMS food mission project.  We need to wrap it up by next Wednesday night so the money can be given to Jenny before school is over. The kids were challenged to bring in $100 & they would get an ice cream party or if the rounded up $200 we would have and ice cream, pizza and movie party.  I have a sneaking suspicion that we will be having both of those parties!

I want to give a BIG THANK YOU to those who volunteered to be a bell ringer (kettle shaker since we can’t ring a bell at the Gadsden Mall) for the Salvation Army.  For our day of service we raised $395.19. This is a tradition I love and our church has been so faithful over the years to really step up and participate. Amy, Shay, Allison... any idea how long we have been doing this?

In closing, I want to ask for prayer for several situations. Pray for the church and that we make God directed decisions. Pray that Joey continues to lead us following God’s plan & guidance.  Pray for the RMS food project.  We want those children to have full stomachs but at the same time feel the love of Jesus through the kind actions of others. This is our chance to be the hands and feet of Jesus and really make a difference for some children in our own back yards.  Pray for Jami & Arlo as they play at White Springs Sunday. I have joked about the drums but I am thankful Jami is playing for Jesus. Pray for our new church members, pray for John & pray for the young lady who so bravely told some of her story, spoke of her troubles and being thankful for her praying mother.  I hope you all have a great week & I hope to see you Wednesday.

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day is this coming Sunday so I wanted to start out this post by recognizing the Mother's who regularly serve in the children's dept. Let me start with saying all of these women love The Lord and have a heart to see children learn about Jesus. Mrs. Leslie McGlaughn teaches Sunday school to our 4 yr olds - 1st graders. She is so creative and has tons of patience. Leslie has been ministering to children for years and you can see the love she has for all children. Ashley Fortenberry has been serving the children for about 4 yrs. Ashley has helped with many projects, fund raisers & trips. Her love for music and performing has been a huge asset seeing that I have no musical talents! This past fall she took on being one of the teachers to our Wed. night 4 & 5 yr old class.  Katie Smith & Teresa Coley have been serving the children for 3 yrs. Both Katie & Teresa are part of the Wed. night team who help with our program Big City Studio for the children in elementary school. Katie is  "Vanna " and turns the letters for our game & 
participates in our skits. She has a heart for teaching the children 
about missions and helps to plan out mission projects for the children. Teresa jumped right in to the children's group and has been so valuable.  She is comfortable teaching & leading the group but she is also right in there serving snacks, making popcorn, participating in the weekly skit. I feel like she also helps me stay on track or keeps me focused. If I lose my train of thought she might jump in and say this or that about the lesson. Courtney Jones has been with the children's dept. for a little over a year and a half. She 
is part of the team who teaches the 4 & 5 year old class on Wed.
nights.  She is supper organized and very detailed which is a huge 
help when it comes to planning outings. Paula Hopper has been helping us on Wed. nights too. Paula has only been with us since 
maybe the fall but she jumps right in & does whatever is needed. I have been able to call on her lately to lead Sunday school & children's church. Donna Smith is also part of the team that teaches the 4 & 5 yr. olds on Wed. We Welcomed Donna into our group this past fall. She loved being with the little ones & they loved her. Due to knee problems she has been out but I hope she is able to get back to helping soon. I tried to mention something about each of theses 
ladies but I don't think words can convey what they really mean to 
me. Each one has their own special qualities and characteristics. Each one has families to care for, jobs to go to & volunteer activities. They make ministering to children so easy. I can go in and do what I do ( they know that sometimes I make last minute decisions, can be unorganized, come up with crazy ideas like the food fight, lose my train of thought) and they jump in and fill in the voids. They are willing to lead, share, sing, act, play games but most importantly they all love Jesus and they are willing 
to help share that love with children. I wanted to recognize these terrific women who are making a difference in the lives of our children. I also want to mention that we are blessed at WBBC to 
have terrific moms who can't volunteer every Wed. or Sunday but they volunteer for VBS, special events, decorating, sewing, sending in donations and cooking. You moms are the best and I am so thankful for each of you! 

Since it is Mother's Day week the children will perform a special 
song this Sunday. We will practice tonight & during Sunday school May 11. 

I had said yesterday I would not post until I had some Disney info. It is still to early to give exact prices or plans yet due to pricing & promos are not available for next yr yet. Going off this years pricing a room will run $ 173 a night at Pop Century & we will need 6 nights & tickets are for those ages 3-9 are $330 & $350 for 10 & up.  Those are park hopper tickets w an extra event added like a water park or mini golf. Courtney spoke with her travel agent 
who was able to give a little better room rate but higher ticker prices.  I think once the promos start coming out we can get a better deal with hopefully a meal plan included. I just can't say for sure yet. I do know we will need a minimum either way we go of a $200 deposit so by the end of July we need to get that in. Again, if the plans come out & it doesn't work for your family you will be refunded all you have paid. Once deposits are paid & you cancel the deposit will not be refunded. Dates for the trip are to travel Sat. March 28, check in that night. Stay in the parks Sunday - Thursday & check out Friday. Remember that is Easter weekend so we would be traveling home on Good Friday. I also want to encourage you to 
plan a fundraiser. Last time the cost was soooo reduced because we raised enough money to let the children go free. Remember this is a church trip. There will be daily group devotions. We do not have to do every event or park together but I think what made the last trip so great was because the kids wanted to hang together. I will never forget being in the Animal Kingdom, us getting word that they didn't think Mrs. Carr was going to live, stopping right where we were & as a group praying for her. Didn't matter where we were, who was around, we were a church group first & prayers were 
going up! If you are interested in going & haven't paid your deposit let me know.

I thank God for a Godly mother and mother in law. I am thankful for the Godly mother's in our church. I pray you have a blessed week and get to  spend some time with your mother or having wonderful  memories about her.