Craft Night

Several of our ladies got together tonight to work on items

 to put in the craft fair this weekend.  Everyone brought different project ideas and the materials to make them.

 

 

These pedestal bowls were gorgeous! 

A bowl fromt the dollar store on top of a sundae cup.

 

Elizabeth made these neat little monster corner bookmarks.

 

 

These Hot cocoa snowmen were so cute!

 

 

Poppa had Keith at the house but when he started fussing he came to the window and handed him off to his mommy!

 

 

Much happier with mommy!

 

These snowmen had were made of a couple of rosette bowls with lights in them and then covered by a sock.  Adorable!

 

 

Of course, as every time we get together, we had a lot of fun!



Running but Yet Waiting

Yesterday it felt like I was running nonstop, but yet I was waiting around all day and did not get anything done that needed to be done!  My husband woke up and realized that he had a preacher's meeting that he had to be to at 9 am and the meeting was over an hour up the road.  He was running out the door as he told me he needed me at the church to watch for the tree guy who was coming to move one of our trees.

 

Of course you all know how it is, I went to the church and waited and waited and waited!  As I waited I did get my monthly ladies bulletin done which I am so thankful for.  Just one less thing to do later this week. 

 The tree guy finally got to the church at 11 am.

 

 

We had to get this tree removed as it is in the way of the new sidewalk and ramp and hallway addition we are putting in for the new building.

 

It was actually pretty neat to see how they removed the tree.

 

The spades went into the ground so easily and simply pulled it up!

 

 

The tree was moved to one of members houses who

 wanted a tree in their front yard.

 

My husband got home about 1 pm and we ran our usual

 Monday morning errands and my husband then got the piece of paper he has been waiting for.  He swapped his brand new 9mm pistol for our son's 1980 Dodge Charger 4x4.  It is a supped up guy truck and my husband has loved playing with it in the church yard.  He hasn't been able to drive it because he has been waiting for paperwork so he could go get it registered and that is what he received today.  Right before he went to register it, the couple with the man who rededicated his life to the Lord and the wife who got saved called and asked for a ride to the grocery store.  they moved here from Dallas, Texas three months ago and have been without a vehicle.  They have had a hard time saving for a car when they have been having to take cabs to work and to the store.  I went and took them to the store while my husband went and registered his play toy.  My husband is so sweet and loving that as soon as he got it registered he took it over to this couples house and gave them the keys.  They were so appreciative that we would help them out without really knowing them that well.  We told them it's what Jesus wanted us to do!  Of course my husband is diligently looking for them

a vehicle so he can get his toy back!!!

 

My husband then had a college class to teach and then

got caught on the phone for another hour as I tried to finish a project I had to get done.  At 9 pm my husband wandered to the house and although we still had a list of things that needed done, we decided we needed a little time to ourselves.  We went to the diner down the road and sat and lingered over a couple of burgers and just had a wonderful, sweet time talking and laughing and enjoying each other!  What a wonderful way to end another busy day!



Love Sundays!

Psalms 122:1 - I was glad when they said unto me,

Let us go into the house of the LORD.

 

 

Our little man is getting so big and he loves to be in church! 

 He smiles so big whenever we start to sing and he loves when he gets passed around and gets loves from everyone!

 

We had an awesome day today and had 97 people in church!  We were so excited to see David and Neally and also Elizabeth all in church this morning.  For the invitation the altar was full and as soon as it emptied, more people came forward and flooded the altar again!  Saraina said it was a powerful message and you could feel the Holy Spirit moving!

 

Elizabeth was so excited to get baptized this morning!

 

Neally was excited too but a little nervous.  Being raised in the Catholic church she had only seen babies get sprinkled but no one

get baptized by full immersion.

 

I loved this picture as Pastor is always teasing that he'll

 hold them under til the bubbles stop.

 

Tonight before services started, my husband asked me to talk to Kaylee.  In Jr. Church today, we had talked about Saul and how he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.  Kaylee said she knew who Jesus was,

 but had never had the life changing experince of meeting Jesus like Saul did.  After I showed Kaylee in the Bible how to be saved she prayed, repented of her sins and asked Jesus into her heart and life. 

She asked her mom to run home and get her some extra clothes

so she could get baptized tonight.

 

Amen! Amen! Amen!

 

We are praying for another amazing week with many salvations and also to have 100 people in services next Sunday.  Love, love, love Sundays!



Family Game Night and an Amazing Salvation!

There are no words to describe tonight other than amazing!

We had our family game night and it was so much fun. 

We started with a Bible game that everyone loved.

 

The first number was the number of the book of the Bible, the second number was the chapter, the third number was the verse number and the fourth number was the number of the word in the verse.  After figuring out what the word was, the team ran to get that item up to the front first.  We definitely had a lot of laughs as each team tried to tried to figure out all the numbers and then find the items and get them first!

 

We then ate all the goodies everyone had brought.  As we were eating the church phone rang and I ran to pick it up.  It was a lady who wanted to know if we were open and if the Pastor was available to talk to.  My husband talked to her for a moment and a within a few minutes she had arrived and went into my husbands office to talk to him. 

 

As soon as it got dark we then took three hundred glow sticks and scattered them all over outside.

 

The kids got into teams and had to hold hands as they ran all over trying to pick up the glow sticks.  Of course to make it a challenge they only collect ten glow sticks before having to run them inside to their teams bucket and if one of the "mean guys", (Chandler or Mason) caught them as they were running, they had to give them half their glow sticks. 

 

 

The kids had a blast as they ran to find the glow sticks and tried to avoid the "mean guys".  (Just a note, coldness counteracts glow sticks and makes them not glow!!!)

 

After they finished finding the glow sticks and were frozen to the bone they all came in and I gave them a bunch of connectors

and they created castles and rocket ships and various other things with the glow sticks.  They were so occupied with this that we didn't hear a peep out of them for over an hour!

 

Of course while the kids were playing, the adults were playing games too and ended the night by watching a Christian comedy video.  I really thought a couple of our people were going to die laughing!

 

My husband finally came out of his office with Elizabeth

and told us that she had just gotten saved!

 

Elizabeth had been at home tonight when a man came to her door and told her that he was the previous renter and he had been using the apartment as a place of devil worship.  As she talked with the man she felt that there was actually a demon there and she became very scared.  She went to the store to find candles with a picture of Jesus on them as she said she knew if she burned them she would have peace in her house.  After going to several stores, she could not find the candles and did not want to go home.  She called us to see if we could somehow help and my husband was able to take the Bible and answer her questions and then was able to show her how she could have a personal relationship with God through Christ.  With much weeping she bowed her head, repented of her sins and asked Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of her life.  When I talked to her a few minutes later she told me it was the best decision she had ever made in her life!  Amen!

 

She told me that we were the first church she called and that we were there and answered the phone.  It was no coincidence that we had Family Game Night tonight and that we were there to meet this lady's need.  So excited to see all God is doing in our church!  It's simply amazing!



 

 



 

 





Again.....It's Shouting Time in Heaven!

On Monday I told you how God lead us to talk to a man about God and invite him to church.  He doesn't have a car so he called tonight and asked for us to pick him and his wife up, which we gladly, gladly did.

 

 

Vicki was so excited to see Chandler and his wife Nealy

and gave them a big hug!

 

After services Chandler asked to talk to Pastor and I talked to Nealy.  While we were talking I asked her if she knew she was saved, if she had ever asked Jesus into her heart.  She said she knew she was going to hell and and from there I was able to show her in the Bible how she could go to heaven.  She was crying and telling me all about why she shouldn't and couldn't ask Jesus into her life.  She cried some more and I told her she just needed to stop fighting and totally give herself to God.  She then bowed her head and prayed and asked God for forgiveness and gave her life to Him!  When she was done she looked up and said everything looked brighter and not so dark anymore!  All I could think was

"I was once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see"

 

As I talked to Nealy, my husband talked to Chandler.  Chandler says he grew up in church but so many things happened when he was a teen that he turned away from god and his faith.  When he met us on Monday he was so excited to go to church and it was all he could think about for three days.  Today was his day off and he and his wife were fighting and bickering so he did what he always did when he was stressed, start drinking.  They went from bar to bar and all the while he watched the clock, thinking he he should go home so he could call us to get a ride to church.  As the time went on he kept fighting and fighting and telling himself he could go to church next week and it wouldn't matter.  As he was fighting he said God was talking to him and nudging him that he needed to go tonight.  He finally gave in and called us for a ride.  He and his wife bickered and argued even through services and he said he couldn't stop crying at what was being preached.  He felt an overwhelming urge to get up several times and run out of the church but he held his ground.  After talking to my husband for almost two hours, he with much weeping, rededicated his life to the Lord!  Amen, Amen, Amen!

Praising God for an amazing night!

 



It's Shouting Time in Heaven!

I shared this picture with you last month. 

The girl on the right is Edith and the boy is her brother Delbert.  Delbert and Edith started riding the church bus many, many years ago.  As Delbert became a teenager he got away from church but his sister Edith is so faithful every week and helps with all the little ones that ride the bus.

 

 

We haven't seen Edith for three weeks and no one has been

able to get a hold of her or her mom Tracy.  Yesterday Tracy came to the church and told us they had been in South Dakota with her sick mother.  Sadly her mother died last week and after the funeral

and other things that had to be taken care of, they arrived back home on Sunday.  After paying for her mother's funeral and the expense of the trip they were really in need of some help.

 

Our church is so loving and good and when they found out

 that we were helping Edith's family they went out of their way to give to this family.  Tracy came to the church this afternoon to meet with my husband and my husband was able to witness to her and lead her to the Lord!  Tracy cried and cried as she said her mother had been praying for years for her to get saved and give her life to God but she said she wanted to party and didn't have time for God. 

We are praising God for another new name in glory!

 

Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.



Answered Prayers

My husband and I have been reading E.M. Bounds collection

 on Prayer for our nightly devotion.  It has really challenged us

 and totally changed how we pray.

 

 

This morning as I prayed for my unsaved family, I prayed that as I am so far away, I prayed that someone would talk to them about salvation, someone would give them a tract and invite them to church.  I also prayed that God would use me and guide me to someone that had a mom or dad or sister that was praying for them to be saved, praying for someone to talk to them and invite them to church.

 

Tonight one of sweet church ladies invited us out to dinner.  She had went to a pizza place last week and met one of their new waiters and because he was so nice and took such good care of their needs she wanted to go back there this week and have him as her waiter.  The waiter was named Chandler and had moved here a month ago.  We were able to talk to him and invite him to church.  He told us how he went to church when he was younger but had gotten in trouble and turned away from God.  He felt God tugging at his heart and he said he really wanted to get back into church.  We talked with him some more and encougared him to come to church.  He then told us that his mama still lived in Texas and was in church every Sunday and Wednesday and was praying for him to get back into church and restore his relationship with God.  When he came back one last time to give us our check, he told us he had texted his wife and that they would be in church on Wednesday.  Amen, Amen!

 

As we left the parking lot, Chep and were talking about what a blessing

it was to be able to talk to and witness to this young man. 

It suddenly hit me and I began to cry!  God had answered my prayed and used me to talk to someone that had a mama praying for him! 

What a mighty God we serve and I am so thankful to see God

answer my prayer so specifically and fully! 



What a Sunday!

There are just those Sundays it seems like the devil is upsetting everything, as he knows there is a soul that is reaching out to God and he will do whatever he can to stop it!  That was our Sunday morning yesterday.  One of our Sunday School teachers was running late because her car had a flat and tore her dress trying to fix it.  In the confusion of it all, she left all her Sunday School material at home.  She did wonderful but the kids were a little bit hyper as class did not start on time and I think they saw that she was feeling stressed .

 

For services we had two new families visiting.  Praise the Lord!  Also a family that has been visiting the last few months joined the church and became members.  So exciting to see the church growing!

 

For Jr. Church we had 35 kids, which was actually low for us

 but God knew!  We always start with song time and the kids were so good.  After song time we split the class in half and Mason took half to do craft time and the rest stayed for the Bible story with me.  Somehow Mason took all the quiet kids and left me with a room full of hyper, jumping off the wall kids!  (All the younger ones from the Sunday School class I mentioned earlier!)  I interrupted my story a dozen times to correct kids and try to get them to pay attention. 

 I do not think they heard one word of the story!

 

In the meantime, Mason was in craft time and since my lesson was on the stoning of Stephen we had the kids paint rocks with paint

(washable paint so as not to ruin clothes) and then after the rock was painted they were to write forgiveness on it. 

 

 

The paint did not stick to the rock, the paint got all over and the paint is not washable as it said on the package!  Mason poked his head in and asked me what to do.  I threw an idea at him and he took off and finished that group's craft time as best he could.  We then switched classes and the next group of kids was amazing and listened and asked questions and I was about to offer a salvation invitation when all of a sudden on the boys threw up all over!  As he threw up all the other kids started gagging and saying they were going to throw up so I rushed all the kids out of the main room into the craft room.  I ran into service and grabbed on of the bus workers, (It was one of our bus kids who had gotten sick.), and asked her to help the child and also to clean up the mess. 

I ran to the craft room, which is very,very small, and found Mason at his wits end with so many kids in such cramped quarters. 

 

I shooed all the kids out the door and made everyone stand on the ramp we have that leads to the one of the doors.  The kids fit perfect

and it was a way to keep them all contained!

 

We then sang songs with them and took several group pictures

until the adults were dismissed from services.  Of course the adult service lasted longer than usual, my husband said was just about to offer the invitation when I came in to get help and it took everyone's attention and he had to rebuild to the point he was trying to finish with.  He said one of the visiting men was so convicted during the invitation he was clinging to the pew but did not come forward.  As I said before, the devil knew and did everything to make sure this man did not come to salvation.  By the time we dismissed I was physically and spiritually drained!

 

For evening services we were able to watch with joy as Judy, who had gotten saved several weeks ago, get baptized!

 

 

Praising God for this day, even with all the ups and downs but am fervently praying that next Sunday goes much smoother!

 



Teen Photo Hunt

Our Photo Hunt Night for the teens is one of their favorite activities!  Sadly we had several teens call in right before the activity started to say they were sick or were not able to come.  Because we were so down on teens we only had two teams, a boy team and a girl team.  Pastor Chep, Mr. Chandler and Mr. Mason were such good sports and sided with the only teen boy we had tonight to help make up a team. 

 

First, each team was given a sheet of paper

with specific people and items they had to get pictures of.

 

 

Each person or item has a point value and the goal is to get as many points as possible.  All team members had to be in each picture. 

The teams were given an hour and fifteen minutes to go and get as many pictures as they could and get back to the sanctuary. 

With their lists and a handful of tracts, they ran out the door to get into their designated cars with their adult drivers.

 

The boys got back with a minute left and the girls were three minutes late which took three points off their scores.  The drivers gave me their SD cards as the teens went to eat and I made a slide show for them of their pictures to show them after dinner. Dinner tonight was a small bag of Doritos with a scoop of taco meat and some cheese added.  The teens loved it and there were no dirty plates!  So yummy and easy!

 

Watching the pictures is so much fun and the teens laughed and told stories of what happened during each shot.  Every time

the teens took a picture with a person, they gave that person

 a tract and invited them to church.

 

 

A car sales man

 

A police officer

 

Furniture sales guy

 

Guy in a cowboy hat

 

 

Mechanic

 

 

Airplane pilot

 

Everybody on a bench

 

Guy walking a dog

 

And of course, everybody with one of the famous

cowboy boots spread all over the city.

 

There were many more pictures but just wanted to share a few with you.  At the end, after tallying the score, the girls won!  They asked if we could do it again next month but we told them, as we tell them every year, the Photo Hunt is only once a year! 

 

Not Again!!!

This is Brother Elmer's last weekend here before heading

 to Oregon and California for the next 5 months, where he has many meetings scheduled.  One of our sweet church ladies took him

and us out to Red Lobster as a going away and we had a

 wonderful time of food and fellowship.

 

On the way home we got a call from Mason that we had been broken into again.  Someone had broken into the shed and stole Chandler's brand new bike.  This is the fourth break in within nine months!  The officer who came was so nice and joked with my husband because he knows us so well from all the other times he has had to come out and write a robbery report. Praying that we will catch them in the act next time and put a stop to all this nonsense!

 

On good note, this was what greeted us when

we walked in the house this afternoon!

 

 

It's the part we have been waiting on to totally get the roof finished.

 

My husband checking over the part and calling to try to get the construction team here.  We only have this part for five days and then it is a hundred extra dollars a day that we have it after that. Praying that we will be able to arrange the crew to get here within the next week!

 

Just as the sun set, I looked outside and saw this beautiful rainbow spanning the sky.  It was so beautiful and such a wonderful testimony

 of our faithful and gracious God! 

 

 

 



Song Wall

Psalm 100 - Make a joyful nosie unto the Lord, all ye lands.

 

I love to sing songs with the kids as we begin Jr. Church and one thing I do most weeks is use my Song Wall. 

 

 

Each week I pick five or six kids, depending on how many songs

 I want to sing, and let them pick a square.  All the other kids in the room are usually rooting them on and telling them what color of square to pick.  Once they pick a sqaure, they then pull it off the wall

 and that is the song we sing.

 

Of course we have a bunch of fun songs that the kids love, Jesus Loves Me, The Jungle Song, Wonderful Words of Life, I Believe the Bible, The Wordless Book Song and the list goes on and on!

 

The wall was very easy to make.  First I cut different colors of squares out of foam.  I wrote a song we know on the back of each one and then put a small ball of sticky tack on the back of each and put them on the wall.  The sticky tack lets them be pulled off the wall over and attached again over and over without hurting the wall.  The I cut "Psalm 100" and some musical notes out of foam and attached them as a title piece for the wall I mounted everything on.

 

This is also a great idea if you have extra time in your class before you dimiss.  Remember kids always remember the last thing they hear you say, why not make that be a Jesus song!