Prepping for Free Day

We have been so busy that I have not done anything to get ready for "Free Day" and so today I was so busy!

 

 

 

First I put together trays of snacks. 

 Breakfast bars, crackers, Butterfinger Cups, jerky and sunflower seeds.

 

I rounded up everything for our face painting booth. 

Watercolor pencils, cups for water, chairs and TV trays for each face painter.  We use watercolor pencils because they work so well and are easier to draw and color with and they also last for years.  I bought several packages three years ago and have not had to buy any more. 

 

I hate making signs, thus why I scribbled these signs to go by the road.

I asked my husband to make the sign for the face painting booth and this is what he did.  Hmmmmmm...........

 

This afternoon I had to run one of our ladies to the doctors office and then I ran to get hot dogs.  I bought 200 hot dogs and we have a few other people bringing some also.   We will see if we have enough for everyone!

 

 

When I got home, Chep, Mason and one of our church men were cutting down a tree.  We have had problems with this tree for years and my husband has been wanting to remove it.  In the middle of cutting it down, it started raining and raining hard!  Because we will have so many people in the yard tomorrow, they had to get the job finished so they continued working in the rain.  They finally got it cut down and in the pouring (and I do mean pouring!!!) rain we moved all the wood and branches to a pile in another area of the yard.  By the time we finished we were all soaking wet! 

 

After a quick change of clothes I wrote up a small tract

about salvation being a free gift.  Free parking, free hot dogs and snacks,

free salvation, get it?  I printed these on cardstock and we will be putting them into the John and Romans that we will be handing out

 to every car that comes into our parking lot.

 

I am so excited to see everyone come out tomorrow but I told my husband that next year I want to assign someone to start putting everything together earlier than the day before Free Day! 



Stones and Stone Soup

 

 

We are enjoying our Summer Revival with Michah Brackett.  Tonight's message was so convicting as he talked on watching the doors of our house and protecting our children and grandchildren from the unrighteousness
that so easily besets us.

 

Since we are in a nightly revival  started a pot of stone soup. 

This makes it easier for those who come to church right after work to have something hot and ready to eat.  Someone brought elk meat and so I put together and elk stew.  Everyone loved it and said it was so good. 

I personally hate soup and did not even try it!

 

For Lunch today, Michah treated us to a Southern Slow Boil. 

We had never heard of this before so we were excited to try it!  We got out the turkey fryer and Michah added Old bay seasoning, potatoes, corn, sausage and shrimp.  The smells coming out of the pot where fabulous!

 

After cooking for almost two hours, Michah poured out the water

and then poured the rest of the contents on the table.  Everything w

as so good and we totally stuffed ourselves!

 

Most nights before church starts, you can find these two adorable guys standing outside the front door, playing in the rocks.

 

Tonight they were scooping up the rocks

 and putting them on the outside bench.

 

 

One of our men sat with them and taught them to fill their pockets

with the rocks.  The boys loved it and soon had pockets so weighed down with rocks it was pulling their breeches off!  When it was time for church

we had to talk them into leaving the rocks outside the church.  Of course a few rocks made it into the church and as we were picking them up off the kitchen floor someone commented that the boys were just trying to contribute to the stone soup! It may be called stone soup

 but I think we'll keep the real rocks out of the soup!

 

Two more days of revival and looking forward to see what God will bring us!

 

 

July Titus Girls

I had to pick the girls up earlier than usually today as the lady hosting Titus girls lives on the other side of town.  Within ten minutes of riding with our girls I was feeling mentally and spiritually exhausted!  Hearing everything that has happened at their houses this week, listening to them tell me what they were doing, what they were planning to do and what their parents were letting them do so was heart wrenching!  So much drama, so much ungodliness, so much confusion and disorder in their households and lives!  I tried to gently and lovingly tell them what God says and what God wants them to do but I really wonder how much of what I shared really will have any effect on them.

 

 

Mrs. Samantha shared her testimony with us and

then brought a message on having purity in our thoughts and actions. 

We looked up verses and definitions of words as we studied each verse out and how we could apply it to our lives.

 

 

For lunch Mrs. Samantha taught the girls how to make

Chicken, Rice and Mushrooms.  While it was cooking we learned how to make homemade laundry soap. 

 

 

First they grated the soap and then melted it on the stove. 

 

 

They then added a couple of other ingredients and put it all in a big bucket with lots of hot water.  The girls then stirred all the ingredients together and after letting the soap sit for 24 hours the soap will be ready to use. 

The girls thought this was so fun to be able to make this!

 

 

For our craft Mrs. Samantha had picked up charms to go with each

point of her devotion.  A rose for inner beauty, a ring for purity before marriage, a key to our hearts that should only belong to God, and a cross to help us to remember that we should always look to God for the

answer to every problem and temptation we have.

 

 

The girls braided their bracelets with their favorite colors.  I had to laugh as some girls used their teeth to hold their strings as they braided while others used their toes!

 

The girls loved their bracelets and each asked if they could each make another one to share with a friend.  I truly love these girls and am praying that God will touch each and every one of their hearts with His Word and His love so they can be the young women that God wants them to be!

 



Senior Pictures and College (College for the Dogs that is!)

 

I was honored when I was asked to do Senior pictures for one of the girls in our church.  This girl is truly the most beautiful girl on the inside and out! 

 

We had so much fun running all over Cheyenne, taking pictures

 of her in her favorite places.

 

 

The pictures turned out great and I will be putting together a photo graduation announcement for her.

 

While I was off playing my husband was getting the church flower beds ready for Revival next week.  I wish I would have thought to take a before picture because the flowerbed was in very bad shape and needed a lot of tending!

 

 

After trimming the rose bush, weeding and washing all the white rocks

so looked white again, he started planting new flowers to add

some much needed life and color to the bed.

 

 

It looks so much better than it did and will not be such an eyesore

when we have visitors come to church.

 

Caesar and Mark Anthony took their monthly stroll to college this afternoon.  The church is not fenced or enclosed except in the backyard where the college has a wire fence up to keep the rodeo stock in the college fields.  The boys usually do very good staying on church property but about once a month they squeeze through the fence, investigate the horses and cows, roll in manure, go swimming in the college pond and roam the college grounds.  College security is the best and has us on speed dial to call us when they see the boys wandering the grounds.  When we got them home, we gave them a bath which they hate and they are now moping because they are in trouble!

Its' so hard being a dog! 

 

 

Getting Ready For Ladies G.A.B. Night

Yesterday was Ladies G.A.B. Night and no matter how much I prepare

I always end up running all day getting ready.

 

 

For my devotion I usually use whatever God has been showing me

 in my personal studies.  This month I have been studying Number 14:24, where is talks about Caleb having another spirit.  This was a wonderful word study on what kind of spirit God wants us to have.  Also Numbers 14:24 tells how Caleb followed God fully.  We will have the right spirit in us if we are following God fully and totally with all our hearts. (Deuteronomy 11:1)  God had been putting this devotion on my heart and mind for the last two weeks so I was able to write it out in quickly.

 

I had just finished writing my devotion out when my husband called

and said we had gotten the date wrong for Food Bank and that they were here!  This is the second month we have been off on the weeks and not ready!  I ran over to the church and helped unload and get boxes ready to give out.   By the time we got done my morning was gone!

 

The last few days here have been rainy, dreary, and cold so I decided to throw together a quick pot of potato soup.  I set the potatoes to cook and came back later and mashed up the potatoes and added milk and seasonings.  The ladies said it was good and just what was needed on a cold day!

 

 

For our craft time I knew we were going to finish working

on the Kleenex boxes we started last month.  These will go in the sanctuary and match the remodeling we just did.  I took time to string all the needles and start the patterns on each square so everyone could just start in

and I wouldn't have as much explaining to do.  This has actually been one of the favorite crafts of our ladies!

 



 

We were missing a lot of ladies last night with vacation

and summer activities but we had so much fun.  Awesome ladies, great food, fun crafts and of course wonderful Words from our precious Lord and Savior.  What a great combination!

 

Denver and VBS Tricks

As we get ready for VBS in a few weeks we needed to run to Denver to the magic shop.  As the last few weeks have been non stop ministry it was nice to get away with my sweet love for some alone time! 

 

 

 There was construction was everywhere and we were detoured

 to areas we were not familiar with and thus became lost several times!  As we were running aimlessly around the city, trying to find our way to where we were going, we were snacking on Dove Dark Chocolate and laughed

when I read this.  "Get lost on purpose".  Getting lost was not pleasurable but it did add to our adventure today!

 

We finally got to the magic shop and found many of the ticks we needed.  Each trick will help during either opening rally or closing time and can be used to explain the gospel or an element of the Bible story that was told that day.

 

 

My favorite trick is, even though it's one of the simplest is the multiplying rabbits.  After all what did God tell man and animals to do in the beginning?

 

Multiply!

I am amazed every time Mason does this trick even though I know the secret!

 

 

We did not want to waste a trip to Denver so my sweet husband

took me to my favorite place, Lifeway Christian Store!  He saw this bracelet as soon as we walked in the door and knowing I love both bracelets and crosses, he sweetly bought it for me.  We spent our time wandering

the aisles and buying a couple of books and movies and so enjoyed some quiet time without rushing about.

 

We had an early dinner at the food court in the Park Meadow Mall which

is our favorite mall in Denver.  We both ordered our favorite foods and sat and talked and laughed as we ate and relaxed.  We really loved our time away and were sure to enjoy every minute as tomorrow we both have a list of things that needed to get worked on and prepared as we get ready for our summer revival , Frontier Days, and VBS all within the next few weeks!

 

 

Water Day

 

Water day!  The teens say this is the best activity of the summer

and one they wait all year for!

 

 

This year Mason had the idea to dig out the volleyball court and turn

it into a water area.  This was a lot of work but thankfully

 we had a couple of guys come help us!

 

Of course Keith was a great help too!

 

After the volleyball court was emptied of sand,

Mason lined it with a thick plastic sheet. 

 

We had to duct tape two sheets together to get the width we wanted. 

 

It took about four hours to fill it to shin deep water.  Keith helped fill it but thought it was more fun to chase Uncle Mason around with the hose!

 

 

 

The teens played Steal the Bacon, Jump Rope, Drip, Drip Drench,

Balloon pop and many other games. 

 

As the sun started going down we started a bonfire to warm the teens up as Pastor Mason preached an encouraging message on setting goals

to help us follow Christ in every area of our lives.

 

 

The teens roasted hot dogs and smore's for dinner and then stole my phone for some teen selfies!  Love these goofs!

 

As the we piled everyone in the van to head home the teens asked if we could do Water Day again next week as another year is too long to wait!