Camping Report

We survived!! We had a good time at church camp this past week. 43 or 44 people gave their lives to Christ, 1 surrendered to the ministry, and several rededicated their lives. God is so good! It is such a blessing seeing these kids respond to Christ.

We've unpacked and washed laundry. Tomorrow is Father's Day so we'll focus on my husband for the day. Anything else isn't important. Well, after church of course. :)

Oh, almost forgot, Tom is the Camp Director for 2013. Should be a fun time!! :)

Happy Easter!

Today was an interesting day. I prayed to God that if He wanted me up and at the Sunrise Service at our church, that He'd wake me up. Well, I was awake at 4, rolled out of bed at 4:19, and was out the door at 5 a.m. along with all of my kids. (Natalie drove herself and left about 5 minutes after us.) So, Tom, me, Courtney, Nate, Wes, Marcee & Bethany were out the door at 5 a.m. Pretty impressive. :) Gotta give God the glory! We are NOT morning people here! :)

Got to church and started setting up chairs outside. People came. We had a lovely Sunrise Service from 6 to almost 7. Went inside and ate fruit, bagels, empanadas, cheesecake bites, toast, and muffins. I decided I was tired and went and laid down on the sofa in Tom's office around 8. Natalie was in there already dozing in a chair. Didn't take long and we were both snoozing. :) I woke up at 8:45 and went out to meet and greet my friends. :)

Then we had Sunday school and church. The awesome part: one young lady was baptized. Rosie is Bethany's best friend and we love her dearly. This was so special to watch. :)

After church we ran over to Rosie's house to give hugs to her family and they blessed us with a few plates of food. We couldn't stay though as we already had plans to be with my family for lunch. So, we ran over to our oldest daughter's house and enjoyed fellowship with Hannah, our son-in-law Andrew, our gorgeous grandson Carson, my lovely mom, Janie,  and "The Best Baked-Bean Chef" /step-dad, Dale. We feasted on ham, mashed potatoes, homemade macaroni and cheese, and yeast rolls. It was delicious!

When we came home, I worked on the project for our weapons class in co-op tomorrow, decided I was super sleepy, took a 2 hour nap (or was that 2.5 hrs?), and now I'm writing this blog post. :)

Still need to hide eggs for the kids to go find. :) Since it rained earlier today I wanted to give the grass time to dry. If it's still wet, guess we'll be hunting eggs another day. That's ok. Because the main focus today is on Jesus. He lived, died, and is alive today. I am blessed. :) And, huge kudos to my King for making sure I was up and on time for services. :)

Church Bake Sale This Saturday!

If you are near Richardson, TX on Saturday 11/19, please come by Waterview Baptist Church, 408 S. Waterview Dr, Richardson, TX 75080, to buy homemade Thanksgiving desserts from 11 a.m - 1 p.m. We are raising money to help our dear church member financially. Her son was ran over by a vehicle and is in the hospital in New York. She is with him. He has been in a coma and is slowly coming out of it. He is currently running a fever and cannot lie flat as his brain pressure increases dangerously high. If you want to make a donation instead of coming by to purchase goodies, please send it to the church. Minimally, please pray for this family.

Where Could I Go But To The Lord? (From Bro. Marc)

This devotion really got my attention. I love how God has used Bro. Marc to call us to Him. Thanks, Bro. Marc, for being a willing vessel. :)

  Two hunters were scouting where to hunt the next day. Night soon approached and they became lost in the woods and could not find their way back to the campsite. Once they realized how dangerous their situation was they decided to pray. As they knelt to the ground they were able to see their campfire below the tree line. God has shown them the way home.

    We are often lost in the forest of despair and sorrow. Our attempts to make our way out of our emotional trauma fails and we are left with a sense of hopelessness. When all else fails we turn to God for direction. God is faithful and will help us to face our fears and show us the way back to hopefulness.

    Why is it we try everything we know to do before we turn to God? Are we fearful that God will turn His back on us and leave us in our plight? Are we afraid to turn everything over to God and give up control of our life? Whatever the reason when we do not turn to God make the situation worse. When trials come the first thing we should do is turn to God for direction. It will prevent a lot of heartache.

Bro. Marc is a friend of mine and has given me permission to publish his devotions on my blog. Thanks, Bro. Marc!

Taking Control (From Bro. Marc)

    George found himself a widower after almost sixty years of marriage. He was not content to stay at home and feel sorry for himself so he decided to have some exciting adventures. He went to such places as Eureka Springs Arkansas, Six Flags Over Texas, and the island of Martinique.  His son was concerned about his welfare and suggested he act his age and quit gallivanting around. George counted by asking his son if he rather he stay home an die of boredom.

    Too often people are content to  be controlled by the negative influences of others and suffer through the less than ideal circumstances of life. Such an attitude brings nothing but misery and heartache. With God’s help it is imperative that a person take control of his life and get back to the business of living joyfully. The woman at the well found joy when she accepted the Lord as Savior and changed her life-style. The apostle Paul found contentment in every state of life by following the Lord.

    If you keep on doing the same old things you will get the same old results. If you are in a less than ideal state in life take control and seek God’s will. Don’t allow others to prevent you from being happy. Find the joy of the Lord which is your strength.

Bro. Marc is a friend of mine and has given me permission to publish his devotions on my blog. Thanks, Bro. Marc!

MissioLife

If your church is looking for a new study, I would like to introduce you to MissioLife. I would like to start out saying that I do not know what their Statement of Faith is but they are published by Beacon Hill Press. Anyway, MissioLife is a new all-digital program for small groups. One year is broken down into 6 6-week modules and is intended to take you “through the story of God using the spiritual formation model of story; theology; identity and calling; way of life; and behaviors and expressions.” It costs $299 per year for 0-25 and goes up from there or you can buy a module at a time. Click here to see their pricing guide.

Each year of MissioLife builds on the next.

• Year One: The God of Life: A Story of God’s Redeeming Shalom
• Year Two: The God Who Would Be King: A Story of God’s Kingdom
• Year Three: The God of Promise: A Story of God’s People
• Year Four: The God of New Creation: A Story of God’s Restoration

MissioLife is broken down into three age groups. Breathe is for adults. Imageis for grades 7-12. Rhythms is for children ages 6 – 12.  To see  samples of each group, go to this page and click on the links provided.

Each week you get a 3-page in depth biblical reflection to help you engage in the story of God, a 2-page facilitator’s guide to equip the leader with weekly encounter sessions and community discussions, and a 1-page participant’s handout to help everyone join in the conversation.

To learn more about MissioLife, please visit their site. Because I do not know their Statement of Faith, I can neither recommend nor discount this product. Please do your own research before purchasing.

I received a free preview kit from B & B Media Group, Inc. in order to review. No other compensation was received or expected.