Caleb is a Christian!

This Sunday night, August 31, Caleb asked again about becoming a Christian. He has been asking questions for months, and asked if we could talk more about it several times. Tonight after Bible story Caleb asked again if we could talk about it. Corey looked at me and said that it was the second time he had asked today. I thought we'd probably talk about it and that he would still have some confusion about what it meant and that we would have several of these conversations before he was ready, however as we talked about what it meant, he understood and said that he believed all of those things. He understood that he had sinned and said, "Can I ask Jesus into my heart?" Corey and I had gone back and forth on if he was old enough to make this decision, but Corey said that if it was anyone else's child, he would say that they understand and that they were ready. Corey, Bennett, my mom and I were in the room and Caleb wanted everyone to know, so we asked my dad to come in, too. Zachary and Natiley took care of Bennett, and we asked Caleb to pray to Jesus in his own words. Afterward he ran out and told everyone, "I'm a Christian!" and when he was laying down in bed, he asked, "Do you feel Him?" "It feels so good!" How amazing!

Infuriating!

It absolutely infuriates me when people misuse scripture in order to push their own agenda. Tonight at the DNC, Barack Obama closed his speech by saying, "As the scripture says, ..."Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering..." referring to his campaign and the "change" he hopes to see. Let me just clarify...that scripture has nothing to do with Barack Obama, John McCain or even the United States of America. It has everything to do with the salvation we are provided through faith in Jesus Christ! What ignorance and arrogance to distort that scripture to glorify anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ! He conveniently omitted the last part of Hebrews 10:23 which says, "for He who promised is faithful." And "HE" does not refer to anyone other than God Himself! This is not the first time he has shown disdain for God's word. He quotes it when convenient and mocks it when it suits him. If you'll just take a few minutes to watch at least the first minute and a half of this video, you'll see why I am so angry. After these kinds of statements, how dare he quote scripture tonight in his speech!

Beautiful Feet Women's Conference

This past weekend was the Beautiful Feet Women's Conference. We were able to take a precious group of women from our church and were so blessed by the experience. It has been a while since I've been able to be a part of something like this, so it was very refreshing to worship with a group of between 450 and 500 women! The theme for the weekend was, "A Grace-Filled Journey: Sharing Hope!"

This conference was a first for me in two ways. First, I was blessed with the opportunity to work with some amazing women to help plan this conference. It was so much fun to work together with women from different churches, backgrounds and ages to fulfill what we believed God intended this conference to be. Our keynote speaker was Donna Gaines, an amazing woman and wonderful example of a Godly wife, mother and preacher's wife. She challenged us in so many ways! As our planning team looked around throughout the weekend, we were all struck by the fact that we couldn't have done this on our own. It was only by God's grace and mercy that things went so well!

Secondly, I was blessed to be able to lead a breakout session. I knew that I was totally inadequate for this assignment and that only Christ through me could do this, so I accepted this honor knowing that in Him I would be made strong in my weakness. Thank you to my friends and family who were praying for me. I set up a few visual reminders of different places that we have opportunities to share Christ and was determined to have a grocery buggy in my room! I sure do love my daddy...he went to several places and with a little divine intervention made it happen. Thanks, Dad! I was so humbled to have around 65 women between my two sessions Saturday morning. My topic was, "Everyday Evangelism: Sharing the Love of Christ as You Go." How exciting it was to know that so many women were passionate about learning how to better share their faith in everyday situations! As I prepared to begin the first session, I was encouraged to see the smiling faces of my mom, and 3 of my best friends, Jennifer Shackelford, Meg Nethery and Becca Simpson...thank you for your support and encouragement! My wonderful husband was so thoughtful, too. In addition to willingly taking care of our two boys for the weekend, when I arrived at the hotel, he had sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers! My prayer for this past weekend is that God will bless the message that was shared and spur us on to share God's love with those around us and that we will make a difference in the places where God has placed us. I could go on about this experience, but wouldn't know where to stop, so here are a few pictures of the wonderful weekend we had.

Accident

I won't go into all the details, but on Tuesday Caleb was on the "balance beam"-the concrete retaining wall beside our driveway, and he fell off. It's 3 1/2 or 4 feet high, and he fell flat on his face. God was so good and protected him from serious injury like a concussion or losing teeth, but his sweet face was pretty banged up. When he talked to Ge, my mom, he told her, "God will heal me." And the next day when she called to check on him he said, "God is already answering your prayers!" I cannot believe how good he looks today! He posed for this pic the day after...we thought he'd be black and blue and look worse, but God really began to heal him quickly!

Caleb's First Soccer Practice!

Caleb had his first soccer practice Tuesday! I am so excited because he has the best coaches, Corey and our friend Fred Shackelford ;) Monday he tried on his cleats (they were hand-me-downs) and realized that they were too small! So, Corey and I took him to pick out his very first pair of new cleats! He was so excited! He absolutely loved his practice...Corey had researched some fun games that also teach skills. They included Battleship, Egg Hunt, and Cowboys and Cows (the cowboys try to steal the cows' balls...if they do, the cows become a cow patty. Yes, I'm serious!) I had a meeting that night but slipped by for the start of practice and snapped a few pics. The next morning when I saw the boys, Caleb went on and on about his practice and the games. Guess which one was his favorite?! Yes, the one with the cow patties. Here are a few pics of his cleats and of his first practice! I'll explain his face on the next post.

Playing Catch Up

We've had a busy last couple of weeks...it seems like we have been on the go since we got back from Honduras. This is a little update on what has been happening the last two weeks!

Week before last we had the Henry County Fair! What kept us so busy is that our church began a ministry last year where we set up a booth and give water bottles with our church logo on them and the verse where Jesus talks about being the Living Water. Each day at lunch time, (Wednesday- Saturday) Corey, the boys and I would ice down around 250 bottles of water in coolers. Then in the afternoon we would deliver them to the booth. It's a lot of work, but we had over 250 contacts to make through letters or phone calls at the end of the week. Our prayer is that the ministry showed people that we care about them, but more importantly that God loves them. Different church members volunteered to work the booth...it's actually a lot of fun!
We also had a fun time riding rides at the fair!One afternoon Mr. Steve was bailing hay, so the boys were able to go ride the tractor and "help" him. They love the horn on the tractor. The Clendenin farm is one of the boys' favorite places...they are always so kind to let us come out there to ride four-wheelers, tractors and see the cows.

That Friday and Saturday, Corey had the privilege of performing the wedding for our youth minister and his wife, David and Ashley. They are a precious couple and we wish them the best! Everything was beautiful from the rehearsal dinner to the wedding and reception! Caleb and Bennett even got to dance with Ashley at the reception...Bennett didn't want David to cut-in on one dance, so he got to dance with both of them!

Last Monday, the first full day of school, our church hosted a back-to-school prayer breakfast. It was such a blessing! We gathered together with friends from several area churches and prayed for each teacher, administrator and school board member in all our city and county schools by name! Our hope is that this won't be a one time thing but that throughout the year we will lift them up as they face the overwhelming task of educating our children. We also prayed that those who are Christians will be a light for those who do not know Jesus personally...they they will see Jesus in them! Corey and I are blessed to have been called to quite possibly the most gracious and wonderful church ever. It is such a blessing to be part of a church that meets each ministry opportunity with wonderful enthusiasm! The food that was left after the breakfast was taken to several of the schools and placed in the teachers lounges...being a former teacher I know how exciting it is when a surprise shows up! It just seems to brighten the day. Thank you to all our church members who so generously gave of your time to make this possible!
Tuesday night, Corey and I had a parent meeting for Caleb's preschool!!! Wow, that is hard to believe. I did pretty well except when I saw his name on a folder...it seemed so official, and when they talked about the scripture and Bible stories they would be learning...what a blessing! I have such a love for Christian education!

This week is the consignment sale in Paris, so I had to get all the boys old clothes, toys, etc. labeled and ready for drop off Sunday afternoon. Knowing that we were going to be out of town, I wasn't sure how I'd get it done, but my sweet friend Jennifer came over Thursday morning to help me hang and tag everything...thank you! Thursday afternoon we headed to Jackson and were blessed to have dinner with my home church's pastor and his wife. They have a burden for mentoring young pastors and so there were four couples they have taken alongside to teach and help. This was such a wonderful and encouraging time! The men have officially named themselves, "The Dead Preacher's Society," reminiscent of the old movie. Guys are so weird!

Then Friday Corey had his Fantasy Football draft with his buddies...they've done this league since college. They spent the morning golfing and the evening drafting. Corey was last year's winner...I think the Parasites have a good chance again this year! The boys and I had a fun day with my family (I left my camera in Paris and have no pictures!!!) And then we got to spend some time with some of my friends and their children (their husbands were at the draft too). We had a wonderful time!

Now if you are actually still reading at this point...I'm impressed! This has officially been the longest blog I've written and I've used the word "official" three times. That means it is officially time to stop! I think we're caught up now!

So amazing!

Sunday night we had our service out at our pavilion on our new property. Just as a quick update, we are still working on financing and praying for God's will...we know He has all of this planned out. We're just curious and ready to see how He's going to do it! But after we ate and Corey shared a devotion, he challenged us to either prayer walk on the property, drive around it or sit where we were and pray. So I walked down to the property and began praying (amidst the sounds of my two children playing in the dirt piles :) As I turned to the side, I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face. I could feel God's presence there with me. After I finished praying, I decided that I would take a picture of that moment...of the sun. When I looked through my camera, as clear as it could be, I saw a cross!!! I got chills! I took two pictures, but it wouldn't show up, fortunately it did on the video! Here it is! What blessed assurance of God's sovereignty in this process!

I'm in love!

God's word is so amazing! I fall in love with it more each time I read it and God shows me something I've never noticed before. Last week in my Bible study I found a verse that I couldn't wait to share, but haven't really had time to do it justice (we've been working on rearranging the boys rooms). It is Isaiah 30:21, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" What an amazing promise for those who have trusted in Jesus! Even when we stray off the path that God has planned for our lives, he loves us enough to continue to show us the way through the Holy Spirit! I know I've heard that voice many times before. Sometimes I've followed and other times I've ignored it. It has always been much less painful when I've obeyed His voice behind me. God is so loving! Yes, He gives us the freedom to choose, to make either good or bad decisions. He doesn't grab us and yell at us and say, "Stop doing that!" and then force us to love and follow Him. However, He does lovingly tell us the way we should go because He knows that only in His way will we find true joy and peace. Only in His way are we and those around us protected from the pain and the harm that our sin causes. Just like a loving parent who guides and protects his child, God desires to see us walk in His way which brings about holiness and peace!

Too much fun for one day?

Is it possible to have too much fun in one day? Well, I'm still not sure of the answer, but yesterday we tried! We had planned to go to Beech Bend Water Park with some of our playgroup friends, but due to rain we had to cancel. But our friend Katie had a wonderful idea for a substitute trip! The boys and I headed to Clarksville with Jennifer, her boys, the Kenworthy clan and two friends to The Jump Zone...it is a fun place with lots of inflatables! We had such a fun time!!! And it made it even more fun that adults are allowed to play! When we arrived the boys had taken off and started having fun, so they had already been in most of them. When I climbed up the first one (the big ship with the octopus in the back) it was really steep. I was surprised that Bennett had climbed up them by himself and even more surprised that he wasn't scared, but he and Caleb both did so well! I know that one day my boys won't want mom tagging along, but it made my day that they were so excited when I said I was going to slide and play with them. They dragged me from one place to another and we enjoyed every minute of it! Afterward we went to Chuck E. Cheese...yes, we did! On the way home the boys had so much fun hanging out with their friends in the Shackelford van...I thought they'd surely go to sleep for a little nap. No way! They talked the whole ride home. But as soon as we got into our car they fell asleep within one minute. Then, after a short nap we went to the high school to play tennis and enjoyed ice cream at Sonic afterward. Whew! I love summertime! Here are a few pictures (I couldn't find my camera, so my sweet friends took pictures for me!)

Just Like Dad

I think it's only natural that a boy wants to be like his dad...this past Sunday the boys wanted to wear their ties to church "like dad." What a good looking group of guys!