Giving Thanks for God's Gifts- Week 8

It was my intent to be more consistent with these posts. I seem to have gotten myself off track. Time to put the focus back on where it should be.



101. doggie kisses
102. warm brownies fresh from the oven
103. a pre-teen daughter and her friend enjoying time together
104. old tv shows that bring back nostalgic feelings
105. sharing old tv shows with our kids
106. caring neighbors
107. groups of people that care about helping those in poverty
108. a chance to meet 4 young adults from Africa that have been brought out of poverty through the love of others
109. butterflies
110. cool spring evenings
111. Bryans work
112. the 56,000 teenagers that will be attending camp this summer
113. the hearts of Student Life staff
114. sweet freckles
115. a teenage son with a tender heart
116. finding my teenage son pulling weeds from the garden all on his own because it needed it
117. cat cuddles and purrs
118. seeing the first fireflies of the season
119. A beautiful worship service last night
120. A wonderful sermon on Song of Solomon
121. the men and women who have served and given their lives for our country through the years
122. my dad and the years he served in the army, fighting in vietnam, for our country
123. Those that are currently serving our country.



Happy Memorial Day friends!

124. And one last thing that I wish to Thank God for today is an answer to prayer for our family that I have been meaning to share here on our blog for a while now. I shared in THIS post how God answered our prayers for a church in Birmingham. What I did not share in that post was that their is another answer to prayer for us specifically in the church He has lead us to. As most of you know I have been battling Fibromyalgia for 7 years now. I was diagnosed in 2003. As part of my Fibro I deal daily with severe muscle and joint pain, stiffness in my legs, and many other symptoms. The worst part of the day for me with my pain and especially my stiffness is the morning hours. I really, really struggle in the mornings and it makes going anywhere in the mornings hard. Because we homeschool, this isn't typically an issue during the week. It has been an issue for me on Sunday mornings though. Their are some mornings when the pain is so bad that I simply can't get out and go somewhere no matter how badly I want to, church included. Then on the mornings that we are able to make it to church it's often really hard to focus my attention as I should. Just try to imagine going to church while you have a really bad case of the flu and trying to stand and worship and focus your mind as you need too. The muscle pain with Fibro is very similar to the pain you feel with the flu. So as we were praying and searching for a faith family in Birmingham we were hoping and praying that God might lead us to one that had a Saturday evening service. We know many churches today do have them. God did not lead us to a church with a Saturday evening service, but He did lead us to one with a Sunday evening service. Brook Hills has a Sunday evening service that is identical to their Sunday morning one. I cannot express what a HUGE answer to prayer this has been for us. As I was sitting in church last night my heart was just overcome with thanksgiving over this. It is such a huge blessing to not have to deal with getting out on Sunday mornings when I am hurting and really stiff. I love being able to go to church once again and focus and be able to stand and worship and not have my mind on my stiffness and pain. I'm often still hurting in the evenings but by the evening hours, if I have not overdone it during the day, my muscles have had time to warm up and I can go to church without the severity of pain I face in the mornings. Such a huge, huge answer to prayer for us! I just can't express it enough. I am soooooo thankful to serve a God who knows our needs, hears our prayers, and meets us right where we are at. Will you join us in praising Him for this HUGE answer to prayer and blessing in our lives?

Psalm 34:17- The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

SL Dinner & Compassion International

I shared on Monday that Bryan was out at Shocco Springs in Talladega, AL for the week to help get camp season into full swing. On Wednesday night the kids and I were able to head out and join him for the Student Life dinner with families. It was a really fun night as we love being out at Shocco!










Student Life had fried catfish with hush puppies catered in which was very yummy!








The kids enjoyed playing around Shocco after dinner.....






























The room where Bryan does his thing ;-)


When I was in camp as a young girl, and when Bryan and I served as camp counselors, we always stayed in cabins. For me and I think for many others it's what you think of when you think of going to camp. Shocco is a bit different though as the students stay in hotel rooms while at camp at Shocco. The above picture is one section of the hotel rooms.


The gymnasium- where worship takes place every morning and night at camp.


The theme for this years camp is "Re" which stands for 4 different words, one being relate.


During training week every year several bands that are playing at camps across the country that year come and perform for the staff. This is worship on Wednesday night with one of the bands for this year.


Drama team performing one of the skits on schedule for the summer, after worship.

The highlight of the night was that it was compassion night. Four LPD's from Compassion International were flown into the states from Uganda for the summer and they will be traveling around to all of the camps this summer and giving their testimonies about how being sponsored through Compassion International as a child, changed their lives. We were able to listen to all 4 of them share on Wednesday night and let me just say that it made for a very touching and tearful evening.


All 4 of them were from the slums in Uganda. A couple of them had mothers that died from preventable diseases at a young age. One of their mothers was only 14 years old when she gave birth to him. They shared how a typical day in the slums meant that their mothers or themselves went out in search of food to eat. Sometimes they came back with food and sometimes they didn't. This was the first time to come to the United States for all 4 of them. It was very interesting to hear their first impressions of America. Some of the things that they shared were how amazed they are at how much land America has that doesn't have people on it. They were surprised to see that here in America we eat dinner so early (5-6pm) because in Uganda you usually do not eat until 9pm or so. That is primarily because you have to search for your food, sometimes through the dumps, and it can take all day long to find one meal. Maureen, the one young lady in the group celebrated her 25th birthday last week and her hosts took her out to a local Japanese restaurant to celebrate. It was her very first birthday celebration ever! They all shared their testimonies about what becoming sponsored through Compassion meant to them. An adult signed them up through the local compassion agency in the Uganda area when they were young. They said it is really hard when you are in the waiting stages for a sponsor because all of the kids that are sponsored know that you don't have one yet. One of the young gentlemen here was orphaned and he shared how one of the men from his village took him and signed him up at Compassion. Alot of people within in the village thought that Compassion was devil worshipers and warned him to not go but he said he didn't care at that point who they were worshiping because he just wanted to get the free meal they offered every day so he wouldn't have to keep searching for food every day. Obviously, he came to realize that Compassion is not about devil worshiping. In fact all 4 of these young adults who once lived in the slums became Christians and are now going to a University in Uganda to get an education as a result of being sponsored through the years. Two of them are going to school to become pastors and two of them are going to school to become teachers! Praise God- how awesome is that! They shared how sponsorship not only helped them directly but how it helped and inpacted their extended family members as well as their entire village. It was incredibly moving to hear their testimonies!



Compassion International had several displays set up in the Gym.








This hut is the size of the homes that all four of the LPD's grew up in, in the slums.




Playing a little basketball on the courts after worship......









I am so thankful that we were able to hear the testimonies of Compassions LPD's this past week. Will you pray for Compassion International and their work around the world? Will you also pray for the many many children who are still waiting for a sponsor. If you go to the Compassion International site and look through the available children, any of them with a heart on their picture has been waiting for 6 months or longer for a sponsor. We need to all pray for those precious children! And if you have ever considered sponsoring a child, can I spur you on a bit to consider it more?

We are also very excited that camp season is officially in full swing. The first camp started yesterday at Shocco. Their will be 56,000 pre-teens and teens coming through Student Life camps this summer in 18 states across the country. Will you join us in praying for these teens as they hear God's word this summer, that it will penetrate their hearts deeply and move them to a deeper relationship with Him!

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).

Thursday Thirteen~ A Tribute to my mom for Mothers Day

Since Mothers Day was a few weeks ago, I have been thinking about my own mom and I wanted to publicly give thanks for some of the many things she did for me during my childhood. I thought a Thursday Thirteen post would be appropriate.



So here it is,

Thirteen Things To Thank my Mother For:

1) She was involved in my childhood. She was my blue-bird and brownie troop leader. She organized many many events for my blue-bird and brownie groups, spent hours writing things for the groups and hours on projects and trips with all of us girls.

2) She choose to stay home for us. I came home each day to a mom at home because my mom made the decision to be at home for us. I am thankful for that. Even when she began working she choose a job that would still allow her to be at home.

3) She was a great partier. *Giggle* What I mean by that is she threw some awesome parties for my friends and I each year. Some of my greatest childhood memories are the parties that took place at our home. My mom was very hospitable. Every Halloween she always hosted a huge party for my friends and I. She went all out making sure all of the foods were spooky and cool and the games were scary and fun. She always dressed up herself. One year she dressed up as hunchback. She used to stuff a very large scarecrow that ended up looking like a real man and would set it on our front porch or in our bathtub to scare guests. Mom also threw huge birthday parties for my brother and I every year complete with a clown and his dog. They came every year when I was young to perform at my party- the dog did awesome tricks. I have many memories of our family hosting the 4th of July with all of our relatives. Yes, mom knew how to party. Even as an adult now, I love the holidays and birthday celebrations. Holidays just excite me and I do believe that stems back to my mothers love for a good celebration. Thanks mom for all of your hard work each holiday to make it extra special. I hope I am passing that love onto your grandchildren. ;-)

4) My mom sewed. While I don't have a lot of memories of this, I do have many many pictures to prove it. Mom sewed alot of my clothes when I was young- even making her and I matching outfits. She made me dolls and used her talent in many other ways. I wish I could say that this is something that I learned from her and am passing onto our own kids but sadly, I haven't followed suit myself. As I look back on many of my childhood pictures though I am always thankful for the love that shows through those pictures in the labor of sewing that mom did for me and others.

5) My mom read to me when I was little. Their is a story that my dad likes to tell. When I was really little we took a vacation to Oklahoma to visit family their. My dad was unloading the suitcases and pulled one out that was so heavy he almost dropped it. He thought my mom must have packed bricks for some reason. When he opened the suitcase it was full of children's books. I laugh everytime I think about this and I know my moms diligence in reading to me plays a part in my love today for books.

6) My mom let me use my imagination. Not only did she let me use it, she encouraged it in me and shall I say- she put up with it. I had several imaginary friends as a young girl and if my mom was writing this she could tell you some crazy stories about those friends and I. I will tell you one. Mom and I were visiting a department store one day and as soon as we walked into the store I started screaming at the top of my lungs hysterically. Of course everyone around stopped what they were doing and just stared at mom and me. Mom tried to get me to calm down and finally was able to get an answer out of me as to what was wrong. You see, she had shut the door on one of my imaginary friends and locked her outside. Mom had to walk over and while everyone around was watching her she opened up the door to let my imaginary friend walk through. Thank you mom, for putting up with my imagination. LOL!

7) Mom took us places.Her and dad made a lot of effort to take us to fun places. I know that it was in many ways a sacrifice financially for her and my dad to do so but they always put my brother and I first and used to love to take us places. Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Parades, The Rodeo, Festivals, Flinstone Land, the beach, Arizona.....those are just a few of my favorite memories.

8) Mom cooked. My mom cooked alot when my brother and I were growing up. Isn't it funny how memories of food can stir up sweet feelings. Like her traditional blueberry muffins on Christmas morning. Her 7 layer bars on Halloween. Her stuffed peppers and so much more. I have many memories of coming through the door after school to the scent of cookies or muffins baking in the oven.

9) Mom always wanted the best for us. At one point when I was in gradeschool the local schools where we lived announced an idea to start busing students from my school down into the really bad part of town and to start busing students from the bad part of town to my current school. Of course this concerned my parents and as a result they made the decision to move 45 minutes away to a small town in the mountains. My dad loved Tehachapi but mom never really cared for it but she never complained because they were doing what they felt was best for our family, especially my brother and I, at the time.

10) Mom was careful and protective. Even years ago, when things weren't nearly as bad as they are in the world today, my mom made it a point to be very protective of us. I remember when I wanted my ears pierced and everyone else was going to the malls to get their ears done. Mom took me to a doctor to have mine pierced. I'm positive it cost her more, but she wanted to make sure it was done right and didn't want to chance me getting an infection. Mom was always careful when it came to things like that with us.

11)Mom took good care of dad. She still does to this day. My dad has always worked in the oil business and as a result he pulls some pretty long, hard, hours of work. Mom always made it a point to work her schedule around his and to make sure she was their for dad and his needs. While this might not seem like something she did for me, I am thankful for that example of love that she always showed to dad.

12) Mom encouraged our talents and interests. As a young girl I used to love to write poetry. When friends of the family would come around she would always encourage me to share my poems with them. Later on, as I got older she encouraged me in my interests with band, drama, and choir.

13) Mom prayed for us. Even though my mom did not come to an understanding of what it really meant to be a Christian until I was in my college years, she did always believe in God and prayer and she prayed for my brother and I. I am certain that those prayers made a difference in our lives through the years.

Thanking God for my dear mother.

My Mothers Day

I hope that each of you had a wonderful Mothers Day. This year for my Mothers Day gift we went to an outdoor theater in Homewood, AL to see a production of Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing. It was a really fun night! Of course, we have lots of pictures to share.


The play was put on by the Birmingham Park Players at Homewood Central Park. They did an excellent job! If you are local and have a chance to see one of their plays, I highly recommend it!


Homewood is such a fun community! The parks in Homewood remind us of the parks back in North Carolina and Tennessee that we loved so much! Homewood Central Park has waterfalls, bridges, and of course the outdoor theater.




And of course they have a fun playground too!


Mothers Day with my pride and joys!


The stage. It has tiered seating around it.










The lady standing to the left in this picture is Amy and she works at Student Life with Bryan.

















































It was a wonderful evening for all of us! I am thankful this May for my own dear mother and mother-in-law, both of whom have big, beautiful, hearts. I am so thankful for our precious kiddos who made me a mom! I am also thankful for the many moms that God has brought into my life through the years that have and continue to encourage me on this beautiful and wonderful journey called Motherhood!

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother. ~ Lin Yutang, Chinese writer