The Mentor of a Lifetime

Who can measure your worth?
 Not a soul, not here on earth.

You were so much more than grandmother,
Gentle, kind, and loving like no other.

My mind is crowded with memories near and dear,
 Ones we made, year after year.

Camping trips to the beach, with all of us in tow- Your vacations weren't to "get away"-
No, you wanted us all to go.

Walking on the pier, barefoot and sun-kissed
Precious memories that will always exist.

You loved my children, the way you loved me
with that special "mawmaw love"- whole, and completely.

I'm so glad they were able to know you
 For women of your worth are rare and few.

You were such a great example, living what you taught
 from how to make biscuits,to living how we aught.

 You taught me that people change, and the past is the past
 You loved with your whole heart, and put yourself last.

 I never heard you murmur, never heard you complain,
only saw you get up everyday, and do it all again.

I'm sorry for the busyness, that kept me away from you-
 But I am extremely proud, that in me, you saw what God can do.

Because He took a spoiled, selfish girl that never gave, only took
 And turned me into a woman, that by the grace of God, that old lifestyle forsook.

 I am who I am because of Him, and because of your love
 that God so selflessly, through you, sent from above.

You are so precious in my sight, the greatest woman I ever knew
God was extra gracious, when He gave this world you.

 In loving memory of Shirley Moon Brooks Dec. 13,1934- April 12,2012

HE'S ALIVE!

~New Devo posted yesterday-See the Devotion Page~

I think we all jumped the gun a little on spring! Feels like it, anyway! But no matter the weather, come this Sunday morning, we will be celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! I plan to be at Sunrise Service, even it means bundling up in a blanket, because this is the day that all of Christianity is based upon. We serve a RISEN Savior, one that DIED for us, but was RAISED incorruptible. There's a song about this....our own quartet sings it at church, that goes like this: I WALKED BY THE TOMB OF BUDDHA LOOKED INSIDE AND SAW HIS BONES, TRAVELED ON TO SEE MOHAMMAD STILL WRAPPED UP IN HIS GRAVE CLOTHES, THEN I JOURNEYED TO THE GARDEN , WHERE OLD JOSEPH LEFT HIM LAY, BUT THE PRECIOUS LAMB GOD'S ONLY BEGOTTEN HE WAS NO LONGER IN THE GRAVE IF YOU KNEW HIM LIKE I KNOW HIM, YOU WOULD KNOW THAT HE'S ALIVE, IF YOU FELT HIM LIKE I FEEL HIM, RESURRECTION DEEP INSIDE, YOU'D KNOW HE'S LIVING AND DEATH HAS DIED IF YOUR WONDERING IN THE DARKNESS COME AND STEP INTO THE LIGHT, NAILSCARRED HANDS REACH OUT TO HELP YOU, TO PULL YOU SAFE FROM DEATH TO LIGHT, FRIEND I TOO HAVE HAVE STOOD WHERE YOU STAND, COULD I TRUST IN THINGS I SEE, BUT JUST ONE STEP IN HIS DIRECTION THEN IN LOVE HE RAN TO ME IF YOU KNEW HIM LIKE I KNOW HIM, YOU WOULD KNOW THAT HE'S ALIVE, IF YOU FELT HIM LIKE I FEEL HIM RESURRECTION DEEP INSIDE, YOU'D KNOW HE'S LIVING AND DEATH HAS DIED YOU ASK ME HOW I KNOW HE'S LIVING HE LIVES WITHIN MY HEART IF YOU FELT HIM LIKE I FEEL HIM RESURRECTION DEEP INSIDE, YOU' KNOW HE LIVING AND DEATH HAS DIED. No other religion can claim that their Messiah was born of a virgin, died for their sins, and yet lives forevermore. Jesus is His name, God's only Begotten, Who left Heavens throne because His very own were in need of a Savior and He knew that no one else could do it. If you aren't sure what all of this means, I'd be glad to tell you. Email me, comment, whatever means you have of contacting me and I will tell you exactly what this means, and how you can have eternal life by trusting in Jesus Christ and the blood that He shed on an old wooden cross so that you and I could be forgiven, and accepted. John 3:16 Eph. 2:8-9

Make it a Priority!

I step out on the porch, look around and inhale deeply. Everything is a beautiful lime green, and the world smells like honeysuckle. No wonder it's my favorite time of year! One of my favorite things to do during the cool mornings is to take my coffee to the porch and listen to the birds sing, watch the squirrels play chase, and to think about the possibility that the new day holds. A fresh start, a new beginning. I can do ANYTHING during this time of planning, and accomplish all that I intend to do, because, well, because I haven't started any of it yet! And because the distractions of the day have not yet begun to invade my peace of mind. When I get out of that chair and put my coffee cup in the dishwasher and embark upon that first task, that's when the challenges start. The distractions invade, willpower diminishes, and of course the hours in the day just fade away. One phone call can set me back at least an hour! And goodness knows, it's NOT just one phone call a day I get. TGFT! (Thank God for texting)I have learned to text while stirring a pot of beans, loading the dishwasher, folding clothes, and while using the....oh. Never mind. Anyway, I run through the living room, grabbing things up that don't belong and tossing them into the rooms of the owners, dash into the bathrooms to swish the toilets and grab a load of laundry. Make up my bed since I was in too big of a hurry when I rolled out of bed to get to the coffee pot ( since its cheap and ANCIENT and drips at approximately 10 dpm (drips per minute) Now the kids need this, or that and of course, we don't have any on hand, so I have to run them down to the store, and by the time I get back, its time to fix lunch. Once lunch is over I have to clean the kitchen again, and whaddaya know. An hour and a half before hubby gets home and I haven't even laid anything out for supper. I'm TIRED already! All of this for me on the weekends, or during the summer, because I work during the week (as do most of you) and I don't get the luxury of getting all of my chores done early. Our "homelife" starts at 3:30, or 5 or 5:30. Later for some of us. It's hard to get everything done, and sometimes seems nearly impossible. Life is busy. So busy that weeks fly by like minutes, and months like a day. Most days I wonder how I can be of any help at all to my husband, or my children because I'm so stressed and zapped from my day at work and I go to bed at night feeling unaccomplished. I needed to do more, to be more. I pray and ask God to show me how I can be what He needs me to be in the midst of my crazy busy life. He always answers us. Sometimes in unexpected ways, with unexpected answers. Let's look at our spiritual life the same way. We get up, knowing the first thing we should do is read our bible, do our devotions, pray. But I really need that coffee, so I'll get that going first, you know...because of the whole 10 dpm thing, and since I'm here, I need to swap over that laundry real fast so it doesn't sour in the washer. Oh, I almost forgot,I need to throw some chicken in the slow cooker. Before you know it, it's 7:30, and if you don't get ready now,you're going to be late for work. Devotions will have to wait til this evening. Then you get home, and do I really even need to go there? We all know how evenings at home after work are. By the time your head hits the pillow, your eyes are already closed, and before you fall asleep, you mumble in your mind, "Dear Lord, thank You for a good day, and all your many blessings, in Jesus' Name, Amen." 1 day down. Like anything, the longer you go without doing something, the harder it gets to get back into the normal swing of things. When we neglect the Word, and prayer, it makes a noticeable difference in our lives. Our patience is shorter, moods are grumpy,the feeling of peacefulness isn't as obvious. We start to feel like the Lord is away on vacation, instead of right beside us, holding our hand. Feelings of jealousy or envy begin to creep in where before there was no room for them. We find ourselves making excuses instead of executing a plan. When it comes to our home lives, we make a list of things to do. On that list, we have chores. Normally, chores are a drudgery. BUT, chores get done. Prayer and bible reading should be on that list. We shouldn't look at it as a drudgery, but as something that not only needs to be done, but HAS to be done. Make it #1 on your chore list. Before long, it's not a chore. It's the best part, and the most important part of your day. All of a sudden, the Lord is back beside you (where He's always been, but your mind got so far away from Him, you couldn't see Him) and those thoughts that crept in have taken a hike. You're back on track because you figured out in your busy life that prioritizing is a MUST. In every aspect of life. Keeping a clean house includes prioritizing a list. Having meals planned out, grocery list done, everything in a daily, weekly, or monthly routine should be prioritized. Without this essential step, distractions take us away from the goal. The first and top,most important priority of every day should be, has GOT to be God. Face it, you will make time to get everything else done. It seems like time with God is the only compromise, so get that done first thing, then it's done, you feel great, refreshed, now start your day and get everything accomplished. If one things gets left out, at least it's not God. When God is part of your day, you truly can be Superwoman. Let's go back to the beginning: I sit on the porch with my cup of coffee, looking around at God's beautiful creations enjoying the cool morning air. My Bible lays on the table, still open from my morning devotion. I have spent time with God in prayer. I know it's getting late and I need to get the kids up, but this is my favorite part of the day! Just one more minute to breathe in the scent of honeysuckle vines, to reflect on God, and His goodness. Now, I'm ready. I get the slow cooker going, swap over that laundry, get the kids up, can't make up the bed, because dear hubby is still in it, but that's not important. It's just a bed, doesn't change anything if it doesn't get made! It's not at the top of my priority list ;)

The year of a Lifetime

November 6th, we embarked on the journey of a lifetime. "We" being a mission team sent out of Liberty Baptist Church. Our destination was Lighthouse Childrens Home in Tres Rios, Costa Rica. Our goal? To be a blessing to these people who give their lives to take in orphans in the 7th most dangerous city in the world. That's right, Tres Rios is not part of the tropical paradise one might imagine when you think of Costa Rica. But I can say that I wouldn't have traded this trip for the most elaborate, extravagant island getaway imaginable. On November 7th, I shared my 36th birthday with 10 of the most extraordinary people I have ever known, as well as the Lighthouse family. A birthday that I will remember and treasure forever!!

What this trip did for me, and the others that went with me can't be put into words. Words aren't enough. If you could feel my heart, now that'd be awesome. Because then you too could feel the love that we experienced from the children of LCH. You could then feel the blessings we got from sharing our testimonies, our talents, our love, and quite simply, our time. But you can't feel my heart. So you'll just have to trust me. God poured out so much love and tenderness on our lives while we were there, using these precious children like sandpaper to soften hearts that were battling with God's plan for our lives. What most of us came back with, we didn't go looking for. We went expecting blessings, but I don't think we were prepared for what the Lord was going to do. To put it simply, it was amazing. 11 of us went out as brothers and sisters in Christ, but came back united in a way that will never be forgotten. I love those people. My heart grew so very fond of them. The ladies I shared 7 nights with forever changed my heart. They opened my eyes to things that I had been pushing away for years. And my eyes were opened towards their dreams and goals. Our pasts so similar that we knew only God could have brought us together the way He did. Ms. Carloyn, Deborah, Rachel, and Teresa, I love you. And I am so honored to have been able to spend that time with you all. What we experienced together will echo in eternity. And to the men also: Mike, Brian, Jeremy, Stephen,Teddy, Bill, and of course, my husband (haha) I love yall! Seeing your desire to do something for God by helping in any way possible touched my heart. Men who put their jobs aside, their families aside, and their everyday comforts aside to serve the Lord. I can't tell you how much that week did for me. To this day, I miss being with all of you day in and day out. I feel like you all literally became my physical family, and I experienced what can't be described as anything but "homesickness" upon returning home.
The children there became family as well. We all fell in love with them and our household family members would have been increased by at least one had we been allowed to adopt on the spot. Then the problem would have been how to choose which ones we took. I hope with everything in me that I get to go back soon to see these beautiful little souls that captured my heart.
And also hope that all reading this will get teh chance one day to experience what we did. It will change the way you look at people, at everyday life. Your eyes will be opened to a new kind of thankfulness you've never expereinced before.

Back to school!

It's been a great summer! The kids had a wonderful vacation bible school, a fun time at jr.camp, families had their vacations, but NOW....it is time to go back to school. That means myself as well since I'm a first grade teacher. I have another wonderful class this year, although a much larger class than last year, so I am very excited and looking forward to making great memories with the2011- 2012 first grade class!
The hard part as always is going to be getting back into that groove, and figuring out how to manage my family time as wisely as possible. Any preachers wife that works knows what I mean. Usually, 3 or 4 days of the work week, I have to have supper cooked by 4:30 at the latest, because of engagements either my husband has, our the both of us... so I really need to utilize my crock pot more this year! Last year, sad to say,we ate way too much fast food because I wasn't able to manage the time the way I needed to. Not only was that unhealthy, but expensive. My family deserves better! I'm determined to have home cooked meals in my home every school day this year and on Sundays! It's going to be a challenge, but I'm up for it.
My prayer is that this school year, our children keep their testimonies clean, and set an example as christian young people in an environment that desperately needs christian influence. Not just them, but we adults as well. So, I will be praying that God will use us this year, and I ask that you join me in praying this prayer!

Sick and BORED has its advantages!

Today is the second day that I have been at home sick, and I am absolutely about to go crazy. I have been miserable,cranky, and mean to tell the truth! (Just ask my husband :) And today, my youngest, Andy, is home with me. Right now it looks like he could possibly have strep, so I'm keeping a close eye on his symptoms.
Yesterday, I was here at the house alone for the majority of the day, and I had a lot of time to lay in the bed and do nothing :) So to make the most of my time, I caught up on some Bible reading, and did some devotions. Have you ever noticed that when you have a burden on your heart that you thought no one but God and yourself knew about, God decides that it would be good for you to make everything you read specifically about that burden? He knows just how to get us out of our rut and in my case, does it, sometimes before I can even ask Him for help. I'm going to share my burden just in case someone that reads this may be going through the same thing.
I had a pastors wife tell me once that you couldn't make friends with members of your church. And I remember my response, "Well where else am I going to find friends? My life is spent at church!" So in the back of my mind, everytime I felt myself getting close to someone, I would think: "So,Lord, how is this going to turn out bad?" My husband is a HUGE people person, and he seems to make friends with everyone he talks to. He's just that way. I'm not. But when I do, I find myself critiquing everything I said to them afterwards, wondering if something I might have said could have hindered my role in their life as their pastor's wife. Or when they don't talk to me as much the following Sunday as I thought they should, my mind immediately begins to question, "What have I done?" or "What did I say?" and I let these thoughts and questions consume me until I am miserable. I know that most times, it's the devil trying to get to me. But I really do want to please those around me. Thats when the Lord pricks at my heart and says to me,"But are you pleasing ME?"
This was part of my Bible reading :
1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

1 Peter 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

And I realized that my desire to please and have friendship and perfect harmony with all of my sisters in Christ is a fleshly lust. It makes me happy, and eases my mind. But what does it do for me spiritually? Absulutely nothing. I realized that when something is said or done that makes me wonder if I did something to offend or upset, it changes my mood and my mindset and THAT does hinder me spiritually. Don't get me wrong please, I do want to have harmony with my sisters in Christ. And as long as I am serving and obeying God, and pleasing HIM, He will take care of the rest. I can't make everyone look at me with grace and love, but the Father can, if He sees fit to. So instead of letting my desire to please people cause war against my soul, I put it all in His very capable hands.
I still have so much to learn. I can tell you today much more than yesterday that I never knew how much was involved in the ministry. It overwhelms me at times, and that seems to be when I lean the hardest on my girlfriends. I know that it's my husband I should lean to, but my carnal mind whispers to me all the time, "You don't need to burden him with your feelings, he has so much on him without you adding to his load." So my prayer at the end of yesterday and the beginning of today is, "Lord, please help me to lean on YOU and confide in You. For YOU alone have all the answers I need, and you will never misunderstand me."
If you have experienced anything similar to this, as a PW, let me be the first to tell you that it's not easy to limit yourself in your relationships in the church, but when you put God first in your life, and support your husband in the way that God tells us to (and not society) then He will give you wisdom in everything you do. Just seek Him for advice.
I love every single lady in my church. And I will continue to fellowship with them in any way I can! But my closest companionship is reserved for two alone: My Saviour, and my husband.

"Thank You Lord, for being there for me when I get ahead of myself and forget that You alone have the answers that I need. All of my complaining or fears shared with another does nothing to lift them up spiritually, but when I come to YOU, you lovingly guard my footsteps,my heart, and my tongue. Only You can give the perfect advice. And You Know the way that is best for me. Help me Dear Lord to be the Pastor's Wife that You want me to be, to be the helpmeet to my husband that You want me to be and that he needs for me to be. And finally Lord, thank You, for allowing me the chance to serve You. In Jesus' name, Amen!"

*** Sometimes in our busy lives, getting sick is the only thing that makes us slow down. It's then that we take the time to reflect on things in our lives that maybe needs changing or a good "working on". I hope that sharing my heart's burden has helped someone else. Just remember that even though it feels lonely sometimes, and feels like you have been "deserted", God has called us to serve Him. He never promised the ministry would be easy, but it's full of spiritual fruit and blessings unimaginable. Just serve Him, make yourself available to Him, seek Him then let Him do the rest.

Almost Spring!

Even though its a rainy yucky day out for the second day in a row, I'm so glad that spring is just around the corner! The air has that smell of wet dirt and budding trees, even the occassional scent of freshly mowed grass with that oniony smell it has. You've heard of comfort foods....these are comfort SMELLS!The birds are singing their songs again- It makes me so happy!! ! I absolutely love spring, when life is springing forth again. It should remind of us ressurection. Everything was so beautiful and alive last summer, then the cold came and killed everything, now it's slowly coming back to life again, full of bright greens and pale pinks. It's such a pleasure to watch the beauty around us awaken after such a long season of sleeping. My soul feels like this sometimes. I guess I get in a "rut" or maybe I've just come through a valley or a trial, and as soon as the Lord reaches down and delivers me from whatever is holding me back, I feel that renewed life just bursting out of my soul. I felt this recently. Sometimes we don't even realize that we are getting "comfortable" in our spiritual lives and before we know it, we're sleeping! Don't get me wrong, we're human and this will happen. As long as we don't stay that way. Just like the spring, once everything starts to wake up again, we see the beauty that we almost forgot about, the smells that we missed, and the beautiful weather that allows us to breathe deep and enjoy the sunshine with the breezes blowing through our hair. How awful would it be if one day, winter came and stayed forever, taking with it life and beauty that the spring brings. So it would be in our spiritual lives if we never got out of our "ruts". I have been on fire for the Lord, I know what it feels like. So when I sink into that "poor,pitiful me" state, I can feel the flame suffocating. What an awful feeling. But when I overcome my old self, I can feel that flame burst back to life and the joy that it brings is very much like sitting on my porch on a beautiful warm spring day, taking in all of God's glory around me. My heart feels so alive when I'm in tune with my Saviour. I never want to stop growing in Him.
I was talking with a very sweet lady awhile about some spiritual things. She was pondering in her heart why she feels certain things that she feels, or does certain things she does. She very well could be in one of those "ruts" that I get myself into sometimes. The whole time she was talking to me, all I could think was, "I have been there!" It's a hard thing sometimes to explain things that I have in my heart, and I know I probably don't do a very good job. But I do know this: A child of God, when at peace with Him, has a comfort and a peace that passes all understanding. We won't always know why, or when, but we know that we can count on our Heavenly Father to walk with us through whatever difficulty we may be facing. Even if its sin, we have a Saviour that we can call out to for help, and He is there with His outstreched hand....His compassionate heart full of love for us. When you feel like you arent worthy of His forgiveness, or may not be able to be forgiven, remember this. First of all, we aren't worthy of His forgiveness. Secondly,His forgiveness is a done deal. He forgave us in spite of our unworthiness, a long long time ago, on a hill called Calvary. Hebrews 8:12 says "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." He was definitely merciful to me, and continues to be day after day.
Once you have secured the fact in your heart that you are a born again child of God, you have to then forgive yourself. God did, and if He can, we can. Leave your old life behind....walk talk and act like a christian should. Please the One that left it all to die on a cross for you. For if you are pleasing God, then you will have no reason to question or doubt. So many of us even after we are saved, continue to beat ourselves up for the way we were before, or sometimes, even the way we have been after we were saved. We can only do one thing: treat our doubting, questioning sinful ways as the winter. It's time for spring. Time to watch new life burst forth. Time to begin. Live for God.... to the best of your ability. I am, and I am happier than I have ever been. And I can go to bed at night with peace in my heart. I do have a long way to go, but what a thought: I am continuing to grow. A tiny blossom on God's family tree if you will. But I AM on His tree....He is my vine....I may not have made it into a fullgrown branch yet, but I'm growing, and with His help, will one day become one :)

Continuing to GROW

Can you believe that we are nearing the end of the second month of 2011 already? Time is flying!!
Our theme "That the Generation to Come Might Know" has kicked into full gear and now we are learning about things our children should know. Some things are so obvious, but so taken for granted. As a mother to 4, I know that times are busy, and we often look to convenience to get us through. I personally have very few hours to myself within a week. Between teaching, raising a family, and church activities,I sometimes forget that in order for our children to KNOW what is important to us, we should now only show them, but tell them why we do what we do, or believe what we believe. Because its easy to get "into the swing of things" we start to take those "things" for granted, and before too long, we forget why we are doing them in the first place. Thats how our children are. When they see us doing things, they take for granted that we must be doing them because we have to. We want them to know why we stay busy in the work of the Lord, and not take for granted that I am doing it because "I have to". I want them to know that serving God is a priviledge, not a drudgery.
Another thing I want them to know is that they are important to me. My goal in life is to be a God-pleasing Christian, a good wife, and a good mother. By Gods grace, and their testimony, my children are saved. Now I want to ensure that I do everything I can to see that they become strong christians, rooted and grounded in their faith so that they live lives pleasing unto God. And this requires spending time with them, something that is more precious than gold these days! Please pray for me, that I will be all that I need to be to my children, so that I can continue along with my husband to teach my children the things that they should know. But also, please pray for me as we continue in this ministry, that God will give me wisdom and compassion- two things I have found that it takes a lot of. I desire to be a help to my husband, and not hinder him in any way. This world and the devil has a way of finding our weaknesses and preying on them. I don't want him getting any victory over me!! I appreciate your prayers!
I hope to see as many of you as possible at our next ladies meeting....March 8 @ 7pm. We have many exciting things going on this year and want YOU to be a part of them!! We have revamped the ladies ministry and can't wait to share with you some changes that are taking place! I know that the Lord is going to bless our church through this ministry, and hope that you will share in this excitement with me!

What a Wonderful Day in the Lord!

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that the Spirit of the Lord was all over our church yesterday!! We all seemed to have our cups full and running over! I feel so blessed to be a part of such a place where people let the Holy spirit work in their hearts and don't try to "snuff" it out! So many times I think people feel it, but don't show it or share it. Seeing one come to a saving knowledge of the Lord was just the thing to jumpstart a feeloing of...well, what seemed to a revival of sorts to me. It was fantastic! Yesterday was a perfect example of what happens when we put the hinderances out of our hearts and minds and let Him move in our midst!
I was very proud of our preacher boys last night :) Yes, I may have been a little partial to one of them ;) Its so important to encourage the desire that they have in their hearts to preach the gospel, and we thank our church for being so supportive of them. My prayer is that they will go out one day and carry on the truth so "that the generation to come might know" that our God loves them, and wants to save them.
What an awesome day!!!

Ladies Meeting

Just wanted to let you ladies know that we will have our first meeting of the year 2011 in March. I am very excited about this first meeting as we have made a few changes, including a new name for our ladies group!
I want to encourage all of you that are able to attend these meetings. Its a time that we can really fellowship and bond in a way that we can't in church because of various duties and goodness knows, we are pulled in so many different directions on any given Sunday or Wednesday! Its also a time of worship in a more intimate, close knit enviroment. The ladies meetings are not for just Sunday School ladies, or church members. Any lady can attend, and I encourage you to bring your friends,neighbors, daughters. I think that this is how we show our girls how to act as a christian woman should, and I believe that its important that they see how we fellowship with eachother.
This year is going to be a great one, one filled with lessons about godly christian living, and how to best be a help and encouragement to those around us. I'm so looking forward to what God is going to do among our women this year! I hope that YOU will join us!!
Keep an eye on the bulletin and facebook for dates and events to come!!