Prayers Appreciated

This weekend is a much anticipated adventure for me!  I will be traveling with seven other women from my home church and approximately 100 other women from the state of Louisiana to our annual Women's Revival at Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women.  It is our state penitentiary for women.  I will be privileged to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these women who have been incarcerated for some mistake they have made.  The prison chaplain once told us that the only difference between these women and the rest of us is that they have done something and been caught.  Isn't that the truth.  We are all sinners in need of a Savior!  

I will see girls that still need their mommas, mommas who need their daughters, grandmothers who need their families....I will see hurt, pain, sadness, suffering, longing.  I will see forgiveness and repentance.  I will see tears, smiles, and joy!  I will see Jesus.  These women worship with a freedom that those of us in the free world withhold.  They have lost it all and have nothing else to lose so they give their ALL to Jesus.  I learn so many lessons in prison.

Please pray with me for the 1400 women we will minister to this weekend.  I am praying that Jesus will put at least one woman in my path that I can encourage and share the gift of salvation.  Pray for those that are going with us to be willing to be used.  Pray that above all, Jesus will be Glorified! 

I can't wait to share with you the stories from my weekend in prison.

Matthew 25:36b  "I was in prison and you came to Me."

Six Years Old

Six years ago, today, a fiery red-headed boy came bounding into this world.  He entered with a passion for life and has been living it to the fullest.  He is a little firecracker and keeps us on our toes.  He makes us laugh and his smile will light up a room.  He has a strong will that we pray the Lord will use to lead His people.  His sister is his best friend even though they fight like cats and dogs.  He still likes to snuggle with his momma and wrestle with his daddy.  Sports are the highlight of his days. He has made our family complete (at least we think so) and we want to wish him the Happiest Birthday Ever!

We love you, Levi Reese!

Happy 6th Birthday!

Welcome Fall

As I looked at the weather forecast this morning, I got excited about what I saw!  The temperatures next week will be in the 80's not the 90's!!!  The assurance that Fall is here!  I've lived in Louisiana long enough to know that we may see days in the 90's again but at least we are headed in the right direction.  Fall is a favorite season of mine and here are some reasons why:

cooler temps

fall decorations

colorful leaves

football

my son's birthday

soup

chili

hunting stories

campfire service

Fall Fest

Thanksgiving

family

Using my senses

As I reflect on this past week and my gratitude list, I'm focusing on the 5 senses that God has given me.  I thank Him for the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches that I have experienced recently.....

29.   my son's voice saying, "This is the best day of my life"

30.   I love you's

31.   my parent's voice on the phone

32.   sweaty palms on my arm

33.   my daughter humming while she worked

34.   coffee pot brewing in the mornings

35.   the first taste of coffee milk to start the day

36.   hugs and kisses

37.   momma's chicken dressing

38.   seeing family comforting each other in a time of loss

39.   the sun reflecting off the fog in the fields

40.   my husbands footsteps coming to wake me up

Lord, thank you for the ability to use my senses.  Make me more aware of you each day in every way.  I'm listening for You, looking for You, feeling Your touch, drinking the Living Water,  and inhaling Your sweet aroma.  You are precious to me.

This is the life!

These are Claire's exact words during Labor Day weekend..."this is the life!"  Our family left Sunday night following church to attend a Minister's Family Day Retreat at our local camp, Clara Springs.  We spent one night in a cabin and had two other pastor's family's there to fellowship with together.  I guess you could say we spent "half a night" in the cabin considering that we all stayed up visitng, playing cards and Sequence, running around in the dark and laughing until around 1 am.  We slept in until 8 am and then the adventure began.  The kids canoed, paddle boated, swam in the lake, fished and swam in the pool!  I had the honor of peddling the younger kids around in a paddle boat with two of my dear friends, Cassy and Julie.  Our camp managers, Bubba and Mandi, treated us like royalty by feeding us steak, sausage, baked potatoes, rolls, salad, and ICE CREAM!  It truly was a wonderful day and one we look forward to every year!  Thanks, Bubba and Mandi, for pampering us like you do....we are truly blessed.

 

 

 

  

  

  

 

 

  

 All good things must come to an end!

Give Thanks!

Praising Him for all things!

17.  breath of life

18.  clean air

19.  food on the table

20.  His Word

21.  peace

22.  sound mind (most of the time!)

23.  family date night

24.  missionaries

25.  rest

26.  privilege to pray

27.  joy in sorrow

28.  job

Continuing to count my blessings....what about you?

I Will Never Forget

 Nine years ago today, my world was rocked!  I was pregnant with my first child and teaching first grade at Winnfield Primary School.  I can remember the knock on my door and the hall conference that quickly took place as I was informed that one of the towers of the World Trade Center had been hit by an airplane.  I remember the chills that ran across my body and the prayer that I prayed.  At this point, we weren't sure what was happening but minutes later when the second tower was hit we knew we had been attacked.  I remember the sick feeling that I felt and the tears that fell as I called my husband who was at home watching it all on television.  I remember saying that I didn't want to raise a child in the world that we were living in because I was scared.  Despite my fears, I remember that God is in CONTROL!  I remember The Pentagon and the heroes on Flight 93.  I remember going through the motions to finish that day at school and get home to the ones I love.  I remember the way our church family bonded together to pray at Atlanta Baptist Church.  I remember watching the news and reading the stories of men and women, boys and girls that had been affected by this awful event.  I remember feeling like I knew them personally and my heart breaking.  I remember our soldiers being called to war and going to protect our freedom.  I remember  almost seven years later my brother was one of those soldiers!  I will always remember, I will never forget!  

God Bless America....land that I love.

Homework Stinks!!!

I know it is necessary, but it is not fun!  I never knew it would be sooo hard having two children doing SERIOUS homework every night.  As a former teacher, I apologize to all of my parents and students for ever overloading you with homework.  I would definitely revamp my homework strategy and make Wednesday night...Family Night.  Our family struggles to get home, get a snack, finish math, spelling and reading, study for AWANA, attend AWANA, bathe and get to bed at a decent hour!!  Whew!  I'm tired just thinking about it.  Anyway....these are just the thoughts of a weary, worn out mom after doing several hours of homework!!   

Multitude Mondays

I have recently joined the Gratitude Community at @ Holy Experience and am excited about counting my blessings on Multitude Mondays!  God has been so faithful to me and I want to give Him praise for all the big and small gifts he gives me daily.  My goal....One Thousand Gifts!!  Have you counted your blessings lately?

1.   His salvation
2.   faithful husband (to the Lord and to me)
3.   healthy children
4.   roof over my head
5.   daughter's sensitive heart
6.   son's sweet giggles
7.   loving church family
8.   the sound of my parent's voice on the phone
9.   Friday night visit with my BFF and her family
10. rainbows on the way to PTO meeting

 my daughter took this pic while I was driving

 11. cooler temps
12.  azaleas in the late summer

 taken on 9/4/2010

 13.  hummingbirds filling up for winter

14.  Quiet time
15.  Long weekend
16.  fields of snow white cotton

What a day!

This past Saturday, we set out on an adventure with our family and a group of college students and leaders from our church.  We packed up and headed out at 6 am for DFW and arrived at our destination at 10:15 am....a water park called NRH20.  It is a very nice family water park and we had a blast!!  We didn't take too many photos because we spent most of our time in the wave pool with the kids.

After spending about 5 hours at the water park, we cleaned up, put on dry clothes and drove to our next destination....The Ballpark at Arlington.  At 5 pm, Mercy Me was putting on a concert on the lawn outside the ballpark.  We found our spot under a shade tree and sang praises to our God with thousands of others.  Josh Hamilton, a Texas Ranger's player, is an outspoken Christian and he gave a few minutes of his time to encourage us in our Christian walk.  When the concert ended, we ventured up to the third level on the third base side and baked in the sun until it hid behind the stadium.  The game began at 7 pm and we made it to the top of the 5th inning before departing for home!  Thinking ahead, we had the kids PJ's ready and waiting for the ride back to Louisiana.  My sweet husband drove us safely home while we all snoozed and he had to get up and preach his heart out the next morning.  Once upon a time, we would have LOVED this kind of adventure, but in our "older" age we began to wonder what we were thinking.  Needless to say, our kids bounced right back into a routine and loved every minute of our adventurous (but long) day!

What a Day!