Yay!

I am so happy! Tonight is David's last night working at the nursing home! He will actually be home at night! I might actually go to sleep at a normal time. :o) The best part is, he will be home at night in his new position too! That is unless he gets a call in the middle of the night, which I know will happen. At least it won't be an every night thing though!

The "S" Word

I am not exactly sure why, but this whole subject popped into my head the other night while I was laying in bed. For some reason, I felt that I should write a blog about it. I don't know why, but here it is.

Okay, as you may have noticed, the title of this is "The "S" Word." By "S" word, I mean submission. In our society today, with the women's liberation movement and that whole mess, submission is almost a curse word. We (especially us girls) have been told that a woman should never submit to a man. We're just as good as men, or better. First of all, let me just go a little off the subject and say that this attitude has killed chivalry. Women demand to be treated as equals and then wonder why men no longer open doors, pull out your seat, and give you their coat. Go figure. Anyway, I digress.

As I was saying, we've been told that women shouldn't have to submit to their husbands. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says in Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." It's right there in black and white, and this verse has often resulted in Christians being dubbed as sexist. That's because they fail to look a few verses down. Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it."

So, what does all this mean? Well, it means that, yes, wives should submit to their husbands. Husbands should be the leader of the household. Here is the catch though, they should be leading with love. Not just love as the world defines it but with the same love that Christ has for the church. We're talking a deep, unconditional, eternal love, enough to lay your life down. If a husband is leading with that kind of love, a wife should have no problem submitting.

Many people cannot believe that a woman would have this opinion. In fact, I remember having a discussion about the Bible with one of my husband's uncles. I had stated that I believed the Bible was 100% true. He thought he was going to catch me and asked me if I believed that a wife should submit to her husband. I still remember the look of shock on his face when I said, "I absolutely believe that a wife should submit to her husband as long as her husband is leading in love." I have no problem submitting to my husband. First of all, he is a very godly man who loves the Lord and seeks His will for our family. Secondly, he loves us. I can trust that any decision he makes for our family has been prayed over and is in God's will and in the best interest of our family. Submitting to my husband doesn't make me feel bad, cheated, or demeaned. On the contrary it makes me feel safe, comforted, and glad that there is someone there to take care of me. My husband respects me 100%. He asks my opinion on things and respects them. At the end of the day though, he is the leader, and he is the one who will ultimately have to answer to God for the state of our family.

Anyway, as I said, I am not exactly sure why that came to me, but it did. Believe me, I am not a great theologian, as you can probably see from the stumbling words in my writing. There it is for what it's worth though. Comments and discussion are welcome, but as this is a touchy subject, rudeness and fighting is discouraged. :o)

Things I've learned....

I was laying in bed last night and for some reason, things started coming to my mind that I have learned since becoming a wife and a mother. My first thought was, "Hey, that would make a good blog!" :o) So, here it goes, things I have learned since I become a wife and mommy:

• I do NOT know everything. (I bet a lot of people thought they'd never hear that from me.) :o) In reality, I know very little.
  
• My parents really did know what they were talking about.
  
• Your mother starts to become more of a friend and source of experience than a mother.
  
• Marriage is hard work mostly because it is two selfish people coming together as one, but it is definitely worth it! (That piece of info came from my mother-in-law, but I have found it to be very true.)
  
• Children are trying, frustrating, and tiring, but they are also rewarding, wonderful, and fun.
  
• Children really are a miraculous blessing from God.
  
• Sometimes you have to remind yourself of the former statement to get through the day. :o)
  
• When you get married, you feel like you could never love any more deeply, then, you start to really go through life, and that person being right there by your side makes you love them even more.
  
• The trials make you appreciate the good times more.
  
• Have faith in God. He will always come through. It may seem to you that He waits until the last second, but He is always on time.
  
• When your relationship with God is in good standing, everything else falls into place.
  
• The most amazing feeling in the world is to look into the face of your newborn child and know that God created that little miracle with a little piece of you and a little piece of the man you love most in the world.
  
• You will never feel a bigger feeling of accomplishment than to look at that same child and know that they were just inside you, and you birthed them into the world.
  
• You can't get any luckier than to marry a man who is more in love with God than he is with you. That may sound strange to some people, but believe me, it makes marriage a lot easier.
  
• Your husband is also your best friend, confidant, hero, role model, spiritual leader, lover, and shoulder to cry on.
  
• You should be your husband's helper, best friend, lover, shoulder, ear, and confidant.
  
• You are not your children's best friend. You are their parent. They may not like it now, but they will appreciate it when they get older.

I am sure there are many more than that, but those are the only ones that came to mind immediately. Besides, that list is long enough. :o) Oh, and I am not any better at keeping mid-year resolutions than New Year's ones. Oh well! :o)

My Cup Runneth Over

Well, we're back! AS I said in my last post, we went to Tennessee for a camp meeting at the church we belong to there. Boy am I glad we did! It was AWESOME!!!!!

Monday night was great, and you could definitely feel the Holy Spirit, two great preachers, two great sermons. We were pumped for Tuesday. Boy am I glad we didn't miss Tuesday. The first preacher was great, and he had a great sermon. When the second preacher started his sermon, oh my! The Holy Spirit fell on that place like a dense fog. You could feel Him. The atmosphere in that church was sweet! We left that place changed and stirred and with a new fire for God. We thought, "How could it get any better than this??" We found out.

Wednesday night we got there, and they had a gospel group singing. They were great, and as they were singing, you could feel the Spirit begin to fall. Then, the first preacher began to preach. I knew when he began to read the scriptures that this sermon was for my husband and me. The tears started to fall for both of us. as God began to speak to us through this wonderful man of God. He preached about the Israelites being in the desert after they were delivered at the Red Sea. It was our story exactly. We saw God work wonderfully when we were in Tennessee at Parkers Creek. Then, God moved us back to Illinois, and it is a desert here! The Israelites began to complain. Boy have David and I done our share of that! The pastor said that they were complaining but where they were was exactly where God wanted them to be. Ouch...that hurt. Then, the second preacher preached about how God sometimes has to bring us to the end of ourselves before He can use us. That hurt too. So, David and I went to the alter and fell before God and prayed. What a sense of relief! In the car, David told me that at the beginning of the first sermon, he heard a still small voice say, "This one's for you." Amazing how God works that way and confirms things in other people. We heard the same thing from God at the same time!

We left Tennessee renewed, relieved, refilled, refreshed, and ready to work! Now, we are just waiting on God to show us where. God is so awesome! We were totally dry going in, but now my cup runneth over! I can't wait to see what God will do next in our lives and at Parkers Creek Baptist Church in Burns, TN. He's moving there in a mighty way, and it's about to explode! I feel like our lives are about to explode in God's work too. I can't wait!

In other news, my baby turned 1 today. :o( I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant with her. They grow up so fast! Blink and you will miss it! She is such a wonderful blessing from God. I just wish she would lsow down! :o(

Look Away, Dixieland!

I guess more appropriately, it would be look out, Dixieland! (That's not how the song goes though. ) :o) The Colvins are headed to Tennessee tomorrow! We are going to go camping and go to the camp meeting at the church we went to there. Actually, we are technically still members because we have yet to find a church we feel we need to join here, but I digress. We're really excited! Parkers Creek (the church) has always had a wonderful spirit, and God has always moved. They have had 8 people baptized in the last 3 weeks. (I think that is right.) And we are so excited to see what God will do in this camp meeting. Plus, it's always nice to go back and see our friends. Parkers Creek is full of wonderful people too! So, tomorrow morning, we start our 5 hour trek. Thank goodness for portable DVD players!! If you have kids and have been on a long trip, can I hear an "Amen!" :o)

Needless to say, I will not be posting for a while. Not that you are probably on the edge of your seat everyday to see what I post, but just for your information. :o)

God bless!

My Little Theologian

Lately, David and I have been doing a Bible study with our girls everyday. We have been reading through the book of John. So far, really the only thing we can tell has sunk in is that Jesus is the son of God, He made everything, and He loves us very much. All good basic truths, and pretty good for a three year old. Kayleah is still young (1 next week), but she has caught on that we all close our eyes and clasp our hands when we pray, and she follows suit, which is really cute.

The other day though, Isabel and I were sitting in the living room, and she was playing. Then, she looked at me and asked, "Mommy, did Jesus have a butt?" Needless to say it caught me a little off guard. I kind of laughed and said, "Yes, Isabel. Jesus was a person, and all people have butts." It satisfied her, thank goodness, and she went back to playing. Sometimes, I wonder what goes on in their little minds. Only Isabel....she cracks me up all the time! She is something else.

Children's Antics

Today the Bible School kids sang the songs they had learned in the morning worship. Isabel did really well.....for the first 3 songs. She did all the motions and sang. Then, the music just got too good I guess. She forgot all about singing and the motions and started dancing freestyle. The lady in front of us turned around and said "She sure can boogie!" Yes, she can. I am just glad she wasn't singing her Shake Your Booty song. Then, she decided that wasn't good enough. So what did she do? She pulled her dress up over her head and revealed her Dora underwear to the whole congregation. Everyone had a good laugh, even mommy and daddy. Daddy got it on video, so now we have something to show her boyfriends when she gets older. :o) Children are a hoot!

All Done

VBS is over. Isabel had a great time, and she did really well, I hear. I am so glad. I know it was really good for her. I think we are going to have a hard time when she wakes up tomorrow and doesn't get to go to Bible School. They are having a swimming party at the pool tomorrow night, which she is also very excited about. Then, Sunday morning, they are singing the songs they learned in the morning worship. I think mommy and daddy are more excited about that than Isabel. We are charging up our video camera. :o)

First Day

Isabel has a good first day of VBS. She did well. Ruthi, a family friend who goes to the church, sat with her for a little while at the beginning because she was a little unsure at first, but Ruthi said that she warmed up quickly and had a good day. I would say she did. She was so excited when I picked her up. She told me all about her day, how they sang songs and had strawberries, but she didn't like them. She colored a picture for her daddy and had to give it to him right when she came in the door. He was sleeping and she ran into the bedroom before I could stop her. Luckily, daddy didn't mind. :o) He was glad she had a good first day too, and he loved his picture. She is excited about going back tomorrow.

VBS

Tomorrow, we are going to take Isabel to VBS. This will be her first time. I am hoping she will do okay. I'm pretty sure she will once she gets there and starts playing with the other kids. She does well in Sunday School and in the nursery.

I'm sad though because I miss participating in VBS. The church that we went to in Tennessee just got done with their VBS, and they had 11 children saved, which is awesome! Since we have moved back to Illinois, David has been preaching here, there, and everywhere and was even the interim pastor of a small church for about 6 months. Because of that, we haven't been able to connect to a local church. In fact, our membership is still at our church in Tennessee. We've visited different churches, and we haven't felt the pull to join any of them. We REALLY want to be connected to a church. We know we need to be. We are planning to visit another church next Sunday. We're hoping maybe it will be the right one for us. We really miss our church in Tennessee. It was an awesome church with awesome people, and God was (and still is) doing awesome things there. We want to be a part of that here too. Hopefully, we'll be able to connect soon, or David will find a pastorate somewhere. He has a trial sermon on August 3, so please pray for him and for us.

Anyway, I hope Isabel has a great time at VBS tomorrow and wants to keep going back for the whole week.

A Schizophrenic Day

I call it a schizophrenic day because it went from one emotion to another. Tonight I went to the visitation for the mother of one of my high school friends. She passed away from cancer Thursday. It's terrible because she is so young. She was only about 51. I feel terrible her and her family. You might think that the saddest part to me is the thought of losing a mother. That thought did cross my mind, and I would be devastated. I love my mother very much. She is my best friend. The part that really bothered me though is thinking of Stefanie's (that's my friend) dad losing his spouse. He looked so lost. I feel terrible for him. I told David before I left that I don't know what I would do if I ever lost him, especially at a young age. I would be totally lost without him. I love him so much. Especially to lose him at the stage of life they are in, where there children are grown and probably going to get married and have babies soon. They should be enjoying time alone together again and enjoying the thought of having grandchildren to spoil soon. Instead her father is facing losing his wife. I just can't imagine it. It makes me want to just fall into David's arms and never leave for fear that something might happen to him. It makes me love him and appreciate him even more. It makes me want to just enjoy all the little things in life with him again. Please pray for the Mack family.

Okay, that was the sad part of my day. The happy part was that one of my other best friends from high school, Sarah, was there, and after the visitation we got to go to dinner and catch up. We had a great time, talking and laughing. It was so much fun. I don't get a whole lot of ladies nights out, so it meant a lot to me. It was great.

So all in all, I had a great day. I'm home with my family now, which is awesome too. David is off tonight, so we actually get to spend some time together. I am looking forward to it.

Just Another Day in the Life of the Colvins

So, today is just another typical day. I think Kayleah is FINALLY starting to kick her flu. Oh, just to catch you all up, my husband is a CNA in a nursing home. Most of the residents had a flu last week. Since he is an integral part of patient care, that means he brought it home. Fun...that's the second time in 7 months. Kayleah was the last to get it. She got it last Friday which would make today a full week. For the rest of us, this was about a 24 hour thing. Of course, our little sicky couldn't leave it at that. She held on to it for a week. I don't know how much puke we've cleaned up. We finally called her pediatrician yesterday because we were afraid she was getting dehydrated. She gave us some things to try and said if they didn't work we'd have to take her into the hospital for an IV. I really didn't want to do that after all she has been through. Luckily, the suggestions seem to have worked. She has kept everything down today and acts like she finally feels better.

David has worked two 12 hour days in a row. Tonight will be his third. Thank goodness he's off tomorrow. He doesn't always work 12 hours, but when he does it seems like they pile them all together. It stinks for all of us because it seems like he is barely here. Since he works nights, he sleeps most of the day. Then, he gets up, spends a little time with us and it's off to work. Oh well, at least he has a good job and can provide for his family.

Well, I guess I need to go and start making some supper. Not anything fancy. I don't really cook big meals when David is working 12 hours. Since it's just me and the kids, it seems silly. So, tonight, canned chicken and dumplings....very gourmet! :o)

Mid-Year Resolution

Okay, so it's not the new year yet, but I've decided to make a mid-year resolution. I
haven't written on here very regularly lately. My resolution is that I am going to start trying to write at least a little something on here everyday or every other day at the least. Hopefully I am better at keeping mid-year resolutions than New Year resolutions. :o) Check back to find out!

Where Does The Time Go??

Well, it's halfway through June. It's getting close to my wedding anniversary. David and I will be married for 6 years come the 29th. I can't believe it has been that long! It seems like just yesterday we were meeting for the first time and falling in love. A lot of things have changed in 6 years. We've lost one child by miscarriage, had two beautiful children, sat nervously as our child went through 2 surgeries. David lost his mother and one of his uncles, who was like a second father to him. We've moved about a hundred times, it feels like, lived in two different states, made new friends and lost touch with old ones. We've been through a lot, but through all the laughter and tears, joys and sorrows, celebrations and heartbreaks, we've been there for one another.

Though a lot has changed, one thing has remained the same. We are very much in love with one another. In fact, a lot of the things we have been through may have broken other marriages, but it has only served to make our relationship stronger and our love deeper. I'd like to take credit for that, but I can't. Neither one of us can. All the honor belongs to God. We have worked to keep God in the center of our marriage and our family, and though at times we have forgotten and tried to take control ourselves, we have always come back to Him. He is what has kept our marriage strong and caused it to grow and caused us to grow as people and as Christians.

Another thing that is happening in a couple of weeks is David's birthday. His birthday is the day before our anniversary. Lucky him. He doesn't have the problem that a lot of men do. It's easy for him to remember our anniversary. Anyway, he is going to be 29 this year. For some reason, that is freaking both of us out. I think for him the problem is that his father had a heart attack and stroke at the age of 44. The closer he gets to that age, the more it bothers him. For me, it just makes me wonder how and when I got old enough to be married to a man that is almost 30 and have 2 children. I can't believe how time flies, and where in the world does it go??? Don't get me wrong, 30 is not old by any means! Believe me, I'm only 4 1/2 years shy of it myself. I guess it just scares me that I used to see it as old, and now, I see it as young. And most of the people in my circle of friends are 30 or older or are close to it. I just don't know how I got here. However I got here though, I am happy to be here. I love my husband and my children very much, and I wouldn't trade 30 (or almost 30) for 16 any day!

Long Time, No Write

I haven't had the chance to write for a long time. After Kayleah's first surgery, it ended up she had to have a second one, and she was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks. Since she got out of the hospital, we've been driving back and forth to St. Louis for appointments. Thank God, she is doing well now, and the appointments are only once a month, so things are finally starting to slow down.

In other news, I have a new niece! Her name is Elizabeth Rose. She was born April 9, 2007. She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and was 19 3/4 in. long. I haven't had the privilege of meeting her yet, but I can't wait to see her and hold her! My poor nephew though is surrounded by girls on this side of the family. He has two sisters, and then his two cousins, which are girls. David and I are probably going to have at least one more. Hopefully, we'll even things up a little bit with a boy. That would thrill David to death. He loves his little girls to death, but, like most guys, he wants that little boy to carry on his name. We'll see. I told him he better be careful though. My aunt and uncle had two girls, and my uncle wanted a boy. They tried one more time and got twin girls. :o)

So, anyway, I just thought I would write a new blog to let people know I am still alive. :o) So, there you have it. I'm here. I'll try to keep the blog up a little better now that things are slowing down for us.

God is Awesome!

Well, as we already know, God is awesome. It's just wonderful to see Him prove it over and over. We went to the hospital expecting a 5-7 night stay. We got home Wednesday night at 11:30. She only had to stay one night. (Imagine how overpacked we were!) lol

It turns out, the cyst was not where the surgeon thought it was. He thought it was a bulge on the main bile duct, which would have meant removing it and pulling a loop of the small intestine up and connecting it. It turns out, when he got her in surgery, the cyst was just a branch off of the smaller bile duct leading from the main one to the gallbladder. All he had to do was remove this smaller duct. A surgery we were expecting to last 4 hours lasted an hour and a half. This was the best case scenario discussed at the pre-op visit in his office, but he really thought it was the worst case scenario. It's good it wasn't because that surgery can lead to complications later down the road. The worst thing about this one is that she is without a gallbladder now, which, with our family history is not such a bad thing for her. She probably would have had to have it removed sooner or later.

She made it through the surgery just fine, and by Wednesday afternoon was back to her old self and using only Motrin and Tylenol for the pain. When she started eating and did fine, he told us to go home. We gladly obliged. :o)

It was also a blessing to have a Christian surgeon. David, my husband, asked the surgeon if we could pray with him before the surgery. The surgeon said absolutely, and that that was going to be his next question to us. He always offers to pray for his patients before surgery. Although, he did say David was the first to ask him. I guess he'd never operated on a Baptist preacher's kid before. :o) Anyway, we bowed our heads, and David was all ready to pray, and the surgeon jumped right in before David had a chance and just started praying. Now, of course, we can't judge his heart, but judging from his prayer, his demeanor, and the fact that he was willing to offer made us pretty sure we were dealing with a Christian man. That made us feel better about handing our daughter over to him of course. A physician who looks to the Great Physician for guidance is my kind of doctor. :o)

Anyway, God definitely answered prayers. Kayleah is just fine, better than expected and is back to her old self. She is even flipping over onto her belly, which makes me wince and cringe but doesn't seem to bother her. lol Thank you for all your prayers!

Pray for Kayleah

My youngest daughter, who is almost 7 months old, is going to be having surgery this Tuesday. She has a cyst on her bile duct. They are going to have to remove most of the bile duct and then attach her small intestine to what is left.

Please pray for her for strength and a quick recovery. Also, pray for her surgeon, for wisdom and that God would guide his hands as he is performing this surgery. David and I have a peace about the surgery, a peace that can only come from God because, believe me, having your baby go under the knife is a scary thing, but we know that the Great Physician is in control.

Thanks for all your prayers!

Curl up with a Good Book

I have always loved to read, always loved to curl up with a good book. My love for reading came from my mother. She has always loved to read too, and she read to us and took us to the library from the time we were babies on up. I always LOVED going to the library, although, when I was little, our library was this really old big building. It was beautiful, but at the time, it creeped me out. I wouldn't even go to the bathroom by myself.

Anyway, I've always loved to read, and I credit my mother with the fact that I was one of the very few kids who could read and write before I got to kindergarten. I attribute it to the many trips to the library and her reading to me and getting me interested in books. I am very much like my mother in that I can get lost in a book for hours and cut off everything around me. It's almost like I have been absorbed right into the book and am standing in the middle of the story watching the characters play everything out. My mother is the same way. I can remember her reading and us trying to get her attention. Many times, it would take 6 or 7 times of calling her name loudly to get her attention. I am the exact same way. I began reading a book right after David left for work last night, and did not put it down until he came home. (Don't worry. He works nights, so my children were sleeping.)

I had gotten away from reading for a while, but lately, I have been taking my own kids to the library, and I have been reading to my girls since they were babies as well. I have been reading books by an author named Gilbert Morris. He is a wonderful writer. I love his books! He was a Baptist pastor for 10 years, and then he became an English professor at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas, which by the way I believe is the school Mike Huckabee went to, but I digress. His books are wonderful. He uses history and makes it come alive by wrapping a fictional story around it. I am a big history buff, and I love a good story, so his books are perfect for me. Many of them do have a romantic story embedded in them, but it is of course clean romance because he is a Christian writer.

Lately, I have been reading his "The House of Winslow" series. It tracks a family all the way from the first ancestor that came to America to the 20 century. I have read the first two books and am on book 3. The history in these books incorporates American history and the history of the church. In fact, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards have appeared in these books, and I have learned a lot about church history just from reading them. Of course, the stories are fictional, but he uses historical fact to tell them. Also, in a way, these books have helped me grow in my spiritual walk. Don't get me wrong. The Bible is absolutely the most important book to read, and without the Word of God, you can have no spiritual growth. However, his writing is very inspiring for people of faith.

Anyway, I just thought I would recommend these books to anyone looking for something good to read, especially anyone who likes history, also, anyone who likes romance but does not want to read the smut put out by most romance authors.

P.S. You can tell this guy used to be a pastor too! In the book I am reading now, there is a party at Jonathan Edwards' house, and one of the guests says that if people would quit fighting the pastor and start fighting the devil, the churches would be better off. I just laughed and said a quiet amen when I read that. You can definitely tell he pastored a Baptist church! LOL

Sweet Home Tennessee

Okay, so I changed the title of the song a little, sue me. :o) And technically, Tennessee is not my "home." I was born and raised in Illinois. Ever since I was a little girl, though, I have always wanted to live in Tennessee. I don't know if you remember those tourism commercials for Tennessee that had that little jingle, "Come to Tennessee. We're playing your song." Anyway, those commercials were running when I was a little girl. Ever since I saw those commercials, I was fascinated with Tennessee. Then, when I was probably about 12 or so, we went to Hendersonville, Tennessee for my cousin's wedding. It's where his wife was from. Anyway, driving through the hills and seeing the beautiful old plantation home they got married at (it was a bed and breakfast then) made me fall head over heels in love with Tennessee.

Fast forward a few years, and I met a guy on the internet. He just happened to be from Tennessee. We fell in love and got married. (No, not just because he was from Tennessee. That was just a bonus.) He moved to Illinois, and we lived here until 2005 when he graduated college. Then, his friend from Tennessee called and said that he had found a job for him, and once he found a place, we all moved to the town where my husband was raised. I had been there a few times in the course of our relationship, and I always loved it. I liked Nashville too, which was where his mom lived, and even though that's where David's job was, I refused to live in the city. I am a small town girl. So, we lived in Dickson which is about 45 minutes west of Nashville. We started going to a church, which we liked, but through a series of events, we discovered that there were things going on there that we didn't agree with. I won't bore you with the long story, but we ended up leaving the church. We searched around for a while and were getting kind of frustrated because we couldn't find another church we liked. Finally, we decided to try one last church in the area, not expecting much. From the moment we walked in, it felt like home. The people were amazing, the worship was wonderful, and the church was alive and growing. It was the perfect church for us, so we joined. We LOVED our time there, but eventually, after David lost his job, we felt God calling us back to Illinois. I was kind of excited about moving back because I missed my family. On the other hand, I was really sad because I loved Dickson and the church.

So, we moved back up here, and God really blessed us. David has been preaching more than ever and is actually now the interim pastor for a church. I have missed Tennessee ever since we left, and even more so since David has been preaching/pastoring. Not because I don't enjoy joining my husband in his ministry. I do. It's just that the churches around here are nothing like the churches down South. I never realized how dead the churches up here were until I moved South and came back. I hate to tell you people, I love you, but most of your churches are either dead or dying a slow agonizing death. The church my husband is the interim pastor for has about 10-15 faithful members. And those members are happy just to warm a pew once a week. That's right, once a week. They only have services on Sunday morning. The worship is dead. It sounds like they are singing at a funeral or something, and when David preaches, it's almost like he is preaching in a morgue. I guess in a way, all that is kind of true, sadly. The church in dying and not far from closing their doors. It is horrible to think of any church closing their doors. It's only one of two churches in this small town. The fields are white for the harvest! The only problem is, the workers aren't in the field and refuse to do so. They've never done it before. That's the Baptist mantra. "We've never done it that way before." To change a bunch of Baptists is like trying to push an elephant up the stairs! My granfather was a Southern Baptist minister, and he always said that the Baptist theme song should be, "I Shall Not Be Moved." How true that is!

Anyway, David has been doing the evangelism alone, knocking on doors because no one else will. In fact, while he was knocking on doors, he came to the house of another pastor that has been pastoring for years and believes very strongly in door-to-door evangelism. He was shocked that David was even out witnessing. He was pleasantly surprised because not very many churches around here do it. They think it doesn't work. It does, and I've seen it work! As David likes to say, and has said in a sermon that ruffled a few feathers, "It doesn't work because you're not doing it!!"

People are out there searching and begging for something, and we need to be taking Christ to them! In the little community around the church David pastors there were 3 suicides in the span of 2 weeks! Three in two weeks!!! Doesn't that tell them something?!?!?! These people NEED to hear the Gospel! They are begging for answers! Had the Gospel been taken to these people, perhaps their lives would have been spared. Perhaps they would have felt like their lives were more important, like they had something to live for! God could do so much with this church, and we believe He wants to. We just have to convince the members to let Him.

Whew! Sorry! I will step down off my soap box now. I think David is rubbing off on me. :o) Anyway, the point of this blog was, although reading back through it I think it turned into something else, I MISS TENNESSEE! I know God has us here for a reason, maybe to use David to build this little church up and reach out to the community around it. I don't know. I just know we are supposed to be here. I would never want to go against God's will, and I love watching God work through my husband and use him in His ministry. And I know that He is using me too. When your husband is called to be a pastor, you are called to be a pastor's wife. It's definitely a calling. I hope I can live up to what God wants me to be. I am trying. Anyway, I know God wants us to be here, but I can't help but feel that my heart is in Tennessee.

Lost and Found

If you've been married for a while, you know that occasionally, a little something gets lost. That happened to my husband and me. Don't get me wrong, love wasn't lost between us. We've always been madly in love, but between kids, work, bills, and the ministry, a little bit of the romance was lost. When we were dating, my husband was so romantic. He always surprised me, always found something romantic to do, especially on special occasions. Lately, though, the romantic side of him has been lost. Last night, we found it again!

As most of you know, yesterday was Valentine's Day. All day, my husband apologized because he didn't get me anything. It was no big deal. He woke me up when he got home from work and told me Happy Valentine's Day. Just the fact that he remembered was enough for me. I'm not picky. And, he was upset all day because he had to work last night. He works the night shift. So, he left for work at 10:00, and I settled in to watch TV as I normally do. I stay up late because I cannot sleep when he is not here. At 3:00 in the morning, there was a knock on the door. That's not unusual because that's about the time he takes his break at work and comes home. I answered the door, and there stood my husband with a rose, a card, and some candy. Then, he said, "You've got me for the rest of the night." It turns out, he wasn't scheduled to work last night. He has been setting me up all day. What a surprise! And if you know me at all, you know it's hard to surprise me.

That's the romantic guy I married! We found him again! I have the best husband in the world. I've always known it, and I've always been madly in love with him. Last night was one of those times though that made me fall in love with him all over again. I'm the luckiest woman in the world!

May I Have Your Attention Please!

Something has been bothering me lately, so I decided this is the best place to get it off of my chest......

A lot of people refer to Illinois as "the North," and when I lived in Tennessee, there were people who thought of me as a "yankee." In fact, my husband, who grew up in Tennessee, teases me about being a yankee all the time. I would like to clear one thing up. Now listen close. I AM NOT A YANKEE!!! People from Chicago are yankees, and we in southern Illinois despise them as much as people in the South do. I may not have been born and raised in the South. That's true enough, and I would never classify myself as a Southern Belle. I'm not, but I also am not a Yankee. I am a Mid-Western farm town girl!!

I was born and raised in a small farm community. I was once woken up at 3 am because my grandma's cow was giving birth to twins. I know how to shuck corn and snap green beans. I know the difference between John Deere and International. I also know that to farmers, that debate is just as huge as Ford vs. Chevy to car guys. Some of the biggest name brands worn in my school were Carhart and Wrangler. One of the biggest and most popular clubs in my high school was not the drama club or the Latin club...it was the FFA! In fact, one week of the school year was devoted to that club. They drove their tractors to school, and one day of that week every year, my homeroom would be turned into a barnyard when they all brought their farm animals to school. It was okay though. Living in a farm community, most of us were used to the smell. I personally know two people who were seriously injured in bull riding accidents. I've seen tractor pulls, demolition derbies, and rodeos. I know how to bait my own hook and catch a fish. I live in a part of the state where, on the first day of shot gun season, they declare it Deer Day and let school out. I know what corn fields and freshly mowed hay smell like....very well. In fact, living in Tennessee, I rarely smelled it and got homesick for that smell. Weenie roasts and hayrides are a yearly occurence. I live closer to Kentucky than I do to Chicago. Does that sound like a yankee to you? Of course not! Because I AM NOT A YANKEE!!!

Furthermore, Illinois is not a liberal state. Granted, it usually goes to the Democratic candidate, but we are not a liberal STATE. Chicago is liberal. In the 2004 presidential elections, statistics showed that 7/8 of the state voted for Bush but because Cook County holds the biggest population and is liberal, the state went to Kerry. That happens all the time. The state is not liberal. Chicago is. Chicago and southern Illinois are like two different states, and most of us in southern Illinois wish they were!

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the South, and I miss Tennessee like crazy. There are definitely differences from there to here, but they are not as drastic as people down there think. So please, if I ever get to move back, don't call me a yankee!

What a Bummer!

Well, it turns out we did get that big snowstorm. We have about, I'd say just as an estimate, maybe 4 inches of snow on the ground. I was so excited. I am used to snow, but we lived in Tennessee for 2 years where we didn't see much, and it hasn't really snowed a whole lot since we've moved back up here.

I was all set to take the girls sledding, and so was David. We were both excited about it, but David still isn't feeling well. There is a nasty cold/flu type thing going around, and they got it really bad at the nursing home. He ended up picking it up from one of the residents. So, he's had it in his chest really bad, but he is on the mend. I am glad because, for a lot of people, it has ended up turning into bronchitis and pneumonia. We were all set to go anyway, since David was feeling a little better, but when we woke up this morning, Isabel had caught it from David. So far, she's just had sinus congestion, a runny nose, a little bit of a cough, and a slight fever. Hopefully, she won't get it very bad either, and we are really hoping the baby doesn't catch it because her surgery is scheduled for the 12 of February. If she gets sick, we will more than likely have to rechedule the surgery, and David has already taken time off of work and everything. Please pray for Isabel and David, and pray that Kayleah stays healthy and strong before her surgery.

Tornadoes and Wind and Snow, Oh My!

Okay, I've lived in the Midwest for a long time, and I have seen a lot of crazy weather phenomena. I remember standing in my yard, dry as a bone, and watching it rain across the street. I've seen tornadoes and blizzards and all kinds of things. The saying in our neck of the woods is, "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes." I've never seen that saying be truer than it was today.

The day started out beautifully. It was in the 50s and sunny. It was kind of out of character for January to be honest. Then, all of a sudden, around 4:oo this afternoon, a storm blew up, which is also kind of weird for January. Then, wouldn't you know it, the tornado siren blew. Now, if it was April, May, or June, this would have been no big surprise to me. We have tornadoes all the time around here, but in January, it caught me off guard. So, we went to the hallway, and took all the precautions. And, as it usually goes, as soon as it had begun, it was over. Apparently, a police officer spotted a funnel cloud, and it did do some damage, power lines down and a semi blew over...that kind of thing. There was nothing too serious, and, as far as I've heard, no one was seriously injured.

As I said before, the day started out sunny and in the 50s. After that storm, the temperature dropped into the 20s and the wind is blowing like crazy. Now, they are saying we are probably going to be hit with a big snowstorm!

Ah, the Midwest...I guess it is true. If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes!

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Little Blessings

The Bible tells us over and over that children are a blessing, and they definitely are! I am so grateful that God chose to bless my husband and I with children so easily. We have never had a problem trying to conceive, and with the exception of me miscarrying our first baby, my pregnancies have been easy and without problem. I know what a blessing and miracle this is because it easily could have been different for us. I know this. Now that I've said all that, let me get to the point of this blog.

Any of you with children know that children are a blessing, but there are "those times." You know those times in the store when they start screaming because they don't get what they want, or those times when you have to keep saying, "leave your sister alone!", or when you have to get up at 3 in the morning just to give the baby her pacifier because it fell out of her mouth, or those times when you're in church and they stand in the pew in the middle of your husband's sermon and start dancing around and saying, "shake your booty!" (Okay, I may be personalizing on that last one a little bit.) :o)

Anyway, all I'm saying are, there are those days when you look at your children and think, "Wow, what a wonderful blessing from God!" And then, there are those days that you have to REMIND yourself, "Just remember, they're a blessing from God!" Then, either way you pray. If it's one of the good days you pray to God and thank Him for your children. On the bad days, you pray to God and ask for the strength to make it through without having to be put in a mental institution. :o)

So far, today has been one of the good days. For the most part, my children have been in a good mood, and Isabel has been sharing and being nice to her sister. I thank God for today because I know that tomorrow, I am probably going to have to remind myself, " Just remember, they're a blessing from God! "

God Works in Mysterious Ways

Isn't it amazing how God works? He always seems to give us just what we need just when we need it most.

A few weeks ago, I got in the car to run some errands. I got in, buckled my seat belt, all the same old same old. When I turned the car on, there was a sermon playing. This is not an uncommon occurrence in our car. My husband uses the car most of the time, and he listens to sermons a lot. Normally, I would have flipped off the tape player and turned on the radio, not because I don't enjoy a good sermon, quite the contrary. I just normally do not like to listen to sermons on the radio. I guess I find it boring if I cannot see the speaker. This time, however, I recognized the voice of the speaker as our pastor from Tennessee, Brother Nathan Wilkerson. Brother Nathan is a very good speaker, and I always enjoyed his sermons very much, and as I am a little bit homesick for Parkers Creek Baptist Church (the church we belonged to down in TN) I decided to go ahead and let the sermon play. I am glad I did. This particular sermon was entitled "Turning lemons into lemonade" or something to that effect. Anyway, it was about trials that Christians go through and how we should meet and handle the trials given to us. It was just what I needed!
If you've been keeping up with my life, you know that our youngest daughter, Kayleah, has a cyst on one of her bile ducts. Now, granted, it's not an extremely serious condition. It's removable, but the thought of my baby going through surgery and having to be in the hospital just kills me. Like any mommy would, I definitely worry about it. It's been weighing on my mind a lot because the surgery is scheduled for February 12, which means it just keeps getting closer and closer.

Now, I don't know if David left it playing on purpose, or if he was listening to it because it was something he needed as well. Maybe he was homesick too, and the sound of Brother Nathan's voice made him feel a little closer to home, or maybe it was simply that he picked out the tape and popped it in without really thinking about it. I don't really know. I just know that no matter why he left it playing in the tape player, I am glad he did. And I know that Providence had a hand in it as well. God meant that message for me. He wanted me to hear it, and I am glad that I made the decision to let it play. I needed it, and it fed and strengthened my soul.

God is amazing. He always meets us right where we are, and no matter where we are going, He has already been there. Everything is under His control, no matter how out of control it may seem. I am reminded of a children's song that most people know, "He has the Whole World in His Hands." What a simple song, but what a great reminder to us all. Lately, I am especially fond of the verse that says, "He has the tiny little babies in His hands." It reminds me that when I hold Kayleah, my hands are not the only ones cradling her because God is holding us both. What a comforting thought! When that surgeon has Kayleah on that table, ultimately, he is not in control, the Great Physician is. How awesome that is to know that I don't have to trust only in the doctors this Earth gives us, even though I am sure her surgeon is a great doctor, but I am a child of the Great Physician, the One who created life in the first place and gives it and takes it away. The One who made Kayleah and knows her even down to the number of hairs on her head. How awesome is that?!?!?!?

I don't know how people go through things like this without knowing Jesus. If you don't know Him, my wish is that you would ask Him into your life. If you want to know more about how to do this, go here.... http://www.sbc.net/knowjesus/theplan.asp Thanks for reading! May God bless you all in this New Year!