NO, I'M NOT CHANGING CHURCHES!!

I'm going to get on my soap box for a little bit, because I am tired of explaining this to many people.  

Yes, God has called Shane and Sara to another church.  NO, I am NOT leaving MY church just because the preacher is leaving!!  My Great-Grandparents were some of the first members of Calvary.  My grandparents, and parents were married there, I was baptized there, married there, and Haley has been baptized there.  The only way I will leave is if they chain the doors shut, and then they will still have to pull me away kicking and screaming!

 The preacher does not make the church, it is the members and the people in it.  If it weren't for the members, there would be no church for the preacher to come to! 

and NO, I am NOT mad at Shane and Sara...they are following GOD, and doing what GOD is telling them to do.   I think we ALL need to listen more closely to what GOD is telling us to do.  Isaiah 50:5 says, "The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened.  I do not rebel or turn away."  They are doing what The Sovereign Lord has told them.  I know this.  I feel if you are mad at Shane and Sara for doing GOD's will, not theirs or what you think it should be, then you need to hit the floor and pray! 

I am going to miss Shane, Sara, and Noah dearly, but I know this is what is in GOD's plan for them.  GOD already has another preacher lined up for our church, and I can't wait to meet him!

Jehovah is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.  Jehovah is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.  It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Jehovah.  Lamentations 3:24-26

This is the end of my soap box.  Thanks for reading. 

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone's new year is off to a great start! Our holiday season, for the first time in two years, was without any medical procedures. All I can say to that is Thank the LORD!! The last 2 years we have had 2 foot surgeries, gall bladder surgery, and a scare with colon cancer. God layed his hand on us, and took care of everything!

This year I am planning on listening to God more. To help me do this, I recently purchased "Discerning the Voice of God, How to Recognize When God Speaks" by Priscilla Shirer. I am so excited about reading this book. I feel it will answer my questions on is that really God talking to me, or do I just think He is because no one else will volunteer for this? This has been my question for a while, and I just don't know..I'll let you know what I figure out.

I am also planning on eating healthier, and becoming healthier. This will make me feel better all the way around. I have to get me healthy because I am setting a bad example for my children. They eat what I eat, and drink what I drink...so it is time I change. I am not getting any younger. I have a feeling this will be a slow process, but we will get there.

These are my two major goals for this year. I also have the same ones that I have every year like..keeping up with the laundry (I have all the laundry done right now!), keeping the house cleaner, so on and so forth...we will see how those go!

Also, I am asking you to keep my Haley Brooke in your prayers. Many of you know, I passed on my scoliosis gene to her. (Sorry sweety!) Her curve has been holding it's own at 18 degrees for about 2 years now. But (big word) she has started her growth spurt, and to me, her back is looking more curvier, and she has been complaining of it hurting. We go Scottish Rite on January 20th for her check up. I know that is a long way to go for seeing the Dr. about 10 minutes, but (big word again) it has the leading research facility for scoliosis. We are part of the study, and that is how I found out we actually have the genetic marker. If her curve progresses to 20-25 degrees, we are looking at wearing a brace. Believe me, that is no fun, especially for a pre-adolescent girl who is already going through many changes, both physically and emotionally. Just keep Haley in your prayers that God will give her the strength and understanding for this journey.

I hope everyone had a great break. School starts back tomorrow. I don't know if I will be able to get up, but I imagine I'll be pretty tired tomorrow! Have a Great Year everyone!

One last thing..Congratulations to Shawn and Shaley and their new baby girl!

Deeper Still

This past weekend, Leisa, Erika, Sara, Melissa R, Noemi, and myself went to Oklahoma City for the Deeper Still conference. It was AWESOME!! Leisa, Erika, and I left about 8:30 Friday morning and headed that way. We had some Christmas shopping we needed to do before hand! We had so much fun!! We laughed until we cried and our bellies hurt! We stayed up late...in fact, we only "napped" about 3 hours Friday night. We ate and ate and ate some more!! It reminded me of when Leisa and I were in high school going to the Dawson McAllister Conferences, except we didn't have any adults to tell us it was time to go to bed, or we had to be in the room by a certain time...scary thing! We had a blast, and learned sooo much!!

The conference itself was just awesome! Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, and Priscilla Shirer all had wonderful messages that hit home each in it's own way. I will blog more about each of them later, for some reason, I am feeling compelled to go back through my notes, reread the texts in the Bible, and write about how it impacts me. Now, I have never done anything like this, but I feel God is leading me to do it, so I will. It might take me some time to get all 3 of them done, but I will!

Travis Cottrell and his Worship team did the music. It was AWESOME! There is nothing like being in a big arena with 9,000 other women singing Praise and Worship songs! There were a couple of times, when they would quit singing in the microphones, the music would stop, and it was just accapella...it gave me goosebumps every time...you could just feel the Holy Spirit moving through that room!

If you ever get a chance to go to one of these, or any other conference, GO!! It will change your life!

I will post some pictures later...I forgot my camera, but Erika took hers and she is supposed to send me a copy of them. Hurry up, Erika!!