Soon!

Kevin & Savannah

Happily Ever After

December 27, 2008

(And I can hardly wait!)

Love you both!

Zambia Bound!

I will miss you Mama and Noel!

I'm hoping you guys will read this after I'm on the plane and you've started to miss me ;)

I know I will be missing you!!!

Thank you for all you've done to help me get off on my trip! I'm SO excited!!

You're the best and I love you!

I thank God for both of you and I'll be praying for you the whole time I'm gone.

Love,

Savannah

He's got the whole world in His hands!

Well! Pay no attention to the "Count down to Zambia"!

Looks like I will be leaving in 24 Hours! Tomorrow! Woo Hoo!! :-)


Hurricane Gustav has put a little kink in my plans...

But I'm just looking forward to walking through any doors that the Lord opens!!! And I am comforted knowing He will keep the plane up in the air for 18 HOURS!! Agh!

(but of course my attitude changes from minute to minute!)

"He's got the whollle world in His hands...He's got the whollle world in His hands, He's got the whole world in His hands!"

I couldn't help but humm this song as I typed this! ;)

So here is the plan:

To beat the hurricane and hurricane evacuation traffic- I will be leaving for New Orleans tomorrow lunch time (instead of Tuesday) - fly to Washington to stay with complete and friendly strangers about 4 days! (Jan Jal's bestest friend!)

Then on Tuesday meet up with Dan and Levi! Then head to Johannesburg- Then stay with more strangers! (Also good friendly friends of-well lots of people I know) Hallelujah! Then leave for Ndola the next day! Then the next thing I will be doing is- Seeing Kevin!-after 8 months! ha! YAY!! ;)

WELL The first portion of these plans were not MY original plans...

BUT here is what I think about that....

Recently I have decided I will not use this phrase:

"God will not put more on you than YOU can handle"

(and not because I'm afraid He will try)

But because HE WILL put more on you than you can handle! Because He wants to carry the load! Not you! He wants you to lean on Him!

I praise Him for that!

Proverbs 3:5 &6 states:

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

BOY are these verses my prayer today!!

Lord guide my paths with your wisdom and not mine!

And thank you Lord for kind hospitable children of yours. :)

Please pray for God's grace and wisdom while we take this trip to Zambia!

What a Friend We Have in Jesus!

The ladies in our church are starting a new "Ladies Prayer Meeting" on Tuesday nights and I am so excited and thankful!

What a friend we have in Jesus! Why not get together with friends and bring everything we have to our Best friend-Jesus!

Thinking about tonight has the lyrics to this song stuck in my head!

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In his arms he'll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.

Pray for us as we pray for our church family and friends!

My list of request alone could keep us there allll night! ;)

Of course my trip to Zambia to see Kevin in 22 Days!...is at the Top!!

This opportunity to come together as ladies, is among one of my top answered prayers!

Thank you dear Lord!

Better late than never!

Here are the results for VBS 2008!

85 Kids and 40 adults waiting in the heat!!

But after 8 were saved and 1 surrendered to preach... we decided it was WELL worth the wait!!

All of the kids were SO attentive... even the 22 kindergartners!! Yes...22! And only 2 teachers...needless to say by the end of the week it grew to about 5 teachers.

I had more help than I knew what to do with. I prayed...and they came!! You have no idea how hard it is to hang taradactils from 20 ft ceilings! ...But I wouldn't either! ha! I am so thankful for all the hard working men that showed up and let a bunch of women push them around ;)

And then there was Dr. Doug A. Fossilup! What a hit he was! Those kids will be telling people about him and what he learned for months!! Dr. Doug found out that the God made the world in 6 days... And that there was a flood that lasted 40 days- that's why there are no more dinosaurs. And 8 students learned that they were lost sinners and needed to repent and be saved! And now they are!!

Directing this years VBS was not all fun and games...and in fact, turns out you can get your feelings hurt awful quick when you take this kind of position! lol

But to know that so many children and adults now know just little more about God's BIG truth... makes me wanna take the heat any ol' day! (However I will have a nice 3 ring binder filled with all sorts of good ideas if anyone else wants to join the fight next year)... ;)

I can say that now I know a little more about what not to do, what works and what doesn't, what to say and what not to say, when to start and when to stop!

We've all heard it, to be a Christian you must grow, and when you grow there are growing pains, well let me tell you...I did some growing and some hurting and I wouldn't take it back for anything!!! I have learned Sooooo much!

Since Vacation Bible School 4 of the 8 that were saved have been baptized...and we heard the new preacher give his first message tonight! What a blessing.

By the way, I have a new job too! I'm now part of the BEAMS staff- Bible Education and Missionary Services. It's endless what God can do with your life if you'll just hand it over. I am so thankful for all of the opportunities He has given me.

Praise God for all He is doing!

"PAINTING" For God's Truth

Hello! I know...it's been a while! I just haven't felt the urge to blog in a while...but it's not because I haven't had anything going on...because the Lord has put me to work the past few months! I am having such a good time serving Him. Here are some pictures from our VBS "painting sessions"... I could take a week off just to paint, and paint, and paint! I love it! It's like therapy - It has brought me closer to some of the ladies at church. We visit, paint, and just brag on the Lord, together :) I see the Lord blessing us with unity...there is actually more help than I even know what to do with for VBS!

Last night, painting at the church gave me the opportunity to visit with all of the "cuties" in our church. They were so well behaved as they watched and gave me suggestions on what colors to use and how I should keep the paint in between the lines ;) Well that didn't last long, but it was sweet while it lasted. For Mother's Day, today we handed out cards to each of the Mother's of our church. All the mothers received at least 3 cards (some much more) from those who wanted to encourage them! What a blessing!! (Our ladies ministry sold Mother's day cards for a $1 each and handed them out before services today.) As I passed them out many were so sweet to say something encouraging to me! I had many who asked me how VBS was going...and I have to admit that in the midst of all the events of the day that I was a little envious of all the Mommys ;) But you know what? One lady brought this to my attention and I was so glad; she said "Oh, it will be such a blessing to be around all of those children for VBS; you must be so excited!" And ya know, to tell you the truth...I've wondered a few times, out of all the ladies at church, why was I chosen to be VBS director? And today it was as if God nudged me and said "That's why...because I knew you will appreciate the kids." As we walked away from church I even had a man and his wife roll down his window and say, "Don't worry Savannah, it's coming" :) And I even received 3 cards! HA!

Please continue to pray for our VBS! The devil doesn't want any of this going on...he hates the preparation and as the actual week of VBS approaches I am sure he will pull out all the stops. But My God is as excited as I am!!

Jeremiah 33:3

Dino Detectives! Digging for God's Truth! That is the theme for Vacation Bible School at Red Creek Baptist Church!

I am SO excited about VBS. Today was my day off and I tried my best to spend it preparing for VBS. Tonight after church we had a short meeting and I feel like it went very well. Everyone was smiling and enjoying the opportunity to meet and fellowship...and find out about this Dino Detectives VBS! But what really brought me to blogging today...was a new opportunity to brag on the Lord! Everyday brings new opportunities, but this one was the icing on the cake;)

As I have prepared for VBS, I have had the occasional "doubts"...Can I do this? Well first of all-It really doesn't matter-"What I can do"...It's all about what the Lord can and will do! And I suppose He decided to show that to me today:-) And I'm thankful for that!

2 weeks ago, I ordered (online)-the VBS Director's Kit. This Kit would contain lots of fun info for me to give out at the next mtg...which was, at the time about 3 weeks away...Plenty of time! Unless of course...you have waited 2 weeks now, and no kit.... I finally decided to call the company and ask how long it usually takes for the kit to arrive because I had been waiting for 2 weeks. The nice lady took my name and my church's name and found NO order. SO, my first thought was a sermon my pastor had preached a couple months back-that there will be storms-The Lord will give you test-and it's your choice whether or not you Pass or Fail. If you pass...you move on to the next test...If you Fail..you take THAT test again. Well I certainly like to pass! I could have gotten aggravated, huffed and puffed, broke down in tears, and snapped at the lady. But all I wanted to do was move on and pass this test! She offered to place my order. (Thankfully because we don't have Internet access at work- and I needed to place this order asap). This was on a Friday and the mtg was scheduled for Wednesday of the following week. I thanked her and asked when she thought the kit would arrive. And she politely responded, in a happy manner, "oh by the end of next week or definitely by the beginning of the next!" :-) With a smile on my face I said, "ok, thanks!" Oh no, I thought to myself. I'm not equipped for this. I think the Lord is trying to teach me a lesson! A lesson to be more careful-better prepared. Ok, I thought. Will do! Right on it. But in the mean time I prayed. I prayed God would send that kit sooner...like by the middle of next week-so I could have it for the mtg. I didn't want to let these people down already! I knew this was a long shot but what would praying hurt?

Back to this morning. I spent the morning reading my bible, praying, and VBSing...as I stand in the kitchen, about 3 oclock-convinced my kit will not be here today and telling myself "that's ok, they'll understand"...I hear it! The UPS truck! Praise the Lord! I run outside and say "Hey! Is that for me!?" and he says "yes it is" and I said "I've been praying for this package!!!" :-) He seemed quite happy for me too;)

And so there you go. The real lesson learned. God is SO big and mighty that it doesn't matter What WE are capable of-HE IS MORE THAN CAPABLE TO DO ABOVE AND BEYOND THE NORMAL. So all we have to do is be willing. And ask. And pray. And learn. And give Him the Glory. And pass each test with flying colors! That is a lot of "Ands", but they are SO simple compared to what God will do, if we do our part.

This little miracle may seem small...But it's BIG! Because we can't make these things happen. Only He can.:-)

I am very blessed.

Please pray for our VBS.

June 23rd-29th

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3

Love Lifted Me

We sang this at church last night...thought it was appropriate for the upcoming event...where everyone just reminds their family...& mostly their sweetheart, that they Love them!

I sang this as a solo at my church when I was a little girl;) SO everytime I sing it I feel like a little girl again...all excited to be up there singing a fun & pretty song about God lovin me!

Love Lifted Me

I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore,Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more,But the Master of the sea, heard my despairing cry,From the waters lifted me, now safe am I.

Love lifted me! Love lifted me! When nothing else could helpLove lifted me!
All my heart to Him I give, ever to Him I’ll clingIn His blessèd presence live, ever His praises sing,Love so mighty and so true, merits my soul’s best songs,Faithful, loving service too, to Him belongs.

Souls in danger look above, Jesus completely saves,He will lift you by His love, out of the angry waves.He’s the Master of the sea, billows His will obey,He your Savior wants to be, be saved today

Vacation Bible School Adventure!

BIG NEWS! I have been given the opportunity to be Vacation Bible School Director in our church this summer! I’m very excited! I don't play piano or really even sing all that well but I love drama (stage drama)! I love to do skits – that is my favorite thing to do ;). This is going to be a great time! Last year I taught 5th graders in VBS and a girl named Savannah made a profession of Faith! That was awesome....to be perfectly honest, I was surprised when it happened. I hope that doesn't sound too bad but often times I have the mentality that everyone has accepted My Jesus as their Savior.

When I was preparing my lesson I had the mindset that I was teaching saved children how to witness to lost children. It had not occurred to me that through our lessons that I would actually be doing some witnessing myself. Seeing someone saved, it doesn’t get any better than that! So when I was asked to be VBS Director I was more than happy to be a bigger part of what I now had a better "grasp" on!

VBS means more to me now. Those children are so smart…they are like sponges, they soak up anything you say!!! After the other Savannah was saved, I pleaded with her to ask her parents to bring her to church every Sunday, to get in a SS class, to read her Bible, and to find some Christian friends to hang around with. I testified very vaguely that after I was Saved at 9 years old I had not done these things and that I regret it terribly. I remember how I felt when I was first saved, the feeling that I knew Jesus was inside of me now and I wanted to tell everyone! I skipped through the church hallways singing, "I'm a Christian. I'm a Christian!” But then some things happened...I wasn't reading my Bible, my family wasn’t going to church regularly, I made friends with people that didn't go to church and for a very long time I was simply a Christian with a ticket to Heaven. I told the girls, "I want more for you...God wants more for you!" He can’t teach you to be a mature Christian if you don't read His Bible and fellowship with other Christians. I told them how happy I am now that I am living for God. It feels like it did when I was first Saved and the more I learn, the happier I am!! I pray for those little girls in my class l ast year, I pray that they will make godly choices. I pray that they will be in VBS again this summer.

Pray for our church as we put this VBS on, that we will be good witnesses and that many will be saved! That we will also teach them how to witness and mature as Christians! I think it was no mistake that I was put in that classroom last year with those 5th graders seeing that I too was around that age when I was saved! God can make something good out of anything bad. Over the past couple of years I have prayed often for Him to use me and help me to grow! He took what I did (or didn't do) for years and used me to witness to those girls last summer about the mistakes I had made. I pray that they listened and will live for God - to the fullest!

God in me in 2008!

It is Wednesday and I can hardly wait to attend church tonight to hear from the Lord and give Him praise for ALL of the blessings He has given me this week. I have been so blessed this week... Earlier in the week I found out that I would be able to fly to NY to see Kevin, his family, & friends AGAIN! Nervously (not sure why now) I asked the team leader at work if she thought it possible... She took much time out of her morning and rearranged the schedule so that when I asked my boss If I could go, we could give her the "new & improved" schedule. After just a couple hours of everyone praying & waiting, the boss called and gave it the OK!;) My friends at work are always such a blessing ! Then yesterday, I asked my boss for permission to leave work an hour earlier so that I'll have more time to catch the plane. I prayed, "God You know what I need, You even know how much time I need! Please be with me as I ask my boss if I can have another favor" :-) Guess what!? She gave it a go! Wow, My God loves me! Yet again, another blessing I do not deserve... Thank-you Jesus:)

Then, I found out yesterday I received an A in an online course...That is a blessing that God knows I appreciate! I tell people all the time that I did not go to college because I am so smart but because I really wanted to be smart and I knew God would help me through it! And He Did!!

I am at the point of tears this morning because God loved me so much that not only did He send HIS Son to die on a cross for me so that I may go to Heaven...But He makes me so happy here on earth too! It's too much to understand sometimes...

Sunday's sermon was, "A journey to becoming a mature Christian in 2008". I am EXCITED! How about you?!? Pastor announced we will have more classes and I am really happy about that... There is always more to learn! But to sum up the sermon, (Luke 2:1-14) Joseph is going to Bethlehem to pay his taxes with his wife Mary who is great with child. During their time in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus! If you think about it... why did God choose Joseph and Mary? The answer, simply because they were mature Christians. Joseph and Mary were going through a time in their life when people laughed at them and lied about them. They had to strictly just have FAITH in God! And they did. I want to be that kind of Christian! In 2008, I am ready to be lied on, laughed at, and rely wholly on God! Earlier in this blog I wrote of my anxiety about asking my boss for the time off to go to NY, and then I said , "I don't know why now". Looking back on the times I worried.. I feel foolish. God has always given me just what He wants me to have... whether it be a safe trip to NY or a good grade in an online course...Don't carry the load in 2008 by yourself... God is big enough to carry it for you!!!

Just bragging...

I have arrived! After a couple hours of layover at the JFK airport I finally made it back to Wiggins....3:00 a.m. (That's a BIG deal for me to be up this late and writing on a blog...lol)...There was a lot of turbulence on the flight home and it had me worried for a while...I just prayed God would help me to fall asleep so I'd quit panicking! And He did! Thankfully... So just thought I'd brag on Him some before I went to bed..I think it's pretty awesome he can put us that far up in the sky...defeating gravity..so that we can get somewhere a whole lot faster! So not only did He keep me safe...But he made it convenient for me;)...Doubt my poor parents are feeling the same way...they had to pick me up and drive me home! :) I thank God for them as well as the friends I met at Kevin's and my safe return! I'm very sad I could not stay longer but I appreciate the opportunity to go more than anything....Those are some sweet people in Rochester NY;)...good night

Up North

So I'm a small town girl...who doesn't get out much...BUT here lately I am QUITE the traveler!! Went to New Orleans to the airport, then to JFK airport in New York City, then to Rochester NY to visit Brother kevin ;) ....more on me later!