While Momma was out walking Chas had put on her sleeping beauty outfit and then fell asleep in Daddy's lap. He laid her down and this was how I found her!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Little Faith+ Big God= Huge Results
By Rick Warren
[The boy’s father said,] “. . . If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!” Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!” (Mark 9:22-24, MSG)
*** *** *** ***
Is it possible to be filled with faith and doubt at the same time? Yes!
You can have faith that God wants you to do something and still be scared to death. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is going ahead and doing what you’re called to do in spite of your fear.
You have to begin with the faith you already have: it may be just a little, but you start there. A beautiful example of this is the story of the man who brought his sick son to Jesus in Mark 9. Jesus looked at the man and said, “I can heal your son. If you will believe, I will heal him.”
The father then makes a classic statement: “Lord, I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.”
Have you ever felt like that? “Lord, I have some faith. But I also have some doubts.” This man was filled with faith and doubt, yet despite his honest doubts, he went ahead and asked Jesus for a miracle. And he got his miracle – Jesus healed his son.
No matter how weak or how frail you think your faith is, it’s enough. It’s enough to get you through what you’re facing, and it’s enough to complete the vision God has planted in your heart.
Matthew 17:20 says, “If you have faith as small as the mustard seed . . . nothing will be impossible to you.” (NIV) That’s not a lot of faith; in fact, it’s just a little faith. But what else does that verse teach? “If you have faith as the mustard seed, you can say to the mountain, ‘Move’ and it will be moved.”
Mustard seed faith moves mountains. Don’t get this reversed. We like to read this verse backward. We want it to say, “If you have faith like a mountain you can move a mustard seed” – as if it takes enormous faith to do a very little task.
God wants you to start with the faith you have, and based on the example of the mustard seed, you don’t need a whole lot of faith to do great things for God. You just need a little.
**********************************************************************************
--This was my devotional today... God so knows us! He will meet us right where we are. So you ask what is my prayer today? That through the Lord's strength and my faith as the mustard seed, I will say to our mountain, "MOVE!" and it will be moved! Please continue praying with us and for our precious Cherish! Thank you--- more than you know--- THANK YOU!
[The boy’s father said,] “. . . If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!” Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!” (Mark 9:22-24, MSG)
*** *** *** ***
Is it possible to be filled with faith and doubt at the same time? Yes!
You can have faith that God wants you to do something and still be scared to death. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is going ahead and doing what you’re called to do in spite of your fear.
You have to begin with the faith you already have: it may be just a little, but you start there. A beautiful example of this is the story of the man who brought his sick son to Jesus in Mark 9. Jesus looked at the man and said, “I can heal your son. If you will believe, I will heal him.”
The father then makes a classic statement: “Lord, I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.”
Have you ever felt like that? “Lord, I have some faith. But I also have some doubts.” This man was filled with faith and doubt, yet despite his honest doubts, he went ahead and asked Jesus for a miracle. And he got his miracle – Jesus healed his son.
No matter how weak or how frail you think your faith is, it’s enough. It’s enough to get you through what you’re facing, and it’s enough to complete the vision God has planted in your heart.
Matthew 17:20 says, “If you have faith as small as the mustard seed . . . nothing will be impossible to you.” (NIV) That’s not a lot of faith; in fact, it’s just a little faith. But what else does that verse teach? “If you have faith as the mustard seed, you can say to the mountain, ‘Move’ and it will be moved.”
Mustard seed faith moves mountains. Don’t get this reversed. We like to read this verse backward. We want it to say, “If you have faith like a mountain you can move a mustard seed” – as if it takes enormous faith to do a very little task.
God wants you to start with the faith you have, and based on the example of the mustard seed, you don’t need a whole lot of faith to do great things for God. You just need a little.
**********************************************************************************
--This was my devotional today... God so knows us! He will meet us right where we are. So you ask what is my prayer today? That through the Lord's strength and my faith as the mustard seed, I will say to our mountain, "MOVE!" and it will be moved! Please continue praying with us and for our precious Cherish! Thank you--- more than you know--- THANK YOU!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
PLEASE Pray for our CHERISH
Mommy's Sweet Sunshine! Cherish can light up anyone's day with her JOY-filled little self!!!
To be quite honest, I have been dreading writing this post. Mainly because this is still such a new tender wound in my heart and I don't really care to even talk about it much. But one thing I do know is that prayer is essential! I don't have the best of memory, but one thing I can clearly remember is the moment both my babies were placed in my arms and the enormous love that came with them in my heart. As a mother there is nothing worst than to know of or see harm come upon our children. And so I write this blog... pleading for your prayers on behalf of my sweet baby girl, Cherish.
After seeing a dermatologist for her birthmark we were informed that it is the type that "could become" cancerous... Immediately my heart dropped and world stopped spinning! I know that our God is so mighty and holds my children in HIS hands- so now comes the TRUSTing part on my behalf. However I firmly believe in prayer and that is why you are reading this now. At this point we may do some more testing, we are still waiting to hear from a Cancer Specialist, however for the most part we will just be in the watching and observing stage. So PLEASE Pray for GOD to give us HIS great wisdom and discernment, and especially for the birthmark you see above on our Precious Cherish.
Jeremiah 17:14 says... Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Horse Ridin Princess
I love the priceless expression on Daddy's face; walking by his princess as she rides a real horse for the first time!!!
Princess Chastity and Cowboy Jared
(Kristi and Wayne's youngest son. Bailey their oldest isn't pictured,
but is in our student ministry here at Concord.)
My friend, Kristi called me to tell me that her and her husband, Wayne were bringing their horses in town to get them re-shoed (I think that is the right terms-- you can tell I'm a city girl) and that they were going to bring them by for Chas to ride... so I had been telling Chastity they had a surprise for her, but gave her no details as to what it was. Well that evening Chastity insisted on wearing her Princess gown and I just suggested her pink boots instead of princess heels. There was no trouble there because the boots are pink and matched the dress perfect...LOL! So as soon as they arrived Chas ran out and you will see the rest...
A PRINCESS' DREAM COME TRUE!!! 
Cherish wasn't too sure about her Sissy getting on that big horsey that was really moving...
Cherish wasn't too sure about her Sissy getting on that big horsey that was really moving... she kept a distant but constant eye on them!
Saddling up again!!! Another ride please! Thanks Mr. Wayne!
MY TURN!!!! Cherish wasn't so sure of getting near the horse at first but as
she saw Chas ride for a while, she got used to the idea and wanted in on the action!
My Precious Baby!!!
Checkin' everything out...
Look at those sweet piggies! Cher is in a daze here!
Telling the horse, Ginger Goodbye...one more time!
Getting all the details from Mr. Wayne...and I have a feeling she was
Saddling up again!!! Another ride please! Thanks Mr. Wayne!
MY TURN!!!! Cherish wasn't so sure of getting near the horse at first but asshe saw Chas ride for a while, she got used to the idea and wanted in on the action!
My Precious Baby!!!
Checkin' everything out...
Look at those sweet piggies! Cher is in a daze here!
Telling the horse, Ginger Goodbye...one more time!
Getting all the details from Mr. Wayne...and I have a feeling she was making plans for ridin again! Maybe next time we will find a more cowgirlish outfit!
The pink boots can stay though! That's my girl!!!
THANKS SO MUCH WAYNE AND KRISTI FOR A WONDERFUL SURPRISE!
You guys are great and we thank the Lord for friends like yall!
Painting PINK!
My good friend Kristi Hays- to the rescue to help paint and help me not go insane!
Silly girl!TADA... it's PINK!
With Chastity being 4 now and us living in this house temporarily and the church tearing it down after we move out; in order to build the new church building here, I decided to let Chastity pick her own room color to paint over the wall paper currently in there and make it a little more HER's! With all that being said, can you guess what color she picked??? Yep you got it, if you know Chas at all...PINK!!!! And not just any PINK... REAL PINK! Check it out... Oh and thanks Kristi for helping us paint! Hope you enjoyed the pink highlights as much as Chas did!
With Chastity being 4 now and us living in this house temporarily and the church tearing it down after we move out; in order to build the new church building here, I decided to let Chastity pick her own room color to paint over the wall paper currently in there and make it a little more HER's! With all that being said, can you guess what color she picked??? Yep you got it, if you know Chas at all...PINK!!!! And not just any PINK... REAL PINK! Check it out... Oh and thanks Kristi for helping us paint! Hope you enjoyed the pink highlights as much as Chas did!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Suriving Tornado's
Many of you guys have been wondering and checking in on us as we had all the tornado's and storms come through here last night! So here is the update...
Obviously I'm sure you figured we are okay! Last night Clay was in the middle of "Refuge," Youth service as I was out in the hall with one of our students with health issues and a friend of ours came up and said the tornado's were about 20 miles away... hence how our night began to unravel!!! So of course yall know me I went straight to get our girls first things first and got them home ready to go with our Emergency Storm Shelter pre-packed bag...lol...(I got that bag stashed a couple weeks ago as I didn't want us to be running crazy trying to get all we would need for the girls together in the last few minutes pushing it too close to get to the shelter in time before the storms got too bad! We have been told April and May are the worst here for tornado's!) So as the girls and i ran --or should i say --I dragged Chastity by the hand hurrying her, as fast as those little feet could possibly go, and I lugged cherish like a sack of potatoes half falling off my side all the way across the parking lot in the piercing storm rain, Clay was dismissing the students and getting them all safely on their way home. With the exception of one girl-- we just took her with us to the shelter instead of home to be safe! Well, Daddy finally got home and with in just a few mins-- time enough for him to move my hibiscus tree under the patio-- lol you know we had to take care of all the important things!-- we got the WARNING for our city to take shelter immediately!
So across the street we went to a sweet couple in our church's storm shelter that they have so graciously offered to us anytime! --This Momma's peace of mind! And for the next hour or 2, I really wasn't keeping track of time but instead entertaining a worried 4 year old as golf ball size hail sounded like it was going to cave in the tin door! If you are wondering how Cherish was doing...well she was thinking someone was knocking to her or that it was music b/c she was laughing and clapping the whole time! LOL That's Cherish for us! Her carefree worryfree spirit helped calm Chas too! Finally it moved on passed us and in calling to check on my friend, we found out that her windows on her house were blown in and a tree up rooted in her front yard. So we quickly got out of the shelter between storms and took one of our students home that had went to the shelter with us, then over to our friends house so Clay could help board up their windows. (They were all safe as they were in a closet through it. Praise the LORD!)
Just after they finished up boarding up the windows they started to issue the next warning to take shelter again for the next one was about to hit. So we sped across a DARK city as there was no power ANYWHERE... not even Walmart! And God got us to the shelter just in time once again before the next one hit. This time our girls had fallen asleep so we just got them settled and ended up staying in shelter until about 4am. The weather kept telling us that we were to expect more storms through the night, so instead of moving sleeping babies back and forth we just stayed put safely. Well...My back couldn't take no more concrete floor and the girls were getting restless too by about 4... So we loaded up and came back home and camped out in our front room together and got a little rest!
Needless to say we had an eventful night and God held us in HIS arms and protected our family! Our church family has had a lot of small damage such as I mentioned above, but over all we were very blessed as it all could have been much much worst. Our cars got some dings...but for the safety of our family I'd gladly trade that anytime! So thanks for all your prayers... especially our parents! We know yall had a restless night too- worried... but it is just another example of God showing us His faithfulness and protection and that He isn't done with us yet! So we love you guys and hope yall have a great day as we are praying for a much needed nap today!
Thankfully in HIS hands (the best place to be),
Christi and family
Obviously I'm sure you figured we are okay! Last night Clay was in the middle of "Refuge," Youth service as I was out in the hall with one of our students with health issues and a friend of ours came up and said the tornado's were about 20 miles away... hence how our night began to unravel!!! So of course yall know me I went straight to get our girls first things first and got them home ready to go with our Emergency Storm Shelter pre-packed bag...lol...(I got that bag stashed a couple weeks ago as I didn't want us to be running crazy trying to get all we would need for the girls together in the last few minutes pushing it too close to get to the shelter in time before the storms got too bad! We have been told April and May are the worst here for tornado's!) So as the girls and i ran --or should i say --I dragged Chastity by the hand hurrying her, as fast as those little feet could possibly go, and I lugged cherish like a sack of potatoes half falling off my side all the way across the parking lot in the piercing storm rain, Clay was dismissing the students and getting them all safely on their way home. With the exception of one girl-- we just took her with us to the shelter instead of home to be safe! Well, Daddy finally got home and with in just a few mins-- time enough for him to move my hibiscus tree under the patio-- lol you know we had to take care of all the important things!-- we got the WARNING for our city to take shelter immediately!
So across the street we went to a sweet couple in our church's storm shelter that they have so graciously offered to us anytime! --This Momma's peace of mind! And for the next hour or 2, I really wasn't keeping track of time but instead entertaining a worried 4 year old as golf ball size hail sounded like it was going to cave in the tin door! If you are wondering how Cherish was doing...well she was thinking someone was knocking to her or that it was music b/c she was laughing and clapping the whole time! LOL That's Cherish for us! Her carefree worryfree spirit helped calm Chas too! Finally it moved on passed us and in calling to check on my friend, we found out that her windows on her house were blown in and a tree up rooted in her front yard. So we quickly got out of the shelter between storms and took one of our students home that had went to the shelter with us, then over to our friends house so Clay could help board up their windows. (They were all safe as they were in a closet through it. Praise the LORD!)
Just after they finished up boarding up the windows they started to issue the next warning to take shelter again for the next one was about to hit. So we sped across a DARK city as there was no power ANYWHERE... not even Walmart! And God got us to the shelter just in time once again before the next one hit. This time our girls had fallen asleep so we just got them settled and ended up staying in shelter until about 4am. The weather kept telling us that we were to expect more storms through the night, so instead of moving sleeping babies back and forth we just stayed put safely. Well...My back couldn't take no more concrete floor and the girls were getting restless too by about 4... So we loaded up and came back home and camped out in our front room together and got a little rest!
Needless to say we had an eventful night and God held us in HIS arms and protected our family! Our church family has had a lot of small damage such as I mentioned above, but over all we were very blessed as it all could have been much much worst. Our cars got some dings...but for the safety of our family I'd gladly trade that anytime! So thanks for all your prayers... especially our parents! We know yall had a restless night too- worried... but it is just another example of God showing us His faithfulness and protection and that He isn't done with us yet! So we love you guys and hope yall have a great day as we are praying for a much needed nap today!
Thankfully in HIS hands (the best place to be),
Christi and family
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Bathing Suit Girls
"What is this we have on sissy?"
"It's our pretty Bathing Suits... just smile and strike a pose sissy! Tada!!!"
"I'm not too sure about all this Chas..."
"Oh come on Cherish..."
Silly Chastity Faces...
Baby Princess!
Doesn't it look like Chas is breaking out the Robot!And Cher well she is making up her own dance...of course!
(or maybe she just went to the bathroom in her pull-up.)
Pretty Dancing bathing suit girls!!!
Tada...
Oh the faces of Cherish...
cheese...
CHEESE...
Sweet Cheese...
Roll em up....
Roll em up...
Keep rolling em up....
silly girl...
Okay so we are beyond ready for Sunny Days and Summer Sunshineand can Momma add... THE BEACH!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Concord Student Ministry
After Wednesday Night "REFUGE" Service!!!
Sunday night jam session with some of the students... here is Cherish Dancing above and wanting to play the guitar with Daddy.
And below is Chas and her new friend, Kayla singing and loving every minute of it!
God is up to something here at Concord baptist Church in the Youth Ministry and we are
SO excited to see what He is going to do in and through us all...
stay tuned for praise reports as HE works...
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