Changes coming to my life in 2016!

 

Last weekend we celebrated my aunts 95th birthday. I just have to say I love my family. I took a ton of pics that day (its where I like to be...in the background). Funny thing is God has other plans and in the middle of my aunts celebration my home church Pastor decided to announce that I will become a licensed minister next month. The decision had actually been made well over a year ago but I had asked him and Marc to give me a year to really decide if this was truly a calling from God. To me this is to big a decision to take lightly and I don't want to be in anything that is not of God. I still can't believe that its about to happen but I'm very excited to do whatever God has planned for me and ministry. If you actually read this blog and believe in the power of pray I ask in advance that you keep me in your prayers.

November Ministry Wrap Up

Thanksgiving weekend weekend the girls and I attended the baby shower for one of the young ladies at our church.

The following weekend was Baptism Sunday and we watched as two young people from our congregation gave their life to Christ. 

November seemed to be a month of celebration and I'm so grateful to God for the opportunity he has given us to love on so many different generations! 

I continue to be in awe of the fact that not only are we a diverse group of individuals from every walk of life but also from every generation! It's so beautiful to see young and old worshiping beside each other to further the kingdom! 

Weekend before last left us.......Plum tuckered out!! lol

 

Marc is only a few months away from graduating but his work schedule has been crazy. In an effort to keep him company on those nights or mornings when hes traveling after a really busy week (or all night cram session) I have been traveling with him. So week before last I attended a mandatory 2 day session with him. The one thing I have loved about VUU is that the students and professors have been very kind to me and I've never felt uncomfortable sitting in class or other sessions with him. The Saturday session actually fell on the same day that he would be MC'ing the 45th Church Anniversary banquet for his home church. And since we both would be attending it didn't make much sense for him to travel to Richmond that morning only to have to rush back to pick me up for the banquet.

 

Me attempting to take a selfie in the women's bathroom. smh

 

It was a good thing I tagged along with him because we made it back from Richmond minutes before the banquet started. 

 

The banquet was very nice, but our favorite part was definitely seeing our Pastor Emeritus and our good friend Pastor Todd at the banquet. 

 

Sunday was Senior appreciation day at WABC. So after the morning service we attended lunch with the seniors and other church members at the local Golden Corral.

 

After the lunch with the seniors Marc and I headed over to GMZ for the closing of the 45th Anniversary Celebration and to hear our friend Pastor Todd Davidson preach. 

The photo below I added for the fun of it. My daughter snapped this picture of us the next evening. Apparently this is what ministry life does to you when you get old! LOL

End of the Month Wrap Up!

Ministry life has been crazy this month. Marc had several speaking engagements including preaching at his home church.

I am just in amazement how fast the youth at WABC have grown up since we first came to WABC. We have watched this young man grow up before our eyes. He is now off to college and Marine training.

We celebrated the birthday of one of our seasoned members. She turned 90. Which still amazes me (she is the one in the creme hat).

My mom and I got to spend some time together this month at a Missionary banquet.

We were celebrating these two young ladies from WABC.

Marc got to do his most favorite thing other then Baptisms and Weddings. This young man's dedication was so special. He knew it was his day because he waved to everyone while being walked down the aisle by Marc. LOL

We also welcomed a young lady and her daughter into the WABC family.

This past Saturday we had a prayer breakfast.

We also celebrated WABC 76th Church Anniversary on Sunday.

In the midst of the business we did lose a very special family member. Cousin Rose's memorial service was truly aHomegoing celebration with lots of families and friends gathered to remember her. Great testimonies about her life, gorgeous photos from her modeling days and jazz music playing to greet everyone at the start of the service. If you knew her you know this would have been right up her alley!

It almost became a family reunion of sorts with several of us traveling together to MD. At one point we had 14 family members sitting down to eat before and after the service. 

That is one of the many things I love about my family. They will come together when it counts the most, but not only then but whenever giving the chance we do not hesitate to gather together. Life is just way to short to be divided especially when it comes to family. The older I get the more I appreciate the one that God placed me in!

We did celebrate several birthdays this month including my girlfriends mom who just happens to be my Mary Kay lady (over 15 yrs).

And October is a big month for birthdays in my family. TJ's birthday was a few weeks ago and Nicki will turn 29 on Tuesday, This coming Friday on Halloween will be my moms birthday. October is also the birthday month for several cousins as well as my nephew Alex who turned 17! 

Again I'm just so grateful to be a part of this family. 

Family

Hard to believe but in just a few weeks we will celebrate 6 years at WABC! I found this picture evoke searching through old albums for the upcoming celebration. What I love the most about this picture is that most of the people standing behind us are family! I love my family to life! I understand that not every family is as blessed as I am and it makes me even more grateful to God for placing me in the one he did! Whenever you call on them they will be there if at all possible. And it doesn't matter if its for me or Marc. From the moment we married he became a part if them and they love in him just as if we was one of their very own..which he is! That to me is what family is all about!

Stepping out of our comfort zone!

This week has been a week of change and stepping out of our comfort zone for both Marc and I! For the first time ever Marc dressed down for our first official dress down Sunday which will take place on 5th Sundays at WABC, and I led worship during the start of our evening bible study! We both had to step out of our comfort zone but knowing its where God has been leading us seemed to make it a bit easier. I am the first to admit I don't do well with change. I'm a planner by nature..it's just in my DNA. But my plans don't always (more often then not don't) coincide with Gods plan for me! Lets face facts. There are many places and things I would not have gone or done on my own! But God has led me to places and caused me to do many things I never imagined. Sometime we expect things to be a certain way when in fact God is telling us to find a new way! Even in his word he makes it clear that new is sometimes better! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says...Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

We tend to cling to the old when God is asking us to embrace a new thing! If we really have confidence in God then ask yourself why are you afraid? Why do you keep looking backward rather then forward? 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your path! 

If we really believe in the scriptures why do we have such a hard time applying them to our daily life?? At the end of the day Marc survived not wearing his suit one Sunday and even though my voice cracked during worship I made it through the set without passing out! 

What fear do you have that's keeping you from doing and being all that God has called you to be? Often we are distracted by things that mean very little to God and it keeps us from fulfilling our bigger purpose!

^{6 in all your ways acknow}

Our Women's Ministry Workshop

This past weekend we held our annual Women's Ministry workshop. The theme this year was "Garden Getaway...where women walk with God". I love using the retreat kits from Group Publishing. I'm always amazed at how well the themes are received by our women. This year we even incorporated the songs. My favorite by far was 10,00 Reasons (Bless The Lord Oh My Soul).

Registration and Continental breakfast was served that morning at 8:30 AM.

After a time of worship and a praise dance by a family friend we started our sessions.

Our first session was about Exploring the seasons of our lives.

My favorite part of the workshops were the group sessions. I made an effort this year to put down my camera and join in with the other ladies. This is very rare for me in the 6 years that we have been doing the workshops. I'm trying to be more like Mary and less like Martha. LOL

Our second session was all about inner beauty. How often do we focus on the inner beauty giving little or no time to the beauty God wants for us inside our hearts! Or even the beauty that is around us?

After the second session we served the ladies a bag lunch.

After lunch we discussed walking with God. The ladies were given time to walk around the building and spend a little time conversing with God by themselves. Originally they were to go outside but the rain made that impossible so we played soft music in the background while the women moved from one area to another every few minutes after a prompt from the facilitator.

One of my favorite things about the kits from group are the service projects session. I love that we are encouraged to give back to someone else.

In this case we created a special gift to give to women who may be going through a difficult time. This session was all about caring for those in a season of need.

I know the ladies enjoyed this session because it spilled over into the time for session 5! LOL

Session 5 focused on the difficult seasons of life! This session was very interactive and allowed the women once again to be an active participant!  

I led the last session which was all about recognizing the joy in every season and celebrating that! 

Setting up a workshop like this is super easy and in most cases budget friendly. Group provides everything you will need that day from workshop materials to music, to promo material. Of course you can add your own touches as I have done. The best part is that you don't need big name artist or speakers and you can ask friends, family or women at your church to facilitate each session (that material is provided as well). Like I said we have been using them for over six years and I am never disappointed with the outcome. Whether you have a small group of women like us or a larger congregation you can benefit from these kits and your ladies (of all ages) will love them! You also do not need a large facility to pull this off. Most of our sessions were done in the sanctuary with the exception of the service project which required some table space.

Of course I can't just do a workshop without adding decorations! If you would like some ideas for a Garden themed event you can check out my "Treasured Creations" blog.