why we do VBS

This year I heard of a conversation between a mother and her kids about why our church does VBS. They were talking about all the time and money we pour into this week and is it worth it. This is what I think.

We spend 12 months planning and preparing for 7 and 1/2 hours of time spread out over 5 days. But why we do it was evidenced in the decision of 7 kids this week to follow Christ as their Savior. I'd do it for just one kid... actually I'd do it even if we didn't have one child make a decision during the week because I know they will have had Christ poured into them by at least 8 people and most of the time more than that during the week. As hard as this year was preparation wise the joy I got to experience as I listened to Kim rejoice over the 3 girls she personally lead to Christ and the beam on a moms face as she heard of her child's decision made it all worth it. Thank you to all you who supported our church in time and prayer.
You guys rock!

(Oh yeah and the conversation I got to hear about... they reached the same conclusion )

And the two shall become one

I took the kids to the pool today and decided to enjoy the fact (don't faint here Matt) that as long as Serah has her arm floaties on I can just let them swim and sit in the sun and read, problem is I don't have a fiction book to read. So today I figured I'd pick up the book that has been sitting on my bedside table for way too long. I started it a while back but never got real far in. I don't know why I put it down, I started reading the first chapter and it just resonated in me. It's one many of you have heard of and probably read already. Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Wife.
I've been so reminded lately of just how important our marriages are and how under attack they are each day, in big and subtle ways. We have so many friends who either are or have been on the brink of divorce and it's scary how they got there. I pray often for my marriage and for those around me.
I have to share some of the things that stuck out the most to me because if I wrote down them all you'd be here all night. First I could just pray these sentences and it would probably be enough... they say it all.
"I will not allow anything to destroy my marriage."
"I will not stand my and watch my husband be wearied, beaten down, or destroyed."
"I will not sit idle while and invisible wall goes up between us."
" I will not allow confusion, miscommunication, wrong attitudes, and bad choices to erode what we are trying to build together."
"I will not tolerate hurt and unforgiveness leading us to divorce."

this is so important: We are a team, one unit, unified in the Spirit. Our strength as a man and wife joined together in God's sight is far greater than the sum of our individual strengths because it was the Holy Spirit that unites us and gives us power to our prayers. And the power that resurrected Jesus (Holy Spirit) is the very same power that will resurrect the dead placed of our marriage and put life back into it. "God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power" 1 Corinthians 6:14

Another cool thing that I came across that God was able to show me the growth and change in our marriage was this passage in Joel. "I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten" Joel 2:25 He took me back to our early years and let me tell you the locust weren't just swarming they were thick on the ground. Then He showed me how he has completely restored those years because the closeness and joy we have in each other now is a complete opposite to the separation and sorrow from those first couple of years. We sometimes joke that we've finally gotten to have our "honeymoon period" 13 years later but what a testament to His ability to keep two people so dissimilar together. I love where she says "God is big enough to accomplish all this and more". God and his grace and power is what has kept us together and nothing else.

If I could figure out how to add more songs to my playlist I'd put all of Steven Curtis Chapman's all about love on it. I love this album and the promise of many more years together.

Don't end your day without telling your love how much they mean to you. Find some way to show them you care and are praying for them.

Hmmm ponder this...

was doing my bible study tonight , yes Amy more than one day in one night, it's VBS crunch week, I know poor excuse, anyway... and in my reading I came across these verses,
Mat 26:59
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.
Mat 26:60
But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward
Mat 26:61
and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’ ”

and also

Mar 15:29
Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,
Mar 15:30
come down from the cross and save yourself!”

I don't think I've ever "seen" these passages before, I'm sure I've read them many times but tonight God revealed something to me that I think is so cool... think on this.

Jesus was crucified or "destroyed" and then three day's later rose from the dead or was "rebuilt". Wow the very thing that was meant for insult was prophesy for those who would believe in him... in fact check this out...

Jhn 2:19
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Jhn 2:20
Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
Jhn 2:21
But he spake of the temple of his body.
Jhn 2:22
When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

I mean how cool is that... I hope this hits some of you like it hit me... everything in His Holy Word is full of meaning and it all points back to Him, everything. It just kills me sometimes that it's taken me this long to start to "get it"... I often want to go back and change that selfish person who thought it all applied to me not HE... I'm praying that this study will lead me away from the bottle of milk and on to the plate of meat he has waiting for me.

Much prayers needed

VBS is like a train speeding recklessly down the track. I feel so out of control this year and like things aren't getting done. I don't know why the second year seems worse than the first. I'm not communicating well with others this year and it really frustrates me. I know that the simple solution is to take it to God and that's what I'm trying to do... but even that I'm not doing well this year. I really need the prayers of all you around me to make it through this week and next. Thank you for always being there for me.. you guys rock.

my testimony

I needed to write this for something and I found myself unable to sleep tonight. I think God had this time set aside for me. It just seemed to flow out. Thank you Lord for your patience, grace and understanding. I pray you use this in more ways than I planned it to.


When I was six I said to my mom “ I need to go now” like most moms her first reaction was “not now Church is almost over“. So I said “ No, I need to go down front, Jesus needs my heart”. This is a story I’ve heard many times over the last 29 years. But I have to say I have no memory of it. I know I was baptized I’ve got a certificate from my church. But yet again I have no memories. I know I went to church most Sundays beginning soon after birth. But it hasn’t always been a smooth path. I had my highs and my lows. I participated in Sunday School, Mission Friends, GA’s, Acteens and many youth activities. Unfortunately by the time I hit High School the youth department I attended was in shambles. I put my Christian growth and trust in the wrong people. I made very poor choices and received advice that should have shamed those giving it to me. I ended up stepping away from the church and to an extent God for a season. But God in his infinite mercy and grace never turned away from me. In many ways he protected me from myself and my stupid and selfish choices. Eventually I found my way back to church and a strong College and Career class that pointed me in the right direction for spiritual growth. I still had my ups and downs but after 15 years God has given me a strong desire to know Him more daily and to trust Him with my marriage, my children and my life. This past spring I finally gave way to pride and obeyed His request that I give myself a baptism to remember. Matt was so strong and supportive and baptized me in front of our whole family, which in my mind means my church family too. I know that to survive each day in His will I need to surround myself with Godly council, people I know are following His path and voice. I can only pray that God increases my testimony in ways I can’t even imagine.