Nestled on a little hill on a back road in Equality, Alabama is a country church filled with beloved saints and dear friends. It is here that my family and I grew in the Lord and developed lasting relationships. Five and a half years were spent in this quaint town with such a wonderful congregation! Taken in as son, daughter, and grandchildren, our family was loved and cared for immensely.
It is a church where there is always a hearty AMEN to be heard and sincere prayers sent to Heaven. A place where there is such a precious unity among the people; a true love for one another; which is hard to find in any church these days. With only about 30 in attendance on Wednesday night in this church in the middle of nowhere, the Holy Spirit was given liberty to ooze up and down the aisles convicting and encouraging where needed.
The pastor now is a skinny little thing, but filled with a firey 'word from the Lord'. His dear wife and four (going on five) children are as sweet as honey. The members here hold a very special place in my heart that will always be.
Here you will find: (first names only)
Polly, Frankie, Meagan & Courtney- a woman of God who raises children with such love and compassion, a hard working man who knows no limit to the pursuit of providing for his family, and two outstanding young women who are like my own. Howard & Julia- the man who leads singing and has a heart for bus kids, and a lady's lady who is probably the best baker I've ever known.
Mary & Tracy- sisters who travel a small distance to be a part of this congregation. Mary, having lived as a single mother and working tirelessly to provide for him and Tracy, a single lady with a tender heart.
Kitty- a hard working mom and hard worker.
Terry & Cindy- a dear couple with no children of their own yet, but a bigger heart for them than most parents.
Jay, Leslie, Christian, Rio and Gannon- a father who is also a High School principal, a mom with class and love for her family, and three sweet kiddos. Jackie & Teresa- a dear couple who have remained faithful.
Hoyt & Sara- an elderly couple who, although now struggle with the ailments of growing older, still love the Lord and serve Him.
Linda- a special lady who comes to church despite having to come alone.
Larry & Pat- a man who has stood the test of time at this church, who took us in as his own, who became a father to us and Pat who battles diabetes and manages to still pour out her love to all.
When looked upon from the outside, one would probably just pass by without thought. It is small and in a small town...what could possibly be of interest in there?? But upon walking into those doors, there is a Spirit of kindness, a warmth that fills each crevice of that building. It is place where the Gospel is preached hard but where every soul is welcome.
Although this church may always be small and to some seem unimportant, in God's eyes (and in ours) this church is huge! It is one of the best I've ever been a part of. It remains a place where the man of God preaches straight and the people are quick to repent if needed, encourage as necessary, and live according the principles found in the Word of God!
New Life Baptist Church, you will never know this side of eternity what kind of impact you have had on my life and how proud I am to say that we were once a part of this body of Christ! I love each of you so very much. Thank you so much for loving us! Thank you so much for how well you took care of us and provided for us, for always being thoughtful of our needs as well as our wants. For always backing your pastor and following his leadership. What you have there is rare, a thing greatly to be cherished...and cherish it is certainly what I do!

Tomorrow is friend day at our church.  Can't wait to see what the Lord's Day holds for us.  we have been doing some makeovers at the church that i am super excited about.  our children's church ministry is growing by leaps and bounds and are outgrowing the room they were in.  so we are changing things around a bit.  i am also going to attempt painting a mural on my sunday school room wall.....we'll see how that goes!

we have also been incorporating a new soul winning campaign.  we have teams that go out weekly.  i am going later this morning.  Pray that God will send us to the right people.  I love to go door knocking.  You just never know who or what you may encounter.  Bailey usually goes as my partner.  that being said, i dont knock as many doors as my other team mates. ha!  by the time i knock one house and begin down the road,  i see that the rest of my team has already knocked like 4 houses.  that's ok, tho, bailey loves to go....and shes usually  a good icebreaker!

the days that i begin my day in prayer and Bible study are the very best days ever....even if satan throws everything he has at me.  i try so hard to do this every day.  most days are a success, but there are days that i neglect one or the other or even both.  those days are the worst.  my attitude depicts my aptitude for the day.

i am glad the Lord is still gracious to me on those days and through a constant pull of the Holy Spirit, i repent and get straight into the Word and have sweet fellowship with Him.  there is such a peace that comes when i am in fellowship with my Savior.

anyway, i just wanted to share that with everyone.  nothing new, nothing superb, nothing brilliant....just so thankful for my relationship with the Father and so glad to serve Him each and every day.

What happens when you are at a wedding and its been a long day and you have the beginnings of strep throat and your nagging 5 year old wont stop begging to take pictures with your camera?  This right here:

  

all i can say is, thank you Lord for wonderful inlaws!  my mom and dad inlaw were in for garys wedding.  they are always such a blessing to us anyway, but particularly this time.....because i got sick....with strep throat!  and of course it was on a weekend, which is the busiest time of the week for us, particularly michael.

so if you are reading this nana and peepaw....thanks a million for cleaning house, giving baths, feeding kids,  and everything else you did for me while i was in the bed!

Wedding Day

Well today I gained another sister-in-law!  Michael's brother, Gary, married a sweet young lady from our church, Meghann Shaw.  The wedding was wonderful and she looked so pretty and happy.  We are very proud of them both.

Gary has traveled a rough and long road in life, but he is back in the will of God and serving Him with his whole heart.

Meghann is a lady who loves the Lord and will make a wonderful wife.