"HOLLERING" FOR JESUS

I had to write devotions for our youth group last week and God brought to my memory something my son had said 2 years ago. Yes...I do have a memory, it's just very select!


Psalm 98:4 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

Psalm 100:1 A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Psalm 95:1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

A few years ago Charlie started to come into “Big Church” on Sunday nights. The first year he slept through most of the sermons but on occasion he would stay awake. One evening we were especially excited about the evening service because Ric was preaching. I told Charlie that he was going to get to hear his daddy preach for the first time that night. Charlie had a puzzled look on his face and asked me really seriously, “Mommy, does Daddy "holler" for Jesus?” I kinda giggled and said “What?” He asked me again “Does Daddy "holler" for Jesus?” I once again giggled and said “Charlie, what do you mean?” He said “you know, like Bro Mike(our former pastor)…does he "HOLLER" (imagine him raising his voice really loud) for Jesus?” Well I about fell out. It was so funny. He knew Bro. Mike liked to get loud and he wanted to know if his daddy did that too. “I looked at Charlie and told him, “Yes son, your Daddy "hollers" for Jesus, but in a different way.” Well it got me thinking.. do I "holler" for Jesus? The scripture shows us that we are to SHOUT for Him. "Holler" is southern for shout right? I looked at my life and wondered if my son could ask me if I "hollered" for Jesus. I pray that my life would be one that did shout and sing praises. One that was unashamed at my allegiance to Christ. One of my favorite songs talks about Shouting, a.k.a. "Hollering"…

Shout to the Lord
All the Earth
Let us sing
Power and Majesty
Praise to the King
Mountains bow down
The sea will roar
At the sound of Your NAME

May our lives "Holler" for JESUS!!!!

What hurts the most...

So, being a mom has it's perks! I love my kids. They are so cute and do the funniest things. I love to see them smile, hear them laugh, and watch them play...but I so hate when they disobey!

Tonight at church they decided that the back row where we were sitting with their two friends, was going to be some kind of fun house. They weren't listening to anything, to A N Y T H I N G, that I said. I wanted to wring their necks and at one point snapped and told Charlie's little friend that I was going to crush him if he didn't hush. This was of course after he told me to quit crushing the airplanes that he and Charlie had constructed for their back pew runway. Yes, I later apologized to the little boy for being so harsh...okay, I lied...I later tapped him on the shoulder and made a crushing motion with my hands and than pointed at him. He got a chuckle out of that so I think we are all good now.

On the way home I told Ric about their carrying on up in the church house and he was a little upset with the kiddo's for not respecting number 1, God, and number 2, their Momma! We talked with both of them at length about their behavior and saw both of them genuinely(key word) broken by their bad behavior. Both of them begged me for my forgiveness and this time it wasn't to get out of a spanking. They knew that the hammer was gonna drop..no doubt!

My heart hurt so for them. I was so mad at them at church for acting up that I wanted to crush them...but then seeing their broken hearts(and bottoms)...it was tragic. I realized that my embarrassment will pass(they are preachers kids anyways), that I will get over it, but what hurts the most...seeing my sweet kiddo's broken to the point of tears and me, not wanting them to get a spanking. My mercy kicked in and I wished for once that they would have got off...scott free without a spanking. They were crying, I was crying, Shelby was even crying and she wasn't in trouble...don't worry she will be tomorrow. God showed me tonight that even when there is genuine repentance...there are still consequences. I pray that my children will know this and if it takes a night like tonight to teach them about the consequences of sin...I'll take it!

Who is Jericha?

So, every night that we are all home together we have one of the kids "preach" to us about a bible story they have learned and what it means to them. Charlie and Addie are really getting it and have delivered some great 3 point sermons. Shelby on the other hand...not so much. She likes to stand up there and have everyone look at her, she smiles real cute, and then begins to ramble about God and Jesus(remember she is not yet 3). When I say ramble, I mean ramble. It went on for a good 6 minutes last night and at one point I thought she was speaking in tongues...so could not understand her. She may not be able to preach but boy can she pray. She prayed for everyone that she knew, SEVERAL times and then she prayed for "our whole church", followed quickly by a peeking eye and the question, "Who else Mom?" She went so long that Charlie and Addie were like "okay Shelby, wrap it up!" Sometimes she prays for people that she doesn't even know ....like last night she prayed for Jericha and then asked me in her prayer "Mommy, who is Jericha?" Charlie proceeded to role his eyes and sigh "Shelby it's Jericho, not Jericha...Jericho is a city!" Shelby didn't care what he thought...she was going to pray for Jericha, so Jericha if you are out there girl, there were some prayers sent up for you last night! Shelby...you gotta love her heart! Such a special girl and such a ray of light! I truly believe that God has a great plan for her...she sees things most people don't(and I don't mean dead people, although she did she Jesus in our backyard wearing Ric's Crocs, but that is another story), and she has such a spiritual mind. I pray that this crazy world never stifles her passion for prayer!

WARNING....way too many pictures are below!!!!!!! I had way too many good ones and couldn't just pick 20 much less 5...only scroll down if you have a long time to look...it might take a while!!

So I haven't posted anything on here and like ages and I have been getting flack from my husband for not keeping it updated. I am not sure where to even start. I guess vacation....We went to Hilton Head Island with my family for a week and had a great time. The kids had the best time swimming, bike riding, ice cream eating, and just plain hanging out. Charlie and Addie went and played Golf with Ric one day and had a great time doing that. We all went on a "dolphin cruise"! It was raining and just plain wet but it was fun being on the boat and seeing the dolphins up close. The kids loved the pool and the ocean and were content with just doing that the entire week. SHelby fell in love with her cousin Ty(it's ok...we aren't from West Virginia) and they were just the cutest things ever. They danced and held hands and just had a ball. Jesse was sick the whole time...seems to be his thing right now...but he was still a sweet boy. He slept in a swing down at the beach and let the sound of the waves rock him to sleep. Pretty sweet I think. Addie had a ball with her cousin Gracie and loved having another girl around close to her age. Charlie just loved being with the boys and he and TY really got along and found a mutual love (aka...obsession) - playstation!!!! We ate too much, got too much sun, too much sand in our suits, and not enough sleep....perfect vacation.

Shelby and the love of her life...her cousin TY

The BOY'S

After Hilton Head the kids and I headed to Lynchburg for a week at Nana and Popa's. They swam a lot at their pool and we got to do lots of fun stuff. It was fun to be there during the summer time. It was a great time but being away from home for two whole weeks was exhausting. We were excited to get back but not excited for school to start.

The first day of school was really exciting. The kids loved their teachers and couldn't wait to see all of their friends again. They have both made some really good friends there and so have Ric and I. We love that school and couldn't be happier there. Ric had the honor of praying for the school at the Gym Dedication this week. We were super excited that they asked him and even more excited that our school still prays!!!! They still paddle too....yeah, yeah, I know it is a small school in the country but still!!!

Jesse has been diagnosed with asthma after a long battle with a serious cough. He had a cough ever since he was 6 weeks old and just couldn't shake it. After hundreds of dollars and about 10 different prescriptions they sent us to a pulmonologist. He changed his meds and got us on the right track. He was actually cough free for almost 3 weeks. He is sick again now but at least we can treat it. I am just praying that God will heal his little body and we won't have to keep doing all this junk. I feel so sorry for him.

Well, that is about all that we have had going on. I am sure we will have more interesting stories to tell later.