Thank You, Lord For Your Blessings

I feel like this week was swept 

away in a whirlwind.  

After a great weekend

with the family, 

I substituted two days,

ran around getting together 

things for the festival

including

getting a costume together 

and making chili for the chili cook-off,

spoke to a ladies group on Thursday,

had a pop-in visit from Christy and Troy,

and now getting dinner for them tonight.

As always, an incredibly high week

is followed by extreme lows.  

I am having to pace myself, 

speak a lot of LIFE, 

count my blessings

and PRAISE.

I have a lot of reason to praise. 

A Little Pumpkin

A Little Dusty, the Sharecropper

Food on my table

Shoes on my feet (well almost)

You gave me your love, Lord

And a fine family,

Hope and a Future

A Good Daddy

Someone who loves me and wants me to stay

These are just a few.

Thank you, Lord for your blessings on me.

Bonnie:)

"Key" Words

Ever had a word come and

take up residence in your mind?

The word "key" has been rolling

around in my head all week.

What is the deal with me and keys.

I am continually losing or misplacing keys.

It's crazy.

I can't tell you how many times 

I've been locked out of

the car...the house.

As a result I've had 

bruised ribs, wounded pride and

and a frustrated Mr. H.

Can I get a witness?

This week the students' assignment

in Language Arts was to circle 

the "key" words in the paragraph.

Yelp!  "Key" words.

"What is that???"

That's obvious isn't it? It's an important word? 

-Typically a phrase of two or three words that is

 the "key" to understanding what is being said. 

I read one time, 

"You can't open your house with someone else's key."

You hold the key to your own success.  

If you think you can, you will.

If you think you can't, you won't.

There are keys to a successful life.

"Prayer is the key to heaven, but faith opens the door."

"Appreciation is the key to unlock hard work,"

God has placed within each of us

treasures that are waiting to be discovered.

You and I hold the key.

Will we unlock the box?

Bonnie:)

We're Having A Baby!!!

I know I'm blogged all day,
three posts.
Since I'll be sitting with my little lady tomorrow,
I can't wait to share our news!

Surprise Reveal

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!

The journey has been a long one.

This mama's heart has ached with pain so intense that 

I felt it would tear out of my chest.

It's what mamas do. 

We hope, we pray, we believe

and when God doesn't answer like we pray He will, 

we cry for the pain of our children.

But now we celebrate NEW LIFE!

I saw our little one today on sonogram.

She's beautiful or HE.

She's 11 weeks and our baby is moving it's little arms and legs

and all is well. 

You can read more about their journey here...

IVF Journey
and here
Infertility

Our tears have turned to joy and we are thankful.

Troy and Christy share their news...

We’ve thought long and hard about how to announce that we are expecting, and our words have fallen short. We are thankful for the friendships, prayers, counsel, and support that have sustained us through these last few years of infertility. We are thankful that God is not good because we got good news; rather, He is good because of His love and grace in our lives, even when we couldn’t feel it. We are thankful for doctors who are skilled and research that has led to amazing p...rocedures like IVF which was the right step for our family. We are thankful that we have something to celebrate today when we have found it difficult to hope for a long time. We are thankful for the opportunity to breathe in the good news of today while breathing out the worries and fears that sometimes creep in. Yet, even when we forget to breathe, we are thankful that it’s ok to question sometimes too. We are thankful that we can open ourselves up to the joys of parenthood without forgetting our journey up to this point. We are thankful for many of you - thank you for walking this path with us.
See More

 

How Do You View God?

I can hardly fathom the magnitude, 

the magnificence, the wonder

of an awesome God. 

My view of him is like a child looking at 

a tall tree from the bottom of the trunk.

There's no way to fully explain or 

fully comprehend God.

God's name as we know it in the English 

is so limited. 

The Hebrew words are more defining.

I'm not a Hebrew or Greek scholar.

Even if I were, there's no way in my finite mind that 

I could attempt to define God.

The word for the God of Israel was Yahweh.

His name was so holy that it was written YHWH

and often prayed, El Shaddai, God Almighty.

To use the actual name was considered an unholy

act of irreverence.

Jehovah Jirah, the God who provides

El Roi, the God who sees

Johovah Rapha, the God who heals

El Shilaom, the God of peace

My times of worship most

often begin with praise

in words that I understand God to be, 

Almighty God, Most High God, Sovereign Lord, 

Everlasting Father, My Rock, My Refuge, 

My Present Help in Time of Trouble,

Awesome in Power, Holy God, Prince of Peace.

One thing I know,

He is a personal God.

He desires a relationship with me. 

He desires to walk with me, hand in hand. 

This I can relate to. 

How Do You View God?

Bonnie:)

Blessed Be Your Name (worship video w/ lyrics)

A Creative God

There is within us all 

 a desire to create.

Although not God, 

we were made in His image

and He is a creative God.

So when I begin to put 

things in order, 

either in my home 

or in my relationship with Him, 

I am prone to become creative.

After spending time listening to God speak to me through His word, 

I knew that somethings needed to be moved around, 

somethings needed to be put in front

and others moved behind.

Alone, these pieces may be pretty to me,

and I may find pleasure in their simplicity,

and beauty in their uniqueness,

it is only when put all together 

does it feel complete.

Right now, 

I feel somewhat disconnected,

a single egg, in a single basket,

a life that may spring forth

though isolated and alone.

I long to be outside of the cage 

that I may have built around myself 

or that others have locked me in.

I long to be connected 

and creative and used for His purpose. 

I will pray this prayer today...

God, if I have any hope of leaving behind hurtful things

in my past it will be because you deliver me.  

Thank you that you are a God who delivers us 

out of slavery and leads us to freedom. 

Give me the strength to walk this journey

toward the Promised Land that you have for me.

When I get weary, uphold me,

when I lose focus, give me clarity, 

when I want to give up, give me hope.

In Jesus' name.

Amen

I am thankful for a creative God, 

WHO makes something out of nothing.

That gives me HOPE.

What are you creating today?

Better yet, how do you see God being creative in your life?

Bonnie:)

Promise of Life

The past few weeks, my blog has been less lace and more promise.

Promise of new hope, sunshine after rain and joy after pain.

This week I heard God speak in my inner spirit, "Be not disabled, rather healed."

I'm not sure if that was God's promise to me or my little girl.  Maybe both.

I'll take both.  

I made some pictures of the flowers in her yard.  I should say "their" yard because the man does most of the yard work in their home.

These are some of the irises that came from my mama's yard.  I take this as a sign of God's redeeming love, his promise of NEW LIFE.

  

Memorial Day is the 3 year anniversary of the miscarriage.  Almost to the day, they will get the results of the pregnancy test.  We are believing God.  

The embryo transfer went well.  She went back to work today.  She has had little or no side effects from the surgery or medication or transfer and the little baby is now a part of her body.  We are waiting with hope and praying for a positive test and a growing and healthy baby. 

My sweet son-in-law (and daughter, but he had the idea:) gave me these for Mother's Day. 

My sweet daughter-in-law (and son, but it was HER idea:) gave me this for Mother's Day.

Can I say I hand-picked my DIL AND SIL? Not really.  God did that!

Christy was given tulips, her favorite flower, from her sweet husband.

Connor and Cora (and Aunt Tina and Uncle Chad) gave these to my sweet girl for Mother's Day.  Christina is ready to be an aunt:)

Yes, fresh new life, a symbol of a NEW little life.  

Thanks for your prayers.  

Thanks for Believing with me, 

Bonnie:)

Dreams: In a Little While

Dreams.

We've all had them.

Sometimes we reach for them

and they vanish as a vapor.

Did I really see it?

Or was it a shadow out of the

corner of my eye,

gone with just a blink.

As any typical teenager, 

I dreamed of marriage and babies.
I'm living that dream.
I tell people,
"It's the one thing I did right."

I never dreamed of college.
I never saw it!
Didn't happen either.
I have no regrets.

As young adult, I dreamed of ministry.
I was in youth ministry.

I never saw this one coming.

God said, "One day you will teach women."

It's one thing to have a dream that you envisioned.
It's quite another thing to have a God-moment, a dream,
a vision, a voice beyond your own thoughts.

I didn't ask for it.  I didn't go looking for it at the time.
I even said, "God, if I leave my ministry to youth,
you will have to knock me over the head."

That was 1987 and I've been knocked over the head
more than once, as God led me in different directions.

What now???

It's been, how many years?
27 years since that God-moment.

I'm still waiting.

I spoke with a counselor about this...
Did I really hear, "One day you will teach women"?
Was it really God?
Did I create the vision in my own mind?
Did I feel what I thought I felt?

I said to him,
It felt like God.
It sounded liked God.
When I think about the moment, I still get the same strong
impression that it was God.

He said,
"If it felt like God, sounded like God, and still moves you like God,
it probably was God."

I know he can't answers those questions for me.

Jacob Armstrong from Providence Church,
wrote,
"Life, does not follow a simple formula.
Instead, we experience life like a story.
We turn the next page and see what is there.
Sometimes it is what we expected.
Usually it is something we didn't.
It unfolds whether we want it to or not,
sometimes too fast,
sometimes too slow."

I am a dreamer.
What I heard and saw that day
has been confirmed many times
through out my life, my ministry...

at a Youth Specialities conference,
 a Ladies' conference,
sitting on a beach with 20 other women
not hearing the rambling of another,
but lost in my own thoughts...

"One day you will do this."

WHAT LORD, WHAT???

"One day you will teach women."

Yes, I still hear it.

My dreams in the night
have taken me many places,
around a mountain in a van,
in a car with a baby.

In all of my dreams,
I am moving in the direction of
where I first heard the call.

In my last dream I am riding a tricycle.
I am on the highway going toward my dream.
Pedaling is strenuous and everyone is passing me.
I'm afraid that I won't get there.

The dream may be an empty longing of
a 53 year old woman who has yet
to reach her dream.

Sometimes I feel like I'm running out of time.

Then I remember...

Abraham was OLD when God spoke.
He and his wife laughed.  They tried to help God along,
taking matters into their own hands.
(Oh how many times, have I been guilty of doing the same!)

God found Moses on the back side of a desert.

David, the shepherd boy had to grow up.

Joseph, oh my goodness.  I can't even begin to tell his story.

My baby girl and her husband have their own dream-
to love and hold a baby of their own.

Today, "Everything looks as expected."
Smile, tears, relief, an anxious heart,
a mama who sees, hears, and believes.

Monday she is scheduled to be at the fertility center
for embryo transfer.  She feels good, a little bloating, but good.

They too having waited, will continue to wait...
for just a little while.

"And the God of all grace, WHO CALLED YOU,
to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while,
will HIMSELF stablish, strengthen and settle you.
To Him be the glory and the power, for ever and ever."
1 Peter 5:10-11

After a Little While,

Bonnie:)

Find Us Faithful

Before I write my blog post,
I want to ask you to say a special prayer
for my daughter.

She is very emotional and afraid.
She is on her second week of shots
and has had 2 sonograms and will have
another on Friday and then another on Monday.

Next week will probably be the egg retrieval and implantation.
Then the waiting begins.  Her husband is out of town this week.
She's got a busy weekend, almost too busy to deal with
all she is dealing with.  Prayers please...

She will sing again.

I shared earlier with you about our

35 year-old journey with young people

and the dream of a Christian Life Center.

This is the JELO (J. Emory Lindsey Outreach) Building.

No longer the NazShack.
it's the LOFT,
(Living Our Faith Together).

The chairs were donated.
The teens designed the room.

Chat corner.

Our Youth Director's wife and her group of girls

painted and covered the seats. 

Activity Wall

Chalkpainted Prayer Request Wall

Platform

In the NazShack we signed the wall.
Now, it's a table.

The Pool Hall.

No Cellphones during Bible Study

A peak from above to make sure the kids are all in!

 Youth Today.

What??? No food in the LOFT?
You have got to be kidding.

Zac's mom, my cousin, caught the vision
and was chairman of the JELO committee.
The JELO name was her idea.

Richard is sharing his testimony tonight.
He leads the Sr. High Praise and Worship Band.

See the guy in the cast?
We taught his daddy.

The girlies were hiding.
I said, "No WAY! Not when you post selfies all over Facebook!"

Girls just wanta have fun.

Gotcha!

We have gone through several decades of youth.

I want to show you some of our first groups.

Current Youth Director, Monty Sanders

This sweet 12 year old was in our second youth class.

That was then.

I think it's pretty cool that the hands of Jesus are reaching out behind Monty.
We are the feet and hands of Jesus.

This is now:)

He came to us after losing his daddy in an accident.

David took him under his wing.
After graduation from high school,
he became a youth leader.

Three years ago, David stepped down as Director 

and Monty filled his shoes.  

Youth of the 70's and 80's.

Sometimes kids get lost in the shuffle.

God gives them to us for a season

and we don't see them again until they're grown.  

Youth from the late 80's.
Anthony, the guy on the left was killed the week after this photo was taken.
He was saved the month before.

This was the most difficult time in our youth ministry. 

I will never forget my daddy's words at the service, 

"Satan meant it for harm, but God used it for the saving of many souls."

It was a year of rapid growth.

It was the year of my Ann Kiemel crusade. 

Every youth in our youth group was saved that year. 

We have more pictures of the kids from the 90's than 

any group because our kids were teenagers. 

Afterglows, almost every Sunday night after church.

Volleyball every Sunday and Wednesday.

Youth Softball every Monday and Friday.

White water rafting

Team Building

Always another generation to come behind. 

The millennium, early 2000,

was a strong group, following in the footsteps of 

those who came before them.  

 It was this generation of youth who saw the fruits of our labor

and had their own youth house, 

the Naz Shack.

The church purchased a house and rented it 

out until it was paid for and it became their hang-out.

This is our son's best friend.

We adopted him from the First Baptist Church.

Chad went with him, he came with us. 

We called them both Bazarenes.

He is now a youth pastor near Atlanta

and recently spoke at our youth retreat.

My daughter works for Trevecca Nazarene University.
My nephew is now a youth.
My niece will follow close behind.

He plays bass and keyboard for the Jr. High Praise Band. 

They won 2nd at Top Nazarene Talent at 

Trevecca Nazarene University 

against 11 other districts in the Southeast, 

including South, Central, North Florida, Alabama North and South, 

Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, East Tennesse,

and Tennessee.

He won first in Early Youth Keyboard and 2nd in graphic design.

The Early Youth Mime Group won 3rd.

This event is held every year with talent in all sports, 

music, drama, puppets, speech, prose and poetry,

math, painting, drawing, multimedia, graphic design

and as many categories as you can imagine. 

It's a busy three day event.

God continues to grow the church.  

Our youth now enjoy their own space

and a gymnasium that has been operational since September. 

My parent's vision lives on.

May All Who Come Behind Us Find Us Faithful,

Bonnie:)