Wednesday, April 30, 2014

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:) 





Cornerstone - Cornerstone - Hillsong Live 2012 - (HD) (With Lyrics)

ann kiemel: Excerpt:  "I'm Out To Change My World"  Ann Kiemel...

ann kiemel: Excerpt:  "I'm Out To Change My World"  Ann Kiemel...: Excerpt:  "I'm Out To Change My World"  Ann Kiemel, 1974 June one day a girl came in on her bicycle. she had another frie..



I am sitting her crying after reading about Ann Kiemel Anderson's death.  I started reading her books in 1975.  As a young teenager, I wanted to be Ann.  She was a simple young woman, with a simple message that she shared everywhere she went.  She, like me, was a Nazarene PK who simply wanted to share Jesus.  I read every book she ever wrote.  I went to see Ann in Augusta, GA in 1978.  I started my own Ann Kiemel/Jesus crusade, knocking on doors of young people and inviting them to know Jesus.  At the time, our youth group went from 35 to about 50 in only a few months.  I wrote her a couple of times and I got back hand-written notes.  I followed her journey as she shared her desire to be married as she candidly shared her desire for intimacy and longing to be loved completely and all the temptations that come with those God-given desires.  I followed her as she found Mr. Right.  I followed her as she struggled to have children with one miscarriage after another and the depression and addiction that followed.  I followed her as her mother faced Alzhiemer's Disease and she lost her preacher-daddy.  Somewhere along the way, I lost touch.  Tonight I couldn't sleep and I decided to look her up.  She died last month.  I am so saddened by this.  If there every was a young woman who made a difference, it was Ann.  She had a world of disappointments and heartaches and the Christian world was often harsh and condemning.  I pray that she found peace, however I know that she knows REAL PEACE as she is now safe in the arms of Jesus.



Ann, I loved you.  You were the first young woman that I desired to emulate.  Thank you for making a difference in my life.



Bonnie



Her books can be found on Amazon.  My favorite is I'm Out to Change My World.  Others include Hi! I'm Ann, Stronger, I Love the Word Impossible (my other favorite), First Love (about her father's death and her struggle with addiction).  There's another one about her infertility and miscarriages.  I can't think of the name of that one. 



Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Gray and Red Idea for Bedroom

http://www.gratitudejournalblog.com/decor/a-room-for-a-boy/#comment-11464



I found this idea on pinterest for my gray and red bedroom.
Today I am buying some red paint to paint my star and lamp.
I am going to do a frame collage in red and gray and maybe a red letter.
I'm crazy about stars and letters.
I'll get pillows and a throw when I find the ones that pop out at me.

Thanks all for your suggestions.

Thank you Shelly at www.gratitudejournal.blog.com for letting me pin your photo.

Bonnie:)

Monday, April 28, 2014

New Projects and Needing Help with Color

I finally got some time to finish a couple of projects. 


I bought these at The Salvation Army.
Great frames for a great price!


Painted a blue gray and distressed a bit.


The desk just didn't show up against the 
light gray walls,



so I used the same gray to paint it.

I have not idea what to do with this room.




For sure, I'm gonna paint this gray.




What colors would you add?

I'm thinking about painting the star 
barn red and adding a red throw
to the very white bed,


and maybe some throw pillows with 
gray and red.

What do you think?

Can you believe that I'm ready to add some color?
Getting tired of white.
Yikes!


Hilton Head

I'm reliving my annual trips to the Hilton Head.  


In 2009, we started a new tradition.
We arrived a few days early to enjoy some alone time. 




With morning walks on the beach
and quiet time with our  Maker.


This became our home away from home. 


Our little "Hidden Cove" was only a block from the ocean.


I enjoyed some much needed time with my baby girl.


My sister's family came on Thursday for the rest of the week.


My little ones adore their big cousin.


They spent alot of time together.


Sometimes just walking on the beach and holding hands
is better than doing anything. 


The girls enjoyed each other on the beach

We all got too much sun!

and away from the beach.


In 2009, these two walked hand in hand,


and enjoyed the sun and the sand together. 


We always did beach pictures. 
You can see how each year added a few more pounds. 
Ugh!
But we were are fat and happy!


This was before Connor-man.
Christina was actually pregnant.
She was in the morning-sickness stage.
I don't think she like garlic bread to this day.

I do have a wonderful son in law. 
He just doesn't do pictures.  


We picked out our favorite beach houses. 


And we dreamed BIG!


This was our walk to the beach everyday.

My children talk of having their own vacation beach. 

I know where we'll be spending my summers. 

Yesterday it got up to 93 degrees.
Lord, have mercy.
My hot flashes were flashing!
It feels like summer already.

Happy Monday, 

Bonnie:)