LIFT Banquet and A Give-Away (Everyone Wins Something): Table #1

Last night was our LIFT Christmas banquet.

It stands for Ladies In Fellowship Together.

 I have decided to do a giveaway.

I started to say that I'm in the Christmas spirit, 

but really I'm just enjoying the Joy of Jesus.

I have been to Bethlehem.

I'm giving away an ornament 

made by one of our ladies.

(I hope she'll make me another, HINT-HINT)

I will feature one or two tables every day for a week.

1.  Be a follower of White Lace and Promises
2. Visit and leave a comment on Facebook 

or White Lace and Promises. 

(any suggestions or comments are welcomed)

3.  Share my blog with a friend. Let me know you shared.

Your name will be entered twice.

If your friend follows me and comments, she will be entered too.

She must be a new follower.

4.  On the last day, vote for your favorite table.

Everyone who enters, comments, shares or invites a friend

will get a special little (I say little) gift from me

just to say thanks and Merry Christmas, 

so be sure to send your address by email.

Our speaker tonight is a close friend of mine. 

Oh my goodness, she is so full of Jesus.

HE just oozes out all over her and gets me gooey too.

Do you hear me?

She talked to us about The Table of Jesus.

We are all invited to the table.

At His table, there is more than enough.

As Bob Benson would say, 

enough fried chicken for everyone,
and still we hold on to our balony sandwich on stale bread
and say, "No, I'm fine."

Table #1

Blue Christmas

Sparkly, blue bows for napkins holders.

The hostess of this table gave each of her guests a cross.

Hilda asked if we had met Jesus at the cross.

I know my need to go to the cross daily.

The cross...

The place where we find

redemption and restoration.

Some call it the GREAT exchange,

the place where we exchange

our sorrow for joy,

our hurt and resentment for forgiveness,

our pain for peace, 

our rejection for His acceptance, 

our sin for HIS grace and mercy.

She asked that we meet Jesus at the manger,

the place of worship where we may sing as the angels.

"Glory to God in the Highest and on earth, peace, goodwill to men."

It takes my breath away to understand that He loved me 

enough to give up Royalty, and to become a servant,

that I may be adopted into His family.

He is the King and that makes me a princess.

To me Thanksgiving should be every day.

So, I think it's perfectly alright if we put up our trees in November. 

Jesus died on a tree.  He is what Christmas is all about anyway.

This is a busy time of year.

Many people have more on their plates than they can digest. 

During this season, I pray for you, my dear sister 

that you will not let the hustle and bustle make you miss Jesus.

Tonight I noticed as each lady tried to decide where she wanted to sit.  

So many pretties, but ladies who didn't feel pretty.

Ladies who came not feeling that they belonged at any table. 

I too have felt isolation at times.

We ladies are like that aren't we?

I invite you to just pull up a chair and sit at HIS table. 

There's room enough for all and as Bob Benson would say

there's plenty of potato salad, mashed potatoes, and fried chicken.

Just throw the baloney sandwich in the garbage

and let's ask the blessing and EAT.

God's table is full and He always has enough for everyone, 

enough grace, enough peace, enough love, enough joy.

He has more than enough.

Join me at the table. 

Bonnie:)

Don't forget to enter.  Everyone wins!

I am linking up the Cozy Little House this week
for Tweak it Tuesdays.
http://www.cozylittlehouse.com/

Two Sisters, Two Weddings

Two Sisters, Two Weddings

These are two of the sweetest, smartest 

hard-working girls I have ever known.

Both grew up at their grandmother's side

in the kitchen, cooking

in the home of others, giving

in the church, hosting

in the fellowship hall, serving.

Both girls possess a work ethic 

unlike many of their peers.

They both attended college
and work in a serving field.
Kaitlin is a nurse in a long term care facility.
Krystal is a pharmacy technician.

Both girls assist their grandmother,
the bereavement chair person,
with serving lunch for the bereaved family.

Krystal is the chair person
for the bridal and baby shower committee.

Both are caring and giving.

When they were little girls

they looked like twins.

Living in middle rural Georgia,
we're from the country and we like it that way!

This is my favorite shot of 

Krystal and Bradley's engagement pictures

They wanted an outdoor wedding.
Seating for the guests was bales of hay.

The wedding was full of Southern charm.

The jars filled with hydrangeas was my favorite element.

Lace and burlap, two of my favorites too.

The barn was perfect for a backdrop.

Krystal, Bradly and Jackson
will make their home in Tennille, GA.

The theme continued with the cake.



They had a church wedding
with an outdoor reception.

and they left the church riding a tractor.

It was good to see the wedding party having
a good time.

This was NOT part of the wedding festivities,
although, maybe it should have been:)

This two were high school sweethearts
and have stood the test of time.

Kaitlin and Craig make their home
in Washington County, GA.

I love watching our church kids
grow up and start a life together.

This makes me smile.

Bonnie:)

Youth, Braves Baseball and Newsboys

We did absolutely nothing on Labor Day.

Guess what we did on Sunday?

After church we boarded the church van

and went to the Braves game with a

rowdy bunch of teenagers.

Not really rowdy.  Just teenagers.

Some of the best days of our lives have been spent with youth.

Anyway, Mr. H is the biggest kid of all.

My mind says YES, my body says NO!

I can tell you, I don't do cramped up, 

hot and thirsty and humid on a bus.

It didn't seem to bother these guys one bit.

There was a great breeze up top.

And I can tell you we were up top!

The guy on the right?
Our new youth pastor, James Pendell.
YEY!

An Atlanta school choral group sang the National Anthem. 

It was absolutely the best I have ever heard. 

Simply beautifully done!

We had nosebleed seats, and

I was scared to death!

I could hear the crackle of knees and the pounding of my heart.

Can't you see a big blur of red, white and blue

rolling into the first base line?

I am hyperventilating just thinking about it.

The Faces of the Game

The Crazy Kids

The Other Bunch

Sane?  

Naaaa!

I love these guys. 

So sad that they are back in the real world of college

and employment. 

SIGH!

Thankful for the ones who will stay and will miss the ones who go.

The Post Game Concert 

featured 

NEWSBOYS!

It was awesome to see at least 20,000 youth

worshiping and singing praises to our Lord Jesus Christ.

The 90's crowd rocked the stadium as

Michael Tait writer and singer

 for the former DC Talk sang

JESUS FREAK.

I stood with chills as I watched the entire 

stadium proclaim 

I believe in God the Father

I believe in Jesus Christ

I believe in the Holy Spirit 

and He's giving us to new life.

I BELIEVE!

Wow!  What an experience!
What a way to end the summer!

Glad I went, 

Bonnie:)

Oh yeah, we hit a deer on the way home.

Teach Your Children Well

WARNING:
LONG POST
NOT ADVISED FOR THE ADD OR ADHD ADULT.


I love the line in Hook when the little girl tells him,

"You're just a mean old man without a mommy."

I think that goes for children too.

When my children were little and they were picked on
by the "bad" kid in class, 

I'd say, 

"She just needs a mommy to love her,"

or

"He just needs a Daddy."

The relationship that a wife has with her husband 

is often a reflection of the relationship she had with her dad.

In the College/Career Class we have been learning 

The Five Love Languages 

by 

Dr. Gary Chapman.

The Love Languages are:

Affirmation

Quality Time

Gifts

Acts of Service 

Physical Touch.

Child psychologists affirm that every child has certain

emotional needs that must be met if he is to be emotionally stable.

Children who feel loved by their parents, whose parents 

have invested time and energy and are involved 

in the activities of their lives are more likely 

to succeed in their adult lives.

I've often heard it said,
"What we expect our children to be, they will become."

When a child hears from his parents,
"You will never amount to anything,"
most often, the child will meet that parent's
expectation and will live with an unhealthy view of himself.

Word are Important!
Words are Important!
Words are Important!

The important thing about a father playing ball
with his three-year-old, is not the activity itself,
but the emotions that were created between
the father and his child.

Some simple ideas for quality time with your child
may cost little or nothing.
But without quality time, it may cost everything!

Ride bicycles together.
Throw the football.
Shoot baskets together.
Walk together.
Have a picnic in the park.
Put a bed sheet over the kitchen table,
add some pillows, a sleeping bag,
grab a flashlight and camp out together.

I was once asked,
"How did you manage to have such well-adjusted children?"
Oh, there were some tough years.
Ask my children.
Our home was far from perfect.
However, doing some things didn't hurt.

First, we kept them involved in an active children
and youth ministry.

Second, we did everything together.
As youth directors,
we sacrificed money and time, but never our children.
The youth were made to feel like they belonged to our family,
not that our children belonged to them.

Last, we sought out their talents, believed in their abilities
to accomplish anything they wanted to accomplish
and were involved in everything they did.

You know, we can do our best and our kids may
walk a different path than we have chosen for them.
They may walk away from the very values that
we built our lives upon.

But when we know that we've done our best,
we can give the results to God and rest.

One Christmas morning we were up
early going to Grandma's, when we noticed
what looked to be a homeless man walking the streets.

In his drunken stupor, he fell on his face.
Tears rolled down my face and
my daughter said,
"Mama, he's just a man without a mommy."

We must teach our children well.

“If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn . . .
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight . . .
If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive . . .
If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself . . .
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy . . .
If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to feel envy . . .
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty ... 

BUT

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient . . .
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident . . .
If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative . . .
If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love . .
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves..
If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is . . .
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice . . .
If children live with recognition, they learn to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn to be generous.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and those about him . . .
If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live . . .” 
― Dorothy Law Nolte, Children Learn What They Live