A Belated Congradulations!

In July, our friends and church members, Josh and McCaffity got married. It has been a long time since we have been to a wedding, and it was a blast. The kids had fun, especially at the candy table and seeing Josh and McCaffity. My kids just love them both. It was a Christ honoring service, and we got to visit with some friends and church family.

Hannah, Karis, McCaffity, Madeline, and Josh

Family pic

CONGRATS JOSH AND MCCAFFITY! Sorry this is so late. You know we love you guys!

2nd Annual 4th of July Neighbor Cookout

Because the 4th of July is such a BIG day in my family, my sweet neighbors and I decided to have a cookout last year. It went great and thus this year we did it again. It was a very fun time with our neighbors, the Rusnacks, and some of our church family!


Me, Sheryl, and Suzie getting ready to eat!

The Lampheres, Glenna and Blayne, and Glenna's niece, watching the Frisbee game!

Suzie and Justin cooking the hamburgers. What a handsome man on the grill, and yes, he is all mine!

Karis filled her plate with what she likes best: a hot dog, not in the bun, Cheetos, fruit, and jello. At least there is some variety!

Joseph, another one our church family, playing Frisbee with the kids!

Steve Lamphere and "neighbor John" as my kids call him, enjoying some Frisbee too!

I made our annual flag fruit pizza this year. My favorite thing about the cookout, the dessert of course! Glenna made a ice cream sandwich lasagna thing, YUMMY!

The kids dressed in their flag shirts!

Karis loves helping "neighbor" decorate the tables, so when she finished, her and Noah got to sample some food before the guests arrived! Who knew fruit in a cup would be such a hit!

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful church family and neighbors. God is good to allow me to continue to celebrate the freedom of our country with such special people. I did miss my family, but not near as much!

Thank you to all who serve our country.

Soccer Camp

Our church held it's first soccer camp the first week of August. Karis was actually a year too young, but they let her and some other 4 year olds do the camp anyway. She had a blast and is excited about playing soccer at the rec this year for the first time. Noah also had a great time running around and playing with the other kids. The camp was our first big outreach as a church, and we had a good turn out. Justin also got to share the gospel with the all the children and their parents the last night of camp.

Karis' first day of camp, minus shine guards.

She already has a great looking kick!

Karis and her coach.

Karis and Hannah going for the ball.

Karis already has drive to go for the ball, sorry Hannah!

Karis dribbling, or attempting to do so!

Playing a game with the coach.

Hannah, Noah, Karis, and Madeline sitting together the last night of camp.

Noah already working the charm on Madeline!

Noah and Madeline playing with the cones.

So cute, crazy boy!

ball head

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Karis and Noah are growing up so fast, and it is such a joy to see all that God is teaching us and them.

Love One Another

I have been overwhelmed lately by God's teaching me about loving one another. After going through the book of John on Sunday mornings and my own times with the Lord, along with our current series on the book of James, one theme keeps standing out, LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Why is it so hard for us to do that? What exactly does this look like in our lives and in the local church? Does is mean bringing meals to woman who have just had babies or someone is sick in their family? Does it mean watching someone's children so they can go to the doctor, get a hair cut, or run a much needed errand? Does is mean sharing our requests and praying for one another? YES, it means all of these and more! It means, "in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4). It means following Jesus' command in John 15:12-13 "love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." WOW! If we love God, we must also love our brother. Is my love for my church family selfish, desiring something in return, or is it pure and unselfish like Christ's love is? He laid down His life freely for sinners.

So many times in the past year, God has challenged me with this: "Are you loving your brothers and sisters in Christ?" Many times the answer is no, sometimes it is with wrong motives, and sometimes, only by His grace, I can honestly answer yes. Loving one another is a product of maturity in Christ, and if I really long to be more like Him, I will strive to understand and flesh out what this means.

A few things God has taught me is that, just as I teach Karis and Noah that they (people) are more important than toys or getting their way, I am learning that people are much more important than getting my "to do list" done everyday. If someone needs to talk, I need to be ready to listen. If someone needs my help, I need to be ready to try and do all I can to help them. If someone needs a sitter just to get some alone time, I need to be able to offer my services and pray that God will use each one of these instances to show my love and His love for that person. Our God gives us "sovereign interruptions" to our days sometimes. Sometimes they may seem like trials, but we should embrace them with joy and love for that person because that is what God commands us to do.

I am totally speaking to myself here, and am not there yet by any means. I know that sometimes writing out my thoughts and what God is teaching me helps me apply it better. Loving one another is such a grand command, and we can only do it with God help. Oh that He would help us love one another so that our church would display His glory to the world!

Bye Lisa, We will miss you!

A few weeks ago, we had a "sending off" church party for my friend Lisa. She is in Virginia now doing her training to go to Russia. I, as her friend, am so excited for her and encouraged to see how God has worked so carefully in her heart to give her a love for these people to know our Savior. I am also so excited about our church sending her off. What a blessing for our church to share in God's love for all the nations. I got to make the cake for the party. As Karis said, "here is the BIG green mass."

Four Days Alone!!

Monday Justin left for his fall retreat, the kids and I alone for four days! We had a great time, we stayed busy and got a lot of things done. I am so thankful that my husband cares enough about his ministry to take these retreats to focus on his sermons and the future of Christ Baptist Church. I am also thankful that he didn't return home with the flu like last time.
I wanted to send a special thank you to our church family. Thank you to the Skinners for opening up your home for dinner, thank you to Sondra for going to Rocky Mount with us, thank you to the Noonan girls for coming to play with Karis, thank you to Nancy Tucker for dinner and for loving my children. It was a great week and I am blessed to have such a loving church family.
On a side note, Noah has decided that pull ups are fun. He is so strong! I would never have imagined. He is also taking about three or four steps at a time now. He will be walking before we know it!
Have a great weekend!

Mother's Day Surprise!

I was very surprised on Thursday to receive a double jogging stroller from the UPS man. I asked my husband for one a few months ago, and wow, was I excited. Karis and I put it together that night. On Friday morning, I loaded the kids in the stroller and set off for my first jog. When I started jogging, the front swivel wheel started shaking terribly. I knew something was wrong. To make a long story short, we had to get a few new parts for the stroller. What a wonderful surprise. Karis really likes it because she gets to sit by Noah, and he really enjoys pulling her hair!



What a blessing it is to have a husband that helps me do something that I enjoy, exercise. Thank you Justin for the jogging stroller.

On Sunday morning, Jonathan Brooks, an elder and associate pastor, did a tribute to mothers during our second Scripture reading. He made a comparison between mothers and pastors. He said,"Mothers cannot take the credit when their children get saved or produce fruit in their lives, that only belongs to God, but mothers get blamed for everything bad that happens." I thought that his quote was exactly right. I will never be able to take credit for my child's salvation or sanctification because it is an act of God alone. Thankfully, I do get to teach Karis and Noah the gospel everyday by living, speaking, and learning more of it everyday myself. What a privilege to teach them of their greatest need, Jesus, our Precious Savior. I really had to look into my own heart and see if I was cherishing Him like He really deserves. Oh that I would never take lightly the sacrifice of our Loving Savior. His grace is the only reason I can be the mother I need to be to point my children to Christ. How desperate I am for Him!

Children's Programs

We, at Christ Baptist Church, are about to start some type of children's program on Sunday nights. We are going to start meeting at the school for Sunday nights in a few weeks. I am very excited about this, but I am still trying to figure out what curriculum we are going to use with the children. Does anyone have any suggestions? Since I am the children's director, in theory, I need to figure out along with the help of some of our other members what would be the most beneficial as far as the children learning God's Word. Our children ages range from 2 and up. I really desire for this time to meaningful and fun.
I am open for suggestions. Thanks.

First Women's Bible Study

We had our first Women's Bible Study on Tuesday. We are big enough to have two groups, so Carol Dale lead the morning group and I lead the evening group. We are doing a Bible study over friendships in the Bible. We talked about Ruth and Naomi on Tuesday. It is so refreshing to do a Bible study that the focus is simply the Bible and how to apply it to our lives. We know that the Bible is our guidebook and love letter from Christ, and it is so exciting for me to be teaching a study that simply relies on what God has said to us through His Word.
We discussed the importance of Ruth and Naomi's friendship, how it was rooted in God, how for a time Ruth cared for Naomi, how Naomi cared for Ruth, and how ultimately God was sovereign over all. Naomi and her family, her husband and two sons, went to Moab because of a famine. The sons married Moabite women. After Naomi's husband and sons died, Ruth went back to Bethlehem with Naomi to her people. Ruth was redeemed by Boaz, who was the son of Rahab (a Gentile). Ruth and Boaz were married and she had Jesse, who was the father of King David. God used all these circumstances to bring forth the Christ. He used a Moabite woman who had faith. What a blessing to know that from the very beginning God had plans to save the Gentiles along with the Jews. We serve a great and mighty God, full of mercy and justice.

Women's Ministry & Baby Shower

We had our kick off for the Women's Ministry at Carol's house on Saturday afternoon. It was a fun time of fellowship and food, as always, we Baptist love to eat! We all brought our own covered dish and had a wonderful variety of casseroles and dessert to choose from. The food was excellent. After we ate lunch, we all met together to discuss what we want out the women's ministry at our church. It was very refreshing to hear that most of us all want the same thing: a Christ-centered time to build strong relationships with other women and encourage each other in Christ. I am very excited to be one of the Bible study leaders. God is good to allow me to teach these women about Him through His Word. Please pray for us as we embark upon this new ministry in our church. More than anything, we want to see our women growing in Christ and growing together to better help "spur one another on in love and good works, (Hebrews 10:24)." (By the way, Jonathan Brooks, our associate pastor, preached on this passage in Hebrews on Sunday. He did a fantastic job challenging us to the commands in this passage.)

We also threw a surprise baby shower for Lori Brooks, Jonathan's wife. She is pregnant with their second child, another girl, and will hopefully be having her very soon, (at least she is very hopeful!) I was priviledged to be able to decorate a cake for the shower.

We are still saying "baby girl Brooks" because Jonathan and Lori have not decided on a name yet.

Another view of the cake.

God is so good to put new friends in our lives. Lori is very much like my best friend Laura from Beaumont. What a joy and blessing it is to have them here. I am also very blessed to have such godly women in life to spur me on in my walk with Christ. Our church families are so important. I pray that you are all involved in a local church body.

Christ Baptist Church Update

I realize that I have not been very good at keeping you updated on our church. God is continually growing us. We will vote on eight new members tonight at our members meeting. That will give us a total of 24 members. This doesn't include children, because they do not become members until they have professed their need for a Savior and trust in Christ. We started Sunday School (Bible Study) last Sunday. I am teaching the two year olds and running the nursery. It is a step of faith for me, but is graciously giving me strength and guidance to communicate His Word to these children (including Karis, who always seems to misbehave when I am there.) When I go and pick her up after church, the nursery workers always tell me how sweet she it. The Lord continues to show me my need for Him and His love in all of this. I am thankful that our church is memorizing Psalm 34 together this year. It has been a help and a comfort.

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear nad be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together!
I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delievered me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord hear him and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack!
The young lions uffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Psalm 34:1-11

This is keeping me busy right now. I will continue on as we get to the rest of the verses. I challenge you to memorize this psalm with me if you are not currently memorizing anything. Just ponder this psalm today and see what God desires to teach you. Have a wonderful day with God's heart, His church.

First Members of Christ Baptist Church

The first 16 members of Christ Baptist Church Wilson, NC. Obviously, Karis is not a member yet, but she really wanted to be in the picture!

Today, we had our first members join Christ Baptist Church. Sixteen people joined our church. It was a reverent and eventful service. Justin was at the end of his sermon, the last application question, when the fire alarm went off. Because of the noise, we had to go outside. We really learned that God is soverign even over weather and fire alarms. It was a cool day and outside of the school there are about 15 benches. We went outside to do the Lord's supper and read our covenant as a group to show our committement as members of CBC. Sometimes I really belive that God has a sense of humor. Justin and I are so blessed to be a part of what God is doing in Wilson and with His bride, the church. One of the main points of Justin's sermon is so lacking Christians' lives, "If we love Christ, we must also love His church." Ponder that statement for awhile.

Commissioning Service, First two Sundays at CBCW

Open Door Baptist Church commissioning service, Sept. 10.



Pastor Dwayne, Tim Dale, Carol Dale, Justin, Me



Karis doing her favorite thing at the Potluck lunch after our commissioning service.



Just a cute picture of Karis in Tim and Carol's back yard!

I realized today that I haven't written on my blog in a long time. I just figured out how to put pictures on my blog without having to use Justin's computer. On September 10, Open Door Baptist Church (our sponsoring church) did a commissioning service for our church here in Wilson. It was very moving, and we were very encouraged by the memebers of their church. They also had a pot luck lunch for us after the service, that is where Karis is feeding her face like usual!
Our first service was held on my mom's birthday, Sept. 17. The Lord blessed us with 44 people. What a joy it was to be with His people and worship with them! Everything with the nursery went well, and we had two visiting children. Karis wasn't alone in the nursery.
Today was our second service and again the Lord exceded our expectation of people. We had close to the same amount as last week. We also had a couple, Wes and Angey, come from Open Door and lead worship for us. They did a fantastic job leading us in song. Justin is starting the book of Ephesians. He would pick a book about predestination as the first book to do a series on. Ephesians is such a vital book about the church. He reminded us that everything including predestination God does for His glory. Praise the Lord that He does save us through Jesus for His glory!
Our house in Beaumont is officially sold as of yesterday. Praise the Lord! We are still looking here and need your prayers. Thank you for all your prayers, we really appreciate them.

First Service and House Hunting

We will be having our first service on Sunday September 17. It will be more of a get together than a full blown service. We will be doing lots of prayer, and Justin will share a message from God's Word. Praise the Lord! I am so excited about being feed and Justin being able to use his God-given gift of preaching. I am in charge of getting everything ready for the nursery. Since at this moment, I am the only one who has a vested interest because Karis is really the only child. I know now why God had me working at Mother's Day Out at FBC Beaumont, I needed to learn the skills to be able to run a nursery well. Thank you FBC! Please continue to pray for us as we start this great adventure of church.
We did get an offer on our house this last week. Praise the Lord again! It is a good one, and the Lord continues to show us His leading and His will by "meeting all our needs." We are still looking at houses here. I just haven't found "it." I keep telling Justin I will know when we have found the right one. For some reason I just feel like God is still telling us to wait, the right house is out there. Thank goodness that the Dales aren't getting tired of us yet! :)
God has shown me His goodness and His everlasting comfort this week. Last week on Thursday I had a small melt down. Karis decided not to take a nap, and I didn't get any rest from her. I also didn't have a car and couldn't go anywhere. God gave me strength and I made it through, but it was hard. She is now still havinng a hard time taking naps again. I pray this is only a phase, I am not ready for her to outgrow naps yet.

Challenging Sermon, Encouraging Send Off

Today was officially my last day of packing, we are loading up the Uhaul tomorrow all day and pulling out of Beaumont on Wednesday morning. It really and truly all seems like such a blur, but I know it will hit me soon enough.
We had a great last Sunday at FBC. Justin preached his farewell sermon and really challenged the church to put God's Word first in their lives. The text that he read from was Psalm 19:7-11. It describes six names of God's Word, six characteristics, and six rewards (or things that His Word does for us). God's Word is to be our guide in all that we do in our personal lives, our family, globally, and in the church. Justin kept it real by challenging the men of the church to read, study, and meditate on God's Word as a family. It is the man's responsibility to be the spiritual leader in the home. I am so blessed to have Justin as my husband. He's not perfect, but he does seek God and lead our family towards Him daily.
After church, Justin's family (his dad, sister, sister's boyfriend, grandparents, and aunt and uncle) came over for lunch. Karis is enjoying her lunch next to Mammou. As you can tell, she really likes to eat. After church Sunday night, there was a reception for us. It was really nice and the everyone was so encouraging. We are really going to miss our FBC Beaumont church family, but we know that you guys are going to aide us in our church plant with your prayers and encouragement for years to come. Thank you FBC for all your support and love. We love you guys!
Now I am going to try to go to sleep before we attempt to load all of this stuff in the Uhaul.