Youth Group Blog

I know that many of you follow Ashley's blog...but if not here is the address to our new youth group blog.

http://www.mphighsprings.blogspot.com/

Camp was the most wonderful adventure. I had the opportunity to teach one of the groups for our family group bible study. It made me realize how much I miss the class room. if you currently read your bible day--make it a point this week to look at the verbs or the action words. It is amazing how they illuminate what we as Christan should be doing. Another thing I had the kids do that I am going to use in my prayer journal. 3-2-1

3 praises for the day
2 people who need to know Jesus
1 question - Lord, what do you want me to do for you today? IF you are a night time studier you may want to change it to what did I do to further the Kingdom of Christ today?

I actually have watched the power of Christ make a radically transformation in child's life since he has accepted Christ as his Saviour. Because of this others are coming to know Christ. I think this has been especially exciting for me because most of the people I have seen come to know Jesus were raised in church and basically acted, talked and behaved similar to their previous standard. This person's attitude, language, behaviors, you name it --- made a "flip". If you do not know this ultimate POWER, please let me take this moment to share Christ with you.

Admit--that you are a sinner. We are have all sinned and fall short of the glory God. He wants us to repent and turn from our sinful nature Romans 3:23 Repent means to completely change directions-- make an 180 degree turn. Ask the Lord to forgive you and guide you. For the Wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans
6:23

Believe--that Jesus is God's son. For everyone that calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved Romans 10:13 The gift of salvation is free. All that he ask is that we call upon Him. He does not have a love that is based on conditions. He died a sacrificially death so that you may have eternal life with him in paradise. Our relationship with Him is not based on the works, the money we give or the perfect life we live, but that we yield our life to him. IF you truly seek Him, you will surely find Him. Seek him through prayer and reading the Bible.

Confess--Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. That if you confess with your mouth that "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9. When we confess it literally means to come clean or admit, we ask the Lord to take the burden of sin away. To accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, you may say a simple prayer like this:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner,

And need your forgiveness.

I believe that you died for my sins.

I want to turn from my sins

I invite you now to come into my heart and life.

I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Saviour.

In Jesus Name ,

Amen

If you prayed this prayer, I encourage you to seek a local church. Talk with the preacher about your decision and make a public profession of your faith. Become active in church, read the Bible and pray daily. May God Bless you.

Kimberly

Oh goodness, Sakes alive--- Charlee's Five

Happy, Happy Happy birthday,

I can't believe my Charlee is five,

She is growing a tiny bit each and every day

like a pumpkin on the vine.




Now that she's five,

No longer a cuddly little baby (lol)

But a precious little girl

That has a lot to see in this big world.

Unfortunately, we were unable to have big celebration today. Steven flew out to Nebraska early this morning and I returned from youth church camp that was at Orange Beach, Alabama. Thank goodness, when Aunt Annie brought her to the church to meet us, she was able to celebrate with leftover cupcakes from Wednesday night supper (thanks Michelle D.) She enjoyed thecupcake and as we sang "Happy Birthday" she looked at us as though we had lost our minds. I am hoping, we can have a blast of a party on the Fourth.

Big Times in Cowtown for Kate

I am beginning to wonder if Katie needs a personal manager. This past week she was at the FFA Convention. To Katie’s surprise, she took home the BIG prize of State Winner in the area of Beef Production Entrepreneurship, plus a little cash.

Which means another trip will be scheduled on her agenda. Hopefully with some help, from an expert in FFA Proficiencies, she might stand a chance of winning nationally. One of the Judges, offered to help us prefect her application.

Typically they only allow older kids to win, due to the stiff competition higher up, but he felt as though her project has the potential to win-or a least be in the top 5.

Katie owes a BIG thank you to Ms. Marsha Cook for her talent in vivid descriptive writing, her dad for the money and knowledge to help develop her project.

Next week she leaves for the Cattlemen’s Convention, where she will work in the Angus booth sporting her tiara and sash. She’ll enjoy fame, the beautiful beaches, while dancing the nights away. Did I forget to mention, maybe she’ll meet some cute cowboys? What more could a country girl ask for? Sounds like a cowgirls dream. She will travel with my sister and her family.

Katie returns home on Friday and leaves again for youth camp on Saturday. However this road trip mom will be in tow. This will be the first youth camp I have been to in 15-20 years. I am very excited but would like to solicit any prayers that you may want to offer for our kids. A lot of the youth going with us are not Christian nor do they come from families that support them spiritual. I will have to say they are awesome kids and every time I am with them, I am blessed beyond means. I will be leading the middle school youth for our daily church discussion and Bible study. The theme is FLIP meaning that when we accept Christ, we should flip /change from our old self. There will be about 35 people going. Specifically pray for wisdom for the adults, pray for positive attitudes (everybody) safety traveling, that the HOLY SPIRIT will move in a massive way and that lives will ultimately be changed for eternity.


I hope July is not quite as hectic….

Tyler's Graduation

Friday night, we went to my nephew’s high school graduation.

As I thought about my post, the words from the play Fiddler on the Roof came to mind.

Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?

I don’t remember growing older
When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he grow so tall?

Wasn’t it yesterday
When they were small?
Sunrise, sunset

Sunrise, sunset

Swiftly flow the days,

Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers

Blossoming even as we gaze.


If you haven’t noticed I connect almost everything with a song.


Tyler’s graduation lasted barely an hour where as mine took an eternity.

I had packed snacks to entertain the kids for hours, but before I could pull out the good stuff the grads were tossing their caps into the air. Nowadays the awards and scholarship recipients are honored earlier and boy what a difference it makes. Apparently Ty-man is a tidbit smarter than his old auntie he graduated with BETA honors and a few scholarships in his pocket. Tyler has known for several years that he plans to pursue a career in entomology. Twenty years out and I still am not certain what I want to do. This summer he will have the opportunity to work at the university and get some real hands on experience with BUGS.

On Memorial Day, his mom hosted a birthday and graduation party. It was quiet interesting to see the motley cruel that he has made friends with. Starting on the left is Will the Officer and Gentleman, Anthony the Punk Rocker, Louis the Bilingual Genius, and none other than the All knowing Mad scientist Tyler.

They were all exceptionally polite and extremely smart. Steven and I really got a kick out of them. We had an afternoon of great food, volleyball (even in the pouring down rain and lighting)

,

the ninja game, and my favorite---swimming pool kick ball.

Everyone in attendance had a great time.

I can’t believe that a year form now it will be me, the mom of a graduate.

A Giggle, a Prayer and a Miracle

As with almost everything, I am late with this post and a miracle is already in the works--Ain't God Good . See end of post for latest update.

That‘s the first thought that comes to mind when I think of my precious friend Rebecca. She has a contagious smile. With every word she speaks, it is the faintest whisper that resounds with a soft giggle. She has that delightful personality mixed with the purest of happiness that only comes from our LORD above.

It would only be natural for her to be married to a man with similar qualities. Shawn is the sweetest thing. He adores his bride –which is evident in the way he watches her with twinkling eyes and the biggest grin. Not to mention, he has an incredible talent for playing the guitar and singing.

For ten years, they tried to have a baby, in God’s special timing, HE blessed them with Mr. Isaac. He is a bundle of joy. Undoubtedly, he is the offspring of his adorable parents. He was one of many miracles the two of them have encounter because of God’s grace. When Isaac was born, they battled a few difficulties but once again because of God’s goodness he is a thriving toddler. He has stolen our hearts away with his charming smile and chuckle. We just can’t get enough of his sugar, that is, when his Aunt D and Grandma will share with us.

A few weeks ago, Rebecca and Shawn announced that they were expecting again. The entire church was ecstatic. We love babies…


Around 11 weeks, Rebecca went to the doctor for a regular checkup. However, when Rebecca’s routine blood work was reviewed the unthinkable was discovered. The doctor noticed an abnormal high white blood count—round 14.1to 18.1. She also had a positive result for BCR-ABL and the possibility of Leukemia.

The doctor sent Rebecca to oncologist doctor. As Rebecca sat in the waiting room for the first time, she looked around the room at all of these people. Inside she was screaming, “God I don't belong here, I don't belong here. But, I ask you this, who does?????
"Nobody does".

Unfortunately, the findings revealed that Rebecca could have Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia or "CML. Last week, Rebecca underwent a bone marrow biopsy, which consequently will let her family know what they are specifically dealing with.

Shawn and Rebecca are very adamant to not undergo any treats in which harm could be inflicted on their unborn child. Which as most of you know medically….there is very little that can be done for her over the course of her pregnancy. From my understanding, as soon as the baby is strong enough, around 32 to 36 weeks, they will take the baby and immediately begin aggressive treatments for Rebecca.


In many ways we can look at this doom and gloom ….but OUR GOD is a LOVING GOD. Just look at the blessing already in progress—

They live near the world’s greatest medical facility
Tons of family and friends are there to help
Rebecca’s mom is a nurse.
They have good insurance.
Isaac is a good natured baby.
Numerous people are praying daily on their behalf and the unborn baby.


My list could go on and on and on. On every corner of our life, God is there, whether we are on top of the mountain or down the valley. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I know, HE is going to do another miracle in the life of Rebecca and Shawn.

Specific things Rebecca and her family want us to pray for
Peace of mind and assurance for the couple.
Strength for everything--- the pregnancy and the Leukemia both have the side effect of fatigue.
Pray for the unborn baby’s health, between 32-36 weeks they will take the baby.
Pray for wisdom through the decisions the doctors will need to make concerning Rebecca and the baby.
Pray for the family members that will need to care for Rebecca. They will need lots of physical and mental strength. Especially, after the baby is born. They will have to help with a newborn and a two year old.

I have included my latest email I received from Rebecca on May 26 at 7:00

Hello everyone, first of all I want to thank each and every one who is reading this email right now. Thank you for your prayers, thoughts and encouragement. Today I called to check on the Bone Marrow Biopsy report. The report came back NEGATIVE for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia and it also came back NEGATIVE for the BCR-ABL the original Gene that came back positive for Leukemia. We are waiting for one last test to come back
Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH)

Please keep praying for us. Even in these times that we have went through and going through God Is Good and I praise him ever single day. When I talked to the lady on the phone today about this she said to me this is really weird and strange I said " no its not" I have people praying for me and I have been praying for my self as well.

Tomorrow, I go to the high risk pregnancy Dr. and keep me in your prayers about the pregnancy and keep praying for us the (FISH) results as well. Thank You all again and We Love each and everyone of you.

Love & Prayers,
Rebecca, Shawn & Isaac

Isaiah 41:10

Daddy's Watermelons-- Sweet ans Juicy, Well Not Yet

Y’all know I love Monday nights, this week (last week really) was no different, if anything it was better than most. Angela invited one of our cousin’s daughters over while her mother finished working on a set for the children’s play at church Sunday night. Notice how much she resembles Charlee.

When her Gigi arrived to pick her up, she ran to the car and proclaimed to Gigi that she just had to come smell the kitchen. Angela had fixed the most amazing chicken ‘n rice and green beans with new potatoes. I stewed and fried squash plus fried some chicken. So yeah, the kitchen smelled pretty righteous. After a little begging, Gigi agreed to stay. Aunt Bernice also dined with us. The meal was wonderful. Gigi and Anna had to hurry home with a plate for little brother at home with Grandpa.

After we had finished our countryman’s feast, dad mentioned he needed to go start the pivot and he would take the grand girls for their usual tour of the melon field.

I insisted that we all “load up” and go. Aunt Bernice of course, wanted to clean the kitchen first, but I persisted that the dirty dishes would not go anywhere while we were gone.


Dad wasn’t too sure about all of us loading up in his truck. Really I think he didn’t want to clean out the front seat of the truck (or embarrassed) nor did he want to unload the back of the truck.

Dad fretted over the junk in front and I moved the sharp objects and barbwire out of the back.

Consequently, we decided that the kids could ride with him and the older women could ride in mom’s car.

Even the dogs loaded up for the adventure to the watermelon patch. Each time the truck would stop another dog would jump in and sometimes one would jump out.

When we arrived at the patch the children bailed out like clowns out of a circus beetle bug. Dad cranked the irrigation motor.

Waiting for the motor to gain rigor, dad and the grand kids walked through the corn field.

Papa talked to Katie about his corn crop. He explained to Katie that the planter skipped the two middle rows… which in the end will affect his yield. I hate that, because I love to mix field corn with my sweet for the best cream corn ever.

Finally it was time to hunt for a ripe melon.

Even though dusk was on us, dad had a flashlight to help illuminate the way. Charlee and Papa found what they thought could be a ripe juicy melon.

All the kids, 7 to be exact, plus 3 dogs and 1 older woman (me) hovered over waiting the first taste of summer. Daddy carefully cut the melon as mouths started to water. The moment had finally arrived; dad cut a small piece of the heart for Charlee, and the other kids.

The kids took a bite out of their slightly pink, crunchy slice of watermelon.

Some mouths thought they were eating manna from heaven while others--- well didn’t care much for the bitter sweet delight.

Needless to say the melons still need a few more days in the hot sun to ripen and get a little juicier. Hopefully, next Monday we’ll have red juicy melons.
Tuesday, I noticed another sign of summer---blackberries.

Now every afternoon, we have to stop along our driveway to pick blackberries.

Saturday, Grandma prayed asking for rain to help the blackberries grow so Charlee and she could make a clobber.

Here are some other pictures taken at Meme and Papa’s. The big kids decide to race on their bikes to the second cattle gap. Miss Charlee thought she would go too, only she had a little problem.

She took it upon herself to walk through the cow pasture (where a bull who likes to play tag lives also. As I was washing dishes I noticed a speck --- All the kids made it safely back in the yard.

Charlee Ann and the Stupid Smelly Bus

Charlee has a new favorite book… Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. At night, she tells me that we need to read Junie B. so she can learn how to be a kindergartener. I have quickly learned that we do not need to check out another Junie B book. We have heard words like stupid, dumb, and other phrases not spoken at our home. Needless to say, we won’t be reading any more of them.

This week was our first bite into kindergarten. Due to my involvement in orientation, Big Daddy (that’s what Katie and I call Steven) had to attend with Charlee. The last thing I said to Sleeping Steven before I left was “I am not exactly sure what time it starts but I’d be there around 8:30 or a little after.” Truthfully, this was my ploy to get Steven to spend his money on Charlee some books at the book fair instead of me.

I arrived at work much earlier than normal. I went to the library checked in with Marsha and headed to my office to read emails and make the materials I needed for the orientation.

Clearly, in my mind thinking this shing-ding started at 9. At 8:45 the phone rings…the secretary on the other end says where are you? You are supposed to be at the lunchroom. Get over here NOW. I immediately gathered my junk and ran to the lunchroom. I thought maybe I could sneak in, but those dang loud fly blowers alerted everyone that I had finally made it to the meeting. The crowd then focused their attention on the reading coach, who may know a little about reading but apparently nothing about telling time. I scanned the room frantically looking for Big Daddy and the Princess. They were no where in site. I tried to tiptoe as quietly as my clonking heels would let me to the back of the group. Still wondering where they were. Wendy, the Director of Elem, came over and explained that the principal had already introduced me and that she would redo the intro and then I could speak to the crowd.

It was my time to address the anxious parents and children. I scrambled for words while everyone in the room, listened as offered my future services to them. Okay I lied …I explained that like them, I too had a child starting kindergarten and another that would be a senior next year. I know some of the folks were wondering what drugs I was taking and if their kids would be safe around a lunatic reading coach. As fast as an auctioneer, I said what had to be said and sat down.

It was dang near 9 and Steven and Charlee still had not arrived. At first, I kinda thought maybe they were browsing the book fair. I slipped into the teacher’s lounge and called Marsha –no sign of them. I am on the other side worried…like near panic. I know the booger that Charlee is in the morning, so maybe she just threw a fit and Steven just said forget it.

The group was dismissed for the BIG bus ride; I knew this would be Charlee’s favorite part. I called Steven’s cell again. This time he answers. He is in the front office. I tell him to just meet us at the end of the bus loop so Charlee would not miss the bus ride. I explain to the ever so very nice bus driver that my husband and child needed special treatment, would she mind if we picked them up at the other end. Thank the Lord I work for the school. She agreed.

Finally, I can see Steven and Charlee strutting down the sidewalk like a momma hen with her little chick following closely behind. The bus approached the end of the walk--- no Steven. When the bus rolled to a stop, I crawled off the bus almost beyond the point of humiliation. I noticed Steven and Charlee were headed back to office. The gate was locked and he had turned around. I hollered to come down to the other end of the prison gates that encircles our school. By the time I was reunited with my honey, I noticed a slight sign of disgust in his normally twinkling eyes. However, I wasn’t sure why on such a stress free day he could be aggravated. He whispered “You didn’t tell me that I need my licenses”. I didn’t think anything about it but thought to myself this is just a normal every day adventure for me.

We found seats in the very back of the bus and assumed we were going on a nice bus ride, when the bus driver turned off the bus. Immediately, I thought gosh now what. She gave the young unconcerned bus riders a quick bus etiquette lesson. Then she restarted the bus and off we went. The little girls in the back of the bus giggled and had a great time. Charlee sat motionless the entire bus ride.

Back at the school, we toured all the seven kindergarten classes. Although, I have walked through these doors hundreds of times, it seemed as though it was the first. Charlee’s eyes danced with excitement, but held a look of uncertainty as she peeked into her future at the BIG school. She examined artwork,

climbed into reading loft with Ms Jean,

talked with Annie the puppet in Mrs. Perryman’s class and looked at the plethora of books in her library,

and she reunited with old friends in Mrs. Smithers and Mrs. Welbers' rooms .

After the room tours, it was time to say good bye to all the great teachers we had meet.

We meandered over to the book fair. Of course, Charlee wanted everything. She had a Junie B. book, Wow Wow Wuzzybe, Beginning reader books, you name it, Charlee clutched it tight in her arms. Dad said one book. Charlee returned all of the books but 3 properly on the correct shelf. Determined to increase her library at home, she was adamant on all of them. Dad was just as adamant…. she walked away with the Wow Wow Wuzzybe. (Little does dad know, that we have a stack of books stashed away to purchase later). As we were talking in the library Charlee noticed an old friend walking by. She rushed to the door and hollered RONDA …..RONDA. Unfortunately, her dear friend was on her cell and did not hear her little buddy. However, later on Charlee had the chance to join up with Mrs. Parrish at the teacher appreciation luncheon. Charlee embraced her and talked to her as though they were old playground friends. I apologized for Charlee calling her by her first name but Ronda quickly stated that they were pals and it was okay.

Later in the day, I walked through the front office when the school secretary stopped me. Mrs. Coates asked me to please give her apologizes to Steven. I gave her a funny look and questioned why. She retold about the morning episode that occurred as Steven tried to enter our campus (note close to 8:30). She explained that she knew that he was my husband, but according to our new policy, all visitors must have their driver’s license scanned to determine if they are a risk to our students. When she scanned his license, the screen signaled that Steven maybe a potential threat or sexual offender. She had to verify that he wasn’t a predator and that he was indeed safe to be near small children. I know what some of you might be thinking to yourself….yeah small children aren’t safe around him.

Long story short, we survived the orientation and Steven’s name has been cleared. I hope the other 180 aren't as adventurous as the orientation. If so, I may need meds.