Summer Recap!

And just like that the summer is almost gone!

The 4th of July came and went.
The temperatures soared in our neck of the woods forcing
us indoors where the air conditioning blasted cold.
For the next 6 weeks we didn't do anything spectacular.
We slept in late most every day.
I have an intensely large Christmas dinner theater I'm directing at our church,
so my focus has been on getting that up and rolling cohesively before school
starts and we are swept up in the busyness of those days.

We did manage to find some fun things locally to help us cool off,
and to keep the cabin fever from getting too fierce.
Our second daughter bought her first car.
Our oldest daughter took me with her for her college orientation.
We celebrated my Mother-in-Love's birthday!
School clothes were dragged out and tried on.
School curriculum was ordered and delivered.
Ice cream was eaten, and slurpees slurped.

We have an exciting fall season racing toward us that has at times
overwhelmed me with its scope and ferocity.
I will not lie and deny the fact that I have awoken at 2 am more than once
and my mind raced with a million things that still did not have solutions.
The "what ifs" snarled at me of all the potential catastrophes that could happen.

But after years of episodes like this, I've learned to receive those fears as flags.
Signs going up to remind me to pray.
To give all my worries, and all the problems,
and all the things that haven't even happened,
and statistically can't happen......to the Lord!
The work of prayer often wears my mind out and empties it of all those thoughts
and then I'm able to go back to sleep.
I know that I can trust all those details to the One who I have followed
to this place and who I know won't leave me stranded.
He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me.
He has promised to provide our needs.
I can follow Him in faith and confidence
because He has never failed!!

This fall.....trust.

When you're trying to slow down summer

These "lazy days of summer" sure have been busy!!
Two of my teenagers and I are going out on a two-week mission trip this week,
and we've been busy making lists, dusting off luggage, shopping and packing.

We've had to be absolutely intentional about carving out some slow time

to just enjoy each other and the simple pleasures of this season!

These are glimpses of what we've indulged in the last couple weeks

 as we've had time.

Vacation Bible School!!

During the last full week of May, we sent Lexi off with my Mom

back to Ohio where Lexi visited for 8 days.

I prepared for and coordinated a beautiful wedding over the weekend,

and the following Monday the rest of our family jumped in to a fun week

packed with energy, excitement, surprises, and ministry!!

We have only two children left 

who are eligible to participate in VBS as students now,

but the older three were very eager to participate as helpers.

One thing that I love about our church family is that there is no age

turned away when it comes to ministering.

It is clearly understood that we were all created to glorify God

and is it routine practice for teenagers to learn to serve in a variety of capacities!

Ashlyn was a helper in the three-year old class.

Grant was a game time assistant, and Abby was a craft time assistant.

Anytime a group of believers comes together for the purpose of reaching the lost

the devil goes into overdrive and the spiritual battles become intense.

Our great enemy tries to distract and discourage us in a fascinating

variety of ways that never cease to amaze me!

I'm not as surprised by his wily ways as I get older

 and see this pattern nearly every time now.

This year was no different.

Usually here in Texas, it stops raining for the summer around the 1st of June.

So imagine our surprise when we had several unexpected strong thunderstorms

come through our area, usually overnight, causing some kind of freak damage.

On Monday evening, that exact thing happened

 and an electric pole on our church property snapped in two

resulting in a loss of electricity to the entire facility.

It took the local utility company the entire morning to repair this damage

which meant there was no other choice but to cancel VBS on Tuesday.

A first for Worth Baptist Church.

Oh, the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth as children {and parents}

from all over the Fort Worth area learned this terrible news.

What a trick!!!

But we saw through Satan's guise and wouldn't let this get us down.

Instead, we rested and refreshed and went gung-ho in the rest of the week!!

23 children came to know Christ as their Savior because of the tireless

efforts of God's people in spite of that set back.

This year, I had the incredible privilege of leading the 5-year old class.

We had an average of 18 kids per day in this class,

and they were adorable fun and wiggly!!

Every year I participate, it seems there is that one child who comes as a visitor

that presents us with very special challenges.

In the past, it was children with language barriers from a local refugee housing

complex who had a difficult time following directions,

or the boy from a broken home who came on the bus and didn't 

really even want to be there.

This year, on the very first day, I was presented with a young boy with autism.

Thankfully, he was very verbal, but he struggled with impulse control

and transitioning from one activity to another.

He also seemed very sensitive to loud noises.

It was a challenge to learn how to best communicate with him

and to re-direct his attention when he got frustrated as an activity ended.

My greatest desire was for him to understand how much Jesus loves him,

and I began saying that to him everyday!!

Imagine the blessing it was for me when, on Thursday,

I happily received a completely unsolicited "I love you!"

from this little boy!!!

I don't know if I will ever see him again,

but what a blessing to get to work with him and experience

the love of God through him!!!!