FIREPROOF

We saw the new Sherwood Production tonight called Fireproof. This is the church that did the movies Facing the Giants and Flywheel, which I thought were good movies with a great message. The new movie, Fireproof, is a GREAT movie with an even better message. There were moments of suspense where I was squirming and E.J. was making fun of me. There were moments of laughter and moments I wished I had my tissue. Those three components make a movie good, but the storyline makes the movie great and this is the best movie I have seen in a long time. I can't remember ever being in a movie theater where the audience clapped at the end of the movie, and many of the people in the packed theater clapped at the end of Fireproof. I would strongly recommend this movie to anyone and everyone! Go see it! http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Back Where We Come From

We spent this past weekend in the Twin Cities with family and friends that we haven't seen in a while. Growing up in a small town an hour away from civilization, we always said we couldn't wait to get out of there, but I have to say there was something relaxing and very peaceful about going home this weekend that is very hard to find in "civilization". We went downtown to the annual (banana/pontotoc/railroad heritage) festival and had a good time running into friends that we haven't seen in a long time. We wandered through the cemetery (on a guided tour) and learned about influential people in the community that have passed on. We fought over candy at the parade with E.J.'s high school baseball coach and my high school math teacher. We sat in lawn chairs and listened to a concert, and to top it all off we went to the church picnic on Sunday afternoon. We felt like teenagers all over again and we were able to leave the stresses of the grown up life at our house for the weekend. I must say it was good to be home.

I Miss Family!

Well, I was busted...I started to blog about this last week, but decided not to in an effort to prevent a whiny atmosphere, but I posted the title and a family member saw it, so I decided to just whine a little bit. I didn't want to say anything before because I don't want anyone to think we are unhappy or lonesome in our new little town and in a home that we feel extremely blessed to live in. So just to start off, we know we are extremely blessed!! and another blessing we have is an incredible family on all sides that we don't get to see as often as we would like. We chose the town we are living in based on location in regard to jobs and finances and when we moved we thought, "OH it will be so great...we will be closer to everyone! We will be about the same distance from E.J.'s parents, only 1.5 hours from my parents, 3 hours closer to my Indiana brother and his beautiful family, only 40 minutes from my other brother, less than an hour away from E.J.'s sister and her precious family...it will be great!! We will see everybody so much more!" And we have seen some family way more than we did before, but being within reach has made me realize how much I want to be able to swing by to see family on the way home from work or regularly eat Sunday afternoon dinner with family or have nieces/nephews ride their bike to our house for a weekend sleepover or just to bake cookies or watch a movie with us. I want to see all of their sporting events and recitals and help with puzzles on rainy days and swing at the park on beautiful days. I want to see and experience nieces/nephews growing up and be part of their daily lives. Everytime I get to spend some time with the kiddos, it makes my heart grow heavier, because I am always left wanting more time with them. And as we get older and get closer to talking about having kids of our own, it makes me want to be closer to family all the more. I want our kids to be able to play with their cousins whenever they want to and I want to be able to drop the kids off on their way home from preschool to sleepover with grandparents. I want our kids to be able to spend as much time with their family as possible, so they understand how blessed they are to be in a family with as much love as ours. But as my Papaw always used to say, "It's not what you want that makes you fat, it's what you get." So maybe someday I will be fat with family next door, but until then know that we love you all very much and miss you so very much! and know that we are happy and content and blessed right here, right now where God has us.

Psalm 37: 4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Athletics Are Back

The Board held a special called meeting the night after I posted the last blog and decided that they would not include athletics in the budget cut, so thank you for your prayers...but please continue to pray because the vote on Sept 15th will still affect many people in the county. The vote now is for a property tax increase or else...the Board will cut asst. principals and aides positions.

James 5:16 "The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful."

No Athletics In School?!

Well, we have a sticky situation in our county at this moment. Apparently there are some budget issues with the Board of Education, and if the County Commissioners don't approve a property tax increase on Sept. 15 then the Board is going to cut athletics in the county. Here is a brief summary of the problems with the situation, and then I will elaborate on what it means to us as a family.
1.) the Board didn't have any problems going $20 million over budget on a new high school in the county (which totaled around $65 million at completion)
2.) the Board had no problems spending over $3 million dollars on land for another new high school that the majority of people don't want anyway, people of the community would rather renovate the old school than build a new one
3.) the Board has the money to support athletics, they just don't want to "release it", they would rather put the County Commissioners in a lose-lose situation...increase property tax=lose; don't increase property tax=no athletics=LOSE!.
Now, if athletics are taken away, we will be looking for a new job. The P.E./Health position is not in jeopardy (at this time, but "special classes, i.e. P.E., music, art, etc." will be the next to go), but E.J. feels that God has gifted him in teaching and athletics specifically for the purpose of coaching young people. He feels very passionate about God's calling in his life at this moment in time to coach.
But aside from the fact that this puts the coaches in a sticky situation, I feel that many young people will be at a disadvantage without access to organized athletics. For some young people athletics is the only form of discipline they will ever receive in their adolescence and for those and many others, athletics helps to mold them into well rounded adults by teaching them responsibility, accountability, and coping skills that can be applied throughout their life.
So I say all of this, partly to vent about the situation, but mainly to ask you to pray for our County Commissioners as they make an important decision on Sept 15th that will affect nearly everyone in the county no matter which way they vote, pray for wisdom for each one voting, and pray for the people of our county that will be affected by the decision made that day.

Philippians 4:4,6-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!...Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Immanuel

We are so excited about our new church. We officially joined this morning and we feel such a peace that can only come from following God's will for our lives. We are excited about the opportunities to serve in this church and the community in which God has placed us. Please continue to pray that we will follow Him in the ministry opportunities where He wants us.

Blessings

This is a video clip that blesses us each time we listen to it, and we hope it will bless you today.