New members!

We were blessed with the addition of a new family to our church this past Sunday!  God is Good!  Starting a church is definitely a long, VERY long, process, but the benefits far out-weigh the waiting.  It is so good to be able to grow together in God's Word and grow closer together as families in Christ.  "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" -Psalm 133:1  As Clara's favorite song says, "Thank you, LORD, for your blessings on me."

On another note, one of my sisters is learning to crochet, {and doing a great job, I might add} so I decided to give it a try.  I can already do a little knitting, but I've never been able to catch on to crocheting.  So, no better time than the present.  Plus, I can't have her showing me up, now can I?  ☺

I did a little digging and I found a few videos that are a big help.  It's amazing what you can learn from the internet and youtube! If you'd like to learn too, this link will take you to the beginning crochet stitches and this link will give you some various crochet stitches to learn.  Also on the side bar you will find all kinds of other crochet videos that may be of help.  Have fun!  

For all you Jane Austen fans out there, I finally watched Pride and Prejudice.....yes, the LONG one.  I think it's about 5 1/2 hours at least. I will admit, it was pretty good.  I'm not sure what my favorite Jane Austen movie is though,  I did like the new Emma done by BBC.  But I really like Sense and Sensibility too.  Oh well, that is a matter for another time.  I know my girls have their favorites, and can carry on very lengthy conversations about them all.  So, I'll just let you talk to them about it.

Covenant Baptist Church

We had a great time of worship and praise Sunday, October 25, 2009!  What is different you may ask??  We have now constituted Covenant Baptist Church!  Jesus said in His word, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”-Matt. 18:20   We have a long road ahead of us, but God is faithful and is doing a wonderful work among us.  We are now a covenanted body of believers, adhering to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.  We have been called to the kingdom for such a time as this, in a day and time when many want to stick their heads in the sand and hide.  But we know that God IS King and through Him we will gain the victory!  Even in a time when wickedness, sin, and evil seem to prevail, God is still the Victor, always has been, always will be!  He is our Sovereign Lord and King!  May we strive to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

We've moved!!

We have finally settled into our new home! Life is starting to return to normal.......whatever that is!! I now have 9 weeks left to go in this pregnancy, and I am starting to feel "old".
For all of you that don't know.....James resigned as Pastor of McDonald Baptist Church last month, and we are in the process of starting a church in our new area. We made alot of good friends in Sylvania, and we have no regrets for the 19 months that God placed us there, but we know that God has a different plan for our lives. We believe that we are not called to sit on the sidelines, but to be actively serving God in every capacity, and we could not do that where we were. I am excited to see God at work in our lives! HE has NEVER let us down! Some people may think we are crazy to live this life of faith, but I believe that is where God uses us the most....completely trusting in Him. It is so easy to forget that He is our all when we are living a life of comfort and ease. "I thank you, LORD, for being so good to us!" Do pray for us in this new endeavor. May we seek to glorify God in all that we do!
We are also gearing up for a very special week!!! My sister Lucy and her husband Devin and their 3 young'uns are coming for a visit! We are all very excited! They are very special to us!
I will post pictures as soon as possible! What a mighty God we serve!
~Sonya

Sylvania, Here We Come!!

We were voted into McDonald Baptist Church on Sunday, Sept. 23rd! We received 100% of the vote! It has been our dream to be used by God in a mighty way, we just never dreamed He would bless us so much! We fell in love with the people the very first time we met. It is going to be wonderful to serve with them.

We are planning on moving soon, and we are definitely going to miss our dear family in Christ at Unity Baptist Church. It has been such a blessing to know each and everyone of them! But at the same time, I am so very thankful that God guided us to them and gave us friendships that we will always cherish.

Please keep us in your prayers as we endeavor to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

May His name be glorified in everything we do!

~Sonya

Sylvania or Bust

Tomorrow we will be heading to Sylvania, Georgia to candidate for a pastor search committee. I will be preaching Sunday morning and am excited about the great opportunity. Sylvania is about 5 hours southeast of where we live so we will get to enjoy another long trip. The good news is that we just got Casting Crowns new CD so I am sure we will wear it out.

Lord willing, on Monday we are going to take the kids to see the ocean. Sylvania is not too far away from Savannah, Georgia so the ocean will excite the kids (and Sonya) while Savannah’s rich history will catch my interest.

Please keep our trip in your prayers, not only for our safety but also for God’s will to be done. Our sole desire is God’s will but we are also eager to know the church God is called us to. We are ready to get to work in many areas of ministry and feel like we are lacking a huge part of our lives. I don’t do limbo well!
~James

Treasures in God's House

“And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things.” -1 Chronicles 26:20

Under the Old Covenant the treasures being spoken of in this verse consists of earthly things. In the New Covenant we still have treasures in the house of God whether we have been blessed by God with beautiful facilities or not. We are told in Ephesians 3:8 that we have “unsearchable riches of Christ.” It is a fact that today we have greater treasures in the house of God than the saints had under the Old Covenant.

Being back in our home church was a great blessing today. We are blessed to be members of a church that is rich and full of great treasure because “we preach Christ and Him crucified.” What a wonderful blessing it was to assemble with God’s people and rejoice in the grace we have in Christ.

This morning in Sunday School our pastor was in Romans 5 and we were studying all the blessing that flow from our justification by faith through Jesus Christ. Knowing we have been justified we have peace with God and access to the Father because of Christ’s redemptive work on the Cross.

Then in the morning service Pastor Marlin preached a sermon about John the Baptist entitled The Voice of One. He brought out three points from Matthew 3:3.
1. Lone Voice 2. Loud Voice 3. Liberating Voice
It was a great encouragement because many times I feel like our voice is also a lone voice. However, just like in Elijah’s case there are still many others who have not bowed the knee to Baal. But even if we are a lone voice we still have a message that must be proclaimed.

I have never had a problem with identifying with the second point. Right, wrong, or indifferent I have never sheepishly proclaimed the Word of God. I can identify with John the Baptist on this point as well.

Finally he pointed out that we should have a liberating voice because Christ is the true liberator. That is the purpose for which Christ came. Would to God our Baptist brethren would become a voice to liberate our homes, churches and civil society from the bondage of Satan.

This evening was a bit unusual. Since we are from the North we had a new experience. It is one that we will get to participate in next week. We had a guest speaker but the purpose of the evenings service was because a pastor search committee from another church was there to hear him preach. He preached a very good message from Romans 7 concerning our struggles to do what is right.

What a wonderful day as we fellowshipped with the saints, sang praises to our God and heard His Word. We hope you were able to behold the treasures of God’s house today as well. If not, make it a point next Sunday to go to the House of God.

~James

A Day To Worship!

"I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house

of the LORD." ~Psalm 122:1

I hope we can all say that today! He has given us another day to worship Him and to bring Him glory! What more can we ask for! It is only because of Him that we have life, let us use that life to honor Him in everything that we do. May we go to the house of worship with open hearts, ready and willing to hear His word spoken to us, and not just hear it, but be a doer of it! I don't know about you, but I want His word to be a part of my everyday life, to let it penetrate me so much so that it becomes a part of who I am. I want it to be there always reminding me to stay on the straight and narrow path, throwing out warning signals everytime I so much as stray off the line! I want Him to be first in my life; not 2nd or 3rd, or last, but #1! May that be the prayer of His children , to make Him first in our lives, every day of our lives!!

May the LORD God of Heaven be with you today as you seek His face!!

~Sonya

The Life & Times of Temporary Nomads

The last few weeks have been a very exciting part of our lives. We are presently seeking God’s calling for our next church. God has led us to the South and we feel right at home.

What makes this exciting, and intimidating, is that we are looking for God’s will for the rest of our lives. While God has called us to the South in which to pastor a Southern church, He is also calling us to find the place in which to plant roots for generations to come. We are not looking for God’s temporary placement, but Lord willing, a permanent placement.

So, there are many things involved including where our children will finish being raised, marry, and begin families of their own. It also includes planting our ministry, Baptist Vision, in a solid church from which to work and grow as well.

There is a lot to consider and a lot at stake making it exciting but also nerve-racking. But God has blessed us in this process.

We have had a lot of contact with prospective churches and we are now being considered by several so far.

Our first adventure took us to Dickson, Tennessee and Maple Grove Baptist Church. We had the opportunity to preach in the Sunday morning and evening services and to play and sing also. Our family has begun to play music together and it has been a blessing to our family. Sonya (my wife) has a beautiful singing voice and several of our children are showing strong promise in that area as well.

We stayed the weekend with the Turners and enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship and fun. Many of their family and friends came over and Sunday evening after church we played music and sang till after midnight. It was a blast.

Next, we were at Macedonia Baptist Church in Dalton, Georgia approximately 7 miles from our home. It was a very intense day as we preached in the morning service and met with a couple men from the search committee that afternoon. After preaching in the evening service it was followed by another interview with the search committee.

We had wonderful services and enjoyed the people tremendously. God has blessed them with beautiful facilities that would make any preachers eyes light up. Especially country folks like us!

The following weekend we headed off to Cullman, Alabama. That’s right, Roy Moore country. A few years ago I was in Montgomery for the Roy Moore/10 Commandments event and fell in love with that part of the country. It has a rich conservative heritage and beautiful scenery.
Although we had just went to Mission Grove Baptist Church for an interview on Sunday afternoon they were gracious enough to have Sonya sing and me preach that evening. We had another great and positive service and, Lord willing, we will be going back to sing and preach September 9th. Please keep this in your prayers as we were very impressed with the area and the church.

September 2nd, we will be in Sylvania, Georgia although we are awaiting word to make sure it all comes together. It is another exciting opportunity that God has opened for us.

We have been very blessed by God. He continually supplies our needs and sustain us. My health remains the same but God continually gives enough grace to see me through. God has given me great clarity of mind in all the places we have preached at and His Spirit has moved in all the services. We are humbled by His grace and mercy on our lives and give Him all the praise for the things which have been accomplished.

The experiences of this transformation have at times been trying but we are having a blast as we nervously, but confidently, watch God work.

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” -Philippians 2:13

~James