It's Moving Day!

Home. Home is where my family is. We have called so many places home in our 20+ years of marriage, I have lost count. Actually I haven't but it seems like an abundance. We have moved a total of 13 times (counting this last time). Crazy, huh?  But this time, Lord willing, is our last.  We became homeowners last month and it is one of the most thrilling moments of our lives!  We have been doing an incredible amount of cleaning and slowing moving things to our new home, and today we complete our last and final load. Today is moving day.  Tonight we spend the first night in OUR home.  Words cannot express the feelings I have right now.  I'm a little nervous too... I keep expecting a big meteor to fall from the sky and crush my ecstatic emotions. This has been a long journey for our family, and one filled with some crazy outlandish tales.  But I wouldn't trade the ride for anything in all the world.  God has and always will be our rock and our fortress, and has and always will be there for us thru ever mountain and valley.  He has met our every need.  He has never failed us. Glory be to the LORD most high, for He alone is worthy of all praise! 

"I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.  Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live." ~Psalm 116:1-2

Exciting News!

I never thought in a million years this day would come. But it has... to us... after 20 years... We are HOMEOWNERS! I am one happy woman!  God is so good to have blessed us with a home of our own in spite of our unworthiness. It has been a long road with many bumps, but it has been SO worth it!  He alone deserves all the glory and praise!  We have been thru many valleys but He has sustained us and been there with us thru them all.  I still cant' believe it...somebody pinch me! 

Pics coming soon!

What a day!

Friday started out just like any other Friday at our house.  With the exception that Grace had woke up with a horrible headache....one she'd had since late Wednesday evening.  The kids did their schooling, and at noon we all sat down to listen to my husbands radio show.  Right before the show was over, it looked as if Grace had fallen asleep in the recliner, and when the kids started fixing lunch, we came over to see if Grace was going to eat.  We tried to rouse her but she wouldn't wake up.  It also looked as if she was crying.  I tried for several minutes and she finally opened her eyes, but she was breathing heavy and was very non-responsive.  I kept asking her if she could hear me but she wouldn't respond.  We couldn't get her to talk or move at all.  All of a sudden we had children crying their eyes out afraid of what was wrong with their dear sister.

At that point, my husband picked her up and we rushed her to the hospital.  After we arrived and they put an IV in her, she calmed down but was still very groggy and she couldn't talk.  They did several tests, including a CT scan, and did blood work, only to find out that everything was normal (which we were very thankful!).  They said she had hyperventilated do to the pain of her headache....we are coming to the conclusion that she has had a migraine.  She still is in need of your prayers....this headache wants to linger.  Whether migraines run in our family...my husband has them continually, my father, sister, and sister-in-law have problems with them as well, I hope that Grace will be spared. 

I am so thankful that God continues protect us and meet our needs.  Thank you so much for your prayers!

I'm back.....I hope!

Well....I don't know where to begin.  I have been gone from bloggy-land for quite some time, and now as I write this post, well...I am almost at a loss of words.  Almost.

It has been a busy --but not too busy-- couple of months.  The month of March was filled to the brim with family visiting us from Indiana....So you see, it was a good kind of busy.  It was Liberty's first visit with both of her papaws {and she was rather shy, let me tell you}.  We enjoyed a great time of singing, eating, and just enjoying each others company.  We also celebrated several birthdays in March....we have quite a few including my husband, 2 brother-in-laws, a sister, and a niece.....did I get them all?  Anyway, as always, goodbyes are very hard to say.  It was sad to see them all go, but I am so thankful for the time spent with each one of them.

April brought sadness to our family with the passing of James' grandpa on his father's side.  He had suffered a stroke over 20 years ago and was paralyzed but had lived these past 20+ years for his family.  He was very fond of our children and loved to just sit and watch them play when we would visit.  He couldn't say much, but his love shown bright in his eyes.  We will miss him dearly.  Our oldest daughter Rachel, wrote a great poem in his memory entitled An Ode of Tears that you can read on her blog.

April also brought another tragic event to our great South Land, tornadoes ripped through the southern states killing close to 300 and destroying the homes of so many.  The Lee family lost not only their home but their husband/father as well.  It is a heart wrenching story of God's sovereignty and love.  The Crawford family lost their home as well, and it is yet another story of God's faithfulness and love.  They are going to need our prayers for the many weeks and months ahead.  We had a tornado come very close to our home....about 4-5 miles close.  2 people were killed as a result of that tornado.  My husband and I went out the day after to view the damage, and it left me standing in awe at the mighty hand of our God!  If you want to read my oldest daughters response to the tornado, you can go to her blog Covenant Maiden.

Now that May is here, {with 4 more birthdays, and Mother's Day, and Memorial Day} maybe I can get back to writing for my blog and keeping up with day to day tasks.  Maybe.  :)

And I Know He Watches Me

“I notice that people who have nothing to do but to sit down and stare into the black hole of their own nature, are generally very sad, and not often very virtuous; but they who, knowing how dark and sinful their nature is, trust Jesus for salvation, and then spend their lives in doing the will of the Lord, these are they who are both holy and happy.” ~ Charles Spurgeon

God did not call us to be depressed and melancholy.  We are called to be holy.  What is our chief end?  To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  There is no room for self-pity or self-loathing.  Yet so many Christians today have a “woe is me” attitude.  We sit around and fret over our circumstances not being what we wish they were, or dwell on all the negatives instead of thanking the Lord for all of our blessings!  Sure we will have times of sadness, there is a time to weep and a time to mourn, but we are not to have a spirit of fear.  Psalm 121 says “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the LORD which made heaven and earth.”  We need to take our eyes off of ourselves and look up to the One who is ready to help us.  If He cares for the sparrows, how much more does He care for those who are His children!  He knows what our next step will be and He is there to catch us if we fall.  What a grand promise that is!  If only we would believe it and not sit in our ashes of despair and despondency!  He is our King, and through Him we CAN be victorious.  John 16:33 ~ “…but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” 

Looking back on 2009

Click on picture to enlarge

We Are Blessed Indeed!

God is so good to us, in so many ways...many times in ways that we don't even see or realize.  We should always give Him the thanks and honor that He deserves, for He alone is worthy!  You know, it was a blessing that we woke up this morning, however early that may have been, He granted us life for one more day!  If you have been reading my blog you will remember the post about washing our clothes out by hand..."loads" of fun...pardon the pun!!  But God had pity on us and we now have a washer!!  I won't name names....but they know who they are....I love them so much!  That has just been one of our "material" blessings this week, but God knows our every need, even the hairs of our head are numbered!  Isn't it wonderful that He knows our needs before we know that we need them?!  Yet we worry and fret, and wonder "where is God?" but He is right there all the time, watching our lack of faith and trust in Him, the giver and sustain-er of life!  Oh, how much simpler life would be if we put our trust completely in Him!

      "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." ~ Matthew 6:25-34 

God's Design for 2009

2009 is now upon us. Another year has come and gone. What should our motto be for this new year? First and foremost it should be, God's Design for 2009. What does God want from us this year? It should be the same thing He has wanted for generations! To give our lives wholly and fully unto Him! Let's make that our goal together, and what a difference we could make in this Nation!
Alot has transpired since I wrote last. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas. We were able to spend Thanksgiving with our family in Charleston, but we were sick during the Christmas holidays so we weren't able to travel. But we enjoyed some time here at home with just the "Fam". On New Year's Eve we had a watch night service at church and watced a good movie called Pendragon. The Burn's Family Studios have started making Christian -based family movies. I definitely recommend this movie!!

James made an announcement at church that night that I'm sure most have heard by now- We are expecting our 8th child!! We had truely thought that that time of our life was over, being that our youngest just turned 5! But God's ways aren't always the ways we think they are going to be! We are truely happy though with this surprise! Even the rest of the children can't wait, some have already started making blankets and things! James was teasing and telling everyone that it happened after I touched the book, The Duggar Family, 20 and Counting! We were out shopping on our anniversary (Dec. 19th made 16 years!!) and I bought the book, (and a pregnancy test) and that's our story!! Our due date is August 13th. Please keep us in your prayers for a heathy momma and baby! One the sideline of our blog, there are a couple of pregnancy tickers to help you keep track of our baby's growth. God Bless!

~Sonya

New Ride

God has seen fit to bless our family with a new van. It is an 07 Heavy Duty Ford Econoline 12 passenger van. We are excited that the Lord provided it for us. June we will be making a trip to Indianapolis to the Southern Baptist Convention. So, we got it just at the right time. Plus we needed it this fall as the kids will be starting school at Trinity Christian Academy. Now if only the gas prices would go down.

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

Healing Rain

Today we are getting some much needed rain. It has been raining hard since after midnight last night, and we were in desperate need of it. We actually have our own little river flowing in front of the house! But as I watch the rain fall, it makes me think about how we need God to pour out His healing rain on our land today!

The Bible says in James 5: 7-8, “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”

Anytime that we as individuals or nation as a whole desire to see God’s spiritual rain, He tells us to be patient and wait, for He will send it in due time, at the right time. But so much of the time we want everything right now without any effort on our part; we want God to send forth a revival across our nation without first getting rid of the sins that so easily weigh us down. He tells us in 2Chronicles 7:14 that we must first and foremost humble ourselves. What does that consist of? We must have the heart of a servant, willing to think of ourselves last, putting others first. Second, we must pray. He wants us to have communication with Him on a continual basis, not letting anything come in between us and Him. Third, we must seek His face. What does it mean to “seek His face”? To make Him Lord of our lives, in every area. To seek Him for everything we face in our lives, from the smallest of things to those things that we think we will never make it through. He wants us to want Him. Fourth, we are to turn from our wicked ways. Every sin that we do not confess to Him can strain our relationship with Him and cause us to drift further away into more sin. That is what it means to repent; to turn away from our sin, and He says that if we do confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive us. What an awesome promise! Lord, send revival in our hearts!

~Sonya

Listen to Micheal W Smith's song Healing Rain

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