Friday, July 30, 2010

VBS

Tonight was the final night of Kid's Vacation Bible Time!


This is the girl who won 'Sheriff Sam' for bringing the most visitors is the 4th-6th grade group.
And this young man won the horse & wagon for bringing the most visitors in the 1st-3rd grade group.


We had a great week of VBT! I am so thankful that I was able to be there and have a small part in the VBT. 
Tomorrow, Michael is taking Josiah and I for a family day. I am excited to get to spend the day with my guys! 
-Joy

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

It's Bible Time!

It's Bible Time here in Fairbanks, Alaska! 


The first two evenings of Bible Time have gone very well! I was blown away tonight by the amount of kids who brought visitors with them! I can't help but smile as I see all the excitement on the children's faces. 


Michael and I have really enjoyed being here and we are especially enjoying the cool weather! Today was in the sixties at least that is what the weather report told me. I actually had to wear my sweater this morning.


Unfortunately, Josiah has gotten sick. This is a picture I took of him on Monday. And if you know Josiah very well at all you understand that for him to lay down like this in the middle of the day and of his own accord that he really doesn't feel well. He was awake, but barely. He is doing better now, but is still coughing and sneezing. And just so you know, he doesn't look miserable all the time, here is one of his cute moments...


Josiah is holding the largest container of animal crackers that I have ever seen. 

He is getting just a 'little' bit spoiled by Grandma Case and Aunt Tina!


And he is loving every minute!
-Joy

Friday, July 23, 2010

Happy Birthday!

My sweet husband celebrated his 28th birthday today!



Happy Birthday, Michael!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Finally!

We are so excited! Josiah will finally get to meet his Grandma & Grandpa Case in just a few short days!!! We are flying to Alaska and will be there for 18 days!!
Look Grandpa, Josiah wants to ride a motorcycle just like you used to! 
Josiah will also get to meet all of his Aunts, Uncles, & Cousins! It is going to be so much fun!
Can't wait til they get to meet our goofy lil guy!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Penny March

The boys are serious about the penny offering.
But, they learn this lesson at a young age that GIRLS RULE!
Therefore, they always win!
WAY TO GO GIRLS!!!!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

VBS

Here is our sweet guy still asleep this morning. He woke up SO much better this morning!
There were 41 kids who showed up today with 2 of them being dealt with after the service. There were also a few new workers today.
This little girl won the balloon for following all the rules all day, it's kinda like a quiet seat prize. Here is the boy who won.
Happy Tuesday!
Joy

Monday, July 12, 2010

VBS

We are in Margate, Florida this week helping out Faith Baptist Church. Here is a look at our morning.
Josiah was not a happy camper to be woken up before 8am, but he looked so sweet beforehand.
Mouse hat
Puppets! A sweet lady filled in for me so I wouldn't put too much strain on my back. I hurt it over the weekend and it has reminded me that I am getting older... and I DON'T like it! I don't even want to discuss 20 years from now.
Craft Time!
Game Time! I walked out the door, took the picture, and walked back in the AIR-CONDITIONED building! The news this morning said this area was having record breaking heat. I believe them.

The service went well overall, especially for the first day. There were just over 30 kids who showed up and I know about 5 of them trusted Christ this morning. I'm so glad that the Jesus loves these little kids!

Now my sweet guys are taking a much needed nap after a late night and early morning. Michael is only 'posing' in this picture but now he is out like a light! :) Happy Monday, Y'all!

Friday, July 9, 2010

VBS

Michael has worked on this balloon for a few hours each day for the last few days. It will go home tonight with the person bringing the most visitors. It is about 8 ft long. As Michael would say- how it gets from the church to their house is their problem. :)


Praying for Victory Baptist Church to have a great end to their week of vbs,
Joy

Thursday, July 8, 2010

VBS

Wednesday night saw another increase in attendance, over 70 kids showed up! Here are some pics from the last few days.
Everyone is looking forward to seeing what the Lord does with the next two nights. There have been a few saved so far as well. I know for sure that three have accepted Christ with many more being dealt with by the teachers.
The kids really seem to enjoy the puppet skits Michael has been doing- even the teenagers and adults get caught up in the excitement of it all! The biggest blessing to me the last few days is to see all the workers that come out each night to help. There are also a few ladies who wish they could help out but their health doesn't allow them to. But I see them faithfully showing up and sitting in the back and smiling and saying hi to the kids as they pass by. It is such a blessing to see them ministering in their own way!
Michael brought me back home last night so I can attend a workshop tonight while Nana spoils her grandson. He headed back this morning to finish off the last two nights. He is currently working on making a balloon to give to the child that brings the most visitors!
Thanks for praying for us!
Joy

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Victory Baptist Church VBS

We made it safely to Eutis! We got settled in a little apartment  yesterday and Michael got all his stuff set up in time for the start of the first night!
The church was all hoping that by the end of the week that they would see the attendance rise to 30 kids. Well, the first night there were 34 kids! They were all so excited! Tonight was even better! 50 kids showed up!
I hope to post pictures in a day or two. Thanks for all those who pray for us as we are traveling.
Joy

Thursday, July 1, 2010

It's been one of THOSE days

Yep. I've had one of THOSE kind of days every day it seems for the last week. It all started with a headache last week which turned into some sort of stomach bug by Saturday. I couldn't make it to my nephew's birthday party due to said stomach bug. And when you miss a party you are missing my brother's famous grilled you-name-it! I heard they had some yummy hamburgers. (I'm secretly glad that he didn't grill his ribs - I might have cried over that!)

So I forgot to mention that Josiah started coughing in the wee hours of Friday morning. So we all were sleep deprived. By Saturday night Josiah caught that yucky stomach bug. Poor Baby. Josiah and I had to stay home from Church on Sunday, but we were able to watch our services online. Josiah was miserable the whole day it seemed, but he did have one 'happy moment'. We were listening to the choir sing and in the middle of the song one of Josiah's favorite people had a solo. When the solo ended Josiah was clapping and saying 'YAY!'

Because we were still sick Sunday night the call was made that Michael would leave the following morning for our next meeting by himself. :( That was hard considering He had to work on a faulty computer at work Sunday afternoon and then all night after the evening service. He basically got home in time to leave Monday morning.

Josiah then proceeded to have the 'dropsies', that's where you drop or knock over or purposely tip something upside down for a few days. On Tuesday, (1) I was cleaning the frig out and he grabbed a glass bottle of sweet chili sauce. Well, it was a bit too heavy for him because it fell and broke. Glass and sauce went everywhere. I tried to look on the bright side- I had the mop out but hadn't mopped yet. So at least I didn't have to mop twice. :)
(2) I left a glass on the desk, he grabbed it, it fell and shattered. Bright side- it was empty.
(3) I moved my house plant into a larger container and watered it. I sat it by our door and then started pulling some weeds while Josiah played. Well, he picked that bad boy up and then dumped it out. Bright side- it was outside and not on my carpet.

On Wednesday, we were going to go on a little shopping trip with my mom. I needed some groceries and wasn't up to doing coupons so we went to the local wally world. (1) We were in the baby section right beside the baby food and before you knew CrAsH! A jar of pears & blueberries decorated the floor. It took about 4 minutes before I found an employee to figure out what to do. Bright side- She was super nice and she told us to keep shopping, not to worry about it, and not to let it ruin my day. (If she only knew!)
(2) We made it to the registers finally and WhAm! Before I knew it Josiah reached over and grabbed one of those boxes that hold all those packages of peanuts off the shelf. Seriously y'all they were everywhere! Bright side- I'm just supper thankful that none of those packages were opened! Can you imagine trying to clean up all those individual peanuts!
(3) This point needs a whole post to do it justice! I tell people this part and they cover their mouths to hide their laughing. They don't know to laugh out loud or say Oh, how awful! - Anyway, we were preparing to leave for church. Josiah was dressed and ready and I was getting close. I stepped into the restroom and closed the door behind me- just like I always do. I was brushing my teeth and I could hear Josiah outside my door talking and jiggling the door knob like he always does when someone is in there. I wiped my mouth and turned to open the door and I let out a very loud gasp! You wanna know why? Because the door was LOCKED!!!
I can hear you now... "So? Unlock the door, Joy, and then walk out." I would've, if the lock was on the inside of the door like all normal locks are!
"So? What did you do?" Um, well, I went crazy I momentarily panicked. Then I told myself to 'Calm down and think, Joy.' So, I tried jiggling the knob all which-a-ways. Then I had a BRILLIANT idea- HINGES. But they were on the other side of the door. Somewhere abouts here I sent a 'panicked prayer' that consisted of 'Oh, Lord, get me out of here!' Then I had the thought that no one is going to know I'm trapped inside the bathroom for a few HOURS! There was no way out, no window or anything. My neighbor doesn't come home until AFTER church on Wednesday. Which could be 9 pm or later, you're looking at possibly 3 hrs in the RR with my 17 month old son roaming free. Horrible images filled my mind about things crashing and breaking or him falling and hurting himself.
This is about the point that I thought of all those action movies and watching them break down the door and I had bright idea #2- ram the door. Let's just say it didn't go well. Doors just don't fly off its hinges in real life like it does in the movies.
Well, all that racket scared Josiah and he began to cry. So I started to talk to him and he calmed down. Here's where bright idea #3 came into play. Here's what it sounded like. "Josiah, honey?" "Mama?" " Can you unlock the door for Mama?" giberish that I didn't understand, but it sounded positive, then he started rattling the door knob. "That's it sweetie, keep playing with the door." "Dear Lord, please open this door!" "Come on baby, open the door." "Mama"
And that, my friends, is when the sweet hand of Jesus reached way down for me! There is no other way to explain it other than I got to see a miracle take place for me. That door was still locked, y'all. I checked. I checked TWICE.
I picked up my little rascal who locked me in the bathroom and hugged him to my heart and breathed a prayer of thanks. I turned around and unlocked the door and made myself a promise that those door knobs were coming off just as soon as I could buy me a screw driver. (I kept that promise.)
Bright side:  I had a prayer answered and wow have I learned so much from this incident like do I depend on God only when there is a logical 'way out'? Or do I depend on God fully and completely no matter what?

Today I went to go pick up some lunch while I was out buying new door knobs (with NO locks) and I cracked my window and realized that that was not a good idea. That window is broke and guess what, it wouldn't go back up. I tried pushing and pulling on it and it wouldn't budge. I told myself not to get upset that God would take care of it just like he did the locked door knob. It's no coincidence that the radio played the song "Does Jesus Care". Those words washed over my heart and soul and despite wanting to just give in and have a good cry I sang with the song.
I knew I'd drive by the church and I knew if the Lord wanted my window fixed he'd have to have one of the maintenance guys at the church be sitting in the parking lot. That is exactly what I thought and you know what or who was sitting in his truck in the parking lot? THE MAINTENANCE MAN! I was in and out of the parking lot with a rolled up window within a minute.
Bright side- God took care of me again.

So, has it been a rough week? YES! But God is more real to me tonight as I type this than he was last week when things were going great. Do I miss my husband? Terribly! But I realized that maybe I depend so much on him that I misplace some of that trust I should have in God for trust in man or materials or circumstances. Does that make sense? I hope it does.

I know this has been a long post, I'm sorry, I hope I made it worth your time it took for you to read it. I'm just so 'full' and I needed to share what God's been working on me about. Michael has one more day of vbs in Middleburg, Fl before he heads home. Hopefully I'll be able to show you some pics when he gets here.
Until then,
Joy