KIDS CAMP 2009

Wow! What a week. We had 37 kids attend our Kids Camp (aka VBS), only 13 of those were members' kids. A team from Wynne, AR was here for the week to help, and help they did! What an amazing effort! We couldn't have done it without them. My mom also came out for the week and was a huge help! (not only at camp, but at home where she did my laundry! woo hoo!)
We held the camp at a local park in the evenings. We charged a small registration fee to give "value" to the camp and to help ensure kids would return throughout the week. We also served them sandwiches for dinner each night. There was one family of foster kids who would devour 4-5 sandwiches each (and they were little kids, ranging from 3-8). It was really disheartening to think that those sandwiches may have been the only real meal they had for the day.
All the kids really seemed to have a lot of fun. The parents had nothing but praise for us. It was a long, hard week, but SO worth it!
We had 2 professions of faith, both of them parents!


To conclude the week we had a children's service this past Sunday. Jake preached, speaking on the plan of salvation. We did all kid's songs, ranging from "God is Bigger Than the Boogie Man" to "I Just Want to be a Sheep". Our 'special' was Veggie Tales' "Cheeseburger". What a hoot! We had just under 70 in attendance and everyone raved about the service. We even had some suggestions that this become more regular, like possibly doing a kids' service once a quarter.
We also had 3 kids raise their hands at the end of the service wanting to know more about asking Jesus to come into their lives to be their boss and forgive their sins. (We didn't ask any of them if they wanted to do it then, so that no one was doing it just because friends were.
Instead, we wrote down names of those who raised their hands and Jake is setting up appointments with their families to go speak with them individually at their homes.)

This was such a successful week for our church. We have at least 2-3 families who are interested in joining our church because of it. Thank you for your prayers. To God be the glory!

You give and take away...my heart will CHOOSE to say, Lord blessed be Your Name

So the good news is Jake still has a job.
As many of you reading this may have heard on the news, Fontainebleau, Jake's employer, declared bankruptcy this week. A good portion of the people in his office were laid off. It was a sad day for him as he helped coworkers carry their boxes of belongings out to their cars.
What we found out later yesterday was that anyone left working for the company was having to take a mandatory, across the board, pay cut.
Jake is in the process of updating his resume and seeing what else is out there.
When he came home and told me, though I could see the stress and worry in his eyes, his statement to me was, "This only means God has something else in the works for us." His faith is unwavering. He still feels that we are called here for a reason and that our season here has not yet ended.
Today opened with more discouraging news. The title company apparently is holding up some paper work and therefore we cannot close on the house this week. Our loan officer hopes to close by the end of the month (Me too, seeing as we will be homeless if we don't). Not only that, but the fees from the title company came in higher than expected, so we have to come up with more money for closing...and our interest rate was only good through the 15th, and since we won't be closing then it will expire and the new interest rate is higher, making our house payment go up.
There's more, but I won't bore you with the details...suffice to say, the last 2 days have been pretty much the worst days since we've lived here.
I know my God is in control. He knows the outcome, has the big picture in His hand. He has seen us through many many times before, and I know this time will be no different.
I've spent most of the day crying. I'm so glad my mom didn't leave until this afternoon, because I don't know what I would have done this morning had she not been here to lean on.
Please be praying for us during this time. Pray mostly that we will lean on His unfailing strength.
Ending on a positive note, our Kid's Camp is going on this week. (It's our "VBS") We have had 37 kids registered and attending. Only 12 or so of those are members. We have had a lot of positive feedback from both kids and parents. There is so much to tell you about it, I will blog next week and include pictures.
Jake is correct, God has something in store for us, and just like our move to Vegas, it may not be anything we would have ever imagined. He is good, all the time.
"I say, 'You are my God, my times are in Your hands.'"

End of School

So there have been countless times over the past month and a half that I've thought about sitting down and posting a blog, but one day becomes two and the next thing I know...it's June! Where has this year gone?

The kids finished school today. JD said he was sad because he loves school. Though Cora enjoyed school very much, she was also ready for summer break. I'm sure JD will be as well, once he remembers the freedom summer brings.
JD made honor roll all three trimesters. We're obviously very proud. His only non-A was an 89%...I think I can live with that. Cora also did well, 4 out of 6 grades were A's. We were blessed with wonderful teachers this year. We know God put those teachers in our lives for a reason.

Cora's class

JD's class

We're looking forward to my mom and Amy Fike coming in tonight. Tomorrow night (Friday) Amy will be doing a traditional Muslim Tea with the ladies from our church, and my mom will be speaking on how women should act as ladies.
A volunteer team from Wynne, AR will be coming in tomorrow evening to help with our Kids Camp we're having next week. (It's VBS, but because so many people we are trying to reach either have negative thoughts towards "church events" or don't understand VBS, we're choosing to call it Kids Camp.) It will be held M-F evening. Please be in prayer for the children already signed up and those that will sign up this weekend. Also pray for the kids in the park each evening that may wonder over and take part.

I'll be flying the kids to AR on the 18th. They are excited to see family and friends. Though I'll only be there 3 days, they will be staying through July 12th. This should give me a good opportunity to get us settled in our new house. Hopefully we will be able to close on it the end of next week!

Sorry this is a short one...I'll write more soon and promise to get out a newsletter very soon.

Our God is an Awesome God!

Las Vegas Valley consists of approximately 600 square miles and just under 2 million people in residence.
Those numbers are staggering to me, moving here from Rogers, AR, where the square mileage in Northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville and the surrounding areas) is only around 200 square miles total.

You have probably heard in the news more than once lately that Las Vegas is one of the hardest hit cities in America on the financial front. Foreclosure signs are everywhere, no neighborhood is exempt. Coorperations and casinos are going under left and right. Though part of me is glad that a casino doesn't succeed, I am also saddened, knowing 100's if not 1000's of lives are effected by their demise. Most recently in the news is MGM-Mirage. They are looking towards bankrupcy, which will effect 1000's of people. They own multiple casinos and resorts in the city, and were slated to open "City Center" this fall, promising 100's of families a chance of a new career.

People need prayer now more than ever. People need to hear about and discover the saving power of Jesus Christ. As all hope seems lost, we need to reach out with The Hope.

I mentioned in my last post the "Crosswalk", where Southern Baptist churches across the valley would join together to prayer-walk across the city, praying for the businesses, homes and lives we passed along the way. I wanted to share with you the final numbers for that day.
26 churches participated, with 325 prayer-walkers walking 775 miles! Isn't God awesome!?! People all across the valley were joined together in prayer for those 2 hours, lifting up our community to the Lord, prayerfully looking for opportunities to reach out to desperately needing people.

Reaching out to our community is the heartbeat of Northstar. Our pastoral staff has a heart for reaching the lost for Jesus and are infusing their vision into our church. Easter Sunday we had a neighborhood egg hunt with free food and games. The service was held outdoors and was very upbeat. We had 5 baptisms planned for the end of service. Five people gave their lives to Christ during our service and we ended up baptizing 8 people that day instead! What an amazing time in the Lord.
We were also able to form relationships with some area businesses who donated gift certificates for kid's meals and % off at their restaurants. We hope to continue and flourish these relationships in order to reach them as well as more in our community.

God has been blessing Northstar in 2009. We have now seen around 12 people come to the cross and profess their faith in Christ. Seven of those are part of our church family, including 3 children.
We see the spirit moving and are humbled and grateful to be a part of it!

I do ask for prayer for the spiritual warfare that always follows great victories in Christ's kingdom. Where God is moving Satan will always attack; and attack he has. We have several families in our church being attacked by the enemy, our family being one of them. I have chosen to count it as a blessing, however, because I know the enemy wouldn't be concerned if God wasn't moving in amazing ways! Please keep us and the other families of Northstar in your prayers for our spiritual, physical and emotional well-being.
Our family is claiming the name of JEHOVAH-NISSI, The Lord is my banner, my victory.

Jake will be going with the rest of the pastoral staff to Catalyst, a pastor's conference in CA. April 23-24. Please be praying for their travel safety and for the conference as well. Pray by name for Mike, Lead Pastor; Jake, Children's Pastor; Jeremy, Youth Pastor; and Jason, Praise and Worship Leader.
What an amazing group of men God has assembled to lead our church. Remember to lift them up and as you do, remember to lift up your own pastoral staff. It is Biblical to pray for our leaders, and they need and covet those prayers.

JD and Cora getting ready for our Easter service and egg hunt

We laid out around 2,000 eggs, with prizes in them ranging from candy to gift certificates to local restaurants to gift cards for Wal-Mart.

Thank you, as always, for partnering with us in prayer. You are an intregal part of our ministry!

Prayer in Motion

This Saturday, the Southern Nevada Southern Baptist Association is having a "CrossWalk". Southern Baptist Churches from all over Las Vegas have been assigned a stretch of either Charleston or Decatur and will prayer-walk from 9:30-11:00AM.
Now, many of you have heard of prayer-walking, I'm sure, but you may not be fully aware of what it is or how to go about doing it...
The goal of Saturday is to train people to see the world as God sees it, feel the burdens He feels, love as He loves.
As we are walking our part of Decatur, we are to be consciously looking around us, seeing things for which we can pray. An example was given at the training Jake, Pastor Mike and Jeremy, our youth pastor, went to. The man said that as they were prayer walking he saw a satellite dish on a house, so he prayed that it would bring only good into the house, that no garbage would come through it.
Prayer in Motion can be done everyday, where ever you happen to be. It doesn't have to be a planned event, it should be a daily part of a Christ-follower's life.
As you go about your day-to-day life, make a conscious effort to pray for the people and things you pass along the way. Take time to look at the world the way God does.
The Bible says "pray without ceasing". This can be as simple as a one-line prayer lifted up as you drive past a school, "Father, bless the children and staff there, help no harm come to them today." It doesn't have to be complicated or intrinsic. You don't have to stop what you're doing...you don't have to close your eyes (especially if you're driving!), just be in the moment, focus on something/someone other than yourself and see the needs around you.
I think so often people feel too intimidated to pray. They feel like they don't have a good enough reason, or they'll sound stupid...but God wants us to come to Him. He desires a relationship with us!
If you never talk to your best friend, never spend time with him/her, don't listen when s/he speaks to you, is that really your best friend? Do you really have a relationship with that person? Well, it's the same way with God. People claim to love God, to desire to be close to Him, yet are too busy to spend time with Him. That relationship will go no where.
Jesus died on the cross for your sins, He gave up everything for you, the very least we should do is spend time with Him in the quiet of our hearts. But don't do all the talking, take time to listen as well...you'd be surprised!

One last thought for today:
When you are praying for people, BLESS them:
B-Body, pray for physical needs
L-Labor, pray for job/career
E-Emotion, pray for his/her emotional needs
S-Social, pray for his/her social life and friends
S-Spiritual, pray that spiritual needs are met and that s/he has a personal relationship with Jesus

Start today! Pray in Motion!

Leaving for Home

So it's 9:40 PM, CST, and we're sitting in the airport in Springfield, MO. Our plane should be taking off right about now, but we were delayed an hour or so. I thought I would take this time to send a quick blog.
Once we get home and settled I promise to upload some pictures from our week at GIC. What an amazing week! It was such a blessing to us. As we drove through Rogers this past week it was a rather surreal experience. Though we have only been gone a little over a year, Rogers didn't feel like home anymore. However, Wednesday night as we sat in the sanctuary of FBC and listened to the choir and orchestra and worshiped with 100's of other people...we were home. First Baptist has been my home church since 1983, and Jake's since 1993, so being back there was such a blessing to us both. Being members there for so many years we took for granted the 100+ choir, a church building that is permanently there and doesn't have to be set up and torn down each week before and after worship service, a worship leader like Mark Maier, who radiates Jesus in all he does.
Please don't get me wrong, we are so blessed to be serving at NorthStar. It is definitely our home now, but being at FBC just helped us appreciate the foundation that was laid in our lives there.


Okay...so it's now Wednesday, our plane was called as I was finishing that last sentence so I never had a chance to post. Rather than posting 2ce in one day, I'll just continue with this one.

JD and Cora were so excited to see their friends. They each got to stay the night with a friend while there, and it was so uplifting to their demeanor. It was so great seeing them run around the gym with life-long friends.

JD with Best-Bud, Wade

Cora with BFF, Brynn

Jake and I enjoyed seeing our friends and family as well, though the time passed way too quickly, and we don't feel like we had nearly enough time with any of you. Thank you for spending time with us while we were there, it blessed us greatly to be with you.

Jake with good friend, FBC Media Director, Brian Dunaway

We want to make sure and thank the Milner ABF class for hosting our family this week. It was such an honor to get to know you and share with you our ministry. Thank you for your prayers and support!
There is so much that went on during GIC, I'm afraid I will miss telling you about so much of it. Thank you to the senior adults and Saints Alive Choir for the great luncheon! Also, a huge thanks to the staff and men's and women's ministries, so much effort was put into this week and it was definitely felt.

One of the hi-lights of the week was watching Children of the World perform. We have had the privilege of seeing them in the past and enjoyed them equally as much this time. I wanted to take several of them home with me.

One thing that really spoke to Jake and I this past week was something the guest speaker, Walker Moore said. "If you are a willing witness, your next heart beat is one of obedience." We need to say yes to God anytime, anyplace, anywhere, anyway under any circumstance. We want to be willing witnesses. It was a definite challenge to our daily lives.

Something people ask me frequently is, "How long will you be in Vegas?" My response is always the same, "Until God tells us to go somewhere else." Walker Moore really spoke to what Jake and I want our family legacy to be; that we will be ready and willing to go where ever God tells us to go, anytime, anyplace, anywhere, under any circumstances. We want our children to know that above all else, we are joyfully obedient to God's will for our lives.

Continuing to serve....

It's been an exciting few weeks at NorthStar. In the past 3 weeks we've had 4 professions of faith! Jake had the honor of leading one of the kids to Christ during Children's church 2 weeks ago, and there have been 3 adults accepting Christ during the Worship service. We are going through the Fireproof series during service, it is really going well. Sunday evenings we are having a small group that goes along with the series as well, and we've been encouraged to do the "Love Dare" book. If you haven't seen the movie Fireproof, I would highly recommend it, as well as the book. It seems to be starting a spiritual awakening in our church family. Please be praying for those who have accepted Christ.

I have so many pictures on my camera that I need to get uploaded and post, but I keep forgetting to do so...ah, well. I'll get them on here at some point--maybe.
So we're all getting so excited about being in AR next week. Except for a quick 24 hours there last Feb. for a funeral, Jake hasn't been back since we moved.
We're already wishing we had more time there, we have a week, but our schedule is completely booked every day we're there. There are so many people we would like to see, but with our limited time it's just not going to happen.
I'm also going to try to get up very early Wednesday AM and drive down to Little Rock to see my uncle who is in the hospital there. He's in the advanced stages of Lou Gehrig's, and I just can't imagine coming all the way to AR and not being able to see him. It will have to be a quick trip, because I have to be back in time to set up our display at FBC.

So I have this list of things we need to bring with us, for the display, etc. I keep trying to convince myself I need to get on the ball and actually start packing stuff, but my procrastinating keeps stopping me. More than likely we'll be packing at midnight on Saturday night...that's what usually happens when we travel. It's really the only way to go, lol.

For those of you in Rogers, I guess we'll see you next week! Those of you attending GIC, don't forget to come by our booth Wednesday night!