posts in category church
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
merry christmas
A very Merry CHRISTmas from my family to yours!
For unto us a child is born. A Savior who is Christ the Lord!
Christmas blessings to you and your family!!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
i made jello...
I made jello.
I made jello to take to church.
I made jello to take to church for an incredible woman's funeral.
It just doesn't seem right.
I only knew Linda for 20 months. 20 short months. But those were 20 months of learning of a wonderful woman. 20 months of seeing her faith in action. 20 months of hearing about precious children and grandchildren. 20 incredible months. I really wish it could be 20 more months...and then some. Linda was an incredible person. Salt of the earth.
Humble.
Gentle.
Beautiful.
Kind.
Hilarious.
Giving.
Joyful.
Truthful.
Hospitable.
Amazing.
Someone whom I would love to be like. She had a smile and a kind word for EVERYONE. If she wasn't doing great she didn't hide that behind a facade, she spoke the truth in love. She shared Jesus when she was having a rough day or week. Her face showed her joy when she spoke of her family. She had a great sense of humor and could rib with the best of them. Evidenced by the fact that she gave my husband a Detroit Tigers shirt (her favorite team) when they went to the World Series and the Cardinals did not. She was so hospitable and invited us over to swim in her pool during the VERY hot summer. She told us to come anytime and as long as they were home we could come. I'm not usually one to take someone up on their offer of that nature. But I'm so glad that we did, we were blessed by her hospitality, her generosity and her caring spirit.
It just doesn't seem right that she's not with us anymore. The last few months while she's been sick I've really missed her smiling face at church. I'd look to "her pew" and see she wasn't there and it just didn't feel right. Linda wouldn't want me sitting here being sad about her going to be with Jesus. She would want me to rejoice right along with her. She would tell me that it's okay, she's not hurting anymore and she's sitting by her Savior's side. She would tell me to keep loving my family but most importantly to keep loving and serving Jesus. Linda would want everyone to know about her Savior. To know that He died because He loved her. To know that He knew the day and the time that He would call her home as He does with all of us, but that we don't have to be scared because He has prepared a room for us. She would want everyone to remember how much they are loved and how incredible and amazing grace really is.
So, as I take my jello to church tomorrow to celebrate the life of this incredible woman, to share how much she meant to me with her family (after only 20 short months) I will rejoice in the gift of eternal salvation and say "See you soon Linda."
I made jello to take to church.
I made jello to take to church for an incredible woman's funeral.
It just doesn't seem right.
I only knew Linda for 20 months. 20 short months. But those were 20 months of learning of a wonderful woman. 20 months of seeing her faith in action. 20 months of hearing about precious children and grandchildren. 20 incredible months. I really wish it could be 20 more months...and then some. Linda was an incredible person. Salt of the earth.
Humble.
Gentle.
Beautiful.
Kind.
Hilarious.
Giving.
Joyful.
Truthful.
Hospitable.
Amazing.
Someone whom I would love to be like. She had a smile and a kind word for EVERYONE. If she wasn't doing great she didn't hide that behind a facade, she spoke the truth in love. She shared Jesus when she was having a rough day or week. Her face showed her joy when she spoke of her family. She had a great sense of humor and could rib with the best of them. Evidenced by the fact that she gave my husband a Detroit Tigers shirt (her favorite team) when they went to the World Series and the Cardinals did not. She was so hospitable and invited us over to swim in her pool during the VERY hot summer. She told us to come anytime and as long as they were home we could come. I'm not usually one to take someone up on their offer of that nature. But I'm so glad that we did, we were blessed by her hospitality, her generosity and her caring spirit.
It just doesn't seem right that she's not with us anymore. The last few months while she's been sick I've really missed her smiling face at church. I'd look to "her pew" and see she wasn't there and it just didn't feel right. Linda wouldn't want me sitting here being sad about her going to be with Jesus. She would want me to rejoice right along with her. She would tell me that it's okay, she's not hurting anymore and she's sitting by her Savior's side. She would tell me to keep loving my family but most importantly to keep loving and serving Jesus. Linda would want everyone to know about her Savior. To know that He died because He loved her. To know that He knew the day and the time that He would call her home as He does with all of us, but that we don't have to be scared because He has prepared a room for us. She would want everyone to remember how much they are loved and how incredible and amazing grace really is.
So, as I take my jello to church tomorrow to celebrate the life of this incredible woman, to share how much she meant to me with her family (after only 20 short months) I will rejoice in the gift of eternal salvation and say "See you soon Linda."
Thursday, December 08, 2011
altar paraments and a stole
You may have no idea what I'm talking about by the title but let me share with you some photos of the beautiful altar paraments and the new stole that have been handmade for our church. Through a generous annoymous gift Concordia was blessed with new Advent altar paraments and a new stole for the pastor to wear. These items were handmade by Sheri and you can see her work and learn more about possibly making your own or ordering some items for your church at her website Stoles Created.
These photos were taken at Thanksgiving and the altar area has since been decorated for Christmas. I will get some photos of the paraments and the church decorated for Christmas soon. But I wanted to share this beautiful work with you. Sheri did a great job and I cannot wait for you to see the photos of the church decorated for Christmas, it looks so beautiful.
Here is the harvest altar.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
great week and weekend
Here's the week in a photo recap...lots of photos...not a lot of words!
Monday: Greg was sitting on the couch with the big kids. Hannah woke up from her nap so he went to get her. He changed her diaper and when he came back into the room this is what he saw.
So sweet, we must have tired them out!
Tuesday: We drove to Nashville to pick up my sister from the airport (that's a 2 hour drive one way!!!). We stopped for lunch at Loveless Cafe and really enjoyed the down home comfort food.
Wednesday: We didn't do a whole lot. Tracey played with the kids and Greg and I got a bank account and unpacked a little more.
Thursday: Opening Day!! We drove to Memphis (about an hour away) to have lunch with my aunt and uncle. We took the kids to a park for a while before lunch. Aunt Rosalie made a cake for Tracey and Micah. The kids also had fun dressing up and dancing for everyone.
Friday: The second moving truck came with the rest of our stuff. Micah enjoyed having the train table in his room for the day (it's back in the garage now). Tracey and Naomi helped crush the oreo cookies for the race track cake. And we enjoyed a low key evening at home. Greg's parents and oldest sister got into town late in the evening and came over for a little bit to say hello.
Saturday: Micah and Tracey celebrated their birthdays. We went to lunch at Rafferty's with the whole gang and then the kids played outside for a while. Micah enjoyed opening his presents. He got lots of Lightning McQueen stuff and some Thomas things as well. He really was excited to open the gifts but just wanted to play with the cars before opening all his gifts. We also celebrated Greg's dad's birthday on Saturday (but his birthday was really on Sunday).
I asked Micah which car was his favorite and he pointed to them one by one and said, "this one, and this one, and this one..."
Micah was so excited to have his big cousin Michael there for his birthday. He'd been talking about Michael for a long time. Was so thrilled to be able to play with him!
Sunday: Had Micah pose for me in the morning sunlight! Church in the morning, lunch at home with everyone and then Greg's installation service was at 4pm. It was a great service and they had a very nice reception for us afterwards.
Pastor Barz came from San Antonio to preach at Greg's installation! What an honor to have him with us. We wish Connie would have been able to come too!
Grandma was one of the lucky few whom Micah let play cars with him.
The Memphis Circuit Pastors
The family that came for the service.
Greg's side of the family.
Monday: I drove my sister back to the airport. Greg went to work at his new church for the first time and the rest of the family took the kids swimming and spent some time at the hotel. We had some severe storms here on Monday and the tornado sirens were even going off...but it was just a bunch of rain here and not much worse. We also enjoyed playing Monopoly Deal a bunch of times and just spending time with our family. It's always nice to have family around!!Monday: Greg was sitting on the couch with the big kids. Hannah woke up from her nap so he went to get her. He changed her diaper and when he came back into the room this is what he saw.
So sweet, we must have tired them out!
Tuesday: We drove to Nashville to pick up my sister from the airport (that's a 2 hour drive one way!!!). We stopped for lunch at Loveless Cafe and really enjoyed the down home comfort food.
Wednesday: We didn't do a whole lot. Tracey played with the kids and Greg and I got a bank account and unpacked a little more.
Thursday: Opening Day!! We drove to Memphis (about an hour away) to have lunch with my aunt and uncle. We took the kids to a park for a while before lunch. Aunt Rosalie made a cake for Tracey and Micah. The kids also had fun dressing up and dancing for everyone.
Friday: The second moving truck came with the rest of our stuff. Micah enjoyed having the train table in his room for the day (it's back in the garage now). Tracey and Naomi helped crush the oreo cookies for the race track cake. And we enjoyed a low key evening at home. Greg's parents and oldest sister got into town late in the evening and came over for a little bit to say hello.
Saturday: Micah and Tracey celebrated their birthdays. We went to lunch at Rafferty's with the whole gang and then the kids played outside for a while. Micah enjoyed opening his presents. He got lots of Lightning McQueen stuff and some Thomas things as well. He really was excited to open the gifts but just wanted to play with the cars before opening all his gifts. We also celebrated Greg's dad's birthday on Saturday (but his birthday was really on Sunday).
I asked Micah which car was his favorite and he pointed to them one by one and said, "this one, and this one, and this one..."
Micah was so excited to have his big cousin Michael there for his birthday. He'd been talking about Michael for a long time. Was so thrilled to be able to play with him!
Sunday: Had Micah pose for me in the morning sunlight! Church in the morning, lunch at home with everyone and then Greg's installation service was at 4pm. It was a great service and they had a very nice reception for us afterwards.
Pastor Barz came from San Antonio to preach at Greg's installation! What an honor to have him with us. We wish Connie would have been able to come too!
Grandma was one of the lucky few whom Micah let play cars with him.
The Memphis Circuit Pastors
The family that came for the service.
Greg's side of the family.
Thank you everyone for coming and spending time with us! We really appreciate all the help and support you provided us with! We can't wait till we see you again!!
Monday, March 07, 2011
our last day
Sunday was our last day at Mt. Calvary. The crying started when I was driving to church realizing it was the last time I would do so. The crying didn't end till about 3:30pm...with a few breaks in between obviously. The crying has continued into Monday evening at my Christ Care meeting and I'm not sure it will end very soon. I have words I want to say, just not sure how to put them on paper (or the screen). I will do so soon...but in the mean time here are just a few photos from our last Sunday at Mt. Calvary. More can be seen here.
This is Ms. Roberta and Ms. Yvette, they work in the nursery at Mt. Calvary and take care of the little ones EVERY SUNDAY! They are amazing, caring, fun, great with kids and just wonderful people. I am so blessed to have had them to take care of my little ones since Naomi was 8 months old. They've watched the kids and our family grow. We will miss you dearly...thanks for putting up with my kids when they're crabby, loving them into a good mood and for being amazing care givers for them.
Here's Naomi and her sweet little friend Abby. We're gonna miss Abby and her parents! Her mom has been so sweet when I come in every Sunday with a new question for her...she's a pediatrician and I felt so blessed to have her advice and friendship. They used to live in St. Louis so we've got that connection too. Naomi's gonna miss seeing Abby every Sunday!
Here's Naomi and two of her six Sunday School teachers. All of her teachers are so special to her. Kristen and Karen have also come over to hang out with the kiddos and Butch is on staff so we'd get to see them occasionally for birthday lunches! We will miss all of the great Sunday School teachers!!! Thank you for sharing Jesus with my little lady!
After the late service they had a big bbq meal complete with brisket, sausage, squash, potato salad, cake and other desserts. Mt. Calvary sure knows how to throw a party. We had a great time and are so blessed. We loved being able to see everyone together again and will truly miss these great times of fellowship (and the food).
After the meal there was a short sending service. Sarah, Sarah and Caleb got up and sang "Deep in the Heart of Texas" it was pretty funny! The congregation gave us this beautiful painting of the Riverwalk and the Tower of the Americas. We will never forget San Antonio or Mt. Calvary. We feel so blessed to have been able to serve here for three and a half years. Two of our kids were born here...and many memories were made here.
New adventures await us. God goes before us. We are going to miss Mt. Calvary terribly but know that God has a plan...and it's good that He is God and I am not because everything in my life would be a mess if that was the case! I'll be back with some other parting words sometime soon! Have a blessed day!
This is Ms. Roberta and Ms. Yvette, they work in the nursery at Mt. Calvary and take care of the little ones EVERY SUNDAY! They are amazing, caring, fun, great with kids and just wonderful people. I am so blessed to have had them to take care of my little ones since Naomi was 8 months old. They've watched the kids and our family grow. We will miss you dearly...thanks for putting up with my kids when they're crabby, loving them into a good mood and for being amazing care givers for them.
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