A Little Overwhelmed. . .

Ready Set....

Women's Christmas Party

All School Christmas Concert

Out of town guest for the weekend

Husband entertaining clients from Germany

Children's Ministry Christmas Party& Parent's Night Out

Dress Rehearsals

Four performances of the Nutcracker

Coordinating Flower sales for Nutcracker Boutique

Staff Christmas Party
Kidz Choir sings a Christmas program at the Atria

That's what the next four days look like.

Excited to see how God brings it all to pass!  

Blessings

Saturday morning, the children of the church gathered in the church kitchen

and we made pumpkin bread for some of our homebound members.

We also made Thanksgiving Day cards

It was precious to see the kids 

working together

playing together

helping one another

While the loaves were baking, we helped stuff 2400 bags with

Christmas invitations to our church's

Children's Christmas Party & Parent's Night Out

Our Christmas Musical and Coffee House

and

Our Christmas Eve Worship services.

It was quite a group effort and very fun!

 Once our bread was cool, we wrapped them up and made some very special deliveries

What a blessing it was to spread some joy

for Thanksgiving week!

So grateful for our church family

and a special day to serve the Lord together!

Got Wisdom?

Charlotte is studying Proverbs Wednesday evenings with her EMERGE group at church.

Their study is contrasting the way of the wise

with the way of the foolish,

learning about the fear of the Lord,

the treasure of wisdom,

and the only way to enter the way of the wise -

through Jesus Christ.

I am enjoying my time with Charlotte at home

memorizing proverbs

discussing their meaning 

and putting them into practice!

I love what Jay Adams says about Proverbs - 

they are portable, packaged, pictured principles
{say that fast 5 times!}

small enough to grasp easily,

memorize quickly

and be carried in the heart for use whenever necessary

I am so blessed to see Charlotte seeking wisdom in God's Word.
I am enjoying this study alongside her just as much as she is.

May it bear good fruit in both of us!

Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will make your path straight.
Prov. 3:5

Pecans

We've had a few Texas "firsts"

like homecoming mums and blueberry picking to name a few. 

This past Sunday we experienced another Texas first.

We went with our home group from church

to Crosby, Texas to gather pecans. . .

Our friend Jonathan's parents have a home out there on 60 acres

This group is so special to us

and today was a special day to enjoy the beauty of creation

and the beauty of the Lord's day together!

There were puppies - adorable puppies

and a plethora of pecans

{we were like little squirrels out there gathering nuts for the winter}

This was another Texas first!

there was time to run around with good friends

and eat in the back of a pick up truck 

there were wild horses

drawn to the fence with apples so the kids could pet them

and there was out of this world Texas smoked ribs and brisket

It was a glorious afternoon

and we enjoyed homemade pecan pie for dessert of course -

Jonathan's parents were so gracious and lovely

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good

His love endures forever!

To God Be the Glory

Today was a most special day.

I was commissioned as the 

Director of Children's Ministry at Spring Cypress Church

I wrote about receiving the letter of call back HERE.

We also sang two of my favorite hymns today

To God Be the Glory

&

How Great Thou Art

Singing the words "to God be the glory great things He has done" rang sweet in my soul today.  

Truly He has done great things in calling me to this ministry and preparing me for this work.

I am so very excited to partner with parents and families

in the spiritual nurture of their children.

I'm excited to teach our covenant children about Jesus.

The woman who is retiring from this role after 12 years has become a dear friend

and she has been a sincere blessing to me the past month and longer

as we've worked to transition into fall programming and

into new leadership.

I am thankful - so very thankful for Jan!

We had a celebration lunch at the pastor's house -
a beautiful lunch celebrating God's goodness
with Jan and her husband, and the women who serve on the Children's Council
along with Colleen's family who serves as a Children's Ministry Assistant

It was a special blessing and celebration!

We are all enjoying the beauty of a long three day weekend

and next week I'll start my new job in full.

To God be the glory....

may I be the vessel He uses to bring His gospel of grace to every child and family I serve.

A New Adventure

The kids go back to school on Tuesday for another great year at Cypress Christian

and in a short time David will be starting Pre K.  He is soooo excited!

This fall also marks a new adventure for me.

I have been named the new Children's Ministry Director at Spring Cypress Presbyterian Church

I can't tell you how blessed I am to have the privilege to serve my church in this way.

My true passion is nurturing faith in young children

and coming along side and ministering to families!

My responsibilities include 

all ministry activities and programming for children

birth to 6th grade.

Oh be still my heart!

I look back and see God's sovereign and gracious hand in calling me to this post

and confirming it through those in my midst.

I first saw the posted position a year ago before we moved here from Phoenix

as we scoured church websites looking for potential churches to visit

upon our move here last August.

I must have clicked that job description 10 times a week from afar,

so drawn to the ministry description and thinking I would

LOVE to do that.

Then we moved and my heart was focused on

settling us into our new home

supporting my husband in his new endeavors at work as a partner

rooting my children at a new school

and figuring out a new community and frankly, a bit of a new culture.

y'all....God transitioned us beautifully!

We started visiting churches and narrowed the field.

We decided to return to a church we had initially visited months earlier.

There it was again, the ministry post for the job of Chidlren's Ministry Director

in the bulletin.

I admit my heart did a bit of a cartwheel.  

The job was at this church. 

and it was still available!

I began to serve in the children's ministry as I have done in all our churches,

clicking online to read that job description over and over

now planted as members in the midst of the congregation.

The middle of winter I updated my resume. Tucked it away.

And prayed.

And prayed.

And prayed.

Months and months passed.  I can't explain my reluctance to pursue it earlier,

but finally in April, I printed my resume, drafted a letter to the search committee 

prayed some more and submitted it with the total encouragement of

my husband to the overseeing elder.

Over the next few months, I had several interviews.

I received a letter of call in July.

Praise be to God!

Come to find out, the retiring director had her eye on me

all the while God was moving in my heart wooing me to the position.

How gracious was God to call us to this particular church and

hold the position for a whole year 

all the while wooing me to the call and granting me confirmation from those

I was serving alongside.

Outside of my primary ministry to my husband and children,

I believe without a shadow of a doubt I was made for serving in this way!

I have a passion to:

Equip and encourage the body of Christ to minister to and serve our covenant children so that they might know, as the coming generation, the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done (Ps 78:4)

Minister relationally and redemptively to children and mothers so that marriages and families are strengthened in the church

Partner with and support parents in their biblical role as primary teachers of God’s truth

Provide child centered, Christ exalting educational and fellowship opportunities for the children of the church so that they are nurtured in the fear and love of the Lord

Nurture and instruct the children of the church well so that they would know their importance in the family of God and be led by God to proclaim a personal and public faith in Jesus Christ whereby they would come to enjoy the full privileges and responsibilities of their inheritance in the household of faith through membership.

Reach out to the community with the love and hope of the gospel by providing child/ family centered, Christ focused experiences and events.

Provide godly and compassionate counsel to young children and their parents so that they would come to depend upon God and His Word as sufficient for all of life and godliness

This is the work I will begin September 1st.

Pray for me.  

And pray for my family.

May God be high and lifted up, His name be made great

as together we seek to serve Him in all that He calls us to do.

Everything is Possible With God!

It was VBS week at our church and boy was it a fantastic week!

David participated in the preschool class.

Claire was a participant in the Hot Air Balloons group

Charlotte, along with her EMERGE friends, served as helpers

And Meredith and I were there all week as the Hot Air Balloon Crew Leaders

(second and third graders)

I love how our church family came together to put on VBS.

By midweek, our little church had 100 kids registered.  

Half or more were from the community!

Praise God. 

Here are some photos of our week together, learning about trusting God!

Charlotte and her friend Rachel serving at Registration

David and his buddy Ford during afternoon assembly

Charlotte and Rachel helping Mrs. Jones in the kitchen!

Pastor Dave with his Mr. Potato Head!

Fearless crew leaders. . .

Some pretty cute Hot Air Balloons

Pastor Dave talking about being strong in the Lord!

Miss Jan, our beloved Children's Ministry Director

Looking a little tired at morning assembly mid week. . .

Flash Skyrunner a.k.a. Mr. Jones all tied up

Charlotte taking a little break in the EMERGE room!

sampling the snack. . .

The awesome team in the Wild Blue Bible Adventures room

Flash

We LOVE VBS crafts!  Thank you, Miss Beth!

Claire and her pal Rhlan

Miss jan and that funny character Flash!

The preschool class leaving morning assembly.

BFFs big and small!

VBS was not David's favorite.
He prefers a calmer environment!

FLY...it was great fun!

We sure learned a lot about trusting in God!
The highlight for me.....

aside from the great fun, fantastic music, new friends, funny skits, wild games,
terrific Bible stories and cool crafts

was sharing the gospel with a little friend in my group and
praying with her as she put her trust in Jesus as her Lord and Savior!

He is mighty to save!!!

Youth Update

Our junior highers loaded into the vans early this morning to return home tonight.

I can't wait to hear all about Peter's week at RYM in Florida!

The week sure ended on a fun note....

The Spring Cypress Presbyterian Church Junior High Youth Group

won the Mega-Rec Championship.

I am not sure what that truly means, but I do know it involved some serious

Ga Ga competition 

a game I knew nothing about until we were at SCPC

(we have our very own pit on our church campus and the youth LOVE to play!)

Here the group is pictured in a Ga Ga pit. . .

I believe it is a version of dodge ball in an octagon enclosure.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

Pastor Dennis with our wonderful chaperones and awesome interns. . .

How blessed my kids are to be involved in such a

God centered

Christ exalting

Bible saturated

Fellowship oriented

Relationship building youth ministry.

We sure have missed Pete.  

After two weeks of RYM, this mamma is happy to

have all her kids home for the weekend!